The Incident on Harrark's Grin

Last episode of Hive Scum, I talked with Gage and Steve a bit about solo-wargaming. It has always been something floating around in the back of my mind, I remember reading a Jervis Johnson piece about creating custom scenarios to play in his basement. This idea (like I said on the pod) is very appealing. I get to set up my creations, look at them all setup, and learn a new game, at my own pace - shifting rules in the process to meet my needs.

I've been slowly setting up a board using some 1x1 tiles that were made by Gage for an event run by him and Evan (@itswhatevan). They mostly sat around the studio for the last couple years, but this plus some scatter would make the perfect board for the first mission. 

Which I hope will lead to more!

Here's a look at the board as it stands now. I fitted a 2'x3' play area in a part of my garage studio that's seldom used. This can stay up for however long it takes me to finish. I dug out some Nurgle cultists and they are just milling around for now - doing what cultists do best.

My goal is to learn 3rd Edition 40K. I've got the rules printed out, and my computer is set-up right next to the game so I can reference it if I need to. I am going to take one tiny step at a time, and get a chance to really absorb it, rather than feeling to crunch of an opposing player.

For now I just have some of the opposing force setup, but I will be dropping my Black Templars on the map when I pick them up from the studio. It's going to be really small numbers - 250pts or so, and I'm going to ignore unit cohesion so it feels more skirmish like.

I'll have more of a lore dump in the next post about this game, but the basic story is a mostly abandoned manufactorium on a moon called Harrark's Grin, which orbits a larger planet called Metolocus II is now home to a budding Nurgle-loving abhuman settlement. Planetary Defense Forces on Metolocus have received messages of unknown origin from, who they believe to be Imperial citizens from the small pole-based communities which still have workers stationed at them. After years of sending PDF and Guard squads, Planetary Governor Bulard has connected with Sector Lord Montavius, who has enlisted the help of nearby stationed Black Templars, on crusade in the neighboring Archarbos Sector. They accept the Sector Lord's proposal and send a team of 5 Initiates and their Castellan.

I'm excited to see how this plays out. In any case it will be a learning experience and a new way for me to engage with the hobby on my limited time I have to myself these days!

xoxo

Zona Alfa/Inhumane Harvest Crew

Things have been rolling across the hobby desk a bit slower these days. Summer's over and my daughter is going through what feels like her 100th tough night-time transition, so I don't get too much time to dwell in my cave. I'm working on a big project that I can't talk about here just yet - but I've also been making a crew to run in games of Zona Alfa, Inhumane Harvest, and the two taggers will act as NPCs for a Necromunda event in the near future, put on by my friend Trey.

I'm really happy with the crew. a couple use some old bashes that are being recycled, one guy in the back is made using different Bolt Action sprues, the dude with the assault rife in the front is metal and was a lucky find from my bits bin. I watched Trent's basing video yesterday and it opened my eyes to creating dynamic bases, so you can see two in the back are constructed using some of Trent's asymmetrical slants. Very fun to do and they really make those poses more dynamic. The two I'm most excited about though are the ones with spray cans which are from Slow Death Games: Wild in the Streets. I've sat on these FOREVER and I've always wanted to use them for a game. I like to imagine they are the ones writing "Dead Inside!" on doors and other post-apocalyptic messages you'd see in an area overrun with mutant freaks.

Anyway, I'll prime with guys up tonight most likely. Aside from that I'm working on making some music again, using some techniques I used back when I first started making noise. Be on the lookout for a release (hopefully soon) on IRWT, as well as probably a very rare IG post (boo!)

See y'all next time