| Where: | The Adlers' (directions/phone via email) |
| When: | Saturday, February 2 |
| 4:00pm Start of game briefing 4:30pm Start of game 9:00pm (or there abouts) End of game) |
Innocent Bystanders are represented as individual cards in each player's packet. These represent all the other townsfolk that live here. Most people who live here in town have a few innocent bystanders with them at any time they wouldn't, logically, be alone. Examples of when an innocent bystander would NOT be around are; when you go to the outhouse, up to a room with a 'soiled dove', or during a Duel.
Innocent Bystanders have several functions:
The Action Deck consists of 2 Aces, 4 twos and threes, 6 fours and fives, 8 sixes, 6 sevens and eights, and 4 nines and tens for a total of 50 cards. This deck is used for any action that requires a random card draw.
There will be many Action decks around the game site for anyone to use. After each use (or each round of use) please reshuffle the cards back into the deck for the next player's use. Basically, shuffle as often as you like�
Along with the secrets and other personal information listed on each characters' character sheet, each player will also have a small number of individual Secret Cards, each with one of the character's secrets briefly detailed. Characters do not really want their secrets to get aired, but even so, some secrets are more jealously guarded than others!
Secrets can be used as a currency of sorts, and can be traded, given away etc. The only rule here is that you may not let anyone READ a secret in your possession without actually GIVING it to them. That is, once you've let the cat out of the bag, the actual Secret Card MUST go with it. A secret you've told to someone is now theirs to swap or give away as they please. Be sure you know who you can trust!
Fist fights
When two characters decide to start slugging each other, the result is a FISTFIGHT. Every player has a Hand-to-Hand combat skill (0-4) that shows just how skilled he or she is at this sort of fighting.
As soon as a fight breaks out (there is no surprise: both people start fighting at the same time), both combatants decide much of their HtH skill they want to use for offense and how much to use for defense. Then each draws a card from the Action Deck., adds the amount of HtH skill devoted to offense and subtracts the amount of HtH skill their opponent used for defense.
Stunned characters are subject to one free round of attack from their opponent without being able to use their HtH skill for defense. If they are stunned again in this way, they lose another round. The 3rd stunning attack in a row automatically knocks them out.
Knocked Out characters must spend 5 minutes "Unconscious" and at the mercy of the people around him.
Fist fights last until one or both characters are Knocked Out, both decide to stop fighting or more people join in, turning the fist fight into a BRAWL.
Brawls
If a fistfight spreads to include more than 2 combatants, it becomes a BRAWL. Brawls are always non-fatal events that resolve quickly and cleanly. In the end, one person is left standing while everyone else crawls away to nurse headaches.
First note: NO REAL WEAPONS should be brought to the game. Prop or toy guns that DO NOT fire any kind of projectile are ideal.
Duels
This is a gunfight between two prepared gunslingers. This is considered an honorable fight and any death that results is not considered to be a murder in the eyes of the Law.
Each player in the game has two skills that affect their gunmanship: a Speed skill and an Accuracy skill.
Before the very first round of bullets can be fired, the two combatants 'Draw' to see who fires first in the first round. Each player first decides how much of their Accuracy skill they want to add to their Speed skill to make their draw faster. Any amount committed to the Draw cannot be used in the first round of shooting! The player is really deciding how much accuracy they want to trade for more speed. Once both players have stated how much accuracy they want to expend this way, they draw from the Action Deck and add their Speed + any Accuracy that they had committed.
The player with the highest total has drawn his gun faster than his opponent and can take the first shot (in the case of a tie, they draw and shoot simultaneously.) He draws again from the Action Deck and adds whatever remains of his Accuracy Stat and compares the total to the Gunslingin' Success Chart:
Once the fastest shooter has taken his shot and resolved the outcome, if the slower shooter is still able, the slower gunslinger then draws his own Action card and adds what is left of his Accuracy skill and resolves that total number as above.
After this first round, both shooters have their guns drawn and are able to take shots simultaneously, adding their full Accuracy skill each time. A duel is over only when (at least) one of the shooters is incapacitated, both agree to stop, or anyone else joins the gunfight and turns it into a SHOOTOUT.
Shootouts
As soon as there are 3 or more people with guns drawn, it's a SHOOTOUT and slightly different rules apply. Everyone takes shots all at once by raising one hand and pointing at any other player in the area with the other hand. Everyone has time to settle on a target before anyone takes a shot, then the targets are 'locked'. Everyone then draws a card from the action deck and adds their Accuracy score for a total # that is compared to the Gunslingin' Success Chart above. Once a shootout starts, no one else may join in.
If a player doesn't raise their hand, it is assumed they are 'taking cover' and may not take a shot at another player. However, he can still be a target! A player that has raised his hand can choose to 'pin' the hiding player to prevent him from escaping. In this case, the pinning shooter need not draw an Action card, since there is no chance he'll actually hit the player that has taken cover. If a player has 'taken cover' for two consecutive rounds without being pinned, he can escape the shootout area.
Innocent Bystanders can be used to prevent a Wound or a killing shot, but NOT a shot that had a total of 13 or better. Shots that can "do anything" cannot be blocked by bystanders.
Final note. If a player states outright that he is trying NOT to kill his target, he reduces his success one step down the Gunslingin' Success Chart (unless he gets a 13 or better, natch.)
A Note on Health
Please note that there is NOT a "Hit Point" attribute for your character. For the sake of this game, and to keep gunfights good and lethal, if you're shot and killed, that's just it. However, it's possible for you to be WOUNDED in a gunfight. A wounded character loses the use of one limb (his choice) and reduces each one of his attribute scores by one for the rest of the game, or until the wound is fixed up by a doctor. If you are currently wounded, suffering any further wounds does not do any more damage. That is, you'll never lose more than the use of one limb, or suffer more than a -1 to your attributes.
Gambling
Each character has a Gambling Skill that affects how many 'tricks' he starts the game with and how well he can spot whether other people's Tricks are cheating or just really good card playing.
'Tricks' are abilities that can only be used once. They are folded paper that has a blank top, a card hand listed on the bottom (for example; "Full House") and note hidden on the inside stating whether the Trick is a cheat or great skill.
While playing cards, every player must keep at least one Trick face down in front of him as his "active Trick". They may only switch Tricks between hands, and can only use the card that is active during any given hand. This forces players to commit which Trick could be used before he sees his actual cards.
Poker is then played normally. At the end of any hand, when a player would need to show his or her cards, he could opt to flip over his active Trick instead. The hand described by the Trick simply replaces whatever cards he had in his actual hand.
Any opponent can than accuse that player of cheating! He must make a public accusation and then draw a card from the Action deck and add it to his Gambling Skill while the accused player does the same. If the accuser's total is higher than the accused's, the accuser may open the Trick used by the accused player and see if it really was cheating or just plain old skill.
Anyone caught cheating loses one Innocent Bystander (randomly) to the nearest GM. His opponents may also want more specific restitution than that (role-play it!!) Anyone accusing someone of cheating and either a) failing the check or b) opening the Trick to discover that it was just skill, will also lose a random Innocent Bystander. Cheating is a terrible offense, and so are unwarranted accusations!
Each Trick card can only be played once during the evening.
Drinking and Carousing
This is all role-playing. In the fantasy of the Wild West, Alcohol does not have any of its normally impairing features (unless the character was written as a town drunk or somesuch. You all may decide how alcohol affects each of you individually.
Charm and Seduction (Special Powers)
Some people are skilled in the art of seduction, and can co-erce others to do certain, um, things for them. If you find yourself being charmed or seduced by someone, they will show you the ability card.
Sex
Woohooo! Link pinkies for at least a full minute. Grunting and groaning is always good role-playing.
There are a number of Locations outside of town, like 'Dry Gulch', 'Two-horn Rock', 'Ol' river Bed', etc. At a specific GM station, there is a deck of cards made up of 2-4 versions of each Location. There are a fair number of game actions that can be performed at the Out-of-town GM Station.
Horses and Riding
Horses are represented by horse-shaped pieces of colored paper with a number on them. The number represents the horse's ability (0 to 4) and factors into the horse's speed, training and stamina.
Horses cannot be taken into any building. Outside of each building is a board or basket to place your horse in while you're inside. The horse must be displayed prominently when with the character. Stealing horses could get you hanged.
Each character also has a Riding skill (0 to 4) that factors in to the same things. Some game activities will call for one or the other and some will call for both the rider's ability and the horse's. This Riding skill will also cover any stage coach driving as well.
Chases
When one or more players want to get out of town fast, they go to the Wilderness Location station and tell the GM there. If no-one comes out to give chase within (1-3 minutes), then they have escaped scot-free.
If anyone arrives to give chase, then the BEST rider of each group is dealt a number of Location Cards equal to his 5 + his riding skill + the WORST Horse rating of the group.
Cards are played, with the varmint always playing first and the posse (of one, perhaps) responding. The fleeing player(s) escape if they manage to play three cards in a row that the posse can't match. Otherwise, the varmints get caught!
The first card that is played (by both varmint and posse) MUST be one of the two ROAD cards. If you can't play one of these cards first, then you're Stuck in Town. Either your horse pulled up lame or you couldn't get it untied, etc. This will happen much more frequently with unskilled riders and bad horses.
Once the varmint has played, the posse tries to match the card. If he can't (or doesn't want to, for some tactical reason) he can play another card instead, and the varmint will be 1 step ahead of the posse. Once he's 3 steps ahead, he's escaped! However, the posse can try to head the varmint off this way, by taking care to watch the cards the varmint has played and where he could go from there.
Each subsequent card that is played by either player must follow from the link on the previous card that player played. In fact, for each card that the varmint plays, the posse can play as many cards as that player likes to try to catch up (riding hard). This is a usually not a good tactic for the posse, unless the varmint is getting away, because it burns through a lot of cards!
Cards are played until one cannot continue, due to running out of cards or having no viable plays, or until the varmint has evaded the posse for three consecutive plays. (Note that even if the posse runs out of cards, the varmint must STILL have enough to play three consecutive cards the posse can't match!)
The Varmint may not play the location that the Posse currently occupies or the one the posse played immediately previously if his current location is the same as the Varmint (since they would pass each other and the varmint would get caught.) If the Posse played multiple cards to reach the location of the Varmint (riding hard to get there), the varmint cannot go to the last location the posse passed through to get to them.
If the posse catch up to the varmint, a duel or shootout ensues at that last location! (If the chasing players stupidly allow him to escape the shootout, another chase can start from there.)
Tracking and Hideouts (Special Powers)
Some characters will have a Tracking skill that can be used to find varmints that have gotten away from the posse. Those characters (and the GM's) will have copies of the rules that apply. The same goes for characters that have hideouts.
Out-of-town Ambushes
Characters that are chased out of town may set an ambush for their pursuers. They must secretly tell the GM there at which location they intend to set the ambush before the chase or tracking commences.
If the pursuers arrive to the specified location, then the ambushing characters simply get one free round of shooting in the shootout that follows.
Prospecting (Special Powers)
Some characters have a Prospector ability that allows them access to a portion of the game others do not have. Those characters know how to search for gold and silver in the areas around town, and will have copies of the rules that apply.
A bandanna tied around the lower part of your face is the PERFECT disguise. If you see someone wearing a bandanna this way, you will only know these things:
While there are a number of relatively wealthy people in Lincoln, there is a real shortage of actual cash. The most wealthy characters have their assets tied up in land, cattle, etc. The bank vaults would have the most actual cash available.
In any case, CASH is broken into 3 types of cash, "S", "M" and "L". They are orders of magnitude different and not really interchangeable. (The players can feel free to work out their own exchange rates, or use the exchange rates set by the bankers if they want.)
Cheques were not yet widely used, so often affairs were settled with notarized 'Promissory Notes'. The players may feel free to pick up Promissory Notes from a banker and settled any deals they see fit.
Small Change ("S"): This is what you'd truly hate to lose gambling in a friendly game.
Dinner at the saloon: 1 S
A shot of Whisky: 1/2 S
Poker chips: 1,5,10 S
Real Money ("M"): This is what common items of real value cost.
An ounce of gold: 1 M
A saddle horse: 2 - 5 M
A monthly cowboy salary: 1 - 3 M
A monthly lawman / judge salary: 4 - 8 M
A single head of cattle: 1 M
An evening with a "Lady": 1-? M
A single acre of land: .5-3 M, depending on location
Rent on a room in town for a month: 1 M
Large Fortunes ("L"): This is what really wealthy people are worth. Note most people with any L have it all tied up in real estate, cattle, etc. and won't have very much liquid L. They would have to mortgage something to the bank to gain access to any real quantity of L.
A nice house: 1 - 3 L
The salary of the Governor of New Mexico: 3.5 L
One square mile of pasture land (256 Acres): 2.5 L
Characters with this ability can, with time, heal a wounded character. Characters with this ability will have rules for it on a special 'Power Card'.
Lincoln's Mayor, Zechariah Chamberlain, has been invested with these powers:
Judges have been invested with these powers:
Lawmen (The Sheriff, Deputies, Army Officers, Etc.) have the following powers:
Food, games, and fun for the whole family...
There will be a number of contests during the in-game fair. If you are interested in entering one or more of these, please respond as soon as possible to Hal "Fair Wrangler" Bowman.
Pie baking - this is going to be judged "out of character" in a blind taste test. The contest will then be staged and the winner will be announced in character. Try for the Blue Ribbon!
Pie eating - an in-character contest. He or she who can eat their pie the fastest wins. Hmm...pie...
Cowhand Championship - points will be awarded to those who do well in the following contests. The overall winner will get the Champion Belt Buckle. If you enter, we'll tell you more about how the results will be determined. Each will be acted out in character and should be lots of fun to do and to watch.
Prize livestock - so far we have a pig entered. If you think your PC would want to show an animal (horse, steer, pig), let us know.
The fair will be early in the game and will be loads of fun. If you think your character would want to participate, please sign up soon. Also, we would assume that lively betting might take place on the sidelines. Just food for thought.