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 An Appalachian apocalypse
By Tim Earley

Credits
Created and Written by: Tim Earley
Designed for Savage Worlds by: Tracy Sizemore and Tim Earley
Additional Material: Tracy Sizemore, Darrell Hayhurst, Shane Hensley, Brian Hocevar
Editing: Tracy Sizemore, Shane Hensley, Jessica Comola, Jessica Rogers, Gerard Valliere
Art Direction: Aaron Acevedo, Alida Saxon
Interior Graphic Design: Aaron Acevedo, Alida Saxon, Karl Keesler, Simon Lucas
Layout: Tracy Sizemore, Shane Hensley
Art: Francesco Chiappara
Production Manager: Simon Lucas

Playtesters & Contributors

David Anderson, Ron Blessing, Veronica Blessing, Malcom Barker-Kamps,
Jessica Comola, Jon Comola, Laura Comola, C Violet Eaton, Chris Fuchs,
Darrell Hayhurst, Shane Hensley, Cian Kinderknecht, Christopher Landauer,
Kieran Lyons, Tony Mancus, Mac McCallum, Sara Nicholson, Sean Nittner,
Jessica Rogers, Christopher David Rosales, Justin Sirois, Jessica Boof Sizemore,
Meghan Caves, Kiley Eberhard, Mallorie Mize, Mikal B. Copeland.

Special Thanks
Sueyeun Juliette Lee, Adam Fagin, Kieran Lyons, Christopher David Rosales, Mackenzie
Suess, Tony Mancus, Shannon Davies Mancus, Alicia Mountain, Mark Mayer, Ashley
Colley, Michael Joseph Walsh, Elisa Gabbert, John Cotter, Brian Foley, Emma Hyche, C
Violet Eaton, Sara Nicholson, Cian Kinderknecht, Collin Kinderknecht, Erinrose Mager,
Malcolm Barker-Kamps, Whit Barringer

www.oddbardgames.com

Savage Worlds, artwork, logos, and the Pinnacle logo are © 2022 Pinnacle Entertainment Group.
Savage Worlds, all associated characters, logos, and artwork are Copyrights of Pinnacle Enter-
tainment Group. All rights reserved.
 Contents
Welcome to the Holler 3
The Rider’s Curse...................................................4
Where Things Stand...............................................5
Mustering Heroes..................................................6
Making Heroes 7
Sample Characters................................................. 7
Making Characters............................................... 10
New Hindrances...................................................12
New Edges........................................................... 13
Gear 17
Barter System.......................................................17
Holler Gear.......................................................... 19
Big Boys Equipment.............................................23
Life in the Holler 25
Gazetteer............................................................. 25
Folkways...............................................................31
Everyday Livin'.....................................................36
Setting Rules 38
Conviction...........................................................38
Gouging...............................................................38
Improvisational Fighters......................................39
Magical Divide.....................................................39
The Otherness.....................................................39
Wyrd Ways 40
Magic and Arcane Backgrounds...........................40
Exorcism.............................................................45
Setting Rules 46
The Blight............................................................46
The Otherness..................................................... 47
Exorcism.............................................................48
Legend and Truth 49
The Big Boys.........................................................49
The Sealing Off....................................................50
Big Boys’ Intimidation and Oppression Tactics....50
Some Other Uppity Groups................................. 52
The Hidden Holler Gazetteer............................... 55
Adventure Generator 83
Holler Adventure Generator................................83
Critter table.........................................................84
Uprising table......................................................86
Character table.................................................... 87
Adventure Details................................................88
Complications.....................................................93
Folks Generator...................................................94
Encounters by Regions...................................... 100
Blasted Beauty 102
Campaign Summary.......................................... 102
Shift boss Tips.................................................... 104
Act One: The Cruelty of Finster Goad................. 105
Act Two: Weaver Falls Fiddlers Convention..........111
Act Three: Legend of the Boogeyman Tree.......... 116
Act Four: Incident atGalloway No. 3....................124
Act Five: Cherry Bounce......................................128
Act Six: Escape from Bondurant Asylum.............134
Act Seven: Tent City Blues...................................139
Act Eight: Journey to Faefall................................142
Act Nine: The Mustering..................................... 148
Act Ten: The Battle of Blasted Beauty.................. 150
Savage Tales 155
Attack of the Meatyardians..................................155
The Badin Mountain Tunnel.............................. 160
A Different Kind of Gouging...............................165
A Famous Outlaw................................................169
Jameson Went A-Courting..................................173
Little Bandits...................................................... 177
Rubbing is Racing.............................................. 180
The Sisters of Shuckstack Valley..........................185
The Swallowing Ground.................................... 189
Ye Old Machine Yard...........................................194
Bestiary 197
Big Boys.............................................................. 197
Notable Residents..............................................203
Folks..................................................................206
Critters...............................................................213
Cryptids..............................................................218
Demons............................................................. 229
Fae.....................................................................240
Haints................................................................ 246
Machines O' Death............................................. 252
Index................................................................. 254
 Welcome
to the Holler
Holler is a game about labor conflict,
Appalachian culture, and environmental
apocalypse. The setting draws heavily from
the folklore and history of the region, but the
game is a mythical recreation, not a historically
accurate one.
The setting is inspired by the sardonic humor
of Flannery O’ Connor’s short fiction; the
haunted landscapes of Cormac McCarthy’s
early Appalachian novels; the outlaw drama
of the television series, Justified; Manley
Wade Wellman’s John the Balladeer stories;
the growling bluegrass of Dock Boggs; the
unsettling domesticity of Ralph Eugene
Meatyard’s photographs, and a host of other
regional influences.
Holler is a mixture of what I call Appalachian
Pulp Gothic, dark fantasy, and folk horror,
with a focus on strangeness, mystery, and
eccentricity.
Cultural conflicts abound. Old-time religion
perseveres in a demon-tainted world. A longing
for escape pulls against deep connections to
the landscape and one’s kin. Veneration of the
mines and mills as sources of material stability
clashes with the reality of their destructive
practices.
I was born and raised in the foothills of
western North Carolina and have lived in
several of its mountain towns as an adult. In
many ways, I have devoted my intellectual and
spiritual life to Appalachia—writing about it
through my creative and academic work as a
poet and professor, teaching its literature.
Though roleplaying games are often filled
with tropes and archetypes (and this one
is, too), I believe these can be approached
with nuance and complexity. I consider this
game an homage to Appalachian people and
their stories.
The heroes in this setting are everyday
Appalachians—miners, millhands, mothers—
with some iconic and epic twists. This is, first
and foremost, a game, and we strive to honor
the Savage Worlds mantra of “fast, furious, fun.”
Moonshiners, Granny Women, gougers and
No Accounts all have roles to play in a world
where stories become tales.
At the same time, we do not shy away from
the harsher realities of the region, like pockets
of seemingly intractable poverty, domestic
strife, and substance abuse. These realities
are fertile ground for storytelling, role playing,
and cultural and personal reckoning.
The characters in Holler seek to survive in an
isolated, blighted landscape. They create bonds
with their neighbors and kin. They strive to
overthrow their industrial oppressors. They
cast their demons back into the darkness. And
they do so with fierce-minded independence
and powerful expressions of creativity,
ingenuity, and resilience.
—Tim Earley
Lead Designer / Writer
3
 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse

in the middle of their sermon and said, flatly

The Rider’s Curse and firmly, “Over my dead body.” Folks liked
Bascom, tall and proud and completely free of
The old-timers claim they remember when nonsense. His word was all it took.
the rivers ran clear, the forests deep, the earth The crowd set upon the Riders with whatever
produced bountiful food, and you could trust was handy, pocketknives and pieces of timber,
your kin and neighbors. holy books and iron knuckles. It was a fight.
That was before the Riders came, leering The Riders seemed to billow up larger than
down from their enormous stallions, eyes themselves, and the wind drew to them. Their
aglow with fiendish light. The Riders hands might as well have been claws, and their
announced themselves as prophets sent by the eyes bore right into your soul. We lost a good
Big Boys from the City to spread the gospel of a many fine folks.
new god—Industry. They said we lived among By the end of the night those Riders were laid
natural riches that we could neither appreciate out in the street, each one dead as mutton. But
nor fathom— we were incapable of harnessing before the last one died, before Bascom picked
them for our own good. up a shovel to deliver the killing blow, that
They said the Big Boys had decided to save us Rider let out a baleful moan and spoke, as clear
from our poverty and ignorance. The Riders’ and unbothered as you please, these words:
voices thundered big as the sky, deep as the “I curse this holler with a quandary of demons.
valley. The night winds seem to grow stronger Neither bird nor bush nor butterfly. Neither hope
with their wild gestures and declarations. nor joy nor beauty. Pit and prison and...” Thump!
The Riders took their industrial tent revival Bascom did him in, but those words stayed in
from town to town, promising a future of all that heard them, and all that didn’t. And
wealth and convenience—no more back- they are still inside many of us today.
breaking labor in the fields, our crops at the It wasn't long until the Big Boys came anyway.
mercy of the weather; no more ramshackle The mills went up, the mines went in, the days
living with dirt floors and rotting roofs; no darkened, and the mountains closed in around
more sick children; no more loved ones dying us. “No way in, no way out,” the Big Boys told
before their time. No more hunger and no us. They could come and go as they pleased,
more grief. but sure enough, we could not. Any that tried
All we had to do was mark an X on a little disappeared into the trees or the mist or the
paper, saying the Big Boys were welcome maw of something evil.
among us, were welcome to what was beneath What could we do? We went to work for
our land, were welcome to our labor. And a the Big Boys, into their mines and mills, into
right good many of us thought that sounded our woods to cut down our trees, into our
like a fine deal. A right good many of us were mountains to strip away the earth so those
tired of scratching and pecking at the ground riches would come falling out. We gave the
to scare up what little bit of living we had. Big Boys everything we had. They gave us little
But deep down, some of us knew one of in return.
Old Scratch’s deals when we heard one, and The rivers ran sludgy and dark. The trees spit
when the Riders came together in Charhold their leaves and grew crooked. The ground
to sing the praises of the coming Industrial gave bad fruit. Black, gaseous clouds roiled
Utopia, Bascom Hawkins stood straight up through the sky and covered mountain peak
and windowsill alike with ashy soot, and some
“If I was a bl ue gr as s say it sifted into our lungs and settled in our
e d ev il
picker, I’d sell th ck
bones. Everyday critters became something

my ticker, so I could pi
else altogether. Demons of every sort gibbered

my tunes quicker and

in the dark with their hungers and perversions.

drink mys el f sicker”

Folks changed. They became tough. Mean-
spirited. Turned their anger on their kin and
their neighbors and themselves. What could we
—folk saying

4

do? We kept working for the Big Boys. We kept
humming into the bottle or under our breaths.
One day Ella May Hawkins (some say a
descendant of Bascom), gathered a group of
fellow workers in Stump Bumpers, an illegal
speakeasy, after a shift at the Saxon Textile
Mill. She got right in the middle of them and
said, firmly and flatly, “Enough. We have had
enough. This is what we’re a-going to do.…”
The other folks looked at her with dull eyes.
One or two murmured assents, but there has
been no doing yet.
It's hard to rouse people who have had so
much put upon them—the Big Boys working
on their minds every day, their bodies bound
beneath the earth and molded to machines.
The soot of long years covers everything that is
and everything that was. Until there are those
brave enough to wipe it clean away.
Where Things Stand
The Big Boys are an association of eight
tycoons and their powerful families
who hail from the City, an
almost mythical construct in
the imagination of Holler
residents, a place of
scarifying hustle and
bustle and untold riches.
The Big Boys pooled
their enormous
resources to
seize control of
the Holler and
effectively separate
it from the rest of
existence, giving them
sole access to its vast
store of natural resources.
They rule their company
towns and coal camps with
impunity and sadistic intent, having
created the Holler as a perfect
experiment in capitalist
colonialism, extractive
industry, labor exploitation,
and environmental
manipulation.
They are far from a
monolithic entity, but their
various philosophical leanings and
Contents
temperaments settle into agreement on a
crucial point—they want to grow even richer
and more powerful, fleecing the Holler for
everything it is worth. This means maximizing
worker production while minimizing worker
freedom, which in their minds leads directly
to malingering and rebelliousness.
The company town system provides the
perfect economic and social structure for their
goals. Workers live in small houses, crowded
together, making it difficult for them to
establish a sense of privacy or keep secrets from
their neighbors. It also makes it easy for the
Big Boys’ minions, the fearsome Kramer-Holt
agents and venal company guards, to surveil
the workers even when their shifts are over.
The workers must pay rent for their hovels,
which is deducted from their paychecks before
they ever see it. On top of that, the workers are
paid in scrip, a form of currency redeemable
only at the company store. The Big Boys
sometimes provide scant schooling and small
places of worship, but these institutions are
staffed by their cronies, with the teachers and
ministers espousing nothing more than the Big
Boys’ approved dogma—
“Keep your head down.
Work hard. Do not cause
trouble. The company is
all you have.”
Inside the mills and mines, the
shifts are long, the work is
dangerous, and the punishments
for any deviation from the
foreman’s standards swift
and violent. These company
towns dominate the
Sootstone Mountains
and Hogback Hills, with
logging camps of similar
arrangement scattered throughout the
Ghost Ridge and Great Craggies.
In places where the Big Boys have
not yet established their operations,
life is no less difficult, as rural folks
are besieged with toxic Blight from the
Big Boys’ industries, the harshness of
the Holler’s landscape, and the demons,
cryptids, and haints that populate
the woods.
Further afield, to the south, the
fae rule the Faefall Mountains,
5
 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse

untouched, pristine, and inscrutable to most

Holler folks, though a few free spirits have Mustering Heroes
been allowed by the fae to take up residence
there. To the north, beyond the Stygians, Piney This is where you come into the picture.
Dirge Plateau stretches ever horizon-ward, Whether you take the role of an exalted holy
barren and scalded, home to competing clans roller, a rakish bluegrass picker, or a crusty
of religious zealots. moonshiner with a heart of 100-proof liquid
This is the world that Ella May Hawkins— gold, you’re in a world where your survival is
balladeer, weave room worker, mother of constantly under threat. Trouble is everywhere,
six—finds herself in. Like Bascom, she sees right from the Big Boys and their ruthless underlings,
through the Big Boys’ fancy words and empty to demons, haints, and cryptids with strange
promises. She refuses to be brainwashed like powers and stranger motivations. Even
other folks, who do not seem to fully recognize many of your fellow Holler residents have
that the earth they walk upon has been grown cold and amoral under the Big Boys’
transformed into a hell that seems to want oppressive regime.
nothing more than to torture and erase them. If you survive long enough, maybe you can
After that evening at Stump Bumpers, when win the hearts and minds of workers and
she tried to stir up some folks who just would farmers. Vanquish a legendary creature and
not stir, she kept trying, kept working, kept learn the secret of its existence, granting you
reaching out. Eventually, she discovered newfound power. Haggle a legendary talisman
some other ornery folks who thought like she from the clutches of a tinker or steal a shipment
did—the Big Boys are a pitiless scourge whose of those fast-firing guns from the City.
malice-fueled reign must come to an end. The Build a coalition of like-minded folks, the
Holler, and everything within it, rightfully people rising up behind you, their hearts
belongs to Holler folks, and they deserve to filled with hope. Charge into a factory, a hell
live, dance, love, and fight upon its earth on of noisome gears and whirring machines, with
their own terms. your rag-tag army close behind, hungering
One by one, small meetings popped up in for justice. Walk back out with the face print
safe houses in Marrow and Boscage. Some of a dandy from the City on the bottom of
loggers in the Great Craggies refused to clear your boot.
a patch of demon-infested woods. A miner in Maybe the Blight clouds lift, the skies clear,
Ruin popped his shift boss right in the mouth. and the mountains once again glitter with
A Kramer-Holt vehicle exploded, the lucky greens and golds. Or maybe not. Stories like
agents who had not yet reached the car gazing these are mostly fairy tales. Actual history
on this act of unimaginable insurrection with doesn't usually work like that, but there's only
something like wonder. one way to discover your story.
The brush back from the Big Boys was swift
and violent. The threat of imprisonment
or worse hangs over even trifling acts of
insubordination. Granted, these small acts
of rebellion didn't amount to much, but it's a
start, and Ella May’s looking for a few dissidents
of truly uncommon resourcefulness, valor,
and skill to step out of the shadows and help
everyday folks discover the strength inside
them. And if these dissidents are just a touch
on the shady or nefarious side, well, that just
might come in handy.

“I ain’ t no man for troubl

but I’ll die before I run.” e,

6
 Chapter 1:
Making Heroes
Welcome to the Holler! This is your starting
point for discovering a unique place
characterized as much by its residents’
indomitable human spirit as the terrible
hardships that afflict it. In the Holler we call
the Game Master the Shift Boss—a reference
to the day-to-day overseers of the company
mines and mills at the turn of the 20th century.
While all heroes are already dissidents and
none of them currently work for the Big Boys,
many of them have backgrounds that include
those experiences. Though not an exhaustive
list, here are some ideas to get you started.
Sample Characters
Aggrieved Mother: Loss is constant in the
Holler. Some women have experienced almost
unimaginable misfortune. An aggrieved
mother has suffered the loss of her children
(and possibly her life partner as well) and now
feels seeking justice for their deaths is her
sole duty.
Bluegrass Musician: The Big Boys have long
outlawed public performances of Bluegrass
music because of its rebellious lyrics and
power to inspire. Still, secret “stomp parties”
in the woods and all-night kitchen table jam
sessions are common. Truly skilled bluegrass
musicians are part mystic, part minstrel,
and their virtuosity beggars belief. From the
banjo, to the mandolin, to the mouth harp—
these instruments become weapons in the
right hands.
Curious Youth: The Curious Youth’s hope
and optimism have not yet been extinguished.
He questions everything—the Big Boys’ power,
the submissiveness of the workers, where
the demons came from and how they can be
sent back. He constantly seeks adventure, and
rushes headlong into any mystery—yearning,
perhaps naively, for a better world.
Gouger: Gougers take part in wild, barely
regulated bare-knuckle brawls, a popular
pastime in the Holler. They fight for money,
food, honor, and pride. A flurry of wagers
(scrip, livestock, tools, weapons) surrounds
most bouts. Gougers are fearsome hand-
to-hand combatants, and get their name
honest, as gouging out an opponent’s eyes is
considered the ultimate form of victory.
Granny Woman: The cultural heart of
many communities, the granny woman is a
walking tome of folk lore, a midwife, a healer,
a storyteller, and an arbiter of common sense
and goodness. A granny woman does not have
to be elderly, but she has done a good bit of
living and knows more about the Holler than
most. Don’t let her age and generosity deceive
you—she can do more damage in a dust-up
than you might think.
Hell-Raiser: Some folks are born with a wild
streak. Whether it’s rage or rebelliousness, hell-
raisers are always causing a ruckus. The first
to brawl, the first (and last) to party, and the
first to speak his mind, a hell-raiser’s presence
ensures there is never a dull (or safe) moment.
7
 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
Holy Roller: Holy rollers believe in the Lord
with all their might. They have a light in their
eyes and a fire burning in their soul. They
often engage in charismatic practices like foot
washing, snake handling, speaking in tongues,
wild dancing, and singing to high heaven.
Their religious practices are disallowed by the
Big Boys, so they must practice their faith in
secret. Holy rollers do their best to live lives of
compassion, altruism, and forgiveness.
Linthead: Lintheads work in textile mills
where brown lung, lost fingers, and repetitive
motion injuries are common. However, they
often have above average manual dexterity and
tireless energy due to their work with high-
speed machinery in the weaving and spinning
rooms. Their work ethic, determination, and
mechanical skills prepare them for many
challenges.
Logger: Felling and hauling timber in demon-
infested woods is not an easy job. Loggers are
capable of amazing feats of strength and are
handy with an axe. The constant threat of
death has made them a grim lot. Many of them
feel deeply conflicted about their role in razing
the Holler’s majestic forests.
8
Miner: Miners are by necessity physically
and mentally tough. Their lives are constantly
threatened by wall collapses, dust or gas
explosions, lack of oxygen, and black lung.
Very little fazes or frightens miners. They are
highly skilled at underground survival and
exploration.
Minister: Most ministers are instruments
of the Big Boys. Every company town has a Big
Boy-sponsored church where the ministers
mix their sermons with platitudes about hard
work, clean living, and the beneficence of the
Big Boys. Some ministers, however, hold the
principles of their religion over profit and
secretly work to undermine the Big Boys’ grip
on the people. Ministers believe in a more
temperate expression of faith than holy rollers,
which often causes friction between them.
Moonshiner: Moonshiners are masters
of their craft, distilling concoctions that zip
down your gullet and into your head quicker
than a hummingbird hums and with more
kick than a mule. Shiners fiercely guard their
recipes, their stills, their trade routes, and
their thoughts. They are loath to trust anyone,
and are about the most stealthy, cunning, and
ruthless rascals around.

Mountaineer: These rogue individuals
would rather die than work in a mill or mine
or be subject to the expectations of small-
town society. They live in relative isolation and
carve a difficult existence out of the Holler’s
increasingly harrowed environment. Whether
mountaineers take to the wilds primarily out
of a hatred of the Big Boys, a love of nature, or
an inability to fit in with everyday folk, they
develop into expert hunters and survivalists.
No-Account: No-accounts (“no-counts”)
just can’t seem to “get right.” Folks deem them
allergic to work—too lazy or too weak to get
their hands dirty. No-accounts have grand
schemes and plans, and secretly pursue their
obsessions (gadgets, book learning, unraveling
the Big Boys’ conspiracies), or possess a wild
imagination that’s so noisy and vibrant that
it demands their full attention. Sometimes
it’s better when folks count you out. It makes
it easier for you to do the real work when no
one’s paying attention.
Peddler: The Big Boys control the Holler’s
economy, and the official flow of goods in and
out of its borders, but peddlers are masters of
the black market. They know the back alleys
and junkyards, and how to make all the right
deals with all the wrong people.
Rabble-Rouser: While hell-raisers are good
at getting themselves stirred up, rabble-
rousers are good at stirring up other people.
Fiery speakers, gifted with charisma and a
deep understanding of human nature (and
how to manipulate it), rabble-rousers are often
found recruiting members to the resistance,
organizing a picket line, or standing on top of a
soap box to hear the thunder and glory of their
own voices.
Rake/Jezebel: It is said that charming people
live to the edge of their charm and behave as
outrageously as the world lets them. Rakes
or Jezebels get by on their good looks and
magnetic personalities. Social manipulators
and climbers, with an irresistible compulsion
for roguishness, rakes are as likely to steal your
coin as your heart. The bigger the stage, the
bigger their interest in being on it— they fancy
themselves as romantic heroes who can always
save the day, if they feel like it.
Schoolteacher: Most schoolteachers
are brought in from the City. They run
rudimentary grammar schools and dutifully
Making Heroes
propagate the Big Boys’ propaganda. However,
there are a few subversives among them who
care about the welfare of the children and
teach them things they are not supposed to
know. These teachers believe raising awareness
is the best way to empower the people and
eventually send the Big Boys back where they
came from.
Seer: Seers are often different from birth—a
wen on the forehead, differently-colored
eyes, a fairy-shaped ear. They tend to keep to
themselves, spend long hours staring at the sky
or wandering through the woods. Some have
nightmares and some have day-lit visions, but
APPALACHIAN
STEREOTYPES &
CULTURAL AWARENESS
The people of Appalachia have long been
subjected to negative stereotypes and
unflattering depictions in mass media. On
one end of the spectrum, they are depicted
as simple rustics, beneficent but backwards.
On the other, they are shown as ignorant
hillbillies, venal and vicious, whose accent
is synonymous with a lack of intelligence.
In Holler, we strive to create stories and
characters that show the depth, complexity,
and cultural richness of the region.
We intentionally play with stereotype and
caricature. Sometimes we reinvent them,
sometimes we revel in their absurdity,
and sometimes we go in a completely new
direction. Everything we offer here is
presented with love, affection, and joy. Not
only is Appalachia’s landscape beautiful, it’s
people are as beautiful, complex, and varied
as people anywhere.
The author of this game is a native of
Appalachia, teaches Appalachian literature,
and has published books of poetry that
wrestle with issues of representation, class,
race, labor and social change within the
region.
The game is not an attempt to create
an accurate cultural or historical
representation, but rather to weave a
mythic/gothic Appalachia drawn from many
historical, literary, artistic, and musical
influences that’s multi-layered and fun to
play in.
9
 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse

they all claim to pierce the veil that seals us off 3) Attributes
from the “other world.” Next, assign your rowdy’s attributes. A
character begins with a d4 in each of his five
Tinker: They’ll raise a fence, bore out an
attributes: Agility, Smarts, Spirit, Strength,
engine, and rig booby traps for a still. If
and Vigor.
it’s broke, they’ll fix it. If it needs breaking,
consider it broke. Masters with conventional You have five attribute points to distribute
and improvised tools, Tinkers are the among these abilities. Raising an attribute a
perfect monkey wrenches to short circuit die type costs one point to a maximum of d12.
the Big Boys’ industrial machine. Also called You may also spend two of your Hindrance
handymen, handy-dandies, jury-riggers, or points to raise an attribute a die type.
menders, depending on what part of the Holler
you’re from. 4) Skills
Every character has a d4 in the “core skills”
of Athletics, Common Knowledge, Notice,
Making Characters Persuasion, and Stealth.
After that, you have 12 additional skill points
Once you’ve developed a concept and
to raise core skills or buy and raise new skills
background for your freedom fighter, you can
as you see fit.
begin figuring out her game statistics. Holler
follows the character creation rules in Savage Buying a new skill costs one point and gives
Worlds, with a few minor changes to skills and a it to the character at d4. Each die type after
complement of new Hindrances/Edges. that costs one skill point as long as it’s equal to
or less than the attribute to which it’s linked
1) Race (see Savage Worlds). If a skill exceeds the linked
Every player character in Holler is human. They attribute, it costs two points per die type.
receive one free starting Edge at character Skills may not be increased above d12 during
creation as usual. character creation.
You may spend 1 Hindrance point to gain an
2) Hindrances additional skill point.
All the Hindrances from Savage Worlds are
available except Poverty. All Holler residents HOLLER SKILL LIST
suffer this affliction (see Gear below). Here are the skills available in Holler. Note
You can take up to 4 points of Hindrances. that skills like Weird Science, Spellcasting and
A Major Hindrance is worth 2 points, and Focus may be used by Big Boys, fae, demons,
a Minor is worth 1. A hero could thus take and other malcontents, but aren’t normally
two Major Hindrances, four Minor, or any available to Holler residents.
combination that adds up to 4 points. (You New skills are shown with their linked
can take more Hindrances but the maximum Attribute.
benefit is 4 points). Athletics Notice
Taking Hindrances not only helps you define Battle Occult
and play your troublemaker, but also allows
Common Knowledge Performance
you to use the additional points to purchase
the benefits detailed below in future steps of Distilling (Smarts) Persuasion
character creation. Driving Repair
FOR 2 POINTS YOU CAN:
Faith Riding
• Increase an attribute one die type (see Step
Fighting Shooting
3), or
• Choose an Edge (see Step 6) Folklore (Smarts) Stealth
FOR 1 POINT YOU CAN: Folk Magic (Smarts) Survival
• Increase a skill one die type (Step 4), or Gambling Taunt
• Take one Uncommon item from the Holler Healing Thievery
Gear tables (see step 7).
Intimidation

10

5) Derived Statistics
The following stats are based on the Traits you
chose, or are common to all characters unless
modified by Edges or Hindrances.
• Pace is equal to 6.
• Parry is equal to 2 plus half your Fighting
die. If you haven’t taken the Fighting skill,
it’s 2.
• Toughness is equal to 2 plus half your Vigor
die.
6) Edges
Edges are what set your hero apart from other
folks in the Holler. All the Edges from Savage
Worlds are available except Rich and Filthy Rich,
and only the new Arcane Backgrounds listed in
New Edges on page 13 are available to player
characters.
Humans get one free starting Edge.
7) Gear
Your character begins with a few sets of ragged
but serviceable clothes and any three Common
items from the Holler Gear tables (starting
on page 19).
8) Grudges & Goals
Every player character has a Grudge against
the Big Boys caused by the trauma of a heinous
event. Roleplaying your Grudge not only helps
define personality and backstory, but may
occasionally get you rewards (in the form of
Bennies) from the Shift Boss!
Your outlaw’s Grudge is what drives her to
stand up against the ruthless Big Boys. Perhaps
she lost her brother to a mine collapse in
Charhold. Maybe her home was flooded
when the Big Boys dammed the river and her
abandoned village is now at the bottom of
a lake, rotting and haunted. Maybe she was
unfairly detained in a company jail or roughed
up by Kramer-Holt agents.
Your Goal directly results from your
Grudge. What action or condition does your
malcontent want to bring about to settle her
Grudge? The more specific and personal the
better, and you can refine it as you play and
begin to understand your character and the
setting. The Goal is an opportunity to make
your character’s story personal, and offers the
Shift Boss a way to engage her passions and
convictions throughout play.
Making Heroes
KNOWLEDGE
You may notice there’s no Research skill.
That’s because knowledge in the Holler is
passed along through tales and first hand
accounts, not generally documented in
books. With that in mind, knowledge skills
in the Holler are separated into distinct areas.
Common Knowledge: Covers general
knowledge of the character’s world,
including the Big Boys’ law enforcement
and labor practices, history, famous legends,
geography, weather, flora and fauna, and
notable persons and clans.
Folklore: Covers knowledge of folk customs
and superstitions, folk magic rituals and
talismans, herbalism, farming, midwifing,
domestic practices (cooking, weaving,
quilting), and weather signs. Folklore also
deals with legends/knowledge surrounding
cryptids.
Occult: Covers knowledge of the ways of
demons, haints, fae, and witches, along with
knowledge of legendary magics (some foes
have access to Arcane Background (Magic),
for instance) and rituals and texts that have
a scope/derivation beyond that of ordinary
folk magic.
Survival: In addition to its normal uses,
also covers specialized knowledge about
critters, cryptids, landscape, and weather.
9) Background
Finish up by adding any relevant details about
your hero’s background. What part of the
Holler is he from? What are his relationships
like with his kin? What is his history of
working for the Big Boys, if any? What are his
obsessions? Who are his friends and enemies?
You don’t have to write an elaborate
backstory, but a sense of the forces that have
formed your character to this point can aid
greatly in role playing and the development of
interesting story arcs.
11
 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
NEW TAKES ON
OLD HINDRANCES
A lot of common idiosyncrasies Holler folks
are afflicted with map easily to existing
Hindrances in Savage Worlds. Here are some
ideas to tie those maledictions a little more
into the world of Holler.
Clay Eater (Habit): Some folks actually
eat dirt. Why? No one seems to know for
sure, but a few speculate the Rider’s curse
poisoned the earth and it now has a powerful
sedative effect. It ruins most folks’ lives,
leading them to spend their days in escapes
of lassitude or outright stupor.
Fancy (Quirk): Some Holler folks like to put
on airs, forget their raising, and get all fancy.
They adopt affectations in dress, speech, or
manners that draw the ire of the Holler’s
no-nonsense residents who know the Fancy
Dan is no different from them, so where does
she get off acting like her feet don’t touch the
ground?
Fatalistic (Death Wish / Impulsive): A
lifetime of hard knocks have led some
Holler residents to believe they’ve got little
control over their own fates. Sometimes
this manifests as apathy, but other times it
induces bouts of foolhardy bravery and a
willingness to take great risks.
Maudlin (Quirk): Maudlin outlaws are
prone to self-pity or bouts of sentimentality.
They often wallow in their emotional funks,
and make no secret of their feelings to others.
Varnish Head (Habit): Strangely enough,
some folks become addicted to the Big Boys’
industrial chemicals. Most any chemical
does the job—degreasing agents, turpentine,
gasoline, paint thinner — and the Habit
Hindrance simulates this well.
Wayfarer (Quirk): The Wayfarer believes
there must be a way to escape the Holler. He
pursues any lead in that direction, exploring
caves, crevasses, root cellars, stagnant pools,
and well-trod paths in search of passage.
12
New Hindrances
Can’t Hold Yer Likker (Minor)
If this roustabout drinks the hard stuff, well,
it comes right back up. This is a true social
malady. He can’t hold it down and doesn’t
derive any benefit from drinking moonshine
concoctions (see Moonshiner on page 44).
Thrown concoctions still work normally.
Feud (Minor)
This freedom fighter has a long-standing feud
with a nonplayer character “nemesis” of her
choice. The player can invent the nemesis and
the history of enmity between them during
character creation, or the Shift Boss can allow
her to choose from a few nonplayer characters
in the setting after the first session. If the
nemesis is killed, the player can choose a new,
different Hindrance or start a new feud with
another nemesis.
Both the hero and her nemesis are obsessed
with each other, constantly engaging in
oneupmanship, often at the expense of their
own well-being or that of their friends.
Feuds often become especially heated
during times of high emotional triumph or
tragedy. Whenever your freedom fighter gains
Conviction, your nemesis is guaranteed to
show up within one game session to cause
trouble for her. Figures.
Hainted (Major)
This troubled soul is a psychic magnet for
the Holler’s many haints. They whisper in his
ear, appear to him in visions, and play evil
tricks on him.
When the player rolls a Critical Failure, in
addition to any other narrative effect the Shift
Boss deems appropriate, the character is “full
hainted” (possessed) by a spirit or demon for a
24-hour period. Roll on the Hainted Table to
see what kind of trouble the rube gets into. This
doesn’t have to happen right away. The spirit
can lurk a while, waiting for an opportune
moment to cause the most mayhem.

HAINTED TABLE
D6 RESULT
1
The trouble-maker destroys one of
the party’s important possessions.
The rebel runs headlong into
2
great danger.
The afflicted purposefully
3 injures themselves in some way,
taking a Wound.
The character acquires a temporary
4
Hindrance.
The possessed attacks another
5 a-fixing to heal ye.”
party member.
The ne’er-do-well attempts to
6 sabotage the party’s mission at a
crucial juncture.
Heathen (Minor)
Some hardened souls spurn the Good Book,
quarrel with or flat-out refuse communion
with any sort of higher power, and scoff at
those who claim divine inspiration. If anyone
attempting to cast a beneficial Faith-based spell
on a Heathen fails, that failure automatically
becomes a Critical Failure and triggers all the
effects that come with it.
Raw Nerves (Minor)
Maybe this outlaw beat an addiction to varnish
or saw something humans were never meant
to see. Whatever it was, the worst of it is behind
him but its effects still linger. Subtract 2 from
any roll that requires fine manipulation with
the hands (i.e. picking a lock, tying a tie or
rigging explosives). This stacks with the All
Thumbs Hindrance!
New Edges
Background Edges
Arcane Background (Blessed)
Requirements: Novice, Spirit d6+,
Faith d4+
Blessed folk have a strong connection to the
Lord and perform wondrous miracles or call
on the Almighty for protection and healing. A
blessed character can be anyone from a snake-
handling holy roller to a soap-boxing traveling
Making Heroes
APPALACHIAN
ACCENT & DIALECT
Appalachian accents and dialects are rich
and varied. There’s way more detail and
nuance than could ever be canvassed in a
sidebar, but here’s a few quick and dirty tips
for adding Appalachian speech to your table.
Put the “a-” pre-fix in front of your
verbs on occasion: “I was a-going to knock
that Sheepsquatch on his noggin’, but he
knocked me first,” or, “Hold ye horses, I’m
“Y’all,” which is ubiquitous in the South,
is “yuns” in older forms of Southern
Appalachian speech. “You” becomes “ye.”
Add an “h” sound to “it.”
Embrace the double modal and the
double negative. The double modal is laced
with circumspection and doubt about the
nature of fate and possibility, “I might could
get over that mountain, but it ain’t going
to be easy.” The double negative is tinged
with a touch of fatalism and regret, “I never
got none of those fresh apples they was
a-talking about.”
Use “His’n,” “Her’n,” “Your’n,” to denote
possession.
“Like” becomes “lahk.” “Wash” becomes
“warsh” and “Hollow” becomes “Holler.”
Repeat this phrase: “Thar’s a barrh (bear),
whar? Over thar.” “Done” it up a bit—“I ain’t
done it,” or “They done got themselves into
a fix.”
A bag is a poke, posion is pizon, deaf is deef,
a piece of wood sticking out of the ground
for no apparent reason is a stob, a leaning
structure is sigoggled or sigoggling. A sick
person is a bit peaked (that’s two syllables)
or “poorly-looking.”
Pepper your speech with colorful phrases,
like “That’s handy as a shirt pocket,” “I’m
a-going to snatch you bald headed,” “flat as
flitter,” “slick as a butter bean.”
Plumb is a descriptor — “he was plumb
crazy!”
Oh, and it’s pronounced App-uh-latch-un,
not App-uh-layshun.
Have fun!
13
 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse

preacher to an unassuming but pious caregiver. recipes, shiners brew concoctions that do
Blessed use Faith as their arcane skill. See much more than give a feller a pleasant buzz
Blessed on page 41. after a long day on the factory floor. Some
say moonshiners’ elixirs are magic. Some
Arcane Background (Folk Magic) say they’re downright unstable and prone
Requirements: Novice, Smarts d6+, Folk to combustion. Moonshiners use Distilling
Magic d4+ as their arcane skill. See Moonshiner
Some folks have preserved the old ways— on page 44.
practices passed down through generations,
the origins of such knowledge lost in time. Folk Blight Resistant
magic is steeped in myth and legend, but some Requirements: Novice, Vigor d6+
say their magic is what makes stories come true. The Blight is an unpredictable toxin, affecting
Talismans, herbs, and other trinkets some folks much more strongly than others.
characterize the practice of folk magic. A rowdy with this Edge is more resistant than
While its effects are primarily protective or most. He gets a free reroll when resisting Blight
instructive, its power, when necessary, can also (see page 46) and ignores 2 points of any
be harnessed to harm foes. Folk Magicians use Blight-related Vigor penalties.
Folk Magic as their arcane skill. See Folk Magic
“Y ou a r e th e c ompany. The ,
on page 42.
. You will die
company is youny lives on.
Arcane Background but the compa company is
(Moonshiner) Therefore, the, your paradis e,
your af terlife
Requirements: Novice, Repair d6+,
Distilling d4+
Moonshiners are a breed apart. Fiercely your legacy.”
oy
— From a Big B manual.
independent and famously protective of their

indoctrina ti on

14

Combat Edges
Don’t Get ’im Riled!
REQUIREMENTS: Novice
The hero with this Edge can be a real curly wolf
when he gets roughed up. When causing melee
damage, he adds his Wound levels to the roll. A
hero with three Wounds, for instance, adds +3
to his melee damage rolls!
Gouger
Requirements: Novice, Vigor d6+,
Fighting d8+
Gouging fights are nasty, brutish affairs where
two combatants stand in a ring and try to whup
each other into submission. They get their
name from the unfortunately frequent habit
of the winner ripping out the other feller’s
eye! You’ll find all you need to know about this
atrocious activity on page 38.
When making an unarmed attack, a fighter
with the Gouger Edge may ignore up to 4
points of Called Shot penalties.
Professional Edges
Miner
Requirements: Novice, Spirit d6+,
Vigor d6+
The experience gained from repeatedly facing
the dangers of the mines gives this character an
edge in dark environments.
The miner may ignore up to two points of
Illumination penalties as long as there’s at least
some light—even a match or a couple of fireflies
in a Mason jar.
Pickin’ and Grinnin’
Requirements: Novice, Performance d8+
Whether she was born with her scintillating
talent, practiced until her fingers bled, or
struck a deal with a demon to reach virtuosic
heights, this natural entertainer lays down
fancy licks and gets folks’ feet a-moving.
The maestro gets a free reroll on Performance
rolls as long as she has an instrument in hand
or a voice to sing with.
Making Heroes
Weird Edges
Augur
Requirements: Seasoned, Danger Sense
Some folks are born with “the sight.” They can
occasionally “auger,” or foretell, future events.
In Holler, this kind of prescience only occurs
in life or death situations, so once during any
dangerous encounter (GM’s call, but generally
combat), a prognosticator with this Edge can
spend a Benny to gain three Auger tokens. This
is a free action.
Until the end of the encounter, the seer
may spend a token to allow herself or anyone
else within 12” (24 yards) to reroll a Trait or
damage roll.
A Trait or damage roll may only benefit from
a single Auger Token, even if there are multiple
characters with this Edge present.
Auger tokens aren’t Bennies, don’t trigger
Edges that use Bennies (such as Elan), and
can’t be used as such in any other way such as
drawing new Action Cards or Soaking Wounds.
TELL IT LIKE
FOLKS TELL IT
For all its other trappings, Holler is a
game about stories—true ones, false ones,
small myths, and great legends—and the
connections between the human beings that
breathe them into being. The more energy
you put into crafting your character’s story,
the more the world will give back.
Bluegrass pickers sing impromptu
ballads and ditties. Granny Women create
their own folk tales. Miners recount their
harrowing experiences beneath the earth.
Holy rollers opine about their mystical
experiences. Moonshiners brag about their
greatest escapes and most devilish batches
of shine. Gougers intimidate with tells of
their most gruesome fights. These stories
add layers of depth and fun to a game that
the Shift Boss alone could never generate.
Of course, in-game actions define a
hero’s essence—how you scheme, triumph,
dream, fight, fail, and negotiate moral
dilemmas — but the Holler becomes a
special place when a character takes an
active role in constructing her own legend.
15
 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse

Faith Healer
Requirements: Novice, Performance d8+
Faith Healers don’t actually heal Wounds (not
with this Edge, anyway), but can make others
believe they’re cured.
As an action, a Faith Healer may touch a
friendly character, say a few words, and make a
Performance roll minus the victim’s Wounds. If
successful, the victim may ignore the Wounds’
penalties for the next five rounds.
No individual may be affected by this Edge
more than once per encounter.

Sooth-Savior
Requirements: Heroic, Auger
Once per session and at any time, even
in the middle of another character’s
turn, the Augur may give a Benny to any
other character and describe a flashback
wherein he foretold a fellow teammate of
danger relating to the present situation. This
warning is enough to turn that Benny into a
point of Conviction.

ARCHETYPES AND EDGES

While lots of different character types fit well in the Holler, we’ve offered a bunch of
archetype ideas at the beginning of this chapter to help (see Sample Characters on page 7).
It’s sometimes also helpful to know what core Edges in Savage Worlds (in addition to the new
ones listed in this chapter) might capture the feel of the character you want to play. Here are
a few ideas to get you started.
Alertness: Those with this Edge are particularly wary of all the critters and demons that
populate the old woods. Whether paranoia fuels their attention or simple talent, Alertness is
a common trait among Holler residents.
Arcane Resistance: Some Holler folks have a natural resistance to magic and the supernatural.
Maybe they’re blessed in a different way, or maybe they’re just stubborn enough that their lack
of belief in the arcane manifests as resistance to it.
Charismatic: From skilled peddlers to big hearted school teachers to captivating preachers,
this Edge can go a long way to emphasizing the feel of any character who talks well and often.
McGyver / Mr Fix It: Moonshiners, gearheads and tinkers are all over the Holler, and
although they don’t understand the Weird Science of the Big Boys, they can sabotage Big Boy
equipment, soup up jalopies, and often improvise explosives with just a few spare metal rods
and some chemicals they find outside a textile mill.
Soldier: While few people in the Holler have fought in an organized military, the effects of
this Edge are on point for any freedom fighter whose determination and experience in the
face of tough conditions is front and center.
Strong Willed: Holler residents are often very proud people. Granny women who’ve seen it
all or tough miners who can sniff out a flim-flam man as sure as they can a rigged coal-scale
are not easily bamboozled.

16
 Chapter 2:
Gear

The Holler corresponds roughly to 1930s

Depression-era Appalachia in terms of mood Barter System
and feel. A stark technological gap exists—the
Big Boys have access to electricity, telephones “Cash money” is rare in the Holler. Sure, the Big
and telegraphs, luxury automobiles, radios and Boys have stacks of it, but most of them make
record players, and their mills and mines are only brief visits to oversee operations before
powered by industrial machinery. returning to the safety of the City.
Holler residents are paid in “scrip,” a form
Local railroads run through the Sootstone
of currency that can only be redeemed at the
Mountains and the coal operators (the
company store. It has little value outside the
Galloways and Bondurants) have plans for
company town economy.
expanding those Holler-wide. The Tommy Gun,
known colloquially as the Tommy Deadman, is Most trade in the Holler is based on barter,
the weapon of choice for the Big Boys and their with the parameters of any exchange relying
heavily on the relative wants and needs (and
associates.
sometimes desperate circumstances) of seller
Holler residents live in company towns and buyer.
constructed by the Big Boys or dirt floor cabins
Livestock, horses of questionable merit,
in the woods. The typical company house
fruits and vegetables, potable water, tools,
consists of one or two rooms and does not have
knick-knacks, and good walking boots are
indoor plumbing or electricity.
often traded, along with favors and promises.
Holler residents don’t have access to The Big Boys’ various prohibitions mean
telephones, radios or record players. Most there’s a contraband market as well—vehicles,
residents travel by foot or broken down horses. corn likker, weapons, and radios are among
Cars that are in possession of residents have the most treasured items, but possessing them
usually been illegally salvaged from the Big brings unwanted attention from both the Big
Boys’ junkyards by moonshiners or racers. Boys and local thieves.
Regular folks’ firearms, if they have any, are While cash and coins can’t be redeemed in
mostly old shotguns or hunting rifles, passed the Holler, some criminals count exotic lucre
down through the generations, though a few from the City as a status item. Unsavory types
have managed to steal Tommy Deadmen and consider it much more valuable than scrip in
other weapons from the Big Boys’ storehouses. lawbreaking circles.

17
 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
The Company Store
Every company town has a company store,
one of the only places where workers can buy
goods (traveling tinkers fill the gap a bit, but
their inventories tend to be scattershot and
even eccentric).
The average worker makes five scrip per week
after the company deducts for their rent and
village maintenance. This is barely enough to
keep the worker and his family fed.
The company store is more than happy to
extend credit to workers so they can buy more
“Early to bed and early to
rise/ keeps a worker in
the vise.”
—The Almanac of Richard
the Sod.
18
food and make aspirational purchases, such
as pieces of furniture “manufactured in the
City.” This leads to a cycle of perpetual debt for
many workers. Most Holler folk are honorable
and don’t want to leave their accounts
unsquared, so they feel they must continue
working, regardless of the conditions, to pay
off their debt.
Some workers supplement their diets by
tending backyard gardens, keeping chickens
or other small livestock or hunting and fishing
in the nearby woods, but such activity is
frowned upon by the Big Boys and prohibited
in some towns.
Availability/Barter Values
The Big Boys’ tight control over the availability
of goods is undercut by the work of peddlers,
thieves, and smugglers, who regularly pilfer
from Umberkirk Requisition Yards and rob
supply trucks from the City.
Some families, especially those who live
outside of company towns, have deeply
cherished (and fiercely protected) heirloom
objects passed down through the generations,
and a good many Holler folks are mechanically-
inclined, leading to a preponderance of
jury-rigged weapons and contraptions.
All these factors lead to a consistent
inconsistency in terms of how difficult it is to
procure supplies, weapons, and specialty items.
All goods are rated for Availability, which
also roughly corresponds to their barter value.
Goods commonly available at a company store
are listed in terms of their value in scrip.
Common (C): A few eggs; a knick-knack; a
genial disposition
Uncommon (U): A chicken; few jars of likker;
skinning knife; a small errand or favor
Scarce (S): A goat or two; a nice pair of boots;
a good bow; a difficult errand or big favor
Rare(R): A very good horse or very junky car;
wads of scrip plus a new guitar; a few good
rifles; an adventure-level errand or something
highly illegal
Very Rare (VR): An exotic critter or juiced
up car; significant cash money and Big Boy
technology; a stash of automatic rifles or
explosives; a quest-level adventure or revenge
killing. Are you willing to trade your life?
 Gear

Flour C 1/Bag 1
Holler Gear Good Book C 1 1
Greens (canned) C 1/can 1
This is a rough guideline. Barter values depend
largely on the immediate needs and desires of Haircut C 2 –
seller and buyer. Hot Shower C 2 –
CLOTHES Kitchen
S 15 25
ITEM VALUE WEIGHT
Table/Chairs

Boots (Good) S 1 Matches (box) C 1 –

Boots (Ratty) C 1 Milk C 1/Gal. 1

Boots (Steel-Toed) S 3 Oil Lamp C 3 2

Notes: +1 to Unarmed damage. Oil C 1 –
Coat (Ratty) C 1 Pork C 1/Lb. 1
Coat (Heavy) S 2 Simple Tools S 25 5
Notes: +1 Vigor rolls vs. Cold Wall Calendar C 2 –
Dungarees (Jeans) U 1
TINKER/SMUGGLER GOODS
Overalls C 2
ITEM VALUE WEIGHT
Peasant Shirt C 1
Awl U 1
Sack Cloth Dress C 1
Backpack U 3
Slack Pants (blousy cloth) C 1
Banjo U 5
Sunday Clothes S 1
Bedroll U 4
Fancy Dress R 2
Blasting Caps S –
Business Suit R 1 Notes: Required for controlled use of
dynamite for blasting in mines or tunnels.
HATS
Playing Cards U –
ITEM VALUE WEIGHT
Playing Cards (Dirty) S –
Ball Cap U – Notes: +2 to card-based Gambling rolls when
Cloche S – used. A Critical Failure reveals the cards as
dirty.
Derby C –
Playing Cards (Rook) C –
Farmer's Hat C –
Canteen U 1
Fedora S –
Dobro (a type of guitar) S 5
Pillbox S –
Dope (carbonated soda) S –
Porkpie S –
Dulcimer S 5
Skimmer C –
Flint and Steel C 1
Stovepipe R –
Gasoline (1 Gallon) S 6
COMPANY STORE GOODS Guitar R 5
ITEM VALUE COST WEIGHT Likker U –
Beans (Dried) C 1/Bag 1 Lockpicks R –
Bed C 10 30 Notes: +1 to Thievery rolls when picking locks.
Cornmeal C 1/Bag 1 Manacles S 4
Luxury Couch R 10 30 Mouth Harp C 1
Eggs C 1/Doz. 1 Possibles Bag C 1

19
 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse

Poultice U 2 Holler Food

Notes: +2 to Healing; one time use. Food is much more than sustenance in the
Powder Horn U 1 Holler. It’s a means of communication. It
Notes: Required for storing powder for black loosens tongues and builds relationships. It
powder weapons. Holds enough for 10 shots. heals people’s woes and brings folks together.
Even the most ornery shift boss or toughest
Quilt U 2
company guard has been known to soften
Radio VR 1 when confronted with a delicious offering of
Notes: Under just the right conditions, these home-cooked heaven.
Big Boy devices can pick up spotty broadcasts
from the City. FOODSTUFFS
Record Player VR 7 ITEM VALUE WEIGHT
Notes: Record players are contraband in the Bacon U –
Holler, and the records they play are only
Beef Stew U –
made in the City.
Biscuits and Gravy C –
Rope (20 yards) C 10
Bass U –
Sewing Needles C –
Butter Beans C –
Skillet U 2
Carp C –
Spectacles S –
Catfish U –
Trail Rations (1 week) S 2
Chicken Dumplings C –
Thread C –
Fruit Cobbler U –
Tin Cup C 1
Coffee R –
Walking Stick U 3
Cornbread C –
CRITTERS Chow Chow
U –
ITEM VALUE (pickled relish)
Bull R Grits C –
Old dog (Str and Vigor –1) C Hoe Cake C –
Hound dog C Iced Tea S –
Billy goat U Milk (goat or cow) C –
Broke down horse (Str Fried Pork Chops U –
U
and Vigor –1) Poke Salad C –
Good horse R Preserves C –
Thoroughbred horse VR Rabbit U –
Mule U Squirrel C –
Ox R Tater Fritters U –
Songbird C Trout S –
Turnip Greens C –
Whistle Pig
U –
(groundhog)
Venison U –

20
 Gear

ARMOR
TYPE ARMOR MIN STR. WEIGHT VALUE NOTES

Animal Hides +1 d4 5 U Torso and legs

Head, Ignore
Miner's Helmet +1 d4 2 U
Illumination Penalties

MELEE WEAPONS
TYPE DAMAGE MIN STR. WEIGHT VALUE NOTES
Big Ol’ Ball Bat Str+d8 d8 5 S
Does not count as a weapon for
Brass Knucks Str+d4 d4 1 C
Unarmed Defender
Hatchet Str+d4 d4 3 U
Hoe Str+d4 d4 4 C Reach 1
+2 to break objects
Logging Axe Str+d6 d6 5 U
with two hands
Mining Pick Str+d6 d6 5 U
Pitchfork Str+d6 d6 5 S Parry –1 Reach 1, AP 2
Skinning Knife Str+d4 d4 1 U −2 to be noticed if hidden
Scythe Str+d8 d8 6 S Reach 1, AP 1, Two Hands
Shovel Str+d6 d6 5 C
Sign of being rustic and
Wooden Club Str+d6 d6 5 C
ill-mannered

RANGED WEAPONS
MIN
TYPE RANGE DAMAGE AP SHOTS ROF STR. WEIGHT VALUE
Axe (Throwing) 3/6/12 Str+d6 — 1 d6 3 U
Bow 12/24/48 2d6 — 1 d6 4 S
Crossbow 15/30/60 2d8 2 1 d6 6 R
Notes: Reload 2
Knife (Throwing) 3/6/12 Str+d4 — 1 d4 1 C
Sling (with Stones) 3/6/12 Str+d4 — 1 d4 1 C
BLACK POWDER WEAPONS

Black Powder Weapons are Reload 3 unless noted.

Maw Maw's Pistol 5/10/20 2d6+1 — 1 — d4 3 U
Old Smoky 15/30/60 2d8 2 1 — d6 4 R
Paw Paw's Rifle 15/30/60 2d8 — 1 — d6 11 S

“When in doubt, fry up so

pie. When in a patch of fieme fatback. When in despair, bake a
ld demons, bust some go
urds.”
—From A Granny Woman
Cookbook.

21
 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse

PISTOLS
MIN
TYPE RANGE DAMAGE AP SHOTS ROF STR. WEIGHT VALUE
Hideout Pistol 3/6/12 2d4 — 2 1 d4 1 U
Peacemaker 12/24/48 2d6+1 1 6 1 d4 4 R
SHOTGUNS
Seed Sower 12/24/48 1–3d6 — 2 1 d6 11 R
RIFLES
Deer Rifle 24/48/96 2d8–1 — 4 1 d6 9 R
Notes: Snapfire

AMMO
Ammunition in the Holler is difficult to get. For Holler weapons, it’s considered Rare, for Big Boy
weapons it’s Very Rare. A fair number of folks who’ve gotten their hands on a Tommy deadman
often find getting ammo for it a fair piece harder than it was finding the weapon itself.

DYNAMITE
Dynamite is used primarily for blasting in the mines of the Holler, but it comes in handy when you
need to blow up one of the Big Boys’ armored cars too. Dynamite has a 1 in 4 chance of exploding
if it takes 6 or more points of damage. Throwing dynamite uses Athletics, and setting it uses Repair.
Seven or more sticks of dynamite are usually set to explode rather than thrown. Dynamite is
considered an Uncommon item, and a Heavy Weapon.
TYPE RANGE DAMAGE WT BLAST NOTES
1–2 sticks 4/8/16 2d6 0.5/1 MBT +2 damage for 2 sticks/pints
3–4 sticks 3/6/12 3d6 1.5/2 LBT +2 damage for 4 sticks/pints
5–6 sticks 2/4/8 4d6 2.5/3 6” Radius +2 damage for 6 sticks/pints
Each additional stick — +2 0.5/1 See Notes +.5” Radius per stick

VEHICLES
Almost all jalopies and pickups in the Holler require a Repair roll to get started if you’re pressed
for time (say, during a combat round).

GROUND VEHICLES
TOP SPEED
TYPE SIZE HANDLING MPH TOUGHNESS CREW VALUE
Junky Jalopy 3 −1 50 7 1+3 R
Fair to Middling Jalopy 3 0 70 8(1) 1+3 R
Juiced-Up Jalopy 3 +1 90 10(2) 1+3 VR
Junky Pick-Up 5 −2 40 11 1+10 R
Juiced-Up Pick-Up 5 −1 80 14(2) 1+10 VR
Notes: Secret cargo space. –4 to Notice on search.

is a be au tif ul th ing . . . it remakes the very air,

“An explosion iling
ard th e da rk he av en s full of fire and fury, boit
flies tow us booms! The very though
t of
with rage and thundero!”
gives me gl eeful shivers
en s, Dem olitions Ma n / Combustible Codger
—Stormy Pick
22
 Gear

Big Boys Equipment

The Big Boys and their associates have access to everything Holler folks have access to, though
they usually have no need for it. Value represents how difficult the piece of equipment is for the
freedom fighters to locate/steal. The names are the nicknames they have earned among Holler
residents.

ARMOR
MIN
TYPE ARMOR STR. WEIGHT VALUE NOTES
Entire body. Ignore 2 points of
Vigor Penalties in Blight Storms/Fog.
Blight Suit +1 d6 9 VR
Immune to Blight Fatigue. Reduce
Pace by 2.
Bullet Proof Vest +2 d4 5 R Torso.
The ultimate protection for the Big
Environmental Boys. This surprisingly lightweight
Protection +5 d4 7 VR full-body suit was developed by
Suit (EPS) Samuel Ashdown. It completely
protects the wearer from Blight effects.
Head. Ignore 2 points of Vigor
Gas Mask (head) +1 d4 3 R
Penalties in Blight Storms/Fog.
Kramer-Holt
+1 d4 4 S Torso, arms.
Detective Coats
Riot
+1 d4 2 S Head.
Helmet (head)

GRENADES/GAS CANISTERS
TYPE RANGE DAMAGE AP ROF BLAST WEIGHT VALUE
Smoker 5/10/20 — — — LBT 1 U
Notes: Obscures vision. –4 to all sight based skills. –2 to Athletics.

Choker 5/10/20 — — — LBT 1 S

Notes: Vigor roll at –2. Failure results in target becoming Distracted and Vulnerable.

Blaster 4/8/16 3d6 — — MBT 1 R

MELEE WEAPONS
MIN
TYPE DAMAGE STR. WEIGHT VALUE NOTES
Billy boy Baton Str+d4 d4 1 C
With a successful hit, target must
Shocker Stick Str+d6 d4 1 S make a Vigor roll (–2 with a raise) or be
Stunned.
Attitude
+2 Damage when wielded with two
Adjuster Str+d8 d6 4 R
hands.
(Studded Club)

23
 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse

RANGED WEAPONS
PISTOLS
MIN
TYPE RANGE DAMAGE AP ROF SHOTS STR. WEIGHT VALUE
Silent Sam .22 10/20/40 2d4 — 1 9 d4 2 R
Notes: Equipped with silencer
Widow-maker .45 12/24/48 2d6+1 1 1 7 d4 4 R
RIFLES
Big Gun 30/60/120 2d10 2 1 1 d8 11 VR+
ASSAULT RIFLES
Bloody
24/48/96 2d8+1 2 3 30 d6 10 VR
Bear (7.62mm)
SUBMACHINE AND MACHINE GUNS
Tommy
12/24/48 2d8+1 — 3 20 d6 13 R
Deadman .45
Tater Digger (7.62) 40/80/160 2d10 3 3 200 — 75 VR+
Notes: Machine Gun (see Savage Worlds). Heavy Weapon.
SHOTGUNS
Peasant Pumper 12/24/48 1–3d6 — 1 6 d4 8 R
Rube Runner 12/24/48 1–3d6 — 1 12 d6 10 VR

SPECIAL WEAPONS
MIN
TYPE RANGE DAMAGE AP ROF SHOTS STR. WEIGHT VALUE

Blighter 10/20/40 — — 1 1 d4 5 VR
Notes: One use. Technomancers must reload under laboratory conditions. Shoots a concentrated
spray of highly toxic Blight in a MBT. Those within the area must make a Vigor roll (–2 with
a raise). Failure results in –1 to all Vigor rolls for the next hour and are subject to Blight
Corruption on page 46).

VEHICLES
GROUND VEHICLES
TOP SPEED
TYPE SIZE HANDLING MPH TOUGHNESS CREW VALUE
Kramer-Holt Patrol Car 4 0 100 12(2) 1+3 VR
Notes: Armored version has +2 Armor

Penal Colony/
7 −2 50 7(1) 1+40 R
Labor Truck
Big Boys Luxury Car 3 +1 100 10(2) 1+3 VR+
Notes: Armored version has +2 Armor.

VERDINITE
Verdinite glows green with strange power, and has the same statistics as dynamite except with
d10 damage dice instead of d6. It’s also less stable, and has a 100% chance of exploding when the
container it’s in takes 4 or more points of damage.

24
 Chapter 3:
Life in the Holler

ails a body or to grant “special proclivities,” are

Gazetteer among the most prized items, though their
medicinal efficacy is fiercely debated.
Corncob Gap Cussfoot Fens
Corncob Gap, also known as Rustic Road or
Hoofing-It Highway, is a long, narrow L-shaped The Cussfoot Fens occupy a small sliver of
pass that cuts between the Ghost Ridge and territory immediately east of the Hogback Hills
Great Craggy Mountain ranges, terminating at and form the Holler’s southeastern border.
the northern border of the Holler. The Fens give off a fetid smell, partially from
It provides passage through the mountains the many layers of decomposing mosses and
for migrating beasts, traveling peddlers, plants, and partially from the dead that are
reassigned workers, and shipments between routinely buried there in shallow graves by
industrial operators. The high country on folks from the Hogback Hills.
either side of the gap provides rapscallions and
Holler residents believe the mud of the
predators perfect hiding places to stalk their
Fens has special properties and grants a deep,
prey. Many a traveler has set out on the Gap
never to return. peaceful sleep to departed loved ones. The
Fens are notorious for deep sink holes as well
Though the Riders of Industry are long dead,
it is said their shadows ride astral stallions as “cold spots” that can give a traveler the
through the gap on clear nights with a full deathly shivers in a matter of moments. The
moon, and that the sight is terrible enough to Fens are rife with cryptids, many of whom
stop even a strong heart. favor its relative isolation and ample supply of
Verdy’s Traveling Flea Market pops up at necrotic tissue.
irregular intervals up and down Corn Cob Gap. The Big Boys seem to be experimenting with
The market is run by Verdy Cogbloom, a granny hybrid vehicles that can navigate both the
woman turned entrepreneur. Whenever it marshy terrain and mossy waterways.
appears, it usually runs for a day or so, drawing
sundry peddlers and passersby, and disperses Almarine is the only village in the Fens,
just as quickly to avoid detection by Kramer- though some hermits and ragtag groups can
Holt agents. be found living outside of it. The village hews
All manner of goods are available for barter— close to the Fens’ border with the Hogback
from livestock to family heirlooms to the Hills. Almarinites are a strange lot—their
occasional weapon. Verdy’s array of poultices preoccupations with death and fate have given
and tonics, promising to cure anything that birth to a range of occult practices.

25
 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
Faefall
Forming the Southern border of the Holler,
Faefall appears miraculously free from Blight.
However, most view its low, lush ridges as a
peculiar haunt, and not worthy of habitation,
due to the preponderance of stories about the
capricious fae that inhabit it.
The landscape almost feels like an illusion—a
dream of an unbelievably bright and shining
spring. Silver rain showers whisk across a glade.
The winnowed light of dusk illuminates the
fingertips of a sapling. Birds, wild horses, and
herds of elk live easy as you please in bright
meadows and apple orchards.
Fae romp through its pastures, stirring up
revelry and mischief. The people tend their
fields, raise their children and care for their
flocks, keeping an anxious eye on the Blight
storms that light the sky just to the north.
Galax rests in a gentle valley, ringed by
willowy mountains. Its citizens are quiet,
reserved, distrustful of strangers and given to
an array of odd rituals aimed at maintaining
harmony with their sylvan neighbors.
26
Fairy Flats looks like a place plucked from
a book of fables. Surrounded by fairy rings,
sparkly, crisscrossing streams, and verdant
woods full of foxfire, the people of this
tiny village are given to shiftlessness and
hallucination.
Midsummer is a village located on a curious
environmental anomaly— a flat-top mountain
meadow ringed by extravagant, garishly-
colored flowers unlike any others in the
Holler. The village’s constable, Emerald Divine,
cultivates the exotic beauty of this patch of
ground. “It’s a-growing. It’s a-growing. We got
to keep it a-growing. I can hear it a-growing,”
he likes to tell the rare, befuddled visitor.
the blood,
“S erpents quicken quickens the
but a kind word
heart.”

Ghost Ridge Mountains
The mist-shrouded Ghost Ridge Mountains
appear an eerie blue when viewed from a
distance—some say the blue is simply one’s eyes
playing a trick, others that it’s an emanation of
the mystical power contained within the Ghost
Ridge’s forested peaks and fast-moving rivers.
The fog gets so dense in the spring and
autumn that a traveler can barely see her hand
in front of her face, and the landscape’s myriad
nooks, crannies, caves, and crevasses are home
to an unusually high number of haints.
The human population of Ghost Ridge dwells
in clan-based hollows. These folks tend to keep
to themselves and out of the factories, but a few
have left for Saxon or Gilmer in search of work.
Burden Holler is home to the Burden Clan,
infamous for the degree of generational
misfortune that has befallen them. Strange
physical ailments, a sundry of accidental
deaths, and an unceasing barrage of floods,
earthquakes, and fires mark their harrowed
existence.
Cherry Mountain is the domain of Amos
Mulholin (see page 204), the most famous
moonshiner in the Holler. His miraculous
orchards of “only slightly Blighted” cherry trees
give birth to his most popular concoction, the
whiskey known as Cherry Bounce.
Cole Holler is defended from outsiders by the
Coles, champion gougers and opportunistic
junk dealers who tend to live lives of boisterous
debauchery and wanton violence. Even the Big
Boys steer clear of the Coles if they can help it.
Gulchside is a small village on the southern
escarpment of the Ghost Ridge. Many of the
jalopies stolen from Big Boy Requisition Yards
end up here. Illegal races thrive on crudely
constructed dirt tracks or the steep curves of
Sidewinder Road.
Great Craggy Mountains
The Great Craggies come by their name
honestly, marked by jagged, treeless peaks and
huge boulders jutting from every slope. Strip
mining and deforestation have amplified their
rugged and sometimes desolate appearance.
Black bears, panthers, and giant-sized
mutations of snakes, spiders, and owls roam
its expanses. Rock slides, lightning storms, and
flash floods are common hazards.
Life in the Holler
The Blight has strongly affected the Great
Craggies’ eastern facing slopes, with many
burl-boiled trees and poisoned streams.
The Craggies feature some of the most
majestic and terrifying views in the Holler,
from 800-foot waterfalls to steep ravines
that seem to descend into maelstroms of
nothingness.
Firpo is the biggest logging town in the
Holler, with both the Whitakers and the
Lowells running expansive timber operations
and sawmills. The town sits in a high mountain
valley in the Great Craggies, ringed in by
Paw Paw’s Peak and the leaning summit of
Mt. Sigodlin.
A large population of wild boar lives in the
woods around Firpo. The True Summoner’s
Hog Calling Contest is a beloved local tradition.
Gilmer is small logging camp at the edge of
a haunted forest. Exactly what the forest is
haunted by is a subject of much local debate.
Stump Town is an exploratory Royster
logging camp housed at the base of the Stygian
Peaks. The Stygians boast dense forests, which
are also dense with demons, cryptids, and giant
beasts. The bravest, most-skilled loggers from
Firpo eventually wind up here, where their life
expectancies decrease significantly.
The residents of Stump Town are often
possessed of a mordant, gallows humor. Many
engage in violent pastimes. It’s the Holler’s
gouging capital.
Weaver Falls residents claim they’ve been
gifted with a “nature-tuned ear” thanks to
the town’s proximity to the euphonious
rushing sounds of an 800-foot waterfall. The
Falls turn out a high number of incredibly
talented musicians and instrument-makers.
The famous fiddler, Snuffy Croyle, hails from
here, and Verna Lynn Cash is said to have a
voice that “takes the wings off an angel, but
in a good way.” Weaver Falls is the site of the
annual (and outlawed) Fiddler’s Convention,
where musicians from all over the Holler sneak
their way to the Falls to show their stuff.
Wolf Lick is famous for two things: 1) its
residents’ unusually harmonious relationship
with packs of fenrir (intelligent wolves, see
page 129); 2) its residents’ unusually poor
relationships with each other. Wolf Lick folks
have lived in harmony with the local fenrir for
decades. The village is dominated by two
27
 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
families, the Dewlaps and the Hivelys, who
are engaged in a bloody, intergenerational
feud. No one remembers how it started, but
the slightest perceived insult or grievance can
lead to violence.
Hogback Hills
On the eastern side of the Holler, the
mountains give way to rolling hills and red clay
fields marked with small ponds and occasional
dense thickets.
The western third of the Hogbacks form the
foothills of the Faefall. This area boasts its fair
share of wildflower-speckled meadows and
clear streams.
The eastern third constitutes the southern
escarpment of the Sootstones, and the land
and air here bear ruinous evidence of the
Sootstones’ environmental affliction.
The central third abuts the Ghost Ridge and
constitutes the Holler’s textile belt, home
to the largest Ashdown Textile Mill and its
company town.
Its residents are hard-working and fiercely
independent millhands, and despite the Big
Boys’ prohibitions, they have carved out lively
monuments to their lifestyle throughout the
hills—illegal lean-to bars and jook joints, fallow
fields reserved for their riotous stomp parties,
and a fair smattering of moonshine stills and
serpent churches.
Ashdown is the stronghold of the Big Boy
inventor-tycoon Samuel Ashdown. His
largest textile mill and fancy vacation estate
overlook the town.
Samuel is famously unpredictable, which
leads to a confusing existence for the
workers. Sometimes the alcohol prohibition
is enforced, sometimes it isn’t. Sometimes
stealing from the company store results in a
verbal reprimand, sometimes a public flogging.
The inconsistent application of the law makes
Ashdown a chaotic place. That’s probably how
Samuel likes it.
Boscage, home to Ashdown Textile Mills
No. 2 and No. 3, is the personal fiefdom of
Lawman Doyle Billford, one of the Big Boys’
most tenacious enforcers. He and his men visit
terror on the locals, their fearsome reputation
outstripping even that of the Kramer-
Holt agents.
28
The Umberkirk Rail Central Depot, which
offers access to the nearby Sootstones, is
located downtown. It provides a ready escape
for scoundrels who run afoul of the law and
has become one of the most dangerous places
in the Holler.
Broadus used to be an independent farm
community, until the Ashdown family
“purchased” strips of farmland from the
families living there, promising enormous
subsidies and mechanized equipment in
return. Instead they turned these once-
independent tillers into sharecroppers.
Ashdown company trucks carry the bounty
of Broadus’ surrounding lands (potatoes,
tomatoes, turnips, green beans, okra, squash)
to processing centers which create the much-
reviled Standard Victuals (condensed soups
and “nutriment” bars), distributed throughout
the mill villages and labor camps. The labels on
the Victuals declare them “100 percent Blight-
Purified”—folks aren’t sure if they believe it, but
it’s some comfort at least.
Clay Town is one of the saddest places in the
Holler. The Saxons shuttle workers who are
too old, too injured, or too psychologically
unstable to work to this village in a remote part
of the Hogback Hills.
Many of the people there have become
addicted to eating the red clay that lies beneath
their feet. Under its baleful influence, they
spend their days in torpor or nervous unease.
Rumors have it the Big Boys relocated some
Clay Town folks to other locations, though
no one seems to know to exactly where or for
what purpose.
Saxon is the rival town of Ashdown and boasts
the largest textile mill in the Holler. Hilda
Saxon and her scion are determined to run
their operation as efficiently as possible. Saxon
was built from the ground up as a company
town. The mill houses are uniform, one-
room shanties with no indoor plumbing. The
company-owned church, grammar school, and
jail house sit side-by-side, indistinguishable
in appearance except for minimalistic signs
above their front doors. Company guards are
everywhere and exercise almost total control
over the populace.
Sunrise is home to two granny women, one
black and one white, and each possessed
of considerable charisma, nerve, and wit:
 Life in the Holler

Lucy Parham and Mother Mancini. They The fanatical Church of the Anointed makes
work together to create community and its residence on the Plateau, along with other,
resolve disputes. smaller cults. These worshippers have plenty of
Terrapin Corner was named after the diabolical company. Every demon in existence
ill-tempered alligator snapping turtles can be found here, along with a bevy of giant
that populate the banks of the Big Sandy predators. Travelers who have survived its
and is home to a community of old-timers. horrors often make two exceedingly odd
Considered beyond their productive working claims about Piney Dirge—“it’s a small patch of
years, they are largely left to their own devices. ground that seems to stretch on forever,” and
Join a gathering on any porch and you will “the further ye walk, the closer ye get to finding
hear a history lesson, whether by gossip, ye true self, if ye have such a thing.”
recitation, or song. The two most well-known Hemlock is the bastion of Lester Poulson's
yarn spinners are Vonnie Givens, a crafter of Church of the Anointed. Not long after the
ghost stories that hasten the heart, and Manley Big Boys arrived, Lester Poulson led a flock
Wellsong, who makes any tale he tells a good of followers to settle on the inhospitable
two-feet taller. Piney Dirge Plateau, believing the land there
held none of the resources the industrialists
Piney Dirge Plateau coveted, and his congregation could worship
North of the Stygians, the slopes descend in peace. Over time, other dissidents fled to
quickly to the eerie high plain of the join Poulson’s Church, which seems to worship
Piney Dirge Plateau. Tall, isolated pines Lester as much as it worships the Good Book.
punctuate the mind-numbing regularity of The Bastrop Drilling Company, relative
the landscape’s rocky soil, dry gulches, and newcomers to the Holler, have recently
scattered patches of blackened snow. Rapidly discovered rich reserves of oil and natural
fluctuating temperatures, large dust devils, gas on the Plateau, and are on the verge
stone outcroppings sharp as cut glass, and of launching operations there, much to
strange orbs of floating Blight make travel Lester’s chagrin.
extremely dangerous. Jeremiad is a village further out on
the Piney Dirge, founded by Lester's
younger brother, Ollie Poulson after
growing envious of Lester's power.
During one of Lester’s sermons,
Olllie stood and declared, “Lester
sees hisself as a god, he has made
hisself into a false idol, and those
who follow him fall further and
further into wickedness.” Ollie was
summarily banished, but others
who felt the same way about Lester’s
excesses followed Ollie out of town. They
founded their own village, following
Ollie’s teachings of stern asceticism and
passive fatalism.
Shadrach plays home to yet a third
group of dissidents who have rejected
the influence of both the Poulsons and
turned to the “illustrious instructions
of the natural worlds' temper and
timbre,” to give their lives meaning
and ballast. Led by a charismatic,

29
 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
auburn-haired woman named Estelle Rood
(formerly one of Lester’s many wives), the
residents of Shadrach attempt to live a
peaceful, communal existence, though many
suspect them of “heathenly works.”
Sootstones
If Faefall is an Arcadian dreamscape, the
Sootstones are the nightmarish inversion of
that dream. Coal ash chokes the air. Slurry fills
ponds and lakes. Dye tanks from textile mills
leach poison into the ground.
Mountains are stripped bare of their trees or
their tops have been blown off entirely, filling
the valleys with noxious debris. Mill villages,
mining camps, and ad hoc tent towns offer
little shelter and comfort to workers on the
blind edge of despair.
READIN’ & WRITIN’
Thanks to schools provided by some of the
Big Boys, like Eloise Bondurant and Samuel
Ashdown, some Holler children learn to
read and write before they go to work in
the mills or mines, generally around the
age of ten. Some literate folks teach others
to read and write and a few ambitious folks
have taught themselves. These fully literate
individuals comprise around a quarter of
the Holler’s population.
There are two other kinds of written
language in the Holler:
Scratch: About half of Holler residents
are at least somewhat familiar with Scratch,
a rudimentary alphabet of signs and sigils
that communicate simple messages —
“Avoid this area, there’s a yahoo (bigfoot)
near,” or “Blockade ahead.” Scratch is a
primary means of communication between
dissidents and would-be revolutionaries
working against the Big Boys.
Witch’s Scratch: This is a runic
alphabet, used by witches and more
morally adventurous Granny Women to
communicate with haints, share poultice
recipes, and lay hexes on those who need
hexing. Only rare village elders and wild-
eyed cultists can understand and use
witch’s scratch.
30
Industrial toxins mingle with the dark magic
of the Rider’s curse to produce a particularly
powerful form of the Blight. Mutated cryptids
make their lairs in abandoned shacks
and demons of every description prey on
vulnerable folk.
Some residents of Sootstone believe the
Lord has absconded to a remote corner of the
universe. Others believe he is testing them
to the limits of their resolve and that all this
suffering must one day lead to salvation.
Burlton, home to Bondurant Mine No.
1, is every bit as cramped and Blighted as
Charhold. However, the Bondurants are the
Big Boys’ leading practitioner of Refinement
and Education Programs. Folks in Burlton
have access to intramural sports, community
concerts (with music selected to “soothe the
savage beast,”) and free classes on temperance,
figure drawing, domestic placidity, and social
charm. The Bondurants insist these programs
increase worker productivity and decrease
civil unrest.
Charhold is home to Galloway Mines 1 & 2
and their large mining villages, terraced on the
steep hillsides of the Sootstones. The Galloways
control everything in Charhold, “even mixing
up and parceling out the air we breathe,”
locals say.
Coal ash floats through the air, obscuring
the sun in a charcoal haze. Soot settles on
windowpanes and covers the workers’ faces.
The peaks of the Sootstones glare down upon
the town, and mark it as a claustrophobic grave.
Charhold is the dark heart of the Holler, the
Big Boys’ vision almost wholly realized.
Marrow is home to Galloway Mine No. 3, but
that might be the least of this town’s burdens.
The curse of Curtis Harlow—a man hanged for
killin’ his mother and father—hangs heavy over
this town. His ghostly shadow still casts its pall
on the courthouse walls to this day.
Middenville was the sight of a tragedy when
Bondurant Mine No. 3 collapsed and took
the lives of dozens of miners several years
ago. Trauma from the event is still fresh in
the hearts and minds of the people here, but
the new Bondurant Mine No. 4 replaced it
nevertheless.
Ruin is what locals call the village established
by the Galloways in a high Sootstone valley to
pioneer a more efficient method of removing

resources from the earth: strip-mining. They
named the place Rune, which folks took as a
sign of the Big Boys’ fondness for what they
call “the high-minded old ways, older than you
people, older than here.” Everyone else either the fastest is part of the fun. They all must
calls the place Ruin, or R’urnt. The mountains agree before a winner can be declared. This
there look “skint,” a result of stripping the
earth from the mountain, all exposed rock and
ugly red clay. The surface miners in Ruin are of
similar dispositions to the loggers up in Stump
Town, and the fight between the champions
of Ruin and Stump is the most anticipated
gouging match of the year.
Varmint is known as the “critter crossroads
of the Sootstones.” It sits in a mountain valleyblack bear, repairing a fence, or sucking poison
alongside a particularly Blighted stretch of
the Wild Eddy River, downstream from the
Galloway and Bondurant mining operations.
The valley traps coal fog and ash in a nearly
intractable inversion layer. Varmint residents
rarely see the sun. What they do see is a wild
amalgam of beasts trekking through the valley,
especially at dawn and dusk. “Creatures like
some naughty child would dream up in his
idleness,” or that “Mother Nature would work
out as a cruel joke… against herself.”
The Stygian Mountains
The tallest, most dangerous, and most demon-
infested mountains in the Holler, normal folks
don’t set foot in the Stygians and those who do
don’t return to tell any tales.
Folkways
The Climb
The winner of a Climb becomes a community’s
Lucky Jim or Lucky Jill until the next Climb,
which takes place either a year later or in
the event of the current Lucky Jim’s or Jill’s
untimely death.
What is the Climb? It’s when all the youngins
who are almost full grown get together and
climb the orneriest, most high-branched tree
around. The tree usually has its own name,
something like Old Scatback or Rude Feller.
Some of the old heads stand around and
watch the youngins clamber up, one at a
time. After they are all done, the elders decide
who was able to reach the top the fastest. A
stopwatch would streamline this process, but
Life in the Holler
most communities, save maybe Galloway or
Boscage, don’t have access to one, but that’s
not the point.
Hearing the old ones argue about who was
negotiation can go on for some time.
Being chosen as the Lucky one brings a lot of
responsibility. She becomes the community’s
nuisance-minder and problem-solver for a
year—the first one into the breech. Now, that
usually means she does things like fetching
an errant kitten from a tree, hunting for
somebody’s lost shoe, running off a dopey
out of a bee sting.
But there’s no limit to what a Lucky Jim or
Jill might be asked to do. Some of their feats
have become legend—saving a child trapped in
a well, fighting off packs of wildcats, pulling
an old woman out of a fire, running a demon
in circles in the woods until it becomes plumb
lost, killing a giant with a slingshot.
Why thrust one of your most sprightly young
folks into such gnarly business? It all comes
down to luck, and young folks have more of it.
See, the more you live, the more you exhaust
your luck. You can only get lucky so many
times. Troubles and worries sap their fair share,
too, and time weighs down with all its might.
Luck snatches them greenhorns by the neck
and pulls them out of the fire, at least that’s
what folks believe.
Gouging Circles
Barely regulated brawls are the most popular
spectator sport in the Holler. Gouging circles
are generally run by shady characters who
take bets on the fights. Folks come from miles
around with whatever meager possessions they
can scrape together to bet on the fights—a few
spare scrip, chickens, small tools, household
bric-a-brac.
The fights themselves are brutal—a
combination of bare-knuckled boxing, wild
wrestling, and dirty tricks. Weapons are not
allowed, but fighters sometimes sneak in brass
knuckles, razors, screwdrivers, or whatever
else they can use to gain a competitive
advantage.
Though not every gouging fight ends with
such viciousness, the supreme achievement
31
 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
HISTORY OF GOUGING
Gouging, also called Rough-and-Tumble
fighting, was not unique to Appalachia,
but was a popular form of bare-knuckled
brawling in rural parts of the United States,
primarily the Southeast, in the 18th and 19th
Centuries.
It was a way for folks to solve local disputes
when there was no law enforcement or
other municipal bodies to intervene.
Sometimes there were weapons involved,
and sometimes, yes, an eye got gouged out.
Successful fighters sometimes became local
heroes.
Even though the fighting could be super
dirty, there was a sense of honor among the
combatants, as they were fighting for their
pride and what they believed were just
causes. Gouging waned with the advent of
the Bowie knife, as that instrument made
fights a lot more dangerous.
a fighter can attain is gouging out the eye of his
opponent. Accomplished gougers often display
a string of desiccated eyeballs, attached to a belt
or necklace, as macabre proof of their prowess.
Men generally fight men and women fight
women, though anything is possible once a
match gets going, including folks in the crowd
jumping into or getting pulled into the fray.
The best gougers are revered Holler-wide.
They rise to the level of folk heroes and
tales of their martial exploits follow them
wherever they go.
The Heavin’
Attitudes toward alcohol are strongly held in
the Holler. Some religious folks view any form
of likker as the devil’s brew, a sure-fire path to
domestic turbulence and personal ruin. Some
see it as an indispensable part of life, a prelude
to good times and a tonic for emotional and
physical pain. Some use it strictly for medicinal
purposes and swear by its salutary effects.
Throw in the Big Boys’ prohibition on the
manufacture and distribution of alcohol and
you don’t find too many moderate consumers.
A stark divide exists between teetotalers and
lusty imbibers (and some folks switch sides
quite a bit).
32
The Heavin’ is a ritual that brings these
complicated attitudes together in a festival of
intoxication and purification. An elder can
invoke the Heavin’ at any time he deems fit,
though it usually follows an incident that has
brought great sorrow, like a child gone missing
or a spring flood.
Once the Heavin’ is declared, every adult
in the village is duty-bound to start drinking.
Corn likker is the most popular choice and
muscadine wine a close second. A good
Heaving goes through several stages.
Fellowshippin’: Folks get together around
a bonfire and start telling stories and jokes
and acting the fool, doing their darnedest to
make each other laugh. Some people even
break out clownish costumes and homemade
instruments, like jugs and washboards.
Recollectin’: Sooner or later, somebody
makes the turn to Recollecting. Things might
get a little maudlin, drawing up old memories
sure to bring commiseration. Any music or
revelry-making stops at once. Everybody goes
around and shares something they loved and
have lost, drinking all the while.
Reckonin’: A good Recollecting can go on for
hours, but at some point, there's a hitch in a
story, and an accusation or grudge roils to the
surface. Anybody who has secret ill toward
another must come right out with it, plain
and clear for everybody to hear. If saying it
out loud don’t lead to a curing of the heart for
those involved, they must fight. By this point,
it’s usually nearing dawn, and the aggrieved
parties have lost much of their balance and
wits. Those fighting are eventually pulled apart,
and everybody cheers and whistles at them,
and downs the last of whatever they have.
The Heavin’: Folks take off to the edge of the
woods, upchucking the night’s spirits onto the
ground, heaving and heaving until their belly
muscles tighten and they can’t heave no more.
Those who had been on the edge of sorrow
are now clear of pain. Those who had animosity
have hocked it right out of their bodies. A
good Heaving keeps rot from setting in on a
place, spits out a community’s daily griefs and
simmering heartaches, those things that can
become a true mortal poison, and lets folks
start afresh (if a little slowly) the next day.

Hollerin’
When you live a far piece from a neighbor,
or are calling your livestock into feed, or are
trying to mimic the call of a fine game animal,
the ability to unleash a variety of hollers is
as handy as a shirt pocket. Some folks like to
holler just to hear themselves holler, casting
their original vocalizations into a mountain
valley, and reveling in the echoes.
Whether folks holler as a practical vocal
tool or an eccentric vocal game, almost
every out-of-the way village holds a yearly
Hollerin’ contest.
Different communities have different
aesthetic preferences when it comes to a
Holler—sometimes it’s the loudest, or the
longest, or the strangest, or the most like some
local critter or demon.
Sometimes a particularly evocative holler
takes hold in the crowd. Everyone begins to
mimic it. This can turn into a chant, a ritualistic
invocation that reveals the soul of a community
and brings them closer together.
A good hollerer is viewed with a mix of
respect and amusement. “Lord, Ernest sounds
so much like a hog I believe he might be one.”
The Marryin’
The Marrying is what you might call a shaming
ritual, used to ostracize those who have
violated their marriage vows by consorting
with another. It can go a few different ways,
depending on who did the deed.
If the wife cheated on the husband, the
husband is forced to do the coo-coo’s dance
in the middle of the village, a pair of small
antlers affixed to his head. The man, after this
hooting round of humiliation, is considered
dee-vorced, free and clear to marry again.
The woman what did the cheating is married
to a log in a bawdy ceremony that holds she’d
make a “good wife for a limb, but not a man.”
There’s a fair amount of sexism here, as the
woman is not officially allowed to remarry. If
she flaunts the local big wig’s authority she
might even be banished from the community
or told to carry that log around for the rest of
her life. Few do, of course, and are happy to
strike out on their own in these situations.
If a man cheats on his wife, she paddles
him in the middle of the village, usually to
Life in the Holler
great peals of laughter, wearing the cuckold’s
horns herself. The couple then “remarries” in
a public ceremony, which is marked by the
preacher berating them with disdainful words,
but there is a good bit of jest in it.
If both man and wife are found to have
cheated on one other, they are bound together
at the wrists with a rawhide rope. They
must remain bound to each other for two
weeks, everywhere they go, and that means
everywhere, and are then allowed to resume,
unbounded, their customary domestic bliss.
An Offerin’
Most folks in the Holler do not like to talk
about Offerings—it’s a source of shame and
considered bad luck. Offerings are viewed as
an unfortunate ritual most civilized folks have
moved past, but many remote villages still
practice them.
If there’s a nasty demon or ravenous cryptid
rampaging in the night, repeatedly killing
folks and livestock, destroying deer blinds,
befouling the well, raising hackles as it screams
through the night, well, you are going to try to
find a way to appease it.
The most common method is to sacrifice a
member of the community to the beast, hoping
a bit of fresh meat satiates it, at least for a while.
Most afflicted villages try to keep an Offering to
a single individual once or twice a year, though
some more desperate ones have sacrificed
entire families or institute the practice much
more frequently, sometimes leading to serious
population decline in communities that are
already sparsely populated.
Usually, the village’s elders decide who is the
best candidate (often someone who has been
causing trouble) for an Offering, though some
villages are more democratic about it and
draw straws.
The Quiltin’ Bee
Quilting bees usually happen in late fall and
bring granny women and matriarchs from
surrounding towns and villages together. They
bring with them quilts in various stages of
completion. Everyone works together all day
to finish as many quilts as possible.
These quilts are a form of high artistic
expression. Some are even patched to tell
stories or draw out lineages. The spirited
33
 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
conversation is just as important as the quilting.
The women trade gossip, interpret signs and
omens, share recipes and canning techniques,
commiserate over griefs, and whisper oaths
and curses against those who wronged them.
A community’s secrets can be laid bare here,
woven together with the rumors and secrets
from other communities, and, if there is
something nefarious afoot, there’s a good
chance these women get to the bottom of it, or
at least render some excellent theories.
A quilting bee may look innocuous, but
it offers a once-a-year treasure trove of
knowledge. It can also become a space for
social resistance, maneuvering, or engineering
(“I think the youngest Balsam boy would make
a good match for your Myrna Sue.”).
Those interested in the political temper of
various locales in the Holler would do well to
get an ear in the room. At the end of the day,
there’s a big dinner of chicken and potatoes,
at which point the men folk join the festivities,
but the good talk stops then, and carefree
singing and dancing takes its place.
34
Sittin’ up with the Dead
Holler families sit up with the dead to keep
them company and ease their passage to the
other side.
The body is laid out on a cooling table (often
an old door designated solely for this purpose
is placed upon a table). A standard preparation
includes closing the eyes with silver coins or
wooden nickels, covering the body with a black
veil, dressing the body with flowers and herbs,
and placing a bowl of salt upon the chest (to
keep the body from inadvertently sitting up
when rigor mortis sets in).
Family members cover all the mirrors in the
house with black cloths (so the spirit won’t be
frightened by its own reflection as it passes to
the other side). Neighbors bring over copious
amounts of food. Family and friends sit up with
the body for one full night before burial, which
always occurs the next day to avoid the rising
stench of decomposition.
Keening and charismatic expressions of grief
are encouraged, but the degree of anguish
expressed should match the mourner’s degree
of attachment to the deceased. In other words,
a third cousin twice removed shouldn’t raise

too much of a fuss, else she risks violating
decorum and drawing the consternation of
other mourners.
Before the Rider’s curse, mourners were
charged with swatting flies and shooing rats
away from the body. Post-curse, the vermin
are considerably fiercer.
A laid-out body is particularly vulnerable
to demonic possession by almost any kind of
demon, but particularly corpse demons, small,
impish spirits that attempt to raise the corpse
as a marionette that they control, having it
perform a grotesque, burlesque imitation of
its living personality.
As you can imagine, such a sight is highly
upsetting to the deceased’s loved ones, and
preemptive chants and wards are invoked
throughout the night to keep these nasty
jokesters away.
The Shadowin’
Grudges come easy and let go hard. We all
know a grudge can turn to violence, and that
violence can engulf entire clans, so best to
avoid such if possible.
You have likely heard the saying, “Don’t
judge a man before ye’ve walked a mile in his
shoes.” The Shadowing makes this pretty near
literal and is reserved for cases of deep enmity
between two folks.
This custom requires the unanimous consent
of all the other adults in a community. It lasts
two days. One person becomes the Shadow
and follows the other around for a full day,
watching them go about their daily business.
Then they switch places the next day.
Mocking or taunting is strictly forbidden,
as is any form of violence. Those who break
that bond risk the mortal wrath of their
neighbors. The Shadow observes, the doer
does, simple as that.
The idea is if you see a person as a person, like
yourself, just doing what she does to get by, she
might become less of a devil in your mind. You
might recognize your common humanity.
At the end of the two days, the shadows
(dressed in dark, hooded cloaks that make
them look full of menace) declare what they
have witnessed before a public gathering.
It might sound something like this, “I, Rinley
Harvey, have witnessed the life of Avery
Life in the Holler
Bottoms. He is no demon. He is a regular man
who gets up early, feeds his animals, looks after
his fences, and dotes on his wife and child. I am
at peace with the life of Avery Bottoms.” The
other shadow steps up and says something
similar. All ill will fades away.
That’s the idea, anyway. There’s plenty of
potential for things to go sideways here, and
sometimes the Shadows’ declarations turn into
a barrage of insults. If that happens, all bets are
off, and neither party is held accountable (by
local law or kin) for whatever mischief they do
unto one another next.
Drag/Dirt Track Racin’
Racing is almost as popular as gouging and
might be more popular, if it were not so hard
to steal vehicles, mod them out, and keep them
hidden from the Big Boys before, during, and
after a race.
Moonshining and racing culture are
inextricable, as successful shiners usually
have a small fleet of stolen jalopies stowed
away, in various states of repair. They hire
fearless individuals to run shine up and down
Sidewinder Road and along the snaky dirt trails
leading into the hollows of various clans.
Some drag racing is spontaneous and simply
breaks out when two shine runners pass each
other on the road. Others are scheduled for a
certain stretch of road, promoted by word of
mouth, and bet on with barter by onlookers,
much like in the gouging fights.
Crudely constructed dirt tracks are scattered
throughout the Holler in remote locations,
particularly in the Ghost Ridge Mountains
and Hogback Hills. These races feature several
drivers at a time and raise a good crowd on a
Saturday evening.
These highly illegal events have resulted in
several massacres, with Kramer-Holt agents
firing on the track and into the stands, mid-
race, not even caring to wait to see who wins.
The extreme danger associated with these
events extends to the race itself—Holler drivers
are an aggressive bunch, foot to the floor,
shoulder to the door. They like to say, “Rubbing
is racing, and racing is gouging.” To Holler folks,
a good race means the meanest country boy
wins, most of the jalopies are wrecked, and the
Big Boys’ henchman don’t show up to spray the
crowd with ammo.
35
 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
Stomp Party
All you need is a clearing in the woods, a fiddle
and a banjo, some flat-footing boards, and a
throng of revelers to get a stomp party going.
Individual dancers stomp out intricate steps
on their boards, raising a clatter as they purge
all the sorrow and stress from their bodies.
Couples form in the middle of the circle,
do-si-doing and a-twirling around pretty as
you please.
The pace starts a little slow, but picks up
quickly, and the frenzied capering raises to
such a pitch that you might think the dancers
possessed, but if they are, it is with a rare joy
and exultation. Everyday worries disappear
in the collective spirit of the crowd and the
dancers get to feel what it’s like to be a free-
hearted human, if only for a little while.
Some say a good stomp party can clear all
the Fatigue from a person’s body (Shift Boss’
discretion).
The Trade
Cash money is rare in the Holler, making
bartering the primary form of material
exchange. Swapping can be a fraught exercise
and there are those who are legendary for their
ability to come out on top of a deal, and some
who are known for devious and swindling
ways. The trade usually happens in the context
of a larger celebration, a bit of side-fun revelry
attached to larger goings-on.
The young folks in the village are gifted with
something of considerable value, like a horse,
pig, or skinning knife. They go around the
village “looking for a swap” with one of the
elders. They then trade their item for an item
of lesser value and repeat that process until
they end up with nothing (or worse). There’s
some whimsy and the need for fair play here,
like the unspoken etiquette of a cussin’ fight.
Cut straight to the end—trading that pig for a
whisper—and the elders have the right to just
pull the poor sport out of the game.
At the end of the trade, the youngster who
puts on the best show (usually a chain of
entertaining swaps) wins and is carried around
the village, hailed as the “top swindler” or “the
swapper supreme.”
Here’s an example. Let’s say Johnny Hansen
started with a two-seated buggy and swapped
it for a goat, then swapped the goat for a
36
butter churn, swapped the butter churn for
a brick, swapped the brick for a marble, and
then swapped the marble for a handful of dead
crickets. Well, that’s a lot of squandered wealth
and Johnny would have a fair shot at winning.
The trade is a cautionary ritual. For all its
ridiculousness, it teaches important lessons
to the youngsters, allowing them to gauge the
relative value of things in an economy where
values vary wildly and are determined by
personal need, desire, and often, desperation.
Everyday Livin'
Getting Around the Holler
Dirt roads crisscross towns and valleys; game
trails and moonshiner’s paths twist through
the hills. Most folks get around the Holler
via the industry of their own two feet. What
horses are available tend to be in poor health
or broken down with age.
Main throughways include Sidewinder Road,
which runs from Saxon to Wolf Lick and Corn
Cob Gap, the main north-south route, traveled
mostly by foot and horse. The Galloways are
building railroads in the Sootstones and hope
to expand their reach, but this kind of travel is
prohibited for regular Holler folks. The main
rail line travels from Charhold to Saxon.
Outlaws are notorious for stealing vehicles
from requisition yards and modding them
out. A few company guards and lawmen are
gifted old jalopies by the Big Boys as payment
for their loyalty, and those tend to be prime
targets for theft.
If you manage to steal a vehicle, it can be
as much of a bane as a boon because of the
constant threat of arrest (or worse) by Kramer-
Holt agents.
“Some say bartering is an
art that finds its most
perfect expression in
outright theft. But that
ain ’t stealin ’. It’s dealin’!”
—Pepper Page, A Peddler.
 Life in the Holler

Memory Distortions
The Holler has been sealed off from the rest of THE ODDS ARE
the world for what seems like forever to most
residents, though some old timers talk about
STACKED AGAINST YOU
the “good old days,” before the Big Boys arrived. A lack of gear. A technological divide.
The problem is, no one can really remember if A Blighted environment. Disrupted
the “good old days” ever existed or are simply magical traditions. A loss of memory and
a collection of old fool’s tales. The Blight that communal spirit. Days that seem to move
enshrouds the Holler seems to cloak and like molasses, or not at all, or curl back on
disrupt memory as well. Days fade into months themselves like smoke in the wind. Folks in
and months fade into years, but everything the company towns cowed into submission.
seems to stay mostly the same. In this murky Folks in rural areas possessed of a stubborn,
welter, work is the only constant. independent spirit.
Company men everywhere, watching
Prohibitions your every move. A landscape menaced by
The following commodities and activities are demons, haints, and cryptids. Inscrutable,
outlawed by the Big Boys: automobiles, corn mischievous fae who might as well be aliens
likker, firearms, radios, subversive literature for all the good they do you and your kind.
(pretty much any literature besides the Good Smugglers, robbers, bad faith preachers,
Book), charismatic worship, stomp parties, and every other kind of confidence man
good-time establishments, and speaking any plying their schemes on vulnerable folks.
ill against the Big Boys or the company. Trials and tribulations arise from every
Residents caught breaking one of these corner of the Holler. It’s hard to keep hope
prohibitions are subject to imprisonment in and press on. That’s your job. If you and
Folsom Penal Colony, institutionalization in your allies don’t do it, no one will. Push
the Bondurant asylum, or public shaming/ back against the darkness. Be the beacon
physical violence at the hands of company that imparts a new hope, however tenuous,
guards or Kramer-Holt agents. and shows those less fortunate the way.
The enforcement of these policies can be
uneven, which seems to create even greater blizzards are frequent in the higher mountains
fear and paranoia among the populace. of the Great Craggies and the Stygians.
Some Holler folks believe the Big Boys’ During warm months, the extremes go in
instruct their guards to look the other way at the other direction, as a kind of greenhouse
times, to allow the workers to blow off some gas effect is created. The Fens can be
steam, thinking that might make them more unbearably hot and muggy and the Plateau dry
manageable or productive in the workplace. and parched.
The problem is you never know which way the Floods are common in the springtime in
guards are looking. Corn Cob Gap, Hogback Hills, and the Ghost
Ridge. The thunderstorms that cause them
Talkin’ About The Weather sometimes give birth to twisters that can level
Blight causes the weather to go all sideways. an entire village.
Often, Blight clouds and Blight fog obscure the The Great Craggies has its share of wildfires
sun, leading to what feels like a perpetual dusk in the summer and drought comes frequently
during the day and some truly dark, bone- to the Piney Dirge Plateau.
chilling nights. Of course, these are relatively normal
Closer to Faefall, the sun peaks through a bit phenomena compared to Blight Storms,
more, and in Faefall itself it shines as bright as which can occur anywhere (except Faefall) but
you would expect in an Elysian paradise. are particularly frequent in the Sootstones
During cold months, the fog, clouds, and and Fens.
barrier of noxious Blight that surround the
Holler’s borders, known as the Otherness,
makes the weather even more miserable, and

37
 Chapter 4:
Setting Rules
The Holler is a tough place to live, and tough
people live there. Here are a few Setting Rules
that reflect this reality.
Conviction
The revolutionaries are outgunned and
outmanned by the Big Boys and their minions.
The demon, haint, and cryptid infested woods
can shake many a hero’s resolve.
Those who truly stand apart embrace
their fate and accept seemingly impossible
challenges head-on, regardless of the
consequences.
Conviction is a special award granted when
a character experiences a great victory or
catastrophic misfortune. Its uses and benefits
are detailed in Savage Worlds.
Gouging
Gouging, otherwise known as Rough and
Tumble Fighting, is a tradition of unarmed
combat in the Holler that is as much a brutal
athletic sport as it is a way of settling disputes.
Regardless of what motivates the participants,
Gouging is a brutal way to fight. It is
characterized by the specific goal of trying to
maim or disfigure the opponent. The iconic
prize of a gouging match is the removal of an
eye, but other disfiguring results are more
common, mostly out of sheer sympathy.
38
Gouging is a one-on-one fight held within the
confines of a gouging circle. While the crowd
and those outside the circle may cheer, taunt,
and otherwise say anything to the fighters they
want, they are not allowed to step into the
circle and physically participate.
Gougers aren’t allowed any weapons or armor
in the gouging circle. You go in barehanded, or
you don’t go in at all.
This goes on until one of the two combatants
is Incapacitated. At that point, the winner may
choose to disfigure her foe. Whether the victim
is completely unconscious or just down and
squealing is up to the Shift Boss.
Once the foe is Incapacitated, the victor can
do more or less whatever she wants to him.
Killing a downed foe is still considered murder,
but maiming is part of the tradition. Here are
some of the most common:
• Bite Off an Ear: This a permanent injury,
though the attacker can just take a nibble or
remove it completely. If she takes it all, the
victim subtracts 1 from Notice rolls to hear
and has the Ugly (Minor) Hindrance (this
doesn’t increase an existing Minor version
to Major).
• Break an Arm: The victim has the One Arm
Hindrance until it’s healed.
• Break a Leg: The unfortunate has the Slow
Hindrance until the leg heals. Whether it’s
Minor or Major is up to the attacker and just
how bad she wants to hurt her foe.
• Gouge Out an Eye: The defeated individual
now has the One Eye Hindrance (or the

Blind Hindrance if he only had one eye to
start with). This is a permanent injury.
• Make a Mark: Some gougers like to carve
their initials or a symbol onto their victims
somewhere. When the scar is visible, the
loser gains the Ugly (Minor) Hindrance (this
doesn’t increase a Minor version to Major).
Fleeing: Fleeing a gouging fight is considered
a great mark of shame, and likely results in the
coward being ostracized and ruthlessly run
out of town.
Conceding: Conceding is similarly shameful
to fleeing, and it’s a great risk. There’s
tremendous social pressure to “finish what you
start” in a gouging circle. Don’t enter the ring if
you aren’t prepared to see it through.
The Audience: Gouging isn’t gouging
without an audience. Onlookers may attempt
to influence the outcome of the fight by
Supporting their favorite fighter or Testing
their opponent, but only verbal interference
is allowed. Disruptive physical actions are a
major breach of gouging tradition and can turn
both fighters and the crowd against them.
Improvisational
Fighters
The threat of violence is ever-present in the
Holler—clan feuds, demons, wild animals,
and moonshine deals gone awry. With the Big
Boys’ strict prohibitions on firearm ownership,
people in any kind of altercation have learned
to wield whatever implement is handy with a
modicum of skill.
Attack penalties for Improvised Weapons are
ignored in the world of Holler. Things are hard
enough without penalizing some poor Sam or
Sadie trying to chuck a brick.
Limited Actions
Some actions are so complex or involved they
require greater concentration. A character may
only perform one limited action on their turn.
It may be part of a Multi-Action as usual.
Limited Free Actions
For more about Free Actions, see Savage Worlds.
Some free actions are limited. A character may
Setting Rules
only perform one limited free action per turn.
For example, the Green Man may shape shift
as a limited free action. If he also had access
to another limited free action, he could not
perform it on the same turn in which he
shape shifted.
Magical Divide
Holler residents have three Arcane
Backgrounds available to them, Blessed, Folk
Magic, and Moonshiner (see Chapter 5: Wyrd
Ways on page 40).
The Big Boys and their minions traffic
exclusively in Weird Science, which represents
City technology far beyond the comprehension
of most Holler residents. With their seemingly
endless resources, all powers are available to
the Big Boys.
Similarly, the fae have magic derived from
the mystical nature of their own existence,
using Arcane Background (Magic).
For these reasons, Weird Science and fae
magic are not normally available to the heroes.
Finally, some demons and supernatural
critters have gained powers through Blight
corruption or some other infernal source.
They invoke their abilities with the Focus skill.
The Otherness
The Holler exists as an extra-dimensional
pocket in time and space sealed off from the
rest of the world. Its borders are comprised of
a thick layer of Blight fog—the Otherness.
The Otherness is a highly-concentrated wall
of Blight fog that encircles the Holler and
prevents all but the Big Boys from exiting.
No one knows how deep it goes, but miners
haven’t been able to go under it. It’s diffuse
enough at the top to see the weather, clouds,
and sometimes a milky sun or moon. Around
the edges, it looks like very dense Blight fog—
black, roiling, crackling energy with green
sparks of electricity.
The Big Boys can cross back and forth across
the boundaries but the residents? Well, folks
who try find themselves either dead or in
strange situations. Should anyone attempt to
push through it, the Shift Boss should check
out the rules on page 47.
39
 Chapter 5:
Wyrd Ways
The Wyrd Ways of the Holler aren't widely known.
Unless the Shift Boss gave you special permission
to be here, you best just move along and mind
your business.
by danger. Sometimes that danger arises from
social prejudice or running afoul o`f the Big
Boys’ laws and sometimes from supernatural
intervention.

Prohibition Against Magic

Magic and Arcane
Backgrounds
Magical powers are limited among regular
folks. The traditional passing down of Folk
Magic skills has been hindered by the memory
distortions associated with the “Sealing Off” of
the Holler. The faith of holy rollers and healers
has been shaken by the presence of demons
and “excess heathenism” among the residents.
A few Holler folks can still conjure, though
the exercise of such powers is always attended
If the Big Boys don’t abide likker and loud
music, they sure as a shoat don’t allow folks
to engage in arcane activity. Using powers in
town is a risky proposition, as workers have
been trained to fear and loathe magic. They are
encouraged to snoop out any such activity and
report it immediately to their superiors.
Rabble rousers caught using magic risk
imprisonment in Folsom Penal Colony,
institutionalization in the Bondurant asylum,
or public hanging, stoning, or drowning.

ARCHETYPES FOR ARCANE BACKGROUNDS

Granny women and holy rollers are natural fits for their associated arcane backgrounds, but these
schools of magic can be given all sorts of different trappings and support a variety of practitioners.
Folk Magic: Perhaps a mountaineer has gained knowledge of special plants and herbs he can
use for his powers, or a peddler has plied strange goods and talismans for so long he’s tapped into
their inherit magical properties, the power, perhaps, that heirlooms acquire when passed down
through generations. Maybe a seer takes the Auger and Sooth Savior Edges then later adds Folk
Magic for more arcane power, Trapping it with an occult twist by using memento mori to power
her spells.
Blessed: Maybe the caster is a good Samaritan, wandering the roads, his belief in spreading
good will so strong it transforms into a subtle kind of magic. Perhaps the practitioner is a rustic
empath who doesn’t believe in a higher divinity, but in the essential goodness of the human soul,
and her unwavering faith in that goodness expresses itself through the irrepressible optimism
of her will or the warmth of her touch.

40
 Wyrd Ways

Blessed Playing Those Who are Blessed

Some religious folks, particularly holy rollers,
• Edge: Arcane Background (Blessed) have cultivated such a strong connection to
• Arcane Skill: Faith (Spirit) the Lord they believe they are among the
• Starting Powers: 3 “chosen” or “exalted,” and their faith becomes
• Power Points: 10 a conduit for divine power. Those exalted
• Available Powers: Banish, barrier, confusion, in the spirit often invoke their spells by
damage field, darksight, deflection, dispel, farsight, speaking in tongues or erupting into sweeping,
healing, light/darkness, protection, resurrection, charismatic gestures.
smite, warrior's gift.
• Power Edges: Blessed may take Edges that These folks make a joyous noise unto the
require Arcane Background (Miracles). Lord and the spiritual reverie they enter
• Backlash: Infernal forces are often repulsed when using their powers is usually anything
by, and strangely attracted to, acts of holy but subtle, attended by blasts of holy light
power. A Critical Failure on a Faith roll or environmental effects that others might
causes a level of Fatigue and terminates all interpret as signs and wonders.
her powers. If this happens when affected
by Blight (such as in a blight storm), it
summons a random demon of the natural
world from the Bestiary (see page 233).

41
 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
Folk Magic
• Edge: Arcane Background (Folk Magic)
• Arcane Skill: Folk Magic (Smarts)
• Starting Powers: 3
• Power Points: 10
• Available Powers: Arcane protection, banish,
beast friend, blind, boost/lower Trait, detect/
conceal arcana, fear, healing, object reading,
puppet, relief, resurrection, slumber, summon
ally.
• Power Edges: Folk Magic practitioners may
take Edges that require Arcane Background
(Magic).
• Backlash: The caster takes a level of Fatigue,
and has exhausted the supply of talismans
required for that power. She may not cast
that power again during that session.
42
Playing Those with Folk Magic
Those who practice folk magic are witches,
mountain men, wily old hermits, some faith
healers, and most commonly, “granny women.”
This is not conjuration or sorcery, but rather
herbal knowledge and natural practices passed
down for generations, all the way back to
ancient ancestors in the Old World.
Folk Magic relies heavily on ingredients from
the natural world. Herbs and plants such as
foxfire, mugwort, and mandrake, assorted
critter parts like newt eyes and bat wings,
and personal artifacts as fats and oils, locks
of hair, mementos, heirlooms, and ordinary
domestic objects. The latter often worry those
who visit their larders, but it’s the use of such
components that determines whether one is
good or evil, not the collection thereof.
 Wyrd Ways

THE WALK
Granny women are not all, in fact, old or even grandmothers, though they often seem to take
on this appearance in advance of their years. They are wise women who tend and encourage
the spiritual needs of their communities.
Granny women who selflessly serve their communities for many decades receive a form of
mystical sainthood. When such a granny woman reaches an advanced age or achieves some
epic and personal milestone, she feels a tug at her soul and walks into the woods, becoming
either a Beatified Granny Woman or a Witch.
A granny woman player character can choose to take the Walk at any moment she feels is
dramatically appropriate (including as her life fades, such as if she’s Bleeding Out). The player
chooses whether her character will become Beatified or a Witch, as best befits her background
and deeds.

Beatified Granny Woman

She walks into the woods and transcends into another kind of existence. She creates a small,
bucolic space wherever she goes—fresh air, sunshine, thriving plants, placid critters.
A beatified granny woman cannot communicate with others or interact with them physically,
and cannot be harmed. She appears as she did when she took the walk, except her eyes have
an extra twinkle to them and her cheeks a healthy, rosy blush.
Her self-contained paradise serves as a beacon of great hope. A sighting of a beatified granny
woman is a rare and wondrous event.

Witch
She walks into the woods and her body transforms—
her skin marked by an unearthly pallor, the veins
beneath writhing like blue worms. Her eyes whiten
and glow with oracular power. She travels to the
nearest coven and joins her sisters.

“Writhe of branch
and drunken moon
all creation
a dark dream
—A WITCH
the human animal
now fully lost
amid chuffing engines and
endless schemes
we set them free
to deeper sleeps
in death’s regime ”

43
 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
Moonshiner
• Edge: Arcane Background (Moonshiner)
• Arcane Skill: Distilling (Smarts)
• Starting Powers: 3
• Power Points: 15
• Available Powers: Blast, blind, boost/lower
Trait, darksight, empathy, farsight, havoc, mind
reading, mind wipe, relief, slumber, sloth/speed,
stun, warrior’s gift.
• Power Edges: The only Power Edges
available to moonshiners are the New
Powers and Power Points Edges.
• Power Modifiers: Moonshiners may not
take the Selective Power modifier.
• Backlash: The drinker or thrower of the
brew takes a level of Fatigue and gains the
Blind Hindrance for an hour.
44
Playing a Moonshiner
Moonshiners in the Holler are a special breed.
They create unique concoctions that go well
beyond the offerings at your neighborhood
speakeasy. Most claim there’s special kick to
their most unique offerings, which they usually
name as a way to differentiate their brand.
Cherry Bounce, Sootstone Surprise, and Mercy
Me, are all examples of well known brews in
the Holler.
Not all shine is best when drunk, however.
Some creations are made to be thrown.
Regardless of their delivery method, Shine is
created “off-camera” prior to use, in secret
stills maintained by the Shiners. The powers
they confer are “cast” as the brewer needs
them, activating them when they are used.
 Wyrd Ways

Moonshiner Powers
Moonshine brews are either thrown Exorcism
or consumed:
• Brews that are Consumed: The moonshiner Those who deal with spirits and critters from
rolls Distilling to activate them, but Backlash beyond the veil know that demons, haints, and
from a Critical Failure affects the one who evil spirits dwell in the Holler. They always
drinks the brew, not necessarily the Shiner. have, but they’ve certainly become far more
• Brews that are Thrown: Brews that are common since the Big Boys came.
thrown have a maximum Range of 12”. When If you ever run across some poor sap who
a Moonshiner throws the bottle, he rolls seems to have a few extra boarders in the attic,
his Distilling skill rather than his Athletics. so to speak, those with the Occult skill can
Critical Failure affects the thrower through attempt an Exorcism. The Shift Boss has the
mishandling the bottle, or an otherwise gory details on page 48.
botched delivery, causing Backlash as usual.
These powers must be consumed: Boost Trait,
darksight, empathy, farsight, mind reading, mind
wipe, relief, speed, warrior’s gift.
The following powers must be thrown:
Blast, havoc.
The following powers may be consumed
voluntarily (through Persuasion or trickery)
or thrown offensively: Lower Trait, slumber,
sloth, and stun.

er in a pi e /
Gifting Brews p i d ye.”
“ Put a s web in your e
weave a
Here’s how moonshiners may give their
concoctions to others for later use:
m an ’s Cookbook
ny W o
—A Gran
Gifted brews must be created with all
variables defined when they’re gifted. For
example, boost/lower Trait must be defined with
its specific effect and the Trait it effects (like
“boost Strength”). Power modifiers must also be
set ahead of time.
Gifted distillations last until used or 48 hours
pass, after which their power fades and return
to the moonshiner as he recharges them.
Those using the concoction roll the
moonshiner’s Distilling skill to deliver it.
Example: A moonshiner gives a shot of
bourbon to a gouger that’s distilled with
the relief power. He invests one Power Point
as usual, which he can’t recharge until the
bourbon is consumed or 48 hours pass.
When the gouger goes to drink it, she rolls his
Distilling skill. If he’d given her a brew to throw,
she’d still roll his Distilling skill (rather than her
usual Athletics).

45
 Chapter 6:
Shift Boss Setting
Rules
The Blight
Among the many ambitious experiments
funded by the Big Boys in pursuit of profit,
the use of the potent “universal sealant”
necrotylene to suture the Holler off from the
rest of existence is simultaneously their most
impressive and ill-fated. Many of the horrors
that afflict the Holler are unintended side-
effects of rearranging the contours of time and
space with this highly toxic, vaporous metal.
Necrotylene fumes, mixed with industrial
pollutants from the mines and mills, form
the Blight, a coal-black, noxious fog that roils
and storms about the Holler, destabilizing its
atmosphere and ecosystems. Sometimes that
fog is drawn up into the atmosphere where it
brews up into terrible, cracking tempests of
unearthly green and red energy and deadly
lightning.
Blight is almost inescapable in the Holler.
Folks breathe it every day, and most water
is contaminated with it. Heavy, persistent
exposure to Blight leads to mutations in
plant and animal life, the suspected origin
of the Holler’s robust and infamous cryptid
population.
While Holler residents, renowned for their
toughness and resilience, seem resistant to
the runaway, mutating effects of the Blight,
they are nevertheless in danger of losing their
humanity to its effects. This slow, inevitable
decline eventually takes its toll on everyone in
46
the Holler. The only ones who seem immune
are the fae.
Blight Corruption
Blight is far more than environmental doom
and a spectacular light show. It contains
a strange, ephemeral energy that courses
through the atmosphere and infuses the
bodies of those it enshrouds—corrupting the
soul but granting power and strength.
When a character comes in contact with
background Blight in a scene (Blight fog,
storms, fumes from pools of toxic waste, etc.);
or anytime he’s successfully targeted by a
Blight-powered Special Ability or power, he
must make a Spirit roll.
Success resists any deleterious effects
from background Blight for the rest of
that encounter, or a particular attack. For
background effects, the Shift Boss may decide
a character must roll again if she suffers direct
exposure—such as falling into a spill pond.
In either case, Failure Stuns the character and
gives him a bad case of the “Demon Shakes.”
The Demon Shakes
Severe reactions to Blight cause sudden tremors
and violent convulsions. But Blight doesn’t just
pollute the body; it corrupts the soul.
The affected immediately gains a Minor
Hindrance (or increases a Minor Hindrance
to Major) drawn from the outlaw’s nature or
experiences. The taint of Blight exaggerates
existing character flaws or physical defects,

making mountains out of what used to be
manageable molehills.
But Blight is insidious. Much like the Devil
his own self, it offers a little power in return
to those who embrace it. The effervescent
energy of Blight gives the corrupted strange
new powers and abilities in the form of an
immediate Advance! The Advance may even
increase an attribute, and doesn’t count against
the usual limit of increasing no more than one
attribute per Rank!
This means some of the outlaws in a posse
may be more powerful than others, but they’ve
also got more Hindrances to contend with as
well. And if they’re not careful, these corrupted
souls will turn into monsters!
An individual may succumb to the Demon
Shakes no more than three times and remain
a player character. The fourth incident
transforms him into a nonplayer character
under the Shift Boss’ control. This might not
be immediately apparent, but soon after that
ol’ skunk will sidle off into the night to cause
trouble and mayhem wherever opportunity
presents itself.
Fogs & Storms
Blight-induced fogs roll slowly over the land,
seeping into the plants and trees and the
very earth itself. In living beings, it settles on
the skin and works its way into the lungs and
gizzards of any unfortunate soul who isn’t in a
sealed suit of some kind.
Blight fogs are a half-mile wide or so, last a
few hours or burn off when the sun comes up,
and cause Dim Illumination within.
Sometimes blight is so strong it funnels
its way up into the atmosphere and creates
terrible, violent storms, complete with
coruscating clouds that suddenly erupt with
red and green lightning.
Blight storms pummel the earth for several
miles in every direction and last for several
hours. They darken the sky by day and
illuminate it by night, casting everything
beneath its pall in Dim light.
Blight storms are dangerous—almost sentient
in their animosity toward life. During combat,
anytime either side is dealt a Joker, lightning
strikes the battlefield. Choose a target
randomly from every character and enemy on
Shift Boss Setting Rules
the battlefield. That target is hit by lightning
for 3d6 damage.
If not in combat, draw a card once every
ten minutes or so the party spends outside. If
a Joker comes up, a random character in the
scene is hit for 3d6 damage (shuffle the deck
thereafter).
The Otherness
The Otherness is the veil that secludes the
Holler from the rest of the world, created as
a side effect of Samuel Ashdown’s necrotylene
suturing experiment. Holler folks fear The
Otherness more than the Big Boys themselves
and many attribute demonic or supernatural
qualities to it.
The Otherness is actually a semi-amorphous
wall of extraordinarily concentrated Blight,
several hundred yards thick, and like lesser
forms of Blight, is wildly unpredictable in its
properties and effects, sometimes swallowing
those who dare to venture into it and instantly
killing them, other times ejecting them through
a wormhole into another part of the Holler.
That’s why the Big Boys enter the Holler and
ship their supplies into it via underground rail.
If a wayfarer tries to escape the Holler through
the Otherness, roll on the following table.
“ESCAPING” THROUGH THE OTHERNESS
PUSHING THROUGH THE OTHERNESS
D6 EFFECT
The wanderer disappears into the
1 Otherness, never to be seen or heard
from again.
The victim is Incapacitated with
Fatigue by exposure to the Blight and
2–3
collapses back into the Holler with the
Demon Shakes (see page 46).
The seeker disappears and reappears
4–5 in a random location in the Holler,
many miles away.
The traveler sees a fleeting glimpse
of the City through the fog, a place of
excess and awe, but then is pulled back
into the Holler by an unseen force.
6
For the glimpse of what might be, the
hero gains Conviction. A hero may
only benefit from this vision once in
his lifetime.
47
 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse

HAINTS, HIJINKS, Exorcism

OR HIGH ART? Demons, haints and evil spirits abound in the
Holler, and often possess people or invade
Holler encourages a wide range of their nightmares. In these cases, the only way
playstyles, genres, and tone. to get rid of them is an exorcism.
Want a gritty, postapocalyptic survival Exorcising most demons is a Challenging,
game? Make weapons and basic supplies single person Dramatic Task using Occult or
even more scarce, expose the characters Faith, at a base −2 penalty for the inherent
to frequent Blight, and depict the workers difficulty of rooting out some slimy varmint
as deeply recalcitrant and hostile to the entangled around your friend’s soul.
idea of social change. Theron Galloway
and Royster Whitaker are good primary At the Shift Boss’ discretion, more powerful
Big Boy nemeses for this kind of campaign. spirits may increase the complexity of the
Character death is highly likely in this ritual, making it Difficult or even Complex.
kind of campaign — the heroes who start Success means the subject is free from the
the journey may not be the ones who possessing spirit and safe. Failure not only fails
finish it. Stories of a hero’s feats will live to free the victim, it invites a more permanent
on, ennobling and immortalizing her kind of possession. Someone participating
contributions to the cause. in the ritual acquires the Hainted Hindrance
Want a folk horror-feel, heavy on (page 12). It’s up to the Shift Boss whether
atmosphere? Bring haints, demons, and it’s the victim, the lead exorcist, or one of their
the eccentricity of Holler residents to the Supporters. Demons are capricious sorts.
fore, pour on gothic trappings, and make
the occult backgrounds of Roman Bastrop
and Eloise Bondurant relevant in the larger
labor conflict.
Want high-action pulp adventures? Turn
down the Blight, up the cryptid quotient,
and frame conflict with the Big Boys as a
series of high-stakes gambits, heavy on
derring-do—thefts, escapes, sabotage, and
guerilla warfare. Samuel Ashdown is an “Paint ye hous e
excellent arch villain here, with his wacky / keep it free of a chilly blue
experiments and machines o’ death.
paint it bright rhaints /
Want to focus on the human aspects of
demons to your ed / bring
resistance and revolution? Spend a lot stead.”
of time in the company towns, currying
favor with various factions and resolving —Folk Saying
tensions between them. Find ways to aid
the workers and spread goodwill, set up
resistance camps, infiltrate the Big Boys’
operations, and slowly and stealthily build
a movement capable of challenging them.
Better yet, mix and match these as you
please to create maximum drama and loads
of fun for your players.

48
 Chapter 7:
Legend and Truth
The Big Boys
The Big Boys are pioneering industrialists,
a network of oligarchic families from
the City who run their businesses like
criminal organizations. They fight against
environmental and workplace regulations,
exploit workers, and harness arcane
technology to bolster their power.
In the City, they are famous citizens, often
gracing the society pages as they compete
among themselves for wealth and power. They
view the Holler as a repository of natural and
human resources, brimming with extractable
riches. In fact, it’s the most resource-laden
location in the New World, which led the Big
Boys to seal the Holler off from the rest of the
country and assert total control over its people
and reserves of coal, timber, and natural gas.
The Big Boys belong to an ancient secret
society, the Shapers. The Shapers have existed
in various forms across many cultures and
centuries. Wherever they operate, they wield
enormous influence, pulling political and
religious leaders into their sphere of control
through shared interests, bribery, or threat.
The Shapers see themselves as Chosen
Ones, the leading lights of society, tasked
with erecting great works and making great
discoveries. Of course, enormous wealth for
themselves is a part of this equation. They
see their spot at the top of the social order
as natural and ordained, and they don’t
question it.
They fund their technomancers—alchemists,
surgeons, mechanical and electrical
engineers, ectoplasmicists, and experimental
physicists—to bend the laws of nature for the
purposes of industrial advancement and labor
enhancement.
Along with high-speed industrial machinery,
their other technology includes a prototype
for programmable worker ghouls; a collection
of highly conductive plastics, and an array of
weaponized gadgets to pacify workers and
other dissidents.
The Necrotylene Ray
Necrotylene, “vaporous metal” capable of
penetrating and suturing the time-space
continuum, is perhaps the Big Boys’ most
terrifying accomplishment. Samuel Ashdown’s
remarkable invention was weaponized into
a “necrotylene ray” that he and his team of
technomancers used to seal off the Holler.
Unfortunately, not even Ashdown himself
fully understands his creation, and the Big
boys keep a secret of the fact that even they
have no idea how to reverse the effects of the
Sealing Off.
49
 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
The Sealing Off
When the Big Boys took possession of the
Holler, an event they called the Sealing Off,
their disruption of the time/space continuum
had some adverse effects—the two most
troublesome were the creation of Blight and
the rise of demons.
Many folks associate Blight and demons
with the Big Boys in one way or another (many
attribute the existence of demons to the Rider’s
Curse, described on page 4) and believe
the Big Boys have domain over these forces.
The truth is, they don’t. They are just as
subject to the vagaries of Blight as everyday
folks (thus the elaborate environmental
protection suits they don when they visit the
Holler to oversee their interests). They are also
rather terrified of demons.
The dangerous side effects of their
experiments have made them shy away from
another expansive project like The Sealing
Off, though Barton Umberkirk and Samuel
Ashdown continue to aggressively push the
scientific envelope in their own ways.
Detailed descriptions of the patriarchs and
matriarchs of each Big Boy family (Ashdown,
Bastrop, Bondurant, Galloway, Lowell, Saxon,
Whitaker, and Umberkirk) are available in the
Bestiary (see Bestiary on page 197).
Their various lovers and scions possess many
of the same personality characteristics they do,
though a few individuals might break from the
family ethos in interesting ways (see Jameson
Went A-Courting on page 173 and Raylene
Ashdown on page 158).
Big Boys’ Intimidation
and Oppression Tactics
Scrip
Tactic: The company pays workers in scrip,
a form of currency produced by the company
and only redeemable in the company store or
other company-backed businesses.
Effects: Increases worker dependency on the
company and economically exploits workers.
Since scrip can’t be redeemed in other
locations, it decreases worker mobility
50
and buying choices. The company determines
the inventory in the company store, limiting
consumer choices. The company sets prices,
allowing it to overcharge workers.
Credit
Tactic: Company stores are very willing to
extend credit to workers.
Effects: The small amount of scrip workers
receive after rent is usually not enough to meet
basic needs. Extending credit leads the workers
into a cycle of perpetual debt, deepening the
sense of dependency created by the scrip
system. Many workers feel shame at being in
perpetual debt and feel like they must keep
working (and working overtime, if possible) to
pay off the debt.
Housing
Tactic: The company rents small houses near
the mine or mill to workers.
Effects: A portion of the worker’s scrip
goes directly to paying rent, giving him even
less disposable scrip for the company store.
The company controls the worker’s living
environment and forces the worker to live in
substandard housing with few amenities.
There’s usually no running water (water is
drawn by bucket from the community well).
Some homes have private outhouses, while
others have shared facilities. The houses are
close together and rather uniform, limiting
privacy and curtailing a sense of individuality.
The company raises the rent as it sees fit,
neglects the upkeep as a form of punishment,
or doles out minor upgrades to create a feeling
of gratitude or privilege among the workers.
Prohibitions
Tactic: The company outlaws activities
that give the workers’ power or create
discord among them and undermines their
productivity. Common prohibitions include
firearms, alcohol, public dances or concerts,
drag racing, demonstrations, and certain types
of dress and language.
Effects: Many prohibitions are aimed
at reducing recreational activities to keep
citizens focused on their work and to inhibit
personal indiscretions or community-building.
Others, like the firearm prohibition, help
pacify the population and rob them of a viable

means of revolt. The prohibition on music
and gatherings seek to staunch the spread of
subversive ideologies and freedom of thought
and expression.
Company School
Tactic: Use propaganda to indoctrinate
students into belief systems that benefit
the company.
Effects: Schools in the Holler only go through
the modern equivalent of the 6th grade. Some
rudimentary reading and math skills are
taught, but the primary focus is on teaching
the children to be good future workers.
Obedience, routine, and conscientiousness
are emphasized.
The company is held up as the be-all, end-all
of their existences, a beneficent force that feeds
them, shelters them, and cares for them all the
days of their lives. This indoctrination follows
the young workers into the mill, making it
difficult to convince them the company is the
real enemy.
Company Church
Tactic: Exploit the deeply held religious
beliefs of Holler residents, remaking their
beliefs in the interests of the company.
Effects: Holler preachers don’t preach
rousing sermons of salvation and personal
empowerment. They rail against the sins of
alcoholism and laziness. They hold truancy
and the shirking of personal responsibility as
mortal errors. They hold the line established in
company schools, emphasizing an unrelenting
work ethic, unwavering obedience, and the
beneficence of the Big Boys, but clothe it in the
language of damnation.
A good worker is an example to others,
honors his family, and spreads the light of the
Lord. He recognizes the Big Boys’ as earthly
representatives of the Lord’s will. A bad worker
is being pulled from his proper duties into hell
by a cadre of perverse demons. This rhetoric
leads workers to associate their spiritual health
with their value and productivity as laborers.
Policing/Surveillance
Tactic: Company guards, deputies, Kramer-
Holt agents, or surly mercenaries are
ubiquitous, occupying most public spaces
and paying unexpected visits to homes and
Legend and Truth
communities. The company create a culture
of surveillance and harsh punishment for
minor wrongs.
Effects: Workers go straight home after their
shifts and isolate themselves there, fearing the
wrath of a bored authority figure. In disputes,
they turn against each other, and shift blame
and suspicion. They become secretive and aloof
and fear even modest expressions of dissent
will lead to danger and doom. The constant
policing and surveillance inhibit community
solidarity and connections, minimizes open
dissent, and makes citizens exceptionally wary
of those who spread rebellious notions.
Other Tactics
In addition, on the job, the Big Boys encourage
their line bosses and foremen to use a range
of punishments and psychological bullying
to keep workers in line. These include verbal
beratement, physical punishment, extending
shifts, eliminating breaks, forcing workers into
dangerous areas or to work on substandard
or malfunctioning machinery, and playing
favorites.
Child labor is also common in the Big Boys’
industries. Most children in the company
towns start work by the age of ten.
COMPANY TOWNS
& RURAL FOLKS
It’s important to remember that not
everyone in the Holler works for the Big
Boys. Workers in the company towns are
subject to constant indoctrination and
propaganda. Even though they bear the
brunt of the Big Boys’ abuses, they have
been stripped of much of their spirit and
volition.
In rural areas, with only scattered
lawmen to watch over them, residents
tend to retain more independence (and
eccentricity). However, they are sometimes
indifferent to the presence of the Big Boys,
as they don’t often experience their abuses
first-hand.
An interesting adventure session
might revolve around one of the Big
Boys establishing a new operation in a
previously unindustrialized village.
51
 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse

Some Other Uppity
Groups
The Big Boys aren’t the only association of
like-minded folks, and the freedom fighters
aren’t the only dissidents in the Holler. Several
cabals exist with wildly different beliefs
and motivations. If circumstances and need
align just right, the group may find some
allies among them, even if the partnership is
temporary.
Boys from County Hell
These folks ride around on the best horses
they can find (and a couple even have weird
little “scooters” that putt-putt along, likely
stolen from a requisition yard). They say they
want to live free at all costs and reject any
form of authority, whether it’s the Big Boys or
a traveling resurrectionist hawking notions
from the Good Book. Their pursuit of freedom
seems synonymous with a love of firearms and
gambling. They are an irascible bunch, always
looking for a tussle.
Circle of Devils
Every locale has its very own Old Scratch (see
page 222), a deal-maker and roustabout who
sidles up to wayfarers on a midnight errand.
These humanish devils have knowledge of each
other’s doings, and some folks speculate they
hold dark tribunals in the woods, where they
discuss the spiritual status of their local souls,
grave matters of who is a-yearning and who is
a-sinning, though what purpose or power they
serve is unknown.
The Fellowship of Miners
Delilah Perkins and the secretly radical
schoolteacher Eugene Longley are scheming
against the Bondurants in Middenville. They
formed a small group called the Fellowship
of Miners. Their eventual goal is a workers’
strike. Delilah has a power-hungry streak—she
likely attempts to subsume any other fledgling
resistances under the umbrella of her own.
The Wardens
This loose affiliation of solitary mountaineers
views themselves as guardians of what’s left
of the natural world in the Holler. They are a
mysterious lot, not given to conversation or

52

most forms of simple human pleasure. They
are expert survivalists and hunters, looking
to eradicate “invasive species,” which they
consider company men and other trespassers
on their territory.
Meatyardians
Ostensibly, the grim, eerie Meatyardians are
under the control of Raylene Ashdown and
Lunny Meatyard (see the Savage Tale, Attack of
the Meatyardians, on page 155), but can clay
eaters and varnish heads really be controlled
with any degree of certainty? There are
human beings behind those masks and buried
somewhere within their addictions, and an
empathic group might be able to find them.
The Mighty Fists
This group of miners, led by Justin Taylor
(see page 206), have started to organize and
are plotting a strike up in Marrow. Taylor is a
rabble-rousing visionary who wants to build
a multi-racial resistance effort that spreads
Holler-wide.
Midsummer Children
These carefree tree huggers run loose (and
often naked, save for garlands of wildflowers)
in Midsummer and other parts of the Faefall.
They are sometimes mistaken for the fae
themselves. While they espouse non-violence
and what most Holler folks would view as
deviant forms of group companionship, their
relationship with nature is earnest and vibrant,
and oddly enough, things seem to grow better
when they are around.
Witches of Wyrd
There’s a saying, “Old granny women never
die.” Well, some don’t. Instead, they take what’s
known as The Walk (see page 43). They
simply hobble out of their village one day after
a lifetime of service and good works and join
others of their kind in remote villages. They
undergo a transformation after they get there
and are reborn as witches. The most infamous
of these villages is Wyrd, located just north of
the Gilmer logging camp in the Great Craggies,
but these witchy settlements are scattered
throughout the Holler.
Legend and Truth
Cryptids, Haints, Demons, & Fae
For detailed insight into the habits and
manifestations of these creatures, refer to their
respective sections in the Bestiary (page 197),
but here are some quick distinctions regarding
their nature/origins:
Many of the horrors that inhabit the Holler
are unintended side-effects of the necrotylene
suturing experiment that sealed it off from the
rest of the world. Destabilizing the contours of
time/space with a highly toxic, vaporous metal
can make odd things happen. Necrotylene
is a significant source of Blight, along with
industrial toxins from mines and mills.
Contrary to popular belief, the demonic
population is not in league with or controlled
by the Big Boys, and the cryptids were not
created in Big Boy laboratories. Even the
Rider’s curse, seen as proof of the Big Boys’
occult power, was a result of trickery and
misinterpretation.
The Big Boys disguised four of their most
fearsome mercenaries from the City as Riders
and provided them with devices that amplified
their voices and gave their eyes (and the eyes of
their stallions) an unnerving, red glow.
The Big Boys hoped to manipulate the
religious beliefs of many Holler residents,
specifically the coming of an end-times period
of suffering and tribulation, heralded by four
horsemen. By marrying the arrival of industry
to a deeper belief, the Big Boys hoped it would
be easier to pacify the population.
Though this propaganda spectacle turned out
to be a miscalculation, the specter of the Riders
still hangs over the Holler, and the residents
attributed the Sealing Off to a Rider’s curse.
Many still believe the Big Boys sent the Riders
and possess demonic powers.
Haints have always existed in the Holler.
Many are revenants, those who were unjustly
killed and seek revenge. Others died in states
of extreme loneliness or heartbreak, or with a
deep, unfulfilled desire. Since the Sealing Off,
the time/space disjunction makes the normal
passage of spirits into the afterworld difficult,
increasing the number of ghosts. Only spirits
relatively unafflicted by Blight become haints,
and most tend to moor close to the place they
died. Blighted spirits become demons.
Demons are what become of dead folks
who are corrupted by Blight. The demons
53
 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
often carry traces of the deceased’s former
life— a connection with a specific location,
an animating desire or ambition, or an
obsessive behavior. Demons tend to be much
more powerful than haints, arising from
the grave imbued with incredible powers.
They are diverse in appearance—some are
corporeal, some are incorporeal, and many are
shapeshifters. Unlike haints, demons are free
to wander Holler-wide.
Cryptids are critters mutated by the
Blight. The mutations range from mild and
innocuous to bizarre and highly dangerous.
Often, an animal grows new body parts
not associated with its species, a dormant
pathogen will become active in its body, or it
gains new predatory or defense characteristics.
Sometimes it just gets really big. Cryptids are
a lot like a box of chocolates. You never know
what you’re going to get.
54
Fae are ancient, mystical beings from the
Old World. They are among the oldest beings
in the world, predating humans and many
animal species. During the great migration
to the New World, many fae stowed away on
immigrant ships, intrigued by the excited
babble about a magical land across the seas.
They settled quickly in the verdant hollows
and hills, delighted at the wildness and natural
abundance, and resumed their ancient roles
as mischievous tricksters and wardens of the
land. They retreated to Faefall soon after The
Sealing Off and have made that beautiful land
even more magical.
tory is 1/3
“Any good S aggeration,
truth , 1/3 exmabl e
1/3 unfatho d 1/3 more
tragedy, ann.”
exaggeratio
ner,
—Yarn S pin rner.
Terrapin Co
 Legend and Truth

Maybe such dancing is harmless. An Old

The Hidden Holler Scratch needs a release too. Don’t let him catch
you watching, though. He might take you for
Gazetteer his partner. Dancing with the devil is no easy
thing, friend.
Most folks don’t know the half of what all goes
on in the Holler’s peaks, valleys, swamps and Verdy’s Traveling Flea Market
creeks. This here is the Shift Boss’ rundown If the revolutionaries need specific equipment
of all the oddities, oddballs, and secrets the and aren’t up to raiding a requisition yard,
various locales in the Holler are ready to reveal Verdy’s is a good alternative. A successful
to those curious enough to explore them. Networking roll reveals its location on a given
day. The market is well-stocked with Common,
Corn Cob Gap Uncommon—even Scarce items——and Verdy’s
tonics offer a grab bag of effects— those that
Dead Minner Creek work, anyway.
Best take a good look at any creek before you go VERDY’S FINE TONICS TABLE
sloshing around in it, but Dead Minner Creek,
located adjacent to the Sootstones, is a special D6 EFFECT
kind of disquieting. 1 Gain the Blind Hindrance for an hour.
Mass fish kills are common in the Blighted 2 Shaken / No Effect
water. Those still alive are more disturbing 3 Relief
than any regular ol’ bass floating belly up.
Their fishy flesh rots, eating away at itself until 4 Boost (Strength)
it exposes their skeletons. They keep on living 5 Boost (Vigor)
anyway, feeding off each other and the muck at 6 Speed w/ Quickness
the bottom of the crick.
If a character drinks from Dead Minner Creek
or eats the fish, God forbid, she makes a Vigor Cussfoot Fens
roll with a −2 penalty. If she fails the roll, she
contracts a Lethal disease (see Savage Worlds). Albin Taylor’s Dock
The disease begins to affect the character after Once it spills into the Hogback Hills, the Big
an incubation period of 24 hours. Sandy becomes difficult for folks to cross due
If a character crosses Dead Minner Creek, she to its width and Blight levels.
makes a Vigor roll. If she fails, she contracts a Albin Taylor has ferried wayward travelers
Debilitating disease with a similar 24 hour across it to the Cussfoot Fens for generations.
incubation (see Savage Worlds). Albin is a strange sight. He seems like a haint
risen from the swamp, moving at an almost
Old Scratch’s Stomping Ground unimaginably slow pace on the land, each
In the dead center of the Corn Cob gap, gesture or action interrupted by grave pauses,
halfway between the Piney Dirge and Faefall, a faraway look on his face, almost as though
there’s a clearing where nothing grows. In he’s sorting through each of his memories or
a circle roughly fifteen feet in diameter, the ciphering on a grand, philosophical equation.
ground appears perpetually burnt and smells His skin, lily-white, is often streaked with the
of sulfur. A mad patterning of cloven hoof swamp’s muck. When you can see his eyes, the
prints is etched in the dirt. bags beneath them appear swollen, filled to
If an object is placed in the circle during the bursting with an ocher fluid, sickly and vegetal,
day, regardless of how heavy it is, you find it just beneath the skin.
tossed outside the circle come morning. An Albin won’t charge you a penny, no, not even
Old Scratch needs his room to dance at night. a wooden nickel, to cross. Won’t barter for food
They say he’s the meanest stomper around, his or clothes or weapons, neither. All he wants
hooves kicking up wild as sin. are dead birds. Most any kind, but he seems
to have a particular affection for songbirds—
swallows, warblers, larks—hand one over

55
 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
and those sad eyes light up, what passes for a
sound of contentment gurgles in his throat.
He puts them into an old tater sack,
sometimes almost full to bursting. The more
birds you give him, the quicker he ferries you
across the river. As a matter of fact, once he’s
on the water, that slow-bundling gait and
deep-welled visage disappear entirely.
He’s like a new creature, movements fluid
as the current, the words out of his mouth as
friendly and pleasuring as a jester’s. Some folks
believe Albin’s not stuck down on the Big Sandy,
either, but he can show up anywhere there’s a
body of water and folks looking to cross.
LEGENDARY
LANDMARKS
Strange places of magic and wonder
abound in the Holler. These “Legendary
Landmarks” may be found on the highest
mountain peaks, in its verdant forests,
babbling brooks, deep lakes, clear streams,
or labyrinthine caverns.
Such features bring a sense of peace,
awe, and wonder, as well as gifts and
occasional danger!
When an outlaw comes across a Legendary
Landmark she may make a Survival roll to
detect it as such. Locals who live near the
landmark might also alert strangers to its
presence with a little persuasion.
Each character may then interact with it if
she chooses. This usually requires drinking
from a body of water or ascending to the
tippy-top (“summiting”) of a peak.
The individual landmarks relate what
happens when a posse interacts with them.
Here’s an example:
▪ LEGENDARY LANDMARK
Those who get a raise the first time
they drink from Rheumy permanently
increase their Vigor one die type!
If a landmark grants a reward, such as
an increased attribute or Edge, it doesn’t
count toward increasing the character’s
Rank. It’s just an additional boon gained
from exploring the world of Holler.
56
A gaggle of dusk demons shadows Albin
wherever he goes. He feeds the demons the
dead birds when he thinks no one is looking. In
turn, they protect Albin fiercely if he is attacked.
Almarine
Savage Tale: The Swallowing Ground on
page 189
The Fens’ only gathering of human souls large
enough to be called a village, the residents of
Almarine reflect the grimness of the landscape
in their lives. They worship screech owls,
practice an ungodly amount of critter-based
divination, and keep an eager eye out for
strangers, as they love to converse.
Bondurant Asylum
Plot Point Campaign: Act Six: Escape from
Bondurant Asylum on page 134
A huge asylum, its foundations shifting in the
muck of the Fens, Eloise Bondurant originally
built the asylum as a good works project, an
out-of-the-way place where overwhelmed
residents could regain their spirits while
technomancers studied their behaviors.
In recent times, Eloise has acceded to
pressure from the other Big Boys to enact a
host of invasive experiments. It’s more of a
prison than a sanitarium now. The patients’
living conditions have declined rapidly along
with the state of the grounds.
Ferrell Washerbaum’s Funeral
Parlor and Estate
Ferrell Washerbaum is an eccentric fella, and
no wonder, spending all the days of your
life pining for dead bodies is apt to make for
strangeness.
Most Holler families take care of seeing off
and burying their own, especially around the
Fens, but Ferrell says that’s unsophisticated.
He opened a room in his house to look after
the deceased, claiming he had a surefire way
of keeping those perverse little death demons
away and an array of cosmetic techniques to
make dead folks look even better than they did
when they were alive.
He gets a few customers, but not nearly as
many as he’d like. He’s had to inquire about
folks struck with fell illness in the community
and to pitch his services ahead of their demise.
It’s unseemly behavior, no doubt.

Glory Beth Houser said Ferrell’s just sitting
on his front porch waiting for all of us to die so
he can practice his make-up. You have to feel
for him a bit, though, losing his wife and child
like he did.
On the anniversary of their deaths, or
thereabouts, or whenever he feels like it, really,
he staggers about, demanding everyone pay
their respects to the hallowed memory of his
departed loves.
Ferrell employs a network of grave robbers,
Holler-wide, to fetch him dead bodies so he
can practice his art. Over the course of his
labors, Ferrell discovered that some dead
Holler folks transform into demons, but that
freshly turned demons maintain a trace of
human sentience and are open to human
conversation and reason.
Many of these have passed through Ferrell’s
parlor. He cares for them a bit and releases
them into the wild. Ferrell is on better terms
with demons than most, and if such secrets
can’t be won from the Fae Queen (see page
241), Ferrell might have an idea or two about
how to round up his demonic friends.
Legend and Truth
Meatyard’s Taxidermy Shop
Savage Tale: Attack of the Meatyardians
on page 155
Lunny Meatyard—stitcher of bodies,
craftsman of glass eyes, wielder of wires and
stuffing cottons, chemist of preservative
agents, soothsayer of desiccated innards,
ventriloquizer of shuddersome poppets. Lunny
has two sheds behind his ragtag cabin, both
twice the size of his living space, one he calls
his Critter Den, the other his Poppet Palace.
Lunny was a normal fella, sick with drink
and a tetch grouchy, but normal, before his
wife Aldene ran off and left him. After that,
he’d drag every dead animal he found into his
shed and start stitching on it. He’d hunt small
game, straight wasting the meat, so anxious he
was to turn the dead thing into a wall pretty
or doorstop.
If he had stopped there, that’d been just
fine with everybody. But then he took to
carving poppet-folks out of wood, rigging
a little drawstring to their mouth parts and
talking for them.
He had this one he called Buddy. He liked to
tote Buddy into town and pretended like
57
 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
Buddy was always a-telling him what to do. His
conniving sisters tried to have him sent to the
Bondurant asylum, but they wouldn’t have him.
After that, he carved one up to look just like
Aldene, topped her with a wig made of pine
straw. Folks said he played house with that
thing, cooked for it, slept with it, toted it up to
the pond to fish with him.
Youngins sneaking into his sheds come out
awful frighted, saying a hawk’s eyes followed
them or a poppet threw up a waving hand.
Rheumy Creek
Rheumy Creek branches off the Big Sandy
into the Cussfoot Fens and is best avoided. Its
surface is complected with a swirling, milky-
white scum. No one knows quite what the
substance is, but it can lead a body to ruination.
Anyone who comes in contact with Rheumy’s
waters must make a Vigor roll (at −2 if they
drink from it) or contract a Chronic Disease
(see Savage Worlds).
▪ LEGENDARY LANDMARK
Those who get a raise the first time they
drink from Rheumy permanently increase
their Vigor one die type!
Faefall Mountains
Galax
The folks in Galax are every bit as superstitious
as the folks in Almarine, but the Galax
superstitions are warped by their frequent
interactions with the fae. Killing a ladybug
brings an exceptional run of bad luck,
everyone carries an acorn in their pocket to
ensure good health, and a horseshoe hangs on
most every door to ward away fairy tricksters.
They have forsaken the Good Book altogether,
worshiping instead local fairy spirits and the
reclusive, nigh mythical Green Man, who they
believe is the Fae Queen’s husband.
The Fae Queen finds this notion quaint and
charming, as she would never allow herself
to be wed. She views the Green Man as an
elder forest spirit, the only one in Faefall not
under her control, but there has never been
any enmity between these two immortals, at
least not yet.
58
Fairy Flats
Some residents wallow about in the fairy
rings all day, not doing a spot of work. Others
routinely consume mushrooms to the point
of baleful derangement or ruinous excitation.
They sing nonsense rhymes while they are at
their canning or quilting.
You’re as like to find a goat or mule lounging
in a cabin as you are a living child. Folks’ skin
looks lit with greenish or bluish tints and the
echoes of their laughter redouble in the woods,
lasting longer than any echoes should.
Children often go missing in the surrounding
thickets, and many times have been given up
for dead, only to return weeks or months later,
calm and clean and pretty as you please.
The strangeness of this village is due to two
things—the villagers consume hallucinogenic
mushrooms as a large portion of their diet,
and the Fae Queen regularly raids the village
for human children, replacing them with
changelings (page 241).
Foxfire Mountain
The glowing, green fungus that is its namesake
covers this mountain, making it look right
beautiful and eerie, even from a distance.
Human folk have no business here, but
some insist on poking around anyway, out of
curiosity or sheer ignorance. Most never return.
Those who do relate sundry wild tales. A few
of the more common ones—a half-man, half-
beast with a real friendly glimmer in his eyes
that turns mad-rabid in an instant. Spit-clean
forest floors, blanketed in groomed pine straw,
knobby tree men making sure each needle
is just so. Fairies that resemble dragonflies
chirping little songs that drive you mad.
Time moves slow as molasses or quick as
a rabbit, depending on its mood. The vines
grow up against you, grow around you, try to
grow into you. A critter with your own face
looks back from its face, stalking you like
you’re vermin, and the green light singing in
your ears and burning at your eyes, if you can
imagine such a thing.
Orchard Lake
The Wild Eddy empties into Orchard Lake at
the foot of the Faefall. That river picks up its
share of Blight moving through the western

part of the Hogbacks, but scrummies (see page
244) work tirelessly to protect Faefall.
An unfed scrummy is about four times the
size of a lightning bug and possessed of a finely
featured, human-like face. They dart along the
surface of the water, ingesting Blight. Their
little abdomens swell and pulse with Blight as
they feed.
They grow larger and larger, to about twice
their normal size, until they explode in a foul-
smelling flash of black light, the Blight blinking
out of existence with them as they die.
Orchard Lake itself is a sight to behold—rows
of enormous trees rise from its depths and
break the surface, towering above it by a good
thirty feet, bearing bright red apples the size
of melons. Don’t think about trying to sneak a
bite. That’s forbidden fruit—a source of divine
nutrition for the fae. Scrummies and worse
will swarm any human who dares enter those
enchanted waters.
Midsummer
The sun seems to linger a little longer here
and gets up bright and early of a morning. Red,
trumpety blooms erupt from hanging vines.
Giant pink azaleas that could cradle a youngin
sprout next to mounds of moss that writhe
like worms.
Some of the plants there grow so strong
and uppity they develop a taste for meat and
disappear a tree frog or songbird right down
their veiny gullets. Strangely colored birds that
mimic a man’s speech flit around in the bushes.
The people adorn themselves with flowers
and weave bracelets out of weeds and dance
around in circles, hands joined, voices making
a joyful noise.
Their leader, Emerald Divine, practices
human sacrifice in the fall and spring, offering
two willing followers to the Green Man in
return for abundant growth. It is unclear if
the Green Man demands this tribute, or if
this notion is purely of Emerald’s creation.
Regardless, the sacrifices seem to keep
things green.
The Fae Queen finds this practice odd and is
rather offended that the sacrifices are not paid
to her, but for now, she finds the Midsummer
children’s peculiarities amusing rather than
threatening.
Legend and Truth
FAE WAYS
You can walk right into Faefall, but in many
ways it is a realm apart. The motivations
of the fae are largely inscrutable to Holler
residents — they represent a mysterious
otherness. Occasionally, the Fae Queen
sends a spy into the larger Holler, or a
Tommyknocker or Pixie decides to wander
over the border for some mischievous fun,
but sightings in the Holler proper, and even
Faefall, should be rare.
The changeling-in-exchange-for-a-child
trope is one of the oldest and most durable
in fae folklore. Generations of children were
told “the boogeyman would get them” if they
misbehaved and that saying isn’t too far
removed from the bodach, who in Scottish
folklore comes down the chimney to steal
naughty children.
In the Holler, the Fae Queen prizes human
children in her court because she finds them
entertaining and tends to them well while
they are in her care. However, she sends
them away when they reach adolescence,
wiping their memories and returning them
to the larger Holler. These unfortunate
individuals drift about, unsure of their
identities or their pasts, and often are
regarded as “no accounts” or “children of
God,” strange, unfortunate souls who never
seem to fit in.
This myth can have disturbing real-world
associations. Shift Bosses should discuss
with the group if they are comfortable with
this trope. If someone isn’t, leave it out. Have
the fae drift over from time to time to steal
something else instead — maybe they like
shiny objects, like diggers. Maybe they have
ravenous appetites and eat everything in
sight. Whatever works for your table.
Old Abraham’s Fairy Circle
The largest fairy circle in Faefall resides just
to the northeast of Fairy Flats. A profusion of
large, ruddy stinkhorn mushrooms erupts
from the ground, forming a ring that’s two-
hundred feet in diameter.
What’s inside that ring is an ocean of
weirdness. For years, the circle was “guarded”
by Old Abraham, who was one of the Holler’s
oldest human inhabitants, so old that many
59
 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
thought he must be half-fae. It’s generally
agreed that he was at least half crazy.
Abraham was a mushroom connoisseur,
especially of the kind that turns a man’s mind
to hallucination and fancy. For years, he’d
warned curiosity-seekers from the ring, saying
that only bedevilment awaited them there and
that he was soaking up all the bedevilment to
protect everyone else.
When he got on the other side of ancient,
though, he changed that policy completely,
and offered to guide passersby on a tour of the
ring. “Let’s dive in where it’s deep,” he’d say,
staring past the fungi to the electrified-looking
grass in the center.
He’d take a wary traveler’s hand and say a little
poem before stepping in, “Shining clusters
bloom / great spirits loom / ye head sings like
the moon / let’s launch this little tune!”
Folks who stepped in with him described all
manner of infernal fantasy—rabid unicorns,
pixies squeaking out erotic dirges, man-goats
cavorting about, a ravishingly beautiful queen
with tree branches for arms, and the very air
expanding and contracting like a beating heart.
Those forays with Abraham drove more than
a few folks mad. These days it’s said his haint
is warden of the ring, frightening away those
he considers fools and offering entry for those
he favors.
Mount Everlasting
Mount Everlasting sports the highest summit
in the Holler, the granddaddy of them all, and
absolutely towers among the other Faefalls,
reaching an elevation of near 7,000 feet.
From its peak, most days, you can see
plum across to the black smog swallowing
the Sootstones. Oddly enough, the tip top of
Everlasting is the only Blighted spot in Faefall—
acid fog and acid rain enshroud its peak, which
is marked by dead spruce and fir trees.
A high mountain like Everlasting harbors
many secrets, but at least one malevolent
spirit who resides there is known to everyone,
called Spitfinger (see page 226), and not the
kind of spit you hock from your throat but the
kind you stab a piece of meat with to cook it
over a fire.
Spitfinger is made of stone and you can hear
her rumbling down the mountain like a peal
60
of thunder when she’s angry. But just like that,
she can transform into an incorporeal being,
nearly indistinguishable from the air, and pass
through just about any solid boundary, be it a
boulder or a cabin wall.
This aids her hunting considerably, as you
might imagine, as does the fact that in either
form the pointing finger on her left hand is
akin to a nine-inch-long metal spit, sharp as
sin, with a little curved nail on the end for
picking the liver right out of a child. And that’s
what she prefers, the livers of children, but she
doesn’t require a fire, just stabs them, pulls
them out, eats them raw.
There’s not much way to keep her from
getting what she wants, but old timers say as
fearsome as her left hand is with that finger,
what she has for a heart beats in her right hand,
and if you lop that off, she dies straightaway,
but with the extra caution that it’s not too easy
to lop off solid stone or thin air.
▪ LEGENDARY LANDMARK
Those who summit Mount Everlasting gain
a point of Conviction the first time they do
so, but will almost certainly have to deal with
Spitfinger.
Mount Fenrir
The strange wolves called fenrir (see page 217)
can be found in many places in the Holler, but
this is their homeland. Several different packs
live here, mostly in harmony, though they have
occasional disputes, the roots of which are
beyond the comprehension of human folk.
How some fenrir got the gift of speech is an
interesting story. An eccentric old poem writer
named Baber Penn got the notion that he could
train Blackburnian Warblers (a right common
bird in the Holler) to speak like folks.
He said they sounded like they were laughing
when they sang out, so surely it wouldn’t take
much to get them to talk. Baber took to reading
high-minded poems to two warblers he’d
tamed, a male and a female. He read real slow,
sounding out the syllables. He read to them for
days and days.
He didn’t consider much what he was reading,
but it was mostly words of deep despair and
mind-wandering confusion, as poems tend to
be. Baber read until he ran out of breath, and
then discovered he’d ran out of words, too.
 Legend and Truth

Those warblers had been stealing them from Charismatic Edges. This Edge does not count
him the whole time. towards increasing the character’s Rank.
Baber could no longer speak or make nary a
noise at all. The warblers could talk, though, Hat Tug Brook
and took those poems he’d read them and Hat Tug Brook is a greedy little crick that runs
turned them inside-out and learned to make through a windy meadow not far from Galax.
their own words. Baber was astonished at this, If you linger around its banks too long or go
and to his mind, it more than made up for the tromping through it to cross to the other side,
loss of his own speech. it’s likely to nab something from your person.
He doted on those warblers. Set them up in It’s known for taking hats—your tam o’
a pretty cage in his yard. They talked and sang shanter jumps right off your head and goes
and mated. The mama laid eggs, and strangest floating down the stream and damned if it
thing in the world, those eggs had funny little won’t zig-zag like a greased pig.
markings on them, like crooked letters, like It steals other things too, whatever it fancies.
they’d been etched with a blue pen. A shiny coin finds a hole in your pocket or just
Baber was beyond thrilled at this wonder falls right out and plop, it’s lost in the water.
and could not wait to hear what these magical It equally favors shoes, a pocketknife, a love
baby birds would have to say. But not long after, letter to your desired. Who knows where all
before the eggs could hatch, tragedy struck. that stuff goes? The world is a strange place.
Some wolves tore into the cage, ate the Any explorer crossing or walking or camping
Warblers and their funny eggs. Sure enough, alongside Hat Tug Brook makes a Notice roll.
next morning, one of those wolves started Failure means a mundane item mysteriously
talking to his fellows, and though they couldn’t disappears, forever, from the character’s
talk back, they could understand him, clear as possession. Success means nothing happens,
the world. but with a raise, Hat Tug decides to give
something real nice back.
And that’s how fenrir got started talking and
some of them ain’t stopped since. Old Baber A Scarce item is belched from the water and
Penn went stark raving mad after that. Not thrown onto the shore. If the rascal gets the
surprising for a poet. bright idea to throw stuff into the creek to see
what happens, well, nothing much happens.
Green Goat Creek That stuff just disappears. A character can only
A throng of emerald plants line Green Goat ever receive one such item from Hat Tug. It
Creek, near Fairy Flats in Faefall. Easy to see likes to spread the wealth.
where that part of the name comes from. But
goat? Drinking from its waters makes a body Ghost Ridge Mountains
right amorous.
Most folks think the creek is enchanted
Bottomless Pools
by trickster fae, trying to cause trouble for These pools are among the most awe-inspiring
humans by riling up their courting instincts. of the Holler’s many oddities. No one knows if
There’s quite a few Fairy Flat residents who they are truly bottomless because no one has
regularly partake from the creek to increase managed to swim to the bottom and resurface
to tell the tale.
their desire and, um, potency.
Some folks say there’s a way out of the
Anyone who drinks from Green Goat’s waters
Holler—you swim down through fathoms of
becomes driven to romantic interaction for the
nothingness until you emerge in a bright, new
next 24 hours.
world. Others believe the nothingness just
▪ LEGENDARY LANDMARK keeps going on and on, or you slide sideways
The first time an outlaw drinks from Green in time and get trapped there, or there’s a huge
Goat Creek he may make a Spirit roll. With a maw at the bottom, a monstrous mouth taking
raise he gains either the Attractive Edge (or in whatever floats near it.
Very Attractive if he’s already Attractive) or There are thirteen bottomless pools scattered
throughout the Holler—an unlucky digit if

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 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
there ever was one—with a high concentration
in the Ghost Ridge. The truth is they are
illusions conjured by the thirteen Witches of
Wyrd. “Murder Wells” is a more fitting name
for the pools.
The witches have taken a nasty turn in their
thinking of late and believe the kindest fate a
denizen of the Holler can meet is an untimely
death that frees them from their life of misery.
A curious diver breaks the beautiful, cerulean
surface and falls forty feet to a hard rock
bottom. The ravenous critters waiting there
take care of what’s left.
Burden Holler
A few generations back, the matriarch of the
Burden Clan consorted with a love demon
and conceived that demon’s child. She kept
the unnatural pregnancy hidden from her
husband and gave birth to the demon child
deep in the woods. She left him there to meet
his fate at the fangs of predators.
When the demon learned of his offspring’s
murder, he placed a curse on the Burden
Clan that persists to this day. The Burdens
were once skilled folk healers, but now their
62
ministrations lead to greater sickness and
death. They have stopped practicing, but still
pass their healing knowledge down to the next
generation, in hopes the curse one day lifts.
Enterprising heroes might be able to track
down this love demon. A grateful, uncursed
Burden clan offers a cadre of strong healers to
support the coalition’s fight.
Burnt Chimney
An explosion and subsequent fire from one
of the Umberkirk’s “workshops” swept across
the peak of this mountain, destroying trees,
and permanently charring the earth. Labs,
food processing centers, storage buildings,
weirdly combobulated machines, and
scurrying workers have taken over this once
placid domain.
All the Big Boys seem to have some kind
of vested interest in this place and make
occasional visits for meetings with Barton
Umberkirk, its overseer. Burnt Chimney brings
nothing but consternation and fear to locals— a
loud whirring ceaselessly emanates from the
mountain and electrical blue lights flash in
the night.

Sometimes the Umberkirk distribute
handbills soliciting for “volunteers” on Burnt
Chimney, sometimes even offering to pay in
scrip or good egg-laying chickens.
Along with the Bondurant asylum, Burnt
Chimney is one of the Big Boys’ chief research
facilities in the Holler. One major goal at Burnt
Chimney is to produce new-fangled industrial
machinery, vehicles, and weapons. Another is
to understand and manipulate Blight—how to
harness its power, weaponize it, decrease its
toxicity, or destroy it, as the situation warrants.
Cherry Mountain
Normally incredibly reclusive, the famous
moonshiner Amos Mulholin (see page 204)
holds Bounce Day on the mountain every July,
a wild affair with stomp dancing, gouging
circles, cryptid fights, and shooting contests.
Amos has many mercenaries in his employ
and a large cache of weapons and ammunition.
Cherry Mountain might as well be a fortress.
He has captured fenrir pups in the hopes of
training them to guard his stills.
Cole Holler
Plot Point Campaign: Act Three: Legend
of the Boogeyman Tree on page 116
Savage Tale: Little Bandits on page 177
Grayson Cole and his hard-knuckled wife
Dena rule Cole Holler. Grayson is an ex-gouger
who is now the Holler’s best fight promoter
and gambling ring operator. Dena runs the
junkyard. Their twin sons, Vernon and Fernon,
are both fierce gougers. The youngest son,
Buster, is a roustabout always looking to stir up
trouble. Their oldest daughter, Pluella, is doted
on by her father, but sees herself as a cut above
the rest of her family in terms of her looks and
smarts and is looking for a handsome fellow to
sweep her off her feet.
This holler is home to roughly sixty folks,
most with a stripe of Cole blood. Many
are gougers, the rest work for Dena,
frequently going on scavenging
(or thievery) runs to add to the
junkyard’s ramshackle expanse.
The Coles are as ornery as they
come, but are somewhat indifferent
to the Big Boys, who seem to look
the other way at the Cole’s exploits.
Some Holler residents chalk this
Legend and Truth
up to the Big Boys fearing the Coles, but the
truth is the Big Boys see this bruising brood
as a potential resource—if trouble breaks out
among the rest of the populace in Ghost Ridge,
they attempt to bribe the Coles to their side.
Subversives who establish a friendship,
however tenuous, with the Coles might be able
to prevent such an alliance and enlist them as
warriors for the coalition instead.
Gulchside
Savage Tale: Rubbing is Racing on page
180
The illegal racing culture rules all in Gulchside.
Locals venerate the memory of Hoyt Burrhardt,
the greatest racer of them all. Most believe the
tales about Hoyt’s ghost hanging around the
mountain, still challenging folks to races.
Hoyt’s daughter, Heddy, is a great racer in her
own right, and she also runs shine for various
distillers. Heddy despises the Big Boys, but
most folks in Gulchside seem content if there
are old jalopies sitting around to work on or a
race to attend on a Saturday night.
Gaining them as allies won’t be easy but
impressing Heddy is the first step in persuading
the rest of the village. There’s only one way to
do that—by driving fast and fearlessly down a
curvy mountain road.
Motorheads who befriend the folks of
Gulchside always have easy access to a jalopy.
If the group deepens that bond over time, they
may have a small cavalry of jalopies mounted
with makeshift weapons at their disposal when
it’s time to attack the Big Boys.
Hoke Mountain
Blight’s effects thus far on flora and fauna
are highly unpredictable, trending generally
toward extreme mutation, though some
species have gone extinct, some inanimate
things have become animate, and some
altogether new horrors have risen
into the world.
Whatever is happening on Hoke
Mountain is pure Blight. On one
side of the mountain, a posse of
men with pumpkin heads rave
about all day and night, sowing
jesterly mischief, yanking every
rotting and diseased plant out
of the ground and shoving
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 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
it into their jack-o-lantern faces, like it’s a
delicacy (see page 235).
On the other side of the mountain,
scarecrows go cavorting about, not nailed
to any post (see page 234). Some of them
hover in trees or fly around like witches. They
tend to the nasty growing things on their side,
the stinking vegetables, and black, writhing
weeds. They hoe the ground, sow seeds, tote
buckets of water up from the steaming crick.
The scarecrows act like these horrid plants are
sacred and feign to eat them.
Naturally, the contrasting behavioral
philosophies of these two groups of
abominations bring them into conflict, and
they meet on top of Hoke Mountain every night
to have it out. The pumpkin heads shred the
scarecrows to bits with their rusty claws and
the scarecrows bust open the pumpkin mens’
heads with farming implements.
Might near all of them on both sides get killed
in the fracas every night, but they rise from
their deaths the next morning, commence to
gluttony or gardening as their nature warrants,
and then war again comes at night.
Lazy Azalea Lake
A nice spot for a picnic in a relatively
unblighted valley, if it weren’t for the water
nymphs that reside there, driving upstanding
men to distraction and beckoning them into its
depths and a life of servitude.
It goes like this. A man is on the bank, cooking
up his catch, or daydreaming, or trying to clear
the trouble from his mind, when he hears a
whisper, a hum, a low-pitched murmur, the
sound of clean water rushing over his body,
and finally, a song.
A lovely nymph emerges from the water,
takes his hand, looks straight into his soul,
singing all the while. Sings there’s work to do.
Sings there’s a new life to live. He believes her.
Follows her into the water. Happily dives to
his own doom.
There are worse ways to go.
Lover’s Lane
This fine courting spot lies not too far from
Gulchside. A dirt road snakes off through
dense woods and ends at a bluff overlooking
a meadow. It’s a great place for cajoling,
wheedling, snuggling, necking, pecking,
64
nestling, nuzzling, spooning, and to be honest,
cully-shangying.
This kind of activity can lead to folks
making quite a racket. Worried and wise
parents, sensing that a young couple might
be sallying forth to that very destination, call
out a warning, “Don’t wake the woods.” It’s
good advice.
The woods are full of living things to be sure,
but the spirit of the woods is also a living thing,
and sometimes that spirit becomes contained
in a body, the woods manifesting sentience in
a soul capacious enough to contain their power.
The Holler’s growing things have plenty
of reasons for bitterness and a wild woman,
long exiled by jealous accusers, has become
a perfect vessel for their rage. She stalks the
night, draped in a matted panther skin, near
swallowed by it, half-bestial and full-famished
(use a maddened Witch, page 212, for her
profile, with Fighting d8, Claws Str+d4, and
Frenzy (Imp)). The whimpers of mating
humans are an affront to her existence, their
simple coupling a symbol of the society that
would not have her and the contagion of their
destructive ways and means. She claws to death
couples in the dark. She cleanses the land. She
slips away into the night.
Old Rag Mountain
Plot Point Campaign: Act Five: Cherry
Bounce on page 128
Situated just off a dangerously curvy stretch
of Sidewinder Road, Old Rag gets its name
from the persistent rainstorms that coat its
Southern-facing side.
Fergus Dugan (see page 204), a moonshiner,
who fancies himself as Amos Mulholin’s equal
(he’s about the only one who does), has several
stills here. Lately, he’s been producing more
product and folks are saying the quality is a
fair touch better. Locals have spotted many
Kramer-Holt agents visiting the mountain
in recent months, but Fergus has yet to
be arrested, which seems curious to folks.
What’s more curious is that the Big Boys are
supporting his operation.
Mount Swanee
Mount Swanee is a reminder of another time,
if a body can clear the murk and haze in his
mind to remember living in or hearing tell

of an era long past. The decaying old Swanee
mansion and its surrounding grounds, barns,
and stables rest on the mountain’s gentle
southern slope. Nowadays, road robbers and
other unsavory sorts try to squat inside the
decaying walls, but the haints there keep them
from staying too long.
The Swanees ran a large dry goods store and
two boarding houses in Saxon before the Big
Boys’ shut them down. They were a respected
family, but Earl Swanee was something of a
bitter pill and tried to control his daughter,
Faith, more than a man ought.
She fell in love with Kale Sorley, a boy from
a farming clan down in the low spots of the
county. There’s nothing wrong with a Sorley.
They are good-hearted folks. But they had bad
luck and most years their crops came to naught.
Earl desired to marry Faith to a man with
more material resources than Kale and forbade
her to see him. A declaration like this can lead
young folks in love to rash actions. They tried
to run and off and get hitched, but Earl headed
them off with a posse of men and Kale received
a terrible beating at their hands.
Kale was humiliated and went off not long
after that and hanged himself. You won’t be
surprised to hear that Faith done the selfsame
thing, right in her bedchamber, which drove
her poor mother mad and cast her father even
deeper into his grimness until he passed away,
utterly alone.
On moonstruck nights, you can hear Kale’s
voice sing poems and say praises up to Faith’s
old window. You can hear Faith answer back
with similar affections, modestly expressed.
You can hear the mother wailing misery
from her rocking chair. And you can see the
apparition of the former merchant, Earl
Swanee, crossing back and forth through
the yard, shotgun resting on his shoulder,
muttering his ill-hearted curses at the ground.
Shiny Boot Knob
Fresh water is getting hard to come by in many
parts of the Holler. Drinking from some of the
streams fills your body with slurry or garment
dyes, pig excrement or demon rheum. That
kind of drinking steals your sprightliness quick,
and you may find that your hangover is hosted
in your grave.
Legend and Truth
So, even when someone with as big of a
mouth as Pinky Littleton declares there’s a
clear stream of everlasting water that surges
out of the ground on Shiny Boot, it piques your
curiosity. The trouble is, Pinky says the land
around the spring is as confusing as a maze,
and he’s never been able to make his way back.
But maybe Pinky’s not completely full of it.
An old-timey story holds that Silas Earl was
having horrible luck finding water to build a
well for his young family. Every morning, he’d
have to tromp several miles to the nearest crick
and tote the water back in an open churn.
One day when Silas was setting out for the
crick, a welkie, a tiny spirit that’s half air, half
water, poked its head out of the churn and
mocked Silas for what a poor husband he was,
not being able to find water like that.
Silas tried to smash the welkie, but they are
fast little buggers, and it shimmied up a cherry
tree and took to giggling. Before long, a host
of its kin joined, and they started sawing at a
branch with their gar-like teeth until it fell to
the ground. “Use that for dowsing, Silas Earl,
you slump-faced fool,” the first welkie called,
and off they went back to whatever juvenile
hell welkies come from.
Silas, a bit shaken, picked up the branch and
started dowsing. Now, he had dowsed the yard
before. Called in his grandpappy to dowse
it, too. They discovered not a drop. But this
welkie branch started shaking right away.
Then the ground started shaking, and
profligate water gushed out through the mud
and carved out a long, roaring gully before it
disappeared into the earth again. That was
the freshest, most silvery water Silas had ever
seen or tasted. No matter how much they
used, no matter how much it rained or didn’t
rain, that water flowed through the gully just
the same, never anymore, never any less, and
always pure.
With the help of a mean-mouthed welkie,
Silas had discovered what the Good Book calls
everlasting water. It’s a rare thing for fae to
gift a favor without demanding something
in return, but if Silas paid, and what he paid,
no one knows. The Holler could use another
welkie or two like that nowadays. Hell, Pinky
Littleton might be a welkie.
It’s hard to find but Pinky’s stream still
bubbles from the ground and a passel of
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 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse

welkies live near it. These welkies are renegades over what it asks, it witches you sure as the
from Faefall, cast out by the Fae Queen for world. No one knows what it wants with all
some passing meanness that crossed her fancy its ransomed play pretties, and it’s useless to
one day. Drinking from the spring removes think on it, because there’s no understanding
all Fatigue and all Wounds. Subsequent sips the heart of a devil.
merely taste great. Packs of billycabra do the taker’s bidding and
More importantly, adventurers who outlast do their best to take whatever it can’t.
a barrage of insults from the welkies might be
able to glean limited information about Faefall Boscage
and its ruler. Boscage, just west of Hanging Field (below)
is an Ashdown textile town presided over by
▪ LEGENDARY LANDMARK
Lawman Doyle Billford.
An outlaw with a Permanent Injury may
Billford’s name is interwoven with the myths
make a Vigor roll when drinking from the
and language of the Holler. To describe an
waters of Shiny Boot Knob. With a raise, the
object or animal of large size, or a lie of great
injury is healed!
proportions, someone might say, “Why that
If most of the body of a deceased individual comes half-a-way to Doyle Billford’s bunghole.”
is placed in the waters, roll a die. Even, He’s invoked just as often as Old Scratch or a
the soul returns and the body heals. The Bodach to frighten errant children. When a
fortunate rowdy is Exhausted for the next 24 man receives a Knockout Blow in a fight, he
hours but otherwise alive and kickin’. Odd, got “Billforded, sure as the world.”
the body is just too far gone for the healing
As much as he impresses the full weight of the
waters to restore.
law on others, he’s no puritan. He’s as rowdy
An individual may only ever benefit from as any unschooled country boy and enjoys
either of these boons once. the standard pursuits of drinking, gambling,
fighting, and racing.
Hogback Hills The Big Boys think they couldn’t have
Ashdown invented a better enforcer than Billford, but
he secretly chafes under Ashdown’s employ
Plot Point Campaign: Act One: The and despises his boss’s shoddy management
Cruelty of Finster Goad on page 105 practices and eccentric nature. He struggles
Ashdown No. 1 Textile mill and the surrounding with self-loathing as working for the Big Boys’
village and company-owned services reflect compromises his true feelings, and he takes out
Samuel Ashdown’s creative and disordered that self-loathing on the citizens of his town.
mind (Bestiary, page 197, Life in the
Billford might seem like the last “company
Holler, page 25).
man” that could be turned against the Big
Boys, but he is ripe for such a rebellion, and
Baldbrow serves as a valuable source of intelligence about
Baldbrow might more rightly be called a tall Ashdown if he flips.
hill than a mountain, but its treeless, granite
ridge is an unusual site in the Hogbacks. They Confronting Billford head-on with the
say it resembles the pate of a man with a low- consequences of his reign of terror, which
down and troubled mind. A taker bird named no one has yet dared try, might do the trick.
This or That moves among the isolated cabins He’s hanged innocent men, widowed many a
on its slopes. good woman, and struck fear into the hearts
of children who sing songs about “Billford the
The taker gets its name a couple of ways—it Boogeyman.”
looks like a cross between a man and a big old
ugly bird—so it could be this or that. And when Sometimes, though, the worst among us have
it comes to taking, there’s no telling what it a change of heart and become the best.
wants, so it could take this or that.
This or That seems keenly interested in
Broadus
The farmers in the village of Broadus know
trinkets and bric-a-brac. If you don’t give
full well their crops are Blighted. The Big Boys

66

claim to remove the Blight in their processing
factories. A handful of farmers have realized
this is a lie, mostly from the dim-witted jokes
and jibes of company guards, who routinely
chide them for “poisoning everybody” when
they oversee loading the harvest.
The abundance of crops, Blight and all, draws
a variety of small, munching critters to this
area, which inevitably draws larger munching
critters—like painters, wolves, giant owls, and
even packs of billycabra.
Hunters willing to curb the local wildlife
population gain favor with the Broadus
farmers. Some of them might be willing to
share what they know about the Big Boys’ false
advertising.
Clay Town
It’s not surprising when somebody from Clay
Town disappears. They walk into the woods
and never return.
But now they are disappearing at the
behest of the Big Boys, who round up a few
residents every month and ship them to Burnt
Chimney or Bondurant asylum for dreadful
experiments—testing their limits of pain
tolerance, conducting intense psychiatric
experiments, performing lobotomies
(particularly on varnish heads) and in some
cases, re-purposing them as worker ghouls in
Bondurant asylum (see page 56).
Hanging Field
The Hanging Fields is a muddy meadow
of judgment and death, where Boscage’s
infamous lawman, Doyle Billford, does his
dirty work, though this work is slowly taking
a psychological toll on him and causing him to
secretly question his allegiance to the Big Boys
(see Boscage above).
Two pitch-black, leafless ironwood trees stand
in the middle of the field, to each side of a
gallows, allowing Billford to “dispense with
three at go,” if he so chooses.
When the Lawman calls for a hanging, he gets
the word out. A private hanging does no good.
It’s the spectacle that teaches. And no hooded
hangman is needed. Billford kicks the box from
underneath the condemned’s feet himself. If
he’s the one who declares that a life should be
taken, he believes he should be man enough
to take it.
Legend and Truth
Ravens and buzzards ring the field when they
see a crowd gather and that’s an unnerving
sight. Billford calls them his detectives. Says
they keep an eye on things for him, says, “they
are always a-watching, always a-watching,
boys.” Deep down inside, he knows they are
looking into his soul, too.
Hog Hog Mountain
Festus Sump and his clan sure love them some
hogs. Sumps live all over Hog Hog, and so do
their hogs. It’s an open question as to whether
the Sumps have taken on the characteristics
of their stock, or if the hogs have taken on the
characteristics of the Sumps, but there sure
seems to be some kinship there.
Living downwind of Hog Hog creates a
persistent olfactory unpleasantness for
neighbors, and, almost to a person, they revile
the Sumps. They say you won’t find a meaner
and meaner-living bunch of folks anywhere.
But with the way some folks act these days,
maybe it’s not so crazy that Festus and his kin
prefer the company of pigs to the company of
men. He has a whole gaggle of daughters he’s
constantly trying to marry off to the higher set
mill village folks, but no takers as yet.
Lake Monroe
At the foot of the Sootstones, Lake Monroe
hides a horrible secret. The Big Boys created
the lake to provide energy for a coal-fired
power plant. They diverted a branch of the
Big Sandy into low pastureland in the Hogback
Hills that bordered the Cussfoot Fens.
The only problem is the village of Monroe
occupied that pastureland, home to two dozen
cabins and a hundred souls. The Big Boys
tacked up a notice, informing the villagers
they’d have to move so their treasured land
could be transformed into a lake.
The folks in Monroe refused. The town elder,
Carlton Dunwater, advised everyone to hold
fast in their homes—there’s no way the Big
Boys would drown a hundred people, many
children and infants among them, he said.
The Big Boys did just that. Monroe is now
an underwater ghost town. Remnants of
shacks. A hundred haints. Catfish as big as
men swimming through the ruins. Legend
holds that if you swim into one of the houses,
you go back in time to before the flood, can
67
 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
see those folks sitting at a dinner table, eating
cornbread and beans, happy as you please,
until they notice the stranger in their midst.
Outlaws sometimes dive into Monroe’s
haunted depths to recover loot. At the Shift
Boss’ discretion, such expeditions (performed
as Dramatic Tasks, Quick Encounters, or
full-on encounters with haints or hungry lake
critters) might result in the recovery of rare
treasures.
Ruddy Top
There’s not what you’d call a proper volcano
anywhere in the Holler, but there is Ruddy
Top, a sandstone mountain with a reddish hue
that’s the only one of its kind. Legend has it
that Ruddy Top exploded once, way back near
the beginning of the world, and spewed out
lava, flaming mud, and big chunks of rocks that
transformed into foul beasts.
Some of the biggest boulders grew into
other mountains, wild-eyed demons
clinging to their slopes. Now, that’s not a
story a minister would sanction. For
such a devilish eruption would
be an undercutting of the
Lord’s creation.
There’s still a crater just below
its summit, filled with dried, red
mud, all cracked and gnarled.
The floor of the crater is hot to the
touch and if you dig far enough
into the ground there, you might
get a good look at hell. That’s not
the only thing.
Scattered around the crater
are small pools of fresh blood,
flies buzzing all around them,
nasty vermin sipping from
the edges. Some say that’s
the blood of tortured
sinners, leaching up from
hell to the earth’s surface.
▪ LEGENDARY
LANDMARK
Anyone who
approaches the
crater’s pools
knows this is
bad news—the
68
kind that usually results in making a new
character! But there is a possible reward,
and a big one at that.
Those who drink from the pools must make
a Spirit roll. Failure means they’re dragged
into the underworld by bloodstained hands
and lost forever! Success means a group of
d6+3 fire demons (page 236) emerge from
the pools and try to drag the entire party
into their Hellish domain.
With a raise though, a hero gains the ability
to channel Hellish energy at her foes. Six
times, and six times only, she may project
a Cone of scorching Hellfire that causes
5d6 damage.
A raise on subsequent consumptions grants
no reward but neither is the hero dragged
into Hell.
Saxon
The Saxons are obsessed with efficiency and
production. The uniform and minimalistic
design of their mill and company town reflect
this obsession. The matriarch-textile mogul
Hilda Saxon lacks Ashdown’s wild imagination
but outstrips him in terms of sheer tenacity
and doggedness. She considers him
decidedly batty; he considers her
dull and dour.
She sees Saxon as a city
on a hill, a shining example
of best capitalist practices,
and schemes to supplant
Ashdown’s operations and
higher status in the Big Boys’
hierarchy.
If the instigators strategize to foment
division between the Big Boys, the Saxons
and Ashdowns make for prime targets.
Sleeping Brook
This bubbling brook in the Hogback Hills
grants partakers a deep, restorative
sleep. A couple of caveats. Sometimes
that sleep is a little too deep and puts
a person in a near vegetative state
that lasts for days. Other times
 Legend and Truth

an otherwise peaceful sleep is interrupted by the Holler in their dirigible in one of their
lucid, life-like dreams. many expeditions before The Sealing Off, they
Anyone who drinks from the creek must tested the necrotylene ray (see page 49) on
make a Vigor roll at −4 or fall into a deep Burgeoning Peak, blasting the mountain with
and restful eight hour sleep that heals one powerful waves of energy, not to destroy it, but
Wound and all Fatigue from any source. to see if necrotylene at different concentrations
and wave patterns might have “a salutary effect
▪ LEGENDARY LANDMARK on the essence of matter.”
The first time a hero drinks from Sleeping Now Mount Sigodlin leans and Ruddy
Brook, she has visions of the world that Top simmers, but they ain’t got nothing on
could be. This steels her will and grants her Burgeoning Peak, which has been growing
Conviction. about twenty to thirty feet a year for as long as
anyone’s been noticing.
Sunrise Holler folks, unaware of the necrotylene ray
Lucy Parham is a black woman who taught incident, explain it like this: “There’s plenty of
herself to read and write and has begun to turn things in these parts that don’t seem “natural”
her pen into a weapon, circulating handbills if you hold to a strict definition of that term,
in Saxon and Sunrise that document accidents and maybe a growing mountain belongs to that
and other abuses in the mill. category, but, put another way, the mountain
Mother Mancini is an older, white woman seems to be doing what it wants to be doing,
who arrived at Saxon No. 1 a few years ago. and there’s no apparent devilish influence on
She said she came from way up in the hills, its preference, so what could be more natural
but folks have remarked that she talks funny, than that, friend?”
and doesn’t seem to have mountain ways. She The other curiosity is that everything else
is actually a social activist from the City who living on the mountain also grows at an
stowed away on one of the Big Boys’ cargo irregular rate. The deer look a little stouter
trains into the Holler. every fall, the boars a little fatter, and the pine
Mother Mancini and Lucy Parham have trees stretch more heavenward in the spring.
developed an indelible bond and shared goals. That sounds like a paradise don’t it? Thriving
They seek to create a coalition to rise against nature. The Lord’s own plenty. An ever-
Ashdown and Saxon. They are not aware of increasing bounty. A surfeit of wonder. It sure
other groups with similar ambitions, but an does. Until it doesn’t.
enterprising group of revolutionaries might
connect such groups and convince them to Travelers exploring Burgeoning Peak are
work together. subject to unusual levels of seismic activities,
particularly resilient critters, and frequent
Terrapin Corner falling trees. A group that makes it to the top
discovers a large crater singed into the earth,
If Verdy’s Traveling Flea Market is the go-to
indicative of an otherworldly visitation, or, if
place for goods, Terrapin Corner is the go-to
they are particularly mechanically inclined,
place for knowledge—all the stories of the
the impact of the world’s largest Blight gun.
Holler are freely passed between the old-
timers here, along with a goodly amount of folk ▪ LEGENDARY LANDMARK
wisdom and sound advice. Heroes who summit Burgeoning Peak feel
Sure, the adventurers might hear six versions their muscles harden and bones strengthen.
of the same story, but one of them is bound to They increase their Toughness by 1. No rowdy
be true. Wayfarers desiring to expand their may benefit from this boon more than once.
cultural horizons should pay this place a visit.
Fire Lake
Great Craggy Mountains Soon after the Big Boys’ arrival, there was a
brief gold rush in the Great Craggies, with the
Burgeoning Peak Galloways and Lowells jockeying for position
When Samuel Ashdown and his crew of (see page 200 and page 201).
technomancers (see page 211) flew high over

69
 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse

What gold was there was mined quickly and fearless when it comes to venturing into
there hasn’t been another significant strike demon-haunted woods. When the monsters
for years, but one incident is etched into the are cleared from an area, the Lowells come
memories of the people of Firpo County. A right in behind him, contesting his claim. Their
mining camp circled what was then called Four elevated standing among the Shapers means
Peaks Lake (the lake sits in a high mountain the resolution of such disputes usually go their
valley, surrounded by 5,000-foot peaks on way—giving them access to the best land.
every side). Whitaker’s resentment about this injustice is
One night, the wind got up, screaming down boiling just under the surface. He is the Big Boy
the mountains and swirling fiercely around most likely to turn on the others.
the valley. Campfires got out of control. Tents
lit up. Kegs of likker exploded.
The fire hopped and skipped as though it
possessed deadly intent, chasing down every
“Pineys! Pine ys! The
living thing. Soon, a raging blaze circuited the King is
lake, burning miner after miner alive. here again! ”
Every year on the anniversary of that night,
—heard Somewhere in
the wind rises and swirls through the valley.
woods. .. the
Flames burn on the water’s surface, the
screams of men rise with the smoke, and an
Old Scratch (see page 222)
stands on the shore, sweaty
and gleeful, conducting a
baleful choir of fire
demons, hissing their
misery into the night.
A trip to Fire Lake
on the anniversary
of this carnage is
a good opportunity
for perceptive heroes to
make the link between
demons and deceased
Holler folks.

Firpo
Firpo is a bustling logging
town, housing workers from
both the Lowell and Whitaker
logging operations. The class
tension between the refined
Lowells and the roughneck
Whitakers spills over to their
workers, who are always
in a state of unfriendly
competition—who can clear
the most land, drink the
most whiskey, spit the
farthest (see page 201
and page 202).
The Lowells see Whitaker
as a useful fool, as he’s

70

Gilmer
Plot Point Campaign: Act Three: Legend
of the Boogeyman Tree on page 116
One of Whitaker’s logging villages, Gilmer is
located near the territory of both the Witches
of Wyrd and the Piney King, who are locked
in a brutal struggle for control of the magical
Boogeyman Trees that dot the forests of the
Great Craggies.
Likker Creek
A fast-moving stream in the Great Craggies,
narrow enough to cross with a good leap in
many spots. The banks of Likker Creek are
home to many stills. The strange thing is a lot
of old moonshiners swear its waters have an
intoxicating effect all their own. Those who
taste it know it’s true! The waters go down
smooth and easy, taste like mild corn likker,
and are mildly alcoholic. It doesn’t last long in
a bottle though—after a day it’s just water.
▪ LEGENDARY LANDMARK
Anytime an outlaw drinks from Likker Creek,
she may make a Smarts roll. If she fails, she’s
drunk as a skunk—even with just a sip—for
the next 2d6 hours. If she succeeds, she’s
just a little tipsy. With a raise, she gains the
Liquid Courage Edge.
Mount Folsom
Savage Tale: A Famous Outlaw on page
169
It’s easy to get on the wrong side of the Big Boys
and those who do end up in the Mt. Folsom
Penal Colony.
The guards, often former inmates
themselves, inflict vicious beatings over minor
transgressions, and look the other way when
prisoners inflict violence on each other. They
play favorites, protecting contraband kings,
singling out untouchables, and encouraging
endless conflict between the different gangs
that constantly form and dissolve within this
chaotic environment.
The food is scant, putrid. The cells filthy,
infested with vermin and disease. No
substantive medical care is available to inmates.
Labor in the quarry is arduous, repetitive,
spirit-killing.
There’s always the chance you’ll be shipped
off to Burnt Chimney to become the subject of
some bizarre experiment. Bodies are carried
Legend and Truth
out of the cells every day from murders or
untreated illness.
Mt. Folsom, built at the behest of Theron
Galloway (see page 200), cares not a whit
for rehabilitation. Eloise Bondurant’s fancy
notions have gained no traction here (see page
199). Summie Jones, the prison’s foreman,
likes to say, “Let the ground rehabilitate
them. The gallows. The gun. They make better
fertilizer than they do folks.”
PawPaw’s Peak
PawPaw’s highest ridge resembles the profile of
an old, hawkish man, looking up into the sky,
dreaming or praying or settled deep in his own
thoughts. There’s a web of naturally formed
tunnels inside the mountain.
Funny folks like to say the tunnels are old
PawPaw’s insides, his bowels or his brains,
depending on their stripe of humor. Such
tunnels are more often than naught populated
by a few haints, but the ones inside PawPaw’s
Peak have special powers.
These glittery haints are like mirrors,
showing a person what they truly are. Not just
their true face, but their true heart, their true
soul. Most folks cannot bear very much of this
kind of reality and turn away in terror.
But here’s the trick, when you look away,
that haint shatters just like a mirror, except
a hundred times louder. Your ears and your
brains take to bleeding as the shards of that
vision become embedded in your mind.
If you survive, whatever truth you learned
about yourself is inescapable, yours and
yours alone, to cipher on and fiddle with, as a
brain does, an all-day thumping in your skull,
and that’s about the worst kind of thinking a
body can do.
▪ LEGENDARY LANDMARK
Those who summit PawPaw’s Peak for the
first time experience terrible psychedelic
visions of their worst fears, most terrible
character flaws, or memories of past failures
and misdeeds.
Each player should describe what that looks
like in her character’s mind then make a
Smarts roll. Failure means the character
gains a new Minor Hindrance related to
her vision (or increases an existing Minor
Hindrance to a Major). Success means she
71
 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
comes to terms with her flaws and may
carry on. With a raise, she may permanently
increase her Smarts or Spirit a die type.
Scruggy Knob
The pineys (see page 223) that live on Foxfire
Mountain tend what’s theirs. You likely won’t
see them, even though they see you. Their
bark-skin hues green as do their eyes and the
leaves that enshroud their faces.
The pineys that live on Scruggy Knob are
another bunch entirely. They have gleaming,
opal eyes. Pulpy, tobacco-colored fungi corrupt
their bark. Their branchy limbs groan when
they move, like an autumn gale is whipping
down the mountain. They’ve witnessed loggers
kill their kin, watched coal smog fill the sky,
seen outlaws perpetrate horrible crimes in
their woods.
They regard humans as an infestation of
disease-carrying vermin, bipedal pine beetles,
vectors of noise and idiocy. Nothing pleasures
a piney more than killing a man and watching
him suffer before he goes.
Meticulous in their movements and puerile
in their imaginations, the pineys’ torture-
games can stretch on for days, driving the
victim to forget their own name and all their
worldly loves, then into a kaleidoscopic
madness, buffeted by corporeal nightmares
and the pineys howling as one, mimicking and
mocking their victim’s screams.
Death should be a mercy, but the pineys
have an answer for that. They bury the dead in
ground afflicted by deep Blight, so deep that
the natural easement of the soul into death is
voided, and the corpse retains its sentience,
flooded with malevolent visions.
A transformation occurs. A perverse pupal
stage. The pineys howl above the grave,
summoning a new piney into existence, and
when they dig up the body, that’s exactly what
they have.
Pineys created in this way can shapeshift,
can mimic any human they please. These
pineys are used as bait to bring more victims
to Scruggy Knob and create more soldiers for
the piney King, a being as ancient as the Holler
itself (page 224).
72
Stump Town
Towns don’t come any rougher than this
one. Hardened loggers, subjected by Royster
Whitaker (see page 202) to the most
dangerous conditions imaginable near the
border of the Stygians, drink and brawl the
night away when they aren’t working—the line
between “sanctioned” gouging fight and free-
for-all is a thin one.
A hibernal demon lives near this camp and is
quietly and methodically transforming these
workers into his thralls. He wants the power
of the Boogeyman Trees for himself and is
building a small army to challenge the Witches
of Wyrd and the pineys.
If the demons’ influence on these loggers is
lifted and the dissidents convince them of the
righteousness of the coalition’s cause (and the
heroes’ toughness inside the gouging circles),
the loggers make a powerful front-line fighting
force against the Big Boys.
Sigodlin
The term “sigodlin” means that something that
ought not be leaning is a-leaning to one side
or the other—it is neither plumb, true, level,
or square. Thus the rocky peak called merely
Sigodlin juts upward several hundred feet
above its tree line and the entire mountain
appears to lean slightly to the east. You’ve
never seen a leaning mountain? Well, it’s
worth a look.
No one is sure what’s responsible for this
geological curiosity. A few of the more
enduring speculations: another mountain
tried to grow under it, but Sigodlin managed
to hold its own and smash that other mountain
back down before getting partially uprooted; a
colony of giant bears lived up there a long time
ago and the mountain gave way a touch under
their collective weight; or the Lord made it that
way for an inscrutable purpose, as many of his
purposes are.
Whatever the case, if you’re walking in its
shadow, it’s a good idea to cross yourself several
times or spit over your left shoulder or give a
little skyward thank you for your passage, just
to help make sure Sigodlin doesn’t get peckish
and decide to tip over.
Plenty of giants roam its slopes—bears, owls,
terrapins, snakes, yahoos—a veritable land
of giants, like you hear about in fairy stories.

Several wardens (see page 52) make their
home here to protect the rare wildlife—they
have no love for bizarre cryptids, but the giant
versions of normal critters deserve respect and
preservation in their view.
Rowdies looking to establish their reputations
by capturing or killing a prize beast best trod
carefully under the wardens’ watchful eyes.
▪ LEGENDARY LANDMARK
A party who takes down a giant beast (of
the Shift Boss’ choice) on Sigodlin Peak gain
Conviction, but almost certainly have to deal
with wardens as well.
Two-Top Mountain
Two-top is a tall, beautiful mountain and
relatively unafflicted by Blight due to its windy
climate. Covered with pine, maple, and even
a few of those ginormous witchwoods, its
abundant critters and plant life have provided
sustenance for many a mountaineer.
Two such sorts settled on Two-Top’s twin
peaks—Sewell Ledbetter on the western peak
and Boone Buzzard on the eastern one. A
gnarly-drop of gulch separated the two peaks,
but Sewell and Boon would call out to one
another in gladsome greeting every day.
One day Boone hauled his rocking chair to
the top of his cabin, set down in it, started
rocking, and called out to Sewell, “Look right
chere, Sewell, I’m a-setting up higher than ye.
I’m king of this here mountain!”
Sewell wasn’t about to let that stand. He built
a ramshackle porch on top of his cabin and
called out to Boone, “I believe I’m a few inches
closer to the Lord now, Boone!”
This initiated a cycle of competing, ill-
considered construction projects that lasted
for years. Boone would put some cockamamie
little look-out on top of a leaning tower. Sewell
would respond with a shaky ladder on top of a
footstool, reaching up into nothing.
And up and up they’d go, risking life and
limb to one-up each other. One day Sewell was
ricketing around in a little bucket he placed on
top of his edifice while Boone was swaying in a
hammock he placed atop his.
“I am the good Lord’s top specimen,” called
Boone. “I am the apogee of this fruited plain,”
Sewell hollered back.
Legend and Truth
About that time, a giant owl swung down
from the sky, snatched Sewell in one of its
mighty talons, swifted on over and fetched
Boone up in the other, and ferried them
away to the Stygians, both men laughing like
loons. Maybe those two genius engineers are
puttering around the Holler yet.
Their eccentric, gravity-defying structures
still stand today, but it’d be the height of
foolishness to try to scamper up one, even on a
triple-devil dare. Those brave enough to climb
it find a bundle of handy items, including a
periscope, not to mention two storm demons
blasting away at one another—the new
residents of Two-Top.
▪ LEGENDARY LANDMARK
Besides the occasional pile of loot, those
who summit Two-Top almost float on air
should they ever find themselves descending
through it. They take half damage from
falling forever after.
Weaver Falls
Plot Point Campaign: Act Two: Weaver
Falls Fiddlers Convention on page 111
The famous singer and matriarch of Weaver
Falls, Verna Lynn Cash (see page 203),
considers this remote spot a “free town.” Few
of the residents here work for the Big Boys,
and it has become a gathering place for rebels
of every stripe—especially artsy ones. Singers,
pickers, poets, painters, and yarn spinners ply
their craft on every ramshackle porch.
The Fiddlers Convention, which is held
at different locations and at different times
of year to keep it hidden from the Big Boys,
originated in Weaver Falls and returns there
from time to time. As Verna Lynn likes to say,
“Dance the night away, organize during the day.”
Whitaker has recently discovered the village’s
existence and plans to move against what he
considers “its shiftless no-accounts” soon.
Wolf Lick
As far as coalition building goes, Wolf Lick
offers a bit of a Sophie’s Choice. The Dewlaps
and Hivelys are large clans, respected by most
folks, and they each bear close relationships to
their respective packs of fenrir, who have also
taken up the feud and war in the woods while
the Dewlaps and Hivelys war in town.
73
 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
If the group allies with one of the clans,
the other clan becomes hell-bent on their
destruction. If the group tries to stay out of the
fray, they lose a passel of ornery fighters and
the chance to lead a pack of unusually smart
and human-oriented fenrir into battle.
No one knows what started the feud—only
that the eye-for-an-eye mentality has led
to a never-ending cycle of violence and
recrimination. The clan patriarchs, Anson
Dewlap and Huck Hively, are ancient, and
some say they have lived beyond their natural
years, as their bitterness toward each other has
kept them alive.
Each has sworn to put the other in the
ground—while many of their family members
have died in the process—the patriarchs have
survived countless assassination attempts.
A group that brings a peaceful close to
this ugly saga is celebrated Holler-wide as
miraculous arbiters.
Piney Dirge Plateau
All Souls Lake
At the foot of the Stygian Mountains on the
Piney Dirge Plateau is All Souls Lake, created by
vigorous seismic activity. All Souls gives birth
to both the Big Sandy and the Wild Eddy and
is a pilgrimage site for lost souls looking for
redemption.
Now you can get baptized in any river or
creek in the Holler, but sometimes those pitiful
little streams don’t wash all the sin away, and
backsliding commences soon after. The still,
slate surface of All Souls, its cold depths, its
view of the Stygians on one side, and the blank
vista of the Piney Dirge on the other is an
answer to that problem—that’s a Lake that can
swallow whole any sin you can imagine.
Those sins sink to the bottom, pile up,
spiritual vespers of humankind’s original
weakness. Over time, they build up and the
earth trembles. The calm waters of All Soul’s
rise into tempestuous waves and crash onto
the shore like an omnipotent fist. It is a sight
to behold— the Lord showing discontent with
our waywardness.
On occasion, a baptism in All Soul’s takes
a little too good and the sinner transforms
into a fanatic—wild-eyed and convicted of
74
absolute truth and filling everyone’s ears with
a gospel rage.
▪ LEGENDARY LANDMARK
A character baptized in the waters of Lost
Souls makes a Faith roll (which may only be
Supported by whoever does the baptism).
If she fails, she feels the weight of the lake’s
accumulated sins and loses a die type of
Faith, if she has it, to a minimum of d4. If
successful, she increases her Faith a die type.
With a raise, she increases it two die types.
Further re-baptisms have no additional
mechanical effect.
Ballard Rock
In the dead center of the Piney Dirge Plateau,
a soapstone rock juts out of the earth. It might
as well be a canvas. The rock is covered in
petroglyphs.
There’s thousands of etchings— just about any
kind of activity you can imagine is represented.
Hunts, hog killings, rooster fights, hangings,
birthings, shootings, baptisms, and a whole lot
of things you can only half make out.
Toward the bottom of the rock, the drawings
assume a more ominous character, piles of
skulls with snakes crawling from eye sockets
and mouths, the spirits of children belching out
of a smokestack, monster mating with monster,
the birthing of hundreds of aberrations.
The etchings at the top look old as time, but
the lower ones appear more recent. No one
knows who this tortured artist was, or if there
were many folks who drew these scenes. Or if
any of them are still around.
They say if you ever figure out how to read
the markings that run beneath the pictures
that whatever the markings describe comes
to life, comes right out of the rock, enters the
world, and says a fine howdy-do to whoever
summoned it forth.
Glory Creek
Appearing only after heavy rains, Glory Creek
is the name the Poulsons gave to the water that
runs through a deep wash located near the
northwest terminus of Piney Dirge Plateau.
Glory Creek is dry throughout much of the year,
but sometimes a toad-chocking thunderstorm
fills the wash for a short time during spring
or summer.
 Legend and Truth

Lester Poulson partakes of the silty help of the Riders of the Revival (the spiritual
floodwaters once a year, believing they grant answer to the Big Boys’ Riders of Industry).
him the gifts of true sight and religious Lester rivals Amos Mulholin (see page 204)
enlightenment. in terms of the security of his compound and
Any brave soul who drinks from Glory Creek his stockpile of weapons.
for the first time makes a Spirit roll. With
a failure, she develops scarifying visions, Jeremiad
resulting in a – 2 penalty on Occult or casting Jeremiad is a village founded by Ollie Poulson,
rolls for 24 hours. Lester’s brother (see page 205). Ollie preaches
With a success, she gains +2 to Occult rolls that man is but an insignificant cog in the
and casting rolls for 24 hours. On a raise, she Lord’s master plan, and the duty of the true
gains the Auger Edge for 24 hours (regardless believer is to accept his lot in life.
of prerequisites). If she already has it, she Ollie believes Holler folks should continue
receives a Benny. to accept the Big Boys’ rule, framing the
hardships they endure as “a test of faith,” and
Hemlock promising that the Lord rewards those who
Plot Point Campaign: Act Seven: Tent City piously endure their earthly suffering with an
Blues on page 139 eternal afterlife. Jeremiadans tend to be a grim,
Hemlock is more of a religious compound than humorless lot.
a town and is Lester Poulson’s spiritual fiefdom Ollie is secretly advising the Big Boy Roman
and home to his Church of the Anointed (see Bastrop to help establish Bastrop’s drilling
page 204). He luxuriates in his otherworldly operation on the cruel landscape of the
visions and collection of beautiful wives. plateau. Ollie is also more than happy to assist
He preaches an apocalyptic version of the Bastrop in the destruction of Hemlock when
Good Book. the time comes.
He believes that demons must be beaten or
blasted out, that the Lord has charged him Shadrach
with delivering the gift of the “end times” to The Charismatic Church of Revelers (another
his followers, and that all members of his flock splinter cult) makes its home in the village of
are beholden to fulfilling his every command Shadrach. The Revelers have rejected the Lord
and desire. entirely and believe carving out an existence
on Piney Dirge is sacred proof of the strength
Lester is dead set
and divinity of the human soul.
against the Big Boys
setting foot on the Estelle Rood (see page
plateau and recent 205) teaches
surveying teams that humans
sent by Roman and beasts are
Bastrop have equals (and that
been met with venomous snakes
force. Lester won’t harm those
envisions an
“Armageddon”
in which he
challenges
the Big Boys’
superiority
and prevails,
with the

75
 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
who are pure of spirit). She believes a life lived
fully in nature is the only form of heaven that
exists, and that all human institutions are
inherently corrupt.
Of course, Lester and Ollie view the Serpent
Revelers as dangerous heretics, and believe the
community’s apparent benevolence is a front
that hides more disturbing ritual practices.
They’re right—Estelle’s fascination with snakes
extends to demons. She offers them seasonal
sacrifices, including the occasional human.
Estelle is determined to stay neutral in the
conflict between Ollie and Lester and in any
broader divisions that develop in the Holler,
but a cunning group that indulges her darker
desires might change that.
Sootstone Mountains
Bull Mountain
Tackett Sturgill might as well have been a Big
Boy, to hear the locals tell it. His herd of cattle
chomped up all the good grazing land on Bull
Mountain, and just kept growing and growing,
and he had this one bull named Ivor that was
bigger and meaner than anything, and it’s like
that bull knew what it was doing, like it was
carrying out Tackett’s commands, and if any
of the other aspiring ranchers gave Tackett
any trouble, Ivor went after them, running off
their cows, destroying their chicken houses,
even bulldozing shacks and sheds with his
enormous horns.
The bullied men grew tired of this after a
while and decided to take up arms against
Tackett. They marched up to his cabin and
there Tackett was, sitting up on Ivor, just
laughing in their faces. Hot words flew, and
Ivor started pawing at the ground, getting
ready to charge.
Pokey Givens, a notoriously irascible
chicken thief, fired first, and then all the
others commenced to firing too, and they shot
Tackett’s bull dead, right from under him.
Tackett fell to the ground and scampered
into his cabin. They fired a good many rounds
into it, but Tackett survived. He left off Bull
Mountain the next day, leaving his herd and
the corpse of Ivor behind.
When the other men went back up to poke
around, they were in a jolly mood, seeing
Tackett had cleared out, but they saw no
76
sign of Ivor’s remains. That’s because Ivor had
turned spectral, a revenant out for the blood
of his murderers.
That ghost bull hunted those men down
one-by-one, either scaring them to death or
goring them to death, its horns charged with
blue lightning.
If you go up there now, unarmed, you might
see the ghost of Ivor charge straight at you and
disappear at the very last moment. If you are
toting a rifle on your shoulder, he mistakes you
for one of his killers, and you soon join that
benighted party in the ground.
Some say Ivor lows for Tackett of a night,
missing his owner something fierce. If
Tackett comes back, it’s as a ghost, and that
menacing twosome becomes a scourge to any
passing traveler.
Burlton
Burlton is a Bondurant mining town. The
Bondurant family pride themselves on their
beneficence to workers. They view them as
simple folks, the salt of the earth, relatively
harmless, with “well-meaning but rustic
intentions.”
They believe the miners must be taught
what’s best for them. Left to their own devices
they would “lead lives much like that of
primitive man, swallowed by the darkness of
their indolence.” The working conditions in
the Bondurant mines are no less grueling or
hazardous than the Galloway mines, despite
Eloise Bondurant’s high-minded ideals. Lately,
Theron Galloway and Samuel Ashdown have
been pressuring her to toughen up, leading
to the menacing turn the standard of care has
taken at the Bondurant asylum.
Burlton still fields its intramural baseball
squads during the summer. Recruiting some
local stars to the rebels’ cause—like the left-
handed pitcher Belus Squawley or the home
run crackin’ Bub Atkins—gains some sway with
Burlton residents.
Charhold
The realization of Theron Galloway’s dark
dream, Charhold residents are empty shells,
the life and hope beaten out of them. The folks
here don’t even whisper of revolt, don’t even
imagine it.

It’s a playground for the sadistic tendencies
of company guards and Kramer-Holt agents,
who mock and punish the populace at will.
Charhold’s environment matches the desolate
state of the worker’s souls. It’s a Blight-ridden
town. If heroes visit, they encounter frequent
Blight fogs and storms.
Inspiring Charhold to rise requires legendary
feats—challenging Galloway head-on and
winning, capturing the Sootstone Moth (a kind
of deity in folks’ imaginations). In other words,
performing miracles, or seeming to.
Devil’s Den
There’s more than a few spelunking caves on
this mountain where pretty rubies, sapphires,
and emeralds can be found, but you might have
to give up a chunk of your soul to carry one out.
This place is riddled with demons. An Old
Scratch takes up occasional residence here
with them, playing his fiddle in one of the
biggest caves for his own pleasure, as the
acoustics in that cave produce a beautiful, high
lonesome noise.
A lot of bluegrass pickers and blues warblers
venture into the Den, looking for the
underground crossroads, a darkly bedazzling
place where tunnels connecting several of the
caves come together.
Any demon you find there dances a little jig
and makes a musical deal with you. Sometimes
they just want a lock of your hair or a smidge
of a toe or ear. Other times they want your soul
lock, stock, and barrel. But pickers and singers
can be derelict in their choices and do most
anything to make a grander sound.
Snuffy Withrow, the three-fingered style
banjo picker, says he tricked a demon down
there, smooth-talked him until the demon
didn’t know what from what. Snuffy says he
learned all kinds of rolls and licks in a wicked
instant and took the demon’s soul to boot! He
says having a demon soul makes you extra
thirsty for corn likker, but Snuffy doesn’t seem
to mind that one bit.
▪ LEGENDARY LANDMARK
Any musician who makes a pilgrimage to
this place, avoids the claws of demons, and
bests an Old Scratch in a musical contest
increases her Performance two die types.
If she loses, however, she gains a Minor
Legend and Truth
Hindrance somehow related to the failure.
A musician may repeat the challenge once
every year if she wishes, but can never raise
her Performance above d12+2.
Hot Poker Mountain
The dirt roads curving up the southern slopes
of Hot Poker lead to exquisite pleasure or dire
trouble, depending on your luck. Peddlers of
vice are scattered all over the mountain.
Poker’s remote location makes it seem like an
inviting place for those craving some sinning.
You find gambling shacks, jook joints, peep
shows, houses of ill repute, fighting rings
cleared out in the woods, and hard likker
everywhere you turn.
The various entrepreneurs who run these
establishments have no real association, save
they all pay a cut of their take to a shadowy
individual known as the Purveyor, who runs
a Deluxe Pleasure House and Spa near the top
of the mountain.
You need a pretty penny to gain entrance.
Some of the Galloways and Bondurants are
regular customers there, and the Purveyor
knows more about the true human nature of
the Big Boys than just about anyone.
The Big Boys’ secret entrance to the Holler
is deep within the bowels of Hot Poker.
Shipments from the City, fresh Kramer-Holt
agents, and the Big Boys themselves arrive in
the Holler in a heavily armored underground
rail car that protects them from the noxious
gases of the Otherness.
Massive platform elevators ferry supplies,
weapons, and even vehicles to the surface of
Hot Poker’s heavily guarded northern slopes.
Marrow
This is how Curtis Harlow’s shadow got on that
wall and haunts this Galloway mining town
to this day.
Culla Harlow courted Stella Murphy, married
her, and they had a bright shining boy named
Curtis Low Harlow. Stella fell into despair not
long after his birth and the child became a
torment to her.
Culla could not bear Stella’s sadness and
carried the boy out to a marshy spot in
the woods, and left him there, out among
the wolves and every sort of crawling and
loathsome thing. An old tinker came along,
77
 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
heard his cries, took him in, and raised him
up in the sordid and wayfaring ways of an
old tinker.
When Curtis got his growth, he pestered the
tinker about his origins, and the tinker finally
told him, “They didn’t want ye, boy. I picked
ye out of the swampy ground over to’ards
ol’ Marrer.”
Curtis went to Marrow, seeking out his people,
and one day saw Culla, his spitting grown-man
image, buying flour at the company store. He
followed him home and spied in on Culla
and Stella and their new little child, a child
that Stella tolerated just fine, a girl they called
Rowena, sitting down to their supper.
Curtis bolted right through the door and cut
his mother and father each across their throats,
killed them with a rusty hawk-billed knife, and
toted Rowena off into the dark to give her a
proper home and raising.
A posse hunted Curtis Low down, strung him
up in front of the courthouse, and before he
died he cursed every living soul in Marrow
as well as the souls of his departed parents
and any other souls that might have been
loitering about.
His shadow has remained on the wall of the
courthouse ever since. They painted over it
and it came right back. The Galloways tore the
courthouse down, rebuilt it, and that shadow
came right back.
It pains the soul of every person in town.
Little Rowena got sent off to the Alshire
Orphanage but ran away as soon as she got her
growth, never to be seen again. More than a
few folks worry she’s got a belabored mind and
is stalking the woods outside of Marrow. They
fret over what she might have in store for the
birthplace of her agonies.
Middenville
Middenville is a Bondurant mining town.
Delilah Perkins was banished from the
Galloway mines for “attempted rabble-
rousing,” and was nearly banished to the Mt.
Folsom penal colony.
Instead, Eloise Bondurant made a bet with
Theron Galloway that she could “remediate
Delilah’s delinquent tendencies,” so she was
sent to work in Bondurant No. 4 instead.
78
Delilah made fast friends with a schoolteacher
from the city, Eugene Longley, and together
they have further fostered anti-Bondurant
sentiment in Middenville, establishing a secret
collective, the Fellowship of Miners.
The Fellowship is working hard to increase its
membership. They eventually plan to confront
the Bondurant owners with a list of demands,
including increased safety in the mines, shorter
working hours, and more useful refinement
and education programs.
Delilah wants reform, not revolution, and
her influence on the miners in the Sootstones
might be a challenge for the rabble rousers.
Mount Hollis
Some folks lose their way entirely and instead
of warding themselves against demons, they
cozy up to them, become their loyal servants,
worship them by giving over every inch of their
bodies and souls.
Many years ago, this manner of demonic
glamour consumed the Hollis clan, folks
known for their piety and seriousness of
purpose. But once the demons got them, they
got them all the way.
A list of the more dread taboos among pious
folk (or at least those who pretend to be)
includes orgies, cannibalism, kin-love, kin-
murder, veneration of bodily fluids, naked
dancing, feckless witching, and cursing with
foul language all that which is divine.
The Hollis’ turned to all these, and possibly
more, or at least that’s what the good folks
of Charhold County decided and sent a well-
armed pack of men up there to root them out.
Seventeen members of the Hollis clan were
executed via various means, depending on the
nature of their transgressions.
Mount Hollis is now considered cursed
ground and the only people who go there are
crazy young folks, usually likkered up, usually
on a dare, usually in the highest of spirits, who
don’t know enough yet to respect the old tales.
What they find are rotting cabins, demon
symbols carved into the walls, the skulls of
livestock, goat-man costumes and antlered-
crowns. Carnal implements are scattered
around ritual sites in the woods.
The unmistakable wail of a demon catching
the first sniff of human flesh sends them young

folks back to town pretty quick, and when their
friends ask what Mt. Hollis was like, and they
tell them, there’s not a bit of fun in the telling.
Mount Raylan
Some disputes the law can’t handle, and some
disputes are above or below the law. This
simple fact necessitates that most communities
have what’s called a Bad Luck Field or Meadow
Mortuary or Potter’s Playground.
Mount Raylan serves as that place for
Sootstone mining communities. The ground
there is like a big muddy mouth, gushing with
acid. Swallowed victims decompose quickly in
its insatiable gullet, conveniently erasing bad
memories or bad mistakes. It doesn’t hurt that
scavengers abound and devour any leftovers
or regurgitations.
If you ever hear that someone “took a ramble
up Raylan,” don’t expect a visit from that
someone anytime soon.
Raven Roost Mountain
Wild energies hew to Raven Roost, as though
an arcane magnet lodges within it. Holy rollers
believe it’s a spiritual place, ordained by the
Lord for true worship and communion.
Others believe demonic powers swirl there,
devouring vulnerable minds, while skeptics say
folks who are touched in the head see exactly
what they want to see.
Enormous flocks of ravens roost in the forests
and when they lift off together, they form a
black cloud of flush, flap, and caw that puts a
nervous tickle in your heart.
Spirit-turned folks often make pilgrimages
to the Bheulach Boulder, which rests about
halfway up the northeast ridge.
It’s covered in runes—so far, not a single
person has been able to cipher its message.
The pilgrims don’t care. They whisper over it,
pray, sing, and leave offerings, one hand always
touching it, for they believe doing so allows
them to see through the veils that separate one
time from another and one place from another.
And maybe a prophecy is a thing that can
save the world, funneled through a wise mind
and turned into real-world doing. Or maybe
prophecy is the simple art of having marked
what’s come before, and full well knowing that
such things come again.
Legend and Truth
▪ LEGENDARY LANDMARK
Explorers who brave Raven Roost’s strange
slopes increase their Occult skill one die type
(even if they didn’t have it previously).
Rough Stob Mountain
Rough Stob Mountain looks down on Burlton.
In fact, it seems to have it in for the town.
Mudslides careen down its slopes and wreak
havoc during the spring. Can a mountain
possess sentience? Hard to say. But a killer who
bonds with a mountain’s ancient moods, its
light and shadows, its landscape and creatures,
might carry its message to those who live in
its shadows.
Demons don’t have no choice in their
wickedness. Men do. Now, Shelby Moak has
not been right since he was a little fella and
witnessed his mama plant an axe square in his
daddy’s face.
Shelby’s daddy, Ross, was a violent man, and
betrayed his vows to his wife, Luella, in every
way imaginable. Most folks in Burlton said he
earned his death, and Luella faced a sideways
look or two from real proper folks, but no one,
including the judge, held the killing against her.
But it did something to little Shelby. Luella
tried to raise him up right, but it never took.
Shelby started stealing from the company store,
picking fights with other children, and killing
and dissecting animals like some children take
up coin collecting or cross-stitching.
He never grew full size, but even bullies
wouldn’t mess with him. He just had that look
about him, that look that says best not bite off
more than you can chew, sonny boys.
Shelby lives up on Rough Stob now, squatting
in some dead hermit’s abandoned cabin.
Lately there’s been a young woman or two
gone missing.
Not to say Shelby is the one what done it,
but Lacy Greaves over at the company store
in Burlton said he came in one day inquiring
about make-up, wigs, and female delicate wear.
It embarrassed Lacy something awful.
She told him he should know that they
didn’t carry none of those City things. Shelby
spat on the floor, completely disgusted, and
went tromping off in his little poppet-like
way, muttering about how could anybody
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 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
expect him to have a proper wedding without
necessities such as that.
Shelby is a full-on killer, stalking the poor
women and men of Rough Stob and playing
dress up with their corpses in his cabin.
Do-gooders with a conscience will climb that
mean mountain and cut its puppet down.
Use the profile for a Stalker for Shelby’s
statistics (page 211).
Ruin
The strip miners in Ruin are treated a touch
better by the Big Boys than underground
miners. The strip mining camps have better
food than the mining villages and the strip
miners get paid more scrip, as strip mining
requires fewer workers and the bosses want
them to be mentally sharp.
Both Galloway and Bondurant see strip
mining and mountain top removal as more
profitable paths forward and hope to move
away from underground mining completely.
Some of the strip miners in Ruin abhor their
job and its effects on their beloved mountains
and surrounding forests and streams. Their
slightly higher status than underground
miners keeps most of them pacified, but the
Ruin men who participate in gouging fights
are a tough and independent bunch, and some
allies may be found among them.
Sunnyvale Mining Village
There’s only one mine in the Sootstones
that’s not owned by either the Galloways or
the Bondurants and that’s Sunnyvale Mining
Village, located on a remote, eastern-facing
slope adjacent to the Otherness.
You’d think such a perilous perch would
make the residents anxious, but no, they seem
as happy as you please. And why shouldn’t they
be? Sunnyvale is Blight free, not a cloud in the
sky, the temperature mild, the bosses forgiving.
The men are stout and handsome. The
women firm-legged and pleasant. The village
houses plumb, square, and spacious. Most all
of the folks are tow-headed and there’s nary a
freckle to be seen on nary a face.
Sunnyvale is filled to the brim with plump
babies, squalling with vigor. After a shift, you
won’t hear murder ballads or them low-down
blues spilling off any porches, just four-
cornered praise songs to hard work, long
80
life, and good health. No carousing. None of
that silly fighting that follows folks sneaking
into their cups.
Every so often, a gladsome youth or vibrant
maiden will be plucked from their village by
Sunnyvale “representatives” and hauled away
to paradise. All of us should be that lucky.
Sunnyvale is part of an ongoing Umberkirk
eugenics project, which they refer to as “social
engineering.” The workers in Sunnyvale are the
products of generations of selective breeding,
training, and the occasional lobotomy, a
project they recently transplanted from a
secret laboratory in the City to the Holler. If
Sunnyvale seems too good to be true, that’s
because it is.
Twisty-Turn Tunnels
This underground network winds and writhes
beneath the earth in the Sootstones. Full of
diggers, mouthers, and worse, folks get turned
around real easy down there and sometimes
emerge years later, mute as posts and white
as ghosts.
These tunnels crisscross the Sootstones
and their presence contributes to the seismic
instability of the area. One of the tunnels runs
beneath the earth all the way down to Faefall.
The Big Boys are unaware of this tunnel, but
the Fae Queen isn’t, and sends the occasional
gaggle of tommyknockers or a single bodach
into the Sootstones to spy on the Big Boys or
abduct a new human consort.
Varmint
The flamboyant scallywag Maximus Wonderly
runs a cryptid n’ critters zoo here as a front
for cryptid fights. He rakes in a ton of scrip
and barter from his cryptid circles and hires
stalkers to capture the most bizarre and vicious
creatures they can find.
Wonderly sells some of the most exotic
critters to the Big Boys, who in turn sell the
living ones to zoos in the City or as pets to
eccentric millionaires the world over.
Wonderly is a true henchman of the Big Boys,
almost impossible to turn, and his collection of
trained cryptids could create massive casualties
in any conflict.

Stygian Mountains
Blasted Beauty
Plot Point Campaign: Act Ten: The Battle
of Blasted Beauty on page 150
The very first mountain top blown off by the
Galloways, Blasted Beauty’s name is a dark joke,
for there’s nothing beautiful about it. It looks
like a godforsaken alien planet, inhospitable
to all forms of life. Grooved roads circle its
peak, so the Galloway workers can keep toting
down its coal. They blasted out another kind
of rock, too, that has kind of a green glow to it,
like foxfire.
The men who work that mountain come
back talking about nothing but the odd green
rock, say it almost makes a humming noise,
almost but not quite if that makes any sense,
like it’s humming just above or below what
your ears can rightly pick out, but you know
it’s humming anyways. They have only found a
few of them, but they are a wonder.
A lot of these same men have been falling ill
with vomiting and weird sores that don’t heal.
They dizzy up real easy and some are even
losing their hair. Some of them think the rock
is a new kind of coal that might burn stronger
and cheaper.
The Galloways are keen to find out, sending
up their excavation experts to do all kinds of
studying, but so far none of the Galloways has
visited the site personally.
The green rock contains heavy deposits of
verdinite, a mildly radioactive and highly
explosive element created by the Sealing Off.
While Blasted Beauty holds some deposits,
there are also more concentrated deposits of
verdinite scattered around the Sootstones and
Great Craggies, and many of them in places the
Big Boys have yet to excavate.
Enterprising geologists who discover this
rock in abundance, and figure out ways to
harness its power, have a powerful weapon in
their arsenal.
Blasted Beauty is the suggested scene of the
final battle in the Plot Point Campaign.
▪ LEGENDARY LANDMARK
Seeing the devastation wrought by the
Galloways steels a hero’s will, granting her
Conviction.
Legend and Truth
Moth Caves
Down near the north-facing foot of Blasted
Beauty, a system of karst caves winds through
the limestone. A stunning array of multi-
colored stalactites hang from the roof of
the caves, which are home to hundreds of
thousands of tiny bats.
These bats fly from the mouths of the caves
every night at dusk, a shrieking, roiling cloud
of fur and wings, a frightful but harmless
spectacle. What sometimes follows them,
though, is the Holler’s most notorious
unnatural resident— a wide-winged, humanoid
creature, silvery-black, with red, glowing eyes.
It flies swift and silent, dipping into the
valleys, its moonlit shadow cloaking travelers
in a depth-less dread. It seems keenly drawn to
vehicles and machinery, often flying alongside
a jalopy on a curvy, dirt road, stalking or racing
it. As far as anyone knows, the Moth has never
harmed a living soul.
He’s more like a shadow, a reminder that
there are dark things in dark places that no
one understands. Some say his appearance
foretells a death, but deaths are so frequent in
the Holler it’s hard to tell for sure.
There’s plenty of conjecture about what’s in
those caves— more of those funny, green rocks
like the ones they found on top of Blasted
Beauty, or one of the Big Boys’ laboratories, or
maybe even Old Scratch’s farm, full of other
dire specimens, a grab bag of that ancient
miscreant’s familiars.
The Roost
Savage Tale: A Famous Outlaw on page
169
This large cave on the steep slopes of the
Stygians is a refuge and gathering place for
criminals of every sort, many of whom have
escaped from the Folsom Penal Colony or a
lawman’s posse.
Whistling Gorge
Near the top of Erinyes Mountain at the
southern end of the Stygians, a rocky
outcropping overlooks a deep gorge. A
prevailing northerly wind sweeps into the
gorge and rises against Erinyes, gaining
strength before it hisses through the gaps in
the outcropping.
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A spirit of forgiveness or a spirit of vengeance

THE CITY descends toward you. Which will it be?
Depends mostly on the wind.
The City should, for the most part, remain
a mystery in the minds of the players.
It’s a faraway place. It’s big and bustling.
People there have freedoms and luxuries
Holler folks can barely imagine. This much
they’ve heard through rumors or drifting
from the radio in the shift boss’ office.
Beyond that, let the players’ imaginations
run wild.
What does an outsider archetype, like
a schoolteacher hired by the Big Boys,
know about the City? Pretty much the
same things the other Holler residents
do. Such schoolteachers are subject to the
same memory/time distortions as lifelong
Holler residents once they spend a bit of
time there.
The City itself? It’s a 1920’s-style megacity,
an even bigger version of New York or
Chicago, with a touch of steampunk
gadgetry and Teslan energy powering
its industry. It’s wealthy, bustling, and
dynamic, enjoying living in an era of Jazz
Age excess.

That’s how you to get Whistling Gorge,

a place where the wind is nearly vertical
and unnerves you with its trilling
and whining. The gorge holds souls
and secrets.
Sometimes a person commits a violence that
feels justified at the time, or lashes out with
reckless rage, or does a cold, uncaring thing out
of greed or fear and someone else pays with his
life. Conscience is a funny thing. Sometimes
it’s easy to keep clean— it gives you an answer
for everything, a little pat on the back, says
keep going, keep smiling, keep whistling.
Other times your misdeeds lodge in your
brain like a bundle of malignant hearts,
mocking your soul and sanity with their
beating. If you get to feeling that way, you can
always climb up to Whistling Rock, not an easy
trek, but penance never is.
Call out for the soul you wronged, however
you wronged them. Like as not, it comes
floating up, hovers right there above you. Best
bow down and say your piece. Say it well and
say it true.

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 Chapter 8:
Adventure Generator
This book offers a full Plot Point Campaign
that follows a group of revolutionaries from
a collection of ragtag dissidents to the leaders
of an unorthodox but resourceful coalition,
capable of challenging the Big Boys (See
Chapter 9 Blasted Beauty on page 102). A
set of ten Savage Tales (see page 155) is also
included to be used as supplements to the Plot
Point Campaign or run as one-shot adventures.
The generators in this chapter are useful in a
variety of ways. The adventure generators can
be used to create additional episodes between
Plot Point campaign chapters, the plot/conflict
basics for a quick one-shot, or create the seeds
of the Shift Boss’ own campaign.
Holler Adventure
Generator
Generator Directions
1. Roll or choose the type of adventure (d6=1–2
Uprising, 3–4 Critter, or 5–6 Character Study).
2. Roll 1d20 on the Uprising, Critter, or
Character Study table for the adventure’s basic
objective.
3. For a Critter adventure, skip straight to the
Foes Table on page 92 to determine the type
of creature the party must face.
For Uprising or Character Study adventures,
draw a card from the Action Deck to determine
the Adventure Details, then roll a d20 on the
table that matches the card’s suit: Obstacles
(Clubs), Fortunes (Diamonds), Folks (Hearts),
or Foes (Spades) Table.
4. For all three types of adventures, finish the
basics by rolling 1d20 on the Complications
Table to give your adventure a twist.
5. This step is optional, but if you want to
add an additional twist to a an Uprising or
Critter adventure, roll 1d20 on the Character
Study Table to add an interesting character
development angle to the tale.
6. Consider the generated elements, previous
campaign developments, and the backgrounds
of the heroes as you figure out the plot. Think
about themes that could tie the various
elements together, then create the necessary
narrative connections/hooks to build a
coherent story for the adventure.
SIMPLE FOLKS
The Folks Generator (starting on page 94)
is a big time saver in practically any type of
game.
It quickly gins up interesting nonplayer
characters with their own motivations
and leanings, with reliably Appalachian-
sounding names, including the possibility of
the venerable double-barreled first name!
When such a character is needed, roll it up
and write it down. You never know when the
random chicken rancher you rolled up could
develop into of the hero’s most stalwart
allies—or exasperating rivals!
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 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse

Critter table
After generating the mission, roll on the Foes Table (page 92) for the creature.
D20 MISSION
Taxing Taxonomy: Track and identify a new kind of critter that’s been wreaking havoc
1 in a given area. The physical/psychological characteristics of this creature are linked to a
deeper mystery.
Irascible Infestation: Liberate a village that’s been overrun by a specific kind of
2 creature. This could involve a variety of techniques, from hunting to catching to
domesticating to pied pipering to dynamiting.
Vector Varmints: Combat/cure pestilence. A local critter population is afflicted with a
dreadful disease. Perhaps they are vectors of the disease that’s now ravaging a village, or
3 perhaps the disease has made them more aggressive or changed their behavior in some
other problematic way. Root out the cause of the disease to stop its spread and/or find a
cure to help sick folks.
Legendary Lair: Spelunk or mountaineer to glory. An infamous critter is rumored to
4 have an object of great value in its lair, or the lair itself possesses a special supernatural
property.
Rich Resource: Hunt and harvest a group of critters that provide a much-needed
5
resource—food, hides, horns, witching ingredients.
Catch and Release: Sometimes the best course is not to kill a critter, but to catch it,
transport it, and relocate it in a remote (and likely highly dangerous) area. Why is this
6
sometimes the best course? Ethics, religion, or conservation, most likely. Or maybe
some other high-minded principle that’s likely to get you killed.
Reckless Eradication: Sometimes the best course is to kill the critter, and every critter
7 like it that you see, and to keep killing until you don’t see no more of that kind of
critter at all.
Animal Husbandry: Examples abound, Holler-wide, of unnatural abominations, parts
from different critters mixed and matched to make a new critter altogether. This might
8
be more of a long-term project. Capture different kinds of critters, breed them. See
what the babies look like! Train them. Let the shenanigans ensue.
Heavy Petting: You see a critter that you take a shine to, or that could be of enormous
9 help, if it could be tamed. Catch and train that critter and make it your pet. Just hope it
don’t bite off the head that’s attached to the hand that feeds it.
Critter Sitter: A critter or group of critters is in danger and needs help. These dangers
10 can be natural (other critters, forest fire, flood, disease, lack of food) or man-made
(Blight, overzealous hunters). Get out there and help them critters!
Haruspicy: Some critters are links to the past or the future. Prophesy and insight are
11 lodged in their innards. A seer (one of the heroes or a prominent ally) needs a scrying
organ from a specific critter to divine the turnings of fate.
Mysterious Behaviors: A group of critters radically changes one of its behaviors,
like migrating to a new area, developing new dietary habits, becoming more or less
12
aggressive, adopting cannibalistic or lemur-like tendencies. Find the cause (which is
likely worse than the effect) and restore what’s left of nature’s balance.
Terms of Appeasement: A large, normally non-aggressive critter that’s too tough for
the group to kill is enraged. Maybe it hasn’t received a proper sacrifice, or maybe there’s
13
something in its environment that’s setting it off. Find out what it wants or what’s
agitating it before it wipes out everything in its path.

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 Adventure Generator

D20 MISSION
Bestial Nature: Folks in a village (or perhaps one on the team) start manifesting
the characteristics of a specific critter, behaviorally and/or physically. Maybe it’s
14
lycanthropy, maybe it’s a new kind of witchery. Solve the mystery or the devolution
becomes an epidemic.
Mysterious Behaviors: A group of critters radically changes one of its behaviors,
like migrating to a new area, developing new dietary habits, becoming more or less
15
aggressive, adopting cannibalistic or lemur-like tendencies. Find the cause (which is
likely worse than the effect) and restore what’s left of nature’s balance.
Mutation: A critter develops a new mutation—horns, infravision, a second row of teeth,
the ability to fly short distances, the capacity for speech, the ability to mimic/shapeshift—
16
that makes it substantially more dangerous. Eliminate the mutants and find the source
of the mutation.
Bounty: A powerful Holler resident is offering a substantial bounty for a souvenir from
17 a critter. Maybe she’s willing to pay in rare cash money or maybe you can barter for a
crucial piece of equipment or future favor.
Stalked: A terrifying critter is stalking the group. They don’t see the creature but know
that it sees them. They feel rage-filled eyes on them everywhere they go, see traces of its
18 tortured existence. What does it want? Who sent it? Can the hunted become the hunter,
or are the troublemakers destined to meet the hideous beast on its terms and when
they least expect it?
Costumery: A likely absurd/comedic twist of fate requires the team to disguise
themselves as critters to accomplish their goals. Perhaps they are disrupting a ritual
19
sacrifice, performing surveillance of a stretch of pasture, or staging a hoax or false flag
operation.
Nightmare: A critter terrorizes the dreamers while they sleep. They must enter the
20 haunted dreamscapes of their own minds to confront and conquer the critter, else
they’ll be driven mad.

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 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse

Uprising table
Roll a d20 to determine the Mission, then draw a card and throw in a Twist based on the suit:
Obstacles (Clubs) page 88, Fortunes (Diamonds) page 90, Folks (Hearts) page 91, or
Foes (Spades) page 92.
D20 MISSION
Dig Dirt: Discover/reveal compromising information about a Big Boy’s personal life,
1
business deeds, or belief system.
Smuggle Supplies: Steal supplies for the resistance—weapons, munitions, cars, food,
2
production machinery or transport contraband between allies for strategic purposes.
Discover Scheme: Infiltrate an Experimentation Site—Mt. Folsom Penal Colony, Burnt
3 Chimney, Sunnyvale Mining Village, or the Bondurant asylum to discover the Big
Boys’ schemes.
Sabotage: Disrupt or destroy a work site, important machinery, or one of the Big Boys’
4
institutions of control.
Community Service: Assist Holler residents by doing good works, providing material
5
comfort, building infrastructure, or addressing a community problem.
Establish Territory: Build a resistance outpost, clear enemies or other obstacles from a
6
strategic area.
7 Fly a False Flag: Stage an unfortunate event and blame it on the Big Boys.
Jury-Rig: Steal machinery or other industrial material and fashion/modify weapons,
8
munitions, traps, or vehicles.
Double-Agent Dupe: Ingratiate yourself to the Big Boys’. Work on their behalf to gain
9
access, garner intelligence, and reap rewards.
Scab Hunt: Ferret out (or eliminate) the Big Boys’ spies and other company
10
sympathizers.
Unfavorable Favor: Undertake a delivery mission for a prominent Holler resident
11 to forge a potential alliance with them or in exchange for contraband or important
information.
Rescue/Recovery: Rescue a missing Holler resident or a material possession that has
12
been confiscated by the Big Boys.
Fight Blight: Reduce Blight in a heavily afflicted area via magic, engineering, or a
13
dedicated clean-up operation.
Skirmish: Engage Kramer-Holt agents, mercenaries, or cultists in a tactical battle. Set
14
up an ambush. Use the landscape to your advantage. Stage a raid. Hit n’ run.
Kidnap: Kidnap an important target to gain intelligence, bargaining leverage,
15
or a ransom.
16 Assassinate: Stealthily eliminate a Big Boy or one of their prominent associates.
Party/Ritual: Throw a Stomp Party or participate in a Custom to win friends and
17
influence people.
Arcane Quest: Seek arcane knowledge, derived from demons, haints, cryptids, or a
18
soothsaying resident that can be leveraged against the Big Boys.
Hearts and Minds: Foment revolutionary sentiment among a group of residents or seek
19 to build alliances between different groups. Spread your message using multiple channels,
recruit allies, start a union chapter, combat the Big Boys’ propaganda, speechify.
Strike: Organize and stage a Strike. Call the Big Boys’ bluffs. Demonstrate. Prepare for
20
retaliation. Prepare for battle.

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 Adventure Generator

Character table
The Character Study generator can be used to develop full missions or introduce complications
in other missions that tests a character’s ethical values or personal resolve. The Shift Boss should
take care to create dynamic situations that allow characters agency in terms of how they feel and
react in relation to these quandaries, rather than assigning them emotions or forcing them into
a particular action/response.
Roll a d20 to determine the event, then drawn an Action Card and roll on the appropriate
subtable: Obstacles (Clubs), Fortunes (Diamonds), Folks (Hearts), or Foes (Spades) Table.
D20 MISSION / ADDITIONAL COMPLICATION
1 Betrayal: A trusted ally betrays one of the heroes.
Revenge: A past enemy seeks revenge on one of the troublemakers, either through
2
direct physical violence or a cunning scheme.
Feud: A past enemy escalates tensions with one of their rivals on the team, declaring
3
a kin-feud.
4 Romance: An alluring Holler resident falls hard for one of the rebels.
5 Competition: An ally or foe challenges one of the heroes to a contest.
6 Loyalty: A trusted ally tests a friend’s loyalty, asking a lot in return for very little.
7 Fear: A hero is confronted, head-on, with her greatest fear.
Faith: A freedom fighter’s strongly held belief system is fundamentally challenged in
8
some way.
9 Grief: Someone on the team suffers the loss of a close family member or friend.
Dilemma: Two allies are under mortal threat at the same time. Which group or
10
individual does the savior choose to help?
Kin Bond: A teammate’s family desperately needs help, or a long-lost family member
11
appears with a grudge, or a hero learns a powerful or troubling family secret.
Revelation: One of the malcontents experiences a profound vision, either a disturbing
prophecy or a transcendent dream of a better world. What does she do with this
12
newfound mystical knowledge—regard it as truth or illusion? Share it widely or keep it
hidden away?
13 Material Dispossession: An agitator loses his most important material possession.
14 Shame: A hero is publicly shamed by false rumors of a great misdeed.
Fast Friends: Someone encounters an enthusiastic new friend, who is seemingly
15
willing to do anything for him. Are the friend's motivations pure?
Judgment: A hero is asked to resolve a dispute between strongly opposed
16
individuals or clans.
Leadership: A freedom fighter is identified as a strong leader and symbol of hope
17 for a particular group. The group asks him to lead them in confronting or surviving a
dangerous situation.
Humility: The rascal is asked to humble himself before a village elder, cult leader, or
18
boastful rough and tough to gain their much needed cooperation.
Which Side Are You On: A representative of the Big Boys makes the ne’er-do-well a
19
generous offer to become a mole or betray the group at a crucial moment.
Trials & Tribulations: A hero is confronted with a particularly tough predicament.
Roll again. On a 1–19, choose the corresponding entry on this table and use an extreme
20
version of it. On a 20, roll twice on the chart, discarding any 20’s. Confront the target
with extreme versions of each entry in relatively quick succession.

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 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse

Adventure Details
Draw an Action Card to add Additional Details to an Uprising or Character Study Adventure

CLUBS—OBSTACLES
D20 OBSTACLE
Terrain Hazard: Sinkholes, rock or mudslides, steep, unpredictable, or slippery terrain.
1
See Terrain Hazards.
Weather Hazard: Heavy rain or snow, fog, wind, cold, heat, lightning. See Hazards in
2
Savage Worlds.
Shakedown: The team encounters a checkpoint manned by 2d4 Kramer-Holt agents.
3
The agents confiscate weapons and other valuables.
Bad Ammo: Shots fire errant (–2 Shooting) or don’t fire at all. On a Critical Failure, the
4
firearm explodes, causing 2d8 damage.
Spoiled Vittles: The group’s food supply is rancid and inedible and/or contaminated
5
with Disease (see Savage Worlds).
Extreme Blight: The heroes encounter a heavily Blighted environment. –2 penalty to
6
Blight roll for this session.
Feckless Wandering: Dense fog, labyrinthine trails, or demonic/ghostly interference
7 leads the group astray. A successful Survival roll (–2 penalty) sets them right. With a
failure, they’ve traipsed straight into danger. Roll on the Foes table!
Unnatural Natural Phenomenon: A blood moon, a strange, flying object, a
strong sense of déjà vu, or a mysterious hum in the air. Something’s not right! An
8
overpowering sense of the uncanny pervades the group. –2 penalty to Spirit rolls for
the session.
Blightening: A Blight Storm with Thunder and Lightning strikes each time the party
9
engages in combat.
It’s a Trap: Roll on the Foes table. The resulting Foe(s) sets up a lowdown ambush. The
10
foe gets The Drop.
A Bit Peaked: Something’s catching. The group is afflicted by the bloody flux, the
11 hacking shivers, the roiling dyspepsia, brain fever, or the like. See Diseases in
Savage Worlds.
A Little Tipsy: The heroes spent a little too much time at Stump Bumpers, or a similar
establishment, before undertaking their task. –2 to Agility/Athletics rolls or –2 to
12 Smarts/Folklore rolls for the session, depending on how the grog hits them (Shift Boss’
discretion). If an imbiber’s adherence to teetotaling is a part of their personality, this
character didn’t partake, but is likely tasked with taking care of his likkered up fellows.
Contact High: The red clay in the area is potent, giving the travelers a contact high
13 from merely stepping foot on it. Every hero takes the Habit Hindrance (Clay Eater)
(Major), for the duration of the session.
Big Personalities: Tensions are running high in the group. Minor annoyances have
14 the potential to flame into major disputes. Any of the companions’ Minor personality-
based Hindrances become Major for this session.
Spooked: The mind is a haunted house. It don’t take much to get it running in circles,
peeping around corners, inventing dangers that aren’t really there, or overreacting to
15
what is. A strange force or unnerving circumstance undermines the fighters’ resolve. –2
penalty on Spirit rolls to resist Fear. +2 to Fear Table rolls.

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 Adventure Generator

Hanger On: Roll on the Folks table. This person feels compelled to follow the freedom
fighters as they go about their business. He desperately wants to be involved in every
16
situation. Give the Hanger On an appropriate motivation or belief for this behavior. If
he’s sent away, he will secretly follow them, and likely emerge at exactly the wrong time.
Pests: A swarm of vermin is running loose, complicating most every situation, whether
it’s travel, negotiations, or combat. Bats, rats, locusts, fire ants, spiders, creepy
17
crawlies, or snakes are everywhere—migrating, mating, or being directed to attack by a
malevolent force.
Prying Eyes: An antagonist successfully stalks and spies on the heroes. She sees or hears
18
their every move during the session and reports their activities back to her superior.
Transportation Woes: The jalopy breaks down or the horses run away or are stolen.
19 If the travelers are on foot, introduce a Hazard (see Savage Worlds), a terrain specific
obstacle, or refer to the Feckless Wandering result on this table.
Extra Dimensional Pocket: The trekkers encounter a strange time/space anomaly. The
extra-dimensional pocket might be a demon’s lair, a lost capsule of time, an animated
20
memory/nightmare, a forgotten village (a Holler in the Holler from the Obstacles Table),
or another disturbing instance of warped reality.

hows you
, “A true prophet s ow. Ye just
what ye already kn it ye t.”
don ’t know ye know
n, A S eer.
—Ruby-Jane Larki

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 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse

DIAMONDS—FORTUNE
D20 FORTUNE
1 Corn Likker: A stash of 1d6 jugs of premium corn likker.
2 Ammunition: 2d10 shotgun shells, bullets, arrows, or stones.
3 Clothing: Fancy City clothes stuffed in a trunk.
4 Horses: 1d3 Wild Horses or Fine Riding Horses loitering about.
Jalopy: A Juiced-Up jalopy in relatively fine shape is camouflaged by branches just off
5
the road. Hot wire and go!
Abandoned Still: The still is in a remote location and there are no other moonshiners
6
in sight. A new business opportunity?
Abandoned Cabin: A three-room cabin with a big fireplace is found in a convenient or
7
strategic location. A new base of operations?
Bounty: The heroes spy a bounty sign (reward in scrip, barter, or, rarely, cash money)
8 posted by a local sheriff, farmer, or moonshiner. The subject of the bounty might be an
acquaintance of the group, a known enemy, or a mysterious stranger.
Tommy Gun: A careless Kramer-Holt agent is a rare thing, but this “City Typewriter”
9
has been left in a conspicuous location, ripe for the taking!
Scrip: Some unlucky worker lost a wad of scrip in the street. It might be a futile exercise
10 to hunt down the rightful owner, but there’s enough there to purchase a piece of
furniture or some other minor luxury from a company store.
Cash Money: Real, live dollars usually only come from Big Boys, smugglers or family
11
stashes. The group finds a thick wad of crinkly dollar bills in a surprising location.
Industrial Machinery: The group discovers a discarded throstle frame, weaving
12
machine, loom, coal cart, coal-cutting machine, or rail car.
Handy Implement: A handy object that’ll likely help the group with their current
13 mission. A pitchfork, a shovel, climbing gear, a radio, a wedding ring, a gas mask, a
tuning fork, a ball bat, a raft.
Dynamite: Well, I’ll be. Somebody left 1d6 sticks of dynamite (with some nice, long
14
fuses) just laying around.
Rare Herb: A patch of medicinal herbs. Anyone versed in the doctoring arts will know
15
what to do with them. +2 on Healing rolls or spells this session.
Rare Hides: The corpse of a giant black bear is stinking up the woods. Skin the poor
16
fella and patch together a couple of Giant Animal Hides for +2 Armor.
Clue: The investigators discover a clue that greatly aids in solving a mystery, gives them
17
a tactical advantage against their foe, or helps them avoid danger.
Golden Ticket: The infiltrators find a key, decode a password, or find a hidden
18 passage that gains them easy access to an otherwise heavily-guarded or nigh
impenetrable location.
19 Unexpected Ally: A former foe or unlikely friend helps the heroes.
Deus Ex Machina: A tremendous stroke of good fortune delivers the team from
inevitable defeat or impending death. This could be a natural occurrence (like a
20 rockslide that crushes their enemies) or a supernatural one, like a demon being
sucked into a spontaneous vortex. Whatever happens, it should be cinematic, operatic,
climactic, leaving the group in a state of wonder and relief.

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 Adventure Generator

HEARTS—FOLKS
D20 FOLKS
Clay Den Denizens: 2d6 Meatyardians have taken up residence on the outskirts of a
1
rural village, causing deep unrest among its residents.
Tinker: An old tinker with a nasty disposition and a cart full of junk puts the hard-sell
2
on the group.
Mad Prophet: An angry prophet is unsettling village residents with predictions of a
3
New Curse.
Circuit Rider: A handsome young preacher rides into town, claiming the Lord gifted
4
him with the knowledge of “a new form of salvation,” and the power to heal the sick.
Cultists: 1d6 cultists (either from Shadrach, Jeremiad, or Hemlock) are in town,
5
stealthily attempting to recruit workers to their communities.
6 Hunting Party: The group encounters a party of 1d4 curious hunters in the woods.
Moonshiners: The group stumbles upon 1d4 workers tending a still. Rarely a
7
good thing.
Revelers: 2d4 rowdy, intoxicated folks are causing a ruckus in the streets, committing
8
petty vandalism and harassing sober-minded locals.
Pickers: The weary travelers stumble across an impromptu string band jam session,
9
with 1d6 friendly musicians ready to trade stories or hooch.
Granny Woman: An anxious granny woman is traveling to a remote cabin to aid
10
in a birth.
Mountain Man/Woman: A Mountain dweller strolls into town after disappearing many
11
years before, or one appears to warn the group away from their hunting grounds.
Victim: The heroes encounter the victim of a robbery or beating (in need of medical
12
attention) on the side of the road.
Workers: 2d6 workers coming off a long shift question the group members about their
13
respective political views.
14 Youngins: 1d4 cavorting youngins show a keen interest in the team and its activities.
Runaway: The group discovers a runaway adolescent, hiding in the woods, a junkyard,
15 or an abandoned rail car. The adolescent describes the traumatic domestic situation
that led them to escape.
Stranger: A funny talking stranger with fancy clothes shows up at a local speakeasy.
16
Could he be from the City?
Company Men/Women: 1d6 supporters of the Big Boys verbally harass the
17
revolutionaries in a public venue.
Criminals: The group unwittingly chance upon illegal activity—1d4 smugglers, thieves,
18 or Rough and Toughs are up to no good. The scalawags’ first instinct is not to run or
engage them in combat, but rather to request assistance in completing their job.
Famous/Infamous Folk: A Wild Card the rebels have encountered before (or heard
19 rumors of) asks for a special favor. If the adventure is an Unfavorable Favor, have two
opposed Wild Cards ask the team for conflicting favors.
Big Boy: A chance encounter with a Big Boy creates an opportunity for surveillance,
20
social interaction, kidnapping, or assassination.

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 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse

SPADES—FOES
D6/D20* FOE
1 Cryptid: (select 1 from Bestiary, Cryptids on page 218 ).
2 Demon: (select 1 from Bestiary, Demons on page 229).
3 Haint: (select 1 from Bestiary, Haints on page 246).
4 Fae: (select 1d4 of same type from Bestiary, Fae on page 240).
5 Animal: (select 2d4 of same type from Bestiary, Critters on page 213).
6 Giant Animal: (select 1 from Bestiary, Critters on page 213).
7 Kramer-Holt Agents: (1d6, Kramer-Holt Agent on page 208).
8 Scalawags: (2d4, Scalawag on page 211).
9 Serial Killer: (page 208, and/or create personality using Folks Generator).
10 Robbers: (1d6, Grave Robber on page 207).
Lawman and Deputies: (see Lawman on page 208 and 1d4 Company Guard
11
on page 206).
12 Hemlock Cultists: (2d4, Cultist on page 207).
13 Grave Robbers: (2d4, Grave Robber on page 207).
14 Scabs/Company Guards: (2d4 scabs on page 210, or company guards on page 206).
15 Rough and Toughs: (1d6, Rough and Tough on page 210).
16 Witches: (1d4, Witch/Warlock on page 212).
17 Worker Ghouls: (2d6, Worker Ghouls on page 227).
18 The Riders: (1d4, see page 209).
19 Old Scratch: (see page 222).
20 Big Boy: (see Big Boys on page 197).
* Roll a d6 for a creature or cryptid, or a d20 to include humanoid foes.

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 Adventure Generator

Complications
D20 COMPLICATION
1 Go Deep: Roll on the Character Study Generator Table
2 Obstacles are Complications, Too: Roll on the Obstacles Table
3 Fee Fi Foe Fum: Roll on the Foes Table
No Fighting: Circumstances dictate the freedom fighters must accomplish their goals
4
without fighting.
Crossing the Streams: Add an entry from a different Adventure Generator (Uprising
5
or Critter).
Oh, the Irony: The heroes are confronted with an ironic plot twist. The braggart bully is
6 really a coward, the village idiot possesses rarefied wisdom, the barricades folks built to
protect themselves from demons trap them inside their homes with the demons.
Oh, the Humanity: The adventurers are confronted with a hair-raising, horrific scene
7 at some point in the adventure that ups the moral/ethical stakes, such as cannibalism,
or perverse necromancy.
Sympathy for the Devil: One of the roustabout’s antagonists displays a level of
8
vulnerability or humanity that makes him seem not so evil after all.
Bad Reviews: The locals are not happy with some aspect of the ruffians behavior or
9
tactics, and many in the town/village turn against them.
Nothing Is As It Seems: The apparent threat in the adventure is a ruse, the main
10 adversary turns out to be an ally, or vice versa, or the root of the adventure’s trouble
stems from a surprising source.
Late to the Party: When the adventurers confront a threat, they find that another
11
group (with different motivations) has already dealt with it... badly.
Captured: Near or after the conclusion of the adventure, the team is captured by a
12
third party (an enemy or enemies not related to the original adventure).
A Holler in the Holler: The Big Boys’ or demons' or the rebels’ activities trigger a minor
version of the Curse, separating a town or village from the rest of the Holler in an
13
extra-dimensional pocket. Folks are trapped here until the party finds a way to reverse
the anomaly.
Sojourn: The wanderers must make an unexpected journey to a faraway location to
14
accomplish their goals.
Hasty Exit: A fire, flood, earthquake, explosion, or swarm of new enemies forces the
15
group to make a death-defying escape at the end of the adventure.
It Couldn’t Possibly Get Any Worse: The rabble rousers encounter a succession of
obstacles and complications, each one a little more problematic than the last. These
16
woes can have a comedic or tragic cast, but the heroes should definitely feel like the
universe is out to get them by the end of the adventure
Old Foe/New Foe: An old foe makes an unexpected return, or a new foe (primed to be a
17
recurring arch nemesis) emerges.
Complicit: In accomplishing their goals, the ne’er-do-wells unwittingly advance an
18
adversary’s agenda.
False Boss: The heroes think they’ve just killed the Big Bad in a dramatic fight. But, wait.
19
What’s that noise? The earth begins to shake, and the bigger, badder foe is tagged in.
20 Gloom, Despair, and Agony On Me: Roll twice on this table, ignoring results of 20.

93
 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse

Folks Generator
FIRST NAMES TABLE
On a roll that ends with 0, the character has a double-first name. Roll on the appropriate
table below.
D100 FIRST NAME D100 FIRST NAME D100 FIRST NAME D100 FIRST NAME
1 Alice 26 Josephine 51 Abraham 76 Malcolm
2 Amelia 27 Kay 52 Angus 77 Malachi
3 Annabelle 28 Lucille 53 Buck 78 Nehemiah
4 Bettina 29 Lila 54 Boone 79 Norris
5 Blanche 30 Mary 55 Calvin 80 Otis
6 Bessie 31 Minnie 56 Cordell 81 Odell
7 Caroline 32 Maybelle 57 Dalton 82 Purcell
8 Cricket 33 Nellie 58 Dale 83 Padget
9 Celia 34 Nora 59 Elmer 84 Quincy
10 Delilah 35 Orla 60 Earl 85 Rusty
11 Daisy 36 Odette 61 Floyd 86 Roderick
12 Elizabeth 37 Petunia 62 Finn 87 Ralph
13 Eloise 38 Pepper 63 Franklin 88 Sherman
14 Estelle 39 Quinn 64 Gus 89 Sullivan
15 Frances 40 Ruby 65 Gilbert 90 Sonny
16 Florence 41 Rose 66 Hoke 91 Tolliver
17 Fannie 42 Rinny 67 Hoyt 92 Toby
18 Gertrude 43 Suzanne 68 Harley 93 Tucker
19 Glory 44 Scarlett 69 Isaac 94 Uriah
20 Hannah 45 Sarah 70 Irwin 95 Ulmer
21 Henrietta 46 Talullah 71 Jasper 96 Vernon
22 Ida 47 Tabitha 72 Jeb 97 Vance
23 Imogene 48 Violet 73 Kaleb 98 Wilbur
24 Iris 49 Wren 74 Lloyd 99 Yancey
25 June 50 Zadie 75 Lawson 100 Zebulon

NICKNAMES TABLE (USE SPARINGLY):

DOUBLE FIRST NAMES DOUBLE FIRST NAME
TABLE: WOMEN TABLE: MALE D10 NICKNAME D10 NAME
1 Bubba 12 Hoss
D10 NAME D10 NAME
2 Sissy 13 Birdy
1 Sue 1 Jones
3 Tiny 14 Boo
2 May 2 Smith
4 Red 15 Shorty
3 Rose 3 Ray
5 Scooter 16 Mule
4 Ella 4 Everett
6 Bones 17 Lucky
5 Anne 5 James
7 Trigger 18 Little 'Un
6 Kate 6 Hayes
8 Beanpole 19 Coot
7 Grace 7 Michael
9 Wormy Double Name.
8 Jane 8 David Roll on the
10 Honeybee 20
9 Beth 9 Bobby Double First
11 Big 'Un Names Table.
10 Jean 10 Dale

94
 Adventure Generator

SURNAMES TABLE
D100 SURNAME D100 SURNAME D100 SURNAME D100 SURNAME
1 Adkins 26 Giddings 51 Noble 76 Strong
2 Ambrose 27 Golden 52 Nutter 77 Stout
3 Aiken 28 Gurney 53 O' Brien 78 Stump
4 Barber 29 Hall 54 O' Toole 79 Stillwell
5 Burke 30 Hackworth 55 Ogden 80 Sowers
6 Butcher 31 Hodgens 56 Patterson 81 Stayton
7 Buzzard 32 Hucks 57 Perry 82 Talbot
8 Bunch 33 Ingles 58 Page 83 Tipton
9 Carpenter 34 Irvin 59 Proctor 84 Thacker
10 Childers 35 Jacobs 60 Poe 85 Thrasher
11 Crump 36 Justus 61 Penny 86 Teague
12 Cyphers 37 Kelley 62 Quarles 87 Underwood
13 Durst 38 Kiser 63 Quinn 88 Upton
14 Deaton 39 Lackey 64 Rader 89 Vaughn
15 Davis 40 Lark 65 Ramey 90 Vincent
16 Dunlap 41 Lawson 66 Ranson 91 Vickers
17 Dugan 42 Lockhart 67 Reeves 92 Wade
18 Earle 43 Littlejohn 68 Riley 93 Weaver
19 Epley 44 Lear 69 Row 94 West
20 Earnhardt 45 Manning 70 Rutherford 95 Whitman
21 Farmer 46 McGuire 71 Rood 96 Wyatt
22 Fox 47 McSweeney 72 Sage 97 Wingo
23 Flowers 48 McClintock 73 Shunate 98 Yancey
24 Fugate 49 Milner 74 Sykes 99 Yates
25 Gaskins 50 Neese 75 Stackpole 100 Zell

and dying for

g
a m in er—digginerground.”
rson is up und
“ Every pe recious, ending
what’s p
r P o e , a miner.
—Tayl o

95
 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse

DISTINGUISHING DETAILS TABLE: WOMEN

D100 FEATURE D100 FEATURE D100 FEATURE
1 Bonnet 45 Light Build 86 Goes Barefoot
2 Floppy Hat 46 Stout Build 87 Dresses “Like a Man”
3 Severe Bun 47 Short 88 Dresses Provocatively
4 Long Hair 48 Tall 89 Limps
5 Pigtails 49 Sores 90 Lisps
6 Curly Hair 50 Scratches 91 Beautiful Teeth
7 Thinning Hair 51 Bruises 92 Missing Teeth
8 Beautiful Eyes 52 Nicely Perfumed 93 Wildly Unkempt
9 Narrow-Set Eyes 53 Strong Body Odor Meticulously
94
10 Rheumy Eyes 54 Apron Put Together
11 Strabismus 55 Store Bought Dress 95 Walks With Cane
12 Unusual Eye Color 56 Deep Voice 96 Attempts to Cover Face
13 Beady Eyes 57 High Voice Frequently Makes
97
14 Intense Eyes 58 Squeaky Voice Superstitious Gestures
15 Wide-Eyed 59 Raspy Voice 98 Licks Lips
16 Upturned Nose 60 Frequently Curses 99 Bites Bottom Lip
17 Large Nostrils 61 Frequently Apologizes 100 Whistles
18 Flared Nostrils 62 Talks in Circle
19 Long Nose 63 Repeats Phrases OCCUPATION/
20 Hooked Nose 64 Likes to Use Big Words IDENTITY: WOMEN
21 Thin Lips 65 Speaks Rapidly D20 OCCUPATION/IDENTITY
22 Thick Lips 66 Speaks Slowly 1 Millhand
23 Rose-Colored Lips 67 Talks Loudly 2 Logger
24 Persistent Lip Snarl 68 Whispers 3 Miner
25 Strong Chin 69 Talks With Hands 4 Driller
26 Weak Chin 70 Avoids Eye Contact 5 Farmer
27 Cleft Chin 71 Prolonged Eye Contact 6 Rail Worker
28 High Cheekbones Invades Personal 7 Bluegrass Musician
72
29 Dimples Space When Speaking 8 Granny Woman
30 “Elvish” Ears 73 Touchy Feely 9 School Teacher
31 Big Ears Maintains Distance 10 Company Woman
74
32 Missing Eye While Speaking 11 No Account
33 Missing Ear 75 Nervous Fidgeting 12 Mountain Woman
34 Facial Scar 76 Gets Hiccups Often 13 Bartender
35 Prominent Mole 77 Nervous Laughter 14 Seamstress
36 Wen 78 Sneezing Fits 15 Quilter
37 Goiter 79 Muffled Cough 16 Homemaker
38 Arched Eyebrows 80 Walks Briskly 17 Rabble-Rouser
39 Thick Eyebrows 81 Walks Slowly 18 Holy Roller
40 Thin Eyebrows 82 Hums Under Breath 19 Rough and Tough
41 Uni-brow Frequently Adjusts 20 Jezebel
83
42 Elegant Neck Hair / Clothes
43 Long Neck 84 Yawns Frequently
44 Short Neck 85 Wears Boots

96
 Adventure Generator

DISTINGUISHING DETAILS TABLE: MEN

D100 FEATURE D100 FEATURE D100 FEATURE
1 Stovepipe Hat 45 Long Neck 87 Wears Fancy Shoes
2 Stetson Hat 46 Slight Build 88 Goes Shirtless
3 Cowboy Hat 47 Stout Build 89 Walks with a Cane
4 Derby Hat 48 Big Hands 90 Limps
5 Bald 49 Muscle Bound 91 Lisps
6 Long Hair 50 Obese 92 Spits
7 Handle-bar Mustache 51 Short 93 Pretty Teeth
8 Extravagant Beard 52 Tall 94 Missing Teeth
9 Piercing Eyes 53 Strong Body Odor 95 Extra Teeth
10 Squinty Eyes 54 Long Coat Frequently Makes
96
11 Missing Eyes 55 Overalls Superstitious Gestures
12 Strabismus 56 Gruff Voice 97 Obscure Gestures
13 Mismatched Eye Color 57 Squeaky Voice Frequently
98
14 Vacant Eyes 58 Low Voice Adjusts Crotch
15 Pug Nose 59 Barking Voice 99 Walks Bowlegged
16 Broken Nose 60 Talks Slowly 100 Whistles
17 Drinker's Nose 61 Talks Rapidly
18 Flared Nostrils 62 Frequently Curses OCCUPATION/
19 Hairy Nose 63 Monosyllabic IDENTITY: MEN
20 Wyatt-Earp Mustache 64 Talks in Circles D20 OCCUPATION/IDENTITY
21 Thin Lips 65 Random Digressions 1 Miner
22 Thick Lips Frequently 2 Millhand
66
23 Cracked Lips Uses Clichés 3 Logger
24 Snarling Lips 67 Talks with Hands 4 Farmer
25 Strong Chin 68 Whispers 5 Driller
26 Weak Chin 69 Growls/Grunts 6 Rail Worker
27 Double Chin 70 Shouts 7 Company Minister
28 Jutting Forehead 71 Avoids Eye Contact 8 Preacher
29 High Cheekbones 72 Never Blinks 9 Company Man
30 Dimples Invades 10 Tavern Keeper
73
31 Missing Ear Personal Space 11 Bluegrass Musician
32 Big Ears 74 Maintains Distance 12 No Account
33 Cauliflower Ear 75 Nervous Fidgeting 13 Tinker
34 Missing Eye 76 Burps 14 Blacksmith
35 Facial Scars 77 Farts 15 Mountain Man
36 Tattoo 78 Coughs 16 Rough and Tough
37 Wen 79 Nervous Laughter 17 Holy Roller
38 Goiter 80 Walks Slowly 18 Grease Monkey
39 Sores 81 Walks Briskly 19 School Teacher
40 Bruises 82 Struts 20 Rake
41 Bushy Eyebrows 83 Frequently Sings
42 Arched Eyebrows 84 Futzes with Hair
43 Uni-brow 85 Yawns Frequently
44 Short Neck 86 Goes Barefoot

97
 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse

PERSONALITY TRAITS
D100 FEATURE D100 FEATURE D100 FEATURE
1 Adaptable 35 Imaginative 69 Prim
2 Adventurous 36 Insouciant 70 Possessive
3 Agreeable 37 Irascible 71 Prejudiced
4 Aggressive 38 Intense 72 Religious
5 Ambitious 39 Irreverent 73 Reserved
6 Absent-Minded 40 Kind 74 Rowdy
7 Business-Like 41 Mellow 75 Regretful
8 Braggadocious 42 Moralistic 76 Sadistic
9 Charismatic 43 Morbid 77 Secretive
10 Cheerful 44 Mean 78 Scheming
11 Clever 45 Moody 79 Selfish
12 Curious 46 Melancholic 80 Shallow
13 Caustic 47 Maudlin 81 Sloppy
14 Dramatic 48 Miserly 82 Sad
15 Dutiful 49 Meddlesome 83 Sarcastic
16 Dreamy 50 Miserable 84 Skeptical
17 Deceitful 51 Malicious 85 Stubborn
18 Empathetic 52 Naive 86 Suspicious
19 Earnest 53 Narcissistic 87 Sly
20 Eloquent 54 Narrow-Minded 88 Tough
21 Earthy 55 Neurotic 89 Timid
22 Emotional 56 Nihilistic 90 Tense
23 Forceful 57 Obnoxious 91 Unpredictable
24 Fun-Loving 58 Obsessive 92 Unsentimental
25 Fierce 59 Obedient 93 Uninhibited
26 Frugal 60 Outspoken 94 Unimpressed
27 Generous 61 Placid 95 Unstable
28 Gossipy 62 Proud 96 Vindictive
29 Gruff 63 Pouty 97 Vulnerable
30 Honest 64 Paranoid 98 Weak
31 Humble 65 Predatory 99 Willful
32 Hard-Working 66 Power-Hungry 100 Whimsical
33 Honorable 67 Pretentious
34 Hurried 68 Puritanical

is m u sic a in ’t really mine. I’m .

“Th e devil’s fiddle
just borrowin ’ th a v e a good time.”
Mig h t a s w el l h

S ka g g s , B lu eg rass Picker.
—Jubil ee

98
 Adventure Generator

MOTIVATION POLITICAL PERSUASION

D20 MOTIVATION 2D6 PERSUASION
1 Guilt Company Man / Woman: Sees the Big
2
2 Shame Boys as beneficent and indispensable.
3 Redemption Apologist: Dislikes some of their
4 Fear tactics and policies but feels lucky to
3
have a job and argues things could
5 Base Needs (Food/Water/Shelter)
always be worse.
6 Revenge
Complicit: Sees the Big Boys’ abuses but
7 Power
4 feels powerless to change things. Tries
8 Wealth to deny how bad things are.
9 Family Necessary Evil: The Big Boys are total
10 Escape 5 bastards, but where would the Holler
11 Friendship be without them?
12 Desire Ostrich: Tries to avoid politics. Tries to
6
13 Grief keep his head down and do his job.
14 Love Apolitical: Tries to avoid politics.
15 Enlightenment The Holler has seen enough trouble
7
without a bunch of rapscallions stirring
16 Need to Belong
things up.
17 Atonement
On Edge: Tries to avoid politics. Will
18 Solitude
8 suffer the Big Boys’ injustices for future
19 Authority rewards in the next world.
20 Destructiveness / Chaos Aware: Recognizes the severity of the
Big Boys’ abuses, detests them, and
QUIRK attempts to resist them in small ways.
9
D20 QUIRK The proposition of larger revolution
seems impossible. The Big Boys are
1 Strange Phobia (crickets, men with birds)
too powerful.
Collecting/Hoarding (stamps, walking
2 Trouble-Maker: Works within the Big
sticks, frogs, marbles)
Boys’ system, but actively seeks ways
3 Dresses in a Single Color to disrupt their operations through
4 Agoraphobic malingering and minor sabotage on
10
5 Claustrophobic the job. Doesn’t feel deep solidarity
with other workers yet, but would
6 Only Eats One Kind of Food
join a union that seemed to be
7 Strange Allergy gaining strength.
8 Wildly Superstitious
Rabble-Rouser: Actively working to
9 Strange Pet recruit strikers and undermine the Big
10 Repetitive Catchphrases Boys’ power. Refuses to work within
11
11 Refuses to Wear Shoes their system. Is likely a fugitive and
has dedicated her life to resisting and
12 Must Always Sleep Outdoors
overthrowing the Big Boys.
13 Always Tries to Top Other People's Stories
Revolutionary: Directing protests,
14 Claims to See Dead People
strikes, and paramilitary strikes against
15 Refuses to Bathe 12
the Big Boys. Will fight to the death for
16 Despises Children her beliefs.
17 Practices Ventriloquism
18 Hypochondriac
19 Always Refers to Self in the Third Person
20 Claims to be an Animal Whisperer

99
 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse

Encounters by Regions
Draw a card on these tables if you want some inspiration for encounters around the Holler. They
also serve to show you what kinds of threats are most common in each area.
CORN COB GAP HOGBACK HILLS

CARD ENCOUNTER CARD ENCOUNTER

2 Peddler 2 2d4 Company Guards
3 1d4 Grave Robbers 3 1d4 Highwaymen
4 1d4 Varnish Heads 4 Lawman
5 1d4 Clay Eaters 5 2d6 Mill Rats
6 Lawman 6 1d4 Clay Eaters
7 1d4 Highwaymen 7 Scalawag
8 1d6 Highwaymen 8 Rough and Tough
9 Revivalist 9 2d4 Sad sacks
10 2d5 Billycabra 10 1d4 Kramer-Holt Agents
Jack Old Scratch Jack Revenant
Queen Witch Queen 1d4 Scarecrows
King Twin Demon King Hill Demon
Ace Soul Demon Ace Mind Demon
Joker The Riders Joker Beast of Bone Lick
CUSSFOOT FENS FAEFALL MOUNTAINS

CARD ENCOUNTER CARD ENCOUNTER

2 1d4 Grave Robbers 2 2d6 Pixies
3 2d4 Meatyardians 3 2d4 Welkies
4 River Runner 4 2d4 Tommyknockers
5 Misty 5 2d6 Changelings
6 Willer Wisp 6 2d6 Scrummies
7 Giant Owl 7 Tinker
8 Giant Boar 8 Kelpie
9 Stalker 9 Spriggan
10 Killer 10 Bodach
Jack Giant Terrapin Jack 1d6 Sylvans
Raylene Ashdown (See Attack of Queen Little Sallie Toadstool
Queen
the Meatyardians on page 155) King Screamer
King 1d6 Crick Demons Ace Vernal Demon
Ace Body Demon Joker The Green Man
Joker The Moth GHOST RIDGE MOUNTAINS

y the Lord
CARD ENCOUNTER
“I’m not sure wh ad of other 2 2d4 Sadsacks
talks to me insteadmire this 3 Revenant
people. He must g.” 4 Spirit Sucker
suit I’m a-wearin 5 Screamer

evivalist. 6 Taker Bird

—Kaleb Yance y, R 7 Misty

100
 Adventure Generator

CARD ENCOUNTER SOOTSTONE MOUNTAINS

8 Willer Wisp CARD ENCOUNTER
9 Conjure Man/Woman 2 1d4 Scalawags
10 Critter Ghost 3 1d4 Rough and Toughs
Jack Trinket Spirit 4 2d4 Company Guards
Queen Giant Catfish 5 2d8 Sadsacks
King Dusk Demon 6 1d4 Varnish Heads
Ace Night Demon 7 2d4 Mine Rats
Joker Wampus 8 2d4 Diggers
GREAT CRAGGY MOUNTAINS 9 Rumble Ghost
10 1d4 Kramer-Holt Agents
CARD ENCOUNTER
Jack Tommy Rawhead and Bloody Bones
2 1d4 Black Bears
Queen Cave Demon
3 Stalker
King Fire Demon
4 2d4 Wolves
Ace Body Demon
5 Spirit Sucker
Joker Storm Demon
6 1d4 Rabid Elk
7 1d6 Billycabra STYGIAN MOUNTAINS
8 Lawman and 1d4 deputies CARD ENCOUNTER
9 Sheepsquatch 2 1d4 Devil Dogs
10 1d6 Fenrir 3 Death Demons w/Corpse
Jack 2d4 Witches 4 Cave Demon
Queen Field Demon 5 Dust Demon
King Autumnal Demon 6 Hill Demon
Ace Forest Demon 7 2d4 Witches
Joker Yahoo 8 2d6 Pineys
PINEY DIRGE PLATEAU 9 Twin Demon
10 Night Demon
CARD ENCOUNTER
Jack Mind Demon
2 Revivalist and 1d6 worshipers
Queen Soul Demon
3 1d4 Scalawags
King Hibernal Demon
4 1d4 Witches
Ace Storm Demon
5 Dust Demon
Joker Ursine Horror
6 Revenant
7 Goat Man of Shadrach
8 Dusk Demon
9 Mind Demon “To ans wer your
10 Fire Demon stranger, the s question,
Jack Soul Demon making good m ecret to
Queen Body Demon S ECRET! Now getoons hine is…
King Snallygaster my mountain! the hell off
Ace Midsummer Demon
Joker Storm Demon —Amos Mulholin
, Moons hiner.

101
 Chapter 9:
Blasted Beauty

Act One: The Cruelty of Finster Goad (Hogback

Campaign Summary Hills): The heroes become an active part of the
resistance, working on behalf of the balladeer
The Blasted Beauty Plot Point Campaign is a Ella May Hawkins to build a broad coalition of
sprawling exploration of the Holler with all its Holler folks, bring aid to those in need, and
foibles and fascinations. In it, a group of rag- strike back directly against the Big Boys. Their
tag dissidents (the player characters) attempt first task is removing a troublesome shift boss,
to build a coalition against, and eventually Finster Goad, from the spinning room at
confront, the Big Boys. Each of the major Ashdown No. 1 Textile Mill.
acts offers a chance for the revolutionaries to
Act Two: Weaver Falls Fiddlers Convention
gather allies in the fight, while also granting
(Great Craggies): This shindig is the largest
insight into what they’re up against and
gathering of dissidents in the Holler. Ella
the brave but oppressed people they are so
sends the dissidents there to search for allies.
desperately trying to help.
In addition to trying their hand at a raft of
The campaign is presented in a chronological high-spirited games and musical contests,
fashion, with general events that likely happen the group fends off a demon attack; receives
after others, but without any set time schedule. a strange, prophesy-laden missive from the
Savage Tales, or adventures generated from cult leader, Lester Poulson; and puzzles over
the tables in chapter 10, can be interspersed a young fiddling prodigy’s relationship with a
between these acts as desired. In fact, time cave demon.
passing between major events can give the
rebels a chance to lick their wounds, take Act Three: The Legend of the Boogeyman Tree
some downtime, or explore some Legendary (Great Craggies): Royster Whitaker is driving
Landmarks they might otherwise miss. his loggers into forbidden forests. The residents
of Gilmer are afflicted with a strange illness.
Whether you make a beeline through all
The negotiators must find a cure and navigate
ten acts without a break or adopt a more
the delicate ecological relationship between
meandering pace, interspersing generated
witches, pineys, giant bears, and Whitaker
adventures and Savage Tales along the way,
himself. The heroes emerge with powerful
is up to you. In the end, the Big Boys are
new allies (and possibly new enemies) as word
the target, and the heroes can’t take them
of their daring deeds spreads throughout
on without help—however they get it, and
the Holler.
however long it takes.
Here’s an overview of the ten major acts of
the campaign.

102
 Blasted Beauty

Act Four: Incident at Galloway No. 4 Act Eight: Journey to the Fae Queen (Faefall):
(Sootstones): A collapse at Galloway No. 4, The group journeys to the Fae Queen’s court.
a treacherous vertical mine shaft deep in Along the way, they encounter a spriggan with a
Blighted territory, leads the group to engage love of riddles, some incredibly strange kelpies,
in an overnight rescue operation. Justin Taylor and gain a potential ally. When they meet the
and his fledgling union, the Mighty Fists, offer Queen, she offers provisional help with the
to help. A few men are saved. Many others are demon, but only if each of them face “a night
lost. The rescuers learn an earth shattering in the circles,” an extreme test of faith in which
secret about demons. they confront their individual demons.
Act Five: Cherry Bounce (Ghost Ridge): Amos Act Nine: The Mustering (Corn Cob Gap): All
Mulholin is the most famous moonshiner in the allies the heroes have gained are called
the Ghost Ridge Mountains and has no love for to Corn Cob Gap to prepare to march against
the Big Boys. Ella sees him and his mercenaries the Big Boys. Optionally, the rebels complete
as important potential allies. He hires the a summoning ritual taught to them by the
group to investigate the sudden emergence Fae Queen, adding a collection of demons to
of a rival moonshiner, Fergus Dugan, and the their forces, but one of the allies the group
strange goings-on at Dugan’s base on Old Rag has gained betrays them, and tips off the Big
Mountain. The heroes discover experimental Boys to the location of the mustering. The
“worker ghouls” tending his stills. Big Boys unleash a ravening of cryptids and
Act Six: Escape from Bondurant Asylum other laboratory creations onto the camp. The
(Cussfoot Fens): The troublemakers either heroes strive to mitigate losses and keep their
break into the Bondurant asylum to free the forces intact for the final battle.
anarchist demolition expert, Stormy Pickens, Act Ten: The Battle of Blasted Beauty (Stygian
or break out and meet Stormy along the Peaks): The Big Boys are set to start blasting
way. While they are there, they discover Dr. the tops off mountains in the Stygian Peaks,
Galton’s worker ghoul laboratory. Turns out, the highest, most desolate, and most haunted
the worker ghouls are former Holler folks reaches of the Holler. The freedom fighters and
who have been lobotomized and reanimated their allies attempt to strike at the heart of this
with mind control shims. The party also learns operation.
the location of a prototype mill run entirely A large-scale battle ensues, followed by
by worker ghouls and their overseers: The desperate last stand against a few of the Big
Recycling Factory. Boys themselves at the mountain’s peak.
Act Seven: Tent City Blues (Piney Dirge Plateau): If the revolutionaries win, the mountain
Miners at Bondurant No. 2 hear about the Big top removal operation is destroyed and
Boys experiments with worker ghouls and many towns and villages in the Holler openly
revolt, fearing the same fate as the miners in revolt against the Big Boys, driving them into
Galloway No. 4. They’ve formed a tent colony a temporary retreat. If the Big Boys win, they
on the edge of the Piney Dirge Plateau. institute violent, repressive measures around
Rivalry among the religious sects of the Piney the Holler.
Dirge, all trying to seek out new converts,
threatens to disrupt life at the camp. The party
must navigate these different viewpoints while
trying to fan the spark of rebellion at the tent
city into a larger flame. “You ’re no more of a
somebody than an ol
Lester Poulson seeks out the group, regaling
ya d
them with a vision and confirmation that hoo. then again, maybe
every demon maintains a piece of their former yahoo is more of a so a
humanity. He suggests the Queen of Faefall than you.” mebody
has the power to speak with demons and may
grant it to others. If the heroes can convince
her to help, the demons could be transformed —Folk Saying
into allies.

103
 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
Shift boss Tips
Hearts and Minds: The group attempts to
rouse folks who have been oppressed for as
long as they can remember—these people react
with fear, suspicion, aggression, and silence.
The heroes can persuade with both actions
and words, but to build trust, they must follow
through on their promises and work to respect
the concerns and come to the aid of everyday
citizens. A group motivated primarily by self-
interest or short-term goals has a difficult time
building a coalition.
Gearing Up: Most Holler folks are unarmed
and have only meager possessions. Closing
the gear gap between themselves and Kramer-
Holt agents and technomancers is a crucial
element in the troublemakers’ ability to
defend themselves and accomplish their goals.
The need for gear puts them in dangerous
situations—raiding requisition yards, dealing
with shady peddlers, and bargaining for
or stealing from the illegal stashes of other
residents.
Daring Travel: Holler folk have a great
reverence and love for vehicles, as evidenced by
the illegal dirt track races in Gulchside. Those
who live outside the law find this forbidden
fruit irresistible. Borrowing a dilapidated truck
from a moonshiner or stealing an armored
Kramer-Holt jalopy decreases travel times
significantly, but it brings challenges—heat
from local lawmen and Kramer-Holt agents,
the need for fuel, and the difficulty of keeping
the vehicle in good repair.
Gossip and Consequences: Folks love to talk
and word travels fast. The freedom fighters’
deeds follow them everywhere they go, heroic
or nefarious.
Their actions, large and small, have wide-
ranging social consequences. As the campaign
progresses, they evolve into folk heroes or anti-
heroes. This should make interactions easier
in some cases and more difficult in others,
depending on the political leanings of those
they engage.
104
Fatalism, Perseverance, Ingenuity,
Eccentricity: Famous for their fatalistic
attitude, Holler folks can press on through
staggering amounts of ill-fortune and outright
tragedy. They are adaptive and inventive. From
music to machines to medicine to mending,
their culture is vibrant and creative. Living
in such extreme conditions has given rise to
many strange notions and superstitions. The
Shift Boss should emphasize these qualities and
play them to the hilt. Despite the darkness of
the Blight, the Holler’s culture is colorful.
The Macabre, the Miraculous, and the
Madcap: The setting emphasizes many grim
and gritty aspects—exploitation, poverty,
industrial violence, addiction, and ecological
destruction.
It’s also home to areas of untouched natural
beauty, fairies, talking wolves, transformative
magic, and granny women full of wisdom and
hearts as bright as the sun. These extremes are
not mutually exclusive. Mixing elements of
ugliness, beauty, absurdism and humor makes
them stand in sharper relief, gives insight into
the character of the Holler and its people, and
adds depth to the player’s experiences.
The Blight: Except Faefall, most of the
Holler suffers from Blight. Blight should be a
common descriptive detail—Blight clouds blot
the sun, Blight soot covers windowsills, Blight
residue smudges faces and makes it hard to
get a breath of fresh air, thunder from a Blight
storm rumbles in the distance.
Folks is Demons. Demons is Folks: The Plot
Point Campaign contains hints that demons
arise from the Blighted corpses of Holler folks.
Players are famous for skipping past such clues
as they follow their own adventuring desires.
Random encounters that include demons,
randomly targeting a player for demon
possession, or running a demon-heavy Savage
Tale (like The Swallowing Ground on page
189) between chapters are handy ways to up
the demonic ante and emphasize the idea that
demons arise from folks (and may still retain
human sentience), not the mythical curse or
Big Boy laboratories.
 Blasted Beauty

Interlude: Grudges
Act One: The Cruelty of The adventure begins with the group sitting at
Finster Goad a table waiting for Ella at Stump Bumpers.
Stringbean Jenkins plays banjo in a corner of
Location: The Hogback Hills the tilting wooden shack and his wife, Maude,
flat-foots up a storm on a wooden board placed
Working for Ella on the dirt floor.
Ella May Hawkins lives in Ashdown in the Mill workers (use stats for Worker on page
Hogback Hills and works in the spinning room 212) are sitting at tables, engaged in various
at Ashdown No. 1 Textile Mill, on the night shift, pursuits—drinking, gambling, or shooting
so she can be with her children during the day. the breeze.
Her husband left her several years ago and Ella The bartender is Harley Rice, a shift boss
depends on the kindness of other community in Ashdown who turns an obedient face to
members to help her care for her kids. the Big Boys but believes it’s his right “to run
Ella is originally from the Great Craggies. Her a proprietorship.” He provides the workers
father worked as a logger until he was killed on with hard-earned entertainment and “the
the job (plucked from a tree by a forest demon medicinal and soul-enriching properties of
in “forbidden territory”) when she was only good whiskey,” which is supplied to him by a
eight. Ella blames the Big Boys for her father’s local moonshiner, Clarence Jones.
death and her grudge runs deep. While the group awaits Ella’s arrival, run an
She has been quietly reaching out to other Interlude. Instead of the normal Interlude
potential dissidents for some time, attempting rules, have each of the characters discuss the
to build a network of folks who might revolt reason they have a Grudge against the Big Boys.
against the Big Boys. The heroes are among Add details to the story based on the suit.
those contacts and, in Ella’s opinion, the Spades: How has the character resisted
most fervent in their beliefs and possessed of or struck back against the Big Boys, even in
invaluable talents (driving, shooting, fighting, subtle ways?
sneaking, lying). She has brought them
Hearts: How has the hero managed to elude
together as an ad hoc reconnaissance outfit
working for the Big Boys?
to identify pockets of resistance in the Holler
and build a coalition of exploited workers and Diamonds: What special skills has the
rebellious rural folk. troublemaker gained while living on the
margins of society?
The outlaws have already either left their jobs
or avoided working for the Big Boys altogether, Club: What misfortunes has the character
living deep in the forests or scavenging from encountered by being forced to live on the
the outskirts of the coal and mill towns for margins of society?
years. Ella knows she’ll be sending them toward
even greater dangers, but also realizes to have The Company Man
any chance to fight back against the Big Boys As the group members discusses their Grudges,
the insurrection must bring together a tapestry Mort Smyth, a company man tasked by the
of folks who might not always see eye to eye. Big Boys with keeping an ear to the ground
She needs a group that can persuade, cajole, for troublesome talk, overhears part of their
and negotiate as well as it can fight. conversation. He identifies them as outsiders,
approaches them, and starts asking questions
The group is called to meet Ella at Stump
about who they are and why they are there.
Bumpers, an illegal speakeasy outside of
Ashdown in the Hogback Hills. If he’s met with verbal or physical resistance,
Mort reacts badly and a barroom brawl breaks
h Ella May Hawkins: See page 204. out. Half of the mill workers in the bar join
Mort in this fight.
If the group tries to placate Mort with their
answers, he grudgingly lets them be, but with
a warning that he is keeping an eye on them.

105
 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
If there’s a fight, Harley Rice clears the
speakeasy immediately afterward, saying he
can’t draw the attention of the Big Boys. Ella
arrives as he’s clearing the bar and ushers
the group into the woods, chiding them for
drawing attention to themselves.
If there’s no fight, Ella joins the heroes at
their table.
• Mort Smyth: Use stats for Company Guard
on page 206.
• Mill Workers (2 per hero): Use stats for
Worker on page 212.
Meeting Ella May
After some brief pleasantries (or a brief
scolding), Ella explains the situation.
I appreciate y’all coming here an’ helping me. I
think y’all are made of the stuff we need. Rebellious.
Ornery. Brave. Kind-hearted. Generous. Maybe
even a stripe mean.
It takes different kinds. All I know is if we’re going
to fight back against the Big Boys, we must work
together. And we’ve got a bad problem right here
in Ashdown No. 1, making everybody’s life tougher
than it should be. The worst thing about it— he’s
one of us, not one of them blowhards from the City.
Finster Goad runs the first shift spinning room.
He used to be a pretty good old boy, an everyday
worker, trying to get by like the rest of us. But not
anymore. The Big Boys started doing him trifling
little favors and that was all it took to turn his head
around. If he keeps a-going like he is, he’ll be more
of a monster than a man before long.
Ella wants Finster removed from his position.
She does not advocate violence unless it’s
absolutely necessary.
Ella lists Finster’s many abuses—berating and
beating workers, setting machines to ultra-
high speeds, extending shifts, and disallowing
breaks. She is certain Finster’s abuses will lead
to a worker’s death if he’s allowed to continue
unchecked.
Two incidents stand out.
Lula James: A woman in her early sixties,
complained to Finster that she was feeling
dizzy and needed a break. Finster told her she
didn’t get to decide when she went on break.
Instead, he sent the woman at the spinning
machine beside her on break to spite Lula.
He made Lula responsible for the other
worker’s machine, too. While trying to
106
move between the spinning machines, Lula
tripped, got caught, and lost part of her right
arm to the exposed gearing. She was sent
straight away to a convalescence home in the
Cussfoot Fens.
Vernon Scuse: A young worker just north
of twenty, was caught sneaking into Finster’s
office to get a listen to a radio program from
the City. When Finster discovered him in his
office, he attacked Vernon with a rusty chain
he kept handy for such occasions.
After bloodying Vernon and beating him
unconscious, he called on two company guards
to take him outside, revive him, and rough him
up some more. The guards happily complied.
Vernon sustained permanent injuries to his
spine and now walks with a pronounced
limp. He still works under Finster in the
spinning room.
A Bit About Finster
Finster's discovered that the more brutal he is,
the more favors he receives from management.
He responds swiftly and sadistically to any sign
of insubordination and believes in the power
of hazing to make workers conform.
Background: He has led a difficult existence—
his father was a barroom bruiser who worked
in the mills and lorded over his family like a
tyrant. When Finster was a young man, he
married Isabelle Rice, but she passed onto glory
during the birth of their first child, a little girl.
His family refused to help him take care of
the child. Just a couple of weeks after his wife’s
death, he turned the baby over to the Alshire
Orphanage outside of Ashdown. That was
“some time ago” (about twenty years or however
one measures time in the Holler).
The guilt from abandoning his daughter has
been gnawing at him, but he’s never been able
to bring himself to look for her.
If the group asks around about Finster’s
reputation or personality, some of Finster’s
workers or other townsfolk have heard this
story. If he’s confronted with this abandonment,
a successful Persuasion roll exposes a bit of
emotional vulnerability, while a failure throws
him into a violent rage (see Finster’s Daughter
on page 110 for more details).
Fear of the Supernatural: Finster also has
a pronounced quirk—a deep fear of haints
and demons. He is highly superstitious and

has claimed to have experienced all kinds of
supernatural phenomena—a headless body
searching for its head in his well, a pack of devil
dogs that harasses his chickens and goats, and
a strange whistling in his chimney.
Talking about the supernatural is the only
non-work related subject that interests Finster.
Such talk might momentarily distract him
from his duties. The group learns this tidbit
about Finster by questioning Ella or other
townsfolk (with a successful Persuasion roll)
or from a successful Common Knowledge roll
regarding Finster’s background.
h Finster Goad
Finster is late middle-aged, sturdily built, hawk
faced. He’s been hardened and sharpened by
years of tough labor and ingratiating himself
to the Big Boys, no matter the cost.
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d8, Spirit d10,
Strength d8, Vigor d8
Skills: Athletics d6, Common Knowl-
edge d6, Fighting d8, Intimidation d10,
Notice d10, Persuasion d8, Shooting d6,
Stealth d6, Taunt d10, Thievery d6
Pace: 6; Parry: 6; Toughness: 6
Hindrances: Mean, Secret (Major), Shamed
(Major); Phobia (Major—Haints).
Edges: No Mercy
Gear: Whomping chain (Str+d6), Silent Sam
(Range 10/20/40, Damage 2d4).
Finster’s Spinning Room
The spinning room consists of long rows of
closely spaced, high-speed spinning machines.
The machines process cotton into workable
yarn and thread. They are arranged in six
rows that stretch the length of the room—each
row contains six machines. Each machine is
run by a “minder” and two assistants, called
“piecers,” who are usually younger trainees or
even children.
The roar of the machines is deafening,
making it difficult to communicate unless you
are standing directly next to another worker.
If the “minder” needs to make an adjustment
to the machine, she writes it on a slip of paper
and passes it to one of her “piecers.”
With over a hundred workers in a cramped
space and the whirring of machines, it’s hot,
humid, and cotton fibers fill the air. Finster
stalks the rows, barking orders into the ears
Blasted Beauty
BEING THE BIG BOYS
For the early and middle parts of a
campaign, the Big Boys should remain
mostly behind the scenes. The heroes see
the conditions in the Big Boys’ mines and
mills, confront the abuses of their company
guards and agents, and hear their names
cursed and revered by workers all over the
Holler. The Big Boys themselves remain
distant and aloof, almost mythical in their
supposed omnipotence. The one exception
to this is Royster Whitaker, who inhabits
the lowest rung on their hierarchy and is
most apt to turn against the others.
As the campaign progresses, maybe they
catch glimpses—Samuel Ashdown giving a
speech to unveil a new machine, Theron
Galloway presiding over the gallows at an
execution of dissidents.
Direct conflict with the Big Boys should
likely be saved for the end of the campaign
and framed as a climactic battle — their
legendary figures finally brought into full
view, and the idea of their absolute power
either confirmed or destroyed.
Another important thing to remember
about the Big Boys is they are not
monolithic. They have competing goals and
philosophies. Savvy heroes might be able to
use these fissures to create greater conflict
among them, boosting the coalition’s
chance of fighting back successfully.
of the minders, glowering at the piecers, and
slapping his trademark rusty “whomping”
chain against his open palm to let folks know
who’s boss.
The workforce is evenly divided between
men and women. Most of the workers are quiet,
submissive, and totally absorbed in their work.
About a quarter of them, groomed by Finster
as underlings, adopt a bullying attitude on his
behalf, surveilling and taunting other workers.
The Folks Generator (see page 94) can help
populate the spinning room (and other spots
in the PPC when you need folks in a pinch).
Generate a handful of random workers to
assume various roles—submissive underlings,
bullies, and maybe even a potential dissident.
107
 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
Getting Finster
The group has several options for dealing with
Finster. Here’s a few routes they might choose:
Working under Finster
Ella insists heavily on this option, suggesting
that it’s important for the group to see
first-hand what life is like inside the
mills, since they’ve been living outside the
system. Ashdown No. 1 is hiring a raft of new
spinners to deal with increased demand
for fancy garments in the City and getting a
SERIOUS ACCIDENTS
The Spinning Machine Accident Table
on the following page is no joke, and it's
there to make a point. The heroes must
understand that people are being asked to
do extremely dangerous work. Don't shy
away from the results, whatever they are.
Heroes can find ways to heal themselves,
but they need to develop at least a healthy
respect for what the average worker faces
every day.
108
job is as simple as walking into the mill and
asking for work.
If the group chooses this option, they receive
a healthy dose of insults from Finster as they
are shown the high-speed spinning machines.
The other workers are wary of the new hires.
Following Finster’s directive, most of them
engage in mercilessly goading and hazing them.
When the group starts work, a rough looking
but exuberant worker hops off his machine to
show them the ropes. Read or paraphrase the
following:
A rough looking worker named Rummy Jo looks
at you, and nods in your direction, motioning you
to follow him. He looks warily over his shoulder to
avoid Finster while leading you to your machines,
and yelling loudly over the din. “These here
spinning machines are an Ashdown original, okay.
State of the art. They get the thread wound real
tight, real fast.”
“You see the bobbins on the spinner? As soon as
you see them fill with thread, pull them off and
pop another bobbin up there quick. Real quick if
you don’t want Finster glaring at you! Move up
and down the rows snagging empties and fix any
snags you see!

Don’t let the thread break! Watch out for the
belts, they are a-going faster than you and’ll give
you a worse hurting than your Daddy ever did if
you get caught up in one! They got blades on them,
too. Ain’t figured out what for, but that’s our good
Papa Ashdown! Always innovatin’! Uh-oh. Boss is
comin’! Go now! Go!”
Rummy Jo leaves the greenhorns to figure
the rest out themselves as Finster glares at him
to get back to work. Very little training and a
high pressure environment means that any
new hire who first steps in front of a spinning
machine must roll Repair.
With success he barely keeps up without
getting hurt. Anyone who fails the Repair roll
causes an unfortunate miscue. Roll on the
Spinning Machine Accidents Table (twice with
a Critical Failure!).
It’s likely the heroes plan to wander away
from their work to get to know other factory
workers, find a way to undermine Finster, or
use their position in the factory to make him
look bad to his bosses. Supervisors are always
watching, and whenever someone is caught
“socializing” or “lollygagging”, they’re told to
“get back to work” in short order. Each time
this happens, and the operator returns to
the machine (even if they’re just pretending to
work so they’re not thrown out), have him roll
Repair again.
“You call us Big Boys. We want
you to think of us as Big
Buddies. Big Brothers. Big
Bumpkins, just bigger than
you.”
— From a Big Boy
Indoctrination Manual .
Blasted Beauty
SPINNING MACHINE
ACCIDENTS
D20 EFFECT
Increased Production: The machine
is running too fast, but you're keeping
1–2
up with it somehow. You impress your
supervisor!
Close Call: A spindle misfires, a
bobbin slips, and your hand
3–11 temporarily gets caught trying to
fix it. It hurts but you’re fine. Get
back to work!
Minor Injury: A slipped disc. Lungfuls
of lint. A brief chemical exposure. You
12–13
take a level of Fatigue, but it cannot
cause incapacitation.
Moderate Injury: You pull a muscle,
14–15 pinch a nerve, or are just plum worn
out. Take a level of Fatigue.
Chemical Exposure: The Big Boys use
some nasty agents to grease the old
gears and you wind up getting it on
you or inhaling it. Roll a d6:
16 1–2 Blind: You get the Blind
Hindrance for 24 hours.
3–4 Acid: 2d6 acid damage.
5–6 Confused: You can’t seem to focus
and get a level of Fatigue.
My Finger!: Those nasty gears get
'hold of a finger! You take a Wound,
and if it’s not Soaked, a finger on your
17 dominant hand is lost and becomes
a permanent Injury. Subtract –1 from
any Agility-based rolls that require
fine coordination of your digits.
Electrical Shock: Exposed wiring
sends a surge of electricity
18
through your body. Take 3d6
Electrical Damage.
My Arm!: Your arm is wound up in
a museum and crushed or mangled
19 for 1d4 Wounds. If all Wounds aren’t
Soaked, you have the One-Armed
Hindrance as a permanent Injury.
My Hair!: Your hair gets caught in
the gears. Take 1d4+1 Wounds. If
all Wounds aren’t Soaked, you’re
20
permanently disfigured and acquire
the Ugly (Major) Hindrance. This is
considered a permanent Injury.
109
 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
Undermining Finster
Amid this torrent of abuse and potential loss
of limbs, the troublemakers must find ways
to undermine Finster’s standing among his
workers and make him look bad to his direct
supervisor, Worth Ashdown, one of Samuel
Ashdown’s nephews.
The group can approach this task from
a variety of angles, including sabotaging
equipment, sowing dissent among fellow
workers, taking advantage of breaks by
introducing recreational activities like
Gambling, or even sowing propaganda with
Persuasion or Performance.
If this sabotaging of Finster’s performance or
reputation is severe, he is fired and replaced. In
this scenario, the group can exert considerable
control over which of the spinning room
workers might be best positioned to take
his place (perhaps even Rummy Jo), thus
instituting a kinder oversight regime.
Scaring Finster
The group might prey on Finster’s past
supernatural experiences and superstitious
nature by trying to scare him out of town. That
likely requires an elaborate scheme to produce
a first-rate haunting, but this option might
keep the group’s identities secret and avoid
a face-to-face conflict with Finster. If scaring
Finster out of town is successful, unless the
dissidents have a plan in place for influencing
who replaces him, there’s a 50% chance the
Ashdowns replace Finster with an even more
fearsome shift boss!
Killing Finster
This may seem tempting, but the consequences
are severe. If Finster is killed, the Big Boys
invest significant resources to solve the
murder, increasing the likelihood the group
is exposed and pursued by company guards
or Kramer-Holt agents in later episodes of the
campaign. Most importantly, folks don’t tend
to rally around a bunch of murderers, so going
this route likely doesn’t gain many allies for a
burgeoning coalition.
Finster's Daughter
If the group wants to reunite Finster with
his daughter, they must go to the Alshire
Orphanage, and by hook or crook (Thievery,
Research, Persuasion, Intimidation),
110
obtain records related to Finster giving up his
daughter. The heroes discover her name, Faith
Goad, and learn that she was sent to work at
Boscage seven years ago (at the age of thirteen).
She’s in the next town over!
A short trip to Boscage and some asking
around town reveals the mill house where
Faith lives with her husband Broadus Givens
(use Worker on page 212 for both of them)
They also have a brand-new baby boy, Forest.
Faith is reticent to hear anything about her
father or his true identity at first, but if the
group is persistent with Persuasion, she slowly
opens up to them. She says she’s heard rumors
that her real father is a bad man and in league
with the Big Boys, whom she despises.
If the group offers to reunite Faith with
Finster, she is willing to listen, but her husband
Broadus is vehemently opposed, worried about
the influence Finster might try to exert over
Faith and their son, Forest, if he becomes a part
of their lives. Broadus takes some convincing
to allow her to go. You might want to resolve
this delicate negotiation by using the Social
Conflict rules.
If Finster is reunited with Faith, he is
profoundly shaken and humbled. If he
also meets Forest or learns about him, he’s
completely transformed, discovering a kind of
love in his heart he didn’t think possible.
Faith and the group are now well-positioned
to convince him to radically alter his
management style.
With a successful Persuasion roll, Finster
promises to change his ways and declares
he owes the group a favor. On a raise, he
promises to provide intel or perform minor
acts of sabotage within Ashdown No. 1. If he’s
treated well, he becomes a trusted friend of
the burgeoning resistance for the duration of
the campaign.
Failure means Finster is too afraid of the
Big Boys to risk changing his public face and
attracting attention to himself.
h Finster Goad: See page 107.
• Faith and Broadus Givens: use stats for
Worker on page 212.
Possible Complications
Rats: If the group chooses to work in the
spinning room under Finster as a part of their

plan, consider an invasion of mill rats in a
storage basement if they seem to be getting
antsy for some action. As the newest employees,
they are dispatched by Finster to take care of
the problem, much to the delight and taunts
of the other workers. That way, the group can
get a proper start to their adventuring careers
by clearing out vermin.
This is harder than it sounds and can be run
as a simple dangerous Quick Encounter, but
once they’re done, it’s back to the spinning
machines they go for another Repair roll and
another potential run-in with the Spinning
Machine Accidents table.
Tommyknocker: Dispatched by the Fae
Queen to spy on the goings-on in Ashdown,
a rude Tommyknocker shows up in unlikely
places during the adventure—the basement,
Finster’s chimney (if the interlopers do
reconnaissance in his house), or the
break room.
He plays coy with the characters, mentioning
“the Queen” and making a general nuisance of
himself. He might be convinced to help give
Finster a fright if he’s properly compensated.
Fae compensation usually tends toward the
absurd—he begs the team for an impromptu
stomp party or to retrieve for him the shiniest
object in town—anything that creates a
nonsensical inconvenience.
An early experience with a Tommyknocker
clues the group into the Fae Queen’s interest in
the larger Holler and might plant the seed that
they should travel there one day.
Aftermath
There are a myriad of ways this could end,
but if the would-be-revolutionaries leave the
workers at the mill in a situation better than
they found them, Ella May exhibits some trust
and confidence in the group, and is willing to
give them more leeway in how they deal with
things moving forward.
If the situation ends up worse or more
complicated for the workers thanks to the
heroes’ involvement, Ella May still counts
on their help, but is more skeptical of their
abilities, worrying they might be more trouble
than they’re worth until they prove otherwise.
Blasted Beauty
Act Two: Weaver Falls
Fiddlers Convention
Location: Great Craggy Mountains
The annual fiddlers convention has become
a hotbed of rebellious spirit the last couple
of years. The date and location of the festival
changes every year to throw the Big Boys off.
After the group debriefs Ella about the fate
of Finster Goad, a saddled horse mills outside
the speakeasy. Its rider is missing. A knapsack
hangs from the saddle. Dried blood is spattered
across the saddle, knapsack, and the horse’s left
side. The horse appears slightly spooked, but
any concerted effort to calm it is successful.
Anyone inspecting the knapsack discover it’s
been sliced open. Several unusual copper coins
fall from it. On one side, they bear the image
of a stylized Boogeyman Tree (Boogeyman &
Witchwood Trees on page 121), its branches
unfurling with regenerative power. On the
other side, what appears to be a granny
woman’s hand holds a staff aloft in the air, in
defiance or triumph, a mountain ridge line in
the background.
A successful Common Knowledge roll
identifies the coins as bearing the mark of
Slidell Hicks, a renegade blacksmith/minter
who lives in a remote cave in the northern
Great Craggies, just a stone’s throw from the
Otherness.
Slidell used to work and live in Ashdown
but was imprisoned for insubordination in
Ashdown #1. He escaped to the hills. Blessed
with great mechanical ingenuity, Slidell built
his own forge and coin mint from spare
Ashdown junk, acquired on the black market
or from requisition yards.
ur bond.
“Y ou r pa in is yo
ur bond.
Your hope is yois your
Your survival Boys are
bond. The Big d and
bound by gree hich of
greed alone. W ill break? ”
thes e bonds w
kins,
—Ell a May Haw ker.
Textile Wor
111
 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
Slidell wanted to create a currency outside
the company scrip system—a form of barter
the folks of the Holler could imbue with worth,
something that would give them dignity. Folks
didn’t care for the funny coins for trading—saw
no point in them at all.
However, Verna Lynn Cash (see page 203)
commissioned a special set to advertise the
Fiddler’s Convention and call dissidents’
together—the Boogeyman Tree shows the
power of the land, the granny woman’s staff
the power of the people. Additional scratch
symbols (see Readin’ & Writin’ on page 30)
have been hand-etched into these coins to
call folks to the Fiddlers’ convention and a few
even bear personalized invitations. A member
of the group has received such an invite (this
should be a character whose backstory or
archetype is most rife with musicianship,
criminality, or both).
Unbeknownst to the group, the rider,
Hamrick Cash, a messenger from Weaver
Falls and a cousin to Verna Cash, was killed by
Kramer-Holt agents on his way to Ashdown,
and they left his horse to fend for itself.
The group is familiar with stories about the
Fiddlers Convention— the quality of the music,
the legendary stomp parties, the abundance
of moonshine.
Rumors abound that such revelry draws
demons, who often get involved in the
proceedings and push the event toward chaos
and outbursts of violence. Assuming the
invitees show Ella May the coins, she sees an
invitation for herself, but can’t afford to be
away from the mill or her children. Ella points
out there’s great potential for building their
coalition there, and she insists the group go to
Weaver Falls.
Travel Plans
Weaver Falls is a roughly five-day trek on foot,
a four-day sojourn with horses, and a four-
hour trip by car if the group follows the rutted,
packed dirt of Sidewinder Road. If they attempt
to find their way through the wilderness on
foot or horse, the time doubles.
Ella describes the route.
The loping curves of the Hogback Hills turn into
narrow curves on the Ghost Ridge. You’re gonna
hit some dense fog and it might be Blighted. The
112
shoulders of the road are sometimes washed clear
away. Easy to go tumblin’ off the mountain.
After you reach the top of the Ghost Ridge,
Sidewinder shoots down fast into the Corn Cob
Gap where thieves and Kramer-Holt Agents
sometimes spy on the road from nearby slopes.
Then you rise into the Great Craggies and wrestle
with even sharper, crooked-letter turns, and
there’s liable to be rock slides up thataway. Not
too bad a trip.
If the group expresses interest in procuring
a vehicle, some Networking reveals a couple
leads, or Ella herself volunteers some if asked.
Riding in Style
Clarence Jones, a moonshiner who lives
outside of Ashdown, always has some vehicles
stowed away for transporting his product. Ella
is on good terms with him but cautions that he
might drive a tough bargain to part with one of
the vehicles, as he puts himself at great risk to
procure them and they are integral to his trade.
Clarence demands a weapon of relatively
good quality or some other Rare item to loan
out one of his cars (Juiced Up Jalopy) and he
expects it to be returned in prime condition.
The other option is far more dangerous—the
well-guarded Umberkirk Requisition Yard No.
6 lies just to the west of Ashdown. Company
vehicles in need of maintenance and repair
are stored here, as well as vehicles recently
recovered from the car thieves in Gulchside.
Busting a car (use Fairly Middling Jalopy
from Ground Vehicles on page 22) out of a
Requisition Yard is a dangerous task (guarded
by one company guard per hero, page 206),
but at least it’s free.
Day One of Festival
The village of Weaver Falls lies in a valley beside
the Little Thicket River. Near the foot of Weaver
Mountain, a short walk to the north, the Little
Thicket River falls precipitously from the
mountain into the valley, creating an 800-foot
waterfall, one of the most amazing natural
wonders in the Holler.
Arriving in Weaver Falls
As the group arrives in Weaver Falls, the
first day of the convention is well underway.
Amusements abound in a meadow ringed by
mountains.

Three-legged races, greased pig and chicken
chases, apple bobbing, games of scrip-in-
the-haystack, axe throwing, log tossing, and
all manner of frivolity take place on the
convention grounds proper.
Just off a piece in the woods, gouging fights
are organized (but no eye gouging is allowed on
such a festive occasion), along with mumblety-
peg and dubious games of chance.
The main attraction, of course, is the music,
housed on a raised stage in the middle of the
field surrounded by folks stomping out the
devil and whatever else ails them on flat-
footing boards.
Hermie Anvil and the Backwater Boys are on
stage playing, “A Cottonmouth Don’t Bite Soft,”
and other fast-paced jigs and funny tunes.
Encourage the group to partake in some of
the festivities or invent some games/attractions
of their own.
If they start to canvass the area to question
locals and seek out like-minded folk, here’s a
batch to choose from. The Folks Generator
(see page 94) can help flesh them out, but
they are all enemies of the Big Boys and all
looking to have a good time.
Social interactions with Arville Smote (see
page 205) and The Boys from County Hell
(see page 52) are always at −2, as they don’t
make friends easily:
• John Hively: One of Royster Whitaker’s
former workers (use Worker on page 212).
• Treenie Hicks: A seamstress and healer. Poet
(use Conjure Folk on page 207)
• Towie Burns: An old mountain man (use the
Stalker on page 211).
• Two Midsummer Children: A man and
woman (Use Cultists on page 207). They
don’t have names. They refer to themselves
and everyone else as “friend(s)”.
Trouble with Demons
After the group spends time gambling or
making contacts, they hear a ruckus in the
woods nearby, near the gouging circle.
A group of six crick demons (see page 234)
descends on the circle, drawn from the falls
by all the noise. The fighters and the crowd
attempt to disperse rapidly, though several are
slammed to the ground, wounded, or killed by
the demons’ attacks before the group arrive.
Blasted Beauty
These demons first appear as a shapeshifting,
vapory mist, but take on their corporeal, bestial
shapes at will.
If the group has trouble dispatching the crick
demons some gougers from the fighting circle
show up to help them.
The first night of the festival concludes with
a time-honored Holler ritual, either a Heavin’
(see page 32) or a Stomp Party (page 36),
which grants the chance for more social
interaction.
Day Two
During the day, more fun and games take place,
with various pickers and singers performing
impromptu sets all around the festival.
Congregants of the Church of
the Anointed
At some point during the day when the revelers
are in the village, a group of eight congregants
from Lester Poulson’s the Church of the
Anointed (see Piney Dirge Plateau on page
29), led by Renny Harp arrives (use stats for
Cultist, page 207).
The Anointed spend their time milling about
the crowd, engaging folks in conversations
about the utopia they have constructed on the
Piney Dirge Plateau, beyond the Big Boys’ reach
and influence.
Verna Lynn and a good number of folks in the
crowd take umbrage at the Anointed’s presence.
She criticizes their gloomy appearance,
doomsday rhetoric, and judgmental nature.
Renny espouses the Anointed’s right to freely
assemble and speak and insists if Verna
removes them, she’s no better than one of
the Big Boys.
The Anointed’s presence is tolerated, but the
tension level at the festival rises, and there’s
the potential for escalating physical conflict,
particularly if the The Boys from County Hell
get involved.
If the group interacts with members of
the Anointed other than Renny, they hear a
standard proselytizing spiel, which consists of
any combination of the following ideas:
113
 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
• Lester Poulson is the chosen mouthpiece of
the Lord
• He is the only man in the Holler powerful
enough to resist the Big Boys.
• Hemlock is a temporary Heaven on earth.
• He has found a way to “transport” believers
from the Holler to another world.
• He can rid any man or woman of her
demons.
Renny, on the other hand, actively seeks out
the heroes. She informs them the Big Boys have
been sending surveying teams onto the Piney
Dirge Plateau. They had long stayed away from
the area due to its inhospitable environment
and strange pockets of altered time and space.
Lester saw Hemlock as a place apart, the last
true refuge of freedom in the Holler. Now he’s
concerned Hemlock could be taken over by
the Big Boys.
Renny confides that Lester has been both
troubled and buoyed by his dreams and
visions of late— on one hand, he’s augured an
apocalyptic clash against the Big Boys that ends
in the annihilation of the Plateau; on the other,
he has foreseen that a number of “disciples,”
adversaries of the Riders of Industry who
visited the Holler long ago (see The Rider’s
Curse on page 4), will arrive to defend
Hemlock and repulse the Big Boys. He calls
these chosen ones the Riders of the Revival.
Renny says she’s heard rumors about the
revolutionaries and their association with
Ella May Hawkins and thinks they may be
the “disciples” Lester is envisioning. She tells
the group if Lester’s future visions confirm
this, he will send for them, how and when
the Lord dictates and share “powerful secrets”
with them.
Renny does not entertain much questioning
and slips away into the crowd.
“A spirited yodel stirs
the heart. A lonesome
fiddl e pierces the soul .
A banjo roll moves the
feet. All that’s real nice.
What I want is a voice lik
a bulldozer to tear that e
factory down.”
—Verna Lynn Cash
114
The Free Jamboree
Sometime during the later afternoon, Verna
Lynn Cash takes to the festival’s main stage
and calls the crowd together. It’s time for the
highlight of Weaver Falls Fiddlers Convention—
the Free Jamboree, a contest open to any kind
of musician.
If one of the attendees is adept at playing an
instrument or singing (or even if he is unskilled
and aspires in that direction), he can enter the
competition for a chance to win the grand
prize— a fiddle that belonged to the legendary
Jimmy Silver, who loved to wander the woods
around Weaver Falls, crooning and playing.
Some folks say Jimmy could charm animals and
folks alike with his music, putting anyone who
listened in a calm, friendly state. The fiddle
itself has magical properties.
A procession of musicians takes the stage,
some supremely talented, some fair-to-
middling, but all the important instruments of
the Holler’s musical heritage are represented—
banjos, dulcimers, fiddles, mouth harps,
guitars, and dobros, alongside a wide range of
singing styles, from growling blues to gospel-
tinged harmonies to melancholy crooning and
spirited yodeling.
h Verna Lynn Cash: See page 203
The most skilled contestants
Stat the following as Workers (see page 212),
except for Performance skill, and give each of
them the Pickin’ and Grinnin’ Edge.
• Becka Wailey: Performance d10, crooner of
murder ballads and folk songs of lost love
• Parson Gab: Performance d8, singer of old
time spirituals
• Webb Porter: Performance d8, a fine banjo
player
• Bastion “The Bullfrog” Bock: Performance
d10, blues guitarist/singer with a deep bass
voice
If anyone participates, have each contestant
roll Performance. Whoever has the highest
Performance roll seems like they’re poised to
win, but just as the contest is about to wrap up,
an unassuming 10-year old boy with a fiddle
takes the stage.
Cecil Wilson
Cecil is a child prodigy, giving a remarkable
performance that easily stands head and

shoulders above even the best musician in the
contest, but his demeanor is unsettling.
His piercing blue eyes seem fixed on a distant
place in the woods or sky. When performing,
he seems at one with his instrument and plays
with almost preternatural speed.
When he finishes playing, he doesn’t bow
or acknowledge the applause. No matter how
well anyone else performed, it’s clear that Cecil
wins the contest.
He takes the grand prize, awarded by Verna
Lynn, Jimmy Silver’s legendary fiddle. He bows
stiffly, and then slips off toward the woods with
his own fiddle also in tow.
A successful Occult roll reveals that Cecil has
been affected by some kind of magical power. A
raise confirms the power is of demonic origin.
If the group question Cecil about his playing
or how he’s feeling, he says, “I need to take
Jimmy’s fiddle back to him.” Cecil informs
the group he must wait until dusk or Jimmy
won’t be there.
If the team accompanies or follows Cecil, he
leads them several miles through the woods to
one of the many cave entrances that pock the
hillsides of Weaver Mountain.
He tells the group to hide in the bushes
while he calls Jimmy. Read or paraphrase the
following:
Cecil unleashes a strange, unholy yodel that he
repeats several times.
A few moments pass as he remains transfixed,
staring in the mouth of the dark cave, swaying
slightly. A raven flies from the cave’s mouth,
flapping just past the boy's head. Cecil doesn’t
flinch and stares straight head. The raven flits to a
nearby limb, lets out a call that strangely matches
Cecil’s yodel, then lands on the ground behind him.
Cecil turns to face the raven. As he does, dark,
Blight-like shadows rise from the raven, obscuring
him. When the shadows break, a tall man with
fair features and a friendly face stands in the
raven’s place.
This is a dusk demon (see page 240). Cecil
addresses the demon as “Jimmy” (he hands
over the prize fiddle). The demon takes it and
starts playing a ribald tune. Cecil starts dancing,
quite happily.
If any of the sneaks emerge, the dusk demon/
Jimmy turns on them and fights to the death,
Blasted Beauty
much to Cecil’s horror. Cecil pleads with the
heroes not to kill the demon and to let him go.
If they allow the demon to escape, Cecil
shares a story about how he met Jimmy (the
only way he refers to him—he refuses to call
him a demon) while sneaking off and playing
in the caves. Cecil swears he can understand
what Jimmy says and that Jimmy taught him
to play the fiddle.
He says, “Most demons ain’t as nice as Jimmy,
but others ain’t as mean as people think.”
If they kill the demon, Cecil screams, “That
was my friend,” and ineffectually tries to attack
the heroes, screaming about his friendship
with the demon and swearing it was actually
the Jimmy Silver of old.
Regardless of the outcome, make sure the
heroes confront the possibility that demons
in the Holler are actually deceased Holler
residents and may possess traces of human
sentience.
Night falls fast and hard in these woods. If the
party remains in the forest, dusk, crick, cave,
or forest demons stalk and attack unless they
beat a hasty retreat to the village.
Day Three
The next morning, the group is rudely
awakened by the sounds of gunshots
and screams.
Royster Whitaker’s Men
A dozen of Royster Whitaker’s company guards
descend on Weaver Falls to bust up the festival
and spread fear. Most of the festival goers run
for their lives.
If the heroes stay and fight, they are joined
by a few Boys from County Hell and a couple
other ornery, armed attendees, including
Verna Lynn, John Hively, and Bastion Bock.
If they established good relations with him,
Towie Burns also joins the battle (see Stalker,
page 211). The Midsummer Children won’t
fight but help heal any wounded.
h Verna Lynn Cash: See page 203.
h Arville Smote: See page 206.
• Company Guards (12): See page 206
• Bastion Bock: Use Worker on page 212.
• Boys From County Hell (2): Use
Highwayman on page 207.
• John Hively: Use Worker on page 212.
• Towie Burns: Use Stalker on page 211.
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 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
Aftermath
If Whitaker’s men are repelled, Verna Lynn
survives and the rebels can count her as a new
ally. The same goes for Arville Smote and the
Boys from County Hell.
Act Three: Legend of
the Boogeyman Tree
Location: Great Craggy Mountains
Since this act begins roughly the same area
as Weaver Falls, the party could run into
someone from Gilmer at the festival and begin
this act by discovering the trouble happening
there organically, or they could learn of it via
the Cole brothers in the Rubbing is Racing
encounter below.
If instead, the Shift Boss wishes to engage the
group in Savage Tales or other adventures first,
Ella May eventually sends a message asking
the wayfarers to come back to Ashdown if they
don’t make their own way there.
Debriefing Ella May
When they do eventually talk to her, old Mort
Smythe (from Act One) lingers around the
table and listens.
If the group passes on Cecil’s revelation about
demons, Ella is shocked and incredulous at
this news and has never known demons to be
anything other than demons, but she admits,
“Every man has a little demon in him, so I don’t
see why it wouldn’t be the other way around.”
If the group mentions Renny Harp’s overture,
Ella May is leery of cooperating with nefarious
figures like Lester Poulson. Still, she admits
if anyone knows anything about demons, it’s
likely him and his people.
Trouble in Gilmer
Whether the crew learns of this from Ella May,
from the Cole twins, or from a resident who
attended the fiddler’s convention, Gilmer, a
small town near the southern edge of the
Great Craggies, is in a bit of a stand-off with a
local Big Boy.
Royster Whitaker, a logging operator there
(see page 202),has been sending his men into
demon-infested parts of the Craggies with little
regard for their safety. Several men have
116
been abducted or killed by demons and a few
others have lost their lives in logging accidents,
possibly distracted by the inhospitable nature
of their surroundings.
The good people of Gilmer are getting fed up
with Royster’s recklessness and may be primed
to turn their grief toward vengeance, perhaps a
good chance to stoke that ember into a growing
flame of rebellion.
Rubbing is Racing
Just before the freedom fighters arrive in
Gilmer, they happen upon an impromptu
drag race (and its aftermath) between two of
the towns well-known residents.
Vernon and Fernon are muscle-bound
specimens with a talent for casual cruelty. They
frequently participate in gouging matches and
usually win.
On this night, they are racing against each
other in stolen, Juiced-Up Jalopies. The
party hears a roar in the distance that grows
increasingly loud, and then sees two pairs of
headlights crest a hill, side-by-side. As the
two jalopies top the hill, Vernon slams against
Fernon, causing them both to lose control.
Vernon skids off the left side of the road
and crashes into a ditch, while Fernon goes
airborne, flips twice, and lands at the base of
an enormous oak tree.
If the group is in their own car, the driver can
make a Driving roll at −2 to avoid the crash. If
he doesn’t, each person in the vehicle takes 2d6
damage and is thrown from the vehicle.
On foot or horseback, each bystander
makes an Athletics (or Riding) roll to avoid
the careening cars. A failure results in being
sideswiped by one and 2d6 damage.
After the crash, it doesn’t take Vernon and
Fernon long to emerge from their wrecked
vehicles. They blame each other for the
crash and are getting ready to fight. Vernon
has only minor cuts and bruises, while
Fernon is bleeding badly from a gash on his
forehead, though he scarcely seems aware that
he’s injured.
Reasoning or entreating with the brothers
prompts a Persuasion roll at −2. Success
convinces them not to fight, and engenders
some goodwill from the brothers, allowing the
group to call in a future favor. With a failure,
the twins turn their ire on the group.
 Blasted Beauty

Treating Fernon’s injuries gains some future Sammy Sykes: A middle-aged logger. He
goodwill from both the brothers and the larger complains of feeling “tired,” like there’s a
Cole clan, as the twins relate the tale of their “thickness” inside him. Everyone in the village,
crash and the helpful strangers to their kin. If it seems, has been afflicted with this strange
all is resolved amicably, the Coles either tell sensation for the past week. After a couple of
the group about the trouble in Gilmer, or if days of trying to force them to work through
the heroes already know, offer to accompany their lethargy with little success, Whitaker
them there. shut down his logging operations temporarily,
Absent interference in their racing dispute, fearing whatever afflicted the villagers might
the twins engage in a nasty brawl to settle it and spread to him or his men.
are still fighting as the group leaves. Sykes is thankful for the reprieve, as Whitaker
is a notorious task master. If asked if anything
• Vernon and Fernon: Use stats for Rough
unusual happened in the woods before the
and Toughs, Vernon also has the Gouger
lethargy befell the village, he mentions they
Edge (see page 210).
lost a man or two to “forest demons.” And that
jabber mouth Percy Ray Bunch, a greenhorn,
Arriving in Gilmer cut down one of the tallest witchwood trees
On arrival, read or paraphrase the following: he’s ever seen.
The sad sack logging village of Gilmer lies Nils Trask: Nils is upset at the spread of the
slumped before you, two semi-circles of roughly lethargy, primarily because he thinks Whitaker
forty wooden shacks in various stages of disrepair. intends to abandon the village and seek
A few have tin roofs, others thatched straw. A small workers elsewhere. Nils is a died-in-the-wool
platform in the center sports a rickety pulpit and a company man.
gallows, reserved for Sunday morning preaching or He calls the other men in the village, ‘no
Whitaker’s punishments. A well stands at the edge accounts,’ and thinks they’re faking the
of the village, near some stables with a few broken illness, even as he’s suffering from it himself.
down horses. A few slope-backed men mill around In fact, Nils’ lethargy seems to be progressing
the entrances to their hovels. An adolescent boy is more rapidly, and he’s exhibiting additional
skipping back and forth between them, talking a disturbing symptoms—a visible thickening of
mile a minute. They don’t seem to listen. A mother his ankles and wrists.
and child shuffle their way toward the well, the
It doesn’t look like conventional swelling and
bucket swinging listlessly by the child’s side.
a successful Occult or Folklore roll indicates a
supernatural cause. Nils also complains about
Local Residents the witcher-women to the north and shares
Those who speak to the villagers encounter one that Whitaker is planning to take them out
or more of the following people, but regardless eventually and has taken the first step in that
of who they talk to, make sure they find their direction.
way to Percy Ray Bunch. Use stats for Workers Toliver Wall: Toliver blames Whitaker for the
for the villagers (page 212), except Percy Ray lethargy. He says Whitaker has taken up with
Bunch, the mouthy adolescent (see below). an odd woman and she’s filling his head with
Mildred Robb: The wife of Thomas Robb, nonsense. He says she must be a gold-digger.
a logger who was recently killed by a demon. Toliver thinks Whitaker is a hard boss, but
She’s headed toward the well with her daughter, he’s never been a crazy boss, so she’s the only
Purdy. Whitaker is forcing Mildred and her reason he can think of for the change.
daughter to vacate their home. He wants them Selma Potts: Selma is Gilmer’s resident
out by the end of the week. granny woman. She can be found inside her
Mildred is angry at Whitaker for subjecting hovel, working on herbal tinctures, trying
the men to such risks. She has no idea where to find a remedy for the lethargy. She’s in a
to go next. She thinks the lethargy is a result of grumpy mood (and feeling lethargic herself)
the men’s contact with the forest demons and and asserts she’s too busy to be bothered, but
believes Whitaker’s disregard for supernatural if the group is both firm and respectful, she
forces endangers Gilmer. starts talking.

117
 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
Selma says she’s considered several possible
causes for the lethargy—a rat in the well, Blight,
demonic corruption— but has decided that it’s
likely the result of a hex originating from the
village of Wyrd, which lies a few miles to the
northeast, beyond a nasty thicket.
Those who examine residents and are
successful with an Occult or Folklore roll come
to similar conclusions. Success also brings to
mind the wild stories they’ve heard about
Wyrd. Provide details as shown below.
Absent a successful Occult or Folklore roll,
Selma can be Persuaded to share more.
A success reveals that Wyrd is a matriarchal
village, populated solely by older women, who
have gathered to pool their knowledge in
herbalism and medicine. They see themselves
as stewards of nature.
A raise uncovers the tale that Wyrd is a
purported destination for Granny Women who
have taken The Walk (see page 43). Most
consider The Walk a foolish old wives’ tale, but
a few regard it with reverence and belief. Some
also say Wyrd can magically transport itself
across the landscape.
Percy Ray Bunch
Percy Ray is slight of build and profligate of
mouth, bragging at a million miles an hour
about his exploits in the woods. Percy exclaims
despite being brand new to lumberjacking, he
took down the biggest tree in the woods, all by
himself, “climbed up it and chopped it down in
pieces, from the top to the bottom.”
He says he doesn’t know why everyone else
is moping around, as he feels just fine, better
than ever. The tree Percy chopped down is a
magical Boogeyman Tree, unbeknownst to
him. His nighttime visits to touch it, because it
gives him a little “charge,” are so far protecting
him from the lethargy the other villagers
experience.
Percy Ray leads the group to the site where
he cut the tree down after some disputatious
negotiation, in which he asks the group all
kinds of questions about where they are from
and solicits favors. He requests a ride down to
Ashdown so he can “get wild” in the city, any
spare corn likker, or small melee weapons like
brass knuckles or a knife.
He says he needs to protect himself from
all these old fellas, “cause every one of
118
them is jealous of me now.” If the group tries
to appeal to Percy’s hubris, saying they’ve
come to the village because they heard of his
logging exploits, he becomes incredibly happy
and open to suggestion (+2 to all Persuasion
rolls)— “You heard of me, huh, I’m Percy Ray
Bunch, the near youngin who chopped down
a big ol’ tree.”
Percy’s enthusiastic hubris leads him to make
this assumption on his own if the group is
reticent about disclosing why they are there.
Percy Ray Bunch
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit d6,
Strength d6, Vigor d6
Skills: Athletics d6, Common Knowledge d4,
Fighting d4, Folklore d4, Notice d4, Persua-
sion d8, Repair d8, Shooting d4, Stealth d6,
Thievery d6, Taunt d8
Pace: 6; Parry: 4; Toughness: 5
Hindrances: Illiterate
Edges: —
Gear: Lucky horseshoe (Str+d4), cap gun,
coveralls.
The Boogeyman Tree
The Boogeyman Tree that Percy Ray chopped
down is at a logging site a few miles north of
Gilmer. Whether Percy Ray leads the group to
the site of the tree he cut down or they search
it out on their own, they experience strange
effects as they examine it.
Read or paraphrase the following:
The Boogeyman Tree has been chopped and
stacked. Only a huge stump remains. Its bark,
almost black but tinged with a peculiar blood
red-hue, appears strikingly different from the
surrounding pines, chestnuts, maples, and elms.
Marked as it is by protuberances of gnarly burl
and strange sigils, staring at the stump or stacked
timber is an almost hypnotic experience. The sigils
seem to alter slightly, almost imperceptibly. They
are not regular old scratch or any kind of writing
you’ve ever seen. The red hues of the bark pulse like
embers of a fire.
Those with an Arcane Background or the
Occult skill are particularly sensitive to it. If
Percy is with the group, he says, “It felt like
little shocks of lightning running through me
every time I chopped at it.” If a hero attempts
to “commune” with the remains of the tree

or stays in contact with it for more than a few
moments, roll Occult or Spirit.
A successful roll results in the following vision:
A group of twelve ancient crones dance
naked around a bonfire, roaring with green
flame. Their skin is white and papery, blue
veins writhing and illumined beneath their
skin. With a raise, the vision reveals the exact
location in Wyrd where this ritual is taking
place (see below).
Based on their conversations with Gilmerites,
the heroes have a couple options available to
them: going to Wyrd to investigate the possible
hexing, or paying a visit to Big Boy Royster
Whitaker himself.
“My mama told me em
vess els make the mospty
don ’t know what thatt noise. I
but if it’s good I’m th means,
at.”
— Percy Ray Bunch,
Incorrigible Youth
Blasted Beauty
Wyrd
The village of Wyrd lies six miles to the
northeast of the chopped down Boogeyman
Tree, which also places it about four miles
north of Gilmer itself.
Whitaker's Guards
When the group approaches Wyrd, they find
three of Whitaker’s guards hiding in the bushes,
gawking at the strange ritual occurring in the
village. They argue in angry whispers with
each other—one of them says they must carry
out Whitaker’s order, one of them says that
Whitaker has lost his mind from consorting
with a witch, and another says, now that he’s
seen them up close, he has “no interest in
shooting up folks’ spooky grandmas.”
Whitaker sent these three men to shoot the
witches in the village. They are rapidly losing
their nerve but are also afraid of disobeying
Whitaker. If the group engages them, some
clever or convincing talk along with a success
at whatever skill seems appropriate convinces
the men to leave their post or express their
concerns more openly.
If the group doesn’t engage them, they soon
decide to leave the scene and risk Whitaker’s
wrath. The team hears them discussing the
need for reinforcements.
• Whitakers’ Guards (3): Use stats for
Company Guard, page 206.
The Village
If the investigators approach the village
stealthily, they witness an intense ritual
in progress.
Twelve ancient crones dance around a green
flame, chanting, occasionally dropping on all
fours and assuming a bestial posture, pawing
and rooting at the ground with their noses.
They then rise and continue circling and
chanting around the flame. Though they are
old, they do this tirelessly.
If Percy Ray or any other residents of Gilmer
accompanies the group, they undergo a rapid,
excruciatingly painful transformation into a
black bear (page 213).
If any man enters the perimeter of the
village, the witches immediately turn and hiss,
commanding him to retreat into the forest. If
a woman enters, particularly a woman with
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 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
an Arcane Background, Occult skill, or a Spirit
of d8 or more, one of the witches breaks away
from the dancing approaches.
This is Maeve, the current head witch of this
coven. If any female party member with the
above attributes makes a successful Persuasion
roll, Maeve shares the following details about
the ritual and the witch’s plight:
The Beacon: They are working to raise a
“Beacon,” a large, bear-like monster called an
Ursine Horror. See page 213.
The Bears: They are transforming the citizens
of Gilmer into bears. This is the cause of the
lethargy affecting its citizens.
The Otherness: Villagers have caused great
harm to the forests surrounding Wyrd. The
witches are using the “beacon” to lead them
into the Otherness to save the forest and
release the villagers from their grief-stricken
lives and days of back-breaking labor. She
advocates an act of ecological preservation and
mass euthanization with a single ritual.
Royster Whitaker: The witches hate the Big
Boy as much as the residents of Gilmer do,
especially because their head witch, Imogene,
has recently been “turned,” and is now
Whitaker’s constant companion. Maeve has
no idea how he’s done this, but the witches are
struggling without Imogene and want her back.
The Boogeyman Tree: The witches' power
has also been compromised by the chopping
down of their Boogeyman Tree. It’s a talisman
with which they have a special arcane bond. It
helps fuel their powers.
The Pineys: Another Boogeyman Tree lies in
forbidden woods several miles to the north of
Wyrd. If they can lay claim to it (and no one
chops it down), some of their power will be
restored. The witches are magically
warded from entering the
forest by the Piney King, a
powerful, ancient being
who currently has claim
to the Boogeyman tree,
with hordes of piney
minions. The ward can
be broken by destroying
the Piney King, or with a
special ritual.
120
Treating with Witches
If the group expresses dissatisfaction with
the witch’s plans for Gilmer, or moves to
attack them, they offer a deal instead: Rescue
Imogene from Royster Whitaker and help
them claim a new Boogeyman tree, and they
will abandon their plans to turn the people
of Gilmer into bears and lead them through
the Otherness. If the crew makes a condition
of gaining them as allies in the eventual fight
against the Big Boys, the witches are open to
the idea, but only if they accomplish both goals.
If a deal is struck, the Witches teach a hero
with Occult a special ritual (see The Ritual
on page 123) that needs to be performed
around the tree after sundown. It breaks the
ward and summons the witches directly to the
tree so they can claim it. Of course, the pineys
are active at night as well. The only other
way to break the ward is by killing the Piney
King himself.
If the heroes refuse, the witches simply
resume their “beacon” ritual, and absent
intervention from the group, an Ursine Horror
emerges from the woods within the next
several hours and begins lumbering toward
Gilmer. Any nearby Gilmer residents are now
bears and follow the Ursine Horror in a trance.
The Ursine Horror leads them and the rest of
the town’s residents into the Otherness north
of the Craggies.
• The Witches (12): Use Witch on page 212.
Royster and Imogene
If the group decides to investigate the Big
Boy directly first, they chance upon a strange
alliance. Most Big Boys don’t spend much
time in the Holler, but Royster, in many ways,
has more in common with Holler residents
in terms of lifestyle than he does with
the Big Boys.
The witches of Wyrd have caused
problems for Whitaker since his
logging operation arrived in this part
of the Great Craggies. He sent a few
groups of armed guards to the village,
but they were killed by Imogene and
her “weird sisters.”
Whitaker contacted the Umberkirk
family for help with removing the
witches. Umberkirk technomancers laid
an ambush for Imogene, shooting her with

darts laced with a powerful narcotic. They
whisked her away to an Umberkirk lab and
implanted an experimental “mind control
shim” into the base of her brain.
They provided Whitaker with the control
box, a tiny transistor with switches for crudely
regulating her behavior—increasing/decreasing
her activity levels and flight/fight responses,
while ensuring fierce loyalty to the controller
of the box.
Royster is utterly infatuated with Imogene
and spends all day gazing at her in awe or
having rambling, one-sided conversations
with her, as they are holed up together at one
of Royster’s “vacation” log cabins near the site
where the Boogeyman Tree was felled.
While he has some control over Imogene,
her powers are strong and unpredictable.
Deep down he fears she could break from
him and overpower him at any moment. His
attraction to her is powerful, even though
she is at least two centuries old and bears
a hag-like appearance, similar to the other
women of Wyrd.
Royster Whitaker’s Cabin
Royster usually keeps many guards posted
around his cabin, but his recent obsession
with Imogene has led him to grow slack in this
regard. He doesn’t believe he has anything
to worry about from the cowed residents of
Gilmer or the witches, now that he has Imogene
and their Boogeyman Tree has been felled.
If the group approaches the cabin, they find
two bored guards milling around a campfire
in the front yard. If the guards are dispatched
or otherwise circumvented, the party finds
the front door unlocked. Peering into the
room through the door or a window, they
see Imogene floating, like a specter above
Royster. He sits on the bed, looking up at her
and smiling broadly, almost in a trance-like
state himself.
The group gets The Drop on them if they
make successful Stealth or Thievery rolls and
no one else has otherwise alerted Royster to
their presence.
If the troublemakers kill Imogene rather than
rescue her, the witches of Wyrd are now free to
summon a new member, and they immediately
do so. A granny woman from a nearby village
Blasted Beauty
BOOGEYMAN &
WITCHWOOD TREES
Boogeyman Trees are the largest trees in the
Holler — reaching up to 150 feet in height
with circumferences of 30 feet. They pulse
with magical power and are at least semi-
sentient—strange sigils and runes manifest
on their bark, which is often blackish but
tinged with an eerie red hue.
Those who dabble in the occult revere
Boogeyman Trees as conduits of arcane
power and believe this power can be
harnessed by elaborate rituals. Pineys,
witches, and demons often compete
for “possession” of the Boogeyman Trees
scattered around the Holler.
Boogeyman trees communicate with one
another and with other trees in the Holler.
Smaller witchwood trees serve as “sentinels”
for the Boogeyman Trees—sending arboreal
messages through the Holler’s larger root
system. These witchwood trees are marked
by circular, burl-like sigils, a vestige of the
parent Boogeyman Tree’s power.
begins the Walk and the coven is soon complete
once again.
If the trespassers kill Royster, word travels
quickly. Kramer-Holt agents and guards from
Lowell Logging and Ashdown Textile arrive in
a few days to investigate the death and track
down and imprison or kill the murderers. One
of Whitaker’s sons becomes the new leader of
Whitaker Logging.
If the group comes into possession of
the control box and Imogene is still alive,
destroying the box frees her (Hardness 6).
She returns peacefully to Wyrd. If the group
attempts to control her, their complete lack of
awareness of this kind of technology results
in breaking the device, and she attempts to
kill them.
There’s even a remote chance the group
could turn Royster, as he has a unique (among
the Big Boys) weakness for the Holler and its
residents, but it’s highly unlikely they can
achieve this coup. Its more likely he gets away
and holds a grudge.
h Royster Whitaker: See page 202.
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 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
h Imogene: Use Witch/Warlock on page 212.
• Whitaker's Guards (2): Use Company
Guards on page 206.
The Pineys
The pineys near Wyrd have something the
witches desperately need, access to another
Boogeyman Tree. An expedition into piney
territory is extremely dangerous and prone to
Blight Storms (see The Blight on page 46),
but the group isn’t warded like the witches are,
which makes it possible for them to enter.
If the group enters piney territory during the
day, they see no pineys, but discover evidence
of their presence—a clearing where all the pine
needles (save a mound in the middle) have
been swept neatly into a circle that lines the
clearing. The party finds a stray piney broom,
a crooked branch with piney needles instead of
straw, a little over a foot long.
They also find a grave—a mound of enchanted
pine needles, and a living body trapped
beneath in Blighted ground. If they attempt to
clear away the pine needles and dig into the
ground, they find the pine needles serve as
an enchanted shield, blocking their efforts. A
successful Notice roll reveals the lone, silver
enchanted pine needle in the stack!
With a successful Folklore or Occult roll at −2,
the character identifies the needle as a magical
“key” to the stack. Eating the needle or tossing
it into a stiff wind breaks the enchantment
and the group frees the victim, coughing and
sputtering, very disoriented but still breathing
from the grave.
The victim could be someone the
malcontents have encountered before
that might add interest or intrigue to your
individual campaign. If that doesn’t make
sense, it’s simply a wayward resident of Gilmer
(perhaps one of those detailed previously) who
wandered into territory they shouldn’t have.
The pineys’ Boogeyman Tree stands in the
clearing, towering over the surrounding forest.
Dusk
Just before sundown, the pineys come out.
They gather to perform their own ritual to
raise a new piney from the needle-marked
grave. If no grave exists anymore, they ritualize
the sweeping of needles in the clearing. Both
rituals eventually summon the Piney King.
122
The presence of the humans, and even them
preparing their own ritual doesn’t dissuade
the pineys from their work, they simply ignore
them. The pineys sing and go about their work
with a chaotic glee, their branches shaking
with excitement. Here’s a sample of piney song:
Piney Sweeping Song:
Pineys! Pineys!
Needles in the wind!
Pineys! Pineys!
Sweep them in the bin!
Pineys! Pineys!
Clear the way for Him!
Pineys! Pineys!
The King is here again!
Piney Raising Song:
Pineys! Pineys!
A body in the ground!
Pineys! Pineys!
It don’t make a sound!
Pineys! Pineys!
Needles in the wind!
Pineys! Pineys!
Let’s make another friend!
If the pineys successfully raise a piney from
the body in the ground, everyone in the group
must make a Fear roll, as a human body cracks
and morphs into a new piney. Soon after the
new piney emerges from the earth, the last
sliver of sun disappears behind the horizon,
and the Piney King stomps from the woods to
anoint it.
Read or paraphrase the following:
The woods across the clearing suddenly lean in
opposite directions, like a green sea parting, as if
opening a path for an unseen rival of royal bearing.
Soon after, crashes resound throughout the forest,
the ground gives the slightest tremble.
The Piney King casts aside the leaning branches
on either side of him. He swings his massive, arm-
like branches from side-to-side, as if he is rejecting
their praise.
He enters the clearing, the world’s largest piney,
possessed of a much fiercer demeanor than his
scampish underlings, and bows down to pray
before the Boogeyman Tree. The pineys bow with
him in unison.
With the sun finally down, the ritual to
destroy the Piney King’s hold over the
Boogeyman tree may begin.

The Ritual
The ritual to commune with the Boogeyman
Tree and release the Piney King’s hold over it
is a challenging, single-person Dramatic Task
using the Occult skill with a penalty of −2 (see
Dramatic Tasks in Savage Worlds).
Other team members can Support as usual,
but the pineys and the Piney King don’t stand
idly by while the heroes attempt to usurp their
sovereignty over the massive witchwood tree.
The pineys attack while the ritual is being
attempted. In the end, if the ritual is completed
the entire witch coven from Wyrd magically
appears next to the tree, the ward broken. They
join the fight against the Piney King, which
can be rolled out tactically, or simply narrated
as a retreat or full defeat for the pineys. The
witches are now free to make their claim to the
tree’s power.
If the ritual fails, the tree itself seems to
solidify its loyalty to the Piney King, providing
him and his minions free rerolls on any failed
attacks against the usurpers for the rest of the
encounter.
If the Piney King is defeated, the Boogeyman
tree is free of the Piney King’s control and the
Blasted Beauty
ward is automatically lifted regardless of the
status of the ritual. The witches appear and
may lay claim to the tree as above.
Finally chopping down the tree is a final “salt-
the-earth” option that both drives the pineys
from the forest, and prevents the witches from
laying claim to it, but likely makes them some
powerful enemies on both sides.
Ultimately, Boogeyman Trees are magical
and partially sentient. Reward the player’s
creativity, but don’t let them off easy. A
creative solution might win the day and allow
them to achieve their goals, but it likely incurs
additional dangers.
• The Piney King: See page 224.
• Pineys (2 per hero): See page 223.
Aftermath
There’s no linear path to follow in this chapter—
no single expected result. The group likely
ends the adventure either having struck an
alliance (however uneasy) with the Witches
of Wyrd or turned them into their mortal
enemies. Perhaps they managed to transform
the residents of Gilmer from bears back into
humans, garnering their favor, and adding
123
 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
new allies to the coalition. Perhaps they killed
Royster, putting themselves directly in the Big
Boys’ cross hairs.
Perhaps the witches now control the forest
and are turning more humans into bears.
Maybe the pineys have taken over. Regardless,
the group likely have some new allies and
some new enemies. They should also have
new insight into the enchanted nature of the
Holler’s wilds and how the Big Boys’ attempt
to marshal incredible, madcap technology to
achieve their ends.
Act Four: Incident at
Galloway No. 3
Location: Sootstone Mountains
When the group eventually returns to Ashdown
to debrief Ella, they find her in a panicked state.
Ella asks them about the fruits and/or failures
of their sojourn to Gilmer but says she doesn’t
have time to hear all the details—a more
pressing matter is at hand. A mine collapse has
occurred at the Galloway No. 3 coal mine in the
Sootstones.
A large group of miners is trapped, and
Theron Galloway (see page 200) has
announced his intention to simply abandon
the mine rather than mount a rescue operation.
The dissidents need to get to Marrow as
quickly as possible and find a way to save the
trapped miners.
Unto the Sootstones
The roads that lead into the
Sootstones are among the spookiest
in the Holler. Pocked, muddy, with
washouts and deep gulleys,
they wind through dark
valleys, the rocky, ashen
slopes of the Sootstones rising
steeply on either side.
Blight slides down the ridges
and settles in the valley. The
party encounters Blight Fog or
a Blight Storm on the trip.
The legendary Sootstone Moth
(see page 219) haunts these
roads. The group gets a glimpse
of him at some point on their
124
journey, but not long enough or close enough
to engage him in any way.
You feel strange eyes upon you. Is it a demon’s
gaze tickling the nape of your neck? Is it an
Old Scratch eying you from some hoary perch,
ciphering about the state of your soul? Is it a
Kramer-Holt agent targeting your ever-loving
heart in his sights? You hear a tremendous flapping
of wings, the weeds on either side of the road
whistle with its passing. Demon? Right? But, no,
this thing courses through the air, passes overhead,
does not swoop or attack. It spins around in the sky
and hangs there for a moment, a shaggy moth with
glaring red eyes. It looks into your soul. It feels like
it sees exactly what you are and what will become
of you. What does it find in your soul? What do you
find in those deeply seeking eyes?
Observers make a Spirit roll. Those who
succeed get a Benny from this harbinger of
good tidings. A Critical Failure results in a lost
Benny instead as the Moth sighting brings him
nothing but ill luck.
Vigil in Marrow
Grief-stricken families surround the entrance
to Galloway No. 3 at the southwestern foot of
Briar Bear Mountain in the town of Marrow.
They have been holding a vigil since the
tunnel explosion and collapse two days ago.
The Galloways appear to have abdicated any
responsibility for the mine and the miners,
informing the families that a rescue operation
would have a low chance of success
and put other lives at risk.
Rumors in the community have
persisted for months that the
seams in the mine were
nearly exhausted of coal
and that the Galloways
planned on shutting
down the mine
soon anyway.
About fifty family
members of the
trapped miners have
set up a camp outside
the mine entrance—
makeshift tents and
improvised shelters,
campfires, and a few
folks playing mournful
music on their fiddles and
 Blasted Beauty

banjos. A handful of family members have Taylor is willing to participate in a non-

made crude protest signs pleading with the sanctioned rescue operation, but the other
Galloways to rescue the men. members of the Fists believe he is too valuable.
A successful Notice roll catches Abner Stokes, If he’s lost, the burgeoning movement loses its
a Big Boy representative (see page 206) head and heart.
skulking through the camp and stirring up Instead, he provides the group information
trouble, making note of any particularly rowdy about a nearby Umberkirk Requisition Yard
protesters. that is home to a drilling machine that could
Here are some of the folks at the vigil. Use be used to burrow into the mine. The Big Boys
stats for the Worker (see Worker profile on refuse to lend it to an “ill-fated” rescue, though,
page 212), except for Abner Stokes: so the freedom fighters must steal it and use
the drill in secret at night to avoid retribution
Heddie Marlow: The wife of Jeb Marlow
for its unauthorized use. Two of the Mighty
who was caught in the mine collapse. She’s the
Fists volunteer to accompany the heroes
mother of an infant daughter, and is irate at
if they go.
the Galloways. She mentions Justin Taylor (see
page 206) and the Mighty Fists (page 125), Justin says there may be another group that
a group of miners who have been trying to has plenty of reason to hate the Big Boys and
form a union. might be willing to help, but they are “not
quite human.”
Starla Sims: A close friend of Heddie’s. Starla
is in a relationship with Justin Taylor and h Justin Taylor: See page 206
knows the way to the Mighty Fists’ safe house. • Mighty Fists (2): Use stats for Worker on
Buck Skimmer: A second shift miner, whose page 212
brother, Charley, is trapped inside. Buck
mentions a nearby requisition yard and says Diggers
there might be some equipment there that Another possible resource is a clan of diggers
could assist in a rescue operation. (see Diggers, page 219) who live in a nearby
mountain. They were displaced from Briar
h Abner Stokes: See page 206.
Bear Mountain long ago when the Galloways
• Workers: See page 212.
started mining it. They still hold a deep
grudge against them and might be persuaded
The Mighty Fists (Persuasion at –2) to aid in a rescue attempt or
A small revolutionary group of less than a act as a diversion for the
dozen miners from Marrow, led by Justin operation, if they are able
Taylor (see page 206). While most work the to supply them with fresh
second or third shift and were not in the mine fish or “gems” (any kind
during the explosion, two of their members of shiny rock or doo
are also trapped inside. They have a safe house dad does the trick).
in the woods a fair piece outside of Marrow.
They also have leads on excavation and other
life-saving equipment.
Though Justin has only brought a few miners
together, their fledgling organization, the
Mighty Fists, has huge ambitions. They aspire
to create a multi-racial union of miners to
resist both the Galloways and the Bondurants.
Right now, they are attempting to stealthily
recruit members and engage in minor acts of
sabotage until their numbers grow.
Taylor and the other Mighty Fists are skeptical
of the group at first. If they mention Ella May,
they receive a +1 on any Persuasion rolls when
dealing with Taylor and the Fists.

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 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
MINE HAZARDS
Fire Damp Explosion: A fire damp
explosion is caused by the ignition of
flammable gas in a coal mine. The presence
of coal dust can spontaneously ignite a
“firedamp” explosion. A major fire damp
explosion caused the initial collapse.
Additional small explosions might occur as
the heroes undertake the rescue mission.
They cause 2d6 damage in a Medium Blast
Template.
Verdinite Stones: These are the same
funny green rocks that the Galloways
discovered when they blasted away the
top of Blasted Beauty. Verdinite stones are
explosive and radioactive (see page 24).
The Big Boys see many potential uses for
this dangerous element.
Diggers dig in small units of three or four,
often digging themselves into a frenzied pitch.
Procuring their help is significant, as they
can out-dig even the drilling machine in the
requisition yard (see below).
• Diggers (12): See page 219.
The Rescue Operation
The miners are trapped between eighty
and one hundred feet below the surface.
Depending on the resources available, drilling
down can be an easy task, or a brutal one.
• With the Drill: Twenty feet per night (can
only be used at night to prevent its use being
discovered).
• With a team of Diggers: Forty feet per day.
• Without Either: Ten feet per day chipping
with pickaxes or other simple tools
One miner dies in Seam Four for each day the
rescue effort takes to reach them.
Seam One
Seam One is above the collapse (twenty feet
down) and relatively structurally sound.
When the rescuers enter, they see the tracks
for coal cars, several filled with coal, and a
couple of donkeys wandering around that the
workers left behind as they escaped. Discarded
equipment in the form of mining axes, helmets
with carbide lights, and some personal effects
like lunch boxes and canteens litter the
126
floor. There are some tiny cracks in the rock,
evidence of deep, narrow fissures formed by
the explosion.
Seam Two
Seam two is also above the collapse (forty
feet down) but shows more evidence of the
explosion’s impact. Piles of rubble have fallen
from the tunnel’s ceiling, partially burying coal
cars. Spiderweb cracks spread across many
areas of the floor. Toward the back of the seam
are some modest verdinite deposits among the
coal deposits.
Verdinite is radioactive (anyone who carries
verdinite makes a Vigor roll to avoid suffering
a level of Fatigue if it is on their person) and
twice as explosive as dynamite (See Gear,
page 17). If anyone attempts to excavate
the verdinite from the seam with Athletics, a
firedamp explosion (3d6 damage, MBT) occurs
on a Critical Failure.
Seam Three
Crushed in the explosion, Seam Three no
longer exists. Nine miners died instantly in
Seam Three when it collapsed. To the players,
it’s indistinguishable as a seam—just more rock
to push through.
A successful Notice roll finds a body in the
rock. To recover all of the bodies requires
an Athletics roll at −4, including any Support
offered. Anyone participating is subject to
Fatigue with success (with half the bodies
recovered) and a Wound on a failure (most
bodies unreachable). A raise gets all the miners
out with no adverse affects to the rescuers.
Attempting to recover bodies from Seam Three
takes an entire day’s work.
Seam Four
Seam four is eighty feet down and holds
twenty rescuable miners (minus one for every
day the rescuers took to get here). Forty feet
of rock and rubble lie between Seam Two and
Seam Four.
Half of the miners are unconscious. The other
half are conscious but in bad shape. Two of the
unconscious miners are in critical condition
and must be stabilized by a Healing roll or spell,
else they die.
Rescuing the Miners: It’s obvious the
structural integrity of this area is severely

compromised. It will collapse very soon.
Rescuing the miners here is a multi-person
Dramatic Task requiring a number of Tokens
equal to the remaining miners in three
rounds. After that, the seam collapses and
anyone remaining inside is killed. Rescuers
may use whatever skill makes sense for the
situation to gain Tokens (see Dramatic Tasks
in Savage Worlds).
A Critical Failure for anyone attempting to
accumulate Tokens during the rescue results
in a firedamp explosion fueled by an unseen
deposit of verdinite. Everyone in the operation
must make an Evasion roll or take 3d6 damage
but this causes no additional cave-ins. Jeb
Marlow (Heddie’s husband, see above) is
one of the miners who must be stabilized to
escape death.
During the rescue, folks hear muted guttural
moans and other strange sounds beneath their
feet, which must be emanating from seam five.
A successful Occult or Notice roll identifies the
sounds as “not human.”
Seam five
Seam five lies beneath ten more feet of rubble,
and a Blight Corruption roll is required here.
Instead of trapped miners, the explorers
discover four cave demons in this seam.
Blasted Beauty
Dropping into the lower reaches of the mine, you
search frantically for survivors, or for confirmation
of more dead. Grief is hell but knowing the fates of
their loved ones might help those above eventually
find peace.
What you find is a different kind of hell. Four
man-sized figures crouching in a cavernous dark
chamber, batwings enclosed around them. You
hear chittering. Squeaks. Then those wings open
wide. The figures spring into the air and fly toward
you. You see their faces—bat-like and ravenous, the
squeaks rising to a lacerating pitch.
You’ve seen some strange things but see a
stranger one as they circle and screech, swiping
with their claws— one of them wears a miner’s
helmet, its carbide lamp bouncing wild beams of
light throughout the seam.
The cave demons are miners who died, utterly
corrupted with Blight, and reanimated in this
new form. The demons have torn the miners’
clothes away from their bodies and bear no
resemblance to their former selves, though
one demon is still wearing a carbide helmet.
If the rescuers don’t think of it themselves, a
Notice or Occult roll tips the group off to the
cave demons’ probable origin.
The cave demons attack on sight and fight to
the death.
• Cave Demons (4): See page 233.
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 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse

Daytime Events Boys (or even an assassination attempt), but

Assuming the rescue operation is a stealth both are highly dangerous maneuvers.
mission carried out at night, consider using
one or more of these events during the day to h Hiram Galloway
enhance the action. The least favorite nephew of Theron Galloway.
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit d6,
Company Shakedown Strength d6, Vigor d8
In response to the large group gathered around Skills: Athletics d6, Common Knowledge d4,
the collapsed mine, a Lawman and a group Driving d4, Fighting d6, Intimidation d6,
of company guards sweep through the area, Notice d6, Performance d8, Persuasion d8,
questioning the crowd, harassing them, and Repair d6, Shooting d6, Taunt d6, Stealth d4,
ultimately dispersing them. The group must Thievery d4
maintain their cool (or take out the guards) to Pace: 5; Parry: 5; Toughness: 7 (2)
keep any illegally acquired rescue equipment Hindrances: Ruthless (Major), Vengeful
from being discovered. Gear: Bullet proof vest (+2 Armor, torso), deer
h Lawman (1): See page 208. rifle (Range 24/48/72, Damage 2d8−1) or
• Company Guards (2 per hero): See page peasant pumper (Range 12/24/48, Damage
206. 3d6, shotgun), Shocker Stick (Str+d6, victim
makes Vigor roll or becomes Stunned), envi-
Disputes Among Mourners ronmental protection suit
Petty disputes and old grudges easily flare • Kramer-Holt Agents (4): See page 208.
among the mourning family members in
their vulnerable emotional states. A gambling The Moth Sighting
game goes wrong, an unpaid debt comes due, The Moth appears briefly at the edge of the
an illicit romantic relationship surfaces, or a village, sending the mourners into a frenzy
troubling family secret is revealed. of speculation about whether it brings fair or
foul tidings.
Speech by a Minor Big Boy
Theron Galloway sends one of his least-favored Aftermath
nephews, Hiram, to appease the crowd. He With luck, the coalition is growing, with the
expresses grief over the loss of the miners and likely addition of the Mighty Fists, the residents
promises the opening of a new mine nearby of Marrow, and maybe even the diggers. The
with “a mining village” the likes of which you’ve rescue also provides more evidence that
never seen. demons derive from folks.
Wearing an environmental protection suit,
and flanked by four Kramer-Holt agents, he
touts the construction of a legal speakeasy in Act Five: Cherry Bounce
town, a ball field, a company store stocked
with the finest goods from the City, and a fancy Location: Ghost Ridge Mountains
church. He encourages the crowd to go home. The Big Boys outlawed alcohol sales soon
The Social Conflict rules in Savage Worlds may after they arrived in the Holler, but the
be used to determine if most of the crowd residents have always preferred their likker
disperses, or if Hiram is driven off. homemade anyways.
Hiram’s appearance creates the opportunity
for intelligence gathering from one of the Big Amos Mulholin
One of the most famous shiners in the Holler is
cuz I ain ’t
I’m a pessimist timist cuz I
Amos Mulholin (see page 204), who presides
over an extensive moonshine operation from
stupid. I’m an op his home on the slopes of Cherry Mountain.
ain ’t a coward. Amos’ most popular concoction is Cherry
Bounce. He mixes cherries (and who knows
—Justin Taylor
128

what else) with the mash. Folks say it puts an
extra bounce in their step!
The nearest group of Big Boys, the textile
magnate family, the Ashdowns, see Amos as a
problem—his voice carries a lot of weight with
the locals and he flaunts their authority every
chance he gets. They are hesitant to attack
him straight on, as Cherry Mountain is full
of booby traps and Amos’ fierce collection of
mercenaries. It’s also rumored that he’s turned
a pack of fenrir (page 217) to his side to help
defend the stills. The Big Boys offered to buy
him out once, but Amos just cackled, spat on
the ground, turned heel, and left.
Ella May sees Amos as a potential ally, as
he has no love for the Big Boys. She’s been
communicating with him via her network of
informants, and she asks for the group to help
Amos with a reconnaissance task.
Spying on Fergus Dugan
Amos’ main rival is Fergus Dugan (see page
204). Until recently, Fergus was a small time
moonshiner with no hope of cutting into
Amos’ business, but things have changed. Amos
strongly suspects Fergus is getting the backing
of the Big Boys. Even more disturbing are the
rumors that Fergus has managed to build his
own strange workforce on Old Rag Mountain,
as if he’s some kind of Big Boy himself.
The stories of shambling, mindless men
working Fergus’ still are weird enough, but
both Ella and Amos figure if the Big Boys are in
on it, nothing good is coming from it.
Ella asks the group to help Amos check out
what’s going on with Fergus operation on
Old Rag. Ella says Amos wants to keep the fact
they are working for him a secret at all costs
and execute the mission under the cover
of darkness, but he leaves word asking the
heroes to stop by Cherry Mountain for some
“hospitality” before they head up to Old Rag.
Cherry Mountain
Located at the southern escarpment of the
Ghost Ridge, Cherry Mountain, and nearby Old
“residents,” including the fenrir, relatively
Rag Mountain, aren't far from Ashdown and
can be reached in an hour by car, nearly a full
day by horse, and a day and a half of hoofing it.
Blasted Beauty
Cherry Bounce Special Reserve
After arriving in the area, and before the
group sets out for Old Rag, Amos directs one
of his men (Amos is a recluse and prefers not
to interact with anyone personally) to gift the
group with a flask filled with a special batch
of Cherry Bounce. Amos’ underling claims the
stuff has a special kick to it.
There’s enough for each member of the
group to take one healthy slug during the
adventure. When a character partakes, have
her roll on the following table for the effects.
Cherry Bounce (especially the kind with “a
little something extry to it,” hits the mind and
body of different folks in different ways).
CHERRY BOUNCE SPECIAL RESERVE TABLE
D6 EFFECT
Bring it On! The character feels a
fire burning in his soul. His pain
1–2
threshold increases, and he gains +1
Toughness for an hour.
Liquid Courage! The hero ignores
3–4 any Fatigue and Wound penalties for
one hour.
I See Dead People! The character’s
5–6 senses become heightened. +2 to
Notice rolls for one hour.
Between The Mountains
Old Rag Mountain lies a few miles to the
northeast of Cherry Mountain, separated by a
small valley that is cut through by Drunkards
Creek. Both the mountains and the valley
have low levels of Blight, but Drunkards
Creek carries pollutants from mines and mills
upstream. Amos wants the conspirators to hike
the distance instead of following Sidewinder
Road, as that makes them less prone to
harassment from Kramer-Holt agents.
The group descends Cherry Mountain,
followed by a short trek across the valley floor,
which includes crossing Drunkards Creek.
Along the way, at the Shift Boss’ discretion,
the team may encounter a variety of local
normal folks, or Albin Taylor (see page 247).
Fenrir
Fenrir are highly intelligent wolves that roam
in packs. Some fenrir even speak in the human
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 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
tongue and those with this gift often become
pack leaders.
Five fenrir and their leader, a ruddy-furred
wolf named Aladolf (see Fenrir, Alpha, page
218), approach the group (−4 Notice to spot
them during the night). Use Aladolf’s Stealth
for the pack, opposed by those who manage to
stay awake on watch.
A successful Stealth roll for the fenrir allows
them to surround the group. A failure results
in the hero catching a glimpse of one of the
fenrir darting into some brush and may alert
the group to the presence of a potential foe.
The fenrir have no interest in attacking the
group but retaliate if engaged. Aladolf attempts
to retreat if Wounded.
You hear a slight stirring in the brush. Nothing
bigger than a fat squirrel. A skinny possum at best,
you think. You consider stepping into the thicket
and bagging some quick game for your fellows,
claim the role of hero for the evening, or you thank
the Lord it doesn’t sound like a piney trodding
along on some infernal business, as it mutters
nonsense to its own evil, little heart.
Such idle thoughts leave your head in a hurry
when six large wolves surround you. Yellow-eyed
like many dread beasts but not bestial, not these
eyes. They are lit with a strange light, the kind of
light that ministers equate with knowledge or grace
in their salvation stories. But that same kind of light
that cuts a body in half in a moment of revelation.
These beasts’ backs are not bowed or bristling.
Their fangs visible, shiny, but not bared. The largest
one steps toward you. Looks from one to the next,
as if in greeting. And then he does greet you, to your
astonishment, in your selfsame human tongue.
He says, with a calm voice like a person possessed
of more good sense than most, “I am Aladolf. These
are my fellows. They understand you as well as you
understand me. So be careful of tongue and gesture.
I am the only one who speaks, as it happens, but I
bear their will as sacredly as I bear my own.
Aladolf speaks to the group, directing them
to deliver a message to Amos. With a heavy
heart, he tells them he knows that Amos has
stolen litters of fenrir pups and raised them
for his own purposes. This is a deep violation
of the fenrir’s’ sacred code—they do not make
themselves subservient to man and must
always choose death over domestication.
The pups were stolen before they could
be taught the code and their existence
130
on Cherry Mountain is seen as an aberration
among local fenrir. Aladolf demands that Amos
release those fenrir back into the wild, so the
pack can kill them, else the pack will have no
choice but to invade Cherry Mountain, wage
war on Amos and his men, and kill the human-
tainted wolves there.
When Aladolf begins to speak, anyone who’ve
never heard a fenrir speak before must make
a Fear roll.
Backwoods Residents
A few shacks and cabins dot the valley between
Cherry Mountain and Old Rag. If the team
pays a visit, these are some of the people they
encounter.
Folsom and Edwina Milledge: A hospitable
elderly couple. Folsom says he saw some
“shambling, sickly men,” on Old Rag Mountain
while squirrel hunting.
Poke Ballard: A suspicious elderly widower.
Poke says the last batch of likker he got from
Fergus gave him nightmares and he’s an “Amos-
only” man from now on.
Maude and Agnes Billets: Gregarious
spinster sisters. Maude and Agnes talk
extensively about the weather, in maddening
circles, and a bit about “end time prophecy.”
The McDaniel family: Broadus, Sarah, and
their two curious young daughters, Millie and
Kay Beth. They offer a hearty meal of fried
fat back, livermush, hoe cakes, and collard
greens. Anyone who indulges may remove a
level of Fatigue. Sarah says she sees “Kramer-
Holt men going in and out of the Old Rag
fire trails all the time.” This clearly makes
Broadus uncomfortable, and he tries to change
the subject.
Pearson and Vetty Cole: An anxious young
married couple, distant cousins of Vernon and
Fernon. Vetty is with child. Pearson espouses
pro-Big Boy sentiments, saying without the Big
Boys there wouldn’t be any jobs and he has a
child on the way that he needs to support. He’s
hoping to get a job at the Ashdown Mill. He says
he doesn’t “blame Fergus a bit for what he’s
a-doing,” but refuses to elaborate. Vetty insists
anyone who crosses Amos is a fool.
Rinthia Fallow: An amused ancient granny
woman, Rinthia says “folks who try to fiddle
with fate are playing a fool’s tune.” Insists that

“Fergus has got hisself into a mess he’ll never
get out of,” but won’t elaborate much past that.
Crossing Drunkards Creek
Drunkards Creek is swollen from recent rains
and all the bridges are washed out. The creek
has quick moving currents and attempting to
swim across or otherwise falling into the water
creates a threat of Drowning (see Savage Worlds).
Swimming across requires an Athletics roll at
−2. If the party dithers at all, a ghoulish figure
named Albin Taylor (see page 247) appears
on his boat, seemingly out of nowhere, and
demands the payment of a dozen dead birds
to ferry them across the creek.
If they refuse to provide them, he disappears,
and they must swim for it. If they pay, he
ferries them across without incident. Albin
then disappears as mysteriously as he came.
Old Rag Mountain
When the adventurers reach the base of Old
Rag, they can pick up a game trail or walking
path relatively easily (+2 Survival roll). Failure
just takes more time, as most of these paths
dead end (and none of them lead directly
to a still).
Lower Still and Bunkhouse
After roughly an hour making their way up
the mountain’s terrain, the trackers hear faint
voices and laughter.
If they approach the source of the noise,
they arrive at a clearing, the site of one of
Fergus’ stills. A small bunkhouse sits just uphill
from the still. Five of Fergus’ mercenaries are
sitting around a campfire near the bunkhouse,
sharing a flask and conversing. They are a
motley-looking group, in rags and tatters and
lopsided hats. Their speech is peppered with
expletives and exclamations.
A successful Stealth roll brings the
eavesdroppers close enough to make out the
details of the conversation. A failed Stealth
roll alerts the men to potential trespassers
and three of them fan out into the woods to
investigate.
If their conversation isn’t disturbed, the
mercenaries talk at length about working
for Fergus. The Shift Boss should share the
following details:
Blasted Beauty
• One of the men used to work for Amos, but
Fergus offered him “more scrip and more
favors.”
• The men agree they wouldn’t be caught
dead working at the upper still.
• One of the men believes Fergus now has the
firepower to take Amos out, should it come
to that, and he sure as hell doesn’t want to
be on the losing side.
• One of the men says Fergus has “Sold his
soul to the Big Boys, but that’ll be all of us
before it’s over, I reckon.”
• They argue about the quality of Fergus’
new shine and the consensus is it still can’t
compete with Amos’ in terms of taste, but it
does the job.
• They murdered a woman named Erma. A
few of them express guilt, while others insist
“it’s just part of the job.”
If the heroes try to engage the mercenaries
in conversation, they quickly gather their rifles
and shotguns and inform the intruders, “We
are a-gonna take you straight to Fergus. He’ll
put out ye tongues, or worse.” The mercenaries
attack at the sign of any resistance.
• Mercenaries (5): Use Highwayman on page
207.
Bunkhouse Loot
If the group dispatches the mercenaries and
explores the bunkhouse, looters find mostly
pedestrian items among the beds and a single
table with chairs in the middle of the room, but
there’s also a Seed Sower and a box with half a
dozen shells in it.
Any searcher who makes a Notice roll finds
a small wooden totem, carved to resemble a
fenrir. This totem once belonged to a seer,
Erma Vickers, who lived as a recluse on the
other side of Old Rag. She was a friend of
the fenrir.
Anyone in possession of this totem is seen
as a friend by the fenrir. Fergus’ mercenaries
recently murdered Erma in her sleep under
his order to “clear out any undesirables
on our slopes.” If Aladolf ever learns of the
circumstances of Erma’s death, he vows to kill
Fergus and harbors extreme enmity toward
the Big Boys if the connection between the two
is explained to him. This may lead his pack to
join the coalition down the road.
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 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
Upper Still
Continuing their journey up the mountain
after discovering the lower still, the trekkers
stumble upon the upper still in a clearing just
below a rocky cliff.
The area around this still is littered with traps.
Call for Notice rolls at −2, ignoring the penalty
if the group is moving slowly and someone
specifically says they’re on the lookout for
traps. Failure results in falling prey to one of
the following traps (Shift Boss’ choice):
Bear Trap: Damage 2d6. A character caught
in this trap must free himself or be rescued by
a friend. A successful Repair or Strength roll
frees the character.
Sink Hole: A quicksand trap forces a surprise
Athletics roll at −2. Failure means the victim
gets stuck and begins sinking into the ground.
A second Athletics roll at −4 frees the hero,
with Support now available as normal. Failure
means he disappears under the sand and
begins drowning.
What was an inconvenience is now a crisis,
and the only rescue available is a an Athletics
roll at −6 performed by a friend, with Support
almost a necessity.
Stake Trap: Damage 2d8. A stake trap is a
small hole covered with leafy branches. The
hole is filled with sharpened sticks, protruding
from the ground. The sticks have been smeared
with pig dung (aimed at causing an infection).
The sticks can deeply pierce the foot of anyone
who steps into one.
Anyone triggering the stake trap must make
an immediate Vigor roll to avoid infection. A
failed roll results in a Debilitating disease (2d6
days of being Fatigued) from contact with the
pig dung. A Critical Failure results in a Lethal
disease (see Savage Worlds).
Fergus’ Labor
Read or paraphrase the following:
You reach the edge of the clearing, a stream
gurgles in nearby thickets. A perfect place for a still.
You don’t hear the sorry voices of company guards,
trading foolish stories to forget their cowardice. You
edge closer, to peer through the branches, and see
if this one is abandoned or if there might be some
likker or equipment stashed about.
Instead, you see dead folks a-walking and
a-doing just like they are a-living. One of these
ghouls mixes mash in a large kettle over a fire.
132
Another is filling a bucket with fresh likker from the
worm box. A shambler is walking in slow circles,
seemingly confused. They wear tattered clothes,
like any regular body would.
The ghouls’ skin is sickly-green with patches of
necrotic flesh. Bones are visible, protruding from
the rotting flesh on various parts of their bodies—a
portion of jaw, a half rib, a knee cap. Their eyes
are a piercing bronze, seemingly illuminated by an
artificial light propped somewhere in their skulls.
Interlopers make a Fear check upon
encountering the ghouls.
The worker ghouls don’t respond to anything
the heroes do. Sound doesn’t disturb them.
Their attention can’t be drawn from their
tasks. If touched, they continue doing what
they are doing. If attacked, they stop what they
are doing and stand in place until they are
hacked or bludgeoned down (such hacking
or bludgeoning is accompanied by sick
squelching sounds).
Those who examine the bodies notice a
long scar across the top of each ghoul’s skull.
Cracking into a skull reveals a small, glowing
bronze shim in the shape of a triangle, inserted
into whatever remains of the ghoul’s brain.
Shortly after touching the shim, it loses its glow.
Once removed from the ghouls, the shims
lose their power but can be recharged by a
company technomancer or Dr. Galton himself
(see page 204).
• Worker Ghouls (2 per hero): See Worker
Ghoul (Simpleton) on page 227.
The Real Story
The Big Boys are indeed pouring cash and
resources into supporting Fergus Dugan,
hoping one of the Holler’s famous clan feuds
breaks out between the Mulholins and Dugans
and that Amos’ operation and reputation is
harmed in the conflict.
Fergus is in Samuel Ashdown’s pocket—
Ashdown knows he can shut him down
anytime he wants, but the Big Boys are using
his operation as an opportunity to further
experiment with their newest creation.
Worker Ghouls
The worker ghouls at Old Rag are an older
model, possessed of less sentience than the
more efficient drones recently produced by
 Blasted Beauty

Dr. Galton at the Bondurant asylum (see page If the heroes refuse both offers, Fergus
134). The Big Boys want to see if it’s worth it orders his men to attack. The group faces long
to keep producing simple ghouls for a range of odds in a straight-up fight, but running or
menial tasks, or if they should abandon them surrendering are both options (see Chases in
and focus solely on the more advanced model. Savage Worlds).
The secrecy of Fergus operation provides If they do surrender and are captured, they
excellent cover for this study. are sent off to Bondurant asylum, “where you
The Big Boys hope to eventually transition can get turned into walking dead men and
entirely to undead labor. They believe the come back and work for me!” (See Act Six:
undead will be easier to control, cheaper to Escape from Bondurant Asylum profile on
maintain, and far more productive, as they can page 134).
work without ever tiring.
h Fergus Dugan: See page 204.
• Kramer-Holt Agents (8): See page 208.
Meeting Fergus Dugan • Mercenaries (12): Use Highwayman on page
Further up Old Rag, the group is soon 207.
confronted by Fergus Dugan, Kramer-Holt
agents, and more mercenaries. The size of the The Brutal Aftermath
group should make the rebels think twice, or
If the group return to Amos before
thrice, about a head-on attack.
encountering Fergus, Amos’ intermediary
Fergus jokes amiably with the strangers, greets them when they arrive and listens to
or mildly taunts them, or launches into a their stories. If they relate information he
nonsensical story about his first wife before deems valuable to Amos, he gifts them another
settling down to business. flask of Cherry Bounce Special Reserve and
Fergus assumes the spies are in Amos’ employ a Tommy Deadman (page 24) from his
and any attempt to Persuade him otherwise stash. He tells them “Amos’ll be in touch if
is at −4 penalty. He only suffers one such Amos wants to be in touch,” and heads up
attempt. On a Critical Failure,he immediately the mountain.
commands his men to take the liars into
“custody.” The Moonshine Feud
If the troublemakers admit they are in If the heroes are captured by Fergus, they begin
Amos’ employ and show no serious signs of Chapter 6 in custody in the Bondurant asylum.
aggression toward Fergus and his men, he If they instead return the ghoul head to Amos’
offers what he calls a “right good bargain.” He intermediary, he introduces them to Amos
promises to pay them a large sum of scrip and himself. This challenge from Fergus doesn’t
gift them with some “right nice shooters” (two spook Amos a bit.
Tommy Deadmen, page 24) if they return He vows to mobilize his men for “a good
to Cherry Mountain and spy and sabotage on old-fashioned moonshine war.” Amos routs
Fergus behalf. Fergus and his operation, claiming Old Rag
If the rascals refuse, but do nothing further and its stills for his own. The Big Boys plan to
to antagonize Fergus, he offers to let them live strike back against him, but unrest is growing
if they deliver a message to Amos. If they agree, in their own company towns. This allows Amos
he sends one of his men to the lower still. After to consolidate his power and become a more
a few minutes, the man returns with the head powerful ally.
of a worker ghoul (if the team didn’t kill any
ghouls, this fellow will). Fergus instructs the h Amos Mulholin: See page 204.
group to tote the head to Amos and tell him
that “a passel of dead men is coming for him.” The Fenrir
If the group deliver Aladolf’s message to Amos,
Fergus doesn’t mind the death of these ghouls they can attempt to broker a peace between
and loudly proclaims they are “no-account Amos and the fenrir, using Persuasion at a −2
corpse boys,” because he knows the new, (or Intimidation at −4). If successful, he releases
improved ghouls are available if he needs them. the captive fenrir and Aladolf loses interest in

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attacking Cherry Mountain (and becomes an mis-wiring excavators, and blowing up a

ally to the team). Kramer-Holt jalopy with two agents inside.
If Amos keeps his stolen fenrir, hordes of free The Galloways and Bondurants suspected
fenrir eventually descend on Cherry Mountain. him immediately—at Blasted Beauty, he
Amos and his mercenaries meet an untimely expressed reservations about continuing the
end, eliminating one possible ally from the work and went missing soon after.
mix, though Aladolf might still be open to Ella May believes Stormy’s legendary
joining the coalition if the rebels visit him after fearlessness and madcap inventiveness make
he takes Cherry Mountain. him a potentially powerful ally against the Big
Kind-hearted groups might negotiate with Boys. It’s up to the heroes to bust Stormy out
Aladolf to spare the pups (Persuasion rolls at of the asylum.
−2). If they succeed, he is grateful to them for
suggesting he choose mercy over the fenrir’s The Bondurant Asylum
code, and becomes an ally of the coalition. The asylum is the Bondurant’s family’s most
infamous charity project. Eloise Bondurant
sees it as her duty to offer care to those poor
Act Six: Escape from souls who are unable to work because they
Bondurant Asylum struggle with “hysteria,” “gatherings in the
head,” “social and liver disease,” “moral
insanity,” “lassitude,” or “venereal excess,”
Location: Cussfoot Fens
among a great many other maladies.
On the off chance the heroes are captured by
Fergus Dugan in Act Five, or any other agents The sanitarium’s exterior and its expansive
of the Big Boys, they are sent to the Bondurant grounds resemble an Old World castle. Space
Asylum. In that case, they start this adventure and fresh air are supposed to set a mind right.
already incarcerated. See the Busting Out The problem is, for the patients, space means
section on page 137. hard labor and the air hangs heavy with swamp
stink. Patients are paid in a devil’s bounty of
Otherwise, they are sent there by Ella May. misery and filth. There’s a peat farm, rancid
cranberry bogs, a huge potter’s field in constant
A Combustible Asset need of tending, sump ponds pooling in the
Ella has learned that Stormy Pickens (see page swamp, and walking/horse trails populated by
136), explosives expert, former died-in- demons and cryptids.
the-wool company man and recent renegade Insanity must be catching, because a passel of
against the Big Boys, was apprehended near folks is sent there each day against their wills.
Charhold a few days ago and shipped to A lot of them don’t seem sick at all—mouthing
the Bondurant asylum, which rests on the off to a supervisor, grieving hard for a loved
northern border of the Cussfoot Fens. one, exhibiting artistic leanings—lots of things
Stormy was instrumental in rigging and outside of “madness” can put you here.
deploying explosives in the Big Boys’ initial Many patients are forced to sleep on the
attempts at mountain top removal at Blasted floors. Those deemed violent are kept in cages.
Beauty in the Stygian Peaks. A portion of the Political enemies are kept in cells and subjected
mountain has been blasted away, but the to mental hazing and fierce interrogations.
Big Boys still have more work to do on the Vermin fight patients for food. Attendants
northern side of the peak. They are already wield menace and brutality like company
eying nearby mountains for future blasting. guards. The brain doctors and technomancers
Shortly after his first successful blast, however, there are keen for experimentation. Patients
Stormy’s allegiances turned. are subjected to all manner of degradation
Seeing the mountain’s beauty obliterated was in the name of medical progress—starvation,
more than he could take. He started attacking trepanning, convulsive therapy, cold water
the Big Boys’ infrastructure—detonating submersion, isolation, controlled bleeds, and
a munitions shack in a requisition yard, straight beatings.

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 Blasted Beauty

In the moldy basement of the asylum is even Survival rolls (to avoid the countless sink
where Dr. Galton (see page 204) conducts a holes peppering the grounds) with situational
range of “industrial” experiments, including penalties based on approach should get them
worker ghoul creation. to the main building. See Inside the Asylum
on page 136.
The Cussfoot Fens Failure results in a combination of sink hole
The Fens border is on the southeastern corner complications and confrontations with some
of the Sootstone Mountains, the northeastern or all of the “sweepers” (see below).
corner of the Faefalls, and a long stretch of the
southern edge of the Hogback Hills. Seamus Brood, The Porter
If the heroes simply approach the huge double
You reach the border of the Fens. The solid earth
gate without subterfuge, they encounter
of the Hogbacks turns to a sucking mush beneath
the asylum’s hulking porter, Seamus Brood.
your boots. You look across this marshy expanse—
He addresses the party with the following
no mountains rise at its horizon—but let’s not be
soliloquy, ignoring any interruption:
poetic, you can’t see a horizon.
An ocher fog rises from the ground, making Hell is empty, and all the devils are here.
hissing noises as it escapes gurgling pustules. Are ye devils?
These vapors are no doubt rife with Blight and Has the wind turned your wits to madness?
you entertain the idea that perhaps the fog is the Hark, not yet?
dreams of all the dead buried here, lifting in misty Well, the wind will turn again directly.
swirls, and floating into a sky borne hell. You hear the hissing from the ground?
The stench is indescribable. But your mind tries It comes from the sky as well!
to describe it, because that’s what a mind does, Will enter either ear and turn your thoughts
especially one alive with fear. Naming a thing to a jumble!
tamps the fear of it down, a little. Then the sweepers will sweep into the chimney!
Dead possum, skunk in heat, rotting pumpkin Mad men and women locked in the attic!
brains mixed with carp offal, outhouse apocalypse— So where are your wayward thoughts,
see, sometimes words give out. You just have to Will your feet transport your head across
leave your mind behind and trod into the unknown, This unhappy border?
your face squinched up like a peanut shell.
If the group answer indicates they want to
There’s a one in three chance of a Blight enter, Brood pulls the gate open, using an
storm each day in the Fens. elaborate, creaky pulley system.
There are no roads into the Fens and horses Brood says, “Doctor Galton likes to create
tremble in fear at its border, so the ruffians a sense of gothic ambiance,” motions the
convey themselves by foot. It takes a day to group inside, and closes the gate. He picks
reach the asylum once the group crosses up a powder horn, blows it, and calls out,
into the Fens. “Sweepers!” He intends them to subdue the
crew and take them into custody.
Breaking In
The asylum is surrounded by a massive, The Sweepers
higgledy-piggledy wrought-iron fence, twenty The “sweepers” Brood summons are three
feet high, which struggles to find stable pairs of field demons (Pumpkin Heads) and
purchase in the marshy ground, despite the devil dogs. The pumpkin heads ride astride
Big Boys’ best engineering efforts. the dogs, their oversized gourds lolling wildly
Finding a gap in the fencing is a rather easy back and forth as they direct the dogs toward
process, but the real danger is avoiding the the trespassers. The pumpkin heads are armed
patrols by pumpkin heads, and falling prey to with pitchforks (what Brood would call their
the same sump holes that are squelching it into “brooms”).
disrepair (See Sink Hole on page 132). The devil dogs appear to be drooling
A combination of Notice rolls (to find stable a massive quantity of blood from their
gaps), Stealth rolls (to avoid patrols), and maybe mouths, but this is a genetic mutation Galton
introduced into this cryptid breed to make

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 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
them more menacing (these devil dogs possess
the Fear ability).
The group can attempt to outrun the
sweepers to the asylum’s entrance, at which
point they break off and return to patrolling
the grounds, as though the rebels were
never there.
If the group engages the sweepers in combat,
they fight to the death unless the ruffians
submit to capture.
If the heroes defeat or elude the pumpkin
heads and devil dogs, they can enter the
asylum a variety of ways.
• Pumpkin Heads (6): See Field Demon
(Pumpkin Head) on page 235.
• Devil Dogs (6): See page 223.
Seamus Brood
The porter of the asylum, Seamus is a
strong man, unduly infatuated with high-
flown language.
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d4, Spirit d6,
Strength d10, Vigor d8
Skills: Athletics d8, Common Knowledge d4,
Driving d6, Fighting d8, Intimidation d8,
Notice d6, Performance d8, Persuasion d4,
Riding d6, Shooting d6, Stealth d8, Sur-
vival d6, Taunt d6
Pace: 6; Parry: 6; Toughness: 9
Hindrances: Mean
Edges: Brawler, Brawny, Bruiser
Gear: Brass knuckles (Str+d4) or wooden
club (str+d6), Peacemaker (Range 12/24/48,
Damage 2d6+1, AP 1) or Throwing Axe (Range
3/6/12, Damage Str+d6).
Special Abilities:
• Resilient: Seamus can take a Wound before
he’s Incapacitated.
Inside the Asylum
1st floor: Rushing the front door prompts a
half a dozen orderlies to attack (use Company
Guards, page 206). If the group dispenses
with them, they see a stairwell which leads to
the 2nd and 3rd floors above and the basement
laboratory below. The first floor consists of the
offices of Dr. Galton and the technomancers
that run the asylum, along with medication
and storage rooms.
• Company Guards: See page 206.
136
2nd floor: If they climb to a second-floor
window, they must find a way to unlock
(Thievery at −2) or burst through the heavily
reinforced window (Strength at −2). They
enter a long hall, filled with patients who are
either locked in cages or roaming freely in
the corridor.
The patients inside the cages exhibit a
range of disturbing and violent behaviors.
The patients outside seem almost catatonic.
Rats and roaches are everywhere. The stench
is overwhelming. Moving through the hall
requires a Fear roll for Nausea. They see a
stairwell at one end of the hall.
• Patients: Use stats for Clay Eater on page
206.
3rd floor: If they enter through a third-floor
window, they encounter the same reinforced
window on the 2nd floor. A locked ward with
rows of patients on either side and a treatment
room at the end of the hall—tubs, trepanning
tools, shock therapy, Blight immersion, and
other grim devices. They see a stairwell at
the other end of the hall descending to the
lower floors.
An Explosive Cell Mate
Stormy Pickens is incarcerated in a 3rd floor
cell. Stormy is disheveled. He babbles about
dead men walking. He says they will never
turn him into a dead man though, because the
contents of his brain are too valuable.
He then continues to hold forth excitedly
about a wide range of topics, including his
desire to see the kelpies of Faefall again and his
wish to blow up every coal mine in the Holler.
He occasionally starts reciting eccentric bomb
designs and explosive recipes, including a nail
bomb loaded with chicken feathers. Stormy
declares that, “to be worth it, destruction
requires a little poetry.”
Stormy Pickens
A man with an uncommon obsession with
blowing things up. To him, chaos is art.
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d8, Spirit d8,
Strength d6, Vigor d6
Skills: Athletics d6, Common Knowl-
edge d8, Fighting d4, Folklore d6,
Intimidation d6, Notice d8, Persuasion d6,

Repair d10, Shooting d6, Stealth d6, Sur-
vival d6, Taunt d6, Thievery d8
Pace: 6; Parry: 4; Toughness 5
Hindrances: —
Edges: Mr. Fix It, McGyver
Gear: Improvised Explosive Device (3d6, MBT)
Busting Out
If on the off chance the group is captured, they
are imprisoned in a row of cells (one person
per cell) on the 3rd floor, across the hall from
Stormy Pickens and start the act here.
Incarcerated
If locked in a cell, the prisoners find they’ve
been stripped of their equipment. Without
anything to pick the lock, the only obvious
way out is with brute strength, and it isn’t easy
(Strength at −4). If one of the heroes manages
to get a hold of a piece of wire (Thievery at −2
to pick a passing guard’s pocket), a simple
Thievery roll gets them out instead.
Finally, attacking the guard who eventually
comes to interrogate them is also an option,
giving the inmates The Drop if they have a
clever plan.
If the group dilly-dallies too long, though,
across the hall, Stormy Pickens has other ideas.
A Pipe Bomb
He hears the someone discussing escape and
knows it’s the right time to strike.
He has constructed a small, but powerful
pipe bomb and has been biding his time for a
moment just like this. He lights its wick, places
it at the edge of his cell, and then retreats
beneath his bunk, pulling his ratty mattress
over him. Stormy has survived multiple
explosions, mostly accidents of his own
making, so he does not hesitate to throw some
chaos into the situation and leave the result to
fate or the Lord.
The pipe bomb detonates—creating 3d6
damage in a Medium Blast Template and
blowing open the surrounding cell gates. If
anyone catches sight of what Stormy is doing
across the hall with a Notice roll or Danger
Sense and take cover, they halve their damage.
Stormy survives the blast regardless—the luck
of a mad bomber.
The group finds all their equipment in an
unoccupied storage cell down the hall.
Blasted Beauty
Breaking Stormy Out
If, instead, the heroes aren’t prisoners and are
there to bust Stormy out, opening his cell is
likely easier (no penalties) because they have
all their equipment.
Stormy is still itching to use his pipe bomb,
but can be convinced to save it for later if the
rescuers catch him soon enough.
• Technomancer (1): See page 211.
• Company Guard (1 per hero): See page
206.
• Patients: Use stats for Clay Eater on page
206.
The Laboratory
Stormy exhorts the group to descend to the
basement and put a stop to the “unadulterated
necromancy in the bowels of this sanitarium!”
The descent may include a few unwary
guards, or a raft of panicked ones depending
on how Stormy’s pipe bomb plan unfolded.
When the team reaches the basement
laboratory, they see Dr. Galton engaged in
transforming a worker into a worker ghoul. He
is intently focused on his patient even if there
was an explosion upstairs. Apparently, he is
laser-focused on his work, or else didn’t hear
over the din of his drill.
A man holds a drill. The drill hums. He wears a
golden mask that covers his entire head, its nose
curved like a beak. Hydraulic tubes crisscross the
ceiling. Shelves line three walls— filled with thick
tomes and beakers with brightly colored tonics and
roiling gases. Sharp implements and crooked tools
hang on the wall behind the drilling man.
On the operating table before him lies a patient.
A glass tank on the table holds a strange substance—
part liquid, part gas—mostly a dark, silty gray but
streaked with red and green rivulets. A tube runs
from the tank into the patient’s body.
The patient appears completely unconscious. A
normal enough looking fellow, except his skin is
tinged with a sallow hue.
The man with golden mask is preparing to drill
into the patient’s brain.
The patient on the table might be a stranger,
but it’s more interesting if it's someone the
freedom fighters have met in an earlier chapter.
The patient is being infused with a drip that's
a mixture of highly concentrated necrotylene,
demon blood, and scant traces of verdinite.
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 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
If the solution is investigated at
any point, Stormy can identify the
verdinite (as can a hero with a
successful Common Knowledge
roll), but Holler residents have
no knowledge of necrotylene.
If the characters watch for
any period, they witness
significant changes
to the patient’s
body. Sores and
pustules develop, the
flesh begins to rot. The
worker moans, slowly
assuming the visage and
aroma of the dead. Once Galton
has drilled multiple holes,
he uses a small bone saw to
create an opening for a mind
control shim, like the one the
group may have discovered on
Cherry Mountain.
Only after Dr. Galton has
inserted the shim does he
notice the trespassers, unless
they interrupt him first.
Once he sees the
intruders, he discards the small drill
and saw and retrieves a tool with a large,
whirling blade at the end of a handle and
turns it on the heroes. If the shim was inserted
into the worker ghoul, the ghoul joins him in
the fight.
If the rescuers defeat Galton and the ghoul
and investigate the laboratory, they find work
orders to produce three dozen new ghouls for
a place called the Recycling Factory, along with
a map that denotes the location of the factory,
several miles to the east in the Fens.
h Dr. Galton: See page 204.
• Technomancers (2): See page 211
• Worker Ghoul (1): Use the stats for Worker
Ghoul (Upgraded) on page 213 with the
addition of being able to cast bolt from
the shim Galton inserted into its partially
exposed brain.
Escaping the Asylum
Once Dr. Galton is defeated, the group may
encounter ragtag bands of orderlies, company
guards, and sweeper patrols on the way out.
Blight storms, sink holes, and the stench of
138
the Fens themselves (a Vigor roll, with failure
resulting in Fatigue) can serve as complicating
challenges.
If the escapees get out through the front
gate, Seamus Brood simply waves to them,
cackling, “A savage clamor! Well may I
get aboard! This is the chase: I am gone
forever,” and runs off into the darkness
of the Fens.
The Recycling Factory
If the group risks taking their newly
acquired ally, Stormy, to the factory,
they discover a building filled with worker
ghouls producing munitions for mountain
top removal and parts for large excavators
for strip mining.
There are far too many ghouls, guards,
and technomancers inside the factory
to attack it head-on, but with Stormy
in tow, it’s possible to build a bomb that
severely damages it.
Behind the factory, there’s a requisition
yard with fuel, car batteries, explosive
chemicals, and many machine parts
and tools. It’s guarded by patrols of a
half dozen company guards and three
worker ghouls (all with bolt capability).
If the heroes manage to sneak past or defeat
these defenses, acquire the materials, and
build and detonate a bomb, there’s potential to
cause massive damage to the factory and strike
a real blow against one of the Big Boys’ most
important projects.
Bombing the Factory
Time is of the essence. Constructing and
detonating the bomb before the team is
overwhelmed is a single person difficult
Dramatic Task using Repair at a −2 penalty. If
Stormy Pickens is part of this encounter, give
the players control of him.
If the saboteurs succeed, the explosion takes
out a portion of the bottom floor, killing many
ghouls and seriously delaying the Recycling
Factory’s experimental goals. Dozens of
surviving ghouls emerge from the Factory,
likely forcing the heroes to flee.
If the they earn eight tokens or more, The
Recycling Factory explodes in glorious fashion,
an enormous Blight cloud mushrooms into the

air above it, and ghoul parts and machinery
rain from the heavens, requiring a hasty retreat.
With a failure, the bomb doesn’t go off before
they’re overrun, and the party is forced to flee
without significantly harming the project.
Aftermath
When the group eventually returns to Ella, she
is buoyed to have Stormy join the cause, though
she is taken aback by his eccentricity. The news
of the mass production of worker ghouls and
The Recycling Factory horrifies her, but she
thinks this kind of gambit by the Big Boys might
be so craven and grotesque that the folks of the
Holler might finally turn against them.
She asks if the group gathered any evidence
she could use when informing other allies.
Whether they did or not, she believes a rumor
like this accrues its own power and she does
her best to spread the news far and wide
through her messengers.
Whether immediately or after some time
(and other adventures) has passed, she is eager
to tell the revolutionaries about an unrelated
uprising that’s developing up north.
Act Seven: Tent City
Blues
Location: Piney Dirge Plateau
Ella informs the crew that miners at Bondurant
No. 2 have walked off their jobs. They’ve been
booted from the Middenville coal camp and
have set up a tent colony on the edge of the
Piney Dirge Plateau.
An Uprising
The Mighty Fists, in league with some of Ella’s
other operatives, have sown significant dissent
since the collapse at Galloway. They warned
the Bondurant miners that the Bondurants,
despite their attitude of beneficence, were
subjecting them to the same safety hazards and
egregious risks that define the Galloway mines
and led to the collapse in Marrow. Justin Taylor
reminded them of past collapses at Bondurant
mines and that another was inevitable.
Ella recounts the final line of his stirring
speech, “Though the Bondurants tell you that
you are men, they treat you like mules.”
Blasted Beauty
The Bondurant miners have been replaced
with temporary workers recruited from the
hills and neighboring towns, which has led to
many nasty dust-ups between the two groups.
The miners have taken to referring to these
temporary workers as “scabs.”
This ad hoc strike is the first organized
revolt the Holler has ever experienced
(or can remember experiencing, anyway).
Taylor’s energy, along with the rumors of the
burgeoning coalition’s exploits and discoveries,
has imbued some Holler folk with something
resembling hope, though that’s balanced
with the deep fear of harsh retaliation from
the Big Boys.
A tent city populated by the displaced miners
has sprung up on the border of the Sootstones
and the Piney Dirge Plateau. Ella directs the
heroes to travel to Piney Dirge and help protect
the tent city—she says word is traveling fast to
other dissidents that a new city is emerging,
one that they can call their own. She expects
it to grow rapidly from a steady stream of
disgruntled workers and outcasts from across
the Holler.
The Tent City
After arriving on Piney Dirge Plateau, the
travelers spot a ramshackle tent city humming
with life, excitement, and unease.
There are nearly two hundred tents and wooden
shelters, along with sleeping spots “scratched out
on the ground for folks.”
To the northwest the Stygians loom, to the south
the Sootstones roil and brood, but the tent city
ground is as level as a lake and stretches toward
the vast northern horizon, a disquieting vista, or,
as one tent city resident puts it, “if that ain’t infinity,
it’s right next to it.”
The smell of stewed venison, pork, and possum
fills the air, jigs are played here and there, and a
mixture of high spirits and wary thoughts pervade
the crowd. Many folks are gathered around a
rickety soap box in the middle of the bustle, waiting
for the next speaker to hop on up and say his piece.
In addition to the labor conflict, proselytizers
of the three religious sects of Piney Dirge
Plateau have shown up and are aggressively
seeking converts in the tent village.
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 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse

Soap Boxing Below is a rundown of each of the religious

When the group arrives, they walk into leaders’ viewpoints.
the middle of a “soap boxing” wherein the Lester Poulson: Lester is actually on the side
three conflicting religious missionaries are of the rebellion, but he never takes the lead,
attempting to win the crowd over “in a fair and believing the revolutionaries themselves must
righteous forum.” be the ones to guide the rebellion. He preaches
Lester Poulson (see page 206) is the leader violent resistance and reckless self-sacrifice,
of The Church of the Anointed, one of the claiming in righteous death, their souls
three religious sects of the Piney Dirge Plateau. will find their way to the Lord. Though he’s
The others are his brother, Ollie Poulson (see technically an ally, these extreme arguments
page 205), and former Anointed Church may occasionally work against those of the
member, Estelle Rood (see page 205), each freedom fighters.
of whom have a different point of view about Ollie Poulson: Ollie warns that Lester and
rebelling against the Big Boys. the rebel leaders are dangerous and urges
Lester, Ollie, and Estelle are all charismatic the workers to seek reconciliation with the
spiritual leaders. When each one speaks, the Bondurants and wait for their reward in
crowd seems to swing in their direction, with Heaven (as well as turn over the direction of
any initial skepticism and light booing turning their spiritual lives—and a goodly portion of
quickly into cheers and amens and other their scrip— to him).
charismatic expressions of faith. Snakes are Estelle Rood: Estelle offers the workers
pulled from rucksacks and held reverently in refuge at her compound if they convert to her
the air, hymns billow forth, and flasks of shine “pure religion, the language of tree and leaf,
are passed through the crowd. wind and sun.”
The religious leaders push their message and If the group’s oratory proves effective (six
lambaste each other. As soon as one finishes or more Influence Tokens), the crowd calms
speaking, another jumps up, and the rhetorical and regains its focus on the struggle with the
war continues. The longer the leaders speak, Bondurants and the threat of the potential
the more factions spontaneously develop in violence. They look to the rebels as leaders and
the crowd, with folks being increasingly drawn follow their imperatives.
to one leader or the other. If the Soap Boxing results in less than six
The heroes quickly realize this “soap boxing”/ Influence Tokens for the players, the mood
revival service has the potential to sow in the city shifts significantly toward either
dissent and divide the energies among the Ollie’s or Estelle’s way of thinking, with those
displaced workers—maybe even devolve into supporting Ollie deciding to grudgingly
outright violence. return to Middenville, sapping the morale of
The group needs to speak up and speak up those who remain (the crew might deduce
fast to counter these treatises and promises that Ollie is in the Big Boys’ pocket), and those
with a message of their own. supporting Estelle following her onto the
Plateau to embrace her druidic, free love, and
Hearts and Minds Offering-practicing paradise (see An Offerin’
Run this as a Social Conflict (see Savage Worlds) on page 33). This is a critical point in the
where the freedom fighters are petitioners rebellion, and directly effects the number of
trying to convince the people of the tent city Force Tokens the team starts with in Act Ten:
to stay the course with the coalition and not The Battle of Blasted Beauty (see page 150).
abandon it to capitulation or false utopias. h Lester Poulson: See page 206
Although each leader participates with their h Ollie Poulson: See page 205.
own arguments (with Lester in Support of h Estelle Rood: See page 205.
the rebels and Ollie and Estelle in opposition),
the ultimate goal is to gain Influence Tokens Lester’s Prophecy
to keep the rebellion alive, or at least keep as
Regardless of the results of the soap boxing,
many people dedicated to it as possible.
Renny Harp (whom the group encountered
Act 2. See Congregants of the Church of the

140

Anointed on page 113) tells the group “their
time has come” and Lester requests a meeting
with them.
Lester tells the group about his troubled
dreams—nightmares of the Big Boys taking
over “the infernal wastes of my beloved home,”
alongside dreams of a glorious day when the
Blight fog lifts from the Holler and the people
are free. He says a group of stalwart new Riders
will liberate the Holler. He believes the heroes
are these Riders, “harbingers of freedom
instead of the clarions of Blight.”
Lester prepares to relate the legend of the
Rider’s Curse (see page 4), the Holler’s
most famous origin story. The freedom fighters
are familiar with different versions of this story,
as are most folks in the Holler. Before Lester
tells his version (similar to the story from the
introduction to the setting), he invites the
players to tell theirs.
Ask the players to relate their own versions
of the tale in which they add or change a detail
to the Riders of Industry legend with a unique
variation or twist (this kind of variation is
common in oral folk tales, after all). Give them
a Benny if they contribute.
Lester’s own tale ends with a surprising twist.
He says the Riders were not supernatural
messengers, but rather regular men, costumed
and tricked out with fancy gadgets to appear
more dangerous and frightening than
they were.
He says that’s why the mob was able to kill
one of them. He asserts the Big Boys have no
magical powers, only machines and devices,
and they do not wield them with perfection.
The Big Boys are fallible, like all men, and their
machines are fallible, like all their creations.
The Blight and the Holler’s isolation are
not the result of a curse, but of the Big
Boys’ scientific and industrial malfeasance.
Lester declares:
They have created our very world—a corrupted
microcosm in their own image. They are the
originators and perpetuators of all our misery.
The Blight is the actualization of their dreams, the
breath from their mouths, their manufactured
tonic that soothes us to sleep and subservience.
The demons, as you may have learned, are not
under their control. The demons are our kin. If we
can liberate the demons, they can help us liberate
ourselves.
Blasted Beauty
Lester and the Fae Queen
After allowing this revelation to sink in, and
engaging any of the group’s questions or
observations, Lester has another story to share.
He tells of his “fondest trip,” a journey to
see the enchanted land of Faefall. It’s when
he was a young man and before he acquired
his religious convictions. He fell asleep in a
fairy circle and woke in the court of the Fae
Queen herself.
“She required a handsome new human
lover,” Lester says, “and, back then, I fit the
bill.” He recounts weeks of enchanted luxury
and pleasure. He fell deeply in love with the
Fae Queen and says she toyed with the idea
of transforming him into a sylvan god and
anointing him as her Fae King, so that they’d
rule Faefall together forever.
Lester adds:
A beautiful dream, eh? But one day, her favor
turned, just like that. She told me her spriggans
chanced upon a proud demon that strode through
forest and glade without fear. That he was twice the
man that I was. He had been a miner, fearlessly
tunneling beneath the earth, growing strong and
resolute, even as the Blight and coal dust filled his
body. He died trying to fetch his daughter from a
roaring stream she had fallen into.
The Fae Queen thought this was a lovely story.
She wanted a demon who had experienced tragedy,
in real life, she said, rather than a fresh-faced boy
who had experienced nothing more profound than
her charms. And so she put me back out into this
fallen world. And that was when I began to acquire
my religious beliefs.
She still lives there now, of course. I never did find
out how or why she arrived here, or even if she’s
trapped like all the rest of us. She would kill me
on sight. But she knows how to speak to demons.
Knows how to bring them to her beck and call. If
you can convince her of the urgency of your case,
she might share her secrets. Or she might feed you
to her gaggle of bodachs with their slimy skin and
razor teeth before she sends them out to steal more
of our children.
Lester laughs wickedly at the conclusion. He
offers the heroes a group of his finest stallions
if they agree to travel to Faefall. He claims they
are “faster than sin” and “maybe a bit filled
with it, too.” Shortly thereafter, gunshots ring
out around the camp.
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 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
Attack on the Camp
The Bondurants, with help from both the
Galloways and the Bastrops, have sent a large
armed force to disperse the village. A mix of
roughly one-hundred Kramer-Holt agents,
company guards, and scabs rush the camp. A
group of four large earth excavators accompany
them, driven by company technomancers.
This invading force is armed to the teeth
with Tommy Deadmen, Peasant Pumpers, and
Widowmakers. Their goal isn’t to kill everyone,
as that might simply fuel the rebellion rather
than squash it, but simply scare most off and
capture several others to send them to the
Folsom penal colony or the Bonderant asylum
as an example.
Retreat is the only non-suicidal option, but
the overall outcome largely depends on who
won the soap boxing.
Heroes: If the heroes win the soap boxing,
they can exert their leadership and steward
at least half of the tent city residents (around
100) to a hasty retreat and safety deep on the
slopes of nearby mountains. These residents
eventually reform and set up a camp at a
distant location. They can be called upon and
counted as an ally in the final battle (see Act
Ten on page 150). Lester can be called on as
an ally if the group did nothing to offend him
when he was relating his prophecy.
Ollie and Estelle: If Ollie and Estelle’s non-
combative point of view prevailed at the soap
boxing, only a handful of tent city residents
remain with the revolutionaries. The rest
either volunteer to return to their jobs and
provide what they know of the insurrection to
the Big Boys, or they flee with Estelle to their
grim oasis and refuse to join the coalition. In
this instance, Ollie conspires with the Big Boys
to ensure Lester Poulson is killed unless the
heroes intervene.
“One must confront an
abomination with a more
infernal abomination.
Abomination upon
abomination is righteous
escalation.”
— Lester Poulson, Leader of
The Church of the Anointed
142
After the Attack
The rebels can travel south and inform Ella of
the events if they wish. She is deeply skeptical
of Lester’s claims, but is willing for the group
to try anything when it comes to mounting
a resistance. She fears a severe, Holler-wide
pushback from the Big Boys, with increased
violence and repressive measures. She worries
that “we're runnin' out of time before we even
get started.”
The group may wish to travel directly to
Faefall, as the urgency of their mission takes
precedence over another debriefing.
Act Eight: Journey to
Faefall
Location: Faefall Mountains
Piney Dirge Plateau rests at the north end of
Corn Cob Gap, with Faefall at the south end on
the far side of the Holler. Traveling straight down
Corn Cob Gap then cutting through a narrow
Ghost Ridge valley is the most direct route.
Using Lester’s horses cuts the trip by at
least a day, as they are fast, strong, and have
terrific endurance. It almost seems like they
are imbued with a greater spirit. They are
also surly, like Lester himself. Consider a few
Riding rolls along the way. With a failure, the
horse bucks its rider for 2d6 damage.
The Riders Of Industry
At some point during the journey (ideally when
a hero makes a successful Notice roll, surveying
the horizon for danger), the group spies four
darkly clad riders astride imposing black
stallions, closing in at a rapid pace.
The group immediately recognizes them as
the Riders of Industry—the legend—a shroud
of Blight fog seems to surround them. As they
draw closer, the heroes see that the riders are
wearing gas masks (a commodity only Big Boys
and their most trusted underlings from the city
don—a protection against Blight) and wielding
large, blunderbuss-like weapons (see Blighters
on page 24).
Perhaps Lester’s version of the Rider’s story
is flawed or maybe this is a part of his vision—
the rebels can defeat the Riders of Industry to
become the Riders of the Revival.

The Shift Boss should feel free to embellish
this scene with apocalyptic trappings—natural
or otherwise—a Blight storm, horns trumpeting
from the sky, various “special effects” (flashing
lights, or concussive booms that shake
the ground).
The Riders’ derivation is technological, not
supernatural, as Lester suggested. They are
equipped with all kinds of gadgets—in addition
to the gas masks, they are fitted with “oracular
lenses” that make their eyes beam with a
demonic red light, small fog machines attached
to their belts produce their “doom shroud,”
and small radios produce gothic music and
tortured wails.
Beneath this getup, the Riders are mere
men, though tough ones at that—mercenaries
from the City.
Combat is the only solution to this
confrontation. If the revolutionaries added
interesting details to the legend of the Riders
during their interaction with Lester, work
them into the scene, if possible. If the heroes
win the battle, they gain a huge morale boost
from puncturing one of the Holler’s most
Blasted Beauty
enduring myths. Each team member receives
a Conviction token.
If the party captures and questions any of
the Riders of industry, they plead for their
lives, and tell them a wild tale about recently
being trained by the Big Boys in the City for
this job because “they said youse folks was
getting uppity.”
The “Riders” were educated in the folk beliefs
and superstitions of Holler residents. They
were warned of the Blight. They were told they
were going to a land of absolute despair, filled
with pitiful beings for whom they should have
no empathy and show no mercy.
Any surviving Riders reveal wondrous details
about the City. Skyscrapers, paved streets
bustling with cars, radios everywhere, folks
bequeathed with freedom and “inalienable
rights.” They also relate their criminal pasts
and may even start to feel guilty about their
role in terrorizing citizens, empathizing with
the plight of the Holler folks.
More than anything, though, they are deeply
concerned about inhaling Blight and are
panicked about finding their way back to the
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 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
“station” (the Holler’s secret Big Boy passageway
inside of Hot Poker Mountain). They have no
clue where to go but are frantic to find a way
out. If asked, any survivors refuse to join the
party and take their chances in the wilds.
• The Riders of Industry: See page 209.
These particular Riders' true identities are:
Vinnie Scuzzerino, a petty thief and card
shark; Red Callahan, a bodyguard for the
Galloway family; Bumpsy Malone, a mob
hitman; and Dennis “The Deacon” Romano,
a crooked cop on the Bondurant’s payroll.
Entering Faefall
After the group cuts through a pass in the
Ghost Ridge, they arrive at the border of
Faefall, where the Wild Eddy River flows into
Lake Orchard. It’s a revelation—the sun shines
brightly over verdant hills, not a Blight cloud
in the sky.
What does heaven look like? No living man or
woman knows. The vista rising before you might
offer a hint. The dark waters of the Wild Eddy
turn calm and offer a crystal-piercing view as they
empty into a large lake.
A thousand shades of vibrant green paint the
grass, the trees, the bushes. Abundant growth
everywhere. Not a trace of sooty Blight in the air.
Wildflowers pinioning their pink and yellow faces
toward the one true sun, sharing its full warmth
with them and with you.
You take a deep breath. Heaven. Or . . . is that
an angel? No, sir. A buzzing critter like a dragon
fly if a dragon fly had a human face on the end
of its sparkling green stem of a body, goes zinging
right past your head. It seems to sup on a swirl of
Blight rising from the Wild Eddy, sups and sups
until it bloats like a stout baby pig. Then poof!! That
fat dragonfly explodes and the Blight disappears.
Like magic.
You turn your head back toward the lake—more
of them are buzzing around, buzzing and supping
on any stray Blight that dares float into this
beautiful land. Supping. Bloating. Exploding.
A strange heaven, to be sure.
Squadrons of scrummies dart around the
surface of the lake, devouring the Blight from
the Wild Eddy.
Encountering a land of such alien
enchantment shocks the senses and requires
Fear checks.
144
• Scrummies: See page 244.
Crossing the Fae Queen
As the interlopers round the south side of
the lake to move deeper into Faefall, they spy
magical creatures of another sort. Around a
dozen kelpies (page 242) are frolicking in a
glade between the banks of the lake and lush,
mossy forest.
A Folklore or Occult roll identifies the
creatures and their legend. They are fairy
creatures, of course, and carry anyone who
tries to ride them to the bottom of the body of
water they are tasked with guarding, instantly
drowning their passenger.
If the crew approach the kelpies, they turn in
unison and start pawing the ground violently,
signaling the intent to attack.
If they instead keep their distance or simply
admire their majesty, the kelpies remain calm.
Either way, a spriggan suddenly appears
in front of the heroes before any interaction
occurs, as though it had just blinked itself into
existence.
In a high-pitched, grating fairy voice, it asks,
“Have youngins come for your fellows here?
Might be the Fae Queen’ll give them back to
you if you play with me!”
The kelpies are formerly members of the
Boys from County Hell (page 52). The
group may have met these same Boys at the
Weaver Falls Fiddlers Convention, along with
their leader, Arville Smote (see page 205), and
fought along side them.
Soon after Weaver Falls, the County Boys got
themselves into a bit of trouble, drawing the
attention of Kramer-Holt agents for illegal
dirt track racing. They fled to Faefall to elude
the agents.
The local fae soon found their partying
and poaching on the banks of Orchard Lake
disruptive. The County Boys wantonly killed
deer and other small animals. They also
invented a game where they tried to shoot
scrummies with their derringers before the
scrummies exploded, which is not the brightest
idea, as doing so released Blight back into the
air and water.
This was enough to draw the ire of the Fae
Queen herself, who views scrummies as among
 Blasted Beauty

her most valuable creations, if not among her Riddle #2: What has four legs and can see just
most beautiful. as well from either end?
The presence of the County Boys convinced Answer: A horse with its eyes closed.
the Fae Queen that she needed to quell the Riddle #3: When is a horse not a horse?
flow of riffraff from the rest of the Holler into
Answer: When it turns into a pasture.
Faefall, so she transformed them into kelpies,
effectively removing their disruptive presence Some players enjoy riddles, some don’t. Feel
from the lake and installing them as protective free to run these as a series of Tests, putting
sentinels of it. emphasis on the dice results rather than right
or wrong answers. The spriggan is just as
And zealous sentinels they have proven to be,
interested in frivolity as “correct” responses.
roaming considerable distances from the lake
Again, the more the players indulge him, mock
to attack folks fishing the ponds and streams
him, counter with riddles of their own, or give
of the western Hogback Hills. The County Boys
ridiculous answers, the happier he will be.
retain a fair degree of human sentience and
memory (such as it is in the Holler) and even After the riddle game concludes, if he has
resemble their former selves if they assume been sufficiently entertained, he offers to
human shape. escort the pilgrims to the Fae Queen so they
can “ask for your folks back yourselves.”
They are duty-bound to protect bodies of
water and the wildlife therein from trespassers,
but their anarchist spirit leads them to push The Foot of Foxfire
against the boundaries of their prescribed duty. The spriggan leads the group several miles
into the woods to a lovely waterfall at the foot
The Fae Queen has had about enough of this of Foxfire Mountain. He says “This is where
exercise in transformation and is planning to the Queen’s court is today. It moves around
drown the kelpies herself soon. quite a bit!”
Her spriggan representative is happy to relay
the whole story about the County Boys, but
is in a frisky mood, and only offers to help
them convince the Fae Queen to transform
them back into humans if they participate in
a riddle game.
During interactions with the spriggan,
Persuasion works fine, but he particularly
enjoys attempts at Intimidation +2, out-of-
combat Taunts +2, or any kind of Test. The
more rhetorical jousting or slapstick high jinks
the players engage in, the better he likes them,
the more he tells them, and the more likely
he delivers them safely to the Fae Queen
and talks them up in her presence.

The Riddles
If any group members consent, the
spriggan is delighted and demands
“answers of highest entertainment and
glee.” Any kind of riddles will do, but
here are few horse ones, inflected with
this spriggan’s brand of absurdist humor.
Riddle #1:What kind of horses have the
smallest feet?
Answer: The smallest horses.

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 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
If the rebels have been curmudgeonly or
dismissive of him, he still leads them to the
waterfall, but leaves them at the entrance.
“Behind a waterfall,” the spriggan spits.
“Of course.”
He disappears into a nearby thicket and emits
a shrill whistle, calling his pet wampus (page
227) from the forest to attack the group and
punish them for their dullness. If the wampus
picks up two Wounds, he whistles again, calls it
back into the thicket, and they both disappear.
h Spriggan: use the stats for Spriggans on page
244. This spriggan is a Wild Card.
h Wampus: See page 227
Meeting With the Fae Queen
Behind the waterfall, you enter a large cave and
encounter an opulent setting—vibrant, trumpeting
blooms, giant mushrooms that serve as platforms
for dining tables, ornate beds covered with flowers,
“I can be a wol f, a flower, or
a breeze. Whatever I want.
But I’m always the Queen.”
146
a constant music that sounds like wind chimes and
delicate strings.
The cave is showered with a sparkling, silvery
light and feels quite surreal. Spriggans, sylvans,
bodachs, and pixies busy themselves with
domestic tasks—dusting, sweeping, setting
tables, or pouring tea for invisible guests.
A good twenty feet high in the center of the
cave, the Fae Queen sits on a giant mushroom
throne, attended by four human children.
The spriggan, if he is still with the group, calls
up to the Queen, introducing the “supplicants”,
and announcing their desire (and likely
putting words into their mouths) to transform
the kelpies back into folks. If the spriggan isn’t
there, the group makes Persuasion rolls at −2.
Her base reaction to the group’s presence is
mildly mocking bemusement. If they ask her to
change the kelpies back, she sighs, assents, and
complains about being bothered with such a
mundane task. If the heroes invoke Lester, the
secret of speaking with demons, or the story of
her demon lover, her attitude changes quickly.
She seems to bear no ill will to Lester (“He
was a simple child, but rather spirited”), but she
becomes intensely focused at the mention of
demons or her demon lover. She’s also curious

to hear about recent events in the Holler and
what led the group to her.
The queen is most responsive to entreaties
that focus on the threat of the Big Boys to Faefall
itself and what might befall her uncorrupted
land if they continue pushing their industrial
operations southward. She becomes much
more serious and engaged. The silvery light of
the cave grows dark, the air feels intensely cold,
and the gleeful patter of court falls silent. The
spriggan sighs deeply.
• The Fae Queen: See page 241.
The Trial of the Blight Cave
If they relate Lester’s idea that demons are
former humans and may be converted to
the cause of defending the Holler, she tells
the heroes she can grant them the power to
summon the demons and communicate with
them, but fae magic comes at a heavy price,
one that most humans cannot readily bear.
She tells them, “First you must suffer your
darkest selves.”
She says little else to prepare them, but if the
group is up for the challenge, she simply says,
“Very well. Good luck.”
The heroes are whisked away in a haze of
swirling color to Abraham’s Fairy Circle (see
page 26). A crowd of pixies flit outside the
circle checking out the party, some giggling,
and some with concern on their tiny faces.
Within the invisible boundary of the circle, a
plume of Blight appears. It gets bigger, and
thicker until it envelops the team in apparent
blackness.
The group finds themselves in a dim cavern,
with the haze of Blight everywhere they look,
illuminated by some unseen source of green
light. Dark, human-like shapes encroach on
them. In short order, it becomes apparent that
each of these shapes is a familiar silhouette.
Each is a dark doppelganger of one of the
heroes, and they attack in more ways than one.
You are attacked by grotesque, Blight infested
shapes that look strikingly similar to you, and as
you fight, you suffer scattered visions of your past.
You see tough decisions you made or failures you
endured. You see people who died or disappeared.
You see images of re-written history where you are
responsible for the suffering of others. You come to
recognize the doppelgangers as possible evolutions
Blasted Beauty
of your future, corrupted and broken, having given
into the extremes of your flaws and vices.
You see yourselves as the demons you might
become if the Blight takes you completely—
sloughing, horrific abominations still with the
sentience of humanity within you, but without any
means of controlling the horror, anger, or crippling
apathy you’ve succumbed to.
And ever-present all around you, choking out
your humanity and testing your will, you see the
cause of it all. The Blight.
This is what it truly means to be a demon.
Facing Your Demons
The group faces a multi-person Dramatic Task
with no penalties using Spirit (See Dramatic
Tasks in Savage Worlds). The hopefuls must
accumulate Task Tokens equal to three times
the number of participants.
In addition to accumulating tokens by taking
an action and rolling Spirit to resist the visions,
each time a doppelganger is Incapacitated, the
group automatically gains 3 Task Tokens.
If the heroes acquire the required Task Tokens
in three rounds, they stave off corruption long
enough for the Blight and the vision to disperse,
and emerge back at Abraham’s Fairy Circle.
Each participant gains Conviction, and if they
wish, may remove a Minor Hindrance, or make
the Major version of a Hindrance Minor.
If the group doesn’t accumulate enough
tokens or they are Incapacitated by their
doppelgangers, they fall unconscious, and
each must make a Spirit roll at −4 to avoid the
Demon Shakes (see page 46).
Once the trial is over, the hopefuls magically
reappear in Abraham’s Fairy Circle, the pixies
scattered around it assessing them with great
interest about how they did. They cheer if the
group is unharmed, and the reaction is mixed
if they fail, some flying over to gently rouse
those who succumbed to the Demon Shakes
with words of comfort, while others laugh and
mock the heroes for their weaknesses.
Blight Doppelgangers
Blight doppelgangers take on the appearance
and personalities of the heroes as if they had
completely given in to their flaws and vices—a
taste of who they could become. Regardless of
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 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse

who they are mimicking, each of them has the Failure

following skills and abilities. If the group fails the trial, the Fae Queen simply
chuckles, bemused, and says, “You have no
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d8, Spirit d8, need of summoning demons. You are demons
Strength d8, Vigor d12 already,” and ports the group outside of Faefall.
Skills: Athletics d8, Common Knowl- If they try to immediately return, they are met
edge d8, Fighting d8, Focus d10, with waves of fae attackers, accompanied by
Intimidation d8, Notice d8, Persuasion d8, dozens of pixies mocking and chiding them
Shooting d8, Stealth d8, Taunt d8 relentlessly.
Pace: 6; Parry: 6; Toughness: 8
Hindrances: The worst manifestation of those
of its likeness.
Special Abilities:
Act Nine: The
• Blight Claws: d6+Str. On a hit, victim rolls Mustering
Vigor. Failure results in his Spirit lowering
a die-type (minimum d4). He may roll Location: Corn Cob Gap
Vigor as a free action again at the end of his With their newly minted arcane power, the
subsequent turns to recover. revolutionaries are ready to call on the allies
• Chide: Blight doppelgangers know they have gained throughout their journey.
exactly what each of their opponents have When they return to Ashdown and tell
done. Innermost thoughts, desires, and Ella about the remarkable secrets they have
questionable decisions the victim has made discovered, she suggests they gather their
in the past can come back to light and rattle forces just south of Blasted Beauty in the
them. The doppelganger may ignore 2 Stygian Mountains. It’s a prime symbol of Big
points of multi-action penalties on Taunt Boys power and the site of their latest and
and Intimidate Tests. most expensive venture: the destruction of the
mountain itself to extract the large deposits of
Speaking in Forked Tongues highly potent verdinite from its innards.
If the group passes the test, The Fae Queen
nods toward them with an air of grim respect, Gathering Strength
and says with almost sad reservation, “Not It takes several days for all the allies to arrive.
so easy facing your own demons, is it? If the rebels bonded particularly strongly with
Congratulations.” certain groups, their arrivals can be the focus of
She deems them worthy to lead a demon appropriate fanfare and role playing/Interlude
army. She gifts them each talismans that allow opportunities. A sense of optimism and unity
them to communicate with demons. They can grows as old friends arrive and the fledgling
appeal to the vestiges of humanity within them army swells to a legitimate force. Led by the
and learn details about the demons’ past lives. heroes, the coalition discusses potential battle
The Fae Queen also teaches the worthy strategies and takes stock of their munitions
victors a summoning ritual (see Summoning and supplies.
Demons on page 149) that’s capable of calling
a great number of demons to a location. The The Betrayal
ritual includes chants in an ancient fae tongue The Shift Boss chooses a coalition faction or
and a talisman representative of each hero. individual to betray the coalition. The Shift
The Fae Queen suffers no further questioning Boss should consider the heroes’ history and
about the blight cave, the nature of the trial relationships with various individuals and
they just endured, what she knows about the groups and choose one to create the most
Blight, or her motivations in helping the group. powerful narrative effect—maybe it’s a once
She simply sends them on their way with any trusted friend, or a particularly valuable
further questions decidedly unanswered. faction, maybe the reasons for the betrayal are
shocking, maybe it’s Ella herself.
The betrayal can come in multiple forms—
assassination attempts on the core team

148

or other important coalition members,
sabotaging coalition supplies, outright joining
the Big Boys, or simply desertion.
The betrayal shakes the resistance’s
burgeoning morale and other factions question
the freedom fighters’ leadership. It’s up to
the group to restore order and confidence,
whether it’s through skilled rhetoric or more
drastic measures.
Summoning Demons
At some point, if the group was successful in
Faefall, they must consider whether to attempt
the Fae Queen’s demon summoning ritual. Run
the ritual as a single person Difficult Dramatic
Task with a −2 penalty, using the Occult skill
(see Dramatic Tasks in Savage Worlds).
Other teammates may Support as usual,
but there’s an additional twist. The ally
that betrayed the coalition also shared the
knowledge of their whereabouts with the Big
Boys and an invading shock force arrives just
in time to disrupt the ritual.
The Menagerie: The Big Boys hire Maximus
Wonderly (see the Savage Tale featuring him,
on page 165) to release a gaggle of cryptids
onto the mustering grounds. Ultimately, the
larger cryptid attack is more a scare tactic than
anything else, and while it might undermine
the coalition’s resolve, it doesn’t destroy it.
Either way, a rather imposing “sweeper” takes
direct aim on the ritualists, even if they are
apart from the rest of the coalition members.
The legendary Spitfinger, a stone wraith who
possesses a penchant for procuring human
livers with a flick of her wrist, rides toward the
ritual site astride an enormous snapping turtle,
presenting the group with an epic critter fight
during their ritual.
If the ritual fails during this attack, a gaggle
of pumpkin head demons are summoned, but
they immediately pile on and attack alongside
Spitfinger.
• Spitfinger: See page 226.
• Giant Terrapin: See page 215.
• Field demon (pumpkin head) (1 per hero):
See page 235.
Unnerving Allies
If the summoners succeed, around fifty
demons, representing a spectrum of those
Blasted Beauty
the group has encountered during their
adventures, appear around the edges of the
circle (representing 1 Force Token).
If the ritualists exceed the total, around
a hundred demons appear (representing 2
Force Tokens), the excess creeping in from the
surrounding thickets and woods.
If they exceed the total by three or more
Tokens, two hundred demons appear, winging
or sloughing in from every direction (3
Force Tokens).
However many demons appear, they are led
by a formidable Storm Demon (page 237),
who strides forth to meet the rebels.
The Storm Demon
If they communicate with the storm demon,
they discover her true identity, expressed
in the odd elocution that characterizes
demonic speech:
My given name was Eunice Harris. I hail from
a poor brood of relations. Besotted and bellicose
drunks them all. I left them. Only a towhead. Only
a child. Tarried over the Hogback Hills.
Every day pierced at least a little, with sun, and
many reveled in its full glory. The breeze pure and
wild like a bird. I cared for no man, but rather the
streams and horses and trees branching into the
sky. And especially the wolves.
This was before they spoke. I would have liked
to call them my friends. I ate the meat of many
creatures in their nearness and slept beside them
on stones. I preferred it that way. A quietness
in my bones.
My existence was perhaps an unhinging of the
natural order but the natural order prevailed
despite it. Prevailed until the strangers came and
slaughtered the sun. Razed the trees. Stripped the
mountains. Scalded the fields. The dark clouds
slumped upon us and enshrouded my hill.
I breathed those clouds in and shivered. A bolt
from the spoiled sky struck the near ground, flowed
into my body. I shuddered like whelping prey. I
went to sleep. I did not wake up, except to this.
I am what I am. Perhaps the oldest of my kind. I
want the quietness again. To feel it in my bones. I
have killed a hundred men and will kill a hundred
more to get it, if that is your desire.
The other demons huddle behind Eunice—
they are at the coalition’s beck and call.
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 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
The Provincial Among Ye
Of course, some of the coalition’s allies may
have deep reservations or outright revulsion
or fear at the thought of siding with demons,
creatures they have shirked in fear from their
entire lives, bombarded by terrible legends,
and some may have even lost loved ones to
their clutches.
Religious factions, rural townsfolk, and the
avowedly skeptical need to be convinced of this
dread necessity (Persuasion or Intimidation
rolls at −2). With a failed roll, the individual or
faction leaves the coalition.
A Time to Ride
Assuming these disruptive cryptids are
defeated and the group holds the coalition
together, it’s time to ride into battle. The heroes
may do so in style, and in accordance with
Lester’s prophecy, as the Riders of the Revival,
if they sit atop horses, and trap themselves with
other tale-worthy symbols of their journey to
this point.
The party’s exploits and the burgeoning
social unrest across the Holler has pressed
the Big Boys into action. Coalition scouts
or passersby inform the party the Big Boys
are mustering their forces at Blasted Beauty.
The more time the Big Boys have to import
additional equipment and mercenaries, the
tougher it is to take them out.
The group should strike now, before the Big
Boys are fully mobilized. Big Boy scouts are
out in force, however, and know the party and
their makeshift army is on the march.
WHERE TO FIGHT?
Based on how the campaign unfolds,
it’s possible there’s a more appropriate
battle site in your campaign than Blasted
Beauty. Feel free to change the location
and trappings, as needed for your game.
Ultimately, the final battle should feel epic,
with a chance to get a shot at a Big Boy or
two.
150
Act Ten: The Battle of
Blasted Beauty
Location: Stygian Mountains
The would-be revolutionaries have tromped all
over the Holler at this point and encountered
many a complication on their journeys. With
their coalition in tow, the rebels face little
harassment on the way to Blasted Beauty, or
wherever they decide to make their stand.
The Approach
The Big Boys’ mobilization is under way on
the southern slopes of Blasted Beauty in the
Stygian Mountains (page 81). The party
approaches the scarred mountain through a
narrow valley trail that’s thickly forested on
each side. As they approach the end of this
valley, the trail narrows further, the ground
turns rocky and begins to rise.
Read the following:
As you approach your fate, the desecrated
mountain of Blasted Beauty looms above you, a
shadowy specter outlined against a soot-black
sky. You see strange lights flash on its slopes, hear
the distant hum of machines, implements of war,
warming to their purpose. It feels like the entire
mountain is watching you.
What horrors have the Big Boys prepared for
your welcome? You’ve seen the corruption in their
hearts laid plain by their works, hearts corrupted
by something worse than Blight—greed, power,
or an ancient evil that ensures tragedy remains
history’s anchor.
What can a few guns, a few strong hearts, and a
rabble of demon-folk accomplish against such evil
and its engines of death?
Before your heart can answer, you see dark
figures emerge from rocks and trees on the slopes
above you. They amble down the mountain in
a twisted pantomime, more and more of them,
surging together, picking up speed with their wild
and unruly gaits as they go, some with ghoulish
faces, some with heads covered in sack-like masks,
the faces of demons fashioned upon them.
This is the first wave of the Big Boys’ attack,
consisting of the Big Boys’ most disposable
minions, worker ghouls and Meatyardians.
Time for a climactic Mass Battle (see
Savage Worlds).

The Big Boys’ Army
When Theron Galloway heard tell of a growing
insurrection, he and many members of his clan
hurried to the Holler, donning gas masks and
protective gear.
Samuel Ashdown directed the distribution of
weapons, gadgets, Meatyardians, and worker
ghouls to Blasted Beauty. He remains there.
If Royster Whitaker survived Chapter Three,
he is present at the battle as well, itching
for a fight. The other Big Boys have no taste
for endangering themselves in a battle with
human vermin.
A mix of Kramer-Holt agents, company
guards, technomancers, ragtag Meatyardians,
and freshly necromanced platoons of worker
ghouls make up the bulk of the Big Boys’ forces.
The Battlefield
The Big Boys have the high ground. The leaders
(Galloway, Ashdown, and Whitaker, if he’s alive)
are stationed on a small plateau about halfway
up the slopes of Blasted Beauty. They haven’t
had much time to plan but have mustered a
multi-tiered defense, the pinnacle of which is
Blasted Beauty
a half dozen biplanes, armed with rear cockpit
machine guns and capable of dropping small
bombs, imported from surplus military
stockpiles in the City.
Theron Galloway leads the Big Boys’ forces
from his perch (Battle d10).
The Big Boys begin with 10 Force Tokens.
Assign the heroes’ army two to four Force
Tokens based on the strength of their coalition.
Consider how many folks the dissidents won
to their side, the depth of their respective
bonds with them, and any special abilities or
advantages the coalition members bring to the
fight. Give the coalition leaders credit if they
have taken special steps to train or boost the
morale members of their ranks.
“Hit first. Hit fast. Hit
last.”
—Minnie May Fugate,
Gouger
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 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
Give the battle masters one additional Force
Token if they exceeded four Influence Tokens
in the Social Conflict at the Soap Boxing in Act
Seven (see page 139). Remove a Force Token if
they didn’t receive any Influence Tokens at all.
Assign the heroes one to three additional
tokens based on their demon-summoning
success, if applicable (see Unnerving Allies on
page 149). If the group opted not to summon
demons, give them one Force Token for their
attempt at moral integrity and/or inherent
self-confidence.
Mass Battles are unpredictable, ranging from
a quick rout to a war of attrition. It’s possible
the coalition overruns the worker ghouls with
such ferocity that the Big Boys decide today’s
not their day, or it’s possible it’s a tooth-and-
nail fight that lasts several rounds.
As usual, modifiers for tactical advantages
and particularly good battle plans are
situational and at the discretion of the Shift
Boss. These calls should be made based on the
circumstances of the specific battle and the
heroes’ actions.
Still, the Big Boys are ready for this fight,
and have several possible assets they can
bring to bear against the rebels. These are
only suggestions and examples of what might
happen. Feel free to use them, ignore them, or
make up your own depending on the unique
battle conditions in your game.
The Horde
Waves of worker ghouls and Meatyardians
swarm the coalition’s forces. This horde
of “disposable meat” grants the Big Boy
commander a +2 on his Battle roll. This is a one
time use resource for the Big Boys.
Suggested Timing: It’s likely the big Boys
employ this horde early, both to soak up
damage before hitting their more elite troops,
and to create a sense of shock and awe against
the coalition.
Optional Complication
Some of the Meatyardians have been infused
with rabies, making them particularly
aggressive, giving the Big boys commander an
additional +1.
152
Roosting Riflemen
The ascent to Blasted Beauty is littered with
tree stands containing specialized company
guards with rifles ready to pick off coalition
members. Unless neutralized, these snipers
provide a +2 to the Big Boy commander’s Battle
roll when employed.
Suggested Timing: The snipers can be
employed any time as appropriate, but are
most likely utilized after the initial horde has
done its damage at the base of the mountain.
Optional complication
Depending on circumstances, snipers may
have the high ground, or be particularly hard
to see, giving the Big Boy commander an
additional +1 to +2.
Blighted Bivouac
Big Boy Technomancers have used portable
labs on the mountain to create an armory of
Blight weapons. Both Blighters and Blight
grenades are unleashed against the coalition.
This not only grants Theron Galloway a +2 on
his Battle Roll, but any coalition members on
the receiving end of this assault must make a
Blight Corruption check (see page 46).
Suggested Timing: This can be used at any
time, but it’s one use only.
Optional Complication
Because of the effect of the Blight weapons on
the coalition army, the rebellion’s commander
makes his Spirit roll at −2 this round, if forced
to test morale.
Slime Time
The slope of the mountain steepens into
a rocky, jagged ascent. A small team of six
technomancers holds a strategic position on a
jutting cliff. They have booby-trapped the slope
below and fire projectiles filled with a green,
sticky sludge at the coalition to slow their
advance. A direct hit from the slime (extracted
from the verdinite on Blasted Beauty) encases
and smothers the victim. This combination
of terrain and weird technology provides
Galloway a +3 to his Battle roll this round.
Optional complication
The slope is also set with verdinite mines that
cause powerful explosions when triggered.
Granting the Big Boys commander an
additional +1.

Biplanes!
Biplanes from the City sweep over the plateau.
Their gunners spray the coalition with machine
gun fire and drop explosives that shake the
ground, but the mountain’s sharp contours
and the surrounding air currents make the
bombing pass difficult.
Two of the biplanes crash into the
mountainside, creating panic and havoc
among the Big Boys’ forces. The coalition has
never seen such flying machines. The terrifying
attack, though only half-successful, adds +3 to
the enemy commander’s Battle roll this round.
If forced to test morale, the coalition’s
commander makes his Spirit roll at a −2.
Suggested Timing: This is probably Theron
Galloway’s last resort. He saves this for when
he’s desperate.
Optional Complication
Galloway never expected the coalition to get
this far. His nerve wavers and so does the nerve
of his forces. He takes −2 to his Battle roll and
−2 to his Spirit roll if he’s forced to test morale
this turn.
This Time it’s Personal
When the battle ends, most of the Big Boys
army is either routed (if the coalition won) or
barely holding together (if the Big Boys won),
but regardless of the outcome, there’s one
more bit of business to take care of.
The coalition find themselves on a large
plateau halfway up the mountain. Roughly
100 yards ahead, they see a few low buildings
they recognize as worker’s barracks and a
fifty-foot tower they recognize as a foreman’s
watch tower. This was the Big Boys’ base for
Blasting operations on the mountain and has
been transformed into a makeshift military
command center.
This is where Theron Galloway, Samuel
Ashdown, Royster Whitaker and whatever
remains of their army take their last stand.
Theron Galloway is at the top of the watch
tower, now quite concerned, and zeroed in on
the heroes with his spyglass. Royster Whitaker
leads a contingent of Kramer-Holt agents,
armed with Tommy Deadmen, who have
taken up defensive positions behind rocks
and the scattered trees on the plateau. Samuel
Blasted Beauty
THE BATTLE OF
BLAIR MOUNTAIN
The Battle of Blasted Beauty draws its
inspiration from The Battle of Blair
Mountain, which occurred in 1921 in
Logan County, West Virginia.
It marked the largest labor uprising in
United States history and the largest armed
conflict on United States soil since the
Civil War. Roughly 10,000 striking miners
confronted a smaller, but better armed
force consisting of law enforcement,
Baldwin-Felts agents, strikebreakers, and
the West Virginia National Guard.
Private planes were used to drop leftover
munitions from World War I on the miners,
some of which contained poisonous gas.
Ashdown fights beside one of his terrifying
machines, an Ashdown Driller!
If the Big Boys won the Mass Battle, add an
additional half dozen Kramer-Holt agents,
along with one company guard per hero who
are still loyal to their employers.
If the coalition won, only a few Kramer-Holt
agents remain, and all heroes begin this final
showdown with Conviction!
It’s likely the heroes have their own allies in
this fight as well. Give them control of a few
Rough and Toughs to supplement their forces.
This is a big, tough fight. Lean into it and
allow the heroes to use their skills, creativity,
and gravitas to take their best shot at some of
the most notorious villains the Holler has ever
seen. They earned it.
h Samuel Ashdown: See page 197.
h Theron Galloway: See page 200.
h Royster Whitaker: See page 202.
h Ashdown Driller: See page 252.
• Company Guards (1 per hero): Use only if the
Big Boys won the Mass Battle. See page 206.
• Kramer-Holt Agents (1 per hero): Increase
to 2 per hero if the Big Boys won the Mass
Battle. See page 208.
• Rough and Tough (1 per hero): See page
210.
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 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse

Aftermath technomancers renewed freedom in their

Regardless of the outcome, the Holler is scientific experiments.
changed forever. The Cussfoot Fens and Piney Dirge Plateau
remain haunted no-man’s lands. The Big Boys
Failure are hunkering and mustering a new offensive.
If the revolutionaries lose the final battle, The denizens of Faefall remain aloof and
most of the surviving allies disperse. Brutal impenetrable, but more fae incursions into
authoritarian rule is enforced anew across all the rest of the Holler indicate the Fae Queen’s
the company towns and villages. Suspected curiosity, maybe even a vulnerability no one
dissidents are executed. Even minor offenses can yet name.
now result in harsh prison sentences or a trip
Read the following aloud to the
to the gallows. Waves of fresh Kramer-Holt
deserving heroes:
agents arrive from the City. A new state of the
art research facility is erected in the center While the Otherness still remains, and the next
of Ashdown. battles promise to be even more difficult, Ella May
Any surviving coalition members are forced Hawkins knows the Big Boys face people who feel
to take refuge with the remnants of cults in the empowered to take back what’s theirs, people who
Piney Dirge Plateau or beg asylum from the fae are beginning to understand how.
Queen, who faces a new threat of her own, as The Stygian Mountains, Great Craggies and
the mysterious Green Man has emerged from Sootstones have been liberated. Word of the
the woods to challenge her sovereignty. coalition’s miraculous victory quickly spreads.
A land and its people, downtrodden and deprived
Victory! so long of hope and hearth, raise their heads and
If the coalition wins the final stand-off, Theron look to the sky. Are the Blight clouds a little thinner?
Galloway, Samuel Ashdown and Royster The songbirds more vocal? “If a few bluegrass
Whitaker are killed or captured. Both plead pickers, teachers, no accounts, and granny women
for their lives. Galloway agrees to withdraw can beat the odds and start a revolution, maybe
his mining operations from the Holler in we can be heroes too.”
exchange for his life. Whitaker offers to join
the coalition forces and aid them in future
battles against the other Big Boys.
Uprisings start in other parts of the Holler.
The prisoners in Folsom are liberated. The
laboratories at Burn Chimney are razed among
raucous celebration. Stomp parties romp in
every cove and holler, and bootleggers roar
along the valley roads, windows rolled down,
free as taker birds.
Along with Galloway, Eloise Bondurant and
the Lowells decide to abandon their interests
in the Holler.
Still, the textile moguls hold fast. The
Ashdown family is undeterred by the defeat
or capture of its patriarch, and unleashes
mercenary enforcers to wreak holy havoc on
the residents of Ashdown and Boscage. The
Saxons iron-fisted rule still holds sway in
their company towns. The newcomer, Roman
Bastrop, is also undeterred. Barton Umberkirk
backs their continued presence in the Holler.
He promises to send the remaining Big Boys
re-enforcements and to grant the Ashdown

154
 Chapter 10:
Savage Tales
Attack of the
Meatyardians
Location: Cussfoot Fens
A Mask for Sale
The heroes encounter a lone traveler from
Terrapin Corner hawking a mask, saying it was
“Ripped from the leering rictus of a genuine
Meatyardian.” He wants ten scrip, four flasks
of likker, or a small hand weapon for it.
He tells a wild tale about a Meatyardian raid
on Terrapin Corner, including mule thievery,
butter churn spilling, and lots of smashed
windows and frightened old folks. He says the
mask fell off a perpetrator. He picked it up
and hit the road, thinking it might be worth
something to a peddler, but it just spooked
folks away rather than enticing any buyers.
The mask is grotesque—a visage of an ancient
man with huge, cauliflower ears, rheumy
pustules on the right side of his face, and a
bloody mouth that looks like it was created
with the quick slash of a knife. A hand drawn
flock of ravens swarm around the eyes.
The combination of the tale and the odd mask
should pique the players’ interest. If they need
more motivation, the traveler mentions these
ghouls were seen by a bore hunter loitering
around Samuel Ashdown’s abandoned hunting
lodge in the Fens.
Spinnin’ Yarns
When the travelers arrive in Terrapin Corner,
they don’t see folks loitering about, an unusual
situation in this community of voluble
storytellers. The retired workers peep out of
their windows. Attempts to allay their fears
and get someone to answer the door suffer a −2
penalty. Use the Folks Generator on page 94
to generate a handful of residents.
Folks who overcome their fear enough to
tell much the same story as the mask seller,
inflected with some head scratching tidbits.
Here are a few of the stories they share:
Eyewitness Report #1
Well, I guess about a month ago these fellas and
ladies with sack cloths tied over their heads showed
up and just started hanging around town. You
could see they was folks and not demons through
the cut-out holes for the eyes and the mouths. They
didn’t say nary a word, just stood there, dumb as
posts, like scarecrows. I’ve heard stories about
crucified scarecrows getting real mean up north,
but, lord, not the ones around here.
Some folks gave them a howdy-do or poked at
‘em with a stick. They’d grunt a little with the stick,
but that’s all. Vonnie Givens baked up a big old
plate of biscuits and toted it around to ever one
of ‘em. They just turned up their noses kindly. One
or two of them wretched through his mask. I ain’t
never seen Vonnie so offended.
155
 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
Eyewitness Report #2
Oh you might have heard about the peaceful ones,
but then a couple of weeks ago some right rude ones
started ramblin’ through, right about midnight,
most ever night. Chasing chickens and upsetting
the mules, scaring at ‘em like you do a child for a
prank. Then they got to rutting at the ground and
smashing folks’ rocking chairs and worse.
Well, I hate to say it, but one of ‘em befouled
the well. We’ve been havin’ to tote our buckets to
the crick since, just to get water. Parsons said the
befouling is probably disserpated by now and that
whatever is in the crick is worse anyhow.
And they knocked a few folks to the ground
last night. Old bones crack easy ye know. Lot of
tending-to for the granny woman today. And, I
almost forgot, my mind these days— they whomped
Erwin Irvin on the back with a shovel, knocked him
plum over and the wind out of him to boot, but
Erwin Irvin is a tough old goat, anybody will tell
you that. I’m a-feared of them to come back. That’s
the truth. They seem more riled ever single time.
Eyewitness Report #3
You might’ve heard the real agitated ones come
through at midnight, rousing folks who need their
beauty rest more than most. They’ve come through
six nights a-running. A clatter and mess, I swear. I
can’t see no real sense in it.
But it started to make more sense to me a few
nights ago when I heard a high-pitched voice
a-giggling in the bushes like he just couldn’t take
a breath almost, what he were a-seeing was so
amusing. Well, lord, do you know who it was? That
rascal Lunny Meatyard.
He ain’t been right since his wife died. Shellacking
animals and making little wooden poppets to talk
like folks. He even got one that looks life his wife he
totes around sometimes. I don’t know what Lunny
has to do with these hainted folks, but he is as high
strange as they come.
Well, after I seed Lunny and told him to git, I
started calling them carousers Meatyardians,
and it has already stuck. I think that’s a right fair
name for them. It’s a true pleasure to name a
thing, friends.
Inquiring further about Lunny Meatyard
elicits more tales of his oddness, but no one
knows where Lunny lives. Most think he’s
“taken to living out in the woods or maybe even
out in the Fens, like a skinny ol’ swamp rat.”
156
Setting up an ambush for a Meatyardian raid
is a likely option for the group and sure enough,
the horde descends on Terrapin Corner at
midnight. A copse of trees outside the village
and near the Fens is home to two good deer
stands erected by the locals.
Taking a position in these grants a +2 bonus
to Notice rolls. As the Meatyardians approach,
make any Notice roll a contested roll against the
Meatyardian’s Stealth (lumbering as they do, in
the fen’s thick fog, they can be hard to spot). If
the hero’s Notice roll is higher, the group gets
The Drop against the oncoming horde.
If the group attacks them outright, they are
attacking a group of troubled Holler citizens,
brought low by their addictions, under the
thrall of a Big Boy scion. Not the best look for a
group of resistance fighters looking to ease the
suffering of their fellows, but how could the
heroes know such a thing? A touch of violence
is likely deemed acceptable when the truth
comes out, given the circumstances.
If the party decides to venture into the Fens
to discover where the attacks are originating
from, consider a Random Encounter (Cussfoot
Fens) along the way. After they deal with that,
they spy a Meatyardian sitting in a lonely tree.
• Meatyardians (20): See page 221.
An Errant Meatyardian
This Meatyardian wears a mask that looks
vaguely half-human, half-bovine. He waves
silently to the group and motions them over.
As they approach, he rocks back and forth
and moans—he seems in danger of tipping over
and falling to the ground.
He doesn’t respond to greetings or questions
at first but continues to rock and moan. A
successful Common Knowledge roll reveals
he is likely under the influence of clay, rocking
and moaning a distinctive “clay-eater’s jig.”
If the crew doesn’t get him down from the
tree, he eventually falls (a good ten feet), but
seems oblivious to any pain, his limbs loose
and scarecrow-like. There’ are plenty of ways
to arrest him from his stupor—shaking, a shot
of likker, a brisk slap, herbal remedies.
Choose an appropriate skill for this roll. A
success results in a semi-conscious state which
allows the Meatyardian to communicate, albeit
slowly and with some confused babble in
 Savage Tales

between more cogent speech. In this state, he’s kill Raylene and Lunny. He’s happy to create
capable of relating basic information. a distraction or attempt to draw Raylene out.
A raise results in a rather miraculous The rest of the Meatyardians are firmly under
transformation, as the Meatyardian pulls off Raylene’s command and attack the heroes if
his mask, the fog clearing from his eyes. He they approach the lodge.
articulates clearly and at length and is willing If the heroes go for a more humanitarian
to answer questions. route and plot to free the Meatyardians from
Depending on the roll, he relates parts their depraved states, breaking their addiction
or all the following information: He details is the first step. A successful Folklore roll
his abduction by Kramer-Holt agents from helps a hero recall several possible short-
Clay Town, along with other clay eaters and term remedies for those addicted to clay or
varnish heads. chemicals, including ginseng and yarrow.
They were taken to a decaying house deep in In the Fens, the handiest short-term curative
the Fens. A woman named Raylene had them is the Knotty Cap Mushroom, so named
placed in shock collars and subjected them because of its knotty cap. Administering this
to an unsettling form of “playacting training, mushroom to a Meatyardian results in a short
like we were mimes or clowns.” A funny little period of intense hallucination, followed
man named Lunny fitted them with fright by a temporary recovery of their senses and
masks. Raylene sent them to Terrapin to “haint cessation of their cravings.
the town.” Later, she equipped them with If the troublemakers can sneakily induce
scythes and shovels and encouraged violence enough Meatyardians into this state, they
and mayhem. might be able to engineer an insurrection.
This Meatyardian, named Grendel Phelps, If not, the only way to get past the
shows a streak of empathy: Meatyardians without violence is to sneak
past them and then capture or kill Raylene
I kindly enjoyed the playacting part, it was like
Ashdown, the daughter of Samuel Ashdown
getting to dress up like Witch’s Night all the time,
(page 197), and the mastermind of these raids.
but I drew the line at violence against old folks. I
had the best grandma in the world. And you ort A half dozen more Meatyardians wander
not to do old folks like that. I don’t care how much through the house. Raylene and Lunny are in
clay they was feeding me. an upstairs bedroom. Raylene can be heard
berating Lunny through a broken window,
With a successful Persuasion roll in this state, suggesting that his masks need to appear
he offers to lead the group to the lodge. even more hideous to acquire “maximum
psychoactive potency.”
A Playhouse in the Fens It’s possible to sneak to the back of the house
A crumbling Ashdown vacation lodge lies (Stealth) and climb (Athletics) to another
several miles into the Fens. If Grendel is not second-floor window, to circumvent the
along to lead the group, a successful Survival Meatyardians and head straight for Raylene
roll picks up several, zigzagging, mushy paths and Lunny.
the Meatyardians have trod in their training
If the Meatyardians are disturbed by the
and raids that lead to the lodge.
intruders, their bellowing alerts Raylene to
Otherwise, the group must wander around, their presence. She storms from the house,
semi-lost, for a bit, and handle another rousing them to violence. Lunny follows
Random Encounter before they locate behind, a chuckling henchman.
the lodge.
In this scenario, the heroes must fight off a
As the group approaches, they see two dozen few waves of Meatyardians, four or five at a
Meatyardians lolling about on a sloping porch time, before they can reach Raylene, equipped
and milling in the yard. with a shock prod and a canister of noxious gas.
If Grendel is with the group, he’s up for If Raylene is killed, she gasps these dying
assisting however the group thinks is best. words, “I sent a messenger to my father this
He’s able to peel away a couple of his friends morning. I have given him a precious gift.
to help in any effort to depose, capture, or

157
 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
You’ll all be turned into masked, drooling fools
soon enough.”
• Meatyardians (30): See page 221.
h Raylene Ashdown
Raylene is one of Big Boy Samuel Ashdown’s
daughters, and is the coordinator of the
Meatyardian raids.
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d12, Spirit d10,
Strength d6, Vigor d8
Skills: Athletics d6, Common Knowledge d8,
Fighting d6, Folklore d6, Intimidation d8,
Notice d8, Occult d8, Persuasion d8, Shoot-
ing d8, Stealth d6, Science d10, Taunt d8,
Thievery d8, Weird Science d8
Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 6
Hindrances: Arrogant, Driven (Major—Impress
her father, Samuel Ashdown)
Edges: Arcane Background (Weird Science),
Connections
Powers: Barrier, blast, puppet.
Power Points: 15
Gear: Choker grenade (Range 5/10/20), Shocker
Stick (Str+d6, target makes Vigor roll to avoid
being Stunned), TechnoMantic 500 gadget
necklace.
158
h Lunny Meatyard
Lunny is a troubled man who's responsible for
the creation of the Meatyardian masks.
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d8, Spirit d8,
Strength d6, Vigor d8
Skills: Athletics d6, Common Knowl-
edge d8, Fighting d6, Folklore d10, Notice d6,
Occult d8, Persuasion d6, Repair d12, Shoot-
ing d6, Stealth d6, Taunt d8, Thievery d6
Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness 6
Hindrances: Secret (Major— Killed wife to turn
her into a puppet)
Gear: Smoker grenade (Range 5/10/20, LBT
Smoke).
A Motivated Mastermind
Lunny bargains desperately for his life and tells
the group he has valuable information to give
them. If they allow him to speak, he has a lot to
say, revealing Raylene’s identity, her obsessions,
and the course of her strange experiment.
Lunny greatly condenses the details that
follow, in his halting and querulous voice, but
here’s the full backstory, which allows the party
a peek behind the Big Boys’ iron curtain:

Raylene Ashdown is the baseborn daughter
of Samuel Ashdown—she was raised by a
poor family in the City. Samuel (and his wife,
Belle, much to her chagrin) knew of Raylene’s
existence and sent her adoptive family money
every month to help provide for her upkeep.
Out-of-sight, out-of-mind was Belle’s
reaction, but a few years ago, Samuel’s
“fatherly yearnings” took over and he welcomed
Raylene into the family (and a portion of his
inheritance). Samuel, invested as ever in the
idea of his own genius, could not help but
think that Raylene was endowed with a goodly
portion of the “old Ashdown brilliance,” and
thought she might be an asset to his company.
Raylene, for her part, was more than glad to
escape the slums and absolutely determined to
prove to her father, half-siblings, and jealous
new stepmother that she belonged in the
family. Whereas her father was obsessed with
gadgetry and machinery, Raylene was obsessed
with human psychology.
One of her father’s most frequent laments
is that the Big Boys have no control over the
demons that infest the Holler. Sure, the
workers fear them and that keeps them
moored closely to the parameters of the mill
village, but what if there was a way one could
manifest that same fear the demons cause and
deploy it as they wished?
Raylene’s idea—put the benighted denizens of
Clay Town to work. Train them to become an
army of discomfiting haints under Ashdown
control, embodied terrors to remind workers
that wherever they are and whatever they are
doing, some thing is always watching them.
Flesh puppets of ill tidings. Morose shadows
that peer into every man’s soul.
Conscripting Clay Town residents would
be easy—provide them with an endless, high-
quality supply of the drug of their choice, and
they would do whatever they were asked.
Raylene had an interesting question to
answer—what shape should such a horror take?
She decided the power of suggestion would
have more psychological impact than outright
violence, something to which Holler folk had
grown rather indifferent.
She decided to fit the Clay Town conscripts
with disquieting masks, produced by Lunny
himself—exaggerated smiles and gaping eyes,
or blank cloth sacks, or outsized and misshapen
Savage Tales
heads—unnerving distortions of what it meant
to be human to create a sense of strangeness
and alienation, to make Holler folk question
their own humanity in response.
She would train them to “perform” like
darkly absurdist mimes— rowing canoes along
dry ground, gazing out through the broken
windows of abandoned buildings, or nestling
awkwardly in the hollow of a fallen tree like a
babe snuggled in its mother’s arms. Whether
lounging in wheelbarrows or perching
gargoyle-like in leafless oaks, they would
remain eerily silent and simply gaze at the
residents.
Raylene unleashed her experiments a few
weeks ago on small villages in the Hogback
Hills near the border with the Cussfoot Fens,
especially Terrapin Corner, given its relatively
defenseless population. She sent Lunny to
observe the residents’ reactions to their
macabre creation.
Raylene’s psychological profiling was off.
Most folks regarded the Meatyardians with
mild curiosity or bemusement, puzzling
over what kind of omen they might be, or
speculating that a witcher woman fiddled with
some scarecrows.
Undaunted, Raylene decided she needed to
mix physical intimidation with psychological
terror. She armed the Meatyardians with
an array of farm implements and instructed
them to “... create some mayhem, get violent.
Show them there’s more to those masks than
just looks.”
Dehaintification
If the group manages to dispatch Raylene
without slaughtering the Meatyardians,
they can attempt to “dehaintify” them. This
might include gathering more Knotty Cap
mushrooms in dangerous territory, dealing
with the resulting hallucinations, and keeping
the Meatyardians from turning on each
other during detoxification. A series of Quick
Encounters provides a crisp resolution.
If the task is accomplished, the Meatyardians
regain some semblance of sense and start the
journey back to Clay Town, tossing aside their
masks and temporarily free of their addictions.
If a good-hearted granny women or
mountain man wants a more permanent
solution to the Meatyardian issues, that
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 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse

is good fodder for a follow-up adventure— axes are for,” Theron grumbled, when his sons
suggest that a cure might be possible; let raised objections.
them do some legwork in which they discover It was an arduous three-month blast and dig
another reagent or two that, when combined project to create the tunnel, with many workers
with Knotty Cap, becomes a permanent cure succumbing to wrigglers, dust inhalation, and
for clay addiction. explosions gone awry.
Perhaps these herbs or talismans are The Galloways have established a large work
guarded by a tough cryptid or in a dangerously camp on the slopes of Badin Mountain, above
inaccessible place. Curing the residents of Clay the Wild Eddy, just outside the tunnel’s exit.
Town creates tremendous goodwill among The workers are preparing to begin work
its residents and their families, potentially on the bridge, but a gloomy spirit pervades
broadening the player’s coalition. the camp. Building the tunnel cost them
friends and loved ones. Even worse, there are
rumors of a pair of terrible haints circling the
The Badin Mountain camp at night.
Tunnel One of the group’s friends/acquaintances
who are arrayed against the Big Boys (Ella
Location: Sootstones/Corn Cob Gap May, other dissident groups, Lester Poulson, a
prominent moonshiner) contracts the group
Good Works Project to undo Theron Galloway’s hard work on the
The Galloways and Lowells pooled resources tunnel in exchange for a good rifle or two, or
for an expensive new project, the Charhold- whatever gear the group needs most.
Firpo rail line, to facilitate the movement of They should have plenty of motivations
goods and workers between their operations. beyond mere material reward. A rail line
They distributed handbills through the between Charhold and Firpo gives the Big Boys’
Sootstones and Great Craggies hailing the new more efficient means of exploiting human/
railroad as a symbol of progress and the fruits material resources and more efficiency equals
of the worker’s hard labor. The bills carried one thing in the Holler—more human misery.
what the Big Boys thought were uplifting Besides, blowing up the tunnel marks a huge
messages, but which most Holler residents symbolic victory for dissidents Holler-wide
regarded as “a bit tone deef or curious.” “You’re and might convince some downtrodden
the Engineer,” “Ride to Heaven,” “The Choo- workers that it is possible to resist the Big Boys
Choo is Because of You-You,” didn’t really after all. The group needs to find resources for
resonate, as folks understood there’d be no the big boom.
pleasure cars on that track, just conveyors of
material and labor. Acquiring Munitions
The Galloways began construction on their The nearest such dealer is Ed Poovey, proud
side first, blithely blasting through mountain proprietor of Poovey’s Flea Market and
passes and razing forests in the Sootstones. Goodtime Emporium, just outside of Marrow.
At the eastern terminus of the Sootstones, Ed has a large stable of unmarried daughters
however, they ran into what they knew was an and sons, any of whom might cast some shine
unavoidable engineering problem, the solid on the heroes as they negotiate with Ed for
expanse of mountains that borders Corn Cob several thick bundles of dynamite, some fuse-
Gap, with the Wild Eddy river to cross on the sparked blasting caps, and a radio-controlled
other side. remote detonator, which allows the would-be
demo team to detonate the tunnel from the
They chose to build a tunnel through Badin margins of the likely blast range.
Mountain which would transition into a
bridge over the Wild Eddy, even though this Read or paraphrase the following:
area is prime breeding ground for wriggling You arrive at what some might call an ash heap,
mouthers (see page 163), a species of Blight- its chaotic border marked by piles of used tires. The
mutated, carnivorous slugs, pig-fat and signage on the side of a wrecked jalopy suggest a
three-feet long. “Hell, that’s what guns and different reality— “Goodtime. Emporium.” You

160
 Savage Tales

scan the piles of junk arranged, to your surprise, Working It Out in Trade
somewhat in agreement with the alphabet, or what Healing Tiller gains considerable favor with Ed
you know of it. Axes, awls, apples. Plyers, potatoes, and he provides the party with many bundles
pulleys. Wrenches, widgets, wheelbarrows. It gives of dynamite and a funny green rock he
this poor-mouthed reliquary a touch of dignity. acquired from a traveling peddler. The peddler
A few young men and women stand picking told Ed the rock would cause the biggest boom
about the piles or relaxing on the porch of a nearby he’d ever seen if you as much as threw it hard
cabin stare at you with bright smiles. at the ground or struck it with a piece of flint.
Somebody’s coughing up a storm somewhere, Ed figured the peddler was lying and had
maybe out back. It’s hard to tell. A squat, bald painted some coal green, but he thought
fellow descends the porch and ambles toward it might make a nice piece of decor for his
you, telling the young folks to git in the house and nightstand. Ed says sleeping next to the
get fixed up. He flashes a perfunctory smile as he rock gave him nightmares and he’s happy to
approaches, sticks out a meaty hand. “Y’all are a pass it on.
strange set of strangers. I reckon that’s about the
only kind they are, though. I’m Ed Poovey. This is The rock is verdinite. The character who
my Goodtime Emporium. Good to meet ye.” carries the rock must make a Vigor roll every
24 hours unless he takes strong measures to
One of Ed’s sons, Tiller Poovey, is the limit contact with it. Failing the roll results in a
cougher—a horrible, rasping cough— out back level of Fatigue. The Fatigue is removed as soon
in what Ed calls the “shed behind the shed.” as the character gets rid of the verdinite.
It seems Tiller worked on excavating the If the heroes fail to heal Tiller, they must give
tunnel, but against his father’s wishes—Ed is up some valuable gear to the get the equipment.
no fan of the Big Boys. Tiller snuck away from A Tommy Deadman or anything else stolen
the camp when he and some of the other from the Big Boys holds the most value for Ed,
workers started coughing and begged Ed to but he also accepts any scrip they have, and
take him back in. can also be persuaded by grandiose promises
Ed did, though he’s none too happy about it. of future favors/gifts. Agreeing to court one
He wants Tiller to get better so “he can go back of his children with the prospect of a future
out and earn his fortune in the world, just not marriage is an automatic deal, but he won’t
with the Big Boys.” take kindly to that deal being broken later.
Healing Tiller’s affliction requires a Healing If the rebels are bereft of goods or the
roll at −4, as his lungs are filled with the larvae price seems too high, they can sneak into
of wriggling mouthers, contracted from the junkyard later with Stealth rolls at −2 due
breathing the dust in the tunnel. If the roll to his abundance of restless and watchful
fails, Tiller coughs up a single larva, about an young adult offspring. Then it’s a Thievery
inch-long, and then falls into a comatose state. roll at −2 to extract the dangerous equipment
If the roll succeeds, Tiller flies into a fit of from the yard.
prolonged, violent coughing, in which dozens Whether by hook or crook, the group needs
of larvae spew from his mouth, then he feels to acquire explosives to take down the tunnel.
a right much better. Tiller describes fighting
off wriggling mouthers while working for a Worker Safety
detonation team headed by Stormy Pickens, The work camp spreads across the wide
the Big Boys’ self-proclaimed “mad bomber” slope beneath the tunnel exit. Any explosion
(see page 136). creates a deadly rain of mortar from the tunnel
• Ed Poovey: Use stats for Peddler (see page triggering landslides on the mountain.
209) The rabble rousers need to somehow clear
• Tiller Poovey: Use stats for Worker (see page the camp before they detonate the tunnel, else
212). Tiller suffers from 2 Fatigue. the resistance is looking at a public relations
disaster, as Holler folks won’t see the deaths of
workers in exchange for the destruction of the
tunnel as an acceptable trade.

161
 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
MEETING STORMY
PICKENS
Consider running Badin Mountain Tunnel
before Chapter 6: The Bondurant asylum in
the Plot Point Campaign to give the group
some familiarity with Stormy. Rescuing an
old friend, especially one who is a tactical
asset, gives the session a touch more drama.
If the heroes try to disguise themselves as
workers to read the mood of the camp, they
find that morale is low, as the excavation of the
mountain was extraordinarily difficult, and
many men were killed. Many of those who
survived have now developed the same deep,
rasping coughs that afflicted Tiller Poovey.
These workers have been exposed to more
mouther larvae than Tiller and many of
them have more progressed versions of the
disease. Individual workers can be healed
with a −4 Healing roll but attempting to heal
the entire camp is a logistical nightmare, and
many workers are clearly beyond help. Several
of them spit up larvae, wipe their mouths,
and go about their business as they mill
around the camp.
The mouthing wrigglers have also been a
constant source of fear and injury during the
work and the fat slugs seem even larger and
more aggressive toward folks on this side of
the mountain.
On top of that, many workers believe the
camp is being stalked by a pair of horrifying
haints or demons who have, in recent days,
disemboweled at least three workers in the
nearby woods, fellows who were just trying
to relieve themselves or go for a short walk to
clear their heads.
If the party preys on any of these fears, let
them role play it out and make Intimidation,
Persuasion, or even Performance rolls at −2
to convince the miners to desert the camp, at
least temporarily.
Give the rascals a +2 bonus if they
compromise some morals by dressing up as the
haints (described below) or capture a passel
of mouthers and unleash them on the camp,
keeping in mind if they are discovered doing
these things, they have some explaining to do.
There are too many company men among
the camp for the group to share their plans
162
to blow up the bridge—many workers would
violently resist this idea and immediately
inform the Galloways.
One worker who might be interested in
taking down the tunnel is Stormy Pickens,
the man in charge of blasting through the
mountain in the first place. Stormy has
developed a guilt complex over his role in
aiding the Big Boys—working under them has
led him to despise them.
There’s nothing that Stormy loves better
than to make a big explosion, so it won’t
take much prompting, especially if the party
shows him the funny green rock. He knows it’s
verdinite (see Verdinite on page 24), a rare
sedimentary rock that is both highly explosive
and mildly radioactive. He wants to see it
in action.
• Stormy Pickens: See page 136.
• Workers (50): See page 212.
Tommy Rawhead and Bloody
Bones
Thomas Head and Jed Bones were two of the
workers killed working on the tunnel, and
died particularly violent deaths, killed by an
explosive charge that went off while they were
setting it.
Tommy suffered horrific burns, especially on
his face. A witness remarked that, “His head
was a-missing all its skin. He looked red as a
blood-ripe tomato. It made me think that a
monster is living just below the face of every
man. It was an awful thing to see.” His buddy,
Jed Bones, fared worse: “He was decapitated,
his skin shorn clear off his body in several spots,
the bones a-gleaming right through.”
This pair is indeed stalking the camp. Bloody
Bones is a skeleton draped in strings of flesh,
carrying his scorched skull in one hand and
flatfooting a bit wherever he goes, like he is
hearing a sprightly tune inside his head.
Tommy Rawhead is a stooped, hulking figure,
his beet-red noggin missing all its flesh, his
eyes yellow and glowing, like they are lit by a
carbide candle. The rest of his body has taken
on a red hue as well, and his veins visibly surge
and pulse beneath his skin.
They always travel together. If any skulkers
poke around outside the camp during

nighttime hours, they encounter them. They
sing the following tune:
Tommy Rawhead:
Friends, I am Tommy Rawhead
Woked up one morning
And I was dead
Bloody Bones:
And I am old Bloody Bones
Got blowed halfway to the sky
I’ll never get home.
In unison:
We’re just two loons
Underneath the moon
Dancin’ a jig to the devil’s tune.
Rawhead and Bloody Bones attack on
sight and fight to the death unless the party
sings back to them. In that case, they trade
improvised folk songs for a time, then attack
and fight to the death.
If the group doesn’t encounter the pair before
they detonate the tunnel, they encounter them
in the tunnel while they are deploying the
explosives.
• Bloody Bones: See page 250.
• Tommy Rawhead: See page 251.
Rigging the Tunnel
The group needs to place the dynamite bundles
at a half-dozen or so strategic spots along the
tunnel’s walls during nighttime hours. If they
don’t have a reliable light source, they suffer
Dark Illumination penalties. At least one set of
explosives needs to be deployed on the ceiling,
which requires ropes and a climbing pick or
similar tools to reach.
Stealth rolls are required to reach the
tunnel without being spotted. Once there,
the deployment and careful coordination of
explosives requires a single person Complex
Dramatic Task using Repair as others Support
or face off against an attack by Rawhead and
Bloody Bones or a bunch of wriggling mouthers.
The final token of the Dramatic Task requires
an Athletics roll rather than Repair to properly
set the charges on the ceiling.
If Stormy is involved, his expertise reduces
the Dramatic Task to Difficult.
Savage Tales
Failing the task results in the demo team’s
work being completely disrupted by guards or
mouthers, or a large accidental explosion 4d6
damage/LBT, that leaves the tunnel intact but
exhausts their supplies.
• Wriggling Mouthers (12): See below.
Wriggling Mouthers
Small, wriggling worms that mindlessly attack
anything they encounter.
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d4 (A), Spirit d6,
Strength d6, Vigor d6
Skills: Athletics d6, Fighting d6, Notice d6,
Stealth d6
Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness 5 (1)
Edges: —
Special Abilities:
• Armor +1: Scaly Hide
• Bite: Str+d4
• Burrow (4”): Can burrow in the ground.
• Size −1: Mouthers are the size of adult pigs.
The Explosion
When the heroes deploy the explosives and
retreat to a relatively safe distance before the
tunnel detonates, the results are impressive.
Unbeknownst to the Big Boys, a latent fault
line runs through this part of the Sootstones,
and the explosion triggers a small-scale
seismic event.
The tunnel explodes and a portion of the
mountain crumbles, resulting in a landslide
that wipes out the camp, killing any remaining
workers. If the single rock of verdinite
is involved, the explosion is tinged with
green smoke and the blast more violent and
impressive.
In addition, the rubble blast exceeds the
group’s estimate, and they suffer a deluge
of smaller falling rocks and debris (2D6
damage/3D6 if verdinite is used).
After the explosion, with everyone surveying,
in awe, the amount of damage they wrought,
they hear a secondary rumbling in the rubble.
Mama Mouther
The landslide disturbed the Mama of All
Wriggling Mouthers, who until now, lazily
resided in a lair inside the mountain, fed bits
of flesh by her brood.
163
 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse

Mama Mouther is not happy to be disturbed

and worms down the mountain, a veritable
land leviathan, her toothy maw hungering
after the party.
It’s tough to take Mama down with
conventional attacks. Her enormous maw is
always open, though, and quite a large target
for thrown bundles of dynamite, if the party
has any remaining—likely worth a character
spending a Benny to make it so.
A successful throw (Agility) and a nice-
sized bundle does 3d6/4d6 damage to this
monstrosity.
Running like hell is the safer option.
After the group deals with Mama,
rumors of their explosive exploits
spread quickly.

h Mama Mouther
A huge terrifying worm that lives
deep in the mine. Mama is not to
be trifled with.
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6
(A), Spirit d10, Strength d12+5,
Vigor d12
Skills: Athletics d6, Fighting d8, Notice d8,
Stealth d10
Pace: 6; Parry: 6; Toughness 16 (2)
Edges: —
Special Abilities:
• Armor +2: Scaly Hide
• Bite: Str+d6
• Burrow (10”): Mama can travel
through the earth.
• Hardy: A second Shaken result does not
result in a Wound
• Size 6 (Large): Mama weighs about
8 tons.

164

A Different Kind of
Gouging
Location: Charhold
The Critter Crossroads
Maximus Wonderly lives in the hills near
Varmint (see Varmint on page 80),
commonly known as “the Cryptid Crossroads
of the Holler.” Varmint lies downwind from the
mining and mountain top removal operations
of the Galloways and Bondurants and Blight
fog routinely settles in the valley, covering the
cabins of the village in a fine, ashy soot. Most
residents believe there’s a strong relationship
between the preponderance of Blight and the
preponderance of strange critters.
Maximus has turned the supply of aberrant
wildlife into a bartering enterprise. He runs a
makeshift critter zoo by day he calls “Maximus
Wonderly's Little World of Wonders,” allowing
residents to trade out scrip or food in exchange
for eyeballing a variety of caged monstrosities.
By night, he runs a gouging circle, but the
combatants aren’t local ruffians. No sir, they
involve Maximus’ macabre menagerie.
Such an operation, regardless of its ethical
impropriety, poses a considerable threat
to the local populace. Critters occasionally
escape and gobble up a resident or two before
Maximus corrals them.
There are even rumors that Maximus trades
his critters with the Big Boys for all kinds of
favors. The Big Boys, in turn, sell the critters
to zoos or carnival shows in the city or acquire
them for their own personal game reserves.
Ella May might outline these nefarious
activities for the group and suggest that
Maximus’ operation be shut down. As an
alternative, worried Varmint residents might
plead with the group to intervene.
The World of Wonders
If the group visits Wonderly’s zoo during the
day, they encounter a rather benign, but
somewhat depressing, scene. Maximus greets
every visitor to the zoo and works out a trade
for entry. It’s not that expensive to get in—a
dozen eggs, a block of hard cheese, a piece or
two of bric-a-brac usually do. The cages are in
Savage Tales
poor repair, the stench of critter dung fills the
air, and the critters seem bored, disinterested,
passive. A few village mothers mill around
while their children move from cage to cage,
pestering the animals.
The critters Maximus has on display are
certainly strange, but don’t seem to be among
the most aberrant or dangerous ones that
menace Varmint and its surrounding areas. He
also keeps some more pedestrian wildlife.
Maximus has built “environments” for some
of the critters, which mostly consist of cramped
enclosures. Sometimes there’s a critter house
or some gesture toward care/play inside the
cages, like a tire swing or clutch of rubber balls.
The following critters are available for
viewing: four billycabras (see page 218), a
two-headed sheep, a large snapping turtle with
red eyes that hisses at passerby, a few skinny
deer that drool incessantly, and a black bear
wearing a fedora.
His family zoo is a front for his two more
sinister operations, the critter fighting circle
and his involvement in the critter trade with
the Big Boys and their contacts in the city.
Some of Maximus’ employees are present as
the group explores the zoo.
Maximus Wonderly
Maximus is a peculiar fella in just about every
way a fella can be peculiar—his dress, his
speech, his mannerisms, and his fascination
with critters. Maximus keeps his hair long, but
it’s meticulously curled.
He likes to wear brightly-colored ascots,
cowboy hats, and then a going-to-church
suit, often with prints of wildlife or sailboats
or tall buildings—clothes that must have been
imported from the City.
His voice is high-pitched and nasally, his
speech a rapid-fire spray of exaggerations
and curses. He talks not only with his hands,
but with his hips and feet, too, often breaking
into a little jig if whatever topic he’s discussing
is particularly exciting—such topics include
bartering, critters, Katie Sue Poplar, and any
kind of relationship or hard luck gossip about
folks in Varmint.
165
 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
Huck Brimmer
Huck Brimmer is a lover of animals and critters,
no matter how dangerous or strange. He works
all day in the mines and then devotes his time
to helping Maximus care for the animals. He
doesn’t approve of Maximus’ methods and
abhors the fights, but he tends to the critters
(the ones that will let him, anyway) when
they are injured, and fears that things would
be much worse for the critters if he ever left.
Huck is the employee the group is most likely
to encounter during the day.
The Bison Boys
Jessie Bison is the muscle of the operation. He’s
always armed with a Tommy Gun (provided
by the Galloways) at the fights and keeps the
crowds in-line, sometimes with the help of a
couple of his cousins, Jordy and Johnnie, if it’s
a particularly big fight. Jessie gets a big kick
out of the fights and hoots and hollers loudly
throughout them.
Katie Sue Poplar
Katie Sue Poplar is Maximus’ devoted
paramour. She has stars in her eyes for
Maximus, despite his unusual physical
appearance and bestial interests. Some folks
think he’s brainwashed her or laid a witch’s hex
on her. The Poplar clan down in Varmint want
their beloved member back and one or two of
Katie’s cousins might be willing to help shut
down Maximus’ operation.
Lyanna Swain
Lyanna is Maximus’ best tracker and hunter.
She’s a resourceful, exuberant mountain
woman, who enjoys nothing more than the
challenge of hunting the rarest, most difficult
game. Lyanna has no allegiance to Maximus,
though she does appreciate the gifts (mostly
provided to him from the Galloways) he gives
her in exchange for her quarry. She holds the
rest of Maximus’ associates (and especially
Katie Sue) in deep disdain.
The Poplar Clan
The Poplar Clan are prominent in Varmint.
Ransom and Edie are Katie’s parents and
loath her association with Maximus. They are
aware that Maximus has some dealings with
166
the Galloways and maybe some other Big Boys,
though, and are fearful of provoking his wrath.
Katie’s trio of male cousins (Idris, Elo, and
their stout, de facto leader, Elsen, all in their
early 20’s) are not possessed with the same
amount of caution and would be eager for
most any activity that undermined Maximus.
They have a particular affinity for vandalism.
h Lyanna Swain: Use stats for Stalker (see page
211)
h Maximus Wonderly: Use stats for Scalawag
(see page 211).
• Bison Boys: Use stats for Rough and Tough
(see page 210).
• Huck Brimmer: Use stats for Worker (see
page 212)
• Katie Sue Poplar: Use stats for Worker (see
page 212) with addition of the Edges:
Charismatic, and Very Attractive, and the
additional Hindrance: Delusion (thinks
Maximus is the perfect man).
• The Poplar Clan: Use stats for Workers (see
page 212), except for Elsen, who uses stats
for Rough and Tough (see page 210)
Caves and Fighting Circle
If the group finds Maximus Wonderly’s Little
World of Wonders discomfiting, wait until they
discover his critter caves or attend one of his
critter fights.
The fighting circle is located on the slopes of
Big Butcher Mountain, two miles and a steep
walk up from the zoo.
The caves are located another mile or two up
the mountain. Maximus has tried, in his way,
to disguise the entrance with a woven mattress
of branches and pine cones and other forest
detritus, which doesn’t offer much disguise at
all when viewed by an experienced woodsman
(or person with half-good sense, Notice or
Survival rolls). It seems more decorative than
functional, truth be told.
If the group snoops around Varmint and
successfully persuades some locals to talk,
they gain information about the location of
the circle and the date and time of the next
critter fight (tomorrow night). If they are
particularly persistent in these investigations
or endear themselves to any members of the
Poplar Clan, they also learn about the sale
of a creature called the Sheepsquatch that
Maximus has arranged with the Big Boys. This

trade is scheduled to take place immediately
after the fight.
Locals are fond of Sheepsquatch stories. Most
any interaction includes at least a passing
mention of this strange beast—rumors about
its diet of sheep, the fine, rare wool it possesses
(said to keep a body warm in the coldest of
environments, +1 on cold-related Vigor rolls
if shorn and fashioned into a garment), or its
horrible bleating, a sound that unnerves those
who hear it.
To discover the location of the caves without
tromping about on a blind search in the woods,
one of Maximus’ associates must be persuaded
to divulge that information.
The set-up of the caves and cages is
rudimentary. The three Bison boys are always
on-guard at the mouth of the cave. Just past the
entrance of the cave, it diverges into tunnels.
Both tunnels lead to a series of make-shift
cages (crude iron bars have been installed in
front of natural recesses in the rock to keep
the critters contained) before dead-ending
around fifty yards beneath the mountain. The
left tunnel contains three cells, housing the
following denizens—three more billycabras; a
boar; the right tunnel contains two empty cells
and a Sheepsquatch.
Any critters the group attempts to free attack
them (see stats under Fight Night below).
Fight Night
If the group attends the fight to see what
all the ruckus is about or use it as an
opportunity to create havoc and
sabotage Maximus’ operation, they
encounter a wild scene.
A crowd of around three dozen
people from surrounding villages
and towns surround the circle. The Bison
boys are armed and carefully observing the
crowd for signs of trouble.
Maximus has two bouts scheduled for
this evening. The first bout features the
boar against two of the billycabras. The
second bout features the Sheepsquatch
versus a Goat Man.
Before the bout, Maximus jokes with
the crowd that anyone who wants to fight
the Sheepsquatch in the Goat Man’s stead is
Savage Tales
welcome. He offers a Junky Pick-Up Truck (see
Vehicles on page 22) to any takers.
Read or paraphrase the following:
The Holler blasphemes Nature’s intended order
every day. What you see before you turns that
blasphemy into an absurd joke, but you can’t
quite decide if that makes it more or less disturbing.
There’s blood involved, after all.
Maximus steps into the middle of the circle,
strutting like a peacock and dressed like one to boot.
He’s waving his hands and whooping up the crowd.
“In one corner,” he squeaks out, “from the woods
of Varmint, a hometown boy, part-sheep, part-
squatch, full of boisterous bleats and maniacal
meanness, weighing, oh, about as much as a
pregnant milk cow—The Sheepsquatch!! If you like
the cut of his wool, place ye bets and place ‘em big!”
“In the other corner,” he continues, his voice
fiercely piqued, “abducted from the land of cultists,
rife with demons in Piney Dirge Plateau, is the fella
yer mommas warn their daughters about—he’s
randy as, well, randy as a goat, and has a sharp
pair of devilish horns, and eats anything you feed
him, and smells like wild onions and stink cheese!
And his fighting, lord. Ye better watch out. He butts
like a truck! The Goat Man everybody! Holler it up
and lay down ye barter!”
The Sheepsquatch, its form buried beneath heavy
layers of unshorn wool, bleats softly, almost
contemplatively.
The Goat Man ruts at the
ground, making a big show
of himself.
Midway through the final bout,
Lyanna Swain arrives, dragging an
unconscious critter
out of the woods.
She has captured
a river runner (see
page 224). She drags it on
a skid past the circle toward
the caves, just in time to give
the Big Boys’ buyer product
to choose from.
Resolve the bouts in
whatever way fits best.
• Billycabras (2): See page 218.
• Boar: See page 214.
• Goat Man: See page 220.
• Sheepsquatch: See page 225.
167
 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
Trading It Out
If the group doesn’t intervene in the fights and
continues to surveil the situation, they witness
a buyer for the Big Boys meet Maximus, Lyanna,
and the Bison boys near the cave entrance.
They negotiate a price for the Sheepsquatch,
and Maximus also pitches the freshly captured
river runner to the buyer.
If the group allows the deal to go down, the
buyer pays Maximus with one of the Big Boys’
technological prototypes, a control collar
system he can use on his animals. The buyer
tells Maximus that they’d appreciate Maximus
testing it on his critters—the Big Boys have their
own human trials in place, but want to see how
it works on critters, too.
• Big Boys’ Buyer(1): Use stats for Kramer-
Holt Agent.
Interventions
The group might choose various methods of
interventions and various times to intervene—
from relatively low-risk endeavors, like
vandalizing the zoo at night or convincing
Katie Sue that Maximus is not the man for
her, to dangerous exploits like using the
168
critter fight to confront all the bad actors or
breaking up the critter deal and taking out a
representative of the Big Boys.
If they come into possession of the control
collar system, they can present it to Ella May
or others as evidence of Big Boy nefariousness,
but they do not possess the technological
know-how to use it, unless they interrogate
Maximus. Persuading (−4) or Intimidating
(−4) him is tough, as he fears reprisal from the
Big Boys.
If he does cough up the information, he gives
them a hand-held control box that allows
the user to deliver electric shocks of varying
severity to the collared subject.
Regardless, complications come fast and
heavy. The consequences of knocking Maximus
off his pedestal likely dog the group if they
don’t take care to neutralize all the other
threats (the buyer, Lyanna, the Bison Boys) and
cover their tracks.

A Famous Outlaw
Location: Stygian Peaks
In the Shadow of Folsom
Mount Folsom is now pocked with cell blocks,
workhouses, interrogation facilities, and labor
farms, its once famous blackberry thickets
replaced by thickets of barbed wire, its stately
pines cleared for the sake of guard towers and
easy surveillance.
It is hard to escape from the Folsom Penal
Colony, but certainly not impossible, and the
infamous renegade robber Tinsy “Greeny”
Yates has proven that true again. She escaped
three days ago and now hides in the caves of
nearby Buzzard Knob, waiting for an escort
to help her traverse a network of safe houses
for escapees and ultimately reach the Roost,
a community comprised of the Holler’s most
wanted, perilously perched on the slopes of
Rimerunner Rock in the Stygian Peaks.
Tinsy sent word to Ella May Hawkins through
a series of intermediaries about her general
whereabouts and Ella tapped the freedom
fighters to get Tinsy to safety. “Nobody can
make that trek alone,” Ella cautions, “not even a
high-grade criminal like Tinsy. We haven’t used
that route in a while, so I ain’t too sure about
what level of accommodations and hospitality
you might find along the way.”
Ella provides the crew with a map of a
provisional route—three nights of travel with a
stopover to rest the following day and avoid the
perils of broad daylight. The first night’s travel
gets them well out of the shadow of Folsom
and to the remote farm of a nice old couple,
Shem and Plutina Hamrick, who houses them
in their cellar.
The second night puts them in the western
reaches of the Great Craggies, where both
the landscape and its inhabitants grow
considerably more dangerous. During the day
they stay with an offshoot of Lester Poulson’s
people, which Ella apologizes for, “they have
peculiar religious notions, but hate the Big
Boys and these ones have never done anybody
any harm.”
The third night puts them into the Stygians,
where the hills get steep, the air chills, and
demons abound. That day they settle in the
Savage Tales
cave of a genial old hermit, Theron Plinth,
before they ascend Mount Hibernia. The climb
requires ropes and axes to reach the location
of the Roost, a network of makeshift shelters
on narrow, terraced ledges and “a place the Big
Boys have not yet cared to reach.”
Tinsy “Greeny” Yates
Tinsy is the closest thing the Holler has to a
Robin Hood figure, right down to the array
of green caps she likes to sport, whether it’s a
fedora filched from a company store, a sun hat
gifted by a grateful farmer, or a ball cap from
one of the Bondurants’ baseball teams. When
the group meets Tinsy in the caves, read the
following.
Did y’uns bring me a hat?! I sent word—don’t
send no bunch of reprobate charlatan wretches
what ain’t got a hat. I ain’t Tinsy Yates without a
hat! And trust me, you want to be running to the
Roost with Tinsy Yates, not whoever I am with a
bare noggin’!
“Some people need love. Some people need a
nice, soft bed to lay down in at night. Some people
need to fill up their pockets with scrip. I just need
a damned green hat!” Tinsy spits and glares wildly
around at the group.
“What are ye? Murderers? Robbers? Snake oil
salesman? I hope y’uns are a tough bunch. Tinsy
Yates don’t run with chickens. Tinsy Yates wrings a
chicken’s neck and bites off its head. And whoever
I am without a green hat does a whole lot worse!”
Until she has a green hat in her possession,
she’s ornery and disagreeable, well beyond
her default level of disagreeableness, which is
considerable (−2 to Persuasion rolls on Tinsy
until she gets a green hat).
The rebels have a difficult time earning
Tinsy’s trust. She’s a wary soul, hardened by
years dodging the law and stints of hard time.
Though she is already a legend and has traveled
the Holler over several times, she's still not yet
30 years old.
“Ye can’t teach an old hell
hound new tricks. ye can’t
teach a young hell hound
new tricks. You can’t teach a
hell hound.”
—Folk Saying
169
 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse

She loves playing cards but constantly cheats Hindrances: Greedy (Major), Suspicious
(+2 to all her Gambling rolls) and attempts (Major), Wanted (Major)
to sucker the heroes into betting material Edges: Combat Reflexes, Famous
possessions, while she bets future promises Gear: Animal hides (+1 Armor), deer rifle
and favors. Most any contest interests her, (Range 24/48/72, Damage 2d8−1), bow (Range
from mumblety-peg to archery to bare- 12/24/36, Damage 2d6), or crossbow (Range
knuckle boxing or wrestling (she stops short 15/30/60, Damage 2d8, AP 2), skinning knife
of gouging). (Str+d4).
If the team isn’t interested in betting on
her promises (“I’ll steal whatever you want,” First Night’s Travel
“I’ll have my men ride with you to Royster The escape from the Buzzard Knob caves to
Whitaker’s front doorstep,” “I’ll show you Shem’s and Plutina’s cellar is all about eluding
where the fae hide their riches,”), she turns the initial wave of “recovery teams,” consisting
the focus to bragging rights instead, claiming, of company guards and Kramer-Holt agents.
“I can out do everybody at just about anything.” The Kramer-Holt vehicles can’t reach into
the woods. The thickets and rapidly shifting
Tinsy is easily bored and needs constant
elevation are rough on horses, so they remain
attention or becomes antagonistic. She’s
mostly on foot.
particularly suspicious of folk magic, religious
folk, or anyone who strikes her as self- When the crew emerge with Tinsy from the
righteous. If the group has any members like caves, one group of six company guards and
this, she grows openly hostile early in the trip, one squad of four Kramer-Holt agents spot
and tries to force a physical altercation. them with their high-powered flashlights and
give chase. Use the Chase rules (See Savage
If the group consistently engages her in
Worlds) and count the guards and agents as one
conversation and makes an earnest attempt
group each during the chase.
to win her over (maybe even finding her a
green cap), she eventually regales them with Successfully eluding their pursuers leads to
tells of her exploits–robbing company stores relatively easy travel for the rest of the night.
and distributing the goods in the countryside, • Company Guards (6): See page 206.
stealing a shipment of weapons right out • Kramer-Holt Agents (4): See page 208.
from under Theron Galloway’s nose, and
lifting healing medicine from the Bondurant A Heartless Murder
asylum to help a Cussfoot village afflicted
Not long after dawn breaks, the group arrives
with the ague.
at the Hamrick’s farm. It’s immediately clear
Based on her run-ins with various families, that something is very wrong. Cows and pigs
Tinsy believes, “the Big Boys all seem like they lie slaughtered in the field, clearly shot by high-
are on one side, but they ain’t. They hate each powered rifles. The barn is a smoldering husk.
other nearly as much as they hate us. Maybe we The front door to the farmhouse is torn from
can use that against them one day.” its hinges.
There’s no sign of remaining enemies. Inside
h Tinsy “Greeny” Yates the house are the bodies of Shem and Plutina,
The Holler's own Robin Hood, complete with both killed by gunshot wounds to the head.
green hat—when she has one. Woe be to those Tinsy alternates between being irate and
who have to endure her without one. crestfallen at the violence visited upon these
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit d6, gentle old folks.
Strength d6, Vigor d6 Apparently, another group of agents or
Skills: Athletics d6, Common Knowledge d6, guards received a sharp tip from a frightened
Driving d6, Fighting d6, Gambling d6, Intim- local and beat the heroes to their first stop.
idation d6, Notice d8, Persuasion d6, Three Kramer-Holt agents are hiding inside
Riding d8, Shooting d6, Stealth d10, Sur- the kitchen cellar, listening for the footfalls of
vival d6, Taunt d6, Thievery d10 the group. If the group investigates the house
Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 6 (1) without checking it out carefully, the agents
burst from the cellar and get the Drop on the

170

group. If anyone makes a successful Notice roll,
they see that the cellar door (on the floor near
the center of the kitchen) is slightly ajar. They
can prepare for the eventual emergence of the
agents, which occurs a few seconds later, or
hazard entering the cellar themselves.
Once the Kramer-Holt agents are dealt with,
the house is empty but compromised.
If the group looks for a new hiding spot
for the day, success on a Survival roll allows
them to locate a rickety old smokehouse, also
equipped with a cellar, a few miles to the east.
Tinsy suggests they tear down the smokehouse,
so it won’t be an obvious landmark, and hole
up in its cellar until nightfall.
• Kramer-Holt Agents (3): See page 208.
Second Night’s Travel
The travelers enter rugged territory with
thicker forests and more numerous critters.
A successful Survival roll is necessary to keep
the group from becoming lost.
With a failure they wander into a critter’s
territory and lose some time. Present them
with a Random Encounter (see Great Craggies,
Encounters by Regions on page 100). If they
choose to travel during daylight hours to make
up lost time, they are waylaid by a group of six
company guards. If they choose to wait until
night to resume their travel, they encounter
1d4 forest demons at some point during
the night.
If the Survival roll is successful, they keep the
path and make decent progress, but weather a
Blight Storm along the way.
• Forest Demon: See page 236.
Worshipful Things
Come morning, the heroes and Tinsy arrive at
the only outpost of the Church of the Anointed
outside of Piney Dirge Plateau, a place called
Uriah. The compound consists of four 10×40
oblong shelters that house the faithful. These
shelters box in a communal outdoor area with
a fire pit, pulpit, gallows, and long, rough-
hewn dining tables.
The outpost sits near the base of the Stygians,
which loom up higher than any other
mountains in the Holler, dirty snow and ice
riming their desolate peaks.
Savage Tales
Lester and his minions have not checked in
on these folks for some time. Without guidance
from their religious leader, they have adopted
some strange practices.
Their local leader, Ambrose Swink, has fallen
under the thrall of a powerful hibernal demon
that lives nearby. To appease this demon
and protect the compound, he has taken to
sacrificing travelers to its insatiable appetite.
The corrupted Anointed offer the team a fine
breakfast before setting them up in relatively
comfortable environs in their communal
shelters. The food is laced with a powerful
narcotic. If anyone refuses food, the narcotic
is administered to them in their sleep.
A successful Notice roll (−2) results in a
character awakening before the narcotic is
administered. She sees Ambrose looming over
her with a vial of cloudy liquid. Ambrose calls
out for help and tries to Grapple the victim.
This likely causes a fight. 2d6 cultists join
Ambrose in attacking the group.
If Ambrose manages to drug them, it’s dusk
when the party awakens. They are no longer in
their beds, but in a clearing of a Stygian forest,
amid crooked pines and witchwood trees. The
heroes are Bound. They have two rounds to
escape before the demon emerges from the
forest and attempts to eat them.
Unbound characters engage the demon
in combat, while any remaining Bound
characters struggle to free themselves as they
witness the demon’s frightful powers.
If the demon is killed, the characters can
attempt to take revenge on the compound
(roughly two dozen cultists, plus Ambrose), or
continue their journey.
h Ambrose Swink: Use stats for Cultist, page
207. Ambrose is a Wild Card.
• Cultists: See page 207.
• Hibernal Demon: See page 238.
Third Night’s Travel
A grizzled veteran stalker and long-time rival of
Tinsy’s, Roland Lusk was hired to track down
the dissidents and assassinate Tinsy with his
trusty long bow.
Moonlight is disturbingly bright on this
night. Near midnight, as the travelers ascend
a steep hill, Roland, perched in a hunting
stand, unleashes a shot at Tinsy. It pierces
171
 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
Tinsy’s left side and she suffers two Wounds.
From its markings and green-feathered shaft,
Tinsy identifies the owner of the arrow as
Roland Lusk.
The heroes must protect Tinsy from further
harm and track down Roland (opposed
Survival rolls). If they succeed, they quickly
locate him and likely engage in combat. If
Roland wins the roll, he slips into the darkness,
and unleashes another shot at Tinsy (roll for
this one) as the first Complication during the
Ascent (see below). As the heroes fan out in
the woods to trek him down, Tinsy calls out
through her pain, “Don’t kill him unless he
forces you to.”
h Roland Lusk: Use stats for Stalker (see page
211).
Theron Plinth’s Cave
As daylight breaks, the trekkers finally arrive
at the cave of Theron Plinth, a master healer,
quilter, and sage. He offers the group heavy
blankets and coats (+1 to Vigor rolls for cold) for
the final stretch and equips them with suitable
climbing gear.
Theron’s cave is full of herbs, poultices,
sewing materials, clothes, and quilts. If the
crew have not yet acquired a green cap for
Tinsy, he gifts her a striking green fedora
with a large white eagle feather sprouting
from its brim.
Theron says, “It is my sworn duty to care
for that lot at the Roost and help them
become what they are not,” (a comment that
seems to speak to their rehabilitations from
a life of crime but feels suggestive of more
arcane secrets upon which Theron refuses to
elaborate).
The acquisition of the hat improves Tinsy’s
mood considerably (she discards any hat, with
mild disdain, that the group provided for her),
even if she is still recovering from being shot by
Roland. She falls asleep shortly after receiving
it, exhausted by the journey.
Theron shares a story about her childhood.
He says that Tinsy’s parents were textile mill
workers in Saxon. She was their eighth child.
Her father feared they could not afford to keep
her, so he placed in her an apple gathering
basket and set her loose on a quick bend of the
Wild Eddy River in the Ghost Ridge, thinking
she’d float down to Faefall and the fairies
172
would care for her. It wasn’t pixies that found
Tinsy, but Roland Lusk and his gang of brigands.
He raised Tinsy in the finest traditions of
thieves and scalawags, but she had an innate
moral sense that led her to choose her victims
carefully (“only those who are better off than
they deserve to be”) and dispense her spoils
among the needy (“those who ain’t even got
the piss, let alone the pot”). This caused much
friction between she and Roland as she grew
into her own.
When Roland sicced his gang on a small village
of farmers in the Hogback Hills, Tinsy refused
to participate. He’d heard a rumor that one of
them was the former shopkeeper of a company
store and had laid away a pile of embezzled
scrip and strange coins from the City.
When the rumor turned out to be false,
Roland’s rage led to the burning of the village
and the murder of several of its citizens. Tinsy
tried to cut his throat in his sleep that night,
but Roland managed to fight her off, nearly
killing her. Tinsy fled into the forest and has
been on her own ever since, doing her “good
kind of bad deeds.”
h Theron Plinth
Theron is a seemingly genial hermit and healer
in the Stygians.
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d8, Spirit d8,
Strength d6, Vigor d6
Skills: Athletics d4, Common Knowledge d6,
Fighting d4, Folk Magic d8, Folklore d8, Heal-
ing d12, Notice d8, Occult d8, Persuasion d8,
Stealth d6, Survival d8
Pace: 6; Parry: 4; Toughness: 5
Hindrances: —
Edges: Arcane Background (Folk Magic),
Arcane Resistance
Powers: Arcane protection, detect/conceal arcana,
healing, object reading, relief
Power Points: 15
Gear: Healing poultice (+1 Healing).
The Final Ascent
When night falls, it’s time to tackle a tough
stretch of Rimerunner Rock to reach the Roost.
You gaze up the sheer, icy cliff. You know not
to look down, sideways, or any whichaways but
up. You can’t see where there is to get to. Freezing
fog swirls around you. Death shroud you think.
The Stygians are a land of legend and demons.

Anything could be winging toward you through that
fog. You’d never see it. What if you are climbing into
nothing? What if you are climbing into the dark
mouth of a dragon from the Old World tales? What
if the Roost is a ruse and a bevy of agents wait to
cast you off this inscrutable mountain into your
death or some greater abyss? Axes and ropes feel
like insufficient implements to assay such horror.
Your breath feels paltry and small. You must rely
on your fellows to keep you alive. And one of those
fellows is, lord help you, Tinsy Yates.
Run the climb as a Multi-Person Dramatic
Task using Athletics. Set the number of Task
Tokens required to one per participant
multiplied by the three rounds of climbing (if
there are five participants, for example, the
group needs 15 Task Tokens over the course of
three rounds to succeed). On the first drawn
club, if Roland is still alive, he appears on a
nearby ledge and takes a shot at Tinsy.
If the characters gain enough tokens to
succeed, the entire group and Tinsy make it
to the Roost. If they fail, the characters make
it, but Tinsy’s rope snaps and she plunges to
her death.
A Perilous Perch
The Roost is a hard-bitten place full of hard-bitten
folks. It looks like they are living on the edge of the
world. Ice caves, elk hide lean-tos, and fires dot the
terraced ice ledges. Rimerunner Rock continues to
stretch into the heavens above them.
The view toward the Great Craggies is obscured
by a swirling maelstrom of fog and snow. It’s hard
to imagine anyone living here, but the men and
women who do could live anywhere—survivalists,
mercenaries, murderers, thieves, with few of them
sharing Tinsy’s high ideals.
If Tinsy makes it, the folks of the Roost
welcome her with hoarse cheers, sinewy
meat, and dark grog (feel free to gin up a few
ruffian individuals with the help of the Folks
generator). Whether or not she does, Roost
folks offer the group rest and temporary
shelter, and many of them, from beneath
shadowy cloaks and hoods, swear to descend
from the Roost when the time is right, and
join the coalition in their fight against the Big
Boys: “In the battles to come, you will find we
are more beast than folk, and more fearsome
than any machine.”
Savage Tales
TROUBLING ALLIES
The collection of cloaked criminals
in The Roost has been transformed
into Shapeshifters by Theron Plinth’s
folk medicine. Theron believes they
were corrupted by the human world.
Connecting them with their beastly nature
is the only way to redeem their hearts in
Theron’s thinking. A platoon of criminal
beast men makes a powerful addition to
the coalition, if such an ally doesn’t violate
the group’s ethics.
Jameson Went
A-Courting
Location: Great Craggies
Everybody knows the Lowells don’t care to
touch their logging interests in the Great
Craggies with a ten-foot stick, instead leaving
the day-to-day run of operations to their hired
men from the City. They don’t even try to keep
up appearances either, eschewing festival
days and declining to give the propaganda
speeches that other Big Boys use to keep their
folks in line.
It is right surprising then, that Jameson
Elbert Lowell, the youngest son of the family
patriarch Phineas, is the one Big Boy scion who
has fallen for the charms of a Holler girl, and
a rowdy one at that, the notorious hell-raising
beauty known as Charlene Haversham.
It seems Jameson Elbert insisted on a tour of
the logging camp near Firpo, as he was keenly
interested in local reports of talking wolves.
Jameson is an aspiring scientist, studying
biology in one of the most prestigious colleges
in the City.
Well, he discovered a wild human instead.
Jameson and Charlene have run off together,
much to the chagrin of the Haversham clan
(“It’s a curse to marry above one’s raisings”) and
the titillation of everyone else in Firpo.
A lone Big Boy in the woods with one of the
Holler’s own is a rare strategic opportunity.
the group could interrogate him, gaining
intelligence on what the Big Boys are up to
173
 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse

in terms of new experiments and industrial Phineas' Disapproval: Some of the company
projects; they could kidnap and ransom him; guards were overhead discussing the situation.
they could attempt to convert him to a double- They speculate the prospect of this unfortunate
agent; and those with some serious scalawag union might draw Phineas to visit Firpo for the
in their hearts could kill him and parade him first time since . . . well, ever. It sure as heck
through Firpo to show everyone the Big Boys means he will send his meanest thugs to catch
are not invincible. Jameson and bring him back.
The rebels hear of this star-crossed union at Odd Match: Folks never thought Charlene
any speakeasy, from Ella herself, or, if they are would settle down. She likes to hunt, drink,
about in the woods, a Fenrir (page 217) with fight, and “neck with menfolk,” and it’s hard
the gift of speech relates it to them. to tell which she likes best. She’s an odd match
for that Lowell—he seemed afraid of his own
The Town is Abuzz shadow while he was in town. “I don’t know if
This is the most exciting thing that’s happened he can handle a woman like that.”
in Firpo since Shem Maynard, always a drover The Love Shack: Rumor has it Jameson and
of questionable skills, lost control of three- Charlene are squatting in a hovel on the slopes
hundred hogs on his way to market. They tore of Mt. Sigodlin, “that real crooked mountain.”
up the town and then rushed headlong over A passerby scavenging for ginseng said he
a cliff, enormous lemmings, in a grunting heard “lots of cooing and giggling noises and
spectacle of death not easily matched. kissy-face noises” from the hovel. The passerby
When the crew arrives, Jameson and says he heard them discussing plans to elope at
Charlene are all anyone is talking about. Use Vienna’s chapel.
the Folks generator to create a handful of These conversations give the group some
talkative residents and distribute the following insight into the major players in the drama.
juicy tidbits among them: The essential piece of information, of course,
Immoral Dancing: Jameson was in the woods is the location of the love shack, and that reveal
with a hunting party tracking fenrir, all suited occurs as their legwork is winding down.
up in a gas mask and funny-looking metallic If the group decides to seek out Charlene’s
suit, “to protect him from breathing our bad father, Merle, before they set off to find
air, I reckon,” when he chanced upon a clearing the couple, he offers “a fine reward” for
where Charlene was practicing the “immoral his daughter’s return and the “immediate
dancing” she does to support her upkeep. He discontinuance of the entanglement.”
removed his mask, stricken. Charlene smiled Make the reward something the freedom
real big and tossed back her raven hair. That’s fighters have sufficient need for—a Tommy
all it took. Deadman, a junky vehicle, an important piece
Father of the Bride: Merle Haversham, of information, a pile of scrip, a safe house
Charlene’s widowed father, broods over the in a remote location. The shinier the reward,
situation. Charlene is his pride and joy, “She the tougher their matchmaking dilemma
ain’t much, but she’s all I got,” he likes to becomes later.
say. He’s convinced marrying a Big Boy is
• Merle Haversham: Use stats for Rough and
“unnatural—against the proper order of the
Tough (see page 210).
world,” and any union is destined to bring ruin
upon the Havershams and any offspring the
couple might produce. He also thinks being The Love Shack
in-lawed with the Lowells is sure to make him As the interlopers approach the shack, they
look like a company man and that’s a shame he hear the cooing and giggling—Charlene’s
says he can’t live with. deep, raspy voice contrasted with Jameson’s
tremulous but precise articulations.
Jealous Boyfriend: Charlene has several
boyfriends. One of them, Pistol Owen, is A successful Notice roll reveals some
incensed at this revolting development and has unwanted company. Pistol Owen and two of
sworn to kill Jameson, even though he knows it his buddies are casing the shack.
means death for him if he’s caught.

174

Pistol and his pals need to be talked down
from killing Jameson and sent on their way (−2
on Persuasion/Intimidation/Taunt rolls against
Pistol, no penalty for his compatriots, who
don’t have the galvanizing fervor of scorned
love in their hearts), or dispatched by more
violent means, if necessary.
Pistol is a touch greedy, so if a part of Merle’s
reward is offered, or other material trappings,
the −2 penalty is negated.
Once Pistol and his cronies have been dealt
with, it’s time to assay the love nest.
h Pistol Owen: Use stats for Rough and Tough
(see page 210).
• Pistol’s Buddies (2): Use stats for Workers
(see page 212).
The Nest
Old-timers like to say, “if the hovel is a-shaking,
please don’t break-in,” but the killjoys must
interrupt some serious canoodling to speak
with the couple. After the group interrupts
them, read the following.
Charlene quickly tugs on some clothes but doesn’t
worry too much about making herself decent. She’s
screaming at you, pressing forward, swaying back
and forth like she’s about to unleash some hell.
“Are y’all a bunch of creepers! Or did my Daddy
send you to try and take my fresh-caught
millionaire!?”
“Darling,” Jameson intercedes, “let’s hear these
folks out before you resort to violence. If I am to
take you to the City, you’ll have to learn to temper
such irascibility.”
He is red-faced, unnerved, covering his man
parts with a small hat in his right hand.
Charlene bites down hard on her lip. She looks
from the group to Jameson.
“Ain’t nobody messing this up for me,” she says,
and picks up a shovel.
Jameson lets out a small gasp and covers his
mouth with his left hand. He looks shocked and a
little turned on by Charlene’s display.
Charlene continues to cuss the heroes and
threatens to blacken their eyes and bloody
their noses. She feels particularly rivalrous
toward members of the same sex—if any of
the team are woman, she calls them out to a
grappling match, saying they need “to get away
from her fresh-caught millionaire.”
Savage Tales
Jameson is cowed by the experience and
supports the heroes (+1 to any such roll) if
they try to talk Charlene down or otherwise
subdue her.
Once a bit of order is established, persistent
questioning of Jameson and Charlene leads
them to reveal their plans—they are headed to
Vienna Hosk’s rustic wedding chapel (Vienna
is a “professional hitcher”) to join them in holy
matrimony.
Jameson declares his love for Charlene in
high-flown, poetic terms. He says, “The Holler’s
fauna is fascinating, and I have chanced here
upon its most delicate and beautiful fawn.”
If Jameson is questioned about his presence
in the Holler or his attitude toward Holler folk
or his own family, he says he’s ready to swear
off his inheritance. He learned at the university
that all the ways his family talked about Holler
folks, “as crude lowlifes, little better than
animals,” is unfair and dehumanizing.
He asserts, “You are people just as much as
the people in the City, with full hearts and
minds ripe for cultivation. It’s not your fault
you live the way you do.”
If they question him about his interest in the
fenrir, Jameson’s eyes light up.
Talking wolves, can you imagine it! I’m keen to
study them. My hunting party was in search of a
specimen I could take back to the City. I chanced
upon this beautiful creature instead. I wanted to
write a chapter about the fenrir in my senior thesis.
I’ve desired desperately to have a conversation
with one since I learned of their existences. And
I’m sure there are other talking animals here—the
line between human and beast seems thin indeed.
But I have found a higher calling now—romance.
Charlene swears she’s ready for a new life,
tired of the lowdown men she’s consorted
with and her own mean and rough ways. “I
just want something better for myself.” She
becomes rather exercised when discussing this,
but her earlier rage and bravado turns slowly
to vulnerability.
The couple plead with the heroes not to
interfere with their love, and, in fact, ask them
to escort them through the dangerous territory
between the love shack and Vienna’s chapel
across the mountain.
175
 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
h Jameson Elbert Lowell
The youngest son of Big Boy Phineas Lowell,
Jameson is a lover, not an exploiter.
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d10, Spirit d8,
Strength d6, Vigor d6
Skills: Athletics d6, Common Knowl-
edge d6,Fighting d4, Folklore d8, Notice d6,
Persuasion d8, Science d6, Stealth d4
Pace: 6; Parry: 4; Toughness 6 (1)
Hindrances: Driven (Minor, Marry Charlene),
Driven (Major, Study exotic critters)
Edges: —
Gear: Gas mask (+1 Armor, head, reduces Blight
Vigor roll penalties by 2).
h Charlene Haversham
Charlene's not exactly the most sought after
catch in the Holler, but she's snagged a Big
Boy's son. Next stop, the City!
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Spirit d8,
Strength d8, Vigor d8
Skills: Athletics d8, Common Knowledge d6,
Fighting d8, Intimidation d8, Notice d6, Per-
suasion d6, Shooting d8, Stealth d6, Taunt d8,
Thievery d8
Pace: 6; Parry: 6; Toughness 6
Hindrances: Driven (Major, Marry Jameson,
No Matter What)
Edges: —
Gear: Hideout pistol (Range 3/6/12, Damage
2d4), skinning knife (Str+d4).
Decisions, Decisions
The group has a tough choice. Do they help
the wayward lovers get married and face fall
out from both the Lowells and the residents
of Wolf Lick, especially Merle? Do they return
Charlene to her father and collect a reward, no
doubt creating a life-long, vengeance-sworn
enemy in Charlene? Do they ransom, kill, or
attempt to convert Jameson to their cause?
If they break up the marriage, but still seek
to influence Jameson, his curiosity about the
fenrir is the best route for accomplishing
that. If they offer to acquire a fenrir specimen
or educate him about the other wild critters
in the Holler, he jettisons Charlene from his
memory relatively quickly.
His intellectual curiosity consumes him. It’s
possible for the group to work out an ongoing
“specimens-in-exchange-for-intelligence” deal
with Jameson, who agrees to travel between
176
the City and Holler at regular intervals and
dish as much Big Boy dirt as he can acquire,
given that the critters are sufficiently exotic to
maintain his interest.
Going to the Chapel
If the group has no desire to stand in the way
of true love and decide to escort Charlene and
Jameson to the chapel, they’re in for some
surprises.
Lowell’s men have sniffed out the couple’s
marriage plans through their own legwork,
traveled to Vienna’s, and promptly paid her off.
They’ve laid an ambush for the couple and
are more than happy to include the heroes in
their trap.
A Notice roll, opposed by the lead ambusher's
Smarts, made as the group approaches the
chapel, makes it a fair fight. Draw for initiative.
If the roll fails, the ambushers get The Drop on
the wedding party.
The ambushers consists of two Kramer-Holt
agents, two Company Guards, and Pistol Owen
and one of his rough and toughs (if the group
allowed them to leave the shack unharmed).
The attackers target Charlene early and
often, attempting to kill her. She readily joins
the fight. Jameson cowers behind a tree. The
ambushers do not attack Jameson under any
circumstances, but readily grapple to subdue
him. Vienna hides inside the chapel, her
loud sobs emanating forth between rounds
of gunfire.
• Kramer Hold Agents (2): See page 208.
• Company Guards (2): See page 206.
• Pistol Owen: Use stats for Rough and Tough
(see page 210).
• Pistol's Buddy: Use stats for Worker (see
page 212.)
If Anyone Can Show Just Cause
If the heroes win the fight and manage to keep
Charlene alive, Vienna expresses regret for
the double-cross, saying she had no choice.
She even shares some of the pay-off with the
couple to help them on their journey (25 scrip
and a bottle of fine wine from the City).
Vienna agrees to marry the couple if they
are still up for nuptials after the bloodbath, as
long as the bodies of any dead Lowell men are
cleared from the chapel’s front stoop.

Little Bandits
Location: Corn Cob Gap
A Spate of Robberies
Corn Cob Gap is always risky to traverse, as
the rising hills on either side provide excellent
hiding spots for would-be thieves.
The southern end of the gap has always been
a touch safer, given the relative lack of nearby
towns and the several valleys that wind a short
distance through the Ghost Ridge into Faefall.
Folks do not like to loiter near the realm of the
faeries, even though the faeries rarely leave
the unsullied confines of Faefall proper. But
mere proximity is enough to give most folks
the heebies, even thieves.
That’s why the recent robberies in that
area are particularly puzzling—a wide-roving
tinker, an intractable granny woman, and a
few humble local fishermen have all reported
similar crimes.
Near dawn or dusk, they hear some distant
giggles, a spooky sound in that remote of a
place. They start to scan their surroundings for
Savage Tales
the source of the noise and then a rock or two
whizzes by their heads, until Thunk! One finds
its purchase square on their noggin, knocking
them slam out.
They wake with a lump on their head and
bereft of most of their possessions, though
their boots, a popular commodity among
thieves, have remained on their feet in every
instance. The thieves are keener on food
or knick-knacks (a duck whistle; a homely,
beaded necklace; marbles; homemade fishing
lures; even a rubbery old baseball one of the
old fishermen had in his pocket).
Naturally, folks blame the fae, even though
it’s a spot outside their territory. There’s some
concern among the rustic locals that the
fairies are pushing out of Faefall and “aim to
change the good earth beneath our feet and
the sober sky above our heads into a futzing,
glittering mess.”
The group can learn of these robberies
and the locals’ concerns by happening upon
one of the victims on the road or picking up
rumors on a stop in any town in the Craggies,
Hogbacks, or Ghost Ridge.
Whoever they hear it from, the teller
implores them to investigate the winding,
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 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
narrow paths of Nutty Gorge, which is the
quickest path through the Ghost Ridge to the
northern border of Faefall.
Tiny Suspects
Traveling through the Nutty Gorge is a pleasant
experience— it’s Blight free, as Faefall’s
influence leaches into the valley. There’s a fair
bequeathment of sun. Sometimes the denizens
of Faefall do wander over its borders a bit, fae
and cryptid alike.
A successful Notice roll in this area grants
a glimpse of the legendary Green Man, a
mysterious entity associated with “pagan
notions,” a figure who many think is “sprung
from an Old Scratch’s brain or might be one of
Old Scratch’s fancy costumes.”
Up ahead, a figure steps from a berry bramble—
the thorns would shred a normal fella’s skin, but
this one completely covered in bright, shining
leaves, forming a kind of armor. A profusion of
green vines, some bearing tiny yellow flowers,
sprout from his head. He looks as though he was
born of the forest itself—but he’s no forest demon
and seems a sight more grave-faced than any silly
old pixie or flighty spriggan.
He has a regal bearing, like the knights in old
stories, and sizes you up, raising his chin slightly
as if to let you know how high he holds himself. His
face looks carved from a hoary tree, a tree as old
as time itself, a tree that a tiny universe of mossy,
growing things surrounds to be blessed by its shade.
He is the boss around here, fella, his look seems to
say. He disappears into the bramble more quickly
than he emerged, barely a sound, barely a fuss.
Any attempt to track down the Green Man is
futile, but still results in quite the story to tell
in a speakeasy.
Only characters who make a successful
Notice roll see him and even they are unsure
if it was a phantasm or a real creature after the
moment of his sighting passes.
As the heroes approach the Faefall end of
the gorge, they notice several acorn piles
at regularly spaced intervals. A successful
Folklore roll indicates this is likely the work of
pixies, who play war games centered around
these “fortresses.”
The fact that these acorn fortresses lie
outside of Faefall, along with the possible
Green Man sighting, indicate that perhaps
178
the locals’ fears about fae intrusion aren't ill-
founded, though this idea is swept away after
encountering the responsible pixies.
After passing a couple more fortresses, the
crew hears buzzing and chittering noises.
Three pixies adorned with acorn helmets
dart about in the air before them. They seem to
be in exceptionally gregarious moods, sunning
in the glow of their recent “military exercise.”
Fair, their apparent leader, is a narcissist.
She repeatedly asks the group how they like
her uniform (she’s covered in tiny leaves, like
the Green Man). She poses in different combat
positions, asking which is most “delightfully
striking.”
Glare is a consummate liar. He doesn’t
speak up, unless he is addressed, but if he
is addressed, he invariably responds with
outrageous untruths. He claims, “an undiluted
string of victories upon this day,” which draws
harsh responses from Fair and Quare.
He also claims he knows the day when the
world will end, “A rainy Tuesday in March.” And
that a herd of wampus are grazing on the other
side of the mountain and will soon charge
down and devour everyone in the Gorge,
including the pixies. “Exciting, yes?” he asks. A
successful Notice roll reveals that Glare is full of
pixie dust, as his left eye twitches rapidly every
time he lies, which is every time he speaks.
Quare is paranoid and inquisitive. He asks
the group sundry questions, such as “What are
you?”; “Do your people practice cannibalism,
because I heard that’s a thing?”; “Are you born
from eggs or bellies?”; “Why do you smell like
possum sweat?”; “Why are you looking at me?
Are you trying to steal my soul!” He trucks solely
in absurd insults and panicked suspicions.
They respond to questions about their
presence outside Faefall or involvement in the
crimes with haughty dismissals.
“We aren’t rubes. We leave Faefall all the time!
You just don’t see us.”
“The Fae Queen doesn’t like us to do our
military training inside the borders. It’s too
ferocious. It disturbs her delicate sensibilities.”
“Why would we steal from bumbling rustics?
They have nothing we desire!”
The pixies’ responses are punctuated with
shrill laughter. After toying with the visitors,
Fair agrees to give them “the goods and the

gravy on these fell crimes, if you tell us some
stories about yourselves.”
Fair adds, “Make yourselves look good now!”
Glare adds, “The less true, the better.”
Quare chimes in, “And give it a sinister twist!”
Heroes who participate in this fae game and
relate a tall tale about their shocking exploits
receive a Benny.
If at least one person tells a story filled with
action and hyperbole (and a sinister twist), Fair
dishes the dirt, while enacting the story with
broad gestures and pantomime:
It’s some of your own unruly youngins! They are
worse than a sprig-glut of spriggans, though our
Queen may turn them into spriggans if they keep
with their devilry!
They’ve built nests in the trees back off the road a
piece. They spend most of their days cackling and
fighting up there, regular banshees.
When they run out of food or play pretties, they
scurry up to the road together, a dozen of them if
there’s one, and climb those trees.
When they see a poor rustic a-coming, they start
slinging rocks until one pops ‘em on the tater and
right to sleep the waylaid traveler goes.
Then the little runions come a-running, take
what they want, and go giggling back into the
woods. It’s a sight.
If this isn’t enough to pique the team’s
interest, they see the Green Man again. This
time he beckons for them to follow. If they do,
he stays a fair distance ahead of them, leads
them near the tree houses, and disappears
into the surrounding forest. He is impossible
for mortals to track.
h Green Man: See page 221.
• Pixies (3): See page 243.
Approaching the Tree Houses
The sounds of laughing children eminate from
the houses, which sit about a hundred yards off
the main road in Corn Cob Gap. As the group
approaches, they are assailed with a rain of
stones and must roll Athletics to avoid Bumps
and Bruises.
If they withstand the onslaught and continue
toward the trees, the oldest and stoutest child
among them scrambles down and asks, “Who
the hell are you miscreants?”
Savage Tales
Buster Cole
The younger brother of Vernon and Fernon
Cole, Buster is the leader of the little bandits.
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit d6,
Strength d6, Vigor d6
Skills: Athletics d8, Common Knowl-
edge d6, Fighting d8, Folklore d6,
Intimidation d6, Notice d6, Persuasion d6,
Shooting d6, Stealth d6, Taunt d8, Thiev-
ery d8
Pace: 6; Parry: 6; Toughness 5
Hindrances: —
Edges: —
Gear: Sling w/ stones (Range 3/6/12, Damage
Str+d4), skinning knife (Str+d4).
Wild Youngins
The children Fair describes are mostly
runaways from mill villages in Hogback Hills
who have created an ad hoc society far from
town. Either their parents don’t really want
them, or they don’t want their bellicose or
likker-soaked parents. They come from tough
homes and are wise (and mean) beyond
their years.
One exception is Buster Cole, the youngest
of the famous gouging clan from Cole Hollow
in the Ghost Ridge. He had a row with his
older twin brothers, Vernon and Fernon
(they were being too rough on him in gouging
training), a few weeks back and joined up with
the dispossessed kids from the mills, quickly
becoming their ringleader. Buster is mostly
just having fun and knows he can return home
whenever he wants, unlike the other kids.
A Few Other Runaways
Trudy Houser: A 12-year-old girl who used
to work with her mother in Saxon. She lost
a finger to a weaving machine when she was
only 10. She could no longer abide her “mama’s
screaming fits” and “roundabout boyfriends”
and left home. She’s the best shot of the bunch
(she has the Marksman Edge).
Red Dobbins: A 9-year-old with a mop of
ginger hair that covers most of his face. He’s
taken to pretending he’s a bear since living in
the trees. At first he communicates only with
growls and snarls, but eventually relates a tale
of running away from home after his father
suffered a head injury in Ashdown and lost
his job. Red’s mother died in childbirth a few
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 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
years earlier. “They were going to haul me to
the orphanage or asylum if I didn’t run away.”
Tiny Jr. Jr.: A frail 8-year-old. He doesn’t talk,
but the other children eagerly fill in his details.
Tiny comes from a line of folks who seem to
grow shorter and shorter with each generation.
“Tiny’s daddy’s daddy’s daddy was short, and
then Tiny’s daddy’s daddy was shorter, and
then Tiny’s daddy was even shorter, and Tiny
don’t look like he’s going to grow into nothing
more than a speck.” No one really knows why
Tiny left home, but Buster thinks maybe he
thought he would have a chance to grow “if
he got hisself out from under that low mill
house roof.”
Buster positions himself as the leader and
representative of the other children. “I got
their best interests at heart,” he says.
Buster readily admits to the thievery, saying
they “got to eat and get on somehow.” He also
relates his background and says he’s been
wanting to go home but doesn’t know who is
going to take care of the other kids.
He says it probably won’t be long “until
another one comes straggling up. Of course,
somebody gets eaten by a critter every once
and awhile, too. I’d say the population is likely
to decline over time, no matter what, but it
hurts my heart to think about leaving them
out here alone.”
Truant Officers
Though perhaps not as a scarifying as mutated
cryptids or malevolent industrial inventions,
the do-gooders have a problem. How do
they find homes for the kids (not to mention
improving the fortunes of local travelers),
before an awful fate befalls them?
After the party converses with Buster, they
need to spend some time reaching out to the
other children, calming and reassuring them,
gaining their trust, and hopefully offer a
solution to their plight.
Some Solutions
Convince Buster to return home and see if
the Cole clan is willing to take in a few other
kids. The heroes need to accompany Buster to
Cole Holler and likely barter favors or gear (−2
Persuasion on any negotiations) with Grayson
Cole, the patriarch. They must also avoid the
leers and jeers of Vernon and Fernon (see
180
Rubbing is Racing on page 116) if these twins
have not been killed in another adventure.
A Common Knowledge roll brings to mind
Terrapin Corner, a community of retired old-
timers in the Hogback Hills with a reputation
for geniality and a fine storytelling, cooking,
and quilting culture. These youngins might
learn a thing or two from their elders there
and the kids might inject some youthful energy
into the community.
Other possibilities range from the beneficent
to the wicked—coordinating with a kindly
granny woman or Ella May Hawkins to
help rehome them; leaving them to their
own devices (perhaps with a complement
of weapons, food, and the construction of
sturdier dwellings); or perhaps returning to
the pixies with a gift of changelings for their
Fae Queen (hey, immortality in a verdant
paradise filled with tricksters isn’t the worst
fate, is it?).
Regardless, once the heroes extend some
kindness to the children, they don't want the
group to leave and insist on following them
around if they do (except Buster, who hightails
it back home). That should give the crew some
additional motivation to re-home them.
Rubbing is Racing
Location: Ghost Ridge Mountains
The Legend of Hoyt Burrhardt
A certain stripe of Holler folks, usually those
who have not yet been assimilated into the
company towns, love cars and moonshine
with equal fervor. The juiced-up jalopies
primed to outrun even the fanciest Kramer-
Holt vehicle and the illicit elixir transported
therein are their sacred emblems of freedom
and ingenuity.
Anybody from those parts (see Gulchside
on page 63) tells you that moonshine
and racing are blood-deep, honor-bound
traditions that can bind kin together or create
mortal rivals.
For years, Hoyt Burrhardt, a fierce, strapping
man, and his jalopy, the Buzzing Burr, were the
scourge of the Ghost Ridge. In a race, they say
old Burrhardt would stick to your bumper like
a burr on a possum’s rump, waiting for just the

right moment to ricochet past you or nose you
sideways with no concern for how you’d get
rightways again.
And he was the best shine runner anywhere.
The Kramer-Holt Agents spent considerable
time and resources trying to catch him
zooming up one mountain and down the next.
They tried everything— paid informants to give
up his whereabouts or saboteurs to cut his
brake lines, set up elaborate roadblocks and
booby-traps, bored out their own engines to
have a chance at keeping up.
The sound of his engine became a kind of
lullaby to anxious sleepers of Ghost Ridge—
“You could hear that rumble of a night and
know those bastards hadn’t caught Burr yet.
That’s the kind of rumble that’ll give a man
hope and some peace.”
The agents finally quit out
of pure embarrassment—
Burrhardt’s escapes threatened
their mystique. It was better to let
him roar around the mountains,
unaccosted, like they had better
things to do, than fecklessly
chase after him like children
after a greased pig.
But it was Burrhardt’s skill,
bullying, and one of his own
friends that did him in. Rusty
Roberts was a hell of racer.
He just wasn’t Burrhardt.
Rusty finished second so
many times to Burrhardt
on the dirt tracks and
lost by a nose in so many
drag races that folks
took to calling him all kinds
of nicknames to designate his
eternal bridesmaid status— Rusty
Runner-Up, Seconds, Pert Near,
and Horseshoes.
Rusty spent years trying to figure
just what Burrhardt had under
his hood that gave him an edge,
because Rusty was convinced it
couldn’t just be skill. How did
he win every single time?
Rusty challenged Burrhardt
to race on the dirt road that
snakes down Rumble Mountain,
home to the 180-degree, hair-raising,
Savage Tales
down-sloping, shoulderless curve known as
Hell’s Hairpin.
Before the race, Rusty and a couple of his
fellows snuck over to Burrhardt’s garage to get
a look under Buzzing Burr’s hood. Hoyt caught
them and put a whooping on all three and let
them what’s “Buzzing under the Burr’s hood is
between me and my maker.”
That beating pushed Rusty over the edge. He
snuck back the next night. Lucky for him, Hoyt
was in a moonshine stupor and didn’t hear
him scuttling about his property. Rusty rigged
the Buzzing Burr’s brakes so that the first time
Hoyt gave them a hard tap, they’d go right out,
and that meant they’d go out on Hell’s Hairpin.
That’s what they did. Burrhardt lost the race
and his life, catapulting off the side of the
mountain, rolling end over end and bursting
into flames before crashing into the Wild Eddy
River below.
Folks were suspicious. Rusty’s nickname
changed, all right. They started calling
him “Rusty Rigged It.” He lived out
his days in infamy and shame and
never raced again.
Burrhardt’s
Revenant
Rusty’s racing days might have
been over, but Hoyt’s were not.
He rose from the river as a
revenant (see page 248) and
has been terrifying drag racers
on Rumbling Mountain ever
since. He courses down the curves
in a spectral manifestation of the
Buzzing Burr, taunting, tailgating, and
jostling other drivers.
Hoyt was always a big fella and makes
a brute of a revenant—the death-rot has
taken most of one side of his body while
the other bears the burns of his crash.
He calls out with a throaty wail, “Let’s
Go! Gimme a fair race! Let’s Go!” Most
times he simply disappears, but he
has also sent several drivers to their
deaths over the years, spinning them
out on Hell’s Hairpin and sending them
crashing down the mountain into the
Wild Eddy to meet the same fate he did.
181
 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
He’s been getting even more ornery lately,
it seems. A few nights ago, Buddy Pearson,
the youngest son of the famous shade tree
mechanics, Mavis and Spindly Pearson, was
killed in a race on Rumble.
Two nights after that, one of the group’s
acquaintances (choose from one of the Holler
folks the rebels have bonded with on a previous
adventure or ask a player to tell a story about a
strong tie to a racing friend. Toss him a Benny)
was killed in another crash. Everyone figures
Hoyt Burrhardt’s haint is responsible.
Mavis and Spindly know one of the characters
through a mutual friend of the dead racer.
They figure that the their new acquaintances
are mourning, too, and having heard of their
exploits, think they may be able to assist
them. They send a messenger to ask the
group to “come and help us put that infernal
haint to rest.”
Mavis and Spindly Pearson
Mavis and Spindly are an odd pair, a hard-worn
couple well into their 60’s. Mavis is extra stout,
rough-talking, and her face is always flushed red,
like she’s on the verge of losing her temper. Spindly
is skinny as a wire, pale, and you can tell after
chatting with them for a few moments that Spindly
does whatever Mavis desires, as he’s always looking
at her for direction, looking sideways to make sure
he’s saying the right thing.
Nearly a dozen old jalopies— some rusting on
blocks, others fighting off weeds— rest in what
looks like an automotive graveyard. You can feel
the history in those cars. You know racers whipped
them around razor-sharp curves and rolled them
in a moment of exultation and fear.
Maybe they landed right side up and raced again.
Maybe they died doing what they loved. You know
shine runners stuck their boot to the floor and lifted
in the air cresting steep hills on Sidewinder, a raft of
agents on their tail. You wish the old jalopies could
talk. Maybe a few of them can still roar, with the
right parts and several quarts of elbow grease.
Mavis and Spindly are the finest shade tree
mechanics in the Ghost Ridge and have worked
with local shiners and outlaws for decades,
rigging up cars for speed, evasiveness, and
durability, but they never drove themselves.
They now consider themselves semi-retired
from fixing cars.
182
They had Buddy late in life, but he quickly
became their pride and joy. Buddy worked
on cars just like his folks, but drove them, too.
He’d been running shine and winning local
races for a decade before Hoyt’s ghost sent him
over the edge.
Mavis contends that Buddy was getting
a reputation for being almost as good as
Burrhardt and there was no way his mean-
hearted and prideful old ghost could abide that.
Mavis and Spindly have some junker jalopies
they can help the group to fix up to challenge
Burrhardt. They think if someone beats Hoyt,
fair and square, his spirit might finally settle
once and for all.
For the race to be fair, according to the time-
honored codes of spirits and racers, Mavis
insists the racers have do the work on their
own cars, but she and Spindly offer to oversee
the modifications and pitch in a bit (the value
of such expertise grants the heroes +2 on the
Repair roll for their jalopy).
A successful Persuasion roll when asking for
more information about Hoyt and his legend
yields this piece of interesting information
from Spindly:
You know I know why ol’ Burrhardt was faster’n
everybody else. Back when I was fiddling a right
much with stuff, I fixed him this supercharger for
his engine. It worked pretty good.
But then he fooled an old witcher woman into
doing some kind a-blessing on it, and it worked
even better. That’s why them Kramer-Holt agents
could never catch him.
I thought about going in there and fishing that
supercharger up from the wreck, some of the best
work I ever done, but I’m too old and it’s too rusted
and haunted. That car might’ve done warshed
down the river anyways, but you never know.
• Mavis Pearson and Spindley Pearson: Use
stats for Workers (see page 212), plus d10
in Repair.
Juiced-Up Jalopies
The competitors spend a day working on the
jalopies with Mavis’ and Spindly’s constant
input. Anyone working on the car may make
Repair roll. With a failure, the gear-head
manages to do little to improve the state of
the vehicle. The driver gets a Junked Jalopy.
A success results in a Fair to Middling Jalopy,

a raise in a Juiced-Up Jalopy (see Vehicles
on page 22).
With a raise, the heroes may also choose one
modification:
Bore It Out: Increase Top Speed to 100
Smooth It Out: Increase Handling +1
Hull It Up: Increase Toughness by 2
Make It Loud: (+2 Taunt)
That night Mavis and Spindly tell the racers
they are as ready as they will ever be and
encourage them to drive to the top of Rumble
Mountain and “commence to revving your
engines and calling him out. If Burrhardt
wants you, he’ll come get you.”
The Race
When you reach the top of Rumble, a pair of
headlights flash in your crooked rear-view mirror
and the odd blue light from them fills your jalopy.
You hear an engine revving behind you. The roar
grows louder as the car closes quickly to your rear
bumper. You feel a slight tap. Then a harder bump.
You squint into the rear view and see Hoyt
Burrhardt lean his head, or what’s left of it, out of
the driver’s side window—a visage dripping with rot
on one side, blanched with burns on the other. He
slaps the top of his car with his hand and leans his
head out further, the wind whipping away pieces of
dead flesh. He calls out to you, in a voice as deep as
his engine’s growl, “Beat me fair and square, boys!”
The race down Rumbling Mountain and
around Hell’s Hairpin uses the Chase rules (see
Savage Worlds), with following exceptions:
Use 10 Action cards for the track.
The track is divided into sections. For
each section, when the first Complication
occurs, use the events below rather than
the Complications table in Savage Worlds.
Use the Complications table to resolve any
complications beyond the first.
Narrative dressing for additional
complications is up to the Shift Boss, but here
are some possibilities: a possum or other small
varmint darting in front of the car; the chassis
loosens or tightens, making it harder to steer; a
tire loses air; a rock flies through a windshield;
a big old pothole gets in the way; a drunkard
—or cryptid!—crosses the road.
Burrhardt is immune to complications
during the chase.
Savage Tales
Burrhardt’s vehicle has the following stats.
The Buzzing Burr: Size 3/Handling +2/
Top Speed 110/Toughness 12 (2)/Super Loud
(+4 Taunt)
Section #1: The Top of Rumble (Track
Cards 1 & 2)
First Complication: Uh oh. Vernon Cole has
been idling on the side of the road, waiting
for some action. He sees the heroes reach
the top of the mountain and Burrhardt’s car
manifest out of thin air. Vernon joins the race,
just looking for some fun, and creates as much
chaos as possible.
His vehicle is equivalent to a Fair to
Middling Jalopy.
Section #2: The Descent (Track Cards 3 & 4)
First Complication: Malfunction junction.
Whoever prepped the jalopy neglected
to tighten a screw or securely fit a hose
somewhere. If the driver is in a Juiced-Up
Jalopy, he loses the modification the heroes
chose. A Fair to Middling Jalopy loses its
handling bonus. A Junky Jalopy blows a tire.
The driver rolls on the Out-of-Control Table.
Section #3: Hell’s Hairpin (Track Cards 5
& 6)
First Complication: The scariest part of the
track. Rubber burns. Knuckles whiten. Many
a racer has flown off the edge of the mountain
RIGHT HERE. The driver loses control on Hell’s
Hairpin and makes a Driving roll as a free
action at −4. A failure results in the car flipping
down the side of the mountain and crashing
into the Wild Eddy River. The car is wrecked,
taking 3 Wounds. The driver takes 4d6 damage.
Section #4: Blight Storm (Track Cards 7 &
8)
First Complication: Seems like there’s more
rumbling on Rumble Mountain than engines.
A Blight storm sweeps in violently, obscuring
vision. A Blight Bolt strikes the car for 1 Wound.
The driver makes a Driving roll as a free action
at −2. A failure results in a roll on the Out-of-
Control table.
Section #5: Those Sneaky Bastards (Track
Cards 9 & 10)
First Complication: Some Kramer-Holt agents
deployed a Spike Strip at the bottom of the
mountain to waylay any illegal racers and teach
them a lesson. If this complication is activated,
all drivers make a −2 Driving roll. A failure
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 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
results in a Minor Collision, as the vehicles
spin this way and that, dodging each other and
roadside trees near the finish line.
We Have a Winner, Folks
If one of the crew wins, assuming Burrhardt
hasn’t crashed into the river again, he gets
out of his car, shakes the winner’s hand, tells
her she did a fine job, and says, “Well, I think
I’m going to go home now. But there might be
something you want down in that river bottom
there.” Both he and the spectral version of the
Buzzing Burr disappear.
If one of the upstarts wins and Burrhardt isn’t
there to congratulate her, the Shift Boss might
subtly remind them of Spindly’s story about
the supercharger.
If Burrhardt wins, he starts cutting donuts in
the middle of the road, taunting the losers, and
shooting obscene gestures at them. He yells,
“There might be something in that river bottom
that’ll even things up next time around,” and
drives away, vanishing as he hits the top of the
next hill.
In the unlikely event Vernon Cole wins, he
crosses the finish line and keeps on going
into the night, cackling with glee, with
184
Burrhardt’s car hugging close to his rear
bumper for a stretch, then the ghostly
car vanishes.
The Supercharger
If the heroes heed Burrhardt’s words or
Spindly’s story, they can trek down the
mountain. They need to make two Athletics
rolls for steep ground along the way, one near
the top and one near the bottom. A failure
results in a tough fall and 2d6 damage.
Once they reach the banks of the Wild Eddy,
a successful Notice roll reveals the rear end of
a car poking out from the water and shining in
the moonlight, toward the middle of the river.
No doubt it’s the physical incarnation of The
Buzzin’ Burr.
“If you see the Buzzin ’
Burr on your bumper,
there’s no use praying—
you ’re going to hell on
the Hairpin.”
—Hoyt Burrhardt

The Wild Eddy gets its name for a reason. The
current is rough. Swimming to the car requires
a −2 Athletics roll. With a failure, the player is
Drowning (See Savage Worlds).
Once someone makes it to the car, a
Repair roll at −2 allows them to extract the
supercharger from the engine. The rest of the
vehicle is, of course, a total loss.
Against all odds, the supercharger still works
if installed in a car, imbued with Spindly’s
ingenuity and the witcher woman’s blessing.
h Hoyt Burrhardt: Use Stats for Revenant (see
page 248), with a d12 in Driving.
• Spindly’s Supercharger: Top Speed +20,
Taunt +2, Toughness +2 (derived from its
magical aura)
The Sisters of
Shuckstack Valley
Location: Faefall
Contracting a Hexing
Run this adventure after the group travels
through Faefall or invent a short errand or
fetch quest that takes them through the valley
(but not so close to either witch’s side that they
encounter them).
They contract a curse on their travels,
unbeknownst to them, from Varsha Horn,
one of Shuckstack Valley’s infamous sisters
(feel free to drop this valley into a convenient
location in Faefall).
Varsha has laid curses throughout the valley
floor to punish travelers for “disturbing
her woods.”
Pluck a blackberry from a vine and eat it?
The unwary diner is hexed. Break a branch
off a dogwood tree? Hexed. Step on the wrong
toadstool? Hexed.
Varsha’s curse afflicts the victim with horrible,
recurring nightmares that continues to haunt
them during the day. The nightmares are lucid
and dredge up a character’s greatest fears
about himself or the world.
Introduce the players to their nightmares
via this modified Interlude by either requiring
them to describe their nightmares from the
night before or wake them up in the middle of
Savage Tales
a night’s sleep and ask them the same, before
unleashing a random encounter on them in
Faefall or one of its adjacent areas, depending
on where they are (see Encounters by Regions
on page 100).
The dreams follow the normal Interlude
rules, with the following topics:
Spades: A nightmare about being pursued
through the woods by an enemy.
Hearts: A nightmare about being trapped
inside a terrifying location.
Diamonds: A nightmare about a past trauma.
Clubs: A nightmare about the end of the
Holler, a cataclysm that wipes out everyone
and everything.
The nightmares affect the characters in a
fundamental way.
Assign a −2 penalty to all Trait rolls associated
with the attribute that seems most threatened
or compromised by the dream (−2 Agility-
based rolls for a chase nightmare, for instance,
or −2 to all Spirit-based rolls for a nightmare
about a past trauma).
To up the pressure on the heroes, if they
don’t lift the hex by the next night, have the
nightmare recur and increase the penalty to −4.
This should give them plenty of motivation to
discover the source of their nightmares.
The Shift Boss should feel free to embellish
the character’s nightmare with hints about
its origins—flashes of traveling through
Shuckstack Valley, the hazy figure of an old
woman presiding over a cauldron, her shrill
cackles, etc.
Tick Hansen
Tick Hansen is a mountain man who has made
a decades-long peace with the fae, though
they still mildly harass him and drive him to
distraction frequently. He curses them up one
side and down the other if asked about them,
but he secretly enjoys the interactions and
would not leave Faefall for anything.
He looks the part—a long, black beard with a
white streak down the middle, slightly redolent
of skunk. His beard is adorned with foxfire,
which glows in the night. A few ticks are often
visible on his skin, and he wears a ratty cowboy
hat with feathers of various birds sprouting
haphazardly from its band. Finally, he’s armed
with a skinny knife and bow, but uses these
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 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse

for hunting only, as he is non-violent toward “holy-istic” gardening, but she and her sister
humans and fae. are nearly equally matched in power.
If the travelers are struggling to connect the On the south side of the valley is Varsha
dreams to their journey through Shuckstack, Horn’s domain. While vibrant plants, glittering
or if they need an eccentric diversion, consider waters, and unnaturally florid landscapes are
having them meet Tick. He might stumble into not uncommon in Faefall, the area nearest
the camp, perhaps appearing to be a threat Varsha’s hovel looks like one long note of
initially, or “stalk” the party until they feel his warning from nature— “Do not touch this, do
eyes upon them and force an encounter. not tarry here.” Carnivorous blooms, steaming
Tick tells the group they look a bit shaken. hot and hissing waters, aggressive rabbits, and
If they divulge to him they’ve been having tentacled trees are but a few of its features.
nightmares, he gets a knowing look in his eyes Varsha’s influence spreads beyond her
and relates the following: homestead, and the heroes notice aberrations
even near the border of Vidys’ territory
“Y’all cross over an odd valley beneath Shuckstack
(particularly sharp-thorned roses, horned
Mountain of late? One side of that valley is lush
toads, and brightly colored mosses). It’s this
to glowing—them plants just a little too keen and
area, a kind of intermezzo between their
bright? The crick water rushing a little too meanly?
two domains, where she booby-trapped the
And then on the other side, lord, if it ain’t the
walking paths with the hexes to which the
prettiest pasture you ever did see in its own homely
group and their dreams fell prey.
way—nature seeming right content and satisfied
with itself. Right down the middle is pert near
normal. Well, that valley is divvied up between two Vidys Horn
If the group seeks out Vidys first (Tick can
sisters—one’s a nice old witcher-woman, the other
supply rough directions to either witch’s home
one is her sister, mean and wily as an adder. She
if asked. He claims to have “lain with them
don’t like those who set foot upon her ground and
both, many-a-moon ago”), she kindly greets
puts notions in their heads.”
them and offers them a warm meal of biscuits
If the explorers question Tick about how and gravy in her cottage.
these notions might be removed, he tells them, If they relate their nightmares to Vidys, she
“You’ll need to see the good sister for the cure immediately lays the blame at her sister’s feet
or some say kill the mean one, but I wouldn’t and tells the group, “yanking horrors out of
advise trying that.” your gourd once they take root can be a tough
harvest, but I can help you, no doubt. You just
Shuckstack Valley have to gather up the cure yourself.” She then
The valley gets its name from its many patches relates the three tasks they must complete, in
of wild corn. In days past, before the sisters order, to free themselves of their nightmares
took up residence, folks would hold “shuckings” (see The Cure on page 188).
up and down the valley, celebrating its
h Vidys Horn: Use stats for Conjure Woman
abundance.
(see page 207). Vidys is a Wild Card.
The north side of the valley is home to Vidys
Horn, a goodly witcher woman and expert Varsha Horn
healer. She considers herself a “drood,” a If they seek out Varsha first, with the notion
nature priest like the ones they used to have that confronting or killing the witch is the
in the Old World, and she works round the way to rid themselves of the nightmares, they
clock to keep her side of the valley in a “perfeck access a fair amount of trouble.
balance,” or “nature at its most natural,” as
she likes to say. Not “tarted up with shimmies” Read the following text to describe crossing
from all those blasted little fae or made “full of over the threshold into Varsha’s territory.
pizon” like on my sister’s side. The placid and ordered meadow you strolled
She’s trying to claim as much territory from through felt as though every wildflower was
her sister as she can through her wards and perfectly placed, given its own dutiful and attentive
bee, and the high grasses swayed in leisurely unison.

186

The very air seems to change as you continue south,
its breezes wild and swirling, spun with disquieting
energy. The grassy vista gives way to brambles and
thickets and shrubs that huddle into maze-like
clusters. Slantwise trees with writhing branches
join their crowns together, creating unruly copses,
like arboreal monuments to chaos or death. The
flowers popping from thicket and weed hue blood-
red, and amid the patches of violent yellows and
puerile purples, there’s a constant rustling. This
meadow broods and sulks, more ravenous than
a potter’s field.
Have them encounter a few of the following
hazards as they travel deeper into Varsha’s
territory.
Stickers: Thorns fly from violet-colored
rosebushes and embed themselves into the
skin. 2d6 damage + Mild Poison. The characters
can evade with Athletics.
Tentacles: Thorny vines from a nearby tree
rush toward a trespasser and tightly encircle
him, forcing him to roll Strength or Athletics
to resist. On a raise, the target breaks free or
avoids the vines. With a success, he is Entangled.
With a failure, he is Bound, taking 2d4 damage
each round until he breaks free.
Savage Tales
Rabid Rabbits: A gaggle of rabid rabbits
attacks a character. Treat the rabbits as a
Swarm (see Savage Worlds) with a Small Blast
Template. On any attack in which a victim does
not completely Soak the swarm’s damage, he
rolls Vigor.
A failed roll results in a form of slow-acting
rabies (see Chronic Disease, Savage Worlds),
characterized by an extended bout of foaming
at the mouth each morning upon wakening.
Steam Bath: The group hits a patch of marshy
ground, riddled with muddy, pucker-mouthed
vents that release blasts of steam into the air.
Potential victims must make an Evasion roll or
take stinging burns and 2d6 damage.
Once the trespassers successfully navigate the
hazards, they arrive at Varsha’s hovel, where
she is waiting for them. She gets The Drop, no
matter how stealthy their approach. They are
on her territory and she sensed their presence
as soon as they entered it.
Her painter familiar joins the fray as soon as
she attacks.
Killing Varsha gradually undoes the heinous
transformations she’s inflicted on the valley’s
landscape but doesn’t cure the group of their
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 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
nightmares. Vidys Horn is right when she says
getting things out of one’s mind is not easy and
the owner of the mind is primarily responsible
for its contents, or lack thereof.
h Varsha Horn: Use stats for Witch (see page
212). Varsha is a Wild Card.
h Painter: See page 216.
The Cure
Vidys gives the crew the three-part task they
must complete to vanquish their nightmares
(and the attendant penalties).
The Sleeping Bear
The troublemakers must travel to the lair of
The Sleeping Bear, on the slopes above Varsha’s
side of the valley, wake it up, and then run to
safety. If they haven’t killed Varsha yet, it’s a
hazardous journey (have them encounter one
or more of the following—Stickers, Tentacles,
Rabid Rabbits, Steam Bath—see above).
Once they emerge from Varsha’s forest onto
the slopes of Shuckstack, a successful Survival
roll reveals the lair entrance.
The Sleeping Bear is at the back of his cave,
snoring loudly. It takes a tremendous amount
of noise to wake it—screaming loudly, banging
on improvised instruments, shaking it
vigorously, jumping up and down on its belly,
or other extreme methods.
When they wake the bear, it chases them, and
they must outrun it (or at least evade it until it
returns to its lair). A Chase, Quick Encounter,
or a series of Athletics rolls all work here.
• Bear: see page 213.
The Laughing Deer
The crew must elicit a laugh from The Laughing
Deer, a large, albino buck that makes its home
in the valley. Vidys advises that the only way to
make it laugh is to hunt it and kill it with a bow
(she can provide one, if the group doesn’t have
one). As odd as that sounds, she’s right.
The heroes track the deer (via Survival rolls)
from Vidys territory into Varsha’s territory
(where they may encounter one of the hazards
of Varsha’s domain if they haven’t killed her).
After a short hunt, the hunters find the
deer. To shoot this strange creature requires a
Shooting roll at −4 with a bow. If the Laughing
Deer is hit it slowly and majestically lowers
188
itself to the ground. A dignified “death” if ever
there was one.
As the party surveys or approaches their
quarry, it rises, turns to face them, gives a
jaunty bow and unleashes a booming, echoing
laugh as it runs off toward the slopes of
Shuckstack. Characters who have spent much
time in Faefall think the laugh sounds like the
laugh of a haughty sylvan noble.
The Singing Bird
The last task does not require the players to
venture into Varsha’s territory. They simply
need to convince Vidys’ pet bird, a yellow-
billed cuckoo, to sing back to each one of them.
It sits in the branch of a dogwood tree, just
outside of her cottage.
Asking the cuckoo bird to sing, has no effect.
Neither does physically prodding it.
Each character must sing his or her own song
to the bird for the bird to sing back. If they have
trouble coming to this conclusion, Vidys pokes
her head out of the cottage and tells them,
“Sing about the troubles in your head. Each one
of ye now. She’ll like that.”
Anyone singing to the bird about their
nightmares rolls Performance or Persuasion.
With a successful roll, the bird sings the tune
back to them adding chirps and trills along the
way to fancy it up.
Failure means he must come up with another
song and try again until that pretty little bird
is satisfied.
Sleeping Easy
Once the heroes have accomplished all three
tasks, their minds feel less troubled, the world
a few shades brighter. They are no longer
plagued by nightmares and the penalties
fall away.
In addition, helping the group purge their
nightmares has increased Vidys’ power in
relation to Varsha’s (if she is still alive), and
Vidys does away with Varsha’s unnatural
influence on the valley (including her hazards),
in short order, allowing for safer passage if the
ne’er do wells return.
If the heroes kill Varsha during the adventure,
Vidys’ does not express displeasure with this
act, though she would never harm Varsha
directly herself.

Over time, however, Varsha’s absence has
a profound effect on Vidys. Varsha’s ghost
haunts her, or at least she thinks it does, and
she turns to Varsha’s evil magic. The next time
the travelers return to the valley, it is full of
Varsha’s hazards.
If they investigate, they discover Vidys is the
new Varsha, the valley has grown even more
dangerous, and Vidys stops at nothing to
avenge her sister.
The Swallowing Ground
Location: Cussfoot Fens
Along the border between the Cussfoot Fens
and the Hogback Hills, there’s an abiding
belief among the folks in Almarine that the
thick mud and peaty bogs of the Cussfoot
offer the deceased a particularly deep and
peaceful sleep. Lately, the Fens have become
increasingly populated with cryptids and the
shambling Meatyardians, but an increase in
undesirables is no reason to deprive the dead
of this putrid earth’s salutary effects.
Of graver concern is the large, sludge-
eructing sinkhole that has formed near one of
the burial grounds.
Folks have taken to calling it the Swallowing
Ground (those who insist on a more accurate
description have brandished it the Swallowing
and Spitting Ground) and say it’ll suck anything
you throw into it straight away into no telling
where. Most surmise it’s the entry point into an
infernal abyss, given the recent (also known as
permanent) bad luck in the area.
All it gives back in return—a spume of
stinking ooze. Folks have exhaustively tested
this theory—launching everything from
household bric-a-brac to farm implements
to small livestock into the gurgling muck and
to this point, the gurgling muck maintains a
perfect record.
Almarine residents are concerned the
sinkhole is bound to keep growing and
consume the graveyard, interrupting their
loved ones’ peaceful sleeps and gorging them
down closer to hell. Thus far, homemade sump
pumps and attempts to fill the hole with tater
sacks full of sand have had no effect.
The freedom fighters learn about this story
on the road or in any speakeasy—traveling
Savage Tales
granny women or peddlers are great sources
of gossip, as are bluegrass musicians on a break
between sets or on the way to their next show.
The State of the Bog
The folks of Almarine are right in their hunch
that the Fens have special properties, they
just don’t know the truth behind it—the high
concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus in
the peat blunts the effect of Blight on human
corpses. In high concentrations, it prevents
even badly Blighted dead folks from turning
into demons. In smaller concentrations, it
slows down the process considerably.
The combination of Almarine residents using
the bog for years as a graveyard and all kinds of
scoundrels using it as a convenient dumping
ground has led to an overload of bodies and
a dissipation of the bog’s protective nutrients.
The Big Boys’ technomancers have also
identified the bog’s anti-demonic effect
on bodies and buried many failed human
experiments from the Bondurant asylum here
so as not to add to the local demon population.
Robbers and murderers also use the bog
as a dumping ground, holding the same
superstitions as Almarine folks—if their victims
sleep deeply, they are less likely to haunt them.
A large, tremulous air pocket has formed
beneath the bog’s surface, creating a moldy
mausoleum of ichor and decay, populated
by curdled demons of every stripe. Relatively
“natural” seismic activity in the area adds to the
problem. The spumes of mud and malodorous
air issuing forth are a grave warning sign—if
the heroes don’t find a way to seal the hole or
enter it and defeat its inhabitants, a spuming
horror of mud and demons erupts and rains
destruction upon the town of Almarine.
The Almarinites
Almarinites burying their dead in such a
forsaken locale is only the pinky toe of the big
ol’ callused foot of their intractable beliefs.
They practice haruspicy—reading an animal’s
innards to divine the future—for all manner
of questions, ranging from the mundane (“Is
it going to come a shower this afternoon?”)
to the mean-hearted (“When will Smuggy
Green drop dead?”) to the existential (“If my
soul were a tree, what kind of tree would it
be?”). Skinned carcasses of animals litter
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 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse

the town, which means there’s often buzzards Stob Greeley: Stob is a clumsy young man
circling overhead and wild dogs fighting for with wide-set eyes. “They call me Stob because
the remains. I trip over stobs a lot.” He insists that the
Upon seeing these curiosities, a successful Swallowing Ground cannot be foolproof in
Folklore or Occult roll jogs the character’s its swallowing because his Daddy told him,
memory about what goes on in Almarine. Read “There’s an exception to every rule.” Stob says
the following: he ain’t stopping until he finds the exception
to the Swallowing Ground’s appetite. He says
Owls are also a particular object of fascination he’s a might bit poorer for the effort, though,
and concern. Large owls routinely fly over because he’s thrown most of his belongings
Almarine on the way from their roosts in Hogback in the hole.
to hunt for the abundant critterage in the Fens.
Smuggy Green: Boisterous, stout, Smuggy
Tons of superstitions surrounding owls are deeply
insists on calling the group “city types,”
embedded in the community— if an owl flies over
regardless of their origins. Smuggy frequently
your head on your way back from a funeral, you’ll
challenges folks to arm wrestling or spitting
be the next one dead; if an owl lights outside your
contests. Everything is a competition to him.
window after midnight, you’ll be the next one dead;
if you hear an owl hoot three times after dawn, Evangeline Engle: A crooner and banjo
you’ll be the next one dead. player, Evangeline teaches the group the
There’s never any good that comes of an principle of “hoo-hoo” songs. “Whatever verse
interaction with an owl. Still, folks hold them as I sing, just sing “hoo-hoo,” after it, and that’ll
sacred creatures, and little shrines to them are keep us on the good side of the owls,” she says.
everywhere—whittled owls, the visages of owls Misty Shires: Misty is a young woman with
carved into doors and roofs, folk songs make a melancholic disposition, prone to gently
substantial repetition of the phrase “hoo-hoo,” and weeping at any moment. She claims everyone
a stand of cedar owl houses looms two hundred is afraid to say it, but whoever crosses that
yards north of the town. “Death is always close in sneaky old card shark Dugan Paul ends up
Almarine,” folks like to say, “might as well give it a dead. Her true love, Lucas Cain, beat Dugan
perch, make it comfy.” fair and square at a game of Rook a few months
ago, and disappeared shortly thereafter, never
Any resident who is questioned is more
to be seen again. She murmurs a childhood
than happy to tell the group about all the
rhyme, “In the bog, in the bog, the only living
connections between owl encounters and
thing is a hog.”
imminent death.
When the group arrives in Almarine, they An Augury
encounter one or more of the following folks.
The group’s canvassing of Almarine eventually
leads them to the cottage of I-Do-Declare and
Some Almarine Residents Lordy-Mercy Conjure, an elderly married
Kale Grievance: An older fellow and devotee couple and the village elders, who practice
of squirrel haruspicy, Kale spends much of his herbal cures and soothsaying. I-Do-Declare
time hunting squirrels in the Fens. On a few is the wife and bears that name due to her
of his hunts, he claims he saw men “kindly do repetition of “I-Do-Declare” in response
a quick burying out at that sink hole.” He says to almost any news or gossip; similarly, the
they just toss the bodies in and leave and don’t husband Lordy-Mercy’s speech is peppered
seem to bequeath them a “jot of respect,” but with Lordy-Mercies, as though almost any
he’s not one to judge. occurrence warrants at least a speck of surprise
Salty Alice: So named because she loves salty or incredulity.
food and fills her speech with salty talk, Alice I-Do-Declare and Lordy-Mercy are deeply
keeps a pet owl, which makes other folks a bit concerned about the Swallowing and Spitting
wary of her. Her reasoning goes thusly, if an Ground, but they have been through near a
owl is always with you, you’re always receiving dozen rabbits already today and have received
omens. They lose their power over time. no visions they deem of value.
“Familiarity breeds impotence,” she says.

190
 Savage Tales

They ask the group to venture forth into
the Fens and hunt down a boar for them, as
I-Do-Declare suspects that “it might take, I-Do-
Declare, a ground-rooting, mud-snorting
animal of profligate filth,” to get a proper
oracular read. “The bigger it is, the better we’ll
be able to see, Lordy-Mercy,” Lordy-Mercy
chimes in.
The pair direct the group to a spot to the
southeast of Almarine, about a mile into the
Fens, the Rooting Tree. “You can’t miss it,”
Lordy-Mercy says. “I Do-Declare it’s the only
one that stands upright,” I-Do-Declare adds.
Once they reach the Rooting Tree, another
Survival roll determines the size of the boar
they find (and thus its usefulness to the
Conjures in their haruspicy).
With a failure, they find a scraggly looking
little boar, plagued with brucellosis. Any
successful hit kills it. With a success, a normal-
sized, healthy boar is rooting up mushrooms
beneath the tree. On a raise, they encounter a
giant boar.
Assuming the crew manages to kill their
quarry, they return to the Conjures for the
haruspicing.

The Hoot Owl Shivers • Boar / Giant Boar: See page 213.
Now, the Fens are plenty spooky, slumped
down on one edge of the known world, That’s Right Strange
filled with dead bodies, the air clogged with Assail the rabble rousers with a chorus of
fog and horrible smells. It doesn’t take too “I-Do-Declares” and “Lordy-Mercies” upon
much wayward imagining for visitors to start their return to the Conjures—the tone of these
believing the things Almarinites say about owls, emanations corresponds with the size of the
or at least entertain the notion that they could kill. The Conjures are delighted with a giant
be true, and behave irrationally when one of boar, pleasantly satisfied with a regular one,
the wise, chubby fouls swoops through the and utter their pet phrases with disgust and
night air like a ghost or dream. censure if it’s the little one, but they set right to
their work under any circumstances, skinning
Upon embarking from Almarine into the
the animal, slicing into its entrails, and pulling
Fens, everyone makes a Spirit roll. A success
forth its engorged liver.
flushes away those silly owl notions. A failure
results in the a case of what’s known as the If it’s the little boar with Brucellosis, everyone
Hoot Owl Shivers for the duration of their visit rolls Vigor. With a failure they contract
to Almarine and the Fens. the disease from exposure to the boar (see
Debilitating Disease in Savage Worlds).
Whenever an afflicted victim sees an owl (and
make sure she sees a few), she automatically If there’s a granny woman or any characters
makes a fear roll. On a Critical Failure, the with an arcane background or occult
hero’s fear runs wild, and they roll at +2 on the knowledge in the group, I-Do-Declare senses
Fear Table. No amount of reasoning can calm this and offers to “teach you a bit about
down a person who has contracted the Hoot haruspicin’,” which amounts to her plopping
Owl Shivers; the only cure is getting the heck the liver on her kitchen table and asking the
away from Almarine. would-be student what he sees.
The character makes an Occult roll. With
The Rooting Tree a success, he has a vision of the air pocket
Shivered or not, the seekers find the Rooting beneath the Swallowing Ground, filled with
Tree with a successful Survival roll. Failure on demons and some dead bodies in the process
the roll leads to some wayward wandering, a of transforming into demons.
random encounter, and lost time. The heroes
don’t know it, but this loss of time eliminates
the possibility of them diving into the
“Ye just got to figure out
Swallowing Ground and battling the demons which owl is your death
beneath the bog. Instead, the Ground erupts as owl and on what day it’s
they arrive, resulting in a fair amount of chaos a-bringing your death.”
(see Demoncano on page 193).

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 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
With a failure, he sees a frightening montage
of shadowy figures burying bodies in the bog
and make a Fear roll.
On a Critical Failure, he takes a −2 penalty
on Spirit rolls until he leaves Almarine
and the Fens.
On a raise, he has a dreadful vision of the
Swallowing Ground erupting, spewing demons
into the air, and raining them down on the
poor folks of Almarine.
If no character has Occult or magical
inclinations, I-Do-Declare and Lordy-Mercy
can each take a shot at cyphering what the
boar’s liver has to say.
Regardless of what vision is conjured, the
Conjures believe that “hopping down into
that hole is the only way to get to the bottom
of things.”
• I-Do-Declare & Lordy-Mercy Conjure: Use
stats for Conjure Folk (see page 207).
Splish Splash
If the investigators succeed on their Survival
roll while searching for the Rooting Tree, they
have time to safely journey to the Swallowing
Ground before it erupts. If they took a lot
of time futzing around at the Rooting Tree,
proceed to the Demoncano section.
If they throw anything into it, and that means
anything, to test it out, the ground swallows it
immediately with a nasty gurgle, followed by
a satisfied belching sound. Mud spews forth
occasionally.
Burrrrp. Glob-um. Glob-um. Squelch. Ploop.
Burrrrp. And airborne! A large potato rockets forth
from the mud hole, arcs past your heads, and sticks
halfway into the slightly less gushy muck behind
you. Two Almarine fellows stand on the other side
of the sinkhole, judge the flight of objects as they
spew forth— “That one got right high. Bet the next
one beats it.”
A trowel, maybe, encased in mud is the next
ejectee, flying straight up for twenty feet and
then falling directly back into the hole. “It’ll do
better next time,” one of the men says, a little
disappointed.
Burrrp. Glob-um. Glob-um. Squelch. Ploop.
Burrrp. A length of chain! A cantaloupe! A butter
churn! A rocking chair! A wringer-washer!
“Lord, we better take cover!” shouts one
of the men.
192
Burrrp. Glob-um. Glob-um. Squelch. Ploop.
Burrrp. That doesn’t sound like too bad of an
idea, but you need to find out what’s going on in
that hole.
The longer they stand there, the larger the
eruptions become, spewing more and more
tools, household items, and even domestic
livestock into the air, requiring an Agility
roll at −2 to evade them. A failure results in
2d6+2 damage.
If the heroes cannot get the nerve to jump
in, the soggy ground shakes and slurps more
violently. The gurgling grows into a low,
sustained growl, as though from the belly of a
leviathan. Proceed to the Demoncano section.
If they hop in, the ground eagerly sucks them
into the expansive air pocket below the surface.
Moldy Mausoleum
The explorers sink from the surface and
emerge underground, covered in sludge. They
see a cavernous opening, some forty feet in
diameter, filled with junk from Almarine, dead
bodies, and demons writhing in piles of black
slop. The air itself seems to be convulsing, and
the walls of the air pocket, composed of thick
peat, seem to be expanding and contracting.
There are four piles of partially inchoate,
sloughing demons, treat as Swarms (Small
Blast Template, see Swarms in Savage Worlds),
in the chamber.
The final swarm spits forth two fully formed
demons of the Shift Boss’ choosing and
dissipates.
If all the demons are defeated within five
rounds, the eradication of their demonic
energy stabilizes the air pocket. The
convulsions cease, the walls start to ooze and
fill in, and the heroes need to make a hasty
escape to avoid being buried alive.
If they failed to secure ropes to the bank or
provide for some other means of escape, they
claw their way upward through the ever-
thickening sludge (use Drowning rules in
Savage Worlds, but use a Strength roll instead of
an Athletics roll).
If a victim is in danger of perishing in the
muck and none of her companions can help
her from the surface, a couple of Almarine
residents, attracted to the Swallowing Ground’s
increased activity and the clamor of battle

rising from its depths, try to fish the hero out
with a rope (the one being rescued makes an
Athletics or Strength at −2 roll to pull himself
to the surface).
• Demons (2): The Shift Boss may choose
among the Demons of the Natural World
(see page 233).
• Demon Swarms (4): See page 230.
Demoncano
If the crew fails to dispatch the demons within
five rounds or got lost on the hunting trip, a
Demoncano occurs.
Whether they are simply approaching the
Swallowing Ground or are fighting within it,
the eruption throws them into the air, along
with the demons and the various offerings of
the Almarinites, the spume of debris arcs into
the village of Almarine itself. You may have
heard stories about raining frogs, well . . .
The village is covered in mud by the eruption.
Many hovels are damaged or destroyed by
the debris. 1d12+2 villagers are killed by the
flying debris.
Savage Tales
Those ejected fall to the earth ensconced in
sludge, causing 2d6 to all non-demons (who
are immune to the impact).
The eruption hastened more of the Swarms’
transformations. The heroes are faced with
six demons of the Shift Boss’ choosing in the
middle of the wreckage of Almarine.
A swarm of owls from the nearby owl houses
descends on the scene, helping the group fight
off the demons. Anyone afflicted with the
Hoot Owl Shivers makes a Spirit roll. A success
immediately cures her, as she realizes that owls
are friends, not harbingers of death.
• Demons (6): The Shift Boss may choose
among the Demons of the Natural World
(see page 233).
• Owls: Use an Owl from page 216, and give
it the Swarm ability.
Aftermath
If the Demoncano occurred, Almarine is a
mess. If the heroes help bury the dead (perhaps
in a new, less corpse-ridden spot in the Fens) or
assist in clean-up and repair in the village, they
can stave off any ill will from the villagers. If
they simply leave behind the wreckage, the
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 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
folks of Almarine hold them as mortal enemies.
They never join a group-led coalition, and the
Shift Boss chooses a vengeful resident to hunt
them down and attack them or attempt to
interfere with their plans at a crucial moment.
If the rebels headed off the eruption, they
are invited to a Heaving that night in Almarine,
gifted with owl talismans (+1 Toughness vs.
swarms), and can count the village as an ally in
a rebellion against the Big Boys.
Ye Old Machine Yard
Location: Sootstone Mountains
The Requisition Yard
Umberkirk Requisition Yard #1a is a small,
auxiliary storage facility located several
hundred yards from the large and extremely
well-guarded Umberkirk Requisition Yard #1.
#1a is the very definition of miscellany—rickety
coal carts, antiquated drilling machines,
mining axes, and a few old model gas masks
and Blight suits for Galloway and Bondurant
visits are among its contents.
More interestingly, Samuel Ashdown has
recently gifted some of his “experimental
machinery” to the Galloways, who were hard
pressed to find a use for the contraptions
in their mines. They relegated them to #1a,
puzzled by yet another manifestation of
Ashdown’s eccentricity.
Since those machines have taken up
residence there, curious incidents have
been increasing in the yard—frequent power
outages, generators firing up on their own,
and a low, crackling hum that permeates the
air, putting the company guards on edge.
None of them could have predicted the
tragedy to come. On this very night, a Blight
storm rolled in off the mountains, unleashing
several lightning strikes in the vicinity
of the yard.
This was also one of the many nights that the
head guard, Clifton Bell, snuck his secret lover,
Alice Dunn (the wife of a foreman, Bruiser
Dunn, at Galloway #3) into the yard for a
neckin’ session. Ashdown’s machines powered
up on their own and went hog wild, killing
all the other guards and trapping Clifton
194
and Alice in a cullyshangying embrace in the
guard barracks.
When Clifton realized what was happening,
he told Alice to wait in the guard barracks and
board up the doors and windows while he
risked an escape to go and summon help. He
was able to dodge the contraptions and track
down the freedom fighters.
The Blight strikes further destabilized
the already finicky power shims inside the
Ashdown machines, setting off the carnage.
Why go to the rebels? Well, there’s no way
he could let the Big Boys know that Alice
Dunn was in those barracks. He’d lose his
job, face imprisonment, and likely receive a
monumental ass-kicking from Alice’s husband.
Because of their glorious reputations as highly
skilled upsetters-of-the-peace, he thinks the
heroes are the only folks who can help.
Clifton & Alice
A panicked Clifton tracks down the group in
a speakeasy, on the road, or possibly in the
middle of some other important business.
He’s a young, long, lanky fellow, with a
fresh-kempt beard and sparkling blue eyes.
He relates a wild story about machines run
amok at #1a. His “friend” Alice is trapped in
the barracks and “needs a-rescuing, else them
machines will kill her just like they kilt the
other guards.”
If the party barters with Clifton for their aid,
he promises to “hook them up with some fine
equipment” and “give them the gossip on what
the Big Boys are up to, if I get hold of any.”
If they push him on what Alice is doing
in the barracks, a successful Persuasion or
Intimidation roll elicits the following love story:
Well, Bruiser’s ill-tempered. Everybody knows
that. And Alice said he gets to fussing around in his
own thoughts and don’t pay her a bit of attention.
We’d seen each other hard hoofing at a stomp
party a couple of times and we’re both kindly
good dancers.
She said I was a lot lighter in spirit than Bruiser.
She started sneaking off to me over at the yard and
I got the other guards to look the other way. She
said Bruiser was off a-drinking or a-gouging nohow.
I got a little nervous about it when weird stuff
started happening—the power going out and
 Savage Tales

such—like maybe fate was warning me I was doing crazily in the air as the claws open and close
wrong. I’m not superstitious. I’m just a little stitious. with a terrible clattering sound above the loud
But I didn’t expect them machines just to start drone of the engine. It darts from behind some
a-killing everybody as punishment for our carnal large storage crates near the entrance and
indiscretion. Ain’t no necking worth that price in attacks the party.
blood and I am sorry for it. I just got to get Alice
• Ashdown Picker: See page 253.
out before the Galloways find out. I barely made
it out to find ye.
Ashdown Automaton
Clifton’s knowledge of the machines is Once the Picker is dispatched, a car battery
limited, but he describes them thusly: crashes down among the group and explodes,
sending acidic spray in every direction (Evasion
...One’s sorta like a picker, which don’t make
roll to avoid 2d6 damage). A successful Notice
much sense, since there’s nothing to pick in
roll reveals the source of the missile—the
Sootstone. One kindly looks like somebody, like it
Automaton has taken the high ground, having
might be good at toting stuff or punching stuff. One
somehow transported or hoisted the catapult
has a bunch of whirling blades on it and chopped
(Hardness 14) atop the guard barracks. He’s
a couple of my buddies to bits, but I can’t really
also hauled up a good-sized pile of detritus and
figure a practical application in the mines, short
fires whatever is handy from the catapult.
of punishment. And then there’s this other one I
thought was a steam shovel, but my buddy Freddy The automaton has time to fire one more
said, ‘Naw, that’s a catapult.’ round at the heroes before they scale the 15
foot high building (−2 Athletics). There’s a
Braving the Yard ladder around back, if someone checks, that
does not require a roll to climb. The second
There’s no security in the yard, thanks to the round could be just about anything one would
errant machines, and Clifton can open the find in a machine yard—another exploding
front gate (he shimmied over the fencing on car battery (2d6, SBT), a large tire (2d4, single
his way out). target), an engine block (3d6, single target) a
If the group asks Clifton about the yard’s mining pick (2d6, single target), a bundle of
layout, he identifies the guard barracks as dynamite (2d6, MBT). It’s a versatile, heavy-
Alice’s likely location, mentions an “explosives duty catapult.
shed,” they should be wary of, and tells them Once the troublemakers ascend to the top
not to fall in the trash compactor in the yard’s of the building, the automaton abandons the
far northeast corner. catapult (which does not function without its
Each time a machine is destroyed, the help) and attacks them.
Shift Boss draws an Action Card, on a club, If they defeat the Automaton, they hear a
guards from the nearby Yard #1 are drawn to loud, whirring noise approaching the barracks,
the ruckus. and blood-curdling screams from inside them.
• Company Guards (1 per hero): See page • Ashdown Automaton: See page 252.
206.
Ashdown Rustic Blading
Gizmos Gone Wild Machine
The crew encounters the Ashdown machines Samuel Ashdown built this device as “an
one at a time (the Automaton and Catapult are homage to that crazy son-of-a-gun Royster
a pair), just like on those adventure-packed Whitaker,” but mistakenly shipped it to
radio shows some folks pilfer from the air. Sootstone instead of the Great Craggies.
It’s a section of witchwood tree, eight feet tall,
Ashdown Picker eight feet in diameter, transported on a large,
This is a small, three wheeled-machine with a metal bed equipped with four enormous and
metallic board where a human picker would exceptionally durable tires. It’s equipped with
lay and operate the “picking hands,” a dozen four metal branches that poke out several feet
silver claws, six to a side, at the end of eight- from the tree in all directions— at the end of
foot long, animated cables. The cables wave each branch is a large, whirling blade.

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 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse

This monstrosity approaches the barracks demanding Clifton’s hide. The group must play
at a decent clip. Alice has her face pressed to relationship therapists after a frenetic battle
the window, horrified by its approach. The with technology run amok. All in a day’s work.
Rusting Blading Machine plows right through
• Bruiser Dunn: Use stats for Rough and
the barrack’s wall, killing Alice instantly unless
Tough (see page 210).
the heroes interpose themselves between the
machine and the barracks.
Leaping or scrambling down from the roof
of the barracks in time requires a successful
Athletics roll.
The group soon finds the blading machine
is nearly impervious to normal attacks. They
must find a way to blow it up or lead it to its
doom—there’s plenty of explosives handy
around the yard—gasoline, dynamite bundles
the automaton gathered, blasting caps
and machines.
The below-ground trash compactor at the far
northeast corner of the yard also makes a fine
way to dispose of the blading machine, if the
group can lure it there.
Activating the compactor once the bladed
machine falls inside quickly crushes the
death machine.
• Ashdown Rustic Bladed Machine: See page
253.

One Hell of a Debt

After all the haywire machines have been
defeated and any neighboring company guards
turned away, it’s an easy enough task to fetch
Alice from the barracks.
Clifton is extremely grateful and makes good
on his promise—loading up the rebels with
2d6 sticks of dynamite, a handy weapon like
a Tommy Gun, some ammunition, and gas
masks (Armor +1 (head), reduce Blight-related
Vigor roll penalties by 1).
Alarms sound as Clifton distributes the loot,
signaling that a raft of company guards and
Kramer-Holt agents are set to arrive. Clifton
says he has a lot of explaining to do, but the
Big Boys should be happy enough to lay the
blame at the feet of crazy old Ashdown. He also
tells the group he owes them (they can call in a
future favor or glean intelligence for a future
strike against the Galloways).
If another spark of drama is needed before
the overwhelming arrival of guards and
agents, consider having Bruiser Dunn wander
into the aftermath, looking for Alice,

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 Chapter 11:
Bestiary

The Holler has all manner of troublesome h Samuel Ashdown

creatures trapped within the confines of the Textile magnate and the most eccentric of the
Otherness. From tiny pixies to great demons Big Boy elders, Ashdown considers himself a
and everything in between, this is a menagerie genius inventor and involves himself heavily
of irksome foes (and even a few friends) the in the Shapers’ (see The Big Boys, page
heroes may meet on their adventures. 49) research and development projects,
pestering the engineers and scientists with
esoteric theories and schematics. Other
Big Boys family members indulge him in these
grandiose pursuits to stay on his good side, as
Samuel does not react well to skepticism or
The Big Boys are the arch villains of the Holler,
indifference.
industrial robber barons who oppress the
He says, “Man’s own pleasure is his greatest
populace to maximize their profit margins.
purpose in life and a man’s greatest pleasure
The Holler is the apex of their capitalist is the free exercise of creativity and reason.”
adventurism, but they each have different He sees geniuses such as himself as the “prime
investments in it and philosophies toward movers” of human culture, dragging the
it. The Big Boys aren’t monolithic and harbor benighted “second-handers” from the muck of
their own suspicions and grudges with one their existences. With so much of his attention
another, which enterprising freedom fighters focused on his own intellectual interests, his
might manipulate to their advantage. mills aren’t well-managed— work schedules are
erratic and the lack of leadership among his
line bosses leads to chaos and lost productivity.
It’s a dangerous environment as well, with
workers often asked to test one of Samuel’s
prototype spinning or weaving machines,
“Efficiency without putting their limbs, scalps, and lives in danger.
ingenuity is . . . really His villages are ramshackle, insular and
boring.” erratic police states, with deputies and
company guards acting as judge, jury, and
— Samuel Ashdown executioner.
The Saxons scoff at the Ashdowns’ methods
and believe their efficient mills will supplant
the Ashdowns’ business altogether in due time.
In the timber wars, Samuel finds a kindred

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 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse

spirit in the unhinged enthusiasms of Royster Persuasion d10, Repair d8, Research d10, Sci-
Whitaker, but thinks Phineas Lowell and his ence d10, Shooting d8, Stealth d6, Taunt d8,
family are effete narcissists. Weird Science d12+2
Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 10 (5)
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d12+2, Spirit d12,
Hindrances: Curious, Delusional (Believes in
Strength d6, Vigor d6
the undeniable utility of all of his inventions),
Skills: Athletics d6, Battle d8, Common
Driven (Major—Engineer industrial won-
Knowledge d12, Fighting d6, Folklore d8,
ders), Vow (Minor—Drive the Saxons out of
Notice d10, Occult d12, Performance d8,
business)
Edges: Arcane Background (Weird Science),
Command, Elan, Famous, Filthy Rich, Gad-
geteer, McGyver, Power Surge, Tough as Nails
Powers: Having altered the dimensions of
time/space in his quest for knowledge, Ash-
down has access to any Power
Power Points: 30
Gear: Environmental protection suit (+5
Armor), control cane (a metallic cane
sporting a control panel with push-button
activated powers, only usable by Ashdown
himself)
Special Abilities:
• Unstoppable: Samuel Ashdown takes a
maximum of one Wound (after Soaking)
from any damaging attack unless the
attacker’s Action Card is a Joker.
• Weakness (Bird Bones): Ashdown has
“weak bones” due to various chemical
and radiological exposures during
his experiments. Successful hits with
bludgeoning weapons or other forms of
blunt force trauma cause +4 damage.

h Roman Bastrop
Bastrop is a mysterious figure, often adorned
in a long, black coat, his gleaming black hair
streaked with silver swept back in a rakish
fashion, a single forelock dangling over his left
eye. The Bastrop family has a long association
with the cult of the Shapers, but the origins of
the family’s wealth are unclear. The old guard
of the Bastrop family recently passed away,
leaving the darkly charismatic Roman, the sole
heir, in charge of its future ventures.
Roman, with help from the Umberkirks,
has recently launched Bastrop Drilling,
which employs a new “hydraulic fracturing”
technique to retrieve oil and natural gas from
the earth. Roman is considered an enfant terrible
among the other Big Boys, as he is famous for
his erotic exploits and social indiscretions.
He views other people as amusing playthings
and espouses theories about “feeding off

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 Bestiary

the psychic energies of others.” He’s built a • Weakness (Sunlight): It’s gloomy enough in
dungeon in his “brooding tower” in the Stygian most parts of the Holler for Bastrop to avoid
Mountains explicitly for this purpose. direct sunlight easily, even during the day.
Roman encourages cruelty and sadism in If the clouds break, he burns. He takes 2d4
his bosses to break down a worker’s sense damage per round until he is ash.
of identity and capacity for resistance. The
other Big Boy families are wary of Roman and h Eloise Bondurant
monitor his surveying activities on the Piney Money isn’t the only distinguishing class
Dirge Plateau with great suspicion. characteristic—there’s culture, refinement, and
education, too, and Eloise Bondurant wields
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d10, Spirit d12,
these like a cudgel. Generations of Bondurants
Strength d12+1, Vigor d10
have graduated from the finest Old World
Skills: Athletics d8, Common Knowledge d8,
universities. They leave the operation of their
Fighting d12, Intimidation d10, Notice d8,
mines to in-laws and underlings while they
Occult d12, Persuasion d12, Shooting d8,
busy themselves with finer pursuits— collecting
Stealth d12
art, poring over tomes of rarefied literature,
Pace: 6; Parry: 9; Toughness: 9
and attending plays and operas in the City.
Hindrances: Outsider (Major, among both Big
Boys and Holler folks), Ruthless (Major) Eloise believes workers are more productive
Edges: Charismatic, Filthy Rich, Frenzy, if their base physical and psychological needs
Extraction (Imp), Weapon Master, Very are met. She views her workers as noble
Attractive savages, salt of the earth, simple folk who don’t
Gear: Old World Long sword (Str+d8). know any better than to live like they do. As
Special Abilities: a result, the Bondurants implement Worker
• Vampire: Roman subsists off the blood of his Enrichment and Moral Instruction programs
fellow humans. When he visits the Holler, in their mining villages, providing lessons
he has a coterie of Kramer-Holt agents who in domestic crafts, penmanship, and social
kidnap victims for him. etiquette, and even sponsoring a baseball
• Bite/Claws: Str+d4 league in the haze-choked summertime.
• Invulnerability: Only slain by sunlight The Bondurants run the asylum named after
or a stake through the heart. Roman may them, which started as a good works program
be Shaken by other attacks, but never and quickly transformed into a bastion of
Wounded. evil experimentation, once the Galloways,
• Sire: Anyone slain by a vampire has a 50% Ashdowns, and Umberkirks had their say.
chance of rising as a Vampire in 1d4 days. Eloise can hardly be bothered with the actual
• Undead: +2 Toughness, +2 to recover from conditions in her mines, however, focusing
Shaken; no additional damage from Called instead on the asylum and similar projects. As
Shots; ignores one point of Wound penalties; a result, the mines are scarcely any safer than
doesn’t breathe; immune to disease and the Galloway’s, and her shift bosses have less
poison. expertise, leading to numerous accidents and
• Unstoppable: Roman Bastrop takes a worker injuries.
maximum of one Wound (after Soaking)
Eloise confuses pity with empathy and good
from any damaging attack unless the
intentions with results. Her romantic view
attacker’s Action Card is a Joker.
of workers doesn’t translate into any kind of
• Weakness (The Good Book): A character
meaningful connection with them. Among Big
holding the Good Book may keep a vampire
Boy families, she looks down on the pragmatic,
at bay. A vampire who wants to directly
single-minded Galloways, and favors the
attack the victim must beat her with an
socially adept Lowells and austere Saxons.
opposed Spirit roll.
• Weakness (Stake through the Heart): Her research into the Holler’s “delightfully
A vampire hit with a Called Shot to the primitive culture” has led her to acquire
heart (−4) must make a Vigor roll versus considerable skill in Folk Magic.
the damage. If successful, it takes damage Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d12, Spirit d12,
normally. If it fails, it disintegrates to dust. Strength d6, Vigor d8

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 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
Skills: Academics d12+2, Athletics d6,
Common Knowledge d8, Fighting d6, Folk-
lore d10, Folk Magic d12, Healing d12,
Notice d12, Occult d12, Performance d12,
Persuasion d12, Research d12, Riding d6,
Shooting d6, Stealth d6
Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 11 (5)
Hindrances: Mild-Mannered, Pacifist (Minor),
Quirk (Obsession with good works, moral
improvement for workers)
Edges: Arcane Background (Folk Magic),
Arcane Resistance, Aristocrat, Common
Bond, Famous, Inspire, Filthy Rich, Scholar
(Folklore), Wizard
Powers: Eloise has access to all Powers avail-
able with the Folk Magic Arcane Background.
Power Points: 30
Gear: Environmental protection suit (+5
Armor); Old World druid staff (Str+d8, free
reroll on Folk Magic rolls).
Special Abilities:
• Flight: Eloise has mastered
one of the most impressive
Folk Magic powers of all from the Old
World—she uses a broomstick to fly at
Pace 12. She does this only at night
or when she’s sure she can’t be
seen, at least by anyone who
might live to tell the tale!
• Unstoppable: Eloise takes
a maximum of one Wound
(after Soaking) from any
damaging attack unless the
attacker’s Action Card is a Joker.
• Weakness (Water): Splashing
water on a witch deals 2d6+2
damage; submerging a witch in
water kills her.
h Theron Galloway
Theron Galloway is notoriously
disputatious and hot-tempered—
a severe, hawk-eyed proponent of
a tireless work ethic. He’s worked
himself to a gaunt scarecrow of a
man over the decades of expanding
his coal empire.
The Galloways run a brutal
operation, one that some workers
refer to as “the wrong side of
hell’s lowest circle.” Miners pull
eighteen hour shifts and are
routinely forced to take
200
extreme risks. Physical punishment is Theron’s
answer to most any problem on the job. His
shift bosses unleash Billyboy Batons with little
provocation and pull sidearms as back up if
things get out of hand.
The Galloways view their workers as wayward
children in need of constant correction
or sluggards given to the insidious human
tendencies of malingering and frivolity.
Theron’s favorite word is “foolishness,” which
is used to describe any activity not related to
work and profit.
His ascetic, utilitarian lifestyle distinguishes
his folks from families like the Bondurants
and Lowells, who style themselves as heavily
educated and cultured, and the Bastrops
and Whitakers, who like to flash their
newfound wealth.
Attributes: Agility d8,
Smarts d8, Spirit d12,
Strength d10, Vigor d12
Skills: Athletics d8,
Battle d12, Common Knowl-
edged8,Drivingd10,Fightingd10,
Intimidation d12+2, Notice d10,
Persuasion d8, Repair d12,
Riding d10, Shooting d12+1,
Stealth d6, Survival d12,
Taunt d10, Thievery d6
Pace: 6; Parry: 7; Toughness:
13 (5)
Hindrances: Arrogant,
Bloodthirsty, Doubting
Thomas, Mean, Phobia
(Minor—magic), Ruthless,
Thin Skinned (Major),
Driven ( Ut t e r l y
subdue the populace)
Edges: Hold the Line, Dead
Shot, Filthy Rich, Killer
Instinct, Marksman, Menac-
ing, No Mercy, Rock n’ Roll,
Tougher than Nails
Gear: Attitude Adjuster (Stud-
ded Club, Str+d8, +2 damage
when wielded with two hands),
Bloody Bear (Range 24/48/96,
Damage 2d8+1, AP 2, RoF 3),
Environmental protection suit
(+5 Armor).
 Bestiary

Special Abilities: Pace: 6; Parry: 2; Toughness: 5

• Fear: Theron scares folks. Hindrances: Overconfident, Phobia (Major—
• Fearless: Theron is not affected by Fear or Visiting the Holler)
Intimidation. Edges: Aristocrat, Charismatic, Elan, Retort,
• Unstoppable: Theron Galloway takes a Famous, Filthy Rich, Very Attractive
maximum of one Wound (after Soaking) Gear: —
from any damaging attack unless the
attacker’s Action Card is a Joker. h Hilda Saxon
• Weakness (Arcane Heebie-Jeebies): Hilda is the stern, humorless matriarch of
Theron’s skepticism of the occult is a cover Saxon Textiles. She prizes efficiency above all
for his deep fear of it. He resists any form ofelse, drawing a stark contrast to the mercurial
magic at −2. Ashdowns. “Poor Pre-Planning Produces Piss
Poor Production,” is a mantra that is drilled
h Phineas and Gertrude Lowell into her workers.
These two are a mated pair and jointly rule the The Saxons view their workers as
family empire. The Lowell’s wealth stretches programmable cogs. If you enforce strict
back centuries to the feudal age of the Old obedience to a precise routine, a lazy farmhand
World, where that fortune gave birth to their can be transformed into a reliable machine.
world class wineries and breweries. They The Saxons push the limits of the possible in
entered the logging business out of the stated terms of workload, instituting long shifts, and
desire of Phineas’ great-grandfather, Pelham, setting machines to high speeds.
“to tame the wilderness, to replace the Satanic The layout of their machine rooms is marked
woods with bastions of civilization.” by symmetry, uniformity, and minimalism and
While the Bondurants view their workers as their mill villages follow suit, creating a sterile,
noble savages, the Lowells see them as merely oppressive living environment. Hilda views
savages, a separate, distinct species not worthy Samuel Ashdown as touched-in-the head, a
of consideration. Many an evening Phineas loathsome competitor she’d like to eliminate
and Gertrude sit sipping a fine cabernet and one day. She sees the Bastrops as immoral
puzzling over the “genetic and psychological and the Whitakers as little different from
make-up” of such benighted souls. common workers.
They keep a considerable distance from Hilda seeks favor with the Umberkirks,
the unpleasantries of their logging business, sensing the Umberkirks’ power and admiring
employing trusted overseers from the City to their ability to think strategically and succeed
handle operations. The sighting of a Lowell in multiple business endeavors.
touring a logging camp is considered an almost
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d12+2, Spirit d10,
mythical occurrence, like seeing a yahoo
Strength d6, Vigor d12
crossing a ridgeline at dusk.
Skills: Academics d10, Athletics d6, Bat­tle d12,
This hands-off approach affords them Common Knowledge d10, Fighting d6, Folk-
ample time to pursue what they value most in lore d4, Intimidation d10, Notice d12,
life, social interaction with other elites. The Persuasion d10, Repair d12, Research d12, Sci-
Lowells are famous for their cocktail parties ence d10, Shooting d6, Stealth d6, Taunt d8
and masquerade balls, where the Bondurants Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness:13 (5)
and their intellectual repartee are always Hindrances: Doubting Thomas, Ruthless,
favored guests. The Roysters and Galloways, Quirk (Obsessed with efficiency, symmetry,
on the other hand, are far too brutish for the uniformity), Vow (Major—Run the Ashdowns
Lowell’s tastes. out of business),
Attributes: Agility d4, Smarts d12+2, Spirit d12, Edges: Bolster, Brave, Calculating, Command
Strength d4, Vigor d6 Presence, Hold the Line, Investigator, Iron
Skills: Academics d12+2, Athletics d6, Will, Great Luck, Master Tactician, Nerves of
Common Knowledge d12, Notice d8, Perfor- Steel, Filthy Rich
mance d12+2, Persuasion d12+2, Riding d10, Gear: Environmental protection suit (+5),
Stealth d4 widowmaker (Range 12/24/48, Damage

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 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
2d6+1,RoF 1, AP 1), blaster (Range 4/8/16,
Damage 3d6 MBT).
Special Abilities:
• Battle Planner: Hilda’s organizational
expertise adds +2 to her Battle roll in Mass
Battles.
• Unstoppable: Hilda Saxon takes a maximum
of one Wound (after Soaking) from any
damaging attack unless the attacker’s Action
Card is a Joker.
• Weakness (Inflexible): Hilda does not react Strength d10, Vigor d10
well to chaos and trickery. She resists Tests
at –2.
h Royster Whitaker
Royster is a self-made man, “the most nouveau-
ist of the nouveau-riche,” as he likes to say.
Whitaker made his money as a wildly successful
confidence man, preying on the loneliness of
widowed heiresses and the gullibility
of young, venture capitalists. He
invested his ill-gotten gains in an
expansive logging operation, along
with a partner, Elroy Harkins, who
mysteriously died not long after.
Whitaker is determined
to build Royster-level
wealth but cares nothing
for prestige or social
status and scoffs at the
Big Boys’ old guard
and their pretensions.
He enjoys raising hell,
corn likker, hunting big
game, and consorting
with womenfolk. He spends
more time in the Holler
than the other Big Boys by
a wide margin.
Royster views the world
in dog-eat-dog terms, with
the strong and the sly merely
exercising their natural
proclivities by preying
on the weak. To him, the
workers are convenient
victims in a larger game.
He has little empathy for
them, because he thinks
their lack of initiative is
the root of their troubles.
202
A man makes his own luck and deserves
what he gets.
The Whitakers are an odd fit with many
of the other Big Boy families (he feels the
closest kinship with Theron Galloway), but
the Umberkirks consider their cunning and
appetite for violence assets and successfully
lobbied for their induction into the Shapers.
Attributes: Agility d10, Smarts d6, Spirit d10,
Skills: Athletics d10, Battle d6, Common
Knowledge d6, Driving d6, Fight-
ing d12, Folklore d10, Gambling d10,
Intimidation d8, Notice d8, Occult d4, Persua-
sion d6, Repair d12, Riding d12, Shooting d12,
Stealth d10, Survival d12, Taunt d8, Thiev-
ery d10
Pace: 6; Parry: 8; Toughness: 9 (2)
Hindrances: Greedy, Impulsive, Mean, Quirk
(Obsessed with beautiful women), Shamed
(Major—Lowest rung of Big Boys’ hierarchy),
Stubborn, Vengeful (Major)
Edges: Assassin, Fast Healer, Filthy Rich,
Frenzy, Block (Imp), Combat Reflexes, Dodge,
First Strike, Liquid Courage, Tough as
Nails
Gear: Animal hides (Armor +1), Atti-
tude Adjuster (Str+d8), gas mask
(+1 Armor to Head), hideout pistol
(Range 3/6/12, Damage 2d4), Peas-
ant Pumper (Range 12/24/48,
Damage 3d6, Shotgun).
Special Abilities:
• I m m u n e :
Royster has
consumed so much rotgut likker that
he’s immune to poison.
• Unstoppable: Royster Whitaker
takes a maximum of one Wound (after
Soaking) from any damaging attack
unless the attacker’s Action Card is a
Joker.
• Weakness (Turncoat): Royster
won’t put his life over the association
with the Big Boys. If captured, he
resists rolls interrogating him
for information at −4 and rolls
persuading him to actively fight
against the Big Boys at −2.

h Barton Umberkirk
Umberkirk Diversified is fronted by Barton
Umberkirk, a rotund, outwardly jolly man, but
it’s rumored that he is merely the “face” of a
shadowy consortium of powerful international
magnates, who keep their identities hidden at
all costs.
Put simply, Umberkirk Diversified sees
the Holler as a testing ground for global
domination. The residents and the other Big
Boys are both valuable parts of this experiment,
but that’s all they are. Barton is responsible for
orchestrating Umberkirk Diversified plans to
subsume all the Big Boy companies into itself
and wipe the Holler from the face of existence,
an unfortunate historical footnote, once all
resources are exhausted and all experiments
completed.
Barton is as fiercely devoted to researching
new technologies as Samuel Ashdown but has
more money and expertise at his disposal. The
Umberkirks run several public installations,
including the Folsom Penal Colony and
Sunnyvale Mining Village, as well as many
secret research facilities in the larger world.
They control the Holler’s burgeoning railroad
system, the distribution of most goods, and
work to ensure all the Big Boy families
remain in their debt. Barton is a master at
simultaneously holding the unquestioning
trust of the other families and playing them
against each other as rivals.
The Umberkirks, whoever they really are, hold
the true power among the Shapers. Despite
his warm exterior, Barton is cold, calculating,
ruthless, and hell-bent on maintaining and
extending Umberkirk dominance. It’s entirely
possible he’s not completely human, but rather
the most urbane, powerful, and diabolical “Old
Scratch” in existence.
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d12+2, Spirit d12+2,
Strength d10, Vigor d12
Skills: Athletics d8, Battle d12+2, Common
Knowledge d12, Driving d10, Fighting d6,
Folklore d6, Intimidation d10, Notice d12+2,
Occult d12, Persuasion d12+2, Repair d8, Sci-
ence d12, Shooting d10, Stealth d10, Taunt d8,
Thievery d10, Weird Science d12
Pace: 5; Parry: 5; Toughness: 13 (5)
Hindrances: Driven (World domination), Slow
(Minor), Ruthless, Secret (Major: Plans to
Bestiary
subjugate/destroy the other Big Boys and
raze the Holler after its riches are extracted),
Edges: Arcane Background (Weird Science),
Aristocrat, Bolster, Charismatic, Elan,
Famous, Great Luck, Harder to Kill, Inspire,
Iron Jaw, Level Headed (Imp), Natural
Leader, Nerves of Steel, No Mercy, Filthy Rich,
Tougher than Nails
Powers: Barton has access to any Power he
desires. Power Points: 40
Gear: Environmental protection suit (+5
Armor), Silent Sam (Range 10/20/40, Damage
2d4), TechnoMantic Power Band (a more
compact version of Ashdown’s unwieldy
staff, this small, metallic wristband, which
hides just inside the sleeve of his business
suit, gives Barton access to his Weird Science
powers. Only he knows how to use it.)
Special Abilities:
• Invulnerability: Barton can only be killed
by being stripped of his power band and
tossed directly into the Otherness.
• Unstoppable: Barton Umberkirk takes a
maximum of one Wound (after Soaking)
from any damaging attack unless the
attacker’s Action Card is a Joker.
• Weakness (The Otherness): Throwing
Barton into the Blight-sick veil that
surrounds the Holler, a toxic horror of his
own making, kills him instantly (or at least
this incarnation of him).
Notable Residents
Below are some of the Holler’s more notable
heroines, scalawags, and roustabouts. Many
are referenced in the Plot Point Campaign and
Savage Tales.
h Verna Lynn Cash
A great performer, without any hint of
nonsense about her.
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit d12,
Strength d6, Vigor d8
Skills: Athletics d6, Common Knowledge d6,
Folklore d6, Fighting d4, Notice d8, Perfor-
mance d12, Persuasion d8, Stealth d6
Pace: 6; Parry: 4; Toughness: 6
Hindrances: Stubborn
Edges: Attractive, Strong-Willed
Gear: Hideout pistol (Range 3/6/12, Damage
2d4).
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 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse

h Fergus Dugan Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d8, Spirit d10,

Fergus is a short, rotund man in his late 60’s Strength d6, Vigor d6
with a long, black beard and surprisingly high, Skills: Athletics d6, Common Knowledge d10,
scratchy, falsetto voice. Fighting d6, Folklore d8, Notice d8, Per-
formance d6, Persuasion d10, Shooting d6,
Attributes: Agility d4, Smarts d8, Spirit d8, Stealth d8
Strength d6, Vigor d6 Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 5
Skills: Athletics d4, Battle d6, Common Hindrances: Loyal
Knowledge d8, Distilling d10, Driving d6, Edges: —
Fighting d6, Folk Lore d8, Gambling d6, Gear: Banjo.
Intimidation d8, Notice d8, Persuasion d6,
Repair d12, Shooting d8, Stealth d4, Taunt d8, h Amos Mulholin
Thievery d8 Reclusive and stand-offish, Amos rarely shows
Pace: 4; Parry: 5; Toughness: 5 himself, preferring to let his legendary Cherry
Hindrances: Elderly, Ruthless (Major) Bounce speak for him.
Edges: Arcane Background (Moonshiner),
Connections, Elan, Luck, Rabble-Rouser, Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d10, Spirit d12,
Streetwise Strength d8, Vigor d10
Skills: Athletics d6, Battle d10, Common
Powers: Blast, relief, sloth/speed, stun, warrior’s gift.
Power Points: 20 Knowledge d12, Distilling d12, Fighting d8,
Gear: Widowmaker .45 (Range 12/24/48, Folklore d10, Intimidation d10, Notice d12,
Damage 2d6+1, AP 1). Persuasion d8, Repair d12, Stealth d8, Sur-
vival d10, Taunt d10, Thievery d10
h Dr. Galton Pace: 5; Parry: 6; Toughness 7
Ruthless and remorseless, Dr. Galton is the Hindrances: Elderly
head technomancer and chief creator of Edges: AB: Moonshiner, Ambidextrous, Con-
abominations at the asylum. nections, Hold the Line, Nerves of Steel, Two
Gun Kid
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d12+2, Spirit d6, Powers: Blast, darksight, farsight, havoc, mind wipe,
Strength d6, Vigor d6 relief, warrior’s gift. Power Points: 20
Skills: Athletics d6, Common Knowl- Gear: Two Peacemakers (Range 12/24/48,
edge d10, Fighting d8, Intimidation d4, Damage 2d6+1, AP 1, dual wielding).
Notice d8, Persuasion d4, Repair d10, Shoot-
ing d4, Stealth d6, Taunt d8, Weird h Lester Poulson
Science d12 Head of the Church of the Anointed on the
Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness 11 (6) Piney Dirge Plateau.
Hindrances: —
Edges: Arcane Background (Weird Science), Attributes: Agility d4, Smarts d12, Spirit d12,
Gadgeteer, Power Surge Strength d6, Vigor d10
Powers: Blast, blind, bolt, havoc, mind link, mind Skills: Athletics d4, Battle d10, Common
reading, mind wipe, puppet, telekinesis, teleport, Knowledge d10, Faith d12+1, Fighting d4,
zombie. Power Points: 30. Folklore d10, Intimidation d10, Notice d12,
Gear: Brain drilling helmet (+1 Armor, Head), Occult d12+2, Persuasion d12, Shooting d4,
drill (Str+d4), environmental protection Stealth d4, Taunt d10
suit (+5 Armor), TechnoMantic 2000 Wrist- Pace: 6; Parry: 4; Toughness: 6
band (Weird Science device that activates his Hindrances: Vow (Major—Lead the flock)
powers), whirling blade tool (Str+d10, Parry Edges: Arcane Background (Blessed), Char-
−2, Reach 1). ismatic, Connections, Famous, Iron Will,
Rabble-Rouser, Auger, Streetwise
h Ella May Hawkins Powers: Banish, barrier, confusion, damage field,
Ella May Hawkins is a textile mill worker, a darksight, deflection, dispel, farsight, healing, light/
mother of six, and a balladeer, singing songs darkness, protection, resurrection, smite, warrior’s
and telling tales about the Big Boys’ abuses to gift. Power Points: 30
any sympathetic ear.

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 Bestiary

Gear: Demon talisman (+2 to recover from h Arville Smote

Shaken/Soak rolls versus demons), Silent The leader of the Boys from County Hell
Sam (Range 10/20/40, Damage 2d4). (see page 52).

h Ollie Poulson Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Spirit d8,

Lester’s brother and disaffected former Strength d10, Vigor d10
follower who created his own religious sect Skills: Athletics d6, Common Knowledge d6,
after becoming disillusioned with Lester’s. Driving d6, Fighting d8, Gambling d8, Intim-
idation d10, Notice d8, Persuasion d6,
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d10, Spirit d10, Repair d6, Riding d8, Stealth d6, Taunt d10,
Strength d8, Vigor d10 Thievery d10
Skills: Athletics d6, Battle d6, Common Knowl- Pace: 6; Parry: 6; Toughness: 7
edge d8, Faith d10, Fighting d8, Folklore d8, Edges: Brave, First Strike
Intimidation d10, Notice d10, Occult d8, Hindrances: Stubborn
Persuasion d10, Shooting d8, Stealth d6, Gear: Peacemaker (Range 12/24/48, Damage
Taunt d8, Thievery d8 2d6+1).
Pace: 6; Parry: 6; Toughness 7
Hindrances: Driven (To Grow a Bigger Flock
than Lester), Jealous (Major)
Edges: Arcane Background (Blessed),
Charismatic, Connections, Dead Shot,
Double Tap, Fame, No Mercy, Strong
Willed, Auger, Streetwise
Powers: Banish, barrier, confusion, damage
field, darksight, deflection, dispel, farsight, heal-
ing, light/darkness, protection, resurrection,
smite, warrior’s gift. Power Points: 20
Gear: Attitude adjuster (Str+d8), Bloody
Bear assault rifle (Range 24/48/96,
Damage 2d8+1, AP 2, RoF 3).

h Estelle Rood
Lester Poulson’s former wife, and yet another
leader of a third religious sect on the Piney
Dirge Plateau.
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d10, Spirit d12,
Strength d6, Vigor d8
Skills: Athletics d8, Battle d8, Common
Knowledge d12, Faith d12, Fighting d6,
Folklore d12+2, Intimidation d8, Notice d12,
Occult d10, Persuasion d10, Stealth d8, Sur-
vival d10, Taunt d8, Thievery d10
Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness 6
Hindrances: Vow (Major—Lead the flock)
Edges: Arcane Background (Blessed), Charis-
matic, Connections, Fame, Inspire, Auger,
Woodsman
Powers: Banish, barrier, confusion, damage field,
darksight, deflection, dispel, farsight, healing, light/
darkness, protection, resurrection, smite, warrior’s
gift. Power Points: 20
Gear: Staff (Str+d6).

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 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse

h Abner Stokes
An informant to the Big Boys tasked with Folks
identifying rabble-rousers. Abner questions
the miscreants about their business in town. Life in the Holler is a rough affair. Many a
If the group allows him to depart, they face strange critter makes their nest, den, warren
a shakedown from Kramer-Holt agents later or burrow there, but perhaps the greatest
that night. danger to the intrepid outlaw comes from
fellow travelers.
Attributes: Agility d10, Smarts d8, Spirit d8,
Strength d6, Vigor d8 Clay Eater
Skills: Athletics d10, Common Knowledge d6,
Fighting d8, Folklore d6, Gambling d6, Intim- Nobody knows what’s in the clay that makes
idation d8, Notice d10, Persuasion d6, it so addictive to some folks. Maybe the very
Riding d8, Shooting d10, Stealth d10, Sur- earth is cursed. Maybe the Big Boys have laced
it with a soul-siphoning substance. Unlike
vival d10, Taunt d10, Thievery d6
Pace: 6; Parry: 7 (9 with bow); Toughness: 7 (1) tarnish heads and their occasional fits, clay
eaters live lives of lassitude and stupor, only
Hindrances: Loyal (To the Big Boys)
rousing to shove some more dirt into their
Edges: Assassin, Block, Combat Reflexes,
mouths. They forget about everything they
Trademark Weapon (Imp—bow), Marksman,
once cared for—work, family, love, the Lord.
Woodsman
They tend to lead short, tragic lives, falling into
Gear: Animal hides (+1 Armor), bow (Range
sleeps so deep they never wake from them.
12/24/48, Damage 2d6), skinning knife
(Str+d4). Attributes: Agility d4, Smarts d6, Spirit d4,
Strength d4, Vigor d4
h Justin Taylor Skills: Athletics d4, Common Knowledge d4,
Justin Taylor is young, charismatic, and Notice d4, Persuasion d6, Stealth d6, Thiev-
possessed of tremendous rhetorical skill. He’s ery d6
worked in the mines since he was eleven years Pace: 4; Parry: 2; Toughness: 4
old, first as breaker and then underground. He Hindrances: Habit (Major—Clay
has seen plenty of his friends die in the mine. Eating), Slow (Major)
Edges: —
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d10, Spirit d10,
Gear: Knife (Str+d4).
Strength d8, Vigor d10
Skills: Athletics d6, Battle d6, Common Company Guard
Knowledge d8, Folklore d6, Fighting d8,
Imagine a man blessed
Notice d8, Performance d8, Persua-
by his creator with the
sion d10, Shooting d8, Stealth d8
physical fortitude to do
Pace: 6; Parry: 6; Toughness: 7
the work of two men
Hindrances: —
but lacking entirely the
Edges: Charismatic, Command,
moral fortitude it takes to
Inspire, Retort
engage in so much as an
Gear: Brass knucks (Str+d4), hide-
hour of honest labor. Now
out pistol (Range 3/6/12,
divest from him the laborer’s
Damage 2d4).
sense of commonly shared
fate, and to finish the job,
hand him brass knuckles and
a long rifle. Congratulations.
You’ve just created the typical
company guard.
Attributes: Agility d6,
Smarts d6, Spirit d6,
Strength d6, Vigor d8

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 Bestiary

Skills: Athletics d6, Common Knowledge d4, Hindrances: Obligation (Serve the Cult)
Driving d4, Fighting d6, Intimidation d6, Edges: Arcane Background (Blessed or Folk
Notice d6, Persuasion d6, Repair d6, Shoot- Magic, depending on the nature of the cult)
ing d6, Taunt d6, Stealth d4, Thievery d4 Powers: Cultists have one or two powers
Pace: 5; Parry: 5; Toughness: 8 (2) chosen from the Blessed or Folk Magic lists.
Hindrances: Loyal (to the Big Boys), Vengeful Power Points: 5
Edges: — Gear: Skinning knife (Str +d4), hideout pistol.
Gear: Bullet proof vest (+2 Armor, torso), deer
rifle (Range 24/48/96, Damage 2d8−1) or Grave Robber
Peasant Pumper (Range 12/24/48, Damage The most venal of company men, these fellows
3d6, shotgun), shocker stick (Str+d6, Vigor commit sacrilege on a nightly basis, unearthing
roll on hit or be Stunned). the dearly departed from their graves and
transporting them to Big Boy laboratories for
Conjure Folk Lord knows what purpose.
While they bear many similarities to witches,
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d4, Spirit d6,
conjure folk walk a more subtle path. If the
Strength d6, Vigor d6
witch summons the storm, conjure folk talk
Skills: Athletics d4, Common Knowl-
to the wind. A sprig of hemlock, a sliver of
edge d4, Fighting d6, Folklore d6,
mandrake—these are simple ingredients to be
Notice d6, Occult d8, Persuasion d4, Shoot-
measured and mastered without otherworldly
ing d4, Stealth d8, Thievery d8
intervention.
Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 5
While conjure folk are less feared than Hindrances: Obligation (Minor—Recover
witches, they have almost no fear of witches corpses for the Big Boys)
themselves. Having made a thorough study of Edges: Thief
nature, they are highly resistant to occult magic. Gear: Shovel (Str+d4), hideout pistol (Range
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d8, Spirit d8, 3/6/12, Damage 2d4).
Strength d6, Vigor d6 Special Abilities:
Skills: Athletics d4, Common Knowledge d6, • Fearless: Grave robbers are immune to Fear
Fighting d4, Folk Magic d8, Folklore d8, Heal- and Intimidation.
ing d8, Notice d8, Occult d8, Persuasion d8,
Stealth d6, Survival d8 Highwayman
Pace: 6; Parry: 4; Toughness: 5 Highwaymen hunt in well-traveled passes. The
Hindrances: — Hogge Brothers ran a small gang of cutthroats
Edges: Arcane Background (Folk Magic), that terrorized Corn Cob Gap for years. Jasper
Arcane Resistance “Big” Hogge was known as the brains of the
Powers: Arcane protection, detect/conceal arcana, operation, a title made more odious by his
divination, healing, object reading. Power tendency to dispatch his victims by dashing
Points: 15 their skulls against whatever sturdy object
Gear: — made itself available in the moment.
Though Big was ultimately sent to the gallows,
Cultist Jeffrey “Little” Hogge haunts the Gap to this day,
These folks are the rank-and-file occultists still endeavoring to get the gang back together
of the three major sects on the Piney Dirge and get some payback for his brother.
Plateau (see page 29) or other smaller creepy
cabals scattered throughout rural areas. Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit d6,
Strength d6, Vigor d6
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit d8, Skills: Athletics d6, Common Knowledge d6,
Strength d6, Vigor d6 Driving d6, Fighting d6, Gambling d6, Intim-
Skills: Athletics d6, Common Knowledge d6, idation d6, Notice d8, Persuasion d6,
Faith/Folk Magic d6, Fighting d4, Folklore d6, Riding d8, Shooting d6, Stealth d8, Sur-
Healing d4, Notice d6, Occult d8, Persua- vival d6, Taunt d6, Thievery d8
sion d6, Shooting d4, Stealth d6, Thievery d6 Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 6 (1)
Pace: 6; Parry: 4; Toughness: 5

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 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse

Hindrances: Greedy (Major), Suspicious thugs than detectives. About half of Kramer-
(Major) Holt agents carry menacing Tommy Deadmen,
Edges: Combat Reflexes complete with ammunition drums, which
Gear: Animal hides (+1 Armor), deer rifle are synonymous with the Big Boys’ power.
(Range 24/48/96, Damage 2d8−1), bow (Range Those not so well equipped carry anything
12/24/48, Damage 2d6), or crossbow (Range from widow makers, to peasant pumpers, to
15/30/60, Damage 2d8, AP 2), skinning knife deer hunters.
(Str+d4). They enjoy nothing more than intimidating
Holler folks going about their business or
h Killer laying the smack down on a roustabout with
To quote the Almanac of Richard the Sod, their bruising batons.
“Should twelve of your neighbors greet you at
noon, turn not your back on the thirteenth at Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit d6,
midnight.” Strength d8, Vigor d8
Skills: Athletics d6, Common Knowledge d6,
Some kill for money. The company store-
Driving d8, Fighting d8, Intimidation d8,
robbing couple Mack and Enid Harriman
Notice d8, Persuasion d6, Riding d6, Shoot-
seemed to prize violence as highly as loot. Their
ing d8, Stealth d6, Taunt d8, Repair d6,
death at the hands of a squad of Kramer-Holt
Thievery d6
agents was later immortalized with a popular
Pace: 6; Parry: 6; Toughness: 9 (3)
dance called the Tommy-Gun Two-Step.
Hindrances: Arrogant, Mean
Others kill for passion. Such was the case of Edges: Menacing
Susie Gallant, the “Jilted Jill of Weaver Falls,” Gear: Attitude adjuster (Str+d8), bullet proof
whose story was penned in, “Susie, Turn Your vest (+2 Armor, torso), KH detective coats (+1
Eyes Away.” torso), smoker (Range 5/10/20, LBT Smoke),
Finally, some killers prey on their fellows Tommy Deadman (Range 12/24/48, Damage
solely for the thrill of it. Sunshine Sam is the 2d8+1, RoF 3), or widow maker (Range
subject of a fast-paced murder ballad, and 12/24/48, Damage 2d6+1), or peasant pumper
the Ghost Ridge Stranglers is now the name (Range 12/24/48, Damage 3d6, shotgun), or
of a raucous four-piece string band. Folks deer rifle (Range 24/48/72, Damage 2d8−1).
elsewhere have their own ways of dealing with
inexplicable violence. In the Holler, we sing h Lawman
and dance about it. In the Big Boys’ hierarchal view of their
minions, a lawman is somewhere below a
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Spirit d6,
Kramer-Holt agent and above a company
Strength d8, Vigor d8
guard. The lawman generally has a higher
Skills: Athletics d8, Common Knowl-
opinion of himself, however, and at least tries
edge d6, Driving d6, Fighting d8,
to look a little less biased.
Intimidation d8, Notice d6, Persuasion d6,
Repair d6, Riding d6, Shooting d8, Sur- Big Boys’ employ lawmen to serve, protect,
vival d8, Taunt d8, Stealth d8, Thievery d6 and oppress a goodly stretch of rural area, akin
Pace: 6; Parry: 6; Toughness: 8 to a sheriff or constable. A given lawman might
Hindrances: Bloodthirsty, Outsider (Major), have several villages or small, independent
Ruthless (Major). towns under his watch.
Edges: Brawler, Bruiser, Marksman, Trade- Though the Big Boys don’t exercise the same
mark Weapon level of control in rural areas, he serves an
Gear: Widowmaker (Range 12/24/48, Damage important function as their eyes and ears far
2d6+1), and/or melee weapon of choice. away from the company towns.
Exactly what gets enforced by a lawman
Kramer-Holt Agent and his collection of volunteer deputies relies
Kramer-Holt agents terrify folks. Hired from largely on the lawman’s whims and what kind
the Kramer-Holt Detective agency in the City, of bribes might be on offer. This gives him a
they are among the most valued assets in the sense of power, which he happily lords over the
Big Boys’ employ, far closer to professional local populace.

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 Bestiary

Don’t let the nom de plume fool you. There are enthralled has corrupted them with irreligious
a few female lawwomen in the Holler, just as indiscretions, ranging from cuckolding poor
tough and ornery as any man. husbands to the inexplicable reappearance
of local citizens who had last been seen being
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit d6,
lowered six feet into the earth.
Strength d8, Vigor d8
Skills: Athletics d6, Common Knowledge d8, Some traveling ministers handle serpents as
Fighting d8, Notice d8, Intimidation d8, Per- manifestations of faith. Some have been bitten
suasion d6, Taunt d8, Shooting d8, Stealth d6 so many times they’ve become immune to the
Pace: 6; Parry: 6; Toughness: 6 venom, and perhaps infused with enough of
Hindrances: Loyal (to the Big Boys) the stuff to become poisonous themselves.
Edges: Trademark Weapon (attitude adjuster), Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d8, Spirit d10,
Marksman Strength d6, Vigor d6
Gear: Attitude adjuster (Str+d8), big gun Skills: Athletics d4, Common Knowledge d6,
(Range 30/60/120, Damage 2d10, AP 2), or Faith d8, Fighting d4, Healing d8, Notice d8,
widowmaker (Range 12/24/48, Damage Occult d8, Persuasion d8, Performance d10,
2d6+1). Riding d6, Shooting d4, Stealth d4, Thiev-
ery d6
Peddler Pace: 6; Parry: 4; Toughness: 5
If there’s something a body needs, a peddler Hindrances: Driven (Minor—Gain the adoration
and his seemingly bottomless cart of curious of a flock), Quirk (Minor—Fancy mannerisms)
sundries are far more likely to have it than a Edges: Arcane Background (Blessed), Attrac-
company store. The only problem is, he drives tive, Charismatic, Faith Healer.
a hard bargain for whatever you need, and the Powers: Banish, confusion, light/darkness, resur-
worse you need it, the harder the bargain—a rection. Power Points: 10
peddler spots desperation in a buyer’s eyes. Gear: The Good Book and a hickory stick, cane,
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d8, Spirit d8, or other light club (Str+d4).
Strength d6, Vigor d6
Skills: Athletics d4, Common h The Riders of Industry
Knowledge d6, Fighting d4, Folklore d8, Gam- The Riders of Industry, the Holler’s origin
bling d6, Healing d4, Occult d4, Notice d8, myth, is persistent. Folks still invoke them
Performance d6, Persuasion d8, Repair d4, with terror, expecting their cataclysmic
Riding d4, Shooting d4, Stealth d6, return whenever there’s a natural disaster or
Survival d6, Thiev- even an odd-looking sunset. If
ery d8 they only knew the truth—the
Pace: 6; Parry: 4; “mystical” Riders are actually
Toughness: 5 mercenaries from the City,
Hindrances: Big outfitted with all kinds of
Mouth, Curious, weird gadgets to make them
Greedy (Major). appear otherworldly and full
Edges: Charismatic of menace!
Gear: Peddler’s cart Despite their earthly
w/goods, hideout origins, the Riders
pistol (Range are skilled fighters.
3/6/12, Damage They ride forth
2d4), knife when needed to
(Str+d4). emphasize the Big
Boys’ policies, instilling fear into
h Revivalist any populace what’s gotten too uppity.
Revivalists travel the
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d8, Spirit d8,
land, sharing the good word
Strength d8, Vigor d8
with a fiery tongue. They tend
Skills: Athletics d8, Common Knowl-
not to lack for coin and their
edge d4, Fighting d8, Intimidation d10,
ability to hold an audience

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 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse

Notice d8, Persuasion d6, Riding d10, Shoot- Edges: Brawler, Brawny, Bruiser
ing d8, Stealth d6, Taunt d10, Weird Gear: Brass knucks (Str+d4), or wooden club
Science d8 (Str+d6), Peacemaker (Range 12/24/48,
Pace: 6; Parry: 6; Toughness: 9 (2) Damage 2d6+1, AP 1) or throwing axe (Range
Hindrances: Obligation (Major—Serve the Big 3/6/12, Damage Str+d6).
Boys) Special Abilities:
Edges: Arcane Background (Weird Science), • Resilient: Rough and toughs can take an
Brawny, Menacing extra Wound.
Powers: Burst, damage field, entangle, fear, stun.
Power Points: 15 Scab
Gear: Fine steed, flak jacket of the apocalypse Workers face outrageous dangers, laboring an
(+2 Armor torso), spectral lenses (+2 Notice eye blink away from disaster, and the bonds
rolls), variety of small gadgets embedded/ forged in this environment are strong indeed.
hidden in belt buckles, boots, hats, lassos, Conversely, enemies made through labor
and spurs that activate their powers), disputes tend to be the most mortal of enemies.
Blighter (see page 24), short sword
As fledgling labor unions begin to take root
(Str+d6).
in the Holler, few citizens garner more disgust
Special Abilities:
from their fellows than the workers who break
• Fear (−2): The Riders of Industry with all
a strike and cross a picket line. Many of these
their trappings are an imposing sight. This
“scabs” are merely the unluckiest folks, the most
is in addition to their fear power.
beaten down by poverty and hunger.
Rough and Tough That said, there exists among the
strikebreakers a certain kind of man
Rowdies. Hooligans. Gougers. These terms and
who truly has, in the words of the old-
less flattering ones have been used to describe
timers, “gone over”—professional scabs
the hard men and women who make their
following the Big Boys’ orders. These
living with their fists. Rough and toughs are
men and women move from
throwbacks to frontier days, when the
town to town, insinuating
nearest sheriff might be fifty miles
themselves into communities
away and accounts had to be sorted
when labor unions are on the
with fists, knives and scatterguns.
rise, taking jobs and blending
Rough and toughs find their in among the locals. Under
daily bread on the wrong side the guise of a fellow worker,
of the law. They work security they sow division and distrust,
for moonshiners or serve as breaking down resistance
shakedown men for snake from within.
oil salesman. This is to say
nothing of the combatants Attributes: Agility d6,
who earn their cash in bare- Smarts d4, Spirit d4, Strength d6,
knuckle brawls in the gouging circles. Vigor d6
Wherever you find someone working Skills: Athletics d6, Common
at shady business, you’ll find rough Knowledge d4, Fighting d6,
and toughs nearby. Notice d6, Persuasion d6, Shoot-
ing d6, Stealth d6, Taunt d6,
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d4, Thievery d6
Spirit d6, Strength d10, Vigor d8 Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 5
Skills: Athletics d8, Common Knowl- Hindrances: Loyal (to the Big
edge d4, Driving d6, Fighting d8, Boys), Stubborn, Yellow
Intimidation d8, Notice d6, Edges: —
Persuasion d4, Riding d6, Shoot- Gear: Hideout pistol (Range
ing d6, Stealth d6, Survival d6, 3/6/12, Damage 2d4), or wooden
Taunt d6 club (Str+d6).
Pace: 6; Parry: 6; Toughness: 9
Hindrances: Mean

210
 Bestiary

Scalawag Others have been known to turn their talents

Scalawag is a general term for the unsavory as trackers and hunters to profit-making
mélange of grifters, card sharks, and endeavors, and the side of the law upon which
confidence men and women who flit from they land depends entirely upon their own
town to town, siphoning hard-earned scrip conscience.
and meager worldly possessions from workers Locals at Terrapin Corner still swap stories
and rural folk alike. about how Leon Hendrick ventured alone into
Hungry Tom’s shell game, known as Faefall Mountains and fetched the kidnapped
“Flummox,” William Moog’s “five-fingered Garrity twins back from Foxglove Jane, the
discounts,” and “Sister Silvie’s Original witch of Widow’s Pass. No local hero is more
Medicine Show,” with its curious tinctures revered. On the other hand, there’s Joey the
and tonics, are infamous practitioners. Their Finger, the stalker who haunts the mountains
schemes may be diverse, but they share some around Ruin and serves as a man hunter for
common traits—a smooth tongue, a winsome whomever has enough scrip or shine.
wink, and an uncanny ability to slip into Attributes: Agility d10, Smarts d8, Spirit d8,
the shadows and avoid consequences for Strength d6, Vigor d8
their thievery. Skills: Athletics d10, Common Knowledge d6,
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d8, Spirit d6, Fighting d8, Folklore d6, Gambling d6, Intim-
Strength d6, Vigor d6 idation d8, Notice d10, Persuasion d6,
Skills: Athletics d6, Common Knowl- Riding d8, Shooting d10, Stealth d10, Sur-
edge d8, Fighting d6, Folklore d6, vival d10, Taunt d10, Thievery d6
Gambling d8, Intimidation d4, Notice d8, Pace: 6; Parry: 9; Toughness: 7 (1)
Performance d8, Persuasion d8, Shooting d6, Hindrances: Obligation (Track a target to
Stealth d6, Taunt d8, Thiev- the exclusion of all else)
ery d8 Edges: Assassin, Block, Combat
Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 5 Reflexes, Trademark Weapon (Imp),
Hindrances: Greedy (Major), Marksman, Woodsman
Ruthless (Minor) Gear: Animal hides (Armor +1),
Edges: Charismatic, Con- bow (Range 12/24/48, Damage
nections (Black market), 2d6), skinning knife (Str+d4).
Streetwise
Gear: Hideout pistol Technomancer
(Range 3/6/12, A collection of
Damage 2d4), knife egghead scientists
(Str+d4), some may of every stripe from
peddle Tinker the City, further educated and
Gear (list on morally compromised in the
page 19) Big Boys’ Industrial Refinement
and Wonder Learning Facilities,
h Stalker carry out a variety of experiments
Stalkers are another aimed at “maximizing human
throwback to pioneer roots, labor,” “pushing the boundaries of
the cunning trackers and technology,” and “reforming the
foresters who first mapped very contours of time and space.”
these lands. In days of old, Attributes: Agil-
such individuals were ity d6, Smarts d10, Spirit d6,
the very law of the land. Strength d4, Vigor d4
As civilization has ostensibly taken hold, the Skills: Athletics d4, Common
stalker’s role in public life has faded into the Knowledge d8, Fight-
background. ing d4, Folklore d6, Healing d6,
These days, stalkers tend to keep to the woods, Notice d6, Occult d6, Persuasion d6,
sometimes living off the land as near-hermits.

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 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
Repair d8, Research d8, Science d8, Shoot-
ing d4, Stealth d6, Weird Science d8
Pace: 6; Parry: 4; Toughness: 4
Hindrances: Driven (Major—to pursue scien- forces—haints, demons, or Mother Nature’s
tific discoveries at all costs)
Edges: Arcane Background (Weird Science),
Gadgeteer
Powers: Bolt, confusion, mind wipe, stun. Power
Points: 10
Gear: Shocker stick (Str+d6, target makes Vigor
roll or is Stunned), or blighter (see page
24), miscellaneous gadgets (“bolt” mon-
ocles, mind control shims, remote control
boxes, power collars).
Varnish Head
Window cleaner. Brake fluid. Good old-
fashioned oil-based varnish. The list of
substances to which desperate Hollerites
turn in those seasons when moonshine runs
scarce is a long and frightening one. What state
does the varnish head seek and what state is
achieved? Sadly, few of the sad souls who
have turned from corn likker to the resins
and flammables known as “toolshed medicine”
are wont to communicate their experience in
language the rest of us can recognize.
Varnish heads are prone to fits of apoplexy,
in which they shout gibberish, vandalize
property, and harass folk. They tend to get
on the wrong side of the law quickly, as
“chasing turpentine” leads them to many
forms of depravity.
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6,
Spirit d4, Strength d6, Vigor d6
Skills: Athletics d6, Common Knowl-
edge d4, Fighting d6, Intimidation d6,
Notice d4, Persuasion d4, Stealth d6,
Taunt d6, Thievery d6
Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 5
Hindrances: Habit (Major—Varnish
head)
Edges: Berserk
Gear: Knife (Str+d4), wooden club
(Str+d6).
Witch/Warlock
Precious little is known about the inner
workings of the witch’s arts, as most who
have tried to find out have either been
seduced by their power and joined their
mysterious rites or become fodder
for the same.
212
These aren’t good witches or hedge wizards.
These are individuals who harnessed power
through unholy pacts with otherworldly
Dark Sister, whoever she might be.
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d8, Spirit d10,
Strength d6, Vigor d6
Skills: Athletics d6, Common Knowledge d6,
Fighting d4, Folk Magic d10, Folklore d10,
Healing d6, Intimidation d6, Notice d8,
Occult d10, Performance d8, Persuasion d8,
Stealth d6, Survival d6, Taunt d6, Thievery d6
Pace: 6; Parry: 4; Toughness: 5
Hindrances: Overconfident
Edges: Arcane Background (Folk Magic)
Powers: Beast friend, bolt, confusion, darksight,
detect/conceal arcana, divination, entangle, heal-
ing, illusion, mind link, mind reading, mind wipe,
object reading, shape change, slumber, telekinesis,
teleport, stun, puppet. Power Points: 20
Gear: Wooden staff (Str+d4).
Special Abilities:
• Fear: A striking appearance and an aura of
the otherworldly prompt a Fear check.
• Weakness: Fresh water. Splashing
Blight-free water on a witch
forces her to make a Vigor roll.
Failure makes her Distracted and
Vulnerable. Fully submerging
a witch in such water kills
her. Truly fresh water is rare
in the Holler, only found
in natural springs or the
pristine water bodies in
Faefall.
Worker
Most workers are shadows
of the folks they could be—
pushed to the edge mentally
and physically, indoctrinated
with propaganda, and
punished harshly for even the
slightest social transgressions
or mistakes on the job. They are
cut off from knowledge of their
own rich culture and history and
their vision of life narrowed to a
tunnel of hardscrabble work and
threadbare survival.
In many cases, their spirits and
wills have been broken, though
some still defend their meager
 Bestiary

possessions and closest kin if pushed. It’s up h Ursine Horror

to the heroes to salvage the last shards of hope The summoned enforcer and lumbering
that may remain inside them. talisman of a witches’ coven, this enormous
bear-like creature stands nearly fifteen feet tall,
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit d4, possessed of razor-sharp claws and a roar that
Strength d6, Vigor d4 quakes the ground. Its behaviors are directed
Skills: Athletics d6, Common Knowledge d4, by the witches who summon it, a ritual that
Fighting d4, Folklore d4, Notice d4, Persua- taxes almost every ounce of their power.
sion d4, Repair d8, Shooting d4, Stealth d4, Horrors have been known to lead entire
Thievery d4, Taunt d4 villages to their demise in the Otherness, raze
Pace: 6; Parry: 4; Toughness: 4 logging camps, and devour a brigand camp in
Hindrances: Illiterate, Obligation (Major— a matter of moments.
Work), Obligation (Major—Family)
Edges: — Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6 (A), Spirit d12,
Gear: — Strength d12+3, Vigor d12
Skills: Athletics d6, Fighting d12, Notice d8,
Stealth d8
Critters Pace: 6; Parry: 8; Toughness: 12
Hindrances: Vow (Serve a Coven)
Despite the Blight and its unpredictable effects, Edges: Brute
a variety of mostly normal wildlife thrives in Special Abilities:
the Holler, alongside some more peculiar • Bite/Claws: Str+d6
beasts. Just because a critter is big doesn’t • Roar: Once per day, victims in a Large Blast
mean it’s a new kind of critter or abomination, Template must make Spirit roll or become
it just grew past its former earthly proportions, Stunned.
let’s say, into a new state of being. • Size 4 (Large): The ursine horror is a
massive beast.
Black Bear/Ursine Horror
The bears of the Holler have long been objects Boar/Giant Boar
of fear, awe, and even worship. Terrapin The swine that run wild across field and dale
Corner’s yarn spinners tell of small clans living are the offspring of boars brought from the
out in the woods whose respect gave way to Old World by explorers in need of a sustainable
worship during bad seasons of Blight, and source of meat, then later for sport hunting.
every child in Hogback Hills has been told of All it took was for a handful to escape the
the folk hero, Mountain Jake, and his ursine hunting preserves for their invasion to begin.
companion, Trapper. Boars are ravenous eaters with few natural
While some folks complain about their meat predators. Though individually they pose the
being too gamy for anything but sausage—you most threat to crops and small game, they have
can be sure it’s a meal eaten with at least a little been known to be wily enough pack hunters
reverence. to bring down larger game. A few goliaths of
this species roam the hills. Reasonable hunters
Black Bear have returned from deer hunts with tales of a
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6 (A), Spirit d8, beast easily triple the size of its brethren—they
Strength d10, Vigor 10 dared not even take a shot at for want of a
Skills: Athletics d8, Fighting d8, Notice d8, more powerful weapon.
Stealth d8 So persistent have these stories become that
Pace: 8; Parry: 6; Toughness: 8 residents of Wolf Lick have made a springtime
Edges: Brute tradition of “The Hogfather Hunt,” and while
Special Abilities: the boys have brought home a few three-
• Bite/Claws: Str+d6 hundred pounders, the mantel above the Wolf
• Size 1: Black Bears can weight up to 600 lbs. Lick Hunting House hearth remains vacant,
waiting on its biggest boy.

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 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse

Boar Special Abilities:

Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6 (A), Spirit d6, • Antlers: Str+d6.
Strength d10, Vigor d10 • Rabid Bite: Str+d4, Chronic Disease (see
Skills: Athletics d6, Fighting d8, Notice d6, Savage Worlds).
Stealth d6 • Resilient: Rabid Deer can take an extra
Pace: 8; Parry: 6; Toughness: 8 (1) Wound.
Edges: Brute • Speed: d10 running die.
Special Abilities:
• Armor +1: Tough hide. Rabid Elk
• Tusks/Bite: Str+d6. Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d4(A), Spirit d6,
Strength d12, Vigor d8
Giant Boar Skills: Athletics d8, Fighting d10, Notice d8,
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6 (A), Spirit d8, Stealth d4
Strength d12, Vigor d12 Pace: 8; Parry: 7; Toughness: 7
Skills: Athletics d6, Fighting d10, Notice d6, Edges: —
Stealth d6 Special Abilities:
Pace: 7; Parry: 7; Toughness: 12 (2) • Antlers: Str+d6.
Edges: Brute • Rabid Bite: Str+d4, Chronic disease (see
Special Abilities: Savage Worlds).
• Armor +2: Thick hides. • Very Resilient: Rabid Elk can take
• Size 2: Giant Boars rival grizzlies in two extra Wounds.
size • Speed: d10 running die.
• Tusks/Bite: Str+d8. • Size 1: Elks average around 500
lbs.
Deer/Elk (Rabid)
Among conjure folks, deer are
looked upon as a sign of nobility
and a higher connection to
the natural order. Folklore is
full of cervids held in high
regard. Elk, their stately,
larger cousins, roam the
Craggies in great herds, and
some say they will learn to
talk one day, just like the fenrir.
These animals are important
sources of food for folks, but
sometimes they get infected
with “the rabies.” Wracked
with its destructive energy,
they transform from beloved
game to deadly foes.

Rabid Deer
Attributes: Agility d10,
Smarts d4(A), Spirit d6,
Strength d6, Vigor d6
Skills: Athletics d10, Fighting d8,
Notice d12, Stealth d8
Pace: 9; Parry: 6; Toughness: 5
Edges: Alertness

214

h Giant Catfish
Regular catfish have managed to survive in
decent numbers in muddy cricks and lakes.
Some folks have developed a hookless system
of fishing called “noodling,” which involves
thrusting a hand into the fish’s maw and
waiting for it to bite, then pulling it from its
hidey-hole with a triumphant yell.
In the deepest waters, rumors abound of
catfish two or three times the size of a man. Not
only are these catfish big, but swimmers who
survive the encounter say their whiskers aren’t
for stinging, but for “singing with a noiseless
music that stirs inside a man’s head.”
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d8 (A), Spirit d10,
Strength d10, Vigor d10
Skills: Athletics d6, Fighting d10, Focus d6,
Intimidation d10, Notice d8, Stealth d6
Pace: —; Parry: 7; Toughness: 9
Edges: Brute
Special Abilities:
• Aquatic: Pace 6.
• Bite: Str+d6.
• Noiseless Music: Once per encounter, a
giant catfish’s barbels vibrate intensely,
creating a high-pitched drone that registers
deep within the victim’s mind. The effect is
equivalent to the mind wipe power (use Focus
vs. Spirit) power in a Large Blast Radius.
• Size 2: Giant Catfish are the size of most
sharks.
• Stinging Barbels: On hit with a raise, the
giant catfish’s barbels sting the victim,
Stunning him.
h Giant Rat
Giant rats are the scourge of supply rooms,
gear boxes, and wired machines everywhere,
and can bring production to a halt for a week.
Samuel Ashdown has devised enormous traps Attributes: Agility d4, Smarts d4 (A), Spirit d8,
of dubious mechanism to address the problem
at his mills, while Hilda Saxon relies mostly on Skills: Fighting d10, Notice d4, Stealth d4
mounds of poison.
Packs of a dozen or so giant rats are often Hindrances: Slow (Major)
followed by ravenous swarms of smaller Edges: —
brethren (see Swarms in Savage Worlds).
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d4 (A), Spirit d6, • Aquatic: Pace 8. The terrapin is even more
Strength d6, Vigor d6
Skills: Athletics d8, Fighting d6, Notice d8,
Stealth d10
Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 3
Edges: —
Bestiary
Special Abilities:
• Bite: Str +d4.
• Burrow: Pace 4.
• Size −2 (Small): These are big rodents.
h Giant Terrapin
Snapping turtles taste right good but can be
nasty things—hissing and glaring through your
soul with a red reptilian eye as they wobble
along a bank. If one snaps down on your finger,
you’re in a fix, for it won’t release that finger
until the sound of thunder cracks from the
heavens. That can set you back in your plans
awhile if you live in a part of the mountains
where Blight storms are few. Sometimes, such
a turtle breaks the finger or snaps it right off,
which at least allows the victim to go about
their business.
Now imagine such a terrapin the size of a
small jalopy, moving over the earth slow as
slumber, like the passing days of ancient times.
That one is not going into your pot, friend.
You’re more likely to end up snapped in half
and sucked straight down its gullet, thunder
be damned.
Though snappers are not to be fooled with,
there are certain curious folks who consider
them to possess great natural wisdom, and
some even pass stories of a great snapper who
befriended a woodsman and spoke to the
recluse in a human voice about momentous
events to come.
To this day, country boys still search cricks
and ponds looking for that talking snapper,
and while none reported finding the turtle that
speaks, they agree that nearly every terrapin
is a mighty fine listener. Among conjure folk,
terrapins are considered the embodiment of
longevity and peace, until they bite you, that is.
Strength d12, Vigor d10
Pace: 4; Parry: 7; Toughness: 13 (3)
Special Abilities:
dangerous in its natural habitat.
• Bite: Str+d6.
• ‘Til It Thunders: A raise on the bite
means the terrapin has latched on to a
hand. It retracts its head inside its shell,
215
 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
presenting only its hardened beak and
shell, and won’t let go until it hears a clap of
thunder. It causes no further damage, but
renders the victim immobile and his limb
useless. Once the victim passes, or cuts off
the limb, the terrapin feasts and continues
on its way.
• Shell (Torso): +3 Armor.
• Size 3: Giant Terrapins
are horse sized.
Owls / Giant Owls
Known as fierce predators,
these night hunters have
become synonymous
with wisdom and a deep
connection to the afterworld.
No less than Richard the
Sod wrote of the otherworldly
portents brought by this raptor,
claiming: “If the owl speaks your name,
your fate is already written down
in history.”
The smaller ones raise some nasty
scratches and knots on your head. The bigger
ones can carry you straight away to some
far-off mountain roost and serve you to its
hatchlings for dinner.
Owl
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6 (A), Spirit d6,
Strength d4−1, Vigor d4
Skills: Athletics d6, Fighting d6, Notice d8,
Stealth d8
Pace: 3; Parry: 5; Toughness: 2
Edges: Alertness
Special Abilities:
• Claws/Beak: Str+d4.
• Low Light Vision: Owls ignore penalties for
Dim and Dark Illumination.
• Flight: Pace 12.
• Nocturnal Screech: Some owls emit a
terrifying screech that sounds like the
vocalizations of demons. Outside of towns
or villages at night, the first time anyone
hears this screech she must make a Fear roll.
• Size −2 (Small): These owls are 2 to 3’ tall.
h Giant Owl
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6 (A), Spirit d8,
Strength d6, Vigor d6
Skills: Athletics d10, Fighting d8, Notice d8,
Stealth d6, Survival d8
216
Pace: 4; Parry: 6; Toughness: 5
Edges: Alertness, Arcane Resistance
Special Abilities:
• Claws/Beak: Str+d6.
• Low Light Vision: Owls ignore penalties for
Dim and Dark Illumination.
• Flight: Pace 10.
• Nocturnal Screech: Giant owls
emit a piercing screech that sounds like
the vocalizations of demons. Outside of
town or village areas at night, the first
time anyone hears this screech he
must make a Fear roll at −2.
• Size 1: Giant owls have
man-sized bodies and enormous
wings.
h Painter
The story goes that the
earliest Old World settlers
discovered the foothills of
the Ghost Ridge Mountains
were home to massive cats
t h e size of tigers from exotic
lands. Some called them “cat o’ the mountain,”
or “catamount,” while others referred to them
as “painters” (“panthers”). Whether or not they
were is anyone’s guess, but one thing is for
sure—if they did exist they have been hunted
close to extinction.
The big cats of the Holler aren’t all that big
these days. Bobcats are still known to prowl
about the woods of the southern Hogback
Hills, and while they are spotted every now
and again in that area, they do what they can
to steer clear of humankind.
Stories still arise of sightings and the
legendary “painter” strides between myth and
history, revered by conjure folk as symbols of
stealth and speed.
Attributes: Agility d10, Smarts d6 (A), Spirit d8,
Strength d8, Vigor d10
Skills: Athletics d10, Fighting d8, Intimida-
tion d8, Notice d8, Stealth d12
Pace: 9; Parry: 6; Toughness: 7
Edges: Assassin, Quick
Special Abilities:
• Bite/Claws: Str+d6.
• Pounce: +4 to damage when Wild Attacking
rather than +2.
• Size 1: Painters are larger than most humans.
• Speed: d12 running die.

Snake/Giant Snake
Snakes abound in the Holler. Youngins learn
early on to keep their eyes open for the brown
hourglass markings of copperheads hidden in
matted autumn leaves. Cussfoot Fens is dotted
with names like Cottonmouth Creek and Coral
Snake Cove. Not to mention the Jingle Jangle
snake of the Great Craggies, whose rattle chills
the bones.
While many venomous serpents slither
through the Holler, they are vastly
outnumbered by their nonvenomous cousins,
many of whom are well-loved for their
usefulness to rural folks.
Among Holler conjure women, snakes are
considered a sign of fertility and rebirth.
Giant snakes are generally thought of a lot
like dragons in those fairy stories from the Old
World. They are an intriguing notion, but many
who claim to encounter them seem under the
influence of likker or fairy circles.
Snake
Blighted, copperheads,rattlers,cottonmouths.
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d4 (A), Spirit d6,
Strength d4−2, Vigor d6
Skills: Athletics d6, Fighting d8, Notice d12,
Stealth d10
Pace: 4; Parry: 6; Toughness 2
Edges: Quick
Special Abilities:
• Bite: Str+2.
• Poison: Blighted (Paralyzing), Copperhead
(Mild), Cottonmouth (Knockout), rattler
(Lethal).
• Size −3 (Very Small): Most snakes are a
few feet long, but very thin.
h Giant Snake
Attributes: Agility d8,
Smarts d4 (A), Spirit d8,
Strength d8, Vigor d8
Skills: Athletics d6, Fight-
ing d10, Notice d12,
Stealth d6
Pace: 5; Parry 7; Toughness 7
Special Abilities:
• Bite: Str+d6.
• Constrict: +4 to Athletics
and Strength rolls made to
grapple.
Bestiary
• Poison: 1 in 6 giant snakes are poisonous.
The type of poison is the Shift Boss’ call. (See
Poison in Savage Worlds).
• Size 1: Giant snakes come by their names
honestly.
Wolves/Fenrir
The wolf is the king of canines in the Holler,
as he is the world over, and though most wolf
packs have been driven away from the largest
and most polluted towns, they maintain a
strong presence in wilder locales. Mountain
Men have a saying, “The pack don’t forget.” That
being the case, they tend to keep a respectful
distance, leaving wolves to their territory.
Among conjure folk, wolves symbolize loyalty
and kinship.
Just as they did in the Old World, the fae
are known to maintain strong ties with wolf
packs, with the fae protecting the pack from
demonic forces and the pack protecting the
fae from human meddling. Travelers near the
Faefall side of the Fens know an encounter with
wolves often portends a meeting with the fae
for those foolish enough to persist wolfward.
Speaking of fae and wolves, many folks
speculate the fae are responsible for gifting the
wolves’ larger cousins, the fenrir, with human
sentience and speech. Others attribute this
manifestation to the work of witches. A story
peddlers say is true is the saga of Baber Penn
and his beloved warblers, a tragic ending with
miraculous results (see Mount Fenrir on page
60). Regardless, the alpha fenrir among
every pack speaks like a human, reasons like a
sage, and elicits unshakable loyalty
from his pack.
Fenrir
Attributes: Agility d8,
Smarts d6, Spirit d8,
Strength d8, Vigor d8
Skills: Athletics d8,
Fighting d8, Intimi-
dation d8, Notice d6,
Stealth d8
Pace: 8; Parry: 6; Tough-
ness: 6
Edges: Alertness
Special Abilities:
• Bite: Str+d4.
• Speed: d10 running die.
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 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
h Fenrir Alpha
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d8, Spirit d8, knocks a man off his feet.
Strength d8, Vigor d8
Skills: Athletics d8, Common Knowl- it turns a man to stone quicker than the Lord
edge d4, Fighting d10, Folklore d8, does a sinner who looks back upon the temple
Intimidation d6, Notice d6, Occult d6, Per- of his abjection. Or that’s how the saying goes.
suasion d8, Stealth d8, Survival d8, Taunt d6
Pace: 8; Parry: 6; Toughness: 6
Edges: Alertness
Special Abilities:
• Bite: Str+d4.
• Speed: d10 running die.
Cryptids
With one foot in the world of demons, one foot
in the world of haints, one foot in the world of
folks, and one foot in the world of critters, and
sometimes additional feet beyond those, the
cryptids of the Holler defy easy categorization
and beggar the imagination. Some appear
no different than other beasts of the field or
forest—until, that is, they take flight or shoot
you with fire. Others appear to issue forth
from the foul run-offs of industry, while a
few give indications of a less than terrestrial
provenance. Whatever their origins, the
cryptids of the Holler have stoked many a
campfire story.
h Beast of Bone Lick
Early settlers in a swampy patch of Hogback
Hills reckoned that the ancient skeletons they
found in the crisscrossing creeks that flooded
the land were the remains of giants who h a d
ruled the area back before the
Beast of Bone Lick brought
them to their demise.
Those giants sure
weren’t around no more,
but the giant lizard
known as the Beast of
Bone lick sure was and
maybe still is. Thickly
scaled, moss green, and
twenty feet in length,
when it’s agitated—and
no one has ever claimed to
have seen it when it wasn’t—
it’s frilled neck pops up like
218
a church fan and sends forth a foul wind that
Don’t look that lizard in the eye, either, for
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d4 (A), Spirit d10,
Str d12+4, Vigor d12+2
Skills: Athletics d6, Fighting d12, Focus d8,
Intimidation d12, Notice d6
Pace: 5; Parry: 8; Toughness: 16 (2)
Edges: —
Special Abilities:
• Bite/Claws: Str+d8.
• Fear (−4): The Beast is terrifying.
• Breath Attack: Those who fail to Evade
the sickly gas of the Beast’s breath are both
Distracted and Vulnerable until the end of
their next turn.
• Tail Sweep (Swat): Str+d6
• Stone Gaze: The Beast of Bone Lick can
attempt to turn a victim to stone with its
gaze with an opposed roll (Focus vs. Spirit).
With a success, the victim is Stunned. On a
raise, the victim turns to stone. Completing
a difficult quest for the Fae Queen or
a powerful witch (thus gaining their
assistance in this matter) is the only way of
rescuing the victim from this petrified state.
• Size 5 (Large): The Beast is an imposing
figure.
• Thick Scales: +2 Armor
• Weakness: The Beast has a soft throat-sac.
Hitting it just right (a Called Shot at −6) it
takes double normal damage.
Billycabra
Children love a good billycabra tale, even
though it often ends with a domestic
critter being devoured. The human
imagination likes its dark places, and
that affinity is sometimes even
more pronounced in youngins.
Billycabras have a seemingly
endless variation of physical
characteristics—dogs
with hunched, spiked
spines, reptiles with
that same hunched
and spiked spine but
what can lurch up
and walk on two feet for

short periods of time, two large “sucker teeth,”
through which they extract the blood of goats
and folks directly into their veins.
Their noisome nature encapsulates both
an eerie, wolf-like howl and the mocking
laughter of a hyena. One won’t bother a
skilled hunter much, but a pack of them can
mortally challenge a group of experienced
mountain men.
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d4 (A), Spirit d6, internal glow like a chunk of coal smoldering
Strength d6, Vigor d6
Skills: Athletics d8, Fighting d6, Notice d10,
Stealth d8
Pace: 8; Parry: 5; Toughness: 4
Edges: —
Special Abilities:
• Bite: Str+d4.
• Grappler: The billycabra receives a free
reroll on Grappling rolls.
• Bloodsucker: If a victim is Bound or
Entangled by a billycabra, it automatically Skills: Athletics d8, Fighting d8, Notice d10,
sucks its blood, causing a level of Fatigue due
to blood loss. Billycabra generally abandon Pace: 8; Parry: 7; Toughness: 5
unconscious victims (saving them for later) Edges: —
if there are other fresh targets.
• Billy Laugh: The first time a victim hears a
Billy Laugh, he makes a Spirit roll, failure
results in being both Distracted and
Vulnerable until the end of the next round.
The victim is immune to the effect for the
rest of the encounter.
• Size −1: Billycabras are a bit smaller than
most humans.
Bestiary
Devil Dogs
Referred to in some areas simply as “black dogs”
and others by the more dramatic term “devil
dogs,” these beasts are regarded with fear by
all but the most jaded denizens of Boscage
or Charhold.
Some claim they have the power of flight.
Others ascribe to them a mesmerizing gaze
channeled through eyes that gutter with an
in a furnace. Some superstitious wags swear up
and down that the brutes tread as easily across
water as they do solid ground.
In describing their mouths, one eyewitness
merely shook her head and called it, “The very
maw of hell.” The formidable fangs sported by
wolves are replaced in the hellhound with a
mouth full of twisted razors and spikes.
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d4(A), Spirit d8,
Strength d8, Vigor d8
Stealth d10
Special Abilities:
• Hell Maw (Bite): Str+6.
• Size 1: Devil Dogs average about 300 lbs.
• Speed: Running die d10.
• Teleportation: Devil dogs can blink out of
existence and appear in a new location up
to 12” (24 yards) away.
• Water Walker: Devil dogs can run on water!
Diggers
Diggers are humanoid creatures (around
four feet tall) with yellow-green skin and
white, rheumy eyes. Only one in
about one hundred diggers
can see—the rest are blind
but are incredibly adept at
navigating underground
by using echolocation,
like bats, and their keen
sense of smell. They have
oversized hands with
impressive claws for their
bodies and powerful legs.
Di g g e r s live in
underground tunnels
and abandoned mines,
residing primarily
in the Sootstone
219
 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
A THUMBNAIL GUIDE
TO CRITTER TAXONOMY
Haints (Holler for “haunts”) are the
restless spirits of Holler folks who
experience sudden, violent deaths or
who died with an abundance of grief,
loneliness, unrequited love, or vengeance
in their hearts. They can be corporeal,
incorporeal, or both.
Demons are Holler folks who died
corrupted with Blight and have undergone
a terrifying transformation due to its
effects. They can be corporeal, incorporeal,
or both. Some retain human sentience for
a time and evolve into incredibly powerful
creatures.
Cryptids are living Holler critters that
have been thoroughly and irrevocably
mutated by the Blight, often in strange and
wondrous ways. They are super corporeal
and smell bad.
Giant Critters are big versions of regular
critters, super-sized by Blight (or witches).
Corporeal as all get out and usually bad
smelling.
Fae are magical beings of unknown
origin who migrated to the Holler from
the Old World. They are as ancient as
the woods and mountains themselves.
Their motives defy human logic. They are
corporeal, but highly stealthy, and some
can become invisible or teleport at will.
Mountains. While many cryptids are singular
entities, these little miscreants travel in
packs, sometimes riding on each other’s
backs or hopping over each other in a game
like leapfrog.
They have an extreme dislike of all humans,
though they have shared the mountains
with them for ages, and even picked up the
rudiments of human speech. Their favorite
word is “ain’t” and they are masters of piling
on double negatives and conditionals in their
declarations.
Diggers love fresh fish and are deeply
obsessed with gems. Folks approaching the
220
diggers’ caves with significant quantities of
such gifts might be able to bargain with them.
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d4, Spirit d6,
Strength d6, Vigor d6
Skills: Athletics d10, Common Knowl-
edge d4, Fighting d6, Notice d6, Persuasion d4,
Repair d8, Stealth d8, Taunt d6, Thievery d6
Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 4
Gear: Sling w/stones (Range 3/6/12, Damage
Str+d4).
Hindrances: Greedy (Major)
Special Abilities:
• Burrow: 4 (soft earth only).
• Claws: Str+d6, AP 2.
• Excavate: A team of 2–4 diggers can excavate
10’ feet of solid, rocky earth in one hour.
After that they are Fatigued and must rest
an hour (to remove the Fatigue) before
continuing to dig.
• Low Light Vision: Ignore penalties for Dim
and Dark Illumination.
• Size −1: Diggers are short and ornery.
• Wall Walker: Pace 6 and may run.
h Goat Man of Shadrach
The critter some call the “Shadrach Monster”
lurks in the northern reaches of Corn Cob Gap
and the Piney Dirge Plateau. Sightings describe
a creature that stands like a man, but bears a
visage that leans toward goatish.
Some believe the Goat Man was born of a
ritual sacrifice to appease the revenant Dead
Molly, an elder witch of the Plateau, while
others believe him the offspring of a cursed
affair between the wife of a Shadrach cultist
and a grinning laborer of questionable morals.
Some soft-headed travelers even claim the
Goat Man possesses human sentience and
speech, and occasionally aids folks lost in the
woods, leading them to safety in exchange for
the promise of a future “sacrifice.”
Attributes: Agility d10, Smarts d6, Spirit d8,
Strength d8, Vigor d8
Skills: Athletics d8, Common Knowl-
edge d4, Fighting d8, Notice d8, Persuasion d6,
Taunt d8, Survival d12, Stealth d10, Thiev-
ery d10
Pace: 6; Parry: 6; Toughness: 6
Edges: —
Special Abilities:
• Crazy Eyes: The Goat Man’s piercing,
yellow goat eyes make folk feel supremely
 Bestiary

uncomfortable. He maintains a steady, Attributes: Agility d10, Smarts d12, Spirit d12,
unblinking gaze when engaging in Strength d10, Vigor d12
conversation. Those conversing with him Skills: Athletics d10, Common Knowledge d12,
subtract 2 from Intimidation, Persuasion, Fighting d10, Folklore d12+1, Folk Magic d12+1,
or Taunt rolls. Notice d12+1, Occult d12, Persuasion d12,
• Sure-Footed: The Goat Man’s cloven hooves Stealth d12+1, Taunt d12
make him an adept mountain traveler. His Pace: 8; Parry: 7; Toughness: 8
falling damage is always halved, and he Hindrances: —
receives +2 to climbing related Athletics Edges: Arcane Resistance, Arcane Background
rolls. (Folk Magic), Combat Reflexes, Common
Bond, Dodge, Extraction (Imp), Great Luck
h Green Man Powers: Arcane protection, banish, beast friend,
The Green Man might only be confined to a blind, boost/lower Trait, detect/conceal arcana,
common folk-art image that followed the fear, healing, object reading, puppet, relief, resur-
miners and mill workers from the Old World. rection, slumber, summon ally. Power Points: 25
Found carved into the walls of inns and taverns, Gear: Druid staff (Str+d6).
the image depicts the face of a man bearing a Special Abilities:
dispassionate expression, his head adorned • Unblighted Aura: A sighting of the
with a wreath of vines. Green Man bestows complete
immunity to the effects of Blight for
Inns are especially well-known for their
one day. The Green Man himself
representations of this arboreal
can cleanse Fatigue gained from
character. So familiar is the image
Blight at will.
that many Hollerites fail to even
• Druidic Boon: The first time
equate it with the strange
a character with the Arcane
sightings of a man who
Background (Folk Magic) and/or a
wanders the rough ground
Folklore skill of d6 or more sights
between the Cussfoot Fens
the Green Man, that character
and Faefall Mountains, his
makes a Spirit roll. Success
head thatched in greenery
results in the player receiving
thicker than any laurel.
one Benny, or Conviction with
That this same man
a raise.
has been known to
• Shape Change: The
pursue travelers is also
Green Man can change
strangely overlooked,
into a plant, shrub, or tree
as is the fact
as a limited free action.
that the bodies
While in this state, he
of unwitting
may not communicate
travelers have
with others, attack, or
been known to
cast damage field, havoc,
turn up in the Fens
or warrior’s gift. He may cast any
with their mouths and eye
of his other spells normally.
sockets stuffed full of
leaves and twigs.
Meatyardians
The silence with
Meatyardians (see
which the people
page 155) are not
of the Fens
proper cryptids, but
address these
that is what most folks
oddities is well-nigh deafening, and
think they are when they encounter them.
if you find yourself in a Faefall Tavern lifting
The fell offspring of Raylene Ashdown’s and
a drink under the gaze of the Green Man, it’s
Lunny Brownderville’s scheming, her father
a silence to which you might be well served
Samuel has now decided to recruit clay eaters
to attend.
and varnish heads and train them in the same

221
 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse

The beast was seen hovering near the tree line

by a summer church revival on the outskirts
of Almarine and later spotted circling the
coal tipple at Marrow. Then one fateful night
the Moth was spotted above the Hazard Point
Bridge only moments before it crashed into the
Big Sandy River. The most frequent sightings
are near the foothills of the Stygians.
Recent reports have been few and far
between, but folks still wonder after their
visitor. Is there more than one of these things?
Did she come as a threat or as a warning?
Was she merely a trick of the light? A shared
illusion? No one knows for sure, but travelers
are apt to keep one eye on the sky when passing
through these areas, and you’d be wise to
do the same.
Attributes: Agility d12, Smarts d8(A), Spirit d12,
Strength d8, Vigor d10
Skills: Athletics d12, Fighting d8, Intimida-
tion d12, Notice d12, Stealth d12
Pace: 6; Parry: 8; Toughness: 8
Edges: Alertness, Combat Reflexes, Dodge,
tactics as Raylene— hauntings, vandalism, Extraction, Block (Imp)
and outright violence—to terrorize unruly Special Abilities:
workers or establish a general atmosphere of • Claws: Str+d6.
dread and unease in their villages. • Fear: The sight of the Moth prompts a Fear
The Meatyardians’ masks run the gamut check.
of what a gothic imagination can conjure— • Flying: Pace 14.
exaggerated smiles and gaping eyes, blank • Harbinger: The first time on any given day
cloth sacks, outsized and misshapen heads, a character sees the Moth, he makes a Spirit
bestial grimaces, strange runes and hoary roll. If successful he receives a Benny. On a
scars. They are meant to represent unnerving Critical Failure he loses a Benny.
distortions of what it means to be human, • Size 1: The moth is a bit larger than most
to make Holler folk look at those faces and fellers.
question their own humanity in response.
A Meatyardian’s stats depend on whether a h Old Scratch
Clay Eater (page 206) or Varnish Head (page Most folks have heard stories about making a
212) is behind the mask. All Meatyardians deal with the devil himself. A slickly dressed
have a d8 in Performance and the special fellow walks up on you near midnight at a
ability of Fear. crossroads and offers your heart’s desire in
exchange for your soul.
h The Moth That tale is inaccurate in at least one material
The first few sightings of the Moth were made point—the devil himself is actually the devil
by varnish heads who spotted the creature themselves, as every locale has its own Old
through the window of a huff shack. These Scratch, as different from the others as any
stories were largely dismissed but the sightings man is different from other men, but all cut
continued, and soon there were reports from from the same wicked cloth.
reputable citizens which described a strange An Old Scratch takes on the tenor of the
creature standing no less than eight feet tall people he tends to, and often, used to be
with silky, iridescent wings like those of the himself. Some benighted ritual must exist that
insect for whom it was named. turns a fellow into an Old Scratch and gives

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him a measure of dominion over the souls of Pineys/Piney King

a village, but who performs that ritual and to The pineys of the Great Craggies inhabit a
what purpose are beyond anyone’s knowing. portion of the forest several miles north of
Old Scratches don’t seem to be in league with Wyrd. They are generational enemies of the
the Big Boys, or demons, or even witches. As witches of Wyrd.
you might hear folks say about a peculiar fellow
who goes his own way, “That one’s a bit quare. Pineys
That one’s his own thing.” These evil little tree men sing horrible songs,
sweep pine needles into burial mounds, turn
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d10, Spirit d10,
folks into pineys, and worship the Piney King.
Strength d8, Vigor d10
Skills: Athletics d8, Common Knowledge d8, Pineys like to lure travelers from the road,
Fighting d8, Gambling d10, Intimidation d8, knock them out, then bury them beneath
Notice d10, Performance d10, Occult d10, mounds of pine needles. Once that’s done, the
Persuasion d10, Taunt d8, Spellcasting d12, pineys dance, perforing a ritual that summons
Stealth d10, Thievery d8 the Piney King and transforms the unconscious
Pace: 6; Parry: 6; Toughness: 7 victim into another Piney. You can see their
Hindrances: — hijinks in action on page 122.
Edges: Arcane Background (Magic), Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit d6,
Charismatic Strength d4, Vigor d6
Powers: Banish, burst, detect/conceal arcana, invis- Skills: Athletics d6, Common Knowledge d4,
ibility, light/darkness, mind reading, mind wipe, Fighting d6, Folk Magic d6, Notice d6, Perfor-
object reading, puppet. Power Points: 20 mance d8, Taunt d6, Stealth d6, Thievery d6
Special Abilities: Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 5 (1)
• Fear (−2): Seeing an Old Scratch without his Hindrances: Obligation (Make new pineys),
deal-making countenance is troubling to say Vow (Heal Piney King), Driven (Keep the
the least. This usually occurs if a deal goes forest tidy)
sour. Edges: Arcane Background (Folk Magic)
• Teleport (12”): an Old Scratch can disappear Powers: boost/lower Trait, healing.
and reappear 12” (24 yards) away. Power Points: 5
• Wish: Old Scratchs can only grant minor Gear: Piney broom.
wishes, despite what they promise, and
there’s always a squirrelly side effect. Their
wishes also come about through events
rather than some kind of instant hoodoo.
Ask for a big pile of scrip and you might find
a stolen satchel dropped by a vengeful thief.
Ask to defeat the Big Boys and you might
soon inherit a shotgun and a dozen shells.
Ask for greater strength and you’ll soon
inherit a set of dumbbells. Ask for someone
to fall in love with you and they will—and
won’t leave you alone for a second. In game
terms, an Old Scratch can grant a minor
boon that materializes within the week. This
can be most any object, up to about $1,000
in scrip, or an Advance that doesn’t count
toward a character’s Rank. This doesn’t
actually compromise the character’s soul—
she just has to live with whatever backlash
the wish comes with. There may be more
powerful Old Scratchs who can do more.

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Special Abilities:
• Armor +1: Bark skin.
• Scratchy Branches: Str+d4
• Shapeshift: Pineys can assume human
form, appearing as unattractive ruffians
of diminutive stature. They primarily use
this form to lure travelers from the road to
kidnap and transform into more pineys.
• Size −1: From a distance, pineys could be
mistaken as children.
h Piney King
The Piney King is thirty-feet tall, knows
a goodly bundle of witch magic, draws a
considerable amount of his power from
Boogeyman trees, likes a neatly tended forest,
and wards his territory with the bodies of
dead witches. That’s about it. The Plot Point
Campaign features an encounter with this
legendary being (see page 122).
Attributes: Athletics d6, Smarts d10, Attributes: Agility d10, Smarts d4(A), Spirit d8,
Spirit d12+1, Strength d12+5, Vigor d12
Skills: Athletics d6, Common Knowl- Skills: Athletics d10, Fighting d10, Notice d10,
edge d6, Fighting d12, Folk Magic d10,
Intimidation d12+2, Notice d8, Occult d10, Pace: 6; Parry: 7; Toughness: 8
Stealth, d6, Survival d10, Taunt d10
Pace: 4; Parry: 8; Toughness: 18 (3)
Hindrances: Driven (Major—Claim boogey- • Aquatic: Pace 12.
man trees)
Edges: Arcane Resistance, Arcane Background
(Folk Magic), Mighty Blow, Sweep (Imp)
Powers: Arcane protection, boost/lower Trait, fear,
healing, puppet, relief, resurrection, slumber.
Power Points: 20
Special Abilities:
• Armor +3: Thick bark.
• Fear (−2): The Piney King is a terrifying sight. • Bite: Str+d4
• Stomp Party: The Piney King stomps the
ground as a limited action, causing the
ground to quake in a Large Blast Template.
Victims must Evade or be Stunned.
• Sweeping Branch (Swat/Sweep): Str+d6,
Reach 3.
• Boogeyman Power: A Piney King must be in
possession of a Boogeyman Tree to use his
Folk Magic.
• Size 7 (Large): There is no mistaking the 30’
tall Piney King.
River Runner
Though there have been reports of river
runners throughout the Holler, historically
the largest number of sightings arise
224
from the wetlands that straddle southeastern
Hogback and the Cussfoot Fens, an area so full
of streams flowing down from Hogback Hills
that it’s known colloquially as “Thousand Crick.”
To the casual observer, a river runner
gives the appearance of a snake, albeit an
uncommonly long one that generates a wake
fifteen or twenty feet in length. Its head is
commonly described as lizard-like, but some
eyewitnesses have described it as dog-like,
which is a right strange topper for a serpent.
Things have a way of going wrong when
the river runner is afoot. A fishing party on
the Big Sandy was met with a freak storm so
severe it swamped their boats and sent them
dog paddling back to shore. Hunters taking
shots at a runner have suffered bad misfires,
and one Cussfoot local referred to as “Turvald
Two Fingers” lost more than a little skin in
such a mishap.
Strength d10, Vigor d10
Stealth d12
Edges: —
Special Abilities:
• Hunter’s Bane: Critical Failures in the
presence of a river runner result in
particularly tragic events. Whoever caused
it typically takes damage (2d6+2 is common,
often as a weapon blows or shatters apart)
and further catastrophes, such as storms,
fires, or the appearance of some other
critter—may follow.
• Curious Noggin’: Upon spying a river
runner, spontaneous arguments concerning
whether it looks more like a dog’s head or
snake’s head has led to unnecessary deaths.
The first time a character attacks a given
river runner, he makes a Spirit roll. A failure
caused the victim to become Distracted. A
Critical Failure makes them Vulnerable too.
Buoyed by existential certainty about the
nature of the river runner’s head, a success
gives the character a +1 to bonus to hit on
their next attack.
• Size 1: River runners weight up to 600 lbs.
 Bestiary

h Sheepsquatch it would snatch up livestock and even children

Some forms of animal husbandry should be before disappearing in the sky.
outlawed, and they are, but that don’t stop Whether you believe it a ghost, demon, or
folks from practicing the bestial arts. It’s even the Holler’s first and hopefully last drake
always interesting to see what mates with spawn, be mindful where you tread. Should
what and what won’t, and what might come of you see the mark of the seven-pointed star left
such a union. behind by travelers who preceded you, make
However the Sheepsquatch came into haste to anywhere else—you’re sure to be safer
existence, it’s a passing strange beast. It lingers there—for that’s the sign of the snallygaster.
on the uncanny border between the bestial and Attributes: Agility d12, Smarts d8 (A), Spirit d10,
the human and is all the more disturbing for it. Strength d12, Vigor d10
It’s mean-spirited and ornery, difficult to Skills: Athletics d12, Fighting d10, Notice d12+1,
catch. It hasn’t been sheared in who knows Stealth d10
how long. The wool has piled up all over its Pace: 10; Parry: 7; Toughness: 10
body—it looks like a dingy shambling mound, Edges: Extraction
bleating its sickening bleat wherever it goes. Special Abilities:
To be honest, nobody really knows what’s • Bite/Claws: Str+d6, AP 2.
underneath the wool these days, but rumors • Breath Weapon: A snallygaster can’t breathe
are it’s the body of a man, mostly, lord help, fire, but it can spew smoke. Victims within
with the face and hooves of a sheep. the cone must Evade or become partially
blinded (−2). Those who fail make a Vigor
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d4 (A), Spirit d8,
Strength d10, Vigor d10
Skills: Athletics d8, Fighting d10, Intimida-
tion d10, Notice d4, Stealth d4, Taunt d6
Pace: 8; Parry: 7; Toughness: 12 (4)
Edges: Berserk
Special Abilities:
• Bite/Kick: Str+d6.
• Bleat: The Sheepsquatch erupts with
a horrible bleat when threatened.
As a limited action, it uses the Cone
Template and makes an opposed
Intimidation roll. Everyone in the
template who fails is stunned.
Sheepsquatch can only bleat every
other round—it’s hard to catch
his breath beneath all that wool.
• Size 1: The Sheepsquatch is
larger than most humans.
• Armor +4: The Sheepsquatch
hasn’t been shorn in a while.
He’s covered in a woolly
blanket that’s difficult to
penetrate.

h Snallygaster
The creature Old World folks
called the “quick ghost” may
have taken on more than one
visage in these mountains. It was
first described as half-bird, half-reptile. Later,
it was said to have a metallic beak with which

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roll as a free action at the end of their turn, filled to the brim with bric-a-brac is the best
clearing their vision with success (a splash of way to describe a taker bird.
water adds +2 to the roll). If you see one of these stinking fowls ambling
• Fear (−2): Snallygasters are an imposing toward you, best dredge up a gift for it in a
sight in the skies. flash and pass it over to the taker bird’s beak.
• Flying: Pace 15. It’ll gobble down whatever you passed it,
• Size 3: Snallygasters weigh in at a staggering straightaway. And don’t be funny and try to kill
2000 lbs. it by giving it something sharp or poisonous. It
• Snatch and Grab: A snallygaster that swallows blades like they were seed corn and
successfully grapples a victim can lift her poison just makes it smell worse.
into the air and fly away, hoping to rend
Some taker birds like shiny things, others
them in their nest. If the character breaks
crave home-made play pretties, and a few
free while the snallygaster is airborne, he
won’t be satiated unless they take a finger
takes Falling damage (see Savage Worlds).
or two. They look you straight in your eyes
with their rheumy old buzzard eyes, a pitiful
h Spitfinger pleading look and attack if you don’t feed
Spitfinger is a twelve-foot tall, golem-like them a gift, or if they don’t care for the gift you
virago (bad-tempered woman) who regularly feed them.
traverses Mount Everlasting in Faefall.
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d4 (A), Spirit d6,
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6 (A), Spirit d12, Strength d10, Vigor d8
Strength d12+2, Vigor d12 Skills: Athletics d6, Fighting d12, Focus d8,
Skills: Athletics d6, Fighting d12, Intimida- Intimidation d10, Notice d8, Stealth d6, Thiev-
tion d12, Notice d6 ery d8
Pace: 5; Parry: 8; Toughness: 13 (5) Pace: 6; Parry: 8; Toughness: 7
Edges: Brute Edges: Thief
Special Abilities:
• Armor +5: Stone skin, everywhere
but her right hand (Called Shot at
−4 to hit).
• Construct: +2 to recover from
being Shaken; ignores 1 point of
Wound penalties; does not breathe
or suffer from disease or poison.
• Ethereal: Spitfinger can become
invisible and immaterial at will,
making her immune to all but
magical attacks.
• Fearless: Spitfinger isn’t affected by
Fear or Intimidation.
• Fear (−4): Spitfinger is terrifying to
encounter.
• Size 2: Spitfinger is an imposing
figure, and made of stone to boot!
• Spitfinger: Str+d8, AP 2. When Spitfinger
kills a victim, she skewers the liver and
consumes it.
• Weakness: Spitfinger’s right hand must be
destroyed to kill her for good.

h Taker Bird
A turkey buzzard comporting itself on an
abnormally long set of legs and
befitted with a bulging pink belly

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Special Abilities:
• Bite: Str+d4.
• Size 1: Taker birds are about the size of fat
ostriches.
• Stiflin’ Stench: A taker bird’s digestive
system goes through hell. It emits the foulest
odors any fowl has ever fouled. Victims
adjacent to one must make a Vigor roll at
the end of its turn or be Distracted.
• Taker’s Gaze: When a taker bird approaches
a victim, it makes an opposed Focus vs Spirit
roll. If it wins, victim must feed a piece of
gear to it. If the bird gets a raise, the victim
must feed the taker bird a weapon, some
high-quality moonshine, or some other
Scarce valuable to satiate it. If satisfied (Shift
Boss’ call), it goes on its gangly way.
h Wampus
In the realms between the very real and the
mostly real, there are few critters whose
specific aspect foments more disagreement
than that of the legendary wampus cat.
In Dogwood, references to the wampus draw
giggles from the old-timers. Tools lost in the
shuffle or barn doors found left open elicit
comments like, “Hide the family jewels,
boys, there’s a wampus afoot!” But
keep such talk to yourself in Sunrise,
where old men still tell stories of
when four strapping young men
were found wearing their guts for
garters after a wampus attack.
Eyewitness reports claimed
the beast stands as tall as a
horse, with fangs ferocious
as those of the legendary
“sabreto oth.” Some
witnesses claimed
the wampus’ tail
terminated in
a spiked bundle of
flesh like some organic flail, while
others swear it was identical in
shape and function to that of
a scorpion.
After eviscerating those
workers, the wampus supposedly
dove into the Big Sandy River,
swimming with “all the felicity
and undulations of an eel.”
Bestiary
Where observation ends and fancy begins, no
one truly knows, but tales of the wampus cat
have been recorded widely enough that the
wise traveler does not dismiss their existence.
Attributes: Agility d10, Smarts d4 (A), Spirit d10,
Strength d12, Vigor d12
Skills: Athletics d10, Fighting d10, Notice d10,
Stealth d8
Pace: 8; Parry: 7; Toughness: 10
Edges: —
Special Abilities:
• Additional Actions: A wampus may attack
one enemy with its bite or claws and another
with its tail without incurring a Multi-Action
penalty.
• Aquatic: Pace 10.
• Bite/Claws: Str+d6.
• Infravision: Halve penalties for
Illumination when attacking warm targets.
• Fear (−2): Wampus’ cause Fear when
encountered.
• Pounce: +4 to damage when Wild Attacking
rather than +2.
• Size 2: Wampus’ weigh in at about 1000 lbs.
• Spiked Tail or Scorpion Tail: Wampus come
in two varieties, Spiked Tail and Scorpioned
Tail. A spiked tail does Str+d6, AP 2, damage.
Those with a scorption tail release a
Knockout poison when they hit with a raise.
Worker Ghouls
These unfortunate souls have been taken
from their graves or transported directly
to a Big Boy laboratory after a fatal
work accident and given over to the
sinister ministrations of company
technomancers.
The specifics of their
transformation into the
walking dead—bones
poking forth from sallow
flesh, eye sockets hollow save for a
sickly light leaking from their skulls—
are elusive, but necrotylene infusion
and the insertion of a powerful mind-
control shim seem to be at the core of
the process.
Worker Ghoul
(Simpleton)
The earliest worker ghouls
were little more than shambling
simpletons. Most are not
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 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse

“programmed” to attack or even attempt to h Yahoo

defend themselves. They are only capable of If there is any beast roaming the Holler
the simplest tasks. who is less understood and causes more
Attributes: Agility d4, Smarts d4 (A), Spirit d4, consternation than the yahoo, you won’t find
Strength d6, Vigor d4 word of it written here. Awful whoopings
Skills: Fighting d4, Repair d6, Stealth d6, and caterwaulings in the night, smokehouses
Shooting d6 torn asunder, larders raided and those huge,
Pace: 5; Parry: 4; Toughness: 6 distinctive muddy footprints trailing off into
Hindrances: Slow (Minor) the woods.
Special Abilities: When the first hunting party ventured into
• Fearless: Worker Ghouls are immune to the hills, found the yahoo’s lair and killed him
Fear and Intimidation. there, they likely felt like the new masters of
• Low Light Vision: Worker ghouls ignore their domain.
penalties for Dim and Dark Illumination. Imagine their surprise when they
• Undead: +2 Toughness; +2 to recover from explored that first yahoo’s lair and found
being Shaken; Called Shots do no extra crude markings made with dyes from poke
damage; doesn’t breathe; immune to disease berries and bloodroot. Had they stumbled
and poison. across some primitive man? Had they
committed murder? Perhaps they had,
Worker Ghoul (Upgraded)
Upgraded worker ghoul “models” have
progressed to being able to follow basic
commands and perform repetitive
tasks. The Big Boys hope to eventually
replace all living workers with these
subservient, tireless ghouls.
Attributes: Agility d4, Smarts d4 (A),
Spirit d6, Strength d6, Vigor d6
Skills: Fighting d6, Repair d6,
Stealth d6, Shooting d6
Pace: 5; Parry: 5; Toughness: 7
Hindrances: Slow (Minor)
Special Abilities:
• Bite: Str+d4
• Claws: Str+d4
• Fearless: Worker Ghouls
are immune to Fear and
Intimidation.
• Low Light Vision: Worker
ghoul’s ignore penalties
for Dim and Dark
Illumination.
• Shim Bolt (Rare):
Advanced “models” can
fire an electrical bolt from
their skull shim as an action.
• Undead: +2 Toughness; +2 to
recover from being Shaken;
Called Shots do no extra damage;
doesn’t breathe; immune to
disease and poison.

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 Bestiary

because when the beast’s mate returned and libertines are mindful to give demons as wide
found what they had done, she did the most a berth as possible.
human thing imaginable, descending into the More widespread in distribution than
settlement and taking bloody revenge, then haints or cryptids, they often possess
disappearing into the mists. greater malevolent powers. A few politically
In the years since, innumerable tales have minded folks think the demons are the Big
been told of encounters with the yahoo or Boys’ creations and under their control, or
Sasquatch, and they have done little to identify demons and Big Boys have made an infernal
the beast as either friend or foe. A family of pact and are coeval partners in malice. Most
Sasquatch fought a bitter and bloody feud with believe demons to be of spiritual derivation,
mountaineers in the Great Craggies. combatants in a long, unwinding conflict
Still, one can’t discount the story of Henry between the Almighty and the devilish abyss.
and Jill Whitacre, the four-year old twins who The truth is more disturbing.
were lost for a week one January in Corn Cob The demons of the Holler don’t hail from
Gap. Searchers had given them up for dead, Hades, but rather from the populace itself. The
only for them to turn up on their parents’ infernal secret is that troubled souls who die
doorstep with a story of having been cared thoroughly corrupted by Blight, their bodies
for by a bear “with a face like mamaw’s,” who sapped and ravaged by years of exposure
sang “cooing songs” to them as it fed them nuts to its strange toxins, rise not as haints, but
and honey. as demons!
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d8 (A?), Spirit d10, The Big Boys have no control over these
Strength d12, Vigor d12 lost souls, and is one of the reasons they are
Skills: Athletics d8, Fighting d12, Intimida- reticent to risk another project as ambitious as
tion d12, Notice d10, Stealth d12, Taunt d12 the Great Sealing Off, though Samuel Ashdown
Pace: 8; Parry: 8; Toughness: 11 (1) maintains the cost was very much worth
Edges: Sweep the reward.
Gear: Simple, handmade tools for throwing Demons maintain some semblance of their
(Range 4/8/12, Damage Str+d4). human identities—their appearances and
Special Abilities: powers linked to their human desires, failings,
• Armor +1: Tough hide. and traumas; the landscape where they lived
• Forearm Shivers: Str+d8. and died; the season of the year they cherished
• Size 2: Yahoos are significantly taller and or abhorred most; or even to a particular time
bulkier than humans. of day they favored.
• Skunk Ape: When threatened, the yahoo’s A demon may have shreds of human feeling
musk glands release a malodorous spray and memory for a time, but the longer a
up to 6” distant. Victims within a Medium demon exists, the less human it becomes. It
Blast Template must make a Vigor roll or be may be possible to “reach them” in the early
Stunned. stages of their demon hood, when memories
• Yahoo Yodel: Yahoos yodel when they feel of their former life still swim in their deranged
threatened. Anyone within 12” (24 yards) brains, but eventually a “going over” occurs—
must make a Spirit roll as a free action at the human soul is lost forever and the demon
the start of their turn or become Distracted. becomes singularly demonic.

Demons
On Friday and Saturday nights, the good people
of the Holler are known to cut the occasional
rug and tip the occasional jug. But come
Sunday morning, most folks put their keisters
on a pew of some sort. While Jeremiadians may
lean toward a more staid interpretation of the
Good Book than the folks in Shadrach, even
Demonic Types
Demons’ appearances, powers, modes of
attack, and degree of corporeality vary greatly.
Some are shapeshifters, making it even harder
to intuit the essence of their former lives.
They fall into roughly three categories:
• demons of the natural world — associated
with the landscape and natural features

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 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
• demons of the inner spheres — associated
with human thoughts and emotions
• demons of the outer spheres — associated
with certain times of day or seasons of the
year
Whether wrought from the landscape, the
seasons, the cycles of day and night, or the
troubled yearnings of the human heart, they
seem to seek the same thing—the infliction of
pain and suffering on the human world.
Demonic Special Abilities
Demonic Powers
Some demons of the outer Spheres have
powers and Power Points. The source of these
powers comes from their demonic nature, and
they use the Focus skill to call them forth.
Possession
Some demons of the inner spheres are able
to possess their victims. This is an opposed
roll of their Focus versus the victim’s Spirit. If
successful, the demon possesses its victim and
may act on other abilities listed in its profile.
If the victim resists, the possession is not
successful but may be attempted again. If the
victim resists with a raise, the demon may make
no further attempts to possess that victim.
Once possessed the only way to rid a
victim of a demon’s influence is Exorcism
(see page 48).
Demons of the Inner Spheres
h Body Demon
Body demons are shapeshifters, sometimes
called wendigos. They invade a person’s body
and deform the natural parameters of their
mortal coil from the inside-out. Imagine a
beast close to ten feet long with the hooves,
legs, and horns of a great stag. Now imagine it
rearing up on two legs and walking like an ape,
or even a human. Imagine its skull fleshless and
bony like the trophy of some long-slain beast.
Then it charges straight at you. Instead of
spearing you upon its great horns, however, it
vanishes into your body. All of a sudden you
feel a little odd. Maybe your spine starts to
crack. Maybe a horn sprouts out of the middle
of your forehead. Maybe your guts swell.
Maybe your joints turn against themselves
230
and you start contorting like an acrobat at a
country fair. Try to avoid this one.
Attributes: Agility d10, Smarts d6, Spirit d10,
Strength d12, Vigor d12+1
Skills: Athletics d10, Fighting d12, Focus d8,
Intimidation d12, Notice d8, Stealth d8,
Taunt d10
Pace: 7; Parry: 6; Toughness: 10
Edges: —
Special Abilities:
• Antlers: Str+d8.
• Deform: Once it’s successfully possessed
a victim, the demon attempts to deform a
part of its host’s body once per day, usually
around twilight. Each attempt is an opposed
roll (Focus vs. Spirit). The Shift Boss should
be creative here, but this could be a broken
arm (the One-Armed Hindrance), blinding
(the Blind Hindrance), a disease, alterations
that make the victim unattractive (Ugly
Hindrance), or permanent Fatigue that can’t
lead to Incapacitation. All this fades within
24 hours of the demon’s exorcism.
• Possession (Body): The demon attempts
to enter the victim through Possession (see
page 230).
• Size 2: While outside the human body, body
demons are up to ten feet long and the size
and shape of great horned stags.
Death Demon
These demons aren’t violent toward the living
and they aren’t exactly violent toward the dead,
either. Even so, they are among the evil folks
dread most and it boils down to this, “Some
things can’t be unseen,” a phrase seemingly
conjured to refer to the shocking pantomime
routines these demons perform with the
recently deceased.
The spectacle of a loved one, laid out on a
cooling table, having finally found their rest,
is interrupted by a sudden “coming back to
life.” First a twitch. Then the upper half of the
torso rears up. Before you know it, the corpse
is dancing a jig on the floor, play-acting like its
making dinner, or throwing a game of fetch
with an old hound dog, if the hound dog don’t
just run straight into the woods.
Left to their devices, death demons walk that
corpse straight toward the nearest patch of
heavily Blighted ground and have it dig its own
grave. As you might imagine, this can be quite

a disconcerting spectacle for the family of the
dearly departed.
Left to their devices, they animate the corpse
for an hour and then leave it behind. Physical
attacks on the corpse do nothing to interrupt
the death demon’s play. They respond to such
attacks with hyperbolic taunts and force the
corpse back to its feet to continue the spectacle.
Special Abilities:
• Possession (Animate Corpse): Death
demons can invade and animate a corpse at
will (no roll needed), forcing it to engage in
activities that pantomime those of the living
and/or lead it to dig its own grave in Blighted
ground (and then flee that host).
• Ethereal: Death demons are always invisible
and incorporeal.
h Dream Demon
Known by the natives as “Night Hags” and
“Gray Men,” dream demons prey upon the
sleeping, or sometimes those on the edge of
sleep. Victims describe waking in a paralyzing
terror to find an old man or woman hunched
on their chest like some gargoyle. Then the
howling begins, a horrible banshee wailing
that cuts through the meat and muscle of even
the bravest souls and strikes directly into theirSkills: Athletics d6, Common Knowledge d6,
victim’s core.
An attack by a dream demon might last
only a few minutes, but survivors claim those
minutes feel like days, and though their victims Pace: 6; Parry: 6; Toughness: 6/8
claim they suffer the demon’s claws and teeth,
they invariably awake to find their bodies
untouched. A dream demon’s real target is that
gray bit of meat between a fella’s ears.
Some dream demon victims have made
their way out into the Fens where they live
in seclusion. They are called “the Sleepless,”
and among certain occult-leaning folks, are
revered as seers.
Attributes: Athletics d10, Smarts d10, Spirit d8,
Strength d8, Vigor d10
Skills: Athletics d10, Fighting d8, Focus d10,
Intimidation d12, Notice d12, Stealth d12+2,
Taunt d10
Pace: 10; Parry: 6; Toughness: 7
Edges: Arcane Resistance
Special Abilities:
• Ethereal: Dream demons can move between
corporeality and incorporeality as a limited
free action.
Bestiary
• Fear (−2): Dream demons cause Fear.
• Fearless: Dream demons are Immune to
Fear and Intimidation.
• Possession (Nightmares): Dream demons
may only possess sleeping victims, Once
possessed, the victim suffers terrible
nightmares and has difficulty sleeping. He
subtracts 1 from all Spirit rolls until the
thing is exorcised.
h Love Demon
These demons assume the form of strikingly
beautiful humans and tune that beauty to the
predilections of their prey.
Once enticed into a carnal embrace, the
love demon transforms into a large slime-
ensconced slug, its blubbery corpus pocked
with tiny mouths full of teeth and sucking,
sand-papery tongues that can clean a human
skeleton of its flesh in minutes and leave nary a
drop of blood. One time a love demon entered
Rosy’s Petticoat and Burlesque House on Devil’s
Den mountain, leaving only a pile of lonesome
bones on every bed.
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d10, Spirit d12,
Strength d8/d12 (slug form), Vigor d8/d12
(slug form)
Fighting d8, Focus d10, Intimidation d8,
Notice d8, Persuasion d12, Taunt d8, Stealth
d12
Edges: Very Attractive (human form)
Gear: Hideout pistol (Range 3/6/12, Damage
2d4), skinning knife (Str+d4).
Special Abilities:
• Devour: In slug form, dozens of ravenous
mouths emerge on the slug’s body. The love
demon makes a Fighting roll at +2. With a
hit, the mouths do 3d6 damage (4d6 with
a raise).
• Enthrall: Love demons don’t have the
possession ability, but instead “enthrall”
their prey. This takes some time—at least a
few hours of courting and flirtation. When
the love demon feels its prey has become
suitably amorous, it makes an opposed
Focus vs Spirit roll. If successful, the victim
is wracked with pleasure and can’t take any
actions—he’s essentially mindless. That’s
when the love demon transforms into slug
form and devours its lover. If the victim
resists, the love demon can’t try again.
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 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
It also can’t transform, and angered at
rejection, attacks the victim with great fury.
• Ethereal: A love demon can switch between
ethereal and human form as a limited
action. It can’t become ethereal when in
slug form.
• Shape Change: The demon may only
transform into slug form once it’s possessed
a victim, and may only transform from slug
form to human after it’s devoured a victim.
h Mind Demon
Among certain fancy types who pursue
book learning, one sometimes encounters
an unfortunate arrogance—the notion that
intellectual rigor holds the unknown at a
safe distance. These individuals, along with
sensitive poet types and introspective folk
singers, are fodder for “mind demons.”
“Knowledge,” wrote Richard the Sod, “comes
always at a price, and a penny ne’er bought
anything worth knowing.” If you go searching
for great truths, best bring along a dash
of humility.
Attributes: Agility d12, Smarts d12, Spirit d10,
Strength 1, Vigor d10
Skills: Athletics d12, Focus d12, Notice d12, Per-
suade d12, Taunt d12
Pace: 10; Parry: 2 Toughness: 7
Edges: —
Special Abilities:
• Ethereal: Mind demons are always invisible
and incorporeal.
• Possession (Delusion): Once it possesses
a victim, a mind demon may make an
opposed roll of Focus vs. Spirit once per day.
If the demon succeeds, the victim acquires
a Minor Delusion, or increases a previous
Delusion to Major. These last until the
demon is exorcised, slowly driving the host
madder until he’s a raving lunatic.
hSoul Demon
Content to leave the lascivious and gluttonous
to their own devices, soul demons turn their
sights upon some of the most upright and
virtuous among us. Fallen preachers, cultists,
and even whole congregations can be won over
by soul demons. In Clay Town, for instance, a
church founded to preach temperance among
the soil eaters fell prey to a particularly violent
soul demon who drove them to acts of
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great violence under the slogan “Better Dead
Than Dirty.”
Many traveling revivalists are known to
be victims of soul demons. The physical
manifestations of soul demons vary wildly.
When Jared Butler, the Demon Deacon of
Jeremiad, died, a thick black cloud of locusts
flew from his mouth, whereas the serpent
handlers of Shadrach are said to raise up
more than your garden variety pit viper in
their praises.
Attributes: Agility d12, Smarts d10, Spirit d12+2,
Strength 1, Vigor d10
Skills: Athletics d12, Focus d10, Notice d12,
Occult d12, Persuasion d12, Taunt d12
Pace: 10; Parry: 2 Toughness: 7
Edges: —
Special Abilities:
• Ethereal: Soul demons are always invisible
and incorporeal.
• Possession (Fouling of the Spirit): Once
its victim’s soul is possessed, a soul demon
can make an opposed roll of Focus versus
Spirit to give the victim a new psychological
Hindrance, preferably corruptive to the
character’s core beliefs (Shift Boss’ call).
h Twin Demon
Whereas most demons plot to destroy humans,
a twin demon is known to become a living,
breathing double of the human who has drawn
their fancy. What follows for the doubled
human is a tale of woe. Janice Gilmore, a young
schoolmarm, was seen in different rooms of
her schoolhouse at the same time. She once
came face-to-face with her double working
at the chalkboard at the head of her own class,
before it gave her a fatal blow to the head with
a speller’s book.
In Varmint, folks talk about Henrich Tench,
a hard-working trapper who came back from
week-long expeditions into the woods loaded
down with pelts, only to hear stories about
how he had been in town the last three nights
racking up tavern bills large enough to wipe
out his profits before his wares were even sold.
As strange as it may sound, sometimes twin
demons do not cause any physical harm to
their human counterparts. What’s more,
humans who have been “doubled” by a twin
demon often seem not to care about their
double, often retreating into denial. Some
 Bestiary

claim to be unable to see their own twin Pace: 8; Parry: 6; Toughness: 8 (2)
demons standing before them. In addition to Edges: —
alarming bystanders, this can lead to severe Special Abilities:
social and domestic dysfunction for the victim. • Armor +2: Leathery hide.
Why do they try to become human? Some say • Claws: Str+d4.
twin demons are evidence of a sort of humanity • Fear: Cave demons prompt a Fear roll on
within the demonic—a desire for something sight.
they can never have. Others say they are just • Fly: Pace 12.
creepy bastards. • Mind Piercer: Cave demons “pierce” the
minds of victims with a high-pitched
One thing’s for sure. Once formed, a twin
scream. As a limited action, it may place
demon attempts to create as much trouble
a Large Blast Template within 12” (24
for its victim as possible—committing crimes,
yards). Everyone inside the template is
severing relationships, making enemies, and
automatically Distracted and must make a
generally acting boorishly.
Spirit roll or take 2d6 damage.
These demons look like formless humanoids • Size 1: Cave demons are big fellas.
with clay-like flesh. They must stick to the • Sonar: The cave demon tracks its victims
shadows while trailing potential victims, for by a form of echolocation. This works
they certainly can’t pass for normal folks well inside enclosed spaces (+1 Notice,
otherwise! +1 Athletics, +1 Fighting), but the demon
Note: A twin demon’s Traits, skills, has a more difficult time in above ground
Hindrances, Edges, Powers, and gear are environs (−1 on all Trait rolls).
identical to the those of its human twin, with
the addition of the Construct special ability.
Special Abilities:
• Taking Notes: A twin demon must spend a
full day observing its victim. If discovered,
it attempts to slink away and find another
host. If not, it becomes an astonishingly
accurate “replica” of its victim and begins
causing mischief.
• Weakness (Duel): Once a twin demon has
taken on a victim’s form, it can only be
banished by the death of its twin, or its twin
defeating it in single combat.

Demons of the Natural World

Cave Demon
Cave demons have bat-like faces and a
massive span of leathery wings. The glowing
black orbs of their eyes radiate a strange
calm and otherworldly intelligence. The
sharp squeaking that precedes their every
movement suggests they are as blind as the
tiny mammals they resemble, though one
spelunker who encountered a cave demon
swore that “the thing couldn’t just see me—it
could see right through me.”
Attributes: Athletics d10, Smarts d8, Spirit d8,
Strength d8, Vigor d6
Skills: Athletics d10, Fighting d8, Intimida-
tion d8, Notice d12, Stealth d12

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 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse

Crick Demon Scarecrow’s Crucifix. The crucifix is precisely

These aquatic devilkin are variously known as what it sounds like: Rough Stob turnip thieves
“the grindylow,” “mari-morgans,” and “mer- who run out of chances find themselves lashed
devils.” Their peering yellow eyes and leathery to wooden frames in the very fields from which
faces are more akin to a snapping turtle than a they stole. Their screams are known to ward
beautiful sea siren, though they do like to sing. off crows more ably than a straw-stuffed shirt,
Crick demons sometimes attack their prey and once those screams have expired, the
with fang and claw. Other times they assume thief constitutes a more succulent morsel to
the shape of a humanoid mist, rise into the scavenge than any pilfered corn might provide.
air, and slam against their victims like a fierce, If a good Blight storm rolls through, the thieving
slapping wave. Their chilling “song,” also takes martyr transforms into a scarecrow that flies
multiple forms. Sometimes they sound like a from its perch and lands in a nearby field.
chorus of frogs, and sometimes they emit the How much actual danger these beasts
high-chiming buzz of August locusts. Survivors constitute remains an issue of debate. Some
have described the effect as hypnotic. folks swear to have encountered these
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit d8, shamblers at dusk and dispatched them merely
Strength d6, Vigor d8 by beating them into what amounts to a pile
Skills: Athletics d6, Fighting d6, Intimida- of overalls. Others claim farm animals have
tion d6, Notice d8, Stealth d8, Taunt d8 gone missing after such sightings, and a few
Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 6 drunkards have turned up in ditches with
Edges: — more holes in their bodies than a honeycomb.
Special Abilities: Though the appearance of scarecrows has
• Aquatic: Pace 8. caused some consternation, the hard-working
• Slap: Str+d4. farmers of Rough Stob have not put aside their
• Chorus: More than two crick demons emit a use of the Scarecrow’s Crucifix, as its value as a
slumber-inducing series of targeted croaks deterrent outweighs the inconvenience caused
and chirps. As a limited action, each demon by these shambling straw men.
may place a Large Blast Template anywhere Most nights, these critters are harmless
within 12” (24 yards). Those within the “shamblers” that pose no threat. On full moons
template must make a Vigor roll or fall into and for several weeks during harvest season
a hypnogogic state and become Stunned. (late summer/early fall), they come to life and
Victims suffer a penalty to the roll equal to seek vengeance against the living.
the number of crick demons after the first
(to a maximum of −4). Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Spirit d8,
• Wave Form: Crick demons have bodies of Strength d8, Vigor d6
water, and take half-damage from physical Skills: Athletics d8, Intimidation d8, Fight-
attacks (round down). Fire or magical ing d8, Notice d6, Stealth d8, Taunt d8
attacks (including weapons with smite cast Pace: 6; Parry: 6; Toughness: 5
on them) cause normal damage. Edges: —
Gear: Scythe (Str+d8).
Cross Demon/Scarecrow Special Abilities:
Desperate times are the mother of invention, • Claws: Pitchfork tines, Str+d6.
and the souls that dwell under the blighted • Construct: +2 to recover from being Shaken,
shadow of Rough Stob Mountain are more ignores 1 point of Wound penalties, does not
desperate than most. What little farming is breathe or suffer from disease or poison.
done in Rough Stob is subsistence-level at best, • Fear (−2): Scarecrows scare. It’s what they
and since the soil there is more apt to cough do.
up quartz or agate than a cornstalk or a potato, • Flying: On full moons and during harvest
Rough Stob farms and gardens are guarded season, scarecrows have a flying Pace of 12.
jealously against theft, be it from wildlife or a • Weakness (Fire): Scarecrows take +4 damage
fellow mountaineer. from fiery attacks.
The people of Rough Stob cleverly addressed
both by instituting the use of the

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 Bestiary

h Dust Demon supply among Holler residents, so dust

These demons resemble what youngins refer demons must often be endured rather than
to as “dirt devils,” the only difference is that defeated.
dust demons swirl with malevolent intent • Weakness (Dissipation): Dust demons are
and do damage like that of a bad windstorm. capricous entities that typically vanish after
There’s been a few reports of peddlers being 2d4+1 combat rounds of mischief.
swept up into a dust demon, spun around in
the air for a spell, dropped to the ground, and Field Demon (Pumpkin Head)
then bludgeoned to death by a deluge of their The fate of a village can rise or fall on the
own curious wares. back of a single harvest, so field demons are
Their whirring winds sound to some folks like regarded with a keen fear in rural areas. A
demented human speech, like a congregation few of them can destroy a good-sized field in
speaking in tongues or a bluegrass yodeler no time, tearing crops from the ground and
getting too far into his cups and mangling the befouling the land.
words to a song. They are more active around harvest time,
Dust demons spin up most frequently on the and the occasional spate of late summer
Piney Dirge Plateau and in areas of the Great and early fall sightings often leads to the
Craggies where the highest mountains choke organization of “devil hunts” by local farmers
off acid rain before it can reach the valley floor. bent on driving the demons out of their fields.
Company town folks tend to deride these hunts
Attributes: Agility d12, Smarts d6, Spirit d8,
as the superstitious hysteria of unsophisticated
Strength d8, Vigor d10
rubes, dubbing them “snipe hunts.”
Skills: Athletics d12, Fighting d8, Notice d8,
Stealth d10 In certain communities, children learn
Pace: 12; Parry: 6; Toughness: 7 from an early age the custom of crafting
Edges: — “pumpkin dolls.” These dolls are blessed
Special Abilities: by local preachers to steward the
• Flight: Pace 15. demons away.
• Wind Blast: Field demons are lurching
Dust demons humanoids who resemble
may use a a twisted pantomime of the
Cone Template rural folk they terrorize.
to blast their They’re often draped in
foes as a limited overalls or moth-eaten
action. Anyone in the work trousers, except
template must make instead of a head
a Strength roll at −2 or they have a tottering,
be hurled 2d6”, taking partially decayed
2d4 damage when pumpkin on their
they hit the ground shoulders, with their
(3d4 if they strike a eyes and mouth
hard object). appearing as violent
• Dust Storm: Dust black slashes.
demons are surrounded
Attributes: Agility d6,
by blinding dust storms
Smarts d4, Spirit d10,
the size of a Large Blast
Strength d8, Vigor d10
Template. Anyone who
Skills: Athletics d6, Fight-
enters the template
ing d10, Intimidation d10,
is automatically
Notice d8, Taunt d8
Distracted.
Pace: 6; Parry: 7; Toughness: 7
• Invulnerable: Dust
Edges: —
demons are immune
Gear: Pitchfork, Str+d6, AP 1
to non-magical attacks.
Those are in short

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 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
Special Abilities:
• Bite/Claws: Str+d4.
• Necrotic Toxin: Str+d4. Anyone Shaken or
Wounded by a field demon’s attack must
make a Vigor roll at −2. Failure means she
contracts a bit of the “rot,” causing small
necrotic patches to appear on her face (the
Ugly (Major) Hindrance until the patches
are healed—by skill or magic—which may be
attempted once per day).
• Resilient: Field demons can take a Wound
before they’re Incapacitated.
• Weakness: A field demon shot in the
head doesn’t take additional damage, but
is destroyed if the attack causes a single
Wound.
Fire Demon
Mine fires burn hot enough to melt steel.
Toxic runoff turns streams and even the air
into poison. To the earliest settlers who came
from the Old World, the mines of the Holler
certainly seemed possessed by devils and they
put a familiar name to that fiery presence:
Caorthannach.
According to folklore, this
demon was a bringer of fire
and a poisoner of land and
water who was driven off the
Emerald Isle and into the ocean
by a sainted priest.
Imagine these immigrants’
surprise when they found the
fire demon had survived her
plunge into the ocean, and
she’d come on ahead to the
New World where she raised
a whole new brood of hell
spawn to await them.
A fire demon
appears as a sulfur-
scorched, smoldering
corpse, its eyes red
hot coals, a crown of flame
encircling its head. Its mere
touch immolates objects
and human skin alike. The
tendrils of smoke curling
from its mouth proves
the old tales right—it
spews fire from its
calcine lungs.
236
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Spirit d8,
Strength d10, Vigor d10
Skills: Athletics d8, Fighting d10, Notice d6,
Stealth d6
Pace: 8; Parry: 7; Toughness: 7
Edges: —
Special Abilities:
• Fear (−2): The smoldering corpse that is a
fire demon isn’t a pleasant sight.
• Immolate: Touch Attack. 2d4 damage, and
the victim automatically catches fire (See
Fire rules in Savage Worlds.)
• Breath Weapon: Once per encounter,
a fire demon can breathe fire in a Cone
Template. Those within must Evade or take
3d6 damage.
Forest Demon
These humanoid-arboreal fiends, sometimes
called “floating trees” or “rabid pineys” by
folks who don’t know any better, are also
occasionally mistaken for the legendary Green
Man. These types of misnomers and mis-
identifications can lead to swift death. Forest
demons are a distillation of the symbiotic and
regenerative power of the wild woodlands they
inhabit, but that power turns to pure
malevolence in the green glowing sap
that illuminates their veins and give
their skin its hue.
They float through the air, a few feet
off the ground. Tree branches seem to
grow from their head into a thicketed
crown interwoven with wild shocks of
viney hair. Their branch-like limbs
extend into sharpened wooden claws.
In older times, some villages
bordering deep forests made small
shrines to them—carving their
grotesque faces into trees,
leaving small trinkets as gifts
from the civilized world. Such
appeasements had no effect, so
these folks started to tender much
more precious gifts and the ritual
known as the Offering came into
being. Despite the many lives lost to this
superstition, the forest demons are as
wrathful as ever.
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6,
Spirit d8, Strength d8, Vigor d10
 Bestiary

Skills: Athletics d8, Fighting d10, Intimida- which glow a mellow orange said to gutter in
tion d10, Notice d8, Stealth d12 the wind like a campfire’s ember.
Pace: 6; Parry: 7; Toughness: 8
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d4, Spirit d6,
Edges: (Imp) Dodge
Strength d12, Vigor d10
Special Abilities:
Skills: Athletics d6, Fighting d10, Intimida-
• Clawed Branches: Str+d6.
tion d10, Notice d4, Stealth d6
• Entangle: Reach 2. Forest demons sprout
Pace: 7; Parry: 6; Toughness: 10 (1)
vines that grapple victims with a successful
Edges: Brute
Athletics +2 roll opposed by Agility. If the
Gear: Tree club (Str+d8).
forest demon is successful, the victim is
Special Abilities:
Entangled. With a raise, he’s Bound.
• Armor +1: Animal hides.
• Fear: Forest demons cause Fear.
• Bite/Claws: Str+d4.
• Fearless: Forest demons are immune to Fear
• Regeneration: Fast.
and Intimidation.
• Very Resilient: Hill demons can take two
• Hover: Forest demons can hover through
Wounds before they’re Incapacitated.
the air, about three feet off the ground, and
• Size 2: Hill demons are big brutes.
can move at Pace 8 while hovering.
• Size 1: Forest demons are larger than most
humans. h Storm Demon
Actual sightings of storm
Hill Demon demons are few and far
between. Most are reported
The b order b etween
by mountaineers in the
the Hogback Hills and
Stygian Peaks and Great
Sootstone Mountains is a
Craggies, leading folks to
weird place to be sure—a
believe they make their nests in
stony land of jagged
the highest peaks of the region,
hills surrounded by
descending to the lowlands
fathomless valleys
only to torture the locals
that seem in places
with malevolent weather.
to drop away into a
bottomless abyss. It is, Storm demons
in the words of Jasper summon are fearsome
Sneed, “a place where Blight storms, often
all of geology seems with powerful winds
to have happened in that send vicious
one fell swoop, and twisters careening
yesterday.” through the Hogback
Hills. These large, incorporeal
This stretch of
demons consist entirely of Blight
convulsed land is
fog that assumes a half-human,
home to many hill
half-avian shape with the legs
demons. Standing
and torso of a man and the
anywhere from eight
shadowy beak, talons, and
to twelve feet tall, they
wings of a giant raptor.
give an appearance
not unlike the trolls of Old Attributes: Agility d12, Smarts d10, Spirit d12,
Country folklore. Their hulking torsos are Strength d12+1, Vigor d12
possessed of incredible strength, and they are Skills: Athletics d12, Fighting d12, Notice d12+1,
known to uproot and debranch small trees to Taunt d12
wield as clubs. Pace: 10; Parry: 8 Toughness: 10
Edges: —
Though their appearance would lead one
Special Abilities:
to imagine them as slow and lumbering, the
• Ethereal: Storm demon are incorporeal and
giants are quite nimble, moving through
invulnerable to non-magical attacks.
cover with a stealth only betrayed by their eyes,

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 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
• Fear (−2): Storm demon inspire deep Fear
in most folks.
• Fearless: Storm Demons are immune to
Fear and Intimidation.
• Size 2: Fear demons are large shapes in the
sky.
• Summon Blight Storm: The storm demon
can summon a Blight storm once per
encounter. The storm lasts 2d6 rounds over
an area 100’ in diameter.
• Weakness: A storm demon can only be
killed in two ways: 1) Being struck by a
bolt of lightning from a Blight storm it’s
summoned, or 2) being lured into the
Otherness, which destroys it in a painful
but spectacular display of lightning and
thunder.
Demons of the Outer Spheres
h Autumnal Demon
Humanity celebrates the bounty of the harvest
even as the land gives up the ghost and
prepares for death. In this moment, temporary
bounty locks hands with coming scarcity, and
rejoicing around the horn of plenty serves
only to inflame anxieties about the inevitable
exhaustion of resources.
Envy and greed are the deadly sins most
associated with harvest demons. Field demons
are thought to conspire with autumnal
demons. When they present themselves in
human form, autumnal demons often take
the persona of a woman with long red hair
marked with a vivid white streak who carries
a mandolin or dulcimer. The animal form she
chooses is most often a black painter.
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d12, Spirit d12,
Strength d10, Vigor d12
Skills: Athletics d8, Fighting d10, Notice d12,
Persuasion d12, Focus d12, Stealth d10
Pace: 8; Parry: 7; Toughness: 8
Edges: Arcane Resistance
Powers: Blind, burrow, drain Power Points, fly,
puppet, summon ally. Power Points: 25
Gear: Large scythe (Str+d10, Two Hands, 1
Reach, −2 Parry, human form only).
Special Abilities:
• Bite: Str+d4/painter form.
• Demonic Powers: Autumnal demons are
flexible in their use of different powers.
• Fear: Anyone who sees an autumnal demon
must make a Fear check.
238
• Fearless: Immune to Fear and Intimidation.
• Shape Change: the autumnal demon
appears as a human woman or black painter
and can transform as a limited action.
• Rot: The presence of a Harvest demon
rots crops, and spoils already harvested
food. It inflicts starvation on a nearby town
or village, resulting in daily deaths and
eventual abandonment until it’s destroyed
or moves on.
h Hibernal Demon
As hot as the summers may burn, winters in
the Holler can be every bit as formidable. This
weather welcomes hibernal demons.
With its whiteout blizzards and bone-
cracking cold, a hibernal demon brings scarcity
and hunger amplified by the psychic dangers
of isolation and inactivity. Of the deadly sins,
sloth rules the day, and hibernal demons
find their footing in the spirits of men and
women cloistered away from the sun and
human society.
Long spates of isolation can give way to acts of
sudden violence, as was the case of Anderson
Tink. Tink, a Broadus farmer, was overtaken by
a hibernal demon one winter after a month-
and-a-half of snow. He dispatched his wife and
children with an axe and disappeared into the
frozen wilderness never to be seen again.
A hibernal demon’s human shape resembles
a rime-racked witch, naked to the world, an
icy blue hue upon its skin. Its animal form is a
foaming-mouthed albino bear.
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d10, Spirit d10,
Strength d12, Vigor d12+2
Skills: Athletics d6, Fighting d12, Focus d10,
Intimidation d12, Notice d12, Stealth d10,
Taunt d10
Pace: 6; Parry: 8; Toughness: 9
Edges: Arcane Resistance, Tough as Nails
Powers: Havoc, drain Power Points, puppet, zombie.
Power Points: 25
Gear: Ice scepter (Str+d6, human form only).
Special Abilities:
• Bite: Str+d6 (bear form only)
• Blizzard: During its season of power
(winter), the mere presence of a hibernal
demon conjures a perpetual blizzard in a
nearby town or village. This results in daily
deaths and eventual abandonment until the
demon is destroyed or moves on.

• Demonic Powers: Hibernal demons have
multiple powers available to them.
• Fear: Hibernal demons inspire fear.
• Fearless: Immune to Fear and Intimidation.
• Hardy: A second Shaken result does not
cause a Wound.
• Shape change: A hibernal demon can switch
between his human and bear forms at will.
h Midsummer Demon
High summer near the borders of Faefall can
be pretty as a picture postcard, but don’t let
that beauty fool you. In an afternoon, a breezy
green day can turn into a dead still heat. The
rains of spring burn off into the austere heat
of summer, the Blight traps the balminess,
and the air becomes a stultifying chamber of
oppression.
Now you’re in the territory of the midsummer
demons, which are known to drive men and
women wild with their heat. Random acts of
rage as well as plots born of jealousy and pride
are the hallmarks of their unsavory work.
Rabid wildfires follow extreme drought in
their presence.
The corporeal form of the midsummer
demon is most often a heavily bearded and
thickly built man with the broad shoulders of
a laborer but the disdainful gaze of a patrician,
as powerful as he is scornful. Of the deadly sins,
midsummer demons are most associated with
Wrath and Pride, and are thought to conspire
with fire demons and storm demons.
Attributes: Agility d10, Smarts d10, Spirit d12,
Strength d12, Vigor d12
Skills: Athletics d10, Fighting d12, Focus d12,
Intimidation d12, Notice d10, Persuasion d10,
Pace: 7; Parry: 8; Toughness: 8
Edges: Arcane Resistance, Tough as Nails
Powers: Blast, bolt, puppet, smite. Power Points:
20
Gear: Hot poker (Str+d6, may set flammable
objects on fire).
Special Abilities:
• Demonic Powers: Midsummer demons may
use multiple powers.
• Fear: Midsummer demons cause Fear.
• Fearless: Immune to Fear and Intimidation.
• Hardy: A second Shaken result does not
cause a Wound.
• Wildfire: During his season of power, the
mere presence of a midsummer demon
creates a dry supernatural heatwave
Bestiary
in a nearby town or village resulting in
daily deaths and eventual abandonment
(particulars are the Shift Boss’ call) until it’s
destroyed or moves on.
h Vernal Demon
The vernal demon is, of course, the demonic
entity most associated with springtime. While
spring signals the return of life to our fields
and forests, the mechanisms of that return can
be violent indeed, and this is where we find the
vernal demon lurking.
Floods. Mudslides. April storms are known
to be powerful enough to wash out roadways
in the foothills for weeks at a time. The vernal
demon goes to work on the bodies and minds
of those caught in the floods, fomenting
a powerful loneliness that turns almost
invariably to lust.
Of the deadly sins, vernal demons are most
associated with Lust and Gluttony, and as
such, are thought to work in concert with love
demons. Where one finds humans hungering
for companionship of mind or flesh, vernal
demons are at work.
The vernal demon tends to appear as either
a wolf with an otherworldly golden coloration
or a wild-eyed goat man.
Attributes: Agility d10, Smarts d10, Spirit d12,
Strength d10, Vigor d12
Skills: Athletics d10, Fighting 10, Focus d10,
Intimidation d10, Notice d12, Persuasion d12,
Stealth d10, Taunt 12
Pace: 8; Parry: 7; Toughness: 8
Edges: Arcane Resistance
Powers: Beast friend, elemental manipulation,
growth/shrink, puppet, slumber. Power Points:
20
Gear: A walking staff (Str+d6, goat man form
only).
Special Abilities:
• Bite: Str+d6, wolf form only
• Demonic Powers: Vernal demons have
several powers at their disposal.
• Fear: A Fear check is required when
encountering a Vernal demon.
• Fearless: Demons are immune to Fear and
Intimidation.
• Flood: During his season of power (spring),
the mere presence of the demon causes
perpetual rain and eventual flooding in a
nearby town or village, resulting in daily
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 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
deaths and eventual abandonment until it’s
destroyed or moves on.
• Shape Change: A vernal demon can change
shape into a golden wolf or a goat man as a
limited action.
Dusk Demon
Dusk demons lurk in the twilight hours, when
the business of the day is winding down into
the introspection of the evening, and humanity
has grown weary and let its guard down. Dusk
demons prey upon insecurities and greed.
Wherever we see men plotting to get their
thumbs on the scale to extract the heaviest
possible pound of flesh, we see dusk demons
at work. Victims of dusk demons include
Jackson Fetter, known more infamously as
the Bunktown Butcher, whose desire to fill his
shop with ample cuts of meat landed several
of his neighbors on hooks in his freezer. June
Simpson, or the “Debutante of Dogwood,” is
thought to have fallen prey to a dusk demon
prior to the vicious attacks she carried out
against several other young Dogwood beauties.
In human form they appear as mysterious
strangers, often hooded or hatted, and draped
in a long, dark coat. In animal form they fly as
ravens through twilit skies or slither down dark
alleys as snakes.
Attributes: Agility d10, Smarts d6, Spirit d8,
Strength d8, Vigor d8
Skills: Athletics d10, Fighting d8,
Focus d8, Notice d10, Persuasion d6, Taunt d8,
Stealth d12
Pace: 6; Parry: 6; Toughness: 6
Edges: Assassin
Powers: Confusion, light/darkness, mind reading,
mind wipe, puppet. Power Points: 10
Gear: Hideout pistol (Range 3/6/12, Damage
2d4, human form only), skinning knife
(Str+d4, human form only).
Special Abilities:
• Bite (snake form only): 1d4 damage,
paralyzing poison (see Savage Worlds)
• Demonic Powers: Dusk demons have
several powers available.
• Fear: Dusk demons cause Fear.
• Fly (raven): Pace 12 in raven form.
• Shape Change: The dusk demon can switch
between human, raven, and snake form as
a limited action.
240
Fae
Fae are ancient, mystical beings from the Old
World. They are among the oldest beings in
existence, predating humans and most animal
species. During the great migration to the New
World, many fae stowed away on immigrant
ships, intrigued by the excited babble about a
magical land across the seas.
They settled quickly into the verdant hollows
and hills, delighted at the untouched wildness
and natural abundance, and resumed their
ancient roles as mischievous tricksters
and wardens of the land. When the Big
Boys sealed off the Holler and began their
industrial operations, the fae withdrew into
the Faefall Mountains—a stretch of unspoiled
land that they have cultivated into their own
magical realm.
The denizens of Faefall don’t suffer fools.
They steadfastly protect the boundaries
of their enchanted land from Blight and
wandering blunderer alike. Many fae regard
humans as harmless sources of entertainment,
delighting in the mischief they unleash on
them, which usually entails theft, riddles, or
inscrutable bargains.
Wiser fae realize humans are a threat and
view them with antipathy—for these fae,
everything about a human offends their senses,
from their smells to their rough, barreling
voices. The humans they allow to live among
them in Faefall must adapt to their ways and
treat their realm with proper reverence and
awe, else they meet devilish ends. This can
mean folks becoming accustomed to a variety
of impish (and sometimes tragic impositions)—
from pilfered heirlooms to ruined crops to the
theft of children (of course, the parents always
receive a changeling in return).
h Bodach
Among the strange breeds that constitute
the fae of the Holler, the bodach may be the
strangest—and most dangerous. Since time
immemorial, parents have warned their
children of a creature seemingly designed
specifically to terrorize the young.
A loathsome thing that creeps in the night,
all fangs and claws and dull orange eyes— this
beastie lurks in abandoned houses, ash pits

or flooded quarries. Everywhere danger
waits for careless children, this bogeyman is
close at hand.
The tallest of the Holler fae, the bodach
can reach heights of six feet. It’s drawn to
the warmth of fires, and more than a few
households have been known to fasten metal
screens over their fireplaces at night to
deny the bodach passage from chimney to
living room.
Should the loathsome thing enter a home,
it removes what it perceives as valuable——
candlesticks and bric-a-brac—and slips
back into the night. But hear that youngin
bawling over there in that crib? The bodach
is just as likely to snatch that child for the Fae
Queen’s court.
Attributes: Agility d10, Smarts d6, Spirit d8,
Strength d6, Vigor d8
Skills: Athletics d10, Fighting d6, Intimida-
tion d8, Notice d8, Persuasion d4, Stealth d12,
Taunt d6
Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 6
Hindrances: Curious, Obligation (Major—Steal
children for the Fae Queen)
Edges: Acrobat, Alertness, Extraction, Scaven-
ger, Thief
Special Abilities:
• Bite: Str+d6
• Fear: Bodachs are frightening to behold.
Adults who see a Bodach make a Fear check.
Children or adolescents who see a bodach
make a Fear check at −4.
• Low Light Vision: The bodach ignores
penalties for Dim and Dark Illumination.
• Stun: Once per day, the bodach can unleash
a piercing wail that mimics the cries of
a distressed human child. Place a Large
Blast Template anywhere within 12”. Any
character within must make a Vigor roll at
−2 or be Stunned.
• Wallwalker: Bodachs walk on vertical or
inverted surfaces just as humans walk on
the earth.
Changeling
The Fae Queen surrounds herself with human
children—she finds their rambunctiousness
curious and delightful, enjoys dressing them
in elaborate costumes, and teaches them to
perform plays and pantomime routines to
entertain her at court.
Bestiary
Strangely enough, the more human children
she has in her possession, the more powerful
her magic seems. This correlation between
youth and power is not lost on her and she
collects them from the local Faefall villages
(and sometimes even dips into the Great
Craggies or Hogback Hills) with regularity.
A missing child imparts tremendous trauma
on the parents and that doesn’t quite seem
fair to the Queen. Whenever a child is stolen
(usually by a bodach), she replaces it with a
changeling. This child-like construct of her
conjuration, while appearing identical to the
stolen human child, possesses none of that
child’s personality or spirit.
The changeling is quite dull in every way and
nearly insensate to pain. The parents often
mark an unfortunate change in their child’s
personality but are otherwise none-the-
wiser. The child’s transformation is generally
attributed to “eating some bad clay,” or “a knock
on the head while playing,” or unfortunate
manifestations of familial inheritance.
Attributes: Agility d4, Smarts d4, Spirit d4,
Strength d4, Vigor d4
Skills: Athletics d4, Fighting d4, Notice d4−1,
Shooting d4, Stealth d6, Thievery d6
Pace: 6; Parry: 4; Toughness: 3
Hindrances: Clumsy, Greedy (Major), Secret
(Major—Not a Real Child)
Edges: —
Gear: Improvised weapons if threatened.
Special Abilities:
• Construct: +2 to recover from being Shaken;
ignores 1 point of Wound penalties; does not
breathe or suffer from disease or poison.
• Size −1: Changelings appear as children.
• Weakness (True Identity): If doused
with water from a fresh mountain spring
(good luck finding that!), or the target
of a successful detect arcana spell, the
changeling’s identity becomes clear and she
instantly dissembles into a bundle of sticks.
h Fae Queen
The Fae Queen is a fiercely beautiful woman, at
least when she assumes the shape of a queen
upon her lurid mushroom throne (highly
toxic to anyone except her) and presides over
a court of chittering pixies, irascible spriggans,
and human children.
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 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse

She’s just as likely, however, to be in the slighted). In the wilds of the greater Holler,
shape of a wolf, raven, deer, bear, or squinch- she’s a cautious, stealthy, and wise sentinel, her
eyed hermit in the woods. Unlike other soul tuning itself to the future.
fae, she travels far and wide over the Holler, Attributes: Agility d10, Smarts d12+4,
always in disguise, to parse the business Spirit d12+2, Strength d8, Vigor d12
of humans and augur what their restless Skills: Athletics d10, Battle d12+2, Common
machinations might mean for her realm. Knowledge d12, Fighting d8, Healing d12,
She’s a complex being—assuming the shapes Intimidation d8, Notice d12+1, Occult d12,
of so many kinds of creatures has granted her Performance d12, Persuasion d12, Riding d10,
characteristics of all of them, which augments Shooting d8, Spellcasting d12+2, Stealth d12,
her capricious nature. Survival d10, Taunt d12, Thievery d12
At court, she tends toward boredom, Pace: 8; Parry: 8; Toughness: 10 (2)
narcissism, and sensual indulgence. In the Hindrances: Overconfident, Jealous, Obli-
woods of Faefall, she dispenses kindness, gation (Major—Protect Faefall from the Big
beauty, and justice, unless she’s given a Boys)
reason to turn nasty (and she is easily Edges: Arcane Background (Magic),
Arcane Protection, Block (Imp), Cham-
pion, Combat Reflexes, Command
Presence, Dodge, Elan, Famous, Extraction
(Imp), Inspire, Natural Leader, No Mercy,
Power Surge, Rabble-Rouser
Powers: The Fae Queen can select any
power she desires. Power Points: 40
Gear: Sparkling wand (Str+d4), dress
of viney thorns (Armor +2).
Special Abilities:
• Face of the Dark Queen: The Fae Queen
can reveal the face of the “Dark Queen,” a
demonic visage. Victims witnessing the
transformation must make a Fear roll at −2.
• Fly: Pace 12.
• Immortal: The Fae Queen is immortal but
retreats into the Fae Dusk for 1d4 months if
defeated in battle.
• Regeneration (Fast): The Fae Queen
makes a Vigor roll every round when
Wounded (or even Incapacitated). With a
success she heals one Wound. A raise heals
two.
• Shape Change: The fae queen can change
into any natural creature as a limited action.
She may speak while in such a form if she
wishes (but rarely does).

Kelpies
The strange beasts take the form of beautiful
steeds that mill about the banks of
cricks and streams. They await the
approach of unwary travelers,
and when one places a hand upon
it, they discover not a smooth coat
of hair, but a substance as sticky
as tar. Stuck now to this powerful

242
 Bestiary

trickster, the victim is dragged into the water

and drowned.
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d8 (A), Spirit d10,
Strength d10, Vigor d10
Skills: Athletics d10, Fighting d8, Notice d8,
Persuasion d12, Stealth d8
Pace: 12; Parry: 6; Toughness: 9
Hindrances: Vow (Major—Drown Faefall
Intruders for the Fae Queen)
Edges: Fleet-Footed
Special Abilities:
• Aquatic: Pace 12
• Ride to the Bottom: When a victim touches a
kelpie who is near a body of water, that part
of the kelpies’ coat turns into a black, tar-
like substance. The victim makes a Strength
roll or becomes Bound. The next round, the
Kelpie dives into the water and carries the
victim to the bottom where it waits for it to
drown.
• Shape Change: Kelpies can switch between
kelpie and human form as a limited action.
They manifest as exceedingly beautiful
humans.

Pixies
If pixies aren’t the spitting image of the fairies Attributes: Agility d10, Smarts d6, Spirit d8,
you’ve had in your imagination since your
mama told you fairy tales in your crib, they S k i l l s :
are dang sure close. They are roughly the
size of dragonflies, thin and willowy, and
similarly winged.
They fly about with great speed, with the
ability to hover, reverse course, and zigzag like
hummingbirds. With their narrow faces, bright
eyes, and rakishly arched eyebrows, pixies are
a pretty sight to behold, but make no mistake,
they are far more formidable than they seem.
Those who claim to have had close
encounters invariably describe experiencing
strange delusions, and a few unlucky toughs
with rowdy intentions have returned from
their encounters displaying a full-on mania
that’s come to be known as the “fae lights.” “Old
Eddie cain’t work no more,” you might hear.
“He’s got a head full of fae lights.”
Pixies enjoy practicing “military flight
maneuvers” and many see themselves as fierce
warriors. The fiercest (and smartest) of these
are sometimes hand-picked by the Fae Queen
to represent her outside Faefall. These rare
representatives take on the title of Colonel.
Pixies
Strength 1, Vigor d6
Athletics d10, Common
Knowledge d4, Folklore d6, Gam-
bling d6, Healing d4, Notice d6, Occult d8,
Performance d6, Persuasion d8, Repair d6,
Spellcasting d8, Stealth d8, Taunt d8, Thiev-
ery d8
Pace: —; Parry: 2; Toughness: 1
Hindrances: Big Mouth, Impulsive
Edges: Arcane Background (Magic), Dodge
Powers: Blind (with pixie dust), drain Power
Points, invisibility, slumber, speed.
Power Points: 10
Special Abilities:
• Fly: Pace 12. They are incapable of walking.
They may briefly land on objects, but
otherwise are always in flight. They can
hover and reverse direction with ease.
• Size −4 (Tiny): Pixies are tiny, and often
mistaken for fireflies at a distance.
• Pixie Swarm: In high numbers pixies
are extremely dangerous, treat them as a
swarm.

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 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
h Pixie Colonel
Attributes: Agility d12, Smarts d6, Spirit d8,
Strength 1, Vigor d6
Skills: Athletics d12, Common Knowledge d4,
Fighting d6, Folklore d6, Gambling d8, Heal-
ing d4, Notice d6, Occult d10, Performance d8,
Persuasion d8, Repair d6, Spellcasting d10,
Stealth d10, Taunt d8, Thievery d10
Pace: —; Parry: 5; Toughness: 1
Hindrances: Big Mouth, Impulsive
Edges: Arcane Background (Magic), Arcane
Resistance, Dodge, Scavenger, Quick
Powers: Blind (with pixie dust), drain Power
Points, invisibility, slumber, speed.
Power Points: 15
Special Abilities:
• Fly: Pace 12. They are incapable of walking.
They may briefly land on objects, but
otherwise are always in flight. They can
hover and reverse direction with ease.
• Size −4 (Tiny): Pixie colonels are just as small
as the regular kind.
Scrummies
The Fae Queen created these wobbling,
flying sentinels to protect Faefall from Blight.
Scrummies are Blight-eaters, protecting
the verdant land from air and water-borne
pollutants. An unfed scrummy is about the
size of a dragon fly and possessed of a finely
featured, human-like face, similar to a pixie.
When they binge on Blight, their little
abdomens swell and pulse. They grow larger
and larger, to about the size of a baby pig (with
wings), until they explode in a foul-smelling
flash of black light, the Blight blinking out of
existence with them as they die.
Scrummy
Attributes: Agility d12, Smarts d4 (A), Spirit d6,
Strength 1, Vigor d4
Skills: Athletics d12, Notice d6, Shooting d6,
Stealth d6
Pace: —; Parry 2; Toughness: 2
Hindrance: Vow (Major—Cleanse Faefall of
Blight for the Fae Queen)
Edges: Arcane Resistance, Dodge (Imp)
Special Abilities:
• Blight Blow Gun: Some scrummies fashion
Blight Blow Guns out of reeds to discourage
humans from interfering with their duties.
The guns have a Range of 2/4/8 and anyone
244
hit by them takes 2d4 damage and must
make a Blight Corruption check.
• Blight Burst: When a swollen scrummy
bursts, it releases a concentrated blast of
blight. Victims in a Small Blast Template
make a Vigor roll or suffer 2d4 damage and
make a Blight Corruption Check.
• Immune to Poison and Disease: Scrummies
eat Blight, so they laugh off poisons and
diseases.
• Fly: Pace 6.
• Size −4 (Tiny): Scrummies are the size of
dragon flies, though they balloon to Size −1
when full of Blight.
Spriggans
Spriggans stand about three feet in height.
They appear carved from the trees they dart
about, their skin wood-like and whorled with
intricate patterns. They are normally reclusive,
and when surveying humans, almost invariably
take on the shape of a shrub or some other bit
of foliage.
Spriggans have the faces of wizened old men
and women. Occasionally their need for sport
leads them to engage folks in riddle games or
dancing contests.
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Strength d6,
Spirit d8, Vigor d6
Skills: Athletics d8, Common Knowl-
edge d6, Fighting d6, Folklore d6,
Gambling d8, Occult d6, Performance d6,
Persuasion d8, Shooting d6, Spellcasting d6,
Stealth d8, Taunt d8, Thievery d6
Pace: 8; Parry: 5; Toughness: 5
Hindrances: Impulsive, Stubborn
Edges: Arcane Background (Magic), Arcane
Resistance (Imp)
Gear: Skinning knife (Str+d4).
Powers: Beast Friend, confusion, teleport. Power
Points: 10
Special Abilities:
• Size −1: Spriggans are only three feet tall.
Sylvan
Four-feet tall, reserved and serious, with
fair faces and pointy ears, the sylvan have no
time for games, as they concern themselves
with weighty metaphysical questions and
the protection of Faefall. They live in small,
rigidly hierarchical enclaves inside the
labyrinthine trunks or the expansive canopies
of ancient trees.
 Bestiary

The wisest serve as advisors to the Fae Queen, into the darkness. Like spriggans, their faces
while the martially inclined become expert could be mistaken for that of an elderly human,
bowmen and hex-throwers and form the bulk though there is nothing even vaguely human
of the Fae Queen’s militia, deriving power from about the double rows of shark-like fangs that
the strange sigils they etch upon their skins. ring their mouths.
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d8, Spirit d8, Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Spirit d6
Strength d8, Vigor d6 Strength d4, Vigor d6
Skills: Athletics d8, C o m m o n Skills: Athletics d8, Common Knowl-
Knowledge d8, Fighting d8, Folk- edge d4, Fighting d6, Folklore d4,
lore d8, Healing d8, Notice d8, Occult d10, Gambling d6, Occult d4,
Performance d6, Persuasion d6, Riding d8, Persuasion d4, Repair d8, Shooting d6,
Shooting d8, Spellcasting d6, Stealth d8, Sur- Stealth d6, Taunt d6, Thievery d8
vival d6, Taunt d6 Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 5 (1)
Pace: 6; Parry: 6; Toughness: 4 Hindrances: Jealous, Thin-Skinned (Minor),
Hindrances: Overconfident Vengeful (Major)
Edges: Arcane Background (Magic), Arcane Edges: Arcane Resistance, Dodge (Imp)
Resistance, Dodge, Extraction, Marksman, Gear: Mining pick (Str+d4), kitchen pot (+1
Rapid Fire, Trademark Weapon (Bow) Armor, head).
Powers: Deflection, healing, slumber. Power Special Abilities:
Points: 15 • Bite: Str+d6.
Gear: Sylvan bow (15/30/60, 2d8, AP 1), sylvan • Low Light Vision: Tommyknockers ignore
blade (Str+d6, AP 2). penalties for Dim and Dark Illumination.
Special Abilities: • Invisibility: Tommyknockers may become
• Infravision: Sylvans ignore Dim and Dark invisible as a limited action (−4 to affect
Illumination penalties. them with direct attacks).
• Size −1: Sylvans are about four feet tall. • Size −1: Tommyknockers are smaller than
humans.
Tommyknockers • Wall Walker: Full Pace and may run.
To m m y k n o c k e r s rule the
underworld of Faefall, from Welkie
small hidey-holes to expansive Welkies are like pixies, but their legs
natural caverns. As evasive as are closer to those of mosquitoes
they are larcenous by nature, and other such insects that can
tommyknockers make their alight on the water. They are
presence known by the absence of kind of like tommyknockers,
trinkets that catch their eye. Before too, in that they have razor
they retreated to Faefall with their sharp teeth inside a mouth
brethren, they deeply fancied that’s too big for their
kitchen pots as tiny heads.
headwear, collected If that’s not enough, they
quite a few, and have are possessed of a single,
passed them down for long stinger that emerges
generations. The pots are often from their backside and
too big for their heads, which makes transmits a hallucinogenic
for a rather comic bobbing about toxin to its victim. Welkies
as they walk, but that humorous don’t talk as much as pixies,
image belies their nature. primarily limiting their
Standing anywhere from two to three feet tall, conversation to squeaky-
when cornered, the tommyknocker uses its pitched insults. They often keep company with
Shadow Step ability to draw itself up into what kelpies and scrummies.
appears to be nothing more than a bundle of Attributes: Agility d10, Smarts d4, Spirit d8,
shadows and “steps” across the room, skittering Strength 1, Vigor d6
up walls, or across rafters and disappearing

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 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse

Skills: Athletics d10, Common Knowledge d4, Pace: —; Parry: 2; Toughness: 2

Fighting d4, Occult d4, Notice d6, Perfor- Edges: Arcane Resistance, Arcane Background
mance d6, Persuasion d4, Spellcasting d6, (Magic)
Stealth d8, Taunt d10, Thievery d6 Powers: Puppet, mind wipe. Power Points: 15
Pace: —; Parry: 4; Toughness: 1 Special Abilities:
Hindrances: Big Mouth, Vengeful (Major) • Construct: +2 to recover from being Shaken;
Edges: Arcane Background (Magic), Arcane ignores 1 point of Wound penalties; does not
Resistance, Dodge breathe or suffer from disease or poison.
Powers: Confusion, drain Power Points, invisibility. • Ethereal: Immune to non-magical attacks.
Power Points: 10 • Fly: Pace 12.
Special Abilities: • Infravision: Halve penalties for Illumination
• Bite: Str+d6. when tracking warm targets.
• Fly: Pace 12. They are incapable of walking. • Size −4 (Tiny): Willer wisps are tiny balls of
They may briefly light on objects, but glowing green light.
otherwise are always in flight. They can
hover and reverse direction with ease.
• Sting: With a successful hit, the victim Haints
makes a Spirit roll at −2 or acquires a Major
Delusion Hindrance for one week. The Folks are mindful when they bury their dead.
nature of the delusion is Shift Boss’ call, but In certain towns, funerals can last days, and
typically is one that makes the victim leave a body interred without a proper “sitting up”
the area and leave the welkies alone. (see page 34) is said to await their loved ones
• Size −4 (Tiny): Welkies are small like pixies. in the next world with a chip on their shoulder.
For all the keening over the dead, the Holler is
Willer Wisp home to a wide variety of spirits who simply
Sometimes spotted outside of Faefall, willer refuse to move on to that mysterious place.
wisps are bright, greenish balls of floating Haints have always existed. Many are
light that beckon men and women into bogs revenants, those who were unjustly killed
or caves. Are these folks lured by thoughts of and seek revenge. Others died in states of
treasure, like the wayfarers who struck out extreme loneliness or heartbreak, or with a
after leprechauns and their fabled fortunes? deep, unfulfilled desire. Since the Sealing Off,
Or is the lure something more visceral and the time/space disjunction makes the normal
erotic, like the siren’s songs reputed to lure passage of souls into the afterworld difficult,
fishermen to watery graves? and the number of haints have increased.
The people of Cussfoot Fens tell cautionary Some haints possess a solid (often necrotized)
tales of wayfarers following wisps in search hunk of their human form, while others
of treasure only to find themselves stumbling becoming the whispery kind of haunt that
into the den of Green Maggie, Jessie Ratshank, curls like chimney smoke.
or any of the legendary swamp witches that Tortured souls who die without being
lurk there. thoroughly corrupted by Blight become haints.
The miners in Marrow share the tale of Ned The unfortunate ones who are riddled with
Carroway, a shot firer who, after being trapped Blight becomes demons.
underground by a methane explosion, spent
three days lost in the dark only to be rescued Critter Ghosts
at the edge of death by a wisp that led him Folks aren’t the only once-breathing things
to a previously unknown exit. It is common that can rise from their graves. How else do
parlance in the Holler to describe the least you explain the Black Creek Yowler, the feline
predictable individuals as being “as flighty as phantom lurking in the Fens for generations?
an old willer wisp.” This is not a compliment. Or the Misty Owls of Pine Screech Gap? Or
Attributes: Agility d12, Smarts d8, Spirit d10, the mottled bear, known as Uncle Bonk, once
Strength 1, Vigor d8 forced to fight men in a gouging circle, now
Skills: Athletics d12, Notice d10, Persua- raging in the crags above Stump Town?
sion d10, Spellcasting d8

246

Critter ghosts retain the stats of the original
critter but increase their Intimidation a die
type for their spectral anger, and give them the
following Special Abilities: Fear, and if the Shift
Boss so chooses, Ethereal (as a limited action).
h Albin Taylor
Albin is a mysterious undead ghoul who ferries
people across any body of water in the Holler
in exchange for dead birds.
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit d12,
Strength d12, Vigor d12
Skills: Athletics d6, Common Knowledge d10,
Fighting d8, Folklore d10, Intimidation d10,
Notice d8, Persuasion d6, Occult d12, Shoot-
ing d8, Stealth d8
Pace: 6; Parry: 6; Toughness: 10
Hindrances: Obligation (Major—Feed dead
birds to demons)
Edges: —
Gear: Oar (Str+d6).
Special Abilities:
• Ferryman: Albin Taylor can teleport himself
to any location in the Holler where travelers
need to cross a body of water.
• Undead: +2 Toughness; +2 to recover from
being Shaken; Called Shots do no extra
damage; doesn’t breathe; immune to
disease and poison.
h Little Sallie Toadstool
Sallie Comstock was a right pretty
little gal, everyone said it, but her
mother, Lula Comstock, was as
overbearing as Sallie was pretty,
and especially so ever since her
husband Dolph got backed
over by a cotton truck
at the loading docks of
Ashdown #1.
Lula always prided
herself on her looks, but
after Dolph passed, she
got to looking sallow and
threadbare. If she couldn’t be
a beauty, she could make little
Sallie into one, and maybe
Eloise Bondurant would run
one of those beauty pageants
for youngins again.
But it vexed Lula that
Sallie was a tomboy
Bestiary
and spent all her time down near the crick,
collecting toads, salamanders, and other little
critters. Lula’s meanness toward Sallie (which
was likely all mixed together with grief about
her husband) got worse and worse, berating
her up one side and down the other.
The story goes that Sallie ran off into the
woods. With nobody to take her anger out on,
Lula kept going downhill and eventually got
on the varnish. She was overdosed and dead
before anybody knew it.
After Lula died, Sallie came back, a good bit
different, to say the least. Travelers who’ve
survived an encounter with her in the Hogback
Hills or Ghost Ridge describe it like this—they
hear a girl a-laughing off in the woods a piece.
Then she comes out on the road in broad
daylight, her bright blonde hair shining
in the sun.
Sallie slowly combs her hair with a fancy
comb, as silver and gold coins fall from her
bright locks and land right there on the road.
When a traveler moves closer, she starts
combing faster, seemingly oblivious to them,
and more coins shower down.
Then something even more peculiar
happens. A toad falls out. And another
one. And another. And then a whole
shower of toads! She’s just getting
started. Sallie combs faster and faster
and lord what doesn’t come out—
cockroaches, fire ants, rats, lizards,
spiders, and snakes! That vermin
starts eating on her and swarming
after anybody within reach.
Now, a person’s running by
then, and that’s all they see. Folks
who’ve come back the next say
there’s no coins on the ground
and no trace of Sallie, except for
that comb.
Special Abilities:
• Goldilocks Swarm: As
victims approach Sallie, she remains
stationary and never moves. She
combs her hair, silver and gold
coins falling onto the ground.
When anyone gets within
fifteen feet, the coins
disappear and turn into
a swarm of vermin. Two
additional small swarms
247
 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
emerge from her hair each round until Sally
herself is devoured by them 2d4 rounds
after the first emerges. Use Small Blast
Template swarms from Savage Worlds.
• Fear: Witnessing Sallie being devoured
prompts a Fear check.
• Invulnerable: Sallie is invulnerable to
attacks.
• Weakness: Her own vermin swarms.
Misty
Unlike sadsacks and revenants, misties don’t
bother bringing their bodies along for their
return trips, just a swirling approximation of
their former selves (“a tornado of tears,” some
call it), slipping into and out of proper shape.
Lacking any reliance on mortal locomotion,
misties blow about with changing winds and
seasons, sometimes actively seeking the balm
of companionship, and sometimes rambling
about the shadows and fog, moaning as if to
remind themselves they haven’t acquired
sweet oblivion quite yet.
What’s worse, their disembodied state grants
misties a tendency to puddle, separate, and
finally blend, so after enough months and
years, a tenacious misty may be comprised
of any number of departed lie-abouts—lost
children, drunkards or preacher men, other
spirits. Their caterwauling is apt to bespeak a
confusing host of motivations.
In Corncob Gap, folks speak of a misty
comprised of victims of a bloody feud that rails
ceaselessly against itself while wandering the
Rustic Road, whereas the people of Marrow
swear to midnight encounters with Baby Willie,
a mist comprised of several children and a
crestfallen miner who wails like a parched
infant to express his desire for one last swig of
Cherry Bounce.
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit d10,
Strength d6, Vigor d6
Skills: Athletics d8, Common Knowledge d8,
Fighting d6, Folklore d8, Intimidation d8,
Notice d8, Occult d8, Stealth d10, Taunt d8
Pace: 8; Parry: 5; Toughness: 5
Gear: Thrown objects (Str+d4)
Special Abilities:
• Babble: Multiple souls that have converged
within the same misty often argue with
each other. This raucous, unearthly babble
is quite disorienting. Anyone within 6”
of a misty must make a Spirit roll as a
248
free action at the beginning of her turn or
become Distracted and Vulnerable.
• Ethereal: Misties are immune to all but
magical damage.
• Fear −2: Misties are terrifying creatures.
• Low Light Vision: Misties ignore penalties
for Dim and Dark Illumination.
h Revenant
From time to time, a dead person returns
with a bit more spring in their step than the
garden variety sadsack, hell bent on righting
a wrong. Depending upon the disposition
of the departed’s remains—as well as other
details such as cycles of the moon, recent
precipitation, and other vagaries about which
no two old-timers can fully agree—some folks
have been known to come back with more vim
and vigor than they’d possessed in life.
Unruly revenants have even been known to
put a dent in the Big Boys’ operations from time
to time. When Handy Janson, a fine gouger
from Burlton, mysteriously disappeared after
losing a match that cost some company guards
a wad of scrip, the village passed a full fortnight
in dread after he returned and took ownership
of one of the Bondurant’s dogleg mines.
He sent a dozen guards out feet first before
some Kramer-Holt agents arrived to send him
back to his grave. Estelle Rood’s followers have
a saying about revenants: “Revenants come
back just like they were before, only double,”
and it’s the rare man, woman or child who
comes back friendly.
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit d8,
Strength d10, Vigor d10
Skills: Athletics d6, Fighting d10, Notice d6,
Stealth d6
Pace: 6; Parry: 7; Toughness: 9
Hindrances: Vow (Major—Seek revenge on
those responsible for their death), Vengeful
(Major)
Edges: Berserk
Special Abilities:
• Bite/Claws: Str+d4.
• Fearless: Immune to Fear and Intimidation.
• Fear: Revenants are scary sorts.
• Undead: +2 Toughness; +2 to recover from
being Shaken; Called Shots do no extra
damage; doesn’t breathe; immune to disease
and poison.
• Weakness (Head): Called Shots to a
revenant’s head do the usual +4 damage.

h Rumble Ghost
Holler folks have noted loud, obstreperous
hauntings for ages, with some haints seeming
to inhabit the bones of a house or machine,
leading many to speculate the land was “better
suited to growing ghosts than potatoes.” These
violent entities were given nicknames like
“Jump-up Joeys” and “Rumble Ghosts,” but it
was the Lowells, with their fancy vocabulary,
who provided another moniker that halfway
stuck: “poltergeist.”
“Poltergeist” refers to any haint who forgoes
the traditional psychological means of
contacting the living (such as whispering in the
dark, conjuration of visions, and all the other
techniques old timers refer to as “the lowdown
creeps”) and instead raises pure hell.
Smashed mirrors. Whirlwinds of cutlery.
Doors smashed clean off their jambs. These are
the rough-and-toughs of the astral plane. One
rumble ghost who haunted a slaughterhouse
in Firpo was ultimately dubbed “Meathook
Monty” for its wicked use of the tools at hand.
Attributes: Agility d12, Smarts d8, Spirit d10,
Strength d10, Vigor d10
Skills: Athletics d12, Fighting d10, Intimida-
tion d12, Notice d8, Stealth d12, Taunt d10
Pace: 8; Parry: 7; Toughness: 7
Hindrances: —
Edges: —
Gear: Large thrown objects (Str+d6).
Special Abilities:
• Ethereal: Ghosts are immune to all but
magical damage.
• Fear (−2): A rumble ghost requires those
encountering it to make a Fear check.
• Haywire: Rumble ghosts can possess
machines or other material objects, causing
them to go haywire and attack nearby
victims. Damage and any special effects
depend on the machine. For example, a
spinning Machine might cause Str+d10, and
a Shaken or Wounded victim must make
a successful Agility roll or lose a finger. A
coal car might ram into a victim for Str+d6
damage and knocks them back a d6”. A
thrown tool, radio, or rock causes Str+d4
damage.
• Shock: Rumble ghosts can enter into the
circuitry or gears of any electrical machine
and emit a shock to those who contact it.
Victims must make a successful Vigor roll or
suffer 2d4+1 damage and become Stunned.
Bestiary
Sadsack
Life in the mills and mines can be as hard
and sorrowful as it is short. One wonders,
therefore, what disappointments meet them in
the next world to account for the large number
of dead who, only days or weeks after moving
on to their just rewards, come shuffling back
up the narrow alleyways of towns like Ashdown
and Saxon, mightily resembling their former
selves, though bedizened with the trappings
of flesh-rot.
Such “sadsacks” are known to revisit their
favorite haunts and seek the company of
their loved ones, though they are in no mood
to abide the revulsion with which they are
inevitably met. The followers of Lester Poulson
refer to these unfortunates as “dead eyes” and
“dread walkers,” while Estelle Rood’s devotees
prefer the more poetic “Sons of Woe,” but most
simply call these undead sadsacks.
A solitary sadsack constitutes little danger but
beware the packs that roam the woods after
industrial accidents, or those that rise out of
creeks and ditches after a particularly bloody
spate of highway robberies.
Attributes: Agility d4, Smarts d4, Spirit d4,
Strength d6, Vigor d4
Skills: Athletics d4, Fighting d4, Notice d6,
Stealth d6
Pace: 4; Parry: 4; Toughness: 6
Hindrances: Slow (Major), Obligation (Major—
Haunt the area of their death or former
home)
Edges: —
Gear: Sadsacks occasionally pick up a knife or
other pointy bit.
Special Abilities:
• Bite/Claws: Str.
• Fearless: Sadsacks aren’t affected by Fear or
Intimidation.
• Undead: +2 Toughness; +2 to recover from
being Shaken; Called Shots do no extra
damage; doesn’t breathe; immune to disease
and poison.
• Weakness (Head): Called Shots to a sadsack’s
head do +4 damage as usual.
h Screamer
Some of the first miners to take up residence
in the Holler brought tales from the Old
Country of ethereal spirits they referred to
as “women of the fairy mound,” or banshees.
249
 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
These wretched spirits were associated with
the barrows that dotted the rambling hills
of their homeland, either being drawn from
afar to these ancient burial sites, or perhaps
emanating from within them.
Whatever the case, the call of the banshee
across the hills was a grim omen indeed,
portending the death of a loved one—or
even one’s own demise. Screamers were, for
the most part, considered more a portent
of danger than an actual danger in and of
themselves.
Folks learned the screamers of the Holler
were of a different stripe entirely. Rotting
haints so bereft at losing their connection
to life and love that they can do nothing
but grieve, sometimes with a soft murmur,
sometimes with tears trailing like ghostly
whispers behind them.
When disturbed, that grief works itself into a
frenzy, and culminates with a blood-curdling
keening so intense and high-pitched that it
feels like it’s ripping a body’s brain in two; or
so deep and low it pounds against a person’s
chest, concussive, unrelenting, until the
beating heart stops. Or sometimes it’s like
a howling wind that passes right through a
person, stealing a bit of the soul as it goes.
Attributes: Agility d10, Smarts d8,
Spirit d10, Strength d6, Vigor d12
Skills: Athletics d10,
Fighting d8, Focus d12, Intim-
idation d12, Notice d12,
Stealth d12
Pace: 6; Parry: 6; Tough-
ness: 10
Hindrances: —
Special Abilities:
• Blight Bite: Str+d6. The
victim must make a Blight
Corruption roll anytime
he’s bitten by a screamer.
• Fear (−2): Screamers require
those they encounter to make
a Fear check.
• Low Light Vision: Screamers
ignore penalties for Dim and
Dark Illumination.
• Keening Wail: A screamer
can emit a Keening Wail (use Focus
vs. Spirit), affecting victims within
a Large Blast Template placed
anywhere within 12” (24 yards).
250
Success Stuns a victim, and causes 2d6
damage with a raise.
• Undead: +2 Toughness; +2 to recover from
being Shaken; Called Shots do no extra
damage; doesn’t breathe; immune to disease
and poison.
Rawhead and Bloody Bones
Jed Bones and Thomas Head were workers
killed in an explosion in the Badin Mountain
Tunnel (see Tommy Rawhead and Bloody
Bones on page 162).
They always travel together.
h Bloody Bones
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Spirit d8,
Strength d8, Vigor d8
Skills: Athletics d8, Fighting d8, Intimi-
dation d8, Notice d8, Performance d8,
Shooting d8
Pace: Parry: 6; Toughness: 8
Hindrances: Obligation (Haunt the Badin
Mountain Tunnel and surrounding areas
of Sootstone/Corn Cob Gap), Vow (Protect
Tommy Rawhead)
Edges: Common Bond, Reliable
Special Abilities:
• Fear −2: Encountering Bloody Bones
requires a Fear check.
• Undead: +2 Toughness; +2
to recover from being Shaken;
Called Shots do no extra
damage; doesn’t breathe;
immune to disease and
poison.
• Bony Stomp: Tommy
Rawhead sure likes Bloody
Bones’ dancing. During
combat, each time Bloody
Bones’ makes a successful
Performance roll to dance a jig in
Tommy’s presence (see below),
Tommy adds +1 to damage rolls
(cumulative to a maximum of +4).
• Best Buddies: As long as Tommy
and Bloody Bones are both alive and
within 5” (10 yards) of one other, they
receive +1 to all Trait and damage rolls.
• Skull Toss: Bloody Bones can throw his
skull up to 12”, using Athletics. It causes 2d4
damage and anyone it hits must make a Fear
check at −2 (even if they’ve already made a
Fear check for seeing Bloody Bones).
 Bestiary

• Weakness: Bludgeoning weapons like clubs companion disappeared. Alas, this is the tale of
or hammers do +2 damage to Bloody Bones. the spirit sucker.
Be it the gauzy phantasm of a pretty lady
hTommy Rawhead or the sweet-strumming ghost of a winsome
Attributes: Agility d4, Smarts d6, Spirit d8, bluegrass picker, be wary of fellow travelers.
Strength d10, Vigor d10 Everyone has their fair portion of soul stuff. Be
Skills: Athletics d4, Fighting d10, Intimida- mindful to maintain yours.
tion d10, Notice d6 Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d8, Spirit d10,
Pace: 6; Parry: 7; Toughness: 9 Strength d6, Vigor d10
Hindrances: Obligation (Major—Haunt the Skills: Athletics d8, Common Knowl-
Badin Mountain Tunnel and surround- edge d8, Fighting d8, Folklore d8,
ing areas of Sootstone/Corn Cob Gap), Notice d10, Occult d10, Perfor-
Vow (Major—Protect Bloody Bones) mance d10, Persuasion d12,
Edges: Common Bond, Mighty Blow Stealth d12, Taunt d10
Gear: Shovel (Str+d8). Pace: 6; Parry: 6; Tough-
Special Abilities: ness: 7
• Fear: Tommy Rawhead prompts Hindrances: Jealous
a Fear check when encountered. (Major), Driven (Major—
• Undead: +2 Toughness; +2 to Engage in carnal
recover from being Shaken; embraces with folks)
Called Shots do no extra damage; Edges: Very Attractive
doesn’t breathe; immune to Gear: Alluring clothing
disease and poison. Special Abilities:
• Best Buddies: As long as • E t h e r e a l : Spirit
Tommy and Bloody Bones suckers often take the
are both alive and within 5” form of a beautiful
(10 yards) of one other, they human but can become
receive +1 to all Trait and ethereal as a limited free
damage rolls. action. While ethereal,
• Weakness: Called Shots to the they can only be affected
head do +4 damage to Tommy by magical attacks and
Rawhead. damage.
• Sapping Seduction: If
h Spirit Sucker the target fails to resist a
Everyone has heard some version of the story: Persuasion Test by the spirit sucker,
a late-night sojourner on their way from hither he takes a level of Fatigue. If the spirit sucker
to thither comes across a damsel on a lonely beats his roll with a raise, the victim takes
road or a sprightly young fellow with nice two levels of Fatigue. If Fatigue from an
teeth looking for his horse. An agreement is encounter with a spirit sucker Incapacitates
struck, and the two continue together through the victim, he falls unconscious. The victim
the night. must be the recipient of a successful healing
The details shift from telling to telling: (the power, not the skill) roll to rid himself
sometimes they happen across a cabin, even of this Fatigue.
a barn, and sometimes they barely leave the
road, but one way or another the pair falls into Trinket Spirit
a romance of one shade or another. Sometimes The Good Book includes many warnings about
there’s love at first canoodling, and sometimes the dangers of attachment to earthly treasures,
it’s just the messy bit. but the fate of the trinket spirit might serve as
Whatever the case, the sojourner passes the the greatest cautionary tale of them all. While
night in ecstasy and sleeps through to the dawn, most haints are limited in range to certain
only to awake the next morning with his hair buildings or areas, the trinket spirit is bound
turned shock white, his skin leathery, and the to specific objects that bare some significance

251
 Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse
to the bound spirit, a ring, a brooch, a mirror,
even a gun.
Even in their confinement, they can cause
great mischief and ill luck. In some cases,
spirits find themselves thusly confined because
of some wrongdoing, while other spirits seem
captured because of pride, vanity, or simple
stubborn greed that somehow outlasts even
death. Though trinket spirits are something
of a rarity, they tend to make their presence
known, rather dramatically and unpleasantly,
whenever the trinkets they inhabit come into
the possession of a new owner.
Attributes: Agility d12, Smarts d12, Spirit d12,
Strength d4, Vigor d12
Skills: Athletics d12, Stealth d12, Thievery d12
Pace: 6; Parry: 2; Toughness: 8
Hindrances: —
Edges: —
Special Abilities:
• Haunt: Trinket spirits inhabit a material
object and ruin its purpose. If one inhabits
a piece of armor, the armor’s bonus is
negated. If it inhabits a weapon, attack and
damage rolls are made at −2. If the spirit
inhabits a magical talisman, its power is
negated.
• Weakness (Exorcism): A successful detect
arcana roll detects the presence of a trinket
spirit, but cleansing the object requires an
exorcism (see page 45).
Machines O' Death
Big Boy industry runs on wild electricity,
churning turbines, the crunch of gears, and
the firing of pistons. Spurred by Barton
Umberkirk’s drive for world domination and
Samuel Ashdown’s eccentric experiments,
sometimes their equipment gets a little out of
hand, and a run-of-the-mill requisition yard
becomes a labyrinth of horror.
Ashdown Automaton
Samuel Ashdown created this man-like
machine in hopes of replacing workers, but
their production costs are so exorbitant
and they malfunction so frequently that
worker ghouls became the far more feasible
and affordable option for the Worker
Replacement Program.
252
Still, a few of these robotic folks wander in
requisition yards or are stored in utility closets
in textile mill basements.
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d4 (A), Spirit d4,
Strength d6, Vigor d8
Skills: Athletics d6, Fighting d6, Notice d4,
Shooting d4, Stealth d4
Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 10 (4)
Edges: —
Special Abilities:
• Armor +4: Ashdown automatons are made
of a solid form of necrotylene.
• Construct: +2 to recover from being Shaken;
ignore 1 point of Wound penalties; immune
to disease and poison.
• Malfunction: On a Critical Failure, sparks
fly from the automaton. It shudders, clunks,
and ceases operation immediately.
• Metal Fists: Str+d4.
h Ashdown Driller
This two-wheeled horizontal drilling machine
sports a plexiglass cockpit for its operator,
along with a gleaming cone-shape drill the
size of a man that’s rigged with blasting caps. It
whirs with deadly intent.
Ashdown produced these drillers at Theron
Galloway’s request, but they never achieved
full functionality, as the blasting caps often
didn’t fire and the vibration of the drill itself
(along with the small explosions it created as it
drilled into a mountainside) often battered the
operator into an unconscious state.
Then there were the landslides it caused.
And a few of them exploded. And a handful
powered to life without operators and started
drilling into random structures or nearby
humans. As Ashdown likes to say, “Fail. Fail
again. Fail deadlier.”
A few of these relics can be found at
abandoned mining sites.
Attributes: Agility d4, Smarts d4 (A), Spirit d4,
Strength d12, Vigor d12
Skills: Athletics d4, Fighting d12, Notice d4
Pace: 8; Parry: 8; Toughness: 14 (4)
Edges: —
Special Abilities:
• Armor +4: The drillers are made of a solid
form of necrotylene.
• Construct: +2 to recover from being Shaken;
ignore 1 point of Wound penalties; immune
to disease and poison.
 Bestiary

• Driller: Str+d6. This machine consists of a section of

• Malfunction: On a Critical Failure, sparks witchwood tree, eight feet tall, eight feet
fly from the driller. It shudders, clunks, andin diameter, transported on a large, metal
ceases operation immediately. bed equipped with four enormous and
• Size 2: The Ashdown Driller is an imposing exceptionally durable tires. It’s equipped with
piece of machinery. four-metal branches that poke out several feet
from the tree in all directions— at the end of
Ashdown Picker each branch is a large, whirling blade.
Pickers were first used to harvest crops in Attributes: Agility d4, Smarts d4 (A), Spirit d10,
Broadus and later to pluck bobbins from Strength d12, Vigor d12
spinning machines in Ashdown’s mills. Skills: Athletics d4, Fighting d10, Notice d4
Possessed of a dozen cables fitted with metal Pace: 2; Parry: 7; Toughness: 14 (4)
claws, the pickers’ tentacles fly crazily about, Special Abilities:
striking at anything within reach. Like other • Armor +4: The machine ise made of a solid
Ashdown machines, they initially were form of necrotylene.
operated by humans, but some of them appear • Construct: +2 to recover from being Shaken;
to possess a kind of mechanical intelligence ignore 1 point of Wound penalties; immune
and operate according to their own laws. to disease and poison.
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d4 (A), Spirit d4, • Malfunction: On a Critical Failure, sparks
Strength d6, Vigor d8 fly from the Rustic Bladed Machine. It
Skills: Athletics d8, Fighting d8, Notice d8 shudders, clunks, and ceases operation
Pace: 12; Parry: 6; Toughness: 10 (4) immediately.
Edges: — • Size 2: The rustic bladed machine is a 1500
Special Abilities: lbs piece of equipment.
• Armor +4: The pickers are made of a solid • Whirling Blades: Anyone who comes within
form of necrotylene. 2” (4 yards) of the machine must Evade or
• Construct: +2 to recover from being Shaken; take Str+d10, AP 4 damage.
ignore 1 point of Wound penalties; immune
to disease and poison.
• Malfunction: On a Critical Failure,
sparks fly from the Driller. It shudders
and clunks, ceases operation
immediately.
• Picking Claws: Str+d6, two attacks per
round at no Multi-Action penalty.

Ashdown Rustic
Bladed Machine
This monstrosity has no remotely safe
industrial purpose but was erected by
Samuel Ashdown as a gift to Royster
Whitaker when Royster first joined the
Shapers. Ashdown’s attempt to recruit
Whitaker as a worshipful minion failed,
though Whitaker was impressed with the
girth of the tree, the speed of the blades,
and the unusual marriage of nature and
technology. The bladed machine once sat
near Whitaker’s cabin in the Great Craggies
but powered up and whirred off into
the woods one day, chopping as it
went. It’s probably somewhere in the
Stygians by now.

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Index

254
Bestiary

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