Shifty Louts Session 13: The Coasthugger to the Twin Cities
Players
Monterey od Mecanizio-Manzaza, Redlander Barbarian (Chance), Brother Lump the Accountant Abbot (Phocas), and Frutilla Paon (hireling)
Summary
The Sixth of Yellowmonth. The Annual Martial Sung Poothers Yellowmonth Sale.
Their arrival at Garden Shield and the zombie workforce leave the group on edge. They seek to flee and find a way to get to the manse of the Vinter Lord Kujina. They sign out of the ASHS of Happy Orchard Mart and speak to a Duckie, who gives some of the finer points of Orange Land economies.
They head to the docks, but find the language barriers difficult as they only speak Free City Kriol, Volkan, and Red Tongue in land that speaks Caddic and Oranjetic amongst themselves.
They do find canal skimmers, hovercraft grown from reeds and air jellies with a bolt-on fan, that travel across the channel to the other side of the Orangelands, and an Envoy Pod, crystal ships that run between Cad Masoleums and a direct line to the Greenlands. However, both are prohibitively expensive with their allotted pleasure budgets.
After some time, they meet the Orangland coasthugger, Nestor Thibodeux, who, through broken Orange City Kriol and Free City Kriol, states that most of the ships and boats of Garden Shield are temporarily out of service, pending the resolution of some minor pirate events.
However, for either 5pb or 10pb, he can get them to either Duck Haven in a day, or for a week, they can ride the coast through the Greenlands all the way to RLD (the Red Land District).
He seems to be some sort of smuggler, but a good-natured one at that, as he says he usually takes Duckies to the apparent Greenland island of Duck Haven. The Redlander and the Yellowlander Accountant Abbot are not sure what to make of that.
The group, anxious to leave and without many options, forks over a majority of their pleasure budget and loads up his small coasthugger with their ponies, cart, struthio, Frutilla’s motorcycle, and their goods for the long slog to the RLD. Much of the time is in relative peace.

The Tenth of Yellowmonth. The Annual Martial Sung Poothers Yellowmonth Sale.
Upon the tenth day, a large Greenland Coastal Dholfin stalks the boat, but quick thinking by Monterey and Brother Lump to use some of their dwarfamite to blow up the stalking creature proves successful in a Jaws-style explosion upon the Everywhen Sea!
The Eleventh of Yellowmonth. The Annual Martial Sung Poothers Yellowmonth Sale.
The eleventh day of Yellowmonth sees the group come across a strange sight. Redlander fisherman, something the simple Rustclanner Monterey has never encountered before! Such a strange sight. The fisherman waves hello, and Monterey waves back!
The Twelfth of Yellowmonth. The Annual Martial Sung Poothers Yellowmonth Sale.
The twelfth day sees Thibodeux’s coasthugger encounter what Monteray identifies as some sort of evolved Magma Maggots who are casting nets upon the water. The coasthugger gets too close as they brandish DWARF bolters and fire into the sky to scare off the Orange Land boat!
The Thirteenth of Yellowmonth. The Annual Martial Sung Poothers Yellowmonth Sale.

Upon the thirteenth day, the coasthugger makes for the Twin Cities of Fixe and Mobile, the Red Land District, some sort of radical anarchist socialist city-state, caught in the throes of revolutionary foment, independent since the Bloody Popular Uprising of Sun (rising) Camelia III against the Vintner Lords.
After paying the porting fee, the group finds the portside bar of Le Pesquemanceur, a red shark adorns its front. Revolutionary cadres patrol the streets, and there's an air of freedom amongst the cadres here.
The group seeks good food after a week of hard tack and splurges on rustbroth stew, the reddish hill bread, and the arm-length honor sausage as they were it down with delicious cinnamon, all “graciously donated” by the Vinter Lords from the Rust Eastcountries.
They speak to the proprietor, Seka, who tells of the DWARFs in the mountain enclave of Falsestilt, after questions regarding a certain Greon 4-copy, the group's supposed DWARF contact.
Seka says they should visit the City Mobile if they want to speak to DWARFs, however, and how the RLD and the DWARFs are aligned. Luckily, Frutilla can speak Volkan!
Seka prods Brother Lump about his association with the Yellow God and how he should follow the revolutionary first-humanism of the RLD, rather than the counter-revolutionary and reactionary thought of the Yellow God. Often seeing them as lap dogs, happy to do the bidding, the blood nationalism of the Vinter Lords. Brother Lump should speak to the RLD preacher Burn-Oppressors-In-the-Oil-of-Judgement in the Wine River Valleys if he wants to hear the truth!
There are some tense moments, as Monteray speaks up, but is chided for his clan libertarianism.
Wanting not to make waves, they finish their meal as Thibodeux exits for the outsider-friendly island of the Old Sea House outside upon the water, and the group gathers their supplies to cross the bridge into the DWARF enclave of the City Mobile.
Treasure Found:
- n/a
Foes Encountered:
- Greenland Coastal Dholfin (exploded with dwarfimite)
- Evolved Magma Maggots (were shot at, but evaded in Thibodeux’s coasthugger)
Rumors:
- There is a Bloody Popular Uprising of Sun (rising) of Camelia III against the Vinter Lords of the Rust EastCountries
- Burn-Oppressors-In-the-Oil-of-Judgement speaks of the Redland’s revolutionary first-humanism against the aristocratic antitheism of the Vinter Lords in the back country of the Wine River Valleys
- The DWARFs and the RLD are tentatively working towards a common goal, based on their ideological alignments of cooperative innovation and industry syndicates. Both are antithetical to the aristocratic and antitheist blood nationalism of the Vinter Lords
- The City Fixe is caught in the throes of revolutionary fever
- The City Mobile is more DWARF aligned
- There are DWARFs out in Falsestilt to the western mountains.
Deaths:
- n/a
XP Awarded:
- 3,000xp / per
- 400xp for finding one of the capitals of the Redlands
- 1,400xp for killing the Coastal Dholfin
- 3,800xp for the week-long coast-hugging
Notes
- Ship and naval travel have always been a particular thorn in my side as GM
- Used the Delving Deeper rules for the week-long coast-hugging
- All the reactions this session were either neutral or particularly friendly
- OGA’s weakest moments, I’ve been finding, are within the cities
- They give enough flavor for where to stay, eat, and general vibes, but beyond hints of plot hooks, there is a gulf between linking them to players
- Much more flavorful are the random encounters and specific locations out in the wilderness
- All this said, it's been interesting to see how players are mentally linking the various polities together
- Languages: Raudalandi (Red Land), Redland District Cant (RLD), Winerian (dewerkers), Volkan (DWARF), Red Tongue (Rust clans)
- Ideologies: Aristocratic antitheism (Vinter Lord), blood nationalism (vampire knights, Vinter Lord), revolutionary first-humanism (RLD), free industrialism (dwarf), clan libertarianism (rustlander).