Savage Tales

Tannhäuser Tuesday

2012-02-07T14:08:00.000-08:00

Fantasy Flight games has released the first chapter of the first Tannhäuser novel—Rising Sun, Falling Shadows. Here we find Tala Apone, Caitlin Lamsbury, and new guy, Takeshi “Taki” Takata on in infiltration mission in Japan. Things go slightly awry.

You can find the pdf of the chapter here.

Enjoy!

The Zeppelin Now On Nook!

2012-01-25T07:49:00.001-08:00

Pulp of the Week - Uchronic Tales: The Zeppelin

2012-01-22T21:57:00.000-08:00

This weeks Pulp of the Week is a little different because this is the first release from my new publishing endeavor... The Uchronic Press.

Here's the press release:

The Uchronic Press is proud to announce “Uchronic Tales: The Zeppelin,” our debut release. This action-packed 18,000 word novella by W. Peter Miller with a cover by Mike Fyles features the premiere appearance of Clark Tyler, a man that trouble seems to find. Or, perhaps he is just good at finding it. This story is available now on Kindle, with Nook and all other formats to follow as soon as possible.

The Uchronic Press is here to serve all readers that crave action, excitement, and a bit of an edge in their pulp adventure fiction. Our stories take place in an alternate past, a uchronic world greatly like our own, but with a dash more mystery, danger, and the macabre. Here you will find heroic adventures, outlandish science, ferocious alchemy, mystic forces, and an alternate history just slightly larger than our own.

Uchronic Tales: The Zeppelin features a young Clark Tyler, an American airman caught up in a conspiracy that threatens to turn the tide of the Great War. Reich Zeppelins have been bombing London mercilessly, but the night one of them takes a strange detour could turn the tide of the war. The Germans have kidnapped a mysterious passenger and it is up to Clark Tyler and a band of elite commandos to stop the massive airship Eisern Feist from returning her secrets to the Fatherland.

In the months ahead, danger will put Clark and others in a number of Uchronic Tales. Look for stories featuring the classic days of Hollywood, earth-shattering danger, lost civilizations, and bizarre visitors from the unknown aether.

Welcome to Uchronic Tales

Fans of my custom creations should be on the look out for guest stars that may be familiar...

Pulp Film of the Week - Legend of the Fist: Return of Chen Zhen

2012-01-11T14:55:00.000-08:00

Donnie Yen brings back the character Chen Zhen - first portrayed by Bruce Lee in Fists of Fury - in this great piece of Pulp Cinema.

Chen Zhen was part of the Chinese units fighting in the Great War. They fought in service units - 150,000 men were sent to the front lines by the Chinese government - most had no military training, yet were there in battle supporting the allies. They carried artillery shells and dug trenches, hauled dead and suffered heavy casualties.

When his unit falls under heavy sniper and machine-gun fire, Chen Zhen snaps. He takes out the whole sniper squad and he and the survivors of his unit finally get to go back to Shanghai.

Despite the aid given the allies in the war, by 1925, China stood alone against a building Japanese invasion. There were student protests and isolated pockets of resistance, but Chen Zhen tried to stay out of it. But finally, the slights and comments and pushing around got to be too much and Chen Zhen snapped.

Swiping a costume from a display case outside a popular cinema, Chen Zhen dons the costume of the Masked Warrior (not to be confused with Kato's outfit) and takes the attack to the heart of the Japanese aggressors.

The action is terrific, the cinematography is first class, the story is compelling, and Donnie Yen proves himself to be a great star in this film directed by Andrew Lau, best known for Infernal Affairs. The supporting cast is great, especially the lovely ingenue played by Qi Shu.

The historical setting of the Japanese incursion into China, just as the Provinces are trying to unify, lends weight and depth to the story in a very pleasing manner; giving weight to the action and justification for the fights.

I give Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen a 9 out of 10. This is a great pulp film.

Tannhäuser Tuesday - Tannhäuser Novel Announced

2012-01-10T18:30:00.000-08:00

Fantasy Flight Games has finally announced the Tannhäuser novel Rising Sun, Falling Shadows. I say finally because the book has been on Amazon for months.

The cover on Amazon

Here is what Fantasy Flight has to say about the book:

"Fantasy Flight Publishing, Inc. is pleased to announce the upcoming release of Rising Sun, Falling Shadows, a novel by Robert Jeschonek! This gripping novel based in the war-torn alternate history of Tannhäuser brings fan-favorite characters vividly to life, while drawing newcomers into a war-torn world where science and the supernatural clash to determine the fate of humanity.

In the midst of perpetual war, a far-eastern warrior sect with a shadowy agenda has set out toward the evergreen peninsula of Kamchatka. Can Union Major John McNeal and the elite soldiers of the 42nd Marines stop their sinister plot before it’s too late? And what terrible powers lie hidden in the verdant wilderness? The race is on to discover ancient secrets that could finally bring the Great War to its climactic end!

For more information on this exciting novel, including insights from the author himself, visit our Rising Sun, Falling Shadows website. Then, look for Rising Sun, Falling Shadows at your local bookstore in the second quarter of 2012!"

The Amazon description says it is 336 pages and will be out July 10th.

I feel U-Chronic!

Pulp of the Week - Bonus! The Lucid Dreaming

2012-01-07T13:19:00.000-08:00

Stoker Award winning writer Lisa Morton has written a disturbing and fantastic novella about the breakdown of humanity as told through the eyes of young woman named Ashley. As it turns out, Ashley, in addition to despising her name also spends her days at a state mental facilty. It seems she is a violent schizophrenic that calls herself Spike, partly because she likes it and partly because everyone else calls her that.

I won't go to much into the specifics of the story because as a novella, every word counts and everything is critical. What I will say is that some kind of plague has hit the world and it turns everyone into stark razing psychopathic murderers.

Spike is on her meds, so she finds herself alone in a world where everyone wants to kill everyone else, and by the time she breaks out of the hospital, the world has gone bad.

The cross country adventure that Spike has reminded me just a little of Harlan Ellison's A Boy and His Dog. Probably the bleakness and stark prose.

I liked The Lucid Dreaming a lot (I'll give it a 9 out of 10) and will pick up more of Lisa Morton's books. The Lucid Dreaming was published by Bad Moon Books. More information about Lisa Morton can be found here. The cover painting is by Zach McCain. His work can be found here.

Pulp of the Week - Doc Savage 30

2012-01-07T12:29:00.000-08:00

August 1935 - Spook Hole

Spook Hole begins in New York with a one-armed man and a seafaring scalawag having a brutal encounter on the docks of Manhattan.

Those docks are an important setting for this adventure. One unique feature of this saga is the number of potential villains that are introduced quite quickly in this adventure.

There is the one-armed man,

The thug with baseball bat sized bundle of wires wrapped in heavy tape,

The femme fatale, Nancy Law,

The brutal Captain Wapp,

The thug in pursuit, Oliver Orman Braski,

The mysterious Hezemiah Law,

The denizens of the Spook Hole,

And the traitorous sailor, Sass.

There are a number of unusual features of this novel. Pat Savage makes a brief but memorable appearance. In one scene, Doc's unconcious trilling gives him away. There is also an interesting aside about how a few years earlier there was a boom in small airports. "... airports mushroomed up with great frequency around New York, not a few of them be located in spots so unhandily located that only the enthusiastic promoters dreamed they would ever be useful in a practical way. The result is that at present many weed-grown flying fields are eyesores in the suburbs."

There are the usual fights, shootouts, disguises, and in the end the deep mystery of the Spook Hole itself.

For this review I read my battered Bantam copy that I bought at a library book sale many decades ago. The book was published in Sept 1972. The paperback cover is an iconic one by Fred Pfeiffer. Visit the Pfeiffer Pfiles blog for more information about this great painter. The pulp cover is by Walter Baumhofer. The interior illustrations are by Paul Orban and once again come from Chris Kalb's great Doc site.

I'll give Spook Hole a 7 out of 10. There is far too much mucking around back and forth in New York and not nearly enough of interest once they get to the Spook Hole.

Congratulations, Miah

2012-01-06T17:27:00.000-08:00

Friend of the Blog, Miah, of the Tannhäuser Blog, has had his first Tannhäuser strategy article published on the Fantasy Flight Games site. You can read his article about choosing equipment packs HERE.

This is yet another good sign that Fantasy Flight is showing continued support for Tannhäuser. Here's hoping that support lasts a long time.

Cheers, Jeremiah!

Tannhäuser Tuesday - Operation Hinansho Released

2012-01-03T14:43:00.000-08:00

Operation Hinansho is released and in stores now!!!

Miah - where does TH18 fit into your list?

I skipped over the parts of the rulebook that FFG put out as a PDF. Here are the 9 new scenarios.

New stuff to spruce up your older maps!

There is an entry point in the middle of each edge for your 3-4 player games.

Who left the radio out in the woods?!?

A nice spot for a secret passageway token...

Lots of places for locked doors.

Entry 1

Entry Point 2

Entry Point 3

Entry Point 4

I think the new maps are great and I like that there is support for 2-4 players now. That is a major plus for getting more people to try Tannhäuser.

I feel U-Chronic!!!

2012-01-01T22:26:00.000-08:00

2012 will be a time of change and growth here at Savage Tales. For one thing, I will be launching a new web site to promote and sell my fiction. The inaugural offering will be a novella, The Zeppelin, which introduces my pulp character, Clark Tyler, as a young man that chooses to head off to the Great War at age 17. So far, I have written four novella length tales with Clark, spanning the years 1917 to 1942. The Zeppelin is edited and I'll be putting up on Kindle as soon as I can manage.

In addition, I have an exciting story featuring Ki-Gor, the Jungle Lord, appearing in Jungle Tales Vol. One from Airship 27 sometime early in the year. This story features a supporting character that will be familiar to early readers of this blog... Airship 27s The Green Lama Volume One is still available in print and features my story that takes the Green Lama to Hollywood. A revised version of this story will be one of the novellas released this year.

The Savage Tales blog will carry on its mission of featuring news and highlights in the boardgame and speculative fiction world. I provided reports from 4 major conventions in 2011, and I don't yet know what 2012 will bring.

One feature that will be added here will be my experience with creating ebooks and printed books through my own imprint. Details on that will appear after the legal paperwork goes through. I will say that the name of the new website and the name of my imprint should not shock the readers of this blog.

I continue to be thrilled and amazed by the number of visitors and pages read here at Savage Tales. I thank you all for your interest and support.

Pulp of the Week - Sliding Void by Stephen Hunt

2011-12-29T17:25:00.000-08:00

Sliding Void
by Stephen Hunt

Sliding Void is a fun space opera tale that sets up the series of the same name. It is the story of how erstwhile Prince Calder Durk of the frozen planet Hesperus meets Captain Lana Fiveworlds of the starship Gravity Rose.

Lana's ship is an independent freighter and she's looking for a cargo run to get her off of the "Planet of the Balls" (as the first chapter is called). Before she is completely desperate a courier vessel arrives. The courier passes on a message to Lana from a former crewman, Rex Matobo. The message says, "I would appreciate it if you came quickly." There were co-ordinates. As it turns out, Rex is in trouble on Hesperus.

Sliding Void is a fast-paced science fiction story that doesn't overstay its welcome and leaves you wanting more. It is classic SF space opera, and the beginning of the promise that eBooks can fill the voids left behind by mainstream publishers. There are not many straight forward science fiction adventure books getting onto store shelves these days. Kristine Rusch's Diving series is a welcome exception to that rule.

But now, because of ebooks, authors can write what they want to write and easily publish it themselves, regardless of what the publishers are interested in doing or what their marketing departments think will sell. I'm not even sure that the publishers are really trying to sell books anymore. I think they shoot for a hand full of blockbuster best sellers to keep themselves afloat and then sell movie rights to make a profit.

Regardless, what the big publishers do doesn't matter as much to me anymore because individuals like Stephen Hunt, KW Jeter, Mike Stackpole, Kris Rusch, and Dean Smith are writing what excites them and putting them out on their own. As with everything else, the internet has allowed niche interests to find their audience.

I will reading more about Lana Fiveworlds and her crew in the next book called, Transference Station, also an ebook original. Stephen Hunt is most famous for his steampunk novels including, The Court of the Air, Rise of the Iron Moon (Great Title!), and The Kingdom Beyond the Waves.

For this review I read the ebook of Sliding Void. I give it an 7.5 out of 10. This is solid, well written space opera. I may have to delve into Mr. Hunt's steampunk as well.

Pulp of the Week - Robin Hood: Arrow of Justice by I.A. Watson

2011-12-23T19:23:00.000-08:00

I.A. Watson is a writer to watch. His second Robin Hood novel is as delightful as the first and I can't wait for the concluding chapter that will be released next year. This series is a real gem and a feather in Airship 27 Production's cap. Look for the printed book here and the ebook here.

The first volume, King of Sherwood, established the famous Robin Hood and the whole cast of characters, including the vicious, spiteful Sheriff of Nottingham. In Arrow of Justice, the story continues and while there are no shocking surprises, the tale is well told and the characters are vividly brought to life. If I was forced to find a fault with the book the only thing I could think of would be that on the cover of a book called Arrow of Justice, you might want to have the hero holding a bow.

For this review I read the ebook, priced at only $3. That, my friends is a steal. I am looking forward to the final book of this trilogy (although I hope the series continues past that) called Freedom's Outlaw.

Arrow of Justice is a great read that I would recommend for all readers from teens to adults. Cheers to IA Watson!

The cover painting is again by the very talented Michael Manly. I think he captures Robin and Marion's charm nicely.

Tannhäuser Tuesday - Natalya Kaminski

2011-12-20T14:18:00.000-08:00

The newest release in the FFG Tannhäuser universe is a Russian that stomps around in power armor carrying a seriously righteous Lightning Cannon. Natalya Kaminski is a Matriarchy Epic Hero that worked with Oksana Gusarenko on restoring and enhancing some of Tesla and Rossum's cast-offs.

The Kostjak Bronka Apparat Suit and the Volta Lightning Cannon are the main part of her arsenal. The rest of her kit boils down to support for these two items.

The KBA Suit allows Natalya to re-roll up to two dice on your shock roll. However, if the re-roll rolls a natural 1, Natalya takes an additional wound.

The Lightning Cannon is a Heavy Automatic weapon that allows you to target an additional adjacent character to the character you are attacking. You make one attack roll and each target rolls their own shock roll.

The Command Pack also includes that token MASSIVE that allows all allies adjacent to Natalya to roll an extra die on their shock rolls. Nice.

While the illustration of Natalya is one of my favorites in the Tannhäuser universe, the figure itself is one of the worst. The sculpture is chunky and limited in detail compared to the others in the line. In addition, the pose is not great and her head is too big. She is big, though. Now to test her in battle...

The Ladies of Tannhäuser

I feel U-Chronic!!!

Pulp of the Week - Goliath by Scott Westerfeld

2011-12-05T16:07:00.000-08:00

Written by Scott Westerfeld

Illustrated by Keith Thompson

Goliath is the concluding book in the Steampunk alternate history World War I trilogy by Scott Westerfeld and Keith Thompson. Wow is this book good. It is a fantastic conclusion to a marvelous series. This is a great, globe-spanning book. It rivals and perhaps surpasses part one, Leviathan, in quality and imagination.

One of the most satisfying things about the book is how it changes and adds many things (locale, supporting players) but stays true to the heart of the series and truly wraps it us in a way few series manage. I really enjoyed the way that Westerfeld wove additional historic figures into the story. We meet Tesla, William Randolph Hearst, and a certain Mexican outlaw general. Goliath is a top notch book and if you are a reader that doesn't like to start a series until all the books are written, you can dig in now.

Goliath is one of the best books I have read in a long time. I heartily recommend it to anyone interested in science fiction, steam punk, or adventure fiction. The novel is full of many surprises and twists and turns and some moments of terrific action and emotional resonance.

Thompson's copious illustrations illuminate and propel the pace of the story. Westerfeld himself has remarked on how seeing the drawings led to changes in the text. This time the drawings don't just sit on one page, but cross two on occasion.

This is a strong contender for best novel in many categories, and I will be adding Goliath to my Pulp Factory, Pulp Ark, Locus, and Hugo nominations.

I hope you enjoyed that fun bit of art. It's is a joke, a gag, a laugh that appeared on Scott Westerfeld's tumblr. It is not a spoiler, but it is a fun piece of art.

If you like adventure, read the Leviathan Trilogy.

200,000 is cool

2011-12-05T00:11:00.000-08:00

The Savage Tales blog has hit 200,000 page views.

Thanks to all the readers and lurkers and drive-bys.

I'll have a lot of cool stuff coming up in 2012. The big thing for me will be to get a bunch of novellas up for every eReader under the sun, and to build a proper website for my publishing.

thanks again, everyone.

Tannhäuser Tuesday - Incoming!

2011-11-29T18:01:00.000-08:00

Here is your Tannhäuser upcoming product update...

The Natalya Hero Pack is on the truck and headed to stores! You should be able to buy this NOW.

Operation Hinansho is on the boat and should be in store before the end of the year.

The Matriarchy Troop Pack is still listed as being at the factory, so who knows...

Pulp of the Week - Doc Savage 29

2011-11-27T21:08:00.000-08:00

July, 1935 - Quest of Qui

The opening of Quest of Qui is a classic. A Viking Longship drifts lifelessly alongside an eighty-foot yacht. The passengers and crew of the wealthy ship come out to have a look. Then, startlingly, Vikings pour out of the Longship's hold and swarm the yacht, forcing everyone aboard to trade ships. The yacht cruised to parts unknown and the Longship, after much struggle, arrives at a harbor on the tip of Long Island.

That same night, William Harper Littlejohn was at the movies and saw footage of the ship in a newsreel. His expert eye gave him little doubt that the ship was authentic. He left a message on Doc Savage's answering machine and headed to Long Island in the morning.

Thus begins the 28th supersaga, a story of ice, snow, near freezing and falling in ice crevasses. Oh, and lost civilizations, but you probably already figured that out.

Quest of Qui is more prime goodness from Street and Smith. It was great to see Johnny get the opening scene, using all his archaeological knowledge and to be recognized while he is examining the Longship.

From the scene where Johnny is at the movies - "William Harper Littlejohn was a very erudite gentleman, but he occasionally attended the cinema for relaxation." - we can see that movies then were kind of like television is now. It has the perception of being for the masses, whereas in fact, almost everyone watches TV.

The Hidalgo Trading Company is firebombed, destroying all of Doc's planes.

There is also a rare scene where there is a bit of racism sneaking into the text. Doc asks Ham if he has cold weather clothes. "Brand new," Ham admitted. "Made by the best fur house in the city. No crude Eskimo work on them."

The story also mentions a passenger "Tri-motor biplane." I hadn't heard of such things, but here you go… Well a model of one anyway...

Quest of Qui also features the expression, "Nerts to you!" meaning "you get nothing," or "up yours."

Doc also does one of the most amazing things he has ever done in one of these stories. He shoots the wiring off a plane engine that is circling high overhead. He wanted to bring it down, but at the same time be able to fix the motor and use the plane. That is good shooting!

I'll give Quest of Qui an 8 out of 10. It has some great stuff, but there is way too much floundering in arctic snow. It gets repetitive. And Johnny is wearing just a jacket with blankets wrapped around his feet. While people get cold, there are no repercussions for not being well enough equipped.

The pulp cover by Walter Baumhofer is a head shot of Doc, which may have been created for other purposes and reused here. The pulp interior illustrations are by Paul Orban.

The Bantam paperback cover is by James Bama and is one of the great Doc covers. There was also a Golden Press edition, which has a beautifully composed cover by Ben Otero.

Once again, a big thanks to Chris Kalb's 86th Floor website for the interior illos...

Pulp of the Week - Ganymede by Cherie Priest

2011-11-24T22:34:00.000-08:00

Author Cherie Priest returns to the Clockwork Century in her new book, Ganymede. This marks a glorious fourth book in the series. In Ganymede, Priest turns her eye again to Andan Cly, the airship Captain, and sometime pirate, introduced in the excellent novel Boneshaker. If you have not read Boneshaker, go buy that book, read it, then read Ganymede.

In this adventure, Captain Cly is trying hard to escape his pirate ways. He gets a mysterious offer from an old flame from New Orleans, Josephine Early, who is in need of an airship captain. But Cly is looking to settle down a bit in Seattle, finding himself attracted to the local Sheriff (remember the end of Boneshaker?), but decides to take the offer which when finished will allow him to pick up a load of supplies that Seattle desperately needs. Cly and crew take his airship to New Orleans, but as it turns out, Josephine doesn't need his ship at all. She wants Cly and his crew to pilot a captured ship prototype and deliver it to the Union forces. She is hoping the new ship's capabilities will bring an end to the war.

New Orleans is a city occupied by the Texians on behalf of the Confederacy. Rebels are fighting this occupation, but the battle is tough and Texas is looking to rout the rebels from their hideaway in the swamp. Josephine and her brother are part of the rebels.

I loved the interplay between Andan Cly and Josephine Early. They have the tug of lost love and the reality of the now. Can the flames rekindle, or not. Josephine runs the Garden Court Boarding House which is better known as "Miss Early's Place" and the home of "Miss Early's Girlies." Josephine is a great character; tough, sassy and vulnerable. The scenes with the two of them are outstanding.

The novel is chock-a-block with other great characters, some new, some familiar. There is Ranger Korman from Dreadnought, Josephine's rebel brother Deaderick, a few of the "Girlies", Airship Naahmah Darling crew Huey and Fangand, and mysterious voodoo priestess, Marie Laveau. Rest assured, there are rotters here, their presence has spread to the bayou, though the locals call them zombis (not a typo) not many of them are convinced of their reality. Hardly anyone knows about or believes the zombis exist.

There are air pirates and sea battles, and tons of inventive adventure in between. I loved this book and will not spoil it in this review (as usual). Cherie Priest has delivered the goods here and I look forward to further books in the series.

The cover once again is by Jon Foster. He has done all four books in the series.

I give Ganymede a 9 out of 10.

Game Spotlight - Dungeon Run

2011-11-19T21:42:00.000-08:00

Dungeon Run is Plaid Hat Games second outing with a big box game. They entered the game market with 2 small starter packs for Summoner Wars and when the game exploded, they were ready with lots of well play-tested expansions and then this summer, the Master Set, a big expansion in a big box with room for everything you already had for Summoner Wars.

Now they have published a greatly expanded version of Mr. Bistro's print-and-play game, Dungeon Run. Why are you running, you ask? Because your friends are trying to kill you.

Here's why... Your party enters a dungeon for the ultimate prize in all of Itharia - a Summoning Stone.

Yes, Dungeon Run is part of the Summoner Wars Universe. Here you will battle Goblins, Ghouls, Ghosts and scads of things that don't begin with G, like Mummies, Skeletons, Fire Drakes, and Mole Ogres. The character that exits the dungeon with the Summoning Stone wins.

The credits of this game reinforce the fun factor. Designer: Mr. Bistro (fun name). Producer: Colby Dauch (Summoner Wars designer). Editor: Chris Dupuis (Heroscape fans will remember Sir Dupuis. He also worked on a little thing called Risk: Legacy...

The art is by Summoner Wars artists John Ariosa and Sergi Marcet and the figures were sculpted by Chad Hoverter.

Where the P-n-P version was a solitaire game, Mr. Bistro expanded the published version into a competitive / cooperative hybrid that is a whole lot of fun. There is a ton of options available which should keep the game fresh through many plays.

As an example, you can play with 1 to 6 players. There are 35 different encounter cards, 8 base characters (each with 10 different ability cards available), 26 treasures and artifacts, 4 bosses (the big baddies in the Dungeon), and 26 dungeon tiles.

The players can charge in and attack the dungeon together, or they can attack each other. Usually it will be some of each. Some of the baddies are tough enough it is worth it to help each other to kill it, especially the big game ending creatures, the Bosses. They are tough, but you don't want to weaken yourself too much fighting the Boss, because after the Boss is dead you will be fighting the other players.

Of course you could try to kill the other players first, but that may make it a whole lot tougher on yourself.

As the game goes on you will defeat monsters and disarm traps. You can trade the cards you earn to level up and make yourself more powerful. You do this by trading 2 of the creature and trap cards you have earned and drawing 2 ability cards - but you can only keep one. The other is discarded out of the game.

When more than one character is in a particular dungeon space each player can chose to assist, sabotage, or do nothing when the other character is in combat.

Dungeon Run is one of those games that creates stories that you will remember long after the play is over. There is yelling, cussing, and laughing. If you haven't figured it out yet, I think it is a great game.

Adding to the quality of the game are the terrific components, starting with the shiniest box I have ever seen. The cards are durable linen finished, the tiles and counters thick, the figures are great, and the art and graphic design sell the theme. There are 20 dice included as well. I happened to get a review copy from Plaid Hat Games, but you can pick it up at your local store or internet retailer. Miniature Market has it for $33. You get a lot of fun for that cheap a price.

Did I mention the figures are great? Yep I did and I'll do it again. The figures are great and Plaid Hat Games should be proud of the quality of this game. I am not alone in loving this game.

Drakkenstrike said, "Dungeon Run was really one of my favorite games to be showcased at the 2011 Origins game fair… When having sat down at both events (Origins and Gen Con) to play demonstrations of the game with my wife, we agree that this was the best light dungeon crawler out there…"

Tom Vasel recently ranked Dungeon Run as the 48th best game of all time and said, "I love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love this game. I really, really do. The components, the miniatures are great, the variety is huge… The characters are very different, the combat system is neat, and the backstabbing element is huge…

There you go. If you like fun, this is it. Fun.

The game can be played by 1-6 players, but I would recommend 4 as the sweet spot. The solo play is ok, but it is much more fun with other people to mess with.

You can buy Dungeon Run Here.

Tannhäuser Tuesday - Operation Hinansho Detailed

2011-11-15T13:10:00.000-08:00

Operation Hinansho

This expansion contains:

Two-Sided Map :

Kitamon Research Base in Japan

Union Airplane Crash Site on Okinawa Island

The new maps have paths that follow a new basic rule - if the base of a character can fit in the space between two circles without touching them, then they are NOT adjacent.

New Rules for the new map features and tokens.

Bunch of Tokens including those for new rules like Volatile Rubble, Locked Wooden Doors, and Locked Reinforced Doors. There are also the full Faction Tokens for the Shogunate - Objectives Tokens, Command Point Tokens and Flag Tokens. The remaining tokens are for Story Mode, and Covert and Gate tokens.

New Circle Types:

Locked Door

Sniper Circle

Covert Circle

Volatile Circle

There are a number of new circle types in this expansion.

Locked Doors

When a Locked Door token is on the appropriate circle, the door is locked and characters may not move into that circle. The Locked Door tokens contains 2 skill icons; green and red. If a character adjacent to the locked door has a skill matching the green icon, they can spend one movement point to open the door. If they do not have that skill, the door is unlocked by using 3 movement points.Anyone next to the door can spend one movement point to close it and it is locked again. Any character adjacent to the locked door with a matching skill to the red icon may try to smash the door, permanently destroying it. Reinforced doors require the Mechanic skill and Wooden doors the Athletics skill.

Covert Circles and Tokens

Now they're getting tricky. Covert circles can target Sniper circles if their icons match in color. They may also target characters in circles that match the color of the covert targeting icon (green in the example picture. Additionally, the character inside the covert circle can be targeted by anyone they can target, BUT… only Natural 10's count as hits when attacking the character in the Covert circle.

Just to make it more fun, grenades thrown from a Covert circle and using the Covert ability don't bounce. Grenades thrown at a Covert circle follow the normal rules.

There are also Covert Tokens that can be placed in certain scenarios.

Volatile Circle and Volatile Rubble

Before they are activated, characters pass through these circles normally. Once activated, all characters that share the volatile path take three automatic hits and a volatile rubble token is placed in the circle. Any character that passes through this rubble takes 3 automatic attack successes (in addition to the movement penalty of the rubble.)

Gate Tokens
You can now connect two maps together using these new tokens. Put two maps next to each other and place a couple of these tokens down to bridge the gap between the two maps.

I think you could also use these to connect the stair cases on the original maps to allow an upstairs and downstairs to be easily identified…

The rest of the rule book is not included, but the Gate Token section mentions you can play these big double maps with "Large Teams" - 5 Heroes and 4 Troops, or with 4 teams.

The Cost
I am not sure why FFG did not release the Shogunate items as one big box set like the Matriarchy, but it probably has to do with price.

$29.95 - Operation Hinansho
$12.95 - Iroh
$12.95 - Mizu
$12.95 - Itami
$19.95 - Troops
$85.85 - Total - I don't think the included Equipment Cards raise the price by $25.90 over the Novgorod set which is also a full Faction. Being able to buy them piecemeal also spreads the payment out into manageable chunks, instead of the one big hit.

$59.95 - Operation Novgorod
$69.95 - Base Game

Operation Hinansho and the Matriarchy Natalya pack are currently listed as being 'On the boat' which typically means 4 to 6 weeks.

Pulp of the Week - Doc Savage 28

2011-11-03T21:37:00.000-07:00

June, 1935 - The Roar Devil

The Roar Devil fits right in with this recent group of Doc Savage novels where an astounding device is being used by a criminal gang to steal vast amounts of cash. Here, the gimick is a machine that causes earthquakes and another that silences all sound. The descriptions of the soundless world are quite good and raise the book up a level.

There is another standard Doc Savage adventure fixture in this novel as well - the plucky girl. However, this particular girl, Retta Kenn, is a standout and such an enjoyable character that she raises the story up even more that The Roar Devil's outlandish (and as usual, unexplained) premise.

Here, Retta Kenn meets Renny...

His long arms gathered her in. His big right hand clamped over her gun. She surprised him. He had fought me, more times than he could remember. Few of them had equalled this girl. She must have been an avid exponent of physical culture. She knew something of jujitsu, too. She kicked him and hit him with terrific force. They were both on the floor before Renny got the gun and that was something he would never brag about, because he considered his own strength by no means ordinary.

"Holy Cow!" Renny puffed, and got to his feet. "Talk about your wildcats!"

The girl was up like a shot and nearly demonstrated she could outrun him. He caught her fifty yards from the cabin. She knocked him down once, beautifully, something he would have sworn that no woman could do.

"What'd you come up here looking for?" he demanded.

"Nuts to you!" said the female fire-eater.

Retta Kenn proceeds to break out of the bonds he ties her in, kicks the hide off his shin, and "gave him a marvelous black eye."

Retta Kenn is, for my money, one of the great supporting characters in the series so far and one of the main reasons I liked this novel as much as I did.

I read my Bantam paperback, bought new, May 1977 with a great cover by Boris Vallejo. The Pulp cover is by Walter Baumhofer. I'll give The Roar Devil an 8 out of 10.

Tannhäuser Tuesday - Miah's Blog

2011-10-25T13:52:00.000-07:00

Work is eating into my gaming and creating time... So my Tannhäuser Tuesday is to send you to Miah's Blog. He is getting a tremendous amount of cool stuff up during his contribute to the blog drive.

Take a look - including an online play engine.

Miah's Blog.

Pulp of the Week - Mockingjay

2011-10-21T12:12:00.000-07:00

Pulp of the Week - Mockingjay

by Suzanne Collins

The third book in the Hunger Games trilogy, Mockingjay, is a mixture of sweet and surprising, thrilling and frustrating. All in all, it is a solid final chapter to her terrific dystopian science fiction series. Once again, the YA section of the book business comes through and is doing some of the best storytelling.

If you have not read these books, stop here. There be SPOILERS AHEAD.

Mockingjay follows Katniss Everdeen into the underground world of District 13 and into the Capitol itself. She embraces her destiny and takes on the iconic role of the Mockingjay, that avatar of hope for the people of Panem. She trains as a warrior with Gale and goes into battle (mostly for the propaganda cameras) and takes the battle to the Capital.

She gets aid from people in the capitol and the freedom movement has spread there. A lonely shopkeeper hides them for a time and I can't help but visualize her as Eartha Kitt. A lovely character.

I feel that while Collins' writing is strong, like many third acts, it all sort of feels like a slog to the final showdown between her and the President Snow. But then the book finds some new life and I found their encounter both somewhat baffling, and yet somehow satisfying. The book ends in a somber tone, but after what Katniss has been through, I guess it is appropriate. She is changed forever and war is Hell.

I read the family's hardcover of Mockingjay and will give it an 8 out of 10. It really is a different kind of book than the others. Once again, the cover art is by Tim O'Brien and the cover design is by Elizabeth B. Parisi.

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New York Comic Con - Part 2

2011-10-20T12:02:00.000-07:00

Here are a smattering of pix from the 2011 New York Comic Con

Tannhäuser Tuesday - Summoner Wars Master Set

2011-10-18T22:00:00.000-07:00

The ridiculously fun game Summoner Wars has just released an all new way to get in on the action. Plaid Hat games calls it the Master Set. The game has a massive amount of fun in the box for a good price, especially if you shop around.

The Summoner Wars Master set includes six all-new factions to play in the game you might call "Magic the Gathering-lite" with tactics. Except instead of playing lands for mana, you have to sacrifice cards. And instead of attacking the other player, you are manuuevering your units to destroy the other player's most powerful card - the Summoner.

The Summoner is your key card in the game. Using his power, you can bring cards from your hand onto the board. Yes, the board. Summoner Wars is a board game that uses cards as your fighting forces.

Positioning is key. Choosing how to use your resources is critical, because you never have enough. You only get a 40 card deck and when they're gone, you just have to use what's left in your hand and on the board. The game plays fast and is so fun you'll want to play again.

The original 2 starter sets sold for $25 and were a smash hit. It was a lot of fun in a tiny box. But the people wanted more. They didn't like the printed paper play mat. So they made their own.

Some people got really fancy...

And Plaid Hat released more factions. And booster packs so you could mess around with your army deck. But not too much. The game stayed balanced. People have favorite factions, but they are all an even match. If you can figure out the right strategy.

Plaid Hat Games put out more faction decks and more boosters. Before you knew it, there were eight factions and a nice mounted gameboard.

Then came the surprise. The Master set. Six all new factions and an even nicer premium board for the same price as buying the two original sets. Fifty dollars. That's retail. Online you could probably find it (if you hurry - this baby is gonna sell out) for $35.

I easily fit my complete set of Summoner Wars stuff in this one box. However - the insert included does not handle sleeved cards, but some fans have found a way around this...

I really love this game and all the crazy new factions:

- Sand Goblins that scurry and can move their walls.

- Swamp Orcs that come with 15 extra wall cards (2 life each) in addition to their regular walls.

- Deep Dwarves that can tunnel and mess with your deck.

- Mountain Vargath that look like Roman Bighorn Sheep and can attack multiple times and stomp over units.

- Shadow Elves. All I can say is they look like Vampire Elves.

- Benders. These are powerful telepaths and telekinetics. Counter Summon. Steal Event Card. Mind Control. Glimpse the Future. Mind Capture.

The Swamp Orcs have 15 extra walls!

Now there are 14 different factions you can play and Plaid Hat Games is going to be releasing boosters for all of them. The game is stronger than ever and with the Master Set you get 3 times the game for only 2 times the price. Buy it and play it, Summoner Wars is great fun.

The new rulebook!

I received a review copy of the Master Set and I continue to be impressed with the commitment that Plaid Hat has for its fans and for their games. These guys just love games. If you ever doubt that, just listen to their podcast or go back and look at all the incredible Heroscape custom stuff that Colby Dauch did for fun. And he's still having fun - but now he is getting paid for it.