Some of these may be covered in the main book but they are thoughts I had while reading the QuickStart.
A gang of Thieves has “Elite Shadows” as an option. Do you need to take regular Shadows first? Based on the similarity to the character sheets I assume not—if I am reading right, the unshaded stuff is shared between all and the shaded background is specific to the archetype, whether it is groups or people.
The advantage of using a Large weapon is purely fictional positioning, right? It potentially alters the type of Action roll (“well, he’s only got a knife so I think this situation is pretty controlled, unless he manages to get in close to you” and the “what you’d expect” result (with a knife, “what you’d expect” would be a stab wound, the greatsword might make the expected effect more like brutal decapitation).
Scale: do the Mismatch/Overwhelmed/Outclassed levels correspond to 1/2/3 levels of scale difference? Not entirely clear. By default I personally would assume that “overwhelmed” would represent a greater disparity than Outclassed. Also Outclassed seems more of a skill comparison—I wouldn’t describe someone as being “outclassed” by an opponent’s size or superior numbers.
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Thanks for the questions!
You don’t need to take Shadows first. You can take both, and have two gangs of Shadows.
Yep, fictional positioning for weapon types. The knife can slit your throat in a tight alleyway. The greatsword can lop limbs off out in the open. Account for reach and other details with the position of the action roll, as you say.
You compare scale levels to determine the differential. So scale 1 is a mismatch against scale 2 and overwhelmed against scale 3. I accidentally cut some text from that box, which makes it unclear. Sorry about that!