Happy New Year

I hope you had a marvelous Christmas – topped off by making it onto Santa's “good” list, and have enjoyed every minute of the festive period. I wish you all the very best for 2021, and good fortune with whatever New Year Resolutions you might have made!

Traditionally this is a time of reflection and looking at plans for the future – due to personal circumstances here at Westwood Towers (my wife needed an emergency op on the run up to Christmas, and her convalescence continues), I've had plenty of time and opportunity to do indulge in both over the last few of weeks, so here's my weB LOG record of “the state of my hobby”.

First off, I was already aware that I had too many projects on the go at once, with less time available than when they all started (since we can't get out and about entertaining, we volounteered to host a weekly internet radio show which is aired on both “Move-Radio” and “GHR Midlands”).

The “new normal” due to the covid restrictions initially presented hours of 'free' hobby time, obviously this allowed me to dive headlong into my gaming with gay abandon.... and so it was that I ended up “plate spinning” – even with all of that extra time, painting up minis for one game would delay the basing of minis for another, which prevented the terrain being built for a different game, and the campaign 'down time' checks for the ATZ campaign still needed doing before I could start a new table top session for this blog, and of course there's a mass battle to fight which will open the new feudal Japanese campaign I've been working on for THE EMERALD MUSKETEERS blog – but I need to play out the prequel to that battle where Lord Toji meets the oracle, but I really must sort out what the Wormriders are up to after completing the “Dragon Heist” campaign before they venture into the Dungeon of the Mad Mage over on THE GAME CUPBOARD blog...........et cetera, et cetera. I'm sure you get the picture, and of course, plenty gets done but very little seems to get finished!

This (dis)organised chaos obviously requires resolving, but I don't intend shelving any of the 'new' projects - or scrapping yet more which I have in the pipeline since the desire to play them is quite simply TOO great and my personal wargaming world just won't be complete without the planned Dark Age chronicles, a little WW2 action, and a dash of Steampunk whimsey.

So just what IS the New Year Resolution?

Well, thanks to the mobile phone game “AFK Arena”, my better half developed enough of an interest in fantasy gaming for me to lure her into a few simple adventures. I cobbled together the 'combat dice' from the old Milton & Bradley HeroQuest, the floor tiles from Games Workshop's Advanced HeroQuest, and the rules (especially the solo / co-op mechanics) from Mantic's Dungeon Quest and we've had a whale of a time.

The lesson I learned is to keep everything else SIMPLE and concentrate on the GAMING, which is my aim for this year, which should result in less of this........

 

 and more of this...........

Many thanks for dropping by, and if you don't already (and perchance derive some entertainment from my efforts) please consider checking out the blogs mentioned above, since they'll be carrying more-or-less “equal shares” of my game write ups from now on and until further notice ta.

 

 

ZOMTOBER

“A zombie is a fictional undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse, most commonly found in horror and fantasy genre works. “

Quite an appropriate month to resurrect my humble blog from its slumbers!

I must admit that I've been caught in the 'lockdown doldrums' for a while, and though I have managed to get a fair few posts done over on The Game Cupboard and The Emerald Musketeers, things have been shamefully neglected here.

The Zomtober Challenge will be a testing experience this year, since due to my complete lack of hobby funds I can only paint what I can find in the 'pile of shame' that fits the theme (so I fully expect to pick up some more penalty points on my artistic licence).

So, to offset that situation, I've decided to pick up and continue the story of Brad and Hannah's fight for survival in the All Things Zombie campaign this month, so between now and Halloween the blog will shamble along featuring nothing more than death, decay and missing/rotten body parts!

You can play "catch-up" with the Zombie Apocalypse link, but just a quick refresher - Brad and the gang had driven into the town of Lorenzo and set up camp in a small warehouse complex, before getting tipped off that they were on a large hostile group's 'patch'.

They decided to make a run for it, and drove out in the early hours of the morning.

The "informers", Bobby Johnson and Madelyn Hopper, narrowly escaped members of the gang and followed Brad's trail hoping to join them.

Only a very short post, but fingers crossed there's plenty more REGULAR updates to follow!

 

Dark Clouds...

...... and Silver Linings, or, "Full Steam Ahead"!

To say it's been a horrible week and a bit would perhaps be stretching things, but it's certainly been far from 'fun'. First of all I had the problem with Blogger not uploading photo's (which would hamstring my activities here), which meant spending hours of frustrating effort trying to get it sorted - I HATE having to faff about on computers when they're not doing what they're supposed to, and the whole episode resulted in my hobby mojo taking a knock.
Then, while this was going on, I'd braved the great outdoors to do some shopping for my mum, and on the way home the van developed a rather unhealthy knocking from the passenger side rear wheel. It was late afternoon, so I delayed the job until the following morning - and thus spent a huge chunk of the next day stripping and re-assembling the brake caliper which was seizing up (probably through lack of use during the lock down)........ managing to sprain my wrist in the process, but hey ho, the job was done and surely things would improve from here on?

Well, yes and no! The lovely Tarot rode to the rescue and provided the solution to the Blogger issue (Yay!), but I've still got pain and stiffness in my right wrist and thumb / forefinger guiders (Boo!).
I needed to do something, rather than lay off and allow it to stiffen up but as I say, I didn't feel like doing any 'gamey stuff', so I decided to tackle a couple of jobs on my model railway that had been on the "to do" list for about 3 years!!
The Westwood & Loscoe Light Railway had taken delivery of an old workhorse in need of some TLC (a secondhand Accucraft "Caradoc") - here's her new driver and fireman having their first look at the latest addition to the stable...

The loco is still in 'factory finish' and looks quite plain at the moment, but I do like her chunky appearance and I'm looking forward to getting her repainted into WLLR black, and adding some detail to bring out the character of a hard working narrow gauge loco (lamp irons, handrails etc).
Back to the job in-hand though, I set to and replaced the factory fitted gas burner with a much more efficient one and like-wise removed the standard gas and steam regulators with "fine adjustment" versions - replacing the unrealistic looking control "knobs" with levers while I was at it.
These improvements meant disconnecting the gas and steam pipes, so before the work could be 'signed off' I had to check for leaks and she was duly fired up and brought up to pressure....

Buoyed by my success, I decided to make a start on another job on the railway which has long been awaiting the 'round tuit' stock replacement. This summer will see the "quarry section" of the line removed so that I can re-route the main running line away from the bottom corner of the garden. The quarry was only added to hide the hedgehog house from view, and since the rescue centre has sadly closed we'll no longer be releasing 'hogs, so the realignment has finally been granted approval by the higher household authorities.
Before getting down to the business of shifting rocks and lifting track I marked the occasion with a quick photo opportunity, recording the moment that Rusty and the Blue Meany (a pair of scratchbuilt battery operated diesels) were removed from Waingroves Quarry to enter service on the WLLR.

"Hang on, I thought this was a wargames blog" I hear you cry, and yes it is, but bear with me and I'll explain the relevance of the above......

The track realignment is underway, but will take some time (track laying in the garden railway scales bears more resemblance to the real thing than the indoor baseboard layouts), but having got the modelling juices flowing again I was keen to tackle another job, and appropriately a had yet another project that has been neglected for nigh on 3 years - and so my old "Mighty Fortress" from Games Workshop has finally got painted up and can at last be used on the table!

At this point, just as I was thinking that everything was back to running smoothly, we received advanced notification from HMRC that we would be able to make a claim for the self employed income support scheme this month (instead of having to wait until June as originally forecast - Yay!). BUT, anti fraud measures meant that we had to visit the GOV.UK website and create a "personal tax account" (we don't already have one since our annual returns are done through an accountant for peace of mind), because the whole claim / notification procedure will only be conducted via this secure account. Guess what........
....MORE hours wasted in front of the computer screen trying in vain to set up this account (Boo!).
In all fairness, it might well be down to sheer volume of traffic on the website, and this is a brand new scheme that HMRC have had to set up from scratch and teething troubles are to be expected, so I'm not knocking them and I'm sure they'll get it sorted in time - but did I mention that "I HATE having to faff about on computers when they're not doing what they're supposed to"?

Sorry about the "Off Topic" nature of this post, but hey, it's the blog's third anniversary in a few days time (another '3 year' tie-in!) so I'll celebrate by returning to normal service!
Until then, take care, please leave a comment if you so wish, and..........

Oh Dear!

It seems like I've got a nasty case of Blogger Blight - I've read of fellow bloggers experiencing the same sort of problem, and not being able to add photo's (in any form, jpeg, giff etc) to their posts.
Every time I try to upload a photo, the error report "Server Rejected" appears.

The word from the wise (Blogger "help" team) is to clear the browser cache - which I have done
but it doesn't work!

If anyone has found the cure to this problem I would LOVE to hear from you asap.
Thanks in advance,
Greg

Breaking News!

If you've been following along with this little project and fancy having a go yourself, the author Joseph McCullough has just made an announcement on his blog after speaking to the publishers Osprey Games, in view of the current isolation measures affecting us gamers.

 They are giving away pdf copies of Frostgrave and Dark Alchemy! Check it out here >

Free Frostgrave

What a coincidence, and I think you'll agree, what a star!

Since the rules are completely "miniature agnostic", and you can use whatever terrain you have on hand, a ruler and a couple of D20 are really all the extras you need - so there's DEFINITELY no 'ulterior motive' attached to this amazing gift, just a genuine act of kindness in these troubled times.

Well done Joseph!!

I'll be playing my first game tonight - the embossed wallpaper didn't quite have enough definition (though I reckon it would have worked better if I'd taken it outside and used a rattle can to do the base coat), but it's dry now and the terrain is set up and ready to go.

Stay safe, and see you soon with a full write up of this first game.

Reboot

Hi there and welcome to the "Lock Down edition" of the blog.

As you may already know, in July last year I had the HUGE honour of being invited to join the talented folks that run "The Game Cupboard" blog, and considering the fact that Stevie, Hils and Tarot have been such an influence and inspiration to me since I entered the blogiverse, it was a somewhat daunting, but irresistible offer!
The original plan was that as well as writing posts for TGC, I'd continue posting here on my own blog, and combine some of the campaign material to form a joint narrative. Sadly with constraints on my free time this didn't happen, apart from " The Quest Finale ", and posts here slowed and quickly ground to a halt............
Until Now!
The emergency measures introduced by the government during the Covid-19 pandemic will mean a lot of time at home in isolation, and I'm so thankful that I have my hobby that I can turn to as a "coping mechanism" since we're in this for the long haul.

The plan is to make use of my weB LOG after this reboot, not just "restarting" it and running it as it was, but to log ALL of my hobby related activities as a kind of morale boosting progress report. I figure that if I can't make a significant dent in the piles of lead, plastic and mdf now, it's never going to happen!

Once I'd got over the 'system shock' of what was happening, the first job I tackled was the 28mm ruined village set of mdf terrain from JB Wargaming Scenery ("banksjohnedward" on ebay).

They took an evening to assemble, and I let the glue fully cure overnight before making a start on painting them decorators test pots and finishing them off with a home made wash. They'll get a bit of titivation and further weathering (to hide some of the joins) before their first use, but I could use them as they are so I'm calling them "done"!
Incidentally, they're intended for some planned WW2 skirmish games, but I hope I can get away with using them in other genres as well - zombie apocalypse and cyberpunk for sure, and some of 'em will be OK for fantasy and ECW (I hope).

So, we're back up and running and I do hope everyone reading this is staying safe and getting used to the "new normal" we find ourselves in.

Greg.

Touching Base(s)

"Touching Base"
It's been far too long since my last post here on the blog, I lay the blame partly on the fact that we've been incredibly busy during the height of the "festival season", and the rest lays at my own feet - I've had some hobby time, but have used the majority of it (not all, but more on that later *) to catch up on painting and modelling, which I don't reckon has really been 'blogworthy'.

"Touching Bases"
Having said that, I thought you might be interested in one of the projects though - basing material.
Before leaving the hobby many moons ago, the common method for basing minis was to glue them to pieces of thin plywood, and then texture them with Tetrion (a kind of polyfilla/sand mix) and then paint them (usually a green base coat followed by yellow drybrush). Immediately upon my return to gaming, I did exactly the same thing before realising how much things had changed!
Over time I tried to improve my basing technique, tryng to emulate what I saw in photo's and following youtube tutorials, but was never quite satisfied with my own results. Then Luke (of Lukes APS and Geek Gaming) released his "Base Ready" product line. A basing material with the sales pitch "glue it, dip it, done it"! I bought a 180ml tub of 'Wasteland Soil' and was over the moon with the results it gives - and would highly recommend the range cos 'it does exactly what it says on the tin'!.......

The only problem was that there's nothing in the Base Ready range that would "look right" both in a dungeon crawl and on a battlefield - and I didn't want to go down the route of rebasing my minis on clear bases, so it was thinking cap time, followed by some experimentation.
I ended up buying a huge 25 kilo bag of "2mm to Dust" granite which I put through a sieve (no, not the one from the kitchen, but a cheap one from Wilko that I bought for the job) and added a small quantity of very fine sand, a small amount of mid green sawdust flock and a darker green 2mm static grass. I just varied the quantities until I was happy with the mix.
Here's some recently painted minis based with the concoction.........

I went on to add a little dark green sponge flock, plus some larger "rocks" to one batch of the mix, with the intention of applying this to sabbot bases. This should allow me to form "units" from my individual dungeon crawl minis and field them in Dragon Rampant games..... and maybe "Song of Blades and Heroes, which I've been intending to take for a spin for a while now!

* The rest of the time?
After chatting to Stevie over on The Game Cupboard blog, and discovering just how much we share in common in our wonderful hobby, we hatched a cunning plan which would see us collaborating on a fantasy campaign project.
This has involved a fair amount of emailing, plus more modelling and painting in preparation of what's to come, and I'm delighted to say that this project is now underway, and if anyone would like to see just how Beska, Trebbelos, Krago and Pendora (from the previous post here) are now getting on in Waterdeep, you can find out here -  Foreigners in a strange land and my own "first post" has just been hosted too if you're interested in my foray into D&D 5e.
For anyone who hasn't already, I'd recommend visiting The Game Cupboard (either via the link above or click on the link in my 'Favourites' to the right of this post). While you're there, why not click the "Follow" button and keep up to date with our shenanigans??

Thanks muchly for visiting (and putting up with such a long break between posts), there's a game currently on the table, so a write up won't be far behind as I settle back into "business as usual" now the nights are drawing back in - blimey! it'll soon be Zomtober again!

Sengoku era fantasy additions.

Precious little hobby time these last few weeks, so alas, still no AAR. Thank goodness my painting setup allows me to grab a few minutes whenever possible, which has allowed me to at least have a few minis to form a blog post!
First up is the Reaper Bones Oni.

His size and wide stance meant he had to be mounted on a large base, but this is OK  since "in game" he will take multiple 'kills' to actually remove him from play and the base allowed me to incorporate a "wound tracker".

Next are a pair of Dixon Miniatures Dai Bakemono to lead the rank-and-file goblinoids into battle. The larger figure on the right is an actual Dai Bakemono, and I copied the skin tone for the smaller 'regular' Bakemono (as well as giving both of them more colourful armour) to distinguish him from the green skinned riff raff!

I believe this is an old Citadel Miniatures sculpt (please correct me if I'm wrong), and he now represents the necromancer in the Bakemono clan.

Of course, having a necromancer is no good unless there are some corpses for him to raise - these are additions to the "Dishonoured Dead" skeletal samurai (the plastic minis I got with the Forbidden Fortress game).
They're metal castings sold in pairs by Second City Games via ebay, but I have no idea what range they're from - if you know, could you please enlighten me via the comments section PLEASE 

Finally, yet another "unknown manufacturer" (though I suspect it might be from Zenit Miniatures), again, if you recognise him I'd love to know where he's from.
He's quite large compared to the rest of my 28mm collection, but he fits nicely as a typical 'larger than life' character typical of Japanese myth and folk tales.
While wielding the brush, I envisioned him as a mysterious traveller - possibly a travelling warrior monk, but whose side will he be on????

 To close, here's a group shot of the new additions, which shows their different sizes.

All that's left for this post is to thank you once again for visiting, and invite your comments, questions and critiques, which are always welcome.
I must also mention that with the blog's anniversary fast approaching, I'm intending making a few changes - nothing drastic, but hopefully a few tweaks and improvements which I've been meaning to do for some time.

A mixed bag.

Still no "Forbidden Fortress" game report I'm afraid, but here's a quick round up of what I have managed hobby-wise since the last post!
First off, here's a contingent of the Ii clan on the march to support their allies the Takeda (you may remember that the Takeda clan were having a tough time of it in the Test Of Honour clashes with the Mori clan).

The Ii were well known for their red armour - intended to intimidate their opponents, but also making the ideal subject for what's been a 'speed painting' exercise!!
The trees they're marching past are also a new addition. I'd seen someone using cheap trees from China and thought I'd give them a try, basing them up on mdf scatter bases I had to hand. At £5.85 including postage for TEN trees I think they're an absolute bargain.

Now, talking of speed painting, I've acquired a few minis from Greenbriar Games "Folklore: The Affliction" game, and two ghostly types only needed a prime and a wash to make them 'table ready'.
I thought this one would make a pretty good Yūrei (Japanese ghost) for my Sengoku era fantasy setting.......

 .... and this one provides me with a Banshee that will be useful for Witchfinder General (or even D&D)

I'm going to stray from gaming now, and mention my "other hobby", which has taken very much a back seat since I succumbed to the siren call of the Dice Gods once more.
Because of the dry sunny weather and time of year, my services have been required out in the garden, and oh dear, my narrow gauge model railway is showing severe signs of neglect!

It puts me in mind of the state of the Tallyllyn when it was 'discovered' after years of closure by Tom Rolt (sparking the whole concept of Railway Preservation), and even though it's not been touched in months I thought it looked kind of photogenic.

 I might have to re-visit these scenes once the line's back in running order,

 or maybe I'll try and photograph the "volounteers" as they set about restoring the railway!!

And that's about it for this post, other than to thank you for visiting, and inviting your comments which as ever would be most welcome.

February........

It might be the shortest month of the year, but this one's been a real drag and I'm glad to see the back of it!!
Complete days have been wasted because bankers and solicitors have had me jumping through hoops, and on top of that we've had yet more problems with our van - today's trip to the mechanics will probably be its last since we're now actively looking for a replacement. Thankfully it's not all bad news, but the arrival of a new kitten has also impacted on my hobby time due to the "man cave" being used to store all the 'stuff' that wasn't deemed to be kitten friendly (and according to Mrs G, that's a LOT of stuff!!)
Anyhow, the lesson I've learned from the experience is to give up making predictions about what and when specific topics will be appearing here on the blog - it seems that every time I do, something crops up to scupper my plans....... cause and effect?!?!

Anyhow, first off you'd better say hello to our new addition "Arwen"

and here (finally) are the photo's Ivor requested all those weeks ago! (I've only included a few, otherwise it would be a bit of a spoiler for the game reports).........
....all adventures in Forbidden Fortress start on the entrance tile (I've positioned a couple of Reaper Bones minis for scale)

 The gaming area is created by drawing cards from the map deck,

 which contains corridors like these examples,

 and rooms like these,

 as well as other features like this one,

 and here's its corresponding tile.

 The artwork on all of the tiles is equally impressive, and all of them are double-sided, printed on good quality card.

So, "Farewell February" and March is already looking better - 'retail therapy' (as well as a meet-up with fellow blogger Vagabond) at the Hammerhead show in Newark is this Saturday!

Forbidden Fortress

As soon as I read the description:~
"A fast paced, co-operative (or solo), dungeon crawl boardgame set in war torn Feudal Japan"
                                                                                                                                      I was hooked!

I was totally unaware of this game, and discovered it by accident while googling around looking at self contained solo / co-op games like "Gloomhaven", and "Blackstone Fortress" - I knew I was getting some hobby funds for Christmas, and wondered if any of these games would appeal. I'd got as far as "Shadows Of Brimstone" when my eye caught this box art........

Once I'd read more info on the game, plus watching reviews and "unboxing" vids on youtube, I set about finding the best UK price for a copy, then sat back and awaited the arrival of the (big) box.
When it did, I was amazed by the weight! Forbidden Fortress is packed with double sided floor plans, card decks, counters, dice, rule and scenario books - even a soundtrack cd!!
Oh yes, and miniatures!
I've managed to assemble them all and they're presented below with an AW Miniatures 28mm samurai for size comparison.
The minis do come with their own bases, but since I intend using them in table top games as well as the boxed rpg, I've substituted standard mdf bases appropriately sized to match the rest of my Sengoku period collection.

Here's the Heroes - traveling monk, shugenja, samurai and ninja. Their stat cards for the game are double sided, allowing you to play male or female versions of the four characters. Unfortunately, minis for the gender variants aren't included with the core game, but I'm sure I'll be able to find suitable alternatives

Moving on to the "monsters", these acid drooling Tentacles are single piece castings

The first of the multi part models, the Dishonoured Dead (skeletal samurai - SO cool!)

The Tengu are modelled on the "long nose" version of the myth, unlike the usual "bird head" produced by several other companies

The Oni are posed alongside the "Reaper Bones" model as well as the 28mm samurai to give yet more scale comparison

The Living Statue is huge! (84mm toe to eye)

Last but by no means least, the Harionago, levitating while her animated hair with its barbed tips coils menacingly around her.

The background narrative to the boardgame provides a perfect setting for some fantasy table top games based on this genre, so I'd better get cracking with the painting.

Sorry I'm a bit late with this post, I still feel like I should be hibernating, but am happy to report that I can sense the sap rising and regular blogging should resume henceforth.
Thanks for visiting and as always your comments and questions are very welcome!

Learn from yesterday,

 live for today, hope for tomorrow. — Albert Einstein

With 2019 just around the corner, I'd like to wish all my fellow bloggers a magical time in the New Year!

Post Zomtober Post

Crikey!

November already, and while Bonfire Night looms large, I completely missed out on the second half of the Zomtober painting challenge.
As previously stated, "Hobby time" was under pressure last month, but when a drive shaft and wheel bearing on the van gave up the ghost, I'm afraid that was the end of my planned free time.
Every cloud has a silver lining though, and while the breakdown repairs were being done I also got the work needed for the MOT out of the way and the test done, which was due this month - so I've gained a little free time for the coming weeks which kinda makes up for some of what I lost!

The min's for the challenge have been sitting on the paint table, so I tackled them today - nothing special, just some male and female survivors from Mantic's "The Walking Dead".
I hope I've not upset any purists of the comics or TV show, but I've gone for a basic and generic paint job on these characters. They may be stars of TWD, but they'll probably be strting as grunts in my ATZ campaign!

The Guys - Rick & Carl facing off against The Governor.

The Gals - Andrea, Amy, Carol &Sophia.

Not much else to offer for this post, other than to mention that as a wargamer deprived of playing, modelling or painting, I took solace from a little 'Retail Therapy'......but more on that in a later post.

Many thanks for dropping by and not giving up on this humble scribe, and now the gig dates are settling back to 'normal', I hope to be getting back to some serious gaming and blogging - well, not "serious" serious..... you know what I mean!

Zomtober is here!

"Tempus Fugits", and it's certainly fugited this year! October already, and I haven't managed to get my act together in preparation for the great Zomtober event. I've got some survivors that need painting, but other than an undead dragon that's awaiting pigment application, I've currently got no unfinished zombies in da house!

October is also insanely busy gigs-wise (actually our busiest month this year - why are we so popular for Halloween parties??!!), so this years challenge is going to be a real, erm, challenge!
More of the Zomtober activities to follow in their own dedicated posts, along with links to this years participants blogs.

Unfortunately, I've still not had the opportunity to fit in any of the games that are queuing up to be played (and written up), and I just know I'll be "binge playing" as soon as I get the chance - I've also been giving some thought about what to do when my "gaming table" is in use as a modelling bench, and have my own take on "Travel Battle" in the pipeline, using Irregular Miniatures 2mm minis and terrain.

Now, as promised, some thoughts on "All Things Zombie - Evolution".
The title is really fitting, because Ed has really made some BIG changes to our beloved ATZ game! I'm not one of the 'old hands' since I cut my teeth on Final Fade Out, but the veterans out there who started playing with Better Dead Than Zed and earlier will find massive changes to "THE" zombie apocalypse game.

I'm not sure how to tackle this - posting details of the rules would probably breech various copyright laws, so I'll do my best with generalisations. Ed is posting examples of play on the THW blog, which you'll find over in my list on the right hand side bar >>>>>>>

First off, let me say that the game is extremely streamlined with most of the changes aimed at speeding up play - for example, the introduction of "battle boards" which dispense with measuring distances for movement and firing. Also new rules for actions like "Searching Buildings" are very much simplified - two battleboards are supplied with the rules, but you can optionally treat each 1ft square of your old table as a 'battleboard'.
For us folks who prefer to play over a 3ft x 3ft table and don't like the 'abstract' nature of the battle boards (all movement and firing is restricted to just the battle board area - the rest of the table is 'ignored'), there's a free download supplement titled "ATZ Tabletop Convention Play" ( I think "Conventional" play would be more explanatory), and here we find all the familiar mechanics along with some additional 'new' content.
Of course, there just had to be changes to the old "In Sight" test....... is this the most tweaked rule in the history of the game?

Other significant changes include a new method of increasing/decreasing Rep in campaigns, a new class known as "Sheeple" who are neither Gangers or Survivors, new (simplified) age groups, and (I really like this one) gone are the 'standard' 3 PEF's per encounter..... the number is now randomised and weighted so there's the probability of fewer in rural areas, more in suburbs and most in urban environments!
Players who like to 'Talk the Talk' will either love or hate the new "Interaction" rules,  and my own star character Brad will need to have a read of the new "Companionship" rules considering his relationship with Hannah!
What I don't want him looking at are the new "Fame and Fortune" rules - Stars decide on their campaign 'goal' then track their progress via monthly Rep increase/decreases before "Retiring" at the end of a ten year campaign..........

To end, I'll  draw your attention to "The Town", a six area introductory campaign module provided at the end of the main rules.
Oh, and did I mention the "Ragers" or "Smart Zombies"? (or the magic using "Casters", hairy "Lycaons", blood thirsty "Vampires" or Resident Evil 'Alice' - esque "Razors"?) If you're finding survival against zombies and gangers too bland, you have these additional optional classes fully described and given their rules stats to spice up your games!

So, will I be 'Evolving' from Final Fade out?
No. But just as players have ported over their preferred mechanics from older versions into ATZ:FFO, I'll definitely be taking some of the better rules out of this new 'tool box' to use in my existing campaign.
I can also see an opportunity to use a lot of the 'streamlined play' content to allow for quick scenarios and 'side quests' to be played out while I'm away from home gigging!

Sorry for this being yet another late and "wordy" post - normal service WILL be resumed as soon as possible!!