Thursday 28 August 2014

Heresy Miniatures Kickstarter



Heresy Miniature's launched their first kickstarter last week to great success! It is to redo all their large monsters into resin (Most of the models have been OOP for some time due to the rising price of metal).
I will be backing this as soon as I get paid...

Link to kickstarter

I'm don't play anything fantasy myself but I like these models a lot.
Anyone who has read my blog before knows I love Necromunda so whenever I see models I think about what they can be used for in my favorite game...

 Milliasaurs anyone? The official models for them go for stupid amounts on ebay these days. I personally think this is a better sculpt for them anyway, and you get 6!!!

I want to use this guy as a thing from the sump, or any other underhive gribbly that is large!

Giant sump spider!!! It says CD sized leg span so it will be truly imposing in Necromunda!

I hope you at least check out the kickstarter, there is so much on offer it really needs to be seen.
I can't say nice enough things about Heresy Miniatures, they make great models and I can't wait til payday!

Link again to kickstarter


Wednesday 27 August 2014

Necromunda Review: Miscellaneous Equipment

Continuing my reviews of all things Necromunda here is Miscellaneous Equipment!


Auto-repairer

If you roll up one of these and you have the credits - buy it. If you don't have the credits - sell something and then buy it! It is just that good. A 4+ ignore for any failed ammo rolls is a huge in-game effect, and it doesn't even add to your gang rating.

On the downside it does require the post-game action of a Heavy and a Ganger.

Personally, even if I had a really bad game and took a lot of casualties, I would still rather work the auto-repairer than a territory. A few extra credits from working a territory isn't going to impact my next game as much as an auto-repairer does.

A final thing to remember is that this item can be destroyed if the gang owning it lose the "raid" scenario as defenders. Although this does mean it can be worth trying raids against a rival who makes use of an auto-repairer.


Bio-Booster

By using a bio-booster, a character's first injury roll is modified to become a 1-3 for flesh wound instead of just a 1.(Note that this only applies to the first roll per game, so if you get hit by a weapon with a high damage (say a meltagun) then the the first dice roll will be affected, but the others will roll as normal.)

Very expensive at 50 credits, I don't tend to use these I would rather spend the credits on more gang members or weapons.


Bio Scanner

At first glance it seems an expensive gadget with little practical use. But if you find your gang defending a lot of rescues or raids then it comes into its own.

A 360° bubble triple the owners initiative that auto spots hidden models regardless of line of sight. You place a high initiative ganger with one of these near the captive/gateway and you basically auto spot the raiders.

Also has application in normal gangfights to "spot" hidden models so other gang members can fire on them once they are located.




Blindsnake pouch

A nice simple item which gives the owner a 4+ special save against overwatch shots. Best used on a high value gang member that will be advancing across the board. This stacks really nicely with the stealth skill "sneak up" for a gang member who is all but immune to overwatch.












Clip harness

A cheap item that is also common, so you can always buy them even on gang creation.

If a ganger with one of these doesn't move in its turn it has "clipped on". As long as you don't move or fight in close combat the effect remains. When you get shot and are pinned you never have to test for falling within 1" of an edge.

Every heavy and long range ganger should have one of these.


Concealed blade

A decent chance to escape either with your gear or not, but a small chance of dying in the attempt. Nice and cheap. If you doubt your chances of a successful rescue then you should invest in these for high value gang members such as your leader or heavies.









Filter plugs/Respirator

The former grants re-rolls against toughness tests from gas, the latter allows you to ignore it altogether.

If gangs in your campaign begin using gas grenades invest in these.

Also can be used offensively if you have gas grenades, see the post here for those tactics.


Grav chute

Makes a ganger never suffer fall damage. Note this will work even if the owner is currently "downed". If you use it to jump down levels your ganger still uses up "movement" as he descends. So if a normal ganger equipped with a grav chute jumps down 6" they can't shoot as they moved more than 4" but could move 2" after landing to complete a 8" run.

Situational but worth it if you climb up high a lot, playing king of the spire???


Grapnel

This can be used to move rapidly across the board ignoring the needs for ladders. The model must make a ranged shot at the place you want to travel to with a -1 to hit. Next turn the model winches itself to that position and does nothing else that turn. So it would be advisable to winch to a protected area with decent cover or something blocking line of sight. It has a range of 16" which isn't great considering the restrictions the rules place on the grapnel. At 30 credits I don't see this as that useful an item unless your board has lots of multi level terrain and very few ladders.


Infra-Red Goggles

These allow a fighter to spot hidden enemies at triple their initiative x3 in its arc of sight. With a +1 to the roll for spotting intruders during a raid or rescue. They also allow the model to see through the darkness without penalty If you play using the rules for darkness (and why wouldn't you??) then these are a great item to get hold of.



Isotropic fuel rod

These turn any territory you want into a settlement. Which will earn 30 credits when worked with the chance to gain a free juve each game. They cost 50+4D6 credits so they are best bought early in a campaign to make sure the start to pay themselves off. If you have an "Old ruins" or a "Slag" territory then this is ideal to make more credits long term.



Mung Vase

Rare trade item gambling... I personally never buy these I'm not much of a risk taker with my credits! I prefer safer investments.









Medi-Pack



Medi-packs cost a lot but they are more than worth it. If a model equipped with a medi-pack ends its turn in base to base contact with a model that is "down" then the recovery roll for that model is modified to 1-4 Flesh wound 5-down, 6-OOA. Which is a huge improvement, it keeps your important fighters active for longer. If I get hold of a medi-pack I like to give it to a Juve that has leveled up in a way that they have not gained much in the way of combat ability. Techno skills are great, as you will likely want to keep a fighter with them out of harms way. Try to keep the owner of the medi-pack out of line of sight from enemy shooting if at all possible.




Photo-Contacts/Photo-Visor


The primary function of these items is to protect against photon flash grenades. Contacts make you immune to being blinded, and the visor makes you immune to them altogether. They have an additional effect of allowing you to see through darkness at varying levels contacts see 18" and visors 24" into the darkness.
If other gangs are using photon flashes, buy these to counter them. Are you using the rules for darkness yet? Buy these to make life easier.


Silencer

These can be attached to stubguns, hunting rifles, autopistols, autoguns and autosluggers. They silence the weapon (duh) so it will never raise the alarm during a raid or rescue. (Although if the shot fails to take the target model down they will still raise the alarm as normal)
They can also be used in a normal game to allow a fighter that is hiding to shoot without revealing their location. On a roll of a +4 after the shot is fired the fighter remains hidden.
These work great on hunting rifles hidden up on a higher level, perhaps deployed via vents.


Ratskin map

Rare trade gambling again! But this time with much better odds and a better pay off in terms of game play.
There is a small chance it will be useless, but it is most likely to provide a modifier to the scenario roll. For the rest of the campaign... if you have a chance to get one I suggest you buy it.







Screamers and Stummers

Screamers help defenders in raid and rescue scenarios. Every time a attacking fighter moves roll a D6, on a 6 they set off the alarm. Stummers reduce the chance of setting off the alarm by -1 and also cancel out screamers altogether. These are well worth picking up, being cheap anyway I think its always worth buying them if you have the spare credits.


Suspensor

50 credits to make a heavy weapon able to move and shoot but at -1 BS. If your heavy has good BS then this can be worth it, I however never seem to get a heavy that can shoot straight so I give this one a miss. I find it just adds even more cost to an already very expensive fighter, but other people always pick them up...


Stinger pouch

A item that is a fail safe to taking an injury. If the owner is "down" at the end of the game and the roll to see if they take an injury results in a +4 the stinger pouch comes in handy and the model doesn't take an injury but the stinger pouch is used up.

What are your thoughts on these items?
What would you like covered in my next post?
Let me know in the comments below!

Tuesday 5 August 2014

Product Review: Counter Attack bases all-in-one widget

It's unusual for me to do product reviews on my blog. In fact, this is my very first!

I was so impressed with this company's customer service, however, that I just felt I had to share it with you - my wonderful readers.

I know it may sound forced to compliment an organisation on something as basic as customer service, but it really is such a rarity these days and the experience stood out for me.

It all started when I wanted to paint the base markings on my Cygnar. A lot of the time I can be picky about my painting, and I wanted these to be as precise as possible. Therefore I went searching on the interwebs to find an aid. I discovered these all-in-one widgets from Counter Attack Bases (see link below).

From the descriptions and pictures on the website I wasn't sure if the indented part was exactly half the base size or not. I emailed an enquiry to their website and (surprise, surprise!!) got a reply straight away (literally within the hour!!).

They told me that the indented parts do cover half the base, so I ordered a set (and chose blue ones to match the blue themes of my Cygnar army).

When they arrived I was disappointed to find that one of the widgets was broken. I contacted the company and they sent me a replacement (at no cost to myself!).





In game the widgets work nicely, having a melee range of 0.5" and 2" - plus the 3" charge range, and the indications of where three different AOE sizes would extend from a model on a direct hit.



The widgets do become harder to use the more crowded a battlefield becomes - especially the AOE range checking. When I used these in a game against my friend's Skorne I found that although the AOE range checking was useful.... once the battle reached a scrum or melee style it was difficult to place the widgets accurately.

The company does also sell individual gaming aids for things like charge lane checking, which I might pick up in the future to speed up my turns.

All things considered I would say that these all-in-one-widgets are a 'jack of all trades, master of none'. That's not a bad thing by any means, although I have found that the individual tools are more effective at their different roles. Ultimately these widgets are great for the gamer on a budget who can't afford to splash out on multiple tools (or a gamer who doesn't want to lug around a bag full of extras). For me, however, I think I will stick with specific tools for specific jobs.


link to Counter Attack Bases, All-in-One Widgets: here