Penny Dreadful: the Summing Up

Hello me droogies, I'm back with real horrorshow content about a real horror show.

OK, I'm crap at imitating Alex's speech patterns from "A Clockwork Orange." But I do have what I hope is the final version of the Season 2 stats for the "Penny Dreadful" company for IHMN.

This is what, the fourth iteration of these stats? I think we're done tinkering until next season rolls around, when I plan to do a whole new list. I daresay our characters will be much changed and will warrant a good rethink. The producers have also said they've going to introduce another literary character to the show. I wonder who that will be. Any guesses?

The few changes I made this time are based on the finale, so while I'm not intentionally spoiling any details, I don't want to ruin the ending for anyone who's not yet seen it. Maybe steer clear until you've watched it.

I felt we had to up Brona/Lily's FV given how she tosses John around. I also armed her with the same "Terrible Blow" he has, which is equivalent to a walker's steam claw.

I also bumped Mr. Kyle's shooting value to +1 given how he came through with that little derringer in some rather adverse circumstances.

And last but not least is the Tome of the Scorpion, my name for the book Vanessa inherits from her teacher, the Cut-Wife. It's a relic, akin to the regalia Akhenaton hunts. It would make a great prize for a scenario, but it is so powerful I would severely limit its availability. As it is, I've tried to mimic its effects from the show while still making it playable.

So here are links to the PDF, one in Google Drive, and one in Dropbox.

I'll also put a copy in the Files section of the Facebook group.

That's it for now, folks. Back to the boards, and your good and faithful narrator will see you across the table soon.

Tonight the part of Peter Cushing will be played ...

... by Vampifan!

Peter Cushing, not Vampifan

Well, I hate that it happened this way, but a week after the close of my giveaway, I still have not heard from the winner of the "Lost World" prize. I feel I have done my due diligence and made a good faith effort to contact him.

Therefore I'm vacating his win and rolling down to the next name on the random drawing list, which was Vampifan's.

I've already informed Bryan via personal message of his win, and I've contacted Andrew at Antediluvian with Bryan's shipping info so he can send the two dinos he so generously added to the prize.

Maybe I'll be fortunate enough to run another giveaway in a couple of years. Hmmmm. Maybe for our fifth anniversary?

We have winners!

Ladies and gentlebeings, we have winners, and I'm happy to say that each winner was able to receive his or her first choice from among the prizes.

The winners are:

· MARS: Finn Morgan

· Lost World: Michael Morales

· Old Blighty: myincubliss

If these goodly readers will comment below and tell me how to best get in touch with them, I can begin making shipping arrangements.

And, of course, the big winner was me, because I got to share with you the joy I feel in sharing this hobby and this blog with you. You are all wonderful people, and some of you have become my dear friends over the years.

Additionally, I was floored by the generosity of Andrew Taylor at Antediluvian Miniatures. When I was messaging with him on Facebook about the great quality of the minis I'd ordered for the Lost World prize, he volunteered to add in the Megalosaurus and the Iguanadon models for the winner. Thank you again, Andrew.

I don't know about you, but I hope that says something about the reputation of this blog (and its writer.) It feels, to me, that it really acknowledges that we've reached the next level and can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with some of the best gaming blogs out there. "Dispatches from the Rim" is a niche publication for sure, covering steampunk skirmish wargaming, the occasional zombie infestation, and whatever else bright and shiny attracts my attention, but now I feel our quality can compare favorably with the blogs out there that inspire me ... like Vampifan's World of the Unded, like Hendybadger's Tales of a Tabletop Skirmisher, and even ones that came along after I started, like Gordon's "I have wrought my simple plan." I am so proud to be among their company.

The contest brought in new readers and, while we didn't break the 100 mark for public followers, we got darn close. 97! Woo hoo!

I also got to find out more about the international reach of the blog. Most of my readers are in the U.S. and U.K., with a strong contingent in New Zealand and a pocket in Poland, but it was really nice to here more from Europe, with new readers in France, Belgium and Sweden.

Thank you all for enjoying this ride with me, for the many compliments about the blog's content, for the birthday wishes and for granting me your time and attention in this oh-so-busy world when you could be doing other things.

OK, that's it for now. Back to the boards, everyone, and I'll see you across the table soon.

It's "Dispatches"' birthday, but the presents are for you!

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URGENT URGENT URGENT URGENT URGENT
PRIZE NEWS UPDATE!! PRIZE NEWS UPDATE!!
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Thanks to the generosity of Andrew Taylor and Antediluvian Miniatures, the "Lost World" prize has been augmented by an Iguanadon and a Megalosaurus. While the explorers will ship from my place in the States, the dinosaurs will ship from Antediluvian central in the UK.
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July 8 is the third blogiversary of "Dispatches from the Rim," and I've decided to do a giveaway to celebrate. It's also a celebration of my upcoming birthday (next Wednesday) and a milestone that I overlooked about a month back -- "Dispatches" passed 50,000 pageviews!

There are going to be there different prizes, each geared toward different areas on which we steampunk skirmish wargamers tend to focus.

· MARS
A boxed set of Games Workshop Adeptus Mechanicus Skitarii. They can be assembled as either rangers (hoods) or as vanguard (helmets).

I know plenty of us are planning to use these figures as some faction on Mars. Here's a chance to get a jump start.

· THE LOST WORLD
A set of the three new Lost World explorers from Antediluvian Miniatures. Who doesn't want Peter Cushing, Doug McClure and a fur bikini-clad Raquel Welch fighting dinosaurs in the Earth's interior?

· GOOD OL' BLIGHTY
A set of five Victorian firefighters from Brigade Games. Set to defend Trumpton or wherever you decide, these firemen bear a certain unkempt dignity. Are they putting out fires or setting them? Up to you!

So, how do you get in on this giveaway? Simply comment on this post and tell me which order you would rank them as your favorites, or which you would want most. You don't have to be a public follower of this blog, but it would make me very happy if you were. We're nearing 100, and it would be cool if this were the event that pushed us over.

On July 15th, my birthday, I'll randomly select three commenters and award the prizes as best I can in order of their preferences.

All the minis are brand new, unpainted plastic or white metal.

When you comment, don't forget to tell me the order in which you would prefer the prizes. All you have to put is "Lost World. Blighty. Mars." for example.

Feel free to share this around on your own blogs, Facebook pages and groups, or other social media. The more, the merrier.

OK, back to the boards, everyone, and I'll see you across the table soon.