The Ongoing and Tragic Fall of John Wu

A Deadlands Reloaded Plot Point Campaign:The Flood Game Marshalled masterfully by the KillerGM himself.

The Collected and Ongoing Adventures of a Posse consisting of a Rogue's Gallery of Heroes and the party-definin' Harrowed Martial Artist Wu Xiangyu: The Immortal and Resplendent Dragon.

Original Dramatis Personae:

Full Name/Alias: Mariah/Mushi

Character: Blessed (Lutheran Pastor)

Hindrances: Pacifist (Minor)

Human Player: La

Full Name/Alias: Doc'

Background: Mad Scientist

Hindrances: Doubting Thomas

Human Player: C

Full Name/Guilo Alias: Wu Xiangyu/John Wu

Background: Chi Mastery

Hindrances: Habit-Alcoholic (Major), Outsider-Chinese (Minor), Poverty (Minor)

Human Player: Lo

Adventure #1 or "John Wu Dies at the End"

So these people were ridin' ______ rails west to the glorious Maze. Some, like Mariah, were coming to this God-forsaken land to bring a little bit o' God back into it. Some, like Doc', were more interested in all the readily available ghostrock for pushing the boundaries of Mad...ahem, "New" Science. And some like Wu Xiangyu (or John Wu as we became known to the barbarian guilo who just couldn't be damn well bothered enough to say anything right called him) were lookin' to a grand home-coming to Shan Fan after spending years makin' their way out East. Whatever they were on that train for, it all came to hard, screechin' stop...

SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECCCCCCCCCCCCCCCHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH---KTHUNK

A bunch of civilians start hooin-and-hawin, trying to figure out what's wrong.

John Wu, in a thick Cantonese accent: "I wonda if the train is being raided!" He proceeded to stick his spear tip out the window, seeing if there was anything in the reflection. Seeing only the train-conductor and some engineers standing out front, it seemed that wasn't the issue.

(Further Updates will follow as memory serves, expect many changes and drafts)

....

Looking at the front, they saw what had stopped the train. A great big chasm, clear up out of nowhere, had opened up and swallowed a chunk of the rail line and left a solid 60 ft. gap. Looking down, the impromptu Posse noticed another railroad was at the bottom of the chasm, exiting and entering some kind of tunnel.

"Is this the Transfer station? Will they accept my ticket?" John Wu asked the Conductor while waving his ticket vigorously in one hand.

"That ain't our train pardner."

"Oh, well I guess we might as well go down. I hope they accept transfers..." John Wu and Mariah prepared to scale their way down the chasm. Doc stayed back.

"I'm not going down there. This is a bad idea."

John Wu nodded his head. "Alright, that's fine. You can go sit up here with your good ideas and wait for the next train."

Doc looked behind him at the train, then forward at the non-existent track, then sideways miles into the endless, trackless desert.

"Yeah...Okay, I get your point..." he muttered as he joined them.

The posse scrambled down the slope, until they came to the tunnel. It was a double-track line, size-able and well-built.

"Whelp, guess we should go that way" Mariah pointed. Doc disagreed.

"What if a train comes and hits us?"

"That very easy, we just not walk on the tracks, plenty of time to flag down train and catch a ride."

Agreeing, they made their way down the track. John Wu put out his lamp and disappeared into the shadows of the tunnel, stalking alongside the group. Eventually Mariah noticed a light at the end of the tunnel, or rather, the middle. Approaching closer, they all saw a full-blown Hellstromme Industries Automaton, complete with chainsaw and Gatling gun. Doc' dithered for a while about disabling or hacking the device, but with some light convincing decided to leave well enough alone. The Posse carried on. Eventually they approached a well-lit central chamber. Four large train cars strewn around, piles of track, men moving to and fro, and a great big banner of the mighty Wasatch Rail Company.

"I think we should sneak around, at the very least, I can go and clear the way."

Doc pondered this "I'm not sure that's a very good idea at all. In fact, I think that is terrible."

"Well, what do you think we should do?"

Mariah chimed in "Well, we could all try sneaking."

"I can't stealth!" Doc said flustered.

"Hands up! What are you doing here?" said the Rail Warriors.

"Do you accept transfer tickets?" John Wu queried as he waved his ticket in their face

"What the Hell?" The Railwarrior snatched the ticket and studied it with a confused expression as John Wu explained their short and confusing journey trying to get to Shan Fan since the cave-in.

"Just...just hold on a minute..Follow me, you're gonna talk to the my Boss. He'll decide what to do with you."

.....

Dime Novel Tales: Peril in Perdition!

.....

Adventure #10: "Dances with Rattlesnakes" or "Called It!"

(Sam Hellman and The Boatride Back/A Spear for an Oar)

(Dr. Hemlock and the Screamin' Skeletons/Sarah gets another minor-phobia)

John Wu was outside the tent as the others slept. Grandfather had only needed three hours to keep their shared body in order. Three shitty, eternal, Standing Deer God asking him "if he sees it" hours. Silently practicing with his newly acquired spear, he heard a familiar voice.

"Heya...Hey John--"

"--Grandfather?"

"Yeah...look...I'm going to help you with your Martial Arts a little."

"Wait, you care about this Grandfather?"

"Yeah, whatever, shaddup. You know you like using your Chai right?"

"You mean Chi Grandfather?"

"Yeah, Chi, whatever. Mandarin Hell remember? Shaddup. Alright, I'm gonna show you how to channel your Chai...Chi. First off, you're gonna need to eat a heart--"

"--Grandfather! I have seen many Martial Arts Masters, and none of them had to eat a heart!"

"Fine, fine...we'll do it the hard way...ungrateful brat. Alright, first off, you put your feet like this..."

Not only was this longest Grandfather had ever spoken to him, but this was also the moment when John Wu learned how to channel his Chi directly into his attacks. Chi is just raw energy channeled from the Hunting Grounds, and who knows more about channeling energy from another dimension than an extra-dimensional demon?

Edge Gained: Chi Focus. Use Spirit instead of Strength for all damage done with martial arts.

Surely there couldn't be a nefarious reason for Grandfather to want John Wu to hit for D12 + Weapon damage? He he he he.

(A child prodigy/Two Contests: One Fair and Another Not)

(The Lion's Roar/Information Gathering/John Wu is disappointed with the economy)

(The Necessity Alliance/Cross-Cultural Exchanges)

(The Dark Place/"Huh?"/A Deal with the Devil/What? *Gets swallowed by locusts*)

1. Adventure 11: John Law's No Good, Horrible, Very Bad Day

1. Adventure 12: My Unlife's Work

1. Adventuer 13: John Wu's "The Art of Alimony"