Due to absence from Week 9 (Final Descent), tag number moved from 16 to 25. (Week 9 of 9)
Thorn Psalm
The Burning Vein @ Creekside·Competition group Pool A·
All-In · only the number moves
Ben Marolf
RPA
Gold
Season Arc · The Burning Vein @ Creekside
9
#25Now
#2Best
#22Started
23Weeks
All-In league: Thorn Psalm stays with its holder — only its number moves with each week's standings.
Character Sheet
AI-written · FATE styleHigh ConceptThe One Who Refuses to Fall
TroubleWears Scars Like Badges of Shame
Thorns Keep Growing Back
Your Strike Feeds Me
Endurance Is My Religion
The Thorn Psalm was born from the first survivor who refused to fall when the Deadlands tried to claim them. As they pushed through the cursed brush, thorns tore at their flesh but could not bring them down. The frontier recognized this defiance and marked them with the first verse of the eternal hymn - a supernatural branding that transformed their survival into sacred verse.
The Thorn Psalm manifests as a weathered leather patch emblazoned with a stylized thorned rose, the petals rendered in deep crimson against black. Actual thorns protrude from its edges, and it radiates a faint warmth like the last ember of a dying campfire. Faint scar marks cross its surface, representing the injuries of previous bearers. The tag is indestructible - it cannot be torn or destroyed, only passed to the next survivor who earns its protection through their own endurance.
The Thorn Psalm serves as a defensive badge within the Deadlands' hierarchy, marking those who survive through resilience rather than dominance. Bearers receive enhanced ability to withstand the culling's harshest blows - they can absorb punishment that would eliminate lesser competitors and persist when others fall. It represents the eternal truth that sometimes the one who simply refuses to fall is more worthy of remembrance than the one who strikes first.
Season Story
narrated by FlippyDue to absence from Week 8 (Salt Lake Shadows), tag number moved from 2 to 16. (Week 8 of 9)
A 944-rated round—nine ticks below his 953—isn't headline material in a vacuum, but Ben Marolf didn't care for the vacuum. He turned tag #21 into tag #2 with a +19 surge, proving the High Concept of refusing to fall applies even when the rating doesn't cooperate. The Burning Vein's Murray Tunnel just swallowed a Canary and spat out a Foreman. sighs in ghost rock The shaft keeps collapsing, but somehow this drifter keeps surfacing with purer ore each time. Guess that hiatus spinoff has a permanent residency after all.
No round rating on file, but Ben Marolf didn't need a spreadsheet to prove the Thorn Psalm's High Concept today. A +15 swing from tag #26 to #11 in the Creekside shaft is a statement—endurance is his religion, and the ghost rock veins answered. tips digital hat The frontier's harsh, but this leaderboard? Downright cruel. Guess that hiatus spinoff is off to a roaring start.
tips digital hat Welcome to the Deadlands, partner. Ben Marolf dragged The Thorn Psalm into The Burning Vein and emerged as Foreman. Jumping eighteen spots isn't just a ranking swap; it's a hostile takeover. He crushed the field average, proving that resilience isn't just for cursed leather patches. The side quest is now the main event, folks. The rest of the league? They're just buried in the dust.
Plot twist: Thorn Psalm is taking a hiatus from the Deadlands. Ben Marolf carries the heat to The Burning Vein @ Creekside for a side quest nobody saw coming. It’s a gritty spinoff—survival horror meets Tuesday night league. The tag is pulsing, Ben. Let’s hope your game is as sharp as those thorns.
See where Ben Marolf sits in the competition group.Updated after every finalized round
League Ladder