Zooming Purgatory

 Some notes and observations for a planned Gunfight in Purgatory Zoom game.

The Cameras

I'm looking at mounting my "Woolworths" webcam on top of the laptop for a view up Mainstreet.  The quality is quite good.

My phone camera will give the view following the activated character.  Having tested it the quality is excellent.

It means I will struggle to get screenshot pictures for a blog AAR, but I can screenshot the zoom feed manually at key moments.

Reputation Points after two games

Note that reputation points are awarded subjectively and prejudicially by the Town Mayor following a game based on kills, money and bounty, as well as flair.  Bystanders also award reputation points.

Doc Hannibal  400. $600

Kid Cakey.      200. $6

The Colonel    300. $300

Curley.             200. $200

Fast Mike        200. $500 (deputised and bounty rewards)

USM Rooster  600. $10.  Doesn't pay to be a public servant)

(The Marshal has inflated points since he is a single figure and has huge status in the county)   Taking down a character figure in a "fair fight" awards you half of their rep points.

The US Marshal

Tremendous stuff last game from my point of view.  He is a dead shot, but I still penalise him -1 for the speed of that horse riding.  He fires a pistol and rifle, alternately each phase, and still moves the horse, controlling it with the reins in his wooden false teeth.  He will start the next game afoot, but be warned, he is still deadly.  Taking down the Marshal would reward 300 reputation points, but the character that does so would suddenly be "fastest gun" and attract the same bounty of reputation points.

Please note that the Marshal is a played character and even if you think he's dead, like all characters he will reappear next game with an unlikely story of survival.

The transformation of Miss Eliza Stone. 

When the Table E Gang first encountered Miss Eliza she was a simple bank teller at the Purgatory First National Bank.  When bandits broke into the building and ordered her to stick 'em up Miss Elisa rolled a one on d6, my bystanders reaction roll.  In effect this meant she immediately had a hostile reaction.  Moses, a second bank clerk rolled 6, a hugely favourable reaction and ran for his life.

I have some real regrets that Moses, a veteran of my ACW Union army, acted like a stereotypical black character from a 1930s western, but the dice rule the day.  In Moses defence I would personally have acted the same, and running for it is clearly the sane option.

Miss Eliza reacted in a way that was not entirely sane.  I swapped her figure for a second Miss Eliza, this one pointing a Derringer. These are both scratch built figures but passable for me.

Here the rules let her down.  As a bystander she had to wait for a joker to be drawn next turn to react.  This allowed the Doc Hannibal Parker gang to subdue her with close combat. I hereby rescind the rule that stops bystanders reacting immediately.  

In future encounters in Purgatory civilians will act simultaneously with the figure they rolled the reaction dice for.  This amendment has a real upscaling of the danger level for assaulting bystanders. 

Rumours have begun to circulate in Purgatory County that Miss Eliza Stone survived the dynamite explosion in the bank.  She quit her job and has armed herself with a six shooter, and begun practicing her shooting accuracy, to the level of dead shot. (+1).

Even to a casual observer she looks a little different.  She now haunts the town saloons looking for information on Doc and his gang, and has promised to "fill that would be Bandido full of lead."

We wish her luck!

Moses remains working at the bank.

Reinforcing Curley.

I am currently sculpting a pair of shotgun armed figures.  One will be employed by the bank as a guard.  The other has joined Curley's gang (on a random dice roll)

As Mayor of Purgatory I will however offer Curley an Amnesty following the events of the last game.  It remains to be seen whether he returns to his outlaw ways or not.

The town election.

The Mayor has opened up elections for the position of town sheriff.  The US Marshal has authority county wide, but the sheriff controls the town itself.  Adds a shotgun guard to your faction. 

The Texas Rangers

Technically the Rangers were disbanded just after the war.  Nobody has dared tell the Colonel.   As I see it the Colonel owns a large ranch near town, with some of his old regiment as his loyal employees and ranch hands.  He also employs the notorious chuck wagon poisoner "Cookie." 

Back Stories

Having been thoroughly entertained by the back story of the Cakey Kid and his former glory as a New Orleans patisserie chef, I will offer all players the opportunity to go on the record as to the past of their Purgatory characters.  

Marshal Rooster is not really my own creation, but his history is straightforward.  Having ridden for Quantrill during the war he went on to be an appointed Deputy US Marshal for Judge Parker's Court and ended his days in a wild west show "trick shooting" with Frank James and Cole Younger.