Miniatures: The Eclectic Collection of Morrie Greymatter- a FiveCore Pulp game.

Wealthy, eccentric Mastermind, Morrie Greymatter passed away nearly a year ago without divulging the location of his extensive collection of rare treasures and scientific wonders. Upon his death, Greymatter's estate manager announced that all of these treasures are secured in a hidden complex, but are free for the taking for anyone who can find them within one year of Morrie's death. Exactly one year from his death, an earthquake device buried deep underground is set to bring the entire complex down, destroying all the treasures (and anyone there at the time). Treasure hunters and secret organizations around the world have been relentlessly traveling the globe in search of this hidden cache. Finally, on the anniversary of Greymatter's death, several groups of treasure hunters simultaneously enter the hidden complex. Can they find the treasures they seek and get out before the complex comes crashing down?

Dramatist Personae:

The Army- (Deterrent Weapon) High ranking members of the Army believe that Greymatter had developed a weapon so powerful, that it would act as a deterrent against acts of aggression by foreign nations. A crack team was sent to retrieve this weapon, though the Army disavows any knowledge of such.

Mad Scientists- (Scientific Journal) The Scientific Masterminds Against Squeamish Humanity (S.M.A.S.H.) believes that all of Morrie Greymatter's scientific wonders rightfully belong to them. As such, they seek Greymatter's Journal rumored to hold notes on all of his inventions and discoveries.

Crime Inc.- (Blackmail dossier) Members of a notorious world crime syndicate have heard rumors that Morrie Greymatter had extensive dossiers on politicians all around the world. This information would be invaluable blackmail material for the syndicate.

Smugglers- (Nautical charts and maps) The nefarious crew of the Morose Otter pursue rumors that Greymatter possessed nautical charts and a map leading to Captain Kidd's treasure. Aaarg!

Men of Mystery- (Code breaking device) Members of a private espionage organization serving it's own secret agenda seek a code breaking device rumored to be able to decipher even the most difficult codes.

Fanatic Cultists- (Ancient artifact of power) The cult of Ra have uncovered evidence that Greymatter had excavated a sacred burial chamber in Lower Egypt. Taken from the site was the Ankh of Ra, a sacred artifact that allowed the Pharaohs to harness the power of the Sun to smite his enemies. The cult seeks to restore this artifact to it's rightful place (or perhaps use it to rule the world).

 The hidden complex of Morrie Greymatter, filled with valuable statuary, ancient artifacts and strange scientific devices.  Teams of determined treasure hunters converge, each seeking a particular item.

 The Cult of Ra fans out to search nearby devices.

 The crew of the Morose Otter follow their Captain into the complex, ready for trouble.

 Major Monger deploys his troops to secure their entry point.

 The scientists of S.M.A.S.H use robots search ahead.

 The hard men of Crime Inc. spread out to cover more ground.

 The Men of Mystery recognize a particular statue as The Gargoyle admires his namesake.

 As the teams move deeper into the complex they encounter strange devices and specimens.  Captain Zeno wonders about this unknown device, but refrains from pushing any buttons.  The plant, however is the real danger, and soon Zeno will be temporarily incapacitated by the euphoric odor secreted from the rare specimen.

 Andre Everyman from the Men of Mystery climbs the wall for a better vantage.  He fires a hurried shot at the boss from Crime Inc., but misses.  One of the criminal thugs later climbs a stack of barrels and shoots Andre off the wall.  Fortunately only his pride is hurt in the fall.

 The Cult of Ra takes the first casualty as one of the anonymous cultists is shot dead by a robot.  The other cultist discovered something shocking in a barrel and is temporarily incapacitated while surprised.

 The Army attempted to ally itself with the scientists of S.M.A.S.H. and the Cult of Ra, but, when the alliance fell about, they were trapped in a crossfire.  Sgt. Jones, rushes for cover and stalks the Cult of Ra.

 Meanwhile, Corp. Willis suffers a tragic fall from the catwalk.

 Smuggler Hansom Jack found a hidden passage and surprised the scientists of S.M.A.S.H., dispatching a robot before they knew he was there.  Professor Gestalt fires away at him, but hapless Jack ducks back down into the hidden shaft.  Doctor Norman uses his Universal Remote and tries to turn on a blower fan in the shaft, but the mechanism fails.

 Sgt. Jones enacts a bit of revenge by taking out one of the Cult of Ra.

 "Tough" Tommy O'Reily has a movie moment as he yells, "Top of the World Ma!"

 Sgt. Jones' revenge is short lived as Professor Gestalt fries him with his Molecular Blaster.

 Captain Zeno has encountered all sorts of oddities in his travels, yet the stench from the outhouse surpassed even the most foul oozing substance from the sea.  Carsters covers the Captain as he coughs and wheezes.

Tremors continue to shake the compound as the fighting intensifies.  Captain Zeno is down, but will recover.  "Tough" Tommy is not so lucky.  The scientists of S.M.A.S.H. continue to push on through the complex oblivious of the impending doom.  No clear winner emerged as time ran out.  None of the factions discovered their prized treasure, perhaps they can try again, if the earthquake does not obliterate the network of tunnels discovered by Hansom Jack.

This was my first multiplayer game of the FiveCore Pulp rules.  It had 6 players with a Gamemaster to officiate, and I made some modifications to incorporate so many players.  We ran out of time and ended the game with a 4 way tie, however, the earthquake was due to destroy the entire complex on any future turn, which would have killed anyone left on the board.