Thoughts on - Star Wars - The last Jedi (Spoilers)

Hi all,
          I have finally got around to seeing Star Wars Episode 8. The characters and acting - you do what you can with what you have been given, but no obvious flaws in the mix.

First off - The Imperial Dreadnaught, with all the conceptual artists Disney have up their collective sleeve, is a copy of the B2 Spirit the best design that they could come up with? Just lazy.

          Secondly, speaking of copies, the abandoned base, looked like another ringer for Hoth. I suppose there are a lot of icy bodies out there to play and/or get killed on. Why did they have that humongous door on the front that reached to the top of the cliff, it only needed to be a bit taller than the opening, then it could have been a lot thicker and therefore survive longer. A bad design.

           Thirdly - The pitiful ground defence force, more pod racing anyone? Disney rehashing old scenes yet again. A quote from one of the defenders - "They're picking us off one by one". You sound surprised by that, what would you be doing in their place. That's what you are trying to do to them, too.

           Fourthly - Over to our loveable Luke for a bit. For 30-some years, he has been sitting on a rock, picking his nose, skimming rocks into the sea, that sort of thing, while the Galaxy, in general, has been going to hell in a handbasket. OK, he failed with Kylo, (sob), but he could still have been out there doing some good. Think of all the lives he could have saved to swell the ranks of the resistance and given hope to others. Did he cut himself off from the force so he would not have to feel the shimmers in the force all night?

           Gripe number five, what was the point in destroying the Jedi Holy relics? Luke even lost his bottle doing that, Yoda had to show him how to do it properly. Now that they are destroyed, what are the caretakers going to do with themselves, now that their whole reason for existence has gone up in smoke and cinders? They might as well jump off the cliff like lemmings.

          Moan number six, I give you the Penguins. Ahhhhh.......What was the point of them, apart from you could have a laugh when Our Chewie barbecued one. He should have known better. He should be put on a charge at least. It brings a whole new meaning to "Friendly Fire".
          Why did the little guy not say, "Please do not eat me" before the dastardly deed was done?. The same goes for the Ice Foxes, Why did they run to the base and not just scatter, they were only there to show them the way out. "Oh no, We're trapped and doomed, but wait, let's follow sparkles for a laugh".

         Gossip corner number seven, had Jimmy Vee (who was inside R2) upset the writers? To say he had a bit part was an understatement, blink and you would have missed him. He was only in it to prod Luke's conscience, its a pity he was not in the X-wing when Luke came to the island and do it a long time ago. Why had Yoda not given him a serious talking to about his responsibilities earlier? Or grannie Leia for that matter, at least Rey gave him an ear bashing.

That mostly covers it. The Special effects are where the money went, not on advancing the storyline. Disney has ignored the legions of fans and pitched it at the wider audience out there. They have got to pull a mighty big rabbit out of the bag (Harvey sized rather than Bugs) to come up with a suitable ending with the minuscule amount of Rebel forces they have left, "To the Outer Rim we go looking for wannabe Jedi, or at least some help." (Guardians of the Galaxy perhaps, once they have helped out with the Avengers?).

Provisional titles for Episode 9 - "No Hope - No Glory?"
                                                      "To Jedi or not to Jedi?"
                                                      "One used Lightsabre, Going cheap."
                                                      " 'alllo Leia, gotta a new Padawan?"
                                                      "Oh no, not that again?"

Rating - 3 out of 10.

Ivor

Merry Christmas

Greetings one and all,
                                    A very merry and safe Christmas and New Year to you and yours. May the ruleset you need be printed soon (in 2018) and the figures extruded to match and may your dice never roll under the bookcase.

Regards,

Ivor

Screech to a halt

Hi all,
          You may have wondered what has been going on, or rather, NOT been going on since there has been a bit of a gap since I last posted on here. Well, I had a heart attack on the 15th October while walking to work, was whisked into the hospital and had to have a triple heart bypass on 31st October. Since then I have been on the road to recovery. As you can imagine, this has knocked me down a bit, but I am gradually regaining my strength.

It gets worse.

          At least I was until my leg got infected and I had to go back to the hospital for another week, to have the infected part carved out of my leg. I was finally discharged with a vacuum pump stuck on my leg, which would not charge up the next day. I went off to another hospital to get a fresh unit, that unit failed the same evening! I had to get a district nurse out to change the dressing, otherwise, it can be a breeding ground for germs within a few hours. I try to stay positive, but this is pushing it. At this rate, I am not going to see the latest Star Wars epic.

         Finally, I get a vac pack that works fine and my leg goes into regeneration mode, five weeks later, my wound has partially filled up with new skin and its time for my hand sized skin graft to be shaved off my thigh and slapped skillfully on to my lower leg, leaving a giant scab to form on the top part. The Vac pack was added for the final treatment.
          I did get to see the latest Star Wars film after one of my hospital visits, for my reaction to it, check out my later post.

         I am not sure when this site will get back to normal, as I have a lot of stuff to catch up with and organize things, but at least now you know what the hold up is.

I had planned to go to the West Midlands Alumwell Show, but the bad weather prevented me from doing so.

 I hope to return to the Battle Circle once fitness permits.

Regards all, happy gaming,

Ivor

WHF - The Journey Part Three

The Journey To Mordheim Part 3

House Rules

"Since I am playing this game solo, for randomness, attacks will be rolled on a d12, 1-8 will come from a designated spot, 9 – 12 will generate no attack. After each conflict point has passed. I will add +2 to the dice roll. Multiple attacks are possible."

Bows or other weapons were able to be captured in the last scrap, as there are no shops out here to trade with. These are not visible on the Dwarf figures.

Roll for Weather

6 = Fine and clear.

Dwarf Team 1

Leader Bronn (Bow, Hammer, Shield, Helmet, Dagger, Light Armour). Move 3. Xp 22.
Champion Eldrand (Banner- Mace, Bow, Helmet, Dagger, Light Armour). Move 3. Xp 9.
(Currently Out of Action – not shown with the party.)
Champion Yolm (D Axe, Bow, Shield, Helmet, Dagger, Light Armour). Move 3. Xp 9.
Thunderer Strom (Horn - Mace, Pistol, Helmet, Dagger, Light Armour). Move 3. Strength 4. Xp 2.
Beardling - Klacker, (D Axe, Bow Shield, Dagger). Move 3. Xp 1.
Beardling - Grinder, (D Axe, Bow Shield, Dagger). Move 3. Xp 1.
Beardling - Gormish, (D Axe, Shield, Dagger). Move 3. Xp 1.

28 GC and 3 Wyrdstones found and a Master Map of Mordheim.
Warband Rank = 80.
Warband Current Rank (due to Eldrand being out of action) = 60.

After an uneventful night's rest and breakfast, our warriors got used to the bows that they had confiscated from the Lizards yesterday by doing some target practice. Then they broke camp and proceeded along the track towards Mordheim.

The bridges across the river were rather fragile, so they crossed them one at a time. For this reason, they became separated slightly.

As he is about to go across the second bridge, Bronn noticed that some sort of ceremony is taking place on top of a nearby hill, in some standing stones. Figures are shuffling forward and swaying from side to side. He can heat vague chanting from time to time.

Conflict point No. 2

Conflict Roll = 8, an attack has been generated. The enemy is Pack 1 - Beastmen. They are coming from location 2 +2 = 4, the cave.

Scenario

Picked from the Empire in Flames expansion pack – Beastmen ambush.

Pack 1 – The Possessed

Rearing Pony, a human Magister Bowman (Bow Dagger). Move 4. Str 3. Xp 20.

Ork Demon, Possessed. Ugg 1. Move 5. Str 4. 2 Attacks. 2 wounds. Causes Fear. Xp 8.

Ork Demon, Possessed. Ugg.2 Move 5. Str 4. 2 Attacks. 2 wounds. Causes Fear. Xp 8.

Beast Henchmen, Curly. Move 4. Str 3. (Chopper x2 (Axes)). Xp 0.

Beast Henchmen, Ringo. Move 4. Str 3. (Sickle x2 (Dagger). Xp 0.

Beast Henchmen, Lingo. Move 4. Str 3. (Sickle x2 (Dagger). Xp 0.

Verminkin Henchmen, Slinky. Move 5. Str 3. (Sword, Dagger) x2. Xp 0.
Rank = 78.

Turn 1

From a cave entrance emerged beastly humans and other creatures of nightmare. Directing their efforts was a fierce human warrior, just clad in animal skin and armed with a short bow. (He moves 5”, the rest ran, but over rough terrain, moved 4”).

The monsters in the distance.

Yolm, was last in the party marching order today, and it was his job to check that nothing had been left behind at the campsite. After giving it one last look around, making sure that the fire was completely out, he was about to climb up the first bridge across the stream and join his companions. Just then, Rearing Pony clambered onto a nearby rock and took a shot at him.

Bronn had gotten slightly separated from the others when he went to check the next section of the path going up the hill.


 Rearing Pony rolls a 4 to hit on a d6, (modifiers -1 for moving first, -1 for long range), so it whizzes past Yolm's shoulder, while Slinky studies their opponents for weaknesses, Ugg and Lingo advance.

Meanwhile

Klacker was about to go across the second bridge, saw a movement in the distance out the corner of his eye, took a better look and bellows, “To Arms ! To Arms !”. The Dwarves scurry to defensible positions and await the attacking creatures. (Average move 1” or less). They return fire.

Strom sticks his horn's spike in the ground, readies his pistol, aims and fires at the hideous green creature approaching the party. His hand was shaking slightly and he missed (Skill of 3; a roll of 3, needed 4 to hit, a miss).

Strom expects to fight Curly, but Curly has his snout set on another target.

Lingo tries to sneak up on Bronn through the trees. (Difficult ground slows him up).

Meanwhile

Gromish moves in to aid Strom against Ugg 1. He takes a fear test (4) and passes.

Grinder cannot see anything approaching yet.

Turn 2

Rearing Horse chooses to stay still and cast a spell on one of his henchmen. The “Eye of God” spell, difficulty 7, (Rolled 1,2), the spell fails.

Gormmish can see the warrior Bowman, but sadly does not have a ranged weapon yet. He raises his axe into the ready position. Strom's view was blocked by cover.

Ugg 1 charges the nearest stunted creature on the rock. (Strom). Strom took a Fear test (11) and failed. He backed up a pace.

Curly runs up beside Ugg 1, wondering who to attack first. (No-one was in range of a charge).

Ugg 2 and Slinky rush past the slower Ringo in their quest for blood. Slinky dives into the undergrowth as soon as it can.

Which one will Curly choose to attack?

Klacker's viewpoint.

Klacker does not want to fire at the nearest green creature, in case he hits Strom, but he can see the second brown beast on the left as well. He fires an arrow at it and it (6) hits and (5) the arrow just gets stuck in the fur of the creature (Curly). (Note: Not sure why I did not class that as wounded unless I thought the fur might act as light armour.)

Slinky appears out of the undergrowth near the stream to advance on Grinder, Ringo advances on Yolm and Curly advances up the bridge towards the weak looking Klacker.

A slightly different view.

Yolm aims and fires over Ringo at the Bowman, (an easier target with no armour), but he misses the human.

Ugg 2 ignores the fighting above him, as he spies the leader of the group.Ugg 2 and Lingo advance on Bronn from two different angles. 

Yolm moves up the bridge and past Grinder to get cover from the Bowman and to shoot at Curly. Grinder and Klacker hold their positions but looked worried as foul creatures approached them.

Klacker fires at Curly and misses (2) and Yolm misses also (1).

Ugg 1 has the higher Initiative (4 v 2 and 2) and so goes first in the melee and attacks Strom twice (3,3) and misses both of them. Strom retaliates (1) weakly, but is still getting over the shock of the encounter. Gromish does a flank attack and hits Ugg 1 on the side (5), but fails to do any real damage (3).

Turn 3

Yolm hits Ringo (4), (parry attempted = 4 rolled, so did not parry with his Buckler) in the chest with his arrow and scores a critical wound (6). Critical roll (5) – Master strike, 2 wounds caused, now at zero wounds. Injury roll (5), so Ringo is now Out of action. Yolm gains 1 xp.

Ugg 1 has the higher Initiative (4 v 2 and 2) and so goes first in the melee and attacks (random -1-3 Gornish, 4-6 Strom, results = 4,6) Strom twice (3,3). First attack = (5) a hit, (1) no wound caused. Second attack = (6) A hit, (2) no wound caused.

Strom no longer fears the creature. He attacks (6) and hits, wounds (5) with his improvised mace. Ugg 1 is now at 1 wound.

Gormish attacks and (4) hits, but (2) fails to injure the ugly thing.

Slinky and Ringo move towards Yolm and Grinder.

Rearing Horse comes out of his mystical trance and he moves up the track behind the others towards the enemy. He shoots over the top of Ringo at Yolm (1) but misses and the arrow goes between Yolm and Grinder.

Meanwhile

Bronn fires an arrow at Ugg 2, as it works its way around the rock. (3) A hit, but a glancing blow (1).

Klacker fires at Curly and (5) hits, but (2) fails to hurt the creature.

Grinder misses Slinky (1).

Turn 4

Ugg 2 and Lingo charge at Bronn. (I could not get them to stay in base contact). Bronn takes a fear test (4) and passes.

Curly charges at Klacker.

Slinky charges at Grinder, swiftly climbing up the rock face with its claws.

Yolm turns to attack Slinky with Grinder.

Rearing Horse could not quite get a shot at Klacker, as Ugg 1 was in the way, so he shoots at Yolm (3) but misses and the arrow goes past Yolm and hits Grinder (2), bouncing off his armour.

Ugg 1 attacks (random choice 1-3 Gornish, 4-6 Strom, results =1,5) Strom once (6) a hit, (3) no wound caused.

Ugg 1's second attack is against Gornish = (6), A hit, (6) Critical hit. Critical roll=2 wounds. Gornish failed to parry with his shield (1). Injury rolls=3,6. Gornish is put Out of Action.

Ugg 1 gains 1 xp.

Ugg 2 attacks Bronn twice, first attack (5) a hit and (2) no wound. Second attack, (5) a hit, (5) wounded, but blocked by his armour (6-1=5).

Meanwhile

Strom no longer fears the creature in front of him. He attacks Ugg 1 (6) and hits, but fails to wound (3) with his improvised mace.

Lingo attacks Bronn, (6) and hits, but fails to wound (3).

Curly attacks Klacker.(4) and misses. Klacker (4) hits and (6) Critically Hits. Crit roll =5. Master strike, 2 wounds, now at zero. Injury Roll =3,3 +2=5 Out of Action.

Klacker gains 1 xp.

Slinky is down.

Yolm rushes to the aid of his leader. Grinder jumps down and advances towards Rearing Pony.

View from the left.

Meanwhile

Ugg 1 attacks the panting Strom once more (4) a hit, a (5) wound caused.(1). Armour Save =2. Fails to parry. Injury roll=6. Strom is Out of Action.

Ugg 1 gains 1 xp.

Turn 5

A rout test for Rearing Pony, since he is three men down. (7) he passes by one. He moves up 4 inches.

Yolm moves across the slippery rocks and down the bridge towards Strom and his foe. He takes a fear test (5) and passes.

Strom is down.

Lingo does not move.

Ugg 2 attacks Klacker (1) a hit and (2) no wound. Ugg 2's second attack is on Bronn, (6) a hit, (5) wounded, armour save (2) failed. Injury roll = 6, Out of Action.

Ugg 2 gains 1 xp.

Klacker attacks Ugg 2 with renewed anger after seeing Bronn go down, (6) a hit, (5) wounded, now zero wounds. Injury roll = 5, Out of Action.

Klacker gains 1 xp.

Lingo stands his ground, trying to look menacing. (It cannot attack because it is not in base contact with Klacker.)

Ugg 1 jumps off the rock to face Yolm. Grinder is charged by Rearing Pony.

Grinder moves slightly to the right and jumps off the rock and runs towards the bowman, yelling,”For Honour !”.

Rearing Pony shoots at Grinder, but misses as he is weaving about.

 Turn 6

A rout test for Yolm since he is three men down, including leader Bronn. (8) he passes by one.

I did a random roll to see if Rearing Pony should take another Rout test, not required, he is confident of winning this fight.

Rearing Pony charges Grinder, Ugg 1 charges Yolm and Lingo makes a charge at Klacker.

Rearing Pony attacks Grinder with his dagger (1) a miss.

Ugg 1 attacks Yolm twice. Its first attack is (3) a miss, second attack (4) a hit, (6) a wound. Armour save (6-1 strength=5) failed. Wounds now zero. Injury roll = 4 Stunned.

Lingo attacks Klacker (4), a hit, (2) no wound.

Grinder attacks Rearing Pony (4), a hit, (6) wounded. Critical hit roll=1. Knocked down.

Turn 7

I did a random roll to see if Ugg 1 and Klacker should take another Rout test, not required, they are still confident of winning this fight.

Recovery phase

Rearing Pony gets back up from the Knock down.

Yolm has gone from stunned to just knocked down.

 However, (due to a random roll), Lingo is not confident of winning or even surviving. He is going to try to escape now. Rolls on Leadership test (6), just passed. He seizes his moment as the others are catching their breath to make a break for it. He dashes under the trees and is gone.

Should Ugg 1 to attack Klacker or Yolm ? Random roll - Ugg 1 charges Klacker.

Ugg 1 attacks Yolm twice. First attack (4) a hit, (5) wounds. Yolm failed to parry with his axe (4). Injury roll – 6 Out of Action.

Rearing Pony attacks Grinder with his dagger (2) a miss.

Grinder attacks Rearing Pony (4), a hit, (4) wounded. Injury roll=3. Stunned.

Yolm is Out of Action, Rearing Pony is Stunned.

Turn 8

Ugg 1was no longer under the Leadership influence of Rearing Pony and failed the Rout test. The game is now over, the Beastmen loose.

Aftermath

Bronn, Klacker and Gormish make a full recovery.

Strom has multiple wounds (21, 2 rolls), 62 = Hardened to Fear, 42 = Made a full recovery.

They found 2 Wyrdstone on the body of Ugg 2, awarded 10 GC and found 18 GC on the body of Curly.

Everybody gets 1 xp, Bronn +1 xp, Yolm +2 xp Klacker +3 xp.

For outstanding bravery, Klacker gets a field commission from Beardling to Warrior.

Rearing Pony +1 xp.

Ugg 1 +3 xp, Level up - Skill web of steel (Melee +1 Crit hit tables).

Lingo +1 xp.

Slinky +1 xp.

Found 3 Wyrdstone. 1 GC in a crack in a rock.

Look out for "WHF - Arrival In Mordheim - Part 1".

Please click the +1 button if you like it.

Ivor Cogdell

Thoughts On - Star Trek Discovery (Spoilers alert) Part 1

Hi all,
           My first reaction to watching the Pilot episodes - "You've got to be kidding me"! The episode length was too short. The show credits were rubbish. The bridge design bore no relation to any "canon" starship that had gone before. The female lead character has a male name, why? She is a human version of a Vulcan, illogical to even try? Brought up by Sarek, rubbish. They complete a mind-meld over Interstellar distances - more rubbish.

There was a very poor plotline. The length of the actual episodes is pathetic. The first thing you see them do is to bend, if not break, the "Prime Directive". The Klingons looked nothing like I expected, that is in the little time when you could actually see them, the sets were too dark. The Klingonese language sounded like they were eating a mop head. After all of the above, this is not the starship or characters that we will see in the rest of the shows, apart from two, I think. Deep sigh of relief.

I'm glad I was watching at a pal's house and had not bought that rubbish.

Must do much better.

Rating  - 3 out of 10.

I am going to cheer myself up by watching Star Trek: Horizon, a fan film.

Additional: Since this initial posting went out, I have been catching up on what some of the other reviews have been saying, not to mention the convoluted history of the show in regard to the CBS and Paramount buyout and copyrights.

What it boils down to is that they had to make it look different from the original "Prime" universe, which was a shock, but why not say so and be honest and upfront about it all. That still does not excuse the awful script decisions though. No doubt there will be more for me to find out.

I have seen talk of a different ST series being prepared if this series bombs. 13 episodes to go, or rather 13 tiny episodes "to boldly go......"

What did you think of it?

I have heard from one source that part three is better, so fingers crossed again.

"Give me your thoughts...." to quote a phrase.

Ivor Cogdell

P.S. 20 April 2019 -I have now bought series 1 of Discovery, look forward to a review soon.

RPG_Chronicles Part 0

Hi all,
           I have just provisionally joined a weekly Role Playing Game / Wargame club in my local area called The Circle Battle Group. Yo gang.

 On my first week, on my table, they were running a Sword and Sorcery GURPS RPG in 15mm, other tables were doing war games.
          Currently, we are using D20 Modern rules for our RPG.  I went for a tech type, for a change. I will be doing write-ups of some of our adventures so you can join in the fun. Currently, I am doing the Department 7 Adventure first, getting it roughly typed up, taking it to the members about what I missed, then doing corrections and inserts, finally posting it on here.  Since I am the new kid on the block, I'm not sure how regular the episodes will be though, probably three weeks to a month for each adventure. I will just go with the flow.

             The only snag is that it actually takes longer to type up and expand the story than it did to actually play it in the first place, also I am an evening short each week to do stuff, so I will cherry-pick the stories that I put on here. There will be photos to go along with it, but don't expect very exotic scenery, more like just diagrams with figures. I am giving priority to my homegrown blog stuff, so once I have finished what I am doing, I will slot some of this in.

If you are in the Erdington / Stocklands Green area of Birmingham, the UK on a Wednesday evening come along and see us at the Highcroft Community Center.

http://highcroftcommunitycentre.co.uk

Not sure if the website is current, apologies.

485 Slade Road,
Stocklands Green,
Birmingham
B23 7JG

0121 - 382 5101

There are food vendors in the area. We usually eat before a game.

Ivor Cogdell

Postscript: At one point, due to unforeseen circumstances, I thought I was going to have to postpone my joining the club for the present then attend in the future. Then that fell through and I managed to go for another week to finish off a game. It is now full steam ahead again.

A little treat

Hi all,
          I have just been on the http://www.wargamevault.com/ website and just treated myself to the Adventures in the Lost Lands from Two Hour Wargames. Their partner store, Rebel Minis, are doing it for £7.99. There is an expansion pack on offer, Motor City in the Lost Lands. They do a very nice range of 15 mm Neanderthal minis for them too, located on their Pulp page, Rebel Minis / Pulp. I have just added 6 Dinos to my menagerie, they are only slightly bigger than the correct scale, but they can be juveniles or adults, depending on how they fit the rest of the herd.

           I also got the intro pack to "Gentlemen prefer Zombies", a Victorian-era zombie hunt. I will see how it stacks up against the Mordheim rules, all good stuff for the future. But I will need some Victorian figures for that to go ahead. It's time to search the net again.

           I have downloaded some Mordheim, Battlefleet Gothic, Age of Sigmar, Frostgrave Ghost Archipelago and some Star Wars - Legion video battle reports (one from Gen Con - Hi to everybody who visited the Con) to watch on my phone while on the move. Just viewed it, nice and simple mechanics, depends if you like your games crunchy or not.
                  I bought a few superhero baddies at my local RPG / Wargame hangout, not sure what I will fit them in yet though.
            Speaking of videos, I want to give a quick shout out to Guerrilla Miniature Games, for their Throwback Thursdays Battle Report videos. They are always great quality. Any recommendations of battle reports you might have for me, please leave in the comments section below.

           For the present, it is the Xmas move around, so busy, busy, busy at work. I am currently just finishing off a painting session ( a sunset over a lake on a 16 x 20-inch canvas) plus playing and writing part three of my Dwarf journey towards Mordheim. The question is, will they actually get there, or will their bones bleach in the wilderness?

           As you may have realised, my brave travellers have come across some more nasty critters, who are intent on doing them harm or even worse. The final tussle has now taken place, I am just left with the task of slotting in the pictures. Which I have now done. Yaay, the end, I thought. But alas no, it was not to be just yet, my font sizes seemed to have got completely screwed up, going extra small and needed some tweaking before they were presentable, so I have given the computer a good telling off and got the code to behave itself.
            I have posted it with the corrected text now, so you can enjoy another skirmish, dwarf style.

Ivor Cogdell