Pulp Alley – Perilous Island Campaign – Jungle Trail

We’re nearing the last act of the Perilous Island Campaign and everyone is looking forward to the final adventures.

This game I have a secret weapon - the Skull Ring I got as a reward from Phipps & Daughter for posting more than 10 Pulp Alley AAR:s last year. With it I will hopefully be invincible or at least Monsignore will not end up in another monster-belly. Notice the typical dice-roll when wearing one of these rings.

There is one thing slowing our progress towards those last games – a new small cultist. The real-life leader of the Cult of Ra (Gunnar) had his better half deliver a new miniature to his collection the other day and that sort of upset the progress of the campaign. We do approve, though, as the miniature in question, while pre-painted, will (due to scale-creep) grow into a full-fledged gamer within a decade or so. Also, the world needs more cultists… Congratulations!

The good guys and gal - The CSSS in all their splendor. A fierce dog and a shooter as local backup during this game.

While we wait for the call of the diapers to fade for some of the league-leaders, the über-Phrenologist Ulf and I had a game.

The evil opposition in the form of the Phrenologists led by Herr Doktor Kopfgelände (dressed all in brown) and his trusted sidekick Sister Sigrid. Three PhD students give extra firepower.

The scenario is Jungle Trail where the leagues try to get clues from some otherworldly undeads (in the scenario it should be young natives but we couldn’t find Jeppans miniature savages so we had to use some ghouls from my collection). The ghouls (i.e. the plot points) moves (in a random direction) after each turn and you have to be fast and smart to catch them and find the clues they hold (unlock the plot points). Two of them is on the board at all times and when one is unlocked it disappears and another one appears (we changed the rules a bit, to make the game more chaotic, and made the appearance totally random). Get two clues and you have the chance of catching the major plot point.

The game-board and set-up

There's the first ghoul. Go get him!

Hissss!

The Phrenologists win initiative and quickly sorround 'their' ghoul.

And the CSSS follow suit. Lets see what the ghouls will do in their activation.

They both move towards the center of the table. This should be interesting.

Soura Innozenca quickly moves up to one of the monstrosities.   

And she fools it into giving away the clue. Notice the excellent dice roll. Ring for the win!

We roll for the next zombie and it appears in the middle of a perilous area close to Monsignore.

Priority now is to protect Soura and her plot point. Other league members move up to shield her from the evil Phrenologists.

Ooops. That's the downside of being a shield...

Ouch. Those sharpshooters knows how to hit. Soura really needs protection now or she might go down and loose the precious plot point.

Saved by more meat-shields.

The Phrenologists side is not idle. Sister Sigrid move up to 'their' ghoul and easily knocks it down. She cuts it up and finds a clue in its grisly innards.

Fortune smiles on the CSSS as the random placement of the new ghoul and their movement-phase places both ghouls within reach of our heroes and well away from the heretics. My plan is to unlock one of the plot points this turn while protecting the other so the opposition doesn't get to him. 

My plan is whittled away as the phrenologists start to shoot...

Ouch. Another one down.

But revenge is swift as Soldato Morto shoots his SMG and places a burst marker over three bunched up Phrenologists.

Excellent. Both PhD students goes down.
Sister Sigrid still stands.

I move more league members to the front line.

and manage to take down the last of the sharp shooting PhD students.

Soura is about to unlock our second plot point when the dastardly Ulf plays a Fortune on her. It makes the Peril she has just drawn permanent in burst centrered around her. Not a very nice trick.

Well, Soura is tough and shakes of the effects of the Peril. She then manages to charm the ghoul to give up the clue it carries.

 Darn! The final rounds seem to have been too tense as I forgot to take more pictures. I think I will say that it was to spare Ulf proof of the humiliating defeat he suffered :-)
Anyway. Monsignore unlocked our third plot point, and was rewarded with the major plot point, a lost page from Lord Darrow's personal diary.
The Phrenologists are down to Herr Doktor and Sister Sigrid and they give up all thoughts on attacking the invincible CSSS (Ulf looked at my Skull Ring and gulped. He new he was in over his head...). Instead they go for a ghoul that strays over to their side and unlocks it. Thereby the game is over and the CSSS got one major and two minor plot points and the Phrenologists got two minor points.
That ring really worked!