In reply to Judge Messalen (msg # 41):

OOC:

Got it. Thanks, Judge.

14:07, Today: Tracy Windham rolled 2,5,1 using d6,d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 2,5,1.  Damage, lookout cowpoke.

In reply to Tracy Windham (msg # 42):

Windham is certain that his bullet hit its intended target, although he is less certain about the extent of the damage done. The bandit recoils visibly.

Everyone hears the investigator's weapon report. The riders sense some apprehension from their mounts, at the sound of gunfire.

OOC: The Judge had noted earlier in the adventure that those heroes with Riding would be able to control their mounts in battle, at least in regular conditions. However, like the time that Jake shot the buzzard, Windham and Walker must now make a Riding check to keep control of their mounts during what is now the start of a gun fight. The Riding roll is a free action, required by the Judge. It doesn't impact any other PC actions this turn (although it might affect future actions depending on the result).

It is now officially Earnest's turn. The Judge will be giving roughly 24 hours to each PC to post on his turn, when that timing is reached, the next player in the order may post, with the current player effectively being on hold.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:01, Mon 05 Aug 2019.

This message was deleted by the player at 21:35, Mon 05 Aug 2019.

In reply to Judge Messalen (msg # 43):

OOC:

17:36, Today: Tracy Windham rolled -1,9 using d4-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 1,(6+5)11.  Riding, control mount (2).

17:36, Today: Tracy Windham rolled -1,1 using d4-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 1,3.  Riding, control mount.

In reply to Judge Messalen (msg # 43):

Earnest is caught off guard by Tracy's shot.

~ I'd have preferred if they had shot first... ~

He stows his binoculars and draws his Colt as he urges Sweet Pea northwest (assuming map north is up) to spread out the group.

~ Maybe we surprised them enough to just surrender. ~

In reply to Earnest Nicholas Samuel Ringgenberg (msg # 46):

OOC: Earnest is making at least two different actions here. Sweet Pea's movement is not among them, but stowing the binocs and drawing the Colt are actions. Usually, neither requires a die roll. In this case, the Judge is assigning an agility roll for stowing the field glasses at the usual -2 for performing two actions. (FYI, Windham did something similar, not the same, earlier when he had to apply -2 to his Notice roll when also readying his Colt). A successful roll means stowed as usual; failure depends on how badly he fails.

Correct, the heroes were facing west when they entered the plateau and saw the cowpokes.

It is now Walker's turn.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:11, Mon 05 Aug 2019.

In reply to Judge Messalen (msg # 47):

OOC: BTW, the Judge believes he has stated earlier that in the new rulebook, readying a weapon is no longer an action, but I'm holding to the Deluxe rules for now as we designed our characters with that ruleset (i.e., Quick Draw is an Edge in the Deluxe, if you had wanted that, you oughtta had taken it).

In reply to Judge Messalen (msg # 43):

~ Well dang! I guess we are off with a bang here... ~

The shot startled Ned, but Walker remained calm and kept Ned under control.

OOC: Holding my action to see what happens with the others...

Riding check roll:

12:55, Today: Dave Walker rolled 0,1 using d6-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 2,3.  Riding check after first shot.

Burning a benny...

12:55, Today: Dave Walker rolled 6,3 using d6-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of (6+2)8,5.

Hearing the report of Mister Windham's pistol, Jake reckoned that things were going to start happening fast now. ~Band's struck up playin' "Dixie", an' I'd best git a-dancin',~ the Texan thought to himself.

Well before the end of the War, it had become apparent that having cover -- or not -- made a significant difference in a man's odds of surviving a fight. Hence, Jake urged Jack forward, making a bee-line for the low hillock where the lookout had just popped up.

Reaching the cover, the Texan dismounted and let go of the reins, reasoning that he needed to turn his attention to things other than trying to keep the kid under control.

---

OOC:

Move: Jake will ride forward until he reaches the cover of the small hillock in front of him.

Action: Jake will dismount, seeking the best cover available while still providing a view of the men around the campfire.

Seeing the investigator fire upon the bandit lookout and then watching as the professor and the rifleman start to ride their horses to the northwest and southwest, respectively, Red Shirt raises his carbine to fire at the lookout. Unfortunately, his bullet hits the small hillock behind which the opponent his hiding, sending fragments of sandstone and dust flying.

Daniel Knight does his best to keep his own mount and the other three kids calm when the gunfire starts. He remains at the back of the riding order, mostly out of sight of anyone out on the plateau.

The herbalist hears the young Knight speaking to the horses, but with his attention focused on the situation in front of him, Walker doesn't register any of Daniel's words.

OOC: The Judge still needs the results of the Agility check for Earnest.

Walker is on hold. If he intends to act before the bandits, this is the time. If he intends to interrupt a particular action, he should state that intent in a general way (that is, not necessarily a specific bandit's actions, but something like "if I see one shooting, I'll try to shoot one first" or "if I see one running, I'll chase after him," for example). Walker may wait to act after the bandit act, if desired, but the Judge will put a time limit on that option.

The Judge will be posting the actions of the bandits in a few hours and then put the time limit on Walker's hold before advancing to the summary narrative for the round, including an updated map and the initiative draw for the next round.

In reply to Judge Messalen (msg # 53):

18:33, Today: Earnest Nicholas Samuel Ringgenberg rolled 5,3 using d8-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 7,5.  Agility roll for bino stowage.

Tracy Windham surprised almost everyone when he squeezed the trigger of his Colt. Red Shirt had drifted atop Poogoo just before the revolver's report. It was an impossible shot and yet the bandit lookout showed all of the signs of being hit, including the fact of his hollerin'.

"Son of a bitch, they shot me!" He is clearly shaken, but still has the horse-sense to drop prone behind the hillock.

Earnest Rinngenberg stows his field glasses, realizing for a moment that he might easily have dropped them in his haste to both secure the binoculars and draw his Colt while he urges Sweet Pea to a trot. The mare drifts behind Jake Richardsen, who turns Jack towards the hillock where the shouting lookout resides. The Texan passes near Red Shirt, but fortunately not within the Paiute's line of sight, as the guide discharges his carbine and thereby spews dust from the hillock, just before Jake reaches it and quickly dismounts.

Dave Walker had held any action, waiting to see what the situation develops while Daniel Knight keeps the remuda calm. What the herbalist sees ahead of him are the bandits dispersing from the campfire, spreading out on the plateau. One of stops and shoots a longarm -- obviously at the professor as he rides to the northwest along the edge of the sandstone wall. Even though it is a fair distance, Earnest thanks his stars when he hears the bullet impact against the wall, narrowly missing both Sweet Pea and her rider.

The hard case that shot the longarm and the brute to his right drop prone, while the other four continue to move behind them, fanning out.

OOC: Dave Walker has 24 hours to exercise an action at the end of the round. The Judge is holding the initiative draw until Walker acts or states that he isn't acting this round (which means he remains on hold at the start of the next round no matter what he draws.

See the updated group 3 map ...

In reply to Judge Messalen (msg # 55):

Not wanting to push his luck with Ned, Walker dismounts and slaps Ned on the ass, then goes prone, rifle in hand, getting ready to shoot the man who shot back at the Professor.

OOC: Initiative order, continuing with individual cards for each of the heroes, one card for the group of bandits. We'll see how this works ... interesting draw here ... the Judge has now drawn roughly 1/3 of the deck and still no Joker. They are looming.

Daniel  Seven Spades  Sixth
Dave  Nine Diamonds  Fourth
Earnest  Jack Hearts  Second
Jake Nine Spades  Third
Red Shirt Eight Clubs, Seven Diamonds   Fifth
Tracy  King Hearts  First
Opponents  Four Spades  Last

It is Windham's turn.

In reply to Judge Messalen (msg # 57):

Very similarly to Jake, the investigator rode quickly towards the other side of the rock formation from the lookout, dismounting Gus and joining Jake behind the low hillock. He wanted to seize some cover before potentially engaging with the other cowpokes once more.

In a low voice, Tracy addressed the Texan, gesturing to the other side of the hill. "Reckon I check on our friend?"

Windham thought that Jake might be able to provide him some cover while he checked the status of the outlaw that he had just shot.

In reply to Tracy Windham (msg # 58):

OOC: It is now Earnest's turn.

In reply to Judge Messalen (msg # 59):

OOC: ENS is on the clock, roughly 6 hours until he goes on hold. Meanwhile, based on Jacob's RL situation, the Judge has told Jake he can post whenever it is convenient as he is next in the order, even if Earnest hasn't posted before his 24 hours expires -- as it is likely based on current position and situation that neither of their actions will impact each other. Taking that a step further, now that WIndham has moved and Walker had gone prone in the previous round with intent to shoot this round, I think Walker should go ahead and post his action/narrative whenever he wants to do so.

In reply to Judge Messalen (msg # 57):

"I'd leave him be, 'less he pops up an' starts shootin' at us," Jake replied to Mister Windham's inquiry about stepping around to the other end of the little rise and checking on the lookout that he had shot. To the Texan's way of thinking, the other side of the rise was way too exposed to gunfire from the owlhoots back around the campfire -- not to mention that if the lookout still had any fight in him, he would have a short-range shot at Windham as soon as he rounded the side of the hillock.

Given the range involved, Jake was primarily concerned with men who had rifles or carbines. He had seen one fellow shoot at someone behind him and knew that he had some sort of a longarm, so he targeted him, aimed, and took his shot.

---

OOC:

Free Action: Speak to Tracy.

Action: 18:20, Today: Jacob Richardsen rolled 1,4 using d10,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 1,4.

Edit: Damage: 19:16, Today: Jacob Richardsen rolled 6 using 2d8 with rolls of 1,5.  Damage (Winchester).

Notes: I believe that Jake has two positive Modifiers: the Marksman Edge (+2, since he did not move this round), and Improved Trademark Weapon (+2). I think that the hombre who fired at ENS dropped prone, and there is probably a negative range modifier also, so I thought it best to ask the Judge to adjudicate the result of Jake's shot.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:17, Thu 08 Aug 2019.

In reply to Jacob Richardsen (msg # 61):

OOC: The Judge will do so, but in the future, please go ahead and add mods that you are pretty sure about. The Judge can subtract them if necessary. The Judge always calculates range and other opponent defensive modifiers -- as he did with Tracy although the multiple aces that the investigator rolled was still well-good-enough to hit and raise -- so the PCs should never worry about that part. Apply your own positive mods and the Judge will apply the negatives as needed.

Might as well just walk through this for the benefit of all . . . thanks to Jake for his ongoing public descriptions of his die rolls and why, providing this opportunity to elaborate.

In this case, Jake's result would be 4 + 2 +2 as the PC noted. That's an 8. The Judge would agree that Jake can take the Marksman Edge bonus. Jake will need to either stand up or take a step away to the side of the rise to target anyone near the campfire. The Judge reads Jake's narrative to mean that he does one of those two things, but neither constitutes movement that would disallow his Marksman Edge, at this time.

Prone is same as medium cover (-2). Range is about 140 feet. The Winchester short range is 24. That's 24 x 2 yards or 24 X 6 feet, which is 144 feet. Therefore, close range for the rifleman's trademark weapon.

So the net roll is a 6. (4 +2 +2 -2). TN for shooting is a 4. This is a hit, no raise. Roll damage. (BTW, there's no reason not to roll regular damage every time. It will either apply or not apply based on the Judge's adjudication. It is understandable when a "raise" might be in question, regarding whether to roll the +1d6, but please go ahead and roll damage for attacks unless you are certain it is a miss).
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:11, Thu 08 Aug 2019.

In reply to Judge Messalen (msg # 62):

Thanks, have edited to add Damage to Jake's IC post.

In reply to Jacob Richardsen (msg # 61):

Just as Walker was about to take his shot another shot rings out and he sees the man in his sights get hit.

~ Say hello to Darla for me... ~

Walker squeezed off a round at the man who was just hit.

OOC: Walker shooting at the soon to be dead man with his Winchester

22:55, Today: Dave Walker rolled 8,2 using d8,d6 with rolls of 8,2.  Shooting at the soon to be dead man.

I realized that I forgot to select the reroll max, if the judge allows it, here is an additional D8 die roll, bringing the overall to hit die roll for raising purposes to 21:

22:58, Today: Dave Walker rolled 13 using 1d8, rerolling max with rolls of (8+5)13.  Additional d8 for missing the reroll max flag.

Damage roll:

22:56, Today: Dave Walker rolled 8 using 2d8, rerolling max with rolls of 5,3.  Damage on the soon to be dead man.

In reply to Dave Walker (msg # 64):

OOC: NP on the re-roll max, I forget to do that sometimes, too. Glad you caught it right away and added the Ace roll. It does apply, therefore this is a hit and a raise, which adds +1d6 to the damage roll. Go ahead and roll the 1d6, which can also Ace (all damage rolls can Ace).

Earnest is on hold. He may act at anytime he chooses, but the Judge will be continuing later today with NPC posts (both the NPC heroes and NPC adversaries).

In reply to Judge Messalen (msg # 65):

OOC: Here is the additional damage roll, tempted to use a benny but decided not to get too greedy, there's more people left to murder...

08:43, Today: Dave Walker rolled 3 using 1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 3.  Additional Damage die for the Ace.