Encounters at a Cosmic scale!

Mwahaha!! Our evil planet conquering crusade is almost complete, this planet looks lovely, wait these natives we just encountered are so adorable we can not colonise their homeworld, let's go take over that Traders system instead.

Yes are cuteness will help us conquer the cosmos!!

Welcome to Cosmic Encounter where in the depths of space, the alien races of the Cosmos vie with each other for control of the universe.

Alliances form and shift from moment to moment, while cataclysmic battles send starships screaming into the warp as ancient tech is deployed. Players choose from hundreds of alien races, each with its own unique power to further its efforts to build an empire that spans the galaxy.

If that all sounds a bit over dramatic then blame Board Game Geek.  Over the last weekend (25th Jan) I managed to get two games of Cosmic Encounter played between 4 players. Even though I lost both games it was always entertaining and still very close. But which aliens did I encounter and who did I use to try and control the universe?

Game 1: The Fury, Ethic, Sorcerer & Will

My Alien Species

The Fury

Ah yes the very angry space archers. Did we lose an encounter or lose some ships during an alliance? Then suffer our wrath!! Although it seemed like a decent alien threat, the Fury ended up not doing a great deal as the Sorcerer ran rampant.

Game 2: Guerrilla, Trickster, Lightning & Oracle

My Alien Species

Trickster

Do you like 50-50 odds then the Trickster alien is for you. Got a terrible hand, there is still a 50% chance you might win. Got a great hand but think the opponent might have some sneaky way of winning, it's still a 50% chance for them to lose. Will we use the power will we not who knows when it comes to the Trickster.

In this game I had more success but ended up using flares more than the actual Trickster power.

Until next time when I will have actual oldhammer painting stuff to show.

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Nemesis: On the Tabletop everyone can hear you scream!

What better way to ring in 2020 than with a tabletop board game where death lurks in every room, ventilation shaft or even your own crew.

Nemesis from Awaken Realms

Welcome to the starship Nemesis. You have just woken from cryo-hibernation the ship is unknown to you, there are strange noises emanating from the corridors, an odd slime is on the floor and warning lights indicate a fire is in progress. More concerning is the dead body on the floor; she looks like she was torn apart from the inside!

After a quick debate the Captain heads to the cockpit with the soldier while the engineer (who has been oddly quiet) goes looking for tools. The Pilot heads off to check on the engines. You ease out of the hibernation pod into your motorised wheelchair, panels blink into life showing various medical charts, scientific graphs and other data. The pilot may need help as he has headed off on his own so you follow after him into the Hatch Control room... (screeesh)

It's over 10 foot tall and mucus drips from it, this alien intruder is a nightmare given life. Looking at your pistol you decide to escape rather than fight. It slashes at you but only catches the back of the wheelchair damaging various systems keeping you healthy. You race into the Comms room in panic and slam your hand on the lock door panel. The pilot doesn't believe you as he wanders off down a different corridor in search of the engine room ...

Time ticks on as 2019 ends.

A final post of the year for this little blog that keeps putting out the odd nugget of oldhammer goodness.

For me it's been a good year of painting, certainly my most prolific. Not sure how I found the time to paint the following:

The Witch Lord from Heroquest
A Heresy Werewolf
Two Gretchin for a Squig Catapult
One Goff Ork
One normal Ork
A Kustom Blasta Mekanik
A looney Mad Boy
One Female Sorceress
The Keeper of Secrets that sat in my bits box for years!
An ancient Bob Olley Giant Black Orc
A converted Gyro-Stabilised Monowheel Ork Bigboss
Seven Ork Stormboyz

Now for some photos of things (2019 & older) I forgot to show or meant to include in a blog post that I never ended up creating.

Space Crusade

Somehow I ended up playing a game of Space Crusade this year and was in control of the vile alien xenos. The above photo is when the Blood Angels and Imperial Fists got a bit heretical and accused each other of joining chaos. The Genestealers jumped in for afters :)

Movie Review - Castle Freak (1995)

Castle Freak (1995)

The venerable 40k Quest movie review returns and this time we are delving into 90s horror obscurity Castle Freak.

On a vague off-hand recommendation I picked up this Jeffrey Combs horror film and I am so glad I did. Especially as I love a good HP Lovecraft style horror flick (see Re-animator, In the Mouth of Madness etc ...)

The plot is straight forward, a man carrying the guilt of blinding his daughter and killing his son in a drunk driving incident inherits a castle in Italy after the duchess he didn't know he was related to dies. He and his family; including his Wife who has not forgiven him, move into the place while he tries to sell it. Unbeknown to everyone is the duchess has been keeping her long thought dead, disfigured son in the crypt who she used to beat and treat worse than a dog.

That's right officer an angry, surprisingly strong naked man with no thumb has been prowling around my 150 room castle and I'd like you and your men to find him.

The location is different and interesting. The acting is decent, Combs is great as a slightly off-kilter alcoholic father and Barbara Crampton is good too as the struggling Wife. The blind daughter is a nice addition to the film even if her main role is being a near victim for the beast man most of the time. The star of the show though is certainly the beast in the cell aka Giorgio. The effects they used for his face are top notch and his perverted and self-mutilating actions are amazingly grim. Once he escapes things get very creepy, horrifying and very gory in this film. Although I'm not entirely sure we needed to see his very hairy and very nude body dangling about quite so much, I suppose it is balanced out by the whore Combs meets at a bar, who gets her kit off first.

There are plenty of great scenes in this film from jumping through windows, police beat downs and police deaths. Plus there is the scene involving the previously mentioned prostitute and Giorgio which goes from creepy to downright savage as he literally bites off her nipple!! Also if you like cats then I should warn you this film has one, that doesn't make it to the end.

Overall I was greatly surprised by this film and really enjoyed it. I would definitely watch it again.

Until next time.