Thursday 2 March 2017

JDMG MC1 Boingers

There are many crazes in Mega City One. One of the more popular crazes is Boinging. Boing is a spray-on rubber coating that solidifies into a giant ball around the user, turning them into a human pinball. Safely encased within the Boing ball, the occupant can still breathe naturally but is impervious to outside forces, allowing them to bounce great distances. Due to the great destruction that can be caused by citizens hurtling themselves off city blocks and then bouncing for miles, Boing may only be used in special Palais-de-Boing leisure domes. I have had a hankering for adding Boing users to to my Judge Dredd Miniatures Game for quite some time but seeing as no one sells them I had to come up with a way to make them myself. I think I succeeded admirably.
I picked out four spare Heroclix figures I had whom I thought were in suitable poses (I was looking for figures who had one or two hands outstretched) and removed them from their bases. All four figures were repainted as MC1 citizens. The idea for the Boing ball came quite by accident when I was browsing on Amazon UK. I came across a product to be used as a Christmas tree decoration made of clear plastic. It came in half and could be filled with sweets or a very small presents. They looked perfect for my needs. These clear plastic baubles come in various sizes ranging from 30mm in diameter to 180mm in diameter. I chose the 40mm diameter balls, which worked perfectly for me. I used superglue to glue the figures into one half of the baubles. The two halves were snapped shut and because they are such a tight fit, I did not glue them together. The tabs for attaching the baubles to something to hang on the Christmas tree were clipped off, leaving my Boing balls perfectly round. It was a simple but very successful conversion, that I am very pleased with. Note that I had to use small blobs of Blu-tac to fix my Boingers in place when I took my photos of them. They will roll all over the place if you just breathe on them!
Although there are no rules for using Boingers in the JDMG main rulebook, they do appear as one of the Random Events results (Boing Attack!) in the Blood on the Streets supplement (see page 131). There it states, "A Boing user bounces straight into the battle and then, just as quick, bounces back out again. Both players select one their own models and roll a die. If either rolls a 1, their model has been struck by the Boing user (if both roll a 1, both models have been hit - the Boing user has brought a friend). If neither rolls a 1, both players select another model in each of their forces and rolls again. This continues until at least one 1 has been rolled, or all models have been rolled against. If a model is hit by a Boing attack, it must pass an Agility test (a roll of 6+ on 1D10). If it fails, roll one die and lose that many Hits. Armour does not protect against Boing!"
This led me to thinking, what if you could use a Boinger as a mercenary to be hired by your force? So, I came up with these stats for a Boing user. Type: Infantry Minion. Move 2D10", Agility +1, Shoot +0, Melee +0, Melee Dice 2D, Will +0, Armour Special, Hits 1. Cost 60 Credits (includes 40 Credits for the cost of the Boing suit). To move, a Boing user must pass an Agility check to determine the direction of the bounce. A failure results in him bouncing in a random direction. I suggest rolling 1D12 to determine the direction, with 12 being the direction you wanted to travel in but you can use whatever method works best for you. Distance moved is determined by rolling two dice and adding their results together. If this causes the model to exit a table edge, they are removed from the game. For a Boing user to attack another model, make a Melee strike as normal. If the Boing user succeeds, the target takes 1d5 Hits of damage with no Armour save allowed. This is deliberately less than that of the Boing Attack random event because they are not bouncing from such a great height. Boing is impervious to any attack except Laser weapons or those that cause Fire. For these attacks Boing has AP+0. A Boing user may not use any weapons whilst encased in Boing. The following may hire a Boing user as a mercenary - Ape Gang, Futsie, Mobsters or Street Gang.

If you'd like to make your own Boingers, here's the link to where I bought my clear plastic baubles from - https://www.amazon.co.uk/OurWarm-Transparent-Fillable-Christmas-Decoration/dp/B01JG89A8Y/ref=pd_rhf_pe_p_img_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=24S8NBEX8S3DMJP35EMG
Please do be aware, these come from China and I had to wait four weeks for mine to arrive. They were well packaged and arrived safely. You can buy them in packs of 10, 20, 50 or 100. Prices are very reasonable - £3.69 for ten 40mm diameter baubles with free post and packing to the UK.


26 comments:

  1. I knew from the title I would like this post!
    I was not disappointed.
    While I have no use for the figures what a great addition thy make.

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    1. Clint, it is comments like yours that make me very happy. Thanks, mate!

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  2. What a great idea Bryan, and great rules for in the game as well

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    1. I'm so glad you like the figures and my house rules, Dave. Many thanks.

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  3. That is brilliant.

    Fire is your only man when it comes to Boing. It is 100% proof against any non incendiary-weapons. Once hit they will stick to the ground. Played and GMed Judge Dredd RPG (GW 1980s Ed.) so I have come across their sort :)

    Also the only way to free someone from a bubble is to use special cutters (takes 2D3 turns - from Games Masters Book).

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    1. Thanks for that info, Jason. You are , of course, right. I'd forgotten about the effects of fire on Boing but I did know about the special Boing cutters. I'll amend my house rules accordingly.

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  4. These are very cool Bryan, nicely executed as well. Although the use is limited, they add a level of complexity to your MC-1 universe that is admirable

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    1. Cheers, Andy. Yes, they will only have a limited use in my campaign but the completist in me is glad I have them. :-)

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  5. What a hilarious addition to your gaming! Love it. ;)

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    1. Thanks, Tom. They sure are a lot of fun... just as long as one doesn't land on top of you!

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  6. Ha ha, these are brilliant! They would work as force fields or shields in Sci/Fi or Superhero games too....hmmm

    Cheers Roger.

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    1. Force fields - what a great idea, Roger. I like your way of thinking.

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  7. Never heard of these but they are bloody brilliant Bryan. Love how you have created these a superbly well done idea. Top job mate.

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    1. I appreciate that, Simon. Thanks for the kind words.

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  8. Incredible work Bryan. You are really loving this Judge Dredd stuff.
    Very inspiring.

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    1. Cheers, Roger. yes, I am totally loving my Judge Dredd project. This is the culmination of a very long held desire.

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  9. How on Earth I missed your "Boingers" I don't know, Bryan. Marvellously innovative and executed imho. You really do seem to be cranking out your very best stuff these days, and that's saying something. It's certainly a golden age for "Judge Dredd" on your blog!!

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    1. Ah, Simon, a post without a comment from you just wouldn't feel the same. I just assumed you were busy with work or other real life commitments. Anyway, my enthusiasm for this Judge Dredd project is on maximum setting and shows no sign of weakening. I am having a blast! What I have done so far has been incredible and so much fun, but I do believe that the best is yet to come!

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  10. Excellent. Just a great way to use an ornament. The boingers make for a fun addition to Mega City One as well. Love the Judge Dredd stuff, keep it coming!

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    1. Cheers, Steve. Inspiration can come from many sources. I still have lots more Judge Dredd stuff to show, so I will keep them coming.

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  11. Very nice! I assume you only bought the 10-pack of spheres; the thought of 100 boingers is a little too much :-) .

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    1. You are right, Hugh. Ten seemed quite sufficient for my needs.

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  12. O my goodness, what a blast from the past! Those things are definitely bonkers as heck... Really love the work sir.

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    1. They sure are a blast from the past, Dai. And I agree - they are bonkers, too!

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