Redgrave- Ah, I like the idea of the cleaners adjusting the MC’s intimidation or persuasion. Just a little bonus each time you use it during an interlude.
Armor… can’t really be done. Nothing really stops a bullet from this period other than a layer of hard iron. But given than some cinematic wiggling is allowed, it is possible to increase health beyond the normal maximum by having a high stamina. (I may add in a bit for a high resolve as well, we’ll see.)
Ammo pouches or bandoleers are possible, but really abstracted into things as rarely will a character empty his pistol and need to reload. At least, most of the fights I write tend to be over pretty quick. There is an exception with chapter four and Echo Canyon in particular.
Holsters though. now that has some possibilities. Most of the holsters of the time were pretty simple things, made to secure your pistol instead of help you skin it out in a hurry. In fact, the usual Hollywood holster, used in the fifties and sixties films, was rather better than the historical leather at letting people draw quick.
Some gunfighters did mount their pistols on a holster swivel, which let them just lean back and open fire from the hip. I have to wonder how accurate that would be, but I suppose if you practiced at it…
One thing I wanted to include, but likely will not, is holster location. Low on the thigh, high on the thigh, tucked into the belt at the front, etc. Funny thing, with a gun tucked into the belt at the front, the pistol could be grabbed by someone else who stood close. Wyatt Earp did that at least once to a Cowboy, or so I remember reading.
Matteller- You can buy a hat every week? Whoops. That event is supposed to be removed after use. I mean, its that or I have to include the line ‘Do you know how many hats I have, boy? Do you? My closet is filled.’ [Dread stare follows]
How embarrassing, please accept my apologies for any confusion that might have arisen out of my poor choice of words, I should really have been more careful with my language just there, just because I tend to equate the two in my mind doesn’t make the concepts interchangeable in practice.
Preston Springs, at least in the state we initially find it in would not seem particularly suited to any silversmith, goldsmith or jewellers business, that might change later on though, particularly if the new bank proves to be a success when the railway finally comes to town.
If you want to avoid the laundry yet add a few more businesses to the events file that could plausibly be useful in a rough and tumble town such as Preston springs I’d suggests either a boot maker/cobbler of some sort, a horse trader or, as you already noted yourself a barber.
Personally I’d go with the bootmaker, if only because the thing I tend to associate with America’s wild old west right after the distinctive hats would be the equally distinctive boots.
You could always add the jeweller to Elko, if you feel it should be available right from the beginning since that town has at least a somewhat effective sheriff even if the actual jail leaves something to be desired.
I think a doctor might be good for business there. It would give the doctor trait more uses other than for stitching up your companions. By the way, does the engineering stat make you an engineer eventually? Because the only use I found it to have so far is in the red ribbon mining incident.
idonotlikeusernames- No apology needed. It is just a subtle difference in the meaning of words which few, including myself up until recently, understand.
Barber. I’ve completely forgotten to include a barber.
And as you noted, Elko probably needs a bit of fleshing out. Doubt I will get to it for some time though.
Wyrmspawn-A doctor. Yes, I was supposed to add in the chance for the main character to do a little doctoring between chapters. No sure if I’d want to add a doctor to the town though. Maybe the barber will do for that.
After all, barbers used to do surgery. People once also asked the milkman to set bones.
Xt100305- Ah, there it is. Thank you. Provendors. Preston Springs doesn’t have a lot of farms close by. Albion Falls and the slaughter house could supply most of the common staples of the dinning table. But where does the rest of the food come? What about spices?
Overland wagons would carry it in. Chinese merchants. Selling… heck, I don’t know. Rice, for one. But I’d also like to have them offer a hint of the exotic.
What sorts of Chinese foods would keep for several weeks and survive a journey by wagon? Squid? Fish? Mussels?
@AllenGies one item of food I have had from China, that would keep for a long time and survive a long journey, is jellied chicken feet. It’s certainly exotic!
Chinese Sausage (臘腸) can keep for a long time, and it tastes pretty good. You air dry the sausage, (made exactly like western sausages), and then when you need it, you slice it up and eat it with a bowl of rice, sometimes with siyou.
Salted fish and eggs are also good, but it doesn’t seem very exotic. We could also have some thousand-year-old eggs (皮蛋) - not sure how you say it in English, maybe @Mistylavenda could help? You preserve them with lime and other such substances, and they can really keep for a long time.
Mongols would keep raw meat under there saddles and the heat and friction of riding would turn it into jerky, they would also drink horse blood while still in the saddle
Yay science and history
Mongols were not a part of China, technically, but neither was the Manchurian government in China from 16xx (sorry, not sure about exact date) onwards.
Another thing, I forgot to say that maybe you could have Chinese tea? And if you were native American or Chinese, wouldn’t you believe in a different god if you were religious? Because I can see some interesting scenes from that… You could get into trouble with the monks setting up a monastery… Or you could have that as a good trait, people would definitely see you differently.
Thousand year old eggs are more commonly known as century eggs, lol. And as for Chinese sausage, there are many many ways to cook it or use it as an ingredient for a dish.
Also, at that time, most Chinese would be Taoist or Buddhist. Chinese tea and English tea are basically the same thing, as they originate from china. So Chinese tea wouldn’t be too exotic, just expensive.
