We finally had a chance to play a couple of test games last night. I lost both but still had a blast! That sneaky Dr. Vrex and his associates - let's just say Capt Grant has his work cut out for him.
We rolled on the tables for Plot Points and came up with:
Major: Coded Map (Inside the small cabin)
Minor: Camouflaged Munitions (Inside turnip barrel)
Minor: Stygian Idol
Minor: Foreign Agent
Minor: Power Coil (Inside Old Tree Trunk)
Thanks to the Network of Supporters perk, I rolled Grant's Finesse of 3D10 and scored 3 successes! I spent them on Rumors and Gossip, and Savoir Faire. Tenz used his Bastion of Science Perk along with the Dr.'s Wealthy ability to gain 3 points of Gear. He spent it all on a Gas Microgrenades. He only used it once but, as I read the description now, I realize he could use them throughout the game. Won't he be annoyed
The major plot point was inside this building. Grant chose not to search for the Munitions in the barrel. Instead, he tried to make it through the window to head of Dr. Vrex, who was practically standing on the major Plot Point.
One of the Dr.'s Skelebots stands nearby, guarding the door for his creator.
Capt Grant tried to go through the window but failed the Peril that Tenz played. Obviously, the devious Dr. Vrex had set a tripwire at the window before heading down in search of the Map. To add injury to injury, The Dr.'s Sidekick Boris threw a Microgrenade and caught Grant and Churchill in its blast.
Meanwhile, Yuri was trying to get to the Foreign Agent but Boris' hound and a Skelebot intercepted him. He fended them off for most of the game but eventually had to make a quick escape back to the rendez vous point in the forest.
Lester had made his way through two Perils and was lucky enough to draw a simple Finesse Challenge. It seemed certain that he would find the Power Coil inside the tree trunk. Obviously, the thief had hidden it very well. By the end of the game, Lester came under heavy Skelebot fire and had to retreat into the bushes in order to save himself.
The real action was taking place in and around the abandoned cabin. Dr. Vrex ran down to the hidden study but, just before he was able to claim the map, Grant flew down the stairs and gave him a fine thrashing. Monique wasn't far behind and soon joined in. The Dr. was in a tight corner. However, his faithful Sidekick Boris appeared at the top of the stairs and knocked Monique unconscious. Although the map wasn't found, Boris did manage to take a rubbing of the runes on the Stygian Idol. Perhaps this ancient language is linked to the cipher of the map? Time will tell...
Well, not to jump on the bandwagon, but Pulp Alley is certainly a major contender for those wanting to game Pulp action. We actually played a learning game before this one and, by the time we started the second game, we mostly knew what we were doing. (Of course, it helped that Dave was answering our questions over on the forum as we were playing. How's that for customer support?)
Now that we have a better understanding of the Abilities, we may make some changes to our Leagues and Characters. For one, I will drop Capt. Grant's Lucky Devil ability and replace it with Rugged. Lucky Devil is great, it's just that, with the Network of Supporters perk I can often get the ability by rolling on the Contact table. I'm also planning on making Yuri my Sidekick (as I played, he just seemed like a Sidekick to me), and downgrading Monique to an Ally. I have another mercenary to paint (American GI type) and I think he'll also be an Ally. Finally, Lester (who has a bumbling look to him) will be downgraded to Follower and Churchill will be released to a pleasant and peaceful field to live out his retirement. I'll post a photo and roster of the updated league when the remaining ally is painted.
Of course, as we did (and are still doing) with Chaos in Carpathia, we're already discussing the next league we'll be painting.