Partida Rol por web

Justice in Sabbath

7. [AC1-Sc7] The Hunter

Cargando editor
06/06/2015, 14:08
Narrator

In 1872, the Supreme Court ruled that bounty hunters were a part of the U.S. law enforcement system:

When the bail is given, the principal is regarded as delivered to the custody of his sureties. Their domain is a continuance of the original imprisonment. Whenever they choose to do so, they may seize him and deliver him up to his discharge; and if it cannot be done at once, they may imprison him until it can be done. They may exercise their rights in person or by agent. They may pursue him into another state; may arrest him on the Sabbath; and if necessary, may break and enter his house for that purpose. The seizure is not made by virtue of due process. None is needed. It is likened to the arrest by the Sheriff of an escaped prisoner.” - A decision in Taylor vs. Taintor

By this decision, bounty hunters didn’t have to follow the same rules of due process that lawmen did. Some town marshals and county sheriffs supplemented their meager incomes with bounties. Of course, they had to go by the rules of due process while a bounty hunter had no such restrictions.

Charlie Siringo, a Pinkerton detective and one of the greatest bounty hunters of the Old West

Cargando editor
06/06/2015, 14:11
Director

The huge mesas overshadowed the valley and the few dwellings the two men were walking towards looked abandoned. It had been a long chase that had taken them deep into New Mexico territory, almost to San Acoma. But it could finally be coming to an end…

All was silent as they approached the adobe style homes. According to the man in the Cantina, one of the Dyer brothers from Delaware could have used this place as a hideout. And there was a bounty for all the members of the gang that had massacred a US Marshal and his posse last May. A bounty Jack Jr. and Trinity W. King were hunting after.

Then they noticed a man wearing a Mexican style poncho and a huge sombrero. He was leaning against the wall, hiding from the sun.

Cargando editor
06/06/2015, 14:19
[SA] Jack Taylor Jr.*

Jack stopped and looked at him. Maybe he was asleep, standing… He had not said a word as they approached. –Saludos, senor, he started uttering in Spanish. That was about all he could speak in the local tongue.

Cargando editor
06/06/2015, 14:19
[SG] Earwin Dyer*

Before Jack could say anything more, the man raised his eyes to meet those of the two bounty hunters. It was Earwin Dyer! The younger and more ruthless of the two brothers who had been an important part of the gang of outlaws.

Without thinking, Earwin went for his gun…

- Tiradas (2)

Motivo: Iniative-Earwin

Tirada: 1d10

Resultado: 6(+5)=11

Motivo: Iniative-Taylor

Tirada: 1d10

Resultado: 8(+4)=12

Notas de juego

I rolled initiative for Earwin and Jack, see Notes in next post.

Cargando editor
06/06/2015, 17:11
Director

It all happened very quickly, and Jack and Trinity had not had a chance to check the area yet. There was a hole and a ladder behind them, maybe to access an Indian style smoke hole or storage area. Earwin was only 15 feet away from Jack and 20´ from Trinity.

 

Notas de juego

COUNT UP: 1,2,3...

(we start with a bang!)

When action starts, the Count Up appears in this section. First thing is to roll iniative. This is 1d10+Speed modifier (you have 7). This gives you the Count your action starts. Remember you have the Perceive Tendency modifier which gives you -1 modifier.

So describe action and roll iniative please.

Cargando editor
06/06/2015, 18:01
Trinity W. King

Draw my colt and drop prone (If that movement is what I think is)

 

- Tiradas (1)

Motivo: Iniciative

Tirada: 1d20

Resultado: 20

Cargando editor
06/06/2015, 18:20
Trinity W. King
Sólo para el director
- Tiradas (1)

Motivo: Initiative

Tirada: 1d10

Resultado: 4

Cargando editor
06/06/2015, 18:35
Director

Trinity was first to react, but it took him a split second longer to get the Colt out of his jacket. He then dropped himself to one knee. Earwin drew his six shooter and aimed at Jack. The bounty hunter was almost at point blank range. Jack was quick to draw out his Colt Navy also, and went for a shot from the hip...

BANG!

- Tiradas (1)

Motivo: Trinity no holster

Tirada: 1d4

Resultado: 3

Notas de juego

...4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16ED-gunOut,17,18 Jack-shot#1@ED...

Earwin: the outlaw starts on Count 11, draws his gun (5) and is ready to act on Count 16. He brings his gun to aim (4)

Jack Jr.: action starts on Count 12, draws his gun (5) and tries to fire from the hip without aiming (1)

Trinity: you start acting on Count 10. Drawing weapon is 5 Counts but as you have no holster we add 1d4 (3). So on Count 18 you have your Colt. Then you kneel down (3) so next action would be on Count 21. (EDITED)

Cargando editor
06/06/2015, 18:50
Director

In Delaware, four months earlier...

James Lee married a Chickasaw woman which gave him the "right” to ranch in the Chickasaw Nation. Brothers, Tom and Pink helped him with the ranch, located on the Red River near Delaware Bend and just east of Thackerville. But, the Lee Brothers weren’t really in the mood to do any "real” ranching; rather, they would confiscate the herds of their neighbors. The Lee Ranch soon became a safe haven for bandits and outlaws traveling between the Chickasaw Nation and Texas.

Cargando editor
06/06/2015, 19:03
[SA] Jack Taylor Jr.*

-Nitty, see? This is one of the spots the outlaws used to massacre the posse.... Jack Jr. was up on the hill above the Lee ranch cabins with Trinity, his adopted brother, sort of, who he liked to call Nitty still. Jack had been a bounty hunter for a few years, and was trying to teach the trade to him. He was a keen observer, and learned quickly. Useful skills for a bounty hunter, no doubt.

-James Lee died many years ago, and this place was abandoned, he explained. The hideout was difficult to reach and easy to defend. -Abandoned until the infamous Ed Stein married to the daughter of James Lee. He then started using it with Tom Cole and Jim Copeland. Then others from the Lee clan returned. And the two Dyer Brothers. And Della Humpy and..., he was thinking and reading his notes, Jack Dekker. A big gang, or a few different gangs used the place.

A large group of outlaws that had killed a US Marshal James Guy and his posse. There was still blood in front of the cabins, where most of the deputies had been killed.

Cargando editor
06/06/2015, 19:05
Narrator

In late April, 1885, when Jim Roff was checking his cattle, he noticed a group of several men rounding up a small herd. As he rode toward them, the men fled. Roff found that the cattle were marked with a number of brands from neighboring ranches. Deciding to investigate further,Roff wasted no time telling the story to his neighbors, who, along with U.S. Marshal James Guy, went after the culprits. On May 1, 1885, a five man posse made up of Marshal Guy, Bill Kirsksey, Frances Mathes, and Andy and James Roff, followed the cattle trail to Delaware Bend, right up to the Lee Ranch.

As the posse carefully approached the log cabin, they noted that gun portholes had been cut into the side of the building and called out to the occupants. Ed Stein, Lees’ brother-in-law, responded by directing them to the rear of the cabin. But, it was a trap. The posse men were ambushed as a hail of lead came forth from the cabin and from the hills.

Only one member of the posse was able to escape, saying they believed there were ten to twelve men in the cabin. Thought to be hiding inside were Jim, Tom, Choctaw and Pink Lee, Ed Stein, Tom Cole, Jim Copeland, Della Humby, Jack Dekker and the Dyer brothers. A few days after the ambush, a mob converged on the Lee Ranch (now empty again) to burn every building. Rewards totaling some $7,000 were posted, dead or alive, and the hunt for the killers was on.

Cargando editor
06/06/2015, 19:12
[SA] Jack Taylor Jr.*

-Nitty, look. These are cartridges from a .44 rifle. It belonged to Saul Dyer, only he carried a Winchester 1863 of that caliber, he had it ever since the War.  Jack was going through his notebook again. Down below, the mob was preparing to burn down the cabins. Jack and Trinity had already searched the inside of the cabins, but there were too many men inside to find anything useful. Jack had been lucky to find the tracks leading to this high position. From the looks of it, two men had been shooting from up here.

-Can you talk to the deputy Mathes over there?

Frances Mathes was the only survivor of the posse. He had been interrogated a few times in the past days, but maybe now that he was back at the hide out he could remember a bit more information. The total bounty was $7,000, most of the money coming from Roff´s widow. But the split had not been decided. That is, what was Ed Stein worth? And each of the Lee brothers? And the rest? They had probably split, so the mob would have to go after each of them individually.

Notas de juego

Skill check: you can use Interrogation, Intimidation, whatever you like (even Tracking if you wish to do that before). I noticed you have very little in Observation as such, but you have the talent. Skill check you put the skill in description, and the Difficulty is your skill level (you have to roll higher).

Cargando editor
06/06/2015, 19:41
Trinity W. King
- Tiradas (1)

Motivo: Intimidation

Tirada: 1d100

Dificultad: 6+

Resultado: 59 (Exito)

Notas de juego

EDIT: When you roll a skill check, you also write a post and describe the action or what you say. The roll gives you an idea of how you are doing with the skill (this roll obviously you are successful intimidating Frances Mathes). So it´s skill check + description/post

Cargando editor
06/06/2015, 20:02
Trinity W. King

Ok, I only want to get his attention, just to say:

"Howdy amigo. There is anything else ya rememba here, in the same place where all that nigthmare came true?"

Cargando editor
06/06/2015, 21:08
[Dw] Frances Mathes

-Huh?, Frances looked at the negro man that had appeared out of nowhere. His presence was intimidating. Must be one of the seasoned man hunters going after the killers. –Yeah, he said gathering his thoughts, -this is where we went across the stream, and walked round to get to the back entrance. We weren´t expectin´ to find so many bandits ´ere.

The memories started coming back to him under the scrutiny of the bounty hunter. He wanted to tell the story of the Lee ranch massacre. There was a journalist present also, from Thackersville –They had made shooting holes to the wall. Ed Stein came out, the bastard. He recalled the moment. –This is where Billy1 was shot. By a shot gun fired from inside the cabin, by Pink Lee I reckon, he said pointing to the ground where a bunch of lawmen were gathered. -Andy Roff shot one of the bandits. Tom Cole I think it was.

What happened after was a bit hazy. Behind Ed Stein, there was Tom Lee. The two leaders came out of the cabin to kill the Marshal James Guy. Again a shot gun was fired from inside just after the first. –I think it was Saul Dyer, maybe. He killed James Roff. I was the last to cross the stream, and as soon as the shots started I ran cover dodging. As I ran, I saw Jim Copeland up there, on the hill. With a rifle. He was talking to Choctaw Lee. Between the two they shot at Andy Roff who was running that way.

Andy Roff´s body was found in the woods to the East of the cabins. -I was already hiding over there. I think the outlaws forgot about me then. James Guy was surrounded. I heard someone yell to Ed Stein “don´t do it, he´s a bloody US Marshall”. I think it was the younger of the Dyer brothers, but I ain´t sure. The last thing I saw from my position was the bandit that had been in the military. The “shadow walker” he was called. Jack Dekker was the name. He came down from that hill, and finished off poor Andy Roff in cold blood.

It took a while to gather all the information as they moved around the area. But whenever Frances stopped talking, Trinity used his intimidating presence, and short question to keep him talking. Soon they had a fairly good idea of what had happened and where the outlaws had been located.

Notas de juego

1Bill Krisksey

This would be more appropriate for "Interrogation"-skill than Intimidating, I think. But in any case Frances wanted to tell the story to someone of authority, and maybe Trinity seemed to be in charge as he was so intimidating :)

A few things: please when you post what you say, use bold. What you think, in cursive. And you can SHOUT and whisper. These are general conventions for this forum, and it makes reading easier apparently.

When you post a comment "off the game", and not in character, use the "Notes" box below the post.

Cargando editor
07/06/2015, 11:37
Trinity W. King

Trinity went with Jack, explained what Frances has said and look around for horse footprints.

- Tiradas (1)

Motivo: Tracking

Tirada: 1d100

Resultado: 60(+94)=154

Notas de juego

The idea is to know the exact number of horses and the runaway route. I supose I have to roll a tracking check.

Ups I have done a bad use of rolling interface!!! ... 

Cargando editor
07/06/2015, 17:31
[SA] Jack Taylor Jr.*

-OK, Nitty, Jack said and took off his hat to scratch his head. –It´s important to know who´d been involved and doin´ what. I reckon it ought to change the split.

The split was the amount of bounty given for each individual member of the gang. The total Mrs. Roff had put on the table when she heard of the massacre was $7,000, but as more details were known, the total could be increased.

The cabins were burning already below, and the two were looking at the horse tracks up on the hill. The outlaws had kept their horses up on the hill, just behind the suspected position of Choctaw, Copeland and Dekker. Fourteen mounts, ten fugitives.–They´re offering two grand for Stein, $1,000 for Tom, Pink and Jim Lee. And $300 for Saul and Earwin Dyer, Copeland, Della Humpy and a mere $200 for Choctaw and $100 for Dekker. The bounty for Tom Cole, who´s dead already, was $500. If Choctaw and Dekker killed Andy Roff, the bounty for them will go up for sure when the governor gets involved. And probably the others. But we ought to get goin´ quick, Nitty. They´ve got a few days on us already.

Jack was keen to find out what horses they were riding. People in the West often recognized the horses, the breed, the pattern, the colors, even the saddle. –I´d bet ya they´re not together no more, and that they´ll stay away from Thackersville and other towns. We ought to start askin´ in farms ´round the area. The Lee brothers could be heading northwest, to the Indian reservation. Best we get goin´, we´ll get confirmation on the bounty by wire1 when we get to towns.

Beneath them, on ground level, “Heck” Thomas was organizing the mob. Henry Andrew “Heck” Thomas was a famous man hunter, sometimes acting as a lawman. He had been chasing Ed Stein even before the outlaw had arrived to Delaware. –For now, I reckon we ought to go by ourselves, Nitty, Jack said looking at the mob. They could join up with them later if needed, and Jack had already informed Heck of what Frances Mathes had told Trinity. He looked at Trinity, who had been like a brother to him ever since their childhood. Now, he was about to become a bounty hunter like Jack. A life of anonymity, where you were often considered worse than the outlaws you were trying to capture, and where the death rate was very high. -Are ya ready to hunt?

Notas de juego

1telegraph

An "Average" difficulty skill roll is +40% so you just passed the Tracking check to find out the route the bandits took out of the valley, but the tracks are lost shortly afterwards.

Cargando editor
09/06/2015, 13:25
Trinity W. King

Then... we go Northwest?

Cargando editor
09/06/2015, 14:39
[SA] Jack Taylor Jr.*

-Hmm, I ain´t sure yet. We´ll ask the farms in the area, Jack said as he looked for his horse. -There are ten fugitives on the run. They´ll need to eat, so they´ll be looking to get some supplies from a nearby farm or ranch. Also, I´m sure they will split into small groups. They´d be looking to get away from area as fast as possible. Any of the group would be a good catch. The rewards are high. As they say, “badder they are, bigger the reward”.

Jack suggested the two work separately asking around in different farms, towns and small villages gathering information from the farmers. -´re, take this, he said and handed Trinity a handful of dollar bills. -For information gathering.

Notas de juego

The skill would be "Glean Information". Description: This skill is used to listen to others talking and obtain secretive information. This can be done by talking directly to the person you would like to get information from, or listening to conversations being held by other people. Using this skill, you can pick up clues that may help him find out such things as where an outlaw is hiding out, what secret route the stagecoach uses, or the weaknesses of a particular military fort.
Since this skill depends on a network of informants and contacts, the character suffers a disadvantage when in an area other than his own territory or regular base of operation. Finally, any time you make a Glean Information check, you must make a small investment of money for drinks, bribes and forth, or you suffer an additional 15% penalty. A typical effort lasts 1d4 hours and costs 1d10 dollars.

In this case, the difficulty would be Difficult (+0%), or -15% if you do not spend any money. You roll the skill check, and then you write the post according to the outcome. For instance, if you fail the roll you write about the frustration of not getting anywhere, and if you are successful you can invent the encounter with a farm boy or drunk in a saloon that gives you information (which I will specify in the next post). So the narrative is almost co-operative.

Cargando editor
09/06/2015, 16:38
Trinity W. King

Trinty found a farm near the road. A young and blondie boy look at him with the same eyes a cow looks a winchester. -Howdy little man!! Have you seen a  bunch of riders in this road? They might be rode fast.

- Tiradas (2)

Motivo: Glean Information

Tirada: 1d100

Dificultad: 70+

Resultado: 93 (Exito)

Motivo: Glean Information

Tirada: 1d100

Dificultad: 70+

Resultado: 20 (Fracaso)

Notas de juego

My character didn't spent money, but got the money as they had do... Oh F@#k y roll twice by error, but the first one was ok.