The Blood Bayou Islands: A Custom Scenario Concept
The Blood Bayou Islands are a fictional, mist-shrouded archipelago in a remote swamp region. Ruled by the enigmatic and powerful Loa, Baron Samedi, the islands are a place where the veil between life and death is thin. The air is heavy with the smell of rum, cigar smoke, and decay. The islands are home to various monstrous kindreds (for Monsters! Monsters!) or unique species (for Open D6) who worship the Baron, and adventurers (or "human scum" in M!M! parlance) rarely leave alive.
Baron Samedi (Antagonist/Powerful NPC)
Baron Samedi is a major spirit (Loa) who governs the passage between life and death. He is notorious for his outrageous behavior, loves smoking and drinking, and makes lewd jokes. He is virtually immortal and wields power over necromancy and healing.
Monsters! Monsters! 2.7 Stats
Monsters! Monsters! uses a simple system of Attributes (Strength, Intelligence, etc.) and a Monster Rating (MR) for non-player characters. The Baron is a powerful, unique entity, best represented as an extremely high-MR monster with unique abilities.
Monster Rating (MR): 500+ (variable, depending on how powerful you want him to be)
Attributes: The Baron is a godlike figure, so his attributes should be very high, likely exceeding typical PC limits.
STR 30+
INT 25+
WIZ 40+ (for voodoo magic and control over life/death)
DEX 20+
CON 35+
CHR 25+
Special Powers/Abilities:
Immortality: The Baron cannot be killed by conventional means. He disperses into the spirit realm if defeated and reforms later.
Necromancy: He can raise any number of zombies or skeletons from the ground instantly within his vicinity. They have a basic MR of 10-20.
Resurrection (Limited): He can heal those near death or even resurrect a chosen individual (often in exchange for a favor or pact).
Lightning Bolts: He can hurl powerful bolts of lightning (equivalent to a high-level spell).
Poison of the Dead: He can exhale a putrid smoke that poisons and slows victims.
Saving Rolls: Automatic success on most Saving Rolls due to his divine nature (e.g., Level 10+ Universal SR).
Open D6 Stats
Open D6 uses a dice pool system (e.g., 3D+1) for Attributes and Skills. The Wild Die mechanic makes the game cinematic.
Attributes:
Dexterity 4D
Knowledge 5D (Voodoo lore, the spirit world)
Mechanical 2D
Perception 5D
Strength 4D
Technical 2D
Skills:
Brawling 5D
Intimidation 8D
Voodoo Magic 10D (Necromancy, curses, healing)
Concealment 4D
Command 6D
Special Abilities:
Spirit Form: The Baron is non-corporeal and can become invisible or possess mortals.
Control over Death: He can prevent the dead from resting in peace or raise them as zombies.
Invulnerability: Immune to most physical damage (requires special magic or items to harm).
Exploding Dice (6s): Standard to Open D6, the Wild Die makes his actions unpredictable and potentially very powerful.
Move: 10 (or fly/teleport at will)
Body Points: N/A (invulnerable to standard damage; use narrative or specific mission goals to defeat him)
Character Points: 100+ (for the GM to manipulate actions/rerolls)
The Origin of the Baron
Before he was the Baron, he was a man named Jacques—a simple gravedigger with a laugh that could wake the weary and a love for life that rivaled the sun. In a small village, Jacques worked the earth, but his heart belonged to Marie, a woman whose beauty and spirit were the talk of the Reach. Their love was a legend, a dance of joy in a world often shadowed by the Cosmic Apocalypse. Tragedy struck when a wasting sickness claimed Marie. Jacques, desperate and refusing to accept the finality of the grave, journeyed into the heart of the Blood Bayou. There, amidst the red mists of Dragon’s Blood, he met an ancient, nameless spirit—an elderly Loa who offered a terrible bargain: Marie’s life in exchange for Jacques’s soul. Without hesitation, the gravedigger agreed.
The Transformation
Marie was healed, but Jacques was consumed by the very earth he once tended. He was reborn as Baron Samedi, a flamboyant skeleton in a top hat, cursed and blessed to be the master of the crossroads between life and death. His laugh became a nasal cackle, his wisdom turned to lewd jokes, and his simple shovel was replaced by the power to decide who enters the afterlife and who remains.
The Lord of the Drifting Skull
He watched over Marie from the spirit realm until it was her time to pass, guiding her soul himself to ensure she found peace. Now, he reigns from Hogman Island, a drifting skull in the Dragon’s Blood, a constant reminder that even in death, one must never forget to live, laugh, and perhaps enjoy a glass of spicy rum.
The Legend of the First Grave
In some corners of the Tygerian Reach, it is said that the Baron is actually the manifest spirit of the very first person buried in a new cemetery. This "First Soul" becomes the guardian of the grounds, donning the black tailcoat and dark glasses to protect the dead from zombification and the living from untimely demise. Whether he was Jacques the gravedigger or the first man to die, the Baron remains the ultimate "Friend on the Other Side".
The Origin of the Baron: The First Seed of Noctunis
The Origin of the Baron: The Lost Seed of the Anchor
Eons ago, before the first true Seedfall touched the endless oceans of the Tygerian Reach, the space between the worlds was shattered by the hubris of a Gardener. When the Ether-Star Dragon Aazurn-Rook collided with Luna-Prime, the impact didn't just rain Moon Crystals upon the waves; it spilled a massive surge of his crystallized, solar-winged blood into the astral sea, creating the swirling, caustic red mists of the Blood Bayou.
As the Cosmic Life Seed Pod broke open and plummeted toward the planet’s core—destined to bloom into the Bluebonnet Volcanoes—one peculiar, jagged seed was knocked off course by a shard of the broken moon. Instead of finding the fertile depths, it drifted into the shadow-drift of Noctunis, the city perched on the edge of the "Great Beyond."
This lost seed took root not in soil, but in the skeletal remains of a gargantuan, prehistoric boar that had perished during the chaos of the lunar impact. Nourished by the spilled Dragon’s Blood of the starving god in the sky and the marrow of Ancient Bone, the Baron was born.
He did not crawl out of the earth; he simply stepped out of the "mouth" of the Boar’s Head Skull, already wearing his top hat and clutching a bottle of spicy rum distilled from the fermented mist of Aazurn-Rook’s tears. Designated by Emperor Rajah as the "Custodial Sovereign of the Drifters," he was given a grim task: to catch the "lost seeds"—the souls of those who died during the collision—before they could drift away into the silent void.
He did not crawl out of the earth; he simply stepped out of the "mouth" of the Boar’s Head Skull, already wearing his top hat and clutching a bottle of spicy rum distilled from fermented dragon-blood mist. He was designated by Emperor Rajah as the "Custodial Sovereign of the Drifters"—the one tasked with catching the "lost seeds" (the souls) that missed their marks during the Seedfall.
The Baron is the only Sovereign who doesn't care about the Trident Trophy or the Sovereign Bowl Rings for their power. To him, the Gridiron is a hilarious dance of mortality. He watches the Silverton Razorbacks from his "Tusk-Walk" balcony, laughing as the players collide on the field, knowing that whether they win or lose, eventually, they all have to cross his bridge.
He is the Lord of the Scrap-Heaps, the master of the small islands that "no one notices," and the only being in the Reach who can look an Ether Dragon in the eye and tell a dirty joke without blinking.
Product Identity & Legal
The following items are designated Product Identity of Arthur Earl C. Hedges Jr. / The Adventures of Captain Hedges: Tiger Force Shadow Saga,, the Water Planet of the Tygerian Reach, the Tygerian Isles, the Ether-Star Dragon Aazurn-Rook, the shattered moon Luna-Prime and its largest fragment The Anchor, the Cosmic Life Seed Pod, and the Seedfall mechanics. The specific "Hedge Wizard of the Shreveport Cabin" persona, the "Royal Cartographer" archetype, and the character "Emperor Rajah." Unique Magic & Items: Crystolmancy, Moon Crystals (Tears of the Moon), the Ink of Anticipation, the Compass of Lost Things, Parchment of Echoes, the Scope of the True Meridian, the Rod of Infinite Spanning, and the Plumb of Gravity’s Anchor.
Unique Locations & Teams: The Whispering Isles, Hogman Island (The Boar’s Head Skull), the Tusk-Walk Promenades, the Silverton Razorbacks (formerly the Hogmen), the Boar Pits, the Snoorter Demons, the Dragon’s Blood Bayou, the Bluebonnet Volcanoes (Flowering Heights), Swan Island, and the Hedges Bowl.
The world of Zimrala, Monsters! Monsters!, and Humans, Humans (1st Edition) are trademarks of Ken St. Andre and Troll Godfather Press and are used with permission. The statistics and game mechanics provided herein are designated as unofficial playtest material for the Tygerian Reach Leo Galaxy campaign setting. © 2025 Arthur Earl C. Hedges Jr. All rights reserved.
The Baron’s cigar smoke is curling through the red mists of the Bayou. By tying his birth to the collision of Aazurn-Rook, we have anchored the Blood Bayou to the very heart of the Tygerian Reach’s gravity and grief.
Yours for now Captain Hedges
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