Okay we’re back, with two Indie Comics Mini-Interviews!
First up: Laurie Calcaterra and the latest Kickstarter for PATH OF THE PALE RIDER Issues 1-8!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/pathofthepalerider/path-of-the-pale-rider-issues-1-8
1: What is your favorite word? Plethora. It’s fun to use and funny to say. PLETHORA. LOL
2: What is your least favorite word? Moist. Yup.
3: What sound or noise do you love? I like listening to people have their hair brushed. The soft shushing noise is calming.
4: What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? I would love to be a stuntwoman. I had a brief look at that career, but it would have involved moving across the country so I passed. The martial arts aspect of being a stunt woman sounds fascinating.
5: Please talk about your current project in 4 or 5 sentences: My current project is Path of the Pale Rider issue 8. If you like Fallout, Walking Dead, Spaghetti Westerns, and a sprinkle of Cocaine Bear, you should check us out! In this world, we follow a cowboy, Jude St. Clair through the apocalypse where DEATH is broken. People, animals, insects and fish are all stuck together. Will Jude find the reason why Death is no longer functioning or succumb to rot and despair himself?
Next up: Fish Lee and the Kickstarter for Greenzone: Life In The Blocks “First Shift” TPB: 172-page full-color TPB director’s cut of issues 1-4, with deleted scenes, short stories, and new character files!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mrfishcomics/greenzone-life-in-the-blocks-first-shift-tpb
1. What is your favorite word?
Answer: CAN. I am a firm believer that I can do nearly anything I put my mind to. I spent 15 years in a wheelchair, so I’ll likely never run a marathon… but I could set my mind to it and walk a 5K again.
2. What is your least favorite word? Answer: CAN’T. Nothing makes me madder than telling me I can’t do something. I’ll find a way.
3. What sound or noise do you love?
Answer: cracking open an ice cold cherry Dr. Pepper (zero sugar version, these days)
4. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
Answer: engineer. It’s actually what got me drawing in the first place. Plans for my inventions led to designs for super-suits, led to drawing comics.
5. Please talk about your current writing project for 4 or 5 sentences…
Answer: When five years on the force stands between you and citizenship, four illegal genomes will take on the mutant gangs, a corrupt police force, and a world that hates them, to try and claw their way out of the Greenzone. Anyone can be born with a mutant genome, and you immediately lose all rights and citizenship and are forced into Greenzones, where genomes must be marked with green stripes. If you want out of the slums, you have to prove you’re not a super-villain waiting to happen by serving the greater good for five years without using your powers– resort to using them, and you’ll get sent to prison, or worse. It’s a no-win situation when humans look at you as a joke, the genomes look at you as a race traitor, and you’re not even allowed to carry a gun when the next guy you pull over may spit fireballs or shoot lightning from his toes. Greenzone: Life In The Blocks follows 4 new recruits to the police force on their first shift. Written and illustrated by yours truly, Mr Fish Lee.
HOLY COW DID YOU PEOPLE SEE THOSE KICKSTARTERS.
…What, you didn’t? Go click on them. That’s right, click those links!
Okay, now that you’re back, we’ll continue with our regularly-scheduled programming…
Okay SO: back to Wicker Man Studios, as we continue the playtest of the fantasy noir ttrpg (table-top role-playing game) MY SWORD IS QUICK (see last time if you missed it! https://wickermanstudios.com/2026/01/04/my-sword-is-quick-a-two-person-rpg-playtest-part-one/ )
Last time: The spell-slinger Magenta (Barb) came home from a job to find a dead man in her home! She got out of there, magically disguised herself to look like that guy, ran into some street urchins who knew the guy, and then she gave the city guards a hard time. Now it’s time for her to talk to the only city guard she can trust…
GM: “C’mon, this way.” He leads you down the block, a left, another half-block, and into a restaurant called VALABAR’S. “Anthony,” James says to a mustachioed man, “can I talk to my friend here in the private room for a few minutes? It’s kind of an emergency.”
“Certainly, officer, certainly…” says Anthony, waving you both to the back.
A minute or so later, you and James stand in a private room with a long table for private parties/dinners. James closes the door firmly behind him. “Now, I hope you don’t want me to tell you all the details Southmarsh might know, because he hasn’t turned his report in yet, and all I know about this case is what Menella told me…?” says James.
Barb: “Let me tell you everything I know, then….” (Magenta explains everything). “So, do these context clues give you any idea who this guy is?”
GM: “Well, let’s look at what you’ve been told so far. The dead man was apparently named Roderick… almost rings a bell, but not quite. We probably have a record on him, I’d have to check. He was friendly with at least two of the Red Dragons… I know about them– I’ve even met Echo, a very sneaky young lady, their best spy these days. Vivian… could be anyone, but I’ve got a bad feeling it means Vivian Treddin, of the Treddin crime family. She’s trouble, Magenta. Sounds like Roderick’s been pretty stressed lately, as of last week… maybe because he was in trouble with the thieves’ guild, but if so, it sounds like they weren’t the only ones unhappy with him. Sounds like someone killed him and moved the body to your locked room… for some reason. And… that’s all we know so far… except that I know what ‘Island’ the kid was talking about, I think– The Black Island is a club, over near the south side of the Theater Quarter. They don’t serve drinks to minors, but they’re generally too busy to chase them away from the tables out on the front patio. Listen, Magenta, are you in trouble with anyone lately? Anyone who might pick you for a frame-up for some reason?” (The answer is that no, you haven’t made any enemies at all lately, discounting Officer Rainson 15-odd minutes ago…)
Barb: “James, I’m as astonished as you are. You know I’ve ruffled feathers here and there, but I always try and stop short of making real enemies….at least, not powerful ones. Here are the questions I have: There was no blood on the rug, so how could the body have been killed in my room? And if he wasn’t killed in my room, how did anyone manage to get a body in there? I mean, I lock my doors magically, with wards, as well as the regular way. No one could lug a body to my room without someone seeing it, unless someone was paid not to look…or even paid to help lug the body there. And, why involve me? If I’d known this man, I’d say that it was a simple frame up, but since it’s a stranger’s body, I have no motive….”
GM: “As far as getting in, it sounds like we’re dealing with an expert, or an expert team. But I agree that you’re right that somebody should have seen the body being moved to your building… I wonder how much time Southmarsh is going to have to look for witnesses, though. Feels like something you or I might have better luck with…?”
Barb: “James, if this guy is a nobody, why’d the cops try and get me to talk? It’s like they wanted to get me into the black box room and try and force a confession out of me? One of the guys said there were a lot of murders happening lately…is the city or the press trying to get someone to pin all of this stuff on? Or is it something else?”
GM: James sighs. “…Oh yeah, you’ve been gone for the last week. There’s been a string of murders in the Rich Quarter while you were gone. Three or four– they can’t decide if one of them is actually connected or not. Important people. Huge redball. The people with money are going nuts pushing on the City Guards. They’d love to pin anything involving murder on anyone right now, even if Roderick’s death doesn’t fit the pattern.”
Barb: “While the murders could be connected to Rod, murders do happen every day in this city, so, I’m going to let the police handle the rich people murders and focus on Roderick. Could a mage be involved? Or some other kind of illusionist or magic user? I don’t think that anyone could magic a body into my room, but if, for instance, a magic user cast an illusion spell to distract people…maybe…Or maybe just someone going up the huge dumb waiter or up the servants’ stairs? So many questions. But my biggest, most immediate question is this: how do I keep myself from getting arrested so I can keep going on with this case?”
GM: “All I know is, since you unlocked your door when you got home, someone must have picked the lock and then let themselves in– as opposed to breaking the lock or using magic to melt it or something, if you see what I mean. As for not getting arrested, just don’t go back to the City Guard station any time soon. I’ll go find Merrick Southmarsh. If he doesn’t say to hold you, you should be good for a little while, at least… although nothing can guarantee that forever except finding out who really killed Roderick… and why… You can meet me… here? Your apartment, later? Somewhere else?”
Barb: “My apartment? James, have you been huffing dragon fumes? Haven’t you heard? A criminal always goes back to the scene of the crime. Find me a safe place, James. It doesn’t have to be fancy. Just some place where I can sleep and fix myself something to eat. Then, you’re going to find out everything you can about Roderick and the other clues I’ve given you. Try to keep the man’s name out of the papers. Call him a John Doe, if you can. If I’m going to impersonate him, the world can’t know that he’s dead.”
GM: “Well do you want me to let you use my apartment?” This isn’t sarcasm; he’s seriously floating it as a possibility. “If not, I could put you up in an inn…?”
Barb: “Your apartment might be watched. But if there’s an inn where I’d be safe, located close to the Island, maybe…”
GM: “Sounds like The Adventurer’s Guild. C’mon, let’s go.” The Adventurer’s Guild is an inn, not really a guild, although many adventurers like yourself do tend to stay there… especially if they make less than you do. “Anything else secret you need to talk about before we head over there…?”
Then James sort of does a double-take. “Hey, wait, keep impersonating him? I’m no mage, but didn’t you get awfully lucky the first time, magically-speaking, even considering you had the body right there to look at? –And I can’t get you access to it again, at least not right away…”
Barb: “Do you think I could get a job at The Island? As a barmaid or a singer? Do you know anyone there that owes you a favor?”
GM: “I think you might get a job as either, if you’re lucky. I don’t have any pull there, though. They don’t love the City Guard there…”
Barb: “I’ll check into the Inn under my standard alias. Send whatever information you uncover through our usual encrypted channels. I’ll keep you up to date with my progress, too.”
GM: “All right. I’ll go find Southmarsh and talk to him. Then I’ll see if I can find a Guard file on Roderick. If I’m lucky– which is a big if– I might have more information to send to you in two or three hours. Anything else before I go?”
Barb: “Stay safe. If I’ve been framed, who says you won’t be. Here’s my lawyer’s contact information, just in case.”
GM: “Ugh. Hope neither of us needs that…” James leaves. You know where The Adventurer’s Guild inn is, so you go there and get a room for yourself. You pay just a little extra for some food to eat in your room (no need to use up the rations you’re already carrying if you don’t have to), and you take a nap for a couple of hours’ sleep. (Roll 1 d 20 please!)
Barb: 13!!!!
GM: Magenta is woken by a knock on her door: 1 knock, a pause, 7 knocks, pause, 5 knocks. That’s either James, or someone sent by James…
Barb: I grab my knife, just in case, but slowly, I open the door.
GM: There’s a kid there, sixteen or seventeen, not in the red shirt of the Red Dragons gang, but in gray. From James, you know this is likely to be a member of the gang known as The Diamonds, the gang that James is on the best terms with. The youth grins. “You must be Miss Magenta. I’m R– Stone. My gang name is Stone. I’m with th’ Diamonds. Off’cer Borden sent me.”
Barb: “Hello, R. Pleased to meet you. Please come in. And please tell me what Officer Borden has to say to me.”
GM: “No, sorry, that’s my fault, call me Stone, please.” Stone comes in, and you close the door behind him. “That’s my fault,” (he repeats), “my old name used to be Russell, and I almost said that to start with. I’m Stone now.” He sighs. “So anyway… Off’cer Borden had me just memorize his message, he didn’t want to write it down just in case. So anyway let’s see. Um. So, no one can use magic to tell who touched that dagger last– but clerics and paladins of Celadel? Oh and I guess maybe of Rhyse, too? They can do a thing where they can tell exactly when someone died. And the dead guy died like just a few minutes before you came into the city through the east gate, and there’s a record of that. So… you couldn’t have killed him. That’s the good news. The bad news is him being in your room, some people think– like, they’re hoping— that maybe you’re tied to it anyway. What they’d really like is to tie you to the murders in the Rich Quarter, even though Off’cer Borden is telling them that’s stupid. He and Off’cer Southmarsh had an expert in, and they said they think your lock was picked recently, there’s a scent of oil in the lock or something. Other Guards are just looking for someone to blame, y’know? I think Off’cer Borden thinks you’d be better off lookin’ into this on your own. They’re done with your room, they took the body away, if you need something from there, or if you wanted to go talk to neighborhood people who might have seen someone. Off’cer Borden thought maybe you might want to do that. Or you could just, y’know, focus on the Black Island club, or whatever else you think might help. But uh… he thinks you should stay away from runnin’ into any City Guards in person until you clear your name.”
Barb: “You’ve done well, Stone. Here’s your reward.” (Money or food or a combo of both).
GM: Stone takes some coins, and some of your bread. “Thank you, miss. Any message you want me to take back to Off’cer Borden?”
Barb: “Did he mention who the guy was that died? Anything about the guy’s background? Any gang associations?”
GM: “Oh yeah, he did have a Guard file. It didn’t have his name, but he used to be with the Red Dragons when he was younger.” Stone sniffs– the Red Dragons have some of his respect, but he also scorns them, too. “Rogue. Off’cer Southmarsh wondered if he picked the lock on your door himself and then got stabbed, but Off’cer Borden said there would’ve been blood in the hall or your room, and there wasn’t. So… guess it didn’t happen in the building, maybe. Oh, and Roderick was a member of the Thieves’ Guild, but no one knows if he still was. Y’know, like, if you don’t pay your dues to them, they get mad at you. Off’cers Borden and Southmarsh haven’t found anyone good to ask about that yet.”
Barb: “All right, good enough, thanks. Tell Borden to keep me up to date on anything he finds. Tell him I’ll be trying to get a job, and I’ll find a way to get any information I find. So, stay safe…and Stone….?”
GM: “Yes miss?”
Barb: “Do not say a word about any of this. Because, if you do…remember, I’m a mage…and you gave me your real name…Russell…”
GM: Stone goes pale. “Aw, no, miss. I wouldn’t– all’a us Diamonds are on your side, ’cause Off’cer Borden’s on your side, and ’cause th’ Red Dragons’ll be mad if they ever find out how you tricked ’em this mornin’. Any enemy of the Red Dragons, even if they don’t know it yet, is a friend of ours. Them fools’ll start a fight just for fun, and that’s not something any Diamond’d do– our blood’s too precious t’ spill in the name of bein’ bored, which is more’n I can say for the likes of them.”
“…Plus, Off’cer Borden says Off’cer Southmarsh is all right, but most of the City Guard and the snoots in th’ Rich Quarter are bayin’ for you, an’ that’d make you a friend of the Diamonds even if we left all th’ rest out, miss.”
Barb: “You’re a man amongst men—Stone. It’s good to meet someone with a moral code. Now, you’d better get out of here. I have the feeling that things are going to get messy.”
GM: “Right miss. I’ll go find Off’cer Borden an’ tell ‘im what.” Stone reaches for the door, but pauses. “What’ll you do next, miss? Look for witnesses in y’r neighborhood? Or jus’ go straight to th’ Black Island Club? Or summat else?”
Barb: “I’m going to disguise myself and go to the Island.”
GM: “With magic, you mean? Horrors, that’s hard, I hear. I wish y’luck, miss.” Stone looks out into the hall to make sure no one’s out there– they’re not– and then he’s gone.
(Will you get ready to go now, nap more first, or some third thing?)
Barb: I’m going to go to a costume store (no need to use magic when I could just dye my hair and so forth), then I’m going to eat some of my supplies, and take a well deserved nap.
GM: Roll 1 d 20 please!
Barb: 3
GM: As you head over to the Shop Quarter to an appropriate costume shop, you see a couple of kids wearing neither the red of the Red Dragons nor the gray of the Diamonds but plain brown shirts and pants pointing at you and whispering furtively to one another, a boy with narrow, beady eyes and a blonde girl with her hair back in a ponytail. When they see that you’ve noticed them, though, they run off. Huh. James would know which gang they’re with, but you don’t. Well, whatever. . . . After you’ve got the costumery things you want and are headed back to The Adventurer’s Guild in, though, two people get in your way– one wearing chainmail and with his sword already drawn, the other holding a wooden staff with some sort of quartz embedded into the top. These, you recognize, by their clothing if not personally– they wear the hammer insignia of The Nails, the main mercenary group of Vierna– called the Silver Nails behind their backs because money’s all they care about. “Hey. You’re that mage named Magenta. Everyone’s looking for you,” says the one with the sword. “I know someone who’ll pay for us to bring you to ’em, too. You gonna come quietly?”
Barb: “Who’s ‘everyone’ and why on earth would they be looking for me? …And who is this someone who’d pay you?”
GM: “The answer to why is that a lot of people think you’re connected to the deaths that’ve been going on lately. We don’t care if it’s true– we care that someone wants you delivered. And the answer to your other questions is that we’re not here to answer your questions– especially not that questions about who. We’re the Nails– we’re professional people-deliverers. So will you be walking and conscious, or carried and unconscious?” There’s a sense of urgency to his voice now, which you imagine equates to wanting his question answered before any City Guards happen to show up. Indeed, everybody else one the street, sensing a conflict in the air, are quickly starting to clear off the street. The problem (well, an extra problem) is that unless James suddenly showed up by himself (seems very unlikely), you don’t exactly want the City Guards to show up right now, either, because then you’d have to go through this same thing with them, and you’d get in (more) trouble for slinging spells at them. Everyone in authority will care a whole lot less if you fight the Silver Nails… or you could try to run for it, but you don’t love the idea of turning your back on another mage to do it…
Barb: Suddenly, before anyone can react, a familiar voice says, “Do you really want a gang war? Really? Because we can give you one. Or you can walk away and pretend that this night never happened.” The voice belongs to Stone.
GM: The sword guy comments quietly to his associate, who looks around, spots Stone, looks around some more, and then speaks to sword guy (probably saying “I only see one so far”) –because Stone appears to be alone. Sword guy is not very impressed. He whistles sharply. The boy and girl in the brown shirts show up on his right– as opposed to Stone, over on your right (sword guy’s left). “Don’t threaten a mercenary with a gang war, kid, especially when he’s got a gang of his own to keep you from distracting him. I don’t know how many more you brought with you, but you can see I’ve brought at least two with me… Lady, answer my question– you walking with us, or not?” Stone shoots you a look that doesn’t tell you how many more Diamonds he may or may not have waiting out of sight, but it does convey to you that he feels in over his head, here…
Barb: “Get behind me,” Stone said. I do so.
“I don’t need a gang. I am a gang. Now, are you going to leave us alone or…”
GM: “She just answered the question,” says sword guy. “Hard way.” He and the two brown-shirt kids start running at you and Stone. The guy with the staff starts muttering words for a spell…
NOTE: IT WAS AT THIS POINT THAT BARB TRIED TO DECLARE THAT STONE WAS A WEREWOLF.
WE HAD A LITTLE TALK. YOU CONTROL WHAT YOUR CHARACTER DOES—NO ONE ELSE. YOU CAN’T RETROACTIVELY MAKE STONE A WEREWOLF.
…BUT WHEN ONE IS A MAGE, ONE CAN TRY TO TURN STONE INTO A WEREWOLF…
ONE 1D20 LATER…
…A NICE BIG FAT NATURAL 20, TO BE SPECIFIC…
GM: You think Wolf That Walks Like A Man, and you transmute Stone. He grows fangs, fur, and claws, and rushes to meet the three running toward him.
The two brown-shirt kids skid to a stop on their heels, and start backing up fast.
Sword-guy curses under his breath, but swings at Stone– but he misses, as Stone gets in front of it first by going for the guy’s throat, and the guy’s sword-arm just bounces ineffectively off Stone’s left shoulder.
In less than two seconds, the guy is down, with Stone on top of him.
Now, Stone isn’t actually biting the guy’s throat, nor slashing at it– enough of the nice kid is apparently left in there that he’s just squeezing with his now-taloned hands, but he’s got a wolf’s strength now, so he’s doing a pretty good job of it– the guy has dropped his sword to try to push the were-wolf off of him (no luck just yet).
Meanwhile, the mage behind them finishes his spell, and– huh. He’s conjured up an ice elemental. A small one, only about three feet tall, but with glinty cold spots where a biological creature should have should have eyes. It looks at Stone, and raises its arms…
(Time for you to do something! (Roll 2d20, if it involves magic!))
Barb: A 2, but also an 18!!! I’ve just transmuted it into Wolfsbane… the wolf is stronger now… and I immediately run for it–
GM: You hit the elemental with transmutation– it works. The elemental crumples into shards on the ground.
Now, if you were as successful as you wanted to be, wolfsbane would start growing up, watered by the remains of the ice, which should help Stone (while making him wilder), but you don’t wait around to find out if that worked– you run for it.
Soon you are out of sight, certain that you weren’t followed. And you even still have the costumery stuff in your pack!
You make your way (more furtively now, watching every stranger– are they with the Nails? Kids with red or brown shirts? City Guards? but no one you see seems to be any of the three, or even paying you that much attention) back to The Adventurer’s Guild, to the safety of your room, and you lock yourself in, snapping the bolt into place.
There, you eat the rest of your bread, some of your cheese, drink your water, and try to calm down enough to nap.
Nothing interrupts your sleep (not surprising you were able to sleep– you were on a wagon for most of the night from the northeast to the east gate of Vierna), and after a few more hours, you awaken, don your costumery for a different look (describe it, please!), and you head off for the Black Island Club, not too far from Theater Street.
You’re lucky this time– none of the groups looking for you seem to see you as far as you can tell (wearing a different look helps give you confidence), and you walk into the club. (Describe your new look for me!)
Barb: Corset… lace-up front and tie-up back, green cape, bonnet, white, ruffly shirt, low cut, long sleeves, rust colored skirt that can be hitched up for running, blonde wig, shoes that can be used for running, hidden dagger strapped to my thigh…
GM: There’s no one at the tables out in front of the club but an old fellow who looks like he just sat there to rest up for a while, so you head on inside. There’s no customers inside yet, either– too early. “We’re not open yet–” snaps a fat guy with impressively-curling black waxed mustachios. Then he does a double-take. “Wellll, what can I do you for…?”
Barb: “I’m looking for a job. I can wait tables, serve food, wash dishes, and so on.”
GM: “…Can you sing…?”
Barb: “Like a bird in spring.”
GM: Fat boy snaps his fingers. “Roscoe! Lowell! Clellan! Get off your arses!” This is to some seedy-looking bards over on the club’s stage. Drums, lute, and recorder, but they seem to know their stuff. “What’d’ya want, lady?” asks the drummer, “happy and dance-y, or slow and torchy?”
Barb: “Slow and torchy.”
GM: The musicians are good, actually. Someone comes out of what must be the kitchen to listen about halfway through. When you’re done with your song, they go back in (what is presumably) the kitchen. Fat boy comes over. “Seemed fine to me, but I’m tone-deaf. I can’t ever tell about these things. But you made Rodolfus stop what he was doing and come out of the kitchen to listen, so you must be great. He hardly ever does that, even for the fancy bard who comes in here and sings twice a month on weekends. If you made Rodolfus stop cooking, you must be good. You’re hired. Can you start tonight?” He looks a little anxious. “Er, in a couple of hours?”
Barb: “The sooner the better. I can sit in with the musicians and see what songs we all know.”
GM: A couple of hours go by, and you work out songs that you and the bards can do well together. People start coming in for the evening… No one very remarkable at first. People seem to appreciate your songs, though. Then (after a half-hour break) another couple of hours go by, and more interesting people start coming in…
(1) There’s a tallish, slightly long-faced fellow with an eye for the ladies (including you)… You can’t tell if he’s a salesman or a fighter or both…
(2) There’s a slightly short blond guy, sort of good-looking, who just wants to enjoy his drink and listen to your music… but he’s… there’s an aura of intensity about him, like he might be slightly dangerous?
(3) Oops, that guy’s wearing the hammer insignia of the Silver Nails mercenary company. It’s not either of the two guys you (and Stone) ran into– this guy’s taller, looks more important. Maybe those guys’ boss. His gaze doesn’t really seem to linger on you longer than anyone else’s does, though.
(4 (and 5?)) Finally, oh my, there’s an ice-cold blonde, incredibly good-looking, wearing a white dress that would cost you almost month’s salary. When she walked in, a third of the people in the club looked at her and never stopped looking… but the other two-thirds looked at her and quickly looked away, understanding that here is a woman who is T-R-O-U-B-L-E. Your guess is that this is Vivian Treddin, of the Treddin crime family. She’s got a guy with her, about her age (maybe a year older) who looks too much like her not to be related. A brother? Cousin? James didn’t mention him…
(1) Tall girl-chaser is at the bar. He’s enjoying looking at Vivian, but he seems to know she’s too rich for his blood.
(2) Short King blond is at a booth, ignoring Vivian, enjoying your music.
(3) Silver Nails Officer(?) guy is at a bar, barely sipping his drink. He’s also ignoring Vivian.
The thing you also note about all these individuals is that– except for (2) Short King Blond guy, all the others are armed— swords and crossbows. Including Vivian. (Short King blond guy feels like he’s armed, though, just not open-carry like the others.)
These are, of course, Vierna-type crossbows. A normal crossbow, from foreign lands, you can put in a large trunk or chest, if you’re lucky. These, you can almost (not quite, but close) hide in a hat box. They can hang from your belt and won’t get the way if you run. You can have one bolt notched and ready to go and the construction is good enough that it won’t go off by accident as long as you don’t actually drop it on the ground or something. But one shot can kill a man—if the shooter’s aim is good enough… or lucky enough.
(Roll 1d20 please)
Barb: 12!!!
GM: Just as one of your songs ends (to applause) and it’s time for you to get to take another 30-min break, you notice a tall woman coming in the door… everyone notices her, because she’s a barbarian. You see them in the city, but they’re not exactly common (and a woman barbarian is even less common. She wears chainmail over what looks like a fur halter and skirt. She’s got a noticeable broadsword and more muscles than many male adventurers of Vierna. She wanders up to the bar and asks for a drink and they quickly give it to her. She slides a coin the Fat Boy’s way behind the bar and seems to dare him (with her eyes) to tell her it’s not enough. He doesn’t dare.
What do you do? Whom, if anyone, do you talk to? That is what you’re here for, right?
Barb: I’m going to talk to Tall Girl Chaser.
GM: It makes sense to talk to Tall Girl Chaser, because he’s been looking and smiling at you on and off for a while since he came in. He (like most people) was just observing Barbarian Woman and trying to decide what he thought of her (so far, she seems content to stand leaning on the bar, drinking her beverage with gusto), but when he sees you coming, he clearly thinks Oh, well, if this one’s going to come to me, why risk a barbarian’s broadsword? “Well hello there! I’ve been enjoying your music. I’m Owen, Owen Granger…” He doesn’t say anything about what line of work he’s in. If he notices you glancing at the crossbow and sword at his belt, he doesn’t say anything about it just yet…
Barb: “Well, aren’t you a tall drink of water, handsome? What’s your line of work or do you just smile and the world gives you everything you want?”
GM: A teeny, tiny micro-second of hesitation on Owen’s part. “I’m in sales and acquisitions. And yes, pretty much– I’m just naturally a people person.” There are a few things this could mean, but the most likely is that Owen works for the Black Market. On one hand, he’s not someone whom the City Guards would approve of you, a Person Of Interest in a murder, talking to (on the contrary, they’d LOVE that you’re in here talking to him, although James wouldn’t)… on the other hand, the whole point of being here is to try to get information from people like this, and there’s far shadier people in Vierna you could be talking to (hell, there’s far shadier people in this room you could be talking to).
TO BE CONTINUED…