I've been thinking about a new city for first-time Dogs players and a possible town for a one-shot I might run in a few weeks.

I got thinkin' big but under the name's the same ole problems that are all over the Vineyard.

Here it is:

Pride: Becca, a retired Dog, will not allow her last child in the house, Faith, to marry. She intimidates or just scares off suitors. Becca retired and her husband continued being a Watchdog and was eventually killed in the line of duty.

This is because Becca has promised her beautiful Faith, her baby girl, now creeping into her 20's an old maid, to a Dog who served with her and her husband. But the legendary Dog, Ezekiel, efuses to put away the quilted coat and guns and marry Faith.

But that hasn't stopped him from tasting of her flesh. Oh no.

One of the girl's suitors, a young fella in town has been put in the stockades for causing a disturbance, having thrown a bottle through Becca's window in the middle of the night. Now he's in the stockades.

Another of the suitors is a no-good drunk after Ezekiel had a little talk with him about making eyes on HIS girl while he was doing his Watchdoggin' in the Vineyard.

Enter the Dogs.

They'll be left alone in the courtard of the Temple of the Watchdogs and Suitor #1's brother will approach them and beg them to look on Bridal Falls City as their first town.

Whoa.

Will they take it?

Man, I hope so.

What do the Demons want? They want the Dogs to look unjust.

What if the Dogs never came? One of the suitors would eventually grow violent or one of Faith's illegitmate children would come to light.

Yeah, that's right, Faith has had several illegitamite children and has managed to keep it a secret, having gone over to her sister's place just outside of town during the late months each time.

Yeah, the kids are all Ezekiel's. Yes, I will talk about the orphan children in the Temple during the preludes and their startling blue eyes. Enter Ezekiel with his bright blue eyes.

Thoughts?

Judd, you are one fucked up GM.

I hope I can get into a game with you some time.

(translation: I like it)

Wolfen wrote: Judd, you are one fucked up GM.

I hope I can get into a game with you some time.

(translation: I like it)

Paka wrote: When this concept is really going to take off is when PC's histories and such are weaved in. There is always some legendary dog in someone's history and at least one PC is an orphan dropped on the Temple steps. When they are part of the story, part of the pain, this is going to become one big ole holy mess.

And that's a whole cooler twist, Claire.

Watch out Judd, seems the apprentice may best the master. ::grins::

Seriously though, I really like the idea of having it as the last town, especially with your ideas about weaving the histories into the story. Histories written on paper before play, or scribbled in the margins during play, but barely touched on don't have the throat-grabbing power of things that happen in play. Make that legendary Dog be one that they met on the way, one who maybe pulled them out of a jam or something.. Maybe the players will be able to play in a little hero worship.

I could definitely see something like this working in our game.. Raven is quickly turning his mentor into a legend in his own mind. Given the rest of the campaign, the power of such a revelation would only grow.

Of course, beginning or end, I think you'd have to be careful. When someone creates an NPC as part of their background, they often feel a certain ownership, and rightfully so. No matter how cool the twist, it might be a game-breaker to have their NPC changed beneath them. If it were done to me, I think I could go either way, depending on how it was done.

Still, very cool ideas.

I absolutely agree that there is a logcal progression in which, Bridal Falls City is the big finale. But I like that disconnect, that shock of knowing that suddenly you will have to wear the quilted trenchcoat and wield the guns in the community of the folk who taught you to do so, before you are ready.

I figure, with this group of guys, I'll run Bridal Falls City and then a second town after it, so they can know what its like to ride into a town and be THE Dogs for a while.

Having been run through Bridal Falls, I have to say that the disconnect worked beautifully. It really gave myself and one of the other players a feel for being a Dog and the niceties of Dog society.

I think that saving Bridal Falls for a finale can be a bit cliche too. Kind of formulaic. Not that this is a bad thing. Some of the finest westerns out there follow a formula, but I think as a roleplayer I preferred to go against the grain.

My two cents.