Cinematic Opening

*The skimmer touches down outside the settlement with a wheeze and a gust of rust-red dust. A Ranger steps off, followed by a sun-scarfed trader with a strange rifle, an old medic in a Commonwealth coat, and a wiry mechanic carrying a drone toolkit.

The Ranger adjusts their coat, eyes scanning the streets. The local enforcer approaches with a mix of suspicion and hope.

“Didn’t expect someone from the Accord to answer our call,” they mutter.

The Ranger shrugs. “Someone has to.”

What This Tale Is About

Dustbound Justice is a story of a wandering posse of justice-seekers, a crew led by one or two Commonwealth Rangers who have long since learned that law and justice are rarely the same. They are joined by an eclectic mix of allies — each carrying their own scars, skills, and secrets — as they ride across the dust-choked expanse of Perseverance.

Every episode is a story of a new place — a forgotten town, an isolated outpost, a hidden refuge — where corruption festers, and desperation drives good people to dark choices. The posse is drawn by whispers of injustice, calls for help, or the weight of their own conscience.

They never stay. They don’t build homes, carve out territories, or claim titles. They ride in, fix what they can, and leave before the dust settles. For them, justice is not about permanence — it’s a flame they carry through the darkness, a light that flickers but never fades.

Their travels take them to remote outposts and forgotten settlements, where the lines between law and survival blur. Here, a Ranger's badge means less than a fast draw, and justice is a matter of conviction, not legal code.

Core Themes

Justice Over Law

On the wild frontier of Perseverance, law is often a distant whisper, a relic of the Commonwealth’s authority. But justice is something else entirely — a choice, a conviction. Rangers and their posse face situations where the right thing isn’t always legal, and the legal choice isn’t always right. They must balance principles against practicality, choosing when to enforce the law and when to defy it to do what’s truly just.

The Posse Makes the Ranger

Even the most experienced Ranger cannot face the frontier alone. The posse is more than backup; they are the Ranger’s conscience, allies, and resource pool. Each member brings skills the Ranger lacks — healing, technology, local knowledge, or simply a different perspective. Over time, they become a family of misfits, bound by loyalty and shared danger.

Episodic and Troupe-Friendly

Dustbound Justice is designed to embrace an episodic format, each adventure a self-contained tale. Characters can come and go between sessions, with new faces joining the posse and familiar ones returning. This flexibility allows for shifting dynamics, flashbacks, and evolving relationships. It is a tale of wanderers — some lost, some seeking redemption, some simply surviving.

Drifters with a Code

The posse members aren’t knights in shining armor. They have their own flaws, secrets, and regrets. But they share one thing — a rough sense of honor, a belief that when everything else fails, someone has to try and do right. Whether they succeed or fail, they ride on, leaving only dust and memories behind.

Sample Missions

Dust and Stone

A respected town sheriff is found dead under suspicious circumstances, his badge tossed in the dirt. The deputy, too green to keep order, is on the verge of losing control. The posse must investigate, but the deeper they dig, the clearer it becomes that someone powerful wanted the sheriff gone.

A Bitter Claim

Two prospecting families, the Hales and the Marrows, are on the brink of a blood feud after discovering a mineral-rich valley. Both claim ancestral rights, but the valley’s wealth has attracted shady traders, hired guns, and greedy outlaws. The posse must mediate the conflict — or choose a side.

The Badge and the Blade

An old Ranger named Jerik Kane has turned warlord, enforcing his own brutal version of “order” across a string of settlements. Some see him as a savior, others as a tyrant. The posse must decide if they will challenge him directly, undermine his rule, or find a third way.

Signals in the Storm

A remote desert commune has gone dark following a strange aurora lighting the sky. Locals whisper of raiders, but when the posse arrives, they find evidence of something far stranger — abandoned machines, scattered belongings, and a single survivor who refuses to speak.

Map of the Damned

A dying miner whispers a half-burned map to a forgotten ghost town with a treasure buried beneath its dust. But the posse isn’t the only one seeking it — rival treasure hunters, desperate settlers, and a ghostly legend all stand in their way.

The Lost Lawman

A gang of bandits claim they are former Rangers, but their leader has a badge – one with a serial number that matches a famous missing lawman. The posse must uncover the truth — is the leader truly the lost Ranger, or just a clever imposter?

Prisoner’s Dilemma

The posse is tasked with delivering a prisoner to a remote settlement for trial. But as they arrive, they discover the locals have no intention of letting the prisoner leave alive. Who is the prisoner, and why do they want him dead?

The Dustbound Posse

Ranger Aela Brant

A seasoned Ranger with a reputation for calm judgment and quiet resolve. Aela’s silver-streaked hair and weathered face speak of decades on the frontier, where she has witnessed both the best and worst humanity has to offer. She wears a long, dust-stained coat, her badge tucked inside rather than displayed. Known for her patience and careful words, Aela believes in giving people a chance — until they prove they don’t deserve it.

Tagline: “Justice doesn’t end where the map fades.”

Tiron Vale

A wandering historian and storyteller with a revolver and a conscience. Tiron is a walking library of Perseverance’s history, his journal filled with legends, half-true tales, and notes on people he meets. His silver tongue can calm a mob or spark a riot, but beneath the charming exterior, he carries the weight of stories he wishes he could forget.

Style: Worn vest, field journal, harmonica, a revolver with a faded engraving.

Lisse

Young tech scavenger with a gift for improvisation. Lisse grew up in the tunnels beneath a crumbling refinery town, surrounded by scrap and broken machines. Her sharp wit and quicker fingers have kept her alive, but her loyalty to the posse is what gives her a purpose. Always carrying a satchel of spare parts, she can fix anything — or take it apart in seconds.

Knows: How to listen, how to fix, and when to run.

Sister Daran

Once a Commonwealth medic, now a wandering preacher. Daran’s faith is a rough, unpolished thing — a belief that survival without hope is just a slow death. Her sermons are blunt, her bedside manner brusque, but when the wounded cry out, she answers. Her kit is a mix of medical supplies, reliquary charms, and a well-worn sidearm.

Philosophy: “Hope needs teeth.”

Kas Brenn

A massive, scarred enforcer who once served a corrupt syndicate. Kas turned his back on that life after a massacre he couldn’t stomach. His silence is a wall, his loyalty a fortress. Slow to anger, but unstoppable when roused, Kas serves as the posse’s muscle — but also their conscience, in his own quiet way.

Silent rule: Never strike first. Always finish it.