The Lost Snow Patrol Defrosted – early Girl Scouts versus mutant Snowmen

The frozen North, 1909/1910 somewhere in Britain or Europe.

It was an odd place to find a lamppost, in the middle of a snowy forest.

It was a good enough place however to build a campfire and start brewing up a small bucket of hot chocolate to warm them up inside and out as light snow fell obscuring their view. This would cheer the Girl Scouts Of Daisy patrol before their long trek back down the forest track.

“Look at that, is it a bear?” cried out Lily to Agnes, who was on watch on picket duty.

The lamp post wasn’t lit, so didn’t help them much in spotting the first of the giant snowmen as they grew larger as they lumbered out of the pine forest.

“There’s more than one, look. That’s no bear …”

*

Their Patrol leader Gladys had been in the middle of telling them all, as they sat round the camp fire waiting for their warm drink, about the stories of a lost scout patrol who vanished in these snowy forest years several before.

“No trace has ever been found of the lost patrol of Scouts…”

“No trace has ever been found of them …” said Gladys to the hushed group of younger girls.

“Look out!” cried Mabel, “It’s like the snow is moving towards us. I don’t like the look of this. There …”

Mabel gathered up a handful of snow into a good hard snowball and aimed it straight at the nearest of the shapes.

Several of the other girls in Daisy patrol followed suit, aiming snowballs at the large round heads topped with battered old hats.

The snowmen reacted to each hit with a vicious swipe of their wooden staff.

“They’re not looking too friendly”, cried Ethel.

“I think it’s the smell and the memory of hot chocolate has drawn them out of the woods,” said Lily.

“It’s no good, throwing snowballs at them, it only makes them larger, ” said Gladys.

“Maybe you can knock off their nose or their eyes?” shouted feisty red-haired Ginger. “That’ll stop them smelling the chocolate.”

A few more direct hits didn’t stop them coming and many snowballs were battered away by another swipe of the Snowman’s tree staff.

“They’re enormous, look at the size of that thing!” squeaked the youngest Girl Scout, new Tenderfoot Maud.

“I know what will deal with them best, girls” shouted Gladys, as she swung her scout staff around her. “This will. Behold my trusty sword – Frostbiter! Pair up and tackle them with your staff.”

Gladys, No. 1 Girl Scout Patrol leader of Daisy Patrol, showed the way by heading straight for the first of the Mutant Snowmen.

Three others lumbered out of the forest, animated into life and drawn maybe by the smell of hot chocolate being prepared on the camp fire.

“That’s right Girls,” shouted their Captain, “Hold them off with your staves as best as you can, whilst I rig up some flaming arrows.”

Daisy patrol in training

Daisy Patrol quickly paired up and set out to tackle a snowman each, armed only with their scout staff, drill and pluck.

Gladys versus Frosty

Frosty aimed a vicious swipe at Gladys’ head, which she countered with a stop and thrust. “Take that, Frosty!”

They were well matched in experience and skill, Frosty with 5 points to Gladys’ 4.

A stop-thrust, parry and lunge amongst several more swift blows by Frosty were skilfully countered by Gladys.

With defensive hit after hit on her snowy attacker, Gladys knocked off the last of his damage or life points points and one or two coal buttons. After a slip and stumble by Frosty, Gladys delivered the final blow. Frosty tumbled to the ground in a snowy frozen heap.

“One up to my trusty staff, Frostbiter,” she exclaimed, adding a victory point to her 4 life points.

Agnes and Lily versus Schneemann

Meanwhile over by the curious Lamp Post, Daisy patrol’s number 4 Agnes swung into action as Schneemann took a swipe – both well matched with three life points each.

Things started badly. “Snap!” went Agnes’ scout staff as it hit Schneemann’s icy frame. Random card – and lost Life point to Agnes – a quick d6 dice roll sorted out if she should retreat (1-3) or fight on (4-6). She rolled a three – and stepped back with her damaged staff.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got this, Agnes!” cried red haired Lily as she stepped pluckily past Agnes towards the giant towering Schneemann, brandishing her staff.

“Come on, Schneemann,” yelled Lily as his stop-thrust was countered by her stylish parry and lunge. Off tumbled one of his coal buttons, as she landed another successful hit. He had one life point left. This was looking easy for Lily.

“Ouch!” cried Lily, as a cut by the Snowman towards her head was wrongly countered by her parry and lunge. Again another cut to her head wrongly countered with a parry and lunge.

Lily only had one life point remaining as Schneemann’s parry and lunge hit home, her slow stop thrust was no deflection. “Oof!” Lily crumpled to the ground.

Agnes spun round as Lily cried out, in time to see her friend fall. She dropped her own broken staff as she rushed back, grabbing Lily’s staff from her inert form.

Schneemann adds a victory point, bringing his strength back to two, matched by Agnes’ two life points. An equal match, on paper.

Whirling the staff wildly around her towards Schneemann’s leering head, Agnes didn’t see the cut to the head by the snowman until too late, her weak parry and lunge being no match. She was hit. A swift follow up parry and lunge by Schneemann countered inexpertly a faltering with stop thrust. Agnes went down in a heap next to Lily.

Louie the Church Girls Brigade medic headed over from the Camp Fire, searching through her First Aid bag for something suitable to revive Lily and Agnes.

Another victory point towards the battered Schneemann, his carrot nose hanging down at a jaunty angle.

The other Girl Scouts saw Agnes fall and bravely several stepped forward towards the jubilant Schneemann.

Ethel versus Schneemann

First in was the patrol second, Ethel, fresh to the fight with 4 life points to Schneemann’s two.

Ethel had done well, emerging champion of her patrol in the recent quarter staff drill, so approached cautiously as Schneemann aimed a cut to her head with his staff. She ducked too slowly and was hit by her opponent.

Galvanised by this blow, she parred his next stop thrust and lunged towards his body. A hit – more coal buttons tumbled – followed by a second hit as Schneemann ducked too slowly. Her final stop-thrust to his wild cut towards her head and Schneemann was down.

The remaining Girl Scouts cheered at the sight.

Victory point added to Ethel’s 3 life points.

Meanwhile close by, the third snowman emerged out of the tree cover, its stick arms whipping its thick staff back and forth menacingly towards the Girl Scouts.

Gladys and Mabel versus Jack Frost

Gladys, the Patrol leader of Daisy patrol, the oldest and most experienced at quarter staff drill with her five life points, rushed towards him and scored first stop-thrust blow.

“Come on, Jack Frost, is that the best you can do?” shouted Gladys.

Her confidence did not stop her five life points being swiftly removed by Jack Frost’s cuts, parries and finally she broke her staff tip against his towering snow form. “Crack!”

Jack Frost receives another victory point, bringing his life point total to three.

With one life point left, Gladys stepped back (d6 dice roll as before, retreat) and collapsed as Mabel without hesitation charged screaming past her towards Jack Frost.

His wild swing cut towards Mabel’s black haired locks was stopped and thrust back, her first hit followed by a stop thrust catching her off guard as she cut towards that coal black grin.

“Ouch”, mumbled Mabel, “Have that back, Frostman!” After a series of blocked blows on either side, she slid in a hit as Jack Frost slipped whilst dodging her blow. One Snowman life point left, her final parry and lunge hit home.

Jack Frost collapsed into a mess of snow. Well done Mabel!

Another victory point added to Mabel’s two remaining life points.

That left one snowman out of four, but already three Girl Scouts were down and out of the fight.

Daisy and Maud versus Carrots

In went Daisy, the Patrol’s lucky no. 7, fresh to the fray with three life points. What she doesn’t know is that she is up against a fresh snowman with 5 life points (1d6). She slips dodging his first stop-thrust and is hit by her snowy opponent. 1 of her three life points quickly lost.

“Come on, Carrot-nose!”, she yelled back, “Smell this!”, only to be struck twice more before crumpling. Unlucky Daisy is now down!

Adding another victory point, “Carrots” now has 6 life points.

Maud the youngest (No.8) of the patrol bravely steps forward towards the moving tower of snow. A tenderfoot, she has had little quarter staff training and too slowly parries and lunges as Carrots aims the wooden staff at her head. First blow to Carrots.

A little stunned by this, Maud is caught off guard by the next blow and with one Life point remaining, she luckily scores a stop thrust blow to Carrot’s head, dislodging one coal lump eye.

Carrots’ swift cut back to Maud’s head is wrongly countered by a weak stop -thrust blow. Maud too is now down in the snow.

Carrots the snowman adds one more victory point to retain a strong six points.

The situation was growing desperate. Three snowmen down, one snow-giant left but over half of her patrol winded and down in the snow. The Girl Scout Captain glances back over her shoulder, as she winds some strips of cloth over several arrow heads from her quiver. Next she needed to soak them in an accelerant.

In her bag somewhere amongst their piled knapsacks and haversacks, she has just the flammable thing, a tiny bottle of paraffin as emergency fire lighting fluid.

Only three Girl Scouts now remain on their feet and fighting.

Ethel with one snowman to her credit, four life points left

Ginger the red haired sister of the unlucky Lily – three life points left

and the closest to the last and fourth Snowman, Mabel – three life points left

Mabel versus Carrots

Very quickly, Mabel dodges and rains down three successful blows on the looming snow monster, losing only one life point herself.

“Go Mabel! We’re with you!” shout the remaining two Girl Scouts,

whilst Louie the Church Girls Brigade medic tries out smelling salts to revive some of the other slumped and stricken girls.

Two cuts to the head by Carrots are badly countered by the overconfident Mabel. Her last two life points gone, she slumps to the ground.

Mabel down, Carrots gains another Victory point, back in strength to 4 points.

Now only Ethel and Lily’s sister Ginger remain.

Ethel and Lily versus Carrots

Ethel, the oldest of the two last Girl Scouts, gets in a sneaky trio of blows against Carrots, wearing down the Snowman to one last Life point.

However Ethel ducked too late for a blow from her opponent, followed by two more swift hits on Ethel.

Both Carrots the Snowman and Ethel were now equally weak on 1 Life point each.

“Ethel, there in the trees, I think there’s more of them!” shouted Ginger.

“Lumme”, thought Ethel, “What was Captain doing?”

They were answered by the first streak of fiery light racing across the sky towards the forest trees.

Distracted by this, Carrots the one-eyed Snowman is caught off guard – he cuts a swipe towards Ethel’s head, countered by a stop and thrust back by Ethel. A hit!

Carrots the snowman tumbled in pieces to the ground.

Ginger cheered as Ethel raised her staff wearily in victory!

More of the Captain’s fire arrows streaked across the sky to deter any further snowmen amongst the trees.

They now had to plan how to get out of the forest and down through the hills before nightfall with over half of Daisy patrol groggy, knocked out or winded.

Ethel retrieved a sodden hat from one of the Snowmen and placed it on the tip of her scout staff, holding it aloft in victory.

“We’d better get some hot cocoa into these girls to revive them”, said the Captain as she strode over to Ethel and Ginger. “Good work, girls. Let’s get them all back to the Camp Fire and warm them up a bit.”

They collected up some stray pieces of coal for the campfire.

“Carrot soup, anyone?” asked Ethel.

A stirring story worthy of The Girl’s Own Paper, The Scout or The Boy’s Own Paper?

Or worthy of a missing edition of my discovery of the first (and last?) The Warrior and Pacific magazine ?

B.P.S. Blog Post Script

Thanks to Alan Tradgardland Gruber for the RPG / fantasy / fabulous beasts suggestion of our Scouting Wide Games. Is this Snowy Tale a Scouting Wide Game under the ‘Cloak Of Romance’ of an ambush by another boy or Girl Scout patrol or have stranger things happened here?

Rules on how many life points a snowman started with were improvised around a 1d6 dice roll. Schneemann and Jack (Frost) had three life points each, Frosty and Carrots had five each on 1d6 roll.

Likewise I improvised around the broken staff random card (1 lost life point), fight on or retreat? based on a d6 roll

Each Girl Scout started with standard three life points, apart from the two eldest Gladys and Ethel, patrol lead and second, who scored well in quarter staff duelling tournaments so have an enhanced number of four life points. Again a d6 could be used instead.

A further game mechanic allowing two Girl Scouts to tackle one snowman at the same time need to be thought and fought through.

How to … Make your own Fimo polymer clay snow men

Finally, I have Jen Burdoo the Librarian Gamer partly to thank for this gaming scenario.

She reminded me, when I was making Snowmen out of Fimo, of the existence of the Deranged Mutant Killer Snow Goons in Calvin And Hobbes cartoons.

Duelling quarterstaff rules here:

https://tabletopscoutingwidegames.wordpress.com/2022/07/28/quarter-staff-fighting-2-girl-scouts-and-guides-uk-versus-girl-scouts-of-america-1910s-1920s/

Previously with Daisy patrol, snow forts and snow ball fights:

https://tabletopscoutingwidegames.wordpress.com/2019/10/11/gladys-and-the-daisy-patrol-see-it-through-snow-forts-gaming-scenario/

Blog posted by Mark Man of TIN (not Snow), former 1970s British Cub Scout (Bronze Arrow, retired) on 31 July 2022

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