Wasteland Wondering - ideas, rules and minis.

Welcome back to another Wasteland Wondering.

Hobby wise I am still at the mercy of my demanding cats. That said I wouldn't swap them and they are slowing down.

Work has progressed on the Matt Black City fluff. I must admit I am hugely enjoying writing the reports. Soon I hope to be working though my miniature collection introducing (or in some cases re introducing) various factions. The ruins have been made large enough so factions can set up and not be too close to each other. Just as a idea of the size of the ruins the city is larger than the country of Wales. Maps of the city and area are being drawn up so expect a future post about that.

Rules wise I am looking about to see what other rules will fit the back ground other than the Gangs Of Nu Ork or my house rules for Neutronyork3000.

This week I have been reading various rulesets. I took a look at Wasteman by Thunderchild Miniatures.

It is a 87 page, full colour rule book with 8 factions to choose from including high tech, robots, critters, mutants and more. There is also specs for giant mutant monsters. The rules look fun, easy to play with a various ways to introduce Fallout style wackiness to your games. The book has some great inspirational pictures. My only regret is there is no vehicle rules. Hint hint!

The other rules I have been reading is Scrappers by Osprey. It is a 151 page rule book with 7 factions to choose from. The usual sci fi post apoc factions are present.

The rules look interesting but there is a few markers used during the game. I have a feeling that the rules will become more intuitive after a couple of plays. After each set of rules there is a summary table which is a nice touch. One thing I like is the Event system with plenty of things to make the game more perilous and dangerous. The Scrappers book is filled with gorgeous pictures of overgrown wastelands and ruins.

Image from Scrappers rulebook by Osprey.

When I got the Across The Dead Earth rules (which I still have not played) I loved the overgrown look of the world. Makes the ruins look old and long abandoned. Reading Scrappers has fuelled this idea further. So I plan on reworking a lot of my old terrain to look older and more worn. Then I will add plenty of small plants and what not to them. As the wastelands of Mattblackgod's world already has mutated plants some cheap aquarium plants will be added so it all matches.

I am a huge fan of books on the hobby especially terrain making and I picked up this:

Battlefields In Miniature by Paul Davies. It is a 287 page hardback by Pen and Sword books. The book is filled with ideas and step by step guides to building terrain. If you are a terrainaic then this book is worth a read.

Miniatures wise I have found some old metal Warhammer chaos warriors I painted up in various schemes back in the late 80's. I have dropped them into a dettol bath ready for stripping. Paint wise I am thinking of repainting them in rusty armour as additions to King Arty's Skrap Knights. Or maybe some sort of sinister cultists?

In addition to this I have gotten some Ramshackle Mutants primed. These will be additions to my Greasy Poon settlement.

Then I picked up these Warpath Enforcer jet bikes from Mantic.

The plan for these is to flesh out the Utopia forces in the Matt Black City ruins. Only a small expedition of Magistrates are in the ruins at present but there will be Enforcers, Magistrates and more arriving. Just as soon as the Megacity boffins figure out a way to get supplies to the faction. I am looking for some sort of high tech looking transport for the Utopia Mags.

Assembled jet bike.

I managed to get a Trog gang finished. Well, modified from pre made/painted Orks my friend Xander gave me. I am just working on a ride for them. Pictures will follow.

Other ideas have been pouring into my planetary Capitol city ruins idea. I am planning on a rival Trog settlement in the ruins. Xander's Ork horde will help provide the muscle. Just got to get a boss figure made up.

That's all for now. Keep a eye open for the next Matt Black City instalment. Take care out there!

Matt Black City Report 6: Move

Journal of Senior Mag Stevo.
Date 27060117

Day 6: Move

Today I ordered us to move our base to a new location for security in case we where observed by the landing here by theTrogz. We also need a better location to set up a permanent base.

Thankfully our remaining drones found a good location a good distance away from our last position in the ruins. We are parked on top of a block that seems reasonably intact as do many of the adjacent blocks. Scans showed few signs of life in the immediate area so hopefully we will be left unharassed. The block isn't far from a dried up river which should help with navigation in and out.

Utopia have been advised of our new location. Still there has been no word on a resupply or the dispatch of our reinforcements. Apparently there is a logistical issue with the distance. The old long range transports used in the evac of the wastelands have been long scrapped due to age.

After our move to our new "home", things look grim supply wise. We are further rationing our supplies and the shuttle is down to quarter of it's fuel. There is only a couple more hops left in the tanks. We may get a couple of hundred miles beyond the mountains in a single flight. At least we can still bug out if things get desparate.

There is less than 20 percent of our spydat drones still operational. The Trogz and other groups here have reacted with hostility towards them forcing us to operate the remaining drones at a safer (higher) altitude. We are keeping the remaining ones back for recon purposes only. I hope Utopia send more, they are listed in our resupply data.

Magistrates Black and Warren have been exploring both the blocks we have visited but haven't made it to street level. Over 100 floors would take a while to traverse.

Apparently both blocks are pretty much left as they where at the end. There has been no scavengers to strip the city clean like elsewhere in the world. Electrical cables, pipes, fixtures, tools, tech and many personal items lie ready to be salvaged. Much of it is scrap but there will be some salvageable items of value. Maybe this is also an attraction for various factions present here? The ruins is a treasure trove. Many settlements across the planet could benefit from their looting.

Sadly there was little consumable food found although Warren did find some old medicines. I doubt they will still be effective. Mag Black is talking about hunting mutant beasts to top up our supplies. Both Warren and I doubt they would make good eating. The beasts here are probably highly contaminated.

Thankfully the shuttle has a emergency solar still in equipment bay so drinking water should not be a issue. We have set it up on top of the block. Mag Warren has botched together a filter and purification system so hopefully it should be safe to drink.

The Scavenger's Map - Map of Drop Town

Hello and welcome back to my blog,

Some time ago a read asked if there was a map of Drop Town in my 15mm post apocalyptic setting. 

I had knocked one together before the request and I had filed it in a secure location which I promptly forgot where it was. Months later I stumbled across it looking for something else. Typical isn't it? 

So I got it finished. I present to you The Scavenger's map of the area around Drop City. 

This map is currently in the Dok's possession, he traded it for a couple of bags of flour and a can of beans.

In the north is Drop Town. Around it there is the cultivated lands which cover about 20 to 30 miles around the town. Here lie the various farms that keep the town fed. 

On the coast just to the south of Drop Town lies a fishing village. The locals suffer minor mutations and have health problems due to the contamination in the sea.

Center of the Map lies the Boneyard. This is a ruined city. Few scavengers prospect here due to the ruins being infested with Ghouls. Up river of the Toxic River is the remains of a giant chemical plant. This leaks chemicals into the river and contaminates the local bay, river and shorelines. To the south of the Boneyard lies a village of crazies. The people here are insane and the Dok thinks that some sort of residual chemical weapon may to be blame. 

There is another Boneyard further south but it is beyond the limits of many of the scavengers. The Far Off Boneyard is a unknown resource for Drop Town. The wastelands around the Far Off Boneyard are pretty flat and known as the Flat Lands.

On the left of the map shows the mountains which protect the area. There is a few scavenging opportunities in the mountains. 

The right of the map lies the contaminated sea and the toxic coast. In addtion to the chemicals leaking into the local bay there are many rusting hulks in the sea. 

This is the only map of my 15mm Post apocalyptic setting. A general world map needs creating but at the minute I have no idea how that will look. 

Thanks for looking and take care out there.

Matt Black City Report 5. Orders!

Journal of Senior Mag Stevo.
Date 26060117

Day 5: Orders!!

Finally high command has gotten back to us. Our orders have changed. We are to stay here in the city, dig in, gather intel and report.  Renforcements are on their way and should arrive in the next few days.

We are not to engage the Trogz or the other factions here unless in defence. Where possible we have to find possible allies. The tomb is to remain unmolested and intact.

I suspect that like us UHC are wondering just what is going on here and what the Matt Black Trog's plans are.

The good news is that the riots have stopped in Utopia City. The PSI divison came up with some gadgets that jammed the PSI signal. These have been placed across the city. Although they have a side effect of giving people headaches if the get too close to the PSI jammers. At least the city is safe.

The others are not happy that we have to remain here. But that is our orders. I have advised Utopia about our current supply status. I hope we get a resupply soon.

Looks like we are here to stay for a long time.

Matt Black City Report 4. More data.

Journal of Senior Mag Stevo.
Date 25060117

Day 4:

Last night was uneventful. Alas high command have not yet replied to my report/request. I hope their decision will not take too long. Our supplies are not in a good way and we have begun rationing.

Magistrate Black found a old Trog carcass near by in an advanced state of decay. It was probally killed by one of the mutant beasts that prowl the ruins. Black took a flamer to it to stop it spawning more. Mag Warren fears it may be too late. If remain here we will have to keep be alert for young savage Trogz or "Yoofs" as they call them.

Our drones have been feeding back data. The images from the ruins are a depressing sight. There are whole areas choked in rubble, dust and decay. Other areas have crumbling ruins and wrecked blocks. Civilian vehicles lie decaying in the streets many of which are blocked by rubble or vehicle jams. In other areas old military vehicles can be seen, evidence of the war on the streets of the capital. More disturbing are the groups of war bots standing immobile in some places. Are they depowered, dead or are they in power save waiting to kill again?

Warbots by Ramshackle games.

The Trog City has high walls of rubble and scrap. There are also clanking walking machines made from junk patrolling the outer walls. The Big Boss takes security seriously.

There are many war machines in the city. Most seem to be of the buggy or truck variety but our drones did spot some that could be classified as tanks.

All the major Trog clans seem to be present. Red Sun's, Evil Moons, Blue Skulls.

We have some data showing battle axes, Goffz and Snake Bites are also here but the drone was destroyed before the data could be confirmed. Most clans seem to wear war paint and tattoos in black symbolizing loyalty to the Big Boss.

In addition there seems to be a unrecognised Clan. Possibly a new one dedicated to the Big Boss? They copy his black clothing and rusty armour. Apparently they call themselves The Matt Black Trogz. Perhaps this world has twisted the Trogz too?

Also present are Trog Freebooters (anarchist pirates) and many small gangs. Only a handful of these seem to have any Clan affiliation. I wonder if in Trog culture when a gang gets famous or powerful enough they form into a Clan?

Our drones over Trog City have all been  destroyed. The other drones that went out over the ruins showed that there maybe a hundred observed camps or settlements. Many of them appear to be human or mutant. Have they been drawn here too by the signal?

In addtion our drones also spotted a larger Trog settlement in the northern part of the ruins. Further investigation will be required.

There are also some settlements beyond the edge of the ruins a few miles out into the hell zone. We have not got close enough to collect more data yet. Hopefully they won't be infested by Trogz.

Perhaps we could convince some of the other human groups here to join us? Then maybe we could complete our mission.

The hordes of mutant beasts reported to haunt the ruins by our robotic drones 50 years ago are much less in number than we expected. Groups moving through the ruins will still have to take care.

Many old beast carcasses appear across the ruins. A closer look also showed some Trog skulls and bones mixed with them. It would appear the Trogz had some fun clearing the ruins ahead of the new occupants arrival. A job they are suited for and probably loved. It makes me wonder just what the Matt Black Trog is up to? Trog remains spread across the city also means that the Trogz are here to stay.

There appears to be large patches of plant life growing in the ruins. It seems a strange contrast seeing the vibrant colours against the bleakness of the ruins. Whilst this at first sounds promising there is a possibliity that the mutated carnivorous plants found in parts of the world may be growing here. There are also patches of large fungi growing wild. Mag Warren says that some of these are the result of the terraforming. They take contaminants out of the earth. The bad news is some of these fungi patches are possible Trog spawning sites.

Out in the ruins the drones have spotted large structures made from scrap located across the ruins. No doubt this is the work of the Trogz. We have no data to their purpose. One theory is that they are way markers so exploring Trogz can navigate the ruins. Another is that they are territorial markers. Mag Monk has suggested that these may be trog shrines.

All data collected has been forwarded to HOJ. I hope we can either continue on our mission or abort. To be honest I will be glad to leave here.The remains of this great city are depressing to see.

The Trogz of Trog City are my first faction in this series. The rules for the Trogz are : 

1. Trogz cannot and won't hire mercenaries. Only Freebooters and Blood Axes can be hired by other factions as Mercenary muscle. Blood Axes will not carry out missions against the Matt Black Trog or it's interests. 

2. The Trogz raid the ruins and other factions for scrap, vehicles and other resources.

3.The Trogz keep human slaves in addition  to the Grots. 

4. The Trogz will trade with other factions for resources.

5. The Tomb of the Mattblackgod is sacred and the Trogs will not go near it. 

Some tweaks and waffle.

Hello and welcome back to my blog,

I have been doing a few little tweaks to the blog. Mainly adding a page tab for the Matt Black City campaign and removing the dead page for Roach Jones. Let's face it may take him a while to get out of Utopia's Undercity and walk 11,000 miles of wasteland to get to Matt Black City. You never know, he may turn up in a future post. 

The posts of the Matt Black City setting seems to be getting positive feedback both here and on other forums which is inspiring me further. The Photobucket ransom debacle has pushed this idea further which will see me taking fresh pictures of the seventy or eighty factions of my 28mm collection. 

So far I have another three posts in draft once I take get pictures sorted out. I have ideas and plans for another three or four posts. There is plenty of ideas flying about. That is before faction posts and any games I manage to I get in. 

Then there is the Gorkamorka style Trog/Ork gangs & characters I plan, just for a bit of fun with the setting. The current plan is to use old 40K RT orks as renforcements for the Matt Black Trog's army and a mix of later & Gorkamorka Orks for the gangs. 

The Matt Black City background is an idea I have toyed with for over a year. I have been looking for a way to get all the factions across the world into one place. Gorkamorka and the Gangs of Nu Ork site have inspired some of the background. The legends of the Mattblackgod, the city ruins and the tomb is a way to attract the people of the world. I am afraid that you will to wait to find out more about the Matt Black Trog and his plans.

Rules wise I plan to use Neutronyork3000 for the games. I have made up some house rules to cover vehicles and other fun. Or maybe a mix of Necromunda and Gorkamorka. Or Gangs of Nu Ork.

Thanks for reading. Take care out there.

Matt Black City Report 3. Into the fire.

Journal of Senior Mag Stevo.
Date 24060117

Day 3:

We took off at first light and discovered to our pleasure that the weather conditions where calm and clear. The legendary near constant storms that haunt the mountains and the hellish wastes beyond seemed to be at a rare lull. I foolishly took this to be a symbol of hope that our mission would be a success.

As we passed the mountains Magistrate Warren pointed out that the sensors where only picking up pockets of contamination. In fact the hell zone was no worse than the rest of the world. As we puzzled this Warren noted traces of what the ancients called Terraforming elements. These microbes and chemicals where designed to transform hostile worlds into places humanity could live. Warren wishes to land on our return trip to collect samples. If Utopia can replicate these we may turn our world once again into a eden. This raised new questions namely who set off the terrafroming and where did they get the kit?

On approach to the Matt Black City we did a high altitude fly past circling the huge expanse of ruins for Mag Monk to get a bearing on the transmission. Many blocks where gone, just piles of rubble or dust. Others stood broken whilst one or two lay on their sides. It was shocking to see the mega city in this state. Again the contaminent levels seemed normal for the rest of our world with only pockets registered here or there.

We noted many active camps and settlements. The immensity of the ruins keeping many of them miles apart. It seems others have been drawn here too. They better take care and avoid the contaminated zones.

Shockingly towards the centre of the ruins there appeared to be what looks like a ramshackle city. Mag Monk confirmed the transmission was coming from the city. Warren also noted that the location of the tomb of the Matt Black God should lie dead centre of the city. This city is not here by chance nor do I feel the recent terraforming and transmission is a coincidence.

Taking a lower sweep we could see the ramshackle city was teaming with Trogz.

Trogz have been recorded in the wastelands for a long time and are incorrectly thought by many to be mutants. Trogz are a Genetically Engineered Life Form or GELF. These are also known as ORCS (Organically Replicating Combat System) produced long ago before the wars on a far off world to act as troops in wars. There use was banned and the were probably brought here illegally as spores during the wars. According to the data the ORCS are hard to control, extremely violent, bloodthirsty and replicate at a alarming rate. Even when dead up to 12 creatures can spore from one for years to come. Worlds were overwhelmed leading to the GELF wars. Reading about the Trogz makes me miss the Pyscho-d up mental street punks of the Blocks.

The tomb of the god lies dead centre (we could see it from the air) and is unmolested by the creatures. It is kept clear of their buildings and detruius. Mag Monk confirmed that The Tomb is the centre of the transmission. The trog city stretches out for a estimated two miles in all directions from the tomb. How many of these beasts are there?

Near the centre of what we callas "Trog City" lies many large constructions. They look like warmachines made from junk. We noted one Trog bigger than all the rest. Here is a picture of the Boss.

The Matt Black Trog is a 40K Ork Warboss I got cheap on evilbay. The usual head wasn't what I envisioned so I gave him a head swap and raised his cranium with greenstuff putty. I added a Scar and Lump on his head. I am happy with his skin which is supposed to be black. The Grot slave is a classic 40K figure I have owned since the early 90s.

He must be the Big Boss/leader. He is unusual in having black skin and a higher cranium than most of his species. Mag Warren speculates that it may have higher intelligence or possibly PSI abilities.

Trogz are known to have various skin colours depending on where they where spawned. It seems local contaminants can effect them. Most are green or brown skinned. Black is a rarity. Note the smaller creature behind. That is a Grots. A smaller GELF closely associated with Trogz. They are of a similar make up but are smaller and weaker. Both their designers and the Trogz use them as a source of slave labour. Like the Trogz many in the wastelands think the Grots are mutants and call them "The mutie men".

We also spied another Trog on one of the construction sites wearing fierce looking power armour. He seems to be a big mek, a trog version of a engineer. Note the Grot slave. 

Big Mek Tinka. This is a standard 40K figure. The grot is a classic 40K metal figure I have owned since the early 90s. 

At this point we started to take hostile fire and we were forced beat a hasty retreat. Thankfully the shuttle only took superficial damage.

I have ordered us to land on a old city block many miles away from Trog City so we can reassess. We have launched spydat drones to collect closer Intel on the Trogz.

We cannot shoot our way into the tomb. Even with our weapons and skills we wouldn't get past the walls.

The shuttle has enough firepower to damage the tomb but will it be enough? Our missiles and cannon have limited stores.

We could use the shuttle as a distraction and infiltrate. Head for the tomb and disable the transmission. However if we get spotted we stand little chance.

Another option is for Utopia to send a bomber or gunships to our location and hammer the tomb from above. A nuke should do it nicely.

As I fear our mission may now be impossible and suicidal I have contacted Utopia city to advise of our findings and for further orders.

In addition I have ordered the shuttle be ready for immediate action in case we encounter large groups of hostiles and we have to bug out.

For now we rest. Tomorrow we may die.

Matt Black City Report 2

Journal of Senior Mag Stevo.
Date 23060117

Day 2:

We have flown for many hours and covered over 11,000 miles with Magistrate Monk acting as a living compass. The weird feeling we all have has been getting stronger making us all on edge. We have burned nearly half our fuel. I have a bad feeling that this will be a one way trip. We will deal with that when the time comes. Our first priority is to the mission and the safety of Utopia city.

Mag Monk thinks the source of the PSI signal is close. We have landed to rest up. The constant concentration drains the PSI Mags leaving them exhausted.

There is another reason to rest besides nightfall and exhaustion. In another 100 miles we will cross the mountains that circle the Matt Black Hellzone. A place so contaminated that very little can survive for long. I hope the shuttle's NBC filters can cope. We will "suit up" just in case.

After the mountains lies 200 to 300 miles of contaminated hell which leads us to the ruins of Matt Black City, our planet's capitol. The city was 200 miles across. That is over twice the size of Utopia today! I have seen pictures of the once beautiful city in its grandeur in historic holo vids. A mega city like no other. The wars and the orbital bombardment turned the city into ruins. Only strange twisted creatures live there now. If any human life survived it would be in vaults and bunkers. But after over 100 years what are the chances they will still be alive?

One thing to note on today's long flight is there appeared to be several large groups moving in the same direction as us. No doubt they feel the draw of the PSI signal too. Mag Monk claims it is calling everyone. Drawing them toward the cursed place beyond the mountains. I wonder if the whole planet is heading here?

I have reported our position and findings back to Utopia's Halls of Justice (HOJ).

I must rest for now for tomorrow's challenges.

Matt Black City report 1

Hello and welcome back to my blog. 

I now begin what is a way to display my 28mm factions and get them into action with each other as hinted at in my last Wasteland Wondering post. I have been thinking about this project for a long time. Expect a few more posts over the coming weeks as I have a managed to write up a bunch of journal entries for the Utopia Mags, especially as I have actually got a few figures finished to kick this project off. As this will be a regular series of posts I will try to get a tab page sorted, when I remember how to. 


Journal of Senior Mag Stevo.
Date 22060117

Day 1:
Rioting has broken out across Utopia city and the Magistrates are stretched to the limits trying to contain it.

The PSI divison claim that there is a strong PSI signal originating beyond the city triggering the riots. I am to lead a team of Mags to locate and disable the signal source.

It pains me to leave my Mag brothers and sisters at such a time of great need but the Chief Magistrate insists the rioting will not stop until this mysterious signal is neutralized. I would normally think this PSI stuff is nonsense but we all feel it. Like a itch you cannot scratch calling to you, making you feel tense. It is all very weird.

The first heros of our tale. The Utopia City Magistrates. Figures from Mongoose 2000AD range. 

Magistrates Warren, Black and myself are to accompany PSI Mag Monk in a shuttle. We leave in a hour to head out into the cursed wastelands of this world. Mag Warren is from the Science divison. Hopefully his knowledge will guide us and help keep us alive. Magistrate Black like myself is a old street Mag. Our combined skills and experience should I hope prove successful.

May the Matt Black God watch over us and make our quest successful. 

Thanks for reading. Stay safe out there. 

Wasteland Wondering - moving forward.

Hello and welcome back to another Wasteland Wondering.

So after the Photobucket ransom demands debacle I decided that either copying html codes from images I will upload to blogger or to use postimage.org to post images to forums. Thank you for your suggestions for alternative sites and ways to get around the problem. 

As I had downloaded 4000 images of hobby related stuff from Photobucket  (a few lost in time now as various computers died, so it is good to have them back) it is highly unlikely I will get to fix all my older blog and forum posts. It would simply take too long and in some cases the context of the picture can be lost. As for Photobucket, they can take a run and jump. Strangely the 3gb of images photobucket claim I had seems to be just over 500mb on my computer. 

Some of you have asked about maps of Mattblackgod's world. So here you go.

This map is for 28mm stuff. My 15mm figures are in a new setting and the world map will grow with time. Drop City has a local map but it is WIP. It will follow....One day....promise....honest. 

Now speaking of maps this leads me cleanly to the next hobby direction of Mattblackgod's world located here: 

The planet's captial city.....Matt Black City. A huge ruined mega city hundreds of miles across located in a highly contaminated wasteland known as a Hellzone. Nothing but highly mutated creatures can survive here. But things are changing. Keep watching this blog for the background and minis. I have drafted a few fluff posts and finished some new figures to support this background. There may even be a map. 

One of the things you run into (and away from) in the wastelands of Mattblackgod's world is Trogs. Basically they are my favourite 40K aliens, the Orks written into my world. They where my first army back in the dawning days of 40K and I have never been able to get rid of them. Recently I have been working on more Trogz/Orks and having a lot of fun, in between periods of extreme feline interference from my furry freinds. This seems to be going in two directions. One I am hunting mainly classic RT era Orks to expand the army I have. Two I am creating Gorkamorka style gangs and wasteland characters from more recent Ork models. So expect a few pictures of Orks in the coming weeks. Maybe I should do a blog post series called Funwithorks!

That is all for now. Thanks for reading, take care out there!