Recon in Force: More Mecha

Last month massive machineries of war were spotted on the horizon (Advancing Mecha Sighted!).The emphasis on Armor Grid's excellent models was for quick starting, print-n-play action. This follow up features a small selection from the vast world of 15mm Mecha and terrain, plus a Kickstarter you should really look into if you're a Mech aficionado.
First up is Rebel Minis, the 15mm masters. They have a vast array of units, designs for several different armies (including alien bugs, Mr. Rico) and box set deals for Two Hour Wargames 5150 Star Army series.
Next we have Khurasan Miniatures. They are vast, they contain multitudes. Plenty of armor, hardsuits and infantry. Plus Gigeresque and Lovecraftian horrors to haunt your armies nightmares!
Meanwhile on Kickstarter the Salamander Mech  is fully funded with a half month still to go. This very large Mech would even be suitable for 28mm gaming IMHO

Six Golden Geek Nominations for Fate Core

Winter Knight FATE Dice (Photo credit: Eoghann Irving)

The 2013 Golden Geek Award nominees have been announced, and six of them are for Evil Hat's Fate Core and Fate Core supplements. I've wanted to write about Fate for a while now and this seems like a propitious time.
Fate is a highly flexible story-driven system descended from the venerable FUDGE system. With roughly an hour of discussion around a table with your friends you can adapt any of your favorite role-playing settings, books, movies or good old wild imaginings and start playing. Evil Hat also publishes Fate Accelerated Edition (FAE), a trimmed-down version excellent for introducing folks to Fate and RPGs in general. I used Fate Accelerated for a pick-up game of wild pulp space action at my FLGS.
You'll need 2 to 4 friends, pencil and paper, four Fate dice (recommended but regular d6s will do) and some beads or tokens or such to use as Fate points. Gamemasters tempt the players into risky actions and players propose wild plot twists by exchanging Fate points.
There are a wide variety of game settings already available for Fate and more are on the way. Evil Hat has published the Fate System Toolkit to help you fine-tune your game and two volumes of ready to run Worlds for your friends to adventure in.
Fate: Core System and Fate Accelerated are both available as physical books and pdf versions are available as pay-what-you-want items from DriveThru RPGs.

Related articles

• Fate Accelerated Edition (FAE): First Impressions
• Epic Norse fantasy for Fate Core: Iron Edda on Kickstarter
• Fast Pulpy Action In Fate Accelerated

Dream a Little Dream

Here's a little taste of the days when airships were all the rage from Max Raabe and the Palast Orchestra:



Sadly I have only recently been introduced to Max Raabe and his vintage cabaret sound. His sound is very much the Roaring '20s but his playlist extends all the way through the Naughty '90s to ... whatever this mess we're in now is. Look him up and give him a listen.

Masters of the Skies

"Airships must be powerful masters of the skies as the ultimate symbols of freedom and defiance, roaming the clouds without hindrance and restraint".
-- Nick Ottens

view from French dirigible (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Nick Ottens has posted a splendid article at The Gatehouse on the ups-and-downs (Haw Haw) of airships in wartime. The main vulnerability was the flammable hydrogen gas used for lift. Also, the effectiveness of airships as bombers was hindered by altitude, wind and cloud cover. All problems easily solvable in a world of Science gone Mad!
Firstly the development of non-flammable lifting gas or alternate means of neutral buoyancy. Cavorite comes to mind. With a strong enough lifting force armor becomes possible. Clockwork ailerons could make bombs into self-correcting air torpedoes while dastardly spies guide the attack with wireless telegraphy.

Related articles

• The Heyday of Rigid Airships
• A new age of airships
• Steampunk Hands Around The World - Join in!
• Mad scientists, airships and class: the politics of Steampunk by Rjurik Davidson
• The Rise Of The Blimp

Advancing Mecha Sighted!

In a slight departure from Steam-powered amusements, Two Hour Wargames' 5150 Battalion Commander is now on sale. Command a Sci-Fi armor battalion in planetary conquest. Battalion Commander is the latest entry in Two Hour Wargames Science Fiction universe, a stand-alone game that builds on and complements the other titles in the series.
To quickly get right into massive mecha battles, you can use Armor Grid's extensive collection of print-and-play 15mm miniatures. Infantry, mechs, vehicles and aircraft in multiple color schemes are all there for you to command. Build an army as large as your printer can handle.
Armor Grid's own game, Mech Attack, is a best seller on Wargame Vault. Due to various circumstances I lean towards games with a solo option, like the 5150 series.

• 5150 Battalion Commander AAR