I can see the two of you are getting into character which isn't hard.
I’ve just played my trial game to see how every thing might work out in the real event, it won’t be the same on the day because there are so many variables built into the scenarios but I was worried that I would have bottle necks, mainly in the saloon because some groups had to have a drink to stiffen the sinews before committing their special act of mayhem.
My 2 protagonists Captain Bertram Snapcase and Bounty Hunter Dougal Emfoure each have 7 groups of characters ranging in size from 1 to 5 members, I have 9 groups but only of 1 to 3 characters, every group has a different objective and although their paths will cross, only some of the paths will lead to death and destruction.
To ensure I don’t know what and where things will happen every group rolls a D6 at the beginning of the game and doesn’t start to move until that turn. Some are placed specifically with pre set directions and some are random placements with random places to visit. For example in the trial game there were 4 groups in the saloon at the same time, one group had just left and 1 group was about to enter. They were all there for a random period of time and some left drunk and some didn’t.
Rose, who is one of my favourite characters got drunk in the saloon and left staggering, across, and then up Main Street before levelling her shotgun at some poor passer-by and blowing them to hell and beyond, well that used to happen in my home town, I don’t know about yours. Unfortunately for her they had 4 friends with them but when the shooting was done Rose was still standing, bleeding a little, reeling a little, but still on her feet, when she finally squinted through half closed eyes she could see the rest of her antagonists were writhing on the ground. She had a little uncalled for help from other passers by but she didn’t remember that either.
Donna also left the saloon drunk, she had a specific destination in mind but kept staggering into buildings and wagons before getting in a fist fight and being knocked out, the following morning she had a few bruises but no memory of the fight.
Captain Snapcase got into a brawl with one of the ladies of the night and she beat him up, it was so embarrassing but even worse when the same thing happened to a couple of fellows who were with him at the time.
Another character fired into the jail cell 6 times from point blank range before hitting what he or she was aiming at. Yet another group woke some old timer who was asleep on his porch, he woke in a bad mood as you would, and fired off his shotgun at the offending pilgrim but of course missed. However the character he fired at spun round and shot the old guy dead. Henry ‘Billy’ McCarty who is as mean as a rattler needed to throw a 1 to do a good deed and avenge the old fellow, he threw the 1 - three times in the game and killed a lot of bad people, that’s not likely to happen again.
The forces of law and order kept refusing to activate once the shooting started and who can blame them for staying in the Sheriffs Office because when they eventually went outside to see what was going on, 2 of them got shot for their troubles.
The Bounty Hunter Emfoure shot a woman in the back, he later claimed she shot first but some witnesses who have not yet come forward, are not so sure. There were a few quick draw shoot outs, I know these didn’t often happen way out west, back shooting was more common but I was raised on the Hollywood version and so they happen in my games. The problem is that if you draw and the other person doesn’t it’s usually a murder charge for the shootist.
Anyway the good news is that no horses were shot even though a few cowardly or sensible people were using them as cover. The Stage coach driver and Guard were shot out of hand by some desperados, the townsfolk didn’t like this and the survivors were last seen riding fast, South to the Mexico border.
I think there will be some good stories coming out of the game but I worry that with so many groups involved it might be a little slow, it’s too late to change much now so I’ll have to see how it pans out and provided I supply plenty of alcohol I doubt anyone will notice.