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GUNFIGHTER’S BALL
GREENHORN EDITION
Written by Forrest Harris and Brian Jubilation Martin. Layout and other
graphics by Forrest Harris.

Copyright © Forrest Harris, DBA Knuckleduster Miniatures. All rights

reserved. Permission given to copy this PDF and accompanying charts for
personal use.

Playtesters
The “Gunfighter’s Ball Busters”
Bradford Hay
Tim Mikesell
Phil Bock
Kevin Brown
Jim Harness
Jake Hornback
Roy Spencer and family
Bob Starr
Jeff Sturch
John Taylor and students
Bill Hupp, Brian Caskey and the Liberty Hobby Center crew
The members of CITW and HMGS Midwest who have patiently endured our
experiments!

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 FOREWARD
he Greenhorn Edition of Gunfighter’s Ball is an easy Wild West
shootout game for tabletop miniatures. If you want more detailed
explanation and advanced rules, check out the Judge’s Guide, due to
be released in the fall of 2017. The Greenhorn Rules are an
excellent primer for preparing players to learn the rules in the
Judge’s Guide.

Many of the rules presented here are greatly simplified from their
counterparts in the Judge’s Guide, the full version of Gunfighter’s Ball.
Once you have mastered the Greenhorn Rules, you may find yourself
yearning for more precise and detailed rules; that's how you'll know you're
ready to move up to the next level.

The Judge’s Guide has completed playtesting and is currently being edited.
It, along with various play aids and accessories, will be released later in
2017.

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 WHAT IS A TABLETOP
MINIATURES GAME?
abletop miniatures are different than roleplaying games or ordinary
board games. They most resemble a first-person shooter video
game, except the entire map plus all the fighters are painted
miniatures on a game table.

If you have played other tabletop miniatures games, you may have found
them to follow strict tournament-style rules with point-based armies. In
contrast, Gunfighter’s Ball is a social game where the goal is to have fun.
This is especially true of the Greenhorn Rules, which value simplicity and
ease of play over “realism.” If there is no rule to cover a situation, toss a
coin or come up with an agreeable house rule.

At all times, the game should be treated as a laugh among

friends and not a test of manhood!

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 DIRT-SIMPLE OVERVIEW
These are the essential concepts to understand in order to start rolling dice.
Read this before trying to learn the particulars to give the rest of the rules
some kind of context, and use it as an introduction for new players. The rest
can be learned by playing a couple of quick practice turns.

SETUP:
The Judge tells you where you can start your figures and what your goal is.

YOUR GEAR:
For each character, you are given a pile of nine poker chips (called wound
chips) representing the character's health, a character card for keeping track
of ammunition, and action cards, which are ordinary playing cards that the
Judge deals into a draw deck (the action deck); the better your fighter, the
more cards you are given.

TAKING YOUR TURN:

When the judge draws your card, you may perform two actions; two
different ones or the same one twice.

MOVING:
To move, roll a 10-sided die (D10) and move your character that many
inches (you don’t have to use your whole roll).

SHOOTING:
To shoot, roll percentile dice: two D10s; a dark D10, which is the tens place,
and a light one that is the ones place.

If you roll equal-to or less-than the to-hit number listed on the Fire Chart,
you hit your target. The to-hit number can change depending on what gun
you’ve got and what the situation is.

DAMAGE:
If your shot hits its target, roll percentile dice again to see where you hit.
Sometimes you will need a weird die called a D3 (you can make a fake one
from a D6) to find out how much damage you do. Damage is kept track of

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with nine poker chips called wound chips. When you cash in all your chips,
your character is dead.

QUICK DRAWS:
If someone tries to shoot you and they’re within nine inches, you can give up
your next card to attempt to quick draw them and interrupt their shot.

BRAWLING:
To fight hand-to-hand, each of you rolls a ten-sided die (D10). The high roll
is the winner, and the greater the difference in rolls, the greater the damage
done.

DYNAMITE
Guess your opponent’s distance, then roll 2D6. If you roll 7, 11, or doubles
the explosion stays on the mark; if you roll any other combination of
numbers, you miss and the center of the explosion is moved 1D6 inches. If
you roll snake eyes (1-1), the dynamite blows up in your hand.

SKILL TESTS:
Sometimes the Judge will ask you to make a test with percentile dice in
order to perform an action that's either difficult or not covered in the rules.

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ROLLING THE BONES
DICE TYPES
PERCENTILE DICE
Roll equal-to or less-than the
= 18% percentage shown on two D10,
where the black die is the “tens”
place and the white die is the “ones”
place. “00” is 100 and “01” is one.

D10
Roll a number between 1 and 10 (a
=1 “0” is a 10).
D6
Roll a number between 1 and 6.

D3
Roll a number between 1 and 3 on a
six-sided die numbered 1-1-2-2-3-3.
You can make one from a D6 by
creatively modifying pips, or buy
one from a game store.

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 DICE ROLLS
D10 is the movement on foot in one
action.
2D10 is the movement on horseback in

+ one action.

D3 is the crawling movement (which is

never modified).

Wagon movement in one action is the

+ sum of 2D6.

Roll percentile dice to see if you hit

when shooting.

= 18%
Roll percentile dice to see where you
wound your opponent if your roll to hit
= 18% is successful.

The Wound Chart uses D3 dice rolls

(sometimes with additional numbers
added) to determine the number of
wound chips taken as damage.

When brawling, each combatant rolls

one D10 and compares the results.
VS.

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 GAME SUPPLIES
• 28-32mm miniature figures and terrain
• At least 30x30-inch playing area
• Tape measures or rulers (English system)
• 2 10-sided dice of different colors. Roll one for “D10” rolls, and roll
two for “D100” or “Percentile” rolls.
• 3 six-sided dice
• 1 six-sided die that reads “1,1,2,2,3,3” (a “D3”)
• Ordinary playing cards that you don’t mind ruining
• 3x5-inch index cards
• Poker chips of two colors
• Pencils and markers

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 SETUP
The game is for two or more players plus a “Judge” who hosts the game,
provides most or all of the equipment and miniatures, and supervises play.
The Judge is responsible for the following:

CHOOSE OR DESIGN A SCENARIO

If a ready-made scenario can't be found, just divide the players up into
two factions and let them fight it out in a turf battle over a small
collection of wild west buildings.

CHOOSE CHARACTER FIGURES

If players are not bringing their own figures to the game, choose
characters to match the scenario.

HAND OUT SUPPLIES AND FIGURES

Each player is assigned up to three characters (two is best), a pencil and a
marker. For each character, a player receives:
• A figure
• An index card (or pre-designed character card)
• Up to 3 old playing cards (more about that later)
• 9 poker chips; 6 white and 3 red.

FILL OUT CHARACTER CARDS

Either the Judge or players must, for each character, write the following
on an index card called a character card:
1. Character name
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 2. Weapons (examine the figure). Include not only guns, but knives,
etc.
3. For each gun, list how much ammo the character has. Make small
circles for each bullet or shell; you will fill these in with pencil as
shots are taken. Arrange the circles in groups of six (for pistols), 15
(for repeating rifles), or 2 (for shotguns, scatterguns, or derringers).
Give each weapon a full load of rounds plus two groups of re-
loads.
4. The Judge will give each character an action number between 1
and 3 to write in the upper right-hand corner of the character card.
This is the number of action cards the character has in the action
deck, and it determines how good the character’s reflexes are when
it comes time to challenge someone to a quick draw. Experienced
gunfighters might have an action number of 3, whereas a gun-shy
bystander might have an action number of 1.

FILL OUT ACTION CARDS

Give each character a quantity of standard
playing cards equal to their action number
(between 1 and 3). Write the character’s
name on each card and give them to the
Judge to shuffle into the action deck.

SKILL TESTS
The Judge is responsible for assigning dice
rolls to players in situations that aren't covered by a specific rule. These
rolls are made with percentile dice and are called skill tests, or simply
tests. A player making a skill test must roll equal to or below the number
set by the Judge, so that a 25% skill test requires a roll of 25 or less. A
random test of 50% is appropriate for settling disputes over rule
interpretations, or for situations where the Judge is unsure how difficult
the task should be. The Judge may set the difficulty level to be hard
(25%), random (50%) or easy (75%).

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 BASIC ASSUMPTIONS
1. An inch is about 2 yards.
2. A turn is 2 actions taken when your card comes
up. A round is over when the Judge has turned all
the cards in the action deck and shuffles.
3. A turn represents an abstract amount of time;
somewhere between 1 and 5 seconds.
4. A character can see anything in a 180-degree arc
in front of them.
5. A character can hear voices within 18-inches and
gunshots from anywhere on the board, unless
muffled by thick walls or terrain.
6. On a 10-sided die, a 0 is 10. On D100 rolls, the
dark die is always the tens place and the light die
the ones place; 00 is 100, and 01 is 1.
7. Sometimes you must find a random direction.
Roll a D10 and using the arrow formed by the tip
of the face to indicate direction.

This way, Tex

PLAYER CONDUCT
1. No measuring before you announce what your character will do.
2. Rolls that go off the table don't count.
3. The Judge's decisions are final; civilized people do not squabble over
toy soldier games.

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 ORDER OF PLAY
In starting positions specified in the scenario, players either place their
figures on the board, or tell the Judge where they are hidden, to be revealed
later in the game.

STARTING THE GAME

The judge shuffles the action deck and deals a card. The character whose name
is on the card takes two actions. After that player has taken their actions, the
next card is drawn, and so forth until the last card is turned. At that time, the
Judge removes the cards of characters who have been eliminated and shuffles
for another round.

ACTIONS
A turn consists of two actions. When your card comes up, pick two things
from the list below. You can choose two different actions or, in all but a few
cases, perform the same action twice:

MOVE on foot up to 1D10 inches. If you move and shoot on the same
turn, the move action is always performed first.
• Bad terrain (like mud) costs 2" for every 1" moved.
• Obstacles like closed doors and fences penalize you between 1
and 4 inches of movement; the more difficult the obstacle, the
more inches it takes.
• Some wound results also include movement penalties (see
Wound Chart).

CRAWL up to 1D3, never modified.

GET UP OR GO PRONE

MOUNTED MOVE
2D10. Bad terrain and obstacles
affect movement in the same way as they do for movement on foot.

WAGON/STAGECOACH MOVE 2D6

MOUNT OR DISMOUNT HORSE OR WAGON

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AIM. If you aim on your first action, you get a benefit if you shoot on
your second action (aiming doesn't carry over from one card (a.k.a.
turn) to the next.

FIRE up to 3 shots (assuming you have a gun that

holds at least three bullets) using percentile dice. If
you move and fire, the movement always comes
on the first card; you cannot fire then move
afterward.

LOAD up to 3 bullets (in a weapon that holds at least three bullets).

DRAW a holstered weapon.

SHIFT WEAPON TO OTHER HAND

BRAWL. Each player rolls a D10, adds or subtracts modifiers, and

finds the difference between scores. The size of the winner's victory
determines the severity of the defeat (see chart).

PICK UP OR USE ITEM

SEARCH an area for an enemy or item.

STUNTS AND OTHER MISCELLANEOUS ACTIONS can be performed

with the permission and supervision of the Judge. He may ask you to
make a skill test to determine if, or how well you do the crazy thing
you've dreamed up.

FREE ACTIONS
• TALKING (you can hear voices up to 18 inches).
• DROPPING ITEMS

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 GOING OUT-OF-TURN
A.K.A. QUICK DRAWING
You get one chance to move out-of-turn in the Greenhorn Rules; if your
opponent shoots at you from within 9 inches, you can try and interrupt his
shot with a quick draw. As the name implies, you can draw a weapon that is
not already in your character's hand, and it does not cost you the usual 1
action for drawing.

To attempt this, you must sacrifice

your next card (turn). Each player
rolls one D6 and adds to it their
action number (between 1 and 3).
Mortally wounded players subtract 1.

The winner takes one shot, and the

loser, if he survives, takes 1 shot
back. If there is a tie, both players
take 1 shot simultaneously. These shots are taken at a large penalty (see Fire
Modifiers). Regardless of who wins, the interrupted player’s turn is over
after the exchange of shots (it is recommended that when a quick draw is
suspected, the attacker shoot on action #2 to avoid losing his or her second
action, aiming or loading on the first action).

The challenging player, win or lose, must sacrifice their next turn, even if it
happens in the next round (one time through the deck is called a round).
That character cannot attempt another quick draw until the last one was paid
for with a lost turn.

+ Player 1 Action Number

VS.
+ Player 2 Action Number

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 SHOOTING
A shooting action consists of firing up to 3 shots (assuming your gun has 3
bullets). To fire:
1. Measure the range to a target, top-of-the-head to top-of-the-head.
2. Find the to-hit number on the fire chart by matching the range to
the weapon type. This number is a percentage; you must roll equal-to
or less-than this number on D100 (percentile dice) to score a hit. This
number is adjusted up or down by modifiers which
can be found under the fire chart.
3. If you score a hit, roll D100 again and find the hit
location, effects, and severity on the Wound Chart.

FIRE CHART
For each weapon, the percentage chance to hit is listed at different ranges. In
the case of shotguns, damage increases at shorter ranges and decreases at
longer ranges. For hunting rifles, damage is +1 wound chip at all ranges.

Some weapons take more than one hand to use, which is noted in the second
column on the expanded version of the chart, below. The last two columns
list the maximum number of shots the weapon can take in once action (Rate
of Fire) and the amount of Ammo the gun can hold.

Weapon # of Range and Base Chance to Hit Rate Ammo

Hands Up Close Short Medium Long Extreme of
Fire
PISTOL 1 1” 80% 9” 60% 15” 44% 20” 30% 24” 16% 3 6
DERRINGER 1 1” 70% 6” 30% 8” 20% 10” 16% 12” 6% 1 or 1 or 2
2*
RIFLE, 2 1” 60% 15” 60% 25” 50% 32” 40% 40” 30% 1 1
HUNTING +1 +1 +1 +1 +1
damage damage damage damage damage
RIFLE, 2 1” 60% 15” 60% 25” 50% 32” 40% 40” 30% 3 15
REPEATING
SHOTGUN 2 1” 80% 6” 70% 10” 60% 15” 50% 20” 40% 1 or 1 or 2
+2 +1 -1 -2 2*
damage damage damage damage
SCATTERGUN 2 1” 80% 3” 70% 6” 60% 9” 50% 12” 40% 1 or 1 or 2
+2 +1 -1 -2 2*
damage damage damage damage
KNIFE, 1 1” 80% 3” 50% 5” 30% 8” 6% N/A 1 N/A
THROWN
BOW AND 2 1” 80% 9” 60% 15” 44% 20” 30% 24” 16% 1 N/A
ARROW
*If double-barreled, each chambered is fired separately

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FIRE MODIFIERS
Fire Modifiers are penalties and bonuses given because of the shooter's skills
or situation. They are listed below the Fire Chart on the Quick Reference
Sheet.

Primary Modifiers
First, determine if you've done something cuts your to-hit number in half.
These are called primary modifiers:

• Movement on your first card, OR

• Quick-drawing, OR
• Being mortally wounded (wound
explanations see below).

Don't combine primary penalties; if more than one applies, take a total
of only half-off.

Secondary Modifiers
Second, apply modifiers in the bottom section of the chart; these are
called secondary modifiers:

-10 Bad cover; things like wooden fences, brush, or

furniture.
-10 Prone target more than 3” away.
-20 Good cover/hardly visible; a very hard-to-see
target, or cover behind something solid, like the
corner of a stone building or a dead horse.
-30 Blind fire; the target cannot be seen at all, but is
presumed to be behind a door, in an outhouse, etc.
-20 Shooting from horseback
-10 Shooting with non-dominant hand.
+10 Aimed during your first action of a turn.
-10 for each shot taken after the first on a single
action. For example, your second shot is at -10, and
your third is at -20. Start over if you fire on the second
action.

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 WOUNDING
If you score a hit with gunfire, or cause a wound with
dynamite or brawling, roll a second time with percentile
dice and look up the result on the Wound Chart. This table
tells you:
• Hit location
• Practical effects; an explanation of each one is found
below the chart.
• Number of wound chips lost (points of damage), which
usually requires a D3 die roll and sometimes requires that you add a
number to the roll.

WOUND CHIPS AND MORTAL WOUNDS

Cash in one chip for each point of damage you
take. You begin the game with nine chips; the first
six are white and the last three are red. When you
cash in all your white chips and are left with only
red chips, you are mortally wounded.

Mortally wounded players immediately fall prone

and crawl for the remainder of the game. The Fire
and Brawling Charts list penalties for being mortally wounded.

Bleeding Out
Once down to one chip, mortally wounded players must roll 1D6
at the end of the round when the action cards are shuffled; if a 1 is
rolled, the character bleeds-out and dies.

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 STRAY SHOTS
If you miss your target, you might hit an unintended target by accident, be
they friend, foe, or innocent bystander!

• Pistols and rifles: Re-roll the shot and apply the result to the
next nearest character within 3". Stop rolling when you've
either hit someone within 3" of the original target, or missed
all available targets.
• Shotguns: In the case of a missed shotgun attempt, roll for
every potential target within 3" of the intended victim.
• Scatterguns: In the case of a missed “sawed-off” shotgun
(a.k.a. “scattergun”) attempt, roll for every potential target
within 4” of the intended target.

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 WOUND CHART
ROLL LOCATION EFFECT WOUND CHIPS
01-05 Head Dead All
Stunned (Rings Your
06 Head, Graze 1
Bell)
07 Neck, Graze Stunned (Panic) 1
08-12 Right Arm Can’t Hold Object 1D3
13 Right Arm, Graze 1
14-16 Right Hand Can’t Hold Object 1D3
17 Right Hand, Graze Flinch 1
18-22 Left Arm Can’t Hold Object 1D3
23 Left Arm, Graze 1
24-26 Left Hand Can’t Hold Object 1D3
27 Left Hand, Graze Flinch 1
Fall Prone, Half Move
28-33 Chest, Deep Wound 1D3+3
Only
Chest, Flesh
34-35 1D3
Wound
36-40 Heart Dead All
Fall Prone, Half Move
41-46 Back, Deep Wound 1D3+3
Only
47-48 Back, Flesh Wound 1D3
49-55 Gut Fall Prone, Crawl Only 1D3+3
56-59 Groin Fall Prone, Crawl Only 1D3
60-66 Spine Fall Prone, Crawl Only 1D3+3
67-74 Right Leg Half Move Only 1D3
75-76 Right Leg, Graze 1
Fall Prone, Half Move
77-80 Right Foot 1D3
Only
81 Right Foot, Graze Fall Prone 1
82-89 Left Leg Half Move Only 1D3
90-91 Left Leg, Graze 1
Fall Prone, Half Move
92-95 Left Foot 1D3
Only
96 Left Foot, Graze Fall Prone 1
97-98 Weapon Being Held Weapon Destroyed None
99-00 Personal Belonging Miraculously Saved None

WOUND EFFECTS
Stunned: Lose the first action of your next turn.
Can’t Hold Object: You can’t hold anything, including weapons, in this hand. You drop
anything currently held.
Flinch: You drop anything held in this hand.
Fall Prone: You fall to the ground. Take 1 extra wound chip of damage if mounted.
Half Move Only: Divide all movement by two. Ignore penalties for bad terrain.
Crawl Only: You may not get up. Ignore all movement modifiers.
Weapon Destroyed: If holding two weapons, roll a die to see which is destroyed.

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 ANIMALS
SHOOTING MOUNTED CHARACTERS AND ANIMALS
Here are some simple rules for animals. The Judge’s Guide contains more
complex rules for wounds, spooking, pinning, and animal attacks.

If a horse or other animal is hit by gunfire and a wound producing any

damage is caused, they are considered dead on the spot. Riders roll free.

If you shoot at a character on horseback, roll a D6:

1-3 Hit the horse
4-6 Hit the rider

ANIMAL ATTACKS
The Judge may use animals to create hazards for players (for instance, a
snake in the outhouse, or a bear behind the cabin). If an animal attacks a
character, assign the animal a number between 1 and 4, where 1 is a dog
(anything smaller has no advantage over a human), and 4 is a terrifying
predator like a grizzly bear. Use this number as a bonus for the animal on the
Brawling Chart.

The animal runs away and exits the game after the combat unless killed by
the human (in the Greenhorn Edition, any wound on an animal kills it
instantly). The animal does not linger over the character after having won
the brawl, but retreats off the board.

The Greenhorn Edition keeps the animal rules light, because it requires a
little more experience for a Judge to remember to apply things like spooking
consistently. The Judge’s Guide contains rules for spooking, pinning,
enraged animals, and animals as independent characters.

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 DYNAMITE
Guess your opponent’s distance, then roll
2D6 . If you roll 7, 11, or doubles the
explosion lands in the spot you guessed
(measure), which may or may not be the
right distance; any other roll is a miss. If
you roll snake eyes (double-ones), the
dynamite blows up in your hand.

If you miss, roll 1D6 and move the

epicenter of the blast in a random direction
the distance (in inches) shown.

Any character within 2” of the epicenter of

the blast (the zone of death) is killed
outright. Any character within 5” of the
blast (the zone of fire) rolls for 1 wound on
the wound chart and is also considered stunned (regardless of the result) and
knocked prone.

If dynamite lands within 2” of your character and you pass a Skill Test of
25%, you can either run away 1D10 or pick up the dynamite and throw
elsewhere. Follow the same procedure as the original attacker: pick a target,
stimate the distance and roll 2D6. The dynamite explodes this time and
cannot be evaded or thrown again.

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 BRAWLING
Each fighter rolls 1D10 and applies the modifiers listed. Only the simplest
and most self-explanatory modifiers are included on the Quick Reference
sheet. More are included in the Judge’s Guide.

+ Modifiers VS. + Modifiers

The highest die roll wins. Subtract the loser's roll from the winner’s and use
the difference to look up the result and the effect on the loser. Note that if
you win by 6 or more, you can choose any of the results, or roll on the
wound chart!

Difference Between
Brawling Rolls Result Effect on Loser
Locked In Combat None; Characters must continue
0 brawling on next action
Knocked Around Moves 1D3” from winner (winner
1 chooses direction)
2 Knocked Down Falls prone

3 Knocked Silly Stunned

4 Roughed Up 1 wound chip

5 Injured 2 wound chips

Thoroughly Winner chooses ONE result from
6+ Whupped above OR rolls on wound chart

MODIFIERS TO D10 ROLL

+1 Better weapon
+1 Charging over 6” into brawl
+1 Better ground
-1 Prone
-1 Stunned
-1 Wounded
-2 Mortally Wounded

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 SCENARIO-BUILDING
The Wild West genre has been popular in gaming for a long time, so there
are many scenarios available. Knuckleduster will be adding to the supply
with our own scenarios. If you design them yourself, a few basic things to
keep in mind:

1. Each player should have a goal for his or her character that they can
pursue during the game; either a treasure to seek, an enemy to
eliminate, or an escape to make. These objectives can come with point
values to make games competitive.
2. Keep the total number of players below 6 or 8. Having too many
players makes turns too long with too much waiting. If you have 10 or
12 players, divide the session into more than one game.
3. Give each player two characters; they often blunder with their first
and get eliminated right away, so having a spare keeps them in the
game. This is another reason to limit the number of players.
4. Maps don’t always have to be Dodge City! Try a scenario once-in-a-
while on a homestead or a piece of open range. You can even design a
scenario for the kitchen table that takes place inside one building.

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 EXPANDING ON THE
GREENHORN RULES
Judges are welcome to modify these rules freely to incorporate their own
ideas. Skill tests are a very useful tool for Judge’s who want to add nuance
to a situation, and they can be used to resolve a complex situation on the fly.

Any house rules that are developed must be applied consistently for players
to have confidence in the fairness of the game. Judges are encouraged to
keep notes.

Knuckleduster will issue a Judge’s Guide with advanced rules, including

information on the following subjects:

• More shooting options, such as fanning and called shots

• Expanded rules for shotguns, scatterguns, and dynamite
• Spooked, stampeding, and enraged animals
• Running over opponents with horses or wagons
• First aid and doctors
• Complex brawls involving three or more characters and/or gunfire
• Character creation
• Scenarios
• A Judge’s Guide to Skill Tests
• Painting and modeling

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 A NOTE TO
DESPERADO PLAYERS
Although you will find some differences,
you will also find a lot of very familiar
mechanics in Gunfighter’s Ball. It should
be fairly easy for you to combine the
Greenhorn Edition with Desperado and
end up with a very playable set of rules.

Here are a few rules from Desperado that

can be grafted onto this Greenhorn
Edition with little or no adaptation:

• Pinning under fallen horses

• Bushwacking (overwatch)
• Animal attacks
• Stampeding
• Showdowns
• Setting fires

Of course, the scenarios in the book will all work well with the new system.
You may even find the larger scenarios running more quickly and easily
than they did previously.

There are two significant differences in the two sets of rules. One is the
ability in Gunfighter’s Ball to quick draw as a reaction during an opponent’s
fire, and the other is the nine-point wound system.

The quick draw system was designed as an antidote to the flaw in all turn-
based systems that keeps you frozen in place while your opponent casually
assassinates you at point-blank range. Being allowed a reaction gives a
player the feeling that they at least had a fighting chance, and it adds another
strategic element; by attempting a quick draw, you reduce your enemy’s rate
of fire to one shot and cause a 50% penalty regardless of whether or not you

26
beat him to the draw. You have startled him by challenging his shot and
disrupted his original plan.

The nine-point (“nine lives”) wound system has two advantages over the
wound system in Classic Desperado. First, it reduces record-keeping and
allows wounds to be kept track of with a pile of poker chips. Second, it
corrects a problem in Desperado with “immobile” results occurring out-of-
sync with the actual level of health. For instance, it is possible in Desperado
to have an immobile result but only roll 20% damage. The wound result
itself specifies whether it renders you immobile or not; it isn’t indexed to the
amount of damage you have accrued.

DESPERADO’S TRADITIONS WORTH KEEPING

There is nothing to stop you adding showdowns to Gunfighter’s Ball, nor is
there anything that prevents you from giving players a 10% bonus for
shooting lawyers. And you will be happy to know that the groin shot
remains a staple of the wound system; still a low chance to roll, and still
something that just seems to happen constantly!

Desperado remains a grand old system that has earned its place in the annals
of wargaming history. It was written in an era when complexity in rules was
much prized, and its simplicity was truly a breath of fresh air. Add to it the
wit and wisdom of Tom Kelly’s writing, and you have a gaming classic that
belongs on every gamer’s bookshelf.

Be sure to visit Knuckleduster online at www.knuckleduster.com or our

Facebook page, Knuckleduster Miniatures.

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