In reply to Judge Messalen (msg # 288):

OOC: Tommy is now on Hold. Meanwhile, the Judge will be posting / rolling for the Campers this evening. If Tommy posts before the Judge, he may still act first; otherwise, he is on Hold and may act at anytime during the round after the Campers.

The three men around the campfire, atop the hillock, react to the watchman's alarm, standing and readying weapons.

The watchman himself levels his rifle and takes aim at Beaucheveux; however, he appears to hold his fire, at least for the moment. It seems pretty clear that he has a bead on the barber.

Another camper draws his pistol and moves -- towards Pearce and away from the fire light -- stopping after several paces. Like his pard the watchman, this feller seems to be searching into the darkness, ready to fire but holding his shot.

Yet another -- no way to tell if this one or some other man is Gus at this juncture -- also moves away from the fire, but towards Windham. His scattergun is held in both hands, at the ready.

The last camper slips into the shadows much as he had when the heroes first stumbled out of the ravine and into the purview of this men on the hill.

OOC: None of these men do any obvious actions at this time, other than their movement and readying firearms. They may be using skills or making other Trait rolls, of which the PCs have no knowledge -- of course, if opposed rolls are in order, the Judge will edit this message with instructions or post a follow-up.

It is now Rof's turn.

In reply to Judge Messalen (msg # 290):

Just at the moment when Tommy thought about backing down the hill and returning back to makeshift campsite the watchman shouts an alarm. Tommy instinctively freezes, hoping to not be seen, his shotgun gripped in both hands and pointed up the hill. Having seen a body tied up on the ground and remembering the suspiciously unfriendly welcome he is sure these men are bad news...he considers his options

~I could maybe leg it back into the darkness but I don't fancy gettin killed like a coward.....and Tracy or someone over there needs cover...can't give myself away by yelling out or causing a distraction either. Gonna have to fight it out from here and hope we get them surrounded... ~

Free Action:
Tommy remains prone and crawls up to where he can just see the closest camper, he aims his shotgun, sighting literally thru grass

Action
Tommy aims his shotgun at the nearest camper

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

OOC: I am coming off hold and Tommy is using his action this turn to AIM (pg 97). Also I'm assuming I can shoot from this prone position next turn
This message was last edited by the player at 03:15, Sat 22 Feb 2020.

In reply to Thomas Pearce (msg # 291):

OOC: Acknowledged. "Aim" is fine -- it is Tommy's action for the turn, with some movement ("crawling") as well (normal movement up to 6" per turn -- or 36 feet -- is free; crawling uses twice the normal movement, that is, it costs 2" towards the total of 6" for every inch moved, meaning maxi of 3" per turn, or 18 feet). And yes, he can fire while prone and get the Aim bonus, on his next turn, next round.

FYI, Rof sent the Judge a PM about his turn. Usually, the Judge will give extra time for the game post when a character asks a valid question in PM -- so Rof is still on the clock, but the Judge will be lenient on the 24 hour rule in light of the PM.
This message was last edited by the GM at 11:20, Sat 22 Feb 2020.

In reply to Judge Messalen (msg # 290):

Rof stands up straight and walks out from the brush which he was skulking among, but still keeping a distance from the nearest camper. He has his hands placed upon his chest, holding the inner edges of his vest, letting his thumbs rest firmly upon the hilts of the throwing knives hidden, ready to grab them at a moment's notice if needed.

OOC: This is intended to be interpreted narratively as Rof readying his weapons.

"Gentlemen, there is no need for raised weapons, I am no threat." he says with a grin.

OOC: Attempting to convince the campers to unready their weapons with a persuasion roll.

13:30, Today: Rofgia Beaucheveux rolled 15,5 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of (8+7)15,5.  Persuasion Roll - Convince Campers to Unready Weapons.

In reply to Rofgia Beaucheveux (msg # 293):

The watchman keeps his rifle steady -- and aimed at Rof -- but he does not fire. Clearly the camper has heard the barber's words, as have Tracy, Tommy and the other campers. Jake and Earnest are too far away to comprehend, although they have heard another voice and can see the watchman on the hillock, rifle at the ready.

The watchman speaks briefly. "Ye move, I shoot."

OOC: When an attempt such as Persuasion occurs when tensions are high and a combat round is underway, the Judge might hold his full adjudication until others have had a chance to act. This is one of those times. Rof's roll was effective, but how effective is still uncertain.

It is Earnest's turn.

In reply to Judge Messalen (msg # 294):

Hearing the ruckus on the hillock, Earnest sets the lantern down and draws his Colt. He speaks low but urgently.

Sheisse, sounds like we may be needed up there Jake!

Assuming Jake agrees, he will begin moving quietly toward the campsite.

In reply to Earnest Nicholas Samuel Ringgenberg (msg # 295):

OOC: Earnest needs to confirm how much of his 6" movement he intends to take.

It is Jake's turn.

In reply to Judge Messalen (msg # 296):

"Yep, somebody got theirselves spotted," Jake replied, agreeing with Earnest's analysis. ~Leaastways, they ain't swappin' lead yet,~ he thought to himself.

Drawing his LeMat from his waistband and holding it in his right hand, barrel pointed towards the ground, the Texican moved towards the location of the camp. The fact that it was dark discouraged him from trying to move any more quickly. As best he could, Jacob sought to keep some sort of cover between himself and the men in the camp.

---

OOC:

Free Actions: Speak, ready weapon (LeMat).

Move: Jake will take his full movement (6 inches = 12 yards).

Edit: Action: On Hold. Jake will attempt to interrupt any aggressive action on the part of any of the campers.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:55, Sun 23 Feb 2020.

In reply to Jacob Richardsen (msg # 297):

OOC: It is Tracy's turn.

In reply to Judge Messalen (msg # 298):

From his cover in the brush, Tracy sights his Carbine on the camper taking aim at the barber. The investigator figured that he’d take advantage of his precarious position to help his new friend before being eventually spotted anyway.

~I hope you’re ready, Rof.~

Tracy fires.

OOC:

23:33, Today: Tracy Windham rolled 2,2 using d10,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 2,2.  Shooting, targeting camper aiming at Rof.

23:34, Today: Tracy Windham rolled 14,1 using d10,d6, rerolling max with rolls of (10+4)14,1.  Shooting, targeting camper aiming at Rof (2).

23:37, Today: Tracy Windham rolled 9,4 using 2d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 4,5,4.  Damage, Spencer (with Raise).

Definitely would have used a Benny in this situation. Also, I believe this was a Raise, which is 1d6 regardless of the number of Raises, for a total of 13 damage.

In reply to Tracy Windham (msg # 299):

Windham sights the watchman and fires. A moment after the carbine's report, the man staggers, his body twisting as if to identify the source of the bullet, before falling to the ground and therefore out of sight of everyone except Pearce.

The man nearest to the investigator, the one with the scattergun, sights Tracy and fires. The buckshot digs into the earth several feet in front of the Californian.

----------------

OOC: It's a new round ... the Judge will often adjudicate and provide narrative summarizing the round. In this case, keeping it simple with narration, focusing on the play-test combat.

Tommy, Jake and Earnest can see the man with the revolver. He is only about 20 feet from Tommy, although the rifleman and the professor don't know that. Tracy can see the man with the scattergun -- and vice versa. Rof can see both the man with the pistol, on his right, and the man who just fired the scattergun, on his left.

The Judge still needs Earnest's distance movement (and a Stealth roll for trying to move quietly); it won't affect anything in the round we just concluded, but it could affect things in this round. The Judge had ruled that the Notice by the campers was an opposed test to other PC actions (not a voluntary action). The one with the scattergun spotted Tracy because the investigator had fired -- and since he was on Hold, he returned fire, but missed. Note that the Judge is rolling only one die, because these are Extras, not Wild Cards and therefore they don't get the Wild Die. (EDIT: btw, it is -2 or -4 for some Trait tests because of darkness; -2 in Tracy's case firing on the man still near enough to the campfire but his Ace on the roll made that moot.)

Jake's went on Hold during the round. By rule, a hero on Hold who doesn't act in the round will stay on Hold to begin the next round, and can go at any point in the round he or she chooses, including first (instead of being dealt a new initiative card, the player is simply "first" unless in this Judge's opinion, someone else draws the Joker). That is a little problematic in this game and the Judge had avoided this in our previous adventure (and it didn't come up much -- most of the time, PCs performed an action every round); however, going to try it out now. It's possible a PC, like Jake who now has Level Headed and gets two cards, might want to be in the action card draw instead of automatically being "first" -- so the Judge would certainly allow that if we use this rule. It might end up slowing down the game a bit, or leaving someone on Hold for a while if the player doesn't log in daily and other players are posting. We'll see how it goes.

Initiative
Earnest   Ace Diamonds Second
Rof Ten Spades, Three Spades  Fourth
Jake Hold First
Tommy Three Diamonds, Seven Hearts Fifth (+2 Aim)
Tracy  Jack Hearts Third
Campers Three Hearts Last

(No Jokers, yet ... the Judge continues to draw from the same deck, without shuffling)

It is Jake's turn.
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:32, Mon 24 Feb 2020.

In reply to Judge Messalen (msg # 300):

"Straight shootin'," Jake muttered to Earnest, by way of a good luck wish. The Texican knew the value of making himself a smaller target, so he quickly dropped prone.

~Wisht I had brung the Widder-Maeker," he thought to himself as he sighted down the short barrel of the LeMat, and squeezed off a shot -- the shotgun round, in this case.

---

OOC:

Free Action: Speak, drop prone.

Action: Jake is firing at the man with the revolver to whom the Judge has alluded in his post.

13:53, Today: Jacob Richardsen rolled 5,2 using d10,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 5,2.  Firing Lemat at Hardcase.

13:55, Today: Jacob Richardsen rolled 9,3 using d10,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 9,3.  Bennie Re-Roll (Firing LeMat).

Notes: Jake does not have the benefit of his Improved Trademark Weapon Edge, since he did not bring his Winchester (the referenced "Widow-Maker") along on this outing. Since he did not move this turn, I believe that the Marksman Edge would apply -- I'm not sure how to apply the modifier in this instance, so I shall ask the Judge to do so. And since I wasn't sure how many negative modifiers would apply, I burned a bennie, hoping for a better Attack roll.

Since this is a play-test, I have had Jake fire the shotgun barrel. I will need some assistance from the Judge in rolling for Damage, if the shotgun blast hits the target.

In reply to Jacob Richardsen (msg # 301):

A few moments after the investigator's Spencer reports, the Texican's new revolver rings out.

OOC: The Judge and Jake are hammerin' out the stats for the LeMat. For now, Richardsen should go ahead and roll 2d6 damage for this play-test. He needed the re-roll, because the attack has -4 (-2 for darkness and -2 for medium range) and the Marksman will only negate 2 of those penalty points ... 9 -2 = 7 so no raise but it is a hit.

EDIT: Clarification, ... the shotgun does 1-3d6 depending on range. Medium range here = 2d6.

It is Earnest's turn. 24 hours before he goes on Hold.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:21, Mon 24 Feb 2020.

OOC:

Here is Jake's Damage roll: 18:42, Today: Jacob Richardsen rolled 7 using 2d6, rerolling max with rolls of 4,3.  LeMat Damage (Grapeshot). I could not remember whether it was permissible to re-roll Max on Damage rolls and am pressed for time, so I went ahead and included it in this roll. As it turned out, it didn't matter.

In reply to Jacob Richardsen (msg # 303):

OOC: Yes, damage rolls can Ace, so you should in fact check the re-roll max on all damage rolls.

In reply to Judge Messalen (msg # 304):

Earnest moved with Jake towards the campsite, but once the firing starts, he separates from Jake and continues moving up the hillock slantwise in a crouch, looking for another target.

OOC: Sorry I didn't say it explicitly, but I intended Earnest to move with Jake last round. Here is the stealth roll (if still needed):
18:38, Today: Earnest Nicholas Samuel Ringgenberg rolled 3,1 using d4,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 3,1.  Stealth roll.

I don't know if moving in a crouch (vice actual crawling) incurs a penalty, but Earnest will hold his action and use his full pace unless another target presents itself. As stated, he's not heading directly to the campsite, but slantwise towards it to both put lateral distance between him and Jake while still approaching the camp.

In reply to Earnest Nicholas Samuel Ringgenberg (msg # 305):

OOC: It is Tracy's turn.

In reply to Judge Messalen (msg # 306):

Tracy sights the man with the scattergun whom had targeted him and returns fire. After his shot, he drops prone.

OOC:

08:40, Today: Tracy Windham rolled 7,4 using d10,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 7,4.  Shooting, man with scattergun.

08:41, Today: Tracy Windham rolled 8 using 2d8, rerolling max with rolls of 3,5.  Damage, man with scattergun.

In reply to Tracy Windham (msg # 307):

OOC: It is now Rof's turn.

He has heard the two weapon reports, from his left and right, and he can see both of those campers, the one with the pistol and the one with scattergun, who it would seem were the targets. In the dark of night, he cannot tell for sure what the results of those shots might have been, but his instinct tells him that both men were hit but not taken down.

In reply to Judge Messalen (msg # 308):

Rofgia jogs unabashedly within 18 ft. of both the scattergun camper and the pistol camper while pulling knifes out from their hidden sheaths in his vest with both hands. With a broad smile he chortles, "Stay still now!"

He throws both of the knives, one at each camper, looking to finish what the others had started.

                                                                                       

OOC:

Free Action: Move, Speak

Action 1: Throw a ranged knife at the scattergun camper.

13:52, Today: Rofgia Beaucheveux rolled 14,16 using d8+1,d6+1, rerolling max with rolls of (8+5)13,(6+6+3)15.  Throwing at Scattergun Camper.


13:55, Today: Rofgia Beaucheveux rolled 2 using d6+d4, rerolling max with rolls of 1,1.  Damage to Scattergun Camper.

Action2: Throw a ranged knife at the pistol camper.


13:53, Today: Rofgia Beaucheveux rolled 3,2 using d8+1-2,d6+1-2, rerolling max with rolls of 4;3.  Throwing at Pistol Camper (With Multi-Action Penalty).


13:56, Today: Rofgia Beaucheveux rolled 7 using d6+d4, rerolling max with rolls of 2,(4+1)5.  Damage to Pistol Camper.


Note: I'm hoping that I did this all correctly. Figured I would try a difficult combat turn since it is a playtest.

In reply to Rofgia Beaucheveux (msg # 309):

OOC: It is Tommy's turn. From his position, he has seen almost everything going on -- including both the man with the pistol (close to Tommy) and the one with the scattergun as they suffer the attacks by pards. He sees the barber running up and throwing knives at them after Jake and Tracy fired.

Rof's attacks seem mostly correct at a glance, although the Judge sent a few notes in PM and will follow-up more completely here, later, to address some subtleties in Rof's rolls and adjudicate any follow-up rolls by Rof -- such as a likely Raise on the first attack and thus needing a +1d6 damage roll -- along with some other general notes about multi-actions in a turn and how the penalty works.

In reply to Judge Messalen (msg # 310):

OOC:

After getting the Judge's comments and corrections, Rof would have spent a benny to re-roll for damage on the scattergun camper (with the raise). Not knowing what the damage roll would have been, Rof would not have spent a benny to re-roll the failed athletics roll for the attack on the pistol camper.


19:21, Today: Rofgia Beaucheveux rolled 26 using d6+d4+d6, rerolling max with rolls of (6+2)8,(4+1)5,(6+6+1)13.  Benny Re-Roll Damage to Scattergun Camper (With Raise).

In reply to Rofgia Beaucheveux (msg # 311):

Tommy sees that the camper closest to him is hit by both a gunshot and a brave but borderline crazy throwing knife attack....he thinks to himself
~whoever says you don't bring a knife to a gunfight has never met Rof~
....it's quite amazing but he does not break his aim and he fires a slug from a single barrel of his shotgun at the same camper.

Tommy remains prone.


22:19, Today: Thomas Pearce rolled 4,19 using d6+2,d6+2, rerolling max with rolls of 2,(6+6+5)17.  Shooting roll -- camper with pistol.
22:36, Today: Thomas Pearce rolled 11 using 2d10, rerolling max with rolls of 3,8. -- Damage roll
23:09, Today: Thomas Pearce rolled 2 using 1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 2.  Bonus Damage roll -- raise on camper attack roll.


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
OOC Firing a slug from a single barrel so damage roll is a 2d10 from any range. Bonus damage roll I think is correct because of raise on attack roll
This message was last edited by the player at 04:12, Thu 27 Feb 2020.

In reply to Thomas Pearce (msg # 312):

In the span of a dozen seconds after Beaucheveux had alerted the hilltop campers to his approach, under the light of a gibbous moon, the heroes had dispatched with three of the four campers. The investigator had dropped the watchman with a single shot; the rifleman and the investigator had shaken the man with the pistol and the hombre with with the scattergun, respectively. Those two campers had no chance to react, because the barber had rushed in and thrown knives at each of them, and the mechanic had fired one barrel from his shotgun -- taking down each of the men in succession.

Earnest witnesses all of this, without having made any attacks as he approached the hillock. However, he notices a figure running from the hilltop to the south, now some 20 or more yards away and quite likely to get away in the dark of night. The fourth camper, to be sure, the one who had slipped into the shadows when the fighting began -- and apparently a feller with enough horse sense to run away from a group of men who had just proved themselves as deadly as they come.

----------------------------

OOC: Tommy's roll is definitely a hit and raise. The Shooting roll was fine; there was a -2 for darkness, which the Judges is applying to all PC rolls after viewing the dice roller results. Sometimes the Judge will alert the players ahead of time about an obvious modifier that affects most or all of the combatants (as done in this play-test, the Judge has noted multiple times that there is a darkness penalty, and if you include that modifier within your roll and your roll notes you will be saving the Judge time and effort, which is always good for the players.

(Btw, the Judge notes that both of the new PCs got some serious Aces on their recent rolls -- it's a good mental note that at any time an action can become extreme in this game, from extremely bad on a snake eyes to extremely good when your Ace Aces, and then your Acing Ace Aces, etc.)

Tommy's damage roll has some issues, but that's why we're doing this play-test. Stand by for more OOC notes in this forum about the combat -- and the Judge will reach out to Tommy in PM as well.

Regardless, the results of all the rolls this turn enable the Judge to summarize the end of the round and to continue this play-test narrative, as above, and with aftermath expected, during which the Judge sees other testing to be done. In short, Tracy and Jake had achieved Shaken results on each of their targets. A second shaken result was all that was needed to inflict a wound on each of them. The Judge could have spent NPC bennies to try to soak the wounds, but there isn't much value in that for now, so even if we re-rolled Tommy's damage roll, the odds are quite high that he would get at least a Shaken result -- and Rof's damage was enough to seriously Wound even experienced Wild Cards all by itself. So, for the play-test, we will just there are three men down and the fourth camper escaped. We could perhaps test a Chase, which is what would occur here if we were playing in the regular game thread, but the current circumstances aren't advantageous for such a test, so we will do a few "combat aftermath" things here and then wrap this particular play-test. We can do another one as needed / desired.

Go ahead and react / act with free posting as to what each PC does next (anything you want to do, other than chase the fleeing camper). There are still potential rolls to be made here, and still a resolution to such an encounter that is worth finishing even though it's a play-test.
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:57, Thu 27 Feb 2020.