Gaming in August 2022

 After a few month's break, I plunged back into gaming.

• 1 Aug - Classic Traveller - face-to-face RPG
• 3 Aug - Blood, Bilge and Iron Balls - solo wargaming
• 5 Aug - Blood, Bilge and Iron Balls - solo wargaming
• 6 Aug - Barrowmaze (OSE) - face-to-face RPG
• 8 Aug - Classic Traveller - face-to-face RPG
• 13 Aug - Blood, Bilge and Iron Balls - solo wargaming
• 15 Aug - Blood, Bilge and Iron Balls - solo wargaming
• 21 Aug - Barrowmaze (OSE) - face-to-face RPG

Classic Traveller

• 1 Aug
• 8 Aug

My first face-to-face RPG session since a Hallowe'en one-off game of 'Chill' last year.

This session was an experiment by the GM to see if there was any interest in running Classic Traveller as an open table.  Not only did he have the table-full above, but also others waiting.  As is his Old School way, everything was player-led and randomly generated.

In classic Traveller style we had five deaths in character creation (not me!) - much to the amusement of the staff at The Games Table.  

We then spent a lot of time trying to find trading opportunities, before hitching our star to a local smuggler.  During our week in hyperdrive, a great deal of speculation took place on whether our inexperienced gang of newbies could over-power the heavily-armed and experienced crew.  In the end, we went along quietly, and made a small profit on our trade goods.

Almost immediately ater hitting planetside we got hired as assasins in a corporate war.  A fortnight was spent on survellance and planning before we carried out an old-school mafia hit, gunning the exec and his bodyguards down in the street as he visited his mistress's appartment.

Blood, Bilge and Iron Balls

It's that time of year again!  With International Naval Wargaming Day (INWarD 2022) on 6 August, my mind turned to playing some solo games.  I wanted to sit down for an afternoon and do a fleet action, but first I needed to familiarise myself with my ruleset of choice - Blood, Bilge and Iron Balls.  

I've decided that I quite like BBIB.  It may be too simplistic for some, but it suits my needs nicely at the moment.

• 3 Aug

In a single-ship action, Sir Henry Fearless of HMS Possum (74) faced-off against a Frenchman, with predictably disastrous results.

See write-up here.

• 5 Aug

This session was based on an engagement in which two British frigates engaged a French 74 on a lee shore.  

About an hour in, I realised that I was forgetting an important rule.  This had the effect of reducing the British firepower by 57%, but the French by only 22%.  I played on under those conditions, but perhaps unsurprisingly, both frigates had struck their colours by Round 7.

• 13 Aug

Same as above, but now with added marines!

In the end, only one ship's marines got to fire (once), and they missed.  This was because the frigates failed to engage the 74 at close range.  After a game of long-bowls, the French managed to withdraw and complete their victory conditions.  Nevertheless, I've made a record everyone's positions and damage, and may play it as the start of a chase-engagement (a bit of a forlorn hope for the British, but we'll see).

• 15 Aug

And I finally got the fleet action I'd planned for INWarD, courtesy of a big table at my FLGS.  Write-up here.

My version of the Battle of San Domingo, 1806, played solo over four and a half hours (refreshments were on hand!).  On this occasion, the French won.  Highlights included the collision of two British ships and the French piling fire into the confusion.

Having a big set-up at The Games Table worked very well, I will do it again.

Barrowmaze

• 6 Aug

Regular readers will know that this is a long-term, open-table game at my FLGS.  With lockdown and me now working on Sundays, I've not been to a session since March 2020.

Six years has passed in game-time, during which time my character has been wandering the earth, preaching the Word of Solis and, in particular, telling of the Solstice Miracle that took place in our stronghold.  Unfortunately, he didn't survive this delve, but his legacy lives on.

• 21 Aug

My new cleric turned up at the stronghold expecting to start his training, only to find his mentor dead and they weight of his responsibilities thrown on his shoulders.

We took our new boats for a spin and got lost in the marshes, ending up near what looked suspiciously like a dragon's lair and a temple occupied by a Medusa.  We beat a retreat back to the barrows we knew!

Going to the entrance we'd planned to start in, we had a successful delve, defeating a Black Pudding and finding what we hope is the key to a locked door that's been holding us up.  We then fell foul of "one more room" and had an encounter with a couple of Mummies, which left one PC dead and another comatose with Mummy Rot (we abandoned him).  

Apparently smashing the capotic jars doesn't destroy Mummies. 

*smash* *smash* *stamp* *stamp*

"Any effect on the mummy?"

"He's absolutely furious."