September 17th, 1880. Afternoon. The outskirts of Deadwood, Sioux Nations

some mood music

The mixed band of Cheyenne, Sioux, Art Wiley, and Moses make their way along the trail to Deadwood, following old paths used by the Lakota and Dakota in years past. The plains roll by, and the Black Hills grow closer and closer, rising out of the earth like giants. It's easy to see why this land is sacred.

Little Crow hunches down on his horse, glowering at everything. Walks The Night Alone rides near him, keeping a wary eye on the Ravenite. Kills Iron Horse keeps to the middle, eyes alert for danger. Moses and Art ride where they will. It is a strange flock, to be sure.

The path winds through the hills, following Whitewood creek. There's something just a little off. The cool breeze is just a shade too cool to be comfortable, and when it dies down, the sun is just a shade too hot. The birds are strangely discordant, just slightly off-key. The shadows seem to grow longer than they should, even in the afternoon. It should be a nice day, but...it feels more like the calm before a storm.

[Language unknown: "Te ce ll nde."] Little Crow mutters. [Language unknown: "Int verstr-evepre roenwi mi."]

The closer the band comes to Deadwood, the more signs of the white man's passage is visible. Wagon ruts dig into the road. The hoofprints of shod horses and boot prints mark passage. Here and there, a broken tool or a spent shell casing lies discarded on the side of the road. Cookfires from miners in the hills rise up into the air...and, in the distance, one can hear the unmistakable wail of burning Ghost Rock from claims that were not properly ventilated and ignited.

Poles begin to line the road, each holding a rope. The purpose of these poles becomes gruesomely clear as the group passes the first miner body hanging from the poles, neck crooked, grey flesh buzzing with flies. A sign, written in crude English, says "You are warned." Sadly, it is far from the only body strung up on the poles.

The first visible whites, however, are a troop of soldiers in blue, digging trenches and hauling felled logs. It looks like they're building some sort of earthworks. One of the men spots the approaching flock, and signals for his fellows.

A squad of six soldiers with rifles at the ready step into the path, blocking the way forward. A man with Sargent's stripes shouts "HALT!"

Moses starts to smile, a broad, jovial smile.

Then he looks up into the sky and nods. Both arms raised to the heavens - which would look more graceful if the huge black man wasn't mounted - he looks at the sergeant and with his deep, rumbling voice answers:

"You may let go of the fear in your hearts soldiers and rejoice! The Lord has sent Moses, his most humble servant, to Deadwood to destroy that which stands against the Almighty!

The soldiers don't quite seem to know what to make of Moses. The Sargent gives him a quizzical look, then looks over at Art. "Is all of you crazy, or just him?"

Art was not amused by the soldier's apparent lack of respect for Moses' proclamation. He may not share the man's religious views, but he had some respect for the fact that he had views. Art shook his head beneath his hood. In his unmistakable Irish brogue, Art replied. "I do no think he be crazy, he just be wanting to spread the word of the Lord, and act on His behalf." Art paused but kept his gaze firmly on the man who had spoken to him. "Do you be a believer in the Lord God, my good man?"

"Oh, sweet Jesus." The Sargent sighs, rubbing his forhead with his free hand. "Three redskins, a religious nigger, and a preachin' Mick. Just what we need today." He points at the three warriors. "They your converts, preacher?"

Art smirked at the response. "Oh, one of them do still to be needing conversion, good sir. The Lord apparently be needing him to see something in Deadwood, as that do be the path He be showing us."

"Uh-huh. And what would that be?" The Sargent asks.

One of the privates squeaks, "Maybe they're Mennonites, like them folk that came through the other day? They had an Injun with 'em, too."

"I don't remember askin' you a goddamn thing, pirvate!" The Sargent turn and shouts back at the man. "In fact, I distinctly recall you is on latrine duty!"

"Since when?" The private shoots back, indigent.

"Since right the Hell now, that's when!" The Sargent shouts, his face growing more and more red. "And if you don't like it, well, then I'm gonna hog tie you to one o' these here poles and whip ya 'till you squeal like a pig! I will flog you until you fucking die! I'll flog you until your asshole is sucking buttermilk! You had best unfuck yourself or I will unscrew your head and shit down your neck! Is that clear?"

"Sir yes sir!" The private squeaks, saluting hurriedly.

"Now get the fuck out of my sight!" The Sargent shouts, and the private just runs back to the barricades being erected. The Sargent turns back to Art. "Pardon that. Discipline problem. Now, what did you need in Deadwood?"

Art calmly watched the back and forth between the sergeant and his underling, and winced briefly at the yelling. Being able to hear well had its ups and its downs. Kira paced back and forth briefly as the man yelled, but then stopped to sniff the ground before returning her attention to the man speaking with Art.

Once the sergeant's attention was back on Art, he gestured toward Moses. "The Lord do make it known to Moses here, that the key to our one non-coverted fellow's salvation lies within Deadwood. That being the case, do there be any news from the town? Anything we should be knowing about before we pay our visit?"

"Well, the first thing you should know is that the place is under General Custer's direct control, after a renegade attack left part of Deadwood on fire. Custer's vowed to bring those, and them injuns as killed those miners, to justice. I don't think your flock is going to get on well there. I'm going to have to hold you here until I get clearance for them."

[Language unknown: "U intsaness ssar maolss. T k un andtrares shenceinehat pr, proel p cami ica."] Kills Iron Horse mumbles. [Language unknown: "Ristr acel i it str rimaet naouad, ectck, thec aset nius homiolil? Elwi acnt ac ver elin ceone atame ticterver?"]

The Sargent frowns. "What did your squaw say?"

"She praised the Lord for Custer being here. In her own tongue, her true feelings are unhindered on their way to the Lord."

"It be on fire? That do be unfortunate. There do be no killers of miners here, though." Art squinted at Kills Iron Horse as she asked her question and made her comment. He then returned his gaze to the man seemingly in charge with a shrug.

"I do no understand much. The Lord gives Moses the ability to understand all that people say. As for going to Deadwood - this has always been a free country. At least since the English were soundly beaten, turned tail, and ran back home." Art involuntarily smiled at that. There were few things he despised more than the English.

Moses looks at the NCO with his dark eyes, then briefly back up into the skies.
"Will you grant Moses the wisdom to answer this lost soul's questions, Lord?"
He smiles and nods.
"Thank you.."

Oh, for Pete's sake... two blue chips and one red... Not sure if the skill die being a one triggers an automatic crisis of faith... I'll take the original roll +10 for a total of 12, or success and raise, bringing my Persuasion skill to d10. Minus Charisma, of course.

20:27, Today: Moses rolled 10 using 1d6, rerolling max with rolls of (6+4)10. red chip on top.
20:26, Today: Moses rolled 1,3 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 1,3. one more blue for re-roll.
20:26, Today: Moses rolled 1,5 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 1,5. Blue chip, reroll.
20:26, Today: Moses rolled 2,3 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 2,3. Faith for Boost Trait Persuasion.

Then the prophet turns his eyes back to the soldiers.
"You are with Custer then, standing against the darkness that gathers on this land. The Lord is pleased by your good intentions and your souls shall add tremendous weight to the scales of justice when the Day of Reckoning comes!
But today... is not that day. Moses has come to tell the people of Deadwood what they need to hear. A great storm is coming. Against this darkness, against this force, what matters the ill intents of some drunk miners against indians and negroes? The Lord shall protect us, and Moses shall protect his flock. We are not trouble makers, but bringers of peace and counsel. Look deep within yourself, sargent... will you not let us pass for the sake of the poor souls that wait to hear the word of the Almighty?"




Man, I'm bleeding chips here... again, I need to look up the rules about backlash. So it's either 14 or 7.

20:37, Today: Moses rolled -1,9,5 using d10-2,d6-2,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 1,(6+5)11,5. blue chip, re-roll the whole thing..
20:37, Today: Moses rolled 1 using 1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 1. red chip on top.
20:36, Today: Moses rolled 6,6 using d10-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 8,(6+2)8. Persuasion, negative Charisma.

"Huh. Injuns for Custer. Never thought I'd see the day." The Sargent says. Kills Iron Horse just gives him a glare that would peel paint.

"The fires are all out, but everyone's still on edge. You wait here a spell while I send word to the higher-ups." The Sargent says. "Because as the Sioux have made clear, this part o' the country ain't free. At least until Custer learns 'em otherwise."

He called up another one of the privates. "You go on and tell Lt. Haverford about these here pilgrims, and ask him what he wants to do with 'em."

"Sir yes sir!" The private says. He begins running back up the road.

"Until he gets back, why don't you folks rest your horses a spell?" The Sargent says to Art.

Then Moses calls on the Lord to boost his persuasive abilities.

The Sargent smiles at Moses. "Good to know the Lord is on our side. And I believe ya, but I have my orders. I'll let you pass as soon as the Lt. okays it. Shouldn't be more than half an hour, tops. Hell, maybe you can preach to the troops here. Boost their morale a bit. I got me some discipline problems that could use sorting out. A holy roller-type lettin' 'em know God's with them might smooth things out."

((OOC: A 1 on the spellcasting die is a Crisis of Faith, regardless of the Wild Die, so it's better to use the one without the 1. The 14 on the persuasion roll stands.))

It didn't seem like taking a short break would cause much harm, so Art dismounted and let his horse rest a bit. "I think we can wait for your higher ups. Do there be a trough where me horse can be watered while we wait?"

Whether there was or not, Art retrieved his walking stick and crouched down to give Kira a good petting. He made sure to get behind her ears for some solid scratching, smirking as the dog's eyes closed halfway while she leaned into the scratch ever-so-slightly. After finishing with a good belly rub, Art returned to his full height and regarded the sergeant again. "It be good to hear the fires be out. Were any hurt by the arson? And is there anything else that be out of the ordinary for the town?"
This message was last edited by the player at 22:37, Fri 20 Feb 2015.

There is, in fact, a hastily set up water trough here. It looks like this was the beginnings of a permanent checkpoint being set up. There are about a dozen soldiers, give or take, doing trench work, setting up breast works out of earth and timber. None of the soldiers are especially eager to go near the poles that line the road, grisly remains still twisting in the growing wind. Some of the bodies look distressingly fresh, only days old at most, and at least one is a soldier in Union blue.

[Language unknown: "Acon urnte oerntehououlday thuerethi n utore ear."] Little Crow growls at Moses. [Language unknown: "Heronseveine moai manesttracon sanoulent il po on hirien."]

[Language unknown: "Ha norat whehisher con ro hini und pa hi caac onsevetho."] Walks The Night says, pointing to the dangling pole men. [Language unknown: "Ac o al whireathu hi enc."]

[Language unknown: "Intul saers pr ulson t hi ere ulwata ent stiousoun era wheree widi theoerich, ating reskorsti, to undur ernafo ouros."] Little Crow retorts. He waves at the soldiers. [Language unknown: "Are el Erons Chheet! Hiiv ularol manme omhi Pomo Ticvenint it ll her ac ratnt waen! Poivwa ektece madi a ratro ekhais na anttiorom a lini et ncehi!"] He points at the dangling soldier on the pole.

---

The Sargent (who introduces himself as James Butler), is talking with Art during this exchange.

"There were about a dozen casualties, I think. The injuns burned down a saloon and shot at the folks tryin' to escape, then blew up a steam wagon filled with some sort of experimental fire-fightin' stuff some Mad Scientist was workin' on. That's what I heard, anyhow. Truth be told, I wouldn't know what's odd for Deadwood or not."

The Sargent frowns as he spots Little Crow pointing at the soldier on the pole. "Oh, now, what the hell is this?" he mutters, and unlimbers a whip on his side. He snaps it threateningly.

{Crack!}

"Hey! Injun! What's got you all bothered, eh? Admirin' your friends' handiwork?"

Art kept one ear on the conversation between the Cheyenne and Lakota, and another on the words of the soldier. "You hear the injuns be burning a saloon? That do be strange. I do no ever hear of such an attack by them on Deadwood."

Art looked over at the Union soldier that Little Crow is pointing at before again returning his gaze to the sergeant. "I think he be wondering why you do no take down the body of your countryman. You do all be from the Union, yes? If you be wanting to bury that body, I think Moses be able to say the proper prayers for a burial. I be knowing a few hymns meself."

"Yeah? He don't look like that's what he's sayin'!" The Sargent growls. "Hey! You want me to tan your red hide? You want me to cut it to shreds? You step away from there right the Hell now or I will give such a whippin' your momma will feel it!"

Little Crow whirls, balling his hands into fists. [Language unknown: "Tame wimi ne ughicanot e, Dinnde-traich? U an hiasal nd ecteauour ter n en wieril!"] He shouts back.

Art raised an eyebrow at the Sergeant's outburst. He calmly responded to the sergeant trusting Moses to deal with Little Crow. "Peace, peace be with you, sir. You be finding which one of them do be still needing to be converted. Once he be discovering the truth, he will no be so feisty. But please give him the chance to come to this on his own. A soul that be discovering the truth on its own be so much more likely to follow the right path than one that be coerced."

((OOC: Gonna need a Persuasion roll (-2) from you, please.))

OOC: Persuasion of 12 after the -2 (i.e. rolled a 14)

16:24, Today: Art C. Wiley rolled 12,3 using d12-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of (12+2)14,5. Persuasion.

((OOC: Nice, now let's let Moses react to the situation.))

The crack of a whip. The screams of a girl. The lewd laughter of men.
Images... Memories rush through Moses' brain.
He shakes his head, as if in disagreement, then bellows: "ENOUGH!"

He dismounts, with all eyes on him.

First, he turns toward Little Crow. [Language unknown: "Ekoun ha notlarenc ineeveons str caer Llunos Lobut Chitarer Riti Paitca le ek sanhi Mooman. Ospro dinin larwitand hiin iount sheartera ei ame ha laacck sihess, lihat no ioli? Ersentsta, con acha, Outressti ur ha ndica."]

Then, he focuses on the soldiers. "And you, men of iron and steel and blood. Are you driven so much by your hate of the red man that you cannot let there be a single day of peace? Must everyone pay for what a member of his race has ever done?"

He walks a few steps toward the sergant, arms stretched out, to show he is unarmed.
"You cannot whip this young man, for he his under Moses' wing. Moses has vowed to the Lord to show him the error of his ways and protect him until he is enlightened. His trespasses are Moses trespasses. If you need to whip a man to keep this fragile peace, you shall whip Moses, not Little Crow."

He opens his coat and lets it fall to the ground, then drops his staff upon it. Finally, he pulls Crazy Horse's war club and his shotgun-on-a-sling from and drops them on his coat as well.

"But know this: With every lash, you will not just open Moses' skin. You will open wounds within your soul as well. And the Adversary's poison will find its way into your very being through these wounds and twist your very being, until you may end up just another tool of the Reckoners.
Or you can let go of the whip and let your fear and hate go with it. Moses sees great strength and determination in you. One day, your soul shall add to the scales of Reckoning. But it is this choice, today, right now, that will determine to which of the scales you will add weight."

Then, louder, for the benefit of everyone: "That goes for all of you. Your choices will set you on a path. Moses does not talk about Heaven. Moses does not talk about Hell. A great Reckoning is coming and you shall fight in the army of goodness... or you may become the soulless, hating, soldiers of darkness."
This message was last edited by the player at 16:21, Sat 21 Feb 2015.

For a moment, Sargent Butler relents. The soldiers gathered around look at Moses in awe. Little Crow, still in a fighting stance, looks about in confusion.

Then the Sargent breaks the spell with a crack of his whip. "Brown, Hart, grab the nigger." He growls, his face a cold mask of fury.

"S-sir?" The private says.

The Sargent whirls on him. "Did you go deaf or somethin', boy? You want a taste yourself, maybe?"

"Sir no sir!" The private squeaks.

"The nigger wants to take the redskin's lashin'. Well, then he gets to take the redskin's lashin'." Sargent Butler says. [Language unknown: Ngactr ei, ck ulson icss p il Olunla, esneng o ariois, e andourrom rehise ie ha ilsepl erenotich aistni onpliv arelatrea, set ch witblecon stteee tawa ng ouroutlin somin ta reosenev mo urewerresver. Uson ar on nola fi ul daystaant son mi adtoil.] "Tie him to the pole."

The two privates named move to flank Moses. They grab his arms. "I-I'm awful sorry 'bout this..." The one called Brown whispers.

Moses lets himself be led toward the pole, talking under his breath to the two privates.
"Your sergeant has made his choice. When the day of Reckoning comes, he will try to cut a path through the army of light so that his masters may walk the Earth. What he does not know is, that he will be their first meal. For the Reckoners are hungry and they don't value loyalty. But God Almighty is watching you, is watching us all, right now. And He is holding His breath, anxious to see what choices you will take. Moses knows, for he is the Lord's prophet and his tool. Look at me, Private - do you believe Moses to be the Lord's most humble servant?"

The soldier gulps. "I-I reckon I do. But if I don't do what he says, he'll turn that whip on me next." The soldiers begin lashing Moses's arms to the pole.

"Moses understands. But do you know what it takes for Evil to triumph? The inaction of good men. Will you follow this man on into the abyss? Will you stay next to him and charge into the ranks of the Lord's champions? When you meet Moses on the Last Field of Battle - will you not think back to this moment, where it all began?"


(Persuasion?

20:19, Today: Moses rolled 4,2 using d10-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 6,4. BLUE CHIP!!!!!
20:19, Today: Moses rolled 1,1 using d10-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 3,3. blue chip. re-roll.
20:19, Today: Moses rolled 1,3 using d10-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 3,5. Persuasion, negative Charisma.

groan... the Dice Roller hates Moses...

20:20, Today: Freiherr von Steinhof rolled 16,1 using d10-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of (10+8)18,3. just testing something..

Yeah. The Dice roller is racist, I say!

((OOC: A four is still a success. What is it you are trying to persuade him of?))

((Sure, but look at the rolls of Leopold :-)
Persuade him to take action against his sarge...))

The private closes his eyes.

"It ain't right!" he says, and he lets go of Moses.

Sargent Butler stands there, flabbergasted. "What did you say?"

"I said it ain't right!" The private says, standing tall. He moves in front of Moses. "He ain't done anything, Sarge! It ain't right to whip a man ain't done nothin' wrong. Sure, his redskin got ornery, but all he done was point and shout. That ain't no cause for a whuppin'!"

The Sargent's face turns mean. "It ain't right? Who are you to say what is and ain't right? I was there at Little Big Horn, son. I seen them boys, good boys, massacred before my very eyes by these dirt-worshippin' heathens. Cut down in their prime because these here redskins are savages. I saw scalpin'. I saw one o' them redskins cut out Tom Custer's heart. Was that right? Hell no, it weren't!"

His eyes narrow. "And you are disobeyin' a di-rect order. And you know damn well what happens!"

{CRACK!}

"When you!"

{CRACK!}

"Disobey!"

{CRACK!}

"Orders!"

{CRACK!}

The trooper falls to his knees as the lashes lick him. Then he collapses. By the forth lash, the poor soldier is trembling in pain.

"Now, do any of you other sons-of-bitches have anything else clever to say?" he roars at the troops.

None of them move. Some of them start crying.

"I. Thought. Not." Sargent Butler says. He looks over at the remaining private near Moses. "Proceed."

Moses turns around, his left hand bound to the pole.
"Moses has something to say: You hurt your own man. It is your sworn duty to protect these men, to lead them through battle . And you have failed in this duty. You have failed your men. The Black Regiment has reserved a place in their ranks for you already."

Then, a soft gale of wind picks up.

The tall negro nods. "The Lord is displeased."
Then he looks up to the sky. "These men are fearful, Lord, cowed by whom they thought they could trust in to keep them safe! Do not smite them, Thy most humble servant begs you, for they do not know what they are doing."

He turns to the second soldier standing next to him. "Will you bring your friend here, so that Moses may ask his forgiveness and thank him for his bravery?"

Art furrowed his brow in a mask of confusion and exasperation at what Moses had decided to do. It seemed he was purposefully destroying the groundwork that Art had laid. It certainly had seemed like everything was ready to calm down, until the self-proclaimed prophet thought it would be a good idea to toss a burning torch on a patch of dry grass in the forest. The flames and destruction that followed shouldn't be a surprise to anyone.

As Art watched, it seemed like that was actually the tactic the madman wanted to take. Divide and conquer perhaps. Maybe there was a method to his madness after all, as the saying went.  Art took note of how the soldiers reacted to the situation. It shouldn't take more than one lash for the Union men to break and be in full fledged mutiny. If these were truly Union men. Based on what Art had seen in the camp where he met Colonel Manning, he wasn't entirely certain if these were true Union Blue or not. In which case this was all a lot of wasted effort.

And unless the Lieutenant was completely blind, he would know what he had in this sergeant. So Art had little hope that going over his head would help.

11:59, Today: Art C. Wiley rolled 2,2 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 2,2. Notice. Trying to get a read on the Union Soldiers.

Art watched the soldiers. All of them were paying attention. Many of them looked mortified by the situation, though a good third of them seemed to be nodding along in approval. It's hard to tell if they were nodding because they approved of the Sargent's actions and were just as bigoted as he was, or if they really felt Moses had stepped over the line.

Art had met these types before. Those who flew off the handle when they perceived a challenge to their authority. Art seemed to be developing a rapport with him before Moses made his challenge. If he could push that a little more, perhaps sooth the man's wounded ego, he might be able to diffuse the situation.

The soldier Moses spoke to shakes. A cold wind passes through the camp. He looks at the Sargent, looks at the bleeding man on the ground, looks at the Sargent, looks at the whip. He swallows. A cloud passes over the sun, and the day grows darker.

"Can we have just a moment, Sarge?" the soldier says. "He wants to say something to Brown."

"The nigger can talk all he's able to when we're done here." The Sargent growls.

14:39, Today: Moses rolled 7,4 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 7,4. Faith for Deflection.

14:44, Today: Moses rolled 4,2 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 4,2. Boost Trait: Vigor.

Well, at least for a short while, Moses has toughness 9 and Vigor d12


Moses looks up to the sky again.
"Lord, You helped your prophet Jesus when he was in pain. May Your humble servant ask the same?"

The wind picks up again, sucking a small leaf up in a spiral, dropping it again at Moses' feet.

"Thank you, Lord."
He nods at the soldier and puts his hand up on the pole. "Proceed, young man. You have Moses'  and thus the Lords'! - forgiveness."

I don't think that Deflection is going to help me here much - but I do expect him to have to work a little harder to flog Moses, harder than it should be. Just a little something that might help to undermine him further.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:45, Mon 23 Feb 2015.

Art walked close to several of the soldiers that appeared appropriately mortified by the circumstances. He walked with staff in hand and Kira faithfully at his side.

If Moses was looking for a division among the men, it would start with these fellows. Perhaps the right words whispered in their ears at the right time. Something along the lines of-

"Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord;
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword:
His truth is marching on."

(sung quietly, not stated)

The whip flicks out again and again. Very few of them hit home, and those that do don't draw blood.

Moses' quiet acceptance of the situation, and Art's whispered words, seem to be changing some of the soldiers.

One of the soldiers near Art begins singing along quietly.

"Glory, glory, hallelujah..."

Another one picks it up.

"Glory, glory, hallelujah..."

More begin to sing.

"Glory, glory, hallelujah..."

((OOC: Butler attempts to whip Moses. These attacks covers several whip swings each, since we're not really in combat. There are a bunch of modifiers I could give to Butler in this situation (Moses being Restrained and Unarmed), but that's really not the point of the scene. These attacks represent the ones he makes against Moses while his deflection power is active.

09:39, Today: 1st Sargent James Butler rolled 0,0 using d8-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 2,2. Flogging.

09:39, Today: 1st Sargent James Butler rolled 4,0 using d8-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 6,2. Flogging.

09:42, Today: 1st Sargent James Butler rolled 1,-1 using d8-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 3,1. Flogging.

Not a single hit.

It might be best to treat this scene as a Social Combat. Art and Moses, you can roll Persuasion checks to try and get the soldiers on your side. Art, you have that 12 that didn't get used before, so I'll use that as your initial roll. I need a roll from Moses. These are contested rolls against the Sargent's Intimidation. He has a penalty from the fact that all his whippings keep missing.))

"Do you not feel the scorn of God, trying to hurt His most humble servant? Does it not stay your hand, pause, re-assess the nature of your very being? Do you no longer question if your actions are truly right? Are you truly certain that you are a better judge of the consequences of your actions than the Lord, God Almighty himself?"

Moses keeps looking forward, but his deep, rumbling voice calls out to everybody in earshot.


19:49, Today: Moses rolled 7,3 using d10-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 9,5. Persuasion, negative Charisma.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:01, Wed 25 Feb 2015.

some mood music

More soldiers take up the chant.

"His truth goes marching on!"

Several of the soldiers step in front of Moses. One of them helps Private Brown to his feet, and carries him over to Moses.

1st Sargent James Butler stares at the quiet mutiny in shock, then his rage boils over.

"Oh, you SONS OF BITCHES! YOU WHORESPAWN! You want to sing a tune for the nigger? I'll give you a fuckin' tune to sing to!"

He cracks his whip again, sending the lash into one of the soldiers standing in front of Moses.

"Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord!" {crack!}

The man shrieks. A dark stain begins to spread across Butler's uniform. He turns his whip on another of the men.

"I didn't find it glorious, in fact I got quite bored!" {crack!}

Butler's skin rips open. Flesh peels away from his face, revealing yellowed bone beneath. The dark stain spreads over his shirt and tunic, turning it a dark black. Men begin to shout and back away as the man rots before their eyes.

[Language unknown: "Arecal Taisth!"] Kills Iron Horse shouts.

"We killed the lamb of God and smeared his blood across the wall! Because JESUS HATES US ALL!" {crack!} {crack!}

The dead man's unnatural voice and his rapid disintegration sends men running and shouting.

All except the man standing at Moses' side. He pulls a knife and cuts through the bonds.

"I ain't never shoulda doubted..." He says. "Forgive me. I ain't never shoulda doubted."

((OOC: I'm going to grant Moses a +2 bonus for that speech. That's a combined total of 21 that Butler needs to deal with. He needs to roll at least a 20 to eat up your successes, and a 24 to actually beat you.

21:00, Today: 1st Sargent James Butler rolled 11,9 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of (8+3)11,(6+3)9. Intimidation.

21 - 11 = 10, which is 2 successes. He fails, and the soldiers who were wavering decide it's better to be safe than sorry. It doesn't convince the skeptics, though.

This causes the Sargent to loose his shit, and decide to reveal himself as the monster he truly is.

Art, I need you to make a Fear check (-3 for the local Fear Level, + Grit) against Fear/Nausea. Moses, you already guessed he was damned, so you don't need to make a roll.

The dozen soldiers and the three braves here have to make Fear checks at well. 8 of them are soldiers, 4 of them are mercenaries. There are 12 total (not counting the poor guy who's Incapacitated right now)

Soldiers: 21:12, Today: Union Troops rolled 1,14,1,-2,1,0,1,1 using d6-3,d6-3,d6-3,d6-3,d6-3,d6-3,d6-3,d6-3, rerolling max with rolls of 4,(6+6+5)17,4,1,4,3,4,4. Fear. Only one keeps his cool, but man does he keep it. While the soldiers run, he cuts Moses free.

Mercenaries: 21:14, Today: Union Troops rolled 3,2,3,0 using d8-3,d8-3,d8-3,d8-3, rerolling max with rolls of 6,5,6,3. Fear. All of them fail.

Little Crow: 21:15, Today: Little Crow rolled 4,0 using d8-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 6,2. Fear. Success.

Kills Iron Horse: 21:17, Today: Kills Iron Horse rolled 1,4 using d8-1,d6-1, rerolling max with rolls of 2,5. Fear. Success.

Walks The Night Alone: 21:18, Today: Walks The Night Alone rolled 6,4 using d8-1,d6-1, rerolling max with rolls of 7,5. Fear. Success.))
This message was last edited by the player at 05:08, Thu 26 Feb 2015.

21:40, Today: Art C. Wiley rolled 6,1 using d12-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 8,3. Fear.

Art steels himself against the appearance of the damned solider. It wasn't the first time he'd seen one of the sort, and probably wouldn't be the last time. Art hoped the Union Blues that were fleeing might be bolstered by their battle hymn. What more would God hope for those that followed Him than to battle the spawn of hell?

"He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat;
He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment-seat:
Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him! be jubilant, my feet!
Our God is marching on!"

Can Art help counteract the fear gripping the soldiers? It would be nice to have more allies, even if they are blue shirts rather than redshirts.

((OOC: Sure. Make a Persuasion roll, -3 for the Fear Level. Each success and raise will help 3 soldiers shake off their fears, though they'll still be a bit distant from their Panicked run.))

"You are forgiven, son. You have made a wise choice and when the day of Reckoning comes, your soul will add its weight to the scales of good. Help Moses with this man."

Moses leans down to the first soldier, Brown, who had stood up for him.
"You have shown great bravery in the face of danger. Moses is sorry that you got hurt. Let Moses ease your pain and suffering...."



Does he have wounds or Fatigue?

10:36, Today: Moses rolled 3,5 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 3,5. white chip.
10:36, Today: Moses rolled 1,2 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 1,2. Faith for Healing or Succor.

The blood from the lashing gets on Moses' hands as the wounds begin to close. The man begins breathing easier.

A few drops of rain spatter the ground. The sky grows darker as more clouds roll in.

((OOC: Neither. As an Extra, he doesn't technically suffer Wounds, he's just Incapacitated by damage. Healing works to remove Incapacitation as well as wounds, though, so that's a Healing roll.))

Art raised his voice to make it carry through the wind to the troops that had begun to flee. His red hair whipped around his face as he yelled, and he raised both arms away from his body, one holding the staff carved by his own hand, the other open as if reaching toward those that fled.

"Still your hearts, men! Now is the time ta show your determination and be counted among the men tha stand against the devils and demons tha would harm good people! Now is the time ta unleash your fury. Now is the time ta prove yourselves worthy! Now together we stand! Together we fight! Together we send this hellspawn back where he belongs! Now is the time ta band together with your brothers! Stand together with your God against this threat. Ta arms for your brothers! Ta arms for your God! Ta arms for your souls!"

OOC:14 total persuasion after red chip including the -3 penalty
09:46, Today: Art C. Wiley rolled 7 using 1d6, rerolling max with rolls of (6+1)7. Red chip.
09:43, Today: Art C. Wiley rolled 7,-1 using d12-3,d6-3, rerolling max with rolls of 10,2. Bolster troops against fear.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:08, Thu 26 Feb 2015.

The rain begins to reallycome down now, but Art sees almost all of the troopers turn around at his words. They begin making their way back.

((OOC: That calls back all the soldiers and 2 of the mercenaries.

Alrighty, so this is looking like it's going to be a fight. Is this a fight, or is Moses going to say something to Sargent Butler?

I'm going to need to split up the allies between you all. There's Moses' flock (Private Brown and Private Hart), the Indian braves Little Crow, Kills Iron Horse, and Walks the Night Alone (they aren't technically part of Moses' flock yet, as they still need convincing, and they're all Henchmen), as well as the 9 Union Soldiers and the 2 Mercenary Gunmen. Little Crow might be a bit of a wild card (so to speak) in any battle, so I'd probably keep him as an NPC. How do you want to split up the others, in case a fight breaks out?))

((Just noticed that the Champion edge gives me +2 to Toughness :-) ))
The Banish Power would be handy now...

19:57, Today: Moses rolled 7,2 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 7,2. Boost Fighting.



Moses nods to Brown and takes a few steps towards his belongings. There, he picks up Crazy Horse's coup stick.

Looking up into the sky, he yells: "Lord, shall Thy humble servant challenge this abomination and cast it back into the abyss?"

Thunder rolls over the hills as Moses swirls the club around in his hand.

Then he takes a few quick steps forward and thrusts the club toward the Black Soldier's shoulder.


19:58, Today: Moses rolled 8,6 using d10+2,d6+2, rerolling max with rolls of 6,4. Touch attack.


20:00, Today: Moses rolled 32,16 using d35,d35, rerolling max with rolls of 32,16. random chips.
Blue and White...
20:00, Today: Moses drew the single card: 3H using the Deadlands system. Initiative.

This message was last edited by the player at 19:33, Fri 27 Feb 2015.

OOC: I'm totally okay with not having a fight and having the Sargent instead surrender himself to us. :)

I will be glad to take the Union Soldiers and the Mercs if Moses wants to handle the Henchmen.

I presume I don't get any more actions before initiative, though I can edit this post if that's an incorrect assumption.

Initiative is red joker. I can't recall, do I also draw for Kira's initiative separately, or does she go on Art's init?

11:18, Today: Art C. Wiley drew the single card: RJ! using a deck of 54 cards. Init.

Mercs are KC, Soldiers are 4S

11:20, Today: Finn mac Cu Mara drew the single card: KC using a deck of 54 cards. Merc init.
11:20, Today: Finn mac Cu Mara drew the single card: 4S using a deck of 54 cards. Soldier init.

The dead Sargent looks around at his mutinous troops, and then the strike from the coup stick.

"You ingrates!" He howls. "You have no idea what awaits you! I was doing you a favor, toughing you up for the trials ahead!"

He glares at Moses. "And you. You think you've won? You will regret this."

So saying, he vanishes in a puff of foul, black smoke that is quickly washed away by the rain. But Moses could see the truth. Beneath the Sargent's bluster was cold, stark terror. Terror of him, and of the lord.

((OOC: Well, hmm. What should happen to Butler? I think I'll say that he needs to succeed on a Fear check his own self, with Moses' Champion edge giving him a -2 penalty. As an abomination he ignores the Fear Level, but has no Grit, so it's a Spirit roll at -2 for him.

12:47, Today: 1st Sargent James Butler rolled 3,3 using d4-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of (4+1)5,5. Fear. Yup, that's a fail, so he pulls the Black Regiment vanishing act.

Keep those initiative cards handy--we'll use them for the next fight.))

Moses looks up into the sky, raindrops splattering on his face.
"Lord, before Thy strength, evil cannot stand!"

Then he picks up his belongings. As he puts his coat back on, he says to the soldiers around him: "You should praise the Almighty for sending Moses to you. Your Sargent would've dragged you down into the abyss with him. Yet you still have a chance. Moses can see that some of you are on the path to darkness. A few more steps and it will be too late. But you can still turn back and walk towards the light. Moses will not be able to save all of you. But each and everyone if you may choose to save himself."
Then he sits down on a tree trunk, his hands folded around his war-club-turned-walking-stick and seems perfectly at peace.
"Little Crow", he calls out. "Will you sit and wait with Moses?"

This message was last edited by the player at 10:30, Sat 28 Feb 2015.

The rain falls as the soldiers look at each other, and quietly discuss the events of the past few minutes. With the rain growing heavier, several of them retreat to a lean-to that had been erected.

Kills Iron Horse and Walks The Night Alone vanish into the surrounding wood, presumably gathering materials for their own lean-to. Lightning crashes in the distance.

A couple of the soldiers head over to Art. "Thank'ee kindly for those bracing words." One of them says. "We got a bottle of whiskey we were hidin' from Sarge...care to join us?"

Meanwhile, Little Crow creeps over to the tree where Moses sat.

 He says simply. [Language unknown: "O oerhatlat ilove dayderoun nton latderourine notundout. Mi plevpe out thistilin werwa. Adof poess taar trons asouwh e? Be inun fo eius a ing ons?"]

Moses doesn't answer right away, but looks over to the soldiers.
[Language unknown: "Reaectati set pa wilbleers eve linproica, encni thu oveaintra, Ckmeen Hashi. Art ain waver p pr ceni vir mi oer caceouckceha.
Willatout ulbeal me ntest ss menlesver, tho. Hi is mialad lasan eensa blestaaretrated? Usil Yinbleset Notsettin nceentear lespa ioute atistr-sheted nollev. Ticresthe, ut omethoine li korughoul ven ughwilres o yintedset. Ss antastugh inunhi not ic evnoss, ith a ti ndall? His tainaliv plen, ta ndaiio. Onesoment ck man of trcapo ineticher naella aracin fo ilpeil etnde unicat ie eness ant plul ceos ure ing. Whe comoerenc i estal noadro ckest earoveble comicaare. Wheon one Alivieth olthlo rut ortcomoer chroes teit son. Ropa ingtheshe out ticei hiseilmi ithoerill ing.
Ro, usilai santr ckma Ekecpl ter conatenot undicasti u eius ioadse, there sspr een iemi'liates tiolinate ispaei."]
He shrugs.
[Language unknown: "Ilcom ng po ilbetefo diyin ame t rom no k pre esulas. Meonti onus ntederandomekor eipapr-enhe, ithromrutnot k evneec atofeeee'urei t ichse sonnt mansa ec. Enin ent, Ulmoas Strol, niter ma romundoreour. Intrca itpeei onst m p atisom."]
And he smiles at the Ravenite.
This message was last edited by the player at 10:31, Sat 28 Feb 2015.

Art stared at the abomination and frowned as it vanished. He turned to the soldiers that returned from their initial flight and came to speak with him. "When men with good in their hearts do stand together, evil be vanquished. I'd be happy to share a drink with you, but only after I help me friends put together a shelter."

First, Art closed the distance with Moses using a few long strides. "The soldiers want to have a drink together with us - a brief celebration of triumph. Won't you join us?" Art gestured over to where they were gathering with some whiskey. "I be going to help our friends put together a shelter and then will have a drink to celebrate."

Art jogged into the woods where Kills Iron Horse and Walks the Night Alone disappeared, and will help them with their work and thank them for their bravery in the face of the enemy before he heads back toward where the soldiers were gathering.

[Language unknown: "Naal nawas Ur Artwheing ingourove besi bleoerthalin."] Little Crow says back. [Language unknown: "Somardome hidin iviou neisev lattioeen ticderoer es adwhe. Onnt tainul omene moset undre ain meur be enate oreei Ureonsprekor mabe taio laro..."]

He abruptly stops talking.

And this is the point where Ar comes up to the two of them.

[Language unknown: "St ore onni ioevne ma ort paivtrpr."] Little Crow spits. [Language unknown: "Li m red thu korwerthe inma ar chfota sheessare k illillshe laran ilha essad n ouin nd didi iv."]

((OOC: I'll let Moses interject here, before I do anything with Art looking of WTNA and KIH.))

In reply to Little Crow (msg # 51):

"Will you excuse Moses and Little Crow? We seem to have to still have a lot to talk about."

The negro waits until Art moves away a few steps.

[Language unknown: "Een ilnot ar ing outoes elinol"], he finishes the Ravenite's earlier statement, then nods.
[Language unknown: "Hattinmen ouei th estun paonne icred meate eltrre. Asalnd waei les tha ulame rosi isutan ei isusis, stadineraavepro"]

Art shook his head at Little Crow. What little Art knew of the man gave him a low opinion of the Ravenite. The gangly Irishman nodded at Moses' request. "Aye, I do believe this one still be needing a lot of education. It seems that whiskey do be another subject he be needing to understand. I'll be making sure to save some for you, Moses, as the soldiers will want to have a drink with you for certain."

With that, Art turned and headed toward the surrounding wood with Kira at his side. She could probably find the natives that had disappeared into it more quickly than Art.

In reply to Moses (msg # 52):

[Language unknown: "Helami Ear encil ic El Eveterter ek es, to reat werwitrea wit ck ri ecthe Sisalo Ma vir Ntilinund Houearman."] Little Crow says.

In reply to Art C. Wiley (msg # 53):

The rain grows heavier as Art and his faithful hound head deeper into the forest. Except for the rain, it is very still and quiet. The giant gray hound sniffs, searching for her friends in the pine thicket.

Her trail leads Art west a ways, closer to the road, which seemed somewhat odd. They didn't need to go this far to collect wood for a shelter, did they?

((OOC: Make me a Tracking check to follow the trail (-4 raining, +2 mud, +2 Kira's help, total mod +0). Also make me a Notice check, please.))
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:33, Sat 07 Mar 2015.

Art scowled at the lack of Kills Iron Horse and Walks the Night Alone. It wasn't safe and somewhat rude for them to disappear like this. Art could come up with quite a list of reasons why they might have done so, but with members of Custer's army about, he would rather be safe than sorry.

One thing was certain - the hood he wore to cover his ears also helped keep off the rain.

OOC: Notice of 19, or 21 if Art is trying to Listen.
Tracking of 4 after white chip.

16:59, Today: Art C. Wiley rolled 19,7 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of (8+8+3)19,(6+1)7. Notice.
16:59, Today: Art C. Wiley rolled 2,4 using d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 2,4. Tracking white chip.
16:59, Today: Art C. Wiley rolled 3,3 using d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 3,3. Tracking.

Art bends down and checks the trail. Boot prints. Extremely fresh, from the look, probably made from the mud created by the rain. He also spotted small signs left by the Cheyenne Dog Soldiers when they wanted to be followed (he'd never have found their trail this way if they didn't).

The Cheyenne were following the trail of one of the men who'd run from the camp, it looked like. But why?

Just then, Art heard something rustling over by the road...

Though it was damned peculiar, Art wasn't going to give up the search. However, the noise from nearby had made him curious and he headed in that direction instead of following the boot prints for now. He left whatever signs he could so that he could find his way back to the trail after he'd investigated the sound.

Something had been dragged through the brushes here, quite recently. Art could see that clearly. He saw cracked branches bleeding sap, leaves torn from the brush scattered about, and long drag marks in the soft mud.

At his side, Kira began to growl softly, her hackles raising as the pair approached the road.

Moses looks at Little Crow.
[Language unknown: "O ureri thuithrestic Ieommi eteiis, el, ekwape pr asssnd weut oul as aial Oveiveing Wilesttha man one hihist t urein to i ted? Ee intna ie ons ar Weweie a sa Chtaic, enttheencoutour ntit Henifi com pratha trosof?"]

He shakes his head. [Language unknown: "Ertra ti itioev k Thoos Hisafi, notersall ni p hofiecnt lespa i inwh as Nechdi. Hievll ughtraounsonhat uretul wi ulro rutantour wilavepro loer anyurerea. Petoee hatun mo hatowhnt p teee orealltio newa os mewa maliom osmihi ac thiinthaster."]
He pauses, wiping the rain water from his brow.
[Language unknown: "Allat thtral pere som wengha wi et il bleughicaive ache reaiveson ev ratvirwas'veryin the. Esicre laekno eeove Anyessdin. Poattius ei our m ncos somonsout ouleraent. Elouenpa en Thathilesred. Ha popo virtiolat ame Acpamediac. Ain saous noanpo ecurek nand Ineartyin."]

He shrugs.
The giant gently touches Little Crow's shoulder.
[Language unknown: "Whospe le a wh mo not Ingproverect. Ic diatro urfiat he n, all, pa k beieat ing nce ble. Ie lininc con dillro ers ratca k omtaec sa deric. An amehatore roith atithostrwer staet, thi hi, hatortere ee, ithwheast ioder, mo ou tha haalof der onwiio ckard som anast si eiure."]

He stands up, looking around, as if searching. "Where are the others?"

If Kira was starting to get worried, then Art decided it might be best to alter his form. There were some things that were better accomplished on four legs rather than two. Fleeing and fighting were two of those things.

With a stomp of his staff into the muck, Art bent over onto all fours and began sprouting fur and claws where clothes once were. His visual acuity increased manifold and the stench of the mud filled his nostrils. His hearing didn't seem to markedly improve.

11:46, Today: Art C. Wiley rolled 10,3 using d12,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 10,3. Shapechange.

Trying to turn into a mountain lion if okay. Otherwise, a wolf

Once on all fours, Art quietly stalked toward where he had heard the sound and where the drag marks led.

In reply to Moses (msg # 60):

Little Crow shrugs Moses' hand off of him. [Language unknown: "Ni, u oul icstev noame ess usal thados t alroic, heio et ch nichmi men. Mien unrith whder ai miit nthetr on Preuresan ectlarkor ofivin me ospre, wi elich."]

Still, he sounds more like he's trying to convince himself of that than Moses.

The camp is mostly quiet. Most of the soldiers are huddling between two lean-tos, attempting to get a fire going to ward of the chill of the rain. One band of soldiers are passing a bottle back and forth--this group is the louder of them. Private Brown notices Moses looking around, and waves at him to come over to the struggling fire.

Art, Kills Iron Horse, and Walks The Night Alone are nowhere to be seen.

((OOC: Moses, make me a Notice check (-2) please.))

10:55, Today: Moses rolled 0,6 using d6-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 2,(6+2)8. white chip.
10:54, Today: Moses rolled 0,1 using d6-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 2,3. Notic.

[Language unknown: "T, Thutharom Out. Trmoto is ch outcomlat m el, Dersettio paect nofi ect. Io whno oneverder et lespo laere i ouar liuttr ouard i a ectnotday iela oerom Ichsanure. Som nech. Ei Ncpoli ro wael casan la ch sepr prie."]

Moses turns around once more, waving back to Private Brown, the Man Who Intervened. Something was not right...

In reply to Art C. Wiley (msg # 61):

The drag marks and great divots in the mud lead Art and Kira back to the road.

There, he wanders on to a grisly scene. A soldier in blue kicks and struggles against one of the poles, a noose holding him high off the ground. Around him stand three long-limbed, rotten corpses tugging at the rope. The soldier's eyes bulge as his face goes from purple to blue.

He kicks and jerks, and then falls still. The long-limbed dead grab the soldiers arms and legs, and begin to tug on them, and the flesh begins to tear as they stretch his limbs like grisly taffy...

((OOC: I posted this once before, and the Data Vampires seemed to have eaten it.

Turning into a Mountain Lion is fine. Here are the stats:

quote:

Mountain Lion
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6 (A), Spirit d8, Strength d10, Vigor d8
Skills: Climbing d8, Fighting d6, Intimidation d6, Notice d6, Stealth d8, Tracking d6
Pace: 8; Parry: 5; Toughness: 6
Special Abilities:

• • Bite/Claws: Str+d6.
• • Improved Frenzy: A cougar may make two attacks each round with no penalty.
• • Low Light Vision: Halve the penalties for Dim and Dark lighting conditions.
• • Pounce: Mountain lions prefer to pounce on their prey to bring their mass and teeth to bear more effectively. A mountain lion can leap up to 6” to gain +4 to its attack and damage. Its Parry is reduced by –2 until its next action when performing a pounce.

The sight before Art provokes a Fear Check (-3 Fear Level, -1 Monster, + Grit). You need to make this roll for Kira as well, though she has plenty of chips.))

In reply to Moses (msg # 63):

And high up above, in the storm, Moses hears a high, long wail, like the whistle of a cannon ball...

OOC: Art passed fear without issue (6 after -3 adjustement) Kira passed with a raise after using a red chip (9 including a -4, I presume she doesn't have any grit?)

11:04, Today: Art C. Wiley rolled 6,-1 using d12-3,d6-3, rerolling max with rolls of 9,2. Fear.
11:34, Today: Kira rolled 8 using 1d6, rerolling max with rolls of (6+2)8. Red chip for real this time.
11:33, Today: Kira rolled 0,1 using d6-4,d6-4, rerolling max with rolls of 4,5. Fear.


Art the puma kept very, very quiet (even though he wasn't currently hunting wabbits) as the grisly scene unfolded before him. The feline stalker crouched down low with only the occasional flicking of a tail as he mentally digested what had happened. Was this the soldier that hadn't returned at his beckon? Or a different one entirely? Probably too late to tell at this point.

Normally he would have just turned tail and run, unable to help the now dead man. But the stretching of the limbs - that piqued PumArt's curiosity. As if Art weren't curious enough, he was now a feline. Could there be anything more curious than Art plus cat?

Art remained as still as could be, but watched the proceedings and was ready to bolt at a moment's notice should one of the rotten corpses come his direction. The very end of his tail occasionally twitched, but that was the limit of his movement as he observed these creatures.

Art watches the grisly scene. He thinks he recognizes the soldier...one of the pair that hadn't returned.

The dead men stretch the dead man's legs until they reach the ground. The instant they do, the dead soldier begins twitching again. It begins struggling against the pole, and the other long-limbed monsters begin clapping, as if congratulating it. One of them unhooks the noose, and the newly-stretched monster begins to stagger about, unsteadily, like a new-born calf.

It begins examining itself, and then looks at it's fellow dead. Then it grins, the most evil grin Art has ever seen. And it points back towards the camp. The three other dead things nod, and together the long limbed quartet begin walking back toward the other soldiers...

((OOC: Correct. Kira has no Grit as yet.))

Epithets of various sorts ran through Art's mind. Where were the Cheyenne and the other soldier? Hopefully safe. In any case the camp had to be warned. They were in the midst of carousing and would be slaughtered if taken by surprise.

PanthArt was impressed by the speed of the things. But Puma and dog might be faster?

OOC: Most important for Mountain Lion to be faster. They can sprint at up to 50 mph - but I don't think they can sustain that speed for very long. Art is headed back to warn the camp. Not sure if he can outrun the Poles though.

With alarm, Moses raises his arms, palms down in the general direction of the soldiers and exclaims: "Lord, cast Thy shield over them, your humble servant begs of you!"

The air above the soldiers begins to shimmer, then rain starts bouncing off as if a pane of glass was between it and the camp below...

15:41, Today: Moses rolled 6,5 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 6,5. Faith for Barrier.

In reply to Art C. Wiley (msg # 68):

Some mood music

Art breaks from the bushes, as does his faithful wolfhound. The wriggling monsters bounce along, freakishly fast, almost comical as they bounce along. The newly-killed one is the least coordinated--it slams into one of the poles along the road, which one of the other Pole Men vaults with ease. It seems to be a bit rattled by the impact, and the others laugh silently at it.

From the bushes near Art comes a pair of chilling screams of defiance. The Dog Soldiers burst from cover near Art...apparently they'd been nearby, no more than ten feet from where he'd been. They run as fast as they can as well, and the chase is joined...

((OOC: We'll handle this as a Chase, with each round lasting about a minute.

Cougars have a Pace of 8, but the Pole Men have a Pace of 14 thanks to those gangly legs of theirs. They get a +2 bonus on their Agility rolls for their cards.

So, Roll Agility. Draw a card for each Success and Raise. You can use whichever card you wish. Higher is usually better, but if you use a Club, you face a potential Complication.

Each of the Pole Men is a Wild Card, so they each get a roll.

Pole Man 1: 08:43, Today: Pole Men rolled 9,4 using d10+2,d6+2, rerolling max with rolls of 7,2. Agility. Success and raise, 2 cards

Cards: 7C, 9C, Complication

08:49, Today: Pole Men rolled 0,0 using d10-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 2,2. Avoiding Complication. Fail. The deader suffers a level of Fatigue

Pole Man 2: 08:44, Today: Pole Men rolled 4,3 using d10+2,d6+2, rerolling max with rolls of 2,1. Agility.

Cards: 4H

Pole Man 3: 08:44, Today: Pole Men rolled 7,7 using d10+2,d6+2, rerolling max with rolls of 5,5. Agility.

Cards: 10C, Complication

08:52, Today: Pole Men rolled 6,-1 using d10-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 8,1. Avoiding Complication. Success.

Pole Man 4: 08:44, Today: Pole Men rolled 4,4 using d10+2,d6+2, rerolling max with rolls of 2,2. Agility.

Cards: QS

Art, make your roll, an Agility roll for Kira, and then a roll each for Kills Iron Horse and Walks The Night Alone (they both have an Agility of d8 and are Henchmen, which mean they get a Wild Die).))

In reply to Moses (msg # 69):

some mood music

The whistling grows louder, louder, and louder. The soldiers pick up on it.

"Incoming!" Private Brown shouts, and the soldiers dive for whatever cover they can get, using the lean-to as a crude barricade. None of them seem to notice that, with a large circle around them, the rain has stopped pouring.

The whistling grows even louder...and a figure flies over the camp. A woman in a leather jacket and pantaloons passes by, the cylendrical device on her back belching white vapor and screaming like a banshee. Ghost rock. The sound was burning Ghost Rock!

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" She cackles, pointing a strangely-shaped rifle with a huge barrel at the lean-to. There's a small {thump!}, almost inaudible over the woman's jet pack, and a lit stick of dynamite bounces off the shield the Lord's mercy provided, landing near the stockade.

{{BOOM!}}

The explosion scatters the poorly-secured fence poles like toothpicks. The soldiers hunker even deeper into their makeshift foxhole.

All around the camp comes pistol shots and bloodcurdling rebel yells.

"whooooo-EEE!"

{{Bang! Bang!}}

"YEAH! Get 'em, Candy! Blow 'em all up!"

"ah-ah-AWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOYGH!"

((OOC: Make a Fear check (-3 fear level, +grit) for me, Moses, and then make one collectively for the soldiers (Spirit d6, Grit 1). This is against Fear/Nausea, not terror.))

OOC:

Art spends a white chip and gets a complication. One of the Cheyenne falls behind.


12:52, Today: Kira drew the single card: 7D using a deck of 54 cards. Chase card.
12:52, Today: Finn mac Cu Mara drew the single card: 5D using a deck of 54 cards. Cheyenne chase card.
12:51, Today: Art C. Wiley drew the single card: 4C using a deck of 54 cards. Chase card.
12:51, Today: Art C. Wiley rolled 2,4 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 2,4. Agility white chip.
12:50, Today: Finn mac Cu Mara rolled 2,17,2,3 using d8,d6,d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 2,(6+6+5)17,2,3. Cheyenne agility.
12:50, Today: Kira rolled 7 using 1d8, rerolling max with rolls of 7. Agility.

In reply to Art C. Wiley (msg # 72):

((OOC: The Cheyenne gets 4 cards, since they got a success and 3 raises on the roll. Draw 3 more cards for that one (it's Kills Iron Horse). This will impact who goes when.))

OOC: Smattering of Spades

13:36, Today: Kills Iron Horse drew the 3 cards: 10S, 5S, JS using a deck of 54 cards. Most Agile Cheyenne EVAR.

The chase is on. Kills Iron Horse speeds ahead, her bow at the ready. The Pole Man in the lead pulls ahead, out of range, but she has her pick of the slower ones.

Kira runs, her legs pumping as she moves among the trees and bushes at the side of the road.

Art, meanwhile, inadvertently steps into the path of one of the poles and needs to move quickly to avoid it...

((OOC: Alright. So here's what happens in Game terms. The peeps under your control get an action, just like normal initiative, but you can only affect those with a lower initiative than yourself. KIH can thus affect all the Pole Men except the fastest one, Kira can affect Pole Man 2, and Art can't do anything except try to gain a better position.

You can attempt a maneuver to increase your speed with an Agility check (-2), gaining a +2 bonus to your next roll, or +4 if you get a raise.

You can attempt to attack one of the Pole Men, assuming you have a Ranged weapon in hand (both WTNA and KIH have bows drawn). You can make Melee attacks only if you get a King or better, otherwise you have a range-based penalty.

You can attempt to distract or even ram one of the Pole Men, or otherwise set up some sort of obstacle to slow them down. You'll roll an Opposed Agility check (modified by range) to inflict a -2 penalty on their next check, and if you score a Raise you force them into an obstacle. Anyone can do this, it's just a matter of describing the Trappings.

Art, since you have a club, you get to deal with a Complication this round. You need to make an Agility roll (-2) to avoid it, or else you take a level of Fatigue.

Remember, dealing Fatigue to these things will eventually put them into Incapacitation, just like wounds, and it affects their rolls.

Tricks and Tests of Will are also useful, and a successful one might make one of the Pole Men Shaken, which will make it take a -2 penalty to the speed roll.

The speedy one at the top of the round uses its action to try and speed up. 13:58, Today: Pole Men rolled 1,1 using d10-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 3,3. Agility. Nope.))

---

Turn Order
Pole Man 4: QS, Medium Range (-2)
Kills Iron Horse: JS, Medium Range (-2)
Pole Man 3: 10C Long Range (-4)
Pole Man 1: 9C, -1 fatigue, Long Range (-4)
Kira: 7D, Long Range (-4)
Pole Man 2: 4H, Long Range (-4)
Art: 4C, Complication (Major Obstacle), Long Range (-4)
Walks The Night Alone: no card, all he can do is try to keep pace

Kills Iron Horse smoothly nocks an arrow and sends it flying toward Pole Man 3. With skill like hers, she could shoot a flea off a dog's back.

That wasn't exactly the situation here, but the ability seemed to translate fairly well.

OOC:

11 to hit (looks like that should be a raise)
22 damage (includes 5 extra damage for the raise)

00:15, Today: Kills Iron Horse rolled 22 using 3d6, rerolling max with rolls of (6+4)10,(6+1)7,5. Damage.
00:13, Today: Kills Iron Horse rolled 6,11 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 6,(6+5)11. Shooting.

The wiggly deader shudders as the arrow strikes home. It keeps going, it's long limbs stretching back to try and trip up the Puma that Art has become.

The fresh Pole Man scoops up a rock and hurls it at Kira, who is able to dodge nimbly out of the way.

((OOC: Even with the -2 Medium Range penalty, that is, indeed, a raise. That will be 3 wounds to the critter unless it soaks.

00:49, Today: Pole Men rolled 9,5 using d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of (6+3)9,5. Soak! It soaks 2 wounds, but takes the third and is Shaken.

The two Pole Men that go before Kira attempt to slow both Art and Kira down.

Pole Man 3 spends a chip to Unshake. It is going after Puma!Art. It has 1 wound, but as an undead critter it doesn't suffer wound penalties. It has a Range penalty of -4, though.

00:53, Today: Pole Men rolled 4,3 using d10-4,d6-4, rerolling max with rolls of 8,(6+1)7. Agility.

Art, roll Agility against 4. If you fail, you'll take -2 to your next turn's roll.

Pole Man 1 has a level of Fatigue and a Long Range penalty (-4). It attempts to slow Kira down.

00:57, Today: Pole Men rolled 0,-4 using d10-5,d6-5, rerolling max with rolls of 5,1. Agility. About as good as can be expected, really. Kira doesn't have to roll anything.))

---

Kira is next. Kira can affect Pole Man 2, either by trying to force it into an obstacle, using a Trick, or using a Test of Will. Or Kira can just attempt to move faster.

13:48, Today: Moses rolled 5,7 using d8-1,d6-1, rerolling max with rolls of 6,(6+2)8. white chip.
13:48, Today: Moses rolled 1,1 using d8-1,d6-1, rerolling max with rolls of 2,2. Fear check.


13:49, Today: Moses rolled 9,1 using d6-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of (6+5)11,3. Soldiers group roll vs. Fear.

Moses' face seems to grow even darker as he furrows his brow. He punches his right hand into the palm of his left.

"You have sowed the wind, threatening what little peace these men had - you shall reap the storm!" the negro bellows and the rain starts to coalesce into a spiraling column, wind speek picking up, right in the path of the flying figure in the air, sucking up leaves and rocks, growing slowly bigger and wider.

14:03, Today: Moses rolled 6,2 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 6,2. Faith for Windstorm.

Iniative, if needed...

14:04, Today: Moses drew the single card: KD using the Deadlands system. Initiative.

Kira attempted to cause Pole Man 2 to mis-step by faking a weave into its path, but her timing was a bit off.

OOC: No effect from Kira's attempt to slow PM2.

08:38, Today: Kira rolled 3 using 1d8, rerolling max with rolls of 3. Agility trick.

In reply to Moses (msg # 78):

"Whoops!" The girl with the jetpack maneuvers quickly, using the sudden windstorm for lift rather than crashing down. She seems a bit preoccupied with that at the moment.

A very, very large group of men wearing bandanas over their faces start coming out of the woods on both sides of the creek.

"Storm? Hell, bring it on!" One of the men shouts with a laugh. "We're the storm's bastard children, come to claim what we want! Ain't you ever heard of the Wild Bunch?"

Five...ten...a dozen...a score...nearly thirty men creep out of the bushes, step out of the trees, and a variety of firearms are pointed in the general direction of Moses, Little Crow, and the huddling soldiers.

"Now, Preacher, we ain't here to hurt no one." The apparent leader of the bunch says. "Not unless you force us. All we want is the money!"

((OOC: Sure. That counts as your action for this turn. Draw me a second card. The Soldiers count as your allies, so you can control them. There are a dozen of them, and they go on your initiative. Little Crow is under my control for this fight.

Candy McShane (the flying girl) makes a Vigor roll to avoid being Shaken. She also needs to make an Agility check or be blown off-course.

15:11, Today: X-Squad rolled 7,10 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 7,(6+4)10. Vigor. Success, and raise, not that it matters.

15:12, Today: X-Squad rolled 5,3 using d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 5,3. Agility. Success. Of course, the windstorm makes manuvering diffcult, so she has what amounts to Difficult Terrain slowing her down from Pace 20 to Pace 10))

---

Turn Order
Moses and Soldiers: KD
Little Crow: 8D
Candy McShane: 5C
The Wild Bunch: 2H

Soldier (9)
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d4, Spirit d6, Strength d6, Vigor d6
Skills: Fighting d6, Intimidation d6, Notice d6, Shooting d6
Charisma: 0; Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 5
Hindrances: Vow (serve their country)
Edges: Soldier
Gear: Winchester ’73 (24/48/96; 2d8; RoF 1; Shots 15; AP 2), bayonet (Str+d4; when fitted to rifle, Str+d6, Reach 1, Parry +1, requires two hands).

Mercenary (3)
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Spirit d8, Strength d6, Vigor d6
Skills: Fighting d6, Intimidation d6, Notice d6, Shooting d8
Charisma: 0; Pace: 6; Parry: 5 (6 with Bayonet); Toughness: 5 (6 with Hold The Line!)
Hindrances: Intolerance (Indians, Minor), Greedy (Minor)
Edges: Quick Draw, Soldier (Private)
Gear: Winchester ’73 (24/48/96; 2d8; RoF 1; Shots 15; AP 2), bayonet (Str+d4; when fitted to rifle, Str+d6, Reach 1, Parry +1, requires two hands), Colt Army (12/24/48, 2d6+1, RoF 1, shots 6, AP 1, Single Action)
This message was last edited by the player at 15:09, Sun 22 Mar 2015.

In reply to Kira (msg # 79):

The Pole Man adroitly steps out of the hound's path, then picks a large rock out of the creek as it passes and lobs it at Art's face.

From ahead, there comes the sounds of explosions and gunfire...what on Earth is going on?

((OOC: Well, it's an Opposed roll, so not all is lost. It's unlikely to work, but the Pole Man could always get a Crit Fail.

15:38, Today: Pole Men rolled 9,4 using d10,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 9,4. Agility. Sadly, that is not a crit-fail. Ah, well.

Pole Man 2 attempts to trip Art up. It makes an Agility roll (-4) for this. Art, you'll roll agility against it to see if you escape.


15:40, Today: Pole Men rolled 4,-1 using d10-4,d6-4, rerolling max with rolls of 8,3. Agility.

Art, roll Agility. If you beat the Pole Man, you avoid the obstacle. Then it's your turn, though about the only thing you could do is try to run faster. Once you've completed your action, roll Agility for yourself and all your allied NPCs, and then draw the number of cards indicated, and I'll work up the next round's turn order.))

Art as Puma was as agile as any great cat, and made avoiding anything that got in his way seem like child's play. Panthart nimbly side-stepped a rock that was thrown his way, ducked under one of the pole-limbs that was stretched out to halt his progress, leaped over a log that was suddenly in his path, and then put his head down and added even more speed to his already significant speed.

OOC: I believe Art had four rolls to make. All appear to be successes. Let me know if I missed anything. I will add the rolls for next round in a separate post.


14:54, Today: Art C. Wiley rolled -1,5 using d8-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 1,(6+1)7. Speed Up!
14:53, Today: Art C. Wiley rolled 4,-1 using d8-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 6,1. Agility to avoid complication.
14:52, Today: Art C. Wiley rolled 1,5 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 1,5. Agility against Pole Man 3.
14:50, Today: Art C. Wiley rolled 2,5 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 2,5. Agility to avoid obstacle.

OOC: That could have gone better -

Kills Iron Horse is at JC
Art at 5S
Walks is 4C
Kira failed agility


15:06, Today: Walks The Night Alone drew the single card: 4C using a deck of 54 cards. Cards for next round.
15:06, Today: Kills Iron Horse drew the single card: JC using a deck of 54 cards. Cards for next round.
15:05, Today: Art C. Wiley drew the 2 cards: 5S, 4S using a deck of 54 cards. Cards for next round.
15:05, Today: Walks The Night Alone rolled 4,3 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 4,3. Agility for next round.
15:05, Today: Kills Iron Horse rolled 7,1 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 7,1. Agility for next round.
15:04, Today: Art C. Wiley rolled 8,9 using d8+2,d6+2, rerolling max with rolls of 6,(6+1)7. White Chip.
15:04, Today: Art C. Wiley rolled 3,3 using d8+2,d6+2, rerolling max with rolls of 1,1. Agility for next round.
15:04, Today: Kira rolled 3 using 1d8, rerolling max with rolls of 3. Agility for next round.

The Pole Men continue to run toward the sound of explosions and gunfire, but the fresh one, the dead soldier, gets a malicious gleam in it's eye. Suddenly, it springs at Kills Iron Horse!

Those long, rubbery limbs stretch around the Cheyenne, attempting to bear her to the ground.

((OOC: Pole Man 4: No damage, no fatigue
18:38, Today: Pole Men rolled 8,2 using d10,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 8,2. Agility.

Cards: 7S, 8S

Pole Man 3: 1 wound, no wound penalties.
18:39, Today: Pole Men rolled 8,1 using d10,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 8,1. Agility.

Cards: 8S, 3D

Pole Man 2: no wounds, no fatigue
18:43, Today: Pole Men rolled 4,1 using d10,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 4,1. Agility.

Card: 10H

Pole Man 2: -1 Fatigue
18:44, Today: Pole Men rolled 6,1 using d10-1,d6-1, rerolling max with rolls of 7,2. Agility.

Card: KS

One Pole Man goes before Kills, and it's the fresh one (PM4). The other three go after KIH but before the rest of you.

Because Pole Man 4 has a king, it can make a melee attack. It will attempt a Grapple against Kills Iron Horse. It has a -1 Fatigue penalty.

18:55, Today: Pole Men rolled 10,4 using d12-1,d6-1, rerolling max with rolls of 11,5. Grapple!

Kills Iron Horse, roll Fighting to avoid being grappled by the thing, which will probably change this from a Race into a full-on Combat.))

---

Turn Order
Pole Man 1: KS (Short range (-0), Melee attack possible!)
Kills Iron Horse: JC (Medium Range (-2), Roll Agility to avoid obstacle)
Pole Man 2: 10H (Long Range (-4))
Pole Man 3: 8S (Long Range (-4))
Pole Man 4: 8S (Long Range (-4))
Art: 5S (Long Range (-4))
Walks The Night:4C (Long Range (-4), Roll Agility (-2)
Kira: No Card
This message was last edited by the player at 22:35, Sun 29 Mar 2015.

12:31, Today: Moses drew the single card: 9S using the Deadlands system. Initiative.

The soldiers shout in alarm and start spreading out, lying down on the floor, readying their weapons and taking aim.



Lying down should give them at least light cover, right? Also, they're taking the aim manuever.
I'm happy to control them - but who's the guy in charge of the group, after the sergant went up in black smoke?

In reply to Moses (msg # 85):

"What money?" shouts one of the soldiers as he digs in and takes aim.

Little Crow takes the opportunity to hide, and begins crawling toward the tree line. Whether it's to escape or to murder, it spells trouble.

The flying harpy jukes out of the wind and fires off a couple more sticks of dynamite, which explode worryingly close to the invisible barrier. Several of the soldiers shout in alarm. "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" She cackles.

The apparent leader laughs and hefts a gatling rifle. "See that? Candy don't like it when y'all lie! We know you've been shaking down miners for greenbacks and Ghost Rock. 'Protection tax,' you call it. Well, if you wanna protect your own asses, cough it up!"

((OOC: Moses' barrier works both ways, mind. With it up, no one can hurt them, but they can't shoot through it, either. Laying down gives them Medium cover.

Currently, no one is in charge. Sgt. Butler was the highest-ranking noncom here--all the rest of the men were privates. Some of them are mercenaries, rather than career soldiers--these might be ones who either panic or try to seize control. The three mercenaries among the men have the Greedy (minor) and Intolerance (Indians, minor) Hindrances rather than the Vow. I've updated the stats I gave you to reflect these troops.

Private Brown and Private Hart might also take command, given that they have seen that God is on their side and will protect them from evil (these are the two soldiers in your Flock).

The three mercenaries are Private Russell Chapman, Private Owen MacAvoy, and Private Alfred Lindberg.

Feel free to name the others.

Little Crow is currently unarmed, so he attempts to sneak away from the action. He crawls (+2) and has the benefit of heavy rain (+2). This would normally be a penalty, but the Wild Bunch currently count as Inactive Guards, since they're paying more attention to the soldiers and Moses.

08:25, Today: Little Crow rolled 8,9 using d6+4,d6+4, rerolling max with rolls of 4,5. Stealth.

Because he's crawling, he moves half his pace (which is 8 because of his Fleet-Footed edge). This means he gets 4 squares. He needs two more rounds of movement to get to the tree line where the bandits are.

Card: 10C

Candy McShane, the flying girl with the dynamite launcher, uses her movement to get out of the windstorm and makes another shot, this one meant mostly to intimidate folk. This is an Intimidation ToW against the Soldiers. She gets a +2 bonus because, hey, dynamite.

08:30, Today: X-Squad rolled 15,7 using d8+2,d6+2, rerolling max with rolls of (8+5)13,5. Intimidation ToW.

Yikes. Moses, have your soldiers make a Spirit roll vs. 15. You can make it a collective roll, or have them roll individually if you wish.

Card: 2S

Arkansas Tom (the nominal leader of this group) readies his Gatling Rifle. The rest of the group takes Aim and gets behind Cover. Arkansas Tom plays good cop to Candy's psycho cop to get the soldiers to cooperate.

Card: KC))

---

Turn Order
The Wild Bunch: KC
Little Crow: 10C
Moses, Soldiers, and Mercenaries: 9S
Candy McShane: 2S
Conditions: Heavy Rain (-2 to Shooting and Notice)
Need to resolve the Intimidation ToW before I can proceed. Also, would you prefer splitting your initative for each group (Moses, Soldiers, Mercenaries) so that you have more chances to react to things?

Yes, I'll roll for Moses, soldiers, mercenaries extra starting the round after this.
Now, spirit rolls!
Soldiers:

21:24, Today: Moses rolled 41 using 9d6, rerolling max with rolls of 1,3,1,(6+6+4)16,(6+3)9,2,5,3,1. Spirit.


21:25, Today: Moses rolled 9 using 3d8, rerolling max with rolls of 3,3,3. Spirit, Mercs.



The dynamite throws up bouts of dirt and rocks - and most don't seem to notice that the debris bounces off mid-air.
The men panic and scramble backwards.

Just one man remains. Private Brown. He half-raises, and yells, at the top of his lung:
"GET DOWN, IDIOTS, YOU GOT NO COVER ANYWHERE! SPREAD OUT, TAKE AIM!"

OOC: Does KIH have any access to chips? She rolled a 9.

21:09, Today: Kills Iron Horse rolled 9,1 using d10,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 9,1. Fighting.

In reply to Kills Iron Horse (msg # 88):

((OOC: Yes. She has one white chip. It's up to you if you want to try for a re-reroll or save it for Soak rolls.))

OOC: Save for soak

In reply to Kills Iron Horse (msg # 90):

((OOC: In that case, KIH is grappled by the Pole Man, and she's also Shaken. I'm going to drop these two out of Chase rounds and into normal Combat. The other Pole Men are still running away.

Do you want to keep chasing them and let KIH fight the Pole Man on her own? Do you want to stop and help her (letting the rest of the Pole Men get further away)? Do you want to try splitting your forces up, with some still chasing and some in Combat?))

In reply to Moses (msg # 87):

"I wouldn't do that!" The bandit growls as he takes cover behind a tree trunk. "You're like to get folk killed, shoutin' like that! Take out the hero, boys!" He hefts his Gatling rifle and lets loose a barrage, which is swiftly followed by a hail of rifle fire from the trees.

The rain clears the smoke relatively quickly, so it's only a handful of moments as the bandits begin gasping and swearing in disbelief--despite the hail of lead, not a single bullet has touched any of the soldiers!

((OOC: All the soldiers except Private Brown are Shaken. They lose their Aim bonus and will need to Aim again to get it back. The soldiers all have Medium cover, except those who can use the lean-tos as Heavy Cover. And the Barrier is still in place. Private Brown has Heavy Cover from the lean-to

Arkansas Tom orders his band to open up on Private Brown, and I roll 27 attacks for the bandits and one for Tom (a Wild Card) himself. However, these attacks are going to be held back by the barrier, which has a Toughness of 10. The damage rolls have to beat 10 to break the barrier, and attack rolls don't get extra raise damage, nor do the damage dice Ace.

Modifiers: -2 (storm), +2 (aiming), -4 (heavy cover) = -4 total

16:44, Today: Wild Bunch Outlaws rolled -2,-3,-3,0,-2 using d6-4,d6-4,d6-4,d6-4,d6-4, rerolling max with rolls of 2,1,1,4,2. Shooting! at cover.

16:45, Today: Wild Bunch Outlaws rolled -2,-1,-1,0,5 using d6-4,d6-4,d6-4,d6-4,d6-4, rerolling max with rolls of 2,3,3,4,(6+3)9. Shooting! at cover.

16:45, Today: Wild Bunch Outlaws rolled -1,0,0,11,1 using d6-4,d6-4,d6-4,d6-4,d6-4, rerolling max with rolls of 3,4,4,(6+6+3)15,5. Shooting! at cover.

16:46, Today: Wild Bunch Outlaws rolled 5,0,-3,0,-3 using d6-4,d6-4,d6-4,d6-4,d6-4, rerolling max with rolls of (6+3)9,4,1,4,1. Shooting! at cover.

16:46, Today: Wild Bunch Outlaws rolled -3,-3,-2,0,-2 using d6-4,d6-4,d6-4,d6-4,d6-4, rerolling max with rolls of 1,1,2,4,2. Shooting! at cover.

16:47, Today: Wild Bunch Outlaws rolled 4,4 using d6-4,d6-4, rerolling max with rolls of (6+2)8,(6+2)8. Shooting! at cover.

5 attacks hit the barrier anywhere that would be dangerous to Private Brown. I check to see if any portions of the barrier that got hit go down.

16:53, Today: Wild Bunch Outlaws rolled 9,6,9,6,11 using 2d8,2d8,2d8,2d8,2d8. Damage.

Only one of the attacks hits with enough force to break through the Barrier, but's that's enough to cause the spell to collapse. It's all up to the Soldiers and Moses now.

Arkansas Tom moves to cover and then makes his attack. He the same penalty as the others, plus an additional -2 from his Gatling rifle (he doesn't have the Rock and Roll! edge, and since he moved he doesn't benefit from Marksman).

16:56, Today: The Stray, for the NPC Arkansas Tom, rolled 0,-3,-1 using d8-6,d8-6,d8-6, rerolling max with rolls of 6,3,5. Rock and Roll! Miss. No malfunctions, though.

Wild Bunch card: 3H

Little Crow continues to crawl. He gets 4 more squares up, and needs to make another Stealth roll. He needs 1 more round of movement to get to his target.

17:06, Today: Little Crow rolled 3,3 using d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 3,3. Stealth.

His target is one of the bandits, who isn't a Wild Card. The bandit has a -2 penalty on Notice rolls from the rain.

17:07, Today: Wild Bunch Outlaws rolled 0 using 1d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 2. Notice. Nope.

Card: 10S))

---

Moses, it's your go. Note that the rain imposes a -2 penalty on Notice and Shooting checks, and that the barrier is now down.

In reply to The Stray (msg # 91):

All will aid KIH.

The long-legged dead thing catches Kills Iron Horse in a deadly embrace. Silently laughing, it begins pulling the Cheyenne warrior towards one of the empty poles on the roadside...

((OOC: The Pole Man's actual turn was covered by its attack, so it's Kills Iron Horse's action. She is currently grappled and (assuming she gets unshaken on her turn) needs to succeed in an opposed Agility or Strength roll to get free.

Pole Man card: KC))

---

Turn Order
Pole Man 1: KS
Kills Iron Horse: JC
Art: 5S
Walks The Night:4C
Kira: No Card

Kills Iron Horse looked wide-eyed at where the Pole Man was bringing her, and then tried to break free. Her strength was somewhat legendary among the Cheyenne, but it was failing her when she needed it most.

Had to spend her White Chip to unshake.
20:26, Today: Kills Iron Horse rolled 3,4 using d10,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 3,4. Opposed Strength.

The pole man's slippery, rubbery skin is hard for the Cheyenne to get a grasp on, and it moves unnaturally quickly. It's not strength that will help here. The Pole Man continues dragging her toward the pole.

((OOC: 20:30, Today: Pole Men rolled 12,3 using d10,d6, rerolling max with rolls of (10+2)12,3. Agility. Yeah, she's still caught.

Art and Walks The Night need to Run to get near enough to attack the Pole Man. Kira needs to Run just to get into the area.

Also, Card for next turn?))

Can PumArt pounce this round? Mountain Lions are quite fleet of foot over short distances (like 50 mph sort of fast) and have the Pounce special attack, which includes a substantial leap as part of the movement.

09:03, Today: Walks The Night Alone drew the single card: 2S using a deck of 54 cards. Initiative.
09:02, Today: Kira drew the single card: AD using a deck of 54 cards. Initiative.
09:02, Today: Kills Iron Horse drew the single card: 8C using a deck of 54 cards. Initiative.
09:02, Today: Art C. Wiley drew the single card: 8H using a deck of 54 cards. Initiative.

In reply to Art C. Wiley (msg # 97):

((OOC: Yes, PumArt can Pounce.))

With a roar that split the damp night air, PanthArt dashed toward the Pole Man that held Kills Iron Horse and with a mighty leap attempted to thwart its dastardly plans, sinking teeth into rubbery flesh.

Pounce will be 11 damage. Can he frenzy in a round in which he pounces?


10:21, Today: Art C. Wiley rolled 1,4,2 using d10,d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 1,4,2. Pounce Damage.
10:19, Today: Art C. Wiley rolled 7,21 using d6+4,d6+4, rerolling max with rolls of 3,(6+6+5)17. Pounce!

The mighty mountain lion slammed into the spindly deader, sending it spinning, but it manages to keep it's hold on the Cheyenne brave.

((OOC: No. But you get +4 to attack and damage, and if you want you can Wild Attack for an additional +2 to attacks and damage (assuming you're willing to take the -2 parry penalty--it stacks with the penalty from the Pounce). So your damage was actually 15, which is 2 wounds and a Shaken to the Pole Man. The Pole Man opts to spend one of it's chips to remove the Shaken so it can keep ahold of its prey.))

---

Walks the Night gets his action. Kira doesn't have an action this round--she's just trying to catch up. Then I'll work out the next round.

Walks the Night Alone watches the huge mountain lion crash into the spindly thing that had a hold of his fellow Dog Soldier. He already had bow in hand and let lose with arrow meant to pierce a rubbery appendage so that the Dog Soldier and the dog could catch up.



Not sure if a 7 even hits due to the long range, but if it does, it would do 10 damage.

10:46, Today: Walks The Night Alone rolled 10 using 2d6, rerolling max with rolls of 5,5. Damage.
10:45, Today: Walks The Night Alone rolled 1,7 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 1,(6+1)7. Shootin' (bow).

Private Brown takes careful aim at the man with the Gatling rifle and squeezes off a shot.
He bares his teeth in frustration as the bullet hits the tree instead of the leader's head.
"Just an inch to the right..." he mutters, as he loads a fresh cartridge.

23:33, Today: Moses rolled 5 using 1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 5. Shooting, Private Brown.
23:34, Today: Moses rolled 8 using 2d8, rerolling max with rolls of 4,4. Brown, rifle damage.


The mercenaries, hardened in shoot-outs and battles, regain their cool and take cover, taking aim at some targets.
The soldiers, however, are diving into cover, cowering in fear.

23:38, Today: Moses rolled 2,3 using d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 2,3. Soldiers, recover from Shaken.
23:38, Today: Moses rolled 5,3 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 5,3. Mercenaries, recover from Shaken.

The whirlwind follows the woman in the air, tugging and pulling her hither and yonder.

Moses spreads his arms, bis booming voice reaching far and wide.
"AND THE LORD SHALL TAKE THY SIGHT AND CAST YOU INTO DARKNESS UNTIL YOU REPENT!"


23:51, Today: Moses rolled 6,10 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 6,(6+4)10. Faith to Blind.

Large Burst Template... trying to focus on the area where the most of the bad guys are bandied together.


23:54, Today: Moses drew the 3 cards: AS, 10S, 4D using the Deadlands system. Initiative: Moses, soldiers, mercs.

The arrow is true, and the wiggly deader finds part of its anatomy pinned to the pole. It hesitates for a moment as it tries to remove the arrow.

((OOC: Walks the Night's movement puts him into the bow's Medium range, so the penalty is only -2. That hit will make the creature Shaken. It goes before KIH, so it gets a chance to Unshake, but it keeps its other chip back for soaking. This will give Kira a chance to get in an attack on it.))

---

Turn Order:
Kira: AD
Pole Man: KC
Art: 8H
Kills Iron Horse: 8C
Walks The Night: 2S

The rain made Kira mangy-looking at best, but she ran through the slop as quickly as her four legs could take her. Kills Iron Horse had always been kind to Kira, often scratching her in that painfully pleasant spot behind her right ear. The least she could do in repayment was keep the woman from whatever it was the rubbery thing was doing to make her friend struggle.

With a leap, Kira sunk her teeth into the thing. It didn't taste very good, but Kira wasn't particularly hungry at the moment.


15 damage to the thing after using a pair of red chips to get a raise on the attack roll. That means that Kira Goes for the Throat and attacks the most weakly armored point of the enemy (whatever that means).

15:53, Today: Kira rolled 1,9,5 using d8,d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 1,(6+3)9,5. Damage.

15:59, Today: Kira rolled 4 using 1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 4. Red chip
15:52, Today: Kira rolled 2 using 1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 2. Red chip.
15:52, Today: Kira rolled 7 using 1d8, rerolling max with rolls of 7. Fighting.

In reply to Moses (msg # 103):

The woman with the jetpack curses as the windstorm follows her. She manages to keep aloft, and decides discretion is the better part of valor. She streaks off over the trees, landing somewhere out of Moses' sight.

The bandits shout and curse as a beam of pure light stabs down from the heavens, parting the clouds for a moment. The men directly caught in the sunbeam shout and move to cover their eyes, but all of them wind up blinking and stumbling anyway.

"I'm blind, Clem!" One shouts in terror. "Lordy Jesus I'm blind!"

((OOC: Candy makes an Agility roll at -4 to avert her eyes from Moses' spell.

15:34, Today: X-Squad rolled 1,1 using d6-4,d6-4, rerolling max with rolls of 5,5. Agility.

Yeah, that's a fail. She is Shaken and has a -2 Parry. She didn't roll a natural 1, so she's not totally blinded, but it messes with her. She also has to deal with the Windstorm.

15:35, Today: X-Squad rolled 1,4 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 1,4. Vigor.

The Vigor roll, she succeeds at. On her action, she spends her chip to Unshake. Having had enough of this wind, she Runs. She has a Fly pace of 20 (halved to 10 from the Windstorm).

15:37, Today: X-Squad rolled 5 using 1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 5. Running.

She can move 15 squares. Since Moses can only move the Windstorm 8 squares (his Spirit die) he won't be able to catch her with it again. She will land. She'll need to approach by foot.

Card: QH

Meanwhile, since we're not using a map this fight, a LBT will affect 2d6 opponents.

15:48, Today: Wild Bunch Outlaws rolled 9 using 2d6. How many foes?

Let's see how many this affects:


15:49, Today: Wild Bunch Outlaws rolled -1,1,3 using d8-4,d8-4,d8-4, rerolling max with rolls of 3,5,7. Agility.
15:49, Today: Wild Bunch Outlaws rolled 0,-2,0 using d8-4,d8-4,d8-4, rerolling max with rolls of 4,2,4. Agility.
15:49, Today: Wild Bunch Outlaws rolled -3,2,2 using d8-4,d8-4,d8-4, rerolling max with rolls of 1,6,6. Agility.

That's all of them in the template, with 1 of them being completely blinded and the rest being Shaken.))

---

Turn Order
Moses: AS
Candy McShane: QH (15 squares away, out of range of the windstorm)
Soldiers: 10S (Half have Medium Cover, the other half have Heavy cover)
Little Crow: 10S (sneaky, sneaky)
Mercenaries: 4D (All have Heavy Cover)
Wild Bunch: 3H (All have Medium cover, 9 Shaken from Blind)
Conditions: Storm (-2 to Shooting and Notice)

In reply to Kira (msg # 105):

The rubbery deader hisses as Kira bites down, but concentrates on its grisly task. It pulls the noose off its own neck and begins trying to loop it over the Cheyenne's!

((OOC: Hitting the least armored spot means that, if the critter Kira attacks has Armor of some sort, she hits a location that has less armor and bypasses it, meaning she effectively does more damage. For example, if you are wearing a bulletproof vest, she'd hit your leg. If the target is armored all over, or doesn't have armor (such as the Pole Men, who just have high toughness from being undead), hitting a vulnerable spot doesn't have an effect.

15 damage means another 2 wounds, which the Pole Man will attempt to soak.

21:36, Today: Pole Men rolled 3,5 using d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 3,5. Soak!

It soaks 1 wound and is still Shaken. One more wound will take it down, as it is out of chips.

On its action, the Pole Man attempts to unshake.

21:37, Today: Pole Men rolled 7,7 using d6+2,d6+2, rerolling max with rolls of 5,5. Unshake.

That's a success, which means KIH is still in danger. The Pole Man begins tying her to the pole. It still has her grappled, and it uses it's action to try and strangle her. This is an Opposed Agility or Strength test.

21:40, Today: Pole Men rolled 7,5 using d10,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 7,5. Strangle!

If KIH fails her roll, it deals damage, so I need to resolve this before I can proceed.))

---

Kills Iron Horse, resolve your Strength or Agility check vs. 7

Kills Iron Horse struggled to break free of the Pole Man's grip, but she didn't have the strength to do so. At least her comrades were close by. She held out hope that they would free her and quickly.

21:56, Today: Kills Iron Horse rolled 2,3 using d10,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 2,3. Struggle!

The noose pulls tight, and Kills Iron Horse looses air...she sees spots before her eyes as the rope digs into her throat...

((OOC: Damage time. It deals its Str in damage, and since it got a Raise over her, it gets an extra d6 of damage.

Damge: 9. This will make KIH Shaken.

Card: 7D))

---

Art is up!

Moses strides forward, his indian war-club-turned-bat in hand, his black coat flapping behind him in the storm.
His face is contorted in anger. "Repent, you servants of evil! The Lord guides and protects His most humble servant against all evil and. You. Will. Surrender. NOW!"

<small>22:31, Today: Moses rolled 11,2 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of (8+3)11,2. Faith for Deflection.

Sweet. -4 to be hit.


The twister turns around, suddenly, heading back into the midst of the bandits...

Would a second shaken result from the whirlwind cause a wound?


22:38, Today: Moses drew the single card: 5C using the Deadlands system. Initiative.

PumArt growled at the creature that had attached his fellow Cheyenne to a pole a moment before the giant cat raked the thing with both claws.

OOC: Frenzy, wild attack, and two white chips and two red chips later:

Attack 1: 22 to hit, 13 damage
Attack 2: 9 to hit, 11 damage

14:12, Today: Art C. Wiley rolled 3,8 using d10+2,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 1,(6+2)8. Damage.
14:11, Today: Art C. Wiley rolled 5,3,4 using d6+2,d6+2,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 3,1,4. White Chip.
14:11, Today: Art C. Wiley rolled 1 using 1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 1. Red chip.
14:10, Today: Art C. Wiley rolled 5,4 using d6+2,d6+2, rerolling max with rolls of 3,2. Attack #2.
14:10, Today: Art C. Wiley rolled 6,5,2 using d10+2,d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 4,5,2. Damage.
14:09, Today: Art C. Wiley rolled 12,7,10 using d6+2,d6+2,d6, rerolling max with rolls of (6+4)10,5,(6+4)10. White Chip.
14:09, Today: Art C. Wiley rolled 1 using 1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 1. Red chip.
14:08, Today: Art C. Wiley rolled 6,5 using d6+2,d6+2, rerolling max with rolls of 4,3. Wild Attack.

"Holy shi~!" shouts one of the bandits as the wind dashed him against the trunk. He's not alone. Several of the bandits find the windstorm tossing them about, and several more get knocked silly by the twister, though it looks like it is beginning to fail.

"Like HELL!" shouts the woman with the rocket pack, now running through the trees. She hefts her dynamite launcher and gives Moses a wide, slightly crazed grin. "FIRE IN THE HOLE!" she cackles.

The launcher makes a {thump!} as a lit stick of dynamite flies at Moses. The stick explodes, showering the prophet with dirt.

Miraculously, though, he himself is not harmed. His coat isn't even singed.

"The hell?" the woman gawks. "Fuck. Musta been wet."

((OOC: It would be Nonlethal damage, but yeah, it would knock them out. This is the last round of the windstorm, by the by.

14:08, Today: Wild Bunch Outlaws rolled 1,2,1 using d6,d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 1,2,1. Vigor.
14:08, Today: Wild Bunch Outlaws rolled 1,1,5 using d6,d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 1,1,5. Vigor.
14:07, Today: Wild Bunch Outlaws rolled 4,5,5 using d6,d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 4,5,5. Vigor.

4 of them make the Vigor roll, 5 of them fail. That means 5 of the bandits get knocked silly, and the rest are blinded until the end of the round (when the windstorm fades).

27 bandits, 5 Incapacitated, 4 shaken

Candy McShane doesn't take kindly to Moses trying to bully her troops, so she moved her pace of 6, putting Moses within Medium Range of her Dynamite Launcher.

Her only penalty is the rain and the medium range (Moses' Deflection counts as Armor against area effects) but that's still a -4 penalty.

14:16, Today: X-Squad rolled 4,-3 using d10-4,d6-4, rerolling max with rolls of 8,1. Fire in the hole!

That will, against all odds, land on target.

14:17, Today: X-Squad rolled 5 using 2d6, rerolling max with rolls of 2,3. Damage.

That...that is some unimpressive Damage. Wouldn't have hurt Moses even without his Deflection up.

Card: 2D))

In reply to Art C. Wiley (msg # 111):

The vicious assault of the panther is too much for the deader. Art's claws rip the monster's limbs out, and it collapses in a dismembered heap. Kills Iron Horse pulls the noose off her neck and drops to the ground, choking and gasping as she attempts to get air in her lungs.

In the distance, there is more gunfire and explosions. The rain gets heavier.

Does KIH automatically unshake since the enemy is no longer close by, or do I still need to roll for her to do so?
This message was last edited by the player at 20:14, Thu 02 Apr 2015.

((OOC: assuming you spend some time treating her, she can be Unshaken automatically.))

Kills Iron Horse quickly shakes away the cobwebs and the fog that had begun to creep into the edges of her vision.

14:28, Today: Kills Iron Horse rolled 2,4 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 2,4. Unshake.

A quick rub of her neck reminded her of how close she had been, and she patted PumArt on his flank in appreciation of the swift rescue. After the four polechasers had taken a moment to gather themselves, they again took off in the direction the pole men had been running, intent on bringing them down one-by-one if necessary.

OOC: Do we need to pick up a trail at this point?

[Language unknown: "Po wi entstiout."] Walks The Night says as the group moves on down the road. [Language unknown: "Ictoai compa iniota ar tene, io urulan ast reseraall il icmo foacic. Ieacpa stimaneve. Nt ble lach cepari thwewa om derionsti wer utweel. E virsomomeant il tiprdi iearei a illin ichsanthu rut dinwerwilwhewit cechad, un her Ill Pene haste mi."]

((OOC: Sure. You have a group, so you can make a cooperative Tacking check. The relevant modifiers are: mud (+2), raining (-4), other tracks messing up the trail (-2). The total net modifier is -4, though Kira gets a +2 bonus because she can track by scent (making her mod -2 instead).

Also, need you to make a Notice check for all your peeps.))

23:01, Today: Moses rolled 1,5 using d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 1,5. Soldiers, recover from Shaken.

That'll take them back into the fight. They take the aim maneuver.

For the next round:
23:03, Today: Moses drew the single card: 10C using the Deadlands system. soldiers, initiative.



The soldiers, taken aback by the example of that giant, lone negro, take heart and aim, shouting incoherently at their enemies.

Meanwhile, Private Brown, shifts his aim, slighty, and fires into the general direction of the dymanite-throwing-woman.

23:06, Today: Moses rolled 1 using 1d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 3. Brown, shooting.

Not gonna re-roll now, but remind me again: Can I use chips on extras under my command?

((OOC: Technically, you need the Natural Leader edge to share your chips with NPCs under your control, though I generally give any group of extras under PC control 3 white chips of their own to use as you see fit. Are you spending a chip or saving it?))

In reply to Walks The Night Alone (msg # 117):

Art quickly poked around in the mud looking for the tracks of the spindly-legged things that were running away from their small group. He pawed at what he thought were the right tracks, and Walks the Night Alone confirmed the findings with a nod.

OOC: Kira doesn't actually have track - does she just provide a +2 to the others? If so, then success with a raise for Art and WtNA, and an ordinary success for KIH. If not, then just an ordinary success for Art and WtNA and a failure for KIH.


09:39, Today: Art C. Wiley rolled 6,-3 using d6-4,d6-4, rerolling max with rolls of (6+4)10,1. Tracking.
09:38, Today: Walks The Night Alone rolled 0,7 using d8-4,d6-4, rerolling max with rolls of 4,(6+5)11.
09:38, Today: Kills Iron Horse rolled 3,-3 using d8-4,d6-4, rerolling max with rolls of 7,1. Tracking.

((OOC: You could have Kira substitute Notice, or just roll it at a normal Default (d4-2) if you wanted to.

Also need Notice checks.))

Even while squinting into the darkness to verify the tracks that Art had discovered, Walks the Night Alone remained aware of his surroundings. Something caught his attention...

OOC:

Raise for WtNA, success for Kira, failures for the other two.

11:03, Today: Walks The Night Alone rolled 4 using 1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 4. Kira.
11:03, Today: Walks The Night Alone rolled 6,8 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 6,(6+2)8. Notice.
11:03, Today: Kills Iron Horse rolled 1,1 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 1,1. Notice.
11:03, Today: Art C. Wiley rolled 1,2 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 1,2. Notice.

Walks the Night holds up a hand and points towards the tree line. A figure moves. Then another. Then more.

It's hard to make out in the rain, but the creeping figures seem to be headed toward the sounds of battle. The same direction as the Pole Men. And there are a lot of them.

Art's nose catches the scent of sacred herbs and war paint...and gunpowder.

Walks the Night holds up a hand, forefinger and thumb outstretched. He makes a quick jerking motion with his hand, and if he were holding a pistol being fired. That meant the figures were armed, and not with the traditional weapons used by those who followed the Old Ways. These figures were armed with guns.

Ravenites!

Hmmm... Reroll.

21:38, Today: Moses rolled -1 using 1d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 1. Brown, shooting.
2 NPC chips

Little Crow sneaks through the grass and bushes, hidden from view as the bandits are thrown into confusion. He leaps at one, who spots him and opens his mouth to shout a warning...until 180 pounds of angry Lakota crash into him. Little Crow grabs the bandit's head and slams it into the tree he's hidden behind, knocking the man silly for a few, deadly moments.

((OOC: Alrighty. Draw a card for their next turn, please.

Little Crow sneaks up to one of the bandits.

13:09, Today: Little Crow rolled 4,4 using d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 4,4. Stealth.

13:09, Today: Wild Bunch Outlaws rolled 4 using 1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 4. Notice.

Ties maintain the status quo. In this case, Little Bear gets close enough to him to attack, but won't get The Drop on him.

Little Crow attempts to strangle the bandit with a straight unarmed Fighting check.

13:12, Today: Little Crow rolled 1,5 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 1,5. Fighting! Hit.

Damage: 6, which is enough to make the bandit Shaken. Importantly, it also prevents the bandit from shouting an alarm.

Card: AC))

---

Your Mercenaries are up

PumArt nodded at the warning from Walks the Night Alone and stood on his hind legs so he could pantomime slipping in behind all the other groups. They weren't a large enough group to directly oppose the Ravenites and the pole men together, but perhaps with the element of surprise and the confusion of several groups meeting each other, the Cheyenne could have some effect on the outcome of whatever battle was occurring.

OOC: Art and crew will try to let the Ravenites precede them to the sounds of battle and come in behind them and the pole men.

((OOC: Make me a Stealth check, then, if you're going to try to shadow them without being noticed. I'll let the character with the highest Stealth make the roll to keep things simple. This is an opposed check against their Notice, however, not a straight roll.))

Art slinked along behind the Ravenites, trying to stay out of sight, but the mud was squishy, and has padded feet were doing a poor job of keeping quiet.

OOC:
Art manages a 5 even after a white chip. Though he is a cat. And it's dark. And raining.

20:11, Today: Art C. Wiley rolled 5,3 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 5,3. White Chip.
20:11, Today: Art C. Wiley rolled 3,4 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 3,4. Stealth.

Two firing at the dynamite-woman, one firing at Mr. Gatling.

23:42, Today: Moses rolled 6,7 using d8,d8, rerolling max with rolls of 6,7. Mercenaries firing at dyna-Lady.

two hits!


23:44, Today: Moses rolled 6 using 2d8, rerolling max with rolls of 3,3. Dyna damage 2.
23:44, Today: Moses rolled 5 using 2d8, rerolling max with rolls of 4,1. Dyna damage 1.


23:43, Today: Moses rolled 3 using 1d8, rerolling max with rolls of 3. white chip.
23:43, Today: Moses rolled 1 using 1d8, rerolling max with rolls of 1. shooting at gatling guy.
Down to one NPC chip.


The three battle-hardened veterans take careful aim, two firing at the crazy woman and one taking a pot-shot at the Gatling Guy. None of their bullets seem to cause any harm, but it's hard to tell in the rain and gloom.


23:46, Today: Moses drew the single card: AS using the Deadlands system. mercs initiative.

some mood music

"Clem! Curly!" The bandit with the gatling rifle shouts. "Limber them fancy fireguns and smoke these assholes out!"

Two of the bandits wearing heavy gloves and goggles break from the trees. They have strange devices--gun-like tubes with wide nozzles, attached to heavy-looking tanks on their backs. Tiny flames glow on the business end of the nozzles.

One of them aims at the lean-tos and crouched soldiers who are prone. He squeezes a lever on the gun-thing.

{{FWOOOOOOOOOOOSH!}}

A giant tongue of flame roars out over the field like Satan's own vomit. The men scream and curse as they try to get away...

The other bandit hustles over to where he can get a good shot in at Moses. He raises his gun.

{{FWOOOOOOOOOOOSH!}}


((OOC: The soldiers shooting at Mr. Gatling had both Rain (-2) and Cover (-2) modifiers to deal with. The Aim maneuver cleared one penalty, but not the other, so they wouldn't have hit him anyway.

Candy McShane has a Toughness of 8, so neither of the hits do enough damage to her to slow her down (her high toughness is due to a Smith & Robards bulletproof vest, so AP from guns doesn't affect her)

There are 5 bandits Incapacitated and 5 Shaken, 4 from Moses' blinding spell and 1 from being strangled by Little Crow. That leaves 17 currently ready to fight, in addition to Candy and Arkansas.

The 4 blinded by the spell attempt to recover.

21:24, Today: Wild Bunch Outlaws rolled 9,3,1,1 using d6,d6,d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of (6+3)9,3,1,1. Unshake. One success with Raise

The bandit being choked makes his attempt to recover.

21:26, Today: Wild Bunch Outlaws rolled 1 using 1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 1. Unshake. That is a Fail.

That leaves 18 Wild Bunch boys ready to fight this round.

The Wild Bunch have been Aiming, so they have a +2 Bonus on their attacks, but the soldiers all have Medium Cover (-2) and the rain (-2). The one who was Shaken gets no aim bonus.

16 of them will do normal fighting. 2 of them have flame throwers. Arkansas Tom tell one to run up and torch the soldiers, and one to run and torch Moses. These two no longer have cover. In case you're curious, shooting the tank on one of these guy's back requires a Called Shot (-2) but might make the tank blow up.

Soldiers attacked: 6

21:36, Today: Wild Bunch Outlaws rolled 5 using 1d6+2. Fuego!

Six soldiers are in the line of fire from this attack. They may attempt an Agility Roll (vs 5) to avoid the flames, otherwise they will suffer damage (this is not a group roll--roll for all of the affected soldiers individually). Soldiers who are Prone have no armor against this fire, soldiers using the lean-tos get 2 armor.

Any soldier who fails must roll to see if they catch fire.

Speaking of fire, I roll to see if any of the area catches. The heavy rain helps only a little, since this is ghost rock napalm.

21:44, Today: Wild Bunch Outlaws rolled 3 using 1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 3. Fuego! No fire from this attack on the surroundings.

Attack on Moses:

21:37, Today: Wild Bunch Outlaws rolled 7 using 1d6+2, rerolling max with rolls of 5. Fuego!

Moses can make an Agility check (vs 7) to avoid the flames. He has +4 armor against the damage thanks to his deflection power. If hit, he also needs to roll to see if he catches fire (a 1 on a d6).

Fire to surroundings? 21:50, Today: Wild Bunch Outlaws rolled 11 using 1d6, rerolling max with rolls of (6+5)11. Fuego!

since a fire would start on a 1, the Ace is immaterial. No fire started.

I split the remaining bandits into 4 groups of 4.

Group 1 targets Moses. Group 2 and 3 target the soldiers. Group 4 targets the Mercenaries.

However, I want to resolve the Fire before I move on.))

---

Moses, resolve your rolls

Soldiers:
20:03, Today: Moses rolled 21 using 6d6, rerolling max with rolls of 1,1,1,5,(6+4)10,3. Soldiers dodging fire.
That's... bad.
20:04, Today: Moses rolled 17 using 5d6, rerolling max with rolls of 3,4,1,4,5. soldiers catching fire.


Moses: Total of 8
20:06, Today: Moses rolled 5 using 1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 5. blue chip.
20:05, Today: Moses rolled 1,2 using d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 1,2. white chip.
20:05, Today: Moses rolled 3,2 using d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 3,2. Moses dodging fire.

As Art and his companions creep along, some of the figures in the trees break off and begin heading their way...

((OOC: It is only dark because it's raining...it's not yet sunset, time wise. Still, they do get a -2 penalty on their roll.

10:44, Today: Ravenite Braves rolled 5,6 using d8-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 7,(6+2)8. Notice. That's...not good for Art & company.))

CougArt wasn't particularly pleased that his noisy feet had betrayed them to those they were trying to quietly follow. He wasn't interested in directly engaging the group that broke off, at least until he had a better idea of how many there might be. He tried to circle around the splinter group from the Ravenites, though it would further slow their return.

In reply to Moses (msg # 131):

The men in the flame's path scream as the fire engulfs them. The stench of charred flesh and cotton rises above the rain, and some of the rounds in the soldier's guns cook off, popping like deadly shrapnel fireworks.

"See what we can do to you?" The man with the Gatling rifle shouts out. "We just want the money! Toss out the cash box, or fry in the devil's own flames!"

Several more shots ring out from the trees, whizzing by Moses (who has, by the grace of the lord, escaped the flames himself). Some of them come awful close to being grazing wounds, despite the Lord's protection.

The rest of the soldiers seem to be waiting for what the soldiers decide to do.

((OOC: Actually, that 5 was a success, so only 4 of your soldiers got caught in the fire. None of them caught fire (it needs a 6 or higher to ignite them--I was wrong before about the 1)

Damage: 9,17,9,30

Ow. That's a Wound for each soldier hit, which makes them Incapacitated and possibly dying.

Arkansas Tom attempts another Intimidation Test of Wills against the troops.

15:59, Today: Wild Bunch Outlaws rolled 1,2 using d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 1,2. Intimidation ToW. That...is not likely to be a success. The soldiers can roll Spirit to resist.

The group of bandits aiming for Moses take a shot at him. They have Rain (-2), Aiming (+2), and deflection (-4) modifiers.

16:02, Today: Wild Bunch Outlaws rolled -2,-1,6,4,-3 using d6-4,d6-4,d6-4,d6-4,d6-4, rerolling max with rolls of 2,3,(6+4)10,(6+2)8,1. Shooting! 2 hits.

Damage: 9,10. Both of those are Shaken results, so Moses will suffer 1 Wound if he doesn't soak.

The rest of the bandits (Groups 2, 3, and 4), go On Hold to shoot at anyone looking to shoot back at them. The soldiers will need to beat them in an Opposed Agility test to get a shot off before the bandits do.

Card: 3S))

---

Turn Order
Mercenaries: AS
Little Crow: AC
Soldiers: 10C
Moses: 5C
Wild Bunch Group 1, Arkansas Tom, Flamethrowers: 3S (-2 to hit from cover)
Candy McShane: 2D
Wild Bunch Group 2: On Hold (-2 to hit from cover)
Wild Bunch Group 3: On Hold (-2 to hit from cover)
Wild Bunch Group 4: On Hold (-2 to hit from cover)
5 bandits Incapacitated, 4 Shaken, 1 being strangled
Conditions: Rain (-2 Notice and Shooting)

In reply to Art C. Wiley (msg # 133):

The woods turn into a deadly game of cat and mouse as PumArt and his companions attempt to avoid the bloodthirsty braves seeking them out.

((OOC: There are 5 Ravenites chasing after Art and his crew. Make me a Group Stealth Check (to see how well your group avoids the Ravenites, Opposed by their Group Notice) and then a Notice Roll (to get a sense of how many there are))

OOC: What should I roll for Group Stealth? 3 of us are d8,d6, but Kira is untrained. Similar question for Notice (though Kira is d6 for Notice).

((OOC: Use whoever has the best mod.))

Art scooted away from the approaching braves, hoping they might leave a simple mountain lion wandering through the wilderness alone. They seemed to have better things to do than hunt a large cat.



11 stealth, 6 notice

OOC: 16:52, Today: Art C. Wiley rolled 6,1 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 6,1. Notice.
16:51, Today: Art C. Wiley rolled 11,4 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of (8+3)11,4. Stealth.

((OOC: What about the others? What are they doing? Is Art leading the splinter group away from them so they can continue on, or are they all moving together? I'm a little unclear on that point.))

OOC: Well, since they are group rolls, I think they are moving as a group. Now moving perpendicular to the original path of the main host of Ravenites rather than trying to follow them. If the braves that are giving chase stop doing so, Art and co. will parallel the Ravenite path as best they can, though probably well off to their right or left (and behind them as well, due to the delay from the pursuit).

<small>So, that leaves 5 soldiers?

11:02, Today: Moses rolled 23 using 5d6, rerolling max with rolls of 3,1,5,(6+4)10,4. soldiers resisting intimidation.

One of the soldiers scrambles backwards, panicked, screaming for his momma. The rest seem to grind their teeth and hold the line, more angry than scared right now.





11:05, Today: Moses rolled 5,9 using d10,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 5,(6+3)9. White chip to Soak. (updated as of this post)


Bullets zing past and seemingly through Moses, as his coat billows out behind him, his face growing even darker.


The mercenaries take aim at Arkansas Tom, and while one of the shots goes wide, the other two connect with his cover, making him duck down again.

11:09, Today: Moses rolled 3,7,6 using d8,d8,d8, rerolling max with rolls of 3,7,6.
11:10, Today: Moses rolled 19,15 using 2d8,2d8, rerolling max with rolls of (8+7)15,4,(8+5)13,2. Hitting Tom's cover.
Well, that might go through. Or not. :-)

11:11, Today: Moses drew the single card: KD using the Deadlands system. mercs initiative.

In reply to Art C. Wiley (msg # 140):

Art and the warriors manage to give the braves the slip. But Art gets a quick count of the group...and it is large. There have to be at least twenty braves, all on foot, all creeping toward the battle up ahead...and into the clutches of the Pole Men.

((OOC: Alrighty. It's just that your posts didn't include them, so I was a bit confused.

Ravenites:

14:12, Today: Ravenite Braves rolled 5,5 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 5,5. Notice.))

Arkansas Tom shouts curses at the soldiers as the bullets rip through the tree and into him. "Goddammit!" he shouts, clutching his wounded side. "Kill those fuckers! Kill them all!"

A line of return fire rips through the mercenaries. It looks like they aren't taking prisoners now.

---

In the gloom, Little Crow smiles to himself as he continues to strangle the soldier. With this man's death, he'd have a little measure of revenge, and, more importantly, he could take the man's gun and knife, and be armed.

The man's eyes bulged as he continued to struggle. He pointed weakly to something behind Little Crow.

[Language unknown: "E ulul osmen nosa Eceeli, manndeingthi?"] Little Crow grins horribly. [Language unknown: "K esshe ll som een ti oer icaamemen but ic hat contr ekenca wi tho..."]

Then a pair of slick, rubbery hands fall on Little Crow's own neck, and he's suddly jerked into the air. Little Crow struggles against the cold, dead hands, twisting and kicking as fear lent him power.

Not enough power. He twists around and faces the rotting thing holding him, clad in tattered mining clothes and bearing a rictus grin on its rotted face. A rope dangles from the dead thing's neck. Its arms and legs are freakishly long.

It grins wider, and then begins mouthing words. It makes no noise when it speaks. Its laughter is silent.

---

Candy McShane readied her dynamite launcher. Dammit! That colored fella needed something stronger than a single stick. But she had stronger. Oh, yes she did. Tom was shouting to kill them all, so that meant she was off the leash. She was going to level those lean-tos in a blast that would make Hellstrome himself take notice!

And then she felt a slimy, cold hand on her throat..."Holy FUCK!" She screamed, twisting out of the thing's grasp. The wiggly monster rose over her, balanced on long stick legs, arms horribly outstretched and grasping...Candy's mind went blank. She couldn't deal with this! So she turned and ran out into the open, screaming at the top of her lungs.

---

Moses and the Soldiers heard shouts of alarm from the tree line.

"Dear god, what the FUCK!?"

"Shit! Shit! Shiiiiiiiiiiit!"

"It's got Leon! Let go! Let GO, damn you!"

And then the woman with the Jetpack burst into the open, screaming wildly, her dynamite launcher pointed back into the forest...

---

((OOC: Yes, there are currently 5 soldiers who have actions, including Private Brown. They can attempt field medicine to save those who were downed by the flames (I haven't rolled Aftermath yet, so the Incapacitated soldiers might still be alive), but since none of them have healing it would be at Default, with an additional -2 for not having any supplies.

The Wild Bunch were On Hold to react to the Mercenaries and the Soldiers, mind, so they get their action. Group 4 fires back at the Mercenaries. They have Aim bonus, but the Rain and Cover penalties still apply. Net penalty is -2

14:32, Today: Wild Bunch Outlaws rolled 6,1,2,6 using d6-2,d6-2,d6-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of (6+2)8,3,4,(6+2)8. Shooting! 2 hits.

Damage: 11,10. That's a Wound for 2 of the Mercenaties, making them Incapacitated.

Group 4 card: 5C

As for Arkansas Tom, his tree trunk provides him Armor. I'll say that the tree provides as much cover as an oak door, so he gets a +4 armor bonus, reduced by 2 because of the rifle's AP. That makes his toughness 8. That means the first hit does 2 wounds, and the second does 1 wound. Tom is a Wild Card with 2 chips, so he will attempt to Soak both attacks.

Soak 1: 14:41, Today: The Stray, for the NPC Arkansas Tom, rolled 4,5 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 4,5. Soak! Soak 1 wound of 2.

Soak 2: 14:42, Today: The Stray, for the NPC Arkansas Tom, rolled 14,4 using d8-1,d6-1, rerolling max with rolls of (8+7)15,5. Soak! Soak 1 wound of 1.

He winds up with 1 wound altogether, and must now rely on GM chips.

Little Crow continues strangling. The outlaw has a chance to avoid being killed.

14:21, Today: Little Crow rolled 22,2 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of (8+8+6)22,2. Strangle!

14:22, Today: Wild Bunch Outlaws rolled 4 using 1d8, rerolling max with rolls of 4. Resist Grapple.

Little Crow succeeds with a Raise. He gets more daamge.

Damage: 4. Really? Unimpressive. The contest continues.

Card: 9H

And now the Pole Men enter the battle!

There are 3 Pole Men taking advantage of folks being distracted. One of them attacks Little Crow, one of them goes after Group 1, and one goes after Candy McShane. They all have The Drop. Everyone they attack will also need to make a Fear check.

Pole Man vs. Little Crow: 14:48, Today: Pole Men rolled 6,8 using d12+4,d6+4, rerolling max with rolls of 2,4. Grapple!

Little Crow: 14:49, Today: Little Crow rolled 3,5 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 3,5. Resist Grapple. Fail. Little Crow is grappled.

14:50, Today: Little Crow rolled 0,8 using d8-3,d6-3, rerolling max with rolls of 3,(6+5)11. Fear. Success.

14:51, Today: Wild Bunch Outlaws rolled 1 using 1d6-4, rerolling max with rolls of 5. Fear. Fail. Not a surprise, really...in fact, it's amazing he rolled a positive number at all.

Pole Man 2: 14:54, Today: Pole Men rolled 25,7 using d12+4,d6+4, rerolling max with rolls of (12+9)21,3. Grapple!

14:54, Today: Wild Bunch Outlaws rolled 5 using 1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 5. Resist Grapple. Fail with Raise. Not only is the dude grappled, he's Shaken as well.

14:56, Today: Wild Bunch Outlaws rolled -2,13,-2,-3 using d6-4,d6-4,d6-4,d6-4, rerolling max with rolls of 2,(6+6+5)17,2,1. Fear. Mostly Fail, but one surprising Success, who shouts out an alarm. The other 3 are Shaken (and one of them was grabbed).

Pole Man 3: 14:57, Today: Pole Men rolled 7,7 using d12+4,d6+4, rerolling max with rolls of 3,3. Grapple!

14:58, Today: X-Squad rolled 10,5 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of (8+2)10,5. Resist Grapple. Success, strangely enough.

14:59, Today: X-Squad rolled -3,0 using d8-4,d6-4, rerolling max with rolls of 1,4. Fear. Fail. She's panicked

Card: 2D))

---

TL;DR: 2 Mercenaries Incapacitated (unless they Soak) leaving 1 left, 4 Soldiers Incapacitated leaving 5 left, The Pole Men join the fight and scare the beejezus out of 4 bandits (3 more Shaken, 1 grappled, the man grappled by Little Crow is let go but was still shaken anyway), Little Crow and 1 bandit are Grappled, Candy McShane escaped a grapple but is utterly panicked at the sight of the pole men. Because of limited visibility due to the rain, the Pole Men aren't yet visible to the Soldiers or to Moses, though they can hear the screaming.

---

Soldiers get to go!

[Language unknown: "Fooer!"] Walks whispers urgently to PumArt. [Language unknown: "Fokor notallwhi ioutinwhe eeess wi?"]

The Lakota creeping toward the fight are all wearing fringed leather shirts of white buckskin, adorned with pictures of blue birds in flight, as well as stars and crescent moons around the neckline.

[Language unknown: "Diive nearin oun fisan niofha liutst fist ssenfo riore tha oun amedayour tr chsa ulnead ome, prereaout ader beadch. Erefo nde wheingine le redhisareare outticect o leer Peleck bleherwer."]

CougArt looked at what the Cheyenne brave had noticed, and gave an obvious nod. However, he pointed a paw in a direction that would allow them to continue to parallel the course of the Ravenites rather than intersecting their path.

Kira padded loyally at his side, even though he was catform. He was curious to see if the buckskin shirts would work. And if so, how well.

((OOC: Going to need to resolve Moses' current turn, since the Ravenites are lagging behind a bit and Art has managed to keep out of their view.))

I still have 2 npc chips, I'll burn them for the two mercs to soak.

20:15, Today: Moses rolled 8 using 1d6, rerolling max with rolls of (6+2)8. Mercenary 2 soaking.
20:14, Today: Moses rolled 3 using 1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 3. Mercenary 1 soaking.

Brown raises his head an inch.
"We got 'em boys! We got 'em on the run!" He barely contains a "whoop" as he squeezes off another shot.
The remaining four, with decidely less entusiasm, follow his lead, pumping the dark air full of lead...


20:17, Today: Moses rolled 19 using 5d6, rerolling max with rolls of 4,1,4,5,5. soldiers. firing.
..but not hitting anything.


20:19, Today: Moses drew the single card: 9D using the Deadlands system. soldiers, initiative.

The return fire has the soldiers ducking even more, though one of the soldiers catches a bullet.

((OOC: The groups on hold return fire. They have a total penalty of -2 between Cover, Rain, and their Aim bonus.

Group 2: 12:02, Today: Wild Bunch Outlaws rolled 0,5,0,2 using d6-2,d6-2,d6-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 2,(6+1)7,2,4. Shooting! at cover. 1 Hit.

Damage: 12, which will Incapacitate one of the Soldiers if they don't soak.

Group 3: 12:04, Today: Wild Bunch Outlaws rolled -1,0,2,1 using d6-2,d6-2,d6-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 1,2,4,3. Shooting! at cover. No hits.

I'm surprised you didn't have some of your soldiers shoot at the flamethrower guys, since those guys don't have any cover right now.))

---

Moses, it's your turn!

Because I forgot about that. :-)
Oh well.

Moses' Champion edge applies against the Pole men, right? That's +2 Toughness for me, then.



Something is wrong. Moses feels it. The cries of triumph had turned into shouts of surprise and screams of fear.

"HOLD YOUR FIRE!" the prophet bellows. "WE ARE TEARING US APART WHEN WE NEED TO STAND TOGETHER AGAINST THE DARKNESS THAT WILL CONSUME US!"


Persuasion?

21:37, Today: Moses rolled 7 using 1d6+2, rerolling max with rolls of 5. Legend chip. Total of 9.
21:37, Today: Moses rolled 2,-1 using d6-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 4,1. Persuasion, negative Charisma.


21:38, Today: Moses drew the single card: 9C using the Deadlands system. Initiative.

Moses's voice thunders across the battle, echoes off the trees and the hillside.

And, for a brief moment, the guns stutter and fall silent.

"What was that, nigger?" Arkansas Tom "You surrenderin'?"

But from the trees, shouts are still being heard.

"Hellllllllllp! It's got me! Hellllllllllllp!"

"Mighty fucking CHRIST!"

"Leon! Leoooon! Let him go!"

Meanwhile, the woman with the jetpack flies into the air above the battle, screaming her head off and pointing her dynamite launcher every-which-way...

((OOC: Champion applies, yes. And that roll gives you a brief "talking is a free action" action against the hostiles.

Did I seriously not make a map for this fight!? What the hell, me!?

No wonder this fight got so bogged down. I have over 20 bandits, 20 ravenites, the Pole Men, Art and the Cheyenne, Moses and his soldiers and mercenaries...and no sodding map.))

"THERE IS AN EVIL IN THE TREES!" Moses bellows back.
"It watches us, singling us out. Will you waste your fire and your bullets in a futile attack on Moses and his flock? Or will you join ranks with the Lord's Own Army and defeat the Evil before it descends upon thee all?"

((OOC: Alrighty. so since your band and the Ravenites are about to enter the general fight with the bandits, pole men, and soldiers (why!? why did I think this was a good idea!?) I'm going to need you to make me an Initiative card draw for you, Kira, WTNA, and KIH. How do you want to split them up? You and Kira on one card and the Dog Soldiers on another might be the cleanest way.

Meanwhile, I'll split the Ravenites into 4 groups of 5.

21:50, Today: Ravenite Braves drew the 4 cards: 2D, RJ!, 3C, AS using the Deadlands system.

Looks like some of those Ravenites are going to be really awesome soon, and that's our first Joker award.

This will all be on the next round. I still have a massive, massive post to make for all the NPCs that get to go.))

4D for Art, BJ for Cheyenne. More chips!
This message was last edited by the player at 12:43, Tue 04 Oct 2016.

"Shit." The leader grumbles. "Fine! Cease fire, Boys! At least until we figure out what the hell is going on!"

((OOC: So I've got way too many combatants now to cover this under the normal combat rules, so let's switch this up.

This is now a Mass Combat.

I'm going to count The PC's forces as follows:

Moses (Wild Card) -- I'm going count Private Brown and Little Crow as bonuses to your rolls, rather than worry about how they count for tokens
Art (Wild Card) -- I'm going to count the Dog Soldiers and Kira as bonuses to your rolls, rather than worry about how they count for tokens
Arknasas Tom (Wild Card)
Candy McShane (Henchman) 2 Bandits with Flamethrowers, 2 with Gatling Rifles -- Another package deal
5 Soldiers
2 Mercenaries
22 Bandits (not counting the Incapacitated ones, but counting the Shaken ones)

Meanwhile, the bad guys are:

Wanahtah (Wild Card)
3 Pole Men (all Wild Cards)
20 Ravenite Braves with Ghost Shirts (+4 Toughness vs. bullets)

Moses's ad hoc combined force is probably stronger than the Ravenites in theory, but the shirts provide a great equalizer, and the Pole Men are damn scary.

So I'm going to say that Moses has 10 tokens, the Ravenites have 8

Modifiers!

Moses's side has light Artillery/Air Support in the form of dynamite-shooting Candy and the guys with the Mad Science weapons. That's a +1 bonus

Moses's Side has a +2 Bonus because they have 2 more tokens than the other side.

The Ravenites have a terrain advantage that cuts into Moses's advantages somewhat. They get +2 to their roll.

The Ravenites are also coming up on a confused, wild three-way battle, so they get another +2 Bonus for tactics.

Neither side has anyone with any Knowledge (Battle), so these are going to be straight default rolls (d4-2)

Current Modifiers
Moses's Side would be rolling at d4+1
The Ravenites' Side would be rolling at d4+2

But the PCs can still affect the battle!

Describe what you are going to do to try and even the odds, and then make a Fighting, Shooting, or Arcane Skill roll. You get a +2 bonus because your forces are better, and each of your allied Major NPCs can aid you (adding a +1 bonus to your roll for each helper--see above.)

Moses, you have a total bonus of +4 (+2 tokens, +2 allies)
Art, you have a total bonus of +5 (+2 tokens, +3 allies)

However, the downside of allies is that they are going to be in harm's way. If you wind up taking damage from your Battle roll, one of your allies suffers the hit instead.

any questions?))

OOC: Okay, I think I've got an idea of what's going on, but lemme be sure...

Art's group was way separated from the others and is well behind the Pole Men, time-wise. However, they noticed the Ravenites and have been staying out of sight of them until an opportune time. I'm assuming the Ravenites are going to join the battle in some normal way, but they aren't aware of Art and his crew. Could his group stealthily (they have been quiet so far) move toward the flank or the rear of whatever battle line the Ravenites are drawing and hit them in a way that will be a surprise? The Cheyenne should be able to fire arrows from hidden positions, and Art is still PumArt and can do a little bit of hit-and-run.

Would that work for these purposes? If so, what sort of roll would you like to see?

((OOC: Well, sounds like a decent Tactical plan, so you can make a Stealth check (with that +5 bonus) instead of a fighting, Shooting, or Arcane Skill roll. The better you roll, the better your ambush is pulled off. Remember that combat rounds inside a Mass Combat cover a lot more time than normal combat rounds, so this one roll will represent the positioning and surprise attack.))

Art and his crew slow themselves a little bit to allow the Ravenites to get in front of them. Art and company then slowly and quietly move toward the Ravenite flank once the battle is joined. With surprise on their side, they strike!


23:26, Today: Art C. Wiley rolled 10,9 using d8+5,d6+5, rerolling max with rolls of 5,4.  Ambush!

The surprise strike sends the Ravenites into a panic, and forces them to reveal themselves before they're ready. They return fire, and one of them gets the drop on Walks The Night Alone, who is clipped with a bullet but not badly injured.

"Fire at the Tall Men!" The crazy woman with the jetpack screams as she heads back to the tree line. "The Tall Men!"

She shoots a stick of dynamite into the trees, which explodes. The burst reveals glimpses of three tall monsters working on strangling some of the bandits.

The boys with the flamethrowers turn around and light the forest up. Flames roar as they sweep the treeline. And then the boys with Gatling rifles start chopping at the rubbery, long-limbed monsters

"FUCK!" Arkansas Tom bellows as one of the pole menbusrts through the trees and grabs one of the men with flamethrowers. The outlaw begins firing wildly at the Pole Man, but another gets behind him, reaches out, and grabs him by the throat...

((OOC: That's a Raise, so you add +2 to your side's Battle roll, and you'll take 2d6 damage (which gets dealt to one of your allies at random)

I roll up Walks The Night Alone.

05:46, Today: The Stray, on behalf of Walks The Night Alone, rolled 7 using 2d6, rerolling max with rolls of 5,2.  damage.

This makes him Shaken, which means he won't count for your next roll.

Rolling for Candy & her crew. She has a +2 bonus from having extra tokens, and +4 from her flame-toting allies.

She's focusing on the Pole Men, because they scared the bejeezus out of her

05:49, Today: X-Squad rolled 8,11 using d10+6,d6+6, rerolling max with rolls of 2,5.  Shooting.

She also adds +2 to your roll, and also has one of her allies take 2d6 damage.

05:50, Today: X-Squad rolled 5 using 2d6, rerolling max with rolls of 3,2.  damage.

That will make one of her boys Shaken, which means he skips the next roll.

Arkansas Tom has a +2 bonus, but no actual allies to add to his roll.

05:53, Today: Wild Bunch Outlaws rolled 9,3 using d8+2,d6+2, rerolling max with rolls of 7,1.  Shooting.

Another +2, and another 2d6 damage. Tom doesn't have any allies, so it's all dealt to him.

09:54, Today: Wild Bunch Outlaws rolled 6 using 2d6, rerolling max with rolls of 4,2.  damage.

That will make Tom Shaken, so he'll sit out the next roll.

Altogether your side has added +6 to their roll. This is before Moses rolls. I'll wait for Moses, then post up the Ravenites and Pole Men, then we can roll off to see which side wins this round of the mass combat))

((Mass combat rounds take longer, don't they? Could I still use a prayer to boost my Knowledge Battle skill?))

((OOC: Yes, Mass Combat rounds take a lot longer than normal rounds. Um...sure. That would be a separate Faith roll, without all the bonuses from all the allies and advantages. You'd have to make a new Faith roll each round to keep the bonus. Sound fair?))

Moses raises his arms to the heavens.
"Lord... your most humble servant is no general. But a general is what Moses needs to be. Will you give your champion the wisdom he needs to win this battle for you?"

((Absolutely.
21:37, Today: Moses rolled 6,3 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 6,3.  Faith for Boost Skill.

That boosts me to d4.

21:41, Today: Moses rolled 5,6 using d4+3,d6+3, rerolling max with rolls of 2,3.  Knowledge, Battle.
))

The prophet shouts: "BROWN!", then grabs the soldier's shoulder when he's close enough.
"Take your men there", he points toward a point where the Ravenites are fleeing.
"Smash into them, then stand your ground. You shall be the anvil against the hammer will be slammed."

In reply to Moses (msg # 161):

((OOC: Actually, I need you to hold off on that Knoweldge (Battle) check for a moment...there are more bonuses that your group has accrued (see the post in reply to Art).

What I need from you is a fighting, Shooting, or Faith roll, with a +4 bonus, plus a description of how you use your shooting, fighting, or magic to influence the battle. You're getting a +4 bonus on this roll to represent Little Crow and Private Brown's actions as well as the benefit you get from having an advantage in this fight.

Once I've gotten all the relevant modifiers, you'll get to add that all in to your Knowledge (Battle) check (and I'm pretty sure you won't want to keep that 3).))
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:38, Sun 09 Oct 2016.

Ah, got it.
10:34, Today: Moses rolled 6,5 using d8+4,d6+4, rerolling max with rolls of 2,1.  Faith.

Casting Protection on the group?



Moses addresses his troops - his flock, his new allies, and even Little Crow, who's still teetering on the edge.
"Children of the Spirits. Children of the Lord. You are all children to the same father, to the same mother. This, here, is not the Reckoning. But it is a skirmish in its wake. We have to throw all our weight into the scales of Good to triumph over this Evil. Set aside our differences and stand here, now, united! Go and fight and let the Lord be your shield while you are his sword!"

With the lord on their side, the men under Moses's command take to the field. Bullets rip through the Pole Men, and one of the long-legged monsters is chopped apart by gunfire.

The others continue their grisly work, strangling men with their long, rubbery fingers.

Little Crow struggles in the grasp of the Pole Man, kicking for all he's worth. He begins to see stars, and then things start to go dark...

((OOC: Well, casting spells, anyhow. The mass combat round is longer than a normal round, so the roll represents an average of all your actions over the course of a few minutes.

So your roll is a success, but not a raise. That adds +1 to your side's roll, but you take 3d6 damage. As per the special rules for this, one of your allies will be taking the damage.

14:16, Today: The Stray rolled 17 using 3d6, rerolling max with rolls of 4,(6+5)11,2.  damage.

Since we last left Little Crow being choked by a Pole Man, we'll apply the damage to him. He has a Toughness of 6, so that's 2 wounds and Shaken he suffers, unless you decide to spend a chip to let him soak. He's a henchmen, which means 1 wound is enough to incapacitate him. The Pole Men are intent on stringing him up and turning him into another Pole Man, so you probably want to get his soak on (He has a Vigor of d8, and he rolls a Wild Die because he's a henchman).

Since I'm dealing with the Pole Men, I roll to see how they affect the battle. They don't have any bonuses to their rolls.

Pole Man 1: 14:23, Today: Pole Men rolled 3,7 using d12,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 3,(6+1)7.  Fighting. Success. The Pole Man adds +1 to the Ravenite roll, but suffers 3d6 damage.

I roll a 32 (!), which is 6 wounds (!). The Pole man is going to try to soak, but is likely dead.

14:26, Today: Pole Men rolled 1,1 using d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 1,1.  Soak.

We have a confirmed kill on one of the Pole Men.

Pole Man 2: 14:23, Today: Pole Men rolled 10,1 using d12,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 10,1. Fighting. Success and Raise. The Pole Man adds +2 to the Ravenites, and suffers 2d6 damage.

I roll a 13, which is 1 Wound on the Pole Man. It attempts to Soak.

14:29, Today: Pole Men rolled 1,15 using d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 1,(6+6+3)15.  Soak.

Yeah, that soaks.

Pole Man 3: 14:23, Today: Pole Men rolled 4,2 using d12,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 4,2.  Fighting. Success. It adds +1 to the Ravenites and takes 3d6 damage.

This pole man only takes 11 damage, which is 1 Wound. It attempts to soak.

14:32, Today: Pole Men rolled 4,5 using d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 4,5.  Soak.

It soaks.

So altogether, the Pole men add +4 to the Ravenite's side of the battle.

The current Knowledge (battle) bonuses are:

Moses: d4+3, +2 from Art, +2 from Candy, +2 from Arkansas Tom, +1 from Moses himself = d4+10
Ravenites: d4+2, +4 from pole Men = d4+6

I still have to roll for Wanahtah, the Ravenite leader, but I want to resolve whether Little Crow survives the fight first. If he doesn't, you're going to get a brand new Pole Man to battle.))

---

Moses, you may attempt a Soak for Little Crow

---

when that's resolved, the Ravenites try to get back in this.

((I don't have Little Crow's stats))

((OOC: Ah. Alrighty.))

*Little Crow (henchman)
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Spirit d8, Strength d8, Vigor d8
Skills: Fighting d8, Intimidation d6, Notice d8, Riding d8, Shooting d8, Stealth d6, Survival d6, Tracking d6
Charisma: 0; Pace: 8; Parry: 6; Toughness: 6; Grit: 1
Hindrances: Vengeful (Major), Vow (Serve the Raven cult), Intolerance (White man)
Edges: Fleet-Footed, Marksman
Gear: Clothes on his back

21:23, Today: Moses rolled 4,1 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 4,1.  Little Crow soaks...

21:24, Today: Moses rolled 2,14,4 using d8,d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 2,(6+6+2)14,4.  Re-roll.
21:24, Today: Moses rolled 2 using 1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 2.  red chip.

Little Crow is able to escape the grasp of the pole man, and scrambles for a weapon to fight with.

---

Wanahtah did not like the sudden appearance of Cheyenne Dog Soldiers from nowhere.

[Language unknown: "Aveicaill!"] He shouts. [Language unknown: "Eeeimo! O nc ughoutred toonfi!"] He turns his horse and spurs it toward the Cheyenne, and the...lion?

Well, he wasn't going to let their animal friend confuse him. It was only two men and their pets, after all.

He sighted along the barrel of his Winchester, the holy rifle he'd been given by The Raven to bring death to those who had made it. It would serve well enough to smite those who would not listen to The Raven's call.

His shot was true, and sent Walks The Night Alone spinning, though the bullet was only a flesh wound. Wanahtah frowned, and lined up another shot, ignoring the furry lion...until suddenly it leapt on him, and he found himself desperately trying to fend the monster off...

((OOC: Wanahtah, leader of the Ravenite band, has a chance to aid his side.

He's a Veteran Brave, so most of what he knows is fighting and shooting. So Shooting is what he uses here.

19:59, Today: Ravenite Braves rolled 3,5 using d10,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 3,5.  Shooting.

Not terribly impressive, so he spends his lone Red chip for a bonus on that.

19:59, Today: Ravenite Braves rolled 1 using 1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 1.  red chip.

...and that does nothing. he adds +1 to his side of the battle, and takes 3d6 damage.

20:00, Today: Ravenite Braves rolled 19 using 3d6, rerolling max with rolls of 3,(6+5)11,5.  damage.

Owwie. That's 3 wounds for him unless he soaks. He spends his lone white chip for that.

20:02, Today: Ravenite Braves rolled 2,2 using d10,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 2,2.  Soak.

That is an utter failure. He's not dead, but he's wishing he was and is probably out of this fight.

So, time to resolve that mass combat round!

The Ravenites get to roll d4+7
Moses gets to roll d4+10

Roll off!

20:04, Today: Ravenite Braves rolled 8,11 using d4+7,d6+7, rerolling max with rolls of 1,4.  Knowledge (Battle).

I'm pretty sure Moses can beat that fairly easily.))

10:12, Today: Moses rolled 12,15 using d4+10,d6+10, rerolling max with rolls of 2,5.  Knowledge, Battle.

Well, if The Lord Wills It...

The battle is over decidedly quickly. The savage attack on the leader of the Raventies and the loss of several of their men to the Dog Soldiers surprises and demoralizes the rest of the large band, which retreats into the wood.

Meanwhile, the remaining rubbery Pole Men are cut down by the bandits and the soldiers.

An eerie calm settles over the field for the moment. Tensions are still high. Moses had better have on heck of a sales pitch to keep the fighting over and done with...

((OOC: That means the Ravenites lose 2 tokens, and need to make a Morale check. This is a Spirit roll on the Leader's part.

Wanahtah has 3 wounds, and an additional -2 penalty from losing 2 tokens. His total penalty is -5.

05:41, Today: Ravenite Braves rolled -2,-2 using d8-5,d6-5, rerolling max with rolls of 3,3.  Morale.

That's less than one, so it's a rout, and the Ravenites flee.

I decide that the Tokens lost represent the remaining Pole Men, since that's where most of the fire was concentrated.

Mass Combat over.

Of course, now you have the bandits to worry about...))

Pumart and Kira gave chase for a few brief moments, if nothing else but to be sure the Ravenites were actually leaving. He then circled back to those in his small band. The cat sat and the wind blew, circling leaves around the cougar. A blinking eye might miss the actual transformation, but Art returned to his gangly, human form once again. He held his staff in his right hand as he stood, and smiled at those that had chased off the Ravenites.

His first concern was for their safety, but he saw that there were only a few bruises and minor cuts among them all. Walks The Night Alone seemed to be a little dazed, but none the worse for wear. [Language unknown: "Ainte tharo, sanlineautra. P...tedei rom omeortive at reaintovecom iever urnd, ieck I entshehat a om moliss eratioion ro i tousma. Cemen wasou ol."]

Art looked around for Moses and headed over toward him with Kira at his heels, then pointed toward their allies in the fight. "You be making new friends?"

The leader of the outlaw band still has his pistol out, and the bandits left standing have circled around the remaining soldiers.

Arkansas Tom glares at Art. "This ain't none o' your affair, I reckon. Clear on out before you get hurt."

"I don't believe this!" Private brown shouts. "We just faced down the minions of Hell together, and you still intend to rob us!?"

The outlaw nods. "I have many mouths to feed and a powerful need to eat my own self. Hand over the cashbox and we'll call it quits."

Moses leans on his staff, the wind blowing his coat open and revealing his bulging muscles.
((22:13, Today: Moses rolled 6,4 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 6,4.  Boost Persuasion))n.

"Careful, Arkansas Tom" he sais, his tone friendly, his deep voice rumbling. The outlaw might wonder how Moses knows his name. But then again, he was a wanted man.
"You and your band has been on the path to Darkness for a long time. You are far ahead on your way into the maws of the Reckoners. But you have stopped, today, and joined the forces of Light."

The negro squints up into the skies, then looks back at the outlaws. Worry lines appear on his face.
"You can continue now on your path to Darkness, Arkansas Tom. But the Lord tells Moses that this, today, now.... is your last chance. Take one step further, and you will be set on the path to Darkness. You will not be able to return, even if you wanted. Evil powers will firmly plant their hooks into you and pull you towards them."

He shrugs.
"If you believe that some cash is worth losing your soul, then proceed. If, however, you truly are just hungry... Moses will find a way to feed you if you let him."

((Persuasion:

22:15, Today: Moses rolled 5,9 using d8-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 7,(6+5)11.  white chip.
22:14, Today: Moses rolled -1,9 using d8-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 1,(6+5)11.  Persuasion, negative Charisma.))

The man frowns. "You know what? This just ain't worth the hassle." he grumbles. "Boys! Let's go!"

The bandits also seem to have had enough of this. They collect their fallen and then vanish back into the forest.

Art looked over at the vanishing outlaws and then back at Moses. "You gotta way wit words, that be certain. You met some of the things I found in the forest. Those very tall fellows? What happened here?"

The black man nods, wistfully.
"Moses has was the Lord gifts him. These men", he nods in the direction of the bandits, "have difficult choices ahead. Moses fears that they will continue on their way to their eternal doom. But it is easy to keep your habits... and it sometimes takes everything you have to change them."

He straigthens up. "Private Brown... Moses shall see to your wounded. But first, he has to visit his most reluctant sheep."

And with that, he searches for Little Crow.

Little Crow sneaked through the trees, clutching a stolen pistol. He'd managed to survive the rubbery monster trying to hang him, and now seemed as good a time as any to slip off and rejoin those who were his kin.

((OOC: Because of course he's trying to escape.

Moses, make me a Notice check, opposed by Little Crow's stealth.

12:57, Today: Little Crow rolled 5,5 using d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 5,5.  Stealth.))
This message was last edited by the player at 19:58, Mon 24 Oct 2016.

23:01, Today: Moses rolled 3 using 1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 3.  red chip on top.
23:01, Today: Moses rolled 4,1 using d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 4,1.  Notice.

"You are crawling the wrong way, Little Crow", the prophet said when he was close enough to spot the Indian in the brush.
"You owe Moses more time."

The brave froze. [Language unknown: "Evnot the oreel ri."] He grumbled.

Moses sighed. [Language unknown: "Pa maom Itil ncelathat o, t ount ainouswer. Locon as his, nd oulan caho laect Whi sanestrea."]
He uses his staff to point to the surroundings. [Language unknown: "Al arss ainal int ri daytho-icamen ck hibetr diri ioulo? Nce iveee thehisichthi ar din Leivdile, n pous whi forad. Olfo his son pe wediet ad? Trant eve yineenbledin m tiosonthe? Sssom ouwh llmous etaito ortet con poisbe rutresera waunhi ee yinon ta iosa reca be wi?]

[Language unknown: "A ncilnt Koranywhi, di icnihe...illvirnde."] Little Crow says. [Language unknown: "Res ek ce ers linse."] He rubs his neck. [Language unknown: "Wilmanall lasa unsa foto blemanart bleoulint."] He looks back at the corpses, the dead soldier and dead miners, and sounds unsure of himself.

Art had moved over to listen to Little Crow, and felt the need to interject at the discussion on Raven. [Language unknown: "U, she Usndhe ll dinconday ineomesti leolmi roai le evele seanti. Es sti armi m incell mo menaec our lat retafo virainthu la ofpamo ion te ti Neouta Ckmion ousthatha ofla uracth. Us e e rut we si ticte ioutheble ureoveove ingersticvor nti at ive wh on elacmo p are hat."]

Moses nods. [Language unknown: "Ave ecome arro ettese. Llecil st insti ivsi his ekceis. Na o outtinvor mirom Noaipafo i strreaect ivnc ar esoer taienc. Ck la ek stiesshat to seou Ouhe'tini. Ine ilwhi ckevon ndrost. Thinceort a... nancne liho. Ta whesonive etisre onbedi ceine, Diliwe Un."]
He holds out his hand. As he is still leaning on his staff, he looks like a beggar in the streets.
[Language unknown: "Ou sise ac iv etted wi Ivalpl ropo ch m et enadouei day ing eenmenwitwil."]

Little Crow sighs. [Language unknown: "Sitr. Fo O our ticne resntioulomeard n lesingsan."] He sticks the pistol in the waistband of his buckskins and heads toward Moses.

Moses motions for Little Crow to sit down and the larger man starts examining the wounds. Moses was no doctor, not even a healer, but he was the Lord's prophet. He watched for bruises, cuts, scrapes and wounds, gently touching them where he found it, while murmuring a prayer.


11:29, Today: Moses rolled 4,5 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 4,5.  Faith for healing.

Art wasn't particularly happy with the defiance of Little Crow or the fact that he was armed, but Art was willing to allow Moses to deal with Little Crow's antics however the prophet saw fit.

However, Art kept a close eye on Little Crow while Moses was busy working to heal the angry brave up. Speckled brother also had some skill at healing and would help if anything was missed.

Moses' healing arts work swiftly. In short order, Little Crow is back to fighting trim.

But the rain is coming down harder now. The only shelter nearby is the soldier's lean-to. Most of the soldiers are busy discussing what they should do now, now that their Sargent is gone and they just survived an attack by bandits.

Art would get to the soldiers soon enough, but he did want to speak with the Cheyenne first. He walked back over to them. [Language unknown: "Io eiacho m ilsan isenc an ekbesi wasionwhe our iouwe trai'reic forpa hi verpo i weos. Evck ithwi Wa ilhipa comhi, se nccasi roted st korsetoerenc si caevst m eentr ckpaecpl the stri io erere, era al notoullinstiwhe ntiallvor, t, in bleersereman? Onewe ortrutwhi wheughthushe rut?"]

Kira was dripping wet at this point. At various intervals, she shook her coat as free from water as she could. Unfortunately, she would smell like wet dog for quite some time.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:55, Mon 31 Oct 2016.

Kills Iron Horse glaaaaares at the soldiers. [Language unknown: "P ectdinund hinate t ssand."] She snarls. She's probably still annoyed about the last time she was near soldiers, back in Custer's camp.

[Language unknown: "Ut teilno notratany whe nt ourri ie He Urlat ofta."] Walks The Night said. [Language unknown: "El hisheroul m nc li was onsoeranyshe ekwh saill hi Tithbeha, icla n thpoel. Assa beivse eino thto n iewaat. Olwh ivha ess ureaveoerith we om."] He looks down the road. [Language unknown: "M na ncour our ng ekng ar tihopa anus be tic icivtodi rime oerhouiou. Evencerea me leng si nt iolo. Sanillthu p os hipa. P est a niame ni thpa romstilar na behe onwiwe ateeauort olni ta Sawateiv, toos hi fohall. Linantles ter notatithiith ainst."]

Art nodded at Kills Iron Horse's response. [Language unknown: "As K her blesanenc re il p ribe il con. Ivver trfotr toosinpr ssec beekunos ovech ri t werhi k na thubutdayrut hiithoon, m strithest ersol on omsspo sseen as. Tin pr ith we thi, atecomlin ur whi k ofek ingintera'lesles."]

He frowned at the mention of reinforcements and looked over toward Moses and what he was doing.

After Moses is done tending to Little Crow's injuries, he stands up straight. He nods at the Ravenite, then turns around and walks toward the assembled soldiers.

"You have fought well, today. And not as soldiers of a country, but as warriors in God's Army."

He smiles and raises his face to the sky, rain drops splattering off of it. His smile turns into a grin and he looks back at the soldiers, seemingly oblivious to their wet and sorry state.
"Brown", he calls toward the private, "Moses will take care of your injured and wounded. Then our ways will likely part for now.

Brown nods. "I reckon we all owe you a big thanks, for savin' us from Perdition."

"Getting that asshole Butler gone was a bonus, too." One of the mercenaries says, spitting. Brown gives him a dirty look but nods.

"Yeah...what do you reckon we should tell the Lieutenant?" Brown looks over at the place where Butler vanished. "I mean...Sarge didn't leave no body when he left, and I don't think the Lieutenant would buy Sarge bein' a deserter, what with him bein' from the Seventh and all."
This message was last edited by the player at 20:28, Tue 01 Nov 2016.

"Tell your lieutenant the truth. That he was consumed by forces of evil that you went on and prevailed against."

Moses sounds confident that this should help the men to stay out of trouble. It was the truth, after all.

"Finally Listening, let us go and find shelter. Moses believes that there are more dangers ahead of us... yet the Lord may grant us some small reprieve to rest."

Art nodded at Moses. "That do sound good to me. The Cheyenne did no get the chance to gather materials for a shelter. But they do no want to stay here. We should be bidding farewell to the soldiers and moving along."

((OOC: Art and Moses would be arriving in Deadwood after the battle in the Bella Union is over with. Do you want me to put this thread on hold until that battle finishes? My plan is to open a new chapter once that fight is over with.))

I'm fine with that.