RE: [DL] The Munchkin Twins

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

> Subject: [DL] The Munchkin Twins
>
>
> Good morning,
>
> I've got a couple dudes in my posse who have their characters fairly
> tweaked out, accentuation their edges and ignoring their
> hindrances. Now,
> while I'm sure several of us do this, by degrees, these two
> have taken it
> to a new level.
>
> For example, when they walk into a combat situation (which could be
> anywhere with our marshal) they have a habit of cocking all
> their guns,
> thinking that this will lower their Speed from 2 to 1. (We
> play 1st edition
> classic DL.) While the marshal has stated that this makes little
> difference, I've noticed that these two are totally geared out with
> shootin' irons.


This is fine -- as a Marshal I'd give 'em Speed 1 for the first shot.
Assuming of course that they didn't get bumped hard and all the hammers
fell (they do actually do this) and fired all their pistols down thru
their holsters.  You can avoid such a problem by only loading 5 rounds
into your 6 shooter, and leave the empty chamber under the hammer.  But
that defeats your munchkins' purpose.  (In Real Life, the SASS event
rules require that the hammer be resting on an empty cylinder.  Last I
checked, any way.)

>
> The each have a pair or Winchester rifles strapped to their
> backs, in some
> sort of leather rifle scabbards. I imagine this looks like some weird
> samurai crossed swords thing.

Eh, you can pay a leather worker to make you anything, if you've got the
money.  Makes it real hard to sit in a chair, or move thru tight spaces
tho.

> They also have speed loaders
> coming out their
> butts. I think all this is to avoid reloading in combat,
> which isn't fun,
> agreed.
>
> So, anyone else heard of the crossed rifle scabbard deal? I
> thought a rifle
> scabbard attached to a saddle.
>
> How about speed loaders? What exactly are these things? I know what a
> contemporary speed loader is, but that only works with a
> revolver that can
> be broken in half when opened. Did all western guns break
> open like that?
> Other than the listing in the gear section, are there other
> citations of
> rules for using a speed loader? Not the speed load ability,
> but a speed
> loader. I know that with some cap and ball revolvers dudes
> used to carry an
> extra cylinder or two. Is this a speed loader?

IIRC, the rules mention "speed load cylinders."  Which are as you guess,
entire extra cylinders fully loaded and ready to pop into the pistol
frame.  The modern speed loaders are just little gizmos to stick bullets
into an exposed cylinder.  Old West guns don't break open like that
(none that I'm aware of anyway.  There's enough gun knowledge on the
list to prove me wrong tho!).  The closest you might get is the
Schofield (sp?) -- it was hinged so that the barrel fell forward with
the cylinder, while the hammer was attached to the pistol butt and
stayed near the hand.  There was a little mechanism that pushed all the
rounds out of the cylinder when it did this.  This gun might actually be
able to use a speed loader, rather than the speed load cylinder.

The Colt Peacemaker was not a quick reload tho.  The cylinder only came
out if you had a screwdriver (on earlier models), then you had to pull
the cylinder pin without losing it.  Take out the cylinder, put it
somewhere, get the loaded cylinder and put it in, slide the pin back in,
and replace the screw.  Or you could empty one chamber at a time with
the built-in pushrod, put the bullet in, turn the cylinder one stop and
repeat.

But Real Life can interfere with Fun Game Play, so I allow the speed
load skill to work on just about any firearm.  And speed load cylinders
too.  As a Marshal, I get to use them for the baddies too this way.

>
> I like playing with these two, so I certainly won't confront
> them with my
> criticisms. Hell, if my marshal okays it, who am I to gain
> say him? And
> having these munchkin howitzers with us certainly cuts down
> on the overall
> posse casualties.
>

Hey, if you're all having fun, go for it.  As a Marshal, there's nothing
going on in your game I wouldn't allow.  Well, except for the pre-cocked
thing.  I'd have to set their guns off in the holsters if they tried
that!  But my game uses the revised rules so that's prolly moot anyway.
As long as you all keep playing and buying PEG stuff! ;-)

Jeff Y.
Marshal for the Dynamite Gang