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The Midnight Riders:
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Chapter Seven: Escape from
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| THEY FOUGHT THE LAW, AND THE
LAW WON -- So far, that is... View full-size poster here >> |
Return to Midnight Riders Page |
The Midnight Riders:
Outside the Prison:
In the Prison
Prison Guards and Officers:
(all NPCs played by Mike Mitchell):
There were 14 primary Characters and 16NPCs.
The game lasted two full Turns and a third, accelerated Turn to finish
before midnight.
The numbering of the Turns was continued from where the game ended the previous week. The following players were unable to attend: Mike Murphy, Matt Jeffers, Ian K., Gary Ortiz, and Kevin Ortiz. Two new players joined the Riders: Leslie Garcia and Cheston (Mud) Keck. They quickly created Characters who were worked into the game as fellow inmates joining in the escape.
Our Story Thus Far: Ankle deep in blood, the Midnight
Riders were attempting the impossible -- a daring daylight prison break
to free their captured companions! They also learned a secret -- an old
coot in prison told them that if they would free him, he would lead them
to the gold mine that he had been swindled out of. If there's one thing
the Midnight Riders like more than a good fight, it's the lure of easy
gold! The battle was on, and this time it was all or nothing!
Turn Two, Continued
As the bloody melee resumed, Bogart reloaded his shotgun and Hasteen Che (a prisoner who joined the fray) grabbed a pistol off Hank's horse. Hop Sing continued to work on getting the bar off the gate. Johnny Gunshot burst out of the barracks and grabbed a rifle from a dead guard, then made for the door to help Hop Sing (it would take three full Actions to raise it and open the doors). On top of the Colonel's Office, Hank the German opened fire on the first Catwalk Guard, doing 5 points of Damage
 ISABELLA TAKES A SHOT -- As Leslie Garcia and Austin Byers look on, Laura Potter measures the distance to a guard who was doing his little turn on the catwalk. He quickly found out he was not too sexy for that bullet. |
Outside the fort, Isabella took advantage of the confusion and fired another shot at the same Catwalk Guard, and felled him by rolling an 11 and dishing out 6 points of Damage. The guard teetered, and fell off the ledge into the compound below. The mysterious Cord rode out of the gunsmoke, dismounted, and quickly entered the Colonel's office. His companions were making decent work of the guards, but he sensed there was loot to be found in the warden's office, and he aimed to find it. |
Meanwhile, between the barracks, the battle raged as the inmates ganged up on the last-surviving ground trooper. The Old Coot conked him with his empty pistol for 4 points of Pain even as "Deputy" Bill tasseled with him. Out on the open ground, the Tower Guards took a couple of pot shots at Thomas Irons, who quickly decided to rush for safety between the barracks, only to see a guard with a loaded rifle waiting for him. Thomas used the shootin' irons that were his namesake, and felled the guard with a shot from each pistol: 18 points of Damage sent him to his maker. "Come on, follow me!" he shouted to the Old Coot as he headed for the gate. He knew the story about the lost gold mine, and wanted to get the old man out of there alive. |
 LAST MAN STANDING -- Thomas Irons quickly finished off the last ground trooper in a hail of bullets. |
The only thing between the Riders and freedom were seven guards, all armed with rifles and all safely out of reach on their catwalks or in the guard tower. To make matters worse, the guards went prone, improving their aim and making themselves smaller targets. Rico hit one for 3 points, but a tower guard returned the favor and hit Dept. Bill for 1. The Phoenix Kid made a daring move, jumping out from behind a building, fanning his gun, only to roll Snake-Eyes! Fortunately, the Kid had the "Reliable" Specialty, and was able to ignore the evil hiss of the snake.
The other Characters were running around, each seeming to work on their own in the chaos. Cord continued to search the Colonel's office, Big Jack finally grabbed a shotgun and some ammo, ready to enter the battle, Isabella saw that Johnny Gunshot and Hop Sing were finally getting the gate open, so she rode up to the front of the prison, even as Dept. Bill high-tailed it after Tom and the Old Coot.
 WHEW! THAT HAD TO HURT -- Jonathan Burton, J.J. Shaw, and Trevor Johnson look surprised, and a little impressed, as one of the Catwalk Guards gets in a very luck shot on Hank the German. |
The slip for the catwalk guards was pulled from the hat, and nearly spelled disaster for the outlaws. The guard behind the Colonel's Office rolled Boxcars on Hank the German, and blasted him for 16 points of Damage. His body crumpled into a bloody heap at the top of the stairs. The other four guards missed their shots, but the damage was done -- their "leader" had fallen and the mood quickly shifted to something more serious. Jessie took a quick potshot at a catwalk guard, missed, and made a break for the Colonel's office, and the safety in numbers. |
The gates were finally open, so Isabella stowed the horses outside and rode into the prison, armed and ready for action. Meanwhile, Big Jack finally had his moment of revenge. Face to face with Johnny Gunshot, the man who had sent him to prison, he leveled his shotgun and let Johnny have it with both barrels in the belly: the 19 points of Damage practically sliced the boy in half. Johnny Gunshot was dead, and the killing fire was kindled in Jack's belly. He was thirsty for revenge and aimed to drink his fill. |
 YOUR RIDE IS HERE -- Isabella left the horses outside the gates (out of gunfire range), and rode in to dip her pretty toes into the bloodbath that was quickly filling the territorial prison. Isabella's miniature, like the others, sat on a die to indicate that she was still mounted on a horse. |
Deputy Bill grabbed Johnny's lifeless body and tossed it on a horse, and
then he grabbed one for himself. Hop Sing and the Old Coot mounted a horse
as Rico fired ineffectually at the catwalk guards. The Phoenix Kid fanned
the gun and emptied it on the second catwalk guard, but each shot missed
the prone target. Grunting with disgust, he dropped the empty pistol and
switched to a rifle. Hasteen Che managed to get hit the Kid's target for
6 points, even as Big Jack grabbed Johnny's fallen rifle and readied to
start a little target shooting.
The gates at last open, Slim rode out to check on his brother, Billy "the Kid." And, in the shadows, Cord rifled through the warden's desk, retrieving $60 and some prisoner transfer papers that, he suspected, would be of use in some future scheme, and then quickly exited the building.
TURN THREE
THE OUTLAWS WERE EVERYWHERE -- It was chaos as the Midnight
Riders and prisoners swarmed throughout the compound. Blood marked the
ground and everywhere the was noise was deafening as gunshots, thundering
hooves, and the moans of the dying filled the hot Texas air.
Bogart's name was pulled from the hat three times in a row (we reshuffled the slips): he ran up the stairs with a double-barreled shotgun and missed on the surviving catwalk guard. Then missed again on his second shot. On his third Action he grabbed Hank's lifeless body and began dragging it down the stairs. Isabella rode to the edge of the barracks to take a shot at a catwalk guard, and then Bogart's name was pulled again! He pulled Hank's body down stairs and positioned himself between the Colonel's office and the outer wall, where he would have maximum protection from the catwalk guards. This turned out to be a very solid strategy, as the catwalk guards went next, hitting Hasteen Che for 3 points and Rico for 4. Dept. Bill fired off a wild shot that missed the guards as the Old Coot rode through the gates and to safety.
The Phoenix Kid fired at the catwalk guard above the Colonel's office, and missed. Big Jack, however, did not: his rifle dished out 5 points of Damage and the guard died. The Phoenix Kid turned his attention to the guards on the far wall (opposite the gate). He, and in quick order, Big Jack, fired again and both missed.
Back at the gate, Dept. Bill and Rico grabbed the horses that Isabella delivered.
 A QUICK SEARCH -- Jessie rifles through the dead Colonel's clothes, grabbing his gold and the locket with his daughter's picture. Hasteen Che, standing at the foot of the stairs, moves up to scalp the dead Major. |
An evil gleam filled the eyes of Hasteen Che, the renegade Indian warrior. He picked a knife off the ground and walked over to the still corpse of the Major lying at the foot of the stairs and said menacingly, "I'm gonna scalp him." Jessie ran upstairs and searched the Colonel's body. She found $30 in gold and a small gold locket with a tiny painting of the Colonel's daughter in it. On her next Action, Jessie ran down the stairs into the office and would spend the next two Actions searching it. She uncovered: $300 in gold from a floor safe; a key ring for the entire prison, $50 in greenbacks hidden in the bookcase, and an ornate sabre in a gilt frame. Outside the building, the sun flashed on his knife as Hasteen Che quickly scalped the dead Major, grinning wickedly at his morbid trophy.
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The tower guards fired at Slim, hitting him for 1 point. Thomas Irons stepped out from between the barracks with both pistols blazing; he hit catwalk guard #6 for 6 points. His name came out of the hat again, and Thomas fired again, missing! He used his "Lucky" Specialty to reroll the miss and managed to score 2 points of Damage against the same guard. The catwalk guard went next, only managing to hit Rico for 4 points. Isabella rode to the corner of the barracks, and from the partial cover it afforded her, began to shoot at the catwalk guards.
Hop Sing mounted a horse and rode up to the guards on the far wall, his first shot hitting only air, but his second drawing blood and 6 points. The Phoenix Kid joined him, and urged the guards to surrender: "Ya'lls are outnumbered and outgunned!" he hollered.
"Yew might get us," a guard bellowed back, "but we're gonna take some of you with us!"
Outside the prison, Slim arrived to find his fallen brother. The tower guards now split their fire between the inside and outside, targeting Slim and Hop Sing, and missing both. Jessie ran across the open ground and took cover near Isabella at the corner of the barracks. She got off a lucky shot and wounded catwalk guard #5 for 3 points. Elsewhere, Cord made it to his horse, mounted it, and headed out the gate to follow Slim. On the outside, he took a potshot at a catwalk guard and got lucky -- very lucky. He rolled boxcars and did 13 points of Damage, sending catwalk guard #5 to meet his maker.
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 BROTHERS IN BLOOD -- Slim rides to retrieve his brother's body, hoping that he would make his "Knocking on Heaven's Door" roll and be able to revive the Character for the next game. |
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Turn Four
Slim dismounted and put his brother's body on his horse. Cord rode up and grabbed the reins to lead it away, out of range of the tower guards. Slim remounted and quickly followed.
Inside the compound, the Riders were taking ineffectual potshots at the guards, neither side drawing blood. The two guards on the far wall realized that discretion was the better part of valor, so they quickly pulled up the ladder so the outlaws couldn't climb up to them. On the other wall, a guard got lucky and hit Tom for 6 points. Rico returned fire twice, missing twice . Isabella rode up closer and hit catwalk guard #5 for 6 points, almost killing him.
 BULLETS BUZZING LIKE TEXAS SKEETERS -- The guards on the catwalk did a good job of pinning the Riders down, giving as good as they got. |
Big Jack joined the Phoenix Kid at the far wall; his shots were also ineffective. The guards had gone prone and were hugging the catwalk for all the extra protection it could afford them. It didn't help them for long, though, as Jack walked up and killed catwalk guard #3. At the other wall, Tom dealt 4 points of Damage to catwalk guard #5, finally killing him. |
Back by the gate, Bogart had hoisted Hank's dead carcass on to the back of his horse, and was now making a break for it through the gates. "I'm riding into the sunset with a dead German on my horse," he said as he vanished from sight.
Jessie, Isabella, and the tower guards were exchanging shot for shot, each side making a small nick in the other. Isabella did 1 point, they did 4 to her, and back and forth. From outside, Cord took another shot, and with a little help from his "Lucky" Specialty, scored a hit for 4 points on tower guard #2. At the catwalk Hop Sing finally put down the last catwalk guard with a hit for 4 points. |
 WORKING OUT THE NUMBERS -- Laura and Leslie focus on trying to find an edge against the tower guards. |
The Phoenix Kid, Hop Sing, and Big Jack moved up to help finish off the tower guards. Hasteen Che chose to ride out the gates, and Cord busied himself stealing the horses from the corral.
Turn Five
This was an abbreviated Turn. It was getting very late and we had to end this. Only the two tower guards were still alive, and they had made their morale checks and were not going to surrender. Everyone who wanted to escape was allowed to go (their names were not put back in the hat for this Turn). Everyone else, who was overcome with bloodlust, continued to try and finish off the last two guards.
Isabella, Rico, the Phoenix Kid, Jessie, Big Jack, Thomas Irons, Hop Sing chose to stay and finish them off. The Phoenix Kid did 3 points to guard #1, and Jessie finally made her first hit of the night for 4 points on the same guard, the the Kid hit him for another 4, almost killing him. Almost killing ain't the same as really killing, though, and the guards returned 3 points to the Kid and 4 to Hop Sing. More bullets flew, and Big Jack actually climbed up on top of the storage building to get closer to his targets.
In the end, with Hop Sing and Big Jack assisting, The Phoenix Kid dropped tower guard #1 and Isabella finished off the last tower guard.
The prison belonged to the prisoners!
They had the run of the place for the rest of the afternoon, looting it thoroughly, stealing from the dead guards' bunks, taking whatever supplies they wanted, and recovering clothes to replace the prison stripes they had been forced to wear. They found an additional $950 in loot, and all the food (beans and cornbread), sledgehammers, and rifles they could want. When they rode out, the Midnight Riders were a little cash poor, but well provisioned to go hunting after a stolen gold claim!
Loot List (not including thefts made earlier in the game)
| Name | Success |
Kills |
Rescue Party |
Recover Companion |
| Rico Suarez | 50 |
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| Thomas Irons | 50 |
16 |
10 |
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| Hank the German | 50 |
20 |
10 |
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| Cord | 50 |
20 |
10 |
10** |
| Big Jack | 50 |
22 |
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| Phoenix Kid | 50 |
16 |
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| "Deputy" Bill Fife | 50 |
8 |
20 |
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| Isabella | 50 |
22 |
10 |
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| Bogart | 50 |
40 |
10 |
20 |
| Billy "the Kid" | 50 |
10 |
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| Slim | 50 |
10 |
10** |
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| Hasteen Che | 50 |
4 |
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| Jessie | 50 |
8 |
10* |
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| Hop Sing | 50 |
22 |
* Jessie got 10 points for taking the extra
time to search the Colonel's office.
** Cord and Slim split the VP for retrieving Billy's body.
