Tug Boat Mystery

So we applied a different approach to our regular game. A mystery killing of one of the crewmen on the Tug Boat Team Bob is traveling on.

3 colors of poker chips with 3 each of that color. Each color was marked with a Who, What or Where clue. These I scattered through out the boat. Players could travel 6 inches a turn. Black chips represented an unknown encounter but not a peril check.  When a player was sure he had found the pertinent clue for a color of chip he could ignore any he had not checked out and search others, thereby making it possible to not have to check all 9 chips.

Unknown encounter was the shadowy suspect who had 4D10 shooting and was triggered when a player announced he was going to cross over a black chip that blocked the passage way. He would roll and the players could attempt to dodge only, make any required health checks, then he "disappeared into the shadows".............(Players were not allowed recovery checks or cards that allowed them to recover!)

What Chips:   Wrench, Club, Bloody Knife  : easy to figure which was used for the crime
Who  :  Hapless Crewman , Clueless Crewman,  No Alibi
Where:  Tidy work space,  All in Order, Signs of a fight

The WHO chips had to be interrogated using Cunning or Finesse with 2 Success or 2 health checks when the subject got violent for a bit, though in the next turn you could put him to the question again as you didn't get to roll attacks on him.

So, traveling about the ship, collecting clues and sometimes some damage Chip (sidekick of Lily) ran afoul of the Shadowy Suspect and was gunned down.  Atchison took a beating and Amanda a black eye. Bob called Finished! First and was right, Sarge second and was right, Amanda 3rd and was wrong.....

The pictured pieces all stack up and assemble into the complete Tug Boat.

Chapter 5, Episode 3, Denizens in the Deep!

((preamble, deep sea diving suits pose a risk to the players, if they get a puncture they have to make a simple peril check of one success on their finesse or they are auto Knocked out of action. Also each had to chose what to take down, a hauling hook and a knife...the hook for attaching to a chest to be hauled up or a spear gun only. Also, once under water the players are given dry erase boards and a pen to write/communicate with one another... heh))

On a recovery mission Team Bob is sent off the island a short ways to deep water to recover scattered metal locker boxes from the bottom.

Movement was 3 inches a turn as they slogged along, locating boxes till.... duh duh doooooo

The sharks get closer and closer, then one attacks! then another !  Chip's suit is punctured and .... uh oh, he fails his check and is KOA!! Amanda makes her save as does Iron Kidney Joe! Sharks are speared and knifed till only a few are left ... and they are feeding on all the dead sharks.

Recovery of cases continues until they get to close to a set of ruins....

Iron Kidney Joe is grappled and being pulled into the giant maw of the horror!  He makes his Might check and breaks free, signaling to the ship above to pull him in. The rest of the team decides now is a good time to head up as well!!!  As they start their assent they notice bodies floating down to the depths ... dead bodies of natives and ships crew!!!

Stay Tuned for the next exciting episode!!!

Chapter Five.............. Off to the South Pacific.

Upon the completion of the Air Pirates Super Weapon the Commission decided to send the Team Bob to the South Pacific to aid an older member of the Commission with a problem his Hotel had being attempting to deal with.

 TEAM BOB: you are being dispatched to Toratunga, a small island in the south pacific where you will assist George Dukedem with a local problem he has himself been unable to settle out.

Your methods, whether negotiation or armed conflict, to resolve the issue is up to you.  Transport has been arranged and accommodations at a 3 star hotel lined up.

 Air line tickets will get you to your transfer point and then a state of the art sea plane will get you the last leg of the distance. Once there you will meet with Sydney Trifoil at the Hotel and resolve his issue. It is possible further contacts with HQ will occur during your stay.

Upon completion of your mission you will be returned with all haste for further assignments.

Chapter Finale : Attack on the Super Weapon

The defensive equipment shipment got through, though at the cost of many civilian casualties on the train during the intense efforts of the Barons Air Pirates to take the train or destroy the shipment.  On arrival the shield was installed and an air fleet sought out and engaged the Barons Air Pirate fleet with its accompanying super weapon. During the battle, the super weapon was damaged and force landed to be repaired, the Allied fleet withdrew due to damage suffered and the Commission was requested to send in a elite strike team to destroy the weapon and capture the lead scientist overseeing the repairs.

The Team Bob was selected to take down the super weapon. It was composed of the leader character for each player. Their Brief for the mission included information about the Baron and his hate of the Commissions interference to his world domination efforts to date.

The Team was parachuted in (using small pieces of paper to be dropped to figure out their landing spots.) Lily choose to drop just about on the weapon itself and engage the close in guards with her katana!

Bob landed to the east behind a hill, the rest of the team to the west of the weapon. Working their way in they realized that there were further out forces deployed waiting for the..... IT WAS A TRAP!!

Cultists came from the west, Air Pirates from the East, Thule Agents from the south, apparently called in by one Air Pirate at the tent encampment, who stayed on the radio for nearly the entire fight!

Bob crests the hill as the Air Pirate squad moves to engage him... choosing self sacrifice he detonates his explosive charge in an attempt to take out the squad............... and he managed to make a series of saving throws that left him stunned, vaulted him down the slope and escaped alive!!!

Various team members make it to the site, capture the scientist, plant and detonate charges, Weapon Destroyed! As the team made their exfiltration, Atchison decided to take out the radioman at the encampment, only to discover he was the Baron himself!  After a rough and tumble fight in which Atchison go the worst of it, he managed to Break Away and high tail it off the field.

AAR : A Train to Trieste, Chapter 4, episode 4 ....

((Here is the set up, the players are defending the trains shipment of equipment to be used as a defensive screen vs the Barons Anti Airship Super Weapon beam! Traveling through the mountains on their way to Trieste from Germany, a trip of several days, they are hoping to get past the Barons total control of the air by using rail.  Secret Agents, spy's and saboteurs.. will make things difficult and of course the Barons forces have control of the air!))

The train pulled away from the station towards night fall. The Team put together a patrol list of who was on guard, who was off duty and who was asleep. ((random diced when action took place to keep them from arranging their "best" coverage))

 

 

 

Overhead a Zeppelin lowers towards the train, many ropes drop and Air Pirates zip towards and land on top of the train. Bob, leader of this teams Mission, responds to the sound of multiple boots hitting the roof overhead by leaping up and grabbing the stop cord and yanking it, response to the action is the train slamming on the breaks!  Several air pirates tumble over the edge of the cars, several others are left hanging on to the edge of the roof!

 

Lily is on duty and races to the top of the train and engages air pirates as she works her way down the roof line, dispatching several with her katana.

Amanda (in a stylish blue dress) also on duty climbs onto the roof of the lead passenger car and blazes away at air pirates near the engine.

 

((not having made roofs for the cars lead to using some of the Pulp Alley cards to hold the roof top people up out of the cars to reduce confusion on who was where))

The slowing of the train led to the Zeppelin overshooting but it corrected its reactions and landed another wave of boarders. In the mean time in the passenger cars, civilian riders were milling about when several threw open their coats and pulled pistols out and a fierce gun battle ensues!

******************game held over due to time of night************  so a cliff hanger ending for the nights play for 2 weeks till everyone can get together again to finish the action packed episode!!!!

 

New Engine

Modifications are done except a painting touch up on the new version of the Train To Triesta engine.

Gave it a more European look. On to the modified cars:

Flat car and two passenger cars. I started making domed roofs for the passenger cars... then realized they would stay on for about the first 30 seconds of the game till the players needed to move their characters about!  On wards with out.

Time for a train Ride.. hmmm all I have is this wild west train set...

For 28mm figures ... bit way to small, cars are about 6 inches of train car and short hook up assemblies.... so..

Train Cars are now about 11 inches long. Planning on 2 passenger cars, 2 box cars and 1 flat car that the Team will be escorting... secretly on a regular passenger train.... what could possibly go wrong!???

Filled in side walls. This is the basic form for the passenger and box cars.

Next.... work on some windows and such for the passenger cars... nope, not going to cut them out...print and glue is the way to go with the short time frame I have......