Finally! Second Post-Apoc game: 'I Smell a Rat...!'

    F Troop, a survivor gang drawn from a former Army unit, search for loot on the outskirts of town

It had been since July of 2022 that I ran our first post-apocalyptic game, Water or Gas? Waaay too long! And just when I was ready to host the long-awaited sequel, the flu bug made a run through our gaming group and I had to postpone twice more. Five of us finally got together, though, this past Sunday to play out, "I Smell a Rat!" -- the second scenario in what will hopefully be a continuing series of games. It also happened to be Super Bowl Sunday, so we had the TV on in the background to keep an eye on the commercials and regular scoring between the Chiefs and Eagles.

    F Troop advances, ready to forage the ruins for supplies (figs from Battle Valor Games)

In my second scenario, various gangs of survivors have heard that another gang was recently wiped out by the Machines and their Bots on a foraging expedition. A number of rival gangs were also aware that the deceased gang members had a headquarters in a trailer on the edge of a town. Most were of the opinion that there had to be some guns, ammo, or other useful supplies stashed in the trailer or nearby. The goal was to be the first to loot the headquarters! Unknown to the would-be looters, swarms of rats have been drawn to the area by the smell of the gang's rotting food. Amidst the swarms could be seen the huge shapes of ROUS's (Rodents of Unusual Size, for fans of The Princess Bride).

    The Green Dragons, my newest team, advance onto the board wearing their HazMat suits & masks

There were three weapons caches on the board (3 Renown Points each) -- in the trailer, hidden inside a rusted van, and also inside a broken down taxi. These were spread across the center of the board, and would require a "Normal" task roll to successfully loot it. At eight other scattered points on the tabletop were crates marking the location of medical equipment or food supplies (2 Renown Points each). However, the first time a player character came within 6" of one of those spots, they had to stop their move and roll a d10. On a 1-2, a ROUS appeared, 3-5 swarm of rats, 6+ no effect. If one appeared, a card was immediately dealt to the player two spots to their left at the table. The controller of the swarm or ROUS added the extra card to their hand, and could use that card or one of their other cards to activate the creatures.

    The rowdy Barbarozas investigate a pile of rubbish, hoping to find something useful

Players could also get a RP by knocking out of action a rival player's character, killing a ROUS or swarm, or even while controlling a rat and knocking out another player's character. This last one was to ensure proper bloodthirstiness among the rival players rather than any gentleman's agreement! Finally, players could earn an RP for spending two actions carving off some meat from a downed swarm or ROUS -- White Castle rat-burgers on the menu tonight! Ha, ha!!

 

    Winners of the first scenario, the Blood Brotherhood move up past a ruined building

The board was roughly 6' wide and 4's across. I am thinking of shrinking it down a bit for the next game. There was less interaction among rival teams in this game than I was hoping for. Jenny's Blood Brotherhood and Andy's Barbarozas had a running fight through the second half of the game, but otherwise, little other gun play happened between players. I even sweetened the pot for players who had a character knocked out of action last game. They would receive a bonus 1 RP each if they got revenge and knocked out members of that gang. With the lack of targeting each other that occurred, I am thinking my board is too spacious.

    The Followers of the Dark Prophet were the first to trigger the arrival of a swarm of giant rats

The game opened with each player starting near one of the four corners or mid-point of one of the long edges. I had tried to distribute the equipment caches evenly across the board, and all five players immediately began heading for them. Allen's Followers of the Dark Prophet were the first to come within 6" of a crate. A rat swarm appeared, though, and the startled Daffyd of the Followers tried to leap back. His fellows opened fire on the swarm, but that seemed to only enrage the vermin. Almost immediately afterwards, Jenny used the extra card (or one of her own?) to charge the rats into Daffyd. He went down, screaming horribly, devoured by a moving carpet of rats.

    The Barbarozas welcomed the rats arrival and waded in with axes and swords to carve up a meal!

His horrified brethren continued to pour fire into the swarm, but succeeded in putting only one wound and one Shock marker on the rats. Since swarms remove a wound at the end of each turn, the second turn dawned with an almost fresh rat swarm ready to charge again.  However, the concentrated gunfire of the black-clad Followers finally dispersed or killed most of the rats before it could charge again. This seemed to check Allen's enthusiasm for moving ahead quickly, though, and he explored more cautiously for the next couple turns.

    Dragons leader Ting and Wang survey the dilapidated trailer before moving in to search it

Meanwhile, the wild Barbarozas charged onto the board with a rocker's rebel yell. This elicited movement at the first crate, and sure enough, another rat swarm emerged from a pile of garbage. It charged into Barbarozas, who despite toting guns, are always ready for a hand-to-hand brawl. Their team trait is "Ferocious," which adds +1 on their "to wound" roll in melee. I had modeled the team on the classic "bad guys" of Mad Max and other post-apocalyptic movies. Andy's rock and rollers quickly dispatched the rat swarm and then showed their barbaric nature by immediately carving up the carcasses to take home for dinner!

    Ting watches in horror as Wang is attacked by a swarm of rats as he crept towards the trailer

Meanwhile, across the table, the dark red-clad Blood Brotherhood crept onto the scene. Winners of the first scenario in RPs, they showed they were still a force to be reckoned with. When their exploration prompted a loud roll and the appearance of an ROUS, the Brotherhood did not panic. Brother Foresight, who seemed to anticipate the appearance of the monstrous rat, took aim with his shotgun and dropped it with one shot. 

    Before Wang could respond, the rats attack again on the next turn, swarming all over him

I was playing my newest painted gang, the Green Dragons. I sent Feng to the left to investigate one of the crates between my position and that of the Followers of the Dark Prophet. I sent Chen to the right to check out another crate. While Feng fumbled finding anything, and eventually gave up, Chen found a packet of medical supplies and quickly pocketed them. The Dragons' leader Ting, accompanied by his loyal henchman Wang, crept towards the trailer. The two eyed the steel bars reinforcing all the windows and wondered if it was truly abandoned. Ting waved Wang forward. As the green-clad survivor neared the trailer, a seething gray mass emerged from underneath the trailer. Another swarm of giant rats had appeared! 

    The rats had less success against the Blood Brother, as Justice dispatches a ROUS with his shotgun

The rats quickly charged (Joel was merciless when controlling the rats) and inflicted a Shock on Wang. When Ting's turned arrived, I was unsure what to do. If I shot into the melee, Fistful of Lead rules state that you randomize who you hit. However, if you charge into melee, all combatants roll again. So, if the rat swarm rolled high and I rolled low, I could lose both characters. What to do, wondered my leader Ting? I decided to have the leader take up a good firing position and use his "Encouraging" trait to remove Wang's shock. Wrong decision, apparently, as on the next turn, Joel acted with the first of his SIX cards (he also received an extra card because his gang, F Troop, had Advanced Communications as their team trait). The swarm acted before Wang could, and took him out in a flurry of sharp teeth and raking claws. Joel then used the swarm's "Unstoppable" trait to immediately charge Ting!

    The Barbarozas move onto the rusting taxi, gleeful to attack another rat swarm when it appeared

Ting was apparently made of sterner stuff than Wang, though. As the rats came clambering over the walls he was sheltering behind, he splattered one after another with quick pistol shots in melee. Soon, the rat swarm all lay dead or dispersed squeaking for somewhere to hide. In the game so far, two player characters had been taken down by the rats. Had I made them too tough? Apparently not, as they would prove an afterthought in the rest of the game, and no more losses would come at their hands. All in all, I really liked how this mechanic I'd created worked. Giving a rival player control of the "monsters," and giving them an extra card to use for them, gave them more tactical decision making. They could use that card for themselves and one of their originally drawn cards for the rats. Or vice versa. I will definitely keep it for future scenarios!

    Ever on the hunt for humans, a Scout Bot rolls onto the table, attracted by the gunfire of our teams

Since we had lost 10% of our forces, that would also trigger the arrival of the machines at the end of the turn. At 10%, a Scout Bot rolls onto the field. The player who has lost the most figures (or the first to lose them if tied), gains control of it, just like with the rats. Allen was given a Scout Bot, which he placed in Jenny's deployment corner. Meanwhile, things were heating up between Jenny's Blood Brotherhood and Andy's Barbarozas. I knew that once the hooded brethren headed for the broken-down taxi that Andy would take that as an affront. His rockers had been heading there since turn one. He immediately opened fire while sprinting for the hard cover of the taxi. Another swarm of rats scampering over the rusting body of the vehicle didn't faze the Barbarozas in the least.

    Almost as if expecting it, Brother Foresight wheels and blasts with his shotgun, disabling the bot

On his turn, two of Andy's characters charged into the swarm and eventually dispatched it. Raven, the second in command of the gang, then opened fire on Brother Temperance, who fell to the ground with a cry, his dark red robe slowly becoming darker. The cool-headed nature of the hooded brethren was apparent, though. Deacon Justice, the second in command whirled around and blasted away at the Scout Bot, which came rolling up behind the Brotherhood. One of his shots hit something vital and the mechanical scout crashed to the ground, its one wheel spinning crazily. Equally nonplussed, Grand Master moved up to the taxi and blasted away at the three enemy gang members. When Fredrik, with his flowing locks of hair, charged into the Grand Master, the hooded commander slammed his submachine gun into the gut of the fearsome barbarian. Shocked, he recoiled and fell back.

    After killing the rats, the Barbarozas use the taxi as cover and fire away at the Blood Brotherhood

Still, Grand Master knew he was outnumbered and backed away. This left the Barbarozas time to find the weapons cache hidden in the taxi's trunk. When Fredrik saw the bots begin to arrive, he shouted to his gang to begin to fall back. He even yelled out "Truce - machines!" to the Brotherhood, and the gun play between the two gangs died out. The Brotherhood was less ready to call it a day, though. Seeing the Green Dragons members entering the trailer, he growled and was tempted to go after them. However, seeing Brother Temperance lying motionless, and worrying more rats might be about, he sprinted over to him. He slung him over his shoulder and backed slowly and grudgingly off the table.

    Meanwhile, Joel's F Troop was scavenging the ruins picking up useful equipment unhindered

As mentioned, my Green Dragons were headed towards the trailer. Chen sprinted along the edge of a patch of scrub, checking out if the coast was clear to make a dash for the trailer's door. Ting followed him up, taking up each position Chen vacated. Seeing no other gang members near the trailer, Chen sprinted and took cover by the staircase leading up to the door. Ting took his place by the scrub, covering him with his pistol. On his next turn, Chen vaulted onto the stairs, and dashed inside the doorway. He immediately located the weapons cache, and gathered it into a sack for ease of carrying.

    After killing the rat swarm that took out Wang, Ting follows Chen towards the trailer

Meanwhile, the hapless Feng, after failing to find the supplies, moved to a patch of woods. He could see the shadowy shapes of F Troop through the trees. Unwisely, he stopped moving and sheltered on the edge of the trees. Making up for his lackluster first game, Joel was on fire that evening. He sent one of his F Troop soldiers through the woods and opened fire on Feng, dropping him with a well-placed shot. Confident that Feng was down, the trooper backed away through the woods. Joel was successful in looting the crates he found and also secured the weapons the gang had hidden inside the rusted van. Eventually, he decided it had been a good foraging expedition, and withdrew -- never having suffered a shot or the claws of any rats.

Followers of the Dark Prophet continue exploring, unaware they are being stalked by a Scout Bot

Ting saw Feng crawling away, bleeding. He darted towards the staircase and shouted encouragement to Feng to shake off the wound and get up. Feng failed his Recovery roll again, but finally on the third try was successful. He staggered erect and began stumbling towards the Green Dragons entry point. Ting and Chen returned the way they came, first to cover by the staircase, then to the scrub, and finally darting for the table edge. Ting scooped up Wang's body along the way, hoping that he was merely unconscious and not dead. Eventually, all four exited the table with RPs from a weapons cache, medical equipment, and killing a rat swarm. 

    The Scout Bot blazed away at the dark-robed Followers, but was unable to score any hits

Jenny got her revenge on Allen by bringing on the second Scout Bot in Allen's deployment area. It fired away at Solomon Bey, the leader of the Followers of the Dark Prophet. His "Sixth Sense" trait forced Jenny to re-roll the hit she'd placed on him and Solomon was more lucky on the second roll. The Followers used the ruins as cover as best they could to minimize the chances for the Scout Bot to score any hits. Jenny's rolls were unsuccessful, and soon there were no more humans in the area for it to hunt down. All of the players had escaped. A late-arriving Sentry Bot similarly missed the opportunity to get shots at the withdrawing F Troop. 

    Ever the caring leader, Ting carries Wang off towards medical treatment at the Dragons base

All teams scored successes, with four of the five suffering an "Out of Action" result on one of its gang members during the course of the game. Everyone also brought home equipment of some sort and likely will be using the RPs earned to add a trait or two to its team members. I am learning each game how to make scenarios more interesting using these rules. I am thinking the next game will likely be inside the ruins of a city, with slightly more intact buildings and streets and alley ways to explore. I have some ideas on what random "monsters" the players will run into, as well.

So, stay tuned for the next game report. Hopefully, the wait won't be as long this time!

Green Dragons: New Post-Apoc Force

    My final post-Apocalyptic force (again!) - the Green Dragons, 28mm minis from Battle Valor Games

Okay, so I DID say that I was done painting forces for my post-apocalyptic games, right? Well, how can one more force hurt, right? When I finished painting the Barbarozas in December, I had one force for all seven of my regular players. I got to thinking, though, when everyone does show up, maybe I should control a force, too? That would enable us to split it into two games of four instead of one game of four and another of three...or one game of seven! So, for balance's sake, maybe I should paint up one final gang for me to control. Why not?

    Originally, I thought the figures were sculpted in hoodies, but they turned out to be HazMat suits

It just so happened that I also had one style of force from Battle Valor Games (formerly cast by Sgt. Major Miniatures) that I hadn't used, yet. When I purchased them, I thought they were wearing hoodies with masks or respirators of some sort. When I pulled the figures out to clean them up, it seemed obvious that their outfit was a one-piece, Hazmat suit. That fits pretty well with a post-apocalytpic setting, I thought. What color to paint them, though? I went online and found a huge variety of colors of suits under the heading of Hazard Materials Suit. I didn't want to duplicate the color of any of my other forces I'd painted up, so the tans and oranges were out the window (some of my Planet of the Apes figs wear burnt orange jumpsuits). I settled on a kind of bright, almost putrid green. I felt this might blend in more with the battlefield than the bright yellow ones I saw online!

    I debated with myself about the color to paint their suits, but chose a light, putrid green

I also decided that this would be an Asian gang, and I would paint their masks/respirators as white N95 type masks. Not to stereotype, but typically Asian cultures are much more proactive about wearing such masks than your standard American populace -- or at least pre-Covid! I decided that I would call them the Green Dragons, to go with the color of their jumpsuit and the overall veneration of the dragon as a mythical figure by Chinese culture. I selected the brightest and most putrid green color that I had (Howard Hues Light Green), and gave them a base coat of that. I then found a darker green, watered it down, and did a wash over the figure. Finally, I took a chalky, greenish-white color and dry brushed the figure with it. I liked the depth of the green this gave it, and am happy with the Hazmat suit color.

    For their logo, I used a black micron pen to write in the word 'Dragons' in Chinese script

I used the same formula for their skin as I did for my Mongols -- I had mixed up a big batch of it when I was painting my Mongol Saga army using a standard flesh with a different, tan leathery color. It begins too bright, but I put both a brown and black wash on it and I like how it comes out. It is a more weathered, tan wash than a city-dweller in a Chinese city might wear, but for a post-apocalyptic force, I figured a dirty, darker skin is more realistic.

    The green dragons explore the burnt out urban ruins of my post-Apocalyptic world

I painted a black oval on the back of the jumpsuit and then put in a tan or yellowish-white oval inside it. Inside the oval, I would later use a black Micron pen to write in the word "Dragons" in Chinese script. First, though, I finished painting all of the figures' equipment -- which was pretty much just their white masks and their weapons. This batch of miniatures went very quickly as the poses did not have much equipment festooned on them. I did the eyes -- not very happy with how those came out. The mask really squeezed the area I had to do the eyes. Once everything was completely painted, I did the final black wash. In the end, I really like how the Green Dragons look. Once I make their character cards with stats for Wiley Games' Fistful of Lead rules, I will go back and do the character names on the bases. I think the player controlling them will especially need them for this gang! Three of the figures carry pistols, while two appear to have shotguns. I'll offer one of our regular players, Andy, the choice of playing either the Barbarozas or the Green Dragons. I'll take the remaining one for my gang. 

    A Destroyer Bot arrives -- a 3-D printed miniature from Thingiverse

Since the Green Dragons were painting up so quickly, I decided to finally getting around to painting the "Destroyer Bot" miniature that my friend Joe 3-D printed for me. I'd picked out the file from Thingiverse and he'd done a good job printing this one. Some of his prints have a lot of flash, but this one was pretty smooth. When I was painting the Scout, Sentry, and Military Bots earlier, I had primed up this figure. I even put a base coast of a darker metallic silver on it. However, I decided that I wanted this one to be more colorful. So, I went back over and repainted most of it in the Metallic Dark Red craft paint which I had first used on my drones for Space Station Alpha. I really like that color, plus it covers MUCH better than the other metallics.

    Armed with multiple weapon systems, this Bot will likely cause player forces to flee the table

On the areas that I left silver, I went back and repainted them the darker metallic dark gray that I have been using for a lot of Sci-Fi stuff. I think the combination of the dark red and dark gray metallic is pretty effective. I am happy with how it looks. I did accents in a coppery gold metallic color that I have been using a lot in my Sci-Fi terrain, as well. I am not 100% happy with how the green, yellow, and red "lights" came out on the figure. I have used this technique in the past with terrain and bots and liked the effect it gave. However, perhaps these "lights" are too big, and it loses that control panel or LED indicator look to it. 

    I like the 2-tone, red and gray metallic paint scheme - though I am not sold on the colored 'lights'

All in all, he looks acceptable to use on the tabletop. That is, whenever we finally get around to PLAYING one of my post-apocalyptic games, again! My group has been hit with the flu bug of last. We have scheduled to play the second game at my place two of the last three weekends, but sickouts have reduced us below the level to make it worth playing. We're trying again next weekend, and hopefully finally get game two in. The likelihood of the Destroyer Bot showing up is low in a game. The bots arrive, attracted by the sounds of gunfire and fighting. A Scout Bot shows up first, then a Sentry Bot, then Military Bot, and finally the Destroyer. In our first game we had one or two Scout Bots arrive, and one Sentry Bot (which gunned down a character, causing the players to have the rest of their miniatures flee the table. They are programmed to arrive when players lose a certain percentage of their forces, so it may never happen. Either way, I have one ready!

Now, we just need to play a game...!

Flying Drones for Space Station Zero (& more terrain)

    Unmanned aerial drones fly over my newest terrain piece for Space Station Zero

One of the dangers that crews can possibly run into when exploring Space Station Zero are flying drones. With my dearth of Science-Fiction terrain and figures, I had nothing I could reasonably use as them. So, when I was at Shore Wars 2022 this past December, I was very interested to see RRB Minis & More's booth at the show. They carry an extensive line of 25mm Sci-Fi figures, vehicles, and accessories. Maybe I'd be able to find something there?

    Closeups of the red and blue color schemes I painted on the Stormbirds from RRB Minis & More

Naturally, I did find something that would be perfect with a little modification. From the McEwan Miniatures Classics line that RRB carries, I picked out the Stormbird flying vehicle. Leaving off the crewman and a couple other pieces, I thought it would make a suitable unmanned drone to guard the corridors of the space station. Because I wanted the figures to fit on some magnetic flight stands I'd bought long ago from Litko, I had to glue a washer on the underside of the drone. I also epoxied in the gatling/minigun, and that was it for construction. I can certainly deal with a minimum of fiddly-ness!

Drones endlessly patrolling corridors for intruding crews (I really like the dark red metallic color!)

I primed the figures white, and then applied metallic craft paints to them. My favorite color scheme turned out to be the dark red metallic. I had recently purchased that bottle of paint, along with the dark blue, which I used for another pair. The green and white colors I already had, and had painted earlier droids, robots, or terrain with those colors. After the base coat was painted, I decided to get fancy and add in stripes. I am not really happy with how they came out. My hands apparently aren't steady enough to paint an even width line that is good and straight anymore! I did a dark metallic gray wider stripe with a slightly narrower stripe of either silver or gold. I then decided to paint the two nacelles that project forward on the model in the accent metallic, too. For the white metallic ones, I used the dark red and a lighter blue as my accent colors.

    Four more aerial drones that will be a menace to any exploring crew in the derelict space station

The mini gun was painted with a range of steel metallic colors. The breech and housing ring were done in Ral Partha steel, while the gun barrels themselves were painted pewter. I highlighted the barrels with an aluminum color that I don't like using often. It is a weird, almost enamel consistency and is really hard to remove from my brushes. Finally, I did a dark black wash over the mini gun. I decided not to do the usual black wash over the entire drone surface, rationalizing that if they are in good enough working order to be still flying, the machines would probably be kept fairly clean. 

    Luckily, I had some unused flight stands from Litko and some rare earth magnets to attach them

In the photos, the drones are flying above my latest piece of 6"x4" terrain for Space Station Zero. As with earlier ones, it is a combination of store-bought pieces (Mantic Games) and scratch-built items. I painted it in the same colors and style as the previous ones. The only difference was I decided to do the floor slightly different. I wasn't happy with how dark the metallic floors were looking in previous pieces, so I lightened the floor up with a watered down pewter. I added in full strength, dark black wash to represent oil leaks or other equipment seepage.

Gang Rumble in the Short North, Columbus

    The streets of the Short North in Columbus were taken over by gangs at Origins Game Day

A new Winter game day here in Columbus, OH, gave me the opportunity to host a gang rumble using my Mean Streets rules. The Origins Game Day was held Jan. 14, and was the brainchild of my old friend, Bryan Borgman. It was an incredible success, with 400+ folks coming out for a free day of gaming, flea market tables, and fun. I ran into a number of Columbus area gamers I had not seen for awhile, so it was good to catch up. I also spent the rest of my Christmas gaming money on some great purchases from Bryan's flea market table, and RRB Minis & More (who drove down for the day from Youngstown).

    I had full table of six players for Mean Streets -- three of them brand new to the rules!

I used the same six gang setup that I used for Historicon 2022, this past July. Each of the six gangs was given a primary mission and two secondary missions. As a GM, I like players to have choices on what to do with their forces in a game. Not only does it make the game more interactive, it also helps make each running of it a different outcome. Saturday's' game was a perfect example of that. The gang that scored the most points was the Eastmoor Kings. In the beginning of the game, they stayed away from the other five gangs, concentrating on "tagging" buildings with their gang logo - a green crown with a black "K" on it. I make up circular discs with each gang's logo that players place against the walls when they tag a building. John, who was playing them, had an opportunity to engage in some of the multi-gang scrums, but waited until it had broken up and his "payback target" -- the Santanas -- had split up. He pounced, and after knocking two of them out, finally headed off to Wallace's Brewpub to complete his primary mission -- steal some beer for the gang's Saturday night party!

    With five other gangs on the streets, the punk rockers, the Indianola Mohawks, stuck together

Some gangs stayed together as a mass, others split off 2-3 to complete their primary mission. The Indianola Mohawks, played by Michael, kept together and waded into a big melee by the Shell Station's pumps. He admitted his die rolls were above average while his opponent, Mike S (playing the clown-faced, Franklinton Flippos) continued his run of miserable die rolling. Normally that is MY specialty, but Mike took over the job in earnest, that day. His gang boss and two punks were knocked out in short order. The Warchief and another punk did make it to the Market Booths, though. They completed their primary mission of knocking out several of the vendors and convincing them to give the gang "protection money." After completing that, and seeing how the rest of the gang was laying, bleeding on the gas station's asphalt, they skulked off the table.

   Julio, Cruz, and Manana of the Santanas disembark after their joyride on the stolen car

Another gang that completed their primary mission towards the end was the Santanas. Not only did Julio and his gang mates steal the car from the Shell Service Station, his several of them went for a joyride around the table in their hot, blue convertible. I had never seen a player take the stolen car for a joyride, so it was kind of fun to see what Jenny (who was playing them) had in mind. The trio in the convertible were the only three from the gang not knocked out of action, though, as shortly after they split off from Ramona and El Lobo, those two were jumped by the Kings and taken down.

Hilltop Highlanders split up at the start of the rumble, though Lenny's calls brought the others back

Two gangs mixed it up almost immediately. The black martial arts gang, The Daos, ambushed the leader of the Hilltop Highlanders and an accompanying punk in the back alley behind Wallace's Brewpub. Lenny fought off the first wave of attackers, and his shouts brought the rest of the gang sprinting around the building to join in the melee. It was a fairly even fight for most of it, as each side knocked out opposing gang members. Slowly, the Highlanders began to get the better of it, though. Eventually, the two agreed to call it even, and scampered off to complete their primary missions. The Highlanders hightailed it to Jack & Benny's Diner, while the Daos made their way to Finn's factory. 

    Bobbie and the rest of the Eastmoor Kings are tempted to wade into the rumble at the gas station

There were three brand new players in this game, and they all said they had fun. I believe they also picked up the rules from RRB Minis & More. Rich, the owner of the store, said they needed a restock of the rules, so I ducked out to my car and got some for him. The thing I like about the Mean Streets rules is that it is very easy to teach. Typically, it takes only 20 minutes to go over the rules at a convention with new players. Within a turn or two of combat, the players have the mechanics down, too, and are figuring out their combat factors by themselves without my help.

    I like how my new wound markers look - clear bases with blood splotches arranged like a d6

One new thing I introduced for this game were my brand new wound markers. In the past, I've used red pom-poms from the craft store to mark on a figure's base how many wounds it has suffered. Recently, I picked up 100 clear square bases from Litko. I painted varying numbers of blood red splotches on them to indicate the number of wounds. I arranged the blood spots to match the pips on a six-sided dice. This makes it easy for a player to recognize with a quick glance whether the figure has suffered three wounds (three blood splotches arranged diagonally), or four wounds (one in each corner). I was much happier with how these bases looked on the table. I had coated the clear base with Vallejo Matte Clear, which takes the shine or reflection off the material, but it is still transparent and you can see the street underneath of it. Success!

    Gang Boss Marvin leads the creepy, clown-masked Franklinton Flippos through an alley

One of the players had signed up to play because he was interested in using Mean Streets rules for Mad Max-style, post-Apocalyptic biker gang battles. That was interesting, because I had just been exchanging emails with Rich about how to treat a character mounted on a motorcycle in the rules. We put some ideas together and he said he is going to play test them. I will probably also post on the Mean Streets Facebook group page and see if anyone else has ideas. I don't have any miniatures mounted on motorcycles, but biker gangs certainly fit the theme.

    Mohawks gang boss Sid taunts the Eastmoor Kings for avoiding the fight

I had planned on running my game only once, so I packed up, took my stuff out to the car, and returned to do my shopping. It was great to see so many people coming out to support Bryan's idea. Most of the tables in the room were still full when I finished my shopping and headed out for a late lunch. The weather had been as perfect as can be asked for in mid-January, Ohio. So, all in all, the game day was a success!

    The Linden Daos jump Lenny & Bo of the Hilltop Highlanders behind Wallace's Brewpub

    The rest of the Highlanders come running when they hear Lenny's shouts - the rumble is on!

    The Eastmoor Kings stayed disciplined and focused on their missions throughout the game

    The Kings get closer to their objective - the brewpub - and beers for their Saturday night party!

    After busting some heads in the rumble at the gas station, the Santanas head around the back

    Although gangs were completing their missions, there was still a lot of mayhem on the streets

    Great turnout at Origins Game Day - Bryan said more than 400 people showed up to game and shop!

First Game of Space Station Zero!

 

    The Discovery crew explore the vast interior of the derelict Space Station Zero

After all the hours of painting terrain, creating boards, and corridor walls, we finally got our first mission of Space Station Zero in on Saturday evening. Jenny and I were trying a two-player, cooperative game. I was bringing the Discovery crew from 2001: A Space Odyssey, and she was bringing Ripley and the Marines from Aliens. Humans stick together when lost in time and space, especially when marooned on a hulking, derelict space station!

    My newly-constructed terrain, walls, and boards made for a nice looking table, I thought!

Both of us had chosen four-man crews (not counting the commanders - Dr. David Bowman and the redoubtable Commander Ripley), so we had relatively elite troops. We were playing the Docking Bay scenario, which all explorers of Space Station Zero begin with. We rolled up Ancient Sentries and Poison Gas as our dangers. We also rolled for how much terrain to place on the 22"x30" board, and used every one of my completed large pieces, but only a few of the small ones. My scratch-built Droids and some 3-D printed Bots assumed the role of the dozen derelict, barely-functioning Ancient Sentries.

    The two crews deploy, with the Discovery crew moving up on the left and Ripley's marines the right

We weren't 100% sure how to do the sequence of a multi-player, cooperative game. We decided that since my Discovery crew was deployed to take on one group of six sentries and Ripley's marines were set up against the other six, we'd treat it like four separate forces. I would go first. When I lost the initiative, the sentries lined up against me would go. Then, Jenny's marines would go, and when she failed the initiative, the sentries lined up against her would take their actions. I'm not sure if we did it correctly, but it seemed to work okay. It would certainly keep us from arguing which figures we would activate amongst our crew if we had to share a player activation phase!

    Whirring and clanking through the poison mists were the robot denizens of the Docking Bay

Dr. Frank Poole, my soldier, activated first. He ran to the corner of a piece of machinery and opened fire on one of the sentries. Talk about good omens! I rolled a critical success on my first die roll in Space Station Zero. Poole's sidearm shattered the sentry into several pieces and it fell to the metallic floor with a loud clatter. We then said, "Oops - we forgot to roll for the poison gas!" Poole rolled his Life saves, looking for at least 3 successes (even numbers) out of the six dice rolled). Not so good! Poole took one damage. I also failed to roll high enough to activate my next guy, so the initiative passed to the sentries. Two of the sentries whirred and clanked forward before they failed, and passed the initiative to Jenny. 

A good omen! First shot - two 12's on 12-sided dice meant a critical success (double damage)

Ever the lead-from-the-front type, Commander Ripley darted out front and blasted away at the only sentry she could see. Her rolls were not nearly as good (or my saves for them were better -- sorry!) and she put only one damage on it. Her soldier, Corporal Lucius then pulled out his bayonet and chivalrously sprinted just beyond Ripley, so any sentries would have to go through him. As more sentries appeared around the corner, one of the marines was heard to mutter, "We're in some pretty $hi% now, man!" When my turn came up again, the Discovery crew continued to move forward. Dr. Victor Kaminsky moved a full move towards the machinery vent that was spewing poison gas, making sure to stay behind Poole, though. I continued to activate one and fail, so the initiative passed back to the sentries, again. The remaining three sentries arrayed against my crew moved up two moves.

    Two of the Ancient Sentries close in on Dr. Frank Poole - the Discovery crew's 'point man'

Jenny's medic, after taking a shot at one of the sentries, moved up close to Lucius to heal him next turn, as the soldier had taken two damage from breathing in the caustic gas. Her remaining crew move to the right towards the ruptured pipeline that was spewing gas nearest to the marines' side of the board. After the rest of the sentries moved forward, it was back to my turn. Dr. David Bowman moved forward and blasted away at another of the automatons, shattering it, too. Two of the sentries were down on our first turn of shooting! I was doing well, so far, on this "roll 12-sided dice and hope for even numbers" system...ha, ha! Dr. Charles Hunter, my medical doctor, followed up to get in position to heal up anyone who rolled badly against the poison gas. 

    The Discovery crew's shooting was on target! We took out three of the sentries on our first turn!

Turn two arrived, and Dr. Poole aimed at one of the sentries closing in on him and blasted it into a pile of mechanical junk. Behind him, the Chief Engineer, Dr. Jack Kimball, raised his side army and sighted at what looked to him the most vital bits of the machinery. His assessment proved correct, and a fourth sentry fell to the floor in a shower of broken and damaged machinery. My "M.O." in miniatures games is usually my poor dice rolling. However, Space Station Zero seemed to be proving the opposite (so far!). Four shots and four kills! The remaining two sentries moved up doggedly forward towards Poole, but had yet to engage him with their jagged mechanical arms.

    The ancient sentries close in on Commander Ripley's marines, too, our companions in exploration

Meanwhile, that was not the case with the marines. The closest sentry whirred towards the gallant Cpl. Lucius, who defeated the sentry in close combat, ripping off sections of the machine with his titanium bayonet. Ripley called out encouragement, then fired at the next sentry in line, putting some holes in it, but failing to stop it. The medic had a hard time patching up Lucius while the soldier was engaging the sentries, healing only one of the damage he'd suffered. With our elite crewmen rolling six dice and needing three successes, we were doing relatively well. I did flub one roll rather badly, but used my Time Masters "edge" to re-roll for a better result. Apparently, a passing through the Monolith and warping space and time to arrive at Space Station Zero, had enabled Dr. Bowman with some unique and useful abilities!

    The Discovery crew hangs back as Dr. Poole advances to make sure the sentries are truly destroyed

Meanwhile, Dr. Kaminsky darted to the machine spewing toxic gas, and began shutting off the valves. Poole rushed over to help and finished the job, closing off the leak. The Discovery crew was doing rather well on its first mission aboard the mysterious station. The marines were doing fairly well, too, although Cpl. Lucius had taken wounds from another sentry that tore rents in his spacesuit. The medic tried again to heal him, but failed on all his rolls. Dr. Bowman noticed that, though, and used his Monolith-given power to move the medic back in time to try again. This time, he was able to heal Lucius some.

    The sentries move through the poison gas preparing to engage the intruding crew of marines

At the start of turn three, the Discovery crew opened up on the remaining two sentries and took them out. Dr. Bowman then sprinted towards the furthest piece of machinery spewing gas, followed by Dr. Kimball and Dr. Hunter. The marines shut off the valves closest to them, as well. They were downing sentry after sentry until only one remained. Ripley placed her pistol next to what she determined to be its head and pulled the trigger. The robot fell to the ground in a mechanical heap. A shout of "All clear!" from the far end of the docking bay marked the success of Bowman and Kimball in shutting off the third valve. 

    Dr. Bowman and Frank Poole step over the lifeless hulks of the ancient sentries as all six are downed

With that, our first mission came to an end. The only damage the Discovery crew took was from poison gas failures. The marines were similar, except Cpl. Lucius came dangerously low in life. We collected our experience and then rolled to see our next mission, the Medical Bay. Hopefully, we'll be able to game that out next weekend. How did we like it? I felt the mission was fairly easy, but my rolls were way above average, I feel. I also think the early missions are meant to be easier. Plus, with both of us choosing the elite crew of four, our stats were high enough that we were never in much danger from the poison gas or sentries. I'm looking forward to the next game, even though I realize it will likely be more difficult. Stay tuned!

    One after another, the sentries advance through the marines' gunfire...still coming!

    Unlike with the Discovery crew, the sentries make it into contact with the marines, drawing blood

    Dr. Kaminsky and Dr. Poole team up to shut off the flow of poison gas at one of the leaks

    Hoping the marine take care of the second leak, Bowman, Kimball & Hunter sprint for the third

    Ripley places her pistol against the sentries 'head,' and pulls the trigger: "Game over!"