Monday, 3 April 2023

5P - Thoughts On - The Third Edition of 5 Parsecs from Home Pt2, plus Mindjammer

 Hi Everybody,

                       The first article on this subject was typed in December 2021, a while back now. The reason for revisiting the topic is that I have finally bought a copy of the third edition in hardback from my local gaming store, Weyland's Forge. Here is their  Facebook Page, in Birmingham UK. As a bonus, I found some mercenary and Goblin figures. They have loads of books and board games to choose from. Brushes and paints for models too.

                     You can find a breakdown of the book https://hws3.wordpress.com/2022/11/22/review-five-parsecs-from-home-3rd-edition/  on Andy Slack's gaming blog. I have only had one read through so far, so I am not sure of what they have left out of the early versions of Five Parsecs. I have the "Salvage Jobs" expansion, plus "Another Star" world creation kit and the Play Aids 0.12, but I have not checked to see if they are compatible with Edition 3. It may be possible that "Starport Scum" has been added to it in some form or another.

 I have joined the "Five Parsecs Fans" Facebook page. I do not know if there is a conversion sheet for the different versions. There was a small part from converting two to three in the book. There are now two expansion packs on the Modiphious Entertainment webpage. I will add a link later. 

The next day - I was looking for the link when I stumbled across the mini review of the old Mindjammer RPG. It looks interesting, so I am going to take a quick look on Youtube and see what some of the gang on there make of it. There may even be actual play sessions, if I'm lucky. I did find a couple of reviews and an actual play to have a look at.

 LATER - After watching the first episode. -  The setting looks interesting, but the game uses FATE rules, which I am not overly keen on. I did find some info on drivethroughrpg to dig into.

I have some bits of Warhammer scenery to glue and paint to add to my terrain scatter.


Regards all,


Ivor Cogdell

Monday, 13 February 2023

Thoughts on - Alien RPG pt 4 (No spoilers) - Updated 18.0.2023.

 Hi Everyone,

                 It was another mad one on Friday night. We had dissension in the ranks, not a good thing. Items of a dangerous nature were stolen (not by us, this time). A suspicious explosion happened in the Chemistry Lab, thanks to one of our group's actions (See below). The ammo supply has also gone up in smoke, not of our doing.

 Aliens have reached our area and have started to munch on colonists. We seized control from the authorities, declared martial law (One of our team is a Colonial Marine) and decided to put the base under lockdown and evacuated one section, for "safety reasons". The base is split into habitat units with the ground and first floors, connected by walkways, plus utility sections, a vehicle bay and a landing pad.

We managed to corner and squish one alien, but people still seem to go missing despite our best efforts, so there is at least another one out there. Our synth, "Eva 6" has been taking rather a battering, needing repairs to assorted components.  (Naughty GM dice). Our contraband that we obtained last week went bad and is now useless to us. (You try to make a buck and the universe stomps on you). 

The base communications are ok (so far), we have alerted our company back home to our plight, so help is on the way, but they will take a distressingly long while to get here. Our Meds are running short, as you may expect. What will happen next?

I will have to leave you wondering about the details at that point. Richard, our GM is recording everything, but I am not sure if he will ever get around to editing it and posting it on the net. He does have a full-time job and a missus to keep sweet. Hi Kitty. She has been playing a starring role as Edan, the pyromaniac 10-year-old.

I can tell you that we have progressed to other locations, where we are trying to keep the populations from taking a nose dive, due to the actions of various forces at work, we have not always been successful, and casualties have sadly occurred. There is always something to plan and look forward to in the following session. We have not gotten near to using the expansion box sets yet. VTT compatible.

As you can tell, we are loving this game to bits. Go on, buy it, your GM will thank you for it, and they will have so much mayhem to create they will be jumping up and down with glee. It's true to the original setting. You will not be disappointed. Nightmares are optional. Have you started a game yet?

Regards,

Ivor Cogdell

For more information go to https://www.alien-rpg.com

Alien RPG (C) by Free League Games




Tuesday, 7 February 2023

Thoughts on - Shows 2

 Hi Everyone,

                          I had hoped to go to the Penkridge Wargame Tabletop Bring and Buy on January 15, but the public travel situation was too iffy, as the rail strike had disrupted the area, so the busses would have been a nightmare too. Sadly, my local Wargaming show, Alumwell 2023 in Wolverhampton, looks like it is not happening, so I hope Barrage at Stafford is on. I may consider Salute, in London, if it is easy enough for me to get there and at a reasonable cost. That is one that I have not done before.

    

Regards all,

Ivor Cogdell


Update 15 Sept 2023 - See the "Thoughts on - Wargamers Show - 1 October 2023."




Thoughts on - Alien RPG pt 3 (Slight Spoiler)

 Hi Everybody,

                      Just a quick update. We survived our first adventure and made it to a space station above a colony. After minor mishaps, we have transferred to the colony and did a job for the administrator, checking on "information received". We had NPC character fatalities along the way. Once at the designated location, we discovered the item and also hid some "contraband" for later collection. We returned to base with the requested item, only to discover another problem.....

                     There seems to be competing companies for assorted resources, which adds to the overall situation and its complications. The richness of the characters are enhanced and the plot can be expanded.

I hope this whets your appetite to try the game for yourself.

Regards,


Ivor Cogdell

For more information go to https://www.alien-rpg.com

Alien RPG (C) by Free League Games


Wednesday, 18 January 2023

Red Alert Board 2 - January - December 2023 Updated

  Hi Everybody,

                     This is the second of my Red Alert Board Posts, the first was for 2022. Depending on the number of items and the news topics I hear about will dictate how often it gets updated. I will do backdated posts too if I hear relevant information on stories I have already covered.

4 January - California flooding180,000 homes and businesses have been affected.

                - Bosnia. No snow at all on the ski resort due to the warm December. Europe experienced the warmest January ever - 10 'C.

6 January - The Great Bustard is being reintroduced into Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire, UK. Russian eggs were brought here and a breeding colony has been introduced.

                - There are calls to add nature information onto company accounts so that a record can be kept of the impact they have on wildlife.

10 January - Southern California is expecting more flooding and landslides after another 9 hours of rain fell on already saturated ground. 19 people have died.

13 January - 2022 is tied for the fifth warmest year on record. Source - NASA.

https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/150828/2022-tied-for-fifth-warmest-year-on-record

14 January - Protesters, including Greta Thurnberg, were detained when they protested against the expansion of a German coal mine which would destroy a village. ,https://www.theguardian.com/global/video/2023/jan/14/germany-is-embarrassing-itself-greta-thunberg-joins-climate-protesters-at-lutzerath-video 

 https://www.voanews.com/a/german-police-remove-climate-protesters-from-abandoned-village-/6915942.html

I'm sure both the protesters and the police wish they were doing something more productive, but that's what you get when governments do not see the big picture, and just make knee-jerk reactions.

16 January - 3 metres of snow fell across the States following weeks of rain and flooding.

                    - UK Electric Car battery manufacturer start-up company British Volt goes into administration, laying off most of its workforce. Some are saying a lack of assistance from the UK Government has not helped the situation. They were due to pump £30 GBP into the company.

21 January - Four red squirrels being reintroduced into a forest in northern Ireland, with more to follow in England.

27 January - Flooding in Auckland NZ. Three feet of water in some places. Three people died.

1 February -  Chilbolton, UK, - Thanks to a 7336 petition, Southern Water has stopped pumping waste water into the river Trent. Pipes have been dug up preventing discharges.

3rd - 4th February - Over 200 wildfires were raging in Chile. 23 dead, and over 1,000 injuries were reported.

                - New Hampshire, USA, new record low wind chill temperature, would have felt like -108'F.

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/02/04/weather/winter-storm-northeast-new-england-saturday/index.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/04/nyregion/mount-washington-cold-new-hampshire.html

6th February - Cornish Lithium have a start-up company that aims to be able to extract Lithium from underground aquifers. It filters it out of the water, which is then treated at a waste company.

https://cornishlithium.com/  for the latest information.

10th February - Islands of Abandonment by Cal Flynn - Life in the post-human landscape. How nature reclaims old areas and buildings.

https://buuks.co.uk/shop/islands-of-abandonment-423698p.html?gmsp=1&campaign=UK&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIkbuwwdqS_QIV9pBoCR14dw5-EAQYASABEgKU6PD_BwE

20 February - San Paulo, Brazil - Landslides and flooding after record rainfall. 40 are dead.

An alligator was captured in Brooklyn Lake.

Korok, Afghanistan - Rains cause landslides which kill 13 people.

Chilie - Over a million hectares of trees were destroyed in fires which are still raging.

New Zealand - Cyclone Gabrielle is causing havoc, 11 are dead. Flooding has caused 4,500 out-of-contact. Looters are taking generators.

22 February - Belize has found a new way of making charcoal, This will stop deforestation there. (I did not see the full article.)

23 February - There are low river levels in Europe already. It is similar to summer. Venice canals have run dry. The Swiss Alps need 56 days of rain to resupply the rivers. Source - METRO.

27 February - Winter storms batter the USA. California has been hit for the first time in 30 years. A similar situation is happening in the Balkans. Canada is having the third warmest winter ever. The World's largest skating rink will not open due to safety concerns over thin ice. The Canal Rideau will not be able to support the machinery and people that normally flock to the event. - Source EURONEWS. 

Africa's Pangolin is under threat from animal poaching, which is on the increase, there are also problems with habitat loss. - Source EURONEWS. 

3 March - Argentina - Fires cause blackouts across the country.

Andalucia - Wind turbines are being turned off when migratory birds are passing over to Africa, then turned on again. This has a negligible effect on the overall power supply. It takes one minute to turn them off.  - Source BBC RADIO 4.

4 March - The Ocean Protection Treaty has finally been ratified. It protects 30% of the world's oceans.

9 - 11 March - Mozambique is hit with a return of the tropical storm for the second time. Mud huts have been washed away by flooding and landslides. Water sources have been contaminated.  

24 March - A tornado in the USA killed 30 people in Mississippi and Alabama. It was a supercell, travelling at 100 km per hour. It covered a 100-mile-long stretch of devastation. - Source BBC News.

31 March - Another tornado hit Little Rock, Arkansas.

Oil production is being cut by 1 million barrels to raise prices for OPEC. Further cuts are expected.

12 March - Climate gasses have been reduced by about 5% as more UK energy is produced by renewable sources. - Source BBC.

14 April - Germany shuts down its last three nuclear power plants. France still has 6 active plants running.

17 April - The first partial flight of Starship 1. I was not aware of the fuel composition and the soot components that it would be spreading into the upper atmosphere, damaging the ozone layer. What with the satellite constellation problem, we seem to be getting unwanted consequences from these projects. 

22 April - President Obama announces new emission capture laws. Source BBC.

25 April - Spain is 15 degrees hotter than usual. A new record April temperature was 38.8 'C. This is causing crop losses.

Italy is also having problems. Drought, Olive Oil and wine prices have shot up.

1 May - The Emirates are testing a "green" aviation fuel - SAF Sustainable Aviation Fuel was used to power one engine through a flight of an hour over the Dubai area.

3 May - Dry lake Tulare in Tulare County may be regenerating after high water events in the area. Source WION - Climate Tracker.

 Update - The lake bed has been used for crops with levees around the edges to protect the two towns situated around the edge. Stratford and Corcrane. Source - Youtube.

A tornado flips cars on a freeway. Roofs were ripped off in the area. Source WION - Climate Tracker.

MEXICO - They are driving a rail track through forests containing destruction to cenotes and Maya ecosystems. Source WION - Climate Tracker.

4 May - If you voted GREEN in the UK local elections, I would just like to say a big THANK YOU. They won outright control in Mid Suffolk They have 481 seats in total, up by 241. Source BBC.

5 May - Rwanda flooding. Source - WION. 

             Spain - The wetland in Donna is drying out because of droughts. 60% of the lagoons have been lost. Source - WION. 

            Italy - Sea level surface temperatures have made a record rise. Topless protestors have blocked roads. They say not enough is being done. Source - WION. Bologna - Flooding.

            India - They have announced that they will not be sanctioning any new coal mines.

6 May - CONGRATULATIONS to King Charles III and Queen Camilla on your Coronation. King Charles III is a staunch Eco Warrior. His estates in Cornwall have been Eco-friendly for many years. He has passed this mantle to The Prince of Wales. Source BBC.

7 May - Democratic Republic of Congo - Flooding, 400 killed. Source BBC.

9 May - Landslide at a mine traps over 100 men.   At a gold mine near Kamituga town in the Democratic Republic of Congo collapsed on Friday amid torrential rain. Rescuers are digging through rubble after the incident, leaving about 50 people feared dead. Local officials say most of those feared dead are young people and have called for two days of mourning. 

Source BBC.https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-54132354

More information - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-49912811

The mine was not located on the Kamituga gold concession owned by Canadian miner Banro Corporation, the company’s chief executive said.

Source - The Guardian.com  https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/11/at-least-50-killed-in-collapsed-gold-mine-in-east-congo-says-ngo

Video of some escaping in a similar collapse.

Source - CNN https://edition.cnn.com/videos/world/2023/03/28/congo-gold-mine-collapse-rescue-lon-orig.cnn

8 May - Alberta, Canada - 108 wildfires are burning, and a State of Emergency has been declared. Source SKY News.

11 May - Nigeria  - Shell escaped liability for oil spills in Nigeria for years. Then four farmers took them to court – and won.

Source CNN https://edition.cnn.com/2022/05/25/africa/shell-oil-spills-nigeria-intl-cmd/index.html

Above average UK rainfall. Source BBC

21 May - China suffering under a heatwave, and power grids are under pressure.

22 May - UK - The Lychen and Footman moths numbers have increased by 84,000 since the clean air Act was introduced in 1984. Source BBC 4 Radio.

23 May - 13.20 - Saw a fox in my back garden, going towards the top fence. Not much hair in its brush, sadly.

24 May - COP 28 will be chaired by a member of an oil company, who is an expert in finances - what a farce. Source BBC Radio 4.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jun/07/uae-oil-firm-cop28-climate-summit-emails-sultan-al-jaber-adnoc  Source - The Guardian.

30 May  - Saw a fox in my back garden, going towards the top fence.

4 June - German spruce forests are dying because of drought and beetles attacking the weak trees. It is not helped by being a monoculture cash crop. Farmers will get a subsidy if they replant mixed woodlands, but they worry about where the needed timber will come from. Source - BBC Radio 4.

4 June - Hati, Flooding and landslides. International aid requested. Gang violence is endemic in the area. Source - BBC Radio 4.

14 June - Scientists beam solar power from a satellite to a receiver in space and down to Earth. For full details, click the link below. Source - Space.com

https://www.space.com/space-solar-power-satellite-beams-energy-1st-time?utm_term=9E58C20A-CAF0-430B-9CCA-2EF6E44AB3F4&utm_campaign=58E4DE65-C57F-4CD3-9A5A-609994E2C5A9&utm_medium=email&utm_content=5515ECA1-F93D-461C-966E-9047980AFE0E&utm_source=SmartBrief

23 June - Flooding in the streets of Oman.

4 July - The UK has recorded the warmest June temperatures since records began in 1881. Source: BBC Radio 4.

5 July - The World average air temperature topped 17 C for the first time on 4 July, reaching

 17.04 'C, then on the 5 July reaching 17.18'C or 62.9'F. 

Sadly this is in line with the predicted climate models. When will the Government people wake up and do something about it? When it is too late, as usual. Source - BBC.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jul/05/tuesday-was-worlds-hottest-day-on-record-breaking-mondays-record

I have posted this to my Facebook page to get better coverage. Make some noise, write to your Member of Parliament, and demand to know what they are doing NOW to help the situation. Show them that we expect action from them on this matter, not just vague woolly promises. 

https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/515/environment-and-climate-change-committee/

 9 July - The fox was back again today. Happily taking a snooze in the sun.

10 July - I have written to mine now - The Rt. Hon Lyam Byrne, Hodge Hill MP and The Right Hon. The Lord Deben, formerly Chairman of the Environment and Climate Change Committee.

USA, Londonderry - Berkes County flooding. 7 inches of rain fell and the river burst its banks. Part of the road was washed away. In Hudson Valley, one woman was washed away and drowned and 2 were rescued. Flooding in West Point. Historic buildings may be damaged.

SW Iceland - A volcano erupts NE of previous outpourings, 16.40 local time and lasts for 22 days. 

11 July - Last year's summer heatwave killed 61,672 people. SOURCE - Barcelona Institute of Global Health, using data from 35 countries, 3,469 in the UK and 18,010 in Italy.

 12 July - The fox was back again today. Happily taking a snooze in the sun and getting rid of some fleas.

Photo Copyright (C) 2023 Ivor Colin. Cogdell. All Rights Reserved.

19 July - Flash floods in Mayfield, Graves County, Kentucky, Paduka are knee-deep in water. 5 feet deep in Arlington. 11.28 inches of rain fell in 24 hours, a new record. SOURCE -  US National Weather Service.

22 July - GREECE, Longest heatwave prediction, 16 days at 39'C.

25 July - The fox and a cat were warming themselves in my garden with no animosity between them today. Fairytale stuff.

30 July - China suffers flooding after severe rainfall after a heatwave earlier this month. Typhoon Doksuri caused flooding, and cars were swept away. Rivers burst their banks. Diverted waters made the situation worse. People were evacuated by rescue services using boats, but not enough of them to go around. Ropes, pulleys and slings were used to evacuate people over flooded streets. People's Liberation Army were using helicopters for rescues. Landslides and mudslides were reported. Other provinces were also hit as well. Flooding is common at this time, but not as strong as this.

UK, Manchester - Wettest July on record.

7 August - Australia has enacted a new law that all new projects must take into account all climate effects that they may cause.

10 August - Hawaii, Maui - 93 people dead in wildfires. Lahaina was partially evacuated. 2,000 buildings have been destroyed. Now declared a Major Disaster.

20 August - There is a wildfire in Tenerife. 26,000 people have had to be evacuated from the area.

Canada - Wildfires at Yellowknife, 30,000 people evacuated. Worst known in their history. Two people have been arrested for starting fires in the City Limits.

China - Flooding in one of the provinces.

11 September - Lybia. Flooding due to Storm Daniel. Two of their dams burst the next day. 13,000 people are missing.5,300 are dead in Durma. 4 bridges have collapsed.

15 September - The Orkneys in Scotland are to trial electric ferry boats to cut pollution, if they are a success they will begin operation in 2024. Source - The Guardian.

25 September - The fox was back again today.

27 September - Bolos, Greece, Flooding after Heavy rainstorms. 3 inches per hour in some places.

17 - 19 October -Cork, Southern Ireland  Storm Babet with 80 mph winds and rain caused havoc. A month's rain fell in 24 hours. Flooding in the streets. The River Lea burst its banks. The electricity was knocked out. The sea was over a meter high.

    Aberdeen, Scotland - 70 mph winds were recorded. 250 mm rainfall expected. 120 mm of rain was expected in Manchester.
20 October - 3 died in the flooding.

29 October  - Loo and Seaton were flooded.

 4 November - Tuscany flooding.

 5 November - River Rother burst its banks.

 10 November - It is now official, the West Antarctic Ice Sheet is doomed to collapse, which will eventually cause a FIVE METRE sea level rise. Source -   journal Nature Climate Communications. 
 NBC NEWS - 

Iceland - Magnitude 5.0 Earthquake in Grindavik fishing town.

 19 November - Brazil is having a heatwave in its spring. temperatures have reached 60'C. At least one person has died.

21 November - Catalonia - Their water reserves are only 19% full after a drought lasting three years so far. One of the water safety measures now going into effect is to stop the fountains being filled.

2 December - Tanzania flooding kills 47, with 87 getting injured.
Indonesia - The Marafi Volcano erupts, killing 11 people.

8 December - Panama Canal - Drought in the area is causing delays in the lock system, the two lakes that feed it are very low. There are fears that delays may run all through 2024.

9 December - Somalia Worst drought for 30 years, followed by a flood. The seasonal rains did not arrive, and some bridges were destroyed when the rains did come. Livestock lost.

18 December - Iceland A 4.5 km long volcano fissure opened up near the fishing village of Grindavik. The village had previously been evacuated due to many thousands of minor earthquakes in the area. No one was injured in the eruption, which spread lava over a 4.5 square kilometre area. Roads had been closed in the area. It was the shortest eruption on the island.

Regards all,


Ivor Cogdell


Thoughts on - Alien RPG pt 2 (No Spoilers)

 Hi Everyone,

                    This is my second musing on playing the Alien RPG (C) by Free League Games. So far all of the PC's are still alive at session seven, each session lasting for about three hours play. We have had some disasters (big time), some errors of judgement, some out of our hands. We have come across aliens, we killed some, but have also had some casualties amongst the NPC's.

                 In battle, we get one attack and they get two. You need about 10 six sided dice per player. you roll your stress dice first, to see if you can attack it and then the rest of your dice pool to see if you hit by getting a six, damage is deducted from its hit points depending on what you were using to splat it with..

                Without giving anything away, there are other things you will be doing when you are not alien hunting, such as repairing things and trying to get your stress levels down. When you get bad news or you meet a new type of alien, your stress level goes up by one, which affects your performance and in some cases affects your team mates too. You know you are in trouble when your stress score reaches double digits. LOL.

                In our latest episode, we have just finished all of our repairs and are just about to head back to base. Will we make it. Tune in next time to find out.......

                I have been informed that there are quite a few types of missions that you can go on. A starter kit and expansion modules are available, which is great news, as we are all enjoying ourselves. That counts as a successful use of time and money. It can be used on the FOUNDRY virtual tabletop app.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Regards one and all, keep watching those corners,


Ivor Cogdell

For more information go to https://www.alien-rpg.com




 

Friday, 2 December 2022

Thoughts on - Alien RPG pt 1 (No spoilers)

 Hi everybody,

                        I have just played the first episode of the starter game of Alien RPG by Free League Games. By courtesy of my gaming buddies of long standing, Kitty, hubby Richard (the GM and NPC controller), plus the cat ( in-house random tables) and brother, John. There is a starter set and at least one expansion module to get. Richard got the game at a local games store.  Character creation was simple, just a few stats blocks and choices to make. I believe the online community have made content for the game as well. There are character sheets (Static and dynamic) and graphics to download on the website. There may be a Roll 20 virtual setting, but I do not know for sure about that. We were using video conferencing, but this only lasts for an hour, unless you get the premium version.

 The introduction got us into the mood of the game and established character types and frictions or connections between players. I am playing a space dock, red haired roughneck, James, nicknamed "Rooster" Kincaid.

                      There is a good setting and introduction to the background to the story. It took about three hours to get to the second act. How and why you get to this point is up to your GM and your characters. You can do as you please, at one point one of our children set fire to a lab. Yes, you will be pleased to know that there are stats for children. I(f you allow your actual munchkins to play, is up to you. (Our GM rated it as a certificate 15, for all of the violence yet to come). We did try to do a recording, but sadly, it failed. (The others were ok, but have not been edited by the gm yet. I will add a link when ready).

                     Once we arrived at act two, here is where you follow your own path. It took us about three hours of play to get to this point.  If you have seen the original films, you know what to expect. If you have not, you are in for a treat. Go find Alien and its sequels, including its clash with predator.

                    I was the first one out of the airlock and down the ladder, wish me luck....

Ivor Cogdell

For more information go to https://www.alien-rpg.com

Alien RPG (C) by Free League Games