The Past is Never Dead

A Backwater: Southern Gothic Horror Tabletop adventure

A woman has disappeared from One-Horse Hollow, a small town west of New Orleans. Normally, wardens wouldn’t be called in for something like this, but she was a member of the aristocracy – of the One-Horse Hollow Jeffersons, whose line (dubiously) dates back to Thomas Jefferson. The woman lived alone–except for an old servant–and was a recluse. The local sheriff discovered her disappearance only after she didn’t pay her taxes for the year and several reminders passed without reply. William Rose of New Orleans’ city council has asked that you look into the matter, as he is a friend of the well-known Jefferson family, and he has let the Hollow’s sheriff know that you’ll be coming.

Background

The purpose of this adventure is to explore several southern-gothic tropes, including an obsession with family lineage and an eccentric and cruel matriarch. “The Past is Never Dead” focuses on investigation-style gameplay with some exploration and combat. GMs can use this adventure to introduce characters to a rural, small-town setting outside of New Orleans: One-Horse Hollow. Alternatively, it can be set in Prayerville of “The Devil Came Down” adventure. 

This adventure is suitable for the following:

• 3-5 Low-level wardens
• 6-9 hours (2-3 sessions)
• Easy or average difficulty

This scenario is 23 pages in length, includes relevant maps, one virtual tabletop token, and can be played with the free Backwater Quickstart.

This scenario can be used in conjunction with the Backwater Adventures collection as another plot by "Mr. Scratch."

Want to see the game in action? Check out the Backwater actual play: The Past is Never Dead.

The Backwater Setting 

 Long after The End descended upon the Old World...

Humanity started to rebuild itself, albeit wretched and forlorn. Survivors salvaged what they could of government in the form of the American Lands. They rebuilt roads, though in fewer numbers and inferior quality, and they reclaimed the skeletons of buildings. Nowhere does humankind rebuild so desperately as in the humid swamps of the Backwater, where humanity battles itself and the natural elements to survive. You are a warden here—a roaming peace keeper in the American Lands—protecting order at civilization’s southern reach. You travel the Old World’s crumbling roadways among mosquitoes and snakes. You tend to every small town’s big secret, and you quell strife between old families in a new era. Here in the bogs, you keep mutation at bay, ever-watchful for the wretched cousins of ancient humanity. You protect mankind from supernatural horrors that have only started to emerge.

Welcome to Backwater... where horror writes itself.

Backwater: Southern Gothic Horror Tabletop Roleplaying

Backwater is a tabletop roleplaying game in the genre of southern gothic horror. The southern gothic genre explores social issues relating to fear, poverty, religion, and alienation through its southern U.S. setting. Prominent among the genre's themes is a conscious criticism of superficial values and regional or familial history, depicted through the region's decaying structures and aristocratic families. It contains the supernatural, though the true horrors are often humans themselves. Backwater is set in a post-apocalyptic future with a tenuous social order, and it reimagines the genre as a reflection on issues in not only American history but also our present world. 

Streamlined Stats

The Backwater game system is original. It uses a 20-sided die for everything except combat damage. It is intended to be relatively intuitive and streamlined. The foundation of this system is a set of four basic attributes that provide both a modifier (which you add to rolls) and a goal score (which others roll against). When you attempt a skill roll against another character, you simply roll against one of their attribute goals, for example:

• When you threaten or deceive a character, you roll against its Intuition goal.
• When you hide from or sneak by a character, you roll against its Vigilance goal.
• When you attack a character, you roll against its Reflex goal.
• When you shove or trip a character, you roll against its Build goal.

Unique Survival Elements

Characters have both Health Points (physical health) and Resolve Points (mental health), but they are relatively low to reflect human fragility. Combat scenarios can move quickly as a result, and they often require careful strategizing to mitigate damage or defeat threats rapidly. One especially unique element of the system is its Health rolls and Resolve rolls. Players must try to roll under their current Health or Resolve with a d20 to avoid suffering a condition, like the Bleeding condition. The more damage or duress that a character receives, the more likely it may suffer the condition.