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Wasn't something mentioned somewhere that was called "Warclaw"? I vaguely remember it as a planned wargame that uses BF minies...maybe?

 WhiteRoo wrote:
Wasn't something mentioned somewhere that was called "Warclaw"? I vaguely remember it as a planned wargame that uses BF minies...maybe?

Warclaw was to be a joint project with Mongoose, it is no longer a thing.

/shakesfistatMongoose

Damn them.

So, what would Warclaw have been? Assuming you can talk about it.

No Clandestine contracts were signed, so I don't see why not.

At the time, Mongoose was not using their mass battle rulesystem for anything; the one created for Starship Troopers, and then adapted for Battlefield Evolution. As the rules were laying fallow, we talked about marrying the Brushfire setting with their system. A majority of the rules were adapted and ready, but final decisions were never settled upon. Discussions had also led to the concept of doing Brushfire The Great War/Rattenkrieg using that system.

Discussion/Debate dragged on, and then they had the opportunity to use Rebellion (their parent company) IPs, particularly Rogue Trooper, a setting from the 2000 AD comics (where Judge Dredd comes from) with that rule set.

So as not to compete with their own products, especially those using very similar rule sets. Warclaw/Rattenkrieg was placed on a back burner.



So now that the background info is out of the way...

If you've seen the Starship Troopers rules, they're very similar. At their most complex, what must be rolled for an attack is written as ZxYD6. This means Z sets of Y amount of d6s. Ignoring 1s, you add up the Y dice to determine if that attack hits. I do not believe I wrote many attacks that complex, most will be more like 2xD6 (two attacks of 1 die each), or 3D6 (1 attack of 3 dice)

Each model has a Hit, Save, and Kill value (written as 5+, 8+, etc). If your attack exceeds the hit value, the target can make a Save roll on a d6 to negate the attack. If your attack exceeds the kill value, the model is killed outright, and does not receive a Save.

Models in Warclaw have lower "Vitality", called Hits in that ruleset, most heroes and bigguns have say, Hits/2. Very few things can take as much damage as in Brushfire.

Overall army structure in Warclaw was also much different. Models are grouped into fixed units, and models are purchased in those units. Some/Most units can also upgrade to take additional models in the unit.

Eg.

an Imperial Retinue costs 25 points and begins with 1 Imperial Duke, 1 Captain, and 2 Regular Guards. By spending additional points, the Imperial Retinue can be expanded with up to an additional Duke, 2 more Captains, 2 more Guards, the hero Arthur Setter, or the hero Eileen Grey.

Equipment is also more fixed, very few units have upgrade options in that manner.

To recreate the hero talents/levels concept, The Starship Troopers book had a series of limited talents you could give to named characters or captains.

For Warclaw these were expanded beyond the smaller list and many more heroes/generic leaders were given rules that allowed them to pick X number of talents.


Targeting was also far different. At its base, a unit has a 'fire zone' of 3" with a ranged weapon. Meaning, a unit has to allocate all of its attacks at targets within a 3" zone selected by the attacker. Weapons with the Rapid Fire Trait have a 6" Fire Zone, increasing the choice of targets.

Hope that tease helped sate your curiosity :p

So it's a d6, one resource system. My friend mentionned the Judge Dredd game, but I think I'll skip it.

So that system can handle more units, or bigger playing field?

The SST system also uses d10s for heavy hitting units. A Troll beetle may have a melee of d10 instead of the normal unit melee of d6, or a Cannon has a d10 as opposed to a rifle with a d6.

The Judge Dredd game uses a different ruleset from Rogue Trooper or their previous mass battle systems.

I'd actually say Judge Dredd has more in common with base rolling mechanics Brushfire than the SST ruleset. Even if it is a true skirmish game.

Handle more units/playing field than Judge Dredd or Brushfire? I, personally, would say Brushfire and SST are about as scale able as one another. Their weapon ranges and movement speeds are about the same, and unit/squad sizes are about the same.

So it would have been an alternate rule set for BF?

Essentially yes. Same setting, different rules.

How the new models are coming along?

Also, can I sign up somewhere to receive a message when something new hits the shop? I see LeBlanc and Flintlock can be preordered now.

 WhiteRoo wrote:
How the new models are coming along?

Also, can I sign up somewhere to receive a message when something new hits the shop? I see LeBlanc and Flintlock can be preordered now.

Kardaax - Master is made and getting casted, 2~3 more casts of that and we'll make his production mold and send it off to Elizabeth to get painted.
Flintlock - Sculpt returned to sculptor for minor fixing, work is complete but we're waiting on..
Arsene - Sculpt is being redone, nearly complete.

Bearded Highlander, Gecko Rider, and Loxodon are all in queue to be master molded when Matt gets a chance; but EFT still has priority as we get the last few Kickstarter orders taken care of along with a Distributor order. Bits heavy kits like these take a lot more work hence the delay while character models have gotten taken care of first.


I'm not sure if there is a way for the webstore to send out 'new product' notifications, I mainly just throw listings up when I have a decent idea of when stuff will be ready/how much it will cost; But we wait to make a formal 'Preorder Now' news post on the facebook/TGN until we have a nice picture.

Here's another nudge about that alternate earth troll sculpt . Mine needs a friend.

(Would even be interested in a not-perfect one, I had Catyrpelius look for me at TWSW but he said there weren't any)

A bummer warclaw never materialized, but I think you have a good thing going with EFT (less models required!) and Brushfire.

 RiTides wrote:
Here's another nudge about that alternate earth troll sculpt . Mine needs a friend.

(Would even be interested in a not-perfect one, I had Catyrpelius look for me at TWSW but he said there weren't any)

I think Tom has the miscast Alt-Earth Trolls, I sent him a big bag of Wehr's miscasts when we took over casting. We'll get him molded soon, but I'd like to give him a variant card as well which will require a new piece of art and Heath is backed up a bit.

 RiTides wrote:

A bummer warclaw never materialized, but I think you have a good thing going with EFT (less models required!) and Brushfire.

Aye, I think EFT is working out great, and we've got a lot of plans for it. Overall I feel good about the bit we did do with Mongoose (Historia Rodentia RPG), as it made us go back and expand our fluff and fix a few timeline issues as well as come up with several new units that have appeared into Second Edition.

WarClaw is a great name. I mean just look at the miniatures games already out there. There is Warhammer, Warmachine, Warzone, WarGods (of aegyptus), and Warlord. WarClaw would have fit right in.

I don't know if I commented on it already, but that EFT bridge scenario looks like great fun. I think terrain is an often overlooked "gimmick" in scenarios, maybe because it can sometimes be hard to come up with specific sized terrain. I like the map you included. The map seems like a good size because even SPD 3 attacking models can make it across the board before end-of-game rolls begin, so the defender really does have to get in the way.


As far as Brushfire goes I can't decide whether I want to pick up new models, or older models. Part of me wants to pick up random stuff that looks cool, while part of me wants to focus on one or two playable forces first. I keep telling myself to stick with mercenaries to solve both problems, but then my attention gets drawn away by some faction specific goodies like Changsu Dun. Speaking of Historia Rodentia, I would love to eventually see a chameleon model with a hood like the one in the Scyzantium races picture.

In honor of the wintry season, we thought it would be prudent to share Winter terrain and global effects for both Brushfire and Endless. I hope these help you enjoy the weather outside on your tabletop! Each of these can be used in a purposefully themed battle, or individually as you like. Let us know what sorts of battles you come up with when you use them.

Brushfire Winter Terrain and Effects

The Snow Drift is certainly unique amongst terrain pieces, as it moves. I love the idea of dynamic boards, and this is a simple enough mechanic that Snow Drifts could be used regularly. Consider using the same terrain as a sand dune in a desert battle.
Snow Drift - About 2” x 6”(Oblong Terrain)
Rough Terrain - Models move through Snow Drifts at half speed.
Winter Winds - Snow Drifts deviate at the beginning of each turn. Roll once to deviate every Snow Drift terrain. The Snow Drift rotates around its center point to always be perpendicular to the direction of Deviation. Snow Drifts stop short if they would pass into other terrain features or off the table edge.



Both in Brushfire and in real History, a famous battle was fought between Crusaders and Russian City States over a great Frozen Lake. In the real world, this battle ended disastrously for the heavily armored Teutonic Cavalry. In Brushfire, the Urssian Bears were defeated by the lighter Vandal soldiers. They remain as a sign of the ability of weaker armies defeating stronger opponents through clever strategy.
Frozen Lake - Replaces Water Terrain on a Winter Board
Thin Ice - Small and Medium based models may treat the Frozen Lake as Rough Terrain, Large based models may also treat it as Rough Terrain, but must also roll to see if they fall through Broken Ice.
Broken Ice - At the end of the movement phase, any Model that rushes or any Model on a 50mm+ base must roll 1d10. On the result of a 9 or 10, the model falls through the Frozen Lake and is removed from play. Players roll for each individual model that would be affected by Broken Ice.


Class 3 Killstorm - Global Effect
White Out - At the beginning of each turn, one player rolls a die. On a 7+, Models may not draw line of sight beyond 5”. No models receive the bonus from Influence Range, even those in a squad with the hero.
Icy Winds - After the White Out roll, make an additional die roll. On a 7+, No models may make a Charge or Cavalry Charge, and all models count as having Rushed but may only move their normal speed value this turn.


Endless Winter Terrain and Effects


Numerous JRPGs have had puzzles related to Sliding on Ice, and we wanted to bring that ludicrious scene to the tabletop, and thought it would also provide interesting tactical play.
Ice - Replaces Water Terrain on a Winter board
Slip and Slide - A model whose squares move onto only Ice Terrain, continues moving in the direction they moved onto the ice, until they are partially on another Terrain type or would move into another model or higher terrain height. The model may then change facing but otherwise ends their Move Phase. Models may take damage from this involuntary movement only from moving into another model, not from higher terrain height. Models may take damage from falling off of Ice Terrain.



(Ice is worded in the manner above to cover Large based models. A Large model does not suffer the involuntary movement if at least one of its squares is on another terrain type, but DOES suffer it if the only ‘other’ terrain type is below the ice terrain in height: Large models are always considered to be standing on the highest square under their base. So if a Large model standing on 2 squares of ice, and several heights lower is regular terrain, they involuntarily move.)


Terra is a world tidally locked by arcane magics. The lands of Wugin enjoy eternal sun, tempered by the cooling powers of the Deep Crystal. The Continent of Iksor, occupying the opposite hemisphere, is not so lucky. Facing away from Terra's Star, Iksor is a land forever frozen and frigid. So different in arcane energy is this land, that the normal laws of magics do not apply.
Night in the Sunless Lands - Global Effect
Land of the Ice Lords - Fire and Water Element/Blood have the following interaction:
Fire vs Fire or Water vs Water = Heal
Fire vs Water = x2
Holy and Dark Element/Blood have the following interaction:
Holy vs Holy or Dark vs Dark = -2 ATK/MAG
Holy vs Dark = +2 ATK/MAG
Frostbite - In every model’s status phase, in addition to any other effects, make a Burn roll even if the model is normally immune to Burn.


Useful as a focal point in battles, Campfires can be used both with the Winter Global effect, as an objective in some godsforsaken dungeon, or as a central feature of a wilderness or thieves' encampment battlefield.
Campfire - Each player places 2 Campfire 25mm tokens on their table half if playing with the Night in the Sunless Lands Global Effect.
l.i.t.t.l.e. .w.a.r.m.t.h - Any models standing within 2 Squares of a Campfire do not suffer Frostbite. At least two squares of a Large Model must be in this area to benefit from this effect.
Safe Point - While adjacent to a Campfire, a model that forgoes their Move and Act Phase is healed for 1 HP.

As a list minute reminder, today is the last day of our Winter Savings Deals. Stop by our website: http://www.on-the-lamb.com/content/2013/11/22/winter-savings-2013/ to check them out!

To end this VH, We've got the BnW image of the Mandragora, the plant creatures that infest the Elven homeland of Arganea. Watch out for these little guys!

I like the mandragora.

White Out and Winter Wind looks kinda the same to me. 5" LoS blocks chargers as well, while Rushed blocks rangers too.

So when either triggers, the board is kinda locked down.

I would propably say that early in the game if eithere triggers both players may agree that they reroll the effect as they have just waited the wind/fog to lift. When the armies clash it is more interesting to get a white out though.

I think overall the dunes move too fast and the fog lifts and falls instantly, but I sure want to try it out!

Maybe as an idea all units may ambush on a base 30mm or smaller and you may deploy snow critters for decoy.

Some ideas:
Deep Snow:
-Any model may trench itself by skipping it's ranged and melee phases.
-All units may deploy 10" further
-All units on 30mm or smaller base have the ability of Ambush and to Deploy Decoys of themselves.

Deploy Decoys: Secretly mark this model then deploy it normally. This model is now a decoy. It take ranged damage normally and may only be activated to do nothing. Except when falls it worth no resource points at the end of the game. When an enemy model ends it's movement phase 5" from the decoy or the decoy is charged or being attacked in melee, remove that decoy. Models that are decoyed may enter the battlefiled on your half of the table whitout an ambush roll or on the enemy's half whith an ambush roll. Deviate them normally in either case. You also have to be able to proove that you marked that model to be a decoy. When you ambush a model that is decoyed, remove it's decoy if it's still in the battlefield.

OMG that Mandragora is soooooo cute! You should compile the black and white drawings and come out with an Endless coloring book.

Those EFT rules look great. The Frostbite/Campfire rules look especially nice for adding some character to battles. I would consider using campfires in non-sunless lands games. The healing is minor, so it shouldn't be overpowering, and I like terrain that models can interact with.

The Ice rules make me want to bust out the graph paper and set up an ice maze. I notice the ice rules are different from the Ice slick in the EFT rulebook. Having not played either I would say I like the infinite sliding of the visiting hours version.

@Whiteroo

Remember that LoS for a Charge is determined during the Charge phase, not at the beginning of activation. If a model moves within 5" during A White Out, they can charge without issue, and most models do not have a charge range beyond 5" unless we're talking Cavalry Charge. White Out is much more devastating to a Ranged List, While Icy Winds is more problematic for a Melee List. As both sides would count as rushed during Icy Winds, those in cover have the advantage over those caught out in the open, like Melee units. Of course, Cavalry Units can power through A Rush effect, but find their movement severely dampened by Icy Winds.


I'm not sure I get a snow critters concept, but I like the 'deep snow' setting up trenches by burrowing into it. Are the snow critters supposed to be like Snowmen? snow scupltures used as decoys?

@Galen Yeah, I wanted to recreate those fun ice puzzles, and I felt that Iceslick didnt quite do it. If you want, you could consider Iceslick to be patches of ice anywhere on the board, while Ice simply replaces Water Terrain, forming rivers or lakes.

Yes, they are snowmen. or whatever. Helmets in sticks maybe

Ah, helmets on sticks, a sniper's worst enemy!

Mandragora in color now.

That is awesome! Do you add the coloring yourself, Cyp? I thought I remembered you saying that... If so, you're really good!

Mind if I ask what program you use? I have a friend who does excellent line art and black and white shading, but is just learning to color his art and I think he needs to use some software intended for that purpose.

 RiTides wrote:
That is awesome! Do you add the coloring yourself, Cyp? I thought I remembered you saying that... If so, you're really good!

Mind if I ask what program you use? I have a friend who does excellent line art and black and white shading, but is just learning to color his art and I think he needs to use some software intended for that purpose.

Yeah, I've been doing the interior/card art coloring for Brushfire/EFT, I use Photoshop.

But you did the coloring on the above image too, right? I see a lot of companies stick with black and white for concepts; yours are fantastic. Sets a high bar for the model to meet!

 RiTides wrote:
But you did the coloring on the above image too, right? I see a lot of companies stick with black and white for concepts; yours are fantastic. Sets a high bar for the model to meet!

Aye, remember that we end up using the 'concept' art as interior/card art.

Which is a good thin that Heath's art is so awesome in that regard

 Alfndrate wrote:
Which is a good thin that Heath's art is so awesome in that regard

Yep! His fantastic line work makes it much easier for me to color it and use it as interior artwork.

Hey everyone, We've got something really neat cooking for the Visiting Hours this week, but it won't quite be ready in time. Please look forward to Hoarfrost Peaks, the first in a line of Scenarios for a 'Game Mode' we call Dungeon Densetsu. Which we hope to have ready mid-week.


To help tide you over, We've got some great new art by Heath. Check it out:

Merry Christmas everyone! Santa-san has left you a gift!

Endless: Fantasy Tactics Dungeon Densetsu - Hoarfrost Peaks

This is a bit of a preview of what we've got coming for Endless in 2014, along with Tom's Miasma War Campaign. DD Mode is intended to be a series of dungeons for a Campaign Master to run players through, and it differs from the 'Standard' campaign system in that party size is intended to be much smaller (usually only 3C). Each DD Module is a self contained Dungeon that will include Unique Monsters, Bosses, and Items. This is a special Visiting Hours Edition of the upcoming Hoarfrost Peaks Dungeon, the final version will feature a few differences/additions.

Please let us know what you think, and give us feedback of your adventures.

2013 has been a crazy year for OTLG. Thanks to EFT’s Kickstarter at the end of 2012 we’ve had the largest amount of sculpts come into the office yet: 27 Endless - Fantasy Tactics Sculpts, and 21 Brushfire Sculpts. We moved all of our Resin casting in house, and released 3 new books as PDFs and 2 as physical prints, in that span.

Before we take a look back and a look forward, we wish to thank everyone who has joined us on this crazy ride, and we hope you enjoy our games as much as we enjoy making them.

Brushfire 2013
Brushfire saw its 9th Faction released this year, along with a slim number of releases for the other factions. With our focus on fulfilling the EFT Kickstarter for most of the year we unfortunately neglected Brushfire’s releases a bit, and have a backlog of sculpts (Gecko Rider, Bearded Highlander, Loxodon) that have not yet to move into production.

Along with the 9th Faction, we released Second Edition in a slim Digest format. I had decided to rewrite the fluff entries from the ground up, not with the intent of changing any important plot points (outside of Chugoku) but to create a cohesive theme across the book; that of the “Encyclopedia Axonnica” a in-setting book, from which the history of the world is lifted. This decision has set the release of the proper Second Edition books back to 2014, but I feel that the final result will be a better quality product.


Brushfire 2014
This rewrite is nearly half complete, and with Exomorphism and Endless finalized, I have the time to sit down and finish my task.

Along with the complete Brushfire V2 Books, we’re hoping to get this backlog of sculpts taken care of during the first quarter of ‘14. This will be followed by a number of anticipated character models during the rest of the year and possibly a 10th faction at the end of the year.

Loxodon is the first of these backlog minis, with a set of master molds almost completed. “Loxy” is a big boy, and I think people will be excited to drop him on their tabletop.

We also hope to move a few more of our larger metal figures over to Resin. The price of Tin slowly rises, but switching to the fixed price of Resin allows us to reevaluate the price boxes. When several Zabar boxesswitched, we were able to lower the price for us and you. For future models this will be on a case by case basis, and some, such as the Samurai, will need some resculpts for bitz that will not come out in resin without changes. This transfer of materials is a slow process, but one which benefits all of us.

Endless 2013
Though our Kickstarter in November of 2012 was greatly successful, a number of high level backers were forced to drop out due to extenuating circumstances. OTL decided to spite acts of nature and not revoke the Stretch Goals that those Backers had unlocked. We are passionate about Endless, and diverting necessary funds, were able to cover the costs of producing those extra models. One backer even offered to cover a smaller pledge for those that had dropped, and we’re happy to see that our fans are as passionate as we are and already building a good community.

EFT was a huge part of 2013’s workload. While we did begin shipping the Kickstarter early, it has taken several months to fully cast everything for it, beyond our original posted estimates. As our apologies to those with split shipments, These backers received a Minor Demonite with their initial package and Dark Knight with their second. This doesn’t make up for the delay, but we hope you all stick with us as we move forward. Currently every backer has received a partial shipment, and most have received their complete order.

During this process, We moved our Resin Production in-house. This has been a learning experience, filled with trial and error as well as some revelations regarding mold making, mold deterioration, and pneumatic machinery. Our facilities are now running nearly around the clock, making either new molds or new minis.

Endless 2014
Two models delayed by sculpting issues, the Light Dragoon and Beastmen have also been remade and we’re excited to be able to release them. As our apologies to Backers, they will be able to purchase both these models at 50% off.

For the Holidays, OTL was pleased to bring you the first in a new line of free PDFs for Endless called “Dungeon Densetsu”. Densetsu is a Japanese word meaning “Legend” as used in the title of a few of my favorite JRPGs, and the word fits with the theme of what Dungeon Densetsu brings to your tabletop. Players are able to explore dungeons, solve puzzles, get treasures to help them defeat the dungeon, and finally, face a Boss designed to test a player’s skill and strategy.

Hoarfrost Peaks was just the first in a line that will see release, Each designed around a different theme, with new Monster Variant Cards, Item Cards, and story. We’re looking to release these as basic free PDFs, and possibly do a Kickstarter for Boxed versions with quality maps and new models for the Dungeon Monsters. We also plan to release a full “Miasma War” story campaign, simulating a grand adventure, with more scenarios, maps, and units.

Visiting Hours
This column has been a great way to keep in touch with all of you, and bring you new content. For November and December, VH converted to a twice monthly article, and I feel it has benefited from that change. I am able to spend more time writing, both for a single article and for the games themselves. Dungeon Densetsu is just the first of such works we can do, given additional time.

Visiting Hours is still a place for open discourse, with OTL, and I want you to bring any questions you have into this thread, even If I do not write up a list of QnAs. I love hearing what is on your minds: your opinions, your suggestions, your complaints.

In 2014, I hope you’ll look forward to more sneak peaks, freebie scenarios, and additional content for OTL games.



To close out this VH, before dropping some QnA, Here are a few more colorized pieces for Endless:

Ahm Nausalla

Excavator Dreel

Goblin Scavenger




QnA
1)What is your most memorable gaming moment from this year?

2)What resolutions have you set for the new year?

3)What OTL release did you enjoy the most this year?

4)What are you looking forward to, from OTL, in 2014?

5)What event from 2013 most impacted your life?

My Answers
1)I’ll answer this twice, as I play video games as much as I play tabletop games

Video - I’ve got a top 3, but of course, only one can win:


3. Dragon’s Dogma
I finished the core game of Dragon’s Dogma. The ending was spoilered to me, so that had a lot less impact, but I also took my first steps into Bitterblack Isle in the expansion: Dark Arisen. I’ve enjoyed the game since I picked it up in 2012. It’s the closest to the adventuring spirit of DnD I’ve ever experienced. The lack of a ‘good’ fast travel system manages to actually benefit the game, not damage it.

The Moment - Travelling through the sewers beneath Bitterblack, I found myself on a grand circling staircase. As I walked down it, the wall to the left opened into a great amphitheater, and from the floor rose a beholder-like giant eye. It stared at me; and sfor a few moments, I stared back; before beginning one of the greatest boss fights I’ve had.

2. Dragon’s Crown
In my days burning quarters in the Arcade, Capcom’s Dungeons & Dragons sidescrolling beat-em ups, Tower of Doom and Shadows over Mystara, were two of my favorites. Combining a great co-op experience with RPG mechanics worked wonderfully; and now they won’t release Megaman Legends 3. But I Digress. Dragon’s Crown attempted to recreate those experiences, and managed to do so much more. With a beautiful art design, fantastic combat, rpg, and quest mechanics, DC is great fun both online and locally with a bunch of friends.

The Moment - Collecting the 9 talismans to be able to damage the great Dragon, My Knight, Em’s Elf, and a Friend’s woefully underleveled Sorceress, dove into the final battle. As the battle wore on, the Elf and Sorceress fell, leaving only my Knight to face the beast, with half a health bar left. Coming down to the wire, with only a single life left, and about 100 hp; I slew the beast. That slow-mo death animation, the congratulatory music, and the sudden rush of euphoria from beating….the FIRST OF THREE DRAGONS! Oh Vanillaware, you crafty bastards. Yes I will sink dozens of more hours into your game for a Diablo-esque difficulty mode.

SPOILER ALERT
1. Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn
Ever feeling the MMO itch, this is the current manner in which we ruin our sleep schedules around the office. Though it does many little things differently, the truest thing I can say about ARR, is that it is WoW HD. One of the wonderful differences is that Final Fantasy storyline. A main quest line that leads into dungeons and boss fights, and keeps you involved with a group of characters is really one of those classic RPG elements that is mostly lost on the more disjointed quest hub systems used in most MMOs today. The lead up to the final two dungeons Castrum Meridianum and The Praetorium feels like the final push in a great war, and effectively involves your character in it.

The Moment(s) - The final battle has come, the third of Gaius van Baelsar’s super sentai/power rangers-esque generals has been defeated in a fun ‘pinball’ boss fight. You load into the fight with the ‘final’ boss. Gaius stand alone ready to face you all on a GIANT MOVING CARGO ELEVATOR! Your blood boils. Elevator Boss fights, in my MMO? Like a great anime villain, Gaius moves too fast for a Tank to keep up with him, randomly picking targets and doing delayed air/vacuum blade attacks that don’t even strike until he’s already dashed faster than you can see to another point in the moving arena. Finally he stops and its one on one combat with our armored hero. C’mon Gaius! Is that the best you’ve got!?

Suddenly, Cutscene. Bastard! Your health isn’t even gone! Like the classic trope, this isn’t even his final form. Reaching the bottom of this enemy base, Gaius takes control of the Ultima Weapon. giving chase, you find yourself ABOARD ANOTHER ELEVATOR, BUT THIS ONE IS GOING UP! Your blood doesn’t even boil, it goes right from a liquid into a plasma. As one of the greatest boss songs plays. The great arcane beast starts throwing Delayed Lasers, another fantastic anime trope, at you, cutting a swath across the ground, only for the places struck to explode a few moments later. You dodge each, avoiding certain death. Evoking the power of elemental Primals, Ultima begins throwing whole deities at you, but nothing can stop you. All Eorzea rests on your shoulders. This monster cannot escape to the surface. With the power the world crystal has gifted you, you strip Ultima of the Primals it has absorbed, making the fight change up as you weaken the creature. Finally Ultima is only the Allagan weapon again, no demigods contained within it.

AND THAT WAS JUST PHASE 1, TWO BOSSES LEFT! Suffice it to say, I was grinning from ear to ear throughout that dungeon and for weeks afterward. I have never felt so excited to run a dungeon. Even 40-Man Raids from vanilla WoW don’t stack up. That experience alone made the whole game worth it. The great blend of music, battle mechanics, evirons, and plot just blew me away. If you’re into MMOs, this is something you shouldn’t miss.


Tabletop - Lets do a Top 3 here as well, but no need to follow suit, I just have trouble deciding on just 1.

3. Cards Against Humanity - I played this for the first time at Gencon, a friend of a friend brought it with them, and we all played it in the hotel room after hours. No matter who loses, everyone wins. The ‘naughty’ version of Apples to Apples, the fun of CAH comes from the comedy generated by raunchy answers to silly madlibs or questions. The absurdity and non sequitur style humor of the game just sits so well with me. Once I was introduced to it, I made sure we played several more times that week, and every time It was ‘laugh to I nearly pee myself’ fun.

The Moment - I will always remember my favorite card (one of the rare SFW cards): “The mere concept of Applebees™”.

2. 7 Wonders - At our regular game night, a friend (the same poor sap who’s underleveled Sorceress was roasted by a Dragon) brings 7 Wonders in case not enough people show up for DnD. This has grown to become one of my favorite boxed games, I’m sure in part due to winning most often in our group. Carrying a bunch of unique gameplay elements I had not seen used before, 7 Wonders is a civilization building card game, where players play cards using a Draft Style. Each player plays one card from their hand, and then passes the hand to the next player. This creates some wonderful strategy, including purposefully blocking an opponent, by playing a card they are likely to want. If the player is nearly tied in military with you, and nothing in the hand suits you, play the military card, simply to keep them from catching up. This offensive/defensive play is really unique.

The Moment - When the game’s owner went back through the score book to determine who had won the most. It had not even occurred to me that I had been winning so consistently. I was pleasantly surprised, and insufferably smug for the rest of the evening.

They won’t let me play 7 Wonders anymore...

1. Brushfire Tournament @ Warstore Weekend - Overall the weekend was a blast, but getting to meet people excited for organized play was amazing. Though just a small tourney, watching each game, seeing the beginners get the hang so easily, and giving out prizes was a lot of fun. I look forward to more events, including the upcoming ones at Templecon both for BF and for Endless.

The Moment - When people are playing your game and having fun. This is why we make games. Thank you everyone, both at the Tourney and reading this here. You make it all worth while.


2) I’m bad with New Year’s resolutions, but two I’ve set for myself: Diet/Exercise and using my Coffee Maker.
Diet/Exercise - I’m going to use my Wii Balance Board and look like an idiot. Enjoy that image for 2014.

Coffee Maker - I got a coffee maker for christmas last year, and I use it once a month. I feel I don’t do enough things like regular human beings, so starting with coffee in the morning seems like a start.


3) I could just cheat and say ‘Endless’, but I figure I should be more specific. The Gels. I love the little guys. Expect to see more variants of the Gels in the future, wearing all sorts of different class archetypes.


4) Of the currently ‘known to the public’ items, the print version of Endless is at the top of my list. It took a two years for us to complete, and we’re thrilled to finally bring it out.

Of ‘super secret, oops we’re bad at secrets’ items, a previously announced product line is looking to return as part of the Endless line. In my half-assed attempt to hint without spoiling the surprise: we have a Task Force of Transforming Tokusatsu on the way!

5) Bringing Resin casting in-house has probably been the biggest change for 2013. Learning the ins and outs of creating molds; realizing that resin doesn’t cure properly below 70F, if we’d read the warning labels we’d have realized that; Setting up the rigs so they don’t explode; Trying to figure out where the air is leaking out. Learning to cut molds to reduce mold shift and flash; Lots to get adjusted to. In the end, It feels like the best move. When something goes wrong, we have no one to blame but ourselves. We can make changes as needed, cast on demand instead of in bulk, etc.

Em is trying to use our success with resin casting to bring metal casting in house. I’m just not ready to be Johnny Tremain.