[The Darklord]

How was wednesday?

[Scaryfatmaniffer]

From the gamesmasters perspective - OK ish - the BB guns are not really powerful enough to do it over the distances involved well and there were hiccups with this.

What was good is it means we have got some good kit to use on a more regular event and the little £2 hand guns are not poweful enough to do lots of harm and my thought would be they are safeish (even without goggles) in certain circumstances (i.e. to be shot at as a monster by the players) or in a single shooting (not a melee) - what was good is that it showed the players they could get shot up and that Erasmus is not purely a talk and discussion roleplay.
The guns tended to misfire too much for this to work as a regular occurence but were good enough for assassinations, surprises etc.

I think most players enjoyed it, and it provided a real basis for continuing plot - what do the other players think?

[Artemisia]

Different and fun - broadens the scope of H of E and other resources/professionals they can call upon. The misfiring guns were frustrating, maybe need calls as backup - I managed to jump Alex, had to shout 'bang' to wing him as gun had jammed. (however, in ensuing tussle the gun decided to fire, so his character actually ended up dead. Damn!) I suppose it is about decent roleplaying - take the shots, even if it is a verbal call.
Also I'm more aware how we could appear to others, especially driving back through Skeg with Scott as his Mullah character. We found ourselves behind a police car - rapidly swept off his headgear!
Need to remember to bring spare sweatshirts etc. for players injured/killed so they can rejoin as side-kick characters, (if they want).
It certainly took Erasmus out of talk and discussion. Good mix. Had in-character debriefing - that worked well.
Knees just about recovered from crawling about on field. Not too many scratches from creeping through hedge, goggles useful there!

Have interesting info for the house from clean-up operation next day ...hmmm.

[asamoth]

I would suggest keeping the goggles, firstly because it is a far warning for players and monsters that small bits of plastic are likely to be whizzing towards them, even the £2 pistols come keen when you aren’t expecting to be hit by them and secondly because there are a /lot/ better guns out there, some of which I truly hope no one employs at H of E events.

For very close ranges (say six feet or less) pointing the gun at a person and saying BANG is likely to work, much like guns in the white wolf, as it is unlikely that you are going to miss at this distance, unless you have drunk 30 cups of coffee before the mission.

Making sure the guns are put away and you are careful about where they are used is very important as the arm response unit has been called to a BB gun fight at least once to my knowledge, with the current state of media fear I would imagine that to be even more likely now-a-days. Though they do give a good feel and the impression that someone is armed, that cap guns and paintball guns may fail to, also they can currently be purchased for next to nothing which is definitely a bonus

Over all I am glad people had fun, that is what this hobby is supposed to be about, it is something of a shame that I failed to attend, as I might have had fun playing silly beggars with my shotgun! And I will try and be good and avoid borrowing one of the fully automatics.

[The Darklord]

I would tend to agree with azamoth on the goggles issue, duty of care and all that.  I wasnt there (obviously) so don't know how well the bb guns worked but I have my own reservations about them. For instance, Artemisa, had to shout bang because her gun didnt fire - so dont automatics ever jam/misfire?  The answer of course is that they do but probably not as often as cheap bb guns - how to deal with this? Paint ball guns have their own problems (I am assuming you mean the cheapest "toy" versions not the real deal?) And lets face it while I am willing to risk ruining kit getting muddy or torn, I am not so happy with the idea of guaranteeing a suit (even a cheap one) is going to be ruined by paint.

All that aside, glad the event went well, look forward to getting along in character soon as possible...

[ryan666]

I enjoyed it, great fun. My gun packed up at the start of the event so I thought I would be sorted staying at the back and treating any injured characters. This was until Chris was dying and some one brought him to the back near me. Not knowing he still had a gun I bent down to check his wounds and got shot in the stomach with his nicely hidden hand gun. It was a bit crap going out half way through but also good fun, gives you a chance to role play more if you are wounded and become a situation to other people, who then have to help you. Thats why I love role play anything could happen! So overall really enjoyed it good event, different aswell a contrast from just chatting. Gun breaking was bit of a bugger but didn't really bother me. Good event thank you! 

[Artemisia]

Darklord - Jerusalem house had it's way! - radio communication failed, guns jammed and then fired unpredicatably. Mwwwhhha!
I agree, shouting bang at close range didn't feel quite right, but kept the momentum of the story going. Would have liked a ref at that moment, but as Alex was on the receiving end and roleplayed through, to the H of E's disadvantage, I don't feel I messed it up.
So, how do we roleplay being professionals using high spec equipment, when all we have is a spookily dodgy radio and some cheap toy guns? (without getting tangled up in a load of rules)

[Scaryfatmaniffer]

I guess the answer to that is somehow take what happens and trust the refs.

It was Jerusalem House after all - briefing to Alex and Daniel - njothing electronic will work - period - guns will go crazy etc.

The only problem is when the guns jam in a non fucked up environment.
Guess we don't run too many shoot em ups where the laws of physics work properly
Seems to be they are perfectly adequate for shootings but not for Tarantino style melee.
But hey - how many of those do we really want to have??

[The Darklord]

But hey - how many of those do we really want to have??

Vary few I would think, I remember the old days of the modern stuff you and Hacker ran, fantastic atmosphere and characterisation until we get to the gun fight and it descended to the level of "bang I got you first".  There is no easy way of running bb gun fights in Erasmus without it becoming a bb gun fight - escalation in such circumstances is quite understandable - people want more reliable and accurate weapons, these tend to have more power as well so you start to dress appropriatley.  Maybe nothing wrong with this per se (although it could be on dodgy legal ground if you are not on private land) but its hard to dress as a 21st century business man if I have to work heavy leather jacket, thick gloves and goggles into the mix.

More importantly house of erasmus seems to rely heavy on an atmosphere of creeping menace and clever politiking.  If you have to draw a weapon you have already lost on some level. (Kinda like real life)

[The Darklord]

And arti, I wasnt having a go at you for shouting bang it just raises the question of do guns misfire or not - if we have bbs should be we use "bang"?  On the other hand most players would take it if you stuck a gun in their ribs and said bang - in fact much better than being shot at close range with a bb as at lt with their allowing archers with a nocked arrow to pretend to fire at close range rather than take someones nose off.

[Artemisia]

Darklord, thanks for the comments - not being one for remembering rules, and a tendency to run with the plot in whatever bizarre direction it goes in, it was a new experience for me to deal with bb guns and the practicalities of using them in role play. (Now I think about it, Alex may not even have been wearing his goggles at the time, as he was trying to reload in poor light. So maybe I didn't even try firing at that moment? Can't remember.)
Importantly, the magic comes with H of E when apparently disparrate events are woven into the plot. Events like Jerusalem house will feed the plot, adding detail and shared experiences for the players (complementing the bulk of information which usually comes in written or spoken form). Those of us who were there will vividly remember how guns and communication systems failed, along with the terrifying noises and flashes as the House 'awoke'. H of E may have access to a vast network of resources, but what to do when they aren't enough?
(Love it.)
Currently sat in studio surrounded by half assembled lights for Galamash Tavern, a half finished costume and designs for new Inn sign. Outside, my nine year old and his mates have dug a WWI trench in the garden and are fighting off the Germans. Aaah, creative bliss!