Harlequins: Making It Work

Chopping up yo faces.

So.. my last post about Harlequins might have been a little too negative.  Don't worry though, just because I'm talking real sometimes doesn't mean I'm going to give up.  You guys have to remember that even though I'm a competitive player, I'm not WAAC.  Think about it:  I've been playing pure Kabal Dark Eldar since 3rd.  I have never owned a single Coven unit because I don't like the playstyle and I despise the fluff.  So what does this mean?  That means that I'm going to be playing boatloads of Harlequins and trying to get them to work on the table.

I've been constructing a lot of lists in the last couple of days with the new book and I've had a lot of thought experiments.  Here are some of the topics that I've thought about the most the last couple of days:

• How viable is Harlequins as a standalone army?  They're so expensive and it's really difficult to get them to work from a raw points-effectiveness standpoint.  The more Harlequins you take, the less other "good stuff" you can take from allies.
• Speaking of allies:  What makes a good ally for Harlequins?  Do you take them with Eldar or do you take them with Dark Eldar?  What about both?  Do you even have enough points to take both?
• There are a TON of Strategems that I think Harlequins generally depend on.  Your model count is low, so you really need to spend CP on them every chance you get to make them worth it.  I think Harlequins might be one of the most CP-heavy armies in the entire game from what I've seen.
• For my playstyle, I'm going to keep the army mechanized because I need to be able to preserve the fragile assault units inside while delivering them across the table.  However, I did think about big units of Troupes a few times because of all the overlapping and stacking buffs.
• What is the best Form that I should take with my army?  I'm mainly thinking about Soaring Spite right now because my forces are mostly mechanized, but I'm also eyeing Frozen Stars for damage, Midnight Sorrow for tieing things up, and Silent Shroud for practicality with Eldar shenanigans.
• I'm still working on the best layout for my Troupes, mainly because I'm focusing on 3 key design principles:  The Form matters, but cost-effective units matter more.  The Troupe must be able to be a melee threat to all targets.  The first Fusion Pistol is a must, the rest is luxury.

With that said, I got started working on some basic list principles:

• Build with as much CP as possible because you should be using Harlequin Stratagems at every chance to keep the army alive.  This means double-Bat is a must-have.
• Build with some kind of Black Heart so you can bring in Cunning and introduce Vect so you can repress enemy bull-shittery while having a CP-farm on your side.
• Build as many threats as possible:  Keeping your Troupes alive so they can make a cost-effective return means you have to introduce some serious threats on your side of the table.

Should I take more Dark Eldar?

Here is the first list I came up with after some tweaking:

Soaring Heart
2000 // 13 CP

Soaring Spite Bat +5

HQ:
Troupe Master, Caress, Fusion = 86
Troupe Master, Caress, Fusion = 86

TROOP:
5x Troupe, 5x Caress, 2x Fusion = 118
Starweaver = 99
217

5x Troupe, 5x Caress, 2x Fusion = 118
Starweaver = 99
217

5x Troupe, 5x Caress, 2x Fusion = 118
Starweaver = 99
217

ELITE:
Solitaire = 98

+++

Black Heart Bat +5

HQ:
Archon, Agonizer, Blaster = 91
Cunning, Living Muse

Archon, Agonizer, Blaster = 91

TROOP:
5x Warriors, Blaster = 47
5x Warriors, Blaster = 47
5x Warriors, Blaster = 47
5x Warriors, Blaster = 47
5x Warriors, Blaster = 47
5x Warriors, Blaster = 47

PARTY BOATS:
Raider, Dissie = 80
Raider, Dissie = 80
Raider, Dissie = 80

HEAVY:
Ravager, 3x Dissies = 125
Ravager, 3x Dissies = 125
Ravager, 3x Dissies = 125

>>>

Firepower:
12 Disintegrators at BS3+
24 Splinter Rifles at BS3+
6 Blasters at BS3+
2 Blasters at BS2+
6 Shuriken Cannons at BS3+
6 Fusion Pistols at BS3+
2 Fusion Pistols at BS2+

The list design here was really easy because I think all the right notes.  I originally had Razorwings in the army because I really like having some kind of air, but I didn't have enough boots on the ground for me to be truly influential.  When I first began army list construction, I noticed that I was hesitant to turn my Black Heart Spearhead into a Battalion.  I kept finding that second Archon as a bit of tax, but then I remembered just how many times I'm going to use Harlequin Strategems throughout the game.  While the firepower of the list looks pretty small, one can't remember the absolute monster that is Harlequins in melee once they get there.  With all 5 Players in a Troupe having 4 S5 AP-2 attacks, things are going to get all kinds of disgusting once you actually get in there.  To make things more exciting, I'm planning to make one of the Troupe Masters The Great Harlequin for that tasty re-roll 1s to Hit bubble.

Or should I take more Eldar?

Alaitoc Soaring Heart
1999 // 14 CP

Soaring Spite Bat +5

HQ:
Troupe Master, Caress, Fusion = 86
Troupe Master, Caress, Fusion = 86

TROOP:
5x Troupe, 5x Caress, Fusion = 109
Starweaver = 99
208

5x Troupe, 5x Caress, Fusion = 109
Starweaver = 99
208

5x Troupe, 5x Caress, Fusion = 109
Starweaver = 99
208

+++

Alaitoc Bat +5

HQ:
Farseer Skyrunner = 135
Doom, Mind War

Warlock Skyrunner = 70
Protect/Jinx

TROOP:
5x Rangers = 60
5x Rangers = 60
5x Rangers = 60

FLYER:
Crimson Hunter Ex, Lances = 175
Crimson Hunter Ex, Lances = 175

+++

Black Heart Spearhead +1

HQ:
Archon, Huskblade, Blaster = 93
Cunning, Living Muse

HEAVY:
Ravager, 3x Dissies = 125
Ravager, 3x Dissies = 125
Ravager, 3x Dissies = 125

>>>

Firepower:
9 Disintegrators at BS3+
4 Bright Lances at BS2+
2 Pulse Laser at BS2+
6 Shuriken Cannons at BS3+
3 Fusion Pistols at BS3+
2 Fusion Pistols at BS2+
15 Ranger Long Rifle at BS3+

This one is a bit different and I might be stretching myself too thin.  I've already dropped the Solitaire (which hurts my heart greatly) to make room for some Eldar allies, while greatly decreasing the amount of DE I have in the army.  The Black Heart detachment has been reduced to a small footprint just for the CP farm and fire support, but I've introduced fighters back into the mix with 2x Crimson Hunter Exarchs to give some heavy lances while the Doomseer and Jinxlock go do their thing.  I still have Rangers to be backcap but otherwise, I find this list a bit light on boots on the ground.  Missions might also be a problem, which is why I'm slightly in favor of the first list.

Regardless of which list works out to be better, both lists have a sizeable Harlequin presence with a lot of melee pressure.  The Caress' across the entire army really puts out some good threat, as well as the 22" moving and shooting Shuriken Cannons and Fusion Pistols without BS penalty.  Hell, I even have a pet unit in the first list because I think the Solitaire is the coolest thing ever.  With CP/Ravager farms in both lists, Warrior/Blasters in the first list, and Crimson Hunters in the second, which list do you guys like better?

Shadow Of The Comet – Miss PICOTT's Dominion

Written by limbeck

The town of Illsmouth is quaint, but what about the forest surrounding it? I am curious to scout the forest, in case there are any locations I was missing. I am wrong. The forest consists of a sort of a maze, with only a handful of different screens, that I believe are connected in the same way. So if I went left in location A, I would always end up in location B. I could have been moving west for ten screens only to go east once and end up in the town. Anyway, in my hikes I pick up three branches and a creeper for no apparent reason other than that my lasersight identified them.

Having wasted about twenty minutes trying to map the forest, in vain for the reasons explained above, I decide that I need a map, so I head back to my room to see if Boleskine's map would be of any use. But while I am passing through the town square, it is occupied by a troupe of gypsies, fully staffed with guitarist, dancer and bear. While I listen to their music, a policeman (Sgt BAGGS) arrives and does what policemen do according to my experience.

Bully some easy targets

I speak to the officer, who starts quite friendly, already knowing who I am of course. When I say I am thinking of taking a hike in the forest, he advises against it, unless I have a map. Otherwise I could get lost (I KNOW!). And he has to kick the gypsies out, towards the clearing in the forest, probably so they get lost as well. When I try to defend the troupe, he pulls his authority on me and says I should respect it, or else.

You will respect my authoritah

At least I get a friendly word from the gypsy lady, who is a fortune-teller. I expect I will find them later in the forest, if I have any idea where that clearing is. I don't think it is the same as the location with the cross I am looking for. I leave the area and return immediately. The scenery has again changed. Now it is a young lady sitting on the bench, next to, maybe you guessed it, Miss PICOTT. The young lady is GLORIA, PICOTT's niece. Trying to speak to them gets me a greeting from GLORIA,which then gets her a prudency lesson by Miss PICOTT. I stay a bit longer and eavesdrop their discussion. See, I can be nosy as well.

I find out that GLORIA is dating RENATO SMITH, who has apparently stolen JED's mule. So, Miss PICOTT appears to be the local matchmaker, as she suggests GLORIA marries Mr BATES, who is in the ripe age of 34. There was also something about fake jewels, but I don't pay any more attention after a while.

Don't mind me. I'm just enjoying the scenery

I return to my room, but I cannot open my chest to get my camera or the map or anything really. Previously I could open it and I registered these items, but now I did not even get a description. I thought it was some kind of bug, so I reloaded and tried again, but nothing happened. So, I was probably missing something. So, I set out to my favourite activity in Illsmouth: wandering and paying unsolicited visits to people's houses. I have mentioned in the previous post that JUGG has BOLESKINE's rifle hanging from his wall. What I did not mention is that the rifle has an engraving that I could not read without a magnifying glass. I found the magnifying glass in the Archives after a bit more wandering about.

It took me that long for two reasons. One, I foolishly assumed that the door to the Archives would be locked after JUGG left. It wasn't. Two, I had not properly looked around. At the back of the room there was a row of cabinets that I could examine. One had some interesting genealogical information about the town and Mr JUGG in particular.

Typical of small towns, everybody is related. No idea about SPRAGUE

In the same cabinet I also find documents saying that BOLESKINE sold all his equipment to buy a ticket home. So, that's how his rifle ended at JUGG's house. He probably has more of BOLESKINE's belongings. I should investigate. But first, I need to read the inscription on the rifle. I get the magnifying glass I find in another cabinet and go to read. The inscription provides some cryptic clues about some SEARCHER, which for some reason I assume it refers to some Suzan. Another visit to the Archives did not reveal anything new.

Jumping to conclusions

Now, when I return to my room, I can open my chest and pick up the map and BOLESKINE's drawing that I had won in the auction at Christie's. And here we come to the first bit of this session that annoyed me. I had the map and the drawing and I could do nothing with them. No new dialogues came up and they would not interact with anything. I spent some time walking around the town making small talk only to return to my room and realise that I could now open the chest of drawers again. I could not do it before having map and drawing in my hands. I need to be very careful and again check everything everywhere.

Now that I knew I can, I open the drawer and got some surgical spirit and absorbent cotton that were lying there. That B&B seems well equipped and even has rudimentary First Aid kit. 4 out of 5 stars. I am not sure what to do with these, but I tried using them and I end up with cotton soaked in ethanol (presumably). It will be useful to rub a wound I guess. But, even having it, I did not know what to do. I tried using all the items I had, but without luck. All I got was a "Useless" when I tried to use the map. The lack of feedback when I try to do something is a bit annoying as well.

Anyway, to sum it up, I had the idea correct, but the position was wrong. When I try to use the drawing when I stand closer to the desk at the bottom left, I put the drawing on the furniture and now I can use other items on it. The soaked cotton in particular. BOLESKINE had left another clue underneath.

Are we sure he was not just rating his B&B?

And now I know what to do. I put the map on the desk and, I initiate a sort of minigame. My map has Searcher and Beast, which both appear in BOLESKINE's notes. I assume that I have to look south of the Searcher and NE of the Beast. I make a note on the map, but I am not confident it is correct. I never got feedback that I had spotted the location. When I try later, I can put a different mark, but I decide to go with my first choice.

Or somewhere around there

Satisfied with myself and annoyed with the puzzles, I head out to town again. Outside of the pharmacy I meet MYER from the general store. Continuing his good record of customer service, he suggests I speak to Nathan TYLER, the lighthouse keeper, who could guide me through the forest. Now, why did nobody tell me this earlier? MYER also says some not so nice things about WILBUR's sons and WILBUR HAMBLETON himself when I ask about him. He does not avoid them himself, since they seem to keep the local economy going.

MYER told me that TYLER would be at the tavern, so I headed there. Outside it I meet Dr COBBLE. When I ask him about a guide, he fakes poor health and also suggests TYLER, with the additional comment that he "drives a hard bargain".

Dr COBBLE also revealed that he leads the Temperance League of Illsmouth along with, who else, Miss PICOTT. Apparently he was bullied into it by her.

Who really rules in this town?

In the tavern, I was warned once again about TYLER by Thomas BISHOP, a sailor, but not about his prices. When he came, we immediately started chatting about him taking me to the forest. He asked for $20, which was quite steep, but as soon as he learns my name, he offers to take me there for free.

You can wait in the bathroom while I go get my axe.

I agree immediately and we go to his house for some soup (smelled nice) and we would head out right away. What could go wrong?

Now I know why the soup smelled so nice

After my first death in the game, I reload and this time tell TYLER that I want to think about it. As soon as I do, somebody throws a stone through the window and breaks the glass. We head outside and see the HAMBLETON boys roughing up somebody called WEBSTER. BISHOP and TYLER just sit around for the spectacle and I cannot seem to be able to do anything apart from listening to the annoying repeating sound sprite of punches. Well, not really, as I find a baseball bat nearby and grab hold of it. By the time I do, the HAMBLETON boys have knocked Webster unconscious, so I can get a clear shot. The HAMBLETONS are not so happy with me, but they leave.

I'm here to chew bubblegum and kick some HAMBLETONS

I take WEBSTER to the pharmacy, where the doctor/pharmacist treats his wounds, while his daughter warms up to me, I want to think for my bravery and my stunning accent. She starts saying that her father is an avid photographer, only for him to interrupt her and say it himself. He also offers his dark chamber to develop the photos. That's something I hadn't thought about until now. Thank you sir.

I need to say that I have not mentioned photography to many

The pharmacist is not the only unexpectedly helpful person here. WEBSTER offers to be my guide to the calvary in the woods. We agree to meet in front of the town hall in an hour and I should bring my map with me. Maybe a camera as well. I decide to do another round in the town before I collect my stuff, but there is nothing important. JUGG is now at the Archives and he sends me to the tavern to find a guide. I am not sure I should trust him now. In JUGG's room, I pull a curtain which was hiding a door, but I cannot do anything with that. I'll be back later. I hope.

I go back to my room, where I pick up my camera, its tripod, a lantern and "lens", which looks like a flashlight. As soon as I get out on the street again, it is night.

Some nice change of colours and shades with the darkness

As agreed, I meet WEBSTER outside the town hall and we head off. He is kind enough to carry my tripod. He leads me to a place in the forest, just before the calvary with the cross. There is a wooden bridge I can cross. As we arrive, there is some rustling in one of the bushes. WEBSTER suspects someone is following us, but I think he is paranoid. I try poking it with a stick, but it is not possible. I head on.

Don't forget to leave the trip...oh

I finally arrive at the opening with the cross, but I do not have the tripod with me. WEBSTER ran away with it. I am pretty sure if you are scared to hell, you'd run faster without a cumbersome tripod, but what do I know.

Anyway, here is where the three sticks and creeper come in handy. I put the three sticks down and tie them with the creeper. I place my camera on top and unwrap the plates. I use them one by one on the camera and get three exposed plates.

So, did I really need the map to come here

Now I sit here and do not really know again what to do. I walk back to town, but there is no cutscene or any other indication that something has changed. Well, I think I was getting tired by this time, because if I headed east from the cross, I would arrive to a different location. There, a black cat runs past and hides in the undergrowth. This is a nice hint that I should go and check there. I do and I reveal a hidden passage. I walk to the passage and arrive at the scene of a ritual, led by a Native American (the game says Indian). Where I am noticed and killed.

I see TYLER, WILBUR, Dr COBBLE I think and who else?

I died several times in this scene and I will blame it partially on the game. When I am noticed, I run back to the area with the passage, but I cannot do anything with any of the objects I have. I try to flash the cultist in the face, hit him with the lantern or even take his photo. The game allowed me to access my inventory, but not do anything else. I always ended up in ashes.

I lost count of how many times I saw this close-up

It turns out that what I had to do was much simpler. As soon as I arrive at the clearing, I have to jump to the right and hide behind a tree. I must here state my hate for quicktime events or the like. And the fact that the game allowed me freedom after I was spotted set me on a different train of thought.

Anyway, to finish this very long post, I am hiding behind the tree, the ritual proceeds and the cult leader cuts his wrist with a knife. Then, a flying creature, I assume the owl from the intro, comes and drops a parchment. I pick it up quickly in a cutscene and run like hell to the safety of the town, smashing the arrow keys in a panic. In the meantime, I learn that in two nights time (i.e. when I plan to photograph the comet) Cthulhu will wake up to reign again and the Native American's name, which is even more complicated than a chant to Cthulhu to write down.

As I run, I stumble in front of Dr COBBLE's house and wake up the next morning in my bed. Dr COBBLE examined me and ordered a lack of excitement, as I run the risk of a heart attack. He prescribed me some pills for the heart.

Well, I don't go around looking for excitement. It just finds me

Meanwhile, I try telling him about the ritual and the Native American, but he was dismissive. He mentioned someone like him living in the forest, but the names did not match. Finally, he joked about the elixir of eternal life, because the name I gave him belonged to someone that lived a few centuries ago.

Apologies for the long post. Next week we will try and develop the photos and make sure we do not die of a heart attack.

Session time: 2:00
Total time: 3:30

Sanity lost: 3 from witnessing the ritual
Total sanity lost: 4 (still sane, but a bit twitchy)

PS. Can anybody let me know if I would still be able to set out if I hadn't marked the correct spot on the map? Right now, it feels as if it didn't really matter.

Tenth Anniversary!

Today, the Ides of February, is the 10th anniversary of the CRPG Addict.

I have no long screed for you today. The value that I get from this project, my gratitude toward my readers and commenters, my hopes for the future, have mostly been encapsulated already in my recent 10th-anniversary entries:
             

• 10 Reasons I'm Still Blogging
• My 10 Most Controversial Opinions
• 10 Years of Commenters

             
I had originally planned to do a lot more of these, but most of my ideas required going through my blog from the beginning. I thought I was going to have time for that during the winter, but it turned out not to be the case. I might still get to a few more.

Today, I'd like to simply announce three things:

1. If you haven't already noticed, we have a new banner! Sebastian from Switzerland, who previously made my GIMLET logo, put this together. (That's part of my map of Fate: Gates of Dawn in the background.) I just love the shield.

2. I just posted a couple of helpful new pages. Both were created by longtime commenter Abacos, and the first organizes many of the games I've played into their series, both in a macro sense (e.g., "Forgotten Realms") and a micro sense (e.g., "Infinity Engine"). Yes, he has places for those yet-to-come, too.

The second page is a long-awaited index of special topics entries over the years. Both are accessible from the right-hand navigation bar on desktop and from the top navigation menu on mobile.

3. Finally: You're going to be seeing a fairly significant change on "The CRPG Addict": a relaxing of my rules to allow me, slowly and cautiously, to move forward without necessarily finishing every game from the previous year.

I know this move will not be popular with everyone, but I feel it is necessary. After more than two years of work, I still have 23 games remaining in 1992. There are 80 for 1993. I've managed to cover 350 games in 10 years; that many again will barely get us through 1997. I want to play Baldur's Gate and Morrowind again before I die, not to mention some classics that I've never played, like the first two Fallout games, Planescape: Torment, and Yohoho! Puzzle Pirates.

However, I'm going to put some strict rules on the endeavor, one of which is that at least one-third of the games that make up my "upcoming" list will be the earliest games that I have not yet played. I will thus still keep sweeping up the past, still finishing years, still designating "games of the year," and so on.

Beyond that, I don't really want to explain my rules just yet. I floated some ideas with my Patreon subscribers and received some great comments. I'm going to experiment with a few methods of selecting games from my long list. However, there is one rule that is very important for me, to ensure that my blog still remains chronologically relevant: I can play no game before its antecedents. I mean this in several ways:
            

• Direct antecedents: Icewind Dale must come before Icewind Dale II.

• Spiritual antecedents: Dark Souls must come before Lords of the Fallen because the latter is clearly designed to evoke the former.

• Technical antecedents: Neverwinter Nights must come before Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic because they both use the Aurora Engine.

• Cultural antecedents: Abandoned Places: A Time for Heroes, the first Hungarian RPG, should come before any other RPGs from Hungary.

• Source antecedents: Even though they're not part of the same specific series, Realms of Arkania: Blade of Destiny must come before The Dark Eye: Drakensang because they're both based on The Dark Eye tabletop setting.

• Major thematic antecedents: The first game to do something significant should be played before other games that include the same element. For instance, Ultima Underworld should be played before any other dungeon crawler with continuous movement.

• Personnel antecedents: As the first BioWare game, Baldur's Gate should come before any others from that developer.

           
You can see how this rule ensures that I won't be jumping to Mass Effect 3 any time in the near future. Indeed, the "central tendency" of my blog will likely remain in the early 1990s for quite some time. Trust me for now, watch what happens over the next year, and we'll do an evaluation on my next anniversary. In the meantime, help me by telling me if I've missed any clear antecedents. Thematic and technical ones are particularly difficult to look up. If you see a game on my "upcoming" list that shouldn't be there, let me know and I'll replace it with its antecedent, if I agree.

Thanks as always for your readership and participation. I have no intention of quitting or slowing down, and I look forward to the next 10 years!

Mobile Suit Gundam Extreme Vs. Maxiboost On Officially Gears Up For Victory In Southeast Asia

Leading anime video game developer and publisher BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Asia. today announced that MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM EXTREME VS. MAXIBOOST ON will officially be coming to Southeast Asia
for the first time on the PlayStation 4 computer entertainment system. The 2-on-2 EXTREME VS fighting game was originally released exclusively for Japanese arcades in 2010.

Set in the globally iconic GUNDAM universe, MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM EXTREME VS. MAXIBOOST ON enables players to take 2-on-2 PVP combat to the next level with Mobile Suits spanning the entire breadth of the franchise's history. In total, MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM EXTREME VS. MAXIBOOST ON features 183 playable units from 36 different GUNDAM iterations, each with unique abilities designed to match any fan's personal playstyle. Players can choose between three different EX BURST Systems—FIGHTING BURST, EXTEND BURST and SHOOTING BURST—to coordinate with allies and lay waste to all that stand—or fly—in their way!

MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM EXTREME VS. MAXIBOOST ON offers 1–4 player online co-op and PVP play. The title will feature Japanese voiceover with English subtitles.

Discover The White City, Capital Of Arcadia

In Oceanhorn 2: Knights of the Lost Realm, we'll take you to all the main regions of Gaia: Arcadia, Submeria and Pirta. One place you'll get to know well is The White City, and today we'll discuss its history and points of interest.

The White City is the vibrant, rich capital of Arcadia: under the strong leadership of Archimedes, blessed by his continuous scientific breakthroughs, it has prospered and blossomed. After declaring himself Grand Regent, he spent the last 20 years upgrading the pre-existing feudal structures and turning the city into a shining jewel of industrialization; an example for all Gaia to behold.

The city, built by the sea, is an old settlement dating back to the savage wars waged in the name of Sol, Nieto, and Trito. While its feudal walls are ancient, most of the fortifications are of recent build, as is the new city center, developed above Archimedes' modern masterpiece: the Grand Core.

The city is divided into three main districts. Upper Town is where the high society and officers live. Before Archimedes' arrival, the area hosted the Order for All Gods (aka the Mage Guild), whose building is now occupied by the headquarter of Genco Corporation and its automatons workforce. Genco is responsible for the production of appliances and technological artifacts, and as such, it basks in the approving gaze of the Grand Regent. Mages, instead, are banned from the city, and while magic is not explicitly ostracized, few feel comfortable coming forward as users. Upper Town also has access to the railroad, which pierces the town from both East and West.

Lower Town, the area between the Trident fortifications, begins with Genco's loading docks, through which most of the goods come in and leave the White City. The permanent market stalls are a popular attraction, both for visitors and regular citizens. A small slum has spawned not far from the market; despite the efforts of the Grand Regent, the White City cannot embrace all its children, and some less fortunate citizens are forced to seek shelter from the elements under its massive stone arches. Lower Town also used to be the religious district; now, only ruins remain, to remind everyone of the sins committed during the religious strifes of the past.

Past Lower Town, a visitor would soon arrive at the doors of the Knights' Order, the oldest building in town. The palace is one of the few that has maintained its original features, a sign of the importance that the Knights still maintain in Arcadia. The administrative district begins beyond the Order, with offices and business-related infrastructures, such as the airport and the hangars of the Living Fortresses. The entrance of the Grand Core is where the public space runs out, and the influence of Archimedes' Palace, commanding the whole town from the White City's center, becomes predominant.     

Sounds like a place worth visiting? Pack your bags, this year you get to see it with your own eyes!

Going Your Own Route

"Leave me alone and let me go to hell by my own route." 

– "Calamity" Jane Cannary, shortly before her death in Deadwood, South Dakota, in 1903. 

I love open world adventure games like Runebound, Fortune and Glory, and the mother of them all, Talisman. I also love the historical western genre, and have often found myself wishing, "if only there were a wild west version of Talisman..."

Well, now there is. Western Legends took Kickstarter by storm last year, billing itself as a wild west sandbox board game, and for the most part it delivers on that promise.

Players take on the roles of legendary historical figures such as Doc Holliday, Calamity Jane, Billy the Kid, or even lesser known characters like Bass Reeves or Y. B. Rowdy (this game does a better job than most at equal representation, with nearly half of the playable characters being women or people of color). The object of the game is to roam the countryside earning "Legendary Points" towards a goal determined by the length of game the players decide on at the start.

Players can earn points by prospecting for gold or herding cattle, but the real meat of the game is in the decision to either follow a path of law and order as a Marshal, or become a Wanted outlaw. Marshals spend the game tracking down non-player bandits as well as players who have gone renegade, facing off in combat via a clever poker-based game mechanic. Outlaws can choose to rob the bank, steal cattle, but have to watch out for player Marshals as well as a non-player Sheriff, because getting caught will force them to pay a hefty fine and set them back to the start of the outlaw track. Players can even switch careers midway through the game -- you aren't locked into a single course of action and can switch gears as needed.

The problem with a lot of open world games is that it's often difficult for players to figure out what they should be doing. Western Legends deals with this through several goal-oriented game mechanics. First of all, each player character comes with a set of goal cards outlining fairly simple tasks to perform such as winning fights or rustling cattle. There is also a story deck, which rewards players who achieve certain goals with bonus points or equipment as well as a bit of back story.

If I have any problem with Western Legends it's that it doesn't really shine at lower player counts. Playing the game with two requires the use of a third character, the Man in Black, whose actions are determined by a random set of cards. It works, but the game is a lot more fun with a full table of 4-5 players so Marshals have plenty of outlaws to chase, and outlaws have plenty of other outlaws to distract the Marshal...

Rating: 5 (out of 5) a terrific game that does exactly what it set out to do, which is to provide open-ended board game adventures in the wild west.

• Western Legends official website
• Western Legends on Board Game Geek

1/2400 Baden And Bayern

If I was a chef Naval ships would without doubt be my signature dish, some of you may have seen Project Jutland a couple of years back where I painted all 250 ships of that famous Battle in 1/2400 scale. There were a few ships not present at the action which are still worth having in any WW1 collection and these two are a must in a German Fleet.

The ships in this scale meaning they are just over three inches long (the bases are 120mm x 40mm), made by GHQ they are incredibly detailed as you can see from the deck close ups. The bases are MDF and I build the model on the base (usually 8 to 10 parts) and then create a "seascape" or water feature on the flat base using DIY filler and  then paint from there.

I did a tutorial on the method years ago and it remains one of my most popular posts ever,

https://yarkshiregamer.blogspot.com/2015/11/12400-ww1-wtj-naval-from-box-to-table.html

The two ships were classed as Super Dreadnoughts and the German answer to the 15" gunned Queen Elizabeth ships of the British Navy. Commissioned too late for the Battle of Jutland they did see some action in the later stages of the 1st World War before ending up being interned at Scapa Flow at the end of the conflict.

The pair were very powerful ships, armed with 8 x 15 inch guns and protected by nearly 14 inches of Armour they would have been a real match for anything the British could throw at them. These will take pride of place at the head of my German Fleets. We are going all WW1 Naval for our annual Naval Campaign this year so I might give them a run out before hand.

I really love these GHQ ships, the detail and they way they paint up is just awesome, I still have maybe 10 or so more to do before I will have everything from the British and German Navies of WW1 and that will be a sad day !

I certainly enjoyed getting back into my Naval comfort zone and even managed to knock off a small 1/2400 Italian Pre Dreadnoughts at the same time. Back to the grind with the Italian Wars next.

Brave Browser voted the best privacy-focused product of 2020

Out of all the privacy-focused products and apps available on the market, Brave has been voted the best. Other winners of Product Hunt's Golden Kitty awards showed that there was a huge interest in privacy-enhancing products and apps such as chats, maps, and other collaboration tools.

An extremely productive year for Brave

Last year has been a pivotal one for the crypto industry, but few companies managed to see the kind of success Brave did. Almost every day of the year has been packed witch action, as the company managed to officially launch its browser, get its Basic Attention Token out, and onboard hundreds of thousands of verified publishers on its rewards platform.

Luckily, the effort Brave has been putting into its product hasn't gone unnoticed.

The company's revolutionary browser has been voted the best privacy-focused product of 2019, for which it received a Golden Kitty award. The awards, hosted by Product Hunt, were given to the most popular products across 23 different product categories.

Ryan Hoover, the founder of Product Hunt said:

"Our annual Golden Kitty awards celebrate all the great products that makers have launched throughout the year"

Brave's win is important for the company—with this year seeing the most user votes ever, it's a clear indicator of the browser's rapidly rising popularity.

Privacy and blockchain are the strongest forces in tech right now

If reaching 10 million monthly active users in December was Brave's crown achievement, then the Product Hunt award was the cherry on top.

The recognition Brave got from Product Hunt users shows that a market for privacy-focused apps is thriving. All of the apps and products that got a Golden Kitty award from Product Hunt users focused heavily on data protection. Everything from automatic investment apps and remote collaboration tools to smart home products emphasized their privacy.

AI and machine learning rose as another note-worthy trend, but blockchain seemed to be the most dominating force in app development. Blockchain-based messaging apps and maps were hugely popular with Product Hunt users, who seem to value innovation and security.

For those users, Brave is a perfect platform. The company's research and development team has recently debuted its privacy-preserving distributed VPN, which could potentially bring even more security to the user than its already existing Tor extension.

Brave's effort to revolutionize the advertising industry has also been recognized by some of the biggest names in publishing—major publications such as The Washington Post, The Guardian, NDTV, NPR, and Qz have all joined the platform. Some of the highest-ranking websites in the world, including Wikipedia, WikiHow, Vimeo, Internet Archive, and DuckDuckGo, are also among Brave's 390,000 verified publishers.

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