RE: [DL] Ghost Rock Tipped Bullets

["Leybourne, Brian" <Brian.Leybourne@airnz.co.nz>]

> However, the bullets "screamed" as they shot at someone 
> (causing -2 or -4 to their dodge roll for shaken nerves) 

I can't say I agree with this ruling. My players wouldn't let me get away
with it and I wouldn't expect them to.

Let's be realistic here - when someone shoots at you in Deadlands and you
dodge, you're not literally leaping out of the way as the bullet streaks
towards you, because that's not physically possible. Nobody is faster than a
bullet. A dodge is the act of anticipating that you are about to be shot at,
and leaping out of the way *before* the opponent can line up the gun and
pull the trigger.

Thus, the screaming would occur *after* the dodge and not affect it.

Plus, the time taken for the bullet to travel from the gun to the poor
sodbuster it's hitting is negligible. I don't know exactly how fast a bullet
flies (I'm sure at least eight people will reply to this email and tell me
exactly how fast bullets fly. Don't bother, I don't care. Really!) but it's
a small fraction of a second. Hardly enough time for a long resounding
scream to rattle the nerves of the target.

In my posse, I gave a character special twin peacemakers that shoot ghost
rock tipped bullets. (Actually, there is merely a small 'crumb' of ghost
rock embedded in the tip - remember that this stuff is over $100 per ounce -
to make the whole tip be ghost rock would raise the cost to at least $20 or
more per bullet, and remember that Ghost Rock is only about as hard as coal
so probably wouldn't be as effective as a solid slug of metal). The small
quantity of GR in the tip of the bullet ignites upon shooting, and so causes
a little extra damage when it hits (5d6 rather than 3d6). However because
the tip has been weakened to accommodate the bit of GR the armour piercing
value is -1, so AR1 is treated as AR2 against these bullets etc (no armour
is still no armour however).

Also, as a Marshal's secret the player doesn't know about: If an opponent is
taken down with these guns, I draw an extra card per Ghost Rock bullet that
had hit the opponent to check for coming back hartrowed - hey, you shoot
small pieces of manitou into someone, one of them may decide to stay. And
get revenge.

Brian "my players fear me *grin*" Leybourne.

.-->
"The Web brings people together because no matter what kind of a twisted
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Brian Leybourne
brian.leybourne@airnz.co.nz
bleybourne@hotmail.com
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