Happy running! I admire modern folk still capable of outpacing a pack of determined direwolves at need.

My flight to London is delayed...

Thanks! It will be my second time doing a marathon ... though I'm not sure I can outrun direwolves should they be determined to make me dinner ... eeps!

I'm back from marathon'ing and vacationing in the land of Chicago! Managed a 4:42:02 which is better than I was hoping so yay me!

How's the world here going?

*nudges game* There, that should help it unstick (the Stray was unhappy with the Dust Adders trying to rely on an NPC and Murphy's luck).

On a theme of alternate Americas, I got back to find a friend had sent me this book: http://www.shauntan.net/books/the-arrival.html
- I highly recommend it to the world in general, as it is a beautiful little thing and balances plain weird and darkness with a resilient humanity.

Game is still stuck, and I think I know why...I have two climaxes here to deal with. And I don't really look forward to splitting my attention between them. Every time I think, "Man, I should get back to this game!" I then think "But I got half the party going one way, and half going the other. I don't want to deal with that!."

So. I want to finish this game, but I'm going to do one of two things:

1) Consolidate the groups
2) Give co-gm status to one of the other players, then run one climax while that other player runs the other.

Thoughts?

You could always do both.

Oddly enough, before I read this post, I'd been thinking about Adrian Vega and how it would be fun to play him again. My thoughts on the two propose solutions:

(1) This could always be fun as a player to have it be one big party, but as a GM you might find this large number of players in the same place might make it even harder to manage. If you think that based on the plot lines, this would actually make it more manageable, go for it. But if there's a possibility that it might only knot things up even more, perhaps look to #2.

(2) This could be a good approach, if the player is both willing and able to do so, someone who has been here since the beginning, knows the characters and mythologies well, and has played in many of the various arcs as one character or another, I think this could be a good alternative. Maybe the better one. It might let you forge ahead with less needing to rethink things that I think is the quandary with #1.

Ultimately, I'm up for either one of them.

Combining the two groups might feel forced unless you have an "organic" way to make that happen.
So my vote would be for 2)!

I like the extra layer of tension added by both groups being oblivious to the fact that there's another one out there that has to succeed for Dire Consequences to be averted.

Also, short of the Salesman herding everyone through portals and getting a good chunk of Blackthorn killed by neglect I don't think there's a sane way to get everyone conglomerated.

It's good to see everyone has been thinking the same sort of things I have been thinking regarding the consolidation of the group. It's going to be a bit too difficult to be believable. I did have an idea, but it would probably have come off a bit forced.

Thus, I am promoting Alouette to GM. Alouette will take one group, I'll take the other.
This message was last edited by the GM at 10:11, Thu 28 Nov 2013.

Really really? Ooo, all the things...
This message was last edited by the GM at 13:13, Thu 28 Nov 2013.

We're all going to die ...

Well, a few of us are technically already dead, soooo....

And that's just going to make the eternal torture you'll face that much worse!

In reply to A Summoned Spirit (msg # 800):

Ah, I'd forgotten about that...built that back when Ward was planning a seance to show off his Aetheric Theory to Augustus, but that got derailed when Danny Boy got loose.

Ugly bugger, isn't it?

Eh...don't suppose you have the notes as to which Dust Adders were at the ranch by any chance, do you? I can work it out, but mine are a bit confused due to guys going back and forth before the Comanche hit...
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:42, Fri 29 Nov 2013.

In reply to Alouette (msg # 804):

Let me check my notes...

Here are the ones I know are in town:

Gus Shaw (Dangerous and competent. Nathaniel Frost's second in command while he was alive. Stocky, and it's rumored he made a deal with the devil for the ability to heal from any wound.)
Bill McCoy (Somewhat dimwitted and clueless, but a good storyteller. Recently became a Deputy after being scared to death by some kind of automaton and deciding to turn a new leaf.)
Frank Miller (he's considered fairly smart. Former miner.)
Felix (Observant)
Don (Good kid, but somewhat clueless)
Eddy (Edgar Baxter. Fearless)
Elliot (Clever fingers.)
Slim (Dillon Conway, kind of skinny, skinner than the other guy named Slim, who was actually just normal-sized)
John Hollison (Excellent artist, married man)
Jack (Gung ho)
Jethro (From Tennessee, sounds like Boomhauer from King of the Hill. His uncle Ol' Crazy Pete runs the Red Eye Saloon, the Dust Adder's favorite bar.)
Big Tom (The taller of the two Toms. Somewhat lazy)
Todd (tends to spend more time in the saloon than on the trail)
Tim Landers (The littlest Dust Adder)

Here are the ones who are in the mines:

Tex Shaw (You will know him when you see him. Trust me.)
Carl Allans (The quiet one, but the one nobody wants to mess with. Has a drunkard as a father, fiercely loyal to the wolf pack that is the Dust Adders.)
"Mad Irish" Murphy (Irishman. Came to town after the bust)
Mike Bennett (one of Carl's friends. Level-headed and brave.)
Ned (Something of a coward)
Heavy Henry (Obese. Fond of his liquor)
Spanish Joe (AKA Joe the Spanish Prick, who is actually half Apache. He doesn't advertise this fact due to Gus's well-known Intolerance of Indians)

Here are the ones I know are at the ranch:

Percy Bradshaw (often called "Kid," which he hates. Young gun. Resents his prissy name. His mother is one of the Weeping Moons, and is thought to be crazy by most of the town, as she talks about being reunited with her dead husband someday soon).
Mighty Dave (David Baines. Bigger bark than bite. Thinks he's good enough to lead the Dust Adders. Isn't. Can be dangerous, though.)
Al (Been a miner, a railroad worker, cattleman...he's been around. One of the older Dust adders.)
Johny (Getting a little long in the tooth)
Johnny Boy (also getting old...his nickname is ironic)
Little Tom (The shorter of the two Toms. Recently murdered a deputy, and the guys have been protecting him.)

So that leaves these members unaccounted for:

Max (Considered light-fingered)
Ed (Edward Taylor. Good singer)
Nick (also black, but hasn't earned a nickname yet.)

Gus took half the DAs with him when he went to town, and Ward took about half the remaining DAs down to the mine, so I'm going to put the unaccounted-for members in the group remaining at the ranch.

Also at the ranch:

The Widow Bradshaw
Arthur Whateley
Harry Lazarus
Abraham
Mayor Glenn Bruebaker and his wife
Gangatsu
Alistair Milburn
The Seven of Spades
Zhang Hou-ku
This message was last edited by the GM at 13:18, Fri 29 Nov 2013.

Hopefully (?), Marina's at the ranch, too.

Oh, all right, I see what's happened...the Eds in different places threw me, I think. [straightens own notes] I'll assume the Mayor's girls are down there too.

I already know where Marina is, don't fret. You should worry about where Vinny's got to...

Yeah, that's something that happens when you avert the One Steve Limit. Girls? Sure. You need stats for them, just in case?

Ah, right. OK, then.
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:31, Fri 29 Nov 2013.

We don't actually have a Steve... Yes, just the girls because their brother's away at uni or apprenticed or something - you have the notes in an e-mail somewhere. Something like 17 and 11, so the elder one can use the Townsfolk stats at least.

Was reassurin' William we'd not lost her. That thread's waiting on Evans, whom you wanted to keep, if you were wondering what I was havering over.

Unrelated to any of the above, I have a new voice shiny, and looking him up on t'internet, he sings epic history songs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0iHrSWd7pw

In reply to Alouette (msg # 809):

I know that, but we got a few Eds and Johnnys, so the principle applies. Huh. Going to have to dig through it, then. Alrighty. Do you want me to post stats in the mayor's profile?

I know, I just wanted to make sure you got all the info you needed on things first.

neat!

We have a lot of Johnnys. If you search for 'scarf', it was after we were trying to work out why Rum loved his choke hazard so much (and decided it was probably knitted by his nan). Sure, that'll work.

Good good. Well - and this applies to everyone - do tell me if I'm doing anything terribly wrong, and be prepared for a slight slant towards action-flavoured horror from the Stray's horror-flavoured action.

...and my strange taste in music, of course.

Definitely looking forward to the upcoming mix-up!

In reply to Alouette (msg # 811):

Ah. Alrighty. Nope. I get a bunch of unrelated stuff when I search for Scarf. Did we discuss any names?

Heh. I do seem to be a bit heavy on the action, don't I?

[is somewhat worried and yet intrigued...]

Kansas? "Bruebaker" might do it...I think the girls' names might be Abigail and Genevieve, but I don't think that was official anywhere.

It is the Thing That Strayses Do Best! ...aside from speech rhythms and making the numbers work, that is.

[beams]