Dead Man's Promise Session 1-2: Hunting Phase
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D6 roll: 3
Bounty gains another trait from 1st column
2 progress
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D6 roll for trait: 6*
Bloodthirsty
Alfonso began his investigation in the jail. Penelope Grimes escaped before dawn, but he noticed that no door, wall, or iron bar had been destroyed. However, the stains and scratches around showed the brutality of the getaway. The splatters on the ceiling wouldn’t come off easily.
“She was a fine flirt, she was,” said Joe, one of the surviving guards. “And it’s hard to remember she’s a werewolf when she’s laughing, winking, and making sure ya had eyes on her cleavage at all times.” He tapped his temple. “Messes with ya head, y’know.”
He didn’t need to explain that. Alfonso knew it too well.
“How many dead?”
“Four. She spared no one.”
“Hm.” Alfonso removed his hat and wiped his forehead. The heat became inclement just after noon. “Violent reputation?”
“Nah, she’s The Rose, well known for pleasing ya rather than bleeding ya. The Bloody Rose now, I reckon. I was lucky, really, not being my shift and all.”
“Mind showing me the bodies?”
Alfonso kicked a piece of gore from his boot, and they went on their way.
The Bloody Rose had shown her thorns.
D6 roll: 1
The going gets tough
1 progress
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Penelope charmed her way out of the cell and got rid of the poor bastards guarding her. But why the display of cruelty? Was she sending a message? Did the time locked in a cell drive her mad?
Three of the victims had their throats slashed, and the fourth suffered her cruel streak. “Doc” Mercy Clark—owner of the town stable and veterinarian—acted as coroner when requested and provided an explanation.
“She gouged his eyes out, then opened an incision from navel to sternum to pull his intestines. She finished by removing his heart and shoving it in his mouth. Terrible work.”
Alfonso spat at the sight and tipped his hat to Doc Clark. She covered the bodies, but their stench lingered.
“Any ideas, Joe?” Alfonso asked. “Was that last guard prone to sadism, bribes, or some such?”
Joe shook his head, then pondered for a bit. “Know what, he had a regular at Madam Belle’s Delights, he did.” At the mention of the brothel, Mercy Clark excused herself. Joe continued, “Lilly. Maybe he told her something.”
D6 roll: 2
Local info helps you track the bounty.
2 progress
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Alfonso went alone to Madam Belle’s Delights. The half-lit anteroom smelled of sweet perfume and looked cleaner than The Silver Bullet. Lilly descended from one of the curving staircases leading to the upstairs rooms.
Waggling her fan and biting her lip, her beauty all but pained Alfonso, reminding him of what he’d lost. He went straight to the point, mentioning her client’s cruel murder and asking for information.
“You might wanna refresh my memory, mister,” Lilly said with a grin.
“If I had any coin left, miss, I’d use it to clean myself and get a proper meal. This is about the butchering of a young man. Thought you’d care to help bring the culprit to justice.”
Her flirting facade slipped for a moment as her shoulders sagged. “He didn’t deserve it, you know. He was kind and funny. Used to tell me stories of his arrests, but also of the decisions he’d make to get promoted. It was his idea to transfer Penelope’s old flame to New Valencia for a public execution. There was—”
“Old flame?”
“That’s right, one Roland something. They would await judgment together here, but he’s a mighty dangerous fella.”
“Know when the transfer was s’posed to happen?”
She tapped a finger on her lip a few times. “I believe the morning of her escape.”
Alfonso thanked Lilly and rushed out.
D6 roll: 5
A new bounty joins up.
3 progress
☒☒☒☒☒☒ (caught up)
New bounty
2D6: 2+6
Mastermind Escaped Prisoner
2D6 Roll: 4+5
Reward: 900 Gold
Neither the sheriff nor the Outpost had news about the coach transferring the inmate—still too soon, probably. After gathering information on Roland, Alfonso strode into the desert.
Notes
Not looking so hot for Alfonso Puma, is it? Another bounty joining means double the danger at the shootout phase. And a Mastermind gets an extra card for damage. The increased reward doesn’t come cheap.
I’m loving the setting and the unusual relationships that can arise in this Feywild west. My notes during the session are pretty sparse and dry, but when I sit down to write the story the connections keep coming. The tables in the game help a lot with flavor.
This session went a little long, but I expected that from the Hunting Phase, arguably the meatiest of Dead Man’s Promise.
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