AFBS: Maze of Madness- The Story

The Red Wolf, Lois Green, and Johnny Smith entered the maze from the southern end. The communists (Avantgardia, Ardano, and George) from the northern. Both sides were aware that the other team might be in the maze looking for the treasure, so it was a good idea to keep quiet. Although they entered the maze at midnight, it was a full moon, allowing them the ability to read the map and find the possible treasure locations. Both George and Jimmy held shovels. It was also a good idea to stay quiet so as not to alert Sir Moosely, who was up late studying his copy of Man and Superman.
Avantgardia got a little ahead of herself at the start and explored a corridor directly in front of her, while sending her men off to dig at the first location on their side of the maze. By the time she's returned, the guys had dug down three feet and found absolutely nothing. Undaunted, they entered the first cul-de-sac of the maze and started digging at a new location. This produced the tablet with the control word for the slug. Although the communists weren't exactly sure what the purpose of the tablet was, Avantgardia ordered George to hang on to it.
The Red Wolf team was lucky to discover a clip of 0.45 ammo at the first location where they dug. Since only The Red Wolf was carrying such a pistol, Johnny gave it to him. They moved onto the next spot on the map.
This time The Red Wolf team was lucky. Johnny Smith heard a loud "clunk!" as the shovel smacked into a solid object. Even in the moonlight it was possible to see a large chunk of melted gold metal: Abbot Basil had melted all his monastery's treasury into one solid mass.
But the next sound was that of the awakened Stygian slug. The creature roared and lunged at Johnny, severely wounding him in the torso. The young kid fought like a cornered alley rat with his shovel, but the slug wounded him in the leg. It took the combined fire power of Lois and the Red Wolf's pistols to finally kill the slug.
By the time the gunfire subsided, Sir Moosley was running into the maze with his service revolver. He ran smack into the communists who were on they way out of the cul-de-sac. A fierce gun battle erupted in which the aging fascist took a hit to the leg. Rather than waste more time and bullets, Ardano attempted to convince Sir Moosley they were agents of Hitler, who were hiding from a mob of undermen. Sir Moosley was convinced (never was too bright), and limped along after the communists in the direction of the Red Wolf party's gunfire.
However, The Red Wolf and Lois were able to drag the gold out of the maze before the communists could meet-up with them. Johnny Smith made it out as well.

AFBS: Maze of Madness- Characters

AFBS: Maze of Madness- Scenario

October, 1936: Two different groups are trying to seize a horde of gold hidden inside a hedge maze on the Moosley estate in southern England. The location of the gold was recently revealed in a medieval document purchased by Hitler's SS. In the document, Abbot Basil described how he'd hidden the funds of his monastic order in a garden maze on a royal estate. This was during the time of Henry the Eighth's dissolution of the English monasteries in the year 1540. Before the Nazis’ could finish translating the document, it was stolen by Avangardia Podkrova (#3), one of Stalin's top female intelligence agents. However, a copy of the original document was secured by Worthington Wentright (#3), millionaire adventurer and playboy.
Avangardia desires to get the gold for herself, although she's officially working for Stalin's Cheka. She's started hearing rumors that agents recalled to Moscow have been disappearing into the Gulag. But she doesn't know that her assistant, Ardano Manghorelli(#2), has plans for the gold himself: he's a double agent supposedly working for the USSR, but in fact a plant by Mussolini's secret service. Finally, she's also being assisted by George Blair (#1), a local British communist who is obsessed by his vision of the USSR as a workers' paradise.
Worthington Wentright is, in fact, The Red Wolf, defender of the weak; champion of truth, justice, and democracy. He works in secret so as not to reveal himself to the public at large. He is accompanied by cub reporter Lois Green (#2) and Johnny Smith (#1), a street urchin. Both of his companions have been with him through countless adventures and are fiercely loyal. Wentright does not want the treasure of Abbot Basil to fall into the bloody hands of the Axis or communists.
But what either party doesn't know, and has been hinted at in the document, is that the treasure is protected by a guardian. Before Abbot Thomas left the horde of gold, he placed in the treasure box a Stygian slug. This creature is a deadly invertebrate specially bred in the hills of Mongolia to guard valuables. The slug will hibernate unless someone disturbs the treasure. If awoken, the slug will try to kill the offending party. It can only be calmed by a code word contained in the document. A word neither party has found, although each have a copy of the document with them.
Finally, the search for the treasure of Abbot Basil has to be carried out in darkness and silence. The royal estate was acquired years ago by the Moosley family. Sir Oswald Moosley (#2) is an Axis admirer and runs his own paramilitary group: The British Union of Flagellants. If anyone in the nearby manor house hears a disturbance in the maze, Sir Oswald will come and investigate.
Both the communist and Red Wolf team are assumed to have a map of the maze with the possible treasure locations indicated.


The Game Board
The game board consists of a 2’ X 2’ board. The board represents the hedge maze on the Moosley estate. The hedges cannot be breached as they are too thick to cut through. The hedges cannot be scaled for the same reason. The hedge also acts as obscuring terrain at all times, since there is not enough room inside the maze to see over a hedge. Inside the maze are several objects which the treasure may be hidden under: a birdbath, a stone bench, an abstract art statue, and a rock. Four encounter markers indicate possible places to dig for the treasure. Night conditions are considered to be in effect, thus line of sight is reduced to 12” and targets beyond that are considered obscured. The Red Wolf is carrying two 0.45 automatic pistols, but everyone else with a pistol is considered to have a “service revolver”.

Characters
The Red Wolf team: Worthington Wentright (Grade 3), Lois Green (Grade 2), and Jonathan (Grade 3). Communist team: Avangardia Podkrova (Grade 3), Ardano Manghorelli (Grade 2), and George (Grade 2). There is a possibility that Sir Oswald Moosley (Grade 2) will make an appearance.

Set-up
The Red Wolf team will assemble at one entrance of the maze, the communists on the other.

Victory Condition
The first team to find the treasure of Abbot Thomas and get it out of the maze wins.

Special Rules
The treasure is very heavy. Two characters hauling it out of the maze can only move 2” per turn. One character can only move 1”.
When the treasure is uncovered, the Stygian slug awakes and goes on the attack.
It takes two moves to push a statue out of the way. It takes four moves to dig down to the treasure location.
If a gun is fired, Sir Oswald will show up at one of the entrances to investigate the disturbance. He’s also been trying to find the treasure, although he has no clue it is hidden in the maze.

Encounter Markers.

Ten encounter markers are placed in the maze. Four of the markers will consist of objects already in the maze, the other 6 will be spots indicated on the treasure map. Use a standard playing card deck containing one of the cards Ace through Jack.
Ace- The treasure of Abbot Thomas!
Two- Nothing!
Three- A loaded .45 clip with six bullets.
Four- Nothing!
Five- A 16th century dagger in usable condition.
Six- Nothing.
Seven- Six rounds of ammo for a service revolver.
Eight- Nothing.
Nine- Nothing.
Ten- A tablet containing the word needed to control the slug.
Jack- Nothing.

Work In Progress- A Maze

Here's some pics of a hedge maze scenario I'm developing. The pattern you see now will be surrounded by another hedge.

AFBS: Episode 2-Escape from the Warrior Women- AAR part 3.

And now we come to the actual battle report.
As the opening, the Amazons were camped in two separate groups next to the fire. The queen with her two spear wielders, the remainder on the other side of the fire. Prothoe was given first watch at guarding the corral, closed with a makeshift gate.
As with the plan, Technician Jimmy Wonder was able to get Prothoe to let him out of the corral for a little extra-circular activity. He also slipped the key to the gate from her. He then tossed it back to the rest of the team, who were pretending to sleep. With his suave skills Jimmy convenienced her to go behind the rock next to the corral and get to know each other better.
Myrene, one of the spear wielders, suddenly awoke and noticed Prothoe walking away from the corral with her paramour. She was unable to wake her spear sister Andromeda, so she decided to follow the two and see what the hell was going on.
Meanwhile, Lt. Jake Nero managed to slip out of the corral, only to run square into Myrene, who was following the Prothoe and Jimmy Wonder. A brief scuffle occurred with Jake Nero getting pushed back into the corral.
Over behind the rock, Jimmy Wonder said the words taught to him by Dr. Klock into Prothoe's ear. The seduction was successful. However, she wasn't happy about the outcome (Note to Jimmy: next time bring flowers). Prothoe knocked Jimmy down and tied him up. Giving her cab fair just won't fly on the Femina planetoid.
Next, Jack Nero attacked Myrene a second time by leaping over the gate. Now he was able to disarm and secure her. Unfortunately, Prothoe was coming around the rock, dragging the squirming form of Jimmy Wonder along. Prothoe dropped Jimmy Wonder and ran in pursuit of Jake Nero. Another scuffle took place, this time between Prothoe and Nero, where he was able to subdue and tie her up.
It didn't take long for all the Amazons to wake up, with the noise caused by Jake Nero and Jimmy Wonder (who managed to untie his bonds) rummaging through all the Amazon's baggage looking for their weapons. Jimmy caused no small amount of havoc when he found Commander Hammer's ray gun. He managed to use up it's batteries by trying to frighten the Amazons away with a suppressing fire. It didn't work too well since the Amazons had no idea what the ray gun was or what it could do.
Note to future Star Command characters: if you are going to point a ray gun, shoot to kill.
A whole free-for-all soon erupted at the campsite with UDSF team members fleeing from the corral and smacking it out with Amazons. Eventually, the stunners were uncovered in the baggage train and those UDSF men who had them started stunning the Amazons.
Which didn't change things too much since the stunners effect is temporary. The Amazons would eventually recover from the stun charge and swing back into action.
The episode ended with all the UDSF men captured, secured and under control of the Amazons. Dr. Klock fled the corral toward the end and tried to make a run for it, but one of the Amazons quickly captured him. He was knocked back into the corral with Andromeda on guard.
Now the queen is not in a good mood, having been awoke in the middle of the night. Furthermore Andromeda spotted Prothoe wondering off with her little boy toy, leaving the males unguarded. There will be much explaining to do.
Obviously, the Amazons are not so easily fooled by subtle escape attempts. They won't be so lax about leaving the males unguarded the next time.
What strange adventures await the men of the United Democracies Space Force? How will they be dealt with when they arrive at the Amazon city? And what about Sally, the girl next door?
Tune in for our next exciting episode, Terror is a Woman.

AFBS: Episode 2-Escape from the Warrior Women- AAR part 2.

Here are some photos which show the game at the start and conclusion of the game. The starting pic is of the beginning. The Amazons on their sides are assumed to be sleeping. The UDSF men are upright, but were turned on their sides after the picture was taken to represent them sleeping as well.

AFBS: Episode 2-Escape from the Warrior Women- AAR part 1.

Using an interesting device called a Pulse Pen I attempted to keep track of the episode by diagramming the action. However, you can see from the small reproduction, the action became quite confused and difficult to track. The legend is at the top of the diagram.

Amazons From Beyond Space: Episode 2-Escape from the Warrior Women

Here's the latest scenario for AFBS. I'll post results when I have a chance to play it.

Amazons From beyond Space: Episode 2-
Escape from the Warrior Women

Scenario
The Amazons have rounded up all the USDF men and have locked them up in a small corral on the edge of the royal forest. They are camped on a Limestone formation which runs next to the forest. The corral is a natural rock formation which the amazons have decided to use for their purposes. In this case it means keeping the captives secure without the necessity of having to tie them up.
After posting Prothoe at the entrance to the corral, the Amazons decide to bed down for the night. The Queen is camping to one side of the corral with the two spear wielders, the remainder of the amazons to the other. There is a small five burning in the midst of the camp to keep away any predatory animals. Prothoe is supposed to be relieved by Tekmessa in a few hours.
The Queen has instructed her women not to mess with the captured males. She is curious as to where they came from and why these odd men didn't flee from the tiger. She wants them examined by the elders of her court. There have been rumors circulating from other Amazon cities about strange men who appeared after weird lights were seen in the sky at night. In every case the men fled when the city watch attempted to capture them. They were never seen again.
The UDSF team realizes they have a chance to escape. The two black box recorders, as well as several other objects, were confiscated by the Amazons soon after the men were captured. The queen wants to take them with her to the city of Hera for further study. Likewise, the five stunners and Commander Hammer's ray gun are stashed among the Amazons’ baggage. If one of them can sneak out of the enclosure and find the weapons, the Amazons won't be much of a problem. Then all they'll have to do is use the remote control for the orbiting spaceship to bring it back down, load themselves (with the black box recorders) on board, and get off the asteroid. Although they didn't see the Amazons bring it along, the men figure the remote control to the ship is in the camp or nearby.
The problem is getting out of the corral. But Prothoe has shown an unusual amount of interest in Technician Jimmy Wonder. She was visibly agitated when the queen ordered her to relinquish him to the other captives. What the men don’t know is that the Amazons have a rule regarding the capture of wild males: he belongs to the first woman who claims him; only the queen can override this rule, which she has already done. Deprived of a young and healthy catch, Prothoe can only simmer with rage. Normally, she'd never consider violating an order from the queen. But if Her Majesty doesn't know….
Dr. Klock has figured out the Amazons speak a variation of ancient Greek, a language in which he is fluent. He's taught Jimmy a few basic phrases guaranteed to drive Prothroe wild with ecstasy. At least, they’re supposed to work. They've noted her eyeing Jimmy through the gate to the enclosure. Commander Hammer has ordered Jimmy to get her to unlock the gate, sneak the key away, and toss it back to them. Then they'll wait until he takes the Amazon behind the nearest rock to seduce her. If all goes according to plan, Commander Hammer and Captain Mitchell will sneak out of the enclosure and locate the weapons.
This assumes everything will go according to plan…..



The Game Board
The Game board consists of a 2’X 2’ board. The board represents a limestone rock surface at the edge of the forest where the UDSF men were captured. Toward the back of the board is a naturally-occurring rock formation that the Amazons are using to imprison the men. Small rock outcroppings and boulders may provide a limited degree of cover.

Characters
The same as in Scenario #1, with the exception of the Arslan 500 robot and the tiger (dead).

Setup
The UDSF team has been imprisoned in the corral. Prothoe has been given the responsibility of guarding the males. Off to one side, about 45 degrees, the queen is camping with the two spear women, Arisbe and Myrene. It is assumed the queen and her two attendants are bedded down for the night. Also near the corral are the rest of the amazons. There is a small fire burning in the middle or the camp to keep away wild animals. The weapons and black boxes are stashed in several packs, but the men don't know which one.

Victory Conditions
The UDSF team must escape from the clutches of the Amazons with the black box recorders. The Amazons need to stop any break-outs.

Encounter Cards
The encounter markers are placed in or near the campsite. They represent the baggage brought along by the Amazons.

Ace- Commander Hammers ray gun.
Two-Three stunners.
Three-The remaining two stunners.
Four-The first blade box recorder.
Five- The Second black box recorder.
Six- Spare container of water.
Seven- An empty chest which markers a loud creak when opened, waking any Amazon two inches from it.
Eight- A chunk of metal from the crash which interested the queen.
Nine -An empty box, but the character that opens it makes enough noise to wake all the Amazons.
Ten- The remote controls for the orbiting spaceship.


Special Rules
# 1- Since Prothoe is fixated on Tony Wonder, he is allowed to make a seduction.
# 2- Any UDSF team member passing less than 1 inch from a sleeping Amazon risks waking her. To that end, the Amazon must make an “alert” test. If the D10 dice rolls 1-5, the Amazon is considered woken.

#3- If any single Amazon raises an alarm, all Amazons are considered to be awake on the next Amazon turn.

Amazons From Beyond Space: Chapter 1- Encounter At Femina

The first encounter between the United Democracies Space Force team and the amazon warriors didn't go too well for the men.
There were only two players in this scenario: myself (the UDSF team) and my wife (the amazons of course).
Once both sides emerged from the clearing, they made a cautious advance toward each other. The amazons couldn't believe their luck in finding so many feral males. The UDSF team noted the stream was between them and the crash site and hurried to pick through the rubble for the black box recorders. The amazons stopped to examine the crash site as well, puzzling why the gods would strike their world in such a fashion. Might it have something to do with these strange males?
The amazons were the first to discover a black box recorder, but discarded it as being useless. From the other side of the stream, the UDSF team saw them drop what they were trying to get. Instantly, Commander Hammer ordered his men to go after that box. This proved a little difficult as the encounter turned into a melee with amazons jumping across the stream, eager to be the first one to claim a quarry.
But before anything could reach the fisticuffs stage, a saber tooth tiger made an appearance on top of the largest hill. Most of the amazons were still on the tiger side of the stream and began shooting or throwing at it with what they had. The tiger, being a rather huge and deadly mammal, manged to wound one of the amazons before she could retreat. The UDSF team began firing at it with their stunners, but the beast avoided the rays. Engineer Scott activated the robot, discovered earlier in the crash site, and had it slam into the tiger a few times. All this did was create one really pissed-off tiger which ignored the robot. It took a combined volley of arrows and spear thrusts from the amazons to put the tiger down.
The amazons again puzzled over these strange men who actually attacked the tiger with stranger weapons. But they crossed the stream anyway, this time in force, and went for the men.
Although the UDSF team immobilized several of the amazons with stunners, the others quickly took the initiative and captured all of the military men on the team. When engineer Scott and Dr. Klock found themselves surrounded, they dropped their stunners and surrendered. It seemed like a better idea to plan an escape later.
The top photo shows engineer Scott and Dr. Klock surrounded by amazons. One spear-wielding woman is down from a stunner charge, but it won't last much longer. The middle photograph is that of the space probe crash site. The bottom pic shows the dead tiger after several amazons have killed it. From across the stream the UDSF team can be seen with their stunners ready.
What fate awaits the heroic men of The United Democracies Space Force at the hands of these fierce amazons? Will they manage to escape and bring their space ship back to the Femina planetoid? And what about the Arslan 5000 robot?
Turn in to the next exciting adventure!

Amazons From Beyond Space: Star Command Pics

Amazons From Beyond Space: Amazon Pics

Amazons From Beyond Space: Amazons

Amazons From Beyond Space: Star Command

Amazons From Beyond Space: Scenario

A team from the United Democracies Space Force has landed on the Femina asteroid. The asteroid was discovered early in the days of interplanetary travel and has a breathable atmosphere. The team consists of three officers, a scientist, an engineer, and a technician. All are male. Their mission is to recover both of the black box recorders from the Command Beta Test probe which crashed on the asteroid after returning from a deep space mission. The CBT probe was unmanned, but did have an electronic robot pilot which might have survived the crash.
There’s just one small problem: the asteroid is populated by Amazon warrior women. Somehow, tribes of Amazons were transplanted from ancient Greece to the asteroid thousands of years ago. The Amazons have refused all attempts at contact from the United Democracies. They value men only as breeding stock and pets. But the UDF needs the information from the CBT probe and has decided to send in a stealth team to recover it.
The asteroid is also populated by large predator mammals from Earth’s ice age. No one knows how they got there; one theory is the asteroid was terraformed as a sanctuary for endangered species by an unknown extraterrestrial race.
The UDSF team has been dropped at the edge of the forest where the probe crashed. Satellite images show it to be an uninhabited area where few of the Amazon tribes venture. The plan is for a space ship to land at the edge of the crash site, discharge the stealth team, and return to pick them up. The space ship will be remotely operated from the one team member who is a pilot. Under no circumstances is there to be any contact with the Amazons. The United Democracies have been planning a new round of contacts for months. Any sudden appearance of off-worlders might jeopardize this. Only the Star Commander of the team has been provided with a ray gun. The others are only equipped with stunners.
But, unfortunately for the UDSF team, there is a small band of Amazon warriors in the vicinity of the crash site. They consist of one Amazon queen, four Amazon warriors, and an Amazon scout. The forest where the CBT probe crashed just happens to be a royal preserve where the Amazon nobility captures feral males for sport. The hunting party hasn’t seen any game in days, but did notice the probe fall from the sky. They are headed toward the crash zone, curious to see what the gods have sent them. The Amazons are also eager for some males to catch and make the whole expedition worthwhile.
The Amazon queen has given strict orders to her warriors to capture the men with as little damage as possible. There is no value in a dead male.



The Game Board
The game board consists of a 2’ X 2’ board. The board represents a small forest through which a stream runs from the center of one edge to the opposite end. The stream can be forded with some difficulty and there are no bridges built across it. In one corner of the board is large hill. In the opposite end is another hill, somewhat smaller. The probe crashed near the center of the board, next to the stream. Bits and pieces of the probe are scattered through the forest, some of which may be the black boxes. The forest provides cover and the hills provide level 1 and level 2 elevation.

Characters
United Democracies Space Force stealth team: Commander Tony Hammer, Capt. Steve Mitchell, Lt. Jake Nero, Dr. Herbert Klock, Engineer Walter Scott, Technician Jimmy Wonder. Amazons: Queen Hippolyta, Warrior Myrene, Warrior Andromeda, Warrior Prothoe, Warrior Arisbe, Scout Tekmessa. There may also be the robot pilot, Arslan 5000 (Grade 1), somewhere in the wreckage.

Set-up
The UDSF stealth team must be set-up within 6” of each other at the edge of the forest. The Amazons must be set-up within 6” of each other on the edge of the forest opposite the UDSF team. The stream will divide the two teams from each other.

Victory Conditions
The UDSF team must recover both black boxes; have their space ship remotely piloted down, board the ship, and leave. The Amazons need to capture all the USDF team members and haul them back home. If any of the Amazons are killed through action of the USDF team, the United Democracies will recall the orbiting space ship on their own and leave the team on the asteroid. If any of the UDSF team is killed, the Amazon Queen will lead her warriors back home and return with some women who can follow orders.

Encounter Cards
Twelve encounter markers are placed on the board, at or near the crash site. No marker may be placed within 3” of any other marker, or within 3” of the starting location of the UDSF team or the Amazons. Use a standard playing card deck containing one of the cards Ace through Queen to determine the nature of each encounter marker.
Ace- A pod half-buried in the ground from the impact is discovered to contain the Arslan 5000 robot pilot. Since this is a space probe robot, it has limited mobility in a gravitational field. Furthermore, it only has a few batteries left to charge its repulsor ray. Only the one UDSF team who is robot-qualified can activate and control the robot. Also, it cannot cross the stream.
Two- The control consols to the CBT probe. Useless, since it was badly damaged from the crash.
Three- A cache of twelve arrows left behind by another Amazon hunting party.
Four –The black box recorder.
Five– A case with two additional communicators.
Six- A chunk of crumpled metal from what had been the probe. It can still make an effective projectile if thrown.
Seven- The engine from the CBT probe. Inoperable.
Eight - The second black box recorder.
Nine- A loud roar is heard and both parties look to the highest hill on the board to see a full grown, hungry saber-tooth tiger. The off-world team and Amazons must put aside their differences long enough to defeat this blood thirsty creature before it kills every one of them.
Ten- A case thrown from the crash is found to carry twelve batteries which can be used to power the stunners.
Jack – The guidance system of the crashed probe. Useless in the present situation.
Queen- Another cache left by a previous Amazon hunting party. This one contains two spears.


Special Rules
Amazons and equipment from the space probe.
The Amazons have no knowledge of advanced technology. Therefore, any objects they recover from the off-worlders will be of no use to them, other than something to throw. However, should they capture the Commander’s ray gun, one of the stunners, they may try and use it. But since they have no idea of how it works, one of four things is likely to happen:
1) The Amazon shoots her intended target.
2) The Amazon shoots an inanimate object, such as a tree.
3) The Amazon shoots another Amazon.
4) The Amazon shoots herself.
The only way to resolve this issue is for the Amazon wishing to fire an alien weapon to make a D10 role. If the die rolls 1 or 2, the first condition prevails. 3 or 4, the second. 5 or 6, the third. 7 or 8, the fourth. If conditions 1, 3, or 4 are met, the same rules apply as if the actual target had been the intended one. 9 or 10 assume the weapon malfunctioned.


Seduction
Some of the UDSF team have seductive skills.
What this means is that certain UDSF characters can attempt to seduce an Amazon. This will be an opposed roll and the skill only adds 2 points to the character's dice roll (hey it takes a lot to seduce an Amazon). A tie is considered a loss to the Amazon.
Should the UDSF character win the opposed roll, both he and the Amazon will be out of the game for four turns.
Now here's the fun part: the UDSF character has to pass another opposed roll, the "Satisfaction" roll. If you do not better the Amazon's roll by at least five points, she is not considered satisfied with the seduction outcome and the UDSF character loses. If he wins, the Amazon will give him a 5" head start before attempting to catch him again.
Remember: these are Amazons.
In any case, should the male character lose, he is considered "captured".
A captured male character cannot use his seduction skill. The Amazons laugh at any man so foolish to try. The skill only works on characters who are no more than 1” away.