Session 0

[Laird_Thorne]

This is where we discuss what we're looking for in the game, and answer any character concept questions or concerns. :)

Some important points:

Game Style

• Rating: PG-13 to R
  • I assume we're all adults and can deal with things in an adult manner.
  • Fade-to-Black on some topics which could be borderline.
• Western
  •     Good the Bad and the Ugly (movie) - Most characters (especially PCs) are more than a simple line of text and some stats. They're people with their own motives for doing what they do. The PCs for the most part are expected to be on the "Good" side of the scale. Sometimes they may do, or have done, bad things but it is in the pursuit of what's good for folks in general. If you've watched Reacher on Amazon Prime, you know what I'm talking about in particular. :)
  •     Magnificent Seven (2016 movie) - Different people from different walks of life with a joint purpose.
  •     Wild, Wild, West (1999 movie) - sometimes over the top and cheesy, but also "Steampunk/Mad Science"
  • Cool action - The rule of cool is always in play. Do things and look good doing it (at least until time to be injured and recover)
• Horror
  • Things Man Was Not Meant To Know! - There are things out there that the majority of folks don't understand or even want to know.
  •  "Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid." - Description is key. I'll be doing my best not to state flat out "The Maze Dragon attacks." and instead go for a more descriptive feel. However, if you've encountered it before, or it's something that would be familiar, I may spoiler the specific detail. :)
  • Your Worst Nightmare - Each PC is expected to have something that they are completely afraid of of creeped out by. What really gets under their skin?
  • The Omen - I will do my best to foreshadow any upcoming events/mysteries without completely spoiling the surprise.
• Gore
  • Not explicit, but enough to give you a good image.

Welcome and Safety

I want everyone to feel welcome and able to bring up any topic at all related to the game and setting. If not in a game thread, then a personal message/mail.

 

Edited January 30 by Laird_Thorne (see edit history)

[RedRajah]

Odd question -- is this via Savage Worlds or the updated classic Deadlands that got kickstarted a year or so ago?

[TiffanyKorta]

It looks like the SW version to me.

[Laird_Thorne]

Correct. This is the Deadlands:The Weird West version which has SWADE as the basis. There's the Core and the Companion out at the moment. And a supplement, Hell On The High Plains, as well.

If you don't have the latest version though, I will gladly work with you to flesh out /convert any concept. :)

[RedRajah]

If I have a hook/backstory, will it see play?

[Clockwork Writer]

So Deadlines looks interesting and amusing but I've never messed with it or savage worlds before so hopefully not going to ask anything particularly stupid. Just grabbed the books last night so still reading through things but there's some stuff I haven't found specifics on yet.

 

I noticed you mentioned we're seasoned which I assume is some level of advancement beyond normal novice starting characters but I haven't found yet the specifics. What all is the difference between seasoned and normal novice?

 

Any particular setting elements, hinderances, or character themes you'd rather we stay away from or just wouldn't fit well with the setup? For example the minor or major Young or Elderly hinderances or major pacifist could be tricky to work around in some cases.

 

Right now considering some ideas for a Blessed, Huckster, Mad Scientist, or Metal Mage but haven't decided on specifics yet.

[Laird_Thorne]

6 hours ago, RedRajah said:

If I have a hook/backstory, will it see play?

If not during the initial adventure, then somewhere for sure. :)

3 hours ago, Clockwork Writer said:

So Deadlines looks interesting and amusing but I've never messed with it or savage worlds before so hopefully not going to ask anything particularly stupid. Just grabbed the books last night so still reading through things but there's some stuff I haven't found specifics on yet.

 

I noticed you mentioned we're seasoned which I assume is some level of advancement beyond normal novice starting characters but I haven't found yet the specifics. What all is the difference between seasoned and normal novice?

 

Any particular setting elements, hinderances, or character themes you'd rather we stay away from or just wouldn't fit well with the setup? For example the minor or major Young or Elderly hinderances or major pacifist could be tricky to work around in some cases.

 

Right now considering some ideas for a Blessed, Huckster, Mad Scientist, or Metal Mage but haven't decided on specifics yet.

Welcome to Deadlands! I hope it ends up being a good experience for you (and if I mess things up that you give it a try elsewhere/elsewhen. :) )

The big difference is that a Seasoned character begins with 4 Advances while a Novice has none.

Honestly, I think anything is workable but it depends on the concept itself. Some ar emore workable with the hindrances you mention than others, IMO at least. Any of those concepts would be good. I'm interested to see what you come up with. :)

---

Also, for anyone - I have several (4) sets of the archetypes for DL so if you want to see how a build *might* look and what hindrances might be appropriate let me know and I will share what I can.

[Clockwork Writer]

Okay cool. One idea I have for most likely a Blessed (although I suppose Huckster or Metal Mage might work) is a kid who was taken in along with their sisters by Mina Delvin but quickly pegged on to what was happening and ran away, so is now in a spot between being on the run from them and trying to find their sisters who bought into Delvin's whole thing. Figured it might make for some interesting character interactions if there's any witches in the party.

 

Other than that was the idea of a Mad Scientist or Metal Mage on the run from a "hostile takeover" of their families company by one of the bigger names. The kind of takeover that involves your workshop burning down and attempts to make you disappear into a basement workshop somewhere. Not sure why all my current idea involve being on the run from someone. lol

[RedRajah]

I've got 2 Gunslinger/tracker ideas brewing -- admittedly, one I'd like to be allowed for Veteran o' the Weird West. An ol' bandito tryin' t' track down the killer of his daughter and hopefully recover his granddaughter to boot.

 

El Condor!

The man called "El Condor" has seen and done a lot o' shit in his long life.  Some o' it even honest, but none o' it's whatcha call clean.  And some might say it's a miracle he's even gotten this old -- but it's probably the providence o' the Other Place, given what drives him these days.

 

Now, even an hombre like El Condor felt his step gettin' slow and got a hankerin' to settle down.  Even got married and had a daughter!  His sweet Roxana, spittin' image o' her mother, she was.  And a balm for a hard heart when cholera took his wife.  Y'all might laugh to see El Condor as a family man, but even scorpions love their babies.   Roxana grew up fine and strong like a honey mesquite.  And soon she caught the eye o' a gringo who wandered into town -- a missionary man named Reuben Knapp.  Now Knapp, he was from out California way -- Lost Angeles.  Y'know, Reverend Grimme's piece o' paradise down in the Golden State?  Well, all Knapp would say is that he had a disagreement in how Grimme interpreted the word o' God and wanted to strike out on his own!

 

Course, El Condor wasn't too keen on any missionary man wooing his baby girl -- any father thinks no man would be good enough for his daughter!  He thought Knapp had too wide a grin and too silver a tongue!  Y'all could argue that might have been the last bit o' Catholic in the old man.  Honest, Protestant folk can be a bit full o' themselves with the chest-beatin' and homilizin'.  But El Condor couldn't say "no" to his only child.  Soon Reuben took Roxana as his bride and two years later, Angelina was born.

 

Oh, you shoulda seen the pile o' mush El Condor was around his granddaughter!  He doted on that child, bouncin' her on his knee and singin' the same lullabies he sang to Roxana.  Not very well, but the heart was there.  After all these years, he'd earn that rest.  And he let his guard down finally...

 

He had been huntin', El Condor was.  A sudden storm had him holed up in the moutains longer than he expected.  When he got back, Reuben was more itchy than a flea-bitten hound.  He was wailin' that Roxana up and abandoned him and their little girl!  Ran off with another man!  Now, El Condor, he don't like that kind o' talk about his daughter.  He might have been a fallen man once upon a time, but Roxana was as pure in soul as a mountain creek in winter!  So he goes off to ask around and sniff for clues.

 

And he ends up findin' what no mother or father ever wants to find -- a fresh grave a ways away.  There, lyin' with a scream o' ever-frozen pain and terror, was the butchered corpse o' Roxana.  And pieces o' her were missin'.

 

El Condor, he tears off back to the house, back to confront that hijueputa devil Knapp and make him answer for his crimes.  But Knapp had rabbited out -- and he had taken Angelina with him.

 

It's been five years now.  Whatever happiness El Condor had is now ashes.  He's hellbound to find Knapp -- rumor has it the sumbitch might now be in Kansas.  He's gonna find his granddaughter before he passes on and make Knapp pay.  El Condor flies again -- FOR VENGEANCE!

And the other is very much an outsider Tahki Lacroix -- A Metis woman originally from the Great White Weird North on the run from her drunk of a father AND the "groom" her father set her up in a sham marriage to pay off his gambling debts (and who she castrated before making her escape). Whether she can outrun them all the way out in the US (let alone feel any connection to US natives) is a mystery...

[Laird_Thorne]

On 1/24/2024 at 5:15 PM, RedRajah said:

I've got 2 Gunslinger/tracker ideas brewing -- admittedly, one I'd like to be allowed for Veteran o' the Weird West. An ol' bandito tryin' t' track down the killer of his daughter and hopefully recover his granddaughter to boot.

El Condor!

The man called "El Condor" has seen and done a lot o' shit in his long life.  Some o' it even honest, but none o' it's whatcha call clean.  And some might say it's a miracle he's even gotten this old -- but it's probably the providence o' the Other Place, given what drives him these days.

Now, even an hombre like El Condor felt his step gettin' slow and got a hankerin' to settle down.  Even got married and had a daughter!  His sweet Roxana, spittin' image o' her mother, she was.  And a balm for a hard heart when cholera took his wife.  Y'all might laugh to see El Condor as a family man, but even scorpions love their babies.   Roxana grew up fine and strong like a honey mesquite.  And soon she caught the eye o' a gringo who wandered into town -- a missionary man named Reuben Knapp.  Now Knapp, he was from out California way -- Lost Angeles.  Y'know, Reverend Grimme's piece o' paradise down in the Golden State?  Well, all Knapp would say is that he had a disagreement in how Grimme interpreted the word o' God and wanted to strike out on his own!

Course, El Condor wasn't too keen on any missionary man wooing his baby girl -- any father thinks no man would be good enough for his daughter!  He thought Knapp had too wide a grin and too silver a tongue!  Y'all could argue that might have been the last bit o' Catholic in the old man.  Honest, Protestant folk can be a bit full o' themselves with the chest-beatin' and homilizin'.  But El Condor couldn't say "no" to his only child.  Soon Reuben took Roxana as his bride and two years later, Angelina was born.

Oh, you shoulda seen the pile o' mush El Condor was around his granddaughter!  He doted on that child, bouncin' her on his knee and singin' the same lullabies he sang to Roxana.  Not very well, but the heart was there.  After all these years, he'd earn that rest.  And he let his guard down finally...

He had been huntin', El Condor was.  A sudden storm had him holed up in the moutains longer than he expected.  When he got back, Reuben was more itchy than a flea-bitten hound.  He was wailin' that Roxana up and abandoned him and their little girl!  Ran off with another man!  Now, El Condor, he don't like that kind o' talk about his daughter.  He might have been a fallen man once upon a time, but Roxana was as pure in soul as a mountain creek in winter!  So he goes off to ask around and sniff for clues.

And he ends up findin' what no mother or father ever wants to find -- a fresh grave a ways away.  There, lyin' with a scream o' ever-frozen pain and terror, was the butchered corpse o' Roxana.  And pieces o' her were missin'.

El Condor, he tears off back to the house, back to confront that hijueputa devil Knapp and make him answer for his crimes.  But Knapp had rabbited out -- and he had taken Angelina with him.

It's been five years now.  Whatever happiness El Condor had is now ashes.  He's hellbound to find Knapp -- rumor has it the sumbitch might now be in Kansas.  He's gonna find his granddaughter before he passes on and make Knapp pay.  El Condor flies again -- FOR VENGEANCE!

And the other is very much an outsider Tahki Lacroix -- A Metis woman originally from the Great White Weird North on the run from her drunk of a father AND the "groom" her father set her up in a sham marriage to pay off his gambling debts (and who she castrated before making her escape). Whether she can outrun them all the way out in the US (let alone feel any connection to US natives) is a mystery...

El Condor definitely sounds interesting. :) I can see him with the VotWW, but still hesitate to go that far. Might you be able to do him with just the Seasoned advance?

Tahki sounds interesting too, some definite hooks there. How do you see her father or the groom chasing after her? (I can definitely see the groom following after her with what she did...) Would they hire help?

[Laird_Thorne]

On 1/24/2024 at 4:14 PM, Clockwork Writer said:

Okay cool. One idea I have for most likely a Blessed (although I suppose Huckster or Metal Mage might work) is a kid who was taken in along with their sisters by Mina Delvin but quickly pegged on to what was happening and ran away, so is now in a spot between being on the run from them and trying to find their sisters who bought into Delvin's whole thing. Figured it might make for some interesting character interactions if there's any witches in the party.

 

Other than that was the idea of a Mad Scientist or Metal Mage on the run from a "hostile takeover" of their families company by one of the bigger names. The kind of takeover that involves your workshop burning down and attempts to make you disappear into a basement workshop somewhere. Not sure why all my current idea involve being on the run from someone. lol

The Blessed might make things really interesting. :) There is a potential "witch" for the group so may be all kind of tie-in/interaction possibilities. :)

[Shorikid]

Laird,

 

I'm 15 years past my last DL game. I have the basic SWADE core rules. Got enough patients to help a fella get through this process? I'll start on a concept tomorrow if so.

[Laird_Thorne]

54 minutes ago, Shorikid said:

Laird,

 

I'm 15 years past my last DL game. I have the basic SWADE core rules. Got enough patients to help a fella get through this process? I'll start on a concept tomorrow if so.

That’s about how long it’s been since I really got to play… lol

Definitely would be glad to help. :)

[RedRajah]

On 1/27/2024 at 6:29 PM, Laird_Thorne said:

El Condor definitely sounds interesting. :) I can see him with the VotWW, but still hesitate to go that far. Might you be able to do him with just the Seasoned advance?

Tahki sounds interesting too, some definite hooks there. How do you see her father or the groom chasing after her? (I can definitely see the groom following after her with what she did...) Would they hire help?

Gonna try to tweak El Condor's math later this week. As for Tahki, I could see either $#@! doing desperate things for revenge -- dunno how good their money would be in paying for help though (her father was the one in debt after all). Or, more tellingly, how willing they'd be to pay up...

[Lwmons]

I assume we start with the standard $250, no additional cash for a Seasoned character? I was originally asking because I wanted to get my guy a wagon, but since it looks like we are starting on a train it's probably better I save up for one.