How big's your posse? - WAS: Re: [DL] boring fights? (long)

["Jeff Yates" <jyates@poboxes.com>]

Sorry if this posts twice, but I sent it in via my work account, and figure
the list will ignore the not-subscribed e-mail address.

Jeff "e-mail seems to be beyond my capacities..." Y.


-----Original Message-----
From: Jeffery Yates [mailto:jyates@qlinktech.com]
Sent: Thursday, August 31, 2000 10:05 AM
To: Deadlands List
Subject: How big's your posse? - WAS: Re: [DL] boring fights? (long)


Well, you asked ;-)

There's me, the marshal, and lemme count (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8) eight
players.  We've had nine players a couple of times.  We usually have no
problems with long fights.  One person deals action cards, one calls cards
and keeps the group moving, and everyone usually has their plans for the
fight ready to go and are just waiting their turn to say "I go there and do
this."  And the wife of the player whose home we meet in likes to help the
GM kill PCs, so as marshal I've got help keeping things moving.  And we use
stun, and wind, and _don't_ use the "mooks take 30 points to put down"
shortcut.

'Course, mine's the group that seems to like to blow itself up.  Ends
combats pretty quick.

ME:  A trio of men dressed in suits enters the saloon.  One is tall and
thin, one has a mustache, and one is Mexican.
PC:  I have a 5 point intolerance of Mexicans.  I shoot him if he speaks.
ME:  Wait, I let you have 5 points for an intolerance?
PC:  Not really, only 3 counted, but I really hate Mexicans.
ME:  I'm going to regret this, but OK.  <Checks notes, yup, Mexican does the
introductions...>
ME:  '...And my name is Dr. Juan Miguel.'  Everyone make surprise checks,
except the player with the gun...
PC:  I hit him!
ME:  Roll to see if you hit the flamethrower tank on his back.
PC:  Whoops.  Ummm, was it full?

One player had a character after that.  In fact, that PC is still around,
after three or four more posse pounding explosions.  I go thru a lot of
small towns.

Jeff "Your blessed grabs the two flamethrowers and runs towards the
oversized automaton yelling 'Shoot me!'???" Y.


> Okay never mind. Eleven?!? The mind boggles, seriously.
> I once ran a game with eight posse members and it was a nightmare.
> More than four or five people and combat tends to bog down, as does the
rest
> of the game IMHO.
> So how many people are there usually to a posse? This addressed to all who
> care to respond. Are we the norm or the exception?
> Daphné
> --
> "I may be dead, but I'm still pretty."
> -Buffy the Vampire Slayer