Deadlands - Adv - Heart o' Darkness.pdf

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Written by:
Hal Mangold
Editing & Layout:
Hal Mangold & Matt Forbeck
Cover Art:
Brian Snoddy
Logo:
Ron Spencer
Interior Art:
Ashe Marler, Andy Park,
Jacob Rosen & Kevin Sharpe
Maps:
Jeff Lahren
Cover Design:
Hal Mangold
Special Thanks to:
Audrey Anne Sukacz, Barry Doyle, Shane, Michelle & Caden Hensley,
Christy Hopler, Ann Kolinsky, Matt Tice, Dave Seay, Maureen Yates & John Zinser.
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Chapter One:
Fear & Loathing
3
Chapter Two:
No Stone Unturned .,„....,..„....,„,.„,.,.....,.„...„ 15
Chapter Three:
A Piece o' the Rock
Chapter Four:
Mass Murder
23
39
Pinnacle Entertainment Group, Inc.
P.O. Box 10908
Blacksburg, VA 24062-0908
www.peginc.com or deadlands@aol.com
(800) 214-5645 (orders only)
Dedicated to:
Harry & Katherine Mangold,
the world's most patient parents.
Deadlands logo, and the Pinnacle logo are Trademarks of
Pinnacle Entertainment Group, inc.
© 1998 Pinnacle Entertainment Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Printed in Canada.
Visit our website for regular updates.
Deadlands
created by Shane Lacy Hensley.
PINNACLE ENTERTAINMENT GROUP, Inc.
Welcome back, friends, to the second part in
the
Devils Tower
trilogy,
Heart o' Darkness,
The
material in this book is for the Marshal's eyes
unly. All you players, get outta here, and just
hope that the Marshal is in a pleasant mood.
Marshals should read through this entire
adventure before unleashing it upon their poor,
unsuspecting posse members. Things get a bit
convoluted in this web of danger, and it's a bit
easier if you know where things are going.
You've taken your players down
The Road to
Hell.
Prepare to send them into the
Heart o'
Darkness.
T-ffE
T-f+U^ T
The explorer that discovered it brought it to
the City o' Gloom (Salt Lake City to you
tinhorns) and sold it to Dr. Darius Hellstromme.
The good doctor reportedly wanted to add the
150-carat black diamond to his personal
collection of strange and mysterious objects.
Actually, Hellstromme had also heard legends
about the stone's powers and secretly sent it to
one of his research laboratories for study.
Who knows if Hellstromme would have been
able to unlock the Heart of Darkness' secrets?
But Hellstromme wasn't the only one that
wanted the Heart. A fellow named Stone (you
might recognize him from the
Deadlands
rulebook cover, as well as the
Deadlands Poker
Deck)
had heard of the Heart as well, and he
meant to have it. He hired a band of
desperadoes, led by an old pal of his, Marshal
Rex Tremendae, to steal the stone and deliver it
to
him.
The Tremendae gang was successful, and
Tremendae sent one of their number, Garland
"Doc" Snead, to the City of Lost Angels to hand-
deliver the package. The Tremendae gang was
later tracked down and dealt with by a group of
troubleshooters working for Dr. Hellstromme
(possibly your posse, Marshal), but they were too
late to get the Heart. It was already well on its
way to Stone.
If you've run your posse through the events of
The Road to Hell
(the first part of the
Devils
Tower
trilogy), then you already know all about
the Heart of Darkness' origin and the trouble it's
already caused. For those of you who aren't
familiar with
The Road to Hell,
let's recap what
has gone before.
About a month ago, a legendary diamond
known as the Heart of Darkness was discovered
in the mysterious jungles of South America. The
stone is the subject of several rather horrific
South American myths and is reputedly an
extremely powerful and evil artifact. Of course,
everyone knows those are just fairy stories.
Doc Snead used a mad-science flying gizmo
called a whirligig to hightail his way to Lost
Angels. When he arrived in the city, he went to
the address Tremendae had given him and
delivered the Heart of Darkness to Stone as
planned.
Snead then adjourned to the saloons of Lost
Angels' Waterfront district to spend a few days
in his favorite place: inside a bottle. Meanwhile,
Stone contemplated the powerful artifact now in
his possession.
This is when things went horribly awry.
Snead, far from Rex Tremendae's stabilizing
influence, got a room in a cheap flophouse and
went on a three-day whiskey bender.
Unfortunately, the dive he'd chosen for his
alcoholic escapade was raided by the Guardian
Angels. The Angels randomly target such "sinful"
establishments for morality raids, and it was just
Snead's luck to get caught in one. He was
packed off to the Church Court with all the
other offenders.
Snead had been in Lost Angels before (that's
one reason Tremendae had sent him to deliver
the Heart of Darkness), and he knew all about
the Church Court and how most folks in front of
it end up in Rock Island Prison for life (short as
it may
be).
Determined to avoid such a fate, Snead's
alcohol-soaked mind settled on the only way out
he could think of. Snead spilled his guts to the
Guardian Angels, telling them all about the Heart
of Darkness and Stone.
Snead didn't know that the Angels would find
the information valuable, but as a last ditch
effort to save himself from imprisonment on the
Rock, it seemed like a good gamble.
Surprisingly, it worked. Before he even knew
what was happening, Snead found himself being
interviewed by the Reverend Ezekiah Grimme
himself.
As the terrified Snead recounted his tale, the
Reverend's mind seized upon a sinister plan.
Grimme had heard of the Heart of Darkness and
knew something of its power. With it in his
possession, Grimme could tap into the Heart's
malevolent energy to expand his area of
operations and broaden the influence of the Cult
of Lost Angels.
Grimme told Snead he could indeed overlook
the Doc's "moral misstep"-if Snead led Grimme
and his minions to Stone himself. Seeing no
other way out, Snead complied.
Grimme knew he had to move fast. He
assembled a group of his most loyal and
powerful Guardian Angels, and they followed
Snead to the apartment building that Stone was
holed up in.
Grimme had the Angels quietly clear everyone
out of the building except Stone, and Grimme
himself went in to face him down. The Reverend
caught Stone by surprise and, after a pitched
battle against Stone's fearsome Harrowed powers,
subdued him.
Stone and the Heart of Darkness were carted
off to Rock island without even being brought
before the Church Court. Grimme imprisoned
Stone inside a special cell deep within Rock
Island's wall, and he set to work harnessing the
Heart of Darkness' powers.
Doc Snead was released. He took the payoff
money Stone had given him for the Heart and
has been on a drunken binge ever since. He
returned to the same saloon that he was
arrested in and has been propping up the bar
there for two days.
This would probably have been it for Stone,
but for one thing. He has an ally, a powerful one
who goes by the name Old Pete. Old Pete has a
deep and personal attachment to Stone, and he
intends to break him out of the Rock— as soon
as certain events come to pass.
One of these events is the arrival of a group
of "heroes" looking for the Heart o' Darkness.
Old Pete intends to follow them until they figure
out where Stone is, then approach them with a
proposition, one that Old Pete knows they won't
refuse.
How is Old Pete so sure about all this? Well,
he's been alive a darn long time, and he can read
most people like a newspaper. (See page 6 for
more details on Old Pete and his motivations.)
This is where the heroes come in. However
they get involved in the situation, it's up to them
to piece together what happened to the
mysterious Mr. Stone and figure out a way to get
their hands on the Heart of Darkness. On the
way, they'll encounter treachery and death, and
get an unwelcome insight into the dark heart of
the Weird West, and the servants of the
Reckoners.
With luck, they might just live through it all.
•^WPW^'

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