Law of the Gun OOC

[Grognardsw]

Sorry for your loss.

[jemmus]

A lot has happened recently and we've kind of gotten scattered around, so here's a quick summary of the situation for the PCs in the Austin area. (PCs in the Comancheria thread, we haven't forgotten about you. Post upcoming).
-It's the morning of Saturday, June 13, 1873. (The game started on June 3, the day of the brawl and shootout with the drunken cowboys at Hoffman's in San Marcos). It's the day after the full moon, which in Texas is often called the "Comanche Moon." Because raiding/war parties tend to move around in it.

-Yesterday DT, Gideon, Paladin and William visited the Wells Fargo office and got hired to make the roads from Austin to Fredericksburg and Burnett safe again. All PCs get advances of half of the pay for two weeks work. Please update your sheets with the $35 pay.

-Yesterday Andreas and Doos stayed at the rail construction camp watching for mischief. But it was quiet, and has been since the third railroad employee guard departed for "urgent family business." That was on Wednesday, June 10. The only event of notice was Tonkawa Army scouts visiting the camp, asking about seeing any Comanches, and making themselves at home in the cook tent. The PCs who had been in Austin arrived at the camp and Paladin announced that the guarding job was done.

-On Wednesday, June 10, William and Gideon rode with Texas Rangers to the rustlers' house in Blanco County, via San Marcos. The Rangers followed the trail of horses approaching and departing the house from the northeast. There was a lot of dried blood at the head of the trail. That wounded man or horse tracks exited more easterly than those of the other riders. Since it was getting late in the day and William and Gideon had to be at the rustlers' trial in Austin in the morning, the Rangers gave up on tracking and took a more direct route back to Austin.

At dusk, they encountered Comanches just 10 miles outside of Austin on the Fredericksburg road and in ranches country. The Rangers sent the PCs on to Austin and had a fight with the Comanches. The Comanches were driven off, but three Rangers were knocked out of commission. The Rangers office had to postpone the investigation of the Burnett and Fredericksburg roads stagecoach robberies.

-This morning (Saturday, June 13) Paladin rode from the camp to Austin, saying he had an errand for the day, and would be at the Drover Hotel in Austin that evening. DT also rode for, but first rode a ways north toward the sound of the shots heard around midnight last night. He asked Andreas, Doos and Gideon if they wanted to come along.

So, the current situation for the Austin area PCs: Paladin rode out of the camp directly for Austin. DT will check out the area of the sound of the shots, then ride to Austin. Andreas, Doos, and Gideon can join either, or do something else.

Please feel free to add any comments or clarifications, anyone.

[Grognardsw]

Paladin’s deal with Cummins fell through, so he’s in Austin looking for others to go to Burnett, per in-character post.

[jemmus]

Thanks for moving rolls from the DT solo thread to the main IC thread, thumper. For the time being, PCs in the Austin area, please post in the main IC thread. We trust players whose PCs who wouldn't know of distant event to not know of them.
Prosecuting attorney: Your honor, everybody knows that man only avoided hanging because the jury were all his cousins and buddies.
Defense lawyer: Judge, I object! Bringing up prior convictions and sentencing isn't allowed"
Judge: Counsel Smith, I'll advise you again not to address this court as "judge."
Defense lawyer: Sorry, Yer Honor. Yer Honor, I object!"
Judge: Objection sustained. Court's clerk, please strike the prosecutor's statement from the record. Members of the jury, you are instructed to disregard the prosecutor's statement.
Jurors: [All look confounded at the puzzle of how to mentally do that.] One fella comments to the other jurors. Ya mean that fella was the one who robbed the hardware store in Georgetown and stole a bunch a guns? Ah seen about that in the papers.

[Thumper]

If only Paladin new someone with some average-ish skill in doctoring horses…including ear ticks. And over the previous two days of riding together, he never mentioned anything about Copper’s accused ailments…

And, as a conscientious medical professional, he’d constantly been looking for problems he could treat..amongst men and beast…

[Grognardsw]

Ol’ Jake’s a slick horse salesman and Paladin trusts him as far as he can throw him. Copper is right fine enough as long as I’m not gettin chased by Comanchees

[jemmus]

Horse ranchers and traders are kind of notorious in modern day Texas. The tend to never want to pay for anything outright. Instead, they want to barter or cut some kind of other deal.

[jemmus]

Please see this House Rules post about Poor, Fair, Good and Excellent horses' comparative sprinting/galloping speeds. It might come up in a conflict.viewtopic.php?p=688463#p688463

[Thumper]

Great info!

[jemmus]

The info has been revised. A Combat Turn in Boot Hill is 6 seconds, not 10. (I had that confused with another crunchy OSR highly tactical rules game we've got going (Bushido)).

The figures posted conflict with the RAW about movement per Combat Turn. They just flatly state 32 yards per turn for galloping, regardless of the quality of the horse (p. 29). To be honest, I find BH 3E's rules for movement frustrating. The numbers don't jibe with one another across the board. We're given figures for long movements across the strategic map, but nothing for quick tactical riding. Old reviews of BH said it was a rules set for tactical/miniatures combat, and not an RPG. I'd say that 3E is a partially complete RPG. They did well on developing the Attributes and Skills material.

Many things are left to OSR luck of die rolls. Which I thinks falls well into a Wild West frontier game. Snowed in and freezing and starving? You get a Luck roll. Dried up and looking for a watering hole on the plains? You get an Orienteering, Scouting, Survival roll. And if those fail and you're about to perish, you get a Luck roll. Even your horse gets a Luck roll. The frontier is a harsh mistress, doggone it!

[Thumper]

IMG_0877.png (595.84 KiB) Viewed 407 times

I find this interesting that 2-legged penalties for terrain type are sometimes less than 4-legged strategic movement penalties. Not seeing the logic except maybe for mountains or woodlands where being mounted impedes one’s steed.

[jemmus]

Yes, I don't see the logic of why mounted moves at 1/4 in desert terrain, while foot moves at 1/2. Calculating this stuff gets kind of complicated. And I suppose the modifiers don't combine(?) Movement on a road through a desert or mountains is at full speed? It seems that way.

[Thumper]

Seems that way. The trail modifier stymies me as well. From personal experience, trail or road should be the same for mounted.

I really like the combat and skill rules...seems to me the movement rules are the weakest of BH3e

[jemmus]

FYI, the title of the next chapter, "Strange Pursuit," is from an old Louis Lamour Western I read years ago.

[Thumper]

I believe the entire party (except Gidean) has agreed to leave Austin and ride to Burnet after lunch on Saturday afternoon. Any relaxing will be done in Burnet.

[jemmus]

I probably should have mentioned this before, but Burnet has a population of around 280-290 people. Not a very big town.

[jemmus]

Sorry for the slow posting, all. I've had an unexpected semi-urgent matter come up that needed attention, and might need some more for a few days.

[Thumper]

No problem, Jemmus…real life first!!

[Rex]

Agreed, no problem.

[jemmus]

a) 50 points for surviving a gunfight; (N/A)
b) 40 points for bringing a criminal to justice; (40 x 3 criminals = 120 / 5 characters (including Gideon) = 24 each.
c) 30 points for winning a brawl; (N/A)
d) 20 points for coming up with a brilliant idea that saves the day or resolves an adventure;
e) 10 points for using a work skill;
f) 5 points per hour of real time spent playing the game. (We'll guesstimate this based on the length of posts, RP, and contributions to the story. While trying to be fair to players who aren't as into writing or RP as others. Or who are playing a more tactiturn PC).
g) 10 points per day at the rail camp for resolving the railroad sabotage problem;
h) 40 points for showing up as witnesses for two trials;
i) Up to 15 points for taking rest and recreation.

Participating in the shooting contest earn Reputation, rather than XP.

Andreas
b) 24
e) 10 per successful Stealth roll (2, I think). One Tracking success.
f) 45
g) 40
h) 40
i) 5
149 + Work skill successes

Doos
b) 24
e) 10 per successful Law roll (1, I think). Any other Work skills successes?
f) 45
g) 40
h) 40
i) 5
149 + Work skill successes

DT
e) 10 per successful Medicine roll. Any other Work skills successes?
f) 70 (joined the game late)
g) 10
i) 10 (partial day's rest (riding and some work, rest and expensive entertainment))
100 + Work skill successes
(DT's total for f) (RP and writing) is of course affected by the fact that he entered about halfway through this chapter, after we calculated XP after entering from San Marcos).

Paladin
b) 24
d) 20 for putting together and managing the railroad sabotage adventure that provided income and employment for the group.
e) 10 per Work skill success.
f) 140
g) 40
h) 40
i) 10 (partial day's rest (riding and some work, rest and expensive entertainment))
230 + Work skill successes

William
b) 20
e) 10 per Work skill success.
f) 45
g) 30
h) 40
i) 5 (Rest in Austin?)
125 + Work skill successes

(Gideon - N/A)

Please let us know your Work skill successes totals so we can finalize the totals. And please update your sheets, all. You might be toward bumping your PC up. (Charlie and Ezekiel in the Comancheria thread, reminder to add 50 XP to your sheets as well).

Here we go...! ? ??