One of Our Inspectors is Missing - a Pulp Alley day

Nobody likes an Inspector-General. Snooping, officious pedants from the central Imperium. Sniffing out the shadowy alliances and difficult compromises that are an everyday part of life out here in Hathor Sector.

Nobody likes an Inspector-General, but up until now nobody has killed one. But this time, Inspector-General Hydaspes Owen is missing, presumed dead. Everyone in the Sector would be quite happy with that, if the central Imperium hadn’t threatened to send a task force to tear the Sector to pieces as a punishment. The only way to stop the task force is to present them with the guilty party. Who killed the Inspector? How did they do it? Why?

On the weekend I ran a Pulp Alley games day. The concept for the day was developed by Major Guiscard over at The Governor General of Sector Six and happily borrowed by me (with the good Major's encouragement and advice).

The games are stitched together using the ideas from the boardgame Cluedo. The player have to discover who killed the Inspector-General, why they killed him, and how they did it. 

One card from each of the categories is removed at the of the campaign and placed in a sealed envelope. This is the combination the players are looking for.

After each game, the players are shown one clue card for each minor plot point they take, and three clue cards for the major plot point. At this point, the players are able to propose a theory about the murder: one suspect, one motive, one cause of death. Any other player can disprove the theory if they have seen one of the cards mentioned. Whoever does this is able to draw a bonus reward card and get the benefits.

At any point a player can make an accusation: again, suspect, motive and cause of death. If they are right, they win the game. If they're wrong, that's their one chance. They continue to play, but can't make any more accusations.

We had six players for the first two games,and two more joined in after that. At the end of two games, two players made incorrect accusations. The winner came through after just three games: he won every game by taking the major and two minor plot points every time!

Anyway, pictures! Not a lot of quantity or quality, I'm afraid. I was running around madly for most of the day. There were four locations to explore: the spaceport.

The battlefield.

The Imperial outpost.

The research station.

Oh, one more positive. We had a few visitors to the club to play 40k. One of them came over to see what we were up to and I ran him through three turns of Pulp Alley. He went straight back to his 40k army and was figuring out what kind of Leagues he could come up with!

Peregrine - ???

Thankfully my updates on the Peregrine have been healthily outstripped by my work on it. It made it's debut in a Pulp Alley day at my club a week ago. Before I post up about that I thought I should stick up a few shots of the Peregrine.

It's far from finished: I still have most of the interior to go. But it looks good enough from the outside! 

The exterior was spray painted grey, then I sponged on the white paint. It could probably do with some weathering, but I'm a bit afraid I'll make a mess of it. I might try it on the underside first.

The Portals - a Pulp Alley game

This scenario is entirely stolen from the inimitable Cheetor, so make sure you read his superlative version over here.

A strange portal has appeared near the small village of Al'Abead. Locals report talking goats and strange hallucinations.

Unusual phenomena attract unusual people. To wit, Jack Sampson and his adventurers, and the cultists of S.L.I.M.E. (the Secret League of Mayhem and Evil).

The leagues must complete a minor plot point before attempting to enter the portal. Once through, they must bring something back from the other side...

The cultists interview the goat.

And the marginally less coherent villager.

Jack approaches the portal (one of his league has already grabbed a minor plot point).

Meanwhile...

Stardate 9.6.23 601, Space Station Daebala IV. Another raid in the Radon Zombie - Robot Wars. This one is notable because of the presence of a distinctly non-scientific phenomena.

Both sides approach the strange apparition.

When suddenly, a bizarre creature is expelled from the thing.

It's not long before the warring space warriors carry their combat across dimensions.

Back in space, Jack Sampson has grabbed a strange technological trinket and is fighting his way back to the portal.

And he's back!

But, alas, the extra-terrestrials take a dim view of his unlicensed technological export business and blast him down.

This game was a load of fun! Kudos to Cheetor for his great scenario. The horde leagues struggled to get people through the portals, but got there eventually. Things got a bit chaotic once players had figures on both tables, but that's all part of the goodness!

Come Fly with Me - a Pulp Alley game

Mark and I have started playing a 40k version of Pulp Alley's Perilous Island campaign. I neglected to taking any photos during the first game, but here's game two.

Two leagues are intent on tracking down the Rogue Trader Marcion Darrow. Their best lead is the Rogue Trader's reliquarian, Johann Tzel. A routine stopover turns bad when the spaceport is threatened by a rebel insurrection. There is one last shuttle out. Will Commissar Burns get away with Tzel, or will the Admech team keep them on the ground?

Commissar Burns and his crew must grab tickets from the ticket machine near the guard in the blue shirt. Then they'll grab Tzel and head for the shuttle.

The Admech crew need to rifle through the white crate and find a package. Once they have this, they can grab a mechanic who'll gently disable the shuttle for them!

The spaceport is under guard because of the threat of the insurrection. Any character who engages the enemy will be targeted by the guards (an extreme peril each activation).

Commissar Burns makes polite inquiries about tickets.

The response is prompt, and his team spot the reliquarian, Tzel.

The techpriest is having more trouble trying to jemmy the crate open. Once he does prise it open, nothing! It's actually the generator they need (curse those red herring cards!)

Burns' men move out to grab Tzel and secure the shuttle.

The admech scout maneuvers to defy the security and get a shot in.

Every lasgun in the area reduces him to a smouldering corpse.

Meanwhile, Tzel takes some persuading to tag along with the Commissar's crew.

The mechanic finally shows up, but it is too late to get to her and to the shuttle, so the Admech team begin to move in on their opponents. An unfortunate accidental bump (although the security guards don't see it that way).

The Admech team drop all pretence of politeness.

The techpriest wades in with his great axe.

For all their violence, the Admech are unable to prevent the commisar hustling Tzel to the shuttle.

Just open the door and they're away. The simplest of rolls - one 4+ needed from 4d6.

I'll remember that game for a long time! (With glee, I was the Admech!) Even before the end, this was a great scenario. The penalties for combat meant you had to think really carefully about your actions, and when to pull the trigger. Mark managed to avoid making any attacks all game (he dodged any incoming attacks). But in the end, his virtue went unrewarded!

Do You Wanna Build a Wall? A Pulp Alley Game

Well, it's been a while! Life gets busy, and painting and gaming has felt more rewarding than blogging. But I've been lured out of semi-retirement by the promise of more free Pulp Alley cards. After this report, you may wish I'd stayed there!

Warning: If you're a fan of the serving US President, it may be best to avert your eyes and not read this report. Terrible, tasteless, irreverent, inappropriate things happen to a man who may just happen to have certain resemblances to the POTUS.

Anyway, if you're still here, you have been warned!

Ronald Dump is the new mayor of the bustling Middle Eastern market town of al-Amrica. He swept to power on the back of his promises to deal with the nomad problem: itinerants who skulk into town to steal people's good, jobs and self respect.

Dump Towers, and the mayor's security detail.

Dump is a man of action. He has begun to build a wall to protect the good citizens of al-Amrica from the unwashed masses. But a man of vision and action has many enemies.

Here you can see the wall, and the enemies.

On the left, a group of ne'er-do-wells are escorting a group of nomads into town. One of their goals is to get the nomads into the marketplace (at the centre rear of the table). The other will become apparent as the game goes on...

On the right, a group of archaeologists have heard there is treasure buried under the newly constructed wall. They are making for pile of bricks at the left.

In the centre at the back (and scattered across the table) are zeppelin troopers, a crack team from a certain central European power that is deeply concerned about the global effects of Mayor Dump's economic policies. Their job is to eliminate the Mayor (villainous Euro-baddies!)

In the face of such opposition, who would want to be the team trying to build the wall?

The great man emerges, surrounded by his minders.

Then suddenly, disaster! A fierce gust of wind lifts his hairpiece and sends it flying! The Mayor is a sprightly man for his size, and he leaps down in pursuit.

His bodyguards scramble to protect him from the zeppelin troopers.

The wig and the man keep moving.

A little lying down on the job.

The Mayor presses on regardless.

Now at this point, if you are a fan of the current serving President and you have ignored my pleas to avert your eyes, you really have been warned...

The Mayor is approached by one of the nomads.

And BOOM! That, folks, is why we need border security...or a new mayor...

As the credits roll, the archaeologists unearth their treasure.

The nomads luxuriate in the wonders of modern capitalism.

And the now unemployed bodyguards head back to l̶o̶o̶t̶  secure Dump Towers.

Note: No world leaders or miniatures were actually harmed in the making of this game.