Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Klaus needs a holiday








Our heroes, Dan, Seamus and Owen, have heard that Sinter Klaus and his assistant, Clint Elfwood are under siege at Klaus's workshop in North Poleville. Cole Black and the Naughty Bunch have decided Klaus's days of giving free swag to good children will stop now. (It also may have something to do with the fact that Cole never got that LeMat pistol he's wanted every Christmas since he was 7. "You'll shoot your eye out!" was the usual response to his request.

Our heroes arrive and assess the situation from a hilltop. From there, they decide to come in from two different sides of town. They are going to try to kill the gang instead of escorting Klaus through the gauntlet.

Owen and Seamus, coming from the north, immediately kill Cole and John! But the Naughty Bunch is unphased and will continue the fight. Next, Dan sneaks up on poor Gill and unloads his sawed-off shotgun on Gill at point blank- but Gill survives the first blast easy enough and returns fire doing more damage to Dan than was done to Gill.

While Owen and Seamus move into the street, Klaus emerges from his workshop with Elfwood. The Naughty Bunch is delighted! Enrique, on the roof of Hughe's Store immediately takes aim, but holds his fire.

Manny, who has been hiding behind barrels at the Barbershop takes a couple shots which miss. Owen and Seamus move to take out Manny. In the menatime, Manny turns around the corner to take a couple shots at Dan his is coming up the street after having plugged Bert who lies dead in the street near the saloon.

Our heroes are tearing up the Naughty Bunch with little trouble, but no one seems to notice Enrique and his rifle on the roof.

Good spirits intervene on behalf of our heroes: Manny has a short range shot at Dan and shoots- but one of his guns jams! He drops it- it's useless. He then turns to face Klaus at almost point blank range- and another JAM!! With no pistols, Manny takes action; He grabs poor Kane near the saloon and puts a knife to his throat. "Don't come any closer!!!"

Owen closes in. Klaus calls to Manny to do the right thing.

Seamus, finally taking notice of Enrique, pops off a shot to take Enrique off his line, but misses. Enrique now has a shot at Klaus in the open after a long time of aiming ... and MISSES!!
Klaus has lots of luck surrounding his head today.

Meanwhile, Owen throws down his pistol and calls to Manny, "Let go of your hostage, and we'll go at it with knives like men!" Manny agrees, pushes his hostage aside and draws the biggest, baddest Bowie knife this side of the great river.

The luck that has plagued the Naughty Bunch continues as Owen strikes quickly and easily at Manny, killing him instantly.

Of the Naughty Bunch, only Enrique lives. And while the crisis with Manny unfolds, Enrique has taken a shot at Dan- and hit! Dan goes down!! He is unable to finish the mission (but he will survive.)

While Enrique exchanges shots with Owen and Elfwood, Seamus has managed to climb up to the roof behind Enrique. Enrique turns and assesses his situation right-quickly, and decides to escape. He runs and jumps toward the roof to the Gunshop. But he has misjudged the distance and falls to the alley below. Seamus plugs him from above. Enrique hasn't a chance.

Klaus is safe. Another holiday season sees all the children of the county getting their toys and candy and ugly sweaters. And the Naughty Bunch no longer will be a threat to Christmas.

Sunday, December 16, 2007

The Cesar Gang


The Cesar gang is a group of banditos from Dirt County. They usually come to Hades County (via Bontess County on the Titan trail) to hide out and ambush miners who have found gold, but the gang is always exploring new ventures - mostly killing.

The gang fluctuates monthly and sometimes weekly, mostly due to Cesar's abrasive attitude. But no matter how many members come and go, there have always been three permanent members of the gang: The leader, Sosimo (Sebastian Ciriaco) Cesar aka "Bloody" Cesar; Cesar's right-hand man Juan Valesquez aka Ben Enrique; and Juan's cousin Octavio Ortiz aka "Quick" Rico.

Cesar was born a peasant in the tiny town of Chaca, Monterrey, sometime around 1830. He is known to have served during the Monterrey war of 1846. After the war, he headed north to make his fortune as a miner. Unfortunately, he met with nothing but bad fortune and racism. He returned to Monterrey where he was taken in by the Valesquez family for whose ranch he worked. During this time, he became friends with young Juan Valesquez. Juan looked up to Cesar and saw him as an older brother.

When he had no chores, Juan would go out on the range and practice shooting with his Henry repeating rifle. Juan was a gifted shot with the rifle, and even as a young man, had no known equal. Because of his talent, the locals gave him the nickname Ben Enrique after the creator of the Henry rifle, Benjamin Henry.
Often, Juan's cousin, Octavio Ortiz, would visit, and the two boys would go out shooting together, Octavio trying to learn as much as he could from Juan. Octavio never could equal Juan in accuracy, but he was quick on the lever and could fire the rifle almost like he was fanning a pistol!

In the fall of 1860, during the Rodrigo Rebellion in Monterrey, the Valesquez ranch was raided by a small force of rebels. The rebels burned the ranch to the ground and stole or killed all the livestock. Cesar took Juan and the visiting Octavio, and the three escaped to a nearby ridge with their rifles. Even with Juan and Octavio raining deadly accurate fire from the ridge, they were unable to save the ranch, or their parents and siblings who were all killed. Juan and Octavio lost everything, and Cesar was back where he had started. The rebels put a price on the heads of the last members of the Valequez family forcing Cesar and the boys to escape north.

The penniless trio eventually would resort to robbery to sustain themselves. After witnessing his family's murder, Juan would become cold to the world; when he was 17, he committed the trio's first murder in Whitlow County.
Cesar simply hated the Federal States and its people- for the war it had won in 1846, and for the people who had shown Cesar only disdain after the war. Cesar was always tempermental, and could be easily set off into a rage. Only Juan could calm Cesar down.
Octavio was just plain scared of Cesar and the whole situation that had befallen the group, but he was too afraid to leave the gang for fear that Cesar would hunt him down.

The gang continues to operate in Dirt, Bontess, Hades and Thessaly counties. Posses will form to chase the gang down sometimes, but are afraid to get too near for fear of being shot out of their saddles by Ben Enrique. The Cesar Gang is considered one of the most dangerous in the state.

In Gutshot terms:
The Cesar Gang will always have Cesar, Juan and Octavio, but may have up to four other gang members. The gang's main motive is almost always robbery, but sometimes may kill, though, only during or after a robbery.

Sosimo Cesar: Armed with a pistol and a bowie knife TN: 7 Specialties: Sure shot-pistol, Lucky, Tough as nails.

Ben Enrique: Armed with a rifle, pistol and a knife TN: 5 Specialties: Sure shot-rifle, reliable, contemplative, reputation.

Octavio Ortiz: Armed with a rifle and a pistol TN: 7 Specialties: Quick reload, quick fire-rifle*
*This is a new specialty created for Octavio. When firing, Octavio can choose to take two shots instead of one (rolling each shot separately.) At point blank and close ranges, Octavio's second shot is at a -1 modifier. At medium to far ranges, the second shot is at a -2 modifier. Octavio cannot move any faster than a crawl during an action phase when he is firing two shots.

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

The Raies Gang


The Raies gang is made up of a father and his two sons. Bartholomew (Bart) Raies was born to French parents who settled Thessaly County while it was still part of the frontier in 1830. Bart married his second cousin, Genevieve, who gave birth to their first son, Montague (Manny) in 1849. Genevieve later died, in 1853, while giving birth to their second son, Gillaume (Gill.)
Full of anguish over his wife's death, Bart drowned himself in Whiskey and Bourbon at the local saloons. This binge lasted for years. In those years, Manny and Gill had to raise themselves, and they grew up sour. Manny found himself a job and honed his pistolier skills with Thessaly County rancher, Aggie Mormon. Gill, in the meantime, tried to learn as much gunplay as he could from his older brother.
One summer evening in 1864, in a drunken fit, Bart shot a man at the Troy No. 9 Saloon. Bart fled quickly before a lynch mob could form. He gathered up his boys and has been on the run ever since. In the meantime, the family has robbed travelers, miners, stagecoaches, a couple banks and a train, as well as taking part in numerous shootouts and murders; these are the only ways Bart knows to fill his heart with something other than the hurt of memories of Genevieve. The boys love their father and heed his every word, however vile it might be.

Manny returns to the Mormon ranch every now and then. In fact, some suspect Aggie Mormon of aiding the Raies gang to ensure the services of Manny, who has become a deadly enforcer in his own right.
The Raies operate mostly in Thessaly County but have been seen in Hades and as far south as Dirt County. The gang can be identified by the striped pants the three wear when committing their crimes. The gang has taken in other members now and again, but never for more than two or three jobs.

In Gutshot terms:
When using the Raies in Gutshot, they will always commit crime as a family, so you will need figures for Bart, Manny and Gill. The gang will never take in more than one or two other gang members, so the gang can never be larger than 5 members. The extra gang members are usually brought in to add firepower with shotguns or rifles.

Bart: Armed with a shotgun (5 reloads), a pistol (3 reloads), knife. TN: 8 Specialties: True Grit, sure-shot/shotgun. Notes: Bart has an affinity for the drink, so if any game has a saloon as part of its terrain, Bart will always start from there. He is bold enough to show his face before a crime, so long as that face gets some Bourbon. He also has a soft spot for ladies (after the death of his own wife) and will not fire at anyone within 6 inches of a woman.

Manny: Armed with two pistols (2 reloads each), and a bowie knife. TN: 6 Specialties: Two-gun shootist, quick draw. Notes: Manny loves his Pa and will do everything in his power to help if his father gets into trouble. Manny also retains a little honor and will not shoot anyone in the back (no surprise shot, in other words.)

Gill: Armed with two pistols (2 reloads each.) TN: 7 Specialties: Two-gun shootist, fanning the pistol. Note: Gill has grown bloodthirsty. He's 15-years-old, and his impulsiveness is proof of that; Gill will shoot down innocents if they get in the way of an armed opponent. Sometimes he'll shoot down innocents just for the fun of it. Manny worries for his little brother, and Bart harbors a secret fear of what Gill will grow up to be- that is, if Gill lives past his own bloody ways. Also remember that you can't use two-gun shootist and fanning the pistol at the same time.