"ROOT OF ALL EVIL" Premiere Event Recap

With the Overgrowth agitated and threatening to overrun the town, RANGER pointing fingers at the Financial Institutions, and Machonis Company circling into the area to profit on rumors of a new disease, travelers and locals flooded into Barker for a large trade meet. Find out what exactly went down (or didn't) during our August Premiere Event.

Friday Night

The first night of the trade began with a bang. Botadens Researchers—local Overgrowth scientists and experts—came into town both afflicted with Wildwood Fever and bringing samples for research into this new virulent and fast-acting disease. They didn't leave, however, without first infecting several in their rages.

Meanwhile, the first visit to a Machonis Company site—part of promised audits—revealed worrying information and an Infected Bear-ver that had to be put down. Simultaneously, Marshal Ephraim Butcher continued his hunt for Murder Inc., speaking with several people in town before revealing some organization members and attempting an arrest. 

Butcher later interrogated A. Walker, Sainthood of the Postal Service, who experienced strange and adverse reactions while questioned about Murder Inc., mainly about "The Lockes" and "The Atlas," before dropping dead from a brain hemorrhage. After the town endured psionic fallout from a powerful Aberrant's final death, Walker's zed (a Brilliance Breaker psionic undead) was put down by several Survivors in a harrowing fight—including those close to Walker in life. As the night wore on, folks rescued Deja from the Mortis, and the Mortis Stranger, which had been menacing the town, was dealt with.

Saturday Morning

The financial institutions held a festival Saturday morning that lasted into the early afternoon. Those in attendance had plenty of fun, but several spirited researchers sought to progress their research into Wildwood Fever as the symptoms worsened throughout its victims. Fiona Machonis paid a visit, completing research for pay and pausing Wildwood Fever with injections of her proprietary Purifying Bad Brain. The head of the Rolling Coalition, Pacman, visited the Mayor, warning him against working with RANGER. Making his war and demands for blood publicly known, Pacman and Shift left the town expecting members of RANGER and info sent their way. 

As if that wasn’t enough chaos, a RANGER member assaulted folks gathered at the festival. Once stopped, they implicated Machonis in harvesting a root in the Overgrowth, causing the agitation and Wildwood Fever to spread. Taken out of town and immediately executed by the Rolling Coalition, the RANGER member (one of the Grace Rovers) yielded a cipher key for cracking codes at the Machonis sites.

Saturday Afternoon

Another Machonis audit Saturday afternoon yielded similarly troubling results and a fight with some Infected Boulder Puma. Butcher returned to town hunting for Nicholas, who struck back with murderous intent—only for Tarth to jump in the way of the blows, taking their final death, which reverberated through the town. Tarth emerged as a Broken Angel, fitting for a Sainthood Saint, and was defeated as the mourning Survivors remained.

A third Machonis site audit put pieces together with a fight against Infected Radbits, leading several brave people to meet with Fiona Machonis and attempt diplomacy. As her plans and motives unfurled before them – seeking the Moonwort within the Overgrowth, which she saw as a potential panacea at any cost, and believing the Wildwood Fever to be a solvable problem, Fiona was prepared to take on the town and die if necessary in pursuit of a better world.

Realizing the nature and possible source of her convictions, several agreed to work with her. An experiment occurred, sacrificing a member of town to Wildwood Fever so Fiona could study the effect of the Fever and Physis, her experimental serum, to prevent Infection loss from the Fever. Diving into the resultant Mortis scene, Fiona's past became known—once a Digitarian member of the Nuclear Family, she'd lost her family after her experiments on a Haze Raider ended with the Haze Raider's other half breaching their facility and leaving her as the sole Strain survivor. The genesis of the now-Tainted's ambitions to control others and keep her people, her Valued Host Nuclear Family of Machonis, safe and on top became clear.

Saturday Night

The night still young, a Wildwood Fever casualty, and the Haze Raider-ized version of town member Phoenix pushed several to the brink of death and even to death from Wildwood Fever. Fiona came to town to give those at (raidery) death's door a brief and tenuous pause to their progression towards death. In the middle of a speech about taking control of the situation and the town, Fiona looked shocked as two peculiar Haze Raiders marched Warpaths into town and the town scrambled to their defenses. 

““They’re here for me,” Fiona revealed as the Raiders pushed past the town and sought out the doctor. A pitched battle resulted in the town saving Fiona and earning her trust that the potential cure they’d discovered—a mixture of diluted Blood Sap into the water supply—could work. ”

With her and others' help, the town fought their way through and defended the poisoning of the water supply against Overgrowth and Critters, managing to apply the cure and end the scourge of Wildwood Fever. 

The End of the Gather

In victory, the town spent Sunday unwinding, discussing new laws, fighting Undead and other threats still assaulting Barker, settling back towards some semblance of normal. Some members of the Graces came into town upset at how their misguided family member had been treated at the festival. They negotiated a meeting with the Rolling Coalition with the caveat that the Mayor would not be the mediator. When the gather concluded, despite significant losses, the Barkers and their compatriots had made hard choices and fought tirelessly against the scourge of Wildwood Fever and the machinations of their now-ally Fiona Machonis. 

With rumblings of strange faith activity in Barker kicking up and elections around the bend, who is to say what the future will bring for Barker Meadow and its residents?

"WYCKED WONDERLAND" Event Recap

We recently wrapped up our first trade of the 2024 season, and we’re gearing up for our March event (tickets on sale here). Whether you missed our virtual event and want a quick rundown or you’d like to relive the tales you were part of, keep reading for a blow-by-blow recap of WYCKED WONDERLAND.

Travelers and locals, brought together by a desperate plea from the Hopeless Dreamers (minders of the Grave in Barker) and All-Faiths, ventured into the Necropolis of Barker Meadow Reservoir. They sought to rescue the town from its deathly state brought about by the Weapons of Mortis Destruction made of Cracked Psionic Crystal used in defeating the terrifying Graverobber Flesher Calonyction before the winter swept over Lorado, and to return Barker to its former glory. 

Upon arriving, they found the Necropolis, a warped Cracked Crystal-laden place of Mortis influence and unreality, permeating through almost all of Barker. They became aware of perils in the Necropolis, such as the psionic brain-inflaming disease Grave Brain and how quickly they would sink as the Necropolis hungered for them, among other dangers. Several among their ranks were deemed “Prophets,” harried by strange dreams and visions involving and from the Workers. Survivors got quick to work tackling issues head-on. 

A group confronted the Young and Doomed apocalypse cult of KQC prominent in the town, specifically a splinter group under the radical Pyre’s influence. They rescued a hostage from the splinter group’s ritual attempt to summon the powerful faith Undead, the Broken Angels (which the Necropolis was preventing from emerging), amid an attack by Profane Wolves targeting the KQC. With the looming threat of the Broken Angel apocalypse on their mind, they went back to town to report their findings — as many studiously did throughout the trade.

Another group faced the Angler in a harrowing encounter, needing to escape back to town from Barker’s signature nighttime threat. The Angler followed them into town later that night and was put down by a different group of Survivors, who fought tooth and nail to destroy the awful monstrosity of an Undead.

Meanwhile, the Hopeless Dreamers led an expedition deep into the Necropolis, uncovering secrets at the cost of most everyone on the expedition suffering from Death Sick – the disease discovered in Barker last year where one’s own Infection rejects and fears the Mortis – and needing to pull back and return to town with the knowledge they’d gained. The night took a somber turn as a traveler from Leeds named Weston made a fatal stand against a Worker on the Prominent Path — the first death of the trade — haunted in the Grave by the visions that the Prophets like him were experiencing. 

A significant event unfolded in the morning as Ashe became a TV Saint. Throughout the morning, a nest of Magpies was explored. This led to the recovery of stolen items and revealed plainly the Necropolis's bizarre habit of ejecting warped scrap objects, a distorted echo of their original forms.

As the sun rose higher on Saturday, the efforts to rejuvenate the Necropolis gained momentum. The Survivors made significant strides in exploring the Necropolis, rehabilitating the land and clearing out Cracked Crystal Clusters that spread across the Necropolis as blight. As well, they pulled recreated Cracked Crystal Shells being spat out by the distorted recreation of the LUMP of Flesher’s final graven form, and communed with said LUMP to understand more about the Mortis in Barker and the Necropolis. The discovery of the Shard of Blessed Oblivion, a potential weapon against the Heart made out of those Shells, a WMD against the Necropolis made from a WMD that made the Necropolis, sparked a glimmer of hope. 

A medical-combat team showcased their prowess by managing a surge of Death Sick patients, a zed horde, and a Charnel Carrion aptly. The day also saw Ex-Taleholders Nightjar and Aleph leading a dive into the agonized LUMP. Participants endured a harrowing loss of self, experiencing a retelling of Taleholder brainwashing in the Mortis. Yet, through willpower, they managed to survive this black-bagging of the soul, retain a fragment of their identity, and break the cycle of the Videbit scenes, quelling the LUMP and setting it up for future destruction.

The latter part of the afternoon was marked by Murder Inc.'s delve into the Grave, where they manipulated memories both critical and dangerous to the Organization and the Wastes at large. The serial killer The Ghost, who had plagued Barker Meadow for years, was found and captured. The Ghost turned out to be suffering multiple fractures, and was captured and left in the care of the 7x7s, to possibly one day either rehabilitate back into society and/or pay for her crimes. 

The full communion with the LUMP and the debate over the creation of the Shard of Oblivion – hey kids, wanna make a WMD? – were prominent in the day's events. As the day continued, the Prophets sought to complete the Work by walking the Prominent Path and sharing their dreams to piece together meaning from their differences and overlaps, while others purified the All-Faiths artifacts distorted by the Heart that was once the ruins of their Chapel, among many strides. The day culminated in a dramatic confrontation with a Worker, who, after imparting agonizing visions upon the Prophets, claimed the life of Doc Lazarus as he attempted an intense telepathic maneuver on it, disappearing with him into the Mortis.

The evening was the climax of dealing with the Necropolis. A group engaged in a battle against Necropolis Grave mass tumors, clearing them out with skill in the hallucinatory winter horrorland of the Necropolis. Tackling matters on several fronts, with the help of several technosavants and gearheads, a group took 3 powerful rides to run over and kill hordes of zed, burning down the cabins in the process and leaving lines of scorched earth that would continue to smolder long as they left. Others went to stab the Heart – with the Heart weakened by previous events including a ritual where many gave up their faith to purify the artifacts inside and a Shard of Blessed Oblivion was thrust into its core. Inside, the Survivors faced zed and Sin-Augur, while others dove into the Heart itself, uncovering a tragic scene from a failed All-Faiths ritual that they needed to blaspheme, recreate the tragedy of, and finish out by executing the Mortis visions of the dying All-Faiths members. Their escape left the Heart in its former state of rubble and ruins, the consequences of their use of the Shard as-yet-unknown. Finally, Leslie Stareyes of the Fisken Cosmia Darwins guided Spade Heartman and allies into the Mortis Amaranthine to mend the issues within. Their journey through the overlapping memories of the deceased restored the Mortis. Together, this caused the Necropolis to begin to pull back and dissipate.

The night brought a chapter in the story of the Prophets to a close as a group, primarily composed of Prophets, was drawn to a nearly completed Cairn. Pushing themselves to the limit, risking mind and Infection, they gained visions which pieced together the fragmented dreams of the Prophets, restoring the lost memory of the Prominent Path to the Workers. They assisted in the completion of the Cairn, which unleashed a profound vision that brought fear to all who experienced it, signaling the completion of A Work, if not The Work.

Finally, Sunday began with a concerted effort to cleanse the Necropolis of remaining zed, led by Shift and Tracks of the Rail Crew Lorado DJs, including fighting off a Sin-Augur in the process with a group of able combatants. The day's defining moment came as the LUMP was finally laid to rest. Covered in Blood Sap and set aflame, it was vanquished through a work of faithful will by Tenacity, closing a dark chapter in Lorado's history with a vow: All This Has Happened Before, All This Will Never Happen Again.

As the Necropolis receded, the travelers and locals departed, having succeeded in conquering death, or at least its Necropolis hold over Barker Meadow, and with the threat of the Broken Angels looming large in the mind of those who know the history of the town. 

What’s in store for next time, you ask? Well, you’ll just have to find out at our upcoming virtual event on Discord March 29th-31st, APOCALYPSE. And if you haven’t filled out your EVENT FEEDBACK SURVEY, please do so!

'In the Flesh' Event Recap

We hope you enjoyed our October event, In The Flesh! For those of you who missed it, want to get caught up, or have a better perspective on the big picture, here's a rundown of important story beats that occurred over the weekend. These will have you better filled in ahead of our season closer November event, Apocalypse – which takes place in just two weeks.

Friday Night

The preparations for combatting the attempted Integration of Flesher Calonyction – Graverobber of the ever-dangerous Taleholders – into the local Mortis began. From seasoned Wasteland vets to our bluebirds, the town mobilized in garnering the resources needed – including a massive amount of Cracked Psionic Crystal – through every possible avenue. As they did so, bluebirds in the town encountered horrifying signs of the Broken Angels, a terrible faith Undead. For those newer to the area, this threat shaped Barker Meadow into what it is today.

Through hedonistic rituals, Mortis-damaging Cracked Crystal mining out of the Morgue and Helscape mine, and more, the rush was on to get the resources to prepare the Weapons of Mortis Destruction that would be key against Flesher's attempt. In the context of this, several Survivors went on an Infectus Mortis, slaying a sacred beast of ego and screams in the Gravemind to gain back pieces of themselves. Following that, a group embarked on a Videbit Mortis to gain intel on Flesher – the preparations for which had killed the doctor, Ashe Danvers, who had performed them alone. 

In the Videbit, they discovered Flesher's original name – Calonyction Sprucewood, later "Flesher", the "humble butcher" – and Hawk was left behind in the process, trapped in a recreation of the cage that had held Flesher in the Gravemind for a decade by Graverobber Tomas.

Saturday Morning

Tomas came into town and required new faces to help put together piece by piece his great Grave working, the Oblivio Mortis, meant to stop Flesher. Through strange ritual, Tomas prepared for oblivion with the town. 

Nearing lunch, Owen Grace returned with Cassady Jaunt on his heels. Missing and absent at best for months, Owen's whereabouts had been heavily wondered about. The reveal that the Fixation menaces of Barker known as the Hobbes collective used Owen as a "backup" for their thought bending, ended with death – including townsfolk, Cassady, and the permanent death of Owen (who arose as a Devout Dead, which was a precursor to the Broken Angels). Whiskey, experimented on by the Hobbes, was turned against the town and the lingering effects are unclear. 

Saturday Afternoon

With preparation at a fever pitch, the Taleholders struck. A sprawling battle throughout Barker Meadow combatting Taleholders, Workers, Sin-Eaters, and more, commenced, deploying Weapons of Mortis Destruction to shell the Grave monstrosity that Flesher had become and to fight the Workers. Finally, the Grave node Flesher was becoming was shelled into the ground and attempted to breach the Mortis. 

Tomas' Oblivio Mortis found himself and a group of daring Barkers fighting to complete his original Oblivio Mortis to destroy the Taleholders, with a twist: This time, he had help. Denying and attacking Flesher at every turn, using his name and fears to protect Tomas, the Oblivio Mortis was successful and Tomas fed his last, poisoned Infection to the Flesher-node, destroying it and permanently killing Flesher and himself in the process. Flesher's zed assaulted the town shortly after – a Broken Angel of the Seasons – wreaking havoc before being put down.

Saturday Night

That was only the beginning. The Big Bad Wolf, a Nemesis looking to teach important lessons, came into town that evening. The town's response was... complicated and mixed against the Profane Wolf-controlling Big Bad. Did they pass the test, and what does this mean for them going forward?

Before the night was out, the Ghost's haunt and home was discovered, and diaries found giving the story of the killer who had menaced Barker for so long. Would the Barkers be able to catch them now, armed with their tale? 

What’s Next?

With the Taleholders defeated, and the Broken Angels descending upon Barker Meadow, what does the future hold as the Wicked White – and our next event, Apocalypse – approaches? We hope to see you in two weeks to find out together!

"BURNING DOWN THE HOUSE" Event Recap

Our June event, BURNING DOWN THE HOUSE, saw Barker Meadow weather terrible storms of events in the wake of the revelations they’d uncovered the months before. The following is a Story Recap for anyone who would like to catch up, look back, or fill in their understanding of the story of the event. 

WEEKEND HIGHLIGHTS: 

• The Taleholders and their Graverobber Flesher Calonyction set their home, the Everliving Wood, on fire, forcing many town residents into a "Near-Grave" within the Gravemind to deal with the trauma and devastation caused by a Blood Sap Bear and a Grave version of Flesher along with a Worker. To aid Barker Meadow, other citizens who avoided this fate eliminated additional threats and fought Taleholders.

• Upon reaching safety, survivors spent the weekend attempting to make sense of the incidents that had transpired, researching incoming Workers, and devising methods to combat them through Research Projects and rituals. Their efforts produced several prints, information, and schematics for the Inverted Cairn - a ritual object that weaponizes the Workers' own 'faith' against them.

• A Taleholder Jigsaw Nemesis, seeming to be off-script, menaced the town, at one point using the Pinbacks of the Wood as a toy in their schemes. One of the Pinbacks was saved by intrepid Barkers who also put to rest the Undead of Useless Eyes, the fallen Pinback leader.

• Unknown factors destabilized the Morgue, prompting regular assistance to restore it; however, by trade's end, it was still unclear what had happened. A Sin-Eater with strange effects of Crystal Heart Corrupted may have been connected to this event.

• The “Taint Team” of Tainted in town destabilized their own Infection, regressing or changing to something else, what they had or would have been if they were not Tainted. Dolly’s advancement into a Free Radical came hand in hand with saving them from succumbing to incurable Bad Brain.

• Cassiopeia Woodworm, Speaker of Spring, came by to change the Season to Summer, a ritual later undertaken by the townspeople. Along the way, she revealed her tragic past as a Dark Sky Natural One, a tribe decimated by the Children of Constantine, who had weaponized the Profane Wolves to destroy them. This act caused the All-Faiths to concoct the lie of The Trials in order to point the Wolves at feeding targets through the year and bind the town together.

• Saturday morning, several sailors broke up a snarl in the waterway that was blocking travel.

• Hutch was broken out of prison, held by the Jaunts, for the Archive Heist the month before and openly selling Hype. Going on the lam, the anarchist face of the 7x7s Red Star surely isn’t done rabble-rousing yet.

• Grace clan Rovers shot Red Rain Rockets into town in an attempt to derail a Jaunt caravan as the Rover War between the two groups reached a fevered pitch. Sold to them by their allies The Taleholders, the town apprehended the Graces and seeks to bring them to justice, but a resolution to the feud remains elusive.

• The Profane Wolves were synced after Fraying to attack different faiths by the Nuclear Family’s attempt to have a speedy Trial. Mayor Cassady Jaunt was briefly baptized Nuclear Family to help end the phenomena, and the town had to make hard decisions to protect the community on what to do with the Wolves.

• The Ghost, a local serial killer, claimed another victim. The corpse and crime scene were investigated, producing some leads.

• A trip to the Wolf Morgue, a Synthetic Morgue created originally by Flesher, the birthplace of the Sin-Eaters and Profane Wolves both, led to the discovery of many things still not yet fully understood and an intense battle with Wolves protecting their Morgue. Something terrible seemed to be ready to return from the dead to haunt the town, according to those who entered the Morgue itself.

• Ephraim Butcher of the Wardens, Lorado’s law keeping force, solicited ideas on what to do about POWs from the recent Von Lobo and Masterson conflicts from the Barkers.

• Owen Grace, speaker of Winter who had not been seen in many months, came to town with a fractured, recently killed Cassiopeia to get Cassiopeia fixed, agreeing to give up his seat on the All-Faiths Council to Upptopp, giving the newer settlers of Barker a representative on the Council. Cassiopeia’s mind was treated, but her killer remains at-large.

• Near the end of trade, the Barker Demoniac, the first host of an Unholy Passenger, faith-destroying Mortis parasites, came to town warning of their return and soliciting assistance in their gory, deathly research towards defeating the Passengers.

With terrible threats from the past re-emerging and the town literally burning down around them, the Barkers survived another trade, leaving the town in a precarious state for our July event, POWDER KEG. We hope you had a great time and will join us in July. Continue the conversation on our social media channels in the interim, and we’ll have more details on our July event soon!