(Fistful of Lead) The 39th Annual Holiday Cat Wrangle

It's a weekend with the kids, so among their requests to see friends, sporting events, and their former classmates in the school musical, I did manage to get a quick holiday game in with them.  

I've got a host of cool holiday scenarios hiding in the dark recesses of the blog, but with the kids' love of animals, and my recent creation of cat objective markers, a good ol' fashioned cat wrangling using Fistful of Lead was set into place.  

I have a small bin of Christmas terrain I've accumulated over the years, and the kids put everything on the board. 

The girls picked from my Gnome Wars and Mousling figures and the objective was easy.  Wrangle up the cats and lock them in a building (or Taco Truck) so the outside trees could be safely decorated.  

1. During the cat initiative each feline would roll on the Cat Random Movement chart
2. If a cat was inside a building and the door opened each cat would escape on  1 or 2 on 1d6.
3. If cats do need to fight, they roll a d8.  All gnomes and mouslings roll d10.  

The chart was pure unadulterated chaos.  One gnome was inches away from the cat, only to have it bolt up the water tower, while on the same turn, a cat on a roof just gently dropped down a rubbed up against another gnome's trouser leg.    Another gnome ran to a cat, minding its own business, startling it, making it not only run off, but be a case of the zoomies for two rounds. until finally stopping in front of the Princess Gnome.

The cats were also collecting candy canes, we didn't determine victory conditions. 

Things seemed to be going quickly, with enough time to reset and playtest it against, until the evil creatures the cat was staring at finally emerged.    The evil mechanical beasts wrecked havoc (except for the one the cat tripped up), but were dispatched with great fanare.  

Cats were wrangled, cats were stolen, snowballs were thrown ineffectively (using Wiley Games Snowbrawl rules we played last year. 

It took me awhile to recognize my daughter Millie was wearing the perfect shirt for the game....

In all, Millie won, 4 cats to 2.  The evil mechanical creatures were vanquished.  We decided I should venture out for another six cat ornaments, at least, as well as setting them up further into the table.  

All of Millie's cat congregated at the tower (aka the Kitty Hotel)

Random Kitten Movement Chart (ChatGPT), with some adjustments and modified for random movement in inches.

1. Nap Curl – The kitten circles twice and flops down wherever it is. Does not move for several minutes.

2. Sudden Dash – Bolts 2d6 inches in a random direction, stops abruptly, looks offended.

3. Investigate That – Walks 1d6 inches toward the nearest small object, sniffs intensely.

4. Underfoot Menace – Weaves between the nearest creature’s legs; that creature must notice or risk stumbling.

5. Tail Chase – Spins in place, attacking its own tail. No meaningful movement.

6. Climb Attempt – Tries to climb the nearest vertical surface (leg, curtain, chair, pack).

7. Box Magnetism – Moves directly to the nearest box, crate, bag, or open container.

8. Freeze and Stare – Stops moving and stares at something no one else can see. (Second result for cat means that thing is real!)

9. Pounce Practice – Crouches, then hops 1-6 inches toward a shadow, dust mote, or imaginary prey. (Second result for cat means that thing is real!)

10. Affection Drift – Pads over to the warmest or friendliest creature nearby and leans against them.

11. Retreat to Safety – Moves 2d6 inches toward a familiar or sheltered spot.

12. Chaos Zoomies – Runs in a loose circle around the area for 1–2 rounds before collapsing.

(Painting) Another Cheap Bunker for Death Planet Iota

Besides the smattering of figures I've been clearing off the painting bench, there has been some literal junk cluttering up the paint racks.  

It's been six weeks since I discovered Bill Making Stuff, and I have been hoarding the bits, pieces, and discount items I've been looking out for.  But before that, I was already expanding my town of Carf for Death Planet Iota with cheap plastic food packaging.  

There's nothing crazy about this.  Packaging for cookies, a drink bottle cap, a cap for a squeezable apple sauce, and a safety guard for a disposable razor for the door.   

(Brutal Quest) Escaping with the Pig

 I figured it was time to run another quick game of Brutal Quest with my OG Reaper Mouslings.  Last time, they blasted their way to claim the Golden Pig.

This time I flipped the map in two dimensions (the mouslings start where they finished last, and I literally flipped the double sided but identical map from green to red for fun.).

And I gave their opponents an identical wizard of their own... although the goblin mooks were based on an underpowered "mercenary" template I found on the Lead Adventure Forum.  

Fresh off the painting bench and onto the mini-battlefield...

Objective:  The Mouslings need to move the Golden Pig off the board with 20cm of the opposite corner.  Whoever held the Pig could not attack or use spells, less they drop the pig as a free action, but needed to use an action to pick it up.  This is the big reason the Mousling Wizard didn't just cast teleport and blink out of there, leaving his minions to handle the mess.

 I did not set up a turn limit.

That was the biggest mistake of all.

Turn One:  Two Goblins take a defensive position at the bridge and the wizard hurls a fireball, damaging, but not forcing a break test.  

Scrye, the Mousling Wizard was wisely hiding within the ruins, peaking out to throw a fireball of his own.    The other mouslings charged across the bridge, making one goblin flee.  

Turn 2-?:  And then the dice seemed to fail... The goblin had weaker stats but the the experienced mouslings simply could not put them away.    The axe-wielding mousling was wrecking havoc, even managing to track down and dispatch the opposing wizard.  That 3d4 damage against the unarmored 1d4-1 damage soaking meant considerable damage each time.  

Still, those mangey goblins were persistent.   The Brutal Quest system is based on a Bennie system known as ... Brutality.  You earn Brutality by hurting opponents, making them fail break tests, killing them outright, etc....  and you can turn those points in for number of things such as:

• Giving your figure a bonus to it's next action (1 Brutality) 
• Automatically Passing a break test (1)
• A Reroll (3)
• An extra action during the turn (6)
• Increase a core skill by 1 after the game (6)

It's a bit of bookkeeping, but fun. 

About five turns in, the sword wielding mouse used his Persuasion trait, which forced the goblin he was fighting to break off from combat and step back.   That gave  Scrye the Mousling Wizard an opening past the bridge to make a break for it.

One problem:  the goblins hadn't taken their turn yet, so the disengaged goblin starts to run towards the mousling holding a solid gold pig.  

It was apropos to call combat brutal.  The goblin got a couple good hits into Scrye, and the other mouslings attempted to rescue their leader, and it alternated between no one failing their break test, of the goblin's leather armor absorbing all the club and sword damage. 

Another way to earn Brutality I omitted previously?  You gain a Brutality if you absorb all the damage from an opponent's attack.   Between  hitting the wizard twice, the goblin suffered no damage from four successful attacks.

Another way to use Brutality?   This character does an automatic 1d10 damage to their opponent.  Opponent may make armor rolls as normal.   AS A FREE ACTION AT ANY TIME (4 Brutality)

That was a large 9 points of damage on Scrye, and he officially dropped, both his body and the pig.  

In the end, the mousling I've simply named Grey Hat, scooped up the prize and ran off the board, but that lone goblin was still standing toe to toe against two vastly superior mousling, including the one wielding the devastating axe.  

In the post-game, The goblins and their wizard master recovered with minimal issue, but Scrye the mousling wizard, suffered Brain Damage, giving him a permanent penalty to his Psychic (Magic) and Awareness traits.  

It was a fun game, I enjoy the Brutality mechanic, but it can get bogged down in play as often as a group could easily dispatch a crew in a round or two.  As much as I love the concept and scale of Brutal Quest, and it's sci-fi parent Planet 28, I think I'm returning to Savage Showdown for the mouslings and continue with Fistful of Lead for sci-fi. 

(Painting) A Dog-Gone Wizard by Mike Lung

 We continue my end of 2025 clean-up of the painting bench with a random figure.

This is a personal sculpt by friend of the blog, Award Winning GM Mike Lung.  This is well over a decade old, and one of two of his early attempts at sculpting and casting in resin.  I remember the other figure a bit more, a terrier dog in the same garb, and with the paw-like hands of this one, I kept with a brown/black fur under those robes.  The wand is just a toothpick added after the fact. 

In the Queue - Teddy Bears, Christmas minis, and looking into new projects for the new year. 

Project: 350 -  from 470 (281 drafts /189 scheduled)  from  470 (279 /191).  

(Gnome Wars) République Libre des Gnomes du Québec

In the Gnome Wars universe, there is no great French colonization effort in North America.  The aggressive British expansion worldwide was a steady, but brittle crawl across Canada, which forced the independence of O'Canada even before the Americans below.   and by the time of the American Uncivil War, the British were more focused on trying to retain British Columbia than its closer possessions that were truly in name only. 

Quebec had just naturally developed from a collection of French gnomes travelling to avoid war... or just subject to the whims of The Wanderlust. They had set up shop in region, while a host of other gnomish and animal group settled the Maritime Region.  

Largely ignored by the British, the Quebecois simply installed their own French-speaking governor was the British one passed away. It was entirely bloodless. 

The current government of Quebec was established in 1850, after a group of angry Union veteran Leprechauns marched up to Quebec on a whim.  The "Fed-Up-Ians" managed to sack the capital of Montreal (forcing it to move to the city of Quebec).  The new government formed as the Leprechauns marched back, was freer Republic, with a dedication to Liberty and what they considered French culture.  Rights were created and bestowed upon everyone with its borders...

... except the Hated Irish.

In the modern years leading up the German-American War, the Quebecois have formally reconnected with their original French brethren, gladly trading for advanced weapons and uniforms, although it's not surprising to see Canadian equipment at Quebec bases, with everything rewritten in French. 

(Painting) Balazar, Iconic Summoner Gnome Sorcerer by Reaper Bones

Another Reaper coming off the painting bench, although it's not holdiay... but it is a gnome.

Balazar, Iconic Summoner Gnome Sorcerer is a figure I painted up while at Mepacon last month. With a large and medium brush, I was satisfied with the subtle detail (and to be honest, it's barely acceptable for a figure I don't think I'll use).  

Balazar, Iconic Summoner Gnome Sorcerer

Having finally seen the original Reaper Pathfinder Metal figure, I continue with the degradation of the molds that transferred over to Reaper Bones.  Details, such as a dagger, are marred, and things are so smoothed over along the face that I thought a feature was a tiny brim to Balazar's headpiece, when in the metal version they are very distinct and giant eyebrows.

Just to prove the point, I wasn't able to determine what exactly the head of the gnome's staff was.   On the metal figure, it's easily two pieces of metal curving away.  There's so much odd flash  and trim on the figure, that I originally interpreted it as a gnome-equivalent of a 10-foot pole with a cartoon gloved hand pointing.  

(Gamma World) Not a Test #101 - Eclipsing Luna

The wedding of Lathar and Thunnelda was a great celebration.  Now it is time for another grand adventure for the De Facto Explorers...  after a lot of rest and prep

================= 

Lathar Bracken: A pure-strain human from River Bend.  He's got the muscle, the face, and a mount for most encounters.  Lathar's trusty beast of burden, No Name, travels wherever he does.   Looking for trouble in all the right places. The two-time champion of the Fair-Town Queen's Joust.  Recently married Thunnelda Haycock.

Sneaky Pete: A mutated weasel scout.  Pete's telepathy and night vision take a backseat when he whips out his electrical powers.  Apparently addicted to his newly uncovered yellow powder found at "The Pool House"

Sonny Helianthus: a nearly 10' tall sentient sunflower artifact examiner with four arms, and trusted Restorationist ties. Knowledgeable,  but not a good one with device repairs or upgrades. 

Slitheran Wurmtail (aka Squiggles): a mutated earthworm scout, in impromptu power armor, looking for trouble in all the wrong places,  and finding it often.   He  has been subject to genetic testing and developed super-human strength, a more human body, and a thick coat of shaggy white hair.  Recently gave birth to a pile of baby worms. 

================================================================

As all the guests left Riverbend for Parts Unkown, the De Facto Explorers forced themselves into a well-deserved rest.  Between the experiments, the glow, and a non-stop spring and summer, many were holding on by a string, and a plant-mutant like Sonny, a thinning frond.  

For over a month, the Explorers healed up, studied, worked on projects, and in the case of Lathar, get to know their loved ones better.  

*Squiggles - The only one who didn't need to heal further was Squiggles, who currently had quickly recovered from the wedding-day delivery of all his worm children.   

Despite Sonny's claim that 14.3 second generation spawn could be raised per first generation spawn, Squiggles spent time  building a series of small tunnels to protect the youngsters 

*Pete - There had been no further incursions at Sneaky Pete's house, and no one had set off any traps in his own system of tunnels, although a flood that occurred while everyone was in down did damage his work.  Once he was healthy, he was insistent everyone travel with him back to KIA Academy to recharge their power cells.  No one wanted another trip down there, so the weasel convinced Sonny to test out the black, angular pistol that had discovered months ago. 

*Sonny - The sunflower examiner did little but sit outside Farmer Yulius's homestead, until Pete convinced him to move into the Restorationist complex to test out the pistol.   Unlike previous disasters, Sonny quickly figured out the settings on this weapon of the Ancients, aimed the pistol at a glass jar on a fence post.   He missed the jar, but completely vaporized the two lengths of fence beneath it.  

Justinian forbid the weapon from the town.   One 4/5 shots left with a unique power cell they had not encountered.

*Luna:  The glow is less than anticipated.  The glow and bad water caused most of the illnesses, however.  There were some of humans, not many mutant animals or plants, small merchant carvans to protect against bandits.  

Luna of the Restorationists

Pete again insisted on another trip back to their secret research facility "The Pool House"  bringing some containers and doing a mass conversion of materials into this "curry" substance he was developing a worsening addiction to.  A few cut up logs were tossed into the tank, and full blocks of the yellow substance were pulled out.  

Sonny made a few more random experiments to fill in some significant gaps in his research of the pool.   A large nail, a much larger branch, and a single dried up leaf went into the pool.  They transformed into some indistinguishable type of meat.   Pete was enthralled, mixing the curry with the meat and preparing to dry it out on the return trip.  

Lathar brought No-Name up to the closest creek to water him, upstream from the buried golden bird, and found two human skeletons, picked apart in the few weeks since they had left.  Pete was enthralled, mixing the curry with the meat and drying it out on the return trip.  

The group returned to a disgruntled Squiggles.  Another storm must have struck Riverbend, flooding some of the smaller tunnels for the younglings.  Nineteen of the second generation children drowned in the waters. 

Pete was insistent that they travel to Luna's discoveries with No-Name AND the wagon, to haul back all the artifacts back to Riverbend.  Luna gave the weasel the side-eye, yet everyone else appeared to be fine with lumbering a wagon through a trail that had barely been blazed....

GM Notes:  The twenty young worms that lost their lives this session

🪱 The Twenty Departed Wigglers of the Second Clutch

1. Pebblechomp

2. Sir Gloog

3. Wiggleford the Meek

4. Squelchy Tumnus

5. Jellyboot

6. Muck-Dancer

7. Plip

8. Brimley

9. Fizzleloop

10. Worram

11. Greldine

12. Tootstring

13. Xarnax (destined for prophecy, lost to a falling acorn)

14. Snibble

15. Orbular Pete

16. Dirtzapper

17. Hummox

18. Lintwig

19. Captain Tunnelpants

20. Elphina of the Loam

Next: #102 -