The Forbidden Temple

Top-down view of my newest Southeast Asian temple

 It may seem weird that I felt compelled to construct a new temple for the upcoming scenario of Dakota Smith's Oriental Adventures. After all, hadn't I scratch-built four of them already? They certainly filled up the game board when I ran the "Dakota Smith and the Lost City" scenario.

My storyline for my 28mm Pulp miniatures games has the archeologists searching for the temple containing the legendary relic, "The Tears of the Buddha." It is meant to be hidden away from the rest of the world. Thus, the explorers had to cross "The Valley that Time Forgot" to get there. I envisioned it as a solitary temple, high in the mountains. Sure, I could simply have used one of my earlier builds and placed it there, saying it was the Forbidden Temple. However, I wanted this one to have secret rooms they would have to discover. To go along with that, I wanted to use the really cool piece of Lizard Terrarium terrain -- a statue of a sword-armed deity -- that I'd picked up at Petsmart earlier this year.

Sighted through the tress, the Forbidden Temple...!

So, my thought was to simply use two boxes for the Forbidden Temple itself -- disguised as a two-layer, rectangular plinth for the statue, which would sit atop them. Each box would represent a hidden chamber inside the temple. I wanted to be able to lift off the roofs and place an altar and set of spiral stairs inside each, too. The construction of the whole thing would be modular, so that I could use each layer of it individually as well, if I wanted.

The statue was actually already completed. I used it in the Pulp game I'd run in March at Cincycon 2014. I'd picked it up on clearance for just a couple bucks, making me wish the Petsmart with Lizard terrain was closer to my house! I had painted over the whole thing -- not liking the garish gold paint on the sword and other parts of it that it came with. Instead, I wanted a gray stone statue overgrown with encroaching jungle. So, first, I painted the entire thing black. I then wet-brushed a dark gray, followed by a light gray dry brush. A black wash then was applied to the whole statue to soften the brushwork lines. To give it the overgrown, jungle appearance, I used Woodland Scenics flocking liberally over various surfaces. Different shades of green clump foliage was glued into places that I thought vegetation would sprout most. As a finishing touch, I used a hot glue gun to affix two wire flowering bushes from model railroader's terrain. This gave it that "Angkor Wat"-style overgrown look. The statue is really an incredible piece, and all of this brought out its detail.

Two boxes sit atop each other, held in place by their decorated, styrene roofs

As I said, the statue would sit atop the two boxes, forming the decorative base or plinth for it. Since this is for a Pulp game, there HAS to be hidden doors which lead to interior compartments. That simplified my job, meaning I didn't need to actually construct a visible entrance to them. They could appear solid state. I already had one good sized box that I planned to use for one level. A quick trip to Hobby Lobby scored a paper mache box to utilize for the second level. The first step was to create a roof for each box. I cut two rectangles of black styrene plastic for these, and then affixed a rectangle of foam core material to the underside so that these set inside the box and kept the roofs from shifting around too much. The roof of the first level would also form a base for the second level to sit upon.

A close up of the roof decoration assembled from odds and ends from craft stores that I had in my boxes

For the first level's roof, I cut a rectangle of wooden decorative molding and epoxied it to the stryene base of the roof. I sized the rectangle so the second level would fit snugly inside the moulding, keeping it in place and from sliding off and bringing the whole three-level structure crashing down. Some beads were glued down along two edges of the roof for decoration, as well. The roof of the second level was what the statue would sit upon. I decided to decorate the edges of the roof with various bits of birch wood odds and ends I'd purchased over the years at Hobby Lobby, Michaels, or JoAnne Fabrics. Four, stupa-like mini towers rise from each corner. Their base is an upside down "flower pot." On top of that rests a wooden spool. And finally, crowning each is a plastic, fasceted "gem." More gems were glued along the edge of the roof. Once put together, both roofs were then sprayed with black, acrylic paint. I dry brushed them in a darker and lighter shade of gray, and did an final ink wash to give them a stone appearance that I hoped would match the statue's. The roofs turned out okay, but the lack of a real texture to their surface means they don't necessarily match the nicely-pitted statue that well. I should have sprayed them with "stone paint" or something similar to make the match better.

Close up of the Khmer frieze (printed paper) from downloaded and Photoshopped from CG Textures

 For the walls of the boxes, I wanted to try something different than I'd done in the past with my temples. I was intrigued by a comment from one of my friends, Keith, and wanted to try his suggestion. He had been looking at the interior of one of my jungle huts. For those, I had simply gone to the CG Textures website and downloaded high quality photographic images that looked like the wicker floors and walls I wanted to represent. Like Keith, I was impressed with how they had turned out. His comment was that you could possibly use the images for the exterior of buildings, too. CG Textures is an amazing resource, which I thank one of the posters on the Lead Adventure Forum for suggesting. Among their many excellent images is a selection of ones from Angkor Wat and other Khmer temples. I decided to utilize one of their stone carved friezes of seated gods. I measured the box sides, then opened the image in Photoshop. I resized, cut and pasted the images, finally printing them out on my laser printer. I did the same for the interiors, selecting a rough stone wall and mosaic floor pattern, as well.

I measured the inside and outside walls carefully and then cut each paper print out to size. I then painted the top and bottom edges of the boxes in black paint. I did this with the interior seams between the four walls with each other and also with the floor.  This is in case any of the paper doesn't extend all the way to an edge. The gap shows  black and gives the appearance of shadows or cracks. To affix the paper images, I painted each surface, one at a time, with straight white glue, then quickly applied the image. I smoothed it out, then went on the next. I did the floor interior last, after completing the outer and inner walls.

As always, the interiors look great using the printed paper. Note the spiral staircase and the Buddha altar inside the hidden chamber of the temple.

 I wasn't sure how well the marrying of two dimensional, paper walls with the 3-D roofs and statue would look. If I were to do it again, I would probably play with the color of the images more in Photoshop to try and get them to match the tone of the painted pieces. All in all, it looks okay, I think. I don't like it as well as my completely scratch-built temples. However, it was quick and easy to do, I think will look acceptable on the tabletop. Would I do it like this again? Hmm...probably not. However, I really wanted a temple with a Khmer-style frieze since my scenarios are set in French Indochina. It will work for the game, and I'm sure my players probably won't grouse about playing on second-rate terrain...ha, ha!

Buddha, Buddha!

Locals look to loot a temple watched over by a 28mm Stone Buddha from Miniature Building Authority

While at Cincycon this March, I was given a gift certificate to the Miniature Building Authority, who makes some pretty incredible stuff. However, since most of my buildings are from Acheson Creations (and I am doing fairly well with the ones I own), I decided to look at what they'd brought in accessories. What did I find but something that would fit perfectly for my next scenario of Dakota Smith's Oriental Adventures? Two medium-sized, resin Buddhas immediately caught my eye. Since the archeologists' goal is to find the legendary relic, the Tears of the Buddha, these would be perfect for an altar in a Buddhist temple.

Before I left for my nearly 3 week vacation to Taiwan and Vietnam, I got them ready to go. I created a stone altar for each Buddha from leftover Hirst Arts bricks. When I got back in town, I painted them black, then did a dark gray and light gray dry brush over the whole thing. The way they come from Miniature Building Authority, they already look like carved stone. However, I wanted to make them match the stonework of the altar more, so I painted over them. Once dry, I did a black wash on them, and they were essentially complete.

The French archeological party investigates a 28mm Stone Buddha from Miniature Building Authority

I trimmed up the styrene base and filled in the ground area around the altar with Woodland Scenics medium ballast. This I painted black, then dry brushed medium gray. Once it was all dry, I painted the ballast with white glue to make sure it sticks. A final spray of dullcoate and these Buddhas are ready for the tabletop!

Next up are some more Acheson Creations pieces. I bought a 28mm Bridge/Pier from them at the last Advance the Colors. So, since a pier is something I have in mind for the wrap-up scenario to this storyline of Dakota Smith, I figured it was time to get it done! Stay tuned for more on that...

Dakota Smith and the Valley that Time Forgot

Clara tries to steady her hands enough to take advantage of the photo opportunity with the prehistoric beast in the Valley that Time Forgot

   Sweat rolled off their bodies, and soaked their clothes. Used to temperate climates, the archeologists wondered how in the world could mountain valleys be so blasted hot? They’d followed the trail from the Lost City for three weeks, up mountain passes and down through deep, jungle-clad valleys. They kept their compass point always headed towards the looming mountain whose silhouette looked like a tea bell-shaped, Buddhist stupa. The inscriptions on the temple walls, and the frieze of carvings had been explicit. For a “Lost Valley,” it was amazingly easy to find your way towards. But this last, deep valley was bigger than all the others combined. Volcanic booms echoed off the steep mountain walls. They could smell the sulphuric gasses. Strange, brightly-colored animals shrieked away from the explorers hacking a path through the pitiless jungle. They could have filled their notebooks with sketches of new species — especially reptiles — twice over. They were not naturalists, though. They were archeologists, seeking the Forbidden Temple — legendary resting place of the Tears of the Buddha. If they could get their hands on that storied crystal vial, their name would echo forever among famous archeologists.
   Another, louder boom shook the earth around the archeologists. “Is that volcano gonna blow?” one asked.
   “I don’t think that was a volcano…” was the reply, and a hush fell over the archeologists…

The long, steamy mountain valley that the archeologists had to cross. Ready for a pleasant walk in the woods? Heh, heh...

For our fifth chapter of our Pulp games following the adventures of Dakota Smith and other Western archeologists in the Orient, I went with a different format. Instead of positioning temples or other objectives around the table for them to explore, I started all four archeological teams at table edge. Their goal was to exit off the opposite end. The team that got the most of its characters off received the major plot point, others a minor one. Simple enough? Well, as always, the secret martial arts society, The Order of the Fire Coral, was there to frustrate that goal, hidden in the jungle ahead. What's more, I created two teams of 3 velociraptors each who would also be there to slow them down. And coming in behind them, midway through the game, would be two "terrors" -- a Tyrannosaurus Rex and a Ceratosaurus -- to chase them along towards the opposite side. I even cautioned the players ahead of time, saying that the games so far had been fairly competitive in nature. This one "might not" be that type...

The players...would they cooperate against the hidden dangers that lay ahead? Mike wears the fedora to signify he controls the Initiative under the Pulp Alley rules

All four teams moved cautiously forward on the first turn. I had the raptors stay hidden, marking their positions with bushes. The players commented, "Are the bushes moving?" I said, why yes, they do seem to be moving as something passes through them. Scenes from Jurassic Park II: The Lost World -- the raptor ambush -- immediately came to their mind. Although they did not see the raptors, they all could see one giant herbivore, a Triceratops-type, calmly munching the foliage, watching them with its intent yellow eyes. The French leader, Pierre Fournereau, watched the foliage in a thicker patch of jungle ahead parting in a sinister fashion. Suddenly, he heard a great ape hooting wildly and there was a thrashing in the jungle. The great ape howled in pain and was silent.

Pierre and Dr. Lambert wounded by the raking claws of a pair of velociraptors

Before Pierre could decide whether to back off, there was a horrifying reptilian screech and a man-sized lizard ran sped towards him on two hind legs. "Sacre bleu!" he shouted, "Velociraptor!" Pierre blazed away at it as the beast closed then felt a sharp pain as its claws raked his shoulder. He heard footsteps behind him and watched in amazement as Dr. Lambert charged to his aid, swinging his weighty briefcase as a bludgeon. There was another screech and a second raptor charged the aged doctor, who twisted and dodged to avoids its deadly claws. On the cliff above, Jacques Nero aimed at the beasts, but could not get a clear shot as they grappled and sliced at his countrymen.

The other archeologists heard the screams of the Frenchmen, and looked nervously at the jungle around them. Should they go help? And what was that movement off there in the dim jungle-shrouded light? Soon, all four parties of archeologists heard the nightmare screech and saw the reptilian menaces speeding towards them. Any thoughts of rivalry were forgotten as the westerners and their native guides fought for their life against the onslaught of raptors. I used the Pulp Alley "Savage Predator" for the raptors. One particularly nasty ability is "Savage" -- which allows a second melee immediately following the first, if the attacker chooses. The players were given a momentary breather when one used a "Parley" fortune card. I interpreted this as an earthquake rocking the valley, causing all to stumble about (no running, no fighting).

"Smile for the camera...och! How can yee tell if the beastie's smiling?" Harris McLeod's niece and Dolly take time out to photograph a giant herbivore

Both Clara and Dolly took this opportunity to speed ahead and go for the bonus plot point -- photographing a dinosaur. The giant herbivore watched them blandly, then shuffled back deeper into the jungle. I ruled a character needed two Finesse successes to snap sufficient photographic evidence, and both ladies took two turns to complete the plot point. As they were finishing up, Harris McLeod barked, "Hurry up, lassies, we've to go noo...!" Looking back, they saw raptors running towards them, along with Dakota Smith and Harold. Both men were casting wide-eyed glances behind them.

"Run, Harold, damn you!" Dakota Smith shouts as he blazes away at the raptor trying to cut him off. Behind the American, a Tyrannosaurs Rex pounds towards the archeologists. Soon, all Westerners were fleeing for their lives towards the edge of the board.

Packing up their cameras, the ladies noticed the pounding they heard was not the aftershocks of the earthquake, like they'd first thought. It was as if it were the heavy tread of something huge coming closer and closer. They screamed at the nightmare come to life and followed in the path of Harris and Major Speke-Eastman through the jungle. In front of the giant Tyrannosaurus Rex, Dakota Smith blazed away at the raptors trying to cut him off. "Run, damn you!" he shouted to the others. Soon, all the British and Americans were fleeing for the edge of the jungle. On the other side of a patch of thicker patch of jungle, the Irish dispatched the last raptor attacking them and also took to their heels. Pierre and Dr. Lambert, with the help of Jacques Nero, had finally disengaged from the raptors attacking them and were also fleeing for their lives.

The other big terror, a Ceratosaurus, helps chase the teams towards the board edge as raptors continue to bedevil the players

"This way, if you want to live!" Dakota Smith shouts, as Harris follows. The Scotsman urges the ladies to stop gawking at dinosaurs, while Harold guards the rear against any raptors on their trail.

As the screams of the westerners echoed through the jungle, four sinister-garbed agents stepped from the shadows. "At last," Opay hissed. "We have the foreign devils at our mercy..." Joel had done a great job of letting the archeologists be worn down by the raptors, while avoiding the beasts themselves by staying hidden. Now, as they were strung out fleeing down jungle paths, the Order of the Fire Coral launched its ambush. Opay and Tatko leapt out and attacked Harris McLeod and Major Speke-Eastman, while Jazh Minh and Neen Wha blocked the path of the Irish fortune hunters.

"We've got you, now, foreign devils...!" Opay and Tatko leap out and attack the major and Harris.

"Now, aren't you a persistent wee hussy," Lady Shannon growls as she battles Jaz Minh

Even with the game being extended by one turn (Reward Card for photographing a dinosaur), Joel had chosen his position and time too well. His attacks ensured none of the westerners would get off the board before the end of the seventh turn. His victory conditions were one minor plot point for each teams that got none off the board, so he was the big winner of the scenario with four. Allen's (Americans) reward card had an extra experience point so he scored two, and Keith (British) one. After being the big winners in the last two games big winner, Mike (Irish) and Tom (French) ended up with none.

After chasing off the human interlopers, the prehistoric beasts resume their dominance games for control of the Valley that Time Forgot...!

The game was a blast, though Joel will probably claim that was due to the supply of Scotch Ale I laid in for the night's game. The players did a good job of cooperating, no shots were fired at each other. Even so, they ended up "losing" to the combined force of raptors and Order of Fire Coral. If I were going to replay the scenario, I would probably put a couple fewer raptors on the board and bring in the terrors in earlier. No one actually was attacked by the T-Rex or Ceratosaurus -- not that it would have been a pretty sight if they had been...! I had planned bring them in earlier, but the raptors were doing such a good job against the westerners that I delayed their entry. All in all, I think the players enjoyed it, and certainly felt their blood race as they tried to escape. Next, it is on to the Forbidden Temple...!

Dakota Smith's Oriental Adventures, Part 4: The Lost City

The board for the "Dakota Smith and the Lost City," containing all of the scratch-built temples I'd made over the last six months, along with an Acheson Creations one

I ran this scenario -- the 4th in a series -- for my Sunday night gaming group about a month ago, and am just now getting around to writing up a battle report. It was crunch time at the end of the school year, so I apologize if the details are hazy. In previous chapters, Dakota Smith and his rival teams of archeologists were hot on the trail of the Portuguese monk, Brother Virigi, who knew the location of the Lost City in the jungles of French Indochina. Rescuing the monk from the cookpot of cannibals, the French archeological team followed his lead to a splendid ruined city, built in the Middle Ages by the Khmer Empire and since lost to time. The other archeologists tracked the French party, and soon came upon the site themselves.

Dr. Lambert, from the French archeological party, investigates a crumbled statue in the Lost City

Others were on the monk's trail, too, and soon emerged on the scene. The sinister Order of the Fire Coral, a secret martial arts society, sprang into action and did their best to hinder the archeologist's search of the ruins. Despite their persistence, the archeologists soon realized that inscriptions in the temples of the Lost City gave exciting information. They described the location of the mythical relic, The Tears of the Buddha. Legends say this crystal vial containing actual tears from the Buddha has magical powers. All who consume even a drop of the liquid lose all aggressive and violent thoughts, and succumb to the persuasion of peace. Upon reading an inscription below a frieze of carvings, Dakota Smith growled, "That's why Von Jaeger is here! Those damned Nazis want to find a way to make a weapons out of the Tears!"

This was also doubtless the secret the agents of the Fire Coral were trying to protect. Although the three martial artists fought long and valiantly against the Europeans, each of the archeological teams were able to decipher enough clues to point them in the direction of the Forbidden Temple, which is rumored to contain the vial. As the agents slunk away into the jungle, their leader admonished them not to give up. They would track the foreign devils through the very Lost Valley, if necessary...

Allen, controlling Dakota Smith's team, wears the fedora which signifies he controls the initiative in the "Pulp Alley" rules we use for our 28mm Pulp games. Mike S, controlling Lady Shannon's Irish fortune hunters, laughs as Allen designates who will move next.

Dakota Smith goes to Cincycon!

I packed up pretty much every piece of SE Asia terrain that I've made for my Pulp games, all of my 28mm Pulp figures, and headed to Cincinnati, Ohio, for Cincycon 2014. I would be running my game both Friday night and Saturday morning. Jenny and I arrived before noon, and I took the opportunity to set up the board since no one was using it before my evening event. It took a good bit of time because I hadn't done a "dry run" like I'd originally planned on doing. What's more, I hadn't even play tested the scenario -- usually a "no-no" for me!

Plus, I was not using Pulp Alley -- the rules I normally run for the guys in our Sunday night games, Dakota Smith's Oriental Adventures. I had set it up for 8 players, and I really didn't feel confident running the rules for a group that large. Instead, I was using "Flying Lead," the modern rules set from the Ganesha Games engine made popular by Song of Blades and Heroes (which I use for Dark Ages skirmishes). I had never actually run a game using FL, but had played in a number of them. I was using my innovation I premiered at Advance the Colors 2013 of splitting the game board into separate, simultaneous games. Rather than have it be four one-on-one matchups, like at ATC 2013, this game would essentially be two separate four player games. The figures could meet up, though, as the two boards were connected by a the rope bridge piece of terrain I'd scratch-built. I felt pretty safe running the rules, though I did need to scan them a couple times to make sure I was aware of the differences between FL and SBH and the French & Indian War variant I usually run, Song of Drums and Tomahawks.

I really didn't need to worry as the players all said they had a blast. There was a lot of laughing and joking around going on, so I think everyone had fun. I made one adjustment after the first game, switching out the deployment of the secret martial arts society, The Order of the Fire Coral, with that of the international smuggling ring, Svetlana's Smugglers. The pygmy cannibals were simply too deadly to the martial artists, and I felt that with three submachine guns, Svetlana's lot would be able to handle the swarm attack of the pygmies. It was a near thing, though, and if it hadn't been for the Pygmy player crapping out twice in a row exactly when they had the smugglers on the ropes, they might have repeated as the scenario winner on Saturday, too.

As it was, there were a lot of humorous and cinematic moments. My favorite was when the portly Harris McLeod of the British archeological team braved the crocodile infested water and escaped only by the skin of his, well, you know what...! Another favorite moment was when Svetlana -- beset by three martial artists -- was knocked off of the cliff. The player remembered the reroll ability of the Hero trait just in time. With a new set of dice rolls, Svetlana went all "La Femme Nikita" on the Fire Coral and drove them off, remaining Queen of the Mountain.

Pics and comments are below. I'm grateful for all the praise and comments I received from players and convention goers. Many years ago, I remember admiring South Pacific Island skirmish games set up by other GMs. I recall secretly wishing that, one day, I could run a game like that. Well, Cincycon 2014 was THAT day, and I'm happy it all worked out great and seemed to give the players several hours of enjoyment.

The board was a big hit with the players, and got lots of nice comments

Close up of the board, with the river dividing the boards. Notice the large temple in the upper left and the giant, Petco statue in the river island.

Svetlana's international smuggling ring advances towards the jungle hut

Von Jaeger and the German archeological party, with a force of German sailors, advance on the jungle hut on the other board

Harris McLeod leads the British Museum party, guarded by a force of Sikhs, survey the area around the big temple

The Order of the Fire Coral infiltrates the temple area, looking to secure artifacts from the prying hands of the foreign devils...

The Pygmy Cannibals were vicious and deadly, swarming over the martial artists of the Fire Coral and then attacking the Germans and Americans in Friday night's game

Pierre Fournereau's French archeological party and their Senegalese Askaris seize the high ground

Tatko and Jaz Minh of the Order of the Fire Coral sprint up the cliff path to be the first to make it to the river island

Other agents follow them and cross the rope bridge in their path, while below Jaz Minh -- who fell when making the leap into the lap of the stone god -- scrambles away from the hungry, hungry hippo

Meanwhile, H.T. (who won playing the Pygmy cannibals Friday) notices that the martial artists have split half of their strength off...it is a well-known fact that Pygmy Cannibals highly enjoy Chinese food!

One by one, the Fire Coral's agents remaining on that half of the board are surrounded, beaten down, and dragged off to the simmering cookpot -- including the leader, Opay

Meanwhile the British climb up their side of the cliffs to squabble over it with the French

It became quite the scrum on top of the cliffs. Peace broke out for a moment in Anglo-Franco relations, but it was quickly tossed aside as close-range shotgun blasts proved too tempting!

The final, climactic battle royale atop the cliffs. When the martial artists attempted to cross over to join in, Harris McLeod cleared the bridge with a shotgun blast that pitched three into the water

After securing the fabled artifact, the Tears of the Buddha, from the island temple, Tatko decided to bypass the bridge and instead take a shortcut through crocodile and hippo-infested waters. The burly martial artist ended up being guest of honor in the resident crocodile's dinner plans...!

Dakota Smith's Oriental Adventures, Chapter 3: Coming to a Boil

An overview of the most elaborate table I've ever set up: the river encircles an island in the center of the table. White steam marks where the cannibal cookpot has Brother Virigi on "simmer". The cliffs and pathways represent the various entry points for the five archeological factions.

The drum beats and howling from the pygmy cannibal village unnerved the archeologists as they crept towards it. Through the trees, they could see the glow of flames. Would they be too late? Would the Portuguese monk, Brother Virigi, already be the village dinner by the time they arrived? Caution and haste were called for at both times.

The players study their initial fortune cards and try to map out a strategy to be the first to rescue Brother Virigi

On the river, Harris McLeod poled his hastily-built raft to shore, motioning his companions to follow him. The monk knew the location to the hidden city, and God alone knew the riches he could find there for the British Museum! Not far away, Pierre Fournereau hissed instructions to his men, "Zee monk must be rescued at all costs! Only with him, will we find zee ruins we seek..." Far above them, Von Jaeger and his Germans surveyed the scene from a rocky cliff. Giant stone idols loomed out of the jungle -- doubtless showered with riches by the savages of the jungle. Hurrying down the path leading to the cannibal village, a step ahead of the Germans, Dakota Smith and his friends also were eyeing the same giant stone heads, and the riches that may lay hidden near them. Another group of fortune hunters, Lady Shannon's Irish, looked down from a rocky hill at the two paths ahead of them. Should they cross the perilous looking rope bridge -- the quickest way to the village -- or detour to the temple below them and search it? Meanwhile, hidden in the jungle, three agents of the Order of the Fire Coral watched the approach of the westerners -- vowing the foreign devils would not succeed.

The leader of the secret martial arts society, Opay, saw the Irish head towards the temple and acted first. He found a way into the temple and discovered the skeleton on the floor. The satchel of the long-dead foreigner carried maps, he saw, maps that must not fall into the hands of the foreign devils! Before he could escape the temple, though, the rugged Irish mercenary Ryan O'Shea burst through the door and the two struggled over the satchel. Eventually, Opay disengaged and dove out through the window. There, he had to dodge a fusilade of shots fired by Ryan's companions. Unscathed, he scampered off into the jungle. Here was one clue to the Forbidden City's location that the Westerners would never find!

Both the German and American archeologist leagues close in on one of the stone idols. Dakota Smith's band would spend the game frustrating their rival Germans, snatching treasure after treasure from under their nose.

On the other side of the village, Dakota Smith and his pal Harold found their way to one of the giant stone idols. Together, they pried out the immense ruby eyes, and disappeared into the brush as the sound of German voices drew near. Von Jaeger, cursing that Fraulein Blucher had fallen and knocked herself out climbing down from the cliff, let off a stream of Teutonic obscenities as he saw his rival Dakota disappear into the jungle. The empty eye sockets of the idol seemed to be mocking him. He and Otto hurried out onto the path, where they saw Dakota Smith and Dolly Flanders clambering up a cliff path towards another one of the savage's stone idols. Chuckling evilly, he and Otto Tulmann fired bursts of automatic fire above the Americans, which set loose a rockslide. Dakota reached for Dolly's hand as she slipped, but missed and watched her fall, knocked senseless onto the rocks below. "Zat is for Frau Blucher, mein American..."he growled. Dakota leapt up and blazed away at the Germans with his six-shooter, who ducked, then fired back. Harold Fortwine, who had made it to the bridge leading to the village, hearing the firefight, turned and pulled out his revolver and joined in, as well.

Dakota blazes away at Von Jaeger and Otto Tulmann below, while Dolly takes a tumble from the rocky cliff path

Harris McLeod and Maj. Speke-Eastman had looted an idol of their own when they were surprised by the Fire Coral agent Jaz Minh leaping onto the path next to them. Inexplicably, all were too stunned to attack each other. Instead, the speedy martial artist raced up the path towards the cannibal village. Dumbfounded, the two Brits looked at each other, "Bloody Hell...?" Harris cocked his head, and asked, "Say, my good major, have you seen Clara?"

A "Parley" fortune card made for this comic moment as Jaz Minh leaps out from the underbrush at Harris McLeod and Maj. Speke-Eastman, only to have all concerned stare at each other until she darted off.

The major looked back on the path and shook his head. "She was behind us just a moment ago..." In the woods a ways off, Harris' niece lay unconscious. They pygmies looming above her noticed the two Brits, and turned to stalk them next.

Tex becomes my rope bridge's first (and probably not last) victim as his cowboy boots break through the rotted slats and send him hurtling towards the river below

Meanwhile, Lady Shannon's American mercenary, Tex, swallowed and tread softly out onto the rope bridge. His cowboy boots seemed to sink into the soft, almost rotted wood until there was a crash. He caught himself, though, and slowly dragged himself onto the next wooden slat. Beneath him, the waters of the jungle river writhed with evil dark shapes. Tex watched them for a few seconds, then pulled himself up and raced for the end of the bridge. There was another crash, and the American screamed as he fell towards the river below.

Cue climactic orchestra music: With a display of athletic prowess, French leader Pierre Fournereau kicks aside pygmies and rescues Brother Virigi from the cookpot

There was a chorus of shouts and the drumming ceased when Pierre and his Frenchmen came charging across a bamboo bridge into town. Pygmies ran towards them, but Pierre kicked them aside. Dr. Lambert swatted another with his stout leather briefcase, while Jacques Nero blazed away with his shotgun, scattering the crowd of cannibals. Pierre hurled himself across the village and up the wooden plank that led to the boiling and hissing cookpot. He picked up the two pygmies who were poking the flames with their spears and hurled them to the ground. With a display of superhuman strength, the athletic French archeologist snapped the leather bonds holding Brother Virigi and lifted him bodily out of the cookpot. The monk was flushed red and looked slightly scalded, but seemed not unduly hurt. Pierre half-dragged, and half-carried him back down the plank towards his companions.

Jaz Minh bravely hurls herself on the three Frenchmen to keep Virigi (and his knowledge of the Forbidden City) out of the hands of the foreign devils

There was a shout and the martial artist Jaz Minh raced towards Pierre and began kicking and punching the Frenchman, who fended off her blows. There was an even louder shriek of fury, and the pygmies of the village converged on the intruders. Jaz Minh gasped as a pygmy spear laid open her leg. The Frenchmen knocked away pygmies from all sides, gathered up the monk and moved towards the bridge. Pierre handed the monk off to the doctor, and stood as a valiant rearguard, battering aside any pygmies that tried to follow.

Another agent of the Order of the Fire Coral, Tatko, bravely holds off the Irish leader and sidekick for several turns -- keeping them out of the action

Not far away, the martial artist Tatko and the Irish fortune hunters Lady Shannon and Ryan were engaged in a fierce brawl themselves. Tatko showed blazing speed in avoiding the attacks of the two Irish. The furious clamor from the village prompted them to break off their melee, and sneak towards the path to investigate. When they saw Dr. Lambert hurrying the monk down the path, they knew the French had been successful. Tatko stepped out onto the path for a clear throw, and zipped two shuriken at the archeologist. Dr. Lambert calmly ducked, then opened his briefcase, pulled out a revolver, and blazed away, wounding Tatko. Lady Shannon and Ryan appeared and both raised their weapons. "The monk comes with us!" they shouted. Lambert trained his revolver on them and fired. The Irish clucked in disbelief, "Och, bad decision, laddie..." They aimed at the doctor and squeezed their triggers..."Click! Click!" Out of ammunition -- both of them! The two let out a stream of curses in Gaelic as the Frenchman scooted past them, laughing.

Clutching the monk's arm, Dr. Lambert runs the gauntlet of Tatko, Lady Shannon, and Ryan -- aided by not one but two "Out of Ammo" fortune cards

Meanwhile, far away in the jungle, Dakota Smith was definitely not laughing as he fled from the angry orangutan, whose frustrated howls rivaled those of the pygmies. Although he had not rescued the monk, he was somewhat relieved to see the French had done so. Now, all he would have to do would be to follow the French to the hidden city! He'd calmly finished looting the last of the pygmy idols and had been sneaking off into the jungle when he'd surprised the massive ape. His shots back at it did not seem to deter it from its chase, though. Eventually, he blundered onto the path, where he met Harold Fortwine, carrying Dolly Flanders. "What's that sticking out of your tail end, Harold?" Dakota asked.

A comic end to the tale was a great ape chasing a wounded Dakota Smith out of the jungle

The burly academic grunted, "Cursed pygmy arrow!" Behind them, they heard more howls, though they could not tell if it was pygmies or apes. The two giggled and fled off into the jungle, not sticking around to find out.

Our third game of Pulp Alley was a blast. I had six players -- five archeological leagues, and one martial arts society whose job is to frustrate the objective of the others. Each team except for the martial arts society had a Leader, Sidekick, and Ally. Humorously, four of the five allies ended up being knocked down and out -- and all by the play of Fortune Cards. Both Frau Blucher and Dolly Flanders took tumbles on perilous cliff paths, while Tex was the first character to try to cross my rope bridge (and failed). British Clara was ambushed by pygmies in the woods early on. The only Ally to survive was the French Jacques Nero.

The French won the scenario, with the heroic charge led by their leader, Pierre Fournereau. They were really the only faction who made a concerted effort to go for the major plot point -- Brother Virigi stewing in the cookpot. All of the others were distracted by the minor plot points of idols and temples. The Germans in particular, spent the game chasing after Dakota Smith and his band after they snatched a plot point from under their noses. The Irish were also frustrated, but by the Order of the Fire Coral. First, Opay stole the plot point out of the temple just ahead of them. Then Tatko was a one-man wrecking and dodging crew, holding off the Irish leader and sidekick single-handedly. The Order of the Fire Coral has three sidekicks instead of the Leader/Sidekick/Ally combination. They played masterfully this time. They did not win, as the French had the major plot point, but they prevented the Irish from being a factor. The British succeeded in looting one idol, and seemed content with that. Dakota Smith surprisingly ignored the quick pathway to the village and left it to the French to rescue Brother Virigi, while he went off idol hunting. The Americans snagged two plot points, and escaped off board.

The players all seemed to have a good time...well, except for the Germans! We are getting better at creating the storyline of what happens in each perilous area, and making up what form each challenge takes. In the extremely perilous river island -- the cannibal village -- the perils were simply pygmies rushing at the players. Easier challenges represented lone pygmies, while difficult ones were swarms of them. The systems forces us to tell the story as we go along, and it often turns out to be a fairly hilarious one, too! Seven friends sitting around the table can be pretty ruthless when it comes to thinking of embarrassing things that happened to your characters when they fail challenges...!

The next chapter will find the archeologists finally exploring the hidden city that Brother Virigi had spotted so long ago. Stay tuned to this channel for more thrilling Oriental Adventures with Dakota Smith...!

Snowed in? Build a temple! (Part 5 - finished!)

At 10 inches tall, this temple is definitely the centerpiece of a gaming table

So, the big temple is now complete. I have to say that I am very happy with how it turned out. This build has to be up there with my Dark Ages Saxon church as one of my all-time favorites.  Is it my best work? Not sure...but it is certainly not my worst!

Some of my 28mm Pulp figures gathered around the entrance to the temple

All patting myself on the back aside, when I left off in the last article the temple outside was complete. All that remained was the flocking and the interior. I painted the styrene base with white glue and poured medium ballast over the glue as a first coat. Then, I painted the ballast (when dry) with a mixture of white glue, water, and brown paint. I poured sand over it while still wet. Then I painted straight white glue in large patches, sprinkling this with Woodland Scenics blended green turf. Once it had dried, the areas left brown I painted with 50/50 white glue and water and sprinkled lightly with Woodland Scenics brown turf. I added three different colors of clump foliage here an there, as well as some wire plants, flowers, or bushes.

Eric Bylan and his native guides investigate the rear of the grand temple

 At this point, I had a decision to make: Do I flock the roof to represent plants taking roof up there, as well? I went back and forth on the idea, and finally decided to do it. First, I painted the area with straight white glue and sprinkled on blended green turf. I then followed it up here and there with clump foliage atop the green. I even added a couple flowering plants or bushes on top of that. Once everything was dry, I sprayed it with Testors Dullcoate, and then followed that up with a 50/50 white glue and water. I am glad I decided to flock the roof. I think it adds that extra bit of "lost in the jungle" feel to the temple.

Looking down at the roof of the temple -- I think the flock added to the roof really makes it appear like it as stumbled upon, hidden deep inside of a jungle

 For the interior, I downloaded some images from CG Textures -- a free website with great pictures of stone, brick, cloth -- you name it! I resized then in Photoshop and printed them out. I decided to have the interior of the temple made of reddish blocks of sandstone. The floor is an almost-mosaic like rock floor. Once they were trimmed to fit perfectly, I painted the interior with Ceramcoat Spice Tan (the same color as the base coat for the temple surfaces). That way, any join between the walls or floor that doesn't fit perfectly has a nice, dull background to blend it in. Once dry, I painted it with a thin layer of white glue and affixed the images of the walls and floor. I know the images look less three dimensional than the outsides, but I think they look nice as interiors. I used the same technique for my other temples, as well as the interiors of the jungle huts. Using these images is a quick, easy, and nice looking way to finish the interiors of buildings.

The interior of the temple, which is simply covered with images printed off in color and glued to the inside walls

I'm not 100% sure my pictures do the temple justice -- it is simply so large of a build. Its final measurements are about 7" wide, by 5" deep, and 10" tall. As I mentioned earlier, the roof comes off, and the second story and stupa atop the roof come off the roof, as well. This makes it easier to store, of course. So, with this build, I think I am done with Southeast Asian temples for awhile. If I do anything else, they will likely be small stupas to place here and there to fill out a larger board.

A closeup of the false second story, which is detachable and lifts off of the roof for easier storage

I hope you enjoyed the series of entries detailing its work in progress! Feel free to leave a comment, or ask questions...! Thanks.