NUTS Kickstart Campaign showcase – NUTS Desert War

I haven’t written any posts for a while. I’ve been going nuts writing NUTS books and haven’t really had time for normal gaming! But with all the heavy writing done, I want to start introducing the NUTS books that will be in the Campaign, which is now planned for late November.

These Campaign books introduce several new Campaign mechanics that will make your games more interesting:

• “Star” background rules to take you from Bootcamp to Battle
• A “Grand Campaign” called “Your War” which links system generated campaigns together into a Grand Campaign that lets you try and game your Star’s own personal war – including the chance to be transferred to another Theatre.
• A new Area Map system that breaks the general large map areas down into specific maps you fight across. moving from area to area as you win or lose. And when you defeat the enemy’s campaign morale, you win the whole area.

NUTS Desert War

The NUTS – Desert War Campaign Book contains enhanced Campaign rules and a selection of historical campaigns that allow you to pick and play any campaign year of World War 2 in North Africa (1940-1943), from the Desert War to the campaigns in East Africa.

Inside you’ll find:

• A detailed timeline of the key events of the War in North Africa, from 1940-1943
• A Campaign map of the entire Desert War so your Star can fight from area to area to meet their objectives and win the War.
• Ten Campaigns and three Mini-Campaigns (Tobruk, Wadi Akarit and a Long Range Desert Group campaign) and sixteen sample scenarios from 1940 to 1943
• Desert warfare rules
• Detailed Army and Vehicle lists for all the combatants of the Desert War.
• You can play these Campaigns individually or link them together in a grand campaign called “NUTS – Your War” in which you try and guide your Star through the War.
  

Incoming! NUTS Kickstarter planning gets the Green Light!

Planning proceeds for a NUTS Kickstarter in Late Summer/Early Fall. This will be a big expansion of the NUTS ‘verse and will include:

• x4 Campaign books (Western Front, Eastern Front, Desert War, War Against Japan)
• NUTS Company Commander
• NUTS Hell Hath no Fury with lots of new content
• NUTS Weird War.
• Other unlocks could include Event Decks, more Battleboards and even STL print files for infantry and “Stars.” Stay tuned!

Oh, and don’t forget your wish list — comment here and let me know what *you* want to see in a NUTS KS campaign!

Writing Challenge – the OSR RPG Jam!

I’ve written a number of adventures and scenario books for tabletop miniatures systems, only dabbled with writing for tabletop RPGs (wrote some stuff for HERO Games….they never paid…). But in addition to the Two Hour Wargames adventures I play solo and with my son, we’ve also done Dungeons & Dragons 5e adventures and some OSR gaming. If you’re not aware of it, “OSR” stands for “Old School Rennaissance” or “Old School Revival” is a genre of indie Roleplaying Games that are patterned after the RPGs of the 1970s and 1980s.

Why, you might ask? Because more recent game editions, specifically D&D 5e can be fun, but have a totally different design basis from their roots. OSR games tend to be less heavy on mechanics, more direct and more deadly. In other words, OSR games tend to be gritty and grimdark, where your PC has to earn everything the hard way and you develop your PC’s backstory as you game.

In contrast, many current games like D&D 5e are aimed at more a high fantasy heroic scale, where the PCs already start out with feats and advantages and a formed backstory that provides a lot of in-game advantages. The game can be challenging but is overall usually much less lethal and gritty.

As a “Stranger Things” generation kid, when we played D&D, most of the time we wrote up our character on a 3×5 index card. Who needed detail when you probably wouldn’t survive to 3rd level? Don’t get too attached to your PC, you’ll need a new one next game session! Backstory? You developed that as you played….if you lived long enough!

So Old School games can be fun, and there’s been an explosion of indie TTRPGs using OSR style and D&D 3.5 edition Open Gaming License as the core mechanics.

Some of the leading fantasy OSRs include the grimdark Mork Borg, Lamentations of the Flame Princess, Old School Essentials Fantasy, and Lion & Dragon (and its Dark Albion setting). Oh, and the very whimsical Hobbit adventure OSR game called “Under Hill, By Water.” Then there’s the Cepheus Engine OSR, which keys off of Classic Traveller.

Well, now to the point – an OSR author launched an OSR Supplement Jam on Itch.io, so I decided to turn an adventure I played with my son in the Dark Albion setting (think Warhammer set in England during the War of the Roses kinda vibe) into a one-shot adventure called “Milk and Blood.”

Milk and Blood is a low level, introductory adventure for play in Dark Albion: The Rose War. It is intended for 1st (or possibly 2nd) level characters, and occurs mostly in the village of Bacton in Herefordshire. The PCs are called upon to investigate the disappearance of a child amidst a rising tide of pranks and odd goings-on that has caused the local priest to beg for help.

Milk & Blood is more of an investigation, involving mostly non-confrontational interactions with various NPCs, until solving the mystery. Then, at the conclusion of the adventure, the PCs should be able to uncover what has been happening — possibly aiding one powerful faction, and alienating another. Either path may provide useful plot hooks for future adventures.

https://itch.io/jam/osr-supplement-jam/rate/1442100

So if you have an OSR game you’ve been playing and want to try turning your adventures, special characters, settings and monsters into something — write it up and submit it!

https://itch.io/jam/osr-supplement-jam/entries

UDT “Winter” Tile for Roleplaying Games

After creating my first double-sided cavern/dungeon Ultimate Dungeon Terrain tiles for fantasy gaming, and then my double-sided science fiction tile (a Moonscape and a Martianscape), I’ve become a convert to the Ultimate Dungeon Terrain tile approach for all my RPGs and small-scale skirmish games. On to the next project – a double-sided Winter and Summer tile! Winter first because I’m running a D&D 5e “Rime of the Frostmaiden” campaign.

The completed Winter Tile

One side of the tile is Winter themed, the other is base coated pending completion to a Summer themed tile. For the Winter tile I didn’t want to inscribe hexes or a grid pattern, so I skipped that step, but did scribe the basic areas of the tile into place — the Far distance, Middle (or approach distance) and a circle for close action. I did carve a cracked ice looking pattern in the center circle, but didn’t take it as far as Professor Dungeonmaster did on his build, had a game schedule to keep! And of course, using a ball of tinfoil to create a distressed pattern across the surface.

I used a lighter to melt in some depressions and carved out a channel for what will be an icy stream or gap in the ice. Following the most excellent video from Dungeoncraft, I first used Mod Podge mixed with black paint to coat both sides, and after allowing it to thoroughly dry I then went over the Winter side with a blue/green Teal acrylic paint from the local Michaels (on sale at $0.90/bottle). From there I built up additional layers of successively lighter blues to give it an “old ice” look, followed off by a light drybrush of white and a light dusting of artificial “basing” snow from Army Painter.

For the “stream” I first painted it from the bottom up, with the darkest shades were it is supposed to be deep and lightening at the edges. I realized I didn’t have any resin “liquid water” on hand, so I decided to use clear Elmer’s Glue that I had on hand. This will dry clear, like the resin water, and give you a ncie water effect. The only downside to it is that as it dries it will contract, so you will have to touch it up a few times to complete this effect.

Then I bashed together a few winter terrain pieces out of pinkstuff foam, and got the figures onto the tile to explore the arctic dangers of Icewind Dale!

DUST unit cards for the Gear Krieg Loki & Longstreet WW2 Mechs

Gear Krieg is of course a great rule set that feeds into the future history of the Heavy Gear universe. But there are a number of Weird War 2 rule sets out there, and the 1/56th scale Gear Krieg walkers would be a great fit for any of them. Here we have the DUST stat cards for the US General Longstreet M12A1 and M12A3, and for the German PzKpf MkIV Loki Ausf A and Ausf C.

US General Longstreet Combat Mech

American walker designers realized early in the War that they needed a heavier, more survivable medium Walker — but one that could still be transported easily and be reliable. The Detroit motor works designed the M12 General Longstreet, with heavier armor and chassis and wheels for mobility. The initial production model, the M12A1, used the same 37mm gun as the M11 Early Walker and a hull mounted .30cal MMG, but was soon up-gunned to remain effective against the ever-evolving designs of the Axis powers. The M12A3 was armed with a 57mm M1 cannon. Some 12,000 Longstreet variants saw combat on all fronts from North Africa to the beaches of the Pacific theater, and served in all Allied armies.

General Longstreet M12A3 Combat Walker

Loki PzKpf IV Ausf A & Ausf C Combat Mech

The Loki design was based on the original 1926 Christy Walker chassis, secretly purchased by Germany, which tested three variants (the Panzkerkampfer MkI, MkII and MkIII) before putting the PzKpf IV Ausf A (Command/Scout Walker) into production in 1934. The Loki first saw combat during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1938), where its light armor and twin MG34s were outmatched by anything except infantry and light vehicles.  While it was not a good assault vehicle, it’s maneuverability and versatility made it an excellent command/scout vehicle. 

The Loki PzKpf IV Ausf C Combat Walker featured the 20mm KwK30 autocannon and manipulator arms. The durability of the Ausf C was improved adding armor to reinforce the front, and attach points that made the walker both glider- and air-droppable. As a result, a number of Loki Ausf C were used during Operation Mercury – the famous Fallschirmjager attack on Crete

The Loki was a solid, easy to produce and maintain vehicle that saw constant upgrades until production ceased in 1943.

Loki PzKpf MkIV Ausf A and Ausf C Combat Mechs

Gear Krieg Mecha stats for NUTS Weird War 2

I’ve been collaborating with some awesome 3D artists to produce 1/56th 3D print files of the Gear Krieg Weird War 2 combat mecha (from DreamPod 9).  These vehicles and some more background info from DP9 will be in the NUTS War Without End update, along with content for DUST (with permission from Paolo Parentes), giving players a couple of established settings and figures to game with using NUTS. Super brief background – in the Gear Krieg ‘verse J.W. Christie bent his creative engineering skills to developing the first “Walking Chassis” instead of the Christie tank chassis that revolutionized tank design. So in this Weird world, experimental combat mecha first saw action during the Spanish Civil War and then broadly during WW2.

Here’s what a US mech looks like — they can also convert between Driving mode for rapid mobility, to Walking mode for rough terrain and to do pop-up attacks.

GearKrieg vehicle cards for NUTSDownload

US Longstreet and German Loki combat walkers for 1/56th Gear Krieg (Weird War 2)

The new German Loki and US General Longstreet 28mm Scale (1/56 scale) 3D Model STL download files now available to order on the DP9 Online Store. A big thank you to the art team of James Ong & Brent Dietrich. James was lead artist, with aid from Brent who has a background in WW2 vehicle modelling. These two mechs form the core of the US and German walker forces during the Weird War 2 of Gear Krieg.

US Longstreet Combat Walker

German Loki PzKpf IV Combat Walker

https://www.dp9.com/2021/12/21/new-gear-krieg-3d-model-stl-files-available-and-using-reward-points-on-the-dp9-online-store-example/

Gear Krieg Walker – US General Longstreet M12A1 and M12A3 Combat Walker
American walker designers realized early in the War that they needed a heavier, more survivable medium Walker — but one that could still be transported easily and be reliable. The Detroit motor works designed the M12 General Longstreet, with hevaier armor and chassis and wheels for mobility. The initial production model, the M12A1, used the same 37mm gun as the M11 Early Walker and a hull mounted .30cal MMG, but was soon upgunned to remain effective against the ever-evolving designs of the Axis powers. The M12A3 was armed with a 57mm M1 cannon. Some 12,000 Longstreet variants saw combat on all fronts from North Africa to the beaches of the Pacific theater, and served in all Allied armies.

Gear Krieg Walker – German PzKpf IV Loki Ausf A Command/Scout Walker

The Loki design was based on the original 1926 Christy Walker chassis, secretly purchased by Germany, which tested three variants (the Panzkerkampfer MkI, MkII and MkIII) before putting the PzKpf IV Ausf A into production in 1934. The Loki first saw combat during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1938), where its light armor and twin MG34s were outmatched by anything except infantry and light vehicles. While it was not a good assault vehicle, it’s maneuverability and versatility made it an excellent command/scout vehicle. The Loki was a solid, easy to produce and maintain vehicle that saw constant upgrades until production ceased in 1943.

Gear Krieg Walker – German PzKpf IV Loki Ausf C Combat Walker

The Loki PzKpf IV Ausf C Combat Walker feautured the 2cm KwK30 autocannon and manipulator arms. The durability of the Ausf C was improved adding armor to reinforce the front, and attach points that made the walker both glider- and air-droppable. As a result, a number of Loki Ausf C were used during Operation Mercury – the famous Fallschirmjager attack on Crete.

James and Brent have been busy and we’ll have 2 more Gear Kreig 3D model releases in the next week, which will include 28mm scale (1/56 scale) weapons upgrade 3d model stl packs for the USA and Germany. And remember the British are Coming in January!

South Bay Gaming Club newsletter #05

The South Bay Gaming Club is a loose association of friends, acquaintances and guests playing miniature wargames in the southern San Francisco Bay area. Members are military history buffs and generally play historical miniatures with figures, although all genres of games, including science fiction, fantasy, and board games are played. Land, sea and air war games are played.

It has been challenging to maintain the social engagement of in-person game club meetings under COVID lockdown conditions and other events, but despite these challenges the club was able to meet in November and October, so thanks to the members who organized events and attended.

In this issue:

• SANTA ODIN!
• CRAFT TIPS
• ENCOUNTER AT VILLA ALBA FOR PANZERCORPS (SCW)
• AKAMAR HERALD
• QUIZ – FAMOUS MILITARY LEADERS
• FIXING FIGURES
• A TRIP DOWN THE RIVER – A RAPID FIRE! SCENARIO
• THE MAGNETIC GAME BOARD
• MILITARY HISTORY TRIVIA

I hope you enjoy — and if you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, we meet once a month in Saratoga, CA. Come visit us at:

club@sbgc.groups.io

https://www.facebook.com/groups/855293127949256/

SBGC newsletter Issue 05 Winter 2021 FINALDownload

Using your 1/56th scale Gear Krieg Walkers with Konflikt ’47

Gear Krieg is of course a great rule set that feeds into the future history of the Heavy Gear universe. But there are a number of Weird War 2 rule sets out there, and the 1/56th scale Gear Krieg walkers would be a great fit for any of them. Here are the top Weird War 2 tabletop minis rules that have been or are in print:

• AE-WW2
• DUST
• Gear Krieg
• Konflikt-47
• NUTS War Without End
• Secrets of the Third Reich

In this article are the unofficial K-47 unit cards for the first four 1/56th scale Gear Krieg releases.

GearKrieg vehicle cards for Konflikt 47Download

Using your 1/56th scale Gear Krieg Walkers with DUST

Gear Krieg is of course a great rule set that feeds into the future history of the Heavy Gear universe. But there are a number of Weird War 2 rule sets out there, and the 1/56th scale Gear Krieg walkers would be a great fit for any of them. Here are the top Weird War 2 tabletop minis rules that have been or are in print:

• AE-WW2
• DUST
• Gear Krieg
• Konflikt-47
• NUTS War Without End
• Secrets of the Third Reich

In this article are the unofficial DUST unit cards for the first four 1/56th scale Gear Krieg releases.

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