This I kinda like.

Message:

Note, while I've missed a Campaign or two, in general, I don't like soak offs. As Conrad states, they're just a nameless free hit. Although I was mildly amused by generating a long ago Q&D Name generator (with a ridiculous amount of variations of the name "Tony") which exists in the circa 2017 Cutlass Tool.

But giving a soak off a possible benefit for the attached character ("Gallant Steed" was particularly good) suddenly gives the character a reason to take the wound.

But, as stated, I don't like soak offs. Cutlass is already pretty deadly as is and that's part of its charm. That said, for the Vert Vallian, Mayweather, and Jamaica Cutlass campaigns, and a couple of Outlands Campaigns, I have lists of PCs by mission and when they died. Once soak offs come into regular play PC survival rates do go way up. Way up. Way way up.

Add in the Ref often having his own character take the hit (in the aforementioned, Red has more PC deaths than anyone else and I once lost four lvl 0's in a single session), and some games (I'm looking at "Cutlass-Style Era Ten") basically eliminating player death (dead character continues in cryo) and something is missing -- that moment of dread when a PC who has hit lvl 4+ has to roll or die because the Make Roll for the Encounter is gone.

If I wanted to play a game with no risk of death there's 5e with its death saves and easy resurrection, or games like Toon or Magical Kitties Save the Day, which are specifically no-death rule sets.

Or, I'm just old and grumpy. Well... I AM old and grumpy.

Yours,