[DitV]West Cotton Fields Branch

[Simon Kamber]

I wrote this town as an introduction because the one I'd originally planned to run, Fall Valley Branch, ended up being more complex than I'd planned, and thus wouldn't work for a first town.

Again, I'd like those who know me in real life to stay out of this thread. I might be running this town for you!








West Cotton Fields Branch
West Cotton Fields Branch lies in the middle of a large fertile open area not too far from the edge of faithful territory. As the name implies, there is an East Cotton Fields, which is non-faithful, but there's a good three hours of travel, with a cart, from one to the other.

Something's wrong:
One of the branch's young women, Sister Marilla, recently returned with a man, Albert, from East Cotton Fieldss. He wasn't faithful, but she'd made him promise that he would convert, which he did (nothing inappropriate had been going on between them). The two of them were married in West Cotton Fields Branch, and all was well. Even better, Albert, now Brother Albert, was a doctor, and West Cotton Fields needed one of those.
Br. Albert quickly became accepted in the community, and his skills were appreciated. He acted like a true faithful, even more true than most born faithful. He was genuinely interested in making a good impression, and he wasn't at all opposed to the teachings of the faith. Most of all, he found the faithful community far more to his liking than East Cotton Fields.

Pride:
Even so, Br. Albert have difficulties letting go of some of the aspects of his eastern life style. The manifestations of this are varying, and usually amount to small things. He hasn't really considered changing this.

Injustice:
When performing his doctor work, Br. Albert would sometimes have to perform procedures that he knew would be quite painful. In keeping with his eastern education, he offered the patients a drink to dull the pain. Even worse, when they refused based on the faith, he tried to convince them that drinking wasn't a sin if it was just a bit, "to dull the pain". Br. Albert did not, and still does not, drink himself

Sin:
Occasionally, one of the patients would accept the drink.

Demonic Attacks:
On his way to East Cotton Fields to sell some of his cotton, Br. Enoch lost control of his horses. He ended up badly injured because of it. Of cause, he was taken to Br. Albert. Br. Albert offered him a drink for the pain which was already intense, and which would become worse when he started his treatment. Br. Enoch didn't have to think twice. And it took a lot of Whisky to dull the pain. Br. Enoch actually enjoyed his drink. He approached Br. Albert, first to get more whisky to "dull the pain", and then to get some for his own use. Br. Albert accepted. Then Br. Enoch got greedy, and decided that surely he wasn't the only one who should enjoy this, was he? He talked to Br. Albert some more, got some more whisky and soon, he got a business going. Br. Albert never really knew what happened and soon he found himself the connecting point between the alcohol production in East Cotton Valley and Br. Enoch's alcohol trade. Br. Enoch's arguments are all the more persuasive because the demons have interest in them being so.

False doctrine:
In order to sell his wares, Br. Enoch's main argument was a twisted version of Br. Albert's: "It's not a sin if it's only a little bit. If you don't get drunk, it's ok".

6-7 skipped

Sorcery:
Br. Epoch is using the demons to help his arguments along. This is mainly a half-conscious decision, he hasn't actually gone far enough to contact a demon to support his greed. Technically, it's not really sorcery yet. But he will turn to it at the slightest hint of need.

Who are people, and what do they want:

Br. Albert is the convert doctor. He wants to be accepted by sister Marilla first, and the community second. He never intended the alcohol to go that far, and it only did because of Br. Enoch's demon-helped silver tongue. He knows it's against the faith, but he's afraid to do something about it for fear of losing his good relationship with the now pretty alcohol-dependent branch. He thinks he wants the demons to accept what he does, but really he wants the dogs to get him out of the mess he's in. He's also hampered by his lack of understanding of the Dogs' real power and position, so he'll try to convince them that he's doing the right thing. After all, they seem to want the alcohol.

Sister Marilla, the woman who converted and married Br. Albert, is simply shocked. She knows that what's going on is wrong, she knows that Br. Albert is a key person in it, and she knows that she brought him here. The only thing stopping her from doing something about it is the love she still has for him, though it's severely shaken by his actions. She wants the Dogs to stop him from doing what he's doing, and give her her husband back. If they save the branch in the process, that'd be nice too.

Br. Enoch, the one who's driving the alcohol trade in the branch, wants money. He wants to sell more, more, more. He's practically an alcoholic, but the demons are doing their job well in helping him hide it. Mainly he wants the Dogs to stay the hell away.

Sis. Dinah, Br. Enoch's wife, is well aware of his alcohol problem. She wants the Dogs to stop him from drinking

Br. Job, the branch's steward, is completely lost. When the sin started brewing, he saw it, and he did nothing. He was afraid to act. Now, he sees the mess he's in. He's tried to hint at this in his sermons, making what he thought was obvious references to the sin of their ways. No one even realized, as it was all wrapped up in "do not let yourself decieve by demons" stuff, without anything specific. He's conflict-shy, and guilty of gross neglect of his stewardly duties. He wants the Dogs to fix his town, and he wants to stay steward.

The branch is, by now, pretty changed. Of cause, the alcohol hasn't spread to everyone yet. The town is still faithful. But it has a serious alcohol problem. Br. Enoch has done his job well. About half the houses in the town have a bottle of whisky standing on a shelf somewhere. It's never mentioned openly, but anyone who looks will see what's going on. The people want the Dogs to let them continue drinking, but most of all, they want the Dogs to not judge them too harshly. They've sinned, and deep inside they all know it.

What do the demons want, and what do they want the dogs to do:
The demons want Br. Enoch to continue his trade, and they want the dogs to allow this to happen. They're willing to sacrifice Albert, since Enoch will be able to find a new supplier in East Cotton Fields without too much fuss.

What would happen if the dogs didn't come
The drinking would get even more out of hand. Soon, duties would start being neglected, and more sins would grow from this. In the end, the difference between East and West Cotton Fields would be only the name.


When running the town, I plan to have Sister Marilla introduce them to the town's problems, and as a follow-up to that, have Br. Albert deliver his (misunderstood) version. The steward will also present his version when they inevitably talk to him as part of their visit.

[Lance D. Allen]

Another juicy one, Simon. At first I thought it was gonna be, perhaps, a little too light, but this one's ripe with potential.

Not really much to add or suggest. Be sure to post an actual play post when you get the chance to run it.

[Simon Kamber]

Ok. Got to play this one Thursday. I've posted an actual play here

[ravenx99]

West Cotton Fields Branch

WC Fields has a drinking problem.  No news there. :)

Nice setup... I agree, it looked lightweight at the start, but as a Dogs novice, I still see all kinds of potential in there.