This is the log of our 11th Deadlands Reloaded session (on April 27th, 2013).
[Urgh, these are getting a bit longer than I originally planned. Never mind, excuse my rambling].
As evening slowly crept over Portland the posse considered two things they were going the face: They wanted to catch Chief Barrelbelly on camera to prove his murderous doings and collect the $1000 reward, and they needed to find Lotus Blossom Wen. While Toni (the Muckraker) and Gus (the Blessed) decided to set up the camera and to wait at the Barrelbelly saloon, Tyler (the ex-Agent), Hunter (the Bounty Hunter) and Matt (the Huckster) headed into Chinatown to look for the beautiful Chinese lady.
Triad Shenanigans
Soon enough the three found the only building that fit Bu's description - if it could be called that - and sported both a laundry shop and a Dim Sum kitchen. Tyler barreled into the laundry and intimidated the shop lady by thrusting his bowie knife into the counter. As Hunter tapped on his gun and gave her a meaningful glance, she spilled the beans [adventure card "Spill the Beans" played]: The night before a fight had taken place between the Portland triad of Xu Lieh and some "outsiders", i.e. Kang's people, in the yard behind the laundry. The local triad had won.
In the yard they found signs of the recent struggle, but a number of triad goons showed up soon enough. They traded a few threats and insults, but then fists and bullets started to fly. The first wave of martial artist went down quickly, but reinforcements were obviously on the way. Tyler shouted for Lotus Blossom Wen, and Matt heard a faint cry from up above, where a rickety series of stairs and galleries led to the upper stories. The huckster had used up all his readily-available power against the first wave, but the manitous reveled in the slaughter and readily provided him with more juice [Arcane Inspiration adventure card played].
Tyler and Matt raced upwards, while Hunter followed cautiously and tried to slow down the pursuit. To his horror a huge, blue-skinned ogre mage emerged into the yard, and began throwing spells at the trio. Tyler just managed to get up to the topmost level, before a magic blast destroyed part of the stairs. Up there he ran into a duo of triad goons who gave him trouble, while Hunter and Matt desperately tried to hold off another handful of fighters and the ogre, who after running out of magic began to ascent the stairs that creaked and swayed ominously under his weight.
Tyler went down under a flurry of blows from his opponents, while Hunter and Matt hauled themselves up past the broken stairs, only to see the ogre climb up behind them as well. As Hunter shot down the two mooks, Matt grabbed a bundle of dynamite from Tyler's bag and threw it at the ogre. Hunter dragged the unconscious ex-Agent into a room and Matt jumped after them, as the dynamite exploded right behind the ogre and brought him and the whole gallery structure crashing down into the yard.
Inside the room they found Lotus Blossom Wen, lying there either deeply unconscious or dead. Another room held a stash of gold and ghost rock, but as the way down was blocked the most precious thing in there was a coil of rope which allowed them to abseil through one of the windows. Hunter's sharp eyes [Adventure card "Windfall" played] allowed him to grab the most valuable loot in the room: A bag of glittering diamonds. He almost died getting it out of there through: As the last through the window, his grip slipped the rope and he fell 20 feet unto the street. Badly shaken Matt (-1 wounds) and Hunter (-3 from wounds) limped away from the gathering crowd and the fire brigade (the explosion had set off a fire in the building), dragging the unmoving bodies of Tyler and Wen along.
[The players violated one of the fundamental rules of rpg wisdom - don't split the party - and almost paid dearly for it. If the dynamite had deviated (Matt failed his throwing roll) in a different direction, say down into the yard or back towards the PCs, instead of into the wall behind the ogre, the fight would almost certainly have gone badly. The characters were shaken several times, but managed to always pull themselves together before the adversaries could take advantage of it. Lesson learned: Being ganged-on by martial artists in tight quarters is bad! The star of the show was one of the unnamed goons who managed to evade two of the huckster's Blasts (8 needed on a d8 each time) and soak a 3D6 Bolt, only to trip over his own feet in his melee attack). The Arcane Inspiration was badly needed, otherwise the huckster would have been Dealing with the Devil heavily.
The big downside was 2 of the 5 players were not involved. But since they stubbornly refused to take any hints and come to their fellows aid, they had only themselves to blame. One thing that I find myself unable to do in Savage Worlds is to cut back and forth between two different groups, when one is involved into a full-blown fight. I can do that more easily in a more free-form system like Fudge, but here the logistics of running a combat are just too much.]
Chief Barrelbelly
At the Barrelbelly saloon Toni and Gus had been waiting and keeping an eye on the wooden Indian. Soon enough people came running by, shouting about a firefight in Chinatown, and then the fire alarm bells started ringing. Soon they found themselves alone in the saloon. A fog was creeping in and Toni decided they needed the flash to be lighted from off the side, so she instructed Gus to handle that while she operated the camera. All was set to capture the murderous thing on photograph...
... but then the badly beaten up rest of the posse struggled in, with Lotus Blossom Wen in tow, desperate for healing. Of course Gus took good care of them (just having taken the Healer edge for his last advancement), and soon enough Tyler was revived and Matt and Hunter feeling much better. Only Lotus Blossom Wen could not be woken and Gus had already declared her dead, when Matt noticed the faintest of breath. She seemed to be in a magic or poison induced coma.
Just then the clock struck midnight and Gus raced outside to take up his position with the camera flash. At the twelfth stroke, Chief Barrelbelly indeed began to move and turned his hateful gaze on Gus. Fear gripped the posse's mind, but all except Hunter shook it off and Gus ignited the magnesium. The flash was timed perfectly and Toni took her photo, but the statue ignored this and headed down the street. But when Tyler dowsed it with lamp oil, the Chief felt threatened and turned on the posse, grabbing Tyler by the coat. They used a rope to trip him up, Matt cut off the Indians fingertips with an axe to free Tyler, who ignited the oil covering it, and finally Gus dispelled the magic holding the spirit within the wooden statue. The wooden statue was left sitting in the middle of the street burning fiercely until only a blackened stump remained.
Would the evidence be enough to collect the $1000 reward? The photo that Toni took? The burned statue sitting in the middle of the street, blocks away from the saloon? The deep foot tracks in the road? They wouldn't know until ... next session.
[I had originally planned for a few more interventions in this fight, but it was getting late, I didn't want to drag this out, and simply forgot some stuff. Still, the end of Chief Barrelbelly was fitting and we'll see how the authorities react to the story.
In both battle maps you can see that I used (or tried to use) the abstract movement system proposed here, but I found it hard to switch in mid-game and convey the changes adequately to the players, so I'll probably stick with gridded movement for the remainder of the game.]
The Great Northwest - Campaign Journal
Re: The Great Northwest - Campaign Journal
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Re: The Great Northwest - Campaign Journal
This is the log of our 12th Deadlands Reloaded session (on May 20th, 2013).
After burning Chief Barrelbelly (the wooden Indian, not the Saloon) the posse decided to head back to their boarding house to get the still comatose Lotus Blossom Wen to safety. They felt followed and saw a dark shape trailing them in the darkness, but could not pin it down.
Back home their landlord Bob treated them to a late night supper of some meat he said he had been lucky to find today. The meal - despite not looking particularly appetizing - was tasty and filling, a fact that made Tyler (the ex-Agent) extremely suspicious. Still something was prowling around the house and Hunter (the Bounty Hunter) took up guard position at his upstairs window, while Gus (the Blessed) prepared a prayer to free Lotus Blossom Wen from the spell or curse that kept her unconscious.
The thing that stalked the posse proved stealthy and dangerous, when Matt (the Huckster) suddenly woke in the night with teeth and claws at his throat. It was the female wolfling that had escaped the battle in the Klickitat village and vowed revenge [play of the "enemy" adventure card a few sessions ago]. Matt grabbed his gun beside the bed and got off a shot, but missed. The wolfling ripped into his throat and killed him... almost. His companions burst into the room before the wolfling could finish him off. Tyler knocked it out of the window and Hunter hit it with a couple bullets, but it managed to slink off into the night. Gus was able to stabilize Matt and heal most of his wounds. Afterwards he finally tried to revive Lotus Blossom Wen - but that failed.
Next day - after another nourishing breakfast of what might just have been bacon - the posse headed into town. Toni (the muckraker) developed the photos of last night, while the others headed into Chinatown to get help for Wen at the Jade Temple Hotel. The proprietor brought them into contact with the Feng Shui man Donkey Li, who confirmed that she was under the influence of a curse. But when asked to break it he balked, not wanting to interfere with the doings of Xu Lieh, the boss of the Portland Triad. No arguing could convince him otherwise.
While this was going on, Hunter spotted the Colonel, the bounty hunter that was after them, across the street. He casually (and carefully) walked over and they talked. The Colonel offered him a share in the bounty - a staggering $3000 - collectable in two parts, in Seattle and Chicago. Hunter played it like he was interested, and told the Colonel they would be heading back to Seattle this evening with the steamboat.
The next items on the agenda were to collect the bounty for Chief Barrelbelly and to get the ogre Bu out of prison. The first proved harder then the second. Through the Sheriff was back from the monster hunt on the river, he wasn't willing to pay out a $500 bounty on some charred piece of wood in the street. The local Rockie's representative, Mr. Kruger, who had put up the other half of the $1000 was more easily convinced, as the miners were relieved that the threat seemed to be over [following a play of the "Folk Hero" adventure card last session].
Gus, who acted as the spokesperson for the posse, proved to be too good for this world though: He rejected the bounty because in his opinion the real threat - the shaman who originally put the evil Spirit in the statue - had not been dealt with. Instead he offered to go after that shaman for payment as soon as they were back from Seattle, which Mr. Kruger happily agreed to, seeing that he was mostly just postponing the payment of the bounty for an indefinite time. Gus only asked for a little bit of the bounty to pay for Bu's bail.
With all that taken care of, it was time to take the last boat that would bring them all back to Seattle for the big New Year's poker tournament that Matt wanted so desperately to attend. They didn't have the $1000 buy-in available in cash yet, but Hunter had the stash of diamonds from the Triad warehouse. Hopefully this would be enough.
With Bu and the comatose Wen in tow they boarded the North Pacific that had already taken them to Portland. Hunter glimpsed the Colonel observing them from one of the ship's portholes. They had just entered the Columbia river, when the river monster reared its ugly head from the waters [a face card on the encounter draw]: a real maze dragon (if only a small one).
What appeared to become a tough fight, proved to be over quick. Matt almost exploded in magical power (adventure card "Arcane Spike" played) and one of his cards exploded the creature's head. Everybody stood stunned as rest of the gigantic body slipped beneath the waves.
[If this sounds anti-climactic, it was quite okay in game. The evening was pretty late, and there were no big stakes in the fight (except survival of course). The maze dragon was an adolescent (somewhere between a young and an adult) and no wild card. The more important things will be dealing with the bounty hunters, confronting Agent Black again, and the poker game in Seattle. Next time.]
After burning Chief Barrelbelly (the wooden Indian, not the Saloon) the posse decided to head back to their boarding house to get the still comatose Lotus Blossom Wen to safety. They felt followed and saw a dark shape trailing them in the darkness, but could not pin it down.
Back home their landlord Bob treated them to a late night supper of some meat he said he had been lucky to find today. The meal - despite not looking particularly appetizing - was tasty and filling, a fact that made Tyler (the ex-Agent) extremely suspicious. Still something was prowling around the house and Hunter (the Bounty Hunter) took up guard position at his upstairs window, while Gus (the Blessed) prepared a prayer to free Lotus Blossom Wen from the spell or curse that kept her unconscious.
The thing that stalked the posse proved stealthy and dangerous, when Matt (the Huckster) suddenly woke in the night with teeth and claws at his throat. It was the female wolfling that had escaped the battle in the Klickitat village and vowed revenge [play of the "enemy" adventure card a few sessions ago]. Matt grabbed his gun beside the bed and got off a shot, but missed. The wolfling ripped into his throat and killed him... almost. His companions burst into the room before the wolfling could finish him off. Tyler knocked it out of the window and Hunter hit it with a couple bullets, but it managed to slink off into the night. Gus was able to stabilize Matt and heal most of his wounds. Afterwards he finally tried to revive Lotus Blossom Wen - but that failed.
Next day - after another nourishing breakfast of what might just have been bacon - the posse headed into town. Toni (the muckraker) developed the photos of last night, while the others headed into Chinatown to get help for Wen at the Jade Temple Hotel. The proprietor brought them into contact with the Feng Shui man Donkey Li, who confirmed that she was under the influence of a curse. But when asked to break it he balked, not wanting to interfere with the doings of Xu Lieh, the boss of the Portland Triad. No arguing could convince him otherwise.
While this was going on, Hunter spotted the Colonel, the bounty hunter that was after them, across the street. He casually (and carefully) walked over and they talked. The Colonel offered him a share in the bounty - a staggering $3000 - collectable in two parts, in Seattle and Chicago. Hunter played it like he was interested, and told the Colonel they would be heading back to Seattle this evening with the steamboat.
The next items on the agenda were to collect the bounty for Chief Barrelbelly and to get the ogre Bu out of prison. The first proved harder then the second. Through the Sheriff was back from the monster hunt on the river, he wasn't willing to pay out a $500 bounty on some charred piece of wood in the street. The local Rockie's representative, Mr. Kruger, who had put up the other half of the $1000 was more easily convinced, as the miners were relieved that the threat seemed to be over [following a play of the "Folk Hero" adventure card last session].
Gus, who acted as the spokesperson for the posse, proved to be too good for this world though: He rejected the bounty because in his opinion the real threat - the shaman who originally put the evil Spirit in the statue - had not been dealt with. Instead he offered to go after that shaman for payment as soon as they were back from Seattle, which Mr. Kruger happily agreed to, seeing that he was mostly just postponing the payment of the bounty for an indefinite time. Gus only asked for a little bit of the bounty to pay for Bu's bail.
With all that taken care of, it was time to take the last boat that would bring them all back to Seattle for the big New Year's poker tournament that Matt wanted so desperately to attend. They didn't have the $1000 buy-in available in cash yet, but Hunter had the stash of diamonds from the Triad warehouse. Hopefully this would be enough.
With Bu and the comatose Wen in tow they boarded the North Pacific that had already taken them to Portland. Hunter glimpsed the Colonel observing them from one of the ship's portholes. They had just entered the Columbia river, when the river monster reared its ugly head from the waters [a face card on the encounter draw]: a real maze dragon (if only a small one).
What appeared to become a tough fight, proved to be over quick. Matt almost exploded in magical power (adventure card "Arcane Spike" played) and one of his cards exploded the creature's head. Everybody stood stunned as rest of the gigantic body slipped beneath the waves.
[If this sounds anti-climactic, it was quite okay in game. The evening was pretty late, and there were no big stakes in the fight (except survival of course). The maze dragon was an adolescent (somewhere between a young and an adult) and no wild card. The more important things will be dealing with the bounty hunters, confronting Agent Black again, and the poker game in Seattle. Next time.]
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Re: The Great Northwest - Campaign Journal
It's been a while, since we had a long gaming break during summer - everybody was away on vacations. But this Friday the campaign starts up again and I'm adding the missing game session logs.
This is the log of our 13th Deadlands Reloaded session (on June 21st, 2013).
The posse returned to Seattle with the comatose Lotus Blossom Wen and brought her to the Triad headquarters at the Dragon Palace Hotel. There the native shaman Thirsty Beaver Joe managed to break Xu Lieh's spell. They also met Toothless Wu, Wen's lieutenant they had tangled with in Chicago.
Not much time was left to sign up for Boss Boyd's poker tournament, so Hunter (the Bounty Hunter) approached Boss Boyd directly and used the gems pilfered from the Portland triad warehouse to pay for Matt's (the huckters') ante. Tyler's (the ex-Agent) family connection to Boyd helped. Toni (the muckraker) convinced Boyd that a well-placed newspaper article on the tournament was a great way to garner publicity and got invited that way. Gus (the Blessed) accompanied her as her assistant.
To everybody's dismay it became clear that Agent Black had been hired to provide security for the game on Boyd's private Lake Washington steamer, the "Elsinore". He brought a number of his cronies, including the bounty hunters they had fought in Portland. Concerned by the news that "no private weapons" were to be brought aboard, Hunter and Tyler hid some weapons in the steamer's launch for when they might be needed. Finally on the evening of New Year's Day 1880 the Elsinore steamed out unto the lake with everybody on board ready for the poker tournament.
Apart from Matt, four other main players with a chance for the overall win emerged: Kenneth "Boss" Boyd" himself, Paul Dufresne, a younger, rakish type, an older black man by the name of John Porter, and a pretty, diminutive lady calling herself Violet DeNoir. Everyone except Matt (who had to play) used the first round to observe the other players and Tyler noticed the odd greenish tint of Violet's glasses. She did seem to have a special knack of "guessing" her opponents hands too.
When the first round was over (Matt handily won his table) a break was called. Toni made a point of ingratiating herself with one of the agency men, who she thought might not be fully aware of Black's schemes. Hunter spied on Violet DeNoir and found out that she was in league in Agent Black who seemed intent on securing the $25,000 winner's pot for himself. When everyone got back to the final round table, Matt was wearing the same kind of glasses as Violet - and bluffed her into thinking her cheating trick was blown. She promptly put away her own glasses and the game proceeded without her special advantage.
The final round proceeded and came down head to head between Matt and Boss Boyd himself. But in the end the Seattle magnate had the better cards and won his own poker tournament to Matt's bitter disappointment. He proved horribly magnanimous in his victory, throwing a big party and regaling everybody with his advice on "proper" play.
As the night wore on and most guests slowly drifted away to their cabins, Hunter noticed Agent Black and Violet DeNoir slinking away and followed them. He tried to listen in on their conversation in Violet's cabin, but was noticed by Black and knocked out by a blow to the head.
Shortly thereafter Black decided to strike. Smoke bombs erupted on the gambling deck and under cover of the black and oily cloud, Violet tried to open the safe with the prize money using a weird science acid concoction. Black dragged Hunter to the scene to leave him as a scapegoat and the bounty hunters tried to capture or gun down Tyler and Toni. The ensuing firefight was chaotic and bloody. The Chicago shootist who was after Toni - Toni managed to convince one of the Agency men to help her - was severely wounded, Violet was shot and both were captured. The Colonel escaped by jumping overboard. Most importantly Agent Black was mortally wounded, but his body went overboard and sank into Lake Washington.
When the smoke cleared the posse had prevailed despite Hunter, Tyler and Matt having been wounded. They would have some explaining to do...
the steamboat Elsinore - the gambling deck
Click on the image for a full-size pdf version of the map.
This is the log of our 13th Deadlands Reloaded session (on June 21st, 2013).
The posse returned to Seattle with the comatose Lotus Blossom Wen and brought her to the Triad headquarters at the Dragon Palace Hotel. There the native shaman Thirsty Beaver Joe managed to break Xu Lieh's spell. They also met Toothless Wu, Wen's lieutenant they had tangled with in Chicago.
Not much time was left to sign up for Boss Boyd's poker tournament, so Hunter (the Bounty Hunter) approached Boss Boyd directly and used the gems pilfered from the Portland triad warehouse to pay for Matt's (the huckters') ante. Tyler's (the ex-Agent) family connection to Boyd helped. Toni (the muckraker) convinced Boyd that a well-placed newspaper article on the tournament was a great way to garner publicity and got invited that way. Gus (the Blessed) accompanied her as her assistant.
To everybody's dismay it became clear that Agent Black had been hired to provide security for the game on Boyd's private Lake Washington steamer, the "Elsinore". He brought a number of his cronies, including the bounty hunters they had fought in Portland. Concerned by the news that "no private weapons" were to be brought aboard, Hunter and Tyler hid some weapons in the steamer's launch for when they might be needed. Finally on the evening of New Year's Day 1880 the Elsinore steamed out unto the lake with everybody on board ready for the poker tournament.
Apart from Matt, four other main players with a chance for the overall win emerged: Kenneth "Boss" Boyd" himself, Paul Dufresne, a younger, rakish type, an older black man by the name of John Porter, and a pretty, diminutive lady calling herself Violet DeNoir. Everyone except Matt (who had to play) used the first round to observe the other players and Tyler noticed the odd greenish tint of Violet's glasses. She did seem to have a special knack of "guessing" her opponents hands too.
When the first round was over (Matt handily won his table) a break was called. Toni made a point of ingratiating herself with one of the agency men, who she thought might not be fully aware of Black's schemes. Hunter spied on Violet DeNoir and found out that she was in league in Agent Black who seemed intent on securing the $25,000 winner's pot for himself. When everyone got back to the final round table, Matt was wearing the same kind of glasses as Violet - and bluffed her into thinking her cheating trick was blown. She promptly put away her own glasses and the game proceeded without her special advantage.
The final round proceeded and came down head to head between Matt and Boss Boyd himself. But in the end the Seattle magnate had the better cards and won his own poker tournament to Matt's bitter disappointment. He proved horribly magnanimous in his victory, throwing a big party and regaling everybody with his advice on "proper" play.
As the night wore on and most guests slowly drifted away to their cabins, Hunter noticed Agent Black and Violet DeNoir slinking away and followed them. He tried to listen in on their conversation in Violet's cabin, but was noticed by Black and knocked out by a blow to the head.
Shortly thereafter Black decided to strike. Smoke bombs erupted on the gambling deck and under cover of the black and oily cloud, Violet tried to open the safe with the prize money using a weird science acid concoction. Black dragged Hunter to the scene to leave him as a scapegoat and the bounty hunters tried to capture or gun down Tyler and Toni. The ensuing firefight was chaotic and bloody. The Chicago shootist who was after Toni - Toni managed to convince one of the Agency men to help her - was severely wounded, Violet was shot and both were captured. The Colonel escaped by jumping overboard. Most importantly Agent Black was mortally wounded, but his body went overboard and sank into Lake Washington.
When the smoke cleared the posse had prevailed despite Hunter, Tyler and Matt having been wounded. They would have some explaining to do...
the steamboat Elsinore - the gambling deck
Click on the image for a full-size pdf version of the map.
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Re: The Great Northwest - Campaign Journal
This is the log of our 14th Deadlands Reloaded session (on July 24th, 2013).
Faced with the aftermath of Agent Black's attack on the steamboat, the posse embellished the truth just a little: Tyler told Boss Boyd that he was an Internal Affairs agent for the Agency, investigating Black's corruption. His death was deplorable only because he could not be brought to court anymore. Helped by Toni's plausible arguments, Boyd was thoroughly convinced of the story. In fact he took quite a liking to Tyler and invited him and his friends to dinner at the Boyd mansion for the next day. Matt used the confusion after the attack to "secure" a part of the prize money - $1000 ended up in his own pockets.
Agent McClintock, the junior agent stationed in Seattle took a little more convincing, but eventually submitted to Tyler's apparent authority. Together they inspected the Seattle station (a secret complex below the F.W.Morse Overland Freight office. Apart from Black's station log (in code) Tyler found an old acquaintance locked away in one of the cells: The harrowed Mayor Flanagan from Harvest Feast. Obviously Black had not gotten rid of the "body" and kept him alive.
Click on the image to download the pdf version of the map.
The posse spent another night at Lotus Blossom Wen's Dragon Palace Hotel and learned that she was going to confront the Portland Triad again. She would have to get Xu Lieh to submit or earn Kang's wrath, something she wanted to avoid at all costs. Tyler promised to help. Gus had a dream the same night in which he met Chris - the Klickitat girl who was now training to become a shaman - in a ghostly tent. As it turned out, she was actually visiting him on a spirit journey and spoke dire warnings. Evil was stirring around Walla Walla and she feared the settlement would not survive the winter. She urged Gus to bring the others and meet with Racing Cloud and her in Walla Walla. The town was in the newspaper too, with a call for help by mayor Hart. Apparently the town was under a state of siege and supplies were failing fast.
The next day was the dinner invitation at Boyd's mansion and the posse got to meet his family: his quiet and subdued wife Eilzabeth and their daughter Emma Jane, his son Charles William being away on the east coast studying law. It quickly became clear that the domineering and self-righteous Boyd was trying to make a match between Tyler and his daughter Emma. Tyler played it cautiously and didn't refuse outright. The posse tried to get Boyd to invest into a rescue mission for Walla Walla, which he flatly turned down. But Gus and Toni managed to get a good connection to Emma and convinced her to arrange for some supplies to be paid for and collected at Boyd's offices in Portland - without her father's knowledge.
The plan came together thus: The posse would accompany Wen down to Portland and help her get even with Xu Lieh and his triad. In return she would put the triad's resources at their disposal to organize the mission to Walla Walla which would deliver Boyd's supplies and relief the siege.
And with that I'm up to date with session reports again. I'm ready for tonight's game.
Faced with the aftermath of Agent Black's attack on the steamboat, the posse embellished the truth just a little: Tyler told Boss Boyd that he was an Internal Affairs agent for the Agency, investigating Black's corruption. His death was deplorable only because he could not be brought to court anymore. Helped by Toni's plausible arguments, Boyd was thoroughly convinced of the story. In fact he took quite a liking to Tyler and invited him and his friends to dinner at the Boyd mansion for the next day. Matt used the confusion after the attack to "secure" a part of the prize money - $1000 ended up in his own pockets.
Agent McClintock, the junior agent stationed in Seattle took a little more convincing, but eventually submitted to Tyler's apparent authority. Together they inspected the Seattle station (a secret complex below the F.W.Morse Overland Freight office. Apart from Black's station log (in code) Tyler found an old acquaintance locked away in one of the cells: The harrowed Mayor Flanagan from Harvest Feast. Obviously Black had not gotten rid of the "body" and kept him alive.
Click on the image to download the pdf version of the map.
The posse spent another night at Lotus Blossom Wen's Dragon Palace Hotel and learned that she was going to confront the Portland Triad again. She would have to get Xu Lieh to submit or earn Kang's wrath, something she wanted to avoid at all costs. Tyler promised to help. Gus had a dream the same night in which he met Chris - the Klickitat girl who was now training to become a shaman - in a ghostly tent. As it turned out, she was actually visiting him on a spirit journey and spoke dire warnings. Evil was stirring around Walla Walla and she feared the settlement would not survive the winter. She urged Gus to bring the others and meet with Racing Cloud and her in Walla Walla. The town was in the newspaper too, with a call for help by mayor Hart. Apparently the town was under a state of siege and supplies were failing fast.
The next day was the dinner invitation at Boyd's mansion and the posse got to meet his family: his quiet and subdued wife Eilzabeth and their daughter Emma Jane, his son Charles William being away on the east coast studying law. It quickly became clear that the domineering and self-righteous Boyd was trying to make a match between Tyler and his daughter Emma. Tyler played it cautiously and didn't refuse outright. The posse tried to get Boyd to invest into a rescue mission for Walla Walla, which he flatly turned down. But Gus and Toni managed to get a good connection to Emma and convinced her to arrange for some supplies to be paid for and collected at Boyd's offices in Portland - without her father's knowledge.
The plan came together thus: The posse would accompany Wen down to Portland and help her get even with Xu Lieh and his triad. In return she would put the triad's resources at their disposal to organize the mission to Walla Walla which would deliver Boyd's supplies and relief the siege.
And with that I'm up to date with session reports again. I'm ready for tonight's game.
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Re: The Great Northwest - Campaign Journal
This is the log of our 15th Deadlands Reloaded session (on October 4th, 2013).
The posse headed south as planned, but not without stocking up with some "interesting" supplies from the Agency Station, such as sleeping gas, a dynamite launcher and special ammunitions. Tyler had convinced Agent McKendrick that supporting Lotus Blossom Wen's triad was in his own interest.
This time they took the train via Tacoma and Olympia and switched to horseback when they reached the unfinished bit of the line. That allowed them to reach the outskirts of Portland without drawing attention. In addition to the posse Wen brought her pet ogre Wu, a quartet of Kung Fu warriors and the Indian scout Angry Mouse along. Her "plan" was pretty straightforward: she would simply walk up to Xiu Lieh again, demanding his submission. Matt came up with an idea to throw the Portland triad boss off a little more. He would disguise himself magically as Kang! While he had not seen the rail baron himself, Wen suspected that Xiu Lieh had not either and they made do with an approximation.
Click on the image to download an A1 pdf version of the map.
Sure enough the fake Kang quickly got them into Xu Lieh's mansion north of town. The old triad boss made a show of welcoming Kang, but Toni noticed something odd (her "Knack/Bastard" edge kicked in) and suddenly saw a big Chinese ogre on the balcony above Xu Lieh, looking as if it was playing him on strings like a marionette. She blurted this out to the assembled crowd, the ogre became himself visible and everything erupted into violence.
While everybody was kung fu fighting around them, the posse focused on the ogre as the main opponent. Angry Mouse, whom Tyler had equipped with the dynamite launcher, proved reckless and fired dynamite indiscriminately into the crowd. Kang's rail warrior (a ronin) who had betrayed Wen to Xu Lieh in their first meeting showed up, but held back and didn't enter the fray. Some very well-placed magic bolts and gun shots brought the ogre mage down. When Toni toppled him down from the balcony, it fell on Xu Lieh, crushing him and revealing the body as a skin and paper simulacrum of the real triad boss. Seeing this the Portland triad members gave up demoralized.
Wen took over, obviously quite relieved that she had managed to fulfill Kang's orders. During the aftermath the real body of Xu Lieh was found in his summoning room. Apparently he made a deal with a pair of Ogre mages a while ago, who betrayed him and took over his operation. Wen confronted the traitorous ronin, who told her that he had just followed Kang's orders all along. Taking care of Xu Lieh under unexpected difficulties had been a test of her capabilities and resourcefulness. Wen was furious and only Matt and Gus' intervention prevented her from killing the ronin on the spot.
With the triad business taken care of the posse headed on to Portland and began organizing the relief effort for Walla Walla. They found Boyd's representative - a certain John di Angelo - to be skimming off supplies for his own benefit and "corrected" the situation. The triad, now under Wen's command, helped with loading supplies onto a chartered river steamboat and Hunter and Toni hired a few (4) capable gunmen. Wen also offered to send Angry Mouse along, but remembering his action on War Eagle Mountain and the recklessness at Xu Lieh's mansion, they declined. River travel proved dangerous at this time of year due to ice on the Columbia. But by traveling in daylight only, always posting two lookouts, and having a capable pilot, they made it safely to Wallula on the Walla Walla river mouth.
The little outpost at the landing was completely deserted. They found the buildings damaged and ransacked, but saw no bodies, blood or signs of gunfire. Hunter identified a lot of Bigfoot tracks - a group of at least six had been here not long ago and caused the damage. Confronted with the immense tracks as positive proof of these legendary beings, the hired gunmen suddenly got cold feet. Only two could be convinced to stay on, the others decided to go back to Portland with the steamer. At least they helped with the unloading. The posse found a wagon and harness in one of the buildings. They would be able to hitch their mules to it and transport the supplies this way.
Evening came before the posse could start towards Walla Walla and they decided to spent a last night on the steamer. On his watch Matt noticed a large shape moving beyond the landing among the buildings - probably a Sasquatch. He didn't raise an alarm and it slipped away northwards. Hunter found the tracks in the morning, but it was too late to follow it. He was concerned it would be alarming its tribe. Nevertheless they bid good-bye to the boat's captain and the two cowardly gunmen and then started the trip eastward to Walla Walla.
As to not give away the contents of the rooms in Xu Lieh's mansion, I printed roofs for each room and put them on them map. Only when the players entered a room did I reveal the appropriate secion. If you want to do the same, you can use this pdf to print the roofs.
The posse headed south as planned, but not without stocking up with some "interesting" supplies from the Agency Station, such as sleeping gas, a dynamite launcher and special ammunitions. Tyler had convinced Agent McKendrick that supporting Lotus Blossom Wen's triad was in his own interest.
This time they took the train via Tacoma and Olympia and switched to horseback when they reached the unfinished bit of the line. That allowed them to reach the outskirts of Portland without drawing attention. In addition to the posse Wen brought her pet ogre Wu, a quartet of Kung Fu warriors and the Indian scout Angry Mouse along. Her "plan" was pretty straightforward: she would simply walk up to Xiu Lieh again, demanding his submission. Matt came up with an idea to throw the Portland triad boss off a little more. He would disguise himself magically as Kang! While he had not seen the rail baron himself, Wen suspected that Xiu Lieh had not either and they made do with an approximation.
Click on the image to download an A1 pdf version of the map.
Sure enough the fake Kang quickly got them into Xu Lieh's mansion north of town. The old triad boss made a show of welcoming Kang, but Toni noticed something odd (her "Knack/Bastard" edge kicked in) and suddenly saw a big Chinese ogre on the balcony above Xu Lieh, looking as if it was playing him on strings like a marionette. She blurted this out to the assembled crowd, the ogre became himself visible and everything erupted into violence.
While everybody was kung fu fighting around them, the posse focused on the ogre as the main opponent. Angry Mouse, whom Tyler had equipped with the dynamite launcher, proved reckless and fired dynamite indiscriminately into the crowd. Kang's rail warrior (a ronin) who had betrayed Wen to Xu Lieh in their first meeting showed up, but held back and didn't enter the fray. Some very well-placed magic bolts and gun shots brought the ogre mage down. When Toni toppled him down from the balcony, it fell on Xu Lieh, crushing him and revealing the body as a skin and paper simulacrum of the real triad boss. Seeing this the Portland triad members gave up demoralized.
Wen took over, obviously quite relieved that she had managed to fulfill Kang's orders. During the aftermath the real body of Xu Lieh was found in his summoning room. Apparently he made a deal with a pair of Ogre mages a while ago, who betrayed him and took over his operation. Wen confronted the traitorous ronin, who told her that he had just followed Kang's orders all along. Taking care of Xu Lieh under unexpected difficulties had been a test of her capabilities and resourcefulness. Wen was furious and only Matt and Gus' intervention prevented her from killing the ronin on the spot.
With the triad business taken care of the posse headed on to Portland and began organizing the relief effort for Walla Walla. They found Boyd's representative - a certain John di Angelo - to be skimming off supplies for his own benefit and "corrected" the situation. The triad, now under Wen's command, helped with loading supplies onto a chartered river steamboat and Hunter and Toni hired a few (4) capable gunmen. Wen also offered to send Angry Mouse along, but remembering his action on War Eagle Mountain and the recklessness at Xu Lieh's mansion, they declined. River travel proved dangerous at this time of year due to ice on the Columbia. But by traveling in daylight only, always posting two lookouts, and having a capable pilot, they made it safely to Wallula on the Walla Walla river mouth.
The little outpost at the landing was completely deserted. They found the buildings damaged and ransacked, but saw no bodies, blood or signs of gunfire. Hunter identified a lot of Bigfoot tracks - a group of at least six had been here not long ago and caused the damage. Confronted with the immense tracks as positive proof of these legendary beings, the hired gunmen suddenly got cold feet. Only two could be convinced to stay on, the others decided to go back to Portland with the steamer. At least they helped with the unloading. The posse found a wagon and harness in one of the buildings. They would be able to hitch their mules to it and transport the supplies this way.
Evening came before the posse could start towards Walla Walla and they decided to spent a last night on the steamer. On his watch Matt noticed a large shape moving beyond the landing among the buildings - probably a Sasquatch. He didn't raise an alarm and it slipped away northwards. Hunter found the tracks in the morning, but it was too late to follow it. He was concerned it would be alarming its tribe. Nevertheless they bid good-bye to the boat's captain and the two cowardly gunmen and then started the trip eastward to Walla Walla.
As to not give away the contents of the rooms in Xu Lieh's mansion, I printed roofs for each room and put them on them map. Only when the players entered a room did I reveal the appropriate secion. If you want to do the same, you can use this pdf to print the roofs.
Maps & More - Making maps for a living
Mein Arbeits- und Hobbyblog
Der Ringkrieg - Eine Fan-Webseite zum Brettspiel
Rezension, Videos, Strategie-Tipps, Bildergalerie, FAQ und mehr
Mein Arbeits- und Hobbyblog
Der Ringkrieg - Eine Fan-Webseite zum Brettspiel
Rezension, Videos, Strategie-Tipps, Bildergalerie, FAQ und mehr
Re: The Great Northwest - Campaign Journal
This is the log of our 16th Deadlands Reloaded session (on November 1st, 2013).
The trek along the Walla Walla river valley started out uneventful, but the posse soon felt watched from the surrounding hills and woods. The howling of wolves began as evening approached, and Hunter secured a campsite that was as defensible as possible. That proved to be wise, when the Wolfling Alpha who had trailed Matt (the huckster) ever since the Klickitat village and two of her pack mates attacked in the early morning hours. They were clearly after Matt and the female went all-out for his throat before he could get a spell off. She very nearly tore his throat out (3 wounds), but one of the hired gunmen from Portland - Pete LaCroix - saved his life with a well-placed short between the wolfling's eyes. Her two pack mates were quickly taking care of before they could escape into the night. Matt's nemesis was finally defeated. [Matt's player played the "Enemy" adventure card four sessions ago. The wolfling attacked him twice, both times resulting in a near-death experience for him. A great use of the card.]
The supply wagon as a paper model.
The next day the posse ran into the first signs of the siege of Walla Walla. Hunter and Toni (the muckraker) were scouting ahead when they noticed a suspicious tree - it was prepped to fall across the road and block the wagon's path. Closer observation revealed a couple large figures behind some boulders on the slope above - Sasquatch. The group left the wagon safely back and made signs of peace, but as they approached the Sasquatch rolled a boulder down the slope toppling the tree. Undeterred, Tyler (the ex-Agent) figured out a way to use the mules, their harness and a convenient tree [great use of the Repair skill] to move the fallen tree. Toni tried to parley with the Sasquatch while he was working but got nowhere, the two big fellas only growling and throwing threatening stones from up top. Hunter fired a few shots to intimidate the Sasquatch and they retreated for the moment. But as the mules began to pull away the tree, they appeared back near the wagon, and ran at it, intent on pushing it down the slope off the other side of the road.
The stretch of road with the fallen tree. Click the image to download an A1 pdf of the map.
The posse scrambled to save their precious supplies while trying to avoid killing the sasquatch, as they still hoped to find a peaceful solution. Tyler produced the perfect weapon: the slumber gas he had appropriated from the Agency lab in Seattle. He threw a vial and it promptly put both Sasquatch soundly asleep [great Throw roll and two failed Vigor rolls]. When the two awoke they found themselves securely bound - or so the posse thought. In fact the first Sasquatch to awake managed to break the rope holding him with an impressive effort of strength. But Gus (the preacher) had cast the "Tongues" miracle on Toni, and she managed to talk the Sasquatch down. They learned that the Sasquatch were trying to destroy Walla Walla because it was the "root of the evil" and their "Big Chief" was not going to be friendly to the humans. But Toni convinced these two at least to let the wagon through and tell the Big Chief they wanted to talk with him.The two did not look hopeful this would amount to anything, but let the posse pass and vanished into the hills.
[The adventure in the Trail guide has the Speak Language power not working on the Sasquatch on the pretext of their language being too primitive - but that's something I don't like, especially as an NPC turns up who then DOES have a special power that works. Much better to have the PCs' own abilities actually make a difference.]
A little later the posse was met by a cavalry patrol from Walla Walla, only the patrol was riding a steam wagon instead of horses. Captain Danby and his troopers escorted them to town, where the supplies - few as they were for a whole settlement - where welcomed with cheers and renewed hope. Mayor Ivonne Hart invited them into her office, where she asked them to find a way to contact the Sasquatch so a peace or at least a truce could be arranged. All her own attempts to communicate with the besiegers had failed in the past. Tyler asked her about instances of cannibalism in Walla Walla - theorizing that this was what worried the Sasquatch so much - and learned that one soldier had indeed been imprisoned for partaking of human flesh. Colonel Jones, the commander of the Union troops, declined Tyler's request to speak to the convict, claiming this was army business and the army would handle it.
Someone else was waiting for the posse in Walla Walla: Chris (or Gazes in Wonder as she is known to the Klickitat) and Racing Cloud. The reunion was happy, but overshadowed by the worrying news of Sasquatch attacks on Walla Walla and native villages in the mountains. Chris plan was still to go to Hell's Canyon to the Sasquatchs' holy place and there find a way to locate the "Old Glade", the ancestral home of the "Elder Siblings" as the Klickitat call the Sasquatch. The others agreed with this, but Tyler was keen on locating the threats of cannibalism and humans turning into Wendigo here in Walla Walla. In return, an unknown enemy seemed to be unhappy about his arrival in town: As he left the tent where they had spoken with Chris, a shot rang out from a sniper somewhere near or in the Union first. The bullet was aimed at his head, but luckily only grazed his shoulder. A quick but careful check for tracks in the area revealed that the shot must have come from inside the fort.
The trek along the Walla Walla river valley started out uneventful, but the posse soon felt watched from the surrounding hills and woods. The howling of wolves began as evening approached, and Hunter secured a campsite that was as defensible as possible. That proved to be wise, when the Wolfling Alpha who had trailed Matt (the huckster) ever since the Klickitat village and two of her pack mates attacked in the early morning hours. They were clearly after Matt and the female went all-out for his throat before he could get a spell off. She very nearly tore his throat out (3 wounds), but one of the hired gunmen from Portland - Pete LaCroix - saved his life with a well-placed short between the wolfling's eyes. Her two pack mates were quickly taking care of before they could escape into the night. Matt's nemesis was finally defeated. [Matt's player played the "Enemy" adventure card four sessions ago. The wolfling attacked him twice, both times resulting in a near-death experience for him. A great use of the card.]
The supply wagon as a paper model.
The next day the posse ran into the first signs of the siege of Walla Walla. Hunter and Toni (the muckraker) were scouting ahead when they noticed a suspicious tree - it was prepped to fall across the road and block the wagon's path. Closer observation revealed a couple large figures behind some boulders on the slope above - Sasquatch. The group left the wagon safely back and made signs of peace, but as they approached the Sasquatch rolled a boulder down the slope toppling the tree. Undeterred, Tyler (the ex-Agent) figured out a way to use the mules, their harness and a convenient tree [great use of the Repair skill] to move the fallen tree. Toni tried to parley with the Sasquatch while he was working but got nowhere, the two big fellas only growling and throwing threatening stones from up top. Hunter fired a few shots to intimidate the Sasquatch and they retreated for the moment. But as the mules began to pull away the tree, they appeared back near the wagon, and ran at it, intent on pushing it down the slope off the other side of the road.
The stretch of road with the fallen tree. Click the image to download an A1 pdf of the map.
The posse scrambled to save their precious supplies while trying to avoid killing the sasquatch, as they still hoped to find a peaceful solution. Tyler produced the perfect weapon: the slumber gas he had appropriated from the Agency lab in Seattle. He threw a vial and it promptly put both Sasquatch soundly asleep [great Throw roll and two failed Vigor rolls]. When the two awoke they found themselves securely bound - or so the posse thought. In fact the first Sasquatch to awake managed to break the rope holding him with an impressive effort of strength. But Gus (the preacher) had cast the "Tongues" miracle on Toni, and she managed to talk the Sasquatch down. They learned that the Sasquatch were trying to destroy Walla Walla because it was the "root of the evil" and their "Big Chief" was not going to be friendly to the humans. But Toni convinced these two at least to let the wagon through and tell the Big Chief they wanted to talk with him.The two did not look hopeful this would amount to anything, but let the posse pass and vanished into the hills.
[The adventure in the Trail guide has the Speak Language power not working on the Sasquatch on the pretext of their language being too primitive - but that's something I don't like, especially as an NPC turns up who then DOES have a special power that works. Much better to have the PCs' own abilities actually make a difference.]
A little later the posse was met by a cavalry patrol from Walla Walla, only the patrol was riding a steam wagon instead of horses. Captain Danby and his troopers escorted them to town, where the supplies - few as they were for a whole settlement - where welcomed with cheers and renewed hope. Mayor Ivonne Hart invited them into her office, where she asked them to find a way to contact the Sasquatch so a peace or at least a truce could be arranged. All her own attempts to communicate with the besiegers had failed in the past. Tyler asked her about instances of cannibalism in Walla Walla - theorizing that this was what worried the Sasquatch so much - and learned that one soldier had indeed been imprisoned for partaking of human flesh. Colonel Jones, the commander of the Union troops, declined Tyler's request to speak to the convict, claiming this was army business and the army would handle it.
Someone else was waiting for the posse in Walla Walla: Chris (or Gazes in Wonder as she is known to the Klickitat) and Racing Cloud. The reunion was happy, but overshadowed by the worrying news of Sasquatch attacks on Walla Walla and native villages in the mountains. Chris plan was still to go to Hell's Canyon to the Sasquatchs' holy place and there find a way to locate the "Old Glade", the ancestral home of the "Elder Siblings" as the Klickitat call the Sasquatch. The others agreed with this, but Tyler was keen on locating the threats of cannibalism and humans turning into Wendigo here in Walla Walla. In return, an unknown enemy seemed to be unhappy about his arrival in town: As he left the tent where they had spoken with Chris, a shot rang out from a sniper somewhere near or in the Union first. The bullet was aimed at his head, but luckily only grazed his shoulder. A quick but careful check for tracks in the area revealed that the shot must have come from inside the fort.
Maps & More - Making maps for a living
Mein Arbeits- und Hobbyblog
Der Ringkrieg - Eine Fan-Webseite zum Brettspiel
Rezension, Videos, Strategie-Tipps, Bildergalerie, FAQ und mehr
Mein Arbeits- und Hobbyblog
Der Ringkrieg - Eine Fan-Webseite zum Brettspiel
Rezension, Videos, Strategie-Tipps, Bildergalerie, FAQ und mehr
Re: The Great Northwest - Campaign Journal
So, with the new year we're back in full swing with our "The Great Northwest" campaign and I have two more session reports to post (one still outstanding). I haven't had time to produce full scale battlemaps for the latest sessions unfortunately, so we'll have to do without them. Here goes.
Federal Entanglements
17th session (November 22nd)
Having made themselves comfortable in Walla Walla, the posse decided to stay a couple days and recuperate before heading further east towards Hell's Canyon. At breakfast in their boarding house, they were visited by Captain Danby, who asked them about their destination and told them a little about the road to Snake River and the canyon. Tyler (the ex-Agent) also learned that their was a new mining operation at Hell's Canyon: the Dunlevy Mining Co. Of course his well-connected family had some dealings with the Dunlevys in the past. There had been no news from the mine for a while, but not so long that it had aroused concerns yet.
Worried by the atmosphere of despair and fear in town, Gus (the preacher) decided to organize a little festival and enlisted mayor Yvonne Hart's help, as well as that of two other reverends in town. He also asked Racing Cloud, who was a little reluctant at first, but let herself be convinced to lend a hand. People brought what food they could spare and soon a little crowd was gathering at the town hall. Among the helpers Gus met a woman by the name of Elizabeth Boone who appeared especially distraught. He asked about her troubles, and she confided that her husband, Fred Boon, had gone missing several days ago. He had been part of a wood-cutting party and had vanished while being alone for a moment. The soldiers who guarded the workers searched for him, but had been unable to find a trace. The general consensus was that Fred Boone had run away to leave the besieged town behind, but Elizabeth was sure that he would not have done no such thing.
Meanwhile Tyler and Hunter (the bounty hunter) began to dig a little into the strange happenings in Walla Walla. Tyler asked Chris (or Gazes at the Dawn) to ask the spirits about any evil influences in or around town. While her ceremony took a while, she later confirmed that something powerful and evil was lurking nearby, something that was currently still in a larvae state, but close to hatching or emerging. All the nature spirits in the vicinity were afraid of it.
Hunter and Tyler visited the Union fort, but were unable to convince the commander, Colonel Jones, that last night's attack on Tyler had indeed originated from the fort. But they noticed a couple soldiers observing them with rather hateful glances, until Captain Danby appeared and sent them away. When the opportunity arose, Tyler cornered one of them - Private O'Leary - in the stables. The soldier was badly intimidated by Tyler, who again identified himself as an Agent, and almost spilled the beans. Tyler learned that there was a group of soldiers who apparently indulged in cannibalism, led by Captain Danby. But before he could tell more about their current doings, a sergeant - by the name of Ebediah Hunt - appeared and silenced the private.
Captain Paul Danby
Later at Gus' New Year's party, after a nice if frugal dinner, a little sermon, and several hymns, the Agency came back to haunt Tyler. Captain Danby appeared to arrest him on charges of treason and "unauthorized assumption of authority". He was escorted back to the fort and after a short interview by the Colonel and his second-in-command Lt.Col. Henry Chance - who quite obviously was the Agency contact here - incarcerated for later transport to Billings.
In prison, Tyler made the acquaintance of Lieutenant Gernsbeck, the soldier who had killed and eaten his wife. He looked hungry and feral, viewing Tyler more like prey than a fellow inmate. His jailer was Corporal Hubert, another member of Danby's clique, making Tyler feel very uncomfortable in his "lodgings".
Unwilling to let this stand, the rest of the posse appealed to the Colonel (for no effect) and to the mayor, who couldn't help directly, but recommended to talk to Mr. Dennis Frings, a local lawyer, because she knew Colonel Jones was in fact a stickler for regulations and a great believer in the law. Mr. Frings did prepare an injunction and the the judge accepted it. Armed with the legal documents they again confronted Colonel Jones. It took some convincing, but finally Tyler was given into the care of Sheriff Freeman and transferred to the town jail on the grounds that this was not a military matter.
Winter Barbeque
18th session (January 3rd)
As the session started Tyler (the ex-Agent) was locked away in the town jail and the others were gathering in their boarding house, when suddenly dog howls and gun shots erupted in the streets. When everybody rushed out, they saw Racing Cloud's and Chris's tent going up in flames and the two Klickitat being attacked by half a dozen mad dogs. Hunter (the bounty hunter) was the first on the scene and witnessed Chris being hit by a gunshot. When he rushed to help, the unseen sniper got another shot in - and hit Hunter badly [5 wounds, reduced by 2 through the Soak roll]. A very close call.
Noteboard sketch of Walla Walla
As the others arrived, Gus called upon the Lord to help his wounded friend and got bitten by one of the dogs for his trouble. Fortunately his strong voice then seemed to have a calming effect on the animals [the Animal Friend power]. Matt (the huckster) tried to flush the sniper out. He didn't get to face him, but the unknown man vanished into the dark when Matt came too close. The sheriff arrived on the scene, and slowly everything calmed down. Chris wasn't too badly hurt, and the others were ushered into the boarding house to take care of the wounds.
Meanwhile, Tyler learned that the whole affair had only been a distraction. Captain Danby and some of his cronies showed up at the jail, shot the deputy, and took Tyler away into the night. Toni (the muckraker) and the sheriff found the dead deputy, when she came to check on Tyler. While Sheriff Freeman alerted mayor Hart and the judge, Gus came up with the idea to use the pacified hounds to track Tyler. That worked out well, and they tracked the soldiers and their prisoner to a little sortie gate in the palisade where they apparently had met up with the escaped sniper and left the town.
While the sheriff and judge declared it too unsafe to follow the kidnappers into the night and wanted to wait for sunrise, the posse was determined to lose no time. With Danby and gang probably being cannibals, they greatly feared for their companion. Luckily some other townspeople proved very stout hearted: Mrs. Boon and others who had missing relatives gathered to help [Angry Mob adventure card]. Soon after the rescue party headed out into the woods, led by Hunter and the helpful hound.
Tyler was taken to an abandoned farmhouse in the woods, a lair the cannibal gang had been using for a while. A fire had been prepared and the sergeant threatened to grill some parts of Tyler's, but the captain told him to make do with the human corpse that was already present - Fred Boon. Tyler was "stored" for the moment, i.e. hung from a hook in the rafters.
The rest of the posse was struggling through cold and darkness, with Hunter, Chris and Matt still wounded. It was especially hard on Matt, who stumbled in the dark and badly sprained his ankle [critical failure on the fatigue roll]. Had it not been for Gus' miraculous powers, they might have had to leave the old Huckster behind.
They managed to stay on the track and finally reached the farmhouse. When Hunter scouted the area, he was spotted by the sergeant, alarming the soldiers. An attack on a building defended by professional soldiers seemed a desperate measure. But Hunter came up with a battle plan. While the townspeople surrounded the house, the posse would use an abandoned wagon to approach the bar door with at least some cover. At first it looked like the wagon would be hard to move in the snow, but then Bu, the Chinese ogre, showed his strength and together with Gus easily shoved the wagon towards the house, actually crashing it through the barn door and opening the way inside.
Tyler had been working on his bonds in the meantime and managed to free himself, just as the fighting broke out. Lacking a gun, he tackled the sergeant and they fought fiercely. Tyler, Toni and Matt faced Captain Danby and two of his soldiers. But when Danby was wounded, he suddenly became to change. The pain and the hatred completed the transformation that had been coming for some time: He became a Wendigo.
The horrific change happened right in front of Hunter, and it was more than his heart could take. It simply stopped beating [Guts check failed, rolled a 20 on the fright table, with the +1 modifier from the Wendigo that was a heart attack]. Luckily the bounty hunter was vigorous enough to survive the heart attack. Still the Wendigo seemed to get the upper hand. It jumped Racing Cloud and the Klickitat warrior woman went down in a spray of blood, to Gus' personal horror.
But then Matt, who had just felt a surge of power [Power Surge adventure card], flicked a card from his deck at the back of the Wendigo's head. Glowing bright green, it entered the monster's skull at the base of the neck and came out through an eye, taking a good chunk of the brain with it. The Wendigo stood frozen for a second, the collapsed and changed back into the now dead form of Captain Paul Danby [3d6 bolt hit with a raise, for 4d6 damage, doubled with "Bullseye" adventure card]. The sergeant fought on for a moment, but then Tyler managed to kill him too. The other soldiers tried to flee, but were either killed or captured.
During the aftermath the posse tried to shield the townspeople from the worst horrors of the cannibal lair, but allowed Mrs Boon to see the body of her husband. She was heartbroken, but overall Gus managed to calm everybody and instill a feeling of hope - the monsters could be killed. The deeds of the soldiers who were meant to protect the citizens was a shock, but it didn't undermine their new-found confidence [a Persuasion roll to keep the Fear level from getting worse was successful, but not good enough to actually reduce it].
The posse burned down the farmhouse to clear it of the corruption and took three prisoners back to Walla Walla. There the mayor wanted to turn them over to Colonel Jones for a court-martial, but Hunter wanted to see them hang on the spot - or at least tried by a jury. Bitter arguments ensued, but eventually Hunter prevailed and the townspeople formed an impromptu jury, tried the soldiers in the saloon, and hanged them the same night. Justice was done, but neither mayor Hart nor Colonel Jones seemed overly pleased with the fashion it was served.
As the posse was in no shape to stick to their plan to head east to Hell's Canon the next day, they decided to stay in Walla Walla to recuperate.
Federal Entanglements
17th session (November 22nd)
Having made themselves comfortable in Walla Walla, the posse decided to stay a couple days and recuperate before heading further east towards Hell's Canyon. At breakfast in their boarding house, they were visited by Captain Danby, who asked them about their destination and told them a little about the road to Snake River and the canyon. Tyler (the ex-Agent) also learned that their was a new mining operation at Hell's Canyon: the Dunlevy Mining Co. Of course his well-connected family had some dealings with the Dunlevys in the past. There had been no news from the mine for a while, but not so long that it had aroused concerns yet.
Worried by the atmosphere of despair and fear in town, Gus (the preacher) decided to organize a little festival and enlisted mayor Yvonne Hart's help, as well as that of two other reverends in town. He also asked Racing Cloud, who was a little reluctant at first, but let herself be convinced to lend a hand. People brought what food they could spare and soon a little crowd was gathering at the town hall. Among the helpers Gus met a woman by the name of Elizabeth Boone who appeared especially distraught. He asked about her troubles, and she confided that her husband, Fred Boon, had gone missing several days ago. He had been part of a wood-cutting party and had vanished while being alone for a moment. The soldiers who guarded the workers searched for him, but had been unable to find a trace. The general consensus was that Fred Boone had run away to leave the besieged town behind, but Elizabeth was sure that he would not have done no such thing.
Meanwhile Tyler and Hunter (the bounty hunter) began to dig a little into the strange happenings in Walla Walla. Tyler asked Chris (or Gazes at the Dawn) to ask the spirits about any evil influences in or around town. While her ceremony took a while, she later confirmed that something powerful and evil was lurking nearby, something that was currently still in a larvae state, but close to hatching or emerging. All the nature spirits in the vicinity were afraid of it.
Hunter and Tyler visited the Union fort, but were unable to convince the commander, Colonel Jones, that last night's attack on Tyler had indeed originated from the fort. But they noticed a couple soldiers observing them with rather hateful glances, until Captain Danby appeared and sent them away. When the opportunity arose, Tyler cornered one of them - Private O'Leary - in the stables. The soldier was badly intimidated by Tyler, who again identified himself as an Agent, and almost spilled the beans. Tyler learned that there was a group of soldiers who apparently indulged in cannibalism, led by Captain Danby. But before he could tell more about their current doings, a sergeant - by the name of Ebediah Hunt - appeared and silenced the private.
Captain Paul Danby
Later at Gus' New Year's party, after a nice if frugal dinner, a little sermon, and several hymns, the Agency came back to haunt Tyler. Captain Danby appeared to arrest him on charges of treason and "unauthorized assumption of authority". He was escorted back to the fort and after a short interview by the Colonel and his second-in-command Lt.Col. Henry Chance - who quite obviously was the Agency contact here - incarcerated for later transport to Billings.
In prison, Tyler made the acquaintance of Lieutenant Gernsbeck, the soldier who had killed and eaten his wife. He looked hungry and feral, viewing Tyler more like prey than a fellow inmate. His jailer was Corporal Hubert, another member of Danby's clique, making Tyler feel very uncomfortable in his "lodgings".
Unwilling to let this stand, the rest of the posse appealed to the Colonel (for no effect) and to the mayor, who couldn't help directly, but recommended to talk to Mr. Dennis Frings, a local lawyer, because she knew Colonel Jones was in fact a stickler for regulations and a great believer in the law. Mr. Frings did prepare an injunction and the the judge accepted it. Armed with the legal documents they again confronted Colonel Jones. It took some convincing, but finally Tyler was given into the care of Sheriff Freeman and transferred to the town jail on the grounds that this was not a military matter.
Winter Barbeque
18th session (January 3rd)
As the session started Tyler (the ex-Agent) was locked away in the town jail and the others were gathering in their boarding house, when suddenly dog howls and gun shots erupted in the streets. When everybody rushed out, they saw Racing Cloud's and Chris's tent going up in flames and the two Klickitat being attacked by half a dozen mad dogs. Hunter (the bounty hunter) was the first on the scene and witnessed Chris being hit by a gunshot. When he rushed to help, the unseen sniper got another shot in - and hit Hunter badly [5 wounds, reduced by 2 through the Soak roll]. A very close call.
Noteboard sketch of Walla Walla
As the others arrived, Gus called upon the Lord to help his wounded friend and got bitten by one of the dogs for his trouble. Fortunately his strong voice then seemed to have a calming effect on the animals [the Animal Friend power]. Matt (the huckster) tried to flush the sniper out. He didn't get to face him, but the unknown man vanished into the dark when Matt came too close. The sheriff arrived on the scene, and slowly everything calmed down. Chris wasn't too badly hurt, and the others were ushered into the boarding house to take care of the wounds.
Meanwhile, Tyler learned that the whole affair had only been a distraction. Captain Danby and some of his cronies showed up at the jail, shot the deputy, and took Tyler away into the night. Toni (the muckraker) and the sheriff found the dead deputy, when she came to check on Tyler. While Sheriff Freeman alerted mayor Hart and the judge, Gus came up with the idea to use the pacified hounds to track Tyler. That worked out well, and they tracked the soldiers and their prisoner to a little sortie gate in the palisade where they apparently had met up with the escaped sniper and left the town.
While the sheriff and judge declared it too unsafe to follow the kidnappers into the night and wanted to wait for sunrise, the posse was determined to lose no time. With Danby and gang probably being cannibals, they greatly feared for their companion. Luckily some other townspeople proved very stout hearted: Mrs. Boon and others who had missing relatives gathered to help [Angry Mob adventure card]. Soon after the rescue party headed out into the woods, led by Hunter and the helpful hound.
Tyler was taken to an abandoned farmhouse in the woods, a lair the cannibal gang had been using for a while. A fire had been prepared and the sergeant threatened to grill some parts of Tyler's, but the captain told him to make do with the human corpse that was already present - Fred Boon. Tyler was "stored" for the moment, i.e. hung from a hook in the rafters.
The rest of the posse was struggling through cold and darkness, with Hunter, Chris and Matt still wounded. It was especially hard on Matt, who stumbled in the dark and badly sprained his ankle [critical failure on the fatigue roll]. Had it not been for Gus' miraculous powers, they might have had to leave the old Huckster behind.
They managed to stay on the track and finally reached the farmhouse. When Hunter scouted the area, he was spotted by the sergeant, alarming the soldiers. An attack on a building defended by professional soldiers seemed a desperate measure. But Hunter came up with a battle plan. While the townspeople surrounded the house, the posse would use an abandoned wagon to approach the bar door with at least some cover. At first it looked like the wagon would be hard to move in the snow, but then Bu, the Chinese ogre, showed his strength and together with Gus easily shoved the wagon towards the house, actually crashing it through the barn door and opening the way inside.
Tyler had been working on his bonds in the meantime and managed to free himself, just as the fighting broke out. Lacking a gun, he tackled the sergeant and they fought fiercely. Tyler, Toni and Matt faced Captain Danby and two of his soldiers. But when Danby was wounded, he suddenly became to change. The pain and the hatred completed the transformation that had been coming for some time: He became a Wendigo.
The horrific change happened right in front of Hunter, and it was more than his heart could take. It simply stopped beating [Guts check failed, rolled a 20 on the fright table, with the +1 modifier from the Wendigo that was a heart attack]. Luckily the bounty hunter was vigorous enough to survive the heart attack. Still the Wendigo seemed to get the upper hand. It jumped Racing Cloud and the Klickitat warrior woman went down in a spray of blood, to Gus' personal horror.
But then Matt, who had just felt a surge of power [Power Surge adventure card], flicked a card from his deck at the back of the Wendigo's head. Glowing bright green, it entered the monster's skull at the base of the neck and came out through an eye, taking a good chunk of the brain with it. The Wendigo stood frozen for a second, the collapsed and changed back into the now dead form of Captain Paul Danby [3d6 bolt hit with a raise, for 4d6 damage, doubled with "Bullseye" adventure card]. The sergeant fought on for a moment, but then Tyler managed to kill him too. The other soldiers tried to flee, but were either killed or captured.
During the aftermath the posse tried to shield the townspeople from the worst horrors of the cannibal lair, but allowed Mrs Boon to see the body of her husband. She was heartbroken, but overall Gus managed to calm everybody and instill a feeling of hope - the monsters could be killed. The deeds of the soldiers who were meant to protect the citizens was a shock, but it didn't undermine their new-found confidence [a Persuasion roll to keep the Fear level from getting worse was successful, but not good enough to actually reduce it].
The posse burned down the farmhouse to clear it of the corruption and took three prisoners back to Walla Walla. There the mayor wanted to turn them over to Colonel Jones for a court-martial, but Hunter wanted to see them hang on the spot - or at least tried by a jury. Bitter arguments ensued, but eventually Hunter prevailed and the townspeople formed an impromptu jury, tried the soldiers in the saloon, and hanged them the same night. Justice was done, but neither mayor Hart nor Colonel Jones seemed overly pleased with the fashion it was served.
As the posse was in no shape to stick to their plan to head east to Hell's Canon the next day, they decided to stay in Walla Walla to recuperate.
Maps & More - Making maps for a living
Mein Arbeits- und Hobbyblog
Der Ringkrieg - Eine Fan-Webseite zum Brettspiel
Rezension, Videos, Strategie-Tipps, Bildergalerie, FAQ und mehr
Mein Arbeits- und Hobbyblog
Der Ringkrieg - Eine Fan-Webseite zum Brettspiel
Rezension, Videos, Strategie-Tipps, Bildergalerie, FAQ und mehr
Re: The Great Northwest - Campaign Journal
No, we've not stopped the campaign, I've just been to busy to do the write-ups in time. But tonight I managed to catch up by summarizing the last three sessions. Not sure anyone is still reading this, but here goes...
This is the 19th session log of our Deadlands Reloaded campaign "The Great Northwest" (on January 3rd 2014).
After staying a few days in Walla Walla to heal their injuries, the posse headed out north and east towards the Snake River. Their destination was Hell's Canyon where they hoped to find clues to the location of the Sasquatchs' "Old Glade".
At first the journey was uneventful, but then they ran into a gang of regulators working for the Dunlevy Mining Co. who forbade them to travel onward,s because the area was supposedly off-limits to anyone not working for J.P. Dunlevy. Tyler managed to convince them to at least get a message to their boss, by claiming to be an old business friend.
When the regulators turned back towards the mine, the posse followed close on their heels ignoring the warning. They openly approached the mine and managed to convince Dunlevy himself that they were some harmless eccentrics in search of native artifacts. Dunlevy hosted Tyler and Toni for dinner and offered them lodging in the main house, while the other got too sleep in the guard barracks.
There they witnessed the appalling conditions the workers toiled and lived under, and that they were kept here against their will. Dunlevy was effectively using slave labor. Especially Gus had problems letting this situation stand, but the others promised him they would back here and free the oppressed workers - after the Sasquatch riddle at Hell's Canyon had been solved.
Gritting their teeth and vowing to set right the wrongs done here, the posse set out the next morning past the work gangs shivering in the bitter cold and headed into the canyon. They felt watched and eventually encountered a small band of people - refugees from the mining camp under the leadership of Mama Ayida, a mambo from New Orleans.
It took a moment to convince her of their good intentions, but when that was accomplished, Mama Ayida told them of the Seven Devils haunting the canyon and how they had devoured the soul of one of her companions. That had happened at a place where hundreds of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroglyph">petroglyphs</a> covered the canyon wall. The posse realized, this must be the Sasquatch place they were looking for. Ayida promised them to lead them to the place come morning.
This is the 20th session log of our Deadlands Reloaded campaign "The Great Northwest" (on January 24th).
Led by Mama Ayida, the posse headed deeper into the canyon and finally came up the sacred place of the Sasquatch, where their early history was recorded. They stood at the top of a huge cliff face, with countless petroglyphs and the frothing river below their feet. Unfortunately they also immediately spotted several ghostly giants... the eponymous Seven Devils.
The monstrous spirits immediately fell upon the posse unhindered by the steep canyon wall. They seemed especially attracted by the Sasquatch spear that Hunter was carrying and desperately tried to grab it. Fortunately that gave the others plenty of opportunities to shoot, and one by one the devils succumbed to the bullets (which they obviously were not immune too). Friendly fire and climbing the rock face proved the greater danger to the posse then the devils themselves.
After the spirits were defeated the posse managed to decipher enough of the glyphs to get a good idea of the Old Glade's location. But Tyler found something else, a crack in the rock wall close above the river that led into an unnatural cave filled with lava. It held seven pillars of twisted rock rising out of the molten rock - apparently the prison that Coyote had fashioned for the evil spirits. Tyler searched for a way to dynamite the cave, but didn't find a suitable spot. Also Chris told him that the cave was not really a physical space, but more like a spot in the Hunting Grounds, and dynamiting it would not stop the devils from reemerging. The crack in their prison had apparently been caused by the damage Dunlevy's hydraulic mining was doing to the canyon. So shutting down the mining operation would not only help the exploited workers, but also stop or at least slow the freeing of the Seven Devils.
Mama Ayida brewed a healing salve for the wounded, and offered to help the posse as well as she could in defeating Dunlevy and his regulators. But that would be an endeavor for the next session.
The battle map for this session is a hybrid between a flat space and a vertical view of the cliff face. It worked out quite well during the session. You can download the full-size pdf fromthis link.[/i]
This is the 21st session log of our Deadlands Reloaded campaign "The Great Northwest" (on February 28th)
Sketch of the Dunlevy Mining Camp
The posse had a clear target now: Take out J.P. Dunlevy and his mining operation and free the captive workers. For that they returned to the mine as if nothing had happened. Tyler and Toni again took residence in Dunlevy's house, and the others with the guards. Then at dinner time, when most regulators came together, they struck. Gus broke the two remaining slumber gas phials right among the hungry men, Hunter took out the guard in front of the storehouse and Matt tried to eliminate Buford Dean the foreman. Toni and Tyler took care of Dunlevy himself. They overpowered his guard, captured him, set the main house on fire, and rescued the maid trapped in the kitchen.
Down in the camp it first looked like things were going just as smoothly, with many regulators falling unconscious and Dean's gun malfunctioning (Adventure card played), But then the brute drew his two bowie knifes and began slaughtering his foes. Matt fell under his savage knife strokes, as did the hired gun Pete and the ogre Bu. Racing Cloud was shot down by one of the regulators. Finally Hunter managed to wound Buford Dean severely, and then the freed slaves fell upon their tormentor and clubbed him to death. The other regulators had already given up at this point, cowed into surrender by the sight of their captive boss and Toni's fiery speech.
But victory came too late for Matt. The knife wounds had been too deep, and he was dead. For a moment it looked like the manitous he had been gambling with might have plans for his body, but then he gave a last gasp and found his rest. The old huckster was no more. [This was the first PC death of the campaign, and adequately tragic. We went through the Harrowed check, and despite drawing quite a few cards, no Joker came up.] Luckily all the NPC allies survived the fight.
The former slaves took control of the mining camp under the leadership of Mama Ayida, and as darkness fell the tales of their great victory were told and retold until the darkness around them looked far less threatening then before. [A successful tale-telling by Gus and Toni reduced the Fear Level.]
This is the 19th session log of our Deadlands Reloaded campaign "The Great Northwest" (on January 3rd 2014).
After staying a few days in Walla Walla to heal their injuries, the posse headed out north and east towards the Snake River. Their destination was Hell's Canyon where they hoped to find clues to the location of the Sasquatchs' "Old Glade".
At first the journey was uneventful, but then they ran into a gang of regulators working for the Dunlevy Mining Co. who forbade them to travel onward,s because the area was supposedly off-limits to anyone not working for J.P. Dunlevy. Tyler managed to convince them to at least get a message to their boss, by claiming to be an old business friend.
When the regulators turned back towards the mine, the posse followed close on their heels ignoring the warning. They openly approached the mine and managed to convince Dunlevy himself that they were some harmless eccentrics in search of native artifacts. Dunlevy hosted Tyler and Toni for dinner and offered them lodging in the main house, while the other got too sleep in the guard barracks.
There they witnessed the appalling conditions the workers toiled and lived under, and that they were kept here against their will. Dunlevy was effectively using slave labor. Especially Gus had problems letting this situation stand, but the others promised him they would back here and free the oppressed workers - after the Sasquatch riddle at Hell's Canyon had been solved.
Gritting their teeth and vowing to set right the wrongs done here, the posse set out the next morning past the work gangs shivering in the bitter cold and headed into the canyon. They felt watched and eventually encountered a small band of people - refugees from the mining camp under the leadership of Mama Ayida, a mambo from New Orleans.
It took a moment to convince her of their good intentions, but when that was accomplished, Mama Ayida told them of the Seven Devils haunting the canyon and how they had devoured the soul of one of her companions. That had happened at a place where hundreds of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroglyph">petroglyphs</a> covered the canyon wall. The posse realized, this must be the Sasquatch place they were looking for. Ayida promised them to lead them to the place come morning.
This is the 20th session log of our Deadlands Reloaded campaign "The Great Northwest" (on January 24th).
Led by Mama Ayida, the posse headed deeper into the canyon and finally came up the sacred place of the Sasquatch, where their early history was recorded. They stood at the top of a huge cliff face, with countless petroglyphs and the frothing river below their feet. Unfortunately they also immediately spotted several ghostly giants... the eponymous Seven Devils.
The monstrous spirits immediately fell upon the posse unhindered by the steep canyon wall. They seemed especially attracted by the Sasquatch spear that Hunter was carrying and desperately tried to grab it. Fortunately that gave the others plenty of opportunities to shoot, and one by one the devils succumbed to the bullets (which they obviously were not immune too). Friendly fire and climbing the rock face proved the greater danger to the posse then the devils themselves.
After the spirits were defeated the posse managed to decipher enough of the glyphs to get a good idea of the Old Glade's location. But Tyler found something else, a crack in the rock wall close above the river that led into an unnatural cave filled with lava. It held seven pillars of twisted rock rising out of the molten rock - apparently the prison that Coyote had fashioned for the evil spirits. Tyler searched for a way to dynamite the cave, but didn't find a suitable spot. Also Chris told him that the cave was not really a physical space, but more like a spot in the Hunting Grounds, and dynamiting it would not stop the devils from reemerging. The crack in their prison had apparently been caused by the damage Dunlevy's hydraulic mining was doing to the canyon. So shutting down the mining operation would not only help the exploited workers, but also stop or at least slow the freeing of the Seven Devils.
Mama Ayida brewed a healing salve for the wounded, and offered to help the posse as well as she could in defeating Dunlevy and his regulators. But that would be an endeavor for the next session.
The battle map for this session is a hybrid between a flat space and a vertical view of the cliff face. It worked out quite well during the session. You can download the full-size pdf fromthis link.[/i]
This is the 21st session log of our Deadlands Reloaded campaign "The Great Northwest" (on February 28th)
Sketch of the Dunlevy Mining Camp
The posse had a clear target now: Take out J.P. Dunlevy and his mining operation and free the captive workers. For that they returned to the mine as if nothing had happened. Tyler and Toni again took residence in Dunlevy's house, and the others with the guards. Then at dinner time, when most regulators came together, they struck. Gus broke the two remaining slumber gas phials right among the hungry men, Hunter took out the guard in front of the storehouse and Matt tried to eliminate Buford Dean the foreman. Toni and Tyler took care of Dunlevy himself. They overpowered his guard, captured him, set the main house on fire, and rescued the maid trapped in the kitchen.
Down in the camp it first looked like things were going just as smoothly, with many regulators falling unconscious and Dean's gun malfunctioning (Adventure card played), But then the brute drew his two bowie knifes and began slaughtering his foes. Matt fell under his savage knife strokes, as did the hired gun Pete and the ogre Bu. Racing Cloud was shot down by one of the regulators. Finally Hunter managed to wound Buford Dean severely, and then the freed slaves fell upon their tormentor and clubbed him to death. The other regulators had already given up at this point, cowed into surrender by the sight of their captive boss and Toni's fiery speech.
But victory came too late for Matt. The knife wounds had been too deep, and he was dead. For a moment it looked like the manitous he had been gambling with might have plans for his body, but then he gave a last gasp and found his rest. The old huckster was no more. [This was the first PC death of the campaign, and adequately tragic. We went through the Harrowed check, and despite drawing quite a few cards, no Joker came up.] Luckily all the NPC allies survived the fight.
The former slaves took control of the mining camp under the leadership of Mama Ayida, and as darkness fell the tales of their great victory were told and retold until the darkness around them looked far less threatening then before. [A successful tale-telling by Gus and Toni reduced the Fear Level.]
Maps & More - Making maps for a living
Mein Arbeits- und Hobbyblog
Der Ringkrieg - Eine Fan-Webseite zum Brettspiel
Rezension, Videos, Strategie-Tipps, Bildergalerie, FAQ und mehr
Mein Arbeits- und Hobbyblog
Der Ringkrieg - Eine Fan-Webseite zum Brettspiel
Rezension, Videos, Strategie-Tipps, Bildergalerie, FAQ und mehr
Re: The Great Northwest - Campaign Journal
This is the 22nd session log of our Deadlands Reloaded campaign "The Great Northwest" (March 13th 2014)
The night after the battle for the mining camp, Toni, Gus, Tyler, and Hunter all suffered terrible nightmares.
Toni found herself on a bleak desert highland surrounded by the corpse of starved and slaughtered cattle. A priest was handing out rotten meat to a hungry crowd which they eagerly devoured. An old, emaciated crone sat behind him on a cow's corpse gnawing a bone. She gave Toni a wicked stare and cackled loudly. Then the priest turned to Toni and offered a a plate of rotten offal which he abhorred and desired at the same time. With an effort of will she resisted taking it and woke up with a scream.
In his dream, Gus stood on a battlefield strewn with the slain, French and German, US and Confederate soldiers, Indian braves and White settlers. The thunder of artillery rumbled in the distance and black smoke of burning villages obscured the sky. From among the fallen rose a huge Indian brave, painted with blood, holding a scalp in one hand and a blood-drenched tomahawk in the other. Gus recognized him as Raven and felt a rifle in his hands. The bayonet was set and bloodied and Gus felt like he had killed against the Lord's law. Raven bared his chest and belly before Gus, daring to stab him with the bayonet or be killed. Gus refused to attack and when the hatchet came whistling down, he awoke in a cold sweat, muttering "This ain't how it was, this ain't how it was like."
Tyler dreamed of a nightmarish city of technology, machines, pipes, poisonous fumes and the screams of burning ghost rock. He was hurrying home to his sick family, with a cure given to him by a scientist - a huge syringe bubbling with a vile green liquid. He found his wife (Lotus Blossom Wen) and his boy and girl in a rickety hut among the machinery. They were disfigured by metal "augmentations" and his daughter lay in a horrible fever. But when he bent down to administer his medicine - the only thing able to stop the sickness - his daughter was deathly afraid and pleaded with him not to use the syringe. He fought with himself for a moment, remembering the earnest and convinced scientist who had given it to him, but with an effort of will resisted the urge to force the medicine on her. We woke up with a cough and a bit of a fever himself.
Hunter found himself in a parched and deserted western town, with only skeletons for company one even dangling from a gallows in the street. Then he heard slow but steady steps around the corner, accompanied by the clink of spurs. For a moment he did not know whether he was the hunter or the prey. Then a gunslinger in a faded coat, high top hat and two enormous Army revolvers in his belt stepped out into the street. Hunter just knew he didn't stand a chance against this man in combat, and when the figure told him "Draw... or run" the urge to turn around and flee became overwhelming. But he resisted it and drew his gun, fast enough even to outdraw the gunslinger. The bullet hit his opponent in the chest, but the figure just shrugged as if it hardly felt the shot. Hunter woke in a sweat, just as he looked into his opponents barrel and the trigger finger began to bend. He held his own smoking gun in hand, having it fired in his sleep.
Except for Tyler, who just turned around and went to sleep again, everybody gathered for some coffee and told their dreams. After a while it occurred to Gus, that the nightmares had the themes of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse: Hunger, War, Pestilence and Death. They wondered what that meant and felt like they had caught the attention of something incredibly evil. In a gut feeling Toni connected her vision of the priest with the stories she had heard about Reverend Grimme in the City of Lost Angels, though there was no evidence to support this theory.
After that horrible night, the day started out surprisingly well. Mama Ayida had decided to stay at Hell's Canyon and found a settlement here, as that seemed the best way to keep the Seven Devils in check and prevent further Ghost Rock mining. The posse managed to convince most of the workers to stay with her. Only about 30 or so wanted to head westwards, to Walla Walla and then on to California and Lost Angels. Pete and Hank volunteered to take them to Walla Walla together with the captive regulators, and were paid a generous bonus by the posse. Mr. Dunlevy proved pretty resistant against attempts to have him cede his claim to the workers. Mama Ayida decided to keep him and put him to work in the kitchens. Hopefully this would teach him some humility, though it seemed unlikely.
Hunter found some Sasquatch tracks not far from the mine, which headed back north into the wilderness. He took that as a good sign, as their own path also lay northwards to Clearwater River and the area where the Old Glade was to be found. They set out the next morning, now only accompanied by Chris, Racing Cloud and Bu.
Several days later the posse reached the Clearwater River area. They noticed a column of cavalry and eventually learned that it was the company from Walla Walla, led by Colonel Jones and his new Indian Scout: Angry Mouse. Apparently Angry Mouse had shown up in Walla Wallla a while after they left, claiming to know the general location of the Sasquatchs' home. As there had been more attacks and now also killings, Colonel Jones decided to mount an expedition to strike at the Sasquatch and defeat them once and for all. 70 men and 4 cannons were on their way.
The posse saw this with dismay and headed onwards to meet the Sasquatch before battle could be joined. As they crossed a pass towards the valley where the Old Glade was most likely located, they noticed the presence of Wendigo in the area, but also realized that these were focused not on them but on the soldiers. The next day was one of searching and tracking with many promising leads towards the Old Glade ending in dead ends or destroyed paths. As the sun was setting and they headed into a narrow side valley, they suddenly heard gun and cannon fire from the pass behind them, then faint screams on the wind and finally silence. They feared the worst for the cavalry but headed onwards ... and ran into a party of Sasquatch. They had finally found the way into the Old Glade and were met by a gang of suspicious warriors, branding spears and clubs.
To be continued...
The night after the battle for the mining camp, Toni, Gus, Tyler, and Hunter all suffered terrible nightmares.
Toni found herself on a bleak desert highland surrounded by the corpse of starved and slaughtered cattle. A priest was handing out rotten meat to a hungry crowd which they eagerly devoured. An old, emaciated crone sat behind him on a cow's corpse gnawing a bone. She gave Toni a wicked stare and cackled loudly. Then the priest turned to Toni and offered a a plate of rotten offal which he abhorred and desired at the same time. With an effort of will she resisted taking it and woke up with a scream.
In his dream, Gus stood on a battlefield strewn with the slain, French and German, US and Confederate soldiers, Indian braves and White settlers. The thunder of artillery rumbled in the distance and black smoke of burning villages obscured the sky. From among the fallen rose a huge Indian brave, painted with blood, holding a scalp in one hand and a blood-drenched tomahawk in the other. Gus recognized him as Raven and felt a rifle in his hands. The bayonet was set and bloodied and Gus felt like he had killed against the Lord's law. Raven bared his chest and belly before Gus, daring to stab him with the bayonet or be killed. Gus refused to attack and when the hatchet came whistling down, he awoke in a cold sweat, muttering "This ain't how it was, this ain't how it was like."
Tyler dreamed of a nightmarish city of technology, machines, pipes, poisonous fumes and the screams of burning ghost rock. He was hurrying home to his sick family, with a cure given to him by a scientist - a huge syringe bubbling with a vile green liquid. He found his wife (Lotus Blossom Wen) and his boy and girl in a rickety hut among the machinery. They were disfigured by metal "augmentations" and his daughter lay in a horrible fever. But when he bent down to administer his medicine - the only thing able to stop the sickness - his daughter was deathly afraid and pleaded with him not to use the syringe. He fought with himself for a moment, remembering the earnest and convinced scientist who had given it to him, but with an effort of will resisted the urge to force the medicine on her. We woke up with a cough and a bit of a fever himself.
Hunter found himself in a parched and deserted western town, with only skeletons for company one even dangling from a gallows in the street. Then he heard slow but steady steps around the corner, accompanied by the clink of spurs. For a moment he did not know whether he was the hunter or the prey. Then a gunslinger in a faded coat, high top hat and two enormous Army revolvers in his belt stepped out into the street. Hunter just knew he didn't stand a chance against this man in combat, and when the figure told him "Draw... or run" the urge to turn around and flee became overwhelming. But he resisted it and drew his gun, fast enough even to outdraw the gunslinger. The bullet hit his opponent in the chest, but the figure just shrugged as if it hardly felt the shot. Hunter woke in a sweat, just as he looked into his opponents barrel and the trigger finger began to bend. He held his own smoking gun in hand, having it fired in his sleep.
Except for Tyler, who just turned around and went to sleep again, everybody gathered for some coffee and told their dreams. After a while it occurred to Gus, that the nightmares had the themes of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse: Hunger, War, Pestilence and Death. They wondered what that meant and felt like they had caught the attention of something incredibly evil. In a gut feeling Toni connected her vision of the priest with the stories she had heard about Reverend Grimme in the City of Lost Angels, though there was no evidence to support this theory.
After that horrible night, the day started out surprisingly well. Mama Ayida had decided to stay at Hell's Canyon and found a settlement here, as that seemed the best way to keep the Seven Devils in check and prevent further Ghost Rock mining. The posse managed to convince most of the workers to stay with her. Only about 30 or so wanted to head westwards, to Walla Walla and then on to California and Lost Angels. Pete and Hank volunteered to take them to Walla Walla together with the captive regulators, and were paid a generous bonus by the posse. Mr. Dunlevy proved pretty resistant against attempts to have him cede his claim to the workers. Mama Ayida decided to keep him and put him to work in the kitchens. Hopefully this would teach him some humility, though it seemed unlikely.
Hunter found some Sasquatch tracks not far from the mine, which headed back north into the wilderness. He took that as a good sign, as their own path also lay northwards to Clearwater River and the area where the Old Glade was to be found. They set out the next morning, now only accompanied by Chris, Racing Cloud and Bu.
Several days later the posse reached the Clearwater River area. They noticed a column of cavalry and eventually learned that it was the company from Walla Walla, led by Colonel Jones and his new Indian Scout: Angry Mouse. Apparently Angry Mouse had shown up in Walla Wallla a while after they left, claiming to know the general location of the Sasquatchs' home. As there had been more attacks and now also killings, Colonel Jones decided to mount an expedition to strike at the Sasquatch and defeat them once and for all. 70 men and 4 cannons were on their way.
The posse saw this with dismay and headed onwards to meet the Sasquatch before battle could be joined. As they crossed a pass towards the valley where the Old Glade was most likely located, they noticed the presence of Wendigo in the area, but also realized that these were focused not on them but on the soldiers. The next day was one of searching and tracking with many promising leads towards the Old Glade ending in dead ends or destroyed paths. As the sun was setting and they headed into a narrow side valley, they suddenly heard gun and cannon fire from the pass behind them, then faint screams on the wind and finally silence. They feared the worst for the cavalry but headed onwards ... and ran into a party of Sasquatch. They had finally found the way into the Old Glade and were met by a gang of suspicious warriors, branding spears and clubs.
To be continued...
Maps & More - Making maps for a living
Mein Arbeits- und Hobbyblog
Der Ringkrieg - Eine Fan-Webseite zum Brettspiel
Rezension, Videos, Strategie-Tipps, Bildergalerie, FAQ und mehr
Mein Arbeits- und Hobbyblog
Der Ringkrieg - Eine Fan-Webseite zum Brettspiel
Rezension, Videos, Strategie-Tipps, Bildergalerie, FAQ und mehr
Re: The Great Northwest - Campaign Journal
This is the 23rd session log of our Dealdands Reloaded campaign "The Great Northwest" (April 4th 2014)
Attention: Major Spoilers for the Trail Guide campaign follow.
Having found the path to the Old Glade, the posse was now surrounded by at least 20 sasquatch warriors. Fortunately these did not seem intent on attacking them. Instead they took them into their midst and escorted the posse up into the high mountain valley where the ancestral village of the sasquatch was hidden among a grove of ancient sequoias.
The group was confronted by a sasquatch shaman on the way, who got into an argument with Rrurgh, the leader of the band. As Gus prayed to understand the alien tongue, Chris produced a wampun that spread the miracle of tongues' power to the whole group.* The shaman, Worragh was his name, had followed and observed the posse, and now spoke highly of them and their fight against the Seven Devils in Hell's Canyon. But the had been exiled from the Old Glade by the Big Chief, and Rrurgh was reluctant to allow him to accompany the group. But Tyler managed to convince him to allow it.
[*Again I ignored the original Trail Guide campaign here, removing the character Hunting Hawk and let the players' powers work properly.]
In the glade the whole tribe of more than a hundred sasquatch, elders, adults, children and all, surrounded the posse with suspicion, fear but also some hope on their faces. There were two more humans: Angry Mouse and a Shaolin monk by the name of Li Chang, who turned out to be Lotus Blossom Wen's brother.*
[*The replacement PC for Matt, who had died in the last session.]
Then Big Chief arrived, guarded by eight of the toughest and meanest Bigfoot the posse had ever seen. And they soon realized what was wrong: The Big Chief was Harrowed, and the manitou controlling him was causing all the trouble between humans and sasquatch.
At first Gus had thought the chief's death wounds could still be healed and had offered to do so. Cunningly, the Harrowed challenged him to try it - sure in the knowledge that such an attempt must surely fail. But Gus turned it around, insisting that the healing would need to take all night in the presense of Big Chief - giving him a chance at attempting an exorcism. Still Big Chief was confident the little human could not harm him - and backing out of the healing challenge would surely make his tribe wonder now.
The posse was taken to the chief's tree, and Gus went inside together with the Harrowed. After a while the chief fell into the Harrowed's death-like sleep, but his guards were still around and kept a close eye on Gus and his friends. The posse began to worry that the chief would kill Gus in the morning before the ritual could be completed. To avoid this they resolved to get the tribe together to watch. Tyler and Hunter sat out to do this and managed to get both Rurrgh's and Worragh's help in getting the tribe together. And Gus was able to browbeat the guards to carry the sleeping Big Chief outside so everything would happen in the open.
[You can download the full-size A1 pdf of the battlemap by clicking on the image above.]
More than a hundred Sasquatch and the whole posse watched as Big Chief awoke again, and Gus neared the end of his ritual. The harrowed chief glared at the Blessed, and the struggle between their spirits began in earnest. Back and forth did the fight go, but then Gus remembered the successes they had in fighting evil spirits and with a great shout banished the manitou.*
[*Very fittingly, Gus' player had drawn the Legend Chip the group had won for defeating the Seven Devils and freeing the workers at Hell's Canyon. When the spirit roll went against him, he used the chip to add a 1d6 to the result... and that die exploded three times! An epic result.]
With a final lounge Big Chief tried to get at Gus before the manitou was driven away, but Tyler and Racing Clound protected their friend. Li Chang put down a sasquatch with one blow, Bu wrestled one to a standstill and Hunter stunned another. Then Worragh, Rrurgh and other sasquatch intervened, putting a stop to the fighting. Seeing their chief lying there, the posse managed to convince the sasquatch that he had been dead for a long time and that the war against the humans was the will of an evil spirit. The siege of Walla Walla was at an end.
[And here the campaign ended, with the prospect of following this up in the future with "The Flood" or perhaps "Last Sons". I will put up a summary of the whole campaign in a later post.]
Attention: Major Spoilers for the Trail Guide campaign follow.
Having found the path to the Old Glade, the posse was now surrounded by at least 20 sasquatch warriors. Fortunately these did not seem intent on attacking them. Instead they took them into their midst and escorted the posse up into the high mountain valley where the ancestral village of the sasquatch was hidden among a grove of ancient sequoias.
The group was confronted by a sasquatch shaman on the way, who got into an argument with Rrurgh, the leader of the band. As Gus prayed to understand the alien tongue, Chris produced a wampun that spread the miracle of tongues' power to the whole group.* The shaman, Worragh was his name, had followed and observed the posse, and now spoke highly of them and their fight against the Seven Devils in Hell's Canyon. But the had been exiled from the Old Glade by the Big Chief, and Rrurgh was reluctant to allow him to accompany the group. But Tyler managed to convince him to allow it.
[*Again I ignored the original Trail Guide campaign here, removing the character Hunting Hawk and let the players' powers work properly.]
In the glade the whole tribe of more than a hundred sasquatch, elders, adults, children and all, surrounded the posse with suspicion, fear but also some hope on their faces. There were two more humans: Angry Mouse and a Shaolin monk by the name of Li Chang, who turned out to be Lotus Blossom Wen's brother.*
[*The replacement PC for Matt, who had died in the last session.]
Then Big Chief arrived, guarded by eight of the toughest and meanest Bigfoot the posse had ever seen. And they soon realized what was wrong: The Big Chief was Harrowed, and the manitou controlling him was causing all the trouble between humans and sasquatch.
At first Gus had thought the chief's death wounds could still be healed and had offered to do so. Cunningly, the Harrowed challenged him to try it - sure in the knowledge that such an attempt must surely fail. But Gus turned it around, insisting that the healing would need to take all night in the presense of Big Chief - giving him a chance at attempting an exorcism. Still Big Chief was confident the little human could not harm him - and backing out of the healing challenge would surely make his tribe wonder now.
The posse was taken to the chief's tree, and Gus went inside together with the Harrowed. After a while the chief fell into the Harrowed's death-like sleep, but his guards were still around and kept a close eye on Gus and his friends. The posse began to worry that the chief would kill Gus in the morning before the ritual could be completed. To avoid this they resolved to get the tribe together to watch. Tyler and Hunter sat out to do this and managed to get both Rurrgh's and Worragh's help in getting the tribe together. And Gus was able to browbeat the guards to carry the sleeping Big Chief outside so everything would happen in the open.
[You can download the full-size A1 pdf of the battlemap by clicking on the image above.]
More than a hundred Sasquatch and the whole posse watched as Big Chief awoke again, and Gus neared the end of his ritual. The harrowed chief glared at the Blessed, and the struggle between their spirits began in earnest. Back and forth did the fight go, but then Gus remembered the successes they had in fighting evil spirits and with a great shout banished the manitou.*
[*Very fittingly, Gus' player had drawn the Legend Chip the group had won for defeating the Seven Devils and freeing the workers at Hell's Canyon. When the spirit roll went against him, he used the chip to add a 1d6 to the result... and that die exploded three times! An epic result.]
With a final lounge Big Chief tried to get at Gus before the manitou was driven away, but Tyler and Racing Clound protected their friend. Li Chang put down a sasquatch with one blow, Bu wrestled one to a standstill and Hunter stunned another. Then Worragh, Rrurgh and other sasquatch intervened, putting a stop to the fighting. Seeing their chief lying there, the posse managed to convince the sasquatch that he had been dead for a long time and that the war against the humans was the will of an evil spirit. The siege of Walla Walla was at an end.
[And here the campaign ended, with the prospect of following this up in the future with "The Flood" or perhaps "Last Sons". I will put up a summary of the whole campaign in a later post.]
Maps & More - Making maps for a living
Mein Arbeits- und Hobbyblog
Der Ringkrieg - Eine Fan-Webseite zum Brettspiel
Rezension, Videos, Strategie-Tipps, Bildergalerie, FAQ und mehr
Mein Arbeits- und Hobbyblog
Der Ringkrieg - Eine Fan-Webseite zum Brettspiel
Rezension, Videos, Strategie-Tipps, Bildergalerie, FAQ und mehr