Pulp Alley, tell me about it...

[TJSKI]

Okay,

I am seeing a lot of folks starting to play Pulp Alley and was wondering if some folks here could chime in and tell me a little about the game. I have been going through the AAR here and been lurking on the Pulp Alley forum, but what I would like to know is how does it play?

What I am looking for is a quick description on how the mechanics work, how the cards work and what are Plot Points??? I have a group of gamers here in Phoenix AZ that are interested and of course I am also interested since I am the guy who usually runs the games. Here is a shot of our board.


Now I used a modified LotR/Legend rules and all though it worked out well, I feel like something was missing. So if I could get some in depth ideas about Pulp Alley I would appreciate it. As my gamers are rather picky on rules, I want to make sure that they will enjoy PA before I purchase it. So please let me know...

By the way, I love the fact that Dave and his daughter did this, I think it is great that they both love the hobby and enjoy playing games together.

Thanks...

Tim K

[d phipps]

OOh, thats a lovely table! 

Well, I just ran out of White Primer so I hope you don't mind if I share just a few key concepts --


The Turn Sequence is pretty simple --

Start of Turn
1. DRAW — Draw one Fortune card.

Action Sequence
2. DIRECT — The player with Initiative decides who will activate the next character.
3. ACT — The activated character may move, perform an action, or attack.
     Repeat steps 2 & 3 until all characters have activated.

End of Turn
4. RECOVER — Injured characters may recover.




"Control of the Initiative" -- Unlike checkers, players do not take turns moving models. Instead, the player who currently controls the Initiative can decide which player has to activate a character. In this way, they have a little more control over the flow of the game... but only for as long as they can hold on to it. Be assured, other players will be trying to take the Initiative.


"Hey, they shoot back!" -- When a character attacks another character they best be prepared for the other guy to fight back - immediately. In this way, combat can actually be simulateously dangerous for both characters. And while we're talking about fighting, here's a little example ---

Let's say you have your character shoot at an enemy. Based on their profiles and any modifiers, both character will roll 3d8 ---

Your guy rolls a 5, 6, and 8
The enemy rolls a 3 (miss), 5, and 6

I should mention that the target number in Pulp Alley is always a 4+. So, in this case your guy rolled 3 hits, and the enemy rolled 2 hits. As the 'attacker' you actually have some control of how this fight plays out --

Option #1 — You could choose to match two of your dice, like your 5 and 6 against their 5 and  6. In this case you only inflict 1 hit, but you do not take any hits. Or maybe you would not play it so safe…

Option #2 — You could match one of your successes, like your 6 against their 6. In which case, you inflict 2 hits but suffer 1 hit in return. Or would you press your luck...

Option #3 — You could go all-out, choosing not to match any dice. You inflict 3 hits but also suffer 2 hits in exchange.


These options represent the split-second tactics fighters use. Is your guy playing it safe or going for blood?



"THE CARDS" -- The cards serve two purposes. The top half of each card describes an unexpected event or situation brought about by luck or skillful planning. The bottom half of each card outlines an important or dangerous challenge. Most often, this relates directly to encountering Perils and Plot Points.


"PLOT POINTS" -- You can think of these simply as 'objectives'. Every scenario is built around the idea of completing/capturing/holding these points. Within the context of the rules, plot points are very important. In addition to giving the scenario more meaning and background, plot points provide you with the means to....

> Control the Initiative.
> Earn scenario bonuses.
> Earn post-scenario resources.
> Earn experience for your league.
> Develop your league’s reputation.
> Determine victory.
 


That's a fairly quick summary of a few concepts. You can actually download a free version of Pulp Alley from our yahoo group. It doesn't include everything, but its has most of the core mechanics -- http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/pulpalley/


I'm sure I've missed some things that other folks can share with you, and we hope you give Pulp Alley a try!


Please let us know if you have other questions. 



HAVE FUN


Dave
Pulp Alley

[TJSKI]

Dave,

Thanks for the detailed review, it is enough for me and it looks like I will be ordering it tomorrow from your website, look forward to trying it out!

By the way, nice work man on the game, terrain and figures!

Tim K

[jet]

Dude, your table is awesome. What a lovely set-up! My prediction is, once you try Pulp Alley you'll never look back. Just creating leagues on paper is an enjoyable solo exercise in and of itself. Can't wait to see what you come up with.

Tim, do you mind telling me who makes those trees?

[TJSKI]

Dude, your table is awesome. What a lovely set-up! My prediction is, once you try Pulp Alley you'll never look back. Just creating leagues on paper is an enjoyable solo exercise in and of itself. Can't wait to see what you come up with.

Tim, do you mind telling me who makes those trees?

The trees are from Pegasus Hobbies: Small Palm Trees Style A
The Board is GW Realm of battle Board (with all the skulls removed!)
Most Buildings are from Crescent Root Studios http://crescent-root.com/
and a few other buildings are from Gamecraft Miniatures http://www.gamecraftminiatures.com/

So far I like what I have read about Pulp Alley and I am really looking forward to trying it out. Ordered the rules just now, time to start thinking of the next daring adventure.

Tim

[aggro84]

I bought, and really enjoyed the Pulp Alley rules myself.
I highly recommend them.
And that is an awesome gaming table!
You can have some great games on there!
 

[Prof. Dinglebat. Phd.]

I've played several sets of rules over time, some being Hollow Earth Expedition and even Two Fat Lardies WW2 rules which I adopted to pulp as I liked the 'who goes next' rule dynamic that they incorporated. I have recently purchased and then downloaded the rules in PDF form and purchased the cards via the online store which were delivered super fast all the way here to Australia. The thing I like about them is their simplicity and easy to grasp concept whilst not loseing any detail in action and event. Compared to say Hollow Earth Expedition which is a large main book followed by two smaller add ons, Pulp Alley is contained in an easy, step by step, slim folio.

Well worth the cheap cost in my opinion. Thumbs up. 

[Alfrik]

A Question to d Phipps, When a 2 opponents fire at each other, when would Dodge ability come into play or is that what one of the opponents would do Instead of fire?

[d phipps]

A Question to d Phipps, When a 2 opponents fire at each other, when would Dodge ability come into play or is that what one of the opponents would do Instead of fire?

Thanks for the question, Alfrik. There are tons of reasons a player might choose to dodge instead of fighting back, but here is one of the most common...

In Pulp Alley, it is not uncommon for a character to be drawn into multiple combats in a single turn. However, each time you use a combat skill in the same turn you suffer a -1 dice penalty. In this way, a character's offensive effectiveness can be suppressed to the point that dodging simply becomes their best/only option.

For example, lets say your guy with 2d6 Shoot and 1d6 Dodge is facing three enemies with 1d6 Shoot ---

> Against the first enemy, your guy rolls 2d6 Shoot and the enemy rolls 1d6.
> Fighting the second enemy, your guy is down to 1d6 Shoot and the enemy rolls 1d6.
> By the third enemy your guy can't shoot back effectively, so he uses his 1d6 Dodge to try and avoid the enemy's 1d6 attack.

In this way, weaker characters can wear down stronger foes.



Some players view Dodge simply as a last-ditch skill thats only used when they run out of other options, but it is really quite useful.

> When a defender chooses to Dodge, this also takes away the attacker's control of dice matching.

> Dodge can also be used when a character wants to disengage from hand-to-hand combat, or leap for cover if you are being shot at.

> Dodge can also be used to escape perils.

> ...and more!



To quote the rulebook, "Even the bravest and best combatants know there are moments when it is far better to dodge rather than attack. While playing Pulp Alley, you will also find this to be true."


HAVE FUN!

[Wolf Girl]

Hey your table looks fantastic. I think I see some roads or sidewalks on the board. Did you make those?

[TJSKI]

Hey your table looks fantastic. I think I see some roads or sidewalks on the board. Did you make those?

Wolf Girl, no those are what is on the Realm of Battle Boards, I positioned the buildings so it looked like a street. Now I did do some streets with my buddy (DrunkenSamurai) and you can see them here on his blog http://dspaintingblog.blogspot.com/



They were made with MDF coated with Liquid nails and once it started to set up we ran tire tracks in them, painted and flocked and there you go. We have talked about making a set for the desert but have not gotten around to it yet.

Tim

[Melnibonean]

That's a fantastic layout you have there.
I'm sure that you'll get a good deal of use out of it with Pulp Alley. It's a great set of rules that cover just about any pulp situation and can be easily tweaked if your scenario needs tweaking.

Cheers,
IanKH