🐊 Bayou Tuesday: The Twelve-Mile Vortex (2026 OpenD6 Playtest Guide)
Introduction
The Hook
Have you ever looked out over the flooded cypress bottoms of North Louisiana after a massive summer storm and felt a sudden, freezing chill run straight down your spine?
The Problem
Summer 2026 has hit the Red River Delta with unrelenting severe weather. For tabletop Game Masters running real-time modern campaigns, keeping environmental conditions unpredictable yet deeply authentic to the region can be a challenge when players step off the beaten path. Wiping out all previous campaign baselines, we are establishing a brand-new, standalone universe built 100% on the classic West End Games (WEG) OpenD6 rules system.
The Solution/Promise
In this post, you get a plug-and-play real-world environmental framework for Shreveport, Louisiana, paired with a brand-new 1D6 Random Weather Matrix
What Is Bayou Tuesday? A Shreveport Tradition
In North Louisiana, Bayou Tuesday isn’t found on any municipal calendar, but every local from the Red River down to the moss-draped bends of the Twelve Mile Bayou knows when it arrives
Downtown, folks celebrate the survival of the storm with street festivals, seasonal food, and local camaraderie
The Field Roster: The Shreveport Cabin Crew
Investigating a spatial tear in knee-deep swamp water requires more than just standard gear; it requires a specialized unit operating out of the Shreveport Cabin:
Captain Hedges (The Multiverse Traveler): Master Investigator and Jedi Sentinel walking La Ligne across time and space, tracking dimensional fractures with his golden-yellow topaz lightsaber and forensic sensors
. The Hedge Wizard of Shreveport Cabin: A green Tygerian mystic holding down the arcane wards, alchemical defenses, and operational strategy at the cabin base.
Bayou Earl (The Apex Hunter): The local native guide and Were-Tiger. Undisputed stalker of the backwater sloughs, tracking trails through mud and tangled roots where human boots cannot follow.
Doctor John: Voodoo practitioner commanding the Raven Totem, handling spiritual forensics, hex signatures, and anomalous planar residue.
Uncle Bill: Veteran bayou survivalist and master tracker who knows every hidden cut and channel along the Twelve Mile.
Detective Jones: The grounded forensic analyst tying strange marsh occurrences back to mundane paper trails and parish records.
Tactical Perimeter (Dez Nuts, Head Stone, Gimmer): Providing heavy perimeter security and recon against hazards like the acidic, scrap-stealing Mimic Thief.
Here are the complete OpenD6 stat blocks for the entire field roster, balanced specifically for the 2026 Twelve Mile Vortex playtest:
Captain Earl C. Hedges Jr. (The Multiverse Traveler)
Jedi Sentinel / Master Investigator (Level 5)
Dexterity 3D: Brawling Parry 4D, Dodge 5D, Lightsaber 6D+2
Knowledge 3D+2: Alien Species 4D+1, Planetary Systems 5D, Scholar: Halcron Archives 5D+2, Streetwise 5D
Mechanical 2D+2: Astrogation 4D+2, Sensors 5D+1, Starship Piloting 4D
Perception 4D: Hide 5D, Investigation 7D, Search 6D+2, Sneak 5D
Strength 3D: Brawling 4D+1, Climbing/Jumping 4D, Stamina 5D
Technical 2D+2: Computer Programming/Repair 4D, First Aid 3D+2, Lightsaber Repair 4D+1, Security 5D
Special Abilities / Force Attributes:
Control 5D: Accelerate Healing, Concentration, Control Pain, Hibernation Trance
Sense 7D: Combat Sense, Life Detection, Magnify Senses, Shift Sense, Translation
Alter 5D: Telekinesis, Affect Mind
Archetype Gear: Topaz Kyber-crystal lightsaber (5D damage, yellow-golden plasma), tactical duster coat (+1D vs physical/abrasion), handheld forensic multispectrum scanner (+1D to Search/Investigation), The Wayfinder of La Ligne.
The Hedge Wizard of Shreveport Cabin
Green Tygerian Arcane Anchor & Base Strategist
Dexterity 2D+2: Dodge 4D
Knowledge 4D+1: Arcane Lore 6D+2, Dimensional Cartography 6D, Planar Nodes 5D+2, Streetwise: Ark-La-Tex 4D+2
Mechanical 2D: Communications 4D, Sensors 5D+1
Perception 3D+2: Evidence Analysis 5D, Magic Sense 6D+1, Search 5D
Strength 3D: Stamina 4D
Technical 3D+1: Alchemy / Potion Crafting 6D, Arcane Wards 6D+1, Cabin Defenses 5D+2
Special Abilities:
Tygerian Claws: STR+1D physical damage.
Cabin Ward Mastery: While inside the Shreveport Cabin, gains +1D to all technical warding and alchemical preparations.
Gear: Wand of Grounding, Focus Crystals of Zimrala, enchanted scrying mirror rig tied to perimeter sensors.
Bayou Earl (The Apex Hunter)
Were-Tiger Native Guide & Bayou Apex Stalker
Dexterity 4D: Brawling Parry 5D, Dodge 6D, Melee Combat: Claws/Bite 6D+2, Running 5D+1, Sneak 6D
Knowledge 2D: Intimidation 5D, Survival: Swamp/Bayou 7D
Mechanical 1D+2: Navigation: Backwater 5D
Perception 3D+2: Hide 6D, Search: Tracking 7D+1, Sneak 6D+2
Strength 5D: Brawling 7D, Climbing/Jumping 6D, Stamina 7D, Swimming 6D
Technical 1D+2: Primitive Traps 4D
Special Abilities:
Apex Were-Tiger Shift: Can shift between human tracker and massive bipedal tiger form.
Predatory Senses: +2D to all Search checks relying on scent, vibration, or night vision.
Natural Armor & Weapons: Claws and bite deal STR+2D damage; thick pelt provides +1D armor vs physical damage.
Hazard Immunity: Immune to swamp acid and natural venoms.
Gear: Skinning blade, braided cypress cord, heavy wading trousers.
Doctor John
Voodoo Practitioner & Spiritual Forensics Specialist
Dexterity 2D+2: Dodge 4D, Melee Combat: Cane 4D+2
Knowledge 4D: Folklore: Ark-La-Tex 6D, Occultism: Voodoo/Hoodoo 7D, Spirits & Hexes 6D+2
Mechanical 2D: Ground Vehicle Operation 3D
Perception 4D: Astral Sight 6D+1, Investigation: Residue 6D, Sense Hex 6D+2
Strength 2D+2: Stamina 4D
Technical 3D+1: Gris-Gris Crafting 5D+2, Medicine: Herbal 5D
Special Abilities:
Raven Totem: Can commune with local scavengers/corvids to scout territory up to 3 miles away (+1D to tracking reconnaissance).
Spectral Cleansing: Can neutralize acidic residual slime and planar blight using consecrated ritual powders.
Gear: Carved bone walking stick (STR+1D), satchel of mojo bags, silver-dusted ash, chalk for protective veves.
Uncle Bill
Master Bayou Tracker & Waterway Survivalist
Dexterity 3D: Brawling Parry 4D, Firearms: Shotgun/Rifle 6D, Knife Combat 5D
Knowledge 3D: Ark-La-Tex River History 5D+2, Local Navigation 6D, Survival: Backwoods 6D+1
Mechanical 3D+1: Boating: Airboat/Skiff 6D+2, Vehicle Repair 4D+2
Perception 3D+1: Hide 5D+1, Search 6D, Sneak: Marshland 5D+2
Strength 3D+2: Brawling 4D+2, Lifting 4D+1, Stamina 5D+1
Technical 2D+1: Boat Engine Mechanics 5D, Carpentry/Fortification 4D
Gear: 12-gauge pump shotgun (5D damage), heavy hunting machete (STR+1D+2), customized flat-bottom aluminum skiff, spotlight, waterproof hip waders.
Detective Jones
Parish Criminal Investigator & Forensic Analyst
Dexterity 3D: Dodge 4D+1, Firearms: Pistol 5D+2
Knowledge 3D+2: Criminology 6D, Law Enforcement Protocol 5D+2, Parish Records 6D, Streetwise 5D
Mechanical 2D+1: Ground Vehicle Operation: Cruiser 4D+1
Perception 4D: Interrogation 5D+2, Investigation: Crime Scene 6D+2, Search 5D+2
Strength 2D+2: Stamina 3D+2
Technical 2D+2: Ballistics Analysis 5D, Evidence Preservation 5D+1, Fingerprinting 4D+2
Gear: Service .40 caliber pistol (4D damage), digital evidence camera, forensics fingerprint/swab kit, Caddo Parish badge and credentials, Kevlar vest (+1D vs ballistics).
Tactical Perimeter: Dez Nuts, Head Stone, & Gimmer
Heavy Recon & Anomaly Containment Operatives (Squad Template)
Dexterity 3D+1: Brawling Parry 4D+2, Dodge 4D+2, Firearms: Automatic Rifles 5D+1, Heavy Weapons 4D+2
Knowledge 2D: Military Tactics 4D, Threat Assessment 4D+1
Mechanical 2D+1: Communications 3D+2
Perception 3D: Search: Perimeter Watch 5D, Sneak 4D
Strength 4D: Brawling 5D+2, Lifting 5D, Stamina 5D
Technical 2D: Demolitions 4D, Field Barricades 4D+1
Special Squad Role:
Mimic Thief Containment: Equipped with specialized insulated poles, high-alkaline neutralizing sprays (cancels acidic glue), and heavy steel-mesh netting.
Gear: Tactical carbines (5D damage), heavy ballistic vests (+1D+1 physical, +2 vs fragmentation), chemical-resistant hazmat gloves, industrial spotlight rigs.
Here are the individualized OpenD6 stat blocks for the squad, breaking out Dez Nuts and Head Stone with their exact species, archetypes, and signature weapons, alongside Gimmer:
Dez Nuts
Squirrel Sniper & Micro-Recon Scout
Dexterity 4D+2: Brawling Parry 3D, Crossbow 7D, Crossbow: Dual Pistols 7D+2, Dodge 6D+2, Running 6D
Knowledge 2D: Streetwise 4D, Survival: Canopy & Brush 5D
Mechanical 1D+2: Glider/Rigging 3D
Perception 4D+1: Hide: Foliage/Shadows 7D, Search: Ambush Spotting 6D+1, Sneak 7D
Strength 1D: Brawling 2D, Climbing 7D+1, Jumping 6D, Stamina 3D
Technical 2D: Crossbow Maintenance 5D, Traps: Micro-Snares 4D+2
Special Abilities:
Small Target Profile: Opponents suffer +10 DN (+2D difficulty) to hit Dez Nuts with ranged or melee attacks due to his minute size and rapid dodging.
Canopy Acrobat: Can leap through cypress branches, roof rafters, and swamp canopy at full running speed without penalty.
Gear: Twin micro-crossbow pistols (3D+2 damage each, fast reload, specialized coated flechettes/bolts), miniature tactical harness with climbing carabiners, waterproof bolt quivers.
Head Stone
Tygerian Were-Tiger Ranger
Dexterity 4D: Brawling Parry 5D, Bows 7D, Dodge 5D+2, Melee Combat: Claws 6D, Sneak 6D
Knowledge 2D+2: Wilderness Lore 5D, Tracking: Planar Anomalies 5D+2
Mechanical 1D+2: Beast Riding 4D
Perception 3D+2: Hide 5D+2, Search: Stalking 6D+2, Sense Anomaly 5D+1
Strength 4D+2: Brawling 6D, Climbing 5D+2, Stamina 6D+1, Swimming 5D
Technical 2D: Bowyer/Fletcher 5D, Field Medicine 3D+1
Special Abilities:
Were-Tiger Transformation: Shifts between a towering humanoid Tygerian ranger and an apex predatory were-tiger form.
Predator Resilience: Thick striped hide grants +1D armor against physical, kinetic, and bludgeoning damage.
Gear: The Grave-Strike Bow (Magical composite bow; 5D+2 damage, ignores 1D of supernatural armor, shoots ethereal-tipped wooden shafts that leave a pale white trail), arm braces carved from petrified wood, ranger leathers.
Gimmer
Heavy Breacher & Tactical Pointman
Dexterity 3D+1: Brawling Parry 4D+2, Dodge 4D+2, Firearms: Shotguns/Heavy Rifles 6D
Knowledge 2D: Military Demolitions 4D, Threat Assessment 4D+2
Mechanical 2D+1: Armored Skiff Pilot 4D
Perception 3D: Search: Perimeter Watch 5D+1, Sneak 3D+2
Strength 4D+1: Brawling 5D+2, Lifting 5D+1, Stamina 5D+2
Technical 2D+1: Barricade Construction 5D, Neutralizing Compounds 4D+2
Special Squad Role:
Acid/Glue Neutralization: Carries an industrial pressurized tank filled with high-alkaline slurry to dissolve the Mimic Thief's adhesive secretions and free entrapped gear.
Mimic Thief Containment: Equipped with specialized insulated poles, high-alkaline neutralizing sprays (cancels acidic glue), and heavy steel-mesh netting.
Gear: Tactical heavy shotgun (5D+1 damage), alkaline spray dispenser, chemical-resistant reinforced hazmat apron, flashbang charges, tactical breaching shield (+2D physical cover).
1D6 Random Bayou Weather Matrix
Roll 1D6 at the start of each field hour when tracking along the Twelve Mile corridor:
1 — Oppressive Swamp Stagnation: 98°F, 95% humidity, dead air. Visibility normal, but all Physical Stamina rolls are at +5 DN due to blistering heat exhaustion.
2 — Barometric Drop (Swamp Dread): Sky turns bruised purple. Barometer plunges. Characters must make a Moderate (15) Willpower roll or suffer a -1D penalty to Perception from creeping psychological dread.
3 — Sudden Delta Squall: Blinding sheet rain. Reduces all visual Search checks and ranged weapon attacks by -2D. Mud depth increases by 6 inches.
4 — High-Water Backflow: Red River surges into the tributary. Current strength doubles. Boating/Piloting difficulties increase by +5 DN to avoid submerged cypress logs.
5 — Static Searing & Ozone Fog: Ground-level fog crackles with golden static discharge. Radio and comm gear fail completely. Forensic scanner rolls receive +1D to detect planar residue.
6 — The Vortex Surge: The spatial tear widens. Reality warps within a 100-meter radius. Gravity flickers (jump distances doubled), and strange echoes from parallel timelines ripple across the water.
Field Log: Stepping into the Vortex
The morning after the front blew through, water at the John Franks WMA boat launch sat four feet above pool stage. The smell of sour vinegar and ozone hung heavy over the reeds—the trademark signature of a Mimic Thief scavenging near an active Geo-Node.
While the town celebrated Bayou Tuesday under canvas awnings downtown, Captain Hedges and Bayou Earl pushed the skiff into the flooded timberline
Here is the fully revised Game Master Investigation Scenario integrating The Raft-Walker as the ancient Were-Gator Skin-Walker from the 1830s Great Raft lore, with Gimmer in his true role as the team’s stealthy Mimic Thief:
🎲 GM Investigation Scenario: The Twelve Mile Fracture
Operational Briefing: Following the severe late-September squalls of 2026, floodwaters along Twelve Mile Bayou have surged past the gauges at the John Franks Wildlife Management Area boat launch. While downtown Shreveport celebrates Bayou Tuesday under rain-soaked awnings, the drastic barometric drop has ripped open a dimensional fracture deep in the cypress bottoms.
This spatial tear has awakened The Raft-Walker—a massive, ancient Were-Gator Skin-Walker driven into hibernation beneath the mud during Captain Henry Miller Shreve's 1830s clearance of the Great Raft. Mutated by raw vortex energy, the beast has emerged to reclaim its blood-soaked bayou territory.
Staging from the Cypress Shadow B&B, the Shreveport Cabin Crew must deploy into the flooded sloughs, track the prehistoric terror, and collapse the rift before the creature tears through the municipal levees.
Phase 1: Launch at John Franks WMA
The party puts Uncle Bill’s reinforced aluminum skiff into the flooded backwater at the submerged boat ramp. The swamp is eerily silent, choked with the smell of stagnant muck, ozone, and rotting timber.
Environmental Baseline: Roll 1D6 on the Random Bayou Weather Matrix to establish wind, water surge, and visual penalties for the opening hour.
Navigating the Drift:
Uncle Bill rolls Boating: Skiff (6D+2) against Moderate (15) DN to weave through floating log debris without puncturing the hull or snagging the prop on submerged cypress knees.
Detective Jones rolls Investigation: Crime Scene (6D+2) against Moderate (14) DN along the washed-out bank, cataloging shredded aluminum caution signs and splintered deer stands bearing claw-gouges that match no known modern reptile.
Phase 2: Infiltration and Recon
As the crew glides beneath the Spanish moss, standard radio comms dissolve into high-frequency spatial distortion.
Canopy Scouting: Dez Nuts darts through the upper branches of the bald cypress canopy. A Search: Ambush Spotting (6D+1) roll against Difficult (20) DN reveals unnatural wake patterns pushing against the river current near an abandoned 19th-century logging barge.
Submerged Espionage: Gimmer (The Mimic Thief) slips into the murky water. Blending into the floating river scrap with his adhesive-rigged camouflage (Sneak 5D), Gimmer scouts the sunken barge hull, spotting the massive armored silhouette of the sleeping Were-Gator without alerting its predatory instincts.
Reading the Trail: Bayou Earl takes the bow in his bipedal Were-Tiger form. His Search: Tracking (7D+1) catches the cold, ancient scent of decaying river silt and blood clinging to the wake, pinpointing the skin-walker's exact lair.
Occult Forensics: Doctor John rolls Perception: Sense Hex (6D+2) against Moderate (15) DN, identifying that the skin-walker's hide is supercharged by the nearby temporal vortex, making its physical armor nearly impervious to ordinary kinetic shock.
Phase 3: The Ambush at the Great Raft Remnant
The creature detonates out of the flooded timber, shattering the rotted timbers of the sunken logging barge.
THE RAFT-WALKER (Ancient Were-Gator Skin-Walker)
Scale: Creature (+2D)
Dexterity 2D+2: Brawling Parry 4D, Dodge 3D+2
Perception 2D: Hide: Swamp Water 6D, Search 4D, Sneak: Murky Depths 6D
Strength 8D: Brawling: Crushing Jaws 9D+1, Swimming 8D, Stamina 9D
Special Abilities:
- Petrified Ironwood Hide: Encrusted with century-old Great Raft timber and petrified
river silt, granting +3D armor against kinetic/physical damage, and +1D against energy.
- Death Roll & Submerge: On a bite hit (STR+2D / 10D damage), targets are pulled under.
Breaking the pin requires an opposed Strength check against 9D+1.
- Vortex Echo Roar: Emits a sub-harmonic planar shriek (Moderate 15 Willpower check or
suffer Swamp Dread: -1D to all actions for 3 rounds).
Tactical Execution:
The Distraction: Gimmer pops from the driftwood flank, spraying adhesive secretion across the creature's back limbs to slow its lunge.
Ranged Harassment: Dez Nuts balances on a cypress limb, firing his twin micro-crossbow pistols (Crossbow: Dual Pistols 7D+2) directly into the beast's sensory pits to disrupt its targeting.
Piercing the Ironwood: Head Stone draws the Grave-Strike Bow (7D). Bypassing 1D of the skin-walker's supernatural timber armor, his ethereal shafts pin the beast's front shoulder.
Apex Grapple: Bayou Earl launches into the shallow mud, meeting the ancient gator head-on in an epic predator clash (Brawling 7D), using his natural immunities and brute strength to keep its crushing jaws off the skiff.
Severing the Rift Anchor: Captain Hedges ignites his topaz lightsaber (Lightsaber 6D+2), executing a precise strike to sever the glowing planar anomaly pulsing at the base of the skin-walker's skull, neutralizing its temporal mutation without causing a lethal planar rupture
.
Phase 4: Sealing the Twelve Mile Vortex
With the Were-Gator disabled and driven back into the deep bayou silt, the raw temporal vortex pulses above the open water, spinning mud and swamp gas into a golden funnel.
Dimensional Cartography (6D) and Arcane Wards (6D+1) to feed the closure matrix frequencies down the line.
The Sentinel's Final Stroke: Captain Hedges activates his Wayfinder and channels Alter: Telekinesis (5D) combined with Sense: Shift Sense (7D) against Very Difficult (22) DN, weaving the fractured reality threads back together and locking down the Twelve Mile corridor for the rest of Bayou Tuesday.
Arcane Navigation: The Green Tygerian Hedge Wizard coordinates live from the Shreveport Cabin via the scrying link,
Product Identity & Legal
Product Identity & Legal Notice:
The following items are designated Product Identity of Arthur Earl C. Hedges Jr. / The Adventures of Captain Hedges:
Worlds & Cosmologies: The world of Zimrala, the Tygerian Isles, the Ether Dragons, and the multiversal pathways of La Ligne.
Characters & Rosters: The specific "Hedge Wizard of the Shreveport Cabin" persona, Captain Hedges (Across Time and Space), Bayou Earl (The Were-Tiger Native Guide & Apex Hunter), Doctor John, Uncle Bill, Detective Jones, Dez Nuts (Squirrel Sniper), Head Stone (Tygerian Were-Tiger Ranger), and Gimmer (The Mimic Thief).
Locations & Operational Hubs: The Shreveport Cabin, the Cypress Shadow B&B, the Twelve Mile Bayou setting, and the John Franks WMA tactical staging corridor.
Lore, Cryptids & Campaign Mechanics: The "Twelve Mile Terror," the "Twelve Mile Vortex," the 1830s Great Raft Were-Gater conflict, The Raft-Walker (Ancient Were-Gater Skin-Walker), Swamp Dread, the 1D6 Random Bayou Weather Matrix, the Evidence Matrix, and the Grave-Strike Bow.
Open D6 System: Mechanics referenced from the D6 System are used under the Open Game License (OGL v1.0a).
© 2026 Arthur Earl C. Hedges Jr. All rights reserved.