Quote from: BalbinusHave you tried an A&E combat yet incidentally?  If so, how did it go?

I decided to register to answer this question for you.

I ran two A&8 campaigns already* and I've learned that combat is lethal just like it would be in real life. A shotgun blast to the face at 10' will smudge a person unless they're very, very lucky and some sort of strange circumstance intervenes and aids them from certain death.

The Basic Rules are fine for the first session (long enough to understand the basics of the shot-clock and whatnot), but after that you'll probably want to add some of the more Advanced Rules. The Advanced Rules are modular and each and every part can be added or ignored at whatever pace you and your group are comfortable with. For example, after the first session we added Tactical Movement, Wound Severity, and Damage Penetration to the game. Slowly but surely we added more and more rules until we were playing almost the full game. But the beauty of A&8 is you don't need to use every rule to get the most out of the system. We ignored Facing, for example, and our game was fine. So combat can be as simple or complex as you and your group want. Without using Wound Severity or Damage Penetration it's possible to do a more cinematic Western, where the PCs can take a bullet and keep going. But factor in Wound Severity and a 9 point shot to the arm, despite you having 23 Hit Points, will still break your arm, cause bleeding, force you to drop everything you were holding, and lodge the bullet.

So basically combat is what you want it to be, much like the rest of the game. The rules are very modular. Hell, we even started ignoring the Skill Masteries and whatnot and just making all skill rolls straight percentiles.

*The first one ended when my girlfriend's character, a natural born Chiseler (a flaw in the game), decided that she was taking all of the money the group robbed from the bank and heading to Texas to open a bar. The other PC wouldn't have that, so they shot it out. The entire fight lasted about 3 seconds (combat is in tenths of a second)... shotguns at close range are nasty.

-=Grim=-

My group consists of a one-armed gunslinger, a would-be journalist, an escaped slave and a snake oil salesman who is a Master Brewer.

They literally stepped off the stage with the clothes on their back and $5. Only one of them even had a gun. They set about finding work. The snake oil guy ingratiated himself to the town doctor and got a contract to create "tonics" for him. He also wangled a deal to produce tequila for a local restaurant. The escaped slave decided upon a personal crusade to clean up the town as a vigilante-by-night..which immediatley caused him to come into conflict with one of the local gangs. he also got a job as cook and manservant for the aforementioned doctor...until he wound up making an absolutely stunning diplomacy roll and got hired on as a deputy! The gunfighter also got a deputy job. The journalist has so far written three articles for the local newspaper as a freelancer and has stolen $125 from the participants in a poker game As a result of the black deputies actions, the local gang in question planned to basically lynch every black person in the town...which led to a spectacular gunfight. The characters didn't get scratched but they killed the gang leader and killed or captured five of his men...which only means they managed to make some serious enemies as the gang was a lot larger than those people, and includes some highly connected citizens...

The game started on June 29th, 1868. The events detailed above took us up to July 2nd.

Everyone dreads the 4th of July coming up...as a lot of people in this town don't share the United States' enthusiasm for that day...

[EDIT] I might add that all of these events came directly from the character's actions..I had only the book, the list of sample NPCs in said book and a map...they drive the story. It was awesome.

Allen

Grimjesta, Allensh, kickass stuff, thanks for registering to post it.

Wow sounds like you have the makings of a great campaign going there.

Quote from: Allensh[EDIT] I might add that all of these events came directly from the character's actions..I had only the book, the list of sample NPCs in said book and a map...they drive the story. It was awesome.

Allen

That's how my A&8 campaign usually goes. Very little in the way of prepared adventures. THe characters always end up doing the unexpected and I run with it. Though I do keep several adventure ops/hooks handy just in case.

In my current campaign we just wrapped up a trial of a local gang member (in which one player acted the the prosectuor and two other players were wittnesses again the gang member).

He's set to hang next session but there may be a few surprises.

Quote from: Allensh[EDIT] I might add that all of these events came directly from the character's actions..I had only the book, the list of sample NPCs in said book and a map...they drive the story. It was awesome.

That's actually how the vast majority of my game went. The first campaign I tried to write it out like a regular RPG session, but after a few sessions I realized that A&8 is so character driven (both NPC and PC) that it's best to roll with the punches and let the PCs drive the story completely. After all, people went West to forge their own destinies and start over, so it's natural to let the PCs do the same.

My game used to be three players and me as GM, but I found myself liking the depth of character development that I didn't bother looking for a replacement when we lost the third player.

But werd, we're always happy to answer questions on this game over at the forums, and I like what I see around here as well (w00t! No cuss filter! PUNK RAWK!) so I'll answer any others here too.

-=Grim=-

Based on all of the discussion in this thread, I am looking forward to getting a copy of A&8 as soon as possible!!

Quote from: cmagounBased on all of the discussion in this thread, I am looking forward to getting a copy of A&8 as soon as possible!!

Yeah, I'm sold too...ordered my copy today....was thinking about running Boot Hill's "Ballots and Bullets" module with it...that one was always a good time....anyone have any thoughts (those that know A&8 and the Boot Hill module in question)?

Quote from: rcsampleYeah, I'm sold too...ordered my copy today....was thinking about running Boot Hill's "Ballots and Bullets" module with it...that one was always a good time....anyone have any thoughts (those that know A&8 and the Boot Hill module in question)?

Good module. Should lend itself well to A&8 considering most players will wanting to pursue careers and get involved in the community.

Politics (and corruption) should open a lot of adventure opps.

I'm sure you could lift it from Promise City and set it in Lazaurus with very little trouble (should you have a mind to do so).

Regarding Boot Hill "Ballots and Bullets" module...

Quote from: JollyRBGood module. Should lend itself well to A&8 considering most players will wanting to pursue careers and get involved in the community.

Politics (and corruption) should open a lot of adventure opps.

I'm sure you could lift it from Promise City and set it in Lazaurus with very little trouble (should you have a mind to do so).

Thanks for the input...I had a question regarding A&8, somewhat in comparison to Boot Hill.  One rule (this is my rememberance of the rule, at least) that I always found interesting in Boot Hill was I think Quick Draw/Fanning the Hammer in a duel.  Basically, I think you kept -20 or something off your quick draw skill, and as long as your number was still higher than your opponents, you were able to get a shot off(or multiple shots) before they would be able to return fire.  How does A&8 simulate the gunfight in the street/quick draw situation?

Thanks in advance,

Rich

To summarize briefly, Aces & Eights combat occurs in Counts (instead of segments, etc) which are equivalent to 1/10th of a second.  So the GM/players would just count up 1, 2, 3, 4... and you act on the appropriate Count.

Each action takes a number of Counts, and some actions are slower/faster than others (and some have bonuses/penalties to Accuracy because of this).

For example, drawing and cocking a pistol takes 5 Counts, bringing it to bear (aiming) takes 4 Count, and so on.  So if my initiative is 6, my pistol is aimed and I can fire on 15 (6+5+4).  Cocking and firing a pointed pistol (2nd+ shots) takes 5 Count.  So my 2nd shot would got off on 20, then the 3rd on 25, then the 4th on 30 (3 seconds of game time have passed).

Fanfiring doesn't require that 4 Count of bringing to bear/aiming and also gives a -2 Speed bonus to the 2nd+ shots.  Hipshooting also doesn't require aiming, so you can fire faster.  Of course, you have Accuracy penalties because you're shooting more recklessly.

Yea, just to clarify what Mark said - there are no "rounds" in A&8. The count is always moving up 1/10 of a second at a time. Gunfights at "high noon" are interesting events, especially since your speed is affected by not only talents and stats, but how many gunfights you've been in, whether you're using your signature weapon, etc.. It's great.

I hope all of you who made the purchase like the game and get involved with the HMA when A&8 events start up. I just warn you all. I'm a mean shot with a rifle.

-=Grim=-

I'm liking it now because it's finally in my hands.  My first impression is that they managed to sneak an RPG into a cowboy book, Time Warner mixed with 1st ed. D&D.  The only thing that I wondered from my quick glance is why are shotguns more expensive than pistols and rifles?  Is it a reflection of the time period?

Quote from: GunslingerI'm liking it now because it's finally in my hands.  My first impression is that they managed to sneak an RPG into a cowboy book, Time Warner mixed with 1st ed. D&D.  The only thing that I wondered from my quick glance is why are shotguns more expensive than pistols and rifles?  Is it a reflection of the time period?

Some of the prices reflect the differences in history and gun technology in this setting, I would think.

I might add that it gets even more interesting when you add in the effects of beng out in the middle of nowhere..that gun that costs $18.75 in Fort Worth might go for $100 in Lazarus because of the difficulty in getting it to the town to sell in the first place.

Allen

Quote from: AllenshSome of the prices reflect the differences in history and gun technology in this setting, I would think.

I might add that it gets even more interesting when you add in the effects of beng out in the middle of nowhere..that gun that costs $18.75 in Fort Worth might go for $100 in Lazarus because of the difficulty in getting it to the town to sell in the first place.

Allen

Very true.  There are mechanics about how much things cost depending on how far they are from a railhead (or easy access to goods).  Sure can change the landscape...

We need Colorado Charlie Utter to establish a freight line

Allen