Re: [DL] Some questions for the Marshals...

["David L. Hoff" <dlhoff1@charter.net>]

Dan Conley wrote:

>PLAYERS...THIS IS MARSHAL TERRITORY!!! SCAT!!!!!!!!
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>    Hi, Marshals! I'm running into some miscellaneous questions as our
>campaign is progressing. Here goes...
>        1) Two or three of my players are now at or beyond 5 Grit. As we
>just finished Canyon O' Doom (which means they foiled a major plot of
>the Reckoners), I'm thinking it might just be Los Diablos time! If
>you've used these critters before, do you have any suggestions on
>staging them, any cool buildups to their appearance, etc.?
>
Sorry, haven't had it come up yet. But if I remember right, there 
already is a "buildup" built into the rules for Los Diablos...something 
about the posse hearing distant rumbling for a day or two, then having 
to make some guts checks as the tension builds, something like that.

>
>        2) As the posse is headed back to Salt Lake City, I was thinking
>of heading them into the Devil's Tower Trilogy. Anyone run these before?
>Any problem areas? Suggestions? I've just started reading the first
>installment...
>
Haven't run it yet, but have read all 3 parts several times. One thing 
to be aware of is that this series gives the players a *lot* of 
knowledge about Rev. Grimme, Lost Angels, evil from a distant planet, 
etc. The kind of things that "man was not meant to know".  The second 
thing to know about this series is that it involves direct conflict with 
STONE. Your posse may all end up dead because of it. In fact, the reason 
I haven't ran the series yet is because I want to let the players have 
some more fun with their characters, because I can't imagine them all 
being alive at the end. However, since you mentioned that the group has 
a few people at 5 grit, this adventure could be a way to "retire" the 
group and let you start a new campaign...

Seriously though, you should only run this trilogy if you feel your 
players could handle having their characters die, since it is very 
likely to happen to at least some of the party members.

>
>        3) I know at the end of that trilogy, there's a chance that the
>group could end up in the HOE world. I have no interest in running HOE.
>Any creative ways to avoid this possibility?
>
The adventure gives the group a portal to HOE, but doesn't actually 
require them to go. However, it is possible that some of your players 
may decide that the only way for them to not get killed by Stone or any 
of the other things around the gateway is to go through it to HOE. You 
could just have the portal shut at a dramatic moment though, before any 
of them have had a chance to go through.

>
>        4) In the course of the trilogy, the posse heads to Rev. Grimme
>territory. I have not seen any stats for the good Reverend himself. Like
>Stone, is he more or less "beyond stats"?
>
Pretty much. There isn't really a lot of info on his capabilities, 
because the party never gets into direct conflict with him.

>
>        5) The Trilogy opens in October according to an early handout.
>Can the date be adjusted or should it occur in the set timeframe?
>
The adventure includes some "newspaper clippings" and such that mention 
specific dates. You could probably get away with just changing the dates 
to make them match what you want them to be.

>
>    Thanks a bunch for any and all help! We are, as always, having a
>blast playing Deadlands! The posse was just about chipped out and ready
>to cash in at the end of Canyon O' Doom...and loved every minute of
>it!!!   :)
>
Yep. If the posse doesn't have at least one moment during an adventure 
where they feel that "oh hell, here's where we all die", then you aren't 
doing your job right. :-)

>
>Dan
>
David L. Hoff
dlhoff1@charter.net