Re: [DL] Group Antics

[Harry Canyon <harrycanyon@mac.com>]

Title: Re: [DL] Group Antics

I experienced a similar problem with one player way back when. Sadly the game dissolved before we ever resolved the matter.

Personally I like Nic’s ideas. Don’t pour the whole can of Whup-Ass on ‘em immediately. Let it build up over time. The only problem I see is if the players’ enjoy wearing the black hats, then it doesn’t really matter. ;-)

Carl, out of curiosity do the players know they are supposed to be the white hats? And Grim Servant of Death doesn’t necessarily mean the character is the cause (which I believe –jq mentioned), just that it always seems to happen around that character. (Kinda like the main character in Murder She Wrote. ;-)

Take care,

Derek


> On 11/22/04 5:13 PM, "Neidenbach, Nic" <Nic.Neidenbach@HomeStore.com> wrote:

If you're looking for some story ideas to teach your posse that their actions can have consequences here are a few story threads that come to mind...

The shot man is the son of a wealthy family back east (Northern or Southern depending on the flavor of your campaign) His father gets word that his son has been shot (or heaven forbid killed) and he's demanding answers. Money talks, from the east could come Pinkertons, US Marshals or Texas Rangers to find out who the woman was that shot his son and why. They could approach it solely in an investigative role, not hunting for their heads, but if they got belligerent with any of those three groups, they wouldn't be long for this world. Even if they did play nice with the law, the father would learn their identities, then hire other, less savory types, to do the dirty work.

If the shot man was a criminal, perhaps he's the younger brother of a vicious outlaw. He takes the killing/wounding/humiliating of his brother as a personal insult, bringing the wrath of his gang down upon the posse's head.  "I'm the only one wit gets to shoot my kin..."

The shot man has a friend with the local paper, he tells his story, how some crazy woman shot him for asking what he did to deserve to have a gun in his back. The reporter has dreams of a budding dime novel career and really embellishes the story, painting the shooter as a crazed madwoman who hunts the west looking for the slightest reason to shot a man in the back. Try and come up with a catchy name for her in the article, even if its nothing like her real name. Have the article catch the imagination of the public, when the posse rolls into a new town, have most of the town already heard about their exploits.

Word spreads about how violent these people are... have the normal town folk cross the street to avoid them, have kids watch terrified from behind the skirts of their mothers, have outlaws and lowlifes welcome them as one of their own.  Jack up the prices in some stores, in others have a terrified merchant offer the posse the contents of his till in return for not shooting him. If they continue to be mean, if they continue to generate fear, raise the local fear level temporarily.

None of these are all that original, but I hope it gives you a few ideas. If the posse is overly violent you don't want to scale up the violence to meet them. Play it subtle at first, if that doesn't work, don't be afraid to have the local law take them in, or drive them out of town. The local sheriff could just ask them to leave because violence seems to follow in their wake. In the old west you didn't necessarily have to brake the law to get driven out of town.

-Nic

---

From: carl smith [mailto:fishhook79@yahoo.com]
Sent: Monday, November 22, 2004 3:21 PM
To: deadlands@gamerz.net
Subject: [DL] Group Antics

Got something else for ya now thanks to my group.  Spoilers for all you non Marshal types

Running my party through independence day.  Got hired to do the security gig for the party and it has gone to their heads.  First drunk they met they did not even exchange words, they just dragged him to a rain barrel and in he went.  They then procceeded to drag him to jail, but NPC's had to interfer.  They have pissed off EVERY NPC they have come accross and then someone.  One person with both mean as a rattler and grim servent of death shot a man.  She thought he was a pick pocket and so she put her gun into his back and told him to come with her now.  He said what the, and so she shot him.  I have a good group, but this cannot continue.  IDEAS PLEASE