My Favorite Stuff 2024

This is a list of stuff that's been working well for me over the past year or two. Handy if you're doing some last minute holiday shopping for a tabletop gamer. Or if you are a tabletop gamer looking to spend some cash or gift cards received over the holidays. Or if you just want to indulge in some retail therapy. I'm not in a position to judge.

I skipped a "My Favorite" post last year due to my tabletop gaming interregnum. Links to past posts along these lines:

My Favorite Things 2018

My Favorite Stuff 2020 and 2019

My Favorite Stuff 2022

My New Dropper Bottle Case



Old School Essentials

I didn't realize that I never stated my opinions about this game until I sat down to write this post.

It's exactly what I wanted.

A question I sometimes see is: "Why not use the classic D&D and AD&D materials directly?" Well, that would mean spending time and money on the following to get what I was looking for:

• Cook Basic D&D down to its heart and soul. Which means purchasing the Dragons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia and throwing out huge chunks of it.
• Take what I most enjoyed about AD&D and convert it to be fully compatible with the chopped down version of Basic D&D from the first step. Which means taking the three AD&D core books and not using most of them.
• Hand our group the resulting document sometime in the 2030s.

Or I could do what I actually did:

• Shop around for a product that already did all that work for me.
• Wait for a sale on the Exulted Funeral site.
• Purchase a pair of books from Necrotic Gnome.
• Be impressed by the clear writing and organization of the Old School Essentials books.
• Download a bunch of free content from Necrotic Gnome, including a checklist of options to bring to our group.

I'm happy with the choice I made.


D&D Module B4 The Lost City

I previously published a couple of posts about this module:

Preparing a Classic D&D Module for OSE

Remodeling B4 The Lost City

This may end up replacing B2 The Keep on the Borderlands as my go-to for starting a nostalgic old school campaign. It's not without flaws. It does need preparation before putting it in front of players. And it does not in any way benefit from modern concepts of layout and organization. But the swords and sorcery flavored dungeon delve at its core? An experience not to be missed.


Mothership Boxed Set

I've posted my thoughts and experiences about this game before:

Countdown to Mothership

Mothership Debrief - Another Bug Hunt

It's a delight to open a tabletop RPG boxed set in the halcyon year of 2024. Good rules. Good presentation. The starter adventure is...

...a tad undercooked.


The Middle Ages: A Graphic History by Eleanor Janega and Neil Max Emmanuel

This book is my new recommendation for "an introduction and/or overview of the Middle Ages" to anybody who asks. Which comes up both more and less often than folks might believe. If everything you know on the topic comes from Gary Gygax and YouTube, you should read this book.


Army Painter Wet Palette

I used to slap my paint on a ceramic plate or cheap plastic artist's palette. Like a savage or something. Now I carefully add water to the absorbent pad, lay on a sheet of parchment paper, and mix my paints like a professional. Has it improved my brushwork? Not one darn bit. But it does keep my paints fresh and perky while I break down sobbing at my inadequate skills while base coating a miniature.


That's my favorite stuff some this year (and last year). Let's see if I remember the next post in this series in 2025.

My Favorite Stuff 2022

Here's a few things I found handy for hobby stuff throughout this year. I made similar posts to this one in 2018 and 2020. Like 2019, I skipped 2021. Unlike 2019, skipping 2021 was deliberate. I was mainly focused on catching up on existing projects as our group wasn't meeting for face to face gaming. 2022 saw a return to experimentation, new purchases, and the resulting half-finished projects.

This is what happens when I play with Canva.

Green Stuff World Silver Series Kolinsky Brush Size 2

I ordered this way back in the summer of 2021 as I was getting frustrated with the limitations of the synthetic brushes I was using at the time. I was doing more painting than usual throughout 2020 and 2021. Eventually, I felt that I was fighting with the brushes to get the paint where I wanted it to go. A little research suggested that it was time to upgrade my brushes, so I took advantage of a sale at Green Stuff World and ordered a set of three brushes sizes 0, 1, and 2.

This was not the only way I was addressing the issue. I found a local source for smaller Kolinsky brushes. These seemed to work fine, so the set of brushes from Green Stuff World went into storage as replacements for down the line.

This year, there were projects where a bigger brush was useful to cover larger areas. Up until then, I used size 0 and size 1 brushes (or their equivalents) for miniatures painting. The set from Green Stuff World included a size 2, so I gave it a try.

My old size 2 and the replacement (in package) for when I need it.

I wish I had given it a shot before. The larger belly holds more paint, allowing me to work longer before going back to my palette. The tip is good enough for most work, but I do have to break out smaller brushes with finer tips to paint some details.

The size 2 has become my utility brush. The only things I never do with it is drybrushing or other techniques that are rough on a brush. With basic care, it's lasted well enough so far, but I did order another to have a replacement on hand.

Green Stuff World does offer a Gold Series premium brush line, but I'm happy with the Silver Series so far. I also tend to place orders during their sales to offset shipping costs. Orders also take awhile to get from England to the United States.


Star Trek Adventures Rules Digest

Our group got back to face to face gaming this year. The roleplaying game we picked was Star Trek Adventures. We decided to start a new campaign given the long interruption.

The Rule Digest had come out during our group's interregnum. It contains all the rules refinements and errata that had come out since the game's launch. A rule book already incorporating every update was too good to pass up.

One of these is not like the others.

The real value of the Rules Digest turns out to be its compact size. As the name implies, it is a digest sized softcover. Not having to deal with a full sized hardback while running a game relieves me of a hassle. It can be set aside, tucked under my dice tray, or other gotten out of the way until I need it. The core book has been liberated to wander the table as a reference for the players.

The layout of the Rules Digest is done in the style of TOS as it is intended to support a campaign in that era. However, the rules apply to all eras of Star Trek. I many use it as a handy reference at the table. What I'd really like is a digest sized book that is nothing but a Star Trek Adventures rule reference, but I suspect that the market for such a product is too limited to be profitable for Modiphius. In the absence of such a thing, this book will do nicely.


Canon EF-S 24mm f/2.8 STM Lens

My wife generously gifted me this for my birthday. The idea was to get a relatively inexpensive lens for general photography. Instead, this has become my main lens for miniatures photography.

Before this, I used a Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM lens with extension tubes for miniatures photography. The Nifty Fifty is a great lens for the price, but the focal length is a problem for shooting small objects. The camera has to be pulled back quite a bit for the lens to focus on the subject. This may push the camera back far enough for a tripod to be necessary. Extension tubes allow the lens to get closer, but selecting the right one adds to set up time. I still use this combination when I need high quality shots, but I wanted an option for taking quick photos.

Nothing I read before getting this indicated that it's a macro lens.

The EF-S 24mm is clearly marked as a macro lens. I can push it in close enough to not worry about setting up a tripod or extension tubes. This makes setting up a shot much easier. The quality isn't as sharp as the Nifty Fifty, but the trade off is sometimes worth it. The EF-S 24mm is currently my workhorse lens for miniature photography.

My Favorite Stuff - 2020 (and 2019)

The end of any year is a time for looking back. The nature of 2020 makes it challenging to find the good among all the bad. Here are some things that I've found helpful in pursuing the hobbies that provided some respite from a hard year. This post is a sequel to a previous post back in 2018. I'm including a couple of things from 2019 since I forgot a follow up post last December. We'll see if I remember to post something like this in 2021. I hope that you find something new to try and find useful.

Some of my favorite things from 2019-2020.

2019

Every Tool's a Hammer by Adam Savage

Adam Savage is best known for his role in the long-running television show Mythbusters. However, he wouldn't gotten that role without a long career behind the scenes in prop making and special effects. He continues to produce videos and podcasts as a member of Tested, which I recommended previously. This is his first book - an effort to impart his experiences as a maker.

The book does present practical knowledge - tools, techniques, and materials. It's a fascinating read just for that, but it's not the thrust of the work.

The real value of the book is Adam Savage's descriptions of the mental processes of handling a project from idea to completion. Using lists, drawings, and mock-ups during planning. Working with deadlines. The value of cooperating and sharing knowledge with others. Maintaining a level of organization that promotes working efficiently.

I got the sense that Adam Savage was doing his best to impart his hard won experience. It would have been easy to just present his successes and triumphs, but he tells of lessons learned the hardest way - bitter and embarrassing failure. The book is the distillation of a lifelong career of making things, but I got the sense that there might be more to tell.


Small Scenes From a Big Galaxy by Vesa Lethimaki

Who knew that anyone could shoot stunning scenes of Star Wars Lego figures?

This is a coffee table book of Vesa Lethimaki's dynamic photos. Falling snow on Hoth. Flying sand on Tatooine. Mist. Fog. The illusion of moving action. I'd love to try my hand at something similar with tabletop gaming miniatures and terrain, but some of his techniques for snow seem a little messy. Of more immediate value are Vesa Lethimaki's comments on lighting and setting up shots on a small scale. Much of it is relatable to shooting miniatures.


2020

Fiskars Fingertip Detail Knife (Loop Design) 163050-1001

Three issues I've long had with craft knives are comfort, control, and setting one down. I always feel like I'm going to loose my grip on the handle or that the blade is going to go flying. And a craft knife isn't something that needs to take flight. Even worse, the pen-like design of many craft knives means that they tend to roll off a work surface if set aside for a moment. This unusual design took a little getting used to, but the grip quickly became comfortable with good control. It doesn't entirely replace the other craft knives I own - there are certain angles that it can't quite get into - but it is the first one I reach for these days.


TaoTronics Dimmable Touch Eye-Protection LED Desk Lamp TT-DL13

A birthday gift from my wife after I decided that I needed a desk lamp for detail work - things like assembling and painting terrain and miniatures. I've grabbed it off the desk a few times when I needed a strong light for photos.

The design is compact and folds out of the way when not in use. The brightness levels range from "dim, but better than what comes out of the overhead room lighting" to "high noon on a summer day" with five levels in between. I generally use the middle couple of the seven brightness settings. The color is also adjustable, ranging from a bluish-white and adding more red for a total of five settings. The USB power port doesn't see much use since it sits in the same area as my PC, but it might be handy if I ever set it up next to a comfortable chair as a proper reading lamp.


Canon EOS Rebel T7i

This was a gift I bought for myself. It is my first digital camera that isn't a point-and-shoot or built into a phone. I got it partly for shooting better photos for this blog, but mostly to do something about my long smoldering interest in photography. The Rebel T7i is a good camera to grow into - I started with the automatic settings and began experimenting with the manual settings as I've grown in confidence. It's been rewarding to build a new skill and learn about ISO, aperture, and shutter speed.


Gorilla Super Glue

So much in this hobby relies on bonding dissimilar materials together. I've developed some preferences:

Bonds quickly, but not instantly. This is a hobby I pursue in my free time. I need to squeeze in as much progress as I can in as little time as possible. Spending minutes holding pieces together as they bond doesn't help with that goal. On the other hand, I also need a little time to adjust the positioning of the parts if they are a little off.

Strong. The finished project has to stand up to regular handling during play, transport, storage, and accidents.

Reliable. Some adhesives work great, but on on specific materials or in certain conditions. I prefer something that works for a variety of projects.

Doesn't go bad in the bottle. Certain brands of cyanoacrylate have the nasty habit of solidifying between one use and the next if the seal isn't quite airtight.

This stuff meets all of those preferences. It works fast, but still gives me a little time for adjustments. The bonds are holding up, but the real test will come when we're all back to face-to-face gaming again. It's glued together everything I've tried it on to date. And the stuff remaining in the bottle is still fluid every time I've reached for it so far. That's a better showing than some super glues I've tried - some didn't even make it through a single project!

Note: This is NOT the polyurethane adhesive that Gorilla Glue Company is better known for. Gorilla Super Glue is a cyanoacrylate like most "super" glues.

My Favorite Things - 2018

The end of the year is as good a time as any too take a look back. As I've found more time and energy for my hobbies, I've run across more things that I'd like to share. Below are five noteworthy things that I'm happy to recommend. As this is a tabletop gaming blog, all of them have a connection to that theme, even if it is a pretty tangential one. The list is in no particular order.

A gamemaster's work is never done.

Star Trek Adventures

Some may find the following statement to be heretical: Modiphius Entertainment's Star Trek Adventures is currently my favorite Star Trek role playing game. The game was created by fans for fans and does something that many licensed games fail to do - convey the feel of the setting. The writing assumes that the reader has a working knowledge of Star Trek. This means that the word count saved by not having to explain things like "what the Borg are" can be used for "how the Borg are going to ruin the player characters' day" and other stuff that is useful in play. The streamlined version of Modiphius' 2d20 system implemented in the game provides a strong mechanical framework without being cumbersome. The rules are also flexible enough to allow for some tinkering without too much effort from the gamemaster. I had fun trying it out as a player and am having a great time running the voyages of USS Yamato for my group.

Sharpies in Metallic Silver and Gold

Painting small details has always been a challenge for me and my hands aren't as steady as they used to be. The marker and its firm tip seem to be easier for me to control than a fine detail brush. Additionally, the reflective metallic color is as good as any acrylic metallic paint I've used. These came to my attention thanks to Adam Savage's Tested (see below). He uses the silver version to weather props - a little applied to the edges simulates bare metal showing through worn paint. In addition to that, I've started using them to pick out metallic details on miniatures and terrain pieces. Even better, I've found out that Sharpie also offers metallic bronze, sapphire, ruby, and emerald.

Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff

I listen to many, many podcasts while driving around. This one rarely fails to inform and entertain me. Kenneth Hite and Robin Laws cover a wide variety of subjects including, but not limited to: tabletop gaming, history, food, the occult, and all things Lovecraftian. Their knowledge as game industry veterans shows through in their conversations about rules mechanics and game development. They aren't speculating as relative outsiders, they are laying out facts drawn from decades of experience. Their discussions on game design and gamemastering advice have greatly improved my own understanding and skills. The history segments - usually presented as time travel scenarios - promise to be handy for a campaign I'm planning to run down the road. And their cooking segments have given me a few things to try in the kitchen! Odds are that there will be something of interest in a given episode.

Chupacabracon

Chupacabracon is a local roleplaying game convention and Chupacabracon V the was the first tabletop gaming convention of any kind that I've attended in awhile. Although I wasn't able to attend the whole weekend, it was good to get out again. I discuss my experience in more detail here, but the short version is that I enjoyed the chance to meet folks outside of my regular gaming circle. I'm looking forward to attending again next year!

Adam Savage's Tested

I usually listen to the podcasts from Tested, but their videos have been inspiring and helpful as I work through my pile of unfinished miniatures and terrain pieces. Both their podcasts and videos cover a range of nerdy topics - science, nature, technology, the latest in geek entertainment, and the hosts' most recent "builds" or other projects. While Adam Savage - the same one from Mythbusters - mainly works on props and costumes, his work on those and on models has informed my approach to tabletop miniatures and terrain. He freely offers up tips and tricks that he's picked up from his long career in the special effects industry. Plus, he's generally got something cool to see or hear about in the works!