FictionalReality-MAGAZINE-07, Fictional Reality Gaming -Magazine

FictionalReality-MAGAZINE-07

Indeks Finanse, Finanse(1), Filozofos, Fesenjan, Fenix,

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FictionalReality-MAGAZINE-07, Fictional Reality Gaming -Magazine

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Fictional Reality
TABLE OF CONTENTS
From the Editor
Fiction
Mage Knight: The Egg Hatches
2
Well, here we are, two years and counting. I can
honestly say that putting out Fictional Reality every
quarter is a lot of fun. Sometimes frustrating, but still a
lot of fun. I’ve gotten to play a lot of fun games, read
and write about a lot of games that I might not have
otherwise picked up and met a lot of great people.
Gosh, this almost sounds like some kind of sappy
‘Goodbye’ message. No way, I just wanted to let all of
you know that I really enjoy putting out Fictional Reality
and hope to do so for a long time to come. I’d like to
hear from any of you that have suggestions for
improvements. Also, what would you think of a real print
version of Fictional Reality? Would it be something that
you’d want to pick up in your local game store or do you
prefer the free online version that it is currently in? Drop
me a line and let me know.
Larry Leadhead
4
Miniature Reviews
Reaper: Ogre and Troll
5
Confrontation: Dwarven Zombies
6
Wizards of the Coast: Chainmail
7
Four Color Figures: Superfigs
12
Excelsior
14
Confrontation: Version 2 Changes
16
Dungeons and Dragons
Battle Magic Spells
18
Chainmail
New Troops
22
You’ll see a lot of Chainmail articles in this issue and
that’s due to the fact that I have really taken a liking to
the game. I am also very, and I mean very, excited
about the upcoming release of Chronopia 2 and after
that Ultimate Warzone. Those are two of my all-time
favorite games and I cannot wait to see what the crew
over at Excelsior has done with them. In addition to two
battle reports you’ll find a whole pantload of miniature
reviews, four d20 product reviews, new spells for
Dungeons and Dragons, new troops for Chainmail, press
releases from I-Kore and Excelsior and the low-down on
the new Lord of the Rings game from Games Workshop
in another installment of Standing Orders.
Battle Report
Chainmail: Ahmut vs. Thalos
25
Standing Orders
Lord of the Rings
34
Convention News
37
Product Reviews
Nightmares and Dreams 2
38
Mystic Warriors
39
Minions
40
See you in June,
The Gryphon’s Legacy
41
Battle Report
Warzone: Muawijhe vs. Capitol
43
Mark Theurer
m.theurer@att.net
Press Releases
I-Kore 47
Excelsior 47
Fantasy Flight, Mystic Eye, and Thunderhead 49
“Break on through to the other side.”
Warzone / Chronopia
Double-Blind Deployment Rules
50
ADVERTISERS INDEX
Great Canadian Miniatures
IFC, 42
As always, I am not challenging the © on any product you see here in
Fictional Reality. Just to make sure that everyone is clear Reaper is ©
Reaper Miniatures, Confrontation is © Rackham, Mage Knight is ©
Whiz Kidz, Chainmail and Dungeons and Dragons are © Wizards of
the Coast, Superfigs is © Four Color Figures, Warzone and Chronopia
are © Paradox / Excelsior, Nightmares and Dreams and Mystic
Warriors are © Mystic Eye Games, Minions is © Bastion Press, The
Gryphon’s Legacy is © Gaslight Press, Celtos is © I-Kore, and the Lord
of the Rings products in this issue are © Games Workshop or Mithril
depending on the product, Warhammer Fantasy Battle and
Warhammer 40K are both © Games Workshop.
Excelsior
11, 36, 37
Fantization
17
Mystic Eye Games
27
Mastabas V
21, 46
1
Mithril: Lord of the Rings
9
THE EGG HATCHES
“Pretty big force, Sanguari. You’ve got enough soldiers
here to overtake a small stronghold. When do we move
forward?” Ursula asked.
Ursula stood at the crest of the foothill, watching the
sunset. She was tall and well built, hailing from the
northern territories. White-blonde hair cut quite short
topped her pale body, and icy blue eyes reflected the gold
of the disappearing sun beautifully. Her hands, callused
from years of abuse, were planted on her hips. She let
out a heavy sigh, and let her eyes follow the last edge of
the blazing orb fall past the horizon. “Here we go again,”
she lamented.
“
As soon as the sorcerer arrives,
” the vampire answered.
“Then we may move on,” the necromancer Hubris
laughed as he emerged from the shadows. “I have
arrived.” Hubris was a dark skinned elderly man in
stitched armor made from leather and bone. His head
was covered in white bleached tattoos, and one of his
eyes was chalky from seeing things no mortal man was
meant to see. “We should go…timing is important if we
are to succeed.”
The darkness of dusk swept across the hills like the tide,
and she could almost feel its portent wash over her.
Tonight was going to be a special night. She looked up at
the blackening sky around the summit of Dragonspire
Peak, and chewed her lip nervously. She had good
reason to be nervous…Dragonspire Peak was the home
of a rather sizable Draconum war host, and the destination
of her employers’ mission. The last attack on the Peak
ended up in disaster, and the Atlantean force responsible
was never seen again. It was probably the most brainless
thing Ursula had ever heard of, but it paid quite well…and
gold was the great equalizer when it came to feats of
courage or stupidity.
“
Move out!
” Sanguari roared, and the assembled horde
began the ascent up the mountain. They moved with
little noise other than the occasional groan or clatter of
bone against bone. Ursula, Hubris, and the vampire
stayed near one flank of the force in order to keep a
decent eye on the surroundings. The Draconum was a
difficult and dangerous foe, and one that should never
be taken lightly.
They marched, shambled, or floated up the paths of
Dragonspire Peak until they were standing outside of a
huge temple carved out of the sheer cliff side of the
mountain itself. The forces of the Necropolis stood
ready for anything outside the carved stone dragon’s
mouth. Heavy wooden doors creaked inward, and the
doorway was filled with the massive form of the feared
Draconum Magus. The huge creature lifted its scaly
muzzle and let out a booming order, “DESTROY THE
UNNATURALS! DESTROY THEM ALL!”
The last of the light vanished, and night had fully set in,
when the air shimmered nearby. Ursula jumped back and
raised her fists instinctively. A dark shape slinked out of
the invisible portal wrapped in a blood red cloak. It moved
strangely, like sliding between or through reality. Crimson
eyes cast an eerie glow over a horrific face. Long savage
fangs bisected its mouth, and coarse dark hair…or rather
fur…covered most of the creature. Ursula frowned, and
then lowered her hands as the vampire glided towards
her. She shivered as he spoke, never truly prepared to
hear the voice of the damned.
The pass immediately filled with scaly bodies as
the Scalesworn Thralls filed out of their hidden tunnels
and hideaway spots. Slaves mostly, but physically fit
from long hours of labor and abuse; they wielded crude
spears and stone working tools like hammers and
pickaxes. There were nearly a dozen of them led by a
trio of more powerful Whelps. The Thralls surged
forward, clashing with the Zombies and Zombie Hounds
first. Dead flesh parted for blades and blows, and other
Scalesworn moved forward. Sanguari curled his lips into
a snarl, and leapt powerfully into the mass of Thralls.
His talons and fangs sliced through the slaves’ flesh like
a hot knife through lard. Draconum soldiers fell away
from him like trees from a woodsman.
“
It is good to see you, spawn. We were afraid you would
not show,
” he hissed. “
The Necropolis Sect pays well,
no?
”
“I’m a professional, Sanguari. I would never shirk a
contract,” Ursula lied.
“
Excellent,
” the vampire lifted his taloned finger and
pointed at the open portal, “
Then we may begin.
” As if his
grating words turned a mystic key, shambling hordes of
Necropolis creatures began to file out of thin air. Zombies,
skeletons, undead hounds, bloodsucking lurkers, and
even a pair of mounted banshees appeared.
The Whelps pushed their way past the Thralls, swinging
their manacles like flails, smashing into the skeletons
2
with bone-shattering force. As they approached, Ursula
felt sweat beading up on her forehead and her blood
began to burn inside of her. She unsheathed her blade,
ready to defend herself from their attack. It was
unnecessary, however, as one of the Banshees flew by
overhead. She opened her ghostly maw and let out a
horrible wail that turned all three of the draconian Whelps
gray with death, and they collapsed from their own
momentum at Ursula’s feet. Ursula raised her sword to
waive her thanks to the spirit, but it had already moved on
to cause more destruction elsewhere. Ursula shrugged,
and moved forward toward the temple.
Magus and barreled into the gateway, knocking two
Whelps over as she pounded by. Without the Magus to
direct them, the Thralls and Whelps began to falter. The
forces of the Necropolis Sect started to overtake them,
their sheer numbers bolstered with Hubris’ black magic
forced the Draconum into a war of attrition. A war they
were about to lose.
Ursula loped into the temple, and sniffed at the air for
signs of trouble. Smoke, some kind of incense, and the
thick reptilian stink of the Draconum; she could smell
them all. Her ears perked at the sound of heavy
footfalls, and twisted her head to look down the main
hallway. Walking her way was two of the greatly feared
Magnus Draconum, heading with swords readied toward
the battle that was raging outside. Ursula tried her best
to duck her polar bear body behind a corner, and the
huge dragon like warriors stomped by her without a
second glance. If they did know she was there, they
were not going to bother with her. The battle must be
more important, or there was something else inside that
could take care of
her
. Either way, she had to push on.
The Thralls began to thin, and were soon replaced with
the tougher Whelps. The Magus had even stepped out,
throwing red lightning bolts into the ranks of undead and
rending them with powerful claws. Hubris concentrated on
his magic, knitting undead flesh almost as fast as the
Draconum soldiers could tear it. Sanguari was frenzied
with the smell of the spilled blood, raging toward the
enormous Magus with reckless abandon. Bodies of fallen
combatants, Draconum and Necropolis alike, littered the
ground. Yet still the Whelps pulsed out of the temple.
Sanguari lifted his head from a dying Thrall, and spat a
bellowing order through his blood-soaked lips.
She charged outward into the next chamber, a huge
circular room surrounded with white marble sculptures of
the various breeds of Draconum. In the center of the
room was a pile of silken pillows and satin blankets;
upon which sat a roughly oval-shaped object the color of
newly fallen snow. It was an egg…a dragon’s egg. She
was alone with the egg, and she walked over to it.
“
Magespawn! Get inside the temple! Look for the prize!
”
he screeched.
“The prize?” Ursula answered him, looking for a hole in
the wall of draconian flesh to run through. Her pulse
began to pound in her head.
She went to grab it, and her claw clacked against its
tough shell.
I’ll need better hands for this
, she thought.
With a forceful exhale; she melted back into her more
feminine form. After a few seconds of the
transformation, Ursula reached out to grab the egg.
Something moved in her peripheral vision, and she
turned to see what it was.
“
The dragon’s egg! Get it! We will hold them here!
” the
vampire commanded, and spun to face a pair of Whelps
that had just finished pulling apart a pack of Lurkers.
Ursula ducked an incoming blow from a Thrall’s spear,
and felt her blood begin to thicken. She tried to clear it
from her head, but burning embers began to form in her
muscles and a glacier froze in her gullet. Her sword
dropped from her fingers, and the Draconum Magus
stepped forward…seeing the opportunity for an easy kill.
Its talons began crackle with arcane energy and it leered
at Ursula hungrily. In seconds, she would be a crispy,
well-cooked morsel.
All of a sudden, she felt a jolt of pain in her side. She
could feel a hot sticky wetness growing speedily across
her ribs. Everything seemed sort of hazy, and she
slowly turned her head toward the cause of her pain.
Standing next to her, punch dagger still dripping with her
blood in its hand, was one of the treacherous Mortis
Draconum. He was painted bright white, like one of the
statues around the room. On his brow he wore a brand,
like the slave markings of the Whelps outside. A wicked
toothy grin was wide on his face. Ursula felt dizzy, and
slumped to her knees.
Except that her body uncoiled upward, tearing out of her
clothing like a sponge dropped in a water bucket. Her
pale flesh sprouted white fur, her muscles thickened and
her fingers swelled into gigantic clawed paws. Bear paws.
She exploded into the huge shape of a polar bear. Her icy
blue eyes took on the feral glint of her own rage and fury,
and the Magus Draconum looked surprised when she
swatted it to the ground. Her claws dragged across its
reptilian hide like knives, and her second blow knocked
some of the draconian’s teeth from its muzzle. Her final
blow crushed its face, ending its life with a
splut
. Ursula
roared as she sank to all fours and leapt over the fallen
“
The rest of your kind have been dealt with,
” Sanguari
hissed as he strode into the room. He glanced at the
Draconum assassin and smiled, then looked down at the
bleeding werebear. “
She lives…good.
” He knelt down,
and the vampire spoke to her as much as to the reptile
standing above them. “
The living blood of a Magespawn
will not only guarantee a Venom Dragon’s birth, but it will
also makes the incubation instantaneous,
” he grinned
3
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