Just Another Day in Granville

The view of Granville down the main street from the vantage point of the town park
The view of Granville down the main street from the vantage point of the town park

Friday night I ran a play test of one of my GASLIGHT games for Historicon in July.  In the continuing saga of Duke Morrison and his buddies trying to thwart the nefarious machinations of the Venusian invasion force advanced guard, the scenario featured another ruckus in Granville, IL.  In previous scenarios, we’ve learned that Professor Serafini Nannini, famed physicist from the University of Chicago, has invented an anti-gravity ray.  The government set up a clandestine lab in the small town of Granville, IL, for Prof. Nannini to continue his research.  The Venusians have prepared to invade the Earth.  Their advanced party had hired local gangsters to help in their various plans to capture Prof. Nannini and his inventions.  Many of those plots involved capturing Prof. Nannini’s beautiful daughter, crack pistol shot, and lab assistant, Gianna Nannini.  (At Cold Wars, Duke Morrison, the hero of these adventures, along with his buddies LTJG “Boats” Morgan and Sgt. “Wrench” Webb, rescued Gianna Nannini from being sawn in half by trappers in the Yukon and being sacrificed to Kali by Thugees in India.)

A view of the town before we started the game. You can see the motel in the distance.
A view of the town before we started the game. You can see the motel in the distance.

This scenario was a four-sided affair.  The Venusians had captured and brainwashed Prof. Nannini.  The Venusians landed in the park and planned to place the anti-gravity ray on the back of a pickup truck.  Their mission was to use the anti-gravity ray to remove the remaining equipment from Nannini’s lab.  While Duke and his friends were away in the Yukon and India, the government moved the lab.  Since Duke and his men arrived at the motel late the previous night, they hadn’t been shown the new location yet.  So neither Duke nor the Venusians (and Prof. Nannini) knew where the lab is!

Granville before the action commenced
Granville before the action commenced

In the meantime, the Venusians have been slow in paying the gangsters for their efforts, but the Venusians had said it’s okay for the gangsters to loot the town while they (the Venusians) were absconding with the valuable lab equipment.

Duke Morrison, "Wrench" Web, and their men dash from the motel as the shooting starts
Duke Morrison, "Wrench" Web, and their men dash from the motel as the shooting starts

As the scenario began, the gangsters moved into town from the North and South.  The Venusians had just landed in the park.  The commotion of the rockets landing and the Venusians mixing it up with the local police roused Duke, Boats, Wrench, and their men from their short slumber.

The Venusians with brainwashed Prof. Nannini enter the town
The Venusians with brainwashed Prof. Nannini enter the town

The Venusians quickly mounted the anti-gravity ray, controlled by Prof. Nannini, into the back of a pickup truck and headed toward town while several other dismounted Venusians raced into the town in search of the laboratory.

Venusians and gangsters face off in front of the theater
Venusians and gangsters face off in front of the theater

The Venusians accosted some townspeople in front of the theater and used their “truth ray” to get a movie patron to point out the building where the lab equipment was located.

Torpedo Brooks and his men "knock" on the back door of the hardware store
Torpedo Brooks and his men "knock" on the back door of the hardware store, looking for loot

The gangsters ran through the town, ransacking the motel office, hardware store, clothing store, gas station, and other buildings, collecting loot.  The game is meant to have more players than we had for the play test, so the gangsters were controlled by too few players.  This meant that the gangsters were more organized than will be the case in the convention game, resulting in the gangsters serendipitously divided up the town up.  There wasn’t much gangster-on-gangster fighting.

Venusians working their way around the theater (top floor removed)
Venusians working their way around the theater (top floor removed)

After a short fracas between one group of gangsters and the Venusians, the Venusians amazingly didn’t seem to hold a grudge and instead kept running through town, searching for the lab.  Eventually “Boats” and his sailors found the laboratory on the second floor, above the hardware store.

Prof. Nannini's lab workers using a vehicle to locate the relocated lab
Prof. Nannini's lab workers using a vehicle to locate the relocated lab

At about the same time that “Boats” found the lab, Nannini’s lab assistants arrived in another truck and joined the sailors on the second floor.  Soon afterward a group of gangsters that had found its way on the roof of the building with the lab ran down the stairs and assaulted the sailors and the lab assistants.  After a couple turns of hand-to-hand combat, the gangsters in the lab were defeated.  The sailors then decided to clean up the lab — by tossing the dead bodies out the second-floor windows.

The action gets hot and heavy as the Venusians with the anti-gravity ray and some gangsters in a hijacked Coke truck speed through town
The action gets hot and heavy as the Venusians with the anti-gravity ray and some gangsters in a hijacked Coke truck speed through town

Despite using the anti-gravity ray to lift Venusians into upper-story windows looking for the lab, the Venusians didn’t arrive until after the battle with the sailors had ended.  Being bored, the brainwashed Prof. Nannini decided to help his Venusian masters by using the anti-gravity ray to lift good guys into the air and drop them 30 feet to their death.

Venusians maneuver the anti-gravity ray into position
The action gets hot and heavy as the Venusians with the anti-gravity ray and some gangsters in a hijacked Coke truck speed through town

The final, climactic action took place in the center of the town, where Duke Morrison’s men and “Wrench” Webb’s men were all but wiped out by the Venusians, who were in turn gunned down in the streets by “Boats”‘ sailors.  Due to the lack of gangster-on-gangster fighting, most gangster losses came from the sailors and the police.  The groups of gangsters that avoided the police collected a significant amount of loot from around the town — and now operate a miniature golf course in Miami Beach, FL.

This Weekend’s Accomplishments

Victorian Avengers
Victorian Avengers

A couple of weeks ago, I posted an article about how I’m building a Victorian-era version of the modern Marvel Avengers.  At the suggestion of some folks on line, I purchased the Malifaux Seamus Avatar to be the Victorian version of The Hulk.  I think he came out quite well.

Frosty Bar
Frosty Bar

I also completed this Plasticville ice cream stand to add to my pulp town.  I finished two more Cape Cod houses too, but I didn’t take pictures of them.

Science laboratory with new machine
Science laboratory with new machine

Over a year ago in the UK there was a happy meal toy for a cartoon, called Johnny Test.  Chris Johnston sent us a couple of each to convert, but it took me a year to find the triangular-tipped safety screw drivers need to disassemble the toy.

New machine converted from Johnny Test happy meal toy
New machine converted from Johnny Test happy meal toy

I have another one that I’ll convert into some sort of transporter or containment device, but this first one I wanted to be some sort of scientific device.

Bear-o-Planes

Four Eureka Allied "Bear-o-Planes"
Four Eureka Allied "Bear-o-Planes"

I purchased the Eureka bear-o-planes a couple of years ago.  They languished in my project box until Chris sold his to Todd who decided to use them with Jamie Davis’ famous Future Race rules.  If you haven’t played Future Race, you’re missing out on one of the great gaming experiences.  Jamie, a huge Star Wars fan, wrote the rules to replicate the pod racing sequences from Crap-isode I.  Frankly, I think Jamie’s game is the only good thing about Crap-isode I.  Anyway, when Todd started talking about using the bear-o-planes with those rules, I got excited about getting my planes painted up.

Four Eureka German "Bear-o-Planes"
Four Eureka German "Bear-o-Planes"

Look for them at an HMGS convention near you!