Re: [HoE] Greetings and Questions

["B.D. Flory" <bflory@frontiernet.net>]

>     In what conditions are your main rulesbooks?  I have only owned HoE
for a 
> week or so, and it has already fallen apart.  I am not ticked off or 
> anything, but just wanted to know if that was relatively normal.

All my books are still in pretty good shape.

>    Well, what does everyone think about the big secrets of the Deadlands 
> universe?  Quite frankly, I am not sure if I like them or not.  Suddenly 
> Deadlands went from being an apparent pagan universe to a Christian one. 
So 
> has anyone done anything else with the big secrets?  Like changing the
origin 
> of the manitou, or the identities of the reckoners?

Nah.  

1) What's wrong with a Christian universe?  There is a rich tapestry there
for the PEG folks to draw on for storylines, the four horsemen being a
prime example.

2) And who says it *is* a Christian universe?  There are many theories
about why the reckoners appeared as the Four Horsemen, not the least of
which is that they appeared that way because they are a convenient symbol
of people's fear.  'Sides, the universe seems a bit too inclusive to be
cubbyholed as a Christian universe.  For example, there are no less than
seven religions in Fire & Brimstone (blessed book for Weird West), and all
are granted powers by their respective deity, be it Allah, God, or
whatever.
	This is not even taking into account Shamans, who draw powers from nature
spirits.  How's that for Pagan?

>     Why would the Reckoners have to warp time for Stone?  Wouldn't have
just 
> been easier for them to tell him where to find a time machine?  After
all, 
> such is even an example of the possibilities of mad science, so there is 
> probably one out there somewhere.

Probably, but mad scientist gadgets are by definition unreliable.  Would
the Reckoners entrust their survival to a gadget that has (at least) a 1 in
20 chance of malfunctioning? I think not...

>     What Deadlands ABs do people use in HoE?  I can see why Hucksters
would 
> be rare, since copies of Hoyle are probably pretty hard to come by
nowadays, 
> but since they can retard aging it is quite possible that there are some 
> Huckster survivors from the original Deadlands time.

Check out the edge "Veteran of the Weird West" for more on this.  It's in
Deadlands: Hell on Earth: The Wasted West.

>     A Templar blessed seems appropriate to me.

Except the Templars routinely turn their backs on those in need, must kill
with fair regularity, and are often elitist punks.  Don't get me wrong...
it *could* happen, but it would be a stretch.  The Templar would face
constant coflict between his religion and his oath to Simon.
 
>     A syker that is also a cinematic martial artist also seems
appropriate, 
> considering their origins.

Perhaps, perhaps not.  I point you to the idea of "meridians", first
discussed (I *think*) in Brainburners.  The idea is that it's very
difficult for one type of AB to learn another type of spellcasting, because
he's trained his mind to work with arcane energy to the exclusion of
others.  Kind of like hard-wiring a circuit.

>     Shamans seems like a real possibility, since the Indian tribes went 
> relatively unscathed by the Final Reckoning.

There's a HoE book on the way that deals with Shamans and such.  IIRC, it's
called "Toxic Shamans" or "Spirit Warriors" or some such.

>     Anybody fiddle with the rules for the Deadlands abs for HoE?  For 
> example, do you have them worry about taint or is that too much of a
headache 
> to worry about?

Taint? I'm sorry, but I'm drawing a blank here.

>     For all those harrowed out there, has anyone created ab specific
powers 
> for them similar to the enhancements a harrowed mad scientist or huckster

> might enjoy?  Or do you people even think it appropriate for the HoE abs?
 

Haven't done this.  OTOH, I don't know if I should.  If you remember, there
were only two AB enhancement powers for Harrowed: "Luck of the Draw" and
"Mad Insight", for hucksters and mad scientists, respectively.  Both of the
aforementioned arcane backgrounds rely heavily on interaction with manitou-
since harrowed powers are provided by Manitou, it made sense to have these
powers.  *If* I were to do such a thing, I would only do it for Junkers,
since they are the only AB in HoE that relies on manitou- directly or
indirectly- for their powers.
	
>     What about the final fates of the Deadlands signature characters? 
What 
> do you guys think happened to the likes of Shaw, Brin, Lynch, and the
like?

Not enough info to comment- most of the characters' ends are left vague
(purposely so).  I'll reserve judgement until things happen in the Weird
West storyline as they are intended to.
	Re: Brin and Shaw, I don't think anything "happened" to them, yet.  It'd
be fairly premature to end their involvement with the DL universe.  Brin,
for example, has appeared in only one sourcebook.  I'll give dollars to
doughnuts she's still out there.


B.D. "just my two doughnuts" Flory