Re: [DL] Random questions

[The Baron Samedi <baron11@netmcr.com>]

At 11:47 PM 4/18/00, you wrote:
>Just some random questions for Marshals and how they
>run their deadlands universe...
>
>1) How far apart are your towns?  A few hours ride by
>horse?  Half a days ride?  Longer?  I figure it would
>depend on where you are.  Back east towns would be
>closer together (but how close?) than out west.
depends on what I am going for.  Sometimes they are a good ways apart, 
sometimes they are closer.  I sometimes have "clusters" of towns, esp in HoE.

I know a couple times I was going for Isolation, so I had the nearest town 
by days away just so I could have that hanging over the PCs.

I guess overall it depends.  that does not help, does it.  I guess usu. 
about a days ride is a safe bet, further west closer east, generally, maybe.



>2) How often does a town have a rail line going
>through it?  Are lines out west mostly single lines,
>or double?  How often do trains run?  If a train needs
>to turn around, or two trains meet head to head, what
>do they do?


With me, depends on needs of the adventure.  One of my Posses always goes 
by train when possible, the other rarely does.  With the former, I often 
have a town be accessible for adventure purposes.  with the latter, I 
rarely take it into consideration.  If Memory Serves Me Right, I have had 
one adventure be ignored by the former, actually, when they heard about it 
because it was too far from any track.

The others have not come up.


>3) How many towns have a telegraph station?  I assume
>towns near a fort would have stations, and there would
>be central lines heading out east, but just how far do
>the lines run westward?  Is there one main trunk, or
>is there a network established?  Just how do telegraph
>lines work, must each station relay the information?
>If there's a break in the line, how quickly is it
>detected and someone sent out to repair it?


This does not come up much.  My rule of thumb is bigger towns have it, BFE 
towns don't.  When/If my Posse asks (my second more likely then first)
I call it based on town size.  usually yes. If Memory Serves Me Right, even 
tiny towns in some adventures had telegraph offices.


>4) How many Marshals actively include the civil war in
>their adventures?  If one side rushed across the
>boarder, how quickly would a defense be mobilized?
>How would it be detected, and better yet, verified?
>What's to stop one side from tricking a scout into
>thinking a large force is moving into an area, only to
>move troups to another area?  Do people play the
>confederate as bad guys and the union as good guys, or
>are the sides portayed more neutrally?

I haven't yet but probably will.  My Players in both groups have this 
tendency to play southerners.  I have had only one Pinkerton (a situation 
that went badly) but no less then 4 Texas Rangers and 1 Confederate 
Officer.  I did have two Union Marshals once tho.

Still, even with the Pink and two Marshals, I have had the aforementioned 4 
Rangers, 1 Confederate Officer, Two Southern Bells, one Van Helter-eque 
southern gentleman, and several Texans.

Course, I am in North Carolina, and One player is with the Sons of 
Confederate Veterans so that should mean something...


>5) How often do the Agency or the Rangers investigate
>a supernatural report?

my second Posse is fairly Ranger-driven, so they do often.
I have, occasional, used a race against the Pinkertons with my other group 
but not usually.  Generally the Agency are shadowy men and women even they 
fear.  For their Marshal thinks Pinkertons are cool, and has a Pinkerton 
Teddy Bear.


>So do most people of the time explain away events as
>supernatural?

I'd say it depends, about 50/50


>Are ghost stories commonplace?

yes

>  If so,
>how does the Agency and the Rangers tell what is real
>and what is fake?

Blood, Sweat, and Tears

>  How often do you have players
>investigate a boogie man who is really a snipe?

not yet but it is not unthinkable...I watch scooby doo I know where it's at...

>  Or a
>different boogieman than expected (ie, the vampire
>attacks were really caused by Tick men)?

oh this happens often enough the Players are no longer terribly surprised 
by it.


>Just Curious
>-Munch Wolf
TBS