- LightWarden
- Mar 18, 2007
-
Lander county's safe as heaven,
despite all the strife and boilin',
Tin Star,
Oh how she's an icon of the eastern west,
But now the time has come to end our song,
of the Tin Star, the Tin Star!
|
A Marshal's work is never done...
quote:Stay on as the Marshal for Lander County and bring justice to the frontier.
You polish your tin star and ride off into the sunset.
(Honor, Law, and Order increased) (+5 Honor, +5 Law, +5 Order)
Nor will she show favoritism to either of her two loves.
quote:Continue to the Epilogue
The epilogue begins.
Next Chapter
On last look at the stat sheet for the road...
quote:Miss Ruolan Shen:
Traits: Chinese.
Current Companions: Dan Schmidt, prospector. Miss Caraway, gunslinger.
Health: Bursting with vigor.
Wealth: Enough for a month in town.
Honor: Everything I am is bound up in word and deed. (100%)
Law: Rules are the bones of society. (93%)
Order: Everything is one, two and then three. (87%)
Notoriety: 14%
Skills:
Gunfighting: There may be one person who can equal your lightning fast hands, and you haven't met them yet. (74%)
Sharpshooting: You know the world best when you see it through the aperture of a scope. (64%)
Brawling: Precious few can get back up after you put them down. (52%)
Riding: At a gallop, the boundaries between horse and rider all but disappear. (50%)
Survival: The wilderness is an open book to you. (55%)
Legal Understanding: You could teach law at a major university. (44%)
Engineering: Mechanical, chemical, civil and hydraulic engineering are all well known to you. (34%)
Explosives: Nitroglycerin is unstable, and fun. (35%)
Persuasion: A few casual words from you can change people's lives forever. (73%)
Intimidate: A rattlesnake once bit itself rather than get in your way. (73%)
Stamina: You could travel for days on end without sleep or food. (46%)
Resolve: You can out-stubborn a tired mule. (70%)
Influence:
Ben Carson: The two of you are good friends. (77%)
Dan Schmidt: You are his northern star. (108%)
Miss Caraway: She loves you more than whiskey itself. (117%)
JT Preston: You are his one, true friend. (124%)
Richard Hartigan: He believes you are just another stuffy tin star. You owe each other no favors. (45%)
The people of Albion Falls: Bishop Hancock has faith in you. (71%)
Maria Agustina: Her love for you could scorch the heavens. (135%)
Marshal James: He didn't believe in miracles, until now. (102%)
Yiska: He knows that Tahoma is his true friend.(109%)
With that settled, it's time to see how we did. First up is the Summary of everything we did
quote:Achievement: My Word is My Bond
Your word is your bond. (100 Honor)
Achievement: I am the Marshal
See things through in Lander county. (Finished the entire game)
Following the death of a Marshal in Lander County, the second to be removed from his post in the span of two years, federal authorities rushed out yet another replacement to the beleaguered portion of Nevada. Little was known of Marshal Shen Ruolan's life before her arrival in Lander County. Hints of troubles amongst friends back in California were ruminated by many a tongue but Shen never said a word of it herself.
The day that the Marshal arrived in Preston Springs was the same day that a local gunslinger named Tumbleweed Jack came calling. Jack earned himself a cell in Carson City after a brief stint in the Elko jail and because of this the inhabitants of Lander County considered that justice had returned.
The Marshal would soon ride out to visit the Red Ribbon mining company, but nothing could stop the destruction of a makeshift dam that the prospectors had assembled. This sabotage would later be officially attributed to a roving band of Shoshone Indians despite the fact that the owning couple, Anya and Randall Admunsen, swore that Shen Ruolan had been directly involved.
The authorities in Carson City utterly refused to investigate the matter further.
Marshal Shen would be tested again while attempting to escort a wagon loaded with gold to the Utah border. Only after a running battle with the Hartigan gang did she guide the wagon to the border safely.
Eventually a man called Steele came calling to Preston Springs. He claimed to be the proper Marshal for Lander county and had all the paperwork in order. Marshal Shen took Steele's arrival as a personal affront and set out to investigate.
Witnesses were spoken with and evidence gathered. Soon the two Marshals met amid the busy Babylon saloon. The jury were the citizens and they found Steele guilty of impersonation. The false Marshal would eventually be taken to Carson City to await a more formal trial.
Autumn settled into Nevada and brought with it a very different threat. And not one from the Six Horns Lodges, not after Marshal Shen saw the nomadic Indians off to their wintering grounds in Green Deer Valley. The town of Preston Springs was facing a grave challenge as a flood seemed imminent. An immense effort saved the town from any serious flooding by the raging waters and life soon returned to normal.
Winter began to close in but in those waning days there came reports of Indian raiders striking near Albion Falls.
Marshal Shen set out to confront these along with a band of settlers from the Church of Latter Day Saints but ran afoul of a band of Paiute Indians. A parley was entered into and the Marshal managed to quell the anger of the Paiute's war-chief, a man called Many Falling Rocks, despite the loss and butchery of his son.
While searching for the raiders, Marshal Shen and a posse came across a regiment of U.S. Cavalry on an Indian sweep.
A long talk with Captain Baker ended with the regiment riding off without a single Indian to show for it.
Marshal Shen moved on in pursuit of the real raiders and dispersed the outlaws at the Painted Caves. This included the death of their leader, a Bannock Indian called Hungry Snake, amidst the twisting passages.
Marshal Shen Ruolan then returned to Preston Springs to wait out the winter.
The spring of 1868 opened with word of an impending attack on the Central Pacific railroad. Marshal Shen was quick to gather up some local hands before riding on out to settle things. To this day it isn't known exactly what happened at Dead Man's Gorge, except that it involved a flashing rifle, smoking pistol, and a bloody obsidian war-ax. Regardless, in the end she prevailed despite long odds.
But as the smoke cleared, the whistle of a distant train in distress rose up. Marshal Shen rode out to see what was the matter and, finding it seized by the enemy, daringly boarded it and battled her way across car after car until at last victory was in hand.
Shen Ruolan rode for New York following events in Lander County and traveled part way along the nascent trans-continental railroad. The death of the elderly Fredrick Charles Upton after a suspected confrontation between to the two gave rise to many scandalous rumors in the years to come.
Thus ended the saga of Lander County; but other stories continued.
Epilogue for Miss Shen.
See other fates and epilogues.
The enduring legend of Marshal Shen.
Next up is the Epilogue of Marshal Shen's personal life
quote:Epilogue for Miss Shen.
Shen Ruolan, known for carrying both a Colt Walker and an obsidian war-ax, headed out to New York.
The death of Fredrick Charles Upton, the reputed mastermind of Lander County's troubles, resulted from their encounter. No charges of any kind were ever filed.
Known for being a beacon of light, a flame of virtue, and a paragon of all that the Marshal's Service stood for, Shen Ruolan stayed on the frontier as a marshal with a Condessa named Maria Agustina and a fierce gunslinger called Miss Caraway. It was a much gossiped about arrangement that few men could keep from commenting upon, privately of course. And the three of them brought many a criminal to account.
Miss Caraway lived as she always had, traversing the distance from bottle to cards to dealing in lead on many an occasion.
Maria settled in as best she could, even going so far to fund fountains and libraries in several locales, but always her heart yearned to return home. Even after the revolution in Mexico swept aside the old order, she would ask travelers for tales from Jalisco where she had ruled ever so briefly in her husband's stead. She never married, though she did love. Eventually she invited her family to settle in the newly tamed lands. Few did so however and though she would call Nevada many things, home would never truly be among them.
Soon enough the Marshal's true name was cleared and she was able to contact the dear friends that had thought Ruolan long dead.
Then we find out what happened to the places and groups we've encountered.
quote:A history of the trans-continental railroad.
The Central Pacific railroad fought off an attack in the summer of 1868 when a determined regiment of bandits, in possession of a number of outdated but still serviceable artillery pieces, advanced upon the rail-head in force. Scarcely a man was killed thanks to a stalwart defense. Work resumed quickly thereafter.
Undeterred, the railroad kept to its frantic pace and reached Promontory Summit in Utah where it met with the Union Pacific railroad. There the two railroads drove in a golden spike to bring the country together. Where before there had been two halves separated by impossible distances, now there was a road of iron forged between them.
Though the Union Pacific would shortly file for bankruptcy owing to events in New York, enough governmental support was given to keep the railroad running. The Central Pacific basked for a time in its completed work, re-capitalized and then began laying rail elsewhere to connect small towns and mining sites that swiftly grew larger and larger.
The fate of Preston Springs.
In the wake of the trans-continental railroad, Preston Springs became a thriving boom town where gold and silver flowed as freely as the liquor. Fashions from Paris were sold two of Matthew's stores, the saloons added second stories, Kevin's forge added a full furnace, Godfrey's gun shop became an arsenal, and the Grand Haven Hotel gleamed at all hours of day or night.
Mother Maddy tended the Mother-Lode until her heart finally gave out and the townsfolk buried her in the shade of an oak tree atop Boot Hill.
Miss MacMurphy kept tending to the Grand Haven Hotel for JT. Preston. In time the two of them would marry and, despite the yelling they often got into, rare was the day that either slept alone. In time the hotel would become the grandest haven in Nevada.
Nothing could stop the town from growing into a full fledged city. It didn't matter that the rivers no longer yielded gold, that silver or lead could no longer be readily found in the hills, or that the copper deposits to the east were played out. No, after the glass-works and concrete set themselves up, other factories likewise flocked in from all over as new blood from all over kept the town thriving.
It became an utterly idyllic place, an illuminated oasis of virtue amid the desert. Where Las Vegas would glow, Preston Springs would shine.
The fate of the Indian tribes.
Yiska was glad to have come to an agreement with Marshal Shen concerning his people.
Yiska and Marshal Shen worked hard over the years to lessen the difficulties of the Shoshone.
But the federal government would soon force the Indians onto a reservation and though their hardships were alleviated by outside charities; a few steel knives, bundles of blankets, and bags of seeds were but a small recompense for the loss of their nomadic way of life.
The fate of Lander County.
Lander County sprawled too much to be effectively governed and would gradually be reduced in size and scope. But even so it left its mark on every village, town, and trading post that sprung up in the wake of the trans-continental railroad.
And in the decades to come when people asked what the wild west was like, the people of the county would say that it was filled with industrious people working a hard land against long odds and that they wouldn't have had it any other way.
We did well by Preston Springs, and turned it into a powerhouse of the southwest. Wasn't much we could do for the tribes despite our word. Not much can be done given the weight of history, but if she had mor epersonal power (such as being the sole heir of a giant fortune...) she might have been able to get a better deal.
Next up is the fates of the Major Characters
quote:The fate of Miss Caraway.
Miss Caraway Hartigan fell in love with Marshal Shen and, unlike so many other things in her life, this was a thing that would last. Miss Caraway never gave up on her vices but she did temper them until people had to squint to notice them. Nearly everyone she met was grateful for that. The exceptions being those fools who dared to insult the love of her life.
As the years went by, she became a bounty hunter and was paid well for finding, fighting, and finishing any number of outlaws across the United States.
The fate of Dan Schmidt.
Dan Schmidt met Marshal Shen and the two eventually became close friends.
He became the Deputy Marshal for Lander County for a time despite his tendency to wander a bit farther than those borders. Indeed, he considered wearing the tin star to be a weighty burden, but he had given his word and so he abided by it until the term of service was complete.
Dan Schmidt wandered but soon it became less an act of leaving than one of arrival. People who first met him declared the man a bear-fighter and saint in that order: the presence of bears depending. Before long every place he visited asked him to stay but every time he moved on, confident that he had to be somewhere else that needed him just as badly.
Fate of Ben Carson.
For many years Ben Carson herded cattle at the Big Bell ranch in Lander county. Come sunset he returned to his wife Millie and his many children. It was a good life and he never had to fire his rifle in anger again.
The fate of Maria Agustina.
Maria Agustina Theresa, Maria de Zapopan, Maria de la Descalzas Reales, Maria Paulina de Toledo y Santarosa would stay the faithful companion of Shen Ruolan, despite complications.
She lived a life as pious and bright as she had always dreamed; never swerving from doing what was right, just, and provident. In time she would impart these same virtues to the people of Jalisco as that same province emerged from the Mexican revolution.
Fate of James Tiberius Preston.
James Tiberius Preston stayed in his town his entire life.
He never lost the urge to make money and spend it lavishly. Later in life there were orphanages, churches, and libraries added to his businesses which he assured everyone were there only for the sake of publicity.
No one believed that, not after watching him dote upon children, but no one was rude enough to say anything publicly either.
The fate of Yiska.
Yiska formed a powerful friendship with Marshal Shen.
When times turned rough for the Shoshone he looked to the Marshal as a weather vane for what would come next.
Yiska refused to compromise either integrity, ethics, or morals as he sought to legally compel the federal government to treat with the Shoshone as equals. It would take years but he dedicated himself in full and reaped precisely the bounty that he had sown when plans for a reservation favorable to the Shoshone were drawn up.
The fate of Marshal Simon James and the undertaker Julie Moore.
With the acknowledged death of the elder Upton, the man who had ordered his brother's assassination, Marshal Simon James returned to California with his wife Julie Moore. There they settled down and were happy to live and love in full.
Of note is that these outcomes are not only based on if they survived, but they reflect the Marshal's own personal alignment. Since Marshal Shen was an honorable and largely upstanding woman her friends lived honorable and upstanding lives. Had she been less virtuous things could be radically different...
Then we have our minor characters.
quote:Review minor characters and locations.
Frank Spears.
Frank Spears lived and worked in Lander County for many years. When he grew tired he joined a band of monks in the mountains. There he contemplated the workings of the world, did a bit of farming, and always spoke with the occasional greenhorn that came his way. Whether it was matters of the heart or the hand, he always gave sterling advice to those who needed it.
Andy Smith.
Andy Smith died at Albion Falls from the wounds he sustained from the Hartigan gang. His family mourned his passing for over a year.
Sam Pitcavage.
Sam Pitcavage went out west to find his fortune. What he found was back-breaking work that filled his days with empty promises of fortune.
Sam kept guarding stagecoaches and riding with the occasional posse. He never cussed in public, never made trouble in the saloons and didn't start fights so much as finish them.
Eventually he would return to California. There he scraped up enough money to buy a farm and found joy in harvesting the bounty he brought forth.
Matthew from the general store.
Matthew Wrigley more than prospered as Preston Springs became a thriving boom town. In fact, it was more than one store could handle and so he purchased a second lot and sold Paris fashions to the newly wealthy. Before long he brought his wife and young son to join him in Preston Springs and not a day went by that they didn't celebrate their exquisite fortune.
Richard Hartigan.
Richard Hartigan was never caught. Some whispered that the county Marshal was secretly a member of the Hartigan gang.
But Hartigan's days of rampaging soon ended and the man vanished. No one heard much about him, though from time to time a mysterious figure would accompany Marshal Shen on particularly difficult errands of justice. The figure refused to answer to any name and struck down many a law-breaker with knife or pistol; despite continuously complaining about having to do so.
But wherever he was, his much loved daughter would be nearby. They argued, sometimes fought and stood apart, but always, always loved one another as only family could.
Martin Baldwin, the telegraph operator and dime novel writer.
Martin Baldwin continued to live and write in Elko for many years. His stark and unrelenting novels about the events surrounding Marshal Shen sold many copies owing to that association. His dime novel, 'The Golden Stagecoach', became a dramatic standard for western books and later movies.
Martin would garner local fame by speaking at public engagements and private parties, though his editor would continually prod him for stories with a wider appeal. The proceeds proved to be enough for him to live on and he did just that; settling into the habit of waking up and immediately putting pen to paper.
Timothy Sadler the leather-worker.
Timothy Sadler enormously expanded his leather shop as Preston Springs prospered, adding apprentices and even marrying when the opportunity presented itself. In time he would establish a monopoly on leather work for Lander County and pass that legacy onto his sons and daughters. But his crowning achievement arose after he set out to replicate a certain balloon that had caught his eye. The working of silk turned out to be not so different from leather and he soon established himself as a maker of hot-air balloons for the west coast.
Sadler Balloons would flourish for decades until the invention of the airplane forced his descendents to invest heavily in that newest development so that they might keep pace with the times. It was a decision that would carry them on into the modern age.
Kevin the blacksmith.
Kevin Coolidge labored at his forge most days as a blacksmith should. There were always ponies to shoe and iron to pour.
As Preston Springs boomed, Kevin added a full furnace to his forge. That made dealing with bulk orders easy, as did a pair of apprentices he could trust. In time his establishment would become the place everyone went if they wanted the finest work outside of Carson City. Swords, hammers, rails, or fixtures, he crafted them all in turn and hardly ever said a word.
And when the fires guttered, and the day was done, he would step out and ponder his memory of the Marshal. She had rarely come round but he recalled every word and gesture as he contemplated the stars in the sky. No two were alike and he certainly didn't want them to be.
With that pleasant thought in mind, he would turn in for a pleasant night of slumber so that he might be ready for another long day of work.
Jeff Donner, the butcher.
Jeff Donner's feud with the Winthrops, both Harry and Larry, continued on until 'Sheriff' Preston was forced to intercede. An accord was reached between all parties after Jeff Donner was made an honorary Deputy, forcing Harry and Larry's hand. In the end more than a little offering was slipped to Preston as peacemaker to manage an agreement that all grudgingly abided by.
Jeff would continue his work in the slaughterhouse; toiling on down through the years until the day he could no longer close his hands. Larry Winthrop bought him out for a song and Jeff retired to his little house to live out what remained of his life.
The Winthrops.
Harry and Larry's feud with Jeff Donner continued on until Sheriff Preston was forced to intercede. An accord was reached between all parties after Jeff Donner was made an honorary deputy, forcing the Winthrops hand. And in the end more than a little offering was slipped to Preston to manage an agreement that all grudgingly abided by.
The brothers married local women, one an Indian, and prospered despite how the trans-continental railroad slowly dispersed the need for a local tannery. The sons and daughters of the Winthrop name would slowly marry into the very sinews of the county.
Wong Dai Choi.
Wong Dai Choi continued to help feed the rail-layers of the Central Pacific railroad until the last spike was struck. He returned to California with his hard earned wealth and set up his own import company. It flourished and provided a crossroads of exotic eastern cuisine with the more hearty America fare.
In time he would pass the reins of the corporation to his sons and retire to live in relaxing seclusion in the hills above San Francisco. There he would tend to his family as their wise patriarch. His sons and daughters, and their children, and their children's children, would live and love in California for generations to come.
Many Falling Rocks.
Many Falling Rocks, the war-chief of Those Who Live In Snow; a Paiute tribe of Oregon, parleyed with Marshal Shen and a band of Saints and eventually agreed with the conclusion that others had slain his son and then tried to lay the blame upon others.
Many Falling Rocks pledged to aid Marshal Shen in any endeavor against those who had slain his son, and Those Who Live In Snow never forgot the bargain. Even as their numbers dwindled and the last of them married into other peoples tribes, they would speak of it at gatherings so that the honor of it never faded away.
The Admunsens.
With the destruction of their dam, Anya and Randall packed up their company and moved to another county. It didn't take long for them to strike it rich once again and soon they were carting silver off to California.
Captain Baker and Lieutenant Dalton.
Captain Baker would lead his regiment of Cavalry for a number of years as they patrolled the frontier. There would be plenty of scrapes with Indians and armed gangs until the day he retired with a small pension and took up farming in Oregon.
Lieutenant Dalton replaced Baker as Captain and when the regiment was called east to fight under General Custer, Dalton was thrilled to finally go in against the Indians. At the battle of Little Big Horn things would not develop to his advantage and a host of arrows would seal his fate.
The people who own stores in Preston Springs have their fates largely determined by how prosperous the town winds up, while the deputy candidates again reflect the Marshal's personal moral alignment. The Admunsens are based on how you chose to deal with them, while Dalton usually winds up on the wrong end of a war party one day depending on where you point him.
Then we've got our animal friends...
quote:Chairman Maow, the Marshal's cat.
Chairman Maow was just scraping by until the day that Marshal Shen decided to extend her generous hand. That was something that the big orange tabby could not refuse. At first the erstwhile companion ranged all over, but more and more returned to the office to slumber rather than nap in the usual nooks around town. It was a hard life on the frontier, hot in summer, cold in winter, the mice few, and the coyotes many; but Chairman Maow thrived and had many litters of kittens to show for it.
The Marshal's Grulla steed.
The Marshal's exotic striped Grulla suffered half the year on the frontier and baked the rest. Resigned to its fate, it kept to its stable and only ventured out when the Marshal demanded it.
Their fates are entirely dependent on where you settle down.
Then we've got the secret Legend Score...
quote:That Ben Carson and Dan Schmidt became friends, despite being very different people, is a tale often told and retold to children about the value of a handshake and apologizing when they are wrong. Three Legend points awarded.
Bringing down a bear was a rare event. For years to come people still talked about the Marshal, the berry bushes, and that hungry grizzly. Two Legend points earned.
The bloodless destruction of the Red Ribbon Mining company's dam soon became one of those often told stories in saloons across the old west. Everyone had a different take on it but few doubt it happened or that the Marshal must have been involved somehow. Three Legend points awarded.
The Marshal's brush with William 'Billy' Tate is later commemorated in a dime novel 'The Tin Stars of Nevada' where he recounts meeting the imposing Marshal Ruolan Shen. One Legend point awarded.
Tumbleweed Jack survived his time in the Carson City prison and stepped out into the sunlight a free and changed man. In time he returned to Kansas and started up a farm alongside his brothers and cousins. The family swiftly learned to prosper even when times are tight; and to his dying day Jack praised Marshal Shen. One Legend point awarded.
The Marshal's telegram to President Johnson is naturally settled into the Presidential archives. Many decades later scholars and historians stumbled upon it and readily drew it forth into the public eye; shedding light both on the workings of post civil-war government, the Presidency, and Americana in general. Two legend points awarded.
The telegram to and from the Secretary of the Treasury office Hugh McCulloch was kept in the official archives. In the early twenty-first century those records were converted to a digital format and the Marshal's correspondence peaked historical interest in the federal Marshal system and the Old West. One Legend point awarded.
The telegraphic conversation with the retired Marshal in New Orleans became a favorite account of the changing world in several books written during that time. This included the much loved telegraphy novel 'My life on the wires' by Martin Baldwin. One Legend point awarded.
Word of the Marshal's intention to confront Steele in Preston Springs leaped onto the telegraph wires and, for one Autumn day, readily griped the imagination of the American nation. Three Legend points awarded.
A dime novel called 'Massacre at the Bloody Ribbon' was based on actual events surrounding an illegal dam built by hydraulic miners. Though the Sheriff, oddly not a Marshal, in it is depicted as the villain, as is a bear-skin clad Scottish Highlander named Dan, a careful reading realizes things are otherwise. The dam would have allowed debris to accumulate and eventually flood the region and that removing it was the only way to prevent that.
Naturally, hydraulic mining companies saw things differently and spread the story far and wide about the depredations they endured. Two Legend points awarded.
The Marshal's impassioned presentation of the evidence against the false Marshal Steele in the Babylon saloon proves to be a memorable event that was passed along for years to come. Eventually an entire chapter concerning the incident is included in law school texts as an example that having the facts isn't enough; lawyers have to present things coherently to an audience who may not otherwise fully understand the impact of crucial pieces of evidence. Three legend points awarded.
The preposterous story of the Golden Stagecoach, pulled by a team of twelve white stallions and driven by the half-cousin of the Devil, was but a flash in the pan as far as the Old West is concerned. But a century later the tale finds a home in the metal music scene precisely because it is so epic. Two Legend points awarded.
Of all Martin Baldwin's works the one that stands out the most is his dime-novel called the 'The Copper Siren'; a lurid tale of a young telegraph operator whose infatuation with a young woman drives him to send a series of false telegrams to her suitors in order to lure his competition to depravity and doom.
Baldwin's intimate knowledge of the telegraph, owing to his years of working as the Elko operator, served him well in writing a story replete with details such as the identifying an operator's 'fist' based on the discrete differences they used in transmitting a message, his understanding of just how much truth people ascribed to messages from strangers, and the grim realities of frontier marshals. 'The Copper Siren' would inspire many a subsequent writer in a myriad of ways. One Legend point awarded.
The Six Horn lodge has many great tales and among them was the day they met Marshal Shen Ruolan. For when they were in need, the Marshal was there to help see them through to the safety of Green Deer valley. Two Legend points awarded.
The Marshal's efforts to divert the flood waters from swamping Preston Springs succeeded handily and everyone saw just what a marshal could accomplish beyond the realm of pistol and rifle. Two Legend points awarded.
It was said the Marshal got in a fair share of knuckle scrapes across Lander County. One Legend point awarded. (Melee Master 3)
There is at least one account of the Marshal wading into a gunfight and walking away unscathed. One Legend point awarded. (Bullet Legend 1)
The bearskin rug that decorated the Marshal's home was not a small thing. Even though only a few saw it, or knew the bloody story behind the acquiring of it, that sensational bit of ongoing gossip raced down through the years. One Legend point awarded.
Following a humiliating shaving at the hands of Many Falling Rocks, Travis Beeks accepts his bald visage with a measure of pride. In a story told and retold through the Latter Day Saints community it became a morality tale of doing wrong and making right despite a humbling cost. Two Legend point awarded.
On a strange day in 1868, a U.S. marshal named Shen Ruolan slew two African lions. Needless to say this became a long remembered event. One Legend point awarded.
The death of the Bannock bandit known as Hungry Snake in the Painted Caves was widely reported in Nevada if only for its sensational backdrop. One Legend point awarded.
Though a frontier marshal often lived a rough and tumble life, Marshal Shen was supposedly able to analyze and collate evidence the likes of which later detectives would readily appreciate. Two Legend points awarded. (Running down all leads on the Upton mastermind)
Marshal Shen was renowned for never going back on a sworn promise no matter how much blood had to be spilled or from who. Two Legend points awarded. (100 Honor)
The Marshal's skill with a pistol was highly regarded by all who witnessed it. Many a youngster would debate how such skill would fare against others of equal renown. One Legend point awarded. (71 to 80 Gunfighting)
Many studied the law but the Marshal mastered it. Few could challenge them on even the smallest point and certainly no one west of the Mississippi. One Legend point awarded. (41 to 50 Legal)
There were few situations that the Marshal couldn't defuse with a joke, or people that couldn't be riled to a murderous rage with a few choice words. One Legend point awarded. (55 to 75 Persuasion)
The Shoshone said that when a bear met the Marshal in the wild, it tried to roar but fled when its breath was suddenly stolen. One Legend point awarded. (55 to 75 Intimidate)
Supposedly one time a wall got in the Marshal way and all they did was square their hat and push on through. Three Legend points awarded. (65+ Resolve)
There are no variations to the Marshal's tale. It is told strong and true. Three Legend points awarded. (No deaths)
Legend points come from various events and decisions, plus having high skills- you don't ever need a skill at 100 and even a skill in the low-70s is enough for 99.9% of checks in the game (the tertiary skills of legal, engineering and explosives don't require more than about 30), anything past that is just for bragging rights, entertainment and seeing the descriptions. It also follows a couple of hidden scores like melee master (brawling with things), bullet legend (having a high enough gunfighting/sharpshooting skill that you don't actually take injuries in gunfights where others might), marksman (making really long-distance shots) and having low to no deaths during a playthrough.
Despite what some people may have thought it's actually perfectly possible to die in dozens of different ways in this game, usually by taking too many wounds in a short period of time or by making really questionable decisions. Death gives you the option to jump back to an earlier point in the game such as a checkpoint save in exchange for boosting your death penalty to your legend score. It's not a super big deal since legend doesn't count for anything except personal satisfaction. Of course, you can also choose to pack it in from where you died and jump straight to the (abbreviated) epilogue.
Now for our own Legend Summary
quote:Shen Ruolan, Wyatt Earp, Doc Holiday, Wild Bill Hickok, Calamity Jane, Billy the Kid, Anne Oakley, Davy Crockett, and Daniel Boone are undisputed Legends.
Over the years anyone and everyone has tried to claim each of the above as one of their own, regardless of whether their exploits were true. Truth or fiction mattered little when people wanted something to boast about.
Shen Ruolan in particular could be found in countless novels, radio programs, and movies about her life. Interactive games had to tackle the Marshal's tale and did so with everything from a digital adventure to a trilogy of full-length titles gaining widespread notice. That helped put a shining tin star into countless facets of every day lives.
Western culture proved no less voracious and leading actors vie constantly to don a tin star on stage and screen so they might bring the Marshal's before a new generation.
We got a high legend (about fifty by my count?), so Shen Ruolan is a staple of pop culture in the modern age. With a higher notoriety she'd be even bigger across more platforms, but she's plenty loved enough.
And lastly we've got the...
quote:The Tin Star song.
The children need not fear,
for the woman filled with justice and right is near.
Mountaineer or deadly Saint,
Plus two guns to make men faint
When trouble calls, they're not slow,
It's hip, hip, hip, and away they go!
When coaches through the county must ride clear,
To carry gold far from here,
An' Hartigan calls are coming near,
The cry goes up from townsfolk lips,
For the Tin Star, the Tin Star,
the Tin Star, the Tin Star.
Speed of lightning, roar of thunder,
People gape, as she strides tall amongst us!
The shining Tin Star, the Tin Star, the Tin Star.
When the miner's dam needs be blown,
before the raging river rises crushes homes, The flood does come,
but the waters will not touch the spritely sun.
Donner abides his herd,
because the local Sheriff gave his word.
The shining Tin Star, the Tin Star, the Tin Star.
There is no need to fear or quaver,
the law is your lever,
The wise Tin Star, the Tin Star, the Tin Star.
And when a Steele knife settled in,
the Tin Star was not taken in,
arrested the false man by evidence and right,
and the people applauded long into the night.
The righteous Tin Star, the Tin Star, the Tin Star.
Lander county's safe as heaven,
despite all the strife and boilin',
Tin Star,
Oh how she's an icon of the eastern west,
But now the time has come to end our song,
of the Tin Star, the Tin Star!
Which changes based on your allies, alignment, abilities and actions.
I would just like to take a moment to appreciate that for all the words I just posted there are thousands and thousands more located in the actual game files based on so many different variations in events, actions and abilities. It's an impressive game, one of my favorites in terms of technical ambition and you haven't even seen the half of it.
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Jan 2, 2019 14:29
