RE: [DL] A quick question

["Matthew M. DeForrest" <mmdeforrest@worldnet.att.net>]

I would like to add one quick bit of advice if you are going to use a serial
killer -- don't let your posse get him for a few months of gaming.  Let them
rescue a couple of potential victims and get some glimpses of the bad guy
ducking around a corner into a crowd.  Distract them with blind leads or
other adventures that take them away from the hunt but cannot be ignored --
and have the killer kill again while they are gone.  Allow them to find one
of his bolt-holes and discover some disturbing facts (and perhaps find an
abomination created out of the fear the killer has made.) Make them want to
get him so badly that if they take him down with a single gunshot they will
not feel that it's anti-climactic.

Also, make the killer smart.  A single villain -- even a lightly armed
one -- can make an entire posse feel threatened if played correctly.

And as someone already said, be willing to cheat a little to keep the story
going.  This means that sometimes the villain will escape or dodge when the
dice say he shouldn't.  It also means that sometimes, the second ace the
villain rolled when calculating damage for a player character already on the
ropes didn't occur.  Just don't let the players know when it's happening and
always make it plausible.

Good luck.

Matt