The Unity

Written & Designed by: Shane Lacy Hensley

by:
Editing: Dave Ross and Dirk Ringersma Layout: Shane Hensley
Front Co
Front ver Art: Chris Appel
Cov
Interior Art: Cheyenne Wright, Kim DeMulder, Ashe Marler, Loston Wallace
Cover Design: Zeke Sparkes
Cov
Logos: Ron Spencer, Zeke Sparkes, & Charles Ryan

Special Thanks to: Bert Isla, Kyle Gallagher, Chris Toh, Jason Nichols,
Zeke Sparkes, Jay and Amy Kyle, and of course, Teller.

This electronic book is copyright Pinnacle Entertainment Group.

Redistribution by print or by file is strictly prohibited.
Add 1 to all Page Number References to account for the cover of this Ebook.

Pinnacle Entertainment Group, Inc. Deadlands, Weird West, Dime Novel, the Great Rail Wars,
the Deadlands logo, and the Pinnacle logo are
Trademarks of Pinnacle Entertainment Group, Inc.
WWW.PEGINC.COM
© Pinnacle Entertainment Group, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.
Dedication: To the fans of the Wasted West and
Printed in the USA.
our long, strange trip through Hell.
 Chapter One:
The Harvest

It’s been a long time coming. The Adventure Summary—Not

grand story begun in Deadlands: the
Weird West and continued here in Hell We typically summarize the
on Earth now enters its final chapter. adventure at the beginning of our
You’re about to see the end of the books so that you, the Marshal, get a
beginning, and the beginning of two concise view of what you and your
whole new tales—one here in the posse are expected to do during the
Wasted West, and another on the course of the tale. We’re going to forego
windswept plains of an alien planet. that this time for one simple reason—
Such an epic tale requires an epic you. You, the Marshal, have read most
finale, and we don’t think you’ll be of our books, kept up with the
disappointed. storyline, and made the effort to get
The events that take place in this your group together to play as often as
mega-adventure bring about the possible.
downfall of three major powers in the The events that unfold in this
Wasted West, introduce a brand new adventure are so epic—and we hope so
one—and cripples it as well. Even cool—that you deserve to read it like a
worse—or perhaps better as the case novel, one in which every new chapter
turns out—the Wasted West is about to brings an unexpected twist. So dive
see the return of the Reckoners right in. Don’t skip ahead. Read and
themselves. We also finally learn the savor each surprising chapter. Hell,
secret of the Harbinger, the mystery of you can even run each chapter before
the great worms, and the story of Dr. reading or running the next. It won’t
Hellstromme’s sudden disappearance. affect your game.
Heroes—your heroes, Marshal—will The Wasted West is about to
almost certainly die in this epic tale, change forever. Thanks, Marshal.
but those who live rise to see a new And happy, murderous,
age in Hell on Earth and might even blood-soaked
travel to the stars themselves. trails.
 Restoring the Glow required another
The Story So Far dark ritual, one that involved a large
pile of highly concentrated radioactive
goo. One such pile sat under guard at
In our last book, The City o’ Sin, Silas the Yucca Mountain Nuclear Storage
Rasmussen, the self-proclaimed Mutant Facility, a holy site to the minions of
King of Las Vegas, performed a ritual the Cult of Doom. Silas could use the
that allowed him to open a gate radioactive sludge to re-power Vegas,
through the Hunting Grounds to the but he knew it would destroy the site
renegade mutant city of Armana. as well. An unfortunate side-effect to
The Hekants, as they called be sure, but yet another incident that
themselves, had splintered from the could be blamed on the norms.
Cult of Doom several years earlier, and In the adventure “Jihad!” from The
Silas had never forgiven the slight. City o’ Sin, Yucca Mountain was
The Mutant King’s hand-picked destroyed. Either Silas vaporized it in
arbiters of justice included a horde of the ritual or the heroes destroyed it. In
trogs and Grundies as well as a small either case, the story back in Lost
host of Doombringers. This force Vegas is that a band of norm terrorists
marched through the gate, emerged in destroyed this most holy of sites.
Armana, and destroyed the Hekants in Now Silas is ready to cement his
a bloody, merciless massacre. power in the long-term. The more
Silas blamed the massacre on the territory his minions conquer, the more
norms the Armanans “foolishly” allowed the Glow spreads, and the more power
to live with them (Helots). His fiery Silas can draw from it.
speeches back in Lost Vegas incited
the mutants to a blood-frenzy and Enter the Combine
prepared them for his eventual march
on the last bastions of non-scaly- As was discussed in City o’ Sin, the
skinned humans. Combine and the Cult of Doom have
Before he would declare such a war, formed a tenuous alliance. Detachment
however, he needed to consult the Glow Gamma under Colonel Wanda Jones, is
at the Yucca Mountain holy site. stationed at Indian Springs Air Force
Base near Lost Vegas to facilitate
The Second Ritual communications between the two
armies.
Of course, all this was just an excuse. After his return from Yucca
Here’s why he really needed to run to Mountain, Colonel Jones informed Silas
Yucca Mountain. that the time had come. The Combine’s
The ritual Silas used to open such a assault—the so-called “Harvest”—was
massive gate through the Hunting about to begin.
Grounds, and have it lead exactly where Silas was all too happy to oblige. He
he wanted in Idaho, drained both he would ally with the cyborg-general and
and his city of precious radiation. As his army of machines.
you’ll see several times in this For now, anyway.
adventure, getting to the Hunting Throckmorton’s plan was to split his
Grounds is relatively easy. Controlling legions into three parts. The majority of
one’s destination once there is much the force, including the bulk of the
more difficult. Black Hats, would move directly against
Fortunately for the Mutant King, he Junkyard from the east. Two smaller
had anticipated such a power drain, flanking forces, consisting mostly of
and knew of a way to “recharge his elite automatons and cyborgs, would
batteries”—for a time at least. move along the Rockies before crossing
and flank the city from the north and
south.
Throckmorton’s infiltrator

6 The Harvest automatons assured him the Iron

Alliance’s plan was to call in the
Convoy once the Combine left Denver. It
was 78% likely, Throckmorton’s AI
determined, that the Convoy would be
kept in reserve to the south of
Junkyard in position to descend upon
The Harvest 7
the Combine’s flanks once they were
engaged with Junkyard.
Rasmussen’s role, then, was to The first scene starts shortly after
approach from the west, smash the dinner time, December 31st, 2095. Your
Convoy, and then link up with the posse simply has to be some place
Combine to join in the final assault. where they can be found by the Iron
Throckmorton’s AI believed this was Alliance. If they’re away from Junkyard,
67% likely to destroy both the Convoy a Sky Pirate by the name of Hal
and the bulk of the mutant army in Goldman is sent to pick them up and
one massive battle. deliver them to a large camp south of
Rasmussen, never a military genius, old Provo. If they’re in Junkyard, they’re
saw only a chance to destroy the summoned before the leaders of the
Convoy and then take the Combine in Alliance and taken to Provo.
the rear after the Black Hats had When the heroes arrive, they see the
weakened themselves on Junkyard’s hundreds of vehicles of the Convoy
walls. A few EMPs would render the sitting behind a long east-west ridge a
Combine’s automatons and raptors few miles south of the Provo ruins.
helpless, Silas mused, and then his Along the ridge, facing south, the
mutant hordes could charge in and Convoy have set up scattered defensive
wipe out whatever was left. positions and deployed their weapons
Throckmorton announced the day of as if for a major battle. Anyone who
the Harvest as midnight on January 1st, makes a Fair (5) Cognition roll also
2096—one day from the start of this notices a large number of purple-robed
adventure. Doomsayers and more than a few tribes
Rasmussen and his warband set out of (obviously) friendly mutants. (Joan is
on foot December 14th to complete their here as well if the heroes have met her
part of the arrangement. The Combine’s previously—otherwise they likely do not
mechanized forces marched from recognize the plain-looking head of the
Denver two weeks later. The early rebel Doomsayers.)
departure of the mutant forces was If the group has met some of the
spotted by Ike Taylor’s allies in the Sky other defenders stationed here, such as
Pirates, and gave the Iron Alliance time the Black Watch and Ghurkas from
to contact the Convoy and get them in Culp Creek, Oregon, or Hauptmann
position exactly where the Denver AI Johann Kleiber’s Fallschirmjaegers (see
thought they’d be—near Provo, south of Waste Warriors for information on both
Junkyard. groups), they spot them as well. All
these survivors are part of the Iron

The Setup Alliance, and have been stationed here

to block the Cult of Doom and then
flank the Combine when it assaults
Junkyard.
Your group needs to be known by Give the heroes a little time to speak
the leaders of the Iron Alliance. Well to any old acquaintances they
known. If your posse has played The encounter. You might also throw in any
Boise Horror and Urban Renewal, this other particularly interesting nonplayer
isn’t a problem. If they’re not well characters the group met on their
known, it’s best if you make them so previous adventures. This gives the
first. They need to be powerful enough game a better feeling of continuity and
that the alliance is willing to send out perhaps makes your players more loyal
a pilot to look for them. A Law Dog, a to the alliance and their friends. (Jenny
Templar, a powerful Doomsayer, or Quaid, encountered later in this
syker are also good candidates, even if adventure, is not here. Her Queens of
the group hasn’t specifically worked the Road are in Junkyard.)
with the alliance before.
 Everyone Hates My Posse!
Scene One:
Opening Moves
Okay, sometimes a posse just doesn’t The head of the Convoy, Fuller
know how to make friends and influence “Goose” Mattox, is in charge of this
people. A group with a lousy reputation force. You can find lots more details on
around Junkyard (or with the Iron Alliance Goose and the Convoy in the Road
in general) is not going to be entrusted Warriors book, but their statistics aren’t
with an important mission like the one that that important to what’s about to
starts this adventure. Here’s how to handle happen here.
a body of blackguards. One of Goose’s two right-hand men,
If the heroes are just unknown, they can Calvin “Preacher” Ellis, is the first to
be hired on as bodyguards for a single hero formally greet the posse and inform
of your creation who can get conveniently them why they’ve been summoned.
killed when you think your own posse will You have to do a little figuring here,
pick up the flag and carry on. Marshal. We’re assuming your posse is
If the heroes have become genuine bad loyal to the Iron Alliance, and by
guys to the Iron Alliance, you’ve got default, that means they’re ready to
problems. First, what kind of campaign are defend Junkyard when Throckmorton’s
you running, Marshal? The Iron Alliance is Harvest begins (which it has, as they’re
about the only chance the Wasted West has about to learn). If your group is more
against the machinations (literally!) of the mercenary, then you’ll have to go
Combine. And you don’t even want to know through that whole bartering song and
what might happen if those guys win. Hey, dance before giving the speech below.
we blew the world up once. We’ll do it When you’ve figured out what they’re
again, compadre! fighting for, start reading, Marshal.
All right, ‘nuff said. If the “heroes” are
hated by the Iron Alliance, you need to “Hi brothers. I’m Calvin Ellis,
stage things a bit differently. The Iron but most folks call me ‘Preacher’
Alliance should still hire them to fight with on account of I used to be one.
the Convoy south of Junkyard. They aren’t I’m sure you’re wondering why
called on for their loyalty, however, they’re you’ve been asked here. I’m afraid
hired/bribed/forced or whatever to fight it’s bad news. The Combine’s
there in hopes they’ll get slain and take a ‘Harvest’ has begun.”
few muties with them in the process. If
you’re lucky, your posse will do such a good Ellis waits for that to sink in before
job there that Ike Taylor and his gang look giving them the really bad news.
at them a bit differently from that point on.
How things go from this point forward “It gets worse. Throckmorton’s
depends on the actions of your posse, of made some kinda deal with the
course, but you should work to make them Cult o’ Doom. Rasmussen and
at least accepted, if not loved, by the around 20,000 three-eyed weirdos
leaders of the Alliance. are headin’ toward Junkyard right
now. Near as we can tell, the
doomies are comin’ up I-15 to hit
Junkyard from the south while
the Combine hits from the north
or east. Or maybe both.
The Convoy’s job is to block the
muties here in the hills outside o’
old Provo. We got a good position

8 The Harvest here that overlooks I-15, and we’re

spread out enough their magic
won’t kill too many of us at once.
 Once this fight’s over, we’re
supposed to head up to Junkyard
and take Throckmorton from
behind. Er, that didn’t sound quite
The Harvest 9
right. We’re supposed to ram ‘em
in the rear. Pardon me brothers
and sisters. I mean it’s a flank light discipline (no fires, flashlights,
attack. That’s it. We got to hit smoking, and so on), the mutants
these muties as hard and as fast somehow sense their presence. “Maybe
as we can so we can get up to they smell us,” someone says. That and
Junkyard and make sure Taylor’s a multitude of eyes capable of seeing
boys hold. in near-darkness give the Convoy’s
So we’re callin’ in every friendly position away.
gun with a rep. What do you say, The muties don’t know the strength
brothers and sisters, will you join of their opponents however, and they
our flock?” have little choice anyway, for Silas
Rasmussen himself, the Mutant King,
Let’s hope your heroes say yes, presses them onward with the force of
because otherwise some other group his terrible Doombringers and their
gets to go on the rest of this adventure fanatical underlings.
and screw over the good people of— The horde approaches to within half
well, we’ll get to that later. If the posse a mile of the ridge. The elite troops exit
decides not to help for some bizarre the ragtag collection of buses and
reason, then you’d better figure out trucks that brought them here. The rest
some way to get them back in. stand on foot in poorly-aligned ranks, a
pathetic mockery of melee troops from
Digging In ages past.
The mutant horde gathers for several
The heroes are told to station minutes before everyone hears Silas
themselves wherever they want. They deliver one last oration over a truck-
can find a spot on the ridge south of mounted PA system.
Provo or look for some other clever spot
from which to fight. One of the muties is speaking
As they survey the scene, have in the distance. It’s a tinny sound,
everyone make Cognition rolls. Junkers as if through a loudspeaker. By
or other mathematically-inclined the sound of his voice, it can only
characters can add +4 to the roll. The be Silas Rasmussen.
highest-rolling hero notes by a quick “Brothers, sisters, and those in-
count that there are around 4,000 between! Our day has come! The
combatants making a stand here. That’s norms who destroyed our errant
a far cry from the 20,000 Preacher says brothers in Armana stand before
Silas is bringing. Should they bring this us. They despise you for your
up, Preacher gives them a surly look (as scaly skin, your extraordinary
if they might be trying to shirk their vision, your massive teeth, or
duties), and gives them the standard your monstrous strength! And
speech about how the alliance has they would kill you for it! They
better weapons, better troops, and would kill you and mount your
righteousness on their side. Then he three-eyed skulls on their walls
moves on to deal with other more as cruel jokes!”
important issues. “But today we can strike them
at their very heart. We can tear

Head to Head to Head down the walls of Junkyard,

where mutants are tortured and
castrated or fed to wild animals!
Around midnight, anyone with We can free our brothers and
nightvision goggles (or similar abilities) sisters and in-betweeners serving
spot the mutie horde appear in the as slaves to the cruel tyrants of
distance. Though the Convoy maintains
 the ‘Iron Alliance.’ We can show
the norms that it is they whom
Quick Combat evolution has passed over. It is
they who shall serve. It is they
who shall be shown the true
kindness of mutant-dom by
ending their pathetic and
antiquated existence.”
There are several large combats in this
“Are you with me?”
adventure, and you won’t want to game out
The shouts of the mutant
every single one of them with the fully
horde bring back odd memories.
detailed system normally used in Hell on Earth.
You think of a football game you
The Unity is an epic story that needs to be told
attended before the war, when
from start to finish in a couple of sessions—not
100,000 fans screamed to prevent
dragged out for months by gaming out every
the visiting team from calling
massive battle scene.
their plays. Oddly, you almost
The system described here helps you run
start to wave your arms in an
these large fights in just a few minutes.
attempt to quieten the mutants.
To start, read the adventure section that
But only death will silence these
describes any special modifiers or conditions.
unfortunate creatures tonight.
Then have everyone make attack rolls. These
Silas screams a few more
rolls cover about 2-5 minutes of sporadic
times, then utters that word
combat. Most characters should use the
you’ve dreaded for hours now,
shootin’ skill and mark off 2d10 bursts or 3d6
“Charge!”
shots of regular ammo per roll.
Heroes with arcane abilities, magical
The mutants attack. A few hundred
weapons, heavy weapons, or other special
scream ahead on bikes or in cars
abilities should get a +1 to +5 modifier to the
rigged with machine guns, rockets, or
roll—your call, Marshal. You can reduce this
other hardware. The vast majority of
modifier when a lot of fights happen in a
mutants charge forward on foot,
short amount of time to simulate the loss of
however.
ammo, Strain, and so on.
The Convoy opens fire with artillery
Chips may be spent on these rolls, as usual.
hidden further back in Provo and a
Wounds suffered should be distributed
wave of junker tech. The big guns
randomly (roll Hit Location for each).
concentrate on vehicles first and then
Each player should keep track of the
work their way over the scattering foot
casualties he caused as well—they count
troops as they rush forward.
toward awards at the end of each chapter!
Small arms fire crackles next, ripping
into the first waves of charging
Roll Result
mutants less than 200 yards from the
Bust The hero catches Hell and suffers 3d6
main line. The artillery stops when the
wounds.
muties reach the Convoy’s foxholes.
1-3 The hero gets hit early with a lucky
Now the real fighting begins. Fire
round and suffers 1d4 wounds in one
erupts from both sides and green-robed
location. He doesn’t account for a
Doombringers and Doomsayers among
single casualty this time.
the crowd let off a string of arcane
4-6 The hero suffers 1d4 wounds and takes
attacks. Dozens of nukes, EMPs, and
out 1d6 opponents.
MIRVs explode along the ridgeline,
7-10 The hero takes a wound but takes out
killing scores of defenders in one
2d6 foes.
Hellish barrage.
11-19 The stud suffers no wounds while
The Convoy and its other allies hold
taking out 3d6 bad guys.
their ground, but the bursts give the
20+ The hero takes no damage and proves
foot troops time to charge the ridge
himself a mean, lean, killing machine.
itself. A few last salvos tear into the
He causes 4d6 casualties.
screaming mutants, but hundreds
manage to hit the front lines and close
into melee.
Let Slip the Dogs of War! The Harbinger
Your posse now has to deal with one
That’s right, we said the Harbinger.
of these charges. Have your team go
It’s time he made his appearance. Have
through three rounds of Quick Combat
you guessed who he is? We’ve dropped
(as described on page 8, amigo). The
a few clues here and there, but this one
muties are poorly armed, so add +2 to
has been relatively tough. We’ll give you
the heroes’ rolls during these first three
a few more paragraphs to figure it out.
attacks.
Read the following to your doomed
Read the following afterward:
heroes as they watch Rasmussen’s
mutant hordes overrun the Convoy’s
You’ve done well, but now the
positions.
muties have gained the ridge. It’s
time for close combat.
You slam another magazine
into your rifle and damn your
After the third round, run two more
luck as more and more muties
rounds using the hero’s fightin’ skills.
charge up the hill. There seems
The muties are now in close and force
no end to the hideous freaks this
the posse into bloody hand-to-hand
night.
combat.
You look up and howl one last
After the last roll, the battle still
furious curse at the stars—and
rages but the heroes have dealt with
see a strange red light.
the foes in their immediate area.
Something—a flare, or a
Unfortunately, the muties have crested
helicopter, or some kind of jet
the hill and at least a few Doomsayers
with Vertical Take Off and
are tossing nukes and other such spells
Landing is coming in. You plug a
at the massive car park below.
few more muties charging you
It looks very, very bad for the Convoy.
and your friends then watch as
They’ve been overrun. Let your heroes
the ship continues to descend—
argue about what to do with a bit, and
smack into the middle of the
roll an occasional shot at them. When
ridge line!
the heroes finally come up with a plan,
Most everyone stops firing for a
move on to the next scene, The
moment, waiting to see what this
Harbinger.
 thing is and whose side it’s on. read all about his tragic tale later in
As it draws level, you can see it’s this book’ in truth, he’s currently in the
definitely a ship of some kind— running for the single most important
like a spaceship! It’s small but figure in the whole tale of Deadlands.
sleek and painted jet black. Is it With players like Raven and Stone,
possible you’re being invaded by that’s really saying something. But
little green men just as you’re again, his full story is finally revealed
about to be eaten by big green in the end of this adventure. For now,
ones? let’s get back to that nifty narration.
The craft lands on the ridge
line, scattering a group of muties Every waster has heard Joan’s
and norms grappling in hand-to- predictions that a pale
hand combat, and then it goes “harbinger” with a single red-eye
still. Most everyone is dead silent would emerge to lead mutants
now, though a few hardened vets everywhere to a new era of peace
take the opportunity to whack and prosperity. Dr. Hellstromme
nearby foes. and his robotic body (which
Then from the middle of the keeps his 200+ year old brain
Convoy’s cars you see a bunch of alive) certainly fits the bill,
purple-robed Doomsayers though not in the way anyone
running up the hill. In the lead is expected. Joan wastes no time in
a brown-haired woman—could rushing to Hellstromme’s side and
that be Joan herself? She’s literally kneels before him, as do her
sprinting up the hill, screaming personal escort of purple-robes
“Stop! Stop the fighting! It’s him! and a couple dozen friendly
It’s him! As I have foretold!” mutants.
Now a single door on the ship Seeing this, hundreds of
starts to lower like a drawbridge. Rasmussen’s own mutants join
It looks like a scene from some Joan and kneel before
bad sci-fi movie, but here it is. Hellstromme. You watch in
You’re ready for a big steel robot amazement as the robot points to
to step out and say “Klaatu the attackers and says “Lay down
Barata Nikto,” when what comes your arms!” and they do!
out but… But Silas isn’t ready to get
…a giant robot! voted off the island just yet. He
Only this one’s a pale white uses his own mega-PA system to
color with a blazing red electronic start screaming. “What are you
eye in the center of its head. It doing? Fight, my mutants! This is
steps out, and in a mechanically nothing but a pathetic norm
amplified British voice it says “I trick! Hellstromme is dead! A
am the Harbinger. Mutants, lay sacred martyr to the cause. Now
down your weapons, for I am fight! Fight!”
more than the Harbinger. Much A few mindless trogs and
more. I am Doctor Darius Grundies do what Silas says, but
Hellstromme! And I am your the rest just stare dumb-founded,
master!” trying to figure out what to do.
Trying to choose between a mad
That’s right, friends. The Harbinger is dictator and a robotic prophet.
the long-missing Doctor Darius Hellstromme cranks up the
Hellstromme, the very same Dr. volume, drowning Silas out and
Hellstromme who brought about this continues. “It is written that I,
whole end-of-the-world thing. You can Hellstromme, am your maker!
This pointless war against the
pitiful norms was not my bidding.
Turn now and return to our holy

12 The Harvest city to await my arrival! These

humans will not hurt you if you
do as I say!”
 Another voice calls out from
one of the trucks below. It’s
Goose Mattox. “Do what he says
people. Any mutie going south
The Harvest 13
doesn’t get shot. Any of you
disobey my order and I’ll strap
you to the front of my truck Goose Mattox finally breaks the
when we fight the Combine!” silence. “Shake it off, people. I’m
throwing away my booze too, but
Go ahead and give the party an despite tonight’s unexpected
opportunity to screw themselves. Be show we’ve still got a job to do.
forgiving unless they really go nuts and Let’s get to Junkyard and kick
just won’t stop. Even then, let them Throckmorton’s armored ass or
fight some muties who didn’t give up this was all for nothin’.”
so that Goose doesn’t crucify them. The survivors of the ridge line
Then get back to Uncle pack up their heavy weapons and
Hellstromme’s story-time. wounded and slowly trundle
down the hill. There they load
The vast majority of the onto the Convoy’s vehicles, and
mutant horde drops their start toward Junkyard for another
weapons and high-tail it (literally bloody fight.
in some cases) back into the
darkness. Silas Rasmussen
continues to scream for a while,
then a barrage of fire in his
Scene Two: The
general direction silences the
madman. You can hear his
vehicles gunning their motors,
Defense of
returning south.
Silence follows for several long
seconds, then a distant cheer
Junkyard
starts at one end of the ridge line
and ripples along toward the It’s time for General Throckmorton’s
other. Combine to make its big play on
This battle is over. Junkyard. So break out about 10,000
The Harbinger briefly speaks to Cardstock Cowboys and start the fight.
Joan and the other schismatics You can order extras from…
nearby, then looks to the rest of Okay, of course we’re just kidding.
the cheering crowd and gives one The fight for Junkyard takes place
last cryptic speech. around the heroes as they engage in
“I’m glad I could be of help here one small but very important part of
today, but I also know I am this epic battle.
largely responsible for the Let’s get right to it.
destruction of our world. I must
also tell you that there is
something far worse than the
Here Comes the Cavalry!
mutant horde or the Combine The heroes are now on a flat-bed
coming your way. I’m off now to truck en-route to Junkyard with the
find a way to stop it, and perhaps rest of the Convoy. (If they have their
redeem myself for the horror I own vehicle, they can use that instead.)
have subjected you to.” About five miles from the city, the lead
With that, Hellstromme quickly vehicles manned by Goose, Preacher,
steps into his spaceship, seals the and Wayne “Jackrabbit” Hollins come to
door, and blasts off into the night a halt. Though the heroes don’t know
sky. this, they’re waiting on the signal to
Again the crowd goes silent. charge, and only the head honchos
What could be worse than the know exactly what that signal is.
Cult of Doom and the Combine?
 The driver of the heroes’ truck grenades. He tosses two of them
comes to a halt as well. Then he lights to your group.
up a smoke and steps out onto his “I’ve been told our job is to look
running board for a better look. After a for mobile artillery pieces and
few minutes, he turns back towards his take ‘em out. Any Red Hats we
passengers. He shifts his Mack truck come across as well. No, I don’t
ball cap on his head and tries to give a know how we’re supposed to pull
pep talk of his own. it off with a flatbed truck and a
couple of grenades, but Goose
“The Combine is coming. We’ve says that’s our job so that’s what
got maybe 10,000 wasters in we’re doin’. Don’t ask me any
Junkyard who can handle a gun questions ‘cause I don’t know
and another 2,000 or so out here. nothin’ else. Just hang on an’ wait
The Combine has a good 20,000 ‘til we see the signal. I’m told we’ll
Black Hats and God knows how know it when we see it. Then
many automatons, raptors, and we’re goin’ in.”
other devices we ain’t seen yet.
Sky Pirates say he’s got half a
An hour later, the heroes finally hear
dozen hover tanks, too.
the sounds of battle around Junkyard.
But Goose told me the Iron
Streaks of fire race across the sky as
Alliance has a plan. He wouldn’t
raptors duel with surface-to-air missiles
say ‘xactly what it was, but I
and rain death down on the fortress-
been ridin’ with the man for five
city.
years now, and if he says it, it’s
It’s time for another big narrative.
gospel.”
The driver then reaches inside
It feels like you’ve been waiting
the cab and pulls out a satchel.
for days, though it’s really only
Inside are a handful of incendiary
been an hour or so since you
stopped here. Your nerves dance
like hot wires waiting for this
mysterious “signal.”
Finally, the battle starts,
14 The Harvest perhaps five miles north of you
in the dark night. A low rumble
sounds in the distance. Artillery?
Now you hear the staccato
bursts of anti-air fire and the
The Harvest 15
rush of turbines—the all-too-
familiar sound of raptors.
Suddenly a salvo of surface-to-air A loudspeaker from
missiles race from somewhere somewhere inside Junkyard
below the horizon and into the suddenly blares to life. “This is Ike
sky. At least two make contact Taylor. Now’s the time, survivors!
and create two beautiful fireballs The Combine’s weapons are
high in the night sky. useless and their automatons are
The Convoy starts forward—not jammed for half an hour! Charge!
fast, but at a slow creeping pace Charge! Charge!”
that makes you all the more Massive floodlights from
nervous. hidden sconces in the wall flood
Ten minutes later you crest a the surrounding plains.
low rise and can make out Thousands of Black Hats stand
beautiful Junkyard. Her walls stunned, trying desperately to
blaze with small arms fire, work guns that won’t fire!
rockets, and even a few Raptors fall from the sky and
flamethrowers. crash to earth, their engines
You pass around a pair of seemingly dead. Hover tanks stop
night-vision binoculars and feel and hit the ground with heavy
your guts curl into a knot. In the thuds. Automatons freeze in place
binoculars’ green light you make like grotesque mannequins. Now
out hundreds of cars, you understand. The rumors of
motorcycles, trucks, and even the Hellstromme’s secret weapons
dreaded hovertanks advancing on hidden under the walls has
the city, drawing ever closer. somehow stopped the Combine
Legions of Black Hats and dead in their tracks.
automatons advance on the wall, For half an hour.
firing as they go. Scores of valiant The walls of Junkyard open
defenders tumble from the and thousands of angry
heights, but scores more take survivors rush out to wreak
their place. havoc on the stunned Combine.
Then something begins to It’s time to let slip the dogs of
hum, something from within the war, and you are the dogs.
walls of Junkyard itself. The
humming grows louder, so loud
you can feel it rattling your teeth!
What the Hell Is That?
Now the front line of the As we hinted in the Iron Oasis
Combine’s horde impacts the wall. sourcebook, the shields used to defend
Dozens more lines of merciless Junkyard have an additional purpose. It’s
troops follow! There’s no hope not an electro-magnetic pulse—that
against these numbers—no way would ruin Junkyard’s equipment as
Junkyard can stand. well. It’s more like static that
Then the humming surges one temporarily severs the link between the
last time. A wave of violet energy earth and the Hunting Grounds. That
rushes out from the wall and shuts down the raptors, automatons,
washes over the stunned forces hover tanks (all controlled by zombie
of the Combine below. The brains) and even the mad science that
sudden silence is deafening. The controls the Black Hats’ guns.
rattle of machine guns stops, the Of course that also means cyborgs in
screech of tires halt, and even the your posse shut down as well. Sykers,
whir of turbines from raptors and Doomsayers, and other arcane-sorts are
hover tanks fades. similarly cut off from their powers. In
 self-propelled gun. The weapon was a
hover vehicle rewired to run with an
automaton head, so it now sits helpless
on the desert floor. Christmas must
have come early, because a command
APC with two Red Hats in it sits less
than 50 yards away as well. The posse
is in for a little payback they’ve likely
earned in their previous adventures.
The two Red Hats (both cyborgs) sit
helpless in their seats—seemingly dead.
In fact, they are dead since their
manitous are temporarily scrambled.
This is like shooting fish in a barrel
except for a handful of Black Hats who
decide to grow spines and come to
their leaders’ aid. A dozen of these
courageous fellows make it to your
posse as they attempt to disable the
gun or finish the Red Hats.
The hover tank is an easy kill as
long as the heroes use the thermite
grenades the driver gave them. A Fair
(5) demolitions roll puts it in the right
spot. The grenade lights up like a road
flare and begins to burn a hole straight
down through the chassis of the tank
and into the automaton brain-case
sealed within. Even on a demolitions
failure, the tank’s internal systems are
damaged enough that it cannot fire
other words, there’s no supernatural (though it might limp away to fight
mumbo-jumbo within a mile of another day when the scrambling
Junkyard for the next 30 minutes. stops).

Payback’s a Bitch Profile: Black Hats (12)

The walls of Junkyard open and Ike’s Corpor eal: D:3d8, N:3d6, Q:3d6, S:3d8,
Corporeal:
“heavy cavalry,” the long-courted road V:2d8
gangs, lead the way, thundering over Dodge 2d6, drivin’ 2d6, fightin’: brawlin’
the Black Hats like worn-down 3d6, lockpickin’ 2d8, shootin’: MG 3d8,
speedbumps. Throckmorton’s sneak 3d6, speedload 2d8, swimmin’
machines—almost all controlled by now- 2d6, throwin’: balanced, unbalanced
helpless zombie brains or mad “super 2d8
science”—stand frozen in the harsh Mental: C:2d6, K:2d6, M:2d8, Sm:2d6,
glare of the floodlights. His cowardly Sp:2d6
Black Hats turn tail and run as well— Academia: occult 2d6, area knowledge:
smack into the charging ranks of the Denver 2d6, artillery 1d6, demolition
Convoy. 2d6, gamblin’ 4d6, guts 3d6,
After the posse’s truck does a little leadership (leader only) 2d8, medicine:
Death Race 2000 through the Black Hat general 2d6, overawe 2d6, scroungin’
scum, it pulls up alongside a massive 3d6, scrutinize 2d6, search 3d6,
survival 3d6, trackin’ 3d6
Pace: 6
Size: 6

16 The Harvest Wind: 14

Special Abilities:
Armor: Scavenged Kevlar (AV 2)
Gear: These goons carry assault rifles,
but none of them are currently
working, so they use their knives!
(Ammo: 10mm; Shots: 30; RoF: 9;
The Harvest 17
Range: 10/20; Damage: 4d8, AP2),
large knives (STR+1d4), and two frag
grenades each. The Black Hats aren’t
too wild with their grenades—they Junkyard or hitch a ride on a bus
use them only if they won’t wipe out or a truck. Goose Mattox is in
the rest of their team. charge of the expedition, and he’s
Description: These thugs haven’t ready to roll all the way to
quite figured out that there bosses Denver! Now let’s finish this
(the nearby Red Hats) are out of it. thing!”
They’re afraid that if they try and The crowd lets out one more
run, their HeadBangers will be huge cheer and then everyone
triggered. They’ve stayed to fight and goes to work. Some start
won’t run until they see the Red repairing their damaged rigs,
Hats are dead. others get in line for Junkyard’s
spook juice, and those awaiting
rides stoke up fires and warm
The Big Party themselves as best they can
while they wait.
When the half hour is up, more than It seems Throckmorton’s
60% of the Combine force sent to Harvest is all but over.
attack Junkyard has been destroyed.
What’s left put their metal tails Yeah, right.
between their legs and run for Denver. Let your heroes recoup for a bit, and
The Convoy pulls up outside maybe barter for any supplies or ammo
Junkyard’s walls and regroups. There they need. Then move on to Chapter
Ike Taylor, Goose Mattox, Joan, Jo, and Two.
Doc Schwartz engage in hardy
handshakes, hugs, and a public
champagne bath. Ike then picks up a
portable megaphone and finishes this
Bounty
chapter with one last speech.
Enem
Enemy y casualties caused in the
“Today is a great day, citizens of Cult of Doom fight: Count the
Junkyard and friends from afar. number of casualties each character
We’ve broken the back of the caused in Quick Combat (only) and
Combine. But we know better award the following Fate Chip: 1-10
than to let them rebuild. Now casualties nets 1 white chip; 11-20
we’ve got to finish the job. The casualties is a red chip; 21-50
Convoy and our own mobile casualties is a blue chip; 51+
forces are ready to pursue casualties is a Legend Chip!
Throckmorton’s dogs all the way Destr
Destrooying the Self-Pr opelled Gun:
Self-Propelled
to Denver. There we’ll rally with 1 white chip each, plus a red chip for
thousands of allies from the east the character who actually planted
for the final siege on Denver the explosives (or otherwise
itself!” destroyed the vehicle)
The crowd goes wild, hungry Def eating the Black Hats Ar
Defeating ound
Around
for more blood and bolts. Ike lets the Self-Pr opelled Gun: 1 white
Self-Propelled
the mob scream a bit, then chip each.
finishes his sermon. Slaying the Red Hats: One red chip
Slaying
“Survivors, leave your to whoever does the killing. We know
wounded here. They’ll be cared for that’s not politically correct, but these
as heroes. The rest of you who are bad, bad guys.
have pledged yourselves to our
cause, fuel up your rigs here at
 Chapter Two:
The Dead Walk
The Combine force sent to attack
Junkyard is in full retreat, relentlessly
pursued by the Convoy and Ike Taylor’s
Scene One:
road gangs. Of course, wounded
animals are the most dangerous, and
now the Combine forces are starting to
Pursuit
regroup a bit.
This chapter starts with the heroes The bulk of the retreating Combine
mopping up the stragglers, then moves troops head straight for the Rockies
into a more dangerous stage as the and back into Denver. Ike, his road
retreating forces attempt to rally. Even gangs, and a large portion of the city’s
that nut is eventually cracked, of troops follow in hot pursuit. The chase
course, and then it’s on to Denver for takes roughly five days, during which
the big siege scene. Being the time you may want to stage a few more
courageous types, the posse is even set-piece battles for your posse if you
chosen for a “special ops” mission— want to prolong the war for your own
infiltrating Denver to link up with the nefarious purposes.
Resistance. Colonel Green heads the pursuit
Assuming all that goes well, what party while a detachment of Sky
happens next is such a big shocker Pirates keeps an eye on the Iron
that we’ll just let you read along. Trust Alliance’s harried prey. If your group
us though—it’s a surprise even happens to have a radio, they can
MGKelley and the listserv couldn’t occasionally hear reports from other
possibly have seen coming! teams. The transmissions are
For now, get your dice ready, Marshal. encouraging—groups of Combine
Your posse is about to take part in the troops who fall behind are quickly
largest battle since the Last War. If they wiped out by the
succeed, it’s cigars and rewards. If they pursuers,
fail, they’re worm food. Literally.
 targets and just where the prey has

Assault Table holed up. The modifiers listed on the

table are for the Quick Combat system
presented on page 8. Roll on that table
after determining just how large of a
force the posse is forced to engage. The
Opponents modifiers are applied to each
d6 Roll Opponent character’s attack rolls.
1-3 2d10 Black Hats The heroes have to keep rolling until
4 2d4 Black Hats all of their foes in each mission are
+ 1d4 Automatons defeated. Each Black Hat counts as one
5 2d10 Black Hats casualty, but it takes three casualties to
+1d4 Automatons take down each automaton (and they’re
6 2d20 Black Hats always the last to go down).
+1d4 Automatons Should it become important, the
Location stragglers are 1d4 miles away from the
d10 Roll Location Mod. main route of retreat (east on Highway
1 Cave -2 70). If the heroes don’t have vehicles,
2 Gas Station -2 Green offers them a ride with Hal
3 Shopping Mall -4 Goldman, the chopper pilot from
4 Car Dealership -2 Chapter One. If they’d prefer to drive
5 Apartment Complex -6 and don’t have vehicles of their own,
6 Office Building -2 Green can send them to the attack in a
7-10 Forest +1 standard pickup truck. Use the Road
Warriors book should you need
statistics. Otherwise just assume the
vehicle gets them to the bad guys and
don’t worry about its game stats.
though sometimes with heavy Remember that you’re using the
casualties. Quick Combat system for these three
Your posse is assigned to Colonel fights, so you shouldn’t need statistics
Steele Green, who brings up the rear. for the bad guys. If you do, however, you
The heroes should be of sufficient can find Black Hat stats in Chapter
renown to report directly to Green, but One. They’re also in the Hell on Earth
if not, Emmanuel Freedman, a former rulebook, along with the deadly
Confederate commando, serves as one automatons.
of Green’s lieutenants. Their Make sure to allow your heroes to
assignment is to mop up any stragglers heal up between fights if they have the
left behind by the fleeing Combine ability. You want to beat them up here,
force during the running battle to not kill them.
Denver.
Green (or Freedman) is particularly
diligent in tracking down these
cornered rats. Your posse is sent out to
Scene Two:
finish off Combine troops three times
before the next scene occurs. These
battles take place about every other
Battle at the Vail
day, so the group has time to heal up
between fights (depending on their
supernatural abilities).
Pass
Roll on the Assault Table each of the
three times to determine the group’s The final battle of the pursuit takes
place in Vail, Colorado. Vail was once
an upscale ski resort, but these days it’s
home to cold-natured muties,

20 Marshal wendigoes, and frost wyrms (none of

which actually show up in this scene,
but may be the subject of future tales!)
 As the pursuit reaches the top of the
Rockies, the Combine is whittled down
to a few thousand Black Hats and less
than a hundred automatons of various
The Dead Walk 21
designs. Unfortunately for the Iron
Alliance, however, the strike force sent
against Junkyard was the main army— The fight here is another massive set
but not the only one. At a freezing pass piece with nearly 10,000 Junkyard troops
through the Rockies near Vail, the slowly probing the urban ruins of Vail.
struggling Combine survivors move into Every building holds a surprise—some a
the snow-covered ruins and dig in for skulking automaton, others a lone
what seems a last stand. In truth, the sniper, still more an entire platoon of
leader of the force finally managed well-armed, desperate Black Hats.
radio contact with a second, smaller
force that had been flanking from the
north (and was delayed by more of the
The Sky Pirates Need a Hand
Iron Alliance’s allies). This time, the party isn’t destined to
The ranking surviving Red Hat, take part in the main assault. Instead,
Nicholas Payne, believes the pursuit can the heroes are given the role of
be stopped if they can hold at Vail long assaulting an anti-air missile launcher
enough for the northern force to arrive. hidden somewhere high on the slopes.
Nicholas has also tried to raise Colonel Green knows the position they
Denver for reinforcements, but the fired from last (when they took out a
usual wasteland interference has killed supporting attack helicopter), but
radio communications. He dispatched figures they’ve moved at least a few
his fastest troops ahead of the main hundred yards away from that position
body to Denver to verbally request since. That puts them somewhere up in
reinforcements, but so far none have the highest ski trails.
returned. In truth, Throckmorton has The group has to find the position
reports of another force moving from and take it out so that the Sky Pirates
the east and cannot spare can come in and provide air support for
reinforcements. We’ll tell you more the general assault against the Vail.
about this mysterious new player all How the group does this is entirely
too soon. up to them, but it has to be done
within two hours of receiving the

SAM Team
SAM Site

=10 yards
 assignment. Until then, the main for ill-prepared chicks in chainmail (but
assault on Vail has been slowed down. God bless ‘em).
When the ground to air threat is over, Use standard Black Hat statistics for
the Sky Pirates can then sweep in with the SAM team (see Chapter One or the
their jets and cut loose with some Hell on Earth rulebook), but add the
serious firepower. shootin’: missile launcher skill at 5d8.
The troops manning the missile What happens after the fight
launcher are some of the more skilled depends on whether or not the heroes
of the bunch. They’re dug-in to a take out the position within the
shallow pit in the ground and covered allotted time of two hours. Proceed to
with scrub, so the party must come up The Her oes Fail or The Her
Heroes oes
Heroes
with a clever plan to root them out in Succeed as appropriate.
the short deadline given them.
One possible plan involves Hal Hal and Audrey Ann
Goldman, the chopper pilot who
may have transported the Here are the statistics
posse earlier. With an for Hal Goldman and his
Incredible (11) persuasion roll, chopper, should you
or a direct order from need them.
Colonel Green, he might fly
through the area and draw Profile: Hal
the anti-air team’s fire.
If the heroes simply Goldman
want to spread out and
do a search, they need Corpor eal: D:1d6, N:2d12,
Corporeal:
to accumulate five Q:3d8, S:3d6, V:3d6
Incredible (11) search rolls. Climbin’ 1d12, Drivin’:
Each one takes 10 rotary wing 5d12,
minutes, so they’ll have to lockpickin’ 2d6,
hurry. Let the team shootin’: SMG 3d6,
name one hero to be sneak 3d12, throwin’:
the lead and make the unbalanced 3d6
roll. Everyone else Mental: C:4d6,
can pitch in—every K:2d10, M:1d8,
successful roll adds Sm:4d10, Sp:1d6
+1 to the main Area knowledge
character’s roll. If the (Salt Lake region)
last roll comes with a 2d10, bluff 3d10,
raise, the heroes catch gamblin’ 3d10, guts
the SAM team by 3d6, scroungin’ 3d10,
surprise. Otherwise, the survival: desert 2d10,
Black Hats are almost tinkerin’ 2d10
certain to see the posse first. Pace: 12
Make sure everyone takes Size: 6
precautions against the cold as well. It’s Wind: 16
around 26 degrees on the slope! Every Edges: Friends in high places 3, level-
hour spent in the cold forces the hero headed, purty
to make a Hard (9) Vigor roll and lose Hindrances: Heroic, stubborn
the difference in Wind. This can only be Gear: Hunting rifle, 50 rounds, 3
recovered when the hero warms up. grenades.
Add +2 for really good winter gear, no Description: Hal has long, cornsilk
modifier for standard coats, and -1 to -4 hair that he tosses constantly about
his head, an honest face, and a
constant look of doubt in his eyes,
though he’s actually internally very

22 Marshal optimistic.
Hal’s Chopper (Audrey Ann)
Passenger
Passengers s : 10
Engine: Twin turbine
The Dead Walk 23
Gas T ank: 120
Tank:
MPG: 5
Handling: +2 Stage this as a Quick Combat with a
Top Speed: 150mph -4 penalty. This time, let the group go in
Stall: N/A whatever order they want and actually
Acceleration: 10mph apply any casualties they cause to the
Durability: 45/9 Black Hats’ numbers. Each single
Armor: 0 casualty removes one of the 24 Black
Size: +3 hats. The automaton is removed last
Load Limit: 300 and counts as three casualties.
We a p o n s : When all the Combine troops have
.50M2HB: Ring; Turret; 360; Damage: been eliminated, no further rolls are
4d12, AP 4; Shots: 100 (with 270 necessary, meaning weaker characters
rounds remaining); ROF: 3; Range: might not have to be involved more
40. than once or maybe twice. (And yes, for
Description: Hal’s chopper is an old the record, characters can hang back
cargo hauler, though he’s made a few and not participate in the fight at all.)
“adjustments” to improve its Assuming they survive, Colonel
performance. It also has a killer Green informs the group that the
sound system, though Hal’s music Combine is once again in full retreat.
slugs are some of the worst drek The heroes are rewarded for their
ever recorded. East Indian dirges, performance with a spot on a truck for
Babylonic chant, and German the pursuit to Denver the next day.
“screech” music are all available to
torment passengers.
The Heroes Win
The Heroes Fail If the team is successful, they should
report in to Colonel Green and let him
If the posse doesn’t find the SAM know. Within minutes, the Sky Pirate
team and finish the fight within two air force comes swooping in and lays
hours, the second Combine force from waste to what remains of Vail. Just as
the north moves in and hits the stalled they finish the job, the Combine’s
Junkyarders in the rear. The damage is northern flanking force enters and gets
terrible and the casualties are high, but into an aerial duel with the Sky Pirates.
the stalwart Junkyarders eventually The air duel ends in a draw—those
rally and force back their mechanized raptors are tough!—but the good guys
foes. hold off the flying death machines long
Unfortunately, this gives the trapped enough for the ground troops to fight.
Black Hats in Vail a break. Colonel The northern force and the Vail
Green must pin these troops down defenders merge but are pushed out of
while using his main force to deal with the town in a bloody assault.
the northern flankers. The posse is The Iron Alliance’s army of 10,000 is
used in the assault along with a whittled down to 7,000 or so. Roughly
loosely-organized platoon of former 2,000 Combine troops—mostly the
bikers and road gangers. This strike toughest automatons and cyborgs—
force is assigned an assault against a once again hit the highway and run
hastily-dug defense of foxholes and like Hell for Denver.
shallow trenches. The Black Hats here Colonel Green congratulates the
number two dozen and have a heavy party on their success and tells them to
machine gun pit in the center of their pack their gear—the whole force is
position. An automaton lurks along pursing to Denver where they hope to
their right-hand flank and makes an hook up with other allies who should
appearance if its human allies start already be attacking from the east.
losing a fight.
 planning to blow up the
Scene Three: The Combine’s ammo factory, but they
need some heavy weapons and
explosives to get it done.”
Teller Brigade “I want you for the job. We’ll lay
down enough of a barrage to
cover your approach. Then you
The party reaches Denver late that gotta sneak into town, link up
night (if they don’t have motorized with the ‘Teller Brigade’ at the old
transport of their own, they’re put on a Rock Bottom Brewery, then get
truck). The Junkyarders have rallied and the Hell back out.”
are regrouping south and west of the “Got that? Good. You leave in an
“Place No One Goes,” Denver. Rockets hour.”
and artillery from the surrounding
Junkyarders are already busy pelting You heard the man, Marshal. Tell your
the city with fire, snipers pick off any posse to ready themselves and then
Black Hat foolish enough to show his hurl them into the fray.
noggin, and an occasional missile
streaks out to swat down any raptor or A Few Hours on the Town
other flying terror that tries to sortie
out. When it’s time to go, Colonel Green
The fight rages for three days, with gives the heroes an old map of Denver
the Combine mostly staying hunkered with the Rock Bottom circled on it. He
down within its walls and lobbing wishes the team good luck, then has
explosives out at the besiegers. his scouts lead them to a sprawl of
The heroes are assumed to be a ruins running up close to the Denver
squad of their own and should make barricades. From there they wait until
their own camp (foxholes with the artillery barrage clears the area and
overhead cover are highly sprint across the clearing toward the
recommended!), set their own watches, base.
and so forth. If your group is of Once in, the posse can follow their
sufficient renown and you feel like map to get to the Rock Bottom. If you
letting them have some nonplayer- have the Denver sourcebook, hit them
characters assigned to them, feel free. with one encounter rolled randomly (or
On the first night, around 2am, the selected by you) from Chapter Three. If
Combine sends out a wave of Black you don’t have that book, you can
hats to raid and create confusion. One simply make up some details of the
of the groups come close to your city and have them avoid several Black
posse—have everyone make a Quick Hat patrols. Once, as they duck down a
Combat roll at +1. This is the only back alley to avoid Black Hats, the
excitement tonight. heroes discover a lurker (see the Hell
on Earth rule book). Fight this thing out
with Quick Combat, but it goes on until
Viva La Resistance! at least one hero gets an 18 or better on
his attack roll. On any roll of 4 or less,
Early on the morning of the second 10 Black Hats show up to investigate
day, Colonel Green tasks the party with the noise and join in the fight (this can
a special mission. Read the following only happen once per round). Keep it
when you’re ready. going until the lurker and any
reinforcing Black Hats are waxed.
“Mornin’, heroes. I’ve got a job
for you. The Denver Resistance is Rock Bottom
Eventually the group should find the
Rock Bottom Brewery. The top is

24 Marshal deserted and well-looted, but a Fair (5)

tracking roll reveals recent tracks
leading toward the wrecked vats.
 Hiding among the old steel vats is
Sarah Olsen, a member of the
Resistance. She takes possession of the
weapons and explosives, thanks the
The Dead Walk 25
heroes, and then asks them a big favor.
Sarah is blonde with big brown eyes
and fairly cute (which is why she was
chosen for this), and doesn’t hesitate to
use her feminine wiles if it helps her
Profile: “Jessie” (Infiltrator
get her way. Read Sarah’s dilemma Cyborg)
when you’re ready.
Corpor eal: D:4d10, N:2d12, S:3d6, Q:3d8,
Corporeal:
“Thanks for the stuff—we’ll put V:2d8
it to good use. Here are the kids.” Fightin’: brawlin’ 4d6
Sarah knocks on an old beer Mental: C:3d8, K:3d6, M:3d10, Sm:2d8,
vat—a metal tank nearly eight feet Sp:4d6
tall and four feet wide. You look Area knowledge: Denver 3d6, bluff 2d10,
inside the torn wall to see a demolition 1d6, overawe 3d10,
concealed hatch open in the scrutinize 2d8
bottom. Staring up at you are five Pace: 16
sets of big round eyes set in very Size: 4
small heads. Kids. Wind: 16
“What kids?” you ask. “We Edges: Level-headed, friends in high
weren’t told about any kids.” places (can normally call on a
“Hmm. Not my problem. I was Combine strike-force but not in this
told to make sure these kids got adventure)
out with you. We rescued ‘em Hindrances: Rules of engagement
recently and with the attack on, oath 4 (serve the Combine)
this is no place for children.” Cyber Systems: AI, antenna, big ears,
The blonde turns to the brain mole, CPU, drug dispenser,
children as they climb out of the facemaker, infiltrator, radio, self-
vat. “Okay, guys. You’re getting repair unit, spirit fetter, spur.
out with these nice folks. Be Manitou/Po
Manitou/Pow wer: 4d6/6
careful, and show them the Gear: None, but Jessie is quick to
sneaky way out, okay?” gather up a weapon from someone if
she needs one.
On the down side, the heroes have to Description: Jessie looks slightly
smuggle out all five kids (ages 5, 8, 12, Asian with jet black hair. She wears
13, and 15). On the plus side, the kids tattered jeans and a Power Puff Girls
know how to avoid the worst of the t-shirt.
patrols, horrors, chain dogs, and other
nightmares that plague their city. On
the unexpected down side, one of
them, an eleven year-old girl named
Scene Four: The
Jessie, is an infiltrator cyborg.
Jessie doesn’t actually do anything
“on camera.” Her objective is to relay
Siege of Denver
exact troop positions back to the
Combine so that they can properly Morning comes with a beautiful red
target the Junkyarders with indirect fire. sky and a cold frost. The Iron Alliance
Your group might have some way of bombarded the Combine until 4am last
detecting Jessie’s true identity, however. night, at which point they called a halt
If so, she tries to run for it, and only to the barrage to give the Black Hats
fights if cornered. Her first action is to time to surrender (and truth be told,
try and grab a weapon off someone (an save their precious ammo).
opposed Strength roll with a raise). A message calling for unconditional
surrender was sent in, but no word has
 yet come back out. Talk among the when the posse is. Green wants them
troops is that the alliance will have to to fly, so they aren’t driving even if they
assault Denver—a bloody proposition no have their own rig. If they have their
one looks forward to. If the posse was own flight, that’s fine, but you’ll have to
successful in their previous mission, amend some of the coming scenes just
the Resistance might be able to attack a bit.
from the inside and drastically reduce
the assault’s casualties. See You in St. Louis
But we’re not quite there yet.
Something else is about to happen. On the way to St. Louis (a few hours
after leaving), a storm breaks. Dark
Message For You, Sir! clouds cover the plains and heavy rain
pours, but Hal and the heroes can just
Let the group recover for a bit. Give make out a handful of cars and
them a visit by Colonel Green (or motorcycles screaming up a broken
Freedman) or even Goose or Preacher. highway. As Hal moves in for a closer
They can spread the word that the look, one of the lead cars hits a pothole
Combine is licked—they just don’t know at high speed and flips end over end.
it yet. The visitor exchanges a little Most of the others continue on, but two
grub, warms his hands on the heroes’ bikers double back to check for
fire, and asks if they have everything survivors.
they need (though he can’t really do The action is in the players’ hands
much about it if they don’t). now. Everyone in the flipped car is
When the group starts to get bored, alive, though wounded and dazed. The
Colonel Green comes to them with a bikers can only pick up two of the four
strange look on his face. He asks the occupants. They yell for the others to
group to come with him and takes come back, but their friends can’t hear
them back to his camouflaged them and move on. It’s very clear the
command tent somewhere back behind two bikers don’t know what else to do
the lines. and aren’t keen on leaving two of their
wounded behind (a sure sign that
“Something’s happened. they’re “good guys”). If left on their
Something bad. Details are own, the bikers eventually argue a bit
unclear but the allies we were more, then hand the two worst
supposed to have from the east wounded a single pistol. The other two
haven’t showed. We’re sending out wounded grimly mount the bikes and
teams to find out what’s continue on their way.
happening. You’re one of ‘em. Hopefully, the heroes swoop in and
Hal’ll fly you along I-70 to the help instead. Hal’s chopper can easily
survivor settlement at St. Louis. A handle the load, so that’s not an issue.
fella name o’ Marcus Rand At some point, the heroes will either
shoulda left there with a couple ask one of the fleeing survivors what’s
o’ heavy tanks, some APCs, and a going on, or they’ll zip on down the
few dozen well-armed militia. road a bit to see what’s going on for
Find ‘em, ladies, and bring ‘em themselves. If they talk, a biker points
here. We need those troops and down the road and screams over the
especially those vehicles before roar of engines “Zombies! Thousands
we can take Denver.” of ‘em!” If the heroes swoop in and
rescue the remaining two bikers, one of
The mission is clear, and Colonel the wounded yells the same as above,
Green instructs the team to leave then points in the easterly direction.
within the hour. Hal is ready to go “Look for yourselves,” he finishes.
Regardless of what the heroes say,
Hal turns the chopper around and
follows the highway. Perhaps a mile

26 Marshal back, anyone looking sees an amazing

sight. You’ll want to read this one out
loud, Marshal.
 There are dead men as far as
your eyes can see. Thousands—
maybe tens of thousands—are on
The Dead Walk 27
foot. But these are no lumbering
zombies from an ancient vid-slug.
These things sprint along the
busted highway, never tiring. nosedive and heads toward the
Alongside them are hundred of earth!
trucks—mostly flatbeds—carrying “Hang on!” Hal screams. You
even more undead. A few of them deal with the crawling deaders
are armed and fire in your while Hal proves his mettle. Hal
direction. Most are unarmed flips off the engines and lets
however, and simply snarl at the what left of the shattered
whine of your engines and the propellers auto-rotate, slowing
delicious blood still coursing in your descent as much as possible.
your veins. The chopper angles in, far too fast
Here and there among the you think, and heads straight for
grotesque throng are worse the top of a nearby building. It
things—gloms, undead animals, smashes into the rooftop and
and odd creatures with every bone in your body feels like
mechanical bits jammed into it’s in a trash compactor. You
their unfeeling flesh. But as black out for just a moment from
unsettling as these horrors are, the concussion, but the spastic
the true terror is the simple dead things still crawling after
staggering number of the dead you snap you back to reality.
running your way. There’s no doubt that with any
other pilot, you’d be joining this
It’s probably time for the good guys to grisly horde.
get back to Denver and let Colonel
Greene know what’s coming. But let’s Hal is good—he managed to put them
throw in one last complication for our on top of a rooftop. If it had gone all
hapless heroes, shall we? the way down to the street level, the
momentum would have smashed the
You’re still staring at the posse flatter than waster flapjacks.
unbelievable host before you They can thank Hal later though. Right
when something even more now they must deal with two deaders
amazing happens. You can just that “survived” the crash (the third is
make out a single figure crushed beneath the rails). In the
screeching and pointing at you—a streets below, perhaps a few hundred
zombie—but an unusually tall and yards off, comes the sound of more
lanky one. It waves its arms and deaders and at least one of their
a bizarre, almost comical thing vehicles heading this way. Read the
happens. Sickly green energy following aloud:
races from its hand and
surrounds five of the nearest From your high vantage point
zombies. The tall thing then you can make out thousands of
throws its hand toward you and the dead. There’s no doubt all of
the pack comes streaking them saw the chopper land here,
through the air toward your but most keep on moving west.
chopper! Unfortunately, a large group from
Hal jinks with unbelievable the front peels off and makes a b-
speed, but three of the things line toward your building.
catch hold of the rails and start
climbing in. A fourth smashes A group of deaders, say about a
into the propeller and is shredded, hundred or so, part from the main body
but the chopper takes a serious and race into the office building Hal
landed on. There’s no doubt they’re
 looking for access to the roof. These lumbering Romeros. Think of them
things are mean, hungry, and as clever more as relentless undead hunters with
as all other walkin’ dead. It takes them the cleverness of wolves.
about two minutes to reach the
building and another two to find Leap of Faith
serviceable stairs. It’s a final 30 seconds
to gain the roof from that point. The best way off the roof is to leap
What happens next isn’t one of those to an adjacent building across the
things we can easily predict, but nearby alley. This is difficult and
fighting it out just won’t work in the dangerous, but that’s what roleplaying
long-term. Killing a hundred deaders is games are all about, right? To make the
conceivable given a good defensive 10’ leap, the heroes must each make
location and a lot of firepower. The Hard (9) Nimbleness or Strength rolls
problem though, is that even if they (each character can use whichever
wipe out these deaders, a hundred Trait he chooses). Of course, failure is a
more take their place a few minutes bad, bad thing. It’s 130 feet to the cold,
later. Deaders have loose telepathic hard, asphalt below. Oh, and a pack of
links with the liche that controls them angry zombies likely fills the alley 2d6
(the tall zombie that “threw” a pack at rounds after the splat.
the chopper—see the entry on deaders If the jump goes well, however, the
and liches in Appendix A). These same heroes find themselves on another tall
liches can see through their minions’ building, but it takes the zombies some
eyes (no other senses are conveyed) by time to figure out where they went so
actively concentrating on a particular the group can get to ground.
undead within one mile. The chopper Unfortunately, the narrow streets
was quite obvious when it went down, literally crawl with undead—there’s just
so the liche leading this force is aware no way out.
of it and actively watching to ensure No way, except an open manhole,
there are no survivors. It’s booking on that is.
to Denver, but leaves behind a hundred
deaders or so to finish off the job here. The Manhole
The posse has to figure a way off
this roof or they’ll eventually be There’s nothing better than being
overrun. Just how they do this is up to chased through the sewers in a post-
them. Maybe they blow a section of apocalyptic world by a ravening horde
stairs to buy time while they think. If of undead. So let’s do it.
so, they need to fight off several waves The sewers are a fairly good place to
of deaders. If they’re not off the roof in escape the zombies—or so it seems. The
about four minutes, have them start heroes can get underground quickly,
making Quick Combat rolls every 60 and if they are pursued, the narrow
seconds. corridors make it hard for the zombies
If the heroes make the roof to use their numbers to advantage. The
inaccessible, the corpses might start group might do the same in a building
ripping off limbs to form a macabre up top somewhere, but the sounds of
“ladder” and work their way up. the fight only draw more zombies.
Climbing down the outside of the Down here in the confines of the
building is out of the question as the sewer system, a fight is less likely to
rest of the horde watches from the draw more allies.
street below. If they see the survivors Hal, at least, is convinced this is a
trying to get away, they summon the good way to go. With luck, he says, they
others and block the heroes escape. can emerge somewhere else and
Remember, these deaders aren’t scavenge a vehicle—or maybe even
some tools to fix his chopper.
Once the group relents to go into the
sewers, they see they are at a junction

28 Marshal with four ways to go. Someone does a

quick eenie-meenie-minie and moes it
right on down one of the corridors.
 Less than a minute later, a jolly band
of flesh-eating deaders spills into the
sewers in hot pursuit. They’re not smart
enough to actually track the posse, but
The Dead Walk 29
they’re smart enough to split up into
groups of 10 and comb the system.
Once in the tunnels, it’s up to your
group where they want to go. It’s fairly
pointless to make a map of the
sewers—your players will just choose
random directions to move anyway. So
Sewer Chase
instead, let’s have some fun with the
chase and use this simple and quite
deadly cheat.
Bust: One of the heroes (the one with the
Have everyone in the party make
lowest Smarts roll) finds a ladder leading up
Smarts rolls. Take the lowest roll and
about 20’. He climbs it and tells everyone the
consult the Se wer Chase T
Sew able. Note
Table.
coast is clear. Just as he finishes the “clear”
that standard corridors down here are
part, a pair of long, dead arms yanks him
5’ wide and 5’ high, and that there’s no
out of sight. The hero is grappled by a
real end to the number of zombies that
zombie and must fight a Quick Combat
can be encountered. Each time there’s a
round at -6 by himself. Another 9 wait at the
fight, use the Quick Combat system
top of the ladder, and the posse may join in
from page 8.
after the first round.
Only when the party has achieved
1-3 Junction: The group runs into a group of
the Escape! result on the table can
zombies and starts to head back—but there’s
they move on to the next event, Out of
another group behind them! They’re trapped
the Frying Pan Pan.
in rectangular junction chamber 20’ long, 40’
long, 5’ high, and filled with a foot of muddy
Out of the Frying Pan water. They must fight their way through
one of these groups using Quick Combat.
Roll at -2 due to the thick muck in this area.
By the stench of this old creek,
4-5 Corridor: A band of zombies in a
the town above must have
perpendicular corridor stumble into the
dumped their sewage in here long
heroes. A running fight ensues! Have
By the stench of this old creek,
everyone roll Smarts totals again. If everyone
the town above must have
gets a 7 or better, they outrun the zombies.
dumped their sewage in here long
Otherwise they must wage a Quick Combat
ago. It might be a toxic shaman’s
and try again. If the heroes stay to finish all
dream, but for most of you it’s
these zombies, another group of 10 arrives in
just another reminder of why the
2d6 rounds.
world went to Hell in the first
6-7 Spotted: The posse is spotted by a group
place. At any rate, the old creek
of deaders! There’s no combat (unless the
should eventually feed out into
group chooses to fight), so go ahead and roll
daylight if you follow it long
Smarts totals again, subtracting -2 from
enough.
everyone’s rolls next time as they run blindly
through the sewer system.
The tunnel the creek runs through is
8-9 Stymied: The posse eludes the deaders
a good 15’ in diameter. The heroes
for a few minutes but doesn’t find a safe
should follow it for a while, but if they
way out.
don’t they’re welcome to climb back up
10+ Escape!: A grate opens out onto a small,
into the sewers and deal with more
subterranean creek. A Hard (9) Strength
deaders. Just don’t let them find
check removes the grate, then it’s just a 10’
daylight again anywhere else—you need
drop to the muddy cave-stream below. Go to
them to move on down in the tunnel so
Out of the Frying Pan Pan.
you can pull a Jonah and the Whale bit
on them—and reveal one of the biggest
secrets of the Deadlands universe.
 Jonah and the Worm
Sit back and relax, Marshal. We have a bit and plains of the earth with their massive
of primordial history to share with you—and offspring.
one of the biggest secrets in the Deadlands They also began a secret quest to regain their
universe. status as gods. This required the spiritual energy
Most of the “powers that be” in the of humans. And since the ancient worms had
Deadlands world, including the Reckoners, are first been born of negative energy, only more
made up of the spiritual energy of humans negative energy would help them ascend once
(both living and dead). The good of a soul more.
goes to good forces, and the evil goes to evil Unfortunately for the worms, they were a little
forces. These forces aren’t split up entirely out of touch with people of the 19th century. A
evenly—there is far more good in human souls few loonies here and there grew to worship them
than there is evil. But evil works a lot harder (such as the worm cult in the Wyoming
at getting attention. Think of terrorists and Badlands), but worm-worshipping never really
the United States government in the real caught on in polite society.
world. The US government has the best Then the great worms got the idea that if
equipment, a million well-trained soldiers, and these humans wouldn’t worship them, maybe
brilliant leaders who obtained their position they could make a new batch of mortals who
by merit. Terrorists have a little money, would. Remember, these things were still
primitive weapons, and perhaps a few thinking like gods here. So for the next couple
hundred truly militant members. Yet terrorists of hundred years (like pulling an all-nighter for
are able to “win” their battles because they formerly cosmic beings), the great worms were
pick the time and place of their attacks, finally able to create the wormlings. These are
operate in secrecy, and don’t care who gets the nasty critters most every waster in Hell on
hurt in the process. Earth has run into at one time or another. The
Evil is like that. Good is spread thin trying wormlings are wormy enough to worship the
to help everyone. Good is also worried about elders, and they’re human enough to send their
helping people too much, lest they grow spiritual energy to the Great Beyond.
dependent on supernatural aid. Evil hands out But the process has only begun in the last
bad mojo like candy. It even creates horrors if decade, and that’s simply not enough time. The
the world isn’t terrible enough. worms’ plans are working, but two important
The Reckoners are not the first evil gods of obstacles stand in their way. First, there’s too
the Hunting Grounds. And they only took the damn many humans left, and these pale, puny
shape of the Four Horsemen because that’s fonts of spiritual energy aren’t giving any up for
how the minds of millions of Americans the worms these days. In fact, their fear and
(Raven’s intended victims) saw them. Other dread are powering the worms’ nemeses and
destroyers exist as well—Shiva, Anubis, Hades. hated rivals, the Reckoners. Second, and closely
The Reckoners just happen to be the only related to the first, are the Reckoners
ones who tried such an audacious plan—and themselves. As long as they’re still prancing
succeeded. about the earth, humans aren’t likely to forget
For lack of a better word, we’ll call all them.
these cosmic powers “gods.” So the worms have teamed up with a once-
Another group of elder gods existed long unlikely candidate—Raven.
before the Reckoners. They weren’t happy that Back in the necropolis of the east, Raven
humans forgot about them and started decided the only way to get revenge on the
depositing their negative energy into these Reckoners—whom he believed betrayed him—
four horse-guys. Trouble was, they were too was to kill them. And the only way to do that
weak to really fight the Reckoners, so they was to rob them of their power by killing every
slyly ingratiated themselves with the Four human on earth. A few months ago, while trying
Horsemen and joined them as servitors. They to crack a particularly tough underground lair of
lost most of their powers, but they were survivors, Raven used his powers to summon a
allowed to slither upon the earth at the start worm. In bargaining for its assistance, Raven
of the Reckoning as giant worms. That’s right, revealed his plan for killing both the humans
we’re talking about the “rattlers.” and the Reckoners.
A dozen of the massive beings first The worm passed on this exciting news to its
appeared on the Earth. They quickly elders telepathically, and a marriage made in Hell
reproduced and filled the deserts, salt flats, was forged in slime and blood.
Riding the Worm
Things are about to get wild,
The Dead Walk 31
Marshal! Read the following and watch
your players’ faces!

You’ve been slogging through wounds) such characters are literally

the creek for at least ten minutes buried over their heads in mud and
when you hear a rumbling from must dig their way out. This takes
somewhere behind you. There’s hours.
no mistaking the sound—water is In truth, the heroes aren’t in a new
rushing toward you. section of tunnel. They’re inside the
vast innards of a great worm! The
You can let the players come up with things are accompanying Raven west,
a plan to escape, but there really isn’t and one of them burst through an
one for most characters. If your underground river into the sewer
hombres have some really special system. The heroes are swept into the
powers—such as the ability to teleport, deluge and accidentally swallowed
ghost, or otherwise vacate the tunnel whole by the massive thing!
in a heartbeat, you’ll have to fudge Don’t let on that they’re inside a
things a bit. Either have the water hit worm for a while though—let them
them so fast they don’t have time to think they’ve been washed into an
use their powers, or counter with some ancient tunnel system they’re supposed
equally powerful trick of your own to explore. What they find in the
devising. In the end, you need them to worm’s vast innards then becomes all
wind up in the same “cavern” described the more terrifying.
below.
You’ve been unconscious for a
A wall of rushing, brown long time. You can tell because
water unleashed from some your limbs have fallen asleep and
forgotten cistern of this old sewer your muscles are cramped. You’re
system rushes down the tunnel in the dark, stuck in thick mud
and slams into you. You grab one that isn’t quite wet enough to let
last breath and tumble head over go. It’s pitch dark so you close
heels in the dark, swirling your eyes and feel with your
stream. Finally, you succumb. other senses. You hear a low
(Point to one of the heroes.) You rumbling all around you. You feel
can hold your breath no longer no one and nothing else around
and feel disgusting sludge rush you. There’s a rotten, earthy smell
into your lungs. that almost overpowers you.
(Point to another.) You bang The sewer must have burst
your head on something hard yet somewhere and washed you
squishy and see a bright flash of down into another section of the
light before all goes dark. tunnel—an older, long unexplored
(Point to a third.) You simply section.
tumble head over heels until the
stench overwhelms you. Hands and Knees
The characters are unconscious for Allow the group to call out for each
some time. How long exactly isn’t other and stumble around in the slimy
important—but it’s long enough for darkness for a bit. On a Hard (9) Spirit
Raven’s horde to make it back to roll, they managed to keep whatever
Denver. If you need a delay for any was in their hands in a death grip.
heroes who really shouldn’t go Otherwise, their weapons/lights/etc.
unconscious, by the way, such as are lost somewhere in the muck. If they
Harrowed (though even they can be can create light somehow, they see
“knocked out” by taking enough they are sealed in a rounded pocket of
 wet, slimy mud roughly 10 feet high. A The First Pocket
narrow tunnel just high enough to
crawl through is their only exit (a Nothing else is found by further
character with a compass or a keen digging in the short tunnel. When the
sense of direction reads it as “west”). hero presses on, however, he finds
Sit back and relax now, Marshal. himself in another, smaller mud pocket.
Don’t push your posse through the hole. In truth, mud forms in the worm’s vast
Let them argue about what to do or try bodies and creates thousands of ever-
some of their fancy tricks. Any attempt changing “cells.” Fortunately for the
to magic oneself out of the worm heroes, they’re close to the worm’s
doesn’t work—elder worms are near- center where the “tunnels” don’t
Gods, after all, and get away with a few change as often (otherwise they’d
perks when we need them to. Fudge almost certainly be smothered).
this one as you see fit—no nukes, no
shadow walking or otherwise ruining The Second Pocket
your fun. Got it?
Eventually, someone will crawl The second pocket contains nothing
through the hole. It’s just wide enough else, but another tunnel—this one about
for one character to go at once so you’ll 2’ thick—leads directly down. There’s no
soon find out which of your wasters “dropping”—a waster has to slither like
has the largest cajones. a worm. Anyone who wants to go down
the chute is looking at a suffocating,
Break On Through, to the Other terrifying ordeal. A wise party ties a
rope, shirt, pants, or other “safety-line”
Side to the first idiot to go down the hole.

The poor brave soul who crawls The Third Pocket

through the mud tunnel is in for a
creepy surprise. Read the following When someone does eventually
when you’re ready: descend the 6’ drop, he finds himself in
a much larger chamber. In fact, this is
You’re crawling along when the central “stomach” of the elder
your hand sinks through the worm. It’s not truly a stomach, but it is
mud and catches on something where the creature gathers the forces it
sharp. You withdraw and see plans to wretch out later.
your own dark blood dripping As the hero enters the chamber and
into the dank muck. brings some sort of light to bear, read
the text below.
If the hero cares to dig, he finds a
jagged leg bone. This belonged to one You’re standing in what looks
of the worm’s “passengers.” It’s like a large, oblong cavern. It’s
harmless, but creepy! only about 5’ wide where you
Very large characters (such as heavy stand, but further on it’s
cans or big ‘uns) can’t fit through either obviously much wider—maybe
hole without some effort. A few three times as wide and tall.
minutes of clawing up dirt makes the The mud remains thick, and
hole wide enough to crawl through. you can see strange pink weeds
There’s no game effect to this—it’s just a growing out of the muck
reminder of how tight and nasty these everywhere—on the walls, ceiling,
little mud tunnels are. and floors.

On closer examination of the weeds,

read a bit more:

The “weeds” aren’t plants at all.

32 Marshal They’re some sort of long, pink

earthworms lying—or perhaps
even growing—in masses. You
 turn in disgust and see
something that freezes you in
horror. One of the worm
“masses” lies more exposed than
The Dead Walk 33
the others. Beneath it is the
grotesque face of a wormling!
The “weeds” are the things’
tentacles! A quick look around
Blechh!
tells you there must be hundreds Just as the hibernating wormlings
of these things encased in the start to react, the massive worm the
floors, ceiling, and walls of the heroes have been riding in vomits forth
chamber! its grotesque inhabitants. Hundreds of
As the horror grows in your deaders and young rattlers, a thousand
stunned mind, you feel the floor wormlings, millions of tons of earth
beneath you start to buckle. Or and soil, and a party of dazed heroes
undulate. The walls shudder and are vomited up in a disgusting brown
constrict as well, then shake and stew on the plains surrounding Denver.
shiver. A deep groan comes from The worm’s wretching isn’t
somewhere much deeper in the particularly gentle. The thing doesn’t
cavern. The cavern slowly turns really care if it loses a few deaders and
and rolls, throwing you to the wormlings in its “deployment.” The
wall. heroes, unfortunately, are on the more
Now you get it. This is no tender side. Roll 1d6 for each character.
cavern. You’re inside the body of a That’s how many d6 damage dice each
giant worm! waster takes as massive damage. That
means some should get off pretty light
Taste the dramatic pause, Marshal. If as they’re wretched along in a relatively
you’ve played it right. The gals at your soft stream of mud. Others might get
game table are sneering in revulsion wrapped up with a swallowed street
while the guys are saying car and mangled beyond
“EEEEWWWW!” comprehension (we hope the hapless
Let them figure out what they want heroes saved some Fate Chips for just
to do. The wormlings are currently such an emergency).
dormant and won’t react unless Once wretched, the wet mud spills
harmed. The moment the heroes figure out into a small cone-shaped lake
out a plan however, read the following: roughly 50 yards wide at the worm’s
mouth, 200 yards long, and 100 yards
Slowly, the wormlings before wide at the far end. Within this horrid
you start to move. First a slimy goulash are roughly 500 deaders, 1,000
bunch of fingers twitch, then a wormlings, and 500 young rattlers. Oh,
grotesque head shakes, then and a handful of very wet, mud-
hideous shark eyes flutter and covered, blood-stained heroes.
open! The wormlings are The deaders and wormlings—
awaking! accustomed to the muck as they are—
are less affected by the mud and
Let the heroes take whatever actions scramble from its sticky embrace much
they want—there are around 50 faster than the heroes. That’s good,
wormlings in this “egg sac,” most because while the mud-covered heroes
currently enclosed in protective muck. are floundering about and digging
(There are another thousand or so themselves out of the muck, the
bunking in the rest of the worm!) Short horrors charge out of the cone and
of a nuke, there’s not much any party toward the sounds of battle.
can do to kill them all. (If the party can A quick look around reveals scores of
wipe out the wormlings, more power to other great worms wretching forth
them! It won’t affect the plot at all, so their squirming contents as well. Within
don’t thwart them if they have some minutes, the heroes find themselves
clever plan to wipe out this colony.) behind enemy lines watching an
 unholy army of dead men and worms
rushing into the fray.
Both the Iron Alliance and the
Combine hold their fire, waiting to see
Scene Five:
what these strange new terrors are and
whose side they’re on. The first waves
slam into the besiegers first,
Raven’s Victory
overwhelming an isolated group of
hovertanks that won many accolades in Let the heroes do what they want for
the victory at Junkyard. The Iron a bit. If they’re smart, they should
Alliance retaliates immediately, lobbing remember there was a large force of
rockets, firing missiles, and raining undead topside as well (such as the
fiery lead down into the screaming group that chased them into the
horde of worms and wormlings and sewers), and they’ll probably be coming
silently running deaders. up the highway directly behind them.
The Combine holds their fire, waiting Their choices here are many. The
to see if the horde is some strange heroes might want to fight their way
new ally. Then the massive worms rush through the horde to join the Iron
toward the barricades around Denver. Alliance, they might want to slip into
Throckmorton’s troops take no chances Denver, or they might decide to get the
and open fire with incredible firepower. Hell out of the area. In any case, they
A number of the great worms explode must fight their way through a horde
in showers of blazing, rancorous flesh. of deaders, worms, and wormlings to
Their stinking hides rain down over the succeed. Roll on the Quick Combat
plains all the way back to the posse’s table on page 8 three times to simulate
location. Still more rush toward Denver a few minutes of combat. Make sure
and a few actually enter the downtown everyone is keeping up with their
area before being pulped by the ammo—they’re likely getting low.
Combine’s incredible weaponry. After the last roll, the group hears a
large group of vehicles moving in from
the east. These are large semis, buses,
and flatbed trucks loaded with the

34 Marshal meanest, most-grotesque, spikey

deaders yet.
 In the middle of the convoy is
another of the flatbed trucks. Anyone
with binoculars or a vision-enhancing
power of some sort can see that this
The Dead Walk 35
particular truck is quite different. The
bed of the truck virtually drips with a
large carpet of squirming deaders. More
of the grotesque things form a raised where it explodes in a massive
throne. Sitting on the throne is yet flash of light and sound.
another deader—this one gaunt and Now it’s time for the ground
blackened, as if burned. troops. Hover tanks and other
The posse has spotted the leader of heavy vehicles appear on the
this merciless horde. Before they can do distant horizon. They open up on
anything, however, read the following: the worms just like in an old
Godzilla movie and turn three of
Air support finally screams in the monsters into giant bags of
overhead—it’s the fighter jets of blood.
the Sky Pirates! The jets streak in A dozen of the closest worms
and launch a salvo of guided respond by arching their backs
missiles. At least two plow into and plunging their heads into the
the bellies of the great worms ground, disappearing. You can see
and detonate, showering the several of the tankers cheering,
massive creature’s guts all over believing they’ve driven the
the plains. worms off—but you know better.
Then something incredible
happens, something you and The heroes can try to warn the
your friends have seen once tanks (nearly a half mile distant) as
before. One of the sorcerous they fight another round of Quick
undead gathers a handful of Combat against the surrounding horde.
deaders in some sort of arcane Then the inevitable occurs.
grip and hurls them into the air
at the jets! One fighter goes up in As you thought, the worms
flames instantly as it impacts a simply burrowed underground.
wall of writhing dead. Another— Now they strike up from beneath
almost laughably—pops off a the tanks, turning the massive
dozen flares before being covered vehicles on their side then
in corpses and plummeting grappling them with their long
toward earth. The pilot ejects and tentacles and bashing them on
is quickly covered in another the ground. A number of
swath of dead, fighting with the crewmen scramble out and try to
blasphemous things as they fall fight back, but they’re smashed
faster and faster to ground. beneath the flailing worms or
Another wing of jets makes dragged underground by a new
another pass—one of them batch of young rattlers that
dropping a thousand pound bomb appear beneath them.
between two worms and tearing
great swaths of greasy flesh from A Farewell To Arms
their sides. Then one of the
worms reaches down to the Time for another Quick Combat roll,
ground and swallows up dozens Marshal. Then wet your whistle and do
of deaders running below. It spins the narrator routine again.
its ten-story tall neck about, rears
back, and then spits out dead On a slight rise a mile or more
men like a machine gun! The trail to the west, you can see Goose
of flailing bodies slams into the Mattox has circled the wagons—
bomber from behind and sends it literally. He’s called together all
tumbling towards the Rockies the remaining survivors and
ringed them in with vehicles.
 You turn and fight even harder,
determined to make your last
stand with Goose Mattox and the
rest of the alliance. To go down
fighting. But Goose now sees the
truth too—the worms were only
the vanguard of this unknown
army. There is no hope of
resistance—not here, not now.
Within minutes the survivors on
the hill have loaded onto their
remaining transports and are
racing away to the west. You can
see Goose is one of the last to go.
He salutes you and all the other
trapped and surrounded
survivors still fighting on the
plains, but he has no choice. He’s
leaving you behind.

The Death of Cole

Bunching together like this
would be suicide fighting the
Ballad
Combine’s automatic weapons
and heavy artillery, but it seems It’s time to introduce the big bad guy
to be working against the and say farewell to one of the Wasted
massed hordes of the dead. West’s heroes. That fellow on the cover
You fight with new vigor, of your rule book is about to meet his
determined to break through to maker.
Mattox—surely your last hope of After the heroes make another
survival. Quick Combat roll, read the following:

Let the heroes fight another two You can see five or six other
rounds of Quick Combat before moving groups like yours fighting for
on to the following event. their lives, surrounded by
deaders., but it’s hopeless. You
You’re fighting your way west give the members of your posse
when you hear heavy weapons one last look of respect and steel
firing from behind you. You turn yourselves for the inevitable.
and your heart fills with dread. Suddenly a barrage of small
On the highways from the east explosions rip through the dead
come hundreds of vehicles, each around you. You spin and see a
loaded with more deaders. A wave of hoverbikes and an old
short way behind them march Stuart APC racing through the
their tireless foot soldiers, grotesque horde. At the head of
thousands—maybe hundreds of the group, riding a hoverbike
thousands more walking corpses with a shining gold eagle on the
bear down upon the surrounded front, is the massive
Iron Alliance. unmistakable form of Cole Ballad.
It’s Cole Ballad’s Law Dogs!
At first you think they’ve come
to rescue you, but they only fire a
few bursts of 20mm cannon into

36 Marshal the deaders around you before

racing on by. Ten hover bikes and
the APC race by, but only half
 make it to the line of vehicles
that just approached from the
east.
The hoverbikes race on to the
The Dead Walk 37
center of the undead army—
toward a flatbed with a
mysterious throne of corpses.
Another hover bike is the first to There are really only three options. If
go down, wrecked by yet another the posse makes for the Stuart, move
flying ball of flailing deaders on to Re
Revvelations. If they move for the
hurled by the magical “liches.” APC but some or all of them try to help
Then the APC—a Confederate Cole Ballad, hand out some Fate Chips
Stuart by the look—gets bogged but run ReRevvelations before they get
down in a horde of undead. A there—it’s too late to save Cole. The only
handful of troopers abandon the real problem comes if they decide not
Stuart to fight, but it’s obvious to move toward the fight. If they hang
they’re doomed. where they’re at, or they try to move
west, you’ll have to push them back in
Roll another Quick Combat. the right direction, maybe with a giant
worm, another horde of dead rushing
Ahead, Cole Ballad and four toward their master, or some similar
others leap from their hoverbikes threat. The point is that you need them
and fight their way toward the to move toward Cole so they can
macabre flatbed truck. The burnt witness his death and learn the
master of this gruesome army identity of his slayer.
sweeps his hand and kills one of
the Law Dogs with a blast of Stuart APC
green fire. The hero’s death is
tragic, but it allows Cole to get Cr
Creew: 3+8
closer. Suddenly, the deaders Engine: Fusion
around you turn and race to Gas T ank: N/A
Tank:
protect their master. MPG: N/A
Cole climbs the cab of the Suspension: Hover
flatbed and rips off a burst of Wheels: 0
automatic fire. The bullets rip Top Speed: 60mph
through the deader on the throne Pace: 150
to no effect. Cole’s remaining Acceleration: 15mph
companions surround him, Durability: 60/12
fending off the surrounding Armor: Bottom 5, front 8, rear 5, left
undead with an amazing amount side 6, right side 6
of firepower. Handling: -2
Cole moves forward, fires off Size: +4
another clip and draws two Load Limit: 100
massive knives. He dives toward We a p o n s :
the back of the flatbed then steps M38: Fixed; Turret; 360 arc; Damage:
over the writhing carpet of 1d20, AP 2 (each action spent charging
undead. He screams something increases damage by +1d20, to
and the deader steps forward to maximum of 5d20); Shots: Unlimited;
meet him. ROF: 1; Range: 30.
The two grapple, yelling and .50M2HB: Ring; Turret; 360; Damage:
screaming as they fight. 4d12, AP 4; Shots: 100 (with 270 rounds
remaining); ROF: 3; Range: 40.
Let the heroes decide what they Flamer: Out of fuel.
want to do. Point out that the APC is M-249GL: Out of ammo.
now free of deaders, though the driver
and crew are all dead. You want them
to make a play for the APC—it’s the only
way out of this mess.
 Revelations Cole grabs the knives still
resting in Raven’s chest and
It’s time to reveal our villain’s true pushes them all the way through
identity to the posse—and his purpose. his twisted flesh though he
knows his struggle is pointless.
Cole Ballad jams two large With a snarl, Cole Ballad screams
knives deep into the heart of the “You ain’t got the balls! I #$(*&@!
burned deader on the flatbed. The dare you!” Raven sneers and
thing shivers but then reaches smashes Cole’s head into the
forward and grabs Cole by the trailer. The Law Dog twitches one
head and neck. He forces the Law last time and dies.
Dog down onto the flatbed where Raven spits on his sizzling
he is held down by the carpet of corpse—and turns his blazing
dead men beneath them. eyes to you!
The deader screams:
“I AM RAVEN! THE
RECKONERS BETRAYED ME! BUT
I WILL HAVE MY VENGEANCE
Run Heroes, Run!
WHEN I AM THE LAST LIVING In case you don’t understand the
MAN ON EARTH!” header above, it’s time to run!
Cole’s jaw drops in shock—he Fortunately, the heroes’ APC can plow
knows Raven is a servitor and through the horde and make it out of
can’t be killed without knowing the fray. You can describe a few
his specific weakness. additional scenes for drama—the Stuart
gets stuck in deaders and has to push
Let the realization sink in as the through, a worm chases it for a bit, and
heroes gain the APC. This is Raven, the so on—but in the end, the posse should
villain who started everything. The try to force their way west and attempt
posse can’t kill him, so they’d best run. to catch up with the fleeing survivors
Don’t let your heroes go charging after of the Convoy.
him—they won’t make it with all the
deaders now surrounding Raven’s
“throne”—and they can’t kill him
anyway since they don’t know his
What’s After the Fire?
weakness. It’s more important to get Once you’re out of the frying pan
this information back to the Iron and into the fire, where do you go from
Alliance so they can figure out how to there? Into the coals? Or Hell maybe?
defeat him. Let’s find out.
When the party has decided on their The heroes drive for maybe two
course of action, read one last bit of miles back toward the Convoy when
narration. they see…well, read on, Marshal.

Raven screams one last time as You’ve finally broken free of

bursts of red and green flame dead men and giant worms
streak between his eyes and when you a crest a small rise.
mouth and that of his victim. You There you witness a sight you
watch as Cole Ballad arcs his never dreamed possible.
back, struggling to escape, but On the field before you is yet
the black smoke and flame another massive army. You see
erupting from his face mark this bikers, zombies, monsters,
warrior’s final act of defiance. wasters, and more horrors than
even you’ve seen in your long
adventuring career. At the rear of
the army are four gigantic figures.
One, gaunt and skeletal, stands.

38 Marshal The other three sit upon massive

horses.
 Dramatic pause, Marshal. These are
the Reckoners themselves. And they’re
here to save the day.
The Dead Walk 39
Fleeing before the monstrous
horde are the bloodied remnants
of the Iron Alliance.
You pause and spare a quick Immediately after the first voracipede
glance behind you. Raven’s army knocks out the APC’s engines, the
moves forward as well. Some other two fire off their bolts as well.
move toward Denver, the rest race These make sizzling round holes in the
after you, not yet seeing the vehicle but otherwise do no damage.
rivals that lie directly in their Tell the heroes that the APC can likely
path! And you are caught in the be repaired, but they must defeat the
middle! serpents quick or they’re sure to do
more permanent damage, or blast a
Let the group panic and yell at each hole through a passenger!
other for a bit, then hit them with a The heroes must step outside and
weird burst of green energy. It slams fight the things in a regular combat to
into the engine of the Stuart APC and save Jenny Quaid. She doesn’t lie there
knocks it out. Read or paraphrase the like some helpless bimbo in a horror
following when they look out the movie though—Jenny stands up and
viewslits to see what happened! gives the snakes all she’s got.

Three snake-like creatures race Profile: Voracipede (3)

up the hill toward you from the
west—from the direction of what Corpor eal: D:1d6, N:6d10, Q:2d12+2,
Corporeal:
can only be the Reckoners and S:5d10, V:2d12
their terrible army of servitors Mental: C:4d6, K:1d4, M:1d4, Sm:1d4,
and abominations. A group of Sp:2d8
five Junkyarders flee before them. Pace: 20
Three are incinerated beneath the Size: 13 (20 feet long)
worm’s blazing gaze, a fourth Wind: —
trips and is instantly entangled by Terr or: 9
error:
another. The last, a beautiful and Special Abilities:
strong-looking young woman, Armor: 5
turns to save her entangled friend. Bolts o’ Doom: Damage 3d20, ROF 1,
Max Range 20’
The young woman is Jenny Quaid, Damage: Claw (STR+1d12, AP 2, or on
leader of the Queens of the Road gang a raise they can grapple. Its bite
(see The Wasted West). Like many other hits automatically on the creature’s
gangs, she threw her hat in the ring following actions until a successful
with Ike and the Iron Alliance. She’s contest of Strength is won), bite
single, gorgeous, and dead if the posse (STR+2d8, AP 1)
doesn’t help her out. Burr
Burroowing: Pace 8 through earth,
The things chasing her aren’t more loose stone, and similar materials,
of Raven’s worms, these are particularly Pace 4 through concrete and stone.
nasty abominations the Reckoners Wall Cra wlin’: Pace 10
Crawlin’:
brought to the party—voracipedes! Description: The voracipede is a 20’
Voracipedes are 20’ long insect-like long arthropoid creature resembling a
serpents with tons of armor, nasty nightmarish fusion of centipede and
teeth, and the ability to fire bolts of preying mantis with scythe-like
irradiated energy from their slitted forelimbs, a wicked set of mandibles,
eyes! The first bolt slams into the and eyes capable of emitting a
engine of the APC—it’s currently concentrated beam of energy powerful
immobile, but it still makes a nice enough to vaporize steel!
bunker for the following scene!
 Gear: 12-gauge pump-action shogtun, 3
shells left!
Description: Jenny is beautiful and
uses it to her advantage when
leading her gang. Unfortunately, her
gang now lies dead on the plains of
Denver. She’s on her own now.

Assuming she’s rescued, Jenny stays

with the heroes if they treat her right.
She might even be attracted to
someone in the party. If someone loses
their character later on, Jenny might be
a good replacement—there aren’t many
places to pick up fresh faces once the
posse gets to the Unity.

Drive-In Double
Feature!
The round before you think the last
voracipede is going down—or the party
decides to climb back inside their APC—
tell them they see a huge swirling
cloud of reddish-dust coming from the
west. A quick glance in the other
direction shows Raven’s front line of
deaders and wormlings approaching as
well.
Profile: Jenny Quaid When the last voracipede falls, the
big red cloud of dust comes within 50
Corpor eal: D:3d8, N:2d8, S:3d6, Q:2d6,
Corporeal: yards. Anyone who makes a Fair (5)
V:3d6 Cognition roll realizes the cloud is some
Climbin’ 1d8, dodge 3d8, drivin’: car, sort of abomination—filled with
motorcycle 4d8, shootin’: shotgun, swirling innards!
pistol 5d8, sneak 5d8 It’s time to get inside the APC and
Mental: C:2d6, K:2d6, M:4d10, Sm:3d6, watch the show.
Sp:2d8 The storm racing from the
Area Knowledge: SoCal 3d6, gamblin’ Reckoners’ camp is a gore storm. You
3d6, guts 4d8, leadership 5d10, can read all about it in Monsters,
persuasion 6d10, scrutinize 4d6, Muties, & Misfits if you like, but we
search 3d6, survival: desert 3d6 don’t really intend for your heroes to
Pace: 8 fight it. Consider it more of a plot
Size: 6 device.
Wind: 14 Read the following.
Edges: Level-headed, purty, “the stare,”
“the voice” (soothing) You peer out the viewslit and
Hindrance: Law o’ the West, loyal see the red storm whirling up the
hill toward you. A glance out the
other side shows a throng of
deaders already climbing atop
your vehicle. Some of them bang

40 Marshal on the roof and grunt fiercely,

obviously sensing prey. You feel
 like tuna packed live in a dented
can.
Then something bangs on the
floorboards and rocks the APC!
The Dead Walk 41
Young rattlers! Dozens of ‘em by
the sound of it!
You peer back toward the
storm just in time to see it wash Describe a gory, wild dash through the
over you. The APC rocks like it’s battlefield as gigantic rattlers crush
in a hurricane, then it’s hit by thousands of prairie ticks beneath their
hundreds of wet, sloppy…things! scales, charnel hounds rip apart
Your viewports are spattered staggering deaders, and desert gators
with red gore, but you can just waddle into the fray to devour Raven’s
make out the forms of the liches. Anything goes here, Marshal. If
deaders atop you being washed you have a favorite abomination the
away by the storm’s gory fury. Reckoners might have brought with
them to the fight, feel free to describe
The grotesque battle rages for a few it—or even force the party to fight it if
long minutes—during which time the they’ve had too easy a time so far
group might be able to give Jenny (yeah, right).
Quaid a little first aid and get her When you’re done with your version
talking. If they do, she has time to tell of Monster Death Race 2094, move on to
them the Reckoners are back, and the next event. It’s a doozy!
they’ve brought an army of horrors
with them. She doesn’t know what
happened to the rest of the Convoy—
everyone got separated when the first
Behold. A Pale Horse
of the Horsemen’s troops entered the You smash through a wall of
fray. angry-looking fat men! As you
After half a minute—though it likely hit them, their stomachs burst
seems much longer—the storm passes open, spewing greenish clouds of
over the APC and moves on into what can only be poisonous gas.
Raven’s horde. The group has to get You put the pedal to the metal
moving again. The APC’s power flickers and move through the cloud
on and off—ensuring them that the before it can seep into the Stuart.
engine is fixable (let ‘em make a The next rise is fairly clear—
Foolproof (3) Smarts roll to figure that only a few toxic zombies to run
out if they haven’t already, Marshal). over. You scream down a short
A decent mechanic can fix the road clogged with dead men and
Stuart’s engine. When he steps outside into an old suburb—Aurora by a
to take a look, he sees the voracipede’s sign on a ruined Quickie Mart.
shot just took out some unimportant Even with all you’ve seen
subsystem and caused a shutdown. By today, the sight you now witness
disabling the subsystem (from outside) is the most terrible yet.
and making an Onerous (7) trade: Standing in what was once a
mechanics or tinkerin’ roll, the APC small intersection is a tall, gaunt
starts right up. figure atop a pale horse. He wears
If the posse decides to sit and wait it a black cloak and carries a
out instead of fixing the Stuart, a few massive scythe. Death swings the
bigger, meaner abominations start great weapon and cuts down a
heading their way. If they try to run on hundred deaders. The things
foot, convince them of their folly by continue to writhe, though
telling them there are literally Death’s gigantic, skeletal charger
THOUSANDS of deaders, worms, and steps forward to stomp them into
bizarre horrors fighting all around them. meaty black stains.
Once the Stuart is running again, the From somewhere within the
group can smash through the weakest Reaper’s dark cowl comes a low,
of the horrors fighting around them. rumbling whisper, yet somehow
 you can still hear it inside your
trusty Stuart—”RAVENNNNNN!” We hope that’s a strong-enough hint,
You hit the accelerator—this is Marshal. Your posse needs to beat
not a good place to be! But Death Death’s minions to the ship! If they
turns towards you and points a don’t get that clue, you’ll need to have
long bony finger… the ship’s pilot send out a radio
message asking for help. Read the next
This is a good time for a five-minute scene to figure out what he says to his
break, Marshal. Let the gang take a rescuers.
break from this completely over-the-top
chapter. They’ve likely been laughing
their collective keisters off for a good
bit now, so let ‘em get a fresh soda or
Black Ship Down!
water the lilies. When everyone’s The heroes have to race to the black
settled and ready to fight Death itself— ship and rescue its mysterious pilot—Dr.
proceed. Darius Hellstromme.
The trip to the crash site is fairly
Death turns toward you and short—barely a mile, but the roads and
points a bony finger… fields are covered with Raven’s deaders,
…when suddenly a thin beam worms, wormlings, and the myriad
of blood-red light streaks from the horrors of the Four Horsemen.
sky and envelops the Horseman. Describe a few bizarre fights
Death turns and swings its between these terrible troops and
incredible scythe in…panic? make the driver of the Stuart make a
You look up and see a small, few drivin’ rolls. Don’t worry about the
strange craft—a sleek, black results, though. Just say “Whew! Barely!”
VTOL of some sort by the pale a lot and get on with the action.
light of its beam. Hellstromme? It (Should the driver go bust on one of
hovers not thirty feet above the these rolls, he drives the Stuart into an
Reckoner. Death slashes madly at old ditch and everyone suffers 2d6
the thing, but can’t quite seem to damage.)
reach. Legions of horrors Eventually, the group finds the woods
suddenly begin to swarm to their where the ship went down. Right
master’s aid—but it’s too late! The behind them are a pair of black riders—
Reaper and his horse turns Death’s personal bodyguards. The ship
ethereal and seems to be sucked won’t open—it’s damn near
upward into the beam—and into impenetrable—and it won’t open on its
the strange black ship! own until the posse defeats the riders.
Just as the red light fades, a
group of skeletal wasters—foot Profile: Black Riders (2)
troops of Death himself—fire a
massive cannon of pure Hellfire Corpor eal: D:4d12, N:2d8, S:2d12+4,
Corporeal:
into the black ship. It sputters, Q:5d12+4, V:3d8
spins, and heads for the Fightin’: brawlin’ 4d8, horse ridin’ 8d8,
mountains. The pilot—if there is shootin’: pistol 8d12
one—struggles to keep the craft Mental: C:4d12, K:1d4, M:2d10, Sm:3d8,
under control, but you can plainly Sp:4d10
see it go down in a forest not a Overawe 5d10, search 4d10
mile from your position. Pace: 8
The skeletal foot troops and all Size: 6
the other undead servants of Wind: —
Death race toward it! Terr or
error s: 9
ors:
Special Abilities:
Coup: A Harrowed who takes a
rider’s essence can instantly detect

42 Marshal other Harrowed by simply looking

at them.
 Damage: Ghostly six-guns (ROF 1,
range increment 10, damage 4d10),
never need reloading)
Immunity—All
The Dead Walk 43
Weakness: Blessed W eapons: The
Weapons:
riders can only be destroyed by
blessed weapons. In the Wasted
West, this includes good succeed, and to do so you will
Doomsayer magic and any sort of likely face horrors even worse
hand weapon wielded by a than those that surround us now.
Templar. Even then, the creature’s But it is humanity’s only hope!
horses and their cloaks are May I count on you?”
insubstantial. Only their black
skulls have form, and it is these Well, let’s hope so, Marshal, because
that must be shattered to send that’s how the heroes are going to get
them back to the abyss. to the Unity.
Description: The riders wear tattered When they agree, or ask those pesky
black shrouds with a single holster questions, Hellstromme’s massive robot
at their waists. Beneath their black body clambers out of his cockpit. Read
cowls—should anyone get that close— on, Marshal.
are skulls with two glowing red
sparks for eyes. Hellstromme’s massive robotic
body has seen better days—he’s
If your group can’t handle the Black limping and there’s a serious
Riders, by the way, they probably crack in the dome that holds his
shouldn’t be on this adventure—this is a living brain. He staggers stiffly to
veterans-only shindig. the rear of his ship where he
When the posse finishes the riders,
the black ship opens on its own. Inside
the small craft (about the size of a
Cessna with half the wingspan) is the
robotic body of Doctor Hellstromme.
The good doctor quickly speaks,
strangely managing a British accent
through his digitized voice.

“Those creatures around us.

You know what they are? The
worms and the dead are the army
of Raven. The monsters are
abominations of the Reckoners
themselves.
Raven seeks revenge for his
betrayal. He believes that if he
wipes out every single living
human being on the face of the
earth, the Reckoners will die.
He is correct, but fortunately,
there is another way.
I have all four of the Reckoners
trapped for a bit—perhaps a day
or more. But they must be taken
far, far away from here. And
quickly.
My ship is ruined and my body
is failing. You must continue
where I have failed. The odds are
nearly impossible that you will
 pushes it over with titanic whatever they do will be “just in time.”
strength. A buzzsaw then extends Just make sure they don’t know that.
from the tip of one crumpled arm
and begins to cut into the ship’s Twenty Questions with Doctor
tail—near a strange protrusion
that emitted the red light. Hellstromme
Hellstromme reaches inside the
gash with his left “hand”—as if Once the posse is on their way to
cutting out a tumor from a the spaceport (a good 30 minute drive),
patient—and pulls forth a strange it’s possible they might want to
crimson box covered in bizarre communicate with him via radio for
black “veins.” Even a cursory look some more detailed instructions, or
shows creepy pentagrams, skulls, perhaps to ask a few questions. This is
and other signs of the occult. encouraged, and in fact, if your heroes
“I do not have time to tell you don’t think about it, Hellstromme could
everything now. Take this box and contact them instead.
head toward the Vanessa As he’s escaping, Hellstromme fills
Hellstromme Memorial Spaceport them in on a few more details. This is
on the outskirts of Denver as fast all said quite calmly, though the
as your vehicle will allow. I will wasters can often hear the sound of
move away from this spot and try his buzzsaw, screaming zombies, and
to draw off Death’s minions. I other weird sounds in the background.
will brief you further by radio—
for as long as it lasts in these Many have wondered where I
accursed wastes—or until I am have been these last 13 years. I
overtaken.” have been on Banshee in the
“Go! Now! You haven’t much Faraway System. As you know,
time!” the Tunnel that allows travel
between our two worlds no
Hellstromme won’t answer any more longer functions, but what few
questions. He just gives the group a know is that the Tunnel is not
look with his single red eye (cracked the only way to Faraway. It was
down the center) and says “Godspeed! simply the safest.
Now go!” Then he heads off into the I’m afraid I have many secrets
woods to play cat and insane-world- to tell you before this makes any
killer with the servants of Death. sense.
(That’s something you just don’t see First, the Tunnel is a portal
every day!) from our world to Faraway, but
The party should hop in their Stuart hyperspace and worm holes are
and get moving. We can’t troubleshoot just technobabble used to hide
everything they might do to delay their the truth. Travel through the
trip, Marshal, so you’ll have to figure Tunnel is facilitated through a
out what to do if they’re hesitant. Feel mystical realm that has come to
free to throw in a servitor of Death, be called the Hunting Grounds.
some more Black Riders, a wave of Some areas of it are what you
deaders or wormlings, or whatever else might call Heaven. Other parts are
might convince your heroes to be on most definitely Hell.
their merry way. The Tunnel merely opens a
One way or another, that box has to portal to the Hunting Grounds
get to the spaceport east of Denver and and then directs ships through it
fast! There’s no real time limit to how to a specified area on the other
long the box will hold the Reckoners— side, avoiding the demons, devils,
and nightmare realms in between.
There are many other portals to
the Hunting Grounds, but

44 Marshal without the Tunnel or some

other method of navigation, a
traveler might easily be lost in the
 nightmare lands for centuries.
And for whatever reason, it is far
easier to wander into Hell then
any other region.
The Dead Walk 45
I left for Banshee not to flee the
earth’s destruction—which I
contributed to, but to attempt then, it may take years for their
some minor atonement for my power to wane enough to kill
actions. I went because there is a them—but it can be done!”
secret that I have kept for many “Of course, to do this, you must
years. get to Banshee. With my ship
Banshee is alive. disabled, there is only way to do
My studies had shown this so. You must board the Unity, the
conclusively in years past, but I first ship I used to forge a tunnel
had to discover if another of my through Hell.”
hypotheses were true. It is, and it
may mean the destruction of the Give your group a slight pause before
Reckoners themselves. continuing, Marshal.
Just a moment…”
“I know of only one way to get
The sound of a buzzsaw to the Unity. You must contact
ripping through bone fills the the satellite called ComSat and
radio before Hellstromme convince it to send a shuttle
continues. down after you. It is controlled by
a very finicky artificial
“If the Reckoners can be intelligence, but I watched it for a
transported to Banshee, they will time on my return and know that
not die, but they will lose their it is active. I also know that there
invulnerability. And then they are numerous space stations in
may be killed.” orbit, one of which must surely
have a shuttle that ComSat can
Allow a dramatic pause here as the link in to.”
heroes realize where they’re headed. “There is a direct link to
ComSat at the Vanessa
A heavy thunk sounds over the Hellstromme Memorial Spaceport.
radio. Hellstromme fritzes in and In the control tower. There’s also
out for a moment, cursing some room to land a shuttle there. That
nameless undead thing, then is the only way. Get to the
continues. spaceport and persuade that
“The box I gave you is paranoid AI to transport you to
something of a trap. Inside it—for the Unity.
perhaps a turn of the sun or “There you must do three
two—are the Reckoners things. First, you must restore
themselves.” power. The ship is driven by a
You hear a racket of machine nuclear reactor, but it has likely
gun fire and a quick series of gone cold. To restart it you must
metallic thuds. Hellstromme engage the conventional engine
curses again and then you hear a and bring the reactor back on
large “WHUMP!”, as if the doctor’s line.”
radio was in the middle of a “Second, you must go to the
small explosion. engine room and speak the word
“Pardon me. Some sort of bone ‘Apostolos.’ Remember that.
conglomeration with assault ‘Apostolos.’ It’s a…code word. The
rifles. Where was I? Oh, yes. The computer AI will tell you what to
box must be on Banshee before do next. Make sure at least two of
the Reckoners find a way to free you make it there. You’ll need two
themselves. It is the only chance
we have of destroying them. Even
 bodies to properly follow the because that was the form
computer’s instructions.” present in the minds of Raven’s
“When that task is completed, enemies when he first called
go to the bridge and set the them long ago.
destination for Faraway. The ship
will do the rest.” Question: Why did the
“When you get to Banshee, Reckoners come to earth?
seek out the Colonial Rangers. Hellstr omme: I can only
Hellstromme:
Specifically Ranger David Ross or guess at the answer to that
Debbi Dallas. Any other power question. The Reckoners are
you approach—including my own impatient creatures. They were
Lab—will attempt to use the created to destroy, and I imagine
Reckoners for their own ends.” they grew impatient waiting for
“Go as quickly as you can. some promised apocalypse. So
There’s no way to tell how long they decided to bring about the
the trap can hold them!” end of the world themselves. And
by creating a Hell on Earth, they
Okay, Marshal. That’s the big plan for have managed to create a
the final chapter of this epic saga. But constant state of destruction.
before Hellstromme disappears once
more, your group has earned a very Question: What was your
special reward. They’ve got another few role in all this?
minutes before they’re out of the mad Hellstr
Hellstromme:
omme: I’m afraid the
doctor’s radio range. If they’d like to Reckoners needed four humans
ask him a few questions and fill in who were willing to help bring
some of the gaps about the mysteries them into the world. To “sell their
of Deadlands, now’s the time. souls,” so to speak. Reverend
You should be able to answer most Grimme was the servitor of
questions about Deadlands and the way Famine. A killer named Stone
things work. Hellstromme knows pretty served Death. War chose Raven
much everything about how the himself. I’m afraid I was
Reckoners “terror-formed” the earth, Pestilence’s personal servant. I
the Path of Stone (see the Fortress o’ offer no defense for my actions,
Fear trilogy), and so on. He’s a little and you are very right to blame
ignorant of recent Hell on Earth history, me for the current state of the
however, as he’s only been back a short earth. I will never redeem myself,
while and hasn’t yet learned all of but I do know how to destroy the
what’s happened since he went away. Reckoners.
Here are a few questions you might
not know off the top of your head, for Question: What’s up with
your benefit as well as your posse’s. your wife? How did she really die?
Why did you build the Unity in
Question: Why the Four the first place?
Horsemen? Does that mean the Hellstr omme: My darling
Hellstromme:
Christian mythology is the “right” Vanessa. I wronged her, oh so
one? many years ago. I have told many
Hellstromme: The form they
Hellstromme: tales of her death, but the truth is
chose, the Four Horsemen, was that she was wounded in India. I
irrelevant. They are forces of sought revenge rather than
destruction unbound by any comforting her in her agony as I
particular religion. They should have. Eventually,
manifested as the horsemen only miserable, lost, and lonely in a
foreign land, my sweet young
bride took her own life.
I was wracked by guilt for

46 Marshal centuries, but never allowed

myself to grieve. Instead I used my
scientific skills to build devices
 that might one day let me bring
her back to life. When that proved
impossible, I sought to venture
into Hell itself and bring back her
The Dead Walk 47
soul. My first trip was on a train,
over two hundred years ago. That
went…poorly. scene when you’re done with the Road
Centuries later, I created the Warrior routine.
Unity, a ship that would take me
into Hell itself and retrieve my
wife. The Unity did venture into
The Vanessa Hellstromme
Hell, but that is another story. It Memorial Spaceport
could not recover my wife, but it
did eventually discover the The VHMS is described in the Denver
Faraway System. And perhaps sourcebook, but we don’t need too
earth’s salvation. many details for our scene here. You
know the basics: busted tarmac, ruined
Question: What’s the state of planes and space shuttles, crumbling
the Unity now? buildings, and so on.
Hellstromme: I’ve no idea. I
Hellstromme: The main building is haunted by a
did not visit it when I returned poltergeist-like abomination, but
from Faraway, though my sensors fortunately, your heroes don’t have to
did note that it was still present. go there. There’s also evidence that the
Combine has been working on the

Scene Six: spaceport, but they’ve all retreated back

into the walls until the siege is over.

The Haunted The Spaceport

The spaceport sat at the edge of the

Spaceport Colorado blast, but it was close enough

to fry its electronics and incinerate
most of the folks who worked there.
What’s left are a series of long
The trip to the spaceport on the runways that look just like any major
outskirts of Denver is a 30 minute trip. airport, a number of ruined buildings,
That’s at breakneck speed over the and the blackened hulks of tankers,
good roads with a slow careful pace luggage trolleys, and even a few old
off-road or while skirting some nasty spaceships. A number of massive
critter. hangars survived as well, but campfires
The journey itself should be fairly burning within should warn the posse
easy—have everyone make a Quick away from the muties who have taken
Combat roll and add +4 to their rolls. up residence inside.
Whoever mans the Stuart’s guns does The old control tower here has a
double casualties. powerful transmitter that can break
Along the way, just to make your through the usual ground interference
wasters nervous, Hellstromme’s box and reach ComSat. Any junker or other
makes “bzzt” sounds and crackles with waster with a high-tech background
dark red energy. This happens only can spot the dishes and relays and
once during this trip and lasts for about guess their intent on a Foolproof (3)
ten seconds. It gets more frequent later science: electronics roll.
on. Getting to the tower is fairly easy if
Fortunately, getting to the spaceport the party is either very quiet or uses
is fairly easy. It’s outside of town and their Stuart. The few hermits and
there are enough road signs left to muties who are squatting here are
guide even the dimmest posse straight perfectly willing to go after weak prey,
towards its formerly heavily-fortified
walls. Move on to the heart of this
 but won’t tangle with a group who relevant to this adventure, so you can
looks like they can handle themselves. skip it and move on to the action.
The central control tower is scorched
and weathered with an old fire escape Would You Like to Play a Game?
zigzagging down one side. The only
entrance is protected by a high-security The central control room has been
door. The electronic locks were fried picked over by looters, but since most
and it’s now stuck in place. Someone of the electronics are fried, and not too
has busted the door inward, but it is many survivors need advanced
blocked by rubble and debris on the telemetry computers, the room is in
inside. The only way in is to go up the surprisingly good shape.
fire escape and directly into the top of One very powerful computer sits in
the tower. This requires three Hard (9) the rear center of the room. Even a
climbin’ rolls as the gantry is twisted clueless waster can spot the label on
and shaky. Each success gets the the monitor that reads “ComSat Uplink.”
character 10 yards up the high tower This unit is shielded to resist the
(it’s about 30 yards to the doorway at effects of electro-magnetic pulses,
the top of the walk). The fire escape though the characters might not realize
can hold about 300 pounds before this just yet. The screen is cracked but
falling. Anyone caught up in the jagged viewable, the keyboard is covered with
metal takes 2d6 damage from the fire dust, and it has no power.
escape in addition to any falling It’s time to let your junker characters
damage. do their thing. A quick Fair (5)
At the top, the climber is rewarded scavenging roll and a Fair (5) tinkerin’
with an open door into what was once or science: electronics can rig a cable
the world’s most advanced control from the APC’s power outlet below
tower. An elevated walkway leads into directly to the computer.
the rest of the spaceport, as well, but If the scavengers get careless, you
there’s nothing there that is particularly can have them run afoul of a few
random muties lurking in the shadows,
or perhaps a lurker hanging out in the
debris, but otherwise let your heroes

48 Marshal get on with their mission.

Paranomia
Once the power is on, a microphone
next to the monitor allows anyone with
The Dead Walk 49
any technical background to realized
ComSat should be instructed by voice
commands. When spoken to, it answers
by typing a message on the screen: banks. ComSat often uses these to
ComSat Active. (It never speaks.) send “coded” communications to its few
Maddeningly, nothing else happens friends on earth. An advanced Artificial
until someone tells ComSat that the Intelligence, it also has the ability to
group needs to get to the Unity. create new video and audio clips from
Then a strange thing happens—a its library as well.
commercial plays: A second commercial starts a few
seconds later.
The cracked screen goes from
black to an old commercial. The screen went black for a
In the commercial, a well- moment, but now it’s back. This
dressed man stands before the time you see a man in a suit
spaceport. He says “Here at Noble kissing babies and shaking
Corp, the sky is not a limit. Our hands with common folks. A
new deep space research vessel, banner at the bottom of the
the Unity, has the most advanced screen reads: “President Romero.
technology on the planet. It What’s best for Texas and the rest
features state of the art artificial of the Confederacy.”
intelligence and a drive so secret
even the government doesn’t The trick to this one is that Romero
know about it. But machines are was President of the United States, not
only as good as the people who the Confederacy. It freezes on a picture
use them. That’s why we’ve of Romero in front of the Texas flag
chosen veteran shuttle pilot and waits until someone in the room
Colonel Mark Hazard to realizes the truth.
command our first journey into
deep space. Watch on March 26th The screen goes black when Romero
as the Unity begins its historic is revealed and another commercial
mission. The world will never be begins. This one shows nothing but a
the same.” ticking stopwatch followed by a
spinning book of noxious green that
The screen freezes on the last frame, rushes out at the viewer.
the announcer’s face caught in a
permanent smile. The gaff, of course, is “Tonight on 60 Minutes. Was
that “Noble Corp” didn’t build the Unity, the Last War predicted by a Sean
it was Hellstromme Industries. As soon Hanson roleplaying game made in
as someone says that aloud (so that the late 1990s? And if so, is his
ComSat can hear it through the startling vision of apocalypse
microphone), the commercial fritzes out. unavoidable? Ingrid Honnaker
ComSat is playing its little games as and Joel Tuchman find out
it is wont to do (it thinks this protects it tonight on 60 Minutes, for
from abominations). If you’ve read the September 24th, 2081.”
Wasted West book, you might remember
ComSat was disguised as a typical Sadly, there was no broadcast on
commercial relay satellite. It relayed September 24th, 2081, for this was the
airplane (and spaceport) data, mobile day after the world ended. The image
phone calls, television signals, freezes on the familiar 60 Minutes
computer downloads, and so on. It did stopwatch, waiting for someone to state
all these duties, but had other, more the answer out loud. The screen goes
secretive functions as well. Many of its black again when ComSat hears the
old broadcasts still exist in its memory right answer.
 The Clueless Hindrance The voice was done on a computer
and designed to reside subliminally in
It is possible your players don’t know customer’s minds for days. Every time
the answers to some of these they see a bubble, something round, or
questions. No sweat. Hey, we wrote all even something that looks like a cola
those “gray pages” for them to read, but can, the voice runs through their head.
don’t mind our carpal tunnel syndrome, Bubbly Fizz. Mmmm. Drive your group
bleeding fingers, and bloodshot, crazy by making them all say that
irradiated eyes. aloud everytime they see something
The questions ComSat asks are fairly bubbly or can-shaped.
easy to characters of the Wasted West. Once the commercial is over, the
The trick is just figuring out the screen goes black and stays that way.
commercials are questions. If your
players do that, you can let them make The Wreck of the Hesperas
Knowledge rolls to guess the truth (or
to determine what’s wrong with each The Hesperas was a light freighter
advertisement). that carried goods from the planet to
In any event, in the future, let those larger bulk freighters in space. Now it
poor players read the gray pages of sits in a ditch to the side of one
your books! Even better, make them go runway. Its door is buried in the dirt,
buy their own and learn about this but the back loading bay can be opened
world they’re playing in! We won’t with a welding torch or a good bashing
complain. from the Stuart. If the heroes don’t
have a way to cut the door open, an
Bubbly Fizz. Mmmmm. Onerous (7) scroungin’ roll (and maybe
a run-in with some random muties)
When the 60 Minutes puzzle is allows them to find one.
Inside, the Hesperas is a mess. At first glance, it looks as if
solved, the screen switches to a view someone threw gelatinous blood over the cargo bay. In truth, a
from orbit. It shows the spaceport, then large shipment of reddish petroleum jelly sealed in plastic
drums was the Hesperas’ final cargo. The burst drums look
tracks across the tarmac to a wreck something like cola cans, so the characters are likely reminded
of the subliminal ad again: Bubbly Fizz. Mmmm.
lying a few hundred yards distant. The
Most of the drums have long since
screen then zooms in close enough to
burst and the jelly lies about the bay in
read the ship’s name—the Hesperas. It’s
large piles. Here and there can be seen
obviously ruined—it won’t go into space,
ancient remains of the crew—those
but ComSat keeps showing the image
within the jelly are still fairly fresh, the
anyway (it wants the heroes to go
rest are mere bones.
there).
Your wasters are going to have wade
As the heroes start to leave the
through this mess, Marshal. Anyone
tower, the terminal flickers on and off,
with a phobia of blood (fairly common
hesitantly playing another commercial.
if you’re using the Scart Table as much
This one is unintentional, but as was
as you oughtta) feels a little queasy
stated in The Wasted West, ComSat’s a
about the goo and must make a Hard
little screwy these days and can’t stop
(9) guts roll to wade in.
itself. Perceptive heroes might notice
Beyond the barrels are a number of
the heavy static and constant breaks in
unlabeled plastic crates. Ripping them
this commercial that show ComSat is
open reveals ComSat’s true intentions—
trying to turn it off.
the crates are filled with spacesuits.
Those who stay to watch see a sexy
lingerie model opening a can of fizzing
cola, then pouring it into a tall glass. A Zombies. Who’da Thunk It?
sexy female voice then says “Bubbly
Fizz. Mmmm.” As the heroes near the front of the
ship (just after discovering the suits)
and are hip deep in slippery jelly, the
former crew rises from the dead to

50 Marshal defend their cargo. These walkin’ dead

aren’t particularly dangerous, and are
armed only with wrenches, inanimate
carbon rods, and other simple tools—but
the slippery jelly makes footing
treacherous for everyone. Anyone in the
cargo hold subtracts -4 from physical
The Dead Walk 51
skills involving movement (including
fightin’ and even shootin’ if the
character hasn’t braced himself first).
There are two walkin’ dead for every A female voiceover says, “In the
member of the party. You know the United States Special Forces, we
stats, Marshal (see the Hell on Earth kill more rebels before 9am than
rulebook). These suckers aren’t armed the Latin Alliance kills all year.”
and not particularly dangerous except The picture then pans up the
for the possibility of the wrestling hulking power armor until it
match in the jelly. gets to the top. There the soldier
Oh, and fireworks are a strict no-no. takes off her imposing helmet to
Allow everyone a Foolproof (3) Smarts reveal a beautiful young girl of
roll to realize the petroleum jelly is about 17.
likely to ignite if they break out the Now a male voice cuts in. “Sign
flamethrowers and hand-cannons. up now for the new spaceborne
Players being players, someone will Marines and receive twice the
likely still whip out their zippo, so usual recruiting bonus!”
here’s how to handle it. A small flame,
like the burst of a big handgun, has a 1 ComSat is trying to prepare the
in 20 chance of starting a fire. A bigger heroes for their venture into space. It
burst, like that of automatic fire, has a 1 has a slight “favor” it wants to ask of
in 10 chance. Flamethrowers and similar its visitors before it sends them over to
devices have a 1 in 1 chance (that’s the Unity.
right—kaboom!) The initial blast is
equal to a grenade. After that, the jelly
burns slowly for the next eight hours.
Anyone who gets it on him suffers 2d6
The Hesperas
damage per round until it’s smothered
completely. Fortunately, the suits are in Entrance
a fire-proof container and aren’t
destroyed.
When the fight is over, the posse can
explore the hold and salvage the
goodies ComSat needs them to find.
One hour later, they hear the roar of
jets. A few minutes after that, a small
space shuttle descends from the sky
and lands near the wreck of the Walkin’ Dead
Hesperas. It looks a little weathered, but
should hold up. With a little luck.
As the heroes get in, ComSat blasts
another commercial over the shuttle’s
view screen.

A commercial suddenly flares

to life on the ship’s cracked
monitor. It shows a number of
figures in power armor moving
fast through a blasted urban
scene and fighting what can only
Space Suits
be a heavy can cyborg. Music
plays, “Be all that you can be, in
=10’
the Arrrrr-myyyy.”
 Blast Off Hotel ComSat
The shuttle slows a few hours or so
The shuttle has just enough room for after breaking earth’s orbit and
the characters and whatever gear you changes course towards ComSat. Those
want them to have. We’ll leave this a bit looking out one of the portholes see a
ambiguous so that you can force posses cylinder about the size of a grain silo
with truckloads of equipment to with several solar panels, radar dishes,
choose what they’ll take into the void. and sensor prongs jutting from its
Throttle jockeys are disappointed center. These are ComSat’s primary
when they step into the ship—its sensor arrays. Though few know it—and
controls are locked. ComSat plans on ComSat never reveals it—it is linked
guiding it from orbit. with hundreds of smaller relays around
If a junker or some other rocket Earth’s orbit as well. ComSat itself is
scientist tries to override the shuttle, it the “brain” of this network.
rises abruptly into space, pinning the There is a single entrance to
offending technician in his seat. Anyone ComSat’s housing, and no gantry or
who wasn’t strapped in takes 2d4 walkway to accommodate docking
massive damage as he flies back craft. Since ComSat does not spin (no
through the hull. Roll 1d6 for each other gravity is required), technicians were
passenger as well. On a 1, that expected to simply “hover” nearby and
character is hit by the first and suffers go extravehicular (EV) to conduct
a like amount of damage. If the repairs or add new components. This is
offending techie keeps at it, ComSat why the heroes needed spacesuits. Now
shakes the shuttle violently enough to it’s time to use them.
keep them from doing any intricate As the shuttle nears ComSat, the
electronic work. monitors flicker to life. Read the
ComSat is pretty smart and can following to the heroes:
monitor most small operations that
could cause critical mishaps. If the Just outside the shuttle is an
doors to the shuttle are left open when old satellite about the size and
it launches, for instance, ComSat shape of a grain silo. Solar panels
automatically closes them. and sensor prongs ring its
Needless to say, blasting out of perimeter. Marked clearly on its
Earth’s atmosphere is a little side, in big blue letters, is
disconcerting. Have every character “ComSat.”
make a Hard (9) guts check to avoid As you marvel at being in
filling the cabin with curiously outer space, the shuttle’s monitor
weightless vomit. Savages and others flickers on to show two children
with fears of the miracles of high eating what appears to be soggy
technology subtract -4 from their rolls. corn flakes soaked in blood.
The shuttle has windows (for Audio booms into your suit’s
dramatic effect, Marshal!), so the posse radio:
can see the big blue ball they lived on “Tasty Flakes are yumilicious,
fading into the distance behind them. nutritious, and made from algae
Let the posse get a good look at their harvested in the Red Sea!
blasted mudball—it’s likely the last Children love the way it turns
they’ll see of Earth for a long time. milk red! Parents love Tasty
Flakes because they’re
wholesome, all-natural, and
affordable!”
“Even Astronaut Flip Cheney
loves Tasty Flakes! ‘They’re space-
alicious!’” The commercial now
shows an astronaut floating in

52 Marshal space around a United States

space shuttle in a suit that looks
exactly like yours. The video then
 pauses and zooms in to the suit’s
various buckles and clasps. It
continues to cycle through these
close-ups, over and over.
The Dead Walk 53
Those who pay close attention to the
cycling images can figure out how to
make sure their suit is sealed. Have Station had been trapped in space since
everyone make a Hard (9) Smarts roll. the Apocalypse, and were likely dead.
Those who make it seal their suits The truth is far worse. The cyborgs
with no leakage. Those who don’t have united under General Thaddeus
a serious problem the moment the Harkrader and are in league with
shuttle doors are opened (there are no General Throckmorton and the
airlocks—the ship floods with oxygen Combine.
when the doors are sealed and empties In fact, the cyborgs were about to
it to the vacuum when they are jump in on Junkyard when Ike Taylor
opened). Decompression sets in turned on Hellstromme’s secret gadget
immediately. Every round, the character and zapped all the cyborgs,
loses 1 Wind and gets a chance to make automatons, and other manitou-
a Hard (9) Smarts and Nimbleness roll to infested troopers. Harkrader’s team
fix the problem. Only when both rolls stopped the drop just in time to avoid
are made is the suit correctly fitted and certain doom and then watched
decompression stops. incredulously at the events of the last
Should a character lose his base few days.
Wind to decompression, he dies. His Throckmorton has called on
eyes bulge out and hemorrhage and Harkrader to drop and help him now in
blood comes bubbling out his mouth the besieged Denver, but the cyborg
and ears (Bubbly Fizz. Mmmm). Not a
pretty site. The waster is now a
frothing, frozen mess, though he might
make an interesting conversation piece.

Deaders in Space
ComSat’s single access door rests on
broken hinges. Seeing as how the
hinges were made of two inch thick
steel, this is quite an accomplishment.
There are no scorch marks or other
indications the door was attacked or
knocked off by an errant flyby. In truth,
those who broke into ComSat were
simply strong enough to rip it off its
hinges (more in a moment, Marshal).
What happened here? For that, you
need a little background, courtesy of
the Cyborgs sourcebook.

Harkrader’s Cyborgs
During the final phases of the Last
War, both the USA and CSA established
orbital drop stations. The droppers were
primarily cyborgs—Harrowed fitted with
cybernetic goodies to make them
nearly unstoppable killing machines.
Popular rumors claim the cyborgs of
both Sherman Orbital and Manassass
 commander is pulling the old “bzzt—
can’t read you, over” bit with his hand
Space suits over his mouth.
He can’t keep this up much longer,
however. Before he commits his
precious troopers to what looks like a
losing fight, he wants more info. For
The suits the heroes wear are thick and
that he needs some of the more
heavy. They provide some light armor against
powerful surveillance equipment found
scrapes and light bumps, but little protection
aboard ComSat. Two heavy cans are
against any sort of impaling attack. They also
here ripping ComSat’s guts out when
provide roughly 24 hours worth of heat and
the heroes arrive. They must be dealt
oxygen, a short-term waste system (meaning
with before ComSat will send the
you can do number 1 but not number 2), and
shuttle on over to the Unity.
short-wave radio communications within a one
mile radius.
The suit doesn’t interfere with a user’s Profile: Heavy Cans (2)
Nimbleness, but the bulky gloves subtract one
Corpor eal: D:3d12, N:2d6, S:3d12+4,
Corporeal:
step from the wearer’s Deftness and related
Q:2d10, V:2d6
skills. Fine handheld tools, holdout weapons,
Climbin’ 1d6, Fightin’: chainsword 3d6,
and the like, can’t even be used as the gloves’
shootin’: pistol, rifle, MG 4d12, sneak
fingers are simply too thick.
1d6
Of course the real problem is leakage. A
Mental: C:4d8, K:2d6, M:2d8, Sm:3d6,
wound caused by blunt trauma damage doesn’t
Sp:3d8
breech the suit—even in the faceplate as it’s
Area knowledge 2d6, guts 2d8,
made of advanced plexiglass. Cutting or
leadership 2d8, overawe 2d8, search
impaling attacks cause a breech if a single
3d8, tinkerin’ 1d6
wound or more is caused.
Pace: 8
Fortunately, the heroes can find some patch
Size: 8
kits in the Fighter Bay if they look a bit. (If they
Wind: 16
don’t, they’re likely in serious trouble, so cut
Special Abilities:
‘em a break, Marshal). The patch kits have six
Cyber Systems: AI, command &
square feet of self-adhesive, air-tight patching
control, cyber eye (16x telescopic
material. Each “wound” patched takes up one
sight), cyber eye (thermal imaging),
square foot of material.
heavy hard points (all locations),
A hero has to make a Deftness check to
radio, Samson, spirit capacitor,
apply the patch. The TN is equal to 3 for a light
spirit fetter, targeting computer
wound, 5 for a heavy wound, 7 for a serious
Manitou/Po
Manitou/Pow wer: 3d10/10
wound, 9 for a critical wound, and 11 for a
Gear: Heavy battle armor
maiming wound.
Every round that a hero’s suit is breeched, he
loses 1 Wind. Should a character lose his base Satellite Fight
Wind to decompression, he dies. His eyes bulge
ComSat brings the heroes up quiet
out and hemorrhage and blood comes bubbling
and out of sight around 100 yards off
out his mouth and ears. (Bubbly Fizz. Mmmm)
the satellite. The posse must “leap” to
Remember that Harrowed don’t need to
the fight and try to take the squatters
worry about decompression, but they do lose
by surprise. There are no tethers or
their ability to communicate via their radios if
other lifelines for the jump (unless the
their suits lose pressure.
posse rigs up something themselves).
You’ll find information on maneuvering in
Everyone who wants to make the jump
the suits on page 62,
simply needs to make a Fair (5)
Nimbleness roll. Losers who fail shoot
slowly past ComSat and into the void.
Those who go bust go racing past the
satellite and off into the void. The suits

54 Marshal have 16 hours of heat and oxygen left

in them, so the group has a little time
to figure out a way to rescue errant
companions. Of course, this won’t keep
most wasters from soiling their pants.
ComSat is also quite sympathetic to the
doomed—it pipes in the best of its
The Dead Walk 55
commercials to keep the soon-dead
character entertained during his last
hours. Over. And Over. And over.
Once there, the mission is very
Underway
straightforward—blast the cyborgs into When the cyborgs are driven off or
paste without destroying ComSat. defeated, ComSat calms down and
Here’s an easy way to keep track of allows the heroes to go on their way.
the damage. Every missed shot (or area The paranoid satellite opens the shuttle
effect attack) scorches ComSat’s panels doors and waits for the posse to climb
and causes a shower of sparks, but in. When they do, it powers on, eases
only does real harm 33% of the time up the throttle, and blasts off into the
(roll of 1 or 2 on a d6 with each attack). depths of space. It takes 10 hours to
Every time serious damage is caused, reach the Unity from ComSat—leaving
someone’s going to have to repair it your wasters with approximately 6
before ComSat is willing to send the hours of heat and air. Characters with
posse on their merry way to the Unity. relevant phobias should probably make
The cyborgs have a tool kit here, so a Fair (5) guts check now. Going to a
the heroes are in luck there, but each satellite in orbit is one thing—heading
fix requires an Incredible (11) science: into deep space is another.
electronics roll (a junker could use It’s time to visit the ship from Hell.
tinkerin’ with a -4 penalty) and 30
minutes of time.
If the heroes try something truly
catastrophic here (such as using a
Bounty
missile launcher or other mega-
weapon), give them a stern warning Enem
Enemy y casualties: Count the number
first. ComSat might even flash some of casualties each character caused
sort of radio message into the in Quick Combat (only) and award
offender’s helmet beforehand, the following Fate Chip: 1-10
something very direct and to the point— casualties nets 1 white chip; 11-20
such as a screech so loud the hero is casualties is a red chip; 21-50
stunned. casualties is a blue chip; 51+
The cyborgs aren’t armed, but once casualties is a Legend Chip!
attacked, they’re smart enough to grab Taking out the Combine’
Combine’s s SAM site:
wrenches and try to rip open the One red chip each.
heroes’ suits. (The deaders ignore the Detecting and destr
destrooying Jessie,
effects of the vacuum.) Neither of them the infiltrator automaton: One
fight to the death if they’re obviously blue chip each.
outclassed. If they have to flee, they Surviving the se wer chase: One red
sew
simply jump out into space and hope chip each.
their friends find them before they go Trying to help poor
poor,, doomed Cole
too far! Ballad: One red chip to anyone who
If they’re offered a truce or bargain tries really hard even though the
of some sort, they’re fairly clever and effort was doomed to failure.
can lie with the best of ‘em. They could Rescuing Jenn y Quaid: One white
Jenny
care less about the Unity (if told)—they chip each. One red chip to anyone
just want to keep tabs on the earth who really risked his neck for her.
below and eventually get back down Defeating the Black Rider
Defeating s: One
Riders:
there. Maybe they even volunteer to blue chip each. Good job, heroes!
accompany the heroes (in hopes of Figuring out ComSat’
ComSat’s s puzzles: One
stealing their shuttle). ComSat won’t red chip to the player who figures
allow this however, and actually seals out each puzzle.
the shuttle’s doors if the cyborgs are Defeating the tw
Defeating o deader
two deaders s at
taken there. ComSat: One red chip each.
 Chapter Three:
The Unity
We’ve said “Welcome to Hell” about A short while later, Hellstromme was
umpteen-dozen times since the story of transferred to India for what would
Deadlands began. Now we really mean shortly become the East India
it. It’s time to reveal one of the biggest Company’s first war with the Sikhs in
secrets of Deadlands. Bear with us, 1846. Vanessa was devastated at the
there’s a lot you need to know here. thought of losing her new husband and
We’ll get to the slaughter soon enough. begged to come with him. He relented,
Oh, and one last thing. One of your and the two enjoyed a few brief weeks
heroes will die in this chapter. We of bliss on the boat to Asia. That all
guarantee it. ended when Hellstromme arrived at his
post.

The Story So Far Darius found himself fascinated by

his work. Improving the regiment’s
arms, conducting sieges, and long
quests into the desolate Punjab
As some of you Marshals have consumed him. Vanessa remained at
guessed, the tale starts with Dr. Darius the post, a stranger in a strange land
Hellstromme. Way back in the mid with no friends or family to keep her
1840s, Hellstromme was a young company. She pleaded with her
lieutenant in Her Majesty’s Royal husband to stay with her more—to
Engineers. While still in London, Darius stop volunteering for expeditions and
met and fell in love with the beautiful long patrols and stop spending so
daughter of an English Colonel, much time in his workshop. Each
Vanessa Cardigan. Vanessa loved the time Hellstromme promised to
dashing young Engineer in kind, reduce his duties—and each time
perhaps seeing something of her father he found new excuses to continue
in Hellstromme, and they were soon his exciting work.
wed.
 One bloody Sunday, Sikh raiders As time went on, Hellstromme’s
under Runjoor Singh overran the East penchant for bloodshed became all too
India Company’s base camp. The lightly- apparent. His seniors realized he wasn’t
manned garrison managed to repel the fighting the war for the East India
attack, but not before Vanessa was Company or even Queen and Country.
stabbed by a wild-eyed Sikh. Hellstromme fought for revenge. They
Hellstromme returned days later to said as much in dispatches back home,
discover his wife abed, her wound but his reputation had already grown
turned gangrenous. Vanessa begged too great. The Army could not
her husband to stay by her side, but discharge him.
the enraged young officer instantly They could, however, transfer him.
mounted his charger and raced into the The next quarter century saw Darius
hills to kill every Sikh he could find. transferred from post to post. He
The carnage ended 18 hours later, but traveled the Orient, explored the Dark
Vanessa was even closer to death and Continent, and even ventured into
once again begged her young husband Russia and Australia. Between
to remain with her as she passed. orchestrating massacres and developing
Darius waited until she slept, then new weapons of destruction, Darius
slipped to his workshop to devise the continued to learn. Occult books and
most cruel and vicious traps he could sources in his travels hinted that there
imagine to maim the raiders the next were eldritch forces in the world that
time they approached his camp. could offer him even more power. They
Vanessa woke to find herself alone. also hinted that it was possible for
Her wound seeped green and her eyes humans to master these arcane arts.
wept bloody tears. She called out for Long before the Reckoning,
her husband again and again, but there Hellstromme tapped into what little
was no response. The pain of her body magic remained in the wake of the
was tremendous, but it was nothing Great Spirit War.
compared to the pain in her heart. When he had verified the existence
Finally, she picked up a surgeon’s of the supernatural, he formalized the
scalpel from beside the bed and ended plan that had been burning in his
her misery. brilliant but demented mind long ago.
Darius was still in his workshop He would go to Hell and reclaim
when his commander came to tell him Vanessa’s damned soul.
the news. “You should have been with
her,” Sir Hugh Gough said quietly.
Hellstromme snapped. His eyes went
wild and his heart nearly leapt out of
The Reckoning
his chest. He kept his back to his Hellstromme awoke with a start the
commander and continued to work. day Raven freed the manitous.
The famous general left without Formulas and theories swam through
another word. his brain. He later learned these were
After Vanessa’s body was shipped manitous—evil spirits tempting him
back to London, Hellstromme threw with knowledge far exceeding the rule
himself into his work, constructing of the day. Darius did not question their
gadgets and gizmos to destroy the existence, nor their motives. He simply
Sikhs in the bloodiest manner possible. began to distill, organize, and test the
At first, his fellow officers reveled in incredible forbidden lore he had been
the engineer’s success, though no one granted.
cared for the cold, driven scientist Of all he learned, none had more
personally. potential than his secret discovery of
ghost rock. He found his first vein by
“accident” while exploring in Africa.
The rest of the world discovered ghost
rock shortly after the Great Quake of

58 Marshal 1868 shattered America and dropped

California into the sea. Survivors found
veins of the stuff exposed in the new
labyrinth of towering sea canyons.
Hellstromme had already mastered its
Hellish properties, but his supply grew
dangerously short and the mines in
The Unity 59
Africa were dangerously exposed to
hostile natives. So he packed his things
and moved to America.
Hellstromme sensed that Reverend Hell by land, sea, air, or even space.
Grimme of the new City of Lost Angels Unfortunately for him, all his
was a madman and wanted no part of expeditions met with failure and bloody
his insane cult. The only other logical disaster as Hellstromme’s troops found
site for laboratories and factories was themselves overwhelmed by legions of
Salt Lake City, Utah, home of the demons. What he needed was a
Mormons, and large deposits of ghost powerful juggernaut large enough to
rock in the Wasatch Mountains. blast the largest demons and carry a
Fortunately for Hellstromme, the full legion of his finest troops to deal
Mormons were caught in a difficult with the lesser hordes. He decided to
struggle against the United States attempt his next venture into Hell from
Army, the Indians, the elements, their space.
own internal strife, and the Reckoning.
Giving them an advantage over these Faraway and the Unity
difficulties would make him their
champion, and the fiercely loyal settlers Hellstromme’s final trip was to be
would then be honor-bound to protect better-armed and more suited to travel
him. The details of that story are in the dark abyss of the Hunting
revealed in the Weird West book City o’ Grounds. The mad doctor already had
Gloom, and do not need to be repeated several space stations in orbit around
here. Suffice it to say that Darius not Earth. In one of them, he built a top-
only won the hearts and minds of the secret spaceship called the Unity. Years
Mormons, but gained the independence later, Hellstromme’s public relations
of “Deseret” and transformed it into the agents would tell the world that the
most advanced (and polluted) industrial ship was named to celebrate the union
nation in the world for two centuries to of humans and any alien species it
come. might discover. In truth, the ship was
Eventually, Darius was able to put named for the reunion of Hellstromme
together an expedition to recover his and his lost wife.
wife. He built an armored train, loaded But a ship designed for Hell requires
it with hired guns, and built a special far more than rockets or even nuclear
track that would take them all straight power to propel it to the depths of the
to Hell. The expedition failed to recover Inferno. The drive that powers the ship
Vanessa’s soul, but it did prove that is rightly called the “Faustian Device,”
such a trip was possible. (The story of for it is more a cage than an engine. In
Hellstromme’s trip to Hell is related in fact, it is a much larger version of the
Out of the Frying Pan in the “Trilogy box he would later use to imprison the
with No Name” anthology.) Reckoners themselves.
It would be many years later before Inside the Unity’s Faustian Device is
Hellstromme could attempt the journey an ancient demon named Apostolos.
again. Unfortunately for him, his body But capturing a demon is one thing.
was growing old and weak despite the Getting it to use its powers is another.
constant alchemical potions and occult Apostolos’ price is nothing less than
concoctions he used to preserve it. cold-blooded murder.
Eventually, he was forced to remove his To activate the drive and send the
brain from his body and have it placed ship into the Hunting Grounds,
in a robotic suit. The lack of flesh Apostolos demanded a blood sacrifice.
meant little to the mechanical master. Hellstromme and a hand-picked,
At least three more Hellish safaris murderous few of the Unity’s staff,
took place over the years. Hellstromme used the doctor’s foes to fulfill this
even learned that he could approach dark contract.
 directing the ship to the Hell of
Suicides, it propelled it safely through
The First Journey the Hunting Grounds and out again—
into an entirely new and alien system—
The Unity first blasted into space in Faraway. Hellstromme was unimpressed
2039. The journey ended badly. The ship with the inhabited planet of Banshee
was able to enter the Hunting Grounds and its primitive anouks, but he wasn’t
as hoped, but its destination was so blinded he didn’t realize the profit
always random and unfocused. that could be made off unveiling an
Hellstromme’s crews fought legions of alien civilization. And that profit could
demons only to discover they were help him continue financing his
nowhere near the Hell of Suicides expeditions.
where Vanessa was thought to abide. In 2044, Hellstromme unveiled the
Several nightmarish trips later, “Tunnel” and the Faraway System to
Hellstromme theorized that he needed the public. The story of the first
a focusing device of some sort. The meeting with the native anouks, the
device he concocted to fulfill this settling of Banshee, and the wars that
requirement was a massive ring that developed, are related in the
would align the ship the moment it Brainburners sourcebook and the Lost
entered the Hunting Grounds, sending Colony roleplaying game.
him directly to that part of Hell where Hellstromme was still perfecting the
he believed Vanessa lie waiting. ship’s navigation system when the Last
The device worked, but not in the War broke out. Just as he was about to
way Hellstromme imagined. Instead of launch another expedition, the Unity
was commandeered by the United
Nations and ordered to pick up the last
of the Psychic Legion and bring them

60 Marshal back to Earth to be redistributed among

their member nations.
 The Unity picked the legion up as
planned, but the Tunnel was destroyed
before it could make its way back. The
captain of the Unity at the time, Phillip
The Unity 61
Truman, had no intention of being
trapped in the Faraway System like so
many millions of colonists. Against his
own crew’s wishes, he murdered a nosy
syker who had already learned too
much—Cathy Griffin—and activated the
Faustian Device. Unfortunately for
Scene One:
everyone, Cathy let out a psychic
scream before dying. Her mental energy
was like honey to the demons of the
Approach
Hunting Ground. Several varieties of
nasty creatures found their way aboard Read the following as the shuttle
the Unity on its way back to Earth- draws near the Unity.
space. These creatures first appeared
among the civilians and worked their The shuttle’s monitors have
way up to where the sykers were been quiet for nearly eight hours,
housed. Not a soul survived. but now they suddenly flicker to
The alarms went off quickly, and the life. You’re obviously looking at an
leader of the Legion saw to it her exterior camera zooming in on a
people were the first to get to the distant ship. It’s a long, sleek
escape shuttles. A few dozen met quick vessel that looks almost like
ends at the hands of the attacking some ancient, primordial shark
demons, but most of the others made it covered in steel. The ship looks
to shuttles and left the sinking ship. black, though it’s likely just the
Fifteen of the sykers stayed behind shining silver hull reflecting the
voluntarily. Some did so to save the infinite darkness.
civilians and crew, a few hoped to You don’t see any major signs
recover the ship and procure some of of damage from here. The craft
its loot. Either way, the rest of the seems intact, though powerless.
sykers referred to these as the You’ve all heard rumors of the
“Unforgotten Fifteen.” Your posse will Unity. How it was used to bring
likely call them dirty bastards, because back the last of the Psychic
they’re all long dead, and now their Legion before the Tunnel
corpses and amazing mental abilities collapsed and the Last War ended.
make them a very powerful servant of You also heard that the sykers
Hell. You read that right. Servant. As in abandoned the ship when
singular. The Unforgotten 15 have something got on board—
merged into a massive abomination, a something that killed most of the
“‘brain glom” with the best powers of civilians.
these 15 amazing sykers. The posse The ship certainly doesn’t look
must defeat this nasty thing to reclaim like a “victim” from here. It looks
the bridge and set the Unity on its more like a predator.
course to Faraway. Your shuttle seems to be
Of course, there’s far more than just approaching from low and to the
a big disgusting brain dwelling on the front. It shifts upwards and
Unity. There’s a heaping helping of angles in toward a yawning slit
walking dead, and the deadly demons that might be some sort of
that first took over the ship are still hangar bay—but it feels more like
present. They’ve gone dormant with no a mouth to you.
flesh to feast upon, but the delectable
scent of the posse’s souls stirs them up The shuttle approaches the Unity at
quick. its only possible entrance—the fighter
That’s the setup, Marshal. Now let’s bay. We aren’t mapping out the whole
mess with your best friends. ship in this adventure—it’s the size of a
 luxury liner and very complex. You’ll wreckage all around you. This
only be using a few key areas of the was obviously a hangar for
ship anyway, so we’ll concentrate our smaller ships—maybe fighters or
attention on those sections. scouts of some sort. Only one
Syker characters who were on this ship remains now, and it seems
ship before probably didn’t venture to have been disassembled and
down into the lower decks, so this part under repair when disaster
of the ship isn’t familiar. (They were struck.
only on here a few days.) Other areas The rest of the bay is filled
might be better known, but so many of with floating tools, fuel, and
the lifts and corridors are blocked or debris—though quite a bit of the
ruined that any familiarity is too limited flotsam has already floated out of
to be of much use. Only when they get the bay and into space.
to the Officer’s Quarters (where they
were housed) might they truly see There are no bodies or other
familiar surroundings. biological material here—those who
entered the bay either escaped in the
Your Box Is Humming Unity’s fighters or were blasted out to
space when the hangar doors opened.
As soon as the posse enters the A clever party can search the bay for
Unity, the box holding the Reckoners tools or makeshift weapons. If they do,
starts to hum. It also begins to warp have each character make a Fair (5)
and “wriggle” just a bit. search roll. Should anyone go bust, he’s
The Reckoners sense their minions moving about the bay when he
nearby—and a powerful demon as well. launches himself into a heavy piece of
It’s time to scare your heroes a bit. unsecured equipment and suffers 1d4
Every now and then, make the box Wind. The bruising is deep and the
wiggle and shake violently. This will Wind loss lasts 1d6 hours.
hurry your players up and remind them Those who succeed at the roll find
that they’re under a time limit. the following:
• Flashlights: Two working lights
with sufficient battery power to last
Fighter Bay the rest of the adventure.
• Tools: Most any sort of tool that
ComSat passively detects an entrance might be found in a repair/launch
at the bottom front of the ship and hangar. This includes three blow
guides the shuttle in. This is the torches (range 1 yard, damage 2d4, AP 4,
Fighter Bay. The shuttle wiggles around shots 30), two portable saws (damage
a bit in front of the Unity, then gently STR+4d10, 1 hour of power), two rivet
floats in for a gentle touchdown. guns (Range Increment 2 yards, damage
Read the text below as the shuttle 1d6, shots 10 with 1d100 loose rivets
doors open. floating about).
• Patch Kits: A total of four space
Your ship touches down with suit patch kits can be found floating
barely a jolt. Nervously, you turn about the bay. See the sidebar on page
your head to watch the shuttle 52 for information on how these work.
door open. It bangs silently • Fuel: Two intact drums of
against the floor of the hangar, combustible fuel. Most of the Unity’s
but no horrors rush in to kill you. scout ships use fusion or even solar
You unstrap yourselves and move power, but a few of the utility loaders
out, looking at the floating use old-fashioned combustible engines.
Two drums of diesel fuel remain intact,
a few more have burst and leaked out
into the bay, floating through the
hangar in long, crystallized sculptures.

62 Marshal The drums can be ignited by any sort

of open flame (such as the torches), but
have only a 1 in 6 chance of detonating
from gunshots or other attacks as
sparks aren’t normally generated in the
vacuum. (As a quick aside there is
some chance of creating sparks as
The Unity 63
oxygen bubbles trapped in the fuel
itself can be ignited.) Should the drums
explode, they cause 6d20 massive
Those who look inside see a 20’ by
damage with a burst radius of 10 yards
20’ room with tables and benches
(short due to the vacuum).
bolted to the floors. A number of grisly,
mutilated corpses float inside.
After the scavenger hunt, the heroes
Inside the room is a second doorway
need to move on. There are several
leading into a small kitchen featuring
exits out of the vehicle bay, but
an advanced microwave, food
regardless of which way they go, read
rehydrator, empty fridge, and a single
the section below.
sink. (None of these work until power
is restored.)
Long Hall An examination of the bodies reveals
they were slashed to death by
The next section of this demented
something with jagged, razor-sharp
journey leads into a maze of hallways.
claws. Oddly, whatever attacked must
Describe the scene to your players as
have had some weapons (or
follows:
appendages) with one blade, some with
two, and some with three.
The hall leads into a maze of
An Onerous (7) search roll comes up
junctions and dead ends. It seems
with one useful discovery—a first aid
many of the doors were locked
kit on the wall. Being a Hellstromme
shut—perhaps to seal the ship or
block off whatever supposedly
invaded. With no map, you are
forced to move haphazardly down Fighter Bay Dismantled Ship
the corridors. Most are completely
empty, though occasionally you
see bullet holes, scorch marks, or
brown smears along the walls—
obviously blood stains from before
the ship was exposed to the
vacuum.
You spot a sign directing you to
the “Lifts,” and follow the
corridor for some way. As you Exit
move in that direction, you pass a
blasted door on the left-hand side =10’
of the hall. Above the jagged steel
are the words “Mess Area #7.”
Shuttle
Note that the heroes don’t have to Mess Area #7
enter this room—it’s simply a side-trip to
set the appropriate mood.
The hanging door obscures the
group’s sight until they physically pull it
wider. The door is still attached so the
posse must either wiggle through the
hole or take the time and effort to cut
it off the hinges with blowtorches.
=10’
Either way, a closer look reveals the
worst—long, claw-like slashes cover the
door and the wall surrounding it.
 Industries ship, the kit is the most
advanced available. One dose each of
Zero-G an anticoagulant (instantly stops
bleeding) and a shot of artificial
adrenaline (relieves all Wind) are still
intact.
The Unity has no gravity, heat, oxygen, or
other necessities until power is restored (see
The Engine Room later in this chapter). Until
Getting the Shaft
that time, your heroes need to make sure they
Further down the hallway, the
stay in their space suits. The suits they start
spacers come to a blasted lift shaft. The
with are basic emergency outfits—they don’t
lift car itself (think elevator car,
have magnetic boots or other niceties to help
Marshal) is demolished—it crashed here
the wearer maneuver around in zero-g. For
on the lowest deck during the fight.
most of the adventure they’ll be bounding from
The shaft still leads upward however,
wall to wall and worrying about suit-breeches
and this is the only real option the
(see Space suits, page 60).
players have.
Maneuvering in zero-gravity isn’t particularly
Unfortunately, it’s not a good option.
hard once someone gets the hang of it. For the
The lift car was packed with civilians
first couple of areas (depending on how much
when it crashed. As the heroes enter
movement your heroes perform), have them
the shaft and attempt to move up it,
make Fair (5) Nimbleness rolls to get around.
the corpses come to life.
Those who make it move at half their basic
Start this creepy encounter with the
Pace. Those who get a raise move at their
following:
normal Pace. Those who fail get to roll on the
table below. Don’t feel you need to use this
The shaft leads up—almost
table every time someone moves. Maybe roll a
certainly toward the engine room
few times at first as your posse gets their
and the bridge. The good news is
bearings, and then whenever they attempt to
that the lift car itself isn’t
move more than a few feet while under stress
blocking the passage—it’s crashed
(such as in combat).
into the bottom of the shaft. The
bad news is that it was evidently
Zero-G Maneuvering loaded with civilians when it hit.
Some of their crushed and frozen
1 d 6 E r rro
or
corpses lie entangled with the
1 Under shot: The hero doesn’t push off
Undershot:
car. A quick look up the dark hole
hard enough or hits an obstacle and only goes
reveals several more floating
half the distance he desired.
inside.
2 Ov
Overershot: The waster hurls himself too
ershot:
hard and hits the opposite wall or an obstacle
The corpses are inhabited by long-
in the way. He suffers 1d4 Wind.
dormant manitous, but the things don’t
3 Left: The spacer hits 2d6 feet left of his
instantly come to life. They wait until
intended target.
the heroes are halfway up the shaft
4 Right: The spacer hits 2d6 feet right of
and trapped between them before
his intended target.
attacking.
5 - 6 Whoops! Roll 1d4 twice and apply both
If the group is smart and have the
results, ignoring this result on either of those
right tools, they might try to destroy the
rolls.
corpses before entering the shaft.
That’s less fun (for you, Marshal), but
you should reward your heroes with
Fate Chips for trying. Of course, the
second the heroes instigate their plan,
the walkin’ dead come to “life.” They
attack if that makes the most sense, or

64 Marshal retreat up into the darkness of the

shaft to make the intruders come after
them.
 There are two walkin’ dead in here
for each character.

Profile: Walkin’ Dead (2 per)

The Unity 65
Corpor eal: D:2d6, N:2d8, S:3d8, Q:2d10,
Corporeal:
V:2d8 The door is sealed closed, but there’s
Shootin’: (any) 2d6, climbin’ 1d8, dodge a thin sliver of blackness beyond. The
2d8, fightin’: brawlin’ 3d8, sneak 3d8, posse can either burn off one of the
swimmin’ 1d8 doors (perhaps with one of the torches
Mental: C:2d10, K:1d6, M:1d6, Sm: 1d6, found in the Fighter Bay) or simply pry
Sp:1d4 the doors apart with brute strength.
Overawe 5d6 This takes a Strength roll of 20. Up to
Pace: 8 three additional characters may pitch
Size: 6 in, adding +2 to the main character’s
Wind: — roll for each Fair (5) success.
Terr or: 9
error: Each attempt takes just a few
Special Abilities: minutes, but you can instill a sense of
Brittle: The dead are frozen and so urgency by rattling the Reckoner’s
are more than a little brittle. Dark prison now and then.
magic lets them move around, but Once opened, the posse can crawl
crushing attacks do an extra die of out into another corridor. After a few
damage to the things. When one is twists and turns, they find a sign that
destroyed, it shatters, causing a points them to the “Engine Room.”
burst of crystallized flesh that
causes 2d4 damage to everything
in a 3 foot radius.
Damage: Bite (STR), club (STR+1d4)
Fearless
Undead
Description: The Unity’s former
Bulkheads and Byways
passengers were slain by slashers (see
page 69) or other walkin’ dead. As
Remember that the Unity was
such, they’re a gruesome mess. Besides
commandeered on several occasions, including
being cut or torn to ribbons, their skin
the transportation of the last batch of refugees
is now frozen and jagged and covered
from Banshee on its last mission. But it was
in crystalized blood.
built to go into Hell. For that reason, its walls
and doors were made to repel boarders and
The dead know they’re in zero-
withstand invasions by powerful demons. Had
gravity and use it to maximum effect—
the Unity had its original Hellstromme
hanging in “dead” spaces no one will
Industries crew and regiment of corporate
look, launching themselves from
marines, the fate of the ship might have been
bulkheads, or even knocking their
quite different.
opponents off-balance and away from
The exterior walls have 3 points of armor and
walls so that they can’t fight effectively.
are chemically treated to withstand heat (half
This last trick requires a single raise on
fire damage). They’ve also been sprayed with a
a fightin’: brawlin’ roll, and if
special impact adhesive concocted by
successful, inflicts a -4 modifier on all
Hellstromme himself that has a 50% chance of
physical activities on the waster until
“deadening” any non-armor-piercing projectiles.
she can brace herself once again.
Rounds that are deadened simply bounce a few
The shaft is 60’ high, 10’ square, and
inches off the wall and lose all momentum.
spans four levels. Just before the top (at
Other rounds penetrate the wall as usual.
the 50’ mark) is a small plaque that
Interior walls have 2 points of armor and are
reads “Engineering Level.” The sign is
treated with the same substance.
small and unobtrusive—it’s meant for
Interior doors are made more like the exterior
mechanics working on the shaft
skin, with 3 points of armor.
instead of lift passengers.
 shard looses Wind as usual, and if
The Wide Hall they suffer a single wound (after
spending Fate Chips), lose an
The standard hallways open up into additional 2 Wind as the blood
a larger passage (20’ across) littered seeps into their system and begins
with six corpses. They’ve been to freeze the victim’s own blood.
mutilated like those found in Mess Weakness—Fir
eakness—Fire: e: Resolve any heat-
Area #7 (they were killed by slashers). based attack normally, then double
The heroes will likely take the time the number of wounds the
to put aimed shots into each of the creature takes.
corpse’s brainpans. That’s just fine— Description: A bloodchunk is a
these aren’t walkin’ dead—they’re human heart surrounded by a large
bloodchunks. viscous mass of near-frozen, slushy
There’s no map of this battle—it’s just blood. The demon uses the blood to
a long hallway 60’ long and 20’ wide. hide its dark heart and create deadly
Two of the corpses lie at the 20’ mark, shards it hurls at its victims.
another at the 40’ mark, and three
more at the far end. The bloodchunks As the posse nears the 40’ mark in
wait until the heroes are at the 40’ the passageway, the bloodchunks
mark (between them) before launching “ooze” blood out of their hosts, reform
their attack. the blood into spikes, then fire them at
the passing heroes at point-blank
Profile: Bloodchunks range. These particular bloodchunks
remain hidden inside the corpses as
Corpor eal: D:3d6, N:1d6, Q:4d10, S:2d10,
Corporeal: long as they can—they know it
V:2d10 confuses the party and offers some
Fightin’: brawlin’ 2d6, throwin’: any 5d6 protection from damage as well.
Mental: C:3d6, K:1d4, M:3d6, Sm:1d4, The heroes don’t have to fight all the
Sp:1d10 bloodchunks—they just have to get
Pace: 3 in vacuum; 1 out of vacuum through the hall to the other end—that’s
Size: 1 (heart) where the big sign reads “To Engine
Wind: — Room.” There they can manually crank
Terr or: 11
error: the door shut and lose the ponderous
bloodchunks.
Special Abilities: Of course, the bloodchunks don’t
Armor: 1 retreat. Their whole purpose is to
Damage: STR+2d10 The heart can maim, mangle, and cause mischief.
create up to four razor-sharp
weapons of 2’ in length. When
approached in hand-to-hand
combat, it forms these limbs and
The Engine Room
spins in place, attacking up to four This is the dark heart of the Unity.
adjacent opponents. Read the following, Marshal.
Cloak o’ Evil: -6 (the heart resides
inside a mass of floating, frozen Three more hallways, two
blood) breached doors, and a crawl
Blood Shar ds: Once per round, up
Shards: through some wreckage later,
to twenty times per day, the you come to a black door labeled
bloodchunk can fire a blast of simply “Engine Room.”
frozen blood shards (Damage 3d6, It’s wide open.
ROF 6, Range Increment 5, Max
Range 30’). Anyone hit by a blood Make the players actually tell you
their characters are entering the dark
room beyond. You should even ask each
one “Are you entering the room?”

66 Marshal That’ll creep ‘em out. This is a choice

they have to make. It’s a Faustian thing,
try to understand.
 You shine your light around
the dark room and find….a
perfectly normal control board for
a small fusion reactor. It’s
The Unity 67
obviously powered down, but a
small blinking light on the main
panel hints that it may be easy to
reignite. Weird energy buzzes across the
surface of the box and a low
Speaking the magic word “Apostolos” “thrumming” sound emanates from
does nothing until the ship is powered somewhere within as it comes to life.
on. When someone presses the button The Unity’s ability to warp into and
below the blinking light, read the out of the Hunting Grounds comes
following. from a greater demon imprisoned long
ago by Dr. Hellstromme. Trapping the
A low hum starts from demon in the ship is one thing, but
somewhere below you. Several making it actually use its power comes
lights on the control panel flicker, with a very high price. Murder.
then red auxiliary lights kick in. Apostolos’ requires the murder of a
Warm air also rushes into the living human being to activate the
room, swirling around bits of Unity’s Faustian Device. Hellstromme—in
debris. Most importantly, you’re earlier days—had no problem with this
pulled to the floor of the ship via requirement, but your party almost
some sort of artificial gravity. certainly will. There probably aren’t any
The Unity is online. convenient victims standing about, so
one of your party has to die.
The ship has power, oxygen, and
warmth now, so the heroes can take
off their suits if they like.
Nothing more happens until the
heroes say the word “Apostolos.” If the
group leaves the Engine Room to head
for the bridge without saying the magic
word, you might want to let someone
make a Fair (5) Knowledge roll to
remember. They can run the ship
around the galaxy for a bit without
dealing with Apostolos, but they can’t
get to Faraway.

Apostolos
When the posse says the word
“Apostolos,” the door behind them
closes and the false bulkhead in front
of the control panel slides open to
reveal a 40’ square room, painted jet
black. In the center of the room is a
steel pedestal that holds a large
crimson box veined with weird black
lines—a near duplicate of the device
that currently holds the Reckoners.
This one is bigger (4’ square) and
meant for more long-term use. The
pedestal stands in the center of a
blood-red pentagram permanently
embossed on the floor.
 Here’s how you can present this
difficult dilemma to your heroes.
The Ultimate Sacrifice No sooner do you speak the
word “Apostolos” than the lights
dim and red auxiliary lights come
on, casting the room in the shade
So you’ve just read the bit under Apostolos
of blood. You hear the door lock
about offing a PC and your jaw’s dropping. Fair
behind you and look back—the
enough. It’s a terrible, dirty thing to do to your
walls, floors, and ceiling are
players, and we know it.
covered in some kind of black,
We also know some of you are saying, “No
scaly hide!
way. I’m not killing a player character like
The control panel is still there,
that.” That’s your call, of course. If you want to
but before you a false panel has
make it easy, make Apostolos demand a blood
opened up and exposed a large,
sacrifice. Someone has to take a light wound
black room beyond, also covered
but otherwise the scene is over.
in the strange black “skin.” In the
For the rest of you, for those with
center is a black steel pedestal
intelligent, mature groups who can handle
enclosed in a blood-red
some deep ethical decisions, this is what a
pentagram.
good, hard roleplaying game is all about. Forget
A trickle of whispers rolls into
about the death itself—player characters die in
the room. You sense some dark
Deadlands fairly often. You’ve probably even
presence among you. The
lost one or two heroes during this adventure.
whispers become louder, but still
What’s really interesting in this scene,
just faint enough to make you
especially for you, is just letting Apostolos tell
hold your breath to better hear
the group the deal, then sit back and watch.
them. You look around, but see
Don’t push them, don’t argue with them, don’t
nothing. The whispers grow
rationalize on your behalf—or ours. Don’t argue
slightly louder. You can just make
that an epic adventure like this demands such
them out now…”murder murder
a sacrifice.
murder”
Just sit back and spectate, and enjoy
You feel fear crawl up your
watching your friends squirm. What will your
spine and slither into your skull.
group do? Will the players argue with you that
Gooseflesh covers your arms like
this is unfair? Will some of the characters start
pustulant boils. You continue to
slowly backing away from their “friends?”
search about for the whisperer,
What will your totally violent, no-holds-barred
but there is only the dark redness
gunslingers do? What will your noble Templars
of the blood-lit room.
do? What will your altruistic, self-sacrificing
Somehow knowledge comes
types do? Suicide doesn’t work. The victim can
into your mind unbidden.
be willing, but someone has to kill someone
“murder murder murder.”
else.
You begin to understand.
So yes, we’ll agree this is a dirty thing to do
“murder murder murder”
to your group, but it might also be one of the
The ship has some dark device
most memorable moments in your group’s
that allows it to break through
entire gaming history. For those of you who
the Hunting Grounds and reach
run this adventure, join us on the Hell on
Faraway. The device is much like
Earth listserv and share your story. You can
the box that contains the
find directions at WWW.PEGINC.COM.
Reckoners. There is a demon
We can’t wait to hear what happened.
inside. Apostolos.
“murder murder murder”
And Apostolos’ price to
activate the drive is cold-blooded
murder.

68 Marshal It’s time to watch what happens,

Marshal. Go read the sidebar “The
Ultimate Sacrifice” right away, then
come back here.
You read right. One of your player
characters must be murdered to power
The Unity 69
the Faustian Device. The room is
enclosed in a pocket dimension of the
Hunting Grounds with no exit, even for group can proceed to the bridge.
those with magical abilities to teleport Anyone who thinks to look for it can
or enter the Hunting Grounds. Only find a direct path to the command
when someone is murdered does tower on the ship computer.
Apostolos allow the room to return to Because some of the lifts are
its former state. destroyed (and the gravity is back on),
No other bargain or power will do. the most direct route takes the heroes
Someone has to be murdered to power through the Officer’s Quarters. This is
the drive. This is Apostolos’ bargain. where the Psyhic Legion was housed
Once the deed is done, it retains its on their way back from Banshee. A
“charge” of blood and souls until syker in your group who was on the
directed from the Bridge. Unity before knows this.
If your party has a non-player The posse follows a short route
character with them, this person may through several twists and turns, then
certainly be the victim. Hopefully, this comes to an intact lift. The heroes
has almost as many moral merely need to press the panel to bring
consequences as killing a player the car down and wait for it to spill its
character, but we’ll leave that to you. disgusting contents upon them.
Harrowed may be the victim, but we
mean permanently killed. Manitous Ding! The lift car arrives on
can’t take control here. Tell the player your level. You can barely make
that secretly, but let him convince the out some soft music coming from
rest of the posse that he’s not about to behind the doors. It seems to be
go into murderous self-preservation “The Girl From Ipanema.”
mode. Then the lift opens and dumps
In any event, Apostolos doesn’t speak a grisly wash of mangled body
with the heroes. It just keeps parts and thick, black blood all
whispering the words “murder murder over your feet. At least a dozen
murder” over and over until blood is people must have died in this lift.
spilled and a life is lost. Apostolos is Their corpses have now thawed
able to plant enough information in and cover your boots in a grisly
your posse’s brains to let them stew.
understand exactly what is required of
them—you just don’t want to have to These corpses don’t attack unless
roleplay the thing. Besides taking away you want them to. They’re more for
from the creepy factor of the dramatic effect and to force your
whispering, you don’t want to provide a already disgruntled party to ride up
shill for your fast-talking argumentive through several dozen levels in ankle-
friends. high chum.
This is a big scene, and one that
must be resolved on somehow. If a
fight breaks out, we recommend using
the full regular combat system so that
Officer’s Quarters
everyone has a fair shake at surviving When the Unity was under
if their friends start whipping out their Hellstromme’s command, this mass of
heavy artillery. rooms served as a barracks for the
ship’s large compliment of officers,
The Deed is Done scientists, and “specialized” personnel
(those hombres Hellstromme thought
When Apostolos’ fee is paid in full, were tough enough to fight the more
the door to the black room closes. The powerful demons). The rooms were only
demon is sated and the rest of the
 fitted with four beds each, but the issue—the stuff the Psychic
Psychic Legion crammed eight to Legion would have carried.
twelve sykers in each room for the trip
home. Most of the sykers jumped ship Let the heroes do whatever they
before the fighting got down and dirty, want. All of the sykers are an illusion—
but a handful got caught by slashers they pass right through anything they
before they could get to the lifepods. touch. Give the posse a minute or two
Another 15 (the Unforgotten 15 to observe how things were before the
mentioned in the Brainburners book) disaster. Then beat them over the head
stayed on purpose to form a rearguard with a little horror.
(or possibly look for loot).
Some of the psychic energy used to Suddenly the lights go red and
fight off the slashers has been retained alarm klaxons blare out. Most of
here, forming a hallway of horrific the sykers around you freeze, but
visions. a few begin to concentrate,
Run the following as the heroes’ lift perhaps trying to scan other
opens up into this section. parts of the ship—or other
minds—within it. One of the
The lift doors open. sykers yells out, “Something’s
A bald-headed woman stands attacking ! Killing the civilians!”
in front of the door. She smiles, That syker then falls to her knees
says hi, and steps into the and screams, obviously
elevator with you—her worn experiencing whatever has
combat boots stepping right happened to the mind she probed.
through the grisly corpses lying Other sykers begin to organize.
on the lift’s floor. You hear orders shouted in the
In front of you, down a long, darkness and the click of a few
brightly-lit hallway are dozens unconfiscated weapons being
more sykers. Some stand together readied. Weird green energy swirls
talking, others are playing cards, from one bald head to another,
and a few are even practicing Now it’s like watching a movie
their mental tricks. in fast-forward. Everything
It’s almost as if you’ve stepped happens at ten times its normal
back into the past. Before the speed. Many of the sykers move
Unity was taken over. out, others start building
You’re in some kind of barricades in the hallway. Then
barracks area. The rooms are a there are more screams.
little more spacious than you Something’s gotten into the
would have thought, with only hallway. You can just make out
four beds per room, a computer fast-moving shadows at the end
terminal, and a desk unit. If this of the corridor. Whatever they are,
were an airplane, you guess this they’re covered in long spines, and
would be somewhere between there are dozens of them. The
coach and 1st class. Maybe this sykers fight back, but someone
was where Hellstromme bunked blasts a telepathic scream “Get
his scientists or officers. outta here!” and the rest go
There’s junk everywhere. It’s running back the way you came.
obvious they crammed way more The fast-forwarding suddenly
people in here than this level was stops. Everything’s at normal
meant to hold. Most of the stuff speed again. The red lights are
looks like standard UN military coated in gore and emit little more
than an ember-like glow. At the
end of the hallway you hear a
woman groaning. Then you hear
something heavy step slowly

70 Marshal toward her. There’s a slashing

sound, a scream, then silence. No,
not completely. Something stands
 at the far end of the hallway. You
can hear its heavy breath,
waiting for you to come near.
This is all a massive illusion, of
The Unity 71
course, a remnant of the battle the
sykers fought against the slashers that
made it to their level. Unfortunately, the
lights stay out, casting the corridor in a full normal damage to the creature
dim red glow (-4 to all ranged attacks (after subtracting its armor).
over 10’). Description: Slashers are humanoids
The psychic energy here has encrusted in some sort of granular
awakened a pair of long-dormant carapace covered in slashing spines.
slashers. They sniff the party and come Their faces have no mouths, only two
slowly stalking along the dark ceiling. long, slitted, black eyes with no
The slashers are invulnerable to all pupils. They are silent, fast, and
but slashing weapons. They must still incredibly deadly.
roll stun checks against all other Slashers prefer to stalk their victims
“damage,” so they can be slowed down until they are bunched together.
by guns and the like, but only wounds Then they attack from some
caused by cutting or slashing weapons unexpected area (such as the ceiling)
actually take. by jumping into the middle of the
crowd and dicing their prey to pieces.
Profile: Slashers
Corpor eal: D:3d6, N:4d12, Q:4d12, S:3d10,
Corporeal:
V:2d8
Dodge 5d12, fightin’: brawlin’ 6d12,
sneak 6d12
Mental: C:3d6, K:1d4, M:3d10, Sm:3d6,
Sp:1d10
Overawe 5d10, search 3d6
Pace: 12
Size: 6
Wind: —
Terror: 13
error:
Special Abilities:
Armor: 1
Damage: Claws (STR+2d10): Slashers
wade into their foes, twirling and
thrashing their razor-sharp
carapaces. The slasher makes a
single attack but apply the same
total to all adjacent targets. If
fighting heavily armored foes,
slashers are crafty enough to
make single targeted attacks at +4
(minus whatever area it’s
targeting).
Immunity—All: Slashers can be
stunned by normal attacks, so
bullets, magical attacks, explosions,
and the like do slow them down.
Only damage caused by cutting or
slashing weapons actually sticks,
however.
Wallcra wling—Pace 8
allcrawling—Pace
Weakness—Cutting W eapons:
Weapons:
Cutting or slashing type attacks do
 Brain Blastin’ bottom. Roll at each 20’, and add in
another 60’ from the posse’s starting
The psychic residue of the battle position for the levels below.
means syker powers gain an automatic The uppermost level of the shaft
raise when cast in this hallway. Any leads directly to the bridge. The doors
syker in your party should instantly here are sealed shut and must be
sense there is raw power in the air opened with torches or cutting
here, though you shouldn’t describe the equipment of some kind.
effects until someone actually uses a
power. Unfortunately, the raw energy Is It Supposed To Do That?
here also magnifies a syker’s backlash.
Roll for backlash any time a character’s This is a good time to shake the box
blastin’ roll fails (ignore the free raise if holding the Reckoners again. This time
this occurs). Double damage for a true it pulses, shakes, and begins to change
bust. its faces—like a puzzle box. The
Reckoners are beginning to figure out
the combination to escape. They won’t,
Command Tower Lift of course, just look at your watch, run
your fingers over the pages of this
Once the party fights their way book, pretend to add up the time it’s
through the slashers, they can move taken them to reach this point, and
through the rest of the Officer’s then give your friends that “Uh oh”
Quarters to the Command Tower Lift. look. They’d best hurry or the cats are
The front central tower of the Unity out of the bag, if you catch our drift.
is the “Command Tower.” The bridge If you really want to scare them, you
and all administrative sections are can have the puzzle box open up, slide
housed within it. The doors are also some panels around, and then close
twice as thick as those on the “troop” again (come on, you’ve seen boxes like
decks below, and have an armor value this in movies before). Whatever you do,
of 4. it should be obvious that time is
Like the first lift the party running out.
encountered, this one is smashed. It Once the doors are finally opened,
obviously happened before the ship lost the group finds themselves at one end
gravity as it lies splintered at the of a short hallway leading to a door
bottom of the shaft, many floors below that reads simply “Bridge.”
the posse.
The lift used a conventional pulley
system, and two steel cables still
dangle in the center. A long ladder
Scene Two:
once ran up the sides of the shaft, but
the car evidently took most of it out as
it plummeted to the bottom. The posse
The Bridge
has to make like monkeys and do this
one the hard way. Now we’re cooking with gas, Marshal.
Climbing the cables is not as easy as It’s time to fight the biggest, baddest
it sounds without proper equipment. varmint on the Unity and de-spook this
The climb to the Command Level is 60’ creepy ghost ship.
straight up, so we’re looking at three As the party moves toward the bridge
rolls per character here. The TN is Fair door they hear something moving
(5), but those wearing space suits must beyond it. Read or paraphrase the
subtract -2 from the roll. Failing any of following.
these rolls means a long fall to the
You’re almost there. But there’s
something moving around behind
the door. Something big and wet.

72 Marshal You can hear it stomp, then

squishy sounds like feet stuck in
thick mud. There’s also some kind
 of babbling—like a room full of
patients whispering to each other
in a home for the criminally
insane.
The Unity 73
A single button opens the door—the
creature inside has turned off the everyone on the Bridge. Sykers
security system once they breeched the actually take 2d6 Wind damage from
hallway. If the heroes start to plan too the blast. On the plus side, non-
much, it might even open the door sykers gain a random power from
itself! That might come as a surprise the thing (roll among its heads) and a
when the door “whooshes” open and blastin’ skill of 1. Sykers gain the
reveals the brain-glom staring at your amount of damage they just took as
survivors from the room beyond! Strain! That’s right—it’s permanent.
Savagely, the glom attacks right away, Description: The brain-glom is a grisly
while the wasters are still bunched amalgamation of the Unforgotten 15.
together in the hallway. There are no Their bodies have been blasted and
traps or clever tricks here, Marshal. The forged together into an unholy carnal
‘glom just gets to killing. “conglomerate,” welded together at
the center by spongy gray matter. All
Profile: Brain-Glom 15 of the dead sykers jut from the
mass, leering at the party and
Corpor eal: D:2d6, N:2d6, S:5d12, Q:3d8,
Corporeal: cackling like mad as they blast the
V:4d10 heroes with their many powers.
Fightin’: brawlin’ 6d6, shootin’: SMG 3d6
Mental: C:2d10, K:1d12, M:3d10, Sm:3d10,
Sp:4d10
Blastin’ 8d12, overawe 5d10, search 3d6
Pace: 12
Size: 12
Wind: —
Strain: 150
Terr or: 18
error:
Special Abilities:
Damage Resistance: Killing a
brain-glom is very difficult work.
The only way to do it is to destroy
each of the component syker’s
heads (five wounds each, -6 to
target). Attacks to the body have
no real effect—the “gray matter” at
the center just soaks up damage
like a sponge. Massive damage
does affect 1d6 random heads,
however. Apply the full damage
dealt to all 1d6 heads.
Psychic Resistance: This acts like
the steel will +5 Edge, adding +5 to
the brain-glom’s roll when
resisting syker powers via opposed
rolls.
Syker Po wer
Pow s: See text below
ers:
Undead
Coup: This is a good one, and up to 15 The Bridge
heroes who are near the brain ‘glom
when it expires can count the coup. .
As the thing dies, it emits a psychic
scream that temporarily stuns
 Powers actions. The rest of the heads babble
and scream incoherently.
Think of the brain-glom as a grisly
If a head has already established its
beholder-type thing. Roll its Quickness
power and needs to concentrate to
as usual, but instead of allowing it to
maintain the power, it does so
act on each of its cards, it only goes on
automatically. If a concentrating head is
its highest card (discard the rest). It
rolled, the ‘glom simply loses that
starts the fight with a Hold action
attack.
(unless the heroes somehow manage to
When a head is killed, scratch it off
sneak into the bridge).
the list. If a “dead” head is rolled for an
Each of the heads has its own
action, roll again.
specialty, and the thing can use up to
three heads per round. Roll the thing’s
blastin’ skill every time it uses a power Prefight Heads
just as with any other syker. If it goes
These heads activate on the
bust, it takes damage as usual. You’ll
creature’s “hold” action, before the fight
need the Brainburners book for this.
really begins.
On its held action, the ‘glom activates
Anna K olinsky of the Dragons
Kolinsky
the Kolinsky, Griffin, and Ryan heads.
(Left): Force field (Covers entire glom,
This gives it a force field, centers a
even though Anna is on the left side;
telekinetic storm on the posse, and
possibly takes over the first player
force field acts as light armor (-5) per
raise on the blastin’ roll.)
character the thing sees.
Cath
Cathy y Grif fin of the Scr
Griffin eaming
Screaming
After this first “free” round, the rest
Eagles: Telekinetic Storm. (Cathy
of the heads go to work on the ‘glom’s
centers the storm on the heroes,
regular actions. The heads don’t
making sure not to catch “herself” in
actually work that well together and
the area of effect.)
are more than a little insane, so roll for
Charles R Ryyan of the Brain Dogs
the remaining 12 heads randomly to see
(Right): Meat Puppet. (Charles goes
which three activate on the creature’s
for the first hero he sees—roll
randomly. If he loses that contest, he
can then evaluate his threats and go

74 Marshal after whoever is doing the most

damage.)
Battle Heads
Roll three of these heads randomly
each turn. If a head is rolled twice, it
The Unity 75
dominates the ‘glom’s “thought process”
and eats up the attack (don’t roll again,
and only roll one attack for the head no
matter how many times it’s selected). Let the group handle any trauma
1) T ariz Nafsanjani of the Banshee
Tariz cases. When they’re done sewing each
Blaster
Blasters:s: Brain blast (Range other up, someone needs to activate
Increment 10, RoF 1, Damage: 4d10). the ship’s drive.
2) T ara Gallagher of the Dragons:
Tara
Arson (Range 80 yards, RoF 1, Burst You move to the central control
Radius 10 yards, Damage 2d10 plus panel and enter your destination:
fire damage of 2d6 per round to the planet of Banshee in the
those who take a single wound from Faraway System.
the initial blast) A soothing female voice
3) T im Link of the Dragons:
Tim sounds out over the ship’s
Detonate (See Brainburners, page 60). intercom: “Please sit. The Unity is
4) Ashe Marler of the W endigoes:
Wendigoes: about to engage.”
Aztec Surprise. (Ashes goes for the You sit in the seats and feel a
biggest, strongest-looking character.) slow tugging sensation, almost
5) KKeevin Sharpe of the Fighting more at your soul than your body.
43r
43rd:d: Brain blast (Range Increment Your well-attuned senses detect
10, RoF 1, Damage: 4d10). dark things moving in the spirit
6) Barry Do yle of the Phantom
Doyle world around you, but no
Brigade: Blindside. (Barry goes after dangers present themselves.
any Doomsayers or sykers he sees.) A scant few minutes later, the
7) Matthe
Matthew w T ice of the W
Tice endigoes:
Wendigoes: voice returns. “The Unity has
Brain Bomb. entered Faraway. Time to Banshee
8) Christy Hopler of the Star Orbit is two days, three hours,
Swans: Sturm und Drang. and twenty-seven minutes.”
9) Ja
Jayy Neal of the V oodoo Gurus:
Voodoo You look at Hellstromme’s
Negator. cursed box in terror—the thing
10) Nate Per kins of the Scr
Perkins eaming
Screaming was about to explode—there’s no
Eagles: Brain blast (Range Increment way it can go two whole days.
10, RoF 1, Damage: 4d10). But the thing seems strangely
11) Da
Davve Sisson of the Banshee quiet. It almost feels…frightened.
Blaster
Blasters:s: Brain blast (Range Maybe all this was worth it
Increment 10, RoF 1, Damage: 4d10). after all.
12) Zeke Sparkes of the Black Maybe.
Lighting: Boneripper.
It’s time for the heroes to relax.

You Mean Someone They’re in the Faraway System, but it’s

still two days to Banshee. They’ve got a
little over 51 hours to lick their wounds,
Lived? but they really should stay in the
command tower as the rest of the ship
is still crawling with demons, undead,
A hearty congratulations are in order and worse things we haven’t seen yet.
for any hero who has survived this The water, oxygen, and heat
adventure. We’ll do just that in the generators here work just fine (at least
Bounty section below. For now, it’s time for a few months). Food is another
for another narrative. problem, however.
The food processors up here work,
Finally, the thing collapses. You but most of the food in them has long
put a few more rounds in it just since gone bad. A Hard (9) scroungin’
to be sure and lick your wounds.
 roll in the levels just above and below enough to see a land of stark
the bridge comes up with enough black mountains and yellow
sealed food for four people, plus one sandy plains swept by violent
per raise. This takes about two hours winds. You can see why they
of searching the tower. Going bust named this place Banshee.
means the group found food but it was The Unity continues directly on
tainted. Food poisoning causes a step its course, straight toward the
loss in Vigor for the next 72 hours. A planet. You begin to wonder if the
failure on the scroungin’ roll simply autopilot knows to stop. Just as
means they don’t find any food, but you think about figuring out the
they do encounter bloodchunks, walkin’ system, a warning flashes on the
dead, and maybe even a few slashers. viewscreen. “Collision Imminent.”
Use the Quick Combat system if you’d That can’t be good.
like to get this over with fast. The Unity starts to shake
Hellstromme’s box won’t do anything violently as the planet on the
until it gets closer to Banshee. When viewscreen swells faster than
that happens, the box starts to pulse you could have imagined. Your
once again. Move on to the final scene teeth chatter and suddenly you
of this adventure, amigo. hear wind coming from
somewhere—you’re in atmosphere

Scene Three: and you’re damn sure this ship

wasn’t meant for that.
You try to wrestle the controls,

The Wreck of the but the ship is in override, trying

to save itself. You can feel it trying
to pull up, but Banshee already

Unity has it locked in its gravity. This

ship is going down!
Red lights flare, klaxons blare,
and a gentle, far-too-calm voice
The Unity’s autopilot guides it instructs you to strap yourself
straight to Banshee, but unfortunately, down. The shaking becomes
the system is a little off. It’s only off by more violent. Your teeth feel like
a few miles mind you, and that’s not they’re going to bust. The g-forces
normally a problem in the depths of bring dark spots to your eyes,
space, but it’s deadly when the ship and finally start to black out your
accidentally dips into Banshee’s brain. With any luck, you’ll be
atmosphere because the Unity is not an unconscious when you die.
atmospheric-craft.
There’s nothing the heroes can do Let ‘em wonder a minute. If you’re
about it. If someone is a rocket-jockey, feeling really dirty, you can close the
you can let him make a few piloting book and stare at them for a minute
rolls and credit him with saving like they’re all dead. Maybe the joker
everyone’s life, but the ship still crashes they killed back at the Engine Room
(it’s a plot-device thing, Marshal.) Here’s will feel better this way.
one last narration before we say Of course, they’re not going to die.
goodbye to our haunted starship. They’ve got an appointment with
destiny.
A dull, yellow planet has been
growing larger on the bridge’s Something hurts. You wake, as
central viewscreen for a few if from a heavy sleep and feel
hours. Now the view is close something sharp sticking in your
leg. Or maybe your arm, or both.
Pinpricks of light stab at your
eyes and you smell…dust?

76 Marshal Now you remember. You’re on

the Unity. That damned, cursed
ghost ship.
 It’s crashed. You’re on Banshee.
And somehow you’re still alive.
You look around. Bits of
sunlight shine through the
The Unity 77
cracked command tower. You see
your companions lying about,
some strapped in seats like yours,
others crumpled against the The rest of the action takes place in
bulkheads, but it seems they and the Lost Colony roleplaying game,
the tower survived relatively Marshal. We’ll see you there.
intact. You can only imagine Adios.
what the hull beneath looks like. For now.
Maybe it smashed all the
demons and walking corpses as
well, but you know you’re not
that lucky.
Bounty
You pull yourself out of your
chair and walk toward the front Finding the patch kits: One white
of the tower. It’s torn and jagged, chip for the finder.
forming a crude balcony over the Defeating all the undead in the
Defeating
desert floor some hundreds of shaft: One white chip each.
feet below. The wind here really is Destr
Destrooying all the bloodchunks:
like a banshee’s scream. One red chip each.
You suddenly remember Mur dering another pla
Murdering yer
play
Hellstromme’s box. It’s right character to satisf y Apostolos:
satisfy
where you left it, but its sides One blue chip to the murderer!
have popped out, like some sort Resurr ecting the slain her
Resurrecting o
hero
of expanding puzzle. It just sits (someho w?): Legend Chip to the
(somehow?):
there. Inert. miracle-worker.
It’s empty. Destroying both slasher
Destro s: One red
slashers:
The Reckoners have been chip each.
released on this alien planet. Defeating the brain-glom: One blue
Defeating
You’ve brought them here to chip each.
save earth. But what have you Getting to Fara way: One Legend
Faraw
done to Banshee? Chip—each!
 those of you who have been keeping
Epilogue: Unity up with both Hell on Earth and the
Weird West use all those great books
you’ve bought. You can also use the
No, not the Unity, we mean, “unity,” new Lost Colony setting without giving
as in “uniting.” The Unity went a bit up on return trips to the Wasted West.
off-course on its way to the Faraway How does it work? That’s what the
System. In fact, it veered off the rest of this section is about—how to get
“tunnel” Apostolos opened for it and characters from one world to another
literally ripped a new hole through the and how to manage time-travel
Hunting Grounds. zaniness.
This is complicated stuff, so bear
with us for a little more explanation. The Hell Hole
Apostolos, the demon trapped inside
the Faustian Device, used his magic to On Banshee, the Hell Hole can only
open a temporary path through the be entered via the wreck of the Unity.
spirit world, avoiding all the really nasty Anyone who ventures to the engine
places, twists, turns, and other areas room of the Unity finds it suspended at
that would destroy the ship. But the an odd angle with the false doors
Unity had been damaged over the last crumpled and open, revealing the black
13 years and its navigation systems room with the pentagram beyond.
were a little erratic. It veered off-course Apostolos’ weird crimson and black box
a fraction of an inch and “skimmed” is still mounted atop the pedestal, and
the sides of Apostolos’ tunnel. As it did glows with a Hellish red light.
so, it accidentally tore open doorways Any creature with a soul (including
into other pockets of the nightmare Harrowed but not animals or walking
lands. Apostolos kept the ship intact, dead, for example) who touches it, are
but couldn’t repair the damage. instantly transported into the Hunting
The permanent (yet malleable) Grounds (see Into the Hell Hole,
tunnel through the spirit world is called below).
the “Hell Hole,” for obvious reasons. It A character’s personal gear goes
leads directly from the Earth of the with her, but nothing else. This is a
Wasted West to Banshee in Lost Colony. somewhat subjective limitation—a hero
Somewhere along the way, it also who wants to lug an assault rifle into
happens to cross the “Path of Stone,” the Hell Hole can do so, and she can
the trail Stone forged when he went haul in whatever ammo she manages
back in time to kill heroes for the to “wear.” If she’s holding a crate of
Reckoners (see the Hell on Earth ammo in her hands, however, it just
rulebook and the Fortress o’ Fear trilogy drops to the tilted floor when she
for the Weird West). vanishes and slides on down into the
What this means for the people of wreck.
the various Deadlands settings is that The box, the pedestal, and the wreck
there is now a permanent pathway of the Unity itself are somewhat like a
through the Hunting Grounds between relic now. Any attempt to dismantle the
Lost Colony, Hell on Earth, the Weird box causes horrors to emerge from the
West, and perhaps even other times or Hunting Grounds to protect it. If the box
places yet to be explored. is somehow removed from the ship, it
What that means to you, the Marshal, ceases to function and the Hell Hole is
is that all the worlds of Deadlands are closed forever (so don’t let that happen,
now open to you. Don’t worry—it’s still Marshal).
not easy for heroes to travel back and
forth—it’s just more possible. That lets Feeding Frenzy
Any large group of mortals—say more
than a dozen—is like walking into a

78 Marshal bear cave with a fresh-baked ham.

Every demon “in range” of the Hell
Hole comes pouring in with knives and
forks. As Hellstromme found out on his
many trips into Hell, when the
residents of the Hunting Ground are
riled, they’re unstoppable. First come
The Unity 79
waves of lesser creatures—demons
taking on a thousand different
nightmarish forms. Then come middling
creatures waiting for their lesser
The Prospector Returns
brothers to soak up the invader’s Run this encounter when you want
firepower. Finally, greater manitous your heroes to know about the Hell
descend upon the carnage and finish Hole.
off any survivors. Then the horde feasts
on the flesh and souls of those they’ve From out of nowhere comes a
slain. It’s not a pretty sight. scraggly looking old man. He’s
This is what happened to dirty and worn-looking, but he
Hellstromme each time he entered the has the air of a veteran. He comes
Hunting Grounds in force. Only when right up to you and begins to—of
he ventured through alone in his tiny all things—sniff your clothes!
scout ship was he able to slip in “You’ve been to the Hunting
without attracting all the legions of Grounds,” he says. “Name’s Coot
Hell. Jenkins. Folks just call me the
That means your heroes can go Prospector. I can tell you’ve been
through as a posse and attract no more around the block a bit. And been
trouble than they’ll meet in a typical to the Hunting Grounds as well. I
adventure (see A W alk in Hell
Walk Hell), but if used to be able to smell gold
they talked the whole Iron Alliance into buried twenty feet underground.
trying to cross-over, they’d be Then this whole Reckoning thing
slaughtered. happened and I developed a nose
Even moving across the worlds too for corpses. Lucky me.
frequently has this effect. It’s like a Now I can smell the spirit
well-stocked trout stream. An world as well. A couple dozen
occasional catch attracts a few bears. years lost in there’ll do that to
An abundant stream attracts hundred you.
of hungry grizzlies. Well, I got some news you
might be interested in. I been
Learning About the Hell Hole pokin’ around again, tryin’ to get
back to my time, and I’ve figgered
So how might your heroes find out somethin’ out. There’s a new path
about the Hell Hole in the first place? that goes more or less straight
We have something fun for you there. through.
First, don’t let them find out about
the Hell Hole right after the end of this Depending on exactly where this
adventure (unless they go exploring the encounter takes place, Coot then tells
wreck for some bizarre reason). Instead, them about the three locations the Hell
let them wander Banshee and discover Hole connects. The first is the engine
its strange secrets in the Lost Colony room in the wreck of the Unity. The
game. A few months after they’ve second and third is in Devil’s Tower,
settled into their new routine, run The which opens to both the Weird West
Pr ospector Returns scene below.
Prospector and Hell on Earth, depending on where
If your heroes are in the Weird West, one wants to go.
or in the Wasted West and they didn’t What happens after that is up to
play this adventure, the Prospector your posse. If they want to head back
scene still occurs. Work it in whenever into Hell, here’s how to handle it.
you want to let your party in on the
secret.
 Into the Hell Hole line—as long as it has a horrific
overtone (or you can portray it that
We already told you how to enter the way). Imagine a typical orc-slayfest from
Hell Hole via the Unity—a character just a certain well-known fantasy game. A
has to fight his way through the wreck trek through a lair of greenskins can
and lay hands on the black box. At be incredibly horrific if you play it that
Devil’s Tower, a hero has to make it to way. You might also take a look at
the old Portal Chamber (see the adventures for our own Weird Wars or
Fortress o’ Fear boxed set). In the Weird Hostile Climes lines. All of Pinnacle’s
West, it’s still currently guarded by Kang games have elements of horror in
and the weird aliens that live there. In them, and can make for very strange
the time of Hell on Earth, Devil’s Tower and disturbing portrayals of the
was hit by a city-buster. The dirty Hunting Grounds.
secret we’ve kept to ourselves for a bit When is the trip over? It’s not a
is that the portal chamber is destroyed— matter of distance—it’s a matter of will.
but the portal itself is still intact. It’s In essence, whenever the heroes
now buried beneath several hundred complete their goal, they arrive at their
feet of rubble and dirt. The crossbreed destination. Let’s say they’re playing an
aliens who lived there are now mutated adventure where they have to go
crossbreed aliens and they’re more through a veritable tomb of horrors and
dangerous than ever before. We update defeat an evil liche. Ahem. When they
the status of the portal in Epitaph #4, defeat the creature and walk back out
and believe us, it’s nasty. of his dungeon, they actually arrive at
Let’s reiterate for those of you who their real destination—the Unity or
are afraid travel between the worlds Devil’s Tower.
might ruin the settings for you. Getting These settings in the Hunting
to any one of the portals is essentially Grounds are filled with “real” people,
a “dungeon crawl” all its own. Because monsters, histories, and everything else
things often come out of the portal, no that makes the world feel real, though
one will ever be able to clear out the they’re actually drawn from someone’s
areas around them (the Unity or the nightmares (not necessarily the posse’s
caverns of Devil’s Tower). nightmares).
And when a group does make it to
the portal, they have to play out an Rules in Hell
entire adventure to actually travel it
(see A W alk in Hell, below).
Walk A few rule questions may come up in
the Hunting Grounds. We’ll talk about
A Walk in Hell that a little more in future information
about the Hunting Grounds. For now,
Venturing through the Hunting just let everyone use their arcane
Grounds is an exercise in creativity. The powers and relics normally.
trip changes every time, as do the types Death in the Hunting Grounds is as
of creatures encountered and even the permanent as anywhere else, but the
setting. One time a character might presence of so many manitous
find himself in the tale from Sleepy increases the chances a character will
Hollow, the next he’s in a frightful come back Harrowed. Let the recently
animated world ripped from a seriously deceased draw 1d4 extra cards when
demented Saturday morning cartoon. In her hero kicks the proverbial bucket.
other words, the trip is whatever you
can come up with Marshal. Time Travel Issues
One thing that might be fun is to
grab an adventure from another game First, Hell on Earth and Lost Colony
are on the same time-line, so there’s no
time travel issues there. Posses who go
back into the Weird West are slightly

80 Marshal more problematic. Here’s how to handle

time-travel weirdness.
 First, the future (Lost Colony and Hell
on Earth) are moving forward on a
parallel path with the past (the Weird
West). When a day passes on Banshee
The Unity 81
or in the Wasted West, a day passes in
the Weird West as well. That means
posses can’t decide to go back into Here’s the problems you can throw at
dinosaur days, or the day Raven them. First, how exactly will they find
watched his tribe get killed, or even out who Slade’s ancestors were? It’s not
into the “past” of the Weird West as like there are many surviving records in
characters in that setting might see it. the Wasted West, and Slade himself
They can only go the “current” game probably doesn’t know his family tree
day in the Weird West (which is early from a banzai. But let’s suppose they
1879 in the current Weird West timeline, figure it out somehow. If they go back
and late 2096 in Hell on Earth and Lost and wipe out the ancestor, the fates
Colony). just change things so that Slade is born
That said, there are still certain to someone else. He’s still there to put a
timeline problems that could occur. bullet in the PC 200 years later. If the
Except for one thing. You’re not going heroes put a lot of work into their plan
to let them. You’re going to foil any only to have it ruined, they probably
attempt to create a paradox. That’s the won’t try again. You can reward their
golden rule, and one you absolutely creativity with Fate Chips, but don’t let
shouldn’t break. them create any paradoxes.
Remember that the point of the Hell Planting Gear: Here’s another
Hole is to let everyone have an example. Let’s say the heroes got
occasional change of pace. Sometimes ambushed without their weapons in
you want the funny accents of the Old one of Junkyard’s hotels, and it led to a
West and other times you want the chain of unfortunate events. So they go
desperation of the Wasted West. Don’t back to the Weird West and plant a
let the issue of time travel ruin that. If batch of assault rifles in the
you have players who insist on creating floorboards of their room so they won’t
paradoxes even after you’ve foiled them be caught with their pants down. This
time after time, show them the above one’s easy. The weapons could simply
paragraph and maim his character— be gone—no explanation required, the
”Whoops! Someone in the distant past powder could be ruined, the hotel could
just chopped your hand off!” be an entirely different building from
Okay, not really, but you get the idea. way back then (almost always the case
anyway), and so on. Again, reward the
Resolving Paradoxes heroes for their creativity, but their
plans don’t work.
So here’s exactly how you resolve Sharing Inf ormation: The most
Information:
those potential paradoxes. potentially damaging paradoxes are the
In short, you sabotage them. The sharing of information. Let’s say your
manitous in the Hunting Grounds, the heroes go back to the Weird West with
Nature Spirits, and even the powers of datapad articles, pictures, video, and
good don’t like any serious tampering other “proof” about what happens on
with the time stream. The heroes September 23rd, 2081. Then they take
should be able to do whatever they that information to Lacy O’Malley at the
want in the past, but it somehow just Tombstone Epitaph or some other more
doesn’t affect the future that much. respectable paper. And then let’s
The best way to explain is through a assume a persuasive individual
few examples. manages to convince someone in the
Killing Ancestor
Ancestors:s: Let’s say your media that they’re telling the truth.
posse lost a beloved character a few Well, that is a tough one, but you can
adventures back in Hell on Earth to a handle it. Here’s how. Start with
villain named Slade. They decide to go sabotaging their “proof” as they go
back to the Weird West, find Slade’s through the Hunting Grounds. Maybe
ancestor, and put a bullet through him.
 their datapad is simply lost or destroyed Time T Twins:
wins: What happens if a
during whatever adventure occurs as really old character, such as an Omega
they travel to the Weird West. If not, Man or a Harrowed, goes back from
maybe the datapad is infested with Hell on Earth into the Weird West and
gremlins or other weird demons— meets himself? It’s not really as great a
showing awful and chaotic pictures of problem as it sounds. Sure, the “young”
weird creatures and bloody debauchery. hero would have lots of information,
Or maybe it’s more like an EMP that and he’s probably going to believe him
simply scrambles the datapad’s circuits. if the “old hero” can convince him it’s
Whatever it takes, sabotage it. not a trick, but what’s the game effect?
Messing W ith the Big Bo
With ys: What
Boys: The powers that be really don’t like
if your crew goes to Hellstromme and this, so a hero who tries to enter a
tells him what’s going to happen? And place where he already is (in a younger
they can “prove” it by explaining some or older version) simply can’t exit the
scientific principles that haven’t been Hunting Grounds. Should his “time
discovered yet? First, you probably twin” die, or exit that time, he may
shouldn’t let the posse anywhere near then enter just like anyone else.
Hellstromme. Second, Hellstromme Only Stone has ever managed to get
might just decide to throw them in a away with being a time twin, and that
dungeon and get more information was with the direct help of the
with tongs and branding irons. Third, if Reckoners.
they somehow get to Hellstromme and
don’t get strapped to a wall, the “good” So What’s the Point?
doctor might simply believe them and
promise not to invent, sell, or distribute The most honest answer is that we
ghost rock bombs. Assuming he’s not want you to be able to play in all of our
just lying (and maybe he invents them Deadlands worlds. Everyone needs a
that much faster now, bringing about change of pace now and then, and
additional destruction and misery), he strapping on six-shooters or simply
just does it anyway for his own reasons eating hot meals because they’re
(he needs the money when the time available everywhere might be enough
comes, he realizes it will get him to for survivors of the desolate future.
Vanessa, whatever). That’s not very satisfying from a heroic
Interfering at K
Interfering ey T
Ke imes: What if
Times: character’s point of view, however. Once
the heroes want to tell Dove to leave your group has figured things out about
Raven chained to the rock? Well, they the Reckoning, how it started, and
can’t. Remember that the Hell Hole only what they might do to prevent it, they
goes back to 1876—it doesn’t go to the may genuinely want to return to the
late 2000s when Dove kills Raven. Weird West not to give you fits but to
But maybe you’ve got a Harrowed save the world. If they can’t because
who goes back to the Weird West and you keep foiling them, what’s the point
decides to wait for 200 years to stop of going back to the Weird West?
Dove from killing Raven. First, mess Easy. As you’ll see in the Lost Colony
with him long before that happens. game, the Reckoners are loose on
Second, let the manitou take over Banshee, and they’ve been “demoted” a
when it comes time and the disaster step from unkillable, god-like beings to
happens anyway (what a waste of 200 servitors. That means they’re
years!). Third, maybe the deader shows invulnerable to everything except their
up to stop Dove but there’s a bodyguard particular weaknesses. And those
of other shamans and Indians there weaknesses can only be found…
who stop him. …in the Weird West.
But that’s a tale for another day.

82 Marshal
 Hell Hole Redeux
Here are the highlights of all we’ve just said.

Ther
Theree are no parado
are xes, because y
paradox ou’r
you’re going to do
ou’re
ver it takes to stop them. Don’t think of the portals as
whatev
whate
time machines (though a certain amount of that can’t be
helped), think of them as gates to other w orlds.
worlds.
The past and pr esent run on parallel cour
present ses—character
courses—character
ses—characterss
can’t go whene
whenev ver the y w
they ant, the
want, y can onl
they onlyy go to the “curr ent”
“current”
da
dayy in the past/futur e. When a da
past/future. dayy passes in Hell on Earth, a
da
dayy is ffor
orever lost in the W
ore eir
Weir d W
eird est as w
West ell. Y
well. ou can’t go to
You
1877 in the past, because it’ s alr
it’s ead
alread
eadyy “past.” Y ou can onl
You onlyy go to
late 1878. The Battle of Junky
Junkyar ard took place on the e
ard vening of
ev
December 31st, 2096. The date in the W eir
Weir
eirdd W est on that da
West y
day
was December 31st, 1878.
Each trip thr ough the Hell Hole is an entir
through e, nightmarish
entire,
adventur
adventure and should take at least one game session of not
enture
two or thr
two ee.
three.
A trip through the Hunting Gr
through ounds should ha
Grounds ve a horrific,
hav
nightmarish ffeel
eel to it.
The Hell Hole onl y opens at the Unity in Lost Colon
only y, De
Colony vil’
Devil’s
vil’s
Tower in the Weir
Weird W
eird est, and the ruins of De
West, vil’
Devil’s T
vil’s ower in Hell
To
on Earth..
Only per
Only sonal items can be taken thr
personal ough the Hell Hole.
through
The portals allo w onl
allow y small gr
only oups of people to tra
groups vel
trav
betw een w
between orlds. Large gr
worlds. oups or too-fr
groups equent use (slipping in
too-frequent
all the Iron Alliance thr
Iron ough in gr
through oups of 5, ffor
groups or instance),
attracts an arm
armyy of demons.
The portals are ther
are theree ffor
or you, Mar
you, shal. W
Marshal. Wee know fr
know om 5
from
years of email and listserv
ears es that most of y
listserves ou bu
you buyy the books
from both lines. The portals allo
from w y
allow ou a chance to pla
you y in each
play
of our settings without starting whole ne neww campaigns.
If y
your eally
our posse really tries to mess with the timeline, they get
they
a visit fr om Stone. These Hunting Gr
from ounds-jumping do-gooder
Grounds-jumping do-gooderss
are some of the ffolks
are olks who tasted Stone’ s six-guns when he
Stone’s
forged the Path of Stone. Har sh, but clean.
Harsh,
And in case you fforgot!
you orgot!
There ar
There e no parado
are xes!
paradox
 After the Harvest

Well, that was one Hell of a ride, days after the “Battle of the Worms,”
huh? and what their immediate plans are.
We suppose most of you are We’ll also detail Raven’s new army, his
wondering what happens next in Hell weird new liches, and his creepy new
on Earth? Is the story over? bodyguards.
Yes and no. On the one hand, the big Let’s start with our good friends in
metaplots we’ve had in store for the the Iron Alliance.
game are played out. We’ve been
waiting for the return of the Reckoners
and the arrival of Raven for a long time.
We also think it’s time to hand the
The Iron Alliance
reins over to you. We’ve created a huge The leaders of the Iron Alliance have
irradiated sandbox for you to play in, so a lot to be thankful for, even though
go tear it up. they suffered the heaviest casualties in
On the flip-side, the story of Hell on the Battle of Worms. The people who
Earth has simply entered a new made up the alliance currently remain
chapter, one that’s just as dangerous as encamped around Junkyard. They’ll stay
before, though perhaps there’s a little there for a few more weeks until
more hope than there was when the someone figures out whether or not
Reckoners were still stomping around. Raven or the Combine will make a
What’s in this new chapter? Well, we play on Junkyard once again (they
have some events planned that you’ll won’t be doing so anytime soon, as
see in the pages of the new Deadlands you’ll see in the other sections).
Epitaph, but for the most part, it’s up to Now let’s discuss each of the
you. leaders of the Iron Alliance and
The rest of this book tells you which their people in turn.
players are left, how they fared in the
 Ike Taylor and Junkyard When the liquor wears off, many of
the gang leaders are going to take a
Ike’s enthusiasm and constant hard look around and realize their
positive attitude have convinced his gangs have a lot less members than
people (and most other members of the they used to. These hardcore road
alliance) that they were overwhelmingly warriors were on the front lines at
victorious. This is a little true and a Denver. Ike and Goose did this on
little false. It’s true in the sense that purpose, of course. Neither want to see
the secret attack against the Combine the predatory road gangs stronger after
worked like a charm. It’s false in the the war.
sense that the casualties at the Battle The road gangs’ casualties were
of Worms were horrendous. Most of the moderate during the siege, but
Convoy was wiped out along with atrocious when Raven attacked. Some
thousands of road gangers who had of the most famous wasteland bandits
pledged themselves to the cause. and their crews are now worm-poop.
A few have raised a stink about the In the shelters around Junkyard, they
Junkyarders themselves. Ike’s people sit by their fires, drinking, debauching,
fared quite well. They lost a few and generally celebrating. But a few
hundred in the initial Combine cast hungry eyes on Junkyard itself,
bombardment, but most then stayed and converse in quiet whispers about
behind to give the road gangs and the one day putting Ike Taylor in his place.
Convoy the “honor” of the pursuit. (Ike
also had to keep them in Junkyard as a The Law Dogs
reserve against other Combine strike
forces.) Law Dogs were a very loosely
In the aftermath of the Battle of organized force before the battle. During
Worms, Ike is preparing for the the pursuit however, these men and
inevitable political battle that will come women came together under a woman
next. He knows that everyone will named Aki Tyler and the late Cole
forget who forged the alliance and Ballad. Aki’s attitude and smarts under
defeated the Combine when food is fire made her a hero with her
short and the deaders start back up companions. Cole’s raw courage and
again. fighting ability made him the man to
Ike’s first priority, however, is to keep be with in a fray. Under their informal
a close eye on the road gangs. He’s leadership, these freelance officers of
keeping them happy with corn mash the peace became the most elite strike
and loot right now, but knows they’ll be team in the pursuit force. That’s why
trouble in the future. He’s made sure they got the task of going after Raven
his own Junkyard security forces are when they determined he was the
well-armed and ready for a fight if it center of the deader horde.
comes to that. Aki didn’t make it to the fight with
Raven—she was pulled into a rattler’s
The Road Gangs mouth and disappeared. Cole and the
rest of his survivors rode against Raven
The road gangs are currently quite screaming her name.
happy—simply because Ike has ensured There are only a handful of Law
corn liquor flows like honey during the Dogs left now, perhaps three dozen or
“victory celebrations.” Ike also secretly so, and those only survived because
arranged for Fuller Mattox to make they were wounded and dragged to
sure the gangers got the lion’s share of safety. The rest stayed behind trying to
the Black Hat’s loot. free isolated groups like the posse
when the deaders overran the
battlefield.
A few other Law Dogs (such as any
player character Law Dogs) decided to

86 Marshal fight alongside their own companions

instead of with the main body. Some of
these survived as well.
Joan and the Schismatics
Hellstromme’s appearance as the
Harbinger has had little effect on the
After the Harvest 87
mutants. Some certainly believe Joan
and her vision and have joined her
cause. Those who prefer Silas either team in the event of some dire and
believe Joan was always full of rattler unforeseen circumstance.
dung, or think Hellstromme wasn’t The rest of the legion was stationed
really the Harbinger (such a being could around the Wasted West in strategic
only be a mutant, after all). locations. If Junkyard had fallen, their
Joan and the Doomsayers were in the task was to establish resistance
rear of the camp at Denver, so most of movements against the Combine. These
them survived. Mattox wanted the insurgents remain hidden with their
purple Doomies safely in reserve for survivor settlements until Jo gives them
selective strikes using their EMP the word to move out.
abilities. Jo isn’t particularly worried about
Now they have opened a “Welcoming politics, but Ike has convinced her that
Center” on the outskirts of the Templars’ small numbers in the
Junkyard for all mutants who recent battles might be seen as a
have chosen to accept Joan’s sign of weakness. To keep
vision of the Harbinger. the gossip down, he’s
Joan and her best played up a few key
Doomies hold Templars who did fight.
workshops and “self- He’s awarded them
improvement” medals, lauded them at
seminars for those public gatherings, and
mutants who formerly praised them among his
fought for Silas. lieutenants. His
Joan won’t admit numerous and frequent
this to anyone, but comments make it
she’s elated her seem as if there were
vision came true. She far more Templars in
had begun to have the fight than there
doubts but was really were.
self-
The Anti-
vindicated Templars
when
Hellstromme The actions of
descended on the Templars like
plains of Deseret, your player
characters have
Jo and the Templars drastically
ranks of the
reduced the
anti-Templars.
Jo’s Templars were Many of those who didn’t get
conspicuously absent along with the Templars
during the siege of rejoined after Simon’s death. Jo is a
Denver. Three dozen or hard-ass, but in a very different and
so fought with their personal more tolerable way (to most) than
companions or squires on the field, but Simon, the former GrandMaster.
there are currently over three hundred Though a few altruistic but
Templars in Jo’s legion. misguided souls still wear the black
The best of the sword-swingers tabard, those who remain at the
stayed with Jo, defending Junkyard and movement’s center are definitely of the
ready to act as a super-powered strike evil variety. Modeen himself was
 killed—either in “The Destroyer” Profile: Marvin Finkelstein (Brain)
adventure in The Last Crusaders or
during the siege of Denver, where he Corpor eal: D:2d6, N:2d6, S:2d6, Q:2d6,
Corporeal:
fought alongside the Combine. V:2d6
Throckmorton persuaded the anti- Shootin’: pistol, shotgun 3d6, dodge 3d6,
Templars that he was destined to win drivin’: car 3d6, fightin’: axe 3d6,
the coming fight, and that if they sneak 4d6
would join them, he would grant the Mental: C:2d8, K:4d10, M:3d6, Sm:4d12,
warriors access to his powerful Sp:2d8
weaponry to help fight the horrors of Area Knowledge: Wasted West 3d10, arts
the Wasted West. The anti-Templars 2d8, bluff 3d12, faith 1d8, guts 1d8,
weren’t sent to Junkyard—Throckmorton leadership 3d6, medicine 2d10,
and Modeen (or his replacement) were overawe 2d6, persuasion 5d6,
afraid the rank and file might switch professional (salesmanship) 3d10,
sides when they saw what the robotic ridicule 4d12, scroungin’ 3d12,
army planned to do to the Junkyarders scrutinize 3d8, search 2d8, streetwise
after their city fell. 2d12, survival 2d12
Instead, they were held back in Pace: 6
Denver as a “reserve.” A small number Size: 5
of anti-Templars still reside inside the Wind: 14
“Place Where No One Goes,” but a Edges: Arcane background (anti-
dozen or so slipped out to start trouble Templar), “The stare”
elsewhere. Of those who are left, less Hindrances: Bad eyes, scrawny
than four have any decent intentions. Gear: 12-gauge pump-action sawed-off
The rest crave power and like to play shotgun, “Backstabber,” a magical
with axes. fireman’s axe that does STR+2d10
The new leader of the anti-Templars damage, or STR+3d10 damage if
is a surly fellow who goes by the attacking someone with surprise.
moniker “Brain.” His real name is Special Abilities:
Marvin Finkelstein—he was a hospital Anti-T emplar: Armor of the Saints
Anti-Templar:
supplies-salesman before the war. 3, command 5, sixth sense 2;
That’s not very intimidating, however, Greater Rewards: Command
and since the war, Marvin’s buffed up Description: Brain is scrawny, skinny,
quite a bit. He’s never going to win a short, and bald. He wears taped-up
Mr. Universe competition, but few glasses that he protects zealously.
survivors in the Wasted West are He’s petty, jealous, and ruthless as a
wimps. snake.
Marvin was one of many turned
away by Simon in Boise—Simon thought
he was more interested in power than
he was in helping people. He was right,
The Cult o’ Doom
of course. Silas Rasmussen lost major face in
Marvin tried again with the anti- the battle south of Junkyard. It’s not so
Templars, and by this time learned to much that all the muties think Joan’s
become a devious if not overpowering heresy was proved right, it’s more that
fighter. Modeen took him in, and the Silas lost the fight.
scheming salesman made himself Gossip is thick and fast in the City o’
valuable if not particularly well-liked. Sin about Hellstromme being the
He inherited the group by deceit and Harbinger. A few hundred muties have
betrayal in the end. even set out to join their new “master.”
Most locals, however, long ago chose to
stay in Vegas because they simply like
it there or because they believe in
Silas—and belief like that dies hard. If
Hellstromme is truly the Harbinger, he’ll

88 Marshal come to them. If he’s not, or if Joan is

on crack, then Vegas is still the most
mutie-friendly city in the Wasted West.
 Silas himself is a very unhappy
camper. The first few days after the
“Battle of the Harbinger,” he sat and
brooded in his inner chambers of the
After the Harvest 89
Luxor, trying to figure out how to
recover his crumbling empire. When
nothing particularly clever came to norms—see City o’ Sin for all the gory
mind, he turned to old-fashioned fear details).
and violence. Anyone caught professing Like the Indians of old, the mutie
the coming of the Harbinger (or a few tribes simply strive to survive in a land
poor sots who just happened to catch filled with those they perceive as
Silas’ eye) have been hung upside down enemies.
from the city’s lightposts until dead.
Hanging a few luckless individuals is
definite proof that Silas is the true
Mutant King—to the most remedial
Hellstromme
mutants. The rest simply don’t care— So what about the Harbinger
Silas is still their best chance at “ruling himself? Doctor Hellstromme is anxious
the West,” and they’re really looking to return to Banshee to be with
forward to showing those non-scabby Vanessa, but he doesn’t want to do so
norms a thing or two. until he finishes a “Pinocchio” type
Of course, the resistance in Vegas is quest and becomes a “real man.” The
getting ready to take advantage of the technology exists to create a new body
situation. Bugsy Siegel, the Cult of for himself—one as young and virile as
Grendel, the LVPD, and even Joan’s his wife. Hellstromme has a few
Doomsayers have all begun to quietly theories on how to create a new body,
stir up the muties about the coming of
the Harbinger and the downfall of
Silas, the “false prophet.”

Mutants
Mutants outside of Silas’ scaly grip
are in a bit of a funk. On the one hand,
there’s a chance that Joan’s prophesy
was real and that Hellstromme has
come to rescue them somehow. If so,
are they supposed to be doing
something? No one seems to know,
and it’s making them restless.
If Hellstromme wasn’t the Harbinger,
then there are other worries. Silas was
defeated outside of Junkyard, and now
there are tales of Reckoners and an
army of the dead marching across the
High Plains. The Iron Alliance has also
grown more powerful from their
victory among norms. The question of
the day then, is who will champion the
mutant’s cause?
Until that question is solved, mutants
everywhere have become more and
more paranoid. Those tribes that were
once considered friendly have closed
themselves off and refuse to treat with
white men for fear of treachery (such
as happened at Armana, where muties
believe their kind were massacred by
 but isn’t quite ready to walk the path of and other constructs slain in the Battle
mad science again. At least not until he of Junkyard.
finds a few very rare pieces of Throckmorton’s forges and foundries
equipment. suffered heavily in the bombardment of
In the meantime, Hellstromme’s Denver. Repair crews are busy trying to
decided he must use his identity as the get the smelters back on-line, but none
Harbinger to fix what will become a of the Green Hats know exactly what
major problem in the Wasted West if they’re doing, and spare parts are
something isn’t done—resolving the scarce. They’ve begun a concentrated
mutant question. Hellstromme realizes effort to find slaves with engineering
the mutants are the West’s new experience and “promote” them to
“Indians.” If they are not handled Green Hats in exchange for repairing
carefully, they’ll become even more and expanding the Combine’s
violent and isolationist than they are metalworking capabilities. This is
now. So the once-mad doctor is something the remaining Denver
traveling about the West promoting Resistance has discovered, and will
peace between muties and norms. He eventually be passed on to the Iron
hasn’t tackled any major Silas-enclaves Alliance. When it is, Ike Taylor and Doc
yet—he’s proofing his theories on Schwartz will quickly realize
smaller “control” groups before going Throckmorton is desperate to rebuild
toe-to-toe with the Cult of Doom. his army of automatons.
Until Throckmorton gets his forges
back in operation, he’s managed to
The Combine crank out a new squad of automatons.
These creatures have extremely weak
Throckmorton’s army suffered greatly armor, but as yet no one has discovered
in the fight at Junkyard. The general this secret. They’re more for show than
still has thousands of Black Hats, but for fighting, but having this shiny new
his precious automatons, raptors, and squad walk the rubbled streets of
other automated troops were nearly Denver is giving the demoralized Black
annihilated. Hats some small reassurance that the
This leaves him with a great number Harvest ain’t over yet.
of soldiers numerically, but drastically The “Vengeance Brigade” is actually
weakened in terms of actual strength. just eight of these flimsy automatons.
Black Hats are a dime a dozen, and They’ve been instructed to be highly
zombie brains for new automatons, visible, beat the snot out of any
raptors, and other devices are fairly defeatists, and help rebuild the city
easy to create as well. But what the (more with impressive shows of
Combine truly lacks is the high-tensile strength than actual labor).
metal to create new shells for these
mechanical undead. Profile: The Vengeance Brigade
Throckmorton has already dispatched
a handful of recovery teams to find Corpor eal: D:2d6, N:2d6, S:2d8, Q:3d6,
Corporeal:
new sources of metal. At least a dozen V:2d12
teams, all headed by Red Hats or Climbin’ 2d6, dodge 2d6, fightin’:
recently promoted Black Hats are brawlin’ 3d6, shootin’: MG 4d6, sneak
quietly scouring the West in disguise in 3d6
search of salvageable ghost steel. One Mental: C:2d10, K:1d6, M:3d10, Sm:1d6,
team, under Rudolph Tynes, is actually Sp:1d4
in Junkyard itself, buying up the Area knowledge: Denver 2d6, overawe
remains of the hundreds of automatons 4d10, ridicule 4d10, scroungin’ 2d6,
search 3d10
Pace: 6
Size: 8
Wind: NA

90 Marshal Armor: 1
Special Abilities:
Fearless
 Regenerate: Automatons don’t
actually regenerate, but they can
heal themselves by scavenging for
parts in ruins. Treat this as a
After the Harvest 91
normal healing roll made once per
day of scroungin’ against a Fair (5)
TN. junker science that creates full-grown
Description: The Vengeance Brigade animals in days, then process the meat
is made of the shiniest metal through the efficient but gruesome
Throckmorton’s Green Hats could “assembly line of death,” a series of
find—it’s mostly chrome and other conveyor belts, whirling knives, lasers,
weaker metals. Note that the and “juice” sluices than can turn a
Vengeance Brigade has no internal weak-limbed, undeveloped cow into
weaponry. Mostly they use their hamburger in less than a minute.
metal fists to club nay-saying Black And yes, Marshal, the AI’s most vocal
Hats. Should they be forced to critics are set to become pate as soon
combat, they carry standard as the architects finish the abattoir’s
Damnation assault rifles on their construction.
backs. The disappointed Resistance, trapped
again and a little bummed about
The Denver Resistance getting all the slaves killed, is in their
“blue period.” Sean Connors, the leader
The Denver Resistance struck while of the Resistance and the narrator of
the siege was on, freeing a great the Denver sourcebook, is currently
number of slaves. Unfortunately, many wandering the streets of Denver
of the slaves escaped just in time to be disguised as a Black Hat. If he can
devoured by Raven’s horde, but “them’s verify that the Combine is weak
the breaks” in the Wasted West. enough, he’s thinking of mounting a
This has caused one major problem major effort to storm the Hellstromme
for the Combine, however. With the Industries Factory Complex.
large number of Black Hats currently Right now, the “Vengeance Brigade”
hiding in Denver and the sudden lack has him cowed a bit—if Throckmorton
of slave labor, feeding the Combine’s can create new automatons that
servants has become very difficult. The quickly, what hope does his ragged
Denver AI, in the guise of band have? Plenty—if he discovers the
Throckmorton, is not particularly new automatons have skin like tin foil.
sympathetic to this maddening human
need for constant sustenance. To solve
the problem, the AI has done two
things. The first is to send out Black
Raven
Hat patrols to raid, gather new slaves, Raven’s appearance in the Wasted
and steal any large stores of food they West has created quite a stir for more
come across. Of course, the Black Hats than just the obvious reasons that he
are a little outnumbered and commands an army of undead and
underarmed these days. Most of the giant worms. There’s a lot to say about
towns they try to raid wind up winning. Raven and his new “friends,” so buckle
That’s okay for the AI though—a few up, Marshal. This one’s a bit longer.
less Black Hats reduces the food supply Nearly 400 years of trying to destroy
problem as well. That’s why it loves the world does not a pleasant person
automatons so much—they only eat “for make.
fun.” The madman who started this whole
The second food program is far more thing, Raven, now sits brooding deep
insidious and downright disgusting. A beneath the Rockies. His massive worm
select few Green Hats under Charles friends burrowed into the mountains
“the butcher” Barkley are creating a and made a subterranean hideout for
new cloning center and abattoir. The the shaman and his undead hordes.
idea is to raise livestock, clone it in
giant vats via some seriously demented
 Raven now takes council with the
great rattlers, trying to figure out just
what happened. He knows the
Reckoners are gone, but he has yet to
figure out just how it happened or
who’s responsible. He knows the
humans could not have defeated them,
and the demons tell him the Reckoners
aren’t at “home” in the Hunting
Grounds, so where could they be?
Unfortunately for Raven, only Darius
Hellstromme, and now Jo, Ike Taylor,
and Joan, know just where the
Reckoners went to, and even they don’t
know if the heroes they sent to the
Unity—your posse, Marshal—was
successful.
So what’s a twisted, demented,
burned up, 400-year old shaman to do?
He can’t just walk up to the surface,
grab a mortal, and ask him where the
Reckoners got to (he actually tried
though, and the results were just
embarrassing).
Before we tell you what he’s about to
do, we should tell you what he’s
already done, and just how he raised
this terrifying army of worms and dead
men.

Raven’s Plan
You remember what we told you in
the Wasted West book, right? That
about 100 years ago, Raven was lured
into a trap by a band of Old Ways
shamans. They bound him with magical
bracelets (made from the skin of white
men) and staked him to a slab of rock
in the Black Hills. Over the years,
various shamans tried to kill him, but
to no avail—he was a servitor and
therefore could only be killed in one
particular way—which none of them
ever learned.
That didn’t stop them from trying
however. They stabbed him, cut him,
skinned him, but to no avail. One
female shaman, an otherwise peace-
loving Sioux named Dove, even set him
on fire. That didn’t work either, but it
was really painful and made Raven
much uglier. It also made Raven vow to
torture Dove when he got free.
Dove finally figured out how to kill

92 Marshal Raven, but he had long ago bound a

powerful manitou to resurrect him as
Harrowed when the inevitable
happened. Dove left the mountain with
Raven’s mutilated corpse upon the
“Blood Stone.” Imagine her surprise
when Raven showed up at her teepee
After the Harvest 93
the next day.
The unfortunate girl was dragged
along behind Raven for nearly a decade.
She was there when Raven conquered troops, a retinue of warriors called the
the fortress at Minier, Illinois, and “Honor Guard.”
watched as he put the survivors of His undead army assembled, Raven
hundreds of holdout settlements in the marched to the river and sent his horde
East to the sword. plunging into the depths of the “Bloody
The horrible things Raven did to her Old Muddy.” They emerged on the other
were finally so great that even his side, overran the River Watch, and
magic could not heal her. Dove died in began destroying all life that happened
agony alone and in pain. in their path—one survivor settlement
Raven still drags her bones behind at a time.
him on his Palanquin of War—the
platform Cole Ballad attacked him on in The Worms Turn
Chapter Two.
Many of those who survived Raven’s
Ten Things Raven Hates About the assault fled west to warn the rest of
humanity—but they were met by waves
Reckoners of giant rattlers, young ones, and
wormlings. Very few made it through
As much as Raven hated Dove, his the swarm, and those who did were
true enemies are the Reckoners promptly ignored—there were lots of
themselves, for it was they who wormlings and zombie hordes after all.
betrayed him and left him to suffer for No one truly understood just how many
a century upon the Blood Stone. were coming this time.
So he planned to destroy them. The worms met Raven at Kansas
But how does one destroy the City in one of the strangest meetings
destroyers? Raven knew the Reckoners of all time. The great worms hovered
drew their power from the fear and above tens of thousands of young
terror of the living. If every last single rattlers and wormlings. Raven stood at
human being on the planet were to be the head of nearly 50,000 walking
slain, the Reckoners would die along dead, liches, and a convoy of captured
with them. This was Raven’s dreadful vehicles.
plan. The worms communicated with
For the last thirteen years he has Raven telepathically and told him of
wiped out the last pockets of their ancient fall from the Hunting
resistance in the East and added their Grounds. They would help him destroy
corpses to his shambling army of the the Reckoners, allowing them to return
dead. to the Hunting Grounds as the gods
For the last few months, Raven has they were, with a new race of
been involved in a siege of his own. wormlings to worship them and ensure
The last great survivor settlement in their eternal place in the dark
the east, Minier, stubbornly refused to “heavens” of the spirit world.
die. But then Raven’s demonic allies Raven knew his undead army would
informed him of Throckmorton’s have little trouble against the remaining
impending “Harvest.” Raven made his humans of the world. It would not be a
final assault, losing thousands of his quick victory, but the more settlements
minions in the fight but gaining half that fell to him, the more undead he
that many in the carnage that followed. was able to add to his horde.
To punish the humans for their His major problem was that the
tenacity, the last valiant fighters of the deaders would not stand before the
living in the east became Raven’s Reckoners once they caught on to his
newest and most powerful shock plan and formed their own army to stop
 him. But the addition of the massive What’s a Shaman To Do?
worms—former gods themselves—would
virtually guarantee him victory. Raven’s first plan is to find out what
happened to the Reckoners. To do that,
The Siege of Denver he’s entering the Hunting Grounds and
rounding up every spirit he can beat up
The fighting around Denver proved and make talk. Eventually (within a
Raven was slightly more mad than he month after the end of this adventure),
knew—his army suffered quite a he’ll find a powerful demon with
beating, particularly from the heavy enough prescience to know the
firepower of the Combine. He would Reckoners are on Banshee.
have won had he pressed the assault, What he’ll do then is anyone’s guess,
but the cost might have been too great. but odds are it involves another trip
Fighting the Combine is a losing into the Hunting Grounds and into Lost
scenario for Raven because they yield Colony. He’s seriously blinded by his
fewer corpses than they take. hate at this point, so taking over the
Even worse for our main villain, the world is a very distant second goal. He
Reckoners returned to the West when wants to squeeze the ichor out of
he first crossed the Mississippi. They these lords of destruction and prove
quickly gathered their own monstrous himself the master of gods and men
army and—well, you know the rest. alike.
In the aftermath of the fight, Raven’s In the meantime though, he’s got to
deaders were cut down to around keep those damn worms from eating
30,000. A few dozen liches and seven of his army.
the Honored Dead managed to escape
as well. The worms fared slightly The Elder Worms
better—a dozen large ones were lost
but twice that number retreated The worms are patient creatures.
beneath the Rockies, making tunnels They live for thousands of years and
for the rest of Raven’s “coalition.” can stand to wait a few more to ascend
Perhaps 20,000 wormlings and 5,000 back into the Hunting Grounds if need
young ones entered the tunnels with be. They’re willing to let Raven find out
them. where they’ve gone and then formulate
The wormlings needed food a few a new plan to destroy them. Once that
days after the battle and began to eat happens, they plan on entering the
Raven’s deaders. Before he put a stop to Hunting Grounds themselves and
it, the undead had been reduced to resuming their place as gods. The new
around 5,000 corpses. race of wormlings they developed will
provide the necessary worshipers to
Not A Happy Camper give them their unholy power.
In the meantime, the creatures are
All this has left Raven a very content to lie near-dormant in the
unhappy camper. Besides the fact that caves beneath the Rockies and heal the
the Reckoners escaped, he’s been massive wounds suffered in the
forced to ally with worms, had the bulk fighting at Denver. They’ve also begun
of his army eaten by his new allies, to promote and create new batches of
and been forced to retreat beneath the wormlings here, and have now decided
Rockies to hide from a very few but these tunnels will become the new
incredibly tough survivors. home of their worshippers.
It’s more than a little humiliating. The wormlings appreciate the
patronage of their creators, but at
present are mostly concerned with food.
They have voracious appetites and
human pickings are slim in these
newly-formed tunnels. For the moment,

94 Marshal they’re living off Raven’s undead. The

young rattlers are secretly burrowing up
under the bodies of the elder worms
that perished in the battle and feasting
on their parents’ rotting flesh.
This carrion won’t last for long
however, so the wormlings and the
After the Harvest 95
young rattlers have convinced their
elders to make a few long tunnels
through the mountains to more distant
survivor settlements where they can rods” into the victim while he’s
find fresh prey. A few small hordes struggling to get unsnagged.
begin to appear about a month after Undead
the close of this adventure. Description: Spikers are simply
walking dead who have taken shards

Raven’s Horde of glass, nails, wooden stakes, or

other pointy bits and driven it
through their unfeeling flesh. They
do this mostly to further terrify their
The heroes battled Raven’s hordes increasingly jaded foes, but also
using the Quick Combat rules in this occasionally to dive onto opponents
adventure, but should they run into and impale them.
them again, you might need more
detailed statistics. Here you go, Marshal. Profile: Liches
Most of his horde are simply walkin’
dead, with about 25% veteran walking Corpor eal: D:2d6, N:2d8, S:3d8, Q:2d10,
Corporeal:
dead (see the Hell on Earth rulebook for V:2d8
statistics). The rest of his undead Shootin’: any 2d6, dodge 2d8, fightin’:
(maybe 10% of the army) are ‘gloms, brawlin’ 3d8, sneak 3d8, swimmin’
bloats, and other undead used for 1d8
specialized missions. Mental: C:2d10, K:3d10, M:1d6, Sm:1d6,
Raven also has three very unusual Sp:1d4
undead types with him as well. Faith 4d10, overawe 5d6, scrutinize 2d10,
search 3d10
Profile: Spikers Pace: 8
Size: 6
Corpor eal: D:2d6, N:2d8, S:3d8, Q:2d10,
Corporeal: Wind: —
V:2d8 Terror: 11
error:
Shootin’: any 2d6, climbin’ 1d8, dodge Special Abilities:
2d8, fightin’: brawlin’ 3d8, sneak 3d8, Damage: Bite (STR)
swimmin’ 1d8 Bolt o’ Doom (ROF 1, Range 20,
Mental: C:2d10, K:1d6, M:1d6, Sm:1d6, Damage 3d10); manifests as sickly
Sp:1d4 green energy.
Overawe 5d6 Fearless
Pace: 8 Telekinesis: The liches can lift and
Size: 6 move undead creatures up to a
Wind: — combined total of Size 35 (so
Terror: 11
error: usually five deaders with a little
Special Abilities: room to spare). The undead can be
Damage: Spikes (STR+1d6) then be moved up to 200 yards
Fearless distant at a Pace of 24. With a
Spikes: Spikers like to hurl good launch, the corpses can be
themselves upon lightly armored thrown out to a total range of
foes. This is a fightin’: brawlin’ about 500 yards. Deaders in “flight”
attack. If it hits, the foe takes attack at -2 for the speed but add
STR+1d6 damage. With a raise, the +1d6 to any Strength-based damage
opponent is stuck to the undead they manage to cause.
pincushion until he wins an Undead
opposed Strength check with a Zombie: Liches can raise new
raise. Of course the spiker will be undead by simply touching a fairly
jamming knives and other “fun intact corpse. The thing rises as a
 standard walking dead (or veteran
walking dead) in 1d4 rounds.
Description: Raven’s liches are the
Raven’s Relics
“captains” of his army. Their unholy Raven has given rise to many relics
powers allow them to directly attack during his tenure as Destructor
their foes, but more importantly, let Emeritus. Here are the four we’ve
them move and manipulate other discussed in Hell on Earth.
undead. One of their favorite tactics
is to gather a throng of deaders Bracelets of a Hated Foe
(usually five corpses) with their
telekinesis power and hurl them at These leather bands are made from
their foes. It doesn’t hurt what’s the skin of white men killed long ago
already dead and surprises the snot in the Weird West. They were fashioned
out of the living who think their in blood by the Old Ways shamans who
long-ranged guns give them time to sought to bind Raven and keep him
deal with the approaching horde. from escaping the “Blood Stone.” They
were successful in that regard for over
Profile: The Honored Dead a century.
The bracelets appear as little more
Corpor eal: D:2d8, N:3d10, S:4d10, Q:3d10,
Corporeal: than strips of old leather, but a close
V:2d12 inspection reveals wet smears of blood
Shootin’: any 4d8, dodge 4d10, fightin’: here and there around the bands, even
any 4d10, sneak 3d10, speed load 2d8, if washed.
swimmin’ 2d10 Needless to say, Raven doesn’t wear
Mental: C:2d10, K:2d8, M:2d10, Sm:2d8, the bands himself. He keeps them
Sp:1d4 around for particularly powerful
Overawe 5d10, scrutinize 2d10, search prisoners or those he wants to torture
3d10 for a long, long time.
Pace: 10 Power: Anyone wearing the bands
Pow
Size: 7 cannot escape from whatever bonds
Wind: — hold him. The bands are not bonds
Terr or: 9
error: themselves, they just make it
Special Abilities: impossible for the cursed wearer to
Damage: Bite (STR); hand axe escape any other bonds. The prisoner
(STR+2d6, DB+1); auto-shotgun, cannot call upon any magic while
SMG, or assault rifle, 2 hand bound, though internal supernatural
grenades powers still work (Harrowed don’t “die,”
Fearless for example, and a syker could
Description: The last humans to stand fleshknit his wounds).
before Raven in the necropolis of the The bracelets may only be removed
east were a powerful bunch. As a by another person. The victim may then
cruel jest, he resurrected them as free himself from his actual bonds
undead servants after finally normally.
crushing them in the siege of Minier, Taint: Anyone trying to put the
Illinois. There are seven of these bands on someone else must have the
creatures left, each armed with a subject temporarily bound in the first
variety of weapons and plenty of place, Not a true taint, but difficult
ammo stuffed directly into their enough against the kinds of villains
undead flesh. you’d want to use these on.

Dove’s Bones
Poor Dove was the lovely Indian
shaman who managed to end Raven’s
mortal existence—but only after trying

96 Marshal many other painful experiments to kill

him.
 Raven paid her back by dragging her
around on his Palanquin of War for the
next decade after he got free. She
expired from one of his many blind
After the Harvest 97
rages, finally passing into peace and
the Happy Hunting Grounds.
Po
Powwer: Dove’s bones have come to
be another of Raven’s weaknesses (the Anyone who carries one of these
first is an artifact of Susquehanan stones is partially protected from
manufacture—something near servitors of the Reckoners.
impossible to find by now). Any weapon Power
Pow s: The hero gains +1 mystical
ers:
or projectile made from these bones armor against any attack directly
causes normal damage to Raven, generated by a servitor.
though even he does not yet know that. Taint: The stone is seeped in the
Yet. He keeps the bones dangling from blood of one of the most evil people on
a bag on the back of his palanquin. earth, so it has a few malignant
Taint: The bones are taint-free, but tendencies. Anyone who wears a blood
going after Raven with a couple of stone constantly seeps minute amounts
brittle clubs or bone arrows is less than of blood. The droplets are so tiny the
easy. wearer won’t even notice it until he
works up a sweat—which then comes
The Palanquin of War out slimy and red. This effectively
reduces the wearer’s Wind by 1 point an
Raven’s undead body generally feels hour to a maximum of 4 points lost.
little pain, but strangely, the burns Not a particularly deadly taint, but a
inflicted on him during his time on the creepy one when a waster looks at his
Blood Stone cause him constant favorite scavenged Polo and sees the
discomfort. Because of that, he prefers armpits have turned crimson.
to ride on his “Palanquin of War,” a
massive flatbed “carpeted” with
writhing deaders and decorated with
the bones of his most hated foes (such
And One More…
as the shaman named Dove). There’s one more relic we haven’t
Power
Pow s: While on the palanquin,
ers: told you about yet, because there’s just
Raven automatically draws 5 Action no way your heroes could have
Cards every round—there’s no need to discovered it.
roll Quickness. The palanquin works for
no other. Raven’s Coup Stick
Taint: None.
Raven began plotting revenge
Blood Stones immediately after the Reckoners left
North America. Raven knew they could
The stone Raven was bound to all take his power away, and if they did, he
those years was just a simple slab of would have no chance to destroy the
rock. Over the century, the many world—and his former masters. So he
shamans who tried to kill Raven spilled performed a decade-long ritual
his blood upon it thousands of times drenched in blood and souls. The power
over. Even an ordinary rock must that he gained was simple—the
eventually become a relic when Reckoners could not take his powers
drenched repeatedly in the blood of a away. This powerful magic was imbued
primary servitor. in Raven’s coup stick, with which he
Raven sundered the hated thing into has killed hundreds. If the stick were to
a thousand pieces after his return from be broken, Raven would instantly lose
the Great Beyond. Its shards lie atop the his powers as a servitor.
Black Hills for several years. Eventually So where is Raven’s coup stick? He
however, shamans searching for Raven keeps the grisly thing stuffed up inside
found the stones and learned that the his undead ribs.
“blood stones” were enchanted. Come and get it. We dare you.
Lost Colony Welcome to the
Way Out West.
Spring 2002

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