The Case of the Black Circus - Empire of the Dead AAR

Last year, Gary ran a massive game of Empire of the Dead for Halloween, and plans to do the same this year. Along with some of the other homebrewed factions in use last year (like Death and the Pumpkin scarecrows), Gary came up with an idea for a travelling circus - the Cirque du Noire. 

This travelling troupe of vampire hunting gypsies is led by Tattoo, a vampire herself. He second in command is White Rabbit, a stage magician and actual wizard. The crew's muscle are the Ape Man and the Reptile Man. Two trios of Pulcinellas clowns and Imp tumblers make up the rest of the gang. 

Gary's always impressive terrain made up a fantastic looking table.

Gary decided to lead Holmes, Watson, and Lestrade with an accompanying squad of bobbies.

I had the Cirque split into two groups.

The police force filtered into the streets, unnerved by the sounds of squeaking shoes and beastly grunts.

The troupe rushed forward.

White Rabbit led the Reptile Man in a flanking maneuver...

While Tattoo and the Ape Man confronted Baskerville and the mechanical dog handler.

The bobbies opened fire, but only managed to wound an Imp Tumbler.

The Imps were finished off by the mechanical dog.

One poor flatfoot got his head crushed by a Pulcinella's club. Lestrade and the other policemen readied their weapons as the Cirque performers rushed out of the alleyway.

Tattoo and two Pulcinella engaged Baskerville and his men.

Meanwhile, the Ape Man headed off to confront Holmes and Watson.

By now, both sides were thoroughly engaged. The Gatling-gun wielding Sergeant managed to down the Reptile Man, who then bled out. But an Imp Tumbler made their way over the cop's cover to engage.

Holmes and Watson were forced to pull back as the Ape Man approached, bashing the Gatling gunner into the ground.

Lestrade was unable to do anything as his command crumbled. Tattoo charged and downed Baskerville, Watson was tied up with a Pulcinella, and the Ape Man ran in, swinging at Holmes - who actually managed to give the Ape Man a run for his money, causing a wound against the massive monster.

The game's closing moments saw Holmes, Watson, and Lestrade desperately fighting for their lives.

But with Holmes' fall at the hands of Tattoo and the Ape Man, the Baker Street taskforce called a retreat. 

2017 6x6 Challenge - September

Games Played in September

The Hunters, Hunted - Strange Aeons AAR

Granny and the Gang - Fistful of Lead AAR

Granny and the Gang - Fistful of Lead AAR

Kevyn and I decided to dust off our cowboy boots and ten-gallon hats for a game of Fistful of Lead. 

The scenario saw both sides with four bags of loot. At the end of the game (6 turns), the player who controlled the most loot tokens would claim victory.

Additionally, every time a player used an Ace card, they would then roll a close combat attack against an unactivated enemy model. If successful, the enemy model would be pinned - representing an unseen danger, like a perturbed rattlesnake or falling chunk of building material from a rickety building.

Both sides had the same makeup - one model with a rifle, two with shotguns, and three with pistols.

For the first turn, both sides moved up towards the center. The riflemen on both sides opened fire, but couldn't hit their targets at long range.

Most of the gunslinging ocurred between the bank and the saloon, with one of my gunmen falling first.

A lucky shot on my managed downed Granny's granddaughter, but retribution from Kevyn's gang was swift.

The firefight started to look more like a execution detail as my posse was downed one by one.

Soon, only my rifleman was left, while Kevyn still had five of his six gang members.

Granny and her gunmen made off with a solid victory, scoring 6-2.

The Hunters, Hunted - Strange Aeons AAR

Out in the middle of Nowhere, USA, there have been reports of strange rock formations and unexplained disappearances. Kevyn's Threshold team, newly equipped and reinforced after their last mission, were sent to investigate. 

They stumbled upon an ancient, pre-human ruin, only to discover that whatever the tomb once held had escaped!

The scenario for this game was Monster Hunt, and I decided to use a Formless Thing for the lone Lurker. To meet Kevyn's Threshold list, I decided to make this Lurker a powerhouse with five additional skills: Dodge (5+ shooting save), Duck (+1 to cover saves and a 6+ cover save), Sprint (if spending two actions to move, add +2 inches to movement), Tough (-2 to rolls on the Injury Table), and Burly (increases Constitution from 6/8 to 7/9).

The game started with the Formless Thing oozing around the ruins and using its pseudopods to pull a Threshold Agent into close combat. A round of combat put the Agent on the ground, face down.

Armed with only a knife, the Agent managed to scramble away from the twisting mass of mouths and tentacles.

But the Formless Thing hungered for the flesh of humans.

And so the Agent was consumed.

Seeing their comrade fall to the monstrous mass of flesh, the other Agents opened fire. The Character Agent's .45 with hollow-point bullets managed to piece the Formless Thing's flesh, causing a wound (one down, three to go!).

Still hungry, the Formless Thing crawled over to the other Agents, who not only managed to stay sane in the Thing's presence, but managed to fight it off before retreating. 

Another round of shooting saw a second wound removed from the Lurker.

Seeking easier prey, the Formless Thing went after the lone Civilian photographer that had accompanied the Threshold team.

But the Threshold Agents, brave to a fault, leaped into action to protect the Civilian.

The Character Agent paid the price for his initiative and was thrown aside by the Formless Thing's flailing pseudopods. The remaining members of the Team decided to retreat, realizing that their chances of defeating the Formless Thing without the Character Agent's gun was nearly impossible.

Strangely, they found the consumed Agent the next day, wandering down a stretch of desolate highway, covered in dried goo and suffering from amnesia, unable to recall the events of the previous day.

Painting Update - Test of Honour, ADLG

With no games played this past week or so, I've managed to get some painting done. 

My focus right now is completing two warbands for Test of Honour. The two forces are commanded by a pair of brothers - Jiro and Saburo - after the death of their older brother and warlord, Taro. Both wish to take the place of their brother, and suspect the other of having killed their elder sibling.

These ashigaru are loyal to Jiro. There's three groups of spearmen, one of archers, and one of muskets.

I've also painted a pair of unarmored samurai for Test of Honour. One is the special pre-order miniature that Warlord made for the game, and the other is Oda Nobunaga from North Star's "Giants in Miniature" line.

The last piece is a camp for my Free Company force in L'Art de la Guerre - the last piece needed to play the game, apart from terrain.