Welcome back to another edition of Mayday, Miss Marcy! where I take your questions and give them the answers they need to pass on to the other side peacefully. Last week we took a bit of a hiatus as I had a few reviews to work on, and in that time you all have sent me quite a few questions which I’ll be getting to over the next few weeks!
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And now, let’s get on with the new crop of questions!
Rockin’ And Rollin’
Hello! This is my second time writing in because my life is in hobby shambles once more.
After deciding to sell one of my armies to clear space under your suggestion I have a new issue: my Tyranid basing is running low!
Ive been using a mix of course sand and small rock chips but they were given to me by a friend not bought, so its not as simple as just going back to the store for more.
The sand is easy, but what are some good avenues for finding hobby basing in terms of rock chips and roughage that isn’t either literally going out into the Canadian wilderness with a shovel, nor spending way too much on model train diorama rocks?
Your sycophant,
Decluttered in Canada
Dear Decluttered,
Glad to hear from you again! I hope clearing out some of your hobby leftovers was a freeing experience and that it has helped you find what you want and what makes you happy with the hobby, which does seem to be working on your Tyranids!
I think the best thing you are going to look for as far as sand is concerned is often referred to as “ballast” and can be found at most hobbying stores for varying prices depending on where you find it. For example, I’ve noticed that I can get it extremely cheaply from a local train and modeling shop, but that it costs a bit more at gaming stores that sell paint and basing supplies. Ballast is going to give you the texture you are looking for, and it’s very easy to buy and apply; the type that I’ve seen comes in big shaker bottles that you often see used for kitchen spices. You may even find it at home improvement/hardware stores, as ballast has uses other than modeling, but your mileage is going to vary based on what you have around you.
Your request about rocks really falls into two categories: aquarium/terrarium rocks, and home improvement stores again (generally gardening sections). The upside to aquarium/terrarium rocks is that they are generally going to be the scale/size you want and come in varied sizes and shapes, but are likely going to need to be painted (which is probably fine), but may be a little expensive because they are being sold as decorative items for a pet, not for your Tyranid army. You could also look to see what your gardening section at a local store has for potting mixtures that feature stones or pebbles, but again this can be expensive depending on how they are being sold.
If you do decide to go “natural” for your basing materials, there’s really nothing wrong with that, but you need to consider baking them or freezing them to potentially kill eggs or other things that might have been living in/with the sand and rocks that you’ve collected. If you go for the baking route, I really suggest using an outdoor grill of some sort, because otherwise your kitchen is going to smell like burnt dirt and sand, which is not a particularly pleasant smell. Hope these help! Love to see what your finished products come out looking like once you’ve sourced your new supply of basing materials for your lovely Tyranids!
Rattle Em’ Boys
Miss Marcy:
Two parts today: first, a question: Is there a Goonhammer Approved paint color recipe for painting SKELETON BONES? I have at times struggled with this particular detail, but if this isn’t the time to get skeletal ossifications right, then when is, I might ask.
Second, a TTRPG question. I am an experienced GM of Call of Cthulhu, AND I have a slight tremor making the usual one-shot option of Dread untenable (a game, for those unaware, where there is a Jenga tower – when you do a meaningful act you pull a block – for me this is either ‘I take fifteen minutes to do a very gingerly turn, or I lose,’ so I have a grudge) — so with these two exceptions aside, what would you recommend for a one-shot, easy-to-pick-up spooktacular game for a group of 3-6 people?
Yours in Satan’s service,
RATTLIN BONES
Dear Rattlin Bones,
The first part of your question is simple: we have a great guide on painting bone as part of our HTPE series! There are a lot of great options here that you can take a look at, ranging from very in-depth to simple tricks of utilizing limited color palettes.
As for your TTRPG question, something that I will say is that there are two options that are available: You can either look for a horror themed or gothic themed TTRPG, or you can simply work a themed one-shot into a system you enjoy using. The second option is actually easier, and I think a PBTA one-shot is the best way to go about this, but I also would recommend (albeit this game is mostly comedic, as a warning), Roll For Shoes, which can be extremely creative and improv heavy, but really doesn’t lend itself to anything longer than a one-shot.
We also have a few reviews of games already that I will point you towards: Monster of the Week and Kids on Bikes, both of which can be greatly used for your idea (Monster of the Week especially)!
As far as actual TTRPG modules/systems/games you might want to consider, I do have a few (literally right next to me). The Zine game Bunker by Matthew Kopel and Michael Pisano is a great little system for ‘modern/post apocalyptic’ horror settings, and has a bit of a Fallout vibe that leans into the horror and survival struggle than it does the retro satire gimmick.
If you want something more medieval, I recommend checking out Morkborg, which is a dark fantasy TTRPG setting in a single book (that has since received a lot of expansions) in which the general concept is that everything is awful and bad and things are dark and weird. Morkborg is oddly freeing in the sense that everything feels like it crawled out of a metal cover to make your day awful, and it allows you to explore horror concepts that move a bit away from the usual monsters and trappings for a dying world that will, and could, literally end while you are playing in it.
Finally, a larger system that I love a lot that could go into either single or larger campaigns is Triangle Agency, which is basically like the Ghostbusters crammed into a bureaucratic nightmare company setting. Triangle Agency is great for one shots AND full campaigns, it is very fun and inventive, and personally I’ve enjoyed using it for both. It is a ‘modern’ setting as well, so it helps straddle the divide between some of the ones I’ve recommended to you.
The Scariest Thing in Games Lately are the Prices
Dear Miss Marcy, I deeply enjoyed your review of Silent Hill f and intend to get it soon. Have you been playing anything else in the horror space that you would recommend? Preferably single-player (multiplayer can Rule but sure is hit or miss unless you herd your friends into it with you) or indie-oriented (both to support creators and because I have already mortgaged my dog to buy Soulblight Gravelords)
Sincerely, an aspiring skeleton
Dear Aspiring,
Thank you very much! I truly loved Silent Hill f, and I think it may actually be my contender for game of the year. Horror is my favorite genre, and I think it covers some of the most amazing breadth of available options that I always love to see interpreted in different ways. I think horror games are a little less diverse than horror movies, but the market trends of gaming tend to override some of the other aspects of things that might otherwise encourage creativity (the amount of first person ‘task’ oriented games following in the wake of Five Nights at Freddys, for example, or the survival horror generation, are good examples). It isn’t always bad that games sometimes follow these waves, and there’s a lot of great stuff there, so I think I have some recommendations, or at least, some games I’ll try and recommend that cover a pretty broad scope.
I will say that if you like The Thing, Nuclear Nightmare is the best multiplayer option I can suggest. The game is a little finicky and at times you just lose because of bugs or glitches, but it is one of the scariest multiplayer games that I think I’ve played in the sense that you and your team (if you play without global voice chat via Discord) can really become separated and terrified. The game really does a great job of making things seem dire and questionable.
Also last year I reviewed Home Safety Hotline, a game I truly enjoyed for how it handled analog horror in a way that felt new and fresh. If you haven’t checked it out I still highly suggest it. The game can get a little unsettling at times (the voice acting especially can really be unnerving), but I love the aesthetics and feel of the game.
If you’re looking for something psychological, 2024’s Mouthwashing is one I would absolutely recommend if you have not tried it yet. The game builds one of the best horror narratives I’ve experienced in quite a while, and uses the PS1-esque retro graphic styling to great effect.
As far a indie developers go, I would also suggest taking a look into two publishers who mostly make fairly small games that don’t always get a ton of attention: Puppet Combo and Chilla’s Art. Puppet Combo tends to make slasher inspired retro aesthetic games, and while some of them are more playable than others, they really do nail a very specific aesthetic niche that can be hard to match. Chilla’s Art is a Japanese developer who makes small indie games that are often quite interesting and short, never really overstaying their welcome that much, and I consider both developers fun for the “vibe”.
Another small indie game I quite enjoyed and that stuck with me a bit was Lich & Lily’s “Lily’s Lil Video Shop!” which is… mostly worth experiencing over explaining. There’s another game coming later this month, and I’m curious to see how they build on Lily’s Lil Video Shop from it. I will give some flashing/strobing light and other effect warnings on this one though.
If you want something more atmospheric than horrifying, I really love DREDGE. It is one of my favorite games, and the fishing mechanic is very fun and rewarding, adding to the gameplay aspect that makes you want to keep coming back for the gameplay loop and the story line. Dredge is amazing and often goes on sale, so if you are looking for a new game but want to wait a bit, look for a great sale and pick it up (even if I think it is a steal at 40 for the entire game + all DLC).
Finally, less a direct horror game but one that has some creepy, charming, and weird vibes is Creepy Creepy Love. The game features quite a lot of death and your main character is, well, not a good person, but she sure does love her childhood crush, haha! Also, I don’t get to recommend a game often that is ‘Punch Out but you’re a high school girl killing other girls with your bare hands’ very often, so, there you go.
Bernhardt: Getting even more intentionally-retro old school, WORLD OF HORROR is a fun little love letter to very old narrative adventure/RPG games on the PC-88 and earlier, where both combat and exploration are extremely menu-based and the graphics feel more like illustrations. Lots of blended up pop-horror influences here, with the Lovecraft and Junji Ito milieus being the most prominent, in a package structured around one to two hour runs through a coming apocalyptic horror polycrisis.
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