Pulp Alley AAR: A Clash of Cults on Tullyconor Moor: the Leagues

[Bessy]

Awesome job! Really liked the battle report!

[oabee]

Thanks, Bessy, for your kind comments.

It occurred to me that, what with Mr. Phipps producing a video on putting a League together, it might be of interest to publish the four Leagues that clashed on Tullyconor Moor. Each has its own character, and its own style.

It is worth noting that Florence Farr, who has appeared in several scenarios with the Golden Dawn, is specifically designed to seize plot points and to survive--or avoid--combat. This scenario is the first time I've seen her played shrewdly--and decisively-- to maximize her abilities.

As a comparison, Brother Abraham of the Brotherhood is built to brawl, then seize plot points from downed foes, but I have yet to see him played that way. (I've represented his Volley Gun in several ways, and am not satisfied with it's current ability. I'll probably go back and give him Quick Shot, which seems more appropriate.)

I used to give some abilities clever names other than their actual title, but have gotten away from that. The only exception here, I believe, is Bram Stoker's Earth Pentacle, which is really, of course, Burst Fire.

Servants of Ra
http://wrgmr.com/pdfs/Servants%20of%20Ra.pdf

Golden Dawn
http://wrgmr.com/pdfs/Golden%20Dawn.pdf

Cult of Mithra
http://wrgmr.com/pdfs/Cult%20of%20Mithras.pdf

The Brotherhood
http://wrgmr.com/pdfs/Brotherhood2.pdf

As you might imagine, all dice are color-coded: d6 yellow, d8 black, d10 red, d12 green. These are 4-character leagues, so only 4 of the 6 cards are used per sheet.


Mike

[Alcide Nikopol]

Wonderful work.

[Matt]

Mike,
Great looking leagues!  It is very interesting to see other league builds. 

Couple of thoughts.  I use my allies/ followers/ etc to cover for my stronger characters.  I’ll try to set them up for shooting, brawling, or burst/blast deployment.  Some of your low level guys seem to be set up to go for plot points. 

On the Brotherhood. Brother Abraham’s selected skills IMO, don’t synergies well.  He has both powerful shooting and brawling abilities.  Maybe you let his high shoot value rep the gun, give him a weapon kit (if you use them) and then replace the volley gun ability with something defensive (disarming, etc) or brawl enhancing.  Enoch might contribute more with a blast or burst.

Look forward to your next report!

Matt

[oabee]

Mike,
Great looking leagues!  It is very interesting to see other league builds. 

Couple of thoughts.  I use my allies/ followers/ etc to cover for my stronger characters.  I’ll try to set them up for shooting, brawling, or burst/blast deployment.  Some of your low level guys seem to be set up to go for plot points. 

Yep, not an accident. These are Leagues I've designed for use in multi-player convention games, and most of my players are new to Pulp Alley. Many don't initially understand the importance of Plot Points, and that just killing other players' characters doesn't garner any victory points. Most of my allies used to be combat types, but I've started to move away from that to encourage new players to concentrate more on Plot Points. As for burst abilities, I've cut back on that 'cause the convention players would over-rely on them and not learn all the neat nuances of the game.

On the Brotherhood. Brother Abraham’s selected skills IMO, don’t synergies well.  He has both powerful shooting and brawling abilities.  Maybe you let his high shoot value rep the gun, give him a weapon kit (if you use them) and then replace the volley gun ability with something defensive (disarming, etc) or brawl enhancing.  Enoch might contribute more with a blast or burst.

As for Abraham, here's how I'd play him: wait for someone to grab the major Plot Point, then wade in, soften the enemy up with a short range blast from the volley gun (hopefully knocking their health down a die), close in next turn and engage in a brawl, knock' em down, and steal the plot point. I don't know how this would work 'cause none of my players have ever tried it, and I personally have never run the Brotherhood in a game. Maybe a better ability would be Savage or Quick-Strike instead of a Shooting skill, but heck, the mini's got a multi-barreled gun...I thought I should address that with some kind of an ability!    Maybe I'll try the all-brawling approach the next game the Brotherhood appears in: Savage, Scoundrel, and Moxie.

I guess another aspect that I use for these games is to consider each minis' appearance and the League's motivation (Good? Evil? Mercenary?) and their "story" when I build the characters. Sometimes I obsess a bit on the story aspect: the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, for example, really did (and still does) exist, and all of the League's characters are based on real people who were members of the Golden Dawn near the turn of the 20th century. And since it's made up of an actress, a poet, an author, and an occultist/poet/painter, the League's combat skills aren't all that great!

Anyway, thanks for the great and thought-provoking comments Matt! And happy gaming!

[Matt]

Mike, now your approach makes complete sense.  I wasn't thinking "intro" leagues, but more long term.  I think it is cool the way you have four base leagues that can come out at a moments notice.  Seems like it might give you some interesting insight into they various abilities and how the work together.

I really dig your use of real world elements to form your league back stories.  We do that a bit too. 

Look forward to seeing more of your Leagues!

Matt