Stargrave: Dead or Alive (A Free Mini-Supplement Coming Soon…)

Stargrave was designed as a competitive game between two or more players, but I always knew that I would tinker with some solo mechanics for it. I just didn’t think I would do it quite so soon!

But, with lockdowns lingering, and an uncertain future for competitive gaming, I wanted to give people the opportunity to play some Stargrave as soon as they got the book. I mean, most players will already have miniatures and terrain they can use. They might just lack the opponent!

So, over the last couple of months, I developed a special mini-expansion for Stargrave that is going to be released for FREE at the same time as the rulebook. It’s called Stargrave: Dead or Alive. This mini-expansion allows you roll up solo, bounty hunting scenarios. Essentially, you roll for the unique outlaw you are after and their gang. You roll for a setting and any potential complications. Then, using the simple rules modifications, you go after your mark!

It’s not a full set of solo rules, but it is enough to give everyone a chance to play and get a taste for the game. And, for those that desire, it should be pretty easy to expand upon the ideas to construct longer bounty-hunting campaigns.

So, that’s coming free on the Osprey site when Stargrave launches!

(Now, try to think about the title Stargrave: Dead or Alive without singing it like the similarly titled Bon Jovi song...)

Great Obelisk of C'thulhu

 

The latest miniature off my painting table is the Great Obelisk of C'thulhu from Reaper Bones. Here it is, guarded by my recently painted snakemen.

I didn't do a huge amount of work on this figure. It's basically just layered grey with a couple of green washes, and some shiny green eyes. I mounted the whole thing on a MDF base to give it some extra stability.

It's a great little piece, and considering my scenario writing, it'll likely make it onto the table quite a bit!

In fact, such a thing is downright necessary for the solo Ghost Archipelago scenario that is included in the forthcoming Blaster, Volume 3.

Rangers of Shadow Deep: Creature Deck!

I have just heard that Modiphius has just received stock of the Rangers of Shadow Deep creature cards! These have been in the works for awhile, but suffered some Covid delays.

The deck features 59 creatures cards - this includes all of the creatures from the main book and all of the supplements that have been published up to this point. There are also 17 'blank cards', to either make up your own monsters or for new monsters that may come in the future.

Each card features artwork by Barrett Stanley, some of which has never been seen before, plus all of the stats for that creature. So now you can pull out the cards for the creatures you know you are going to need during a game and keep them handy.

I'll admit, I haven't actually gotten my hands on a deck yet, but I'm sure excited about them!

Modiphius has them available now. North Star should have them soon. Shipments are still on their way to the USA and other destinations.

Wargames Illustrated, Issue 400

Wargames Illustrated magazine hits a pretty incredible milestone this month with its 400th issue! That's a seriously long run for any magazine, but especially one devoted to such a small hobby! Congratulations to Dan Falconbridge, the current owner, and all who have worked on the magazine over the years.

I have been honoured to appear in those pages on many occasions, and I have another piece in this historic issue.

I was asked by the editors to do a 'Top 10 List', and after giving it some though, I went for my 'Top 10 Wargames Mechanics'.  I figured, if nothing else, it will at least prove controversial! 

Anyway, it's a fun packed issue, with lots of looks at the past, a long article from Rick Priestly on major wargame releases of the past thirty years (Frostgrave even gets a mention!), an interview with the Perry twins, a look at Nick Eyrie's Union infantry, and more. In fact, the mag even comes with a free set of rules - Death in the Dark Continent, Lite - as a separate booklet in the bag.

Might be worth checking out! You can order it direct from Wargames Illustrated or from North Star.

Snake-men!

 

Like most fantasy gamers, I occasionally find myself asking, 'do I need more snake-men in my life?'. The answer is invariably yes. In fact, I pretty much knew as soon as Reaper released these guys in bones plastic, I was going to pick some up. I got 8, in 6 different poses, and have just finished painting the first two.

As they are bones, the detail on them is a bit soft in places, but by using a limited palette, I was able to let the contrast between colours do a lot of the work. They actually stand a bit taller than most 28mm, which I like. It makes them look a bit tougher.

Once I have all 8 done, I'll have to get them on the table and see what they can do against my Ghost Archipelago warband!

Zombie Shark!

Yes, it is nearly impossible to write 'Zombie Shark' without my brain setting it to the tune of 'Baby Shark'. With that out of the way, here is the newest entry in my Ghost Archipelago bestiary! 

The zombie shark is a Reaper Bones miniature. When I first got it, I thought I would slice away the bottom half and model it come up out of the water. Then I thought I might set it on a short flight stand so that it looked like it was swimming under the water. Finally, I realized I was too lazy to do either, so I just painted it up and will plop it on the table when and where needed. In truth, I think it'll look fine whether it is supposed to be swimming on the surface or underwater. 

The paint job was quick and easy, just some layers of grey with washes, a bit of white for teeth and bones, various purples and pinks for exposed icky bits. 

Fun, easy, and not-too-expensive. In truth, I might need two of these...

Here are my suggested stats for Frostgrave, Ghost Archipelago, and Rangers of Shadow Deep.

Zombie Shark

Occasionally, if an item of powerful necromantic energy sinks to the bottom of the ocean, it can taint the nearby waters, causing dead sea creatures to reanimate. Most of these are still quickly devoured by the other animals in the area, but larger creatures such as sharks and whales can carry on in this zombie form for some time. In the case of sharks, the zombie hunger just replaces their normal, living hunger, so their behaviour doesn't change a whole lot. The only major difference is that living sharks will generally avoid their undead counterparts, so when a zombie shark attacks, even if it draws blood, it will not general attract other sharks. 

Although aquatic, zombie sharks don't need to breath, and thus suffer no damage from being on land, however, if on land, their Move is reduced to 1. 

	Move	Fight	Shoot	Armour	Will	Health	Notes
Shark	6	+4	+0	10	+1	18	Undead, Large, Aquatic, Large Bite (+2 Damage)

Oathmark Halflings!

Never let it be said that Osprey doesn't listen to their fans! As one of my last tasks as an Osprey employee, I was asked to create an 'unofficial' Halfling army list for Oathmark.

Officially, there are no Halflings in the Marches, but we know that a lot of players either have the figures, or wanted an excuse to get some! 

So, here you go. Since Halflings aren't really warriors by nature, and their settlements are generally small, it's kind of a 'half-list' in relation to the other races. This includes a small, but particular spell list.

As part of the fun, North Star got Mark Copplestone to sculpt a new Halfling hero for the occasion, which you can see here. 

You can pick up this guy, and bolster your halfling forces at North Star Military Figures! 

I hope it brings some fun to your tabletops!

Stargrave: Assemble your Crew!

Due to the overwhelming interest in Stargrave, and to help everyone get ready to dive into the game upon release, Osprey Games has released the 'Assembling a Crew' section from the book as a download! So, if you are eager to get a head start, you can download it here:

Assembling a Crew

If you are interested in the plastic minis that are coming with the game, North Star has posted a few more images on their Facebook page, one of which can be seen above!

It's time to get those starship engines warmed up!

Clanrats, Unit 1

 

So, for the first time ever, I painted a full unit of Skaven! Okay, it’s only 10 clanrats, and in Oathmark, that is not a unit that is going to stick around long, but hey, it’s a unit!

Really, if playing a big game of Oathmark, I am probably going to want units of 20 as it has a chance to hang around a lot longer. But, for now, I’m more interested in having a small army of several units, than bigger units.

I even got the unit a nice movement tray from Warbases. This fits them perfectly, and I highly recommend the company.

As I previously mentioned, my plan is to make this army so that I can either play it just using the Skaven as goblins, but that I also wanted to create my own specific ‘ratman’ rules as I go along.  So, here are the first two units in the unofficial ratman army list!

Ratman Soldier

Terrain: Rat Burrow

Compared to the basic soldiers of other races, ratmen are weaker, ill-disciplined, and skittish. However, they are also extremely nimble, capable of crossing terrain that would slow most armies, and they are less prone to break due to their units suffering casualties. Ratman lives are filled with death and violence, and casualties are an expected part of battle. 

	A	M	F	S	D	CD	H	Pts	Special	Base
Ratman Soldier	6	6	1	0	9	1	1	10	Acceptable Losses, Nimble, Shielding (1)	25 x 25
Equipment: Hand Weapon, Shield, Light Armour

 

Raman Spearman

Terrain: Rat Burrow

In truth, a unit of ratmen aren’t likely to survive long against a determined charge, but canny generals have found that giving them spears can at least help them hold out a little longer. Plus, ratmen seem to delight in having long, pointy sticks.

	A	M	F	S	D	CD	H	Pts	Special	Base
Ratman Spearman	6	6	1	0	9	1	1	11	Acceptable Losses, Brace, Nimble, Shielding (1)	25 x 25
Equipment: Spear, Shield, Light Armour

New Attribute

Acceptable Losses – Whenever this unit is required to make a Morale Test due to casualties, treat the number of casualties as 1 less than actually suffered. For example, if the unit suffers 4 casualties, it makes it’s Morale Test at -3. This ability doesn’t affect Morale Tests taken from any other cause.

Assembling the Bibliography

 

It has been a busy few years for Joe the writer. The above picture contains all of the published books I have written since I first wrote Frostgrave back in 2014. In truth, I have probably pushed it a little too hard, and hope to slow down (at least a little) over the next few years.

What is not included in the photo is all of the magazine articles I have written, or the non-gaming books, or the short stories, etc.  In fact, I recently realized I was in danger of completely loosing track of what I had written. So, I set out to create a new bibliography. You can find it here on the blog (or via the link at the top). It's actually not quite complete. I know there are some magazine articles I'm missing, but I'm not sure where to find them. If any readers happen to know of any, please let me know.

Now if I can just remember to updated when I do something new...