Re: [DL] A Query for all you Marshals out there!

[Kirk Monsen <munchwolf@yahoo.com>]

--- Doc Dread <doc_deadlands@hotmail.com> wrote:
> Doc Dread here.
> 
> I have been given an interesting dilemma in the
> Deadlands game I run.  You 
> see, the posse I run with, they're the type to shoot
> first and forget any 
> questions that may be asked.

Have you tried the bait and switch?  Send them to go
kill a 'monster', but in reality the villians are
paying them to get ride of some misunderstood good
folk.

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I've been meaning to post an adventure based on this
idea.  The players are hired by town 'A' to
investigate rumors of walking dead at town 'B'.  As
the players approach town 'B' they are attacked by a
few walking dead.  As they enter the town it seems to
be a full blown epidemic, everyone in town appears to
be a zombie.

What's really going on:  Both towns have been
competing to get a spur line from one of the major
railroads.  Town 'B' won, and town 'A' isn't happy
about this.  The mayor has hired a Harrowed with the
disease and raise dead abilities (I don't have my
books right now) to 'fake' a zombie town.  How he does
this is by infecting everyone in Town 'B' with several
different (non-fatal) diseases (eg. Scavies for flaky
skin, Mono for bloodshot eyes and slower/staggered
movement, etc).  In a nutshell this concoction of
viruses will make the townfolk look like the walking
dead from a distance, but cloe inspection will make
them appear like really sick folks (which can also be
mistaken for walking dead).  As a clincher he places a
few walking dead right outside the town to attack the
posse (note the harrowed does not get involved with
fighting the posse, but might watch from a distance). 
If the posse cautiously approach the town and
investigate (like they were paid to do) they could
avert a massacre.  If instead they approach guns
blazing, of course the town will fight back (causing
more causualties).  To make matters worse the harrowed
has gone back to town 'A' and attacks there with a few
walking dead just to stir up a lynch mob.  Now if the
players played it safe and no blood was yet shed, the
players will have to convince the lynch mob that town
'B' is not full of zombies (not an easy task). 
Another note, the only villians in this scenario are
the harrowed and the mayor.  Anyone else killed is an
innocent pawn and the party should be penalized for
this.

I've got a few more ideas along these lines where
blasting first is the worst possible choice.  As soon
as I get them all typed up I should have them posted
somewhere for you all to try out.

-Munch Wolf

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