Wushu Skidoo
Over time, they slipped back into their old lives. Strange things happed in the settlement, but nothing unusual for the frontier: children went missing, cattle where mutilated, graves were desecrated, and so on. None of it was ever tied to the amnesiacs.
Then, one of them died and the local sawbones noticed that the corpse's head was abnormally light. He cut the skull open and found... nothing! The man's brain had been removed without any sign of surgery, and it looked as if it had been gone a long, long time.
When the Torchbearers found out, they rounded up the other two amnesiacs and burned them at the stake. Later, they would claim that both their heads had also been light, but the fires left no evidence.
This year, Halloween just happens to fall right in the middle of a four-part series. (See also Part One and Part Two.) Fortunately, the Badlands are thick with ghouls and goblins. Just don't expect any definitive answers. The Savages are meant to be mysterious and nothing preserves mystery like a few, choice contradictions. Happy Halloween.
On the Frontier
Life beyond the Boomtowns, out where the rails don't reach, is unlike anywhere else in the world. Months can pass without human contact. Alone in the endless tracts of wilderness, it seems like you're the only living soul in existence. It's a life that attracts outlaws and outcasts, men who have something to fear from other men.
Those who stay too long in the Badlands come back changed, often with strange abilities. They're called Mountain Men, by and large, though "Dark One" and "Blasphemer" are also common. Most folks can't help but think they're one step away from being Savages themselves.
Savages. Equal parts myth and madness, they are the only native inhabitants of the Badlands. No one's seen one and lived to tell the tale, at least not a coherent one. So little is known about them that most people Back East doubt they exist. Frontiersmen know better. To doubt is to invite death.
Yet, these supernatural threats pale in comparison to the harsh realities of life so far from civilization. Injury, illness, and starvation claim more lives than the Savages ever could. In many places, travel is only possible during the summer, and even then it's best avoided. The Badlands span the entire continent, from the frozen north to the south seas, across all the mountains and plains and deserts between.
Death walks every trail. If you're lucky, he'll come calling while you sleep.
Torchbearers
Most of the time, life on the frontier is profoundly quiet. When things do happen, however, they're rarely good. (It's called the "Badlands" for a reason.) The Torchbearers' response to these threats is always the same: Set something on fire. They see the Adversary behind every accidental death, hear false doctrine in the words of every traveler. If you're looking for hospitality, you'd best move along.
Torchbearers may not welcome outsiders, but outsiders often greet Torchbearers with open arms. Their reputation for honesty and hard work make them ideal employees, as long as neither the work nor the employer offends their morals. Small Torchbearer communities can be found on the outskirts of many frontier towns, working as rail hands or accountants. They tend to stay on the law's good side, even if their preachers do not.
Preachers are equal parts minister, mediator, and vigilante. They ardently believe that God takes an active hand in their lives, guiding and protecting them as they scour evil from His world. Because of these convictions, they keep no possessions beyond what they need to survive: a torch, the Book of Light, and the clothes on their back.
Most claim to have prophetic visions, the voice of God speaking to them through dreams and omens. Following these revelations often gets them into trouble with secular authorities. Most preachers' definition of "monster" tends to include mountain men, alchemists, and anyone who looks at them cockeyed.
Mountain Men
Mountain men are hermits, trappers, and explorers who have been changed by their time in the Badlands. Maybe they encountered a wild god or were bitten by a Savage. Maybe they were called to serve the Adversary and his False Messengers. Or maybe they died in the wilderness and something else took up residence in their skin.
Whatever happened, the results are two-fold: madness and kewl powerz. No two mountain men are alike. Wushu does an excellent job of keeping magic balanced, so no crazy is too crazy. Just come up with something that will be fun for you to play. If it's one of your character's defining aspects, create a Trait for it. If it merely enhances things you could normally do, just use it as a source of Details.
For example...
- Catavarius - A hermit whose mere presence is poisonous to others.
- The Green Man - The forest itself shelters & protects him.
- The Bloody Bride - Wandering vigilante with telekinetic control over blood.
Savages
The second expedition to the New World carried with it a nobleman named Jonas de Leon. He took twelve men with him into the continent's dark interior and sent his ships back to the Old World. The talk among the crews was that Jonas and his men were cultists in search of their god.
The twelve were never heard from again, but folks have been seeing Jonas ever since. At least, they think it's Jonas. They say he transcended the flesh and now he moves through the world like a wave. He appears in patterns of wind-blown leaves, swarms of insects, and the shifting desert sands. Though he wields power beyond imagining, he is not a god. They say he turned back from the edge of divinity in order to guide others along the path. If you can find him, and survive his tests, he'll accept you as his disciple.
Torchbearers tell a different story. They believe that the Badlands are the frontier of the Adversary's infernal kingdom. The Savages are either his False Messengers or backsliders who have sworn allegiance to him. Their powers and their madness are just the marks of the beast. The only way to fight them is through the liberal application of Holy Fire.
Torchbearers also believe in demonic creatures called Tempters-to-Sin, invisible parasites that latch onto humans and whisper into their ears. They guide sinners down the path of sin towards becoming Savages. Since they're impossible to detect, Tempters-to-Sin are a convenient excuse for all kinds of lecherous or criminal behavior, as long as the sinner doesn't mind the cure: several hours of exorcism and third degree burns on their entire body.
A few of the independent farmers have developed a theory of their own. They don't think the New World is a landmass, not in the way that the islands of the Old World are. Rather, they think the New World is a single, gargantuan creature. They believe the New World is alive.
Settlers who live in harmony with this creature, as they do, have nothing to fear from it. Building too much, too fast, is what forces it to react. The Savages are its immune system; they break down and digest anything that upsets the natural order. Live and let live, that's the key to survival on the frontier. Even so, wise folk never venture too far into the interior. Excessive exposure can lead to infection, that's where mountain men come from. They're sick, not evil, but madness makes them dangerous. Folks who subscribe to this theory aren't likely to set mountain men aflame, but they'd rather not have them in their towns.
The theory most popular among mechanologists and alchemists is that the New World was once the seat of an advanced civilization, and the Old World merely its remote outskirts. These primordials went into rapid decline for unknown reasons and memory of them eventually faded into myth. Deep in the Badlands, the remnants of their science and technology wait to be rediscovered.
Of course, the best explanation is often the simplest one. Maybe the cause of all these things isn't beast-men or primordial gods or an ancient civilization. Maybe it's just people. (Possibly people in rubber masks.) They could be elusive natives of the New World, isolationist settlers, paranoid fugitives, or claim jumpers with too much time on their hands. Whatever the details may be, the logic is the same: Few are willing to wage war against ghosts and demons.
As with most things, the truth of truths is likely a combination of all the above. The Badlands are vast and contain multitudes.
Pick Me Ups
Preachers, mountain men, and/or alchemists with the Vigilant Flame converge on a Torchbearer settlement where a holy man claims to perform all manner of miracles. He's revitalized failing crops, cured the sick, even raised the dead (supposedly). Your heros quickly discover that his power flows from "holy water" that he brings in from the Badlands... and the Torchbearers have built an aqueduct to pump it right into their fields. The source of this water is a spring with a stone obelisk at its center, one covered with strange and mind-bogglingly complex alchemical equations.
Of course, any attempt to discredit the holy man will only piss off the congregation. After all, their town was on the verge of collapse. Piss them off enough, and the term "Tempters-to-Sin" will start being thrown around, which can only lead to painful exorcisms for the outsiders. (Yes, even a preacher.) That's when things really start to go wrong. Once the aqueduct opens, everything's that buried in the town's soil rises from the dead, but not in their original combinations. Instead, you get hybrid zombies made from mismatched parts of various animals. If you need more, through in some Terra Dentata action.
Putting a stop to all this horror means destroying the aqueduct, but the Ascended Master isn't about to let that happen. He's been behind the holy man's miracles all along. (Whether or not the holy man knew about that is an open question.) Now, he marshals all his forces to protect the aqueduct and the obelisk. If the PCs want to stop this undead army, they'll need to destroy both.
Next Up: Rail hacking, mechanology, & claw hammer escrima!
