Review: The Last Will and Testament of Obediah Felkner
The first unofficial adventure for Weird Frontiers
For some reason, the PCs have been named as the beneficiaries of the recently deceased Obediah Felkner. However, they receive the claim to his silver mine only if they can bring back a holy relic known as the Hand of San Roque and deliver it to Obediah’s widow before dawn. Oh, and by the way, Obediah died of a deadly disease that quickly killed him and you all have the same symptoms as he did. And the holy relic can also be used to cure you. So hop to it!
The Last Will and Testament of Obediah Felkner is written by Stephen Newton under Thick Skull Adventures and totals up to 34 pages. It’s technically written for DCC, but was written with Weird Frontiers in mind. It references Dark Trails (the original working title for Weird Frontiers) but also that you can use the Black Powder, Black Magic zines for a true weird west game. Keep in mind that this was released in 2020 so Weird Frontiers had yet to be published. I was lucky enough to play this adventure during the first Cyclops Con and had Stephen newton as the judge!
The adventure also comes with 12 pre-gen characters for DCC. I will note that the pre-gen for Santana Castillo is erroneously missing Spanish as a listed language and knowledge of multiple languages is something that will come up in the adventure. There’s also a full patron write-up for Ggck’Kalic the Unclean, five handouts, and a full page write-up for converting the game to Dark Trails.
The Premise - Spoilers Ahead
So the PCs are being set up and the players probably know this. For a con game, you’re probably going to have the buy-in for this to still work but it may be harder in a campaign. The wasting disease that afflicts them will likely be the real motivator. However, that disease, just like the rest of the story, is just a ruse. The first level patron spell for Ggck’Kalic produces symptoms, but not true disease. And Obediah Felkner isn’t actually dead. Well, he is but he’ll come back unless the PCs do something about it. His widow needs that “holy relic” (its actually rather unholy), lost long ago, to complete the ritual that will reincarnate Obediah’s soul a demonic baby. They do this to each other and have continued in their marriage for hundreds of years. Nothing like a strong relationship.
The Adventure - An Overview
At the will reading, the PCs can question the widow, the lawyer, or the two other attendees (goons for the widow), plus they may have heard some rumors. There’s 18 rumors. A large part of me wishes there were either 16 or 20 rumors just so we could roll for it. I guess there’s those extra Zocchi dice but I’m not personally that much of a dice fiend. In general, the PCs need to travel to the abandoned mission church that still holds the relic, explore it, find the relic, and bring it back. So somewhat linear, but the PCs have a fair bit of freedom in how the approach exploration and interaction with NPCs.
Upon reaching the abandoned church, the PCs will find that it’s boarded up and the front entrance is seemingly guarded by a ghostly ward. There’s a few locations to explore around the church: a cemetery, the bell tower, the priest’s house, and an adobe oven. Each of these places offers some information that can help the PCs uncover the mystery of this place, thought he priest’s house has the most in the way of obvious answers. There’s also a back entrance into the church that is boarded up but not warded. Of course, there’s also some danger to be found while exploring outside. Generally speaking, the places with the most reward also offer the most risk.
Once inside the church, the PCs are likely a cautious bunch, on the lookout for traps. The “holy relic” does not appear to be present. There’s a few creatures that might fight the PCs here, but they only attack if the PCs act in a certain way (read: I expect good behavior at church). There’s also a few things that act as traps. These monsters are really interesting and this whole area is crafted in a way that really invites thoughtful action by the players. Four of the five handouts are for this area, with the fifth accompanying the bell tower.
If players are taking things too slowly, the text advises the judge to inform the players that their “pox” is starting to look worse. Most of the magic items can help in the PCs finding the hidden entrance to the catacombs (ex: red candles shed light that magically outlines of secret doors). The catacombs are small, such 3 keyed areas, but certainly get the job done. There’s a spirit guarding the “holy relic”. It demands that one of the PCs recite the correct words. These words are in a journal that can be found in the church. If the PCs haven’t found this or are just a bit dense, the spirit attacks.
When the PCs emerge from the catacombs, member of the International Organization of Worldly Souls are ready for an ambush. I haven’t mentioned them up until now, but there’s plenty of foreshadowing that the adventure does regarding this shadowy group. They’re essentially good guys, but will do bad things in order to help keep the world safe. It’s possible, though very unlikely, that the PCs can get out of this situation by any means other than handing over the holy relic or having a big shootout.
The adventure outlines two endings. In the first, the PCs meet Felkner’s widow at the Oak Hill Cemetery. There’s a sidebar for if the PCs refuse to hand over the “holy relic” or don’t have it. If they hand over the relic, the PCs have a single round to react as the widow performs the last portion of a ritual. A goat is dies giving birth a squealing baby, the new Obediah Felkner. If the PCs flee, then they’re free to go. If they try to fight, the widow takes the baby and uses a spell to teleport away. The PCs are left to fight with her minions (the two other attendees from the will reading). When I played this, we derailed that plan by invoking the King of Elfland, turning back time for a minute or so, and shooting down the demon baby. Then the widow TPK’d us cause she’s one powerful lady.
If the PCs don’t meet the widow in the cemetery, the widow still attempts the reincarnation ritual (she’s got a limited window before Obediah’s soul is lost) but it goes terribly wrong. A bunch of demons spawn and kill a bunch of innocent folks. As the PCs were seemingly involved, they just might end up wanted by federal marshals. Either way, there’s a lot of potential for an ongoing campaign. The adventure offers a few suggestions for continuing in a campaign.
Summary
This adventure rewards clever players many times over. This adventure can be run in a single 4-hour game session, but having an extra hour or two might help if you’re players are taking their time exploring and investigating. It has a unique faction, tons of handouts, some great art, pre-gens, and a new patron. You probably can’t find a physical copy unless there’s a reprint or you find it on the second hand market, but it’s a heck of a lot of content for a $6 PDF. Go pick it up!
Have you used the International Organization of Worldly Souls in your campaign? What kind of secret organizations do you think would exist in the world of Weird Frontiers?
What else is going on?
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