The Grand Experiment: Who Wants an Acid Bath?

Well.

Who waaaaaants.... an acid bath?
If you didn't just whisper to yourself "I do!", you either just finished one, or you are a liar.

I know, I know, not as funny as the Dr. McNinja gag, but I couldn't resist.

Anyways, in answer to my question: these guys!

A sploosh of Citrustrip and 30 minutes later equals

Ragnar, in the bottom left, still looks silly.

Yay! Naked marines! Kind of!

Now I can see details formerly hidden under seven layers of paint. It's been a few years, boys.

BASS, Ult: Session 1, Demons and Deathcurses

It all began way back at the 4th level, with Kaldich the Rogue, Blackstone Jones and I, Skargob ub Noknoggin ub 'Edbasha, wandering about, debating the future of the Company after a successful job.

I'm going to take a tip from Shamus Young's D&D Chronicle, and document out-of-character player and GM notes in a box like this one. We started the game here, at level four, and the GM decreed that we had already met and become formed the incipient Blackstone Acquisitions and Security Solutions, Unlimited. We have a little pet peeve about starting at level one, since most of us have rather grand visions of our characters. It would turn out later that D&D 4th edition gives a lot more at first level than earlier editions, and each level up is rather minimal in its bumps. More on this later.

Blackstone spotted a run-down cathedral in the distance, and smelled adventure. Kaldich proceeded to scout the area, and succeeded wonderfully in getting mauled by a pair of bears he managed not to notice. Perhaps what Blackstone smelled was the bear's lair...

After some dispatching, the Company explored inside the mostly fallen walls of the temple and found a locked door leading to a sealed room in the nave. Kaldich set to picking to lock, and a needle shot out of the door into his hand. He felt a little... off for a while after that.

The Company discovered a secret door leading to the underground catacombs, and the iconography of the temple indicated that this was a major part of the Dragonborn priesthood, long ago.

Now, it should be mentioned that it is common knowledge that the Dragons, the Dragonborn and their ilk were banished by the gods a couple of millenia ago. That we had found a relatively undisturbed temple... well, let's just say it set Kaldich's treasure sense a-tingle.

Brian, the current GM, made every race available except the Dragonborn, which had been banished to another dimension for trying to eradicate all other sentient life and becoming, y'know, omnipotent... or at least polypotent. Or sommat. This is the basis of the story in our campaign - but I'm getting to that.

So we trekked down into the darkness to see what we may. Kaldich did a good job "finding" traps - he set about four off in his own face, but that kept them from hurting us, of which Blackstone and I approved.

We found some Dragonborn skeletons, a bit miffed at being disturbed after their long rest, and we found a goodly amount of valuables in their resting places.

It was when we descended to a lower level that things began to get out of hand.

There was a green light coming from under a door. Of course we had to look, and lo and behold, a lady-demon was in a circle of green light, smiling at us pleasantly. Kaldich, being the sharp knife that he is, asked - in abyssal, damn fool - what the demon was doing here.

The lady-demon responded - also in abyssal - with the words, "Release me."

We had no idea what they were saying, but at that point Kaldich's eyes began glowing with the same green light, so we thought it best to restrain him. Kaldich broke free and spoke the words that he shouldn't as thought they were placed on his tongue.

Now I should point out that I, Skargob, am above average when it comes to my orcish physique, and orcs in general are known for their strength. Kaldich, a scrawny little tiefling, overpowered me.

The green circle on the floor disappeared. The demon lady simply smiled, a glint of green power in her black-on-black eyes, and said - this time in common - "You have my thanks, adventurers. We'll be in touch."

And then she patted the tiefling on the cheek and disappeared.

To say that Kaldich got a stern talking to about his not-letting-demons-out-of-age-old-prisons ethics is an understatement.

The Demon was improv'd, Brian later admitted to me. He had known that we would find something strange in the Room with the Green Glow, little did he or the rest of us know how much the demon, who would later be known as the Lady, would factor into the game.

I found some interesting-looking books in the same room, which looked to have been a study once upon a time. As to why a study would be located underneath the catacombs, I had not a clue. The books were written in draconic, a language few speak these days. I hoped they would illuminate me as to the demon, or possibly the disappearance of the dragons, or to the general purpose of the temple.

We noticed more light coming from a staircase leading deeper into the dungeon. We followed it down to a large, natural cavern where we found a person working a spell. The spell was a large sigil written in golden fire across the floor, and there was a glowing portal slowly opening on the wall, leading to another cave. The figure appeared to be a woman in armor, though being in the center of the dancing golden lights made her race difficult to determine.

We debated on a course of action for a few seconds, but I tired of the rogue's urge to simply murder the caster and had no want for Blackstone's complicated tactics.

"I'm gonna go talk to her," I said.

"Do that and you'll get a bonus," said Blackstone, not having faith in my orcish brashness. I stepped out of the dark hallway into the circle of golden light.

"Greetings!"

The caster reacted in a whirl of motion, and spinning she hurled a sword at me. It embedded itself to the hilt in my thigh.

"You will not impede me, the Harbinger of Tiamat, or my people's Return!"

I noticed now that the woman had distinct dragonlike features. So much for diplomacy.

The battle was a short one, and rather bloody. The Harbinger wielded divine power and martial prowess with deadly efficiency. We got in our share of hits, but she was hardly even slowed.

She must have been worried about the portal, because she kept an eye on it the entire time. She would have had us, but she dashed off through the portal, but not before imparting the final words to Blackstone, "Tiamat will have her vengeance upon your miserable soul."

That dealt with, Blackstone attempted to identify the nature of the spell. Aside from the obvious magical gateway, he met with no success. He had not seen the workings of such a spell before, though there were some scattered papers with magical notation the Harbinger had left, and he might find something in future study. However, we all felt rather uneasy at the menacing way the sigil kept growing, so we decided to get out.

We weren't about to let the Harbinger off so easy, so we went through the portal after her. It wasn't long after that that the sigil exploded on the other side of the portal, which promptly closed, but not before turning a portion of the wall to glass.

And so we found ourselves trapped underground in a strangely humid natural cave, with no way back.

Lucky us.

Here ends the first "session" of the game, though I think there was more than one actual sitting involved. This account is muchly abridged, and I left out several parts, including one completely fruitless trip to town and a couple players who did not return after the second session. I decided to simply highlight the interesting parts of the game, and link the sometimes dissociated and oft interrupted storytelling into a coherent narrative.

The Grand Experiment

Back in the days of yore, my friend Brian and I started collecting Warhammer miniatures. Among several other armies we collected, we got ahold of quite a lot of Space Marines. What could be cooler than dudes in the future who flew around in spaceships in armor with huge machine guns and chainsaw swords?

Is that a fair question? No.

Anyways, we amassed quite a horde of little toy soldiers (I have no delusions about my pastimes) - and then we let them rot for years. Which isn't to say we stopped playing, but that we moved on to armies more suited to our style - and less mainstream, because we're lame Indie kids like that.

I gave my marines up for the Green Tide (Waaaagh!) and Brian gave up his old, grab-bag marines for a more themed army.

So what became of the old, dusty marines? Why, I just found a box full of them, and an Idea came to mind.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Behold!

I present to you

The Grand Experiment

In which the author tries to take several dozens of mismatched and often poorly modeled
miniature soldiers and make them into a functional Space Marine Company.

So what am I working with? Well, I just got my hands on a camera capable of capturing the essence of 1 inch scale miniatures (28mm for you European barbarians) in what is probably overly gruesome detail.

Let's take a look at what I'm dealing with:



Goodness! That's a lot of genetically-enhanced manflesh!

As you can see, I've done a job of organizing them up for you. Despite this, some of them are having trouble standing up. Their muscles must have atrophied in the years of darkness... Or somebody stole the bases they were standing on.

And now for some close ups!



From right to left: Ragnar, Ulrik, Mephiston, Njal, The Emperor's Champ, a Techmarine, and That Dude with the Hammer.

So here we have the once glorious champions of justice that headed the army. Ragnar looks somewhat silly with his hemi-jumping-jack pose - well, that and someone stole his sword a while back. Njal is almost as bad. Did they really need that raven to be all winged out like that? Silly.

Mephiston (the shiny unpainted guy) only looks that way because someone soaked him in turpentine recently (something a lot of these guys are gonna get in the near future), but I think he makes a more convincing Librarian than Njal. At least he can be more dynamic.

Ulrik and the Champ are pretty good as is, though the Techmarine and the Dude with the Hammer both have suffered from some bad Green Stuff molding - especially the Dude, whom I tried to give a full body cloak...




Ah. How do I explain this one? Back in the day Games Workshop encouraged players to come up with their own Geneseed variations, and I got this fool notion that my marines grew shorter as they aged.

Now, I must point out that I knew about Squats back then. I just thought it was a fun challenge to take the marine models and stunt their proportions.

As you can see, I only got through 4 of these. They were the Company Chaplain, the Captain and two Sergeants. I still like how these four turned out, but I don't think I'll go any further down this path, and I don't think I'll feature these guys in the final army. I just thought they should get mentioned at least once, somewhere in time, and since they were in the Pile, I grabbed a picture.

Don't worry. They were the first and last of the Midget Marine brood.




Now we have several old school Terminators. One is a Captain, one is a Grey Knights Captain (nearly the same thing, in my book), several are old Grey Knights and the others are just old models. The 2 funky ones on the left are Obliterators. Oh, and somewhere I got a pair of plastic legs.




Here are about 2 dozen 2nd edition pewter models, the oldest we got. I got a pack of Long Fangs, a pack of Blood Claws, half a squad of Chaos Marines, some Legion of the Damned, and some Sarges.










Here is the bulk of the Horde, in several images. The top features marines set up for the True Grit special rule, which allows for a bolter and close combat weapon, so I got creative and gave some interesting weapons like Chainsaw Bayonets (later, Epic Games would go on to take my advice and put them in a certain game and its upcoming sequel). Next in line are the standard marine, with simply a bolter, though I think I will set them up with True Grit equipment as well - all I gotta do is add a sheathed weapon somewhere.

Then come the assault marines, who have pistols and close combat weapons of various natures. I had fun with these, and you can see a couple different types of double ended sawblades in there.

And finally we have a couple dozen unfinished marines - or more accurately, marines with their arms torn off for other models.




Here are some special weapons troopers I have picked out of the masses. There aren't a lot of them, but hey, they count.




And now for some bikes! One of them is rearing up in the air, and I had to steal a horse's base for that effect. The presence of the extra biker lends me hope that I might see more bikes surface in the future.




Scouts. 5 of them. With so much as a sniper rifle. Yay!

At least I won't have to strip them, because they hardly even have a base coat.




Grey Knights? What are they doing here?!

I don't know if or how I'm going to use these guys. Most of their right arms are missing, anyways.

Well, at least that's as weird as it gets...




What the hell? Raptors?! What am I supposed to do with them, without their jetpacks? Or arms, for that matter?

Well it can't get much worse...




Insert the sound of me putting my foot in my mouth here.

Ok, now I have around 20 ugly marines... er, plague marines in identical poses... Hell, I'm gonna use them. And they're gonna like it.

So by now we must've seen the most incredibly bad models to have been dredged out from under a rock...




Oh. These guys. Well, at least we used the best of them a few years back when we made 14 possessed marines out of them... so that leaves me with the craziest, most profanely modeled ones.

That guy up in the right? He's got an extra arm, holding a pistol, pointing behind him... yeah. I know this because I put him together. I think we assembled these guys before we had any concept of what Khorne Berzerkers were, let alone a solid idea for a squad to create. We were kids back then. Give us a break.

Most of these guys are craning their necks back, as though they're trying to get a good look at the people playing the game...

How could this get any worse?

...I'm waiting for some new horror to pop up in front of me so I can take a picture and post it, but nay, I believe I have indeed exhausted my reserves of varied inanity - or at least, strange yet wonderful models from a time gone by.

The Porpoise of All This

Overall, I have about 148 models that have surfaced (not counting the bikes; i've dug up at least 3 more bikeless bikers so far).

I intend to take all the various and sundry models above and make them into a working Space Marine Company; that's at least 100 warm bodies in 10 squads, probably more considering the amount of models I'm gonna try to work into the structure.

The Chapter they herald from is officially going to be Renegade, which means that it can either use the Orthodox Space Marine or the Chaos Marine (Undivided or possibly Nurgle) rules. I'm considering making each squad a forsaken team from a different Chapter, since I have Space Wolves, Dark Angels, Legion of the Damned and many more floating around in the mix, though I may decide on a unified scheme.

Time will tell, and suggestions are welcome.

Ooh, a dozen Nurglings!

BASS, Ult: Dramatis Personae

Herein I will detail some of the major characters of the game, both player characters and NPCs, and what appears to be their outward motivation.

Blackstone Acquisitions and Security Solutions, Unlimited was formed when the gaming group got together for the first time, though the name went through several permutations. In part, we got the idea for forming an "Adventuring Company" from the Penny Arcade Podcasts, and in part from that the official D&D 4th edition character sheet has a space set aside, next to the character's name, for that very purpose. So we became a company, complete with positional titles and everything.
We started the game at level 4, and the GM, Brian (who will be becoming a player after I take over), decreed that we already knew each other and that we were to work out the details of our backstory and how we became a party as we went. D&D 4th makes this exceptionally easy, because players need not be able to roleplay to effectively play the game, though our group has a tendency toward character-driven plots in which the stats on our character sheets become secondary.
So it came to pass that, since we were placed together before we had a chance to figure out our own motivations for our characters, the Company was a good foundation for our party. We had formed out of collective interests of improving our individual skills as adventurers and collecting gold, gems, magic items and various treasures, hereafter referred to as loot, to further our personal goals.
As we discovered our characters and the hidden motivations therein, some of us developed rich backstories, while others found inspiration in the gameworld itself and actively sought their goals - sometimes to the benefit of the Company, sometimes not.

BASS, Ult is:

Blackstone Jones
Race: Human
Class: Wizard (wands)
Position: CEO
Player: Frank
Blackstone is the Face of the party, and takes his role as CEO very seriously. His only motivation is the concrete foundation of the Company, and making the names associated with it resplendent in granduer. He manages the party's loot and handles the majority of the highbrow interactions (barons, kings, gods, etc.) with the express intention of rewarding the Company, and those who further it.
It is important to note that the Company is named for his first name, rather than his last. what does that say of the hubris of man?

Skargob Dragginkilla ub Noknoggin ub 'Edbasha
Race: Orc
Class: Warlord (inspirational; multiclass cleric)
Position: Humanoid Resources
Player: Me
Skargob is a dichotomy.
On one hand he is a bloodthirsty warrior, as are his kin so stereotyped. Like his mother before him - Noknoggin - and her father before she - 'Edbasha - Skargob has been marked for greatness by the gods themselves. He strives ever to prove himself in the shadow of his mother, the Savager of Ethling, Scourge of Heimat's Vault, and knows that one day, all orckind will sing of him.
However, at the same time, he is a learned scholar, and he knows that if the green-skinned race follows the bloodyminded rut it has carved for itself it will be doomed to be simpleminded nomadic tribes, hated by the other "great" races for their barbarity. They will be hunted down to be killed and enslaved as savages and heathens, and they will be forced to the outside of the progressing world, never to be accepted as equals.
So Skargob seeks to prove once and for all that the orc race is worthy of being one of the greats, that orckind won't surrender to die in obscurity. He hopes to lead the orcs into a new age, a golden age, and has the mark of the gods emblazoned on his green skin to guide him.
Skargob has found a human that accepts him as an equal in Blackstone, and he hopes that the Company will provide a stepping stone to further his ideals. Blackstone has trusted him with the screening new applicants for the Company, and in planning the disposition of Company reasources (mainly, the manpower - or should that be humanoidpower?).

Kaldich
Race: Tiefling
Class: Rogue
Position: Former Master Cartographer
Player: Peter
Kaldich was a wild soul. We hope he still is.
In an early encounter, he unwittingly - or perhaps quite wittingly - released a demon from eternal imprisonment. This demon ultimately turned out to be the One Known as The Lady, Whose Name Shall Never be Spoken Lest She Conquer all that is Good, Queen of the Abyss, Wife of the Chained One - and She took what might be called an... unhealthy interest in the Company.
After the Incident, Kaldich took to increasingly odd behaviour. He was prone to violent behavior in several recorded instances, including one where he melted the bones right out of his opponent in a staring contest, and very nearly assaulting an innocent passerby in a strange location (who was Tobin, the one who would later become our Public Relations Officer), though it should be noted that Kaldich managed to stab himself instead of his intended target.
However, Kaldich was also a conduit of The Lady's power, and this proved useful to the continued existence of the Company on multiple occasions. When we were stranded in an ocean - after a dragon had made it's best attempt to sink our vessel - Blackstone had the presence of mind to contact The Lady via Kaldich's conjunction, and She deigned to bring us ashore - more than a day's rowing on an underground sea. Kaldich's arms were worn out, to say the least.
In the sencond happening, in a battle with 3 green dragons and Tiamat's personal dragonborn Harbinger, we found outselves slightly outclassed. Kaldich summoned the Lady to our aid, but this time She required a price: Kaldich himself was to accompany Her to Her abode in the Abyss (which looked like a pretty fine place, if one didn't count the view). She arrived, with several apparitions of similat caliber, and occupied the Harbinger and the eldest dragon while the Company took on the two other dragons (it should be noted that in this battle Skargob earned the appellation Dragginkilla).
After the hard-won battle, Kaldich accompanied The Lady to Her realm, and as of yet, that has been the last the Company has seen of him.
So far.

Thor-grimm Halflingsbane
Race: Shifter (Longtooth)
Class: Fighter (axe)
Position: Public Relations Assistant
Player: Chris
Thor-grimm is a simple character, whose only wish in life is to travel the world and beat the snot out of things. It is unclear as to whether he inherited the moniker Halflingsbane or if he earned it, though the party has yet to encounter a halfling to find out.
This may sound like a simple charater concept, but Chris plays it to the hilt. He has a gruff demeanor and a mean streak roughly as wide as (presumably) a halfings entrails strech out.

Tobin Briarthorn
Race: Half-Elf
Class: Warlock (fey)
Position: Public Relations
Player: Izzy
Tobin has an interesting history. His mother told him not to play in the woods on dark nights, and boy was she wrong. A Fey enchantress picked him up, made some sweet promises, and gave him crazy powers - all at the petty cost of his immortal soul. What a deal!
The Company found him soon afterward as he wandered back into the material plane, and Blackstone immediately saw his potential he offered on the diplomatic side of things, and failing that, his ability to cause others to go insane. Plus, he shoots magical blasts from his eyes.
Tobin often accompanies Blackstone to important negotiations to help smooth things over, or, failing that, to help blast their way to an exit.

Ebin
Race: Elf
Class: Ranger (archer)
Position: Intern
Player: Cisco
Ebin is a quiet sort who prefers to watch and listen. He was picked up in Hafen as a new recruit the last time the Company was in town, in hopes to further the Company's power to Reach Out and Touch People.

Rapscallious Grayblade
Race: Eladrin
Class: Rogue
Position: Intern (on probation)
Player: Dan
The Company found Rapscallious tied up in a tavern full of demons, and upon the Company's arrival, he managed to free himself and come to the Company's aid. Blackstone offered him a part-time postition as an intern until they won clear of the demon infested quarter of Hafen, and later Rapscallious opted to stay on as a full time employee.
Since then, Blackstone has found Rapscallious's somewhat... slanted Eladrin upbringing to be a bit offensive, and he has given the rogue several warnings for his behavior. Despite this, Rapscallious has proven quite skilled in his area of expertise and has become an invaluable asset to the Company.

Stig, Beloved of Amhorra
Race: Dwarf
Class: Cleric
Position: Intern
Player: Ty
Stig was found alongside Rapscallious in the tavern full of demons, and was offered a part time position as well, and he, too, decided to stick with the Company. His divine powers and stalwart nature have been a great asset to the Company.
He has not spoken much of himself, save for his Goddess, Amhorra, daughter of Moradin, though that is mostly prayers given in battle.

So I guess I Should Start Rocking.

Like a hurricane.

Some of the games that I will be transcribing here:

Blackstone Acquisitions and Security Solutions, Unlimited (BASS, Ult)
This is a D&D 4th edition game that I am taking over as GM. I will post a summation of events leading up to the time when I assume control as a GM, including character profiles and the like. My first session as the GM - and not a player - is in two days (Sunday, the 12th).

The Devil's Own
A Serenity RPG in which I play Dr. Ben Jamnyn (pronounced YA-min, though most just say jammin'). I will be cataloging events as an in-character personal diary. The characters in this game and the situations we find ourselves in are just too rich to pass up.

Shadows In Flames
An old, old Werewolf game (2nd edition revised) I ran back in the summer of 2000 - my first stint as a GM. I'm still proud of how this game turned out, and I have been meaning to write down the events that transpired for years now. Here's a good excuse.

So there's a few things to look forward to. Hopefully I'll be able to subvert my sporadic writing schedule and I'll find myself posting regularly on this blog.

I may find some other games to write about that I half-remember, most likely the somewhat failed All Roads Lead to Amber Game, which fell apart midgame due to a hemorrhaging of players, or the 7th Sea Adventure that ended just when it was getting interesting... but those are for another time.

~MW

So here I am.

What to say, what to say...

Really, I have no idea where to begin. The posts that follow will be synopses of game sessions that I have had the privilege of running, or perhaps just been another player in. In most circumstances, I have found myself amidst roleplayers of superb excellence, and it would be tantamount to a sin not to transcribe the lives of the amazing characters that I have witnessed. The stories they have written, the glory, infamy and/or downright competency they have displayed would go to waste if it were simply hidden in our heads. I intend to, in many posts, recount the legends which have arisen in my time leading and living fictional lives, and so do their memories justice.

I might at this time mention a major source of inspiration for the creation of this blog, and what drove me to create this space in which to record my thoughts: Shamus Young, with his long, almost novel-worthy account of the game he led through a compelling adventure, and his encouragement towards other Game Masters to share their works. He has many thoughts on a variety of modes of gaming, and his blog is worth a gander.