Historicon Prep Update - The Clocks-a-Ticking

Yikes!  There is a month to go until Historicon and I've still got a good bit to get ready.  Last May I wrote up of list of objectives for the new games and have since promptly ignored it.  Well mostly ignored it.  Here's where I stand

1) Jungle Terrain - that's 8o% done - all the Jungle sections are complete.  The remaining works centers around "junglfying" my desert ruins in a way thats removable.  This may be as simple as dropping some flock on them and then vacuuming it up at the end of the convention.  ConcernFactor - LOW

2) Add a 6th catacomb section.  Again this is 80% complete as I've finished staining the new Egyptian themed dungeon sections and now just have to stick them down on the MDF sheet.  This will get done over the next few days.  ConcernFactor - LOW

3) Redo Oasis Terrain Plates - 0% complete.  The existing ones are serviceable so this task will be reprioritized to the end.  Of course that's how I ended up with sub-par oasis terrain last year.  ConcernFactor - MEDIUM

4) Simplify the Rules - I've made a few editing runs through the rules to simplify them.  The biggest  change involves getting rid of the different dice and standardizing on a D10.  The rules originally had a set score for success (6+) and combined both terrain/armor modifiers with different dice types for troop quality - veterans rolled a D10, regulars a D8 and mobs a D6 - that sounds great in theory but doesn't work in a con game with 8 players - it was just too easy to get confused and D8's look an awful lot like d10's with a casual glance.  I've adjust the modifiers and now everything is on a D10 basis.  Leaders and Boss Monsters used a D12 which I'll likely keep.

I also used 8.5 x 11inch force cards that had the number of troops prayed by squad and used sliders to track limited ammunition (AT rounds, grendaed and Satchel charges).  They cluttered up the playing area and were often ignored.  I'd like to go with specific bases they are on the troop trays which once used are removed by the player.  We'll see how that develops.

My goal is to get the one page summary printable at a readable font (say font 14 or larger).  ConcernFactor - MEDIUM

5) Troop Movement Trays - Like a moron, I cut the runtime of the game down to 3 hours (it can go to 4) based on the time and motion study I did examining how much time players needed to move individual figures (yes, I am THAT geeky).  I've got all the troop trays purchased but need to assemble and scenic them while making sure the figure bases still fit in the sabots.  There's a lot to do and it will be a bit tedious.  Plus I need different sized trays for the two different games as DAK & Dragons uses 8 figure squads and SOCOM & Sorcery uses 5.  This change will get prioritized to number one as it needs to get done.  ConcernFactor - HIGH

6) Better Objective Markers - Last year used cheap plastic disks that really looked awful.  Like the troop movement trays this needs to get done and will get moved up the priority list.  The one good thing is that these will be useful in all sorts of games post the convention.  ConcernFactor - HIGH

7) Improve Random Encounter Tables - DONE!

8) Improve Special Objectives - Still needs to get done, but this is just a few hours of concentrated thinking.  Those of you who are located down wind of the Maryland Eastern Shore will know when I attempt this feat as I often emit the scent of bacon cooking when trying to think.  Since I find that distracting, I try not to think that often.  ConcernFactor - LOW

9) Establish Kid Player Objectives - DONE! - Well I think it's done, I need to review with my household expert on everything (my son) and get his thoughts.  He's more direct with me when cranky so I'll need to time asking his opinion to right after I've barraged him with a whole bunch of inane technical help questions like "can you make the TV work", "what's my password to X" and my all time favorite "why is the internet so slow today" (that usually has something to do with him).

The rest of June promises to be a busy month!