DEADZONE Version 2 arrived

Got a delivery from Mantic with Deadzone version 2 rules. I have the version 1 box but never got around to playing it or painting any of it. The first page is very encouraging as it states this version is easier to learn, plays faster and has a higher body count while still being tactical. Who doesn't like a high body count?

D8, Special Dice, A4 poster, Hardback rulebook, Tokens and folded up playing surface (8x8 3 inch squares)

Genre
Skirmish 28mm wargame on a grid (cubes).

Period
Sc-Fi future with other planets, star systems etc. You know...Aliens and pew, pew, and so on.

The setting
Human Expansion via Corporations. Corporations are commercial entities that rule vast empires of space. Above them are the Council of Seven. The Council's military authority is the Enforcer Corps. Bad ass super police soldiers. Sound like fascist ass-hats to me...or maybe they are the good guys?
Good thing about this book it doesn't say these here are bad guys and them there are good guys. Depends on your factions point of view perhaps or your opponent is always the bad guy in your own narrative.
Anyway..... turns out some Planets turn to total shit because of new bio hazards or some such mystery. These Planets get quarantined. NO ENTRY!
So Scooby Doo can't get in and solve any mysteries.
Enforcers go in to cleanse these scummy shit holes. Theses planets are called DEADZONES.
Of course some Aliens/Rebels/Dwarf miners (insert faction here) sneak in to exploit them, make money and blow shit up or just try and survive the containment protocol. Yeeeehaw!

Contents page can tell you a lot about a game

Here are some aspects of the game from a quick read of the hard back rule book.

Uses 8 sided Dice. Modifiers add dice rather than modify target number to beat. Rolls of 8 = success + another dice (Exploding 8s).

The symbol Dice are Command Dice. Players roll 3 each at the start of each round and they gain bonus actions. 6 different bonuses so a D6 can be a substitute. No need to buy 'special' dice my fellow gaming friends. Symbols/Numbers, Potato/Pertatoe.

Rounds are players taking turns to move and shoot a model at a time. I go U go each figure until all done = end of turn.

Cubes. The concept of Cubes replaces rulers as these cover weapon range and movement and also maximum capacity of cube (to hold models of varying size). Line of Sight for shooting though still applies so position in a cube behind terrain does matter.

Players small forces are called 'Strike Teams' and while the model count might be small for this game the rules recommends using lots of Terrain. Models have point values and classes (Leader, Troop, Scum etc). 100 points is the basic starter Strike Team maximum that needs 12 Victory Points to win a game.

Seven factions plus Mercs to jazz up your Strike Team.

Victory points are gained by killing, getting items, objective control etc depending on the Mission of which the book has four.

But Brendon, I want good old fashioned XP! Quit your whining fool. If campaigns and going up ranks and, Experience Points is your thing then the rule book has these for you if you really, really need them.

Note to graphics.......I dislike grey behind text in these types of boxes. Just makes it harder to read.

My example 100 point Strike Teams.

The Plague (Zombie Horde)
Leader: 1 x Stage 3A "General" 16 pts + Pistol (Free)
Troops:
3 x Stage 3D "Hellhound" 6 pts each
11 x Stage 3Z "Zombie" 6 pts each

The Plague (Mutants of the Cursed Earth)
Leader: 1 x Stage 3A "General" 16 pts + Pistol (Free)
Troops:
2 x Stage 3D "Hellhound" 6 pts each
3 x Stage 3A (Mutant scum) 10 pts each + Pistols (Free)
Vehicle:
1 x Plague Strider with Assault Flamer 6 pts and Chainsaw 5 pts

Enforcers (Mega City One Judges)
Leader: Enforcer Sergeant 28 pts, AP Ammo 4 Pts
Troops:
3 x Enforcers 16 pts each
Specialist:
1 x Enforcer Medic

RATS IN SPAAAAAACE!

I wouldn't eat that if I were you! I said DON'T EAT IT!

Overall it's a great full color hardbound set of rules that has undergone a lot of improvements from the first version no doubt making it an even better game to play.

Cheers from Brendon

Dreadball Robot Team

After a very long delay after starting these Mantic plastic Robots I finally completed them. Some of the delay came about due to my lack of patience at cleaning the flash on the difficult plastic. That process seem to take so long that I actually stopped the project and put it on the back burner.

I should have photographed these on a black background instead of a DreadBall board as the photos end up very busy.
I think they will make for a great generic Sc-Fi rebel robot in any futuristic game.

A Mega City One Judge shows these rebel robots the Law.

Cheers from Brendon.

Mantic Strider (Slay-o-matic Triple 6)

For the Painting Challenge bonus theme round 'HOT' I went with this. A Mantic Strider made for 28mm scale Sci-Fi game Dead Zone. Took a bit of clean up but it was a lot of fun to paint. The miniature actually comes with three different cockpit options. Smashed and broken with a Zombie type mutant pilot. No glass with a Human pilot or as the way I did it. I actually purchased two of these and will build the other option of two hands holding a HUGE gun eventually. It won't be in these colours though.
I have more words over here. Go have a look at the other creative responses to 'HOT' and for a short time it's interactive with a vote for your favourites option. 
It was a great opportunity to have a lot of fun doing some freehand detail. Flames (it's the 'HOT' theme after all), and all sorts of other details for you to find. I will add gloss varnish to the two headlights I think.
Cheers from Brendon (The Kiwi)

I wasn't sure about blood on the 'Slice & Dice 4XL' but the folks at home insisted. It certainly looks used. 

Motorhead. Yeah. I like Motorhead.

Scott Ian Block City Defence letting loose on a Hell Trek with the 'Slay-o-matic Triple 6'.
Drokking Rambo wannabes.

Crescent & Cross and other stuff

At the same time as I received the Lion Rampant rules I got the Saga, Crescent and Cross rulebook. I spent more time reading Lion Rampant than C&C at the time but C&C is a really good rule book. C&C is not so much an expansion but, Saga reborn. It's the full rules but with improved explanations and more. Unlike the first publication of Saga this version is hardback and instead of 4 Battle Boards/factions you get 6. However that does mean a price increase.

Shiny pages :(       .......Camel with tiny head :(       ........but great rules. :)

On the downside I don't like the cheap glossy paper used for the pages. The full colour design though is fantastic. I was shocked when I saw the photos of Gripping Beast camels though. Shocking proportions with small heads and smooth bodies. The riders look too big on them.
In the rules Camel riders have an edge over horses when they fight each other. Something gamers are usually only too happy to see based on our historical readings. I think these are better looking camels with riders.
It's great to see the improved rules clarification though and I would highly recommend this to Saga players even if you don't plan on a Crusades type warband.

As I am a fan of plastics I was thinking about adding a box of Gripping Beast Plastic Arab Spearmen and Archers in my 'to do' list so I was waiting to get the C&C rule book to see what battle board would suit them. Turns out that mounted options are very abundant in all the factions but a fanatical warband with an all foot option exists. They have a crazy element that includes sacrificing figures to get those battle board boosts.



Back on Lion Rampant...I have an excellent Norman collection which is perfect for use in Lion Rampant but I have had an eye on those excellent Perry Plastic sets for a while. 'The War of The Roses' sets look awesome so, I went and ordered a whole bunch of them.
My local supplier just happened to have cans of Army Painter when I visited recently. So a can of Plate Metal Primer may just speed the process considerably. Hopefully I can convince players at my local club that they need to try this game. Reception has been extremely positive so far. But in our group at the moment the flavour of the month (or two) is Version 2 Dystopian Wars with the arms race in full tilt mode. While on the subject of Lion Rampant check this army deal being worked out out.

On the paint table at the moment I have been making slow progress on 2 Mercenary factions for Dystopian Wars. It's pretty much the only game I have played for the past few weeks. We are still discovering the rules. They are not exactly simple rules I find but as always it's fun to see some stuff blown up on a games table. I am yet to construct a basic list with my Empire of the Blazing Sun that I seem to actually know what to do with in a game. But it looks like for now I will probably include the Giant Robot Attack Squid and also 2 small Frigate squadrons options as compulsory inclusions.......perhaps also the mysterious Ghost Ship (Yurei Terror Ship).

Work in progress. Two Black Wolf large subs and other toys slowly getting to completed stage.

I got a great email Newsletter from War and Peace on line store here in Australia. 50% off Judge Dredd rules and figures! What a shame I already have the rules but I had to make an order for figures almost instantly. I am a big fan of the Comic series even though I don't collect it any more but there was a time when I did. It got me re-reading the rules and they really are good for a skirmish detail game. Move, shoot and fight really is easy to get to grips with but each figure can have it's own bonuses through base stats, level, weapons and special talent skills. So it something that may be familiar to role players than wargamers even though this is a tactical game and not a RPG. Campaign mode really is about making hardcore heroes. A good fit for a comic book world. My plan now is to create a collection for hosting games. Two forces made for the excellent variety of missions in the rules. Yet just another project in my 'round to it' list.....

Get us painted CREEP! Or face time in an Iso-Cube!

Last minute addition...I created a banner for my Viking collection from art I found on the Internet through an image search. It is a Tattoo design and the artist who created it actually left a comment on my post. I am happy to say my use of the image was approved. Go check out more of his incredible art here. Thanks Zele.

Cheers from Brendon (The Kiwi)

Dredd...The Game!

At the time of the Judge Dredd Kickstarter I didn't have any hobby funds set aside :(. But I recently treated myself to the Judge Dredd game rule book direct from Warlord and got a box of Judges as well. Not exactly cheap but perhaps that is what happens when owners of Dredd (and rightly so) get royalty payments perhaps.  I could have made it cheaper for myself by purchasing the PDF version of the rules. But I like a big fat hardback rule book. Fortunately postage from Warlord to me here in the Rad-Back is free when the order is 50 british pounds worth...on the downside that's just over 100 Oz dollars! I was very excited though to get the brown box delivered.

So what did I get for my creds and do I think I got value for money? Well I already said what I got. A hard cover rule book and 8 metal Judges. Value for money...I think that will come with the substance of the rulebook when it is put to the test with an opponent. However after a few days of flicking and reading I think that the rule book is excellent. Sure it has background that a Dredd fan like me will already be familiar with but the rules look really, really good.

A box..with a blister pack inside..full of Mega City One Judges....Nice!

A skirmish game on 4 feet by 4 feet tables for the most part. It's at the usual scale for these games of 28mm. The rule book suggests that using lots of terrain is ideal. Good. I like terrain. This is a really good game for hobbyists to get old school and make some terrain. Sure there are some really great products now for the Si-Fi gamer but making something unique is really satisfying. The scope with terrain and tables for this game is HUGE as well. My initial thoughts are to aim for Cursed Earth settings. The radioactive part of America that is not behind a Mega City Wall. Then perhaps a ruined part of Mega City One that has frequent Mutant or Zombie incursions. The imagination really can go crazy! Especially if you have read a few Dredd comics. An entire table or half the table that is the interior of a Mega Block floor could be great fun to play on.

Many of the missions in this book are suggestive of what terrain items are ideal to have in storage. Barriers, vehicles, buildings, even a nasty old rad-pool swamps. It's making me look at my terrain collection and thinking Yes! That's now a.... and that is an ideal.... and I could use that as ....! There are a lot of missions as well so a low chance of same game type fatigue. I counted around 10 base missions. If that isn't enough for you there are 6 encounters from Dredds history for using specific forces (Famous Firefights).

Scenarios...Lots of them!

Force types. A big variety. You could as you would expect play a group of Judges but the game also offers a decent selection of other forces. Robot Revolt, Cursed Earth Desperado's (Mutants), City Defence,  Zombie Horde (Drokk yeah ...Zombie HORDES!!), Demonic Cabal, Sky Surfer Gang, East Meg Invasion Force, Fattie Stampede, Mobsters, Ape Gang, Street Gang, Brit-Cit....wahoo! On top of all that forces can also hire mercenary characters. I like how a lot of the humorous aspects of the Dredd universe has carried over the writing style and background info.

A campaign system. I haven't dived into the core of that yet but initial glance looks like this will be ideal for a group or club setting. A good group of campaigners could possibly be the glue that will sustain groups wanting to explore this game. Looks like this game has great incentive for campaign play with Credit accrual and skills progression diagrams. However there is still a lot of scope in this if you just wanted one off games.

You want skill son...you got to earn it!

If you ever played Necromunda or Mordheim and enjoyed those games then I would say this one is worth a serious look. Unlike those games Dredd uses a D10 but, like those games you can tool up with a variety of weapons and equipment and specialists.

I am thinking of new uses for a bunch of old figures in my collection. I got a heap of Catachan Imperial Guardsmen who will become City Def, Mutants that will be....Mutants. Might inspire me to revisit them with some paint as well. As a last thought for now I remember years ago (in the 80s) articles and adverts for a Judge Dredd RPG in White Dwarf. A Dredd RPG didn't really appeal to me. It was the action that I wanted to play out, the combats. Looks like this is the game for just that.

Cheers from Brendon (The Kiwi)