30 Days of GameMastering--Day 29!

Just two more entries to go in Lindevi's "30 Days of GameMastering" challenge!  Let's dive right in!

Teaching the game:  how do you sell players on the system while running a demo or convention game?

While I don't run games online, I do run them at conventions, as you followers of this blog well know.   Even before starting Cold Steel Wardens, I demoed WEGS and Pittsburgh 68, to say nothing of my numerous convention games at Origins and the many local conventions here in the Miami Valley.

Everyone has a different schtick!
Keep your PCs unique!

Firstly, I make sure to play up the major themes and archetypes in any game that I'm running.  This helps provide your players a jumping-off point, as well as helps them to understand the setting better.  For CSW, my pre-generated characters all echo already-existing comics characters and I describe them as such.  Dusk, for instance, is an unabashed pastiche of Nightwing, while Veritas is a slightly less psychotic Rorschach.   In my Deadlands one-shots, I included very archetypal Old West characters:  a big-game hunter, a riverboat gambler, a 'lady of the night', and an Indian ambassador.

However, this emphasis shouldn't just extend to your pre-generated PCs.  Rather, you should ensure that your adventure itself emphasizes the core themes of the setting.  One of my most successful convention games--the Deadlands one-shot included over in my free gaming materials:  "Westbound on the San Juan Express"--played this angle up with emphasis.  "Westbound..." emphasized the alternate history angle of the setting, as the PCs were hired to escort Samuel Clemens to Denver to deliver a speech, but also touched on the occult/horror theme, as the game also featured a mysterious Harrowed and a batch of walkin' dead, hidden away in the cargo cars.

I also try to ensure that PCs all have interesting, unique things to do and don't step on one another's toes.  In my "Reno Six-Pack" of Hell on Earth adventurers, I do include three 'spellcasters', but all three use different powers:  the Templar focuses on healing and self-buff powers, the Doomsayer blasts things with radioactive energy, and the Junker has Tesla-based gadgetry.  Even though the mechanics of their spellcasting is nominally the same, their form and function differ greatly, providing niche protection and covering unique bases.  Further, the non-caster characters cover numerous unique skills.  The Road Warrior, obviously, is the best at driving and piloting checks, but is also a terror in melee, wielding a mini-chainsaw.  The Harrowed gunslinger makes for an expert marksman, but is also a capable tracker and scout.

Taking the pain out of the system's learning curve also helps aid play.  After players pick characters in a CSW one-shot, I walk them through the character sheet, using one of the non-chosen characters.  In doing so, I also demonstrate what certain rolls look like, particularly showing how certain modifiers (for CSW, mainly Skill Specialties) fit into a given roll.  This tends to speed things up, though I often start each one-shot with an 'easy' encounter, where the players can get their feet wet in an environment that isn't going to harm them drastically.

Lastly?  Remember it's just a game.  For a one-shot--especially at a convention--it's a much better idea to fudge some rules for the sake of the game moving forward and players having fun.  Getting hung up in minutia, particularly with new players, isn't worth the hassle.  Make sure everyone's having a good time and that they leave the table satisfied.

In Which The Warlock Posts Another Freebie...

It's been a while since I've updated my Free Open Gaming Materials, so it's high time that I give you guys another treat.  And, since I'm running this one over at Wittenberg this weekend, it seemed fitting to toss up this one:

Killer Clowns 2:  Return to Dempsey Islands--an adventure for Hell on Earth Reloaded.

The original Killer Clowns module--a Hell on Earth "Dime Novel" romp by the spectacular John Goff--made for a great trip through a haunted amusement park, complete with the titular killer clown automatons.  However, the adventure was fairly short (as most Dime Novels were) and didn't go deeply into the amusement park theme.  And, considering that yours truly used to work in an amusement park...I couldn't help but take a shot at this one!

The above link has all the elements you'd need to run this adventure:  a full outline of the scenario, stats for all kinds of nasty automatons in the park (including variants for the base killer clown, based on which "area" of the park your wasters are in), a time-charting table, a park map, and even a new table for scavenging items in the park.

This scenario works great with the "Reno Six-Pack" of pre-gens I've already posted in Open Gaming Materials folder.
And, of course, if you're in the Springfield area this Friday, you're welcome to stop on by!

In Which The Warlock Returns From Hiatus...

So, it's been a while!

I decided to take off some time following the ChristmaHannuKwanzaakah holiday, so that I could recover from the fatigue of running the Cold Steel Wardens Kickstarter and focus on preparing the beta rules draft for KS backers.  While I'd like to say that I had a relaxing time off...well, it hasn't really been that, now has it?

A fantastic art piece for CSW, by Eric Douthitt.
This will become the opening "splash page",
at the start of the Equipment chapter!

Art direction's taken up a significant amount of my time, this past month, as it's really not something I've ever done before.  While I have a stable of capable, talented artists, I've been working to provide them quality, thorough notes on what I'm looking for to make Cold Steel Wardens a reality.  The art pieces that have been coming in, so far, have really been impressive.  There's almost a noir-quality about them, inked in black and white, which really complement the mood of the game brilliantly.  While I've only gotten a few pieces in, the art will be mounting up as we start approaching the end of March!

Earlier this month--and much to the detriment of my health, after I came down with an upper respiratory infection!--my editors and I held our "staff meeting" where we hammered out quite a few of the niggling issues surrounding CSW.  One of these was a chapter that I was particularly proud of, outlining a history of the Five Ages of Comics, but is probably going to get the axe.  While the content is solid, it reads too much like a textbook or a dissertation, rather than a rule-book   And, while the discussion is important, there's just no place for it when discussing rules, GMing and providing an evocative setting.

Almost unsurprisingly, we haven't exactly gotten a whole lot of gaming in over the past few weeks.  While we've managed to slide in a few sessions of Hell on Earth--including a great improv session in which the PlatinumChick almost managed to take out two party members in one combat!--they've been few and far between.  I did pick up a new game:  the co-operative superhero rumble Sentinels of the Multiverse.  You can be sure to expect a full review, once we get a play-through in!

And, most excitingly, I'm locked and loaded for this year's convention schedule!  Starting in March, the blitz for Cold Steel Wardens begins, as I'll be heading all over the Ohio Valley running demos and full investigative session of the first ever Iron Age Superheroes game.  Stay tuned to see the schedule!

In Which The Warlock Avenges the End of the World...

With our sessions of "The Flood" now at the end, our Friday night group has had one major question for a while:  What comes next?!

Well, the answer is a very positive one for me.  The PlatinumChick has opted to take the GMing reins for a while and will be running Hell on Earth Reloaded!

I thought long and hard on my character concept for this one, but with so many options, I found it truly hard to decide!  I toyed with the idea of a Heretic Doomsayer for a while, and even thought of running a kung-fu Librarian for a time.  But, eventually, I came up with this--my newest creation:


Jason Arrington was a corporal in the US Marine Corps before the Big Bang. While he hadn't seen much combat duty, his time spent as an artillery repairman on bases throughout Ohio and Michigan made him more than technologically apt. It also provided Jason a good deal of free time, during which he indulged in his favorite hobby: reading comic books. 

Jason's favorite character was Hawkeye, the brash archer from Marvel's Avengers. When asked why, Jason was quick to reply, "Because he's always got a trick up his sleeve..." 

When the Union began implementing Operation Damocles Soldier, Jason was one of the recruits selected, due to his technical expertise. However, when Jason was placed in cryogenic stasis, something went slightly amiss. Maybe the oxygen flow to Jason's brain wasnt quite right. Maybe some interfering gremlin introduced some technological mischief. 

Welcome to the Wasted West, Mr. Barton! 

Regardless, when Jason awoke after the Big Bang, the entire cryo-shelter was blown to smithereens. Jason himself was barely clothed, could not remember much to save his life, and could hardly walk due to muscle atrophy. Crawling back into the ruins of the cryo-shelter, Jason began scavenging all he could and began putting together the pieces of his awakening...just not in the right order. 

You see, Jason now believes wholeheartedly that he is Clint Barton, the peerless archer of Marvel fame. Finding a compound bow--a hunting bow left in a locker by a careless sergeant--Jason convinced himself that he had survived an attack on a top secret SHIELD facility, and that he is the only surviving Avenger. 

Jason/Clint thinks he has things pieced together, though his perception is warped and stilted. He believes that Apocalypse (the Marvel mutant menace) caused the devastation in the world and that his Four Horsemen are actually corrupted versions of former heroes, who can be redeemed. (Obviously, we know this not to be the case.). Jason regularly calls ghost rock "vibranium" and uses a means at his disposal to try to contact non-existent heroes like Tony Stark, Thor, or the X-Men. 

The tech spirits in the Hunting Grounds have done nothing but foster this grand delusion, granting Jason the abilities of a Junker, which manifest as Jason/Clint salvaging parts to "build new arrowheads" and piece together the gadgets Jason remembers from countless comics. Grapnel arrows, stun arrows, explosive-tipped arrows...if they're in the comics, they're in Jason's subconscious, and they're in his quiver. 

Jason/Clint wants desperately to build a new SHIELD and, with it, a new Avengers team, in the hopes to avenge his losses and take down (the totally fictitious) Apocalypse. So far, Jason's only clue has been a set of dog-tags, found upon his awakening. 

The tags belong to a 1st Lieutenant Gordon Eriksen. Eriksen was the commander of the Damocles facility where Jason was frozen, and may be the one man who knows Jason's true identity. Unfortunately, Eriksen has been turned into a Combine cyborg... 


Honestly, I can't wait to play this character.  Nothing like bringing a bit of cross-genre action to the Wasted West!

Oh, and one last thing!  If you're a Savage Worlds fan and you haven't supported Journeyman Games' Wild Card Creator Kickstarter yet, your last chance is going to be this week!  Three days left, and we're only about $150 short of the final stretch goal--full iPad and Android support.  Check the link on the right sidebar to donate!

In Which The Warlock States the Importance of an NPC...

As any gamer can tell you, NPCs tend to be fairly important to any game.  But, in the best of games, those NPCs take on lives of their own.  I've had quite a few great NPCs in my game--the GodDamned Jim Bob comes immediately to mind, as do Thulmir Quent and Elladan RedHand, though a non-human NPC seems to be taking charge of the situation in my most recent games.

Allow me to explain:  with the WittGuild starting back up and with games kicking into gear, it was only fitting to be able to throw down a game for the incoming frosh and the returning students. Hoping to get a full playtest in, I brought out "Killer Clowns 2:  Return to the Dempsey Islands", with three players entering the park, in search of those elusive canister reactors.

Felix the Bobcat, survivor of the Big Bang.
Cross this cat at your peril!

Here's where things get messy, though.  You see, if you've perused my "Reno Six-Pack", you might have noticed that the Librarian character, Garrett Walker, has a friend:  Felix, his bobcat animal companion.

When I first ran "Ravenous in Reno", Chaotic Frederick played Garrett.  And, while his actual waster couldn't hit the broad side of a barn, Felix seemed to be nothing short of a Cuisinart with the attitude of an angry velociraptor.  The bobcat never seemed to miss, always dealt appreciable damage, and never managed to take a wound!  While the first run of "Ravenous in Reno" was meant to be a deliberate TPK session, Felix managed to escape from the final battle before being eaten!

So, let's flash forward to this past week.  With my three players ready to go, I wasn't surprised to see one of them pick up Garrett and his feline buddy.  But, as the game proceeded, it swiftly became obvious:  Felix was the true leader of that posse!  That cat totaled nearly twice the kills of any other member of the posse, including the scenario's final boss, whom he ripped apart with the help of the infamous "Make No Mistake" Adventure Card.

I was astounded!  Felix the bobcat's legend lives on!

I'll be interested to see if this trend continues, should I run this scenario on next year's convention circuit.  I deliberately made each of the Reno Six-Pack to have strengths--Edward Castellan is a beast in melee, Doc Neutron is the most dangerous at range, The Main Man Marlow is the vehicles expert and a good secondary tank--but Walker's greatest strength has always been his Knowledge skills, coupled with Felix.  I don't believe that, statistically, Felix is too strong.  It just seems that this cat's luck never really runs out!

In Which The Warlock Preps and Ponders...

Just a short entry this time, friends and neighbors, as I'm getting prepped for my final convention of the year:  GenCon Indy.

Like last year, I'll be running The Laundry for Cubicle 7 Entertainment.  This time around, our intrepid Laundry agents are set to trek off to exotic Buranda in search of a mysterious blade associated with a nefarious cult.  Will they survive, or is CASE NIGHTMARE GREEN right around the corner?  Come play this weekend and find out!

I also just wrapped up on a new project, which I had mentioned a few posts ago.  You see, with a much-abbreviated convention season this year, I felt somewhat left out of my usual ritual of scenario writing.  But, with the rules for Hell on Earth coming out so recently, I felt that it was time to make a tribute to my favorite  of the Hell on Earth Classic scenarios:

Killer Clowns!
a classic Hell on Earth adventure by John Goff

Yes, that's right, children!  It's time for another visit to Dempsey Islands!  Except, this time, you'll be visiting the West Coast islands.  Try your luck at Nevada Smith's Shootin' Gallery, ride the Iron Dragon and race your way through Junkyard Station, and enjoy a leisurely soak in The Maelstrom wave pool...just don't hope to leave the park alive!

I'm still playtesting this module with my Friday group, so I'm going to hang onto it for a little bit for the sake of revisions and the like.  But, expect to see "Killer Clowns 2:  Return to Dempsey Islands" in my "Bag of Holding" very soon.  And I've already decided that I'll be running this one next year at Origins' "Savage Saturday Night".

Oh, and one last thing!  If you haven't yet donated to Will's "Wild Card Creator" Kickstarter, you're missing out!  He's already up to his base funding goal and is already gunning hard on his first stretch goal:  a 150 piece art pack by noted Savage artist Storn Cook.  Give him your support, fellow gamers!  It's a fantastic, revolutionary product that's going to be well worth the sticker price.

No weekend entry this time, kids!  I'll see you in Indy!

In Which The Warlock Polishes off the Six-Pack...

Whew!  Fitting title for this one today, cats and kittens.  The PlatinumChick and I love entertaining, and we just held our mid-summer barbeque last night.  Friends of ours streamed in from all over Ohio to raise a glass, enjoy some burgers and brats, and enjoy a glorious fire in our firepit.  Luckily enough for us, we haven't been under a burn ban!

But, all that hasn't stopped me from finishing out a six-pack of a different sort!  Just a few moments ago, I've finished off my present to you, faithful readers:  the final touches on the "Reno Six-Pack"--a ready to play set of six pre-generated characters for Hell on Earth Reloaded setting by Pinnacle Entertainment.

You can access the full Reno Six-Pack through this link:  Reno Six-Pack!

Inside, you'll find our six adventurers:

• Doc Neutron--a Heretic Doomsayer
• "The Main Man" Marlow--a chainsaw-wielding road warrior
• Edward Castellan--a mighty Templar
• Carrie Ann Waltrip--a Harrowed gunslinger
• Leslie Marvin--a plucky Junker
• Garrett Walker--an intrepid Librarian, with his faithful companion Felix, the Bobcat

All six characters are built at Veteran tier (40 XP) and are equipped and ready to play.  Naturally, you'll need the Hell on Earth Reloaded book and Savage Worlds Deluxe to make the most of these.

Enjoy, gang!

In Which The Warlock Presents The Main Man...

I finished him up a little early, so I figured, "why not?!" 

Here's my latest entry in my Reno Six-Pack:  "The Main Man" Marlow!

And, if you missed out on his predecessor, Doc Neutron, here's the link for the full stack!

In Which The Warlock Contemplates a Cluster of Points...

Friends and neighbors, it's hot here.  Whooo, man, is it hot!  Too hot to think, all told.  So, mes amices, while I prep your next participant in my ongoing Hell on Earth series, here's some random points!

• As per my usual, I've all but taken on a nocturnal schedule here in the summer.  I stay up late, either working on Cold Steel Wardens or playing Diablo III, then go to sleep in the early morning.  Most people tend to think I'm a little nuts, but it tends to work for me.  I stay out of the oppressive heat of the morning, and still manage to be productive.  Besides, I'm more of a night-owl anyway!
• My long-running (and almost as long on hiatus!) campaign of "The Flood" is finally reaching its conclusion.  After a stopover at Fort 51 with "Mr. Eddington" and "Mr. Andrew Lane", my posse has only two glyphs to find--which they've already located and mapped out--before triggering the titular flood in Lost Angels.  While I've been enjoying this game through and through, it makes me wonder what we're going to be doing next.  The PlatinumChick has mentioned the possibility of running Hell on Earth, and I'm still contemplating that All For One: Regime Diabolique game, but nothing's concrete yet.  We'd better get our ducks in a row:  we only have about 3 sessions left in Deadlands!
• Instead of braving the heat and traffic on the 4th of July, the PlatinumChick and I decided to go see Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.  Figuring it'd be a better bet than the up-and-down Amazing Spider-Man, we weren't disappointed in any sense of the word.  It's an over-the top action flick with a goofy premise and some great scenes. In fact, there's a point near the end that I'd swear is ripped straight from John Goff's infamous Night Train scenario.  Not that that's a bad thing, mind you!   Go give it a run, if you find yourself near a theater!
• What's in a name?  In the hopes of taking a serious run at seeing myself in print, I've been planning on incorporating (most likely through an LLC) in the very near future.  However, in doing so, it occurs to me how important naming my company will be.  Obviously, you want a name that will stand out, but will also be able to be taken seriously.  I've come up with one idea which has tested well, but I'll keep under my hat for the time being...
• It appears that, following the current "Avengers vs. X-Men" crossover event, Marvel appears to be headed towards some restructuring.  While I'm sad to see Brian Michael Bendis leave the core Avengers books, Johnathan Hickman makes for a fantastic heir to the big chair.  That said, it makes me wonder who will be taking up Fantastic Four!  In either case, the PlatinumChick will no doubt be happy with the upcoming Captain Marvel ongoing series.  I'm eager to read that one myself!

I think that's about all my brain can take before baking, friends and neighbors!  Next entry, you'll meet "The Main Man" Marlow!  Until then!

In Which The Warlock Posts a Pre-Gen...

A few weeks ago, DigitalKat decided to put out a great little utility for all those Savage Worlds/Deadlands players:  a folio of eight pre-generated archetypal characters, complete with backgrounds and motivations,  ready to use in your favorite one-sheet or plot-point campaign.

Her work is really spectacular and it served as a really great idea so, deciding that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery...the recent release of Hell on Earth really needs some supplements, like pre-generated characters!

As such, enjoy the first of the pre-gens I originally created for my classic "Ravenous in Reno" scenario, now updated for the Hell on Earth Reloaded rule-set!

If you'd like me to complete the set, just drop me a comment down below.  If I get enough interest, I'll write up the full posse for you!

"Doc Neutron"--Heretic Doomsayer!

The Warlock's Review: Hell on Earth Reloaded (First Impressions)

Boy, oh boy! 

I really wasn't expecting this to come out so quickly, or so stealthily for that matter.  While I'm a fairly frequent poster on the Pinnacle Entertainment message boards, I'm not sure anyone not on the inside really anticipated such a quick release for Hell on Earth Reloaded--the long-awaited "reloading" of the post-apocalyptic Deadlands sequel game.

As you might remember, I've been pretty psyched for this release for quite a while.  Since picking up the Hell on Earth original editions at Origins last year--and getting them signed by Shane Lacy Hensley!--I'd been looking forward to seeing a "Reloaded" style Savage Worlds edition.

This was only further confirmed in my mind after running my "Ravenous in Reno" scenario both for my home Friday night group and at WittCon IX.  While the sheer amount of background info on the Hell on Earth world is worth having and reading, the clunkiness of the original rule-set was a bit alarming, after enjoying the increased speed and clarity of the Savage Worlds rules.

Hell on Earth Reloaded
Now available at the Pinnacle Entertainment Store

Firstly, this book is gorgeous.  While maintaining the custom of using a combination of new art and art from prior "classic" supplements, the layout of HoER is immaculate.  It's easy to read, easy to follow, and comes with a gloriously voluminous index.  The book has numerous sidebars which are set off with grimy, jagged steel and yellow and black 'caution' tape.  The art simply oozes a feel of "after the bomb," which perfectly fits with the genre's idiom.

Content-wise, the book is pretty much what you'd expect:  mainly setting information, detailing power groups and locations in the Wasted West, compiling and condensing the numerous classic volumes into a single book.  While this seems to be an onerous task, HoER does a more than adequate job of trimming the fat, while still including some of the great encounters of the earlier game.  Some of my personal favorites--DempseyWorld and the Mall of America--were left intact, which definitely scored bonus points in my book!

Mechanically, many of the biggest changes came in terms of the Arcane Backgrounds.  HoER contains five rejuvenated backgrounds:  the Templar, Doomsayer, Syker, Toxic Shaman and Junkers.  I was pleased to see how these were handled--while all of the five operate on power points, each background has unique elements that reinforce their traits.  Templars, for example, automatically gain the "Improved Trademark Weapon" edge for their starting sword, but can only cast spells (aside from Healing) on themselves.  Junkers only start with a single device, but start the game with the Gadgeteer edge automatically, and can distill 'spook juice' (ghost-rock powered gasoline) with enough time and supplies.  Sykers and Doomsayers each get access to unique powers, accessible to no other arcane background.

A heretic Doomsayer, ready to nuke some
 unlucky waster in the Wasted West!

This wasn't to say that Hell on Earth Reloaded wasn't without its own surprises, though.  Firstly, I was a bit shocked to see the timeline advance, after the events of the classic adventure "The Unity".  That said, the timeline doesn't advance very far--only 6 months--though the setting does seem more hopeful, now that the Reckoners have been whisked away.  But, with numerous threats still waiting in the wings--Raven, the Combine, and numerous others--there's plenty for your survivors to do!

Another slightly shocking element that I found in HoER came in the fact that you could, in fact, begin the game as an undead Harrowed!  Yes, friends and neighbors, you can start the game as a walkin' dead, powered only by your very own manitou!  I rather like this option, though not as much as the "Operation Damocles Soldier" edge.  "ODS"provides a slightly more limited version of the "Veteran of the Weird West" edge, turning your player into a cryogencically frozen soldier devoted to restoring the United States to glory.  This makes for a great "Omega Man" archetype, which immediately got my character-creation juices flowing.

Two slightly odd changes that I was surprised to see included dealt with Fear checks and with Bennies/Fate Chips.  You see, in Deadlands Reloaded, Fear checks are made using the "Guts" skill, but modified by a rank-based bonus called Grit.  Grit often offset penalties for fighting particularly frightening monsters or by an area's Fear Level.  However, in HoER, Fear checks are made via Spirit roll, which is more in line with the current Savage Worlds rules.  While Fear Levels still exist, Grit and Guts became edges, allowing wasters to ignore the Fear Level in various increments.

While I removed the "Guts" skill from my own home Deadlands game, I was a bit stunned to see that become canon.  But, considering that this removal puts the game more in line with Savage Worlds Deluxe, I can understand the change.  The change I don't understand, however, came in terms of Fate Chips.  While Deadlands itself uses four separate types of Bennies, which have varying degrees of utility, HoER reduces this system back down to the generic system listed in Savage Worlds.  I can't say I really agree with this change, and I'll likely house-rule it back to the original Fate Chip system, if I run HoER anytime in the near future.

Due to page length, there are a few omissions that would have been great to see but didn't quite make it into the HoER final draft.  Information on cybernetics is sparse, instead referring back to the Smith and Robards Catalog from Deadlands.  Witches are nowhere to be seen, though they were poorly supported even in "classic" Hell on Earth.  I'd have loved to see a little more on Raven's machinations following the Battle of Worms, though there's both a companion in the works as well as a plot point campaign.  Given the superior quality of "The Flood" and the huge amount of material in "The Last Sons", I'll likely be picking it up as soon as it's released!

Truthfully though, these are slight nit-picks.  Hell on Earth Reloaded makes for a spectacularly savage and long-overdue entry into the market, just in time for GenCon.  I'm already planning on revamping my heroes from "Ravenous in Reno," and may just be planning on putting out a scenario for next year's "Savage Saturday" at Origins.  If you love Deadlands, Savage Worlds, or are looking for a new post-apocalyptic game, you won't be disappointed with Hell on Earth Reloaded!

In Which The Warlock Compares Two Posses...

As a wonderful reprieve, here at the end of my spring break, the PlatinumChick and I headed on up to Akron to spend some time with our good friends ChaoticLauryn and CincinNick, who live up yonder.  Previously, I'd offered to run a one-shot for them while up there, because they don't exactly get to game as much as we do down here.  I let them choose from my fairly-sizable game library and--surprise, surprise!--they picked Deadlands.

Not wanting to do too much prep for the one-off, I decided to download one of Pinnacle Entertainment's official adventures:  Night Train 2:  For Whom The Whistle Blows.  It's received fairly good reviews since its release, and it's the sequel to a Deadlands classic adventure, known for its lethality and creeping horror.

With that in mind, let's flash briefly back to WittCon IX.  As I'd mentioned in my WittCon wrap-up, my Hell on Earth game didn't exactly go as planned.  In light of this, I'm going to play a little game that I like to call Bad Posse, Good Posse!

Teamwork kills zombies!
That, and chainsaws!  And shotguns!

A Bad Posse struggles with basic foes, because they don't use teamwork.  The first combat encounter that my Hell on Earth posse faced was against ten basic Walking Dead, as well as one Living Faminite.  Three of the group didn't even get out of their armored car, leaving only three of the group to face off against the hordes.  Those three took significant wounds, which cost them heavily in Fate Chips.  Had the other three joined the melee, the undead would have split their targets more widely, resulting in less wounds overall (due to no gang-up bonuses) and a quicker elimination of targets.

A Good Posse prioritizes targets and takes out those priority targets in haste.  When ambushed by some nosferatu at the Pickman telegraph station, our Huckster realized almost instantaneously that one of their attackers was a different type of undead--recognizing him as a Harrowed (and a Voodoo shaman, at that!), he quickly sent a charged "Aces High" hex at his head.  Realizing that his undead allies were outmatched, the Harrowed beat a hasty retreat and the posse claimed a quick victory.

A Bad Posse ostracises NPCs and don't follow up on available leads from them.  When our post-apocalyptic posse rolled into Reno, the Reno locals had just been raided by the dreaded Rojo Bastardes gang, and many of their supplies had been stolen.  So, when a heavily armed group of adventurers rolled into their town, they reacted with a fair degree of hostility.  But, rather than try to prove their good intentions, the posse decided to intimidate Abe Ellison--the nominal Reno mayor.  Once cowed, he came clean about the Rojo Bastardes attack, but the posse left almost as soon as they could get directions to the Rojo Bastardes camp.  Had they stayed in town to gather information--or to help the poor Reno scavs--they would have gained valuable information about the coming Faminite horde!

to kill "nose-ferrets" for Union Blue!

A Good Posse gets every inch they can out of their NPC contacts.  As my group this weekend worked their way through Pickman, I was somewhat astounded at their tactics.  Basically, any NPC that they managed to save, they pressed into service against the nosferatu.  By the end of the adventure, the posse was leading nearly 10 heavily armed NPCs--townsfolk, mostly, but a few with reasonable stats!--against the undead horde!  As a semi-organized fighting force, they managed to wipe out the undead scourge pretty easily!

A Bad Posse is content to let the dice fall where they may.  Each of the Hell on Earth posse members has at least one relative weakness.   For Edward Castellan, the New Templar, that weakness is his Quickness.  And, as it turned out, the dice were not in the player's favor when rolling Initiative.  Despite having a sizable stack of Fate Chips, the player was unwilling to reroll or add to failed Initiative rolls.  As it happened, that player went for the ENTIRE NIGHT without getting a single turn in combat, despite three combat encounters and five separate Initiative deals.  He was content to let the dice speak for him, rather than work for a success.  Fortune favors the bold, not the complacent!

A Good Posse fights on their own terms.  When it became apparent that the train itself was a priority target for the nosferatu, the posse literally took it away from them!  Stealthing up to the train itself, the group decoupled the train and drove it nearly 20 miles out of town, then used it to rest until sunrise!  Flabbergasted--and denied one of their major goals--the Harrowed retreated out of town and the nosferatu hunkered down for the day, as the heavily armored survivors holed up in the church.  By denying resources to the adversary and establishing a base of operations, our posse really threw the bad guys for a loop!

Don't you forget it!

I'm not trying to say that either group is made of bad or good players.  Hell, some of them played in both games!  But, the fact remains that the tactics being used were paramount to the posses' success or failure.  While the Hell on Earth group fell beneath the Faminite horde, that's not representative of the players' skill or even the characters' effectiveness--just a matter of how the dice fell and how the players responded.  And, while the Deadlands group managed to totally annihilate the undead scourge, things could have easily turned against them in a single roll.  Some days, you just can't win...

In Which The Warlock Lays Out Some Wrath! (Of Con, Even!)

Whew!  What a blast! 

WittCon IX has come and gone, amigos, and this year's con really made an impression!  A full day of gaming, costumes, and more, WittCon IX brought out 103 eager gamers to Wittenberg University's Shouvlin Center for some great times, indeed!  This marks the second-most attendees in WittCon history--second only to WittCon II, which had the full support of then-local Springfield area game store, Howling Wolf Studios.

And, naturally, we've been up to our eyeballs in WittCon-related gloriousness.  The PlatinumChick managed to get her newest costume together in time for a preview, as she's planning on making a big debut at C2E2 this year.  Here's her with her two cosplay compatriots, ChaoticLauryn and CosplayKit!

Three superheroic lovelies...

The convention experience, I've got to say, is an exhausting experience.  Managing to arrive at Witt at the ripe hour of 9am, we were pretty wiped from the start.  Luckily for us, the Wittenberg Commons (or, Post 95, for you young whippersnappers!) was well equipped with enough caffeine to keep me going throughout the day!

How the PlatinumWarlock began his
WittCon IX experience...

WittCon IX also saw the debut of a new game from GameWick Games--the beta test of Pittsburgh '68--A Game of Shuffling Horror!  During this year's one-hour one shots, I ran two groups of would-be survivors through the undead apocalypse.  One thing I really love about this game is the speed around the table.  Each round took only about a minute and a half, circling the table again and again in a maelstrom of splattered zombies and bitten survivors.  Fun times, indeed!

Facing down the hordes, in Pittsburgh '68!

One of the biggest highlights, though, was EEE's special-feature for the con:  a live-action version of the quintessential D&D dungeon, Orc and Pie!  With real-life pie as a reward for successful adventurers, it was well worth spending 15 minutes in the dungeon!  Plus, who could resist beating up poor Emily, dressed as the hapless orc!

Speedy stealths away from the mighty Orc!

My full-length game, though, was something of...okay, let's not mince words here:  a total disaster.  While I had high hopes for my Hell on Earth section--a slightly amended version of my Ravenous in Reno scenario--my fellow gamers said otherwise.  While I'll spend a good deal more time expanding on the scenario in an upcoming entry, suffice to say that my players did nothing of what they were supposed to....at all.  When I introduced the scenario, I told the players that the scenario was somewhat based on the timeless western The Magnificent Seven.  However, in actuality?  It turned out more like Monty Python and the Holy Grail.  Luckily, it seemed like everyone had fun, which is what counted.  And, truth be told, the group really did go out with a bang! 

A highly dysfunctional Deadlands: Hell on Earth group!

If that's not enough for you, you can check out my full photo album on Facebook, here:  WittCon IX Photos!

In Which The Warlock Deals Some Death...

Let's start today's update with an image:

The first Deadlands book that I bought... :D

I love this image.  It evokes everything that I love about Deadlands:  monolithic evil in a familiar, yet terrifying, setting; steampunk wackiness in the form of the steam wagon; heroes facing down unfathomable odds; and a tentacled, Cthulhian horror.

The creature in question, in fact, is known as a Mojave Rattler--so named from their preferred habitat and the ominous rattling sound that occurs as the creature burrows through the earth.  When I first saw this image, I knew that I had to throw a posse up against one of these--it was just a matter of when.  This past Friday, I got my chance.

Hightailing it out of Shan Fan for a bit, in the hopes that things would cool down, our heroic posse decided to hunt down the glyph from our "flash forward", off near Reno.  Taking a Denver-Pacific train into Virginia City, they hoofed it south to find the glyph.  However, they didn't count on driving through a rattler nest in doing so!

With the battle joined, a few things have to be noted.  Mojave rattlers aren't stupid.  In fact, they're fairly intelligent--a point that gets expanded on in Hell on Earth--but their fighting skill isn't exactly spectacular.  That said, the rattler's most devastating attack is a massive slam:  the creature rears up and smashes down on its foes with a massive amount of weight.

Unfortunately for Tara--FridayNightJess's rodeo gal--she was on the receiving end of the brunt of that slam, along with Eddie van Horn, the New York boxer that the PCs freed from Rock Island prison.  But, where Eddie managed to get far enough out of the way to survive (strangely enough!)....Tara was squished like a bug.  Or, so it would seem.

An aside, briefly.  While Chris2 often comes up with great ideas, some of his are just...outright bad.  When the PCs managed to recover the Amulet of Rahashimir from Big Ears Tam and discovered its real effects--the ability to raise the undead--Chris2 suggested marching an undead army into Lost Angels to take down Grimme.  Bad idea.  As such, Chris2 earned himself the "Big Blind" chip--a chip that I could cash in on him....whenever I felt like it.

Tara's next step...

Jess was a touch down from Tara's death, but Chris2 had a plan:  an adventure card that summoned "aid from an unseen source".  I smiled.  I told him I'd let him play that adventure card, and I'd even take his Big Blind chip away...

...and, unbeknownst to him, bring Tara back as a Harrowed.

Again, an aside.  Anytime I have "secret information" to give out at our Friday night table, I take the player in question into the living room for a private conference.  ChaoticFred has been in my living room more than anyone thusfar, due to his connections with Big Ears Tam.  This time, though...everyone except Fred ended up in the living room, as secrets and information flooded through the group. 

And now?  The cats are all out of the bag.  FridayNightWill gave up control of body to the being in his head, which has helped him unlock the powers of Warlord Kwan's ancestral swords.  Jess is coming to terms with being undead, Eddie still manages to survive certain death (for unknown reasons), Chris2 has finally gotten hold of his contacts in the Agency, and Jules' shamaness has had a brush with a certain Servitor of Death...

...and we're just getting rolling!

In Which The Warlock Has a Love-Hate Relationship...

It's been a while since I've done one of these, but I figured that it's about high time that I return to the RPG Blog Carnival.  This month's topic, hosted over at Nevermet Press, is "Things to Love, Things to Hate"--essentially, what do you (as a GM or as a player) look for in an RPG, an adventure, a system, etc.

So, take a gander at my personal perks and gripes when looking at games:

Perks:

• I love a game system that attempts to echo the genre being played. 
• My favorite part about Deadlands is the fact that the cards-based initiative, the use of poker-chips, and the dueling/gambling mechanics push the idea of the Wild West, "gamblin' man" action.  Similarly, with WEGS, the use of poker chips enforces the idea of an adventurer "gambling with their fate".  ICONS uses the FATE mechanics to emphasize in-character actions and Determination points to encourage over-the-top action and power stunting.  All of these mechanics are built to better emulate the genre of game being played, and do so admirably, filling holes that a generic system simply can't do.
• I love a game that facilitates ease (and speed) of play.
• While I can give or take "fiddly-bits," I run far too many convention games to rely on them regularly.  Maps, dungeon tiles, miniatures and the like take up far too much room for my taste, and often slow down the pace of a game.  This takes away from investigation and fast-paced action, as people fiddle with movement rules or cover mechanics. 
• I love an adventure with awesome set-piece locations.



The Warlock's favorite adventure!

• My favorite adventure of all time is the wacky, fun-house dungeon crawl known as "White Plume Mountain".  It's not a particularly well-written adventure, but my goodness, the locations!  A fight above a boiling mud pit, with swinging platforms suspended by chains from the ceiling?!  A semi-permeable bubble of water?!  An enchanted-freaking-water-slide?!  Sheer unadulterated awesome!  Without locations like this, the adventure would be nothing more than a fetch quest, but these put it way over the top.
• I love an adventure with multiple, conditional endings.
• One of the things I was happiest about when writing "Westbound on the San Juan Express" was the multiple scenarios that could unfold.  Depending on whom the posse supports, the PCs could end up in any of 6 potential end-game scenarios, none of which resulted in a TPK or any sort of "loss".  That's a rarity to find, but it makes for sheer, unadulterated awesome! 
• I love it my players have too many PCs they want to play.
• You know how I know when I've picked the right game to run?  When my Friday night group starts planning out characters over and over again, and have trouble deciding what they actually want to play.  Too much inspiration is never a bad thing!

Gripes:

• I hate when a game tries to do too much. 
• This was my biggest issue while reading through Lost Colony, the Deadlands sequel game.  While the system mechanics for Deadlands worked for the base game and for Hell on Earth, Lost Colony seemed to drop much of the horror of its predecessors in favor of introducing sci-fi colonial action.  Already a packed setting, it just did...well, too much.  Lack of support certainly didn't help it, but Lost Colony definitely felt like a game stretched too thin.
• I hate it when a game tries to reinvent the wheel...and gets run over by said wheel.
• Wild Talents was my biggest offender here.  I picked it up at Half Price Books, while doing research for Cold Steel Wardens.  The "width vs. height" mechanic used in the game was particularly innovative...but the game (and the NPCs within it) became so wrapped up in numerics and modifiers that the core game--a dystopian superheroes game--became utterly lost in a sea of numbers.  That's anti-fun in a nutshell.
• I hate it when an adventure stacks the deck.
• Ever have this happen to you in an adventure:  your heroes are fighting bandits in their own lair, which is full of nasty traps--caltrops, deadfalls, etc., none of which ever seem to affect them, even when you deliberately try to turn the tables?  That's a sure sign of poor adventure writing and inflexible gamemastery.  While occasionally such things make sense--fire elementals being immune to environmental hazards in a lava realm, for example--but under normal circumstances, there's no excuse for this poor design.
• I hate it when adventures "settle".



Warning!  King in Yellow ahead!

• There's a fine line between providing an adventure "suitable" to a genre's idiom and becoming utterly predictable.  Start hearing word about a strange play and a "yellow sign"?  Yeah, it's Hastur again.  While there might be investigation and conflict, it's simply a matter of going through the motions.  The drama, the challenge...it's gone.  Why bother?
•    I hate it when players don't give me anything to work with...then complain about it.
• GMing is hard work.  It's a lot of prep, and it's a lot of writing.  If I'm asking you, as a player, for a background, that means that I need your help in contributing to the world and to have an active investment in it.  It means that I want to engage you as both a player and a character.  And, when you reject that?  Yeah...that sends a pretty strong message that you don't really care about playing.

How about you guys?  Other thoughts?  Am I off-base?

In Which The Warlock Compares Editions...

As I mentioned a few posts ago, I'd been prepping my Friday night Deadlands group for a what I've been terming an "interlude".

You see, we finally reached the halfway point of our exploits in "The Flood", with the posse gaining several significant allies and having gained a massive enemy in General Kwan, to say nothing of their ongoing struggle against the Church of Lost Angels.  Taking some rest and relaxation in Shan Fan, the posse got to kick up their heels, while I prepped my players for a fast foward.

I'd been itching to break out Hell on Earth for quite a while, but I'd never managed to play the original game that led to Savage Worlds.  That, naturally, has changed.

"All the way to Reno..."

I spent the last two weeks--in amongst some ongoing illness--writing up six experienced pre-gens in the Hell on Earth rules, as well as something of an "alternate timeline" scenario, in which the players' actual Deadlands posse had failed, and Reverend Grimme was free to spread his cult all the way into the 21st Century.  With a horde of Grimme's Faminites heading towards Reno, it was up to our far-future posse to lead the defense of the Biggest Little City in the Wasted West.

Our new posse included:

• Edward Castellan--a New Templar from Boise, wielding a massive sword and a sub-machine gun.
• "The Main Man" Marlow--a self-styled road warrior out of Junkyard, complete with chainsaw!
• Leslie K. Marvin--a Junker from Junkyard, and the creator of several robotic combat drones.
• Garret Walker--a Librarian from Sacramento, with his pet bobcat, Felix.
• "Doc Neutron"--a heretic Doomsayer from Carson City, capable of blasting foes with raw radiation.
• Carrie Ann Waltrip--a Harrowed bounty hunter, who's traveled all over the Wasted West...

While the group loved the change in feel--moving from the steampunk craziness of Deadlands to the desperate post-apocalypse of Hell on Earth--it's the change in rules that really stood out the most.  Playing Savage Worlds before this rules-set made the flaws in it stand out particularly highly.

A result of the hit locations
in Hell on Earth...

Particularly, the multiple damage systems were particularly difficult to remember.  While I don't have issues increasing the wound modifiers up to -5, I kept forgetting to deal Wind damage on normal attacks.  Also, I had to keep reminding my players to roll a d20 for hit location for every damaging attack, which added an additional roll and slowed down combat significantly.  FridayNightWill had a great moment while fighting against some undead Faminites:  playing as "The Main Man", he chainsawed off a Faminites legs and right arm, before finally managing to get a head shot.  It looked like infamous "Black Knight" scene in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, as the undead thing would Not.  Give.  Up.

Also, the sheer number of stats seemed to be really excessive.  Hell on Earth has a separate stat for "Scrounging" and "Survival", which seemed to be a pretty large disconnect for some of my players.  But, on top of those, there's also a "Search" stat.  What does one do when you're looking for a spare part?  Is it "Scrounging" or is it "Search"?  The streamlining done in Savage Worlds--looking for that spare part would be a straight up "Notice" check--seems much needed.

While our foray into the original rules for Hell on Earth is going to be short-lived, it's been an interesting (and fun!) experience.  I purchased Hell on Earth primarily for the plot points and the setting info, and that hasn't disappointed me in the slightest.  When the "Reloaded" version comes out, though, I'll be the first in line to switch over.

In Which The Warlock Returns from the Void...

Apologies for the extended absence, amices.  Both the PlatinumChick and I got sick last week and are just now starting to get over it!  Between the hacking and coughing out here, we haven't had a chance much to game, though I've been working on my Hell on Earth one-off during the downtime at work.

Old school gaming meets
the technological age!

What's new, though, is my technological edge!  Through some means that I'm not privy to discussing (don't worry, they're legal means!), I found myself in possession of a brand-spankin'-new iPad 2! 

While I'm obligated to use this iPad at work as part of a new initiative, the iPad is unequivocably mine and can be used for pretty much anything I see fit....including gaming!  Obviously, my massive amount of PDFs will go into GoodReads and iBooks, but beyond that, I'm a little stumped.

I'm already familiar with a few 4e D&D and Pathfinder apps that exist, but I'm already on the lookout for more.  While TheJourneymanGM's secret senior thesis isn't quite done yet--though I'll be sure to download it when it is!--I need some more!

So tell me, gamer nation--what should I have on my new device?  What's proved useful, and how?

In Which The Warlock Plans Something Nefarious...

Welcome to the Wasted West, amigo!

When I originally pitched the idea of playing Deadlands to my group, they were really jazzed.  Little did I know that they were more jazzed about the post-apocalyptic sister setting, Hell on Earth, after I had left the corebooks out following our yearly trip to Origins.  The idea of playing a gunslinging Law Dog, a radiation-blasting Doomsayer, or a crafty Junker really had FridayNightWill and Chris I primed for some dice-chuckin'. 

We started The Flood and, while they were a little disappointed that the archetypes from Hell on Earth weren't available, they've really been enjoying their excursions in the Weird West.  However, I can't help but feel like they might have missed out on something...and that's something that I hope to remedy!

You see, friends and neighbors, I have a plan.

The Friday night group's just reached the halfway point of the Plot Point campaign in The Flood.  They're about to have a huge info-dump of plot loaded on them, and the real quest to take down Reverend Grimme and the Church of Lost Angels will begin in earnest.  As such, this makes the perfect spot for a dramatic interlude!

But, I don't want this to be any simple 'cut-scene'.  No sirree!  Rather, I have something bigger planned...

Stone's ready to turn Reno
into a real "Boomtown"!

Taking a page from my Pendulum theory, we're going to "flash-forward" for a few sessions, to the Wasted West--nearly 200 years after the events of The Flood.  Under the assumption that everybody's favorite gunslinger--the infamous Jasper Stone--managed to kill our heroes before they took out Grimme, the good Reverend's cult will have spread across the post-apocalyptic wasteland.  For this one-off, my players will be taking the roles of a veteran group of wasters, fleeing from Grimme's Faminite hordes to the ruins of Reno, Nevada.

While I'm still formulating the plot, the characters are slowly coming together and my outline will surely follow, I have a good feeling about this little foray into the Wasted West.  The characters already have a "Seven Samurai" feel, and the defense of Reno will really make for a fantastic set-piece. 

As always, I'll be sure to keep you updated on how things are going! 

In Which The Warlock Muses on the Future...

Last night was Wittenberg's first game night, which is always exciting for us.  It's spectacular to be able to meet a whole legion of incoming gamers and share with them all of the exciting events that the Guild puts forward, all of the events and systems that we run, and the cameraderie of slinging dice with your fellow man.

There's really nothing like the first time that you sit down to experience a game.  The 'first impression' that one gets just can't be replicated.  The first time I slung out the d10s and d6s in WEGS, for example, was a game unto itself.  The first time we broke out Arkham Horror, while frustratingly long, got us immediately hooked.  The first time we watched someone's dice 'ace' two and three times at a clip in Savage Worlds...it caught the eye like none other. 

What to write, what to write?!

But keeping that newness?  It's hard!  The longer one plays a game, the more apparent the flaws are in the system and the more 'rote' things become.  The Journeyman GM and I discussed this tendency on our way home from GenCon this year.  By this point, he had run his Blackbeard-based Doctor Who game nearly 12 separate times for various groups across the Miami Valley.  I'd been pinging my "WEGSthulhu" adventure and "Westbound on the San Juan Express" just as often.

As such, with the close of the convention season, it comes time for us gamers to think about what comes next:  what one-shots are on deck for the coming 2012 season, for the Friday Night One-Shot series at Witt, and what we're excited about.  But, that leaves me with a major question:  with so many options, what do I write?!

Obviously, my first and biggest option (and my biggest priority!) is my campaign of Cold Steel Wardens.  I'm running my alpha test--a campaign that I'm calling "Hard Rain"--at Witt this year, with my tentative players' Heroes making their way into the (ideally forthcoming) book as sample characters.  But, one-shots?  I have no issue running them at Wittenberg, but I'm not sure if the rules-set is ready for the convention circuit yet.

Last year, I built a series of Deadlands characters specifically for the purpose of using them on the convention circuit.  As such, I'm very tempted to bring back those characters for another go.  However, I'm at somewhat of a loss of what I'd like that adventure to look like.  I'm loathe to put forward another "train-based" adventure, and would like to lean towards something a little more investigative.  However, that's the furthest I've managed to think this one out.

The Laundry, similarly, is an appealing option.  While I'm more than proficient in the BRP Call of Cthulhu game, The Laundry has its own unique style that makes for a strange balance between absurdist comedy and deadly serious spy-drama.  But, that same balance makes it particularly difficult to GM appropriately.  Even for a skilled GM, it becomes difficult to shift gears so quickly between tones.  I'd been also thinking up a basic Call of Cthulhu adventure based around Shakespeare's "Scottish Play", but that's still in development.

Coming to a game convention
near you in 2012?

I'd also been thinking about potentially revisiting one of my all-time favorite heroes:  the Masters of the Universe in the role-playing arena.  However, I'm really not sure what system I'd use.  While I'd be tempted towards picking up Cartoon Action Hour, I actually think that ICONS would work really well for emulating the over-the-top action.  But, again, I haven't really thought out what the adventure would entail, or any plot ideas beyond the simple "He-Man and crew have to team up with Skeletor to take out a greater threat". 

And then...there are other options.  While I'm swearing off D&D for a while, my gaming stack's still full-up.  I'm planning on picking up All For One: Regime Diabolique in the near future, and I just found a copy of Wild Talents at Half Price Books for $5.  Also, The Journeyman GM still has my copies of Hell on Earth, while my regular Friday night group is chomping at the bit for some post-apocalyptic action.  Oh, and there's always WEGS, particularly with the Ultimate Dungeon Party out now, and the official printing of Dingbitt's Dunge-O'-Doom on the horizon. 

So many options, so little time, fellow gamers!  What should I run?  What would you like to see at WittCon, FOPCon, and all the rest in the next year?!

In Which the Warlock Defies the Odds...

Call it a gamist point of view, but I love games that bring a degree of chance to the party.  It's all well and good to tell a fantastic story, but if you can't totally throw that story off of the rails with a well-placed die roll...well, then go write a novel. 

Pull up a chair, friends and neighbors, it's storytime: 

Essex Sho-Toran:
My lucky psion...

Once upon a time, when I was still a freshman at Wittenberg, I played in a D&D 3e game run by a friend of mine named Silas.  In the first session of that game, I was utterly worthless.  Playing a psion, I managed to knock myself out from psionic feedback in the first round of combat, and spent most of our first session unconscious.  However, at the final end battle, I managed to pull off a phenomenal feat...a lucky blow that turned my character from a feeble level 1 caster into a powerhouse of psionic might.  After rolling no higher than an 8 all night long, one well-timed Natural Twenty manged to slay a foe far beyond our scope, and turn Silas's campaign on its ear.

So, let's fast forward to our Deadlands game from last week. 

After destroying Rock Island Prison while searching for the mysterious "Heart of Darkness" diamond, we found ourselves in the Lost Angels Cathedral on the infamous Bloody Sunday.  Reverend Ezekiah Grimme, leader of the Church of Lost Angels, called down hellfire and brimstone...quite literally.  Demons swarmed through the cathedral, killing innocents by the score, with our heroes in the crossfire! 

Okay, so The Journeyman GM has been using the Savage Worlds Adventure Cards for this game.  Each game, we get 5 cards that provide a one-time benefit, of which we may choose 2 to keep.  My selections were pretty lackadaisical this time around, aside from one named "Make No Mistake":  "Play when facing any kind of creature with Immunity or Invulnerability.  One character may ignore those special abilities of the creature for the duration of the combat."

I looked at The Journeyman GM and said, "You know what I will be doing with this...should I take it?"

His reply, "It's the Weird West.  That's all I'll say..."

As carnage broke out in the Lost Angels Cathedral, Ramon Perez Francisco Villa-Nueva leapt atop a pew, drew the Cutlass of Estevanico, and challenged Grimme to pay for the crimes he had perpetrated at Rock Island Prison. 

From there, things went downhill steadily.  Ramon spent the next several rounds being swarmed by demons, hovering around two wounds and trying to throw off his "Shaken" result.  Grimme himself, though, answered the challenged, attempting to use a hideous rite to snuff out Ramon's life-force.  However, Ramon persevered, took some healing from the PlatinumChick's "gun-nun" Maria Pilar Vasquez, and then lunged for Grimme...

An ace!  Not familiar?  In Savage Worlds, if your die roll on a skill or ability test gets the highest possible result (a 10, on a d10, in this case), you roll it again and add the results.  Raising his cutlass high, Ramon slashed downward through Grimme with a 19 to hit, and an absurdly-massive 46 points of damage--resulting in Shaken and 9 Wounds, penetrating Grimme's Invulnerability and slaying him instantly!

Ramon Perez Francisco Villa-Nueva
rides into the Wasted West...

Okay, yeah...I know it's the Weird West and all...and the metaplot of Deadlands somewhat mandates that Grimme hangs around for a while longer, but still!  Wow!  My avenging fencer took out the Servitor of Famine in a single, massive blow!  Between that, the destruction of Rock Island Prison, and Ramon's old friend Morton "Four-Eyes" Marker heading back to his Texas Ranger brethren with incontrovertible proof of Grimme's villainy, Lost Angels may soon lie in the hands of the Confederacy!

It just goes to show that the dice are a fickle, fickle mistress.  Sometimes they hate you, and sometimes they give you a gift that'll provide for "gamer-stories" for years to come...

We just managed to finish the last segment of the "Devil's Tower" plotline this evening, with Ramon (and the huckster companion, Skippy, that the posse broke out of Rock Island) escaping far into the future, with the dangerous Stone in hot pursuit.  While the Weird West was saved, and the future altered, who knows what dangers await Ramon in the not-so Wasted West?!