In reply to Kansas Kate (msg # 210):

Best wishes, Kate.

Okay I'm easing back into the site, I'll put Kate in the main thread once she's concluded her latest dirty deal.  Knowing how that worked out would greatly change what she might tell the others and all that.

Were her dirty deeds, by any chance, done dirt cheap?

Hey, blame the ridiculous chase system that allows for something like that. I thought I had her caught when I got 5 successes on my roll. But apparently that doesn't actually mean anything. I'm not really a fan of the system, but it is what it is...

*cough* Well, um, there’s also this...

Hey, I didn't read the other thread. I was just going on what Bryan saw :)

Also, I edited my post a little bit. I realized belatedly that it came across like he was being a bit dickish to Cooper, which wasn't the intention in his tone. Bryan is polite nearly always.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:40, Thu 13 Dec 2018.

Oh, no. With regard to what actually occurred south of town, Lee can only go by his own suspicions, or whatever Cooper chooses to reveal to him. Even if Cooper elects to oppose Lee’s Smarts roll with something like Persuade, and Lee ends up with more successes, it’ll only serve to strengthen the notion that there was more to Kate’s escape than just the outlaw’s cleverness.

Yeah, but that was at the very end, after the deputies decided to shoot first and ask questions later.

Albert was quite keen on lassoing the, er, lass at first, figuring that would keep her from getting shot by anyone and would allow what he expected to be a reasonable explanation to come forth.

But he rolled a 24 for his chasin-someone-with-a-mount while on horseback. 24. that's a pretty good roll. d6+2, I might add. The horse only adds +2. Even though, let's see - horses gallop at an average of 30 miles per hour...carry the one...divide by 17...Usain Bolt was able to achieve 27.8 mph.

Like I said, not terribly fond of the chase rules, but you can't really say that he should have caught someone while on horseback when that's not how the mechanics are written.

Plus, there were trees. Those slow horses down considerably.

In reply to Bryan Lee (msg # 214):

Look we've already established she's a back door man... woman... okay is that one of those times when "man" is generic or not?

Damn you English for eliminating the male specific pronouns four+ centuries ago and leaving us in this confusion and mire!

Sorry. I hope I didn’t come across as trying to defend Savage World’s chase system. Because I’m not. Honest.

It’s a strange beast. Although a faster vehicle/mount grants a character a static bonus, and static bonuses tend to be powerful within the system, the fact remains that all successes gain you is the ability to make card draws. And if your card draws aren’t strong, you can still end up being unable to act meaningfully against the character you’re pursuing. Cooper’s high roll is a perfect example of that.

Sure, situationally in this case, we can blame the trees. In truth, southeastern New Mexico offers some pretty dense pine forests. But were this whole thing set in southern Arizona in the Sonoran Desert, I might have had to be really creative in explaining how Kate managed to elude those chasing her.

I like the segmented way that the current edition of Call of Cthulhu handles chases, but I’m not certain that system could be easily translated into Savage Worlds. I know that the chase rules are one of the things undergoing revision with the new edition of Savage Worlds, and although I backed that Kickstarter, I have to admit I haven’t kept up with the posts detailing the proposed changes. I’m just holding out hope that whatever results ends up resulting in less potential for...outright weirdness.

Well I also am not one to say the chase system is perfect but remember it's not meant to be.  It's for expedient resolution of logistically complex scenarios.  I have historically fared poorly in them but I tend to do better on RPOL for some reason.

Anyway my point is that in real life, the police have every kind of pursuit tool or technology available but there's still incidents of criminals literally running away successfully.

About 4 or 5 years ago there was a news story about a bank robbery where the bank was 2 blocks from a police station in an area full of patrol cars, bike cops and motorcycle patrols.  The robber got away on foot, and I seem to recall he wasn't in goie physical shape but I may be misremembering.

The point being reality is more unrealistic than any result the chase system might give us.

A question.

The new Adventure Edition of Savage Worlds has been released. I've yet to give it a complete read through, but I have looked over sections that detail some of the significant changes between it and the prior iteration of the rules.

I'll be honest. I'm torn about it. There are changes I like and some that I don't. I suppose that's a common reaction to any new edition. My reservations aside, I was curious about how everyone felt about incorporating the Adventure Edition rules into this game.

Based on what I've absorbed thus far, making such a shift would essentially require "rebuilding" each character to conform to the new rules. Once I have a clear understanding of all of the alterations, I'll be perfectly happy to assist with individual conversions, or to reconstruct characters for those that don't have access to a copy of the Adventure Edition.

My thought was, if such a change is undertaken, we would do so after the events of the current chapter have been resolved, which would likely coincide with character advances. But, ultimately I want to follow the desires of the group. Do you folks want to make the move to Adventure Edition, or would you rather stick with ruleset we started with?

I'll take whatever direction the majority favors. Just sound off here and let me know your preference.

I haven't spent enough time looking at the new rules. Do they jive well with Deadlands: Reloaded? That would be my most significant concern at this point. Other than that, I'm good with either changing or staying - no strong opinion.

I haven't gotten my hands on the new rules, but I'm pretty open either way we go, and definitely interested in what the changes entail.

I think that's three for "either way".

I think it's better, but before I move into the new rules I'm waiting until it's out "in the wild" and not just in the hands of us Kickstarter backers.  I was going to wait until a free conversion guide was up for people who don't want to buy Adventure Edition.

You could switch over now, I've got the rules, but that's my opinion is wait a bit until it's out of early adopter status.

I believe so. The skill system has several alterations. One of the most notable is the idea of “Core Skills”, skills that every character automatically receives a d4 in. It’s a sound concept and it circumvents issues like protagonists making rolls for Climbing or Stealth at an automatic disadvantage. Several skills have been rolled together. The Athletics skill, for instance, encompasses Climbing, Swimming, and Throwing. For the most part, the changes seem well thought out.

No that I’m supportive of everything. Common Knowledge is now a skill rather than a Smarts roll, something I’d likely be tempted to house rule back to the prior edition. Streetwise is now an edge rather than a skill.

But there are some other cool changes that favor players. Bennies can now be used to reroll damage or to make a second initiative draw. I think those good additions to the players’ toolbox.

Overall, I think it will work well with Deadlands.


This is probably sound advice, which I’m going to take. The version that’s offered on DriveThruRPG has already been edited three times, so the product is still in a fluid state. Plus, I think waiting for the conversion guide is best, so no one’s forced into purchasing a book they may not want.

Once the goings on surrounding the courthouse are resolved, we can revisit the idea, depending on what state the Adventure Edition is in at that point.

In reply to Marshal (msg # 228):

Well, that sounds pretty cool overall. I'm changing my vote from open to solidly in favor of.

For purposes of tactical clarification, I will post a floor plan of the court house this evening, to give those there a better understanding of the building’s layout and entrances.

I'll hold off on posting then, as any suggestions Lee has will require him to understand his physical surroundings.

I've uploaded a layout of the interior of the courthouse as the Map for Group 1. Everyone should have access to it.

Note that the top map is the first floor, the bottom the second.

My streak of terrible dice roller luck across multiple games continued here, but was just broken hopefully.

For clarification for those outside, in Lincoln’s Main Street: The recent events at the Sheriff’s Office (walls being blown out, Regulators running headlong into a group of undead gunfighters) will occur a split second after Kate has the opportunity to act.

Is talking free?

It is. I mean, as long as you’re not trying to recite the Gettysburg Address or deliver an Academy Awards “Thank You” speech. Brief dialogue falls within the realm of free actions.