Re: [HoE] Hucksters in HoE

[Katze217@aol.com]

Hi everyone !
I haven't said anything for ages as I have been privy to things better left
unknown ;-). But now seems to be the time to say something on the subject
of Hucksters in HoE. I was in the lucky position to actually do some of the
playtesting on JMC and add some changes to the book (I have not yet received 
my free copy, but I did have a quick read - through in a local rpg-store). 
So here are my comments in regards to the whole Huckster - issue:

Origins of Junkers and Sykers :
   Hucksters are the Basis for Junkers - they have nothing to do with Sykers
   Hucksters and the original (i.e. pre-Reckoning) Junkers employ their powers
   by actually forcing beings from the Hunting Grounds to channel Energy into 
   our world. Sykers have eveolved from the Martial Artists who use their own
   bodies as conduits for this Energy. The Post-Apocalypse Junkers are a 
little
   more akin to DL - Shamans as they are granted the knowledge by the Techno-
   Spirits and don't have to force (but note that some still do !). I am just
   mentioning this because someone on the list has gotten it wrong several
   times.

On Kinds of Hucksters:

a) The Old Ones :
   Hucksters were hunted down systematically by the Agency and the Military as
   their powers were just too unpredictable to be relied on. Those few who 
   escaped prosecution would have to be very skilled and capable, which should
   be imho represented by their superior skills not by giving some kind of 
   bonus. Aptitudes are an representation of experience and knowledge so any
   a Veteran of Weird West in HoE should have plenty of both if he has 
success-
   ful evaded prosecution and the Apocalypse. And following up to this if he 
has
   higher skills he will have much less trouble keeping the Manitous down.
   I imagine that probably some small covens (possibly families) passed on 
the 
   secret of Hucksterism, but I doubt very much that there were big leaps in
   the development of new ways in dealing with the Hunting Grounds. They 
maybe 
   this type of character should even be penalized as they will have the most
   difficult time to actually come to terms with the new environment (old 
   habits and behaviors are really hard to shed).

b) Just before the Reckoning Junker-Hucksters :
   Huckster - Scientist are of course very different from the a.m.. When a 
   multi-billion dollar corporation like Hellstromme Industries really sets 
   their mind on something they will achieve quite a lot. So the methods
   invented by Sitgreaves were simplified and narrowed down to scientific 
   applications, so these Huckster-Scientist should be restricted to hexes 
found
   in "City o' Gloom" and should also have the Junker - AB (as most of the 
ones
   originally trained by HI seemed to have been contacted by the 
Techno-Spirits.)
   But it is unlikely that they would still consort with the Manitous, most 
   appear to be very proud not to do so. IMHO they should gain there power 
from
   the Damaged Goods - spirits, but this is probably not the place to discuss
   this.

c) After the Reckoning Hucksters :
   Both groups could of course take on pupils after the End of the World, but
   ask yourself : would anyone be willing to consort with the Evil Spirits 
which
   have destroyed you loved and cherished ??? Not likely ! So finding new 
   recruits would be pretty darn difficult. Of course these would probably 
have
   the easiest time, because they only know the powerful and crafty Manitous.
   (If one of these ever goes back in time, i.e. before the Apocalypse, make
   sure to give a bonus when handling the wimpy Manitous ;-) )

On the Nature of the Manitous :
   In regards to the Manitous, power also equals craftiness, please remember 
   that they have been around for several thousand years and Hoyle only 
developed
   a reliable method for using their power. 200 years aren't much for a 
immortal
   spirit. But as seen in the Manitous possessing Harrowed (i.e. the small 
horde
   acting pretty dumb, while the stronger are much smarter and pretty 
devious), 
   power is the key component in regard to traits in the Hunting Grounds. 
   After the Reckoning the Manitous not only got much powerful (i.e. higher 
back-
   lash), but they also got much smarter (i.e. higher chance of failure).

On the nature of AB :
   All of you probably have noticed that HoE - ABs are much more reliable 
than 
   the ones in DL. And accordingly they are also better. There could be a 
   variety of reasons for this : - making it easier to play ; - survival of 
   fittest ; - increasing the action ; - whatever... 
   And also some of the other AB from DL are also heavily penalized as well :
   - Shamans will have a hard time contacting nature spirits in Deadlands 
(and 
     there are quite a lot of these in HoE)
   - Blessed will have severe trouble keeping their faith (which is probably 
     still quite shken by the Apocalypse) as there is much more potential for 
     conflict
   - Mad Scientist have even lost their abilities completely !!!
   So why should Hucksters not be penalized a little more ??? Especially if it
   is consistent with the history of HoE and the nature of their power.

On the nature of HoE :
   And finally one lost point : 
   (please note that I do not mean to hurt the feelings of anybody) but
   it is a game, not a bloody ccompetition ! Here in Germany we always think 
of
   America as THE land of freedom (we do have freedom here as well, but the
   bureaucracy is a real pain in the A**), and instead of acting free and 
   independent you cling to the rules and now try to change them officially so
   they suit you better. I have no idea if this is maybe due to weird nature 
   of our conventions or something. But one thing I do know is, that I have 
   been GMing for almost 8 years now and although I have changed quite a lot
   of rules in this time, no RULES-Police has broken down my door and arrested
   me. Please all of you taking part in the discussion concerning Hucksters in
   HoE discussion (especially you Mr. Crow). Do what you want with your games 
!
   John has stated the official opinion of Pinnacle, so if you don't like it,
   then change it, but please do stop whining because you don't like what he
   wrote.

So that were my two-pence or rather my fünf Pfennigs. 

Yours, Marshal Oleary