Revenge of the Gwan-gee-three!

Tonight, George, Paul and I played the sequel to our Pulp Alley dino wrangling game from last year. Having subdued and captured the terrifying Gwan-gee-three, the jubilant cowboys bring it into the local town, Los Locos, for display. Of course they neglected to tranquilize it sufficiently, so it duly breaks it's bonds and sets off on a rampage across the town. Drawn by the screams of the townspeople and the roars of the beast, more raptors descend from the valley to join in the carnage!

George's league was his usual Wild West one, led by Rooster Hogburn. Paul played the outlaw list that was played by Nick last time. For myself, I decided that Ben Cartwheel was counting his cash on his ranch, so I created a fresh league of US Cavalry men that have been requested to come and ensure the safety of the town. In this outing, we had four raptors and the T-Rex. The raptors would become minor plot points and the T-Rex the major plot point when they were brought down. Completing the plot point was regarded as finishing them off, so there was always a danger that a downed dino could get back up. And, of course, delivering the coup de grace to a dinosaur is extremely perilous!

The townsfolk would activate after the characters, but before the dinos. They would simply move 1d6 inches away from the closest dino. To rescue a civilian, a character needed 2 successes on Might, Finesse or Cunning. This was a long action, so even lowly followers could eventually save someone. Once under the character's control, the civilian had to be moved to the Bank, Sheriff's Office or Hotel to be saved. Each saved civvie counted as an extra VP.

Lights, camera, action...!

The bustling town of Los Locos is about to get...busier!

"What the...!"

My cavalry private (follower) starts to try and talk sense into the local preacher who is raving about repenting sins!

Paul's outlaws shoot down a dino just before it pounces on a luckless mother trying to shield her children.

With a thunderous roar the Gwan-gee-three seizes and consumes its first victim of the day. Now it has an appetite for more!

The downed dino was not injured enough and leapt up to devour the mother! It's snapping jaws only snagged her bustle, though, buying time for the outlaws to save her from certain doom.

Chaos reigns as the townsfolk flee in panic.

The outlaw leader, The Colonel, displays his expertise with double pistols and a dino crashes to the ground. The cavalry close in for the kill!

The other raptor isn't dead yet and lashes out at an outlaw who is casually examining why his pistol misfired. He regrets this lapse in concentration!

As more hapless victims find themselves in the jaws of the beast, the heroes converge on it to lay down fire. The thick hide of the dinosaur protects it though.

The Gwan-gee-three peers down the alley. Amidst the movement its attention s drawn to a sinister looking man attempting to hide in an outhouse...

...and with a bellow it charges! The outhouse is smashed to matchwood and the victim disappears down its gullet! Tasty!

The outlaws spot their chance! Sarge has attempted to get to the downed raptor, but a flick of its tail brings him crashing to the ground. Can they get there to claim a second prize?

Meanwhile, there is a lull in the action on the other side of town as all the townsfolk have either run to safety or been devoured!

Sarge gets back to his feet, but Paul has the initiative and uses it well to claim the plot point.

With guns blazing, Rooster's men try to wound the mighty beast, but all they succeed in is drawing it onto them.

A vicious firefight ensues around the Sheriff's Office as the cavalry men recognise the outlaws for the nasty varmints they are. The Colonel is brought down in the storm of lead!

With a terrible roar, the Gwan-gee-three exults! It's belly is full for now and all the townsfolk have fled. Even the brave heroes realise the virtue of discretion over foolhardiness and retreat. The town is left to the dinosaurs!

What a great game this was! A little unusual as there was very little conflict until the end as all of us concentrated on being the heroes and rescuing as many civvies as we could. In the end, Paul was the clear winner with two minor plot points and about four townsfolk rescued. My favourite moment was the nod to Jurassic Park with the outhouse. This was a completely random happening, the civilian happened to roll exactly the right move to put him there. I just love it when these cinematic moments occur in games like this! And now we are all feeling very inspired to start a Pulp Alley Western campaign, now that the Dirk Drake saga has drawn to a close.