Sernus

I agree: I've been buying from Noble Knight for many years, never had a single problem with them.

I got my order - over $100 but no Alt Lazarus added on the original order form and notification - the Alt Lazarus figure was in the package, and a Wyrd staffer had written it in on the shipping paperwork. No need to worry!

There's a couple of ways, if you mean through damage: (1) Critical Effects, for Fatemaster characters of Enforcer Rank and higer (and other Fated, too, should it ever come to that). It may take a while, particularly if they're mostly taking Weak damage, but eventually the adds onto Critical flips for being way below zero Wounds get severe enough that every additional hit is doing a really nasty Severe Critical Effect. Eventually they either are so crippled they can no longer effectively fight, they Bleed Out and die, or the Critical Effect is high enough that it's an "insta-kill." (2) Unconsciousness. Peon and Minion Rank Fatemaster character opponents generally fall unconscious as soon as they go to zero Wounds or below (with a few special exceptions). Enforcer-rank Fatemaster characters don't fall unconscious just for going to zero Wounds, but may still do so due to Spell/Manifested Power or Critical effects calling for an Unconsciousness Challenge that they then fail. Once unconscious, they're helpless. (Same is true for Fated characters.) Bear in mind that in many cases a reasonably intelligent and canny opponent who doesn't have a death-wish or isn't a raving lunatic will probably try to bug out and get away if they can, or try to surrender if they can't run, rather than just fighting until they die. (Of course, there are always exceptions to this... maybe you're facing a real "death before dishonor" type like a Samurai bodyguard, or maybe a stitched-together monstrosity that doesn't worry about death because it's already been dead before... these, you just have to keep hitting until they stop moving!)

I'm more than a year into my current ongoing TtB campaign, with players who have Fated characters ranging from recently-created ones to others that have been in play essentially from the beginning. In my experience, the potential differences in total Skill Ranks among "just-generated" beginning Fated don't really make very much difference, especially as the campaign progresses. Overall capabilities tend to balance out in various ways in the long run, as each player makes choices about how they want their Fated to progress. Everybody tends to be able to make positive contributions in their own ways, whether they're tightly specialize in just one or two Pursuits and just a few high-Rank Skills, or have taken a path of more general progression in several different Pursuits and more Skills but at lower Ranks.

Yes, it's gone.

Don't want to risk spilling any beans, so I'll PM you...

Solkan speaks wisdom.

I may have also fudged things to let the rest of the players have similar little "extra goodies" too...

In my first case with this same situation, as Fatemaster I just allowed the starting-out Tinkerer to have the full-level Focus Item without worrying about how many Scrip they had... but in this case it was only a Focus-2 item in any event. I didn't make my player actually pay for making the Focus Item: I really couldn't see how a starting Tinkerer wouldn't already have a properly-rated Focus Item, since a Darlin Theories practitioner can't cast spells at all without one. That said, I do like Solkan's suggestion of allowing a starting Tinkerer to have a lesser-level Focus than their starting rank in Artefacting would allow, rationalizing it as an older one, if as Fatemaster you really want to be strict on the starting equipment monetary values!

Oh, by the Two Moons, this did make me ROFL (sez the guy who's been just staring at his "Nightmare Cats" sprues ever since he got them)...

There are several of the Skill descriptions that say "Intellect" when it should be something else... Scrutiny and Deceive are Cunning in the table, but also say Intellect in their descriptions. I'd advise going with the Aspects noted in the Skills Table, and disregarding the note in the description.

There are quite a few differences between TtB 1E and 2E... There's a callout box - "Discontinued Skills" - on page 169 of the 2E Core Rules that lists all of the 1E Skills that were eliminated by being merged into the accompanying replacement Skill for Second Edition. Many of the 2E Pursuits in the Core Rules book are considerably changed from those of the same name in the 1E Fated Almanac. The way Soulstones function in the 2E rules is very different from the way they worked in 1E, as well. Those are just the main changes I could come up with off the top of my head... there are many, many other subtle changes, and not a few not-so-subtle ones, throughout the 2E Core Rules. Without all manner of notes and mark-ups, I think it'll be pretty difficult to use the original Fated and Fatemaster's Almanacs as a main "go-to" rules resource.

My Emeline Bellerose figure arrived yesterday!

You seem to have a penchant for wicked tough adventures, CCL... I like that! Ghost House and Night of the Carver can both be really hard on Fated crews... especially if there are players who don't get that there are definitely times when one needs to just turn and run away! There are some tough opponents, and tough situations, in both of them... folks who tend to just dig in and fight might get significantly damaged. In my view the Carver is the (relatively) easier of the two. Organ Donors is also a little easier than Ghost House... or would be, if it weren't for everyone starting out stark naked, unarmed, and with no idea where they are... This one falls into the "most times, probably best to just run away" category, too, I think! The above being said, if you feel like Ghost House is the best fit for your plans, then Ghost House it should be! It might teach your D&D-indoctrinated folks to embrace the Breachside saying: "This is Malifaux... Bad Things Happen..."

Would help our evaluations to know which Magia were being used for this... but in general, yes, cutting the Range is a valid way to drop a spell's TN, thus allowing damage or duration to be increased or something else to be added, etc. However, I don't know that I'd refer to having to be at 1-yard range to pull this off as being a "little-consequence" situation: that's within engagement range of, well, pretty much everything... so.... I also concur with Solkan on the "more gunfights" thing... especially against Gunfighters, who also don't randomize when firing into engagements... >:)

Several of the magical Pursuits have early-step Talents that will let the character add a particular Suit to a particular Skill, as well: look through the Dabbler and Grave Robber Pursuits. Of course, one can always get a Suit by using up a Soulstone, too...

Mindless Zombies are good practice opponents for getting a new group used to successfully hitting an enemy: a character only has to come up with a 6 on the Attack flip to match their Defense. The MZs get an auto on damage flips, making them a little harder to take down, but they're Slow (only 1AP available), have bad Initiative and don't move quickly, so the players will mainly dictate the pace of engagement. Characters also only need a 7 to avoid the MZs' attacks. (They're much tougher in a Horde!) Most of the other lower-level opponents (Minion (5) characters) will have Defense of from 8 to 10, and an Attack AV in a similar range, so they're the next step. A player's Fated ought to find them more challenging, but not impossible, to hit and damage. One Minion per Fated is a typical "starting-out" number, with some Minion (6) characters and/or an Enforcer (7) or two added as players get more used to the game's mechanics and their Fated get a bit of experience. On the subject of Ghost House: that adventure can be a tough one for some parties! Not only is the chief adversary a very strong opponent, the Fated can come out of that place being significantly Haunted...!

Firstly, tell those experienced D&D players and DMs: "One cannot add to one's cup if the cup is already full, Grasshopper!" (I've been a [Whatever]master for 40 years - since 1977... this is the best advice I can give to anyone: toss out your old preconceptions and open up to learning this game!) More to follow later, when I'm not sitting at work...!

These are written to the newest "TtB 2.0" Core Rules: "Heart of Darkness" "Earthly Desires" These need a bit of modification, as they were written for 1st Edition TtB, but they're good adventures: "Sixteen Tons" "Recruitment Drive" "Legacy of Darkness" "Honor Among Thieves"

My take on this subject is: if the player's Fated character develops a Manifested Power that involves a Magical Skill in calculating its AV (e.g. Prestidigitation for "Take Your Meds"), then the Fated character IS in essence casting a spell, and so would need to choose a Magical Theory.

I believe this is no longer supposed to be the case in TtB 2.0. The explicit requirement to have at least Rank 1 in a Skill to be able to Cheat Fate from the TtB ver 1.0 Fated Almanac isn't included in the new Core Rules. Fated should be able to Cheat a flip, whether they have any Ranks in the active Skill or not, so long as there are no Fate Modifiers (and the Black Joker hasn't been flipped, of course).

Q1 answer: Wounds remain at zero. The player would need to pass another Unconsciousness Challenge if the character takes any further damage, but not just for being at zero (or less). Q2 answer: A character pretty much needs to have a grimoire in order to cast a spell. That being said, if a player wants their Fated to have Magic Skill(s)and to be able to cast spells, then the Fatemaster should figure out a way to make an appropriate Grimoire available for them. (See pp. 260 - 261 in the new Core Rules book for more details on this.) There are also a few Talents that allow spell-like powers without needing a Grimoire; these are described under the appropriate Pursuit Step descriptions. Q3 answer: Magia and Immuto are "mix and match:" one can add whatever Immuto to any Magia, so long as it makes sense that they would actually work together. In other words, a character who has a grimoire with two Magia and three Immuto in it can add any of those Immuto to either of those Magia when casting a spell.

I don't think you folks are doing these things correctly, if you're having this many problems of these kinds....

I've received my copy of the Spell Deck... and it is just an awesome game accessory! !!!

Ventilation, perhaps....