Plamo: Gorbag's Revenge (Battlefleet Gothic)

Well, technically not plamo. This is a white metal release. Metmo? Sounds like a Pokemon. Why do I scratch-build ork ships? Well, a lot of it is because I can, and I'd say quite well, thanks. But, honestly, there's a cost aspect to thing. Battlefleet Gothic is long since out of production, and Orks were a metal fleet. Well, obviously everything in 40k apart from the T'au is pretty METAL, I mean that Orks never got any ships in plastic or resin as far as I know. Humies and Spikey Boyz however got plastic cruisers in the box. This means its relatively easy to find those models, even as that number decreases through attrition, and if not? People do 3rd party options these days. With Orks it's somewhat harder, as while you can easily find the escorts, the capital ships are stupid money, and so you'll have to consider making your own. Maybe its time to play around with a 3D printer...

Today's subject is the Gorbag's Revenge, a metal model like those above. I got it as new around the time of release, and didn't actually finish until now. And it's good that I did save it, as these go for the aforementioned stupid money on ebay. I'm honestly surprised nobody has reversed engineered any of this.... the weapon bays look easily re-castable for bits. Did nobody but me care to? Or do I need to research more?

I don't have a huge amount to say about the creative process on this one. It's a straightforward assembly and paint job, using the techniques I favour. This is meant to be a specific vessel, so there's little room to go nuts. I will instead take the opportunity to point how metal is probably the worst material for models like this. The Revenge weighs more than my Space Hulk while being a quarter of the size, which makes it a liability on the standard GW flying base. I broke three bases before drilling into it to make a better mounting point, I remember having exactly the same issue with the smaller kroosers. As a medium, white metal is so tough you need serious tools and a vice to cut it up, but not so tough those tiny prow gun-barrels stay on.  Then I broke another flying stand when photographing it. I don't mean to be salty, but this was a right nuisance, and I've drawn a line under this whole project.

While significantly more annoying than it should have been. Gorbag's Revenge basically turned out OK. I just cannot get over this stand issue.

The Mecha Hack: Super Robots & Combiners

Generally speaking, my interest in the mecha genre comes from two angles. My default is the intellectual, armchair general kind of way. You'll see this in the rambling introductions to my gunpla articles, I like the worlds and history they live in. When you get right down to it, a good mecha anime is a good story. My inner child however simply loves the wonder of giant robots, and my numerous neuroses can be calmed by a show that tries to be awesome and hot-blooded. Such things are usually typified by the Super Robot genre, a concept which is known in the West, but perhaps not consciously, or by that name.

What is A Super Robot?

Super Robots represent the original form of the Mecha genre, with its own conventions and tropes. As the name implies, these are robots that are akin to superheroes, as opposed to Real Robots like Gundam, which aim for realism as a design motif. This distinction was popularised by the Super Robot Wars series of games, which features massive crossovers between numerous mecha franchises, and is more of a spectrum than a hard line. Remember, Real Robots were an evolution of the Supers, and there can be a lot of overlap. If a mecha looks and behaves like something out of Power Rangers or Gurren Lagann, has powers as plot demands, and does not attempt realism, its probably a super robot. If a mecha looks like a mass produced item that follows a consistent internal logic, it's probably a real robot. Pacific Rim is a pretty good example of the middle ground between these two extremes, the Jaegers being highly individual monster wrestlers, but with a logistic angle like a battleship. Alternatively, Gundam Wing is for most intents and purposes a real robot show, but the titular Gundams are so overwhelmingly lethal they might as well be supers. More generally, super robots aim at young kids as opposed to the teens reals aim for, although the idea has been around long enough that deconstructionist works and gritty reboots are a thing. Fashions ebb and flow, don't they? Put another way, if a real robot show is like a Christian Bale Batman, a super robot show is the Adam West Batman. And yes, people can get defensive about that, and then go and hire Ben Affleck.

Playing with Super Robots

The Mecha Hack and its Mission Manual are generally quite good at handling Super Robots as is. The influences are very much worn on their sleeves there. Kaiju can be left as is, or reskinned as "Robeasts", and classes like the Colossus and Vanguard are pretty much there already. Things can however be taken further. The sample class below is an example of how. Here I've taken the view that a super robot is a close range fighter, reliant on its modules for ranged attacks. As super robots are fundamentally built for punching, I've treated the fists as light melee, rather than unarmed or improvised. You may wish to add "eye beams" or similar as a ranged weapon. Meanwhile, the Chassis Abilities play to prominent genre staples, namely courage/guts and stock animation attacks. For the full effect, make it so enemies can only be defeated by a Finishing Move. The primary influence here is my personal fave, Gaogaigar, which has an article pending BTW.

Super Mechanoid Chassis

Hit Die D10 Damage Die D10 Reactor Die D6

Levelling

Roll your hit die to gain new hit points. Roll to see if attributes increase, rolling twice for Power and Presence. At levels 3, 6, & 9, gain a new module

Starting HP

1d10 + 4.

Proficiencies

All melee weapons, Heavy Armour.

Starting Equipment

Comlink, Bare Knuckles (Light Melee Weapon), Heavy Armour.

Heroic Courage

As a use action, test Presence to regain 1d6 HP and reset your Reactor Die to 1d6. You may not attempt this if you are undamaged and/or have a Reactor Die at its maximum, but you may do so the turn after Overheating.

Finishing Move

As an attack action, test Presence to inflict a Finishing Move to a single Close enemy. If that enemy is at 33% HP or less, it is destroyed, otherwise it suffers 2D8 damage. Roll your Reactor Die twice.

Super Robot Modules

Rocket Punch: As an attack action, test Power to inflict 2d6 damage on a single Near or Far Enemy. Roll your Reactor die.

Giga Drill: As an attack action, test Power to inflict 2D4 damage on a single Close or Near enemy. If the target is Close, the damage is 3d4 instead. Roll your Reactor Die.

Alternate Rules for Combiner Mecha, Featuring the Lovelace Liberator

I'm going to tell you a little story. So, its the time of the first UK lockdown, and I'm desperately trying to find something to do. One of those things ended up being the “New-Texas Test Team”, a Mecha Hack Campaign for assorted groups, which eventually was whittled-down one party of good friends. It might have been the smartest thing I ever did. One man, he knows who he is, asked about combining, and my response was basically “I'm not saying no, but there's not rules for that, lemme come back to it later.”. Because I aim to please, I made this the focus of the mid-series climax. Simply, a character had dared the resident mad scientist, Diana Lovelace, to put in a gestalt mode, but forgot to due to an off-screen drinking binge. This eventually is revealed several weeks later when the party faced an otherwise unbeatable foe, combining to form the Lovelace Liberator. There was theme music, and everything. This was my first ever attempt to write and play with my own homebrew rules for the Mecha Hack, and looking back, it was a bit of a bodge. I ended up revising pretty quickly. TBH, I now feel I was unduly harsh in my Mission Manual review when I said the Combiner rules lacked oomph. They seem quite functional, and I'd use them for “Symmetrical Docking” style, Fusion Dance, two-part combiners. However, you may wish like I did for a combiner to be an event. A high point. Something with its own distinct rules. So, here's some guidelines as to how.

1. The combined form has its own character sheet, with pilots operating as Mecha Crews, see page 38 of the Rulebook.

2. A combined form should have a minimum of 100HP, 20AP, 2d8 Damage Die, 1d10 Reactor Die, while Mobility is capped at 10.

3. It should have the Chassis Ability “ALL YOUR POWERS COMBINED: As a special action, any and all pilots may choose to activate an chassis ability or module from their individual mecha, the effect lasting until the start of their next action, and benefiting the whole combiner. Triggering this ability does not count towards the action limit, but the Chassis Ability or Module you activate otherwise functions as normal.”

4. It should have the Chassis Ability “EMERGENCY COOLDOWN: Should it Overheat or loose its last HP, the combiner instead immediately separates into its component parts, i.e. the party. Individual components have their reactor die set to 1d4, with HP at GM discretion. Combination may not be attempted for the rest of the scenario.”

The feel I was aiming for here was “big punchy thing, but players have to collaborate”. Such a Combiner might have as many as six actions a turn, enough to muller most foes, but would run through its Reactor Die pretty quickly. Therefore players have to pace themselves, possibly spending actions on “ALL YOUR POWERS COMBINED” to maximise the attacks they make.

If you do end up using any of this, do let me know how it turns out.

Remembering: Orguss 02

Super Dimension Century Orguss is so obscure as to have apparently no modern merchandise since 2015, and virtually no English online presence. Its from the same people whom did Macross, although significantly less influential. Its legacy consists mainly of a significant role in the crossover game series Super Robot Wars, and today's subject, Orguss 02, which is hardly any better known. The annoyingly misnomered Manga Entertainment did an English dub for VHS and eventually DVD, but unless you taped anime off cable, you'll likely be ignorant of it. And if you care to track it down? The dub has all the sins of localisation circa 1995, and the DVD release is shoddy. Seriously, its alright for a casual watch, but if you set it to subs to avoid the dub, you're gonna find corners were cut. However, this is not a review. This is an article about how Orguss 02 made fairly a big impression on me. 

 

Let's talk about genre conventions and their subversion. In order for something to be recognised as in the Mecha genre, it has to do certain things. These should be fairly obvious, but to spell it out: a teenager in advanced humanoid weapon, fighting other humanoid weapons, in what is probably a war story of Japanese origin. The thing about definitions like that is that they are flexible, and a convenient shorthand, but people like to argue. Orguss 02 fits into that definition nicely, but then you check out the details. It's got the robots, but the lead characters spend little to no time piloting them. It's a war story, but the show is more concerned with the politics that create one and the civilian experience, rather than the actual fighting. It's Japanese, but visually is a hodgepodge of Western/European styles. It's a sequel, but one that initially ignores its predecessor, taking the mecha from it and giving them a crude dieselpunk refit. Orguss 02 is a mecha show, but its subverting the genre norms almost constantly in ways big and small. What makes it personally interesting to me is that A) its one of my earliest mecha experiences, possibly an odd place to start, I admit, B) while I enjoyed it as a novice, it only improves once you know the genre in which it exists a bit better. I'm not gonna talk about everything though. It's a fairly short series, if a very busy one, so talking in too much depth would detract from it. And in previous drafts that ended up being a gushing summary. That's not interesting to write or read.

I will instead however talk about what is its most distinctive, but ultimately secondary, aspect: the mecha. Most of the show by comparison is an espionage thriller meets Game of Thrones, where the lead character is just a naïve nice guy, his mentor is a war profiteer, and his main love interest is an escaped prisoner with extreme misanthropy. The mecha aspect, and the war it enables, is but one plot point of three. Like I said, genre subversion. It is however extremely memorable, as not many animes mix high technology with the 1940s. The mysterious robots they have were dredged up from the oceans or dug out of mines, and they haven't been fully restored. We mostly see the Rivilian examples, and these are all about taking the titular Orguss mecha, and simply replacing the head with machine guns in the absence of original weaponry. They also put on searchlights, and in one extreme case, a dude with a trumpet. Nobody seems to have realised that the things can transform. The Zafrin military meanwhile follows along similar lines, at least until the point where they dig up what is probably the animes' defining design, the absolutely humongous Zerifer. This is a looming threat in the background, and of a scale rarely seen. I mean, yeah, the likes of the Macross class are more dangerous, but you don't see one of them striding across Central Europe like some personification of overwhelming force, do you? Just about every scene involving this faintly daft thing is a winner, and the show is just as imaginative with the robot stuff, as it is with the characters dynamics. This series is pushing 30 years old, and yet it still somehow feels fresh and novel.

Mind you, it is not unique. Coming about 6 years later was Turn-A Gundam, a series much better known, but suspiciously similar. That show got a lot of flak back in the day for daring to change the basic Gundam design, but I think the elephant in the room was how similar it was to Orguss 02. I mean, its got a early-20th-century look to it, the mecha are mysterious and largely dug out of the ground, there's a huge great secret behind it all, there's some literally apocalyptic machines waiting to be discovered, it suddenly becomes a direct sequel after doing its own thing, and so on. The difference is that Turn-A was a TV series in a much better known franchise, with its creator in a happy mood, while Orguss 02 is an obscure 6 episode OVA that pitches towards an higher age rating. I remember being grumpy about this at the time, and while I bounced off the anime, I've grown to respect Turn-A in recent years. It may be following a path a more concise show made, but Turn-A has aged far better than most Gundam instalments. Either that, or I just like animes where its both the past and future at once, and literally anything could come out of the woodwork.

Anyways. I'll happily admit this anime is an influence on the mecha RPGs I run, and on a recent rewatch it holds up. Its also fairly easy to find, so if any of the above appeals, give it a go.

Plamo: The 30 Minute Missions Rabiot (White) and Spy Drone Option Armour (Purple)

 

Well, I never technically did a "straight build" of the Rabiot, or photographed one, so here we are. I got this in as I had time off, threw it together, waffled a bit as I couldn't decide how to build it, added a gunsight, went to town with the panel lines, and then took some photos. And here they are.

 

Now, the original Rabiot armour sets were a touch unconventional, something I embraced wholeheartedly, but I acknowledge was a marmite. However this Spy Drone Armour set is something closer to the Alto add-ons, but with a higher parts count. The chest and faceplate replacements work how you would expect, but something I love is the replacement waist block. This hampers mobility, but looks so much better, I'm never taking it off. The shield also has a nice modular thing going on, and you can assemble it as a "folding" example. On the downside, while these have their own pegs now, positioning a 30MM shield remains less than ideal. It's a hair too big overall and interferes with the shoulder armour. 

 

 

Meanwhile, the Roy Roy is kinda just there. I wasn't mourning their absence with the base kit, and this version looks a little daft with its wheels. I'm not seeing a point to these, really. Then again, you can use it as a rather impressive head replacement, which goes nicely with the chest armour. I think there's definitely a future project there. If they did this set again in yellow or orange, I can see myself revisiting it.

 

So, to sum up, I'm not getting how the new bits suggests “spy drone”, but this was definitely another fun project.

Mini-Review: The Mecha Hack Mission Manual

So, full disclosure: I backed this on Kickstarter, and as such got access to various previews and early PDFs. This also means I was predisposed to like the product, as if the various blog articles on this game system didn't give it away. Here's a few thoughts on what they delivered.

 

The Mission Manual is probably best described as a chunky GM resource pack for the original rulebook. It's not mandatory in any real sense, but what it does offer are a means for you to run a campaign or one-shot with even greater ease. This is where the titular Missions come in, which are presented in a single page format for you to build from. These seem elegantly minimalist, but as these are obviously light in detail, I'd imagine this could be intimidating for a novice. On the other hand, the book spends a lot more time fleshing out its Lodestone Alpha setting so less prep work is needed. Overall? If you liked the basic rules, but for whatever reason you wanted more flesh on the bones, it does that job pretty well. Thus far, I've only tried one of these new Missions myself, and while a success, I've found copying the format of them to be unexpectedly useful in focusing my ideas. I'm also toying with the idea of running one of the sample campaigns once gaming in person becomes possible again. So, yes. I have decided post a review despite not fully exploring the product. Please don't hold it against me.

More immediately interesting though are the expanded character creation rules. These were previewed, and ended up being used in several oneshots I ran, and I've found them handy if overly specific in places. The Vet and Merc feel like they've always been there, but the Hybrid and Pariah are homaging something more definite and such aren't as adaptable. I'm not sure what the Bionic is referencing, and along with the Vanguard & Auxiliary, it seems to be a logical outgrowth of game mechanics. As we have 64 possible character combinations, new modules, and new weapon qualities, we can now run games of 5+ players without doubling up on something. Which is nice. These are labelled as optional rules, and TBH a lot of the stuff in that section does feel that way. There's many good tools here, possibly too many, if I were to nitpick. Maybe it's because I'd already worked out my own solutions to some of the problems they solve. The combiner rules lack oomph, and function like a party standing really close together. I'd treated such things as having their own statblock, although I never got around to posting it here. That said, the rules for space-fighters and aerial combat would have been useful to have earlier.

One observation I would make is that the new list of enemies seem nastier than rulebook foes of a similar level, and more complicated. This lines up with the experience I've had with running games, as players tend to walk through combat until they hit something obviously overwhelming. As I've aimed for cinematic rather than tactical combat, this hasn't been problem really, but it might be something to consider. The big change is the addition of Swarm mecha, a way to further abstract combat with multiple combatants. This largely replaces individual HP with a degrading dice mechanic, and I've been wanting to playtest it aggressively. While this does not look to be suitable for map-based combats, this definitely is handy as a time saver and as a genre tool. I would however lean towards a blob of simple mecha rather than mixing units.

In summary: a useful expansion pack to an already good game. Not essential, but I would not be surprised at all if this became a compilation or the basis of a 2^nd edition.

Gunpla: The RGMGM-79 GM/GM (Build HG)

The thing about the assorted Build series is that it allows Bandai to do more or less whatever they want. Most of the time, this means easy retooled kits and easier narrative, but sometimes you can only look at something and assume there's "a story" behind it. The GM/GM is one of them. It's name is a pun, and it's meant to be a customised spin on the original cannon fodder mecha. Oh, and it's used by an organised crime operation.

What makes the GM/GM so curious to me is that it feels like someone decided to modernise the original design, but for whatever reason, it never made it to a UC anime. Build gunpla tend to be quite individualistic, and while there are army builders, army builders usually don't get to be kits as nice as this. This is because its not an army builder, its a extensive retool of the Star Burning Gundam, although I've not handled that one personally. As such, its significantly more involved than the original GM, and indeed a majority of HG kits I've done, but not in bad way. No, it's more like it's a superior example of the style used immediately before Bandai started using the 30MM technology everywhere. Its not perfect though. The main design quirk is the pop-out shoulder assembly, which I don't like. When used, this looks like the chest is breaking, so it's fortunate that articulation is otherwise very nice. The joints were originally intended for martial arts poses, which is a plus. There's also some odd gaps in the heel area, seemingly a by-product of the retool.

In terms of equipment, a GM/GM is functional but very customisation focused. There's the beam spray gun, two beam sabers and a nicely executed shield. This mounts securely, with a slot for the second saber, and turns the Federation symbol into a spike weapon. There's no alternate hands, but a choice of 3 heads and an eye-watering number of 3mm ports, many concealed behind tabs. This is some extreme custom fodder. I feel that I'm not getting most out of this kit just by following the instructions.

While there are other GM kits out there, it would not surprise me if this was the best one. I regret that its taken me this long to post about it.

Battlefleet Gothic: The 2010 Ork Clans Review

 So, I had this idea to write a series of tactical analysis articles about a dead game I've hardly played, and am not likely to play for the foreseeable future. Why? Well, its something to do. I'm building some Ork Ships, so why not use the creative energy that's there?

Well, I've put this off for long enough. I still can't play this game, but as I've researched and written more on the topic of Ork fleets, I've kept coming back to the 2010 Compendium Clans List. It just adds a lot and was apparently tournament legal. Given that Ork ships have a “mixed” reputation, this has a certain appeal. What follows are my thoughts on the rules, such as they are.

Big Picture Stuff

Fleet composition is rather involved by BFG standards, based around a revamped Warlord system. Players take 2 Squadrons per reroll, one of which is always Tiddlers AKA Escorts. A Warlord and his ships are basically fleets in their own right, meaning these rerolls can't be shared around. This is a little unwieldy, but is compensated for by the fact a Warlord is free, and grants a one shot +2 bonus to boarding actions. A Warlord still does not offer a higher leadership value, but you can swap crews and get numerous inexpensive rerolls under this system, which is nice. Fortunately, while you are mandated to field Escorts, these have received a few buffs. These get +1 leadership if in high numbers, and you can get freebie scrubs if their leadership was terrible. Escorts also gain access, like your Kroozers, to a dramatically expanded selection of upgrades, affecting largely all aspects of ship performance. This does however tie into the Warlord thing, so you can't apply these freely. Finally, there's the titular Clans, and a few new ships, two of which I've already talked about. The overall approach is not to expand the number of ship classes, but to maximise the functions of what's that exist already. There is also a slight trade-off in Boarding Value in exchange for this greater utility,as you aren't gonna be rocking the 20 any more, but between the Goffs and other newness, its not really a compromise.

 

Gubbins

A direct expansion of the original Warlord upgrades, these are given a single price for individual capital ships and whole squadrons of escorts. In practice, Gubbins end up being applied to your 3 or 4 most important/only capital ships in much the same way as other Ork Fleets. You'd probably only see these applied to escorts if A: you've purposefully placed a Warlord there or B) its actually a Clan thing, more on that in a mo. You'll also find not all ships benefit equally from some gubbins, like in circumstances where Heavy Gunz get replaced. Basically, if the ship was pretty good in the first place, think for a moment, but if its unpopular, the only way is up. I'm not gonna list all of them, but my picks for most interesting and/or useful are as follows.

Assault Karrier: a freebie sidegrade for when you want to spam assault boats and boarding torpedoes. Does cut into your air cover however.

Extra Turrets: a reasonably pricey solution to a Kroozer's bomber issues, but also applicable to escorts. While the bonus is reduced, a Grunt or Ravager would have 3 turrets this way, which is hysterical. Maniak Turrets also exist as a cheapo version.

Looted Lances: Orks have always struggled with 6+ armour, and these present a solution. And a reason to try Savage Gunships again as those get a strength 2 Lance at 15cm. However, as these replace all of a ships Heavy Gunz with a flat bonus, probably the best fit is the Kill Kroozer.

Klaws: thanks, Tyranids. These are looking a lotta fun.

Ram Prow: makes a ship more likely to ram, and does a minimum of 1 damage if it connects. Good synergy with Goffs.

Shock-Attack Lance: another freebie sidegrade, with a few quirky limits on this use, but yes. This is a space use version of the infamous Shock-Attack Gun. This doesn't do actual damage, but it does inflict nasty leadership penalties. Pick a target with its Shields down, take moment to explain it to your foes, and enjoy. 

 

The New Ships

This list features the Grunt and the Lite Kroozer, two ships which I'm sure have a prior history, but I first encountered them here. I have also talked about both previously at some length, so I'm not gonna do so again in much detail here. Both benefit greatly from Gubbins like Klaws, although I'd be inclined to say the Lite is the weaker of the two. It's more a slot filler, while the Grunt brings something new to the table. It also presents the “ZUKOV'S KLAW ORK ASSAULT KROOZER", a heavily customised Terror Ship. Unless I'm misreading it, this is slightly undercosted, and serves as an example how to maximise boarding actions.

 

 

The Clans

Here we go, the main event. This system overlaps with the new ship upgrades, as two/three of them are those upgrades with an actual new coat of paint, and I'm not overly keen. You can have a clan bonus without interfering with your gubbins, which is nice, but the costs are usually the same, and it forces the ship into a particular play-style. The usefulness of the individual Clan gets very subjective very quickly. Goffs are impressive right out of the gate, as boarding better is good, as is easier rams. It is however outmoded by Holofields, but you can't have everything. Evil Sunz merely go faster, but it's cheaper than the Gubbins version, which it stacks with. Bad Moons is Maniac Gunners via another door, so a bit meh, but powerful on the right ships. Deathskullz is similarly looted stuff in greater abundance, but you end up paying more for torpedoes for SOME REASON. Snakebites get a free leadership bonus to Brace, but only use Roks or Hulks, so not much application there. Finally, Blood Axes get humie escorts and refits, rather than stealth. Freebooters don't exist. 

 

 

 

OK. Can you tell why I'm lukewarm on these? There's no reason to take certain ships for certain clans, because you are paying for a bonus you can't use. This puts me in mind of the original Ork codex, where you were expected to mix & match Clans according to their speciality, where more modern spins on the concept don't cost points and tend to be less rigid in applications. While this, and the painting requirements, is rather frustrating to me, its not all bad. In fact this is the simplest way to to improve your escorts en-mass, while your Warlords sit on the big ships. The cost of a Clan is roughly one gunship, so you may end up trading one model for a significant performance boost, only to get a bonus ship anyway due to poor leadership. I don't normally advise picking a clan purely on performance, but if that's how the list actually works, so be it.

Conclusion

Well, there's good and bad here, but this is probably worth a try. For all its apparent complexity, the Clans list is mainly an equipment based expansion with quality of life improvements. Discuss it with your foe, but I don't think people will mind.