Rapid Fire Weapons Sometimes I get the feeling that our Wild West skirmish games are "Real" item. However, since our objective for using this game in the first place is to have fun, we occasionally throw in an ahistorical item or two that probably had as much to do with our American Frontier era as a 1957 Chevrolet. Which brings us to our subject at hand, the use of rapid fire weapons in the old West such as the Gatling Gun or the British Gardner Gun. Now, we all know that the spectacle of a gang of cowboys pushing a large military weapon down the streets of a typical Western town was unlikely in the extreme; yet for those wonderful Sam Peckinpah-style gory endings, there is nothing like a gun that can spit lead many times promiscuously. Besides, they did exist in this time period, so why not throw them in? Gatling-style guns can be added to the Rules with No Name relatively easily. The big difference between regular firing procedures and rapid fire weapons is that there are no Aimed shots possible. Every time you fire a rapid fire weapon you are, in effect, Blazing Away. The second major feature of rapid fire weapons is that they are an "area fire" weapon; therefore they share some characteristics of shotgun fire. Procedure: 1. Aiming Points 2. Range 3. Cranking the Gun 4. Checking for Jams Aiming Point : Choose a left and right aiming point for a firing area, similar to the shotgun aiming points. The aiming points need to be 6 inches apart. At long and extreme ranges, the aiming points are 8 inches apart. All potential targets within that area suffer from the result ofthe impact ofgunfire within the firing area. Range: Check the range to target "area." Use following range table to determine the number of dice to roll per individual within the firing area: RAPID FIRE WEAPON POINT Blank CLOSE MEDIUM LONG EXTREME RANGE 2" 6" 9" 12" 20+" NUMBER OF DICE 4 5 4 3 2 Modifiers: Target in cover -1 Firing after moving -2 Flesh wound on either arm -1 Citizen -1 Serious wound, anywhere -2 Shootist or Legend +1 Target knocked down/out +1 Characters firing a Rapid Fire weapon receive no Blazing Away bonus--that's what these weapons do all the time. Cranking the Gun: Roll the number of dice per stand in target area, and check versus the standard Hit Location & Effect table. If the character rolls a 5 OR a 6, that counts as a hit. Jamming: If a character rolls more is than 6s, the gun isn't out of ammo, it's jammed. Early weapons of this type were notoriously unreliable. Use the "Fix Gun" action to fix the weapon. Ammunition: We assume that a plentiful supply ofammo exists for this weapon. They were loaded on their own special caissons that could hold a relatively large amount of ammo. If you choose to limit the ammo to the rapidfire weapon, and thus incorporate running out of ammunition into the game, it will take 2 actions to reload it as opposed to one. Other effects of Rapid Fire Weapons: lf a large group ofcattle are located near the weapon (within 12") when it fires, immediately check to see if the cattle stampede. IfCitizens are located anywhere near a firing area (10"), they will immediately Panic as if they have lost their NERVE (as described in the existing HATRED & FEAR rules). All Gunmen, Shootists and Legends must perform a Nerve Check when located in the firing area ofthe rapid fire weapon; otherwise they perform a Duck Back (or run for cover) during their next action. Ifthey pass the nerve check, they may perform other actions as normal. A Weapons Budget One thing we don't want in our games is a bunch of walking arsenals in our skirmish games... the average cowpolk, even the average hard as nails gunman couldn't afford to buy a vast plethora of weapons to tote around with him. To this end, I present the Weapons Budget Table for your characters to purchase weapons from at the outset of the game. Recurring characters, of course, would have the same weapons and money left over from the last time you played. To enhance a campaign game, you may want to reward your players from time to time-say, for instance, a character kills or captures a notorious outlaw, you may wish to give him a small portion of the reward money so he can spend it on guns, dynamite or other such notions. Procedure: At the outset of a game, give each character 50 dollars spending money (if they are new characters) or 10 dollars wages (if they are in a campaign and have played before). They can shop offthe following table with the money they have in their budget. Players can pool money to purchase items. Any suggestions or additions to the Weapons Budget tables are welcome. This is just a rough draft based on the TRWNN rules as they are today. Weapon Cost Description Notes Pistol $25 Standard 6 shooter +3 to blaze away Breach Loading Rifle $30.00 Rifle, bullet loads in back +1 to blaze away Repeating Rifle $40 Rifle, Has a magazine +2 to blaze away Buffalo Gun $60.00 Hi-Caliber Weapon 5 or 6 hits; takes two actions to load Sharpshooter Rifle $50 Long brass tube scope Adds +2 dice to hit roll, +1 or -1 to location roll Automatic Pistol $150 Early Auto Weapon Like a Mauser; 1890 or later only Blunderbuss/Musket $20 Early powder weapon see the musket/blunderbuss rules Gatling/Gardner Gun $900.00 Early Rapid Fire Weapon See Rapid Fire Rules Dynamite sticks $30 Stick See dynamite rules Scavenging the Dead. You can always procure weapons from the dead. Robbing the stiffening corpses of your enemies as they lay in the dust, leaking grue, is a weapons procurement practice that dates to the Caesars. However, an element of common sense must enter into play here. Referees should set a limit of two rifle-sized weapons, four handgun-sized weapons on any one figure. Naturally, it will take an action to discard a weapon and rearm. Acquiring a weapon from a corpse or wounded figure also takes an action. Doctorin' Most Western towns had a resident physician of some sort-- usually a general practitioner of some degree of proficiency (the grumpy but lovable archetype of the movie genre). These country G Ps weren't at the cutting edge of medical science but were proficient enough at extracting buckshot, removing bullets, and stitching up knife wounds. Often, the results of their attentions varied dramatically depending on how badly their patients were banged up and also upon the doctor's own level of training. Dentists, as well, possessed some minimal level of medical training and can perform some quick "patching up" if a doctor wasn't available. The effects of a hurried "patching up" can be of some beriefit to the wounded gunfighter, as is shown in the Doctorin' Table below. Prerequisites: Figures A Doctor or Dentist figure must be on the table. Every four turns, move the figure randomly in a direction away from current gunfire. A doctor or dentist (with the possible exception of Doc Holliday) may be altruistic, but he isn't going to put himself in the line of fire. Use NPC movement rules or just move the figure every four turns or so. Procedure: Wounded Gunfighter Movement: The wounded man must walk, stagger or crawl to within two inches of a doctor or dentist casting. Alternatively, they can be carried there on a horse or wagon. On the next turn, roll on either the Doctorin' (Doctor) or Doctorin' (Dentist) table, as appropriate. A variety of things can happen. Results: REDUCE: Reduce the level of a wound (i.e., a Serious Wound becomes a light wound, a light wound becomes a graze, etc. REDUCE + or - number: The number is the number of wound "steps" are reduced by the doctoring attempt. UNCONCIOUS: The doctor uses too much ether. The patient is zonked for the rest of the game (but lives). CONFUSION: The dentist becomes confused; extracts a tooth instead-- roll again! WORSEN: like REDUCE but in the opposite direction the doctor or dentist fumbled it! DIE: Pretty much what it says. The Doc really fumbled it! Doctorin' (Doctor) Table: Roll 1D6 Roll Result 1 Reduce 3 2 Reduce 2 3 Reduce 1, Delay 2 4 Reduce 1, Unconscious 5 Worsen 1 6 Die Doctorin' (Dentist) Table: Roll 2D6 Roll Result 1-3 Reduce 1 4,5 Reduce 2 6 Reduce 1, Unconscious 7 Confusion 8-9 Unconscious 10 Worsen 1, Unconscious 11 Worsen 2 12 Worsen 3 Adding severity to a wound ("worsening it") is exactly like adding another light wound for every level of severity. So, if a character already has a Serious wound, and gets worsened for three, he now has a serious wound and three light ones. Such is the price we pay for frontier medicine. Staaaaaaampeeeeeedddddeeeeee! (Stampeding Cattle) Cattle, and to a lesser extent horses, were a notoriously skittish bunch. It didn't take much to set off a general panic. So, in the interests of re-enacting some of the finest dramatic mornents in Westerns, these stampeding' rules are presented here. Prerequisites: A herd is defined as more than four animal figures on the table. Less than that, and you don't have the destruction that all that lovely beefon the hoof is capable of. Small groups ofcattle or horses will just run away. A team of horses pulling a wagon or stagecoach will act as a herd for stampede purposes. Teams will always roll on Table 1. Procedure: This is a referee call sort of activity. Measure the distance between a source of gunshots and the nearest animal in a herd (more than four animals). If that distance is 12 inches or greater, don't bother to check. If that distance is 6 to 12 inches, roll Id6 on table 1. Ifthat distance is less than 6 inches, roll 1d6 on table 2. Note that if DYNAMITE goes off, an automatic stampede occurs. Table 1: (the "We're not so Skittish" Table) 1d6 1 Staaaampede! 2-6 No Result Table 2: (the "Okay, we're incredibly Skittish Table) 1d6 1 Staaaampede! 2 Staaaampede! 3 Staaaampede! 4 No Result 5 No Result 6 No Result Note: Modify these tables at the discretion of the referee. Horses were generally more used to loud unsettling noises, for instance, and wouldn't spook as easily as this table indicates. The tables above are oriented towards the classic "Longhorn Cattle" style stampede. What happens when a Stampede result occurs: Pull out a scatter die (see dynamite) or use a regular six sider with the following table: 1 North 2 = South 3 - West 4 = East 5 = North and roll again; 6 - South and roll again (e.g., 5,4 is NE, 5,3 is NW. NN is North, SS is South, NS is either N or S (flip a coin)). In any event, determine a direction somehow. Next, determine a "lead animal" to place in the front of the herd. This is the animal that the herd will follow during the stampede. If the animals are in the open, the entire herd rolls 3 movement dice as if they were walking fast. If more shots go off, their movement dice for the next turn goes up to 4 dice. The herd moves in the direction indicated, knocking anything or everything in front of them down. Note: A Stampede Card enters into the FATE DECK whenever a stampede result occurs, the deck is reshuffled, and the herd moves (aligned on the lead animal) when that card is drawn. What to do if a Stampede comes your way and you're on foot: 1. Roll for escape result if you are within one inch (I") of the edge of the herd. A I or 2 on a 1d6 means the figure dodges out of the herd. If you fail this roll, all is not lost, though things will get harder for you. If the user is AGILE, he escapes on a 1 through 3, 2. If you are stuck in the stampede, you can attempt to dodge it while inside the herd. (You must check every turn). If you roll a 1 on a 1d6, (1 or 2 if user is AGILE) you stay on your feet and don't get trampled. If you lose this roll, well, things are going to go bad for you. 3. When you fail the die roll: You are in bad shape. The figure stays in place, in a KNOCKED DOWN state, while the stampede moves over the figure. Every turn the stampede is over the figure, roll 1d6 to figure damage: 1-2, roll 1 time on the Fighting table, vs. TRAMPLE; 3-4, roll 2 times on the Fighting table, vs. TRAMPLE; 5, roll 3 times on the Fighting table, vs. TRAMPLE; 6, roll 4 times on the Fighting table, vs. TRAMPLE. 4. You MAY survive, you never know. What to do if a Stampede comes your way and you're on horseback: 1. Check for loss of control of your horse. 2.Check to move your horse out ofthe stampede. 1", roll movement dice (only 3 in this instance). 2"', roll to move out ofthe stampeded (I or a 2 on a 1d6). Ifyou fail, your horse will get caught up in the stampede and move with it. You MUST check for control every turn thereafter. 3. If you lose control, go to #2 above in the "On Foot" rules. What stampedes do to the surrounding neighbourhood: stampede WILL get through a wooden fence once it starts moving-though it will take I turn to do so. A stampede generally will NOT go through a mortared stone fence, though I give thern a 2 in 6 chance ifthe fence is made ofpiled up stones with no mortar. Stampedes ignore (move around) buildings unless caught in a dead end. Check for building damage as if the building was undergoing FIRE damage. This applies to wooden buildings only, not stone or adobe. Small loose objects (pumps, troughs, etc.) will be knocked down, shattered, etc.) Wagons will overturn on a 1-3 on a 1d6 for every turn the stampede is next to them. Stagecoaches will not overturn, as they are too heavy. How to stop a stampede: 1. If on horseback, ride to the front ofthe stampede (check for loss of control each turn). If you fail, go to "what to do if you are on foot in a stampede" section. 2. Fire pistols/rifles to check for turning. A 1 or a 2 on a 1d6 TURNS the stampede. 3. To try to stop the stampede, you must successfully SHOOT and KNOCK DOWN the lead animal. 4. If on foot, you may attempt this by running and yelling, waving your hat and firing your pistol. Only 1 on a 1d6 will TURN the stampede, though. The procedure for stopping is the same. Driving Cattle Okay, you say, how do I move them doggies down the trail (translation: How do I make herd animals go where I want them to go, when I want them to do it)? This is accomplished through DRIVING THE BEASTS. In game terms, there are certain prerequisites that need to be met to drive cattle: Herd Driving Prerequisites The herd animals must be defined as a "herd" in game terms (see above; a collection of 4 or more herd beasts) The drivers (i.e. cowboys) must be on horseback, therefore subject to Horse Riding rules. A lead animal must be designated that is the first animal in the herd. The herd must not be in a state of stampede. There must be at least one driver located within 3" of the lead animal. A Cattle Drive Card, a Herd Card, and individual driver cards must be created for the Action Deck. Additionally, the herd must be initially thought of as a single entity called a Drive. A drive consists of herd beasts, drivers (i.e., cowboys), and possibly some supporting cast like a Chuck Wagon, etc. A drive moves on a single action card using the TRV*rNN rule mechanic called GROUP MOVEMENT. A special Cattle Drive card is added to the Action Deck, and all the components of the Drive will act with a single purpose when that card is drawn. The individual cards for the drivers and the herd are taken out of the deck. After the first turn of action, this grouping is no longer mandatory, and the drivers may voluntarily elect to break off from group action (either individually, adding their cards to the Action Deck, or en masse). If a situation occurs where ALL drivers are no longer subject to group movement, either voluntarily or because a stampede has occurred, then a HERD card goes into the Action Deck (or stampede if appropriate). The (now leaderless) herd will continue moving in the general direction they are going in, unless they meet a significant obstacle that will impede forward progress, at a movement rate of TWO DICE A TURN. As you probably already have figured out, it can get dicey if the drivers get separated from the front of their herd, and this could happen easily if their individual cards are shuffled into the deck. Regaining control of the Herd To REGAIN control of a herd after the Group Movement has been broken, at least two mounted or foot figures must move in front of the herd, and take one action turn firing their pistols off, waving their hats, and doing those assorted tasks that cowboys do. Then they will roll a check on a single 1d6. If they roll a six, they haven't regained control (and the separate action cards remain in the Action deck). If they roll 1-5, they regain control (and the group movement card goes back into the deck, while the individual cards are taken out). We permit foot figures to gain control of the herd to avoid adding all the mounted rules and to allow foot bound Indians or rustlers and opportunity to capture the herd. Additions to Movement These are some modifications we made to the movement rules that change the facing rules and add prone movement and firing. Facing Clarification. The rules say you can change face at the end of your turn except when moving or move & fire. We allow facing change at the start ofeach movement dice. Prone Actions. One action is the Get Up action. The rules say no other action until a player gets up. We have been allowing prone actions. Laying Down on the Job (Prone Action and Movement) Prone Prerequisites: A character often is knocked down or wounded to the point where normal walking movement is impossible. Alternatively the character may wish to be voluntarily prone to present a diminished target to somebody shooting at him. The character's figure is tipped over to show that it is in a PRONE state. Prone Movement. A healthy character moves at IcI6 movement. A character with a Serious Wound or more than one Minor Wound moves at Id6 minus I movement (yes, that can equal zero, in which case he wouldn't move). A character who has received the Serious Wound & Knocked Down (No Movement), may at the referee's discretion allow a I d6 minus 2 movement, ONLY if the character has not received any arm wounds of any kind (he needs his arms to drag his bloody carcass down the street). Prone Firing. All players suffer a minus one dice penalty when firing prone. The player only gets 2 extra bonus dice when Blazing Away with a pistol, no benefits at all for Blazing Away with a rifle. [fusing the Fumble table, ignore all "dropped gun" results Fumbles during Firing The section on firing pistols indicates that a fumble table is optional if a player rolls 4 more is than 6s on a firing roll. We thought that would be grounds for some Reel West mayhem. So, when a player is Bla-ing Away and rolls 4 more I's than 6's then the character fumbles and rolls on the Fumble Table. (If you want to increase the chances of a fumble then change the rule to 3 more 1's than 6's) Fumble Table 1 - Gun catches on holster or clothes. Missed shot! 2 - Shoots own foot. Roll 1d6 on leg hit with -1 to effect. 3 - Trips and falls down 4 - Drops gun 5 - Gun flies out of hand and lands in front ofcharacter, shooting in a random direction. (Resolve with Scatter die) 6 - Flashback/Muzzle block Ifrevolver, rifle or shotgun muzzle is blocked and breech explodes. Roll one hit on self with -2 to location and minus 2 to effect. Ifpercussion cap pistol then flashback. All rounds go off. Roll for hit on target as per shotgun with pistol grip. For firer, roll on hit table arm line with -1 to effect. 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