[BNW] Re: bnw-digest.19990712

[RYAN.KIMMET@columbus.dfas.mil (RYAN KIMMET)]

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Date: Mon, 12 Jul 1999 19:00:33 -0500 
From: aniballi@mc.net
Subject: [BNW]  Who played BNW at Origins?
     
>>Hey all,
>>Just a quick question for anyone who was fortunate enough to get in on a demo 
>>of the game at
>>Origins. I'm getting very hyped up with it's Gen Con debut less than a month 
>>away now, and I was
>>hoping that if anyone had any thoughts and opinions on the game that they 
>>might like to share,
>>that'd be great. Some specific questions;
     
>>What's the system like? I know it's not the same as the Deadlands system, so 
>>what gives?

Well, like Mark said, it only uses d6's. And there are only four traits: 
Speed, Strength, Smarts, and . . . I'm blanking on the last one, Vigor I 
think. All the aptitudes are kinda scrunched in to fit under those four 
traits.

We all played archetypes, but to make a new character you divide 12 dice 
amoung your four traits. Then you have aptitute points equal to twice the 
amount of dice in your trait to spend on skills within that trait. Gone is the 
randomness factor: everyone's characters start balanced!

Instead of cards, a speed roll determines how many actions you get each round. 
Our gamemaster just started with the player who had the most actions and then 
went clockwise around the table until everyone's actions were spent.

There were also a few minor changes to the basic Deadlands rules, like the 
fact that humans seem to be Size 5 in BNW, not 6.

Apparently, you can't learn new powers as you play. Instead, you learn 
"tricks," new uses for the powers you have. For instance, I played the 
Speedster archetype (Pace of 110!), and one of my tricks was creating 
afterimages of myself as I moved (like the Flash). Every time I got a raise on 
a dodge roll, I created an afterimage that would soak up an attack and then 
disappear at the end of the round. Very cool . . . 

It seemed like most tricks were activated by getting raises on certain rolls.

     
>>Any thoughts on how the game is presented? For me it was one of the finer 
>>points of Deadlands, and I
>>assume that BNW follows suit. Some hideously beautiful cover artwork, nice 
>>border graphics on every
>>page. Full color archetypes and artwork bound in, all that stuff.

Since the book hadn't gone to press yet, the GM just had a B&W photocopy of the 
rules and archetype sheets. I sneeked peeks at some of the pages though, and the
layout looked really good. Apparently there will be a fair amount of color in 
the finished product.
     
     
>>Any polt lines churn up in the demo? I know there is something about JFK 
>>becoming supreme dictator
>>of the US floowing a botched assassination attempt in dallas, but what about 
>>the deltas? What's the
>>origin of their power, and at what point does it pop up out of the traditional
>>historical timeline?
>>Maybe some cataclysmic galcactic rearrangement? A schism?

There was no info about the origin of Delta powers, unfortunately. The plot delt
solely with trying to free Patriot, the captured leader of the resistance 
movement. I don't know who wrote it, but the climax was killer (literally!).
     
     
>>Thanks,
>>Chris Aniballi
>>And so ended my first post to the Brave New World list......

Yeah, mine too. I think I could make a habit of this, though. :-)

-- Ryan Kimmet