Okay, so, by my reading, Sam's giving chase to the man... and the rest of you are trying to cut him off? Although I don't think there would have been an established fire code to call for it, let's assume the Grand has two staircases. In any case, it's time for the Chase to begin! To recap the rules:
Everyone rolls Agility rolls in each round, and Successes and Raises determine how many Action Cards you're dealt (you keep one of them, typically the highest). Even if you Fail, you're still in the Chase, you just haven't made any sort of progress closer to the target (in this case, catching this mysterious fellow), and receive no Action Cards for the round. In this Chase, you'll have five Rounds to try and stop the escaping figure; if at the end of the last Round you haven't done so, he'll escape into the night. Your Action Cards determine if you can attack the man, and from what distance--3-10 is at long range, Jack and Queen is at medium range, and King to Joker is at close range and melee is possible.
Chases can have Complications, like Dramatic Tasks, which occur if your Action card is a club. If this happens, you have to immediately make a Trait roll, potentially at a penalty, or face some consequences. Finally, your first Round of Agility rolls will be at -2, due to the crowded halls and panicked environment you have to face before getting out into the streets. Feel free to narrate what you're up to within reason, add in little setpieces of no consequence if you like. (That does include potentially diving through a window in the second round, if you like, Eddy; you are a couple stories up here, and you wouldn't gain much time by leaping out one of these windows what with staggering to your feet.) And away we go!
Agility:1d8 ⇒ 51d6 ⇒ 1
Almost as soon as Sam begins shouting to his companions, the strange thin man increases his speed. No longer content to just brush through the crowd, he begins shoving and slipping through the bodies at a more rapid pace, and within moments he's slipped into the stairwell. But can our posse keep up? Stranger things have happened.
Claire elects to avoid Biff's more... eccentric way of getting downstairs and simply forcibly shoves her way down the steps, shouldering her way through the crowd.
Yes, you can. Not being able to do that is a possible House Rule in Savage Worlds, but I elected not to use it; Gritty Damage is punishing fun enough. I'll wait to update this until this evening so Sam can post in if he's available.
Sam also engages in running after the man. Although the first to see him, Sam gets caught up in the crowd while trying to follow, and isn't able to do more than push his way through.
So Biff gets two cards, Sam gets none, and everyone else gets 1.
Biff: 5 of Diamonds, 3 of Diamonds
Claire: 7 of Spades
Eddy: 6 of Clubs
Thin Man: 3 of Hearts
So everyone could attempt to attack the Thin Man or perform another action before him, but you're all at a -4 to hit and you'd have to use ranged attacks. Keep in mind you're currently in a crowded hotel. Also, Eddy has a Complication, so he needs to make another Agility roll at -2 or suffer a level of Fatigue.
The posse gives chase, and for the moment at least, they find themselves catching up to the strange man now making haste from them. Eddy, however, finds himself still somewhat blinded from the snuff, and as he wipes his eyes, he finds himself nearly toppling full-force into--and over--the stairwell banister!
Not as bad as it could be--it's only Bumps and Bruises, so you take a -1 to rolls for the rest of the Chase. Not great, to be sure, but not awful. If the Complication comes on a two and you fail a roll at -4, you're out of the Chase because you crashed, or fell, or just gave out.
So even with a -4, Bolt 3 hits. Without the -4, it raises. Rolling damage for Bolts 1 and 3, assuming raise on 3. So omit whichever damage should not be. Raise is the last 3d6.
Potential 24 damage for Bolt 1, potential 15 damage for Bolt 3.
Lot of conditionals there. Gist of it is, I want to fire in the round I have the least amount of penalties accrued. So if I pull a Club in round 3, obviously I don't want to do it then.
Round 1 Recap
And so the chase begins, with the suspicious figure bolting back out through the crowded hall. The posse gives chase with varying success: Sam has trouble doing much more than starting to push through the crowd, Claire moves forward without much trouble, and Biff leaps onto the staircase banister as he enters the stairwell, sliding down after their prey. Eddy, unfortunately, has less luck with the stairs, and tumbles over the banister to land with a thud at the bottom.
The party's quarry himself moves with quite some agility as he presses down the stairs, and he casts only a brief glance Eddy's way as the Brit nearly catches up to him. As he enters the crowded lobby, the tall man makes a subtle gesture with his fingers, and then begins to move with even more fluidity and speed.
Aaaand I forgot to add +2 to the enemy's rolls for his greater speed. Apologies all around.
Round 2
Biff--3--No Card
Claire--4--2 of Clubs (Wow, that's horrid. The absolute worst card in the deck.)
Eddy--4--9 of Hearts
Sam--2--No Card
Thin Man--9--Ace of Diamonds 9 of Spades
As the posse hits the lobby floor and begins to break free from the crowd, luck does not seem to turn in their favor. The thin man is the first out of the doors, and he begins to bound out across the street, dashing with incredible speed. Biff and Sam push through the crowd as best they can, but can't do more than make it out of the Grand, while Eddy pushes free despite his tumble--although he has no hope of hitting the Thin Man just yet. Claire catches the worst luck of the pack, though: an overzealous pair of guards spot her running and decide to tackle the wrong party, moving forward to stop her from continuing the race.
Claire, I hate to say it, but I need an Agility test at -4. This Chase is quickly reminding me of Heavy Rain: Super Klutz Edition.
Claire calmly twists as the first guard attempts to tackle her, causing him to miss her entirely and fall face first on the ground. She steps the other direction, sending the second guard toppling down on top of the other idiot. Both of them are promptly trampled, rather painfully, by the crowd.
Eddy and Claire do have actions, but neither of you can attack the thin man, so unless you have anything else to do I'm going to move this forward tonight, please just let me know if you want to do anything.
I am not sure on duration of Smite, if it has a reasonable duration I may use that action to start powering up. If not, Eddy keeps running as fast as his muscled birtish legs allow him.
The only thing I could do really is smite, but Claire is the one party member who know to not use magic where everyone can see her, so I've got nothing to do.
Smite lasts for three rounds, so if you used it now it would last through the end of the Chase, although not beyond. Just let me know if you want to use it.
Round 3
Biff--4--Ace of Hearts
Claire--15--Queen of Diamonds 2 of Spades3 of Spades
Eddy--9--Queen of Spades 10 of Diamonds
Sam--5--5 of Spades
Thin Man--5--5 of Clubs
As the posse's chase spills fully into the streets of Tombstone, our heroes catch a lucky break. The tall, thin man, although far ahead of them at the moment, is cut off by the sudden crossing of several riders on the street. One horse rears up while the others dash by, and he twists over backwards--again pressing beyond the normal capabilities of the human body--to avoid the great beasts. Although still on his feet, the delay does hold him up long enough to give some of the party the chance to attack!
Alright, so everyone has Advantage over the thin man right now, which means you can attack him. Sam and Eddy are at long range, which means they have a -4 to ranged attacks but can make them; Claire is at short range, so a -2; and Biff is in melee range, so he can even make a Fighting attack at no penalty. Also, since you're facing penalties anyway I won't add it on, but note that if this spills into a regular combat, it's dark out, so you're all facing -1 penalties for ranged attacks.
Finally clear of the crowd, Claire levels her gun directly at the man's back. "Tombstone deputy!" she shouts. "Get on the f*cking ground and get your hands behind your head." Knowing full well that he's not going to stop, she fires off a round straight at his back.
As Claire and Biff close in on the man, each lets out their own attack. Claire brings up her pistol and fires a round, and while it catches the man's coat, it passes through harmlessly as he swirls to avoid the horses. Biff brings up his hands and begins blasting poker chips forward, having fortuitously grabbed them as he passed through the Grand's lobby. He's certain they're bound to hit, but the thin man once again displays uncanny agility, contorting his body and bending it at impossible angles while staying afoot. The majority of the chips miss him, but some connect; the thin man stays on his feet, however, and even looks relatively unhurt, just annoyed. (The thin man has the Improved Dodge Edge, which applies a -2 penalty to ranged attacks against him. You guys can start including that in your rolls if you like. In this case it means that Biff's first attack misses, but the 15 damage connects.)
Soak:1d8 ⇒ 41d6 ⇒ 2Soaks the Wound.
Sam and Eddy are still up if they want to act, although they're taking a whopping -6 to the roll if they attack him. I'll move along to Round 4 once they post or this evening.
Forgot to check in that evening, and I've been on and off posting over the weekend busy with other things. Sorry all.
Despite the attacks against him, and the horses in his way, the thin man seems unharmed. He casts an angry glare toward the posse, but doesn't react against them, only continuing to run.
Round 4
Biff--5--4 of Spades
Claire--5--7 of Hearts
Eddy--4--2 of Hearts
Sam--4--10 of Hearts
Thin Man--16--Jack of Diamonds Jack of Spades King of Hearts 6 of Spades
The posse has to contend with the rider cursing and shifting from the street, and by the time they've gotten around him, their target is a ways up the street once more, and he ducks down a side alley before they have a chance to shoot. Left with no choice but to barrel on, they keep up the speedy footwork.
I'm going to go ahead and pull Round 5's cards now, since you can't attack the man. If you do want to have performed another action this round--activating a power or the like--let me know, and we'll count it on for Round 5 and any combat that may ensue if you stop the man from running. (Friendly reminder than an easy way to end a Chase, if you get the opportunity, is to Grapple the target.)
Round 5
Biff--3--No Card
Claire--9--JOKERKing of Spades
Eddy--12--JOKER7 of Clubs 9 of Diamonds
Sam--5--4 of Diamonds
Thin Man--10--2 of Diamonds 3 of Clubs (Since he can't beat you regardless, he's opting for the non-Complication.)
Claire and Eddy decide not to follow the thin man directly, and instead head up a couple more blocks before heading over (or doing something else to provide an adequate advantage, feel free to make something up and Eddy, this is your time to jump through a wall, brother). Their hunch and agility pay off, as they head off their quarry as he pauses, apparently trying to decide where to go. Sam also has a shot at him, from a distance, although Biff has fallen a bit too far behind to act just yet.
As the chase goes on and the posse & stranger gets to less walked streets, Eddy knows he has to do something.
Surely, finesse is their enemy's weapon and as such only pure power can defeat it.
The brit, with a calculated self punch to a certain point in his body, breaks the First Seal:The Charging Albino Rhino.
His muscles oferdriven with energy (A bald version of this, basically), Eddy adopts a running stance akin to that found in rugby, and therefore faster and better than any football one.
Smite:1d4 - 1 ⇒ (2) - 1 = 11d6 - 1 ⇒ (5) - 1 = 4
Round 5
Eddy, who ran after Claire trusting her sense of direction, felt a distirbance in the Punch.
A tingling sensation that alerted him... following his guts, the shining muscled man turned abruptly and entered a door with a tackle only to crash through the building wall seconds after, appearing in a burst of testosterone and wooden shards in front of the stranger.
Oh, how much would he pay to see the bum's expression... if he only cared, because guided by the Chi his punch was already flying to meet a new face.
Okay... Joker, Wild-Fighting, Fatigue and Smite. Eat s@%#, face changer
Claire curses at the man's supernatural agility and spins her revolver's chamber, green light flickering along the barrel and around the bullets as she charges her shoots with energy.
Round 5
Seeing Eddy smashing straight through a wall stuns her momentarily, then she rushes after him, using the convenient new short-cut to cut off the thin man. As the party finally manages to trap him between them, she opens fire again.
Actually you don't know his Fighting yet, since he hasn't had to roll for it; his Agility is d12, and that's only due to him casting the spell in Round 1, which actually just wore off. And Dodge only applies against ranged attacks; a Grapple would be the usual Fighting vs. Parry. Not that it probably matters much now...
The stranger turns in time to see Eddy's incoming punch, we'll give him that much. But he isn't quite quick enough to dodge out of the way, and the British kung fu man's supercharged fist catches him directly in the chest.
Soak:1d8 ⇒ 61d6 ⇒ 5 Common Pool Bennie 1:1d8 ⇒ 11d6 ⇒ 2 Common Pool Bennie 2:1d8 ⇒ 41d6 ⇒ 1 Common Pool Bennie 3:1d8 ⇒ 21d6 ⇒ 6Ace:1d6 ⇒ 1Wow. Common Pool Bennie 4:1d8 ⇒ 51d6 ⇒ 6Ace:1d6 ⇒ 4Enough and yet not enough.
There's a loud cracking noise as several of the thin man's ribs cave in and shatter from the force of the blow. Pain and rage are etched on the man's face, and he staggers back, turns to run... and promptly arcs back in more pain still when Claire shoots him in the spine. He twitches once on the ground, then lies still, apart from shallow breathing. It appears the man is still alive, although unconscious or otherwise unable to rise.
Claire walks over to the man, keeping her gun trained on him. "So, I'm guessing tall, dark, and creepy is one of those f*cking black magic arseh*les who's trying to rule the world with f*cking playing cards. Anyone think we can hold him long enough to ask questions or should we just finish this before he gets around to waking up?"
"Mademoiselle, if you allow me I could give a non-lethal solution: We could simply break both pairs of appendages so the fellow can't escape nor use said black arts..." the brit closes to the near-dead man and continues "...which seem to be less effective than plain old fisticuffing, if you don't mind."
Incapacitation, Duh:1d8 ⇒ 21d6 ⇒ 3 Bleeding Out Now:1d8 - 3 ⇒ (1) - 3 = -21d6 - 3 ⇒ (4) - 3 = 1 Super Special Roll:1d6 ⇒ 3
The thin figure lies on the ground, and there's no real movement beyond his shuddering breath. As Eddy and Claire move in to the sprawled body, they can see the coat is soaked with blood throughout the back. And as Eddy finishes his sentence, the man's body heaves once more, and then lies completely still. It seems the final shot has drawn too much blood for the man to live without.
There's still a brief moment of quiet and calm here in the streets of Tombstone as the posse gathers around the corpse, but it's sure to be broken soon. There's some shouting from the Grand, and sooner or later people are going to come to investigate the gunshot. The only question is, what exactly will they find and be told when they arrive?
Samuel finally catches up with everyone else, panting up a storm as he reaches those near the man. "Have we... caught him? What... happened, did you shoot him?" Samuel asks, eyeing the now-still body as the body still lies on the ground bleeding. "There are likely... to be others here soon," he continues, before taking a moment and finally catching his breath. "We ought to tell them about how he tried to break into Lady Boyle's room."
"The way I see it," Claire says, calmly holstering her revolver and pulling out her lighter and a cigarette. "Is that we were asked to protect a defenseless woman from a man out to kill her. And when we caught him in the act, he refused to come quietly and we had no choice but to use force. That sound right to everyone?"
"I reckon it sounds right to me," comes a deep, stern voice from the street behind the posse. Turning, they see Virgil Earp striding up to the scene, some other townsfolk coming a ways behind. "So long as I can get a name for your defenseless woman and a statement from her. But seeing as you folks are deputized, and serving as guards for the Bonanza, and have my good name staked behind trust for you... well, I'm thinking there's some papers to sign, but I doubt we'll have to take this to court."
The lawman steps up to the body and shoves it face-up with one booted foot, and he gazes down at the face. "Huh. Now I look at him, I feel like I've seen this fella before. Not sure just where, though. Maybe going into the Grand earlier...?" He eyes the body for a few moments, then spits next to it and shrugs. "I'll have some boys take him out to Boot Hill and get him six feet down. Good shooting, folks." He tips his hat to you and waves over some men. "Grand looks like it'll be okay, too. Fire started in the basement and died pretty quick, all told. I'll look into the cause."
It seems the excitement for the night is dying down. The apparent assassin has been caught and put down, our heroes are clear of trouble for the crime, and the Grand Hotel will be okay. The question remains what they'll do now, but there likely isn't any more important to do tonight.
Basically if you guys want to do anything in particular, let me know, but there's nothing more to be done here just now, so we'll fade to black and move forward shortly. If you don't have anything to say, just let me know in Discussion. I'll move forward late tonight or tomorrow, or as soon as I hear from everybody.
"Of course," Claire says without missing a beat. "You'll want to speak ta Lady Boyet over at the Grand. After she was knocked out a' the games earlier today, she approached us sayin' that she was worried that another competitor with a personal grudge might try to remove her from the big game, if you get my meaning. We were keeping an eye on her room tonight and this chancer tried to break in and kill the poor woman. Right as the fire started too. Quite a coincidence, somethin' like that clearing a building just as an assassin was about to make his move. We ran after him when he bolted and I told him that we were deputized and authorized to take him in. And that we'd use force if he resisted arrest. Well, he decided to resist arrest. What can ya' do? Sometimes blokes like this don't know when to give up." She shrugs and lights up her cigarette. "If that'll be all, I'd like ta get some f*cking sleep tonight. I've had enough excitement today already."
"I spotted him, actually" Samuel says, a bit startled as Wyatt makes his presence known. "He was trying to pick the lock to Lady Boyle's room; he wasn't really hiding, but he was... hard to see. I don't know how else to explain it. We saw each other at the same time, and he made a break for it. I tried to catch up to him, but the others had some better luck getting through the crowd."
"Quite a coincidence, yes," Virgil replies, his voice thick with his typical dry humor. "It is a damn shame when they resist arrest, now, isn't it? But it sounds like you all did the best you could. Yeah, this should be a clear-cut..."
The lawman trails off and frowns at Biff and Sam's words, however. "Slippery? Hard to see without hiding?" He thinks for a few moments, then nods--more to himself than to the posse. "Well, if he's all that trouble, maybe it's best we make sure it's done, and I'll put my official stamp on it too." And with that, Virgil Earp draws his pistol, points it directly at the corpse's skull, and pulls the trigger. Several of the townsfolk start at the sudden crack and burst of blood and gore, but Virgil just sighs and slides his revolver back into its holster.
"Well, I think you said it, Miss Callahan. That's enough excitement for today. How about y'all go home and get some sleep?" So saying, Virgil Earp strides off as quickly as he appeared at the scene.
Notice+1 or Spirit+1:
Clearly there's something more to Virgil's actions than what he's saying. Not that this knowledge is all that helpful, considering he's already around the corner and on his way.
"Damn shame," Claire repeats dutifully, silently glad that Virgil's happy to go along with her. "You know, it's an awful convenient thing you came along when you did. If you hadn't, someone might have come along and taken this the wrong way. And that would have been mighty unfortunate."
To Biff's question, Virgil Earp gives no response. He simply walks down the street a ways and turns a corner, disappearing from view. The townsfolk who came with him mutter amongst themselves briefly, mostly similar questions to Biff's, but soon enough a few of them lift the body and take it over toward Boot Hill cemetery. The others return to the Grand.
The excitement finished for the night, the posse may have gone any number of ways in town. Maybe they simply returned to their own lodgings; maybe they checked back in at the Grand, where surely they found Lady Boyet in safe and fine, albeit flustered, condition. Perhaps Eddy worked more of his charms on the woman, and spent the night with her--only they themselves could truly say for sure.
Which is to say, handwaving the events of the night since nothing else happens.
The next day our heroes return to the Grand's lobby, which is really none the worse for wear besides some surface damage to tables that were knocked over in the panic. After breakfast is served and everyone's ready, the second day of the Bonanza begins, with the final players taking up their hands for the stakes.
Samuel, go ahead and do another series of five rolls for a Dramatic Task, with Gambling at -2. You get a Joker on the second round and a Complication on the fourth; make it count! Unfortunately, there's really nothing for the rest of you to do unless you want to just mingle or ask around about anything, or perhaps go looking for trouble. It's up to you guys.
Claire leaves as soon as the body is taken away, heading back to bed so she can get some rest before the next day. Once morning comes, she checks in with her temporary employer before going to look for Doc or maybe Wyatt himself. Virgil's behavior last night left her a bit... concerned. Perhaps someone closer to him would know if something's going on that she doesn't know about.
... I don't suppose our Bennies refreshed, huh? Ah well.
Samuel, still in the tournament, continues to impress. In the first several rounds of the day he does reasonably well, knocking two competitors out in a single play; after managing only just hang on for a few hours, he knocks several competitors out after managing to draw all four Aces. Around midday he hits a streak of bad luck, and folds for several rounds before coming back with a vengeance. In the last two rounds of the day, he manages to win a hand with his best play being a pair of fours, and follows it up by convincing the others he was bluffing before revealing he'd managed a Royal Flush in the next round, busting them all after they went all-in.
Rolls:
Gambling:1d10 - 2 ⇒ (8) - 2 = 6 Wild:1d6 - 2 ⇒ (6) - 2 = 4 Wild; Ace:1d6 ⇒ 1 Total of 6; one success.
Gambling:1d10 ⇒ 5 Wild:1d6 ⇒ 1 Total of 5; two successes.
Gambling:1d10 - 2 ⇒ (1) - 2 = -1 Wild:1d6 - 2 ⇒ (1) - 2 = -1 Total of -1; two successes.
Gambling:1d10 - 4 ⇒ (10) - 4 = 6 Wild:1d6 - 4 ⇒ (5) - 4 = 1 Gambling; Ace:1d10 ⇒ 3 Total of 9; four successes.
Eddy could be found glowing from pride after such magnificent punch. Having no words to offer at the task of explaining the corpse issue -mostly because he was proud of his work and against covering it-, he simply watched the situation unfold.
The next day at the Grand, the brit would keep watch again... His third eye opened to any and all possibilities.
In between tantric watches, pur most particular fisticuffer would engage in small-talk with passers-by... which mostly consisted on intimidating them by accident with flexes, squats and manly stories from the army. Everything coupled obviously with booming laughs and claps in the back that would break a tree in half.
Hey all, and welcome to the discussion thread for the upcoming campaign. Hopefully we can start pretty soon, ideally by the end of the week, but for now this is just a place to say hey and get our characters together. If anybody wants any info, tips, feedback, or anything, post away with questions and comments. Otherwise this is just here to set things up for the full campaign.
Good luck with your game. Wish I could play myself, but I'm just full up at the moment. I'll probably be lurking though. So who knows, maybe I can come in later.
Hey all! As I said earlier, feel free to post characters or concepts. I know I've mentioned the concept of the two British boxer gents to my friends here, but anything more people want to say is very welcome.
wicked_raygun--Sorry that you're busy now, but of course you'd be welcome to join whenever you feel you can! Just let me know.
Looks fine to me--I'm assuming the combat knife is a Bowie knife, and the leather armor is fine. That's something to note for everyone actually--I allow folks to buy leather armor as from the Savage Worlds core book for that price. Just treat it as reinforced chaps and duster and all that. Do keep in mind that pretty much all the guns in the game do have AP 1, though.
Also, as a note on this campaign, I'm going to be using the Gritty Damage setting rule, at least to start. If it becomes problematic I may change that, but it's a neat touch that should make gunfights a little more dangerous and interesting.
Male Something similar to human, but one can never be sure without a DNA test Slacker - 3, Gamer - 2, Nerd - 2, Geek - 2; Eldrich Napper - 7
I kind of had an idea to make a mad scientist who's a little too into nitro glycerin, with gadgeteer and MacGyver, eventually chemist. I'm thinking a guy who just likes blowing crap up. Probably carries vials of nitro, sticks of dynamite, etc.
I may have a horrible demise if a giant or something hits me with a club when I'm wearing two bandoliers filled with nitro.
Ugh. This concept is gonna take some MAD stats. Agility for throwing and quick draw, vigor because everyone needs vigor, smarts...pretty much the whole shebang.
Well, you could tank Strength and Spirit. Not saying you should tank Strength and Spirit, but you could.
Another side note I forgot to mention: if people have it, the Horror Companion has a few Edges/Hindrances that could be appropriate. I won't be using much else from there, though.
Really any source for Savage Worlds that's by Pinnacle could be fine, just run it by me first so I can check it out. (No Geared Up Edge from the Sci-Fi Companion, for example.)
Claire grew up on the move. Her father, Seamus, started his life as an Irish immigrant on the streets of New York, but he made his big break when his employer, a warehouse manager, was nearly killed in an accident. Her father saved his life, diving in the way of a set of falling barrels and knocking him aside. Her father survived and while he was recovering from his injuries, his boss came to visit the hospital. In thanks for his life, the man recommended her father for a position with a friend of his, a real estate broker. Claire’s father quickly found that he had a talent for the work, both because of his sharp mind and his gregarious personality, and rose from being an assistant and a copyist to working on land deals himself as a broker. With his new position came wealth and he proposed to his fiancée, one Abigail Fitzgerald, shortly before being asked to move out west to act as the broker’s representative. Abigail and Seamus married in St. Louise on their way out to the southwest territories.
Claire was born a little more than a year later, in a small town near the Texas/Mexico border. Her parents hardly let her birth slow them down, adding the energetic baby girl to their traveling family. As such, Claire had a bit of an unusual childhood. She was walking the instant her legs were strong enough and running days later. She never could sit still, always exploring and running round the the towns they passed through while looking for profitable places to buy and sell to the settlers moving west behind them. She didn’t have traditional schooling of any kind, though plenty of places didn’t even have them. Instead, her father made sure to teach her what he could. She picked up reading and writing quick enough once she was old enough, and numbers came easy to her. Her parents were enormously proud of their bright girl, though more than a few people found the bright, wild girl to be distinctly ‘unladylike’ and ‘uncouth’. Claire hardly cared, since they didn’t stick around most towns long. Her only constant companions became books and stories, either told by the locals in bars and saloons or purchases by her parents by mail. Adventure serials became her favorite way to pass the time as she imagined the wild adventures that she could go on one day.
As she grew older, it became clear that Claire was going to be as beautiful as she was quick witted and she developed a fiery disposition. Whoa to any of the boys in the frontier towns that thought the pretty traveling girl would be easily susceptible to their charms. Her father seemed to get quieter and more somber as their travels continued and Claire began to notice that her father’s individual trips were getting longer and his deals were becoming more private and even secretive. Any attempts to draw out what was going on were met with blunt stonewalling. This was a surprise to her usual treatment, as she was a bit of a daddy’s girl, and Claire became surly and quicker tempered as a result. Then one day when she was sixteen, her father never came home.
Claire never learned who pulled the trigger, but she did learn that there was a gunman. Her father was tracked down while surveying a plot of land by an unknown figure that put a bullet in his heart. Claire’s mother was hardly better off. When she returned home, bearing the horrible news, she found her mother on the floor in much the same state. Now she knew that it wasn’t just robbery, it was personal. So she could make it personal too. Before the killer could hunt her down too, she gathered all of her father’s things, packed up what cash she could, and split town as fast as the family horse could let her. She didn’t stop riding until she hit the next town over, well away from someone that might be on her trail. She sold the horse and found a place to stay while she sorted things out. Unfortunately for her, she had no real leads to go on and the money from the sale of the family horse and wagon could only last so long. Eventually, Claire continued her traveling, hopping carriages and trains and hoofing it as far as she could. When money began to run short, she started taking odd jobs to pay for inn rooms and basic necessities. She worked bars, labored along with men, and generally made herself useful when she could.
For the next three years, she kept moving, shifting from one town to the next. As she adjusted to life without her family, she found herself picking up a new series of penny tales to pass the time, written by one Doctor John Henry Holliday. His stories were full of supposedly true tales of his adventures across the Wild West, filling her head with her old dreams of wild adventure and exploration. A quest for vengeance wasn’t quite the same as one of Doc’s tales, but it was certainly worthy of her time. Through 1979, she managed to get her hands on every one of his books, enjoying the humorous tone and the wild adventure. But her sharp mind started to pick up on something. His pages had strange little messages mixed in, hiding odd details and watermarks made of strange symbols. At first she thought Doc Holliday had gone a bit mad over the years, leaving secret codes and mythical symbols in his serials. Then she found her father’s journal. And she learned that everything she knew was a lie.
In a secret compartment in the bottom of her father’s steamer trunk, Claire found a journal, kept over her entire childhood and even before. It began with her father rescuing his old friend in New York, but it revealed some shocking details. The accident was no accident, but rather an attempted murder. A strange man who looked exactly like his boss attempted to murder his twin in what looked like an industrial accident. Seamus knocked his boss aside and ran the man down, only to find the stranger changing his appearance into a facsimile of his own face. The two fought and her father beat the man unconscious with a wrench. Injured and exhausted, he collapsed, only to wake up in the custody of a secret branch of the Union government. These secret agents, only addressed as the Agency in his diary, told Seamus what the world was really like. And a shapeshifting twin was only the beginning. Undead monsters, black magic users, and more roamed the west, stirring up trouble and harming innocent folks. And now Seamus was in on a secret that the Agency wanted kept nice and quiet to prevent a panic. So they offered Seamus a job.
Seamus became a field operative for the Agency. The same intelligence and social skills that made his cover as a land dealer so believable made him an excellent secret agent. His deals were more often than not covers for him tracking down threats to the peace and taking them down fast and hard. They moved south when the Union shifted Seamus to more undercover work, placing him inside Confederate territory to continue his missions and to pass information on the southern states back north. Unfortunately, someone caught up with him. Claire didn’t know who killed her father, but now she knew exactly why he was killed. Combining the cryptic and often encoded records in her father’s journal with the strange symbols in Holliday’s books, she began to piece together exactly how magic worked. If she was going to find her father’s killer, she needed every advantage she could get. Taking her father’s back-up revolver and a bowie knife, she carved her first rune mark into the weapon and felt the power surge through her body. Now she had a weapon that could fight back against the man that killed her father.
More than a year passed as she worked her way through the southwest slowly, picking up every tip and trick she could on both gun fighting and hexslinging. However, she’s started to feel that she’s reaching as far as she can go without more help. So she picked up once again and headed toward Tombstone, the last known residence of Holliday himself. Surely he’d be willing to help an aspiring Hexslinger with a grudge to settle…
Male Something similar to human, but one can never be sure without a DNA test Slacker - 3, Gamer - 2, Nerd - 2, Geek - 2; Eldrich Napper - 7
Guts is a skill in DLR, right? Just bringing this up for newbies like Sundakan - Guts is basically your will save, instead of simple spirit rolls, to emphasize how scary the weird west is supposed to be.
Male Something similar to human, but one can never be sure without a DNA test Slacker - 3, Gamer - 2, Nerd - 2, Geek - 2; Eldrich Napper - 7
Apparently I don't roll for dementia when I first make a mad scientist - only each time I take the New Power edge. Unless you think I should roll just for having Weird Science. If that's the case, here...
What Dementia Do I Have?:1d20 ⇒ 7
Evil Deeds.:
Evil Deeds: An insidious manitou convinces the hero that someone or something is evil, or trying to steal his ideas, and must be stopped. Each time the character gets this result, his madness is more pronounced. At first he may only talk badly about his “enemies.” Later on he might attempt to ruin or even kill them.
Hm. That seems an easy enough one to pull off. Probably even a nice plot hook for the GM.
Guts is a skill in DLR, right? Just bringing this up for newbies like Sundakan - Guts is basically your will save, instead of simple spirit rolls, to emphasize how scary the weird west is supposed to be.
Indeed, Guts is its own skill in the Deadlands setting. The creepy-crawlies and strange horrors of the Weird West are entirely beyond what average folks are ready to deal with, so it takes special skills and experience to do well in the face of the walkin' dead or a hangin' judge. The upshot is that normal things that might prompt Fear checks, like general violence and danger, aren't all that bad in the grand scheme of things, so you don't need to roll for them.
This actually brings me to a small but important element of your characters: Grit. Grit is a calculated stat kind of like Charisma is, but there aren't as many ways to affect it. Every character starts with a Grit of 1; there's a Hindrance that drops it to 0, and an Edge that increases it. It'll go up with time and experience.
Redbeard the Scruffy wrote:
Also if that player's guide you were speaking of is free, does anyone have a link to it?
I wanted to ask something before I picked Hindrances: Can I please take The Cup Overflows without having Chi Master? I just have this image of accidentally kicking up dust storms or knocking down buildings with a stray punch like Pecos Bill or something and it's great.
Hmm. I'm fine with that, honestly, it should be good fun. Less supernatural auras, more collateral damage and being really visibly good at fighting. Sounds good to me.
I do have to ask, though--how are you getting that many points to your Attributes to start? We are using normal build rules, so you should have 5, potentially 2 more from Hindrances (since it takes 2 points worth of Hindrances to raise an Attribute).
Also as a note on Martial Arts: I rule that it does both what it says in the original Savage Worlds book as well as the Deadlands version. Not sure why they decided to make you lose damage for that benefit; getting swarmed by melee enemies isn't quite as common in Deadlands as it is in other settings.
Bennies 2/3 | Wounds 0/3 | Parry 5 | Toughness 5 | Charisma 0 (2 if respect military) | Grit 1 | Pace 6 | Xp 5
So I'm pissed. Spent my whole lunch updating this guy (used Vulture's sheet as a template) and Paizo did that new post garbage when I hit submit and ate all the changes.
Anyways - questions:
A recommended knowledge? I need two knowledges, including chemistry (which fits my idea anyway), to get the alchemy edge eventually.
What town are we starting in?
Anybody recommend a power I take? I SUPPOSE I can take healing, since I'm gonna be throwing Nitro everywhere, but if another suggestion comes to mind, lemme know.
Fun fact - came up with this name by looking up the most popular names of the late 1800s and scrolling down until I saw one that wasn't common today.
I see that you did take my suggestion on dumping Strength and Spirit. Hoping that doesn't come back to haunt you, eh?
Knowledge of the Occult is always potentially useful, although whether or not your character knows about that is up to you. Geography can also help with knowing about the lay of the land.
The base module starts in Tombstone, although I may run an adventure or two that takes place on your way there. Do consider your characters' potential connections to Tombstone, the Earp family, and/or the Cowboy gang, though. It'll help bring you into the campaign a little more.
A handful of things. Every source book has a few tricks and Edges that are general use. But you should be able to get everything you need from the core book if you're mainly going for 'blow up sh*t'.
Hmm... I'll copy/paste the relevant info into a doc, kind of like Niles did for his game, and share it out.
As far as encumbrance in Deadlands goes, I generally don't worry about it too much. You guys are usually at least close to town, or if you aren't, you're out on the prairie, typically with some sort of something where you can store most of your gear (like a horse, or a train). If you're ever in a situation where you don't have anything like that, then you've got bigger problems.
Plus with the general lack of armor in the setting, you're typically carrying less weight to begin with. If it comes up and is important I'll take a look and probably increase the weight limit like in your game, but I don't see it being an issue.
Biff looks and sounds jolly good to me! Hope that lack of Notice doesn't come around to haunt you, although it somehow seems fitting given the overall perception of this character I'm getting.
Also finished reading over Claire's backstory--everything looks good. My GM wheels are already turning in my mind, wondering how far I can draw out different aspects and bring them back to bite you... that is to say, poring over the many hooks and details you added to the character!
To answer a question I missed earlier: For a bandolier, I'd say I'd price it the same as a gun belt, $2, and it can hold... say, a dozen? That sounds about right to me. If you think it should be more I could see it going up to twenty, though. And you could easily wear two of them if you want to chance blowing up even more, hehe.
Also, any updates or word from folks? I'd love to get this started ASAP, although I know working with a new setting and all can take some time. You definitely don't need a backstory as long and fleshed-out as Claire's, although of course I'd love it if you did; really just a simple reason you're headed for Tombstone and any connections you may have with Doc Holliday, the Earps, or the Cowboy gang are all I need.
So... since I only know half the people here in-person, anyone feel like sharing a bit about what they're thinking for their characters? Like RP style and backstory? Just curious.
Scout; bennies 3/3; wounds 0; Toughness 5; XP 5; CHA -2 (outside of natives)
so first off my friends decided that Okomi sounds to much like a Japanese name so I changed it. Have fun pronouncing my new name
Secondly here's my backstory.
Backstory:
Askuwheteau Leafstep was born the unwanted, but not unloved, son of Luyu Watersong, now respected Shaman of what is left of the Cherokee People.
Unlike many in this world, the story of Askuwheteau’s conception was not one of love but of violence. 24 years ago, when Luyu was still a young woman she was attacked and raped while out by the river near the southern border of the Coyote Confederation. It was clear that the mans intentions were to kill Luyu after he was done, luckily a group of native warriors that were patrolling the border came across them and the man ran, leaving only a few belongings with the name John Wesly Harden printed on them. A few weeks after the attack Luyu discovered that she was with child. At the time Luyu had already begun her training to be the tribes shaman and believed that all life was sacred and so refused to listen when many of her people said that she should let the child die.
During his childhood and young adult years Askuwheteau spent most of his time learning the ways of the shaman from his mother or alone out in the forest. Askuwheteau loved hunting, not necessarily killing, but following an animal for miles over countless different terrains, always knowing that, if he felt like it, he could shoot or trap the animal at any time he wished. Over time this love of tracking led Askuwheteau to be one of the best scouts in his area.
As he got older and the time for him to take over the role of shaman from his mother got closer Askuwheteau finally got tired of the whispering and untrusting gazes from others in his village so he decided that in order to earn the respect of his people he would find his “father” and kill him.
Askuwheteau has only been outside of the Coyote Confederation for a couple of months now and on his travels he has heard that a number of “outlaws” have taken to raiding in the area around the town of Tombstone. Surely even the White-men must consider someone who attacks women to be a criminal, maybe he could find some clue as to the whereabouts of his “father” there?
I backtracked and cut bits out a couple times so let me know if something just doesn't make sense
So we're English immigrants. Sons of wealthy merchant families perhaps? Come to seek our own fortunes in the land of gold, oil, railroads, and ghost rock?
How about son of soldiers that died in the war? I mean, why are we so good at fisticuffing? Sure we had to defend ourselves when we were young. And a young boy won't last long unless he have friends, so we paired against the bullies. Biff sure is Arthur's bestfriend since he can remember, nonetheless he saved his life plenty of time in Britain.
But here in the glorious USA a pair of muscled ragamuffins can make some gold if they are brave, and the government pays us for kicking ass! What's not to love?
We could be bountyhunters and prospectors.
That could be our reason to have crossed the Great Ocean.
All of this also work for sons of merchants or what have you.
Well, sons of wealthy families or minor nobles would be expected to volunteer for the army for at least a tour (especially were we both 3rd sons, whose options were basically "Clergy" or "Military" for much of Britain's history as I recall, and the 1800's basically just added "Lawyer" as a third option IIRC), so that works mighty fine.
Okey, I got Eddy ready! (Arthur didn't fit him so well)
I hope Biff doesn't mind that I took "The Cup Overflows". Since he told us about this merry game of yours and I checked The Flood Player's Guide I loved that Hindrance.
If he wants a little more difference between Eddy and Biff hindrances I'll get Grim Servant O'Death. That name is too much to pass.
The Cup Overflows (Major) That chinese opium dealer back in Chelsea sure taught as a lot... he
Heavy Sleeper(Minor) Sleep is for the weak? Nah, being tired is for the fools
Hard of Hearing(Minor) Too many punches to the head
Edges:
Martial Artist Good. Old. Fisticuffs
Two-Fisted Now with twice as fist
Equipment:
Guns, Guns & Guns
Colt Peacemaker Revolver[2d6+1, 12/24/48, AP1] (15$)
·50x .45 bullets (3$)
Colt Revolving Shotgun[1-3d6, 12/24/48] (45$)
·40x shotgun shells (4$)
Classy Outfit
Sleevless Leather Duster[+1 toughness] (50$)
Classy Bowler hat (Priceless... 3.5$)
Nice Boots (8$)
Gold Watch, Pocket (10$)
Gun Belt with Quick-Draw Holster (13$)
Other Stuff
Backpack (2$)
Bedroll (4$)
1 lb of Bacon (15¢)
5xCigars (25¢)
Lockpicks (50$)
Playing Cards(Normal) (25¢)
Playing Cards(Marked) (25¢)
Total Spent: 158.95$. Will spend the rest according to party needs
Eddy have had a rough childhood, weren't for Biff he would have ended in prison, dead or -God protects us...- married!
His likes(+)/dislikes(-) include:
+One-Two Fisticuffs combos
+Tea. Specially chinese and british tea, not that dog pee that americans drink
+Back-to-Back action with Biff
+Redheads. God bless them!
+Long coats with no shirt and no sleeves. Radical.
+Hats. Specially funny ones
+Bacon.
-Bullies
-Police Officers
-Drugs
-Bandits
Oh Lordy, two fisticuffers with The Cup Overflows? I'm guessing you folks aren't going to be keeping much of a low profile. Of course, Grim Servant o' Death usually isn't all that much better. Either one works fine for this adventure, of course.
Eddy looks fine in any case, and the extra cash may even be something you want to keep on hand. Have to put that Gambling skill to use at some point, after all--and you never know when you might need to do a little unplanned shopping.
Also, don't know if you all know this already, but as per Deadlands's usual rules, if everyone could let me know what their character's worst nightmare is, that'd be great.
Looks like 4 (or 5?--Leaf-step, is your character updated to the point I should look over everything? I ask because the profile looks partially updated but not all the way.) members of the party are pretty set to go at this point, stats-wise, so once I get a couple more things around and folks are ready, we can start the game--hopefully tomorrow or Wednesday at the latest. I am waiting on another friend to post in but he can jump in a little after we've started if need be. I don't know about you folks, but I'm pretty darn excited to get this going. I think it'll be a fun time!
tl;dr: Double-check characters, let me know if you're good to go, and get me backstories as soon as you can (if you haven't already)! Be ready to join our posse on a train bound for Tombstone...
The problem I have with Grim Servant o' Death is that it apparently make you a psycho killer, since it's pretty clear that you're attacking people ON PURPOSE whenever you have a chance and making it look like an accident a lot of the time (since you'll apparently bee-line a good 30 yards just to whack a teammate sometimes the way it's written).
It would probably be better fluffed as just terrible circumstances that just happen to use your attack/damage numbers. Rather than "I miss a punch, so I run across the field and 'accidentally' punch my ally" it's "I miss a punch and a gorram tree fell on him!"
Also, I get an insane JoJo vibe from our characters, so maybe we should have learned martial arts from an Italian man...
Backstory:
Reginald Barclay "Biff" Mezzengoz is the fourth son of the Mezzengoz family, the finest purveyor of fine wines and spirits in all the empire!
His family are well known for their sophistication, fine breeding, and shrewd business sense.
Unfortunately, Biff only got two thirds of that equation.
Numbers bored Biff, even from a young age, and he spent much of his time on the street with his friend Eddy roughhousing with him and the other boys when he should have been studying.
The army seemed a natural progression from there. Busting heads AND getting paid for it? A dream come true, especially when Eddy joined up with him.
But after their tour was up, the two decided to seek their fortune in the upstart American states.
Biff may not have much in the brains department, but it doesn't take much to strike it rich in the land of opportunity. Does it?
Bennies 2/3 | Wounds 0/3 | Parry 5 | Toughness 5 | Charisma 0 (2 if respect military) | Grit 1 | Pace 6 | Xp 5
I've got the his of Cornelius done, though I need a hook for him. I'm having trouble making this a character and not just a selection of numbers and abilities. :-(
Okey Biff, Mark the chinoitalian Baron Zeppeli as our master. We are masters of Hammond!
I'll write the backstory whenevet I can.
By the way, Mr. Master, would it be a problem if I take later the Arcane Background(Chi)? I dodn't have room for it now but I may get flashbacks of our training or some thug beat me and unlocked my third chakra or some b@!@#*&@.
The problem I have with Grim Servant o' Death is that it apparently make you a psycho killer, since it's pretty clear that you're attacking people ON PURPOSE whenever you have a chance and making it look like an accident a lot of the time (since you'll apparently bee-line a good 30 yards just to whack a teammate sometimes the way it's written).
It would probably be better fluffed as just terrible circumstances that just happen to use your attack/damage numbers. Rather than "I miss a punch, so I run across the field and 'accidentally' punch my ally" it's "I miss a punch and a gorram tree fell on him!"
Honestly, that's how I always spin Grim Servant o' Death when it comes up in games I've been in, as a Marshal or as a Player. Here's an example of what I mean. I treat is as more happenstance and very, very bad luck than intentionally attacking friends. Unarmed gets a little wonkier, but I'm sure we'll figure something out. I like your suggestion quite a bit, actually, and it feels right for the character.
New ideas for Scruffy? Well so far we've got a pair of boxers, a hexslinger, and a shaman. We don't have a Blessed, Huckster, or Voodoo practitioner yet as far as magic goes. We also don't have a straight gunslinger or rifleman. Of course, pretty much anything will do; Deadlands doesn't require a lot of "party balance." Having a healer is helpful but not necessary, and so long as you have at least one person decent with a gun you should be okay.
Also, I'm fine with taking Arcane Backgrounds or certain other Background Edges later on, as long as it makes sense. Unlocking the ability to harness his chi is fine by me.
Male Something similar to human, but one can never be sure without a DNA test Slacker - 3, Gamer - 2, Nerd - 2, Geek - 2; Eldrich Napper - 7
I did have an idea for a union soldier scout type. Just a dude with a rifle, a tin of dip, a bottle of whiskey, and a hankerin' to do right by the U.S. of A, greatest motherlovin country in the world, no matter what those dirty rebels have to say about it!
Figured he could be an officer, maybe charismatic leader type if that's an option.
I know Jon's building an outright huckster, so we have that. My back-up character is also a voodooist, so if something goes bad, I can bring that in too. He's a former Bayou Vermilion foreman who was high enough rank to learn the basics of voodoo magic. For Scruffy, I know we have at least 2 people that are pretty socially inclined at the moment. Claire's got good Charisma, but I don't really have any intention of putting a lot more into that. Jon's huckster is playing a rich as f*ck land owner though, so he's got Noble and will be taking good Persuasion type skills. We could use a good pure gunslinger or a Blessed pretty badly though.
On the concept of chi mastery, each chakra has a certain concept tied to it that requires certain things to open. It could be said that one of the chakra's was blocked until some event that opens Eddy's chakra and lets him punch people with magic fists.
Claire's good to go as is, though I'll need to pick out her greatest fear. It's honestly probably something to do with her quest for revenge. Either she'd be afraid of her father's murderer (she's been running from him for the better part of a decade after all) or maybe just afraid of failing her family when she's spent all that time trying to avenge them.
A former Union soldier could definitely work. A current conscript less so, but maybe he's gone into the law business to keep doing what he knows best: shooting the bad guys and furthering his country? A charismatic type is definitely doable as well, there are different Edges that can boost that and you can just take the skills, too. I've been thinking about dropping the requirement for Charismatic to Spirit d6, too, so that's an option if you don't want to tank something else to get there. And of course there's always Command, and I believe a Professional Edge in the base Deadlands book.
