Victorian Scrunts take to the streets

I've written a company list for (some of) the excellent Victorian Scrunts Bob Olley produced and that I showed off here a couple of weeks ago.

This list is very much a work in progress, and I welcome, indeed require, your feedback to improve it. Believe me, I'm good at taking constructive criticism.

The problems with the list as it stands (the version you're seeing is my fourth swing at it) is that these buggers are PRICEY. If you're playing with a starting 250-point list, that'll get you a Chief Engineer, a couple of Bangers (long-range fighters), a handful of Beaters (melee fighters), and maybe a Boomer (specialist weapons).

The Stout attribute I've ascribed to them means their standard move is 5 inches, and their run adds only 2 inches, instead of the usual 6 inches and 3 inches of most figures. I thought about making this a -1 point disadvantage, but for now I've left it at zero. It's what gives the list much of its character.

I've tried to make it an entertaining list, but I know with your help, we can improve it. There's also a thread over on the Lead Adventure Forum and a post in the In Her Majesty's Name group on Facebook.

Here's the list:

“Up the airy mountain

Down the rushy glen,

We daren't go a-hunting,

For fear of little men ...”

-- William Allingham

Victorian Scrunts

As London has grown, many ethnic groups find themselves migrating to the city’s crowded interior to eke out an existence for themselves. One of the latest such groups consists of short-statured men and women who exhibit their toughness, bravery and technical prowess in their trades. They conjure up images out of their neighbors’ childhoods and are often called by names from those people’s folk and fairy tales -- dwarves, svartalfar, tommyknockers. But they’ve taken to themselves a name first used against them in derision: the Scrunts.

While Scrunts are found in all walks of Victorian life, they seem to excel in the building and technical trades. Many Scrunt-owned enterprises have cropped up, but none are better known than the engineers and weaponsmiths at Stronginthearm Industrial Machines and Armaments. For reliable weapons and inventive ammunition, people from all walks of life dream of getting their hands on Stronginthearm munitions.

Stronginthearm regularly displays its wares (and reportedly tests new ideas and products) through its street teams, each led by a Chief Engineer. In addition to marketing and research, these companies also protect the interests of Clan Stronginthearm.

Most company members can be broken down into “Bangers” and “Beaters.” Bangers carry predominantly long-range weaponry, while Beaters are primarily equipped for melee fighting.

Others with more specialized weapon load-outs carry even more descriptive nicknames. Scrunts strong enough to manage heavy weapons single-handed are called “Boomers.” Bangers who equip themselves exclusively with arc weapons are called “Blasters.”

Engineers assisting the Chief Engineer are sometimes called “Buzzers,” given that they are usually tasked with lugging around the company’s Arc Generator.

Current Chief of Operations Vili Stronginthearm is also pushing the company into the handling of mystical forces or objects. As such, he has lured runic practitioners from their ancient homeland, to see how such forces will perform in the field alongside the firm’s technological creations. None has been so foolish as to give these runesmiths a nickname.

Stronginthearm Research & Development Team

Chief Engineer

Pluck	FV	SV	Speed	Cost	Talents	Equipment
2+	+3	+3	+0	53	Tough, Stout, Engineer, Leadership +2	Faraday Coat, English All-Electric Truncheon, Arc Pistol

Engineer

Pluck	FV	SV	Speed	Cost	Talents	Equipment
3+	+2	+2	+0	59	Tough, Stout, Engineer, Leadership +1	Faraday Coat, Arc Rifle, Arc Generator

Banger

Pluck	FV	SV	Speed	Cost	Talents	Equipment
4+	+0	+4	+0	40	Tough, Stout, Marksman, Hunter	Brigandine, Carbine

Boomer

Pluck	FV	SV	Speed	Cost	Talents	Equipment
4+	+0	+4	+0	41	Tough, Stout, Strongman	Brigandine, Flamethrower

Beater

Pluck	FV	SV	Speed	Cost	Talents	Equipment
5+	+4	+0	+1	31	Tough, Stout, Martial Artist, Duellist	Brigandine, Fighting Knife, Club

Runecaster

Pluck	FV	SV	Speed	Cost	Talents	Equipment
4+	+2	+0	+0	36	Tough, Stout, Medic	Runes

A runecaster may engrave, carve, paint or daub one rune per phase onto one piece of equipment held by a figure with whom he or she is base to base contact at the beginning of the movement phase. The effects of the rune last until the end of the game. Once a figure has received one rune, it may not receive another.

Available runes are:

   Ansuz, “gods”: +1 to shooting rolls

   Uruz, “aurochs”: +2 to armor rating

   Raidho, “riding”: +3” move

   Perthro, “luck”: +2 to pluck rolls

   Sowilo, “victory”: +2 to fighting rolls

Recently, the firm has been experimenting with the mechanized walkers as are turning up in industrial uses and on the battlefields across the world. The first of these, called the “Buster Machine,” is a light industrial walker fitted with steam fists. It can be upgraded to fit machine guns as well.

Type	Description	Speed	Armour	Weapons/Tools	Cost
Buster	Light Industrial Walker	9”	8	Steam Fists	22
Gunbuster	Light Military Walker	9”	11	Steam Fists/ Machine Guns	56

Stout: A full move for Scrunts is 5 inches. When a scrunt runs, it adds only 2 inches to the distance.

A Chief Engineer may upgrade his English All-Electric Truncheon to an Edison Arc Truncheon (+3 points).

An Engineer may purchase Explosive or Gas Grenades (6 points).

An Engineer may purchase a Monocular Targeting Array (7 points).

A Banger may exchange his Carbine for a Hunting Rifle (+11 points) or an Arc Rifle (+3 points).

A Boomer may exchange his Flamethrower for an Arc Cannon (even swap) or a Machine Gun (+15 points).

A Beater may exchange his fighting knife for a rapier (straight exchange) or a sabre/sword (+1 point). Scrunts lack the necessary height to use a sword (large).

A Beater may exchange his Club for a Nightstick (+1 point).

Any company member may purchase a Breath Preserver (2 points).

Here's a link to the list as a pdf:

Victorian Scrunts on Dropbox