Tuesday, May 30, 2017

Deadlands: The Adventure Begins

A gunfighter, a mad scientist, and a Catholic priest walk into a train station...

That's how our adventure began; the scientist was looking for a way west, and trying to save his fuel. The priest was heading west to save the lost. The gunfighter... well, he was bored, probably.

The three met up on a train out of Longview, Texas, and headed to Dallas; on the way, they encountered a drifter who had been possessed by... something. He killed a child, then engaged them in a fight, ranging across the top of the train. Though he took quite a few shots, he seemed hardly phased by them; finally, they shot him hard enough to knock him off the train.

They searched high and low, including underneath the train, but there were no signs of the creature. Hopefully, that is the last they would see if him.

At the station in Dallas, Hector (the gunfighter) found a flyer, asking for assistance in guarding a shipment. The mad scientist (Dr. Robert Seigal) saw a different flyer, advertising a science fair in Salt Lake City! Overjoyed, he had his car loaded back onto the train, and was happy to assist Hector in guarding the train. The priest, realizing they would need spiritual oversight, signed on as well.

The trip headed back east, to where the Dixie Line met up with the Black River Line. At that station, Hector spotted a familiar face - on a wanted poster. Two friends of his were wanted for $500, and a third gunman - likely Hector - was wanted for $1000! He shrugged, grabbed the posters as a souvenir, and boarded the train. The details of the train hold-up he was wanted for were a bit hazy, but the name Baron Simone LaCroix seemed familiar.

The journey as far as Kansas's border was uneventful. Once they were there, though, the first water station they encountered was unmanned; they found signs of a struggle, and eventually, the station-master, stuffed into the lone outhouse. Spooked, they finally gave the train the go-ahead, refueled, and headed onward.

Their next encounter was in Varney Flats, a one-horse town run by a mayor with lofty goals but lowly means. The engineer told the posse they should stay in town; the train had a few pick-ups and drop-offs to make, and their presence wasn't needed. They left the passenger cars on a side track, taking the other cars with them.

Meanwhile, the sheriff of Varney Flats was missing, and the deputy was worried that the Mayor would try to lynch his prisoner - a nasty brute. Hector and the mad scientist went searching for the sheriff, but only found an abandoned homestead, and some familiar tracks - the same they had seen at the water station!

Returning to town, they learned from the priest (Wilhelm Metzger) that the mayor was planning on lynching the lone prisoner - a nasty fellow, to be sure. Hector was all for standing aside, but the priest talked him out of it. As the deputy headed for hills, the mayor stepped up to argue with the posse...

It didn't go well. The mayor, surrounded by friends, was sure he had the fighters outnumbered; but the fast guns of Hector and the mounted gatling gun on the mad scientist's steam-wagon proved far overwhelming to the meager weapons of the townsfolk. In seconds, the mayor and all but two of his thugs were dead.

Hector trussed up the minions, then headed to the saloon. The mad scientist returned to tinkering with his wagon, and the priest kept an eye on the three prisoners. Near 1 AM, a shriek broke the quiet night. Five minutes later, it sounded again, closer - a train whistle! The train pulled into the station, and as the brakes hissed, a shrill scream tore through the night air. A moment later, the train's doors opened, and a flood of pale, sharp-toothed creatures poured out - vampires!

The Night Train had reached the station!

Welcome!

This blog is a catch-all, a holding spot for the various RPGs I am, have, and will be running. The first RPG I ran, Shifting Horizon, ran its course in August of 2016. The ongoing (as of the time of this blog, anyway) RPG I'm running, Mareten: ACKS, picked up from there, and has been running nigh-on weekly ever since.

However, as much as I love RPGs, I'm feeling a little guilty about starting so many blogs. What I really need is a catch-all, and thus, this blog was born. Don't worry - I'm still going to keep up with the ACKS blog. This is for everything else. Right now, I've got a few things planned for the future, and plenty more to follow up with:
  • Currently Running:
    • ACKS
    • Deadlands Classic
  • Campaigns planned for:
    • Paranoia
    • Caveman (yes, I'm still working on it, it'll happen one day)
    • Dreamworld (working on this, too!)
    • Dresden Files
  • Manuals for:
    • AtomicRobo
    • Mistborn
    • Laundry Files
    • LEGO Wars
    • Savage Worlds
This summer, I'm running my ACKS campaign and a new Deadlands Classic campaign, and will likely do a few one-shots with Paranoia and others. However... I can't keep up a blog for each, as interesting as that would be. Instead, I'm going to keep ACKS on its own blog, and use this for everything else.

And with that, I'm off to write a Deadlands blog! Well, eventually. I don't have power (or internet) at home, because of the recent storms. But I'll get around to it!