Review: Pendragon Gamemaster's Handbook - Chaosium

Sometime last year, I picked up the Pendragon Core Rulebook for 6th edition.  That review had some critiques about what it was missing, and that the Core Rulebook did not give me everything I needed to run the game.  After doing some research, it appears that others felt the same way and that the Core Rulebook was more of a Player's Handbook.  As the Gamemaster, you needed a different level of detail and that seems to be what this book is intended to provide.  

For those who do not know, Pendragon is a role-playing game where you attempt to take up the mantle of a Knight from the Arthurian Legends.  This is a semi-mythical time period of British history that was greatly influenced by other European takes on what it meant to be a good Knight through-out the Middle and High Middle Ages.  There are various versions of the Legend of King Arthur had his Knights and most of them dwell on the later period.  However, the actual roots of the Saga take place over a 150-year legendary time span, and this game lets you play characters and lineages from the opening to the end of the Myth Cycle. 

I really am a fan of the "idea" of Pendragon as it puts players into an actual society and then asks them to role-play what life in that society may look like.  This is a very different feel for a game where you are character who is semi-lawless out on the frontier.  Here you are the one that represents civilization and its changing ways, and it your job to uphold what civilization you can.  Sure, you can become a character of legend, but the focus is very different from what you see in a typical frontier style RPG.  I have a soft spot for these types of games where players must act within a society, including its constraints and limitations. 

Now, let's strap on our armor, hoist ourselves up on our chargers and grab our lance.  It is time to go out on a quest into the heart of the Pendragon Gamemaster's Handbook..... 

Things That I Liked

First off, there was a lot of things I wanted covered in the Pendragon Core Rulebook such as Feasts, Magic, Foes, Religions, and intro adventures.  Thankfully, this book covers all of those topics very well.  It really fills in the blanks in a way that I think I can actually run the game now.  Yippee!  

The mechanics for Feasts are really fun!  I often joke that Legend of the Five Rings is the game of dinner parties, but Pendragon takes it to another level.  In this game, your main success measure is Glory.  You gain Glory a variety of ways, but you also earn Glory at Feasts!  Characters earn Glory based on where they are seated compared to their Lord, actions they take, and if they do not have a "for sure" agenda; they can draw Feast Cards.  These are essentially random events that act as a spring boards to Trait Tests and/or role-play.  All of which can gain you Glory as a Knight.  This game has a mechanical benefit for engaging in the Social Pillar of the game, and not just a Narrative benefit.  This is a very cool mechanic. 

There is a nice section about running the game as the GM.  This includes advice about moving through time, navigating technology changes, and other items unique to the setting.  Unlike many settings, this one is NOT frozen in time.  In fact, technology improves as you move forward in the Myth cycle.  You start with chain mail, spear and simple shields, but end with full plate armor, horse barding, and dedicated lances.  However, I think my favorite piece of advice in the GM section is this, "When running a scenario, it you have a plot planned out; avoid random events."  Music to my Trad/Neo-Trad ears!  West End Games: Star Wars my favorite GameMaster section, but the advice given in this book is probably my second favorite.  I have an excellent idea of how this game should be approached and played.  

Appendix A gives a very handy summary of Glory rewards for a variety of situations and PC/NPC types.  This is helpful as Glory rewards are often scattered in the rulebooks.  This helps consolidate them into a few pages.  Since this is a key measure and main success metric in the game, you can bet Players will want GMs to get this right.    

Things I Did Not Like

One thing that stands out with this game, is that it is a rather roll heavy game.  Many times, situations in the rules are abstracted down to a Trait test or series of Skill Rolls.  Success is based on the dice rolls more than anything else.  The narrative is shaped by these rolls, so luck can play a big part in what will develop and where the plot may go.  There are ways for players to mitigate the roll of luck using Passion checks, but there is also a risk.  In addition, rather complex situations that may take a few hours to role-play out fully, are designed to be resolved with a few rolls and a few moments of dialogue.  This allows the game to pack 1 year into a session or two.  However, it also leads the game to be a relatively streamlined experience, and some key events are not allowed to breath.  The game itself moves briskly from challenge to challenge, but this can disrupt the Narrative.  However, this game is designed to be more simulation of Arthurian Legend.  

This simulation also leads to a variety of "rituals" in how the game is played.  I.e. when you meet foreign Knights on patrol you do X.  If you end up at a foreign castle you do Y.  If you are flirting or courting you do Z.  The rules cover the most common situations and quickly and easily systematizes them into a Trait test.  This makes the game almost feel more like a series of pre-set rituals rather than creative role-playing.  The characters themselves are trapped a bit, which is one of the games strengths at recreation, but also a constraint on innovative role-play. 

The focus of this book is to put the Player-Knights in the County of Salisbury from the start of the time of the Boy King through to the end of Arthur.  Therefore, much of what is written tends to focus on that time period.  However, there is a great deal of time and geography that can not be covered in this book.

I was also disappointed that there was not a small section on Estates and Estate management in this book.  The main player-state seems to be as Household Knights.  However, I am very interested in running a Campaign (at least partially) as landholders and said responsibilities.  Half the fun of the game seems to be creating a family and lineage to grow over the full 150+ years of the Arthurian Myth cycle.  Also, I could see a fun campaign revolving around the adventures of a Conroi (10-15) of Mercenary Knights as well, but that is hardly touched on here.  Most of the Mercenary Knight detail comes from the main rulebook.  This book seems to want the focus to be on the last 50 or so years of the Arthurian Saga as Household Knights.    

The starting Scenarios also feed into this idea of Household Knights of Salisbury at the end of the era of Anarchy between Uther's death and King Arthur pulling the Sword from the Stone.  The Starting scenarios start the players as Squires, arranges for them to be promoted to Knights, and then allows them to get involved dealing with Saxons and border fights.  These scenarios slide easily into the Starter Set, the Grey Knight, and the Great Pendragon Campaign.  However, they are "mundane" adventures and years focusing on Saxon foes and battle, with a flavor of feasting.  It does not touch on magic or Fae or the more "wonderous" sides of the setting.  However, they do give an example of how to structure a session/year for a GM and serve to get Player-Knights stuck in.       

Meh and Other Uncertainties

There is a very detailed description and section on the various religions of the people of Arthurian Briton.  This section would have been really useful in the Core Rulebook as well.  However, the detail and history of each is fascinating.  This includes Roman and British Christianity, Heathenism(Spirit Worship), Paganism, Wodanism(Norse), and even Evil for NPCs.  As a history guy, this was really interesting to read!  

Of course, these religious traditions also have access to different Magic traditions and Miracles too.  Each of these traditions also has different spiritual foes such as fae, fiends, and Angels as well.  Of note, only fiends (agents of Satan) can use true illusions.  Illusion-like effects from other creatures like glamour change and warp reality itself.  Fiends may not change parts of God's creation as punishment so therefore their works are pure illusions.    

There are detailed rules for running Mass Battles.  These can be applies in tournament style Melees or in actual field Battles and Sieges as well.  These reminded me a bit of the Legend of the Five Rings or Dune: Adventures in the Imperium rules for Mass Battles.  However, the Pendragon rules for Mass Battle seem to be a bit more detailed.  

There are two full Chapters on NPCs and Beasts that the Player-Knights might encounter.  This ranges from standard Pictish warriors, to Saxons, to animals, to Witches, to Giants, and other Fae and Fiends.  They also offer some ideas on how the more bizarre creatures appeared in Arthurian Legends.  They also give Stat blocks for some Key NPCs, mostly from the later periods of the Myth Cycle.    

Appendix B is pretty cool as it has a lot of detail for expanded reading.  This ranges from Academic works, Traditional Folklore, and all the way to modern fiction.  A solid list to help you get a feel for the genre.        

Final Thoughts

If you plan on running Pendragon this is really a must have book.  The detail if gives for the various religions of Briton alone is amazing and worth the read.  The Feasts rules are also really cool and a great look at how to systematize the Social Pillar.  The Bestiary and discussion of Magic helps build on what a complete and interesting world Pendragon lives in.   

That said, 6th Edition still has a few blindspots for a fully developed campaign.  The first is there is very little discussion or talk about the "Exploration Pillar".  Granted, much of the region is "Known" but not to the Player-Knights.  There is some discussion about visiting foreign lands, but those lands are left largely blank.  In addtion, Knights are often Nobles and Land-holders and this book does not touch on that aspect of the setting/campaigns at all.     

With this and Core Rulebook, you now have enough to play Pendragon.... mostly.  Afterall, the GM can fill-in the rest of the Map as they see fit beyond Salisbury.  Afterall, Your Pendragon May Vary!  If you make your Player-Knights Household Knights you have everything you need for a good campaign.  If you want to explore some of the other possibilities of the setting, this will lead you to more books to buy. 

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Battle Report: Castles in the Sky - Visiting the Sudova Riviera!

 

Oh boy, after painting up the Austro-Hungarian Fleet that I picked up from Scale Creep Miniatures, it was time for them to hit the table.  Freshly painted miniatures are always a joy to take to the field, even if they often get hammered on the table.  

The Dual Monarchy of the Austro-Hungarian Empire often treated the Balkans as their Sphere of Influence.  The Dalmatian Coast and the Sudova Riviera in Montenegro were both claimed to be their own airspace.  The Concert of Europe never officially agreed to this, but it was a defacto Fait Accompli.  Therefore, it was not unusual for airships from the Dual Monarchy to be found patrolling the area.  

However, the British Empire had been toying diplomatically with an Entente Alliance with Italy.  The Italians and the Austrians were part of the Triple Alliance along with Germany.  However, Italy craved the Dalmatian coast and the territory on the other side of the Adriatic.  In order to curry favor and potentially cause a rift in the Triple Alliance, the British decided to test the Austrian resolve above the Sudova Riviera. This area is well known for its beaches and tourism, rather than its military importance.

The Forces: 

Austro-Hungarian Empire

Kaiserin Class Armored Cruiser- SMS Maria Theresa - Command 3

Zenta Class Cruiser - SMS Aspern - Command 1

Novara Class Cruiser - SMS  Saida - Command 3

Huzsar Destroyer- SMS Salamander  - Command 2, Air Torpedo

British Empire

Indefatigable Battle Cruiser- HMS New Zealand - Command 4

Warrior Class Cruiser - HMS Armstrong - Command 3

Duke of Edinburgh Class Cruiser- HMS Regent - Command 2

Active Class Light Cruiser- HMS Antigone - Command 3

Mission

Today we will be playing a Patrol mission per the rules in the main rulebook.  There will be no Complications.  

Set-up

Today, we will be fighting on a 48 MU by 48 MU table.  1 MU will equal 1 inch.  

The British are the Attackers and will be deploying approaching the coast.  The Austro-Hungarians will deploy on the opposite board edge.  Both sides are up to 12 MU in from their board edge. 

The terrain is a coastline cutting across at an angle.  The coastline has some cliffs and mountains of various heights of 1-3 at the coast, with two larger mountains at 4 and 6.

The British are coming in at an angle, looking to cut across from Southwest to the Northeast.  They are at speed 5 and altitudes between 4-6.  The Battle Cruiser is leading the way.   

The Austro-Hungarians are coming in from the same edge but moving Northwest to Southeast.  If no one changes course, the two sides will cross paths in the center of the board.  They are at altitudes 5-7 and at speed 4 across the fleet.       

As usual, I will be breaking the game down into three general phases to make it easier to document and follow the battle.  I won't be detailing every ships movement or altitude change.  The first two turns are the Maneuver phase, the middle turns are the Battle phase, and the final two turns are the End Phase.  This is a 6-turn game.

Maneuver Phase

The HMS New Zealand picked up speed and moved to cut off the Austrian ships, while the rest of the squadron turned towards the enemy.  The Austria-Hungarians turned away and stayed tight, with their Destroyer shooting out ahead and starting to turn back into the fray to snipe.  

The HMS Regent opened the battle with some bow shots that rang off the hull off the SMS Maria Theresa, leaving three friction.  The Maria Theresa returned fire and clanged a shell off the British cruiser as a warning. 

Battle Phase

The British aggressively press forward, with the HMS New Zealand dropping to the same altitude as the Maria Theresa to attack.  However, the Austro-Hungarians make an aggressive turn into the oncoming British and manage to Cross the T of the Cruiser squadron.  

The HMS New Zealand and Regent Fire for Effect and rock the Austro-Hungarian flagship with 8 friction and 2 hits.  The HMS Armstrong and Antigone fire at the SMS Saida, but their bow guns only manage to cause some friction.  The Austrian command ship's rudder is jammed from the barrage.   

The Austrians give as good as they get, with the Maria Theresa and Saida returning fire on the HMS Regent and landing two hits and some friction.  The Regent's Air Screw is fouled and her Rudder jammed in the exchange.  Air torpedoes from the Dual Monarchies flagship manage to strike home on the HMS New Zealand as well, causing a hit.  

The shot was a lucky one as the New Zealand explodes in a cataclysmic chain of explosions!  The explosion is so large that it hits the SMS Salamander and causes her screw to be fouled.  It also further damages the HMS Regent!  Promising careers are cut short as the New Zealand goes down with all hands! 

The Captain of the HMS Regent takes command of the fleet, despite having his own issues.       

With the British Flag gone, the battle quickly devolves into a general melee.  The British elect the Austro-Hungarians to go first.  The Maria Theresa is stricken and flies straight her rudder jammed.  The SMS Saida uses a Command to Come About and turns to go straight down the throat of the British fleet, who scramble to get out of the way.  Meanwhile, the Aspern and Salamander try to get into the fight.  The HMS Regent is stricken to move slowly forward due to a jammed rudder of her own.  The HMS Armstrong moves to engage the SMS Saida on equal terms.      

The Captain of the Saida lets loose amongst the British cruisers with disappointing results.  He manages to cause a hit on the HMS Regent, which damages the Bridge!  Fire from the Aspern misses the Armstrong, but the Maria Theresa has better luck putting shells on target.  The HMS Armstrong takes two hits and is Crippled in the exchange!  The Captain calls for all hands to abandon ship as she starts to sink.  The Salamander misses the HMS Antigone or has her Air Torpedoes swatted away.   

Things look rough for the Brits, but it didn't go all the Austrians way as the Saida is pounded in her position between the two British ships.  In return she is also Crippled and has her screw fouled.  The SMS Saida is also sinking.  

For their troubles, the SMS Saida and the HMS Regent strike their colors.  They are too busy managing their damaged and sinking ships to keep going.  However, the HMS Armstrong refuses to strike.  At the end of the turn, their is still Friction on the HMS Armstrong and the HMS Antigone.  

End Phase

In an attempt to cut-off the SMS Aspern, the HMS Antigone collides with the Austrian ship.  the two ships become entangled.  They are both stricken with 3 and 1 friction respectively.   The Maria Theresa is content to gain altitude and try to move away from the battle, while the Salamander re-loads Torpedoes and moves in towards the last British ship.  

Nobody has any shooting due to being entangled.  Friction clears, but the HMS Armstrong was immobilized and stalled due to Friction last turn. This time, the captain strikes the Armstrong's colors. 

The Antigone and the Aspern trade fire, with the Aspern getting the worst of it and losing some armor.  However, the SMS Salamander manages to sink two Air Torpedoes into the stern of the HMS Antigone and causes her to lose armor and her rudder to jam.  The Maria Theresa also fires a parting shot with her stern battery, but fails to cause further damage.  

With that, the battle comes to an end. 

Conclusion 

Of course, the British Foreign Office quickly condemned the attack on the Sudova Riviera at the Concert of Europe.  It was easy to blame it on a rogue Captain.  Afterall, he was dead.  He could not defend himself or claim otherwise.  His ship and all its records were destroyed and lost.   

The HMS Regent managed to limp back to British Egypt, but it was touch and go.  The crew's effort was immortalized in harrowing ballad by some country wag.  The crew of the HMS Armstrong were detained and the remains of the ship impounded by the Hapsburg government.  However, SMS Saida ended up ditching in the Adriatic just off the coast, attempts to refloat it would be impossible.  The crew of mixed ethnicities mostly survived, and the families of those who did not were given a pension in their post-humous honor.  The Dual Monarchy pressed for the SMS Saida's replacement costs plus a ransom for their crew and the British gladly turned it over.

The Italians were not swayed to leave the Triple Alliance.    

The Austro-Hungarians managed to defend their shores admirably.  The British lost 21 Armor to the Austro-Hungarian 10.  The British had their Flagship blow up, a Cruiser sink, and a second cruiser sent scurrying with her Colors struck.  The Austro-Hungarians had 1 cruiser start to sink and strike her colors.  

For the Austro-Hungarians, the star of the battle was the Maria Theresa who blew up the HMS New Zealand and did severe damage to the HMS Regent.  The Saida deserves honorable mention as well.  For the British?  Well, something was wrong with their bloody ships today!  

The key moment was when the Austrians managed to Cross the T of the British cruiser squadron while the New Zealand tried to cut them off.  Instead, they turned into the attack at the last moment.  Good show! 

This battle had a lot of fun!  Disentangling, Commands, Sinking, and Striking of Colors!  There was so much Friction at a couple of points that it was not all cleared in the End Phase, which is unusual in a battle of this size.   

Until next time. 

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RPG Design: Types of Scenes

 

Why, look at we have here.  It has been a long time since you have seen that banner on a blog post!  Sure, I primarily design Wargames, but I have been expanded my portfolio to include RPG Design as well.  Every good business needs to diversify!  Plus, I find that writing RPGs can be a nice creative break from just doing Wargames.  Lastly, they don't need miniatures to be painted to get them done, which helps get them finished faster!  

I tend to come from RPGs from a cinematic perspective.  For those familiar with the parlance of RPGs, I have a Trad/Neo-Trad approach to them as opposed to simulation or Old-School Revival.  I tell you this so that you know my preferences straight of the bat.  Not everyone prefers this approach, but I do.  I want my RPGs to be a collaborative story-telling adventure where ALL the players get to help put the story together, including their character arcs, the plots the GM wants to tell, and the story lines that evolve as the game develops.  In my RPG world, there is no winners, only players with stories to tell. 

If that is not your RPG bag, that is okay with me.  Play what you like!  Honestly, there is more RPG content out on the web than wargaming, so there should be plenty of stuff for your preferences.  However, you might want to stick around and see if any of what I write might be useful to you.... even if it is just to laugh at!  

Solid Bones

Most RPG games are composed of scenes.  If you think of a movie, a scene is simply the various set-pieces that help to tell the story.  In cinema, the camera tends to focus on the scenes that are important to the themes, plot, or characters.  Scenes that are not important to these elements are glossed over or happen "off-camera".  

Think about Star Wars, I use this example because we have probably all seen it.  On camera, we see Luke, Obi-Wan and the Droids go to a cantina looking for a pilot to get them to Alderaan.  We see them go into the bar and find Han.  That is the important scene.  What we do not see is Luke going to Toshi Station to pick-up some power converters, because that scene is not important.  Those scenes were deleted.  George Lucas decided to focus on the scenes that drove the story he was trying to tell.    

A good RPG encourages players to focus on the right scenes too.  Therefore, as the Designer it is important for the game itself to help the Players know what scenes are important for the game.  Some games are better at this than others. 

For Example, Legend of the Five Rings: 5th Edition explicitly breaks down the game and lays-out rules and details for the following types of scenes: Intrigue, Martial, Investigative, Exploration, Big Battle.  The rulebook tells the Players that these scenes are the heart of the L5R experience, and details how to play such scenes.  

The Anatomy of a Scene

Establishing Shot

This is a simple scene or narration that sets where the characters are physically in the world.  It is a great way to transition between larger set-piece scenes and gives a momentary break in the action, signaling that the game is moving on from where it was in the previous scene.  

Think about all the times in a movie where you see an exterior shot of a building, or a wide shot of an interior, or even a matte painting.  These basically tell your players where they are going to be playing out their scene.  However, these scenes are a mere transition to the details.  

The Inciting Incident

The Inciting Incident is a decision point that invites the players to take-action with their characters.  The Game Master often sets up a scenario that transitions into asking the player's how they are going to proceed.  The answer to that question is up to the players, but the GM has to set-up a scene in order to ask the question "What does your character do?"  

Arguably, this is the most important part of any Scene as it now opens a game session up to what the players will do.          

The Scene Itself

This is where the Player's dictate what their Characters are doing, and the GM has the world react to these actions.  This may involve role-play, a challenge check, or other mechanics.  However, it could be as simple as a narrative response to Character actions.  This interplay of Action -> Reaction can continue as long or as quickly as the Players (including the GM) wish it to last, and the Players are having fun.  

Honestly, this is the bulk of any given scene in an RPG.  

Epilogue

The scene will end with a quick wrap-up to provide closure.  The players or the GM no longer wish to react to the scene.  There is nothing left to do and no where else for the scene to go.  The GM can choose to end the scene or the players can let the GM know that they are ready to move on. The Epilogue is simply closing the scene and then starting the next scene with an Establishing Shot.

You can see how the Epilogue seamlessly can loop back to the Establishing Shot to create a virtuous circle until the player's reach the end of their allotted session time.    

The Types of Scenes

L5R gives a great start for a list of scene types that a GM and designer need to understand when thinking about their RPG experience.  I want to expand a bit on this with a few other thoughts and even detail the ones listed a bit further.  

Social Scene

In such a scene, the main driver of the action is interactions between characters and each other, or with the NPCs of the world.  In a social scene, the focus is on exchanging ideas via dialogue.  If their are challenge checks, typically they are of a Social nature.  This includes lying, detecting lies, convincing allies, intimidating opponents.  Scenes focusing on intrigue are often Social scenes.  Political games use a lot of Social Scenes.   

Notable games that make strong use of  Social Scenes are Legend of the Five Rings and Pendragon.

Stealth Scenes  

These are scenes that are focused on moving quickly and quietly without being detected. Opposed rolls often take the form of stealth checks, with the occasional bit of fast talking.  Stealth Scenes are often important in heist focused games. 

Notable game that uses Stealth Scenes are Shadowrun and Blades in the Dark. 

Investigation Scenes

These can overlap with Social scenes, but the focus here is on detecting and uncovering clues from the surroundings, including NPCs.  Typically, I do not like to hide information behinds challenge checks, but here is where key skills like investigation and perception can come into play.  

A few notable games that focus on Investigation scenes are Call of Cthulhu, Hard City and Gumshoe.

Travel Scenes

Here the focus is on exploring the unknown and discovering new things via movement.  This can use a variety of checks, but the focus is on getting from Point A to Point B successfully.  You discover new or forgotten things along the way.  

A notable exploration game is Forbidden Lands and any Hex-Crawl focused OSR game.   

Combat Scenes (Duels, Skirmish, or Big Battles)

It really does not matter of it is a one-on-one fight, party versus enemies, or the characters commanding regiments of soldiers on the field of battle.  The focus here is by solving problems with violence.  There are a lot of games that make this a big focus for gameplay and there are a variety of different mechanics for these types of scenes.  

Notable games are Dungeons and Dragons and G.I. Joe: The Role-Playing Game.

Crafting Scenes

These are scenes where characters are building or creating new things to introduce into the game world.  Thes can take many forms from magical equipment, technology, or even works of art. 

Many games incorporate some sort of crafting, but it is often focused on -or-2 character-builds or is a side-quest of the game.  Rarely is it the main driving factor of an RPG. 

Shopping and Planning Scenes

In these scenes, Characters are gathered together to come up with their plans for the next few scenes by gathering intel, making plans, and acquiring the gear they need to accomplish their goals and objectives.  These scenes are usually player driven and depending on the group maybe critical to game play, or the least exciting part of the game. 

Like Crafting Scenes, most RPGs do not focus on this aspect of the game play.  However, players engage and often initiate these types of scenes themselves.  

Putting It All Together

As an RPG Designer, it is important to give your players some idea of how scenes should work in your game, and how they flow together.  The Game Master should also have an idea of what Types of Scenes may occur in a game, with suggestions in the rules on how to resolve the most common scene types.  

As the Designer, you should also have an idea of the most common types of scenes the game likes to lean in with, and build mechanics for the key scenes.  Scenes types that are not the focus still need some rules, but the level of detail can be different.  

For example, Glittering Void: The Role-Playing Game of Space Mecha Theatre is focused on two main scene types.  Those are Battle Scenes and Social Scenes.  Therefore, there are rather complex rules for fighting and for negotiations that extend and expand options using the Universal Mechanics.  However, scenes for upgrading mechs, investigations, sneaking around, and shopping are slimmed down to more basic rules using the Universal Mechanic to resolve. 

In Conclusion

As an RPG Designer, and a GM; it is important to understand how Scenes work to drive an RPG game.  It is also important for the Designer to know the type of scenes your game wants to lean in on and give guidelines for all scene types.  I offered only a handful of broad scene types to give you a starting point.  As the designer, you will want to think about specific scene types your game will be recreating. 

Until next time.....

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On the Painting Desk: Castles in the Sky- Austro-Hungarian Fleet

 

Castles in the Sky is model agnostic, but the minis in the book are all from Brigade.  My existing fleets are also from Brigade and I like the look of them. Therefore, "Liberation Day" Tariffs were announced I moved quickly to secure a new fleet from Scale Creep Games before the new Tariff pricing took effect.  I might not have been the only one with that idea, because the site didn't have much left on it.  Quantities were so low, that I emailed Scale Creep before I ordered to make sure that the volumes on the site were correct. 

Scale Creep got me my order right quick, and before Tariff pricing kicked in.  I was thankful.  This time I picked up two fleet packs of Austro-Hungarian ships.  I was surprised when I got them that they were Resin/Metal hybrids for the big boys.  I am not going to lie, I am not a fan of that. 

Despite being metal/resin hybrids it didn't take me long to get them assembled with Super-Glue and Greenstuff.  Flash was minimal, and the hardest part was getting the smokestacks off the sprue and somewhat lined up right!  

Oh boy!  Look at those beauties.  I have a few different makes and models there.  Look at those mid-size wedge shaped darlings.  They look like a Star Destroyer had a baby with the Titanic.  Ahhhh..... so cute.  I also really like the look of those metal ships on the left.  The only downside, is I am not sure which of these cool little guys will be the Austro-Hungarian escorts?  They all look a little beefy and well-armed for escorts.  

From there, I got them outside and gave them a Seer Grey undercoat.  Next, I gave them all a dark grey wash and then I dry-brushed with cheap, white-acrylic paint.  They were now ready for some paint.  I took some time and thought a bit about the color schemes.  I took a close look at the sky around me and my existing fleets.  I decided that I was going to use Graveyard Grey as the "hull", Sand Golem for the wooden decks, and Runic Grey for the super-structures.  These colors will give the ship a "camouflage" look in the sky from either the top or bottom as clouds are often grey as well.  Plus, they will still look like World War One warships.  

I decided to take a few of each ship type and give it a quick test run..... 

As a quick test of the color scheme, I was happy with the results and decided to keep going with that color scheme.  From there, it was a just a few touches here and there to make the ships "Pop" a bit.  For windows I used Voidshield Blue from the regular Armypainter range of paints.  I also gave them some markings on their "fins" where is made sense in Red and White.  These also came from the main Armypainter range.  Finally I painted the inside of the stacks with Grim Black speedpaint.   

The last step on these test models was to mount them on some bases.  I typically used a Litko flying stand ring on the base of the ship.  Then, I would insert the bases that I got from Brigade.  This gives them that flying feel and is very sturdy.  Lastly, I tried to cut-out an Austro-Hungarian flag I got with the ships using an X-acto knife and mounted it on the biggest ship's observation mast.  

This gave me a workable fleet for any games that were going to come up.  However, what if I needed a bigger fleet?  Good thing I still had several ships to get painted up! 

Satisfied with the test ships, I decided to move on and paint the rest using the same general scheme.  The only challenge was that I did not have enough Litko flying base rings for all of them.  I only had enough for about 5 more airships.  Oh well. I went ahead and painted them all anyway and decided which ones got to fly later.     

Then, here is the ships on patrol somewhere over Bosnia, patrolling the border with Serbia.  This show of force should deter any Nationalist sentiment from those regional upstarts!  

This gives our local Castles in the Sky players 2 British fleets, a French Fleet, an American Fleet, a German fleet, and now this Austro-Hungarian Fleet.   A good mix of fleets and ships for us to choose from.  

Until next time! 

Become a Patron and get access to all the cool stuff, a peak behind the curtain of Blood and Spectacles, and early-access to playtest games!  

Blood and Spectacles Patreon! 

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Check out the latest publications and contact me at our Blood and Spectacles website

Or purchase all out games at the Blood and Spectacles Publishing Wargames Vault Page!        

Random: Mid-Year Round-up, Pardner!

 

Did you hear about the doctor that fell into a well?  He should have tended to the sick and left the well alone!  Well, well, well...... look at the time.  It sure does fly-by when you are having fun!  Before you know it, it will be the end of the year and what will I have to show for it?  

It is the end of July and now seems like a good time to re-cap the first half of the year and check how I am doing on my goals for the distant future of 2025.  You can see my original goal list here.  A post like this one is a bit of a tradition here at Blood and Spectacles and helps make sure I stay on track and do not get to distracted as the year progresses.  

In addition to the hobby stuff you see here I have been doing a lot of things in my personal and professional life as well.  I won't bore you with the details, except to say that my time and money are valuable commodities that are in big demand at the moment.  Hopefully, it won't have too many repercussions on what we are trying to do here!  

As usual, I have broken my goals up into five key categories: 

• Purchases
• Painting and Modelling
• Playing Games
• Rules Writing
• Miscellaneous   

Purchases

This section always starts with a huge Thank You!  My purchases are driven by you.  Every time you purchase a game from Osprey, Wargames Vault, Drive Thru RPG, follow me on Patreon or support me in other ways you are funding this goal.  You see, my Purchasing goals are driven directly by the financial support of readers like you.  It is your support that allows me to buy the paints, supplies, miniatures, and rules that grace this humble blog.  Your purchases are what keeps Blood and Spectacles Publishing going.  The money I earn here goes back into the business of wargaming!  Thank you for making all of the publications and projects possible! 

Turf War

Going into the year, I had a big list of things I was thinking about purchasing.  I am always torn between funding new projects, supporting existing games, or trying to expand the scope and reach of the hobby into new areas via reviews and the like.  These guidelines help keep me from chasing the new shiny all the time and focused for the year.  So, how have I done?  Well, half as well as I would of hoped, and not half as well as you deserve! 

• Stay caught-up with the Osprey Wargaming Series- Achieved, mostly because they have not really released anything?  I expected Voidfighter to be out by now, but it seems have been delayed.  Mike Hutchinson's Pacific Command seems to have been moved up instead, and I have it.  Review posted!  
• Purchase Victory at Sea or Nimitz- The Tariffs and other uncertainty has kept me away from going all in on this front.  However, I did find that Miniature Market had the Victory at Sea rulebook at pre-Tariff levels.  I picked it up and you can expect a review later this year.  I have not bought any minis, but figure I can use paper templates or even order GHQ models from the US if I need them.    
• Purchase Three Fantasy Ice Hockey Teams- That's a negative.  This one is more due to not being able to clean off my Painting Desk in a reasonable time frame this year. 
• Start one more of the following: Carthaginian, Aztec, Theban, or Late Roman - Big Net Zero.  Tariffs, painting, and space limitations have kept me from fully committing to a new "big" project for 2025.  
• Start Cowboys- Another disappointing outcome.  
• New set of RPG rules - Well, not NEW but I did pick up the Pendragon Gamemaster's Handbook.  I really want to give this game a shot but doubt my RPG group will go for it.  I still contemplate writing something for it.  However, I would rather write something I can monetize.  I also still need to review My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic RPG book my wife owns. 
• A New Heroquest Expansion- Another win!  I purchased and painted up and reviewed First Light and Mage in the Mirror.  I also got the Wandering Monks and reviewed and painted those up too.  
• A 4th Reaper Nativity Scene - Nope   

I did add on something that was not on the list at the start of the year.  Before Tariff prices kicked in, I did pick-up an Austro-Hungarian fleet from Brigade thanks to Scale Creep Miniatures for use with Castles in the Sky. 

Austro-Hungarian fleet from Brigade

Well, my initial plans for 2025 were very aggressive, so it makes sense that I have not been able to follow-up on them 100%.  Plus, some of you may have noticed some chaos happening in the global economy that has impacted my spending and sales for the year so far.  Ho hum, such is life.  

Painting and Modelling

I went into the year with 1 big project to complete, and that was an Anglo-Saxon force from Victrix Miniatures for use in my Fury of the Northman rules, and other games.  Otherwise, my painting desk was pretty clean.  

Well, I think I did okay in this category as I managed to paint up 130+ miniatures so far this year.  Not a bad bit of painting.  I did complete those Anglo-Saxons, painted up my Heroquest expansions as well.  Beyond that, I have not gotten too much accomplished at this point.  Maybe a couple one-off palette cleansers here and there?  

Anglo-saxon army

      

Mage in the Mirror

First Light and other Heroes for Heroquest

We will see what comes next, as my back log is in an okay place.  I just have the Austro-Hungarian fleet to get painted up.  Then, my desk is open and ready for the next project..... whatever that might be?  

Gaming

Similar to last year, I jumped out of the gate early with a decent amount of gaming.  However, I expect that to slow down as we move through the rest of summer and fall.  When the weather is nice, there is a lot of things to get done in my region.  Gaming tends to take a bit of a back-seat.  However, 15 games is not a slouch, even if they are a mix of solo-play, games with my Skumgrod, and games with the True Crit Gaming Guild.  

I think there are three big stories for the year.  First, I finally took my Battle of Kadesh game out into the world.  I had been talking about running that participation game out in public, and I finally did it.  That took a few years to get off the ground.  The second big story was getting Castles in the Sky back onto the table after a long hiatus at the club.  The final one is that I have been getting Heroquest out and on my table for a solo-campaign using the App. 

Battle of Kadesh

My RPG night has been rolling along, but we have been mostly in a D&D 5E campaign all year.  I have not had a chance to DM much of anything yet.  In addition, I got to one board game night and played a Clue-a-like game.  The name is escaping me at the moment.  So, my non-wargaming stuff is going okay as well.   

Castles in the Sky

I am still looking at getting my Under the Martian Yoke solo-campaign finished off this year.  That is a good winter task.  I am also hoping to bring something new to the table for the Gaming Guild as well, but I am not 100% sure what yet. 

Rules Writing

Going into this year, I did not have a clear idea of what was going to get done, and what was not going to get done.  Some of the stuff I was the closest to finishing the writing on, I was far away on regarding post-production.  I did not have the miniatures, art, or photos for some of my projects that were furthest along.  I found in 2025, that the games that get done first are the ones that I have the post-production components for!  That means, I can get them done much faster if they are based off my existing games and I all ready have miniatures for it.  If not...... well...... those take a lot longer.  

Surprisingly, I have 4 games/books that I added to my catalog all ready for the year!  I was not sure I would get any finished by this time, much less four! 

This is a campaign supplement for Men of Bronze.  Therefore, to get the most out of it, you really need Men of Bronze or Wars of the Republic.  When I was playtesting the original rules for Men of Bronze, I often set those games during the Corinthian War so I do not know what took me so long to make a supplement for it?  I mean, the historical campaign had big Hoplite battles, raids, naval battles, sieges, and everything to make a great campaign!    

I have been into writing and playing RPGs lately.  This one actually came about when I was working on the mecha dogfight game; Hostile Space.  The wargame had some detailed dogfighting mechanics, but that seemed to be missing one of the key components of the Space Mecha Genre.  The videos always seemed to be about the characters and their relationships.  Therefore, it only made sense to expand and write the game as an RPG.  

Typically, my RPGs are relatively rules-lite, narrative driven affairs for quick play.  Not this one.  This is the crunchiest RPG I have ever written.  This thing was a beast to write, and I did it all in a relatively short period of time.  The post-Production however took me another 5 years or so.  It has everything you need to play including QRS, Character Sheets, Index, and a starting Op to get you going.   

Going into the year, this game also was not really on my radar.  However, I had the miniatures for it and I based it on the same general template of Homer's Heroes: Bronze Age Bad Boys.  Therefore, I had the bones and the post-prod pieces I needed to make this game come together quickly.  Amazing how that works!  That said, this is a great little Skirmish game that is model-vs-model and very cinematic.  It is great for recreating the more fantastical Viking Sagas.  

The final game I got onto my Publications page was a Role-Playing Game more akin to my style.  This is a rule-lite, narrative focused RPG for Wild West or Weird Wild West adventures.  I noticed that Poker and Cards were common in Wild West games, so decided to build the resolution mechanics completely around playing cards and Poker hands instead of the normal dice mechanics I use.  This was a stretch of my design skills.  This one has the rules, character sheets, and a starting adventure to get you going. 

My Patrons have been getting previews of some of the work I have been doing on other games like: 

• Rise and Fall- Carthaginian Supplement for Wars of the Republic
• PHUCK- Fantasy Hockey
• Barbarians at the Gate- Late Roman
• Gods, Glory and Guns- New World wargaming
• Super Sexy Swingin' Spies- 60's Super-Spies RPG
• Mobile Fortress: Verdun- Land Ironclads compatible with Castles in the Sky

Other Stuff

I had a pretty light load on this front this year. I only wanted to keep my Painting and Games tracker up-to-date on the blog.  So far so good!  That often forms the basis for these updates.  

The only other big news is that I have been slowly downscaling my Social Media in the form of Facebook and Instagram.  Instead, I have now opened a Blue Sky account to start pivoting towards.... maybe.  I am still getting the hang of it there, since it is a bit different from my other Social Media accounts. 

Restless Sun

Conclusion

I guess 2025 has proven to be more productive than I expected it to be.  Like I said, there has been a lot happening on the personal and professional front.  However, I have been using a different technique in my writing process that has helped me be more productive.  Maybe I will stay productive over late summer and fall into winter?  I hope so, but who knows.  

What keeps me motivated is hearing from YOU!  I love it when people send me photos, share their war stories, and post about their own adventures online.  That is a big motivator.  Feel free to drop me a line anytime on any of my Socials, the MessageBoard, or directly at Eric@Bloodandspectacles.com.           

Until next time! 

Become a Patron and get access to all the cool stuff, a peak behind the curtain of Blood and Spectacles, and early-access to playtest games!  

Blood and Spectacles Patreon! 

You can follow Blood and Spectacles Facebook page or Instagram for more fun! 

Check out the latest publications and contact me at our Blood and Spectacles website

Or purchase all out games at the Blood and Spectacles Publishing Wargames Vault Page!