Sources Say: Blaster vol 2

Name: BLASTER, Volume 2
Produced By: BLASTER
System: Frostgrave, Ghost Archipelago, Rangers of Shadow Deep, This Is Not A Test, Gaslands, and Last Days: Zombie Apocalypse.
Genre(s): Horror, high fantasy, and post apocalypse

Well, looks like we did get another issue of Blaster this year. I was honestly worried that we wouldn't but it's a nice little surprise. The first thing you might notice is that Ash isn't the editor this time, it looks like Greg Horton is our new Overlord. This should be interesting to watch.

Shadowgrave: Cthulhu in Frostgrave/Ghost Archipelago/Rangers of Shadow Deep

The first part of this issue is ShadowGrave, rules for Lovecraftian horrors in Frostgrave, Ghost Archipelago, and Rangers of the Shadow Deep. Well, this appears to be the first part of a series for adding these in but this looks finished enough to try out the missions they've provided. Each of the games get one mission each, mostly solo ones. Since the games all use similar rules, there's a dump of them up front. Rules for losing sanity, and its effects, and the stats for Mythos monsters. The rules for sanity tests and loss are very damaging to models, so you'll want to keep that in mind if you want to do anything long term with them. It's not some minor thing. Making the rolls aren't easy and the consequences of failure are harsh, with losing all of your equipment, death, loss of actions, turning rolls of 13 into 1s, and having to be in groups or suffer penalties are all on the table. And that's naming just a few. The monsters are fairly standard for the Mythos but there's some odd ones in there. These creatures don't look easy to put down, in addition to causing the sanity rolls, so they're going to be quite the challenge for your crews and warbands.

The first scenario we have is for Frostgrave, designed for a usual game. You're going to need a idol, some wells/ponds, some mist clouds, some ghouls, and some shoggoths. This is probably going to be very damaging for the sanity of the models you're using, so good luck with that, as you're going to be bringing out a lot of ghouls and shoggoths with the right rolls. There's a random effects table, so no one is going to be safe in this game...

The next scenario is for Ghost Archipelago and is for solo play (which means I'm probably going to be giving a shot pretty soon). This one isn't as harsh as the one above but it is going to be a hard fight with some poor rolls. You're up against a fair amount of tribal warriors, some Nightgaunts, and a Spawn of the Stars if things go really, really bad. There is a way to stop it from getting worse, but good luck. This scenario also uses a slightly smaller table size, about the size of a card table, so it's perfect for me.

The last scenario is for Rangers of Shadow Deep, which I know almost nothing about, so I'll try my best here. This one is very much inspired by Dark Fantasy stories, taking place around some trees and a sheep pen. There's “Dark Goats” and “Dark Satyrs” to be dealt with, as well as some kind of rune covered stone. While I haven't picked up this game (yet) I do like the idea of this scenario better than the one they put in the last issue.

This Is Not A Test: Masters Of The Wild, Part II

Now that we're done with all of that, we're on to second part of the This Is Not A Test supplement, continuing from last issue. And, of course, I have no clue what this one talks about, as I don't play this game (yet). Where the last one had enough for me to really find stuff to talk about, this one... Doesn't. It covers alternate elites, which I'm assuming will mean something to those of you who do play the game. We've got a Beast Controller, a Beast Friend, Chimeric Shepard, and the Lesser Tribal Wildcaller. Next, it's animal skills, which can be taken in place of the ones they'd normal get. And they're pretty funny. After that we have Wastelander Creatures Tables, that adds a few monsters. I'm a fan of the Lil' Steggo and I have no idea what it does.

 

Mystic Skies: A whole new game (but it's pretty much Gaslands)

Now, we're moving on to the “New way to use your Gaslands templates and other models” part of the book. Like the Martian Racing Federation in the last issue, pretty much giving you a whole new game to play, Mystic Skies does the same thing, but completely disconnected from the world of Gaslands. This time, we're playing in a world like Arabian Nights, with flying carpets, wizards, monsters, and summoned servants, created by the minds behind Gaslands (duh) and Relicblade. So, yeah.

This game revolves around a wizard on a magic carpet (or has wings or a flying mount) on a base no larger than 50mm and a tower of some kind. For your monsters (which are going to pop up and change controllers), you'll want some monstrous beasts (owlbears and the like spring to mind), evil champions (perhaps some vampires?), evil warriors and bowmen (skeletal warriors or goblins could work), and beasts (maybe rats?). For minions, you've got elementals of varying size and power, fighters, archers, and engineers, which you've probably got laying around if you've been playing tabletop RPGs long enough (or have gotten in on any of the Reaper Bones Kickstarters) or might be able to use stuff from other miniatures games. When you're building your wizard, you're got a list of spells anyone can use that boost or summon allies and monsters (or let you boost your wizard) and you get to pick one school of magic they know. These schools give you four spells and a school bonus, leading to a lot of variety and will make you want to experiment with them until you find what works best for your style of play. Sadly, there's only one scenario to play but it shouldn't be hard to cook up something to play around with if you're really enjoying it. If I get the chance to play this one, I'll be sure to post any new scenarios I come up with.

Last Days: Zombie Apocalypse: Evolutions

The last part of this issue is something that a lot of people have been looking forward to, changing things up for your Last Days games. While I like this idea, I'm a little disappointed that we didn't get another timeline (I'm really looking forward to the sci-fi one and the World Wars one).

Now, there's a lot of rules changes for this one, as we're going to be able to use things beyond the Romero style zombies, so I strongly suggest giving this whole thing a read before you start throwing things out there. The first major change is that now your games will have a “Key Menace” to them, the most basic enemy type. For most Last Days games, these are zombies. However, now you're going to get “Evolutions” to make things a little harder, even if you're sticking with zombies. The next rule change is Behaviors, which are going to determine how these new threats act, since not every enemy is going to charge your guns like zombies. We've got Stalking enemies, who are going to dash from cover to cover while trying to get in close enough to attack, and Hunting enemies, who are going to move a little more aggressively but still try to be sneaky. There's also new Traits to make these new enemies even more dangerous, as now they themselves might explode! And that's just one of the things to worry about but is probably the most dramatic. The regenerating enemies are going to be a pain...

For our first Evolution, we're getting new types of zombies (of course) and they're taken from some of the more recent zombie media. We've got bloated and explosive zombies, spitting zombies, stalking zombies, fast zombies, and something like the good old Tyrants. Oh boy. These are probably going to be really easy to pick up, as at least one other zombie game already uses these sorts of enemies. I can easily use some of the zombies I got from the Zombiecide Walk Of The Dead to fill in for these roles. And I might just pick up some more, especially if I can find some big nasty guys. And if you're a fan of the Left 4 Dead series, I bet you've been waiting to this moment.

Next up, we have robots. That's right, now we're getting into Terminator territory, which you can do using Cyber Reavers from Reaper (they make them in Bones, just so you know) or whatever else you've got laying around. Maybe some Shield Drones? We've got robots armed with “blasters” (yeah, I saw what you guys did there and shook my head), Infiltrators that are “legally distinct from but closely resemble” the aforementioned Terminators, heavily armed and armored Prosecutors, Nano-Slayers that are clearly some T-1000s, and the big-bosses, Hunter Killers. Yeah, this is Terminator. And I am okay with that. I just don't know how I'm going to find enough models for this...

And that's it, folks. All in all, this is another solid bit of work. You've got some new rules for three different games that adds in the “fun” that is the Cthulhu Mythos, the conclusion of the beast rules for This Is Not A Test, a fun little wizard game that you can play with a friend, and some neat stuff for Last Days. I don't know it's as useful as the last issue but it's a nice boost of everything. And I think the addition of the Mystic Skies game is the part that's probably going to help it sell, as the templates needed are free online.

Let's Review: Ghost Archipelago

What is it?:
Frostgrave: Ghost Archipelago is a 28mm miniatures game set in the Frostgrave world published by Osprey Games. 

 

The setting:
While in the same world as Frostgrave, Ghost Archipelago is a literal world away, set in the tropical isles that make up the aforementioned archipelago. You take control of a Heritor, who's ancestor once visited this area and drank from a Crystal Pool, gaining great powers. Since the archipelago vanishes every 200 years, only to reappear for a few more, you have acquired a ship and crew and are now looking to find the Pool. You need to find the pool so using the powers you have don't make your blood burn... 

 

The system:
Much like Frostgrave, you're going to start out by building your crew, beginning with your Heritor. You pick five powers for your Heritor (which is just like your Wizard in Frostgrave), one of which will be very easy to use and four others that aren't much harder. Of course, you can use these powers multiple times per turn (depending on a few factors) which makes them harder to pull off and hurts your Heritor more. After you get the Heritor figured out, you have to pick a Warden, which is more like a Frostgrave wizard with a “school” of sorts, but are much more like druids in a traditional high fantasy setting. Once the magic users are done, it's time to get your crew sorted out. You get a total of eight crew, up to four of which may be upgraded to Specialists, with 250 gold. The basic crew get to choose a weapons package, like hand weapon and shield, two handed weapon, etc. The Specialists will help you decide what kind of force you're going for. Heavy weapons and armor? Ranged specialists? Speed? It all comes down to what you pick.

Just like Frostgrave, you have a few stats and everything is settled with a single d20 roll. And each mission revolves around claiming treasure and getting away. The random monster tables are similar yet very different. You'll spiders and undead return, but now there's a whole bunch of dinosaurs and even intelligent forces to contend with. One positive change is that most of things that could make a game complex (like random encounters) are now optional and can be used to bridge the gap in power between forces. Of course, this does mean that you're going to need to buy more miniatures, but, come on, dinosaurs! Who doesn't want some of those to play with?

One of the major changes is that most of the missions will involve water and boats, meaning you might need to invest in new terrain and some miniatures for those. I'm a bit unhappy with that, having to make a bunch of islands and waterlogged ruins, but I do have to agree that it makes sense for the setting.

 

Is it worth it?:
Yes. If you already have a Frostgrave group, switching over shouldn't be too hard. If you don't, just buy some pirates and dinosaurs. Or just buy some anyway.

Sources Say: Dracula's America: Forbidden Power

Name: Dracula's America: Forbidden Power
Produced By: Osprey Games
System: Dracula's America
Genre(s): Western, Horror 

Time for the second expansion of Dracula's America and this time, it's getting a little Lovecraft in here...

As with the last book, there's a bit of history in the beginning, this time going all the way back to the American Revolutionary war. We learn that the Elder Gods got involved in the war, with Benedict Arnold ending up falling to the temptation of these dark powers. We also find out that, due to the events of Hunting Grounds, Cyclopean ruins have risen in the bayous of Louisiana and a new group has begun to gain a following in Dracula's America.

The book begins proper with some new rules for encounters in swamps, with rules for swimming, and not one but two bestiaries. The first one deals with monsters you'd find in swamps, things like gators, Will-O-Wisps, Loup-Garou, skunk apes, and the first Lovecraftian monsters, Deep Folk. That's right, we're in Lovecraft Country. Because the next bestiary is chock full of servants of the Elder Gods. Gibbering Spawns, Mycotyth, and the utterly terrifying Spider-Fiend. There's, again, new Arcane powers for your casters and a whole new type of magic just for one of the new factions.

The first rules they introduce are a bunch of new missions based around stealth. These have a bunch of new rules for playing them, including limits on how far your models will be able to see. I think these are only okay, as I'm always wary of lopsided missions. However, these are nice to give you something to shake up your normal games, making people's interest last a little longer.

We get to our two new factions after this (bringing our total to ten for those of you keeping count at home). We have the Salem Sisterhood, a Wicca group that has not two but four special models, three Arcanists (Maiden, Mother, Crone) and a male Defender. And, yes, they're from the same group that made Salem famous. Next, we get the Church of Dagon. They get a Priest of Dagon and two Hybrids, who will get random powers. The Church uses Elder Magic powers, which are totally different than normal powers. Well, kind of. Normal Arcanists only get to use the powers they pick, having to wait it level up before getting some new ones. Those that use Elder Magic can pick what spell they want to cast each turn from the list. To cast these spells, they've added in a new phase, the Madness Phase, and a Madness pool. The important parts of the Madness Pool is that it has to be at a certain level to be able to cast Elder Magic and can end up summoning Lovecraftian monsters. I'm not a huge fan of adding in new mechanics into a game using an expansion but you don't have to worry about using the Madness Pool unless you've got a Priest of Dagon involved in the game.

Since we've got a new mechanic, you knew they were going to have some Hired Guns that effect it. They also give us dogs to use in games, finally. They also give us some famous (or infamous) Mercenary Drifters, using the rules from Hunting Grounds. They give us Frankenstein but really it's Herbert West, Re-animator. There's some new equipment, mostly arcane stuff. They give you cursed items and Relics, which are rare but very powerful

The book wraps up with another campaign, this time all about trying to stop the Church of Dagon from awakening the Elder Gods. If you're going to play this campaign, make sure you've got plenty of Deep Ones and other Lovecraftian monsters. You can even make this a continuation of the first campaign if you played through it.

As much as I beat up on this game for taking a lot from Deadlands, they completely changed course with this book. I really like the idea of mixing Lovecraftian horror with the old west. If they had started the series with this stuff, my first impression of this game would have been totally different. I also really hope that Osprey will roll the core book, Hunting Grounds, and this book into one mammoth tome in the future. I doubt it will happen, but I will dare to dream.