…I was playing with a group of friends. We played AD&D 2ed (Dark Sun, Ravenloft, Birthright), Shadowrun, Call of Cthulu and Star Wars.
It was the ’90s, we were teenagers, gathering to play once per week.
Time passed, friends changed, TTRPGs were put aside, stored in a warehouse. Computer RPGs and gaming scratched that itch a bit.
More time passed, family came along. CRPGs no longer could scratch the itch, but there simply was no time. I remembered how hard it was to get to play once per week, even with that tight group of friends, even when our only responsibility was to studying for school. But the love for TTRPGs was still there.
One day I stumbled upon a reddit post on solo roleplaying. At first I was sceptical. Then I found a subreddit, blogs from other fellow lonewolves. Solo roleplaying was something that worked, and there were tools designed to enable it.
Finally I decided to give it a go. I pulled my old Star Wars the Roleplaying Game (West End Games) books from the storage, found my dice, got some pen and paper, and journeyed to my first adventure. So this is my blog, where I will talk about all things relevant to solo roleplay gaming from my perspective.
Edit: This site is in the affiliate program of drivethruRPG, so the respective links include the affiliate id. It’s a small help with my hobby budget to try more new things.
Can you paint miniatures with tube container paste acrylic paints? You absolutely can, and in this blog post I’ll explain how it works for me.
As to the why, the reasons are different for everyone. It can be the cost, the experiment, the skill set or something else entirely. This blog post isn’t meant to bash at commercial hobby paints. These are excellent tools for the job, and they have some advantages which I’ll explain at the end.
For me the initial reason for using heavy duty acrylics was commitment and budgeting. When I decided to delve again into miniatures painting a couple years ago, I wasn’t sure I’d enjoy it, or put out any interesting results. So it was mostly a test for me, like questioning myself “should I paint miniatures?”. Since I was ambivalent, I went with the cheapest option available – dollar store acrylics – so if I failed, the cost would be the lowest possible.
Later on, as my painting skills with arts acrylics got better and better, and I enjoyed the end results, I found no reason to switch to hobby paints. Though I might do so in the future, for the reasons I’ll explain in the end.
Comparison
In sort the pros of heavy duty acrylics are:
Low cost
Low consumption
Long shelf life
Pigments are mostly non-brand exclusive
The cons are:
Need more thinning
Lower variety of colours
Some colours have lower coverage
Now bear in mind that the cheapest options available (dollar store acrylics) may be lower quality as well, so I’d not use them as the pigment count may be lower and the lightfastness may be worse. I’d turn to an arts and crafts acrylics named brand from the local store instead.
Terminology
Lightfasntness? Pigment count? What are these? I’ll add Colourfastness and Opacity to the terminology.
Lightfastness: is the ability of a pigment to withstand changes in colour when exposed to light. Since more than one pigment or combination of pigments can provide the same colour, sometimes a pigment may be less lightfast than another, and withstand time. It’s not necessarily a cheaper pigment, but the named arts brands usually have a Lightfastness rating on the package, so you know what you’re buying. Always aim for the best paints in terms of Lightfastness. You don’t want your miniatures to change colour.
Colourfastness: how much the pigment changes colour when dry as opposed to when still damp. Acrylic paints thinned with water tend to darken a lot, compared to acrylics thinned in a medium and even more compared to oil paints. That’s not a problem, just something to consider when painting, that your end result will be a little less vibrant than what you see during painting.
Pigmentcount: the amount of pigment particles per volume unit of the paint. Higher pigment count means higher quality paints and better coverage. That’s not something that’s listed in any package, just something to expect with better quality products. Acrylic inks have a lot higher pigment count than paints.
Opacity: How opaque & semi-opaque vs transparent & semi-transparent, a paint is. Arts and crafts paints of names brands also have this listed on their products. An opaque paint will cover the underlying colour more, whereas a transparent paint will show through the undercoat. This isn’t good or bad, but it’s useful information, to choose the right tool for the job. A transparent paint is good for glazing, while an opaque paint is good to give a nice undercoat. Also knowing the opacity beforehand helps you decide on how much thinning you might need when painting over zenithal or when glazing.
Tips and Techniques
Many of the tips and techniques below also apply to hobby paints, but DIY experimenting is even more prominent when using arts acrylics.
Thin your paints! Yeah that rule which applies to miniatures painting, stands even more true for heavy duty acrylics. Unless you thin them, their paste nature will quickly cover any details your model has. I put a small glob of paint on my dry palette and drop a couple of drops of water. I don’t mix it. I just use a damp brush, and take paint from where the paint/water layers meet. I haven’t used a wet palette, or another acrylic medium than water, so I can’t give any tips to this.
Thin coats win against thick coat: Don’t try to skip steps by giving one thick coat against many thin coats, and don’t get frustrated when one thin coat of paint doesn’t work. Follow up with another thin coat and if necessary, another.
Mix your own paints: the beauty of arts acrylics is how you can mix them to create new colours. You can try several different combinations. I advise writing them down in case you want to follow up in the future. In general it’s easier to write down anything in parts.
Mixing acrylic inks: Acrylic inks have excellent coverage properties. I use them as is, or mix them with acrylic paints to get specific colours. Acrylic inks tend to have very high flow medium, so that will change how your final mixed paint behaves, depending on your mix ratios.
Mixing dilute PVA: PVA can act as a retarder medium, and will also increase the transparency of your paint, as when the water will dry out, there’s going to be a paint/PVA mix layer bound, and PVA is transparent. I use it for glazing and washes. A 50/50 PVA/water ratio is a good starting point but YMMV as the consistency of PVA glues is all over the place between brands.
Mixing dilute dish soap: about 1 drop of dish soap in a glass of water is more than enough to create a a high flowing medium that will go in crevices. Beware though, don’t agitate the mix or you’re gonna get much unwanted bubbles.
Mixing your own washes: a very small glob of paint, 20 drops of water, and a big glob of PVA. You want the mix to be transparent, but not runny.
Painting Steps
As to the painting itself there are lots of different styles and techniques, and experimenting is good, but once you find a style that you like, I suggest sticking with it for a while, until you’re good at it, before jumping to the next wagon. The main reason, is that getting good, is a two-fold advantage, first, you output nicer results, but also you paint faster, and can bring more minis to the table. By painting faster this isn’t only the actual hands on work, but the planning. Knowing beforehand what steps you’re going to follow to get the end result, really speeds up the process. Also spend sometime to decide on the colour you will use.
The steps that comprise the style of my choice (kind reminder that I paint in 15mm-18mm scale mostly) are as follows:
Thin coat of white primer, applied with brush. Taking care not to cover up any details. Maybe a spray-on primer or airbrush would work better, but since I have neither, I work with a plain brush. Use a cheap/old brush because primer will eat it through, but not so cheap that it will leave it’s bristles on your mini (I’ve had that happen). I try to follow up on my application by gently blowing on the mini where the primer might cover details or it might create a film over gaps, while still drying.
Thin coat of black primer, applied with brush.This is even thinner, almost like a wash. The purpose is two-fold. To cover any missed unprimed spots, and to give a soft shadowing of crevasses. This essentially prepares the mini for the next step.
Zenithal, applied with brush. Drybrushing the entire mini with white, on a top-down motion. This creates a sharp zenithal highlighting of the mini. The mini at this stage should look like a black and white sketch. Any details of the miniature should be evident, and sometimes I can see things I had missed on the unprimed or flat white/black model. Also this helps me avoid doing any highlighting work later on.
Two thin coats of paint with damp brush, with chosen colours. Proceeding with the decided colour scheme, paint the miniature, from the inside out. Flesh, clothes, accessories, armour and weapons. Depending on the opacity, coverage and the thickness of the paint, sometimes one coat is enough, but I usually don’t go with more than two, or the zenithal will be lost. When painting in 15mm bright colours generally look better. Lately I’ve started to thin paints and inks with a bit of PVA, to do a lighter coat of paint that shows the zenithal even more pronounced, and it’s starting to come out well.
Wash. Wash the entire miniature in a brown-black wash (usually burnt umber/lamp black). If the prominent colour of the miniature is blue, go with a blue/black wash instead. If it’s non-organic, go with a black wash. Green-black washes or Red-black washes are also possible depending on the prominent colour, but in general brown-black covers most cases. Sometimes, I spend the extra time and use different washes on different parts of the miniature depending on the underlying colour. The wash will cover up any mistakes where colours meet, but also will give a dirty look to your miniature. This is especially evident when washing over bright colours such as white or yellow. In this case, try to have a softer wash tone, and maybe weaker coverage (less paint).
Common colour choices
One issue I first encountered when painting with arts acrylics was that there are no dedicated specific colour paints, such as goblin green or feldgrau or bone white. Instead you have titanium white, cadmium yellow or lamp black. That makes it a necessity to mix your own paints, and also to understand that when doing so, along with the colour changes in hue, there are changes in saturation, opacity and coverage. Therefore it’s not always a 50/50 mix, but some experimenting is required.
Nevertheless, here’s how I do some common colour mixtures. I suffer from partial colour blindness, so take these recipes with a grain of salt.
Flesh: Mixing burnt sienna with white, can give you a nice flesh colour ranging from pale white to tan depending on the ratios. I should expand my range to include more flesh colours, and I’m thinking that burnt umber may be a good basis for the mixture to be used for darker skin tones.
Leather: I usually go with burnt sienna for mid-leather and burnt umber for dark-leather. I may go with yellow ochre for a tan/beige leather. Mid-tones between them can be achieved by mixing the respective colours.
Yellows: The all elusive colour. Painting yellow is tough, because the colour has terrible coverage. The best solution I found so far is two-fold. Use of acrylic inks (at least the yellow colour) for higher pigment count, and if you can accept to lose some vibrancy, mix primary yellow with titanium white. To return some vibrancy, a yellow only coat may be followed. Because inks tend to have a high flow, I need to mix them with paints, or the bright, vibrant yellow will be more pronounced in the crevaces and it will give an unrealistic look where the high spots are darker than the low ones (the opposite of a wash).
Reds: An undercoat of pink, (mix of red with white) followed by a coat of red (similar to the yellows above), usually works.
White: I’ve heard people had issues with white coverage using hobby paints. Well, titanium white has great coverage, so this shouldn’t be an issue.
Blues/Greens: I had no issue with them whatsoever, they seem to work fine as is.
Metallics: I tend to do metallics, thinned in the same manner as the rest of the paints, and when applied over the zenithal, they give this faux metal look. Alternatively I may simply drybrush them lightly, taking care not to hit other parts of the miniature. I’ve done some sort of gunmetal, by mixing the tiniest bit of black with silver, and thinning with water/PVA.
Bases
Basing the miniatures is a different part altogether, but I find that based miniatures look 50-100% better than unbased ones. In 15mm most miniatures come in integral bases so depending on how much time one wants to spend, there is a variety of techniques. In general I tend not to bother with pitcher’s mound. I like to apply major texturing before priming the miniature, so that I can apply primer to the base as well, and get the paint to stick afterwards.
Desert basing: Speckle painted beige/tan is great for desert bases. Adding small areas with sand and a couple of rocks. I drybrush with yellow ochre and wash the base with burnt sienna.
Swamp basing: Speckled for a uniform look, and painted dark green. Followed up with crackle medium and beige paint.
Generic basing: Apply superglue to the base and sprinkle with baking soda. Adding a few very small sand grains to the mix of the baking soda will give more variety to the mix. I wanted an old-school look so I painted green and drybrushed yellow ochre. I’m not a huge fan of the end result, and recently I started using static grass with great results.
Varnish: I use my miniatures for playing games, so I varnish them. I tend to varnish the metallic parts satin or gloss, and the rest of the miniature matte, so that metallic parts stand out. I apply water based brush-on varnish, which again, needs thin coats. Varnishing removes some detail, so it’s important not to apply a thick coat and ruin all the hard work.
Closing thoughts
It certainly is possible to paint miniatures with arts acrylics, as it is possible to paint them with oil paints (did this as an experiment), enamel paints (used to paint with them in the ’90s) and lacquers (never tried it). Depending on the skill of the painter and their acquaintence with the choice of paints and their techniques the results can be great. The choice of paint type is not a limiting factor to the end result. Learning how to use each paint type is the requirement.
It is easier to buy a particular model which comes with instructions on which hobby paints to use. No need to start worrying if you got the colours right, or the right sequence of steps. You get the instructions, you get the supplies, and you can start painting them right away, and expect a similar result to the manufacturer. Certainly easier for the beginner. However, the cost of using arts acrylics can be a lot lower, if you can afford to put the extra time needed to learn how the paint behaves. You will not get to copy the same colour mix as a manufactured model (especially if you’re partially colour blind like me), but if that’s not what you’re after, then the cost will be certainly easier for the beginner. Overall the cost to something relates to money and time, so there’s a balance. Personally I find that the time spent painting (including learning to paint) is hobby time that I enjoy.
After two years of painting over 400 miniatures with arts acrylics, I can say that I’m still learning. I really enjoy it and I will keep painting with them. I must admit though, that I’ve been eyeing contrast paints (and the upcoming speed paints). I am thinking of combining them with a starting spray primer and a final quickshade varnish to reduce my painting steps from 5 to 3. I’m really curious for new painting techniques and eager to continue experimenting, as I’m also eyeing acrylic paint media (flow aids, retarders, glazing, thinners). Having a bigger toolset, will lead to a bigger skillset, and hopefully, more interesting paint results.
This is the set of a handful Rad Zombies from the Alternative Armies Loud Ninja Games range. I painted them in more conventional flesh and bone colours, so that they can double as some sort of flesh abominations in typical fantasy, and they won’t be limited at Sci-fi tables.
Rad zombie with sword handRad zombie with hornRad zombie flesh shambling massRad zombie flesh shambling massRad zombie
Here are some more sci-fi miniatures that I painted back in 2021, from the Alternative Armies 15mm Ion Age range. A couple of Prangs, Beotans and a Grim Reaperbot.
Prang AmbassadorPrang Army LeaderBeotan WerewolfBeotan WerewolfGrim Reaperbot
What started out as an experiment with corrugated cardboard ended up as a finished medieval/fantasy ruin.
I took inspiration on the design from this blog post but I had to translate it to smaller scale since it was aimed at Mordheim. Also I had to make do with my own materials.
Corrugated cardboard needs different handling than foam board. Despite having ordered a set of foamboard I decided to go ahead with the cardboard. Cardboard is easier to cut (and free), but it’s a bit flimsy, doing detail work is harder, and the corrugations can look ugly where exposed. It can soak paint and warp, which can also bring out a texture that may or may not be desired.
I’ve used hot glue for quick strong bonds and UHU general purpose glue to glue parts that I had to push inside like the floors.
I then proceeded to add wooden wax sticks to make the frames and timber floors and also matchsticks to add some timber that is broken for a more ruined feel. I wanted to use my stencils for a proper brick and stone ground floor, but I only realised it after gluing the frame. This made it hard to do…and almost a failure. I covered it up in the end, but if I did it all over again, I’d stencil the cardboard before cutting it.
I finished the structure by speckling the walls for texture and adding rubble at random spots. I also created the broken roof by using stripes of peeled off corrugated cardboard.
Since I’m at 15mm, I used the thinnest corrugated cardboard I could find, otherwise the roof tiles would look off scale.
Although I was a bit sceptical at first, I went with my terrain spray primer from my Gamemaster dungeons and caverns set, and primed the entire thing.
There were many details to paint, but I mainly went for muted earth colours. The only exception were the roof tiles that I did in three different colours.
In general I had to do combinations of three layers of brushing-over brushing-drybrushing with browns or greys in increasing brightness. I closed up with a black wash at the entire timber floor to make sure that all the gaps between the planks are closed. Also added it to anywhere I wanted to mute the timber colours further.
For added detail, I added spots of an army painter dungeon terrain wash at random places, for some damp and extra derelict look.
Overall this build took me awhile but I think it will really pop on my table. Of course now I need to complement with more ruined buildings.
If I would do it again, I’d probably do it with cardboard again, but maybe on a foam board base. I’d use thinner sticks for wood, like the coffee stirrers, as for 15mm these feel a bit thick, but maybe it’s just me. Also I’d stencil the walls beforehand.
This is an attempt to play a Warhammer Fantasy universe battle with the Renegade Scout ruleset using 15mm miniatures. I’ll be going for a classic Elves vs Goblins skirmish battle, since these were part of the original WHFB4ed boxed set, and I want to pay tribute to it. It’s quite easy to translate the WHFB statistics into RS statistics, so I’ll start with these.
Mo
MeS
ShS
Po
De
WP
Ob
AtD
LeS
In
CUF
Wyrd
M
WS
BS
S
T
W
I
A
Ld
I+4
Ld
I+3+1 per Magic User Level
Conversion
In RS there is ample freedom in organizing Squads, So I’ll field the following troops, using WHFB points costs.
Base Cost: 176 Equipment: 46 Heroes: 83 Total: 364
Since the two forces have 100 points difference, I’ll be giving the Goblin force an Ogre and a Gigantic Spider, and this should bring the difference down by 90, to 10 points.
Elwidris heard the horn sound the alarm. She questioned often the elders when they placed him in charge of this outpost, next to a remote farm of men and the remains of an old barracks building. In the distance, where the dark woods had consumed the ruins of an ancient temple, her keen elvish vision saw movement. She wasted no time and called Ladrione’s Stars, her elite warriors, to fight by her side. Celodhil, the sorcerer, joined her flank, while Elegor, another master of the magic arts, took the hill, along with the archers. The brave Turgali, warriors armed with bastard swords moved towards the farm, to cover the eastern part of the battlefield.
Snaga was still dizzy from last night’s party. The shaman’s brew had hit him in the head. Lurtzog brewed a potent shroom ale. He still can’t believe he agreed to join force with Muzga’s orcs, and his friend, Radbug the ogre. With them orcs and goblins it was always a fight of superiority. Prove who’s the boss. He side glanced at the goblin shaman. Some spell must have been at work. But now he was already in the field marching his goblins towards the stinky elf lands, and he couldn’t back down, or he’d be the laughing stock of every goblin in the cave. Lurtzog even brought his pet spider, Boldush, with him, a beast that had the strength of ten orcs, or two trolls. He never was good in math, but better than Muzga.
Turn 1
Priority
The elves have priority
The battlefield
Movement
The two forces march against each other, closing in. The archers heading for high ground, while the melee combatants trying to stay in cover.
Turn 2
Priority
The elves have priority
Movement
They close in further.
Fire Combat
The elf archers shoot at the ogre. 2 arrows hit, but the ogre isn’t wounded at the slightest.The orc arrer boyz shoot at the elf mage Elegor. One of the black arrows is jammed in his throat. The mage spews out blood as he falls down dead.
Turn 3
Priority
The elves have priority
Movement
The forces are about to engage in melee combat.
Fire Combat
The elf archers shoot again at the ogre, one arrow lodges itself in the ogre’s chest, and it cries in pain. The orc arrer boyz now aim at the elf archers, but only one arrow finds it’s target, barely scratching an elf. The goblin archers shoot at Elwidris’ group but they all miss with their short ranged bows.
Wyrd
Lurtzog curses and spits trying hard to cast the spell to help Snaga’s mob, but fails.
Turn 4
Priority
The elves have priority
Movement
The ogre and the orc mob led by Muzga are near the foot of the hill, while the orc big ‘uns and the Turgali clash in melee.
Fire Combat
The elf archers shoot again at the ogre, 2 arrows finding their target, but the ogre removes and breaks them in half like toothpicks. The orc arrer boyz shoot from the hill, and two arrows kill one elf archer, reducing their number to 5. The goblin shoot at the armored elf warriors, but both arrows that reach them, are stopped by the strong elvish wooden shields.
Close Combat
As the Big’uns fight the Turgali, there’s no clear victor or loser. One brave elf and one big orc perish in the fierce fight.
Boldush cut an elf warrior in half with her pincers.
Wyrd
Lurtzog tries to cast a spell to assist Snaga’s goblins, but drops his runes.
Morale
All forces stand their ground.
Turn 5
Priority
The elves have priority
Movement
Radbug closes in to the elf positions, Muzga is only a short distance behind, leading his band of orcs.
Fire Combat
The archers shoot another volley at Radbug, with two arrows hitting their target, and one wounding the big guy. He screams in pain, and roars at the puny elves. The orcs shoot at the tower, but their arrows hit the battlements. The goblins shoot at the Turgali, but once more, their small weapons prove to be no match.
Close Combat
Elwidris flanks Boldush and wounds the gigantic beast under its belly. The spider and the rest of the elves exchange blows, but noone manages to wound the other.Meanwhile, Celodhil has charged at the goblins and kills one of the small greenskins, while Snaga yells at them to press on.Another Turgali falls beneath the big’uns.
Morale
The goblins scared of Celodhil break and flee towards the ruins, even Snaga’s curses can’t keep them in line. The brave Turgali don’t live up to their name and bravely run away from the big’uns as well. Only Ladrione’s Stars hold their ground against the eight legged beast.
Turn 6
Priority
The elves have priority
The broken troops flee to cover
Movement
Celodhil pursues the goblins in the ruins, and the big’uns reach the fleeing elves. Meanwhile the ogre is a breath away from the elf archers at the tower.
Fire Combat
They all shoot in unison, and an arrow thrusts in the ogre’s eye. It reaches the centre of functions and drops motionless.
The orc arrer boyz try to take revenge, but once more the fortifications save the elves. The goblins shoot at the elvs fighting the spider, but the nimble elves duck just in time to avoid the hail of arrows.
Close Combat
An orc slashes at a fleeing elf, killing him, his back turned.
A handful of elves are in close combat with the spider, and dodge it’s blows, while one, manages to get a thrust in her soft underside, wounding her once more.
Morale
The Turgali recover and stop fleeing.
Turn 7
Priority
The elves have priority.
The Turgali, outnumbered, charge at their enemiesCelodhil charges at Lurtzog while the goblins keep fleeing
Movement
The goblins keep fleeing, while Muzga’s orcs close in on the tower. The other fronts remain locked in combat more or less.
Fire Combat
Protected by enemy fire, the elf archers shoot at the approaching orc mob, but both arrows that reach their targets, hit the shield!
Again, the orcs shoot at the tower, but their arrows hit the battlements. The goblins shoot at the Turgali, but yet again, their small weapons prove to be no match.
Close Combat
Seriously outnumbered, another Turgali falls against the big’uns.
Meanwhile, Celodhil duels with Lurtzog, and kills the goblin shaman, decapitating him.
Nearby Elwidris falls under the spider. Eager to make a quick meal, the beast receives another wound, from an elf warrior, aiming to seek revenge for their fallen champion.
Morale
Snaga bashes a couple of goblin heads, and they rally, turning back to face their enemy.
At the other side of the battlefield, the one remaining Turgali runs for his life.
Turn 8
Priority
The elves have priority
Movement
Celodhil charges at the goblin archers, but he’s flanked by the now rallied goblins of Snaga, and is in a tough fight. The last Turgali flees, but is caught by the big’uns who run faster. Meanwhile, Muzga’s orcs reach the elf archers on the tower.
Fire Combat
The elf archers shoot at the charging orcs, their arrows finding their targets, but the tough orcs are not hampered at all. The orc arrer boyz provide cover, shooting at the elfs, this time their arrows hit one, sending him to his death from the towertop to the ground. The goblins shoot at the Turgali, but yet again, their small weapons prove to be no match.
Close Combat
The elf archer tries to fend off the orc, he hits but can’t wound the thick skinned orc. The orcs outnumber him and finish him off. Further, the last Turgali, flanked, is killed by the orc gang. Celodhil kills the goblin archer he fights with, but nearby, another elf warrior perishes under the wounded spider’s legs, who still stands against the group of elves.
Morale
All troops hold their ground.
Turn 9
Priority
The elves have priority
Movement
Celodhil switches direction to face the goblins coming up from behind. In the meantime, more and more orcs surround the tower.
Fire Combat
The few elf archers shoot at the orcs, but their arrows are too weak to cause any damage. They are shot at by the orc arrer boyz, and another elf falls down. Meanwhile the two remaining goblin archers shoot at the elf warriors against the spider, but they both miss.
Close Combat
At the woods, the gigantic spider tramples another one of the elves, and Celodhil falls to a curved goblin blade. The elves try to finish off the wounded spider, but she pushes off their weapons and parries with all her legs. At the tower, the elf archer at the base, fights with his back to the wall, and soon falls to the mob.
Morale
Ladrione’s Stars have had enough. Seeing the battle lost they flee away from the spider. The elf archers have nowhere to go, and they grit their teeth and keep fighthing.
Turn 10
Priority
The elves have priority
Movement
An orc climbs to the top of the tower to face the last elf defender, while the fleeing elf warriors are caught up by the pursuing spider.
Fire Combat
The two remaining goblin archers shoot at the elf warriors against the spider, only one hits, but doesn’t manage to wound.
The orc archers are out of range of any visible targets.
Close Combat
The orc clashes with the elf archer at the top of the tower but it’s a standoff.
The spider doesn’t get any other elf under her web.
Morale
Ladrione’s Stars rally, and get back in the fight.
Turn 11
Priority
The orcs have priority.
Movement
Another orc climbs up the tower, while below, the big’uns march towards the last remaining elf warriors, who join once more combat against the arthropod. Snaga’s goblins have closed the distance and charge the elves.
Fire Combat
The goblins shoot into the melee, one of Snaga’s goblins is hit as well as an elf, but only the elf warrior receives a deadly wound. The orc archers shoot at the elf warriors in the woods, but, the thick foliage prevents them from doing any damage.
Close Combat
One against two, the last elf archer falls to the orcs. The tower belongs to them now. The fighting in the woods comes to a standoff, as no side is winning, nor elves nor goblins.
Morale
Ladrione’s Stars, still hold their ground.
The battle is over. The orcs are the masters of the battlefield.
As the troll horn wicked sound is heard over the battlefield, Snaga smiles. He knows they have won. The elves retreat tactically, and he calls off his goblins. No need to lose any more of his troops to the elves. The battle is won and he’ll need them in case Muzga has second thoughts about their alliance, especially now that Lurtzog is dead. He looks at the wounded spider pet feasting on the corpses of elves and wonders if he’ll be able to keep it under control without the shaman.
The last remaining elves hold their shields up and retreat, their face to the goblins. They lost many of their own today. They need to survive and report to their elders. From small skirmishes like this, greenskin hordes gather. They failed to stop them today, they must stop them tomorrow.
Session Summary
I was about to count the points cost remaining per side to declare the victor, but the orc victory is so obvious that there’s no point to do it.
Back in the day I could field tons of orcs and goblins as their points cost was too low in comparison to other armies. It is very much possible that the points balance is off, and that’s the reason for the absolute victory today, without ruling out the effect of tactics and dice rolls.
Due to the small table (60cm) and 15mm scale I decided to go with an inch to cm ratio, which made everything sooo slow, and that’s why I had to increase the duration of the battle. Next time I’m going to use a faster movement scaling.
I also discovered the big difference between Rank and File and Skirmish. In rank and file you can move your units without much trouble as they move in unison. Here, moving one figure at a time, there were times were I had funnels and blocking of figures, which was quite fun and realistic. Frustrating but enjoyable.
Now to the ruleset. First of all I’d like to state that this is an experiment. Renegade Scout as is, isn’t meant for fantasy or historical war gaming, it is meant for sci fi and I can see that it could also deliver modern themes.
Since it’s the first time I used (and modified) the ruleset, there is a high probability that I may have missed or misused a rule, so take these with a grain of salt.
The main combat resolution mechanic works fine and fast. In close combat I was missing a comparison of melee values between attacker and defender, but that’s only a minor point.
The activation mechanic works well in most of the cases, even when solo. It was a tad bit difficult to follow up in close combat phase where the activation isn’t unit based as in the rest of the phases, but figure based. I think that even in social gaming, some sort of token for figure activations is necessary. But even so, it was a bit chaotic as you might switch focus on the battlefield from one side to the other between activations, as each player prioritises on where they feel they need to put their resources most. Nevertheless I managed to solo with around 50-60 figures in total without any tokens, which is quite a feat for the system, taking under consideration that it’s the first time I played with this ruleset, and not as is.
Some rules are not relevant to the theme, like sheltering (never had to use it) and I could also feel the need to use some WHFB4e modifiers which felt missing, like casualties in morale tests.
On the same regard, the Wyrd rules as-is have a quite different effect as a Magic system. I’ve had better results using my mages as heroes than as mages, but I have to note that the powers rolled weren’t of much use (Celodhil could teleport a unit in a random direction).
Overall it was a fun experiment. I could compare against KPS but it wouldn’t be fair, as the latter is poised towards medieval combat. I enjoyed the narrative and I am eager to run more skirmish battles using either KPS or a Renegade Scout WHFB4e hybrid. It wouldn’t be too hard to fit the pieces of the puzzle in such a way that it works.
First of all I decided to help a bit with the background and motivation and roll on the Five Parsecs From Home tables in Crew Genaration. So I get: Background: Orphan Utility Program Motivation: Loyalty
I used BOLD waylays to write down a backstory:
Stale Power Play solved by The People
Eccentric The Wild solved by Strong Attribute
Unlikely Trap solved by Strong Attribute
Unity Subject Short Record 9571483XD45-5. Assigned Name: Randy Barnes Species Classification: Human Estimated age: 23 TSY Registered Location: 6814 Hasta V; 8648 Anuradha System Outstanding Warrants: None Registered Infractions: 324X; 45D-1; 923 Outstanding Infractions: None Height: 177 CM Mass: 82 KG Parent Records: Not Relevant; Orphan Utility Program Record 9934614123DFXa Licenses: 221 Basic Education; D2-Speeder License; 021 Sidearm Class II; 53F PPGear; 11-8 Enforcement
Randy looked at the officer’s datapad display as the Unity law enforcer scanned his ID. All his life in just a few lines. Could these lines represent his story? No more than the lines on the palm of his hand could predict his future, like some pseudo-psykers try to con credits out of the pockets of unsuspecting passerbys. He could not remember his parents. All he knew is that he was taken in by a Unity Orphanage. The closest thing he had to a loving hug was a DR-B9 Upbringing Utility Droid. At least they had given the darn thing a teddy bear look and it was fluffy. As soon as he was of working age, he boarded a Class 9 Long Haul Freighter and jumped to the first Fringe world with breathable atmosphere. Hasta V was the first place that felt like home. He found work chasing some moon rats away from the fry-corn farms using a speeder. It was only his perseverance that helped him survive when the speeder brakes broke down and he was left stranded 5 days walk away from ‘civilization’. Life on the farms was not idyllic but it felt safe. Until Unity decided Hasta V was of no importance. They disbanded the Naval base and disappeared overnight. Soon after the first raiders appeared, who got what they wanted. Then again, and again. In the end the people of Hasta V decided to make a stand against the pirates. Blood. Chaos. Carnage. Unity was nowhere. The mercenaries they had hired to face off the raiders betrayed them. They trapped Randy and some other Fringe colonists in a warehouse, and he had to bend a durasteel lock with his hands to escape. That’s how he tore two muscles in his right arm. He had to replace the entire muscle and tendons with cybernetics. It still feels weird, but he’s stronger now. He could no longer live with the indifference. He registered for receiving Enforcement warrants and started bounty hunting. The fringe may be unlawful. But the wicked will fear.
“…you’re a long way from Hasta V, Mr Barnes.” The officer said. “What?” Randy was lost in his thoughts. “You must update your records. Hasta V is no longer habitated.” He said annoyed. “Hasta V is home. Is that all officer?”
[Likely] (2d10 => (8,6) => 8) does the officer let Randy go? Yes.
“Move along, move along.” The officer closes the datapad and along with his partner continue their stroll down roads of the City World of Leko.
[Either Way] (1d10 => 6) does Randy have a mark? Yes, but… he’s not near the mark, but to meet an informant
[Likely] (2d10 => (8,9) => 9) is the informant in a cantina? Yes. [Either Way] (1d10 => 3) is everything as expected? No. TWENE: Decrease Simple Element [Either Way] (1d10 => 9) is the informant there? Yes. [Either Way] (1d10 => 10) is the informant an alien? Yes, and… She’s a Feral
He enters the Half-full Bottle cantina, and it seems to be less than half-full. Probably half-empty. He looks around and sees the only the bartender and one wolf-lady sporting her canines, sitting by the end of the bar. She snorts as she sees Randy.
Reaction: Neutral
Let’s see who the mark is, before establishing anything further.
Donjon: Lipaul Riffin: Male Explorer. Lipaul has cropped copper hair and light blue eyes, and small ears. He wears a silver jumpsuit and carries a tablet computer. Lipaul is wrongly sought by the law for murder.
Haha awesome. We’ll still have to establish if this is true or not though.
Randy sits by her and motions to the bartender. “I’ll have what she has.” The bartender smiles and Randy wonders what kind of piss he’ll drink. He turns to the feral. “So how does this work? do I give you something to sniff and you follow the trail?” “You talk big words. I take big bites. You insult me again. You find him on your own.” she replies. Randy nods. “50 Unity Credits. Upfront.” she adds. Randy puts some coin on the table. “Your info better be worth it.”
[Somewhat Likely] (1d10 => 6) is the information good? Yes. [Either Way] (1d10 => 4) does he lay low? No.
So he runs.
“Your guy, Lipaul is a scout. He has a ship.” She says. “Tell me something I don’t know. Been there. It’s impounded. He must have killed someone important to get Unity on his ass, and a bounty on his head.” Randy cuts her off. “Let me finish you impatient bipedal piece of pork. He has another way off world. He used to be part of the omegaCorp Scouts. From what I hear one of his friends should be taking off as soon as the vessel is refueled.” She adds. “The name. Save me the time to find it on my own.” Randy asks as the bartender serves him a black-colored drink. Randy looks at the drink in disgust, as the Feral smiles, enjoying his reaction.
donjon: Brinia Sones: Female Explorer. Brinia has a long face, with curly green hair and sharp hazel eyes. She wears a gray jumpsuit and carries a tablet computer. Brinia wants to be left alone.
Since I’ve got the opening scene kicking off the adventure, it’s time to decide on my solo gaming tools. I used the discord GM emulator bot for the oracle questions so far, but I am finding it lacking since it has no option for out-of-the box surprises. No chaos factor, interventions, false presuppositions, random events, or altered scenes. Therefore I’ll be switching to Mythic Variations II as a core. I think Mythic will fit best in this game style, as it’s scene-based. I’ll be adding the “…but” answers to the oracle for when the numbers are both ODD and the Chaos Die is above the Chaos Factor. If I find a nice way to integrate False Presuppositions I’ll add it too. I’m thinking that if the Chaos Die equals the Chaos Factor, then you get a False Presupposition. But I’ll have a side rule that if I cannot come up with something in the next few seconds, I’ll disregard it.
So, I’m setting the Chaos Factor to 5 and go ahead.
Q: Does the Feral provide the name? (Very Likely) A: False Presupposition. Nothing comes to mind. It’s an Exceptional No, and a Random Event. Exceptional No: The Feral doesn’t know the name. Random Event: PC Positive: Proceedings Goals. Maybe some news on the holo-tv about his target’s location. Descriptor: Loyally Mighty
“I don’t have the name…” the feral starts but Randy cuts her off, and motions for the bartender to raise the volume on the holo-screen. “…with the Unity warrant approved by the Leko administration, a City-wide arrest warrant was issued and approved by the court. Leko enforcement officers have started a manhunt as Lipaul Riffin was last seen in the naval base district.” Randy is angry. “Your information is no good! No name, only rumours for 50 credits.” The feral sports her canines. “You payed for information, you got information.”
Intimidation (4,1)/Spirit (3): Success
Randy grabs her throat. “Listen to me you dog-face. You think I’m afraid of you? I have the likes of you for breakfast.” She whimpers and puts some coin back on the counter. “Here take half.” Randy takes the coin, leaves some for the bartender and jumps of to his hover motorcycle and heads off to find his mark.
Mid-scene: Using streetwise to find the location of the omegaCorp landing pad. Streewise (5,4): Success
For the next scene I imagine that Randy will have arrived at the landing pad and wait for Riffin to arrive.
Is the Scene Modified?: Yes: Interrupt Scene: PC Positive: Arrive Plans
Okay so, Randy has gotten the schematics of the landing pad and knows exactly where Lipaul will come from, so he can lie in wait.
Randy takes position behind some fuel crates at the landing pad. The Dali Gupsy is a TTR-5 Mark 1 Scout Class Shuttle for short range exploration. It has an aerodyne hull and inefficient sublight engines. Randy can see the antenna of the planetary sensor system and a defensive laser cannon.
Q: Is there anyone else around there? (I wanted to ask this before Lipaul arrives, but whatever) A: Yes` Detail Check: Combatively Aromatic
Someone has arrived and they throw gas grenades.
Notice (5,4): Success
Q: Does he know if it’s lethal? A: Yes, it is.
As Randy is ready to make his move on the unsuspecting Lipaul, he smells something odd. A weird sweet almond smell covers the room. He tries to remember basic chemistry… sweet almond… cyanide! He attempts to grab Lipaul and get out of there. “Come!” He puts his blaster on his ribs and drags him out.
Intimidation (5,3)/ Spirit (1): Success
Q: Do they make it out in time? A: Yes, no harm roll will be made
Under gunpoint, the mark moves out of the landing pad willingly. Randy cuffs him and locks the cuffs to the rear of the hover motorcycle, and then sets off to ride away to the precinct.
Q: Does anyone chase them? A: Yes
Q: Is it law enforcement? A: No, but it’s another bounty hunter
Looking at the mirrors, Randy notices another hovercycle after him. ‘Another bounty hunter’, he thinks to himself. Not all hunters abide by the rules. When you’re in the Fringe long enough, it’s easy to break a few of them, here and there, if that means making a payday and a full meal in your stomach.
I’m going to be using the Chase rules. They’re not my favorite, but they’ll have to do. This is a standard chase of Five Rounds.
Round 1
Randy: Driving (3,2): Failure Bounty Hunter: Driving (4): Success: 9S: Long Range Bounty Hunter: Shooting (1-4:-3): Miss
Round 2
Randy: Driving (2,10): Raise: 10H, 5S: Long Range Bounty Hunter: Driving (4): Success: 5H: Long Range Randy: Shooting (5-4,1-4: 1,-3): Miss Bounty Hunter: Shooting (11-4:7): Hit: 11/8: Randy is Shaken: Out of Control roll: Skid 4″
Q: Does it collide with something (Very Likely) A: Yes Q: Is the vehicle moving at top speed? A: Yes
Okay so damage is.. 9D6: 19: Randy receives 2 Wounds, the hovercycle is ruined, and Lipaul is down. The chase ends. Soak Roll: Vigor (2,5): Success. Received 1 Wound instead.
Randy tries to go as fast as possible in the tight strees and alleys, while staying in cover. This works for a while as he keeps his distance from his pursuer and any shots go stray. He makes a quick left turn, and again another and finds an opening to shoot back at their hunter, but the pursuer ducks out of the way of the fire. They continue the high speed chase, and the bounty hunter puts his rifle at an aiming position, he locks on to his target and hits randy with his blaster. The accelerated particles are absorbed by Randy’s armor, but the hit is strong enough to make him lose control. They skid onto a street light, crashing the hovercycle. Randy flies off the vehicle, but Lipaul is still chained to the wreck of the vehicle. The collision was too much for him. He doesn’t seem to react at all.
Round 3
Initiative: Randy 8D, Bounty Hunter KH
Q: Has the bounty hunter closed in on them? A: Yes, random event: PC Negative: Release Normal I interpret that it means that the bounty hunter has eliminated the mark.
I need some inspiration with regards to the bounty hunter. Donjon: Heley Johnson: Female Mercenary. Heley has black hair and red eyes. She wears classical fashion and carries a laser pistol. Heley is hunting the aliens who murdered her family.
With Randy still trying to recover from the bruises, the bounty hunter parks next to the crash. She steps off her hover cycle, aims with his blaster rifle right at the head of the mark, and shoots. Then she turns her attention to Randy. Randy knows what this means. No witnesses.
Bounty Hunter: Shooting (15): Hit with a raise: 15/8: 1 Wound Soak Roll: Vigor (2,2): Failure Randy: spends Benny to recover from Shaken. Shooting (3-2,2-2:1,0): Miss
She blasts of her rifle at him. Randy scimpers next to a crate, but a shot got him at his leg. He shoots back but misses.
Round 4
Initiative: Randy JD, Bounty Hunter 4S
Q: Is there any cover around there? A: Yes Randy move behind cover and shoot: Double Tap: Shooting (4-2, 4-2: 2,2): Miss
Bounty Hunter: Shooting (2-2): Miss
Round 5
Initiative: Randy 8S, Bounty Hunter 2D
“I give the warrant to you! The mark is yours! You don’t want the cops after you as well for my murder!” Randy shouts in an attempt to save himself.
Q: Does the hunter agree? (Unlikely) A: Yes
Randy waits for an answer but hears none. He listens to a hover cycle skid away, and then peeks out of cover. She’s gone. So is Lipaul’s body. He coughs some blood. “Crap.” He swears. He looks at his ride in pieces. “Shit.” He adds. He hadn’t even finished paying for the darn thing. No money, no ride. Things aren’t going his way.
Healing (5-4,5-4:1,1): Failure
Randy tries to bandage himself and recover his pieces, but it’s all a mess. His head still dizzy when the local officers arrive at the scene.
Q: Do they take him downtown for questioning? A: No, but they note down reckless driving infractions.
Randy explains to them as best as he can the sequence of events. Provides them with the necessary documents and the warrant. They still don’t care about who caused it all. In true Unity bureaucracy, they write him down for Infraction DRF-212, reckless driving. 100 credits fine. Doubled if not payed in 15 days. He owes already 3000 credits for the destroyed hover cycle. And now he has to visit the local hospital, which will set him back another 200 credits. This wasn’t a good day.
Session Summary
A fun, short one-shot. It could have evolved into a full-fledged adventure, if the mark wasn’t killed by the bounty hunter lady. Alas, things turned sour for Randy, and it all ended pretty quickly. I was eager to run a sci-fi RPG solo again, but this was short and left me hungry for more. The good news is that even though the adventure is on a stale point, I can easily pick it up with a new warrant. Just hoping it won’t grow old. Maybe a different class of character would be more adventure friendly. It’s easier for action to come at your way if you play a smuggler. Also I’m kinda becoming bored of the same tough guy trope that I run in 90% of my solo adventures. Maybe I should look into some more intellectual fellas, or non-human stereotypes. The curious thing is that what I enjoyed the most was the chase scene. I had found that the chase rules were a bit boring, but so far the chases I run were on foot. Vehicle combat is much more interesting (even though I had to house rule some issues, like the Out-of-control effects on the abstract chase rules), and a crash was almost lethal. The Unified Space is interesting, and I find that it can be a fun way to get me more acquainted with the setting, which will in turn help me define the scenes in my Five Parsecs from Home campaigns, as I’ll be more experienced with it.
A handful more Sci-Fi miniatures from the Ion Age and HOF ranges of Alternative Armies, covering different aspects. They will easily fit with existing enemy squads as specialists or leaders, or as party members.
Cybernetic Retained KnightZidhe Officer PointingRim Mercenary with Heavy RifleXin Female YouxiaPadraig O’Malig
A handful of Betrayers from the Ion Age range of Alternative Armies. Went with a black leather and blue denim look, over white shirts. They will fit in either a Five Parsecs campaign or a cyberpunk setting such as the one in Chrome Hammer (/Ascension)
Hambut are discussing. 
Solo, Pen, Paper and Dice 
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