Image, Left: A group of figures at the wrong end of a shooting weapon with the lesser blast attribute. This template was made using a mini-CD and several layers of successively lighter red, orange and yellow paint. (Sorcerer by Reaper, the blue orcs are originally by Grenadier, now produced by Mirliton.)

Every good science fiction or fantasy skirmish is likely to have something that explodes to spread hurt over a wide area. Until now the Unbridled Fury rules dealt with this with the Blast weapon property, which created a boom of 1, 2 or 3 inches radius. There was something clumsy about this system, however, and I knew it needed changing.

The next incarnation of the game will do just that. I decided that explosions and other area effects are best measured with something common and easy to find. Such a template would have to be ‘ready made’, be bought (or found) almost anywhere and be easily customised. I settled upon CDs and mini-CDs for this as their resemblance to blast templates for wargaming is reasonably good… In fact there were few other contenders for this. CDs are just so perfect.

CDs can be found anywhere. In fact it is a good bet every household has a small pile of them mouldering somewhere unused and unuseable for their original intended purpose. I understand that they make good coasters for tea and coffee: now they can measure blast areas on the games table as well! Who would have thought! CDs are used in the 0.7.2 version of Unbridled Fury: Core as ‘greater blast’ markers.

Image, Right: The templates packed in their special protective cases (well, maybe not quite that special…). The benefit of using the DVD case is that the smaller mini-CD jewel case fits inside so there is only one box to carry around or fit in your bag. If you do this, remember to turn the back side of the template to face the jewel case, last you scratch your explosive artwork… You could of course instead use a case that holds multiple discs.

The Mini-CD might be a bit harder to find unless you have the kind of camera that uses them. If you do you would most likely be buying them regularly. Tip for newbies to the mini-CD: seek them out in the photographic section of the gadget store - not the computer section. They don’t live there and you’ll only be confused as to why not. Or you could ask someone… Mini-CDs are used as “lesser blast’ markers in the next revision of UF: Core.

The old 1, 2 and 3 inch blast effects will no longer be… erm… in effect…

The added bonus of using such discs is ease of storage. Ready made storage containers exist everywhere. They are a great way to protect the explosions that you have painstakingly painted onto your template… ah… CD. So when you carry them around you can safely throw them in your bags and figure cases without the paint coming loose or being scratched.

If you are fortunate enough to have or have access to a printer that can make CD labels you could even create custom artwork that you can stick on. This option has the added bonus of durability as it will not scratch off as easily as paint.

So, nobody has an excuse for not having a blast template, do they? Go forth and prepare thy explosions!

Tags: blast, boom, CD, greater, lesser, measurement, rules, templates