I'm not sure.  Since we're not doing maps, the way I picture the room is different than the way you do.  If there's a lot of people in the kitchen, the barrier should be in there, keeping the cattle at bay. 

[[Forgot you'd not been following the main threads...I'll put them somewhere obvious tommorrow if I get time, but the downstairs plan is over here (msg #104): link to a message in this game ...the differences between that and the house as played are that the plan's WC is a solid wall on the pantry side, being hall cupboards here, the deck door is on the other side and currently barricaded out of use (plus there's no deck) and the electric hob island is a table (currently wedged into the pantry). Oh, and it's one door, not double.

There's you, Evans, O'Rourke, Hank and Hardin in the kitchen, plus Her Under The Floor and two steers. I don't know if that counts as a lot to you. Hank and Evans are near the door, Sarah's on the counter by the sink, O'Rourke and Hardin are nearer the pantry. You could block the top third off and protect Evans, Hardin, O'Rourke and yourself, block the entrance leaving you lot with two cows for now, block a few paces from the entrance to block yourself, Hardin and O'Rourke off from all current threats, or something else...]]

If the cows are in the breakfast area, I'll just cut them off there.  Basically, use your best judgment as to where the most effective place for the barrier would be, to protect as many of us as possible.

((OOC: Yeah, I'm a little confused as to where the cows are relation to myself, the stairs, and the doorway...and the image seems to be broken on my end))
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:08, Fri 12 Sept 2014.

The cows jink and startle away from the holy light, tails thrashing the air in agitation.

[[I haven't moved the image from where you had it, Stray...Evans is pretty much across the kitchen doorway from Hank (where he stepped back to prep his flamethower). The cows in the kitchen are nearest you two, having instinctive grudges against Yankees.

Right. Since Sarah described the barrier as being across the kitchen, I'll assume that's within it. She cuts Hank and Evans off with the kitchen cows, creating a safe 2/3 of the kitchen for herself, O'Rourke and Hardin.]]

Luckily for them, the rules say the barrier can be climbed.  Although if a cow starts to climb it, I'll call bull.  :P

Throwing caution to the wind, Evans backed up against the invisible barrier, cleared a blockage from the end of his weapon, cursed as he made a quick adjustment to the pressure to keep the slapped-together machine from blowing up, then squeezed the trigger on his makeshift flamethrower. A wave of flame washes over the kitchen and much of the foyer as Evans begins laughing, a high, disturbed sound that seems less than stable.

((OOC: Evans slides around the cow and fires the flamethrower. He's aiming to catch as many of the cows as he can in the blaze.

09:16, Today: The Amazing Evans rolled 1,5 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 1,5. Weird Science. ACK! No, don't need a malfunction right now. Going to spend a chip for a reroll.

09:16, Today: The Amazing Evans rolled 1,3 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 1,3. red chip reroll. OH, COME ON!. Spending another chip...

09:16, Today: The Amazing Evans rolled 5,5 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 5,5. blue chip reroll. There we go. No explosion today!

The cows (and whoever else is in the way) need to make an Agility check vs. my roll, or else they take 2d10 damage. There's also that 1-in-six chance I set something on fire, either one of the cows (or other NPCs) who fails their agility check or the surrounding house. Either way, I'm hoping the cows run away from the flames.

09:21, Today: The Amazing Evans drew the single card: 9D using the Deadlands system.))

The clank turns, lenses pointed to the light from the kitchen. "! Do not advise-!"

The cow it was attempting to protect swings about with a bellow of panic as flames wash into the foyer, knocking the mechanical marvel out of harm's way. Dave's "FUCKING HELL!" as he half-falls, half-dives for cover behind the bannister is almost lost in the increasing chaos of maddenned cattle, as is Alouette's faint remark that those are Bad Words.


[[Going with the position indicated in your OOC text and assuming Evans is at/directly facing the kitchen doorway, missing the kitchen cows by a hair whilst hitting 'most everything outside (though yes, this will stampede the two in there with you, too):

Bane Cows rolled rolls of 3,1,1. Agility!
Bane Cows rolled rolls of 5,3. cows on edge of template.
Evans catches 4 cows; roll damage. They all, in fact, have a 1/6 chance of catching fire, but let's see if they're mobile first.

Dave has Light cover from the edge of the stairs.
Mighty Dave, rolled 12,10 using d8+1,d6+1, rerolling max with rolls of (8+3)11,(6+3)9. Agility. He's super-agile!

Alouette rolled 1,2 using d4,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 1,2. go go gadget flamethrower avoidance! Ugh.
Alouette rolled 1,4 using d4,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 1,4. white chippit. Better.
Alouette rolled 5 using 1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 5. red chippit.
There we go. You avoid potentially blowing up the clank.

Ward's house, rolled 1 using 1d6, rerolling max ((1)).
By some miracle, the stairs are also merely charred.]]

((OOC: 17:27, Today: The Amazing Evans rolled 4 using 2d10, rerolling max with rolls of 1,3. Damage. That's...shitty. Ah, well. Maybe one of them will catch fire.))

The cattle already inside surge away from the fire; the living room wall dents, cracks and partly splinters under the strain, allowing a longhorn to stumble through, another close behind. Some of the beeves closest to Evans' attack are singed, and one animal seems to be on fire. Dave's cursing has become a steady stream.

More cattle pour in through the front wall, driving those panicked by the fire along the only route clear to them - up the stairs. Widow Bradshaw half-lifts her son towards the library at a run, shouting instructions to the crowlets to attack the cowboys outside, not the cows.

[[Actually, you roll damage per target, at least according to the Core rules. So:

Bane Cow, rolled 13 using 2d10, rerolling max with rolls of 7,6. damage cow.
Bane Cow, rolled 4 using 2d10, rerolling max with rolls of 3,1. damage cow.
Bane Cow, rolled 14 using 2d10, rerolling max with rolls of 9,5. damage cow.
2 Shakens and 2 singed altogether. And when cattle are Shaken, they Stampede!
...yeah, there's going to be a ton of trample checks next round.

That's one Herd template (5 cows) heading up the stairs, folks! If On-Hold Jake wants to make a run for it, probably best to do it this round 'fore they start handing out the damage...

Bane Cows rolled rolls of 2,2,(6+6+3)15,2. on fire? Huh. The one directly in front of Dave is On Fire.
Ward's house rolled 3 using 1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 3. on fire? It doesn't set any more of the wooden building y'all are in alight yet.

Bradshaw uses her turn to move Pace (helping Percy along) and indirectly affect the fighting outside.]]

---

The cow in the kitchen finds she has no room to escape and doubles back, taking some of Evans' sleeve with her on her horns as she lumbers out into the foyer. The steer lunges for Hank, who simply sidesteps the clumsy charge of an animal with no room to manoeuvre and lets it bash into the doorframe.

Beyond the barrier, O'Rourke's lips thin as he looks on the chaos. Going to one knee beside the table over the cellar hatch, he drops his head and folds his hands a moment to pray. Soon after, he leans down to murmur to the floor in flawless Spanish.

[[I find it unlikely O'Rourke has no Spanish at all, but it's not on his sheet, so God All Translate it is...
Father William O'Rourke rolled 3,4 using d10,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 3,4. Faith! He spends his action talking to Not A Leprechaun down there.

The cows in general break stuff, and the kitchen cows attack the Yanks:

Bane Cow rolled 3 using 1d12+2, rerolling max with rolls of 1. outta my way, door! Nope.
Bane Cow rolled 12 using 1d12+2, rerolling max with rolls of 10. outta my way, wall! Smash!
Bane Cow rolled 1 using 1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 1. outta my way, Hank! Nope nope.

Bane Cow rolled 3 using 1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 3. outta my way, Evans! Hit, 'cause Evans has no Parry worth the name. (you want to give him a Fighing die, Stray, since he's pretty much a PC in this thread?)
Bane Cow rolled 4 using 1d12+2, rerolling max with rolls of 2. *foe toss*. She does not toss the foe.]]

Evans yelps as the cow rips his sleeve open and bats at the beeve ineffectively with his top hat. "Back! Back, you!"

((OOC: Evans has no Fighting because he's just not a fighter. Yes, he's my PC, but I already used my Advance and it's not his thing. Who's up next?))

Jake took the most opportune moment to exit the building which was quickly beginning to resemble a block of swiss cheese.

OOC: SURE! exit stage ... whatever
This message was last edited by the player at 17:54, Wed 24 Sept 2014.

[[Jake was upstairs last I knew - if he decides to exit via the nearest outside window (the broken one in Abraham's room/Bedroom 3) it'll be Agility -4 or take 3d6 falling damage. Up for it?

Otherwise, he could run downstairs into the flaming, milling cattle in an attempt to get out the front wall, which'd be a run action and thus Agility at -4 again (-2 MAP, -2 Panicked cattle as obstacle) Also he might catch fire.]]

Jake wasted no time thinking and simply acted by jumping out the window.

OOC: Window works for me.
14:18, Today: Jake Lawrence rolled 11,0 using 1d8-4,1d6-4, rerolling max with rolls of (8+7)15,4. Agility vs Falling.

A rushing darkness; hyper-aware with the proximity of death, Jake calculates more by instinct than by sight. The ground below seems to be moving...no, there are just that many cattle, all being herded up around the house. Jake plummets towards the pointed horns and press of hooves, but luck is briefly with him: he lands in a momentarily clear area, dropping and rolling to absorb the impact. The mud is very cold.

A mad black forest of bovine legs greets Jake's view, dirt spattering his face and the odd hoof catching his body with a bright flick of pain. Not just cows, he realises, spotting some more gracile limbs beyond the herd as his ears adjust to the rain, hail and holler of cattle: there's at least one horse out there, and it sounds like there's a cowboy atop it.

[[Nice roll! Init. for next round, please.]]

OOC:

Initiative: AS

13:45, Today: Adrian Vega drew the single card: AS using the Deadlands system. Init.

OOC: 1 card as requested
14:46, Today: Jake Lawrence drew the single card: 5C using a deck of 54 cards. Initiative.

Inside the house, cattle chaos continues.

[[Initiative!

Adrian Vega AS
Widow Bradshaw QD
Hank Miller JS
Evans 9D
O'Rourke 9D
Dust Adders 7D
Vampire cowboys 6D
Jake Lawrence 5C
Sister Sarah 5D
Alouette 3H
John Wesley Hardin 2C
Cows 2D

William Pierce On Hold
John Smith On Hold, possibly not here.

Grey people are outside, useful NPCs currently in the library can be used if anyone wants to persuade them out (indeed, if anyone wants to babysit someone in there, be my guest).]]
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:41, Tue 30 Sept 2014.

OOC:

My intention for this action will be to get close enough to the nearest source of trouble (which is presumably bovine in nature) and deal with said source of trouble with extreme prejudice (ie, make an attack).

Is this possible? If not, I will settle for getting as close as I can so I can attack on the next turn.

21:56, Today: Sister Sarah drew the single card: 5D using a deck of 54 cards. Init.

Standing outside the library with his gun drawn, Adrian using his vaunted powers of observation to note that the previously mentioned steers were making their way up the stairs. "Well, ain't that convenient," he said, staring them down over the barrel of his gun and firing bolts from it that he had wrestled down from the nether at the first two cattle making their way upstairs. It looked like he scored two solid hits, though the thirds bolt went a bit wild.

OOC:

Deal with the Devil:         2 Pair (KC, KS, QH, QD)
Spellcasting (Attack Roll):  4 and 6
Damage:                      19 and 7

12:18, Today: Adrian Vega rolled 19,7, 20 using 2d6,2d6,2d6, rerolling max with rolls of (6+6+4)16,3,3,4,(6+6+5)17,3. Damages.
12:18, Today: Adrian Vega rolled 3 using 1d8-1, rerolling max with rolls of 4.
12:17, Today: Adrian Vega rolled 6 using 1d8-1, rerolling max with rolls of 7.
12:17, Today: Adrian Vega rolled 4,0 using d8-1,d6-1, rerolling max with rolls of 5,1. Fatigued Spellcasting.
12:02, Today: Adrian Vega drew the 11 cards: KC, 4H, 7C, KS, QH, 4S, 5D, 3H, 2S, 2C, QD using the Deadlands system. Deal with the Devil.

12:26, Today: Adrian Vega drew the single card: 6D using the Deadlands system. init.

This message was last edited by the player at 17:26, Tue 30 Sept 2014.

The lead beeve gives a primal cut-off holler and collapses, struck between the eyes. The one behind, gouged by a ghostly bullet, turns and charges straight into the bathroom. The third 'bullet' blows a hand-sized chunk out of Ward's bedroom door.

"Whitver, get Percival back into the library now!" Widow Bradshaw commands from slightly behind Adrian, pushing back her sleeves as she hoves dimly into view in the light from the library.
"But Dave-" Percy protests.
"He'll be here," Al tells him.

"Right," Widow Bradshaw says, as stumbling cattle pound up the stairs and into the far bedroom. "Let's see if I can draw him back for longer this time..."

Darkness draws in with that masculine hot-sand smell. The widow invokes, more and more desperately as the creature resists, the air twisted with the thrashing of its there-not-there muscles...then suddenly it is there, black, massive...and clearly not under the widow's control.

A glimpse of horn and hoof and flying mane; the widow cries out and for one mad instant Adrian can see her flying beyond the blotted dark, seeming to hang in the air half a heartbeat like a white angel in her petticoats, a red stain blooming from her chest as she drops away.

"MA!" Percy screams, and though he almost hesitates as the vast and ancient beast huffs his scent, his legs have moved him forward before his brain understands.

His wild punch strikes only air, darkness easing out around him like so much smoke.


[[You know, if one of y'all fetched a light out there, the darkness penalty would stop cancelling out the +2 size bonus to hit a cow...I'll set an NPC to it next round. Anyway, 1 cow down.

Meanwhile, Bradshaw tries to get the karkadann back.
The Widow Bradshaw, got the result "Yes - definitely" on the magic 8-ball. does she know its Name?

The Widow Bradshaw, rolled 3,4 using d8-1,d6-1, rerolling max with rolls of 4,5. shazam!
A Summoned Spirit, rolled 9 using 1d10, rerolling max with rolls of 9. spirit!
The Widow Bradshaw, rolled 1,0 using d8-1,d6-1, rerolling max with rolls of 2,1. spirit! _{Oh crap.}

A Summoned Spirit, rolled 15 using 1d8, rerolling max with rolls of (8+7)15. attack! attack! *facepalm* hit and raise...
A Summoned Spirit, rolled 26 using d12+1,2d6, rerolling max with rolls of 9,5,(6+5)11. damage impudent caster. ... (she also takes 4 Falling damage, but it's sort of academic)

Alouette, on behalf of The Widow Bradshaw, rolled -2,1,5 using d6-4,d6-4, rerolling max with rolls of 2,5,5. white chippit on failed incap. roll.
Both her chips net her a 6. She's alive, but probably not for long if she's left on the floor down there...]]

In the kitchen, Hank backs a couple of steps and takes his best shot at the back of the steer's head. The animal stumbles, bellowing, but although the back of its neck is drenched in blood it's still up.

[[Hank Miller rolled 3,-1 using d8-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 5,1. shootin'. (headshot, close range to big beastie)
Hank Miller rolled 7 using 1d6, rerolling max with rolls of (6+1)7. red chippit. -> 10, Hit and Raise.
Hank Miller rolled 10 using 3d6+1, rerolling max with rolls of 1,4,4. damage cow.
+4 headshot = 14. Shaken. Since it has nowhere to run to, I'll rule it stunned. Hank's out of ammo, though.

Evans, go!]]

((OOC: Is there any way for Evans to get over to Bradshaw without getting trampled?))

[[Guaranteed? No, but the area where she's fallen is clear of cows for the moment.]]