Re: [BNW] New game for me

["Barak Blackburn" <barak@staff.angelfire.com>]

certainly, the DP sourcebook could paint them in a better light, but it
would have been nice to have seen that side of things before being force-fed
"propaganda" about them.
maybe this is part of the mega-plot unfolding...


true, one could play a DP agent in europe ala Bond, but the thrust of the
game is fighting fascist america.

i'm looking forward to the upcoming book detailing WWII and playing a member
of DP back then, that should be lots of fun.

a question, only having a  couple deadlands book and never seriously playing
in a campaign, how does their mega-plot unfold. is it chronological or is it
more piecemeal.
i'd prefer if BNW was more chronological, with most of the background being
given to us from the start and future supplements concentrating on events as
time went forward (ie someone finds out that the bomb that destroyed chicago
was known about by Jack beforehand etc...).
this method of organized storytelling/ background explanation lends itself
well to running a campaign while supplements continue to come out.
piecemeal info can get sketchy, as hardcore fans of a game want to be
excited about the supplements and the ideas/ facts within, but when
something is only hinted at and they want/ need to include it but cannot
because the info isn't out there, it is very frustrating.
sure, GMs can make up the info, but what i'm sensing is that most folks
enjoy the new supplements and opening them up and finding the info within. i
know for myself, i get very excited when a new product is coming out.

for instance- the original books did not mention the various factions of the
defiance, and presumably, players would not start out as members of the
defiance, but as they played and grew to be trusted-- a new supplement comes
into the gms hands explaining the politicking within this broad group of
freedom fighters-- and starts planting seeds with different pcs about the
different groups. this is great.
this seems to me to be a logical progression of how a game could unfold and
the supplements illuminate that experience.
it is when unfinished info hits the table that it becomes frustrating: i'll
point to bargainers again. by no means complete. sure i could let a player
choose one and make stuff up for it, but i, as a gm, would be much happier
if there were more detailed info for it

a side question (possible spoiler for non-GM types)...

jack has been replaced by an alpha with the ability to change his
appearance, and in the defiance handbook their is a package that lets one do
this. what makes his package an alpha package.
or is it possible that the original jack impersonator is dead, killed when
the alpha-killing bomb went off and we are onto jack clone v2.0?