The Rules With No Name
By Bryan Ansell
eventually to be published by Foundry Press
"Hot Damn, Ya'll! What we got us hyar is one damn fine set o' rules! Ah mean, we're talkin' more akshun an' laffs than a fat lady with ants in her corset! Better 'an that, they's free, or pert' near, an' can be gotten rat hyar in thees parts! Jus' you lissen and Ah'll learn ya all 'bout it."
(For the ease of the reader, the rest of this review has been translated from its original Genuine Frontier Gibberish dialect to conventional English. Ed)
Written by no less than the Great Satan of Wargaming Himself, the rules systern clearly embodies many of most heartfelt prejudices about how a skirmish game (and probably any type game) should play and proceed. It is fast, if not always furious, and can be grasped by even the most jaded gamers on the first play.
These rules are still very much under development and no less than three sets have been received so far. Indeed, the next issue of the Midwest Wargamers Association Newsletter (MWAN) will contain a set, but these will likely be obsolete by then. Much in the rules has still to be put in final form, but what there is already seems very workable and, above all, fun. More updates are expected periodically as Guemsey Foundry continues to expand its already 100 plus line of Westem figures. The first couple of releases in this line have already been reviewed and the figures only continue to improve in character and detail (see samples painted by Mark Cavett or, especially, John Hansen when he returns later this summer to fully appreciate their quality!). The name of the rules itself is still urrder consideration and The Rules With No Name is definitely only a working title.
Bryan's song is the American West more the one of Legend and Hollywood than perhaps the Authentic variety, with the emphasis on action by the players rather than the minutiae of weapons or transitory tactical factors.
To Play
In order to play one needs, besides the figures and a "back lot" for the action, a special Fate Deck which determines in what order the individual characters move and/or fire. While this is easily enough contrived by using a standard card deck this reviewer found it worth the effort (if not expense) of making a dedicated deck for play testing. Besides cards for each character, the Fate Deck must have at least one each of a Citizen, Gunman, Shootist, and, if necessary, Legend Action Cards.
All player Characters are assigned one of these classifications and as their personal card comes up they can pick up any or all of these Action Cards if they are of equal or lesser rank than his own. With each card in a Players hand, he may make an action or let one of his sidekicks/ henchmen make another action. The last card in the Fate Deck is a "Joker" which, when turned up, means all cards are reshuffled into the deck and the next turn begins. This assures the impossibility of guaranteeing how many actions a character may make in a turn, or even if he can make one at all. Naturally, such unpredictability keeps the game fresh and exciting.
Another major game system is the Skills And Attributes selection. Each character can choose, be assigned, or randomly select one or more of these which can principally affect his behavior in combat. Extrapolating from a suggested set of "chits" listing each Skill/Attribute, your Reviewer has made up a second deck of cards allowing the Referee to deal them or for players to choose their own at the start of a game. The best use of such a deck is for a game with new characters, and players whose talents should not be known in advance of the action. As characters make their bones in battle they can draw more cards to acquire new Skills/Attributes and thus improve over time, encouraging campaigns or at least related scenarios.
The combat system is also very fast and "clean". When a character shoots or fights he rolls a circumstantially variable number of D6's a "6" being a hit. There are no modifiers to the dice, only tactical modifiers that add or subtract whole dice to the roll for results. If more "1s" than "6s" come up when "Blazing Away", all the weapon's ammunition is used up. Three or more "1s" mean the weapon is Jammed, and if four or more "1's" come up, something awful happens (broken weapon, lightning strike, earthquake, etc., whatever the Referee likes).
There are only about 10 actions a player may make in a turn, none of which require written orders. Indeed, the only possible need for record keeping is wounds, and these can be plenty to a single character. Playtesting has already provided several characters hit five or six times before being rendered hors de combat. This appears to characterize the rules in that hits can be fairly frequent, the effects are weighted to keep the victim in the action as long as possible. This is not necessarily unrealistic and, in any event, provides a great deal of excitement and discourages "scientific" combat where players know, for example, that one more hit will kill or incapacitate an opponent.
Characters who have not been hit by shots due to the presence of cover are required to Duck Back and in the next turn, Recover. This reasonable rule allows for some sense of skirmishing by concentrating fire in order to cover the advance of others. While not mentioned in the rules, it seemed to your Reviewer that a set of small counters suitably marked would simplify keeping track of characters so affected and a set was made up accordingly.
The weapons are divided into repeating pistols and rifles, single shot breech loaders, and shotguns. The latter rules are among the newest additions and an alternative set has been developed locally that promises a slightly less "fussy" means of determining who can be hit by shotgun fire. As per the invitation of the author to experiment and add to the rules according to local tastes, bows, scatterguns, derringers, tomahawks and other weapon types are being added. We are looking forward to promised rules for Drunks/Locoweed/Deranged characters, as well as mounted movement, and the inevitable dynamite rules, among others.
The first large scale play test of the rules was held in Patrick Wilson's backyard on June 8th as the inaugural bloodletting of Scott Saylor's long awaited Western Campaign Game. While the tactical details are not necessary here, it should noted that some 30 figures, each represented by one Fate Deck card were commanded by Jonathan Keepers, Steve Askins, Ms. Traci Lynn, Jeff Massey, Paul Shell, Jim Parrish, and Wilson while Mr. Saylors officiated. Certainly, this was an action larger than the rules' author must have intended, but at the end of a bit less than four hours play, the action had been completed decided and everyone had opportunities to affect the outcome, not to mention having a bloody good time. These rules will likely continue to be the combat system of choice for the Campaign Game, especially as they develop to our community standards.
Parties interested in paying their membership fees to the Campaign and getting updated copies of these rules are encouraged to contact Scott Saylors.
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