Night Terrors #2: Horror at the Drive In

After the first episode of the Night Terrors feature pack for 7TV, I was keen to get on with the second installment, and. As regular readers will be aware, made sure that I had everything I needed should the opportunity arise to get another game in.

Needless to say, the opportunity arose.

Whereas the first episode of alien artefacts and FBI cover ups was clearly inspired by films like E.T. and other 'kids on bikes' tales of youngsters in genuine peril from adult dangers, the second episode directly draws from the B-Movie horrors of the 1950s of the kind actually being shown at the drive in.

Strap in for an all out creature feature.

The story picks up with the captured alien being transported by Operation Blacklight to a secure location.

Unfortunately, as the motorcade passed the Moonlight Drive In, the aliens psychic emanations latch on to the heightened emotions of dating teens at an all night monster movie marathon, causing the celluloid horrors to crawl out of the screen to attack.

The terrified teens subjected to this attack were as follows:

Lisa Armstrong, straight A student (star)

Troy Bryers, high school quarterback (co-star)

Albert Jefferson, Drive-In manager (co-star)

Vincent Ash, rebel without a cause (extra)

Kimberley McKenna, Cheerleader leader (extra)

Lori Reynolds, outcast new girl (extra)

6 Teenage Moviegoers (extras)

Any resemblance to teen characters appearing in other sci-fi or monster related franchises is entirely due to the limits of my miniature collection.

The movie monsters would appear in each act as different films appeared on the silver screen and disgorged their villains into the drive in.

Human Fly (co-star)

3 Giant Flies (extras)

3 Giant Maggots (extras)

2 Clouds of Flies (extras)

Giant Ant Queen (co-star)

2 Giant Soldier Ants (extras)

3 Giant Worker Ants (extras)

A Gigantic Spider would be superimposed in layer during post-production through the use of specialist Finale cards.

ACT ONE - Frankenfly (1956)

Screams ring out across the drive-in as huge mutated flies and maggots start emerging from the screen, shortly followed by the movie's villain: the human-fly hybrid, Frankenfly.

Whilst some run in panic, and others fail to notice due to being 'otherwised engaged' in their cars, some of the teenage patrons are perplexed by the creatures, especially the human-fly hybrid, asking each other if it's just the janitor in a mask.

Meanwhile, as others stand dumbstruck, quick-thinking valedictorian and 'girl most likely to leave this dump of a town', Lisa, immediately realises that she needs to shut down the projector and rushes to the managers office to take action.

New girl, Lori, spots Lisa and, recognising someone with a plan, follows.

Over in the centre of the lot a furious melee erupts. Top jock, Troy, and bad boyy Concentrate in the thick of the action, whilst Kimberley back flips into the fight.

Lisa reaches Mr Jefferson who explains that she needs to use his keys to turn off the projector at the fusebox.

Lisa grabs the keys and runs. Seeing the weird new girl in front of her, she tosses the keys to her shouting extremely clear instructions in the manner that won her the inter-state debating competition. Twice.

Surprised to be even acknowledged, let alone included by the high and mighty Lisa Armstrong, Lori grabs the keys and runs, yanking open the fusebox and ripping out everything she can.

The image on the screen briefly flickers and dies, the mutant flies start to fade and a smug. Self-satisfied smile starts to form on Lisa's perfectly formed face until there's a whirring sound and the picture returns.

Mr Jefferson shouts, "it's the back up generator! Behind the diner!"

Realising they are fighting a losing battle, Vincent, Troy and several others behind to back away from the mutated flies. Unfortunately, Vincent's date, regretting being impressed by his leather jacket, falls behind and is literally swarmed to death.

Frustrated, Lisa spots that preening pom-pom (but admittedly athletic), Kimberley McKenna, and the very, very muscular (concentrate Lisa!) Troy heading for the diner and formulates a new plan.

"New girl. Lori, isn't it? Get the keys to the jocks. They'll move quicker than us."

ACT TWO - Atomic Mandible Massacre (1954)

As one horror come to an end, a new one begins, and giant ants begin to scuttle out of the screen.

More teenagers succumb to the swarm whilst Vincent, wielding his dad's gun, starts popping slow moving maggots.

Having took instructions surprisingly well from the weird new girl, Kimberley flips into action, taking the keys as fast as she can to the generator.

Always able to read a play, Troy sees what is happening and acknowledging that he's not currently calling the shots, and goes long behind the diner.

Back in the car park 'Troy's date' (that's all she's credited as) is overwhelmed by the mutated flies.

However, as the creatures devour the unfortunate spandex-clad eye-candy, the are distracted long enough for Vincent to squeeze off two shots, blowing the head of the hybrid apart.

Nevertheless, the Ant Queen and her brood. Acting with inhuman intelligence, we're already on the move.

Lisa finds herself beset by swarms of flies but fends them off with clever use of her hairspray and a lighter.

In case anyone asks, she found the lighter on the floor. It definitely wasn't hers, mom.

After turning off the back-up generator only to find that the monsters were still coming, Troy goes into hero mode, grabs the keys off Kimberley and makes a run for the fuel store. Intent on burning the screen.

However, he runs straight into an ambush laid by the Ant Queen, almost as if she knew what he would do.

Suddenly, a cartwheeling vision in red somersaults into the fray, stamping on the head of one ant and cheering, as she had done many times before for Troy to go all the way (at least that was the rumour).

With well practiced skill, Troy slipped his guard and made a dash for the end zone...erm...I mesn fuel store.

ACT THREE - Night of the Death Weaver (1958)

The film now changes again, the screen lit by an ethereal light not emanating from the projection tower and massive spider's legs behind to emerge.

Even the ants and flies briefly stop to stare in horror.

But not the malevolent malice of the Ant Queen, who chases Troy down like a six-limbed linebacker and dragging him down, the keys sent sprawling into the long grass.

The girls find themselves cornered, but rather than falling into helpless despair as the femme fatales in the movies, the spirit of sisterhood kicks in and they employ every means at their disposal (sarcasm, hair flicks, side-eye, cutting insults and death stares) to kick some ant ass.

But the Queen's rampage continues and as Kimberley and Lori fall, Lisa finds herself as literally the final girl and prepares to fight for her life.

But suddenly, the creatures all around her begin to shimmer and fade. Unbeknownst to Lisa the cause of these horrid events has moved out of range, saving her and a few others, but taking the horror on to a new location.

A distraught Lisa limps over to her new friends and checks to see in they are still breathing.

Roll credits.

***

That was a really fun and engaging game. The asymmetric objectives made for a fun challenge and although I'm not entirely sure that completing the task of reaching four objectives and burning the screen is doable in only seven turns, the final result was very close, with only a point in it.

I liked the staggered arrival of enemies themed to different films and handling the spider through finale cards was clever.

The next episode sees us rejoining Teddy Tucker as he makes it to his school where the roleplaying club are for some reason still there after midnight and things take a decidedly fantastical turn.

Creature Feature

Having really enjoyed our first game from the Night Terrors feature pack for 7TV, my attention naturally turned to episode two.

Without giving too many spoilers away as to the plot, the second episode features a range of creepy crawlies of varying sizes, including fly swarms and maggots, something that I do not have in my collection.

Until now...

I spent a little bit of time online looking a STLs for 3d printing, and although there are some good options out there, I'm loath to send money when I'm not sure that a file will work with my printer.

I did find some options, but before handing over money I had a think about other options such as buying cheap toy flies and maggots, using green stuff and so on.

And then inspiration hit me...

I remembered that I still had a load of Cybermats from the Warlord Games Cyberman sprues I put together years ago.

I've never used them because I'm not that much of a Doctor Who fan to need loads, I already have a metal Cybermat which looks very different and I'd half though about using them as proxy scarabs in a Necron army for 40k.

However, I realised that I could easily use the Cybermat as maggots with a different paint job, and, spotting that some didn't have bases, I figured I could try to turn them into swarms.

A gentle bit of drilling and the insertion of a metal rod allowed me to get three 'flies to a base' (three is a swarm, right?). I've gone with smaller bases as it serves the double purpose of not requiring too many flies whilst also meeting the profile card rules that use a 3" template which assumes a smaller base.

Black contrast paint, gloss varnish, red eyes and ivory 'teeth' was the limit of my painting here, and then I used small sections of plastic bag (the bit at the bottom with a crease already put in) and glued them to the flies backs.

To my mind, these are quick and cheap options for something that I'm actually likely to use just once.

The maggots took even less work. A coat of Gulliman Flesh contrast paint, dryprushed with a cream paint (I used Wraith one) and then putting the contrast paint back over the mouth parts and they were done with a coat of gloss varnish to make them slimy.

I went with two per base to make them more visible, a factor that cause me to change course in terms of basing. I was intending to use a more scrubland basing material, but the pink maggots would have totally disappeared into it.

Another factor I need to consider is that the scenario needs quite a lot of unarmed teenagers. I'm not actually sure if I have enough, and I don't want to use my Walking Dead miniatures again as they don't mix well within casts due to basing and bulkyness.

Therefore I went looking for miniatures I could use, and found this temporal traveller's assistant from Crooked Dice, which fit the bill. As I don't own the correct Doctor to accompany Jo Grant (I don't even know which one it is), I seen no problem using her as a generic ternager. I've based the colour scheme on Shannon Doherty's character, Heather, from Heathers, which I felt would give her an eighties vibe.

I've also had this chap part painted for a long time, as he came with one of my original casts for 7TV. The rest of the cast were British police officers and I felt that he didn't quite fit with my Juliet Bravo theme, despite clearly being a reference to The Sweeney.

I'm not sure if he'll get used in Night Terrors, but I can see him popping up in future storylines.

I'm pleased with my problem solving on this one. Obviously there are better models out there, but these will serve more than adequately for the next scenario, haven't cost me anything and have used up some bits I had no real plan for.

Acquired: 119

Painted: 484

Lead Mountain: 232*

*I can't remember if I counted the Cybermat as individual models when I first tallied the Lead Mountain, but I'm assuming I did. I'm planning on doing a recount over Christmas anyway as I'm pretty sure that after several years my numbers are wrong.

Night Terrors #1: Night of the Comet

It's just gone Halloween, Matt's free for a game and I've just painted a road sign for Pilgrim's Bluff.

That sounds like a perfect excuse to play the first episode of the 7TV feature pack Night Terrors, a 1980s TV horror show blending sources like Stranger Things, IT and classic 1950s B-movie horrors.

The story opens with the Pilgrim's Bluff Amateur Astronomers Club along with the local High School Science Club gathering at Herschel Gomer's (a Vietnam War veteran) campsite to watch a meteor shower.

Several meteors hit the ground in the campsite leaving strage extra-terrestrial objects in smoking craters.

As the would-be ufologists begin to carefully explore these finds, they realize that they are not alone. Not only have agents from a secret government organisation arrived to secure the scene, but strange stapes, straight out of movie induced nightmares are moving through the woods.

Professor Silver declares that the truth is out there, and must not be hidden from the public. The astronomers and high school kids must grab the evidence and escape into town.

The home-town heroes are:

Herschel 'Bigfoot' Gomer (star) - Vietnam veteran and campsite owner.

Professor Gabriel the (co-stars) - high school science teacher.

Teddy Tucker (extra) - new kid in school and some of the local sheriff (that's a BB gun he's holding).

Pilgrim's Bluff Amateur Astronomers Club (extras) - four stargazing local ufologists.

The High School Science Club (extras) - three teens out for extra credit.

The villains of the piece are the agents of Operation Blacklight:

Special Agent Vera Ward (star) - a by-the-book government agent.

Dr Silas Everett (co-stars) - a fragile genius and xenobiology expert.

Blacklight Field Agents (extras) - three men who aren't required to wear black.

Xenobiologists (extras) - two scientists of dubious morality.

Sniffer Dog Team (extras) - a dog handler and his two mystery solving hounds.

Finally, lurking in the woods are the Night Terrors summoned by the alien tech from the psyche of those nearby: a killer robot, an alien invader and a zombie.

The action takes place in Herschel's camping ground. The Amateur Astronomers gathered here as it provides accessible high ground away from the lights of Pilgrim's Bluff. An excellent spot to observe a meteor shower from. The heroic cast begins near the hill.

Operation Blacklight had tracked the meteor shower an turn up in 4x4s shortly after the impacts. The villainous cast stars by the road and Herschel's cabin.

The five small craters contain alien artefacts pulsing with strange energies.

Annnnnd.... ACTION!

A series of meteors strike the ground throughout the campsite. As the smoke clears, we see headlights of vehicles pulling up by the side of the roads, disgorging ominous looking agents.

Up on the hill, the Amateur Astronomers look down upon the smoking craters that dot the area.

Professor Silver says, "we must gather some evidence, the truth is finally out there."

Herschel is more concerned about the intruders he can see pulling up to his cabin.

The dog team are the first to locate an alien artefacts, but without warning, a robo appears out of nowhere and sends the handler sprawling whilst his digs yap and yammer.

Curiously, the robot's design is eerily similar to to an Operation Blacklight project that the handler saw sketches of earlier that day.

The Astronomers decide to split up to search the campsite. One of the high schoolers, Nick, finds something first, but is also shocked to be set upon by a bloated zombie.

This is ironic as Nick had silent the night before indulging in a zombie movie marathon.

Teddy also stumbles up on an artefact, but is shocked to come face to face with a sinister looking group of agents.

The leader, Special Agent Ward, demands that he back away from the artefact, "it's dangerous, kid."

Teddy, who knows his mom needs to know about this, ignores her and darts off with the fragment.

"Ach! I need zat for ze research!" Dr Everett shouts after him.

Having somehow evaded the zombie, Nick makes it to the road and safety.

(It's a bit unclear what happened here, and the actor playing Nick later claimed that he'd filmed some exciting action sequences with the zombie  which script editors brutally cut out of the show).

Meanwhile, one of the Blacklight scientists who the story hadn't focused on, suddenly finds herself set up on by the zombie and killed.

Aware that they are in danger on multiple fronts, the Amateur Astronomers start rushing towards the road.

Although they don't try to shoot the civilians, the Operation Blacklight agents don't seem to have a problem with setting dogs on them or tasering children.

Meanwhile, a furious Herschel tussels with the Blacklight agents.

"Get off my property!"

After briefly setting them on fire and being targeted with tranquilising drugs, he eventually clubs one of the unconscious and makes a break for it, using his experience from 'Nam to slip unseen into the undergrowth.

The robot joins the fray, baffling Dr Everett as he is confronted by his own invention, which is only in the design stage.

Professor Silver has a lightbulb moment and upholds his duty of care to distract the Blacklight team, allowing several of the kids to slip away.

None of this was on the risk assessment for the trip.

In a crucial high point of tension, Teddy finds himself cornered, and certain to be captured and carted off to a secret facility.

However, Teddy proves particularly adept at evading his would be captors, wearing some of the thickest plot armour imaginable.

Meanwhile, Blacklight agents close in on Sarah, treasurer of the Pilgrim's Bluff Amateur Astronomers Club, until a distorted being which resembles an invasive alien fungus they had discovered on a downed satellite only a month ago.

Mind you, that fungus was tiny...and didn't have eyes!

In the chaos, Sarah manages to slip away unscathed.

As the rest of the Astronomers near the road, Dr Everett unleashes an unstable device he's been working on, sending them sprawling.

However, this isn't enough and the kids make it to the highway and Doctor Everett doesn't risk being witnessed chasing children in the dark by passing traffic, not with the levels of gun ownership in the area.

Herschel and Professor Silver ate the last to leave, despite the agents closing in.

Herschel always knew the government were out to get him and their arrival at his campsite alongside all manner of horrors only confirms his paranoia.

Professor Silver is more concerned about what fell from the sky and what had caused the weird creatures to appear. Would he ever get answers?

As the Amateur Astronomers make their escape, Operation Blacklight locates what seems to be the cause of the strange occurrences: a live and very frightened extra-terrestrial.

Special Agent Ward oversees the securing of the specimen, whilst Dr Everett looks on with anticipation at the opportunities for experimentation that are now open to him and his team.

The creatures terror grows and it's psychic waves of fear pulse out into the night, causing who knows what terrors to emerge.

Roll credits.

***

That was loads of fun. I've not played the latest edition of 7TV until now (mainly due to working through feature packs focused on the old edition) and I really like some of the small changes that have been made to the rules (cameos, prop stores, etc.).

In addition, the some if rules for the feature pack and this scenario also added to the fun, particularly the fact that the agents couldn't shoot the civilians, meaning that this became a much more balanced game than it first appeared, encouraging up to use more special effects than we would usually. Also, the cameo monsters were enough to be annoying, without overpowering the game.

Technically this was a 7-3 victory to the heroes. It was actually 8-2, but wededucted a point from the heroes and gave it to the villains. I'd been cheating with one of the kids who kept being knocked overwhukst carrying an objective. He should only make one move action, but I'd been standing him up and moving meaning he wouldn't have escaped.

The villains were really unlucky with their strike rolls as the heroes were rolling very high to defend and Professor Silver's ability to mess with the script deck proved crucial.

I'm looking forward to the next episode, but I will need to sort out some giant flies and maggots because...reasons...