Dead at 1550
A Deadworld of Historical Horror for the All Flesh Must Be Eaten RPG
By TexasZombie
Original (non-Eden) concepts © 2006, eviloverlord668@yahoo.com
No copyright infringement is intended.
WARNING: Some language and ideas herein may be offensive to some. Exercise personal responsibility and read at your own risk.
NOTE: This scenario is a work of fiction presented for the purpose of entertainment only. It should not be construed as either an endorsement or denigration of any system of beliefs or other socio-political ideology. Neither should it be construed as a guideline for behavior, attitudes, or other activities. If you can’t separate fiction and fantasy from reality, you really should get help. Quickly. Like, right now.
Historians Beware: Some liberties have been taken with various details of this story. I’ve also translated some of the Scots dialect into modern English for ease of reading.
Hyperlinks used without permission. Use of a hyperlink is not an endorsement of any product, service, idea or information.
The Lord is my Shepherd; in not am I wantin',
In the haughs o' green grass does He make me lie down;
By soft-flowin'
streams He leads me at
...thousands drowned and lost in the slaughter...
The valley o' death will not dread me to thread it
Wi' His rod and His staff He will help me to tread it
Then will its shadows, so gruesome, He cause to flee.
...a merciless victor...
For in presence o' foes that surround me,
My Shepherd a table wi' food has spread;
He brims a full cup and poors oil on my head.
...a helpless child...
Surely goodness an' mercy,
Will go wi' me down to the brink o' the river,
I will abide in the Hame o' my Faither for ever.
...a vengeance that will not be denied...
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Òbhan òbhan òbhan ìri Òbhan ìri ò Òbhan òbhan òbhan ìri 'S mòr mo mhulad 's mòr Gaelic mourning/funeral wail (16th century) |
A KINGDOM IN FLAMES
Shake Loose the Borders!
The border
between
In 1541, King
Henry VIII of
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“They sally out of their own Borders in the night in troops, through unfrequented byways and many intricate windings. All the daytime they refresh themselves and their horses in lurking places they have pitched upon before, till they arrive in the dark at those places they have a design upon. As soon as they have seized upon the booty, they in like manner, return home in the night through blind ways, fetching many a compass. The more skillful any captain is to pass through those wild deserts, crooked turnings, and deep precipices, in the thickest mists and darkness, his reputation is the greater and he is looked upon as a man of excellent head.” John Leslie, Bishop of Ross, 16th century "If Jesus Christ was amongst them, they would deceive him, and he would hear, trust and follow their wicked counsel…” Sir Richard Fenwick 1597 |
Life on the Borders
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“..[Being a Border Reiver] was a way of life pursued in peace-time, by people of accepted it as normal. It meant that no man could…walk abroad unarmed in safety; no householder [in the Border Lands] could go to sleep secure; no beast or cattle could be left unguarded…the narrow hill land between [England and Scotland] was dominated by the lance and the sword… “…From the late Middle Ages until the end of Elizabeth’s reign the Marches of England and Scotland were a perpetual badman’s territory, dominated by raiders and free-booters, plunderers and rustlers, Border lords and outlaw riders…” George MacDonald Fraser, The Steel Bonnets, Harper Collins, 1995 |
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“…Over his white bones, when they are bare, The wind shall blow for evermore The wind shall blow for evermore…” “Twa Corbies” (Two Ravens), Border Song, traditional |
In the dead
of a November night in 1542, a Scottish army crossed the bogs and mud flats of the
Solway Moss, intending to cut through the desolated
Debatable Lands into
A small force of English Border Reivers fell upon the Scots, and, in the dark and fog, the army broke ranks and fell back. Thousands drowned as the Scots retreated back across the Solway in disarray.
Not content
to break the army, the English force followed their victims into
As the Scottish army regrouped the following day, the fighting escalated. Scottish Border Reivers rode out to battle, trading blow for blow and shot for shot with the invading English army. For the fishermen and their families caught between the two armies, there wasn’t any difference. Scottish swords cut as deeply as English swords as Reivers from both sides of the Border broke away from their groups to pillage the surrounding countryside.
Eight years
have passed since the slaughter at Solway Moss. The
Scottish victory at Ancrum Moor was cancelled by
Black Monday, the massacre of the Scottish Army at Pinkie Cleugh
and the burning of
Death on the Solway Moss
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The moonbeams tip their lances, Their horses stir the grass, Amid the fairy dances The dead mosstroopers pass. “The Mosstroopers”, R.S. Craig |
Blackrigg is a town on the Solway Moss at the mouth of the Solway Firth on the River Esk, on the western edge of the Debatable Lands in Dumfiresshire, a land long believed haunted by spirits both good and evil. It is a land of salt marshes, peat bogs, tidal flats, and windswept moors.
After being
burned to the ground at the Battle of Solway Moss
eight years earlier, it has been rebuilt and has actually managed to prosper in
a time of famine and war. The population has reached nearly 500, competing with
A small
garrison has been established to “assist” in the withdrawal of English troops
from
In true Border tradition, this is a mixed Anglo-Scots force with no clear cut chain of command and no common training.
It is nightfall, 31 October, Samhuinn, 1550, three days before the new moon.
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“Wha cud see, it beit blacker than coal sackis.” |
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ZM Note – This is basically a narrative that sets up the scenario. The Cast Members should be encouraged to listen, as crucial clues are included. The garrison, both English and Scots, Lowlander and Highlander, is about to be attacked by Auld Wat Croser and an army of dead Border Reivers from the Solway Moss. At this point in then scenario, all the Cast Members can do is get themselves killed off. The ZM should have replacement Cast Members handy. It is highly recommended that the ZM read through the links in the Reference Section of this Deadworld to get a better idea of how life operated on the Borders in the 16th century. This will make the game much more fun for everyone involved. |
A Black and Evil Night
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Lock the door, Larriston, Lowther comes on The Armstrongs are flying, The Widows are crying, The Castle is burning and Oliver's gone. Border Song, traditional |
There was a bit of consternation earlier in the evening.
Mad Meg Croser was seen on the grave hill west of Blackrigg. One of the shepherds said she was wailing o’er a new grave, one made between the graves of her daughter and her daughter’s husband, Moira and Bloody Pete Elliot.
Neither priest nor minister was present. Dark clouds and the ominous roll of thunder from the heavy skies on the Firth seemed to portend divine displease.
The people of Blackrigg had no idea.
Night fell early, with an icy wind wiping in from the Firth.
Davie-the-no-gude-priest paused in his drinking and swore it was a sign from God.
Sir Francis Stanley, commander of the English garrison at Blackrigg, paused in the loading of his caliver and said it was a sign his returning artillerymen were lost and would be sleeping cold that night.
Black Dick
Nixon, a local “shepherd”, paused in the polishing of his rapier and said it
was a sign he and his “boys” should be on the
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Gower: Here 'a comes; and the Scots captain, Captain Jamy, with him. Fluellen: Captain Jamy is a marvellous falorous gentleman… Jamy: I say gud day, Captain Fluellen. Fluellen: God-den to your worship, good Captain James. William Shakespeare, Henry V, Act III, Scene 2 |
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ZM
Note – A garrison
of mixed Scots and English troops is not uncommon on the Borders. Having
known Reivers walking openly is the rule rather
than the exception. In defiance of the laws of Raids and feuds are carried out by Scots against English, English against Scots, Scots against Scots, English against English, and inside of extended families. |
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I was then wet through to the skin, dying with pain and hunger, when there came up two people—one of them armed, and the other with a large iron axe in his hands—and upon reaching me and the other who was with me, we remained silent, as if we had not anything amiss. They were sorry to see us; and without speaking a word to us, cut a quantity of rushes and grass, covered us well, and then betook themselves to the shore to plunder and break open money-chests and whatever they might find, at which work more than two thousand savages [i.e. Irish] and Englishmen, who were stationed in garrisons near there, took part. Francisco de Cuellar of the Spanish Armada, 1588, after being shipwrecked in Ireland |
“Gae us him wha killit the wee lass”
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‘Just put a lighted peat on the end of a spear, or hay-fork, or sickle, and blaw a horn, and cry the gathering word, and then it’s lawful to follow gear into England, and recover it by the strong hand, or to take gear frae some other Englishman, providing ye lift nae mair than’s been lifted frae you. That’s
the auld Border Law, made at Durennan in the days
of the Black “The Black Dwarf,” Sir Walter Scott |
A Family Gathering
Crookback Elliot and Auld Wat Croser were lost in the Battle of Solway Moss eight years earlier, along with thousands of other Scottish riders and infantry. Now they and several thousand other dead Reivers have come up out of the Solway Moss.
You see, Mad
Meg was Auld Wat’s wife. She was burying his
granddaughter. And Auld Wat has come home to set
things right. With him are his daughter,
Meg’s Moira; Meg’s Moira’s husband, Bloody Pete Elliot; and Bloody Pete’s
father, Crookback Elliot.
They’re
coming for the one that killed their wee bairn, and
there’s naught that will stop them.
Shake Loose the Borders!
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Their devotion to their rosaries was never greater than before setting out on a raid, and on the Scottish Border it was the custom of christening to leave unblest the child’s master hand in order that unhallowed blows could be struck upon the enemy." John Leslie, Bishop of Ross, 16th Century |
The dead have been called up by Mad Meg under a black moon on Samhain Night. The borders between This World and the Next World have been opened. The dead are pouring through.
During the night, some of Auld Wat’s riders will be seen circling Blackrigg carrying a piece of burning turf on a spear tip, the symbol of the Hot Trod, a revenge or retaliatory raid. The turf burns with a ghostly blue flame. Each is hit several times with latch bolt and lead shot, but to no seeming effort.
Around the skeletal horse, huge black dogs bound, howling and baying, their eyes alight with dark red flames.
The fog rolls in behind this spectral army.
Wha daur meddle wi’ me?
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Wha daur meddle wi' me? Wha daur meddle wi' me? My name is little Jock Elliot, And wha daur meddle wi' me?
I ride on my fleet-footed grey, My sword hangin' doun by my knee, My name is little Jock Elliot, And wha daur meddle wi' me?
In raids I ride always the foremost, My straik is the first in melee, My name is little Jock Elliot, And wha daur meddle wi' me?...
“Little Jock Elliot”, 16th century border ballad |
At this point the Cast Members may be inclined to make a run for it in true Border fashion. Dozens of others reach the same conclusion. The gates not currently being attacked, they are flung open and dozens of stout Border ponies thunder out into the night. Anyone watching from the town walls will see hundreds of torches and balls of blue light converging on the riders, then moving away to resume the siege.
There is no escaping this battle. If a Cast Member insists, describe their valiant battle and fierce fight, and how their blows fell unnoticed on leather flesh and fish-nibbled bones. And how they were dragged from their horses, screaming, begging, or cursing, as befits their nature, and drowned in the bogs.
The dead lay siege to Blackrigg.
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ZM Note – DEAD AT 1550 is essentially a murder mystery. With zombies. And other supernatural beings. There are a variety of directions the story can go depending on the actions of the Cast Members and the desire of the ZM. There is no escape from Blackrigg. There are several ways to get this across to obstinate Cast Members. One is to let them go down fighting in a brave but hopeless fight, then start over with replacement characters. Another is to let them observe, from the church steeple, watch tower, and town walls, the deaths by drowning of Extras who attempt to flee Blackrigg. Mad Meg, Auld Wat, and Crookback Elliot are very angry. Their vengeance will be an affront against the Almighty. And they will not be denied their vengeance. The only hope of the Cast Members is to find the murderer and deliver him up to Auld Wat and Mad Meg for some Jeddert Justice. A Hot Trod, or a revenge raid, could legally go on for six days. The Cast Members have this long to find the murderer before the dead lose all patience and simply swarm the town, killing everyone. At this point, Auld Wat is just being sadistic. His granddaughter was killed in Blackrigg, so he wants to make sure Blackrigg suffers as long as possible. Note that when the dead attack, they will always attempt to capture or incapacitate their victims and drag them away to drown in the bogs. Fortunately for the townspeople and garrison, the victims do not return unless their dead bodies are later flung over the town walls. Also note that if an attempted capture ends in the death of the victim, the dead won’t really mind. They’ll still attempt to drag the corpse out into the Moss and push it down into the mud. |
Bloody Murder!
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And as I sit and talk to you I see your face go white This shadow hanging over me Is no trick of the light The spectre on my back will soon be free The dead have come to claim a debt from thee The Pogues, “Turkish Song of the Damned”, 1988 |
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ZM Note – The ZM needs to determine who has killed the child and why. Recommendation: The why isn’t as obvious at first as it might seem – the murderer is more than just a sick and twisted bastard that killed a little girl. The murderer is Christie’s Johnny, dabbler in the Black Arts, son of Christie Cluny, owner of the coach house. Christie’s Johnny didn’t kill little Moira because he’s a pervert – he murdered her as a sacrifice. Johnny knows Moira may have had “the sight” like her mother and grandmother were rumored to have. As such, she’d be perfect as a sacrifice to some half-baked ancient bog god that exists only in Johnny’s mind. The Problem – The Cast Members and their allies confront Christie, Christie’s Johnny, and the rest of their clan (a local sept of the Johnstane clan), but Johnny’s family will protect him. The Cast Members must fight their way through the Clunys and seize Johnny to hand over to Auld Wat and Crookback. Alternate Murderers – This can be as straight-forward or complicated as the ZM likes. A few suspects: 1.
Davie-the-no-gude-priest – This may be a bit too
obvious. The ZM should find ways to discourage the killing of 2. Sir Stanley – This may be a little too much like “Braveheart”. Killing Sir Stanley won’t have much impact on the game. He’ll likely be killed by Crookback or Bloody Pete’s ghost by Night 2 anyway. 3.
Ellie’s 4. A ZM who is a real bastard will assign one of the Cast Members as the murderer. If this course is chosen, the ZM must be sure the Cast Member will “play fair” and not give away the secret, or have an uncharacteristic change of heart that leads to some kind of self-sacrifice. If that happens, give the Cast Member a new character and have Auld Wat kill everyone. Alternatively, the Cast Members could join in the mayhem when it breaks out, assuming that if they kill everyone else, the murderer will be among them. Unfortunately, Auld Wat doesn’t want a corpse. He wants the murderer. He’ll drag them down to the Moss himself and drown them before dragging their soul back to Hell with him. |
Meg’s Curse
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"...I curse every part of their bodies, from the tops of their heads to the soles of their feet, before and behind, within and without... ...The malediction of God, that lit upon Lucifer and all his fellows, that struck them from high Heaven to deepest Hell, may it light upon them...until they forebear and make amends... ...I condemn them to the deepest pit of Hell, to remain with Lucifer and all his fellows, and their bodies to the gallows of the Burrow Mure, first to be hanged, then ripped and torn by dogs, swine, and other wild beasts abominable to all the world. And their candles will go from our sight, as their souls will fall away from the face of God..." The
Archbishop of |
Mad Meg Croser has called up the Dead to avenge the death of her granddaughter. Mad Meg can be glimpsed day and night throughout the siege on the graveyard hill outside of Blackrigg, dancing around a bonfire. She is safely out of gun and arrow range.
Even if there were canon in Blackrigg, Mad Meg is just dancing. Her curse has already been enacted and cannot be stopped.
Her late husband, Auld Wat Croser, her son-in-law, Bloody Pete Elliot, and Pete’s father, Crookback Elliot, have begun their version of a Hot Trod against the people of Blackrigg.
Timeline of Events
Day 1 – Cast Members and Extras (their Reiver Band) sneak into Blackrigg to meet Black Dick Nixon to plan a raid. They are laying low while the English garrison is in town. Cast Members get to know their compatriots. Let them plan their raid on Eden, a town in the English West March.
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Wallace: “What kind of meeting?” Braveheart, |
Night 1 – Cast members are shut in for the
night due to sleet and rain. A storm is blowing in from the
Sentries on
the gate tower gave word that there are torches “awa’
up th’
More
commotion – there are torches to the south of Blackrigg,
coming north up the
Thousands of torches, spreading out to each side of the road north and south of Blackrigg. This wasn’t Sir Stanley’s artillery company.
By the time the Cast Members are armed and ready to see for themselves what is happening, there are thousands of torches moving in to encircle Blackrigg. Thousands more fires dot the hillsides and moors as thatches and crofts are put to the torch. On the wind keen-eared Cast Members can hear the faint sounds of gunfire from hackbutt and dag, distinct sound of alarm horns, and screams.
It was only a short wait until the first rider returned. Samuel Gray rode into Blackrigg, carrying his own torch of a sort. He was dead, his mouth stuffed with burning turf. Burning turf. A Hot Trod. A vendetta.
When Sam’s body fell from his terrified mount, another cry went up. His body was carved “most cruelly” with a knife. But under the blood, words could be made out.
“Gae us him wha killit the wee lass”
Give us him that
killed the little girl
Two more
riders, a
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Little
Mattie Johnstane: “I saw Auld Wat
Croser and Crookback Elliot ridin’
up the Lord Stanley: “So? What of it? Mattie: “Both be dead these eight years gone, sir! Drowned in the Moss during the crossing!” Ned Gray: “And the host that’s comin’ up th’ road…they all have the ghostlight about them.” |
The garrison is being called to arms. The people of Blackrigg are arming themselves. Nearly half of all the adult males in town are Reivers. This gives Blackrigg nearly 200 warriors and 300 civilians to Auld Wat’s thousands.
Fires continue to spread around the town as the night grows blacker and colder, drizzle turning to ice and snow. And a pale blue glow began to encircle Blackrigg and close in.
Within half
an hour, the heads of the remaining seventeen prickers
are flung over the wall, their mouths and throats full of mud and moss. They
were drowned before they were beheaded.
As the garrison at Blackrigg is marshalling, Auld Wat’s undead army is fyring the braes and burning out the surrounding homesteads. Terrified people, almost always women and children and the elderly, begin flowing into the town. Hundreds first, then dozens, then just a single of man named Thomas Johnstane.
Johnstane is alive, but just barely. His back has been ripped and carved with the same message:
“Gae us him wha killit the wee lass”
Near to death, he swears on his life that it was Mad Meg that “cuttit him at the quick” while Auld Wat, his skin hanging from his bones like old leather, weeds in his hair and bugs crawling over his rusty armor, watched and laughed.
Jeddert Justice
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“…lawful trod with hound and horn, with hue and cry and all other manner of fresh pursuit…” Border Law, 16th Century, for carrying out a Hot Trod |
Auld Wat was being kind. Johnstane was his closest friend from the time they were old enough to walk.
And in accordance with Border Law, Johnstane has been is the man chosen to “bear rightful witness”. Just before he dies, he’ll tell those around him that Auld Wat has come to claim the murderer of his granddaughter.
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“He’ll havit that man brought alive afore him, or he’ll havit th’ town fyred and all dead wi’in it.” |
Justice on the Borders is swift and immediate. Jeddart (Jedburgh) Justice could be summed up as “Hang them first and hold their trial later.” It could be amended to include, “If you can’t find the one you’re looking for, anyone else who knows him will do.”
“Stout rope for hanging” being expensive and hard to find, executions were usually carried out by drowning the accused in a “murder hole” - a peat bog or pond. Especially heinous criminals were burned alive on holidays.
At this point the Cast Members can enter the game.
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Gonna wrap me up and takin' me away Four million people starved to death Could smell the curse on their dying breath Where no one ever wants to go Down in the ground where the dead men go The Pogues, “Down in the Ground Where the Dead Men Go”, 1984 |
Day 2 – The dead fade as the sun rises (see Undead, below), awaiting the return of night. Their Horrific Appearance is their only available direct attack. Unfortunately they have other means at their disposal for keeping anyone from fleeing Blackrigg.
Anyone attempting to flee or fight their way on horseback will discover, to their dismay, that their horses go mad and will plunge into the nearest bog, rolling over on their riders to drown them.
Anyone attempting to flee or fight their way out on foot will discover, to their dismay, that their feet become hopelessly entangled in moss and weeds, and they are dragged into the bogs to drown.
If a ZM is feeling really nasty, let one or more Cast Members make it down to the Solway or the River Esk. They will be ripped apart by dozens of huge, golden seals that shriek curses at them in Gaelic with the shrill and cackling voices of old women.
No one can escape.*
Life can be Hell on the Borders.
If Cast Members insist on this course of action, the ZM should have plenty of replacement characters on hand.
Wise Cast Members will see these fates befall Extras who attempt to flee and will spend the day, instead, inside the walls of Blackrigg. They should be encouraged by helpful Extras to see to their weapons and armor, to see to their souls, and to make whatever arrangements they have to fight off the next attack.
*Folks that are really into British folklore may recognize these occurrences for what they really are. The moral of the story is “Never angry the Otherworld or those with the Sight. The Sidhe may decide to smite your arse if you do.”
At
Some of the Reivers won’t be present either, but that’s not unexpected.
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A
traveler, lost in the To which one of the men answered, “Nae, we’re all Armstrongs and Elliots here. Border Reiver Tale, traditional |
Davie-the-no-gude-priest’s sermon is a mostly ranting mixture of reassurances and admonishments. I recommend using the quotes below from the movie, “The Boondock Saints” to capture the feel of 16th Century Border Reiver Christianity.
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“…Never shall innocent blood be shed, yet the blood of the wicked shall flow like a river…” “When I raise my flashing sword, and my hand takes hold on judgment, I will take vengeance upon mine enemies, and I will repay those who haze me. Oh, Lord, raise me to Thy right hand and count me among Thy saints.” “…And no man shall shed blood, but by man shall his blood be shed…” “…While the wicked stand confounded, call me with thy saints surrounded…” “…And shepherds we shall be, for Thee, my Lord, for Thee. Power hath descended forth from Thy hand that our feet may swiftly carry out Thy command. So we shall flow a river forth unto Thee, and teeming with souls shall it ever be…” In Nomine Patris, Et Fili, Et Spiritus Sancti. Amen.” MacManus family prayers from “The Boondock Saints”, Troy Duffy, 20th Century Fox, 1999. “Go in peace.” |
In the crowd, at least a few will offer up a more practical appeal to the Almighty:
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"Lord, make me fast and accurate.” Benjamin Martin’s Prayer from “The Patriot”, Sony Pictures, 2000. |
And if any of
the Cast Members are curious, Davie-the-no-gude-priest
is armed during the sermon with a broadsword and a wheellock
pistol. His, er, housekeeper, the Widow Murran, and her three huge sons (all of whom bear a
striking resemblance to
Note that this should be pointed out to the Cast Members to reinforce the culture in which they live. Be subtle about it – mention that Davie swears and blasphemes under his breath at one point when his sword snags his vestments and his robe hikes up to expose the dagger strapped to his calf, or how the grip of his wheellock strikes the chalice when he turns, ringing like a little bell.
If anyone thinks to ask, the Protestant minister was killed last night – he was one of the Reivers that rode out to challenge the raid.
Night 2 through Night 6 – More of the same. Wise Cast Members will use this time to try and find the murderer. Just before dawn on the sixth night, the dead will raze Blackrigg to the ground, slaughtering everyone.
Events in Blackrigg
ZM Note – It is suggested that the ZM use the following events to guide the Cast Members to the murderer.
1. The apparition of Little Moira
The murdered girl should appear to various people in town. The Cast Members should hear about it first before one or more of them see her. They’ll see a young girl, maybe ten or eleven years old, from the corner of their eye. She’ll be in a white shift that’s been stained with mud. A rope noose has been tightened around her neck. Mud and brown water trickle from her mouth. Her wrists are raw and bloody from struggling to free herself from coarse bonds.
At the same time, anyone seeing her is struck by the incredibly powerful odor of horse dung and mildewed hay. They may hear the creak of cart wheels and the snap of reins or a buggy whip and the squeal of a surprised horse. They’ll also hear the soft nickering of horses from somewhere nearby.
Little Moira will seem to be trying to talk, but her mouth is full of mud. She’ll also point (whether or not this is at anyone or anyplace particular is up to the ZM) and make gestures in an attempt to communicate.
The ZM should have this occur at least twice to the Cast Members, with more detail each time. Moira’s ghost should appear more frightened than frightening. After all, this is Little Moira’s first Trod and she’s not used to all the hurly burly. Use this event to point the Cast Members at the Coach House (see below).
2. Dogs
Dogs inside the town first bark wildly, then retreat to their dens and under porches and wagons, whining and cringing. A few minutes later the baying of the Black Hounds will be heard. Then the Trod Dogs are over the walls and attacking the people of Blackrigg.
2D6 Trod Dogs/Black Hounds (see Undead, below) will be present each time this occurs (adjust numbers depending on how fierce you want the fight to be). They’ll fight until they are slain, then literally dissolve into heaps of mud and weeds. If no one can manage to kill them, they’ll bound back over the walls and into the bogs at the sound of a massive, booming hunting horn that shakes the bones of those who hear it.
3. Horses
All of the horses in town go quite mad and become unapproachable. They will throw riders, bite, kick, trample, and generally misbehave themselves. The one thing they will NOT do, however, is go anywhere near the Coach House. You could allow one or more Cast Members, while dodging a stampeding group of horses that are careening around town, to notice that they stop outside the Coach House, eyes wild and rolling, flanks heaving, coats flecked with foam, the turn and head back the other way, neighing in panic.
4. Corbies
One or more Cast Members, preferably while each is alone, will hear odd little voices coming from overhead. They’ll see two ravens roosting above them, talking softly, while a third circles overhead. It’s not that the ravens are talking that should concern the Cast Member (or Extra, if this is a tale being told), but what the “twa corbies be makin’ mane aboot.”
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“Where sall we gang and dine to-day?' Where shall we go and dine today?
'In ahint yon auld coach house, I wot there lies a new slain bairn, and naebody kens wha hae happen’d.” Behind that old coach house, I see there is a recently killed child, and nobody knows what has happened.
“Wha sulde we no eatit him wha heeris ous ahint the Horsehouse?” Why shouldn’t we just eat the person who heard us behind the Coach House?
“That weel no do. He’s for Auld Wat and the Trod!” That will not do. Auld Wat wants him. |
With any luck, at some point the Cast Members will want to check out the Coach House (see below).
5. Feud and Deadly Feud
A fight breaks out. 3D6 participants are doing their level best to make sure there’s only 1D6 left standing at the end of the fight. The concern is that one group is trying to ensure their own survival. After assuring each other that none was involved in killing a little girl, 1D6+3 members of a family or Reiver Band will fall upon another group. The idea is pretty straight forward – if you kill everyone else in town, you’ll get the murderer eventually.
The problem is that Auld Wat wants the murderer alive.
This event should occur multiple times whether the Cast Members are present or not. These brawls may well kill more people than the Trod does.
6. Meg’s Moira
One or more
Cast Members will hear a sharp, piercing, keening wail from the bogs. It is a
woman’s voice, wailing in a mixture of Scots-English and Gaelic. A Cast Member
or Extras or both can be the targets of Meg’s Moira (Little Moira’s mother).
Effects are listed in the Undead descriptions (see
below). Meg’s Moira will use her Wail
(modified Evil Eye, see Undead, below) on people who present themselves as a
target, such as those standing watch in the gate tower, anyone manning the
walls, or anyone up in the church steeple.
Examples of Meg’s Moira’s keening are along the lines of:
Lament of the Border Mother
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“…I watched the corpse myself alone, I watched her body night and day; An’ no living creature came that way...”
“Òbhan òbhan òbhan ìri Òbhan ìri ò Òbhan òbhan òbhan ìri 'S mòr mo mhulad 's mòr Great, O great, is my sorrow!”
“Ochón 's ochón ó! Ochón 's ochón ó! Alas and woe! Alas and woe!”*
Éist le mo chroí, Go brónach a choích' Tá mé caillte gan tú*
*modified from lyrics by Enya |
7. Crookback and Bloody Pete Elliot
A deafening cacophony of the bellow of hunting horns gives only a moment’s warning.
With a roar of rage that makes dogs scream and the bravest men quake to their very bones, the dead Reivers storm through the town. Their skeletal horse seem to leap over the very walls.
In the lead are Crookback Elliot, and his son, Bloody Pete. Both are riding gigantic horses that look more like Clydesdales than the stout border ponies both men rode in life.
With them will be a horde of Dead Reivers and Black Hounds (see Undead, below).
There should be at least one of these fights, preferably two. Cast Members should be hard pressed to survive, but the ZM should cheerfully expend Extra to ensure the Cast Members get a chance to solve the mystery of Little Moira’s murder.
The horde will slaughter warrior and civilian alike, sparing neither gaffer nor babe-in-arms, chicken nor horse. They will slay everything they can, then surge back over the town walls and into the night.
A suggestion is to have both raids happen the night after the Cast Members figure out they need to go to the Coach House. This should serve to remind them of why it is so important for them to get this sorted out (and, quite frankly, given the attitude of most Border Reivers, that’s exactly the way everyone will see it: this is something that has to be sorted out and dealt with. The Borderers are no strangers to death and slaughter. The only difference from most raids is that this one is supernatural.)
The Coach House
Examples: http://www.groomsquarters.co.uk/gallery_gard.html
http://barns.ill.fr/hewat/Roxburgh-Walk.html
http://barns.ill.fr/hewat/images/coach-house.jpg
The Coach House is a rambling structure of Tudor architecture, Border fortress ruins, and crude mortar work. It is a warren of drinking rooms, smaller drinking rooms, private sleeping rooms, common sleeping rooms, the kitchen and dining hall, the Cluny family’s rooms, stables, hay barn, etc.
Make it as complicated or simplified as you need to.
Gangin’ Aboot
|
Gregory, remember thy swashing blow! William
Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet. |
Cast Members should eventually go to the Coach House to have a look around. Once they get over the wall or through the gate, they’ll see Little Moira one last time, pointing to a pile of dead leaves in an isolated corner of the Yard.
Under the leaves is freshly turned earth. Beneath that is her sad little wooden crucifix and a child’s bone bead bracelet. Auld Wat might want those back. There’s also a partially burned black tallow candle, a piece of sheep wool, a hawthorn wand, and thirteen silver pennies. Auld Wat might want those too.
A Cast Member should notice someone ducking back inside one of the attic windows – someone in the group should recognize Christie’s Johnny Cluny. He has a bad reputation around town as a lay-about who reads old books and wanders the moors and bogs alone. Someone might remember that he was once beaten by Davie-the-no-gude-priest and one of Widow Murran’s sons for “blasphemies”, but no one knows the details.
At this point, the Cast Members should have more than enough information (by Border Reiver standards) to go after Christie’s Johnny. They’ll have a tough time of it, though, as Christie’s Johnny’s family won’t be inclined to turn over their son to a murderous band of brigands. Blood is thicker than water, after all, even with death on the line.
Two courses of action are likely to take place:
1. The Cast Members charge into the Coach House and try to seize Christie’s Johnny “at the quick” (i.e. immediately). This is unlikely to succeed as Christie Cluny has heavily armed Reivers in his own place, being various brothers and cousins. Attacking and retreating will only tip them off and make the next assault much more difficult.
2. The Cast Members wander away and get Black Dick Nixon and any other friends they have and return en masse to bring Christie’s Johnny out.
Either way, there’s going to be a fight. Use the Border Reiver template (see below) for non-Cast Member combatants. The more allies the Cast Members can pull together, the better. It might not be that hard. At this point, most the people in town would strangle their own grandmother if it meant they could get out alive. Killing a few folk and taking their unpopular son captive…that’s easy.
Note about
Johnny’s “Black Magic” – There is none. He’s not a witch, he’s not a warlock,
and he’s certainly not a sorcerer or druid. He mistakenly believes he has
discovered a magic spell that will bring him great worldly wealth and power. He
is, however, a dangerous fighter. Use the Standard Border Reiver
template (below) for Johnny. Add “
END GAMES
There are several possible outcomes to the game.
1. Christie’s Johnny is captured. The Cast Members and their allies will have to open the gates and let Auld Wat in. He, Crookback and Bloody Pete will be happy to get Christie’s Johnny. They’ll drag him screaming into the darkness. They probably won’t kill anyone else, but it depends on the ZM’s whim and how must time is left before dawn.
2. Christie’s Johnny is not captured and remains safely in the Coach House. On the sixth night, after continuous and increasingly bloody attacks, Auld Wat’s Reivers will turn the cannons they captured from Sir Stanley’s lost artillerymen on the town walls. After the “battery” is complete and the town laid open, thousands of dead Reivers will flood Blackrigg and kill everyone. Auld Wat will get Christie’s Johnny, but that will be carrion comfort to everyone else.
3. Christie’s Johnny is not captured and flees Blackrigg. If this happens, Christie’s Johnny will flee into the bogs and be dragged to his death by Auld Wat and his friends. Auld Wat might not kill anyone else, especially if Little Moira’s crucifix and bracelet are handed over to him.
4. Auld Wat kills everyone anyway. Sadistic ZM’s might get a kick out of killing everyone in town in a hopeless and senseless slaughter. This isn’t recommended if the players know where the ZM lives – they might want to start a Trod of their own…
Slán leat agus oíche mhaith a dhuit (Goodbye and good night)
1. When Auld Wat is satisfied, he, Crookback, Bloody Pete and their Reivers will disappear into the night. There will be no evidence that they were ever at Blackrigg. No hoof prints, no cannon ruts, nothing. The following morning, the Solway Moss will appear perfectly normal. The bodies of the drowned are still there, but they’ve been taken deep under the earth.
2. Mad Meg will disappear during the End Game. Her fire on the graveyard hill will burn itself out. There will be three empty graves there – Bloody Pete, Meg’s Moira, and Little Moira have gone.
3. As soon as the horses in Blackrigg calm, virtually everyone will flee into the surrounding countryside to their hideouts, relatives, fortresses, or nearby villages. Only a dozen or so people will remain to loot what’s left of Blackrigg.
4. Too bad
for them. On the seventh night, a terrible storm will blow up the
GAME NOTES
Forces trapped in Blackrigg
English Reivers – 42,
Scottish Reivers – 29, including 4 Galloglass and 7 Highland Gael mercenaries
English garrison – 101, including 13 Irish Kern mercenaries and a few Italian and Spanish riflemen
Scottish Foot Lowne – 138; this is the town levy, men mostly trained as pikemen, crossbowmen, or riflemen. A few are light cavalry like the Reivers. This includes both the people of Blackrigg and survivors from the surrounding area.
Total Combatants – 310, including males as young as 15 and as old as 65
Townsfolk – about 420, from toothless auld gaffers to babes-in-arms – this includes both the people of Blackrigg and survivors from the surrounding area.
Persons of Note in Blackrigg
Mad Meg Croser
No Attributes or
skills given, as she never interacts directly with anyone in the game.
Black
Dick’s Riders
This is a band of Scots Border Reivers led by Black Dick Nixon and his cousin Evil Andy.
There are usually between five and twenty members, depending on circumstance.
For this game, there are fifteen members (mixed English and Scots) in Blackrigg. Use the standard Border Reiver
Template (below). Black Dick has Charisma 3 as a Quality.
Killin’ Willie Johnstane
A nephew of poor
Tom Johnstane mentioned earlier. Willie can muster
eight family members to avenge Auld Tom and is ready to do so. Use the standard
Border Reiver Template (below).
Wild Jock
Elliot and His Wee Laddies
Wild Jock and his
band of Reivers (six Scots and four English) are
ready to avenge their family once they realize what’s going on.
Gallóglaigh (Galloglass)
Four mercenaries
(see Templates, below) from the
|
"…picked and selected men of mighty bodies, cruel without compassion, the force of the battle doth lie in them choosing to die rather than surrender … the weapon they most use is a battle-axe or halbert, six feet long, the blade whereof is somewhat like a shoemakers knife, and without pike; the stroke whereof is deadly where it lighteth…” 16th Century |
The Galloglass know that they’re probably going to die, but they’re determined to die well. They’re willing to join any effort that will appease Auld Wat’s Trod.
Irish Catharnach (Kerns)
Thirteen Irish
warriors (see Template, below) serving in the English Army.
|
“…exceedingly swift and terrible executioners…never believing [the enemy] to be fully dead til they have cut off their heads…” 16th Century “…they clothe themselves, according to their habit, with tight trousers and short loose coats of very coarse goat's hair. They cover themselves with blankets, and wear their hair down to their eyes…” Francisco de Cuellar, 1588 |
The Kerns are enjoying the mayhem. They’ll kill anyone they can find, with little or no excuse. Not because they’re drunk, or insane, but because it’s fun.
The
are seven
Highland Gaels, also called Wild Scots or Redshanks, in Blackrigg.
They might or might not be working for one or more Reiver
groups or the English Garrison, depending on who asks them, and when.
|
“… Wild Scots rush into battle having their body clothed with a linen garment, manifoldly sewed, and painted or daubed with pitch, with a covering of deer-skin...” 16th Century “…they wear a broad Sword, which they call a Clymore, a Stoke of which , delivered from one of their Hands, would be sufficient to chop off the Head of the strongest Champion that ever lived…” 18th Century |
The Highlanders are somewhere between the grim resignation of the Gallowglass mercenaries and the wild exuberance of the Irish. They’re always ready for a fight, however. Stealing a child-killer from his own family is the kind of job that would definitely get their attention.
English
Garrison
Just want to go
home. They will focus on fighting the dead than catching one lone Scot. They
won’t stop anyone from doing it, however.
Ground Rules
Setting:
There are two possibilities for this Deadworld: realistic and cinematic. The Default Setting as I’ve written it is Realistic – or at least as realistic as a horror setting can be.
Realistic
There is no real difference between Scottish and English Border Reivers. Clans and families intermarry across the border even though it’s illegal.
Clothing for Lowland Scots and Northumbrian English follows English style (doublet, shirt, hose and boots for men; underdress, overdress, and haircover for women if married).
Everyone fights everyone else. Treachery, betrayal, pillage and murder are everyday occurrences.
Scottish Reivers raid in
The only real cultural division is between the Lowland Scots/English and the Highland Gaels.
The Gaels are considered by everyone, including themselves, to be Irish. They speak a dialect of Irish Gaelic and follow Gaelic customs. They hire out as mercenaries to both sides, as do the Irish Gaels.
Cinematic
Everyone in
Everyone in
The Reivers are noble and never go back on their word. Honor is the way of things.
Arrayed in a Most Warlike manner – Weapons and Armor of the Borders
Firearms – Note: These are all muzzle-loading muskets. Use statistics from “Fistful O’ Zombies”, Smoothbore (SB) firearms, p. 34)
Harquebus/Hackbutt (Wheellock Rifle)
Matchlock Rifle
Archery – Note: Use statistics from the AFMBE Main Rulebook, p. 134
Bow
Latch (Light crossbow)
Hand Weapons
Basket-hilt Sword – Use Broadsword statistics from the AFMBE Main Rulebook, p. 132
Claymore,
Highlander (claidheamh mór ) – Use Greatsword statistics from the AFMBE Main Rulebook, p. 132
Note: Claidheanmh and claimh
are both pronounced as “clay”. Be careful, though – the first means a sword,
the second means leprosy.
Claymore, Irish – Use Bastard Sword statistics from the AFMBE Main Rulebook, p. 132
Claymore, Lowlander - Use Greatsword <sstatistics from the AFMBE Main Rulebook, p. 132
Rapier – Use statistics from the AFMBE Main Rulebook, p. 132
Billhook (Leith Axe) – Use Halberd statistics from the AFMBE Main Rulebook, p. 132. In war the Billhook was mounted on a long staff and used as a polearm.
Sparth (Battle Axe) – Use Greataxe statistics from the AFMBE Main Rulebook, p. 132
Lance/Jedburgh Stave – Use Spear statistics from the AFMBE Main Rulebook, p. 132, and the Mounted Combat section from “Dungeons & Zombies”, p. 31. Note that the Jedburgh Stave can be used as a Halberd when wielder is dismounted.
Javelin – Use statistics from the AFMBE Main Rulebook, p. 134, but modify as following: Range is per Spear. Damage is per Thrown Knife.
Spear-Mace – Use statistics from the AFMBE Main Rulebook, p. 132. This is a spear with a mace head mounted on the butt end. It could be used as a thrusting weapon, a heavy quarterstaff, or, if the shaft of the spear was broken, a mace. This weapon can be used by a mounted warrior, but cannot be thrown effectively due to the weight at the butt end.
Pike – Use Spear statistics from the AFMBE Main Rulebook, p. 132, but modify as follows: Cannot be thrown or used mounted. Damage is per knife. Weapon is between 13 and 20 feet long.
Any number of other Medieval and Renaissance weapons can be found along the Borders, including the mace, battle axe, short sword, and various polearms.
Armor
Brigandine/Jack – this is basically a layer of steel, iron, or horn plates sewn or riveted between two stout sheets of leather in the form of a padded vest with a high collar. Use the Chain Mail statistics from the AFMBE Main Rulebook, p. 138.
Breast-and-Back/Cuirass – this is a two-piece plate armor system. The Back was often discarded as it was too heavy and negatively affected the wearer’s agility. Use the Chain Mail statistics from the AFMBE Main Rulebook, p. 138. This is because the B&B is not a full suit of armor.
Basinet, Burgonet, Sallet, Cabasett– Metal helmets. Use the statistics from the AFMBE Main Rulebook, p. 138.
Buckler/Targe – Use “Target” shield statistics from “Dungeons & Zombies”, p. 30
Chain Mail (AFMBE Main Rulebook, p. 138) is still in use by Border Reivers, Highland Gaels and Galloglass mercenaries.
Bewcastle Waste
Blackcleuch
Blackhaggs
Bloody Bushs
The Debatable Land
Foulbogskye
Foul Play Know
Hungry Hill
Muckle Snab
Border Reiver Names
Family names
occurred on both sides of the border. There were Armstrangs
in
Scottish Border Tribes/Families/Clans
Armstrang, Beattie, Bell, Bromfield, Burns, Carleton, Carlisle, Carruthers, Craw, Cranston, Croser, Davison, Dixon, Douglas, Elliot, Forster, Gilchrist, Glendenning, Hall, Henderson Hume, Irvine, Irving, Johnstane, Laidlaw, Kerr, Maxwell, Moffat, Oliver, Pringle, Rutherford, Scott, Tait, Trotter, Trumble, Turner, Young
English Border Tribes/Families/Clans
Anderson, Armstrong, Bell, Carleton, Carnaby, Collingwood, Curwen, Dacre, Dodd, Dunne, Forster, Gray, Hall, Harden, Hedley, Herson, Hodgson, Hunter, Jamieson, Lowther, Medford, Milburn, Noble, Ogle, Potts, Read, Ridley, Routledge, Salkeld, Selby, Shaftoe, Stamper, Stapleton, Stokoe, Tailor, Thompson, Wilkinson, Witherington, Woodrington, Yarrow
Personal names
Most modern “English” names will do. Border versions of some are: Andrew (Andy), Archibald (Archie), Christian (Christie), John (Jock), Robert (Hob), Simon (Sim/Sym), Walter (Wat)
Some famous names
Auld Wat of Harden (Old Walter Scott of Harden)
Kinmont Wille (William of Kinmont)
Hobbie Noble
Red Rowan
Little Jock Elliot
Sir Gilbert Elliot, the Laird of Stobs (stobs = tree stumps)
The Bold Buccleuch
How to tell people apart
Jock’s
Patie’s Christie’s Sim (Simon, son of Christian, son of Patrick)
Sim the Laird (Simon the Lord/Noble)
Wat’s Andy (Andy, son of Walter)
Nicknames
As-it-looks
Bangtail (i.e. racehorse)
Buggerback
Cleave-the-crown/head
Crack-spear
Curst Eckie (cursed)
Dog Pintle (i.e. Dog Pen!s)
Evilwillit Sandie (Evil-willed Alexander)
Fingerless Will Nixon (maybe clumsy?)
Fyre the Braes (burn the fields)
Hob-wait-about-him
Gav-yt-hem (Give it to ‘em)
Gib alongside (Gibson alongside)
Hen-harrow
Ill Drooned Geordie (Ill Drowned = didn’t die)
Ill Will (evil William)
Jok Pott the Bastard (John Pott the Bastard)
Laird-give-me-little
Nebless (Noseless) Clem (gets lost a lot)
Out-with-the-Sword
Ower-the-moss (Over the moss)
Pikehood
Shag
Skinabake
Sore John
Sow-tail
Sweet-milk
Wantoun Sim (Wanton Simon or Symon)
Wynking Will (Winking Will – nearsighted)
Gaels (aka Wild Scots aka Redshanks aka Rough-footed Scots)
|
"Several wild Scots followed them and they were naked except for stained shirts, and a certain light covering made of various colours". Jean de Beayque, 1549. |
A quick note
on Bagpipes – Gaels adopted the bagpipe from instruments carried by the Roman
invaders of
· Leine – this is basically a big yellow shirt that hangs to the knees. Sleeves may be pouched or fitted.
· A plaid cloak might be worn.
· An ionar (short tunic) might also be worn.
· The kilt might or might not have existed as the “belted plaid”.
Gaels were named for their father or mother (i.e. Angus MacKenna = Angus, son of Kenneth, Moira ni-Shiol = Mary, daughter of Siol). For Irish Gaelic men, “o” is used instead of Mac.
Tack on a “Clan” if you want. Some existed at the time, including MacDonald, O’Neill, Fraser, etc.
Gaelic Personal Names (and English equivalent)
Brief note on Gaelic – if it’s followed by H and doesn’t start a word, it’s silent. Eairdsidh = “Aaar-shee”, Domhnall = “Doonall” etc. Bh = V. Mh = W or silent. GH = silent, S = Sh, SS = S, D = J, CH = K or silent, and so on. This is a gross oversimplification, but it’ll help.
Examples (English/Gaelic (sex)
Alan - Ailean (m)
Andrew - Anndra (m)
Angus - Aonghas (m)
Archie - Eairdsidh (m)
Blair – Blar (m)
Brandon – Breannan (m)
Bridget - Brìghde (f)
Calum, Malcolm - Calum (m)
Catherine - Catrìona (f)
Cathleen - Caitlin (f)
Claire - Sorcha (f)
Colin - Cailean (m)
Duncan – Donnchadh (m)
Fergus - Fearghas (m)
Gregor – Griogal (m)
Glen – Glenn (m)
Hugh – Aodh (m)
Janet - Seònaid (f)
Jessie - Seasaìdh (f)
Johnny - Seonaidh (m)
Kate - Ceit (f)
Morag - Mòrag (f)
Nancy - Nansaidh (f)
Peggy - Peigi (f)
Sheila - Sìle (f)
Qualities/Drawbacks
Addiction – Alcohol only (2 points indicates a heavy drinker, 3 points a complete drunkard who spends most of his/her time in the town stocks or shackled in the pig pen).
Minority – Varying levels. Cumulative.
An Italian woman traveling alone in
·
Woman – 1 point
(Gaelic), 2 points (Scots/English) – The harsh reality of life in Gaelic
territory provides more opportunity for equality of the sexes than in the
· Foreigner (European) – 2 points – The Scots border is tribal territory. Individuals with no family on which to depend are at the mercy of everyone.
·
Foreigner
(Non-European) – 4 points. Not allowed unless the player and Zombie Master can figure
out how a non-European got to
·
Option: Minority (Gael)
– 2 points in
|
ZM Note – Women in Scotland Concept of sexual equality didn’t apply during the Renaissance as they do today. However, women seem to have had more freedoms and greater equality among the Borderers, the Scots in general, and the Gaels. Notable examples of women acting outside their normally accepted roles in society include (from ancient to the 16th century, and in Border and Gaelic lore): Queen Scathach of Skye Queen Madb (Maeve) Aife the Chieftainess The Countess of Ross The Countess of Buchan Princess
Isabelle (daughter-in-law to Edward I of The Highland Gaelic women at the Battle of Bannockburn Lady Bruce Christian Black Agnes Randolph Maid Lilliard Granuaile “Grace” O’Malley, Pirate Queen of |
Resources – Not allowed. The socioeconomic system of the 21st century was a very new concept. Substitute the following instead:
New Quality:
Social Standing (Special - Double Cost)
Social Standing replaces Resources.
-5 Leper : Burn ‘em out!
-4 Outcast : Nothing except scorn and a death sentence
-3 Pauper, Beggar : No home, livestock, or visible means of support
-2 Crofter, Apprentice : Works for someone else, tenant
-1 Peasant, Journeyman : Works for someone else but owns property
0 Landholder, Tradesman : Owns proper and commands workers
1 Wealthy Landholder : Better off than a Landholder
2 Heidman, Yeoman : In charge of a town or small district
3 Lesser Nobility (Knight) : In charge of several towns or large district
4 Higher Nobility (Duke, etc.) : In charge of several districts
5 Royalty : In charge of everything; Divine Right to Rule
Other Qualities and Drawbacks
Exercise caution and common sense when allowing Qualities and Drawbacks to be selected. For example, Secret: Bandit isn’t appropriate, as pretty much everyone on the Borderers was a thief or bandit at some point. Multiple Identities with regard to criminal activities also isn’t appropriate – the entirety of the criminal investigation in the 16th century Border Lands consisted of asking for someone. Multiple Identities would have to be something like a second identity as a woman (or a man, if the Cast Member is female), or something equally extreme.
Skills
The following skills are NOT available to cast members in Dead at 1550:
Computers, Computer Programming, Computer Hacking, Demotions, Driving (except for carts and wagons), Electronic Surveillance, Electronics, First Aid, Guns*, Martial Arts, Mechanic**, Medicine, Piloting (except for boats).
*Guns – Four categories of Gun are available.
**Mechanic – This skill is available in a primitive form called Mechanology. This is the study of machines and clockwork devices and is a Special skill (Double Skill Point cost).
THE DEAD
Moira Croser (Bansidhe)
|
Power |
Description |
|
Weight |
Withered Corpse (2) |
|
Weak Spot |
None (10) |
|
Getting Around |
The Quick Dead (10) |
|
Strength |
NA |
|
Senses |
Like Nothing You’ve Even Seen (10) |
|
Sustenance |
NA |
|
Intelligence |
Long Term Memory (5) Language(1) Problem Solving (15) |
|
Spreading the Love |
NA |
|
Special Powers |
Compulsion – attack others (4) Evil Eye (Wailing) – Compulsion, Fear, Fits, Madness (26) Fear (2) Fits (3) Hover (2) Madness (5) Prohibition – Holy Water (-3) Restricted Activity – Night only (-5) Unkillable (+10) |
|
Power |
87+ |
|
Attributes Dead Points Str NA Int 2 Dex 3 Per 7 Con NA Wil 4 Spd 18 Essence NA Skills: Language (Scots English, Gaelic) – 5 in both Attack: Wail (= Evil Eye) |
|
Auld Wat Croser, Crookback Elliot and Bloody Pete Elliot, and their Reivers
|
Power |
Description |
|
Weight |
Dead Weight (-2) |
|
Weak Spot |
None (10) Blessed Objects (-5) |
|
Getting Around |
The Quick Dead (10) Leaping (3) The Lunge (3) |
|
Strength |
Strong Like Bull (5) Monstrous Strength (10) – Wat, Crookback and Pete only |
|
Senses |
Life Sense (8) |
|
Sustenance |
Who Needs Food? (8) |
|
Intelligence |
Language (1) Long Term Memory (5) Problem Solving (15) |
|
Spreading the Love |
NA |
|
Special Powers |
Fear (2) Fog (5) Horrific Appearance 2 (4) Natural Armor – Tough Hide (2) Armor: D6+1 (4) No Pain (1) Obsession – Finding killer (6) Restricted Activity – Night (-2) Unkillable (10) – Wat, Crookback and Pete only |
|
Power |
90+ |
|
Attributes Dead Points NA Str 4 Int 2 Dex 3 Per 4 Con 2 Wil 2 Spd 18 Essence 21 Skills: Dodge 2, Hand Weapon (All) 3 (5 for Wat, Crookback and Pete), Ride (Horse) 4 (5 for Wat, Crookback and Pete) Attack: By weapon |
|
|
Note: All the Reivers are mounted, but their skeletal horses have no statistics given separately. The statistics indicate a combination of horse and rider. During the day, these undead become intangible shadows and can only attack by Fear and Horrific Appearance These undead can be harmed by holy objects or weapons that have been blessed by a priest (this is why Davie-the-no-gude-priest needs to be kept alive). They can also be harmed by being struck with holy water. Sprinkling water on the ground does no good – they’ll step, leap, or ride over it. These undead are virtually indestructible. This is because the focus should be on solving the murder mystery, not killing dead folk. |
|
Black Hounds/Trod Dogs
|
Power |
Description |
|
Weight |
Life-like (0) |
|
Weak Spot |
All (0) |
|
Getting Around |
The Quick Dead (10) |
|
Strength |
Strong Like Bull (5) Damage Resistant (5) |
|
Senses |
Life Nothing You’ve Ever Seen (10) |
|
Sustenance |
Who Needs Food? (8) |
|
Intelligence |
Animal Cunning 2 (4) Teamwork (4) |
|
Spreading the Love |
NA |
|
Special Powers |
Horrific Appearance 1 (2) Natural Armor – Tough Hide (2) Armor: D6+1 (4) No Pain (1) |
|
Power |
55 |
|
Attributes Dead Points Str 4 Int 1 Dex 3 Per 7 Con 2 Wil 2 Spd 18 Essence 19 Skills: Bite 4 Attack: Bite D6(3)XStr (Slashing) Armor: D6+1 (4) |
|
Character Archetypes:
|
AFMBE Archetype Border Reiver – Survivor Attributes Str: 4 Dex: 4 Con: 4 Int: 2 Per: 3 Wil: 3 Life Points: Endurance Points: Speed: Essence: Qualities Contacts 4 (other Reivers) Fast Reaction Time 2 Hard to Kill 3 Nerves of Steel 3 Situational Awareness or 2 more levels of Hard to Kill 4 discretionary points Drawbacks Cruel 1 Honorable 1 8 points available Gear Brigandine armor, helmet Basket hilt sword or rapier 2 Wheellock pistols or 1 caliver Powder and shot for 30 rounds Riding boots, sturdy clothes |
Skills Brawling 3 Craft (Profession) 1 Dodge 3 Gun (Wheellock) 2 Hand Weapon (Dagger) 2 Hand Weapon (Lance) 3 Hand Weapon (Sword) 3 Intimidation 2 Notice 2 Riding (Horse) 4 Smooth Talking 2 Survival (Borders) 3 Stealth 3 Tracking 2 Personality Player’s discretion Quote Player’s discretion WDR, 2006 |
|
AFMBE Archetype Foot Lowne/Soldier - Norm Attributes Str: 2 Dex: 2 Con: 4 Int: 2 Per: 2 Wil: 2 Life Points: Endurance Points: Speed: Essence:
Qualities Hard to Kill 5 5 discretionary points Drawbacks 10 points available Gear Brigandine or Cuirass, Helmet Pike Hand weapon of choice Surcoat with feudal coat of arms Plain clothes |
Skills Brawling 2 Craft (Profession) 2 Dodge 2 Hand Weapon (Choose) 3 Hand Weapon (Pike) 2 Riding (Horse) 2 Stealth 2 Survival (Borders) 3 Tracking 2 10 discretionary points Personality Player’s discretion Quote Player’s discretion WDR, 2006, eviloverlord668@yahoo.com |
|
AFMBE Archetype Attributes Str: 4 Dex: 3 Con: 5 Int: 2 Per: 3 Wil: 3 Life Points: Endurance Points: Speed: Essence: Qualities Hard to Kill 5 Nerves of Steel 3 9 discretionary points Drawbacks Minority (Gael) 2 8 points available Gear Highland Gael and Kern Leine, Ionar, Plaid Cloak 2 Hand weapons of choice, leather armor Gallowglass Leine, Chain mail hauberk, Greataxe, Greatsword Scots/Gaelic Woman Leine, embroidered cloak, overdress, 2 hand weapons of choice, leather armor |
Skills Brawling 3 Craft (Hunting) 3 Dodge 3 Hand weapon (Sword) 3 Hand Weapon (Axe) 3 Language (English for Gaels) 2 Riding (Horse) 2 Running ( Stealth 3 Storytelling 2 Survival (Wilderness) 3 Climbing 2 Swimming 2 Irish Kern Riding Horse 4 (2 more points) Running (Spring) 2 Galloglass Intimidation 2 Weight Lifting 2 Scots/Gaelic Woman Craft (Taking care of barbarians*) 2 First Aid 2 6 discretionary points available Personality Player’s discretion Quote Player’s discretion
*Family skills – someone has to take care of the kids and livestock if the men would rather be off to war… |
|
I myself got good butter from a woman The good butter if it be good I don’t think it came from a cow Whatever its origin, it destroyed me. |
Fuaras féin im maith ó mhnaoi, an t-im maith, mása meith é, dóigh linn nach fa bhoin do bhí, an ní dá bhfoil do mhill mé. |
|
AFMBE Archetype Gentleman/Gentlewoman - Survivor Attributes Str: 3 Dex: 3 Con: 4 Int: 3 Per: 3 Wil: 4 Life Points: Endurance Points: Speed: Essence: Qualities Contacts 4 Social Standing 3 5 discretionary points Drawbacks 10 points available Gear Plate armor and helm, riding boots, fine cloak, very nice clothes, plenty of money, several fine hand weapons of choice, 2 guns of choice |
Skills Bureaucracy 3 Dance 2 Dodge 2 Fine Arts 1 Hand weapon (rapier) 4 Intimidation 2 Language (French) 2 Language (Latin) 2 Riding (Horse) 3 14 discretionary points Personality Player’s discretion Quote Player’s discretion |
References
Gaming
Eden Studios, All Flesh Must Be Eaten RPG and the following sourcebooks:
Non-fiction
The Anglo-Scots Wars, Gervase Phillips, The Boydell Press, 1999.
The Border Reivers, Keith Durham, Osprey Publishing, 1998.
The Irish Wars, Ian Heath, Osprey Publishing, 1993.
The Steel Bonnets, George MacDonald Fraser, Harper Collins, 1995.
The Twilight Lords, Richard Berleth, Barnes and Noble, Inc., 1978, 1994.
Fiction
The Black Dwarf, Sir Walter Scott
http://www2.arts.gla.ac.uk/SESLL/STELLA/STARN/prose/WSCOTT/BLACKDWA/contents.htm
Kidnapped, Robert Louis Stevenson
http://classiclit.about.com/library/bl-etexts/rlstevenson/bl-rlst-kid-1.htm
http://www.classicreader.com/booktoc.php/sid.1/bookid.443/
The Spiral Dance, R. Garcia y
Robertson,
Movies
Rob Roy, MGM, 1995.
Braveheart,
Internet Websites (in no particular order – some of these are purely historical, others are links to historical reenactment groups; there is a wealth of information here that will only improve a ZM’s ability to run this setting for the AFMBE RPG).
http://www.borderreivers.co.uk/ (THE BORDER REIVERS)
http://www.theborderers.info/ (The Borderers)
http://www.sorbie.net/border_reivers.htm (The Border Reivers)
http://www.nwlink.com/~scotlass/border.htm (The Border Reivers)
http://www.tynedaleheritage.org/Resources/ReiversMain.htm (Border Reivers)
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/other/border_reivers8.htm (Reiver Battles and Feuds)
http://www.rootsweb.com/~nwa/grace.html (Grace O’Malley)
http://www.borderleague.org/ (Border League)
http://www.hardensociety.co.uk/reivers.html (Border Reivers)
http://home.btclick.com/testoff/ (The Border Reivers)
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/highlanders/part1chap9.htm (The Highlanders of Scotland)
http://www.imbecility.com/glasgow.htm (The Archbishop of Glasgow's "Monition of Cursing" against the Border Reivers)
http://www.borderreivers.co.uk/Indexes/STORY%20INDEX.htm (Stories of the Borders)
http://www.reconstructinghistory.com/scottish/beltedplaid.html (The Evolution of the Kilt)
http://www.thenortheast.fsnet.co.uk/BorderReivers.htm (The Border Reivers)
http://www.marie-stuart.co.uk/Castles/Lochmaben.htm
(
http://www.battlefieldstrust.com/resource-centre/medieval/battlepageview.asp?pageid=761 (The Solway Moss Campaign, 1542)
http://www.gretna-area.co.uk/maps/solway_trail.html (Solway Heritage Trail)
http://www.nwgyro.co.uk/one%20man.htm (NW Gyroplane Club – pictures of the Solway Estuary)
http://www.oocities.org/MadisonAvenue/3333/lidmaps.html (Past and Present Maps of Reiver Country)
http://www.royalstuarts.org/timeline.htm (Timeline of the Royal Stuart Dynasty)
http://www.scottishlaw.org.uk/scotlaw/usehistoryscotland.html (History of Scotland)
http://www.abbeville.com/Products/Excerpt/1558598677Excerpt.htm (About Lochs and Glens of Scotland)
http://www.thenortheast.fsnet.co.uk/page56.htm#1547 (Tudor War Timeline)
http://www.gaddgedlar.com/16th_century.htm (The 16th Century)
http://www.tudorplace.com.ar/LifeinTudorTimes.htm (Life in Tudor Times)
Sincerely,
TexasZombie, a.k.a. Evil Overlord
668, the Neighbor of the Beast
eMail comments to: eviloverlord668@yahoo.com
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