Ramshackle Barn

One of my purchases from Fiasco last week, the Ramshackle Barn from Renedra, 28mm scale. The kit is fine, nothing dramatic, a basic barn with a lean-to shed beside it, and a few bits of clutter - ladders, pitchforks and an old cartwheel. I did the basic paint job with a variety of browns from Foundry, but the fun was adding the overgrowing vegetation. Most of this is from Lifecolor, using two of their sets - Lichens and Moss, which provides more substantial clumps of greenery, and Algae, which gives you finer layers. I also added some real bits of lichen, and other foliage clumps, to give the impression of nature taking back control.

 

Fiasco 2015

Slightly late, a report on my trip over to Leeds for Fiasco, a show held at the Royal Armoury in the centre of the city. This is a nice middle-sized show, good for a couple of hours or so browsing around the traders and looking at a few of the games being demonstrated. There didn't seem to be a strong common theme this year, so there was a good variety of games to choose from. In terms of traders the show seemed to be well attended - I did not have a particular aim in going around the stands, just looking for various bits and pieces as always. Leven were there with their lovely 6mm castings, and I bought one as usual, even though I am not actively gaming this scale right now. What I am doing is building up a 28mm city collection for Pulp and similar encounters, so I picked up an mdf Tenement building from Warbases, which will fill some space nicely. I also picked up a plastic Ramshackle Barn from Renedra - it won't quite fit into my city but I fancied covering it with weathering and plant growth, and it will serve in quite a few scenarios, Pulp and also Old West. Other than that a few paints and bits and pieces of scenery. A nice quiet day out.

Rumble in the Jungle

In a small jungle town somewhere south of Mexico and north of Brazil, the rumours going around were that Indy, the famous rugged archaeologist, was out in the wilderness and had discovered some important clues to ancient artefacts, but that he was trapped and alone, his local guides and bearers having deserted him. Attentive ears listened to this talk, and brought stealthy reports back, one to the best rooming house in the town (not saying much) and the other to a dark and obscure shack on the outskirts.

The terrain from the south

And so it was that not far away two groups converged on a spot in the jungle – Diana’s Team came from the south and the Hooded Villains from the north. In between them was a broken pillar, and on top they could see not Indy, but Sindy Jones, a much less rugged archaeologist. He was trapped on the column by a vicious hairy spider, half an inch across at least, and his screams for help rang through the trees. They could see now that his guides and porters had abandoned him in embarrassment, but he had discovered several important leads.

Apart from Sindy himself, the major plot point, four other clues were close by. To the south west a pile of crates and baggage, dropped by the porters, included notes on his finds so far. To the south east a graveyard contained a pillar with arcane carvings. In a grove of trees to the north east Raquel the wild woman could be found – she knew something important. And in swampy jungle to the north west a dog was sitting, wearing a collar that had once been a belt for a mummy.

Diana had used her Wealth to recruit a backup for the team – a level 1 Shooter. The random events gave the Master a Friendly Local, a level 1 brawler, while Diana was Well Prepared with an extra Fortune card at the start.

From the east

First to move was Bud, who set off towards the pile of luggage, but almost immediately he tripped over a hidden root, fell onto a rock and knocked himself out for the count. In game terms the Master played a Hidden Peril card, Bud failed the peril and then failed his health check, so as a Follower he was down and out.

In the thick jungle to the north west the brawler and Suit both moved forward towards the dog holding Plot Point 5. To do so they had to move through a stream – all the streams on the board were Perilous, those fish might be carp, or they might not. In both cases Diana played a card, but both characters passed the challenges. All the other characters in both leagues moved forward without much excitement, no more perils and the two groups were not yet in line of sight.

In the next turn the Blonde moved forward through the trees to try to use her Finesse to persuade the Wild Woman to join her. Passing a peril, and then the plot point challenge, she succeeded; the reward gave her an extra Finesse die. In the swamp the brawler tried to catch the dog, but was not cunning enough – however Suit, coming along after him, managed the task and took the plot point. His reward was the scenario extension card.

The Blonde meets the Wild Woman in the grove of trees

Yvette and the Backup shooter had both moved up the road and across the bridge. The red-cloaked Minions came around the west edge of the wood and opened fire on the shooter. He fired back and both sides got one hit, but the Minions saved and the shooter failed his health check, and he went down and out. Failing health and recovery checks would be a theme for Diana’s people today – perhaps they had not taken their vitamin pills. The Acolytes came out of the wood to the east and fired at Yvette, and the results were a repeat – one hit each, the hooded gang passed but Yvette failed her health check, so she too went down and out. Diana now crossed the river and searched the pile of crates – her cunning helped her find the notes that made up the plot point. Gulab also crossed the river, moving toward the shrieking Sindy on his refuge, and Wally moved through the perilous graveyard. He passed a challenge, before searching the pillar and finding the inscription that made up the plot point. The Master on his travelling chair and Braces both moved forward up the road, but things were looking quite balanced at this point.

Diana searches the baggage as Gulab moves towards Sindy on the pillar

Diana had the initiative, and Gulab moved forward to Sindy’s location, using his Cunning to help the petrified explorer down, and taking the major plot point. Diana moved forward and fired at the Master, but she took a wound and he did not. The villains were not going to let Sindy escape easily, and Braces rushed Gulab, but the Sikh was too fast and Braces went Down. The minions also rushed Gulab, but neither side could score a hit. The Master now fired at Diana, and each took a wound. Suit and the brawler both came across the river towards the key central fight – both were hit with perils, Suit went down but the brawler passed his health check. Over in the graveyard the Acolytes advanced and fired at Wally – he took one of them out but he also took a wound and went down. In the recovery phase Suit gets back on his feet, Diana and the master stay wounded, and Wally fails his roll so he is now Out and his plot point lies there for the taking.

Wally finds a clue on the gravestone

The fight was now boiling down to a melee in the centre, around the broken column. Gulab attacked the minions, and knocked one out. Diana used a Fortune card to allow him to attack again, but this time he caused no casualties. Diana fired at the brawler and got two hits, but both were saved. The Master shot at Diana, and both were injured, which meant Diana was down. The brawler attacked Gulab, but only got hit himself. Over in the graveyard the acolytes picked up the engraving from the unconscious Wally. Both Diana and Braces recovered and got up, and the Master used his Rally power to persuade a minion to rejoin the fight with kindly words (“Get back in there or I will toast your skin on a brazier”).

The villains were piling up on their two remaining foes now. Gulab attacked the brawler and knocked him down and out. The minions then attacked him, one more of the gang went down, but Gulab also took a wound. Now Braces shot at Diana – she saved two hits, while he took a wound and fell. Diana ran back across the river, passing the peril, but the Master shot at her – both of them saving a hit. Unlike Gulab, Diana does not have the Hardened Veteran ability, and each successive fight made her weaker. Now The acolytes ran to the bridge and fired at her, she took another wound and went down. Both Gulab and Braces recovered, but Diana did not and she was Down, with the plot point free to be picked up.

It was now turn six. The minions attacked Gulab, but only lost another themselves. Suit and Braces both attacked him, and Suit went down. This was a problem, because he was carrying the plot point which could extend the fight for one more turn. If he failed his recovery roll, not only would they miss out on another chance to put Gulab down, but they would also fail to score the plot point. There was much tension as the die rolled, but Suit recovered and the fight continued. This time he stood back, not making the same mistake twice, and only the minions and Braces attacked. However once again they failed to make an impact, and Braces went down, then failing his recovery he was out. He was the only one of the Hooded Villains to end the fight out, while on Diana’s side only Gulab was still standing when darkness fell.

The end - Gulab fights on in the centre as Diana lies unconscious

So Gulab slipped away in the darkness with Sindy in tow, and the Master took the other four plot points, meaning that he had won, but narrowly by 4 VP to 3 VP. With more plot points the Villains did gain more resources – one point each for Backup, Tips and Contacts and one XP. Diana only gained a single Gear point. One member of each gang had a Harrowing Escape – Braces got Retreat and Regroup and passed the random challenge, so their league will shift the Initiative Die up one in the next scenario. Diana took the Harrowing Escape for her league, but in a fitting end to the day her dice failed her one more time in the Challenge and so she ended Bloodied and Bruised and will join the next scenario one turn late.

This was a good fun fight, nothing subtle and full of clichés, just what a Pulp game should be. I need to put a bit more thought on the terrain – I had several Extremely Perilous areas which played no real part, the characters simply went around them – though the Perilous rivers worked well. Which part of the wide world will see the next meeting of Diana and the Master?

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 ...

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.

Pulp Designs

Quite a long break since the last post, because I have been going through one of my periodic changes of direction. My current theme is Pulp gaming, the classic inter-war stuff - rugged archaeologists in the back of beyond, gang warfare in the Prohibition times, that sort of thing.

I got into this from the Old West games I was playing, and there's clearly a lot of similarity - small scale skirmishes, with 28mm figures at 1:1 scale. Lots of individual figures rather than military ranks, and a fairly stylised (and not entirely "realistic") back story.

I was using the Two Hour Wargames western rules, Six Gun Sound, and the first rule set that I looked at was Larger Than Life - Directors Cut from the same publishers. I bought this (in pdf) and read it through, but I wasn't really inspired. It is very much oriented to reproducing a "film", with a Star, scenes and so on. The scenarios are very rigid in many ways - for example each scene is a 3'x3' board, split into nine squares. Each square is a "scene" and you can't see from one to the next, even if two figures are apparently standing a couple of inches apart in the open. Similarly you are constrained to enter at one corner and fight the big boss in a building in the other corner. No doubt you could use the rules flexibly to produce a wide variety of effects, but it just didn't inspire me. It also has the trademark THW multiplicity of tables for everything.

So I investigated another rule set which is getting a lot of discussion on TMP and similar forums. This is Pulp Alley, published by Phipps & Daughter (that's Dave and Mila). This turned out to be exactly what I was hoping for - your characters are formed into Leagues, with Leaders, Sidekicks, Allies and Followers (in decreasing order of power). You have half a dozen characteristics, with different dice sizes to provide variation. Combat is fairly simple, but not simplistic, and no-one ever dies - the worst that happens is you are knocked out of a scenario. Scenarios are driven by "plot points" - things the leagues are trying to get hold of (typically) in order to win. These may be anything from a secret letter to a person you need to talk to or capture. There is a variety of basic scenarios, which can be used for many different backgrounds, and they have put out two expansions - with extra rules and a connected set of scenarios making up an adventure. There's one for gang warfare in King City, and another called Perilous Island which covers lost world style adventures, including some supernatural effects.

I have played a few small trial skirmishes, but I am now in the phase of most of my enthusiasms when I am painting new models, and assembling scenery ready for the fights. I have picked up a fair number of figures, mostly from Pulp Figures, but including a variety of others which I bought at Salute. I've been painting away at these, and I'll post some pictures soon.

Mandingo the Sheriff

It is Summer 1876, and our hero Mandingo is now Sheriff in the tiny town of Sick Dog's Paw in Wyoming. It's not quite clear why he has not returned to his Ranger duties - perhaps something to do with the ambush by Apaches of a patrol that he should have been with. Be that as it may, he is now the Law in the Paw.
In his first serious encounter, Mandingo had to intervene in a dispute between two Greenhorns, one of whom was threatening the other. Mandingo teamed up with the innocent party, and they went out to search the town. The bad guy jumped out and there was an exchange of shots, then he ran into Daffodil's Place and emerged on the balcony above the street. Mandingo ran into the corral opposite and fired, causing the opponent to duck back. However he emerged again and fired at the other greenhorn on the boardwalk below, causing him to retreat. Mandingo then used his Fast and Agile abilities to race up the rear stairs and into the building, firing out the window and putting his enemy out of the fight.

Mandingo about to fire out of the window and end the fight

 The next fight was a classic one on one shootout. A cowboy with a lot of experience (5-5-5) took on Mandingo. Neither man Flinched, so the draw went ahead - the cowboy rolling five dice and Mandingo six. He scored three successes to his opponent's one, so he rolled for shooting damage, causing a gut shot and winning the battle.

Mandingo shows his cool at High Noon

Mandingo had recruited five deputies, and they were involved for the first time when a group of seven drunken cowboys started causing trouble in Rogan's Bar. Two deputies (Deke and Ernie) were at the other end of town - Mandingo and the other three gathered outside the bar.

The lawmen prepare to break up the rowdy gang in Rogan's

Mandingo went in first and approached the nearest cowboy, asking him to leave quietly. On the Rep roll he passed only one out of two, so the cowboy started a fist fight. His Rep was 3 so he rolled that many dice against Mandingo's five. Mandingo won the first round by one, meaning a "Flurry of blows", depriving his opponent of one D6 in the next round. Down to two dice the cowboy again lost by one, another Flurry of Blows. Not surprisingly with only one dice left he lost by three in the next exchange, and that was that, he was carried out.

Mandingo tackles the first cowboy (in the blue shirt)

 Mandingo now approached another cowpoke, and this time when he invited him to leave quietly, the drunk complied, unwilling to risk a beating. This also caused two others close by to walk away quietly.

Mandingo approaches the last three drunks

While Abe escorted the three cowboys away, Bert and Charlie entered the bar, ready for trouble. Mandingo now tackled the most dangerous cowboy, with a 5 rep, with two others close by. However once more our hero passed both dice, and the leader left peacefully, followed by both his sidekicks. Mandingo had defused the situation without having to draw his gun

The leader of the cowboys decides not to risk the fight.