Re: [DL] general rules questions (longish)

[Reemull <reemull@yahoo.co.uk>]

 --- rrj <rrj@cjnetworks.com> wrote: > hi, i'm new to the deadlands
scene, and rpgs as well.  i'm not even
> sure if i'm using the right mailing address to get my questions on
> the list.  i'm trying to wrap my mind around the rules and it seems
> almost impossible.  so much to keep track of.  i have a few specific
> questions at this time though concerning the player's handbook.

Welcome to Deadlands and the list.

I see Marcus has beaten me to the punch - however I've typed it out now
- so I've posted it - plus it provides you with more than one opinion. 
Although as far as I an see we are generally in agreement.

Feel free to ask away - you've got the right email and we're happy to
answer your questions.

> 1.  p40  climbing is set at Pace 2 plus climbing level up to a

I'd keep the pace at 2.  If you don't like that, maybe have Nimbleness
divided by 3 (round up) and no running.  So the average guy still goes
at Pace 2, however the fastest guys can go at Pace 4.  

> 2.  p116   
> can you also divide your movement up during each action?  or if you
> begin moving does your action end when you stop moving?  if you can
> stop running then continue on again it seems that you can use this as
> a loophole to avoid the running penalty.
> also on the subject of movement, on a 1" square grid what is a yard?
I would allow people to divide up their movement as they want in their
actions - however they cannot move more than their nimblenessx2.  When
they start their movement for the turn (on their first action card) I
have my group declare whether they are running.  If they run they get
2xNimbleness for the round - however gain the running penalty to the
actions in that round.

I'd say 1 yard is approximately half an inch assuming 25mm minis.
(Approx 25mm= 1 inch= 6ft = 2 yards)  I'm taking that the average guy
is 6ft for this quick calculation.


> 3.  p121  
> does this mean that every bullet fired in the first burst or only the
> first bullet in the burst can use draw a bead and called shot?  and
> if it is the former can you choose a different spot for a called shot
> on each separate bullet?
If you fire a burst against a TN of 5, you roll the dice and add your
bonus for the Drawing a Bead (+2 per action aimed up to 3 max).  If you
get between 5 and 9 - only one shot has hit.  If you get between 10 and
14, you have made the TN with a raise (5 above the original TN) and so
2 bullets hit.  If you get 15+ all 3 bullets in the burst hit the
target.

Only the first bullet in the burst is the called shot - you roll
randomly for the other two shots in the burst (assuming they hit)

> 4.  p138  You can try to recover from being stunned during any
> action.
> referring to any one of your actions or any other character or NPC's
> action as well?
Any of your own actions

> 5.  p.139  Whenever a character takes a Serious wound, he begins
> bleeding, losing 1 Wind per round...2 for Critical, 3 for Severed.
> 
> Is this for your highest wound level or cumulative for each area
> wounded?  For example if you had a Serious wound to your leg and a
> Critical wound to your arm you would lose 3 wind per round or only 2
> for the highest wound level?
I take it from each area wounded.  If you have two places that are
bleeding the blood flows out all the quicker - the guy becomes a sieve.

> 6.  a situation:  your character is backed into a corner arms length
> away from a bad guy.  you have the highest action card that round and
> the NPC has no means of interrupting your action.  it seems in this
> situation you can simply state that you sidestep the badguy and
> escape the situation without a challenge.  this doesn't make sense to
> me as the close proximity of the bad guy suggests he should at least
> be able to make an attempt to stop you from moving out of his range
> of grasp.
Then he should have held a card.  The option is there for that.  I just
view it that the NPC is left standing there a little gobsmacked as the
PC turns and moves away.  Of course the NPC will gain revenge later in
the fight or when the PC's back is turned.

 
> 7.  on actions:  i'm a bit fuzzy on exactly what you can do in a
> single action.   the only concrete event i can remember reading about
> is drawing a new weapon, this takes one action.  i'm going to try to
> use this as a measurement to understand what can be done in an
> action.  anything that isn't readily in hand must take an action to
> perform.  if you want to bash someone over the head with a chair it
> takes one action to walk over to it and pick it up, you can't perform
> the bashing in the same action.  it would take an action to pick up a
> gun off the ground but you could not fire it that action.  now the
> quick draw skill allows you to draw and fire on the same action, can
> this be applied to the other situations above?
I would only allow quickdraw for weapons to apply to weapons that are
in a state of readiness.  Hence I only allow quickdrawing from
holsters.  However if you want a GunFu type situation where people can
dive grab a gun and start shooting - as per some movies - go for it. 
Whatever feel you want in your game.  The rest of your descriptions of
what can be done in an action seem fine.


> what about running to a lever and pulling it?  more than one lever?
> jumping on your horse then riding away?  one action to mount but you
> can't move that action?
> picking up several items but not attempting to use them?  can you
> only pick up one thing per action?
> can you continue moving after picking something up?  if you can but
> can't pick up more than one thing it would look odd.
> strange situations maybe but i'm trying to generalize.

Remember the length of the round we are talking about (5 seconds I
think) and they have multiple actiosn in that time.  So I would feel
the following

Running to lever and pulling it - 1 action
pulling more than one - (if levers can be reached by both hands then)
two levers is one action
mounting your horse - 1 action (no movement)
Picking up objects - I allow one object per hand per action - but might
require the person to make a (5) Deftness check depending on the
objects and assuming both objects are reachable from the one position.

> thanks for your help,
Not a problem

Cheers

Roy 

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