All Good Things Must Come To An End

"So what happened with Beauregard Tucks and Co?" I hear you ask¹.

Surprisingly, he didn't get killed, at least, not for a good, long time. He survived the deaths of just about everyone else in the game, ending up in the final confrontation as the only PC to have witnessed the demise of The Earps.

Stone ² was killed twice (he didn't stay dead for reasons I won't spoil). The first time in mano-y-mano duel between Stone and a character played with gusto by Matt, using magic bullets it took a couple of PC lives to recover from their resting place, and the second in a bloody drawn-out slugfest ³ that ended up with two more PCs dead before Stone engaged, and the final death of Tucks when he decided that the epicness of the situation called for an all-out effort, shot at Stone, missed and was backshot to instant death by Stone's posse.

This behavior of Tucks' was so at odds with his usual "go invisible and fly over the enemy, blasting them with a shotgun and/or magic attacks for the quick kill" tactic that he had used so effectively in the past (while Matt's character was dealing with Stone's challenge, Tucks was dealing very effectively with the twenty or so henchmen trying to add their voice to things for example) that the others might have been forgiven for thinking that Tucks was simply trying to steal the show.

That wasn't what was going on.

First, Tucks was hamstrung by a dearth of magic resources to hand. He could have borrowed the resources needed from demonic forces, maybe, but with Stone out and about he thought that might be a foolish thing to try. Long explanation short, Tucks could not afford the resources to go invisible.

Second, Tucks had opted to cast a spell with a cheesy "get two moves for the price of one" effect, which I interpreted as "you only have three seconds instead of the usual six in which to think and act in each move". This was entirely subjective and I discussed it with no-one, but it seemed immersively right from my seat, and I refused to pause for long decisions and discussions with the other players as I made Tuck's moves. This probably didn't go over well with the other players but I had broadly hinted at what was going on and some of them were role playing their own parts well.

Third, Tucks was the only character in play by then who had seen the horrible deaths of the Earp family, and was carting Wyatt Earp's marshal's badge. That badge was magic and had save Tucks's hide several times, but I (as a player) honestly thought our party had over-reached and were doomed, and decided that Tucks, realizing how bad the situation was, would decide that the time was come for playing out the hand as dealt and living up to the totem he carried by trying his damn' best to take down that Son of a Gun Stone as quickly as possible, with a shade less thought for his own skin than had been the norm before, so that the others could have time enough to flee for their lives if they so chose.

In other words, an epic scene from an epic campaign required epic participation. Tucks was, after all, a Legendary character⁴ by this time.

Had Tucks had one more round and ten more magic points, perhaps he would have made different tactical choices. But you play the cards you are dealt, as Tucks might have said.

In the end Tucks managed to find the one weapon that could kill Stone, but flubbed the shot and was killed for his failure. Appropriately epic in my estimation. I'd have liked him to survive, but I was happy the way it went down.

Until he rose from the dead as a Harrowed character⁵ that is.

Should the opportunity to play Tucks arise again, he will be constantly fighting the same horror Jim Dandy ended up losing his battle to - permanent demonic absorption.

The other players were magnificent.

Matt - Died once, then got smart and survived until the end

James - Died several times, but always from chance critical hits while doing the right thing.

Sam - Died once but couldn't make many of the sessions, including the last one.

Ali - Missed many sessions, but her portrayal of Dr Honeydew as she slid ever deeper into madness was brilliant

Jeff - Died three times. Became Harrowed and lost the dominion battle once. A martyr to ambushes and multiple critical hits.

Craig - Our GM who threw us Lame GM Bones when required and did his very best to keep it unreal.

I haven't had so much fun in years. I looked forward to the games and dressed-up as Tucks faithfully each time to maintain the image. By the end I had the black hat, dress shirt, studs, Poker Hand Cuff-Links, a smart waistcoat, a monogram bolo tie and a fob watch. I've never done at-table cosplay before⁶, but it will become part of my RPG kit-out whenever opportunity knocks.

1. When I put those words into your mouth, dear reader↑
2. the personification of Death in Deadlands:Reloaded↑
3. in every sense of the word↑
4. A game term for the experience level the character had earned that also carries repercussions in-game↑
5. I suspect a cheesy GM finesse used as some sort of comedic come-uppance here, but them's the breaks.↑
6. A lie: I wore a robe to A Song Of Ice and Fire once↑