[DL] Mad Science/Junker Science

["Ronald Conner" <marshalron@hotmail.com>]

I'm cross posting this for relevance.

Here is my gripe.  I'm holding all my cards for when perils of the new 
science comes out but this is going to be my argument into the arena of 
scientific endevors.

Mad Science and Junkers are underdone and where they are done are done 
poorly.  I'm partialy happy with "Smith and Robards" and "The Junkman 
Cometh" because they handle my two new favorite character classes.  But they 
still rankle.

"Smith and Robards" is not wholely about Mad Scientists.  It is for the most 
part but sections are devoted to things not really completely related to MS. 
  The section on driveing and artillery, (which are mismatched anyway and 
combined badly)  Are nice and very complete but have only a passing 
relavance to MS in general.  The entire section on New Inventions is very 
helpful because it provides some nice flavor, new skills, new starting 
inventions and a good resource for item stats for marshals.

What it doesn't do is provide a useful guide to inventing for the newbie MS. 
  Alchemy, engenieering, tinkering, and general theory are all left for the 
player to invent or the marshal to dictate.

outline for improvements.
1. Define Ghost rock, Please?  For all our Sakes!
2. The periodic table would be nice.  I have a copy but for alchemy it would 
be nice to provide more than three examples for common, uncommon and Rare 
items.  Some d20 based selection charts of commonly used items maybe?
3. Junker tech goes a long way towards makeing this better but some 
standards for construction would help.  MS get the short end of the stick 
character wise and seldom get very much return.  I had one character who had 
to spend several game weeks in research because of failed alchemical 
formulae.  That took him out of the game.  He couldn't fight, couldn't 
investigate, couldn't do anything because he had to spend all that wasted 
time researching.  And why.  Because he didn't get a very decent starting 
invention.  He couldn't use it as a weapon because it was single use and 
cost too much to make.  He was stuck.
4. Some nice Basic abilites for Mad Scientists would be great.  Hucksters 
have tricks, Blessed have gifts, Martial artist get non-Chi manouvers.  What 
do our mad friends get?  Squat!
5. The biggest problem with Mad Science that I have is the sort of pawn 
aspect that most of them have.  Even a well read MS is still a pawn for the 
reckoners.  Even our hero.  He doesn't know he is, he never even gets the 
chance to choose.  Regardless of what he uses his gadgets for he furthers 
the plans of the reckoners.

Junkers:

Big things here.

"The Junkman Cometh" is great.  Very well done but still not complete.  The 
lack of any serious Inventions in the book aside from the 6 that appear in 
the book (1 of which is almost impossible to use) angers me.  It has been 
said that without the Deadlands dispatch there would have been more room but 
that is not an excuse.

The Healing power, and the Spirit Weapon power both have suggestions for 
devices but no examples of completed works.  Med-kit, and unlicensed 
Particle Acclerator.  Where are the stats!  I want finished products not 
vauge outlines.

1. The story portion and explaination are very necessary for the plot of 
playing a Junker.  But it takes up 2/3 of the book.  The remaining 1/3 is 
powers about half of which are gun powers.  They seem to take up the most 
space in the book with detail but we are discouraged from even useing these 
powers but taint, madness and death.  What's the point man!
2. A mad Scientist uses parts of other devices to make his inventions.  You 
could attach any invention to a steam wagon without takeing anything away 
from the wagon.  A junker can't add a radio to his car without the 
possibility of it going to hell in a handbasket.
3. Why do browser and familier spirits die if their host shell is destroyed? 
  If a tech spirit is floating around the hunting grounds that means it was 
in another device at some point.  If it's current host is destroyed why 
doesn't it return there?  There is always some chance that it will get 
jumped by nature spirits but shouldn't we have a say in that, a die roll, a 
card pull something?  I nurtured a tech spirit to level 5 and just because I 
was in a car wreck I lose it?  That's a jip.

4. What is wrong with independant inventions.  Why does the plasma gun mount 
on my new car share the same spirit.  Can't it have two?  A car spirit for 
the car and a gun spirit for the new plasma gun?  Seperate stability checks 
for each?

5. Scroungeing- Big list here.  The tables in TJC are for building a device 
from scratch.  I already have a car, bought with my belongin's edge.  Can't 
I just add things to that?  Modify it in some way?  There are no stats for 
basic cars, guns, houses, or tools.  How many slots does your average car 
have?  How many components?  What powers?  Just locomotion?  Locommotion and 
Commo?

6. This was brought up twice in recent memory but fully bore scroungeing is 
not really covered.  You have a device that has been found, declared good 
enough to function and been loveingly restored by some scav from the wastes. 
  Now it's mine and I want to use it as the base for my next device.  What 
is it's worth in components?

7. Sitgraves pioneered a lot of things.  He actually managed to make 
manitous create elements and items out of thin air.  How could this part of 
his teachings be lost when it comes so integral to the post judgement day 
life of a junker.  He said the only item he couldn't create was ghost rock.  
Well damn it i'm holding you to your word.  Why can't junkers do better?  A 
least for chemical, structural or Mechanical.  Electronic I could understand 
that takes more finesse than a manitou has but if they can evolve one aspect 
of his hexes the rest should follow.

That's all I have for now but rest assured I'm going to persue this one till 
PEG writes a book on it or I have to do it myself.

Ron C

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