Well then we are into yet another new year and it’s that time of year when we all get carried away and come up with lots of resolutions to do wondrous things. Now I don’t know about you but I do this every year and it lasts for a for a little while and then things go back to normal, so I’m going to try and do things a bit differently this year. I’m not going to set any grand goals for this year but I am going to try and break everything I do down into little chunks and to make sure I keep things varied so I don’t get bogged down with a single type of project. One of the things I’ve always done has been to keep a note book where I can jot down different project ideas, many of which never see the light of day. Anyway for the new year I’ve got myself a new book and I’ve already started to jot down a few ideas and I’ve done myself a little mojo sketch.
On the gaming front I’ve started the year at a gallop that I don’t think will continue but it’s still a good start. Tuesday night saw me round at Al’s for game night and I was introduced to a new way to play X-Wing. Pete, Al and Corry had already had a few games of what they referred to as X-Wing Wacky Racers. The idea is that you use a normal size board and lay out a number of asteroids that form a race course. You all start on one side of the table and have to race around the asteroid course so that you do a complete circuit of the board and the escape off the board at a designated point to win the race. All other X-Wing rules apply so you have to decide if you want to go fast to try and get ahead of everyone and win by getting off the board first or go slow and win by shoot everyone else. The other limitations are that you can only use a small base model and that you are limited to spending a maximum of twenty five points. Other than that it’s up to you how you approach it.
Not really knowing what I was doing I decided to go with a B-Wing, because I think they look cool, a Pete recommended taking a Blue Squadron with an upgrade that allowed me to take an action before moving. The thinking behind this was that a lot of move on the B-Wing cause stress so I could Focus before making the move. Pete took a Tie Interceptor and Al took some type of prototype Tie Advanced thing but I’ve no idea what Corry used, other than the fact it was tank.
We managed to get two games in with me applying my tactical genius to win the first one. Well maybe not tactical genius and more the fact that because I didn’t know what I was doing I simply ended up at the back shooting people. To the point that I was so far behind everyone else by the time Pete had wiped out the others the course meant he had to fly right in front of me and shot him out of the sky. Winning simply because I was the last ship standing. Al won the second game by actually making it all the way round the course and off the table. My beginners look again left me floundering at the back whilst everyone else raced off but I was never more than an annoyance. Although it was fun watching the others trying to anticipate what daft move I would make whilst at the same time having to worry about each other. As a way to start the New Year I really enjoyed it and it was nice twist on what is already a fantastic game.
Not content to settle for one night of gaming this week a few of us also got together on Friday night for the start of a D&D adventure. I would also like to point out that up until this point I had been a D&D virgin, I’ve played a few other systems such as Rune Quest, Shadow Run and Dark Heresy but never D&D. So I guess it’s never too late to start something new. In the other games I’ve played I always find that picking your character is the hardest part, a bit like picking a colour scheme for a new hobby project. With this is mind I wanted to go for something that had nothing in common with any other character I have played and decided to for a Halfling Monk called Peregrin Oakbottom. I’d spent a few days fleshing out his background so that when it came time to actually build him I would have something to steer me.
Because it was a late finish I haven’t had the time to do a full write up but I think that might not be a bad idea. What I will say is that we all got our characters finished and that we all survived our first day of encounters. I had some worries about how a halfling monk would stand up to an adventure but he’s done ok for his first day. Showed a Dragon Born how to handle the bad guys. I’ll do a more detailed write up at a later date but I would like to say a big thank you to everyone else for making it such a fun night, especially Anna for all the effort she put into DM’ing the game. One thing I’ve done with other role playing games is written a story of the adventure as seen through my characters experiences so once we get a little further into the adventure, and assuming I survive I may start up a separate set of story posts. But lets see how things go.
First up on the hobby front for 2018 is something I actually finished off last year and is Kyle the Red and White. As I talked about last week I’m not a hundred present happy with this but it has got me back into painting and I do think I’ve done a decent job of it. The other thing it’s done has got me thinking about getting in some games with the new rules, now that Al has picked them up. The idea being that I can get a feel for it before I decide if I’m going to take any models with me to Adepticon to try and get some pickup games.
With Kyle out of the way I took a bit of time clean up my desk. Something of a New Year new start type of thing and because whenever I’ve been building things my desk ends up covered in bits. But when I’m painting I really like a nice clean desk. So with my nice clean desk it was time to start the year with some new projects to reinvigorate myself. I had two Scale 75 minis I had picked up before Christmas and decided I was going to start off the year by painting them up, as opposed to going out and buying something new.
The models in question are the White Butcher and Thenidiel, Autum Leaf both of which are 35mm models. I think at the back of mine I was thinking that they may fit into a Frost Grave crew but the main reason for picking them was simply because they are really nice models. A really nice touch with both of these is that the card you see in the blister pack showing the model in all its painted glory also shows the back of the model, in all its painted glory when you flit it round. I know it’s only a little thing but when your mojo is low and you looking for any help you can get to get back into painting having both images as guides was really helpful. This coupled with listening to Oath Bring on Audible has meant that I’ve got quite a bit done this week.
That brings this first Waffle of 2018 to a close and having set the bar so high in week one I think it will be downhill for the rest of the year. Or maybe not. I don’t think every week will be packed as this but with me having a lot less work travel to do this year there should be more time to get some gaming in. Couple that with a different look at how to add some fun twists to existing games and I can see this continuing. I’d also like to get in a few test games for things I’m planning to take to Adepticon jus to try and get my hand in again. I hope you all have a good week and with a fair wind I’ll catch you all again next week.
