The Mike Lung Gallery #90 - Homemade Gemrocks for Stalagbite

In his e-mails to me promoting the Stalagbite! Kickstarter, friend of the blog, Mike, sent me these little tidbits, and they might be more glorious than the Kickstarter itself.  

Inspired by a trip Disneyworld awhile back, Mike rode Snow White's Mine Train ride and noticed the barrels full of gems and other items.  Upon return home, he made rocks encrusted with gems for use in the original version of Stalagbite!  

The gems on the rocks were colored rhinestones.  

(Gamma World) This is Not a Test #28 - Shrapnel From the Ancients

 Our heroes, the De Facto Explorers, assisting the Hissers of Notex with the sky falling....

================= 

Sneaky Pete: A mutated weasel scout.  Pete's telepathy and night vision take a backseat when he whips out his electrical powers.  Recovering from his injuries from the Glow near Ulmin.

Sonny Helianthus: a sentient sunflower artifact examiner with trusted Restorationist ties. 

Slitheran Wurmtail (aka Squiggles): a mutated earthworm scout, in impromptu power armor, looking for trouble, and finding it often.  Recently "gave birth" to a litter of sentient earthworm babies.

Lathar Bracken: A pure-strain human from River Bend.  He's got the muscle, the face, and a mount for most encounters.  Lathar's trusty beast of burden, No Name, travels wherever he does. Looking for trouble in all the right places.  Recent jousting champion of Fair-Town and has been awarded... a peacock he has named Chambray.

Ramsay Kallax:  Mutated Ram from the far-off KIA Academy with a predilection for ancient treasures... and the occasional head-butt. 

================

After leaving the safety of Notex's walls, they figured out how a pistol of the Ancients worked, at the expense of Squiggle's face.  Stabilizing the earthworm, they saw five objects streaking down from somewhere in the heavens.  Each object had a flaming head and a smokey tail, and all five appeared to be headed a towards the village, the mesa, and the dish that serves nothing.

One thing the crew did confirm: they molten objects weren't falling off of the odd dish atop the mesa.  They came from much, much higher.  

They had already moved out of their test clearing and closer to the tree line once Squiggles was stabilized.  Seeing the objects careening to Gamma World the moved further in and tried to find additional shelter in ditches, beside fallen logs, all while Lathar tried to wrangle No-Name, while Pete was giving the beasts telepathic calming, telepathic suggestions.

Sonny dove on Squiggles as the first objects impacted.  There were no explosions, but as they peaked out amongst the trees towards Notex, they could see flames and smoke coming over the walls.  There were other dust clouds around the mesa.  

Our heroes ran back to help the village, only to find a water brigade well in hand, taking care of a burning building that had suffered one of the objects crashing into it.    A portion of the fence appears to have been hit and knocked down as well, that object cratered in one of the community gardens.  

Peter tried to coordinate further assistance, but the Hissers brushed him aside.   The injured had already been rescued and wounds being tended to.  From a cursory glance through the hivemind thought, no one had scene anything fall.  

Pete then tried to seek out the Hisser Elder, Goral, and repeated their question how they could help.  

"We have everything under control.  We needed to find a few missing folk."

Peter was confused, "Who would do this to you?"

"The sky, silly mammal!  They've always come from the sky.  Finish the promise you came to enforce!  The other elders think you going into the rock has obviously made things worse.  Just stop this." and with that he slithered to check 

Goral the Elder, Ready for anything...

Sonny gently moved passed the chaos of the burning building and went over to investigate the crater in the gardens.  While the remains of what fell were still quite hot and steaming, the mutant sunflower's card of the ancients that detected the glow, only detected a very minor increase in the area, nothing more than they already walked through to get there.   

Sonny was perplexed.  Everything they had assumed about the "sky is falling" was wrong.  He relied on his other prior experience:  reading the flimsy catalogs of the Ancients he had acquired back in Fair-Town.  He had read through most of one before turning his collection over to Justinian and the Restorationists.  It was largely militaristic pure-strain militia working along the shoreline of the "ocean", even a few in vehicles that could go underwater.  But very little mentioned anything from the sky, and he was completely confused about something called "Lichtenstein Flash."

"There was one news article about some flying metal vessels fighting in the sky, shooting cannons like giant versions of the pistols they had just tested.  There was some sort of damaged Ancients facility in the background.    One side were a rebellion run by brothers, the other side, OHTORI, held possession of the Murder Base.   The only line I remember was 'ZERO HOUR IS NEAR!    If this is related to that, then we need to search further and see if we can stop it launching attacks.'"

Returning to the crash site in the garden, they investigated the melted orb in the crater.  It looked the same as the others they had located.  Some of them did notice pieces of super-thin shiny material getting kicked up and blown away by the light breeze.  Sonny grabbed one with his fronds, it was indeed metal, and crumpled within the slightest adjustment, only to be pulled pack with some effort.  There was no writing on any of the pieces they hunted down.  The sunflower fold the pieces into quarters and tucked them away between the pieces of writing paper he had brough along.  

Pete was not enthused, "Okay, we have to go back in.  My bigger question is who gets to wield the new gun?"

Sonny was taken aback, "That will take a bit, since I need to train you guys.  I also want to get it intact, so we can go back and fix up the broken one with more parts."

"Agreed, as the best shot, I should probably use it."

"Squiggles is an equal shot, an after that accident, needs additional help, although Squiggles might not want anything to do with it."

"I do NOT!" was all Squiggles could yell out. 

The Hisser healers were busy dealing with their own kind, and with the discovery of two bodies in the building, funeral rituals were put forth.  Our heroes set up camp just outside the walls and let the natives be.    

GM Notes: Boy's Life, August 1986, inside front cover.

NEXT: #29 - 

(Kickstarter) STALAGBITE! The Dwarven Quest for Gold and Glory by Midlam Miniatures

 It's a little late notice, as the Kickstarter has less than a day, but Friend of the Blog and fellow Gnomie Mike Lung loves the original version STALAGBITE! The Dwarven Quest for Gold and Glory from 2012 with laser cut components, so a new edition with all Midlam Miniatures metal figures seems like a jolly good investment. 

The game is for 1-6 players, where each player take on a role of a Dwarf, hunting for gold and glory in the caverns, beset by hazards, vicious creatures, and goblins. 

(Kickstarter) 28mm Fantasy Dwarves Second Slaying! by Macrocosm

I personally love Macrocosm Space Dwarves line, but did you know they have an extensive fantasy line, in a consistent sculpting style?

28mm Fantasy Dwarves Second Slaying! is an expansion on their Fantasy Dwarves.  Big, sturdy, and suitable on a table  with another British miniature company.  

My only drawback with Macrocosm is the UK shipping, but they also seem to be the one company I get everything from fast.  

(Kickstarter) Savage Battlelords - Reprint Campaign by 23rd Century Productions

If I wanted an episode of "You know grinds my gears"  it's smaller companies running multiple Kickstarters for multiple printings, or worse yet, multiple editions when they hold print runs close to the vest and they print barely over Kickstarter demand and have no capital for a 2nd printing.

The  Savage Battlelords - Reprint Campaign by 23rd Century Productions is not one of these.  As the Kickstarter states, the Carnage Companion (CC) and Alliance Setting Guide (ASG) are getting a 2nd printing regardless of whether this Kickstarter succeeds, but the crowdsourcing allows pledges to get these book under retail.  The initial Core Rulebook for Battlelords of the 23rd Century for Savage Worlds is also available to order, and a 2nd printing is planned, but the publisher expects to provide 1st printing books during fulfillment.  

HMGS GAME DAY AT WEST POINT Saturday April 20, 2024

 Why is all the fun stuff happening my birthday weekend, and I'm already double booked with family functions?

The Historical Miniature Gaming Society (HMGS) ConOps proudly presents HMGS GAME DAY AT WEST POINT, Saturday, April 20, 2024 at The Thayer Hotel in West Point, NY

FREE Admission for all HMGS members

FREE Admission for all newly paid HMGS members

FREE Admission for all West Point Cadets and Faculty

FREE Parking at the West Point Visitors Center

FREE Walk-Up Games sponsored by the following:

• West Point Cadet Wargaming Club
• HMGS Next Gen
• New York Wargamers Association
• Connecticut Game Club
• Carnage and Glory
• Other Open Gaming tables and Family Friendly Games will be available.

FREE West Point Museum Tour
FREE West Point Visitors Center Tour
FREE Stony Point Battlefield and Museum Tour  

Guided Bus Tours of West Point through www.westpointtours.com

Photos with a WW2 Sherman Tank

Lunch at Patton's Tavern

Happy Hour at Thayer Hotel Rooftop Zulu Lounge

Dinner at MacArthur's Restaurant

Sunday Brunch at MacArthur's Restaurant

Additional Off Site Food Options:
Benny Haven's
McDonald's

Available Hotels:
The Thayer Hotel   www.thethayerhotel.com
West Point Motel www.thewestpointmotel.com
Holiday Inn Express at West Point-Fort Montgomery  www.ihg.com

For further information, please contact Frank Luberti, HMGS Convention Operations at conops@hmgs.org

(Gamma World) This is Not a Test #27 - Avoid Artifact Catastrophe

 Our heroes, the De Facto Explorers, assisting the Hissers of Notex with the sky falling....

================= 

Sneaky Pete: A mutated weasel scout.  Pete's telepathy and night vision take a backseat when he whips out his electrical powers.  Recovering from his injuries from the Glow near Ulmin.

Sonny Helianthus: a sentient sunflower artifact examiner with trusted Restorationist ties. 

Slitheran Wurmtail (aka Squiggles): a mutated earthworm scout, in impromptu power armor, looking for trouble, and finding it often.  Recently "gave birth" to a litter of sentient earthworm babies.

Lathar Bracken: A pure-strain human from River Bend.  He's got the muscle, the face, and a mount for most encounters.  Lathar's trusty beast of burden, No Name, travels wherever he does. Looking for trouble in all the right places.  Recent jousting champion of Fair-Town and has been awarded... a peacock he has named Chambray.

Ramsay Kallax:  Mutated Ram from the far-off KIA Academy with a predilection for ancient treasures... and the occasional head-butt. 

================

Our heroes exited the secret facility of the Ancients, a bit worse for wear for some.   The sight of sunshine and fresh air were a welcome sight, although their return was quick unexpected by the nearby Hissers.

"We're good? It's fixed already? Wow!" one of the Hisser remarked telepathically. 

"Absolutely not," Sonny quickly retorted.  "We need to regroup.  Do you have any healers in town?"

"Follow me..."

Lathar had a particular greyish tone to his skin. 

"Hey Squiggles," Sonny leaned over to his earthworm friend, "Humans don't change colors if we keep them out of sunlight, do they?"

"They certainly do not!"

"Then I hope they can help Grey-thar..."

They came to the healers hut and the two went through a series of homeopathic remedies and procedures without much success. 

"It appears we'll need to transfer healthy blood into you."   Small knives came out and the Hissers cut their arms, along with Lathar and Pete's, and put them together.  

While they wait for the ritual to end, Pete gave them a positive outcome of their search, despite their mysterious ailments and injuries.  

Pete was the only one who noticed the Hisser helping Lathar was quickly turning grey, it disconnected from the transfusion and emitted a eerie, wailing noise before dropping dead.  This caused quite a commotion  and confusion among the assistants.   Looking over, Lathar was energized, but  still slightly grey.   Pete's healer shuffled over, but maintained contact for that transfusion.  He was not turning grey, but Pete didn't share that symptom.  

Immediately the elders called another meeting with our heroes.  Accusations and questions and fear dominated the meeting.  Sonny did his best to allay any fears, but the sudden unknown death of a healer was far more worrisome than items falling from the sky.    

The Elders ordered them outside the walls in tents, with supplies.  There were not to make additional contact, except with better news.  

Lathar asked for additional troops to help the, which excited the ire of elders even more.  

"We barely have enough to guard the village, protect from raiders, and keep the peace.   If we could do it ourselves, we would not have begged for help like some worthless primitives."

Those same guards escorted the heroes outside the walls, until they were ready to re-enter the complex.  

After setting up the tents and eating, our heroes decided to experiment with the artifacts they recovered from the complex.  

They wandered closer to the stream they had followed up from the Hisser River.    Upon finding a clearing, they made a makeshift table with some fallen trees and a stump and began analyzing their finds.

With Lathar over his shoulder, Sonny couldn't venture much from the artifact knife they had recovered.  

Lathar took the knife from the sunflower, insistent that a knife was more than just a knife.    He walked away, fumbling about with the item.  At some point, he dropped the knife.  The blade fell out of the hilt and what looked to be a power cell rolled onto the grass as well.  He quickly put all the parts together without earning the suspicion of his teammates, but as he reinserted the blade, he heard a a resounding *THWANG* and the blade fell completely into to hilt.  

He walked back over and handed it to Sonny, "It's more than just a knife."

Realizing the pieces were lose and catching the blade with his fronds as it fell out  ("That was a poor idea!") Sonny walked away.  Upon further inspection, the hilt had dozen of tiny screws, although there was no explanation what exactly they were holding together on the hilt. 

"I'll need some time back in my lab in River Bend to investigate this further." and Sonny tucked it away in his pack.

Turning to the oversized pistol, Sonny realized to device was complete to function, although it appeared to be missing pieces which might have been accessories, or simply cosmetic.  

Plugging the power cell in, the weapon hummed for a moment and went silent.  After messing with the weapon, small lights came on.   Whatever the missing cosmetic items were apparently explained what the yellow and green buttons did, and he picked the wrong time to pull the trigger.

A burst of light shot out of the barrel and hit a large boulder 100 foot away.   The boulder split open, behind it the smoking body of Squiggles.  

"SQUIGGLES!  My oldest friend!"  Everyone ran over to the earthworm.  

Squiggles was alive although the deflected blast of the weapon hit him square in the face. 

Sonny flipped the small switch he realized was a safety or power switch.  "He'll live, although I don't think the healer will want to talk to him after today."

Squiggles laughed, got to his feet, and slugged the sunflower.  He fell backwards and was caught by Lathar, who lifted them up in his arms.

"Please, Lathar.... Don't drop me."

Realizing their best course of action was to go back to camp and rest up, they cleaned up their site, but Pete caught something out of the corner.  Up in the sky were five streaking objects, heading toward the large mesa... and the Hisser village.

A Problem, Times Five

Next: #28 - Shrapnel From the Ancients