Re: [DL] Re: hucksters

[Ross Coburn <coburn@sympatico.ca>]

At 02:37 AM 7/28/2000 -0400, you wrote:
>AHHH! I adore hucksters. I would say that since they risk life and limb to
>cast a simple spell, that pretty much nullifies (at least reduces) most
>munckinsism with them. Plus, you have to draw cards after rolling, and
>there's little way to cheat that. (and if you're playing with people who
>actively cheat, they're going to suck no matter what they're playing).
>
>Hucksters are what pulled me into this game to begin with. ...and I've taken
>9d10 damage to my own Noggin' for playing one, and loved every minute of it.
>The system is brilliant.
>
>So you're wrong. ;-)

Actually, my reasons for disliking them are essentially twofold, and
neither really have snything to do with munchkinism:

For one, the system takes too long to me.  In a game where you have to be
careful not to spend too much time rolling dice as it is, the whole 'dice
plus cards' thing in the middle of a situation where you've already run up
'dice plus cards' just seems to bog things down to me too much.

I firmly believe that in any game, combat is a weak point of the system
because what should take only seconds and be viscerally intense often
deveolves into long minutes of dice-rolling.  I *like* the Deadlands combat
system - a lot, because it fits the setting so well, but it slows things
down like any other (and more than many, hence my house rules posts
previously).

The other reason is that they just 'feel' wrong to me.  PCs don't need that
kind of nonsense in the game world to my way of thinking.  You have Shamans
and Blessed, and one of my oppositions to Mad Scientists is the whole
Manitou posession thing.  I just say leave well enough alone; you want to
play a smooth gambler-type?  By all means do so!  But then I also love CoC,
and somehting about PCs running around a horror game with magic to toss
goes against the grain.


>> Signing off and donning that Smith & Robards asbestos underwear now...
>
>Hey! You have no Mad Scientists, you can't wear that!  ;-)

I was afraid someone would notice that.  It seems my hypocrisy knows no
bounds!  <g>


Ross