The Final Push - Lawnor approaches 100% painted

It was the 4 day Jubilee weekend so I made the most of it!  I had things to do like deal with a large Tescos deliver, mow the lawns, sign a double glazing contract etc, but I still managed to get a lot done.  I’d already basically finished these four models, but they still needed varnishing.  Thursday morning I got the airbrush out and took care of that, and applied a base coat to 10 Plague models and 10 Asterians.

This was all finished by lunch, and I left them well alone until just before bed, when everyone got a wash that could dry overnight.  Next morning the Asterians got their second wash.  The plague didn’t need one.  That evening, they all got the drybrush highlights I had planned for them.

By working around other things and using lazy/fast techniques, I’ve already painted the plague flesh and asterian armour colour and spent almost no time working on these models.  That’s 75% surface area of 20 models finished in very little time and with no effort.

With that done, Thursday afternoon I started my big plans for the long weekend: I started playing Kingdom Death Monster for the first time.  It arrived between Christmas and New Year, and I’d spent 3 months painting up the models for it.  I wanted a solid few days to sink my teeth in to it.  I didn’t want to learn the game in a rushed few hours after work one day.  I’ve tried rallying my friends to play, but we’re scattered around now and I couldn’t get three other interested people who could commit to turning up regularly (I already play Gloomhaven this way and we get perhaps 4 weekends in a year.  It’s fun, but very slow going).

The rule book is set up very well for your first game.  You don’t need to read the rules.  It has a tutorial much like a computer game.  It teaches you by having you play.  This makes the learn super fast, easy, and fun.  At the time of writing I’ve been playing for four games and I’ve still not read the rules sections after this, although I do occasionally look something up.  If you’ve read them and you know this means I’m missing something important please let me know!

The first fight was fun, but the game didn’t grab me.  Then I went back to the settlement, and that was interesting, but I wasn’t pulled in yet.  Then the hunt phase happened, and again it was fun but didn’t make the game special yet.

I set up the second showdown and weighed my options.  Go back to painting and play again tomorrow, or play another game and apply some washes before bed?  I kinda wanted to se how my new gear played out and how different the real White Lion was to the tutorial White Lion.  It had the beginning of it’s hooks in me after all.  As I got playing and the lion died giving me new resources to spend I realised I was hooked.  Not on one phase of the game.  On the cycle.  Each phase feeds the next and I constantly want to do the next phase to see how my decisions work out.  At the time of writing I’ve just finished year 9 and I’m about to face The King’s Man for the first time.  knowing this, I’ve replaced all my breakable weapons with metal ones for the first time as I expect his armour would destroy my bone blades.  He’s got 5-6 always on powers, and the most I’ve faced is 5 on the Butcher, but I normally face 2 at the moment.  I’ve not looked at what they are yet.  Am I screwed?  I don’t know.  I am concerned though.  I’m not sure I’m going to get another game in this week though, as it’s Gloomhaven with friends all this weekend, I need to finish my models, and I’m busy Tuesday and Wednesday evening.

Does anyone know if the Intimacy couple, Old Joe and Young Rachel have a specific purpose, or if they’re just optional extras to be used any time?  I’ve seen an innovation that would let two survivors be married and gain advantages when they fight together.  I assume that’s the intimacy couple?

I know there’s a good settlement tracking app out there but I’ve forgotten what it’s called.  I can keep using the cards, but keeping track of my survivors and who’s got what upgrades based on whey they were born etc is getting to be a bit messy.

If I have one complaint about KDM, it’s that the books and cards never give you a page number for anything.  Something triggers a power or an event or something that you’ve no reason to have ever seen, IE the Butcher attacks for the first time.  Would it really kill them to put a page number with that event on the timeline?  There’s a contents page, but no index.  There is a glossary instead and every entry would be so much better with a page reference.

Oh, and the stat line on the character sheets could use a second row: Base stat and Stat with equipment.  The armours could use a second box each too.  With full equipment, and current armour.  Both of these are easily fixed though.

I’ve learned two important things playing KDM:

1. After spending 4 days stood leaning over a table my legs refuse to move anymore without complaining.  I am old
2. I cannot stop narrating out loud what I’m doing while playing solo.  Does everyone do this?  Why does this happen?  Does it help me think, or make my decision more real, or is this a leftover habit from playing games with other people and declaring what I’m up to so they know?

Every morning and evening around KD:M I would watch the UKGE coverage from OTT and do a little painting.  I’d try and time washes and long drying time techniques for jest before a game or just before bed.  The armour colour on the asterians is finished.  I need to pick out an under-armour colour next, then it’s spot colours and bases.  The plague just need their bases done an a couple of quick highlights, before varnishing.  It’s frustrating to get them this close to done, but not be done.  I hope to power through and do them tonight, but I’m not sure I’ll have time to varnish.  It all comes down to how long it takes the wash on their bases to dry.

I was also able to build and base my box of 20 KoW skeletons. I was even able to squeeze 1 more skeleton and a giant skeleton rat out of the box for 22 models.

This leaves me with:

Batch: 42, Normal: 12, Luxury: 8, Modular: 49, To Ship: 33+

I also got up to date on Kenobi and Strange New Worlds.  I’m really enjoying both.  Is it just me or does SNW occasionally contradict itself?  One week the federation uses genetic engineering to disguise people for away missions.  The next genetic engineering has always been outlawed in the federation.  I’ve seen other examples of inconsistency.  They can be argued away, but it feels a little iffy.  Good show though, otherwise.  There are moments when Pike speaks and I can see and hear Kirk.  I love that we know most of the crew will be gone before Pike ends up in the chair.  This means we know most of them can die at any moment.  They’ve gotta be gotten rid of at some point before the show ends.  Unless this is setting up it’s own “Trousers of Time” splinter universe?

Also, they are very dumb at times, when they can’t figure stuff out that’s blindly obvious to the viewers.  But that’s a plot thing and I think it’s reminiscent of TOS.  A way of drumming home the point they were making.