Cash in the Attic (The Eye of the Buddha, Part 3) New Photos Added

[Mad Lord Snapcase]

The game is not yet afoot but I thought I’d post some nonsense as I set up my next game of Pulp Alley. The AAR with more photos should appear after next weekend and I will add them to this thread. I’m enjoying a pre-prandial glass of port as I write this and unfortunately this revitaliser seems to have made me rather loquacious! Snapcase Hall was supposed to have been rather more luxuriously furnished but I couldn’t wait to get a game going in the New Year.

The Earl of Snapcase had returned to his ancestral home after a long absence. Relations with his pater, the 9th Earl of Snapcase had been somewhat strained when he had left home years ago to attend Balliol. He had later been rusticated for spending too much time in Lady Margaret Hall but quite what Lady Margaret thought of that remains unrecorded to this day. As the first-born son he had then been Lord Willard but had now returned to Snapcase Hall as Lord Snapcase, the 10th Earl of Snapcase. The 9th Earl’s liver had finally given up in disgust after years of alcoholic abuse and the old Earl had dropped dead at a cream tea given by the ladies of Much-Piddling Women’s Institute. It was considered by all concerned that it was a particularly apt moment to shuffle off this mortal coil as it happened during the traditional rendition of Jerusalem at the conclusion of the Darjeeling, scones, cream and homemade jam bean-feast in Much-Piddling Village Hall.

The 9th Earl of Snapcase with the ladies of Much-Piddling Women’s Institute.

The triumphal return had been slightly marred by the disclosure from the legal bods that the old Earl had blown the family fortune on wine, women and song. Although how much had been spent on song remains in doubt but was probably in the region of halfpennies. The upshot was that Snapcase Hall had been emptied of its treasures and heirlooms dating back hundreds of years. Even the furniture and kitchen utensils had been sold off to finance the previous Earl’s lust for vintage champagne and upper-class totty. Lord Snapcase was returning to an empty house without a bean to his name, a situation not unknown to him in previous experiences.

Snapcase Hall, the ancestral pile, seat of the Earls of Snapcase since the year dot.

Lord Snapcase had borrowed the good ship Marie Anne from his mistress, the Gräfin Marie Anne von Toptotty to sail his woefully few belongings up the mighty River Taw to Snapcase Hall. She had agreed to accompany him in the hope of snaffling a few treasures that may have been missed by the Bailiffs. As a consequence of this, she had brought along her crew of nefarious seafarers commanded by the villainous Kapitein Aard B’Astaard.

The good ship ‘Marie Anne’ with Gräfin Marie Anne von Toptotty and the villainous Kapitein Aard B’Astaard aboard moored in the River Taw.

Lord Snapcase had made an enforced stay at The Imperial in Barnstaple whilst waiting for the Marie Anne to sail down the coast from the mysterious Black Island off the coast of Kiltoch in Scotland. What his mistress had been doing up there was anybody’s guess but she had made mention of a certain Dr. J. W. Müller who was apparently some sort of ‘trick-cyclist’, don’t you know, so Snapcase had assumed she was suffering from some  form of noctillionine invasion of her ‘belfry’. During this sojourn at The Imperial, the Earl had made friends with Al Kohol, the cocktail lounge manager and sometime amateur wireless enthusiast. Al had made his own ‘crystal-set’ and was happy to allow patrons of the Imperial cocktail lounge to listen in on the BBC Home Service. During one of these riveting evenings Lord Snapcase whilst consuming a jug or two of Pimms, had heard a programme called Cash in the Attic. In this, listeners were apparently invited to ferret about in their attic, where the presenter one Arthur Negus assured them, they would discover items of great value to be flogged off at the nearest auction house. This struck Snapcase as a damn good idea and he made a mental note to carry out a similar operation upon arriving at Snapcase Hall.

Upon arrival at the stately pile in the Marie Anne, Snapcase had searched the place from top to bottom and then from bottom to top. There was nothing in the attics and the only thing of any interest in the cellars was an old tin-plated box with what looked like two badly-carved angels glued to the top. Acting on the advice of old Negus, Snapcase had the thing brought up into the main hall for examination and that was where it stood when various twigs from the old family tree appeared by taxi after the arrival of the 11.43am at Much-Piddling station. It would appear, in the normal family tradition, that they had stopped for a stiffening libation at the Cock Dropper’s Arms on the way to Snapcase Hall and there was much of the “What ho, old bean!” and hearty cries of “Break out the booze, Willard old man, there’s chaps dying of dehydration here!”. True to form, Willard Cornelius Waterloo Clarence Wooster or as we know him, Mad Lord Snapcase, and now 10th Earl of Snapcase duly broke out the booze and dispatched Old Scrotum, the aging butler and family retainer down to the cellars to see if he could find any of the good stuff. Whilst waiting for the reviving fluids to arrive the assembled multitude assembled around the old tin chest which Old Scrotum had managed to heave up onto the table in the main hall. Here we see the dramatis personæ, awaiting refreshment and admiring the Mad Lord’s seemingly only chance of acquiring some rhino rapidly, to appease various irate bank managers.

L-R: Captain Arthur Mainwaring (married Great-Aunt Agatha), La Sorella di Lavanda (a member of Le Sorelle Caleidoscopici di Giovanna d'Arco), Snapcase’s older sister, Mad Lord Snapcase, Bonnie Wooster (Snapcase’s little sister) and the Right Reverend Marmaduke “Budgie” Wooster (Bishop of Dunfiddling). Out of shot, Old Scrotum on his way down to the cellars to collect some of the alcoholic mouthwash stored there.

Furniture and other essential supplies being unloaded at the tradesman’s entrance.

A view of Snapcase Hall from the other side of the river.

Now looking forward to next weekend for the actual game!

"One week from now I will be harvesting my crops,
Imagine where you will be, and it will be so,
Hold the line!
Stay with me!
If you find yourself alone,
Riding in green fields with the sun on your face,
Do not be troubled,
For you are in Much-Piddling,
And you're already dead!"

[Bluebear]

A great terrain set-up.  It looks like it will be an interesting, exciting game.  I will be looking forward to the after-action report, sir.


-- Jeff

[Eric the Shed]

Looks great and I recognise tho set 'water' tiles

Cheers

Eric

[Mad Lord Snapcase]

Yes, the Oxford Blue from Homebase! I think I got the idea from one of your posts.

[pauld]

Oh my, this looks fun 

I fully expect no pun to be left un-stoned

Bravo, sir,  Bravo

[Valerik]

My...GOOD LORD Snapcase, whot hast thou wrought?

Spluttering inarticulately ensues... please, use your own imagination.

Mere witty rejoinders fail,Old Boy.

Whilst I trust we may remain friends,
there aren't words enough to express how much I hate you today...

"Carry On, Move It, Move It, Move It...
Nothing much to see here, have you no homes to go to?"

Constable Moore, agog himself,  lied through his teeth as he ushered the throngs of stupefied onlookers from the gates of Snapcase Hall.

WELL Done Sir!!

Valerik

[Wolf Girl]

This looks beautiful I love all the furniture you have in the house. The board kind of reminds me of Clue.

[Mad Lord Snapcase]

This looks beautiful I love all the furniture you have in the house. The board kind of reminds me of Clue.

Thanks, Wolf Girl. Well spotted, the ground floor of Snapcase Hall is based exactly on the Cluedo board. I am intending later on to have a murder mystery game with it and build in the secret passage rules so that characters can appear behind you by surprise.

[BlackSmoke]

I LOVE this board! Another project that is lurking at the back of my mind is a haunted house scenario and this is just inspirational! Thanks for posting!

[aggro84]

Very cool!
An eclectic collection of minis as well!
 

[FramFramson]

I love the idea of having a collection of modular rooms to have indoor Pulp Alley games!

Though that raises an interesting question for Dave, or anyone else so inclined. Let's say you have a cramped indoor game, in a mansion or maybe a cave system. Now let's say one of your important characters (leader, sidekick, etc.) have an ability that's almost completely useless inside a small space, like the sniper ability or flying.

Would you allow a temporary replacement ability in such cases? Or some sort of compensatory effect? Or is that on the player for choosing an ability that might not be useful in all situations?

[krieghund]

First rate Sir.

[mikedemana]

Looks fantastic! Can't wait to read the AAR. The intro was quite atmospheric and sets the tone well.

Mike Demana

[Troll]

Very nice indeed.

[Prof. Dinglebat. Phd.]

"upper-class totty"

Hmmmm sounds like an interesting concept and one that I've only experienced the opposite. Very Nice set up ol boy. Bottoms up.