C) Just want to make sure the right guy gets the credit for "Abra Cadabra." I didn't write that one--in fact, it was the first DL adventure I actually got to play (prior to that I'd been Marshalling constantly and drooling over characters I created but never played). Tony Lee, author of Extreme Vengeance and other titles, wrote the adventure for Hucksters & Hexes. [John Goff, DL listserv, 6/30/98]

Adventures: Adios A-MiGos

Q) Only one question for you, Shane. I can't find the conversion rules for Sanity. There's a reference to it on page 62 under "Faith and Guts," but no original conversion info. Do you figure it as maximum Sanity like in CoC (take the converted Power rating and multiply it by five)? Or is there something I've just overlooked? - ?

A) D'oh! MAN, is that one for the errata pages. Yes. Figure your initial Sanity by multiplying your converted POW by five. - [Hal Mangold, DL Listserv, 1/14/99]

Adventures: Night Train

(Night Train is also known as PC Death Train on the DL listserv - ed. note)
(See Monsters: Nosferatu)

Q) If a Posse gets lucky and kills all of the Nosferatu and the Zombie conductor, what can they do to reduce the fear level of the train so that it is usable? - Patrick Phalen

A) Never crossed my mind anyone would want to ride around in that charnel house. But, if they are really set on it and the Marshal wants to let them.... Killing the zombie and nose ferrets and then Tale-Tellin' at Varney Flats drops the Fear Level to 2. Tale-tellin' won't drop the fear level, but it would lessen its effects on each town it rolls into. (Treat it as boosting the Fear Level 2 places, to a maximum of 4 anytime it stops in a town.) As to permanently dropping it, the Marshal might allow a 1 level deduction if the posse finds a way to mass Tale-Tell at a 9 TN (for instance, through the Tombstone Epitath or similar means), has a blessed cast Sanctify on it--and spend a Legend chip, etc. Whatever it is, it should be fairly large scale and even then, the train should keep a Fear Level of 1. The posse could offset this by doing a special Tale-Tellin' every time they stop for extended periods. Or, you could let them ditch the Fear Level all together, but give anyone sleeping in it weak Night Terrors (5 or 7 TN instead). [John Goff, 22/May/1998, DL listserv]

Q) Many months ago someone asked if Night Train was inspired by "The Night Flyer" on HBO. Well, it's out in video stores and I saw this week. I have to highly recommend this flick! And, I wish I _had_ seen it before I wrote Night Train, the vampire is easily the scariest I've ever seen. The dog was pretty cool, too. If you've not seen it, give it a shot. Of course, it was a new release (big bucks and back by the next day), but it was worth it for me. [John Goff, 29/May/1998, DL listserv]]

Q) Since I'm currently a player, I haven't picked up a copy of Night Train, but I recently saw a reference that the Nosferatus attack a town called Varney Flats... Could the name Varney Flats be a reference to a popular book and stage show from the turn of the century called "Varney the Vampire?" Just curious... Rich Lewis

A) Why yes, yes it is... [John "PC Death Train" Goff, DL listserv, 7/9/98]

C) For those counting the vampiric references in "Night Train," I noticed two: Barlowe Station: Barlow is the name of the vampire in Steven King's Salem's Lot Varney Flats: Varney the Vampire -- as mentioned, a serialized Victorian vampire story. Matt DeForrest 

R) Right on both counts, Matt. [John Goff, DL listserv, 7/9/98]

Adventures: Fortress of Fear

Q) Will the Bioclaw and Jumplegs bond with a Harrowed? I know it's kind of a silly question, but I just KNOW it's gonna come up with my group. I figure they won't because I'm thinkin' that they sense and run off of the life energy of the person wearing the device, but I'm just askin' to get a "more official" point of view. Thanks - Nightchilde 

A) You are absolutely correct, friend. [Shane Hensley, 9/28/98, HoE listserv]

Adventures: The Mission (Fire and Brimstone)

Q) What is Reverend Wickliffe's coup? - Patrick Phalen

A) He doesn't have any specifically written, but if you want, you could always give him one. Maybe allow the Harrowed to pull pieces of flesh off the guts area and have it turn to a small amount of gold--very small, like a $20 gold eagle. Of course this does a light wound and 1d6 Wind--possibly healing slower than a normal Harrowed wound. Just a thought--well, just a fairly disturbed thought, anyway. [John Goff, DL Listserv, 9/15/98]

Adventures: Trouble A-brewin.

Q) My major question is what happens if/when the posse drinks the Crimson Ambrosia? Is there a cure if they get addicted? Will they get the bark like skin? (how long does it take to develop?) - Marshal Jason

A) Try this. It seems it was cut in the editing process (that doesn't happen that often, and I seldom read my own stuff, so I didn't even know!). Drinking the Ambrosia It's likely at some point some foolhardy soul is going to take a swallow of Crimson Ambrosia-that's just the nature of folks. The first glass has no ill effects. It's a smooth, ale-like beer, in spite of it's reddish tint. If more than one glass is consumed, the drinker has to make a Foolproof (3) Spirit roll to avoid picking up a 1 point hankerin' for the beer. Each additional glass drank gives a cumulative -1 to the Spirit roll. Once the barfly has consumed more glasses of the Ambrosia than his Spirit die type, a patch of the strange, bark-like growth appears somewhere fairly inconspicuous. As more Ambrosia is consumed, more patches appear and spread. Consuming more than twice his Spirit die type gives Crepin's ghost a foothold on his consciousness. At any time after this, the Marshal may attempt to take control of the character exactly as if he was Harrowed. For purposes of this test, the ghost has a Spirit die type and Coordination equal to the hero's. Each time the hero consumes another amount of drinks equal to his Spirit die type, Crepin's ghost die increases one level. The only way to be freed from the effects is to destroy the Crepin's hanging tree. [John Goff, Direct Email, 3/8/99]

Background/History: Civil War, Air questions

Q) How many airships does the Union have and where are they stationed? - Eric Young

A) Two as of January, 1877. The *Lyon* and *Sedgwick* are berthed in D.C. [Christopher McGlothlin, DL listserv, 10/12/98]

Background/History: Army questions

Q) What are the current (i.e. 1876) standard issue weapons for the US and CS armies? I would assume a rifle for infantry, a carbine version for cavalry and a pistol for officers. - Eric Young 

A) Let me talk about the Yankees first, because they're ALWAYS easier to discuss whenever the phrase "Standard Issue" comes up:). Front-line Union Infantry & Cavalry are issued Winchester '73 rifles. Cavalrymen, artillerymen & officers are also issued sabers. Artillerymen, engineers & officers are issued single-action Colt Peacemakers. This is not to say that you won't find other weapons in the blue ranks, as soldiers (especially officers) would often purchase other weapons out of their own pockets. You can find plenty of captured examples of all the above in the Confederate ranks, but Infantrymen are more typically issued Martini-Henry rifles imported from the British (as was reported in *Tales o' Terror: 1877*). Garrison and second-line troops may also be found carrying .577 Snyder swinging-block Enfield conversions, also imported from the Empire. Southern cavalrymen and officers were typically drawn from the wealthy aristocracy, men who can basically afford to carry whatever they want. Horsemen could be found with Winchesters, Spencer Carbines, Henry Repeaters or shotguns. Confederate officers usually carried a Colt revolver of some variety, but high-ranking officers showed a definite preference for LeMats. I hope this helps! [Christopher McGlothlin, DL listserv, 8/27/98]

Q) We all know what happened to the Union garrison at New Orleans, but what happened to the other beachheads that the Union has set up on several Confederate coastal towns. (I think there were four others) 

A) In general, they were evacuated in 1865 to bolster Grant and Sherman's declining numbers against the counter-offensives of Lee and Cleburne, respectively. The Union also feared that, in the aftermath of the Hampton Roads Conference, the Confederacy's battlefield success could still propel Britain and France directly into The War, and leave these garrisons besieged far from home with an uncertain chance of rescue. Add to this the fact that the South had achieved virtual guaranteed access to trade via New Orleans, Wilmington, Mobile, Charleston, etc., and there was simply no longer a more compelling reason to keep them there as opposed to withdrawing them. However, there *may* still be a small, lone Union outpost on the Southern coast, but that's in the hands of the *Back East: The Union* team, so I can say no more about it. I hope this still helps! [Christopher McGlothlin, DL listserv, 10/16/98]

Q) My other questions is, does anyone know of a website that has things like military rankings and troop placement (what constitutes a division, platoon, etc...) during the civil war? - Stitch 

A) Confederate and Yankee ranks and organization were virtually identical. The basic rank was Private: your ordinary, ground-pounding grunts. 95 privates (plus NCOs and officers) made a Company (though very rarely did any Company achieve full strength), under command of a Captain. 10 Companies (designated A-J, usually) made a Regiment, usually under the command of a Lt. Colonel. Regiments on both sides were designated by a number and and their state of origin, for example: 18th Virginia Infantry Regiment. 3 or 4 Regiments made up a Brigade, usually under the command of a Brigadier General. Yankee brigades were designated by number within their Division (1st, 2nd, etc.); Confederate, by their commader's surname (Garnett's Brigade, for instance). 3 or 4 Brigades made up a Division, usually under the command of a Major General. Yankee Divisions were designated by number within their Corps (1st, 2nd, etc.); Confederate, by their commader's surname (Pickett's Division, for instance). 3 or 4 Divisions made up a Corps (pronounced Core), usually under the command of a Lieutenant General. Yankee Corps were designated by number within their Army (1st, 2nd, etc.); Confederate, by their commader's surname (Longstreet's Corps, for instance). 3 or 4 Corps made up an Army, usually under the command of a full General. Yankee Armies were named after major rivers in their area of operation (the Army of the Potomac, for instance); Confederates, after the state they were based in (the Army of Northern Virginia, for instance). [Christopher McGlothlin, DL listserv, 3/20/99] 

Q) As I said before, this may not be that much help as it will not be accurate for 1877. If Chris could provide a rank structure in addition to his unit structure it will no doubt be more useful than mine! - Marshal Lambert

A) At your service, sir. The ranks for both Confederate and Yankee were identical, and they were (from top to bottom): Private Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs): Corporal, Sergeant, 1st Sergeant, Ordnance-Sergeant, Quartermaster-Sergeant, Sergeant Major Commissioneed Officers: 2nd Lieutenant , 1st Lieutenant, Captain, Major, Lieutenant Colonel, Colonel, Brigadier General, Major General, Lieutenant General, General [Christopher McGlothlin, DL listserv, 3/22/99]

Background/History: Civil War, Naval questions

Q) Is the US Navy issuing Letters of Marque? - Eric Young

A) Officially, no. The Confederacy began issuing letters of marque & reprisal early in The War, and the Union government has condemned them for it ever since in an effort to turn international opinion against the South. Unofficially, the Union does nothing to discourage its citizens from privateering, and in fact accepts and utilizes such vessels. (It should be noted that since the Union is not a signatory to the 1856 Paris Declaration, it is under no legal obligation to interdict privateering by its citizens.) [Christopher McGlothlin, DL listserv, 10/12/98]

Q) Does the Union have (or plan to build any) LTA Carriers? - Eric Young

A) The Union has had an armed transport, the USS *Fanny*, in service as an observation balloon tender since August 1861. As to their future plans...well, who knows what the manitous are whispering in the ears of the Yankees? (Or DEADLANDS authors?:)) [Christopher McGlothlin, DL listserv, 10/12/98]

Q) Does the CS Navy have any ships in the maze other than the Leviathan? - Eric Young

A) Yes. See page 70 of *Tales o' Terror: 1877* for its account of the additional Confederate ships at the Battle of Fort Lincoln. [Christopher McGlothlin, DL listserv, 10/12/98]

Background/History: Civil War, just how are the North and South different.

(Ed. Note - this post is in response to a player from over the pond who wanted some general information on the differences between the Union and Confederacy. I have Christopher's response here, but I'd just like to add an additional comment from RolftheRuf - he phrased a reply that I agree with, and he did it more eloquently then I could have.)

C) "WOW! Better men and women than I have written volumes in attempts to answer just one of the many questions you've raised here. I'd say if you're having fun without introducing the peculiarities of North/South and the war into your game then stay with what you're enjoying. If, on the other hand, you have a genuine desire to add more depth and color to your game then I suggest you find a few good books on the Civil War and read up, it's an incredibly intricate study and there have been libraries written on it." - RolftheRuf

Q) After the accents debate I was wondering how did the two sides identify those from the South and those from the North. Is it as simple as accent or were people forced to carry papers? - ObiBen

A) No ID papers were issued to the general populace during the War. The best defense either side had against infiltrators was the close-knit nature of the isolated rural communties that predominated in both North and South in the 19th century. Strangers stood out in towns where everyone knew everyone else, and a strange accent would even more clearly mark one as an outsider. In large cities (which were rarer in the South), this method was less useful, and spies for both sides did a booming business throughout the War as a result. However, the rules of War were harsh on this sort of activity. Anyone engaged in a hostile act (such as spying) with a recognizable uniform on became a prisoner of war, but those not in uniform were almost always given the prescribed punishment: death. [Christopher McGlothlin, DL listserv, 9/17/98]

Q) What I mean is it as easy to differentiate North and South from say an Englishman and a Frenchman(apart from speaking French. Say he's speaking in English.) 

A) Depends on what part of the North or South they originate from. My friends from not-far-off Pennsylvania communicate with this Virginian famously. When I'm in far-away Wisconsin, I feel like I need an interpreter.:) 

Q) You see as an Englishman, my posse have enough trouble with American accents never mind North or South. Because of this they rarely concern themselves with where their allegiance rests regarding the Civil war, which I understand is a very important aspect of the game. - ObiBen 

A) It would depend on your Posse and your campaign, really. If they're in the Far West, it's beliveable that they'd be ambivalent about a War way Back East. In fact, they may have gone West in the first place to escape the War, which was/is a common occurence in both real and DEADLANDS history. [Christopher McGlothlin, DL listserv, 9/17/98] 

Q) Say my posse who originate from all over the Weird West..(but for reasons didn't choose sides in the war) bump into a load of Soldiers how are they likey to be treated if they are mixed accent etc. or are of the opposite side than the Soldiers. Are they likely to get attacked or as civilians are they left alone? - ObiBen 

A) It depends on the soldiers. Soldiers on both sides had a higher degree of respect for civillians than they do today, even though that respect was vanishing on both sides as the War drug on, and has continued to do so in DEADLANDS. They may wave and pass by, or they may stop and ask for water or rations. They may be provost marshals looking for spies, or they may be died-in-the-wool Yankee/Reb haters spoiling for a fight with anyone who even reminds them of the enemy. [Christopher McGlothlin, DL listserv, 9/17/98] 

Q) In what ways could you tell a Southern Deadlands character from a Northern character if they neither (although I guess unlikely) cared for the the Rebs or the Union? - ObiBen 

A) I'm not sure I follow your question, but if the person in question is a healthy, able-bodied male and they're out West instead of at the Front, that's pretty indicative that the War holds no interest for them. [Christopher McGlothlin, DL listserv, 9/17/98]

Q) We don't deal with this aspect too much in the game because we don't understand it very well and I spend my time on plots and the interests of my posse. However as I realise the Civil War is a interesting and major part of Deadlands, could can anyone suggest ways to bring the Civil War and the 'who's side are you on factor' more into the game, subtley as in everyday life and also give me reasons (apart from the obvious ones) to aid my posse into making a descion to which side their character's would choose. - ObiBen 

R) Argument for the Rebs: Fighting to defend your homes and families against an invading Yankee horde which is bent on burning down your home, destroying your livelihood, and robbing you of your cherished rights at gunpoint. Also (for some), proving that you're a loyal Confederate and not just an "ex-slave." 

Arguments for the Union: Fighting to defend the country and freedoms you love more than life itself from a mob of traitorous Rebels who are bent on destroying the freest, most democratic government on God's Earth. Also (for some), proving that you're a loyal Unionist and just an "immigrant." 

Arguments for Both: Escape from boring rural communities; Fear of being branded a coward; being drafted; not wanting to be "left behind" by friends who've joined up. If you want to know more about the War in DEADLANDS, may I humbly recommend my own book *Tales o' Terror: 1877*, which is as close to a "Civil War Sourcebook" as PEG has yet done? If you have any more questions about the War, please feel free to post them here or e-mail me privately. I'd be honored to help (especially now that the British have intervened to help my own beloved South!:)). - - [Christopher McGlothlin, DL listserv, 9/17/98]

Background/History: Manpower shortage

Q) I started pondering how... and when the War Between the States might come to an end in Deadlands, when something quite obvious struck me. Chris, correct me if I'm wrong, but with the war having raged as long as it has (16 - 17 years now) won't both sides suddenly find themselves at a loss for fresh troops? - John Higginbotham

A) Please allow me to compliment you on an excellent question, sir. Both sides obviously do suffer from a manpower shortage (It's mentioned in the *Deadlands* Rulebook, after all), but it's been alleviated by the following factors: Continuing mass immigration: While The War might seem a deterent to this, it proved not to be in our history, and in fact many immigrants were eager to prove their allegiance to their new countries through military service. Based upon *The Quick & The Dead*, the effects of The Reckoning are much more profound in Europe, and I assume that to be a greater incentive than ever to come to the Americas. Emancipation: Former slaves hope to improve their standing in society through military service, much the same as immigrants do. (They are absolutely vital to the Confederacy's armies, since it receives far fewer European immigrants.) This provides a pool of eager recruits for both sides that went comparatively untapped in our War. Stalemate: After the Confederate counter-offensives of 1865 (which established the borders shown on the map in the *Deadlands* Rulebook), The War bogged down in stalemate in Virginia and Kentucky, with small-scale guerilla actions occuring everywhere else. There's been an offensive every November since then (to go along with the alternating Union and Confederate election cycles), but they result in far fewer casualties then the great campaigns of 1861-5. The rest of the time, morale and resources dictate that the fronts remain quiet. [Christopher McGlothlin, DL Listserv, 11/11/99] 

Background/History: Old Ones

Q) After finishing up Ghost Dancers today, I'm a bit confused about just what the Old Ones did in the Hunting Grounds. In the main rules, it sounded to me like the Old Ones shut down access from the Hunting Grounds to our world. In Ghost Dancers, however, it says that the Old Ones shut down access from the _Deadlands_ to the _Hunting Grounds_. Which is correct? And, if the latter, why would their action have hampered magics unrelated to Manitous, like Favors and Miracles? - ?

A) I'm not clear on what you're not clear on. The story is the same in Deadlands and in Ghost Dancers... Ah, now that I'm rereading the passage I think you're thinking of, I can sorta-kinda see what you're asking. Now I ask you to go back and reread the Deadlands rules, which never says the Old Ones shut down access from the Hunting Grounds -- they just kep the manitous locked up in the Hunting Grounds. As a matter of fact, Raven's big discovery was that the Old Ones had left a portal standing wide open in the Micmac burial ground. Doesn't sound like the Hunting Grounds were sealed off to me. You've discovered the same logical nitpick in both books. I don't have an official answer; maybe all the nature spirits and such (God, for the Blessed) were preoccupied with survival while the manitous were locked in there with them (which IS inferred in Ghost Dancers). Once the nasties were let out, the surviving spirits could return to help the natives.And here I thought I had plugged all the holes... [Paul Beakley, 28/May/1998, DL listserv]

Q) So, I guess it all boils down to this: Did the Old Ones trap the manitous in the Deadlands, or the Hunting Grounds? This is an important distinction, IMHO -- because if the former is true, the Hunting Grounds were affected by Raven's actions just as much as our world. 

A) My pseudo-official answer until Shane pimp-slaps me: The Old Ones trapped the manitous in the Hunting Grounds, where they didn't have much power because the Reckoners had no fear on which to feed. The manitous were powerful enough to cause some trouble in the Hunting Grounds, enough so the nature spirits and the manitous remained in a stalemate (and therefore unable to send power to our world). Raven's Last Sons killed the Old Ones, allowing the Manitous to escape into our world. Loose among mortals, the manitous were then able to generate lots and lots o' fear and give the Reckoners more power, which in turn madethe manitous more powerful both in our world and the Hunting Grounds. Net result? Things got bad in both worlds as a result of Raven's actions. This is inferred in the Tree of Life chapter as well. [Paul Beakley, 28/May/1998, DL listserv]

A) The main book never said they shut down access to the Hunting Grounds--they just "bottled up the manitous" and forced them from doing their jobs. Spellcasters who relied on manitous couldn't call them, and "good" magic-users (the blessed) simply didn't have as much call for magical aid without them around. And maybe "God" or whatever "good" force you want to believe in didn't feel the needed to grant power without supernatural evil around. [Shane Hensley, 29/May/1998, DL listserv]

Background/History: Pinkertons and the Agency 

C) Excerpted from The Tombstone Epitaph, March 3, 1877 The Men (and Women) in Black are a familiar sight to those having brushes with the supernatural throughout the Weird West. Lately the operatives of the Pinkerton Detective Agency, the Union's elite Special Investigations unit, have had a shake-up among their ranks. The whole nation was surprised by the sudden announcement by Union President Ulysses S. Grant in early January that he had declined to renew the Pinkerton Detective Agency's government contract. Citing a fear that the Pinkerton's growing private investigation and security business was sapping resources away from their governmental duties, President Grant simultaneously announced the formation of an internal U.S. government organization to fill the vacuum of the Pinkertons. The Agency, as it has been called in the press, will take over the duties and responsibilities that were formerly under the jurisdiction of the Pinkertons, without the possible division of resources. Presumably, the Union was also looking for more internal control of their Special Investigations branch. A wave of layoffs at the Pinkerton Agency followed the news of their loss of the Union contract. Most of those let go were associated with the Special Investigations unit. Strangely, many of these former Pinkertons have been seen around the headquarters of the Agency, located in the former Smithsonian Institution Building in Washington D.C. Additionally, rumor has it that Allan Pinkerton has been asked to head up the new organization. Puzzled observers aren't quite sure what to make of it all, but the activities of the Men in Black have continued uninterrupted throughout the entire crisis. [Hal Mangold, DL Listserv, 3/2/99]

Background/History: Presidents, Johnson

Q) 1869: Pres. Ulysses S. Grant is inaugurated. (Real World date) Is this true in the Dl timeline, too? Is Johnson impeached? - Steve Wallace

A) Yes, but there's significantly more to it in DL. Andrew Johnson wasn't impeached in 1868 (there being no Reconstruction in DL to provoke it), and in fact was re-elected that year with the aid of some mysterious campaign advisors, Grant as his running mate, and a promised "secret plan" to end The War. Later, Congress and the people's patience wore thin when the "secret plan" was revealed as a sham, and Johnson's administration proved incapable of aiding the victims of the Great Quake. The last straw was the Battle of Washington in 1871, and Congress scapegoated Johnson for it by impeaching him and removing him from office upon their return to the capital. (I hope this helped!) - [Christopher McGlothlin, DL listserv, 3/4/99]

Background/History: Slavery

 Q) One of my posse is a negro from New Orleans. His background is bar tender/ bouncer with high overawe and fightin' skills. he doesn't want to play an escaped slave - so i was wondering under what circumstances he could be a freed ex-slave. could he have worked for his freedom ? served in southern forces (i don't think so but i'd like to get clarification). also - as a freed slave would he have papers to prove himself as such? - Pete Rogers

A) Actually, there was a very high percentage of "free persons of color" (actual historical term) in New Orleans prior to the Civil War. Because slavery wasn't widely practiced in the city, a lot of folks weren't too hot on getting drawn into the the war at all. And, where it was practiced, it was equal opportunity--at least one way. Free folks of any color were allowed to own slaves (of course, there wasn't much racial diversity in the populace that were selected as slaves!). Around 10,000 Haitian refuges immigrated to the city during the overthrow of French rule in Haiti. Most of these were "free persons of color" who feared how the former slaves would treat them. It's perfectly possible for him to have been born free, worked for his freedom, served in the southern forces. Remember the South freed its slaves around a decade before the DL timeline begins. Given that, it's rather unlikely there are any slave-hunters left--unless you're running a different timeline (which is fine). That doesn't mean there aren't bigots, but the realism in depicting that is a Marshal's choice for his game. [John Goff, DL Listserv, 10/30/98]

Background/History: Texas Ranger uniforms

C) In Law Dogs, Texas Rangers don't wear any type of uniform nor carry badges. I coulda sworn that in one of the other books (main book?) that Texas Rangers were known for their long black dusters and badges. Law Dogs "says" it's the US Marshalls (if memory serves) who dress in such a fashion. All the pictures of Rangers (not the 1/2 Elf ones!) depict them in dusters, as do the miniatures. So I was wondering what was up. - ?

R) I was referring to an "official" uniform, sort of like modern policemen wear. The Rangers have no such uniforms. If they all, quite unofficially, *choose* to dress alike (and apparently, they do), that's certainly their right. Personally, I think a black coat in the hot Texas sunshine is just askin' for it, but it sure does look damn cool. :) [Steve Long, DL listserv, 8/24/98]

C) I don't know where they got their information, but from the sources I've read, the Texas Rangers did indeed wear badges. In the Eyewitness: Cowboys book (a children's book with *great* photographs on things western), at least three different Texas Ranger badges are depicted from that organization's long history. - ? 

R) I believe that some Rangers may have created their own badges, and certainly in the later history of the organization badges were issued. But according to the sources I used when researching LAW DOGS, Rangers as of the time of DEADLANDS did not have any standard issue badge. [Steve Long, DL listserv, 8/25/98] 

Blessed: Becoming one after character creation, specifically Shintoism

Q) One of my players wants to pick up some faith for his character (a displaced samurai) and make him into a blessed. He wants follow the tenets of Shintoism and I'm not quite certain of how to handle it. It's not covered in Fire & Brimstone so I realize that I'd have to work something up for him, but I'm not quite sure if I want to handle it like the other religions in F&B or if it should be handled in a more shamanistic fashion a la Ghost Dancers. Has anyone run into this in their own group, and, if so, how did you handle it? - Michael Hjerppe

A) The incidence of Shintoism in the Weird West is pretty darn rare! But handle it like shamanism and you'll be pretty safe. [John Goff, 7/June/1998, DL listserv]

Blessed: Concentration

(See Hucksters: Concentration)

Blessed: Converting followers

Q) If John already has something in F&B let me know and I'll say "D'oh!" and go read it. (Ed. Note - referring to rules regarding Revival Meetings) - Jim Heivilin

A) Nope, no "D'oh!" tonight. The rules for gaining a convert from a revival are there, but there's nothing on how many show in the first place. Revivals were big events in most towns--there really was little else to do for entertainment out West besides sin and repent for most folks, anyway. Methodists would turn out for Baptist meetings, and so on--about the only exception was a strong bias against Mormons. [John Goff, DL Listserv, 9/15/98]

Blessed: Cults vs "real" religions

Q) Can a member of the Church of Lost Angels become a blessed? Assuming, of course that he truly has faith and doesn't know the dark secret of his church. I say yes, because being a blessed is more a personal thing than it is an organized religion, but several of my friends disagree. - bryce

A) My personal thought is no. That's mainly because I've always seen a divine source for the blessed's power. Personal faith plays a part, but only a part. The blessed's deity opens a conduit to the Hunting Ground and protects the blessed from any ill-effects. Now, this gets a little fuzzy when you talk about the more esoteric religions that don't have recognized deities, but generally that's how it works. Now, for the obligatory DL mantra: "All that said, it's your game--do what you like." [John Goff, DL listserv, 2/2/99]

Q) So. Since Grimme plays up the fact that he really is holy, and most of his followers believe that, why couldn't someone in his congregation be truly holy? I'm not talking about someone who is actually a "member" of his inner sanctum, of course. - Patrick Phalen

A) Like I said, it's your game, but here's why that argument doesn't work for me. Following that reasoning, a member of an evil cult could be blessed as long as they thought they "were doing the right thing." Which is, in effect, what a member of Grimme's church is. Although it may appear so, Grimme isn't preaching Christianity or another true religion--he's simply spouting whatever rhetoric fits his goals. Grimme's church isn't a religion, it's a cult and a low-level member of a cult (ignorant or not) is still a cultist. [John Goff, DL listserv, 2/2/99]

R) I understand what you are saying, but does the average poor-sod in Grimme's church really understand that he is in a cult? Granted a blessed might be able to figure things out over time, but given the inflated "non-stats" that Grimme has, his sermons should easily overwhelm the blessed's Theology attempts. If the blessed did openly confront Grimme, I'm sure that Grimme would win the persuasion battle... (If not, bye-bye blessed...) Patrick Phalen 

A) I think we're straying very close to the 'religion' thread that pops up from time to time, so I'll say my peace and let this one go. If you want to continue the discussion, feel free to shoot me a private email. (All of this is my personal opinion on the matter, BTW.) Ignorance is seldom a reason for religion to turn a blind eye to wrong actions. Christianity, Islam, and Judaism all require adherence to a certain code. Not following that code (even for unenlightened non-believers) is wrong. Even in some of the less-structured Eastern religions committing improper acts or omitting certain necessary ones is a sure-fire way to get kicked back down the karma scale for next time around. [John Goff, DL listserv, 2/2/99] C) Also, I never felt that "belonging" to a church was a pre-requisite to being a blessed. - Patrick Phalen

R) It's not, but belonging to an evil cult 'should' be a reason for not being one. Case in point--they eat human flesh. Whether or not the blessed knows it, cannibalism is bad--and a divine patron is sure to know what's in the stew! Finally, the real sticking point for me is the follower of Grimme doesn't really even have a patron--just a bunch of hogwash Grimme spouts on a weekly basis. The Cliff's Notes version of my post is: if you want to allow it in your game, that's fine; I won't. [John Goff, DL listserv, 2/2/99]

Blessed: Gifts

Q) Hey, John. I was just looking through F&B and a few questions came to mind. First, you state that gifts are always on. What if you're playing a harrowed blessed? Would the gifts remain on when the manitou is in control? I wouldn't think so, but I couldn't find anything in the book to corroborate that sentiment. - Jay

A) Jay, you're absolutely correct. The bit in the main book and BotD that talks about Harrowed not being able to use miracles and favors when the manitou is in control applies equally to gifts. And interventions, just in case anyone was wondering. [John Goff, DL listserv, 6/17/98]

Blessed: Going Bust

See Miracles: Going Bust

Blessed: How they fit in society

Blessed: Hucksters

Q) Hucksters can be "good" guys right? "Good" guys can have the Faith aptitude without being Blessed, right? So hucksters can have the faith aptitude and use the Protection miracle. Problem is that sinnin' can reduce your faith (or cut off your miracles for a while at least) so does trucking with manitous (demons) as hucksters do constitute a sin? I could argue both ways but I wondered what the list (and any "official" hombres) reckoned? - John

A) It would all depend on the huckster's justification and explanation, IMO. Followers of the hermetic traditions in Europe believed a man had to have a pure spirit and soul to be able to perform magic. Alchemists also pushed the "divine mysteries of the Lord" aspect of their work. So I could definitely see an argument for it not being a sin in and of itself--especially since the huckster isn't "cutting a deal" with the manitou but actually forcing it to do his bidding. My personal take is that although others in the Weird West may perceive it as "evil" the determining factor is actually what the huckster does with his powers rather than simply exercising them. [John Goff, DL listserv, 4/28/99]

A) Hmm. Good question! I'd have to say a huckster with faith should only use his spells in serious situations. If he used phantom fingers to help him cheat at cards, to play a prank on someone, or some other spurious use, I'd say playing with the manitou was a minor sin. Otherwise, I think the Big Guy would understand. [Shane Hensley, DL listserv, 4/29/99]

Blessed: Limits on the class

Q) One question for the Faithful. What can I do to help keep him in line without breaking the rules or coming down hard on him? I want him to hang his own self. - Mark Metzner

A) Ask and ye shall receive. Check out page 101 and 102 of Fire & Brimstone. Even if he makes the sinnin' roll, he's still going to lose access to all his miracles for a while--anywhere from an hour to a week, depending on the severity of his transgression. If he still continues to abuse it, it's obvious he's unrepentant and scoffing at his own religion's tenets. Now, if I was in a really nasty mood, I'd consider that blasphemous--and that's a mortal sin in nearly every one of the faiths. Of course, I'd warn him ahead of time. [John Goff, DL listserv, 6/30/98]

Blessed: Mixing Religions

(Originally started out about mixing arcane backgrounds in general, but since the answer only refers to two religious ABs, the question is being placed here - editor)

C) Taoists can apparently be either Shamans or Blessed according to Fire and Brimstone, so why not a Taoist Blessed Shaman? For that matter, the Ghost Dance has Christian overtones as well. Also, I can't help but remember a comment I read about Haiti: 60% Catholic, 40% Protestant, 100% Voudouna . Since the voudoun religion is a syncretic one to begin with, a Blessed Voudouna doesn't seem out of the realm of possibility. - ?

R) My opinion is in all of those cases, the character is facing a problem by combining two faiths (or at least two very different aspects of one faith). One is predominant and the other isn't going to work as a "also-ran" religion. In many cases, even acknowledging another religion is likely to violate the basic precepts of the first. For the closely related belief systems, remember, they're still very different in the fine points of theology. Why can't you be a practicing Catholic/Baptist? Both believe the same general theology, right? Get down to the brass tacks of what the Catholic faith believes and what Baptists believe, however, and it becomes obvious that by assuming one of those titles, you obviate any chance of the other. Combining the beliefs (when possible) doesn't give you two religions, it gives you a single amalgamated one. As to Voodoo and Taoism, they either fall under the example above or, in most cases, differ extraordinarily. Voodoo (as a religion, which is what DL Voodooists practice) merely assimilated aspects of Catholicism to prevent dominate religions from persecuting it as "witchcraft." A non-believer might try to work Voodoo, but without faith, he's a charlatan working through the power of suggestion and a few herbs. Taoist shamans and Taoist blessed represent two different evolutions of the faith. The two aren't really that different (the pantheon still incorporates much of the folk magic side), but they represent two different approaches to the same religion, like the Catholic/Baptist example above. I could see a Taoist shaman alchemist. Early folk Taoism focused heavily on alchemy and finding the secret to immortality. Of course, I'd limit such a character to only alchemy until the player could firmly justify any other form of mad science. That's just my opinion. [John Goff, DL listserv, 6/24/99]

Blessed: Sins

Q) Adultery is a Mortal Sin for Christians (among others). IIRC, Adultery means one of the participants is married to someone else (and there is another word for extramarital sex). Does this mean that sexual relations outside marriage is OK for Christian Blessed (and Jewish, and Muslim, and Major for Buddhist) if neither participant is married to anyone? I ask as sexual relations at all is a minor Sin for Taoists. Does this mean even in marriage? - Baron Samedi

A) Bear in mind, the Sinnin' table doesn't list every possible transgression for a follower of a given religion. There are plenty of sins left off--there just isn't room to address each religion thoroughly in the book. I'd say fornication is at least a major sin to each of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Buddhist strictures aren't as severe on that, but Minor might be in line. Yes, relations (even in marriage) of any sort are Verbotten for Taoist blesseds. However, it's only a Minor, so they can probably get away with it every now and then. ;-) Taoist folk religion is an odd amalgam of philosophical teachings interpreted into a system of folk magic and then into a pantheology. Many of their precepts aren't "sins" as Western beliefs see them, but transgressions against them have the same practical effect. [John Goff, DL listserv, 2/21/99]

Q) What qualifies as "self defence" tho for Abominations? One could easily say them looking at you funny is threatening. how strict with this do you recommend I be? also, I assume Buddhists cannot even kill Abominations,correct? last, do Undead count as another person? does killing them againcount as Killing at all? Are Undead another person? - Baron Samedi

A) Nope, abominations and undead are _not_ part of the natural world. They're free game to anyone. [John Goff, DL listserv, 2/21/99]

Q) I am assuming "vanity of any sort" means that a Taoist-martial Artist (Blessed or not) really, really does not need to be taking flaws like Big Britches or My Kung Fu is Superior. Am I right in assuming both of these flaws represent "vanity of any sort?" - Baron Samedi

A) Yes, they do. However, if the player thinks they're in line for his character that's fine. In fact, non-blessed Taoists are free to take the Hindrances with no ill-effect, just like Christian gunslinger can take Bloodlust. [John Goff, DL listserv, 2/21/99]

Blessed: Taoism

Q) You brought up the whole Taoist thing (ed note - from another religious debate on the listserv) which I think is kind of a fish out of water in the Blessed category. Personally, I explained it to my players as such: the Taoist has Faith in the Tao, which is his *perception* of the energy known otherwise as the hunting grounds. His Faith gives him direct access to the hunting grounds (unlike other religions whose patrons "tap them into" that power). I don't know how accurate that is, but it works for me. I would *REALLY* like to know John Goff's position on this - TrooperTK

A) Well, it's a problem, I'll definitely grant that. The original precepts of Tao were purely philosophical in nature, however, as time progressed more and more folklore was mixed with purist teachings. Eventually, an entire pantheon arose in one section of the Taoist belief. I made the decision to allow philosophical Taoism to have access to Blessed miracles pretty much because it seemed inelegant to say "folklore Tao" can have miracles, but not the purists. Buddhism was a little easier for a number of reasons. That said, personally, I prefer to stick with "deity" religions; for the blessed miracles to work as explained in the game, a powerful supernatural being is pretty much a requirement. However, it's your game, yadda yadda yadda, ad infinitum, e pluribus unum, dei o, d-dei o, daylight come and I want to go home... [John Goff, DL listserv, 2/12/99]

Character Creation: Archtypes, Bandito and Desparado (Law Dogs)

Q) And, finally, Fannin'. I don't mind the new rules, but if it's no longer an aptitude, why do the Bandito and Desperado Archetypes have it? As a quick-fix I suggest changin' the Fannin' aptitude to Gunplay for the both of 'em. In the future, I would suggest that more than the average scrutiny should go into going over the Archetypes when proofreading, since this has been an ongoing problem with previous books. If the trend is to use these Archetypes for Convention games, then maybe extra care should be taken to make sure they follow all the rules. - DarrinBrig

A) Doh! See, the problem is, I worked on all the rule changes. Steve wrote up the historical stuff and the characters, so giving them fanning made sense until I (Shane) went and changed all the rules. Then I cleverly forgot to make sure his characters didn't use it. Entirely my bad. Look at it this way. If you're not going to use the new fannin' rules, you've got the old skill for the NPCs as well. If you are, then just ignore it. [Shane Hensley, DL listserv, 7/13/98]

Character Creation: Archetypes, Ghost Dancer (Ghost Dancers)

C) Also add the Ghost Dancer's template should have Faith 1. [Paul Beakley, 28/Apr/98, DL listserv]

Character Creation: Archtypes, Harrowed Head Hunter (Book of the Dead)

Q) The Harrowed Head Hunter archetype has 13 levels of harrowed powers, and 4 levels of COUP powers! How on earth did this archetype start out with all these powers, since as far as I can tell whoever put this archetype together wasn't even trying to follow the character creation rules. Did someone change the rules on how expensive harrowed powers were while the book was being written? And how do you start the game with Coup powers? - DarirnBrig

A) The Head Hunter is very messed up. Remember this was our first book written out-of-house, and Lester just wasn't as familiar with the game at that time as he could have been. Of course the real fault lies with us, the editors, for not looking over the archetypes more closely. [Shane Hensley, DL listserv, 6/25/98]

Character Creation: Archetype, Harrowed Muckraker

Q) The undead muckraker has the hindrance, unnatural feature. Where are the rules for this hindrance? - ?

A) It's one of those undead Hindrances we cut and then forgot to edit off the archetype (this book is plagued by those mistakes unfortunately (hey, we were young (er))). Just treat it as ugly as sin, though with obvious supernatural overtones (not appreciated by most anyone). [Shane Hensley, DL listserv, 2/12/99]

Character Creation: Archetype, Secret Service Agent (Law Dogs)

See: Rulebooks: Law Dogs Secret Service Archetype

Character Creation: Archetypes, Warrior (Ghost Dancers)

Q) Crawlin' through "Ghost Dancers" with a microscope again, and found this reference: on page 47, the Warrior Archetype under Favors, it says "The falcon's talon" Okay, so there's no "Falcon's Talon" in the Warrior Favors. I assume we're witnessing the evolution of a document here. But what Favor *should* be there?

A) Owl's Horned Fury probably (or whatever the Owl damage-enhancer favor is called; still don't have a book I can flip through). Sorry. [Paul Beakley, 22/Apr/98, DL listserv]

Character Creation: Blessed, additional miracles

Q) In Fire & Brimstone it says a Blessed can earn new miracles by meditating for a few hours and spending 5 bounty and making a faith roll. Can this be done at character creation? In other word, is there some way to start a character with more than 5 miracles (excluding Protection)? Spending 5 points at character creation seems overpriced, so ow about 3 or something? Is there any way to do it? (This is a John Goff question, I guess). - IronPen

A) The method listed in F&B is for blessed gaining points through experience after creation. So no, a starting character normally couldn't buy extra miracles in this fashion. However, there's a case for a VOTWW to purchase extra miracles in this fashion, but that's up to the Marshal. [John Goff, DL Listserv, 9/2/98]

Character Creation, Blessed, Cheap Cost of (Fire and Brimstone)

C) Blessed are cheap to make. It costs 4 to 8 creation points (Arcane BG plus Faith 1-4). Now compare this to a Huckster who has to buy all his hexes and spend a good 10 points or more to get a good variety and a good chance to successfully cast something, or Shamans who have to spend points on a Guardian Spirit (well, they don't have to, but they should) and then buy a whole bunch of rituals (another 10 points or so). - DarrinBrig

R) A blessed with 1 Faith (cost 4 points) has Protection plus 1 other gift or miracle at level 1, and while increasing the faith does doubly benefit the blessed, shamans also improve along somewhat the same lines. Hucksters can purchase a new hex for a single point--making them far more versatile. Shamans don't improve as quickly, however, they don't usually suffer as stringent ethical codes either (at least from a gaming standpoint). [John Goff, 20/May/1998, DL listserv]

C) The point I'm getting at is that most Blessed characters have a lot of points left over to spend on shootin' and fightin' skills. - DarrinBrig

R) True--but as I've pointed out (and has been beaten to death throughout multiple threads lately) the blessed is very restricted on how he can use those fightin' and shootin' skills. [John Goff, 20/May/1998, DL listserv]

Character Creation: Chi

Q) In the MA pamphlet it states that buying or increasing your chi power costs double the level you're going to, and you have to buy each level individually. My question is, does this apply to character creation? IE would it cost 30 points to start a new character with chi: 5? - Dr. Nukem

A) Nope, during character creation you just pay twice the level. So a ch'i: 5 would cost 10. [Zeke Sparkes, Direct email, 2/23/99]

A) That doubled cost applies to powers, not the actual ch'i Aptitude. [Hal Mangold, Direct email, 2/25/99]

Character Creation: Double Jokers

Q) were making up a character... Draws a black joker for one of the traits. Go to draw the suit for coordination: Draw a red joker. What happens? - ?

A) Draw again, muchacho. Or just give the poor guy a "4." (Or a 5 if you're feeling real generous--that's probably what I'd do--but I'd give him another strange background). [Shane Hensley, Archives, DL listserv]

Character Creation: Indians without Arcane Background using favors.

Q) Does anyone know the correct rules for Indian characters (non-shaman) and whether they can use favors and rituals, I know that Paul Beakly is on this list so could I also have an official answer. It states clearly on page 49 of GD that an Indian that is not a Shaman can only have a maximum of 1 point in the Guardian Spirit edge. This allows the character to access the first special ability of that particular Spirit but does it also allow the character to use favors, since appeasment points can be stored in the guardian spirit and generated again with the free Spirit Song ritual ? It then says on page 56 that a character must have at least 1 level of faith to learn favors with a minimum appeasment point cost of 1. So does this mean that an Indian character who is not a Shaman and has a 1 point Guardian Spirit can only use favors if they also have at least 1 point in Faith as well ? Confused ? I certainly am, but I feel the book is muddled on this point as the Ghost Dancer archetype on page 44 has no Arcane Background: Shaman edge, no levels in faith, yet has loads of rituals and favors ?!?!

R) Hm. The Ghost Dancer template is supposed to have Faith 1; probably my oversight, sorry. His 3 favors (2 for his highest ritual (pledge) + 1 for the 1 point guardian spirit) are all minimum 1 appeasement favors, so this fixes everything else. Simple solution. You have to have 1 Faith, and be an Indian (by birth or having gone native), to get favors w/o being a shaman. [Paul Beakley, 25/Apr/98, DL listserv]

Character Creation: Martial Arts Powers

Q) When a Martial Artist is buying his Chi powers as a part of character generation, does he have to pay double the cost of the power level like the book says the cost is, or is it just point-for-point like it is with hexes, miracles, and whatnot? Also, the points come from aptitude points and notEdge points, correct? [ed. note - There is no difference between attribute points and edge points, it's all one big pool, See Veteran of the Weird West] - ?

A) As written, you pay the double cost even during character creation. You are allowed to take up to 10 extra points in martial arts hindrances, though. These points can ONLY be used for buying MA powers. [Hal Mangold, DL listserv, 8/01/99]

Character Creation: Mysterious Pasts, Knacks

C) Knacks (39): As we mentioned in the Weird West Player's Guide, Knacks are now a mysterious past. If you have players who bought knacks as Edges, leave 'em alone. You can institute the change on any new characters brought into your game if you want. We also gave knacks Legend Chip abilities. [Shane Hensley, DL listserv, 5/28/99]

Character Creation: Points

Q) If you create a Blessed character with level 5 Faith, and design him so that you have 6 Aptitude Points left over when you're done, can you immediately use those 6 points to raise the Faith level to 6? Before you even play with the character? Or is that cheating? - John

A) That's cheatin', varmint. Those intitial character points aren't "Bounty Points." [Shane Hensley, DL listserv, 3/4/99]

Character Creation: Shootin': Automatics skill

(See Skills: Shootin' Automatics)

Character Creation: Secret Service Agents (Law Dogs)

Q) The Secret Service agents must follow six "general orders". Are these general orders in the book somewhere? I can't find 'em, but I haven't had time to go through the whole book. - DarrinBrig

A) They're listed, in highly abbreviated form, right there on page 14 in the same paragraph which mentions them -- being on call 24 hours a day, keeping accurate accounts, etc. I would have liked to reprint them verbatim, but (a) it would have taken up more than a page (probably at least 2 pages), and  (b) they weren't really all that interesting in a gaming sense. [Steve Long, DL listserv, 7/11/98]

Combat: Armor, layered

Q) Example: I have a PC with an Armored Vest (AV 2), under which he is wearing a boiled leather shirt (AV -2). Basically, can this be done and how does it work? I'm thinking: Armored vest reduces the damage by 2 die types, then the damage that gets through is reduced by 2 points (for the leather shirt). Thanks for the input. - Prince Nightchilde 

R) Sounds good to me! [Shane Hensley, DL listserv, 9/9/98]

Combat: Buffaloing

Q) It sais that a gun makes d4 damage and a rifle makes d6 damage + strength of course, but how many d4 in damage??? - ?

A) It's like a normal club or similar HTH weapon -- it's your STR plus the 1d4 or 1d6, as appropriate. [Steve Long, DL listserv, 10/20/98]

Combat: Called Shots

Q) When using the called shot rules, what modifiers count for aiming at Noggin and Gizzards to get extra damage? I ask because on the table of modifiers, there is a head and eye entry with two seperate modifiers. - mc

A) The penalty to hit the head (-6) gives you the 2 bonus damage dice for noggins. We don't actually have a called shot to the "gizzards," as that's not a specific location. Use the modifier to the heart (-8) when going for those. I realize that makes it slightly easier to get the head hit (-6) for more damage than the gizzards hit, but that's really just how it works. It's hard to figure out where the heart is and hit that general area in a firefight, but the head is bigger and very obvious. The tradeoff (at least sometimes) is that all the gizzards locations are covered by armor (especially in the upcoming Hell on Earth). Finally, modifiers for the "eyes" and so forth are really listed to help figure out special shots to truly unique monsters. Even if a character "hits" to the eyes, he still has to roll damage. If the damage doesn't kill the foe, then obviously it didn't actually penetrate the eye (or the foe would be dead). A hit just means the character put the shot on target as well as he could. It might have bounced off bone, a helmet, or otherwise depending on how you interpret the damage. Hope that helps. [Shane Hensley, DL listserv, 7/28/98] 

Q) When a player attempts a disarming shot, is the gun penalty (the penalty for the gun you're removing) on top of, or in place of, the -6 penalty for the called shot to the hand. - Smiling Bandit

A) It's in place of the hand modifier. You're not shooting the hand, after all just somethin' which happens to be held in it. ;) [Steve Long, HoE listserv, 1/4/99]

Combat: Chip system (Law Dogs, Tales o' Terror, Hell on Earth)

Q) You wrote: The new shortcut involves using chips to keep track of mook injuries on a stack per mook basis (each mook gets a stack of damage chips going up to six or seven wounds (don't have the book in front of me) where each color chip is a level. White = one, red = two, blue = three, etc). The old shortcut was a "hits" system. Each humanoid mook had 30 hits you'd keep track of by using the totals rolled on the dice by the posse member doing the damaging. I'm not sure the new way is easier, but I'd be interested in hearing what everyone else thinks. - ? 

A) It's absolutely easier. You don't have to keep track of ANYTHING. You just toss a chip down next to the mook's figure. - [Shane Hensley, HoE listserv, 8/21/98]

C) Well, remember that the book still includes quick hits for the majority of encounters, the other system isa for massive combat. (always a plus) - ?

R) No, hits are gone entirely. This system is for anytime you don't want to keep track of a villain's wound locations (which should be about 95% of the time.)- [Shane Hensley, HoE listserv, 8/21/98]

Combat: Dodging

Q) When you make a dodge check that becomes the new TN for the shooter. Is that the BASE TN (i.e., still add range modifiers, etc.) or is that the new TN (period)? - Patrick Phalen

A) That's the entire TN (period). Unless it's lower than the original TN. You always get the best of the two. [Shane Hensley, 1/June/1998, DL listserv]

Combat: Fanning

C) The Shootin' from the Hip penalty is dicussed in the third paragraph of the second column on the same page: "Single-action revolvers, rifles, and other weapons with a speed of 2 can fire faster (making the speed 1) by sacrificing a little aim. This is called 'shooting from the hip' and subtracts -2 from the firer's attack roll." - ?

C) Actually, the penalty for fanning *is* the "shootin' from the hip" modifier. Fannin' has a base TN of 7. I just checked the rules and it certainly isn't clear that that's the case. Sorry guys, my bad. It's probably one of those things I wrote, someone else edited, etc. [Rules Clarification, Shane Hensley, Archives, DL listserv]

Combat: Lack of realism criticisms, rebuttal

C) Okay, a personal note. A few of you have said that some elements of DL combat are not realistic. I disagree entirely. You can, of course, just say I'm defending our game and stop reading now. I understand and hold nothing against you. However, most of you know me and know that I wouldn't say anything I didn't believe. And when we have screwed up, we've admitted it and fixed it. Okay, so the three things I hear about are A) Quickness; B) Range, and C) Damage.

A) Quickness: Read classic accounts of shootouts. Some guys fired off several rounds a second, other fired one or two round the entire fight (which is almost always over in less than 30 seconds --about 6 rounds). Sound familiar? Sounds exactly like our system to me. (And remember we're talking about an actual shootout here, not a "battle" that might last for an hour or more while people hide, advance, flank, etc.) If you don't like our system for getting this result, that's your perogative, of course, and I can perfectly understand it. And if your fast gunslinger gets 4 cards but they're all deuces, then use one to dodge, put another up your sleeve so you go *first* next round, and use the other two to take out your opponents. B) Range. I'm a good shot. I'm not a "gun nut," but I was an Expert Marksman in the Army and got a Gold Shooter's badge (perfect scores on the pistol, rifle, and heavy machine gun) training with Germans. When my friends and I go shooting (I own a .45 and a .22 rifle), I win our unofficial contests more than half the time. I tell you this so you all know my "qualifications." I usually missed 1 out of 5 of the 300 meter targets in the army. Let's just say that's 325 yards. That has a TN of 5+16=21. I aim for 3 actions (there's no other stress factors and I know what's going on, and I'm in a prepared firing position, so let's say I get all 5 actions in a round), that gives me +6, for a final TN of 15. That's not so hard to roll. A perfect number might be 13 or 14, but then you have to divide your range increments by 23 or so, and that's too damn hard to do when you're running a game. (And if you really want to get technical, say the targets give me up to a +5 or so because A) I'm not in combat (no one's shooting at me); B) I know where the targets will be; and C) the M-16 has great sights.) 'nuff said on that. C) Damage: I stand by our damage 100%. Read accounts of the period, today, or at any point in the history of firearms. One guy takes 22 hits and lives (Bill Doolin), another takes a single hit and dies. It all depends on where he gets hit, and that's what the damage dice simulate. Hardly anyone in the Old West died from a single shot to the chest. Some took 3-4 slugs from large caliber weapons and kept on fighting, and lived a perfectly normally life afterward. We "stack" the odds so that a hit to a vital area (the gizzards or head) does more damage, but a decent chest shot and a good damage roll mean the same thing--something important got hit. Okay, so do I have any complaints? Yes. As a Marshal, I sometimes get tired of rolling so many dice (it NEVER bothers me as a player--in fact, the more the better). We decided to make it most fun for the players, and it's not that big a problem as the Marshal, so it doesn't really bother us. [Shane Hensley, DL listserv, 12/7/98] 

Combat: Length of rounds

C) Hi folks. I got a confession to make. There's a bug that's evidently been present in the DL rulebook since the 1st edition and yours truly didn't notice until Fire and Brimstone. On page 83 it says rounds are 5 seconds long. On page 84 it says actions are 5 seconds long. Which is correct? Rounds are 5 seconds long. That's why actions are so brief (one shot from a gun of any sort is very fast). Tests of wills and talking in general shouldn't really fit into an action, but we fudge to allow it or there would have to be some lame rule about how many words you can speak per action. DON'T do this! Just accept it and move on. Okay. The big problem lies in spells and miracles. Many of these have a duration of 1 minute. Correctly, this should be 12 combat rounds. If you were playing at 1 action = 5 seconds, how many actions would there be in a minute? One for every action played? One for every action segment whether anyone played a card or not? Obviously, very confusing. What I'm most surprised about is that no one *ever* mentioned this before. There's been plenty of discussion on things like "luck o' the Irish" and "two-fisted," both of which I think are very clear in the rules, but not one blessed has ever said, "Gee, I cast *smite* and it's gone before I get to use it." Weird. Anyway, we're fixing up a lot of little kinks in the combat system in "Law Dogs." This is one of them. I'm truly sorry such an obvious error exists, and it's completely my fault. It's one of those things where you play every week and you *know* how it works so you never look it up. [Correcting a just seen typo, Shane Hensley, 23/Mar/1998, DL listserv] 

Combat: Location, someone with a missing limb

Q) Anyway, how does this affect hit locations? Normally when we're hit in the arm, the Marshal rolls a 50=50 chance of either left arm or right arm. Since this guys left arm is gone from the shoulder down, do ALL arm wounds hit the right arm, or do I have a 50-50 chance of a wound turning into a miss? - ?

R) Hmm.... I wouldn't call it a miss, as the to hit roll indicated that you were hit somewhere. - Darious

A) Actually, I would call it a miss. I'd treat it as though the character simply had 100% cover on that hit location (See Chapter 5--around page 98, I think). [John Goff, HoE listserv, 1/31/99]

Q) How DOES One Armed Bandit affect the hit location results? We have been randomizing arm hits between right and left arms, but what do you do when the left arm is shown as a hit, but the left arm is already GONE? - bluewizard

A) No problem. Randomize as usual. If the "missing" limb is hit, count it as a miss (it's just like using cover). If you want to get picky, you might figure out how much of the arm is missing. Say a fellow just lost his hand. Maybe the shot only misses on a 1 in 6. If he lost his whole arm, you're back to a total miss. *Sometimes,* however, you may want to reroll a different wound area. I'd do that for massive damage. Say a person falls from a great height. Not having an arm won't help him a bit, so I'd reroll the location. The same goes for fire, explosives, or other damage that pretty much has to effect something. In general though, use the cover rules as a guidline. [Shane Hensley, DL listserv, 2/1/99]

Combat: Martial Arts

(See Martial Arts: Attacks)

Combat: Passive defense

Q) It makes perfect sense to me that a man with a drawn sabre (and some education on which end is the dangerous one) would get a "passive defense"when the thing is drawn and ready. But would he still get this defensive skill when he's, say, using a rifle? - Tom Huntington A) Against melee attacks, yes. [Shane Hensley, 3/Mar/1998, DL listserv]

Q) Okay, if he DOES get this bonus when he's shooting, does ducking and weaving interfere with reloading/ aiming/ readying a 2 action weapon/ whatever? - Tom Huntington

A) Yes. You can't do any of those things when in melee. [Shane Hensley, 3/Mar/1998, DL listserv]

Q) Ready to push the envelope? Let's say the guy has his pistol in one hand, and a drawn sword in the other. For laughs, let's say he's not two-fisted. Does he get the sabre defense? If so, does he suffer a -4 because it's his off hand? And another -2 because he's carrying two weapons? And how do you apply this -6 to the opponent who's actually rolling the die to hit him? He's now (wait for it) +6 to punch him BECAUSE he drew the sword? - Tom Huntington 

A) He does get the bonus. Ignore the off-hand penalty unless he actually makes a skill roll with it (an active defense.) [Shane Hensley, 3/Mar/1998, DL listserv]

S) Take the example of the Texas Ranger archetype. He has Fightin': Knife, but not Fightin': Brawlin'. Now, if he's a trained knife fighter, he knows how to dodge out of the way of incoming HTH attacks -- he doesn't parry with the knife. So, I'm suggesting that he should still be able to use his full Fightin': Knife skill for HTH defense, whether or not he has a knife in his hand.- Dan Davenport

R) Then play that way. No skin off my nose, and I half-agree with you anyway. The only problem is you don't want someone who's an expert fencer defending just as well bare-handed, right? So don't worry about it. Go with whatever your gut says and the way you envision combat. [Shane Hensley, 26/May/1998, DL listserv]

Combat: Size

C) So, basically, the smallest target possible, say, a bee, is size 1 and is only -2 to be hit rather than a full-sized person. Which isn't particularly congruent with the called-shot modifiers. - Tom Huntington

A) Um, no. Because it says in the book to keep reducing the modifier every time you reduce the size. A bee would be about -20 or so. And truthfully, I wouldn't even work a single bee this way. I'd figure out a swarm rule, say bullets and the like do no good, and talk about how you have to use flamethrowers or the like. [Shane Hensley, DL listserv, 8/20/98] 

Combat: Targeting

Q) What would be the penalty for shootin' the hemp necktie some fool got hisself in? - ?

A) I would venture to say -8, just like a whip (LAW DOGS, p. 57). [Steve Long, DL listserv, 7/12/98]

Q) Why is it easier to shoot a rifle or shotgun out of a person's hands than a pistol? I suggest a +2 bonus on the character's Strength roll if they're holding the weapon in two hands. It's easier to hit a rifle, but there's an advantage to holding a weapon with two hands. - ?

A) It's easier to *hit* the rifle, but the chances to knock it out of the hands is the same. I sort of left it that way because the Lone Ranger never seemed to have any extra trouble with rifles. ;) If you want to give a bonus when the gun's being held in two hands, that certainly seems reasonable to me. [Steve Long, DL listserv, 7/30/98]

Combat: Vamoosin'

C) Your vamoose value only lasts for the card on which you dodge. For example, a dodge that you made on a Jack will no longer be effective on a Ten. [Clarification, John Goff, 28/Jan/1998, DL listserv]

C) If you're facing a missile attack, you use dodge, and if you're avoiding a HTH attack, you use the appropriate fightin' for the weapon you're using. Of course, if you're not using a weapon, you'll use one of the unarmed fightin' concentrations. Now, you compare your Aptitude roll with the opponent's modified TN. You do not include modifiers for range, movement, etc. into your active defense Aptitude total, althought they do count against the original TN. Whichever is higher is what your opponent must roll against. That means if your opponent has a lot of negative modifiers to his roll from range, etc., it's not too likely your dodge roll will be higher.[Clarification, John Goff, 31/Jan/1998, DL listserv]

Q) How about it Shane? What's the deal with modifiers and Vamoosin'? - B.D. "intrigued" Flory

A) The base "to hit" roll is 5, plus or minus any modifiers. When you dodge, treat the new dodge as the base "to hit" roll, then add or subtract any modifiers as usual. That got it? [Shane Hensley, DL listserv, 7/14/99]

Q) So B.D is aiming (TN5) for Greg's head (-6) so he needs an 11. Let's say he rolls a 13. Greg's dodge number would be 7? - ?

A) It would still be 13. Had Greg rolled HIGHER than a 13 on his Dodge check, then THAT would have been the new target number for B.D. Greg wouldn't end up being easier to hit by dodging (unless he went bust, of course.) [Hal Mangold, DL listserv, 7/14/99]

Q) I think you misunderstand, Hal (or I mistype). Here's the question. I roll a 13 to hit, while aiming at the head. After modification for a called head shot, my roll is a 7. Does Greg need to roll a 13 to dodge (the original, unmodified to hit roll), or a 7 to dodge (the final, modified for the called shot, total). - ?

A) Ahh, you are correct, I did misunderstand. If your final total for your shootin' check was 7, then Greg would need to roll an 8 or more on his dodge to keep from eating lead. - [Hal Mangold, DL listserv, 7/15/99]

Combat: Weapon Speed, Changes in Revised Edition

C) Weapon Speed (118): The biggest change to combat is that we got rid of weapon speeds. We originally did this so that there was a difference between single- and double-action pistols. It's a very slight difference in the real world, and hard to model in a game. We started with the most realistic but it made single-actions, rifles, and shotguns slow and a pain to remember the "shootin' from the hip" modifier. So we ditched all that and did this instead: double-actions get to fire twice each action while single-actions fire once (but can fan). Rifles and shotguns can fire once per action. [Shane Hensley, DL listserv, 5/28/99]

Damage: Aces

C) Actually, my understanding of Deadlands damage is that aces get rerolled as well. - Tom Huntington

R) Absolutely correct. [Reply to a comment, Shane Hensley, 9/Mar/1998, DL listserv]

Damage: Axes, stone vs steel (Ghost Dancers)

Q) And why is a stone tomahawk more damaging than a steel one? - ?

A) Right. Steel heads actually didn't keep an edge very long, and the Indian tribes of the time didn't know much about metalworking or keeping edges on blades. Check out a stone-headed axe against a steel-headed axe side-by-side in a museum sometime; imagine getting pulped by a 20# stone at the end of a plunger handle, if you will. Metal axes were popular historically because they were pretty and easy to replace, not because they were particularly useful. There should probably be a bonus for thrown steel axes (or a penalty for thrown stone axes). [Paul Beakley, 02/May/98, DL listserv]

Damage: Brawling and gizzards/head shots.

Q) Unarmed combat attacks only casue damage equal to a Strength roll. What happens if you hit someone in the gizzards or the noggings? You normally get +1 or +2 dice damage. In the case of brawlin', do you get extra dice for the Strength roll, or are the bonus dice added to the result? For a martial artist (damage of d6+strength), there is no problem. Hits to the gizzards cause cause 2d6+Str and hits to the noggins cause 3d6+Str. Correct me if I'm wrong. - Urban Blom

A) If you're doing brawling damage, you don't get extra damage for the head or gizzard. [Shane Hensley, 9/June/98, DL listserv]

Damage: Buck and Ball

Q) What does buck and ball ammo do in damage? - ?

A) The amount listed under the gun chart for weapons which use it, e.g. the US Models 1822 and 1842. It's 4d8+4d6 in both cases; having B&B ammo doesn't alter that any. - [Steve Long, DL listserv, 11/Aug/98]

C) Actually, it should be 4d8+4d6 damage *only* with a buck & ball round. If you use a standard .69 caliber musket ball, it's just 4d8 (Though I'd make it at least 5d8. It IS a .69 round after all, but that's just my CS$0.02.). I'd also give a +2 to hit with a buck & ball round, as per the new shotgun rules in *Tales o' Terror:1877*. [Christopher McGlothlin, DL listserv, 12/Aug/98]

Damage: Explosion

Q) In the basic book on p104 it talks about wounds from things like explosions and falling. Calculating the dice to roll and how to figure wounds based on size is pretty straightforward. My confusion is how do you tell how many wounds to inflict? For example, if my cowpoke is caught in an explosion and suffers 24 points of damage, he's looking at 4 wounds - yes? But is that one critical (4), or two heavy (2 ea.), or a serious and a light, . . . etc. - ? 

A) Roll on the Hit Location table 4 times. If all 4 wounds went to the guts, for example, the poor cowpoke would have a serious wound to the guts. [Shane Hensley, Archives, DL listserv]

Damage: Hexes

See: Hexes: Damage from

Damage: Location

Q) If someone is hit in the upper guts, lower guts or gizzards, is that all considered the "Guts" location? - ?

A) All three Guts locations are the same area. They're divided to help figure out cover. [Shane Hensley, Archives, DL listserv]

Damage: Maimed and beyond maimed

Q) Do the wound levels continue after maimed or is maimed as good as it gets? For example, if I did 48 points of damage to a size 6 target, does it take 8 wounds or is five the most I can do? - Patrick Phalen

A) It takes 8 wounds--for purposes of damage prevention, chips, etc. But after damage is applied, regardless of the number, it can only be Maimed. [John Goff, 18/May/1998, DL listserv] (ed. note - this answer was backed up by Shane a day later, but I didn't save the response)

Damage: Recovery Checks

Q) I think you can make a recovery check on each of your action cards after that, but the various errata's make it hard to tell. - ceesrw

A) That is correct, and I'm NOT on crack today. The monkey's off my back, friends (big grin). [Shane Hensley, DL listserv, 2/4/99]

Damage: Strength and Fate Chips

(See Fate Chips: Traits, Strength)

Damage: Wind

Q) a) The character takes 1d6 wind three times (which means that wind is additive, like weapons damage) OR b) The character takes 3d6 wind once (which means that only the high die matters) I've been playing it as <A>, but I'd like other opinions/rulings. - Russel Mirrabelli

A) Option A is indeed correct, and you do reroll Aces! [Shane Hensley, 08/Apr/1998, DL listserv]

Dice: 1die in skill vs. 4d in attribute

Q) Say a player has Survival: Desert at a level of 1 but his default dice if he didn't have the skill at all was a 4d10 with the result being halved like usual. Can a player decide not to roll his skill of 1d10 and opt to instead roll the default? The player thought he had a better chance of getting a better result by halving and didn't want to roll only 1 die. - ? 

A) That's a toughie. Due to rerolls, he's right at the extreme end. Generally, when a character has 1 point of skill and 4 points of coordination, he is better off with the default roll. So yes, I'd let him. Tell him it's the one bug in the system Shane never could work out and let him do whatever's best for his character. In other words, help the guy out, blame me, and get on with dehydrating the poor sod.  [Shane Hensley, Archives, DL listserv]

C) (changes to the way default skill rolls are handled in Revised edition) Default Skill Rolls (26): Along with the change to Trait checks, we made default rolls diffferent so that players aren't looking at their 1d12 search and wondering why they wouldn't want to always roll their 4d12 Deftness instead, even with the old "unskilled" penalty of -8. Changing the way unskilled rolls works to a single die with a -4 penalty also changes the mindset of those who think it's better to be unskilled at something and suffer the modifier than to get less dice. (Statistically, it's true in some cases and not in others.) [Shane Hensley, DL listserv, 5/28/99] 

Dice: Damage above d20

Q) whoops, my bad there, let's try this again...does the damage go d10 to d20, from a d10 to d12 to d12+, or from a d10 to a d12 to a d20??? - ?

A) the damage steps work thusly: d10, to d12, to d12+2, to d12+4, to d12+6, etc...ad infinitum. [Hal Mangold, DL listserv, 11/01/98]

C) D'oh! Brand manager mixing up Trait and Damage dice! :) The proper progression should be d10, d12, d20, d20+2, d20+4. Sorry about that. Too much coffe. [Hal Mangold, immediately correcting himself, , DL listserv, 11/01/98]

Dice: Open ended (Black Lightnin' example) (Hucksters and Hexes)

Q) My huckster recently learned the hex Black Lightnin', and although I haven't used it yet I was wondering something. Regardless of the level of the hex, or what hand was drawn to cast it, when you are rolling to see how much of an electrical charge is stored, can you re-roll aces? My marshal and I decided that there was nothing stating that you couldn't, not to mention the fact that for the most part the game is an open ended system anyway. - Matthew J. Brown 

A) It's open-ended. And you're both correct in the guess that unless a roll says it's not open-ended, it is. Now that I've said that, someone will point out one that doesn't fit. [John Goff, DL listserv, 7/26/98]

Dice: Quickness/Initiative rolls

C) Now that you mention it, I do remember seeing the "every success and raise" line in the rules there. We have been treating initiative like every other roll....take the single highest die only. Are you really supposed to use ALL successes and raises here? - ?

R) You're doing it right. Every success and raise STILL only uses one die (the highest). Initiative IS treated like every other die roll. [Shane Hensley, Archives, DL listserv]

Q) I'm pretty sure I understand this, but wanted to make sure. In combat, I get 1 card as long as I don't go bust, 1 card for rolling a 5, and 1 card for each raise, right? Example: if I roll an 11, I would get 3 cards (automatic, success, > raise) - - Patrick Phalen

A) Yep. [John Goff, 27/May/1998, DL listserv]

Dice: Traits above d12

OQ Question: The "Body Tweak" (or whatever, I don't have the book) increases your physical die by one value depending on your hand right? So a d4 strength could become d8 etc.. etc... But what happens if it goes above d12? Does it go to d20? After that? - Old question from ?

A Add +2 for each step above d12. For example, d12 goes to d12+2, then d12+4, then d12+6. After that, the next step is d20, I believe... and then from there you go d20+2, and so on. - Darrinbrig

C Actually, Shane and I had a talk about this a while ago. Keep with the d12+x progression, i.e. d12+8, d12+10, etc. Changing to d20 after d12+6 actually drops the average roll. [Correction, John Goff, 23/Apr/1998, DL listserv] 

Dice: Traits, Changes in Revised Edition

C) Trait Checks (36): Coordinations have always bugged us, so we got rid of them. Sort of. They're now called "Trait Levels," which in itself  isn't a big change, but it changes the mindset of those who are frustrated that their Trait is often better than their skill, particularly when making the old-style default rolls (see the change to those below). We also draw attention from the controlling Trait by having you list your character's Aptitudes with the die type. It's subtle, but it makes the game much easier for new players to learn. [Shane Hensley, DL listserv, 5/28/99]

Edges: Critters

(See Monsters: Edges)

Edges: Converted

(See Indians: Loyalty)

Edges: Crossdraw

(See Rulebooks: Law Dogs, Edges)

Edges: Dinero vs. Belongings

Q) First, why is it that people who are described as being rich have belongin's rather than Dinero? (This is mostly because of John Behan) - ?

A) Wealth doesn't always consist of cash money, and so I felt Belongin's rather than Dinero was a good way to simulate someone who has a lot of illiquid assets. Sort of personal preference, I suppose. Feel free to change it if you think Dinero works better. [Steve Long, DL listserv, 8/1/98]

Edges: Gift o' Gab, Changes in Revised Edition

C) Gift o' Gab (62): Characters now get to pick up languages as if they had a skill of 1 after a few minutes of conversation. This cleared up some ambiguities on the old system. [Shane Hensley, DL listserv, 5/28/99]

Edges: Guardian Spirit

(See Guardian Spirits)

Edges: Luck of the Irish

Q) When it says you can re-roll any 1s by spending a red or blue fate chip, does that include instances in which the character goes bust? - ?

A) You can't use Luck o' the Irish on a busted roll because you can't spend chips on a busted roll. Luck o' the Irish actually says you can re-roll any 1s you get *from* spending red or blue fate chips. Check page 56 and it should be clear as rain. [Shane Hensley, archives, DL listserv]

Edges: Luck o the Irish, Changes in Revised Edition

C) Luck o' the Irish (63): This Edge now give the character an extra Fate Chip per session. Much simpler. [Shane Hensley, DL listserv, 5/28/99]

Edges: Knacks, Changes in Revised Edition

C) Knacks (Quick & the Dead): These are no longer Edges. Your character can get them only by gaining a mysterious past (drawing a Joker during character creation). [Shane Hensley, DL listserv, 5/28/99]

Edges: Old Hand

Q) The Old Hand advantage allows a Huckster to draw one card at a time and stop as soon as they've got the hand they want - damn useful for avoiding backlash. Let's assume, however, that they draw a Black Joker with their second card. Can they immediately stop drawing so that if they get the Hex affects self or wrong target result it will cause no problems?? - pandion

A) Yes, they can--but that won't totally save the huckster from getting stung. All the "hex affects huckster/friend" effects specify the hex will have at least the minimum success. Stopping when he hits the black joker will possibly reduce the effect, but something will still happen. And, since only two effects send the hex into an unwanted target, while ten others have a fair chance the hex will still succeed in spite of backlash, it might be a good idea to go ahead and risk. Unless you're really unlucky -- or your Marshal is sadistic... [John Goff, DL listserv, 2/7/99]

Edges: Thick Skinned and Harrowed

(See Harrowed: Thick Skinned Edge)

Edges: Tribal freebies (Ghost Dancers)

Q) Do the tribal edges and hindrances count towards your maximum? I'm assuming that they don't, but I would like to be sure. - Darious

A) They don't. [Paul Beakley, 14/Apr/98, DL listserv]

Edges: Two Fisted

C) Well... Two-fisted means if you want to draw or fire both guns on the same card, there'd be a -2 penalty. I'm thinking that this would negate that penalty, but I'm not reading it real close. VCVet I'm not too sure that this is right--I think that this two-fisted thread ended weeks ago w/Shane saying that there isn't a penalty to the second weapon hand w/Two-fisted. Jay Kyle

R) Not quite. There's a -2 penalty for firing the second weapon. "Two fisted" just means you can ignore the additional -4 offhand penalty. [Reply to a comment, Shane Hensley, 23/Mar/1998, DL listserv]

Edges: Veteran of the Weird West

Q) Does VotWW let you go past this 10 point limit (on hinderences)? DarrinBrig.

A) No, though you can always take additional Hindrances "for free." [Shane Hensley, 09/Mar/1998, DL listserv]

Q) Does VotWW let you buy Edges WITHOUT buying Hindrances? DarrinBrig.

A) Sure.[Shane Hensley, 09/Mar/1998, DL listserv]

C) Okay, I have no idea what I said months ago, but that doesn't really sound like what I'd say, since this is how we play: B) We don't care how many points worth of Edges you buy with your points. It's one big pool to us. You wanna take 30 points of Edges, feel free. It's all balanced out, you skilless wonder. [Shane Hensley, 23/June/1998, comment to a lost email, DL listserv]

Q) Shane, it'd sure be nice to get an official clairification on VotWW. Are the points 'character points', or Bounty Points? - mcgirt

A) They're plain old character points. I guess I don't really understand this whole conversation. When we play, the folks who take VotWW inevitably get screwed. And if they don't, so what? Any character can die. If you think characters ought to start with a few more points, leave the Edge alone and let players take the risk if they want. If you think it makes characters too powerful (I don't), then don't use it. [Shane Hensley, DL listserv, 8/03/98]

Edges: Veteran of the Weird West, Forsaken result

Q) Here's a question fer ya... Does the VOTWW pull Forsaken apply to Chi powers? - Mike

A) Yes, it does. [Hal Mangold, DL listserv, 11/01/98]

Q) Forsaken (from the VotWW table) says that beneficial miracles and favors don't work, but hexes do. But what about beneficial voodoo spells, like Conjure Doctor? They're kinda a mix of miracle and hex..... - ?

A) If you are Forsaken, you are FORSAKEN. Voodoo won't work either. [Hal Mangold, DL Listserv, 4/2799]

Edges: Veteran of the Weird West and Harrowed

See: Harrowed: Veteran of the Weird West

Experience: Traits

Q) To raise a trait it cost 3 times the next dice type in bounty points, so how much would it cost to go from a D12 to a D12+2? My assumption is that it would be 6 points (3 times the (+2)) as the base dice type does not change, and the +2 is only added to the final roll and not to each dice as you only take the highest. Is this correct? - ?

A) Actually, you can't raise a Trait above a d12. The "plusses" are only reserved for "supernatural" enhancements. Your players can always raise their Coordination, however. [Shane Hensley, Archives, DL listserv]

Experience: Concentrations (Tales O' Terror)

Q) What happens after you "buy up" a concentration? Are they considered linked from that point on? If you later take your shootin': pistol to 8, can you spend another 3 Bounty to raise your shootin': shotgun to 8? - ?

A) You don't need to. All concentrations for that Trait use the new level. [Shane Hensley, DL listserv, 8/21/98]

Experience: Coordination (Tales O' Terror)

Q) What about Coordinations of Traits? Do they cost double after 5, as well? Won't this make people far more likely to save up and raise die types, since they'll get a lot more benefit for the amount spent? - ?

A) I didn't say they cost more, so don't read more into it than there is. [Shane Hensley, DL listserv, 8/21/98]

Fate Chips: Awarding

Q) Do I as the marshal take chips out of the Pot? to give these awards as play happens? If the above is yes, won't the odds go up quickly that the three chips draw at start next time will be blue since most role-play chips will probably be white? ( This would be especially true with a large posse of say 5-7 players) I don't necessarily think this is a bad thing I just want to make sure I understand it because it also raises the chances that the bad guys get blue & red chips. - ?

A) This is correct. Award chips from the Fate Pot. [Shane Hensley, Archives, DL listserv]

C) (Changes in Revised Edition) Fate Chips (24-25): We made sure you knew Fate Chips for solving the adventure are rewarded during the adventure, not at the end of each session. [Shane Hensley, DL listserv, 5/28/99]

Fate Chips: Bounty

Q) Earlier someone posted a question about chips as bounty. Basically I was wondering if the chip awards are given to all the players, or select players who acomplish the tasks. I ask this because if I adopt this method and the awards are handed out selectively for goal accomplishment I fear the players may get competitive. Now, as I understood it from before, bounty points were totaled and divided up by the posse. Maybe I was wrong though. Just curious, thanks. Chris Aniballi 

A) It depends. Chips are awarded to everyone who takes part in that particular incident. If 2 guys find a clue, give them both a chip. If the whole posse defeats a bad guy, they all get the listed chip. [Shane Hensley, DL listserv, 8/20/98]

Fate Chips: Fear level bonus, Changes in Revised Edition

C) Fear Effects (19): We've made the bad guys a little more powerful and greatly reduced the job of the Marshal in tracking fear effects. From now on, the Marshal simply draws chips at the beginning of each fight in areas of high fear (Fear Levels 4-6). 1 Chip at Fear Level 4, 2 at 5, and 3 at 6. [Shane Hensley, DL listserv, 5/28/99]

Fate Chips: Legend

Q) I have always thought that since Legend Chips were a reward for a special one-time accomplishment that they should be used and discarded from the fate pot. My Marshall does this. I do this when I Marshall. And some others I know do this as well. Heck we have a hard time earning Legend Chips. Sometimes we end up earning "Black" chips instead. :) 

A) No, Legend Chips aren't supposed to be removed from the pot. I'll forward this on to Matt Tice however so he can make sure the article cleans up is mistake (ed. note: the Black Chip article was a web submission and not "official") At any rate, if you have more than 5 Legend Chips in the pot, I'd suggest removing them once used. I'll think about making a more official ruling later on. [Shane Hensley, 28/Mar/1998, DL listserv]

Q) (After a story of a player trying to save another player during a heroic fight. ed note.) (Good story too. ed. comment) Is the Legend Chip limited by the 2 for 1 rule if you want to assist a posse member in trouble? The way we saw it was that the Posse have earned this chip and, therefore, it should be used by any member of the posse if a posse member has pulled it for use. IS this fair, or is the official ruling that you must have two Legend Chips to save your friends bacon? - Fort51 

A) Yeah, I'd definitely give it to him. Give the poor schmuck a break. (And it sounds like a really cool use of the Diablos! My Stetson is off to you, Marshal!) [Shane Hensley, 3/June/1998, DL listserv]

C) (Changes in Revised Edition) Legend chips can be used to reroll anything, including table results like backlash. They're also discarded once used! Use 'em wisely! We also made it clear that the Marshal isn't supposed to use Legend Chips (put 'em back and draw another).[Shane Hensley, DL listserv, 5/28/99]

Fate Chips: Red

Q) Anyone else giving/getting fate chips for when Red chips are used to negate wounds?- Darious

A) Always; Even if they trade them in for bounty points, I take a draw. [John Goff, 19/Feb/98, DL listserv]

Q) The new clarification on Red fate chips - (aka - the Marshal only draws when the reds are spent on skill rolls), are those also in play for DL? - darious

A) *We* consider both changes official, (ed note: See Grit: New Cap) but it's YOUR game. Use them as you wish--especially the Grit business. I wouldn't change Grit if it's not a problem in your game. If it is, cap it at 10, or 5 if no one's gotten that high yet. [Shane Hensley, HoE listserv, 9/23/98]

Fate Chips: Traits, Strength and damage

(original messages lost in the shuffle)

C) What can I say? I was wrong. Twice. See, what I said yesterday *should* be right in my opinion. What I wrote in the Quick and the Dead is wrong (and it's possible it was "edited" by someone else and added because they thought that's how it should work). Here's why I think the change should be made. Fate chips represent the extra effort a hero can put into his actions. He can't redirect a bullet or make it hit any harder (so you can't spend chips on that kind of damage). He *could*, however, put extra effort into how hard he hits, chops, or maims someone. So I'm going to make if official. Strength is a Trait, Fate Chips can be used on a Trait check, so Fate chips can be used on the Strength part of a damage roll. Of course, you'll have to decide if you want to make this change. It *might* make characters who specialize in hand-to-hand a bit powerful. That's your call (and please don't engage me in a long discussion on it! I'm way behind my deadline on super-secret-Shane-project #113). [Shane Hensley, DL listserv, 2/2/99] 

C) (Changes in Revised Edition) Fate Chips (145): Chips can be spent on the Strength portion ofhand-to-hand damage rolls. [Shane Hensley, DL listserv, 5/28/99] 

Fate Chips: White 

Q) A player rolled an ace on a trait test (Shootin') I think, and rolled again. Unfortunately his roll wasn't good enough and so he used a White fate chip, but he wanted to roll just the last dice again keeping the ace result. So the question here really is do you have to start the roll from the beginning when using a white fate chip, or do you just re-roll the last dice thrown keeping any previous aces? I didn't find it terribly clear in the rules, but I made him start from the beginning ignoring all previous dice. 

A) I wondered when this one would come up. It isn't terribly clear--my fault and I apologize. The correct answer, however, is that a white chip is used to re-roll the skill check. He couldn't use it on the second or later die rolls following an Ace. He'd have to start from scratch. A red or blue chip, however, could add to his Ace. [Shane Hensley, Archives, DL listserv]

Fate Chips: Using a higher chip for a lower effect.

(Ed note - see Ghost Dancers: Rulebook, errata for a precedent)

Favors: Appeasement point costs

Q) Some favors have fixed costs, and some have open-ended costs that allow you to spend more APs than the minimum required. Wilderness Walk, for example, has a cost of 2 APs. What happens if you want to spend more? Are the extra APs generated from, say, a REALLY good Maim roll just wasted? For example... for every 2 APs spent after the first two, the shaman can add another +2 to his sneak rolls. Or could you give the favor to more people, say, 1 person for every 2 APs spent? Example... the shaman Smoke Eagle is leading a war party, and wants to give everyone Wildnerness Walk. He's got a Bear Guardian Spirit, and gets 2 APs via the Pledge ritual, which are doubled to 4. Could he give two people Wilderness Walk, or are those 2 extra APs wasted? - ?RLB

A) If the favor isn't open ended, then the appeasement goes away. I recommend you perform the ritual to put the points into your guardian spirit, and from there spend exactly what you need for the non-open-ended favors. A little math trick hidden inside the guardian spirit rules. [Paul Beakley, 23/Apr/98, DL listserv]

Q) There are other favors with fixed costs, like Luck for example. Lets say a shaman generates 8 APs for a Luck favor, which costs 4. Can he spend the other 4 APs for another Spirit roll, or maybe to get a bonus on his first spirit roll? Maybe for every AP spent after the minimum, +1 to the spirit roll? - RLB

A) See above. Each specific instance of appeasement point creation via a ritual must be spent on a specific favor, unless you're paying for it through your guardian spirit. [Paul Beakley, 23/Apr/98, DL listserv]

Q) When using a special Guardian Spirit gift that is associated with your Guardian Spirit is its effective appeasment point level equal to double the Guardian Spirits level?

A) Right. It's just a math game to figure how strong the freebie is. You're not actually requesting the favor; the spirit itself is creating the effect. [Paul Beakley, 02/May/98, DL listserv]

Q) If I have an indian with an associated medicine way, all appeasement spent towards favors of that way are doubled. -? 

A) Yup. [Paul Beakley, 22/May/1998, DL listserv]

Q) If I have a blessed item with an associated medicine way, all appeasement spent towards favors of that way are doubled, unless I already had association, in which case they are tripled. - ? 

A) Yup. [Paul  Beakley, 22/May/1998, DL listserv]

Q) If I have a blessed item with an associated favor, each time I ask for that favor, I get one appeasement toward it for free. If I have a single-association, then I get the one appeasement free and the total appeasement garnered is doubled. If I have a double-association, it is tripled. Is this all correct? - ?

A) Yup. [Paul Beakley, 22/May/1998, DL listserv]

Q) And the doubling and tripling counts for _all_ appeasement towards those medicine ways including permanent appeasement from blessed items and stored appeasement from guardian spirits? - ?