Goodman Games

I scribbled down the events and characters from the last campaign I ran, one I dubbed "The Inheritors." I was going to write a story around it, but I just have a lot of things to do. I've got the synopses of the campaign sessions, however, and I think I'll post them here for all to see and shake their fist at for mangling the setting.

In the first epsiode of our little story, we meet three protagonists out of six. It was great that the other three players were out that first day. It's short, but the session was a lot longer, having lots of rolls and "pseudo-combats" as the three tried to escape the crazed aggressor.

Also, remember that these "stories" are actually synopses and not actual story format. If they were, they'd be a darn sight longer, and perhaps a bit too long to post here.

Here we go......
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Brendan McNichol, a 16-year old orphan who has lost his legal claim to his father's land, travels to New Savannah to sign the deal that will place it in his Uncle's possession. However, during the trip and after leaving the courthouse, he spots a pretty girl about his age wandering the streets. Deciding he needs a break from the day's errands, he promises his uncle he'll return later on to help purchase supplies.

Meanwhile, the girl has reached the spaceport and is watching ne of the ships from an observation deck by herself. She's reminiscing about all the places she's been, wondering which one she's from, and all the planets that may hold the answer, as well. She idly talks to the oviraptor with her when Brendan approaches. He attempts to introduce himself fails miserably.

"I'm sorry, I don't know you," she says, and turns away.
He tries again.
"That's a strange looking dinosaur," he tries, stuttering.
"It's an oviraptor," she says, shrugging.

Luckily, before he can fail any further, the spaceport is assaulted by a metallic, crab-like monstrosity piloted by a mysterious man in white labcoat. He chases the pair down, smashing through buildings and streets, until he finally corners them. The scientist demands the girl be turned over to him, and Brendan refuses. They run underneath the legs of the machine and leap into a nearby car with a shadowy figure inside.

The figure turns out to be a velociraptor, and the pair are frightened for a second, until the girl, with a puzzled expression, shakes him. He's asleep, but quickly wakes up.

"Drive!" she yells, and the creature stares at her.

Brendan points at the rampaging robot behind them, and the raptor turns, stares unblinking for a moment, and instantly complies, peeling out from his parking space with practiced ease. Brendan notices something quite disturbing about the raptor: it has cybernetic thumbs.

He sees the reason for the thumbs quite quickly as the mechanical crab bursts out of a building in front of them and the rapotr pulls the emergency brake. Turning almost on a dime, the raptor's mini jerks away, executing a mad ride through the new savannah streets. After a long chase, they leave the spider machine in the dust, heading onto the open road.

As they drive, the girl seems to become quite sullen. When Brendan asks, she says her name is Belle, and that she was traveling with a carnival. She can talk to dinosaurs, apparently, and the scientist is after her for that ability. She can't go back to the carnival, and she's quite upset. Brendan says she can stay at his place until this whole thing blows over, and asks the velociraptor if he can give the pair a lift. He shrugs, says "Rev," and lights a cigarette, rolling down the window as he does, adding, "can't go back. City. Police. Broke traffic laws. Thirteen."

Belle smiles and laughs at this, and Brendan leans back as Rev's driving speed evens out.

Part two introduces two characters and grants a name to the evil scientist out for Belle. But is he the true villain?
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Having just escaped the still unnamed mad scientist and his neckless henchmen, the three heroes make their way north past Fort Apache along Bay trail towards the McNichol homestead. Brendan tells Belle to cheer up, as they've gotten "clean away" from the men chasing her, and they haven't seen them in hours. When she frowns and lays down in the back seat, Brendan leans over and asks Rev something quietly. After a few moments of hushed conversation, he turns around and asks her, "if you could go anywhere, where would you go?"

Belle replies that she'd go to her birthplace, but she doesn't know where that is. Brendan and Rev look at each other oddly, then back at her. She explains that she has amnesia and doesn't remember where she's from. She's called Belle because of something someone said when the carnival folk found her wandering the jungle. She talks about the places she's been, and mentions that she's never been to the crystal desert.

Rev suddenly shifts to a higher gear, and when the two humans ask why, he points to an object matching their speed just on the horizon. It's the crab machine, and a look through the binoculars confirms it. It suddenly lurches towards them and quickly comes into easy spotting range. On the rough trail, it easily overtakes the mini and latches onto the bumper. Rev screeches in anger and pulls a lever on the dash, disconnecting the bumper and pulling away. He clenches his teeth and, looking back, pulls a second switch, causing spikes to emerge from the mini's hubcaps, pushing its speed to over 60 miles an hour.

Eventually, the car runs out of gas just about a half mile from the McNichol farm. Rev is sad to leave the mini behind, but does so under the promise of more gasoline. Once home, Brendan attempts to get his aunt to let his friends stay there, but she will have none of it, especially with the prospect of having two "wild animals" in the house. As he leaves, Brendan notices Belle wandering off and rushes after her. She thanks him for his help and apologizes for being so much trouble, and says she doesn't want to bother anyone any more. He protests, and says that she can stay at his house, which is just down the road.

Brendan's house is a converted barn with rooms and a loft. When he wakes up in the morning, he smells breakfast cooking and notices Belle fixing some greens and fish. She gives the fish to Rev and her oviraptor Spot, and eats the greens herself, offering some to Brendan. Brendan feels a little sheepish at this, but Belle reassures him that it's for repaying him for help and putting up with her. Halfway through breakfast, Rev grumbles and looks out the window. Brendan reassures him that there's some gas out back for the car. He shakes his head and points.

"Not good," he says, and the sound of an all-too familiar engine comes from down the road.

The gang escapes out the back and begins running with the backup gas in their arms. They clear the half-mile as the crab searches over the now ruins of Brendan's house. In the midst of refeuling, however, the crab shows up, and the scientist begins yelling ultimatums at the children and dinosaur.

Suddenly, however, a shot rings out. A lone gunslinger stands in the road, his pistol smoking and duster billowing in the wind. He introduces himself as Chuck Reed, gunslinger extraordinare, and chides the scientist for picking on poor children. The scientist seems upset, and another person steps out, leveling a giant weapon at the crab device.

"I'm sure you know my associate," says Chuck, " a Miss Melinda Barnes. She don't take kindly ta thieves."
"Hiya, Dr. Freus," she says, pulling back a lever on her gun.

Dr. Freus swallows and frowns as Melinda pulls the trigger, sending a wave of electricity over his vehicle. Melinda's gun shorts out, and she throws it away, panicking. The weapon explodes, and the two arrivals make a mad dash for the car. The crab device shudders for a few moments as the two new arrivals shout for the children to go. Rev needs no coaxing and grabs the kids, tossing them in the front and back seats and pulling away just as the crab tank stands. Dr. Freus howls in frustration.

The mini peels away, Rev in too much of an excited mood to tell where he's going. When the gang pulls over, Chuck and Melinda introduce themselves and state that they were after Freus for some equipment he stole from Melinda. Unfortunately, it didn't look like he had it, and the crab tank was too much of an advantage. They gang decides to travel together when Belle and Brendan mention that he'd be back. They also notice that they have no idea, after Rev's panicked driving, where they are, but they hope they're close enough to some patrol lanes to be spotted eventually.

Unfortunately, the car is stuck in a ditch, and there are dark clouds gathering overhead.

This is great! Where's the next installment?

As the rain pours down, Belle and Rev struggle to extract the car from the ditch it's stuck in, but the rising mud eventually covers it. Lightning flashes overhead, and the troupe heads off in a random direction, hoping to find cover. After wrapping Spot up and slinging him over Rev's shouldre, Belle notices a shadow looming in front of the light-streaked sky.

The shadow resolves into a temporary fortress erected by a confederate patrol. The group is subsequently invited in to get dry and share some food. Brendan is all smiles and "thank yous" to the captain, while Belle remains silent and Rev wanders off.

Rev quickly finds the food stores and promptly falls asleep in the driver's seat of a caravan truck. Chuck and Melnda are given a show of the captain's rifle collection, but Belle does not show their enthusiasm for devices of "pain and suffering." Brendan silently shrugs.

Eventually the gang notices a glint in the distance. It's the crab tank, and he's been following radio broadcasts about the group. The captain decides to take a few shots at it, and has his men load some cannons. The shells explode at short range, but Dr. Freus responds with shots of his own. This prompts Chuck to request a full-scale barrage. The tank goes down, limping off into the distance.

At dinner, the group explains their situation more fully. They have a conversation about the soldiers' mission in the area, as they're too well armed and manned for a simple survey crew. It turns out there's been some sightings of odd lights and landscape alterations in the area, and it may be secret Union activity. Suddenly, Bea goes into convulsions, staring wide-eyed at the ceiling while a vicious humming fills the air.

The men on order begin to shout, and the captain soon sees the reason: something gigantic is hovering in the air, singing like a whale while moving off towards the south. He orders his men to open fire, and the shells do not seem to disturb it at all. Belle recovers and pleads the captain to stop, and he eventually does, seeing that his weapons have no effect on the thing.

After things settle down, Brendan goes off to find Rev while Melinda cleans her equipment. She has a short conversation with Chuck about Belle and some "strange readings" she picked up before her seizure. Chuck just says that somethin' about the girl "don't wash right." Suddenly, lightning flashes in the sky, but it is straight.....a laser of some sort! It flares forward and crashes into something. The shadow has returned, and something else is with it! The two clash in midair, trading fire, some of which sweeps along the camp. After a few tense moments, the first shape vanishes.......and the second turns toward the camp. A piercing cry echoes through the air, and Belle stares, unable to move. Brendan pushes her out of the way before the laser strikes, and the gang rushes off while the captain fires a full volley at the object to no seeming avail. As the weapons of the ship sweep across the remnants of the camp, the heroes dash off into the jungle in the truck (now hot wired by Rev), putting as much distance between them and the camp as they can.

The truck breaks down after about a mile, and the gang gets off and starts marching south. When Chuck asks why they're heading south, Rev merely narrows his eyes and says, "because." Chuck ceases to argue and Melinda finds it oddly funny. After three hours of marching, the rain has ended, and the gang calms down a bit. The sun is rising, and Chuck takes note of the small army of small reptiles, butterflies, and tiny dinosaurs now following Belle. He decides to note it for later, but doesn't think much of it.

The group eventually comes to a stream eddy and decides to take a break. Rev wanders off, the truck's steering wheel still in hand and his eyes half closed, mumbling something to himself. Belle sits next to the river and watches the baryonyx and her hatchlings across the river while Melinda takes out a pocket fisherman.

Chuck takes Brendan aside and gets an even better explanation of who Belle is and where she's from, at least from the point where she met Brendan. Chuck thinks something's cute, but won't tell Brendan what it is. When the pair return, they find Belle on the other side of the river splashing around in the water, trying to catch fish in sync with the two baryonyx hatchlings as the mother watches. They find it strange, exceptionally so, but don't say anything out loud. Melinda remarks that it's odd that the mother is so accepting of the girl, as they're usually quite violent when it comes to their hatchlings.

As if on cue, Rev walks half-sleepily from the bushes, still holding the steering wheel in front of him and making engine noises....wandering right between the mother and hatchlings.

I wish to apologize for how slow these are coming. I'm compiling them from several notebooks and text files and trying to make sense of the players' notes (it was a cooperative campaign between me and another GM, even though I ended up doing most of the work).

Of course, they aren't all that exciting, what with very little combat and all (at least, not yet).

And I'm trying to juggle my Graphic Design classes, my volunteer work over at the History Center, my website, my gaming, and Metroid Prime all at once, all the while practicing my art and writing.

[quote][i]Originally posted by Mr. Author[/i]
I wish to apologize for how slow these are coming.
[/quote]

It's OK, I read really slowly. I still haven't finished the second installment.

Rev realizes his mistake a little too late and is severely battered by the baryonyx mother for a few moments, his eyes wide with surprise. Belle tries her best to calm the mother down, but Rev is nearly unconscious by the time she manages to reach the mother. Melinda manages to at least bind the poor raptor's wounds while he lies on the ground complaining about a flat tire.

Brendan notices for the first time that Rev had been carrying a pack, and the gang is surprised to see this as well. He mumbles something about the truck and passes it over. It contains a few file folders and some documents, most of them uninteresting. There is, however, a map of the immediate area (Chuck manages to cross-reference with a few landmarks) and a small settlement marked nearby. He says that they should head for it, and everyone is in agreement. Oddly, Belle says that the baryonyx mother is willing to carry the two children as a partial apology.

After nearly two hours of walking, the barynoyx drops off the children and the group continues entirely on foot. Arriving at the town, they find it strangely empty. The ghost town remains mysterious until Chuck happens upon a body....in a yankee uniform. A quick tally of nearby houses and bodies turns up evidence that this was a Union outpost marked on a Confederate map. Melinda isn't happy, and Rev actually seems to be paying attention to his surroundings. Each body is riddled with small burns and seems to have died in agony. The gang wisely takes shelter in a nearby cave.

Chuck hears some odd thrumming at night and takes Melinda and Rev to check it out. They can't find anything, but see some light across the nearby trees. They move closer and watch as several masked men move about the village in strange clothing and even stranger gear. They have a device with them that hovers just above the ground and seems to be humanoid in shape, like a suit of powered armor. They head back to the cave.

About an hour later, the gang hears shouting outside, and there are the sounds of warning shots. They are given the order to surrender on the count of three. At three, Chuck surrenders and walks out. The children manage to escape along with Spot and Rev and the others are hauled away in their stead.

Melinda, Rev, and Chuck are escorted to the jungle, where they are taken underground to a bizarre complex with metal walls around an underground lake. A giant ovoid object rests on one edge of the cavern and a citadel of some sort is built into the walls. The three are taken before an individual seated in a vast throne room. The figure is tall, with flowing robes and wears a bizarre mask to cover its face. It speaks without tone, addressing the three. It asks if them what they were doing in the town and asks if anyone else was with them. Chuck replies that there wasn't, and Melinda agrees. Rev doesn't really seem to care. The figure says that they're lying, and Chuck responds that he was gonna ditch the kids in town, anyway.

The figure decides to work them to death, at least until the kids are found and killed. It asks that the boy be killed and the girl brought to it. The figure introduces himself as 'Groussang,' and sends the adults away.

As the children run through the forest, Belle develops a headache and has Brendan follow her down the edge of a riverbank into a hollow beneath a tree. There is a raptor living in it, and it seems quite angry at first, but takes one look at Belle and stands down. It's a shaman, and he puts the kids up for the night, explaining as best it can about the current situation. Apparently, there is a nearby 'Inheritance Cult' led by a mysterious figure known as Groussang, a strange being the velociraptor slows his speech to try and to describe, but settling on 'human.'

After saying all he knows, he produces a pair of blankets, and the children fall asleep. As Brendan's eyes close, he swears the shaman's body billows out like a cloak as it leaves.

Meanwhile, the three adults are put to work in a mine shaft, a duty Rev seems to not notice much, as he puts on a miner's hat and hums work songs while smoking a cigar. Chuck grumbles and Melinda sings right along, seemingly just to annoy Chuck.