Hit Points based on level just DON'T work for me with firearms.
Well, actually hit points actually can work pretty well if done right! In Go Fer Yer Gun (written to be similar to C&C) Simon capped HD off at 4 if memory serves me correctly. That gives some HD advancement but not so much as to totally unbalance the game.
Marv / Finarvyn DCC playtester (2011) C&C playtester (2003) I'm partly responsible for the S&W WhiteBox Builder of the TrollBridge Master of Mutants; MA since 1976 OD&D Player since 1975
"Don't ask me what you need to hit. Just roll the die and I will let you know!" - Dave Arneson
... if anyone could help similarly with Outdoorsman, I'd be happy!
Ranger? Guide? Scout?
The trouble with all of those is that they are quite specific - I wanted the class to cover anyone who mainly lives out of doors - like prospectors, cowboys and teamsters. Outdoorsman works, but unfortunately is specifically male. I suppose mostly it would be men that do this stuff.
Hit Points based on level just DON'T work for me with firearms. My recommendation is have hit points equal to Constitution plus the roll of a die. The value of said die being dependant on the class. Keep all of the bonuses accrued to levelling up however. I'd also use "exploding" damage dice where you get to re-roll if you score a 6 on a D6 and add it together. This makes gunplay very risky as it should be, and at the same time make flesh wounds reasonable as well.
I'm trying to keep pretty much to the old-schoolness of Swords & Wizardry. If HP don't work for firearms then arguably they don't work for any weapon. It's the old argument against HP. A well placed sword is just as likely to finish you off as a well placed bullet - if you are looking at HP simply as your ability to survive wounds. If you look at it as the experience of a veteren to position himself so as to be harder to kill, or move just at the right moment and turn a gutshot into a flesh wound, then it still works. I will have a rule, like B&B's "Downright Blow" rule for injuries though, where firearms will be deadlier.
Joined: Nov 2012 Gender: Male Posts: 1,554 Location: Austin TX USA Karma: 152
Re: Smith & Wesson Old West RPG « Reply #18 on Jan 2, 2012, 6:11am »
Yeah, you're right. I additionally thought of "tracker" or "pioneer" but they suffer from the same problem. They're a bit too specific as to what the character does. If I think of something, I'll post it here.
Joined: Jan 2008 Gender: Male Posts: 2,329 Location: New Hope, MN Karma: 93
Smith & Wesson Old West RPG « Reply #20 on Jan 2, 2012, 6:38pm via the ProBoards Mobile App »
Simon, awesome as always!
How 'bout Mountain Man? Sure there's a gender specific term there, but I could see a Mountain Woman slapping people upside the head anytime someone mistook her for a man...
Unless I misread, it looks like everyone is proficient in all weapons; I'd be inclined to let Gambler only use pistols and knives, and MM/Outdoorsmen/whatever, use only rifles, knives, and axes, etc.
Now I really want to make a female Mountain Man named Hilda with a rifle-barreled musket and a wood axe...
How 'bout Mountain Man? Sure there's a gender specific term there, but I could see a Mountain Woman slapping people upside the head anytime someone mistook her for a man...
Unless I misread, it looks like everyone is proficient in all weapons; I'd be inclined to let Gambler only use pistols and knives, and MM/Outdoorsmen/whatever, use only rifles, knives, and axes, etc.
Now I really want to make a female Mountain Man named Hilda with a rifle-barreled musket and a wood axe...
I'd already discarded Mountain Man, for much the same reasons as Pioneer earlier in the thread. In this case, it is too gender specific and too specific generally about the nature of the character. Outdoorsman includes Mountain Men and so much more besides (scouts, teamsters, trappers, prospectors, cowboys). No; it'll either be Trailblazer or I'll stick with Outdoorsman.
Weapons? I suppose Outdoorsmen wouldn't use a derringer or pocket pistol - but I can't limit them beyond this because cowboys use pistols and rifles and teamsters would use shotguns. Maybe I'll put a note in that players should choose weapons that fit their concept of the character (a mountain man would use some large calibre single-shot thing (to bring dowen bears and the like) whereas a brave might use a tomahawk and a bow (or a musket).
Gamblers get a bonus (x2 damage for surprise attacks) for using derringers or pocket pistols and so are not likely to have a rifle at a card game but I don't want to say they can't use them.
Is "shootist" actually a real word (outside that John Wayne movie)?
After reading this thread, I've been paying attention to the western series I'm reading (the Weird West books by Mike Resnick) and looking for "shootist." While I can't testify to the contents of book #1 of the series (read it before this thread) I can say that Resnick has used the term at least 3 times in the first half of book #2.
Marv / Finarvyn DCC playtester (2011) C&C playtester (2003) I'm partly responsible for the S&W WhiteBox Builder of the TrollBridge Master of Mutants; MA since 1976 OD&D Player since 1975
"Don't ask me what you need to hit. Just roll the die and I will let you know!" - Dave Arneson
Finarvyn Administrator Dungeon Master member is offline
Joined: Jun 2007 Gender: Male Posts: 4,674 Location: Near Chicago Karma: 178
Re: Smith & Wesson Old West RPG « Reply #26 on Jan 8, 2012, 12:18pm »
Marv / Finarvyn DCC playtester (2011) C&C playtester (2003) I'm partly responsible for the S&W WhiteBox Builder of the TrollBridge Master of Mutants; MA since 1976 OD&D Player since 1975
"Don't ask me what you need to hit. Just roll the die and I will let you know!" - Dave Arneson
Is "shootist" actually a real word (outside that John Wayne movie)?
After reading this thread, I've been paying attention to the western series I'm reading (the Weird West books by Mike Resnick) and looking for "shootist." While I can't testify to the contents of book #1 of the series (read it before this thread) I can say that Resnick has used the term at least 3 times in the first half of book #2.
I've been considering getting those books. Are they any good?
I've noticed I left the bit about alignments in. I'll have to take that out. I'm considering a setting; Bodie, CA (now a ghost town) looks like a possibility.
Oe, Chainmail, Delving Deeper, Labyrinth Lord Society, GangBusters, Boot Hill 1e...
Joined: Feb 2011 Gender: Male Posts: 881 Location: Harrisburg, PA USA Karma: 72
Re: Smith & Wesson Old West RPG « Reply #29 on Jan 8, 2012, 5:28pm »
I'm giving you an exalt even before I read it, just because it's formatted in booklet-size pages.
The other thing, already commented on and discussed at length in any and every OSR forum, is the lethal-ness of any particular weapon. I've resolved to use exploding dice in most situations. (and/or on a natural 20, you get to roll the d30 for damage.)
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