[DitV] Tower Creek #4

[cdr]

My favorite intro scenario for DitV is "Tower Creek", which I ran Sunday for two people I found using the marvelous Findplay. Major thanks to Jason Morningstar for his <A HREF="http://www.meekmok.com/sassy/dogs/tools.html">Names Among the Faithful</A> booklet which I'd never run this scenario without.

This post has spoilers for the town.

See elsewhere for a more complete writeup.

E had read the rules, but not played before. He played Brother Zachary Cook, a veteran dog in his 30's who looked like Viggo Mortenson and had seen it all and become a bit cynical. Zachary was a calming influence on his younger partner.

J had played Dogs with me in John Kim's "Dugway Creek" at Conquest. He played Sister Bedelia McAlmond, a freshly minted dog who was good with animals and her hands.

Brother Zachary Cook, Strong History
Acuity 3d6  Heart 4d6  Body 3d6  Will 3d6

I'm a Dog 3d6 / I'm patient with people 2d10 / I enjoy competition and sports 1d8 / I fought my friend's father for beating him and
got a licking and thought about shooting the father 1d10 / I'm good with a gun 3d8

Relationships (1d6 2d8) Stone Road 2d6, TA Marshall Woodrow Offitt 1d4, Aunt Wilhelmina Bennett 1d6

Excellent coat 2d6 with stars on a dark blue background, Revolver 1d6+1d4, Big old shotgun 1d8+1d4, Horse (Petey) 1d6, Excellent Big Dog (Bull) 2d8, Book of life 1d6, Jar of consecrated earth 1d6, crap pipe 1d4

Sister Bedelia McAlmond, Strong Community
Acuity 2d6  Heart 4d6  Body 3d6  Will 4d6
I'm a dog 1d8 / Raised animals 1d8 / Never lost a calf 1d6 / Good with hands 2d / Mountain folk stole from family 1d4

Relationships (2d8 2d6): Doc Miller (hung around) 1d10, Minnie Frazier 2d6, TA Marshall Woodrow Offit 1d8,  Sister Bethia Miller (cousin) 1d6

Coat 1d6 frilly with lace flowers, Daddy's big rifle 1d8+1d4, Worst horse the Temple had (Howell) 1d4, Big sewing kit 1d8, Book of life 1d6, Big excellent jar of consecrated earth 2d8

Brother Zachary's initiation succeeded: "I saved a man from being unjustly lynched 1d6" with 3d8 fallout trait "Neck Scar 1d4".

Sister Bedelia's initiation succeeded too: "I stopped a wife beater 1d6". Right there in the church she beat up the husband who was beaten his new wife Minnie, the girl who tormented Bedelia growing up. Bedelia took the temporary fallout trait "I can solve a problem with my fists 1d4".

Sister Bedelia's player was eager to name a baby, and sure got the opportunity in this town!

Conflicts that went to dice:

Sister Rachel is the shopkeeper's wife whose baby was born dead the previous day, and buried without a name, and she begged the Dogs to name him "cause he wasn't supposed to be born dead."

"Sister Rachel must accept God's Will."  Apparently not.

"Do we calm Sister Rachel?" Yes. Rachel gave right away after Sister Bedelia Raised to name her dead baby Josiah, for "God heals".

Steward vs. the two Dogs with the stakes "Does Sister Bedelia admit she was wrong to name the dead baby?"  (NOTE that the stakes are NOT is she wrong, because those can't be stakes.  The stakes are does she tell him she was wrong, whether she believes it or not?)  Possibly the stakes instead should have been "Does the Steward admit he was wrong not to name the baby that was born dead?"  Sister Bedelia wound up admitting through gritted teeth she was wrong (rather than shoot him), and for her 3d4+4d6 fallout took the trait "I lied to the Steward to his face 1d4" and for her experience boosted her relationship with him to 3d10 for the rematch.

The Dogs found out from the steward's barren second wife Edie about the secret grove she used for trysts with Cyrus, and they went there.

Up to this point the supernatural dial had been at zero, but the players were interested in banishing any demons from the grove, and with a bit of discussion we settled on no overt demons, but that there might be creepy noises or winds or chills or rustlings or emotional urges or that kind of thing.  I'll describe this one in a bit more detail.

So the conflict was "Do the Dogs purify the grove?" vs. 4d6 + 4d10 demonic influence for the worst seen so far in the Dogs' judgement (Sorcery killing Rachel's baby, but no evidence yet that it was hate and murder), and Sister Bedelia made good use of her big excellent jar of consecrated earth.

The demons took the blow to depart the grove, but raised 13 to fill Sister Bedelia's heart with rage to go kill the Steward who had dared stand up to her on matters of Doctrine, and she called on the spirit of the dead child she had named, to protect herself, and the wind moaned through the trees like a baby's cry.  Everyone agreed it made sense for her to use  the 1d8 relationship with the dead baby for him coming to her active aid in a conflict. Brother Zachary used ceremony to make the demons depart and never return to the grove, and I was out of dice so they had to give.

Immediately there was a followup conflict, for "Do the demons take that baby's soul to hell with them?" and the demons grabbed the soul but then it was wrested from them with ceremony and they were sent fleeing. They had a few dice left (9, 7, 1).  Sister Bedelia raised 10 to send
the baby's soul to heaven where it'd be safe from demons and I gave,  since I could have blocked that, but then I only would have a 7 left to raise and the Dogs had enough to block that and raise right back.

I thought about blocking sending the baby to heaven and using the last 7 to raise having the demons put the baby's soul into Sister Edie (or to ask Sister Bedelia to someday bear it as her own so that it could have the life it was cheated out of) but there is a special circle in hell reserved for GMs who make female PCs pregnant with babies via demons. (Although come to think of it, the Dogs had the dice left to block that 7, so it might have been interesting to give
them the opportunity.  But I'd had enough demon babies in the previous day's Polaris session with other players.)

Sister Bedelia got experience for "I sent a baby to heaven 1d6" and short-term fallout for "I used an innocent soul to save myself 1d4".

Then they dragged Brother Cyrus out of his bed in the middle of the night and sent him packing with nothing but his horse and his gun (and clothes). The next day Sister Bedelia gave a mighty sermon about treating your family right and not setting one above the other,  and the Dogs had followup stern talks  with Edie and the Steward (without ever telling the Steward of Edie's sin), and all was set right.

But that all happened  long ago, and now there are none who remember it.