Hell Bend (Session 12)

This session was originally recorded 12/27/2015.

Dec. 27, 6:18pm

From the Journal of Josephine Maxwell
November 3rd, 1875

We talked about how we were going to handle our situation.  we tried to bandage up Jakey Wales so we could take him with us.  Barton says that he doesn't want to leave until the next day.

November 4th, 1875

We left the next morning for Round Bend.  When we got to the town, a native approached us and told us that "three are in town and three have fled", referring to the demonic entities of Table Rock.  We deduced this to mean:  The Kinleys and Reverend Revenant were in Round Bend.  Farmer O'dell evidently WAS possessed, and had killed himself.  The wolf had been banished by the spirit following Jakey Wales, and Burke had left Smokefall.

When we entered the desolate town, we went to the cornfield to talk to Jed Kinley.  Jed asked if we wanted to buy some corn, so we went with him to the shed.  When the Doc saw the corn, he proclaimed the corn was made of human teeth!  The man continued to say that the corn was not strange at all.

Then Juan grabbed him and started to try to excorcise him.  They started fighting.  All of us worked with Juan to complete the ritual.  I got knocked out, and Juan ended up having to shoot Kinley.

The sheriff, Tanya Kinley and Rusty Shackleford went with her to the house, and apparently she fought with them as well.  She was stabbed, and died.

We went to go find the Reverend in the church.  He tried to coax us into the church.  We wouldn't go in, so he came out.  We looked around to see a group of three wolves.  He fought with Juan and the Doctor, but ended up getting shot.  The wolves disappeared.

We then went to the pit at Table Rock to help Barton.  When we got there, an Indian war party was waiting.  They took us to the pit where Barton lie dead on the ground.  The feeling of the demon did not seem to be there.

The old white haired indian they called White Hawk told us we could keep the town.

No Oath, No Spell Chronicle Begins!

Wow!

More than four years ago, we started a journey together.  We've done a lot of different games and settings, but historical games were a foreign entity to us until a few years ago.  Now I feel confident saying that Smokefall Ridge & The Indian Territory is one of our favorite campaign settings.

It's the blend of the wild west, The Twilight Zone, Tales from the Darkside, Tales from the Crypt, Outer Limits, etc...together with the wider World of Darkness mythos we all like.  However, when you blend all that with the added eeriness of the setting near our homes you get that sense of immersion that few other settings can match.  Tapping into this was the lucky strike of this game, and I can't tell you all how good it makes me feel that you have enjoyed your time with this one.  I worked hard on this one, and it has really paid off in terms of how everyone has truly become invested in the game and the ongoing story of the Settlements.

We had never done a wild west game, but from the very beginning it was something everyone was interested in.  Originally, it may have been out of my comfort zone, and when originally writing the setting I questioned my understanding and portrayal of several points.  Practice makes perfect though - and now I feel as home as Storyteller for the Territory as I do as Dungeon Master for Castle Greyhawk.  That's not a boast I could level at many other settings...Smokefall Ridge has become a real place for me.

 I'd like to thank everyone for allowing me to take the club into an area unfamiliar to it at the time.  I did my research however, and everyone's portrayals of their characters has added a lot to the sessions.  We don't often have time or inclination to roleplay in D&D like we do in WoD...the situations and approach to the game just don't lend themselves to that level of interaction.  However, I'd like to tell you guys how much I enjoy watching your characters interact with each other - the roleplay level in WoD, and the lines that are delivered by the troupe literally make this my favorite weekly black comedy.

Check out the Chronicle page for No Oath, No Spell, available on the nav-bar at the top of the page.  Season 1, 2016 lasts four months, until May 1st.  So, there's about three and a half months of play time for Smokefall Ridge before we complete a four and a half year story cycle.  Congratulations, Gatekeepers ... some of these characters may yet see the Honor Roll!

Gamesync 2016!

A Shot in the Dark, 1964

Greetings and Salutations!  A recent internet outage has kept me from adhering to the schedule so far this year, but now we seem to be back up and running after multiple visits from the polite internet people.  So, let's get on with it!  Today we're going to talk about 2016!

The biggest deal this year is that we have moved from four 3-month seasons to three 4-month seasons.  The main reason for this is to create longer roleplay seasons, and since we've focused on what can really be called three "theaters" this is a schedule that makes sense from a gaming perspective.  Each season will comprise multiple games, and the rulesets are subject to change each year.  For example,both Kings of War and Hail Caesar will both be used at some point to conduct fantasy battles in Dungeons & Dragons season.

One piece of this initiative is a concept we call "nesting".  A series of campaigns in different rulesets are tied together to form one large narrative each season.  This is something we've done in the past to lesser extent, but this time it's part of the mission statement.  In 2016, we'll have not only more rulesets played than ever before, but it will all be part of only three narratives.  This will help bind the games together and generate more excitement, as each session will count toward the overall narrative.

The details of each game will be noted as normal during the beginning of each season, but there will be no more huge milieu jumps for the foreseeable future.  Broadly speaking, there are now three categories the seasons will fall into.  The exact rulesets will change, but roleplaying and miniature battle games will be categorized as Historical, Sci-Fi and Fantasy...each of which comprises a season at the Wargate.  Each season's games will all be the same category and share the overall narrative, whatever the individual setting is.

2016's three seasons are mapped out as follows:

1. Historical
• World of Darkness
• Dead Man's Hand
2. Fantasy
• Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition
• Kings of War
• Attack Wing
3. Sci-Fi
• Star Wars D20 Revised
• X-Wing
• Armada
• Tomorrow's War

2017 will follow a similar pattern, and we intend to keep this model until further notice.  In addition, we are working with the larger community to amp up the organized play in Ada for all the Flight Path games we support, as well as D&D Encounters.  More information on that as it becomes available, but be advised that's on the agenda as well, effectively making a lot of our games yearlong events!  That's something we've regrettably had to forego in the previous years, but our new organization and event plan makes it all localized and easy to integrate into our current schedule.

Thank you for the last year's worth of awesome gaming!  It's time to kick 2016 off to a bangin' start!  Dragons, spaceships and cowboys...