Topdecker
March 31st, 2017, 19:55
My loving wife got me a physical copy of Grim Prairie Trails and I've been picking through it. If you are not aware, the book has 19 adventures, each around 4 or 5 pages long, that focus on a particular NPC or a particular monster.
The problem is that they are merely alphabetically ordered with no concession made to summarize their use. What tale is suitable for your posse's location or activity? Well, the question of summarizing each of the 19 tales is answered here and in the following message.
Title: The Devil You Know (featuring Agatha Leeds)
Location: Specific - Caldwell, Texas, near Nacogdoches, Texas
Hook: Rumors or perhaps a newspaper article about the Caldwell Devil
Summary: A witch who has made multiple copies of herself has summoned a powerful entity that is causing fear and concern of the locals
Note: Agatha Leeds could be a reoccurring character since her essence is split between many copies of herself and she is always up to something nasty. This particular adventure is the first in the book, but it is also potentially one of the more lethal, so you may wish to send more experienced posses on this plot line.
Title: Mine Your Own Business (featuring a Bloat)
Location: Small mining town (specified as Constance in the Rocky Mountains)
Hook: Commotion / heated argument about ownership of a mine inside the small town of Constance
Summary: Posse is engaged to find proof of sabotage and ultimately some bloats pour out of a submerged mining shaft
Note: Adventure flow assumes posse is just hanging out for a couple of days without really providing good reasons or activities during the waiting period
Title: Playing Dirty (featuring a Clockwork Demoler)
Location: Small farming community (Spring Valley)
Hook: Outraged citizen on the verge of violence against an inventor/businessman who asks for the posse’s protection
Summary: Hellstromme Industry reps are sabotaging the inventor’s clockwork demoler devices with thumpers, hoping to discredit him so they can claim the invention for Hellstromme. Ultimately, the thumpers attract Rattler Young ‘Uns (or a Rattler if the posse is up to it)
Note: The demolers are really a secondary threat – the Rattlers will be much more trouble.
Title: Bad Air (featuring a Death Cloud)
Location: Boom town (small town that attracts many poor workers that might not be missed)
Hook: A dead body in a room at a saloon the posse is visiting
Summary: The experiments of a scientist went dreadfully wrong and now a gaseous cloud is killing the inhabitants of the small boom town
Note: Fairly straight-forward, might make the gas mask more obvious or not needing a roll to notice
Title: Seeds of Distrust (featuring Doomsower)
Location: Town near the CSA/USA border (it mentions Amity, Missouri), but any place where along the border where open fighting from the civil war took place could work
Hook: Signs of fighting (a smoldering ruin) followed by an angry community gathering in town
Summary: Blood fever is elevating bloodlust and anger – the posse can try to heal/calm their way through but will have to face some doomsowers regardless of the course taken
Note: Could easily turn into a big battle, complete with a cannon!
Title: Ghost of a Chance (featuring a Fever Phantom)
Location: The Maze (Fortuity)
Hook: Posse is hired to locate a young lady’s uncle
Summary: The uncle is now a fever phantom that needs to be put down – with some maze pirate complications
Note: Might be a good hook to get a posse into the maze region, fairly straight-forward
Title: Gang War (featuring a Gluttonous Ogre)
Location: In the Skids area of Shan Fan , the maze
Hook: Thugs harming a child and a woman
Summary: A warehouse showdown gets crashed by a powerful summoned ogre
Note: Slightly convoluted with knowledge of Chinese AND the occult AND a successful roll being needed to explain part of the back story. Probably needs more GM tweaks than some others, but looks fun. Could be tough on inexperienced posses
Title: The Minotaur (featuring a Hodag)
Location: Camped or travelling through the plains – possibly on a night watch during a cattle drive
Hook: A stampede starts it off!
Summary: After rustlers bushwack a rancher, he begs the posse to help his young son who is pursing the rustlers. The Hodag is encountered near the rustler’s camp as a unrelated complication
Note: Another ‘oh look, a monster happen to be here’ situation – not my favorite. Also, tracking Davy to fenced off area – but he is in a cul-de-sac doesn’t make a lot of sense and nor is it mapped. Rescuing the kid is otherwise nice. The rustlers can link off to another tale, ‘At the End of His Rope.’
Title: Open Ground (featuring Javeranha)
Location: Desolate/unpopulated region
Hook: Travel by stage
Summary: Posse is beset by swarms of javeranha, requiring them to stick to climbable cover, eventually encountering a boss pig and a man that is manipulating the porkers
Note: might be more interesting if the posse could not kill everyone they encountered and not be wrong about the efficiency of killing them (everyone is an enemy). Weak link to the Squatpump Gang.
Title: The Lady and the Panther (Jebediah Nightlinger’s Travelling Expedition of the Extraordinary)
Location: Any town that could attract a carnival show
Hook: Carnival and the showmanship of Jebediah Nightlinger
Summary: An Aztec attraction turns out to be a caged but convincing werejaguar that tries to dupe the posse to free her. She will rampage with relative impunity (only weapons made of obsidian can hurt her). Some obsidian weapons are available, but could be challenging for a group of shooters
Note: Nightlinger will buy curiosities and might even offer jobs to acquire one thing or another – good reoccurring character and should not be depicted as a threat, but as some extremely interested in the occult (and making money from wild stories).
The problem is that they are merely alphabetically ordered with no concession made to summarize their use. What tale is suitable for your posse's location or activity? Well, the question of summarizing each of the 19 tales is answered here and in the following message.
Title: The Devil You Know (featuring Agatha Leeds)
Location: Specific - Caldwell, Texas, near Nacogdoches, Texas
Hook: Rumors or perhaps a newspaper article about the Caldwell Devil
Summary: A witch who has made multiple copies of herself has summoned a powerful entity that is causing fear and concern of the locals
Note: Agatha Leeds could be a reoccurring character since her essence is split between many copies of herself and she is always up to something nasty. This particular adventure is the first in the book, but it is also potentially one of the more lethal, so you may wish to send more experienced posses on this plot line.
Title: Mine Your Own Business (featuring a Bloat)
Location: Small mining town (specified as Constance in the Rocky Mountains)
Hook: Commotion / heated argument about ownership of a mine inside the small town of Constance
Summary: Posse is engaged to find proof of sabotage and ultimately some bloats pour out of a submerged mining shaft
Note: Adventure flow assumes posse is just hanging out for a couple of days without really providing good reasons or activities during the waiting period
Title: Playing Dirty (featuring a Clockwork Demoler)
Location: Small farming community (Spring Valley)
Hook: Outraged citizen on the verge of violence against an inventor/businessman who asks for the posse’s protection
Summary: Hellstromme Industry reps are sabotaging the inventor’s clockwork demoler devices with thumpers, hoping to discredit him so they can claim the invention for Hellstromme. Ultimately, the thumpers attract Rattler Young ‘Uns (or a Rattler if the posse is up to it)
Note: The demolers are really a secondary threat – the Rattlers will be much more trouble.
Title: Bad Air (featuring a Death Cloud)
Location: Boom town (small town that attracts many poor workers that might not be missed)
Hook: A dead body in a room at a saloon the posse is visiting
Summary: The experiments of a scientist went dreadfully wrong and now a gaseous cloud is killing the inhabitants of the small boom town
Note: Fairly straight-forward, might make the gas mask more obvious or not needing a roll to notice
Title: Seeds of Distrust (featuring Doomsower)
Location: Town near the CSA/USA border (it mentions Amity, Missouri), but any place where along the border where open fighting from the civil war took place could work
Hook: Signs of fighting (a smoldering ruin) followed by an angry community gathering in town
Summary: Blood fever is elevating bloodlust and anger – the posse can try to heal/calm their way through but will have to face some doomsowers regardless of the course taken
Note: Could easily turn into a big battle, complete with a cannon!
Title: Ghost of a Chance (featuring a Fever Phantom)
Location: The Maze (Fortuity)
Hook: Posse is hired to locate a young lady’s uncle
Summary: The uncle is now a fever phantom that needs to be put down – with some maze pirate complications
Note: Might be a good hook to get a posse into the maze region, fairly straight-forward
Title: Gang War (featuring a Gluttonous Ogre)
Location: In the Skids area of Shan Fan , the maze
Hook: Thugs harming a child and a woman
Summary: A warehouse showdown gets crashed by a powerful summoned ogre
Note: Slightly convoluted with knowledge of Chinese AND the occult AND a successful roll being needed to explain part of the back story. Probably needs more GM tweaks than some others, but looks fun. Could be tough on inexperienced posses
Title: The Minotaur (featuring a Hodag)
Location: Camped or travelling through the plains – possibly on a night watch during a cattle drive
Hook: A stampede starts it off!
Summary: After rustlers bushwack a rancher, he begs the posse to help his young son who is pursing the rustlers. The Hodag is encountered near the rustler’s camp as a unrelated complication
Note: Another ‘oh look, a monster happen to be here’ situation – not my favorite. Also, tracking Davy to fenced off area – but he is in a cul-de-sac doesn’t make a lot of sense and nor is it mapped. Rescuing the kid is otherwise nice. The rustlers can link off to another tale, ‘At the End of His Rope.’
Title: Open Ground (featuring Javeranha)
Location: Desolate/unpopulated region
Hook: Travel by stage
Summary: Posse is beset by swarms of javeranha, requiring them to stick to climbable cover, eventually encountering a boss pig and a man that is manipulating the porkers
Note: might be more interesting if the posse could not kill everyone they encountered and not be wrong about the efficiency of killing them (everyone is an enemy). Weak link to the Squatpump Gang.
Title: The Lady and the Panther (Jebediah Nightlinger’s Travelling Expedition of the Extraordinary)
Location: Any town that could attract a carnival show
Hook: Carnival and the showmanship of Jebediah Nightlinger
Summary: An Aztec attraction turns out to be a caged but convincing werejaguar that tries to dupe the posse to free her. She will rampage with relative impunity (only weapons made of obsidian can hurt her). Some obsidian weapons are available, but could be challenging for a group of shooters
Note: Nightlinger will buy curiosities and might even offer jobs to acquire one thing or another – good reoccurring character and should not be depicted as a threat, but as some extremely interested in the occult (and making money from wild stories).