roleplay-geek

Friday 15 May 2020

Mega City One - Citizens on Parade

Thanks to Lockdown, I am currently going through a phase of creativity. Mostly this involves catching up on a lot of long overdue painting projects.

One such project has been my Mega City One citizens.

These minis were painted in two batches the best part of 2 years apart and come from the always affordable Ground Zero Games (GZG) Star Grunt range. Specifically these were:

Unit 1: Colourful Crazies

These were painted almost two years ago, just in time for my Judge Dredd game using the Starblazer Adventures Rules, Tales from Mega City One. They are just everyday citizens that have had enough of the dog eat mutie existence of Mega City One and have taken up their stub gun for one last hurrah.

Colourful Crazies

Unit 2: Purple Punks

This was the first of the most recent batch where I began colour coordinating the figures. This makes batch painting a lot easier and allows easy in-game gang association. If its purple then they are members of the purple punks or the Paisley Park Citi-Def (see the Prince reference there?)

Purple Punks

Unit 3: The Orange Crew

This unit are mostly wearing coveralls and caps and the high-viz orange makes them easily double for a work team from Resyk or some other municipal facility. I have two easily distinguishable units to make running a small scale Block War that much easier.

Mega City One Citizens - The Orange Crew

Resyk workers or Block Warriors? You decide.

Unit 4: The Yellow Jackets

Continuing with the colour coordination I went with a Yellow and Blue combo for the last unit. This gives me another distinct and identifiable team of citizens (or IKEA workers) to pit against my player's Judges.

Mega City One Citizens - The Yellow Jackets

Yellow Jackets are fierce and tenacious defenders of flatpack swedish furniture

I fully intend to broaden my range of Mega City One citizens once I find some appropriate minis. In the old thinking box I have dreams of Kleggs (and Klegg hounds), Fatties, Protesters, Street Punks, Droids, Apes...

I am not a number I am a free man!

If you are wondering what is going on with the bases, that is a secret weapon in target acquisition and wound attribution. I could easily have painted numbers on the bases, but that's boring and so 1999. I feel it's much more in keeping with the Urban Jungle theme to have road markings and slogans differentiating each figure.

You are number 6... No I'm not I'm Slurm!

Thursday 14 May 2020

Prog 9 - Beneath Thatcher Towers

A continuing series of session reports from my current Judge Dredd game using Starblazer Adventures rules.

The tunnel emerges into an ancient substructure whose concrete walls and lofty ceiling are propped up by massive buttresses and columns. The scene is dimly illuminated by a pair of lit braziers which flank a large concrete altar at the far end of the cavern. Lying on the alter is a naked and bound Judge Steel. 15 civilians armed with an array of firearms are spread about the cavern whilst a figure armed with a sacrificial knife addresses them from the altar.

Thatcher Towers - Basement Temple

Wallace issues an arrest phrase which goes unheeded as a foolish perp (#1) raises his stubgun in their general direction and he answers with a burst of 3 GP rounds. The other Judges do not wait for further instruction. Que fires a single shot into perp #2, Hiro a burst of GP at a third and Holmes fires a GP burst at perp #2. In the confusion Steele manages to wrestle his hands free unnoticed.

The perps return fire Holmes takes a shot in the left arm, a bullet ricochets off Hiro's helmet and Que takes two rounds to the left arm. The hooded cult leader drops the knife onto the altar as he ducks for cover.

Wallace's radio buzzes with static as he calls Sector Control for backup. He launches a Grenade round at perp #3 which blows him to pieces and showers perp #7 in shrapnel. Que fires a 3 shot burst of AP at perp #4 who goes down clutching at the bloody stump of what used to be his leg. Hiro fires 2 AP at the center of mass of a fifth perp who slumps to the ground instantly and a third shot wings perp #8 in the right arm. Holmes hits perp #6 with a close grouping to the chest. Steele grabs the sacrificial dagger lying on the altar beside him and he cuts his legs free whilst rolling off the altar.

Perp #9 gets a lucky head hit on Wallace, perp #6 returns fire and hits Holmes in the left arm and leg. Perp #7 wildly strafes Hiro with his stub gun hitting him in the left leg and right arm. A new assailant, perp #11, also targets Hiro but misses.

Wallaces gets off a burst of 3 Grenades at #11 who explosively surrenders. Que shoots 3 grenades at perp #7 killing him. Hiro fires 3 AP rounds at perps #8 and #10 hitting them both. Holmes runs back to the pillar nearest the exit in order to get a better signal. Steele rolls over to the pile of clothes and reunites himself with his lawgiver "Doris".

The cultists strafe the area with stub gun fire but their lack of training and accuracy is telling and no rounds find a target.

Wallace fires a burst of 3 Grenades at perp #6 but misses. Que downs both #8 and #10, Hiro blows up #14 with 3 Grenade rounds as Holmes makes it to the tunnel. As naked as the day he popped out of the cloning tank, Steele leaps to his feet and kills the Cult Leader with a single GP round remarking

"Nobody puts Judge Steele on a sacrificial altar!"

His periferal vision spots two more cultists #12 and #13 on the other side of the altar and he snaps off a round at each but misses.

#12 and #13 return fire at Steele hitting him in the torso and left arm.

Wallace cuts down perps #12 and #13 with 3 grenades. Hiro rushes at perp #6 who is frantically trying to reload and shoots him in the leg blowing off his kneecap. He drops his gun, clutching at his mangaled leg and surrenders. Holmes gets to the stairwell at the entrance to the tunnel and calls in backup from Sector Control. Wallace shoots #15 in the head with a burst of GP rounds and he drops to the floor with a face that resembles swiss cheese. Running to the leftmost pillar Que yells at the remaining cultist #9.

"Drop your weapon, you're outnumbered!"

Stiffling the pain and screwing a hypo round into his lawgiver, Hiro chimes in

"Throw down your weapon"

Considering that the offence of Judge Homicide (Code: 101, 30 Years to Life) carries a lengthy sentence the perp retorts

"You'll never take me alive coppas!" and shoots himself in the head. Que mumbles to himself "You just saved me a heap of paperwork".

Surveyng the aftermath, Steele is stabilised but his serious wounds need urgent medical attention. They cuff the two cultists, #4 and #6 who surrendered and stop them from bleeding out. They take some robes and a stretcher and carry the pair out sealing off the scene for CSI by a team of Tech Judges. They leave by the nearest exit and are met by a Med Wagon 30 minutes later.

NEXT PROG -> Confronting Nigel Faraway

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Wednesday 13 May 2020

Jessie's Prints Episode 6 - Spool Walls Tower Block

This week, I are mostly been printing...

Spool Walls Tower Block - https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4343675 / https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4345022

Recycle those empty filament spools into Sci-Fi Scenery and... save the planet!

Owning an FDM 3D Printer causes you to inevitably collect empty spools of filament. I designed this to repurpose those spools into sci-fi scenery for my Judge Dredd and Gaslands games. The two models can be downloaded for free using the Thingilinks above. I fully intend to add more models and accessories to this series to help recreate your little piece of Mega City 1.

Stay tuned for more updates and if you like the model don't forget to like, share, add a make and tip the designer.

Tuesday 12 May 2020

Prog 8 - Royal Rumble at Le Teeny Eiffel Tower

A continuing series of session reports from my current Judge Dredd game using Starblazer Adventures rules.

The Trail of the Vampire

Judges Hiro, Holmes and Steele are at Thatcher Towers whilst Judges Que and Wallace remain at Mitterand Maisons.

Holmes checks the CCTV cameras, Tom Vampire left Thatcher Towers heading in the direction of Mitterand Mansions. He relays this information to Que and Wallace who check their CCTV. They pick up Tom Vampire entering Le TET (Le Teeny Eiffel Tower) and head out to Plaza 4A.

Some 43m up (Euro Zone local cultural laws demand the use of metric units, the only place to do so in the whole of Mega City 1) on the 1st floor observation deck, two people can be seen having an animated conversation. One is Tom Vampire the other Pepe Le Peu.

Before the Judges can make their next move their attention is drawn away by an almighty ROOOOOAAAAAARRRRR!!!!!!!. Two gigantic monstrosities 100m tall and 40m wide emerge from around each side of the block.

From a stuttering loudhailer a voice shouts

"Ladies and gentlemen, for your entertainment Today we have two of the biggest attractions since the opening of the Atomic War Museum. On your left we have the Guargantuan Gekko from Guantanamo Bay... GIGASAUR!. On your right we have the Robotic Rabbit with the Radioactive Rapier, it's... CYBERBUNNY!"

Gigasaur and Cyber Bunny Le Teeny Eiffel Tower

Gigasaur and Cyberbunny Square off infront of Le Teeny Eiffel Tower

Wallace confronts the giant pink robot rabbit and shouts "This is Judge Wallace, Stop in the name of the Law!". Cyberbunny leans down to face Judge Wallace and roars "TIMEEEEEEEE!!!". The giant green reptile raises its head and roars "JIMEEEEEE!!!".

Que runs over to her bike and calls for H-Wagon support as a shot rings out and a nearby citizen's head explodes like a squashed synthi-sauce sachet. The Judges training instinctively kicks in and they both track the trajectory of the bullet back to the top of Le Teeny Eiffel Tower.

Judges Holmes and Hiro are monitoring the situation from Thatcher Towers security suite and rush to Mitterand Maisons to back up their comrades. Judge Steele is investigating a stairwell which may have been used by the black clad oldienappers.

You Brought a Lawgiver to a Kaiju Fight?

Wallace fires a GP round into Gigasaur's Chest right where he thinks it's heart should be. The lumbering lizard does not react so he runs towards Le Teeny Eiffel Tower. Que takes cover behind her bike as another shot rings out smashing the wing mirror she was using to observe the shooter. She mentally notes the additional crime of Criminal Damage (Code: 902 - 2 to 6 years) to the perps charge sheet.

The monsters begin closing towards each other intent on slugging it out.

Wallace enters the South West leg of Le Teeny Eiffel Tower and begins running up the stairs. He can hear the unmistakeable sounds of footsteps running down the stairs towards him. Que can see Pepe Le Peu on the top most observation platform with a rifle. She breaks from cover and fires a single GP round but misses, the bullet ricochets off the tower's plas-steel girders with an audible zing.

Cyberbunny brings down his glowing green laser sword as Gigasaur lunges in grabbing his right arm and trying to bite the rabbits head off. Flashes of light ripple across the two gigantic beasts.

Wallace gets to the 1st floor and hears the panicked footsteps louder and closer. Que fires another round at Pepe Le Peu and hits him in the shoulder.

Gigasaur gets Cyberbunny but the robot brings a giant pink knee swiftly up into the lizards groin. The giant lizard roars cross-eyed and in pain. Waves of electrical static noise dance between the two colossal creatures like two badly tuned TV sets.

Wallace gets to the second floor and confronts a hyperventillating Tom Vampire armed with a stub pistol.

"He made me do it!" he gasps, shakily aiming the pistol at Judge Wallace. Wallace shoots him in the leg as Vampire reflexively fires a round into his right shoulder. Thank the Chief Judge for these new Mk 12 Shoulder Pads he thinks to himself. Que radios through Le Peu's location adding "He's down but still an armed threat".

With a mechanical woosh Cyberbunny fires his jetpack thrusters and executes a perfect front flip with a twist to land facing Gigasaur's spiny back.

Wallace shoots Vampire again whittling him down with another minor wound to the right arm. "The Game is up Vampire". Que guns her Lawmaster towards the tower hugging the tank for maximum cover. Another shot rings out and another wing mirror shatters into pieces. Que returns fire but misses.

Cyberbunny raises his mighty glowing green sword to slash down on Gigasaur's back but the lizard lashes out his large tail sweeping a leg from under the robotic rabbit. Cyberbunny overbalances and topples silently onto his back.

Sensing that Vampire is close to surrender, Wallace approaches menacingly brandishing a pair of cuffs. Vampire realises the futility of it all and runs to the observation deck railing. Pepe Le Peu shoots again at Que but misses. As her bike nears the tower her attention is drawn to the 2nd floor observation deck where she can see Tom Vampire trying to climb over the railing. Judges Hiro and Holmes arrive at Plaza 4A. Behind Gigasaur, Holmes can see a teenager in a medical exosuit at risjk of being crushed by the gigantic lizards scaly tail. Too late, the behemoth drops his tail to the ground crushing him. No wait a minute, the tail passed straight through him. These Kaiju are holographic fakes.

Wallace grabs Vampires arm as he tries to climb over the barrier. Que rushes up the South West leg stairs. Holmes guns his bike past the giant lizard and dismounts. He arrests the boy in the exo suit on a charge of Disorderly Conduct (Code: 1004 - 1 to 5 Years). Nearby a second teenager in an exosuit exhaultantly punches the air, his movements perfectly synchronised by the giant pink robot bunny. "Don't move Juve!" says Hiro as he dials up a Rubber Ricochet and shoots the punk in the head smashing his VR headset visor. One terrified eye stares back as the the juve stammers "JIMMEEEE".

Wallace cuffs Vampire to the railings but the perp struggles, slips and falls. Fortunately cuffs are made of strong stuff and Vampire is left dangling from his wrist 100 metres above the cold plas-crete below. Que continues up the stairs passing the second floor landing. Holmes shoots an HE round at Pepe Le Peu scoring a direct hit. With a sickening squelch the remains of a bloodied and burnt arm land at her feet.

An H-Wagon arrives a few minutes later to recover Vampire and to transport the two holographic hoodlums to the iso-cubes. Under interrogation Vampire reveales that Yesterday Le Peu gave him a locked briefcase to give to Nigel Faraway. It was heavy, but he doesn't know what it contained.

Back at Thatcher Towers

Judge Steele has located the stairwell and descended into the sub-basement. His radio crackles with static interference which intensifies as he moves deeper into a forgotten part of this block's history. The stairwell ends at a recently carved tunnel. Looks like recent excavation work has uncovered a small tunnel which stretches out into darkness. He continues onwards emerging into a wide cavern.

"Oh my Grodd!" he remarks as an audible thunk strikes the back of his neck and everything goes black.

NEXT PROG -> Beneath Thatcher Towers

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Monday 11 May 2020

Reaper Bone #16 - An Orc Patrol

Several years ago I listed all the miniatures needed to fill out the Level 1 Wandering Monster Chart as per Appendix C of the Dungeon Masters Guide.

This was a few years before Reaper Miniatures launched their Bones range of affordable miniatures and whilst these are not classic pig faced orcs (pictured below) they are a very cheap.