OOC discussion and questions.

[Rex]

Looks like my savage worlds book is the original version (I have the actual book). So Wina took guts at d6. Since we get d4 free and I spent 2 skill points should I change it to d8?

[Stirling]

Rex. After thinking about this (I was going to just add in the house rules post), I think I would rather have everyone be at this stage on a d4 to represent their minimal exposure to the 'weird' and 'diabolical' natures of the West. So your characters have for sure seen some of the natures of war, (dead bodies, people being shot) or accidents happening within the context of your background (a drowning, explosion, watched a rite of exorcism ) but not yet been physically exposed to the undead walking, shape changing critters, etc that supposedly exist in the 'wild blue yonder'.

So take the skill at d4 and invest the points in another skill.

My main reasoning after studying various DL and SW writings us that pitting Fear against a simple Spirits roll is harder on the character long term. Sure you can upgrade spirits but mostly that is via rank progression (every 20 xp points) rather than points progression upon skills that could be done every 4 xp points.

[Stirling]

I am also checking out various online apps that deal a random pack of cards, jokers included so as to address game issues as initiative, combat and casting spells. I have found one which deals all 54 cards but functions on a 'cut and paste' results rather than being able to link results using a macro roller as we have with dice. I don't want to just deal physical cards off screen and allocate them so trying to find some transparency.

I think we should start with the first deal being alphabetical in the group and then moving one place per deal, then deals to GM wild cards finally common npc's/creatures.

I sm still getting to grips with the system, don't be afraid to point out my errata. Thanks.

[Stirling]

We will be welcoming shortly Gremlin to join the campaign. With his inclusion I am putting further interest on 'waitlist' status.

[Marullus]

Online cards seems unnecessarily cumbersome... I am fine if you use a real deck as GM and tell them us results?

[Marullus]

Rourke

Yelps as the boy manifests and bites into his hand. "Ungrateful couth, why that's the last time I stick up for ... wtf! Yikes!" shaking it with consternation and then looking on in horror as the wolf-boy changes nature.

Rourke: Guts test vs fear 4 [1d4-1] = 1-1 = 0 Wild Card [1d6-1] = 6-1 = 5

Spends a benny/fate chip to re-roll negative result of Guts Skill critical failure and avoid causing a roll on the SW Fear table!

Rules question... I don't understand what just happened.

I thought a critical failure was only on a snake eyes (both 1s)?

His wildcard was an Ace - shouldn't he have ignored the 1 and exploded the 6?

[Stirling]

The Savage World rules on page 98-99 write that a natural 1 on the Spirits roll vs a Fear test (we are using RAW and a Guts roll for Deadlands) regardless of wild card dice results, cause a roll on the Fright Table: with results from adrenalin rush and +2 action bonus to remaining shaken, developing a phobia or dying of a heart attack.

There is a recommended 'house rule' that prohibited use of benefits/fate chips to negate negative effects if Snake Eyes are rolled but as only one dice critically failed, a use of a Fate chip was appropriate in this case.

For Pastor Flanagan. Very nicely narrated. The casting of Barrier is classified as a 'Seasoned rank' power and subject to a -4 modifier. (-2 each rank, Novice, Seasoned, Veteran, etc), I will still Ace the dice but your combined total is four less.

I narrated that the 'wildchild' jumped through the carriage but you can hem him in with barriers right outside.

[Stirling]

On the card subject I found (eventually! ) a forum I could draw a deck, red and black jokers included. I have a copy of the first draw in my private forum so will just reveal you the cards as and when drawn. After a joker is drawn, the pack gets reshuffled anew. Then I will post the 'full drawn list' for transparency.

I will amend the initiative house rule post to align with being able to draw an online deck of cards

[Gremlin]

We will be welcoming shortly Gremlin to join the campaign. With his inclusion I am putting further interest on 'waitlist' status.

Thank you! I will hopefully have at least the Work In Progress version of my character up in the Chracter Sheets thread tonight. She will be a martial artist character, which should give her a different skillset from the other characters.

[Marullus]

For Pastor Flanagan. Very nicely narrated. The casting of Barrier is classified as a 'Seasoned rank' power and subject to a -4 modifier. (-2 each rank, Novice, Seasoned, Veteran, etc), I will still Ace the dice but your combined total is four less.

I have the Conviction perk which gives me a +2 and negates a portion of that modifier, so it is still a total of 12 and achieves the 2 Raises. (Sorry, I did mean to apply the remaining -2 to his roll.)

Also, your Initiative draw indicates I go before the Wildchild... why can't I keep it in the train?

[Stirling]

Okay great. I didn't check your edges. Three barriers are fine.

The initiative isn't is order of who goes first but who gers drawn the first card. The cards, highest to lowest, Ace highest, determine when you take actions during rounds. Jokers allow folk to take actions outside of their allocated turn. Also in the card deck, .equal face value cards then go in reverse alphabetical order of suits, so King of Spades acts before King of Clubs.

As far the the 'wolfchild' actions. I considered his manifesting as a result of the wreaths influence and getting 'the drop' or surprise on you and thus he takes an action to escape the train by jumping through the window. I asked you all to take actions next before I found a suitable mechanic for drawing cards. So remaining unshaken, Pastor Flanagan can take his action to restrain the boy but the impact is outside the train but still within range of effect.

[Rex]

I am OK with that, I will adjust my sheet.

A reminder that she has the Quick Edge so if Wina drew a 5 or less in the card draw she draws a second card and keeps the higher result.

[Isungr]

By the way, it actually is LaGrone and they built a chapel in antebellum Texas that still exists to to this day. My great, great grandfather, if I remember the generations right. I'm related to 85-90% of the people buried in the public cemetery and everybody in the private cemetery across the highway....which is unusual because most people of LaGrone descent aren't related to two of the people in the private one...they're on my mother's side, the Gregg family. And not related by marriage or anything at the time. It'd be another 80 years before the bloodlines were united.Have never found out why......

https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/597 ... l-cemetery

Sorry for the digression, but a lot of Jack's background is real, although there was no Jack...well, that the family will admit to.

[Marullus]

That's cool. Thanks for sharing!

My roots are Colonial Pennsylvanian and English Aristocracy. We had mostly coal miners and train engineers. The only Western story I have is that my great, great uncle was a trail cook for the railroad. Set out west with them and when he got to California, stayed there. He came back to visit once when my dad was a boy and he gave my dad his cook's knife - old iron refitted with a worn-out antler handle. My dad grew up to 23 years as a cook for the US Army and still keeps the knife with him.

[Isungr]

That's cool. Thanks for sharing!

he gave my dad his cook's knife - old iron refitted with a worn-out antler handle. My dad grew up to 23 years as a cook for the US Army and still keeps the knife with him.

That's cool!

[Rex]

Both stories are very cool. I have no connection to the west. My maternal great grand parents came to the US from Scotland after the civil war and settled as farmers in the east (Upstate NY and VT) and my paternal grandparents came from Lebanon and Italy in the early 1900s and settled in VT.

[Stirling]

I was born in Scotland though not near Stirling Castle. Apparently my surname Blackshield comes from the old German 'Schwarzchild' which means 'of the black sign' or 'black shield', in particular relating to the Teutonic Order of Brothers of the German house of St Mary in Jerusalem'.

The black sign or shield was a typical crusader type but a black cross over white background as opposed to the traditional red cross (which my very well have come originally from Rothschild 'of the red sign'). The early German immigrants from Saxony settled in the lower Highlands of Scotland and their language formed 'Lowland Scot'. A lot of these came from Lutheran or Reformed Church backgrounds after the Reformation (or in earlier attempts to remain independent of Papal authority), and soon assimilated into the Church of Scotland as opposed to the gaelic Scot speaking of the Highlands who remained Catholic due to their Irish (Hibernian) heritage.

Some Blackshields emigrated to New Zealand for sheep farming. There were also a couple of distant Blackshields in the Canadian 'Mounties'.

[Rex]

My Scottish ancestors were sheep farmers and my Mom grew up on a sheep farm in great depression Vermont. They were Presbyterian but settled in an area predominately Catholic and all the females over the last 2 generations have converted to Catholicism so most of my relatives on both sides are Catholic, either the Roman or Aramaic Rites.

[Stirling]

I will wait for ybn to post then update the scene.

[ybn1197]

Very cool histories. My family is 100% German on my mother's side. They came here after the Civil War and became farmers in NJ. My father's paternal side is also German and were farmers. My father's maternal side is Irish. Those families came to NJ just before the turn of the century.