[DL] Character Deaths

["Dom Gallegos" <stylenz@hotmail.com>]

I've never really been one to allow dice to kill characters. Only by the big 
baddie and then I just usually maimed them. However, now that I've a good 
size posse I've not held back. I don't go out of my way to kill them, just 
if it goes wrong they need to learn to pull out and try again.
I have one player who repeatedly tries things his own way, without telling 
the posse, and without any investigation. His first character was captured 
by the ranch hands who were looking for their boss who the posse just 
kidnapped. All they wanted to know was where their boss was. I figured he'd 
tell them and let the rest of the posse know. Instead he puffs up, tries to 
intimidate them and casts a hex right in front of them and only does a few 
points of damage. Yeah they got freaked out and 10 cowboys emptied they 
revolvers into him at close range. He didn't think that was fair.
Second character, they posse's looking for an abomination. They think they 
know where it's at, but are going to wait to day light to check it out. He 
decides that he's going to head on in to check things out. The posse advises 
him not to, but he heads out when they are distracted. They found his 
carcass, gave him a burial and then fought over ownership of his mine.
Finally, the most characters dying was impressive. They were chasing some 
cattle rustlers. They had a steam wagon and basically split up. The NPC 
Sheriff / NPC posse and one posse member crossed a gorge and got ambushed. 
The rest of the party were looking in the gorge and headed toward the 
gunfire. They got sniper fire from the edge and the fight starts. It was 
very impressive, with characters pulling off horse riding maneuvers, fancy 
gun play, everything to make a good movie. Finally the posse gathers on the 
steam wagon and decide to drive through the enemies' line and basically be 
the bad asses they are. They head up the gorge trail when at the top comes 
the rustler's steam wagon. Everybody shouts orders to the NPC driver and a 
roll off sends him up the trail straight at the enemy's wagon. A very 
impressive driving roll avoids collision. So the Mad Scientist, who bombed 
the town in Night Train, decides to drop a stick of dynamite into the 
enemies wagon while passing by. He gets a bust on demolitions, a few raises 
on the throw. It lands under the rustler's driver seat, then immedietly 
explodes! Damaging most ppl. They chip and take a few wounds. Both wagons 
get a reliability roll and the posse's wagon's boiler blows! Nobody having 
enough chips left they take 6d20 damage each. The explosion was seen back at 
town as then the other boiler went off as well. All except two posse members 
died. One wasn't there that game and his character was gambling back at the 
saloon. The other never got on the wagon. Nobody was upset really, but they 
sure gave the Mad Scientist's player a few ideas on what he could do with 
his dynamite next game session.
The posse was bummed for making new characters. And my entire campaign was 
trashed. But it something we'll remember forever and still talk about. 
However, I don't just kill characters cause I can.

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