Tuesday, 30 May 2017

Pulp Alley: The Leagues - Doctor Borgstrom's Laboratory

Been quiet on the blog recently but in the meantime I have managed to paint up another Pulp Alley League. I present Doctor C.Y. Borgstrom and minions.....

Doctor Borgstrom is the epitome of the genius scientist turned evil. Laughed at by his colleagues at the Stockholm University for his wild theories and strange experiments this ridicule pushed him to conduct even more extreme research until he was expelled from the mainstream scientific community. Now he lets no man or morality stand in his way......... the progress of science is all that matters!

Simply called "The Experminent"; this sidekick is one of Doctor Borgstrom's more successful attempts in combining human DNA and Shoggothian biology............

Gurnie and Ernie Goon are two of three triplets that work for the Doctor as loyal lab assistants. No one really knows what happened to Bernie; he disappeared shortly after incurring the Doctors wraith by dropping a vial of biological material that had been months in the making.......

One of the Doctors favourite non-experimental pets; Adolphus is a loyal dog named after the famous Swedish general.

The Doctor's experiments are not just biological but the mechanical as well. Recently he has developed a design for a small swarm of Mini-bots that work with a hive mind to better compute how to destroy the Doctor's enemies! This is my first go at using the Gang rules in Pulp Alley to make a character.

In the addition to the above the Doctor can bring along an additional character using the Boom Bot gadget choice. This variant of the Mini-bot is equipped with a highly unstable plasma gun that has a tendency to explode!

I am still play testing the league to see what the best combination of characters and stats are but it will be a gadget/bastion of science league which should be lots of fun to play. I will post the league character cards when I have settled on a setup for them.

I also painted up these beauties from Otherworld Miniatures.

These can be used in a number of ways in my Pulp Alley games as plot points, mobile perilous areas, summoned creatures or as a gang character.

Next on the painting table for Pulp Alley are Mi-go (to make a fifth league), more non-player characters, a well and a vicious looking Dark Young from Fenris which will be my first Terror character. I am also planning a new board which will be a harbour with factory/warehouse, crane and cargo ship. So much to do, so little time. Hopefully another update soon.....

Saturday, 4 February 2017

Pulp Alley: The Leagues - The International Society of P.O.E.T.s

Having finished painting my third League for Pulp Alley I thought I would post the three leagues along with there stats. One of things I have really enjoyed about this rule set is the flexibility and fun involved in designing the leagues and its been very helpful to see what other people have been doing.

Here the first of the three and is my newest league fresh from the painting table:

Members from the International Society of Paranormal and Occult Extermination Teams (P.O.E.T.s)

This league consists of four "members" all Level 3 Sidekick characters using the League of Legends perk.

 The International Society of P.O.E.T.s is a loose affiliation of "Members" from all walks of life. The only thing that ties them together is that they have all either inadvertently stumbled across the truth or experienced loss at the hands/tentacles of extraordinary horrors lurking behind the thin veneer of an ordinary world. Only the "Founder" of the society; a reclusive and retired wealthy entrepreneur knows the real names and locations of the "Members". When a threat of a Paranormal or Occult nature is identified by the Society's extensive network of spies and informants the appropriate individual "Members" will be contacted by the "Founder" and given their instructions. As such members are only known by their titles or code names.

These are the current "Members" of this league led by the "Captain". Who are they and why are they now "Members" of this exclusive society?

The "Captain"? A military man for sure but Army or Navy? He is an expert with a machine gun and what he lacks in intelligence he makes up for with willpower and athleticism.

It is possible that the "Captain" once lost brave men under his command during a secret mission that went very wrong and very strange, very quickly..........

The "Professor"? An Oxford Don perhaps or an eccentric with academic leanings? The most intelligent member of this league and with a few tricks up his sleeve. He is tougher than he looks but he will depend on others for his physical protection.

It is possible that the "Professor" had spent many a late night studying ancient and forbidden books experimenting with complex mathematics when he conjured something he really wished he hadn't............

 The "Reverend"? A Catholic Priest or does he just find the dog collar comforting when facing unholy horrors? This red haired Irishman will happily trade talking theology with trading blows but lacks the eye for shooting. His charisma is note worthy and he has been known to stop enemies in their tracks with the power of his zeal.

It is possible that the "Reverend"s first Parish in a country parish nestled in a secluded valley was not as he had expected; indeed his God may not have been the only one his Parishioners worshiped..........

The "Farmer"? A man of soil and toil or something else entirely?
Whatever he grows this man is tough and with his double barreled shotgun loaded with his specially designed "buck" shot he is lethal at close range. The "Farmer" doesn't go down easy but then he isn't the best at dodging bullets either.

It is possible that the "Farmer" once had a loving family in a flourishing small holding but one day he found something growing on his land that no sane person would want to plant.............

I will be adding new characters to this league as I find suitable figures that I want to paint and will create variety. In addition to completing this league I also painted up some extras:

 "Top Hat" Jack is an escaped asylum inmate. He has a tendency to wander around graveyards in the dead of night. He has worked as a body snatcher in the past but often succumbed to his urges to commit mutilation and render them useless to the Doctors and medical students he would sell them to.

He will usually be a wandering Peril in my games but may occasionally join the Cult if it satisfies his urges.
Light House Keeper, watchman, old sailor, warehouse guard etc.... This chap is very versatile as either a plot point or peril.

Next on the painting table is my second "Bad guy" league; Dr Kripps and His Company of Creations which will give my games an element of pulpy weird science.

Stay tuned for hopefully more regular updates............

Tuesday, 3 January 2017

Pulp Alley AAR - The Crypt of Sir John de Tillier (Part 1)

The Expert Witness!

I present the curious case of the "The Expert Witness!".

In this scenario Joey and I decided to take a different approach with the rules to play a narrative game where I would play the role of the games master having already thought out the five plot points that he would need to complete to move on to the next part of the story. I would control the Cultists while Joey played Inspector Greenacre and the men of the Paranormal Investigations Group. The intro goes as follows:

This is Part 1 of a Pulp Alley Campaign entitled The Crypt of Sir John de Tillier. In our previous scenario the family plot of the infamous Tiller Family was featured. John de Tillier is an illustrious ancestor and stories abound of his adventures. He is said to have met the odd mad Arab during his time in the Levant and to have acquired certain books containing foul and forbidden knowledge. It is rumored that his most prized possession was buried with him in his crypt......... 

As head of P.I.G. your network of informants have passed to you some worrying intelligence that the Cult of the Unspeakable Nether Tentacle have been stock piling smuggled arms and ammunition along with various artifacts of occult interest from around the globe. These items have been traced to an abandoned and ramshackle barn situated down a quiet rural road a few miles from the village of Little Puttapon-by-Sea. As is often the case a graveyard is situated nearby. You make your way to the location leaving your vehicles down the road in order to make a stealthy approach.

The board set-up at start of play.
Inspector Greenacre leads his men down the dirt track with Police Dog "Nibbles" scampering along ahead.

The ramshackle barn with numerous crates piled up outside can be seen ahead...

A grave appears to have been disinterred and a section of the wall totally demolished....

An ancient Celtic Cross stands by the road covered in vines and a thick green slime...

But as the brave officers make their way down the track their attention is drawn to the wood cabin to their right...

A woman can be heard crying from within as a Cultist stands guard at the door enjoying a long pull on his Cuban cigar, totally oblivious of the police approach.
Rather than sneak up on the fella Joey opts for sending in the dog.
With his handler PC Healey not far behind.
With the cultist distracted by the dog another officer takes a perfectly aimed shot with his rifle to fell the cultist. PC Healey runs up to investigate the door but faces a surprise Peril as the expiring cultist grabs his leg. PC Healey quickly deals a finishing blow to the cultists head with his club but the door is locked.
Sergeant Croft runs over to assist.

 While the league moves closer to the ancient cross.

Sgt Croft being a man of action boots the door down rather than search the cultist for the keys to reveal.... Ms MARBLES!!! cowering in a corner of the dirty shed, terrified. PC Healey runs over to reassure her but she is not convinced, "You don't fool me, your not real police officers!" she cries in hysterics!

However all the gunshots, door kicking and screaming have not gone unnoticed as two cultists emerge from the barn and take up firing positions behind the crates and wall.

This cultist gets little chance to do anything however as he is felled with a Clear shot.
 Another cultist emerges from the barn this time with a flamethrower!
However the cultist hasn't read the instruction manual for their new toy properly and promptly goes up in flames before he can do anything!
 The cultists are dropping like flies but this barn seems to have an endless supply of them as another emerges from the rear barn doors.
Nibbles runs past the charred remains of the illiterate cultist and onto the road.

 Mean while in the shed attempts continue to calm Ms Marbles and convince her that they really are from His Majesties Constabulary.

"Get away from me you horrible, horrible fiends!"

But PC Healey soon leaves it to his superior and runs off after his dog as Nibbles approaches the Tommy Gun wielding Cultist.....

and dies heroically in a hail of bullets as he charges at the Cultist's throat.

 As the cultists watch on from their stronghold.......

 PC Kirkdale sweeps back a vine to reveal strange inscriptions....

"Its all Greek to me!"
The Inspector has a look too but despite his better education can't work out what it means.

"PC Kirkdale you have slime on your cuff!"

The riflemen take up position behind the stone wall.

As PC Dobbes runs off into an adjoining field. The excitement was obviously too much.
(To explain Joey thought I may have hidden something in the field.)

PC Kirkdale scales the graveyard wall to investigate the desecrated grave but the hole is so deep he cannot see the bottom clearly. Maybe a ladder would help......

The pistol cultist sneaks off to intercept him.
 PC Dobbes comes to a grisly end as he begins to search the open field for clues and ancient artifacts of unimaginable power .........but finds a land mine instead.
The Cultist takes up position behind a sarcophagus and takes aim before remembering he forgot to load his gun. (Really can't get good Cultists these days.)

The Inspector ponders the Celtic Cross

"One of these might look good in the garden."

Meanwhile the Tommy Gun Cultist is surrounded by angry Coppers. They were very fond of Nibbles....

The Cultist takes his chance and runs round the side of the Crates all guns blazing taking down one of the coppers but also being hit by return fire.
With the cultist down PC Hicks inspects the barn.

"I say its very ramshackle!"
Things turn ugly as the High Priest and his fishy friends turn up.

The showdown in the graveyard continues as PC Kirkdale rushes the cultist.

The cultist throws a Sucker punch but the PC deftly Breaks away then pegs it.

"I didn't sign up for this!"
Croft has finally managed to persuade Ms Marbles that he is a real Policeman and they make their way to the cross.

"They did such unspeakable things to me Sergeant..... (sob)....they..... (sob) they unraveled all my knitting but I didn't give them the correct translation...........only partial.......but they will surely work out the truth if given time."
PC Hicks discovers a truck inside the barn and the officers begin loading it with the precious artifacts for PC Hicks to drive off with.

But the foul creatures of the deep approach and force all that come near them to cope with their terror.
The rifle armed officers do well as ever and take down the first deep one but only temporarily as they are very tough opponents with ancient physiology.

Inspector Greenacre however briefly looses his mind to terror and runs from the creatures as they lumber up the road but surely only a truly educated mind can comprehend the full implications of the reality of these beasts.

A vicious fight commences by the crates.....

 as a deep one slips off to pursue Ms Marbles.....
 and the High Priest goes after Greenacre.

The fight by the crates goes back and forth. Neither side gaining the upper hand
 Crates are smashed and bullet ridden. The coppers hold their ground against the fishy menace. Tea and medals all round if they survive this.
The Deep One reaches out a slimy hand to grab Croft as he runs by with Ms Marbles.

 The leaders begin a deadly combat in the middle of the road as Inspector Greenacre remembers his oath to King and Country and stands his ground.
 PC Hicks emerges from the barn to shoot a Deep One blocking his exit from the barn.
 He then makes good his escape with a truck full of invaluable artifacts. The Commissioner and the British Museum will be pleased.
 The Inspector knocks back the evil priest of unspeakable alien deities....
 but the vicious Cultist is soon back slashing with his sacrificial blade and chanting under his breath....
 but the Inspector avoids the wild desperate lunges and slashes to land his own blows and knocks down his stunned opponent who distracts Greenacre with pleas of mercy before casting a spell and de-materializing with an hysterical laugh.

"Next time Greenacre........Next time......."
 Seeing their leader disappear the remaining members of the cult scarper back to their dingy hideouts and deep lagoons.
Leaving Ms Marbles to translate and decipher the inscription for Inspector Greenacre.

"........ and he struck the mad Arab until he was dead and with covetous eyes took the thing and kept it all his life and every day would study it but it would study him also until one day the door to ..............."

" and though weary his servants did as his last will and testament decreed and buried it with him in his crypt and inscribed on this cross the path to it uncovering it........to find the crypt you must......"

Stay tuned for the next installment in the case of ...........

The Crypt of Sir John de Tillier!