Kennedy came to Galveston decades ago from Mississippi with fabulous wealth that he used to start a successful stable of Mandingo-Fighters.
He only enters fighters into battles to the death, and only for very high stakes.
His fighters are feared for their brutality and cruelty.
It’s rumored that he engages in dark rituals and that his fighters gain some of their inhuman ferocity by making sacrifices to the vampire-god, Adelphon.
His home and training facility are in a fortified compound adjoining Offatts Bayou. Thieves occasionally try to break in—their bodies are nailed to the gates as a warning to others. It’s commonly whispered that the thieves’ guild forbids its members from making further attempts.
Kennedy’s Door
When the characters go to Kevin Kennedy’s compound, it should be obvious to them that a covert incursion is a daunting prospect.
This fortress-like compound is surrounded by windowless walls twenty feet high. A single steel-reinforced wooden door stands in the outer wall. Above the door, the rotting body of a thief, with snakes crawling through its ribcage, is nailed to the wall. Passersby shy away from the building and avoid looking at it, although a crazed beggar shouts and shakes his fist at the place from a short distance away.
If the characters knock at the gate, the corpse lifts its head and begs them to leave for their own sakes, and they realize that the thief is somehow still alive! A Will check is certainly called for here. Any PC that fails the check suffers a Moderate, Lasting mental Condition.
Add whatever other details are necessary to make players understand that any attempt to break in is certain to cost them their lives (or worse), even if that means the grounds are patrolled by gnolls while giant steam-powered robots stand guard.
The Beggar
Only a few dozen paces from Kennedy’s compound stands George B. Cheever, a crazed member of the Abandoned. When the characters take note of him, read:
The beggar is a wild-eyed, emaciated man covered with scars. He continually delivers diatribes about the compound, although people passing by pay him no heed. “I have seen your monstrous handiwork, and eternal punishment shall be your reward!” he shouts. “The judgment of the Abandoned awaits you! I have seen those cast into Rebel Red, and they scream to me for vengeance! Your path is the path of downfall! Your ways are the ways of Adelphon! The tormenter will fall and be trampled beneath the feet of the tormented! I have seen your blood dripping from an ebon prince’s blade!
George B. Cheever is as unhinged as he appears. If characters don’t approach him, he begins to harangue them directly.
“Only minutes ago, the slaves of Kennedy dragged another to unimaginable doom! Will slayers such as yourselves stand by while brave men are wracked and slaughtered to feed the Great Beast?”
If characters show any interest in what he has to say, George B. Cheever grows momentarily calmer and more rational.
“The doomed one? An ebon prince from the North, fighting every step of the way. The hooded ones dragged him forth not ten minutes ago. They are taking him to Rebel Red to ruin him, but if you hurry, you can stop them. Deny the Great Beast its prize! Make IT hunger! Leave IT to starve and howl in darkness! This way, hurry, hurry!”
The madman clutches at your arms and tugs at you to follow him, then races a few paces away, doubles back, and races away again, like a dog trying to lead its master.
If characters follow, George B. Cheever leads them on a frantic chase through narrow streets before stopping suddenly at the point where a dark alley opens up onto one of the city’s larger thoroughfares.
The Ambush
This is the characters’ best and only chance to rescue Douglass before he disappears into the hellish catacombs of Rebel Red.
The main street is 30 feet wide, lined with one-story and two-story buildings with flat roofs surrounded by low parapets. Narrow alleys separate the buildings and connect to the street at all angles. It’s a perfect spot for an ambush.
You see armed men in white silk robes and veiled white conical hats and three figures in the same robes and hats, but colored crimson escorting a manacled and disheveled but defiant-looking Douglass up the street toward your position. A block behind this procession, a Stanley Steamer steam-powered car follows. You can’t tell whether the two groups are connected. Normal citizens still in the street are grabbing their wares and scurrying to get out of the way.
Characters have about half a minute before Douglass and the Kuklos Adelphon Guards reach their position. That’s enough time for characters to move into position on both sides of the street, to move out in front of or behind Kennedy’s men, or to get inside or even atop nearby buildings via outside stairs. They won’t be noticed if they move with the crowd. Thirty seconds is not enough time to make detailed plans; push the players to think and act quickly.
The crates and clutter in the area consist of typical trade goods, food storage, wares for sale, and other bric-a-brac. This counts as difficult terrain and provides cover. Ladders are difficult terrain, too, but characters fighting from the rooftops have cover from enemies on the street below.
The escort includes the NPCs listed below. They’re moving in two tight columns. The procession is moving up the street, and characters can let it advance as far as they want before attacking. The hooded figures (cultists and the cult fanatic) are representatives of the Rebel Reds; they are indistinguishable from one another.
1 Soldier
1 Kuklos Adelphon Devotee
2 Kuklos Adelphon Night-Hawks
2 Kuklos Adelphon Lictors
1 Kuklos Adelphon Acolyte per PC
Douglass (ally)
Douglass quickly recognizes the PCs as rescuers and turns against his captors. He fights brutally, using his manacles as a flail until something better becomes available. He can’t run while shackled, but his shackles can be cut or broken.
Kevin Kennedy
Kennedy rides in the Stanley Steamer, about 50 yards behind Douglass’ escorts. His driver stops the car and retreats as soon as fighting breaks out.
Kennedy has the Flight and Superb Toughness special abilities. Both have magical (spells) sources. He will use incantations to activate both before joining the battle, and joins the fight against the PCs at the beginning of the 7th round. Time his arrival for maximum drama, not necessarily for maximum danger to the characters.
If characters stick around to fight Kennedy, they run a high risk of being defeated. If no one thinks to grab Douglass and dash away into the alleys, George B. Cheever suggests this (from the safety of the shadows).
Kennedy carries a money pouch with $6666.00. He also wears a fine gold ring and a copper ring set with emeralds, each worth $666.00.
The Escape
With Douglass in their possession, the PCs have four good options: they can head for Milton Davis’ shop; they can go to the Slave Mortuary; or they can flee to one of the two safe-houses IF they got directions from Milton Davis. No other course leads to safety. If they flee into the swamp, they’ll be overcome by alligators, were-alligators, and ghuls. If they head for the ocean and steal a boat or ship, they’ll be chased by every slave ship and airship at the docks.
Even if the characters kill Kevin Kennedy, plenty of witnesses interpret the battle as another outrage by followers of the Abandoned. Before long, characters see plenty of evidence that the whole city is mobilized against them. To reach one of the safe havens, they must all succeed at Stealth checks to avoid the slave patrols prowling the streets.
Milton Davis’ shop is closest—each PC (including the PC Frederick Douglass) must roll at least one 6 to reach safety.
Either safe-house requires each PC to roll at least two 6s to reach safety.
The Mortuary can be reached if each PC rolls at least four 6s.
If the PCs succeed, then they see a group of pattyrollers (slave hunters) but aren’t noticed by them. The PCs can avoid the pattyrollers by sitting tight while it passes or by backtracking a
nd taking a different street or they can choose to attack. If the Stealth checks fail, the PCs are spotted and attacked immediately. Other tactics may work, such as an effort to disguise the party, taking to the rooftops, or the use of appropriate special abilities.
If the PCs try to rest any time after the fight against Kennedy’s men, they’re discovered and attacked by pattyrollers before they complete the rest.
For each group of pattyrollers, roll 1d3 (1-2=1; 3-4=2; 5-6=3). The number is how many pattyrollers there are per PC. So if a party of five PCs faces a band of pattyrollers, the GM rolls one die. He rolls a 3—the PCs encounter two pattyrollers for each of them, so that would be ten pattyrollers the PCs must fight against.
The Grand Finale?
Once characters reach a safe haven with Frederick Douglass, the adventure is essentially over. From a safe-house or from Milton Davis’ shop, they are led by a Street Sparrow to Lucretia Mott’s mortuary. From the mortuary, they are smuggled into the swamp to the Harbor of the Abandoned, a concealed riverside cavern where eventually they can board a boat that will carry them off Galveston Island and along the coast to Freeport or Quintana. From either of those towns, the party can hire an airship to take them back to Douglass’ friend.
Jeremiah G. Hamilton is elated to see Frederick Douglass alive and safe. If Kevin Kennedy was killed, Hamilton might let the matter rest there. If Kennedy still lives, the characters could be enlisted by Hamilton for another expedition into Galveston—this time, for revenge!
Gaining Vigor
In this adventure, the characters gain Vigor by accomplishing specific goals. These milestones are as follows:
Characters that fight battles—win or lose—each earn 1 point of Vigor for each battle engaged in without Folding.
Characters are awarded 3 points of Vigor each once they escape from Galveston with Frederick Douglass alive.
NPCs
What follows are the character sheets for the NPCs that populate the Be Free adventure. GMs, feel free to make adjustments to the characters to fit your adventure or campaign.
Recommended Reading
The foundation of the Steamfunkateers universe is my Steamfunk novels, however the Steamfunkateers game is a living one, drawing inspiration from history, African and Diasporan folklore and, of course, other great Steamfunk stories. Below, you will find a reading list to help expand your Steamfunkateers campaign world.
You will NOT find Steampunk books that simply have a Black protagonist, or worse—a white protagonist in blackface. No, the books on this list are written by authors who proudly identify their work as Steamfunk and who skillfully deliver Funktastic stories in the genre.
Alright, Steamfunkateers—here goes:
Moses: The Chronicles of Harriet Tubman (Books 1 and 2) by Balogun Ojetade
The Chronicles of Harriet Tubman: Freedonia by Balogun Ojetade
Gunsmoke Blues by Balogun Ojetade
From Here to Timbuktu by Milton Davis
La Rosa de Matanzas: A Freedonian Adventure by Milton Davis
The Switch II: Clockwork by Valjeanne Jeffers
Mona Livelong: Paranormal Detective: A Steamfunk Horror Novel by Valjeanne Jeffers
Mona Livelong: Paranormal Detective II: The Case of the Powerless Witch by Valjeanne Jeffers
Everfair by Nisi Shawl
Buffalo Soldier by Maurice Broaddus
The Steamfunk! Anthology edited by Balogun Ojetade and Milton Davis
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
As Technical Director of the Afrikan Martial Arts Institute and Co-Chair of the Urban Survival and Preparedness Institute, Balogun Ojetade is the author of the bestselling non-fiction books Afrikan Martial Arts: Discovering the Warrior Within, The Afrikan Warriors Bible, Surviving the Urban Apocalypse, The Urban Self Defense Manual, The Young Afrikan Warriors’ Guide to Defeating Bullies & Trolls, Never Unarmed: The Afrikan Warriors’ Guide to Improvised Weapons, Ofo Ase: 365 Daily Affirmations to Awaken the Afrikan Warrior Within, Ori: The Afrikan Warriors’ Mindset and Ogun Ye! Protecting the Afrikan Family and Community.
He is one of the leading authorities on Afroretroism – film, fashion or fiction that combines African and / or African American culture with a blend of “retro” styles and futuristic technology, in order to explore the themes of tension between past and future and between the alienating and empowering effects of technology and on Creative Resistance. He writes about Afroretroism – Sword & Soul, Rococoa, Steamfunk and Dieselfunk at http://chroniclesofharriet.com/.
He is author of twenty-one novels and gamebooks – MOSES: The Chronicles of Harriet Tubman (Books 1 & 2); The Chronicles of Harriet Tubman: Freedonia; Redeemer; Once Upon A Time In Afrika; Fist of Africa; A Single Link; Wrath of the Siafu; The Scythe; The Keys; Redeemer: The Cross Chronicles; Beneath the Shining Jewel; Q-T-Pies: The Savannah Swan Files (Book 0) and A Haunting in the SWATS: The Savannah Swan Files (Book 1); Siafu Saves the World; Siafu vs. The Horde; Dembo’s Ditty; The Beatdown, Initiate 16, Gunsmoke Blues and Steamfunkateers: The Steamfunk Role Playing Game—contributing co-editor of three anthologies: Ki: Khanga: The Anthology, Steamfunk and Dieselfunk and contributing editor of the Rococoa anthology and Black Power: The Superhero Anthology.
He is also the creator and author of the Afrofuturistic manga series, Jagunjagun Lewa (Pretty Warrior) and co-author of the Ngolo graphic novel.
Finally, he is co-author of the award winning screenplay, Ngolo and co-creator of Ki Khanga: The Sword and Soul Role-Playing Game, both with author Milton Davis.
Reach him on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Afrikan.Martial.Arts and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Baba_Balogun. Find his books on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Balogun-Ojetade/e/B00AVEA7SU.
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