The Forge Archives

Tonight was our vulgarly-named "F*ck-Around Night" where we try out new games. Tonight we tried Dust Devils. We used the sample scenario -- and since I had six players instead of four, I farmed out two of the three important NPCs, Clara and the Sherriff.

To make a long story short, we had a blast. It ended in a dramatic four-way shootout that killed "Gentleman" Jim, the Sherriff, and Clara's evil brother-in-law in a slow-mo scene that would have made John Woo proud. Farming out the NPCs had some interesting results, as stuff happened that I would have never done -- like Clara sleeping with the Sherriff to co-opt her brother-in-law's staunchest (and most dangerous) ally and to give "Lucky" a chance to escape jail.

The group LOVED the system. The only complaint was that it was almost TOO fun -- that the interplay of the card game almost overshadowed the action at some points. But the last scene was the result of an amazing hand in which no less than four Devils figured. Poker fits the game well, and the travelling narration was a big hit, as was the chip system -- a lot of chips got spent.

However, aside from some system issues that I'll discuss in the Chimera forum, the game underlined one issue: If your game is aimed at a certain group size, you should mention this. It may seem "obvious", but considering "The Magnficent Seven" is part of the Western genre, this wasn't obvious. With six players and one GM, all of which were entitled to a lot of cards (especially with a major NPC present), we ran out cards! It became obvious then the game wasn't designed for games as big as ours happened to be, though some of the best scenes involved nearly all the players.

Wow, this is awesome! Right as I'm listening to some bad boy Johnny Cash I find your  GREAT actual play post for Dust Devils

You did precisely what I did with a larger group at GenCon -- let someone play the NPCs (in that case, Valamir took on the role of Sheriff "Long" Tom Meredith -- classic).

But, you're right that Dust Devils is really suited for the Dealer and 3-4 players. I'm glad your larger group had a blast. If you should play again, consider simply playing w/ Two playing card decks. The only problem is the possibility of tied hands, which is pretty unlikely.

I don't know what else to say except thanks for playing, and thanks for posting about it! This is the best reward of all -- hearing about people who had a great time playing the game I created! I'll check the Chimera forum, and I'd be happy to answer any questions you have.