RE: [DL] NPC's

["Jim Ryan" <doc@daco.net>]

(Well, I'm only about a week late replying to this one, so I hope it's
forgivable...)  :)

As a hammy stage actor, I think playing NPCs is just about the most
enjoyable part of being a Marshal for me.  As it happens, there were a
couple of NPCs I set up for the ill-fated campaign I ran recently that might
be of interest.

And, just in case someone who has players on this list feels like using the
ideas...

<Bad Joke>

(NOTE: IF DESIRED, THE FOLLOWING SPOILER SPACE TEXT MAY BE SUNG TO THE TUNE
OF SEAN CONNERY'S "BALANCE" SONG FROM THE MOVIE HIGHLANDER.)

S

P

O

I

L

E

R

Spoilers...

</Bad Joke>

Professor Gabriel Moon appeared to be an ordinary, run-of-the-mill snake oil
salesman purveying various elixiers and devices and games of chance.  But he
was in fact a Metal Mage.  He had always been fascinated by the idea of
controlling one's own luck.  He was originally a huckster from Salt Lake
City who loved to gamble and ended up working for the Court.  When he
returned home to start up his "business" as a front for his his
Court-related activities, he happened to come across the hexes in the Smith
& Robard's catalogue which opened the way for him to begin practicing Mad
Science.  He would most often create 1) elixiers and 2) devices designed to
gain some measure of understanding of the nature of chance.  His overall
goal was to find some way to harness the forces of random chance and
actually control a person's luck.  His secondary goal was to find this OTHER
NPC by the name of...

Elijah Watts.  Elijah was a deep-voiced, rowdy Texan who had always had a
bit of a somber outlook on life.  He was also once a huckster in the Court.
When he found out what the secret society into which he'd been inducted was
really about (e.g. spreading disease and misery), he decided he wanted out.
As you can imagine, the Court was less than understanding, and since he knew
too much, they sent Gabriel Moon after him.  Gabriel hunted him down and
killed him, melting half his face off with the Caustic Glop hex.
Unfortunately for Gabriel, the Court and pretty much every other living
being, Elijah didn't stay dead.  He returned Harrowed, arising from the
grave with half his face missing and his manitou in total control.  Elijah's
desire to protect humanity from the ravages of the Court members and people
like them was twisted by the manitou.  The only way he felt people could
become truly immune to the ravages of disease would be for them to become
Harrowed like him.  As it happens, he went to the grave knowing that rather
nastly little hex called Hell's Bargain.  And so he began to wander from
town to town, killing people off and using Hell's Bargain to bring them back
as Harrowed with little or no control over their manitous.

Needless to say, the Court was a bit ticked off about this, and now Gabriel
had to go out and correct the error he'd made (as they saw it) by putting
Elijah down PERMANENTLY -- and all while trying to avoid the risk of
exposure (this, of course, seemed like a good reason for him to get a posse
of heroes to do the legwork for him -- so that he could keep a low
profile -- I'd have loved to have seen how it would have come out, but
unfortunately, things didn't get too far; ah well, another time perhaps...).

-- Jim

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-deadlands@gamerz.net [mailto:owner-deadlands@gamerz.net]On
Behalf Of Justin Baldwin
Sent: Thursday, April 03, 2003 12:49 PM
To: deadlands@gamerz.net
Subject: [DL] NPC's


What are everyones favorite colorful charectors, homegrown or published? I
was just thinking this morning how great it would be to have a huge list of
people-to-annoy-the-posse