From Junk to Stasis Pods

Stasis pods make for secure places to confine prisoners.

This was a quick and easy project that combined a happy coincidence, a moment of inspiration, and a need for a particular piece of terrain. There are better looking pieces available for purchase. Two fine examples are the "Bio Chamber” from RAFM Miniatures and the gorgeous "Stasis Coffin" from Warsenal . Unfortunately, I was both in a hurry and broke. So I made my own out of things I had lying around.

The coincidence happened when I was playing with some random junk from my bits collection. The shape of the milk bottle caps saved them from the recycle bin. A trip through the dishwasher later and they were in my bits collection. The prescription medicine bottles were washed and saved because of how useful they are in storing bits small enough to get lost in bags and boxes. The coincidence was that the threading on the milk bottle cap meshed with the medicine bottle. It isn’t a perfect fit, but is tight enough to be secure.

The inspiration was the appearance of the two joined bits. I had recently watched Rogue One again and it reminded me of the bacta tank that Darth Vader spent some time in before dealing with some personnel issues. I didn’t have any need for any such terrain pieces at the time, so I made a note to myself and moved on.

Havoc Girls in trouble.

It was a good thing I made that note. Sure enough, I have a need for some kind of cryo-stasis pod for a game coming up in about a week at the time this gets posted. It would take too much time for me to order something, have it arrive, and get it ready for the gaming table. Besides, I have nothing in the gaming budget at the moment. The stuff in my bits collection is already paid off and saved from the recycling bin.

Digging around my bits collection turned up four caps and bottles along with some random plastic bits to add a little detail to the finished piece. The caps and random bits were sprayed with black primer. Next was a spray of silver paint at an angle. The goal was to leave some of the black primer coat showing to give the impression of shadows. The rest was just a matter of gluing the now-silver painted plastic bits to the bottoms (now tops) of the medicine bottles.

Prescription bottle, milk bottle cap, and random plastic bit before painting.

The pieces are right size to fit a 28mm-32mm scale human figure as long as the figure doesn’t extend too far from the base. So figures striking epic poses are not suitable volunteers for trips into these stasis pods. A 25mm base fits with plenty of room and a 30mm base barely squeezes in. So I’ll need a bigger pod to put any ogres or dragons into stasis.

Overall, I’m pleased at how this quick and easy project turned out!

Khurasan Miniatures Parasachnid Warriors

Carnivorous space critters out for a snack.

These are the Parasachnid Warriors of the 15mm Feral Parasachnid "Bug" line from Khurasan Miniatures. Sculpted by Aaron Brown. These little guys get through life by swarming with their buddies and skittering around for a bite to eat.

This batch of freshly painted space critters are long time residents of my lead pile. I honestly have no idea when I bought them. These got pulled out of storage when I realized that I needed some kind of alien carnivore for an upcoming game.

The Parasachnid Warriors come in two pieces - one for upper body and one for the lower body/legs. The two piece construction offer the option of mounting the lower body/legs lengthwise or widthwise. Lengthwise offers the narrow appearance of a creature built for speed. Widthwise gives a wider look resembling that of a spider or crab. I choose the widthwise option.

I went for a simple paint scheme dictated by what paints I happened to have on hand. My paint collection survived my years-long illness induced gaming interregnum mostly intact. However, I am trying to use up certain lines and products before they degrade. The base coat is Formula P3 Menoth White Base, which is actually a light tan color. Highlights are Formula P3 Morrow White. As the names imply, Formula P3 is produced by Privateer Press for their Warmachine/Hordes line. I bought the two paints some time ago simply because I heard good things about the line and wanted to it a try. The quality is impressive, especially since they have been in storage for years. Two thin coats were all that was needed to provide good coverage with no separation or uneven patches.

Next, I applied Citadel Ogryn Flesh Wash to the bodies. Well out of production, Ogryn Flesh provides a middle ground between Devlan Mud and Gryphonne Sepia. The result is a reddish brown glaze that pools in the details.

Half of the Parasachnid Warriors were modeled with open mouths. I applied Citadel Baal Red to imply the softer flesh of the little guys' gaping jaws. The teeth were highlighted with Formula P3 Morrow White. The red flesh and white teeth contrast nicely with each other. I'm sure my players will appreciate that level of detail. Speaking of detail - the eyes were picked out in Citadel Chaos Black.

Ain't it the cutest little critter? Just begging for a treat!

None of the bases I had on hand would fit well with the figures. I ended up using some circular plastic pieces I salvaged from elsewhere. The basing material is the sand/brown craft paint/glue/water mix I use when I can't think of anything better to do. I drybrushed some light tan on the basing material after it had dried to bring out the texture.

The Parasachnid Warriors are scaled for 15mm - one Warrior is about the right size to consume a 15mm human figure without too much trouble. However, they are suitable for use in 28mm games as creatures about the size of a large dog. The eight figures that come in a pack are enough to menace a party of space adventurers, but more would be needed to threaten a formation of infantry.

Star Trek Adventures Character Generation

My group dove into character generation for Star Trek Adventures recently. Every one of us is a Star Trek fan and we're excited about revisiting the setting as role players. A science fiction RPG would also be a welcome change of pace for some of our players.

Star Trek Adventures assumes that the player characters will be the bridge officers of a Federation starship. The character generation system creates characters comparable to the main characters of each TV series. They are highly capable in their area of expertise and competent in a range of other skills. No character is going to be good at everything, but with each player character occupying a different bridge position, a variety of specialties will exist within a given group. This will tend to insure that everything is covered.

The game uses a lifepath system as a possible nod to FASA's Star Trek: The Role Playing Game. The system takes each character from early life through Starfleet Academy and their pre-campaign Starfleet career. Players can choose or randomly determine the results of each stage of their character's development. Questions are posed about each stage to develop the details needed to flesh out the character's background. For example, it turns out that the character's ship was destroyed earlier in their career. The obvious questions are which ship, what were the circumstances of its destruction, and what role did the character play in those circumstances? The combination of a lifepath system for inspiration and questions to provide details helps to avoid characters who are fully defined mechanically, but are blank slates for role playing.

The lifepath system can create characters ranging in experience from a fresh-from-the-Academy Ensign to a seasoned officer to a veteran Captain. All of these characters will be built with the same number of points - the main difference will be in role playing opportunities and specializations. The Ensign will be pretty good at a variety of things, but not as good at what a seasoned officer has years of training and experience in doing. Likewise, their Captain is better at leading and inspiring others than any of them.

The core book provides a diverse selection of species for players to pick from. Each species has a set of bonuses that give them a slight bias towards a particular role - it should come as no surprise that Vulcans gravitate towards Science. That said, the bonuses are small enough to be easily overcome during the rest of character generation. Humans have the advantage of being able to pick what bonuses they receive, allowing them to boost themselves towards whatever role they wish to fill.

The species available in the core book cover a range of Star Trek eras. Many species are available in all eras of play - Humans and Vulcans are always going to be around, even as early as Enterprise. Other species are only available in later eras - Trills show up during TOS and Bajorans during TNG/DS9/VOY.

The group's starship can also be created during character generation. The players select a ship class and various options to customize their specific vessel. These options include mission packages, additional equipment, and - for older ships - refits.

The ships available in the core book offer a variety of choices from different eras and intended roles. Each ship class reflects what the source material established about it - a Defiant punches way above its weight, but isn't exceptional in any other category while many of the cruisers are jacks-of-all-trades. Newer designs are naturally more technologically advanced, but refits help longer-serving starships to stay viable decades after launch.