Hades County

Update

2009-04-24T23:23:00.000-07:00

Ok, so it's obvious I haven't updated in a while (again.) This site will probably be inactive for a while until my friends and I play some more Gutshot.
If I make another post, I'll let folks know at Hawgleg (probably where most of my viewers come from (( all two of you :) )).

Folks are certainly welcome to submit material for this blog -- battle reports, background fiction, even of other towns and settings not in Hades County; there's plenty of Old West land to share! :) Just shoot me (Carmen) a note over at Hawgleg.

First day of spring

2009-03-20T13:39:00.000-07:00

Yep, Been a long winter here in Hades County. When them snows come, there's not a word that leaves these borders. But the spring is come. The mining camps are coming out of frozen hiatus to dig their tunnels and hoard their riches, however meager that wealth may be. The saloons are opening their doors to let the fresh air purify the humanity that has hibernated in the hotel rooms. The first pioneers of the year have broke winter camp and are passing through the county, in long trains of wagons and oxen and horses, on their way to the other side of the mountains, across the desert, to better places.
The food has already been better with the return of foul and game and the thawing of the lakes and rivers. No more canned peas, canned corn, and no more damned canned beans!
The Triple Rock indians will soon be making their first raids against the ranches in the south of the county, looking to steal livestock and count coup.
And the first shipment of bottled beer from Arch City will be coming! Who'd a thunk it, beer in bottles shipped across the country. What times we live in.
And, with the first warming days will return the bad times. Thieves, bandits, robbers, highwaymen, murderers and politicians -- all who have been hidden away and are preparing for a wonderous array of misdeeds, like Dracula in his coffin arising for the new night of bloodletting and horror.
Yep, spring is here. A time of rebirth and a fresh start for all places of the world, except Hades County. Here, it's a time to clean out the guns, reload the shells and get ready to live or die.

"I Shot Him: James Tooler, ruffian"

2008-11-08T23:32:00.000-08:00

By Deacon Davidson
Editor, Infernal Herald

James Tooler had quarrel with me over letters I had published about his murderous cousin, Samuel "Blaze" Elliott, three months prior to the display of flying lead betwixt Tooler and me.

Tooler stood inebriated on the boardwalk outside of Slaughter’s Saloon facing the office of our good editor’s newspaper, The Infernal Herald. He called out five times, and every time the same sentence: "Editor! I got words to give you on the account you made of my cousin out’n Agartha!" A full minute had passed between each repetition, enough time for him to take another long draw of rotgut and to fill up on it’s immediate and temporary effect- that effect of being given a sense of (false) courage. And each round of transitionary courage was accompanied by his challenge of "words."

I, being that "editor," was given ample time to prepare myself because of the young ruffian’s lack to action. His courage, no matter how strong by whatever drink, could not survive a walk across the street at me. A stronger man would simply walk across the street, unsheath his Colt and get to work; no words would have been required. But "Jittery" James Tooler was scared. And his fear gave me pause; a man who shoots scared is a dangerous man.

After bridling myself with gun belt and holster, I opened the door of the Infernal office and stood fully visible to Tooler, 10 yards distance from toe to toe. Street traffic had already stopped after Tooler’s second or third repetition of "words," moments earlier.

"I’m here, sir," I said. "What are your words, man?"

Of course, known to the reader and to this writer, Tooler had no words not meant to be delivered by bullet. He stood there as steady as his whiskey-lined belly would allow him. Then came his draw.

He fumbled a bit at the dusty handle of his Colt but soon placed firm grip and jerked the weapon from its resting place. It hung limp in his hand as if the pistol weighed 100 pounds, while he pulled the hammer back with his thumb. A quick shot flew from the barrel and into the mud in the middle of the street, Tooler’s pistol having not been properly leveled before firing.

He cupped the pistol in both hands, more firmly, cocking the hammer with one thumb assisted by the other. Both his hands, this time, brought the gun to bear; Tooler’s aim had the proper latitude, but whiskey made the longitude a more unpredictable affair. The report of his second shot was followed by the shattering of glass of The Infernal’s front window, which many a reader may have noticed to be boarded up these last four days.

Having given a drunk man a fair chance, I drew my Schofield from my belly holster, careful not to rub the front sight against the inside of the holster (a skill I practice for faster draws so as to cut down on time by eliminating any unnecessary friction.) In one motion, I leveled the weapon, pulled back the hammer and took my aim.

In that time, Tooler, took aim for a third shot. Holding his aim, he gained courage enough to take a step toward me so as to better his chances by shortening the distance between us. It was only a pace, though his false courage may have told him he was standing face-to-face with me. Whiskey may be warm in the belly, but it will always lie to a man.

His third shot made a better account of itself splintering the wood not six inches from my left foot. His courage, better, his aim improving, I took no more chances and let loose my shot.
There was no dramatic death as portrayed on the stage or in operetta. There was no clutching of the wound, no slow festering, no final wishes, no eloquent cry of "mother!" Poor Tooler simply fell straight down, crumpled into a pile like an army tent struck, quickly and without ceremony.

This editor, as he always has, paid the fees for coffin and burial.

The window is replaced. The blood is scrubbed. And the people walk that street where another soul has been added to the grim tally.

Update

2008-11-07T14:32:00.001-08:00

Have not forgotten my few loyal readers. I've been busy with other projects. In the meantime, enjoy my painting/project blog at: http://carmensminiaturepainting.blogspot.com/ You'll find all my Old West painting and construction articles along the right rail of that site.

Deacon "Deadline" Davidson, editor-in-chief, publisher, writer of The Infernal

2008-08-11T17:22:00.000-07:00

There's good reason The Infernal (Hades County's only newspaper) is able to publish its inflammatory rhetoric week after week; It's backed up by Deacon "Deadline" Davidson and his pearl-handled, .45 caliber Schofield pistol. Deadline isn't considered the fastest draw, but he is certainly a crack shot and won't hesitate in a fight with his "critics." Even more insulting to those who have fallen to his words and his bullets, is that Deadline is an easterner. He's only been in Hades County for a year, though, anyone who has survived one year in the county has certainly learned enough to survive in most other places of ill-repute.

Deadline doesn't do a lot of talking, instead writing what he wants folks to hear. He does indeed report the news of the county as he can best report it (with limited communication), but readers' favorite section of the Infernal is Deadline's "I shot him" column. Whenever a critic comes to shoot down Deadline for some "Damned lie printed in that Infernal paper," Deadline is sure to win the fight. But Deadline has an excellent memory for details, and he writes about each of his gunfights listing every detail about his enemy, the weather, who any bystanders were and what they were doing, the sounds, the smells, and his own personal musings at the moment of the draw. All of the details are spelled out with the eloquence of Shakespeare and the wit of Twain, and readers can't get enough. Problem is, Deadline only writes those columns after a fight.
Sometimes, when Deadline goes a while without shooting someone, there's no column, and folks get bored with the newspaper. They'll get some poor upstart, small-time criminal and tell him Deadline done gone printed an article about the criminal's mother or sister's "reputation." Hot-headed pistoliers are in constant supply to in Hades County, and so are Deadline's columns as of late.

In Gutshot terms

Deacon "Deadline" Davidson is simply dangerous. He may not get the first shot off, but he is sure to hit once he does shoot.

If you have a newspaper office, Deadline will simply do all his shooting from the front step as long as there is someone in range to shoot at. Inside the newspaper office is kept a rifle, two shotguns and a couple pistols.

Deadline keeps his Schofield on his belt at all times. TN: 6 Specialties: Hard to hit, Reputation, Sure shot (pistol), Quickload, Fanning the gun (he only fan a pistol kept in the office but NOT with his Schofield.)

Stan O'Tucker

2008-07-13T20:09:00.000-07:00

No one knows where Stan O'Tucker came from nor what his previous profession was. His current profession is town drunk in whatever town he happens to stumble into. He hates the sound of gunfire; the reports of the guns aggravate his hangover headaches (when he gives his body time enough to reach a hangover.) When a fight breaks out, he will quietly mosey over to the nearest gunfighter and proceed to lay down a whuppin'.

In Gutshot terms: O'Tucker is simply a random element you can add to your games for a little fun. Try him out and see what happens. He'll probably be just an annoyance. If you have a game marshal, have the marshal unleash O'Tucker on the side that is currently winning the game. You could also have him move randomly about the street during the gunfight, only fighting when he comes within one inch of a character.

O'Tucker is armed with a bottle. TN: 8 Specialties: Brawler, Dodge, Tough as nails
Special weapon: Bad Breath. Each time O'Tucker engages a new enemy in melee, he may breathe his horrid drunken breath on his opponent. TN: 4 Defensive TN: 8 Pain: 1D6+2

Note: Inebriation has slowed O'Tucker down. Count each movement step as the next one higher, so, a crawl counts as moving at a walk, a walk as a trot and a trot as a run- O'Tucker cannot move any faster than a trot. AND when he does move at a trot, he must spend his next action either standing still or moving at a crawl as he rests after having moved at such a brisk pace.
Until he attacks someone, no one may target O'Tucker.

Update and flood waters for Gutshot

2008-07-04T16:56:00.000-07:00

Glad to see a few of you are still taking the daily gander here (as per my counter stats.) Sorry I haven't brought anything new to the blog in a while. I've been busy with my other 3 genres (D&D, sci-fi, prehistoric and lost worlds.)

After discussion over at Hawgleg, however, I am working on (in my head -- that counts) rules for flood waters. For now, I will simply have rooves as the field of play, the water having risen to cover the walls of all the buildings. Anyone brave enough to venture into the waters will have to make some kind if "swimming" roll to avoid being drawn under or away to their doom. More swimming rolls would need to be made if a character is trying to swim a long distance.

Also, I'm trying to think of a basic table for buildings coming off their foundations and being swept along with or without any passengers (who would have to make checks to stay on their feet (perhaps.)

So keep visiting, hopefully you haven't read everything I've posted and have enough to hold you over. If not, don't forget to visit my other blog: http://carmensminiaturepainting.blogspot.com/

I'm pretty sure y'all haven't read all of that one just yet :)

I just need to find time and buy the supplies, but I have not written off building my Newspaper building. Once it is finished, it will have most of its exposure at my painting blog, but I will make stats for an editor, and I will add some fluff for it here.

I think I named the newspaper itself the Infernal. Everything that needs to go into the office (including 1oo printed copies of the paper) are finished; I just need to get crackin' on building the damned thing.

Slade's Myrmidons

2008-05-31T10:59:00.000-07:00

Little is known about the man known simply as "Slade." Rumor says he killed a man back east, and another man in a wagon train to California. They say it was after this second killing, Slade slipped into hiding in the Titan Mountains.

Slade occasionally would come down from the mountains into town for gambling and drinking, and always under an assumed name. He also came down to commit crime of one form or another, and always masked. No one ever saw his face during his crimes, but folks knew it was Slade because he always wore the same hat, a fine silk, New Amsterdam-made top hat.

Slade also had a gang made up of out-of-luck miners, rogues, thieves, hot-headed young men, and the like. Slade called his men his Myrmidons, and he ruled them with fear and violence. Most were sweet-talked into a life of adventure by the smooth-talking Slade, only to learn later the consequence if they tried to leave the gang or otherwise cross Slade. The Myrmidons dared not go against Slade's orders, and followed him without question. In a fight, they spared no violent measure for fear of exposing any unwillingness to their ruthless boss.

In Gutshot terms: Slade is big and tough and a good shot with a pistol. His men will fight just as ruthlessly as Slade, but if they are not in view of Slade, they slack off a bit (as expressed in the special rule below.)

Special rule: When Slade cannot see a Myrmidon, that gang member not only loses his reputation bonus from Slade, the gang member also loses a further -1 modifier to all his rolls as he is simply unwilling to be as mean-spirited as Slade expects him to be. This is ONLY in effect when the myrmidon cannot be seen by Slade.

Slade knows his men slack off at a moment's chance, so he does his best to keep an eye on them" Slade cannot make a move if it puts him out of line of sight of more than half his gang. If more than half his gang are out of sight of Slade, he must use his next action to attempt to locate unseen gang members.

If Slade is killed, the Myrmidons all must roll their TN with a -2 modifier; those who fail will retreat from the area. Those remaining fight with a permanent -3 modifier to all their rolls.

Yep- It makes things difficult for any player playing Slade, but it's something different to try to play out.

Slade: Armed with two pistols and 4 reloads, sawed-off shotgun with 3 reloads, and one helluva big knife. TN: 6 Specialties: Lucky, Hard to hit, True grit, Brawler, Reputation, Sure shot (pistol).

Myrmidons (5-10 gang members adjusted as needed): Usually armed with a pistol or shotgun, and a knife. TN: 7-10 (random). Specialties: (one random from this list) Speedy, Brawler, Fanning the gun, Dodge, Tough as nails, Sure shot (with main weapon.)

Note: Slade and his Myrmidons ar inspired by the personality written about by Mark Twain.

Profile and plan of Saddlerock's Main Street

2008-05-23T12:39:00.000-07:00

Saddlerock is the county seat of Hades County. Its main street, known as Onundaga Street, in the early days, was remarkable for having buildings on only one side of the street. The other side of Onundaga simply had open land bordered by a large forest. Later in the town's history, a new bank, new stores and a few more saloons would be built on the south side of Onundaga. The forest also would be cut into and a large sawmill operation constructed to help in the town's growth.

In the middle of that forest, a few miles from Onundaga is the Saddlerock mansion, home of the founder of Hades County, Col. James Saddlerock.

The Agartha Volunteers

2008-05-17T08:01:00.000-07:00

With so much rampant crime in the county, it didn't take long for honest folk to band together in solidarity against those immoral elements.

Town sheriff, James Kane Cinder, had formed a small posse one summer to pursue some men who had robbed a small group of miners. The posse had worked well together in the chase (which had proved successful.) With vengeful satisfaction still warm in their hearts, a few whispers were cast about, and the first meeting of the Agartha Volunteers was set. Sheriff Cinder was chosen as its secret leader.

This group of vigilantes proved highly effective in reducing criminal activity in their small town. As rumor spread across the county, other towns formed their own groups of "volunteers." Curiously, the groups, colletively, became known as the Agartha Volunteers - be they frontiersmen from Triple City or businessmen from the county seat at Saddlerock. Even the little town and stage station of Shed, pop: 2, will go into the mountains to recruit miners for temporary forays against stagecoach robbers and horse thieves.

Crime still exists in Hades County. With the forming of the Agartha Volunteers, the bulk of crime has moved into the mountains, but it still overflows into the towns now and again. That's when the Agartha Volunteers, on moonless nights, slip into the dark with rope in hand, out to remind men of devious means who is the real master of Hades County.

In Gutshot terms: The Agartha Volunteers is always a rabble of mixed personalities and weapons. Since this is the case, you can either form volunteer groups with random character types and weapons, or you can choose the characters and randomize the wepaons, or any combination thereof. Or you can simple have your players make their own characters who band together for a one-off game.

Sheriff Cinder: A cool, collected man, Sheriff Cinder was a good choice as leader for the orginal Agartha Volunteers. His calm and powerful personality counterbalanced the vengeful passions of the volunteers. Cinder served in the War Out East and so had become an excellent marksman. Cinder is considered, if not the fastest, at least the best pistol shot in the county.

Cinder is armed with a modified pistol. The modification of the pistol extends it's range by 4 inches. Cinder is also a marksman (a new specialty I created for Cinder); Drop the pistol's range increments by one step; eg. Point blank range is now 1-3", Close range is 3-6" and so on. Far range (with the additional 4" of Cinder's pistol) is now 13-17".

TN: 6 Specialties: Sure shot (pistol), reputation, Marksman (as explained above), quickload, reliable.

Blood Red Roses

2008-05-13T14:33:00.000-07:00

Unable to sustain business follwing the start of the War Out East, the craggy crew of the merchantman (some say pirate ship) Pinniped were disbanded in 1860 at the port of Orleans. Seeking continued adventure, some joined the Southern war effort while most others fell in with the criminal army of John Murel.

Murel's "army" consisted of two main elements, the Council (about 400 men), those who formed the strategies and made the decisions; and the Strikers (about 700 men), the henchmen who went about as actual parties to the crimes of Murel.

The Pinniped's crew was kept together as a company of strikers. They dubbed themselves the "Blood Red Roses" after the long-haul chanty sung on their ship.

The Blood Red Roses performed many tasks for Murel and the Council over the coming years. The War Out East came to an end, and the Council looked to the future of its enterprise.

One day, Orlean's police, backed up by troops of the military garrison, raided the Roses' base of operations. Some Roses were killed, some taken prisoner (and later hanged), though most escaped.

In the next few weeks, the rogue Roses discovered that Murel's Council occasionally would betray some of their own strikers to the authorities to stave off discovery of the larger operation. The Council had decided the Roses were of no more use in any of Murel's future operations, so turned them in. Captured strikers who turned informant were left unheard; many of the authorities were part of Murel's army- and all of them, members of the Council.

The Blood Red Roses vowed revenge, but they were also on the run. The main group of the Roses, about 50 men under the command of John Pinks and Billy Posies, took the trail to Hades County to go into hiding until the time was right to strike back. Unfortunate for them, their whereabouts were soon betrayed back in Orleans to Murel's Council. The Council decided the remaining Roses numbered too many to be left alone. They also feared sending strikers after other strikers may bring dissention in Murel's army. So the Council hired a few gunslingers and sent a sizeable force of men to hades County to hunt down the Blood Red Roses.

The Council first found a few members of the Roses in a saloon in Triple City. The men were dragged from the saloon and gunned down in cold blood. Roses commander John Pinks witnessed the grim execution from across the street in a hotel. He slipped out of town and gathered the remaining Roses throughout the county and began a cat-and-mouse game of skirmishes, ambushes and retaliations. The battles still occur, mostly among the Titan Mountains, though small skirmishes will fire up a town now and then.

The numbers of men left in both the Blood Red Roses and the Council are unknown; Each side sends for and receives a few reinforcements every few weeks. Hades County is ill-equipped to deal with the small war happening within its borders and has called on the Federal Dragoons for help. But the Dragoons have been unable to do anything since the bases of operations for the enemies are situated deep in the Titan Mountain range. So the battles continue to rage throughout Hades and the surrounding counties. The random posse gets formed, and a few three-way battles have resulted, but the Roses and Council are there to stay until one side has annihilated the other.

In Gutshot terms: The Blood Red Roses are like any other band of ruffians; they are natural brawlers, competent pistoliers, and almost always drunk. Their commanders, John Pinks and Billy Posies, prefer sobriety until their vengeance has been finally visited upon John Murel.

Pinks is armed with pistol and cutlass (treat as a saber). TN: 7 Specialties: Brawler, Contemplative, Hard to hit.

Posies is armed with a pistol, (single barrel) sawed-off shotgun and cutlass. TN: 7 Specialties: Brawler, Quick load, True grit.

Crewmen are randomly armed (determine before each battle). TN is randomly determined from 8 to 10. They also will randomly have one of the following specialties: Lucky, Brawler, Speedy, Hard to hit.

The People of hades County

2008-05-13T07:24:00.000-07:00

On July 4th, 1865, many of the citizens of Saddlerock gathered for a grand photo taken by travelling photographer, Martin Brandy.

Most of these folks have since been killed, shot, stabbed, hanged, mangled, exploded or succumbed to sickness; So goes life in Hades County.

El Torro aka The Bull aka Alastair Baine

2008-05-10T10:46:00.000-07:00

Alastair Baine, born 1830 in London, decided early in life to make his fortune across the pond in the Federal States. He had read accounts of indians and gold and adventure in the wilds of America and decided this was for him. He ran away from home and made his voyage over in 1845 at the age of 15.

On the New Amsterdam docks, Alastair was accosted by ruffians, robbed, beaten and left with nothing but his pants and shirt; the muggers even took his boots which Alastairhad bought for this trip.
Having nothing to his name, Alastair wandered the streets of New Amsterdam, working when the work could be found, and stealing when the work could not be found. But he knew this life could not be sustained and sought a new solution which he found in the military recruiting office.

With events heating up along the Monterrey Border, Alastair joined up and was quickly transferred to the border with the 12th New Amsterdam Dragoons (under Colonel James Saddlerock, the founder of Hades County.) Alastair remained with the dragoons for 9 years, serving with distinction in the Monterrey wars and the Indian Rebellions of '50 and '53.

Throughout his military years, Alastair was noted for being somewhat bloodthirsty. He had lost many friends in the early months of vicious fighting in the Monterrey war, and was unable to cope with their losses. As his anger for the enemy grew, so did his cruelty.
Across the battle lines, the Monterrey forces took notice of this man from London and gave him the nickname, John Bull, soon shortened to just The Bull or El Torro. El Torro quickly grew out of the shell of the 15-year-old adventure seeker he once was, and into that of a lonesome and cruel man who thought nothing of cutting down women and children. There was no turning back for him.

El Torro continued his cruelty through the Indian Rebellions and as a bushwacker during the War Out East. El Torro had chosen the losing side during the War and was discharged at war's end.

Alastair Baine had known only battle and war for almost 20 years, and now his bloodlust had no outlet. It was a simple decision for him to travel the frontier, stealing, killing, to satisfy his anger toward the world that took his friends, that took his innocence, and that took his boots.

He is well-known in and around Hades County, and everyone stands clear as best they can. Local law, and even large posses are afraid to try to take down El Torro. Only one man had ever dared to take on El Torro and that was Col. Saddlerock, Alastair's former commander.

In one of Hades County's most storied duels, Saddlerock and El Torro had met face to face on the main street of Triple City. The fight started off close in and with knives, but guns were quickly drawn and lead flung. Both men received multiple wounds. The duel ended quickly when the Triple City was attacked by indians (that town being on the border with tribal lands) and every available gun was needed in defense of the town. El Torro slipped away during the fighting.

Though Saddlerock and El Torro recovered from their wounds received during their duel, El Torro was left with a pronounced limp in his left leg having been shot in the thigh. His hatred for Saddlerock simmers and boils, but El Torro knows Saddlerock is his match. So, instead, he takes out his anger on Saddlerock's legacy, that of the land and people of Hades County.

In Gutshot terms: El Torro is as bad as they get in Hades County. He is an excellent shot with pistol and rifle. He is a born rider having ridden in 20 years of warfare. And he is a vicious and strong brawler and knife fighter having fought members of just about every indian tribe this side of the Muddy River.
El Torro is armed with two pistols (two reloads each), a repeater rifle, and a large bowie knife (some have swore it was a shortsword.)
TN: 4 Specialties: Sureshot rifle, brawler, tough as nails, true grit, reputation and horsemanship. Note: Having gained a limp from the duel with Col. Saddlerock, El Torro's speeds are all reduced by one increment (so a crawl is considered a walk, a walk a trot, and a trot as a run) for purposes of deciding modifiers. El Torro may not move faster than 8 inches.

The Ralph Benslow gang

2008-05-10T00:20:00.000-07:00

Ralph Benslow was born 1843 in Westport, Missoura. At a young age, his family -- mother, father, two brothers and a sister -- moved west to Agartha in Hades County where Ralphs father had lined up in a partnership to mine the Titan vein for silver. Along the trail, a sickness overcame the children and only Ralph and his younger brother, James, survived. Ralph's mother also became sick, but she too lived.

Ralph never adjusted to the move and quickly took up a life of petty crime. Along the way, he taught himself to shoot. He also learned to shoot with two guns and seemed to have quite an aptitude for it. Backed up by the power of the gun, Ralph's petty crimes quickly advanced to robbings and killings. Ralph had few friends, but those he did have formed the core of his gang: Mack Roberts, of Agartha, and twins Richard and Robert Sitzman, trail nomads who are thought to have originated from Omaha. These are the original Ralph Benslow Four.

During the gang's history, gang members would come and go. The gang's numbers counted sometimes up to 20 or 30 men, while other times it consisted of 5 or 6. All the while, the core group remained. No matter how many members were in the gang at any particular time, it was always known as the "Four." It seamed a minor point of information. But many an unweary bounty hunter or glory seeker met their demise having underestimated the Benslow gang's true numbers.

In Gutshot terms: The Ralph Benslow Four is pretty straightforward; It's core is made up of some fine gunmen, whereas any added hangers-on are simply cowpunchers, petty thieves, small-time thugs or any other assortment of minor rabble. The core members all have pairs of weapons: Ralph and Mack, each with a pair of pistols, Richard and Robert, each with a pair of shotguns.

Ralph Benslow: Armed with a pair of well-taken care of pistols with five reloads total. When using these pistols, Ralph (or anyone lucky enough to come into posession of the pistols) counts as having the Reliable specialty- but only for these pistols. (Except if the player already has the Reliable specialty.) TN: 6 Specialties: 2-gun shootist, Sureshot pistols, Reliable (with the pistols).

Mack Roberts: Two pistols with four total reloads, and two knives. Mack Roberts will brandish both pistols, but he does not have the 2-gun shootist specialty. He may, however, alternate fire with the pistols, firing one per action. TN: 7 Specialties: Lucky, Tough as nails.

Richard and Robert Sitzman have identical stats: Each have two shotguns and bandoliers with 25 extra shells. TN: 7 Specialties (both twins): Dodge, Quickload.

Other gang members: Before each battle, the gang increases in number (in addition to the core members) by 1D6+1. These extra members will have a TN of 9 or 10 (randomly determined.)

The Ralph Benslow Four

2008-05-08T21:32:00.000-07:00

The boys (Dan, Owen and Seamus) got summoned into a small station town in Dirt County to clear off the gang known as the Ralph Benslow Four.
Arriving at the north end of Main Street, they found only two (friendly) buckaroos hiding behind a wagon, and the sheriff lying wounded in the middle of the street a hundred feet away.
Otherwise, there were no sounds except the wind. Two horses were hitched to a freight wagon in front of the bank, and a lone riderless horse was tied to a hitchin post toward the middle of town near where the sheriff lay.

"Ya best git yer heads down, fellas!" one of the buckaroos yelled in a whisper. "Them Benslow boys is all over town."

The boys took a moment to assess the situation and decided to split up to take on the gang members one-on-one. Dan went into the stage station, Owen took the bank, and Seamus sneaked behind the short row of buildings to make an attempt to pull the wounded sheriff into cover.

It took Dan all of one minute to discover the gatling gun stored in the freight room of the stage station. Dan had fired a gatling once during the the last Indian war; he called the buckaroos to give him a hand. The remainder of the day was "fun" for Dan.

Meanwhile, Owen saw three or four men inside the bank, but couldn't get an accurate count, nor a division of who was bad and who was good; before he could figure things out, a shot rang out and took his hat off. Owen, for most of the battle, would play a dangerous game of point blank shooting; he, in the cover of the outside corner of the bank, and "they," in a window and behind an open door, both not more than 6 feet from the bank's corner. Dan took a peek through the cracked doors of the freight station across the street. He knew Owen could handle himself. He also pitied the two gang members who plucked away with their shotguns.
"Poor, fools. Heheheheh." Dan certainly was happy with his knowledge of "thundering" away with the gatling.

Down the street, Seamus managed to carry the sheriff to safety, but was sniped at from a couple undetermined locations. Soon enough, a couple of the gang came out of the gun store and the saloon at the south end of the street. After a few shots, Seamus took cover in the barbershop.

Back at the bank, another gang member rounded the opposite side of the bank from Owen and threw some bags into the wagon. He climbed into the driver's seat and took a shot at Owen. Owen was hurting; he had already taken hits from the first two black hats and was close to passing out.

Seamus also had taken a couple hits. The Benslow gang was unleashed with barely a scratch. The boys was feelin' mighty pinched. They were wonderin' if God wanted them to lose. Well, not Dan.

Let us take a moment to take notice of something: The name of the gang is the Ralph Benslow Four. The boys discovered seven gang members. "What gives?" Well, that was just the name of the gang. They needed some help, so they hired on a few more hands; they were just too lazy to change the name of the gang.

Back to the battle!

Ralph Benslow himself emerged from the saloon, both guns blazing at Seamus, and Seamus returning fire in ernest. Ralph's intension was to get on his horse and lead the rest of the boys, the wagon and their loot out of the north side of town. The skirmish was short and bloody, each man taking his fair share of hits.
Ralph finally made it to his horse and got one foot in the stirrup, but would not rise to the saddle; Seamus had emerged from his little barbershop fort and shot Ralph down most indignantly.
During this skirmish, one of the gang members had ran past Seamus. The man had dropped his gun and was running for his life to the wagon in hopes of escape with the rest of the gang.

The remainder of the gang was in and around the wagon all exchanging short-range shots with Owen who had barely moved 5 feet during the whole affair. It was best he stay in his own 5 feet, too. Like a man standing on a cliff overlooking Hades, one false step would land him in an eternity of hellfire.
Seamus greatly allieved Owen's predicament by providing a crossfire from down the street.
With the gang all mounted in the wagon, guns blazing, the driver released the brake and started to ride off.

Then the doors of the freight station opened. Dan smiled and hollered a warning to Owen: "GIT YER HEAD THE HELL DOWN IF YOU KNOW WHAT'S GOOD FER YE- HERE COME'S THE THUNDER!!"

At that short range, the Ralph Benslow Four stood no chance.

The townsfolk came out of their hiding places. A reward was given to the boys, and a round of free drinks was poured for the buckaroos.
Seamus, Owen and Dan each got a new horse out of the whole deal. Dan was sore that he could not keep the gatling; it belonged to the Federal Dragoon patrol which returned to town later in the evening. The Ralph Benslow Four was buried on a small hill under a tombstone that read:

"They who lie here are the Ralph Benslow Four,
They had seven guns but Dan had more."

The sheriff lived.

Klaus needs a holiday

2007-12-25T07:57:00.000-08:00

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.

The Cesar Gang

2007-12-16T22:41:00.000-08:00

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.

The Raies Gang

2007-12-04T16:00:00.000-08:00

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.

The first blow is struck by the Dogtown Navy

2007-11-18T23:56:00.001-08:00

The Setup:

Owen, Seamus and Dan joined up and took a stage to Faust, having received information that the bandit El Torro was in town. The trio and an englishman disembarked at the Brosco Station, and the boys started askin' around for El Torro. Unfortunately, no pictures of El Torro existed, so the group had to ask around town to find out who or where the outlaw was. Luckily, the Brosco agent gave the men a lead that El Torro had the sweets for Wilhelmina who ran the store across the street.

They found two banditos at the tail end or the early moments of mischief in the store. After a quick interrogation, the banditos were allowed to leave (mostly to put poor Wilhelmina at ease so that she would talk without fear- and talk she did.) As it turns out, El Torro wasn't a bandito at all; he was the very Englishman who had arrived in the same stagecoach as our heroes!

John "El Torro" Bull had wandered into the saloon to gather his compatriots to battle the bounty hunters.

The Battle:

The two banditos found in the store had been allowed to leave. Joaquin ran into the saloon to warn El Torro (who was already in the know) Also in the saloon was the infamous 2-gun shootist, Hector. The final bandit, Cesar, walked over toward the alley between the gunshp and the barber across the street from the saloon. There he waited to see what transpired.

Owen walked over to Cesar. Cesar told Owen to stop where he was if he wanted to live. Owen closed the distance, drew his pistol and went to work. The Owen-Cesar duel lasted the duration of the game as they traded pistol and retaliation shots.

Meanwhile, Dan and Seamus split up. Dan went to the backdoor of the saloon, and Seamus went to the front door with his pistol holstered to not arrouse suspicion. Unfortunately, Owen's opening shot alarmed the enemy within the saloon. So with Seamus in the front door and Dan about to come in the back, the final shootout was about to take place.

Joaquin jumped up on the bar and pointed at Seamus in the front door, "That is him, Boss!!!!" Joaquin immediately began fanning his pistol oblivious that his own gangmember, Hector, was in the line of fire. But Joaquins guns jammed afer only the second shot! No one was hurt in the opening salvo.

Dan quickly burst through the backdoor and came face-to-face with El Torro who fumbled drawing his pistol. Dan let the gangleader have both barrels of his sawed-off shotgun at point blank range! El Torro's nice clothes weren't pretty anymore. Torro got his pistol out and shot at Dan AND MISSED! Dan cooly reloaded his shotgun under fire.

Seamus poured lead into Joaquin while saloon customers took cover in corners and behind the bar. Torro would get one more shot on Dan, wounding him for minor damage. Then Dan let Torro have one more barrel of his sawed-off. That's all it took. El Torro lay in shreds on the saloon floor. Hector and Joaquin quickly surrendered.

Outside, just seconds after El Torro had fallen, Cesar's ticket was punched by Owen.

The bounty hunters were wounded, but none seriously. And they now had a handsome reward and a town full of new friends to celebrate with!

Town of Shed pop: 2

2007-10-21T21:08:00.000-07:00

The town of Shed lies on the Saddlerock Trail in the northwest corner of Hades County. The town consist of a small homestead, stage station and store. The town also is home to a few ample trees, rocks and a pond called Shonebeck Pond (named for the hometown of the town's only two residents.)

German transplants Otto and Wilhelmina Shed were among the original residence of Hades County and built the town that bears their name in 1845. Shed was the first town to be built in the county.

Otto runs the stage station on behalf of the Big Rock Stage Company (known as the Brosco.) Otto secured the Brosco contract before any other towns had been built. Brosco, satisfied with Otto's work, have remained loyal and have kept their station in Shed, despite the larger town of Saddlerock being just 10 miles down the trail. Still, the Brosco makes a stop in Saddlerock on its way to Shed.

Wilhelmina runs the store across the street from the stage station. The store serves those coming through on the Brosco as well as equips the farmers and small ranchers who live on the land between the Saddlerock Trail and the Titan Mountains.

Photos: The photos show two arial views of the town as well as the home of Otto and Wilhelmina Shed. The store is the small brown building, and the Brosco station is the green building.

Hades County: Beginnings and basic geography

2007-10-04T14:47:00.000-07:00

Just past the land of the tall grass and big sky, just on the other side of the Big Rock Mountains away from the frontiers of civilization hides Hades County.

Hades County was founded and named in 1843 by Colonel James Middleton Saddlerock of the New Amsterdam 12th Volunteer Dragoons. Col. Saddlerock named the county after his mother-in-law, Innis Hades Jewell.
Col. Saddlerock brought with his dragoons three survey teams to help explore and map the territory encompassing Hades and its surrounding counties. They found a surprising variety of terrain with the county.

Hades County is 30 miles from east to west and 50 miles from north to south. Filling most of the western half of the county is the Titan mountain range named after its largest mountain, Mount Titan (8,157 feet above sea level.) Among the northern reaches of the Titans sits Silver Lake, a freshwater lake serving as a center for wildlife activity.

The northern quarter of the county is filled by the Thessaly Prairie, a 900-square-mile field of tallgrass prairie extending down from Thessaly County.
The foothills of the Titan Mountains are covered in pine forests mixed with deciduous as the land flattens out away from the mountains. The remainder of the county in the central and southern portions supports an irregular mix of grass steppes, wild prairie, woodlands and scrub land.
Out of the southern "toe" of the Titan range flows Division River which turns south in Bontess County from where the river continues all the way to the Gulf of California.

The southwestern corner of Hades County represents the northern part of the land of the Nilsud indian tribe. On their land sits the sacred Triple Rock, three massive columns of rock, 50 feet thick and 300 feet high.

In 1844, one of Saddlerock's survey teams, led by Captain William "Gunner" Janaidar, discovered silver in the northern part of the Titan range. It wasn't long before the news reached the towns on the eastern side of the Big Rocks. Soon, miners flooded the county searching for silver and opportunity. Other folks followed the miners into Hades County, folks who came to build towns, some who came to settle the land, and some who came to take advantage of everybody.

Seven main mining camps were eventually set up (not counting the countless small mines.) They are, from north to south, the Janaidar, the Bonafide, Sheol, Lucifer's Hole, Titan, Hades and the Silver Fire mine. The Nilsuds knew of silver in the territory having picked up a few nuggets from small streams and amongst the rocks of the Titans. The Nilsuds even spoke of a spot within the mountains containing a rock of silver so vast, it could be used to make another moon. The Nilsuds called this place Shamballah. Shamballah sounded good to the miners, until the Nilsud shamans also spoke of the curse that protects Shamballah.
The miners shook off this curse and began in ernest to find Shamballah. It is said three miners found Shamballah. Inside three weeks, the three miners were dead. One miner had brought his family to Hades County, and they had not lived past the next winter. Even the mule of one of the miners was found dead the day after its master's death.

Word of the deaths of the discoverers of Shamballah spread quickly around the county and, as is the way of frontier folk, each retelling of the story made the miners' deaths more gruesome, or increased the number of miners and family members who had died. Far-off family, friends, acquaintances and even entire hometowns of these miners were said to have been killed off by the Curse of Shamballah. Stories about the curse were enough to sppok many miners into other counties or professions; most simply went west where gold had been recently discovered.
Many of the homesteaders and farmers stayed behind, but the population of the county had dramatically decreased from the flush times.

In 1860, the War out East came, and men left their homes and the mines of the west to fight for their country. With the war raging, most forgot about the Shamballah curse; it had receded into simple folklore. When the war ended, men returned west; with them came the miners and opportunists.

The year is 1866, and the people of Hades County again look to opportunity, the future, the flush times and the hopes that one of them will be the lucky one to find the Shamballah lode.

The real world and the Hades County world

2007-10-03T17:11:00.000-07:00

Hades County is neither a true county, nor does it reside in any true state nor even a country called the United States. But the country IS the United States in some parallel world; We refer to it ambiguously or as the Federal States. There was a Civil War (called the War Out East,) and an industrialized north was still the victor. There was a president from the north who was assassinated by a dissolute from the south. In fact, every bit of history that has occured in our own time has occured in the universe surrounding Hades County (with a few names of people and places altered). Hades County does not exist in the real world, but every character, big and small, who was known to the '49s, the Civil War and the Old West of our universe are known to those personnages of Hades County's universe. If there could be a state Hades County would exist in, it would be a little of Wyoming, a little of Colorado and a little of Montana.

As a side note: Those of you who played my Arcadia pulp games, Hades County exist in that world -- just 70 years earlier and a few hundred miles more west.

Welcome to Hell!

2007-10-01T18:59:00.001-07:00

This is Hades County. The setting for my Ricochet games (Gutshot ropleplaying.) More history to follow, but for now, the setting is merely this map.