Mine!
A Great Rail Wars Scenario for 2-6 Rail Barons
Bounty Points: 200-500 per player; same amount for each player, of course.
Heroes: No more than one per player.
Troops: No Crewed Weapons (Cannon or Gatling Gun carriages). Mounted troops are okay, as are flying troops, but see the notes on the Caves under “The Wind-Up”, below. Finally, any Troops with “Bushwack” do not get to use that skill in this game.
The Set-Up:
Whateley’s Fen was founded twenty years ago when rumors of a huge gold strike drew folks from all over the West to this patch of Texas desert with the promise of easy riches. In less than three months, more than a dozen shanties had sprung up along with hotels, banks, whorehouses, thee-ayters and even a newspaper office. The founders decided the only other thing they needed was a land claims office to protect their strikes, and maybe they were right…
Of course, it would have been nice to actually have some gold, too.
Marsh Whateley started the rumor to sell tracts of the useless land he’d inherited from some crazy relatives Back East in the North. There was never any gold in the caves, just dirt. Or so Marsh Whateley thought. Family tradition held that the caves contained a fabulous treasure hidden within, but Whateley actually put more gold into the makeshift mine than he ever took out of it. He would load his double-barreled shotgun with gold dust and “salt” the walls to get folks excited about buying land in the area and thus enjoy a “share” in developing the mine. But folks caught on fast, and within a year, Whateley’s Fen was nick-named “Whateley’s Fin-ito”, the buildings abandoned, the caves left alone once more.
Soon enough the War came, then the Reckoning, then Ghost Rock and now the railroads are coming into Whateley’s Fen, armed to the teeth. Because Ghost Rock has been discovered in the caves! Of course, it’s just coincidence the discovery came after Old Marsh Whateley spent a whole weekend chasing game around in the tunnels. That old man sure loves to scare up game…
The Wind-Up:
The Rail Barons’ forces enter Whateley’s Fen from the points marked “A” through “F” on the map. Three tunnel mouths open up at the bottom of sheer cliffs running down from the mesa above.
The entire map for this battle is considered a “Twisted Terrain”! The “Hangin’ Tree” at the entrance to town is played per the rules for same in TGRW. In addition, before play, one appropriate Event Card is placed on each floor of the town’s buildings and in each chamber of the Caves. (You can cut out the cards provided and fold them in half, or mount them on cardstock for replay, if you like. Backs are provided for the cards if you want to make two-sided copies.) Any time a Troop completes a move in which any member of that Troop enters a Building Floor or a Cave Chamber with an un-revealed card, that card is flipped over, its contents read aloud and the result implemented. Any troops which appear in buildings or caves are “rogues”, even if they are troops identical to those of the player who discovered them. This means that they have no loyalty to the players and must be rooted out like the squatting vermin they are.
There are enough Event Cards for up to 12 Building Floors, and 12 Cave Chambers, but you can make do with fewer; just use fewer Cards. However, when you are leaving out cards during Set-Up, be sure to keep the Event Cards with stars on them in play. Try to have at least six Buildings and six Caves Chambers.
The Caves have three entrances, all of which begin the game sealed with great iron doors. Only a particular Event Card will open these doors, and the Caves can’t be entered until it’s found. Once you’re inside, it’s perfectly legal to leave a Troop at an entrance to keep other players from getting in. Remember, though; no splitting up Posses! A cave entrance can be permanently sealed if it takes 50 points of damage or if two sticks of dynamite are used to collapse it.
The Caves are… well, they’re caves! Mounted troops can’t enter them unless they dismount, and flying troops can’t fly once they’re inside them. Flyers will just have to shuffle along on foot (or claw) like the rest of us earthbound folk.
The Pitch:
There are Bounty Points to be had if you want to play this as part of your GRW Campaign, but sooner or later, one or more players will discover The Secret of the Caves – a secret unknown even to Marsh Whateley, who never found his inheritance despite his many excursions to “salt” the rocks with gold dust or Ghost Rock. Once The Secret is discovered, the victory conditions for the game will be known to everyone. Right now, of course, they’re only known to whoever printed this out and set up the game, as is The Secret itself. But don’t worry, it’s all random, so they can’t take advantage of it. I promise.
Seriously… no, really!
THE TOWN OF WHATELEY’S FEN

N

Rocky Hills
(Level 2)

Boulder Field

Shack

Hills
(Level 1)

Scrub

Scrub

Scrub

Boulder Field

Shack

Livery Stable

General Store

Shack

Shack

Land Claims Office

Hilltop Arms
Hotel
(2-Storey Bldg)

Desert
Meadows Hotel
(2-Storey Bldg)

Livery Stable

Town Well

A

B

D

C

F

E

Hangin’ Tree

(“Rocky Desert” Terrain)
WHATELEY’S FEN RANDOM EVENT CARDS: Put one of these face-down in each floor level of each building in Whateley’s Fen. Turn the card over and apply its effect, if any, when a Troop (or any part thereof) enters a building or another floor of a multi-storey building. Do not turn the card over until after the Troop has finished all its movement for that action.

Dang rotted boards!
The floor collapses under the weight of the Troop. Anybody who came in gets hit with a 1d6 Strength attack against their Vigor. On the plus side, roll 1d6 and add +1 for each member of the troop above one who came in and helped with the impromptu renovation; on a die roll of 6 or higher, you find a stash of Marsh Whateley’s gold dust shotgun rounds worth 25 Bounty Points!

Whoa, that ain’t right…
Make an Easy (4) Smarts roll for everybody who came in, hoping that at least one of your crew will twig to the fact that folks who look this dead just ain’t supposed to still be walkin’ around! If you make it, you get to defend yourself with your normal Fightin’ skill against the Posse of Ghouls (treat as Nosferatu without the Frenzy) that infest this room. Otherwise, they attack immediately, hitting automatically on this round only, while you get to do nothing but stand there and suffer their assault. Deal the Ghouls Action Cards normally on following Turns.

Listen…D’you smell that?
Somethin’s cookin’… is it you? A Posse of Faminites has set up a buffet, but the pots were all empty until you and your crew showed up! They won’t leave the building, but will move between floors. Any figure made to “Eat Dirt” by a Faminite must make an immediate Hard (8) Vigor roll, or he gets up on the Faminites’ next action as a Faminite himself! At that point, he ceases to eat dirt and tries to eat his erstwhile compadres! These Faminites have 1d6 in Strength and Fightin’, 1d4 in Smarts and Vigor, a “–” for Shootin’ and Guts, do STR +1 damage, cause Fear and are Fearless.

What’s this infernal contraption?!
Rusting away under a dusty tarpaulin, you find a complicated mass of gears and pulleys with a prominent lever sticking out of the mass. Throwing the lever activates the device, which begins belching Ghost Rock fumes and clanking loudly, as it opens the steel doors set into the entrances to the Caves. The Old Whateley Mine is open for business!
For the more literal-minded among you, this means that Troops may now enter the Caves and start killing each other in there, too!

Hey, this ain’t so bad!
True enough, friend; the place is dusty and the windows are all busted up, but at least it’s empty! Nothing bad hiding in here but you, pardner; you found yourself some good, Hard cover!

Hey, this ain’t so bad!
True enough, friend; the place is dusty and the windows are all busted up, but at least it’s empty! Nothing bad hiding in here but you, pardner; you found yourself some good, Hard cover!

Hey, this ain’t so bad!
True enough, friend; the place is dusty and the windows are all busted up, but at least it’s empty! Nothing bad hiding in here but you, pardner; you found yourself some good, Hard cover!

Hey, this ain’t so bad!
True enough, friend; the place is dusty and the windows are all busted up, but at least it’s empty! Nothing bad hiding here but you, pardner; you found yourself some good, Hard cover!

Hey, this ain’t so bad!
True enough, friend; the place is dusty and the windows are all busted up, but at least it’s empty! Nothing bad hiding here but you, pardner; you found yourself some good, Hard cover!

Well, looky here!
Somebody had high hopes; they left a safe here. Dynamite’ll blow it open. Do you have any? Two figures can carry the safe around if you like, but they’re both saddled with the Slowpoke hinderance while they do. After the game the safe can be opened, and on a 4 to 6 on 1d6, it’ll have 50 Bounty Points worth of Loot! inside. Of course, on a 1 to 3, it’ll just be a very impressive paperweight.

Whoa, Nellie!
You hit the jackpot here, friend! This is your lucky day! All your troubles are over! The rest of your short life will be spent arguing your case before the Hangin’ Judge haunting this building! The Hangin’ Judge gets one round of free attacks; your Troop doesn’t get to attack this Turn at all. Deal the Judge in normally on following Turns.

Okay, now this is just wrong.
Say, there’s a hatch in the floor. Looks like it leads to the basement; what a cheery thought! To check it out, roll 1d6:
1-3: So this is where the town’s Nosferatu Posse hides out during the day! They block retreat, so you have to “Put Down” all of ’em before you can leave the cellar.
4-6: Empty; nothin’ but a big old wooden box with five sticks of dynamite! Split it up among the Troop as desired.
There’s a tunnel down here too, leading to the Caves! Three full Turns of Movement brings a Troop up in one of the cave chambers (roll for which) at the end of the third move; they can also come out the same way!

If you have fewer than 12 Floor Levels, just leave out the extra cards. Whichever cards you remove, be sure to keep the cards with the headers “What’s this infernal contraption?!” and “Okay, now this is just wrong. ”

Whateley’s Fen
BUILDING
Floor Card

Whateley’s Fen
BUILDING
Floor Card

Whateley’s Fen
BUILDING
Floor Card

Whateley’s Fen
BUILDING
Floor Card

Whateley’s Fen
BUILDING
Floor Card

Whateley’s Fen
BUILDING
Floor Card

Whateley’s Fen
BUILDING
Floor Card

Whateley’s Fen
BUILDING
Floor Card

Whateley’s Fen
BUILDING
Floor Card

Whateley’s Fen
BUILDING
Floor Card

Whateley’s Fen
BUILDING
Floor Card

Whateley’s Fen
BUILDING
Floor Card

Shoot, now was that “stalactite” or “stalagmite”?
Whatever, it’s those big, heavy pointy stone things that are falling from the cave ceiling with a 1d10 attack against the Vigor of any member of your Troop who fails to make an Easy (4) Smarts roll!

Watch where you – AAAAAAH!
Now this one is just plain mean. Every member of your Troop who has entered this chamber must make an Easy (4) Smarts roll or they fall into a chute and are lost for good. Period. Dead. Gone. No save, no hope of rescue, no second chance (well, except for any Fate Chips you spend on their Smarts roll). Remove the figure, forget you ever knew the feller and move on.
Hey, I said it was mean.

That is one big pile of scat…
And your bones’ll be in the next one if whatever left it comes back… and here it is! A nasty-tempered Cave Troll with especially poor personal hygiene. He’s Strength d12, Smarts d4, Vigor d10, Shootin’ –, Fightin’d8 and Guts d10 (he’s too stupid to spook easily). His tough skin gives him an Armor of 2 and that railroad tie he uses for a club adds +2 to his Strength for Damage. He plans on eating your troop and, presumably, you have a difference of opinion on the matter. Assuming you bring him around to your way of thinking, you’ll find various items in his pile of “pretties” worth 50 Bounty Points.

Weren’t we just in here?
These cave chambers all look pretty much the same when they’re empty, as this one is. Not a bad place to “hole up” (sorry, couldn’t resist!) for a spell, but you’d better keep movin’ if you want to win this thing, amigo!

Weren’t we just in here?
These cave chambers all look pretty much the same when they’re empty, as this one is. Not a bad place to “hole up” (sorry, couldn’t resist!) for a spell, but you’d better keep movin’ if you want to win this thing, amigo!

Weren’t we just in here?
These cave chambers all look pretty much the same when they’re empty, as this one is. Not a bad place to “hole up” (sorry, couldn’t resist!) for a spell, but you’d better keep movin’ if you want to win this thing, amigo!

Weren’t we just in here?
These cave chambers all look pretty much the same when they’re empty, as this one is. Not a bad place to “hole up” (sorry, couldn’t resist!) for a spell, but you’d better keep movin’ if you want to win this thing, amigo!

Weren’t we just in here?
These cave chambers all look pretty much the same when they’re empty, as this one is. Not a bad place to “hole up” (sorry, couldn’t resist!) for a spell, but you’d better keep movin’ if you want to win this thing, amigo!

Great; just great.
The archway behind you has collapsed, closing off that route and maybe even sealing you in for good. It’ll take two whole Turns of doing nothing but digging – no Shootin’, no Fightin’, no sending off other members of the Troop to explore, just digging – to clear it. But if you have a friendly Troop digging – and likewise, doing nothing else – from the other side at the same time, it’ll only take one Turn.

Sonuvagun! Did you know these things were down here?
Mojave Rattlers, that is? Oh, cheer up, it looks like it’s just a baby! That’s probably why it only snatches one randomly-chosen member of your Troop and drags him (or her, or it) kicking and screaming into the bowels of the earth to be messily devoured. But hey, look on the bright side; if the victim was carrying an Item he found in here or in town, he dropped it before he caught the Worm Express to Hell. Somebody else – anybody else – can pick it up on their next Action.

Okay; that’s new…
Smack dab in the middle of the chamber is the Great Whateley Seal, left by Marsh Whateley’s progenitors almost a century ago. And what should be sitting inside but a copy of the Necronomicon its own bad self! Any one member of any Troop can carry this fell volume. If a Single or a member of a Posse is “Put Down” while carrying it, he returns next Turn as a Harrowed Hero; bump all his stats up one die code and see pages 37 and 61 of “TGRW”. Getting the “Necronomicon” out of the caves and off the board at any edge earns your Rail Baron’s (literally!) undying gratitude. It also means you win the game, pardner; kick back and have a cold one!

Hey; don’t I know you?
Why, it’s Old Marsh Whateley! And his shotgun, too! The old coot was “salting” the mine again when the ruckus kicked up in town and he got sealed in. He’s a slippery old cuss, but he knows what’s good for him, so he immediately joins your gang; at least ’til the battle is over!
Old Marsh Whateley (Single)
Actions: 2	Special: Sneaky, Geezer
Strength: d4	Smarts: d8	Vigor: d8
Shootin’: d10	Fightin’: d6	Guts: d4
Weapons:	Shotgun: 1-3d6, Range 24"
	Knife: +2 STR
Marsh Whateley can never be given any items found in town or in the caves.

Just to be clear: The “Necronomicon” has no effect of any kind whatsoever on any Troop which is inhuman, non-living, or already dead. That means no Automatons or Hangin’ Judges, Walkin’ Dead or Nosferatu, Devil Bats or Wolves, Clockwork Tarantulas, Skinwalkers or Bureaucrats can ever receive the dubious benefits of its resurrective charms.
Don Hawthorne

THE CAVES RANDOM EVENT CARDS: Put one of these cards face-down in each Chamber of the Caves. Turn the card over and apply its effect, if any, when a Troop (or any part thereof) enters a chamber of the caves. Do not turn the card over until after the Troop has finished all its Movement for that action.
NOTE: Remember that players may not enter the Caves until either the “What’s this infernal contraption?!” or “Now, this is just wrong.” cards have been discovered in one of the Buildings in Whateley’s Fen.

Whateley’s Fen
CAVES
Chamber Card

Whateley’s Fen
CAVES
Chamber Card

Whateley’s Fen
CAVES
Chamber Card

Whateley’s Fen
CAVES
Chamber Card

Whateley’s Fen
CAVES
Chamber Card

Whateley’s Fen
CAVES
Chamber Card

Whateley’s Fen
CAVES
Chamber Card

Whateley’s Fen
CAVES
Chamber Card

Whateley’s Fen
CAVES
Chamber Card

Whateley’s Fen
CAVES
Chamber Card

Whateley’s Fen
CAVES
Chamber Card

Whateley’s Fen
CAVES
Chamber Card