[DL] Dawg clarifications

["Jeff Shoffner" <shoffner@esper.com>]

>Jeff, thank you -so- much for posting this!  In my
>slice o' DeadLands, my character Syd invented the S&R
>velocipede and has been tossing around ideas for a
>more rugged off-road model, specifically to carry some
>of the larger augmented.  I'm going to puruse your
>notes in detail!



Good, so maybe between the two of us, we'll make some good Dawgs in the
future! :-)  (Oh, and sorry about that copryright infringement suit; Here I
am, just trying to build a better 'pede & your boss Robards gets all uppity
about it.....)



>Couple of quick questions though:  it looks like the
>major improvement in the designs, besides the range of
>vehicles, is the Turn Number is reduced to 3.  For the
>"Big Dawg" the TN goes up to 5, but frankly given it's
>frame I imagine something like 7 would be more
>appropriate.  I'm also surprised it doesn't have a
>higher Fuel rate, given that it's carrying 2.5 to 3
>times the cargo of a standard design.


For the Turn TN, I based it on the Turn of the S&R 'pede which is 3 (pg. 57
S&R).  I had initially saw the Big Dawg as having a Turn TN of 7, but a
steam wagon has one of 5, & I couldn't see this big three wheeler having
that much trouble turning compared to a wagon.  The Fuel rates were taken in
consideration with someone chiming in that the S&R 'pede consumed 1 lb of
ghost rock for every 100 miles. (I just now got the other responses.)  As
for the Big Dawg's fuel consumption of only 1.5, that only accounts for one
rider.  As stated before, these consumption rates are gross approximations &
the marshal should factor in other elements.  That, and I see steam power as
being fairly efficient (ie: the fuel just heats water; the steam that drives
the wheels can be great or small.)


>
>Second, on the "Bull Dawg", I like the +1 versus the
>terrain modifier.  Is it capable of speeds comparable
>to the other designs on flat terrain, like with
>speeding up rolls, or is the entire engine array
>geared soley for shock absorbtion and gradients?


I needed some game modifier to make the Bull Dawg effective in mountian
regions, hence the +1 to driving.  Glad you liked it.  The Bull Dawg is not
as fast as the others (average speed of 15mph, Pace 20) mainly because the
pistons are shorter & the connection to the rear wheel is closer to the
centerpoint.  (What would that be? Angle Aspect?)  A "fer instance" here is
the standard 'pede mounts the piston midway between the center & edge of the
drive wheel.  The Salty Dawg has that piston mounted very near the edge, why
the Bull Dawg has it closer to the center.  Same angular momentum, but
different torques.   Hmmmm, you bring up a physics question I'll have to
answer......


>
>Finally, for the "Dawg Roll", this specifically breaks
>the "can't turn more than 90 degrees in an action"
>roll, yes?  Just clarifying.



Yep.  If you need to see an actual demonstration of a 360 roll, the one that
pops to mind is the biker gang in Mad Max; their "tag" for where they'd been
was to peel out a doughnut (rotating around the front wheel), then peel out
a straight line in the direction they took off.  Now, attempting this trick
while still moving is asking for trouble.  I'd suggest either do while
standing still, or else break hard to a dead stop, then do it.

Hmmmm, maybe a new trick:  The "Lie Down"  'pede rider leans the vehicle on
one side, & kicks the back wheel towards the front, bringing the whole thing
sliding to a dead stop perpendicular to the direction it was travelling.

Jeff S