Thursday, December 30, 2021

Notes from One-Shots for The Sixth Gun RPG

Detailed below are notes from a one-shot that I ran using the Savage Worlds RPG, taking place in the world of The Sixth Gun and Shadow Roads comics. I hope to run more such sessions in the near future. 

-Nate 

Truth or Consequences


15 June 2019—“Truth or Consequences”

For this session, the players selected character archetypes from “The Traveling Show.”

The Traveling Show


Adam: Mr. Coburn, the barker

Al: Arnold, the strongman

Andrea: Madame Flaubert, the fortune teller

Breigh: Tommy “the Kid” Harrison, the acrobat

Brent: Bertram “Red” MacDill, the trickshooter—also known as “The Connecticut Cannon”

Nick: Standing Bear, the witch doctor


The heroes, a troupe of traveling entertainers, arrived via steamboat at The Crossing. There they encountered Sheriff Lawrence and his deputies, who were chasing an Indian brave, Red Hawk. They learned that Red Hawk was accused of stealing from the church, and prevented him from coming to any harm. From there they took rooms at the boarding house and then began exploring the town.


At the church, Madame Flaubert and Bertram met Reverend Edmond Bouchard, and she recognized that he wielded arcane power. Mr. Coburn went to talk to the sheriff, and arranged to stage two performances on that and the following night. At the saloon the heroes learned about the strange dreams that some of the townsfolk had been having, too. They staged their performance that evening, and then waited until the depth of night to continue their investigation.


Heading back to the church, they let themselves in the back door. They contemplated stealing the collection box, but decided better of it. There they also met Running Wolf, another brave who'd recently been converted to Christianity by Reverend Bouchard. He adopted the new religion, they learned, because of strange dreams that he'd been having, too.


From the church the heroes tracked Reverend Bouchard back to his home, where Tommy scouted the place and then Bertram forced entry. On the upper floor they encountered Sheriff Lawrence, and fought with him. The Reverend appeared behind them, too, and tried to cow them using the Fear power, but they resisted. The heroes defeated the villains, and in the basement found proof that the false preacher had been using Voodoo rituals to inflict nightmares on members of his congregation using items pilfered from them.


15 June 2019—“Truth or Consequences”

For this session, the players again selected—or continued playing—character archetypes from “The Traveling Show.”


Andrea: Madame Flaubert, the fortune teller

Charlotte: Inejkah (“Nej”), the acrobat

Karena: Jespin Sharpshot, the sharpshooter

Nick: Standing Bear, the witch doctor


While relaxing in The Crossing, the heroes were approached by a small raven. After determining that it could understand them, they let it lead them to a posted advertisement in the town square, one that promoted an exhibition of art and artifacts called “Civilization's Frontier.” They asked good questions, and then followed the raven out past the edge of town to where the Indian shaman Gray Buffalo was camped. The shaman led Standing Bear on a Spirit Walk, during which he learned that the bird is a vessel inhabited by the spirit of a young Indian brave named Small Raven, who wanted help taking back some native artifacts with arcane power that had been stolen and were now part of the exhibition. The heroes agreed to help.


Heading back to town, they met with Mr. Dexter, the barker who had come ahead of the traveling exhibition. Madame Flaubert talked up her group of entertainers; Nej showed off her acrobatics; Jespin shot a thrown coin out of the air; Standing Bear told a traditional story; and Madame Flaubert intrigued him with her mysticism. He offered them trial employment while the exhibition was at The Crossing, and they boarded the newly arriving steamboat, the River Maiden.


Once aboard the steamboat, Madame Flaubert checked out the cargo hold and confirmed that the artifacts weren't there. Back up on the main deck, in the space that was used for meals and as a lounge, the heroes encountered Miles Jameson, who was putting on the exhibition. Nej followed him when he headed back to his cabin, but he noticed her; she claimed to be an art student and they chatted. After he continued on his way, she climbed up the outside of the boat, and confirmed that his suite was #1 on the vessel's upper deck. She met back up with her associates and they made their plan.


Heading to the upper deck, Jespin picked the lock to Jameson's suite and the heroes pushed their way into it. They quickly took down Ezekiel Wainwright, Jameson's bodyguard. The philanthropist slipped out a window, however, taking the trunk of artifacts with him and calling for more guards. Jespin used some fancy shooting to disarm one guard and make Jameson drop the trunk; Nej knocked out another guard with some acrobatics and a swinging kick. Standing Bear counted coup twice during the fight. Grabbing the trunk, they escaped in a rowboat and delivered the goods to Gray Buffalo. He presented the coup stick to Standing Bear to show his appreciation.


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