Every second Friday evening, I get to play rather than run a game. (The alternate sessions are my Greyhawk game). Our current game is Deadlands, using the Savage Worlds system. We played this session on Friday, February 9, 2024.

I’m very fond of Savage Worlds, a relatively rules-light, multi-genre system. Typically, most resolutions involves rolling a skill die (d4, d6, d8, d10, d12) and a d6, and trying to score a 4 or better on one of the dice.

Characters

• Mr James “Doc” Conway, a doctor and gambler
• Miss Rilwen Darklite, a con woman
• Yu Mei, a mystic puncher
• Miss Ruby Sharp, a deputy of the law
• Mr Toby “Two Trigger” Thompson, a gunslinger

Having returned to Deadwood, we were contacted by a member of the Explorer’s Society, Mr Lacy O’Malley, who wanted us to kill monsters, something that he was constitutionally unable to do. However, he did like reporting on said slaying. So, he offered to give some monster slaying to us – for which I requested assurance that we would be well paid. However, he had no jobs for us right away, so he was useless to us. Even if he did offer us secret knowledge of what was going on in the west – more than he wrote in his papers.

Rilwen Darklite and Yu Mei were very interested in doing this work for the government, but Mr O’Malley quickly disabused them of this notion; the organisation was entirely independent.

While the others were quick to assure O’Malley of their gun skills, Yu Mei was downcast – the last time he tried to use a gun, he broke it.

O’Malley wondered if Miss Darklite had read his articles, which Rilwen admitted to, although she demurred at her skills with magic. He warned her that empirical knowledge of magic was hard to find, as it had only been around for the last 20 years, after the Battle of Gettysburg.

Then we turned our attention to the Native American we’d rescued from the monster last session, Never Smiles.

He told us that he’d seen too men wearing black clothing standing over a couple of dead bodies – miners. They wore moccasins on their feet and used bows to shoot the corpses. Obviously, it was to frame the Native American people, but it wasn’t like relationships were great between Europeans and natives in any case. He retrieved a flyer from one of the dead bodies, which was a pamphlet for the Chapel of Red Waters, stained in blood, and fled from the returning murderers, but into the monster’s hunting ground from whom we’d rescued him.

The pamphlet was a quotation from the bible: “If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land” – Isaiah 1:19.

We returned to Angry Clouds, who had sent us to rescue Never Smiles in the first place, who was at the Office of Indian Affairs.

He was shocked at our description of the beast, and with Never Smiles’ description of what had occurred with the missionaries and their murder. He believed it was best if the Europeans arrested the wrong-doers, rather than the Native Americans, which would cause an incident.

The church was surrounded annoyed townsfolk, who were already blaming Never Smiles. Ruby and Toby attempted to get to the bottom of what they believed.

They explained that their preachers had explained that the miners needed to be avenged.

Ruby Sharp: “That is mighty religious of you!”
Riled up townsfolk: “We’re god-fearing folk!”

Toby explained that Miss Sharp was a proper lawperson, and it were better that she investigated, but the townsfolk was not convinced. Miss Sharp made a few threats, which they ignored, but Miss Darklite was far more menacing, and backed her companion up.

“You can try to stop me if you like, but if you do, I will shoot you dead. So, it’s your choice, stand aside, or die!”

Miss Darklite was not joking.

The church was sealed up, so Miss Sharp used a bowie knife to open the window.

Glass shattered, and Miss Sharp swore, in a most unladylike way.

Miss Darklite stepped in, and deftly unlatched the window, and climbed into an office with a desk containing documents, and a strongbox. As she moved into the body of the church to find a way to open the main door, she noticed several piles of bloody bones on the floor, which animated and moved to cut off her escape.

Ten piles, in total.

Miss Darklite attempted to run to the front door to let the rest of us in, but was grabbed and severely bitten by the corpse. Thompson, hearing her screams, shot the lock off the door and rushed towards her.

“Miss Darklite, now what seems to be the problem here?”
“You fool! You’ve released the UNDEAD!”

Miss Sharp, a gun in each hand, then showed why she was a force to be reckoned with, killing two with incredible accuracy. I was not fast enough to shoot the one that approached Ruby, and it attempted to claw her. Miss Darklite was in even more trouble.

However, the tide of battle turned, and Miss Darklite managed to break away.

Eventually, Mr Thompson ended the battle.

(Double sixes, both exploded. Rolled a 3 and a 6. Exploded 6 rolled another 6, and then a 5).

I rolled well as I tended both Miss Sharp and Miss Darklite, so both were totally healed. (They don’t call me “Doc” for nothing!)

We descended into the cellar, where we found the preachers hiding. A fat one and a skinny one (Laurel and Hardy), which matched the descriptions of the murderers of the miners.

They realised the game was up and drew on us!

Yu Mei activated his mystic shielding as he moved up, and Miss Sharp took a pot shot at Brother Wyse, which missed as he was behind cover.

“We serve a higher power! Brother Grim will protect us!” he shouted, as he shot back, wounding Miss Sharp.

Brother Strong chanted demonic words, and a red light appeared around the two Brothers of Hell.

Only Mr Thompson was hitting, but his initial shots did horrible damage. His next shot did better, but his damage rolling otherwise was poor.

The protection spell Brother Strong was making all of our shots ineffective, until Miss Darklite managed to hit and knock Brother Strong unconscious, and then with her next bullet, rendered Brother Wyse unconscious as well.

“Reverend Grim will have his revenge!” was Wyse’s final words.

We then discovered that the barrels of wine were tainted by blood – some demonic rite that affected the parishioners above. An altar with a book upon it proved to hold a curse that affected Miss Sharp as she approached it – she ran over to one of the dead bodies in the room and began eating it. Yu Mei restrained her, and Miss Darklite managed to successfully approach the Dark Bible on the altar.

Miss Sharp turned her cannibalistic tendencies on Yu Mei, and I shouted to Miss Darklite, asking her to burn the book. She did so, just before Miss Sharp bit into the tender flesh of Yu Mei’s arm.

The book let out a shriek of frustration, before it turned to ash. We also destroyed the dark altar.

We then arrested the false priests and gave them over to the law. They would likely not receive much mercy from their parishioners once they learnt what they’d done.

Amongst their belongings, we found $50, a silver locket ($10), two gold fillings ($6), a gambling chip from the Gem Variety Theatre ($10), and a deputy’s star from Easton Hill. The chip had a piece of paper in it that had the Chinese characters for “Wood Rabbit” – the Chinese designation of the next year!

And that was it for the session!