Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => Pulp => Topic started by: Pattus Magnus on July 23, 2020, 06:58:39 PM
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I have recently become a fan of the tv version of Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot stories and I noticed that Pulp Figures does a version of the man himself. I am seriously tempted to dive into collecting figures for gaming murder mysteries, but I have no idea what rules would be suitable for such games, or even how I would game it, since the plots revolve around interacting with characters and clues and have virtually none of the ‘action’ focus that tabletop wargames usually focus on.
Has anyone done this kind of “non-combat wargaming”? If so, what rules do you suggest?
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For this type of game I would use "The Department" (http://www.wargamedownloads.com/item.php?item=1017&pics=2) by Four-Color Studios.
It's billed as a bladerunner-esque police procedural, and it can be, but it's much more versatile than that.
Just don't use the replicants (robots). They aren't integrated into the rules, so you can easily just not use them.
I have been using them to play a 1970's police procedural game. I've played four games, and only had one fight. A lot of investigating, interrogations, a foot chase, and analyzing crime scenes though.
Some of my games can be seen here (http://fandangoalphaone.blogspot.com/search/label/KJJ)
The focus is on interacting with suspects and collecting evidence, not shooting whatever moves. I enjoy it, and I think it would work well for what you're looking to play.
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Cluedo... with miniatures?
The short answer is no, I don't have any good suggestions for rulesets.
Depends on how 'gamey' you want to make it I suppose, and how you envision the player set-up (two people competing? In which case is one the 'murderer team' and one the 'detective team'? Or a GM and a detective? Or two (or more) detectives against the setting, each other and/or the clock?)
You could collect clues (that could be actual clues - in a similar fashion to Cluedo) or maybe you could abstract the process and have 'clue points' (like a battle scenario where you collect supplies) and once you collect five 'clue points' you find out who the murderer is.
This works OK for something like country house murder (which is why it's the setting for Cluedo of course) or a sleeper train or a boat up the Nile - somewhere very contained that you can put on a table - but not so much for your Sam Spade-y type detectives. That tends to be more about a chain of events and locations so maybe better for a long-running 'campaign style' set up - first you visit the Speakeasy and get a clue from Joe the Barman, that leads you to an alley in Chinatown where you pick up another clue from Madame Wong, that leads you to the warehouse on Wharf 13 where you meet Old Silas the Nightwatchman who directs you to ... Again, you need to think about how the game could work - whether someone would need to be in control of this or if you could abstract/randomise it, whether you play 'crooks v investigators' or different teams of investigators against the setting. And of course what 'clue' means in any given context.
I have a feeling that something like GASLIGHT might be able to handle this latter sort of situation, using the 'To Be Continued by GASLIGHT' rules, but that's not a scientific opinion, just a hunch (I failed my 'search' roll and didn't find a clue at this location!)
It's a really good question!
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Pulp Alley has a few variations on non-combat games, though they still involve conflcts between players in a multiplayer scenario.
That said, you could probably combine that with PA's singleplayer rules and get something solo to work too.
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Sounds to me like you want a minitures based RPG, there’s a few good suggestions here:
https://forum.rpg.net/index.php?threads/good-detective-rpgs.602061/ (https://forum.rpg.net/index.php?threads/good-detective-rpgs.602061/)
Cheers,
Kev
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I’ll second the recommendation for Pulp Alley. You can make it completely non-combat.
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Thanks for all the suggestions! I never would have considered The Department, but it sounds very promising. (And the 1970s themed tables and games on your website look spectacular!) Pulp Alley also looks interesting so I picked up the free intro rules. This is a lot for me to consider!
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Check out Howard Whitehouse's Astounding Tales - it might offer some ideas, too. One of the early - and highly influential - pulp gaming rules sets.
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I just picked up the pdf of Astounding Tales, and lo and behold, it actually has game stats for Poirot and his assistants! Thanks for suggesting it!
I’m now wondering whether it could work to bolt on the police procedure rules from The Department to Pulp Alley or Astounding Tales- it seems like doing that could tick a lot of boxes.
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Perhaps have a look at some of the old inquisitor campaign books, like the cirian legacy or death of an angel (you can find PDFs online.) i believe it was possible to go the entire campaign without really killing anyone, and there was a fair bit of detective work involved.
But for the love of all that's holy don't actually play inquisitor.
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I rather like that you are pursuing a non-violent game (though a result of pre-game violence perhaps). Historical Miniatures Games do not require being limited to warfare - or shoot 'em ups (or spear 'em ups?).
I have a game in the works for conventions that is just an African photo safari for kids and the ladies - earn points by getting photos of as many species as possible. I think I'm up to 26 different species in my collection of physical models (more than a thousand all told - you't can say East African Plains with one zebra, one wildebeest, and one Cape Buffalo. You need a large herd!). I can also spice it up a bit and include wild animals as a great danger to the photographers.
No one wins, no one loses - you just collect points and enjoy some nice scenery. Easy to drop into the game, easy to drop out of the game. Every convention needs such a game.
And it seems I will have a lot of time to prepare before the next convention, alas.
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I've done a similar thing as a solo game and used the board game Sherlock Homes to provide the clues to be solved.
Basically I set up a table with the same number of buildings as in the board game and linked each of my buildings to one in the board game to facilitate clue collection and solving.
[url]https://vagabondswargamingblog.blogspot.com/2020/01/a-detective-game-retrieving-grimoire-of.html/[url]
The link is to the game which was a cross between a detecting game and a traditional fantasy horror game. Well traditional on my blog at least.
I've also looked at the Department rules but not used them although I've discussed their use with some one who has, and they were quite enthusiastic about them. I could find a link to the game he posted if you are interested.
2 Hour Wargames do something similar 5010 New Hope City PI, it's futuristic but you could probably strip it back to just detecting. I've not got round to trying them yet but I'm a big fan of their rules.
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This is an interesting idea, and I had two initial thoughts for games.....
1. Pulp Alley - All ready covered
2. Strange Aeons- There are mechanics for gaining and acquiring Clues, but it is still a bit heavy on combat.
Thanks to this thread I think I am going to look up The Department as that sounded great fun!
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You could look at KillerB Games rules Geezer's Shut It! 1960/70s British police procedural.
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Pulp Alley is great for something like this. We play loads of mystery based scenarios with Pulp Alley. Check out their Mystery at the Gallop scenario for starters. https://store.pulpalley.com/product-p/2018-09.htm
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This blog http://preacherbyday.blogspot.com/ (http://preacherbyday.blogspot.com/) details a mini campaign using Cluedo as a tool to stitch together games of Pulp Alley.
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I have the same objective. I'm an avid reader of cozy mysteries, and I've been looking for a game with less emphasis on gunplay and fisticuffs but simulates questioning witnesses and searching for clues. I wound up writing my own rules wherein, in addition to shooting and punching, characters can engage in a "battle of wits" with NPCs, to gain information and determine the location of clues. I didn't eliminate shooting and punching, because violence is part of what makes the bad guys bad.
Tokens for Clues (objectives, plot points, etc...) are spread through out the board based on the scenario's description. Their identity is unknown to the player until they pass a challenge using their "Savvy" ability. Then the payer draws a card, from the clue deck, that reveals what the clue is.
However, some cards are left out of the deck at the beginning and only shuffled in based on events in the game. e.g. If you find the metal detector, then shuffle the card for the gold bar into the deck. Or, question the bystander (by successfully beating him in a battle of wits), and shuffle in the card for an object he might have seen, like a gun hidden in a sewer grate. In one case I made a part of the board inaccessible until a map was found.
In one particular scenario, there are three phony bombs, and one real one, and several clues throughout the board that include the plans to the bank, a tool kit and the detonator.
There is a shuffled deck with three red card and one black one, that represent the bombs,
And another deck that represents the other clues, less a card for the detonator.
If you have not found the detonator, the bomb goes off in six turns.
Each bomb token requires two successes with your savvy ability to draw a card, and you have to keep trying until you find the real one.
If you are able to catch one of the bad guys, without catching a bullet, you can question him and shuffle the detonator into the clue deck.
If you find the bank plans, you can eliminate the red cards from the bomb deck.
If you find the tool kit, the bomb can be defused with three successes, but if you haven't found it, you need six.
If you have found the detonator, the bomb will not go off at the end of turn six, however, if you fail at defusing it, it will still go off.
The keys to the system are the battle of wits as a non-violent way to extract information from witnesses, informants and suspects, and making the clues unknown to the player, with some of them only being available until some other event occurs.
I have some written rules, but they're pretty rough and incomplete. DM me if you want a copy.
In the end it really comes down to scenario design more than an actual rule set.
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Thanks all, for the additional suggestions, there are some great ideas there! I’ll have to take a closer look at Strange Aeons, I actually have that book (the 2nd edition version), but missed the non-combat parts.
I really like the ideas by Charles92027 about having some parts of the scenario in stages so that a success is needed to ‘unlock’ access to other clues. That game mechanic fits well with the mystery genre and gives potential reasons for the players to re-interview npcs or return to specific locations.
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Following this with interest. :o
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Might I suggest a concept where as you gain "clues" it allows you to access more dice for "investigation checks". Then the more successes you get, the more "clues" you earn. Therefore, as you gain more clues the easier it is to uncover the chain of events that lead to the conclusion.
How do you imagine structuring the victory conditions.
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The trick is to keep information away from the players. Without a Dungeon Master that's difficult, particularly in a solo game like so many of us are playing these days
In my games, I put the clues out there as unknown markers and only reveal them based on the character's progression through the game. In essence the solution is known, but the path to get there varies. Using a Cluedo style mechanic, the solution is unknown, and the clues reveal what is not the solution, until only one possible solution remains.
I could see combining both techniques in the same scenario:
A clue deck containing items that help the characters progress through the game (e.g. key that opens a door to a locked room), and a suspect deck that could contain not only who dunnit, but also other things like the where and how. But, for the sake of this example,. let's say it only contains who.
Shuffle the suspect deck, pull a card without looking and sequester it.
The clue deck and suspect deck are shuffled together into a Play deck. Some cards may be left out according to the scenario, but the reserve clue and suspect decks remain separate. Those cards are added into the Play deck based on events that occur: e.g. the card representing the uranium pellet is added after the characters find the Geiger counter, or interrogating the butler reveals that he saw something suspicious - shuffle a suspect card into the Play deck.
Each clue token is unknown and completing a challenge allows the character to reveal a card from the Play deck. The card could be a clue or a suspect. Once you know all the suspects except one, you know the solution.
Determining the solution could, of course trigger an event, e.g. Colonel Mustard says, "You'll never take me alive", and decides to shoot his way out.
I think, for a good mystery, rules matter less than the scenario design.
Any of these ideas could be applied to Pulp Alley, Astounding Tales, or whatever, as long as there is a mechanic for solving problems without resorting to violence.