Forbidden Psalm - Medieval Fantasy in a dying world

 Forbidden Psalm is a simple, fast play skirmish game set in a dying post apocalyptic medieval world, or so the description says.  Equally suitable for competitive, co-operative or solo play the game is downloadable from Wargames Vault for a reasonable fee as a miniatures agnostic game so you can play with any five figures you have lying around.  If you don't have any, there are some printable standees for you to use instead.    The game comes with a campaign of ten scenarios involving your party of adventurers carrying out tasks for a mad wizard in exchange for gold.  As the campaign develops your characters get better equipped, more skilled or just horribly killed and replaced by new members.  Hey the world is ending and life is cheap.

The game scenarios are played on 2' square playing surfaces making for a quick intense game that doesn't require hours to play or take up acres of room.  As such its ideal for those with not much time or who are short of space for gaming. 

Players design five characters with the recommendation that you select your miniatures and design the character to match them.  You may make a single figure a spell caster although that will cost you 5 of your starting 50 gold with which you have to equip your party at the start.  Everyone starts with a feat (a special ability they can use) and a flaw (a problem they have to deal with).  The game includes a random name generator which has some 'interesting' options.  I used five of the  twenty four 3d printed figures I got in an advent calendar last Christmas (thanks to the wife!)

Suzi the Doctor, Dagnut the Fire Wizard, Bungle the Wiles, Ranth Toothsayer and Skinny the Knight.  (see what I mean about the names)

The game uses a d20 for all basic tests with generally success needing a roll of 12.  Everything is based on one of four stats (Strength, Toughness, Agility and Presence) which can vary between -3 and +3 depending on your character design choices.  Weapon damage can be anything from d10 to d4 based on the weapon in use so you will need a set of polyhedral dice to play the game (or a suitable app on your phone).

Scenario one (The Mad Wizards Tea) involves the party being tasked to visit some nearby ruins to get some black fungus for him.  Unfortunately it only grows on corpses.  Even more unfortunately there are some ghouls in the ruins that are quite attached to their lunch and don't want it being prodded by adventurers.

A game in progress using some old school Mordheim terrain, state of the art 3d printed miniatures and some strangely modern corpses (which were all I had to hand).

The game, which takes 6 turns, and took about 20 minutes to play.  In solo mode the players figures move and act and then the monsters react using some fairly simple rules.  Despite this two of my adventurers failed to survive the first game, although they did pass their death saves at the end of the game and so will be able to take part in the next game.  With three pieces of Black Fungus in our possession we were able to report success to the mad wizard and will progress to the next game in the campaign.

Suzi the doctor lies unconscious on the ground while Bungle the Wiles fights off a Ghoul.  To be honest it wasn't going brilliantly at this stage

Overall I enjoyed the game and it let me used a few of my fantasy figures on the table.  The game has enough complexity to make it interesting while not being at all hard to learn or play.  As such its a quite a good starter game although the need for polyhedral dice could be an issue for some (although probably not).

The only caution I'd raise is that the layout of the rules is chaotic in natures with fonts, text size, background colour and setting all varying page by page.  This could make it hard to read for some especially if you are borderline dyslexic.  Check the preview on Wargames Vault to get an idea of what I mean.  If these small items are not a barrier for you I think you will enjoy this game.

For further explanation and play though videos search 'Forbidden Psalm' on YouTube.

Chris

Spectre – 1st game

OK, having purchased a copy of the Spectre modern skirmish rules, in their recent sale, I decided to try these out, with Greg’s help.

No modern skirmish game of mine can really do without some zombies! However, they only featured indirectly here. The background to the story was that a group of 8 local hoods / ne’er-do-wells ( classed as “Militia”, armed with Assault Rifles) had ambushed an ambulance carrying critical virus samples. They had then taken these back to their compound, hoping to ransom these samples back to the authorities.

However, unknown to the hoods, the sample case had a tracking device and a Delta hit team (a 4 man “Professional Soldier” force, with Assault Rifles, a Combat shotgun, a LAW and a couple of grenades!) had trailed the hoods back to their compound. Pausing briefly to launch a recon drone, the Delta team moved in to breach the compound. However, after successfully breaching the compound fence, the Delta team tripped the home made zombie alarm belonging to the hoods! Game on!

Game 1

The Delta team inserted behind the abandoned workshop, splitting left and right. The hoods divided into two teams, also headed down each side of the workshop, from the opposite direction. However, the right hand hood team was quickly reduced to 2 “supressed” men, by a well placed grenade from the Delta team. These two surviving hoods quickly fell back to the shack.

The right hand hood team then switched attack avenue, managing to wing one of the left hand Delta team and then dashing into the workshop. They then charged out of the far end of the workshop, in tactical stance, losing one of their number in exchange for one of the Delta team. However, the surviving Delta team member managed to eliminate 2 more of the hoods, before being gunned down by the gang leader.

The left hand Delta team had meantime flanked the workshop, killing one of the 2 retreating hoods sheltering behind the shack. They then started to flank the shack itself, via a small shanty cabin, to the side of the main shack. This forced the last member of the shack defence hoods to try to flank round behind the Delta team, but he was rapidly gunned down, as he advanced on the 2 Delta team members. At this point the gang leader decided it was time to leave!

Game 2

Deciding the cover was better at the other side of the compound, the Delta team entered the compound, behind the abandoned school bus, splitting left & right, in two man teams.

The hoods also then split into two, 4 man teams, flanking out far left & right, attempting to gain overlapping fire positions on the Delta team. However, all they really succeeded in doing, was losing a man in each team, while also resolving the moral dilemma of maintaining ‘cohesion’ with a fallen & ‘bleeding out’ team member! So long sucker!?

The Delta team then got rough, unleashing the LAW into the rusting convertible, where the gang leader & 2 surviving goons were sheltering. The LAW itself did little damage, the shock effects of this and accurate suppressing fire from the Delta Team lead, first suppressed the gang leader’s team, before killing the gang leader & leaving his two associates bleeding out.

This forced the right hand hood team to return back toward the shack and the valuable sample case, but a series of lost initiative rolls (to be fair Militiamen ‘Command’ ratings are only 2!), saw the Alpha Delta team dispatch the remaining hoods, with advancing fire, capturing one of the hoods alive, for interrogation about how they knew about the samples in the first place!?

Overall, a quick, brutal modern skirmish game, but with about the right feel to it. The Cohesion distances seem a tad small (3” for “Professional” soldiers?) and cover modifiers need a little thought, but worthy of further outings. As games are also short & brutal, the presence of a Game Master or Umpire, seems a good idea.

Space Station Zero - A solo/co-op game of space exploration

Introduction 

Ok, most people have probably heard of Space Station Zero by now, but for those who haven't (Tony) it's a new science fiction skirmish game for solo or co-operative play.  Your crew is stranded in the docking bay of a vast and ancient space station with on hope of rescue and no way home.  Given the choice between dying of home brewed alcohol or exploring the station you have decided on the later.  The game has been written by Snarling Badger Studios (Adam Loper and Vince Venturella) who previously released the Skirmish set Reign in Hell.

The game is design to be played on a fairly small surface, ideal for those with little room, and with any miniatures you happen to have lying around.  The suggestion is that you play on a 22" by 30" area (which just happens to be the same size as a GW Kill Team board).  Personally I used the recently  released Stargrave figures from Northstar Miniatures for my crew and some GW Necrons for some ancient Sentry Robots but you can use anything you have.  There is no requirement for your crew to be human, so if you want to create a crew using GW Tyranids then go for it (Good luck remembering which one is the medic though)!

Creating a crew

The first step in the game is to create your crew which comprises either 4 Elite Explorers, 6 Regular Chaps or 8 Novices plus their Commander.  There are six different types of ship you could have arrived on (Medical, Warship, Transport, Science, Pirate or Explorer) and which type you choose will restrict your selection of crew member professions.  Being from a medical ship means you'll have to have several Medical Officers for example and will have the option of a Chief Physician (not available to anyone else). It will also affect your Commanders skills and equipment choices for the whole crew.  You will also gain an 'edge' which is the unique advantage which sets your crew apart, again there are a lot of option to choose from (Nanotech in your blood that helps you heal - fine, Power Armour all round - sure, Harmonious Culture where members in close proximity buff each other - naturally (we've all seen Star Trek)).  Choose wisely though as you will be facing a selection of challenges in your explorations which will not all be alien robots with guns, being unable to defuse a bomb because you've got no science skills in your group could lead to your campaign ending suddenly with a bang - literally.

Game Rules

The game mechanics have a few interesting twists.  Firstly the game uses D12's (that's twelve sided dice for those who don't know), which is not an option you see very often.  Secondly you succeed in your rolls by rolling even numbers with odd numbers being fails.  For basic checks any even numbers will do but as tasks get harder you start excluding the lower even numbers making successful rolls harder to come by.  Fortunately rolling a double 12 is counted as a Critical Success with the number of successes being doubled as a result.  For balance rolling a double 1 counts as a Critical Failure and leads to an automatic failure of the roll.  To give our heroes a slight advantage if you roll both a double 1 and a double 12 the double 12 wins out and the double 1 is ignored.  For some tests the players just need to roll a stated number of successes to pass a test, at other times the players will be making an opposed roll against an enemy with the difference in successes rolled by each party giving the result - for combat this difference is the damage inflicted.

Battle Report

So time to dive in and see if the water is warm!  For my team I decided on an average crew of 6 spacefarers together with their Captain.  My ship was an Exploration vessel and the teams edge was a Harmonious Culture.  To avoid gratuitous Star Trek references the Ship was the Orville with Captain Mercer, First Officer (Soldier) Grayson, Chief Engineer (LaMarr), Medical Officer Finn, Scientist Isaac, Security (Soldier) Kayali and finally Ace Pilot (Malloy).  In the absence of the appropriate Wiz Kids figures, I used various Stargrave figures the represent the crew.

The first scenario is Docking Bay Access Port which is the default start for the campaign of exploration.  It comes with two random challenges (from a list of four options).  A random roll gave me Poison Gas Leak and Ancient Sentries, ironically because every YouTube video I've watched of the game have these two challenges in play.  I set up the board by placing markers for the gas leaks, six Necrons for the ancient sentries, liberally scattering terrain across the board and positioning my crew in their starting zone.

The board in all its glory - the crew entered from the left.

Captain Mercer, Scientist Isaac and MO Finn took the right of the board (bottom in the photo above) with Grayson, Kayali, LaMarr and Malloy on the left.  Due to the gas leak each crew member had to check against breathing in the gas at the start of each of their activation's. Although this was unlikely to kill anyone outright the damage started building up quickly and demonstrated that the clock was definitely running.  Closing in with the sentries my crew demonstrated a complete lack of weapon proficiency with a single point of damage on two sentries being all I had to show after the first turn.

Captain Mercer and his crew view the approaching robots with alarm

Turn two went better with sentries starting to fall to somewhat better weapons fire while one getting in combat with the doctor regretted its life choices after being destroyed in hand to hand combat.

Commander Grayson and team push toward the left most vent.

Turn three saw the remainder of the sentries destroyed but Scientist Isaac took a lungful of gas too many and died.  The remainder of the team closed in of the vents with duct tape at the ready.  With the absence of active enemy the remaining turns saw the crew progressively sealing off the gas vents to finish the game, although not before pilot Malloy also keeled over after one failed poison test too many.

Grayson and Kayali seal the final vent to complete the challenge.

With the scenario successfully completed it only remained to raise the dead and assign the experience.  Isaac was able to make a full recovery but Ace Pilot Malloy was found to be 'dead and gone'.  Fortunately my Captain had taken a Stabilisation Module allowing me to re-roll the damage effect - nope still 'dead and gone'.  A reminder that the game has its brutal side with permanently dead members being irreplaceable during the campaign and the chance of out of action crew members being dead being higher than is usual in other skirmish campaign games.

First Impressions

The game was easy to play and only took a short time to play despite being my first game.  It was easy to set up and presented few problems finding suitable miniatures or terrain (ok that might be because I've been gaming for around 40 years and have accumulated a lot of stuff) but I suspect it will create few challenges for most players.

Ironically the choice of D12's is likely to present the main problem for newer players, I had a bag of 50 or so D12's on hand but I suspect a lot of new players may struggle to put together the 8 or so needed to play the game.  For what is probably intended to be a 'gateway game' into the hobby this was an unusual choice although it allows for the adoption of the interesting dice mechanics discussed earlier.  I suspect for young players lacking the physical D12's there is a suitable app which will suffice.

Overall the game works well and provides sufficient challenge to keep you on your toes.  I suspect it will prove difficult as crews get whittled down over progressive challenges but only time will tell.

Chris

SPACE WEIRDOS - The First Impression

With the decision taken not to hold the regular Thursday Zoom game it fell to the diehards (Chris and Tony) to fill the gap and ensure that the Blog wasn't left unsupported.  Obviously a suitably serious game system was required, but which?  Eagle eyed readers who looked at the title will already know the answer - Space Weirdos.

Space Weirdos is a simple 'Astro-Beer and pretzels' sci-fi skirmish available from Wargames Vault for the princely sum of $4.99 (or £4.32 in real money).  Weighing in at a mere 16 pages (including the Cover and rear page Quick Reference Sheet) it uses an opposed dice roll mechanic using pairs of D4, D6, D8, D10 or D12.  Different figures use different die types depending on their skill in defense, shooting, melee or will power with situational benefits or penalties increasing or reducing the die type used.  Despite the short format, rules for designing your own units are included so its was child's play to work out a quick Orc vs Marines game to test the rules out.

In the green corner we have a Marine Sergeant leading his force of two Marines with Heavy Rifles and one Marine with a Flamethrower.  With Heavy Armour and excellent shooting skill the Marines were expecting to gun down the Orks at long range.  If they got in close the Armour and Melee weapons should mean they were still effective.

In the other green corner the Orks, with a Boss leading 4 Orks with Heavy Pistols and Knives along with a Goblin Sniper for long ranged work.  The Ork Boss was a devastating close combat fighter with the other Orks not far behind, all were armed with Heavy Pistols meaning the long range firepower was limited.  The Goblin sniper was looking to engage the enemy from a distance being terrible in hand to hand.

Chris was hosting and had put together both forces so it was up to Tony to choose sides and he picked the Orks, will he wash away the Marines in a green tide?  Will his tactical skill  bring victory?  Has he read the rules?  He claims to have skimmed them and exhibits some knowledge of the mechanics - good enough.  Following pre-game kebabs ordered by Eileen the game begins.

The Marine Sergeant had the Leadership skill Tactician meaning that the Marines roll for initiative using 2d8 against the Orks 2d6.  All figures have 3 actions whose use is limited by their stats.  Speed 2 means only two move actions are allowed per turn for example. 

Turn 1 and the Marines go first.  Players alternate moving figures, both are cautious and there is limited sniping at range which proves ineffective as significant movement meant reduced shooting dice and cover improved defense.  Eventually the Marines scored a hit.  

Rather than automatically inflicting a wound, a successful hit leads to a roll of the Under Fire table (2d6 plus modifiers with a 10 or better killing the target outright)  the Marine rolls a 3 and his target gets a snap shot back at him!  Luckily the Ork misses.  End of the first turn and no casualties have been inflicted.

Turn 2 and the flamer equipped Marine tries to get the bead on an Ork sneaking down the left flank, sadly the Ork is well hidden and no shot is possible.  Instead in his go the Ork charges the flamer, hits and inflicts damage, the Marine goes down.

The goblinsniper comes into his own and takes a shot at the Marine.  He aims, hits and takes the Marine out of action.  First blood to the Orks.

The Marine Sergeant decides to even the score and charges into the fray, sadly for him the fray hasn't read the script and he inflicts no damage.  The Ork Leader counter charges and puts the Sergeant down and stunned.  Things are not looking good for the Marines.  Luckily no other Orks can get into combat and finish the Sergeant off (small mercies).

Turn 3 and the Marines go first.  The Marine Sergeant tries to recover and fails, he tries again and fails a second time, he tries again and succeeds, all three actions used and he's still down.  At least he's not stunned though.  It doesn't last.  After both Orks finish their attacks the Sergeant is out of Action. In compensation the two Marines on the far side of the table each manage to take out an Ork, albeit loosing one of their number in the process. Its still not looking good.

Turn 4 and with only one Marine left Tony senses victory and wins initiative.  An Ork charges in only to be felled by Overwatch fire.  The Marine than takes a turn and kills the second Ork closing in on him (what a Hero!).

He then uses a command point to dodge the incoming fire and hide.  The turn ends and with it the game.  It turns out to have been too little too late.  With 3 dead Marines the Orks score 60 while 4 dead Orks are only worth 52 points.  Victory to the Orks and the Marines are left to wonder what went wrong.

In the inevitable post game discussion the rules are considered to have worked, the game is fast to play, once the rules are understood and the Under Fire and Under Attack tables means that the effect of hits are uncertain and can result in counter fire.  Both sides suffered poor rolls and the initial game saw little damage inflicted.  An enjoyable evening has been had and the game is likely to be played again - overall a success.

Chicago Herald, 21st March 1929

3 of Chicago’s Finest Slain in Gunbattle

Today Chicago mourns three of its finest serving officers, brutally killed in the line of duty, facing down a major Gang turf war. Witness reports are confused, but it appears that gang boss “Bugs” Moran was seen, with rival gang boss deputy, “Fingers” Finigan, leaving the dockside branch of the US bank, carrying a large bag. Things were tense, as “Bugs” had his hoods waiting in cars outside the bank, while rival boss Frank Malone, drew up, with another load of hoods, on the opposite side of the street.
Despite the obvious danger, Detective Sean Fagen approached and challenged “Bugs” Moran and “Fingers”. All hell then seems to have broken loose. Clearly unnerved by first, , the appearance of Frank Malone and his men, then the escape of Babs Brennigan from the back of the van, then finally the challenge of the police, “Bug’s” henceman opened fire with his tommy gun, spraying Frank and his men with lead.
Jess James, “Bugs” Moran’s sidekick, then floored the accelerator of the Talbot van, sending it careering toward Detective Fagen and Officer Uno. As they scattered out of the way, “Bugs” leaped onto the running board of the van and Jess accelerated toward the police van and the waiting Officer Duo. Jess appears to have misjudged his run however and instead of striking Officer Duo, he glanced off the side of the police van, knocking Duo off his feet and dislodging the unfortunate “Bugs” Moran. Officer Duo wasted no time and after recovering his feet, sent blasts from his pump action, into the retreating form of “Bugs”, almost blowing him in half, as he tried to jump into the back of the van!
Officer Duo then calmly turned his attention to Moran’s thug, still spraying tommy gun lead, from the window of the Cadillac, toward Frank Malone and his men across the street. A blast from Duo’s pump action missed the thug, but wrecked the engine of the big Cadillac.

Meanwhile Officer Uno had sprinted after the scantily clad form of the retreating Babs Brennigan, manfully wrestling her to the ground. It is not exactly sure why Babs was running away from her beau, “Fingers” Finigan, by this time with Frank Malone, but there seems to have been some kind of communication breakdown. Frank was heard to yell “check out the dame in her underwear”, but the thugs thought he said “take out the dame, get her underwear”, and after exchanging puzzled looks, they discharged a fusillade of shots in her direction, causing her to flee!
“Fingers” Finigan furiously threw the cash bag at Frank and strode across the street, pulling out his .45 and aiming it at Officer Uno. Uno, calmly kneeling on the prostrate form of Babs, glanced between the approaching “Fingers” and the thug spraying lead from the big Cadillac. Unable to get a clear shot at the thug, Uno pumped a couple of rounds into the big Cadillac’s gas tank, sending it up in a ball of flame, killing the tommy gunner and knocking “Fingers” off his feet. “Fingers” struggled to his feet and with a murderous look in his eyes, advanced on officer Uno, yelling “get off my gal”, pumping round after round, into brave Uno. “Fingers” did not have long to gloat, because as he stepped up to the fallen Uno, Officer Duo blasted him in the back with the overworked pump-action. Having grabbed the cash, Frank and his men piled into their big delivery van and pulled out into the street. Detective Fagen, seeing Frank about to make his get-away, leaped into the police van and swung it out into the street, trying to block the path of Frank’s truck. However, Fagen had not seen Frank’s hoods in the big Duesenberg, and as he drove past, .45 slugs smashed into his body, killing him outright. Frank smiled and thought he had got away, but had not bargained on Officer Duo’s ubiquitous pump-action. As the van sped past, Duo calmly blew-out the rear tyre. The van ground to a halt, a short distance from Jess James’s Talbot van, now resting against the wall of the warehouse on the corner of the street. Jess had been aiming to head-off Frank’s truck, but a combination of a glancing blow from the huge Duesenburg, driven by Frank’s deputy, Curtis McElroy, and well aimed shots from Frank, had caused it to swerve out of control and into the warehouse wall. With the three vehicles now stationary, there followed a murderous exchange of fire, between Frank, Curtis and Jess’s men. Into this hell strode the fearless Officer Duo. Smashing the muzzle of his pump-action through the rear window of the Duesenburg, he blasted at the two thugs in the rear seat. Amazingly he only seems to have grazed both of them, and they turned their guns on him, cruelly cutting him down. Frank’s gang then turned their attentions back to Jess. Jess sensing the game was up, stepped from the Talbot and calmly walked through the flying .45 slugs, toward Frank in the truck. Frank smiled inwardly at such bravado, then emptied his .45 into Jess’s crumpling form.
This tragic shoot-out, here in our own fair town, clearly marks the end of a major chapter in the gang wars of Chicago, but it is with greatest regret that it has cost the lives of three of Chicago’s finest. Their names and deserved citations were honoured today, in a moving speech by Mayor Kevin.

Cast;
Frank Moran – Colin
Curtis McElroy – William
“Fingers” Finigan – Kieran
“Bugs” Moran – Tony, “How many 1’s are on this d8?”
Detective Sean Fagen – Kevin, “Straight aces all the way”
GM – Phil

Rules: Savage World. Genre: 28mm Gangster skirmish.

Note: None of the Herald’s photographers were at the scene of the shootings. The pictures appearing above were wired to the Herald by freelance reporter, Colin Beermaker, using the new teleostereograph, the invention of Edouard Belin of Paris. Apparently these pictures were captured Colin’s telephonic device, by a process which completely mystifies the editor!?