Help needed please with Darkest Africa scenario

[H.M.Stanley]

Dear Chums,
 
Inspired by my recent acquisition of the small steam boat i'm looking to do a scenario loosely based on an extract from The Heart of Darkness where the narrator takes the steamer down the river and stops at a deserted camp/base on the shoreline, explores & returns to the boat. All the while coming under missile fire from the Natives.
 
What i have in mind is:

* a couple of hours gaming
* Crew blast away wildly but with limited success [lack of ammunition?]
* Natives succeed if they force the steamer not to stop or attack/win in the camp
* Crew win if they get to the camp/explore return to the boat in one piece
* the ship's "whistle" scares the Natives off for a turn [1 in 20 chance?]
* probably using In the Heart of Africa rules

Any thoughts/suggestions gentlemen?
 
Thanks

[airbornegrove26]

Sounds like you have it pretty well thought out.  1&20 chance of the whistle scaring off the natives might be a stretch if you are wanting it to have an effect.  Might go to a d10 or d6 roll for that.  Other then that, can't wait to see the game report. =)

[Plynkes]

What sort of help are you looking for? You seem to have it figured out pretty well already.  


It's funny you should mention this, as I just got my John Jenkins steam launch out for a bit of a refit. It's looking a little sad and tired so I'm going to give it a lick of new paint and tart it up a bit. Then I got to daydreaming about doing a "gauntlet" scenario a la H.M. Stanley. The launch, plus two canoes of askari must make it from one end of the table to the other while under constant attack from natives on the shore and in canoes. Something reminiscent of the unfriendly reception Stanley received travelling down the Congo, as the locals, never having seen a white man, assumed he was some sort of Arab slaver.

[Hammers]

never having seen a white man, assumed he was some sort of Arab slaver.

...which is not far off the mark, really.

[H.M.Stanley]

Thanks chaps,

I wasn't sure that there was enough to go at. I'll give it a try and let you know how it plays out. With photos of course, now i'm painting my Explorers

Tim Jeal's book on Stanley is also full of inspiration for scenarios

[Plynkes]

Tim Jeal, you say?

I had his new one for Christmas...


The thieving rat stole his subtitle from Björn and Chris. People will be buying it thinking it's a supplement.

Thoroughly enjoyed it. He has a new take on Speke which I found somewhat eye-opening compared with how he is usually regarded (gleaned from his original manuscripts that Blackwoods edited and censored). I would recommend it to any of us types what hang around this section of the forum.


I really will have to try his bio of Stanley, if you reckon it is good too.


As for your scenario, I think you have plenty to go on, but if anything more springs to mind I'll chip in. Stanley was in a similar situation where he was short of food, and so got his men to take (steal) plantains from villages and came under attack while doing so. You could add some gameplay where they have to search for and appropriate the foodstuffs, and then get them back (maybe tokens to flip, cards to draw or a table to roll on or something as they search).


Also maybe an interpreter figure. The natives of the Congo that some found implacably hostile sometimes greeted others with friendship if they could be bothered to try to talk to them, and had someone in their party capable of doing so. Perhaps the interpreter could be used to delay the attack or shooting of a nearby enemy unit if he succeeds in a skill check (or have a limited number of cards the explorer player can play to attempt this).

[The Gray Ghost]

* Crew blast away wildly but with limited success [lack of ammunition?] *
that or the terrain is so heavy they can't see the enemy.

[H.M.Stanley]

* Crew blast away wildly but with limited success [lack of ammunition?] *
that or the terrain is so heavy they can't see the enemy.

Oh absolutely. I think ItHoA uses D6s. It'll be to hit Natives in cover on 1s maybe 2s

Also, in, say, a 6 turn game, they'd only have 4 rounds of ammo. Best to save some for the village

[H.M.Stanley]

Thanks Plynkes.

That book looks interesting. I'd not noticed that before. I was saving "Into Darkest Africa" but i may skip straight to Jeal.

Jeal's bio on Stanley is THE book on Stanley - very highly recommended.

I like your suggested scenarios. I will steal those ideas for scenario 2 (Gauntlet**) and scenario 3 (Richard Madley sponsored trolley-dash/food raid) in my Explorers campaign  

I find simple scenarios but with layered detail work best

Many thanks

James

** canoes ... i need canoes!

[Dr. Kevin Moon III esq.]

* the ship's "whistle" scares the Natives off for a turn [1 in 20 chance?]

The In the Heart of Africa rules let white explorers launch fireworks (75pts per turn) which cause a morale test to all "native" units on the table. This sounds ideal for your ships whistle.

Other than that, I'd probably have a set of baggage in a camp on the board then have a river running along the long edge of your table. Get the steamer to enter turn 1 and allow them to disembark wherever they like and have the native units dice to come on (with it getting increasingly easier, to add pressure to the steamer side), perhaps with a random table edge as well? Then set your victory conditions according to the baggage, steamer and casualties.

[H.M.Stanley]

The In the Heart of Africa rules let white explorers launch fireworks (75pts per turn) which cause a morale test to all "native" units on the table. This sounds ideal for your ships whistle.

Good catch Sir!!

I'll build in 1 x ship's whistle into a 300pt list

[H.M.Stanley]

[H.M.Stanley]

[H.M.Stanley]

The In the Heart of Africa rules let white explorers launch fireworks (75pts per turn) which cause a morale test to all "native" units on the table. This sounds ideal for your ships whistle.

Other than that, I'd probably have a set of baggage in a camp on the board then have a river running along the long edge of your table. Get the steamer to enter turn 1 and allow them to disembark wherever they like and have the native units dice to come on (with it getting increasingly easier, to add pressure to the steamer side), perhaps with a random table edge as well? Then set your victory conditions according to the baggage, steamer and casualties.

Ive just seen the extra information. Thank you for the input. I'll try that too (scenario 4)

[H.M.Stanley]

Scenario 5 - the Lake

Natives in 8 x canoes attack the Explorers on the lake out of the mist. Perhaps i need a Dhow for them rather than the Steamer [there's no wind initially and they're stranded]

Would need to think about game objectives otherwise it just becomes a "shoot-em up", or perhaps it should be