Since people still seem to be enjoying after-action reports of my Really Wild West: Doomstone campaign, here’s a write-up adapted from notes taken by my wife Lj (who is playing the fenrin operative bounty hunter named “Sawyer”) as a quick report for Session Three!

You can find Session One here: Part One, Part Two.
Session Two here: Part One, Part Two.

If you don’t recognize a reference, it may (or may not) be in a previous session, or at the updated campaign notes page.

Session 03:

Day 06

The players investigate the eponymous Circle Axe the Circle Axe Ranch is named for. It is 4ft tall, 30lbs. When the land was pioneered 50 or so years ago, Dwargus hardfist (the current foreman and a dwarf) was here with his grandmother. She had them stop here and dig up this axe, buried in the ground, because she could sense it. She believes it dates back to when a Hardfist was with Leif Erikson’s exploration of the area.

• Discover it is a magic item, The Double Blade, which is Axiomatic, Bane vs. creatures aligned to, or serving humility or gluttony.
• Serves Pride and Patience. “Pride and Pateince” is the Hardfist family motto. It dates back to Nordic days, when Pride was seen as a sin by the family, and patience their failing.
• Can oversee an oath – is doing so right now. Therefore, that oath is still intact. Dwargus is sure no one has used it for an oath since it was buried. Since it was buried, the PCs think the oath might have been a treaty of some kind (for “Bury the hatchet’)
• Made of steel alloyed with a star metal – noqual. Not usually compatible with steel.
  • Some magical process fused them
  • It weighs 2x-3x what it should
  • It has become a crystalline matrix of steel

Since the PCs are here to stop the Manticore only Dwargus has ever seen, which always kills of his (and ONLY his) cattle each time they are picked from the general hear, their plan is to have the cattle picked, put in buildings in a nearby abandoned town (Horse Creek), and wait for the Manticore to arrive. Sawyer (fenrin operative bounty hunter) buys a cow to mix in with Dwargus’ herd

Day 07 – At the ambush

• The cows are in two buildings
• Two ranch hands — Bohoss (an ogre) and Waterlily (an elf) are handling the cattle to keep them calm
• PCs wait for the attack … and it comes!

FIGHT!

• First there’s a distant “thump” then a silvery fog rolls in. Everyone needs to make a DC 10 Will save, and those who fail it can’t remember any element of the situation they aren’t currently seeing. Tess (human mechanic) fails her save… but asks her drone what she is doing in a building, at night, near cows, and when explains she rushes out to help.
• Then the hossest-looking manticore flies in
  • Wearing a previously Union Artilleryman’s hat – debadged
  • Armored forearms with mechanical thumbs
  • Mounted, heavily modified and updated Puckle Gun on its shoulder

• He swoops in and fires at Anuthyr (centaur paladin) – same “thump” sound occurs
  • It’s his fog gun!!
  • MARTIAN BLACK GAS!!
  • He calls her a bad name in Ottoman Turkish – Pislick (“dirt” – piece of crap or asshole)
• Sawyer flies up and shoots the manticore … real hard
• Liam (human soldier) was in a sniper position behind the saloon sign on its roof. He drops his rifle and leaps upon he Manticore’s back in an attempt to sunder its gun harness.
  • Gets stung – poisoned
  • Extremely virulent (Doomstone does not use the normal Starfinder poison rules for common poisons, but DOES use them for this poison. Which, worse, uses the track of your HIGHEST ability score!)
  • Liam and damages the harness (As an Experimental weapon it rolls on a failure chart each time it is damaged — it is now a full action to use. So the manticore can no longer use it while flying, and must land).
  • Hangs on, dragging the Manticore to the ground
• Anuthyr sets for charge and challenges the manticore
• He shoots her, she stands strong and challenges again
• Brone (Half-orc technomancer cartographer) tries to cast from cover and is stung and poisoned. The manticore’s tail has reach AND can make attacks of opportunity around corners!
• Four serpentfolk teleport in, drop off masked bandits, then disappear
  • The bandits have sawed-off double-barrel shotguns, and mining picks with green rims
• Liam sends up a flare so that Anuthyr can see the manticore on the other side of the black gas
  • Liam starts to succumb to the poison – Dex for him
• Anuthyr charges – her attack glances off the Manticore’s shoulder armor
  • Manticore identifies himself as Gaotema
• Gaotema stings and poisons Anuthyr
  • She begins to succumb to the poison – Str for her
• Sawyer (flying with Davinci wings) keeps Gaotema flatfooted with successful trick attacks
• Tess and Pinon take on the bandits
• Brone begins to succumb to the poison – Int
• The bandits finally get to take action
  • One of them takes on Tess
  • The other two enter the building with Waterlily and 6 cows
  • Lily is shot, but manages to keep the cows calm… during an active shootout right next to them!
• Liam is stung a second time – poisoned
• Lily kills a bandit
• Anuthyr drops her lance, activates Smite, and smacks Gaotema with her sword
  • SMOTE!!
• Gaotema flies by, attacking Anuthyr
• Sawyer misses this time
• Tess takes out another bandit
• Brone throws a magic Missile at Gaotema
• Liam shoots Gaotema, putting him on his last leg. Liam’s poison finally stops progressing.
• Anuthyr charges
• Gaotema attempts to fly away
• The last remaining bandit wings a huge knife at Tess, injuring her and knocking her down with a critical hit
• Liam shoots Gaotema one last time – finally killing him
• Anuthyr steps up to remove his head saying “You shall see your master in hell.”
  • He responds “Kral Zenhiri is not in hell”

Aftermath:

• Brone falls over
  • Anuthyr helps him
  • Brone is still in trouble
• Waterlily is bleeding out
  • Sawyer helps her – stops the bleeding
• Tess tries to make an anti-venon
  • We need to get his venom out to do so
  • There is something stuck inside the stinger
  • Bohoss smashes it with a rock and gets out a piece of glowing green iron
  • It’s a piece of green iron – radiated. “Doomstone” Get it far enough away from the poisoned, will help
  • Tess gives it to Pinon, who runs it far, far away
• Brone is still in trouble
  • This isn’t gonna kill him… it’s final state will turn him into something
  • Finally, he stabilizes

We set watches and discuss what to do with the body. Bury them all.

Day 08

• Brone’s good
• Bury the bodies – the bandits are all branded with a manticore, and they used to have bounties on them
  • Each had a token of one drop of poison – likely used to locate them by the serpentfolk. We give them all to Anuthyr.
  • The manticore had a flower stuck in his gear (cliff dandelion) that locally is only found on Neblin Ridge – in the disputed territory between the Circle Axe and Vicious Hippogriff ranches.
• Bury all the items tainted with radiation
• Leave it unmarked for now

LOOT: Artilleryman’s hat (magical), compression gear harness, Puckle gun (original to 1700s, and upgraded by the Confederates and again recently with Martian-derived tech), one black gas shell, one silver shell, two gray shells. Four sawed-off double-barreled shot guns, four bowie knives, 400 credits worth of Vicious Hippogryph script. Lead case for the Doomstone.

• The hat
  • The bones and fangs cover up the Union marks
  • Brone mends it
  • It helps the wearer see through smoke, fog, and vapor
  • Gives wearer immunity to smoke, fog, and vapor effects once per day for an hour
• Harness
  • Once per day, for one hour, allows +4 to bulk carrying capacity, and +2 damage with melee attacks (2 bulk)
• Puckle gun
  • Grenade launcher – custom made (5 bulk)
• Lead case
  • Designed to hold the green radiated rock Domstone
  • Inscribed with

Mark II

Doomstone

Go out and get the stone and put it in the case. All the vegetation around it has died.

The rock doesn’t want to be enclosed. It *fights* being put in the lead case, but Tess forces it in.

Anuthyr and Liam can both tell where it is. Brone can too.

PCs return to Dwargus

• His cattle are fine
• Bring back the manticore head
• They cheer, feed us, put us to bed
• We take watches

Day 09

Everyone’s healed up. Now, only Anuthyr and Brone can feel it where the Doomstone is.

LOOT: 200 credits each for the bounty

Dwargus gives the PCs a writ to legally explore Neblin Ridge, in the disputed territory, as there is enough evidence to suggest criminals are operating out of there.

• Wants to send the Puckle gun ammo to the Speaker of the State House
• Wants to buy the Puckle gun for 1500 credits
• Tess wants to keep the tech

The Plan

• Stay here tonight
• Send the ammo to Fontz and Bizmark to take to the State Speaker of the House, who Dwargus trusts, as evidence of criminals with access to martian tech, in the hopes of getting state or federal peacekeepers out here… in 3-4 weeks.
  • Sawyer and Tess write letters of witness for Dwargus
• PC’s keep the stone with us and head to Neblin Ridge first thing in the morning
• Use the VH scrip to buy some anti-toxins here at Circle Axe. (Medicinals cost 1/10^th list price in Really Wild West)
  • One tier 2 anti-venon
  • Six tier 1 anti-venons
  • One tier 1 sedative

Day 10 – 2 days to Neblin Ridge

Brone says if we take the direct route, the PCs will be seen.

• However, he says they can take a dry creek bed, not be seen, and take three days instead of two. So they do.
• As we approach the entrance to the gully, Sawyer finds a trip wire made of spider silk.
• Loud gunshot goes off – green iron shot
  • Not radioactive, not poisonous, but it would sicken you if shot with it
  • They must have a green iron mine
  • Tess gathers up the pellets

LOOT: Shotgun w/a manticore symbol in the butt

• We notice that this gully is wide enough for the manticore
• They have a trail-craft expert with them
• Find his half-way campsite
• Used in the last week 5-20 people, possibly the manticore
• It’s been here weeks, months, maybe years
• PCs camp aways off so we can watch the camp

As we settle down to camp …

• Sawyer’s hackles raise
• Tess sees impact terms in her tea
• Something is vibrating. Underground?
• The local fauna doesn’t seem to care
• Tess determines it’s happening at Neblin’s Ridge, whatever it is
  • Ten to twenty miles away
• For the next 3-4 hours, the vibration goes off for one minute every half hour
  • Tess gets no sleep

Day 11

On toward Neblin Ridge. Find another trip wire. This time the PCs disarm it and rig it back up to appear to be set up.

LOOT: green iron shot, shotgun

Tess determines these are very well-made shotguns made by a master engineer, but using an extremely simple design, as if he’d never made guns before.

That night, the PCs find another camp site, with a shallow grave next to it.

• At least three sverfneblin. Dead for awhile.
• Liam talks to them.
  • In olde German, the corpse will say
  • “They said it was part of the pact. Why are they killing us? They said it was part of the pact. I didn’t know they were killing us.”
  • The body turns to dirt. Released?
  • They were on their way to becoming undead, but being allowed to speak after death has given them epace.
• We dig them up to give them proper burial.
  • Find a total of 9 bodies
  • Looks like they were buried every three months
• Other relevant things they say
  • “They do not respect the ore. They do not respect the old ways of mining.”
  • “Damn the pact. Damn the traders. We should have closed the vault.”

XPs: 950

PCs at 12,000 total (15,000 to 6^th)

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