Gaspar Toucan and the Murder at Farthingdale Hall

Over Christmas I participated in a murder mystery game with my family as the other seven players.  I took the role of Suki the makeup artist.  Suffice it to say "Darlings" I nailed it and solved the case, but so did everyone else.  

Inspiration struck.  Artizan do a character figure of Gaspar Toucan, Flemish Detective.  You may suppose that he's merely a Poirot clone, and you have a point, but Gaspar has a big nose, Toucan by name etc... he also carries an M73 Dutch service revolver, hidden in his generous cummerbund, obviously.

The M73

Toucan was in my head after that, all over Christmas and into New Year.  Aware that the Toofatlardies are due to publish What a Cowboy in February it struck me that here was a game set in the same time period, but in Britain (and the Empire) that could piggyback the rules.  A swift order to Artizan was in order and I went for Drawing Room Murder style figures.  Big time.

All well and good, except that I'm not aiming at a formulaic game of Cluedo with figures, although some of the mechanisms are interesting.  My suspects will not come quietly into custody, and some fighting will be necessary to subdue them.

Tying in with this idea was a Christmas present, Agatha Christie's "death on the cards.". This find the murderer card game fits perfectly with my idea of using miniatures for a "Cluedo Wargame. " Or so I hope!

Gothic horror is also one of my interests, especially Hammer horror style movies.  Our suspects may include a wolfman, a vampire or an escaped murderous lunatic.  Lord Farthingdale collects ancient Egyptian artefacts and sarcophagii.  What could go wrong with that?  A criminal gang may invade the Manor, looking to steal the family jewels, the Egyptian gold or the plans for the latest battleship.  Or how about an international assassin, posing as a guest and about to strike again?

Of course simply solving the case isn't enough for a wargamer. As we all know a true master villain will have minions.  I need  a final battle. My thinking for this was a couple of sprues of WW2 Partisans from Wargames Atlantic.  That will give me eight or so underworld ruffians, or, as Gaspar Toucan would say, Pervy Blinkers. (Prone to Malapropism is our Flemish Detective.) 

I also have the Red Dragon Tong of Dr Chou En Ginsberg, MA, (Failed), or rather a few of my Boxer Rebellion figures reused, Eventually I'll raise the forces of that infamous Prussian warlord, the Red Helmet.  Any of these villains could burst into the manor, or be hiding there to cause mayhem in a fight with the Detectives and the Police.  

Testing the game theory

The Farthingdales have held the Lordship of Waldridge for some hundreds of years, but they have paid a terrible price.  As the village saying goes, "No Farthingdale ever dies a-bed."  The family are known to have been cursed in the Middle ages, reputedly for the failure of Lord Hugo to slay a worm that crawled out of a local well.  

The curse supposedly involves a Hound of Hell that stalks family members across the fells.  An amusing after dinner anecdote perhaps, except that many of the Farthingdales have perished on these same fells, as well as upon many a battlefield across the world.

It is 1887, and young Captain Herbert Farthingdale is recently returned from Military service in Egypt.  Old Lord Sable Farthingdale has gathered his friends and acquaintances to welcome the lad home.   Dinner guests arrive at Waldridge Manor during a snow storm, among them Gaspar Toucan, large nosed Flemish Detective, Herbert's special friend.

Lord Sable opens the dinner with a few well chosen remarks before telling his guests that one of them is a cursed werewolf.  He then falls across the soup turine, murdered, stone cold dead.

The Terrain

I do not intend building a miniature Manor house, and the Pathfinder set of battle mats includes a "lodge house" upstairs and down, that will fit in with my plan pretty well.  Other terrain types are available, archaeological digs, London warehouses, the mad scientist's secret laboratory, lots of options.

The suspects

Professor Parker D. Plum. Mad scientist

Reverend Quincy Green. Vicar

Miss Kitten Scarlet, actress

Colonel "Mad Mike" Mustard of the Guards

Mrs Victoria Secret Peacock grand dame

Mrs White the "two soups" elderly Maid

Wadsworth, the taciturn butler played to hilarious perfection by Tim Curry in 1984s Clue.  Armed with a Calderwood & Son .44 percussion cap pistol, circa 1855.  He's a blocking counter but just perhaps...

The Detectives

The Adams 

Gaspar Toucan M73 Dutch Service revolver

Captain Herbert Farthingdale, Beaumont-Adams .45in  revolver

The Law

Inspector Ego Farley 1979 pattern Tranter .450 Revolver

Sergeant Patrick O'Dogsbody, .442 calibre Royal Irish Constabluary Revolver 1868 pattern.

5 Officers armed with Webley and Sons Metropolitan Police revolver .450, 1880 pattern

Detective reinforcements

Lord Peter Flimsy, aristocratic criminologist

Local amateur sleuth and jam maker Miss Agatha Marbles, democratic umbrella.

Mr Hervé Porridgé, moustachioed Belgian Detective

Chuanli Chang, Inspector of the Shanghai Constabulary on sabattical

The Gothic twist

(For an advanced game I think!)

Ghost

The Doctor's Creatures

Werewolf

Mummy

Vampire

Escaped from the Asylum

Farthingdale Hall

Wadsworth the Butler greets Gaspar Toucan, Captain Farthingdale and Miss Marbles at the front door.

Toucan discovers that Rev Quincy Green is a secret Romance novelist.

And Miss Marbles finds out about Mrs Peacocks prankster past.

Colonel Mustard is the second victim.  We are getting closer.

Miss Scarlett holds the Murderer card.  She produces an automatic and Captain Farthingdale mercilessly shoots her down.  Its how she would have wanted to go.

Really enjoyable.  It worked well as a game.