[[Aye, but it'd be +2 for the rain, so you can keep your chip there. Now to work out how on earth to make this work as combat...hmm.]]

"Those are Bad Words," Alouette chides, then wanders off around the side of the building in search of something or other.

O'Rourke stands a moment longer, then flattens himself back against the wall to be slightly less of a sitting duck. "How many d'you think are out h-aagh!"

[[Well, drawing initiative would be a start. vampire, priest, vampire:
Alouette drew the 3 cards: KS, 10S, 2D using the Deadlands system. all init. In that case, Nick the Vampire can get a bit rash of a sudden...
Vampires! rolled 3 using 1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 3. fightin'. Pfft...
Father William O'Rourke rolled 1,2 using d6-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 3,4. Resist! Nope. O'Rourke is Grappled.]]

The dark vampire in dark clothing looks as surprised as anyone that just jumping out and throwing an arm around the human's throat actually worked, but his reflexes are too fast for it to slow him down. He keeps eye contact with William, the muzzle of the pistol in his right hand pressed uncomfortably to the priest's temple.

"How 'bout you stay real quiet an' throw any more nasty sticks you got back in the fire, partner?" he asks with a smile that's not quite a smile.

The priest bites off the urge to use some seriously profane language and frowns hard, trying to think of a way out of this that won't get him accidentally shot in the head.


[[He can go On Hold 'til I work out quite what to do with him.
William Pierce, go! ]]

William nods, almost imperceptibly. He pulls one of the stakes from his belt with his left.
Then, in a flash of movement, he pulls his Ghost Gun and fires twice in rapid succession at the hand that holds the gun.
Sure, it wouldn't kill the thing, but he'd need to grow back a finger or two before being able to pull the trigger.

"Get down, Father!"


08:58, Today: William Pierce rolled 6,1 using d10-3,d6-3, rerolling max with rolls of 9,4. Shooting the gun out of the vampire's hand. Doubletap!

08:59, Today: William Pierce rolled 25 using 3d6+2, rerolling max with rolls of (6+5)11,3,(6+3)9. Damage to gun.


09:01, Today: William Pierce drew the single card: AH using the Deadlands system. Initiative.


This message was last edited by the player at 07:02, Tue 15 Apr 2014.

[[That was actually damaging the gun beyond use rather than a fancy Disarm, right? I continue to be worried that William didn't come by Jumper honestly...]]

The vampire yelps and instinctively jerks his head away from the shrapnel. The priest takes advantage of the distraction to throw his weight back and slam the undead cowboy against the wall, ducking out of the headlock.

Something small but weighty lands on William's chest and shoulders, suddenly enough that the noose is drawing in before he registers it's rope.


[[Father William O'Rourke rolled 2,3 using d6-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 4,5. Resist!
Vampires! rolled 2 using 1d8, rerolling max with rolls of 2. Agility.
O'Rourke gets free!

The guy on the roof attempts to lasso (Agility trick) William with the rope he was trying to put on the angel earlier.

Vampires! rolled 11 using 1d8, rerolling max with rolls of (8+3)11. lasso!
William, beat that or be strung up, then it's your go.]]

15:05, Today: William Pierce rolled 1,11 using d10,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 1,(6+5)11. red chip.
15:04, Today: William Pierce rolled 2,2 using d10,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 2,2. Agility.

So I guess I barely beat that?



The noose around his neck causes William to drop the stake, but he keeps his pistol.
The gunfighter grabs the rope just above the noose and drops to his knees, yanking on the rope trying to pull his attacker down.


Agility Trick: Total of 6. Well, that could've been better, but still.
15:07, Today: William Pierce rolled 2 using 1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 2. Blue chip.
15:07, Today: William Pierce rolled 1,4 using d10,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 1,4. Agility Trick.

"Alouette! Get back here!"

15:08, Today: William Pierce drew the single card: 8D using the Deadlands system. Initiative, again.
15:08, Today: William Pierce drew the single card: 3H using the Deadlands system. Initiative.

[[in earshot?
20:53, Today: Alouette got the result "Outlook not so good" on the magic 8-ball.]]

The clank doesn't respond, probably due to the rain and wind whipping away William's yell.

Hauling on the rope causes a rain-faint {crack} of something hitting tile, then a frantic scrabbling before the rope goes taut with resistance. William can actually see a hatbrim and the top of the man's shoulder and side; he must be braced against the wooden edge of the roof-frame. Sounded like he dropped his gun up there, too.


[[Aye, but you can un-noose yourself at will. Johnny lad on the roof, however...
Vampires! rolled 5 using 1d8, Fails, though without a raise, so he's not shaken and won't fall, but you get +2 against him next action and something to shoot at.]]

The shot vampire wrings his hand and curses a moment too long, leaving him simply standing there as the priest instinctively rounds on him and cracks him one with the lantern.

"Aagh!"

A rooftile shatters harmlessly on the ground beside William, clearly lobbed without looking by the fellow trying to untangle himself on the roof.

[[Vampires! rolled 3 using 1d6+2, rerolling max with rolls of 1. unshake Nick. Nick does not unshake.

Father William O'Rourke, rolled 9,0 using d6-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of (6+5)11,2. fightin'. Should be -1 for the improvised weapon, alas, so 8, but still a hit.

Father William O'Rourke, rolled 6 using 2d4, rerolling max with rolls of 3,3. damage can has? Won't faze the vampire, but at least it makes him feel better.

Vampires! rolled 0 using 1d4-2, rerolling max with rolls of 2. throwin'.]]

Backing off, the priest sees William struggling out of the rope and catches the flickered gleam of the gun still in the 'slinger's hand through the drifting rain and smoke. He hesitates a moment, but then scoops up a handful of rainwater from a puddle and smooths it over the gun, keeping his hand there a moment as he prays.

"Under the shadow of Thy wings, O Lord, protect us from the unrighteous. Arise, O Lord, disappoint him that raiseth hand against us, cast him down: deliver these souls from the wicked, that they may be as Thy burning sword aflame in the men which are as Thy hand. O Lord, hear me..."

[[New round!
Father William O'Rourke rolled 1,3 using d10-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 3,5. Faith! Not a natural 1, but still nasty...red?
Father William O'Rourke, rolled 2 using 1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 2. red chippit. Pfft...

Father William O'Rourke, rolled 3,9,3 using d10-2,d6-2,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 5,(6+5)11,3. white chippit. -> 12 You have +4 worth of Smite for 3 rounds or 6 "bullets", at your preference. Bet you're glad you spent that red chip now, though as a (dodgy) GM I may regret this...

O'Rourke KS
Pierce 8D
Roof guy 8C
Ground guy 4H]]

I'll take the six bullets, then.
09:53, Today: William Pierce rolled 17 using 4d6+5, rerolling max with rolls of 5,1,4,2. ghost gun damage, plus bonus die plus smite.
09:53, Today: William Pierce rolled 1,8 using d10-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 3,(6+4)10. shooting roof guy in the head.
Sooo... Two assumptions. 1: grim reaper hindrance doesn't kick in since its not a natural '1'. 2: the head ahot doesn't cause an extra +4 damage.



William nods his head at the priest, eyes curious. Then he raises his pistol and puts a single bullet througj Roofie's brain pan. He tucks once more on the rope to maybe ease the body down, then focuses on one-hand.

09:58, Today: William Pierce drew the single card: 6H using the Deadlands system. initiative

[[Yep. Though why you want to pull his corpse down whilst you're directly beneath is slightly baffling... Magic 8 Ball, was that on William?

00:48, Today: Alouette, on behalf of Vampires!, got the result "Yes - definitely" on the magic 8-ball. ...roll Agility or lose your Movement for next round due to being under a corpse.]]

The corpse...plummets.

The remaining vampire starts in shock, looks at the priest and bolts past into the burning building, immediately turning to gain the cover of the wall and vanishing into the smoke.

[[Vampires!, rolled 7 using 1d6+2, rerolling max with rolls of 5. unshake Nick. He unshakes and flees, narrowly avoiding entering free attack range. Pierce, you're up once that Agility's sorted.]]

((Well, how else am I going to make sure the thing is dead besides taking a closer look at it?

19:57, Today: William Pierce rolled 5,7 using d10,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 5,(6+1)7. Agility.

19:57, Today: William Pierce rolled 12,9 using d6+4,d6+4, rerolling max with rolls of (6+2)8,5. Notice. Does he need a good stakin'?
))

"ALOUETTE! Come back here!" William yells gain, louder this time.

Then he knocks at the wall. "Hey, fella, you sure you want to slowly burn to death in there? I got a quick way outta this mess for you."

Persuasion?
20:01, Today: William Pierce rolled 0,1 using d4-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 2,3. Persuasion, unskilled.
Nope


20:02, Today: William Pierce drew the single card: QH using the Deadlands system. Initiative, again, due to Quick edge.
20:02, Today: William Pierce drew the single card: 4H using the Deadlands system. Initiative.

.

[[Heh, since when did things being dead stop them being a threat around here? Let's see if Alouette heard that and is in a condition to reply...
20:05, Today: Alouette rolled 16 using 1d6-1, rerolling max with rolls of (6+6+5)17. go go gadget running. Zoom!]]

There are some heavy, bounding steps that're probably the clank's from the direction of the barn. Inside the bunkhouse, no-one is breathing, and the thick smoke makes phantom targets of a dozen shadows but nothing of substance.

William notices the amusing fact that blessing the ghost Gun with a puddle has the same effect as coating bullets in holy water, simultaneously burning his targets and halting the vampires' ability to heal: he can see right through the older white fellow's head in the phantom bullet's path.


[[Remember that talking's a free action, if ever you feel like saying something that might change reactions - I'll ask for a social-fu roll if I think the situation warrants it. At any rate, you'd have to go in there to spot him given where he is at the moment, and even then it'd be at -4 due to the smoke and general fire-related visibility issues. If you don't feel like hunting him out and killing him right now we'll drop out of combat.

Meanwhile, in case you do, sneaky vampire, who also drew up QH, is sneaking:
Vampires!, rolled 2 using 1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 2. sneakin'. ...
Vampires!, rolled 4 using 1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 4. red chippit of sheer pity. -> 6.
William, go!]]

10:58, Today: William Pierce rolled 5,9 using d6+4,d6+4, rerolling max with rolls of 1,5. Super-Notice.

William drops the stake in his hand, grabs Holeyhead, lifts him up and shoves the corpse into the burning building.

It might prompt the other to come out or reveal himself... in any event, it should take care of this one getting back up again.


11:00, Today: William Pierce rolled 2,5 using d10,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 2,5. Strength.

11:02, Today: William Pierce drew the single card: 7H using the Deadlands system. Initiative.

William can hear what's probably the escaped vampire moving away from him, but his senses of sight and smell tell him nothing save that the building is on fire and by now densely filled with smoke, which he might have guessed.

[[That's as much as you'll get from outside. Combat over.]]

"Howdy, Names William Pierce!" the clank chirps as it rounds the corner, almost decking the priest with its burden. "Self has ladder!"

William picks the discarded stake back up.
"That's good, Alouette. But the bad guy came already down from the roof. So you can just put it there."
He points to the ground, a few feet away.

He squints into the darkness, his eerily glowing eyes scanning for movement.
"We know that there are at least two more vampires out here... One-Hand-Guy, who might be in there", he points to the bunkhouse, "and the mustache who shot me in the back. You know, the first we met here."

He pauses. "Before we go off hunting them down one by one, we should take out their mother. I think she's in there", he points to the master house, "probably down in the cellar. There's people in there, I think. The vampires were trying to get in. Plus, the Father is hurt and somebody should look at his injuries. Alouette, do you know where the others are? The Marshal and Vega?"

"Okay!" Alouette edges over and drops the ladder precisely where directed. "Self found a hole," it adds, then ticks a bit at the question.

"When someone was being sad and loud, self went to help but the crow-spirits on the porch attempted untrained dissassembly of self despite warnings and Ambrose threw fire at them to make them stop and Deputy Vega flew away, and...*tik* retrieval error: no card...then self was in the sleeping building with beds on. Ambrose and Deputy Vega were not there, also Bitter Waters and John John Smith."

"They must be in another place," it concludes, then looks at the bunkhouse. "We should ask My Man Abraham - he knows where things are because he is a Creature of Habit, also he might have a towel to make wet so we can make the fire stop."

Beside them, there's a sudden bloom of flame from the roof, presumably some of the kerosene the older-looking vampire was using catching light. The priest automatically traps a burning bit of paper under his foot before it blows away, then looks down and smooths it against the mud with a toe. A kitschy Virgin smiles up at him, despite missing the top quarter of her head.

"I think they must have gone in, else we'd have seen them," O'Rourke puts in, looking over at the house with concern. "It worries me that no-one's reacting to the porch bein on fire, though."

The burning oil has indeed set light to the porch by this time, fanned by the wind, though the walls of the house and the damaged doorway haven't caught yet. There's no sign of the miniature red-eyed crows that were guarding the area before.

William grabs his soaked-through coat up from the muddy ground and walks toward the porch.
"Father, it's probably best if you announce our intentions. Don't want to spook anybody into shooting at us."

William feels a tightness in his skull as he gets within a couple of paces of the porch: much like approaching a church, only heavier and more impersonal.

"Sounds right," the priest agrees, limping a little across the yard with a few pauses to squint into the shadows. "Here, hold the light, Alouette...no, no, hold the lantern, leave the fire where it is, sorry. Right. ...HALLOA THE HOUSE!" he calls, stepping up on the porch.

"ANYONE? You're on fire there!" Even as he mentions it, O'Rourke shrugs out of his wet coat to smother the flames, stamping a path to the charred and broken door. He tries pounding the same, then gingerly pushes some splinters away to peer through the hole in the wall, tense and ready to duck at any moment. "Hello? I'm a priest, I've come to help!"

"Called Charging Bear showed self how to make doors open," the clank offers brightly.

"FATHER! GOOD TO HEAR FROM YOU!" Comes a shout from within. "WE ARE AWARE OF THE FIRE, BUT THERE IS ANOTHER SITUATION COMPETING FOR OUR ATTENTION! WOULD YOU KINDLY GO AROUND BACK TO THE KITCHEN? THERE IS A CREATURE THAT MR. PIERCE SHOULD BE ABLE TO HANDLE!"
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:06, Mon 21 Apr 2014.

"Oh dear." O'Rourke leans back from the hole, a little chargrinned to be left outside. Something about the frown and the bloodied face like a youth's just back from a brawl highlight the fact that for all his attempts to shepherd the group like a father, the man's probably younger than William.

"Kitchen...did you see any way in 'round back, or would that be the carriage house?"

"There is a Room of Sheets and a mangle and plus plus cupboards between the kitchen and the carriage house," Alouette chimes in. "-But y'all can get there from here."

The priest nods, starts to turn away, then leans in to the hole again. "Oh, and Pierce got rid o' the ting, that dark ting...one of your sunlight bottles. Is it Marina you're fightin'?"

"Afraid not! This is something else! Haven't found the Queen Rat yet!" Evans shouts back.

"Could you be more specific, Marshal?" William yells.

So first he wants to kill me for having being turned into a vampire... and now I'm his go-to-killer?

"You think they're truly aware that you're here out with me, too, Father? Who knows what they'll send out? And there's still other monsters around..."

"I wish I could, but I don't know what it is! Some kind of Celestial undead!" Evans shouts back.

"Celestial? What the fuck would I know about Celestial Undead?" William grumbles.

"Let's go back to the front door then. Seems they want me to kill something else."

Maybe it won't be too wild about fire, too... then we could just throw another log onto that blaze. he ponders.

"I'm coming t'suspect Dr. Evans is an atheist," the priest says, putting out flames as best he can whilst injured.


[[ minus fire?
20:19, Today: Alouette got the result "Ask again later" on the magic 8-ball. Not until the oil burns itself out, I reckon.]]

"Those are Bad Words, Names William Pierce," Alouette reminds the same.

"All right, we're heading 'round the back!" O'Rourke calls through the door, stepping away and reclaiming his slightly more charred coat before stepping down into the rain.

"What is 'atheist'?" Alouette asks.

"I'll let Father O'Rourke answer this", William replies.r
He shakes his head, as if to clear it.
"Let's go. Would be embarrassing if they throw the thing out before we are there to welcome it."

He scans the area for trouble, looking particularly at anything moving out of the burning bunkhouse.


21:52, Today: William Pierce rolled 9,8 using d6+4,d6+4, rerolling max with rolls of 5,4. Notice.

"Atheists are...people who think that God doesn't exist," O'Rourke tries, stepping off the porch and heading for the carriage house.

This seems to fox the clank. "Logic error, Shepherd," it protests. "Minus God equals minus world equals minus mortals...but things exist."

"Yes, well-" He's cut off by a rain-muted shot crunching into the wall of the house beside him and starts running for the carriage house with the light. "-I'll explain later! Stay with me and get out of range! Jesus, please, I am tired o' bein shot at..." he prays, running.

Alert as ever, William managed to pinpoint the muzzle flash - though there's now no-one to be seen after ducking back into cover, the toasty vampire must have made it to the barn as the deputies and priest crossed the yard and started having conversations through doors.

"Crap", William mutters.
"Looks like our friend hasn't caught on fire. We'll have to do this the old-fashioned way. We should stay together. Alouette, Father... we have another vampire to catch. Hope they keep their's", he nods at the house, "inside until we're back. Come on, hurry - and don't walk in a straight line, it makes you too easy a target."

William starts jogging towards the barn, zig-zagging at irregular intervals. He knows how stupid this looks, but also that it can be effective if the shooter doesn't know what he's doing.