Backwater: The Past is Never Dead (Adventure)
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The Past is Never Dead (Adventure)
A woman has disappeared from a small town west of New Orleans. Wardens wouldn't be called in for something like this¸ normally. However¸ she was a member of the aristocracy - of the Jefferson family of One-Horse Hollow - and her disappearance has garnered attention. Following the loss of her husband¸ the woman has lived alone and become an eccentric recluse. Calling upon her for routine business¸ the local sheriff went to her house recently and found all of her belongings there-even the animals-but she was missing¸ perhaps for the better part of a year... The wardens are called in to this little town to investigate and to sift through the remnants of her disturbing house on the hill.
"The Past is Never Dead" is designed for 3-5 players at low levels (1-7) with an easy-to-average difficulty. It can be completed in 6-9 hours or 3-6 hours if characters begin in One-Horse Hollow. To play¸ players can create characters using the Backwater Quickstart or the Backwater: Southern Gothic Horror Tabletop Roleplaying core rulebook.
The purpose of "The Past is Never Dead" is to explore several southern-gothic tropes¸ including an obsession with family lineage and an eccentric and cruel matriarch. "The Past is Never Dead” focuses on investigation-style gameplay with some exploration and combat. GMs can use this adventure to introduce characters to a rural¸ small-town setting outside of New Orleans: One-Horse Hollow. Alternatively¸ it can be set in Prayerville of "The Devil Came Down” adventure in Backwater Adventures.
The Backwater Setting Long after The End descended upon the Old World...
Humanity started to rebuild itself¸ albeit wretched and forlorn. Survivors salvaged what they could of government in the form of the American Lands. They rebuilt roads¸ though in fewer numbers and inferior quality¸ and they reclaimed the skeletons of buildings. Nowhere does humankind rebuild so desperately as in the humid swamps of the Backwater¸ where humanity battles itself and the natural elements to survive. You are a warden here-a roaming peace keeper in the American Lands-protecting order at civilization's southern reach. You travel the Old World's crumbling roadways among mosquitoes and snakes. You tend to every small town's big secret¸ and you quell strife between old families in a new era. Here in the bogs¸ you keep mutation at bay¸ ever-watchful for the wretched cousins of ancient humanity. You protect mankind from supernatural horrors that have only started to emerge.
Welcome to Backwater... where horror writes itself.
Backwater: Southern Gothic Horror Tabletop Roleplaying
Backwater is a tabletop roleplaying game in the genre of southern gothic horror. The southern gothic genre explores social issues relating to fear¸ poverty¸ religion¸ and alienation through its southern U.S. setting. Prominent among the genre's themes is a conscious criticism of superficial values and regional or familial history¸ depicted through the region's decaying structures and aristocratic families. It contains the supernatural¸ though the true horrors are often humans themselves. Backwater is set in a post-apocalyptic future with a tenuous social order¸ and it reimagines the genre as a reflection on issues in not only American history but also our present world.
Check out the free Quickstart or core rulebook.
Streamlined Stats
The Backwater game system is original. It uses a 20-sided die for everything except combat damage. It is intended to be relatively intuitive and streamlined. The foundation of this system is a set of four basic attributes that provide both a modifier (which you add to rolls) and a goal score (which others roll against). When you attempt a skill roll against another character¸ you simply roll against one of their attribute goals¸ for example:
When you threaten or deceive a character¸ you roll against its Intuition goal. When you hide from or sneak by a character¸ you roll against its Vigilance goal. When you attack a character¸ you roll against its Reflex goal. When you shove or trip a character¸ you roll against its Build goal. Now with a character sheet on Roll20! Unique Survival Elements
Characters have both Health Points (physical health) and Resolve Points (mental health)¸ but they are relatively low to reflect human fragility. Combat scenarios can move quickly as a result¸ and they often require careful strategizing to mitigate damage or defeat threats rapidly. One especially unique element of the system is its Health rolls and Resolve rolls. Players must try to roll under their current Health or Resolve with a d20 to avoid suffering a condition¸ like the Bleeding condition. The more damage or duress that a character receives¸ the more likely it may suffer the condition.