Great White Games/Pinnacle Entertainment Group

[Thunderforge]

Since we're talking about plot points, this is obviously Marshal's territory.

So my posse has no reason to go to Devil's Tower (Plot Point 3). During Plot Point 2, they completely missed Blount's journal (he's hung up and obviously dead, so they didn't see a reason to get closer to him) and therefore didn't read his entry about Iron Dragon by Devil's Tower. I tried to give them an alternate method by throwing in some information about Iron Dragon hanging out there and the technology in Devil's Tower via the "Somethin' About Some Files" Savage Tale, but they didn't bite. Even if they did, I think that seeing all the pole men who were killed because they were wandering away from Deadwood discouraged them enough to not want to go into the wilderness near Devil's Tower (or anywhere else off the beaten path, for that matter). Just like how The Flood had going underground as the choke point for a lost of posses, this seems to be the choke point for The Last Sons.

I could give them a much stronger incentive to go there (for instance, they start dreaming of Devil's Tower and see Jordrava or the Ghost Dancers specifically tell them to go there). But one thing I've noticed is that they don't necessarily need to go to Devil's Tower, they just need to have access to The Hunting Grounds in order to start Plot Point 4. So you can completely skip Plot Point 3 and continue on (which is probably a good thing given how much of it is a dungeon crawl).

Looking through The Last Sons, it looks like there are four alternate ways to start Plot Point 4 if they don't want to go to Devi's Tower, all of which require the GM to make some minor alterations:

• Cheyenne, Wyoming - The cultists in "All Seein' Eyes" succeed in making their portal to the Hunting Grounds (either temporarily or permanently).
  
• Lawrence, Kansas - The rumored portal in Room 523 of the Eldridge hotel opens up.
  
• Topeka, Kansas - The Mirror Window advertised in the Epitaph (but strangely not mentioned in the Marshal's section) somehow breaks and allows them to travel through to the Hunting Grounds
  
• They find a Legendary Shaman with the Contact Spirit World power who uses it to open a portal for them

Anybody else have any alternate ideas for starting off Plot Point 4?
_________________
Wild Card Creator: Any PDF. Any Setting. No Extra Cost.

The Elder Scrolls conversion and other fun creations.

[Clash957]

I haven't read too much of Last Sons, so I might not have all the details, but a couple other ways to get the Posse thrown into the Hunting Grounds might be:

#1
Attempting to stop a black magic user of some sort, the battle of which results in the Posse being flung into the Hunting Grounds. Maybe the black magic user was attempting a ritual, and it was at a delicate stage and the Posse's interruption has causes a vortex between dimensions. Alternatively, the black magic user has a combat spell that casts them into the hunting grounds. As far the black magic user is concerned, he figures the spell throws the victims into a mystical black hole which none can escape. After the Hunting Grounds part, the Posse can hunt him down again making a good reoccurring character (next fight if goes bad he might use the Hunting Grounds spell on himself to get away).

#2
While traveling on a train, the posse quickly find out that another train heading in the opposite direction on the same tracks in heading straight for them. It looks like this might be the end of them. Moments before the carnage, dues ex machina; a group of ghost dancer trapped in the Hunting Grounds pulls them to safety. They give the posse this great speech about them possibly being important for the future. Personally, I'm not a fan of this one. It is too railroady (pun intended), and makes the player characters seem like they are chosen by destiny.

#3
A horrible mad science malfunction happens. If you have one in the Posse (especially if they have a power like teleport or something) causes the entire Posse to end up in the Hunting Grounds. This could be done with a huckster too. Additionally, the Posse is hired by a mad scientist to be test subjects for his/her latest invention. This one might be a little Marshal Fiat heavy for your group as it might be best to hand wave the malfunction and get on with the Plot Point. Or tell the mad scientist character don''t worry about their next malfunction (so they don't spend a Benny to avoid it). If I was to use this one I would start the game In Media Res with a gunfight and have the malfunction occur mid-fight.

That's all I can think of at the moment. Hope it helps.
_________________
Playing: Deadlands Noir, Planescape via D&D 4th ed
Running: Nothing at the moment

[Jonah Hex]

I've been thinking of doing something along these lines as well.

See, I ran my players (different characters) through Devil's Tower in the Heart of Darkness trilogy. Adapting a bit, I changed Jackie Wells into an agent and in the aftermath, the Agency moved into the tower and "appropriated" the alien tech. Then Hellestromme folks came in, killed all the agents, took the remaining stuff and...

Well, anything further is conjecture; that's all the players know (well, individual players know individual pieces - you know, my players aren't normally this secretive) and all I mapped out. However, I'd like to leave my adapted canon the way it is if I can, even if the characters wouldn't know, and I was having a tough time assimilating the two.

I was thinking Hellestromme's peeps took what they wanted, the Agency gave it up as not worth the trouble and previously driven-out aliens regrouped and moved back in.

But it might be easier, and more easily consistent, to just skip the tower altogether. Though using the gate that Stone opened would have some symmetry with the players. Plus, my posse threw Stone through the gate and then closed it and have been terrified of Him coming back through it ever since.
_________________
Playing: GURPS Pulp
Running DnD 4e War of the Burning Sky
Running Rippers
Working on GURPS Deadlands