Prelude to Manaburst

After finalizing the last few characters, our first actual roleplaying session was dedicated to teaching the players the basics of the system and as a prelude, setting up the situation in which I wanted to start the campaign proper. In both regards the game was a success.

The campaign opened in media res with the characters on the plane of Whitesea, being ambushed by a herald of the demonic forces trying to invade the plane, and some of his forced-converts.  Our bold planeswalkers backpedaled initially but after Grrrk unleashed his destructive power in the area indiscriminately, knocking the converts (and a companion) out of the fight, the herald fled.

While Nika and Ada helped get the companions back on their feet, Gaeleth took a moment to examine the fallen conscripts.  Under their armor she found the pale skinned faces of the denizens of the plane, eyes rolled back in their heads – vacant but alive.  Realizing there was little to be done for the conscripts except to end the Herald’s hold on them, the planeswalkers quickly chased after him.

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MkII Hordes Cards’ Improved Aesthetics

The Hordes MkII cards were previewed a while back but now that I have mine in hand I’m noticing something I glossed over before.  The Warmachine MkII cards seemed to receive a negative reaction on the forums, but it looks like PP took some of the feedback and made a change that I much prefer. Spirals aside, … Read more

Wall of Fire, MkII Style

When MkII was released Privateer Press resized the “wall template” used by some spells, making the fold-up cards that came with models like Feora and Gorten obsolete.  Although I liked the fold-up wall for ease of handling, I decided to make a new flat set so models could be placed directly on them if necessary.

Buh-bye now

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Here there be Planeswalkers

Last weekend our Manaburst campaign finally got off the ground.  The actual play portion of the night wasn’t too long – we spent a lot of the session going over rules and took our time with the scenes to make sure that all of the rules were explained as we went.  Slow-paced that it may be, the session seemed to be a success.  By the end of the night everyone had gotten the basics of the system and were getting into the flexibility it afforded them.

Character generation was slow at first while everyone wrapped their head about the phases and aspects that FATE uses, but before long we had a fairly diverse group of planeswalkers who, for the most part, had a united enemy and had met each other in their travels-at least in passing.

Ada

Ada’s original conception was that of a construct capable of aiding its master in research and ritual.  She quickly became indispensable to his experiments, able to observe and record all that transpired while his concentration was elsewhere.

Many years after her creation, Ada was given sentience when a powerful spell cast by her master inadvertently bound a being of primordial magic within her shell.  The reaction not only destroyed the ritual but also flung Ada from the plane, sending her careening through the Blind Eternities for the first time.

Concept of Magic: Flow of Aether

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Different Strokes: Technique and Painting Speed

Recently I’ve been experimenting with a few of the techniques that the Privateer Press painting staff talk about in their recent books.  It’s taken a while to adapt to a new way of doing things but after getting used to it I’ve been able to increase the speed I can paint a figure pretty significantly. … Read more

Manaburst Research – Trappings of Magic

Although I haven’t been writing much about it, I’ve been making some notes on how I plan on using the Spirit of the Century system to run a Magic: the Gathering-inspired campaign for my group that I’ve previously mentioned.  One of the unknowns I since the beginning is how to handle magic – a decision made harder since I really have no idea how magic works in MtG’s Multiverse.

Sure, that card game has its mana-powered magic, but it’s made for a turn-based card game and can be considered slower and less fluid than I’d like for our campaign.  I still had two questions to answer before I could design my magic system: how exactly does one gain and spend Mana, and does summoning pull a preexisting creature to the summoner, or does it create a simulacrum.  To answer these I decided to ask WotC directly… so to speak

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Glutton for Punishment

I’ve noted a few things before on my blog: I hate painting Exemplar and I’m suffering from brush burnout.  You’d think I’d pick different a different model type for my newest project.   But alas, I just started my Exemplar Errant Seneschals and Unit Attachment instead.  Sometimes I wonder if something’s seriously wrong with me. … Read more

RPGs: Metal or Plastic?

I’ve always enjoyed painting pewter figures over their plastic counterparts.  The heft makes them easier to handle and they feel like they just take paint better (a trick of the mind, I’m sure).  Plastic models are far easier to customize and modifty, but pewter makes for a more solid figure that I prefer for some intangible reason. Lately though, I’ve found my opinion switched when it comes to using figures for role-playing games. The pewter is still preferable for painting, but plastics seem more beneficial at the table.

Wayne's character "in the belly of the beast"

I think that this is primarily due to the resilience of plastic. Dropping (or even just knocking over) a pewter figure can result in damage.  Beast case scenario, that means a weapon or arm has to be bent back into place, but worst case scenario it means something snapping off that needs pinning and replacing… in multiple places.  And that’s not to mention the repainting necessary.

In contrast, plastic figures have a resilience that lets them take a fall better. The relative elasticity of the medium, combined with the model’s lighter weight, means an accident with a plastic miniature is far less catastrophic than its metal counterpart.

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