When: During the long months following the Harvest

Where: The "Displaced Persons" camp outside of Junkyard

Filling up the barren, lifeless ground outside the outer wall of Junkyard was a stinking mass of tents, lean-tos, shacks, and shanties in which roughly 4,000 people live, sustained only by the daily dole of algae from Doc Schwartz's hydroponic gardens and water trucked in from the Iron Oasis.

Food riots were becoming more and more common, and not a day passed that a waster wasn't killed over a milrat or a liter of clean water. Anyone with a supply of food could demand about any price, though those stuck out in the camps typically had nothing to their names.

All manner of vice and criminality was common, including organ-legging and deathsports, as folks tried to get by day to day.

And, of course, nestled in amongst this stinking mass were the various members of the posse, although in those days they had not yet come together to brave the wastes.

OOC: Alright folks, it's time to tell the story, in short form, of how you came to be here.

None of you will have fought in the Harvest, but it must have impacted each of your lives.

I forgot to mention--any money you didn't spend at character creation is gone. You are all broke except for the items you bought at character creation.

Not every character sheet is finished (for instance, Aradia still needs gear and derived statistics like Parry and Toughness filled out), but we're at a point where we can begin play.

Coaxoch, like many people living through this hell, was displaced by the Harvest. He is currently residing in the displaced persons camp with the masses. However today might be his last. His kindness got the better of him and he made a mistake that could prove fatal. He saw a starving child and provided them with some bread and a piece of jerky. He stayed by the child as they ate to make sure no one killed them for it. Once the child was done Coaxoch left and some people began to tail him. Coaxoch knows he’s in trouble, he can tell he’s being followed. Coaxoch is leading these marauders to a place where he might have more advantage, or at least a place where he can swing his sword without hitting bystanders.


OOC: EXCITEMENT TO STArT

OOC: Hey bud, how about you give me a good Notice roll, which is both for perceiving things with your eyes and for social intelligence. No penalty, so you have a Target Number of 4.

You'll type in "1d4, 1d6" in the Dice Roller, with something like "Notice roll" in the Reasons text field. Then hit the button marked "Roll The Dice."

Each die will roll, "exploding" on the maximum value. You will take the higher value between the two dice. The d4 in this case represents your skill, while the d6, which you receive on all Trait rolls, represents your unusual luck (your character is a "wildcard").

After you roll, you may reroll by spending a Benny. For the sake of explanation, here are the uses for a Benny:

quote:

1.) Reroll a trait (except for Snake Eyes, i.e., two results of 1 on the same roll)

2.) Unshake yourself in combat

3.) Soak wounds

4.) Draw a new action card

5.) Reroll a damage roll

6.) Regain Power Points (five power points, specifically)

7.) Influence the story. For this, I'd like you to PM me with your suggestion, and we'll see if it's workable. For a laugh, suggest something overwhelmingly negative, and I'll approve it for free. :)

This message was last edited by the GM at 07:16, Wed 14 Sept 2022.

Aisling has lived in this camp for a while now, following the chaos of the Harvest. Getting by isn't easy, but she's managed, mainly by doing what she's done for a very long time: delivering the mail. It's an important job, you know.

This day, Ash steps outside of her shanty home, mostly going for an absent minded walk, really. But maybe she'll find something. A person in need? A low-life to punch? Or maybe she'll go get herself killed, who's to say. Walking along, she plays a tune on her harmonica.

Folk at the refugee camp didn't quite know what to make of the range-rover which collapsed in against the wall near the hydroponics plant four days ago. What they soon learned to make of it was that the shattered vessel was inhabited by a sorceress - the one they called Aradia.

Aradia hadn't been enjoying her stay at the camp. She'd tried to put her powers to good use by healing those who were injured or ailing, but ever since she blasted a smoking hole in Tough-Headed Terrence's "unbreakable" skull when he tried to "greet" them with his 12-Gauge Shotgun, nobody was willing to let her touch them - well, unless they were post-to-hollow-eyed invalids or unconscious and lying on death's doorstep. She attempted to keep her spirits up with what little she had in the back of the crippled van she slept in - she had food, MREs hidden under the repair-compartment in the boot which would allow her to forgo the disgusting green-blue sludge doled out to the other refugees. She might only be here for a short time. And best of all, she had her magic - the essence of her very being - and a chance to wield it. Sure, this place was bad, but she had good things with and within her - better yet, she had at least SOME quiet-space to read her grimoire over, whether in the car when her squad-mates were asleep, or out in a shadier spot in the encampment where others wouldn't bother her. Whether that was out of trepidation or contempt, she didn't know. Probably both.

Today was one of those days - Aradia placed a nutrient-block carefully into the pocket of her coat before slipping the lengthy garment over her body, connecting the magnetic buckles together at maximum tightness so it fit snugly against the razor-thin membrane of her cellsuit. After lacing up her boots and grabbing slipping her tablet's polished-chrome chassis into the other pocket of her coat, Aradia sets out on a difficult daily quest - to find somewhere quiet to read in the stinking rotting badlands of the camp.

Aradia has five MREs. She is going to eat one of them whilst out on her walk when she is alone, and will sit down to look over some more of her grimoire.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:48, Thu 15 Sept 2022.

Alex doesn't know how he found himself here, he just knows that he was traveling, needed a place, and found ... this. He's new to this camp, relatively speaking. Probably newer than any folks around here. He fights to eat, and hides what few goods he can. Can't have people killing him over it, after all. He has only heard stories about the Harvest, but what's important to him is that it's affecting these people, it's affecting him. Specifically the road gangs, Alex has been waiting for an opportunity to sabotage some of their vehicles, in a slight effort to get them to stop annoying him and causing trouble wherever they go.

Right now, Alex finds himself sitting on the highest point he could find at the camp, looking out over it. Alex watches down below, waiting to see if anything of interest happens. Watching, and waiting.

OOC: It took me two days to think of this- (and that was mainly cuz I kept going back to re-read the lore and try and process it a 100 times)

OOC: So, something you'll see often is that I'll roll dice for you if your action could use it. I do so here to illustrate the results. In this case, Coaxoch rolled a 2 on one die, and a 23 on the other, and therefore got a 23; Aradia rolled a 3 on one die and a 4 on the other, and therefore got a 4; and Alex rolled a 2 on one die and a 7 on the other, and therefore got a 7. These are all successes, since nobody had any penalties in this situation.

Also, notice that I bring you all together into two initial groups. We're going to see some shit happen. :)

***

(Coaxoch)

Coaxoch led the fools around expertly, gathering up a small gang of gangly malcontents, each looking to score some food by way of his blood. Joke's on them, though, since Coaxoch had them in the palm of his hand and led them into a proper ambush.

Or, well, he was trying to when he ran into a certain someone. She was...playing the harmonica? And then she wasn't, because the two of them headbutted.

Just one problem--Coaxoch had spotted weapons in those guys hands, and in a few moments they'd be rounding the corner to get in after him. He'd have to do some work to salvage his ambush, at this rate.

OOC: "01:28, Today: Secret Roll: Marshal, on behalf of Coaxoch, rolled 23,2 using 1d4,1d6, rerolling max with rolls of (4+4+4+4+4+3)23,2.  Notice roll."

***

(Aisling {and Coaxoch})

Ash had always been good at minding her own business--it was, factually, the thing she did best, as long as we're not counting "beating the piss out of some unsuspecting but fully deserving bastard."

Or, well, Aisling was pretty good at minding her own business, but the world was better at interrupting her. That was something she had come to rely on--every day, someone else was going to get in her business. For that matter, she was pretty damn good on the harmonica, but then again, people were also pretty good at interrupting that.

And now some shirtless fellow had run headfirst into her, and interrupted her harmonica playing. Someone was definitely going to have blood in their mouth, and soon. But who?

***

(Aradia)

Aradia moved carefully and a little quickly, moving around to find the right place to set down, eat, and read. It was hard going, most spots had bodies pressed about tightly, piles of unhappy people pressed in together with their daily rations--if they could keep their hands on them long enough to eat, anyways.

On this occasion, though, Aradia spotted what looked like a great spot as she was skulking and trying to avoid notice. A high spot, it seemed, which would be above the view of most around, but give her a chance to scope out anyone trying to sneak up on her. It was perfect--until it wasn't, and she came around the bend to see some scruffy guy just standing there.

OOC: "01:26, Today: Secret Roll: Marshal, on behalf of Aradia Sappho-Plath, rolled 3,4 using 1d4,1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 3,4.  stealth roll."

Please look below, to where I've united you and Alex.

***

(Alex {and Aradia})

Alex looked out over the camp from atop his hill, listening and watching sharply. He heard, first, the sound of a harmonica playing. A familiar sound to this cowboy's ears, no doubt, but quite suddenly the harmonica got loud and silenced, like the player suddenly exhaled hard and dropped the harmonica.

Turning around, Alex looked for the source of the harmonica, only to be met with an entirely different sight--that of Aradia, who would soon be his comrade-in-arms, holding in her hands a datapad. Looked like ghost steel to his eyes--like most folks, he had seen his fair share of ghost steel datapads.

Alex could also hear some gentle footsteps under the cacophony of arguments and moaning and groaning throughout the camp. He had no way of understanding what sort of offer he was about to receive.

OOC: "01:29, Today: Secret Roll: Marshal, on behalf of Alex, rolled 2,7 using 1d4,1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 2,(6+1)7.  Notice roll."
This message was last edited by the GM at 10:57, Thu 15 Sept 2022.

Aradia looked at the strange man for a few moments - she was hoping perhaps he'd be freaked out by her appearance, hood-up and tablet brandished. Most commoners would choose to move seeing her here. After the 'incident' with Tough-Headed Terrence they'd learned that women who fire beams of plasma out of their hands are very much women to be feared. This man, however. He was different, and he wasn't planning on moving soon - how very slightly annoying...

Local Skulker Aradia does her best to intimidate Alex, fails miserably.

Coaxoch is irritated by those interruption of a perfect plan. Coaxoch stands up and picks up the lady he ran into. “You might want to run, blood will be shed soon.” Without another second of thought he hides behind a heap of trash and corpses and draws his sword. This ambush came be salvaged yet.

Coaxoch description: Coaxoch is a 5’4 caramel colored man with long black braided hair. On most days he paints a skull onto his face, he doesn’t usually wear a shirt, he has a gasoline tank full of spook juice tied to his back and a sash carrying his belongings. He wears some lightly armored pants. He has a scar across his heart, ask him about it I dare you.

"OW- the fuck?!" Ash exclaims, a look of befuddlement on her face. "Watch where you're going! Too much brainburst in ya?"

Aisling pauses for a moment.

"What was that about bloodshed?"

Aisling Kelly is a dirty blonde, fair skinned woman. She stands at six feet tall, and has a fair amount of muscle. She wears a dirty shirt, reinforced with leather straps. It's torn at the bottom, revealing the bottom half of her abs. She also wears ordinary pants and laced up boots, and she wears leather gloves.

Alex looks at this stranger, regarding her silently. He keeps his ears open to the sounds of the camp he had heard. Alex squints his eyes as she stands there, holding her datapad. If she doesn’t speak first, he will. After a few moments of silence, he says to her ”Can I help you with something?” It is said with curiosity, and not in a hostile way.

OOC: Alex character description: Dark tired eyes with bags underneath them, big bushy dark brows, shoulder-length dark brown wavy hair, a strong upper 'stache with stubble. He always has a layer of dirt on him. He has a bandana he wears either around his neck or his mouth, it's red. He has a dark brown cowboy hat that he wears, along with a dark brown vest and a cowboy shirt his wife got him one time as a joke. He has worn dirty blue jeans, with some cowboy boots.

Aradia's head cocked with mild surprise - he actually talked to her! That was maybe the fifth time anyone had actually talked to her in the entire encampment. She decided after roughly five seconds of deliberation that this stranger might not be so bad to sit with.... so long as his eyes weren't on her food.

"I was planning on sitting there actually, it seemed like a quiet spot for me to read...."

Taking maybe three more seconds to think, she deduced there wasn't any danger to this. Theoretically even if he did attempt to get violent with her for the food, it'd take time for him to draw a weapon - more than enough time for her to beam the dude. He didn't look particularly unkind or unwashed. And he looked like he might even be up for conversation, which would be a first for anyone in this camp when it came to her. Perhaps, today, she would try something new - making a friend all by herself.

"I offer you an accord," she spoke, hood still up and over her eyes. "You move over a little and we can share this spot for some reading and.... whatever it is you're doing.... and conversation if you're up for it - we got a deal?"

Character Desc. - Aradia has a tall, slender body - she stands around 6 feet and 3 inches tall. Her most striking feature would be her hair however, a shock of crimson which falls to about the middle of her back. Offset with her milky-pale skin and graceful feminine features, Aradia ends up looking entirely alien compared to the typical folk of the wastelands. Her clothing isn't any more normal - a long, hooded coat featuring metallic shoulder-plates combined with tall, metal-capped boots give her a decisively arcane look, whilst also hiding the majority of a carbon-nanofiber bodysuit she wears under all of this.

OOC - I hope at least one person caught the reference I put in this post.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:10, Fri 16 Sept 2022.

(Combat: Coaxoch and Aisling)

Hot on his heels, a gang of men rushed in from around the same corner. Coming to a stop, they looked around, unable to spot their prey. All knives, clubs, and chains, these guys...one of them, a gangly fellow with a mohawk, grabbed Aisling by the collar and demanded answers, saying, "Where'd that spook go?! He's got food for me!"

That was when an unsuspecting goon kicked over garbage, only seeing Coaxoch just as the trap was sprung.

OOC: Time for our first combat! I'll be sticking to traditional Savage Worlds initiative, drawing cards from a deck.

"16:52, Today: Secret Roll: Marshal drew the 3 cards: 6D, AC, JS using a deck of 54 cards.  Aisling, Coaxoch, Thugs."

Of course, the deck is digital. You can see here that the first draw is Aisling, the second draw is Coaxoch, and the third draw is Thugs. Since Aces are high, this gives us an initiative of:

Coaxoch, Ace of Clubs
Thugs (6), Jack of Spades
Aisling, Six of Diamonds

Seems fitting, huh? I've got to let Coaxoch know that he's got THE DROP, granting him a +4 to hit and a +4 to damage against all of the Thugs. Aisling will also have THE DROP, because these ambushed thugs have not registered her as a threat this combat round. There are 6 thugs, a significant threat to even a full posse of 4.

You may wish to take advantage of the Multi-Action Penalty. You can act up to 3 times, at penalty of a cumulative -2 per additional action. In other words, you could in this case attack up to three times at no penalty, with a +4 to damage if you hit. Since I understand this is a new game to you and you're irretrievably a moron, I could also let you retcon in that you cast smite on your sword before the start of this combat to raise that damage by another 2 points, or 4 with a raise. This could mean a minimum damage of 10 rolling snake eyes on damage.

Consider this your one and only in-game tutorial to combat in SWADE and Deadlands. If you continue to make dumb decisions like not casting smite on your weapon before you fight, that's officially not on me.

***

(Aradia, Alex)

The two were, quite suddenly, interrupted. A middle-aged man with a gun on his hip--the two realized they recognized the guy. He was from the inside, from inside the walls of Junkyard.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything. I've got an offer I think you'll both like to consider."

The man, ruddy-skinned, gray-haired, beamed at the two future comrades.

"Oh, wouldn't you know, I was just making an offer to someone that I thought was rather considerable!" exclaimed Aradia, glancing around to the stranger with a rather friendly (or at least benign) smirk if not for the hood veiling her eyes from sight.

"Should I introduce myself? My name's Aradia, I'm a sorceress - an adept of course. And this is.... uhhhh.... well I don't actually know his name, but he does have a gun! And you have an offer for us?" spoke Aradia, without even waiting for the newcomer to ask for her to introduce herself. Alex hadn't even been given a chance to accept Aradia's accord - poor dude.

OOC - Aradia Moment.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:26, Sat 17 Sept 2022.

Coaxoch was ready for this to happen. In preparation for the ambush he casts Omen of Mictlan, which caused his skull tattoo to expand onto his body, making a full skeleton. Once discovered Coaxoch attempts to thrust his sword into the person threatening Aisling. “I had warned you lady. This does not concern you” then goes for a second swipe.

OOC: I SPENt EVEry single one of my BENNIES TO not hit my friend. anyway i landed 2 attacks one dealing 15, 23

00:14, Today: Secret Roll: Coaxoch rolled 23 using 2d8+1d6+6, rerolling max with rolls of (8+5)13,1,3.  Damage 2.
00:12, Today: Secret Roll: Coaxoch rolled 15 using 2d8+6, rerolling max with rolls of 7,2.
00:08, Today: Secret Roll: Coaxoch rolled 9,5 using 1d12,1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 9,5.
00:06, Today: Secret Roll: Coaxoch rolled 7,2 using 1d12,1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 7,2.
00:06, Today: Secret Roll: Coaxoch rolled 3,1 using 1d12,1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 3,1.
00:06, Today: Secret Roll: Coaxoch rolled 3,2 using 1d12,1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 3,2.
00:06, Today: Secret Roll: Coaxoch rolled 1,4 using 1d12,1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 1,4.
00:02, Today: Secret Roll: Coaxoch rolled 2,4 using 1d8,1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 2,4.
00:02, Today: Secret Roll: Coaxoch rolled 3,2 using 1d8,1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 3,2
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:32, Sun 18 Sept 2022.

Coaxoch leapt out from the garbage, swinging wide at the first thug, who stumbled back, dodging Coaxoch's blow. The next, who was questioning Aisling, was not so lucky, as Coaxoch's blade struck true.

He wheeled around and swung for another of the thugs, dropping him.

As his blade coursed through the air, strong and bloody, the thugs prepared to go against him. Knives, chains, and clubs struck against Coaxoch, and yet only one knife struck true, digging into Coaxoch's body.

OOC: I vetted your rolls as you were making them. You take one Wound and are Shaken (see the threads here for rules about getting out of Shaken).

"23:35, Today: Secret Roll: Marshal rolled 5,5 using 1d6,1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 5,5.  thug 4 damage.

23:33, Today: Secret Roll: Marshal rolled 7,4,5,11 using 1d6,1d6,1d6,1d6, rerolling max with rolls of (6+1)7,4,5,(6+5)11.  thugs 1, 2, 3, 4."

I forgot to record that the two enemies successfully hit by Coaxoch went down in heaps.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:32, Sun 18 Sept 2022.

Aisling was still mainly confused, and a bit pissed at this rando for grabbing her by the collar. But suddenly, he stopped speaking, and let go as he crumpled to the ground. Ash watched as the thugs crowded around the stranger that ran into her, and began beating on him. She didn't have a full grasp on the situation, but she knew one thing: That certainly wasn't fair. She stepped forward and walloped 3 of the thugs with her fists. She replies to Coaxoch as she does so:

"Yeah? Says who?"



OOC: Spent a benny on one of the damage rolls, glad I did, since it exploded. Each one has plus 4, so that's 15, 24, and 10 damage respectively.

 23:04, Today: Secret Roll: Aisling Kelly rolled 6,6 using d8+1,d6+1, rerolling max with rolls of 5,5.

23:04, Today: Secret Roll: Aisling Kelly rolled 6,5 using d8+1,d6+1, rerolling max with rolls of 5,4.

23:04, Today: Secret Roll: Aisling Kelly rolled 4,6 using d8+1,d6+1, rerolling max with rolls of 3,5.

23:06, Today: Secret Roll: Aisling Kelly rolled 6,5 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 6,5.

23:14, Today: Aisling Kelly rolled 15,5 using d8,d6, rerolling max (((8+7)15,5)).

23:06, Today: Secret Roll: Aisling Kelly rolled 4,2 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 4,2.

 
This message was last edited by the player at 04:17, Mon 19 Sept 2022.