Last week Mike and I got together to play the Pulp Alley Scenario – The Four Faces of Dr Fang from the Pulp Alley Scenario’s Book. This is one of my favourite scenarios, I’ve played it multiple times, set in different genres and it is always a lot of fun. I particularly like the fact that the scenario is a lot more about investigation than combat, until of course the beast is revealed at the end of the scenario. I fielded a league made up of four sidekicks (from left to right: The Young Lion, The Spymaster, Short Sword and The Steward). These miniatures are brand new, designed by Iain Lovecraft as part of Harlot’s Den Kickstarter which runs until 10th March).
Mike took the strength in numbers approach with a huge league led by The Cardinel with Milady as a sidekick, a couple of allied Cardinals Guards and two five figure gangs. The majority of these figures are from Warbases apart from The Cardinal from Warlord Games.
The Four Faces of Dr Fang features a number of NPC characters as well as the usual plot points. There are five policemen patrolling the city. We represented these with City Guardsmen from Sally 4th Guards, Guards range. Yaomo (the big bad) was represented by The 1980’s Thing from Sally 4th’s Classic Movie Miniatures range.
We set the scenario in a medieval, Venice like city filled with waterways, bridges and Gondolas. As our game is set in a fantasy / medieval period we used the ‘Primitive’ genre rules. This meant that characters could not move over 6″ and shoot, shooting over 12″ is down a dice type and shooting over 24″ is not allowed, however all characters get two extra attribute dice, one to assign to a combat skill and one to assign to a non combat skill.
“The inhabitants of the Jewelled City have been terrified by a string of grizzly murders. Outsiders are viewed with distrust and suspicion and the names of your characters have come to the attention of the authorities. To prove your innocence you must solve the clues and bring the murderer to justice…”
The City Guard are a wandering perilous area, patrolling until they come close to a character at which point they move into contact with them. Any character activating or moving through a perilous area has to overcome a ‘peril’ or take a wound and lose there activation. This represents the Guard’s interrogation. Any character knocked out while in contact with the guards is taken into custody and is removed from play.
My league splits up. The Young Lion and The Spymaster go to talk to the Musician while The Steward and Short Sword head off to talk to the beggar.
The Cardinals men also split up. The Cardinal takes some men and heads towards an ancient shrine in search of clues while Milady leads a contingent over the bridge towards the Beggar from the opposite direction.
Short Sword spots a drunk, propped up against a statue in the town square, just in front of the House of Pleasures. He heads towards him, hoping that he may have seen something.
The Cardinal is recognised at the shrine and a scuffle breaks out (he fails the associated peril and takes a wound). He has to spend several turns before he recognises the clue.
The Spymaster and The Young Lion spend several turns before the Musician reveals what she knows. This attracts the attention of The City Watch who now close in on the Young Lion while The Spymaster slips into the shadows and he has to spend some time convincing them that ‘He is not The Young Lion they are looking for!’.
Both Milady and The Steward spend time talking to the Beggar. The minor plot points (The Beggar, The Musician, The Drunk, The Altar and The Bloodstain) are bound. This means that they stay in play after a league has solved them. The first league to solve the plot point gets the reward card and the clue. The clues are ‘the means’, ‘the motive’, ‘the suspect’ and ‘the connection’. Subsequent leagues just gain the clue. When a league has all four clues, the next plot point to be encountered is ‘the catch’ and this reveals it’s self as ‘Yaomo’ a horrific monster.
Short Sword continues to try to find reason in the babblings of The Drunk, while the Harlots on the balcony attempt to distract him!
Eventually Short Sword gets some useful information which completes the puzzle and The Young Lion races towards a fresh pool of blood in a side street,
For all his renown and valour, The Young Lion fails to wound the monster… but he does tire it (each combat action already taken, reduces a characters combat dice by one). Short Sword hurries forward and pokes the creature with his sword, drawing blood, ‘This is the way to do it, big brother!’
Soon, everyone is rushing towards the melee, wanting a piece of the action. The steward also scores a wound, but it is a humble Ally from The Cardinals Guard who rushes forward from the opposite direction and lands the killing blow.
As always, a fantastic game. Pulp Alley never fails to deliver a hugely enjoyable game where victory is often in the balance right up to the last dice roll.
This was the first game (anywhere in the world), played using the Harlot’s Den protagonists, and they gave a good showing for themselves. As well as the protagonists and the Harlot’s, Pulp Alley Character cards and a special Pulp Alley scenario, ‘The Winter King’ are available as part of the Harlot’s Den Kickstarter.
Useful Links.
Yaomo (1980’s The Thing) Model
Pulp Alley Scenario Book containing The Four Faces of Dr Fang Scenario
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