Saturday 30 April 2011

Avatar Of The Jaguar

Even Solar is not fully aware of his powers. The ability to call the Sun to his aid seems almost unlimited but thoughts as dark as the moonless night stalk his head more often and often. What additional price will the Mayan artifact demand from him?

Painted along with Stalker, simply as expediency and to practice my 'new' black technique, I found the outcome slightly less satisfactory with Avatar Of The Jaguar as the painting is probably not quite as smooth as on Stalker. I guess this is likley due to the larger and less defined areas on Stalker.

Along with Solar and Dark Solar, Avatar Of The Jaguar is but one aspect of billionaire Johann Sonnenbrandt - a Supreme empowered by ancient Ahau Kin, who is at once a tormented and torn soul.

I have wanted to get my hands on Avatar Of The Jaguar since the first previews and enjoyed painting it. The black jaguar colour scheme seemed a natural complement to the Stalker mini, and it is very likely I will try a patterned Avatar Of The Jaguar at some point in the future. I will hopefully post the whole Solar iterations line-up in the next few days.

In game terms Avatar Of The Jaguar is much more focused than Solar emphasizing Close Combat Actions and related abilities. Combined with Stalker he is a deadly proposition as their abilities can stack to create very debilitating effects on an unwary target.

Friday 29 April 2011

Dark Solar/Solar

He took the mantle of Solar to wash the guilt off of his soul. Promising he’d never take another human life, Solar patrols the streets of Pulp City day and night, a loner constantly brooding over what might have been and will never be

The original 'spandex Supreme' has had a makeover (see Solar here), and what a makeover! The original divided opinion in some quarters I know, due to the cape (I have read comments elsewhere from posters who struggled with it, even though I thought it was a great solution to creating the appearance of Levitation), but I really liked the first iteration. This new one is probably even stronger in overall execution and the fact that it is single-piece makes assembly very simple. It is easy to see the evolution in the creation at the hands of a different sculptor.

I actually finished this a lot sooner than anticipated, starting it only as an afterthought along with Sovereign (and later Perun - all with a similar root palette), so it was pleasing for me to see it finished. I elected to continue my previous Solar colour scheme this time around. I decided against trying a free-hand version of the chest emblem as my confidence to do so is not sufficient - may next time when I try a different colour scheme.

In gaming terms Level 2 Solar (Hero) has had a bit of a makeover; nothing drastic, just some tweaks to better reflect how the game works now with more than 50 Supremes available, and the fact that he should have been able to fly all along!

Level 3 Dark Solar is a very powerful proposition; a Hero/Villain, he unites Nature Supremes as a very formidable force. His all-Nature Team Power generates an additional Power-Up die per Round; not to be taken lightly. Just as the Level 2 Solar is a fairly formidable option even as a Level 2, so too is Dark Solar relative to his Level 3 peers, armed with some powerful Damaging Actions (Tactica here). Along with Dead Eye he may be my current favourite Level 3 available.

Thursday 28 April 2011

Little Ben

With a lick or two of paint. For Salute I used a basic clock face print out over the 'window'; until I can find a more satisfactory solution it will remain without clock face, so any suggestions or suggested links welcomed.

Dimensions are approximately 4" deep, 4" wide, 12" high.

Stalker

Recently Solar and his only long time companion, Stalker, are on the heels of the cultists that help Stygian to wake up the Forgotten.

A long time coming this one; the arrival of Stalker was heralded with the original appearance of Solar, both in his background and his rules. So when I was able to get my hands on one, I wanted to paint it straight-away, especially as Solar has been one of my favourite Supremes.

I painted this mini and another (to be seen very soon...) at the same time to try a slightly different approach to my normal 'black' technique, and I was quite pleased with the results, even if the photograph does not show the mini as well as I would like.

The 'new' technique involved using a dark blue-green as base colour rather than dark grey that I usually choose. That was highlighted up by mixing in greys and shaded with black and brown washes.

I enjoyed painting stalker and look forwards to getting him into a battle report sooner rather than later. It was nice to get some minis finished this week, so the next few days should see some more posts.

Sunday 24 April 2011

Mini Update

It looks like I hadn't finished painting a Pulp City mini since March, and even then it was only a couple of figures. I know I had a few distractions, but I did not realise that it had been that long until I checked back over the blog. Consequently I have managed to get back on with some painting, adding Stalker and Avatar of the Jaguar to the ranks of my minis yesterday, and starting work on Sovereign , Perun and Dark Solar.

The Hadrons remain unfinished as does Guerilla. In the undercoated stash are Red Baron. Time to knuckle down if I can...

Tactica: Blood Rose

NAME: Blood Rose
SUBFACTION: Blood Watch
FUNCTION: Healer & teleporter

BRIEF: Last survivor of a lost other-dimensional culture; healer with the Blood Watch. Blood Rose requires careful use as her lack of defensive skills, relatively low Damage and relatively low defensive Traits (even with her Trump SPIRIT ) mean she is an easy potential target. On the plus side there should be little temptation to need or use Power-Ups, so her role is narrow meaning you can focus on Damage-dealing from the rest of the Team and are not left debating too much how to use her. Don’t be afraid to make maximum use of her AP Allowance – if you are taking Blood Rose in your Team, then it is for a very good reason, so don’t scrimp on making maximum use of her.


POWERS: Lacking Damaging Actions, Blood Rose is pure Support Supreme, focusing on deployment, healing and movement. While this may sound limiting, it arguably allows you to use other Team members a little more freely since Blood Rose offers a ‘get out of jail’ card of sorts. Of course the flipside is reduced damage dealing capacity overall.
Look to use her movement abilities early in the Encounter and probably healing more so later.

Overwhelming Mercy: very useful, since this can remove the Incapacitated Condition, a great way to return a model with Regeneration (such as Six Feet Under) back into the game. Don’t overlook the Burdened aspect, so if an Incapacitated model can be Healed with First Aid Kit instead, then that may be a worthwhile consideration if it is a safe option. Or use before the end of the Round to ensure AP for the Pool; net gain for a Level 2 is minimum 4 AP up to 6+ for Level 3 depending on who is targeted – a forward investment not to be overlooked.

Shadow Door: obviously beneficial for repositioning a friendly model, either to grab or contest an objective, or maybe to try and hold an enemy by placing a Supreme like Six Feet Under or Sgt. Bale into Base to Base, or basically overcome lack of other movement abilities. It is also expedient for a swift withdrawal if Blood Rose and a Team-mate are in danger; then I would suggest combining Shadow Door with Run* to get Blood Rose and the target as far from danger as possible.

Portal Of Thorns: possibly my favorite Action in Blood Rose’s repertoire. While Shadow Door is great for escaping Base to Base, Portal Of Thorns is more cost-effective as a simple movement of a friendly model. Movement distance can be maximized by having a healer near to Blood Rose to remove Damage points that she accrues.
Since the target model can be moved up to 10 inches without endangering Blood Rose, think about using Heroic Call (Battlefield Control) to set-up a tag team Action; reposition the target up to 10 inches away, then Activate the target to attack where you want them since a Charge* will add a further 6 inches, or most ranged attacks could be further combined with a Move*;) or set up with Trail’s A Second Ahead beforehand to respond to enemy movement through the Held Actions available. Especially useful to pick off a flanking model. The downside is that the friendly target will probably be left out of support range of your Team.
One option to consider is to use a tag team of Blood Rose and a model to carry a movable objective (Quest Plot, for example) back to safety in your deployment zone. This will require Blood Rose being within 6 inches of the objective location, meaning she will probably be taken down as a consequence, but it could offer a massive tactical advantage in doing so, so therefore worth the sacrifice; further protect the model grabbing the objective by dropping them safely behind a bodyguard such as Six feet Under.
Finally Portal Of Thorns is also handy to circumvent ‘screening’ tactics, dropping the target in the place behind the enemy screen to maximize impact.

Blood Roses Bloom: to use this effectively your Team needs to be fairly clustered; how confortable a proposition this will be will be influenced by the models you face – Tangent and Solar would be natural deterrents for example. It is going to be a very much situational Action to maximize benefit, but some subtle options may be on offer – maybe moving one of your Brawler Supremes (Six Feet Under and Sgt. Bale are good candidates) into Base to Base with a model you would like to hold in place, or at least threaten with Free Strikes. I can see little obvious advantage to moving out of Base to Base with this Action unless it is guaranteed to set-up a follow-up Action or attack.


RESOURCE: Astral Rose – very useful as it gives another heal and move option; of course it can be given to another Blood Watch Supreme to allow the same trick to be used on Blood Rose. Put a first aid Kit on another model and you have 3 ‘healers’ in your Team for maximum versatility.


SKILLS: Blood Rose’s Gate is very valuable for deploying very near to objectives, or even better tactical positions. Take an all-Blood Watch Team, and this ability gets even more potent. As an all-Blood Watch Team can cover ranged and close combat Actions, as well as some upcoming mobility with Moon Child and Loup Garou II, then it is a very good option.


WEAKNESSES: Firstly bear in mind that she is a prime target for any ‘big hitters’; models able to dish out attacks that can achieve up to 16 or more against DEFENSE or AGILITY should be in a position to take her out in one shot a lot of the time. She just isn’t designed to stand up to any kind of major punishment. Keep her out of danger. SPIRIT aside she lacks the Traits and Damage to handle any kind of sustained attack.



SYNERGIES: Any and all Blood Watch obviously, especially with her enhanced Gate for Blood Watch. Use with Androida for maximum speed and mobility. Trail makes a handy partner to deliver a ‘Supreme bomb’ (often called the Six Feet Under bomb); prime a Supreme with A Second Ahead (Trail) before launching with Portal Of Thorns into the middle of you enemy to maximize disruption. You will probably lose the Supreme you send, but it may cause a mess by doing so.

Wednesday 20 April 2011

Tactica: Sovereign

Okay, this is based on the 'beta' rules for Sovereign.

NAME: Sovereign
SUBFACTION: none
FUNCTION: Objective holder, Base to Base lockdown, Team protection

BRIEF: British eternal protector.

POWERS: Sovereign offers a mix of ranged and Close Combat Actions and so at first glance bears comparison to Supremes such as Solar, but due to differing skills and Action effects he will have a much different role.

Albion Mk I is a nice basic Ranged attack with an option that turns it into one of the better Rays currently available. The upshot is that this is a versatile Action capable of tagging one of even several models if used right; the Ray should be great for thinning out groups of Minions while the Projectile can be used to soften up potential targets. When considering using the Pr version against a target, bear in mind that the RNG is the same distance as a Charge* and the net AP cost is the same for the projectile as for Charge* + Strike; select Action accordingly.

Bloody Swathe is an interesting offering, and potentially a very powerful Self-Blast given that 1 Power-Up die/cost affects all targets. Just remember to hold onto the Trump Roll until it is most effective. Against more than 1 defending target with Trump DEFENSE you may be able to force your opponent to burn AP and Power-Up dice, so it is worth considering that option. Of course in doing so you have burned half of Sovereign’s AP Allowance for the round, but it can certainly be worthwhile.

British Steel*; probably my favorite of his suite of actions, British Steel* should not really see much use until mid-to-late game when Sovereign is in the best desired position. On the surface it looks like win-win with +2 to STRENGTH and DEFENSE Opposed Rolls, but don’t overlook the movement penalty; with no movement enhancing Skills or Traits, Sovereign really needs to be in the right place at the right time to make best use of this ability. Of course that can be situational, and don’t be afraid to use British Steel*with a Strike and even a Power-Up for a potential Opposed roll total of 16 – not to be sniffed at, especially if those extra 2 points could be the difference between taking a foe out and not doing so. My main use for this would be to claim an objective or even to get into Base to Base with an opponent that you do not want to see move away in the current Round without risking a free Strike at STRENGTH 7. Avoid the mistake of stacking other +2 buffs on top of British Steel* as the effects will be limited as a net effect.

Covering Fire* is probably best used early in the Round, as it needs Sovereign to have available AP to enact its benefits. It is also very useful if Sovereign can place himself within RNG of models with multiple or potential multiple Ranged attacks (Virgo, Nuclear Jones etc.) as it may force them to move to avoid being shot at for attacking the designated Supreme on Sovereign’s Team. Not an ability to use all the time, as it may simply mean that Sovereign is targeted instead with his average for a Level 2 :AGL .

SKILLS: As a passive Skill, Leave No Trace is not going to require any significant consideration except in relation to Sovereign’s Team Power.

TEAM POWER – THE DEFENDER: My view is how importantly you rank Sovereign versus the importance of a model that he may replace. A Level 1 that can keep up-table and out of danger is probably ideal fodder to be replaced. Level 2’s on the other hand probably offer their own unique strengths and so should naturally be less obvious replacement choices.

WEAKNESSES: Sovereign’s primary weakness is a mixed blessing – his Team Power makes him durable yet stops him from being healed. If you are used to relying on Blood Rose and First Aid Kits, you may need to re-think how you play when including Sovereign in your Team, and there will be temptation to have a ‘sacrificial’ Supreme to use to bring Sovereign back. Also he isn’t very mobile by himself, and becomes less so with British Steel*.

SYNERGIES: Use Blood Rose for mobility – she can drop Sovereign where needed; use with Trail or Heroic Call (Battlefield Control) Resource and allow Sovereign to drop into the right place and throw down British Steel* and maybe even Covering Fire*. Enhance that further with the Path of Destiny Resource and suddenly you have created a very tough roadblock. Dead Eye (tactica) makes a great leader at EL 12+, partially compensating Sovereign’s lack of mobility.

Tuesday 19 April 2011

Welcome

Another 'welcome', this time to Fred who appears to have started Following a lot of blogs - possibly some kind of record! Thanks for signing up.

On the hobby front I have started painting Avatar of the Jaguar and Stalker to try and get out of my painting slump. I have been touching up paint repairs to the buildings I took to salute and will post a pic of the Ziterdes collection I have, as well as the Little Ben tower soon enough I hope.

Once the current minis are done, I hope to finish some e others that have been lingering incomplete for too long: the Hadrons, Guerilla, a zombie test mini.

Tactica: Dark Solar

NAME: Dark Solar
SUBFACTION: none; creates all-Nature synergies
FUNCTION: Big gun; brawler, blaster and leader

BRIEF: The evolution of Solar. As a continuation of his lesser form, Dark Solar offers improved (now tremendous) Close Combat and Ranged attacks and so works well as a center table beat-stick. Flight 5 adds mobility, and means that on land or in the air he is a combat big gun almost without peer. Finally, his inclusion adds real power(up) potential to a well-selected Team.

POWERS: Dark Solar’s Actions are primarily 3 Damage dealing Actions and 1 buff/de-buff Action. This gears him to being used aggressively and with moderately-decent defensive Traits and 19 Damage means he isn’t invulnerable.

At 2 AP Sun Ray is a nice basic Ranged Attack. Note that the Dark Solar version is better than the basic Solar iteration. In addition it can be used again if the target is Incapacitated or Eliminated. I would argue that lacking Defensive Traits and generating those extra Power-Up dice (see Team Power below), then do some math. Unless a target has so few Damage remaining that a Power-Up is unnecessary then I would argue to always use a Power-Up, especially if this is used with a lot of Dark Solar’s AP Allowance remaining (unless planning to use Night Sun in this Round).

Rip is a great Close Combat Action in my view, circumventing the benefits of Spectral while de-buffing the target and throwing in Aftershocks for good measure. While not quite as strong in STRENGTH Trait as Dark Solar’s ENERGY Actions, don’t forget that if he is Up, Up and Away a Charge* bonus can be stacked with Flight benefits and Power-Up for a pretty devastating attack (up to 17 total result). Consider setting up a target with Tritonious’ (Charge*+) Strike + Triton’s Strike, then in a later Activation Ebb Flow* (especially against Supremes relying on STRENGTH for many of their Actions). This sets up a situation where the target can’t use STRENGTH Actions but can be Damaged by Rip. Think about that kind of combination against Supremes like Hellsmith, Six Feet Under, Chimp Chi, Silverager with Rage Points, Father Oak, and Taurus etc.; basically models lacking DEFENSE Trump. Don’t overlook the opportunity to follow up Rip with Strikes from Dark Solar against the same target as they will be at -1 DEFENSE; basically a net Damage bonus of +1 for ‘free’. And finally Rip is ideal for hunting down Spectral Ace of Wraiths or Seabolt.

Face of the Sun is a better version of Solar’s Touch of the Sun. It is going to be a very situational bonus. If you have a couple or more Nature Supremes within RNG, then it should be cost-effective (Stalker should be within RNG most of the time). But using it will limit your attack Actions of course. I would suggest that the de-buff aspect against enemy skills (Blend, Gaia’s Enemy and Deflect) is a handy bonus, but won’t often be a key aim with this ability unless it looks like Dark Solar will be surrounded by suitable imminent attackers. Since Blend only applies against Ranged attacks, I think at 2 AP the de-buff aspect should mainly be viewed as an added benefit only, not as primary aim.

Night Sun; more targeted than Solar’s Sun Strikes, this is much more geared towards disruption. At 4 AP (plus Power-Up costs) the ideal primary targets probably have lower non-Trump AGILITY than Dark Solar’s ENERGY , so for main targets consider avoiding models not fitting this parameter or those lacking decent STRENGTH , and especially Supremes like Iron Train who will benefit from decent AGILITY equivalent due to Armored. Ideal primary targets should be already low on Damage and such models would include Supremes such as Giant Hadron, Hellsmith, Six Feet Under, enemy Solar, Dead Eye, Father Oak, Francis Gator, Rook, Taurus, Stormblades, and Aquarius. Of course a cluster of such targets is even better…

SKILLS: Always look to use Flight effectively - even at altitude 1 Dark Solar will be STRENGTH 7, DEFENSE 7 and AGILITY 6 and will still be able to use Close Combat Actions. Altitude 2 or more can be used fairly freely since if in Base to Base he will drop to altitude 1 anyway if using a Close Combat Action, but altitude 4 or 5 will take Dark Solar and Stalker away from being able to use Super Duo. Think of Flight 5 as a defense against high-power RNG 4 or less Actions or to avoid powerful fliers like Supreme Zed locking Dark Solar down for a Round or more. At altitude 1, Dark Solar will still benefit from Super Duo buff to AGILITY thus offering improved survivability against most ENERGY attacks as well as that small handful of Supremes using AGILITY vs. AGILITY for Close Combat Actions.

TEAM POWER – DAY & NIGHT: This needs to be declared at the beginning of each Round; remember to do this as it offers free benefits. In the early Rounds or against a Team with a lot of ENERGY based Actions I tend to favor Day, but as enemies start to run low on Damage, then Night comes into its own.

TEAM POWER – DARK SOLSTICE: There is simply no good reason not to take an all-Nature Team if using Dark Solar. Heroes and Villains offer good line-ups and this benefit should last most of the game. Enough said.

WEAKNESSES: Firstly even though as a Level 3 and he has good Traits, he is currently the L3 most vulnerable to ‘control’ Actions such as read Minds (Trail), Mind Grip (Gemini Y) and Fangs (Sanguine [night]). Secondly he has no defensive Trump Traits, so with concerted effort he can be worn down with no Power-Up counter to attacking Power-Ups and Trump Rolls. Don’t forget to mitigate this through Up, Up and Away and Super Duo.

SYNERGIES/RESOURCES: Stalker is pretty much a must as either Hero or Villain. Don’t leave home without Ahau-Kin’s Tiara. As for other line-up options? Think about Stoner Hawk – if within 2 inches Dark Solar can benefit from Redemption while offering a buff through Face of the Sun, massively increasing Dark Solar’s survivability (although opening up exposure to Self-Blasts, Blasts, Rays and similar Actions).
Father Oak’s Earth's Renewal offers a natural (no pun intended!) synergy with a Dark Solar/Stalker/Stoner Hawk combo, which then lends to inclusion of Acorn. On the Villain side the Ulthar Team offers some interesting options to fill out a Team with Taurus, Stormblades, and Gemini X and Gemini Y covering the roles of Brawler, Blaster and Support between them. Lastly don’t overlook Guerilla and Le Murtiple. Guerilla offers a similar Brawler-Blaster combo, thus adding some real firepower that can be buffed by Face of the Sun.

Sunday 17 April 2011

Salute 2011 - Round-up

First up - apologies for the lack of pics; I had my camera but forgot about using the darned thing (except to take a picture of the massive 'Advance Ticket queue'...), so just a few words instead.

I ran 4 back-to-back demo games after arriving a little later than planned; thanks to Sam and Andres (sp?); John and Johnny; Guy and Jon; Josh and Richard all for taking part and trying the game out. The demo used Sovereign alongside a number of established Supremes so was fun for me to see how different players approach things. Thanks for taking an interest guys. The game between Guy and Jon was recorded for their store site (Heroes & Legends Games of Surrey) so we may see that at some point. Thanks to to Simon and Pickles from the Pulp City Forum for saying hello, and Kenny from the Ancible too.

Later I had a wander around the centre with Maciej, talking about various lines of minis and the perils and tribulations of attending a show such as Salute or the more lengthy and demanding Gencon. We both were umming and aahing over the gorgeous SMOG 1888 stuff and more besides, and Maciej was feeding his rediscovered GW habit. For my own part I was glad to pick up some Croc Games Modern Zombies, a Tablescape stash of crates pack and later a KR case. I dawdled too long alas on thinking about buying a Maxmini monster, so missed out on that. On the Pulp City front I came away with the new release wave (Aquarius & Scorpio; Dark Solar box) as well as Sovereign and Perun. most (except the Ulthars) have been prepped for undercoating this morning. Happy days.

Pulp Monsters had a good day and Maciej plans to come back next year. They sold out of books and had pretty much the whole range except Giant Hadron (I think) on sale, including those Sovereign and Perun minis.

On the future stuff front, well perhaps most importantly for UK fans of Pulp City, they are looking into UK distribution. On the rulebook front, plans are being worked on the get the updated free download rules in place via the website, which itself is being updated. When the site is relaunched with updated features, there will be more background 'fluff' entries available, so that most current Supremes will be covered. On new minis, well there are new Grimms on the way in time - I haven't seen them, but I believe one is the 'Supreme' Grimm we have seen. There is at least 1 Necroplane green completed and a bunch of other greens for various Sub-factions close to readiness whether casting, painting or whatever. Maciej also hopes that Level 3's for most of the remaining Sub-factions will be available before the end of the year 1 one notable exception. He is also very excited about the minis he has ready for a brand new Sub-faction due to appear later in the year...

After the show concluded, I believe Beasts of War conducted a short interview with Maciej, so watch their site for that.

It was a fun day for me; different to last year as I didn't run demo games etc then, and different for Pulp Monsters as they had a firm presence. I'll be back next year I reckon, and hopefully so will Pulp City/Pulp Monsters.

Monday 11 April 2011

Pulp City At Salute 2011

From a post by Maciej/Morf of the Pulp City Forum:

Pulp Monsters invade Great Britain!

Come and meet us at one of the finest miniature shows in the world!

We'll be there with a booth (TM 06 - enter any door, turn right and walk walk and walk some more!) and a demo table!
We are bringing all of the new items as well as some advanced copies of Perun, the God of Thunder.

It's just 5 days to the show!


I'll be helping run simple demo games on the day so please come along and see what the game is about.

Wednesday 6 April 2011

Ziterdes - Tombs of Darkness

I really like the Ziterdes stuff a lot; it doesn't weigh much and can be used as-is or painted according to tastes. It may not be the cheapest range of products, but it suits my needs for gaming.

I ordered these from Wayland Games and they were priced at £6.75 GBP which I thought was good value. They arrived in a basic grey colour, so suitable for gaming immediately, but I decided to go with a bit of painting, washing and dry-brushing to add a little extra. With minimal efforts they were finished.

I recently received some of the back-in-production Apartments. They are very cleanly cast, which makes me think that if I see something new that I want from Ziterdes in future, I will try and order it early as the casting may be crisper. That said, I still remain satisfied with the products I have had so far.

Welcome

I am pleased to be posting another 'welcome' (hopefully it means the blog is doing "something right"), even if it seems there have been more welcome posts than other content lately.

I'd like to say a very hearty 'welcome' this time to James Brewerton - thanks for signing up, and it looks that we may Follow a lot of the same blogs ourselves. Cheers James. Hopefully the blog will offer somethings of interest as a way of repaying you for Following.

On the hobby front: I have been dry brushing Little Ben a level at a time, so maybe some more WiP soon (with Salute only a week and half away!); I have started painting a tester Zombie (both to provide more Minions and also for a game Rob and I plan for later in the year - the inaugural Halloween Madness!; and I have received some more hobby stuff in the post - 3 minis from Tengu and the Vallejo Extra-Opaque paint set. Only the Hasslefree Zombie seems to have escaped my latest painters block (it never seems to apply to terrain or Tokens, just minis).

Tuesday 5 April 2011

Magic Markers (4)

Okay, not the most exciting minis/gaming stuff around, but I like to have nice Tokens on the gaming table. Just as I think playing a game with fully painted and based minis is more immersive than say playing with unpainted minis, nice incidental gaming pieces add something extra to me that scraps of paper or whatever other options may not. For example, in our games of Pulp City Rob and I track building damage using a mix of Gale Force 9 and Litko fire styled markers, each size representing defined amounts of damage, making it both a Damage tracker and a visual reminder that buildings are being trashed.

So on to these latest markers. The first set represents the effects markers for Lava Flow, a special Action that requires Supreme(s) with both Fire and Earth Skills to be used. Basically that only allows for Sgt. Bale and Stoner Hawk, but in time we may see more options. Lava Flow is a bonus Action accessed through the Elemental Mastery: Fire and Earth Resource. When triggered, a number of markers (the theoretical limit is the lowest AP Allowance of characters using Lava Flow) are place, which then travel away from the designated eruption point in each Round. I made enough to allow a theoretical limit of 8 Tokens and a single eruption point, even though it is unlikely more than 5 will be needed (or maybe 6 or 7 in the right circumstances). The lava markers are 'Fire & Brimstone' bases from Forgecraft Games (pack of 12). My first try at a 'lava' type effect; some practice still needed.

The next set of Tokens are used for a Supreme still in play test. I can't say more, but the death-theme should probably indicate what Sub-faction the model will belong to, and eagle-eyed readers may have spotted art for a likely candidate in the Pulp City Guide...

These markers were quick and cheerful to make using the new Graveyard sprue from Renedra (link). At £8 GBP for 2 sprues, the sheer number of grave markers on the sprues is amazing and should meet most needs in the 28-32 mm scale I reckon. Not the greatest painting I have done, but I was so impressed by this sprue I decided to make them very quickly (especially as I seem to be struggling with painters block again).

Welcome

Back-to-back 'welcome' posts (I promise to put up those Tokens later, BTW), this one to Smokingmonkee whose handle I recognise from the Pulp City Forum. I really appreciate Smokingmonkee taking time to look at this blog or join as a Follower - and everyone else who has done so - so a big thanks for doing so.

I spend quite a bit of time on the Pulp City Forum click for link and think it is a great place to interact with fellow fans. Other minis-related Forums I enjoy are (in no particular order with links): Lead Adventure Forum; Forum of Doom; Frothers Unite!UK (not for those without a broad mind when it comes to language and content); Dragon Painting; Wamp; and Warseer.

Monday 4 April 2011

Welcome

The Pulp Citizen is very honoured to have Andrew C. Rae sign up as a Follower. I have admired Mr Rae's sculpting for some time now (check out his own line of minis here as well as contributions to the burgeoning line of minis from Crooked Dice among others no doubt), and some of the minis he has sculpted are going to form the ranks of some future Citizens (when I get to grips with my backlog!). Thanks for joining Andrew, and of course as ever the same appreciation goes out to anyone who joins up or simply stops by. Thanks folks.

Sunday 3 April 2011

Mini Update

Work on the Hadrons has been sidelined in recent days. I have taken a stab at some new Tokens (pictures soon) to represent a couple of specific Action effects, and I have undercoated the Clock Tower intended for Salute.

I have also been working on some vignette writing, and a couple of other hobby bits and pieces (finishing a couple of Ziterdes mausolea; prepping a number of non-Pulp City minis for use as Citizens), just not knuckling down to finishing any minis, alas.

Also, I am pretty excited as new Pulp City releases are imminent (I hope to pick some up at Salute), including this fellow, Sovereign a new British Supreme (right).

This painted version isn't mine of course, but eventually you should see my own take (and I am already planning a possible minor conversion).
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