Just noticed someone with an ongoing SW Deadlands campaign is recruiting for some new players. Recruitment link as of July 23. Seems it might still be open.
I'm in that game. Sorry, it just didn't even occur to me to post here when the GM re-opened Recruitment. I've been wrapped up in a personal project.
We now have 4 players, don't know if the GM has a maximum limit, but everyone's welcome to post and find out.
We have a shaman, a gunslinger, a territorial ranger (works for the government), and a harrowed (undead) chi master. We don't have a huckster, witch, blessed, grifter, or a mad scientist. Don't know the setting well enough to know if there's other archetypes. NOTE : it is "standard" Deadlands, not RIFTS like this game.
I will be away from home for the weekend, so 'bot me if needed. I have access to hotel WiFi but I've tended to have trouble logging into the Paizo site to try to post with a tablet or phone.
I hope I don't offend anyone with this, particularly the GM, but I'm a bit frustrated with the pace of this game. I recommend reviewing the advice on good PBP by Painlord here.
In particular, see section 4 (In-Game Management Stuff).
The GM posts are mostly devoid of information and provide us with no "Push" to respond to. (Sections 4.2 through 4.2.5.
We seem to have to keep asking the GM for information that usually gets provided as a matter of course with each GM post.
I would encourage everyone to remember that we don't know anything about a situation unless there is text describing it. Descriptions are best when they provide sense data rather than interpretations: tell us what we see, hear, smell, feel. Rather than saying "Agate is frustrated," describe how Agate is acting that conveys the body language of someone who is frustrated.
It also helps if people can post every day or let us know in the discussion thread when you have things going on in RL that may limit your posting, so the GM can 'bot the PC or at least know what to expect.
I hope this helps. Sorry if anyone takes offense. It's just that we've been on this journey since the beginning of June (real time) and have only had a few encounters that mostly were people or creatures passing by without attacking or engaging us in any way. How about we take such things as normal for travelers and only role play encounters that involve either some risk, such as combat, or some profit in terms of social engagement, particularly something that advances the plot, draws us into something we need to accomplish besides delivering some rice.
Sorry, i have not been on. I will be at work come the 15th of sept, and should be able to post more at that time.
EltonJ - I have concerns about this "fluid initiative". I'm ok with everyone just acting in the order they post, but will you at least announce when a Round has ended (after every PC and NPC has acted), like "End of Round 1", since my PC has things she can only do once per Round? And Agate's Power that she just activated lasts for so many Rounds, so we need to know when it has ended. I'm also about to try to activate a Power, and will need to know when it has ended as well. Thanks!
EltonJ - I have concerns about this "fluid initiative". I'm ok with everyone just acting in the order they post, but will you at least announce when a Round has ended (after every PC and NPC has acted), like "End of Round 1", since my PC has things she can only do once per Round? And Agate's Power that she just activated lasts for so many Rounds, so we need to know when it has ended. I'm also about to try to activate a Power, and will need to know when it has ended as well. Thanks!
Yes, I will tell you when the round has ended. I wanted everyone to POST when they can, and not be tied to initiative order.
EltonJ - a Toughness of 4 is ridiculously low, except in maybe a "1st-level" D&D-like game. Given the damage we can deal in a RIFTS game, if the spider dies after taking 1 Wound, it would need a Toughness of 19 to have merely been only Shaken by Frankie's first attack. In which case Bjorn's attack and Frankie's second attack would have had no effect.
The problem with that high a Toughness is, now the bar is set so high that the PCs would *have* to get multiple Aces to kill the thing.
Please check your PM for some more thoughts about balancing these issues...
Also, Malakai's Shooting roll was a 4, which is the normal minimum value for a successful shooting.
I'm okay with all this, but if no cards are dealt as is usual for initiative order, then there is no opportunity for bonus bennies that come when a PC gets a joker. Maybe figure out the odds of that happening and make a percentile roll. Also, the PC who gets the joker gets a bonus on actions for the round.
Maybe deal cards as usual just to determine if anyone got a joker and which PC gets the bonus.
Also there are some edges that give benefits to the initiative as it is usually done, such as Quick, Calculating, Dead Shot, Level Headed, Mighty Blow, Tactician, or Power Surge. If anyone took any of those edges, they should get to choose something different.
I agree that something has to be done about the Joker. Someone getting a +2 to all their rolls for a round, and everyone getting an extra Bennie, are big deals.
The odds of getting a Joker are 2/54 (since most decks have 2 Jokers), or 1/27. This could easily be handled by rolling a "d27" at the start of each round, and if it results in a particular number (say, 27), that means a Joker was dealt. Then roll a d4 (or a d5 if Malachi gets a separate initiative), and assign the Joker to whoever matches that number in a list of alphabetical names. Like :
1. Agate
2. Frankie
3. Julian
4. Kara
5. Makachi
So if a 3 is rolled, Julian gets the +2 to his rolls for this round.
I would exclude Malachi from the list of who gets the joker, just to make each player get an even chance at the joker.
Works for me
Actually, now that I think about it, the odds of a *single card* being a Joker is 1/27. With 5 PCs being dealt cards, that's a 5/27 chance of anyone getting a Joker. So the easiest thing to do is to say that if the "d27" comes up with a 1-5, someone got a Joker. Then roll a d4 (if Malachi is excluded) to determine who.
Or just assign a different PC for numbers 1-4 excluding Malachi. Whichever number comes up gets the joker.
Or just assign a different PC for numbers 1-4 excluding Malachi. Whichever number comes up gets the joker.
I like Agate's suggestion better.
1. Agate
2. Kara
3. Julian
4. Frankie
Kara gets the Joker.
Sorry, been gone for Jury selection.
I guess my quote of hang the guilty bastard wasn't what they were looking for in an impartial juror. :)
Actually, it was because I could not speak french that they turned me away.
But that seems the most reasonable course.
EltonJ - the problem is, you can't assign a Joker on *every* round by rolling a d4, that would be overkill. You need to know *if* a Joker has come up, hence the "1-4 on a d27" is also required.
I think what Agate didn't explicitly state about her method is that you are still rolling a d27 every round; if the value is greater than 4, no one gets a Joker. If the value is 1-4, *then* use your numbered list of PC names to determine who gets it. It saves having to make two rolls.
EltonJ - the problem is, you can't assign a Joker on *every* round by rolling a d4, that would be overkill. You need to know *if* a Joker has come up, hence the "1-4 on a d27" is also required.
I think what Agate didn't explicitly state about her method is that you are still rolling a d27 every round; if the value is greater than 4, no one gets a Joker. If the value is 1-4, *then* use your numbered list of PC names to determine who gets it. It saves having to make two rolls.
I understand.
Savage Worlds Fans: There is a recruitment going on for a SW game, in case anyone is interested.