40K OSR? (22)

It's been yonks since the last 40K OSR? update.

Not sure what a 40K OSR? is? If you know what a 40K is, and an OSR, you're pretty much there.

If you're part of it, feel free to use Colonel Kane's logo, here to the right, and consider linking to a superb example: their Tales from the Maelstrom.

Since that last update, they've set up and run a multiplayer Rogue Trader game, posted the photos and mused on the nature of old school.

And there's been plenty more going on too, for various systems and scales, and none.

• Mutants and Magic outlined a Mutant Future-WFRP blend - Weirdhammer.

• Jack at Tales of the Grotesque posted stats for various Tyranids in WFRP.

• Zhu Bajiee looks at a possible origin for the Tyranids in M.A.R. Barker's Tékumel and possible examples of UK politics appearing in the hobby...
  

• ... and SandWyrm at The Back 40K GW being a public limited company.

• Relic at Lead Space found a source of Epic-scale counts as Tyranids and looked at building up a Crimson Fists force for NetEpic over one, two posts.

• Fictive Fantasies posted two draft expansions for Fictive Hack (pdf), first for space marines then for genestealer cults, plus a scenario and playtest. 

• DarthMeer at The Heralds of Ruin took us all the way up to Kill Team v1.6.
  

• Col. Gravis released a possible IG bike and is crowdfunding field pieces.

• James at Warp Signal posted on the Ratling Project, a major reimagining.

• Master Bryss posted the second part of creature feature for sixth edition.

• TJ Atwell did Iron Warriors and Night Lords in Dark Future's bits series, ...

• ... Davey at The Marienburg Gazette uses this set for plague marines ...

• ... and smiler at Brush of Fumbling just posted a list of skirmish options.

• The guys at Spiky Rat Pack have been producing too much superb work to list - just go and look at it - but one piece, the Living Coffin, ties in with...

• ... the pic-heavy Arkke Retour series at Tears of Isstvaan on a return to the Yggdrassilium tree, for more INQ28 gaming with John Blanche and friends.

• Paul Schaefer mentioned a Necromundan Caves of Chaos at Talysman's.

• Unite All Action showed some great Necromunda Van Saar conversions.

• Lasgunpacker discussed the scope for normal life in the 41st millennium.

• John Bell - The Retired Adventurer - posted a map with lists for the Tellian Sector and psyker and warrior packages for 40K in Stars Without Number.

• Krisken at Scratchbuilt 40K has posted once, twice on a land raider build...

• ... Ansu at Farseer with a Brush once, twice, thrice a card Leman Russ, ...

• ... John Hanan III at Zorcon's Word once, twice the fairly rare arvus lighter...

• ... and Unite All Action - second mention - once, twice a cool Ork trukk, ...

• ... plus Rictus at Recalcitrant Daze finished the immense Ork kopta karrier.

• Andrew Lotz brings the warlock titan in line with the phantom at Apoc 40K.

• Phil at The Shell Case looks at getting back into 6mm Adeptus Titanicus.

• At Dropship Studio Carl gives advice on weathering Epic-scale vehicles...

• ... and Sigur at Tale of Painters converted up a 6mm Hunter anti-air rhino.

• J. D. Brink of Chaos Theory has a way of reintroducing shooting modifiers.

• Finally, The M42 Project has posted a lot more, including an introduction. 

I've probably missed a huge number of posts so feel free to leave links in the comments.

_

Quick ruinedcitycrawls - and Conan on Necromunda?

For a little background for this post, go read this one at The Tears of Isstvan then this one at Hill Cantons. It's aimed at tactical roleplaying, but you can find an introductory ruleset for that here.

It's all about managing the complexity of a ruined cityscape that's occupied and prowled, and the key elements are the map, faction territories, depth, locations and activity.

                                                                                                                              

Wired-up Fighting Fantasy Necromunda in Itra's City

Of all the games you've known or loved, what fine fusions would you make if you could?

I wouldn't mind exploring the early version of Necromunda from GW's Confrontation, but in the form of a networked Fighting Fantasy gamebook that's still a paperback, borrowed from a local library - with dust, stains and the pencil marks of past players - using the resolution system from the Norwegian RPG Itras By, and all on a rainy British afternoon.

Here's some of the rich setting material, although Itras By would encourage reworking it.

Hive clusters are connected together by roads across the [ash] wastes and transportation tubes supported on pylons and suspended from cables. ... the landscape resembles a petrified forest entangled in the web of some enormous spider. ...

...

... The ash occurs in many different, often vivid hues such as sulphur yellow, citric green, cobalt blue, pink, mauve, as well as various shades of grey, and it varies in texture from fine dust to crystalline clinker. The creatures and nomads that live there are equally colourful ...

... A moderate ash storm will strip an unprotected man to the bone in seconds, and then reduce his bones to a handful of dust. ... Imperial scholars who have studied dust ecologies believe that there may be currents and tides within the ash surface.

...

In hotter weather, when Necromunda’s sun breaks through the planet’s cloud cover, noxious vapors rise up and form poisonous mists and fogs. Mists are invariably followed by toxic rain storms, laden with particles of deadly ash dust and other contaminants.

White Dwarf No. 130 (October 1990)

The aspects are all there, in the intricate lived-in tone and weirdness. I'm actually looking for a gaming equivalent to this video, a soulful blend of individually outstanding material...

The major sources used, or a close and relevant match otherwise, are this ("Silent All These Years"), this ("Down by the Water"), this ("Cover Me") and this ("Dissolved Girl").

If you're wondering how the metaphor shifted, it probably passed at least partly through the prism of Tadeusz Różewicz's "Draft for a Modern Love Poem", especially the lines:

...

a spring-clear
transparent description
of water
is a description of thirst
ashes
desert
it produces a mirage
clouds and trees move into
the mirror

Lack hunger
absence
of flesh
is a description of love
is a modern love poem

Gaming can also be seen as a kind of ensemble musicmaking, even lovemaking, with a good metre, a few riffs and plenty of flights of fancy, all kept developing with gentle cues.

_

40K OSR? (20)

It's been a while since the last fuller 40K OSR? post, even if the list of Epic-related links came close. Maybe it's the summer, or maybe sixth?

But what is an OSR anyway? A good question.

If you think you might be a part of it, feel free to use Colonel Kane's logo, here to the right. If you do, consider giving him credit and putting Tales from the Maelstrom in your blogroll. They have 1, 2 reports up since last time and more minis.

So here we go, with some fine fusion this time...

• Relic at Lead Space is mixing Rogue Trader - that's first edition 40K - with the Lovecraftian skirmish game Strange Aeons and playing at 15mm scale with classic factions: a genestealer cult and Squats. And he's using 6mm Epic models to play skirmish games, with some good-looking marines here.

• Von is getting into Epic and has some first impressions at GAME OVER...

• ... and something could be up because two other bloggers recently posted about starting too, MANGAMAX here at 2000 AD and Closet Gamer here...

• ... and Zac posted a report from an Epic tournament with a lot of pictures, and a little further back also played another game using second edition.
  

• FrDave at Blood of Prokopius has gone from the idea of using Rogue Trader - the RPG this time - to explore Christianity in M41, to planning a campaign set around Black Reach using Stars Without Number and D&D categories for 40K factions - with some abhumans up already - onto detailing Black Reach, with 1, 2, 3 posts up so far on mapping a hive like a megadungeon.

• James S at Warp Signal has even more examples of custom background.
  

• Dallas at Fawcett Avenue Conscripts has been posting on RT-era minis and fought the Battle at the Farm in a campaign for 40K's 25th, in 1, 2, 3 posts.

• Dave Bone gives examples of campaigns mixing systems at The Wargate.

• Oddleg reported on a final campaign game that used their Space-Munda system and has some thoughts on count-as Chaos marines and guard.

• Griffit is building a set of characters for In the Emperor's Name, with stats.

• The M42 Project is still building an alternative to 40K - updated goals here.

• At Confessions... dwez has 1, 2 marker sets for sixth, and possibly beyond.

• Thor at Creative Twilight has been updating the entries in the mission set.

• At Warpstone Flux jabberjabber posted fortification power source rules.

• Virtual Stranger at The Grim Cheapness... builds a thunderbolt in card...

• ... and Loken highlighted a scratchbuilt blasta bomma at Apocalypse 40K.

• Rictus at Recalcitrant Daze is all but scratchbuilding an Ork kopta karrier.

• Mordian has been very busy, but to pick a few highlights, he converted and painted his own version of Angron, painted up a knight errant and finished even more of his adeptus mechanicus, and is now building a leviathan.

• Warhammer in Progress has some excellent plague marine conversions.

• Mike at Santa Cruz Warhammer is converting up a traitor guard force.

• Ron at From the Warp looks at souping up kit rhinos and builds the turret and the sponsons of the original predator, but in the style of the FW version, and has the start of a heresy-era jetbike and death korps-inspired unit.

• TheAmbit has a marine command squad on jetbikes of a different pattern and converted a Cruorian war beast for Dark Heresy, with the intro here.

• Master Bryss just posted the first part of his revised creature creation rules.

• Carjacked Seraphim posted some rules for a very familiar-looking 'Catachan firebreather', examples of counts-as land speeders in the style of the RT grav-attack vehicle and some pics of the original land raider instructions.

• demi_morgana has some great scavvies and got their bunker into a zine.

• Lasgunpacker used an odd mix of parts to get Neo-Soviet power armour.

• Adeptus-B posted a good-looking Dark Heresy report at Zorcon's Word.

• Mercer at Imperius Dominatus has some ideas for enhancing Planetstrike.

• Fritz posted on experiments with a multiplayer approach to Space Hulk and some musings on Dark Heresy and the current state of D&D and 40K.

• LuckyNo.5 shows some inspiration - it's dark, and could even be horrifying.

• Josh Graboff at The Signe of the Frothing Mug offers up some thoughts on violence in gaming and 40K, also looking at the nature of space marines.

• Hungry Ghosts reminds us of the comment on the Squats that made a 40K myth, has a Ratling and Squat size comparison, completes the series on Squats in Epic and shows another bold conversion, a rust monster biker...

• ... and with chariots back and Chaos big again, there's more inspiration for mounted character conversions in this set of tables at The Dungeon Dozen.

• Finally, Big Jim at Galaxy in Flames reports the Killzone update is close...

I can't possibly have got more than a fraction of it with the length of time involved, so as ever, feel free to leave links to anything else you think should be in, even your own work.

_

40K OSR? (19)

What's a 40K OSR? There's some basic info on 40K here and a definition or two for 'OSR' here.

Colonel Kane's logo is to the right, and ready for anyone who identifies with the idea. If you use it, consider giving him credit and adding Tales from the Maelstrom to your blogroll for the inspiration.

Like the Inq28 battle report posted yesterday, which also has news on a July event at GW HQ.

Here's the list, with a lot of new rules especially.

• As per yesterday, The M42 Project lives on, still looking to improve on 40K.

• Big Jim over at Adventures in Wargaming updated the Soul Reapers codex.

• Bryssling has core rules for Kill Team IV, and a fix for Necron destroyers.

• At Warpstone Flux jabberjabber posted a blended ruleset for Mighty and Planetary Empires and has the map and background for the campaign.

• Hum_Con at Wargames & Stuff looks at creativity and random tables, covering emergence and narrative in wargaming and Ghazghkull's history.
  

• At Do You Have A Flag? Headologist gives us rules for a space marine chariot attack bike - conversion here - and more on the world of Mawdryn.

• Brian at A Gentleman's Ones has a Killzone roster and trails the tables.

• At Confessions... dwez has the story of techno-archeologist Avro Vulcan.

• A while back I forget Dark Magenta's new Inquisitor pdf - the full list is here.

• At Spiky Rat.. izeColt finishes the Rifleman and okkiW begins Nicodemvs.

• Ron at From the Warp has another sculpting guide, this time scrollwork.

• At Heresy Workshop Will Wright explained how to make icicles, introduced the counts-as Sly Marbo and showed an old-and-new mixed entourage.

• Pedro Kantor at 2nd City Warzone has some mechanicus weapon teams.

• LuckyNo.5 continued the Mariners Blight nautical marines at Eye of Error.

• Godfrey at Rites of Battle looks at marine body size in concept and minis.

• Apocalypse 40K posted a preview for a possible pre-Heresy jetbike...

• ... while Desert Scribe at Super Galactic Dreadnought showed IG originals.

• Outremer has been posting part-sculpt Nurgle conversions at The Back 40K, including sorcerers and a dread, and just posted scratchbuilt vindicators.

• Warhammer in Progress posted ideas for spawn and wants obliterators. 

• ShotDownMind converted a batch of Dark Eldar grotesques from all kinds.

• Fine Detail Miniature Painting have been busy, with 1, 2 more video battle reports for Necromunda, an ash nomad with long rifle and some spyrers.

• Odd-Leg has another Necromunda report, this time a multi-player game.

• Linked with that, 40Korigins posted some work in progress hive terrain.

• Rictus at Recalcitrant Daze has three posts on an alternative to Forge World interiors - basics, scatter pieces and a setup - and no. 25 on the wagons.

• This time too there's a Ragnarok, a past build newly souped up by Hudson.

• TheAmbit posted plenty of conversions, including a buzz saw deffkopta, warbikes and an unusual deffrolla, as well as a scratchbuilt warhound.

• Mordian7th has a command trench built around a separated titan head.

• Wargaming Workshop finished the Epic Squats and moved on to the Eldar.
  

• Still with Squats, Tentakel Games posted a trio of classic images, showing Squat bikers, Khornate Chaos marines and a Bloodthirster with stats.

• And Space Crusade art keeps coming at All Things Fett, with 1, 2, 3 more. 

The usual applies: if I've missed anything at all, just leave a link, even to your own posts.

_

40K OSR? (18)

The latest 40K OSR? update. What's an OSR?

Could be an Old School Renaissance, an Other School Renaissance or even an Optional School Renaissance, or not, and maybe the 'R' stands for 'Review', 'Revolution' or 'Revelation'. Maybe...

Colonel Kane's logo is to the right. If you use it, consider giving him credit and adding Tales from the Maelstrom to your blogroll for the inspiration.

Here we go then - even more of that inspiration.

• Big Jim at Adventures... talked more about Killzone Evolution, posted a house rules pdf and looked again at the wow factor and using GMs in 40K; his full interview with Loquacious is also up at World of Wonder, ...

• ...while Brian at A Gentleman's Ones covered KZ's missions and tokens...

• ... and the third full interview was Lantz, looking at the AdMech FanDex.

• Bryssling has hints for homebrew weapons and more on the Disciples.

• Overlooked last time were the custom missions and cards at Roll With It.

• Karitas at Excommunicate Traitoris has a three-way idea, with a H Mudd. 

• At Confessions... dwez has biomorph markers and looks at terrain setup.

• Zac's Gaming Blog has a second edition battle report, found via Musings.

• Fine Detail Miniature Painting posted the Necromunda video report that triggered the multi-system online campaign, as well more Necro painting and an ash nomad conversion, with the shrike, and a nomad long rifle.

• Loquacious also posted a Specialist Games-focused Top X with Von over at HoP and the very next day Von posted a thoughtful look at Inquisitor.
  

• At Kenzie's blog the action moves to a Deathwatch drop on the starport.

• There's a list of warbands and two mini reports up at Terminus Omega.

• TheAmbit has parts two and three of a Night Hawks tale; the first is here.

• At Warpstone Flux jabberjabber presented a Tyranid origin hypothesis...

• ... and Laughing Ferret has pics of a genestealer cult infantry squad.

• Drathmere at 40k Hobby Blog is scratchbuilding a Ragnarok - 1, 2 so far - ...

• ... Krisken at Scratchbuild 40K built then painted some Eldar platforms, ...

• ... Kamui showed a scratchbuilt opening drop pod at Creative Twilight, ...

• ... Rictus at Recalcitrant Daze put up 1, 2, 3, 4 more posts on Ork looted wagons, and 1, 2, 3 on the defensive walls, moulds for which are for sale, ...

• ... Apocalypse 40K gave us a look at a scratchbuilt Ork soopa stompa...

•  ... and at Heresy Workshop Will Wright made a salamander on a chimera.

• Scaling back down, Warhammer in Progress converted a demon prince, a great unclean one, cyberwolves and some cyclone missile launchers.

• More Nurgle at Rust and the city, where Cameron has some terminators and more plague marines, and looked at sculpting the belly plates.

• Brovatar finished the female C'Tan and a Necron overlord; court here.

• At Spiky Rat Pack izeColt introduced us to Skull Hopperre, a companion for Mutie Kul, and there's a new JB-inspired build underway, the Rifleman.

• And to finish, another Goatboy interview, also for ID at World of Wonder.

If I've overlooked anything this time round, feel free to leave a link - even your own work.

Update: I missed Ron's post at From the Warp on sculpting hair and beards, as well as this 28mm Inquisitor force at The Grim Darkness, of which there's even more here.

_

40K OSR? (17)

Yet another batch of 40K OSR? links, because the posts are coming thick and fast. There are some definitions for 'OSR' here, but my current mood has me thinking 'Other School Revelation'.

Colonel Kane's logo is to the right. If you identify with the idea and want to use it, consider giving him the credit and adding the great Tales from the Maelstrom to your blogroll as an inspiration.

• The Hogs of War finished the fortress walls and posted 1, 2, 3 scenarios - the first for the table with the walls - and a set of 18 mission cards per player.

• Stealthy Stealth posted entries for fire warriors and the devilfish, the second part of the Tau Fandex being developed over at Creative Twilight.

• Brian has more Killzone design at A Gentleman's Ones, the themes, and Loquacious at World of Wonder posted the full interview for the ID series.

• The current army list challenge at Warpstone Flux uses deep darkness...

• ... and Odd-Leg played 'Space-Munda' with a new rule for flickering lights.

• Curis at Ninjabread looks at costing Squat thunderers in the current Epic.

• Gothmog has ideas for moving the history on at Sepulchre of Heroes.

• Bryssling has some unfinished fiction not posted at Rules Manufactorum.

• The DH campaign at Kenzie's blog reached an agriworld and a starport...

• ... and Gotthammer has an update on the RT campaign at Collegia Titanica.

• Ron over at From the Warp sculpted a Tyranid spore mine in greenstuff, ...

• ... Spikey Bits showed a screamer-killer conversion from the current kit...

• ... and LuckyNo.5 at Eye of Error posted a tutorial on sculpting tentacles, with thanks again to Dave G at Wargaming Tradecraft for putting up the link.

• For help casting your work, Tallarn at still practicing_ has an introduction.

• Krisken has part three on the DIY rhino chassis at Scratchbuild 40K...

• ... and Redscorps finished work on a modified design for the predator.

• One I missed last time is Fire Broadside! on alternative IG vehicles...

• ... and The March Rider at Codicium Aeternum also reviews a six-wheeler.

• Following all of which, I'll give a mention to my own crewbrew expansion.

• Brovatar is working on a female C'Tan, with parts here and a video here.

• Cameron at Rust and the city converted a plague marine champion, and the trio of WIP marines seen in that post are shown finished in this one.

• Warhammer in Progress shows 1, 2 obliterators built from starter set rat ogres, but if you prefer ready-made, The Hogs of War found a fine batch.

• Fine Detail Miniature Painting has some finished ash waste nomad conversions for Necromunda, with pics of the basecoated minis here.

• Rictus at Recalcitrant Daze posted part eight of the ongoing series on 3D printing defensive walls and 17 and 18 on converting Ork looted wagons.

• At Confessions... dwez added a terrain template to the archive page.

• At The Dark Workshop Cursed13 is building an spaceship hull turret.

• Infamous at Cobblestone Chaos looks at grocery store terrain materials.

• Apocalypse 40K has an update on the legal situation re Chapterhouse and Paulson Games and reports Quantum Gothic is back, with plenty of pics.

• Colonel Shofer linked to this solid video on the Pig Iron System Troopers.

• Steve at Bleaseworld posted 1, 2, 3, 4 batches of newly-painted early IG.

• Old School Terminator interviewed Goatboy over at Dark Future Games.
  

• There's an at-a-glance archive for the John Blanche art at gothic punk.

• For Old Stuff Day Griffit linked to a tumblr for the Rogue Trader era.

• And finally, another 1, 2 images from Space Crusade at All Things Fett.

You know how it works: if I've missed anything, just leave a link, even to your own posts.

_

A new Specialist Game?

I don't usually react to rumours. But I will now. Faeit 212 has reported the possibility there'll be a new GW Specialist Game released. That's big news for a lot of us I'd bet.

Apparently it's not a rerelease of Blood Bowl, Man O'War or Warhammer Quest, or even a supplement for Space Hulk. Then again why would it be a rerelease, not wholly new?

Perhaps wishful thinking, given some of our happiest gaming experiences might have been with the past games. I'd guess most players who've tried one or more of these, or Necromunda, Gorkamorka, Mordheim or Inquisitor say, have fond memories, and the 6mm Epic system was for a time near equal of Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000.

Epic itself seems an unlikely choice. After all, we have Apocalypse nowadays, which has a similar scope with a higher price per model in real world currency. Warmaster seems unlikely for the same reason, if that's what the coming Storm of Magic means.

Surely the right answer is Killzone? A Necro-Gorka-Mordheim approach blended with wider 40K. It would offer a path into what many see as an increasingly costly hobby, quieting critics on price and simplicity and opening the door to new players, the future.

But then I thought, well, why do we need GW to release that particular game? We already have it. In fact, why do we need a company to release any game if we can just make it ourselves? A public limited company has shareholders to please as well as us.

I really can't answer that. Higher production values maybe, but personally I'd still prefer multiple smaller designers sourcing art or card elements than one large.

A wider player base? Well, we've been there - one guy picking up a less expensive game system can more cost-effectively run demos and get a group interested.

Future support? I don't see much for the Specialist Games. Pure passion seems a better guide to that. Look at the D&D OSR. That's what player love can do. They still have a whole community of new ideas, and revisions and releases, decades later.

Maybe love is all you need?

_

Squeeze for juice

We're talking about energy generation, but isn't a vast amount more energy all but on tap now?

A chance comment today reminded me that while we can't seem to get close to perpetual motion, and we are the heart of our problem, our hearts could also be part of an easy solution.

We could easily each produce what we need to run the device we're using right now for example. Could you do a little light pedalling too?

Think how much less power we'd need if every television on the planet was driven by the viewer. Think how much less television we'd watch...

If we did still need to go for a walk or run after watching a favourite show, why couldn't shoes or belts extract energy from the muscular movements as standard - or even clothes the excess body heat - in the same way as automatic watches or bike lamps?

Moving into speculation a little, the Fremen in Dune had their stillsuits using breathing and other movement to recycle water, and The Matrix saw the human body power its own prison (cf. the TV example). This is all still near future stuff - at the very most.

What else might be used with no need for a strange new material or process?

DE QEF

I wanted to write something today about the new creatures for the GW Dark Eldar range, but I really can't. Not because I'm not interested of course - I've usually got a comment on the potential for alien lifeforms - but because the DE just make me sad.

My thoughts on the faction I've put at Bell of Lost Souls and will surprise none of the longer-term readers there. Without getting into all the issues of their suitability for the younger end of the customer base, I feel that while the structural quality of the miniatures is high, and the DE concept might have moved beyond 'Eldar who are Dark', this really ought to have been true over 12 years ago when they were first released.

After all, the structural and conceptual quality of the succubus in the most recent batch doesn't seem to me greatly different than the House Escher miniatures released for 1995's Necromunda. Compare that latest mini with the Escher gang here. If only the original DE - released just under three years after the Escher - had been so well-proportioned and naturally-posed.

Triffles (11) - A tense exchange

Following the theme of the last Triffle, today an attempt to exchange a high value item. It could even loosely describe an eventful Valentine's Day date.

            a cautious                     a fumbled handover / 
             approach                    misunderstood gesture

\             /

a tense exchange

/              

an unseen tail / infiltrator /                                           
double-cross                                               

If you want to get this into a wargame, skirmish game or roleplaying game, you could do far worse than look at Necromunda which has a mechanism for simulating a cinematic wild west-style gunfight. You could also try something more like the tracks used in the latest Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, based on key elements which need to occur to ratchet up the tension. The situation seems to need a build-up to a moment at which nerves snap and a means of determining the order of reactions, assuming they'll not all be simultaneous. It's possible to imagine entire forces manoeuvring around the few specialists conducting the exchange, hands at weapons holstered or sheathed.

But maybe the breakdown doesn't come? It might be possible to hold it off or prevent it by diplomacy and avoid the loss of life on both sides. Would that ruin the game? Better question: could wargames do with more mechanisms for impromptu diplomacy?

In writing, as the Valentine's Day idea suggests, this could be the underlying idea in a situation apparently very different, within a comedy of errors at least. A fine web of taut interactions could be spun, more so if more than two parties are involved. This post at TalkToYoUniverse ought to be helpful if that sounds tricky.

Continuing the interest in applying these to music, we might expect a slow build-up, along the lines of "The Creep Out" by The Dandy Warhols or "Angel" by Massive Attack.