GASLIGHT AAR

Basement Con night #1 started off with a 9 player GASLIGHT mega-battle. We had guests from come in from out of town for this one. 

The Anglo-French forces were surrounded and attempting a breakout from a small Belgium town on the frontier. Among them were the Secret Six, a band of British heroes carrying top secret plans. They needed to get off the table without being captured.

The German plan was simple: contain and destroy. They were aided in this by the Nefarious Professor Nightshade and his mechanical minions.

The Anglo-French devised an good plan. As the Germans were attempting to cover all exits, the allies would stack their units on one side and try to overrun the enemy with numbers. But you know what they say about plans and contact with the enemy?

Apparently the crews of the French contraptions had had a bit to drink the night before. Their boilers were cold. They spent the first 3 turns of game trying to get started.

Meanwhile, the Germans moved in. The Luftmarine captured the strategic farmhouse in the middle, while their vehicles lumbered forward.

The British infantry bravely charged across the open ground alone, while the French Marines cowered in the woods. They assaulted the Luftmarines and routed them despite taking heavy casualties from both farmhouse and the sputtering Jaguar velocipede.

The Commander of the French Zuoaves and the Luftmarine's colonel talk

politics in the woods.

The British, in turn were driven out by the Rokkittruppen. 

Let me stop here for a minute. We've been playing this game for many years. Over that time, many troops and vehicles have developed legends and lore to them. The Rokkittruppen, for the most part, have a terrible rep. Yes, their rocket packs let them hurtle across the table, but almost always to their doom. Their clockwork automatic carbines can wreak terrible damage, but only at close range. This time, however, they charged in and drove out the Brits.

Another unit with a past, is the Wespe. An ungainly steam powered helicopter with a penchant for falling out of the sky. This time, he dropped bombs and strafed with abandon.

Finally, the Lady Hussars. These girls have been holy terrors. Maybe its the bright red dresses, but the last 4-5 games their gunfire has been deadly, routing troop after troop. Never fired a shot this game

The Jaguar. More dangerous to crew on a good day.

Ultimately the allies never got moving. The Six puttered around, when they should have made a bee-line for the table edge. Only one the Brute Class Land Ironclad escaped. Three separate German units attacked it, without slowing it down.

Thanks to everyone who showed. Tonight, night #2 of Basement-Con, will be Hail Caesar Fantasy.

Thursday Night GASLIGHT

I'll let the pictures talk.

The calm before the storm...

British Naval Brigade troops back up the Zouaves.

I think its this way, chaps.

French Marines supported by the Spyder.

L'Roue, American Volunteers and French regular move in from the far right flank.

Lady Hussars face them. Their rifles would prove deadly accurate.

The Electro Cannon is a fricken' sniper. It takes down the the Little Spyder first shot and devastates the infantry opposite.

Here comes the Wheel. Uhlans wait in reserve.

FORWARD!

The "brave" marines take a breather in the woods.

German steam. He was a killer last night, too.

Full reverse. Unicycle Uhlans drive L'Roue back.

The Zouave Captain takes on the Steam Tank alone.

The bloodly aftermath

At 10pm we called it. The Anglo-French alliance only really had one funcyioning infantry unit, but 2 contraptions in the fight.

The Germans still held the base, so I called it a minor German victory. Some of the pictures are blurry. Our new war correspondent (the Boy), wasn't used to the camera yet. But at least he was sober.

GASLIGHT

Any time I throw out, "what do you guys want to game tonight?", the answer is usually GASLIGHT. This scenario found the Great Powers investigating a "fallen star" that hit somewhere in the deep desert.  I brought in some elements from Pulp Alley like plot point areas. There were four minor and one major.

These plot point areas led to some fun bits. 

Uhlans find the Spring

"Look sir, some sort of idol".

Stalwart Ladies, I say

The Brute Class Land Ironclad

The Germas lost 2 guys in the quick sand, the French woke a mummy who followed them around, the British awoke a beast from Beyond, and the German Uhlans found the Guardian of the Eternal Spring. All while a battle was raging.

Other points of interest:

In any game its in, the Killenkanner is either an unstoppable killing machine or a complete dud. This game it was the latter.

The uhlan never got to use the Creature, because the officer commanding him was whacked by an unlucky (or lucky for the French) shot.

The last Lady Hussar on the table was shot unceremoniously from behind by the Roughriders (paging Dr Freud).

Professor Nightshade's Walking Monitor has only been destroyed once before. Over countless battles the Spider has battled the Monitor, always losing to the Professor's contraption. Vive Le France! The Spider took her down.

The dreadful Rokkittruppen manage to live through the fight by hiding in the trees. I ask you Basement Generals not in attendance last night, who do you think commanded them?

That was just a few highlights.

Come along little Froggie

The much maligned clockwork tank stayed in the fight

By end of the night, both sides had captured 2 minor plot points, while the Major was overrun by the Brits. They found it was the ship of yet another alien race, there to warm them of their impeding doom.

GASLIGHT Thursday

This game was actually last Thursday, but as mentioned before, there was a lot going on last weekend. The day before RECRUITS is always hit or miss. Some guys can't get a kitchen pass for Thursday AND all weekend. But, it turned out 7 could. GASLIGHT always brings 'em out.

In our last episode, the otherworldly "visitor" had crash landed. The German Alliance had made off with him. The Anglo-French forces needed to find out what was going on, so they set out to get one of their most trusted men behind enemy lines, Sir Percival Armstrong, and his faithful man servant Mpopo.

All the smoke and clanking alerted the Germans to attack. They held a small farmhouse and crossroads. They new any machines would have to cross at the stone bridge, but unsure if the large stream would slow them down.

From the start the allies seemed to have the upper hand. Most of their contraptions sprang to life and ran most of the game, while the Germans with their ally the nefarious Prof. Nightshade (boo,hiss) couldn't seem to get anything running.

The Unicycle Uhlans prepare to charge, protected by a clockwork tank. A design flaw on the armored conveyance, only allows for broadsides. Rokkitruppen await in the trees.

A royal Navy landing Party advances through the woods.

Nightshade's forces. His Steam Automatons, know no fear.

A single brave Uhlan charges home against the Zoaves.

Meanwhile, the Lady Hussars defend the farmhouse

There were many brave deeds that night, but in the end, the Allies managed to shift the bulk of their troops to one side. With the hour getting late, it was deemed a tactical victory for the German forces, but a strategic one for the Allies as Sir Percival got through the lines. We'll run a smaller, RPG-like game for the next installment as Sir Percival attempts to get into the secret base. A little 007 in 1883.

I will post some RECRUITS pics next, but in the mean time, I've decided show the pairings, if you will, that I usually do for the evenings entertainment. As it was a cold rainy night, I went with "Old Speckled Hen", an English Ale. With a nice, mild cigar too, of course.

The Visitor. A VSF battle

crackle-crackle..."Science Division observed several meteorite impacts this evening in Sector 13. One meteor exhibited an erratic flight path upon entry. Dispatch Assault Zepplin Von Seydlitz to investigate. End transmission"....

With this ominous message, the players were tasked with checking out all the impact craters on the table, and returning with anything significant.

The German players got the speed, while the Anglo-French players got the firepower. Both tried to send most of their forces around the flanks. The Germans marched one unit right down the middle of town, supported by a Nightshade created Land Monitor, while the unicycle Uhlans and velocipede swung wide.

The Anglo-French hugged the flanks, only sending Impervious Suits and a lone tricycle rocket battery up he middle.

The battlefield

French Marines use the Spyder as cover

A British Brute Class Landship steams forward

Unicycle uhlans investigate a crater. Nothing here, sir.

German troops advance through town

The French line

A combined Uhlan-Rokkittruppen assault devastate the British Naval landing troops

The pilot of a Killenkanner finds a strange craft crashed in the field. An even stranger creature emerges. The Killenkanner pilot "hears" inside his head, "Take me to your leader".

The Empress's Lady Hussars greet the Visitor.

Rokkitruppen mop up.

The ladies blast away at some British troops assaulting the Killenkanner.

With evening waning, the Anglo-French called it quits. Their forces were down to a few contraptions and the Tricycle Rocket team who had only moved 6 inches the whole game.

The Germans escaped with the wreckage of the ship and the strange new Visitor form the sky. What secrets would he bring, and could it turn the tide of the war?

Once again, GASLIGHT, with some of our own tweaks, provided a fun game. It has inspired to work on some new troops and some new weapons......