The Reaver

seconding reaver

Spades. Lie detector power.

Lets go with The Ace of Hearts.

Because JUSTICE

Ace!5g0QC9sjPk 2010/01/29(Fri)05:54 No. 120815 ID: 82cf9b
File 126477327139.jpg - (31.00KB , 323x450 , ACE OF SPADES.jpg )

>>120810
>>120811
>>120812

You reach for the Spade.
It throbs in your hand, ALIVE, and you look up to speak to the stranger with the flaming eyes - and he's gone, as are the other three Aces.

You count yourself lucky to have one.
Then you notice that the one of the guys at the bar - the one talking about Knight of Spades (clearly an old hand - Knights have been called Jacks for as long as you can remember) - has noticed the Card in your hand.
He speaks in a low drawl, holding up his Card between two fingers.
"Best y'hand over that Card there, stranger. Before someone gets hurt."
His Jack seems to pulse slightly, giving off a small black glow, and your Ace responds in sympathy, urging you to fight.

It's a quickdraw challenge.
Be quick, or be dead.

Scenery:
There are chairs and tables all over the place, and most of the other drinkers are getting out of the way and placing bets.
You're sitting at a round saloon table; it can probably take a few shots if you can get it between you and your opponent.
The bottles lined up behind the bar might make a good distraction if they were to be hit with enough force.

Options:
1. Quickdraw Duel
2. Use Scenery
3. Diplomacy

Challenge him to a drinking competition instead.

>>120816
The man stares for a moment, then tips back his head and laughs. "Sure, why not!" He beckons you over, talking to the bartender.

You get up to walk over...
And the Card in your hand suddenly burns white hot, and you know without a shadow of a doubt that he is going to put a chunk of lead in you the moment you let your guard down.

opsun 1. da card is rite.

also, we just did a deal with the devil?if so, state cost and likelyness of backfire.

can we spice his drink?

another option is to wack him with the bottle.

if we win a drink off he either kill us or we have to run anyway. if we run now he has a gun and will shoot us. we have a weapon?

we gonna make a deck, arent we?

Ace!5g0QC9sjPk 2010/01/29(Fri)06:10 No. 120820 ID: 82cf9b
File 126477420950.jpg - (94.73KB , 640x480 , Clairgate.jpg )

>also, we just did a deal with the devil?if so, state cost and likelyness of backfire.

The cost and backfire are one and the same: every gunslinger and cowboy in the world is going to come after your sorry behind.
On the other hand, you now have power enough to challenge the Major Arcana - the 22 Rulers of the world...

>opsun 1.

At a thought, the Card in your hand spins, letting off a shout of black energy, and when it settles... the cool metal of the Gun is pressing into your hand.

Time seems to slow as you grip the beautifully-engraved weapon... a long-barelled Colt Single Action Army.
You realise that from now on, you belong to the Card you've been Dealt almost as much as it belongs to you.

You move easily in the dilated time, as though in a lucid dream.
This guy is yours for the taking; you can shoot him wherever you please.

Shoot him in the heart. Decisive, pure death.

>>120820
FUCK YES WILDCARDS QUEST!

Anyway, seconding: >>120823

>>120820
Holder of The Reaver: casually discuss about the Major Arcana.

Swiftly shoot the holder of Knigth of Diamonds (amirite?) and take card in a very magicalgirl manner.

Bang bang goes the gun~

Ace!5g0QC9sjPk 2010/01/29(Fri)06:39 No. 120830 ID: 82cf9b
File 126477598423.jpg - (25.05KB , 254x380 , Joker_Card_big_by_anry.jpg )

>>120823
Your gun barks once like a roaring bull and he drops, smoke rising from the hole punched clean through his body. At once, time seems to unfreeze.

>Holder of The Reaver: casually discuss about the Major Arcana.

The 22 Major Arcana own the Dustwheel; ruling over the twenty-two prefects by the power of their mighty cards. They are:
THE MAGICIAN, the fast-talker.
THE PRIESTESS, the advisor.
THE EMPRESS, the beautiful judge.
THE EMPEROR, mighty and fair.
THE HIEROPHANT, the ruler and manipulator.
THE LOVER, as deadly as she is beautiful.
THE CHARIOT, prideful and swift.
THE JUSTICE, the implacable sheriff.
THE HERMIT, the Vanished Ruler.
THE WHEEL, the ultimate opportunist.
THE STRENGTH, compassionate and persistent.
THE HANGED MAN, the betrayer.
THE DEATH, bringer of ruin.
THE TEMPERANCE, the wandering healer.
THE TOWER, tactician and strategist.
THE STAR, supporter of men.
THE MOON, impossible to catch as morning mist.
THE SUN, filled with burning passion.
THE JUDGMENT, unstoppable hitman.
THE WORLD, who walks like ten men.
And THE FOOL... except that nobody has never known THE FOOL to exist.

That 22nd territory - that should be THE FOOL's - is where you are now. It's your home; you grew up here and it's always been yours.

As the people gather, a younger man - the type who's just barely started shaving, with a fresh appearance and a welcome smile, his duster newbought; he hasn't even earned his spurs yet - talks to you.
"Nice shot, babe. That Ace is really something. I'd like to take something like that sometime... but not from you. That would be suicide." he laughs.

Your Card - and it is a Card again - doesn't burn; he's not lying.
Then he raises his hand, and you see it tucked into a patch on his sleeve - a JOKER.
JOKERs are myth. They've been said to exist, but accounts of their powers vary wildly, even when supposedly about the same person, leaving everyone to just assume that people are making it up.

And yet your Ace of Spades quivers in your hand. That thing is the real deal.

>>120827
As you reach for the Jack, JOKERboy stops you. "Hey, if you can't use that, will you give it to me? I can pay."

You can't really use it, anyway - why would you, when you have an Ace?

>>120830
>Joker
OH FUCK

WHAT COLOUR IS IT

>>120830
>You can't really use it, anyway - why would you, when you have an Ace?
But the real strength of an Ace is that is counts as either a 1 or an 11. And by grabbing the Jack we can hit Blackjack right off the bat.

And what use does this man have of another Card? Aren't Jokers able to wield only their own Card?

>>120831
Red.
(But don't think too hard about Wild Cards. I had this idea and it was only after someone actively pointed it out that I realised I'd based it in Wild Cards.)

>>120832
Nobody knows. JOKERs are myth, after all. What's certain is that you have no use for it.

aw, no magical gurl posing?

also Holder The Reaver is female? i was guessing.

is the card REALLY useless to us? this could be his power on us already. altho id like to find a ally soon, this is too soon.

>>120835
As far as you know, it's useless. No gunslinger ever held two Cards and used 'em both.
So as far as you know, it's useless to him, too.

Also, THE DEVIL - seductress, sorcerer, wielder of men rather than guns - was somehow left out of the earlier essay.
Apologies.

We do not need it, and we don't need more rivals, but if they're not lying about fighting us, we don't have anything to worry about. Pay? How much?

>>120838
He shrugs. "I'll pay ya in drinks, coins, or travellin' company. Was leavin' this town anyway..." he grins shiftily. "And I always wanted to see an Ace in action."

>>120836
afaik it isnt because JOKER means unknow use. he can simply play deception with this card and then use the joker for thhe kill.

we should either trade both our card for the joker or bargain a alliance of sorts with him and this spare card.

How does that Joker work? Take the card, we can hold our own.

>>120841
No idea. There are so many conflicting myths...

You shake your head.
The boy with the JOKER sighs. "I was worried you'd say that, marm. Well, I'll be in town for a couple of days at least." he offers his left hand - the one without the Card tucked into the sleeve. "M'name's Jack, marm, Jack O'Reilly. I'll be in town for a few more days if'n you need anything."

You nod and take his hand - you don't need more rivals at this point. With that out of the way, he addresses the saloon at large:

"Now y'all just saw this man draw on a pretty girl without provocation, didn't ya?"
There are muttered assents and nods from the crowd - nobody else has seen his JOKER, but they all saw your Ace of Spades.
"And y'all gonna testify to that if the sheriff comes knockin', ain't ya?"
More nodding.
"What I don't see, is how you didn't fall for this." Jack points out, nudging the still-cooling corpse with the toe of his boot. "This here sorry excuse for an airbreather is one 'Tricky' Micky D. Gets a lot of the newbies in town with fakeouts like that."

Seems like you're done here.

>>120843
>>120841
Er... I meant to say that to him. Oh well. Guess we might as well go after him, nothing better to do~

>>120844
Seeing this display, you catch him as he tries to leave and offer him the Knight of Spades.
Jack's face lights up and he takes it reverently. "Thank you kindly, marm." he murmurs, his voice saying everything about how much he appreciates it. Then he seems to snap back to normal. "So, how can I repay ya?"

"You have a Joker. That is crazy, I must know more. Also I wouldn't object to some food, and why would you even want another card anyway?"

>>120848
Jack grins. "I like the way ya think. Barkeep! Bring us out some food. I'll pay."
He ushers you to a table and bids you sit down; then joins out, leaning his elbows on the table.
"Let's just say, if a JOKER has no friends to entertain, he's not much of a joker, right?"

>>120849
claim this to be a DATE.

blush furiously as you two wait for the food.

also LEAVE THE PLACE for a better restaurant, we are not eating where we just killed someone.

Ace!5g0QC9sjPk 2010/01/29(Fri)07:55 No. 120853 ID: 82cf9b
File 126478052168.jpg - (36.54KB , 250x250 , acespaused.jpg )

>>120851
Jack is a bit younger than you, but undeniably charming. Despite this, you raise the point, and he concedes that it's a good one.
"Forget the order, bartender. We'll try and avoid causing some havoc over the deadman lyin' over there." he calls, and escorts you from the bar.

--PAUSE-- (due to sleep requirements.)

>>120853
young lady, when voices in your head tells you to date a unknow guy with weird powers, you date a weird guy with weird powers.

what better means to adquire knowledge about him?

Ace!5g0QC9sjPk 2010/01/29(Fri)20:52 No. 121359 ID: 82cf9b
File 126482716475.gif - (10.01KB , 724x710 , aces.gif )

And we're back.

>blush furiously as you two wait for the food.
You might have been blushing, but it's hard to tell under the grit on your face. Nobody walks into Four Aces looking clean.

Jack suggests that maybe skipping town is a good idea in case the sheriff comes calling. There's really only two options - either cross the Badlands and into the territory of THE TOWER, or follow the trail and enter the territory of THE DEVIL.

>>121359
tower. should help us strive there.

Devil, we can cut through the lies and stuff.

>>121376
>>121407
Jack produces a coin from his duster. "Heads, we'll go through the Badlands; Tails, we'll visit THE DEVIL."

rolled 2 = 2

---

(which helps when you put it in the right field.)

rolled 2 = 2

---

>>121452
wolol.

yay devil! we are going to a land that favor seduction and cunning rather that our card's power!

we so tottaly need to use the joker to walk around.

inb4 he puts DAT SMILE on our faces

"THE DEVIL it is, then." Jack grinned. "They say that to be held at THE DEVIL's pleasure truly is."
You're not too sure about that, but you collect your horse - a tall creature, seventeen hands high, his coat black and glossy.

You named him Thunder, and it shames you to admit that he's a better gambler than you are. You swing up into the saddle and find that Jack is on a smaller horse, but his has a rich red coat. He notices your stare and pats it fondly as you swing out onto the road.
"Indian Wind. And yours?"
You tell him the name and he grins.
"How appropriate."

This town isn't too far from THE DEVIL's turf, so it's really only a few hours in the saddle. You fall silent, thinking about what to do on the trip.

>>121515
engage conversation about cards, how they work and why would a joker want a card whose disability is known.

>>121563
You ask him why he'd want the Knight of Spades, and Jack smiles at you cheerfully.
"You know what the speciality of the Knight of Spades is, correct?"

The Knight of Spades... 'The Berserker'. You'd heard that the wielder of the Knight can shrug off blows that would reduce an ordinary man to cinders... but you thought he already had a Card, a JOKER, no less?
"Well, see, my JOKER won't do much on it's own. But this Red JOKER? Well, a Joker has to entertain a court, right?" he laughs. "And anyone in that court will fight for the Joker."

Suspected as much. The owner of the Joker can use multiple cards. Any drawbacks he knows of, like getting overpowered for being such a crappy jester?

"Not that I know of, marm, but every Card has it drawbacks." Jack seems uncharacteristically solemn about it. "Tell you what, I don't know why I was Dealt the JOKER. Can't tell jokes to save m'self." his grin is back on his face in a heartbeat. "Maybe that's th'joke."

That does sound pointlessly ironic. Let's go.

Sorry to pause it again so soon; being dragged off to the beach.

And we're back on.
--

It's only a few hours until you find yourself in Vegas. You're astounded - you've never come this far before, and it's so... DIFFERENT from home.
Everything is gaudy colours and flashy tinted-glass lanterns, people walk by wearing clothes that only an Irishman'd wear back home - hell, you even see a coloured folk talking happily to a white girl and her man.

Also, it seems like every fourth building is a brothel of varying stature and... supplies.
Jack whistles through his teeth. "THE DEVIL sure likes his sluts."
You thought THE DEVIL was a woman.
"Well, maybe they are." he concedes. "Not too sure m'self - it's not like I've ever met them, marm."
Now you just need to work out what to do.
Both longterm, and short-term.

>>121701
dang, i wanted to know of the other cards.

well the joker is a PC more that we are ._.

also look for a restaurant that DOESNT serve strippers. if a gurl walks around, act jealous and hug ya man.

suggested short term plan: train with card, adquire knowledge with joker.

suggested long term plan: adquire long term relationship with joker (i can accept friendship, alliance is wanted), reacess his plans to the future, plot our owna ccording to character's whim.