[DL] Game stories:Summer session

["Ronald Conner" <ronald@teleport.com>]

I just got back from a demo at a local card store.  It's about my third time
running a deadlands demo and I've just worked out most of the kinks.  I
figured that I would post some of the more humorous and useful sugestions
for marshals looking to do the same.

The game had only 1 veteran player my friend toki (note not his real name),
and several newbies.  Two of them were girls which excited me to no end as I
had never had women in my posse before.  Only one person was playing a self
built character because I had seen him the day before and we built one for
my regular campaign.  The humorous part of this is that the character is a
somewhat ineffective huckster with both randy and ugly as sin (he's a greasy
Italian stage magician, nothing against italians that's just how he is),
with two women in the party he was having a blast playing up his
hinderances.  One really good example is the time he took a simple action to
grab the (wo)man-in-black's butt while chargeing a huge horde of priarie
ticks.  After combat she kicked him in the nuts repeatedly and I gave him
three wound levels for several hours (which was also good because he had
don't get em rilled).  The tick attacks also managed to shred some clothing
which also left our huckster with something to oogle/grope/you get the
picture.

    What makes the thing really funny is the mysterious past that he pulled.
The family member that I stuck him with is a puritanical, temperace league
sister.  She's a quaker which means she won't fight, she's a doubting thomas
and she has intolerance for unchaste women, indians, and servants of the
devil (all of which are in the group after a fashion)  So everytime he would
misbehave I would have his sister dissaprove and hit him with her bible.  It
was a seriously funny evening.

    That's enough of the humor here are my tips for marshals who want to run
demo games or games at small cons.

1.  Don't try to do character creation at a con or demo, it takes way too
long and you may never see these people again.

2.  Make sure you have enough dice for yourself and everyone else.

3.  Don't use the characters archtypes from the books or the web.  If you do
use them only as a starting point to work from.  It is far better to get the
character generator off the net and crack out some really decent characters.

4.  Choose an adventure that is both easy to start (no new introductions)
and will be short enough to hold interest.  I recomend ticked off as it
limits play options considerably.  (don't break the baby cry until they get
to the mine shaft it has more impact that way, first suggest they plant the
dynamite then hit them with it.)

5.  Don't choose characters with conflicting natures for the posse.  As a
general rule I would not use agency or texas rangers because of the nature
of their jobs.

6. If at all possible have all the books and different rules that you might
use ready and noted in your notebook before play begins.  This will not only
make you look like a god but you will not waste time flipping through books.

7. Finally, make sure you have enough time to do it right.  Half an
adventure is almost as bad as no adventure because you most likly will never
get to finish it.

Those are my words of wisdom to all you budding marshals out there.  Good
luck

Ronald "I think I'm in love, and thank god she plays magic" Conner