The Indians

They're still around, and still fightin'. Following the Sand Creek massacre, most of the tribes in the Colorado area retreated into "friendlier" territory, but a few headed up into the Rockies to continue their fight against the whites.

There are currently a couple thousand Native Americans, broken up into dozens of tribes, waging war on the settlers. Most attacks are directed at targets in the Rockies, but war parties are occasionally sent down into the plains, sometimes even attacking the outskirts of Denver. Should the Indians ever band together into one massive force, Denver would be in big trouble. However, each tribe fights the war in its own way, keeping attacks sporadic and uncoordinated. Chief Niwot is trying to get the tribes to unite completely, but has so far had only minor success.

The Free Auraria Council

Following their appearance and subsequent destruction in '63, surviving members of the F.A.C. faded out of the limelight, returning to their lives or leaving the city for other destinations.

Around 1870, former F.A.C. members came back together to start up the organization once again. Secret meetings were conducted, new members initiated, and plans made to try and take back Auraria a second time. But as often happens, once membership grew, factions within the organization began to appear. By 1873 the original members had all been replaced by younger, more power-hungry individuals. When Bela Hughes became possessed by a Manitou late in 1874, his new persona quickly became interested in underground rumors of the F.A.C.'s recreation. Once his suspicions were verified, he began inserting his own men into the group, and was indirectly in control of the F.A.C. by mid-1875. Financial assistance, equipment, and inside information followed, given by a "secret sponsor," culminating in the destruction of the Denver Pacific Number 7 on May 10th, 1876. Since then, the F.A.C. has increased its terrorist-style attacks, and has become a major point of concern to the people of Denver.

There are about forty active members, and more than a hundred sympathizers in the Denver area. The organization has become very paranoid and fanatical of late. Members often "disappear," only to be replaced with another brainwashed member. Six of the higher-ranking members are employees of Bela Hughes, none knowing the identity of the other five. A few of the more prominent members are in fact abominations of one sort or another, although all are kinds able to hide their powers from humans.

Other Stuff

Fear

The situation in Denver is such that the city has a permanent fear level of 1, and the only way the posse could possibly get rid of this would be to kick the rebs completely out of Colorado, defeat Bela Hughes, stop the F.A.C., clean up the city's crime problem, and restore the government to working order. Since there's a snowball's chance in Hell that's going to happen any time in the near future, about the best the posse can do is keep the fear level from rising any further.

Whenever something really bad happens in the city (such as a train blowing up), the fear notch rises a level or two until things settle back down. Much of the problem comes from travelers who expect Denver to be much worse than it is. Once they find out the truth, they'll spread tales contradicting the ones they've already heard. This is both good and bad: it keeps the fear level steady, but it also means that everyone is a little hesitant about going to Denver.

Abominations

Denver just wouldn't be complete without them, would it?

Inside the city limits, only the occasional abomination decides to show its ugly puss. There is a fairly high concentration of monsters with the ability to hide their true selves, such as lycanthropes, the possessed, and other shapechangers. A couple of "young" vampires also inhabit the city.

Outside of Denver, abomination activity rises. The plains and hills surrounding the city serve as excellent hunting grounds for many different monstrosities, and the Rockies hold even more dark secrets. Cattle and horses are often found mutilated or devoured, and the occasional empty stagecoach careens into town, drawn by frantic horses fleeing the unknown fate of its occupants...

Prairie Ticks, Tumblebleeds, and Jackalopes are all fairly common (as abominations go) in Colorado. Wallcrawlers and Wendigos inhabit the Rockies, and there are also a few werewolves and werecoyotes in the area.

And then there's the Naga.

Naga

This large, snake-like creature is found almost solely in the plains surrounding Denver. Gifted with a keen instinct and predatory intelligence, nagas hunt down cattle and horses on the prairie, devouring one whole and resting for months before heading out to hunt once again. A naga can only eat one large creature at a time, however, so leaving it to gulp down your horse will normally save your hide.

Nagas bear a strong resemblance to rattlesnakes, albeit very large ones. Their large rattles are often the last sound a victim hears before the creature closes in for the kill.

Naga Statistics
Deftness: 2d8
Nimbleness: 2d10
Quickness: 4d12+4
Strength: 2d10
Vigor: 2d8
Cognition: 3d10
Knowledge: 1d4
Mien: 2d8
Smarts: 2d6
Spirit: 1d6
Overawe: 3
Fightin': brawlin' 5
Sneak 5
Size: 18 (20' to 25' long)
Terror: 5 (8)
Special Abilities:
Bite: STR
Poison: A successful bite attack injects a highly lethal poison into the target. The victim must make a Hard (9) Vigor roll immediately. Success indicates that the bite wasn't instantly deadly, instead paralyzing the victim for 2d8 minutes, after which the victim dies unless someone else sucks out the poison using a sharp knife and makes a Hard (9) medicine roll. If the test fails, the victim goes into convulsions, and dies in 1d4 minutes. Anyone surviving a Naga bite will be in a deep fever for 2d4 days, and sick for a month afterwards.
Rattle: A Naga with its wind up is quite a scary sight. Use the Terror listed in parenthesis if a naga gets the drop on the posse.

Finally

With the info imparted in these pages, you should now have more than enough info to send the posse into Hell and back... so gather up the posse, flip your Cruelty Knob up to 10, and send the posse chargin' head-first into Denver, the city you can't help but love.

The survivors may even thank you for it.

Preface
Marshalling in Deadlands' Denver
Things to Do
Groups of Interest

Deadlands: Denver Part 1
Deadlands: Denver Part 2