Thoughts On - The Augur VTT

 Hi everyone,

                      Thanks for stopping by today. I was just digging about in "Netland", wondering if the "Ironsworn: Delve supplement" was suitable for use with "Ironsworn: Starforged" or if it had been superseded with the Explore mechanic in the rules. I found a couple of comments on Reddit and one of them mentioned "Augur". I just thought it was an oracle that someone had made for exploring. I decided to click on the link and find out more.

                      As it turns out "The Augur" is a Virtual Table Top setting for Starforged, Ironsworn and other Sci-fi and fantasy games. It has the Moves, Combat etc. enabled for the Starforged game engine. It is hex-based and can auto-generate planetary surfaces, planets, ships in orbit, maps of ships, dungeons, robots, NPCs etc. Another feature is that ChatGPT is built into the text area so that it can generate relevant content in response to what has gone before. 

It is currently priced at $24.99, as of 18th August 2023. There is also a free mode that you can try out too. I plan to dig into that later.

https://www.augurvtt.com/

It looks well worth your consideration if you use these rules or if you play solo games in general.

Ivor Cogdell

Stargrave Character Sheet and Battle Report 01a (Part completed.)

 Hi everyone,

                    Here is my Character Sheet from the short Stargrave Battle I took part in a few days back. The rules are similar to Frostgrave, free reference sheets can be found on the Stargrave website. Starting Credits for the Captains = 400. 

May I present - MacDougals Misfits (My forces).

Our Ship: The Upgraded Balloon.

Captain: Jim MacDougal. Level 15.  Cost Credits 50.

Move     Fight    Shoot    Armour    Will    Health

    7           +3       +3            11          +4        17

Rogue Powers

Name            Activation        Strain

Data Jump          10                    0

Fortune               12                    0

Quick-Step         10                    0

Void Blade          10                   0

Power Spike          8                    1

Gear / Notes

Rapid Fire, Heavy Armour, Frag Grenade, Knife.

====================================

First Mate: Baxter Wilde, a Veteran, Level 0.

Move     Fight    Shoot    Armour    Will    Health

    5           +3       +3            11          +2        15

Veteran Powers

Name                    Activation        Strain

Concentrate Fire            10                0

Energy Shield                10                0

Armoury                        10                0

Target Designation         8                 0

Bait & Switch                12                2

Gear / Notes

Heavy Armour, Flame Thrower +2 shoot, Frag Grenade.

=================================================

Crew:  Hooper Peters                                Hacker    Cost   Credits 20

Move     Fight    Shoot    Armour    Will    Health

    6           +1       +1            10          +1        12

Gear / Notes

Light Armour, Pistol, Knife

==================================================

Crew:  Fiona Robbins                                Medic    Cost   Credits 100

Move     Fight    Shoot    Armour    Will    Health

    7           +2       +2            10          +3        10

Gear / Notes

Light Armour, Pistol, Medic Kit

===============================================

Crew:  Wally Baker                                Sentry    Cost   Credits 50

Move     Fight    Shoot    Armour    Will    Health

    4           +3       +2            11          +0        14

Gear / Notes

Carbine, Heavy Armour, Hand Weapon.

===============================================

Crew:  Dodger Harris                                Runner    Cost   Free

Move     Fight    Shoot    Armour    Will    Health

    7           +2       +1            9          +1        12

Gear / Notes

Pistol, Knife.

=================================================

Crew:  Barney Short                                Chiseler    Cost   Credits 20

Move     Fight    Shoot    Armour    Will    Health

    6           +1       +1            10          +1        12

Gear / Notes

Pistol, Lock Pick, Light Armour, Knife.

==========================================

Crew:  Andy Fox                                Recruit    Cost   Free

Move     Fight    Shoot    Armour    Will    Health

    6           +2       +2            10          0        12

Gear / Notes

Cosh.

===================================================

Crew: Humanoid Robot                               Commando    Cost   Credits 75

Move     Fight    Shoot    Armour    Will    Health

    5           +3       +3            11          +1        14

Gear / Notes

Carbine, Heavy Armour, Knife.

==============================

I think I'm missing one here.

Remaining Credits to Jim = 145.

There is no battle video, I'm afraid, only a couple of pictures taken at the start of the day. I did not take more snaps as my pc will not receive any downloads from my mobile camera, even though I have downloaded the drivers for it. The scanner did not pick up the colours of the photo as I was scanning them from my phone, but, at least you can see how much effort Martin, our host, put into the table. 

Starting positions - I am top-centre and will come on the board in that corner. Richard is on the left and will come in behind the Med Bay with the red cross on its roof. Martin is centre-right in this photo and will come on the table from the right of the brothel and to the left of the tree.

One objective is in the offices behind the saloon on the first floor, accessed by a circular aerial ramp, partially visible, going to the ground and the rear of the saloon. One is in a tree behind the saloon.

It is a desert setting, with sand on the base. The building at the lower centre is the Brothel, painted red, naturally. The multi-storey building in the middle is the saloon (Orange). This has the prime objective placed on its roof. Minor objective markers are placed at its left corners. Mid Left is the car park. Left (pale blue) and mid-right are warehouses with assorted storage containers scattered around, adding cover. Vegetation counts as soft cover. (Lower left = orange). (Grey = Mid-right.) A minor objective was placed on its roof. One objective was at the front of the warehouse mid-left.

Turn 1

Martin wins the initiative and his Captain and three troopers move North. His sniper climbs onto the brothel roof and his other forces move around the left side of the brothel.

Richard brings his forces to either side of the Medbay. 

I advance my troops forward, Captain Jim, Fiona, the Medic and Wally the Sentry, go towards the tree with the objective in it, to the left of the ramp. Baxter, the First Mate, flicks on his Energy Shield.  He joins the others to get in cover below the walkway on the right. Hooper, our hacker, is going towards the circular walkway ramp along with our shiny robot.

Dodger Harris, our runner and Andy, the Recruit go up the hill, difficult ground, so half movement distance, on our left. Barney, our chiseler, is not needed to open anything yet, so hangs back.

Shooting

All were out of range of each other.

Turn 2

Martin's Captain climbs up the roof and heads for the objective. Another climbs up after him and pauses there. The Sniper moves forward to the roof line in the middle. The rest move towards the Saloon.

Richard's Captain heads towards the loot token at the back of the saloon. His first mate moves towards the front of the saloon to collect the other objective. The others take cover in the car park and spread out.

My troops advance forward. Captain Jim, Fiona, the Medic and Wally the Sentry, get to the tree with the objective in it. Baxter, the First Mate, grunts, as the weight of his flamethrower's straps dig into his collarbones. He jogs right, below the walkway, towards the cover of the cargo containers that the offices are supported by. Hooper, our hacker, starts to ascend the ramp, difficult ground, to its halfway-level point, followed by the robot.  Dodger Harris, our runner and Andy, the Recruit go up the hill on our left, to get into cover. Barney, our chiseler, is not needed to open anything yet, so hangs back.

Shooting

Assorted pot shots went off, no damage.

Turn 3

Richard's Captain reaches for the loot token at the back of the saloon and tries to unlock it. His flamethrower advances towards the front of the saloon. 

Martin's Captain reaches the objective. Another soldier moves halfway along the roof in support. The sniper advances to the front of the roof of the Brothel. The rest advance towards the Saloon in two waves.

 My troops advance forward. Captain Jim uses the tree as cover. Fiona climbs into the tree to unlock the data token and Wally the Sentry splits off to the left into cover of the offices. Baxter gets into the cover of the containers. Hooper gets to the top of the ramp and heads right towards the loot, followed by the robot.  Dodger and Andy get to the top of the hill and into cover. Barney, our chiseler, is not needed to open anything yet, so hangs back.

I had rolled a low number for the initiative roll (<5), so was allowed to put our first local on the board. I put him coming out of the brothel.

Shooting

Assorted shots went off. After much soul searching, Richard's second in command fired the fragmentation grenade into the group of Martin's soldiers advancing towards the Saloon, scoring "First Blood" points. Martin's Captain got wounded on the container as he unlocked it by Dodger. My Sentry got wounded, as Martin's soldier returned fire from the rear end of the container. Baxter used his flamethrower on Richard's Captain and got wounded by return fire from the car park. The local shot one of Martin's other Crewmen.

Turn 4

This is only part done, but I wanted to show you that I am working on something for you.

Thanks again to Martin and Richard for a fun game. I have no doubt got some of the moves and shooting wrong, but it is as close as I can get it.

(Apologies for not finishing this bit off yet. I am doing a course online currently and my notes have gone walkies.)

Ivor Cogdell

In the Wars 3 - Updated

Hi folks,

               Good news - I have just been cutting my 72 mm Viking models from my sprues. Bad news, the primer flaked off all over the place. I had previously washed them in detergent to get rid of the release agent that is put on them to aid detachment from the moulds. I thought I had swilled them off thoroughly before I dried them, but apparently not. I will give them another couple of coats of thin primer and then try a thin coat of black to seal them.

            I was flicking through my rule sets and wondering what bases to use to go with which ruleset. I have Armati, Hail Caesar by Warlord Games, Battleblade, De Bellis Magistrorum Militum V 2.0, Fields of Glory - Wolves from the Sea and Scimitar. Ravenfeast by Little TV Wars (Which is a FREE .pdf from their website, with supplemental scenarios to download too). Warhammer Ancient Battles, Rally Round the King, Swordplay and Chain Reaction 3.0 by Two Hour Wargames. (The last two rules are a FREE .pdf from their website.).

            25 mm Base fronts are the norm, I believe. You have to take into account the javelins etc sticking out and generally getting in the way of the other figures. This will be a test of my painting skills, as I have not done any models of this scale for a while.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/11388/armati-2nd-edition-rules-and-lists-ancient-and-med

https://fightingfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Battleblade_Warrior_(book)

https://store.warlordgames.com/

http://www.ravenfeast.com/free-downloads.html 

https://www.littlewarstv.com/

https://www.twohourwargames.com/fataga1.html

I see in the free Metro paper that they have cast the latest Doctor. Ncuti Gatwa is his name. Good luck to the gentleman. He said that he binge-watched the BBC Doctor Who series from 2006 onwards. He has missed so much. The first episode of Doctor Who was aired on 23 November 1963.  He should have started from the beginning and watched all 26 series and the two movies.

https://www.bing.com/search?pglt=41&q=new+dr+who+actor&cvid=edba1fc634ec4d3bbf39cfa55440c123&aqs=edge.4.69i57

I have just downloaded from drivethruRPG "Radd Infinityum", one of the SOLO pocket RPG entries. I have only had a quick glance at it, but I hope to try it out soon. Probably after our local 39th Birmingham Jazz and Blues Festival has come to an end. I will be sketching the bands I go to see and doing some in watercolour.

A Stargrave battle Report is next. 

Regards all,

Ivor Cogdell

In the wars 2

 Hi folks,

               After recovering from a wonky back, I have a PC problem. I get locked out of my PC. It refuses me access to the login screen. I had to take it to the local PC Repair Dude and get him to fix it. "Thanks, Kevin of Chandler's Computers." Along with an SSD upgrade to speed things up a bit. You do notice the difference to loading times, so do go ahead if you are thinking of having one installed.

                  I am just catching up with my Job search and reinstalling my progs on to the faster system at the moment. I had a nice day out at the local Sea Life centre yesterday with a couple of pals.

                 Google Analytics say I need to tweak something in the settings on here, so I will give it a bash now.

Regards all,

Ivor Cogdell

In the wars

 Hi Everyone,

                   This is just a quick status report for you. Unfortunately, I have been unable to post for the last three weeks, due to sustaining a back and leg injury, which was keeping me out of action. Touch wood, I am over the worst, it is just affecting my mobility at the moment.

                   I have been making Eco Warrior notes on my phone and I have been starting to type those up. Thanks to all the Youtubers that have entertained me over the months and years and keep my spirits up. I have watched a couple of reports of SALUTE 2023 Wargame Show. Great as ever, folks.

                  Have you tried any of the Artificial Intelligence chatbots that are springing up on the internet, Google and Bing? What do you think ? Will you be using them to generating anything for your settings ? Plots, layouts etc.

Regards all,

Ivor Cogdell

5P - House Rules for Five Parsecs From Home 3rd Edition.

 Hi all,

          Here is my list of Five Parsecs 3rd Edition House Rules, they are not very long at the moment.

Scoring First Blood - Xp = 1.5.

Hit a target - Xp = 1.

Causing a Knock Down - Xp = 0.5.

Becoming a Casualty - Xp = 1

Giving assistance to PC / NPC after the battle (e.g. Medic) - Xp = 0.5.

Exploring / Trading / Decoy / Finding a Patron / Training before the battle etc. - Xp = 0.5.

Using a skill - Xp = 0.5.

I hope the give you some ideas for your game.

Regards all,

Ivor Cogdell

Thoughts on - US Gun Laws - Updated 8 May 2023.

 Hi Everyone,

                    I got onto this topic when I was replying to a friend's Facebook note, regarding Covid 19 and its effects on all our lives.  A reply was made by a lady to cherish what you have and be kind to everyone. This is a sentiment which I totally agree with. But some do not. For them, it is too easy to turn that reaction into rage and hate. I replied as follows.

" Yet there are still mass killings of kids and teachers in the States. Their Gun laws are total madness. If the laws don't work to protectSource you, what good are they? Corruption and big corporations run the show. The political parties need to take a long hard look at themselves and rethink their priorities. I am surprised that the parents do not sue the congressmen who keep voting the gun laws, whenever there is a shooting. They need a real-life "Jason Bull" to charge them with "Accessory to murder, before the fact". Fine them directly and throw some in jail, then they would not be so keen to evade their duties to the public."

The President has tried to do the right thing, but he is foiled by the gun lobby and their friends at every turn. When anyone can buy an assault rifle with no checks in place, like the latest case. this will keep happening. They feel they cannot trust the law to protect them. But there is protection and there is destruction. Their history has not done them any favours. 

Now more than ever before, they need to see the bigger picture. Global Warming is here NOW, never mind 2050. If we do not share the resources wisely, they will surely wreak a bloodbath as they fight the rich for what they will not give up. Lessen the loss of life and do the right thing. Otherwise, we will all have a lesson on Evolution in Action.

08 April 2023 - Kentucky Bank robbery - 6 shot dead, including the shooter.

14 April 2023 - Five more people killed in a bank robbery gone wrong, including the bank robber, with others injured. It just goes on and on and on.

07 May 2023 - Shopping Mall, Dallas, Texas - Gunman kills 9 and wounds 7 and is then shot dead by a passing policeman. - Source Sky News.

08 May 2023 - President Joe Biden has asked the Republican Party to help pass gun control laws, in the wake of this latest shooting. - Source Sky News

Stay safe,

Ivor Cogdell