The Missing Professor Chapter 1: The Silent Dead

[Go player1]

Hello Everyone

Inspired by the many fantastic stories based around the terrific rules "Pulp Alley", I've started a campaign with our gaming group.  We meet monthly.  Below is the first post to set the stage for the campaign; more posts with photographs will follow.


Location-Headquarters: Foreign Agents Researching Cult Events (F.A.R.C.E.)

M.T. Blather, head of F.A.R.C.E., sits in his underground office chewing the last bite of his cucumber on rye sandwich.  As the final morsel disappears he removes a few tiny crumbs from his tweed jacket, adjusts his monocle, and summons his Executive Assistant, Peepee Limpett.

"Mr. L., waste no time forwarding this coded message to Major Hollis Pimperwick." 

Relaxing at his cottage in Northern England, Major Pimperwick receives the coded dispatch, ensures all precautions have been implemented, and retires to his secret bunker to read urgent message. 

Major

It is with grave urgency that I must shorten your well-deserved vacation.  Your old friend the enigmatic Swiss professor, Doctor Froschmeister, has come to our attention once again.   As you know, our organization has been monitoring the Professor's actions since the end of The Great War.  We believe the Professor has been alerted to our interest in his research.  After finding our top agent on the case poisoned, the Professor has evaded all attempts at detection; his trail had gone completely dry.

That is, until this very morning.   We had considered the possibility that the professor had been murdered, however today's report leads us to believe he has surfaced in the mid-west of the United States of America.  The Professor must be neutralized at all costs; it is believed he presents the greatest threat to civilization mankind may ever face.  We are confident the Professor is involved in a diabolical scheme involving his attempts to reanimate the dead.  It is unclear if the Professor is acting independently or is engaged by a foreign power.

I have alerted the top agents of F.A.R.C.E.; they are in transit now to rendezvous at a location in the United States.  A ticket is ready for you at the usual delivery location.  I plan that with your special interest in the Professor you will meet your colleagues within the week.  Opertional details will be provided when you arrive in New York.

One final point.  We have reason to believe the "Cult of the Red Scorpion" has been awakened and is racing to capture the mad genius.  I needn't explain the gravity of this additional twist.

Your team consists of the following agents:

Frisky LaFramboise (2IC)
Sergeant Noir
Madame La Senza
Hamish MacAngus
Count Rubleoff
The Lemon Drop Kid

May we next meet under more auspicious circumstances.

Signed

M.T. Blather 

[mikedemana]

Love it! I always enjoy reading the "briefings" and plot synopsis others send in. Such goof ideas to steal....er, borrow...um, be inspired by!

Mike Demana

[Mindenbrush]

It was a neat game and I got to play in it 

[Amalric]

Great write up, but please don't leave us hanging!
More!

[Go player1]

Verbal Briefing given to the Cult of the Red Scorpion


Good Day sisters and brothers of the inner sanctum.  As you know it is only under extreme circumstances that we meet in person, and as is custom each of you remains cloaked and anonymous, and acts under a pseudonym.

You have been summoned to provide your contribution to what may be the greatest threat to our mandate in the 1,000 plus years we have existed.

The world's major powers have verified time and time again throughout history that chemical and technological advances sooner or later are turned to evil and destruction rather than being dedicated to the advancement of global well-being.  While we normally pursue our mandate via subterfuge, forever hidden in the shadows of the world's political and economic machines, in extreme cases we are forced from our secrecy into visible action.

At this time we believe a Swiss Doctor is involved in research that can only set our agenda back decades, perhaps centuries.  Our role in triggering the events leading to the Great War will all be for naught if the Doctor succeeds in his pursuits.

This team has been assembled to conduct operations in a secret location on a unnamed continent.  Your instructions are to gather information to locate the Swiss doctor. It is feared that various political enterprises will attempt to intervene for their own gains, most notably we anticipate that F.A.R.C.E. has been alerted and is now sending an international team to thwart our efforts to save mankind.

You are to act under the usual "condition white" allocated to none but he most extreme cases.

You will each be provided a cyanide capsule to avoid capture.

Your transport awaits.  Detailed briefings will be provided. Please don your blindfolds now.

[d phipps]

Awesome! Love those briefings. Sign me up, I'm ready to go!! 


HAVE FUN

[Damien]

Hi guys! And what a fun game it was! I was part of the F.A.R.C.E team, specifically, I played:

Frisky LaFramboise
and
Madame La Senza

Don't let the names fool you, they are both highly trained and very deadly agents (though Madame La Senza likes to fight injustice in her undergarments). This was our first attempt at the Pulp Alley rules and we loved them.


Cheers,
 Damien

[Go player1]

Location: Millersville, Iowa


To describe this place as a "one horse town" is an insult to horses. It is more of a narrowing of a dirt road where some people gave up going any further and set up shop. It is probably the only place on earth that was built dilapidated.



It was later learned from interrogating a prisoner that the cultists were code-named:
Priestess Nefaria: Leader
Solarius: SideKick
Apollo Moon: Ally
Uranus: Ally
Argonius: Follower
Carbonius: Follower
Azotius: Follower




The Major's report to HQ (photos to follow):

As dawn broke, I spotted the small town in rural America; it appeared deserted.  Was this the location of the sinister Professor, brewing death and destruction to the civilized world?

As we entered the town I directed Hamish, the Count and the Lemon Drop Kid to investigate the barn and pig sty on the left of town.

Frisky LaFramboise and Madame La Senza moved to the right to investigate a nearby car, the barbershop, the church and the gas station.

Sergeant Noir and I took up position on the road bisecting the town, carefully scanning the landscape for danger.

The hairs on my neck bristled when I caught a glimpse of shadowy figures cloaked in red at the opposite end of the town – members of the Red Scorpion Cult!  Gunshots shattered the silence as the cultists appeared to be gunning down the unfortunate locals that moved towards them.

Our end of the village was peaceful until Madame La Senza started a car, producing a thunderous backfire. It was at this point that I realized the true horror of the situation.  Up to now the locals' indifference to our arrival was shrugged off as simply country folk minding their own business.  The car's backfire attracted a horde of creatures, the likes of which I have only read about in Pulp novels. The "country folk" began shuffling toward Madame La Senza and the backfiring car.  Unkempt figures staggered out of the nearby buildings and I knew the day was about to get a trifle unpleasant.

Madame La Senza drove the car onto the main street, attracting a crowd of ravenous admirers.  Without warning the car ran out of fuel and La Senza was immediately surrounded by five hungry zombies. In desperation, La Senza flashed her long legs and delivered a couple of well-aimed kicks to clear a path through the increasing crowd of undead; she escaped, miraculously.

The Red Scorpions led by Apollo Moon were now advancing toward a delivery truck laden with barrels, parked in the town's centre.

Hamish, the Count and the Lemon Drop Kid were entangled with Zombies near the barn and were unable to disengage and continue their advance.

As the bullets whistled around my head Sergeant Noir and I dodged around the barber shop.  A scrap of a travel ticket caught my eye and I quickly pocketed it.

As we moved behind the shop we ran into a scantily-clad female Zombie. Thinking that capturing this sample would help us discover the Mad Professor's plans I tried to subdue the creature and failed, as did Sergeant Noir. Quickly pulling our pistols we opened fire on the wretch but failed to get a killing ‘head’ shot.

On the left the Count, a marksman and now free of Zombies, firedd and dropped Argonius as he bent down to pick up what appeared to be some form of document.

back in the centre of the town Apollo Moon continued toward the delivery truck.  Before he could explore the contents of the barrels Apollo was attacked by Sheeshee Bling, the infamous Dragon Lady of China.  Uranus, aware of the emerging threats, boarded a truck intending to rescue Apollo and capture the Dragon Lady alive.

With bullets flying furiously, and the appearance of an increasing number of Zombies, both sides realized that time was short and that the key to the mystery was the Dragon Lady and the mysterious barrels.  Both sides focused all their energy into capturing the barrels and the feisty Asian.   Sergeant Noir charged Apollo Moon.  The Count approached from the left.  A well-aimed shot by the Priestess grazed the Count's head, knocking him out of the engagement.   Apollo opened fire on the sergeant; he was dead before he hit the ground.

As Hamish danced with a zombie, the Lemon Drop Kid bolted toward the climactic action.  Sergeant Noir’s sacrifice was not in vain as the Lemon Drop Kid and I stunned Apollo Moon and secured Madame Bling.

Showing the loyalty for which evil cultists are renowned, Carbonius secured the note book clasped in Argonius dead hands and fled towards the south east.  Priestess Nefaria, her acolytes at her side, fled towards the south, and the hapless Uranus continued driving north.  Apollo Moon was abandoned.

At this point, with the barrels and Madame Bling secured, we left town as quickly as possible.

With the clues gathered we plan to take a train to San Francisco, and from there a steamer to Shanghai. I recommend an official commendation for Madame La Senza on her hand-to-hand combat skills, and I veto any suggestion that the team take up a collection to buy the girl some decent clothes.


Game Summary

F.A.R.C.E.

1.  Major Plot Point:  The truck with the barrels containing an unknown compound.
2.  Minor Plot Point: Ticket stub for tramp steamer passageway to China.


Cult: Two Minor Plot Points

1. Burnt photograph of a figure in a lab coat carrying a large syringe.
2. Page from a laboratory notebook showing various chemical formulae.

[Sinewgrab]

PICTURES OR IT DIDN'T HAPPEN!!!!

Please?

[Mad Lord Snapcase]

PICTURES OR IT DIDN'T HAPPEN!!!!

Seconded! Excellent report, we need photos!

[Mindenbrush]

Pictures are on their way, slight editing problem at the moment.

[pistolpete]

or at least a link to the pics - this sounds like a great adventure.

[MacAngus]

Hi guys, attached are some of the pics from the game.
Originally I did a pdf with the pics and a note book back gorund withehe text in a nice blue script, but the powers that be decided that the script was too hard to read so it was done in a regular font.
Now that I have finally joined up and I know what the maximum file size is, I will try and reduce it down so I can post the pdf. I will send the rest of the  pics in a second message.
mac

[MacAngus]

Here are the last of the pics I used.
Mac

[Mindenbrush]

Excellent