Excerpts from Wotan - Opening the Door

Wotan has been a great experience so far. The stories comming out of the battle reports have been brilliant and very interesting. Below is a quick write up from the game that Ontos and Burns had during Phase 1.

Excerpts from Wotan - Opening the Door
By: Ontos

"Mike Niner this is Uniform Romero request : Jones get up there and blast this door open!

- Specialist Jones (Dozer Eng) attached shaped charge to door, (one order spent)
- Specialist Jones (Dozer Eng) Sets off charge (Second Order spend), door intact only take 1 Str damage

The smoke cleared and there was little damage to the door

"Damn it what the hell is this door made out of? Hit it again Jones!"

- Specialist Jones (Dozer Eng) attached shaped charge to door, (Third order spent)
- Specialist Jones (Dozer Eng) Sets off charge (Forth Order spend), door intact no damage done.

"Sir  I am all out of charges!"

"Alright Ill try cutting it open."

Unknown Ranger, Spends order to CC attack door with T2 CC weapon, (two orders spent), door intact no damage done.

Active turns ends, CA active turn.

Next Active turn for USA

"Golf India this is Mike Niner (1 do you have eyes on that Plasma?"

"Golf India, Roger"

"Mike Niner, take him out"

Inferior infiltration grunt moves into positions to take out Plasma Batroid covering Armoury door, wins face to face with light shotgun and takes down batroid, sacrificing himself for the mission going down to a hail of Mk12 fire form the CA. (One order Spent)

Foxtrot One, Plasma Tango down, Golf India KIA"

Uniform Romero this is Mike Niner, cost is clear get that door open.

"Jones get this door open!"

- Specialist Jones (Dozer Eng) rolls WIP to open door, need 13 rolls 20 (one order spent)

Damn it sir the door code has been changed!

"Mike Niner this is Uniform Romero the door code has been changed sir we need the new one"

"Mike Niner, Roger Wait out will contact higher."

"Uniform Romero this is Mike Niner new code is 11394"

"Uniform Romero Roger out"

"Jones new code is 11394"

- Specialist Jones (Dozer Eng) rolls WIP to open door, need 13 rolls 15 (one order spent)

"Sir that's not it!"

"Mike Niner this is Uniform Romero that code is no good!"

"Mike Niner, Roger Wait "

Mike Niner, Higher says that code is good as off midnight, try again!

- Specialist Jones (Dozer Eng) rolls WIP to open door, need 13 rolls 17(one order spent)

"Mike Niner this is Uniform Romero still no go, Working on issue"

"Jones do you think this door was set to local station time or DWAN standard?"

"Don't know sir I'll try both!"

- Specialist Jones (Dozer Eng) trys the code using local station time with encryption set, rolls WIP to open door, need 13 rolls 20 (one order spent)

"No luck with local station time sir switching to DWAN standard"

- Specialist Jones (Dozer Eng) rolls WIP to open door, need 13 rolls 1 (one order spent) doors to armoury opens!

It only took 11 orders to safely open a door!

A Hobby Update

By: Dozer

This has been a wild ride of a year.

Infinity launched a global campaign in collaboration with Beasts of War Strike Zone: Wotan. They also got out their first fiction product; a manga titled Outrage. It was also very good. While their second two player boxset Operation: Red Veil continues to do well.

Games Workshop has released the hotly anticipated Warhammer 40,000 - 8th Edition to a fanfare of reviews that normally start with admittance that they left the game a few editions ago and they've only played a bit here and there with last edition. Most of the review I've watched and read have been positive and that's a good thing to hear for the corner stone of the Tabletop Miniature Wargame hobby.

Knight Models released their Flash and Arrow rules expansion for the Batman Miniatures game. They followed it up with a new two player starter set and news of a second expansion that is currently on pre-order and based on the Arkham video games.

Warmachine and Hordes are settling into 3rd edition after a really rocky start. The forces books are finally coming along. The CID or community led development and testing is about to churn out its first project a source book on Cygnar's Trenchers led by a new Siege! Cards are no longer packaged with products. Lastly No Quarter will change from a magazine to a full on regular released sourcebook similar to the way Pathfinder produces campaigns in installments.

Dropfleet Commander finally started showing up after a crazy Kickstarter. Guildball is starting it's 3rd season and released a two player starter called Guild Ball: Kickoff. Osprey Publishing's game Frostgrave is about to receive their next main expansion... you get the idea. I'm only scratching the surface. Our hobby has blown up and we are deep into our golden age of gaming.

My summer has not been as free as I'd have liked. Family is moving away while other parts of my family are growing. I and most of the contributors here at Canadian Tabletop Gamer are going to GENCON 50 in August.

I have plenty of work to do regarding my Nomads and having them ready for GENCON but a few things have been posted over the last couple of days and I felt inspired to bust open a new post.

Batman Miniatures - Parliament of Owls

My experience with Batman Miniatures has been a one sided experience. The game looks brilliant. Mechanically it has a neat take on ranged combat, objectives, and lighting. Seriously this game has got lighting down pat. I've only played a single demo game which was enough for me to pick up a few minis.

My relationship with Batman is also strange and antagonistic. My favorite story arc was Dark Knight, Dark City by Peter Milligan. Outside of the odd story arc here and there, Nightwing and Batgirl (Casandra Cain) were my favorite following by Robin. Batman was always boring until Scott Snyder came along and took me on the longest Batman ride of my life starting with the Court of Owls.

So I picked up everything Court of Owls. I picked up both sets: The Court of Owls and Court of Owls Crew. I still need to pick up the Gotham Butcher and hopefully they will make a Talon (Calvin Rose) miniature. Now 'I still need to pick up' is a silly statement. All of my minis are unpainted and un-assembled and yet this new Parliament of Owls set get's shown off and I want to pick it up right away.

Three new Talons and a new sidekick - the High Court Lady. The Court of Owls always felt like it didn't have enough minis compared to everything else in the game so it's nice to see them get some more support in the game. I think my plan post GENCON is paint up all my Owls and then ask teh local group to run a few games for me.

Infinity - Outrage

I loved the Manga. I'm glad I snagged the pre-order that came with the fancy mini of the main character Knauf. When this leaked online I was floored. First off this is a MERCs faction box the first of it's kind. It also gives me hope that the MERCs will be getting their own faction rules sooner rather than later. Maybe alongside Aristiea! the next game for Infinity that will be seen by the public for the first time at GENCON.

The minis look great. There is a character for each faction - almost. Nakadai Shunya is a JSA Ninja who looks almost like an Oniwaban in the comic. Emily Handleman is a PanO agent. Vania Nevski is a Dog Soldier for Ariadna. Uhahu is a Nomad hacker and Jethro works with the Druze (so a Haqq). Only Beba has not 'faction' ties outside of her TAG.

Now that I've started my Infinity painting and am churning out minis, I look forward to snag the Outrage character box. They will be perfect for the Infinity RPG when it finally comes out and the minis look great.

With GENCON around the corner I was really surprised to get as inspired as I did with these new bits of information in such a saturated time in our Hobby. I'll keep you posted as I prep for GENCON and get ready for another crazy season at the table.

- Cheers

Dozer

Event - Dire Province: Capital Conflict

Capital Conflict is a 4 round ITS event for 12-24 players within our nations capital located at the Major Holland VC Senior Ranks Mess.

When-
23 September 2017
Event check in starts at 0900 EST.
Games to start no later than 1000 EST.
Closing ceremonies will be no sooner than 1900 EST depending on lunch and round length.

Where- 
Major Holland VC Senior Ranks Mess
2100 Walkley Road, Ottawa, Ontario

Rules - 
ITS Event, 300 point, 2 list, 4 rounds, two hours each round.

Scenarios are (from ITS Season 8 v1.4) in no order:

Capture and Protect
Rescue
Safe Area
Supplies.

Prizes include -
A tournament box from Black Sheep Industries for our winner!

Prizes also include ITS Season 8 prize pack, a painted HVT by EMP Studios for Best Sportsmanship, from Angel Giraldez a signed Studio Giraldez mug to be filled with other goodies for the winner of Best Painted, and more!

Additional prize details to be announced as I get final confirmation while we move closer to the event.

Swag - 
Measuring template, patches, and more to be confirmed.

Accommodations -
Location provides free unlimited parking, private large clean washrooms, and access to a bar in the event room.

A lunch is included in the event price and will be provided at the location. If you have any dietary restrictions please include that in your registration e-mail.

A private Bar will be open for 1130 for players to purchase drinks (alcoholic* and non-alcoholic) and snacks.

To Register - 
$35 Canadian Dollars for anyone who registers before 1200 EST on 18 August 2017, 40$ CND afterwards.

Send money via paypal or e-mail to: capitalconflict@gmail.com

Once your event payment is received organizers will send a confirmation e-mail with registration instructions and future updates.

- Cheers

Olen Gravel

*Minors will not be served alcoholic drinks and if caught will be removed from the event per Federal and Provincial Laws.

Wotan Phase 1 - Thoughts from a new player

By: Forgotten

A little bit about my gaming history. I have played Warmachine and Hordes for several years so the basics of table top gaming is not new to me. I have a pretty good grasp of deploying and movement but the interaction on a players non active turn drew me to Infinity. I have recently played in a beginners Recon tournament where I came in second.

A couple years ago I bought some Nomad models and tried to get into Infinity but for reasons and life most of those models sat unpainted in a box until recently. Life has calmed down for me and I have been able to devote some time to painting and playing games again. I was excited to play in Wotan and try and influence the Infinity narrative in my own small way so when it started I joined the Nomad faction (The only faction I have models for). It was two weeks before I could get my first game. In that time my faction had an HQ team, then had infighting then had a new HQ team, with most of the same members. From a new player point of view this was a little confusing and disappointing as I don't know the players or the history and really had no idea what was going on. Things seem to have gotten better and the focus was back on games, battle reports, and making amusing propaganda.

My first game was against Aleph with my friend Dave (aka Doc). Doc is has a few more games of Infinity under his belt than I do... but not too many. We played the La Forja Military Harbor: Kill Cage. I liked the mission, we were both cautious about the center of the table as neither of us wanted to lose models to drones. In the end Doc's dice failed him as and I was victorious.

La Forja Phase 1
Strike Zone: Wotan

That weekend I wrote up my battle report and added my points to the faction to assist in defending La Forja. It was rated and Xp was gained. I enjoy the fact that their are many ways to gain Xp in this campaign. I am only able to play about once a week so having non-game achievements is a good way to keep me involved and interested. As far as the map went, nothing happened until the Combined Army took Sygtir-1 from Pan-O. There was some intense back and forth before Pan-O secured it again.

Then came the push for the La Forja Control Deck. Aleph and Ariadna both made a push to capture it. I hosted five of my friends on Thursday and everybody played on the Control Deck. I played John (aka Burns) and his Combined Army. I was successful in repelling the alien invaders.

That weekend, the last of Phase 1 the La Forja Control Deck deck had over 100 games logged at it's location. Aleph took it for a brief period but could not hold out against the massive pressure of the Nomad defenses. This is also where the second point of drama took place, a single Aleph player logged eight or nine reports all at the same time with duplicate photos. This caused an uproar and the taking up of torches and pitchforks as an assault on the fairness of the game was made and must be avenged. In the end enough people came forward to say that they played the games to make it seem like an honest mistake but for a time there it looked like cheating.

The result of all the fighting at La Froja.
The Nomads kept the station but they hold only ruins now. 

When it was looking like a player had cheated Beasts of War and Corvus Belli quickly investigated. They were able to reassure the community and ensure that no one was rewarded for unsportsmanlike conduct. This quick reaction to the community helped quiet the angry voices and allow the community to get back to the main purpose of the campaign - having a good time with friends and sharing experiences of the game we all enjoy.

The drama of the global Nomad nation has not dissuaded me but it may have others. I have enjoyed my games with my friends and I will continue to see it through to the end. Maybe if I keep playing long enough I will understand the what happened inside Nomad HQ.

Now Phase 2 has begun I look forward to seeing where the campaign goes and how this impacts the universe. The story and the world is one of the things that really attracted me to the game in the first place and I anticipate more adventures to come.

Excerpts from Wotan - Smoke

Wotan has been a great experience so far. The stories comming out of the battle reports have been brilliant and very interesting. Below is a quick excerpt from the game that Doc and Forgotten had last Thursday at WIN (Weekly Infinity Night)


Excerpts from Wotan - Smoke
By: Doc

**//==Receive transmission: [Unit:002]--[Type:Dasyu]--[Hacker:ver01]
**//==Unit status: T.O. Camoflauged near target objective [02]

*--Begin Transmission monitoring--*
**// Unit:002--Update: Tomcat [Doctor] appearing near target objective [02]
**// Unit:002--Reveal and neutralise "Tomcat"
**// Unit:002--Shots fired
**// Unit:002--Reported: Tomcat [Doctor] Neutralised
**// Unit:002--Enter sentry mode
**// Unit:002--Smoke Detected
**// Unit:002--Smoke Detected
**// Unit:002--Reporting: Enemy detected within smoke
**// Unit:002--exit sentry mode; enter combat mode
**// Unit:002--Smoke Detected
**// Unit:002--Movement Detected
**// Unit:002--Update: known Mercenary [Senor Massacre] detected
**// Unit:002--Smoke Detected
**// Unit:002--Engaged
**// Unit:002--Disabled
**// Unit:002--Requesting medical intervention
**// Unit:002--Requesting medical intervention
**// Unit:002--Requesting medical intervention
**// Unit:002--Requesting medical intervention
*--End Monitoring--*


**//==No medical units near [Unit:002]
**//==General update: situation [critical]

WIN (Weekly Infinity Night)

By: Dozer

Last night a few of the CTG contributors got together at Forgotten's house and played three games of of Infinity in the current global campaign, Strike Zone: Wotan.

Ontos and Burns played while Doc and Forgotten played. It felt good to have the crew back to playing a weekly game. For just under two years I hosted the folks at my place and we played Infinity. The local game stores were not open when we wanted them to be and they lacked the ability or facilities to drink, work on minis, and just chill around while two pairs of players played Infinity.

I called it WIN - Weekly Infinity Night. Originally it was Wednesday but I changed it to weekly. It fit better, more so when the day of the week changed.

It was awesome to watch my friends play games and witness the madness that sometimes becomes those epic unforgettable moments that you'll recount to other players.

After the first set of matches happed, I was able to play Burns for our second planned match. The idea of Wotan is the location you play at determines the scenario. The first game we played at the military harbour location where the Nomads are holding the line. Burns picked Sygtir-1 adn we had a great game.

I missed out the last global event and I'm keen on getting in on this one. There have been some ups and downs but so far I've had a blast playing Strike Zone: Wotan.

I'm having more fun though playing with a regular WIN me and my mates getting in games and helping each other out.

From L-R: Doc, Forgotten, Ontos, and Burns

The posts will be coming in bursts as those who are participating also have to write battle reports.

- Cheers

Dozer

Event Report: Infinity @ Kessel Run

By: Dozer

Location: Kessel Run Games

Game: Infinity
Format: 1 list, 4 rounds, Infinity RECON

Last Saturday, walking into Kessel Run at 10am in the morning was interesting. Two gents from the Royal Tabletop Regiment showed up and took up 2 tables for Warhammer 40k. A Warmachine+Hordes group took up a pair of tables. Lastly a Batman Miniatures monthly event was happening and another 4 tables were going to be lost. Oh there was also the regular scheduled Magic the Gathering Saturday event and some folks coming in to demo and play X-Wing.

Lucky for me Kessel Run had already planned for my event. They offered both of their rental rooms, I only took the larger room. No need for me to take up both rooms and cut out that possible income for the shop. I also claimed the two board game tables on the raised portion of the store. It let me set up the Admin table and a table for the forth pairing.

The last couple of week leading up to the event, we lost 2 players dropping my numbers down to 8. By round 3 Doc was not feeling well and we lost another player to his boss calling him into work. So the final two pairings we were six players.

I know there was less players because of the fear of experience players wrecking the faces of the newer players but we still had a few come out and were happy from the experience. The swag well accepted. Players that were sporting a Velcro spot on their bags put on their patch. The measuring templates and crates were well used through the matches. Each player was allowed to put on the board a single crate before initiative was rolled so everyone's board had some changes to it.

Lastly the coupons, 10% from the BBQ joint next door was well used. Every player snagged some food and it was brilliant as per normal. Meatings does great Texas style BBQ. I have yet to have anything else other than their brisket and smoked beans but I always fail to get anything else.

After the break I have some pics and final standings.