Q) What would the effects e on a group of pcs from HOE time traveling back to the Weird West? Would certain powers not work? (Syker, Templar, Doomsayer?) And just what is the Fortress of fear? Im trying to work out a big huge campaign where the pcs eventually go back in time to stop Stone. Not KILL stone people, STOP Stone. You CAN stop the villian without killing him. - scott_henry

A) Syker powers would work just fine in the Weird West, they've just found a new, more efficient way of channeling energy from the Hunting Grounds. Templars, Doomsayers, and Junkers, however, are out of luck. In the case of Templars, many of the Saints are still alive or haven't been born yet, so their powers won't work. Likewise, Doomsayers don't have the high background radiation level they need to perform their miracles. There are very few "free" tech spirits in the Hunting Grounds during the Weird West period. so the TN of all junker tool tricks and powers are increased by a whopping +8. As for the Fortress o' Fear, I couldn't really tell you. That's one of the Weird West products with which I had absolutely no contact during its production, and I haven't got around to reading it yet. The best person to ask would be Hal Mangold (Peghal@aol.com), the Weird West brand manager. He wrote the second adventure in that series and did much of the layout work on Fortress. Sorry. [John Hopler, HoE listserv, 6/14/99]

Adventures: Hell or High Water

C) Could be pretty tough for a new posse, so keep that in mind, but overall a fun read.( I loved the contents of the candy and soda machines, but I can't help but feel I missed a joke there.) - Ryan Wilson

A) It was a Seinfeld reference. If you've seen the episode, it'll make perfect sense! - [John Goff, HoE listserv, 1/20/99]

C) Yeah, finally no adventure! I'm sorry to say this, but the included adventures in HOE sourcebooks haven't been nearly as good as the ones in Deadlands sourcebooks. Probably because Goff didn't write any of them. The only HOE sourcebook adventure thats seemed useable so far was the one in Road Warriors. All the others were "Go somewhere, find something out, kill a tough undead version of whatever the sourcebook's about." We've gone to a "no-adventure-all-of-the-time" policy with sourcebooks. Both Junkman Cometh and Cyborgs had way too much material to cram into the book to fit one, and as it is a lot didn't fit. We decided to scrap the adventures altogether so we could fit more reusable game and source material in. [John Hopler, HoE listserv, 6/2/99]

Adventures: Something about a Sword

Background/History: Disputed Lands

Q) What exactly are the borders of the two nations? Are the Disputed Lands from the Weird West still disputed? I can't find that information anywhere. Who's side of the Dixon wall is Kansas on? Or Utah? - Knighte336. 

A) There were no disputed lands by the time of HOE. Deseret was independent. KS was taken by the Confederates. [Shane Hensley, HoE listserv, 2/1/98]

Background/History: European Alliances

Q) However on page 58 it states: "... Germans staged a massive counterattack through Belgium and deep into the heart of France. Russia came to the Frenchies' aid and all Europe erupted in Flame." So why is a Southern Alliance Country helping a Northern Alliance country. Was France listed in correctly in the Alliances chart? Just trying to figure out who is on which side.... - anderson

A) We didn't go into much detail, I know, but the alliances switched several times in the early days. [Shane Hensley, HoE listserv, 1/22/99]

Background/History: Political division of the States

Q) Can you reval your vision of history in the Deadlands world? do any of these ideas make sense? - J23junior

A) I understand your question, but it's just not something I care to get into. We could postulate all day on what might have happened if the South had won. Things are the way they are because that's the way we want them. Want rationalizations? I could give you plenty but I'm afraid I really just don't have the time to get into such a detailed discussion on what would invariably come down to differing opinions. [Shane Hensley, HoE listserv, 1/25/99]

Background/History: Unity

Character Creation: Archetype, Chamber Initiate

Q) Question #1--In the 'Chamber Initiate' Archetype is listed a hindrance of 'Obligation: The Chamber -2', but it's not listed as a new Hindrance in the book. In the Edge 'Chamber Initiate' it talks about the 'down side' of being a Chamber member but it don't say you have to take a Obligation or Oath Hindrance. So is this an over-site in editing or am I just dense and it's right under my nose? - Fuzyn9feet

A) The Chamber Inititate Edge implies that all members have an obligation when it says "all Chamber members are sworn to further the group's quest for knowledge and to obey the Chamber's leaders." It should have been explicitly stated however, because all members do have a 2-point obligation to the group. [John Hopler, HoE listserv, 6/28/99]

Character Creation: Archetype, Gunslinger

Q) Then when I look at the Archetypes I see the Gunslinger has them written as Concentrations, but the Templar (Speed-Load) and the Law Dog(Quick Draw) have them listed as regular aptitudes. The combat section seems to write them as regular aptitudes and not concentrations as well. So are they concentrations or am I just crazy? - redbf

A) Speed load is a regular skill, though it requires a concentration. - [Shane Hensley, HoE listserv, 8/31/98]

Character Creation: Archetype, Initiate

Q) The Initiate has a faith of 3, but under the description of the Initiate edge, you can only have a maximum begginning faith of 1. Which is correct? - ?

A) The Edge description. [Charles Ryan, HoE listserv, 2/19/99]

Character Creation: Archetype, Lector

Q) The Lector and the Outcast both have the miracle Aegis, but under the description of the miracle Aegis can only be possesed by those with a faith of at least 6. But then the example in the body of the miracle uses a character with faith 4. So my question is, do you have to have faith 6 to have Aegis? - ?

A) Yes. [Charles Ryan, HoE listserv, 2/15/99]

Character Creation: Archetype, Outcast

Q) The Lector and the Outcast both have the miracle Aegis, but under the description of the miracle Aegis can only be possesed by those with a faith of at least 6. But then the example in the body of the miracle uses a character with faith 4. So my question is, do you have to have faith 6 to have Aegis? - ?

A) Yes. [Charles Ryan, HoE listserv, 2/15/99]

Character Creation: Archetype, Syker

Q) Am I dumb, or is the Syker archetype all f'ed up? First of all, it has fortitude as a 2-point edge (the chapter says its a one point edge). The strain listed for him is also waaay too low (its like 6 or something). Am I wrong? - toadpooka

A) Yup. It's snafued. Fortitude costs 1 point as described in the Syker Chapter. His Strain and Pace are reversed. [Shane Hensley, HoE listserv, 8/24/98]

Character Creation: Deadlands archetypes

C) According to my GM at Gencon, Jay, all the character types in Deadlands are still runnin' around in HOE, with the notable exception of Mad Scientists. - cyberzombie 

R) Actually, mad scientists can exist as well, though they could not make new devices (but they could still have a passel of their own). They could also learn occult engineering and start "junking" as well. [Shane Hensley, DL listserv, 8/16/98]

Q) A friend of mine asked if Hexslingers are still around in HoE. Now, I know that Hucksters are around and we can use the stuff in Law Dogs. However when he asked me this he mentioned the fact that Hexslingers have the hexes to "create" bullets (ed. note - the hex Ammo Whammy). That seem pretty powerful in the HoE setting.. - ?

A) Well, depending on how you run your DL campaign, it can be equally as powerful there, too, but I see your point. Even though the bullets aren't permanent, being able to create them is mighty helpful. But I see no reason Hexslingers wouldn't be around in HOE. In fact, they'd probably have developed a lot of new hexes to deal with the advances in military technology and such. [Steve Long, HoE listserv, 9/1/98]

Character Creation: Deadlands archetypes, new arcane backgrounds.

Q) I was just going over the Veteran of the Wierd West edge for HOE and I noticed it said that the Vet. couldn't be something like a syker since they didn't exist in the Wierd West. Can this be ignored if a character has a specific reason why he/she may have a "new" arcane background? I.E. -an old harrowed who joined the army in the last war and was given some heavy cyborg tech -an alchemist who developed a youth elixer and after losing his manitou muse became a junker -a hero that crossed the stone path to the future a few months ago, only to step into a nasty rad storm and later become a doomsayer Do these examples seem reasonable exceptions to the rules? - J23junior 

A) Sure. All rules are made to be broken. There are always *special* circumstances. [Shane Hensley, HoE listserv, 3/31/99]

Character Creation: Faith for the non-religious

Q) What effect does Faith for anyone who isn't a doomsayer or a templar? The rulebook seems to imply that people possessing it have some kind of power over creatures of the Reckoning. Is this true? If so, how does it work? - bloopy40

A) A soft and fuzzy answer. It doesn't *work* by and large. But occasionally, a spell, power, or other effect will pit some evil creature against another character's faith. Is it worth jacking up? From a rules lawyer point of view, only if you know you're going to fight a vampire, a cult, or some other varmint likely to test your faith. From a roleplaying point of view, of course. [Shane Hensley, HoE listserv, 10/19/98]

Character Creation: Hucksters

Q) (snip a lot of argument about hucksters being weaker in the Wasted West - ed note.) At best, it seems like there should be some kind of _benefit_ for the three additional handicaps that HoE Hucksters pick up. The entry states that the manitous are more powerful: shouldn't that mean the Hex effects become more powerful as well? *shrug* It just seems like the Hucksters got kinda...neutered in Junkman. Why would anyone want to play them giving the revisions made? - Steve Crow 

A) Well, it really wasn't meant to be that attractive a proposition--there's a reason hucksters are rare in the Wasted West. I included it primarily for the sake of completeness. Since I had mentioned that many early junkers were hucksters (and the main rulebook refers to them getting there power from manitous) I felt I should include the option (or I'd get e-mail asking me where it was :) ). I also wasn't aware of the revisions being made to the hucksters when I wrote TJC. Given the new system makes things easier on hucksters, I'd change the penalty in TJC to be only the +4 to all Backlash rolls. [John Hopler, HoE listserv, 6/28/99]

Character Creation: Mysterious Pasts

Q) I have a question about mysterious past when you pull the red joker during character generation. After you draw the red joker your suppose to pull another card and if you pull a 9 you get an Arcane Background (pg196). It refers to chapter 9 to pick a power and assign it a level 1. Chapter 9 is the Sykers and they don't have levels. OK I guess this is the question. Is it correct that it refers to chapter 9 and the level is wrong, or is it the wrong chapter and refers to the Templars? - jyster007

A) Hey, check the errata on the HOE web page (I think it's been posted already.) The answer it you get "blastin'" at level 1. It is a syker power. Our bad. - [Shane Hensley, HoE listserv, 9/14/98] - (Ed. Note, as of 9/17/98 - this ruling has not made the errata)

Q) One of my posse drew a nine after drawing a joker which gives him one power from the sykers section of the rules. I was wondering, does this also give him the Blastin' skill or should I just treat whichever skill I give him as a separate skill, meaning that if I were to give him Fleshknit would I just give him levels in that and make him roll based on knowledge just as a real syker would with the Blastin' skill? I know this is a little hard to follow but i thihnk you get the picture. Any help would be appreciated. - holtman.4 

A) A hero who gets this result is a one-trick pony. Since he can only do that one power, he doesn't get the blastin' skill, just a level in the power. This is based off Knowledge just like Blastin' though. If the hero got Fleshknit, he starts out with 1 level in a special fleshknit skill. [John Hopler, HoE listserv, 7/16/99] 

Character Creation: Renegade Black Hat

(ed note - first part of this conversation referring to whether the chipped weapons would still work for the Renegade Black Hat.)

A) Btw, as for the renegade Black Hat, his chip does still work! Of course it won't do anyone else any good. [Shane Hensley, private email, 12/9/99]

R) doesn't that give the archetype one hell of an advantage ? your saying he can use chipped gear - sounds pretty hot to me ! then again - he's got one hell of an enemy too - & Throckmorton ain't gonna take too kindly to a renegade running around. cue Raptor hehe - Pete

R) Yes, it is powerful, but again, he has to kill Black Hats to make it work, and renegades would definitely be high on the hit list for local platoons. [Shane Hensley, private email, 12/9/99]

Character Creation: Syker Starting powers

Combat: Armor and Strength

Q) How about it Charles? Do we check if an attacker has damage dice for this purpose before or after armor reductions? - ?

A) It so happens that I had a close-up encounter with this issue in our game just last night. Reno (my character--a Templar) whacked up on this bizarre junker-made critter with his sword: STR+2d8. Turns out the thing was AV4, which reduced the 2d8 to nothin'. Hence no damage, even from his Strength. A little while later, in another fight, Reno's dog Snakebite chomped down on another critter, doing STR+1d6. Turns out that this one had AV2, which was enough to reduce his 1d6 to nothing. So he did no damage either. So, in answer to the question, if armor reduces damage to Strength only, there is no penetration; the attack does no damage at all. [Charles Ryan, HoE listserv, 3/1/99]

Q) If Snakebite had a Str of xd8 (or greater) Strength and NO additional damage from his bite, when chomping down on AV 2 he would still get damage from his strength. Throw in some sharp pointy teeth and all of a sudden the armor stops it all. A) No. Any creature doing STR only =cannot= penetrate armor of AV1 or better (p. 97 of the rulebook). [Charles Ryan, HoE listserv, 3/1/99] 

Combat: Called Shots

Q) Pg. 88, under Drawing a Bead The rules say you can *never* draw a bead or make a called shot when firing bursts. Pg. 91, under Automatic Weapons The rules here say you can draw a bead/make a called shot on the first burst only. So, which is it? - DarrinBrig

A) P.91 is right. You can draw a bead and get the bonus on your first burst only. [Shane Hensley, HoE listserv, 10/4/98]

Combat: Double Tap

Q) In Wasted West it says if you declare a double-tap and hit and get a raise, it means the 2nd shot hits the same location as the first. So if you hit and don't get a raise, the second shot misses? Hits some other location? - Draxus

A) If you don't get a raise the second shot misses completely. It also says each double-tap after the first suffers a -2 penalty. [John Hopler, HoE listserv, 7/22/99]

Q) How do you do more than one double-tap in a round? - Draxus

A) You can do a double-tap on each action your hero has, so if he has multiple action cards, he can do multiple double-taps in a round. [John Hopler, HoE listserv, 7/22/99]

Combat: Double Tap vs Full Auto

Combat: Feint

Doomsayers: Altered States

Q) Can a Doomsayer cast Altered States on himself? And if so, is it still an Opposed Spirit roll? The answers would seem to be Yes and Yes, but wanted to make sure... - - crow_steve

A) As you surmised, the answer is yes and yes. [John Hopler, HoE listserv, 7/15/99]

Doomsayers: Atomic Blast

Q) Do supernatural attacks like Atomic Blast/MIRV get additional dice for hit locations? It doesn't say one way or the other. Can it be assumed that all damage types are treated equally unless otherwise stated (eg. massive damage)? Or is an Atomic Blast treated differently from a gun due to its supernatural origin? - tysonium

A) Yup. They sure do. Blast away! [Shane Hensley, HoE listserv, 5/19/99]

Doomsayers: Blue Note

Q) I 'm not sure the story implies that Blue Note does the storytellin', since Mad Jack doesn't mention it while telling his story. But...Blue Note doesn't _have_ Tale-Tellin'. So there aren't any of "his stories" to pass off. But assuming us Marshals fill in that gap and move right along... As far as the story-spreading itself, one wonders why Blue Note even needs to be a heavy-duty rad-type, if he's counting on his stories to convince people and he's the one using the added-on Tale-telling. "Yeah, the Kid wasted 'em with a half dozen MIRVs. Bodies? Eh, we dumped them down a canyon - didn't want them polluting up the countryside.." Okay, so he's apparently got the powers to convince other storytellers, and witnesses, that the Kid has Rad-Powers. Fair enough. That raises the question our group's Doomsayer has had for a while anyway. How stealthy _are_ Doomsayer powers? I mean, Blue Note is using some heavy duty stuff like Atomic Blast and Nuke(!!). But he's apparently using these in such a way that (at worst) observers can't tell where the power originates. Now, the relevant pictures in CotA show folks using powers like these with big glowing balls of energy shooting from their hands and stuff. It sure looks like A) these kind of rad powers are pretty obvious in use, and B) it's pretty obvious where they're coming from. Needless to say, enterprising PC Doomsayers want to know. Blue Note doesn't seem to have anything to support such sneakiness, so the mechanic here (if any) isn't very clear. 

A) I agree that the character's stats don't match up exactly with the story in the player's section. Blue Note should have tale-tellin' 5 (he's already got a decent sneak). As far as the stealthiness of Doomsayer powers, they're not. The story implies that Blue Note used his quantum leap power to pop in, nuke someone, and pop out. Mad Jack noticed it, and I'm sure others did too. But as you suggested, the reality really doesn't matter, Blue Note can spin the story anyway he likes, and at least this way there are some real bodies and battle damage to back up the story. Sure, there'll be some people saying, " Well...that's not really how I remember it" but as with most legends, people will believe want they want to believe. [John Hopler, HoE listserv, 7/16/99] 

Doomsayers: EMP

(See Monsters: Black Hats and chipped weapons)

Doomsayers: Grundies

Q) Can Grundies take the Omega Man mutation? - darrin

A) Nope. [John Hopler, HoE listserv, 7/16/99]

Q) I'm pretty sure Grundies can't take minor or major mutations as edges/hindrances. What if they get caught in a radstorm, or poke around some ruins too long... can they acquire mutations that way? If so, what if they wind up with one of the age-related mutations? - darrin

A) Correct, Grundies cannot take mutations as Edges or Hindrances. I'd have to say that Grundies are immune to mutations in general, even those of supernatural origin. Their hyper-accelerated metabolisms and immune systems simply squash any mutated cells before they can grow into full-blown mutations. [John Hopler, HoE listserv, 7/16/99]

Q) Can Grundies become Initiates and learn Doomsayer powers? How about Hekants? - darrin

A) Nope, they just aren't able to grasp the concepts needed to tap the Glow.[John Hopler, HoE listserv, 7/16/99]

Q) It seems obvious enough a Grundy wouldn't have enough time to become a normal Syker. Can they be Greenies? - darrin

A) Since a greenie's abilities usually manifest on their own, and require no study, Grundys can be greenies. [John Hopler, HoE listserv, 7/16/99]

Q) I think its safe to say Grundies can become Companions, but how about Templars, provided the Grundy has the necessary skills or goes through the year or service as a squire? - darrin

A) They can become Companions, but not Templars. Grundies are far too emotionally immature to administer the Templars test of worth, and Simon would never make one a full-fledged Templar. A Grundie Templar would likely protect a band of cutthroats who treated him nicely and gave him candy and turn his back on a settlement that yelled at him for breaking something. [John Hopler, HoE listserv, 7/16/99]

Q) Next... what about Grundy Junkers? Don't seem to be any major requirements for Junking, other than Academia Occult and such. - darrin

A) Nope, as with Doomsayers, junker magic is too complex a subject for Grundies simple minds. The thing to remember with a Grundy is that you are dealing with someone who at best is the mental equal of a 6-year-old. That's the official ruling, but if your Marshal wants to allow a Grundy who's a prodigy, he can allow the character to take any arcane background he wants (of course this holds true for every other rule in the book). From a game balance stand point combining Grundy with most of the arcane backgrounds is simply too powerful. [John Hopler, HoE listserv, 7/16/99]

Q) And... of course... if the serum were available, could Grundies become Super Soldiers? - darrin

A) No, the syndrome has already cranked their body's performance up as high as it will go. [John Hopler, HoE listserv, 7/16/99]

Doomsayers: ICBM

(See Edges: Rad Baby)

Q) Do supernatural attacks like Atomic Blast/MIRV get additional dice for hit locations? It doesn't say one way or the other. Can it be assumed that all damage types are treated equally unless otherwise stated (eg. massive damage)? Or is an Atomic Blast treated differently from a gun due to its supernatural origin? - tysonium

A) Yup. They sure do. Blast away! [Shane Hensley, HoE listserv, 5/19/99]

Doomsayers: Initiate

Q) Does an 'Initiate' Doomsayer (CotA page 50)need to take the 'Enemy: Cult of Doom' Hindrance, or the 'Oath: Joan's Pact' Hindrance like regular Doomsayers? - James Cook

A) Yes. [Shane Hensley, Direct email, 4/27/99]

Q) Does an 'Initiate' Doomsayer automatically gain a mutation?- James Cook

A) Yes. [Shane Hensley, Direct email, 4/27/99]

Doomsayers: Mirv

C) Again, I think most of what John said is correct. Nuke is an easy power to restrict, for the reasons he and I both stated. I don't think MIRV is quite so easy without some revisions, and I tend to agree with the other gentleman who noted that, pound-for-pound, it's far more "broken" than Nuke is. - ?

R) You know, I thought the same thing about MIRV when I first read the description. However, after watching it in action with our Doomsayer (who of course has 5d12 in Faith), I've come to the conclusion that looks might be a tad bit deceiving in this case. Atomic Blast might be a tad weak compared to Brain Blast, but 5 Atomic Blasts for only 3 Strain appears to be somewhat "thrifty." However, after nearly a solid year of play, I've yet to see a MIRV really shake me up--and it's the Doomsayer's weapon of choice. 5d10, or 10d10, seems like a good-sized can of whupass, but the real limiting factor is that each bolt does its damage separately. So, the average MIRV does about 1 wound per hit--as long as the Doomsayer has to choose his targets before rolling for the miracle, it doesn't seem like a game breaker. [John Goff, HoE listserv, 7/30/99]

Doomsayers: Nuke

Q) on the Doomsayer power Nuke, is the blast radius 10 yards per d20 of damage? The Doomsayer, Clyde, was nuking the Black Hats at one hundred yards out and rolled a 38! Needless to say he got the TN of 15 with 4 raises. 7d20 damage at ground zero with it spreading out a total of 70 yards getting less with each 10 yards. Did I do this right? He nailed almost all of the Black Hats with that one. - WastedDave 

A) The raises for damage is actually based on the miracle's TN which is 5, the TN of 15 is just to see if it's on target. With a roll of 38, the Doomsayer got 6 raises (38 - TN 5 = 33 33/5= 6 raises) so the Nuke would do 9d20 and would affect an area 90 yards in radius. That's why they call it Nuke! [John Hopler, HoE listserv, 7/22/99] Doomsayers: Starting Hindrances 

Q) Does the player get the points for Enemy: Cult of Doom and Oath: Joans Pledge? - WastedDave

A) Yes. - [John Hopler, HoE listserv, 6/28/99]

Doomsayers: Touch

Edges: Additional Powers/Miracles

Q) In Brainburners it looks like you buy the Additional Powers edge for 2pt and then can buy each power at 2pts each. Example: My Syker wants more than the 1 power per point of Blastin' so he buys the edge for 2 pts and then spends 4 more pts on 2 additional powers. 6 points total are spent for two powers. In CotA it looks like you buy the edge for each additional Miracle you have. Example: My Doomsayer wants more than the 1 miracle per point of Faith so he buys the edge 2 times for 2pts each and gets 2 additional powers. 4 points total are spent for two miracles. Since they are both very similar system I would assume that they actually function the same but the Archetypes in one book are in error. Which is the correct example? Or are they both correct? - ?

A) Your CotA example is in fact the correct one for both Edges. I think the Edges are not clearly written in either case--I would be inclined to use your Brainburners interpretation for both of them on a cursory reading. However, the CotA example is actually the way it works... [Charles Ryan, HoE listserv, 2/22/99]

Edges: Deadlands

Q) Can I use a lot of the new edges out of Law Dogs, such as the Crossdraw edge, or the other supplements for my HoE characters? - redbf

A) Absolutely! [Shane Hensley, HoE listserv, 8/28/98]

Edges: Dinero

Q) Can you, using the numbers from the Weird West book, use the function of "finding" cash for your character? - redbf

A) No, use the numbers for finding cash in the HOE book. [Shane Hensley, HoE listserv, 8/28/98]

Edges: Knacks

Q) Hey Charles!! Do Knacks exist in HoE? - ?

A) No, they don't, at least not at this point. [Charles Ryan, HoE listserv, 2/22/99]

Edges: Rad Baby

Q) The range of an ICBM is 100 yards per level of faith. Most players will put a 5 in faith, so that puts the range at 500 yards. If a player gets the edge Rad Baby, this increases the range to 1000 yards. However, the range increment is only 20. Does Rad Baby also increase range increments? - ?

A) Yes. [Charles Ryan, HoE listserv, 2/19/99]

Q) Would a shot at extreme range actually be at a minus -25 (or a -50 for a Rad Baby?)

A) Absolutely (to the -25 part, at least). Hey, just cause it can travel a long way doesn't mean it's easy to control... [Charles Ryan, HoE listserv, 2/19/99]

Edges: Super mutant

Q) Can someone take both the 'Mutant' Hindrance (CotA page 48) and 'Super Mutant' Edge (CotA page 50)? If so, do they get multiple mutations? - James Cook 

A) Sure. [Shane Hensley, Direct email, 4/27/99]

Q) Can someone take 'Mutant' or 'Super Mutant' more than once to gain multiple mutations? - James Cook

A) Sure. Wouldn't recommend it, but. . . [Shane Hensley, Direct email, 4/27/99]

Q) With the SuperMutant edge, does the new mutation take the place of the characters original mutation or does the player get both mutations? - wastedDave

A) The super mutant edge gives you a an additional mutation in addition to your regular one. [John Hopler, HoE listserv, 6/28/99]

Edges: Super Soldier

Edges: Veteran of the Weird West

Fear and Terror: Making Checks

Geography: Alaska

Q) Who owned "Alaska" before Judgement Day? - bshurd

A) Alaska was owned by the US, just as in traditional history, before the War. [Shane Hensley, HoE listserv, 1/5/99]

Geography: Space

(Okay, so space isn't technically a field of geography :-) ed. note)

Q) I was just wondering if Earth had any colonies in our solar system before the Reckoning occurred. You do mention mining the asteroid belt, but no colonies. - ripper

A) Yes, but there are no plans to explore them at this point. [Shane Hensley, HoE listserv, 12/21/98]

Geography: Sybaris.

Grit: Maximum level

Harrowed: Arcane backgrounds

Q) In Brainbusters we see that a syker who becomes Harrowed retains all his or her syker abilities. Does this hold true for templars, junkers, and doomsayers as well? - Draxus

A) Yes. [John Hopler, HoE listserv, 7/22/99]

Q) And for those that it does, can they continue to improve those powers as well as their Harrowed powers, or are the powers they had in life frozen as of their time of death? - Draxus

A) They can continue to improve all of the powers they had while living as well as their Harrowed powers. [John Hopler, HoE listserv, 7/22/99]

Harrowed: Arcane Protection

Q) Lets say some Green robe with an attitude problem sends MIRV or ICBM at him. Lets say he has Arcane Protection. My questions (before this comes up) does good ol' Sheol have to roll for Arcane Protection vs. every missile of MIRV, or does one roll cancel the one roll made for the miracle. then I thought, well, what if good ol' Sheol was not the sole target of MIRV or ICBM...lets say some ravenite he has not driven off yet is also being offered a get out of life free. would Sheol's roll cancel the miracle at all? only what was fired at him? does dividing it prevent him from being able to roll?- baron11

A) As long as the Harrowed is a direct target of the spell he can cancel it. This would save the other targets of the spell as well. [John Hopler, HoE listserv, 6/14/99]

Q) Lets say our new Friend Sheol has some purple robes and Nuke. Lets say he tries to use this on an anti-Templar that he is not overly fond of at the moment. now if said AT used Deflection. Good Ol' Sheol decides to Vamoose to Arcane Protection. can he AP his own shot he just fired? I'd say yes, but looking for opinions. - baron11

A) I'd have to think that Arcane protection wouldn't work in this case. When it works, it prevents the spell from being cast, it doesn't absorb it or nullify it after casting. In this case, for the anti-Templar to deflect it, the spell has already been successfully cast. [John Hopler, HoE listserv, 6/14/99] 

Harrowed: Mutations

Hindrances: Ailin'

Q) The Panacea miracle can be used to heal someone with the ailin hindrance. This contradicts this the (albeit new) rule in HoE that basically states that a character with ailin has already tried all natural and magical means to cure the ailin. Which is correct? - Patrick Phalen

A) HOE is newer than F&B, so it seems at least as far as HOE is concerned, Ailin' can't be cured by Panacea. Of course, remember blessed aren't a staple character in HOE and thus are very, very, very, very rare. [John Goff, DL Listserv, 9/15/98]

Hindrances: Mutant

Q) Can someone take both the 'Mutant' Hindrance (CotA page 48) and 'Super Mutant' Edge (CotA page 50)? If so, do they get multiple mutations? - James Cook

A) Sure. [Shane Hensley, Direct email, 4/27/99]

Q) Can someone take 'Mutant' or 'Super Mutant' more than once to gain multiple mutations? - James Cook

A) Sure. Wouldn't recommend it, but. . . [Shane Hensley, Direct email, 4/27/99]

Hindrances: Oath of Unity

Junkers: Agility

Q) I want to build a power armor device with junkman rules. if i use the locomotion power and create a 2 legged walker, do i really need the agility power for the suit?There is a pilot driving the thing after all. if i need the agility power, whoose stats d i use when i want to perform maneuvers? the suit's or the character? - regret

A) No, if the device is worn it doesn't need the Agility power. [John Hopler, HoE listserv, 7/22/99]

Junkers: Ammo

Q) When you roll your instability check, are you checking for the whole batch, all the bullets in the gun, or for just that particular bullet? Having to roll for instability every shot would get pretty annoying. Also, for reasons listed under general comments, I think each die level should be 1.5 times the cost of the previous level rather than twice the cost. - ?

A) Since ammo is created in batches, it also makes instability checks in batches. Just roll for the batch the first time a bullet from it is fired each day. If it becomes unstable, the effect applies to the entire batch. I made the die level cost double at each level for two reasons: One, to make the components costs higher for larger ammos. Ammo is scarce in the Wasted West, and we didn' t want junkers to be able to make it by the truckload. Two, to keep the ammo size balanced with powers like gunsmith and Flash Gordon. Reducing the cost reduces the size and lets a junker cram huge amounts of ammo into some weapons. [John Hopler, HoE listserv, 6/2/99]

Junkers: Armor

C) This is a problem I've had ever since the new armor rules came out. Under the current rules, there is no advantage to having high die types for your attacks. With the current junker rules, 4d4 costs just as much as 2d6, does more damage, and resists armor better. The die type used to represent shot penetration, so I'm suggesting that after the dice reach d4s, each armor level subtracts two dice rather than one, or reduces damage by half. This'd make it a lot more representative of penetrative power, and prevent all those enterprising players with 20d4 bullets for the same price as 5d8. 

R) I like the old armor rules myself, but I did try to prevent people from abusing the new ones with the ammo power. At the bottom of page 65, under Ammo Size, it says, "No ammo may have more dice than its due type. Four dice is the maximum number for a d4 ammo, for example." [John Hopler, HoE listserv, 6/2/99] 

Q) a junker builds a vehicle using the locomotion rule, it states that a junker can add armor on using the rules in Road warriors. My questions are, 1: does the armor take up slots on the frame and how do we calculate it? - regret 

A) No. Once you've designed a vehicle using the Locomotion power, simply apply any modifications to the vehicle as if it were a car of equal Frame size. [John Hopler, HoE listserv, 8/13/99]

Q) What happens if the vehicle gets overloaded from armor bought?Do we reduce its stats as per Road Warriors for overloading. - regret

A) Yes. [John Hopler, HoE listserv, 8/13/99]

Q) How much armor can the vehicle carry without overloading? - regret

A) The Locomotion power lists a Load Limit for various Frame sizes. Use this to calculate overloading. [John Hopler, HoE listserv, 8/13/99]

Junkers: Associated Spirits

Q) When deciding which powers get the bonus, do we use the associated spirits listing for the power, or the associated powers table for the spirit? If the latter, why have associated spirits? - regault 

A) Use the associated spirits listed with the power. [John Hopler, HoE listserv, 6/2/99]

Junkers: Batteries

Q) In The HOE source book, it says that you can build a 50 charge battery for 5 oz ghost rock and 5 struct, however, it says it takes 1 pound (16 oz!!) to recharge 50 charges, no where else in the book does it say lbs instead of oz, i hope that this is a mistake. Is it? - ?

A) It isn't. Spirit batteries recharge at the rate of 50 GR per pound of ghost rock. The 5 oz. of ghost rock that you mention is a component of the battery; necessary when the battery is built (just like the G-ray collector requires 2 lbs. of ghost rock to build). A newly-built battery doesn't come charged, but must be charged up with a G-ray collector before it's good for anything. Thus, the 5 oz. of ghost rock used to construct the battery don't give  you a "cheaper" charge that the recharging cost... [Charles Ryan, HoE listserv, 3/1/99]

Junkers: Brains

Q) If you make your own dataslugs do you have to check instability for them if they're used? What happens to data stored on them if they go unstable? - ?

A) Junker built slugs do suffer instability. Unless the slug is destroyed, any data on them is fine once it recovers from its instability. [John Hopler, HoE listserv, 6/2/99]

Junkers: Browsers

Q) The following powers were mislisted under the browsers. Car: flight (VTOL?) Appliance: Rotor Tool: Finish is a tool trick; Flow isn't in the book.(Reactor maybe?) - ?

A) This was a fairly complex book to write and we were making changes to it right up until the UPS man pried it out of our fingers. A lot of powers were changed or cut. We thought we had caught all those, but obviously we didn't. Originally there was a flight power for making fixed-wing aircraft and a rotor power for making rotary-wing vehicles. There wasn't enough room to include even a rudimentary set of flyin' rules for these things so I cu  them and replaced them with VTOL. Finish was originally a power and flow got cut. [John Hopler, HoE listserv, 6/2/99]

Q) When browser spirits are in junker devices how often do they produce g-rays? - redurgam

A) The energy put out by a browser spirit is per round. [John Hopler, HoE listserv, 6/28/99]

Q) Can browser spirits provide a bonus to using tool tricks? If so, what is each tool tricks associated spirit? - redurgam A) Browsers don't give a bonus to tool tricks because the junker actually contacts individual tech spirits while casting them. [John Hopler, HoE listserv, 6/28/99] 

Q) If we use a browser to power a vehicle, does the browser really power the vehicle at its rating? Does a rating 5 browser give 5GR every 5 seconds to the vehicle?? - regret 

A) Yes, this provides a lot of excess power which can be used for other vehicle related systems. [John Hopler, HoE listserv, 8/13/99]

Junkers: Collectors

Q) I've always had a problem with the Gr output of collectors being a bit too low. Now that there are so many devices with huge drains despite being relatively innocuous (7 drain/hour for the joystick for a remote droid?) available, I've decided that in my campaign, at least, ghost rock will release 5 Gr and ounce, or 80 Gr a pound. This'll make the math earlier, let people burn ghost rock scraps, and just make life easier for everybody. - ? 

A) Both Drain and component costs have gone up under the new system. I considered upping the GR per pound, but I left it the same to keep things expensive. Unlike all the other special character types, junkers are the only ones who can create permanent objects, we didn't want the posse to turn into a walking swap meet. 5 Gr an ounce does make the math a lot easier though, and it's not a huge jump in power. I'll have to give this one some thought and see what kind of feedback we get, but more than likely, that'll become the new rule. [John Hopler, HoE listserv, 6/2/99]

Junkers: Commo

Q) Does a signal type selection have to be made if the device is for displaying device output only and does not receive outside radio signals? (I.E. A readout for a computer made with the brains power.) - ?

A) Yes. [John Hopler, HoE listserv, 6/2/99]

Junkers: Energy Weapons

C) My idea: I would rule that weapons that do energy damage don't need ammo. It just runs off the Spirit Battery. - Afterburner

C) I can't find it in the rules right now, but I seem to recall (or maybe I just assumed) the same idea you have. Anyways, if that is not the case, I may play it that way as it just seems to make good sense. - Scott Mickelson

R) That sounds right, but it really depends on the game. If you make something like a blaster, it might require energy *and* ammo. [Shane Hensley, HoE listserv, 9/14/98]

R) I think some of the confusion is due to the cuts that were made in the junker chapter. As originally written, it had more than twice the powers it does now. Unfortunately, this made it three times the size of any of the other chapters on special character types and much too large to actually fit in the book. As a result a bunch of the powers got axed. One of the powers that was cut is Shielding. This power allows Junkers to build energy shield projectors which absorb damage. The basic Shield works against physical damage only, making one that works against energy damage is more expensive (and even more expensive to block spiritual damage and magic). So the advantage of energy weapons is that they are more likely to work against Junker-built shields which don't actually exist yet (at least not until The Junkman Cometh comes out early next year). Just to clarify the "creates its own ammo" modifier some, this is intended for weapons like the junkgun that can process some sort of raw material and turn it into ammo. Energy weapons which create their damage directly from the energy drawn from the spirit battery also fall into this category. Weapons which don't fall into this category are those which require the junker to actually purchase or spend time creating ammunition. A good example might be a rail gun type weapon for which the junker has to actually sit around the campfire at night creating metal slugs. Not all energy weapons necessarily fall into the creates its own ammo category. A particle beam weapon would fall into the energy weapon category, but it might require a reservoir of stripped Helium nuclei as ammo for instance. It all really depends on the player's concept of the weapon, how much trouble the character has to go through to keep his weapon supplied, and the Marshal. The purpose of the "creates its own ammo" modifier was to avoid giving junkers a free ride. Non-junker characters are often going to run low on ammo for their conventional weapons, so we wanted junkers to have to pay a little more for weapons which weren't dependent on some sort of physical ammo supply. Hope this helps. - [John Hopler, email, 9/23/98] 

Junkers: Familiars

Q) Also, are Familiars supposed to be Frame size 4? It seems like an awkward size for something chiefly used as a scout or companion, and all of the Familiars pictured in the book are at most size 3.(A size 4 owl would break your arm if it tried to perch on it.) Do Familiars need the agility power in order to manipulate things? - ?

A) Actually, most familiars are size 2, about the size of a cat or small dog. This was one we didn't catch when the Frame sizes were adjusted. Familiars don't need the agility power, just the sensor power to see, and locomotion power to move. Unlike most devices, the tech spirit in the device does the rest. As it mentions on page 45, familiars have all the stats of a regular character, but these don't require any extra powers from the junker. [John Hopler, HoE listserv, 6/2/99]

Junkers: Frame Sizes

Q) Another thing that was confusing was frame sizes. I got the feeling that frames were originally numbered from 1 to 19, than it was decided to use them to determine TN, and all the frame numbers were reduced by one. Unfortunately, several examples weren't adjusted afterward. More importantly, the frame sizes need to be a little more clear on exactly how big they are, the examples being unclear and generally unhelpful if the device isn't a gun or a car. How small of a refrigerator? Is it a mini fridge or just a short normal fridge? What kind of large backpack? The kind my dad took on hikes was quite a bit larger than a dog or a rifle. Saying that something is as large as a cello case is only helpful if that person is in an orchestra. - ?

A) The Frame sizes actually dropped by 2. A bunch of the smaller frames were condensed into Size 0 to do this. The main reason for this was to make humans fall at Size 6, so junkers would be operating on the same size scale as everyone else. As far as the size examples go, hopefully things will become clearer as more junker devices appear in other books. Space was really tight in this book, so I tried to include fairly common items or ones which were most likely to be constructed by junkers on the table. The exact Frame size an object needs is still somewhat of a judgement call for the Marshal. [John Hopler, HoE listserv, 6/2/99]

Junkers: Gun Spirits

Q) If a power is associated with both Gun and Computer like targeting or gun and Car like Rocket man do I use the gun spirit rules for creating it or not, does it depend on how it is used Like a surveillance missile as opposed to a warhead? - decker 

A) Any power which is associated with gun spirits uses the gun spirit rules regardless of the purpose for which it is used. [John Hopler, HoE listserv, 7/16/99]

Junkers: Locomotion

Q) I thought that I'd point out that VTOL is much more powerful than locomotion and requires a lower number of slots even if the car's acceleration is only 5 mph. - ?

A) You are correct. I'm not sure exactly what the "official" fix for that is, but for now, I'd change the locomotion power plant costs to 5%, 10%, 15% [John Hopler, HoE listserv, 6/2/99]

Q) Question #1--It states in locomotion that a normal person needs 70 slots of room to sit in something for doors and controls, this looks like 6 slots (half or Frame size 6 slots equals 64) are needed for a normal sized person to have controls & door. My Junker is has the Scrawny Hindrance so his size is 5, does this mean if he custom made a device for just his size all he would need is 49 (half of Frame size 5 is 43, adding 6 for controls). Does this sound right to you guys? - Fuzyn9feet

A) Yup, it also keeps all his big friends from borrowing his car unasked. [John Hopler, HoE listserv, 6/28/99]

Junkers: Normal tech

Q) It says in the man rule book that we can use regular tech in place of junker tech. But I saw no mention of this is the junkman cometh does this rule still apply or not. I'll give a few examples. (1) I am building a car using locomotion. Now of course I want the car to have headlights so that I can drive at night. Do I have to have the light power or can I just scrounge up some old working headlights to put in. (2) It says in the commo power that I need an audio sensor to build walkie-talkies. Does that mean I must have the sensor power. What if I already have and audio sensor like from an old cell phone or something. To sum up what I want to know is what would be the rules for using regular tech in a device. (if it can be used at all) Like slot space. or power requirements. Thanx in advance. - calabim69

A) You've raised a very good point. Yes, you can using existing tech in junker devices. in fact, this actually makes the junker's and the tech spirit's job easier because they don't need to adapt similar components into the "right" components. Unfortunately, due to the large number of possible powers and devices, it's hard to give any hard and fast rules for doing this. In general, I'd say each component of a specific nature like headlights or a phone mike counts double (or maybe more if it's really large or crucial) toward the component cost of the device. They can also negate the need for additional powers if the component fulfills the right role. In this case the mike negates the need for the sensor power and the headlights negate the need for the light power. As far as slots go, I'd use the Frame Table as a guide. A phone mike for instance is smaller than a mouse (Frame size 1 slots 2), so I'd say it takes up 1 slot. In the case of the headlights I'd say they're about a size 3 Frame and take up about 5 slots. In the end though, it's up to your Marshal. These items, because the tech spirit is able to instantly meld with them, don't cost any additional drain. Now, this might tempt people to try and build devices by saying, well I've got all the original pieces, all I have to do is put them together and I have a device which requires no Drain. That's true, but you've basically just repaired a standard device which still needs conventional batteries, gasoline or whatever--it won't run off a spirit battery. Using specific components doesn't reduce your Drain, it just doesn't increase it. [John Hopler, HoE listserv, 7/15/99] 

Q) So does this mean figure final component cost and the half it???? - Calabim69

A) No, what I meant was that each one of these components would count as two components (or more if the Marshal allows). [John Hopler, HoE listserv, 7/16/99]

Junkers: Origin

C) I am considering allowing techno-wizards, probably making them more of a techno-priest (similar to the Doomsayers). But maybe make the magic a bit more difficult to reflect the general lack of magic in the apaocalypse. I do not know yet, but I am thinking about it. Any ideas... Jay

R) Junkers are what the techno-hucksters became. [Shane Hensley, HoE listserv, 9/24/98]

R) Hmm. The impression I got from the Junker section in HoE (which I understand had some really essential stuff cut for space... any chance we could see the cut bits on the list?) was that they were basically redirected mad scientists. Let me try to state that a bit more lucidly... Mads and junkers both use manitous to get ideas for inventions, but hucksters and huckster/mads can make manitous do that and a whole bunch more. It looks to me like either a) junkers descend directly from mads without any real input from huckstering, or b) for whatever reason, the secrets of how to *really* get results got lost. I know that You Are The Law (tm), but why would junkers lose the real meat of thaumaturgic diffusion once they had it? - Joe 

R) I should have elaborated. It was the thaumaturgical diffusionists who first gave rise to junkers when the manitous stopped cooperating. As for *exactly* how all that worked out, you'll need to wait for the junkers book. I don't want to step on John's toes prematurely. [Shane Hensley, HoE listserv, 9/25/98]

Junkers: Reactors

Q) Anyone else notice that even the smallest reactor is about 12,500 times more efficient processing energy from IGR than an Atomic Collector, and outputs energy 11 times more quickly? Sure there's more chance of  irradiation, but I think it'd be worth the risk. - ?

A) Yup, reactors are much more efficient than Atomic Collectors. Besides the increased risk of G-ray exposure from instability (which Atomic Collectors don't have to worry about), reactors must be fully-fueled to before they will fire up. This got garbled a bit in editing.The line which reads "Ghost-rock reactors require a number of pounds of IGR equal to twice the reactor's Frame size," should have the words "to activate" tacked on. This is the critical mass that a particular size reactor needs to jump start the reaction. That means a junker has to come up with 8 pounds ($8000) worth of IGR just to flip the switch. And once the reactor's been running, if the junker switches it off for some reason, he must replace any depleted fuel before he can restart it. [John Hopler, HoE  listserv, 6/2/99]

Q) Question #1--In the power Reactor is states that the minimum Frame size the Irradiated Ghost-Rock Reactor can be is 4, but in the example said that frame size 4 has 16 slots making it a size 2 in the new table. Now I know you changed the Frame sizes before printing and some things made it through editing that shouldn't have, so should the minimum size be changed to Frame size 2? - Fuzyn9feet A) The minimum size for a Reactor should  have been dropped to 2 when the Frame size's were adjusted. [John Hopler, HoE listserv, 6/28/99]

Q) Question #2--Lets say you have a Reactor with a Frame size of 4 and puts out 16 G-Rays a round. Then someone builds it into a car that only has a 27 Drain an hour. That means the car has a .03 Drain a round, or you can say the reactor puts out 11520 G-Rays an hour, but ether way that's a lot of power going unused. My question is can a reactor be set to a lower power output? If it can't be turned down is the excess power wasted or what? - Fuzyn9feet

A) I didn't address this in the book because I figured most people wouldn't want to get involved in the extra bookkeeping. A fully fueled reactor has 365 days of fuel. Assume that a reactor has a half and quarter power setting. Each day spent at a lower setting burns an equivalent amount of fuel, i.e. a half day's at half power, and 1/4 day's at quarter power. This still wastes some power, but the math gets way too ugly once you get below 1/4 power. [John Hopler, HoE listserv, 6/28/99] 

Junkers: Reflexes

Q) Question #3--Replace the word Strength with Quickness in the last question (as well as the power from Super Strength to Reflexes) [See Junkers: Super Strength for previous question] and that's another problem I had. - fuzzy9feet

A) Here I'd also use the device's base Quickness based on Frame size. However, this Quickness is only used for actions taken by the device while operating on its own. The hero inside would use his own Quickness for operating the device. [John Hopler, HoE listserv, 6/28/99]

Junkers: Reinforce

Q) Device Traits: Vigor makes reference to the reinforce power, which isn't listed anywhere else in the book.- ?

A) Again, this is something that was cut and we failed to remove all evidence of. There was a lot of material that didn't make it into this book for space reasons. A lot of it will appear in later books and in the Updates sections. [John Hopler, HoE listserv, 6/2/99]

Junkers: Rocketman

Q) have a question on the power of Rocketman from the Junkman Cometh. Uhm. What's the power's TN? It's not listed. - nightchilde

A) Good catch. We'll make sure this gets added to the errata. The TN for Rocketman is 5. [John Hopler, HoE listserv, 6/14/99]

Junkers: Sensors

Q) First, what'd be the difference between a passive and active spirit sight sensor? Would a passive only detect ghosts and manitous? Could you use an active in conjunction with some seismic sensor to detect ghost rock? Second, what'd be the game mechanism behind using a natural sense ECM? For example, would a cloaking field add the dice roll to my character's sneak roll, or would it be used instead of sneak? I also noticed that it's a lot cheaper to hide a device from natural sight than it is to hide it from radar. - ?

A) Passive spirit sensors are an enhancement to normal vision, they don't entirely replace it. This means that they can only see spiritual objects which are in plain sight. A manitou behind a door is just as invisible to a passive spirit sensor as it is to the un-aided eye. Active spirit sensors beam out powerful rays of spiritual energy which, like spirit weapons, can penetrate objects in the physical world. This gives these sensors a kind of x-ray vision which can see spiritual objects unblocked by physical ones.Use the sensor's ECM rating or the character's sneak, whichever is higher. This means that unless you build a sophisticated sensor with a high rating, most heroes are better off without it--at least against natural senses. [John Hopler, HoE listserv, 6/2/99]

Q) Sensor I am a little dense on the difference between passive and active sensors. Do Passive sensors only detect other things giving off the thing that it senses, whereas an active sensor can build a picture of its surroundings? Could someone give me a couple of examples of different sensors please? Is there such a thing as a passive touch sensor, or sound sensor? or are all sound sensors passive since they just detect sound? how bout smell sensors? - decker

A) As you said, passive sensors can only detect things which are giving off the type of energy it is built to detect. A few examples would be: the human eye detects reflected light, the human ear detects sound waves, the remote sensor on a TV or VCR detects the beam from the remote, and the guidance system on a Sidewinder missile detects the infrared waves coming off of hot objects like a jet exhaust. Active sensors detect objects by beaming out their own energy and detecting what is reflected back at them. The most obvious example is radar, it beams out radio waves which bounce off solid objects in the path of the beam and are reflected back at the radar set. Sonar and laser rangefinders work in the same way, but they use sound and focused light instead of radio waves. A passive touch sensor would be something like a pressure pad. The human ear or a sonar set used in listening mode are both passive sound sensors. Smell sensors are normally passive--they wait for the smell causing molecules to touch them--but it is possible to make active smell sensors. These normally use a very high-frequency laser beam and detect molecules in a gas by the frequencies of light which are emitted by molecules struck by the laser. - [John Hopler, HoE listserv, 7/16/99] 

Q) It says all active sensors must have a range but that passive mainly depend on the range of the active sensors they are listening for. Does this means that they don't buy ranges or that they have ranges, but the thing they are sensing for must sense within the passive sensors range? - decker

A) The ranges listed for passive sensors are there as guidelines for the Marshal. It really depends on what the sensor is detecting. A passive sound sensor, for example might be unable to hear a whisper 100 yards away, but it can hear the sonic boom of a supersonic jet from many miles away. A radar detector might detect a handheld police radar unit from a half mile or so away, but it could detect the traffic control radar of a major airport from a long way off. There's not really any way to give hard and fast rules for this. The best guideline to use is if the detector is within the active sensor's range, it can probably detect it. When in doubt, roll the sensor's rating versus a TN set by the Marshal. [John Hopler, HoE listserv, 7/16/99]

Q) Also it says the Sensor powers have max ranges enhanced senses 5 miles and spirit Sight 5 miles yet when you look at the chart for Range p89 it lists 1 mile and 10 miles but no 5 miles. Shouldn't there be a 5 mile range?

A) The sensor ranges listed for the various types is for passive sensors. The range table on pg. 89 is for active sensors. The 5-mile range was skipped on this table to condense it slightly and to keep the slot costs down at the high end of the table. [John Hopler, HoE listserv, 7/16/99]

Junkers: Shield

Q) "Your garden variety shield projects a dome-shaped field over the object within it." This is worded a little confusing to me. It sounds like it projects a dome completely around the object, just maybe not under it, but does this field just project around the object it is built on, or does it go a little further. I was thinking of making a bird type companion that would have a shield, and could sit on my shoulder and project the field around us both if need be. If I made the bird size four, and gave it a size seven shield, could it sit on my shoulder and project a field around both of us?- decker

A) Yes. [John Hopler, HoE listserv, 7/16/99]

Q) would I need the spherical variant? Also since i'm on the subject could a size 7 shield be run at size 4, perhaps with a 1 slot selector switch? - decker

A) You wouldn't need to make it spherical. As long as the bird's shield is large enough to cover you, it gives normal protection. A shield can be run at any size between 1 and it's maximum rating. Like most variable setting devices a 1-slot selector switch is needed. [John Hopler, HoE listserv, 7/16/99] 

Junkers: Slugs

Q) In particular Slugs... . "He can also make slugs containing original programs if he knows the science:computer programming Aptitude. The slug creation time doesn't include the time it takes for the junker to write the program." My question is how does this work? Do you make a slug with a TN 9 and a science:computer programming roll set against a TN set by the marshal for what you want to create? Also can  you create a blank slug, and then using a computer programming roll create a program for it? Provided you have a makeshift computer? - decker 

A) The TN for the creation of the program is set by the Marshal. The junker doesn't have to have a computer, he just needs to record the program on something--toilet paper, stone tablets, whatever. Once the program is done, the junker just makes a slug using the TN of 9, and the program is automatically encoded on the slug. If all you have is a blank slug, the junker has to do it the old-fashioned way: put the program in a computer and download it to the slug. [John Hopler, HoE listserv, 7/16/99]

Q) Similar Question, can you take a program that's in storage and transfer it to a blank slug? - decker

A) Yes. [John Hopler, HoE listserv, 7/16/99]

Junkers: Super Strength

Q) Question #2--While building a Battle Suit I found a few snags. I want to use the power 'Super Strength' to give anyone using the suit +2 steps of strength, but the way it works assumes that the added strength is fixed and of the device. The slots are the same for raising the strength by two steps but the drain is based off the 'final' die type. So my question is should I go with my gut and say that average person has a d6 strength and use it as a base, or just use the device's 'strength' given by it's size as the base (Frame-6; strength= 3d6 so +2 steps is 3d10, Drain 3), or just say the +2 starts at d4 (raising the strength to d8) and give the device a drain of 2. 

A) I would use the device's base Strength based on its Frame size. If you want to cheat a little and squeak in an extra die type, there's no reason why a battlesuit couldn't be slightly larger than man-sized (Frame 7), this would let you start at 2d8 and bump it to 2d12. [John Hopler, HoE listserv, 6/28/99]

Junkers: Tech spirits

Q) How often do tech spirits produce g-rays when built into a device?(ex. Bus spirit in a scooter) - redurgam

A) The amount of energy produced by over-sized spirits is also per round. [John Hopler, HoE listserv, 6/28/99]

Junkers: Tool

Q) When casting a tool trick the book say to roll Spirit/science: occult engineering. What does that mean? - redurgam

A) This means to use the number of dice equal to the junker's level in science occult engineering, but use the junker's Spirit die type instead of Knowledge (which is what that skill is normally associated with). [John Hopler, HoE listserv, 6/28/99]

Junkers: VTOL

(See Junkers: Locomotion)

Junkers: Weaponsmith

Q) Question #1--I was looking at Weaponsmith and noticed that the Energy Weapon slot requirement it probable way to much. For the example to work (Str+4d6) with 24 slots it wouldn't fit an anything smaller than a rifle sized thing (unless you can roll a 26 on the Miniaturize Tool Trick). That would be extremely too unwieldy. Even an energy pocket knife with 1d4 wouldn't fit in a pocket knife body. Is this a mistake or is it right? - Fuzyn9feet

A) The slot requirement for this option should be half the listed amount. The Drain remains the same. [John Hopler, HoE listserv, 6/28/99]

Junkers: Weight

Metagame: Arcane Backgrounds, setting atmosphere

Monsters: Black Hats and chipped weapons

Q) Could a Doomsayer use EMP on these chips, and if so, what would happen? Would they all immediately explode, or have the chips been shielded from EMP effects? - DarrinBrigA)

A) They're shielded. Just boost the TN by +4 or so. That's my "quick" ruling. Use that until John gives you the "official" answer. [Shane Hensley, HoE listserv, 9/25/98]

Q) Buffy the Doomsayer wants to use EMP on some black hats. The Black Hats have chipped brain bombs, chipped assault rifles, and are riding around in a chipped HMV. Will EMP work on them, what's the TN, and do their brains automatically explode? - darrin

A) EMP does work on Combine equipment. If a Combine chip is shorted out by EMP, the attached charge detonates immediately. Throckmorton has taken steps to prevent this, of course, so the chips have some degree of hardening against this. The chips in individual soliders and small arms are considered military computers (TN 11). Combine vehicles and large, crew-served weapons have more shielding, requiring a TN of 13 to short. [John Hopler, HoE listserv, 6/14/99] 

Monsters: Black Hats Template

Q) On pg. 210, under the Black Hat description, a large knife is listed with a damage of STR+1d4. Damage should be STR+1d6. A) Oops! I'm forwarding this on to Matt Tice so he can post the errata on the web site. My bad, friends! [Shane Hensley, HoE listserv, 10/4/98]

Monsters: Bloodwolf

Q) What happens when say a bloodwolf takes killing damage from a normal bullet? Or the bloodwolf falls 100 feet onto a bed of wooden stakes? 

A) The bloodwolf is undead, so it's not immune to normal bullets. Killing  damage to any place other than the heart (its focus) simply racks up wound modifiers, but the thing keeps on coming. In vampire form, falling onto the stakes would do full damage and probably kill it. In werewolf form it would take damage from the fall, but ignore the stakes because it is immune to wooden weapons in this form. [John Hopler, HoE listserv, 6/28/99]

Monsters: Counting Coup

C) What, even the redone counting coup? - ?

C) Well - afaik - that particular rule change hasn't made it to a DL book yet. - Darious

R) Because that rule DID NOT change for Deadlands. It's an after-effect of the end of the Reckoning. Let me be clear, ONLY Harrowed can count coup in DL. In HOE, anyone can. [Shane Hensley, DL listserv, 8/20/98]

Monsters: Deadlands survivors

Q) Is it safe for me to assume as a Marshal that some of the creatures from Deadlands have survived? I realize that is pretty much up to me anyway, just curious as to whether or not there's an offical say in it. Ryan Wilson

A) Absolutely. [Shane Hensley, HoE listserv, 10/5/98]

Monsters: Vampires

Mutations: Ace of Spades

Mutations: Missing cards

Mutations: Omega Man

Radiation: Radius of effect

(Cut out is a lot of annoying stuff about how Sybaris is within 11 miles of the ground zero of a nuke - ed note.)

Q) But...according to the basic rulebook, page 103, everyone from 5-30 miles has to make a TN 5 Vigor check _every hour_ to avoid radiation poisoning. So, everyone in Sybaris is making Radiation/Vigor checks, every hour, to avoid rad poisoning?? In general, do people find this 30 mile radius thing a bit...restricting? Or should I just take Pinnacle's route, and ignore it, as the whole Sybaris thing seems to suggest? - Steve Crow

A) The rad zone rules in the main rulebook were meant as very general guidelines. The actual danger zone around any impact site is up to the Marshal, and is very dependent on the particular terrain and weather in question. A town only 5 miles west of an impact, but on the other side of a mountain with strong prevailing winds blowing east, could be perfectly safe while another town 50 miles away to the east might be hotter than the inside of a microwave. Basically, the Marshal should use whatever makes the most sense and fits best in his story. [John Hopler, HoE listserv, 7/15/99]

Radiation: Vigor checks

Rulebooks: General

Rulebooks: Deadlands Dispatch

C) I really could have gone without the Deadlands Dispatch. It just seemed kind of useless and filled with stuff I already knew. Those four pages would have been better filled with more example devices. - ? 

R) As the author, I have to admit that I was pretty grumpy about giving up those four pages. I was already having a hard time cramming everything into the book as it was. However, even with those four pages I wouldn't have been able to fit everything, and the Dispatch gives me a place to put the stuff that got cut so it will eventually make it out there. Also, once all of the main character books are done (which will be as soon as Cyborgs hits the stores) the HOE story line will come out of the holding pattern it's been in and things will start to happen. The Dispatch is one of the places that players will hear about these things, since many of them may have no relation to the topic of the book they appear in. [John Hopler, HoE listserv, 6/2/99]

Rulebooks: Junkman Cometh

Rulebooks: Last Crusaders, source material

Rulebooks: Hell On Earth Main, Dr. Pepper (Hey, enquiring minds gotta know)

Q) Chapter 4. The burning question, what's up with the Dr. Pepper? Am I missing something being Australian or do you have some sort of weird Ad campaign going with them? - tbet1 

A) There's long been an "urban legend"  that a certain chemical in Dr. Pepper washes out radiation. Sheep supposedly have high levels of the same chemical in their body, and are also particularly resistant to radiation. I've figured out what the chemical must be, but can't find any real proof. So we decided that since it was fun, in our world, it's real (and it MIGHT be in the real world as well). I'll let those who are smarter than me tell the real story if they know it. [Shane Hensley, HoE listserv, 9/15/98]

Rulebooks: Hell On Earth Main, errata

Rulebooks: Radiation Screen, errata

Shootin' Thangs

A) The "Police Hellfire" SMG should simply read "Police" SMG. The "Hellfire" entry was left-over from a Hellstromme Industries weapon that appears in Wasted West.

B) The footnote for the Grenade and Rocket Launcher should be 5, not 4.

More Important Thangs

Rulebooks: Road Warriors, similarity to Car Wars

Shamans: Existence