Ever since Walt picked up a copy of MWAN 82 about a year or so ago, We've been a big fan of a little card based skirmish game called The Rules With No Name (subtitled A Fist Full of Dice). One read-through convinced Walt that he wanted to give it a try-and with the assistance of his daughter's Duplo blocks to create a town, some old (really old) 25mm Boot Hill figures, and an overly large Fate Deck made that day in Powerpoint, his little gaming group (we call it "Guyz Night ™) gave The Rules with No Name (TRWNN) a try. We were surprised and delighted with the results. TRWNN is a taut and entertaining little skirmish game, utilizing a card based initiation method called a Fate Deck, relatively simplistic rules that are primarily focused on the simple mechanic of tossing any number of regular six-sided dice to accomplish actions. We won't discuss the rules in depth because they have already published in this magazine and elsewhere. If you have a hankering for Western gunfights and don't have a copy of issue 82, write Hal for the back issue, you will be glad you did. As an alternative for all you readers in the Information Age, try the Foundry Web Link (at the end of this article) and request a copy of the rules from Tim Peterson. Eventually, our Duplo block towns were replaced with more sophisticated (and increasingly larger) Western towns. After reading about it in a previous issue of MWAN, the investment of a small pittance to get ERTL's COW TOWN PLAY SET gave my little town three large buildings, a couple of shacks and a large assortment of horses and cows to stampede. Cow Town is 30 dollars well spent-see the Evers Toy Store link at the end of the article for a source for this playset. A couple of scratch built houses, some TCS Hollow Houses, and I had a regular burg on my hands It was the discovery of figures from the Foundry, Dixon and Pass of the North figures that spelled my downfall. 150 + figures later (each of which having to be painted individually by a man not famous for his artistic talents... During this growth phase of Cow Town, Dave became involved with the gaming group and became a regular contributor to the rules enhancement effort. Dave routinely "borrows" his son's Lego Western buildings and figures to have Wild West Skirmishes in the town of Legoredo. Walt and Dave periodically run Western Skirmish games at one ofthe HMGS or local conventions Walt devised a simple Fate Deck using Microsoft Powerpoint, displaying the character's name, rank, skills, "handedness", and what weapon is being held by which hand-as well as having an area to display a little sketch portrait of the gunfighter. We place little red teacher's "good boy" stickers on cards that have recorded "Kills" to their name, and after a certain number of stars, the character can gain an additional skill to dernonstrate his veteran status. The spectacle of grown men squabbling over whether or not somebody deserves a half cent's worth of tinfoil and glue would make you chuckle. After a while, the cards becarne more and more sophisticated, too. Now we play with slick little character cards with just the name, rank and skill ofthe player printed on them (laminated) and each player records changes on a little status sheet we also made in Powerpoint. Without a doubt, The Rules with No Name has become a hit with our little local gaming group. Any game this easy to play, this easy to teach, is destined to be a candidate for Beer and Pretzel fun with the gaming group. Our regular adventures in the mythical "Cow Town, Texas" have become the stuff of legend. The recurring characters, such as the drunken Sherrif One-Eyed Dawson (a tough old coot who has progressed from drunken stumblebum to heroic Legend of the West after being shot, stabbed, blown up and stampeded over several times), Mr. C. Connors (noted Rifleperson), the Low Plains Drifter, Botch Casually & the Sumdunce Kid have all added a recurring, campaign-like flavor to the game. The only flaw that we could detect was the lack of some of the "Reel" West touches that make Wild West Skirmish games so much fun: Stampedes, Ambushes, Explosions, etc... So, in the spirit of fun, we have developed the rules you see here. They are not meant to be "official," nor the last word on the subject, by any means. They have added to the Wild West gaming experience for my group, however, so perhaps you will find them useful. If you have any questions or suggestions, feet free to contact us via electronic mail at: hotspur@rocketmai1.com (Walt's Internet) or DMarkleyJr@aol.com (Dave). Links that could prove useful The Foundry Page (http://www.gisby.net) Tim Peterson's Foundry support page: A source for the TRWNN Rules Wild West Skirmish Photo Album Page (http://members.tripod.com/~mrnizz/trwnnalb.htm) My Photo Album page of past gunfights. Demonstrates the ERTL Cow Town set in action, Cattle Stampedes, Explosions. TRWNN Fate Deck Online (http://members.tripod.com/~mrnizz/w-index.html) I have put a Fate Deck online (only action cards) that can be used for beginners. Powerpoint format Evers Toy Store (http://marketplaza.com/evers/evers.html) They sell the ERTL "Farm Country" Play sets. I recommend the Wild Wes, Cow Town, Cattle Roundup, Mustang Roundup, Ranch House (throw away the pickup truck) Addendum Material Hiding and Detection A character may elect to start the gam e hidden for ambush purposes. This implies that the character is laying in wait in a location that provides good cover, waiting for his best shot. In a situation like this, the casting ofthe character is NOT placed on the playing table. The player controlling the character places his character card in the Fate deck just like everyone else does. When his card is turned, he may elect to take any of the actions allowed to him (see page 3, Actions). However, the other players may then elect to DETECT him by each rolling I d6. Characters who have already performed an action in the turn cannot detect a hidden player. Players detect hidden characters by rolling on this table. If the hidden character performs an action that isn't firing a weapon (includes throwing dynamite): 1-2 on a 1d6: detects figure, place casting on board. 3-4 on a 1d6: Place a marker indicating the general direction of the character from the character attempting to detect the hidden player. 5-6 on a 1d6: You don't see anything. If the hidden character fires a weapon (includes throwing dynamite): 1-4 on a 1d6: detects figure, place casting on board. 5 on a 1d6: Place a marker more or less the exact location of the character, but don't place him on casting on the board (the character retained hiding, though an action was detected). 6 on a 1d6: You don't see anything. Modifiers to detection roll: -2 Character attempting detection is 6" or less from hidden figure. -1 Character attempting detection is 12" or less from hidden figure. -3 Hidden character blazed away when he fired +3 No line of sight to hidden figure. Guidelines: Obviously, some level of honesty is expected from the player controlling the hiding figure. Players should turn their backs while the player who controls the hidden figure checks LOS, distance, etc. Some level of common sense must be applied. If the character is attempting to hide without any applicable cover for ambush (a building, a rock, a gully, a tree, etc.), then his chance of success is next to nothing. The GM's ruling is law on this issue. DYNAMITE RULES It wouldn't be the Wild West if dynamite didn't come into play every once in a while. In the real West, dynamite wasn't used as much as it is in the movies (if at all), but since it does add to the flavor ofthe game, rules for the use ofdynamite are included here. Dynamite is deployed by the stick. These are the prerequisites for Dynamite: Dynamite Prerequisites The character deploying dynamite must have a finite amount of sticks indicated on his card. Once they are used, he cannot use any more. The character deploying dynamite must NOT be engaged in Melee Combat at the time of use. The Player (the real person) must have some Scatter dice (or a method of determining scatter) and explosion marker handy. You will need a few things to make these dynamite procedures work: 1 or more scatter dice (Games Workshop makes an excellent set that I use) which have arrows on 4 sides and bullseye reticules on the other two, 1 or more distance dice, a special BOOM card for your fate deck (these are required, the rest is optional) maybe a bead or a marker to show the impact point, and some red and white cotton balls in case a building catches fire as a result of the blast. A blast template (2.5" radius circle) makes it easier to determine what figures are affected by the blast. We use a blast template scavenged from another game. Dynamite Lobbing Procedure: Dynamite is usually lobbed by the person using it. The procedure is as follows: Find a Detonation Point: Eyeball distance from thrower to target. Literally, estimate the range in inches. This estimated range may never exceed 18" for single sticks. Place a red bead on the table where you think that point is. Then, measure the distance you estimated. Move the marker to that point. If your eyeball estimate is more than 18" in reality, then the marker is placed at exactly 18" from the throwing figure. If you are DEAD ACCURATE (defined as having eyeballed it down to within I inch), make a note of this to the referee. Check for Scatter or Bounce: Roll 1 GW scatter dice and 1d6 distance dice. Ifyou get a target symbol, the explosion will go off at the marker you placed. If you get an arrow, check the 1d6. Move the marker in the direction of the arrow for that many inches. If you get BOTH a 6 on the distance dice AND a target symbol on the scatter dice, your dynamite bounces! What fun! Basically, roll twice from your aiming marker with the scatter and distance dice, and place the marker wherever this procedure lands it. If the forces of probability conspire to give you the same combination of6 and a target symbol a second time in a row, then the marker stays where it is. Ifyou were DEAD ACCURATE in your range guess, then halve the distance die results for every scatter or bounce result. Determine when the Explosion Happens: Take the top three cards off of the fate deck. Add the "BOOM" card into the stack of three. Shuffle them thoroughly and place them on top of the Fate deck. The explosion will go off when the BOOM card is drawn. When the BOOM card is drawn place the Blast template over the bead. Any figure under the template is affected by the blast. Any structures touched by the template are also in the blast. Last Chance Saving Throw: If the stick lands within 2" of a character, that character has the option of throwing the stick back, if the character has not performed an action yet during the turn. Roll a 1d6: 1-3: You get the throw off 4-6: You have a disarming experience (it blows up in your hand, roll 3 times on the damage table and take an automatic serious wound, knocked down result in the arm carrying the stick-the arm is useless for the rest of the game) For the return lob, simply roll the GW scatter dice and 3d6 and check for bounce. Other modifiers to the Dynamite Lob: If a figure has suffered a serious wound to his "good arm", the estimated distance is halved. That works out like this: If the Dynamite Kid got winged seriously by a pistol shot, and he is attempting to lob a stick of dynamite, hefirst eyeballs the distance. It looks, like 16 inches to him. He throws the stick. The marker moves NOT to 16 inches, but to 8. DRUNK or DERANGED characters suffer a 1/2 distance penalty, as above. Explosions: When the explosion occurs, many things happen. What happens to people when dynamite goes off- If a character is within 2.5" or under the blast template of a stick when it goes off, he takes damage. Roll three times on the damage table per explosion. Personal damage Modifiers: If the character is behind light cover (wooden obstacles such as barrels, fences, or a tree, a rock, etc.), then take 1 roll back. If the character is in heavier cover (in a building, wood, adobe or stone) take 2 rolls back. A character taking damage from dynamite is dazed and knocked down requiring a turn to recover. What happens to buildings when dynamite goes off. If a building, wood, stone or adobe, is touched by the Blast template or within 2.5" of an exploding stick of dynamite, roll 1d6. 1-3 on that roll, that edge of the building collapses. Place white cotton balls around that edge of the building to demonstrate that it has collapsed. 4-6, the building stands firm. If the building is made of wood, place a mix of red and white cotton balls, to indicate the building is on fire. The white cotton balls indicate SMOKE. The smoke will last three turns, unless the building is on fire. Smoke is a hindrance to LOS. PLACING (Not Lobbing) Dynamite on purpose Sometimes you want to PLACE dynamite in a certain location to get a certain result (i.e., blowing a safe, breaking your pard out of jail, etc.) Placing Dynamite counts as 1 movement die for lighting the fuse. The sequence works like so: the player rolls three movement dice. The first die is used to move to the place where the dynamite is to be placed. The second movement die is used to actually place the dynamite. The third die is used to run away. The whole sequence counts as one action. NOTE: if the character is using dynamite to bust a pard out of the pokey, the jailbird is assumed to be hiding as far away from the explosion as possible, with as much light cover as possible, when the explosion goes off. This is a common sense freebie. A word about the scatter dice If you don't wish to purchase a Games Workshop@ scatter dice (they are somewhat pricey at approximately 3 dollars for a pack of 5) you can make your own by either purchasing a blank die and writing a series of arrows on it. Draw an arrow for straight ahead, one that slants right and upward, one that slants left and upward, one that slants left and downward and one that slants right and downward (The position of the arrows is entirely relative since the Chaos factor of rolling the dice plays into the result). Naturally, draw a bullseye reticule on the remaining side. You can even paint over the pips on a standard 1d6 and save even more money, but this looks a bit off. Variant A) The Scatter Table using a regular 1d6 Alternatively, you can create a simple scatter table for rolling a I d6 on, like this: 1 Left 2 Right 3 Forward 4 Back 5 Hit 6 Hit I think this limits your range of possibilities, however, and I don't recommend it, There area number of random number generator methods you could use to create the scattering effect (percentile dice, spinner tables, etc.), but I think an actual arrow pointing to the direction the dynamite actually goes is the most visually effective. Variant B) the Brian Ansell method I sent my Dynamite rules to Brian Ansell, the author of the Rules With No Name. He sent me this very elegant scatter method. Roll a red and a black die, just as if you would for a shotgun. (I hope I get this right!) Subtract (or add) one die from the other to get the actual distance of the scatter. Then look at the actual angle formed from the red die to the black one. THAT is the physical direction ofthe scatter! Elegant, no? I find the range estimation method, boom card, bounce, etc. listed above all work well incorporating this methodology. So don't bother getting Games Workshop scatter dice if you don't have to. More Rules With No Name: Supplementary Material Maddening Crowds (NPCs) Rapid Fire Weapons, Stampede, Doctoring Shotgun Template Back to MWAN #96 Table of Contents Back to MWAN List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 1997 Hal Thinglum This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com