Re: [BNW] Death of a Campaign

[Bob Fletcher <bobfletch@erols.com>]

    First of all, sorry to hear that your campaign met an untimely demise.  I
just ran the first session of my campaign last weekend, and I'm hopeful that it
will become a regular fixture for my gaming group (we alternate between
Deadlands and Brave New World).
    I won't go into the Sneak arguement, since it's being hammered out by people
much better with rules than I, but I did have an observation about the superhero
"flavor" of the game.  Personally, I gave up on trying to make my game even a
little bit like the comics.  Instead, I went in the other direction and have
brought some elements of the Cyberpunk genre into my game.  I'm trying to make
my game a little darker even than the standard, and I plan to introduce
cybernetics on a _very_ limited scale.
    As for the power packages, which is an arguement that I'm sure has gone
round and round, I'd have to agree.  I think the power packages are restrictive,
and there could have been a better way to do it.  And saying that one should use
Champions or one of those other settings to create the character you want is
hogwash.  Don't tell me to buy another system to fix what's wrong with the
first; I may not come back.  Anyway, I decided to give BNW its fair chance.
I've already made exceptions to allow characters to buy tricks from other
packages with my approval and at an increased cost (my Bouncer player wants to
get the Goliath's Superjump trick; he's got The Matrix on the brain ;-).  So
far, my players have been pleased with their characters, I just worry that, as
they go along, they may become discouraged that their character's powers can't
change.  We shall see.
    I'd also have to agree about Bargainers and Gadgeteers.  I can certainly
understand that the packages would get greater coverage in a later supplement,
but I would expect that they would get at least a little more support in the
main book.  Hell, the Bargainers introduce a certain mysticism that is never
really embellished anywhere else in the game.  For the time being, I have
disallowed the Bargainer in my campaign, and I may not even bring them in later,
since I'm not sure the whole demons thing fits into my worldview.  I have to
say, though, that the vagueness on this aspect of the game worries me.  The
Gadgeteer is rather one-dimensional and desperately needs a supplement to make
it package that goes beyond the powered armor.
    Anyway, I'm not trying to be overly critical, either.  I just picked up
Defiants today, and I remain a firm believer that I can make the game work as
long as my players and I maintain our interest.  No brickbats from this part of
the peanut gallery. ;-)

--
Bob Fletcher
bobfletch@erols.com

Elder Gods, Shmelder Gods.  Who believes in that baloney, anyway?
Hastur, Hastur, Hastur.  See, nothing hap-