A new way to improve skill ratings, ideally widely useable by type (Blessed, Huckster, Mad Scientist, Shaman) and outfit.
Right now we have Morgan Research Institute and St. Anthony’s Chapel generally and Wagner’s Memorial Ranch for Morgan Science exclusively, all of which are location dependent, Technological Exhibition (indirectly) for Science, a few dudes who improve their own skill (a couple Sloane Hucksters, the original Ivor, Joseph Dusty Hill, and Zoe Halbrook and Dr. Dayl Burnett (indirectly)), one home in 4th Ring (The Sanatorium), and finally Tlaloc’s Furies - the most general and mobile of the methods. But still, I still think the game could benefit from design in this direction.
Maybe something like the Classic character Jacynth Ambrose who read “Your Mad Scientists in this location have +1 to their Mad Scientist skill” - she was a 3-cost dude without any other significant traits - or the Classic version of Hired Help, a 0-cost Jack of Clubs that read “Noon: Target a skilled dude. That dude gains a +2 bonus to one of his or her skills until after Nightfall.”
Not sure exactly the best way to make this widely available across skill type and outfit, but there you go.
An action card that raises the play-value of non-melee weapons (read: guns).
Maybe call it “Never bring a knife to a gunfight”?
Maybe an in-shootout tutor and/or cost reduction effect. Or even better, something that interacts with the board - a cool ability that scales with how many unbooted guns you have in a fight, or that simply unboots and reloads them, or that allows you to boot and/or discard one to gain some advantage. Or maybe a way to interact with Influence somehow. Or a callout effect. Or a Headline which raises the cost of opposing action cards by the number of guns present. Something!
Guns are expensive, fragile, and there are many cards that can easily undermine them. I’d like to see their relative cost against playing, say, another dude or deed earlier in the game more justifiable.
Another 1-cost drifter who somehow increases other dudes’ skills by +1.
Maybe only while he or she is at the location, and/or while unbooted, and/or while you are the Winner, or some other restriction.
I love that we have Willa for Shootouts and Henry for Lowball/Legality, and I feel that a cheap dude who gives a minor bump to skills would open up some design space for Skills.
‘Wretched Heretic!’ (value Jack) Hucksters may attach this card. This huckster may attach and cast miracles using their huckster skill. Noon Miracle 6, Boot: A dude at this or an adjacent location becomes an Abomination.
While it may seem innocuous enough, making a dude an abomination, it’s much deeper. It is abomination tech for 4R, it opens hucksters up to miracle decks and vice a versa. Favorite of all is combining with Get Behind Me Satan, Holy Whele Gun, Abram Groth and many others. (It was pointed out that this would be a playtesters nightmare, but I still wants it)
A Sloane dude intended to be used as a starter, modelled after Andrew Garret from Classic? That is, with 2 Influence, 5 cost, 0 upkeep. And a niche ability that offers protection against Sloane’s toughest match-up: Lawdogs. Maybe something like:
“React, Boot: After an opponent declares the use of a Noon or Shootout ability that targets a wanted dude, [something cool here]”
If this is too good, perhaps add a detractive trait like:
“[This dude] cannot gain control points from card effects”
Because the Sloane starting posses are a little rough to make right now…
Yer Cheatin’ Too!
0 Cost React: After an opponent declares the use of a Cheatin’ Resolution ability, boot your Grifter and raise their bounty by 2. Waive all costs of the ability, and that ability has no effect.
So many of their dudes are really expensive, that rounding out a 5-man posse is comparatively harder than every other faction. To hit all the benchmarks - Influence, Stud, Skill - and still have enough money left over for a decent start - is currently a very hard balance to strike.
I know this is a challenging prospect, because the primary archetypes - Blockade and Fortress - are strong. But I feel that the presence of that strength lends a conservatism to designing dudes that could facilitate other “undiscovered” archetypes.
Perhaps Influence and Totem interaction could be avoided in lieu of supporting secondary mechanical themes like Attire, Horses, Kung Fu, Sidekicks, or Weapons?
The problem is BtV makes all of their dudes 1 influence minimum. A blank 0 influence 1 draw dude would probably see play as you could play Him + willa may + henry + Lydia and Zach for 12 ghost rock leaving you with 7 GR, a three stud and and 7 influence, assuming you draw a totem
Eagle wardens already have 4 dudes who cost 3 or less with no upkeep all of whom are also casters.
Heck no! DMH is hard enough to hit as it is – there’d be no reason to play for it if this card existed. And if it did exist, there’d be no reason to play it!
I know, right!
But this card has one of the best art & flavor text of the whole classic series, and the art pretty much encompasses what would happen IRL might as well call it “TABLE FLIP”
Mixing! (Blessed, Hymns, Kung Fu, even Counter Hymns, mebbe)
Have you ever heard of a Japanese Dude who is also a JodelMeister? (At 1:16 and the right mind frame, you know this dude is effed’up. He has Total Mastery over The Voice - a DeadLands “Edge” in the Classic RPG, need I remind you) .
Well… If we “forget” about he silliness, what about a Kung Fu Dude who is also Blessed? Might be a Neutral Dude; Kung Fu, Blessed, only Hymns (very silly, yes), but could fit in Law Dogs, 108 R. Bandits, heck, even Sloane (and his name would be T. Ischi )
Stud, 5 GR, 1 influence (+1 upkeep off-outfit), and Blessed; can bring a little diversity and surprise element in non-108 decks… wonder how the (kung fu techniques) club cards’ suit and values might affect deckbuilding for non-108 decks…
I’m not sure how well it would work in DTR, but I think attachment attachments could be cool. Go go Gadgets for attire, experimental bullets, hell boy style Blessed shot, scopes. Classic had some bullets, not sure how good they ended up being.
might as well call it “TABLE FLIP”
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