Tuesday 1 August 2017

7TV: Scooby Doo & The Case of the Disappearing Dogs

A mysterious satanic cult has been searching for a suitable hound to sacrifice to Beelzebub in order to summon a demonic hell hound. Without a dog of their own, they have been dog-napping every four legged friend they can lay their hands on.

Upon hearing of the case of the disappearing dogs, Mystery Incorporated have decided to investigate. Fred has the bright idea of sending Shaggy and Scooby out for a walk as bait, whilst the rest of the team provide back up in the Mystery Machine...

I now have a Mystery Machine!
...yes it's 7TV time again. This month's bizarre plot comes courtesy of Matt's complaint that a Cultist unit allows him to have a dog handler, but I didn't provide him with a dog. That sounds like a plot hook to me.

We were playing the Race scenario, which basically has a mechanic to encourage players to run down the countdown deck quicker in return for extra plot points.

I was running a 25 ratings hero Mystery Incorporated cast:

Fred Jones (Co-Star)
Daphne Blake  (Co-Star)
Velma Dinkley  (Co-Star)
Norville 'Shaggy' Rodgers  (Co-Star)
Scooby 'Dooby' Doo  (Co-Star)
The Mystery Machine  (Vehicle)

Matt, meanwhile, was running 26 ratings (I was being nice) of dog-napping, demon worshipping cultists:

Sinister Mystic  (Co-Star)
Harbinger (Extra)
Cult Leader (Extra)
4 Cultists (Extra)

If he insists of photo-bombing...
ACTION!

The area where dog-walkers have been assaulted.
Shaggy and Scooby off for a nonchalant stroll.
With their prey in sight, the Cultists spread out.
Shaggy and Scooby make a rush for what looks like a clue.
The gang leap out of the van looking for clues.
The cultists are thrown into disarray by this surprise...
...and open fire at the Mystery Machine.
Shag and Scoob are cornered,
but disguise themselves as fishermen.
In a flurry of gadgets, our heroes run.
Fred creates a distraction...
...the jet-packs (yes, jet-packs) to safety...
...whilst the girls spread out to grab the clues.
Shaggy and Scooby think they're safe...
..but the Sinister Mystic pursues them...
The girls are cornered whist the cultists shoot up the van.
Almost out of gadgets, Fred ponders how to help.
The Mystic catches up with Shaggy and Scooby.
The cultists close in, whilst the girls cower.
Scooby tries vainly to help Shaggy.
Velma drops her glasses and is ambushed by a gargoyle.
The Harbinger unleashes an energy blast that floors Fred.
And in a further blow, Shaggy is knocked out.
Surrounded, Daphne makes a break for it.
Unable to grab Diva Daphne,
the Harbinger punches the van...and wrecks it!
Outnumbered, Scooby plays dead to escape.
The Harbinger seems to have a change of heart,
whilst Fred moves to protect his girl.
The servants of Satan close in...
...only for Daphne to light one up with a rocket cigarette.
Shaggy runs off wailing, "Raggy! Relma! Roh no!"
With time running out, Daphne also chooses to hide.
Suddenly the Mystic bursts out of the trees,
and blasts Scoob, who limps away.

"Scooby-dooby-doo, where are you?"
 ROLL CREDITS

In what turned out to be a game of two halves, the Scooby gang used their frankly offensive amount of gadgets to snap up four of the objective tokens and gain a convincing early lead. However, from that point, their lack of weaponry worked against them, and the Cultists numbers and armaments began to take their toll, with both Shaggy and Velma taken down in quick succession, and Fred severely hurt.

I actually made an error in calculating the victory points, so we thought I was leading 4-3 on the final turn, and so the Sinister Mystic's hail mary shot to weaken Scooby was aimed at bringing the score level. However, I'd forgotten that stars and co-stars are worth 1vp per health they have, rather than one each, so the score was 6-4 to the bad guys.

Not a very happy ending. No wonder this episode was never aired.

Great game though...

15 comments:

  1. Wonderful! A rocket pack, how crazy was that?! Great to see the Mystery Machine on the road, I snapped one up myself having read about yours.

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    1. Thanks. Funnily, we were disappointed that the countdown cards didn't throw out sime more crazy events, although it should be noted that Fred's 'distraction' did involve a canister of nerve gas.

      As for the Mystery Machine, it makes the game proper in my opinion, even if it will usually end up only being used in the first couple of turns.

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  2. Excellent battle report, it seems the cultists did get away with despite those pesky kids.... :)

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    1. They didn't get Scoob. I call that a moral victory.

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  3. Fantastic report, so many fun turns of events. A bit of an awkward ending perhaps with the bad guys getting away victorious 😊.

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    1. The cultists have a habit of winning - they beat Dr Who last time out too. Somebody needs to stop them...

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  4. Love it! Maybe you should use the post apocalypse Mystery Inc gang next time. See how those sinister cultists fair when those pesky kids are packing heat!!

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    1. Thanks. I've got the Crystal Cove PD ready for armed engagements in the future.

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  5. Lovely little batrep, pictures and all! :)

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    1. Thanks. I find narrative batreps suit 7TV rather than being too technical.

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  6. So you lost then?! Sure you said it was a draw... Does Matt know?!

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    1. Yes he does. Unfortunately that error means the game was void.

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  7. Awesome report dude. Must remember the VPS per health as well

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    1. Cheers. The VPs and the axed rules are the things I can never remember.

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