Twilight Trails (16/10/15 NEW HORRORS!!)

[Legionnaire]

As I am slowly but surely repainting my Old West collection, and having bought a few suitably 'evil' miniatures as well, I am drawing upon inspiration from a members mix with the Old West and Strange Aeons (link http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=77248.0).

I have this idea of doing a series of solo AAR's set in a supernaturally tinted Old West, not wholly unlike a 'certain television series'  . Each 'episode' will most likely feature different protagonists, but I might change that one into a recurrent 'cast', depending on how it goes.

I am 99% sure I will use Two Hour Wargames rulesets SSG (Six Gun Sound) and ATZ:FFO (All Things Zombie: Final Fade Out), as they are very compatible with each other and I have almost exclusively used THW's rulesets for various solo adventures with very good result, I really like the Reaction System.

Off the top of my head, I will expand on the Attributes, and they will look something like this instead:

Grit (Rep and used for Fear checks)
Shooting
Fighting
Horsemanship
Perception
Outdoorsman

A 'normal' person will have 3 in every Attribute, roll a D6:

1  Attribute of 2
2-5 Attribute of 3
6 Attribute of 4

Being a RPG:er for many years, I aim to concoct an entertaining 'yarn' around the AAR with pictures etc and hope that the members will find it entertaining.

Anyone having thoughts/ suggestions on this are of course more than welcome to share their ideas  .

[Litebrite]

Looking forward to reading your adventures. THWs is another system that I like and have played for many years (although not recently since my other endeavour with SA and SoB. Have fun!

Lem

[Legionnaire]

Looking forward to reading your adventures. THWs is another system that I like and have played for many years (although not recently since my other endeavour with SA and SoB. Have fun!

Lem

Thank you, I hope to have the first one up for viewing in the week to come. Have ideas for the first three scenarios or so mostly sorted out, just need time to set it all up really  .

[Oldben1]

I'd be interested to read your ideas as well!

[Legionnaire]

I have made a little progress in this project. I think I have settled upon using a lead character from episode one and maybe pick up a supporting cast as I go along. I have carefully picked the mini I want to represent the protagonist, and settled upon the middle one in this picture:


John Thunderfoot: A half breed on the run, caught in the middle between the Old Ways and the Modern, not really belonging to neither. He has always, so far as he can remember, been plagued by unwanted visions, are they glimpses of possible future happenings or are they a sign of madness???

John will at the start of the first episode not be aware that he has strong mystical powers, but the episode should be a catalyst to unlock his potential. So he will be cast as a kind of shamanistic gunfighter in all this.

Today I have put in a small order for these minis that I plan on using in this upcoming project:

http://www.crooked-dice.co.uk/wp/product/corn-dolls/ (the 4 pack deal)
http://www.westwindproductions.co.uk/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=2_38&products_id=346 (two pack winged fiends)
http://www.westwindproductions.co.uk/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=2_19&products_id=29 (werewolves 4 pack)

The rules are still going to be Two Hour Wargames Six Gun Sound and All Things Zombie: Total Fade Out, and I am currently working on tweaking it slightly. I want a couple more Stats than having Rep taking care of everything (possibly 5-7 stats), also special rules for Fear and visibility, as most episodes will take place, surprise surprise, in the dark hours .

[Legionnaire]

 (Deep voiced intro, glints in black and white of people in old west attire, riding, shooting and fighting, interspersed with howls, many tentacles and shrieks and blood and gore)

The Civil War is over, but the four years of bloodshed where brother stood against brother has left scars running much, much deeper. Somewhere a door that was better left locked and bolted opened, and the nightmares and the dark fairy tales became real. In the vast nation, shadows can take on substance and monsters prowl in the night time hours, an almost perpetual dusk reigns and mankind is the prey. THIS is...

TALES FROM THE TWILIGHT TRAIL!!!!! (suspenseful music and fadeout)

Soon at a forum close to you  

[Sunjester]

Bags a seat in the front row!

[Legionnaire]

Bags a seat in the front row!

Roll up, roll up!!!! Hope to launch this little project in the week to come, I'll keep you notified mate  . Thanks for the interest.

[Legionnaire]

I've had some musings today and think I have solved most of my tweaks of the rule set, here's a brief low-down on them.

Visibility: per definition the episodes are mostly taking part in the darker hours of the day (early evening onwards), so instead of full visibility I think a standard 24" at the start of the scenario as a general rule, with drops by 1D6" each time the protagonist fails to activate down to 6" visibility.

This will of course NOT affect most of the abominations the protagonist/-s will encounter as they might be able to sense the LifeForce, have Darkvision etc.

Attributes: rather than just having Rep, I have decided on multiple ones:

Grit: activation, Fear Test, spell casting, Draw!
Shooting
Fighting
People: any social Tests, Meet and Greet
Horsemanship: to deal with horses, teams and riding.
Outdoorsman: tracking, stealth, vigilance Tests etc.

Abilities: Some will be changed to fit in with the theme, below a couple of examples:

Sorcery: You may cast spells up to Grit times per episode, they can be of Enhancing, Offensive or Defensive character. To succeed you need to pass 2D vs Grit, each attempt subtracts one use. It is the ONLY action the character is able to take this round, as it requires great concentration and only a 2" movement may be.

Enhancing: For 1D3 turns you can increase ONE ability, except Grit, by +1. Alternatively you can expand your senses to get a full 24" range of visibility (Bat hearing, Infrared vision etc)

Offensive: A bolt of energy or a mind frying blast, you don't need to roll to hit and it ignores all forms of cover and bypasses any defences (such as a Werewolf's immunity to anything but silver weapons). You still need to roll for the effect and it counts as a Shotgun blast from 6" for all purposes.

Defensive: You can shroud yourself in an invisible layer of mystic energy. It lasts 1D3 turns OR until you get hit. Effectively it absorbs the impact of that and disperses. A Defensive spell cancels out an Offensive .

Marksman: Choose Handgun or Longarm, your Shooting is +1 with that type of weapon.
Brawler: Fighting counts as +1 and you can never get less than 1 success in hand-to-hand.
Mountain Man: Outdoorsman counts as +1.
Night owl: You have exceptional night vision, it's always a minimum 12" visibility for you.
Iron Will: Grit counts as +1 for Fear and casting spells test. NOT for activation

Fear: Another very closely attached tweak to the theme, almost any abomination/ monster the protagonists will encounter ARE horrific in nature (unless they are essentially human, such as a deranged mass murderer...). So they will either have Fear or Fear X, where X is at what penalty to Grit they take it (something mind fryingly horrific is 3, something really scary 2, a werewolf/ghoul 1 and some uncomfortable critters are at no penalty).

Pass (2D vs Grit)       Result
2D                           Absolutely fine and can continue without breaking the stride.
1D                           Slightly shaky and upset, penalty of -1 to all actions until next turn.
0D                           You scream in horror and are Stunned, test again next turn at Grit -1 as your mind is shaken at it's foundation. A friendly figure may snap you out of it by spending an action in base-to-base contact.

[Litebrite]

I'll grab another seat in the front row, but near an isle please.

I like your adjustments and think they will work well for your theme.

Lem

[Legionnaire]

I'll grab another seat in the front row, but near an isle please.

I like your adjustments and think they will work well for your theme.

Lem

Cheers mate, and you will also be featured in the credits as the inspiration with your SA/SoB hybrid, which I have enjoyed a lot to read.

[Legionnaire]

Some monstrous spiders prepared for the first episode!!! They are Halloween decorations bought last year for £1 which I thought would be a nice simple touch. The small ones are based on cut 20mm square cardboard from a cereal box, held down with blu tack, the big ones have a 50mm base!!!

Small Spiders

Grit 3
Shooting N/A
Fighting 1 per spider in base to base contact, up to a maximum of 6
People N/A
Horsemanship N/A
Outdoorsman 4

Special rules:

Due to their small size, they are always counting as if they have Light Cover.

Due to their small stature, a hit is enough to take one out, don't bother to roll for damage.

Nightvision: They have a full LoS visibility at all times.

Large spider

Grit 4
Shooting 3
Fighting 4
People N/A
Horsemanship N/A
Outdoorsman 3

Special rules:

Web: Roll a D6 each time it fires, on a roll equal to or lower than the number of times it's been fired, the Web is exhausted. Range 12". On a successful hit the target becomes Entangled and may not move until freed. Spending an action and scoring at least 2 Successes on a Melee attack will sort that out. Rate 1

Nightvision: the creature has full LoS visibility at all times.

Carapace: When struck by a bullet, count as if wearing Body Armour.

[Legionnaire]

The protagonist in the project, a short background and his stats and equipment.

John Stormcrow: A half breed and a man on the run, he is not welcome neither amongst his Native brethren nor in the White Man's society so has had to fend for himself in whichever way he could to survive. Ever since coming of age he's been frequently plagued by vivid unbidden visions, sometimes even being awake during them. Are they a source of something Unexplained or are they signs of madness?

Grit 4
Shooting 3
Fighting 3
People 3
Horsemanship 3
Outdoorsman 4

Strong Willed: Grit counts as +1 for Fear checks and Sorcery.
Night Owl: John has exceptional night vision, always at least 12" LoS

Gear:

Six shooter
Knife

His horse will have just collapsed underneath him by the start of the first episode so he's hauling a heavy saddle on foot.

Additional rules:

a roll of a 6 on a dice for a Test is ALWAYS a failure, even if the attribute is 6 or higher.

Experience: a very simple system. Each episode will give 1xp, and it'll cost 1 to increase a 3-4, 2xp for 4-5 and 3xp for 5-6. If an attribute is 2 and has been used successfully in the episode, it'll automatically be upgraded to 3 for free.

[Vagabond]

Hi again, read this after your game write up, the game makes more sense now, maybe you should have 1 thread so that the next episodes follow on and simpletons like me can follow it easily.
Whatever enjoyed this and look forward to the next game.

[Legionnaire]

Hi again, read this after your game write up, the game makes more sense now, maybe you should have 1 thread so that the next episodes follow on and simpletons like me can follow it easily.
Whatever enjoyed this and look forward to the next game.

Thanks a lot for the input mate and I think that's a very valid point. I will indeed post the next episodes in the same thread so people can read the AAR's, like a box set  . Glad you enjoyed it and will let you know when the next one has been played and posted, probably Monday!!!