There's all kinds of reasons we game, and all of them equally valid to the individual. For me, for instance, winning isn't first on my list, it's not in last place either. Way ahead of winning, for me however, is the stories that the games tell. Sometimes the games play out about as one would expect, there's nothing wrong with that. Sometimes however the games take an unexpected turn and you get a tale truly worth telling, either in their entire scope, or just a single moment. In our last Strange Aeons game one of these moments took place.
Oh, and for those keeping score at home (again), the number one reason I game is the camaraderie around the table between my friends and I. All right, enough mushy stuff, here's a snapshot from the last Strange Aeons game.
The lone surviving Threshold agent and a drum magazine full of .45's versus not one, but two Black Goat cultists, their arcane Cult leader, and a superhumanly strong Deep One hybrid. These odds aren't good, and the Threshold agent is the last good guy model on the table!
Scratch one pistol-armed cultist as the staccato thunder from the submachine gun stamps him out. The Deep One, who excels in close combat, seizes the opportunity and charges forth inhumanly fast, only to also be gunned down by the Chicago Typewriter. One cultist and the arcane-wielding Cult leader are left.
Scratch the remaining pistol-armed cultist. Now it's man-versus-man as the gunman facing down the red glowing eyes of the cult leader. The next turn would decide their fate.
On the gunman's roll of three dice to hit, two of them came of natural sixes, meaning both had the potential to score critical hits! Now to confirm the critical, even if they don't confirm, they're still solid hits, and the cult leader is already wounded!
A third natural six in a row confirms the critical (and the five rolled up top just adds to the carnage) as the cult leader goes down. A black shadow of whatever infested his soul screeches away into the night.
He may be just an agent now, but he's destined for greater things...
Agent Thomas (2bp), M5 Dex4+, Con6, A2, W1, Res4+
equipment: Bowie knife, .45 handgun, Tommy Gun (3bp)
I'm with you on storytelling and camaraderie being central. Agent Thomas is a great mini and that final shot is cinematic.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny because I didn't take most of the photos from this last Strange Aeons game, and I had no idea the ones here were taken at all. When I saw them though I instantly knew they deserved their own post, cinematic indeed!
ReplyDeleteDon't get me wrong, I do like to win, I'll admit, but gaming for me is primarily all about hanging out with your buddies and rolling some dice.
That mini look suspiciously like a cowboy mini I painted for Dave @ mini painting 4 free.
ReplyDeleteI agree .... winning isn't everything. Friendships are ... especially when sharing the fun of the hobby.
ReplyDeleteThat reminds me ... you still have that beer lined up in the cooler for me ?
Running those Cultists and the Deep One, having already swept at least four Agents off the board, let me just say, Agent Thomas SUCKS!!
ReplyDeleteI love the cinematic moments in games, I find myself doing things in games I would normally not do just because it will have a cinematic effect. Great post and pics, thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteOh, I totally agree, there are times where tactics be damned, if it's something that will be cool, for lack of a better word, I'm going to do it. This goes for RPG's or tabletop minis (although it doesn't work so well with boardgames). What' the point of playing it safe anyway?
ReplyDeleteAndy, I feel for you man, you were robbed!