Cadoc Pridd (Twilight: 2000 Character)

I finally finished up my Twilight: 2000 character I started a few days back. This is Cadoc Pridd, a Welsh-American that attended the U.S. Naval Academy and then served two tours as a Marine Corps Force Recon Officer before the war broke out. The character creation process in T2K is a bit overwhelming, maybe it was because this was the first character I have ever created or maybe it was the layout of the book but I found that locating the information I needed was not easy. That said I'm a big fan of the life-path system, I really enjoyed taking my character through the different stages of his life leading up to the beginning of the game, it really helps to flesh out ideas for the characters back-story.

There were a number of questions that came up during the creation process that I was unable to find answers to, not the end of the world though. There is an awful lot of stuff to track for this game and it took me a while to look up all the information in the manual which I must say is LOADED with charts, more than I like to see in a rulebook. Some of the information needed is buried in paragraph after paragraph of writing, making it hard to track down. I find that my taste in RPG's over the last few years has begun to lean more to the simple side. There was a time when I would have loved a rules heavy game that focused on recreating reality, these days I like games that are simple and fun, I would much prefer to focus on the story and not have to worry about the rules.

I've never actually played T2K but would be willing to give it a try, I love the premise of the game and the world they have created seems like fun, I'm just not sure if I could handle the extensive rules.

Cynfan y Arth (Pendragon Character)

Say hello to Cynfan y Arth, he's a character I recently rolled up for Pendragon RPG. I've been pulling some of my old games down off the shelf and rolling up new toons for the heck of it. Cynfan is a Cymric Knight who was recently knighted and took over his father's manor, Burcome. He is known as "y Arth" (the Bear) due to his barrel chest and huge beard.  

The character sheet I used is from a newly available PDF called the Book of Records, available from http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/ for around four dollars. You can type right into it and then save your file, it's very handy. It also auto calculates the Glory you gain as well, good stuff all around! 

The shield was created in a little program called Coat of Arms Design Studio, its available here; http://inkwellideas.com/coat_of_arms/  I believe it cost around 20 bucks, its a tad bit expensive and a bit finicky but overall it's a very nice tool for creating shield designs. You can add creatures or items, ordinaries (pale, scarpe, bend, quarter sinister, etc) or divisions (per chevron, bendy sinister, etc).  Each of these many options can be adjusted for color and location. To finish it up you can add a scroll (like the one at the bottom of the shield above) or mantling/helms at the top.  

Here's the back of the character sheet:

Overall I really like the look and function of this character sheet.  Its got a nice design and the ability to type right into the .pdf with only Acrobat Reader is really great.  Now I just need to find a game to join!

Twilight 2000 Questions

Hey folks,

For many years I have wanted to play Twilight 2000 but its continued to sit on my shelf staring at me.  Well I got sick of the dirty looks so I pulled it down off the shelf and have decided to roll up a character.  I am mostly done but had a couple of questions that I hope you T2k fans can help me out with.

My toon qualified for National Military Academy (U.S. Naval Academy) for his first career block.  It states that you automatically get all the basic training for the appropriate branch (Army, Navy or Air Force), no problems so far.  For my next career block I took Force Recon Officer (U.S. Marine Corps).  Do I also get all of the U.S. Marine basic training skills in this block, or should I have substituted these during the education block (even though Marines is not listed as one of the branches)?

My only other question is whether the National Military Academy counts towards the total amount of money I receive for equipment.  My guess is that it counts as education and therefore does not grant additional monies for equipment.

Thanks much everyone!

Decision at Elst finally arrived!

I was very pleased to find the newest ASL Starter Kit Expansion sitting on my doorstep yesterday afternoon. I had a chance to look it over and punch out my counters so I figured I would take a few snapshots and share it with my loyal followers! Decision at Elst is the first and only Historical Module for the Advanced Squad Leader: Starter Kit series. I used to own just about everything that Multiman Publishing made for ASL but I sold it off as I never played much and it helped to finance my wedding (cha-ching!). I was glad to see the starter kit series come out, its a nice easy way to get into ASL, the game is stripped down but you still get the feel of full ASL. This new module covers several battles around the town of Elst, an area in which the British XXX Corps would pass through on their way to try and rescue the Red Devils during Operation Market-Garden.

DaE includes a new updated manual, a campaign book with a number of linked scenarios. A new historical map of the area, new counters and new handouts for the players round out the box. I keep all of my ASL:SK manuals, maps and scenario cards together in one binder, everything slips into 8.5" x 11" clear page protectors as seen below. I've been able to squeeze everything nicely into one binder making it a lot easier to carry around.

Rule book on the right, campaign book on the left.

Vehicle notes on the left and IFT handout on the right.

Two ASL:SK scenarios.

Geomorphic map on the left and historical map on the right.

Operations magazine.

For storage I used Racco trays, even with all the new counters from Decision at Elst I was able to squeeze everything into a single box.  Its tight, if any new modules come out I may need to step up to a second tray!

Closed up and ready for travel.

All the contents expanded, that's a lot of counters!

Russian Leaders, Support Weapons and Allied Minors.

Lots O' Germans.  SS, 1st & 2nd Line and Conscript Troops.

I'm looking forward to getting back into ASL, its been to long since I have played. Full blown ASL took up to much of my time, the rule book is a massive tome that is extremely dry reading. These new starter kits are a little more concise, they trim a bit of the fat and still leave something that is satisfying to play. If you have ever been interested in ASL, give the starter kits a try. They can be purchased at MMP's website, found here: Multiman Publishing

The Adventure Begins

Hey guys, here's another piece I created using Photoshop and my Wacom tablet.  I wanted to do another fantasy piece and I'm pretty happy with how it came out.  I originally started this as an acrylic painting but moved it over to Photoshop after I took up digital painting.  Challenges this time around were centered mostly around my lack of skill with Photoshop.  I used a lot of layers, something I am not used to and I found myself a bit lost.  I also had a chance to use some filters like blur on the foreground and overlay for the glow of the torch and magic staff.  It took 8-10 hours to complete but a lot of that time was me trying to figure out how to make Photoshop do what I wanted!  

Overall it was fun and educational, stay tuned for more!

PBR Raid

I recently started getting back into art, I've been inspired by all of the amazing OSR art that is out there. This is a piece that started as pen and ink on paper which I scanned and finished in Photoshop.  I purchased a Wacom CTH-480 touch tablet that is amazing, I love being able to paint in Photoshop!  The layout was inspired by Stefan Poag's Barrowmaze cover with my own little twist, of course I had to have a couple of drunk Umber Hulks in the background.

I hope you all enjoy, I'll be posting more stuff as I produce it, you can always check out my other work at Deviant Art: Jason's Gallery

Mark III Ogre Attack!

Initial Setup

My wife and I finally decided to give the new version of OGRE a try this weekend. She played the Combine Mark III Ogre and I defended using the Paneuropeans. Above is the basic setup with only GEV's, a howitzer and tanks in the central defense zone and infantry pulling up the rear.  More after the break!