[DitV] Con DFW 2006

[Bill Cook]

I had every intention of creating a fresh town for this one-shot, but alas, 'twas not to be. Instead, I revisited Bitter Creek. And as it turned out, I'm glad I did. We got deeper into the town than the last time out.

My players were Dick, Ben, Grady and Carlos. I met Dick (one time) and Carlos (twice) at DFW Roleplayers meetings. Grady and I chatted a bit about a Zombies wargame he's a big fan of, yesterday. Who knew he'd jump so deeply into the role-playing, though!

Me and Carlos talked a bit about Monteray, waiting for Dick to return. And then the discussion turned to Dogs. Everyone got the Morality Police angle. I drew up a character along with them as a way of demonstrating. Which, good thing I did, 'cause once we got to initiatory conflicts, Grady came over. (Hands him the sheet.)

Dick decided to settle a matter of cattle theft. The rancher suspected a trouble-making cowboy he'd only kept employed for Curly (Dick's Dog) to face. But Curly decided to start by visiting squatter Mountain Folk. He walked past a hanging stick of drying beef strips and confronted the leader. The stakes were that an exchange of services be provided for their needs, ongoing.

Joseph (Carlos' Dog) talked an eloping couple to return home and seek the father's approval. In a follow-up conflict, Warren (Grady's Dog) negotiated a term of work for consent to marriage. Of course, vs. 4d6, everything went the Dogs' way. As usual, this broke the core mechanic splendidly.

As I layed out the background for the town, Ben came along, and I just so happened to have a sample Dog from when I ran Bitter Creek last year (Brother Elijah) which he used. I was much better at using the NPCs as beacons of Something's Wrong. When Warren gave a sermon at a middle-missing chapel service, the locals explained that they couldn't tithe because they were all broke. Why? The young men won't till the land. Why? They'd rather gamble and whore.

Meanwhile, Curly witnessed the rivalry between Wiley and Virgil over Eliza. Warren and Joseph won a conflict that had Steward Thomas making the rounds, exhorting everyone to attend next week's service. Later that night, coming back from the stable to indulge in a nip of whiskey stashed in a saddle bag, Warren overheard a struggle behind the saloon. Curly joined to witness a townsman roughly undressing a weeping woman. He turned on the Dogs with a pistol and demon fire. Warren quoted from the Book of Life, Curly sang a hymn, the demon departed and the man collapsed. Curly forgave the woman (Beatrice's) indiscretion and suggested that she treat herself to a whiskey to put the incident behind her. Elijah agreed not to report the man to his wife.
- "Go and whore no more."

They told Elijah about the demonic presence. He suggested they confront Steward Thomas as a sorcerer suspect. (GM laughs.) They went into the saloon to collect Brother Joseph to find him sharing drinks with an attractive, scantily clad showgirl. That woman from Back East! (Eliza) thought Curly.
- "Ahem. Brother Joseph, we must leave for Steward Thomas' ranch now.
- "Not without saying goodbye." Eliza leans in to kiss him full on the mouth.

Now, what's interesting is that Carlos agreed to buy her a drink (my original Stakes), but rebuffed the kiss. Of course, it went his way.

The Dogs arrived at Steward Thomas' ranch and were immediately drawn by the sounds and light coming from his barn. Inside, a lively gambling operation was in full swing. Warren threw open the doors, clapped his hands and began sermonizing the vices of sloth and frivolity. The townfolk took it for awhile, but their majority position started to bubble up in their whiskey-soaked minds.
- "This is our town! We can stay here if we want. You leave!" Someone fired a shot at Warren. That was it. The other Dogs whirled into action, turning over tables and blowing off hats. And one man they did shoot to wound. The sullen menfolk grew sober and dispersed. Follow-up: Still bleeding, Warren kneeled over the fallen man and Layed Hands over the dark red stain in his shirt. Afterwards, his friends carried him in a horse-drawn cart to the town doctor.

Meanwhile, Curly piled roulette wheels and card tables in a heap outside the barn. Steward Thomas came out of his ranch in a red sleeper, carrying a rifle.
- "I need those to pay the dues of the Faithful!" Shick, shick. "You've overstepped your bounds, Dog!" BLAM!

** ** **

Mechanically, there were a number of odd things. They got the core mechanic and basically took over the session, excitedly shouting out their next response. It was a little bewildering at times, keeping up with them. We had a logistical bug: not nearly enough d6s. And I've got, like, enough to fill a fountain; I just didn't think I'd need them. I compensated by throwing myself into the next scene. Whenever they said "I'd like to go [somewhere]," I'd immediately reply "At the [place], there is only light traffic. You see [sinful malice], etc."

You're supposed to go Stakes, Stage, Roll, Raise, but we consistently went Raise, Stage, Stakes, Roll. It just occurred to us that way, and I felt like if the dice were going to show, I'd have to invoke them. Other times, I just said "Yes." We got stuck hiccuping, on occasion. I finally figured out what they were doing, which was narrating Reverse the Blow when what was called for was See + Raise. So they'd make a seven over two dice and then sit there. And I'd say "And how do you Raise?" And they'd say "Well, it's just like I said. I shoot back" or "I tell him to come with me." We had a number of Take the Blow, mostly the Dogs' adversaries, and a single Reverse the Blow. I was better this time using Best Sum to order Raises. And I even used the Group mechanic (and here I mean literally that; not ordering multiple Raises/Sees) for the scene at the converted gambling hall. I felt at a loss to really beat the crap out of the Dogs. I rarely had more dice to start. Though I did Escalate a number of times, it wasn't always appropriate. I even added 4d6 for demonic influence on the carnal assault scene, but even that didn't seem to really threaten.

Overall, I got a better feel for using the town as a conflict arena. My next steps would have been for Virgil to slay Wiley in self defense and seek comfort from Eliza, who quits him in horror. And then, I guess, he hangs himself, and Eliza starts sleeping with the boys' father. And of course, the real soceress' killing rampage would actuate.

Dick's enjoyment was self-evident. Ben and Grady were uncontainable. Carlos said he didn't like how the core mechanic kept punching you in the stomach for more narration.

Fun fun, rock and roll high school.