Great White Games/Pinnacle Entertainment Group

[Sherman]

Just ran my fifth session of Deadlands "The Flood" over the weekend and had a grand time of it. The players went through the first three sessions pretty much as scripted (one character was in California looking for her dear aunt who had joined up with Rev. Grimme's flock, had a chance to chat with her at the orphanage she helped run for Grimme in Ghost Town right before the bomb's dropped, and another character was captured and tortured for information during the attempt to find Sam in Lost Angels, but otherwise right on script...)

The fourth session involved locating a scientist in Progress who was working on Grimme's new fleet of ships, a couple of characters wanted to recruit him to work for the Confederate Army. I made sure to make it interesting by giving him a daughter who was a devout follower of Grimme who worked his kitchens in Lost Angels, and of course he wasn't going anywhere without her. One smart plan to kidnap her later the party was on a boat headed north to Shannonsburg, after a fight at port with the Progress locals.

The fifth session is where I'm not sure I played it right. We had a blast, I think. Everyone had fun anyway, except maybe the player who lost his character who I am pretty sure felt pretty dumb. I try to play things to the hilt and couldn't figure out how else to work it though...

The posse spent the entire session dodging problems. The hid from the pursuing "Aquatic Whirlygig" and armored ship from Progress, made peace with some paranoid miners, paid off the Maze Pirates who hit them up for tribute, didn't attack the Union Supply boat headed to Progress even though they were flying Confederate colors themselves and the "captain" still despises the Union for "war crimes", even saw "Fellheimer's Folly" and left it alone, but ultimately landed in Lion's Roar for what they hoped would be a quick re-supply and some R&R. The party quickly split up in the infamous pirate port. Gambling, brothels, and hot baths were all sought, but it's the guy who wanted to drink tea who got himself killed.

My most novice player decided he wanted to be a Ronin Samurai, fresh off the boat from Japan. Looking at the clock I say, "We've got twenty minutes left and I still haven't used any bennies". Enter four drunken Chinese pirates who don't care to have a Japanese man enjoying their town. They spill his tea, tell him he's got a drinking problem, to which he responds by cutting down three with his katana before they even get an action. Yowch, unexpected, but there it is. A mob forms, he's beaten senseless, and dragged off to jail by the town guard before the rest of the posse even knows what's going on.

The posse is chased out of town by an angry mob and forced to spend the night on their boat. They return in the morning to try and convince Red Petals Su to let their friend go. She says that he murdered three men, but will let him go if they are willing to infiltrate the Confederacy at Shannonsburg. Being loyal Southerners they refuse, and the Samurai is beheaded within the hour. Everyone is sad, one character is devastated (he was captured and tortured by the Guardian Angels in Lost Angels, and the Samurai is the one who came back to rescue him), but ultimately no one feels like there is anything they could have done.

I feel like the player learned a valuable lesson about cause and effect here, but I normally give my new players a "Free Death" when they're learning. Like them to see exactly what their limits are. Unfortunately, I just couldn't see a way out of this one. It was like a train wreck, just no stopping it...

The player intends to make his next character "Smarter", and doesn't seem particularly put out, like I said, we really did have fun. What would you have done though? Anything different? If you were playing, would you be ok with such an ignominious death for your character? "That one time, when I was trying to drink tea and died," doesn't sound like a great story, but I think we'll be talking about it for a while to come!
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Gryphon Games & Comics
2020 S College Ave, Suite B
Fort Collins CO 80525
www.gryphongamesandcomics.com

[Jordan Peacock]

I think you did just fine. Thanks to the wonders of 20/20 hindsight, I can usually think of SOMETHING I could have done "better" (or at least differently), but once it's past, it's past.

For instance, I don't think I'd introduce a new conflict when there are only 20 minutes left in a session, unless I'm prepared to end it on a cliffhanger. In this case, if we were left with the possibility of a PC being beheaded at the end of the session, and I really wanted him to have a chance to live, I would've ended the session at the point where the PCs turned down the chance to do the spying mission on the Confederacy. The players could then have until next session to come up with some sort of plan that could be enacted within an hour of game-time -- and so the captured PC's player isn't left out, he'd get a "guest PC" to take control of (perhaps an NPC crewman temporarily promoted to Wild Card status) for the rescue attempt.

Of course, if the group wrote off their fellow PC as beyond hope of rescue, then that'd be that.

But back to where we are right now, as long as the player of the dead PC is okay with this, you're really not in a bad position at all. The PC was a "novice," so presumably the player didn't have much time to get terribly invested in it. Plus, you've set an expectation of a threat level where the PCs can't be counted on that some deus ex machina will deliver them if they just give up -- and they can't just stomp around and shoot the town sheriff (etc.) and expect that NPC townsfolk are just a bunch of "sheeple" who'll put up with it.

I would consider, however, that there could be a problem with PCs properly "reading the situation." For instance, back to the situation with the samurai with the three bullies. The player COULD have misread the situation in a way that an experienced character shouldn't have. For instance, think of Star Wars and the Mos Eisley cantina. That was a place where some smuggler could blast a green alien at a booth, or some thug could threaten the life of a farm boy and get his arm cut off with a lightsaber, and NOBODY MAKES MUCH OF A FUSS (as long as someone pays to clean up the mess).

I could imagine a player mistakenly imagining that these three bullies are just Bad Guys, and that if he cuts them down, the locals either won't care, or they might even applaud. ("Yay! The Baker Boys have been terrorizing this town! Thank you, Stranger!") However, a skilled samurai -- especially a ronin who doesn't have the authority of a lord to protect him -- would probably develop a bit of a survival skill in the form of "reading" the mood of the crowd. When those bullies walk up to him, are all the locals just looking away, trying to pretend that nothing is happening, AFRAID to get involved? Or, are they all staring disapprovingly at the samurai, and these three are more-or-less the representatives of the group's collective ire? Those are cues that, if you were really there, you'd probably notice; at least, I'd sure be self-conscious if I was among strangers and they were all staring at me and muttering menacingly.

Thus, if this situation (or one like it) were likely to come up AGAIN, I'd consider:

1) Trying to fill in the player on such details to give him a better read of the situation. That way, the player knows that these guys have FRIENDS in the room, and if he starts a fight, it won't just be with three guys.

2) Or, since I as a GM am NOT omniscient, and since I can't think of EVERY possible narrative detail that might be important to the player (and if I could, it'd just overwhelm the players in too much information and take up too much time), bring it up at the point of decision. If the player is drawing his sword and I didn't expect him to start killing (it's a bad idea!) then I might call for a Streetwise or a Notice roll; on a success, give the player a bit more "tactical information," and if he decides to carry on with the attack anyway, or change his mind, so be it.

The trouble with #2 is that I need to make sure it's not a case of, "GM is telling you this is a very bad idea! GM doesn't want you to do this!" or it might earn some push-back from players who resent being "railroaded." It's just meant to fill the player in on additional tactical information that might be relevant, that I didn't share at first because I wasn't certain that this was going to turn into a fight. It's largely a matter of delivery.

The player might intend to make his next character "smarter," but in order to help him with that, he might need a bit more information from his environment to work with. Unfortunately, the GM tends to have most of that information inside his own head, and we haven't yet achieved the level of technology that allows for total immersion and communication of such subtle environmental cues. Hence, a few "tactical tips" from the GM are probably the next best thing, in my opinion.

But above all, just to emphasize, from what you've shared, you're NOT in a bad situation. It sounds like you handled it just fine, the players are okay with it, and that's what really matters. Presumably they'll be a little more careful, and if there's not another PC death in the campaign, you've still established that "death can happen," thus adding a little to the sense of danger. Any suggestions I have to offer on the matter are just opinions offered without knowing all the particulars of your play group and style.
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[Thasmodious]

There isn't anything I can really think to add to the excellent advice above, except to say that there are worse ways for a new player to get an introduction to gaming than a story the group will be telling for years. "Remember when I was trying to drink tea and died?" Ha.
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There's more than seventy earths spinning 'bout the galaxy and the meek have inherited not a one.

[Sherman]

Good point about the "read of the crowd", I definitely didn't bring it up at the time which might have completely changed how things shook out. I did mention it to him when he made the character, "You'll be an outsider for reals, even the Chinese will despise you." and when they entered Lion's Roar I made sure to mention that the gate guards specifically singled him out and suggested he not make any trouble! Yay for foreshadowing. So I don't feel too bad.

As for character death, the players are well aware already. All my combat rolls are in the open and many of the players have lost one or more characters in past games... This one just felt particularly epic, and wrong, since it was never even supposed to be an option.
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Gryphon Games & Comics
2020 S College Ave, Suite B
Fort Collins CO 80525
www.gryphongamesandcomics.com

[Jordan Peacock]

[Dracones]

I wouldn't have beheaded the character. The reason why is because I think a character should usually die for dramatic effect or die as from the result of immediate action or "bad rolls".

To me having the NPC behead the guy because the PCs (rightly) refused to do a job is anti-climatic.

In the very least I think you missed out on a good plot driver. Will the PCs be able to break him out of jail? Will another NPC faction swoop in free him? Maybe (if the player is into the idea), the PC is freed but has been brain washed or implanted with a mind control device which he can roleplay out.

[Sherman]

Sure, I get that. We could have spent the next few sessions with a jail break and dodging Kang's pirates, but it would have been a totally different game. Later in The Flood the players are expected to respect some of Kang's authority. In the story his people are some of the most stable in the land... Putting the whole party on the wrong side of "the law" doesn't seem like the right call.

Also, the guy kind of became a villain. Any time your first instinct is to murder three people because they threaten and harass you, maybe you're in the wrong... Red Petals Su laid it down. Yes he was provoked, but he murdered people who hadn't taken any overtly aggressive action against him.

That said, I try to let the players drive the action. If they wanted to bust him out, or really wanted to keep him alive, they could have found a way. Once they had the facts laid out (murdered 3 people...), half of them felt like that's how things should go. People got lynched for a lot less 150 years ago, I mean, cattle rustling is a capitol offense and worthy of vigilante justice!

I'm all for story, but sometimes having a believable world makes the story so much sweeter. That's my take anyway...
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Gryphon Games & Comics
2020 S College Ave, Suite B
Fort Collins CO 80525
www.gryphongamesandcomics.com

[Timon]

I fully agree with Jordan - it could have been a tavern where slicing and dicing the rougher clients is normal (the Cantina is the perfect example) and accepted, but if you gave signals that there was law in this place the consequence was reasonable. It is also a good thing that the players stayed consistent to their allegiance under pressure.

It also sounds as if the player accepts it too. I hope that I would make as brave and decisive a call in my games; this makes me think that I am sometimes too protective of my players. Harsh choices and deadly consequences are part of the game.
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Biting! It's like kissing but there's a winner!
The Doctor's Wife

[Dracones]