Re: [HOE] my wacky posse (Servitor spoilers for them) [kinda long]

["Scott Pedersen" <spederse@hotmail.com>]

>Well, my posse has managed to get through Killer Clowns without a
>single casualty, thanks to lots of Fate Chips and a good sniper rifle (1). 
>Now they're moved onto the area around Lubbock in an effort ot take out the 
>S-Mart Overlord (2). I'd like to toss a couple things at you people and get 
>your thoughts on them.
>
>SPOILER SPACE
>
>
>
>
>(Bruce, you'd best stay outta here.)
>
>
>
>
>
>
>(That goes for the rest of my posse too!)
>
>
>
>
>
>O.K., now that that's done, let's move on, shall we?
>
>Now, I've decided that the Dempsey parts are going to be
>relics, though I'm not quite sure what to do with them. I was thinking the 
>following:
>
>Power: Using these parts in a Junker device grants a +2 to
>the construction roll for every 10 slots filled, but any raises gained as a 
>result of this bonus don't count toward Stability.
>
>Taint: The device's Stability is lowered by a number equal to the local 
>Fear Level.

Any device built with these parts would have an effective stability of about 
10 in a deadland, which is where it really counts.  I think that makes them 
effectively useless for critical things like armor and weapons, since 
they'll break about half the time.  On the other hand, they'll work great 
for something like a beer cooler that you aren't going to be depending on in 
the middle if a fight with demon spawned horrors.  Then again, in the middle 
of a fight with demon spawned horrors, the last thing I want to deal with is 
warm beer.

My only other advice is that not everything a villain has touched turns into 
a relic.  Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.  Dempsey didn't really strike 
me as a relic-creating-caliber villain.

Also, I've found that posses are paranoid enough to consider everything a 
relic whether it is or not.  When my posse killed Modeeen I hadn't really 
planned on turning any of his gear into relics.  It didn't matter, they were 
so afraid of possible taint they gathered all of Modeen's possessions into 
one pile and melted them into slag with a blowtorch.  So you only have to 
throw in a real relic occasionally to keep them on their toes, they'll do 
the rest themselves.  I mean, did that device just fail because you're an 
incompetent junker, or because you are haunted by the malevolent spirits 
imbued in the pieces of Dempsey?  We may never know...

>My sticking point is this: the Overlord's weakness is that
>the fight has a be 1-on-1 and that, as it says, "just shooting
>him won't work." So, do I take it that to mean that it has to
>be a melee fight, or can he use any methods available to him once the 
>battle's begun? In a toe-to-toe fight he probably doesn't have a prayer, 
>battlesuit or no, but if this would be "legal" according to the Overlord's 
>weakness, it would be a damn
>impressive way to defeat him and quite crafty at that.

My answer would be no, it won't work.  The text states it must be "a real 
one-on-one, hand-to-hand duel."  I might let a pistol or some such slide, 
but yelling "Hey Overlord! Challenge THIS!" and then nuking the crap out of 
him doesn't count.  Remember the S-Mart Overlord's weakness hails from his 
days as a wrestler, so his defeat is going to need some aspects of that 
style.

The invisible cannon trick is clever, and if this was any other game besides 
HOE I might feel compelled to reward it, but HOE is all about punishing the 
posse for their impudence.  Depending on your plans and the power level of 
the posse, I might let the gun trick wound or distract the Overlord, thus 
giving the Templar or whoever a chance during the hand-to-hand portion.  In 
any event, the cannon should not kill him outright.

Finally, keep in mind that the posse only has a couple of shots at this 
before the Overlord starts to take it personal.  He's not going to stand 
around being a punching bag while the posse tries to discover his weakness.  
After your posse's explosive introduction in the last session I'd think the 
Overlord would be out hunting them.

-Scott Pedersen

_________________________________________________________________
Tired of spam? Get advanced junk mail protection with MSN 8. 
http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail