Part 5 - The Big Showdown

 A few months passed, and Max continued with his fights. He lost a few but won most of them. Finally, he started to gain experience and become known to others on the island.

One new rule that I added is inspired by Ed's (at THW) idea for time, an alternate to the way I've been running rounds. Starting at 0 Time at the beginning of each round, every time I return to the Fight table, whether it's from a tie, Passing 0d6 on the KO table of 2d6 on the Recovery table, I roll 1d6 vs the number of Time Points. Passing 0d6 (rolling above the number) results in adding 1 to Time and playing normally, while Passing 1d6 (rolling equal to or lower than Time) ends the round, and both fighters recover their Bonus Dice. 

With that in mind, here are the results of Max's matches:

1. Rep 4, Rage, Resilient: Win by Decision.

2. Rep 2, Iron Fist: Win by KO (R2).

3. Rep 2, Rage: Win by KO (R3).

BRAWL: Rematch with Tanner; Again broken up.

4. Rep 2, Bruiser: Win by Decision.

5. Rep 2, Charismatic: Win by KO (R2).

BRAWL: Rep 3, Resilient: KO.

6. Rep 3, Resolute: Win by Decision.

7. Rep 3, Agile: Win by Decision.

Max is now Rep 5. Rolling for his second Attribute, I get Agile, which grants +1d6 on the Fight table, when no one is In Control. but there's still some unfinished business.

After asking a few other fighters, Max went looking for Tanner. Twice the man got into his face, only for his goons to pull him off. And yet he kept telling people about how he dominated the upstart Max. He needed to get a lesson in humility.

(Q)  Does Max find Tanner outside? (Likely): Yes.

(Q)  Is he alone? (Unlikely): No.

(Q)  What's he doing? "Communicate, Control."

Max found Tanner by the docks, talking to some off-the-boat newcomers.

"If you want to succeed here," said Tanner, "you'll need leadership. Pay me enough and I'll show you how to succeed. Refuse and I'll show you suffering."

 "If he'll show you anything," Max said, "it'll be how to run."

(Q)  How does Tanner react to Max's appearance? "Peaceful, Feeble."

Tanner slowly turned. Seeing Max, he held up his hands. "Look, you and I don't have any beef. There's no reason for you to be here."

Max snorted. "That's funny because twice you got into my face, but as soon as I fought back, your goons jumped in." He pointed to the building. "How about an actual match? No goons, no bare fists. Just a regular fight once and for all.

(Q)  Does Tanner accept? (I'm saying Likely because I want this match.): X-No.

Tanner shook his head. "You're too angry, and you're not worth my time. I've got better things to do." with that, he walked away.

Well that didn't go according to plan. Time to try something else.

Max entered the arena and looked around.

(Q)  Does Max find an official? (Likely): Yes

(Q)  Does he seem like he'll cooperate? (50/50):  Yes.

Max found a short, portly man going over a list of matches, crossing out some names, and replacing others. "Mr. Wartz," he said to the man, "can I talk to you for a moment?"

The man looked up and smiled. "Hi Max, what can I do for you?"

"Tanner Smith's in my face," Max said. "I tried to challenge him to a match, but he turned me down, saying he didn't have to fight."

Wartz nodded. "Mr. Smith has that in his contract that he can pick and choose his opponents."

"Is there any way to get a match with him?" Max asked.

(Q)  Good question. How about it, Mr. Wartz? (Likely, for the same reason as before): Yes

Not only that but I rolled Doubles, resulting in a random event; "Deceit, Surprise."

"Actually, I've got an idea." A slow smile appeared on Wartz' face. "Just be ready tomorrow night."

The next night, Tanner Smith walked to the ring. Seeing Wartz, he leaned closer. "So this is a sure thing, you said?"

"Absolutely," the older man said. "No doubt in my mind."

He got into the ring and then his opponent walked out. And Tanner's eyes went wide as Max entered the ring.

"I thought you said it was a sure thing?" Tanner said to Wartz.

The other man shrugged. "I meant the match itself, not your chances of winning. Of course, you can leave if you want, unless you'd rather get paid."

Before the match, I made one more roll.

(Q)  Did Tanner Smith improve since we saw him last? (Likely): No.

So still Rep 4, Slow, Bleeder.

The match begins . . . 

Tanner uses his Bonus Dice early on, getting Control and throwing a number of punches. He even makes it to the KO table but Passes 0d6. Max fights back and scores a knockdown after powerful cross. Tanner gets up, and his Rep drops to 3. He covers up for the rest of the round.

Note: To Cover Up is to protect yourself from an opponent's attack, either by blocking or dodging. Non-players Cover Up when their opponent rolls 3 or more d6 than they roll. To Cover up on the fight table, the fighters gains +1d6 but can only Pass the same number as his opponent. 

In Round 2, Max came flying out of the corner. Tanner tried to drag out the match but failed. After a flurry of punches, Max landed a hook that sent Tanner to the mat again. Passing 0d6, he was out cold.

The match was over, and Max stood tall, finally shutting up his tormentor from the last few months. As his opponent was led out of the ring, Max left as well, looking forward to dinner and a well-deserved night sleep.

One month later . . . 

Max sat on the dock's railing as a group of new fighters exited the boat. He smiled and waved to them. Some waved back while others kept their eyes glued to the dock. A few others even looked at him and smirked. Some time ago, this would've riled up the young man to hurl himself at the perpetrator. But now, more seasoned, and slightly wiser, Max simply shrugged it off.

They'll get their chance.

6 Gun Sound - First month of Adventure

6 Gun Sound is a Wild Wrest game from Two hour Wargames. As a fan of some western films, like tombstone and Back to the future Part III (Yes, I'm counting that one!), I bought this for some fun games in the Old West.

I did add one house rule though, which I borrowed and streamlined from the Mythic RPG. Basically, if I want to be clear on a detail, I'll ask a question (either yes or no or this or that) and then decide which is more likely. Then I'll roll 1d6 for each, with the tie going to the more likely result. Quick and easy, but adds to the story.

So here we go!

Greg Page (Rep 5 Outlaw; Pep 4, Sav 5, Quick Reflexes, Rage) is on a train, traveling west. While the Civil War has been over for years, a few people with money are still a wee bit upset with Greg for helping a number of slaves escape during the war. Now, with a price on his head, he travels in search of information on what happened to his great great aunt, who had gone west two hundred years ago and vanished. He also hopes to live an incognito life in the west, at least for now.

Despite the figure, Greg actually starts the game unarmed. Though probably not the best way to start a game, I thought it fit the character. Also, I'm color coding figures. Green/blue are friendly and neutral while red/orange are enemies.

The game is played in months with each month being made up of an Involuntary Encounter and one Voluntary one. For the first, I rolled a Defend.

Waking up in the middle of the night to commotion, Greg peers out his door and sees 3 bandits storming through the halls.

"Nice haul, this train," says one.

"Gonna buy me a new horse," says the other.

"Why doncha just get a girl like everyone else?" asks the third.

The bands are Outlaws, Rep 4, 3, and 3; all with the Cruel Attribute.

Rolling on the Action table, Greg goes first (with the Advantage).

Apparently they fail to notice him and just march on by. Since Greg is unarmed, but with the Brawler Attribute, I have him perform a Challenge to sneak up on one of the bandits (Difficult Challenge).

First roll - Pass 1d6; Reroll.

Second - Success!

Slipping behind one bandit, Greg grabs the man's head and slams it into the nearby wall.

One down and now Greg has a pistol.

Unfortunately, the other two whirl around and open fire.

The Leader's shots hit for and OOF result, but Greg's Star Power saves him. He ducks back into the closest room. The other grunt's shot misses completely.

Seeing an easy kill, the other two rush forward and fire through the doorway, though missing completely.

Now Greg finally gets to use his new gun. Firing rapidly, he drops the grunt and the leader leaps back.

"I'll gut you like a fish!" spits the leader. Lunging forward, he fires into the room but again misses. Greg then returns fire.

Both shots catch the leader in the chest and the man falls to the ground.

With the threat gone, Greg peeks outside and sees police gathering up other bandits from the other trains. One drops a piece of paper, and when Greg picks it up, he sees a reward for his arrest. Not wanting to take chances, he grabs his stuff and escapes the train, heading off into the woods on foot.

This ends the first Encounter, which is a success. Greg gains 3 Increasing d6 for taking out the bandits but 3 Decreasing d6 for using Star Power. At least he broke even.

Now for the second Encounter.

With his transportation now gone, Greg wanders through the countryside, only knowing he needs to head in the western direction. Luckily he had stashed some food in his backpack, and he still has the pistol, so he's okay, for the moment.

The next Encounter is a voluntary one, so I chose Ride the Trail. He has to resolve 3 PEFs and survive.

PEF #1:

Greg spots a lone Indian and a Cowboy engaged in combat.

Not knowing who's on which side, I decide to perform a Challenge for Greg to see if he can figure it out.

Fail.

Despite his best efforts, Greg has no clue what's going on, only that the two men are trying to kill each other. Since he tends to get along with Indians, he chooses to help the man (Rep 4 Warrior) against the Rep 4 Cowboy.

After opening fire, the two manage to drop the cowboy rather quickly. Now it's time to figure out what's going on.

I perform an Interaction with Greg questioning the Indian (Success.).

I also perform a challenge to see if he can tell if the other man is telling the truth (also Success).

(The rest I gather from some yes/no rolls and filling in the spaces).

"Thank you," says the Indian. (Greg knows some of their language so the conversation is a mix of that and English). "My name is Simon Rivers."

"I'm Greg Page. What happened?" asks Greg.

"He's part of Charlie south's gang," Simon answers. "Recently, they entered our camp and South asked our chief for his daughter's hand in marriage."

"And your chief said no?"

"Actually, he said it was his daughter's choice," Simon answered. "But then, Charlie's gang snuck into our camp in the middle of the night an kidnapped her. We went out looking for her, but my friends fell to bandits."

"Tell you what," says Greg, "I'll help you get the chief's daughter back and if your camp lets me stay for the night once we're done."

Simon nods. "Fair enough."

(I treated this like a Recruiting).

Simon Rivers is Rep 4 (Pep 3, Sav 4), and with the Tough Attribute.

PEF #2:

Later, the two are wandering through the forest, when two bandits leap out.

"We lost at the trains," says one, "but these'll do."

Greg and Simon go first and open fire.

The two bandits apparently underestimate the two and wind up with bullets in their chest.

PEF #3:

Two more bandits appear a moment later.

"You killed out buddies!" cries one. "You'll pay for this!"

Same result, unfortunately (for them).

This ends the Encounter and the month.

Greg ends with 6 Increasing d6 and 3 Decreasing d6, for a total of 3 Increasing d6. Rolling, I manage to increase his People skill to 5.

Simon ends with 3 Increasing d6 but fails to improve his Rep. Maybe next time.

Tune in next time when Greg and Simon seek out to rescue the chief's daughter from the sinister Charlie South and his gang.

I found Nemo! or rather He found me!

This is not one of my games, but a new game from Two Hour Wargames that I recently received.  I remember reading the novel Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea and watching the films (I think there was more than one; it's been a while.).  However, my fondest memory was the ride at Walt Disney World. 

However, in the past decade or so, that and a number of my other favorites have disappeared, to be replaced by, at least in my view, lesser attractions.  For that reason, I saw playing this game as my revenge against Disney.  Now I understand the idea of out with the old and in with the new; I just choose not to accept it.  As such, a number of characters on my Star's side are named after rides, attractions, and shops at Disney that I loved and now miss. 

Let the voyage begin . . .

I awoken on a cot inside a vessel of some kind.  My clothes were missing, replaced with standard attire for a navel crew.  This was strange.  

Stumbling out of the room, I found myself in a large room with various devices smoking, rotating, and humming.

"So, you're back from the dead," said a voice to my right.  

Turning, I saw an older gentleman leaning against a post with his arms crossed.

"Where am I?" I asked.

"You're aboard the Nautilus," he answered, standing straight and spreading his arms.

"The Nautilus?"  I knew that name.  "You're Captain Nemo!  I thought you were dead."

"Not quite yet," he responded.  "And you are?"

"Jakob Kare," I answered.  "I was aboard the Minne, a passenger ship out of Oslo."

Nemo nodded.  "We found you adrift in a longboat.  It seems your vessel was attacked."

"It was," I said.  "A British ship mistook us for an enemy ship and attacked before we could identify ourselves."

"Unfortunately," he continued, "you were the only survivor.  Did you have any family aboard?"

I nodded, tightening my fists.  "My dog, Merlin.  He and I were rushing for the longboat when he vanished in a ball of fire right before my eyes."  I raised my eyes to his.  "Hey, you're on a mission of revenge against them, aren't you?  If so, I'm in!"

"Actually," Nemo said, "I'm retiring soon."

"But you can't retire!"  I glared at the legendary captain.  "Those cods haven't learned their lesson yet!"

A smirk appeared as he watched me.  "Which is why I'm looking for a captain to replace me.  Now I like your fire, but I don't know if you have what it takes."

"Follow me."

He led me through the corridor and to a room.  Opening the door we entered his personal cabin.  He took a seat behind his desk and pointed to a map.  "I'm want to see, Jakob Kare, if you have what is required to command this ship.  So I'm going to sending you on a series of missions, directing you from here.  Complete these missions to my satisfaction, and this ship will be yours to do with as you please.  Do you accept?"

I didn't even hesitate.  "When do we start?"

"First, I sending you to Kasur to collect food for the crew."

"Food?" I asked.  "I can more prove myself by sinking a ship or two."

He smiled as one would to a student who failed a test.  "Your crew cannot fight on empty stomachs.  Gather food, and then we'll talk next."


Jakob Kare (Star):  Rep 5:  Crack Shot (rolled at random), Quick Reflexes (chosen), SAR.
Mr. Toad (Grunt):  Rep 4:  Agile (Random), SAR.
Mr. Mars (Grunt):  Rep 4: Logical (Random), SAR.


A few hours later, I made landfall in search of food.  I brought with me two of Nemo's crew; a short but seemingly agile man named Mr. Toad, and a tall, thin, introspective man named Mr. Merlin.

While searching, Toad noticed three individuals approaching us.

After studying them, Mars pointed.  "They're Berber Militia."

We tried talking with them, but they ignored us.  Some time later, we had gather enough food and returned to the Nautilus.

"Well done," Nemo said to me.  "Although that was an easy mission.  While we're here, explore the rest of the island.  It might become a useful base."

I set off again with Toad and Mars as we traveled inland from the coast.

It didn't take long for us to run into trouble as three drake lizards charged us.  Toad shot two of them while Mars killed the last.  My shots missed completely, and I grew concerned.  Fortunately, my crew expressed respect for my courage and continued to follow me.

Some time later, we ran into more Berbers.  Apparently they were following us to see if we were a threat.  Upon learning that we weren't, they greeted us and vanished into a brush.

An hour later, we found three more Berbers who were gathering food.  They showed us the best places to extract food, and we thanked them and moved on.

Returning to the Nautilus, I reported back to Captain Nemo.

"The island is inhabited by a group called the Berbers.  They didn't give us any trouble and possibly we can form an alliance with them if we are to use the island as a base."

"Well done," he said.  "But again, an easy challenge.  Perhaps next-"

"Captain to the bridge.  British vessel in the vicinity."

We heard the call Mars and Nemo looked to me.  "You wanted to face a British ship.  Here's your chance.  But if you fail and damage my vessel, I'll bury you in Atlantis . . . alive!"

"Yes sir."

I rushed to the bridge and faced Mars.  "Captain Nemo gave me the bridge.  Report."

"One vessel," he answered.  "It looks like a cargo transport."

I saw it through the periscope.  It looked like it was shipping guns and supplies to one of their many forts.  

Smiling, I turned to my helm officer.  "Charge that ship."

Bringing the Nautilus just below the water's surface, we lunged ahead.  Suddenly, the ship turned at the last second and we flew right past it.  

"Are they fleeing?" I asked.

"Negative," came the answer.  "They're arming cannons."

"Dive, bring us just out of the line of sight and circle them."

Once they lost sight of us we charged again.

Direct hit!  We blew through the ship like paper, and I grinned widely as I watched the hull, along with its cargo, sunk below the waves.

"For you, Merlin."


Afterwards, I rolled Increasing d6 (Since the first two encounters were pretty short, I waited until the Navel Battle before rolling).

Jakob improved to Rep 6.

Toad improved to Rep 5.

Mars did not improve.

The adventure will continue next time.

Adventures with Captain Nemo is available now from Two Hour Wargames.

Stop the Squam - A Scenario for missions of Tomorrow

Here is another scenario you will find in Missions of Tomorrow, the first supplement to Future Tales.  In Wrecking Crew, you must track down a group bent on destroying an entire community.  Will you succeed?  Here's a preview.

Bart Blast, YM-3, and Wilma Chatter meet with the leaders of the town of Buckman.  Apparently, a group of aliens called the Squam were recently exiled from the town for torturing the populace, and now there are reports that the Squam are building weapons as part of a plan for revenge.  Bart and his friends set out to locate the Squam before they can complete their deadly experiment.

The trio encounters a village of primitive natives.  Luckily, they are peaceful, and after a few minutes of questioning (Wilma happens to be skilled at communication), they point the group in the direction of the Desert Wastes.

Crossing a dried-up lake, the group is ambushed by Sand Racers, who look a little too hungry as they approach the three heroes.

But our heroes have an ace up their sleeves!  It turns out, Wilma has the Animal Friend attribute and can communicate with the racers.  Informing them that the trio are friends and not food, she gets them to continue in search for other morsels, while Bart wipes the sweat off his brown that has nothing to do with the temperature.

An hour later, they find it; a device constructed by the Squam but abandoned for some time.  Perhaps they left it behind after running tests and now have the final product at their camp.

YM-3 attempts a Solve Puzzle to figure out the device, while Bart and Wilma watch from a short distance away.

FAIL!  YM-3 is zapped (Trap!) and goes OOF.  Bart and Wilma rush to their companion's side.  But before they can help, the now-duo hears growling noises behind them and turn.

Two more Racers, and this time, they don't feel like talking!  One goes for Bart and the other sizes up Wilma as a potential meal.

With lightning speed, Bart drops his foe with a single shot.  Wilma tries to blast her target, but it closes the distance before she can react, and before she can blink, Wilma finds herself face-to-snout with the final Racer.

Smashing it in the snout with her pistol, she drops her opponent and survives the battle.

With the threats no longer in sight, the two revive their friend, who's shaken and a little jumpy, but not the worst for wear.

Unfortunately, YM-3 was unable to figure out the device, and the group fails to gain a clue.  However, they do notice smoke from the mountains and decide to investigate.

No Travel Scene.  Looks like the trio will reach the mountains uninterrupted.  Even though they failed to gain a Clue, they continue with the scenario.  However, with one less clue, will they still reach the Squam before the creatures finish their weapons?

And what will happen in your game?

This scenario and three others are found in Missions of Tomorrow, a supplement to Future Tales.  If you don't have Future Tales, you can also use Fringe Space, Back Alleys, Larger than Life, and even Chain Reaction.

Missions can be played single player, same side, and even head to head.

Keep watching as Missions is coming soon from Two Hour Wargames!

Mengal Night! Missions of Tomorrow Preview

Missions of Tomorrow, the first supplement to Future Tales, is coming very soon.  And in addition to the scenarios, you'll find rules for a little game called Mengal, a futuristic and slightly more violent version of hockey.

Tonight's Mengal game is between the visitors, the Wastelanders and the home team, the Stoic.

Fans are lined up outside the arena, awaiting this game between two fierce rivals!

The teams set up on the ice to face off.  Note that you do not need a game board or figures to play Mengal.  You don't even need full teams.  Each team has Team Stats which reflect the average skill of all players.  You can even use your own Stars.  Just be careful; Star Power will only help you to a point!  For this game, I'm playing both teams as Grunts.  The poker chip reflects the first Period.

The Wastlanders win the Face Off and play begins.  During game play, each team can also add their Brutality to their Skill.  Brutality Dice work like bonus dice and can improve your rolls.  However, as fitting their name, they can also be used to bring agony and suffering to your opponents!

Here, both teams roll Triples with their Brutality Dice, meaning someone possibly got hurt, badly.

Near the end of the first Period, a player from each team suffers a minor injury, and the official separates the two, believing they are both too hurt to inflict any entertaining amounts of damage to the other.  Both get sent to the bench with Failure to Injure minor Penalties.

No score in the first Period, and the second Period begins with both members of each team starting in the Penalty Box.  Teams with a Penalty suffer a -1 or worse to one of their stats.

Uh Oh, tempers are flaring.  Charon of the Wastelanders, swinging his stick (which is shaped like a club and covered with spikes) and catches Minos-C in the face and chest.  A roll on the Injury table, and the results are not pretty!

Robots sweep and mop the remains off the ice while Charon gets a Major penalty for Mutilation.

Losing their teammate in such a brutal fashion has pushed the Stoic out of their trademark emotionless state.  Minos-A, in a state of rage, floors Charon, only for Charon's teammate Salvo to jump in.  Throwing down their gloves, the two brawl, with Minos-A winning and knocking Salvo to the ice.  This gives the Stoic a quick bonus.

Taking advantage of the bonus, The Stoic manage to score, breaking the tie as the second Period closes.

Throughout the third Period, the Wastelanders are unable to tie the game.  With just seconds left on the clock, they pull their goalie and use the extra man to charge the goal.  Charon, Outlaw, and Spike breach the defense and triple team the goalie, Minos-X.  As the period closes, they fire shot after shot, but Minos-X denies all three men and stops the Wastelanders as the game ends.

Final score:  0-1 Stoic.

Injuries:  Charon (minor), Minos-A (minor), Minos-C (deceased).

Game play for Mengal is quick and easy, with lots of fun, action, and blood, though not necessarily in that order!  You can create your own players in seconds and team in minutes.  It functions both as an addition to your stories and as a diversion if you just want something different.

Keep watching for more previews of Missions of Tomorrow, coming very soon, from Two Hour Wargames.

Winter and Chill - Another Fortunes AAR

Continuing with my horror-themed games, I recently watched The Ghost and the Darkness about two lions who terrorized an expedition in Africa to build a long-distance railway.  The film is loosely based on real-life events that were written in the novel, The Man-Eaters of Tsavo, by John Patterson.  In the novel, the two (yes, only two) lions mangled and devoured nearly 100 men.  Whether this number is 100% accurate is up to speculation, but the events did occur, along with Patterson eventually killing the lions.

In my game, in which I'm again using Fortunes Won and Lost rules, a railway in Lemuria is now the location terrorized.

So let's get started.

August 13, 1903.

The expedition to build the first cross-continental railway across Lemuria has thus been a success.  With workers starting on opposite coasts and working inward, the rail is expected to be completed by the end of the year.  Investors see no problems in the foreseeable future as all work continues on schedule.

-------------------------------

He stepped off the train and into the compound.  Throwing his sack over his shoulder, Wayne stepped inside the building.

"Col. Sharpe!"  A shorter, barrel-chested man covered in sweat rushed forward.  "I'm Miguel Owen.  I sent you the letter.  Thank goodness you've arrived."

"You said your people were attacked by lions?" Sharpe said, skipping any small talk.

Owen nodded.  "Two of them slaughtered over a dozen workers in just under a week.  My men fear leaving the camp now."

Sharpe's eyes grew wide.  "Only two?"

"We named them Winter and Chill, for they attack like a blizzard, without warning and without remorse."  Owen shuddered.  "They evaded all our traps and even pulled men right out of their tents."

Owen led him out of the compound and pointed.  "You see there, we set up barbed bamboo walls to protect us.  And there, we added bear traps."

They walked up to the bear traps, and Sharpe noted that none of them were set off.  "So this worked recently."

Leading the hunter to a tent, Owen pulled back the the tent's edge but refused to look in.  "We found this in the morning."

Sharpe stepped forward and saw a trail of blood leading from the bedrolls to outside.  Under one bedroll, he could still see the shape of a lower body and legs.

Returning outside, the hunter's expression never changed.  "We better get to work."

This will be a Defend encounter from Fortunes, but with a few changes.  First, I'm using the board shown below to represent the came.

Sharpe and anyone he is able to recruit start in Sections 7-9.  Each turn, I can choose which section to place them.

The two lions will appear each turn as a PEF randomly placed in Sections 1-6.

Each turn that they resolve, the lions attack if they are in a section adjacent to Sharpe or his group.

Otherwise, I'll make a Challenge roll (Easy if 1 lion, Normal if 2) to see if the lions attack any workers, for each lion.  

Following each attack, I'll roll 3d6 and look for Successes.

1 success = injury to worker, 2 successes = death, 3 successes = a rather gory death.

After attacking workers, the lions might (1-3) flee.

If shot at and a Duck Back is scored, the lion flees automatically.

Sharpe gets 3 Increasing d6 for each lion killed by himself or his group.

However, he gains 1 Decreasing d6 each time both lions score kills.

Sharpe is a Rep 5 European Soldier with a Rifle.

Owen is a Rep 4 European Civilian with a Pistol (I misread the table and didn't realize until after the adventure was over.  Oh well, leave the dice where they lie.)

Gordon Trent is a Rep 3 European Civilian with a Rifle.

The lions are Rep 5 and count as using Melee weapons.  I also gave them 1 Star Power each and treat them as always having the Advantage to represent their guile.

Finally, anything outside a character's section counts as in Cover.

Let's get started.

For the opening turn, I placed each character in Section 8.  The first PEF starts in Section 4.  Only Owen can see it if it gets close enough.

1 lion appears.  Winning on the Action table, it moves to Section 9 and performs a challenge to snatch a worker.  Passing, it drags the terrified worker.  Owen opens fire and scores a Duck back.

The lion flees.

Time to check the damage.  3 successes.

It's not a pretty sight!

For the next turn, I placed a character in each section.  The PEF appears in 1 but with a Pass 1d6.

Hearing a rustling in the brush, Sharpe aimed his rifle and waited, but nothing appeared.  Still, no need to drop his guard yet, he kept his weapon pointed forward.

On the next turn, both lions appeared in Section 5, dangerously close to Owen.

Chill, passing on a sneak challenge, lunged forward and attacked Owen.  Passing 3d6 more than the man, the lion tore the poor guy to pieces before anyone could react.

Winter tried to sneak but failed.  Spinning around, Sharpe and Trent both opened fire.

Direct hit!  The bullet struck Winter right between the eyes, and the beast fell.

Next, Trent fired, but Chill's Star Power saved it.  At the end of the turn, both sides passed Will to fight, though Chill vanished into the brush for the turn.

For the next turn, I tried to position the two men so they covered each other's backs.  Chill appeared in Section 2 and Passed on the Action table.

Succeeding with a Sneak challenge, the beast leaped out of the brush and tackled Trent, biting right into the man's leg and thrashing about, tossing the man like a rag doll.  And like a rag doll, he came apart, spreading 'stuffing' everywhere.

This left Sharpe by himself, so, positioning himself in a tree, he waited.

Hearing a growl behind him, Sharpe turned but saw nothing.

That's when Chill attacked!  As the man turned, the lion slipped out of the brush and leaped up, slicing Sharpe's leg, and causing him to tumble out of the tree.

The two engaged in melee, with Chill passing 1 more, dropping Sharpe's Rep to 4.  The two continued to brawl, and I kept passing the same for them.  Eventually, both Reps dropped to 0, so I just continued until one scored a kill.

I also made an impromptu roll (resolving a new PEF) to see if any workers came to the rescue.  I passed 0d6 the first round and 1d6 the second.  Despite screams being heard, no one came to Sharpe's rescue.

Tough luck, and OOF!  Sharpe even failed with his Star Power.

Rolling to one knee, Sharpe stabbed with his bayonet at the creature and caught it in the shoulder.  Rearing back for a moment, it glanced at the wound on its shoulder and then licked it before turning its glare back to the hunter.  It lunged again, but Sharpe dodged out of the way.  

Rolling on the ground, he tried to aim his rifle but his hands were shaking too much.  Stumbling to the tree, he attempted to steady himself when the monster leaped again.  Colliding with him, it knocked Sharpe's head against the tree.  

Dropping his rifle, he fell to the ground.  The last thing he heard was a sickening crunch.  The last thing he felt was horrific pain as Chill sunk its teeth into his abdomen.  The next thing Wayne Sharpe knew, was nothing.

The next morning, railway workers found the remains of the three men and sent them on the next train back to the nearest city.  Workers then fled the compound, and all work halted for the time being.  Business backers rushed to send an army to the compound, but they found no trace of the beast.  Until they could locate the lion, no one would agree to return to work.

And worse yet, upon studying the blood on the ground, workers learned Chill was a female, which means it could bear young just a sadistic in the future.


A complete failure in terms of game events but a fun experiment to try anyway.  Oh well, I don't mind when horror-themed games end like this.  It just adds to the story!