Saturday Night on the Road to Damascus

Last night Pasha Dan was over to try out a scenario he is thinking of for Hotlead 2016 next March.

It's an ancient Roman variation on his massively popular multi-sided Pulp adventure trust me games with hidden agendas, bribery and back-stabbing. But this time with pila and sword instead of Tommy guns.

We had the local cohort (me) holding a bandit chief, waiting for the convoy with the pay for my troops which would take the prisoner back to Palmyra. There were some gladiators on a tear looking for loot. A local noble hoping to exploit things for private gain. Another local merchant wanting revenge on the prisoner. The bandit chief's gang wanting to break him out. Hilarious hijinks ensue in this desert hive of scum and villainy. With more players he could add another 2 or 3 groups into the mix.

Dan set up quite an extensive town (reusing a lot of his colonial buildings), featuring a mix of Miniature Building Authority, a plastic Italeri kit, a repainted  souvenir, towers from an old toy pirates game, foam core buildings and some buildings carved out of the dense foam used for flower arranging (including the Fort) plus resin aquarium pieces.

Just another day in Canis Minor

"You pesky kids keep out of my amphorae!"

"Thanks folks, we'll be here all week! Try the fish."

After a bit of initial circling things got nasty when the bandits made a try for the pay chests.

Gladiators sally out to find trouble

Local merchant arrives seeking revenge

Pay convoy and escort

One of my patrols returns from the desert to reinforce the convoy

Bandits ambush the pay convoy!

And grab the camel with the pay chests!

But the bandit got a scorpion bolt from the fort through his shoulders and the rest of the bandits got cut down trying to flee into the alley

Gladiators ambush local equestrian

Merchant has shot down the prisoner after I handed him over to the convoy, now we face off in the street

Gladiators and equestrian's guards face off after exchanging a lot of blood

With the bandit chief dead we called the game and discussed who had been able to achieve  their objectives and what sort of excusing reports and angry letters would be getting sent to the governor.

Dan has been running these games for years. We met many many years ago when he was running a similar game at MIGSCON (when it was in it's heydays at the Hamilton Holiday Inn) and I was also commanding the dromedary troops chasing a bnadit chief.