I did add one house rule though, which I borrowed and streamlined from the Mythic RPG. Basically, if I want to be clear on a detail, I'll ask a question (either yes or no or this or that) and then decide which is more likely. Then I'll roll 1d6 for each, with the tie going to the more likely result. Quick and easy, but adds to the story.
So here we go!
Greg Page (Rep 5 Outlaw; Pep 4, Sav 5, Quick Reflexes, Rage) is on a train, traveling west. While the Civil War has been over for years, a few people with money are still a wee bit upset with Greg for helping a number of slaves escape during the war. Now, with a price on his head, he travels in search of information on what happened to his great great aunt, who had gone west two hundred years ago and vanished. He also hopes to live an incognito life in the west, at least for now.
Despite the figure, Greg actually starts the game unarmed. Though probably not the best way to start a game, I thought it fit the character. Also, I'm color coding figures. Green/blue are friendly and neutral while red/orange are enemies.
The game is played in months with each month being made up of an Involuntary Encounter and one Voluntary one. For the first, I rolled a Defend.
Waking up in the middle of the night to commotion, Greg peers out his door and sees 3 bandits storming through the halls.
"Nice haul, this train," says one.
"Gonna buy me a new horse," says the other.
"Why doncha just get a girl like everyone else?" asks the third.
The bands are Outlaws, Rep 4, 3, and 3; all with the Cruel Attribute.
Rolling on the Action table, Greg goes first (with the Advantage).
Apparently they fail to notice him and just march on by. Since Greg is unarmed, but with the Brawler Attribute, I have him perform a Challenge to sneak up on one of the bandits (Difficult Challenge).
First roll - Pass 1d6; Reroll.
Second - Success!
Slipping behind one bandit, Greg grabs the man's head and slams it into the nearby wall.
One down and now Greg has a pistol.
Unfortunately, the other two whirl around and open fire.
The Leader's shots hit for and OOF result, but Greg's Star Power saves him. He ducks back into the closest room. The other grunt's shot misses completely.
Now Greg finally gets to use his new gun. Firing rapidly, he drops the grunt and the leader leaps back.
"I'll gut you like a fish!" spits the leader. Lunging forward, he fires into the room but again misses. Greg then returns fire.
Both shots catch the leader in the chest and the man falls to the ground.
With the threat gone, Greg peeks outside and sees police gathering up other bandits from the other trains. One drops a piece of paper, and when Greg picks it up, he sees a reward for his arrest. Not wanting to take chances, he grabs his stuff and escapes the train, heading off into the woods on foot.
This ends the first Encounter, which is a success. Greg gains 3 Increasing d6 for taking out the bandits but 3 Decreasing d6 for using Star Power. At least he broke even.
Now for the second Encounter.
With his transportation now gone, Greg wanders through the countryside, only knowing he needs to head in the western direction. Luckily he had stashed some food in his backpack, and he still has the pistol, so he's okay, for the moment.
The next Encounter is a voluntary one, so I chose Ride the Trail. He has to resolve 3 PEFs and survive.
PEF #1:
Greg spots a lone Indian and a Cowboy engaged in combat.
Not knowing who's on which side, I decide to perform a Challenge for Greg to see if he can figure it out.
Fail.
Despite his best efforts, Greg has no clue what's going on, only that the two men are trying to kill each other. Since he tends to get along with Indians, he chooses to help the man (Rep 4 Warrior) against the Rep 4 Cowboy.
After opening fire, the two manage to drop the cowboy rather quickly. Now it's time to figure out what's going on.
I perform an Interaction with Greg questioning the Indian (Success.).
I also perform a challenge to see if he can tell if the other man is telling the truth (also Success).
(The rest I gather from some yes/no rolls and filling in the spaces).
"Thank you," says the Indian. (Greg knows some of their language so the conversation is a mix of that and English). "My name is Simon Rivers."
"I'm Greg Page. What happened?" asks Greg.
"He's part of Charlie south's gang," Simon answers. "Recently, they entered our camp and South asked our chief for his daughter's hand in marriage."
"And your chief said no?"
"Actually, he said it was his daughter's choice," Simon answered. "But then, Charlie's gang snuck into our camp in the middle of the night an kidnapped her. We went out looking for her, but my friends fell to bandits."
"Tell you what," says Greg, "I'll help you get the chief's daughter back and if your camp lets me stay for the night once we're done."
Simon nods. "Fair enough."
(I treated this like a Recruiting).
Simon Rivers is Rep 4 (Pep 3, Sav 4), and with the Tough Attribute.
PEF #2:
Later, the two are wandering through the forest, when two bandits leap out.
"We lost at the trains," says one, "but these'll do."
Greg and Simon go first and open fire.
The two bandits apparently underestimate the two and wind up with bullets in their chest.
PEF #3:
Two more bandits appear a moment later.
"You killed out buddies!" cries one. "You'll pay for this!"
Same result, unfortunately (for them).
This ends the Encounter and the month.
Greg ends with 6 Increasing d6 and 3 Decreasing d6, for a total of 3 Increasing d6. Rolling, I manage to increase his People skill to 5.
Simon ends with 3 Increasing d6 but fails to improve his Rep. Maybe next time.
Tune in next time when Greg and Simon seek out to rescue the chief's daughter from the sinister Charlie South and his gang.
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