This would be my first time building a Branch, and I went a little nuts and had a lot of fun with it. Any thoughts would be appreciated. I have to say, I find the design/prep process for this game to be very, very cool and easy enough that I don't stress over it too much.

Round Bend Branch
and the Round Bend Oil Patch

1a.PRIDE:

• In response to Territorial needs for oil back east, Lieutenant Cadmus Grace (more-than-not, Faithful) of the Territorial Authority Army has leaned heavily on Steward Elijah Staff, strongly insisting that he cease diverting interested Brothers away from the Territorial Oil Patch East of town.

• Sister Magdalen has observed Steward Elijah advising some Brothers and not others, including her nephew, Brother Ramael. She has, in response, rebuked the word of the Steward and considers herself to no longer fall under his Stewardship. She (incorrectly) blames the town's crop's failings on Steward Elijah's "failures."

1b.INJUSTICE:

• Steward Elijah has only been tending to some of his flock, refusing to offer guidance to many Brothers in regards to working for T.O. after Lt. Cadmus's visit. The Steward has (somewhat knowingly) been choosing whom he does meet with, when he does any more, based on whether or not they're a "lost cause" in his eyes.

• Brother Cuthbert Allgood is a highly Faithful farmer driven by the sudden crop failings to choose between the word of Steward Elijah to avoid T.O., or to let his family go hungry in the coming months. Right now they're fine on what they've stocked up, but Br. Cuthbert has to plan for the future...

• Brother Daniel Coon was one of the first to begin work for T.O., and still his wife Sister Adelaide suffers - Br. Daniel's wages have been garnished since day one during a run-in with Lt. Cadmus Grace and he has been jailed regularly because of an increasingly bad attitude.

2a.SIN:

• Br. Ramael, Phineas, Solomon and others, all "trouble makers," have taken to Sinning more often than before since setting up camp in Round Bend Oil Patch - They are guilty of Worldliness (drinking, smoking, language, gambling), Sex, and Violence.

• Steward Elijah is guilty of Faithlessness - he has been neglecting the duties of his Office by only advising some of his flock.

• Steward Asher is guilty of Apostasy, neglecting vital tenets of the Faith in the T.O. Patch community.

• Sister Magdalen and others are guilty of Disunity - conspiring for the removal of Steward Elijah from his position of authority - this may or may not have to do with Sister Magdalen's husband, Brother Edwin's unbridled adequacy for the position.

2b.DEMONIC ATTACKS:

• The Church has fallen into disrepair under sudden spurts of weather - the paint peeled after a heatwave, and the roof has begun to leak following a rain storm, and a veritable tornado has broken several windows and rattled the doors, and similar phenomenon - the collapse of the physical hub for Round Bend's spirituality echos the collapse of Round Bend's authoritative religious infrastructure. Associated, but not the direct attack, are the crop failings - they cannot stand up to the weather changes

• Numerous accidents, including falls into work pits, oil fires, machinery accidents and more - all drive the casualty count up as the Round Bend Oil Patch proves to be T.O.'s most accident-prone endeavor yet. As of yet, none of the accident victims have actually been natives to Round Bend, and the numerous (and frequent) position openings see more members of Round Bend's population seeking work every day.

3a.FALSE DOCTRINE:

• Sister Magdalen and her associates have begun to spread word about the Steward's failings - specifically to the tune of 'THE CORRUPTED HOLDERS OF POWER MUST BE BROUGHT LOW,' citing examples in Faith where rulers were toppled by the King for failing their subjects.

• Steward Asher maintains that the King of Life would want his subjects TO REMAIN LOYAL IN SPIRIT, BUT NOT TO SUFFER THE SLINGS AND ARROWS OF THE FLESH - and so he turns a respectful blind eye to the majority of the laborers revelry in their off time.

3b.CORRUPT WORSHIP:

• Steward Asher, in hopes of keeping the spirits of the laborers strong, has prompted them - and helped them - in the plans to construct a new Church House on the Oil Patch lands to provide for the number of Faithful workers, and to replace the broken down Church House barely standing in Round Bend.

4a.FALSE PRIESTHOOD:

• Steward Asher has become the 'cult' leader of the "T.O.C. Round Bend Branch" and its near completed Church House. Those subject to the corrupt institution are all of the laborers who see him as their real Steward, over Elijah - the workers who no longer do Sunday service in town but rather at the Oil Patch.

4b.SORCERY:

• Steward Asher wants the Faithful to be rapturous in soul and body - ever joyful in life and faithful to the King. In a reasonable way, the demons at Asher's (unknowing) beck and call work to enhance the bacchanalia of his flock. Drinks seem more potent, letting you cut looser for longer - alcohol always seems to be on hand; men and women at the Oil Patch loose their inhibitions, and more.

• Br. Daniel Coon has been possessed as a recent development, at the unwitting hand of Steward Asher - in his prayers to wish Daniel peace and happiness after his run-in with Lt. Cadmus, Asher sent his demon legion into Br. Daniel. Since, he has been regularly overcome with stupors of unabashed passions that have seen him put down hard by the Territorial Authority keeping the peace at the Oil Patch.•

6.a:

• Lt. Cadmus Grace wants the Dogs to respect his authority, as invested in him by the Territorial Authority on this the day of June 2, 1851, to pursue the security of the Territorial Oil Company and her exploits as they may include the establishment of a place to facilitate business, the employ of sirs as fitting the statutes and laws necessary to seek employ as laid forth by both the T.O.C. and the T.A., and the general defense, security, and protection of her interests as deemed necessary by there here-signed officer: Lt. Cadmus Grace.

• Sr. Magdalen wants the Dogs to drag Steward Elijah out to answer for his bias and patently sinful actions as an authority figure. She and those like her wants the Dogs to agree with her interpretation of the scriptures and the failings of man's authority and the right to smite them down; she wants to smite down the 'corrupted' Steward Elijah

.

• Sd. Elijah wants to keep his position; he wants the Dogs to sympathize with his predicament and understand how hard this has been for him; he would like them to assist in the repair of the Church House, and guide his flock back to him.

• Br. Cuthbert wants the Dogs to give him guidance on whether he should take the job with T.O. or hold out for crops; he wants to be able to feed his wife and three children; he wants his dignity.

• Br. Daniel wants to make enough money to support his wife; he wants to stop being thrown in jail by T.A. security; he wants the Dogs to get him released from his jail cell and his working obligation.

• Sr. Adelaide wants to be well-off enough to get by; wants the Dogs to get her husband out of T.A. jail; wants the Dogs to convince her husband to come home to her.

• Br. Ramael, Phineas, Solomon and others want to be precocious young adults - they want to have their way; they want the Dogs to validate their behavior and Steward Asher's preachings (not that they'll actually ask for this)

• Sd. Asher wants the Patch community to be happy and faithful; wants a new, proper church to be built for the Faithful of the Patch community; wants the Dogs to participate in erecting and consecrating the new church; wants the Dogs to approve of his actions and teachings

6.b:

• The demons want to steal Faithful away from the Faith, and effectively are playing a shell-game: trying to shuffle the Faithful from one infrastructure to another, with no one the wiser. By the time anyone realizes they're not worshiping in quite the same way, it's too late and the whole lot have sinned and helped bring demons into the world. The demons want to continue to make openings in the T.O.C. for members of the Round Bend community to fill as their needs become more dire and they become more desperate... The demons want to rattle down the walls of the old church - on top of the old Steward, if possible). The demons want the oil being mined to survive their corruption of the area and to make it back East, in preparation for further sin and the impending war... From the Dogs, the demons want them to cave too - the demons want them to fall prey to the same subtle delineation as anyone else. The demons want the Dogs to support Asher's preachings and the antics of the laborers (they'll even settle for the more benign antics). The demons will continue to buffet the church and the town with wild, inclement weather in the hopes that it will finally give way completely - ideally killing the Steward - and drive away the last of the Faithful with its fallen walls. The demons might use Br. Daniel as their vessel to wreak terror and drive away the last vestiges of Faith in the town with a good ol' fashioned, passion-fueled wife-slaying - ideally, the demons save this for last and hold Br. Daniel in reserve as a 'sleeper' to use against the Dogs should they become a nuisance.

6.c:

• If the Dogs never arrive in town, Sr. Magdalen and hers build up the fervor to kill Sd. Elijah in cold, calculated blood in keeping with their new tenet. The respect owed to to Sr. Magdalen or her husband Br. Edwin likely sees him approaching a False Priesthood-like figure, and his choice to reconsecrate their church sees him fulfilling the requirements to likewise amass control over the demons. Meanwhile, the T.O.C. oil patch would find itself grinding to a halt with the massive eventual death tolls of Faithful and others alike. The T.O.C. would abandon the investment, taking their crude rewards back East, leaving a broken and grossly culled flock to pick up the pieces and return to the reformed and *now* corrupt Round Bend church - not including the ex-Faithful who opt to stay on with the T.O.C. and head back East. Either way, the town's population would drop, and all signs of the Faith would be consumed in fervor and panic, making way for a false order paved with the best intentions.

Any thoughts on this set-up?

It looks fine!

My usual practice is to encourage people to go to hate and murder, not to stop short. Are you sure you want the Dogs to show up before they do Elijah in?

-Vincent

I was thinking that stopping short and having things continue to evolve while the Dogs are in town would be kind of cool. If Sister Magdalen isn't dealt with immediately, or if she's put on the back-burner, then the Dogs could return from the oil patch to find that things are still unresolved in Round Bend. Of course, if Sd. Elijah has already been killed, then it turns the game into a Yojimbo/Fistful of Dollars scenario with two Stewards, two faiths, and the Dogs in the middle - which is awesome.

Yep!

My experience is that once the Dogs arrive, things don't develop on their own, they can develop only in reaction to the Dogs. The Dogs come immediately to dominate the situation, and that gripping murder you hoped to make happen, can't.

The Dogs are like (in fact, exactly like) a detective showing up at a crime scene. It makes most sense when they show up to deal with the aftermath, not when they show up in time to prevent the crime.

But, this isn't to insist or anything, just to explain my usual recommendation. If you play the town just as you've written it, fantastic! I want to hear how it goes.

-Vincent

I think I specifically didn't let the Steward be dead already to sort of sidestep what I perceive as a tendency to either 1) Make the Steward the baddie, or 2) Have the Steward dead/killed.

Granted, in my current line-up, death is a very easy step to move on to. Basically, Sister Magdalen will kill the Steward if she at all perceives the Dogs are disregarding her "verdict" that Elijah is to blame, probably.

I'm wondering if there is any similar way to preserve the Fistful of Dollars-style face-off between Round Bend and Territorial Oil. Course, it could very easily be spawned off of Br. Daniel wanting out of his T.O.C. deal, if Lt. Cadmus comes for him. Alternatively, it could be spun off of Br. Cuthbert similarly, since he is debating going to work for T.O.C., should Lt. Cadmus come petitioning for workers.

I'll be happy to post what happens, whichever arrangement I go with.