Microblogette - Updated

 "Happy New Year everyone",

                   A quick update on my upcoming Frostgrave battle report. I have relocated my gaming photos on my backup hard drive. I swopped them onto my main drive last weekend-ish, so I can lay my hands on them easily.  I have found a new virtual friend in the hobby, "Hi John N" and other friends have been in touch. A big wave to the Battle Circle wargaming group in Birmingham and players and DM's everywhere.

                  I was chatting to John about assorted games and war hammer came up, as it often does. There have been a few versions of 40K figures. I have some "Rogue Trooper" units and a few of the version 9 magazine figures, plague bearers etc. I prefer the early version Space Marine with the clean lines. Is version 9 your favourite sculpt or do you prefer earlier versions ? 

Update 1 - I have found my warriors stats, you can find them in my next post - Frostgrave Warriors.

Update 2 -  I have posted my Frostgrave Battle Report Number 1 to the net.

Update 3 - I have just found all of the script for it and will edit them into the Battle report over the next few days. Currently it is in two parts (partly edited), but there will be three eventually.

Stay warm and safe folks,

Ivor Cogdell

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Thoughts On - Dr. Who

 Hi Everybody,

                      For the first time in my tv viewing history (I'm 63), an episode of Dr. Who came on  Tv and I could not be bothered to watch it, or to be more accurate, I could not bear to watch it.(About 5 Nov 2021). Jodie is doing her thing, and the result is only partially her fault,(Writers and directors, I am looking at you too.) The rest of the cast I have no problem with and happily cheer them on. After following with growing gloom, the last but one series I could not watch as they mangled the once beloved travels of the Timelords.  I will put my hand up and admit, in this respect, I am old fashioned when it comes to Galifreyans. My favourite Doc was Jon Pertwee, closely followed by Tom Baker.

                     That was how matters stood for a couple of weeks, until, by chance, I saw the Dr. Who trailer with the "Angels" in it. I must admit, it did catch my interest. I thought, I will see what they are getting up to. On checking the listings, I noticed there was a few of the earlier episodes I had missed. I thought, in for a penny, in for a pound. I watched those first and was pleasantly surprised. Jodie was, well, Jodie, but by now I was used to her. To be fair, she seemed to be finding her feet and be more relaxed in the role. (Spoiler) The Master was back, making mischief once more. (Bonus). The storylines have thrown the spotlight on green issues. (Absolutely fantastic writers, gold star, well done, thought provoking. We have been warned. If you can't trust a Timelord to tell it like it is, Who will you trust???).

                I have not delved into the "Angels" plot yet, but that should be rectified soon. I once more look forward to finding out about the other baddies the writers have in store for us, too. For the moment, I give them the benefit of the doubt. Time will tell if my faith in them was misplaced or not.

               A question or two for you to ponder as you drop off to sleep tonight....

Did the Master really take on and beat Gallifrey on his own, as he claimed or is he just taking the credit for it, which is what I suspect?. Did he have a hand in it at all or did he have an ally, another rogue agent perhaps that has kept to the darker corners of the universe out of the Doctor's way and playing the Master for the "Fall Guy"? 

When is good old Captain Jack going to put in another appearance ? Will he and Jodie become a love item ? Will we hear wedding bells anytime soon ? Will Jodie jilt him at the altar because she accidentally regenerates with excitement and turns back into a chap? (Hint to the writers - possibly into an Aussie? "G'Day to cobbers everywhere and everywhen.").

Do you think I am overreacting? Have you already turned off, like one of my friends ? Please leave a comment for or against "Time Ladies". Debate is good for our brains, so they say.

Stay warm and safe all,

Ivor Cogdell

P.S. Ginormous sigh of relief, the latest incarnation of The Doc has been announced, its a bloke. I dont know anything about him, but I wish him well in the role. Just for the record, I do wish Jodie well in her next role, too. 

Thoughts On - The Third Edition of 5 Parsecs from Home Pt1 - Updated 28 Dec 2021.

 Hi Everybody,

                     Here I am again with another large gap between episodes. My gaming has lapsed for a while, for assorted reason, mainly job searching and getting fitter, not fantastically so, but I am walking better than I was. I have been watching youtube vlogs on the topic of roleplaying games and following the volcanoes in Iceland (eruption finished, but maybe a new surge or Lava flow underground), La Palma (Just finished) and Mt. Etna (Smoking).

                       I have an old wargame episode still in the works. The pictures are on and I am editing in the text now. I am about to shoot another quick battle using "Rally round the King" fantasy rules by Two Hour Wargames or possibly Warhammer fantasy battles (Similar to Mordheim). Its the first time that I have actually used it in anger, so I am not sure how much detail to include with it so that it does not get bogged down explaining the rules. My terrain and figures are on the table as I type. I am hoping for a weekend shoot, after I fix my flat tyre on my bike. 

                      As you can see from the title, Ivan Sorensen has combined with Modipus to put out a hardback annual book of the Third Edition rules of Five Parsecs from home. I have not checked out the price. It has been available for a few months now, but I have only just become aware of it. There are reviews and playtests on youtube that you can watch to see if it is your sort of bash about.

There is at least one expansion pack available, as of the 3rd December 2021.

Five-Parsecs-From-Home--Expansion-1--Trailblazers-Toolkit

Have you played this latest version ? What are your thoughts ? 

                    I have the second edition of Five Parsecs, as you may know. So, that would my next sci-fi go to when I have got some more models and terrain painted. Not sure what timeline that will be though, being honest. I hope you enjoyed my last WH 40K outing.

                     That's about it for today. Stay safe. Fingers crossed that COP 26 is a success, otherwise, you can start dusting off those post-Apocalypse rules to get some early life change tips.......Greta T could have a point, "We want less words and more action, people. When the government starts offering free swimming lesions, BEWARE".

Regards all, 

Ivor Cogdell

Birmingham UK

UPDATE - 22.12.2021 .Five Parsecs From Home - Marked Copies

If you're looking for a bargain on Five Parsecs From Home, the hit RPG-lite solo adventure wargame by Ivan Sorensen then we've added some marked copies to both stores. The cover has a few slight marks to the laminate that you can only see under the light but it's perfectly useable and it's 20% off as a result. You can get it here in the US or here in the UK

Planetary Data 1 - System 623, Lighthouse - Hougemont

 

Planetary Data 1

System 623, Lighthouse - Hougemont

Planet	Moon	Axis	Atmos	Grav	In Orbit	Port	Beacon	Notes
Eltran		05	NIL	0.32				Uninhabited
Otran		17	NIL	0.42				Uninhabited
Hugemont		30	Variable weather	0.98		Rostof Mine  1 + 2	451,461	Dust Storms Mercenary Activity
Hugemont		30	Variable weather	0.98		Capital - Plients	450	Dust Storms
Hugemont			OK	100	Wheel 1		454
Hugemont			OK	100	Shack 1 (Habitat)		448	1 Emergency Lock
Hugemont			OK	100	Wheel 2 (Partial)		458	3 Emergency Locks
Hugemont	1-Toros	10	OK	0.50		Dryden Base	456
Asteroid	235	75	NIL	0.04		Petrov Base	459
Asteroid	7762	18	NIL	0.08		Janis Base	460
Comet	469512	75	NIL	0.002		Globule Mine	483
Comet	482383	72	NIL	0.0015		Canary Mine	457
Ritran		45	NIL	1.84				Uninhabited
Vetran		21	NIL	2.16				Uninhabited

This will be expanded according to the travels of the Magic Carpet.
(All planetary data generated by (C) Nordic Weasel Games supplement Every Star an opportunity) and embellished by myself.

(C) Ivor Cogdell.

Thoughts On - 5 Parsecs From Home - Second Edition - Updated.

 Hi all,

             Its been a while since I did anything with my 5 Parsecs unit, mainly to do with the lack of scenery than anything else I have got some in the works, but they need assembly. I knew that Ivan had brought a second edition out, but I had not had chance to flick through it until recently. He had given it a complete overhaul, with colour headers for the different sections and tables. The tables have been given values that change the gameplay more than it did before, which is good. The enemies have bee increased to give the storyline more flavour.

           I have also obtained the Every Star an opportunity, Salvage Crew and Planetary generation supplements, which can be used with the second edition. I notice that there is at least one alien race that is new on the scene since I was on his website last, along with the K'Erin. Ivan has started a paetreon group which grants members supplements on a regular basis. 

            He has also got a low fantasy setting -5 Miles from the Borderlands which has assorted supplements, plus a new medaeval skirmish game too.

Regards all,

Ivor Cogdell

P.S. There is now a third edition out. Check for later posts.

Eyes On - Iceland's Volcanoes

 Hi all,

           This is slightly different than my usual post, in that it is not a review or comment, just something that had caught my imagination. The subject is the volcano that had been erupting for 64 days on Iceland, near the fishing harbour hamlet of Grindavic. 

There has been an eruption on the Congo too. Sadly, 14 people have passed away, I'm afraid.

Mount Nyiragongo: DR Congo residents flee as volcano erupts

BBC Report - 23rd May 2021.

I'm glad to say that the Iceland volcano is much tamer than Mount Nyiragongo, although it has been rather frisky at times.

I have done some watercolour sketches of it in action, I hope you like them.

(The sketch of Volcano Cone no.1 was shown in my earlier post  "Thoughts On - Ups and Downs" - 11th May 2021).

Volcano Cone 02 - (C) Ivor Cogdell  7 May 2021.  Index Number 0633.

Volcano Cone 03 - (C) Ivor Cogdell  7 May 2021.  Index Number 0634.

Iceland Volcano From Nearby Hill Top - (C) Ivor Cogdell  9 May 2021. A4 size.  Index Number 0639.

There are live links to the action and the quiet phases, newly posted is a drone video looking down into the crater itself and the hole the lava spurts out of,  Youtube 23rd May 2021. I did not get the link correct, unfortunately.

The lava has diverted past one of the walls put up and is now flowing down into a new valley closer to the sea. The sea road has telecom stuff that connects communities together and they do not want it destroyed.

Updated 1st November 2021 - The volcanic eruption lasted for 183 days. It did not reach the sea, unlike the latest eruption in La Palma. I have not done any artwork of the La Palma volcano yet.

Update 3rd December 2021 - The La Palma eruption is continuing, this is day 73, two streams of lava have reached the sea and are in the process of creating more land, in the process destroying lives and property.

Regards all,

Ivor Cogdell

P.S. for more information and views of the eruptions, check out Youtube, including drone flyovers.

Thoughts On - Intergalactic - Updated

 Hey all,

            I have watched the first couple of episodes of SKY's new Sci-Fi show, Intergalactic. (No, this is not the TV sequel to the film Interstellar.) I'm not sure if it has gotten up to speed yet. The plot is a bit weak, the lead is a female cop, who is the only one who can pilot the prison transport, after a break out, who are trying to get to Arcadia (Paradise planet / heart of the rebellion etc. fill in the blanks of the dialog as you please.

          The first episode graphics were good, as you would expect from a pilot, to grab the audience's attention, the second was in the usual "Dr. Who" quarry setting they dig out for backward planets. Spaceship design - fair, a habitat ring above an engine module and cockpit. The acting is not fantastic yet, but I hope it will improve as it goes along. I presume this is their first gig, as it were. I can live with it for now.

       The early promotional hype was put out there as bait, this did have me wondering if it could stand on its own two feet. So far, this show has been better than nothing, but don't hold your breath for it being another series like Firefly, I don't think this is it. I could be pleasantly surprised, though.

Next episode - Steal from a fuel depot. Good luck all.... A bit more action in this one, but not enough to change my rating mark. There is 8 episodes in the series. I'm not sure yet about a season 2. There seems to be an underplot developing of the cops not being all that good and that they could be doing something naughty in the side. Warning, warning - plot twist, plot twist.

Next episode - The Mad Scientists Lab, as you do.

Updated 1 Nov 2021 - The season came to a close with myself still watching, so it did have some appeal to it, I'm not sure quite what though. The young and inexperienced actors did give it a sort of rough around the edges quality.

Rating 6 / 10.

Regards all,

Ivor Cogdell