Category: Scaldcrow Stories | Page 6

Fire and Portent – A Western Tale

This story is based on the Masked Marvel, published by Youthful Magazines; created by Graham Ingels In the town of Crucible Rock 1876, townies watched as Blindside Avenue’s most popular den of depravity burned. Most folks believed Nasty Mikes was a sight more than a saloon and dance hall, it was a safe harbor for…

Portent: The Crooked Trail-A Western Tale

This story is based on the Masked Marvel, published by Youthful Magazines; created by Graham Ingels Ellis Warren shot his way out of the bank at the town of Silent Aces yesterday, the loot was thrown across his saddle and his partner, Fred Pride, was shot dead by the Sheriff while Warren shinned-out and disappeared…

Portent and Silver Pride—A Western Tale

Salem’s Drop, Arizona—1876. Some ten miles north of the Gila River, nestled in the shadow of the Santa Catalina Mountains, a desperate story of greed and cruelty unfolds in a deserted storehouse. August Staunton, a simple bank clerk from Gunshot got drunk in the Saloon and bragged too loudly about a big shipment of silver…

The Scorpion and the Desperate Line

Vapor danced and sizzled above the streets. Poor ventilation trapped the stench of filth laden, brackish water, in the small, tight places. A vagrant emerged from an alley, a wad of bills, clenched in his fist, then emerged another, and another. A stake-bed truck waited in the street. I couldn’t see the driver. I jumped…

The Scorpion and the Deacon’s Oath

Deacon moved across the alley, careful that bits of garbage didn’t grind beneath his heals and betray his position. Slowly–deliberately he moved towards the door across the wet cobbled stone. The Scorpion, a vigilante moved at the mouth of the alley. Silhouetted against the street light; his wide, slouch hat and overcoat, seemed otherworldly against…

Rogue Space™ Origins

What are the Origins of Rogue Space™ ?Most of the best gaming I ever did was during and right after college. The friends I made during those campaigns turned out to be lifelong. During college I ran a popular Superhero game almost exclusively. The complexity of the game and the time intensive math involved, rendered…

The Scorpion in…Consequence and the Fat Cat

Alfrancais Brainvine, the magnate, slurped down another oyster, discarding the shell into a bucket beside his desk. He grabbed a letter opener with his chubby, oyster soaked fingers and with the other, a stack of papers. The first letter was doubtlessly another shameless plea from the Victory Arms tenement. They all said the same thing.…

Remembering the Beginning

I was remembering how I first began a lifelong fascination with tabletop role-playing games and was considering what they meant to me. It occurs to me that the reasons that I latched onto them may also be relevant to some of you. So here is the story… Before, discovering gaming, life was pretty quiet and…

The Scorpion and the Shattered Mol

The cops came to Charlie’s Jazz Bar afterhours. The call: a break in. I planned to sit back in my Marmon and keep a watch, let the cops handle it, but shots rang out; the long, steady spray of a Thompson submachine gun. The police were returning fire with their pistols–so much for sitting. …

The Scorpion, the assassin, and the Goblin Damned

Thunder rolled in the night. The assassin fell hard. I replaced my jambiya dagger, into its scabbard. Mayor Altor, referred to by many as The Goblin Damned for his cleverness, continued his speech, unaware how close he came to an assassin’s bullet. Words are cheap…and life is cheaper. The Mayor looked small, so far below,…