Napoleonic progress

So, it's been a while but bear with I'll catch you up.

So, still in lockdown here in the UK as most of you will know, but I do have international readers. Still working at home, only going to the shop once a week if that. I'm going a bit stir crazy if I'm honest, but hey I'm sure we all are. Working at home has taken its toll, not having been prepared for this, I've been working at the dining table on a solid dining chair. Fine for sitting eating your dinner, or painting for a few hours in the evening, but not really suitable for all day working. One day working all day, then an online Pathfinder roleplay session, followed by a couple of hours painting and I worked out I spent around 16 hours sat in the same spot. Needless to say, my knees gave in. A couple of days later I had what looked like two filled water balloons in the middle of my legs.
Not being able to do your hobby when you are stuck indoors under lockdown makes it even less fun, but at least I could catch up on some of my Netflix list. A weeks rest however and work to the rescue with a more suitable work chair safely delivered and I am back up and about.

Before my stupid self inflicted injury, I did however get quite a bit of painting done including some things for my on going Napoleonic project.

A while ago I treated myself to some character models to paint in between rank and files models. I actually didn't paint this until after the other items I am showing below as a completion treat. I find sticking a character between the repetitive painting tasks helps motivate.

Wellington and Copenhagen fron Front Rank

I've been toying with the following idea now for a while and I finally got the parts required. For my Napoleonic rules I wanted to create models to represent a Zombie French regiment. I ordered some standard zombie sprues from Mantic games and then raided my bits box (and had some donations from the Illustrious Opponent as he has a French force). There are parts from Perry and Victrix I believe. I thought I would show you photos in progress to show how much of a mix of parts the models were.

regiment bases are your friend when making zombies

I'm sure a couple of them look like they are trying a dance routine

I'm particularly proud of this one dragging his drum

Next up I've completed some Prussian infantry, I managed to get a good system going painting them on strips with blu-tak to get some good speed painting going. I've got a couple of boxes of these to paint so I'm not going for super-detail, they just need to look good when there are in ranks on the table.

Perry Prussian infantry

All bayonets currently still intact (I'm sure that won't last with my clumsiness)

Prussian Jaegers from Perry

The last show I went to ( when was that? I've lost all sense of time, was it a couple of months, a couple of years?) I picked up the following as part of a pair. His bowler hat wearing friend is still on my painting table. I'm not going to use them for their intended purpose however. I think he will make a great brawler in the Old West. He is 28mm scale but actually represents more like 7"

Henchman from Crooked Dice

Next up are a couple more character miniatures from Front Rank. They are listed as civilians but I shall certainly not be using them as standard civilians. Note one is dressed slightly more flamboyantly than the other? Yes, may I introduce to you, Jonathon Strange and Mr Norrell.

Wellingtons own practising magicians

I made an order recently to Black Hat miniatures to fill out some gaps in my paint pallette. It's a paint range I have used for many years, picking it up at shows from various traders but I've never bought direct from the owner. My paint purchasing I must admit is not very organised, when I go to a show I forget to take note what I need and just make random choices (I'm never going to run out of red) or I get lazy and if I need one colour, I work in town, so I do admit, it is easy to pop to the local GW at lunch time and pick up that one pot (shh, don't tell anyone, I hate myself.) so this is the first time in a while I have made a concerted effort to spend a good chunk of change and sort out my paints. (and throw out all the dried out ones.)

Well, I was intrigued by a product on their site for shading. I have often used inks and washes but never an all over shade. So, I added the below to my order to give it a go. I've used it on most of the models I've shown in this post. You just paint your model in block colours then paint the whole model with the shade. I'm probably teaching you all to suck eggs, but I've got to say I love it. I'd probably not use it for special characters (I didn't use it for the whole of the Wellington model or the final model of my blog below.) but for quick repetitive painting, it's the bees knees. It's called dark brown, but I find it gives more of a brown/grey shade to the model. It has almost a gelatinous texture and goes on like a wash but somehow has a semi-transluscence that means it matches the colour it sits on. They do a lighter one too if you like your models a bit brighter.

And finally...

Illustrious Opponent and I and our regular Pathfinder group are trying something new. We are embarking on a new adventure with new characters starting at level 4. My previous character being a dwarf bezerker, I wanted to try something completely new. Our crew are to be employed in the local Navy so I volunteered to be the ships wizard. Meet Zachariah the Great.

Zachariah is available for Life Day celebrations and Coming of Age Ceremonies

Now I know what you are thinking, we aren't actually meeting up, don't panic. The sessions are still being played via Zoom. I just found building and painting a model really helped to "create" my character. Some people can draw and have done so. My drawing skills are limited to stick figures and tracing, so actually getting to make Zachariah really helped me imagine him ready for our first session.
He is mostly made up of bits from the Frostgrave Wizards sprue with a tricorne from a Warlords AWI militia sprue. Then his staff has been given a burning sphere I had in my bits box that I believe was from a GW wizard and so was the swirling mist he is stood upon. Needless to say his favourite spell will be Glitterdust.

Anyway, that's all for now. Stay safe, keep painting and please feel free to comment below.

Running an RPG via Zoom

Not really toy soldiers, but I'm sure some of my regular readers will find this vaguely interesting. My normal RPG group have been meeting via Zoom for Pathfinder sessions and it gave me the idea of running a one shot RPG via Zoom that took advantage of the fact that we were meeting remotely.

We ran it over two nights and it seemed to work quite well. The players could direct message me some of their actions without the rest of the players knowing what they were up to. I drew a couple of maps of the spaceship plan for the players to see and one of the group who is better than I with CAD converted it to a handy on screen display where we could move icons on the screen to show where the players were in the ship.  My group seemed to enjoy it, the only issue was I didnt make it clear enough to them that I was expecting them to be picking on each other rather cooperating. My group are a nice bunch and maybe a little too nice too each other so to begin with they were all very civil to each other. Although once nudged enough they were bashing each other over the head in true self survival fashion. Alliances were made and broken.

Here are my notes I made before starting. Maybe someone else might find them useful or inspirational. If any of these notes make no sense, feel free to get in touch via the message function at the bottom of the webpage or comment.
 

 

Rules.

Each character has the following stats:

Life points.

You start with ten. If this reaches zero you are dead.

Sanity points.

You start with ten. If this reaches zero you may as well be dead, you are just a dribbling wreck. Taking a sanity check, roll a D6, get a 1 or 2, lose a sanity point.

After all players have had a couple of turns to get complacent, GM rolls a D6 after everyone’s turn, on a six, a random event occurs.

Players can only ever carry three items at a time. (these suits have no pockets.)

Player turns.

Players can move from one section of the map to an adjacent one. And then take one “public” action, this is an action they declare over group chat. They can also take one “private” action, this is an action they declare by private messaging the GM. If they make a private action, the GM rolls for the result.

(Nb the players are allowed to work out their transponder is detachable and therefore publicly they could declare they are staying in a room but in fact they move.)

Taking an action.

Roll a D6:

1, fail take a sanity check, 2-3 fail, 4-5 succeed, 6 extremely succeed.

If at disadvantage, roll two dice, pick lowest. If advantaged, roll two dice, pick highest.

When the game time ends, the player with the highest life and sanity combined left is the winner. If the stowaway is not discovered, they gain a bonus ten points.

1.       You wake up in a white pod. The see through roof of the pod vooshes open and air rushes in.

You realise you have a tube down your throat and begin to gag as automated systems begin to retract the breathing pipe. A voice begins to play through hidden internal speakers.

“Please stay calm, you are waking from hypersleep and may be slightly disorientated. This is perfectly normal. Again, please stay calm and allow the automated systems to perform their tasks.”

The pipe retracts, hyperdermic needles on the end of arms appear inside the pod and inject your thighs and upper arms.

When they all climb out:

A vid screen comes to life and a woman in flight attendant uniform appears.

“Good Morning on the Interstellar Covid-19, ship time zero 700 hours, the first of Glarberry 2399. You have been awakened from hypersleep because we have a minor incident on the way to your destination. You have been travelling now in hypersleep for 14 months and so it is not unusual to experience some short term memory loss. You should begin to start having some memory return in the next few moments. When you do, could the Captain please place their hand on the scanner below the screen to begin the briefing.”

Briefing.

All they know is:

They are on this ship and just woken up.

Two of the party are Grurgan (there has only just been peace declared with the planet Grurg)

None of the party are the Captain if they try the scanner

They are in the hypersleep chamber room and there is a map on the wall that matches a map on a screen on their wrists. Each screen shows a number of different coloured dots equal to the number of people which indicate which room they are currently in. If they examine their uniforms, they will discover a transponder clipped to their chest which has an led light the same colour as on the map to show which colour they are. If they wish to manipulate them, yes they can remove them, or smash them to turn them off and it will affect the map indicating their presence. But why would they want to do that? There is also one additional blip on the map that matches none of their colours. That blip is in the Engine Room.

Characters.

1.       Captain Zenova (Deceased)

Human 40 years old. Been with Space fleet since 14 as a cadet. Expert at close combat, giving orders and singing Gilbert and Sullivan.

2.       First Officer Blart

Grurgan (Green 8ft tall strong lizard like humanoid). Adopted by human parents. First Grurgan member of Space Fleet since the truce two years ago. Expert at close combat, space walks and the nose flute.

3.       Navigation Officer Morris

Human. This is Morris’s last mission before retirement. Navigation expert. Ship squash champion. Has a bionic leg.

4.       Engineer Smgrthh

Grurgan (Green 8ft tall strong lizard like humanoid).  Known as Smith to the rest of the crew.  Really good with mechanical things. Only recently joined Space Fleet as part of the new peace accord.

5.       Technician First Class Nancy

Human. Part of the Engineer crew. Handy with a spanner as well as a lasergun.

6.       Technician Second Class Strange

Human. Part of the Engineer crew. Also ship cook. Not an excellent cook but knows how to operate the food replicator. Plays the Guitar.

7.       Doctor Zeus

Human. Medical Officer. Expert medic (obviously) hand with a lazer scalpel also means handy at picking locks. Has a nut allergy

8.       Technician Second Class Bartlett

Human. The most remarkable thing about Technician Second Class Bartlett is there is nothing remarkable about Bartlett whatsoever. The most non descript member of Star fleet. Bartlett’s only distinguishable skill seems to be a natural ability to lull anyone into complete and utter boredom within five minutes of their company. Has a nut allergy.

X.                  Castaway Pudsey.

You are not actually a member of the crew. You snuck on to the ship after all the crew were already in hypersleep. You are actually a castaway called Pudsey on the run from the law. When you snuck in to the hypersleep chamber room, there was a spare empty pod. You know enough about the technology that you injected chemicals into the mix so that the crew would be have temporary amnesia for a significantly longer time than normal but not permanently. You hoped just long enough that the ship would reach it’s destination, you could slip away before anyone’s memory returns and escape scot free. Now your plans are scuppered by the crew being woken up early and you don’t know why.

(expert with chemicals and sneaking)

Rooms on ship.

1.       Hypersleep Chamber

The starting room. There is a computer that requires the captains handprint to unlock. This will work even with the dead captains hand however it may be procured. If unlocked, it produces the crew manifest and the nature of the emergency:

Emergency: A minor fracture in the fuel tanks has meant a slow pressure leak of juxtion IV means we aren’t going to make our destination unless we jettison some extra weight. The cargo is far too valuable to the company, so the Captain is advised to jettison a crew member.

2.       Engine Room (orange lock)

This room is pitch black, no light. There is a crowbar, a red Keypass and a dead body here. If the crew investigate they will discover it is the Captain. There is a locked locker with two random basic items and one weapon in it. There is also a giant 3D printer that will create artificial Simuloid bodies.

3.       Sleeping quarters A

Some bunk beds and three lockers. Not locked. Each with one random basic item. Also a guitar, orange moonboots, orange keypass and a nearly finished jigsaw of the spaceship. Stuck to the wall a photo of two random crew members in fishing gear.

3    Sleeping quarters B

More bunk beds and three lockers. Not locked. Each with one random item. Also, an exercise bike, hair dryer, swimming certificate and a VR headset. If use the VR headset, lose a sanity point. 

4.       Mess

Usual cooking paraphernalia. There is at least one useable knife here and a noseflute. There is a note with the names of the crew written down:

Zenova, Blart, Morris, Smith, Nancy, Strange, Zeus. (Smith and Blart have got Stars next to them.) In the fridge is a Tupperware tubb with a traditional Grurgan salad with a post it note “hands off, Smith.”

There is also a food dispenser with a button to randomly dispense food items.

5.       Armoury

There is also a weapon dispensing machine. Push the button and it will keep on dispensing a weapon. It is up to the GM how many weapons it dispenses. There is also a packet of Bourbon biscuits (+2 health) and a flashlight. 

6.       Captains Cabin (Red lock)

Hidden under the bed is a locked cabinet with a random weapon.  In the unlocked cupboard is two random items. On the desk is the crew list with descriptions.

7.       Squash Court

There is a blackboard with two names and scores. Morris and Smith. Morris is winning.

8.       Hydroponics bay

Lots and lots of plants. If hunt, find two random items. Roll a D6, on a 1 or 2 get attacked by a plant, lose a life point and a sanity point. A vine shoots out from deep inside an alien looking plant and wraps around the players arm. They need to find a way to persuade it to detach, flame or heavy object.

9.       Cargo Bay

Can find three random items if crowbar open the crates. (or use some other alternative tool). In a dark corner there is a pair of yellow eyes peeking out of the darkness. If the player investigates a small brown furry ball of teeth and claws jumps out at them. It is the ships cat. Sanity check.

1       Medical Bay

Lazer scalpel, microscope, examination bed, xray machine, one random item. If look at the swimming certificate with the microscope, they will discover a secret message:

“Agent K, your alter ego will be Technician First Class Nancy. Your mission is to sabotage this ship and ensure it doesn’t reach it’s destination. You will be brought out of hypersleep early before the rest of the crew and your handler ship will dock with the SS Glacierego and collect you after you have achieved your mission. They will not know your face, so make sure you are wearing orange moonboots to be identified or you will be disintegrated along with the rest of the crew.”

1    Bridge (Green lock)

From the view screen you can see you are in deep space. Nowhere near any planets. The communication panel has been smashed. The ships computer is showing the autopilot is active and locked out. On the computer screen is the following message:

“As you are aware and agreed to when you signed up with the company, the company pre-programmed your ships autopilot with an agreed destination. Any attempts to interfere with this course may result in breach of contract as agreed with the company and forfeiture of all funds arranged via contract.

Have a nice day.”

.       Workshop

Flashlight, crowbar, lascutter, green keypass. When a player first walks in to the room if it hasn’t been disabled by another player, a work laser fires up as they enter. They need to successfully dodge this on a 4+, or 5+ if Grurgan. If they fail to dodge it roll another dice:

1 – lose an arm. -2 sanity and can only carry one thing from now on.

2- lose a hand. -2 sanity and can only carry two things from now on.

3-6  – lose a couple of fingers -1 sanity.

Keypasses.

These lock and unlock certain doors.

Red – Captains Cabin and armoury

Orange – Engine Room

Green – Bridge

GM Notes.

The GM can decide how easy or hard to make the session for the players. Start with all the doors locked, or some locked. If the players aren’t really doing much, feel free to just insert random events anyway. This scenario is not designed to be fair to the players, please make this clear at the start to them, especially if they are used to playing an RPG where the GM always makes sure they get away with things all the time. This is more of a one shot and characters are expected to die. If they do die too soon in the session, feel free to bring them back as a Simuloid. Simuloids however are not exactly stable and so only have 5 life and 5 sanity points. They also have a limited life span of around 5 years, so the character really hasn’t “won” the game if they end as a Simuloid.

Tell the players things about their characters that are visible (ie what race they are or if they have a bionic limb) Don’t tell them anything else, let them find it out as they go on. Give them advantages on tasks that their characters have when they try those tasks.

Feel free to randomly turn off oxygen and/or lights or lock doors to "encourage" players to interact more if they are just staying hidden.

If the players ask the computer outright who they are:

“Personnel files are currently locked for the Captains eyes only whilst in Amber alert status.”

If a player keeps re-using a dispensing machine to “stock-pile” items:

“You have run out of company credits. More credits will be issued at your next salary credit hour.”

Depending on what you want to share with each player what the others are up to, you can advise they can see on cctv screens dotted about the ship what the others are up to.

You can end the session with the following:

Twenty marines in grey with gold trim carapace armour march through the airlock into the ship. Behind them a tall dark strange man in full length dark robes follows. A brass vid recorder floating by his head.

“This ship is now under quarantine by the Marshall Law of the Space Inquisition. All crew are to be sterilized and have their memories wiped before being returned to natural population.  Please exit the ship in single file by the airlock and await further instructions.”

 

Random Events

D10	Event
1	All the ship lights go out for one turn. Anyone without a personal light source sanity check
2	One random room lights go out for one turn. Anyone without a personal light source in that room sanity check
3	All the ship lights go out for a two turns. Anyone without a personal light source sanity check
4	One random room lights go out for two turns. Anyone without a personal light source in that room sanity check
5	The ship briefly purges all the oxygen. Anyone not with a gas mask or space suit lose two life points.
6	The ship decides to start the self destruct sequence, self destruct will happen in 5 minutes (5 turns.) Everyone take a sanity check. If anyone can get the Captains hand on a computer in the bridge or hypersleep chamber, it will stop.
7	The ship randomly locks one room. If player locked in that room, sanity check.
8	The ship locks all the doors. Crew will need to “persuade” doors to open.
9	The ship unlocks all doors.
10	The ship briefly purges oxygen from one room. Crew in that room lose one life.

Random Food

D10	Item	Health Restored
1	Chilli hot sauce	-1
2	Pot Noodle	-1
3	Bonjella gum ointment	0
4	Beer Milkshake	0
5	Flying Saucers	1
6	Packet of dry roasted peanuts (beware of nut allergy)	1
7	Packet marked “Soylent Green”	1
8	Ameglian Major Cow Steak	2
9	Triple Fried egg, chilli chutney sandwich	3
10	Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster	3 (but lose 1 Sanity)

Random items

D20	Item	Damage	Notes
1	Axe	2
2	Camera	0
3	Chap stick	0	+1 sanity, 1 use
4	Crow bar	1
5	First aid kit		+5 health points, 1 use
6	Flash light	1
7	Gas mask
8	Goggles (infra red)
9	Hammer	2
10	Lantern, electric
11	Lighter, hand
12	Deodorant
13	Space suit		Protects wearer when there is no oxygen
14	Shovel	2
15	Lascutter	3
16	Flask of promethium	3
17	Combi tool	1
18	Squash racket	0
19	Lazer scalpel	1
20	Combi tool	1

Random weapons

D20	Weapon	Damage	Notes
1	Knife	1
2	Iron bar	1
3	Garrot wire	1
4	Lazer sword	4
5	Fire axe	2
6	Lazpistol	2
7	Needle pistol	2
8	Flamethrower	4
9	Holowhip	1
10	Sonic rifle	1
11	Sonic grenade	1
12	Vomit grenade	0	Can’t do anything but vomit for one turn
13	Hallucinogen grenades	0	Disorientate for three turns
14	Chloroform	0	Knock out for two turns
15	Stun gun	0	Knock out for one turn
16	Lazrifle	2
17	Corkscrew	1
18	Hyperdermic needle	0	Knock out for two three turns
19	Chainsaw	5
20	Missile launcher	20