Re: [DL] Why do people grumble about deadlands d20?

[Brett Dixon <balance@tubas.net>]

On Thursday, November 21, 2002, at 09:58  AM, PEGShane@aol.com wrote:

> Hi Nick,
> I appreciate your opinion, but I'll have to respectfully disagree. First, I didn't write it--John Hopler did from my notes, and I think he did a fine job. In fact, I've got scads of fan mail here that agrees. Yours is the first truly negative reply I've received.

Here's my stance. LC has some really good stuff, and a few parts come off not as bad but boring. This is, in part, a necessary evil of a core rule book i think. See more below...

A big source of frustration is that LC seems to use Banshee Screams as part of the source book at times. Deadlands has always kept fiction and adventures linked to an extent (the Dime novels, for example) but this seemed somehow more annoying, especially as I need to purchase a second book to make it worthwhile that isn't organized the way I expect a game source book to be.

But that's minor. Overall, LC is interesting because it is, for Deadlands, the first truly new word where the source materials have to provide ALL the details without being able to fall back on history or the modern-day real world.

> Our major distributor, Alliance, is also using it as an example of how to sell dual-statted books, and are very happy with its sales.

Good to hear. It deserves the sales.

> That said, not everything works for everyone. Hell, I like Something About a Sword, but most folks on here don't. ;) I also thought "Crouching Dragon, Hidden Tiger" was no better than any other HK action film, yet it goes up for Academy Awards. Go figure! And I'm constantly amazed that people don't want more British Colonial movies! ;)

I agree with you on CDHD... Everyone has different opinions. 

> Back on topic. Since LC is a core rulebook, the amount of statistics (particularly for vehicles and character types) is fairly thick. I can certainly understand that this makes half of that material unuseable for those who only want in one system (yes, there are many who actually want both as they don't know which version they'll eventually use someday--some prefer our original but believe they'll only get new folks to play if they do it with d20). I'm afraid there's nothing I could do about except to try and keep the descriptions to a minimum to include as much good, crunchy stuff as possible.

As I mention above, this is a necessary evil in the basis for a new world. For HoE, you can say "It's a Jeep!" and let the marshall and posse figure things out. (My posse keeps trying to draft my newly-purchased Jeep to demonstrate where they are mounting guns and stowing gear in theirs.) In Lost Colony, this breaks down as many more things are purpose-built colonization tools that need more detailed explanations. I don't no anyone that drives a Stallion shuttle, for example... 

> Going forward, I've made a change to all of our books to decrease the margins, and (slightly) the type size as well (you'll see it first in Epitaph #4). That gives you more words per page (20-24% more!), though I suspect most folks won't even recognize it. I won't go to the tiny type WOTC uses in their core books--I really don't like aesthetically or to read, but I think the new type size you'll see is a good compromise between readability and words per page. (Remember that we strive to make our books useful but also fun to read.)

As a Marshall who often runs games that start at 7 PM if we're lucky and go until after midnight, I'm glad. My eyes are getting a bit fuzzy by that point... Decreasing the margins is a nice change, too.

Has any thought been given to trying to get more 'info-graphics' for LC stuff, especially... The shuttles and other space vessels are an important element of the setting, and some sketches to show rough interior layouts, size comparisons, etc. would be useful.

Oh... and thanks for putting the maps up on the web site, Now when my posse gets to Banshee I can plop a copy on the table.

> As Ray said (and I most appreciate the kind words, Ray!), I've made a committment to supporting both systems, and that's what I'll do. If you don't like it, of course you have the right to vote with your dollars, and you're of course welcome to say so in this forum as well. I *always* welcome constructive criticism. I'm also *very* happy that those folks who defended LC on here also did so in a polite way without turning this into a flame war. You guys and gals really are the best fans in the industry, and I tell my peers that all the time (they're very jealous ;) ).

We try. So, any info you can give us on the feasibility of a LC equivalent to "The Wasted West" or "The Quick and the Dead" I.E. a setting book to flesh out a few cities, more Anouk tribes, etc.?