Deadlands flavor mechanics.

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Jester4108
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Deadlands flavor mechanics.

Post by Jester4108 »

I started thinking about doing Deadlands with DCC using "Black Powder, Black Magic" as a base and
realized you wouldn't be missing a whole lot by running it straight BP, BM. The two things i would want to add though
would be huckster and mad science flavoring for wizards and i came up with the following.

Do away with mercurial magic and patrons for both.

Huckster: As Wizards in BP,BM with the following exceptions:
They don't spellburn normally. Instead they call the points they are going for and say which attribute(s) they use.
Then they draw a poker hand of five cards (plus or minus luck mod) with an option to discard and redraw 1 card for every two wizard levels.
The draw pays for points depending on hand value (1 point for ace high, 2 for a pair, 3 for a pair of jacks etc.)
If the hand is equal to or higher than the points they wagered they get the spell bonus without losing attribute points.
However if it is lower than what they wagered they lose the attribute points without the bonus to the spell roll.
If a joker is used for the final hand they get the spell bonus AND lose the attribute points.

Mad scientists were a bit trickier to figure out....

Starts with one spell, gets another every 2nd or third level.
Spells are all self contained devices that can be used at d10 for other classes (like scrolls).
Gets a mental corruption for every device they build. Cannot get corruption otherwise.
Spellburns by cramming ghost rock/Demon ore into a device in an attempt to overcharge the circuit.
A spellburn uses 1 oz of material and adds a die to the spell roll depending on level (starts at d3 increases 1 type per level)
Natural ones on spell rolls result in an explosion (2d6 dam) and a non functional device that needs repaired.
Repairing a device is another spell roll and requires spare parts/ material.
Lost devices lose thier powers after being away from the scientist for too long and the scientist needs to build another.
This is basically a learning a new spell roll+parts.
Non-mad scientists cannot burn for devices and can suffer corruption.

These ideas area bit rough at the moment because i came up with them after a few minutes of thinking.
I would appreciate any constructive criticism :)
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Eagerly awaiting the release of MCC!

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finarvyn
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Re: Deadlands flavor mechanics.

Post by finarvyn »

I know some about Deadlands but am totally unfamiliar with "Black Powder, Black Magic." Could you elaborate on this?
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Raven_Crowking
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Re: Deadlands flavor mechanics.

Post by Raven_Crowking »

finarvyn wrote:I know some about Deadlands but am totally unfamiliar with "Black Powder, Black Magic." Could you elaborate on this?
http://dcctreasures.blogspot.ca/search?q=black+powder
SoBH pbp:

Cathbad the Meek (herbalist Wizard 1): AC 9; 4 hp; S 7, A 7, St 10, P 17, I 13, L 8; Neutral; Club, herbs, 50' rope, 50 cp; -1 to melee attack rolls. Hideous scar.
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Re: Deadlands flavor mechanics.

Post by mythfish »

Those both seem like workable solutions.

The one change I'd make is to make use of the Mercurial Magic table (or maybe the corruption table) if the Huckster uses the joker. Divide the Mercurial magic into separate "good effects" and "bad effects" for the red joker and black joker, if you really want that Deadlands feel. :)
Dieter Zimmerman
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