UPDATING OCCASIONALLY (FOR NOW)
11

11 thoughts on “539 – A Knife In The Dark (END OF EPISODE 22)

  1. Why am I not surprised.

  2. Typical, it’s always someone else’s fault. Revenge is not just best served cold, but by stupid too. “This is all your fault!” Which is wrong, but in his head, it’s right.

    1. It’s also been heavily hinted he has already been brain washed by the zombie worshiping cult.

      1. Which, no doubt, made easier because of that under-lying feeling. People are always looking for a scape-goat…

    2. I don’t know if you got my callback by intent or not, but it’s great to see almost the same words echoed! https://www.zombieranchcomic.com/comic/203-breaking-worst/

  3. Honestly, probably the first time he’s ever taken control of and done ever in his life. There’s a reason why they kept him. Give a dog that’s been beat all its life a whiff of conference and control, you got a problem.

  4. Imagine his surprise when he stabs a pillow. 😜

  5. He isn’t in control, RC – he’s probably drugged to the very dilated eyeballs, probably with Datura. Back on p.443, Eustace is shown holding a Mojave Rattlesnake on a stick while the Brujefe milks it into a glass. Mojave venom A is a paralytic neurotoxin, like tetrodotoxin. Tetrodotoxin was thought to be part of the legendary Haitian “zombie powder”. The other part was Datura, which contains scopalamine, which messes with memory and concentration, and is supposed to render victims docile and suggestible.
    The question is, where did he get his current dose, and did a little drone whisper in his ear?

    1. Except Datura doesn’t do that. You’re thinking of the compound Scoplolmine (AKA the devil’s breath) which generally comes from a specific plant, Borrochero (Brugmansia arbora) that is native to Columbia that the gang in question probably would have had access to. It’s active compound obliterates free will, your conscious, you can function as normal but you are totally open to suggestion which is what happened to McCarty here. Datura just makes you trip mad balls and maybe die, but it does not make you a puppet.

  6. Dr. Norman (not a real doctor)

    Me lleva la chingada !

  7. I’m betting money there’s no one in that bed and it’s a ruse to get him caught.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

 

539 – A Knife In The Dark (END OF EPISODE 22)

Happy Holidays, all! That's a wrap (heh) for Episode 22 just in time for a Christmas cliffhanger! Hope we don't twist the knife too much...

See y'all in 2025 when Zombie Ranch continues!

You never know where it’s gonna go…

Where Dungeons and Dragons or really almost any RPG is concerned, the operating principle for the game master is to prepare to be unprepared. Players will almost always do something undreamt of in your philosophy. Is it good as any kind of writing exercise? Maybe, but if you’re the kind of writer who has everything plotted out just so you might end up frustrated when you make contact with the chaos that is other people. If you think you’re having trouble because your own characters are resisting going where you want them to go, wait until you meet the characters of your friends! A tabletop game master does not have the luxury of the impassive computer environment which can put a stop to stray wanderings by means of a simple waist-high fence. “Railroading” players is still possible but it must be done with great subtlety lest they catch on and become disgruntled; after all, part of the draw of the tabletop session, whether in-person or virtual, is the flexibility and possibility of creating a story ultimately bounded only by the desires and imaginations of all involved — and the occasional critical success or failure. Tabletop is best approached as less of a writing exercise than an improvisation exercise of the kind you might have experienced if you’ve ever taken acting courses or perhaps just watched episodes of Who’s Line is it Anyway? Improv theater does not take “no” for an answer. It takes the starting parameters of a scenario and builds upon it and every twist and turn is met not with the stonewall (or waist-high fence) of a “no” but the evolving path of “yes, and…” Not every game ends up like this, particularly in D&D which can focus less on character interactions and more on tactical combat depending on what the folks involved want. Now don’t get me wrong, I like my tactical combat as much as the next dude but hey, that’s something computer games already do extremely well. What computer games still can’t simulate is the absolute insanity that can happen when the fence is no longer an issue, and I am well pleased with our current game which has spent its last two sessions “in-town” with the closest thing to a tactical situation occurring when characters were attempting to eavesdrop on other characters. I don’t think our DM could ever have foreseen what’s happening, but to her credit she has rolled with it and still has her plot ongoing even if the party at the moment is more concerned with the social implications of root vegetables than getting out and questing. I’m not even kidding. “Yes, and…”