The Mabel Street Mob To The Rescue - Preamble

FOR YOUR EYES ONLY

Communication between Mad Lord Snapcase, Sir Douglas and myself had been by telegraph, postal service, pigeon, and even on one occasion semaphore, but we had not met in person. Our online communications had been clandestine using a code known to ourselves and the other members of the International Organisation known only as L.A.F.
As our meeting was to take place in the depths of Devon we deemed it prudent to hide the fact by naming the event DevLAM, knowing that this would deflect curiosity from Foreign Agents in another direction and leave us time and space to hatch our plans.

This then is the information I sent to my host The Mad Lord Snapcase at Snapcase Hall and to my fellow guest Sir Douglas D'Emfoure, relating to the game I was to put on.

If this makes no sense, check half way down this post DevLAM    It probably still makes no sense.

PLAYERS BRIEFING

When the dust had finally settled following the Police raid on the Tail Feathers saloon (see previous post)  Lian Su Smith started to consider her future. How had the police known they were there, did she have a traitor in the mob, some one who was looking after their own best interests, an informer, a spy, a dead person when she found out who it was.

Things were getting tougher being a mob boss, there was not as much money coming in from the liquor trade, the Chinese were muscling in on the protection racket and making a big dent in the profits from gambling, and it was only a question of time before they hit her liquor business.

They were an issue, but the more immediate problem was Nicole Boursier, shot in the raid on the roadhouse and taken into custody. Lian was fairly certain that to save her own skin Nicole would rat out the mob. There were only 2 safe solutions, spring her from prison or make sure she never opened her mouth in court.

A prison rescue was going to be difficult, but because of her wounds Nicole had been sent to the local hospital under strong police guard and now she was being transferred to Yuma Prison to await trial. There was a short window of opportunity when the New Mexico authorities would hand her over to the Arizona State Troopers. This would take place in a small town on the border, Agua Fria and Nicole was going to be in the local county sheriffs jail for 1 night only. The Arizona Troopers were collecting the prisoner the following day.

This was damn decent of the authorities because by coincidence the Mabel Street Mob were due to make a delivery of their best bootlegged hooch to Blonde Edna’s Saloon and Brothel that same night in Agua Fria.

Lian whilst of Chinese American parents was an ardent student of American history and she was keen to create her own history. She knew of the Coffeyville bank robbery, when the Daltons tried to out do the James brothers by robbing 2 banks at the same time in broad daylight. Maybe she could do the same. The Daltons had failed spectacularly but Lian knew she was a better man than any of the Daltons or even the James boys.

Agua Fria is a small town but it has a Bank and a Wells Fargo office that holds cash, as well as 2 drinking houses, a Gunsmith and Blacksmith and the local County Sheriffs office and Jail.

This was the briefing for the game. Our aim was to deliver the hooch to Blonde Ednas, break Nicole out of jail, and depending on how daring we want to be – rob either the Bank, the Wells Fargo Office or both.

The Mabel Street Mob – from left to right, background and who was running them in the game.

Amelia Eckhart - a manly sort of a woman, likes fast cars and airplanes, useless in a fist fight but good with a gun. Usually takes the lead driving position. (Vagabond - V)

Barbara Vasseur - a high class French girl, known as the executioner, you can guess her role in the mob. She can shoot the pips out of an apple with that shotgun. Of course there’s not much left of the apple. (Mad Lord Snapcase - MLS)

Dorothy Cadero - she is the book Keeper for the mob, knows her numbers and can shoot and fight with the best of them. Works directly for Ruth Marrot, rumour has it she would like the top job. (V)

Isobelle Deforest - a French girl through and through, not such a good shot but that’s why she likes German SMG’s, they never let you down. (DougEM4 - D)

Lian Su Smith - of Chinese American parents, she leads the mob but not always from the front, she is certainly the brains of the organisation but is aware that there is competition for her place at the top. Of course no one in this mob is going to usurp her position, not while she is alive. (D)

Loretta Salerno - the newest member of the gang and one of the best drivers. She likes to tote a Thompson and not just for show, she is a deadly shot, not been long in the States, originally from Southern Italy, no one seems quite sure where. (D)

Nicole Boursier - the 2nd in command and the front woman for the gang. She was shot in the raid on the Tail Feathers Roadhouse and arrested. Maybe she does not feel too kindly to Loretta and Patsie who left her to face a long stretch in prison. (V)

Patsie Jones - from Brooklyn – mad as the hat she wears, the meanest of the bunch and twice as nasty. (MLS)

Ruth Marrot - a shadowy figure, she runs the finance side of the operation, a deadly shot with her colt automatic. (MLS)

 

This is our transport, 2 pick up trucks able to carry 2/3 people and in the back is the Hooch, plus a fast sedan able to carry 4/5 people. We need to decide who will be in which vehicle, who will drive them, the seating arrangement and what order they will proceed down the road.

Our convoy starts on the far side of the board driving down the road towards the town. I had taken two Subbuteo cloths to Snapcase Hall to play the game on but when I saw the Mad Lords mats and his brilliant motor launch I changed the game to incorporate a river get away, rather than driving off the board in the cars as originally intended.
I do find the pitch markings on the Subbuteo pitches a bit of a distraction, so was quite pleased to have some decent mats.

In the town as we drive in from the left, the 1st building on the far side of the road is R Tilney and Son a gunsmiths run by Mike Daniels, a bit of a drunk, then the Arizona Bank run by John and James Watson, then the Sheriffs office and Jail manned by an unknown number of policemen and the last building is the Wells Fargo office and Bank managed by Jack Handsome. Off the main street and behind the Wells Fargo office is the Blacksmiths, our information indicates it is vacant at the moment.

 

On the opposite side of the road from the right as we drive in the 1st buildings are a couple of vacant sheds, then the Tail Feather Saloon owned by an odd couple Major Henry Maddaford an Englishman and Mary Hoogenveen from Holland and the last building on the ground floor is the Westmoorland Grocery Store and upstairs around the back is Blonde Ednas Saloon and Brothel, we need to make our delivery round the back of this building. Both businesses are run by an old couple Granny and Pops, they will help off load the hooch but will not get involved in any of our other schemes.

The towns inhabitants will probably defend their businesses from our attacks and may help defend other businesses, but then again may just hide and keep out of the way.


You can see from this brief, I had no idea what was going to happen and had allowed room for a number of improvisations including a Chinese Tong, who never actually turned up, as well as betrayal or assassinations by up to 3 of the gang. We played the game cooperatively and in the end I decided not to sow discord between us so dropped the betrayal and assassinations, although I think that would have been fun.

As almost all of my games are solo affairs I wing a lot of the stuff, making up rules to suit the occasion and I wasn't sure how that was going to go down with seasoned wargames which these two gentlemen purported to be.

To that end I decided I had better have something prepared and so this is what I came up with, you don't need to read it because basically it's boring, but it pads out this post so that I can use the next one which is my 50th post, for the game report.

As I am a grumpy old bugger I shall not be having cake and candles as the headline picture, there will not be a big 50th POST heading, I do not want any cards or other acknowledgements, although money would be acceptable, postal orders, cheques or best would be cash in used notes.

Background Notes and Encounters for - JAIL BREAK

Mabel Street Mob - Arrive in the Yellow and the Red Pickup 2/3 occupants with the hooch plus the cream sedan with 4/5 occupants. 9 Barrels of hooch per Pickup. Time 2:00am 1 turn per 1/2 hour.

Sedans and pick ups move 18” on the road and 9” off road. Trucks 12” and 6”

If off road roll 2 dice on a score of doubles they become bogged down for 1 move, if on next move they roll another double they are stuck and cannot be moved without a truck, trucks if bogged down can not be moved.

Time to Unload Hooch Rob Bank etc. Active turns.

Hooch 1 person per barrel per turn. Pops and Granny will help.

Rob Bank = 1/2D6 +2 turns

Rob Wells Fargo = 1/2D6 +1

Transfer Prisoner from Jail to van 1DAv

Encounters on the road, use 1 marker for each of the first 5 road sections going into town and the same for the last 5 going out. Reveal as normal. For each encounter take a card from a shuffled 1 suit deck.

Ace = Police Road Block -1D6 1,2,3 = 2 police and 1 car, 4,5 = 4 Police and 2 cars. 6 = 4 State Troopers and 1 van. Police aim is to stop and search for liquor.

King = Rival Gang Road Block -1D6+2 members of the White Hyacinth Tong – there are 18 figures, dice to see who is in the ambush. Gangs aim is to kill Mob and take liquor.

Queen = Young Boy runs across the road.

Jack = Dog runs across the road.

10 = Pheasant runs across the road.

9 = 1,2,or 3 one 4,5,or 6 two Asylum inmates run across the road.

8 = Puncture 1,2,3 = 2 active turns to repair, 4,5,6 = 3 active turns to repair.

7-2 = Nothing

Queen, Jack, 10, 9 = 1D6 encounter runs 1,2 run left to right, 3,4 right to left, 5,6 stop in the middle of the road. If Inmates stop in road they will attack the mobs cars.

Take reaction test for obstacle in the road. If hit encounter, then driver and encounter roll 1D6 +Rep or 3 for encounter, if driver gets higher – target rolls 1,2 ok 3,4 OOF 5,6 dead. There were a series of reaction tests for various eventualities additional to the normal ones in the rules.

Awareness in the Jail. There is 1 sentry and any other guards are asleep. They may wake if there is shooting out of town. Use awareness of Andy Donovan even if he is not there until it is determined who is in the jail.

When Mobsters enter Jail if the Police are alert then they have guns in hand and take an insight test as normal. If Police not alert they are taken by surprise. Check Taken by surprise test.

How many are there.

Police Guards 1D6 1= 2, 2 = 2, 3 = 3, 4 = 4, 5,6 = 5 only roll for no of police when mob enters Jail.

State Troopers 1D6 1,2 = 2 in 1 van, 3 = 3(2 in 1 van 1 in a truck) 4 = 4(2 in 1 van 2 in 1 truck), 5 = 5(2 in 1 van 3 in 1 truck), 6 = 5(2 in 1 van 2 in 1 truck 1 in 1 truck) Bring 3 vehicles onto table and roll when they reach the jail or dismount, removing any surplus vehicles.

In each building the occupants are asleep until wakened by a noise or 8:00 oclock i.e. turn 12.

Arizona State Troopers arrive on the board roll 2D6 on turn 7 need 12, turn 8 - 11, Turn 9 -10, turn 10 – 9, turn 11 – 8, turn 12 – 7, turn 13 – 6, turn 14 – 5, turn 15 – 4, turn 16 – 3.

Locations - Bank – James and John Watson, Wells Fargo – Jack Handsome, Saloon – Major Maddaford and Mary Hoogenveen, Blonde Ednas and Store – Pops and Granny, Gunsmith – Mike Daniels.



This is the sort of thing I put together for many of my games and most this guff I proceeded to forget or ignore but I think it impressed the hell out of my fellow gamers ;) :) :) Maybe.

The White Hyacinth Tong



Lian Su Smith had been concerned about the influence of the Chinese Tongs interfering with her organisations operations and she had commissioned a P.I. to gather some information on them so she could see what she was up against. The Tong had only been in the USA for a short time and appear to have come from the back of beyond, Lian had been gathering information on them for a while to see what sort of competition they would be.

This is the report and photographs she had from her agent in Urumqi, where the hell was Urumqi, not Chicago – she knew that for a fact.

The inscrutable Yu Lon Chi was the head man of the White Hyacinth Tong who had been based in Ürümqi - capital of Xinjiang Province in North West China, pictured here in the Tianshan Mountains 1926.

Urumqi was ruled by the warlord Yang Zengxin from 1911 to 1928, it was a wild and dangerous place. It grew to prominence due to its position on the Silk Road and every bandit, con man, bully boy, and lowlife was attracted by its easy money and fast living.

The White Hyacinth Tong were the top of the pile, they say scum rises. They were bad men and none badder than Yu, he ran protection and prostitution in the downtown area, and also ran the cities most influential bank in the uptown area, he had fingers in many pies.

The Tong could easily be recognised by the White Hyacinth embroidered on their clothing. Recognised and then avoided - unless they came up behind you, in which case you were normally washed up on the banks of the Urumqi River or left to rot in some remote corner of the Tianshan Mountains.

This is a photograph of Chang - bodyguard and general enforcer to the inscrutable Yu Lon Chi taken here in the Tianshan Mountains 1926.

Changs mother died of typhus when he was 6 months old and his father of an equally deadly virus, an unpaid gambling debt to the Rickshaw Drivers Union who ran gambling and racetracks on the north side of town. Rickshaw racing was the hottest sport in Xinjiang Province in the 1920’s.

Chang wandered the streets stealing and fighting until he was spotted by Yu Lon Chi one day when he had just beaten a boy twice his age in a fist fight for a stale loaf of bread.
Chi took him in, fed and clothed him and now Chang reveres Chi as the father figure he never really knew.
Everyone knows that to get to Chi, you have to go through Chang, and no one goes through Chang.

The deadly but beautiful Mai Ling the second most powerful person in the White Hyacinth Tong, pictured here in the Tianshan Mountains 1926.
The triumvirate of Yu Lon Chi, Chang and Mai Ling maintain a grip of iron on the White Hyacinth Tong and through the Tong a stranglehold on all the vice and crime in Xinjiang Province, North West China.
The silk road may no longer carry silk but there are darker goods traded along the road in the 1920’s and the White Hyacinth is in the trade up to their necks, with Mai Ling masterminding most of it.

No one knows for sure where Mai Ling came from – she drifted into town and naturally gravitated to the centre of power, rising quickly to the top, leaving a trail of broken men behind her.

If these were the sort of people that had migrated to the US of A and Lian was up against them, then tough decisions were going to have to be made, bones were going to have to be broken and some would die. She was not going to have some backwoods Chinese Tong break into her markets, even if they did wear fancy clothes.

The White Hyacinth Tong never saw the light of day in this game, but those with a keen memory, may have seen them get on the plane with Becky in her last adventure, where I'm sure they will play some part in the future, so I thought I would get that out of the way now.

Bit of a ramble I'm afraid - but if you're still here - thanks for reading and your thoughts and comments usually cheer me up.
Cheers