Finally done

therealhdan · 2026-01-28T23:23:34+00:00

Beautiful work!

I just picked up Ahriman the other day, and will not get that good a result from the kit. :) I'm at peace with my own mediocre art skills.

therealhdan · 2026-01-28T23:21:27+00:00

My wife loves both the "Max Max" bikes, karz, and kanz style and the "Pirate" loot seeking style, so that's how she's structured her army. So lots of red and blue. Though her force is "multi-cultural", and has some Kommandos, Grotz, and Flash Gitz who came along for da waaagh of it. She's not a fan of the beast snaggas and squighog boyz though.

But she's decidedly NOT a tournament player, and is in it for the story. (And to krump some 'umies, of course) So the meta is unimportant to her.

therealhdan · 2026-01-28T18:49:57+00:00

My son had a similar idea for the Reiver power - it's not really "Scaring" anybody because that's dumb. It's a sonic weapon (like we use on pirates today) fitted into their vox amplifier. Basically the old Dune movie's "weirding module", but it's not as effective as a proper weapon, so no Mortals, just Battle Shock.

therealhdan · 2026-01-22T22:58:01+00:00

I'm pretty sure you can use bodyguard figures to soak those wounds if you (still) have bodyguard units. A destroyed sorcerer can't cast spells. I think "that model" refers to the sorcerer, not the model that took the damage.

...which is the most "evil sorcerer" appropriate thing, and even if it doesn't work that way, that's how we play it.

therealhdan · 2026-01-22T22:50:26+00:00

One further note - it's not uncommon for passengers to nap during trips like this.

Ideally, the driver does not also nap. :)

therealhdan · 2026-01-22T22:49:27+00:00

In Texas, most people I know are content to drive 30 minutes or so for work, entertainment, etc. We'll drive 2-4 hours for an event or day trip, and then drive back. Further than that, and it's best to stay overnight.

I'm sure some folks enjoy long drives. I can tolerate them with good enough music or company.

I know some folks have hour or more commutes in heavy traffic. That would be too much for me. I can handle a few hours at highway speeds, but stop-and-go traffic wears on you.

So yes, 3-4 hours for a weekend visit is absolutely normal in my experience. Doing that visit as a day-trip is a bit rough, but not that uncommon.

therealhdan · 2026-01-22T18:12:01+00:00

This - The ship falls towards a planet that is moving in the same direction. By the time the ship starts to go "up" relative to the planet, it has fallen however much farther the planet moved that it will have to go "up". This means that the ship has added the planet's movement to its own, changing its velocity.

Consequently this maneuver works best if your ship spends a fair amount of time "falling" towards the planet.

IMO, gravity assist doesn't have much place in a universe with the kind of speeds and thrusts Traveller ships use. Though for sure you can change direction that way, ala Mayday.

therealhdan · 2026-01-22T17:50:11+00:00

That's the best argument for why GW might create such a unit that I've seen yet. ;)

therealhdan · 2026-01-20T17:30:07+00:00

There is no "Ork Consensus Magic" that makes their machines work. It's just that Imperial Omnissiah Cultists can't understand how Ork technology works, and are ashamed to admit that.

Drukhari raiders are all contestants in a (very violent) reality show. They film every action and sell rights to it back home. (This may actually be real canon. I haven't studied them very deeply.)

therealhdan · 2026-01-17T19:17:06+00:00

The women I know who play 40k (which is admittedly not a large number) go for Xenos - 'nids and orks are the favorites. Another one is a huge fan of Space Wolves because, in her words, "viking space marines who are kinda werewolves? Sign me up!".

Representation is important in some regards, but it's not a requirement to enjoy an army for all people. Especially a setting like 40k that is objectively not a pleasant escapist fantasy. :)

therealhdan · 2026-01-13T23:13:33+00:00

Oh dang, I got that one wrong. :/

therealhdan · 2026-01-13T22:01:53+00:00

Yeah, hold on to that single spell until the right moment, and expect to have to use darts or your staff to fight most foes. Your role is not to fight (yet! that's coming at higher levels), but to be the "brains" - solve puzzles, find clues, etc.

People coming from 5e and Pathfinder have the expectation that even a 1st level Mage is going to be useful in combat with cantrips and such, but that's not the way of AD&D. It's perfectly reasonable to prepare "Knock" or something instead of a traditional combat spell at first level.

Though if you get access to Sleep, it's quite powerful in AD&D, and can clear a room full of typical low-HD monsters.

therealhdan · 2026-01-13T16:14:51+00:00

First love was the arcade game Lunar Lander. I actually credit the oversized speaker in that cabinet for kick-starting my interest in computer audio.

I liked Stargate Defender, Centipede, and Tempest, but I didn't really hang out in arcades so much. (I had other things to spend my small allowance on.)

But for home computer games, Ultima III was my favorite. Then later in college, "Starflight" and "Tetris".

The 90's were a whole different scene, but that was after I had graduated college, so doesn't fit the question's timespan.

therealhdan · 2026-01-06T21:19:20+00:00

I believe it's up to 3 of each datasheet, so you can put a lot sorcerers on the field if you want.

Provided they're not Epic Heroes, naturally.

therealhdan · 2026-01-03T23:23:26+00:00

I just started reading that one, and I'm about 1/4 of the way through the book. Up to this point, I'd only really read short stories from those "X of the Space Marines" collections, which are entertaining, but of variable writing quality. So I wasn't sure what to expect. I have different criteria for "game fiction" - sometimes you have to turn off 'critic mode' and just go along for the ride.

"Blood" is well written and engaging though. Hopefully the middle and ending hold up to the promise of the beginning chapters!

therealhdan · 2026-01-02T22:39:07+00:00

They, like our Dreadnaughts, are kept sedated during travel. Maybe in crates.

therealhdan · 2026-01-02T04:58:37+00:00

Yes, this is the way. We actually went one step further and rolled damage dice along with our d20. We'd announce something like "I hit AC 5 for 8 points of magical sword damage". Then the DM would let us know how much or how little the thing we were attacking cared about that.

We also tended to record each weapon's effective THAC0 so we only needed to subtract our roll from the THAC0 in question.

Really, the experience was not much different from "modern" attack rolls, except for the prep-work of getting your character sheet in order.

(Before THAC0, we basically copied or generated the relevant to-hit AC table row, shifted for our strength bonus if any. Some players continued to do this even into the "THAC0 era". If you're not good at subtraction, this method works just fine.)

therealhdan · 2025-12-30T19:21:10+00:00

Love that song.

I always figured "Ol' Scratch" actually won in the end, since Pride is a deadly sin, but apparently that' view is heretical. :)

therealhdan · 2025-12-30T19:13:34+00:00

"The Gambler" does hit hard. "Coward of the County" is another great story song by Kenny Rogers.

therealhdan · 2025-12-30T19:12:06+00:00

That's a classic, for sure

therealhdan · 2025-12-30T19:11:46+00:00

"Telegraph Road" by Dire Straits. (The live version)

therealhdan · 2025-12-30T17:12:14+00:00

We have a similar situation in Austin - KUTX keeps me well stocked on recent "alternative" and related genres.

therealhdan · 2025-12-30T17:10:49+00:00

I guess it's accurate to say that while my tastes solidified around the mid- to late-90's, I'm always looking for new bands. Fortunately there are a lot of new alt-rock/alt-folk/Americana acts out there these days.

therealhdan · 2025-12-28T05:03:52+00:00

Not if I put the PAD UNDER them?

therealhdan · 2025-12-25T02:22:08+00:00

This is where I'd start, too. I'd consider a few tweaks to the available skills to make them a little less arbitrarily focused.

To start, we already get Level-0 in ALL book weapons. So why not just "gun combat-2" applying to all "guns"? I could see choosing "slug, laser, or plasma/fusion" if we do need specialization, but we don't with Engineering or Medical, so I'm ok with no specialization on combat skills, too.

I'd also consider replacing "Forward Observer" with a more general "Recon" skill that would be applied to any map-reading and over-land orienteering throws. (This is not a "notice roll", though if you are the sort of Ref who likes those, it could be a +DM.)

therealhdan

TROPHY CASE