The Wargate
Presents
Hell Bend
World of Darkness Chronicle, Season 4 2015
Indian Territory
October 16, 1875
Welcome back to the Settlements, partner.
Since the events of The Rough Edge of Night, nothing has gone according to anyone's plans. The settlements themselves are depopulated, with people fleeing the haunting and desolate landscape instead of flocking to it. If Smokefall Ridge is to survive, the folk who seek to make that place their own must contend with the forces that have called it their home since time immemorial.
The Red Band has moved west, pursued by Ft. Grant's brave American cavalry - but the threat and memory of Indian raids is alive in the thoughts of the settlers. In order to survive, the players must build a thriving community of like-minded "pioneers", which may prove difficult under the current atmosphere of dread. To make matters worse, that sense of dread seems to be growing into something tangible...
Hell Bend is a chronicle for the World of Darkness Role-Playing Game. It is set in a fictional group of settlements in the Indian Territory in the year 1875. Players will make normal human characters, though certain merits from The Book of Spirits may be available to certain concepts. This chronicle also makes use of the Firearms in the Indian Territory rules.
The players' success in the game will determine how many new settlers arrive in Smokefall Ridge, and what services they can provide. The growing / dying town is key to success in the chronicle, and the peril to all the characters is very real. In addition, influences outside Smokefall in the other settlements (and Fort Grant) may have an effect on the growth and livelihood of the town as the chronicle progresses.
The following set of values describes various aspects of Smokefall Ridge as an entity. Law indicates the level of order in the town. Economy describes the availability of productive work. Culture indicates the general level of civility for the townsfolk. Technology indicates the number and frequency of manufactured items. Supply indicates the production of food and other sundries for the populace of Smokefall, while Goods indicate trade surplus and connectivity with other settlements. The total of all these values indicates the Total Growth Level of Smokefall Ridge.
Smokefall Ridge
(Population: One Less Every Day)
Vitals
- Law: 1
- Economy: 4
- Culture: 2
- Technology: 1
- Supply: 6
- Goods: 1
- Total Growth Level: 15
- Yellow Rose Saloon
- Culture +1
- Church
- Culture +1
- Law +1
- North Territory Hotel
- Economy +1
- Supply +1
- Freight Trader / General Store
- Economy +2
- Technology +1
- Supply +1
- Goods +1
- Communal Corn Fields
- Supply +2
Player Assets
- Twin Pines Fine Horse Mall
- Economy +0
- Doc's House
- Technology +0
- Don Juan's Goat Spread
- Supply +3
Current Player Characters
- "Doc" Jameson
- A man of science, looking for the truth.
- Ignacio Madera
- Forging a place for himself in this savage and haunting land, Ignacio intends on breeding horses in this wide open space.
- Don Juan Ortega
- The Don knows that the ground will yield all he needs to build a new empire north of Mexico. Corn and goats, what else do you need?
- Rusty Shackleford
- The former mountain man decided to give "civilization" a go and try his luck in the settlements.
- Josephine Maxwell
- A journalist sent to Smokefall to investigate the strange happenings, she intends to find a big story here in the Territory.
- Jakey Wells
- Moving to Smokefall after tragedy befell his family, all he wants is to grow a subsistence-level farm.
- Caleb Tinker
- The town's gunsmith returns after a few weeks worth of introspection on the mountain. Smokefall is looking pretty rough to him...
- Arthur Littlehawk
- A native hunter who lives at nearby Snake Valley, he recently encountered evidence of the anger of the spirits.
- "Anya"
- A mysterious doctor from New Orleans, she has only recently arrived in Smokefall.
Deceased Player Characters
- None (Yet...)
Disbanded Player Characters
- None (Yet...)
Chronicle Log
Total Game Time: 60.5 hrs
The Dread
(10.04.15 to 10.25.15)
Total Session Time: 25.5 hrs
A palpable aura of unease has come over Smokefall.
- Session 1 (10.04.15)
- Session 2 (10.11.15)
- Sessions 3 & 4 (10.18.15 & 10.25.15)
- Session 5 & 6 (11.01.15 & 11.08.15)
More questions than answers arise from bumbling around the woods at night, but with the banishment of the horrific spirit waking folks every morning things get a little less restless.
Across the Red Earth
(11.01.15 to 11.29.15)
Total Session Time: 19.5 hrs
Halloween 1875 starts what will become a solid week of terrible realizations as the demonic forces arrayed against the settlers become apparent.
(11.01.15 to 11.29.15)
Total Session Time: 19.5 hrs
Halloween 1875 starts what will become a solid week of terrible realizations as the demonic forces arrayed against the settlers become apparent.
- Sessions 7, 8 & 9 (11.15.15, 11.22.15 & 11.29.15)
After confrontations with black spirits and possessed killers, the player group now has a clear idea of the forces arrayed against them and at least a general idea on how to defeat them. However, the Dread is still palpable in Smokefall, and the odds may be insurmountable...
The Condemned
(12.13.15 to 12.26.15)
Total Session Time: 15.5 hrs
With time running out, the group finally gets some answers. They aren't comfortable answers, though...but that's life in the Territory.
(12.13.15 to 12.26.15)
Total Session Time: 15.5 hrs
With time running out, the group finally gets some answers. They aren't comfortable answers, though...but that's life in the Territory.
- Sessions 10 & 11 (12.13.15 & 12.20.15)
- Sessions 12 (12.27.15)
Round Bend has been destroyed. The people there are lost, and the land itself is spoiled. Folk are warned to stay away from the tainted soil, and no one mentions the place where the old town was much anymore.
Campaign Resolution
The residents of Smokefall Ridge have helped their town survive the supernatural onslaught...but now they've got real problems. Over the next six weeks, the settlers begin to see signs of revivification in their camp as new folk start to arrive. In a matter of weeks, the current population has increased by 50% to a little over one-hundred souls.
Now, the course for the future must be decided. The hardy settlers immediately set to work rebuilding and preparing to weather the coming winter, making their town more secure against any extant threats. Yet, it may be a force that is quite mundane that proves to be the true threat to Smokefall. An insidious corruption that is creeping across the continent - a force that many whites simply call progress.
The residents of Smokefall Ridge have helped their town survive the supernatural onslaught...but now they've got real problems. Over the next six weeks, the settlers begin to see signs of revivification in their camp as new folk start to arrive. In a matter of weeks, the current population has increased by 50% to a little over one-hundred souls.
Now, the course for the future must be decided. The hardy settlers immediately set to work rebuilding and preparing to weather the coming winter, making their town more secure against any extant threats. Yet, it may be a force that is quite mundane that proves to be the true threat to Smokefall. An insidious corruption that is creeping across the continent - a force that many whites simply call progress.