National Novel Writing Month is almost here!

It's almost time for another National Novel Writing Month, the online contest in which you try to write a 50,000 word (about 150 page) novel in 30 days.  Last year I wrote a horror/slash/ghost story that was a lot of fun to write, even though I think I'd have more success if I marketed it as a cure for insomnia. 

This year, I was planning on starting with a blank slate and just making up the story as I went.  But then after talking with some people on the message boards, I decided to try something else.  Also, after 7 months, I finally finished writing my science fiction novel, Dark Stream.  Since I felt drained after that, I figured this year's NaNo would just be a fun project instead.

Last year, I read Zastrozzi, which has become one of my favorite novels.  In it, the 'hero' Zastrozzi hunts down and makes life miserable for the 'villain' Verezzi.  Now I used quotes because the actual roles of hero and villain are a gray area to most.  Personally, I see the title character as the hero, especially after he killed his scumbag father.  Unfortunately in a bittersweet ending (spoiler alert!), the novel ends in a bittersweet manner with Zastrozzi causing Verezzi to kill himself but getting arrested and executed himself. 

Enter my fanfiction story.

In Zastrozzi, the Rescue, the title character's servants; Bianca, Bernardo, and Ugo, set out to rescue their friend.  I even made a cover just for fun, along with a synopsis.

After witnessing the murder of her parents at the hands of a corrupt priest, young Bianca flees her Italian village and meets Zastrozzi.  Under his guidance, she learns to focus her anger and to use her mind and creativity to strike at those who threaten her.  Disguised as a a crone, Bianca serves Zastrozzi and helps him achieve revenge against his father and half brother.

But when Zastrozzi gets arrested and the priest who murdered her parents sentences him to execution, Bianca hatches a plan, and with the help of Zastrozzi's former servants, Bernardo and Ugo, sets out not only to save her friend but to get her own measure of revenge.

If you're interested in trying NaNo, you can find the web site here:

https://nanowrimo.org/dashboard

Sign up is free.  You just need a way to write on your computer, tablet, Ipad, etc.

Good luck!

Captain Nemo - Unleash . . . Tickle?

August 23, 19-

It's been ten years since Captain Nemo gave me command of his vessel, the Nautilus.  Since then, my friends and I found an island and turned it into our base.  The natives, we befriended, and I ended up finding a wife, a lovely and intelligent woman who picked up my language far quicker than I could learn hers.

We also discovered a baby creature resembling the ones who attacked our vessel years earlier.  This one, the offspring of a much larger beast, watched its mother get slaughtered by British naval ships.  Despite its species' propensity for violence, this little guy attached itself to us once we rescued it.  I named him Tickle, since he liked to tickle my arm with his tentacles.

Now he's fully grown and seeks to help us guard our island from outside threats.  I believe the time has come to put our little friend to the test.

Captain Nemo is a roleplaying game from THW Games Design.  In the base game, Nemo loans you command of the Nautilus and sends you on a series of missions.  If you prove yourself, if ultimately gives you his ship and retires.  These missions vary from collecting food, to fighting opponents, and even attacking naval vessels and sea monsters.

Not long ago, I had finished the missions and got the Nautilus.  However, the game doesn't have to end, and I decided to run the missions as post-quest encounters.

"Captain!"  Mr. Mars motioned for me to look through his binoculars.  "Ship approaching and rapidly!"

I looked through and saw it, a British Cutter.  The natives had told us about soldiers who assaulted other villages and kidnapped their people.  The natives here were our friends, and I wasn't about to leave them to the mercy of the British military.

Perhaps it was time for Tickle's first test.

Captain Nemo contains two types of table for Naval Battles, one for ships and one for sea monsters.  I used the sea monster one with the enemy vessel in place of the Nautilus.  Since this was Tickle's first test, I started him at Rep 3.  Unfortunately, I generated an enemy ship with a Rep 5 captain.  Tickle's first challenge was going to be a tough one!

"Open the gates!"  I called to my crew.  Tickle spent most of his time resting in the giant cave that we converted into the Nautilus' hanger.  With the gates opening, the giant creature sawam out.  Noticing the enemy ship, he bee-lined straight for it.

Despite having the lower Rep, Tickle gained the advantage and struck the enemy ship, causing minor damage.  The ship attempt a ram but missed.  The battle went back and forth for several minutes (real time) until Tickle finally gained the advantage.

Finally, the ship failed its final roll and keeled over (See what I did there?).

We could hear the screams all the way from the shore as the great beast dragged the ship and its crew to the depths.  An hour later, he returned to the cave and slept for several days straight.  We don't know the details of what happened, but I dread the thought.  And although what he did to the ship and its crew may have been horrifying, what those men would do to the natives, I fear, would be worse.  As far as I'm concerned, they're the real monsters!


That ended the encounter with Tickle winning.  Awarding him Increasing d6 (1 for the ship kill and I decided on 2 more for completing the encounter against a tougher foe), I rolled 3d6 and scored 1d6 higher.  Tickle gained experience and increased to Rep 4.


"Captain, soldiers on the beach!"  Mr. Toad pointed and I saw a small group of soldiers appear on the shore with weapons drawn.  Quickly, they vanished into the brush, heading straight for the nearby village, and we hurried to intercept them.  Whether they survived the attack or were dropped off before mattered little.  They sought revenge, and I determined to deny them all.  


I chose a Confrontation encounter for this one, with my group consisting of myself, Mr. Toad, and Mr. Mars.

Rolling for the enemy, I got 4 opponents, Rep 5, 5, 4, and 4 from the British Navy.  Now, usually you don't face the Naval soldiers on a Confrontation encounter, but I decided to make them the enemy after the previous encounter.  That's the beauty of THW games, it only takes a few tweaks to change the variables as you see fit.

Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures of the entire battle, so I'll summarize.  We won on the Action table and opened fire.  All of us carried weapons that fired more than one shot, and everyone scored a hit with at least one of their shots.  I hit once and missed the second.  Mr. Toad missed his first and scored with the second.  And Mr. Mars scored with both of his shots.

The numbers represent what I rolled for damage.  We scored kills or incapacitating shots on the first 3 opponents.  The 4th took off running, though I heard the natives found him, and although they didn't volunteer inf on what occurred, I chose not to ask.

My characters were already Rep 7 and above so instead of rolling our Increasing d6, I just kept them to go toward our retirement. 

A short game, but a fun one, especially with my first test of playing as the Sea Monster.

Re-introducing Chain Reaction!

Two Hour Wargames has just upgraded its Chain Reaction rules.  Chain Reaction are a set of sample rules to show you how THW titles are played.  Although THW titles range from wargames to roleplaying games, they all have one thing in common; no Game Master is needed.  You can play each of the games single player, same side, or even head to head.

Here is some sample game play from CR 2018:

While the previous version of CR used a 3 x 3 map for its games, CR 2018 uses a Battle Board, which is an 8"x 10" board.  This can be anything from a printed out map to an ordinary sheet of paper.  You can even buy a set of Battle Boards from THW.

Unfortunately, my printer ran low on ink, so I couldn't print out the Battle Board that came with the game and instead threw together a board from some game tiles.

My group of soldiers are ready for battle.  

Since there's no game master to tell you what's going on, games use Encounters to give you an objective.  I'm playing a Raid, in which my soldiers are attacking the enemy.  The details can be anything I wish.  In my case, my troops are livid after the enemy hijacked a shipment of bathroom supplies that we were expecting.  And if there's one thing I learned, it's never to come between a killing machine and his loofah!

Here's the game board.  It's a little bigger than an 8x10, but it does the job.  Since the enemy is defending, they'll be placed in the building.

In THW titles, your enemy is created using PEFs, or Possible Enemy Forces.  These create a sense of uncertainty for your adventures.  Maybe we'll encounter nothing at all, or maybe we'll face an entire army!

With the 3x3 game maps, PEFs would be placed in random positions, but for the Battle Board, you simply resolve them one at a time.  When one resolves as Contact, you place the opponents on the board.

The first PEF resolves as "Something is out there!"  Nothing appears right away, but my troops see movement in the building and know for sure that it's not empty.  This increases the chance of a later PEF resolving successfully.

Sure enough, this one resolves as contact.  Rolling for how many, versus my group of 4 results in 6 enemies.  Rolling for Who are they results in Mercenaries.  Someone paid these guys to steal our loofahs.  I bet they're holding them hostage in that building!

Now, I line everyone up for battle.  Normally, your Star (the character you control) is in the center and lined up with the enemy leader, but I forgot about this and instead lined them up on the side.  The numbers on the dice represent the characters' Reputation (or Rep).  Rep represents your character's experience, combat skill, health, and (depending on the game) non-combat ability.  Each character also carries certain weapons and has attributes based on their classes.  My troops, who are Military, get a bonus when shooting.  The Mercenaries get a bonus when rolling on the Action table (which determines who moves first).

Despite their bonus, we win on the Action table and go first, with my character starting.

My Star goes first and opens fire on the enemy leader (2 shots) and the soldier closes to him (1 shot).  I kill the leader and incapacitate the soldier.

The next soldier in my group opens fire, missing twice on the enemy before scoring a vicious hit with the third shot.

My third solider scores a hit, but it results in Duck Back, meaning the enemy soldier ducks behind cover, ending his turn if he hasn't acted yet.

My final soldier shoots at the two remaining opponents, causing one to Duck Back and missing the last one.  The last soldier, meanwhile, is now able to return fire, and he causes my soldier to duck back.

He now attempts to shoot again at the same soldier, but luckily he scores another duck back result.  

Now that this round is over, we roll for Will to Fight.  This is a morale test taken by any side that loses troops.  Since they lost teammates, the  two opponents have to take the test.

And they fail, resulting in one opponent fleeing and leaving only one to deal with.

Now it's our turn again.

I let the closest soldier in my group open fire and he scores a direct hit, dropping the last mercenary and ending combat.

But wait, that was only the second PEF and we're supposed to have 3 . . . 

Whew!  Lucked out as nothing else appeared.  We win the encounter and my team goes home knowing their loofahs now safe and sound!

This is a sample of game play that you'll find in other THW titles.  In most games, you'll have a wealth of other options.  Not all encounters will end in combat.  Sometimes, your group will simply wander the town and chat up the bars.  Or maybe they'll stop in and gamble a bit.  but don't drop your guard because a possible brawl is always around the corner!  Other encounters have you defending your group against an enemy attack; possibly a burglary or a fight on equal ground.

In addition, different games give your characters more options.  Maybe they're not soldiers.  Maybe they're knights defending the kingdom from enemy bands or monsters.  Maybe they're pilots flying space ships across the galaxy.  Or maybe they're just average Joes trying to get through a normal day . . . until the zombies attack!  More character classes, attributes, and skills allow you to create all types of characters.

Want to keep playing your same characters?  Most THW titles include campaign rules where your characters get stronger and more skilled as they progress.  Or they might lose a skill if games end badly.  

THE titles cover all sorts of eras.  Talomir Tales cover fantasy worlds of warriors, wizards, and monsters.  5150 covers the future, with space ships and laser guns.  Nuts covers World War II, with supplements and rules to let you play every inch of the war.  And All Things Zombies covers, well, guess!

But if you want to try out the THW rules first, check out Chain Reaction, which you can download for free, at www.twohourwargames.com.

Chain Reaction rules can be found here:

http://www.twohourwargames.com/free.html.

Happy gaming and hope your characters survive!

Returning to Nuts an AAR

I recently received the updated rules for Nuts! a World War II game from Two Hour Wargames.  In addition, I got the Compendium, with covers a number of optional rules, such as ski troops, mascots, weather, air strikes, and urban fights.

After playing the videogame Snipe Elite 4, in which you go through Italy during WWII, I decided to play my own sniper game.  I like this especially because the rules in Nuts allow for unlimited maps and missions.

This will be a Chocolate and Cigarettes game, meaning a game with smaller numbers of troops, as my entire 'team' consists of one lone sniper.  Since I wanted to be a good guy but still a cold-hearted, ruthless killer, I went with a Russian soldier.

Meet Dimitri Kozlov, a Rep 5 Russian Sniper.  Fitness 5, Mental 4, People 3.  Basically, his skills mean he's in incredible shape with above average intellect and average people skills.  Hopefully he won't have to do any negotiating.

For Attributes, I went with the Compendium rules, which allow for a wider variety.  I started with the Sniper Package, which is Sniper Expert and Stealthy.  I then randomly rolled Dim, which means he's a hell of a sneaky shooter, but he really, really doesn't play well with others.

The campaign starts with both sides at Morale 4 and Investment at 4.  As the first Encounter is a Patrol, Investment is a 3.  Using the Compendium rules, this will be a Sniper Patrol, meaning I not only have to reach the top of the map, but I must drop two major opponents, whether they're officers, enemy snipers, ect.

In case you're wondering, no Dimitri is not about to play Twister.  Using my living room as the board, I set Dimitri at Section 9 at the top of a hill.  The orange and green represent the forest at sections 1, 4, and 7.  The red circles are the three PEFs, starting in Sections 2, 4, and 5.

PEF #1 resolves as Nothing.  However, PEF #2 resolves as an NCO and a Rifleman ( I rolled at random because at the time, I wasn't sure how to resolve specific troops).  PEF #3 resolved as 3 Riflemen. 

Rolling Activation, the Germans move first.  This triggers and In Sight Check, with the winner basically getting a free turn.  I rolled Red d6 for Dimitri and Green d6 for the Germans, with 1, 2, and 3 being Successes.  The side with the most successes win In Sight.

Uh oh!  Even though they get a -1d6 penalty for my Stealthy Attribute, they still win and get to go first.  While the NCO has an SMG which doesn't have the range to hit me, the Rifleman has a Bolt-Action Rifle that can, even without a scope.  He's a Rep 4, but I'm at the top of a hill and prone so the chances of him scoring any kind of hit are-

Crap!!!!  Not only does he score a direct hit, but for damage I roll another 6, which is Obviously Dead!  He scored with a head shot to my soldier!

Wait, I still have Star Power!  That means my Star, the character I control, rolls a number of d6 equal to his Rep, and as long as he rolls, 1, 2, and/or 3, he can reduce and even ignore the damage completely.  All he needs are a couple of those rolls and he'll be completely in the clear-

Um, yeah . . .about that . . .

So ends the saga of Dimitri Kozlov.  In his first mission, a lone, lowly enemy soldier puts a single bullet right between his eyes and ends his adventures. 

Luckily, it's not over yet!  I rolled up a new character and the Russian platoon, upon learning of poor Dimitri's fate, has sent another sniper to take his place.  I'm keeping the campaign the same.  Luckily, the Campaign Morale remained the same.  However, since I lost the Patrol encounter, my new character will start his adventure with a Defend. 

But that's for another story.

For now, RIP Dimitri Kozlov.  Dropped before he ever fired a bullet.  And this will go down in history as my quickest RPG adventure yet.

Hopefully, my new character has better luck.

I found Nemo! or rather He found me!

This is not one of my games, but a new game from Two Hour Wargames that I recently received.  I remember reading the novel Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea and watching the films (I think there was more than one; it's been a while.).  However, my fondest memory was the ride at Walt Disney World. 

However, in the past decade or so, that and a number of my other favorites have disappeared, to be replaced by, at least in my view, lesser attractions.  For that reason, I saw playing this game as my revenge against Disney.  Now I understand the idea of out with the old and in with the new; I just choose not to accept it.  As such, a number of characters on my Star's side are named after rides, attractions, and shops at Disney that I loved and now miss. 

Let the voyage begin . . .

I awoken on a cot inside a vessel of some kind.  My clothes were missing, replaced with standard attire for a navel crew.  This was strange.  

Stumbling out of the room, I found myself in a large room with various devices smoking, rotating, and humming.

"So, you're back from the dead," said a voice to my right.  

Turning, I saw an older gentleman leaning against a post with his arms crossed.

"Where am I?" I asked.

"You're aboard the Nautilus," he answered, standing straight and spreading his arms.

"The Nautilus?"  I knew that name.  "You're Captain Nemo!  I thought you were dead."

"Not quite yet," he responded.  "And you are?"

"Jakob Kare," I answered.  "I was aboard the Minne, a passenger ship out of Oslo."

Nemo nodded.  "We found you adrift in a longboat.  It seems your vessel was attacked."

"It was," I said.  "A British ship mistook us for an enemy ship and attacked before we could identify ourselves."

"Unfortunately," he continued, "you were the only survivor.  Did you have any family aboard?"

I nodded, tightening my fists.  "My dog, Merlin.  He and I were rushing for the longboat when he vanished in a ball of fire right before my eyes."  I raised my eyes to his.  "Hey, you're on a mission of revenge against them, aren't you?  If so, I'm in!"

"Actually," Nemo said, "I'm retiring soon."

"But you can't retire!"  I glared at the legendary captain.  "Those cods haven't learned their lesson yet!"

A smirk appeared as he watched me.  "Which is why I'm looking for a captain to replace me.  Now I like your fire, but I don't know if you have what it takes."

"Follow me."

He led me through the corridor and to a room.  Opening the door we entered his personal cabin.  He took a seat behind his desk and pointed to a map.  "I'm want to see, Jakob Kare, if you have what is required to command this ship.  So I'm going to sending you on a series of missions, directing you from here.  Complete these missions to my satisfaction, and this ship will be yours to do with as you please.  Do you accept?"

I didn't even hesitate.  "When do we start?"

"First, I sending you to Kasur to collect food for the crew."

"Food?" I asked.  "I can more prove myself by sinking a ship or two."

He smiled as one would to a student who failed a test.  "Your crew cannot fight on empty stomachs.  Gather food, and then we'll talk next."


Jakob Kare (Star):  Rep 5:  Crack Shot (rolled at random), Quick Reflexes (chosen), SAR.
Mr. Toad (Grunt):  Rep 4:  Agile (Random), SAR.
Mr. Mars (Grunt):  Rep 4: Logical (Random), SAR.


A few hours later, I made landfall in search of food.  I brought with me two of Nemo's crew; a short but seemingly agile man named Mr. Toad, and a tall, thin, introspective man named Mr. Merlin.

While searching, Toad noticed three individuals approaching us.

After studying them, Mars pointed.  "They're Berber Militia."

We tried talking with them, but they ignored us.  Some time later, we had gather enough food and returned to the Nautilus.

"Well done," Nemo said to me.  "Although that was an easy mission.  While we're here, explore the rest of the island.  It might become a useful base."

I set off again with Toad and Mars as we traveled inland from the coast.

It didn't take long for us to run into trouble as three drake lizards charged us.  Toad shot two of them while Mars killed the last.  My shots missed completely, and I grew concerned.  Fortunately, my crew expressed respect for my courage and continued to follow me.

Some time later, we ran into more Berbers.  Apparently they were following us to see if we were a threat.  Upon learning that we weren't, they greeted us and vanished into a brush.

An hour later, we found three more Berbers who were gathering food.  They showed us the best places to extract food, and we thanked them and moved on.

Returning to the Nautilus, I reported back to Captain Nemo.

"The island is inhabited by a group called the Berbers.  They didn't give us any trouble and possibly we can form an alliance with them if we are to use the island as a base."

"Well done," he said.  "But again, an easy challenge.  Perhaps next-"

"Captain to the bridge.  British vessel in the vicinity."

We heard the call Mars and Nemo looked to me.  "You wanted to face a British ship.  Here's your chance.  But if you fail and damage my vessel, I'll bury you in Atlantis . . . alive!"

"Yes sir."

I rushed to the bridge and faced Mars.  "Captain Nemo gave me the bridge.  Report."

"One vessel," he answered.  "It looks like a cargo transport."

I saw it through the periscope.  It looked like it was shipping guns and supplies to one of their many forts.  

Smiling, I turned to my helm officer.  "Charge that ship."

Bringing the Nautilus just below the water's surface, we lunged ahead.  Suddenly, the ship turned at the last second and we flew right past it.  

"Are they fleeing?" I asked.

"Negative," came the answer.  "They're arming cannons."

"Dive, bring us just out of the line of sight and circle them."

Once they lost sight of us we charged again.

Direct hit!  We blew through the ship like paper, and I grinned widely as I watched the hull, along with its cargo, sunk below the waves.

"For you, Merlin."


Afterwards, I rolled Increasing d6 (Since the first two encounters were pretty short, I waited until the Navel Battle before rolling).

Jakob improved to Rep 6.

Toad improved to Rep 5.

Mars did not improve.

The adventure will continue next time.

Adventures with Captain Nemo is available now from Two Hour Wargames.

Stop the Squam - A Scenario for missions of Tomorrow

Here is another scenario you will find in Missions of Tomorrow, the first supplement to Future Tales.  In Wrecking Crew, you must track down a group bent on destroying an entire community.  Will you succeed?  Here's a preview.

Bart Blast, YM-3, and Wilma Chatter meet with the leaders of the town of Buckman.  Apparently, a group of aliens called the Squam were recently exiled from the town for torturing the populace, and now there are reports that the Squam are building weapons as part of a plan for revenge.  Bart and his friends set out to locate the Squam before they can complete their deadly experiment.

The trio encounters a village of primitive natives.  Luckily, they are peaceful, and after a few minutes of questioning (Wilma happens to be skilled at communication), they point the group in the direction of the Desert Wastes.

Crossing a dried-up lake, the group is ambushed by Sand Racers, who look a little too hungry as they approach the three heroes.

But our heroes have an ace up their sleeves!  It turns out, Wilma has the Animal Friend attribute and can communicate with the racers.  Informing them that the trio are friends and not food, she gets them to continue in search for other morsels, while Bart wipes the sweat off his brown that has nothing to do with the temperature.

An hour later, they find it; a device constructed by the Squam but abandoned for some time.  Perhaps they left it behind after running tests and now have the final product at their camp.

YM-3 attempts a Solve Puzzle to figure out the device, while Bart and Wilma watch from a short distance away.

FAIL!  YM-3 is zapped (Trap!) and goes OOF.  Bart and Wilma rush to their companion's side.  But before they can help, the now-duo hears growling noises behind them and turn.

Two more Racers, and this time, they don't feel like talking!  One goes for Bart and the other sizes up Wilma as a potential meal.

With lightning speed, Bart drops his foe with a single shot.  Wilma tries to blast her target, but it closes the distance before she can react, and before she can blink, Wilma finds herself face-to-snout with the final Racer.

Smashing it in the snout with her pistol, she drops her opponent and survives the battle.

With the threats no longer in sight, the two revive their friend, who's shaken and a little jumpy, but not the worst for wear.

Unfortunately, YM-3 was unable to figure out the device, and the group fails to gain a clue.  However, they do notice smoke from the mountains and decide to investigate.

No Travel Scene.  Looks like the trio will reach the mountains uninterrupted.  Even though they failed to gain a Clue, they continue with the scenario.  However, with one less clue, will they still reach the Squam before the creatures finish their weapons?

And what will happen in your game?

This scenario and three others are found in Missions of Tomorrow, a supplement to Future Tales.  If you don't have Future Tales, you can also use Fringe Space, Back Alleys, Larger than Life, and even Chain Reaction.

Missions can be played single player, same side, and even head to head.

Keep watching as Missions is coming soon from Two Hour Wargames!