Sidewinder: Recoiled

[Doc_Souark]

Have any of you yard birds seen the PDF or the POD of Sidewinder; Recoiled for Dog House Rules ? If you like westerns of any flavor y'all need to check this out, I got the POD from RPGNow yesterday and I'm really impressed in it.

 

[d4]

mine came in the mail yesterday. i am very impressed with it.

 

[Crothian]

It's a nice pdf, I reallly liked it.

 

[Geoff]

mine came in the mail yesterday. i am very impressed with it.

Hey d4, thanks for the purchase and we hope you enjoy it. We are working on follow up material now and any input you can give us would be greatly appreciated.

 

[d4]

Hey d4, thanks for the purchase and we hope you enjoy it. We are working on follow up material now and any input you can give us would be greatly appreciated.

i've only had it for about 24 hours, which is why i've been a bit general in my comments! i hope in the next week or two to have more time to fully read through it.

i appreciate the reprinting of SRD material, because in general i don't like flipping through multiple books. keeping everything contained to one book also helps because of some of the departures from d20 Modern -- it keeps me from getting confused over which parts of d20M are being used and which have changed.

the new uses for skills were nice, especially Ride and Sleight of Hand (a skill that normally never sees use is now one of the most important in a gunfight). i liked the new gunplay and riding feats -- these are two areas that need to be especially detailed for a Wild West game. i noticed you managed to fit in a "Sidewinder" feat as well.

i appreciate the "dual-statting" for the Wealth system. although i like the Wealth system of d20 Modern i don't think it is as good a fit for the Old West, and i'm glad that you have already provided an alternative.

the advanced classes are flavorful and very well done. i think they do a great job of capturing the spirit of typical Wild West heroes and villains. i especially liked the Maverick, the Preacher, and the Rifleman.

i think making attacks on flat-footed opponents an automatic critical threat is an interesting change. it should make for quicker gunfights, that's for sure. it definitely reinforces the need for a high Initiative, at the very least!

the "Townsfolk have glass jaws" optional rule is one way to get around some people's complaint about the un-cinematic nature of d20 Modern's nonlethal damage. (i like my games to be like movies, and in movies heroes only need one punch to drop someone!) another option i've been contemplating is (in emulation of Star Wars' Wounds/Vitality system) to have Ordinary characters only get hit points / grit at 1st level (like NPC classes in Star Wars don't gain Vitality). this should keep the locals in check...

the rules for alcohol, diseases, and poisons were a nice touch.

the only bad thing i noticed in my first read-through was that in my POD book, the headers in the Critters Tables (with the names of the animals) were printed as black text on a black background (unlike other tables throughout the book with white text on a black background). it's a minor inconvenience, since the animals are in alphabetical order anyway and i can always write in the names myself.

finally, i must say i like having a long and thorough index!

oh, and i think i've mentioned this before, but the Wanted poster of you guys on the back cover is absolutely priceless. really helps sell the mood of the setting!

one last comment. i am glad that you presented this version of the West (from movies and books) that stays grounded (for the most part) in reality -- and didn't feel the need to include "gimmicks" like magic or steampunk. not that i don't enjoy steampunk, or Deadlands, or other things of that nature, but i like having something "pure" to start with as a baseline.

thanks for all the hard work guys; i really am enjoying this book.

i'm looking forward to the Judge's Lawbook and whatever else you have coming down the line. i know i heard a rumor of an alternate history coming down the pike; that definitely has my curiosity piqued.

 

[Brad Hindman]

the only bad thing i noticed in my first read-through was that in my POD book, the headers in the Critters Tables (with the names of the animals) were printed as black text on a black background (unlike other tables throughout the book with white text on a black background). it's a minor inconvenience, since the animals are in alphabetical order anyway and i can always write in the names myself.

The Dog House Gang was rather confused by this problem when it was pointed out to us on the DHR forums. The PDF file that was sent to RPGmall didn't have this problem. Nor did the other tables in the POD exhibit the same pathology.

The folks at RPGmall have been very helpful in pinpointing the problem. We created the PDF file (which the POD is printed from) using level 3 PostScript. The printer uses level 2. This difference caused a layering problem. So, the white lettering is there; it is just buried underneath the black border. :\ Oddly enough, as far as we can tell, this layering problem only appears to have effected the statblock tables for the critters.

A friendly warning to other POD publishers. The PostScript level isn't well-documented in the instructions for submitting the electronic file for POD service.

(Follow up note) The folks at RPGmall have updated the POD specifications on their website to include a note about the PostScript level. I would like to comment that RPGmall has been very helpful and responsive to our worries and concerns. They have been a pleasure to work with. (added April 5, 2004).

 

[d4]

i started a page for Sidewinder: Recoiled generic NPCs.

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/thinlines/west/