Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Seafall: A Tale of Three Provinces Game 2

I'm going to be documenting our Seafall Legacy campaign! As a warning, I won't even remotely try to hide spoilers- this is for those who either don't care about spoilers or have already played through their own game. You have been WARNED!

____________________________________________________________________________




My brother started this game with the first of the permanent 'enmity' on
the  board, leaving this paticular island a tougher nut to crack.

With most of the milestone's taken in the last game, this was a more
structured economy game- especially with the price of goods lowered
by an early event!

I was lucky enough to get the jump on my adversaries and snag the final milestone
currently available, raiding the linen port on Gaeta Island.

Oooh, we get to open a new box. What's inside? More events! Including a
dastardly Pirate King.

With my first island 'angry' at me (something that I'd deal with at games end)
I was really racking up the points by this time.

Sagun, the island closest to the provinces, was finally fully explored in
this game.

I didn't have 'fire' tokens available, but Holystone was put to the torch
when the Pirates attcked, looting my vault and slowing me down.

Not by enough though, as the milestone put me far ahead of the pack, allowing
me to nudge over the finish line just as the other provinces was getting ready to
rapidly expand.

At the end, though, the final milestone changed things. Our old title cards were
ripped up, and a whole host of new things became available. New cards, upgrades,
and advisors for the next game!

However, the biggest change came with the new titles. Now, driven by (story-enforced) jealousy of my prestige, the lowest ranked title holder would now recieve an emnity from me in the next game, making it harder for me to retaliate if and when they targeted my ships and holdings.

War had finally arrived.

But it wasn't all grim, as with the new cards came new rules and milestones- next game we would finally be able to rush out and explore the wide Ocean! Huzzah!

Current Campaign Score:

Aegea [
Brother]: 17 pts
Ilnea [Dad]: 18pts
Baccanos [Me]: 21pts

Sunday, January 29, 2017

Algoryn Stormtroopers!

So, finally after long anticipation, the Algoryn AI plastic infantry have come out! With that, I've decided to finally stop procrastinating and start collecting and painting. The first thing I did was paint up a couple bases, turning simple corkboard into the ever important PURPLE SPACE ROCK. Then... I had to decide a color scheme. I admit, that when I started I didn't really expect to go for something so bright. What I had anticipated to look more light grey, started to look suspiciously like white. Ah well, I'm fairly happy with the way they've turned out so far!

My first seven Algoryn done- enough to run a squad. I'm still working with
different red paints to breath a little more life into the exposed skin.

Beyond the obvious Tau Burst Cannon conversion, I've also added some pouches
here and there pillaged from a Warlord Brit's box set. I like to think of these guys
as going on long patrols, and so they have some 'non-standard' equipment.

So, as I paint, I'm starting to formulate some 'fluff' for my guys here. I have a few ideas:

A) Algoryn Marines, White Armor meant to be an appropriate color for the inside of a starship, often sent as 'away teams' or strike forces to support ground troops.
B) An Elite Regiment who refuse to hide behind camouflage
C) An Alpine Regiment who didn't have time to change their uniforms to suit their new warzone.
D) A 'Distraction' Regiment who actively draw Ghar forces into ambushes by more traditionally cameo-ed forces.

I'm also deciding between Militia, Star Cops, and Mercenaries for bringing these guys to Rogue Stars. Lots of choices!

Leave me a comment, and tell me what you think!

Monday, January 9, 2017

X-wing: Scum v. Imperials

Another round of X-wing! Both of us were trying to get out of our comfort zones, and try some new types of lists.

Imperials: The Imperial wanted a list that was beefy for once, going for shields and trying out some missiles rather than his usual tie spam. This list actually was one point over our 100, but since it was a casual game that was fine.

Tie Defender- Onyx Squadron Pilot, Concussion Missile
Tie Punisher- 'Redline', Fire Control System, Proton Torpedo, Concussion Missile, Munitions Failsafe
Lamba Shuttle- Omicron Group Pilot, Ion Cannon, Intelligence Agent, Anti-Pursuit Lasers

Scum and Villainy: For my part, I wanted to stay away from my big ships for once. I love my Jump Master, but this game is all about expanding your horizons! I tried to build in some potential synergies for Kaatos's focus/evade token sharing abilities and the like.

Star Viper- Guri, Plasma Torpedoes, Crack Shot
Y-wing- Drea Renthal, Ion Cannon Turret, R4-B11, BTL-A4
Z-95- Kaatos Leeachos
M3A Intercepter- Laetin A'shera, Stealth Device

The Imperial list.

The Scum list.

We tried out playing on the floor~

After some maneuvering, the first major thing that happened was Guri
firing her plasma torpedo's. Expending her target lock and having no focus
she missed. Bummer!

Some maneuvering! The Lamba lands on an asteroid, Guri bumps into him,
Drea stops a half inch away from his front with the M3A coming up the flank.
On the left, the Z-95 fences with the Defender, stealing the M3A's evasion token-
keeping him unharmed. The Y-wing is less lucky, having her shield's stripped by
a proton torpedo hit from the Punisher.
 



With the Lamba suffering from an Ion token from last turn, most of
the Scum perform maneuvers to come up behind the shuttle.

It takes three out of four ships firing, but they manage to take it down.

As bad as that last turn was for the Empire, the Punisher has an excellent
next turn, gliding into the Scum's blind spot, and dropping Guri to one
hull point with a concussion missile.

Flying all around, the Defender fires at the M3A who takes a hit
despite the stealth device, taking off a shield while the Scum fire
at the Punisher.


It should be noted that the Defender, a brand new piece, actually had its
plastic peg detach from its undercarriage, leaving it broken for the rest
of the game.

The Ywing hits the Punisher with her Ion turrent, forcing the the Imperial to stutter
forwards on the next turn instead of taking real evasive action.

Guri catches him, and rolls out of control. Redline goes down.

Looking at the board, the Imperial player decides to call it here. Discussing afterwards,
we assume that he'd be able to take down the Star Viper easily, as well as maybe one
other ship (probably the M3A), but agreed that it was probably a done deal.
Final Thoughts:
The Imperial player came away really liking the Defender, even if we were both disappointed with the glue apparently coming undone under only minimum gameplay. Conversely, he's going to take some convincing to take the Lamba again. On my end, my Y-wing feels very nasty when she has the opportunity to line up a shot, but loosing her turret's mobility is fairly painful.

I'd probably try a different list down the line, but it was fun to shake things up a bit. If anyone has any suggestions for fun lists, or favorite ships, feel free to leave a comment and let me know!

Saturday, January 7, 2017

Seafall: A Tale of Three Provinces Game 1

I'm going to be documenting our Seafall Legacy campaign! As a warning, I won't even remotely try to hide spoilers- this is for those who either don't care about spoilers or have already played through their own game. You have been WARNED!

____________________________________________________________________________





Now that our original characters heirs are 'ready' to go out and into the open seas, we can begin our campaign for 'real'. Emnity now matters, events can really stick, and to the winner goes the spoils! I admit, as the first game, there wasn't an amazing amount to show. I'll endeavor to take more 'action' shots in the future, but this game went very similar to the first. Some sailing, some trading, some raiding, and a good deal of exploring!



Average start in our 'Game One'- the first one that 'actually counts' after the
Prologue.

The first thing we did in this game was choosing the appellations appropriate
to our factions. Knowing that Adelina's primary focus is finding what happened
to her missing brother, I chose 'Mariner' to show that she positively lavishes
her ships with attention so they can be the best they can be.

Dad's faction leader is meant to be a bit of a youthful firebrand, so adventurous
was a perfect fit. Ready to head out and into the unknown... as soon as that option
avails itself to us.

Finally, following the 'German' feel that we've been giving my brother's faction, 
he chose efficient. Certainly fitting for a nation with a big tower as a banner.


Seeing this guy, I couldn't help but give him a name from a DnD campaign
I co-ran- Moanoa, He-who-breaks-the-sky. The early sail boost we found very
helpful.

With his sights set on being the cold, native stomping raider, my brother
picked up this guy. We like to think the good Baron is an exile from one
of the provinces 'not appearing in this version of Seafall'. I like to think
his first name is 'Gilles'.

This was the big make or break moment for me in the first game. With the Woodsman
advisor and a supporting ship, I was going to explore a '6' level location and
earn a milestone... but instead I completely whiffed, sinking 'The Summer's Song'.
I lost several turns, an upgrade, and a glory point instead of earning the '4' points I
needed to win.

Spending the last of my money, I DID manage to claim the Finest Treasures
milestone, gaining me a really glorious Treasure Room for future games.

Two more advisors. The alchemist is my favorite of the two (name
wise) but how could I not respect him? His alchemy has been passed
down his family for generations after all.

The efficient leader showed that he was as good as his appellation by scoring
the first to have three buildings. In the future, his cities will be even more
glorious than before.

Finally, Dad and his Green faction managed to take the milestone I had failed
at and (with the help of the good Captain) succeeded- winning him the game.

The advisors changed by the end of the first game! Dad added 'explore +1) to the
Advance Scout, my brother made the Retired Soldier a taxing machine, and I gave
Moanoa a little bump to explore for when the speed bump is used. The Captain,
who saw some spooky stuff while working for Dad, will only work for him at a
premium.
After MUCH deliberation, I added an extra explore pip to my little Summer's Song.
That's it! The first game being essentially Prologue II: Electric Boogaloo meant that it was fairly quick and simple. It was fun enough, though its always soul crushing to watching six dice tumble and come up zip- but such is the price one pays for randomness. We were happy that all three factions scored fairly close to one another (with one milestone for each this game), but can see that getting out of control if one player has a bad game or two.

We'll have to see if the game adjudicates that as time goes on. Until then, we'll have to go play game two! Till then!

Current Campaign Score:

Aegea [
Brother]: 9 pts
Ilnea [Dad]: 11pts
Baccanos [Me]: 9pts

Sunday, January 1, 2017

New Year's Games!

Whats the best way to celebrate? Some good food, drink, and friends of course- but what else? Games of course! Between New Years Eve and New Years Day I played Exploding Kittens, Joking Hazard, Through the Ages, Five Tribes, and Zombie State! An excellent array, with an excellent array of friends!

I hope to do much more in the year to come- specifically, my family is thinking about starting the 10 x 10 challenge. We'll see!

The Big Game of the weekend, Dad's Christmas Gift to himself. I ragged
on its length a bit, but was tentatively interested in seeing if it lived up to
its reputation.

A shot an hour and a half (or so) in from Dad's PoV. Moses leading his
nation to population explosions.

Dad's board by the end of the game. Some powerful stuff going on, especially
with the three wonders.

My board. I had difficulty with happiness and resource production, but
my Science was top notch. Library of Alexandria, Hammurabi, Leonardo
Da Vinci, and Sir Isaac Newton all helped with that. When I lost Newton to
an event, Churchill shored up my Democracy with some needed VPs.

Almost the final scoring. We forgot a few points tallied later- but it ended up with
me in a narrow first, with Dad three points behind. I... honestly have no idea what happened.
If we stopped in the second age (as we first planned) Yellow would have probably won
due to a massive boost from a Michelangelo/St. Peter's Basilica combo. All in all, lots
of fun.

We tried Five Tribes with the Thieves and Artisans expansions. We basically ignored
the Thieves, but Artisan's added some fun stuff. This was my pimp palace- with a host
of genies buffing palm trees, and a tent on the lawn. This one tile was 30ish points!
I managed to win this one as well, though I have no idea how. I usually really
suck at Five Tribes. It was another narrow one with some key assassinations
tipping the scales in my favor.

Some Jenga with friends- this is moments before the Tower came down.


Zombie State again! It made an impression. This time I took the reins of
South America.

Our Africa Coalition player had hot dice, succeeding every research roll
all game. She was close to getting the infrastructure to cure her whole
area!

However peaceful methods wouldn't carry the day this time either. The Asia
player (through luck and planning) managed to have the entirety of his zombie hordes
consolidated in Eastern Sibera. Nukes were called in...

...and all the zombies are reduced to ash- as well as the single brave population
'bait' die.

North America was utterly overrun.

My own lands at the end of the game. South America is decimated,
but our resource base is MOSTLY secure. Boliva was saved from
becoming food by the bombs dropping, but they were next.

  It was a great send off to a sometimes disappointing year, let's hope that 2017 is better in every way!