Welcome

A Warm Welcome to my Blog




Wednesday 20 June 2018

Gothic Horror - The Hunt for Mary Scroggins Continues - Part 1

Well lads I told the Sisters we were not going and they said that’s fine, God will protect after us. Like buggery he will, so I said I would accompany them as far as Greater Piddling in the Marsh. You don’t have to come, I’m happy to go on my own. After all we killed that wolf man thingy and the Red Devil was not too scary. I know you don’t like bears Simon but he’s dead as well.

It should be an easy 8 mile walk, but if you are not happy about escorting the Sisters, I’m sure they’ll understand and forgive you, should anything go wrong – which of course it wont.

Daniel’s agreed to come and his wife – they’ve got bottle, I’ll give them that, no sense of course but brave as a pair of weasels, but if you don’t want to come, nobody will think any the less of you.

Oh and by the way Maude Porter still has the basket of brandy, and she’s coming too, but if you --- Oh do shut up Marmaduke of course we’re coming, chorused Simon, Jonathan, and Jeremiah, even Baxter barked his approval. (Sounds like something out of the Famous Five)

Well that’s a bit of a relief and I don’t mind saying so, - those Sisters are such chatterboxes and a man needs some male company you know.

Yep that’s Sir Marmaduke Langdale cunningly encouraging his companions to come with him looking for Mary Scroggins a second time.

If you didn’t read the 1st abortive attempt to find her look at this report here, I don’t think it will help a jot - but you never know.

These are the Sisters in question, and still don’t have first or Christian names, I feel I’m really slacking at the moment.

The Carter family - although no sign of Johnny.

I’m still determined to try the rolling table, by moving the action along the squares of terrain and when they exit one full set of tiles on the left remove them, and move all the remaining tiles to the left and add a new set on the far right. The table is 3 x 4 with all my sponge trees on it, and you can just see the river and bridge at the top of the picture, right side of the board.

The column heads out led as before by Sir Marmaduke and Baxter his faithful bulldog. Not had time to fit the steel/silver teeth yet.

The rear of the column with the Sisters grumbling a little about not being nearer to the front, the dust and the horse shit and the smell from the Carters same old – same old.

It’s still quite a strong force but after the debacle last time they sallied out, that’s not a bad thing.

I’m using the same encounter markers moving in a random manner and also the same encounter deck except I removed the encounters already encountered if you get my drift. The other point is that I am trying my rules but adding a supernatural and monster element to them rather than the CinC rules I’ve used before.

Almost as soon as they leave the village there is movement to the left of the road and a Black cowled figure appears. Gliding through the underbrush it makes no noise, moves no vegetation as it silently comes towards them. Sir Marmaduke is closest and the blood red eyes of the apparition bore into his mind, he can feel a lassitude come over him, he loses 1 from his constitution in the mental fight that is taking place, unseen by the others.

Simon Darkwood fires his pistol at the Ghost which can’t be hurt because it is a non corporeal entity but it can be dispelled. The bullet passes through where the ghost stands and appears to have no effect. Baxter is a brave and gutsy dog and attacks the ghost, which turns its baleful gaze from Sir Marmaduke onto Baxter. The dog is not phased by this at all and snaps at the ghost, there is a loud snapping sound as his teeth close on thin air.

The Ghost is not a physical thing so it attacks using mental powers to defeat an opponent but can’t physically kill the opponent but reduces it to a coma like state. Similarly Physical beings can attack the Ghost physically but can’t kill it, so when it is reduced in power it dispels or disappears.

Sir Marmaduke fails to activate, I guess he is still recovering from his brush with the ghost, but Jeremiah Pile. moves forward through the forest on the left and Jonathan Hawke moves up the road calling Baxter back so he can get a shot at the ghost, of course Baxter who has the brains of a goldfish ignores him and carries on snapping and snarling at the apparition, he feels a shiver of apprehension as he loses the mental tussle with the Ghost, but still remains in the unequal fight.

Simon Darkwood starts the long process of re-loading and the Sisters and other fighting men also move forward.

With a loud shout of “For King and Country” the Cavaliers charge forward to Baxter’s aid but it is too late and he falls to the ground shivering with fear. Fortunately it’s not far for him to fall and he does no physical damage.

I used a mix of the horror cards from Pulp Alley and from someone else who I can’t remember, Jeremiah failed his guts test and drew a card which was Suicidal Charge, fight like a mad man for one move and check bravery if still standing. Good oh.

Fighting like a mad man does the trick and the ghost disappears in front of their eyes.

Two other encounter markers come in sight. One is just the wind blowing through the trees but the other is not.

A pair of green Ghouls burst out of the trees, flesh eaters and scary as hell, these fight physically and can be killed but they also engender fear in opponents.

Sorry about the wonky bridge.

Jeremiah and Jonathan activate, Sir M doesn’t, the Sisters do and the Ghouls do.

There are a lot of opponents for the Ghouls and so they take a brains test, which because they only have tiny and quite defective brains they fail and charge to the attack. Jeremiah doesn’t like the look of these abominations and fires his pistol but his legs refuse the command to run forward, strange how legs can be so smart at times.

Jonathan also fires and then charges forwards but when 6” from the Ghouls takes another guts test because he can see what he’s about to fight, i.e. it’s a horror test and he passes and piles into the nearest Ghoul.

Even equipped with teeth, claws and a club the Ghoul is no match for a Kings man who survived the Civil War and is equipped with armour and a damn sharp sword which neatly takes the Ghouls head from it’s shoulders and it is now dead.

The remaining Ghoul runs away - quickly. These are creatures of the night and ambush they don’t like anyone who fights back.

Quick shot to show what is happening behind the fighting that is taking place at the front of the column. The plucky Sisters have pushed forwards, determined to do God’s work, something about smiting and hips and thighs and sinners, and eyes and teeth, not too much turning and cheeks though.

Before Jonathan can chase after the Ghoul, assuming he was going to do such a stupid thing another encounter marker appears and is revealed.

A Werewolf.  -  The forest round here is full of strange and wonderful creatures - all waiting to rip your face off and devour what’s inside.

You may think Jonathan is unlucky with these encounters but previously it was 1-4 Ghouls and this time it’s 1-4 Werewolves, so in the great scheme of things – he’s lucky. He might not see it that way though.

Jonathan is about 5’ 6” tall but stocky with it and he gazes at the werewolf which looks to be about 7’6” tall, but then he realizes it’s on a slotta base so it’s probably only about 6’6” tall. Ha that’s nothing and so with another loud cry of “For King and Country” he charges forward. The Werewolf not to be out done, growls Food and attacks as well.

There is a loud crash as Lobster Helmet, Steel Breastplate, Mathew Palmer Steel Sword bounce off Muscle and Bone, Tooth and Claw.

Everyone else is stunned and not a little afraid and do not activate except the Sister of the Order of the Virgin Mother (SOVM). You may not remember but she fought the Werewolf in the previous encounter and she is thinking Begorrha (maybe Irish!) that’s not as big as the last one, must be his little brother and she moves forward to help Jonathan but does not get there in time.

Ok so those slotta bases do count for something and Jonathan is flung to the ground, winded but not badly hurt, he would have be torn to pieces after that but SOMV arrived just in time to save his life and he didn’t get to find out if God was on his side in the Civil War. Not yet anyway.

She sets about the poor Werewolf with her staff and shouting incantations and extortions for it to go back to Satan, fights it to a standstill. They aren’t half a plucky lot these Sisters.

Sir M seeing the SOVM in mortal combat finally recovers from the effects of the Black Ghost and charges forwards to her aid brandishing his trusty sword, as does the Sister from the Order of Perpetual Pain (SOPP), armed only with a Steely Glare, which does no damage and the Werewolf ignores, it does not affect his resolve to eat as many humans as possible.

Sir M and SOVM lay about them and you can see Sir M’s sword made from the finest Sheffield steel pierce the Werewolf’s chest.

Frank tell your cameraman to eat his heart out, this is going to win the academy awards for best action shot. ;-)

And it falls to the floor, dead. Sheffield steel will do that.

Around this time the last encounter marker left the table and I finally got to move the rolling table forward.

Hoorah.

The new table. The village has gone.

The river flows into a lake.

There’s a log cabin by the side of the road, is this Hansel and Gretel or Little Red Riding Hood?

You see they are not yet over the bridge I have finished the game but at this point I’m going to leave it.


To be continued………………………..

If you are still here - thanks for reading and I greatly appreciate any thoughts and comments you make.
Cheers

43 comments:

  1. That werewolf fight scene is surely gonna win an Academy Award nomination for Best Action Scene! And those nuns are PRICELESS!!! :O)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Eduardo, don't tell Frank but the shot was a pure accident, but sometimes they win the awards ;)
      Glad you like the Sisters, I must get round to giving them proper names.

      Delete
    2. Vagabond, you could name the three nuns with Latin versions of the names of the archetypal Three Witches of Shakespeare as recounted in Terry Pratcher's Discworld: Sister Grania, Sister Nania and Sister Magra... or, better yet IMHO: Sister Monica, Sister Michaela and Sister Florina (from the actresses that played the Brides in Coppola's BRAM STOKER'S DRACULA film! ;O)

      Delete
    3. There might be some mileage in that, although Grania, Nania, and Magra are quite ugly names.
      Monica Michaela and Florina are just the opposite, quite beautiful and I can spell them which is a big bonus because I have a number of characters who I have to look how to spell them every time I write them down. :(
      Thanks for the suggestions, how about 4 werewolves?

      Delete
    4. I also think Sister Monica, Sister Michaela e Sister Florina are much better! :O)

      And the werewolves... what about calling them with the names of the dog characters of your favorite Saturday Morning Cartoons? Something like Shaggy, Fuzzy, Hairy and Squary??? :O)

      Delete
    5. And of course "Chaney" !!! ;O)

      Delete
    6. Maybe I could have Chaney 1, Chaney 2, Chaney 3, and Chaney 4, that sound best.

      Delete
  2. Great AAR John, nice to see you got your rolling road part this time. The party seems to be fairing well and should hopefully make it a lot further

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cheers Dave, all I can say is "it's a hard road they're travelling"

      Delete
  3. I must admit I had a horrible feeling this was going to go as badly as it did last time but the party held their nerve, fought well and crossed the bridge (well, almost!). Progress! Yet another rollicking good batrep, John.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yep I'm determined they will get over the bridge especially after Greg's derogatory remarks last time. Can't quite remember what he said but it was cutting.
      Glad you enjoyed it.

      Delete
  4. The Carter family WITHOUT Johnny - yes, I have one of their albums ;-)
    I like the "ghost" rules, but was a little disappointed when Jeremiah's suicidal charge dispelled it before the sister's had a chance to show it they're cross (sorry, old joke - THEIR cross!)
    Are you sure that's a Mathew Palmer Jonathan attacked the werewolf with? If it is, tell him I'm interested if he wishes to sell it ;-)

    Another terrific AAR with yet more eye candy on display - and yes, "Best Action Shot" is in the bag!
    Great to see the 'rolling road' in action, and the scenario seems to be moving along much smother with the rules switch.
    Roll on part two :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I knew you would get the carter's ;) if I had known the cross joke I would have worked it in, I'm always looking for good material, although I would have settled for that instead. :)
      I've just finished the 2nd part and started on the 3rd one. It was a long game and I've struggled with motivation to write it up.

      Delete
    2. Blimey, a three-parter! You're spoiling us (and setting a dangerous precedent - is that a "Three Part Trump"?
      Judging by your style, I'm guessing that you're "struggling with the motivation" to START writing it up?? I know that feeling well enough, especially when there are 'other things' making demands on your time..... just don't leave us on tenterhooks TOO long will you?1 ;-)

      Delete
    3. Yep, it's allocation of time, seems to be a lot I need to do elsewhere and then knowing it's going to take hours to write, and publish, there are about 120 photos for this story, that are edited to about 70 in the final tale.
      I started this yesterday morning and finished the 2nd part late last night. Obviously I'm quite slow. Once I do start I find the story flows quite easily.
      Mustn't grumble though.
      Cheers :)

      Delete
  5. "Llittle Piddling - the Return", nominated for best script, best action shot, best Nuns and best Monster Special effect. (Scenery by Ikea.)

    Great report and almost a cliff-hanger (have you seen the drop from that elevated bridge?) place to finish this scene.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't know how I miss these things when I'm taking photos, roofs skew wiff on houses is the most common one.

      I suppose it could be called a bridge hanger ending.

      Delete
  6. Is Little Piddling yours John?,..I thought it was Snappys??,..now I'n confused. Oh well it doesn't matter,..at the end of the day that was a damn good show. Three cheers for the dog, Man's best friend hey what. Keep em coming. Can never have too much of this good thing..:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Han - When I played and wrote the original game the Mad Lord was much in my mind with his Witchfinder General ruminations, Much Piddling In The Marsh is where his ancestoral home of Snapcase Hall is. My Little Piddling to Much Piddling journey was a bit of a homage to his inventiveness.
      I'm not sure how I will portray it, should Sir Marmaduke ever get there. I have heard there's a lot of in breeding because the villagers never leave, can't be good for the peasant stock don't you know.

      Delete
  7. Brilliant report! Great action shot, lots of action and mayhem. I should look into getting the PA Horror deck. Could be good for encounters of horrific fantasy or sci-fi beings/critters, too. But I just received an order from them of other items higher on my list (like supplement 2 for the solo deck) - great customer service! It arrived 2 days after I placed my order!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Fitz I got the horror deck in the tomb of the serpent king, i think that's what it's called along with the solo cards.
      The effects I used in my game when someone failed a normal guts test, but the penalties don't fit in for me.
      As I'm using the basic 2 hour wargames rules and fiddling about with them I didn't have anything in the way of reacting to something horrific, only the usual being shot at, attacked, etc. I know they do horror rules but that means buying and worse reading them, I fall asleep every three pages when reading rules. :)

      Delete
  8. Was that a cracking AAR or what John ? I think that's some kind of English talk not as good as begorrha but then Irish things are always better lol wonderful stuff mate & good to see you upping the standards for my cameraman :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Now that I've stopped giggling a proper reply John, in the blogs that I read I've got to say that yours has a wit all to itself but behind that wit is a very creative mind & its great to see it in action in your AAR's.

      I think we might need to set up (as a bit of fun) between a few of us a Bloscars award :)

      Delete
  9. Hi Frank, the begorrha was just for you, pleased you picked up on it. I thought Nuns are as Irish as Leprechauns, almost as tasty as Guiness, so had to throw that in.
    I was really pleased about the sword strike, trapped under the arm, we used to do that at school, unfortunately didn't have a bag of tomato sauce for blood, maybe next time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If you're going to reply to your comment, I'll reply to mine.

      That's very nice of you to say that Frank, I believe Mrs Vagabond would question if there's a mind at all let alone a creative one, but what does she know - apart from quite a lot:)
      I'm not at all sure about a Bloscar, we all do things differently, sometimes we have a blockbuster and sometimes an arthouse movie, sometimes just a b movie. The award is that someone takes the time to say they read it and it would be nice to read some more, in that case we are all winners.
      Cheers

      Delete
    2. To true see not only is that mind creative its smart as well & you can tell Mrs Vagabond I said that :)ps I don't know why everybody loves Guinness I can stand the stuff myself lol

      Delete
    3. Frank - I could tell her that but she thinks all wargamers are as barmy as me, I'm not sure I could convince her you were a reputable authority on sanity. :-)
      But thanks for trying.

      Delete
  10. Rolling battlefields are a lot easier when playing a naval game and the setting is the open sea - far less trees to have to move, for starters!

    Cracking good tale, mind. Would the werewolf have gone to fetch the nun's stick if she'd have thrown it?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Roy, it's good to see you up and around again, I've missed your insights into gaming.
      I used wallpaper lining paper when I played WWI naval battles and drew the plots directly on to it, a lot less messing about than using models.
      Throwing the stick is a neat idea, let me know how you get on, next time you meet a Werewolf, of course that presupposes you can let me know. :) :) :)

      How's the Wings of War going on, are they on hold at the moment. Albatros DII's are hard to find.

      Delete
    2. No further forward with the WW1 stuff, to be honest. I've not touched or looked at anything since I last painted display figures for C.B.'s before Salute show.

      Working Penrith show on Saturday and I want to buy a handful of figures from Four A Miniatures, to finish off the first game I've planned with my Star Trek 28mm skirmish project. That's the immediate goal, to finish off the 28mm Star Trek stuff, as it is the easiest to complete and the least expensive, too.

      Delete
    3. It's a shame about the WofW because it's an easy pick up and put down game, with no time to set up either, but I guess it's got the grab you. I was looking forward to seeing what you had done with the Nieuport 17's you either were getting or had, I built 2 Nieuports that I got at Hammerhead but can't seem to get round to painting.

      Penrith should be an easy day for you, better than a lot of places you have to go.
      Take care

      Delete
  11. Great stuff John! Really like the idea of a "rolling" table, may have to give that a go myself. And brilliant encounter with the werewolf ☺

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Ivor, as I'm strapped for space it helps with road movie type games.

      Delete
    2. I remember the old rolling road concept from a classic "Not Mad Max" Gorkamorka scenario! :O)

      Delete
    3. You have such an amazing memory, but are you telling me that G.W. stole my concept before I even thought of it. Damn their eyes.

      Delete
    4. Yes, those are terrible people! ;O)

      Delete
  12. Excellent stuff. I have quite some reading to do now, but summer is behind us now, and I can start concentrating on the important stuff :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joakim - with the number of blogs you are following I would think it will be Christmas before you catch up on them all;)
      Hope you enjoyed your extended vacation and are prepared for the dark.
      Cheers

      Delete
    2. Yes, those warm and light days... Curses, they take you away from the important stuff.
      Weather now is also great, but I try to resist the lure of the outdoors and creep down to my painting table :)

      Delete
    3. It's so sad, I think we are all alike.

      Delete