Re: [DL] Our first foray into DL Original Recipe

[balance@tubas.net]

On Tuesday, September 24, 2002, at 08:16  AM, Rich Borges wrote:

> 	Well, me and my group (formally a DL d20 group) tried our hand at 
> the PEG
> way of doing things with a sort of "combat exercise." I wanted everyone 
> one
> to get a rough idea of the way combat runs and what they can do. This 
> was
> the first time through for everybody including me (the Marshal.) To say 
> it
> went a little rough around the edges would be an under statement. But,
> everybody seems willing to learn and found some things they like about 
> it. A
> couple of the guys are even going to be picking up the book (not bad if 
> you
> ask me.) And hear I thought I was doing all wrong.
> 	If anybody has any suggests for running combat smoother or any 
> easy way to
> keep track of stuff...I am all ears. Thanks...

A couple of useful hints:

* Keep it moving! When cards are out, call the ace, and give'em maybe 
three seconds to claim it before you move on... My group plays open 
faced, even for my cards, so I can usually see what's coming.

Keep in mind that one round of Deadlands Classic is a lot more 'actions' 
than one round of d20, generally. A LOT of my players regularly get 2-3 
actions, and some seem depressed when they don't max out at five.

I also try to limit in-battle lookups. If I know there's a rule for a 
situation somewhere, but I don;t know where, I fudge it, then look it up 
alter. Spells ad other special effects are something of an exception, 
but most of my players note where their effects can be found to make it 
quicker.

* Plan, plan, plan... at the right time. If the players are trying to 
create complex plans in mid-scenario, let'em try, but that will take 
actions. They should do the planning BEFORE the lead starts flying, not 
after!

* Reward creativity. I had a scenario where my posse fought an automaton 
that resembled the classic Deadlands automaton mini mixed with an 
ironclad ship. One player was resourceful enough to throw his jacket 
over the steam exhaust for the things' shoulder-mounted Steam Gatling, 
so I made sure to reward this by both removing the Gatling from play and 
giving the character some post-adventure chips. I hadn't planed for this 
bold action... but it deserved reward. Except for a few games (Feng Shui 
being one) msot games make stunts difficult enough to be impossible (at 
least, without chips.fate/brownie points) so most players won't even 
consider a lot of stuff beyond the basic primary attack and similar 
actions.

* Use the Mooks: Every version of DL classic has a mook system. This 
makes them a bit weaker (they can't take the same abuse) but you can 
actually run a dozen opponents if necessary... They act at the same 
time, their shots do normal damage if they hit, but they just can't take 
the same level of abuse. Major villians are damged the same as players, 
however, and you can build a nice chip surplus while the posse whittles 
down the mooks earlier in the adventure...

And most importantly of all:

* Have a good time.

--
Brett

LORD, WHAT CAN THE HARVEST HOPE FOR, IF NOT FOR THE CARE OF THE REAPER 
MAN? (Reaper Man, Terry Pratchett)