janusmaxwell
2016-02-28, 04:41 PM
Currently in a classic Deadlands campaign and having a lot of fun with it, save for when Arenji cackles maniacally and I roll nothing but 2's on 5d12.
As our Marshal is using Dime novels and the attached adventures to said dime novels for our sessions, there is downtime between modules so he can read the next one and deal with school. I had the idea about 2 hours ago to have a one-shot encounter in the downtime between our last session and the next one, and I'm gonna ask him if we can have just a one-off little project for some XP and general heroism.
A part of this idea is that I would be marshalling the one-off, because while I enjoy the concept of DM'ing and would love to do it regularly...I'm not that experienced and the one game I tried to run imploded fairly quickly. Basically, I tried to run a homemade setting from scratch while dealing with a ----load of other issues and lost confidence after the first session. The players had a lot of fun, I just got overwhelmed
So, I give the real Marshal a break, try a one-off session of being a DM and the group gains some experience (Save for my character, as I don't know if I'd be comfortable making my guy a DMPC. Best to avoid the temptation, neh?)
The details of the one off are as follows:
While traveling by train through Illinois, the group has to disembark when the train has to stop due to Mourning Mist covering the tracks.
From the DL monster manual, it's a cloud of ghosts that arises from battlefields which became terrible massacres due to cowardly retreats or mutinies. The Mist will have an anchor symbolic to the cause of the massacre (The trumpet that sounded the call for retreat, for example) and cannot be destroyed unless a Blessed or an Indian Shaman purifies the anchor. While frightening, the Mist actively seeks to be dispelled, but the only way for it 'ask' for someone to find the anchor is by projecting images of the horrific slaughter into the mind of the victim, which might scare them enough to kill them.
That "seeks to be dispelled" is why it's covering the train tracks.
The group goes to a nearby town and asks about the Mist, and they are told it popped up when the Union lost a really nasty fight nearby, although the mists appearance did drive off the Confederates before they could capitalize on the victory. Further investigation reveals that the Union loss was due to a regiment turning on their commander, causing the collapse of the entire line.
Coming up with a reason for the betrayal. Most obvious would be the commander was a ---hole, but what if it was a case where the commander was a good guy and his soldiers were the ---holes?
The group finds out that the mist can be 'killed', but only once per day, and the only true way to destroy it is via shamanic ritual or holy exorcism.
HOW the group is supposed to find out that knowledge, short of the obvious "Somebody with a high Knowledge: Occult check makes a good roll". The 2 issues is that A: my character has the best Kn: Occult and I don't want to lead the group by the nose, and B: The information on the Anchors and everything are supposed to be Marshal-level knowledge, so making it just a DC 11 check seems too easy.
There are a group of Indians living nearby and a priest in town. Townsfolk and tribe don't necessarily like each other, but convincing both the NPC Blessed and the Shaman to find the anchor and dispell the mist is totally doable and the encouraged option, with both the NPC's coming with their own groupies. (a posse for the Blessed, a bunch of braves for the Shaman.)
The groups look for the anchor, with the hints/main assumption being "The gun that fired the first shot into the Commander's back." to those who are told the significance of the mist and it's origin.
A deck of playing cards from the Union soldiers who used their card games as time to plot their mutiny. When touched by the Mist, the player or NPC will see a group of soldiers holding playing cards in their hands and hear them talking about how they plan to make their getaway after killing the commander. Assuming they survive the Terror check, of course.
Whether real anchor or the red-herring, when one of the NPC's prepares to cleanse the Mist, another NPC from the other group kills the NPC and asks their leader to walk away.
Option A: Indian Brave kills Blessed, then asks Shaman to let the white men suffer for their crimes.
Option B: one of the posse shoots the Shaman and tells the Blessed they can possibly use the anchor and the mist to get rid of the troublesome Heathens
I'm leaning towards Option A.
Whether Shaman or Preacher, their reaction will be the same: Denounce the offender for stabbing someone in the back, when they are trying to destroy a monster that only exists because of a cowardly betrayal. Afterwards, they pay their respects/ask forgiveness for the fallen man and move on.
The branching plots for resolution are as follows (UNLESS only 1 of the two 'purifiers' is asked to assist or the Party has a Shaman or a Blessed to perform the ritual themselves)
After being denounced by the Shaman or Blessed, the betrayer is killed and they perform the ritual to cleanse the anchor. (If the Shaman, he'll Quickdraw a warclub and cave in the brave's skull. If the Blessed, another member of the posse will shoot the backstabber dead.)
Would it be in line for a pissed off Indian Shaman to kill another member of the tribe in such a circumstance? While I could argue the Shaman and Priest respecting each other or even being buddies, it'd feel cheap if I didn't tryto make the reaction align with their culture.
If the party speaks up/throws in their two cents on the Brave or Posse member being a backstabbing moron and makes the successful Overawe/Persuasion check, they will have an epiphany and stand down, resulting in Bonus XP for the group for finding a non-lethal solution. There will be negatives to the check if the PC making the check isn't the same race as the betrayer, but bonuses if the PC pulls the "This thing exists because someone was stabbed in the back, you moron!!!", they'll get bonuses to their check.
If the betrayal happens before the real anchor is found, there is confusion and then a mad scramble to find the real anchor as the Mourning Mist descends on the group, like it was drawn by an act similar to the one that spawned it. Assuming an NPC or a PC nut-up and risk wetting their pants by getting a head full of "OH GOD IT"S HORRIBLE!" to find out what the anchor is, it get's purified and the day is saved.
Yeah, I'm making that last part up regarding the behavior of the Mist, but it adds a bit of tension, eh?
If the Indian Brave killed the Blessed and is given a verbal dope-smack by the party, they will try to communicate with the Mist to find out what the real anchor as a way to make amends. My sense of DRAMA wants this moment to be an Auto-fail on the Terror check, where the Brave suffers a heartattack and manages to gasp out what he saw/what the real anchor is before keeling over.
So, that's my one shot. Other fluffy stuff, like the reactions from the town depending on the branching paths, and finer details like "Whether the Mist will hound the party/group while they're combing the battlefield and possibly need to be distracted" would also be helpful.
So...what do y'all think?
We DO have a Blessed and a Shaman, along with a Harrowed and a Mad Scientist (me), so this is probably a coffee-table encounter once the checks are made for "Oh, that's how we get rid of it.", but I figured I'd be thorough.
As our Marshal is using Dime novels and the attached adventures to said dime novels for our sessions, there is downtime between modules so he can read the next one and deal with school. I had the idea about 2 hours ago to have a one-shot encounter in the downtime between our last session and the next one, and I'm gonna ask him if we can have just a one-off little project for some XP and general heroism.
A part of this idea is that I would be marshalling the one-off, because while I enjoy the concept of DM'ing and would love to do it regularly...I'm not that experienced and the one game I tried to run imploded fairly quickly. Basically, I tried to run a homemade setting from scratch while dealing with a ----load of other issues and lost confidence after the first session. The players had a lot of fun, I just got overwhelmed
So, I give the real Marshal a break, try a one-off session of being a DM and the group gains some experience (Save for my character, as I don't know if I'd be comfortable making my guy a DMPC. Best to avoid the temptation, neh?)
The details of the one off are as follows:
While traveling by train through Illinois, the group has to disembark when the train has to stop due to Mourning Mist covering the tracks.
From the DL monster manual, it's a cloud of ghosts that arises from battlefields which became terrible massacres due to cowardly retreats or mutinies. The Mist will have an anchor symbolic to the cause of the massacre (The trumpet that sounded the call for retreat, for example) and cannot be destroyed unless a Blessed or an Indian Shaman purifies the anchor. While frightening, the Mist actively seeks to be dispelled, but the only way for it 'ask' for someone to find the anchor is by projecting images of the horrific slaughter into the mind of the victim, which might scare them enough to kill them.
That "seeks to be dispelled" is why it's covering the train tracks.
The group goes to a nearby town and asks about the Mist, and they are told it popped up when the Union lost a really nasty fight nearby, although the mists appearance did drive off the Confederates before they could capitalize on the victory. Further investigation reveals that the Union loss was due to a regiment turning on their commander, causing the collapse of the entire line.
Coming up with a reason for the betrayal. Most obvious would be the commander was a ---hole, but what if it was a case where the commander was a good guy and his soldiers were the ---holes?
The group finds out that the mist can be 'killed', but only once per day, and the only true way to destroy it is via shamanic ritual or holy exorcism.
HOW the group is supposed to find out that knowledge, short of the obvious "Somebody with a high Knowledge: Occult check makes a good roll". The 2 issues is that A: my character has the best Kn: Occult and I don't want to lead the group by the nose, and B: The information on the Anchors and everything are supposed to be Marshal-level knowledge, so making it just a DC 11 check seems too easy.
There are a group of Indians living nearby and a priest in town. Townsfolk and tribe don't necessarily like each other, but convincing both the NPC Blessed and the Shaman to find the anchor and dispell the mist is totally doable and the encouraged option, with both the NPC's coming with their own groupies. (a posse for the Blessed, a bunch of braves for the Shaman.)
The groups look for the anchor, with the hints/main assumption being "The gun that fired the first shot into the Commander's back." to those who are told the significance of the mist and it's origin.
A deck of playing cards from the Union soldiers who used their card games as time to plot their mutiny. When touched by the Mist, the player or NPC will see a group of soldiers holding playing cards in their hands and hear them talking about how they plan to make their getaway after killing the commander. Assuming they survive the Terror check, of course.
Whether real anchor or the red-herring, when one of the NPC's prepares to cleanse the Mist, another NPC from the other group kills the NPC and asks their leader to walk away.
Option A: Indian Brave kills Blessed, then asks Shaman to let the white men suffer for their crimes.
Option B: one of the posse shoots the Shaman and tells the Blessed they can possibly use the anchor and the mist to get rid of the troublesome Heathens
I'm leaning towards Option A.
Whether Shaman or Preacher, their reaction will be the same: Denounce the offender for stabbing someone in the back, when they are trying to destroy a monster that only exists because of a cowardly betrayal. Afterwards, they pay their respects/ask forgiveness for the fallen man and move on.
The branching plots for resolution are as follows (UNLESS only 1 of the two 'purifiers' is asked to assist or the Party has a Shaman or a Blessed to perform the ritual themselves)
After being denounced by the Shaman or Blessed, the betrayer is killed and they perform the ritual to cleanse the anchor. (If the Shaman, he'll Quickdraw a warclub and cave in the brave's skull. If the Blessed, another member of the posse will shoot the backstabber dead.)
Would it be in line for a pissed off Indian Shaman to kill another member of the tribe in such a circumstance? While I could argue the Shaman and Priest respecting each other or even being buddies, it'd feel cheap if I didn't tryto make the reaction align with their culture.
If the party speaks up/throws in their two cents on the Brave or Posse member being a backstabbing moron and makes the successful Overawe/Persuasion check, they will have an epiphany and stand down, resulting in Bonus XP for the group for finding a non-lethal solution. There will be negatives to the check if the PC making the check isn't the same race as the betrayer, but bonuses if the PC pulls the "This thing exists because someone was stabbed in the back, you moron!!!", they'll get bonuses to their check.
If the betrayal happens before the real anchor is found, there is confusion and then a mad scramble to find the real anchor as the Mourning Mist descends on the group, like it was drawn by an act similar to the one that spawned it. Assuming an NPC or a PC nut-up and risk wetting their pants by getting a head full of "OH GOD IT"S HORRIBLE!" to find out what the anchor is, it get's purified and the day is saved.
Yeah, I'm making that last part up regarding the behavior of the Mist, but it adds a bit of tension, eh?
If the Indian Brave killed the Blessed and is given a verbal dope-smack by the party, they will try to communicate with the Mist to find out what the real anchor as a way to make amends. My sense of DRAMA wants this moment to be an Auto-fail on the Terror check, where the Brave suffers a heartattack and manages to gasp out what he saw/what the real anchor is before keeling over.
So, that's my one shot. Other fluffy stuff, like the reactions from the town depending on the branching paths, and finer details like "Whether the Mist will hound the party/group while they're combing the battlefield and possibly need to be distracted" would also be helpful.
So...what do y'all think?
We DO have a Blessed and a Shaman, along with a Harrowed and a Mad Scientist (me), so this is probably a coffee-table encounter once the checks are made for "Oh, that's how we get rid of it.", but I figured I'd be thorough.