Highwaymen RPG Opening Act: My Way or the Highway

[Xenoe]

(Everyone at this point has the clothing on their back, a rusty melee weapon, a single loaded black powder pistol, a bandanna for hiding their identity, a single smoke bomb, a knapsack, and any additional items detailed in their character sheets)

You are a group of highwaymen known by the people as the Handsome Host, named in part due to your dashingly attractive leader "Handsome" Harry, a man known to never hide his identity when doing his livelihood. A band of almost fifty strong, you mainly perform acts of armed robbery and kidnapping along the roadways that lead to the southern part of the Luw Empire, targeting wealthy merchants and even high ranking government officials. While a most of the money is used to provide a living for the members of the gang, a good portion is donated to local schools and charity organizations, earning you a good name among the people.

Recently, your leader Harry has gotten wind of the news that the vice minister of the treasury is on the way home for vacation from his contacts in the capital, and so Harry and eight other members of the gang are now awaiting on the road that the minister is expected to travel.

The members of the gang that are here are as following:
"Handsome" Harry, a six foot tall Adonis of a man twenty-six years of age, with flowing blonde hair and a pearly white smile. Some say he is far too good looking to be a bandit, and many suspect him to be the bastard son of some noble, there has been no proof to substantiate the latter.

"Hacksaw" Randy, a former carpenter who had broken his dominant hand in a work related accident, but received no compensation from the evil capitalist he was working for. When he attempted to sue, he was instead fined a hefty sum for slander. Unable to bear the burden of his debt, he was forced into banditry and taken in by Harry. Uses a hacksaw with his left hand.

Joe the Plumber, a balding middle aged plumber who was forced out of business by his arch-nemesis and competitor Borock Obana, whose connections with high ranking government officials allowed him to get preferential tax treatment. Swearing revenge, Joe burned down Obana's shop and was forced into exile.

Ruru the Orphan, a short, plump young girl of mysterious origins with a head of short curly brown hair. She seems to be the sneaky type who can walk without making a sound. When asked of whence she came from, she replied "I made myself an Orphan".

Bob the Butcher, a stocky former butcher who apparently never cleaned his knife. Eventually that caused several bad cases of food poisoning which landed him in prison for a year. When he was released, nobody was willing to buy his meat anymore, and so he had to turn to crime to make a living.

"Ronny" Roebuck, a wiry man of average height, with dirty blonde windswept hair. For some reason he's always wearing riding chaps and a half-cape, causing him to look like a queer. He insists that he isn't, but the men of the gang still tread carefully around him. Any avid horse racer would recognize him as the super-star jockey who was involved in a cheating scandal a few years back that ended his career. He is always followed around by his horse Jensine, even now.

Pepe McDonald, a corpulent, pasty man in his early thirties who claims that he is a former noble fallen on hard times. Nobody believes him, of course, but he's a surprisingly good distraction in fights, and a fair cook, so Harry keeps him around anyways. He is never seen eating anything other than fried chicken.

"Hangman" Sherry, a freckle-faced middle aged woman who likes to kill people by choking them with a rope around their neck. Although this interest is reserved for those she judges to be evil, it is fairly obvious on how such a habit can get on the wrong side of the law. Surprisingly strong due to her morbid hobby, she serve as the gang's front line in a brawl.

Brue the Inbred, a short young boy with blue hair. He comes from the foreign lands of Fukyutu, and claims to be an ally of justice, but everyone knows that he's probably just wrong in the head due to the rampant inbreeding that happens in his country.

You've been staked here for a whole day already, but there is still no signs of the minister's carriage.

[dinasemrys]

Pepe: Joeyyy, ya kno who gives dem welfare cheks? Me doctor says I'm not menrary retarded, but I know I am.

[Xenoe]

Joe the Plumber gives Pepe a sideways look, used to his acts of retardation by now.

Joe: Aye, Pepe, if you could get a welfare check in this economy, I'd still be a plumber, so shut yer trap.

[Corenat Rovarnus]

Ronny Roebuck postures at the front of the Handsome Host, a beady squint in his blue eyes and a long piece of straw clenched between his teeth. He chews the straw a little for dramatic effect.

"Looks like our friend the Minister's runnin' late for his 'appointment'. What say you fellas that I hop on Jensine and head down the road a ways, see if he's just going a tad slow?"

[Xenoe]

Harry shakes his handsome head.

Harry: I don't think that'd be a good idea, if you ride at them, and then turn back after you see them, they might notice you and be alerted that something is amiss. If you ride past them then we might not have you back in time for the ambush.

[Corenat Rovarnus]

"Alright boss, I'll stay put," Ronny says dejectedly while still chewing the straw.

He looks at Ruru and Brue. "Say, we got an awful lot of kids in our posse. Sure warms my heart to know you've chosen to do some 'community service' at your age."

[The Lord Kelvin]

Ruru stands up straight and puts her left hand on her hip while presenting her right hand towards Ronny, showing a thumbs up and smile.
"That's right. We're the honest folk of this generation, doing good, honest work!"

Ruru's eyes momentarily shift to Ronny's horse and quickly dart back to Ronny as she walks towards the horse.
"Sir, have you thought more about my offer to connect you with the equestrian insurance industry? You never know what might happen in our line of work after all."

After closing in on the horse, Ruru begins gently petting it.
"If anything were to happen to poor Jensine, I know there would be no replacement for you; whether it's a monetary recompense or a new steed. But even so, I'm sure you wouldn't want to let that sort of tragedy to leave a hole in your financial situation in addition to the hole in your heart."

[dinasemrys]

Pepe: Me a bit hungy. Gonna eat some tendies before we start. 

Pepe, reaches into his knapsack and takes out some tendies. He begins to gnaw on them while having a look of supreme bliss on his face.

[Corenat Rovarnus]

Jensine shies from Ruru's touch, backing away with slight apprehension.

Ronny: "I don't think so, little lady. I wouldn't trust those 'in-sewer-ants' folks with my life, let alone my horse. All they know is countin' coins and fiddlin' about with numbers."

He sees Pepe eating. "Ayy, mind if I try some of that?"

[The Lord Kelvin]

ruru stops petting the horse and smiles at Ronny. For a fraction of a second, her left eye twitches just slightly.
"OK, maybe next time then."

Ruru turns towards Pepe and approaches him with a look of fascination.
"Your fried chicken looks tasty as always. Would you mind sharing some with me?"

[dinasemrys]

Pepe is too scared of social interaction to refuse and nods quickly. He opens his knapscack and reveals that it contains over 50 tendies.

[The Lord Kelvin]

"yay, tendies!"
Ruru grabs a chicken tender and begins munching on it.

[SilkScarf]

Brue also asks for some tendies.

He smiles at Ronny. "If we hadn't learned to help the poor by now, we'd grow up to be a bunch of selfish adults."

[Xenoe]

As the gang bonds over poor Pepe's precious tendies, Ronny suddenly senses the steady beat of horse hooves in the distance.

[Corenat Rovarnus]

Ronny: "Get ready boys, someone's coming!"

[SilkScarf]

"Is that a lone rider, or a horse-drawn carriage? I can't see from down here," Brue says, craning his neck to try and get a good look.

[Xenoe]

Harry, being the tallest, is naturally the first to see the carriage along with its two guard riders in the distance.

"It seems to be our quarry, get to your hiding places boys, we'll spring on them when they come close!"

[The Lord Kelvin]

Ruru looks for some tall grass or a bush to hide in.

[Corenat Rovarnus]

Ronny goes for a rock formation or hilly terrain that can conceal him and Jensine from the carriage's view.

[dinasemrys]

Pepe lies down and stops moving. He hopes he can pass as a boulder.

[Xenoe]

You all go to your predetermined hiding places, and Ronaldo pretends to be a lone rider taking care of the urges of his bowels on the side of the road as his horse is difficult to hide.

Approximately five minutes pass before a two horse carriage leisurely clops past the ambush point, flanked by two guards, and when you can see the whites of their eyes, Harry fires one of pistols at one the horses drawing the carriage.

BANG!

The shot rings true, and the horse that had been hit tumbles to the ground, stopping the carriage. Before the bewildered guards can realize what had just happened, the gang rushes out from their hiding places.

"Stand and deliver!" "Your money or your life!"

The guards barely have their hands on the muskets in their saddlebags before you have them completely surrounded, your pistols leveled.

"I wouldn't touch your weapons if I were you," threatened Harry, "we'll turn you into a beehive before you can even load. Surrender to us, hand over all your valuables, and we'll guarantee your lives."

The guards look at one another before slowly putting up their hands, but the gang can walk over to tie them up, Harry notices out of the corner of his eye the barrels of four muskets sticking out of the windows of the carriage.

You hear the the shrill laughter of a woman from the carriage.

"I would be the ones to surrender if I were you, the walls of this carriage are steel plated, and we will soon have you surrounded."

Indeed, Ronaldo hears more hooves in the distance.

[Corenat Rovarnus]

OOC: Are the muskets sticking out in the same direction from the carriage or in multiple directions?

"Boss, we got more incoming. I'll try to head them off!" Ronny hops on Jensine and goes to assess the newcomers.

[Xenoe]

OOC: They are pointed in different directions, you have the carriage surrounded, and the muskets are pointing out of the two side and one rear window at you guys.

Surprisingly, nobody fires as Ronaldo rides off, still tensely staring the other side down.

Joe: Boss! What do we do?!

Bob: Ronny just ran away! That coward!

Harry lifts his hand to silence the crew.

Harry: I trust Ronny. We wait until Ronny comes back to see if they're bluffing about the reinforcements.

It's not even one minute of riding before Ronaldo sees a squad of twelve dragoons barreling down the road towards the ambush location.

[SilkScarf]

Brue whispers to Ruru, while keeping his pistol aimed at the cart. "Hey, why don't we throw our smoke bombs into the windows to drive them out of the carriage?"

[dinasemrys]

Do they look like immigrants?

[Corenat Rovarnus]

Ronny rides back to the ambush site and relays what he's seen of the reinforcements to Handsome Harry. "Looks like we're outnumbered boss, you got any ideas?"

[Xenoe]

OOC: They look like normal Luwian citizens, and since Pepe is a Luwian, they don't look like immigrants to him.

Harry pales a bit upon hearing the news, but quickly regains his composure.

"Their reinforcements are mounted, so we won't be able to outrun them even if we drop our smoke bombs. We need to take some hostages and force them to let us go."

He motions for you all to get ready to duck, and then towards Sherry, who understands his hand signal and reaches into her pockets for her smoke bomb. Suddenly, she tosses it at the carriage with all her strength. Several shots ring out from the carriage's muskets, but you all duck in time, and only Randy is slightly grazed.

After the smoke blooms, Harry screams, "take one alive!" and charges towards the carriage.

[dinasemrys]

Pepe runs as fast as he can towards the carriage and trips as he gets near it.

[Corenat Rovarnus]

Ronny closes in on the carriage, making sure the guards outside don't interfere.

[SilkScarf]

Brue follows suit, trying not to get trampled by his taller comrades.

[The Lord Kelvin]

Ruru follows the crew into the smoke, using Brue as a point of reference.

[Xenoe]

Pepe charges with the spirit of a thousand stallions, but sadly his own two feet aren't cooperative enough to carry him to his destination, he trips and floors himself around 20 feet away from the carriage. He struggles to get up, but is too heavy to quickly push himself off the ground with his flabby arms.

Ronaldo rides towards two mounted guards, blade at hand. The two guards give up reaching for their muskets, and draw their sabers.

Brue and Ruru charge at the carriage together, only to be met by a musketeer charging out of the smoke, bayonet pointed at Brue.

The rest of the gang are engaged on the other sides of the carriage by two more musketeers, and woman who looks to be an officer judging by her regalia.

[The Lord Kelvin]

Ruru attempts to use her height (or lack thereof) to her advantage, lowering her center of mass and dashing towards the underside of the musket.
Stopping just short of the bayonet, she delivers an upwards sweeping strike with her rusty melee weapon, in an attempt to disarm or redirect the enemy's weapon.

[Corenat Rovarnus]

Ronny picks a guard and rides to engage him in swordplay.

[Xenoe]

Rolling 2d6: 6 + 3 = 9

---

Ronaldo's sword strikes true against his target, cutting a large gash across the guard's chest. The guard is knocked off his (high)horse, clutching his chest in pain.

The second guard swings from the other side, but Ronaldo is able to dodge the blow by a hair, only suffering a light graze on the shoulder.

After a single pass, Ronaldo comes to face the guard that is still mounted, who looks visibly enraged at what happened to his buddy.

"You'll pay for that you bastard! I'll have your head hanging on my saddlebag!"

The second guard comes at Ronaldo once again.

[SilkScarf]

Brue follows up on Ruru's weapon direction and attempts to slash the musketeer while Ruru parries his bayonet.

[Xenoe]

Rolling 2d6: 3 + 3 = 6

---

Brue, being the greenhorn he is, is stunned by the ferocity of the musketeer's charge. He unconsciously hesitates in his movement, allowing Ruru to overtake him.

Ruru attempts to perform her premeditated maneuver, but manages to miscalculate the timing of her swing, and runs straight under the musketeer's bayonet. She collides with the musketeer's abdomen with her shoulder, but is shoved aside by the difference in weight.

After regaining his composure, Brue attempts to follow up on Ruru's actions, but things don't go as planned as Ruru knocks the musketeer slightly back with her charge. He loses his opportunity to attack when the musketeer is staggered, but is able to cleanly dodge a subsequent bayonet thrust from the musketeer.

Fortunately, now they have the musketeer surrounded, with Brue at his front, and Ruru at his back.

[The Lord Kelvin]

Seeing as the guard is facing away from Ruru and is now no longer between herself and the target, attempts to sneak into the carriage.
If/when she reaches the carriage, Ruru will try to peak inside through a crack or window before recklessly entering.

[Corenat Rovarnus]

"Ya gotta catch me first, rube." Ronaldo rides away from the guard for a bit, then rapidly swings around to strike at the guard's flank or rear.

[SilkScarf]

If Brue has a good enough shot, he throws his smoke bomb in the musketeer's face and attempts to lead him astray while Ruru infiltrates the carriage. If the shot isn't clear enough, Brue throws the smoke bomb in between him and the musketeer and attempts to lead him astray while Ruru infiltrates the carriage.

[Xenoe]

Rolling 1d6: 3

---

Rolling 1d6: 3

---

Ronaldo swings back in a tight angle as if to show off his excellent horsemanship, but his swordsmanship is a little lacking in comparison. His swing fails to surprise the guard with its speed, and is parried with a resounding clang. The force of the impact causes Ronaldo's hand to feel a little numb.

Ronaldo and the guard pass one another once again, but Ronaldo can feel the reinforcements getting ever closer...

---

Brue reaches into his pocket for his smoke bomb, but the musketeer is too close to give him time for any funny movements. Another bayonet thrust passes under Brue's armpit as he leans away just in the nick of time, but the bayonet still bites into his flesh along the way.

---

Ruru sneaks through the smoke to the carriage and peeks inside, but there is no "minister" to be seen. Instead she finds several bags of powder cartridges, food, a few water skins.

---

Pepe groans a little as his arms give out, and he rolls on the ground a bit.

---

(Everybody not Ruru sees this)

In the time that Ruru, Brue, Pepe, and Ronaldo are doing what they are doing, the rest of the gang doesn't seem to be faring too well.

Sherry has managed wrestled one of the musketeers to the ground, but is finding it difficult to subdue the trained soldier quickly, and is locked in a contest of strength.

Harry and Joe have managed to take down a single musketeer between themselves with some less than chivalrous tactics, and are attempting to knock him out as he rolls around on the ground struggling to survive.

The woman officer has managed to take out Randy and Bob with her meter long metal cudgel, a weapon that is affectionately named the "toe-crusher" by its users for its ability to pulverize its user's toes when accidentally dropped. She is now headed toward Harry and Joe.

[dinasemrys]

Pepe gets up and runs toward the female officer swinging his sword wildly.

[The Lord Kelvin]

Ruru unhooks the dead horse from the carriage and climbs onto the driver seat of the vehicle.
"It's a trap! This carriage is empty! We attacked a decoy!"

[Corenat Rovarnus]

Ronaldo spits out the straw at this news. "Consarn it! Everyone head for the hills, lest their next brigade catch up with you!"
He heads over to harass the officer and distract her from Harry and Joe.

[The Lord Kelvin]

From her vantage point, Ruru tosses her smoke bomb in Brue's direction in hopes that it will help his situation and starts carefully and slowly driving the carriage towards Ronaldo and his horse.

[dinasemrys]

Pepe alters his trajectory to head towards the female officer with Ronaldo

[SilkScarf]

Brue sees that he's too close to the musketeer, and tries to create some distance. No use hanging around if the minister isn't even here.

He 'heads for the hills' so to speak, prioritizing a place that looks hard for horses to follow in, but also heading in the same direction as his allies, if possible.

[Xenoe]

Rolling 1d6: 6

Rolling 1d6: 6

Rolling 1d6: 1

---

Ronaldo suddenly turns his horse around and gallops towards the female officer instead, bewildering his adversary. When the guard finally realizes what's going on he only has time to shout "watch out madam!" before Ronaldo slices at the officer with his blade.

The officer, a seasoned veteran, was able to glean by instinct that something was wrong by the thundering of hooves growing ever closer behind her, but is given a solid blow to the shoulder before she can react. Ronaldo feels a sense of resistance as his blow connects, and his not so sharp sword barely cleaves through the officer's cuirass, but the powerful force of the horse's momentum knocking her flying aside.

In the meantime, this act earns enough time for Harry and Joe to win their tussle with the musketeer on the ground, and Joe is able to secure the musketeer at gunpoint.

---

Brue attempts to create some distance with the all powerful dodge roll. Too bad he isn't an action game character and doesn't get any invincibility frames.

He is impaled in the leg by a bayonet and lets loose the howl of a wounded animal, before being seized.

---

Even though she is unfamiliar with horses, Ruru is able to, by sheer stroke of luck, unhitch the dead horse in record time. Unfortunately, the horse that is still remaining seems to have injured its leg after being dragged down by its partner, and moves extremely slowly.

After commandeering the carriage, Ruru turns to see that Brue has already been apprehended, and that a smoke bomb wouldn't probably help him much now.

---

Pepe first charges forward, flailing like a fish out of water, but then realizes his own inadequacies and in turn now follows someone who seems to know what they are doing, Ronaldo. Unfortunately for Pepe, Ronaldo is able to utilize four legs, while Pepe only has two, leaving him struggling to catch up.

[The Lord Kelvin]

Ruru grabs the powder cartridges and hops into the driver seat of the carriage.
She drives the horses in the direction of the reinforcements in an attempt to hinder them and jumps off the carriage after it starts gaining some speed (however much can be gained by the injured horse).

[SilkScarf]

Brue goes limp, while quietly instructing his 'little buddy' to exit his pouch (while still hiding within the folds of his clothing), and be ready for action.