war of the dead

War of the Dead

Requires the Savage Worlds RPG by Pinnacle Entertainment for Use.
Design & Writing: Lee F. Szczepanik, Jr.
Editing: Tommy Brownell
Interior Art: Butch Mapa
Graphic Design: David Jarvis
Cover & Layout: Aaron Acevedo

This game references the Savage Worlds game system, available from Pinnacle Entertainment Group
at www.peginc.com. Savage Worlds and all associated logos and trademarks are copyrights of Pinnacle
Entertainment Group. Used with permission. Pinnacle makes no representation or warranty as to the quality,
viability, or suitability for purpose of this product. Some material from Savage Worlds Revised, Tour of
Darkness, and Slipstream copyright Pinnacle Entertainment Group, Inc. and used with permission.
Daring Entertainment can be found on the Internet at: www.daringentertain.com
War of the Dead is dedicated to George A. Romero, Tom Savini, Max Brooks, Z.A. Recht, and Robert Kirkman.
Special Thanks to David Harriss for providing the rule for Night Vision Goggle batteries.

Contents
GM’s Summary 3 Act Two: Taking the Spider from her Web 8
Act One: Is Johnnie Alive? 3 Act Three: Showdown in Helltown 11

War of the Dead is ©2010-2012 Daring Entertainment, LLC. All rights reserved. War of the Dead,
Daring Entertainment, and associated logos are trademarks of Daring Entertainment, LLC.

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Chapter fOUR:
To Reign in Hell (Week 10)
GM’S SUMMARY
John Milton once wrote that it is “Better to reign in
Hell, than serve in Heaven.” The criminal known as
Hell Fuerrie has taken that time-honored quote to new
heights.
After escaping from prison during the outbreak, Hell
Fuerrie assembled a new gang under his old banner
of the Ghost Riders and terrorized sections of the east
coast. Encountering the characters in North Carolina,
his plan to use them as bait in a Living Dead infested
town back�ired and resulted in the deaths of several
members of his gang. Vowing revenge, Hell tracked
them across the state and almost had them cornered
in a rural church, but the untimely arrival of a Living
Dead horde forced him to abandon the hunt.
Heading west, the Ghost Riders continued their reign
of terror— sacking entire towns, taking whatever they
wanted, and swelling their numbers with new recruits
culled from those that had once existed outside the law.
Hell eventually reunited with his younger brother, Dog
Pound: a career criminal known for drug traf�icking,
murderer, and organizing prostitution.
Encountering a petite blonde-haired woman named
Leanne Waid at an abandoned road stop, Dog Pound
immediately targeted her as the �irst of his new
prostitutes. That decision almost cost him his life
when Leanne revealed her talent for murder. If not for
the intervention of Hell Fuerrie, Dog Pound might very
well have become one of the Living Dead that very
moment.
Taken in by her talent, Hell Fuerrie brought Leanne
into the Ghost Riders and molded her into his new
Spiderbait.
Eventually, the gang arrived at a small Colorado town
that had barely weathered the outbreak. Abandoned
by the military and left to fend for themselves, the
townspeople were a desperate group. The Ghost
Riders easily took control, renaming it Helltown and
instituting themselves as its overlords. Although some
resisted and formed a weak opposition, the majority
fell beneath Hell’s heel, being reduced to slaves whose
very existence depended upon his twisted sense of
generosity.
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war of the dead
After expanding their reach and capturing a nearby
Federal Correctional Facility to use as a staging point to
take over the Citizen Relocation Zone, Hell’s plans were
tossed to the winds by the arrival of the characters and
their survivor group. After the characters managed to
gain command of the facility, the Ghost Riders launched
a campaign to annihilate them. That campaign cost
Hell Fuerrie many men. It also allowed the resistance
in Helltown to seize control of the abandoned western
portion of the town, and gain enough strength to plan
an all-out attack against the outlaws.
Hell Fuerrie eventually learned that the Federal
Correctional Facility was of strategic importance to the
military in command of the Relocation Zone. Striking
a deal to exact his revenge upon the characters, the
outlaw agreed to abandon the facility to General
Drazinsky in exchange for the characters being forced
to come to Helltown. To seal the deal, Steve Elliot
and Melissa Fimori— two children from the survivor
group— were given to the outlaws.
Forced into raiding Helltown not only to rescue the
children, but also free the other survivors being held
as collateral by the General, the characters prepare to
face overwhelming odds.
ACT ONE: IS JOHNNIE ALIVE?
Spiderbait and several outlaws visit the clinic looking
for their injured gang members. The characters are
forced into action and uncover a startling secret—
Evelyn and Edward Russo are not the only advanced
Living Dead.
SCENE ONE: THINK QUICK, ACT FASTER
Begin the adventure with the following narrative:
Reverend Waller dives forward and clicks the lock
on the front door as one of the outlaws turns the knob.
“What are you doing?” Mary exclaims in a panicked
whisper. “They’ll kill us when they see you here.” She
looks at the bodies of the two outlaws on the �loor. “Oh
my God. Spiderbait is going to—”
war of the dead
“That’s exactly why I locked the door,” Reverend
Waller replies. “We need to do what Doctor Conroy
said: take the bodies and get into the examination
rooms.”
The outlaw shakes the door from the other side.
“Hey! What the hell’s going on? Did Conroy leave?”
“He couldn’t have,” a soft, feminine voice, answers.
“Jim and Dreg should still be here.”
“We have to move,” Dallas says, �ingers brushing one
of the sword handles extending above his shoulders.
“Unless we’re doing this the right way.”
Reverend Waller casts him a wary look.
The characters should take control of the situation
and get everyone hidden. The front door shakes again,
and the outlaw pounds on the glass as he calls for
Conroy. While everyone moves into the examination
rooms, Caleb whispers for Mary to come with him.
She shakes her head. The outlaw pounds on the glass
again.
Caleb is about to argue with her when Spiderbait
tells the men to shatter the glass and unlock the door.
Conroy rushes forward, calling out that he is coming,
and unlocks the door. He is almost knocked from his
feet when the door �lies open and bangs loudly against
the wall.
The outlaws step into the room. Two of them stand
by the door, hands on pistols resting in holsters. One of
them leans against the accordion door of a closet. The
other two glare menacingly at Doctor Conroy while
Spiderbait steps in and makes a show of glancing
around the room. One of the men kicks the door shut
and locks it.
Spiderbait wears a necklace of eight �ingers and two
thumbs. The severed digits look fresh.
Without preamble, Spiderbait asks for Jim and Dreg.
Conroy says that he treated them and they left. He
was just about to head down to the diner for some
breakfast.
Spiderbait stares at him, and then points to Mary—
she wants to know why Mary is at the clinic. Conroy
stammers and Mary interjects that she came to invite
him to breakfast.
The outlaw leaning against the closet door
comments that he’s sure the Doctor was looking for
some breakfast all right— that’s why he had the door
locked.
Spiderbait’s lips form a very dangerous smile and
she narrows her eyes at Mary. Speaking to the outlaw,
4
she makes it a statement that Mary wouldn’t be
providing services to anyone on the side. After all, Dog
Pound would not appreciate the merchandise being
given away for free.
Conroy tries to tell Spiderbait that he would never
think of Mary that way, but is cut off as one of the men
punches him in the mouth. Conroy stumbles into the
desk and the two outlaws grab his arms.
The outlaw that punched Conroy grabs Mary by
the hair and twists it so that she drops to her knees.
Spiderbait comments that Jim and Dreg didn’t report
back to the compound. She says that she’s going to
search the clinic. While she does, she tells the outlaws
that they can do what they want with Mary and
Conroy— unless the two of them want to tell her the
truth about Jim and Dreg.
When Conroy starts to repeat that they have already
left, all hell breaks loose. Read the following:
As Conroy, fear obvious in his voice, repeats the story
that the two outlaws he was treating had left, the
closet doors bursts outward in a shower of splinters.
A human �igure pounces on the outlaw holding Mary
and tackles him off of her, both of them ramming into
the desk and causing the two men to release Doctor
Conroy as they dive to the side.
The thing attacking the outlaw has pale, gray
skin. Large chunks of �lesh on the back of its neck
and shoulders are missing, exposing the muscle
underneath.
The outlaw’s eyes are wide with fear as he looks into
the dead eyes of his attacker.
“You . . . not . . . hurt . . .friends!” The thing groans,
slow but clear, before sinking its teeth into the man’s
throat.
Before anyone can act, Caleb steps into the hallway—
pistol aimed at the Living Dead. Reverend Waller grabs
his wrist and thrusts the gun to point at the ceiling,
yelling at Caleb that the thing is protecting Mary and
Conroy. It also speaks, just like Evelyn.
Conroy, despite the chaos in the main room, sees
Caleb and Reverend Waller and yells at them not to
hurt Johnnie— he isn’t like the others. Johnnie holds
the key to human survival inside of him!
Make a group Guts roll for the outlaws using an
unskilled d4-2 plus the Wild Die. On a failure, they are
panicked by the sudden, violent arrival of the creature.
If the outlaws are panicked, roll 4d6— one die for each

RUNNING THE CLINIC COMBAT ENCOUNTER
The characters vastly outnumber the outlaws, who are more than likely in a panicked state
from the abrupt appearance of a Living Dead. The characters should be able to make short
work of them and avoid gun�ire.
If the characters are going for a kill on Spiderbait, and no one else in the group thinks of it,
make sure to have Reverend Waller or Caleb yell out a very �irm recommendation that she not
be killed. She has information on the town that the group needs. They have to keep her alive
for interrogation.
remaining outlaw. For each roll of 1-2, an outlaw �lees
outside the clinic on the group’s turn. On a 3-6, he �lees
directly toward the characters and their allies. If the
outlaws attempt to �lee the clinic, the characters are
going to have to stop them before they alert the entire
town. Fighting or Shooting rolls against an outlaw
attempting to �lee the clinic gain a +2 bonus since the
outlaws are tripping over each other, or at the very
least have to pause to unlock and open the door.
If they get outside, the characters have 1 minute (10
rounds) to �lee the scene. On round 11, 1d4+2 outlaws
arrive at the clinic, all armed with M-16 ri�les (Range:
24/48/96, Damage: 2d8, ROF 3, AP 2, Auto, 3RB).
Spiderbait is more resilient to the appearance of the
Living Dead and does not have to make a Guts check.
Deal Action Cards!
Exactly how the scene plays out will depend on
the characters and their allies, the reactions of the
outlaws, and whether or not shots are �ired. If anyone
�ires a gun, they have 10 rounds before 1d10+4
outlaws armed with M-16 ri�les arrive on round 11.
That is in addition to any outlaws arriving in response
to a panic result from the Guts check. In other words,
if the characters don’t �ight smart, they could be facing
1d4+1d10+6 outlaws on round 11.
As far as the Living Dead goes, the outlaws that
remain will surprisingly ignore him and open �ire
toward Reverend Waller and Caleb. Their re�lexes
take over at seeing armed, living people inside the
clinic even while their brains try to process Johnnie’s
presence.
Once the combat is over, Mary is shaking like a leaf,
and Caleb tries to calm her down. Dallas draws his
sword and prepares to destroy the Living Dead, who
is huddling in a corner behind Doctor Conroy and
groaning: “I sorry . . . I sorry . . . I sorry . . .” repeatedly.
Conroy alternates between telling him that he did
nothing wrong, and pleading with Dallas to not destroy
him. Conroy repeats that Johnnie is the key to human
survival.
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war of the dead
Reverend Waller is extremely curious what Conroy
means, but Dallas isn’t buying it. Instead, Dallas openly
reminds everyone about the experiments Viory has
been conducting and how their friends could be guinea
pigs. He reminds everyone about Ragers. Finally, he
reminds them about Edward Russo— a Living Dead
able to lead millions against humanity, all because of
experimentation.
Dallas steps forward, declaring that he’s had enough.
If the characters don’t try to stop Dallas as steps
toward Conroy and the Living Dead, Reverend Waller
will grab his shoulder. Dallas spins around and
punches Waller in the jaw, knocking him back. Caleb
immediately draws his pistol and points it at Dallas.
Oddly, Dallas’ team does not react— they only watch
the events unfold.
Caleb says that he wants to hear what Doctor Conroy
has to say. Dallas stares at him threateningly before
stating that Caleb is insane. Dallas claims it’s just going
to be more twists and lies and, in the end, yet another
horror shoved up their collective asses. He shakes his
head. He is ending it now.
As he takes another step toward Conroy, Caleb makes
a clear show of �lipping the safety off his gun.
By this point, the characters can’t afford a gunshot
alerting the town (or more of them, if outlaws are
already on the way), nor can they have the group kill
each other. Caleb is not going to be talked out of his
position, especially with Waller backing him up. The
characters are going to have to attempt a Persuasion
check against Dallas. On a Failure, physical action will
have to be taken to stop him. On a success, he agrees
to hear what Conroy has to say, but vows that if it’s
bullshit, he taking the creature down. On a raise, he
stares at the characters before saying that they can
have it their way— but only because it Alexandro’s last
request.
Conroy will indicate Spiderbait and remind the
characters that they now have the one person in the
town that is the focus of Hell Fuerrie’s attentions. It
war of the dead
MORE OUTLAWS ON THE WAY
Once the combat is over and Spiderbait is subdued,
it’s possible that the characters have a limited amount
of time to get out of the area with their prize. If so,
then the information revealed by Doctor Conroy will
have to be postponed until either the beginning of
Week 12, as they prepare for the arrival of the CRZ
forces, or in the conclusion of the series in Week 13.
If that’s the case, you can proceed directly to Act
Two, Scene One.
won’t take long for him to notice that she is missing.
Therefore, they don’t have a lot of time.
He will begin the exposition by explaining what they
already know, that some people carry an immunity to
infection, and how processing it and injecting it into the
Cerebellum of the Living Dead changes them. Conroy is
rather long-winded when he starts lecturing, so if the
characters don’t cut him off, Dallas will interject that
they already know all of that. Conroy will nod, and tell
them that there is a secondary phase to what happens.
Johnnie, the Living Dead, was transformed a month
ago— a fact that he’s had to keep well hidden from
Hell Fuerrie. Conroy extracted some of the �luid from
Johnnie’s Cerebellum. He doesn’t know how it changes
them, as without a functioning circulatory system
it doesn’t process through the body, but something
happens to the Living Dead brain when it comes into
contact with the �luid. Anyway, he withdrew some
of the �luid and mixed it with his own blood. Trace
amounts of the infection can be found in any human
without the immunity, it just doesn’t become rampant
until after a bite from a Living Dead, or after death.
What he found was incredible. The changes that the
compound underwent inside Johnnie were amazing,
and he doesn’t even know where to begin investigating
them. But when Conroy combined it with a sample of
his own blood and watched it under a microscope,
he found that the infection was destroyed. The entire
process took approximately two hours.
He extracted more and injected it into himself. A
day later, he tested his blood again. All traces of the
infection were gone. Then, he took the ultimate risk.
As Conroy speaks, he begins unbuttoning his shirt.
Underneath is a bandage. He takes the bandage off
and shows the remains of a very nasty bite that has
been sutured, now almost healed. Below it is a second
set of stitches. Conroy explains that he allowed
Johnnie to bite him. It took a lot of coaxing as, except
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in extreme situations like happened today, Johnnie has
been taught that biting humans is very bad. When the
hunger overwhelms him, he’ll search for animals.
Dallas’ eyes open wide and he claims that Conroy is
insane— he’s infected himself. He’s as good as dead.
As Dallas steps toward him, Conroy raises his
hands and shakes his head. He quickly explains that
he checked his blood every other day for two weeks.
There is absolutely no sign of infection. Whatever
happened inside Johnnie, the �luid is a vaccination
against the Living Dead!
If the characters don’t do so, Reverend Waller will
ask a vital question. He’ll ask if Conroy is sure about
that, or whether the changes that took place in Johnnie
no longer make the infection transmittable through
his bites.
Conroy will respond that it is a very valid question,
and one that occurred to him as well.
He has a normal Living Dead in the basement, which
also serves as his laboratory— all things considered—
and he allowed it to bite him as well, which is why he
has two sets of sutures. The test results were the same:
no infection.
Mary asks him where he got another Living Dead in
the middle of winter. Conroy looks apologetic as he
states that Lou Peters didn’t defect to the resistance,
he died of a heart attack during the �irst snowstorm
and reanimated at the clinic. Conroy’s been keeping
him hidden ever since.
Mary is aghast. Dallas just shakes his head and
mutters that the entire town is nuts.
Johnnie comments that the thing in the basement is
hungry, he can feel it.
Have the characters each make a Smarts roll. On a
success, they recall the severed hand possessed by the
dead outlaws found in the remains of the mountain
facility. Conroy is missing that same hand.
If asked, Conroy will admit that it was his. When Hell
Fuerrie controlled the prison, he didn’t know what
he was sitting on, but Conroy did. He was hoping to
use the laboratory there to continue his research. He
�igured he would convince Hell that he needed to visit
the prison to check the in�irmary for supplies, and
then disappear into the lab. Unfortunately, Hell lost
control of the prison and was unable to take it back.
When he told the outlaws about the back door into
the place and how he could get them access, they beat
him until he told them everything. Conroy will claim
that he lied and said that it was a laboratory to check
for infectious diseases, and that the mountain facility
 war of the dead

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war of the dead
was a secret CDC location. Instead of letting him come
along, though, they took his hand.
Dallas is furious. Conroy could have gotten all of the
survivors killed! There were children in that prison!
Conroy, now fearful for his life, will claim that he didn’t
know. All he knew was that some paramilitary force
took the prison. He was afraid it was Division-M. Had
he known who was really at the facility, he would never
have told Hell Fuerrie how to get into it.
A Notice check will tell the characters that Conroy
is telling the truth. A reminder to Dallas that they also
need Conroy to get help in assaulting the town, and
rescuing Steve and Melissa, will back him off.
Conroy says that they need to get moving before
more men come looking for Spiderbait. He suggests
they take her to the western half of town, and that they
seek refuge with the resistance. Having Spiderbait
in custody might also entice them to assist with the
attack, as it will show the capabilities of the characters.
Caleb tells Mary to go back to her house, lock the
doors, and stay hidden, until everything is over. Dallas
�irmly tells Caleb that that isn’t going to happen— she
is coming with them. Caleb refuses to place her in even
more danger. Dallas refuses to let her out of everyone’s
sight. How long has she been in the town, living under
Hell Fuerrie? Who’s to say she isn’t one of the them
now, and won’t �lip the alarm as soon as she can?
Caleb is about to attack Dallas for even thinking that
about his wife. Reverend Waller reminds Dallas that
Mary has helped them so far, and put her life at risk
doing so.
If the characters agree with Caleb, have them make a
Persuasion check. On a Failure, Dallas is going to insist
that Mary come with the group. On a success, he’ll let
her go, but swear that he’ll kill Caleb if she betrays
them. On a raise, he’ll once again agree to do what the
characters want.
Once Mary is allowed to return home (or the
characters support Dallas and she is forced to
come along), Conroy has the bodies moved into an
examination room and locks the door. He tells Johnnie
to return to the basement and lock himself inside his
special place. Conroy will explain it is a hidden panel
he built that allows Johnnie to get into the building’s
structure and hide by standing motionless inside the
wall.
Conroy then heads to the back door and tells them to
follow him, and to move quickly.
8
ACT TWO: TAKING THE
SPIDER FROM HER WEB
The characters make it to the western section of the
town and are taken before the resistance leader to
negotiate an alliance. Afterward, Spiderbait regains
consciousness and the group must decide the best
course of action for an interrogation.
SCENE ONE: RECRUITMENT
Doctor Conroy leads the characters out the back
door and into the snow. Since it is vital to the story that
the characters make it to the resistance, no rolls are
necessary. The area is clear of outlaws and civilians.
Read the following narrative:
Doctor Conroy leads you from the rear of the clinic
and through the deep snow, taking rarely traveled
side streets as he heads west. He pauses at various
buildings and casts a quick look around the corner.
Occasionally, he quickly ducks back and motions
for everyone to huddle against the wall. After a few
moments and another glance, he motions everyone
forward and takes off at a jog.
After what seems like forever, Conroy leads you
through a break in the line of rubble. He continues for
several blocks, and then the unmistakable sound of
ri�les being cocked echoes around you.
Looking around, you see half-dozen men on nearby
rooftops, their weapons trained squarely on your
group.
If any characters go for their weapons, Conroy yells
at them to not draw as he raises his own hands in
surrender. He’ll quickly explain that the men they see
are meant to be seen, it’s the dozen or so unseen guns
trained on them right now that will open �ire.
Conroy then turns his attention to the men on the
roof and identi�ies himself. One of the men replies that
they all know who he is, their question is who is with
him— and is that unconscious woman who he thinks
it is?
Conroy quickly explains that the characters are
enemies of Hell Fuerrie, and how they are here to
rescue children that Hell kidnapped and intends
to murder. They want to bring the man down, and
need help. As the men can see, the characters have
Spiderbait with them, so they are combat capable.

The man is silent for a moment, and then asks how
he can be sure that the characters aren’t working with
Hell Fuerrie and Spiderbait is part of a set-up to draw
them out— or allow the characters to in�iltrate them.
Although Conroy brie�ly explains the encounter at
the clinic and how they captured Spiderbait, the man
on the roof is still unconvinced. Even the situation at
the clinic could have all been part of an elaborate plan.
The characters are going to have to make a
Persuasion check. Regardless of the outcome, they will
be allowed to speak with Ollie, the resistance’s leader.
The characters will have to engage in a Social Con�lict
to get his aid. The result of this Persuasion roll will
affect that later interaction as the impression they give
to these men will be reported.
On a failure, the characters are having a very bad
day and receive a –2 penalty to the Social Con�lict.
On a success, they receive no modi�ier. On a raise, the
characters get a +2 bonus during the upcoming Social
Con�lict.
After the Persuasion roll and role-playing, the man
orders Conroy to take them to the church and wait.
Conroy thanks them, and tells the characters to follow
him.
Spiderbait groans and Dallas slugs her. Reverend
Waller is startled, and asks Dallas if he’s out of his
mind. Dallas shrugs and says nothing.
The church is a small affair, but is completely intact
and has been kept clean. Numerous candles are lit,
adding to the muted lighting coming through the
stained glass windows. The characters are waiting
for several moments before the two doors behind the
altar open— one to the right and left that lead to the
sacristy. A dozen armed men enter the church through
each door, and a �inal man emerges behind them. He is
short, with red hair and a full beard, and appears to be
in his late forties to early �ifties.
While his group keeps the automatic ri�les pointed
at the characters, the man introduces himself as Ollie
and asks them what they want in his town.
It’s up to the characters to present their plea for
assistance. Hell Fuerrie has a small army, and they
need all the help they can get. In addition to the players
having to role-play the scene, they must also enter into
a Social Con�lict with the man (See the Savage Worlds
Deluxe rulebook). Since he is not arguing against
them, the characters only have to make a series of
unopposed Persuasion rolls. Remember to apply any
modi�iers from the earlier Persuasion roll against the
guards.
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war of the dead
NARRATING THE PERSUASION AND
SOCIAL CONFLICT ENCOUNTERS
Be sure to have the players role-play through the
Persuasion roll against the resistance guards, and
the Social Con�lict with Ollie. Although the results
are based on a few simple die rolls, the reasons for
success or failure should be established through the
narrative and dialogue.
Based on the results, Ollie’s �inal reaction is detailed
below.
Zero: Ollie doesn’t see how the characters are going
to be able to make enough of a difference and refuses to
send people into a war just to be killed. The characters
are going to have to �ind some other way to convince
him.
1-2: Ollie and his resistance will help the characters,
but only if they agree to turn the town and all military
ordnance over to him and his men afterward. The
town belongs to the people who called it home before
the outlaws came, and he wants it returned— with the
ability to defend itself. If the characters ask if he will
place himself in charge, he acknowledges that fact, but
adds that it will be only until the town votes to elect an
of�icial Mayor.
3-4: Ollie agrees to help the characters, but states
that after the town is freed, Reverend Waller has to
remain as a permanent resident and reopen the church
for worship. Ollie feels that faith is very important to
a healthy community, and the priest that used to run
the church was taken during the outbreak. Reverend
Waller agrees.
5+: Ollie agrees to help the characters in full force.
It’s time Hell Fuerrie and his men were killed for
everything they’ve done.
Once negotiations are settled, Spiderbait groans and
she starts to regain consciousness. Ollie looks at the
characters. She is their prisoner, so he asks them what
they want to do with her.
Dallas draws his sword. It’s time to get some answers.
SCENE TWO: SPIDER IN A JAR
If the characters don’t react to Dallas, Caleb will step
between him and Spiderbait. He’ll ask Dallas what he
thinks he is doing. As a response, Caleb gets a hard
stare for several seconds. Caleb replies that he’s not
war of the dead
impressed, and that Dallas isn’t going to start cutting
off body parts.
Dallas feigns surprise as he looks around at the
assembly. He asks if they think that woman is just
going to hand over information, or if they think they
can brow beat her into spilling her guts. He points
out that those people have Steve and Melissa, and the
more time they waste, the more likely the kids are
going to die. They need answers, and they need them
fast. He doesn’t know of any greater motivator than
severe pain.
It’s up to the characters how the situation is handled.
The operative skill is Intimidation. On a straight
Intimidation check, the characters receive a –2 penalty.
Spiderbait is insane and a hard nut to crack. However,
if they let Dallas go to work on her, they receive a +2
bonus to the Intimidation check to get information
out of her (exactly how Dallas operates on her is up
to you). The characters can switch back and forth.
For example, starting with the –2 penalty through a
simple interrogation, then letting Dallas butcher her
on the next round, and so forth. However, time is of
the essence and a tough choice will have to quickly
be made. Once Dallas is allowed to make her talk, the
characters no longer receive the –2 penalty on rounds
they don’t use him. Instead, there is no modi�ier.
Each round that Dallas is allowed to entice her to
talk, she receives a level of Fatigue. He is being careful
not to kill her. If Dallas is allowed to attack her on a
third round, she falls unconscious instead of revealing
information, so the characters will also have to balance
using him.
The interrogation is a modi�ied Social Con�lict.
The characters have three rounds to get as much
information out of her as they can, with each success
and raise being cumulative. Based on their success, the
characters get the following information.
1: The children are at the compound. They have real
spirit, maybe that will be enough to keep them alive.
The boy, especially, is real handy (she emphasizes that
word with an evil smile) to have around.
Allow the characters to make a Smarts check. On a
success they realize, just as Dallas’ face goes completely
blank, that the eight �ingers and two thumbs she’s
wearing around her neck are about the size of Steve’s
digits.
Spiderbait freely admits that they belonged to the
boy. He decided to �ight back, so Hell ordered the �ight
taken away from him. Dog Pound loved doing it and
hearing the boy scream, but he always gets to have all
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the fun. She tells the group not to worry, though, as
Doctor Conroy did his job and the boy will live.
As soon as Spiderbait says that last part, Dallas is a
blur as he suddenly has Conroy pinned against the wall
with a sword at the man’s throat. He accuses Conroy of
being a “lying sonofabitch”. Ollie and his men simply
watch the events unfold, as Conroy stammers that he is
not with Hell Fuerrie. He saved the boy’s life. He didn’t
tell them because he fears the entire group is insane. If
he had told them, they would have run off to confront
Hell Fuerrie instead of getting the resistance to help,
and they would have died. Then the town would have
remained under Hell’s control and the kids would have
died anyway.
If the characters don’t intervene, Reverend Waller
will calmly tell Dallas to let Conroy go. Not only do
they need the doctor for the vaccination, but he’s also
brought them this far. He suggests to Dallas that he
save his fury for Hell.
Spiderbait chuckles at the scene and is enjoying
Dallas going off the deep end. She taunts that Steve
isn’t alone in his pain. After all, Hell has taken the girl
as his personal entertainment.
Dallas spins on her, murder in his eyes.
2: Spiderbait elaborates that, starting tonight,
Melissa will be forced to �ight in the Arena for Hell’s
personal entertainment. Her lover is going to use the
boy as the prize. Without hands, he certainly can’t
defend himself. He’ll be tossed into the arena with the
Living Dead, and the girl will have to �ight to save his
life— or they both die.
Hell �igures the bets will be �lying high on those
�ights— and knowing Hell, he’s going to be right.
3: Spiderbait tells them that the compound always
has at least 20 people inside, and that Hell has 84 men
following him in total (much more than the previous
numbers they had been given). The armory is kept in
the basement and contains over 200 ri�les, pistols, and
assorted grenades. They also have several cases of C-4
stored down there.
She further reveals that the outlaws have 8 remaining
tanks, all fully armed, and one Apache helicopter
parked in the �ield behind the school. Four of the men
are pilots.
4: Spiderbait now reveals a piece of crucial
information: two of the men under Hell were demolition
experts. When the outlaws were “inspecting” all of
the main buildings in the town, they were actually
installing explosives that the men created from the C-4
 war of the dead
and electronics. The explosives are remote detonated,
and controlled from a laptop they keep fully charged
in the compound. The laptop is kept in what was once
the principal’s of�ice. By entering a sequence, they
can detonate all the explosives simultaneously. Hell
wanted it as a fail-safe in case the military invaded the
town.
5: Spiderbait gives the characters the code to activate
the explosives: Dante. The code to deactivate them is:
Faust.
Once the interrogation is concluded, the characters
will have to decide what to do with her. Ollie and his
men have no feelings one way or the other. If everything
goes well, she and all of her people will soon be dead,
anyway. The allies also leave it up to the characters.
Even Reverend Waller has no sympathy for her after
what he’s learned has happened to Steve and Melissa.

ACT THREE: SHOWDOWN IN HELLTOWN

Hell Fuerrie’s forces, having learned that Spiderbait
was taken by the resistance, lead a bombardment on
the western portion of town, pushing the characters
into the �inal battle for Helltown.

SCENE ONE: THE BATTLE BEGINS

Once the characters have decided what to do with
Spiderbait, Ollie motions them over to talk out of
earshot of their allies.
He asks them how long they’ve known Dallas, and
then asks if the man has always been so dangerous.
He’ll explain that there is something in the man’s
eyes— he’s broken. He’s seen that look before when
he was in the Army. The man is living too close to the
edge, and if he doesn’t get himself killed, he’s going to
get people around him killed. Regardless of what (if
anything) the characters say in Dallas’ defense, Ollie
tells them that he’s a danger in the upcoming battle.
Ollie would appreciate it if Dallas didn’t �ight alongside
his men, and went his own way in what’s to come.
Before the characters can respond, there is a loud
explosion and the church shakes. Ollie’s men, as well
as the characters’ allies, are all in shock.
A second later, there is another explosion as the
building shakes again.
Ollie rushes to the front door and looks outside. His
body tenses and he curses.
A tank rolls over the rubble several blocks away.

TO BE CONTINUED NEXT WEEK.

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