And the prizes just keep growing!

Toren Atkinson of "The Darkest Of The Hillside Thickets" and artist is going to donate a digital drawing to the contest winner based on the winning entry's story. Uncle Mike will publish it in a forthcoming book for Strange Aeons.

Check out his page and the band! The link is just to the left side! Thank you Toren!

New Blog Sponsor for the Contest

Musica Cuthulhiana has agreed to throw in some cool stuff as prizes for the blog contest!

I found these guys a few weeks back while cruising around looking at after action reports and saw a link on a blog, a free download later I enjoyed their stuff so much I thought it would be cool to ask if they would love to support us and Goetz responded back that they would be happy to help out. Just want to say thanks for jumping on board!

Here is the two new prizes to the stash!

- the limited 2-CD of our latest album "Fragment"

- a special package of the limited 2-CD "Fragment" AND the sold out previous album "The Fourth"

(this is very special since "The Fourth" is sold out for over a year now world-wide and even we have only a couple (now one less) left)

Here is their website: http://www.cthulhumusic.com/

They do music that is great for gaming in general from roleplaying to miniature gaming that provides that nice touch of atmosphere to a game session. And to boot they are HP Lovecraft fans (just look at the name!)....

Anyway, swing by the website, check it out and download some of their tunes and give them a try. They have some CD's you can purchase also (either download or actual CD)....

What do you listen to or watch when you paint?

This has always been an interesting topic that I have had at LGS to hear what people like to listen or watch while they are working on their hobby.

Personally, I tend to either log into Hulu and find a show that I have never seen before or care to watch start to finish to relive the old days of years past. Of late I have been watching "Alias Smith and Jones" an old west series that is rather good. I also enjoy watching "Being Human" and "Grimm" as sources of horror...

Many times I just like to crank up some good music in general and throw in a CD of Sister's of Mercy or flip over to a Gothic/EMP/Electronic/Punk/Etc... station that just pumps out energy to me.

My favorite spot to hunt for a station is:
http://www.internet-radio.com/stations/goth/

I know some people cannot stand to have music or any type of visual thing going on as it distracts them, but to me it creates a field that baffles the world away from me while I brush, often I find it amusing as I listen to the shuffle of online music as  I find that the music fits the item I am painting...one night I recall when I was painting a priest that all these religious goth songs kept flowing out and it helped motivate me to paint.

So, tell me what inspires you? Tell me your music and visual entertainment that you enjoy. Share with the class! Or are you the quiet type that paints in the deathly quiet of a crypt?  If so, you scare me! Reminds me too much of Pickman's Model, if you never read it, you should....art and terror is all I can say!

I shall leave you with this, my favorite video out there by Sister's of Mercy!

Strange Aeons Adventures Contest! *updated 4/26*

Strange Aeons Adventures Contest!

Start: Monday, April 9^th!

Ends: Monday, May 14^th at Midnight

Winners Announced: Friday, May 21!

^{ENTRIES CAN BE SEEN HERE! http://strangeraeonsadventures.blogspot.com/p/strange-aeons-contest-entries.html}

What do I need to enter?  Simply play a game of Strange Aeons and post an after action report telling your story of the game. I will have a Topic started on Lead Adventures starting today that will allow you to post up your entry. All you need to provide is the link to your entry in your post and what type of entry it is (media or pint).

What Formats do I need to use for my entry? There will be two entry classes, you may enter each once, but they must be different games played.

Entry Classes:

Print: Simply, a written after action report of your game. You may include pictures if you wish (and encouraged) but the format is up to you if you wish to present it in a technical style or incorporate storyteller elements making it more of a story that spawns from the game. Remember, you are telling me your adventure so the sky is the limit on how you want to present it! These entries can be posted on your blog, website, posted on Lead Adventures Forum or any other public accessible format.

Media: This can be video, slideshow or other media based entries. Again, you can use music, voice over, graphics, transitions and anything else you desire. Just make sure it is in an easy to access format by the general public such as Youtube.com for example.

Where should I post my entry? All entries should be posted on the Lead Adventure Forums contest topic. Include the link/URL to your entry. Videos should be posted on Youtube or other easy to access media sites. Written entries can be posted in a topic on Lead Adventures Forum, posted on a blog, webpage or other related format. Again, the important key here is posting your entry link to the LAF topic for ease of access.

Why are there two types of entries? Easy, I felt that written (print) would be overcome by the special effects and such of using digital media but I didn’t want to exclude it either so this allows people two options to enter with and go with whatever they are most comfortable with.

Why are you stressing the format should be public? Simply that is two fold, to make sure I can access it to judge the entry and that the general public can enjoy your adventures and spread the good word of Strange Aeons game to those that may not know much about the game. Before I made the plunge to buy Strange Aeons, I read other people’s reviews, games and watched videos to know more about what I may be buying.

Can I use an old report that I have done in the past? No, I want something new and current. I don’t care to reread something I may have already seen prior (and I have seen and read many people’s videos and online written after action reports).

Does it have to be a regular game of Strange Aeons? No it can be a multi-player game, a solo game or use the Von Unaussprechinlichen Kluten (Unspeakable Cults) Beta. You may select any scenario found within the Strange Aeons Core Rules, Morbid Adventures, Shocking Tales 1 and 2 or the special free PDFs found on the Strange Aeons site. 

How will entries be scored? By creativity, this is about the presentation, the intent to entertain the viewer. This is your adventure and your story. Photo’s, writing styles, artwork, graphics and more will be considered in determining the winners.

What can I win? Prizes include miniatures, dice, magazines, gift vouchers, digital artwork and music from various supporters. Most prizes will be mailed directly from me (except one) and I will provide to the retailer any gift voucher information so winners may claim their prizes. Once I see the number of entries I will then break up the prizes into lots and the winners may select their prizes. You never know, we may have a last minute donation from someone that wants to join in the fun or add more goodies to the pile!

Here is a list of the goodies!

- Toren Atkinson of the "Darkest of Hillside Thickets" and artist is going to donate a digital drawing to the contest winner based on their winning entry's story. Uncle Mike will publish it in a forthcomming book for Strange Aeons.

- the limited 2-CD of our latest album "Fragment" by Musica Cuthulhiana

- a special package of the limited 2-CD "Fragment" AND the sold out previous album "The Fourth" by Musica Cuthulhiana.

- Gift Vouchers from EM4 Miniatures and Muttonchop Miniatures!

- Various copies of Strange Aeons Magazine that contains super secret special rules never published anywhere else and a "make yourself into an Elder god hat" from Uncle Mike.

- A virtual horde of miniatures from Black Cat bases all packaged up in cool theme packs! 


- A dark young of sub nigurat by avolakia from Lead Adventures Forums!  

But wait there is MORE! Yes, I am also going to drop two other special prizes that you can enter even if you don’t want to enter the contest.

*Follow the blog! Follow my blog (if you are not already) and post up that you would like to enter. You must do both (be a follower and post) to be eligible for this prize.

* Members of the Black Goat Cult! If you are a member of the Black Goat Cult with Uncle Mike’s email me at patrickballinger (at) yahoo.com with the title Black Goat Cult Entry. Make sure to include your cultist number on your card! In the event you have a pending order that has not arrived yet then I will accept an emailed copy of your order tracking as proof. So, it is never too late to join!

Feel free to post up any further questions you may have about the contest. Good luck to everyone and I look forward to seeing some amazing stuff! Start painting and playing!

Cthulu Humor of the Day

Happy Easter from Cthulu!

Figure I would break the usual Easter norm with some twisted Cthulu stuff I found!

Not what I would want to find bringing me eggs!





Again, not what I would want to find on an Easter Egg Hunt.


Can't forget the terror!

Create Work here!

Bonus points for the Bunny have a sense of humor!

I hope everyone has a great Easter with their friends and family tomorrow. Be safe and enjoy the holidays!

Plus you will have to check out my Dice of Legends blog tomorrow, my wife in her twisted humor got me a "pirate pail" of Easter goodies...the pail is just a scream. My only question is who makes a pirate pail for Easter?

Loving the Lurkers: Part 2

Making a Lurker List is never an easy task; you have so many elements such as:

• Lurkers
• Upgrades to Lurkers such as Demagogue/Queen/Etc…
• Weapons, Spells, Armor and Skills
• Artifacts (From Strange Aeons Magazine)
• Scene’s of Horror
• Mob Rules

Wow! That is enough to drive a player mad! Wow! Where to start? Seems a little daunting eh? Unlike a Threshold list you will always have the same list unless you are limited in your model selection (or just plain lazy). Plus, you are in the spotlight to whip out a villains list as the Threshold player relaxes and waits for you to slap something down on paper.

 Let’s break this down into elements to consider while making your Lurker list, we already touched on the Command Structure for a Lurker List and now on to the meat of the list building.

Part 1: The Scenario dictates some elements you must have.

This is the hard part sometimes to building a list is the scenario. You have to look at the Lurker goals in the mission and how you can achieve them with what you have in your collection on hand. Often you will be asked to have at least the same number if not more models than the Threshold which can restrict your point expenditures. Also, some scenarios will also limit your pool of what you can take for the current game.

A good rule of thumb here is that say you have to have one more Lurker than the Threshold team, so you look at the total of the team (for this example we will use 15) and so you know that you will need at least 5 Lurkers and on average each Lurker will be about 5 points (give or take). This should help to quickly narrow down choices for your list.

Part 2: Economics of list building.

The best way I explain to people about building lists for any wargame is to think about it from an economic point of view.  If you are wasting points on a list, you will find that you are not getting the most for your investment. Think of each Build Point as money instead, cash (not credit here boys and girls) and when you go somewhere to eat you may look at that Dollar Menu for something cheap and filling but not as tasty as the premium things on the menu (or at least by their standards). Do you buy a bunch of cheap stuff and fill up? Or do you eat the slightly better food (perhaps healthier) instead and enjoy the flavor instead of the filler option.

Purchase what you are going to use and just that. Don’t go nuts and buy something because it is there or won’t have a huge impact to the game. If your list is full of undead and one cultist, taking the Plot Point Drug Crazed would not be a good deal. If you had more than one cultist, well it becomes a bit more reasonable to purchase once you get to 3 or more as it makes the cost impact not as painful.

Keeping a list lean means you have more room to perhaps add another Lurker, upgrade to a better Lurker or add another option onto something that would be more useful in the game. In Strange Aeons you usually are working with small point scales that can be eaten up quickly after a few models are selected so points are at a premium for you. Pick your purchases wisely.

By a simple case of balancing your costs you will come up with the right amount of Lurker’s for the game. Otherwise you may end up in a game with not enough or too many models on your side.

Part 3: You become the Storyteller or Writer.

This is the point of the article where I talk about being a “fluffy bunny” or “a hard core gamer” when you looking at your list.

The fluffy bunny will take things that make sense to the scenario, weave into a story that you could discuss or even write up in an after action report. A good example would be taking a Mad Scientist, henchmen and undead to round out your list. Now, would a demon work in the list? Yea, but it would be a little out of place without some type of explanation.

The other side is the hard core gamer. You want to put that powerful list out there and wipe the Threshold team from the board, you want to win. Well, we all want to win don’t we? Nobody likes to lose a game, but it is a fact of life. You be dammed that it doesn’t make sense or not, you just want to kick some ass.

There is always that middle of the road sometimes, but often you may find your list going one direction or the other. Sometimes on purpose and other times the models you purchase may dictate what you can put on the table. In any case, put what you will have fun with on the table and what the other player will have a good time playing against. Nothing more annoying than playing a list that is frustrating and the game is not enjoyable. We all have had those games, avoid them if you can.

Part 4: Balancing your list

When you are building a list factor in the balance of everything as a whole that would include the requirements of the scenario, what you have on hand to use and what you would want to put into a list.

Keep in mind that a good well rounded list is going to have ranged ability, hand to hand options and a leader to be able to keep the Lurkers moving in the game. A heavy shooter list will be weak once the Threshold players close in and engage in close combat and your list could quickly fail you. The same goes for a heavy hand to hand based list, you could risk being shot apart quickly by a well built Threshold team ready to handle threats at range. Sometimes using a Plot Point could give you a cover saves but is it worth it to take that risk? Look at what you may be up against and plan accordingly.

Part 5: Making Quick Pick Lists

I do this with several types of miniature games and make it easy to pick what you want to add to a list in a fast and efficient style.

Write down a list of models and options you would like (or may tend to want to use), sometimes a model may have more than one “package” as I call it as you may want to add things as you go.

Here is an example of a Cultist with a Rifle:

BP 2 Package: Cultist (1), Rifle (1)

BP 3 Package: Cultist (1), Rifle (1), Dex to 4+ (1)

BP 4 Package: Cultist (1), Rifle (1), Dex to 4+ (1), Lighting Fast (1)

BP 5 Package: Same as 4, add Hollow Point Bullets (1)

Now when you are trying to figure out what to plug into your list you can look at your points and go, well BP 3 Package works the best or well, I could drop this and add the BP 4 Package to make for a 2 shot sharpshooter.

This is an easy thing to do, as you can quickly go through your collection and setup a few packages for each model making it easy to just plug-n-play to save time. After all, we all would rather be throwing dice instead of making lists right?

Part 6: Bringing it all together

Hanibal from the A-Team could not have said it better! “I love it when a plan comes together!” There is nothing better than beating some do-gooders that want to foil your plans to ending the world. HOW RUDE OF THEM! So, it’s time to pull this all together now.

• Look at the Scenario and any limitations or requirements you need to follow.
• Select a leader model that can give you the option of Command.
• Consider any outside elements like Mobs and Artifacts as they will factor into the list building.
• Select your list and try to keep balance and budget in mind. Make sure to have the Quick Pick Packages on hand to make list building faster!
• Round out with any leftover points.
• Go kill some Threshold Agents!