Pulp Alley at Drums Along the Rapids - Ft. Meigs AAR

[oabee]

PDF here: http://www.wrgmr.com/pulpalley/fragarach.pdf

[CthulhuPunk]

Awesome table, miniatures and game report - thanks for posting! I especially like the care and attention to the terrain, the portals particularly.

Can I ask what graphics package you use to produce the report? Would love to produce some myself in this style...

[gary42]

That is great!  Minis... Board....  AAR...  Everything!

[oabee]

Thanks for the kind comments, gents. 

...the portals particularly.

Can I ask what graphics package you use to produce the report? Would love to produce some myself in this style...

The comic graphics are Comic Life: https://plasq.com/apps/comiclife/macwin/
They give you a 30-day free trial.

The portals are worthy of comment: they come from the Twisted Catacombs Kickstarter, and arrived a month ago, a year later then promised.  My original idea for them was a graveyard scenario, but preparing all my cemetary terrain has been on hold pending their--and the other bits--arrival. So I folded them (and Lady Elaine's stone altar!) into this scenario. The blue-green translucent plastic part of the portal has not been painted: with the wonderful south window light we had for the board at the convention, the portals looked great, especially viewed from the north. The photo of Black Widow at the portal gives you some idea of how it looked. It would be interesting, however, to see what the superb painters here at LAF could do with them! I imagine that some super-talented terrain maker could rig an LED in them somehow.

Mike

[oabee]

In the Lessons Learned Department for Gamemastering at conventions:

1. For some of you younger folks, it may be fine to GM more than one game a day. But not for me. I did two games with this scenario, one at 9 am and one at 2 pm. I am a hyper type, and am very active as a GM: teaching rules, joking, cajoling, pushing the action, and so on. After a half hour of rules teaching/deployment and three hours of game play, I discovered as I reset the board that I was quite exhausted! I was not my usual joking-cajoling self in the afternoon game. Thank heavens that the great Mike Demana was a participant, having done a morning Song of Drums and Tomahawks extravaganza (see the Pikes, Muskets and Flouncy Shirts forum for an AAR). A seasoned Pulp Alley player, Mike helped his fellow players with the rules when I faltered. So-o-o-o, one convention GM stint a day for me from now on.  

2. If you have the "No Drop" Fortune Card in your deck, I would advise removing it in a convention game. In the afternoon game, John (a repeat player from my November Fort Meigs Convention game) was dealt this card at the start. He brilliantly deployed well forward, took the major plot point on Turn Two, and played the card, which is played when one of your characters completes a plot point, and states "This plot point may not be passed, dropped, stolen, or otherwise lost for the duration of this scenario--even if this character is knocked down and or out." With John's Sky Pirates in permanent control of 3 victory points, the game was pretty much over. This is a VERY strong card, and I wish I had had the foresight to remove it from the deck, especially since this scenario allowed players to deploy well forward. Essentially, we all conceded that John had won the game, I asked him to give up the card and nullify its effect, then challenged him to see if he could hold on to the major plot point for the full 6 turns, which he did in impressive fashion.

3. Sometimes you are at the mercy of your players when it comes to a competitive and fast-paced game. In the second game, as noted, John seized the major plot point early. Mike (Black Widow) came after him with a vengeance, but the remaining three players just sniped at each other and never aided Mike to wrest the plot point from John. Mike and John played brilliantly, fully in the spirit of the rules, but John was able to cling to his lead with the other players remaining aloof from the struggle. Still a fun game, but ....  

4. Bring cash to conventions. Drink and victuals were available onsite, but were cash only. I just had credit cards, so was unable to avail myself of sustenance, which may have revived me for the second game. Oh well....

[Matt]

Mike/oabee
Great AAR, thanks for sharing.  Love your miniatures and terrain.  Really dig the mythic portal, not sure if I am willing to wait a year for delivery.

Matt

[warrenpeace]

Great stuff!

[oabee]

Mike/oabee
Great AAR, thanks for sharing.  Love your miniatures and terrain.  Really dig the mythic portal, not urge if I am willing to wait a year for delivery.

Matt

Keep an eye on the Zealot Miniatures website...maybe once they get the Kickstarter fulfilled they'll offer these minis on their webstore.

[blacksoilbill]

That's fantastic. Great looking report and the game sounds like it was heaps of fun.

Your purple cultists really caught my eye: I'm painting those figures at the moment and painting them purple too! What I really like is the red on those guys. Really makes them pop!

Agree with you on the No Drop card too. Also had it come up in a convention game, and it did take away a lot of the excitement at the end. Then I pulled it in a game I was playing with my boys. I didn't end up playing it, because it would have just killed a lot of the tension in competing for the major plot point. After that, I took it out of my deck altogether.

[oabee]

Got the idea for using the Frostgrave cultists here on LAF from Chris Abbey. One can never have too many cultists. 

Somewhere down the road, as I s-l-o-w-l-y paint my mound o' unpainted minis, I have an all-cultist scenario planned. Once I finish my Crooked Dice cultists I'll have four leagues (including my West Wind Brotherhood figures, featured above).  Well, actually Black Widow's thugees could count as a cult as well, so make that FIVE leagues. I think that my long-awaited cemetery scenario would do quite well with cultists.

Mike

[blacksoilbill]

Wall to wall cultists: that sounds like a lot of fun! Maybe the perils in the game could be meddling heroes you must eliminate on your path to power!

[oabee]

Wall to wall cultists: that sounds like a lot of fun! Maybe the perils in the game could be meddling heroes you must eliminate on your path to power!

Ooooohhh...I like that! Curse those goody-two-shoes!  Muhwah hah hah hah haaahhhh!  

Thanks for a great idea! Now I have to start growing my mustache so I can twirl it....

[d phipps]

Wow! Beautiful! 

THANKS so much for playing and sharing Pulp Alley. 

[Bessy]

That's seriously the coolest thing I've seen all day!! Where can I get one of those t-shirt?!?!! Great job!

[oabee]

That's seriously the coolest thing I've seen all day!! Where can I get one of those t-shirt?!?!! Great job!

The Phipps clan has been seriously productive in turning out new Pulp Products--except for t-shirts! I sent a plea to Mr. Phipps for permission to the rights to have my own Pulp Alley shirt for my convention games, and he kindly acquiesced. The shirt was made  at a local custom t-shirt shop at an outrageously high price, but still quite worth it.

The time is well nigh for Dave and Mila to add a line of custom Pulp Alley clothing to their ever-expanding pulp emporium.