PDEE: Pulp Underwater - When Squid Attack

Mark's last Paleao-month dispatch using his own underwater adaptation of Palaeo Diet: Pulp.

This adventure from the Mesozoic time-travel world of the Utterley-Barkinge Company (NL) takes us back to the early Jurassic , about 100 MYA. It uses the “Predator” scenario suggestion in the PDEE rules for a bit of role reversal. This time the human hunters are the hunted, and the usual beasts (in this case, Squid, Ichthyosaurs, and others) are the hunters.

A party of six time travel tourists, including their guide, is on a walking tour through a spectacular canyon on the floor of the Mid-Atlantic Rift. Four of them are armed with spear guns (spears) and two with glaives (clubs). Those armed with spearguns will close to shooting range and shoot, when they get an Attack reaction, if possible.

Here’s a group photo of the tour group, taken as they started out on their trek. From L-R: Vlad Putin, Donald Trump, Bashir Al-Assad (spearguns); Kim Jong-un, Binyamin Netanyahu (glaives). And on the far R end is Karl Utterley-Barkinge, the tour guide.

And here are the predators who fancy snacking on these interlopers: 3 x Ichthyosaurs, 3 x Squid (all Pack predators), 1 x Ammonite (Apex predator), and the customary starfish (special rules: is in permanent lethal Predate mode for wounded or dead tourists, always moving 1S per activation towards the closest).

The tourist figure is for scale purposes.

The table cloth is 900x1350mm (3’x4’6”). That is 8 Lopes, or 12 Ambles, or 18 Skulks. The tourists must traverse the length of the table to reach safety at the far end. Their air supply will last 10 + 1D6 turns (calculated seperately for each figure on turn 9 if necessary). Each tourist must attempt to activate on 1-3 dice after all other turn activity has finished. They may only use their successes to move or stay put, not to attack, shoot etc. If they leave close contact with a predator they suffer a free hack.

All terrain features are impassable to both predators and prey.

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Here’s the tabletop, with KUB leading his group on at the near end. Their destination is the shelter dome at the far end. The Squid are at lower R, the Ichthyosaurs are in the middle, close to the starfish. The Ammonite lurks at upper L.

All predators initially activated using 1 dice only. All passed but did not move. So the tourists moved. Their various dice fails meant the group began to spread out, just as you’d expect from this party of psychopaths and narcissists, and they showed no signs of cooperation.

Action began on turn 2 when the first Squid failed an activation, and Netanyahu, the closest tourist, Attacked towards it. The squid then moved into contact and wounded Netanyahu. An identical chain of events led the second Squid to wound Bashir Al-Assad after he missed his shot. The third squid joined the attack on Assad but failed to cause another wound, and Assad reacted to the new attack by wounding the Squid. Plenty of blood in the water, and the Giant Starfish stirs. 

Two of the Ichthyosaurs also failed 1 activation dice each, and the closest tourists reacted with a Move Away (Trump) and Attack (Utterley-Barkinge). The Ichthyosaurs circled around Utterley-Barkinge, provoking 2 x Alarmed reactions as he fell back towards the others. The third Ichthyosaur succeeded on 3 activations and loped around the L flank of the tour party. Planning mischief no doubt.

The Ammonite moved slightly, to lurk in an ambush position.

At the end of the turn the four tourists not in combat all moved forward and stayed closer together than previously. But there was no move to help the two tour members battling the Squids.

Squid #1 killed Netanyahu, after failing an activation dice which allowed Bibi to attack first, but he failed. Squid #2 killed el-Assad, no problem. Squid #3 used two activations to attack Kim Jong-un, but first had to take an attack from him as it came within M of him while ambling. Kin wielded his glaive skilfully, landing a well-placed blow but failing to convert it I to a second wound. But Squid #3 had 1W already, so Kim actually brings down the first predator. 

Then the Ichthyosaurs began their attacks. The first to go fluffed 1/2 activations. Utterly-Barkinge, the closest tourist, got an Attack reaction and shot at the Predator but missed. It moved into contact. The second Ichthyosaurs got a triple activation and and skulked up behind Utterley-Barkinge, causing 1W. The third Ichthyosaur, out on the L, also got 3 activations and cruised in towards Kim Jong-un as he was standing next to his trophy Squid. Kim Roared (blew bubbles?) as the Ichthyosaur came within M, but unintimidated it pressed the attack, but failed to wound Kim. 

Elsewhere the Giant Starfish continued creeping towards the closest casualty, and the Ammonite stayed in ambush.

There are only 3 tourists to move this time. Two are dead, and another (Utterley-Barkinge) isn’t going to try to break off with two Ichthyosaurs in contact. Putin, Trump, and Kim all move forwards past U-B and the Ichthyosaurs, ending in a tight - dare I say mutually supporting? - formation. 

The two remaining Squids both fail 1/3 activations this turn, but no tourist is in LOS to react. The Squids move under cover, parallel with the tourists and on their R.

The Ichthyosaurs resume their attacks. The first, already in contact with Utterley- Barkinge, fails 1/2 activations. U-B gets a Flee reaction, so must take free hacks from both Ichthyosaurs. He is torn to shreds with total 4W including the one he already had.

The second predator then succeeded on 2 activations, skulking into contact with Kim Jong-un and causing 1W. The third Ichthyosaur failed 3/3 activations, stranding the Ammonite this turn, tho the Starfish and remaining tourists can still activate. 

Putin and Trump run for it, abandoning Kim. And yes, I rolled contingency dice for their reactions. It’s funny (!) how these things work out. 

In the photo above, at top R the Ichthyosaurs are working over Utterkey-Barkinge (dec’d) and Kim Jong-un (1W). In the C our two heroic tourists  are heading for the exit (at L). But what is that at bottom R?

The Ammonite gets a triple activation. It skulks into contact with Trump, but somehow fails to wound him. He reacts by Attacking the Ammonite, but fails. 

Now it’s the Squids’ turn. Squid #1 fails 1/3 activations, and Putin, the nearest Tourist in LOS, reacts by resting. The Squid then jets towards him. Putin turns and Attacks (shoots) as the Squid gets within L, and he kills it with a successful 2W well-placed blow. Squid #2 also gets only 2/3 activations, and moves forward but more circumspectly. 

The Ichthyosaurs now get back to work. The fight between the Ichthyosaur and Kim Jong-un continues inconclusively. The next one moves around to the L, bypassing the Ammonite. It comes within reaction distance of Putin who flees away from it. The last one joins the attack on Kim, surviving a Roar reaction by him as it approaches, and delivers another 1W, consigning Kim to his ancestors. 

At the end of the turn Putin resumes his movement towards safety. Trump - another contingent roll - decides to risk turning his back on the Ammonite and running too. He takes 1W from the free hack, and only a single move activation. 

Trump and Putin should be able to make the Dome if they can survive this turn, and activate to move again.

The nearest Ichthyosaur gets a triple activation. Skulk, skulk, attack. It dishes Trump a second wound, and he is dead. But then the Ammonite rolls a double activation fail. So Vlad Putin gets to move again, rolls well, and makes the safety of the dome.

The game was over in only six turns so the question of air supply didn’t arise. Five of the six tourists were killed by the predators, and two predators (Squid) were killed.