Hobo I: A Stay in the Coop
Game: Hobo: The Wandering (Stanford)
GM: Peter (zero_the_fool)
Setting: United States, 1938
Players/Hobos:
…and the jungle fire was burning, down the track came a hobo hiking. He said King David was dead, funeral soon in Britt. No one likes a stormcrow. He shared our fire and flew off west. Damn shame about the king. He was a top-notch breezer, best of the best.
That night the Great Trout sent me five visions:
1) Three yeggs with shivteeth.
2) Bars and stone-the coop.
3) Young stamper sitting on a pine box.
5) Crowd of worried hobos whispering.
6) Abandoned railyard, end of the road, at the foot of the mountains.
In the morning we nailed a rattler bound for Baltimore. Almost got caught by a bull, but Posh talked us out of it. Got a real gift for gab, that one.
Come sundown a fellow hopped our Johnny, and another followed him. Then a third. One, two, three. Shivteeth trio. I warned Tinman, and we kept the watch on them. The yeggs kept to themselves. We parted ways come Baltimore, and good riddance. I went off and plinged for alki at a bar, then made some pennies telling the cacklers their fortunes.
Benjamin, Cornelius, and Sir Bors went off and earned some money doing honest, manual labor. Eddie asked around and found out where to catch the next train to Britt, then made money playing harmonica at a local establishment. Higgins found a sharp, rusty piece of metal, took it to a high traffic area, and then “accidentally” fell on it, injuring his arm. He lay on the ground screaming for awhile before a cop came and asked him to move along, telling him where he could find the nearest doctor. A woman saw this and scolded the policemen for his callousness, then gave Higgins some money.
Evening time we all weighed in and jungled up. I drew some sign and gave it to Rambler and Posh to reveal to them the visions of the Great Trout, but they didn’t get it. Don’t know the marks, they. I tossed back some redeye and slept.
Got woken up by one of the town clowns in the morning. Whole outfit got yanked and thrown in the coop, except for Posh. Bars and stone, second trial, blessed be the Great Trout. The clowns tried to pin a robbery on us just ‘cause some stampers did it. I told them it must have been the shivteeth trio, but coppers never listen. At least they gave us some dukie. A pill peddler came and patched up Barber. Can’t trust them, he should have listened to me. Bad luck, bad luck.
Hours passed, during which time Cornelius found some work and earned a little more money. Then he proceeded to the police station to see what had become of the rest of the outfit.
Well, we had to get out to nail the rattler to Britt, so we hatched a plan. I started groaning and retching to high heaven and Whistle banged on the door and said he had to go take a leak. The copper let him out. Then Posh showed up and started talking to the clown. Whistle grabbed his hat and keys and let us out and we all ran. Copper chased us, but we got away by the grace of the Great Trout, blessed be His scales. Two trials down, three to go.
Glossary: (in order of when the terms were first used, rather than alphabetical)
jungle: a hobo camp
King David: the “King of the Hobos,” elected at a hobo convention in Britt, Iowa in 1937 (this guy actually existed)
breezer: a hobo
yeggs: roving criminals
coop: jail
stamper: a tramp or hobo
nailed a rattler: caught a train
bull: railroad enforcer/policeman
Johnny O’Brien, or Johnny: a boxcar
plinged: begged
cacklers: white collar workers
signs, or marks: symbols drawn by hobos to communicate information to other hobos
redeye: whiskey
town clowns: local police
outfit: a group of hobos who travel together
dukie: something to eat
pill peddler: physician
GM: Peter (zero_the_fool)
Setting: United States, 1938
Players/Hobos:
- Aaron (2_ragged_claws)/Sandy: A superstitious alcoholic who worships a deity he calls the Great Trout.
- Sarah (kalliplokime)/Benjamin, a.k.a. “Rambler:” A young fellow with a real talent for getting around.
- Green (liberateanimum)/Cornelius Chester Copperfield, a.k.a. “Posh:” A genteel, elderly man with a one-eyed cat named Copernicus.
- William (troglodyteking)/”Sir Bors,” a.k.a. “Tinman:” An honest, hardworking stiff who believes he is a knight.
- Black (onetruedavid)/Eddie, a.k.a. “Whistle:” A gifted harmonica player with an overfondness for cheap wine.
- Jeff (zaldreon)/Higgins Roy, a.k.a. “Barber:” A smooth-talking storyteller who uses his talents to arouse sympathy.
…and the jungle fire was burning, down the track came a hobo hiking. He said King David was dead, funeral soon in Britt. No one likes a stormcrow. He shared our fire and flew off west. Damn shame about the king. He was a top-notch breezer, best of the best.
That night the Great Trout sent me five visions:
1) Three yeggs with shivteeth.
2) Bars and stone-the coop.
3) Young stamper sitting on a pine box.
5) Crowd of worried hobos whispering.
6) Abandoned railyard, end of the road, at the foot of the mountains.
In the morning we nailed a rattler bound for Baltimore. Almost got caught by a bull, but Posh talked us out of it. Got a real gift for gab, that one.
Come sundown a fellow hopped our Johnny, and another followed him. Then a third. One, two, three. Shivteeth trio. I warned Tinman, and we kept the watch on them. The yeggs kept to themselves. We parted ways come Baltimore, and good riddance. I went off and plinged for alki at a bar, then made some pennies telling the cacklers their fortunes.
Benjamin, Cornelius, and Sir Bors went off and earned some money doing honest, manual labor. Eddie asked around and found out where to catch the next train to Britt, then made money playing harmonica at a local establishment. Higgins found a sharp, rusty piece of metal, took it to a high traffic area, and then “accidentally” fell on it, injuring his arm. He lay on the ground screaming for awhile before a cop came and asked him to move along, telling him where he could find the nearest doctor. A woman saw this and scolded the policemen for his callousness, then gave Higgins some money.
Evening time we all weighed in and jungled up. I drew some sign and gave it to Rambler and Posh to reveal to them the visions of the Great Trout, but they didn’t get it. Don’t know the marks, they. I tossed back some redeye and slept.
Got woken up by one of the town clowns in the morning. Whole outfit got yanked and thrown in the coop, except for Posh. Bars and stone, second trial, blessed be the Great Trout. The clowns tried to pin a robbery on us just ‘cause some stampers did it. I told them it must have been the shivteeth trio, but coppers never listen. At least they gave us some dukie. A pill peddler came and patched up Barber. Can’t trust them, he should have listened to me. Bad luck, bad luck.
Hours passed, during which time Cornelius found some work and earned a little more money. Then he proceeded to the police station to see what had become of the rest of the outfit.
Well, we had to get out to nail the rattler to Britt, so we hatched a plan. I started groaning and retching to high heaven and Whistle banged on the door and said he had to go take a leak. The copper let him out. Then Posh showed up and started talking to the clown. Whistle grabbed his hat and keys and let us out and we all ran. Copper chased us, but we got away by the grace of the Great Trout, blessed be His scales. Two trials down, three to go.
Glossary: (in order of when the terms were first used, rather than alphabetical)
jungle: a hobo camp
King David: the “King of the Hobos,” elected at a hobo convention in Britt, Iowa in 1937 (this guy actually existed)
breezer: a hobo
yeggs: roving criminals
coop: jail
stamper: a tramp or hobo
nailed a rattler: caught a train
bull: railroad enforcer/policeman
Johnny O’Brien, or Johnny: a boxcar
plinged: begged
cacklers: white collar workers
signs, or marks: symbols drawn by hobos to communicate information to other hobos
redeye: whiskey
town clowns: local police
outfit: a group of hobos who travel together
dukie: something to eat
pill peddler: physician