Someone asked me about all of the work I did for Doomtown: Reloaded, the card game from Alderac Entertainment that just met its demise for new production. This game has the coolest mechanics, worth checking out on the clearance racks of stores for sure.
I wrote a LOT of words over the last couple of years, including naming some cards, which was pretty fun. Below I’ve pasted a link for every story I did for the game for easy access, and there’s a special bonus for people who scroll down and read to the end, something all Doomtown flavor aficionados will probably want to see. A gift for trusty readers in anticipation of my forthcoming novelization of Star Realms, coming soon!
https://doomtownarchives.wordpress.com/2016/03/16/98/
https://www.alderac.com/doomtown/2016/06/01/curtain-rises-fiction-no-funny-business/
https://www.alderac.com/doomtown/2016/07/25/grand-entrance-fiction-alignment/
https://www.alderac.com/doomtown/2016/09/23/blood-moon-rising-preview-moving-forward/
And there you have it. But that’s not all. Going through my archives, I found a deleted scene that was supposed to take place during the 2015 Gencon slaughter as the factions squared off against each other. I took a couple of characters, who were cards made for a couple of the designers, and squared them off. This scene was edited out of the final piece, a real deleted scene from the game! You, trusty reader, get to read this for the first time (unedited) below:
(Background: The events herein take place during the Nightmare at Noon plotline from Gencon. Sloane and her gang have ridden into town to rescue, and then get retribution for what they perceive as an injustice for Lawrence Blackwood, who is hanging for a murder he confessed to. )
The whole town had gone crazy, citizens running and hiding while the gang took on the Law Dogs in their ‘battle of Retribution’ as Soane had called it. That was well and good, but running into bullets wasn’t the best way to ensure getting paid in perpetuity. Nor would it bring back Lawrence Blackwood. Unlike many other members of the gang, the man known as The Fixer tended to avoid direct confrontation.
The Fixer struck a match. Flame danced on the end of it. Fire was a beautiful, temporary thing. A life so short, yet so strong. This tiny flame would grow into something amazing. It fell to the ground, next to some old copies of the Gomorra Gazette soaked in alcohol.
His plan set into motion, the Fixer turned around and fingered an octagon-shaped metal charm, strutting away from the Carter’s Bounties tent. Most of the other orthodox immigrants carried crosses, but The Fixer had a different philosophy.
The Carter’s Bounties tent went up in flames, the canopy ablaze in its glory. The heat caused the Fixer to sweat. Paper rewards posters rained from the sky.
At least the gunplay down the street provided a distraction. The potential loss of life wasn’t worth killing a couple deputies. This though, would set back the Law Dogs for a long while.
A man dressed in a fancy coat and bowler stood across the street. He was clean shaven and his fingers wiggled near his holstered peacemaker. The Fixer recognized the man as J.W. Byrne, a society man with a swagger. He’d been a proposed target of robbery a few times by Silas and the others, but The Fixer always chose his enemies wisely. A fight would Byrne would cost far more than they’d gain from the contents of his coin purse.
Byrne stepped forward, surveying the tent behind The Fixer. He pushed back his coat to reveal a holstered pistol. “You’ll be drawin’ the ire of the law with that there display,” he said.
“Do I need soot you, feeleh?” the Fixer said, his Greek accent thick, voice low. No one threatened him.
The two men locked eyes for a long moment, flames crackling in the background. The wind picked up, blowing a plume of smoke in their direction. Neither man moved.
Shots echoed off buildings further down the street. Byrne turned to break the staredown first. A frown crossed his face as he peered down the street and secured his hat. “No, you don’t. I ain’t got no beef with you. I keep to my own.”
“Good.” The Fixer said laconically. He continued on his way into the shadows, hand resting on his gun’s pearl-handle.
I’d like to thank everyone who read the Doomtown run, it’s always great to hear that people enjoyed the story after the work we put in. And I hope you will check out my book coming out soon. You’ll enjoy it!
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