Hola all. Massawyrm here.
FLAMES OF WAR: HELL’S HIGHWAY
Recently, a group of us here in Austin picked up the incredibly popular WWII 15mm historical combat game FLAMES OF WAR. Built on a combat system similar enough to Warhammer 40,000 that it is easy to pick up, but different enough to offer its own completely different flavor, complexity and tactics, the game caught on like wildfire. In short order I assembled about 3500pts of American Armored Rifles (2nd Armored Hell on Wheels), 2000pts of a British Armor company (run as the Polish 1st Armored division) and about 2000 pts of American Paratroopers (which of course can be combined with units from the Armored Rifle Division.) Needless to say, now I have ANOTHER game to be endlessly addicted to.
Well, after many weeks of delay at customs, HELL’S HIGHWAY has made it to the united states and is Battlefront’s best book yet. Going over the releases of the last few years, you really get a sense that Battlefront is getting the hang of what is needed and wanted in inclusion and formatting. This book gives us a few cosmetic changes, including the Training level and Courage rating of the units in question in big red print at the head of each list. This is also the first book to shake things up by offering lists that cross armies. Here, American Paratroopers can be backed up by Welsh & Irish Guard armor, artillery and troops -- and vice versa.
Probably the most important part of this book however, is the update to the US Airborne lists which now differentiates between the 82nd and the 101st. There are also a few point adjustments to bring Paratroopers more in line with how the should be costed (a little cheaper.) This book pretty much replaces D MINUS 1 as the must have for American Paras - although if you want to still run them with American armor, you’ll want to keep that book around just in case. But really, the Welsh & Irish Guard rock. Elite Brit lists are a force of their own to be reckoned with (2 firefly’s per Sherman unit really do a number on German Armor lists.) The new Challenger light tank is enough to want to run a light tank list as well.
And yeah, there are Germans as well. A new Fallschirmjager list that includes a Penal unit of disgraced German Soldiers from Italy (still in their tropical uniforms.) All in all the book offers a lot of new variety, strong units and lots of flavor, making this a must own For US, British and German players alike. Highly recommended for FOW players or as a starting point for an army if you’re thinking about starting up. I love this book.
Dungeons & Dragons PRIMAL POWER
At this point, if you’re playing 4E, picking up the POWER books should be a no brainer. Thus far they’ve all been great, essential books that don’t just offer new powers to personalize your characters, but new ways to run the classes to give them entirely different ways to be played. And PRIMAL POWER is no different. As you’ve probably already guessed, this one covers Barbarians, Druids, Shamans and Wardens. Out of the bunch, Druids come away with some of the most radically different alternatives, getting the Swarm Druid and Summoner Druid builds – not to mention a sweet 27th lvl Power that summons a horde of dinosaurs (behemoths, actually) to trample your foes, which is just kind of awesome.
There are a handful of rituals, noen of which really blew my skirt up, new Backgrounds, and a slew of awesome new class specific feats. Athough, I’ve got to admit, the section that really felt inspired was the Epic Destinies section. Each of these destinies, while restricted to either Primal classes or a specific class, are incredibly evocative and fill a lot of niches as far as archtypes are concerned. World Tree Guardian, Reincarnate Champion, Mythic Spirit, and Honored Ancestor all stand out as nailing the mood and feel of these new classes.
Most interesting is the arch we’ve seen this year in terms of book releases. PHB 2 hasn’t been on stores that long, and already we’ve got those classes fully fleshed out with minis, card sets and support books. This bodes VERY well for next year when Psionics is the order of the day and we see, perhaps for the very first time ever, a fully integrated Psionic system that doesn’t suck/break the game. Hearing good things about that, by the way. Looks like Psionics are shaping up to be pretty interesting. More on that later.
Dungeons & Dragons SINISTER WOODS DUNGEON TILES
Thus far the Dungeon Tiles series hasn’t done much for me. Having played steadily for the last decade, I’ve got a fairly large collection of maps and DWARVEN FORGE dungeon sets. Used in conjunction, there hasn’t been much that has been hard to do – except outdoors. Thus far there have been a number of products to create outdoor environments for battle mapping, most notably Paizo’s map packs; but sadly those suffered from too much clutter, without having enough open tiles to have a decent battle in.
Well, here comes the Sinister Woods Tile pack, dollar for dollar the very best gaming aid on the market right now. $10 gets you six, thick, durable, double sided cards with punch-out modular map pieces. Together they can form an array of maps with a general dimension of 18” x 24”. One side is open forest, complete with hazards of the open woods, while the other side forms a variety of crumbling wilderness ruins. Or you can simply add a few appropriate tiles to the top of your maps to change things up enough that your players aren’t playing on the same three outdoor maps over and over again.
I had no idea how much I would like these things and I tried to go out and pick up some of the older sets – which oddly enough were sold out at the few stores I went to. If you haven’t started playing with these yet, it is time to take them for a test drive. And if you do use them, then get yourself a copy of SINISTER WOODS. Very impressed by this product.
Dungeons & Dragons PRINCE OF UNDEATH
At long last, the final episode of the 9 adventure series is out. This one brings the whole series to a close with a climactic battle with Orcus, the lord of the dead himself. There’s really not a lot of plot to this one – just an ass beating adventure into the depths of the Abyss. The map that comes with it is very cool, but also pretty specific – it won’t see a lot of use beyond this adventure. But the encounters are pretty interesting and reminiscent of the final level of DIABLO as you cut through swarms of demons to make it to the nastiest lvl 34 MoFo you’re ever going to meet. Hopefully.
A cool adventure overall, this will make for great conclusion for those who have played through the series from KEEP ON THE SHADOWFELL on, or makes for a great kick-in-the-door module for groups that want to play around with the big, high level toys for a little while. But if you’re looking for a deep involving plot or a lot of mystery, this isn’t the module to find it in. This is a God-slayer style adventure lacking anything resembling subtlety. But it looks interesting enough that I think I’m going to have my group roll up lvl 27 characters and let them tear it up with godlike powers for a while before jumping back into some Heroic-tier fun.
Alright gang, that about does it for me today. If the stars align properly, I should have a second TABLETOP column tomorrow covering my jaunt to the MAGIC: THE GATHERING Pro Tour here in Austin this weekend, complete with some photos of the new card arts from the upcoming decks. See you tomorrow!
Until next time friends, smoke ‘em if ya got ‘em.
Massawyrm
Got something for the Wyrm? Mail it here.
Or follow my further zany adventures on Twitter.
Dungeons & Dragons PRIMAL POWER
At this point, if you’re playing 4E, picking up the POWER books should be a no brainer. Thus far they’ve all been great, essential books that don’t just offer new powers to personalize your characters, but new ways to run the classes to give them entirely different ways to be played. And PRIMAL POWER is no different. As you’ve probably already guessed, this one covers Barbarians, Druids, Shamans and Wardens. Out of the bunch, Druids come away with some of the most radically different alternatives, getting the Swarm Druid and Summoner Druid builds – not to mention a sweet 27th lvl Power that summons a horde of dinosaurs (behemoths, actually) to trample your foes, which is just kind of awesome.
There are a handful of rituals, noen of which really blew my skirt up, new Backgrounds, and a slew of awesome new class specific feats. Athough, I’ve got to admit, the section that really felt inspired was the Epic Destinies section. Each of these destinies, while restricted to either Primal classes or a specific class, are incredibly evocative and fill a lot of niches as far as archtypes are concerned. World Tree Guardian, Reincarnate Champion, Mythic Spirit, and Honored Ancestor all stand out as nailing the mood and feel of these new classes.
Most interesting is the arch we’ve seen this year in terms of book releases. PHB 2 hasn’t been on stores that long, and already we’ve got those classes fully fleshed out with minis, card sets and support books. This bodes VERY well for next year when Psionics is the order of the day and we see, perhaps for the very first time ever, a fully integrated Psionic system that doesn’t suck/break the game. Hearing good things about that, by the way. Looks like Psionics are shaping up to be pretty interesting. More on that later.
Dungeons & Dragons SINISTER WOODS DUNGEON TILES
Thus far the Dungeon Tiles series hasn’t done much for me. Having played steadily for the last decade, I’ve got a fairly large collection of maps and DWARVEN FORGE dungeon sets. Used in conjunction, there hasn’t been much that has been hard to do – except outdoors. Thus far there have been a number of products to create outdoor environments for battle mapping, most notably Paizo’s map packs; but sadly those suffered from too much clutter, without having enough open tiles to have a decent battle in.
Well, here comes the Sinister Woods Tile pack, dollar for dollar the very best gaming aid on the market right now. $10 gets you six, thick, durable, double sided cards with punch-out modular map pieces. Together they can form an array of maps with a general dimension of 18” x 24”. One side is open forest, complete with hazards of the open woods, while the other side forms a variety of crumbling wilderness ruins. Or you can simply add a few appropriate tiles to the top of your maps to change things up enough that your players aren’t playing on the same three outdoor maps over and over again.
I had no idea how much I would like these things and I tried to go out and pick up some of the older sets – which oddly enough were sold out at the few stores I went to. If you haven’t started playing with these yet, it is time to take them for a test drive. And if you do use them, then get yourself a copy of SINISTER WOODS. Very impressed by this product.
Dungeons & Dragons PRINCE OF UNDEATH
At long last, the final episode of the 9 adventure series is out. This one brings the whole series to a close with a climactic battle with Orcus, the lord of the dead himself. There’s really not a lot of plot to this one – just an ass beating adventure into the depths of the Abyss. The map that comes with it is very cool, but also pretty specific – it won’t see a lot of use beyond this adventure. But the encounters are pretty interesting and reminiscent of the final level of DIABLO as you cut through swarms of demons to make it to the nastiest lvl 34 MoFo you’re ever going to meet. Hopefully.
A cool adventure overall, this will make for great conclusion for those who have played through the series from KEEP ON THE SHADOWFELL on, or makes for a great kick-in-the-door module for groups that want to play around with the big, high level toys for a little while. But if you’re looking for a deep involving plot or a lot of mystery, this isn’t the module to find it in. This is a God-slayer style adventure lacking anything resembling subtlety. But it looks interesting enough that I think I’m going to have my group roll up lvl 27 characters and let them tear it up with godlike powers for a while before jumping back into some Heroic-tier fun.
Alright gang, that about does it for me today. If the stars align properly, I should have a second TABLETOP column tomorrow covering my jaunt to the MAGIC: THE GATHERING Pro Tour here in Austin this weekend, complete with some photos of the new card arts from the upcoming decks. See you tomorrow!
Until next time friends, smoke ‘em if ya got ‘em.
Massawyrm
Got something for the Wyrm? Mail it here.
Or follow my further zany adventures on Twitter.
Dungeons & Dragons PRINCE OF UNDEATH
At long last, the final episode of the 9 adventure series is out. This one brings the whole series to a close with a climactic battle with Orcus, the lord of the dead himself. There’s really not a lot of plot to this one – just an ass beating adventure into the depths of the Abyss. The map that comes with it is very cool, but also pretty specific – it won’t see a lot of use beyond this adventure. But the encounters are pretty interesting and reminiscent of the final level of DIABLO as you cut through swarms of demons to make it to the nastiest lvl 34 MoFo you’re ever going to meet. Hopefully.
A cool adventure overall, this will make for great conclusion for those who have played through the series from KEEP ON THE SHADOWFELL on, or makes for a great kick-in-the-door module for groups that want to play around with the big, high level toys for a little while. But if you’re looking for a deep involving plot or a lot of mystery, this isn’t the module to find it in. This is a God-slayer style adventure lacking anything resembling subtlety. But it looks interesting enough that I think I’m going to have my group roll up lvl 27 characters and let them tear it up with godlike powers for a while before jumping back into some Heroic-tier fun.
Alright gang, that about does it for me today. If the stars align properly, I should have a second TABLETOP column tomorrow covering my jaunt to the MAGIC: THE GATHERING Pro Tour here in Austin this weekend, complete with some photos of the new card arts from the upcoming decks. See you tomorrow!
Until next time friends, smoke ‘em if ya got ‘em.
Massawyrm
Got something for the Wyrm? Mail it here.
