Re: [DL] Questions from a new Marshal

["Bob Fletcher" <bobfletch@erols.com>]

> 1) How does one get knocked down in combat?

    Unless you're using one of the Martial Arts moves like Sweep where it's
specifically designed to knock down an opponent, I've always treated it as
Marshal's perogative and as an effort toward cinematics.  If you think it
was a hard enough hit to knock a person down (a shotgun blast would be a
good example), have the character knocked on their kiester.  Actually, I
haven't used this enough in my own campaign.  Thanks for the reminder. ;-)

> 2) I'll have seven players.  Do I still just draw 3
> fate chips at the beginning of each session, or does
> it matter that much?

    Yeah, as near as I know you still just draw three chips.  It doesn't
seem like much, but remember you have lots of cannon fodder bad guys to
whittle down the player's stacks of chips.  Save your chips for the
important baddies.  And don't give too many chips to your players.  One of
the first mistakes that a first-time Marshal makes is rewarding too heavily.
At least, that was my first mistake. ;-)

> 3) Everyone who has a copy of the rules (about half
> the posse) has First Edition.  I've got most of the
> other books including Hexarcana.  Should I just stick
> with First Edition?  Or do the changes in later books
> like Law Dogs, 1877, and Hexarcana make that much
> difference?

    I don't think it'd make a huge difference, but it's something you'll
have to deal with on a case by case basis.  If you're very familiar with the
rules than you should be fine.  That's always been my problem.  The minute
specifics of the rules bore me and I don't absorb them terribly well.  I
have a basic understanding, but I make rulings on issues as I go and when I
have a question I consult with one of my players who is a real whiz with the
rules.  He keeps me from getting out of hand. ;-)

> 4) I've seen the High Noon miniatures rules mentioned,
> but never run across them.  Is there a place I can
> download a copy?  Should I buy a copy of the Great
> Rail Wars?  Or is all of this unnecessary?  Given my
> group's past tendencies, it might be fun to lay out
> large combats on occaison.

    My group started out using miniatures, but we eventually abandoned them
and now just use a dry erase board on which we put the character's initial
to represent their position in a battle.  I do have a big selection of toy
cars for vehicular combat (I actually run HoE), but that's just me.

> 5) Any other tips would be appreciated!

    I don't know if you've been a GM before, but don't worry too much about
how well you're expressing your scenes.  I always worry that I'm not
describing my setups nearly as well as I picture them in my head, but then I
realized that the player's imaginations can fill all the gaps that I leave
behind.  Let them do most of the work for you.  Relax and have fun with it.

    Hope that helps a little, and good luck.