The Power Generator!

 

On my return from taking the kids to school the other day, I saw half of a plastic Hubba Bubba gum container lying by the road. Doing my bit for the planet, I decided to recycle it.

I started by pealing the stickers off the side, which thankfully wasn't too tough. I then cut off a little lip on one side to get it to lie flat. I glued it onto a piece of cardboard, covered the rest of the cardboard in little rocks, and sprayed the whole thing in a neutral, industrial grey. I then gave it a brown wash and haphazardly applied two layers of lighter greys, to give it an old, worn appearance. Finally, I stuck on a few tufts of grass for a touch of colour, shot it with varnish, and called it done. 

To me, it looks like part of the famous 'power generator' from The Empire Strikes Back, so that's what I'm calling it. Really, it could be any old piece of machinery. It makes a nice bit of scatter terrain and works well with the rough colony I'm assembling for my Dropship Down project. 

I also finished up another trooper for the Colonial Marines, this one assembled from the Stargrave: Mercenaries II box set.

There is an important lesson here - I probably had as much fun making this terrain out of a bubble gum container as I do with most sets I buy...

Free Growth Potion

As a little 'thank you' to all the fans who have supported my work over the last year or so, I present this 'Growth Potion'. It can be used for Frostgrave, Ghost Archipelago, Rangers of Shadow Deep, and even Stargrave (though you might not call it a potion for that game!). I even had a couple of friends turn it into an attractive card which you can download and print off. You can download your free Growth Potion Card here: GrowthPotion_card 

Since I've got your attention, I thought this might be a good time to review some of the stuff I have put out recently. First off, hopefully you've seen my creator-zine, Old Bones. This self-published, PDF or print-on-demand magazine contains little bits and pieces for all of my games, including new rules, scenarios, magic items, monsters, etc. If you play any of my games, it should have something for you. You can buy Issue 1 and Issue 2 on DriveThruRPG now.

Although it was a while ago now, I'm still pretty happy and excited about Grave Mutations, my unofficial supplement for Frostgrave (that can also be used for Stargrave, Rangers of Shadow Deep, and Ghost Archipelago with a little imagination). This book is basically just a single d1,000 mutation table with everything from body spikes, and explosive sneezes, through extra-long arms, and blinding auras. With a beautiful cover by aRu-Mor and hilarious interior artwork by Barrett Stanley, its a fun, if somewhat esoteric, addition to the game. 

The latest release for Stargrave was Side Hustle, a deck of 40 cards which add a load of depth to individual scenarios. Essentially, each player draws a card before the game, which gives them a secret mission/side quest/side hustle to try to complete during the game. Most of these are kept secret from your opponents, but that doesn't mean that what you are trying to do won't conflict with what they are. What I really like about these cards is how they layer on top of existing material, bringing fresh twists to classic scenarios and increasing the narrative.

In terms of official Frostgrave, Osprey Games has just released Wildwoods! This chunky new supplement is basically my 'Wilderness Survival Guide' for Frostgrave. It has rules for playing in the different types of terrain that surround the Frozen City. It also has a system for keeping track of your warband's supplies when journeying in the wilderness, including rules for cargo transports. Add in a bunch of new monsters, scenarios, and magic items, and its a pretty hefty expansion to the core game! 

Although it took awhile, I did manage to write a supplement for The Silver Bayonet! Osprey Publishing recently released The Silver Bayonet: Carpathians: Castle Fier. This supplement is kind of my love letter to Dracula, and includes both competitive and solo scenarios, as well as new soldiers and monsters. It's short, sweet, and bloody! For Rangers of Shadow Deep, I finally released Tenebrous Citadel, the third and final part of The Rescue Trilogy. Put together, those three books form the largest campaign I have ever written for any game. It ends with a show-down like no other I have written. It's a climatic end to a desperate adventure! 

The best news, perhaps, is that there is more to come for all of those games! I have written another supplement for Stargrave and The Silver Bayonet, and I'm currently talking to Osprey about another Frostgrave book. Meanwhile, there is another Rangers of Shadow Deep project in advanced stages. So keep your eyes open, I'll talk more about some of those soon!