Exploring the Savage World of Keltica

Game Master ZenFox42

Thanks. All advice is very helpful.

Regarding Arabella's 'extra' skill, I think I added investigation at 1st advancement and so when you offered the one-time freebie skill at 2nd advancement, she took stealth.

I added a spoiler-hidden advancement summary to her profile.

I think I would like to re-distribute the skill Knowledge (Science) at d8 to be Knowledge (Physics) at d6 and Knowledge (Chemistry) at d4.

I'm currently reading about The System of the World by Neal Stephenson (Author of Snow Crash), which is the third book of a trilogy of historical fiction, mixing real historical figures with fictional characters set in the years 1650 to 1715, mostly in Europe. It seems to me the science level of Keltica would be comparable. In the book, they are just developing the steam engine, still a crude and bulky device. Electricity is still a novelty, with people mostly figuring out ways to accumulate charge but no batteries yet. Chemistry is still partly based in alchemy, but people are figuring out about elements like phosphorus and using it in warfare and sabotage. Physics is just getting started, but already rudimentary knowledge of work and energy is beginning to illuminate how to develop useful machines and rudimentary clocks.

In short, I would think having skills in physics and chemistry would come in very handy for a character in this world and it fits my concept of what Arabella would already know. So I'm comfortable with that and it means that if I advance the Knowledge (Chemistry) to d6 and Notice to d8 this advancement, I can qualify for either Gadgeteer or MacGyver next advancement. With these two edges, Arabella would have lots of options, so long as she has basic parts.

Not saying I'm wedded to this for the next three advancements. I will probably add a power in there and maybe a power point advance, so it may be 5 advances before she gets to being a master creator of useful devices, but it's something to shoot for, assuming the GM is willing to allow it and assuming the locations of adventures will support it. If not, let me know now and I'll rethink the options, probably focusing on more powers and more power points.

Those changes are fine. Gadgeteer or MacGyver will come in handy in the future...

In that case, Arabella will advance with increases in two skills (both currently at dice less than their governing attribute:
Knowledge (Chemistry): d4 to d6
Perception: d6 to d8.

Lying in the cart in a growing pool of her own blood, Gerta pushes a button on her pistol with her last gasp of breath, which sounds more like a laugh than a death-rattle. Everyone hears a high-pitched whine that rapidly gets higher and louder.

So was that more a phaser on overload (how apropos considering K'Don's weaponry), or the self-destruct scene from Predator? :o)

Either way, very cool "last laugh" effort by Gerta, and I regret missing both that and the end of the fight (not that I could have helped with either -- Connor doesn't even have enough juice left to pull off a heal).

Guys, I'm really sorry about "vanishing" for so long. I was "good to go" and then we had an issue at work that required the attention of the team I'm on, and since my boss (the one remaining guy to really know the system) retired last month, it was... "interesting."

Bottom line, my return to the important stuff (i.e. gaming) was delayed (boy was it ever) by an additional two weeks. I'm in the clear now and working full-tilt to get caught up on everything. Unfortunately that includes a lot more than just PbP, but I'm slowly syncing back up with all my scenarios.

That's presuming, of course, that you lot still want to put up with me. :o/

Welcome back!

I was thinking "phasor on overload" as I typed it.

Regarding the Shaken change
Lots of players used to use Shaken to prevent opponents from taking attacks for one or more rounds, but that won't work so well anymore.

What I've been reading on the forums is that players need to tighten up their in-battle co-ordination, allowing the non-fighters to try and get opponents Shaken using Tricks, Taunts, and Intimidation, or Powers like Confusion, so that the fighter-types can then step in and have a better chance of inflicting a Wound even if their attack only results in a Shaken.

That may mean that the fighter-types might need to go on Hold if they get initiative early in the round, and then act after their non-fighting comrades have done their thing.

But the good news is, since *you'll* be recovering from Shaken more often, you won't have to spend Bennies on that, you can spend them instead on re-rolling attacks and such.

Not saying any of this necessarily applies to this group, just passing on what I've been reading about this new change.

That change seems to change the whole complexion of combat. Since I haven't been playing that long, I don't think it will affect me very much. But, that changes the whole balance of the game doesn't it? Just curious, why do you fell this change is necessary?

The SW game designers feel it is an overwhelmingly good thing because PC's spend less Bennies on recovering from Shaken, so they can spend them instead on being awesome (re-rolling failed attacks or saves, Soaking damage, etc.).

When the game designers first thought of it, they really expected to hate it, but instead loved it! And they and other groups play-tested it for a year before making the announcement, so it's not just a passing whim.

And, they never *intended* for Shaken to be a delaying tactic against the bad guys, it just ended up being used that way. So now Shaken is being used the way they really wanted it to be used.

Let me know the skills that will be required to fly the hover craft. In particular:

Will an Arcane Science roll be needed every time we start it, or is it the kind of thing anyone can activate once the controls are understood?

What kind of roll will be needed to fly it effectively? If it will require a pilot skill, I'll probably add that instead of one of the increases mentioned above. No point in trying to use this as a transport if we're going to crash it the first time we have to make a roll.

Can we get a general description of the craft? I'm imagining little more than a large platform with some controls somewhere. If it has other features, such as sides, seats, cargo holds, etc. let us know.

If the parts are available and there is time, Arabella can try to add some creature comforts and safety features. What kind of rolls would be needed for that kind of work? Just a repair roll or would there need to be some kind of science or engineering skill to design it?

Now that you've started and stopped it, no more rolls for that.

Probably according to Da Rules, you'd need a Pilot skill just to use it, but wouldn't make any Pilot rolls unless you were doing something extreme like being chased or doing loop-the-loops.

But since it's a fairly simple mechanism, and mainly built only for hovering and level flight, let's say you need a Smarts roll to use it. A penalty will be applied which will get smaller, and eventually over time you won't need to make Smarts rolls at all unless you do something extreme.

(Basically I don't want to force you to take a Pilot skill, but I don't want to give just you a "free" new skill, either, so I'm using Smarts.)

There are rails around the edge of the platform (I forget if I said before, and it'd be tough to look up, so let's say it's about 10'x20'), and two seats, one at the controls and one next to that. The rest of the area was usually used for cargo (Arabella saw a food delivery arrive once).

No rolls needed to add more seats, just time. Your helpers can cut and shape the wood, and you can find stuff in the lab to bolt them down with. Probably a week or so of concentrated effort for 4 more seats.

ALL (but Arabella) - don't forget, you've got an advancement! Please let me know what you're taking...

ALL - just a reminder, even tho Arabella's "stun" gun is made by Weird Science, it *is* a "gun", and anyone with a Shooting skill can use it.

Boosting Agility to d10. So next time, I can boost Fighting AND Throwing to d10 (both are d8 now).

I've put Alex's Advancements at the bottom of his sheet.

ALL - what do you think of "cantrips"?

Any Arcane Background (except Weird Science and Superhero) would be able to do the following as a "free spell" (comes with AB) :

Cantrip : create a minor effect for 1 PP
Must roll to succeed, but no backlash ever
Max range = Smarts
Max duration is 1 round, cannot be maintained

Examples : create non-specific noise, create odor, detect magnetic north, slight breeze, pinch, tiny spark of light (firefly-bright), etc.

Can't do : change the color of objects, mend them, warm or cool objects, create a spark of fire, create any solid or liquid, message, etc.

The idea is to give "magic users" the option to do small, usually non-battle things with their magic. Altho certainly some of these could be used as Tricks...

It would be up to the creativity of the player to use these, but it's hard to strike a balance between "worth having" and "easy to abuse".

Any/all feedback is desired.

Marco, Connor, K'Don, WindDancer - you need to pick your advancement (and please let me know)!

If you're having problems deciding, please feel free to contact me here in Discussion or privately.

Please, this really ought to get done before you start your trip.

Encumbrance #1
This may be a bit long and numbers-intensive, but I encourage everyone to try and get thru this to see how the system is *intended* to work...

So you've got a PC with a d10 Str - that means he was not only born strong, but he's put in a lot of training. And by-the-book, he can carry 50 pounds.

Let's say he wears a breastplate. That adds +3 to his Toughness, which is a *lot*, and eats up half his encumbrance. But he can still carry even a greatsword without going over his limit.

Given a "typical" base Toughness of 6, that brings his Toughness to 9, which is *pretty hard* to get thru - with a damage roll of 2d6, you'd *have* to get an Ace just to make him Shaken, and even after getting the Ace, you'd have to roll well. That's a pretty good advantage (for the PC)!

Ok, so my bad guy changes tactics - instead of just swinging at you, he takes a "Called Shot" to your arms or legs. That's -2 to hit, but IF he succeeds, he *ignores* your +3 to Toughness since you don't have armor there!
That's the tactics that are built-in to the game.

Ok, so your fighter add plate armor to his arms AND legs - 50 pounds total, right at his encumbrance (and without a weapon!).
That means my bad guy's only option is a head shot at -4, *much* harder to pull off. But, +4 damage if he does!

So you add a steel helmet (58 pounds total), and you're *over* your encumbrance limit, but my bad guys get no extra advantage to called shots on you any more! They are going to have to wait to roll REALLY well on their damage to even touch you.

One other thing y'all haven't really experienced much of yet (except for Gerta's weapon's "overload") - Area Effect attacks (grenade, fireball, dragon's breath, etc.) ignore armor unless you're "completely enclosed"!
So "torso only" armors (leather vest, chain shirt, breastplate, Kevar vest) do NOT add their armor to your Toughness for these kinds of attacks.

So our d10 Str tank has +3 Armor *everywhere*, can't take any extra damage from Called Shots, AND the +3 counts when he's hit by an Area Effect attack.

But, he's over his encumbrance limit (and we haven't even included his weapon) - so he takes a -1 to ALL Strength- and Agility-based rolls (most importantly, Fighting, Shooting, and Damage).

The SW designers think this is a pretty fair trade-off.

But, if you want to lose the penalty, "there's an app...er...Edge for that" - Brawny, which increases your encumbrance multiplier to *8!
This is the intended solution for situations like this. Edges are *often* used to *remove* penalties the system imposes.
Now the d10 fighter can carry 80 pounds, and even covered head-to-toe, and with a greatsword, has 10 pounds to spare (which isn't much, but hey, he's a tank, not a pack mule!).

Tomorrow I'll post thoughts other SW players and GM's have had about the "fairness" of encumbrance, other options that have been suggested, and maybe suggest a change of my own after I've had some more time to think about it.

Encumbrance, part 2
Ok, so many people have commented on encumbrance in SW (but keep in mind, many like it just fine!).
Someone did the math, and found out that MANY pre-built characters *designed by SW* in their manuals and free starter guides are over their encumbrance!

For example, a d4 Strength "mage" can carry 20 pounds :
-He can't wear a chain shirt (+2, 25 lb) without being encumbered. I'm good with that.
-But he can wear a leather vest (+1, 15 lb) - I'm good with that, too.
-But, he *can't* also carry a staff (8 lb)!
He's actually better off carrying an axe (same damage and cost as a short sword, at half the weight)!
I can see it now - in a fantasy world, everyone knows : if he's wearing leather and carrying an axe, he's a magic user! :)

Another example : a typical starting-PC d8 Strength "fighter" can carry 40 pounds :
-He's ok with a chain shirt (25 lb) and long sword (8 lb)
-But just add a small shield (8 lb) and he's over!

Some people use the idea of encumbrance "bins" (for lack of a better word) - instead of counting pounds, they say you can carry your Strength die value in "heavy items". So a d8 Strength PC can carry 8 heavy items, but then you have to convert pounds of encumbrance into #bins (plate armor counts as 3 "heavy items"), which seems like MORE work to me, for no real change in effect. Not interested.

Some people change the rules to require minimum strengths to wear each kind of armor : leather needs d4, chain needs d8, plate needs d10, etc.
I guess they then ignore encumbrance completely, since weapons have a "built in" minimum strength requirement too (your strength has to be at least the same as the weapon's damage to get full damage).
I'm actually sort of ok with this, but I would add that ANY "full" armor requires either the next die up in Strength OR the Brawny Edge.
(That actually makes taking "full leather" or "full chain" very easy, since they're not listed in the manual.)
Let's call this option #1.

One thing I've thought of which is very simple and solves *most* of the encumbrance issues is this : instead of *5, the amount you can carry without being encumbered is *6 your Strength die.
Now the d4 "mage" can carry his staff while wearing leather.
And the d8 "fighter" can also carry a shield.
And I would suspect that many of the pre-made characters would not be encumbered any more, either.
Let's call this option #2.

But, it doesn't help the d10 fighter who wants to wear FULL plate, because he can now carry 60 lb, and his armor is 58. So as soon as he picks up any weapon, he's encumbered.
So, he can spend an advancement on the Brawny Edge (and get another +1 to Toughness as well!), or spend an advancement to push his Strength up to d12 (which also increases his damage).

Any opinions on option #1 vs. option #2? Either way, a d10 Strength character just can't *quite* pull off wearing full plate (without one more advancement). I know that may seem strange, but considering all the benefits full plate gives you (from the previous post), I don't think that's too out of line. And you get extra perks from taking either advancement, as well.

Option #1 sounds good if you want to eliminate bookkeeping. #2 sounds good for a more complete system. A third option might be to make the initial penalty for being just over the encumbrance limit a reduction in pace, with the penalties to skills only kicking in once was more than a certain amount over some threshold.

For comparison, d20 imposes penalties to movement once one goes over light encumbrance. Encumbrance never affects the ability to hit, each piece of armor imposes a penalty on dex and str based skills. Unfortunately, even a -1 penalty to a skill in SW is a pretty big limit and it necessarily would affect combat, since combat is based in skill.

I don't have any strong preference. Arabella is intentionally a nerd with minimal strength and dexterity, so she won't get much to work with, but she also doesn't fight unless as a last resort, so either she wears armor and accepts penalties to fighting or she stays light and just tries to avoid fights.

It seems you also should address the potential for certain attacks having the armor piercing (AP) quality, which ignores a certain number of armor points. This provides an option around armor similar to the idea of called shots.

Thanks for the feedback. Keep in mind, I'd still only be tracking a PC's weapons and armor (and shield) for option #2 to keep bookkeeping to a minimum.

I've considered over-encumbrance affecting Pace, and some people do house-rule that, but the penalties to fighting are big enough as they are.

Sorry about the delay, totally forgot to look over in this section.

This being a game and everything, balance and simplicity seems to be the goal. It doesn't really have to be true to life, its a game. So, I'm good with either otion. Haven't played enough to really give a valid opinion anyway.

I think I missed the post where we are supposed to increase. I need help with that. What do we get this time?

Looks like K'Don will be taking the Brawney Edge next opportunity.

Marko is cool with cantrips. Let's see what happens, it is always subject to GM modifications. 8-). Not sure I know the limits of them though. I kinda get the idea from the examples, but is there a defination?

Marko's & K'Don's advancement

Well, I can tell you what you can't do, and maybe make a few general suggestions...

Neither K'Don nor Marko can boost an Attribute with this advancement.

Marko *could* take the Power Points Edge to get 5 more Power Points, OR take a new Novice Power (look thru the list [page 109 my book] and first check the Rank). Note this is the last time to take Power Points while you're a Novice - not saying you *should*, perhaps you think of Marko as having more different Powers and being more versatile.

There's a few "Background" Edges that would be useful for K'Don, or almost any of the "Combat" Edges (make sure they're Novice).

In addition, with the new Shaken rules change, you'll have to trade Combat Reflexes out for a different Edge. It's a Seasoned Edge that I accidentally gave to you at creation, so you'll have to trade it out for another Novice Edge.

In both cases, what you choose should be based on your concept for the character.

If you want to narrow down Powers for Marko and/or Edges for K'Don and send me a short list, I can make some further recommendations...

Marko and Cantrips

Mostly anything out-of-battle that's purely for "color" - with a waft of his hand..."X" happens, where X is some little thing.

It does cost 1 PP (one hour to recover), and can only last 1 round, period. Refer to the lists of "cans" and "can'ts" to start with.

Try stuff and let's see what happens. Like you said, be prepared for me to veto it if I feel it's too powerful. With that in mind, we can both figure out what cantrips can do together!

... Connor... WindDancer - you need to pick your advancement (and please let me know)!

WindDancer is easy. Increase Attribute, Smarts d6 -> d8.

Connor, not so much. I spent a lot of time pouring over comments in the Discussion thread, but couldn't reconcile what was said with Connor's character sheet. Additionally, there were conflicting comments about the order in which things would be done. (No disrespect to the player intended; he was simply weighing different options over time.)

Ultimately I rebuilt Connor from scratch -- taking into account comments about his intended direction -- to bring the PC to "Novice 4." I can't guarantee this is the exact progression (actually I can pretty much guarantee it isn't). But it's in line with stated objectives (and as much as I'm able, I do want to respect YoricksRequiem's vision of what Connor was to be).

  0XP N1: Novice
  5XP N2: Increase Lesser Skill x2: Investigation d6 -> d8 and Psionics Notice d8 -> d10
10XP N3: Gain a new skill: Climbing
                Persuasion d4 [GM grant for transferring Search to Investigation]
15XP N4: Increase Attribute: Spirit d6 -> d8

Sheets are updated; let me know if you see any problems with either.

EDIT: Just spotted that YR said he didn't want to increase "Spellcasting" until Connor hits Seasoned, so I exchanged an increase to Psionics for Notice instead.

Well, you didn't say you were doing a Mister Wizard/Professor Proton/Bill Nye thing. :o) That'd make a difference for sure.

What's "Child Psychology" under in Savage Worlds, anyway? :o)

Not to mention the fact that Arabella is an attractive young woman and Connor is a hormone dominated teenage boy. :)

And I believe "child psychology" would be part of persuasion and I'm pretty sure Arabella would get her full +4 Charisma bonus when dealing with Connor, assuming he's like most boys.

So let's see:
Persuasion: 1d6 ⇒ 5
Wild: 1d6 ⇒ 5
So that's a 5 + 4 = 9.

I believe if Connor needed convincing to consider participating in one of her science lessons, he'd need something like a spirit roll higher than 9.

Just a head's up, I'll be away from my usual computers and routines from Friday to Sunday. My father-in-law died and so I'll be out of town for the funeral. I may have access to wifi and some time to kill, so I'll try to check in but don't expect any posts until Sunday night or Monday.

My condolences about your father in law, Arabella. I'm sorry to hear that.

Thank you. All things considered, it's for the best. He was in failing health and advanced age. My wife and I had a good visit a few years ago when he was healthy and lucid. He lived a full life, outlived two wives, has five adult children who are all successful in their lives. So it's sad, but not a tragic kind of sad.

A couple of comments on K'Don's new shiny plate armor :

I asked and discovered I was mistaken about its ability to protect K'Don from Area Effect attacks. Altho you are virtually covered head-to-toe, the gaps in the metal at the joints are considered enough to "let in" the area attack effect.

Also, it's going to take one or more of you to help him get into and out of it. Even with help, I'd say it'll take 10 minutes either way. Any volunteers? :)

And, there's no way you can sleep in it. You take one point of Fatigue for every night you try to sleep in it.

I've finally decided to go with the "*6" fix to Encumbrance, and only count arms and armor.

The strength-limits-to-armor approach is easy, but has a glitch regarding shields that I won't bore you with (unless you ask).

So, take your Strength, multiply it by 6, and that's your encumbrance limit. Compare that to ONLY your armor, carried weapons, and shield (if any). If you're below the limit, you're fine.

OK so what type of plate armor is this. Is it the 15th century full uniform of armor that can stand alone and look like some one is in it, or is it the type of plate armor that only covers upper surfaces, ie. under arm pits is open, behind the knees. etc.

K'Don's standard wearing armor is the same leather with the breast plate. Before major battles he will "armor up".

To use the Bat'Leth properly, the weilder must have freedom of movement, therefore, K'Don could not wear the full set of plate mail and use the weapon properly. He can, however, choose to weild it like a great sword, then he can wear his full plate armor.

There are gaps here and there, that are at -4 or -6 to hit.

Just keep in mind, "armoring up" will take 10 minutes. Just checking, you do realize that with the Edge you took, you can walk around fully armored without being encumbered?

And for your PC notes, your Toughness is now 9, 3 of which is armor.

How you choose to wield your weapon is up to you, as long as you use both hands.

OK lets put it this way, when walking down the road in town leather armor. When adventuring into unknown areas, full armor. Anything inbetween we will just have to go day by day.

10 Minutes is a good estimate.

Called Shots and full armor

According to the rules, a called shot may be made at -6 to attack a particularly vulnerable gap (eye slit, etc.) in "full armor" which not only removes the armor's bonus to the target's toughness, but adds +4 to the Damage.

And a head shot may be made against the helm at -4 to hit, which does NOT remove the armor bonus, but which *does* add +4 to the Damage.

And a new "house rule" (sort of) : a called shot may be made at -4 to attack the small gaps in "full armor", thereby removing the armor's bonus to the target's Toughness. This isn't that much of a house rule, it can be justified by the "small target" part of "Called Shots".

Just wanted everyone (especially K'Don) to be aware of these rules, as I will now probably be using them in the future... :)

Thanks, I'm good with that. So do you think that you will like to have .

P.S on Called Shots

Of course, players can use these rules too.

But I should warn you, I've discovered thru computer-simulated battles that a Called Shot by itself is *always* a worse option than just trying to get thru the armor (no matter how much) as normal!

You *really* need to do something to offset (or cancel) the "to hit" penalty - things like ganging-up, Wild Attacks, etc.

Arabella stops fumbling in the dark and claps her hands together once. ... Anything? How about if she says in an authoritative voice, "Lights, low rising to moderate." ? :)

"Tea. Earl Grey. Hot."

We're not that far away, have you seen the new smart homes for gazillion dollars?

I won't be posting Thursday through Saturday afternoon. I will be away from the Internet.

K'Don - just so you know, armors don't stack. So you can save time by not removing your leather armor, but don't get its bonus added to the plate armor's. And it adds to your encumbrance, but I don't think that's an issue at this point.

Oh, and what you might have been thinking before about light as a cantrip is I did say it could create tiny specks of light (like fireflies), but not enough to illuminate the area around them.

I'm toying with an idea, let me know what you think of it. There is no way to "subdue" someone in SW without knocking them out, AFAIK, so :

If you declare that you're doing "subdual" damage (which is not "non-lethal"), and if the target reaches "Incapacitation", they are subdued - held at gunpoint/swordpoint, knife to the throat, too out-of-breath, pinned in a grapple, etc. - conscious, but with no good options to act. And they have dropped their weapon (if any). But, *you* have to stay there, threatening them, to *keep* them subdued (holding your gun/sword on them, etc.) until they can be "restrained" (handcuffed, tied up, etc.).

Thoughts? Or just knock them out using non-lethal damage?

Seems somewhat redundant at least in some of the cases. There are already grappling rules that can reach a point where the grappler can opt to do damage. So you could give the option that the damage is non-lethal (since grappling can lead to bruises and other injuries similar to non-lethal damage due to pummeling). You could allow that these "wounds" don't have to be healed and go away if the person is released before being otherwise restrained.

There is also a disarm option for getting the person to drop his weapon, and threatening a person with a gun sounds like an intimidate effect or a test of wills to see if the person is shaken (i.e. hesitant to move for fear of getting shot). At that point, it's mostly role-playing: "Do you feel lucky, punk?! Well, do you?!"

Being incapacitated by fatigue is part of the rules, so perhaps an attack can have the same effect as causing fatigue or exhaustion (with a raise maybe). This too could be with an option that the fatigue effect is temporary, as long as the actor causing it is focused on it.

While looking at the rules for grappling and the Martial Artist edge, I noticed that being a martial artist (i.e. having the martial artist edge) does not give any advantage to grappling an opponent or to trip (i.e. "Push" with the option to knock prone). It seems martial artists usually are better than normal fighters at grappling, tripping, and so on. But the martial artist edge only grants a bonus to damage. Maybe there could be an option when taking the Martial Artist edge to pick a bonus to damage or some advantage when attempting grapples and/or push maneuvers. If you wanted both, you'd have to take the edge again with the other option.

You've basically covered all the bases suggested by other SW players.

The problem with grappling is that the damage done is very small, just your Strength (in other words, a *single* die), so even if you declare non-lethal attacks it can take a long time to get someone to Incapacitation. And all grappling rolls are opposed, which are generally harder to succeed at. Finally, there's no way to "pin" a grappled opponent by the rules (which pretty much would make them "subdued"), which seems odd.

Disarm does remove a weapon, so maybe the "subdue" option should not (I just threw that in to make things easy). So if you reach Incapacitation while subduing, you've got them in a position where they can't *use* it.

The thing about Fatigue is that while it does take one less Fatigue point than Wounds to drop a Wild Card, it actually takes two MORE Fatigue points than Wounds to drop an Extra! So using Fatigue actually become harder to drop the vast majority of combatants you're likely to run into.

I still think declaring you're "subduing" and using the existing Wound count is the simplest thing to do. But now that I think about it some more, those Wounds should not be penalties to the target's roll (of course with Extras that's not an issue).

P.S. - it would be easy to create an Edge that gives any character a +2 (say) to their Push maneuver. That way anyone who wanted to specialize in it could.

Alex would like two guns, if he can get them (Ambidexterous). He'll try to convince Connor to take one, but I don't know if he's successful. :P

Alex - 2 guns is no problem.

I'll assume Connor takes one, unless I hear otherwise.

Arabella gets one, Katana politely refuses.

Connor's a little hesitant since the thing looks so different. But with Alex's assurances, yes, he'll take one.

I think ZenFox will not be posting any more today, so let me make a few unofficial reminders about a few things:

Ranged attacks at short range use a target number of 4, not the target's parry, so I think Connor's pistol attacks may have hit.

Regarding the guns, he said, "Mechanically, it's a Bolt that does non-lethal damage."

Bolt has a range listing of 12/24/48. I suspect that due to close quarters, all shots will be at short range.

Damage is 2d6, nonlethal. If the attack gets a raise, then add a d6 as usual.

So with all that in mind, I think Alexander got a raise on his 2nd shot and so would do 3d6 damage.

I suspect Marko shot at the snake or the Velantian, since K'Don was engaged with the other making it a harder shot.

Since the only power listed for Marko that makes sense here is Bolt, I assume that's what Marko used. If so, he should have rolled 3d6 for damage.

A word about chances to hit, if you are interested in such things. For those who say, "Never tell me the odds!" I'll put these under a spoiler.