Tuesday, June 3, 2014

TARDIS Hunt

After Partizan on Sunday we went back to Gus's for an excellent lunch followed by a game of Pulp Alley.

 I set up a game using the "Trail of Clues" scenario.  In this the players have to find two minor Plot Points before they can discover the location of the Major Plot Point.  I wanted to use my newly painted Ainsty Constabulary Communications Cabinet so this time the Major Plot Point would be the TARDIS whilst the minor ones would be the warp energy converter, the heavy lifting gear, K-9, and a plucky reporter.

Andy played my previously unused 1920s UNIT league whilst Gus played the Cybermen.

UNIT is led by Lieutenant Lethbridge-Stewart (whose son would go on to command UNIT in the 1970s):


He's assisted by Sergeant Manson:


and leads a group of five UNIT squadies:


The UNIT league also has the Network of Supporters perk and they ended up reinforced by Mr Brawler, a level 2 character with a taste for solving problems with his fists.

The Cybermen have appeared here before.  They are a slow-moving league but they are hard as nails:


The game was played, once more, using my foamcore dungeon terrain.  Each league had to pass through a Perilous area (a rickety wooden bridge for UNIT and an area of slippery, spore-clouded fungus for the Cybermen).

The Cybermen were first to reach a PlotPoint, capturing the Warp Energy Converter (above) on turn two.

Meanwhile the UNIT troops had great difficulty getting over the bridge.  Two soldiers fell to their doom from the unstable structure.


Eventually the UNIT force was reduced (by accidents and long-range Cyberman fire) to just Lethbridge-Stewart, Manson, and Mr Brawler.  However they did manage to find the heavy lifting gear (in the wooden crates near the bridge).


Having secured the gear, Andy then placed the reporter in the main chamber (not far from where the Cybermen had located K-9).  The plucky young lass was immediately menaced by one of the steel-clad monsters but Mr Brawler rushed to her aid!


Whilst Lethbridge-Stewart quizzed the young lady about the whereabouts of the blue box (achieving the Plot Point whilst Brawler kept the Cyberman busy) Andy made great use of Challenge cards to frustrate Gus.  The Cyberleader repeatedly failed to take control of K-9.


With two Plot Points secured, Andy was able to deploy the TARDIS where he liked.  He liked back-down-the-corridor-we-just-walked-along.


Despite extending the game by a turn, Andy was unable to take control of the TARDIS but he did win the game by two Plot Points to one.  The lieutenant and the reporter were last seen heading for a rusty iron ladder and, hopefully, escape from the cyber-menace....


So another really enjoyable game of Pulp Alley completed in about an hour.

3 comments:

Tales from Shed HQ said...

Brilliant AAR and the UNIT force looks great.

Counterpane said...

Cheers, Richard!

Jamie's just told me that according to Doctor Who canon, UNIT was founded in the 1970s by the Brigadier so these could only be Torchwood troops. I may not bother renaming them.

Tales from Shed HQ said...

I like the Brigadier link so would keep with the UNIT name.