The Hunt for Red Octavia....

Another 15mm Three Musketeers Adventure....

Scarlet woman and all round naughty-but-nice egg-about-town Octavia d' Eté, mistress of the influential Comte Tes-poules (and currently sought by His eminence the Cardinal for certain compromising correspondence concerning the relationship between the good Comte and herself, letters which she is believed to have about her - ahem - person) has secreted herself in the small town of Petiteville while awaiting a rendezvous with the Comte.

The Comte has arrived in this town this very morn, and he and his suite are currently using the cover of "enjoying" the (limited) pleasures of the town's weekly market.

The Musketeers intend to find Octavia, and ensure that she is safely escorted to the presence of the Comte himself, whereupon she may personally hand him the documents of concern - thus removing the chance of the Cardinal having access to items likely to increase his leverage re. the Comte...

Meanwhile, His Eminence the Cardinal, along with a number of his personal guard, have also arrived to attend the town festivities. Pure coincidence, of course.....

The Game set Up:

The Musketeers and various search parties of the Cardinal's Guard will be moving through the town, speaking to the civilians (of sundry types) around, in the hope of finding Octavia's hiding place.

There are also five of the Kings Musketeers in town (NPCs). Two are attached to the Comte's party, but three others are also searching for Octavia...

I will play the Four Musketeers and servant Planchet . The various other patrols & personalities will move randomly; making make random (dice) choices at waypoints/junctions UNLESS:

a) They contain elements who have previously obtained “info”. Such search parties will make their way towards a relevant/associated “info point” by shortest route. If more than one info point is involved/there is a conflict over which info point should take priority then again dice for this.

b) There is a gunshot: a gunshot will attract all non-player search parties, wherever they are on the table, to that location for three moves. If there is nothing else to draw them to that spot (more shooting, shouting or someone in LoS) within three moves of the original shot, they will resume patrolling.

c) There are sounds of shouting/sword play. These will attract all search parties within LoS or within 9” (as the crow flies) to that location. If the fighting/shouting stops, and there is nothing else to draw them to that spot (more shouting, shooting or someone in LoS) within three moves of the last sound of shouting/combat, they will resume patrolling.

d) There is a target or sus activity within LoS.

Most townsfolk are at the Fair (off table) and those civilians still about are divided into "ordinary/random folk", beggars, barmaids, filles de Joie and foodpads. Each type will react to questioning in different ways, and the reliability of their intel. will vary....

Neither side are actively seeking a fight UNTIL Octavia is discovered. However, tempers CAN erupt if, for example, there is an encounter in a narrow passage ("We do NOT give way, M'sieur") or if parties from either side are actively checking intel. too close to each other.

The Musketeers need to take Octavia to the Comte. The Cardinal's men need to take her to the Cardinal.

The scene is set.. On with the play.....

The Musketeers and Planchet spilt up - and start quizzing civilians.... Including footpads....



Footpads lurk here and there.... They will run from the Cardinal's men and non-NPC Musketeers, but speak to the Musketeer characters. If cornered by the Cardinal's Guards they dice for attitude (fight or yield). If they yield, and cooperate, they are let go.

 
 
Friendly barmaids are a good source of intelligence.... The green token below shows Planchet has some intel from the lass.... (Green = barmaid intel, Brown = civilian, Black = footpad. Blue = ladies of the night, Yellow = beggars) I haven't yet tested to see where this particular bit of info. might lead...



Also potentially helpful are ladies of negotiable affection...

 

Even respectable ladies can respond, if asked nicely.... But they're not as responsive to servants as they are to gallant musketeers........



Rochefort and the Cardinal's officers will do their share of quizzing too....

The game proceeds with various leads being uncovered - by both sides, but the Musketeers seem to be getting most intel. 

Meanwhile - a patrol of Cardinal's Guards and NPC Kings Musketeers come face to face at the north end of town. The Cardinal's men are up for a fight - but the King's men are discrete (tested for).. Intent on keeping the king's Peace they grudgingly give way..... This time.........



My lads question everybody..... Any news Gaffer..? The Intel. is suggesting the areas around the two town squares are looking the likeliest target areas..... 



The data is building up. The SW quadrant appears to be collecting possible leads...... My lads should be concentrating there....



But they are not alone.. The itel. is clustering there for both sides.... Rochefort and his men come face to face with my lads. There is some rapid dicing for attitude. Both sides seriously suspect the other of being up to something - but neither pass enough "aggression" tests to start a rumpus....



Lucky for me... I'm seriously outnumbered in this square at the moment...

They do, however, test their intel. This was one of the early moves, where I neglected to identify on the table which token was associated with which side (I did this later to save confusion)

The intel for the Cardinal's lads is no good, but the Musketeers have a possible lead...... They will dice for a detailed location within the quadrant..



The Cardinal's boys move off to do some more quizzing (they do not know about my lad's good intel). My lads move off too, as a bluff - but Octavia seems most likely to be hiding in the brothel.........

No comment lads....

The Cardinal's men carry on searching. The Cardinal himself gets involved - using The Force - of his personality - but gets nowhere.....

Meanwhile, the Comte takes a promenade into town.....



Watched by a footpad...... But he has bodyguards.... Footpads may prey on rich, vulnerable targets....



Up at the North end of the town things are kicking off.... Some cornered footpads make a fight of it (attitude dice) with the Cardinal's men.. Casualties ensue - and the shooting draws the patrols..... This is good for me, as my action is in the south....



After a tussle, two footpads and one Guard are down. But "Yay!" for the Cardinal. Some intel. for THIS quadrant from the captured footpad.......
.


My lads hustle Octavia from her hiding place, while the Comte considers the inn......



Rushing Octavia, unseen, across town is tricky. Luckily the Cardinal's lads - for the moment - are being drawn by the shooting towards the north.... We watch them carefully..

We bide our time, but not for too long, they may come back... "Come on missy.....".



But the Comte decides against a drink, and moves deeper into town.. This is good news for me, as it brings him closer... The dice are being kind......



But suddenly -  not so good..  Rochfort changing his mind (there has been no more shooting from the other end of town) and leading his boys back into the square with the inn is a pain.... They ignore my lads, as they are on a mission to get to the square, but that was close thing....

I rush Planchet up to block the northern alley with his mule. Athos and Aramis run and block the alleyway to the square where Rochefort has led his boys, while Octavia, Porthos and D'artagnan scuttle towards the Comte's party.......



We run Octavia from cover, taking her face to face with the Comte... Contact is made. The documents are discretely passed over.... Job done - and no fighting....!!!!!    (Well, not with my lads...)

I love the stench of barely-washed French aristos in the morning.. It smells of.......Victory..!!!!!!



And after...? Well, the "Little People" have done their scurrying about and dying.... At the top it's game over and all friends together, as the Cardinal smiles away his frustration and the Comte breaths a secret sigh of relief......

Politics, politics. Toujours les politiques...........