The Last Sons - Campaign Journal

Discussion forum for our Deadlands Reloaded campaign(s)
Post Reply
User avatar
Uthoroc
Site Admin
Posts: 245
Joined: Thu Jan 03, 2008 5:22 pm
Location: Siegen, Germany
Contact:

The Last Sons - Campaign Journal

Post by Uthoroc »

While it is really still the same campaign as "California Here We Come", I'm starting a new thread since the posse decided to leave California behind and travel to Deadwood and the Sioux Nations to find Lotus Blossom Wen. While theoretically in Kang's employ, they are definitely following their own agenda and are using the warlord's protection to further their own ends. But what are Kang's motives and will they eventually clash with the posse's morals?

A Dangerous Road [February 2nd 2017]

Traveling on the stagecoach to Deadwood, the posse ran into a holdup by notorious outlaw Sam Bass. All attempts by preacher Gus and muckraker Toni to settle the matter peacefully came to nothing when the hothead (and Hexslinger) Pierre unsuccessfully tried to intimated the outlaws and then started shooting. The shootout ended with Gus, Hunter and Tyler wounded, but Sam captured and the rest of his gang dead or fled.

The posse decided not to wait for the driver to fix the broken wheel and started walking towards Deadwood, hoping to reach it during the night. They took the other passengers along: Martha Bullock and her daughter Margaret, the family of store owner and sheriff Seth Bullock.
Image

After nightfall the posse noticed a train suspiciously stopping on the nearby Iron Dragon tracks. Hunter and Tyler went to investigate and managed to observe a meeting between Iron Dragon rail warriors and a group of Indians. The Chinese were apparently delivering a cache of weapons. The Indians were apparently fewer than expected and Hunter overheard them telling of a group of "Ghost Dancers" they had noticed and were planning to attack.

Meanwhile the rest of the group ran into a lone wounded Indian by the name of Sky Hawk. As it turned out he was a Ghost Dancer, accompanying the prophet Wovoka on a visit to the Lakota. He told them that his party had been attacked by Ravenites. He had escaped to bring help, while Wovoka and his people where besieged in a canyon in the hills.
Image

The posse was unsure whether they could help, seeing they were not in the best of shape and having Martha and her daughter along. Martha was confident she could walk the rest of the way to Deadwood alone, and the captive Sam Bass offered to escort her - but they didn't trust him. In the end, Tyler accompanied Martha and Sam, while the others headed into the hills to help the Ghost Dancers.

The found the site of the fight soon enough and managed to ambush the Ravenite war party. Many of the braves went down in Hunter and Pierre's withering crossfire, but the Ravenites' leader, a warrior called "Hoarse from Roaring", managed to reach Gus and Toni threatening to kill them with his tomahawks. But Bu stepped up and protected the two until all the other Ravenites were overcome. Then Wovoka emerged from the canyon and Hoarse from Roaring charged him. But the young shaman rooted him to the spot with a sudden growth of roots and vines and the posse and Ghost Dancers were finally able to subdue the brute.

Wovoka thanked the posse and invited them to the campfire to see to their wounds, while Tyler reached Deadwood in the dead of night, passing the ghastly sight of the dead bodies of scalped white men, tied to poles along the road.
Image
Maps & More - Making maps for a living
Mein Arbeits- und Hobbyblog

Der Ringkrieg - Eine Fan-Webseite zum Brettspiel
Rezension, Videos, Strategie-Tipps, Bildergalerie, FAQ und mehr
User avatar
Uthoroc
Site Admin
Posts: 245
Joined: Thu Jan 03, 2008 5:22 pm
Location: Siegen, Germany
Contact:

Re: The Last Sons - Campaign Journal

Post by Uthoroc »

On the brink of war

Back in Deadwood Sam Bass desperately tried to convince Tyler to set him free, but all his pleas fell on apparently deaf ears. Even the claim that he had hidden away one of Wild Bill Hickok's guns up in the hills couldn't sway the ex-Agent. But as he delivered the outlaw into the custody of Sheriff Seth Bullock, Tyler seemed to develop second thoughts and cleverly moved the cell key into Sam's reach to allow him to escape later.

Meanwhile the others had a long talk with Wovoka, witnessed a Ghost Dance and were healed by its power. The Paiute prophet told them about the white buffalo calf and the vision he had seen about the white man being driven from the Indian lands, something they didn't feel so comfortable about. But it was clear that the Ghost Dancers were allies in the fight against Raven and the Ravenites, and Wovoka told them that they could get help in Deadwood from Charlie Bull (also known by his Indian name Bull All the Time), a friend of the Ghost Dancers.

The next morning the posse followed Tyler to Deadwood who had taken a room in the Grand Central Hotel and reserved the whole ground floor for his friends. Without knowing about Tyler's involvement, the posse learned that Sam Bass had escaped during the night, knocking out a deputy. The sheriff got to hear some choice words about this, especially when he told them that paying out the bounty would now basically impossible, because the outlaw had not been detained on US territory (Deadwood being a part of the Sioux Nations). But later Bullock paid out the bounty out of his own money, fronting it to the posse, because he felt he was responsible for letting Bass escape.

Their anger and frustration was somewhat mollified by a huge and excellent breakfast at the hotel. To their delight they found it actually satisfying and filling, much different than anything they had eaten on the west coast. While the feast stretched into noon, Tyler used the opportunity for a talk with with George Hearst, the mining magnate who had taken residence in Deadwood. He didn't learn many details, but got the clear impression that Hearst was keen on wringing Deadwood, the Black Hills and their huge Ghost Rock deposits from the Sioux.

Eventually the posse headed over to Chinatown to make contact with Kang's agents at the Iron Dragon railway station. After some wrangling with the station master, they eventually got to meet Huang Li, the man in charge. He pointed them to Dusky Jewel, where supposedly Lotus Blossom Wen was to be found, but wasn't very forthcoming on any other aspects of Kang's operation, including the mysterious locomotive of last night.

Toni wanted to talk to Charlie Bull and they found him at the Langrishe theater. He was delighted to hear that Wovoka had been rescued from the Ravenites and told them quite a bit about the situation in Deadwood. They learned that the dead miners, who had been killed the day before reportedly by Sioux, was off in the hills towards Dusky Jewel and Devils Tower beyond.

The posse decided to head out of town the next day, with several objectives:
1. Check the location where Kang's people handed over the weapon crates to the Ravenites and possibly find the location where they are stored.
2. Visit the claims of the dead miners.
3. Go to Dusky Jewel to meet Lotus Blossom Wen.

First though they were looking forward to a good night's sleep at the Grand Central, but not without posting a guard in the lobby. Unfortunately Pierre had been badly affected by the long Ghost Dance the night before and fell asleep on his post. When he awoke in the morning, his precious heirloom gun was gone. He realized the thief could only have been one man: Sam Bass, taking his revenge.

A little digging by Toni soon found the outlaw. He was holed up at the Gem Theatre, apparently in cahoots with the saloon's proprietor, Al Swearengen. Pierre could not be constrained and immediately rushed to the upper floor and Sam's room, followed by Hunter. Toni and Tyler kept the bartender Dave occupied, while Gus kept an eye on the windows behind the saloon. Hunter broke down the door to the room and Pierre faced the Sam Bass - still in his underwear - who tried to shoot the young Hexslinger with his own gun. But Pierre was faster and his bullet hit Sam right between the eyes. He tumbled backwards, crashed through the window and landed at Gus' feet, dead.

After sorting out the mess with the Sheriff - shooting Bass had clearly been self-defense, and Al Swearengen swore he did not know Bass had been at the Gem - the posse finally headed north along the Iron Dragon tracks. But before they reached their destination, they ran into Custer's irregulars again. This time it wasn't only a scouting party though - his whole army, several thousand strong, marched on Deadwood, violating the Deadwood Creek treaty with the Sioux.

As the posse learned, Union colonel Brook Manning had been sent with an detachment to arrest George Armstrong Custer. During their meeting they were attacked by Sioux, Colonel Manning were killed and his troops joined Custer's men. The whole incident developed into the Battle of Ten Thousand Arrows, at which the Sioux were driven off, and then Custer's decided to occupy Deadwood. The whole area is on the brink of outright, bloody war.

Image
Maps & More - Making maps for a living
Mein Arbeits- und Hobbyblog

Der Ringkrieg - Eine Fan-Webseite zum Brettspiel
Rezension, Videos, Strategie-Tipps, Bildergalerie, FAQ und mehr
User avatar
Uthoroc
Site Admin
Posts: 245
Joined: Thu Jan 03, 2008 5:22 pm
Location: Siegen, Germany
Contact:

Re: The Last Sons - Campaign Journal

Post by Uthoroc »

March 1st: Blowing Up the Ravenite's Guns
The posse tracks and finds the Ravenites' weapons cache from Kang's delivery spot. They attack and defeat the guards and blow up the whole stash with Tyler's dynamite.

March 14th: Meeting an old friend
The posse reaches Kang's mining outpost Dusky Jewel and reunite with Lotus Blossom Wen. They meet Sitting Bull for a talk about Devil's Tower, then travel to the foreboding place.

March 28th: Into Devil's Tower
The posse enter Devil's Tower though the sewer tunnel while Lotus Blossom Wen scales the rock with her men. They encounter a dying Mi-Go, face some strange half-men and get sucked into the Hunting Grounds through a portal.

April 18th: The Hunting Grounds
The posse finds and frees the captured Jordrava, who tells them a lot about Raven and the Reckoning. On the way back they face a False Raven and get almost killed.

May 2nd: Back in the Real World
Back in Devil's Tower the posse finds a mortally wounded Lotus Blossom Wen and a stricken Bu. Gus heals the former and manages to somewhat console the latter. Relations between Wen and Tyler become a little strained. The posse decides to head to Dodge City to look for Jordrava's missing "buffalo rock".

May 23rd: Dodge City
The posse reaches Dodge City and begins investigating. They find the possible location of the rock, see some Ravenites looking in the same place and notice a Texas Ranger and an Agent observing them.

June 13th: Under Boot Hill
Dodge City is occupied by Confederate forces under General Beauregard. The posse battle ghouls in the tunnels under Boot Hill and manage to recover Jordrava's buffalo rock. On the way out they get attacked by the Ravenites, but defeat them with the help of the Texas Ranger and the Agent.

June 27th: A Deal Cut Short
The posse learns from the Agent that Jordrava's tomahawk is most likely kept in the Agency's research facility in Denver. Bu is abducted by a demon from the Chinese Hell, who tries to exchange him for the buffalo rock. In the ensuing fight the demon is defeated and falls back into hell - together with Bu.

July 11th: A Bumpy Train Ride
Horses are hard to come by in occupied Dodge City, and the posse decides to steal a Black River Train with the help of Anita Suarez for their ride to Denver. Senorita Suarez also helps Agent Pedersen to smuggle a critical cargo out of town. Confederate forces object to that, resulting in hot pursuit and a train/aerial battle. After defeating the pursuers, the secret cargo is revealed as the harrowed Abe Lincoln/Andrew Lane, who's manitou is in control. At a stopover on the track to Denver, an old prospector (Coot Jenkins) sneaks into camp and tries to put Lincoln's soul back into control of the body with the help of some self-created concoction. He is stopped before he can do that though.
Maps & More - Making maps for a living
Mein Arbeits- und Hobbyblog

Der Ringkrieg - Eine Fan-Webseite zum Brettspiel
Rezension, Videos, Strategie-Tipps, Bildergalerie, FAQ und mehr
Post Reply