[DL] Two Questions...if you count poorly

[Aaron Chusid <aaron@to-the-point.org>]

Hi all!

Did my local book store a favor and relieved them of 5 DL products the 
other day.  I now own more Deadlands than I'll probably ever get to 
use.  Been reading through and cognating in preperation for a 
campaign.  [Note: see previous statement about getting to use it]

Some questions.

1)  It seems like there's primarily one way to win a gunfight, at least of 
the good old fashioned duel at high noon variety.  Standard combat you can 
win by being tougher or faster or more accurate or....But I'm getting the 
feeling that every PC (and most NPC's) who wants to be a serious gunfighter 
will have at least 90% identical stats, especially among Edges and 
Traits.  Do you find this?

On a related note, duels seem somewhat...non-lethal.  Painful, yes, but do 
you get a lot of draw-shoot-die fights, or do they wind up going into 
combat rounds?

2)  Do Hucksters get the raw deal it looks like they do?  I mean, first you 
have to roll well, then you have to draw a good poker hand, then you have 
to roll all the other variables.  It seems like a bit of double jeapordy to 
me.  Is this just a case of "the spells are really just that powerful when 
they do get off, so we balanced it by making them hard to use", or is it 
easier to get a hex off than I'm thinking?

For that matter, what about Shamans?  Seems like even the simplest Favor 
requires hours of work or major damage to self.

3)  I'm very interested in the WW-HoE-LC world storyline.  I have the Heart 
of Darkness trilogy for the Weird West; beyond that, what books and 
adventures should I be looking for to get the whole story?

Thanks!