TEXT: written by c. a. johnson • artwork by earl frank 
  All sen.rice ranks rhe same with God -
  Wirh God, whose puppecs, best and worst, 
  Are we: there is no last nor first. 
  - Pippa Passes, Robert Browning 
  Matson Creek, Wyoming - The town of Malson Creek is 
  peaceful tonight. The miners are at their mines, the 
  homesteaders are in their homes, and the robbers are ... well if 
  I knew that, I'd be a robber, wouldn't J? All over town. the 
  only sound to be heard after dark is door bolts sliding. 
  ll wasn't always this way. This rough lillle miner's town 
  had more than its share of problems keeping the peace. If the 
  miners weren't drunk and ornery, the thieves were. If neither 
  group was causing trouble. it was becau e the Union Anny 
  was in town drinking the leftovers. There was a time not so 
  long ago when a nigbt didn't go by without somebody in town 
  taking a shon look up a long barrel, if the knife didn't get 'em 
  first. The best business in town was the Undertaker's. 
  Well. all that's changed. Law and Order have come to 
  Matson Creek, whether the town likes the idea or not. The 
  miners arc quiet. The robbers don't come co Marson Creek 
  anymore. Even the soldier) mind their manners when they 
  come to town. All this would be fine. if the Undertaker's 
  bu. iness wercn'c booming. 
  Sheriff Carl McClinton was alway'> a nice fellow. the 
  cownsfolk <,ay. Everybody liked him when he ran for Sheriff a 
  couple of years back. He was quiet. unassuming, easily lost in 
  a crowd ... j ust the sort of man you want keeping the peace if 
  you're in the mood for some raucous entenainment. He kept 
  mostly to himself and kepc a tidy jail house. He even arrested 
  folks occasionally. Said it wasn't all that hard. They were 
  mostly pa.,.,ed out by the time he got to them. 
  After a few months of this, the law-abiding folk of Matson 
  Creek staned to look for shelter elsewhere ... 
  That's when the grey men rode into town. Everyone 
  assumed Sheriff McClinton had called them. because they 
  rode right to his office. No one has heard any of them called 
  by name. All the townspeople know is each of them sport 
  bright, shiny new Deputy·s stars on their shirt. Ever since 
  Sheriff McClinton has changed from a quiet sort to a man 
  volume vii • number iv 
  with a mission. There would be order. All of a sudden, the jail 
  was full to bursting with lawbreakers of all stripes. Drunkards 
  shared space with th1eves. Killer-. got hunted down and 
  brought to trial. 
  Now one would think that criminals would vamoose with 
  the Law taking such an active interest in things. Well. 
  apparently that isn't true around Matson Creek. Seems 
  somebody's got themselves a mad 011 for the Sheriff, and 
  they're taking it out on the townsfolk. ll wasn't a week after 
  the arrests started that the Wyatls, a family of settlers come 
  recently to these parts. were found shot full of holes at their 
  fann. Nobody was spared. Not even the four year old boy. 
  Josiah. There was a fresh round of arrest<; after that. Some of 
  the lawbreakers even made it to the jail. .. 
  Somehow most of them kept finding their way to the 
  Undertaker's hands. 
  There is order in Matson Creek these days. The streets are 
  quiet at night. Nobody breaks the law if they can help it, and 
  the ones that do leave town ... fast. That's why they get blown 
  into messy chunks. mostly. They try to escape. All in all. folks 
  say it's quite a difference from the old days. When the Sheriff 
  walks by, they smile and tell him what a good job he's doing. 
  Sure, the smiles are a little forced sometimes, but who's to 
  know? Yessir. there's order in Matson Creek now. 
  Nobody ever spits on a sidewalk, though. 
  marshal's information 
  Who Needs Lawyers? is an aJvcnrure intended for a 
  starting Deadlands posse of anywhere from three to six players. 
  Feel free to adjust the number of Grey Men to fit your posse. 
  Some skill wich a firearm i!> recommendeJ for at least one 
  character. Then again, in the Weird Wesc, some skill with a 
  firearm is recommended for just about everybody ... 
  the man behind the mayhem 
  Sheriff Carl McClinton got into office because he was a 
  nice guy. The law abiding folks of Matson C reek liked him, 
  an<l the rest just didn't vote. T ruchfully, if enforcing the law 
  was a question of being polite and neighborly, then Carl 
  would have been one hell of a lawman. Problem is, you 
  47 
  
  occasionally have to get rude at people when they break the 
  law, and that just wasn't in Carl's nature. He'd ask people 
  nicely to mind their manners and stroll back to his office, and 
  the real mayhem would get under way. When Carl got back 
  to the scene ... well, let's just say his services were usually sort 
  of a moot point by then. 
  When you got right down to it, Carl knew what the 
  problem was. He just couldn't see any way around it other 
  than giving up his badge. That was something he just didn't 
  want to do. Call it pride. Call it civic responsibility. Call it 
  plumb stupid, if you want. It just wasn't an option to Carl. 
  That's when the Grey Riders showed up. They marched 
  into Carl's office one dusty spring morning and said four 
  words. 
  "We're here to help." 
  dead/ands 
  Carl was only too glad to accept. In fact, he couldn't 
  deputize the strangers fast enough. Funny how damnation 
  seems like your best option sometimes. 
  the reform of matson creek 
  With his new deputies backing him up, Carl felt more up 
  to the challenge of keeping Matson Creek orderly. Most 
  times, the deputies didn't do anything more than look 
  impressive when Carl made his arrests. When they did make 
  a move, it was fast, bloody, and final. It only took a couple of 
  bodies to bring the thieves and miners into line. They 
  stopped sassing their sheriff. Now they paid him respectful 
  attention. It was safer that way. 
  Carl drank it up. lt felt good to be in charge. People looked 
  up to him now. 
  Before long, Carl was seeing things differently then he 
  ever had before. There were lawbreakers everywhere. Some 
  crossed the street without looking. Some used profane 
  language in public. Some got drunk on Sunday. It was a direct 
  challenge to his authority. The townsfolk were testing his 
  resolve. He knew it was true. His new deputies told him so. 
  He'd show them all. The new Carl McClinton was up to the 
  task. 
  That's when the arrests began. At first, they were 
  reasonable. If a man goes and hits another man, he ought to 
  spend a night in jail cooling off. Everybody agreed on that. 
  Cussing though, ain't generally a shooting offense. 
  That's when the Wyatts tried to leave town. At first, Carl 
  was more than happy to let them go. Who needed them 
  anyway? His town was peaceful again. That was all that 
  mattered wasn't it? 
  The Grey Men had a different view. Who but a lawbreaker 
  would want to leave a peaceful town like his? If the Wyatts 
  wanted out, they must have something to hide, something 
  they didn't want the Sheriff to see. le was a direct challenge 
  to his authority. They had to be stopped. 
  That pretty much wrapped it up for Carl. The nice 
  unassuming fellow that won a popularity contest for the office 
  of Sheriff was gone, replaced by a puppet of the Grey Men. 
  The Law has come to Marson Creek. Justice has taken a 
  vacation. 
  gettin' there ain't nothin' 
  There are any number of ways to get the posse into Matson 
  Creek. lf the heroes are law abiding types, they can be sent in 
  by a Circuit Judge responding to rumors of the 
  unpleasanmess. What with the War and the Reckoning 
  going on and all, he's a little strapped for Marshals and 
  deputies just now. Good thing he's a judge. He can just make 
  his own. In this case, the parry would have some legal 
  jurisdiction in the shape of a little tin star. Sheriff McClinton 
  won't like that one little bit. That would be - you guessed it! 
  - a direct challenge to his authority. 
  Maybe somebody's got relatives in Matson Creek. lt is a 
  pretty successful mining town at the moment. People used to 
  come to it for miles around. For that matter, maybe the parry 
  has heard about opportunities to be had in town. 
  Maybe ... just maybe ... they happen to stop there because 
  it's a good place to rest before going into the Rockies. Or is 
  that too much of a stretch? 
  S H AD IS fifty-three 
  
  grey men, black hearts 
  the posse vs. the law 
  Any character with eyes should notice there is something 
  odd about Matson Creek. The town is ac Fear level 1. 
  Everybody watches the pose carefully, as though sizing the 
  heroes up for some sort of competition. Nobody will talk to 
  them other than to do bu ine~ . Even then, the townsfolk will 
  be distant and frightened. The way things are these days, 
  they're probably lawbreakers, and it isn't wonh your life to be 
  friendly to lawbreaker:. anymore. 
  It isn't going to cake long for che posse to run afoul of 
  Sheriff McClinton. He prowls che cown like a rabid panther 
  these days. No offen~e is too -,mall to attract his attention. 
  Being from out of town is suspicious enough. If one of the 
  heroes breaks a law, any law, Sheriff McClinton will try to 
  arrest chem. He'll be alone the first time the posse encounters 
  him. He's not feeling the need for too much moral support 
  these days, so he leaves the Grey Men behind to guard the 
  prisoners. [Strangely enough, this is when most of the "escape 
  attempts" happen. I 
  sheriff earl mcclinton 
  Corporeal 
  D: 4d8 N: ldl2 
  S: 4d6 Q: 2d8 
  V: 4d6 
  Shootin'/P1stol 3d8, Speed Load 2d8, Dodge 4d 12, 
  Fighcin/Brawlin' 2dl2, Honie R1dm' ldl2, Quick Draw 2d8 
  Mental 
  C: 3d6 K: 3d6 
  M: 2d8 Sm: 4d6 
  Sp: ld6 
  Search 3d6, Trackin' 2<l6, Area Knowledge/Marson 
  Creek 4d6, Overawe 2d8 
  Wind: 12 
  There really isn't much left of Carl McClincon these days. 
  The quiet, unassuming fellow who was elected Sheriff just 
  isn't here any more. What remains is an obsessed shell, who's 
  only real joy in life comes from arresting people and throwing 
  them in jail. You can sec ir in his eyes. They're flat, dull orbs 
  taking up ~pace in his head. They peer sharply and shift 
  constantly in hopes of catching someone doing something ... 
  anything ... wrong, but there's no life in chem. Once they spot 
  a crime, they take on a look of unholy glee. Carl's whole face 
  just lights up in a frightening mask of animation. His breath 
  comes in quick, ragged gasp , a though he's trying to hold 
  something back. Then the words come gracing out. "You ... 
  are under ... arrest!" From then on, he's a typical lawman 
  doing his job. Brisk, confident and ready for anything, you'd 
  almost take him for a normal Sheriff if you couldn't see his 
  eyes; and if he wru.n't arresting you for spitting on the 
  boardwalk. 
  Carl may be obsc e<l, but he i n'c suicidal. If outnumbered 
  by an obviously ho tile group, he'll back away. If the arrestee 
  fights back and tares to win, say by dishing out three Wounds 
  or taking out two thirds of his Wind he'll break and run for it. 
  He can't enforce che law if he's dead, and enforcing the law is 
  all he lives for these days. The townsfolk won't help him. 
  They won't help the posse, either. 
  If the character goes quiccly, he's in for a rough time. See, 
  he's already had his trial. It took place the moment Sheriff 
  volume vii • number iv 
  McClinton saw the criminal acc. So far as Carl McClinton is 
  concerned, the character is already convicted and just 
  waiting for sentence co be carried out. Meals are served once 
  a day, water twice. If you don't wake up when slap's on, you 
  don't eat that day. 
  So far as the Grey Men arc concerned, the hero is a corpse 
  waiting to happen. They'll take their time about it. It's more 
  fun that way. Whenever the Sheriff isn't looking, the Grey 
  Men celebrate by u. mg their Soul Eating power on the 
  prisoner . They'll go after each one m tum until they have 
  drained each to half his Wmd. They start with the long 
  timers first. That way the new additions get to see what 
  they're in for. Anybody who puts up a serious fight or resisrs 
  the attempt gees killed "trying co escape." 
  t he grey men 
  Corporeal 
  D: 3d lON: 4dl2 
  S: 3d8 Q: 2<l10 
  V: ld l2 
  Shootin'/Pistol 4d10, Fannin' 4dIO, Fighcin'/Brawlin' 
  3dl2, Horse Ridin' 3<l12, Fast Draw 2dl0, Sneak 3dl2, 
  Lockpickin' 3d I 0 
  Mental 
  C: 4d6 K: 4d6 
  M: ldlOSm: 3d6 
  Sp: 4dl0 
  Search 2<l6, Scrucm1ze 2d6, O,·erawe 4dl0 
  Terror: 7 
  Special Abilities 
  Harrowed. The Grey Men cake damage as though they 
  were Harrowed. 
  Soul Eater. The Level 3 Harrowed Power of the same 
  name; the Grey Men may use the stolen Wind co heal the 
  Sheriff as well, though they can't Bolster him, as they do 
  themselves. All of chem muse spend the necessary Wind in 
  order co form the bond needed co make the exchange. They 
  must all be couching each ocher and the Sheriff. 
  The Offer. If the Grey Men aren't presently twisting a 
  lawman's soul, (say if Carl were to get killed, for example.) 
  the Grey Men can make the same offer to any ocher peace 
  officer they meet. Thb is hanJle<l by an opposed Spirit test. 
  They must make the offer as soon as they first meet their 
  chosen victim, and can make it once a day after that. If she 
  ever wins a test against the Grey Men, she knows them for 
  what they are. The Grey Men will try to kill her at that point. 
  If she lo e . but the Alx>mmacions do not core any raises, she 
  doc:.n't accept, but doesn't run chem out, either. The victim 
  is at a cumulauve -1 to his roll for every raise the Grey Men 
  score, co a total -6 penalty. If they ever get four raises on one 
  roll, or the res1~tance roll goes bust, the deal is accepted. 
  Once the deal i~ accepted, the victim can only be aved by 
  outside mtervenuon. When the first Grey Man is destroyed, 
  the victim gets a new re 1stance roll at no penalty. The roll is 
  at + 2 for each Grey Man destroyed. If che lase is destroyed, 
  the roll is against the manitou that first struck the bargain. 
  Draw a random card for the Spirit trait of the manitou. If the 
  victim gets a raise, he's free. Success buys him another roll. If 
  the spirit wins, a new Grey Man leaves town to start the 
  whole cycle somewhere else. 
  49 
  
  Weaknesses 
  The Grey Men take damage normally from a Judge's 
  weapon. If passed sentence upon, even informally, by a legally 
  recognized jurist they arc bound to carry the sentence out. So 
  if you can get a Judge co sentence chem co be hung until they 
  are dead, the noose will destroy them 
  Each of the Grey Men was once a lawman just like Sheriff 
  McClinton. For whatever reason they were ineffective at 
  keeping the peace. After a particularly ugly incident, the first 
  of them (it doesn't really matter what his name was or where 
  he was from) prayed co the Almighty for help. What he got 
  instead was a manitou. The spirit made a pact with the sheriff 
  in his dreams. When the poor sod accepted, he signed his 
  own soul's death warrant. Over time, he underwent the same 
  changes Carl McClinton is going through now. In the end, he 
  burned down the "lawless town" he came from. Then he 
  walked into the desert and looked for others in need of his 
  "help." 
  jailbreak! 
  If a character gees arrested, the posse is probably going co 
  want to break him out of jail. If the posse tries to take the jail 
  by day, they will have to deal with all three of the Grey Men. 
  The Abominations will hold the jail as long as possible. They 
  will steal the rest of the prisoners' Wind to heal themselves. 
  If they kill the last prisoner, not only is the jailbreak a moot 
  point, but the Grey Men will flee. The prisoners, of course, 
  will scream for the posse to leave. 
  50 
  dead/ands 
  At night, it's a whole 
  different jailbreak. The Grey 
  Men aren't at the jail. they're 
  out stalking the edge of 
  town, 
  picking tomorrow 
  night's victims. Instead there 
  are two other deputies. 
  These guys were hired by the 
  old Carl McClinton. They'll 
  only put up a token fight if 
  attacked overtly, then try co 
  flee, or bargain their way 
  clear. 
  This is the one rime 
  anybody in town will be at 
  all helpful. Nobody wants to 
  get into the action, but 
  anything the posse needs will 
  suddenly become available if 
  it's known they're going to 
  try to break the jail. Can you 
  say dynamite? 
  reg'lar deputies 
  Corporeal 
  D: 2d8 
  all others: 2d6 
  Shootin'/Rifle 
  2d8, 
  Shoocin' Pisco! 3d8 
  Mental 
  M: ld8 all others: 2d6 
  Persuasion 3d8 
  the showdown 
  No matter what, by this time the Grey Men are going to 
  take a direct hand in things. Their first move will be to try to 
  take the posse out at night. This will be a straight up 
  assassination attempt (there's be no pretense of arrest). The 
  Grey Men will try to hide their identities with heavy clothing 
  and masks, sneak into the characters' rooms, and blow holes 
  in them while they sleep. Carl will not be there. Any hitches 
  in that plan will cause the abominations to flee first to the 
  countryside, then when they're sure they aren't being 
  followed, back to the jail. 
  The next day, Carl and the Grey Men go on a rampage. 
  Carl is almost through his initiation. There is only one more 
  thing he needs to do to lose his soul completely. Matson 
  Creek must burn. The Abominations and Carl will try to take 
  the posse out first, as the most serious threat to their plans. 
  They'll cry co kill them separately if possible. Otherwise, 
  there's going co be a gunfight in the burning town of Matson 
  Creek, Wyoming. 
  about the author 
  C.A. Johnson has been a Creative Writing major at Roger 
  Williams University in Bristol, RI for far coo long now; so 
  long in fact that he has entered into an indentured servitude 
  arrangment co pay the bills. He spends his off hours playing 
  with his young son and chasing his wife. 
  SHADIS fifty-three 
  
  grey men, black hearts 
  the bounty 
  Part one: Welcome to town. If the players don't commit any crimes, give them two Bounty Points. Anyone who does 
  something illegal (and remember, kiddies, obstruction of justice is illegal) but doesn't go to jail gets one Bounty Point. Anybody 
  that winds up in jail gets nothing but a beating. 
  Part two: Welcome tO Jail. If the players figure out that the Grey Men are behind the whole thing, give them one bounty 
  point. Give them one if they break the jail, two if they do it without killing anybody (except the Grey Men, of course. They 
  get extra for that.) 
  Part three: Welcome to Hell. Each Grey Man corpse is worth one Bounty Point. If they are brought to trial, make it two. If 
  ~ 
  Carl can be saved, that's worth another. If they can save the town from serious harm, give them one Bounty Point for heroism. 
  ~ 
  OISCO OUNGEOH 
  volume vii • number iv 
  51 
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Deadlands [multi]/Misc/DL - Adv - Who needs lawyers (Shadis Magazine #53).pdf