A Rumble in the Jungle
by John Wilson

This is a two player scenario for use with Tusk. It requires the rules from Tusk II for Tame Animals and Human-to-Human Combat, as well as some of the reaction tables found there.

The Story So Far:

Black Pierre, an ivory poacher, has come to Africa in search of the legendary Elephant's Graveyard. Only one man is said to know where it can be found, and that is the Jungle Lord.

The Jungle Lord, however, has sworn an oath to keep the location of the Elephant's Graveyard a secret. But Black Pierre has a plan. If he can capture the Jungle Lady, the mate of the Jungle Lord, he can then use her as a hostage and find out where it is that the elephants go to die.

Forces:

There are two sides in this game: the legendary Jungle Lord and evil poacher Black Pierre.

Players should bid as to how many points Black Pierre gets to build his forces with. The person who bids the lowest amount gets to play him. Black Pierre may choose his forces from the following types:

Adventurers: At least one adventurer must be chosen. This represents Black Pierre. Other Adventurers may also be bought. In this case, these represent any partners in Black Pierre's adventure.

Hunters: These are native tribesmen that Black Pierre has hired to help him find the Jungle Lord. These can be bought as either Hunters with Spears or Hunters with Bows.

Chief Ogalezi: A native chieftain who wishes revenge on the Jungle Lord for the defeats that have been inflicted on his tribe. Should be treated as Og the Hero, but with a gun that kills on a roll of 12 on 2d6.

Rabble: Native bearers.

Stalwarts: Black Pierre's trusted henchmen.

Black Pierre may also buy additional equipment as listed in Tusk II, but is limited to Rifle Grenades and Flare Pistols.

The Jungle Lord's initial forces are limited to the following:

The Jungle Lord: Raised by apes as a boy, the Jungle Lord has sworn never to divulge the secrets of the Elephant's Graveyard. In close combat, he rolls 1d6 and kills on a roll of 3, 4, 5 or 6.

The Jungle Lady: Wife of the Jungle Lord. She is the object of Black Pierre's intentions. In close combat she rolls 2d6 and kills on a 10, 11 or 12.

Elephants: There are two bases of Elephants available at the start of the scenario. Elephants use the Mammoth Reaction Table.

Set Up:

The playing area should be 60cm by 60cm. The terrain is rough with trees dotted here and there. The Jungle Lord's treehouse is located in the northern half of the playing area and his forces are placed within 5cm of it. Black Pierre and his men must set up within 10cm of the southern edge of the playing area.

Special Rules:

Cover (such as thickets and trees) reduces the effect of missile fire attacking rolls by one.

Both the Jungle Lord and the Jungle Lady may hide in cover. This requires them to spend 2AP to hide. They may then only move at half normal speed and may not control any animals, but they cannot be see by any other unit. They may communicate with each other, by means of coded bird calls. However, any base within 5cm of them may locate them by spending 1AP and rolling a d6. Natives will locate them on a roll of 5 or 6. Black Pierre and his men can locate them on a roll of 6 only.

The Jungle Lord may call for reinforcements by spending 3AP. These reinforcements arrive 1d6 turns later and appear on the edge of the playing area closest to the Jungle Lord. Roll on the following table in order to determine the exact nature of the reinforcements.

D6	Reinforcements
1	1d2 bases of Elephants (use the Mammoth Reaction Table)
2, 3	1d3 bases of Lions (use the Raptors/Giant Wolves Reaction Table)
4 - 6	1d6 bases of Other Animals (use the Domestic Animals Reaction Table)

These creatures are treated as Trained Animals provided the Jungle Lord or the Jungle Lady remain within 2cm of them.

If Black Pierre or Chief Ogalezi are killed, the natives will flee from the table leaving Black Pierre's men to fight on. If Black Pierre is killed, then his men will retreat unless there is another Adventurer to take command of the group.

Winning the Game:

Black Pierre wins the game if he manages to capture the Jungle Lady and get her off the edge of the playing area, without killing the Jungle Lord. The Jungle Lady may be captured by any base which moves into close combat range and succeeds in making a close combat roll. If the Jungle Lady manages to succeed in a close combat roll then she may escape her bonds.

The Jungle Lord wins if he prevents Black Pierre from winning.

Variants:

It should be possible to play this game as a solo game. In order to do so, it would be necessary to produce some reaction tables for humans. This shouldn't be a problem for anyone with any imagination.

Notes:

This scenario was originally intended to be for Macho Women With Guns. However, I doubt that many Ragnarok readers would admit to owning a copy of this fine tome and I was too chicken to send it in anyway (far too sexist!). Yes, I know that the Jungle Lady is not as effective as the Jungle Lord but this is in keeping with Tarzan. However, you should have seen her in the Macho Women With Guns version (time for a cold shower ...).

Suggested Miniatures:

Irregular Miniatures make a range of figures specifically for Tusk. I would suggest using those as a basis. ESCI Zulu warriors make good natives. A Jungle Lord and Jungle Lady can be made by converting appropriate barbarian or primitive hunter figures. I believe there are some official Macho Women With Guns miniatures, but I have no idea where to get them.

Ed Note: Tusk is a light hearted set of Mammoth and Dinosaur hunting rules produced by Irregular Miniatures Ltd and was reviewed in Ragnarok 17 (its first supplement Tusk II - The Wrath of Kong was reviewed in Ragnarok 23). For further details regarding price and availability send an SSAE to Irregular Minaitures Ltd, 3 Apollo Street, Heslington Road, York, Y01 5AP.