"Won't believe everything you hear miss." Charging Bear says with a bit of disgust in his voice. His tomahawk cleaves the air in a side arm swing, but the native son shifts the weapon to strike the woman with the flat of the blade rather than the lethal edge.

OOC: Going non-lethal, -1 modifier if memory serves and since she's technically considered unarmed that's +2.
15:48, Today: Charging Bear rolled 3,2 using 1d8+1,1d6+1, rerolling max with rolls of 2,1. Fighting (-1 Nonlethal, +2 Unarmed Def).
15:48, Today: Charging Bear rolled 5,4 using 1d8+1,1d6+1, rerolling max with rolls of 4,3. Fighting - WC.
15:51, Today: Charging Bear rolled 4,15 using 1d8,1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 4,(6+6+3)15. Damage (Str, Tomahawk).
Hit for 19, I think that'll knock her out.

15:57, Today: Charging Bear drew the single card: QC using a deck of 54 cards. Initiative.

The flat of the blade whacks the girl across the temple, and she crumples in a heap.

Looking around the small office, Charging Bear notices three sticks of dynamite sitting on the table. Apparently, her threat about blowing up other buildings to flush him out wasn't an idle one.

((OOC: Actually...

Improvised Weapons in SW Deluxe:

Improvised Weapons
Heroes often find themselves fighting with objects that
aren’t intended for use as weapons. Torches, vases, chairs,
tankards, bottles, tools, and other mundane items are
frequently pressed into service in combat. And sometimes
characters find themselves using existing weapons in
improvised ways, defending with a ranged weapon in melee
or trying to throw a hand weapon not designed to be thrown.

Such improvised weapons cause the wielder to suffer a
–1 Fighting or Throwing penalty, as well as –1 to Parry. The
Game Master is the final judge of an improvised weapon’s
effectiveness.

• Small Weapons: Range 3/6/12, Damage Str+d4, RoF
1, Min Str d4, –1 attack and Parry
• Medium Weapons: Range 2/4/8, Damage Str+d6, RoF
1, Min Str d6, –1 attack and Parry
• Large Weapons: Range 1/2/4, Damage Str+d8, Min Str
d8, –1 attack and Parry

So she doesn't count as unarmed, as she has two pistols in hand, so no +2 bonus to attacks for CB. BUT! She does have a -1 Parry right now, since they are Improvised Weapons at melee range. And I'll waive the -1 penalty for nonlethal fighting, so the action is unchanged. Just keep that in mind for the future.

She's not going to be able to soak all that, so down she goes...let's see what the Incapacitation table says.

13:34, Today: The Jellicle Gang rolled 7,4 using d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of (6+1)7,4. Incapacitation. Success but no Raise. She's down and will be unconscious for 3 hours.))

Combat thread update:

Now that most of the Jellicles have been dropped, I'm going to move the rest of you out of Combat Rounds.

However, Rum Tum Tugger and  Wildcat are still in battle with each other. here's the order of actions:

Rum Tum Tugger: KH. Since he's waiting on Wildcat for his action, he's going to go on hold.
Wildcat Hawkins: 3D
Generous Salesman: At the moment, out of the fight. He has no stake in this aside from not getting himself killed.

This means that right now I am waiting on Wildcat Hawkins to post her action. I'm also waiting on Robert to post an action of some kind, as I have the feeling the next bit will involve him, Adrian, and Evans heavily.

Wildcat made no threats, no calls, no cajoling.

Takes one to know one.

At once a great sense of regret washed over her, she was up against in one sense a kindred spirit.  He refused to give up, ever.

He would not bend.  She would neither.

He would not break.  She would neither.

The only way for this to end was for one of their bodies to be reduced to a wrecked husk that could no longer serve its master.

But there was a difference between them.  For all her boasting, Wildcat, deep inside, hated this situation.  Hated shooting another person in the gullet.  Hated herself for doing it.

But he was having the time of his life.

What made you this way?

A man was born into sin, but redemption was free.  Had this man really forsaken it?  What had twisted him this way?

But there was no time to contemplate as she rounded the corner.

OOC:  This introduces a complication I have never experienced before.  Do I have to declare my action blind despite knowing he went around the corner, or could I use my movement to get over there, and then declare the action.  I have honestly never had this happen before!

((OOC: Use your movement and assess the situation, but remember that he's On Hold, so he can try to beat you in an Agility contest to go before you do.))

OOC: Wildcat's intent is simple enough.  She's aware he must be leading her back into his funhouse, but on the other hand, she has to stop him.  She's stepping lively but trying to avoid any wires or strings or the like, but her intent is to shoot him again.  If it's a MAP to Notice and Shoot, so be it.

PM

...sssssssssssssssssssss....

Wildcat turns the corner...and sees Rum Tum Tugger slumped over against the wall, his left hand behind his back, a large satchel over his shoulder, and a wide, wide grin on his face.

"Well...hello there, pretty girl." he says.

...sssssssssssssssssssss....

"You know..." he grunts, shifting a little into a more comfortable spot. there's a hissing noise from somewhere behind him. "With the exception of one...deadly and unpredictable midget, you are...by far the most troublesome contract...I've ever had."

He laughs a bit, then grimaces in pain.

...sssssssssssssssssssss....

"argh...Think you got me good here. Well done. And you know...I know you could take me to a sawbones...get me patched up right...before you hang me, but that ain't gonna happen. I'm not letting you...take me alive." He grins again. "And...at least I'll die...secure in the knowledge...that I took you with me."

And with that, Wildcat suddenly realizes just what that hissing noise behind him is...

...sssssssssssssssssssss....

"See you in Hell, pretty girl." He says, then begins a long, cackling, psychotic laugh as the fuse burns down...

---

((OOC: OK! Here's the situation: Rum is holding a stick of dynamite behind his back, up against the wall. He's also got a satchel of dynamite on his person.

Altogether, he has 9 sticks of dynamite on him about to explode. That's a big, big boom.

Wildcat has a few options.

She could attempt an Agility check to get behind cover, but the penalty is -4 because this explosion will be huge and the collateral damage of the building collapsing will be just as dangerous as the explosion itself.

She could instead try to wrestle the stick Rum's holding away from him and throw it down the hall. This will require 2 actions (with the concurrent MAP); a Disarm check (-2 to hit, as you are targeting the arm) and a Throwing check. A ranged attack will not work for this.

Or she could go for the satchel itself. This would be a Grapple (and an opposed Strength or Agility roll), but would get the satchel away from him and just out of range...in time for the single stick of dynamite to explode. You could try to rely on the Generous Stranger's Deflection to protect you.

Or you can try some other action. You being you, I'm sure you'll come up with something awesome.))

In reply to Robert Micklethwait (msg #69):

PM

Charging Bear picks up the trio of dynamite and slipping them into his back pocket. he asks the fallen loon, "Why does everyone likes these so much anyways?" as he takes her gunbelts and sets them on one shoulder as he uses a bit of rope to tie up the villainess. He then tosses her over his other shoulder like a sack of potatoes and makes for the door.

OOC: Looking for the down stairs, hoping not to go boom before I get there...
This message was last edited by the player at 18:56, Mon 10 Oct 2011.

In reply to Robert Micklethwait (msg #72):

Robert fights the burning sun and his own fear to slip like a ghost across the street and into the buildings.

As he moves, he sees Evans look his direction briefly. "What was that?" he hears the Marshal say, then, "Hmm...that was...odd..."

Robert finds himself in a large corner office. From here, the vault where the prisoners were being held is on the other side of the building, but walls hold no obstacle to Robert. Not anymore.

((OOC: The Amazing Evans rolled 8,1 using d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of (6+2)8,1. Notice. Ties with Robert, so he sees something moving out of the corner of his eye, but doesn't recognize it as Robert.

Robert is now in the lower left-hand corner office on the map.))

Robert pauses to listen.  If things seem quiet, he'll poke his head through the walls to check adjacent rooms.

In reply to Rum Tum Tugger (msg #70):

Here is the only other ideas I can think of, and both assume both hands are behind him, since I assume by satchel you mean a bag without a shoulder strap, and he'd want to hold the satchel and the lit stick right next to each other both to hide them and to guarantee secondary ignition.

Wildcat could perhaps grab the end of that long stupid scarf of his and show him why it's a very bad idea to wear a long piece of cordage around your neck in a battle because wherever the head goes the body follows.

By pulling down on that and briging her knee up at the same time, there's a decent chance she smashes him right in the head and in his condition he's likely to lose grip on both items.  I am thinking if he's worried mostly about holding things behind his back and not fending off the attacking Ranger, at the very least his Parry should severely suck unless he drops them, which would be exactly what I want anyway.

Granted there's still the issue of having to Throw it and MAP will come into play.

Alternatively, a good sharp jerk on the scarf should send him careening whatever direction Wildcat wants him to go and all she has to do is release.  Are either of those doors he's sandwiched between on the map open?  Does WC have time to open them?  If he could be jerked through to that interior chamber (even if Wildcat has to go with him), the blast wouldn't be quite as bad.  WC is thinking of CB and Evans, thinking they're likely on the exterior of the building, and if she can make the boom inside the middle, it might save their bacon.

I just want to get your mechanical intepretation of it.  All my options are bad, but I didn't think this would be easy.

In reply to Wildcat Hawkins (msg #76):

((OOC: You're right in thinking that his Parry is crap right now...he's Prone.

Yanking on his scarf to try and get him to loosen his grip would be flavoring either the "disarm" or "grapple" options, mechanically speaking.

Both doors are closed. She could try to open one and yank him inside, which would be functionally the same as the grapple option with an additional MAP for opening the door.


Ain't you glad you have some Red Chips available?))
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:54, Mon 10 Oct 2011.

In reply to The Stray (msg #77):


OOC: It seems the best option is to try grappling the satchel away from him.  Her Strength and Agility are the same.  Here's hoping he has wound penalties.

He can cancel any of these chips so I broke it out since my spending is contingent.

17:53, Today: Wildcat Hawkins rolled 3,2 using d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 3,2. Satchel Grab!.

17:53, Today: Wildcat Hawkins rolled 4 using 1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 4. a Red Chip.

That is a 7.

17:54, Today: Wildcat Hawkins rolled 3,9,8 using 1d6,1d6,1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 3,(6+3)9,(6+2)8. White Chip, why not?  Trait first.

That is a 17.  The first two dice are the Trait roll.

((OOC: Rum is actually out of chips, having used them all to survive Wildcat's initial, crippling shot.

The Grapple hits with a Raise...that will make Rum Shaken. He won't get to make the opposed roll, so Wildcat will be able to grab and toss the bag with the greater part of the boomsticks without any resistance.

Still, that leaves her in range of the initial blast...

16:16, Today: Rum Tum Tugger rolled 4 using 2d6, rerolling max with rolls of 2,2. Boom goes the Dynamite.

-_- Well, that was a bit of an anticlimax. Wildcat wouldn't even have been shaken without the magic armor surrounding her, let alone with. It's not even enough to singe RTT's fingers and he's holding the damn thing.

Still, getting the 8 sticks away from the explosion was the important part...

Do you want to do the write-up of your defeat of Rum Tum Tugger's master plan, or should I?))
This message was last edited by the player at 23:22, Mon 10 Oct 2011.

OOC:  I got it.  Since that's such a good roll I went a bit overboard.

Her first instinct was to round the corner and duck.  Even if the building collapsed, these walls were strong, and being between behind the corner guaranteed survival, but she stopped dead in her tracks.

Charging Bear/Marshal Evans!  Came the horrified dual thought.  Sure she could run into an internal hallway and be relatively safe, but she had no idea where they were.  What if Marshal Evans had come in the front?  What if Charging Bear was right behind Rum Tum Tugger and wandered into the explosion?  If she got hurt, that was one thing, but they were likely still on the periphery of the building.  If that much of the stuff went off at once...

No.  Not tah-day you sorry sack of cow patties.  No more!

This wasn't Wildcat speaking.  Nor was it little Katy Hawkins.  At that moment, for the first time her life since Wildcat had been born somewhere inside Katrina's grief stricken pysche, it was both.

"Ain't nobody headed to no Hell-"

Wildcat sprinted down the hall, dropping her Peacemaker in its holster.

"Tahday!"

Undoubtedly the Jellicle stood there smugly, anticipating her fist, her blade, or even some lame pass at the dynamite, but he'd seen this coming and prepared for...

...why did she have his scarf?

There's not much to Wildcat Hawkins.  She's seldom as large as the prey she stalks.  But she has a very pointed knee, which Rum Tum Tugger learned presently as the sharp jerk on his ever present fashion statement sent his face careening into it.

As the assassin fell, his hands went limp, and the satchel reached the floor.  Wildcat, thinking quickly, hooked it under her boot and kicked it behind her. The slit of her gray duster fluttered as it passed through.  Involuntarily she shut her eyes and shielded herself, this was going to hurt.

The glowing stick twirled through the air.  There was heat, there was fire, and there were sparks, great fat sparks which hurt even through her thick clothing.

But there was no boom.  No percussive pressure blast.

The stick landed.  The ignition materials had burned out in a spectacular fashion which would have burned anyone who wasn't dressed in so much cloth, but the explosive inside hadn't ignited.

A dud.

Would those sparks have ignited the contents of the satchel anyway?  They'd burned right through her duster and hat.

Thank ya Jesus I'll never know.

Not realizing that for the first time there was only one voice in her head, the Ranger made her way over to the prone killer, threw the sixgun in his holster well out of his reach, and snapped one end of her wrist irons on him.

"To punish the just is not good, nor to strike princes for equity.  Yer guilty of both, and you sure as hell passed the point of good long ago.  You're under arrest, and you will be tried."

She leaned closer as if to whisper in his ear.  "But I am pretty ain't I?  Thank'ee for noticin'."
This message was last edited by the player at 23:51, Mon 10 Oct 2011.

In Reply to Wildcat:

The assassin looks up at her, blood pouring from his nose down his face. A chuckle burbled from inside him, then exploded into a full-throat guffaw.

After several minutes the laughter subsides, though occasional chuckles rock his frame.

"This...hee...this just too much...ha ha...you know, I take it back...hee hee heeee...you're far more troublesome than the midget!"

He collapses in another laughing fit before catching his breath again. "Oh...eh heh heh....I guess that's what comes...of relying on five year old dynamite...but what makes you think I'm gonna live to trial? When...when Old Deuteronomy hears about this latest cockup...my life won't be worth a bent penny."

---

In reply to Charging Bear:

((OOC: Please make a Notice check.))

---

In reply to Robert Micklethwait

Listening in, there's a very, very odd sound...someone is laughing. somewhere up ahead...

In reply to Rum Tum Tugger (msg #81):

"Then you just done better tell me whar his sorry hide is, so's he can sit in th' jail wit' th' rest of ye."

Wildcat snapped the other half of the cuffs on him.  Her hands went around looking for any other nasty surprises the killer had, including lockpicks, or anything that could be used as one.

Ain't out of the woods yet...  Wildcat reflected grimly.  She'd no idea how Marshal Evans or Deputy Bear had fared with the others.

The assassin laughs again. "Girl, I don't even know who he is. We always...took our jobs through a...third party, for just that reason. I have several guesses...as you're not the first lawdog...he's had us off here in Blackthorn. So it's someone rich...and powerful in a place that's lacking much of either. And since...he wanted it to look...like it was the Dust Adders that done you in...it's probably not Doctor Ward, who'd have his boys...do you directly."

"Nah, it don't seem like Ward's style from what I been learned of the man now anyhoo.  Ya know this overblown bandanna o' yers gots a thousands 'n one uses..."

Wildcat looks around for something solid to cuff him to.  Barring that, she's at least going to bind his feet with that scarf since it is expedient  As she does this, she talks to her prisoner.

"You keep on talkin' though feller, yer smarter than ya look.  See at this here point, ya gots one thin' ah wants, and ah gots one thin' ya'll wants.  Ya'll got what ah want ta know, and hell, for all you know, I may get this Old Deuteronomy yet.  If'n ah do or don't, yer best off in th' mean time under mah watch.  You been huntin' me, ya know somethin' 'bout me.  Yer better off this way, an' ya'll know it.

"But ah know a little somethin' you don't.  That feller you just plugged?  He's gonna live, and he's gonna be mighty unhappy with you, an' he sure ain't a nice feller.  He done wanted to catch ya'll when what he first come here.

"See, ah'd done thought about lettin' Cantrell take one of ya'll, he could get hisself a little money an' it'd be a right purty way ta get rid of 'im.  Now I would never let him take th' lady, Lord knows ah can't stand to be alone with 'im fer five minutes.  Me being her sister bitch 'n all, ah couldn't do that to 'er.

"So at this point, ah'm satisfied it ain't gonna be you in particular Cantrell gets, so that only leaves th' other feller.  Spill it, an' he stays here wit' ya'll.  Now ain't no way yer cronies defeated th' others so eas'ly, th' more ya tell me th' more work ah do ta keep all ya'll mah prisoners 'n no one else's."

"Gee, I feel safer already," the gunman quips. He starts chuckling. "Wow. You are bad at making threats. Of course the nigger ain't dead yet. Doesn't mean he'll live. I gut-shot him...he'll take hours to die yet. You entrust any of us to his care and sure, he might beat us around a bit, but he won't live to Victoria, so it's all the same to me."

"Besides which hearing you talk about having any 'sisterly bonds' with Jenny Anydots is hilarious. You obviously haven't met her. You're about as far from being sisters with that bloodthirsty bitch as a housecat is from a cougar." He grins. "Heh. They call you Wildcat, but you're really more of a kitten, aren'tcha? Ha! 'Wildkitten.'" The thought just seems to tickle his funny bone, sending him chuckling again.

"Excuse me," comes a voice from the end of the hall. "Er, sorry to interrupt, but would you mind telling me if we're out of danger yet?"

((OOC: Just in case you're curious, RTT had a very nice copper-plated LeMat grapeshot revolver, 5 spare shotgun shells, a pair of dice, $63 (some of it bloodstained), a small knife, and a key ring with a couple small keys on it.))

Adrian finds himself unable to control his arms. His pistol raises, aiming for Evans' back. He hears himself say "Aces," then shout, "Look out!"

And then three ghostly shots wail out...

---

OOC:

Deal with the Devil for 3 PP

Hand: Pair of Aces using a Joker 7C, QH, 3H, JS, AH, 3S, 2C, BJ!, 5D
Spellcasting: 7, 6, 7
Damage: 6,2,10

-21:28, Today: The Stray, on behalf of Adrian Vega, drew the 9 cards: 7C, QH, 3H, JS, AH, 3S, 2C, BJ!, 5D using the Deadlands system. Deal With the Devil.
-21:32, Today: The Stray, on behalf of Adrian Vega, rolled 7,6,7,4 using d8,d8,d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 7,6,7,4. Spellcasting.
-21:36, Today: The Stray, on behalf of Adrian Vega, rolled 6,2,10 using 2d6,2d6,2d6, rerolling max with rolls of 5,1,1,1,5,5. Damage.

OOC:  And Wildcat gains the small insight she needed.

Wildcat smiles.  Blackthorn had taught her well to be tricksy without being a liar.  Acting like herself was the best kind of lie.

"Yer more ornery than mah horse, ya'll really thought ah'd offer you a damn thing.  Yer goin' away an' that's all there is to it."

OOC: I'll donate nearly all of that to the local constabulary.  Really it should be evidence, but under the circumstances of the 1870s he can kiss it goodbye.  Seriously, it will be forever before he gets a trial and Evans needs some kind of money to operate, it's better than a sharp stick in the eye.  Want to find out what those keys go to though.  For now Wildcat would disable that weapon, pulling out the pin to remove the cylinder for the moment.

"An' any way I ain't like one of ya'll, that's a good thing.  Mercy, morality, kindness, she knows none of these things an' neither do you.  People like ya'll, they would have died out long time ago without people that ain't like ya'll.  Yer vultures, living on the scraps of the meat produced by folks with some worth.  Fer all yer laughin' an profit, you ain't never sewn nothin' but misery, yer existence is meaningless an' ya'll know it, an it burns yer hide real good no matter much ya'll never admit it to yerselfs.  Worst part is, a vulture can't help it's nature, but you chose this, at some point in yer life ya did anyhow.

"T'ain't me ya should fear no way, ye will be judged fer this.  Twixt.  An' yer life's been a wicked one.  Ya spent it playin' stupid games, now yer gonna win stupid prizes.  But that ain't up ta me.  Best thing you can hope for is enough of th' stupid wears off of ya, ya listen to th' preacher man 'fore that judge's gavel comes down.  God'll forgive ya, but the state of Texas sure as hell won't."

Wildcat calls to the strange man.  She would waste no more words on this killer scum, he'd given her what she needed to know.  If he'd been what she feared most, he would have told her something, anything, readily agreed.  But there wasn't that much subtlety to him, just lunacy, cruelty and depravity; Old Deuteronomy was most likely a truth, and probably the last one he'd supply to her that was useful.

"Looney feller, are you still in here?"  She sighs.  "It's all right for the moment, there's two more of 'em creepin' round here, but this room seems safe as any place.  Get on in here now."