Setting up the Play Test for "Pulp!" (originally published 10/10/23)

 

The Mad Guru is back and not a sign of the Sergeant's Three to stop him now. Rumor has it that he is in some mysterious temple with an ancient artifact to make the Thugee Cult even more powerful . . .

"I have located the Lost Temple that supposedly the Mad Guru is marshaling his forces and preparing some devilish surprise for the British Raj," exclaimed Colonel (Retired) Douglas, DSO, CBE, etc., as he rushed into the cabin of Captain Ridgewell Hawkes of the 19th Punjabis.

"Well. Quite. Hmmm . . . bloody nuisance," said the good Captain.

"I will cut out his heart and !@&#* to his !@&#*", Princess Sita Devi icily replied.

"Princess," Colonel Douglas continued, "This is a family oriented blog and is rated PG." Plus who will get us there?"

As if on cue, (or a result of watching too many movies) a man shaped shadow grew and cast itself upon the heroic trio. "I will."

"Who the blazes are you?" gasped Captain Hawkes.

"He's The Bat," answered Colonel Douglas.

It's time to play test Pulp! and though I don't want to jump to conclusions, it would be nice if there were quick reference sheets (QRS) or Character rosters to easily reproduce and use. If I was a betting man, based on the zero playing aids under the Pulp! listing on the Osprey game resources page, I'm guessing Osprey is not going to be committing many resources for the game. I am spending way too much time preparing for the game creating my own QRS and Character rosters. The good news, once they are done, they are done and reusable. I'm primarily using Excel, PowerPoint and my good ole copier. In addition, I did not want this playtest to be the generic, vanilla characters that are recommended for beginners. I'm an experienced gamer and we need some HEROIC ACTION AND VILLANY.

Anyway . . .

Our adventure is going to feature the return of one of my favorite figures, the Mad Guru from Pulp Figures which is based on the Guru from the movie Gunga Din and sculpted by the talented Bob Murch. Leading our heroes to the mysterious ruins is The Bat - the British Raj version that is blatantly based on a certain caped crusader in America. What the heck is the Mad Guru up to? That's what our heroes need to discover, except for Princess Deva who only has revenge on her mind. 

Here's the line up:

For the good guys we have a 1 figure Superhero unit, a 1 figure Hero unit , 2 x Single figure Elite units, and 2 x 3 figure Seasoned units giving a total of 10 figures to halt the mischievousness of the Mad Guru. Speaking of the Mad Guru:

If the Hypnotic Gaze inflicts an unsaved hit, it causes no suppression or wounds; but, The Mad Guru controls the target for the next turn. The figure will still activate when it unit does, but the Mad Guru will decide what the figure's Action is and resolve it (BWAH HAH HAH!). 

Big, bad and mean - a mercenary after a sorts though he is taking no pay from the Mad Guru. He may take other things . . .

For the forces of evil (BWAH HAH HAH!) there are 1 villain figure units x 2, 1 elite unit with Trainer and poisonous snake, 1 elite unit with 1 figure and 2 Seasoned units with 3 figures each. This gives the forces of evil (BWAH HAH HAH!) also with 10 figures to ruin all that we hold dear.

Now that we have all of our characters for their starring roles in "The Shadow of The Bat, it's time to develop (I kinda have an idea) the scenario and get the playing fields of India set-up.