You might remember a few months we posted a quick short story about a place called the Avalon Mesa. The setting is pretty standard for a Western, with six-shooters and dusty poker games dominating the dramatic landscape. The difference, of course, was that the characters in the Avalon Mesa had been lifted from another setting -- an entirely different mythos than the American Old West. I'm talking about the legends surrounding the famous King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. We've talked before about how important pastiche can be to helping players grasp a setting. Using the familiar may seem like stealing, but stealing from the greats is fine when you've got only a few hours (as in the case of most con games) to introduce players to an idea, have a meaningful, exciting adventure, and then wrap everything so they can move on to their next game. In a few weeks we'll talk a little bit more about the details of the Avalon Mesa (and how to change the massive legendarium surrounding King Arthur into a Weird Western), but for now I'd like to present you with Arthur Britton himself: a man with a destiny, a man with a gun.
Arthur Britton
(for Savage Worlds)
Attributes: Agility d8, Strength d6, Smarts d6, Spirit d8, Vigor d6
Skills: Fighting d8, Guts d4, Intimidate d6, Notice d6, Persuasion d6, Riding d8, Shooting d8
Traits: Pace 6, Parry 6, Toughness 5, Charisma 2
Hindrances: Enemies (Morgan Faye, Cole Vortiger), Heroic (Defend the weak and preyed upon), Vow (Regain lost land, ancestral weapon)
Edges: Noble (Obligations to uphold, Charisma bonus), Quick Draw (Ignore action penalty for drawing & shooting), Steady Hands (Ignore penalty for firing from horseback)
Gear: Horse and saddle, canteen, worn out boots, colt navy revolver, winchester rifle, bowie knife, lariat
Livin’ right ain’t always easy. But no matter how bad it gets, you aim to stay on the straight and narrow. That doesn’t mean you can’t make the hard decisions: but you aim to be the good in a bad, bad world. You won’t hesitate to put a bullet in a fella’ threatening you or others, but you’d never put one in his back, and never hit a man when he’s down.
You don’t really remember your ma and pa. But you know old Martin Ambrose rescued you from something terrible, and then played a hand in raising you for all the time you were back East. He don’t seem like much, but he’s got steel in that old spine, and you respect his wisdom even when he prattles on about fate and destiny.
Kay Roman is your adopted sister. You were both raised up on her daddy Hector’s land way out East after your parents died. She’s a right pretty gal, but a little too rowdy for her own good. She may be older, but you’re the boss around here.
Lance Franks is a hard man, and you don’t always agree. He’s quick with his gun and quicker with his temper, and he simply doesn't forgive. Or forget. You've counted him among your closest friends ever since you fought your ways out of a spot of trouble in Atlanta together, but you know he’d make a dangerous rival.
You and Pale Horn were once enemies. He’s a chief among his people, but bound to you after you saved his life and his tribe. You trust his talents as a warrior, if not his judgment and restraint.
Percival Kingfisher is a kid with a big future, but filled with the optimism and reckless abandon of youth. You’ve always believed that Percy’s the kind of kid who’d finish any hard business you left undone, but you’ve seen enough darkness to hope for a better kind of life for him.