Friday, November 13, 2009

Elf Bait #0

It occured to me the other day that I have many gaming ideas that are worth sharing (IMHO) but not exactly the sorts of things I can use in my own projects (at least not yet). So I decided to start a new feature on my blog called "Elf Bait". Why Elf Bait? Let me tell you...

Have you ever had those gaming ideas that you thought were really good only to see them in a published book later? Well, in our group we blame this on tiny little elves sent out by the gaming industry to spy on us gamers. These elves take our ideas back to their masters. This thery ha been with us since we were kids. S, when it came to naming this new feature, Elf Bait seemed appropriate.

Hope you enjoy what I post in the future.

-Eli

Thursday, November 5, 2009

A Rant on Postage


If you are a modern miniatures gamer you likely have had to order from one manufacturer or another. This is increasingly unavoidable as more and more manufacturers go to direct sales and FLGS disappear like dinosaurs (that is if they stocked the minis to begin with). This isn't a problem really as I often get better service from the companies direct than I ever did from my FLGS. What does bother me is the ancient and wholey innacurate practice of percentage-based shipping.

With some companies charging as much as 40% for shipping, this practice really can border on taking advantage of the customer. The price of something has little to do with the expense of shipping it. In a day and age where the various postal routes have so many resources available for quick and accurate calculation of actual shipping or even flat rate shipping options not bothering to give your customers the benefit of real shipping costs seems almost lazy and insulting.

Shipping should be a reflection of postage and maybe packing materials. These things are caculated based on weight, distance, and the specifics of the packaging materials. Sometimes these are lumped into a flat rate to make it easier for shipping in volume. If you have an inventory that spans a vast number of weights and measurements this might actually be a valid shipping practice. When it comes down to it, most of my orders can all fit in a medium or smaller flat rate box (your milliage may vary) which means that whether I order $20 or $200 worth of minis he shipping is still going to be about $5-7 flat rate. Sure you can work the percentage system, but I'd rather not play games to get my money's worth.

One friend of mine suggested that it may be a hold over from the days where catalog ordering was something new, different and really a service wrth charging for. Is that what it is, a hidden surcharge for the convenience of ordering direct from you? If the cost of doing direct business is such that you need to sneak in an extra charge, then perhaps you need to alter your pricing structure up front.

Anyhow, rant mode off.

-Eli

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Gameable Books - Leviathan

Not one of mine, but speaking of gameable books, check this one out on Baron's Blog!

Take care,

-Eli

Monday, November 2, 2009

Gameable Books - The Monster Blood Tattoo Series


Howdy all,

Those of you who I keep regular correspondence with off the blog may well know that I have a new obsession. That obsession would be a series of books called the Monster Blood Tattoo series by D.M. Cornish. Very few books grab me enough to spew over, and this one did within the first couple of chapters.

Colorful, evocative, and intensely interesting, Cornish's series that begins with "Foundling" stands out among the various fantasy books that I have read for it's gloomy, 18th century feel full of tricorns, work houses, pre-industrial, musket and shot goodness. I have to admit that I am propping up this book before I have even finished it, but considering I am throwing this out not just for it's literary merit but also for its "game-ability" I think it'll be okay.

Why is this setting gameable? You have a world of humanity living in a gritty, grungy fantasy world, surrounded on its fringes by looming monsters and the constant threat of incursion and invasion by these same vile denizens. These human societies are divided into distinct city states all under the banner of an Emperor. You have musket firing soldiers, potion slinging monster hunters and a strange sort of pre-industrial techno-alchemical technology base that provides the setting with such wonderful things as magically treated clothing that can turn blades and musket balls or boxes stuffed with grown olfactory and optic tissues that gives the wearer enhanced senses. Even the ironclad sailing vessels in the book draw from this, using grown muscles to drive their screws instead of steam engines.

I won't go into plot or anything of that sort, too much, because I do not want to spoil it for those who may choose to read it. The series is intended for the junior readers, but the author doesn't dumb it down and his use of colorful language and dark imagery really pushes the bounds. If I had to classify the series, I'd say that it's in the same category as the Harry Potter series but instead of an orphan away at school, we get an orphan who is out on the world on his own, having never had a home other than an orphanage.

The book has obvious role-playing potential with lots of greeblies and goodies to rip-off -cough- borrow for your tabletop games. But there is also some good wargaming potential here. If you've been looking for something new to throw on the table, you could borrow from this and go for some 18th century fantasy armies.

In short, good stuff here.

Thanks all,

-Eli

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Camera Missing

Sooooooo,

My blog may get a bit less pretty for a bit. My camera has gone walkies. Fortunately the camera was ancient and in need of replacing so the loss is not too great, though that means my ability to take pics is limited to snaps on my camera phone or the occasion when I can borrow one from a friend. I will continue to blog and post pics as they become available.

Thanks for you patience,

-Eli

Friday, October 30, 2009

Cleaning House 2 - 28mm Pulp Figures

So, the islanders went quickly, which was cool. I am now turning toward clearing out my Pulp Adventure figures. This collection includes everything from a ton of gangsters. adventurers, Chinese Bandits, as well as others. I've posted the list over at Rattrap's Forum, so if you are interested, check it out here - http://www.rattrapproductions.com/speakeasy/viewtopic.php?t=2055&highlight=

-Eli

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Cleaning House

So, I have been taking stock of my various miniatures assets and have come to the conclusion that I am pretty much done with 28mm for the most part - at least for now. To this end I am planning on selling or trading off as much as I can. I am hoping to be able to roll old stuff over for new (to me) 15mm assets for my various Colonial, Back of Beyond, and Sci-fi projects.

What is it I am planning to get rid of? Mainly I am going to clear our my Pulp Adventure and Fantasy Stuff. Don't worry, I'm not trying to turn this blog into a business or anything but I figured I would mention it here first, so as to allow fellow hobbyists, followers, and friends first crack at stuff.

The first thing I think I'll try to get rid of are the Cargo Cultist conversions that I did some time ago. If you are interested feel free to email me off the blog (email in my profile). We can discuss price or trades in private and not clutter the blog with such "filthy" business.

Thanks for taking na interest,

-Eli