And today they are 45…
In a future post I will show some photos of birthday parties with family, fiancée, friends, colleagues, and hardcore miniature addicts like me. I publicised a wish list with archaeology and military books. Moreover I suggested some rare euro coins. And to celebrate this event I ordered a ton of lead, and some items from British Museum shop, related to my next game after Ferrum et Gloria series. In the meantime I have two goals: publication of Ferrum et Gloria part I, ready for Lucca C&G convention in November; a weight loss of 8 kg. If you see photos of mine with a slimmer look while I have in the hand a printed copy of the rules, then these goals will be achieved.

Talespinner ($4.99, 92-page PDF) is a collection of materials for wargames and roleplaying games by Ganesha Games, and for other games written by Andrea Sfiligoi. In this issue:

For Tales of Blades and Heroes RPG:
Adventure: The Lady in the Emerald. Can our heroes rescue the lady and break the curse of the emerald?
Adventure: The Black Gem. Naked and weaponless, can our heroes survive a haunted graveyard?
Two Troll NPCs
Two Unique Magic Items
Questions and Answers
Spellcasting Lessons

For Song of Arthur and Merlin:
Song of Kings and Knights campaign system

For Osprey Publishing’s Of Gods and Mortals:
Errata, Tournament Rules, FAQ, Clarifications
Tournament Formula
Three scenarios used in the Italian tournaments

For Osprey publishing’s A Fistful of Kung Fu:
location trait rules for Large Glass and Marbles
Weapon rules for Smoke Bombs and Caltrops.

A paperback edition will be available in mid July 2014. Please let us know if you spot any typos or mistakes!

The 8th of June, as member of Italian paratroopers reenactment group, I participated to the remembrance about fallen on Nettunia and Roma front. It was celebrated at Verano, the central and monumental cemetery of Rome. A parade at three sites and a Mass in Latin language. The day was very hot, standing at attention wearing the uniform under the sun at almost 40°. My helmet was ready to cook eggs.

After, another celebration on the site where paratroopers destroyed a Shermans column and where paratroopers commander died 70 years before.

Andrea came here in Rome for a two days trip: the first day for an Orient festival, the second day for another playtest session for RS. Things run smoothly. Something is needed but the core is stable. We have found the right way to play it with a different way to alternate turns than usual SBH engine. More in the future.

As if Ganesha Games playtests weren’t enough, we playtest even other games, as this one by Diego. It is a game about American Civil War still in development. An afternoon playing and discussing at Diego’s house together with the other Diego.

With the Football/Soccer World Cup looming I developed a way to play OGAM with football models. Football is like a religion with worldwide followers, with a God (the ball), legends (football players) and mortals (football fans). I chose iconic players with great skills and character.

The Football 308 points
Q 2 C 4 ambusher, combat master, free disengage, superspeed

legends

Pelè 106 points
Q 3 C 3 unique, shooter (L), good shot, danger sense, legendary shooter

Diego Armando Maradona 106 points
Q 3 C 3 unique, shooter (L), good shot, free disengage, legendary shooter

George Best 110 points
Q 3 C 3 unique, shooter (l), good shot, drunkard, very difficult target, fire into melee

Éric Cantona 96 points
Q 3 C 3 unique, shooter (m), good shot, hammering blow

Roy Keane 94 points
Q 3 C 4 unique, shooter (s), dashing, hammering blow

Generic Golden Foot 80 points
Q 3 C 3 shooter (l), good shot

Generic Goalie 80 points
Q 3 C 2 invulnerability, rare (1)

José Mourinho 66 points
Q 3 C 2 unique, carrier, confound, smithy

mortals

Hooligans (OO or CO) 23 points
Q 4 C 2 dashing, fanatic

Pay-TV Subscribers (OO) 12 points
Q 4 C 1 fanatic

But how to build your army? Here some suggestions.

Subbuteo football players.

Eureka Miniatures’ football players:
https://eurekamin.com.au/index.php?cPath=87_126_708&sort=3a

Armorum & Aquila’s football players:
https://www.aandaminiatures.co.uk/categories/?c=20

Warmacre’s hooligans:
https://www.warmacre.com/shop/category/modern/

Ainsty Castings AGGRO’s hooligans:
https://ainstycastings.co.uk/index.php/cPath/69/osCsid/ccb1b0541dd44c08bad9771708da9a0c

Offensive Miniatures’ hooligans:
https://www.offensiveminiatures.com/catalogue.asp?RID=7&CID=3

Doggerland is a lost world in the North Sea that connected Great Britain to Europe during and after the Ice Age. This is the set for a new product line with comics, RPG and wargames. Andrea (and his team!) is going to develop the skirmish game! To know more hear the podcast interview to Andrea here:
https://www.adwgames.com/design.html

In the meantime some new miniatures are proposed. This is the first Kickstarter for figures (Ice Age mammals in a fantasy style, 28mm heroic) from the company doing Doggerland. Pledge here:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/184938819/miniature-ice-age-mammal-adventure-set

After the part 1 here the part 2: more things about my holidays in Trieste.

This is the church in a Venetian gothic style in Muggia, a fishermen village at the south end of the huge Trieste harbour. Only some more kilometres along the coast and there is Capodistria, now Koper in Slovenia. Then Croatia, ex Italian Istria.

In Trieste there is a huge railway system. This was useful for the role of the harbour. Now some train deposits and railways are abandoned.

Inside an unused rail station now there is a rail museum.

This is the aspect nowadays.

Among rust, a German WWII wagon.

Some dioramas reproduce local railways in various years.

I did an amazing find! It is a tram for the line that I used to catch in my childhood! I live very near the terminus. In 1980, after more than 15 years of construction, an underground line substituted the tram line and these trams were retired. This is the Tram ACEGAT number 446, built for Trieste and used in Rome after production engineering. Moreover, this vehicle was used to test the actual underground line. On a window there is a trace of an advert with the name of my road. It felt so weird to find a piece from my past in a far city.

The sea museum. The strange thing is that on the walls there is an huge exposition about Austria-Hungary navy with pictures of victories against Italy! Yeah, that navy was constituted by Trieste people!

Far East museum. A samurai armour.

Japanese steel.

A sword made by coins. It was used as a kind of wedding gift.

The castle of Trieste is built on the top of the hill on the sea. Inside a Roman museum, and an armours and weapons museum. A medieval Syrian halberd is the Trieste’s heraldic sign.

More things that we watched in Trieste. Here some condoms with uncommon shapes. Look at that with the Big Ben rectangular shape…

Fashion toilet and bidet for luxury homes, with python or crocodile texture!

A very pleasant holiday. When the next?