Sunday 26 July 2015

Two Leagues

After a couple of months fun painting a lot of characters, mostly from Pulp Figures, I decided to put together a couple of leagues (in Pulp Alley terms) and fight some skirmishes. First, the Leagues:

Diana's Team
Leader - Diana Sargeant. Born and brought up in India by her father, Colonel Sargeant, Diana is independent and determined to make her mark on the world. With her small team of adventurers she travels the globe looking for mysterious artefacts and arcane treasure. She is a crack shot (with the Two Gun ability) as well as being Wealthy and having a Danger Sense which allows her to pass the first Peril she encounters every turn. This league has the Intrepid Explorers perk, which means they can Dodge in any direction.

Sidekick - Gulab Singh
Gulab is not his real name, it is the name Diana gave him as a girl, because he was so sweet. Nobody else thinks he is sweet, especially those who threaten Diana in any way. He has been her bodyguard since she was a little girl, and he continues to look after her under orders from the Colonel. He has the Bodyguard ability, which allows him to intercept any attack on Diana if he is close to her, and also the Hardened Veteran ability, which allows him to ignore penalties for multiple combats in one turn. This is a very valuable skill, as would become clear in the first fight.


Ally - Professor Wally Thomas
Professor Thomas (Wally to his friends) is a dedicated archaeologist, determined to make the one big find that will bring him fame in the academic world. He has joined Diana's team in the hope that she will lead him to the prizes he is looking for. No great fighter, his strength is in his brains. He has the Inventor ability, which gives the chance of extra Gear or Gadgets for the team in each scenario.


Follower - Yvette

No-one is quite sure where Yvette comes from, somewhere in middle Europe most probably, but she is happy to travel with Diana, whose entourage perhaps attracts less scrutiny from border guards and customs officials than a solitary traveler. Be that as it may, Yvette is very handy with a sub machine gun, and provides a welcome addition to the team's fire power. She has the Short Burst ability.



Follower - Bud
Cheerful and friendly, Bud is as American as chewing gum, and about as bright. He provides the muscle for the team, carrying most of their baggage and handy with his fists when it comes to a fight. He has the Mighty ability.






Hooded Villains

Leader - The Hooded Master

What better enemy for the do-gooding Diana than the classic hooded arch-villain? Known only as the Master, nobody knows where he comes from or even his age. He travels always in his impressive chair, which is powered and allows him to move no faster than a walk. It also contains hidden jets which can blast out flames creating a 3" Burst around him - in game terms this is the Dark Presence ability. He is also Intimidating, which means lower level characters need to pass a Cunning test to fight him, and he has the Rally ability to help keep his Gangs alive. This league has the Companions perk - so there is no Sidekick (the Master lets no-one get close to him) but all Allies have an extra ability.

Ally - Hooded Blonde
As with all in this League, no-one knows her name or her background. She uses her wits and her gun more than strength, and her two abilities are Sharp - allowing her to re-roll one Shooting or Finesse die per turn, and Finagler - allowing her to improve the dice type on one Finesse or Cunning roll each turn.






Ally - Hooded Braces
Known for his habit of wearing braces at all times, this character is a demon with his shotgun. He has the Burst Fire ability - allowing him to lay down a 3" burst within 12", and also Specialist - giving him a dice type shift for Cunning or Might once per turn.


Ally - Hooded Suit.
Always well turned out, this character is the muscle of the outfit. He has the Brute ability - re-rolling a Brawl or Might die once per turn, and is also Relentless - if he knocks down an enemy in combat, he can then advance 3" and engage another if possible.






Gang - Hooded Minions
No secret evil league would be complete without some hooded extras, and the Master has recruited two gangs. The first is the scarlet-robed minions, who have the Dangerous gang ability - they ignore the multiple combats penalty while brawling.



Gang - Hooded Acolytes
For the female members, we have the gang of Acolytes. They have the Disciplined ability - they always count as being in cover.







So, the two leagues, good and bad, light and dark, are wandering the globe. And inevitably, they will meet ...





Tuesday 21 July 2015

Joy of Six

On Sunday, across the Pennines to the Joy of Six, the only wargames show I know of devoted to a single scale, 6mm. It is run in Sheffield by Baccus and Wargames Emporium, both based in that city. Baccus of course are renowned for this scale, and Wargames Emporium sell GHQ and other ranges. This is the third year I have been to this show, and while I have always enjoyed myself this was the best one yet. The previous ones were held in a rather cramped and scattered venue, but this year they had a new location. It was in one of the University buildings, a four-story atrium with a large floor area which meant that all the games and vendors were together in one bright pleasant space. There were more games than ever, about twenty, covering all periods from Rome to WW2 and modern (1985) and also some sci-fi with Command Decision. All the games were good looking, showing off the visual impact which is one of the things I like about 6mm scale.

There was also a good selection of vendors - Baccus of course and Wargames Emporium plus several others, selling figures and building models mostly. I didn't get very much, as I am currently focused on Pulp and the other end of the scale spectrum, but I was tempted by a couple of Leven's lovely little buildings. These really are nice models, and he maintains an amazing productivity, a wide and expanding range. I also took the chance to walk over to Wargames Emporium itself, only about a quarter of a mile away, where I bought a couple of packs of figures for my pulp games - Sinister Spies from Pulp Figures, and some Beat Cops from Copplestones Gangsters range.

All in all a good day out, and I'd advise anyone who can get there to try Joy of Six in 2016.