Diehard GameFAN

Category: Tabletop Gaming

  • Diehard GameFAN’s 2011 Tabletop Gaming Awards

    When we look back at 2011, we can almost sum up the year in two words: 90s Nostalgia. Call of Cthulhu and Vampire: The Masquerade released anniversary editions. RIFTS updated Vampire Kingdoms. Warhammer 40K hit mainstream audiences via video games the same way SSI introduced a lot of people to Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. Speaking…

  • Tabletop Review: Shadowrun: State of the Art: 2073

    Shadowrun: State of the Art: 2073 Publisher: Catalyst Games Labs Pages: 41 Cost: $7.95 Release Date: 12/20/2011 Get it Here: DrivethruRPG.com State of the Art is a series of releases capturing odds and ends that have been put out for a few years now. If you look at DrivethruRPG.com, you can find a couple of…

  • Tabletop Review: Ruined Empires

    Ruined Empires Publisher: Cubicle 7 Authors: Peter Cakebread and Ken Walton Pages: 42 Cost: $14.99 (print) $7.99 (PDF) Release Date: 11/06/2011 Get It Here: Cubicle 7 (print) DriveThruRPG.com (digital) I raved about Abney Park’s Airship Pirates when I reviewed it a couple months ago, and with good reason. Airship Pirates is a fantastic game and…

  • Tabletop Review: Vampire: The Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition

    Vampire: The Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition Publisher: White Wolf Pages: 529 Cost: $29.99 Release Date: 09/29/2011 Get it Here: DriveThruRpg.com This summer I had a constant debate with myself over whether or not I was going to order the 20th Anniversary Edition of Vampire: The Masquerade. On one hand, it was $99 dollars and I…

  • Life During War Games 12-16-2011

    I will remember 2011 as the year I rediscovered my love of tabletop gaming. 2007 was the last year in which I had played tabletop games with any sort of regularity. The Rifts campaign I was GMing was based in Russia and was deeply inspired by the movie The Brothers Grimm. It was a fun…

  • Tabletop Review: TimeSPAN RPG

    TimeSPAN Publisher: Point of Insanity Game Studio Release Date: 11/20/2011 Page Count: 175 Cost: $8.00 (PDF) Get it here: DriveThruRPG.com TimeSPAN deals with a subject that I like very much in concept: time travel. What don’t I like about time travel in practice? Well, I think standard RPG sessions (i.e. those that involve killing stuff)…

  • Miniatures Review: Harook

    Harook Manufacturer: Mad Robot Miniatures Scale: 15mm Material: Metal Price: $7 for a squad of 10 When I found out the second Mad Robot Miniatures release would be an alien race, I had high hopes. Even as a nascent 15mm science fiction war gamer, I was very aware there was a shortage of interesting aliens…

  • Tabletop Review: Shadowrun Missions: On a Silver Platter

    Shadowrun Missions: On a Silver Platter Publisher: Catalyst Games Labs Page Count: 37 Cost: $3.95 Release Date: 12/09/2011 Get it Here: DriveThruRPG.com The orc Fixer/Mr. Johnson named MacCallister is a Shadowrun character I can relate to pretty well. We’re both older dudes that keep in shape. We’ve both influenced a younger generation (Myself through Pokemon,…

  • Miniatures Review: Tachyon Mercenary Corps

    Tachyon Mercenary Corps Manufacturer: Mad Robot Miniatures Scale: 15mm Material: Metal Price: $7 for 10 mercenaries Mad Robot became an early friend to my efforts to launch miniatures coverage on Diehard GameFAN. The interview I had with Steve Stodden of Mad Robot was one of the first I did and is one I am very…

  • Tabletop Review: Shadowrun – Columbian Subterfuge

    The newest Shadowrun adventure takes your players to war-torn South America. I wonder how cyber implants fare in that humidity.

  • Life During War Games 12-09-2011

    I just came home from my first vacation in a few years, a four day jaunt to Branson, MO. My wife and I made a pilgrimage to watch the last Glen Campbell concert in Branson, a town he once owned and operated a theater in. While I never attended a show at the Glen Campbell…

  • Tabletop Review: Dungeons & Dragons – Player’s Option: Heroes of the Feywild & Fury of the Feywild Fortune Cards

    Dungeons & Dragons Player’s Option: Heroes of the Feywild & Fury of the Feywild Fortune Cards Publisher: Wizards of the Coast Release Date: 11/15/2011 Page Count: 160 Price: Heroes of the Feywild Hardback $29.95 / Fury of the Feywild Fortune Cards Pack of 8 cards $3.99 Get It Here: Wizard of the Coast Store Locator…

  • Tabletop Review: Castles & Crusades – Dwarven Glory

    Castles and Crusades: Dwarven Glory Publisher: Troll Lord Games Page Count: 26 Cost: $4.99 ($3.99 at DrivethruRPG.com) Get it Here: DriveThruRPG.com I’m a big fan of the Castles and Crusades roleplaying line. I love how the system is a nice blend of second edition AD&D, OD&D and some modern ideas. Unfortunately I haven’t been a…

  • Life During War Games 12-02-2011

    After last week’s massive Holiday Gift Guide, my wife’s amazing rendition of Alton Brown’s Thanksgiving Turkey recipe, and the preparations for my trip to see Glenn Campbell’s final concert, I thought this week would be the perfect time to catch up on some stuff that has slipped through the proverbial cracks. The jovial Ambush Alley…

  • Tabletop Review: Shadowrun: Conspiracy Theories

    Shadowrun: Conspiracy Theories Publisher: Catalyst Games Labs Release Date: 11/20/2011 Page Count: 178 Cost: $29.99 ($18.00 through DrivethruRPG.com) Get it Here: DriveThruRPG.com Conspiracy Theories is a sourcebook that seems tailor made for me. First, I used to live in London and I currently reside in the Washington D.C. metro area – both of which are…

  • Interview with Rob Lane of Maelstrom Games

    I was lucky enough to have a chat with Rob Lane of Maelstrom Games. We discussed the BaneLegions line of resin miniatures, including the massive BaneBeasts. Chuck Platt: I like to start with a bit of background. How did you end up in the wargaming hobby? Rob Lane: Well, both Tim and I have been…

  • Life During War Games 11-25-2011

    Since there is a scant month left before Christmas, this is as good a time as any to do a holiday shopping guide for the war gamers in your life. Be it your significant other, the guys in your gaming group, or your Reddit Secret Santa giftee, I have tried to include a variety of…

  • Tabletop Review: Vampire: The Masquerade – Dust to Dust

    Vampire: The Masquerade: Dust to Dust Publisher: White Wolf Release Date: 11/11/2011 Page Count: 56 Cost: $9.99 Get it Here: DriveThruRPG.com Until 1991, I had only ever played two tabletop RPGs: Advanced Dungeons & Dragons and TSR’s Marvel Super Heroes game. I owned a third my father purchased for me called Lords of Creation, but…

  • Life During War Games 11-18-2011

    My personal miniatures collection is a bit like a katamari from Katamari Damacy. There are the big, overarching themes, like my love of fantasy dwarfs and Games Workshop’s Sisters of Battle. There are also smaller leitmotifs, like my love of jetpacks. I thought this would be a good time to show off some of the…

  • Miniatures Review: Scarab Fast Attack Vehicle

    Scarab Fast Attack Vehicle Manufacturer: Combat Wombat Miniatures Scale: 15mm Material: Resin Price: $6 each or 3 for $15 When I first saw visited the Combat Wombat Miniatures website, I knew exactly which model I would buy first. The Scarab Fast Attack Vehicle spoke to me. I have long had a propensity for buying dune…