A lot of things can get in the way of a project. Burn out, lack of resources, realising that you got started wrong, lack of research, life catastrophes, a topic that does not warrant the page count.
And sometimes its Lancelot the cat trying his hardest to prevent you from typing
Planetfall is now available for pre order!
https://modiphius.net/en-us/products/five-parsecs-from-home-planetfall
You get the PDF with your preorder immediately, then print books are expected to ship in February with the stand alone PDF being available then too. We will be using the time before then to iron out any bugs that escaped us in proof reading.
Make sure to check the correct Modiphius store for your region.
This is probably the biggest game I have done, so definitely excited (and nervous) to hear what people think.
A few questions to pre-empt here:
This is all developed by me. Additional parts were added based on input from Modiphius (the intro missions and adding a bit more story definition), though all the actual design was me.
There are four types of opposition: "Tactical enemies" include the usual K'Erin, pirates etc. You probably already have suitable minis here. "Sleepers" are robot sentinels that guard the world. The Slynn are reptilian psionic aliens. Finally alien wildlife. If you know how you got to create your own enemy table in Deep Below, it works the same way here (because this is where the idea originated).
The campaign includes both base building and research. Its not specifically based on any one thing, but if you imagine something like the old Alpha Centauri computer game, you are not that far off.
Upgrade paths include experience points, genetic augmentations and new tech.
The player characters now have classes with Troopers, Scientists and Scouts all having different weapon allowances and unique advantages.
There is a clearly defined end game with multiple victory conditions.
You CAN lose though it's not super likely.
A map is required.
Combat has been modified a little from base 5P: Armour saves dont cause a stun (and you do not "stun out", big monsters use Kill Points (similar to Tactics) and a hit that rolls equal to Toughness now knocks you Sprawling. You can also provide Aid to another character giving them a bonus.
An optional random factor is added to enemy AI movements.
There are more mission types than before (quite a few actually) and they are more specific.
Characters can be brought over from another campaign or you can create them from scratch.
A quick update as we move towards the end of the new year.
Victorian scifi is moving along. Most of the units are done by now. Im trying to decide whether to let people at it with just the core rules and units in an early version or to wait until scenarios are done. I may do the former, so we can get more eyeballs and thoughts earlier in the process.
SLAM and Mystic Space updates are coming, though I would expect the major updates to be after the holidays, it just ends up being a bit too crowded. The next update for each is likely to be a bit more "stuff". I know some people have asked for some sort of space magic/psionics system.
It looks like a big licensed property will be in the cards in the new year through Modiphius. Something I don't think people would have guessed, so look forward to that.
As always the list of "possible future projects" is very long. I am hesitant to share too much because people tend to assume it means something other than what it is but some possibilities include a "cooperative competitive space dungeon crawl game" (think Space Crusade or Siege of the Citadel for those who remember), a fantasy campaign game inspired by "Horse girl" fantasy like the Valdemar novels, Napoleonic Squad Hammer.
New book on preorder :)
(along with some rather nice official Paranoia minis I must say)
The game covers principally "co op" and GM play but there are some solo notes in there as well. Setup rules, blasting traitors in the back and being eaten by dinosaurs in Alpha Complex. There will be an FAQ later on.
Just a few quick updates:
Rogue Hammer version 175 is out, adding the completed Space Dwarf army list so go have fun.
EKPS 104 adds 3 new unit types for scenarios under the heading of "fantastical folk" (sprites, ghouls and tomb guardians) and adds a bit of detail to shooting from towers and walls.
As always updated versions are available in your Wargame Vault library.
The "unit list" for Victorian Scifi is coming together more.
For regular infantry, there will be 6 types: Conscripts, Regulars, Repeating Rifles, Guards regiments, Naval infantry and Skirmishers.
For heavy weapons there will be 3 types: Multi Barrel Guns, Crank Guns (think Gatlings etc) and Field Guns (regular artillery pieces).
This should let you use most heavy weapon figures out there on the market. If your army of choice doesn't have a readily available option on the market, buy a weapon model and just swap in a few artillery crew figures from your regular army, so you can have a Prussian gatling gun or whatever. The rules assume 2 or 3 crew figures per gun, but they can be based as part of the gun if you like.
Of course I imagine people will also be kit bashing some contraptions to use.
With version 174, Rogue Hammer now has a completed Kill Bot army list (based on the 3e Necron codex with one or two extra units added) and a completed Hired Guns army list (mercenary troops that can be hired on by most armies.
These include updated special rules as well as unit upgrades.
You can find Rogue Hammer at https://www.wargamevault.com/en/product/418767/Rogue-Hammer-Gothic-scifi-miniatures-gaming?manufacturers_id=5701
An update of an old post:
Instead of a rules Q&A, I wanted to do a round-up of various questions I get that are in a more general or personal sense:
How can I get a hold of you?
Email is always best: nordicweaselgames@icloud.com
You are welcome to ping me on discord or bluesky, but I am not reachable through any other means.
If you don't reply, do you hate me?
Honestly, I get so much email I often get lost in it. If you have not heard from me in a few days, just try again.
Can I ask you to look at my <insert game material here>?
I am happy to do so but I must warn that I don't have a ton of free time, so please be armed with patience. I am happy to do in-depth reviews to help clean up rules though these days I must insist on some sort of compensation for doing so.
Can I ask you about something regarding game design or game publishing?
Always happy to help with that.
Can I show you my hack combining one of your games with another game?
Always happy to see what people come up with but I probably can't give really detailed feedback.
Will you ever make a hack of your rules to use another setting?
Probably not. I think that is something best left to fans.
Can I recommend a book, band, show etc. that is like the ones you list as inspirations?
By all means!
Can I send you a copy of my game because I'd like you to have it?
That would be very kind.
Will you come to this convention?
I'd like to do some convention stuff this or next year and am happy to do seminars or Q&As.
Will you endorse my group/movement/hashtag?
Probably not. Even if I agree with you.
Will you join my online community?
I never find enough time to actually do justice to those, so I usually do not.
You can spend forever trying to find a reliable source of armour ratings for tanks, then figuring out how much to adjust for sloping and weak points etc.
I don't have that time and the books I have on hand giver very vague and general armour values.
For History Dad, I basically decided to just rely on the ratings given in the Steel Panthers World War 2 computer game (freely downloadable). Their vehicle stats are pretty well researched and correspond to roughly 1 point of armour per 10mm (with some additions for sloping).
So the HD combat rules were built to just use those, so if you want to look up a tank that isn't on the tables yet, you can do so.
Gun ratings come from the same place, using the penetration at point blank range (since even a 6x4 foot gaming table is still only going to represent 3-400 metres of distance: Basically knife fight distance for tanks).
If you have not checked in on Rogue Hammer in a while, make sure to do so.
The first four army lists (Imperial Legion, Star Knights, Free Traders and Imperial Personalties) are now finished, meaning they have their own upgrades, psionic abilities (where needed) and have been touched up with how they work.
This does not mean they are never going to be updated. Unit tweaks are of course always possible and new units can be added (particularly to the Personalities list) but it means they are basically at a step where I am happy with how they look.
I am hoping to "finish up" an army list every couple days, which will also mean fleshing out the lists that don't have enough units (or any units, making it somewhat of a difficult to use army list :) )
Now it needs to be said that the points values are perhaps a wide eyed estimate at best. I do not have a count yet, but I would guess we are well past 200 units and counting and with each army list aiming to have 15 possible upgrades (5 for squads, 5 for individuals, 5 for vehicles) it is basically inevitable that some of them will not make sense. That can all be solved by a nice email to my inbox, so I can work on things :)
Do note that things must be seen in context: The same upgrade may be worth more to one army than another, so bear that in mind.
It has been a long time since I have talked about Planetfall, as it slowly makes its way through editing and layout.
So this is a quick run down of key features. I will try to do a more in depth post going into some of the information later.
*The gist of the campaign is that you are landing on an unexplored world to exploit its resources and make your colony self sufficient and successful.
*It features a planetary map.
*Your characters this time are Unity agents and can be soldiers, scouts or scientists. You can also bring over Five Parsecs characters of course. Each class has its own special abilities and gear is usable by particular classes.
*Enemy lifeforms are randomly generated, allowing you to fill out your own unique planetary encounter table. This will be modified over the course of play.
*You also encounter a strange new hostile alien species.
*Missions include sweeping for resources, exploring alien ruins and taking the fight to the enemy. There are 12 scenarios (if I counted right).
*Scientific research will unlock new tech, items and upgrades.
*You build a base with facilities that improve your capabilities.
*In addition to new tech, you can also get augmentations for your soldiers and find alien artifacts.
*There is an end game with multiple possible outcomes for your colony. Along the way you will achieve milestones that push the campaign to the next step, unlocking options and increasing challenges. It is self paced to an extent.
*Fluff nerds will get some new information about Unity and its various efforts across the galaxy.
*You also get a bit of fiction from yours truly.