Actual Play: IKRPG Campaign Episode 7

Another week, another IKRPG session. Here we find our party journeying back to Corvis after the successful completion of their eminently great works, and starting to discover just how much trouble they are in.

This session I fell victim to a trap that I tend to find myself actively trying to prevent, which is combat for combat's sake. It's a regretful hold-over from when I used to run D&D 4th edition, and I've been trying to stamp it out for years of GMing, now.

At least it gave me opportunity to break out the minis from Iron Kingdoms Unleashed; it'll be difficult for me to run something in that system for quite some time, due to the over-saturation of the Iron Kingdoms RPG that I currently find myself in.

Next session I'll be experimenting with a shorter-form, basically attempting to get a full session of gaming done in 2.5 hours instead of the usual 3-3.5.

Eh, it's something to find out.

IKRPG Session 7: To Fellig!

Actual Play: IKRPG Campaign Episode 3

Well, I seem to have gotten this week's game out on time. Huzzah for me! Another solid session tonight, though I did weaken and break one of the cardinal rules I'd laid out for myself in the IKRPG, and that's to have more than one session pass between major combats. This game, we started with some good roleplaying, followed by a pretty long and drawn-out combat, but at least the players were enjoying themselves.

I do have to say, though, that when I receive compliments about what happens during a session or campaign, it is rarely a grateful expression towards a combat experience, so that's another incentive to either figure out a way to shorten the fight scenes or find a way to make them as engaging as the entwining plotlines that the players are creating with me.

In any case, the party has left Merin behind and is moving forward to a plot point that intrigues everyone, which is the great Gatorman ceremony. They really seem to want to 'do well' in it, which is good, because I haven't exactly plotted out how I want it to go, and their roleplaying and intentions have been building it up significantly, so when we reconvene in two weeks (I know, I'm sporadic, but I'm gonna be in Southern California next week, and gods know I have good reasons to be there and good people to see.

In any case, look forward to the next session; with any luck, I'll be able to make it entirely role-playing and non-combat, but with serious tension and player satisfaction.

Cheers.

IKRPG Session 3: Luxury Cruise



p.s. I'm also debating uploading an mp3 of my players chatting about the various conspiracies that are combining and conflicting in the background. They've woven a story that is both intriguing and believable, and hell yes I'm going to steal some of the plot threads they've created out of their own perceptions. I'm just not going to tell them which guesses they have were right all along, and which ones were better than the ideas I had myself.

I will never tell them that last one.

Actual Play: IKRPG Campaign Prelude (Stershan and Gork)

Well, a few weeks late with this one, the Actual Play was recorded two Thursdays ago, but I suppose I need to post this one before I post the second one.

Ever since my good friend and GM Susan over at EpicMiniPainting ran a nice, lengthy IKRPG campaign, I've wanted to run my own, bringing more and more people into the world of Caen and, specifically, into the region of Western Immoren.

This session I had some players cancel, but two were able to make it in, and so I had the distinct pleasure of running a prelude for my buddies Scott and Aidan, who were more than thrilled to come back after I'd previously run Fools Rush In, which also featured them in the pre-gen party.

All the action in this session takes place in the 'officially' Cygnaran city of Fellig that has been long-since cut off from the Cygnar mainland by Khador's southward expansion.

Scott is playing Gork, a Gobber black marketeer and drink-stealer from Merin, while Aidan is playing Stershan, a Trollkin gunmage deserter from the Cygnaran Army who is also the only survivor of his platoon of Arcane Tempest Gunmages.

They become involved with an Ordic military officer who is troubled by his mistress' seeming recent coolness, and hires the gobber and trollkin to follow her and see if she has been 'stepping out' with any other men.

Is everything as it seems? Find out in today's episode of Crit This! Presents...

IKRPG Session 0: For the Love of a Good Woman


Mechanical Errors:

2:18:00ish Gunmages do indeed cast their Rune Shot spells immediately before firing their weapons: they do not need to keep a list of imbued Rune Shots. They do, however, still need to make their bullets beforehand.

2:28:00ish Combat actions in IKRPG are Move, Attack, Quick action. There is no specific order in which you can take them; this is in contrast to the wargame, where one moves then attacks.

2:48:20ish Stat rolls cannot be boosted, only trained skills can be boosted with Feat Points.

Actual Play: IKRPG Fools Rush In (Quick-Start Scenario)

Golly Gee Willikers folks it's been a Holy Guacamole Batman long time since I've posted anything to this fucking this. It's also Christmas Eve, and knowing that, I suppose it means I should be a little less selfish and actually blog or something, instead of going to Albertsons and picking up a handle of Bailey's Irish Cream and getting really lactose-intolerant drunk.

Also, I'm lactose intolerant. I'll never drink Bailey's Irish Cream again. Holy shit, this has been a weird year.

IN ANY CASE.

Hey everyone, how's it going? I swear to god I've actually been gaming these past two months; I've even been recording shit, but I've fallen under the sway of a Wii U...and Hyrule Warriors. And Smash Bros.

Dear god I keep getting sidetracked. What was I here to talk about? Oh yeah, Actual Play. Iron Kingdoms RPG. New Thursday group. Etc, etc.

Well, long story short, we were introducing some new players to the system/setting of IKRPG, and like a jolly green dumbass I decided to run Fools Rush In instead of making my own intro game like a person who doesn't have brain damage or chronic laziness would do. Either that or I just wanted to run a game that featured all the characters from Murder in Corvis.

Did I mention that I've been reading IKRPG supplemental novellas pretty much non-stop since Thanksgiving? It's probably kind of a big deal. Probably. Anyway- those are another blog post's problem.

So, Fools Rush In...it's not a terrible module. As I mentioned in my podcast this week, introductory scenarios are tasked with the problem of introducing potential novice players to new settings, new mechanics, and new methods of storytelling, so it's understandable if the balance is a little bit off. Unfortunately for Fools Rush In, it's super way off in favor of combat, to the detriment of off-the-cuff roleplaying whatsoever. We're talking railroading. We're talking static plot. And honestly, that's perfectly fine for an intro game. I guess I'm just picky when it comes to new stuff. The players in question seemed to have a blast, even if that last combat turned into what was probably an hour-long slog. So much grind...

Either way, I'm hoping that that last drag-out fight didn't sour the players on the setting, because my other group had a lot of fun roleplaying in Western Immoren, especially with a great GM like @mousekins at the helm.

I think I've rambled on long enough, so here's the game:

Iron Kingdoms RPG - Fools Rush In

GM - David Schimpff

Players - Scott, Aidan, Shane, Russell.

Enjoy!

Warmachine Wednesdays: The Lancer

For various factions in WarmaHordes, you have your iconic pieces. Whether through art design or in-game execution, some models just scream "MY FACTION IS X," and for Cygnar, the starter that best represents their focus on technology is the Lancer. On its own, the Lancer is a dinky unit. Less speed than a Cryx bonejack, hit power equal to some infantry units, there's really only one reason to take the Lancer with you into combat, and that reason is that it fucks up other 'jacks*. A lot of people focus on the weapons a model has in WarmaHordes, which is pretty standard reasoning. Obviously, you're going to be concerned about that thing that's poking your units to death.

However, this thought process will get you thoroughly messed up coming against a Lancer, who has a Shock Shield. Every time the shield remains non-crippled and the Lancer takes a hit? That's a box off your opponent's 'jack's Cortex. Every time it hits with the shield? Another box off the cortex. Loaded with focus, a Lancer can permanently hamstring the capabilities of an enemy warjack every turn. And this is an ability only 'jacks from Cygnar possess. Used with the base-box Stryker1's disruption abilities, you can effectively neuter two different jacks in one turn.

It should be noted that the Lancer also comes with an arc node, which can come into some use during battle, but if your Lancer is using his Shock Shield engaged in b2b, remember he can't be used to channel anything.

*Warbeasts do not have Cortex boxes, and therefore the only reason to bring a Lancer into battle with them is for its arc node which, as stated above, has limited functionality.

Warmachine Wednesdays: The Ironclad

There's not much one needs to say about the default Cygnar beat-stick. The Ironclad has solid hit boxes, good accuracy with melee, and a hand weapon that's capable of putting serious dents in Khador 'jacks.

Despite lacking the nigh-excessive survivability of their northern red neighbors, the Ironclad can take a few solid hits, especially when you factor in that there is really only one arm you need to be especially concerned about. Some of the best strategy that's worked for me with the Ironclad is immediately moving it into combat with the biggest 'jack in your opponent's army, or getting it entrenched with a lot of short-range targets. This negates the main problem involved with losing movement abilities and, to be honest, with the Ironclad's above-par MAT, losing its cortex isn't much of an issue, either.

Used in conjunction with jacks or casters who can inflict Knockdown on the Ironclad's target makes his tactics almost too simple. Auto-hitting with a significant bonus to damage means that almost nothing can stand against this 'jack for too long.

I'm assembling a Stormclad at the moment, for use in conjunction with some Stormblades I have yet to paint up and complete assembly on, so we'll see if this guy gets replaced or simply becomes a necessary adjunct to my lists.

Warmachine Wednesdays: The Charger

A significant model for Cygnar, the Charger offers the first hint about the ranged superiority of the blue faction. With a decent range that is meant to be boosted with spells like Snipe, and the ability to boost attack and damage rolls on its gun by spending a single focus point, AND a rate of fire that allows two shots per activation; all this means that the Charger is a focus hungry, but damn effective, light 'jack.

All-but perfect for plinking those multi-HP high-defense targets, if you can get the charger in range of something that doesn't come with insane armor, it can likely put the hurt- if not the unit- down. About the only issue with the Charger is that its damage is negligible when used against Khador heavy jacks. However, if you can manage to get it line of sight of a Warcaster, you'll likely be able to knock off a significant number of damage boxes, and either put the stress on an ill-prepared opponent, or begin one hell of an assassination run.

As the only warjack I own that has significant range abilities, I'm looking forward to purchasing some other Cygnar ranged 'jack options; however, my main opponent right now is Khador, so I find myself needing to tailor lists to focus on high damage in order to at least threaten punishment to my opponent.

We'll see what I can manage for my next purchase. It would be interesting to field an exclusively 'shooty' (or dakka) army.

March Madness OBGC: Day 7

"What fantasy RPG other than D&D have you enjoyed most? Why?"

"The Walk" by Privateer Press

Not that I wouldn't love to talk about Pendragon again, but goddamn Iron Kingdoms is so badass and totally has a 1d4chan page I can link to. IK was originally released as a setting for the d20 D&D ruleset, then progressed into becoming the completely amazing wargame Warmachine (ha! linked again!), then was popular enough to regenerate its RPG system based on the mechanics of the wargame. Holy shit that's like a Möbius strip of everything good about tabletop gaming.

Iron Kingdoms could be classified as a Steampunk RPG set during the Industrial Revolution, if the Industrial Revolution was catalyzed by magic and the need to drive tyrannic necromancers from a coalition of enslaved lands, using giant steam-powered robots. That brings me to the first thing I adore about the setting: its rich history. The various countries and citizens of Immoren have a good 800 years of back history, all painstakingly created with the kind of immersion that high school history books only wished they could pull off.

What's really impressive, though, is that the written lore in the core book only really covers a small portion of what is likely a very large planet.

For reference, Western Immoren seems to be roughly the size of our Europe.

The d6 dice mechanic may seem like a bit of a letdown compared to various other systems that utilize multiple polyhedrals, but the simplicity of the system allows for new players to pick up and play quickly and- best of all- allows the IK ruleset to work nigh-seamlessly with the WarmaHordes wargame, creating all kinds of options for adding enemies from various armies, rather than relying on the bestiary of the core book which focuses mainly on enemies you won't find in WH. So perhaps they planned all along for this curious synergy.

Which is awesome.

Lastly, I must talk about CharGen, because I love CharGen. Iron Kingdoms features a unique variant on character creation, starting off new heroes with a mechanic that is almost dual-classing, but creates narrative options from your choices. So instead of choosing to be a fighter, or a thief, or a magic-user, you choose two Careers (Like Knight, Cutthroat, or Warcaster) at the outset, and these define the weapon and non-combat skills you both begin and progress with. What's really cool about the system is that each choice made during CharGen informs to your character's origin and potential progress, so by the time you've got a filled out character sheet you'll have a few hints towards your hero's backstory.

It's really a great game, and you should totally check it out.

Warmachine Wednesdays: BR 2.27.14 (A Comedy of Errors)

So, last week I held my fourth skirmish against my good friend Susan, a quick, enjoyable 26 pointer on some really interesting terrain. I tried to use my phone to capture the truly epic scale of the battles and ended up taking blurry shots not very frequently.

Such was only one of the myriad errors that plagued this particular battle.

The Lists:

Cygnar (26 pts)		Khador (26 pts)
Stryker1		Sorcha1
Squire		War Dog
Ironclad		Destroyer
Lancer		Juggernaut
Minuteman		Widowmakers
Charger		Widowmaker Marksman
Arcane Tempest Gun Mages		Doom Reavers
Arcane Tempest Gun Mage Officer		Greylord Escort

What I tend to love about Cygnar is that our 'jacks tend to cost much less than Khador 'jacks (because we actually have light warjacks), so we can field more while keeping to a decently low point system.

For initiative, I ended up rolling lower, and was told to go first, possibly because of the advantage I had going second in our previous battle. We arranged armies, set up our advance groups, and began our first turn.

Cygnar Turn 1:

Stryker allocated 3 focus to the Minuteman, spent 2 to cast Arcane Shield on the Minuteman, and kept one for himself. I didn't pull any focus from the Squire on turn 1, as it didn't seem like Stryker needed any extra focus in the first turn for either extra spellcasting or buffing his 'jacks.

The Minuteman moved his six inches toward the Widowmakers in concealment, intending to get as close as possible before firing off two shots from his slug guns. He leapt across the river magnificently, but, sadly, Stryker totally forgot that Snipe would have been of so much goddamn use on the Minuteman for Turn 1, and so the two extra focus on the Minuteman went to utter waste, and he was left standing on the far side of the river with nothing to do but grind his gears.

The Ironclad, Lancer, and Charger advanced their regular move speed, being sure to remain on the Cygnar side of the disputed river, and Stryker and the Squire moved up behind the Ironclad to benefit from blocked LOS from the Widowmakers while preventing the Destroyer from using Arcing Fire to circumvent the Ironclad's cover.

The Arcane Tempest Gun Mages moved into firing position across the river from the Doom Reavers and prepared for their inevitable charge. Thus concluded Cygnar's turn.

Khador Turn 1:

Sorcha, in Khador's first mistake of the game, cast Boundless Charge on her Doom Reavers, forgetting that they can't be the direct target of spells, whether friendly or hostile. This can be seen as a continuation of Khador's misuse of the Doom Reavers, as The Butcher had cast Iron Flesh on them in our previous battle. She then cast Wind Rush and double advanced forward onto the bridge, gnashing her teeth at her inability to use her feat.

The Doom Reavers ran (i.e. did not charge) and totally forgot that Boundless Charge's bonuses only work on a charge. They splashed into the shallows on the Cygnar side of the river- probably a creek, actually- and ended their activation.

The Destroyer and Marauder advanced forward, but were unable to keep up with Sorcha, while the War Dog was able to run and heel to his mistress. The Destroyer fired on the Minuteman, missed, but the AOE was still in the vicinity of connection, but a 1/2 POW roll couldn't penetrate through the Minuteman's buffed armor. Khador then prematurely ended its turn without activating the Widowmakers.

Cygnar Turn 2:

Stryker, now potentially threatened by all those Widowmakers on his side of the river, took an extra focus from his squire, again allocated three focus to the Minuteman, gave three to the Charger, and one to his Lancer. Allowing Arcane Shield to expire, he then turned tail and fled into the forested cover to his left, the Squire following in his footsteps, and popped his feat, Invincibility.

The Minuteman, flush with focus and in wonderful range of his hated enemies the Widowmakers, advanced 4" towards them, then spent a focus to leap into their midst, landing b2b with three of them, and setting off his Flak Field, killing the Marksman and two vanilla Widowmakers. His extended Flak Field range was not enough to kill the closest Widowmaker to him, and so he fired on both remaining Widowmakers, killing the closest to him but missing outright with his second shot. The remaining Widowmaker made its command check, however, and stayed in the fight.

The Arcane Tempest Gun Mages made their command check to stand firm and fired volley after volley into the Doom Reavers, managing to kill three out of six of the main troopers, as well as their Greylord Escort. The Charger killed another, and the remaining two were knocked down but made their Tough rolls. In a last-ditch effort, the Lancer charged one of the knocked-down Reavers but still couldn't manage a kill. After that, the Ironclad stomped into position near the knocked-down reavers, blocking any access they may have had to Stryker.

I'm still not 100% sure if Gun Mages could use their Rune Shot abilities against Doom Reavers...as they're not really spell attacks per se, just spell effects...So not sure if that was a fuck up or not. Thus concluded Cygnar Turn 2.

Khador Turn 2

Sorcha began her turn by advancing to the end of the bridge and firing at Stryker with her gun and a Razor Wind attack. Luckily, both missed. The Destroyer moved forward again and tried a shot at Stryker, but again concealment was his friend and caused the shot to deviate to a point where it couldn't hit anything.

The War Dog moved up to heel with Sorcha, and the Doom Reavers stood and attacked the units adjacent to them, dealing little damage when hitting. The remaining Widowmaker moved adjacent to the Destroyer and fired at the Minuteman, missing. The Marauder ambled up closer to Sorcha, but still couldn't match his mistress for speed.

Sorcha concluded Khador's turn without using her feat, Icy Gaze.

Cygnar Turn 3

Stryker began his turn taking another focus from his Squire, and preparing an assassination run, throwing a focus on his Lancer, and two on his Charger. He then cast Earthquare on Sorcha, boosting the attack roll to ensure a hit. Luckily he didn't need to use the Squire's re-roll ability, hitting the Khadoran warcaster on his first try. The AOE of Earthquare knocked down Sorcha, the War Dog, and the Cygnar army's Lancer. Finally, he took a shot at Sorcha, dealing a little bit of damage.

Next, the Minuteman moved adjacent to the final Widowmaker and used Flak Field to kill it outright, wiping out the sniper unit entirely.

The Gun Mages continued firing on the Doom Reavers, killing one and knocking down the other with a tough roll, freeing up the Lancer and Ironclad for an assassination run on Sorcha. The final Gun Mages took a few more shots at Sorcha, hitting, but dealing little damage. The Charger fired both barrels at the knocked-down Sorcha, getting her HP to the red and, finally, the Ironclad stomped over to her and administered the coup de grâce, ending the battle.

Final Notes

It looks like my previous tactic of matching Stormblades against Doom Reavers was ill-advised, as a good group of ranged units had a much more successful career against them. The Minuteman again proved to be amazing decimating the Widowmaker unit, though sometime soon my opponent will figure out a tactic to counter that strategy.

I suppose it's also time for me to invest in another Cygnar warcaster to see how strategies change between different army leaders. I'm really enjoying the shootiness of Cygnar, so perhaps Allister Caine will be my next investment, though warjacks are a hell of a lot of fun, so perhaps Jeremiah Kraye is also a good choice. We'll have to wait and see.

Lastly, this is my fourth victory as Cygnar; my third against my nemesis Susan's Khador. I can't wait for the next rematch.

Warmachine Wednesdays: The Minuteman

The distinction of the first mini I painted to completion* in my Cygnar faction army goes to the Minuteman, a vicious piece of metal and guns that practically screams badass.

Combining two short-range slug guns and two open hands with an almost-overpowered Leap ability synchronized with an auto-hit super short-range AOE makes this light 'jack a nightmare for anything it encounters with a same-sized or smaller base, especially when loaded with focus. As evidenced by my last combat engagement against Khador, even the feared Widowmakers were all-but annihilated by the movement range and variety of attacks offered by the Minuteman; but he really came into his own against the enemy Warcaster, executing a by-the-numbers Two-Handed Throw and thus initiating a vicious assassination run which won the battle.

Though I found no concrete synergy in this battle under Stryker1, future battles will determine exactly how much the two units have to offer each other in terms of speed, range, and damage-dealing opportunities.

Until next week, WarmaHorders.

(*Completion is a strong word, as he still isn't sealed yet.)