by Mike Blake
NAME Re-act Control Bravery Dexterity Agility Physical Rifle Skill Pistol Skill Hand Weapon Skill Fists Irish Joe Meehan 80 80 70 99 80 80 6 8 8 7 Weapons: .50 cal Tennessee Flintlock ML rifle; clasp knife; camp knife. Character: ex US dragoon [knows Was Cottle] & expert horseman. Tall, lean & wiry, flaming red hair & temper to match. Wizard with his hands, can make just about anything from practically nothing - watches, saddle, own guns etc. Armageddon Smith 85 85 90 90 95 90 8 9 9 9 Weapons: .70 cal 1814 Flintlock Muzzle loading Baker Rifle; .69 cal FL Single barrel pistol; tomahawk; 2 handed broadaxe. Character: built like a bear and about as shaggy, except for his balding head. On Astor’s expedition to Oregon, lived & worked with Californios, speaks Spanish fluently. When liquored up becomes a militant bible thumper [carries one in possibles bag] and is not adverse to converting unbelievers with one of his giant fists. Boy Jack 55 55 55 75 90 80 4 6 4 7 Weapons: .40 cal ML flintlock Pennsylvania rifle; SS ML percussion horse pistol; tomahawk; knife. Character: young, naive youth, in the mountains for the first time, but eager & willing to learn - if he survives. Tennessee farm boy, beaten by step-father, ran away after retaliating, is physically very tough from years of abuse and hard farm labour. Red Coat 70 70 70 75 60 60 5 6 9 5 Weapons: .66 cal cut-down Mackinaw musket; bow & arrow; axe; knife Character: now an old man - fought with the British in the War of Rebellion and 1812, hence military red coat and officer’s gorget. Good hunter & fighter but cautious - wants to survive another winter with his 4 wives! Very generous, will always share [even his wives]. Despite being ugly, still a charmer with the fair sex, red, black or white. Scouting skills hampered by a marked lack of a sense of direction. Evil Smellin’ Johnson 75 60 70 70 75 80 6 8 7 6 Weapons: ML SS percussion Plains rifle; ML SS percussion pistol; fighting knife; rope and belaying pin Character: born Norwich, England. Petty thief & burglar turned highway robber, caught & chose Royal navy rather than deportation. Deserted in war of 1812 to US navy, deserted to join Jean Lafitte’s pirates in defence New Orleans. Powder explosion blackened & scarred face, lost sense of smell. Moved west, scouting for army, exploring, trapping. Gets on well with Indians [likes the smell?]. Close friend Pierre O’Hara. Never washes or changes clothes, is malodorous even for a MM! Bayou Battelier 65 75 60 75 65 65 6 8 8 7 Weapons: US Army M1803 .52 cal FL blunderbuss; clasp knife; camp knife. Loves swivel guns, boat cannon etc, is an expert “artilleryman”. Character: young man from Louisiana, mixed French/Spanish/Creek Indian. Ex Gulf Coast smuggler & part-time pirate. Very vain about appearance, a ladies man, shaves frequently even in the mountains. Lean, wiry, fairly short, dark complexion, black eyes & hair. More Bad Day at Black Rock Back to Table of Contents -- Courier #81 To Courier List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 2001 by The Courier Publishing Company. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com |