@discrider
You assumed that Jack was already on Lucky’s team—and now you’re right.
You have become Cupid! Not including the Farmer, you can decide which two characters fall in love! Feel free to chime in with your sweet valentines at any point.
———
Lucky cranks a chunky survival radio a dozen times until a tiny red light blinks into life. There is a crackling.
Bosch: Howdy! I’ve got a drone set up above the pitch, and through this—
Lucky cranks the radio some more.
Bosch: Hm? Damn. Yes, through this I’ll be able to act as referee. Get ready to dodgeball!
The Farmer is as ever nonplussed by the situation… but his eyes are naturally drawn to the woman in the pristine, sunset colored flexi-coat; high fashion, bullet proof. She’s new. Not one to be seen around town. Her face is startlingly perfect. Perhaps too good to be pretty even, he thinks, like half a face reflected in a mirror. She’s on Lucky’s team, along with some now significantly more drab looking folks. She tips her studded white hat to the Farmer and smiles, a vicious V.
Lucky’s Team
Lucky, the sheriff — The name is ironic. He doesn’t know.
Jack, the barmaid — Good aim, high power, she’s wearing fingerless gloves.
Mason, the mason recurring — Mason always does his work, but he’s never there when you want him.
Ralph, a person — Ralph does whatever the Mayor says.
House, the priest — The church doubles as the bank, and money is hard to get out of his hands.
Perfidia, the mayor’s daughter — Unknown.
Kilpatrick’s Team
Kilpatrick, the gunsmith
Chance, the kid
The Farmer, the farmer
Risk, right hobo (drunk)
Aim — 5
Power — 1
Dodge — 2
Catch — 2
Odds, left hobo (drunk)
Aim — 0
Power — 2
Dodge — 3
Catch — 4
Dog (horse)
Aim — 4
Power — 4
Dodge — -1
Catch — 3
———
The game itself is going to be quick as Hell. Whichever team wins the most top trumps rounds wins overall. It’s a guessing game; think about what skills they might excel at and what they’ll suck at. I’m going to pick an opposing player, two skills, and have one participant (that’s you) decide who from Kilpatrick’s team steps up. Highest skill wins. These match ups aren’t going to cover everything that happens in the dodgeball game—I’ll narrate the rest.
As an example:
Opposing player: Lucky
Somebody’s Aim VS Lucky’s Dodge
It’s my turn, and I choose the Farmer.
The Farmer’s Aim is 2, and Lucky’s Dodge is 3, so that would be a loss for us.
Finally, if this ends in a draw I’ll do another round until it’s settled. I probably won’t get to call on you all, but I’ll make a note to call on you for something else another time.
———
@Fishman
Opposing player: Ralph
Somebody’s Aim VS Ralph’s Dodge
@Bucketman
Opposing player: Lucky
Somebody’s Power VS Lucky’s Catch
@Jedoc
Opposing player: Jack
Somebody’s Dodge VS Jack’s Aim
@discrider
Opposing player: Mason
Somebody’s Aim VS Mason’s Dodge
@Invictus
Opposing player: Perfidia
Somebody’s Catch VS Perfidia’s Power
@zekebeau
Opposing player: House
Somebody’s Power VS House’s Catch
Endless_Serpents on
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FishmanPut your goddamned hand in the goddamned Box of Pain.Registered Userregular
Kilpatrick and Risk have high aim, but weaker other stats, so are probably the best options up against Ralph & Mason.
Ralph might be the easier target, so I'll indicate Kilpatrick’s Aim VS Ralph’s Dodge
Next Scarlet explained his whereabouts in good detail. With that the Farmer leaves before Lucky gets around to speaking, halted in his tracks as he was by Jack, who seemed to want something or other from the lawman.
I assumed this was what they were talking about, but it looks like I had the conversation backwards.
Thought Lucky had been busy taking with Jack, rather than pulled into it.
Next Scarlet explained his whereabouts in good detail. With that the Farmer leaves before Lucky gets around to speaking, halted in his tracks as he was by Jack, who seemed to want something or other from the lawman.
I assumed this was what they were talking about, but it looks like I had the conversation backwards.
Thought Lucky had been busy taking with Jack, rather than pulled into it.
It was a fair assessment of events! If no one had spotted it I wouldn’t have brought it up, but yep, Jack told Lucky that Kilpatrick was getting rowdy. Lucky took that to mean Be a Cop, and not like, talking Kilpatrick down.
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JedocIn the scupperswith the staggers and jagsRegistered Userregular
edited June 2021
Odds technically has the highest visible Dodge skill, but we've got a better shot if we deploy his Catch skill instead.
So I'm going to put up Chance vs. Jack's aim. I figure he might have an edge given that he's got a keen eye and, although I wouldn't say it out loud, is probably hypervigilant due to recent battlefield stress. We'll work through that once he's done dodging things.
Dust flies as ordinary folks scuffle for some old leather balls. There’s cheers and jeers from a handful of people that have become the audience, sat under the shade of slanted frontier roof.
Kilpatrick, pragmatic even while wasted, dives for the biggest ball immediately and flicks it upwards. Ralph on his ungainly legs can’t slow himself down as he runs for where it was—it lands on his head a second thereafter*. In the dirt Kilpatrick closes his eyes and smiles.
The heavy, jiggling one cracks Kilpatrick on the back and bounces into the waiting hooves of Lucky, who fires it back into Lucky’s chest like one of Seuss‘s green lightning bolts. Lucky staggers back and falls dramatically over an old 9 calibre bullet stuck in the ground. Dog turns a lovely golden brown, then winnies. The crowd cheers.
Chance leans sideways and down, then snaps back suddenly, avoiding two balls at once! Out of nowhere Jack cuts his brow open with the smallest ball (the white one with the red sewing and a little squiggly black line on it).
Jack: Goal!
Meanwhile, the Farmer’s throw is strong but wide—no!—Risk throws the jiggling ball at that ball, causing both of them to alter trajectory slightly; enough to take out the now unprepared Mason and House.
The Farmer: ...pretty damn aces, Risk.
The transition from catch to throw is smooth as Hell, and when Perfidia catches that throw and passes it back... only for Odds to catch it, the crowd oo’s and ah’s, at this point genuinely invested. Sweat drips, eyes and fingers twitch. Feet shift in the red dust. Then the Farmer cracks her upside the head with the big ball, which twirls into Jack’s stomach, and calls it a day.
*“What’s a grace period? Sounds suspicious.”, Bosch was heard saying when someone questioned that.
———
The prizes include...
* A beat up, leaky bandido core! This large, heart shaped battery will last for decades!
* Three hats.
* An empty treasure chest, like something out of an old whatchamacallit book.
* A well made tomahawk
* A bottle of liquid with a nightshade embossed into the glass.
@see317
See, it’s your job to divvy up the spoils to the team. Think about how they’ll react to what they get, and don’t get, for the benefit of the Farmer’s future relationship with them.
———
Once a celebratory round of drinks is had (from Chance, no one else has any money on them, at all), time marches on. The following morning is an ordinary one. The Farmer will have two actions he can commit to...
Endless_Serpents on
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JedocIn the scupperswith the staggers and jagsRegistered Userregular
Listen, I think I speak for everyone here when I say that your habit of administering lifesaving vaccinations is really interfering with our sci-fi cowpoke make-believe, and none of us are okay with it.
[
—
The prizes include...
* A beat up, leaky bandido core! This large, heart shaped battery will last for decades!
* Three hats.
* An empty treasure chest, like something out of an old whatchamacallit book.
* A well made tomahawk
* A bottle of liquid with a nightshade embossed into the glass.
@ see317
See, it’s your job to divvy up the spoils to the team. Think about how they’ll react to what they get, and don’t get, for the benefit of the Farmer’s future relationship with them.
Oh, great. No pressure, huh?
Kilpatrick’s Team: Kilpatrick's Killers
Kilpatrick, the gunsmith - A Peaceful Time like this is financially kind to the gunsmith trade, Kilpatrick will get the treasure chest. I'm sure he has something that he can store in a well made, lockable container, money or just the fine tools of his trade.
Chance, the kid - Acquitted himself well in the game, and survived our night time raid to recover the cattle, though his steel under fire seems questionable. He'll walk away with the tomahawk. Maybe it'll better fit his arsonist tendencies.
The Farmer, the farmer - This well made light grey pinch front with a broad brim looks like it was made for the Farmer. He'll also lay claim to the battery by assigning it to Dog, who I'm sure is now thoroughly beloved by the entire town. Who wouldn't love a face like that?
Risk, right hobo (drunk) - With only one bottle of mystery liquid, I flip a coin to decide which of the hobos gets the first swig and let them share it between them.
Odds, left hobo (drunk) - They'll get the remaining two hats as well. If the bottle turns out to contain poison (as seems possible given the nightshade embossed on the glass), maybe we can get the hats back.
Dog (horse) - Nights in the barn are certain to be cold eventually considering how arid the air is in these parts (all experience and evidence to the contrary). I'm certain a little bit of work can turn this archaic power source into a heat supply for our beloved horse. If we fail in that, maybe we can plug it into the bandido.
Risk - even
Odds - ...guess.
geth roll 1d20 for drunken hobo treats
After the game, after the round, the chatter and the first genuine laughter for the assembled team for a good while, Risk and Odds are never seen again. Only an empty bottle remains, embossed with a clove of nightshade, a belladonna’s kiss. Now a keepsake on Scarlet’s mantelpiece.
Aware of the extent of nanotechnology, or just a bit of a psycho, the first thing Kilpatrick does when he get back to his workshop is remove the magnetic self locking mechanism from the fancy chest, and fires birdshot at it, to let it know who’s boss. Then he carefully smelts it to the floor in the corner, and uses it to store the wedding dress and the tiniest pair of shoes you could yet imagine.
Kilpatrick is very pleased. He has his treasures, and now a matching chest. He’ll fight alongside the Farmer if need be.
———
Chance is sorta embarrassed. He isn’t sure why even. A tomahawk is just a little axe, right? He didn’t know the phrase cultural appropriation, but he hoped he wasn’t doing whatever it was that he shouldn’t be doing.
He spent a good while making a holster for it. You put them in holsters, right?
Chance is glad of anything given, but he’s no better nor worse for a extra weapon. He’s got the Farmer’s back, though he hopes next time there’s more of a plan in advance.
———
The core purrs quietly as its strapped into the cart. On what you might charitably call the road home, a half dozen unmoving things glow violet with bullets from the Farmer’s gun, but it’s mostly a fine ride.
For the rest of the day the Farmer works, as that’s what farming is all about. Nothing much changes, but you might say such work is by nature granular.
———
Dog is greeted up close by the inquisitive goats, and regarded in song from the herd. She spies a fallen citrus fruit that had rolled all the way from the orchard, and chews on it joyfully.
Today the Farmer can get two major things done:
A. Affix the core to the bandido.
B. Get someone from town who actually knows what they’re doing to do the core thing.
C. Harvest the crops in time for Winter. Bosch will pick up via drones.
D. Plant a new crop.
E. Separate the bulls into their own mini-fields before they harm each other.
F. See the mayor about payment.
X. ______. We’re at a point now where anything goes. We still how outlaws who think the town is easy pickings, and each day word may be spreading...
If A and B wind up as the highest votes, I’ll drop A and choose the next highest vote.
Head back up and read the dodgeball account some time, would you?
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FishmanPut your goddamned hand in the goddamned Box of Pain.Registered Userregular
edited June 2021
That Bandido core will be handy, but we're in crunch right now. The fruit is starting to fall in the orchard. It's about time to get harvesting.
We can look at the Bandido core during the winter, when there's less farmwork needing attention and a bit more time for readying our tools for next season. We can stash the core under the floorboards next to the creepy urn in the meantime.
C: these crops aren't gonna stay edible forever, but when the drones arrive, let's stick a note on one of them asking if Bosch knows anything about bandidos.
B/X?: Let's talk to Jack about the bandido core in the meantime. I'm worried that as the goods in the storehouse accumulate, they'll become a bigger target for the outlaws or other ne'er-do-wells and having a large mech with a minigun might dissuade such efforts.
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JedocIn the scupperswith the staggers and jagsRegistered Userregular
C This is a farm, not much good to anyone if it's not producing food. E We're already getting our milk's worth out of Doubleday fending off the blackfoot and snoot bots, we don't need to push our luck by having him patch up Authentic Battle Damage on our boy cows.
Well, maybe Chance would have been better off with a hat. Was really tossed up between taking the tomahawk for the farmer and worrying if I was looking too greedy between that and the core.
On the grim plus side, that's two less mouths to feed over the winter. Hope they went peacefully.
I’ll update tomorrow, just as soon as I’ve finished removing these cursed mummies from my vents (they followed me from the ancient ruins beneath the back of Papa John’s).
As much fun it would be to try to lower the vote for C, we sadly needs it done. So I'll just B, D instead.
On the plus side, seems we have less mouths to worry about feeding.
It didn’t seem that far into Autumn, surely, but folks had been talking. The stores we already half emptied, so rumour had it. The Farmer knew there wasn’t enough for winter as yet, but he was working on it.
A forgiving amount of rain fell over noon, but it was still hot out, the air thin. He wiped his brow and shared a meaningful gaze with the mermaid’s grave, then carried on regardless.
Harvesting crops has yielded 5 lots of food. So far, the cows (and Cat the goat) have produced 1 lot of milk, and unless they die before winter, they’ll yield a further 2.
Thus, 6 to 8 townsfolk will survive winter.
The mayor and Lucky are automatically selected by Bosch. The rest the Farmer will have a say in.
The final roster for the town is as follows:
Mayor Truly
Perfidia, his daughter.
Lucky, the sheriff.
Mason, the Mason.
Chance, the kid.
Scarlet, the old woman.
Kilpatrick, the gunsmith.
Doubleday, the woodcutting doctor.
Winona, the wild child.
Ralph, a person.
Alf, Ralph’s twin.
Jack, the barmaid.
“Savage Bill”, the saloon owner.
House, the preacher.
Jan, the quiet boy.
Charity, the blind little gunslinger.
———
We’re not exactly coming to the finish line of our story, but those with powers to sway the narrative, now is the time to act.
———
What must be done next?
A. Rally the townsfolk to hunt down the outlaws and take back what’s left of the food they stole.
B. Slaughter all four goats to produce 1 lot of food.
C. Take Dog, the cart, the gatling gun, enough food and drink for a week and never look back.
X. ________. Only Delzhand.
Today, due to the alignment of the stars, only @Delzhand can come up with an X option.
Things are more dire than expected and our resources are painfully limited.
X: The outlaws have been sitting on a store of food beyond their needs. It's time to fire up the AB. Our actions are aided by the stars. Our CHARIOT awaits.
Edit: Sorry Xaquin, I tried to get it in before too much voting occurred.
Posts
You assumed that Jack was already on Lucky’s team—and now you’re right.
You have become Cupid! Not including the Farmer, you can decide which two characters fall in love! Feel free to chime in with your sweet valentines at any point.
———
Lucky’s Team
Lucky, the sheriff — The name is ironic. He doesn’t know.
Jack, the barmaid — Good aim, high power, she’s wearing fingerless gloves.
Mason, the mason recurring — Mason always does his work, but he’s never there when you want him.
Ralph, a person — Ralph does whatever the Mayor says.
House, the priest — The church doubles as the bank, and money is hard to get out of his hands.
Perfidia, the mayor’s daughter — Unknown.
Kilpatrick’s Team
Kilpatrick, the gunsmith
Chance, the kid
The Farmer, the farmer
Risk, right hobo (drunk)
Aim — 5
Power — 1
Dodge — 2
Catch — 2
Odds, left hobo (drunk)
Aim — 0
Power — 2
Dodge — 3
Catch — 4
Dog (horse)
Aim — 4
Power — 4
Dodge — -1
Catch — 3
———
The game itself is going to be quick as Hell. Whichever team wins the most top trumps rounds wins overall. It’s a guessing game; think about what skills they might excel at and what they’ll suck at. I’m going to pick an opposing player, two skills, and have one participant (that’s you) decide who from Kilpatrick’s team steps up. Highest skill wins. These match ups aren’t going to cover everything that happens in the dodgeball game—I’ll narrate the rest.
As an example:
Opposing player: Lucky
Somebody’s Aim VS Lucky’s Dodge
It’s my turn, and I choose the Farmer.
The Farmer’s Aim is 2, and Lucky’s Dodge is 3, so that would be a loss for us.
Finally, if this ends in a draw I’ll do another round until it’s settled. I probably won’t get to call on you all, but I’ll make a note to call on you for something else another time.
———
@Fishman
Opposing player: Ralph
Somebody’s Aim VS Ralph’s Dodge
@Bucketman
Opposing player: Lucky
Somebody’s Power VS Lucky’s Catch
@Jedoc
Opposing player: Jack
Somebody’s Dodge VS Jack’s Aim
@discrider
Opposing player: Mason
Somebody’s Aim VS Mason’s Dodge
@Invictus
Opposing player: Perfidia
Somebody’s Catch VS Perfidia’s Power
@zekebeau
Opposing player: House
Somebody’s Power VS House’s Catch
Kilpatrick and Risk have high aim, but weaker other stats, so are probably the best options up against Ralph & Mason.
Ralph might be the easier target, so I'll indicate Kilpatrick’s Aim VS Ralph’s Dodge
Yeah, just edited it.
I assumed this was what they were talking about, but it looks like I had the conversation backwards.
Thought Lucky had been busy taking with Jack, rather than pulled into it.
It was a fair assessment of events! If no one had spotted it I wouldn’t have brought it up, but yep, Jack told Lucky that Kilpatrick was getting rowdy. Lucky took that to mean Be a Cop, and not like, talking Kilpatrick down.
So I'm going to put up Chance vs. Jack's aim. I figure he might have an edge given that he's got a keen eye and, although I wouldn't say it out loud, is probably hypervigilant due to recent battlefield stress. We'll work through that once he's done dodging things.
Too soon?
We got him!
Oh, guess I need to work on that whole reading comprehension thing.
Come on Dog! Do the sportsball thing!
Neat!
Risk vs Mason's dodge
Which leaves Odds as the only one without a turn yet.
Kilpatrick’s team won!
*“What’s a grace period? Sounds suspicious.”, Bosch was heard saying when someone questioned that.
———
The prizes include...
* A beat up, leaky bandido core! This large, heart shaped battery will last for decades!
* Three hats.
* An empty treasure chest, like something out of an old whatchamacallit book.
* A well made tomahawk
* A bottle of liquid with a nightshade embossed into the glass.
@see317
See, it’s your job to divvy up the spoils to the team. Think about how they’ll react to what they get, and don’t get, for the benefit of the Farmer’s future relationship with them.
———
Once a celebratory round of drinks is had (from Chance, no one else has any money on them, at all), time marches on. The following morning is an ordinary one. The Farmer will have two actions he can commit to...
Back me up, folks.
PSN: Wstfgl | GamerTag: An Evil Plan | Battle.net: FallenIdle#1970
Hit me up on BoardGameArena! User: Loaded D1
Kilpatrick’s Team: Kilpatrick's Killers
Kilpatrick, the gunsmith - A Peaceful Time like this is financially kind to the gunsmith trade, Kilpatrick will get the treasure chest. I'm sure he has something that he can store in a well made, lockable container, money or just the fine tools of his trade.
Chance, the kid - Acquitted himself well in the game, and survived our night time raid to recover the cattle, though his steel under fire seems questionable. He'll walk away with the tomahawk. Maybe it'll better fit his arsonist tendencies.
The Farmer, the farmer - This well made light grey pinch front with a broad brim looks like it was made for the Farmer. He'll also lay claim to the battery by assigning it to Dog, who I'm sure is now thoroughly beloved by the entire town. Who wouldn't love a face like that?
Risk, right hobo (drunk) - With only one bottle of mystery liquid, I flip a coin to decide which of the hobos gets the first swig and let them share it between them.
Odds, left hobo (drunk) - They'll get the remaining two hats as well. If the bottle turns out to contain poison (as seems possible given the nightshade embossed on the glass), maybe we can get the hats back.
Dog (horse) - Nights in the barn are certain to be cold eventually considering how arid the air is in these parts (all experience and evidence to the contrary). I'm certain a little bit of work can turn this archaic power source into a heat supply for our beloved horse. If we fail in that, maybe we can plug it into the bandido.
Risk - even
Odds - ...guess.
geth roll 1d20 for drunken hobo treats
Let's hope everyone's happy with that.
———
Kilpatrick is very pleased. He has his treasures, and now a matching chest. He’ll fight alongside the Farmer if need be.
———
Chance is glad of anything given, but he’s no better nor worse for a extra weapon. He’s got the Farmer’s back, though he hopes next time there’s more of a plan in advance.
———
———
A. Affix the core to the bandido.
B. Get someone from town who actually knows what they’re doing to do the core thing.
C. Harvest the crops in time for Winter. Bosch will pick up via drones.
D. Plant a new crop.
E. Separate the bulls into their own mini-fields before they harm each other.
F. See the mayor about payment.
X. ______. We’re at a point now where anything goes. We still how outlaws who think the town is easy pickings, and each day word may be spreading...
If A and B wind up as the highest votes, I’ll drop A and choose the next highest vote.
We can look at the Bandido core during the winter, when there's less farmwork needing attention and a bit more time for readying our tools for next season. We can stash the core under the floorboards next to the creepy urn in the meantime.
C.
E.
B/X?: Let's talk to Jack about the bandido core in the meantime. I'm worried that as the goods in the storehouse accumulate, they'll become a bigger target for the outlaws or other ne'er-do-wells and having a large mech with a minigun might dissuade such efforts.
E We're already getting our milk's worth out of Doubleday fending off the blackfoot and snoot bots, we don't need to push our luck by having him patch up Authentic Battle Damage on our boy cows.
On the grim plus side, that's two less mouths to feed over the winter. Hope they went peacefully.
C
E
For all the reasons mentioned above.
Agreed with several of the above opinions. These are things that need to be taken care of, and we've been putting them off.
PSN: Wstfgl | GamerTag: An Evil Plan | Battle.net: FallenIdle#1970
Hit me up on BoardGameArena! User: Loaded D1
On the plus side, seems we have less mouths to worry about feeding.
C.
E.
Harvesting crops has yielded 5 lots of food. So far, the cows (and Cat the goat) have produced 1 lot of milk, and unless they die before winter, they’ll yield a further 2.
Thus, 6 to 8 townsfolk will survive winter.
The mayor and Lucky are automatically selected by Bosch. The rest the Farmer will have a say in.
The final roster for the town is as follows:
Perfidia, his daughter.
Lucky, the sheriff.
Mason, the Mason.
Chance, the kid.
Scarlet, the old woman.
Kilpatrick, the gunsmith.
Doubleday, the woodcutting doctor.
Winona, the wild child.
Ralph, a person.
Alf, Ralph’s twin.
Jack, the barmaid.
“Savage Bill”, the saloon owner.
House, the preacher.
Jan, the quiet boy.
Charity, the blind little gunslinger.
———
We’re not exactly coming to the finish line of our story, but those with powers to sway the narrative, now is the time to act.
———
What must be done next?
A. Rally the townsfolk to hunt down the outlaws and take back what’s left of the food they stole.
B. Slaughter all four goats to produce 1 lot of food.
C. Take Dog, the cart, the gatling gun, enough food and drink for a week and never look back.
X. ________. Only Delzhand.
Today, due to the alignment of the stars, only @Delzhand can come up with an X option.
X: The outlaws have been sitting on a store of food beyond their needs. It's time to fire up the AB. Our actions are aided by the stars. Our CHARIOT awaits.
Edit: Sorry Xaquin, I tried to get it in before too much voting occurred.