A Theory

The following is a theory for HBO's Game of Thrones..  Potential spoilers ahead.

If you watch Game of Thrones you know that Sansa has escaped the all but mustache twirling villain Ramsay Bolton. She has fled north to the wall and met up with her half brother Jon Snow.

In last weeks episode she got a raven from Littlefinger and she secretly meets him.  For a time Sansa seemed to have the upper hand and Littlefinger seemed to be dancing in discomfort. While I don't think he wanted what happened to Sansa happen he is still playing The Game. While Sansa has grown up and is no longer a passive piece in The Game she is still inexperienced and Baelish has been at it for a lot longer. He also knows more about what is going on than she does.

At this point Baelish knows that Sansa is fairly well guarded and so long as the She-Hulk Brienne is with her Sansa is all but untouchable. So he's told her something important - her uncle the Blackfish has retaken Riverrun and has an army of two thousand men. He tells this to her towards the end as almost an after thought.

If he is being honest then Sansa has family and an army to call upon to help retake Winterfell. Baelish has shown honesty and she might forgive him.

If he's false he can spin it that he had been given misinformation and his situation is more precarious. Either way he knows Sansa and knows that she would not send a raven with a message to the Blackfish on the off chance it gets intercepted. She would send her most loyal retainer - Brienne of Tarth. That will leave Sansa vulnerable and Littlefinger never lets a situation go to waste.

Baelish still has his long game and somewhere Sansa plays into it. Once Winterfell has been retaken he may seek to marry her to become lord of Winterfell. A lot will have to happen for that everyone, including Sansa, are merely pieces for Baelish to move on the board of The Game.

A Certain Point of View

George Lucas has gotten a lot of flack for his writing, some of it much deserved.  It was pretty obvious, no matter what he said, that he didn't have the full story arc and Skywalker clan  plotted out when Star Wars first hit the screen in 1977.  Over the course of three movies we learn that Luke's father is in fact Darth Vader, and that he had a hidden twin sister. Oh, and if you bitch about spoilers you've been living in a cave for close to 40 years. Suck it up and deal.

In A New Hope Obi-Wan tells Luke that Vader was his pupil, that he was seduced by the Dark Side, and that he betrayed and murdered his father.  In Return of the Jedi he tells Luke that what he said was true, from a certain point of view.

Let's play a game of what if.  What if Obi-Wan had told Luke exactly what had happened.

Luke: "How did my father die?"

Obi-Wan: "Oh, your father is still alive, young Luke. Many years ago I was tasked with teaching young Anakin Skywalker the ways of the Force. We fought in the Clone Wars in many battles. Under my watch your father was seduced by the Dark Side of the Force, became a Sith Lord, took the mantle of Darth Vader,  and slaughtered many Jedi. He even went to the great Jedi Temple and murdered some thirty Jedi Younglings with that very light saber you hold.

"I confronted him, fought him, ended up cutting off his arms and legs, and left him for dead. Despite the atrocious acts he had committed I could not bring myself to kill him, to end his suffering. Because of my second bout of extreme negligence the Emperor was able to save the burned Vader and encase him in a cyborg body. In that body Vader executed the Emperor's will, serving up death and destruction throughout the galaxy."

Luke: "Oh look at the time. I think I left the oven on. Droids, let's go!"

Now, I'm not saying that this was the best way to tell the story. However, even if Lucas had planned this all out from the start I'm not sure that telling Luke that his father had become one of the most feared monsters in the Galaxy would be the best idea some thirty minutes after their first, real meeting. Not to mention Obi-Wan wanting Luke to learn the ways of the Force after telling him how his own father, under the guidance of Obi-Wan, fell to the Dark Side.

What do you all think?

And the Geek Shall Inherit the Earth

I'm sure my tale is going to resound with a lot of older folks.  Growing up being a geek or nerd was something that a lot of people hid. Comic books. Gaming. Reading. Science Fiction. Fantasy.  All of those things were not "cool" and to be avoided. Oft times once you were labeled a geek that was it. Game over man, game over.  A lot has changed in that time.

Today it is chic to be geek. And I love it!  Comic books, gaming, sci-fi, and fantasy are all main stream.  No longer do you have to hide your geekiness or be shunned by society. You can go to a gaming store and see a wide variety of people all there to share their love of whatever game. I've seen intense conversations about comic book origin stories and story arcs between a wide variety of people, not just the uncool kids on lunch.

I was thinking and comic books are the Soap Opera for the geek world. You have over the top characters, way crazy story lines, and no one truly dies if you have a good writer. In comic books you had two types of dead. You had dead - which means the character might have been a Skrull clone, an LMD, or raised from the dead by some cosmic entity. And then you had "Bucky dead" which meant you were dead dead. Worm food, no coming back. That was at least until Bucky Barnes was revived. You have love triangles, romances, epic battle. In Professional Wrestling terms Faces can become Heels and vice versa. Magneto was the X-men's greatest foe and then at some point he led them.

I think one of the biggest things to help is the movie industry, CGI specifically. A movie can now show the effects of super powers without being too cheesy.  I think the original X-men was a prime example. All the mutants had powers but they were shown in a - hate to use the word - near realistic display.  It makes it easier to suspend your belief if it looks cool on screen.

TV is getting in on the action with Arrow, the Flash, Agents of SHIELD, and new stuff in production and coming out. DareDevil on Netflix.  Oh yes,  I foresee a lot of binge watching.


Star Trek has helped lead to many generations of engineers.  The modern cell phone was created because some dude wanted a Star Trek communicator. Many terms have entered the lexicon. All this from Wagon Train to the Stars.

That person who walks down the street in the Star Trek uniform might garner some odd looks but there will also be a lot of people who will get a picture and give a thumbs up. Comic-con is the Mecca of the geek world.

For me it is an exciting time to live especially as the next series of Star Wars movies gets closer to release. I'm chomping at the bit for Avengers - Age of Ultron.

I came out of the Geek closet early on. I didn't care. I remember looking at a gaming book in class one day and some guy asked how much it cost. I told him twenty bucks - which was quite a bit in the early 90's. He frowned and mentioned that for twenty bucks how much beer he could have gotten. Oh the thrills of underaged drinking. I brought up the fact that when he was done with all that beer he had a hangover and a empty beer cans. I still have the book, find uses for it, and still own it today.

I'm sure we all have stories about being made fun of, shunned, or ignored for our hobbies. It didn't take me long to say fuck 'em because I liked it and I didn't care. I found a group of like minded folks and we formed our own group. It is even easier today with the internet to find people who share the same interest.

Never be afraid of who you are. If someone wont' accept you for who and what you are then prune them.  They aren't worth it.

Go forth and Geek Out!

Rolling the Bones - and by that I mean Runes!

I have begun a new journey in my spirituality. For those of you who did not know I am Pagan. No, I'm not Wiccan. I do not follow any of the "major" religions. Instead I am going back to my ancestors and feel a calling in my blood for the ancient Norse gods.  Part of that calling are Runes, the ancient language that were also used as a form of divination.

I have begun this journey and one of the things I have decided to explore are Runes. I have begun to craft my own set. The first aett (family) have been made. I am waiting to be able to get more stones as there are twenty-four runes in total.

The runes above, top row are Wunjo, Thurisaz, Gebo, Raidho, second row - Uruz, Fehu, Kenaz, and Ansuz. 

The runes will not tell you the future but they will help you look at a situation. I plan to use the 

"Casting the Norns" method. The Norns were the goddesses of Fate. Past, present, and future. Present your situation and draw three runes. The first will represent the situation in the past, then the situation in the present, and then finally the last rune will help represent an outcome.

I am excited to finish my set and test it out. I will consecrate each rune and imbue my energy into them. I also plan to keep a journal to document what I learn. As I grow I will also turn to other methods of casting. I am keeping it simple at first.

I invite and welcome open discussions but I won't tolerate rudeness or insults. Take that to other places.

Dropzone Commander - the Factions

One thing a lot of people ask about are the different factions.  I'm not a total expert on every unit of the game. Having played against everything except the Resistance I do have a bit of knowledge. I've also watched and read a lot of battle reports detailing the various units, tactics, and strategies for each faction.  Here is a down and dirty primer for each of the forces.  Keep in mind these are my opinions based off of data I have gathered and observed. Please correct me and add your opinions as well!

The United Colonies of Mankind

The UCM would be considered the heroes of DZC.  The protagonists of the story if you will. Mankind was driven from the cradle of civilization by the Scourge. 200 years later they have amassed a war machine of epic scale with the sole purpose of retaking their home worlds and driving the Scourge out.  DZC begins on the eve of Reconquest - the retaking of Eden.

Pros
* Strong Armor - almost all of the UCM tanks have an armor of 10
* Articulated weapons - most of the UCM tanks can lift their weapons over obstacles and remain in cover
* They pack a punch - Main Battle tanks have cannons of energy 10 - shredding lower armor units
Cons
* Low damage points - Most armor only has 1 DP. Armor 10 is nice but enough fire will still shred your forces
* No skimming or passive saves - the UCM does not have anything to mitigate hits or damage.  This is not a complaint just a statement.
* No Demolition - their weapons have no extra impact when trying to destroy buildings.

Play style for the UCM
I play aggressively with the UCM but you have to be careful. Moving your units to far ahead and spreading them out can leave them exposed.  Plus the UCM has decent range to reach out and touch someone.

The Scourge
If the UCM are the protagonists of DZC then the Scourge would be the Antagonists. The Scourge invaded the Cradle of Humanity close to 200 years ago. They are a parasitic species who take over their hosts. The upside to this is the Scourge try to take as much intact instead of laying waste to their opponents. The cities of Mankind are mostly up and running instead of a desolate landscape.

Pros
* Fast - the Scourge are fast! They have the ability to cross the battlefield and take the fight to their enemy.
* Skimming - when Scourge skimmers move 6 or more inches in a turn they can skim -making it harder for their enemies to hit
* Hard hitting - the UCM have energy 10 weapons.  The Scourge have some weapons E11 or higher.

Cons
* Short range - while the Scourge have hard hitting weapons they have to get into your face to use them. That means exposing themselves to lots of fire
* Weaker Armor - that speed and skimming does come at a price.  Their vehicles can be taken down by weaker weapons

Playstyle
If you like aggressive, fast moving, driving down your enemies throats then the Scourge are for you!

The Post Human Republic
Just before the Scourge invasion a small white orb landed on earth.  It was more advanced than anything humanity had encountered.  This orb connected to every computer terminal, network, device, and told humanity to go to a set of coordinates in space.  It warned of a coming threat.  A small percentage of Humanity went to this rally point.  They were branded traitors as they fled.  200 years later, on the eve of Reconquest the UCM were approached by a technologically superior race. They looked human, but were almost more human than human.  They revealed themselves as the decedents of those who fled and became the PHR - cybernetically enhanced humans. They are mysterious and have an agenda - though it has not been revealed. The UCM treat the PHR as traitors and despise them.

Pros
* Demolition - many of the PHR weapons have Demolition, meaning that if you need a building destroyed these are your units
* Long range - most of the PHR weapons can reach out and smack someone.
* Multiple damage points - a lot of their heavier units can take more punches than the UCM or Scourge

Cons
* SLOW - many of the PHR units will only move 3 inches.It can take them a while to get to a Focus Point unless dropped.
* Expensive - the PHR have some of the most units on the game. They'll have fewer units to fight and contest, despite their blistering arsenal.

Playstyle
Slow and steady wins the race.  The PHR can remove buildings with objectives. They can also make you think twice before infantry move into a building. Falling masonry is a pain.

The Shaltari
The Shaltari are the elder race of the game who have plied the space ways for centuries.  I explain them as the Minbari from Babylon 5 - they are the oldest race, ancient, highly advanced technology, and mysterious in their objectives.  Unlike the Minbari the Shaltari are not unified. They are broken up into different tribes.  Those tribes don't always get along.
 Pros
* Gates - unlike the other races who have dedicated transports for their units the Shaltari have gates. These gates allow them to teleport units back and forth.  The gates are not tied to a specific unit so two different units could potentially use the same gate at some point.
* Passive saves - The Shaltari have point defense systems and shields that can allow them to shrug off a shot.  If you hit a Shaltari unit with passives they make a die roll and if high enough ignore the hit.

Cons
* Expensive - their units pay for the privileged of Gates and passive saves.
* Can get Stuck - the Shaltari cannot teleport objectives off the board. The objectives remain with the gate.  Destroy the Shaltari Gates and their units are stranded and forced to try and walk objectives off the board.

Playstyle
The Shaltari are a fast deploying force who can move whole units from one side of the board to another using their gates. This gives them immense flexibility to handle incursions and help get them get into place to stop enemy infantry from taking objectives.

The Resistance
I know only a little about the Resistance.  When humanity was driven from the Cradle Worlds they became the UCM.  Those who were left behind fled underground and formed their own society.  The Resistance.  The Resistance found that the Scourge could not travel underground very far and moved deep and began to rebuild.  Some remained organized and had social order. Others turned to the their more primal nature and became warlords, the Ferals.

Pros
* high armor and damage points - a lot of the Resistance have thick armor and can take a punch or two
* UCM Plus - the Resistance have access to some UCM units, only they are better
* A drill - since the Resistance are underground they have a drill that can come up anywhere on the battlefield to disgorge units.

Cons
* No countermeasures - the other four races have countermeasures - point defense systems, ablative armor, whatever you want to call it, that means you have to be in a certain range to hit them.  not so with the Resistance.  That UCM railgun that normally only has a 24" range against countermeasured units can strike with impunity anywhere within line-of-site

Playstyle
I'm not sure about the play style, yet. So far I've only seen a handful of BatReps with the Resistance. I'm hoping to go against them soon, however.

There it is - my quick impressions of each of the DZC factions. I'm sure I've left things out or glossed over them.  If you have any comments or questions please let me know!

Dropzone Commander - Not sold on Fast Movers

There are many moving parts in the machine that is Dropzone Commander.  One of those parts is the Fast Mover. The fluff describes Fast Movers as that critical airstrike that takes out a vehicle, building, or hard hitting unit behind enemy lines.  The theory is that the fast mover comes on, strafes the target and obliterates it, then flies off the table and then circles back for another round.  So far I have not seen the Fast Mover worth the points paid.

Fast Movers have some gorgeous models. Above are a pair of UCM Archangels. I didn't paint them - those are shamelessly borrowed from Hawk's website. The idea is when they are activated they will fly on and rain death on other aircraft or soft targets. However there are a few considerations.

1) In all battles I've seen they start in reserve. Translation - while ground units start on readiness and can come onto the board upon their activation. With units in reserve you have to roll on the Reserve Table.  Chances are this unit will not make it onto the table until turn 3 or 4 unless you are very lucky.

2) Even if you do make the Reserves roll you have to check and see if the Fast Mover is ready. Another die roll - and a roll of a 1 and the pilots are joyriding around, having a smoke and a drink, something.  Still more points sitting off the table.

3) If you do make your reserve roll AND you make the readiness check you still have to paint the target (so to speak) set your entry and exit point, and make the run.  If you are against a PHR player they have some nasty AA units. They'll hit on a 4 (and that is with the Reaction fire) and destroy you on a 3.  One Damage Point is pretty flimsy.  Oh, and they have a 24" range so unless you are skimming at 2" and not the normal 6" you have a pretty decent chance of being shot down before you even reach your target. The gun on the Archangel has a 12" range and without the ability to pre-measure you really are pressing your luck.

The PHR Athena - still not painted by me!

I guess some tricks to use are to try and get the enemy AA to fire before you try to activate your Fast Mover but a savvy opponent will leave one ready to blast you out of the sky unless there is an opportunity or reason they cannot.

In the two times I have attempted to use the Fast Movers they have not paid for themselves.  I've seen a couple of games with them used - and even when they were not shot down they did not do much. I've seen a lot of battle reports and the general mantra is "They look great but usually die a gruesome death."

I'll have to check out the Forward Observer rules but so far I am underwhelmed by this aspect of the game.  I NEARLY picked up some archangels until  I actually proxied a pair.  More work will have to be done to get me to commit my hard earned cash to add them to my current army.

What are your thoughts on the Fast Movers?  Have you had any better luck? Any strategies I should try? Hawk took the time to design and write rules for them, I hate to leave them off the table.

Dropzone Commander - the Unboxing

One way that I judge a new game is the introductory boxed set. Some come with a few models, a cheap rulebook, but not enough to really get started.  I knew what I was getting, I had done some research. It's one thing to read about it on another site but totally different when you actually get it. Hawk has done an outstanding job with their two player starter set. enough words - on with the opening!

This is the large and heavy box I got in the mail after ordering the two player starter set.

 With the tape broken and the boxed now open I saw my prize for the first time! I love the cover art.

The back of the box to let you know just what you are getting into.  Oh the excitment!

Pulling back the bubble wrap I'm greeted by plastic sprues. They are gorgeous!  The boxed set comes with three of the same sprue for UCM as well as the Scourge.  This is the full starting force for both UCM and Scourge. Once you assemble your models you can start playing.

You get an extra Bear APC which can be proxied as a Kodiak until you get the actual model. The plastic is sturdy and hard.  All the models have great detail except for the infantry.  I'll live with that since once they are on the table you won't notice the lack of details on them.

Along with the two full starting forces you get ten buildings.  My only complaint was one of the buildings was kind of scrunched.  Hawk might think of a better way to package them, but with a little work and tacky glue I was able to sort it out. As complaints go - another very minor one. The building was still usable.

You also get two large city maps to put together for your battlefield. There are two starter army quick reference sheets that also have the cheat sheets for energy to armor damage ratios. You get a full sheet of tokens for objectives, focal points, possible objectives. You get the blast/landing zone templates.  The big deal here is the FULL Dropzone Commander 1.1 rulebook. The book is beautifully illustrated and contains all of the core races (before the Reconquest expansion) and lots pictures of fully painted miniatures for reference.

But wait - there's more!
On top of the two full starter sets, tokens, buildings, and rulebook you also gets . . .

Ten decently sized D6s and a tape measure. Not some red S&M whip thingy, but an honest to goodness tape measure.  You get all of this for between $75 and $95 depending on how you order your gaming stuff.

This is surely a loss leader for Hawk but it did the job for me.  I got the starter set and then immediately began to formulate the expansion for my UCM army.  Two friends (or even acquaintances) can each get a boxed set and trade one set of models for the other - and you can get about 1100 points for each.


I was hoping they would do an alternate release of the starter set but with PHR and the Shaltari - but I'm happy that they are about to release those starter armies in plastic as well.

Hawk has done a bang up job of providing a starter set that you get everything you need to start the game and play. You have two full and viable forces that you can learn the tricks and tactics of. From there you can begin expanding your army. If you are looking to start Dropzone Commander then the boxed set is a great way to go.