Game summary for November 13, 2021, Magpie campaign, Dread Roleplaying Game, for Phoenix Gaming Club. Session included: Ash Cooper (High School Student played by Kaliegh Belda), David Jones (High School Student played by Preston Harmon), Noah Collins (High School Student played by Parker Harmon), Olly (High School Student played by Casey Scruggs), Reginald Engelberger (High School Student played by Peyton Harmon), and Skeeter (High School Student played by Todd Hughes). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons.
A high school group headed out on a field trip in the Australian outback to go camping. The bus pulled up and dropped them off at a trailhead that split into four paths. The students divided up and headed down separate trails while the bus went to the pick-up point. A 4WD had already gone ahead with all their gear. The party went along with Mr. Madison, a dorky teacher known for his terrible “dad jokes.”
A way down the path, Mr. Madison had to use the restroom and stepped off into the bush. A few minutes later, they heard a scream and went to investigate. Ash scrambled down a ravine to try and rescue Mr. Madison and discovered he was dead and his eyes were missing! Ash took his water bottle and walkie-talkie. Skeeter climbed up a tree and tried to raise someone on the radio with no effect. So, they pressed on.
Awhile later they discovered a tattered backpack on the ground with a magpie perched upon it. Ash approached and was viciously attacked! Skeeter and David had knives and were able to drive the bird away. The group searched the pack and found a textbook, snack bars, and a compass. Using a notebook and rubber bands, they bound Ash’s wounds.
Moving along, they found a dirt road crossing the trail. Off down the road, they could see smoke and went to investigate. They found the 4WD on its side smoking with a single magpie sitting upon it. They distracted the magpie with a snack bar. Inside the jeep, they found Mr. Lewinski and dragged him out. His eyes had also been plucked out! The group flipped the 4WD off its side back onto its wheels. Skeeter turned around, and Mr. Lewinski’s corpse had stood up and was standing face-to-face with him! The monster attacked, and the team scrambled into the jeep but were unable to start it. Reggie jumped out and lifted the hood trying to fix it. He realized it was about to explode, and the team scrambled out while grabbing an area map from the glove compartment. As they ran, Mr. Lewinski dropped to all fours like a dog and charged after them. The explosion of the jeep violently hurled him into a tree. The impaled corpse hung on a limb for a moment twitching. Then, the limb broke. The shattered corpse shambled to its feet and resumed a slow pursuit.
The students ran back to the trail and could see the body of Mr. Madison coming up the way! They hid in the bush, and unable to see them, it walked by. There was a second explosion at the jeep, and it bound away toward the noise. Taking advantage of the distraction, they ran on down the trail. After a while, they came upon Ms. Pulli! She was injured and panicked. She told them her group had been swarmed by magpies and killed. She fled to the camp, didn’t find the 4WD, and was coming down the trail looking for help.
The team bandaged up Ms. Pulli and pressed on. They came upon a rise and could see the campground ahead. Between them and the camp was a bloody mess and twelve dead bodies. The students ran for the camp. The took the picnic tables and barricaded themselves inside a bathroom and sharpened plunger handles into spears. They could hear their reanimated school mates walking around outside. During the night, they made contact on the walkie-talkie with a fellow student named Johan who begged to be rescued. He said his leg was broken and sticking through the skin. He pleaded with them to come for him, but they told him they couldn’t make it in the dark and they would come for him in the morning.
At dawn, they came out and found the area was clear. They went off and found Johan badly injured. They made a litter and dragged him back to the campsite. They barricaded him and Ms. Pulli inside for safety and set out toward the bus rendezvous point. Along the way they came across a bridge and had to distract one of the zombie creatures. They used one of the radios to generate noise to distract it. Moving through the bush, the came across a pile of items the magpies had collected and heaped up. A few magpies flittered around and began pursuing the group through the woods. They came running out and found the bus!
Running up they could see Mr. Frank in the driver’s seat. Calling out to him, his eyeless corpse spun around and ran into the door of the bus! It tried to batter its way out. Inside a dozen magpies fluttered around! They could see the key in the ignition. They opened the storage on the bus and found road flares and a fire extinguisher. The group opened the back of the bus, and one of them ran in and bashed Mr. Frank’s corpse with the extinguisher. They then drove the magpies out by spraying them with it. They closed the windows and doors and tried to start the bus; however, they discovered Mr. Frank had died with it running and it was out of gas!
They grabbed the radio and called for help, reaching a ranger at a nearby station. He told them people had gone crazy, and they tried to explain what they thought was happening. He said he was coming with gas. Meanwhile, the magpies gathered en masse and apparently called out to the zombies! Soon dozens surrounded the bus and beat on it trying to get in.
The students could see a jeep approaching, and numerous magpies went flying toward it. The ranger over corrected and got the jeep stuck! He jumped out with a rifle and a 5-gallon gas can and began running for the bus! They could tell as he tired he was not going to make it. Bravely, David and Skeeter jumped out of the bus and ran to help him. He handed David the rifle, and he and Skeeter shared the weight of the can. The students distracted the zombies with the horn on the bus. Ash started one of fire with a flare from out of the bus window. Soon, several were on fire and climbing all over the bus!
The group returned to the bus and began filling it with gas. David tried to shoot one of the flaming zombies off the roof as it jumped down upon him! It ripped his throat out and knocked the ranger to the ground! Gas went everyone near the flaming monster. Skeeter used a tire iron to beat it to death, and Ash used the fire extinguisher on it. They refilled the bus and climbed in the back door. Skeeter fired up the engine and backed it out of the mob! The group took off down the road. They got on the radio and told Ms. Pulli they would send help. As they approached the edge of the park, a single magpie sat on the sign. The ranger leaned out and shot it off the sign! It died on the ground as the sped to safety.
