This is the thread for out of character issues.
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:59, Thu 22 July 2010.

Fate Chips: To collect your starting fate chips, use the dice roller to roll d35. 1-20 are White Chips, 21-30 are Red Chips, and 31-35 are Blue Chips. You will roll this three times to start with. New Fate Chips will be awarded by the same system. Every 100 posts, I will award experience. Depending on how fast chips go, I may refresh Fate Chips every 100 posts as well, but I don't want to get ahead of myself.

When rolling die with the dice roller, always roll your Skill Die first and your Wild Die second, so that I know when a malfunction or slip up occurs (as is common with the magic in Deadlands).

how is money/income/living expenses going to work?

I'd be fine with more or less handwaving it, between adventures we have jobs that cover living expenses.

In reply to Robert Micklethwait (msg #3):

Handwaving it should be fine. Prior experience with the nature of time in a play-by-post game suggests to me that it won't be a problem, anyway. The main arc will cover less than a month of game time.

An intense month of game time, I'm guessing. :)

Indeed.

So this game has a planned ending?  or will it continue after the main arc/month

I assume we start out no knowing each other?

It has an endpoint that I've thought of, yes. I've found games that have a definite arc work better than nebulously open-ended games on RPoL. Should there be enough demand for the game to continue after the arc, I'm open to continuing it, but that's a consideration for later.

Yes, the party members will start out not knowing each other...unless you arrange knowing other characters with the players. I have nothing against you being familiar with each other, but you'll have to work out the details.

Glad to be here. Hope the arc is long enough to get a few advances under our belt :P

I'm curious--how are you traveling? Stage? Horseback? On foot?

Hi...

I'll get an equipment list up soon. John will have a horse.

I'm alive!

wow, existance is awesome... Jack's got a horse as well...

Hi folks, looking forward to the game.

And so the game begins! I've split you all up into different groups for the time being, allowing you to get to know people a little bit at a time.

I've got to finalize my equipment, but I'm presuming at this point that the Father's on horseback.

And hello to everyone. Really looking forward to the game.

So. I've made Character Sheets available to the players in the Character Details tab. Feel free to move your character sheets there.

We are nearing the first 100 game posts among all the different threads. Watch the OOC thread for experience and Fate Chip awards!

Might be useful to have a separate XP thread, easier to track how much has been awarded.

Good Idea.I'll do so when I'm ready to start awarding.

I'm curious about what time zones everyone is posting from. I'm in the Mountain time zone (and it's currently 6:20 AM as I'm posting this).

I'm Eastern time, but as my home computer was stolen I tend to only post during work hours right now.

Central Time Zone. I generally post in the early morning or evening.

I'm on GMT, where it's just coming up to 18:00 right now.  I can generally post in the early morning or during the evening.

GMT but largely nocturnal - often in college during the day.

PST, so I'm only an hour off from the GM

Alaska Time! That's right, it's our own time zone!

Do you have cookies?

As a matter of fact I do. :D

I'm working to get all the characters in the same place. I'm still waiting on posts from Jack Twofeather, August Colby, and Charging Bear.

is it raining?

Yes. By now the sun has set and the rain has started.

As you may have noticed, I'm not always able to post reliably at the weekends - sorry if I held things up for anyone.

Neither am I. pretty much Mon-Fri

I occasionally can check in on Saturday, but I'm most reliable on weekdays as well.

is "the storm begins" the same night we all arrived, or the next day?

Same night. Just as you're heading upstairs to bed, in fact. I'm working on another post at the moment.

New Experience is up!

I like the summaries, helps us keep track of what's happened.

Glad you like them. I use them for my Tabletop games and find them remarkably handy.

I do the same with my TT game via our gmail group, works pretty well.

Have you used Obsidian Portal? It's a free service that combines adventure logs with an easy-to-use wiki software.

In reply to The Stray (msg #43):
I haven't. The Google group has been working pretty well so far. If I start a new table top game I might see about using ObsidianPortal.

Um...is there a lightning conductor on the town church/other high place, or is that construct actually playing Dirty Harry? ("Has the electrical part of the storm gone over or is it right overhead? Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement, I've kinda lost track myself. But, being as I'm made of metal, a strike conducted through me and the ground might blow your head clean off. You've got to ask yourself one question: "Do I feel lucky?")

Dirty Harry. You could try hauling him up to a water tower and holding an arm out for a lightning strike to better your odds of getting hit, though it can try to escape...it's not helpless.
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:10, Wed 18 Nov 2009.

I tend to build my battle maps in GIMP (a free photoshop alternative).

I've seen Maptools( http://www.rptools.net )used with great success however. Definitely worth a try.

I'm more concerned that the nut/boltcase is effectively the only 6ft metal pole in town and standing on a wet street, actually.

Autorealm is a free map making program I use in my games that's proven fairly easy to learn.

http://gryc.ws/autorealm.htm

A handful of tutorials have been put together by some of the program's users.

http://www.interface1.net/autorealm/

Forgot the wild die here

[puts hand up] apologies for noobness, but Alouette doesn't fight unless attacked, should I draw for initiative in case, or what should I do here?

In reply to Alouette (msg #51):
I would say yes, as you can do other actions in combat besides fighting/shooting... plus you're interacting with an NPC and the timing of your action will matter ALOT I think.

meep. Will do, then.

By the way, where do Charging Bear's beautifully upper-class speech patterns come from? They're mighty.

Yeah, I know. Since I had a success, I didn't bother. Still, I guess I better since I could get a raise.

Edit: Lesson learned. :)

12:48, Today: Father William O'Rourke rolled 11 using 1d6, rerolling max with rolls of (6+5)11. Wild Die - Persuasion.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:49, Wed 18 Nov 2009.

In reply to Alouette (msg #53):
I'll work on it, I've got a lot of characters running arond RPOL so I tend to forget how they should speak differently... though Charging Bear did do a long stint of time with the CSA as a scout.

Oh I've been figuring out Map Tool, all the live-long day...
I've been messing with Map Tool, just to pass the time away...
Soon, I'll get that map a'posted
rise up so early in the morn
Please post all your initiatives
Dinah, blow your horn!

I remember when watching Dr. Quinn, that the local Medicine Man spoke perfect english.  Better than some of the white folk.  Was a nice break from teh stereotype

drawn, chipped and quartered, just waiting on the GM's reappearance to make sure I've not screwed up too badly.

Don't change them! They're awesome coming from a guy in traditional dress, and something you can use to advantage in interaction - decent people who've assumed a well-educated gentleman is a "savage" for his appearance are
1. likely to say all sorts of things in front of him, assuming he won't follow the terminology
2. going to be amenable to persuasion out of embarrassment when they find out he's understood every word.
Probably comes from batmanning a toff, that'd keep him out of the presence of coarse-talking soldiers when sober.

Town Street map

Wow... Alouette and O'Rourke moved pretty quickly down the street

Be concerned. be very concerned. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! *cough* </Evil GM Rant>

Let's just say a lighting strike on Alouette would be unlikely at the present time.

In reply to Charging Bear (msg #60):

True, but since Alouette was the first one who after Second Chance, I figured it had a few rounds worth of movement. Since Father O'Rourke was also interacting with Second Chance, He'd need to be close enough to do so. I figure the rest of you had hung back debating whether you were going to attack the ranting dead guy or not.

Good good. There are several dead football teams that suggest muddy ground near metal poles is an unfortunate place to be standing in a thunderstorm.

on the inti, to avoid ties, in a lot of games the GM will draw N+1 cards, where N is the number of PCs, and deal them in the order the PCs appear in teh Private To: sectnio at the bottom. and the NPCs get the last card.

that's also a bit faster than having everyone post a card draw, then after that's done everyhone posts an actnio.

on locations I moved out pretty much as soon as the undertaker came in.

I might do that from now on, if it's acceptable to the rest of the group.

I was under the impression that speaking with the others who rushed out might have slowed you down.

I spoke with underhill and left.  I assumed we were all over there with 2nd chance, otherwise I wouldn't have spoken with Charging bear.

Shoot, I don't think we could have heard him from where we are, and probably not even seen him.

Huh. Good point. Let me update the map a little

So, let's hold a vote:

All in favor of having the Marshal (me) draw and assign initiatives for each character on each round, say AYE.

All in favor of keeping the current system of people drawing their own cards, say NAY.

Aye

In reply to The Stray (msg #68):
Aye

Nay

I like controlling my own initiative. My recommendation would be to post an action along with the first initiative, sort of like declaring an action before round resolution in table top play, though I know some groups don't roll that way. That combined with drawing for next rounds initiative could go a long way towards speeding things up.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:46, Thu 19 Nov 2009.

AYE

I honestly think it'll streamline the flow of the game.

Aye, seems wise.

I'd say Aye, at least for the first round of combat.

Looks like the Ayes have it. I'll draw the cards for the first round of combat, and then people can draw their next round's initiative when they post their actions. We'll put this into practice the next fight that crops up.

Ah, for the first round, that actually sounds cool. I thought it was overall.

Well, the first round is the one that was causing the most problems and snarls. And I did take your concerns into account...I figured this would be the best compromise.

Thanksgiving is coming up soon, and I'm curious to know who's not going to be here during the holiday.

I should be around, though posting will probably be once or twice daily.

Um...was that just a "everyone not here, speak up"?

I think so.

so if you aren't here this week, you should post.  Otherwise, not :)

{existential crisis}

I'm not in the States, so business as usual here.

I'm going to be traveling Wednesday and returning on Friday. I don't anticipate having internet access while I'm away, but I'll check back in when I return on Friday evening.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Hope everyone who celebrated Thanksgiving had a great holiday.

I'm not sure whether the current consensus is to go back to the saloon like good little civilians, as the marshal suggested, or to tag along with him and keep an eye on the prisoner; sometimes my reading comprehension just isn't that hot.  August will follow along in either case, in the interest of not slowing things down.

I will edit my last post to make my movement clear

The sherriff told everyone to go home, but they don't want to, and the clank's attached itself to the priest...y'all got hot food waiting too.

I already ate

Ah, true, and O'Rourke presumably finished his, too, though I think he left coffee. Poor CB didn't really get a chance to have anything but whiskey on his whiskey, through - a recipe for either random awesome or falling over.

Yeah, I'm afraid my coffee's cold by now. I was finishing up my meal when Alouette first showed up. :)

In reply to Alouette (msg #90):

No worries, he can hold his fire water... alright maybe not, thus the -1 to my rolls

Cold coffee is sadness. Sadness in a mug.

@Charging Bear: 6-8 units of alcohol at once on an empty stomach would get a Gael pished to the kill, it's a mark of a heroically strong constitution (and/or veteranhood of a lot of army drinking games) that CB's still upright. It also gives him an excuse to punch people/declare best friendhood at random, so that's all good interaction-wise. ^_^

I'd have a hoot and a half if I could get the clank drunk, but alas I suspect pouring alcohol into it would either make it hyper or on fire.

what powers you?  ghost rock boiler?  maybe if some peyote were put in the fire box...

Mostly. Ha! I think there are some bits of it that might even be affected by that...wow. It makes little enough sense when not stoned, the mind boggles.

Woot! 400 posts!

And 9 more game posts until the first Advance, just as the characters are beginning to compare notes and find something really, really wrong in the equation. w00t!

I bumped Charging Bear's strength to d8, yay full use of the bladed war club

Chi Focus.

A question. We acquired chips with experience the last couple times you handed it out. Did those go away with the wind or do we get to keep them until they're used?
This message was last edited by the player at 11:46, Thu 10 Dec 2009.

You discard down to three, but I'll let you keep the three best fate chips you've acquired.

Holding onto things (Fighting).

As a point of possible interest, the mobile coatrack with delusions of grandeur has also learnt how to deal with new things from O'Rourke (a thousand thanks for not teaching it to scream and run away or attack people there), how to deal with drawn weapons from Micklethwait, is picking up curiousity from Smith and has logged the correct usage of "y'all" from Colby, whom it also considers its friend because he said so. Charging Bear fascinates it, but it's not picked up anything in particular from him yet.

It remains essentially pacifistic from its most basic programming, but I'm really hoping someone'll teach it that nice angels don't hamstring their prisoners before it ever gets told to restrain a human. It is also mildly gender confused.

Still waiting on August Colby, Robert Micklethwait, and Father O'Rourke to mention what they're using their Advance on. Also, I'm waiting for everyone to ask their questions  of Evans so I can just answer everything in one post.

Ah, sorry - I noted the Advance on my character sheet but didn't post here.  Raising Vigor to d8.

shooting to d8, Kn:occult to d6 if that's OK

I'm going to bump my Faith to d8 and my Notice to d6, if that's acceptable.

Both are acceptable. Discard down to three chips.

I have wrbb, so I keep one blue, and draw two more?

Nah, just discard the white one. I've changed my mind on the whole issue. The continuous stream of Forum posting, as opposed to session-by-session tabletop play, makes continually discarding and redrawing bennies kind of a hassle. Also, it works against using colored chips as rewards for good RP, if you're only going to lose them after a few hundred posts.

So discard down to three chips, not one.

Or just base it on plot, not posts.  I mean, when we've done enough that it seems about what would be done in a sessio, then draw chips

That sounds preferable to me. Basing the acquisition of xp and chips on reaching certain plot points.

I'm going to have intermittent internet access until the 28th or 29th - happy holidays to you all.

Happy holidays, everyone! I will be out of town for the next few days, so I'll see you all next week!

I hope you all had a merry Christmas!

Hope you all had a good holiday season - I was sick as a dog for most of it, hence my conspicuous absence!

Aw, no fun - I wish you many oranges.

Busy week at work has kept me quiet, sorry guys.  Always fun to read what the rest of you've been up to, though.

@August - It's always nice to have a clank to play rather than a smoking hole in the ground, 'preciate it.

I'm on teabreak now, but my MA dissertation's due in tommorrow afternoon, so.

Also, Strayfellow: Yankee *in* the hole, and pinned down a bit - if the corpse's got out of it again, someone should probably shoot the bugger. (bets we're on an Old Indian Burial Ground, anyone?)

Is anyone waiting on me for anything, or are you all just busy as heck? I know Alouette's player has massive schoolwork stuff to do, but what of the rest of you?

Where do you want to go from here? Who are you going to question? Where are you going to explore?

I think some of us are taking the job

I think this game is pretty much done with. I'd like to hear from the other players before I officially call it, though.

I'm still about. [shrug]

I'm still here.

I think something needs to happen. It's been fun roleplaying but when pbp games slow down players find something else to entertain them and drift away, or perhaps people just got busy, I think it's roughly mid-terms season if most of our players are College students. Well, spring break, then midterms.

Send out a message to peoples rmails and a mass one to everyone in private message. When I run my games and find people starting to drift that usually gets them back into the swing of things or at least reminds them to tell you that they're dropping out.
This message was last edited by the player at 09:07, Tue 09 Mar 2010.

I'm still here, even heading to the saloon!

For me at least, I'm waiting for something to happen.  I mean, there are some very, very interesting clues dropped here and there, but we are just rping in town.  My PC needs a judge who isn't there, so he has time to work for the marshal

Yes! Man walk in with a gun time! So, who wants to play hunt the priest?

Charging Bear's player has mentioned to me that he will be unable to post for the foreseeable future. This has prompted me to make a decision.

I am putting the game on hold, effective immediately. It's been a good ride, but I don't want to force the story along. Perhaps I can get some more players interested later, but for now the game is on hold.

In reply to The Stray (msg #127):

I have???

I'm sorry...It was Robert Micklethwait's player. I got my players and characters mixed up.

Aww, well, I'll keep my eyes open.

Aye, let us know when it resurrects...

I'm back.  found a job.

Yay for gainful employ!

So, I'm considering dusting off this game if I can get enough of the group back together. Give me a few days to hear back from people, and I'll make a decision on whether to add new people to the mix.

yipee !!

I'm still here!

We going to reset fate chips?
This message was last edited by the player at 13:39, Thu 01 July 2010.

Well, do you remember what chips you had?

In reply to The Stray (msg #137):
1 White, 1 blue as its in my bio line 2

I wasn't sure how to decode that line...I see it now, though.

Just keep the Fate Chips you have. IIRC, I hadn't awarded any new fate chips since the session reset anyway, and I don't think anyone had spent any.

Count me in. Posting might be a touch sporadic being summer and all but I'll do my best. :-)

Welcome, new players! I'll be getting your thread started soon (as soon as the last player finishes making their character). In the meantime, why not stop on by and say howdy to us all?

Well howdy y'all!

Yo. -is setting up her junk for her first Deadlands playout-

here's how I'm handling Fate chips:

To determine your initial Fate Chips, go to the Dice Roller and input "d35,d35,d35" in the "Manual" field.

1-20: White Chip
21-30: Red Chip
31-35: Blue Chip

Post the results here, and I'll make a note of it on my scratch pad.

23, 18, 11...

Fate says....30,4,24.

Ooo, nice roll.

13:26, Today: Katy Devon rolled 30,16,1 using d35,d35,d35, rerolling max with rolls of 30,16,1. Fate chips.

White, Red, Red

Howdy, strangers!

So, I found this old article on telegrams, circa 1928. I thought I'd share it just for grins.

Domo aligato, mr. Roboto.

Odd... My post seems to have been eaten, >.< So sorry for not noticing sooner.

Yeah... Gatsu's ready to quick draw and attack the katy shield to get to Danny.. -rubs the back of her head-

That danny boy is a baaaaaaad judge of character...  Lucky stray says to try a test of will.

I just want to let you guys know how much I enjoy running this game for you. I've had a lot of fun getting this game back up and running...cheers to you!

Fun playin' it, Stray. (and y'all, too)

Also, noting down that +4 Drop bonus here 'cause I wasn't sure where to put it with the rolls...aaaand apologies for long posts of epicness, should be able to get them under control after t'next one.

-grins at the Thing- Bah, no worries, mac daddy. It's queer enough to keep some interest.

-salutes to Stray- Alwaysa pleasure playin one o yer creepy assed games, Boss.

Yay random fear mechanics, one of which is the possibility of instant death...

I'm lord of hamburgers? kee!

...oops. At least the kitten's all right.

I seem to recall the cat was being shot at.  Did any of us hear those shots?

Very likely, since you were also close enough to hear the screaming that followed. I've edited the initial description to note the gunfire.
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:47, Sat 17 July 2010.

# Someone, come save my shiny arse...#

Fuck. Fanning the Hammer can just be nasty, even with all the insane penalties the guy has on him.


Also, I'm sorry I haven't been able to do much with Augustus...haven't had the chance before this whole thing went down, and I was kinda expecting him to be still in the stagecoach, not separated from the whole thing...

Leave it to the Mad Scientist to do the wrong thing at the wrong time.

BwaHAHAHAHA!  For Science!

Really, it's all good.  Combat away.

Sorry for the delay in posts. I'll try and get something up today.

I found this nifty little Inflation Calculator poking about online. It's a neat little tool for figuring out just how much prices have changed over the years, and a good way for me to figure out the prices on goods that just aren't covered in the main Deadlands book...or converting prices of gear from other Savage Worlds sources into reasonable monetary amounts for the setting.

Going out of town on the 23rd, access to internet will be spotty until I return on the 9th. I'll get posts in when I can but don't expect anything from the 30th-2nd as I'll be camping and just away from a lot of technology in general (though if I get truly bored I might hunt down an outlet and try to use my iphone :P). Just a heads up.

Thanks for the heads up, John. Hopefully you can talk Evans down before you leave...;)

-taps Robert- Make roll of Notice -2 and take the higher roll so stray can post.

Doo do doo de doo...

w00t! We now have over 900 posts!

^_^ heehee. Whoopie!

Is it odd that I find the image of Charging Bear stoically holding a kitten to be as amusing as this picture of Batman cradling a baby?

Aww, that's endearing.. ^-^

May I draw that, CB?

Why you should be afraid of Dr. Ward's cows.
This message was last edited by the GM at 13:11, Sat 24 July 2010.

In reply to Alouette (msg #174):

You're more than welcome to.

I'm just doing a bit of reorganizing and thread cleanup.

Alouette's player sent me this pic...Here's Charging Bear (as well as Dandelion and the ladder).

So, as I posted in the House Rules thread, I'm letting people know languages equal to 1/2 their smarts die. What languages do your characters know, and how did they learn them?

I'll PM you with languages and where learnved.

I looke the who's waiting on who thread.  very useful

This is a bit complicated: Alouette only speaks and understands English, though it has the capacity to recognise at least Spanish and Latin (that is, it can tell that Spanish or Latin are being spoken, but not what is being said).

The static-thing's native tongue is Chumash, though it's fluent in Cherokee as a trade language and English from the clank's learning processes. It does not recognise other languages due to being kept in a state equivalent to heavy potassium bromide dosing, but it may react to Irish-accented English.

Charging Bear has Tsalagi/Cherokee and English w/ the option for a 3rd language later I suppose.

English - native
Latin - law school
French and Spanish - partially in school, and partially workingin maritime law
This message was last edited by the player at 18:34, Mon 26 July 2010.

Also I'm picking up Quick Draw... next will probably be Knowledge Occult but we'll see how strange things become

Alouett'e player and I discussed the clank's advance via e-mail.

John's player is waiting to get back home before he chooses his Advance.

Gangatsu's player has been having RL issues and will likely be quiet for a while.

I'm still waiting on Advances for Robert, Augustus, and Katy.

sorry, I missed the update with experience

shoot, I never updated my sheet with the last advance.
I left my DL book at home... I think I'll just bump my agility

cool. I'll update your sheet accordingly.

Katy will also increase her Agility die type.

Apologies all, my internet got very shaky over the past few days. It wouldn't stay connected long enough for me to post or even check sometimes...

But back now.

Yay! Glad to have you back with us. And I know exactly how that is...shaky internets are no fun at all. Oh, and you got an Advance (as you started with 8 xp, and I've awarded some xp in the meantime), which means you get an Advance.

In reply to The Amazing Evans (msg #69):
This message was last edited by the player at 04:00, Fri 30 July 2010.

here's the current Fate Chip totals, in case you want to know how much you can "Trade Up" (see House Rules thread)

Charging Bear: 4 White, 2 Red, 1 Blue

Robert Micklethwait: 3 White, 3 Red, 2 Blue

Alouette: 2 White, 2 Red, 1 Blue

John Smith: 4 White, 1 Red

Gangatsu: 8 White, 2 Red

Katy Devon: 5 White, 3 Red

Augustus Spotswood: 5 White, 4 Red, 1 Blue
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:05, Sat 31 July 2010.

I'm splitting the next chapter into two parts -- one for the group in town, and one for the group heading to Ward's Ranch.

Alright folks, I'm leaving on a semi-mpromtu trip to Switzerland (from the US no less) due to being selected with 49 other amateur photographers for a behind the scenes photo walk of CERN. I'll be flying out tomorrow (8/5) night and gone till Tuesday (8/10) night. I'm not sure when/if I can post while I'm away due to the crazy nature of this trip.

And for those of you seeing this in several games... yeah I know I'm in a lot of games.

That sounds like an awesome opportunity! Enjoy yourself! I'll just puppet CB as necessary to move the thread along...again, enjoy your trip!

Is it OK for me to wait for the dust adders to go before posting my turn?

In reply to Robert Micklethwait (msg #197):

Sure. I'm working on their post right now, actually.

The story of my life...

The Stray has kindly agreed to allow me to advertise my game.  Rattenkrieg is a campaign set in the ruined city of Stalingrad during World War II.  Players will take the role of the ill-trained, ill-equipped but dogged Russian defenders.  I have one player currently and need at least three more.  The Officer/Sergeant spot is still open as well.

Join the Patriotic War!

link to another game

Back from Europe, hope to post later today

Welcome back! How was CERN? Create any black holes to destroy the universe while you were there? ;)

CERN was amazing, sadly we didn't get to see the LHC cause they were running it... I did see a compact linear accelerator however. I have 200+ photos to go through now... weeeee!

hey, there's a bad buy behind me !!

That's an anti-advert if ever I saw one.

In reply to Robert Micklethwait (msg #204):

Yup. Robert and Katy are in serious danger...did you think I was kidding when I said he was coming around from behind, screaming his head off and shooting wildly? That's why he was intimidating.

In reply to Charging Bear (msg #203):

That is just awesome

 Welcome to hell, Kat.

Aw, it's not that bad

</Evil GM Lying>

Looks like 3 white chips starting out for Wildcat.

Yeah I should say something.

Yo.

Kidding.

Good to be on board.  Big fan of Reloaded, actually run it IRL, and to be honest I'm still learning some of the rules.  This should help me a lot though.

Sorry I couldn't be all cool and pick off bad guys from back there.

Seriously I'm reading the old stuff now and I love how weird and perverse this posse is.  Kat's going to look at most of you a little funny (and I'm sure you'll stare right back!)

Good thing for you all, I'm an internet addict so I should be posting pretty regularly.

I may change the portrait too, there's not really a good one but this one doesn't look right when it's shrunk down to posting icon size.

In reply to Wildcat Hawkins (msg #210):

It's cool. I kind of pictured Wildcat looking like Lady from the Quick and The Dead, but the female 19th century gallery is a little lacking in cool cowgirls.

It's good to have another regular poster...we've been moving fast ever since this game came back from hiatus.

They have one of her actually... that may be better.  Let's try it.

Aside from the hat being the wrong color I think it suits her very well.

hey, I'm pretty normal.  I'm just old

Old!  Aaaargh!  A freak!  +6 Guts check!

Wine's not the only thing that improves with age...

Well did you age like wine or like milk?

/epic posts of epicness. Again.

Howdy, Wildcat!

In reply to Alouette (msg #218):

You just like to stir the pot don't you?

Welcome Wildcat!
This message was last edited by the player at 13:26, Fri 13 Aug 2010.

I done forgot about the darkness... now I'm really glad I didn't take the first shot I had.

Edit:  I just realized I should have bought a cavalry saber... oh well too bad so sad.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:43, Fri 13 Aug 2010.

In reply to Wildcat Hawkins (msg #220):

You can use your pistol for a melee weapon, or shooting in close quarters.


Oh and here's a video of my CERN/Geneva photos (unedited)
http://strickland5.tumblr.com/...d-geneva-trip-photos
This message was last edited by the player at 15:27, Fri 13 Aug 2010.

That's some wild stuff!

The issue isn't not having a melee weapon... I've several actually, it just occurred to me that with this much invested in Fighting and Ride, it would have been better to pick up a saber.  One of those slap yourself in the forehead moments.

Then again I'd probably have to drop something from what I could reasonably have handy in the saddle to make use of it, so really it's no big deal.

like wine, obviously.  or maybe whiskey...

In reply to Charging Bear (msg #219):

Stir the pot? I thought we were fingerpainting the walls and ceiling...

[photopounce] Shiiiiny!

In reply to Charging Bear (msg #219):

Stirring things up is part of Alouette's charm! Some of my favortie moment from this game have come about because the tin can angel went and did something strange...(that and Alouette's something of a Dice Jesus, making some incredibly unlikely rolls with Aces and raises...)


In reply to Wildcat Hawkins (msg #220):

I have the feeling that you might not want to get into melee while riding Idjit anyhow. I just get that impression...;)

But yeah. Calvary charges without calvary weapons just doesn't feel quite right. And I noticed that Unstable Platform penalties only applie to ranged attacks, not melee, so another reason to be on the lookout. Perhaps you'll be awarded one when you finish your investigation here.

In reply to Alouette & The Stray:

@Alouette: Not sure it is that shiny but thanks

@The Boss: yeah I'll try to have Charging Bear just keep up

Actually it wouldn't that horrible to use the Bowie knife since the design and use of the knife actually handles it very much like a saber, including the grip used and the techniques employed (namely in the back cutting).

I need to reread the mounted rules myself.  I remember that it's either the worse of your Fighting or Riding when attacking, for instance.

I'm not even trying to specialize in mounted combat per se.  IMHO a good Texas ranger (or Agent) is a very well rounded character.  With Kat I'm going for more of a "tough" character with edges like Nerves of steel, True Grit, etc.

But you can't be completely passive like that and I do need to figure out effective things to do with myself in combat.

I've decided to invest in dodge soon...

Yeah, it seems like it would be good to have in this particular game...

In reply to Charging Bear (msg #226):

Alouette: keeping everyone fit with pointless bouts of stair running since 1879!

More seriously, insofar as it's learnt to trust it trusts CB a lot and he seems to have the right attiude towards it...as such he quite possibly has the most control over it. Not that I'm encouraging using unexplained idioms like "go jump off a cliff" to it, but if CB told it to it probably would.

It's getting on famously with Augustus, too...and as a note, Augustus' remark that he (as a white adult) couldn't easily tell good and bad men apart gave the spirit something to think on and greatly strenghtened its weakening faith in/taming by humanity - which makes the difference between it being a powerful ally against supernatural threats like an angelic can of mace and teaming up with the local manitou to get all High Plains Drifter on the town.

Looks to be another lazy weekend...

Combat does that.

I've just accepted that PbP is sa-lowwww, but the trade off is you get so many opportunities you couldn't otherwise.

Last night alone my posse gunned down a 12 member gang, fought zombies, and went on a vision quest wherein the Mad Scientist was given the Indian name "Shit for Brains" with lots of stuff in between.

Granted my posse is only three characters.

Yeah. You get depth of RP in PbP you can't really get from around the tabletop, but you can't quite get the immediacy of a group hanging together. The trade-offs are time to think about what each of the characters are going to do...I get to add a lot of personality to the mooks I'd only be able to hint at. I'm also able to accurately apply the penalties and bonuses the characters get...I just know that if I were running this fight tabletop I'd have forgotten the Unstable Platform or Dim Light modifiers half the time, and that would have lead to quick deaths of the party. Heck, one of the reasons the Dust Adders are doing so much whooping and hollering and trying to scare people in the first place is because they know that gunfighting from horseback in the darkness won't get them very far (one of the other reasons is because they're here to drive the Marshal and his deputies out of town, not kill them if they don't have to).

Still, this game is faster than most...we've managed quite a good clip, about a hundred posts a week, since this game came back from a hiatus in July. It's just that the weekends are always slow. Some of the players post from work, and don't otherwise have regular computer access on the weekends, and some of the others don't hang out much at their computers during the weekend. Not everyone's a computer junkie like me, and I expect my own posting to slow a bit when classes start in the fall.

Where you going to do an In-character post for Wildcat to go with your rolls when your turn in the initiative order comes up?

I'm a grad student myself so I feel ya there.  Two more semesters of that shit...

As far as IC narration, sure I can go edit it in real quick.  I won't add another post to the thread to keep it from getting unruly.

coolness. IC narration is always good to have in combat. half the fun of running the Dust Adders and Nathanial Frost has been the "talking-is-a-free-action" bits and I kind of wish there were a bit more banter back and forth between the bad guys and the players, rather than the NPCs having all the lines.

Well it's a fine line to walk, some GMs don't want you to interpret combat too much.

There won't be too much trash talking on this round anyway, dealing with Idjit was bad enough.

*nod* I hear that. I'm not one of those GMs. Just phrase actions in the form of intent, rather than certainty ("Wildcat will kick/attempts to kick the no-good ruffian in the junk" rather than  "Wildcat kicks the no-good ruffian in the junk) and it will be fine for the most part, and leave room for possible replies/reactions.

As a note of warning, my ability to post as regularly as I currently do is about to change.  I should still be able to post, just perhaps not daily.  The situation at fault should resolve in a few weeks.

Aw...I hope the situation is nothing serious. Thanks for the heads up, though.

If anyone catches sight of the silver charm Ward has been playing about with, it looks like this:

Hehe, I have some old Freemason and Eastern Star emblems that sort of resemble that in an old cigar box somewhere, along with a book of Masonic rites and rituals.  One of these days I'm going to have to use it in a face to face game as a prop.

One day somebody will open that box and think I'm some kind of occultist.

In reply to Wildcat Hawkins (msg #241):

That sort of stuff would be really cool to see in a tabletop game.

Yeah, I cribbed this from Werewolf: The Wild West, and I'm pretty sure it was designed to look masonic, given that the Enlightened Society of the Weeping Moon is an evil masonic-style cult in that setting.

In reply to Wildcat Hawkins (msg #241):

That sort of stuff would be really cool to see in a tabletop game.

Yeah, I cribbed this from Werewolf: The Wild West, and I'm pretty sure it was designed to look masonic, given that the Enlightened Society of the Weeping Moon is an evil masonic-style cult in that setting.

cool.
I will live vicarously through you as you wreak havoc upon the Dust Adders with my pistol.

Wildcat, which of the three are you aiming at? Top, middle, or bottom?

Middle.  He shot at me, I'm shooting at him!

For those of us at the Ranch, I'm uncertain just how to fill up four hours of ingame repair and crazed technical talk.  On the other hand, I'd like to give far time to the Doc and the Bear.

Thoughts?

Poke the dangerous box? You'll be fixing things connected to it for a start...or experimentally vent the condenser filter for a concentrated ghost rock fume experience. Augustus is owed a gentle lecture on the sanctity of free will, too, if the scientist's curiousity doesn't lead him to do anything stupid before the damage is mostly repaired.

I'm going to move things along here soon, so that everyone can get back together at the Ranch.

I thought you guys might get a kick out of this.  I'm a gun nut, and one of my favorite Youtube subscriptions recently put a video up showing some of the most iconic weapons from 1873:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vRFvd1W8v4

In reply to Wildcat Hawkins (msg #250):

Sweet...

I think the dice decided they no longer hated me this last round.

I think the dice decided they no longer hated me this last round.

In reply to John Smith (msg #253):
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:10, Wed 18 Aug 2010.

PM

As much as I love the SW system, it does sometimes seem to suffer from the "Whiff and Ping" syndrome at times.

True, I think it's damage system is it's weak point, almost feels like they have the right idea but it needs a little more polish.

Indeed. And when people are sitting on a whole stack of chips (like people were in this fight) it can have that feeling even more, which is why I try to describe hits as actually hitting and hurting, even if the guy soaks the damage.

*holding up stump where his arm used to be* IT's JUST A FLESH WOUND!

The problem is the Death Spiral effect...if you get wounded, it's a lot easier to take more wounds, so players spend chips like mad to avoid going down (and DMs, too, to be honest). And then there's the Shaken effect. No one likes losing an action. It's why being Stunned in D&D is such an annoying condition.

I have seen with my own posse it does sort of "normalize" a little bit once characters have a little more meat on their bones.  They hit more reliably, get raises more often, etc.

Once you have three or four combat edges that work together to reduce some situational penalties and start rolling a d8, you tend to start performing better in your element.

The thing I have noticed much to my delight is that there's no one way to go that's always the best.  The paired pistols is overall the most diverse I think (at least for deadlands), the fanning a pistol doesn't take as many edges but it's hard to get to the point you're really good at it, etc. and there's so many situational modifiers it's just hard to say something is or is not optimized.

I actually like this for a lot of reasons.

1.  Players have to think of ways to get into situations that favor what they can do.  When all you have is a hammer...

2.  Player characters have incentives to work together.  There's not one guy/gal that carries the whole posse in combat.

3.  It makes players build very even characters.

I've also noticed things like Tricks and tests of Will can play a big factor, especially in this fight, where there were a lot of situational modifers (everyone had to deal with the darkness, while the bad guys were on horseback without Steady Hands). A Trick or ToW at the right moment can set up a pretty nasty combo (witness Robert getting surrounded and picked apart with the tag-team of one guy with a shotgun and another with Intimidate). Of course, luck of the die also helps...extreme Acing turns the tide pretty quick.

my intended tactic was Test of will (d8+2) preferrably to shake, then shoot at +2 to hit, decent chance of a raise to finish them off.  But I was rolling lousy damage.
ah well, I had fun, that's the important part

You played smart but just got screwed.  I've never seen 33 damage on one roll before from anything, I mean HO-LEE CRAP.

But then again that's why it is fun, you don't really know how it's going to go down do ya?

As for the rampant Acing:

My undergrad degree is mathematics and as I said I am a grad student.  Even though I hate probability and statistics, I have some skill with them.

I find my players grossly underestimate the sheer odds of a roll in a given session Acing twice or more.  A d4 has a 1 in 16 chance of acing twice or more in a row for instance.  If you think about it, if you make 20 rolls in a combat, and you will, and you're rolling d4s, the expected event is that one of those rolls is going to ace twice.

Wonderfully and ironically, my players also fall prey to the Gambler's Fallacy as do I sometimes.  We roll a 6 on a d6, then another, and then think okay it's come up six twice it can't possibly do that again but in reality the odds are still the same as they were the first two times so why not?

Couple this with the problem that Novice characters typically need to Ace to really accomplish anything even slightly difficult and you get that "Whiff and Ping" feeling, the problem being, Novices roll small dice.  And the smaller the size of the die you roll, the more of this "out of control" acing goes on, and it never really goes away because the Wild Die is a d6.

I'm also in a fantasy game, and I just rolled a 22 to hit.  Wow, I think to my self.  then I rolled for the NPC with a d12 fighting.  I got a 45...

45? eek. Scary. That's one dead duck. When it gets that high, usually the best course is to save chips for the incapacitation roll.

Got a card for Evans, or do you just want me to draw it?

oh, that was the to hit.  althought the damage was high enough

argh, I never remembe the card
11:51, Today: The Amazing Evans drew the single card: 7C using a deck of 54 cards. card.
(I'll edit it into my last post as well

It's an easy thing to forget. I've noticed I've forgotten my own self with my NPCs, which isn't very helpful in keeping things running smooth.

This, I think, was the most complex fight I've run online like this. It was a learning experience, to be sure... and it didn't help that the NPCs were all clumping together at points.

Yeah I'm taking notes here... I'm sorely tempted to do something like this, not any time soon with classes firing up and all, and it's a lot easier when you have a good example to follow.

I think it made it a bit simpler that it broke into two smaller fights.  Less need to post in order, less chance to step on each other's actions.  And the fact that 1/2 the party was off somewhere else made it a bit more managable as well.

If every PC were in one big fight, that'd be hard to run

I think that helped, too, though the lopsidedness of PCs to NPCs in each zone was a bit of an off-putting factor. Gangatsu was practically alone against Nathanial, Tex, and some of the Adders (Evans did some good by drawing fire, but even then he was an NPC under my control, and he had a horrible run of luck which seems to be ongoing even through changing who's running him). Things got a lot more Even with John jumped in.

true enough.  And at my end we had 2 not combat oriented characters, and  I foolishly wasted a pile of chips that one time.

It made sense that they ran once a few went down, I have a tendency to not remember the NPCs want to live to ...

I always tend to have mobs run when a certain point of attrition is reached, as it makes things more realistic. Also, the goal of the Dust adders was shock and awe and scare tactics, not fighting to the death. They wanted to run the Marshal out of town and wreck the Grand Bull. They've pulled off some of their goals, but some of them became unexpected casualties, and the resolve of the party surprised them.

You've only actually killed one, though...the one Robert shot will survive his injuries, while the one Gangatsu took down was taken down nonlethally. Only the guy Katy shot has actually died.

That'll be a nasty shock for Katy when she realizes...

She's my new best friend!

Too bad I'm not Seasoned yet, I'd put you in for a commendation!

LOL! Bestest friends with a rough-riding, hard-drinking Texas Ranger AND made her first kill, all in the same night!

Crap,  that's the last time I wanna be ganged up on.  She's so going to punch Evan's in the face.  I already know it's coming. Just when... Heh.

Hey, what did I do to you?

You flaunted your moustache sir.

Sorry about today's delay...It's been busy for me, what with school starting up next week and all the attendant hassles that entails.

XD

Okay...  I had to share this but I'll cut it down to its bare elements.

I've got one PC who's a little bit like Gangatsu:  very abrasive personality, talks trash all the time, and he's really good at it (and Gangatsu's player is too, it's a personality type I can't quite pull off!).

One of my players wanted someone else to play and I have like... three players, so I was like hell ya.

So she comes in and we help her make this huckster.  One of the players is helping her, I'm helping her, I figure this will be fine.  It was actually a decent character especially for a first effort.  Things are going fine until she has to talk to this other PC because he's the only one around.

He made her cry.  Not the character, the player.  I admit I felt sort of bad for her but he wasn't even ramping it up or cussing at her, just being rude because that's his character.  We stopped and did something else.

I'm laughing about it now but this doesn't bode well for my RL Reloaded haha.

Rude characters can be difficult to work into any campaign...it's doable, but can lead to headaches until people can get adjusted. And when new players who have no idea what to expect come into contact with old...well, it can be weird.

I'm interested in seeing how Alouette and Gangatsu get along when they meet...

Heheh, so long as they're not left alone together until the clank picks up 'Gatsu-type behavioural patterns...

We met My Man Abraham, by the way. He's a servant, not a slave, right? That's a person. Dunno what chips I want.

Yup. Abraham is a freedman, though he was, in fact, a slave earlier in his life.

Spotswood & Clank, daring detectives!

It's like a crossover with Inspector Clouseau and Inspector Gadget...

I'm down to 2 blue chips

The chip thing's real simple for me.  I rolled a 24, that's a red.  Done.

Do we move to the next Advance too, asks the Damn New Player.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:06, Mon 23 Aug 2010.

In reply to Wildcat Hawkins (msg #287):

Only if we get 5 xp

Damn. I forgot to mention...I'm going to go make an edit to the post real fast.

i feel dumb. I posted the Experience thread without mentioning that everyone is also being awarded 2 experience points, so the total is 12.

Cool.

In reply to Charging Bear (msg #288):

I've started a convention where I just write down a running total of XP rewards on a schedule and tell my players when they reach the next increment of five.  I forget my own little weirdness doesn't apply to everyone else sometimes!

Rolled 18. now i got a white red and blue.

In reply to Wildcat Hawkins (msg #291):

No I started skipping XP in my table top game, and just started giving out advances as I felt would be good for the party. Ended up being every 2-3 games which was the same as XP awarding was.

Gangatzu's 'Merican! :P
Had four and decided to drop the spare red. I don't like giving the baddies bennies dammit!
This message was last edited by the player at 02:03, Tue 24 Aug 2010.

In reply to Charging Bear (msg #293):

That's kind of how it is in my Pathfinder Game. I'm running the Kingmaker adventure path and while it is a fascinating concept (PC's explore a region then settle it and eventually run their own kingdom) the way they have it set up makes dishing out XP a chore so I usually go by the advancement guide and dish out a level at places in the adventures that seem fitting.

The sound Charlie the Reb made after being shot. :D

so it looks like right around the time the in town combat ended, the out of town one started?  probably less of a headache for the GM that way

Apres vous, Mr.Spotswood, and don't spare the fireworks...

Straaaaaaaaayy, what chips do I have?

You had 4 white, 3 red, and 2 blue before the end.

If you were to keep the best chips, you'd have 1 red, 2 blue.

If you were to trade up, you'd wind up with 3 blue.

Oh yes! Fate chips...  I had one to roll for.  Got a 10, so a White.

Thus I have, 2 Blue, 1 White.  Correct?

That is correct

It's all the same to me - you decide, as you said you would Tuesday, nd let me know...I'll assume I have two blue to start.

OK. Well go with 1 red, 2 blue.

See them vanish in a puff of smoke!

Fate chips have been updated!

I'm not trying to kill the PCs, honest...but the dice roller seems to have it in for you all. 6 wounds to Robert, 5 wounds to Charging Bear, 4 wounds to Alouette...why does the dice Roller hate you guys so much?

Witchcraft.

Evil gm ISP is making the die roller kill players...

Man I wish I had a FC or two.

Anyone else getting a glitch 5.2 where the text boxes stop appearing after a certain number of posts on the most recent page?

5.2 is like that for me, too.

Odd. I'm not getting such a glitch...should I be starting some new threads?

Might be an idea. I wouldn't be too concerned if not for the fact that it makes it a little difficult to read.

What's the last post you can read?

I did see some weird formatting problems myself.  It wasn't just you.

Maybe it's a browser thing? I use Firefox.

As do I (version 3.6.8).  I can click back on the other thread and sometimes I see the broken formatting, sometimes I don't.

Weird.

There were some issues with the image servers the other day...I wonder if the broken formatting is related.

If this game were made into a movie, and you got the job of casting for it, would would you pick to play your character, and why?

Dr. Ward - Since Vincent Price is unavailable due to death, I'd choose Alan Rickman for the part, as he has both the memorable voice and the love of playing complex villains.

Ambrose Evans - I would love to see Johnny Depp or Val Kilmer in the role. Kilmer would work based on his role as Doc Holliday in Tombstone, and Depp because I think he could pull off the world-weariness and the faint bit of whimsy.

Nathanial Frost - While Michael Biehn (who played Johnny Ringo in Tombstone) would be excellent, I think he's too old now for the part, so I'd have to go with someone else. I think Christian Bale (you know, Batman) might work, though I think Bale might be a bit to dour.

Tex - This one's easy...Paul Wight, AKA The Big Show. Not only does he have the size for it, I think he's a decent actor to boot. In previous decades, the role would have gone to Richard Kiel (you know, Jaws).

Silas Underhill - When I think of him, I think of John Fiedler (Gordy "The Ghoul" Spangler from Kolchak the Night Stalker and the voice of Pigglet), but again, he's unavailable due to death, so I'm trying to think of another character actor who might fit the part.

I'll post up others as I think of them.

I'm only good at knowing who should NOT play any of them.

Dr. Ward - Paul Reubens
Ambrose Evans - Tom Cruise
Nathaniel Frost - Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen
Tex - Verne Troyer (Blown up to size with CGI)
Silas Underhill - Ben Stein

Wait, that last one might actually work...
This message was last edited by the player at 20:52, Tue 07 Sept 2010.

Gangatsu: Chiaki Kuriyama [Go-Go Yubari from Kill Bill]

Hmmm, John Smith would need a more everyman actor than anything, no one 'hollywood' good looking like Tom Cruise or 'pretty boy' good looking like the girly boy who plays Edward in those poor excuses for vampire movies. Maybe a younger Nathan Filian or Josh Brolin? The utter nerd in me would definitely push for Nathan Filian if he demonstrated a talent for martial arts choreography.

Hee!

Alouette: a creature design by Del Toro and the movements of Gene Tagaban. It should be voiced by a deeper-voiced female, I think...perhaps the angelic voice of Joan Baez or some other singer.

edited by last post

Augustus Spotswood - played by Alan Tudyk

In reply to Augustus Spotswood (msg #325):

I can see that, especially after seeing him in the remake of 3:10 to Yuma.

The 5.1.1 Thread is currently on Wednesday Night, April 9th.

The 6.1 Thread is currently on Thursday morning, April 10th. Apparently, the founder of the Hertz Rental Car agency is born this day.

As a note of interest, Sunday the 13th was Easter Sunday in 1879. Make of that what you will. And it's Passover.

I sure know how to pick symbolic dates out of a hat, don't I?
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:41, Thu 09 Sept 2010.

Well damn, I tried to use the hyperlink code but it wouldn't work for me, not sure why. Followed the 'help' instructions and everything. Well either way, here's a link to a fun drinking song by a band who's music (from their darker albums though) inspired me to get into Deadlands.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lonz_cHJHNk
This message was last edited by the player at 04:12, Fri 10 Sept 2010.

[clicky-clicky] Good gods and dark, Good Morning Magpie is beautiful...thank you for that. I'm somewhat fuelled by the Kill Devil Hills, myself:

http://www.thekilldevilhills.com/sounds/


Hey, Stray, where're you getting the date information?

The date of the nearest Easter came from an almanac listing all the Easter Sundays for the 19th century (and, naturally, I only discovered this afterward....)

The tidbit about the founder of Hertz came from me inputting "April 10th, 1879" into Google, which puked out the History channel website.

As long as we're sharing rock with a Western vibe, I might as well showcase Ghoultown, which I've been enjoying my own self. Check out this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssCAdUgkr5A
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:57, Fri 10 Sept 2010.

Sure has been quiet today. Where has everyone gone?

In reply to The Stray (msg #331):

For my part, just caught up with RL.  Somedays are easier than others.

In reply to The Stray (msg #331):

Sorry, I passed out on NyQuil last night.  Back again!

yeah, the crud got me as well, and I'm trying to catch up at work

Sickness is no fun. Welcome back!

You guys did know Blackthorn was built over a Hellmouth, right? }:D

Where's Buffy when you need her?
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:30, Fri 17 Sept 2010.

Who needs Buffy - we have Wildcat!

Hey, Augustus - thought of the scientist yesterday when I ended up talking soothingly to a large bull at rather close quarters...I love Scottish Right To Roam laws, but I do wish they were accompanied by legisltion requiring notices about potentially irritable livestock on commonlaw footpths...

Lettin y'all know I'll be a bit more sporadic over the next couple of weeks, starting Monday, as I'm going to visit my aunt. There's not much by way of internet access in her small Languedocian village but the next big town has wifi around the town hall and in the McDonald's, so.