Re: [DL] Relatively New Marshall Seeks advice

[Xotzil@aol.com]

Welcome aboard. Feel free to ask whatever you like...as long as it doesn't 
concern Harrowed Chipmunks.

>>What pre-made adventure is a good starting point for a new deadlands posse,
>>i'm looking for something cool that captures the essence of deadlands
>>perfectly (or darn near)

Unfortunately, the two that are closest to what you've asked for are no 
longer in print. Perdition's Daughter and Independence Day (both Dime Novels) 
were both really good beginner-type modules that were moderately light on the 
paranormal mojo (or could be explained away easily).

There is one in the Marshal's Screen that might work..."Ghost Riders in the 
Sky," or some such. Though I like "This Harrowed Ground" better (also 
included in the screen), it is pretty blatantly supernatural in places.

Pass the Salt (from The Great Maze) doesn't have TOO much mojo in it, but 
there is some.

Skinners (another Dime Novel) has a few elements in it, but you might find it 
fits what you're looking for.

The PEG website has quite a few mini-encounters that might have what you're 
looking for as well. Most of them have a supernatural bent to them, but not 
all of them are as glaringly obvious as PC Death Train is (which is a 
fantastic one to throw at them when they're a little more used to things).

>>One player (an AWOL reb soldier) gained an Arcane Background(unknown to him
>>of course) in his creation, and i was wondering for those of you that may
>>have faced this before, did you decide beforehand what to give the player
>>(my current thinking is to just assume Huckster) or did you feel around
>>first between the three main AB's? (or for that matter pick something
>>else(alchemist, metal-mage, hexslinger etc.)

How did he gain an AB? The only one that I can remember you being able to 
gain "randomly" is to draw a Joker for Mysterious Past.

If I were going to give* someone an AB, I'd probably go with Mad Scientist. 
Give him constant dreams about complex mathematical formulae and weird Da 
Vinciesque gadgets that he has JUST on the edge of consciousness at all 
times....you know...weird voices that whisper things about rotors and screws 
and torque and tensile strength and pulleys and knobs and steam ratios and 
joules per ounce of ghost rock and and and...

The other ABs all kind of require some sort of serious devotion to them that 
don't really occur "naturally" to my own mind.

All of that is just IMHO o'course.

>>My other player is a Pinkerton. This kinda goes against what i've read so
>>far about Pinks, (the campaign is BA - before Agency) they are informed
>>fairly well about the happenings of the Reckoning. My player's character
>>(and the player for that mater) has no more knowledge than any regular
>>townsfolk. Should he know (more) about Harrowed and Abominations from his
>>bosses?

Not necessarily. If he's a very green recruit (or, even better, has been 
grandfathered into the organization by virtue of being related to another 
Pink and doesn't really belong there) there's no reason for them to tell him 
very much at all. He'll get sent out on crop circle missions and "Old drunken 
Jenkins saw the ghost of his Granny" type stuff to keep him employed but Out 
Of The Way of the important stuff.

Can make things much more interesting when he actually DOES start to find 
Things Are Not What They Seem.

--Jacques