Hunting the Treasure Hunters - a Pulp Alley Game

Someone is onto something very valuable. A group of European speculators have descended on the small town of Outer Fociz. A sailor who has jumped ship, an aviatrix, a butterfly collector, a black marketeer, and an archaeologist. One of them must be hunting for something worth having. The question is, who?

The boys and I played this one with Nick (a different Nick from last time), a mate who's a keen boardgamer who hasn't played much in the way of wargames. The scenario is the Soerbaja Manhunt from Perilous Island - one of the European speculators will be the major plot point, but each league must complete a minor plot point before they can find the major one.

I took the spies.

Nick led the tramp steamer crew.

Master M used Dr Veruckthaar.

Master S ran Jack Sampson's adventurers (minus the dog, plus an Arab).

I had a bad day with the camera, so some of the photos are a bit dodgy.

The town of Outer Fociz.

The market place.

Nick's tramp steamer crew fruitlessly trying to pry information from the aviatrix.

Jack's adventurers grab the butterfly collector, but he's not the speculator we're looking for.

The sailor proved to be a tough customer!

Jack's followers rush through the market to try and question the aviatrix. But his arab follower is coat-hangared by a pair of pink bloomers (peril for rushing through the market)!

So is Miss James!

Finally, Erich manages to negotiate the bloomers of doom.

Mr Blunt makes for the black marketeer.

He grabs him, but getting away again isn't going to be easy.

His plan to drop through the window goes slightly awry when the black marketeer descends on him from a great height (Blunt failed the peril for climbing down the wall.)

Meanwhile Jack does a runner with the butterfly collector, but what is that ominous shadow?

Nothing to worry about really!

But Jack's not safe yet. Foes from all sides rush in.

Amidst a flurry of fists and a rain of raygun fire, Jack goes down.

Dr Veruckthaar grabs the butterfly collector, and forces a confession from him. "It's me. I'm here to catch the Upper Ikhwan Mauve Emperor. A priceless specimen!"

Victory for Veruckthaar!

Rordan Karthur - Hive City Governor

Rordan is one of the figures from the axiom's Colony 87 Kickstarter.

When I picked the set up, I thought he'd make an ideal objective for Pulp Alley games. I also have some solid ideas for creating a Pulp Alley League around him. That will be a good while down the track, though. Before then, he's set to play a significant role in a Pulp40k campaign kicking off next year.

This really is a superb figure - full of character, plenty of interesting detail without being too busy. I've included the side shots so you can appreciate the face - a real highlight of the miniature.

Looking at the photos, I notice the checks on the robes are a little messy...grrrr... Still, what a brilliant figure.

A Simple Trade - a Pulp Alley Game

It should be a simple exchange: cash for treasure. But human nature being what it is, you can never be sure. Best to bring some back-up to help things run smoothly...

I ran this scenario as a Saga game at the Brisbane Muster back in 2012. Back then it involved warlords trading a bride for pigs. It was a hoot, so I thought why not bring it into the twentieth century?

We had four players. Dr Veruckthaar with a treasure to sell, Jack Sampson with the crates of money to  buy it. Theoretically, they are there for a straightforward exchange. Veruckthaar is supported by the cultists, and  Jack has brought the tramp steamer crew with him. Each player had two secret objectives - a major one worth two victory points and a minor one worth one victory point.

The game began with Jack and Veruckthaar facing off across the market: Jack with the crates (middle bottom) and Veruckthaar with the treasure (upper right).

Everyone else was scattered across the table - at least 6" from any opposing character. Four players plus scattered deployment means that the first couple of turns are hard to summarise - a whirlwind of activity.

Jack faced multiple attackers early on; the scientist's robot and then cultists.

This cultist managed to trip over the boxes and impale himself on his own blade!

At this point both Jack and Dr Veruckthaar pull back out of the firing line. The sailors move up to support Jack, but the mad scientist continues to press his attack via rodent.

Meanwhile the cultists have been moving up in force.

A protection detail for the good Doctor?

Only if protection somehow involves suddenly unleashing a barrage of fire at their erstwhile ally!

The Doctor dodges away with his treasure, but he doesn't last long.

In one turn, the mad scientist league lost its three best characters.

The robot, so often a model of metallic menace, was particularly ineffective this game. Poor Rhys was reduced to controlling a solitary rat by turn four! Next time he'll pick a better 'ally'.

At this point, Jack and the cultists opened tentative negotiations over an exchange of cash for treasure. The negotiations never really went anywhere - the voices were generally drowned out by a steady fusilade of fire the two leagues were trading!

Ultimately, weight of numbers won out as the adventurers and sailors queued up to fire on the cultists.

You can only take so much of that before you need a good lie down. A just reward for treachery!

Jack and his crew move in to secure the treasure.

But wait on, what's this? Last turn of the game and the sailors begin firing at Jack!

They're making a move for the money and the treasure! It is, though, too little to late and Jack holds on to both.

So, who was doing what? Dr Veruckthaar's primary objective - grab the cash. His secondary objective - kill the leader of his ally (if the card doesn't make sense, it's because of a last minute change of leagues). His score: 0! Rhys never recovered from the completely unexpected duplicity of his 'friend'.

The sailors' primary objective - grab the cash. Their secondary objective - get the treasure. Their score: 0! Ann was new to the group and to the game. She was very apologetic about her treachery! Next time she may not be as nice!

The cultists' primary objective - kill Dr Veruckthaar. His secondary objective - grab the cash. His (posthumous) score: 2! Mark had actually played this scenario three years ago in its Saga guise. He had a good chuckle when he realised what was going on.

Jack Sampson's primary objective - grab the treasure. His secondary objective - keep the cash. His score: 3! I expected Jack to go down after the first couple of turns, but once he'd weathered those, he was able to watch his opponents tear each other to pieces. He benefited from Ann's niceness too!

So, all in all, about as much fun as you can possibly have while carrying a knife between your shoulder blades!

Cyber Rats

A couple of wandering perils for my sci fi Pulp Alley games.

The rats are, I believe, from Warhammer Quest. Guitar string tails and a few other bits box doodads spice them up nicely. They're a bit rough around the edges, but they'll add some character to the table.

Kickstarter - I can't believe they're not Squats, Genestealer Cult, Gretchin!

Here's another Kickstarter producing some lovely bits with a gloriously retro 40k feel: Macrocosm.

 Lovely miniatures delving into the long-neglected corners of the 40k 'verse.

If anyone for Australia is backing, let me know. The bundles don't fit with what I need, but I'd love to grab an add-ons or two!

Chaos Cultists

I remember being super excited when these figures were unveiled - a 40k release that fit perfectly into the murky world of inquisitors and enforcers. Thankfully, there has been more in that vein since: the new storm troopers, and especially the adeptus mechanicus stuff.

Anyway, here they are in  all their grungy green glory.

 Lots of character for snap together plastic figures.

Just two for the moment, but there will be more!

Johann Tzel - Reliquarist

Here's my latest Pulp40k model, one I'm quite proud of!

I've had this Reaper figure kicking around for ages. I bought it with Pulp40k in mind. With all those phials and needles I thought it would be perfect as an inquisitor's offsider - an expert in interrogation and persuasion.

However, I was planning a sci fi version of Pulp Alley's Perilous Island campaign, and the first game calls for an archaeologist. At the same time, I had some 40k artwork with some strong similarities to the figure. I got snipping and gluing, and this is what I came up with.

 A skitarii backpack, with a bionic eye for examining relics. The 'arm' for the eye is from the Kataphron battle servitor kit (a gold mine for bits). The eye itself is from a tempestus scion (stormtrooper to you and me).

And here he is, finished.

I'm really happy with the way he turned out. He looks like he belongs in the 40k univese. He echoes the artwork without slavishly copying it.

He is from the batty, quasi medieval end of the 40k universe (the bit I love!). He is a reliquarist - an expert charged with the task of establishing the authenticity of venerated relics. You can see he sports his own treasured possession - the shin bones of St Regelus the Martyr.

 And he's hard at work, examining the supposed bones of another long-dead saint.

Bonus points for anyone who can figure out the historical figure Johann is named after.