[BNW] Thoughts on BNW

[Theo McGuckin <tsm@jlab.org>]

Here's another one of those posts designed to try and get some discussion
going.
	I like BNW. The system is straight-forward and flexible (I think
of it as Deadlands-lite). The four stats thing is a bit odd, but when you
throw in quirks and tricks you can pretty much make any type of character
you want.
	I've never really had any problem with the power-packages. When I
first heard about them (and the four stats) I thought it was really lame.
But after dealing with Heroes Unlimited (you think the power packages
aren't balanced?!? HA!) and Hero ("So to make Spiderman's web-shooters I
need the telekinesis power with obvious and some other limitations, the
tangle power, the web-swinging power, the...") I think the power packages
are a nice frame work, and you can always make more. I also never had any
problems with guidelines for making power packages, as I believe in the
old play-test and modify method.
	I also have never had any problem with the balance of the
packages. Some packages just aren't meant to be played. I can guarantee
that I will never see a hacker, genius, charmer or healer in my group.
These will always be relegated to NPC-dom. Some campaigns they might fit,
not in any of mine. Besides I, or whoever is running the game, can make
life just as difficult for a goliath or tough as we want to balance it
against the bouncer or telekinetic.
	I really like the genre. I love playing characters that have a
slight edge over the common-man, but I hate playing super-heroes that can
beat up town-fulls of people without breaking a sweat. Where's the
challenge?
	I also don't play BNW.
	Why?
	Because the rest of my group doesn't like it. Bob (I'll use their
real names, they're not on the list anyway) doesn't like the
over-simplified system and is enamored with Deadland's card-based
initiative system. Basically the same thing that turns me on to the system
(Deadlands-lite) turns him off to it.
	Mark thinks the system is too simple too and that it is too easy
to accomplish actions:
Mark: "With a 5d6+5 in shooting it's impossible to miss."
Me: "Yeah, if the person is standing perfectly still 10 yds. from you.
It's no worse than the gunslinger's [in our deadlands game] odds of
hitting a stationary taret on 5d12."
Mark: "Well yeah..."
	So sadly I am left with all the books (except for Covenant) and
no on to play with. Oh and my kitty chewed the CRAP out of my BNW
mainbook. She has separation-anxiety issues.
	At least I got in on the Caiman City PBEM.
	That's it really, any thoughts?

Theo McGuckin - SysAdmin, JLab


	A three-legged dog walked into an old west saloon and sidled up
	to the bartender saying, "I'm looking for the man that shot my
	paw."