The big launch of Encounter 28 - our very own game system.

 Hi guys and girls. 

We've been playing around with the game system (Encounter 28) we developed over the summer, and playtesting it, tweaking it, and generally having a really good time with it. I genuinely think anyone who likes skirmish games should give it a try - it has completely taken over the spot as the main game for me, and sidelined Kill Team completely. 

Anyway, lots of new stuff has come along since the first reveal in july - we've updated the Datacards with cool new graphics, and gotten online Fighter Builder Apps made (to make it easier to make your own Fighters for the Team/Warband)... 

Wait a minute - did I say Warband? Wasn't this a Grimdark Futures Skirmish game? 

Yes. Yes it was. And it still is. However, Andreas (old timers here may remember some of his posts), Allan and I talked a bit, and we thought "well, if the system works so well, why not try giving it a fantasy reskin?" - so we did. 

It, of course, ended up being much more involved than that, not only because there was 80+ pages to make new layouts, graphics, logos, etc for, but also because we wanted it to feel more like it's own game, and not just a refresh. We did that by making the weapons selection somewhat different - in the fantasy version, there's a rather short list of generic close combat and ranged weapons you choose, and then upgrade them with various special rules for additional points - it feels kinda cool to be able to give you champion not just a sword, but a fiery, mastercrafted sword. 

Also, since ranged fighting naturally isn't quite as dominating as in the Grimdark Scifi version, we wanted Magic to take more of a big role. We're quite proud of the magic system, which is reminiscent of blackjack, and we'd love for you to check it out. :) 

However, it's still important to note that while there are differences between the two systems, they are quite small, and the basic mechanics remain the same. If you are familiar with one of them, it'll take you less than 5 minutes to get to know the other. But since there are two settings now, we decided to keep the name "Encounter 28" for the system, and call the two settings "Mortalis" and "Dark Realms" respectively. 

We really hope you'll check out the rules, give them a go, and we'd love any and all feedback. :) 

Go check out the rules (remember, everything there is COMPLETELY FREE - and will stay that way) at 

https://www.encounter28.com/

or check out the two settings here:

This fantasy side of things have also reawakened the fantasy geek in me, that I'd sort of forgotten, but I've gotten really inspired by the system, and have been frantically building cool Warbands for Dark Realms (the ability to make ANY Fighter and place it in ANY kind of Warband is sooooo freeing for a mad converter like me), and I've even entered the 21st millenium and gotten myself a Bambu A1, like any self respecting geek. It's been a busy little robot and has been printing lot's of fantasy terrain for my table - more on the Warbands and terrain soon, for now, go check out the system! :) 

Slowly but surely...

... I'm getting these little squiggies painted.

While it may not look like much, I can assure you, highlighting and blending 30 Squigs is.

I've gotten the blue done on all 30, and as you can see, starting to paint the mouths on the first 10. I'm taking this 10 at a time, doing the gums and teeth, since I was starting to go bonkers painting 30 at a time. The blue may need some touch ups here and there, but for the most part the front row of squigs are done (the riders obviously need to be painted next). Thankfully the mouth and teeth are pretty easy and quick to paint, so I'm hopefully getting to the riders soon.

Still, even a picture such as this is unforgiving - I'm starting to notice all the little blotches, errors, bad blends, etc - I need to remind myself that these guys are meant for the gaming table.

What's this then... Scenery?

I hope you've all had a happy new years eve, and gotten a good start on 2018. :)

I've been really busy on the wargaming front, but there's little to no progress on the warbands though - for the past two weeks I've been mainly focused on developing and playtesting the AoS skirmish rules I'm working on ( http://aos28warband.blogspot.com - please check them out) and getting a wargaming table and terrain done for the man cave at Casa De GuitaRasmus. 

I've always really liked the Warhammer terrain GW made about 5-6 years ago, but at that time I was only messing with 40k, so I didn't buy any. Fast forward to Age of Sigmar, where GW, for reasons unknown, decided to stop producing some of their coolest stuff - and the prices on ebay are atrocious. 

Still, I've managed to get my dirty mittens on some different stuff on various used warhammer stuff channels, facebook groups, etc. for reasonable money, and I've gotten my hands dirty (literally - there's SO much paint on these houses, compared to miniatures) stripping them of paint. 

I've got a watchtower and another chapel still in the stripper, but I'm working towards getting some cool stuff: 

The Temple of Skulls is from an old project, an Armies on Parade board for my Khorne Berzerker army that never got done, and it had been saved apart, so I had to painstakingly glue it back together, and sculpt a lot of seams - good times. 

This is an experiment, I wanted to do a mansion of sorts, but a bit more elaborate than just the fortified manor - so I took another chapel, chucked it on top of a watchtower base, and made the little sentry house a part of the house. I kinda like it, it seems fittingly ramshackle. I still need to make some stairs for the door on the top house, and some kind of walkway around the top house. 

I also really wanted a Skullvane Manse (and a Dreadstone blight as well), but the used kit prices are absolutely insane - 300-350 pounds on ebay - so I had sort of given up on them. Imagine me squeeing with joy, when I saw the Malign Portents video, featuring the Skullvane Manse and the Dreadstone Blight - they're coming back!! I'm definitely getting both. 

*Warning - bitter old painter's rant incoming*

On a side note, it really bugs me when people act like scalpers - for example trying to sell a used Skullvane Manse at grossly inflated prices on ebay. Sure, I get the whole supply and demand thing, but seriously - you are just holding plastic hostage.

You are the war-games equivalent of the guys who fill their spare rooms with Dinky Toys still preserved in their antique packaging. The people that care are an ever decreasing circle of like minded hoarders who all dream of turning up on Antiques Roadshow with a blister or box that will pay for your dream retirement village.But thats not going to happen. Because GW is re-releasing the kits and you are left with a pipe dream of a wallet full of scalpers money.

There - that was good to get off my chest. ;) 

This weekend I put my shop teacher skills to work, and started work on my foldable 5x4' table - the base is done, and it folds neatly in half, though I still need to figure out what to do for legs. I'm also considering making it a 4x3' instead, for size reasons, and because skirmish/kill team battles seem very doable on 3x3'. 

Why the extra feet in width then? It dawned on me that it would be a necessity to have somewhere to put ones warscrolls, dice, slain miniatures etc.