Deadlands: The Great Rail Wars
Deadlands: The Great Rail Wars Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Chapter One: Setup
Welcome to Deadlands: High Noon, partner. We hope this little journey into the world of Weird Western miniatures will be the most thrilling ride you've ever been on—at least on a tabletop! We've tried our best to make this the fastest, wildest miniatures game you've ever seen.
What You Need to Play
This is the High Noon: Great Rail Wars Rulebook. This book covers all the rules you need to fight one of the greatest conflicts the Weird West has ever seen, as well as complete statistics for the troops who fight it, their ghost-rock powered weapons of war, arcane spells, and even the bizarre creatures some of the gangs use to terrorize their foes. What we can't give you as a download you have to rustle up on your own. In particular, you need:
- Troops: Pinnacle makes both lead miniatures (available only from our website) and Cardstock Cowboys. If you're using Cardstock Cowboys, you'll want the Deadlands: Starter Pack and the Legends of the Great Rails Wars expansion.
- Dice: Every player needs a handful of dice in the standard "gaming" sizes. That's d4s, d6s, d8s, d10s, d12s, and d20s.
- Battlefield: A playing area, such as a table or a patch of floor. We recommend a space that's four feet wide by eight feet long. If you've got more space available, use it, partner.
- Scenery: You'll need some scenery for your troops to fight over, like trees from a model railroad set, hills made out of styrofoam, or some rocks like you gather from right outside your door.
- Poker Chips: Fate plays a strong hand at High Noon. To represent it, we use poker chips. Specifically, you need 20 white, 10 red, and 5 blue chips. If these aren't available where you live, use gaming beads instead. As long as you can drop your tokens in a cup and draw from them randomly, you're in fine shape.
- Poker Cards: Each player also needs a deck of poker cards. Leave the two Jokers in each deck, and mark one as the Red Joker and one as the Black Joker.
Step One: Create The Battlefield
Once you've read the rules and know how to play, you need to create your battlefield. If you're going to play a predesigned scenario (several are available on Pinnacle's Weird Website), simply copy the map as best you can. Otherwise, roll or choose one of the scenarios below, set up any special terrain it calls for, then you and your friends can place whatever other terrain you feel like over the rest of the game table.
| d6 | Scenario |
|---|---|
| 1-2 | Last Thing Standing |
| 3-4 | Raid! |
| 5 | Scavenger Hunt |
| 6 | Twisted Tale |
Scenario Descriptions
There are four basic types of scenarios. All of these have a standard format for telling you how to get started.
Setup is where you find special terrain pieces needed for the scenario. If it says to generate the rest of the terrain normally, you and your friends can simply put out whatever terrain you happen to have on hand.
Troops tells you if you must have any particular figures in your Gang. In predesigned scenarios, it might list your entire force plus any named characters.
Deployment tells you where the players may place their troops at the beginning of the game. For most games, each player should roll 1d20. The lowest rolling player sets up first, placing his game along any table edge in a space about 2" long and 8" deep. No other player's zone may start within 12" (that's one foot, partner) of his Deployment Zone. Once the low-roller has chosen his zone, the next lowest-rolling player may choose, and so on. Don't place any troops until everyone has chosen their starting area, however.
In defensive games, one player may place his forces in the center of the table, but still no more than 12" from any other player's Deployment Zone.
Special Rules describes any out of the ordinary rules that are in effect during the fight.
Bonus tells you how to get extra Bounty Points over and above the usual points given for causing casualties. Not all scenarios have Bonuses.
Multiple Players gives you some tips on how to run the game with more than two players.
Last Thing Standing!
Gangs in the Weird West are meaner than rattlers and twice as slippery. When these sidewinders meet, the lead starts flying. There's nothing fancy about this scenario. The side with the most Bounty Points wins.
- Setup: Roll a die. On an odd number, there is an unfortunate town in the center of the board.
- Troops: 500 points or more each.
- Deployment: Standard.
- Bonus: There are no special objectives other than to put down every varmint in sight.
- Multiple Players: This one works great for teams or as a free-for-all.
Raid!
A cowhand can't get a decent rest in the middle of a range war. In this scenario, one Gang has holed up in a town when another launches an attack. The defender in this scenario gets 25% more points to buy troops with than the attacker.
- Setup: Roll 1d6. On an odd result, the attack takes place at night.
- Deployment: The defender sets up first anywhere in the middle of the board, no closer than 8" to any other player's Deployment Zone. The attacker deploys in any of the standard Deployment Zones. He may split up his troops and attack from several sides if he chooses.
- Special Rules: None.
- Bonus: Every time a player uses an Area Effect template, roll 1d10. On a 10, the attack has hit an innocent bystander, causing the careless gang to lose 1d6x10 Bounty Points.
- Multiple Players: If there are multiple players, one "side" should be placed in town, the attackers are also allied, though allies may not share Deployment Zones (the troops of two different players cannot walk onto the board from the same zone).
Scavenger Hunt
The Gangs are always looking for valuable ghost rock strikes, treasures, or magical relics to give them an edge. When two or more Gangs go after the same treasure, there's going to be blood and grieving widows for some, cigars and dime novels for the rest.
- Setup: Place a Strange Locale (see Appendix E) in the center of the table.
- Deployment: Each player's troops set up in a standard Deployment Zone.
- Special Rules: The first troop to reach the Strange Locale discovers what awaits inside. Beware! The things that lurk inside ancient ruins, haunted mines, and Indian burial grounds rarely welcome visitors!
- Bonus: See the Strange Locale tables, partner.
- Multi-Player: A Scavenger Hunt is the perfect set up for a free-for-all!
Twisted Tale
Twisted Tales are scenarios outside the usual "find the bad guys and plug 'em" routine. These are unusual missions that tell a story of the Weird West in all its gory glory. You'll find a number of them on our Weird Website from time-to-time, and the book Fistful o' Ghost Rock features 3 whole campaigns. Another campaign book is Raid on Roswell, available for free download on the web.
- Setup: See the scenario for details.
- Deployment: See the scenario.
- Special Rules: Per scenario.
- Bonus: Again, see the scenario.
- Multi-player: See the scenario, partner.
Step Two: Hire Troops
Once the table is set up, it's time to buy troops. Start by having everyone announce which Gang they'll be playing. Buying troops in High Noon is very simple. Simply look over your Gang's troop list in the Great Rail Wars Army Book. For most games, each player should have at least 500 points worth of troops. Medium-sized games feature 750-1000 points worth of troops per side, and large games start the bidding at 2000 points worth of sidewinders.
Each group or "troop" represents either 5 figures (Posse), a single figure (Single or Hero), or a Crew of some sort. The number of figures in a Crew varies. Check the troop description in the Great Rail Wars Army Book to find out how many figures make up the Crew.
Each troop is described by a card with these entries (example: Gunmen, a Posse of 5; Strength d6, Smarts d6, Vigor d6; Shootin' d6, Fightin' d6, Guts d6; Weapons Pistol Range 12 ROF 2 Dam 2d6, Rifle Range 24 ROF 1 Dam 2d8, Shotgun Range 24 ROF 1 Dam Spec.; Special Abilities: None; Cost 50):
- Name is, well, what we call this particular rascal.
- Traits are a rating of the troop's raw abilities: Strength, Smarts, Vigor, Shootin', Fightin', and Guts. These are expressed as a type of die, from a lowly d4 up to a d12 (the higher the better, partner).
- Number tells you how many figures are in the troop, either Single (1), Hero (1), Posse (5), or Crew (Variable).
- Special Abilities are unusual tidbits about the troop that don't fit anywhere else, like whether or not these goons are undead or have the scout ability.
- Weapons are the means the troop has to shoot at or fight with other troops. "Basic" means the troop can have any mix of pistols, rifles, or shotguns you choose. In many Posses, for example, 2 pistols, 2 rifles, and 1 shotgun is a standard mix (so that's how we package our metal miniatures). You can change this to 5 shotguns, 4 rifles and a shotgun, or whatever mix you decide best suits your battle-plan. All basic weapons are pretty much equal—depending on the terrain and how you use them—so feel free to mix them as best suits your particular gang.
- Cost tells you how many points it costs to add this troop to your army. The cost is for the whole Posse, Crew, or Single figure—whatever's listed.
- Bounty lists how many Bounty Points your opponent earns when she puts down a figure from this troop. Pay attention, 'cause this is the good stuff. Each enemy figure your boys put down is worth a bounty as well.
Enforcers
You can hire any of the troops regularly available to your Gang, though you must include at least one Hero. This is the leader of this mission, called the "Enforcer." If you have multiple Heroes, name one of them as the Enforcer.
Experienced Troops
Some gangs come in both regular and experienced versions. If you'd like to buy experienced troops, simply pay that cost. There's no limit on how many of your troops can be experienced in a regular game. It's your Gang's "money"—spend it how you want.
Troop Sheets
Once you've selected your troops, copy each of them down on a standard Troop Sheet (provided at the end of this book). Give each troop its own card on the sheet as you'll be placing counters and cards upon them. When you're done, place your Troop Sheets face-up. It's now public knowledge what unsavory types have signed on to your Gang.
Allies
The Gangs are often forced to forge temporary alliances with their foes against even more powerful rivals. These truces last about as long as the battle, but during that time, a solid ally can mean the difference between victory and defeat, or even life and death.
There are two types of Allies: rival gangs and independent factions. Rival Gangs are other Rail Gangs that aren't currently involved in your battle. What we mean is that if you're playing Union Blue and another feller is playing Dixie Rails, Wasatch, Bayou Vermillion, Iron Dragon, and Black River are available as allies. Independent factions are forces like those of Reverend Ezekiah Grimme, Danites, or the various Indian Tribes. You'll see some of these rascals as the Rail Wars roll on.
Hiring Allies
Up to 1/4 (25%) of your army may be allies. If you've got a 1000 point army, for instance, you can spend 250 on various allies.
Ally Leaders: Allied troops must have their own Hero to lead them. This individual keeps the rest of the rabble (monsters in some cases!) in line. The Hero can be an unaligned character (a Hired Gun) or one from the allied Gang. He cannot be a Hero from another Gang.
Chaos: A player may only have troops from one other Gang. He cannot hire troops from two or more different Gangs besides his own. It's hard enough to keep two groups from plugging each other. Any more than that is impossible.
Bidding For Allies
Quite often, several players want to buy allies from the same Gang. Here's how you decide who gets the first shot at hiring them.
Everyone who wants to buy allies says so. Then each player writes down the Rail Gang or faction they're attempting to bribe into helping them fight. You also need to place one or more Fate Chips (of any color) under your bribe and place it on the table. When everyone's done, reveal all the choices.
The player who bid the most for any particular gang or faction gets them as allies. Count white chips as 1 point, red chips as 2, and blue chips as 3. No chips, no allies, amigo.
Should two players tie for the same faction, they're both out of luck.
All Fate Chips bid for allies are lost, whether you get them or not.
If you win, by the way, you don't have to actually hire any allied troops. It's perfectly legal to bribe a rival to stay out of the way until this fight is over.
Chapter Two: The Rules
We're about to show you how to blast your foes to Hell (and sometimes back), but first we need to explain how the basic mechanics work, what those funny numbers on the Troop Cards mean, and what those cool poker chips are for.
Skill Checks
Let's start with those fancy numbers on the Troop Cards. We'll start with Trait and skill checks. When you are told to test a troop's Traits, such as "make an Easy (4) Guts roll," roll the die listed under Guts on the Troop Card versus the Target Number (or TN, for short) listed in parentheses. There are only two Target Numbers in High Noon: Easy and Hard.
| Difficulty | TN |
|---|---|
| Easy | 4 |
| Hard | 8 |
If your die roll meets or beats the TN, the troop succeeds in whatever it was trying to do. If the roll comes up less than the TN, the troop failed.
Raises: Rolling 4 points higher than the Target Number, such as rolling an 8 when you only needed a 4, can sometimes gain you an advantage of some sort. Getting a raise when one of your figures is trying to recover from "Eatin' Dirt," for instance, lets him not only get up, but act that round as well. Check the rules for whatever you're trying to do to see if a raise has any special effects.
Modifiers
Die rolls can be modified by certain situations. The most common modifiers are added or subtracted in combat. Firing at a prone figure, for instance, incurs a -1 penalty. These are added or subtracted directly from your die roll.
For example, say your Hero is taking a shot at a sniper lying prone in the distance. The TN for long range is 8, and you roll an 8. Normally, this would hit, but since you must subtract -1 from your die roll, the shot misses.
Aces
The more mathematically adept of you out there may be wondering just how you can beat a TN of 8 if you have a d4 or d6 Trait. Never fear. We've got you covered. If you roll the maximum on a die, called an "Ace," you get to roll that die again and add it to your total.
Say you need an 8 and you're rolling a d6. If you get a 6, then you roll again and get a 2, your total is 8.
If you get an Ace on your reroll, you can roll that again too, and so on. A d8 roll of 8, then another 8, then another 8, then a 3 is (8+8+8+3=) 27.
No Aces: Aces only count on Trait and damage rolls. Don't use them on special tables or running rolls.
Fate Chips
Fate Chips are what we call your poker chips, gaming stones, or whatever you're using. You should have 5 blue, 10 red, and 20 white (or whatever colors you happen to have in the same mix). As you might have guessed, blues are best, red chips are second-best, and whites are the red-headed stepchildren Fate spat upon God's Green Earth.
At the beginning of the game, put all these chips into a cup of some sort. We call this the Fate Pot 'cause we're funny that way. Whenever you're told to draw a chip, grab one randomly from the pot. No peeking, sidewinders!
At the beginning of the game, every player draws three Fate Chips.
Callin' on Fate
Fate Chips are used to give you rerolls and keep your most valuable troops alive. They can only be used on Trait checks. They may never be spent on damage, rolls on special tables, or the like.
Let us repeat that one 'cause we've sure answered enough mail about it in the past: You may not spend Fate Chips on damage rolls!
The exact function of each chip depends on its color.
- White Chips: White chips let you reroll a die and try again, keeping the best of your rolls. You may spend a white chip, roll, spend a chip again, etc. until you are satisfied.
- Red Chips: Red chips let you reroll a die and add the result to your current total. For example, if you rolled a d6 and got a 3, you could spend a red chip to roll again. If you got a 4, you'd have a total of 7. The catch is that anytime you spend a red chip, your opponent gets to draw a chip from the Fate Pot for herself. (In multiplayer games, only one randomly chosen foe gets to draw.)
- Blue Chips: Blue chips work just like red chips, but when you use them, your opponent doesn't get a draw from the Fate Pot. Use these carefully, since they only come along every so often.
- Other Limits: You must spend any white chips before using a red or blue chip, and you can only use one each of a red or a blue chip on any roll. Got that, compadre? You can't spend a red or a blue and then use a white to reroll it. You have to spend any whites before you jump to reds or blues.
Playing the Game
In High Noon, we impose a little law and order on the otherwise Wild West by breaking each turn up into two distinct and separate phases: Draw! and Action!
Draw!
The beginning of each turn is called the Draw! Phase. Don't go reaching for your pistol, partner. We mean "draw" as in "from a deck of cards." These cards determine when each troop acts in the upcoming turn. Aces act first, then Kings, then Queens, and so on, all the way down to a lowly Deuce (two).
Each player gets her own deck of poker cards to draw from. In large games, you might need more than one deck for each player. (If a player needs more than 27 cards at the beginning of each turn, add another poker deck for every 27 cards she needs.)
Deal one Action Card face-up onto each of your Troop Cards on the Troop Sheet. That's when each of those troops will act, and why you should make sure you've filled out a card for every Posse—even if you have several of the same type.
After everyone has completed all their actions for the turn (after the Deuce), shuffle the cards and start all over.
Fortune and Calamity
Red Jokers represent some sort of Fortune on the battlefield. Black Jokers represent Calamities. Drawing either one during a battle means good luck for someone, and bad luck for another.
Whenever a troop is dealt one of these cards, roll 2d6 on the Fortune or Calamity Table (at the end of this chapter) to see what happens!
Besides any other results, a Red Joker always allows the troop to go first in the upcoming Action! Phase. A Black Joker is always discarded, and the action is lost.
Action!
Once all the cards are dealt in the Draw! Phase, it's time to move on to the Action! Phase.
To start, count down from the Ace. Any troops with Aces take their actions, then troops with Kings act, then those with Queens, and so on, down to the Deuce (one last time, that's a 2, partner).
Troops act whenever their cards comes up. In a single action, a troop may move and: fire, cast a spell, or use a special ability.
If a troop ever gets a second Action Card somehow (usually the result of a supernatural effect or a lucky Fortune roll), he gets to act and move normally on each card.
Ties: If two troops have the same card, the highest suit acts first. The order of suits, from highest to lowest is reverse alphabetical:
| Suit Order |
|---|
| Spades |
| Hearts |
| Diamonds |
| Clubs |
Suit & Ties: We're not talking about your Sunday-go-to-meetin' clothes, friend. We're talking about ties with cards of the same suit and number. If two troops have the same card and the same suit, they must roll a contest of Smarts. The winner (the troop with the highest roll) goes first. That means zombies (God love 'em) and the like are a little slower on the draw than some twitchy gunslinger.
Only roll one die for each troop, no matter how many figures are in it. Don't make the Smarts check until the Action Card comes up. We like the suspense.
Movement
All troops can move up to their Pace. Unless the Troop Card says otherwise, humans have a Pace of 6 and horses have a 15. Weird critters have a Pace score listed in their troop lists. Some of those bizarre varmints can really skedaddle when they get going!
Facing
A figure's front is whichever way his body is facing. For most cowpokes, figure the direction the chest is pointing in is the front. Anything behind the character's chest is behind him.
Critters and other monsters (usually) have facings too. You just need to figure out what the front and back arcs are based on the model itself. Just try to make it as obvious as possible so there's no confusion.
Figures can attack and act on anything in their front arc. For those technical players out there, figures have a 180° front arc. If you're really picky about these kinds of things, you can paint your bases to show a figure's precise facings (though we don't recommend it, tinhorn).
A figure can attack anything in its front arc, as shown in the diagram. Anything to its rear is safe—for the moment.
Moving Troops
Individual figures can move any way they want. A figure can start facing north, move a few inches and turn south, fire, then turn north and move again with no penalty to its movement. None of the turns or actions slow the figure down in any way.
Posse Power: Each figure in a troop of 5 is also free in how it can move, except that it must stay within 4" of at least one other figure in the troop. That doesn't mean every cowpoke in a posse has to be within 4" of everyone else, just anyone else in his posse. Got it?
Getting Left Behind: If a figure is ever separated from its troop (usually because it's squirming in the dirt from a belly-wound), it must use its full movement to get back with its compadres the next chance it gets. A figure that's Eatin' Dirt (see Damage) doesn't have to crawl toward its companions, but it can if the player wants it to. Should several figures in a troop get separated, they need to move toward the majority. If a troop is separated evenly, you can choose which figures move toward the others. Don't get all complicated on us, amigoes.
Moving Backwards: Most of the time, figures won't need to move backwards because they can turn during their movement at no cost at all. If it ever becomes an issue, though, a figure can move backward as if each inch was actually two (which works just like Rough Ground).
Running
Sometimes your troops need to skedaddle faster than their Pace otherwise allows. Troops can run by sacrificing any other actions (like shooting) to get an extra d6" of movement. The only exception to this is that a running troop may still make a hand-to-hand attack, but only at the end of its movement. See the Fighting section for details.
If there are multiple figures in a troop, roll for them all at once. They all get the same running bonus.
Horses: Troops on horseback can sacrifice their other actions to get an extra d10" of movement.
Rough Ground
There's a lot of treacherous ground in the Weird West. Rocky fields, muddy streams, steep slopes, and tangled scrub all slow a cowpoke down. All of this is collectively labeled "Rough Ground." When a troop moves through it, each inch of actual movement counts as two inches.
You and your compadres need to decide which of your terrain pieces counts as Rough Ground, but the following should always fall under this rule: forests, wadable water, really steep hills, and fields full of crops.
Obstacles
Getting over obstacles slows a fellow down. A cowboy hopping a barbed-wire fence too fast might find himself singing Home on the Range in soprano.
It costs 3" of movement to get over obstacles that are chest-high (relative to the figure) or lower. Larger obstacles up to the figure's height cost 6" of movement.
Slow Pokes: If a troop doesn't have enough Pace to top an obstacle in one turn, it can keep working at it until it makes it. For example, a troop with a Pace of 3 that needs to get over a high obstacle (requiring 6" of movement) needs to use two turns worth of movement. If the troop decides to quit partway over an obstacle, it costs half as much movement to get back (round down) as it did to get that far in the first place.
Contraptions: Rigs and wheeled guns can't scramble over obstacles of any height.
Jumping
Not every fool who hits the ground did so accidentally. A figure that deliberately jumps takes less damage, as shown on the Falling Table. Figures can leap up to half their Strength in inches horizontally.
Death From Above: A figure who jumps on another from above makes a Fightin' roll against his opponent as usual. If he fails, he lands beside the foe and takes jumping damage as usual (and this ends his action). If he wins, he takes half the usual jumping damage and adds +4 to his hand-to-hand damage roll. Halve the dice before rolling, not the total.
Climbin'
Higher obstacles can be climbed if you're really desperate. Think hard on this, because you'll very likely lose some of your troops.
To climb, each figure in a troop makes a Strength roll for every 6" of vertical height. The TN is almost always Easy (4) as there are usually hand-holds in rock-faces, gutters or window ledges on buildings, and so forth. Only if a scenario tells you otherwise, or all players have agreed a surface is really flat, should the TN be Hard (8).
Each figure who fails the roll takes damage as shown on the Falling Table below. A figure that was already 6" up a cliff, for example, falls from 6" if he failed the next climbing roll.
Climbing Pace: Those who make the roll move as if on Rough Ground. Climbing figures cannot "run" or attack.
Contraptions: Horses, rigs, and wheeled guns can't climb. Honest!
Falling & Jumping Damage
| Height¹ | Altitude² | Falling Damage | Jumping Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1"-3" | Low | 1d6 | 0 |
| 3"-6" | Low | 2d6 | 1d6 |
| 6"-12" | Medium | 3d6 | 3d6 |
| 12"+ | High | 6d6 | 6d6 |
¹ Read Height as "from 1" up to 3", from 3" up to 6", and so on. ² Altitude is used with flying rigs. See the Derailed Supplement.
Going Prone
Sometimes even the bravest cowpokes have to duck. Troops can go prone whenever they want. Standing up costs 2" of movement, however.
Lay any prone figures face-down to show that they are prone (face-up means they're Eatin' Dirt—described later on). As you'll see under Shooting, enemies shooting at prone troops must subtract -1 from their attack rolls.
Use common sense to determine whether or not something can go prone. Horses, animals, automatons, gun crews, and the like just aren't capable, or aren't savvy enough to know when a hunk o' lead is heading their way.
Point Blank Range: A prone target doesn't gain any benefit if the bad guys are standing right on top of him. Troops within 3" of a prone target can ignore this modifier.
Prone in Melee: Troops caught on their belly when an opponent rushes into hand-to-hand automatically stand up and fight.
Crawling: Prone troops may crawl as if their Pace was half its normal value. Yes, that means a troop who "ran" while crawling could move half his Pace plus half the roll of a d6 (round up).
Hiding
To hide, simply position your figure in or behind whatever cover is available. If the figure can't be seen, it can't be shot at. Indirect weapons such as flamethrowers and explosives might still do the job, but otherwise it cannot be targeted, and even then your figure usually gets cover (see Shooting).
Unfair Knowledge: Assume the enemy knows your hidden troops are "in there somewhere." Your opponents can act on the knowledge (because players can't help but see your figure), they just can't directly target it. Only with bushwhackers does the enemy truly not have any idea where the figures are (and the players won't either).
Pop-Up Attacks: If you want to have a figure hide, rise up, shoot (or perform some other action), and then hide again, that's called a "pop-up" attack. The modifiers are covered under Shooting. Just be aware that the only way an opponent can take a shot at a troop who "pops up" is with a Hold maneuver (described next).
Horses
This being the West, there are lots of folks riding around on horses. Here's how to handle these noble critters.
Horses have a Pace of 15. They are also fleet-footed, meaning that they roll 1d10 when running instead of 1d6.
Troops with horses can mount and dismount one time each in a single action. That means a Gunman who gets on his horse, rides a ways, then dismounts, can't mount his horse a second time this action. Mounting and dismounting costs 2" of movement, both for the horse and the rider.
Horses can't be used actively—the owner can't move them or have them attack. They just sit there without a rider in contact with the animal. On defense, they have the following statistics: Strength: d8; Smarts: d4; Vigor: d8; Shootin': —; Fightin': d4; Guts: d6.
They Shoot Horses, Don't They?: Anytime a mounted figure is shot by a burst-effect weapon (like a flamethrower or shrapnel round), the horse is hit too. If the attack came from a direct-fire weapon like a pistol, rifle, or shotgun, assume the rider is the victim unless the attacker specifically targets the horse (it's the low-down, dirty, horse-shootin' skunk's choice).
Bounty: Killing a horse is never worth Bounty Points. It just doesn't make the headlines.
Hey! Wait for Me!
When a rider's horse is killed or run off, the rest of the posse often can't wait for the unmounted loser. As usual, this fellow needs to do his level-best to keep up with the rest of his amigoes as soon as possible.
Eatin' Dirt: A mounted cowpoke who Eats Dirt does not fall onto the ground. He simply slumps in the saddle and allows Trigger to carry him on with the rest of the posse.
Riderless Horses: When a figure dismounts, his horse stays where he leaves it. It can be attacked and killed, or even stolen by other figures as long as they have the horse ridin' special ability.
Fear: If a creature with fear or terror gets within sight and 6" of a riderless horse, the animal immediately moves directly away from the threat at its full running speed.
Holding Actions
Sometimes troops want to wait and see what happens before they cut loose with their hoglegs. Maybe they're covering their buddies dashing across Main Street, or maybe they're waiting for a pack of stinking zombies to come busting through the barn doors at them.
A troop that hasn't moved and takes no other action can place a Hold counter on its Troop Card. At any point until its next action—even in the middle of another troop's action—the troop can discard the Hold counter and claim its held action.
Holding troops can fire their weapons or move up to half their normal Pace without penalty. The troop can even move into contact with another troop and start fighting. They can even run, but you must halve their running bonus too (round down).
If a figure on Hold moves and then fires, subtract -1 from its Shootin' roll for the hasty shot. This penalty doesn't apply to hand-to-hand attacks.
Posses: All the figures in a posse must not move or act to take a Hold. Similarly, if any figure uses the held action, the entire unit loses its Hold counter. In other words, individual figures in a Posse or Crew can't Hold while others act.
Holding Holds: A posse that hasn't used its Hold action in the Draw! Phase does not get a new Action Card. A troop can never Hold multiple actions. If it gets an additional Action Card from some other troop's Fortune or Calamity, it must use its held action before the extra action comes up or lose the Hold.
Timing: If troops on Hold want to interrupt other troops' Hold actions, everyone involved must make Smarts tests. Start with the last troop to declare it is coming off Hold, then the next player rolls, and so on. The troop with the highest result goes first, then the next highest, and so on. Regardless of who won, everyone involved loses their Hold action.
Shooting
Troops armed with ranged weapons can make shooting attacks. Those without must whip out their knives and check out the Fighting section.
A figure can make a Shooting or a Fighting attack in one action, but not both. The attack is always made to the figure's front.
Picking Targets
Troops can fire at any point in their action—even in the middle of movement. Troops with multiple shots may fire each shot at any point in their move. When it's your troop's turn to sling some lead, tell your opponent that your thugs are going to fire, and then point out their prospective targets.
A figure can only fire on a target to its front, and only at targets it can see. High Noon uses true line-of-sight (see below), so hunker down and eyeball the shot if you have to.
Since each action is only a few seconds of real time, you must point out all your targets for each troop at once. Once you've nominated targets and started rolling dice, you can't add in other attackers. This keeps you from waiting to see if your pistolero kills one enemy before saying who your rifleman in the same posse is shooting at. You've got to decide for them all at once. Name a posse's targets, resolve its hits, then move on to the next Action Card.
Line of Sight: For the most part, a cowpoke must be able to see a target before he can attack it. This is called having a "line of sight." High Noon uses "true" line of sight. You can figure out if your figure can see a target by hunkering down to the table and looking for yourself. If your Gunman can see over the Clockwork Tarantula in front of him to the zombie beyond, he can fire away. Similarly, if a huckster sees a Witch firing balls o' doom from a second-story window, he can cut loose on her with a soul blast, though in this case she'd get hard cover for the window frame.
Most of the time, determining line of sight should be pretty clear. If there's ever a disagreement, you can run a tight string from the attacker to the target, or use a laser pointer or even a homemade periscope if you have them. If not, don't let a silly dispute ruin your game. Roll a die. On an odd result, the shot is blocked. On an even result, the attacker has line of sight.
Range
Once you've declared your troop's targets, you next measure the range from the shooters to the targets. (You can't measure the range first, amigo.) Anything up to and including half the weapon's Range statistic is short range. Anything up to and including the Range is long range. Anything over that is out of range and cannot be targeted.
If the target you named is out of range, you've wasted the shot. Again, no fair measuring beforehand.
The TN depends on the range. Roll each figure's Shootin' die, add or subtract any modifiers, then compare the result with the proper TN, as shown below.
| Range | TN |
|---|---|
| Short | 4 |
| Long | 8 |
Rate o' Fire
All weapons in The Great Rail Wars have a "rate o' fire," or ROF. This is how many times a figure can fire it on a single action. In general, pistols have an ROF of 2, while rifles and shotguns have an ROF of 1. Certain special weapons (like Gatling guns) have an ROF of 3.
Multiple Shots: A figure planning to fire multiple shots must declare all its shots before resolving any of them. Multiple shots may be split among targets, and may be resolved at different points in the attacker's movement.
Shooting Modifiers
| Situation | Modifier |
|---|---|
| Target prone | -1 |
| Target behind light cover | -1 |
| Target behind hard cover | -2 |
| Pop-up shot | -1 |
| Shooting at a popper | -1 |
| Shooter is mounted | -1 |
| Shooting two guns: Regular hand | -1 |
| Shooting two guns: Off hand | -2 |
There are many factors that can affect your cowpoke's ability to hit his target when firing his hogleg. Let's take a look at the most common.
Cover: There are two types of cover: light and hard.
Light cover comes from concealment and thin obstacles. A figure half-obscured by scrub, a sparse forest, or a rail fence can claim light cover. A troop firing at a target in light cover subtracts -1 from its Shootin' roll.
Hard cover is bestowed by larger, thicker obstacles such as building corners, windows, or trees. A shot at a target in hard cover subtracts -2 from the Shootin' roll.
In either case, if the shooter circumvents the cover (by moving around the back of a cowboy lurking behind a stone wall, for example), it doesn't count anymore. The cover must come between the shooter and his target at the time the shot is actually fired for it to affect the die roll.
"Pop-Up" Attacks: Sometimes a figure might want to pop up out of cover, fire, and then return to cover. That's perfectly legal and a smart way to keep from getting a cowpoke's noggin blown off. The only way the enemy can shoot someone doing a pop-up attack is with a Hold action. Then it can plug the sneaky varmint in the pun'kin (that's the head, partner) as soon as he comes around the corner or looks out over that window sill. Since neither party gets much chance to aim at each other, however, both the popper and anyone shooting at him must subtract -1 from their Shootin' rolls.
Prone: A figure lying on its belly (or on its back if it's wounded but not quite dead yet), is harder to hit than a standing target. Troops must subtract -1 from their Shootin' rolls when firing on a prone target. Troops Eatin' Dirt get this bonus too. You can ignore this if the attacker gets within 3" of a prone opponent. At that point, laying down just means a cowpoke doesn't have as far to fall.
Mounted Attackers: It's hard to aim when your horse is bouncing all over Creation. Mounted attackers subtract -1 from their Shootin' rolls. A figure can dismount to avoid this penalty.
Two Guns: Figures with two pistols can fire both. They can even fire both guns up to their maximum ROF and split the shots up as they choose. The player must declare (before shooting) if the figure's going to fire both guns. If he does, all the first pistol's shots are made at -1, and the second's are at -2.
Two-Fisted: The two-fisted Edge allows a gunslinger to ignore these modifiers. See Appendix A for details.
Firing into Melee
By and large, the Rail Gangs treat their troops as cannon fodder. This means firing into a wrasslin' match where the shooter might hit his own buddy isn't really a problem. Say a Gunman is tangling with a couple of mean Nosferatu. His buddy, bravely watching nearby, isn't likely going to wait and see who wins before he starts fanning his hogleg.
When shots are fired into a melee, see if the shot hits first. If it does, roll randomly among all possible combatants to see who got hit.
Area Effect: Area-effect weapons, such as cannons and some spells, hit everyone within the template as usual, friend or foe.
Large Opponents: Use a little common sense when firing into a melee with opponents of mixed sizes. A Wendigo that's twice as large as a normal human-sized figure should count as 2 "targets" when determining who catches a round.
Fighting
If your troops don't have a ranged weapon, they need to whip out their knives (or claws or fangs!) and start carving.
A figure is considered in hand-to-hand combat when its base touches an enemy figure's base. When contacted, prone figures automatically stand to fight, and figures hit in the "rear" automatically turn to face their opponents.
A figure in hand-to-hand combat makes its attack on its action. The figure and its opponent each roll their Fightin' die. If the defender's Fightin' total is higher than the attacker's, no damage is done. If the attacker's total is higher, he has scored a hit and should now roll damage (see Damage).
"Charging"
There is no actual "charging maneuver" in High Noon, other than that a figure can run and still make a Fightin' attack in one action. This is an exception to the normal rule on running, which says you must sacrifice your other actions for the extra movement.
Firing at Chargers: Opponents can fire on charging troops if they're Holding an action. If a Holding troop interrupts an opponent's move, the defending troop may fire if they haven't already done so this action. Finally, the chargers may have to make a Guts check if any of them is Put Down (see Guts) on the way in.
Fightin' with Pistols
A figure can use its pistol in hand-to-hand, and it uses its Shootin' skill as usual. The gunslinger can even take two shots, as usual.
Here Comes the Cavalry
The power and speed of a good horse gives an attacker a bonus in hand-to-hand combat. Mounted attackers add +2 to their damage rolls, even against other mounted opponents.
"Florentine"
A figure with two weapons (such as two knives) may make two Fightin' rolls if the player chooses. In the old days, they called this "Florentine" style. The first attack in this style is made at -1; the second is made at -2.
If the fighter is in contact with multiple foes, he may direct his attacks to any two of them. He can even turn to attack targets on either side on his action.
Two-Fisted: A two-fisted gunfighter can ignore all this nonsense and carve the Christmas goose with both hands and no penalties.
Multiple Opponents
When a troop moves in for a hand-to-hand brawl, the figures are placed wherever the moving player sees fit. If she wants to gang three figures up on one and ignore several others, that's her business. Of course, on the defender's turn, he may do a little rearranging of his own.
Being buried under a flurry of fists, claws, or knives isn't much fun. For every opponent after the first in contact with a figure, it must subtract -1 from its attack and defense rolls.
Facing: An outnumbered figure can direct its attack at any opponent to its front. Models in its rear cannot be targeted, though it may turn to face any figure it chooses on its action. (This is usually only important when a figure has more than one attack per action.)
Withdrawing
Troops who are really desperate to get away from the big bad man can turn tail and run for it. Here's how being a yellow-bellied coward works. The figure moves away normally, but each enemy figure in contact with it gets one (and only one, even if frenzied) free attack before the figure escapes. If that makes the figure Eat Dirt or Puts it Down, he's paid the price for his yellow-bellied cowardice.
A figure that has just withdrawn from combat can't do anything else that action.
Damage
Shooting Damage
Once you've determined one of your thugs has actually hit the broad side of the barn, you need to roll the weapon's damage. Like skill rolls, damage rolls are open-ended. If you get an Ace, roll it again and add it to the total. Now your opponent must make a Vigor test. If your damage roll is higher than his Vigor test, he's wounded (see Wounds).
Fate Chips: Note that Fate Chips cannot be spent on Shootin' damage rolls—but they can be spent on Fightin' damage (see below).
Shotguns
Shotgun shells scatter as they get further away from the gun, and so do damage a bit different than other guns. A shotgun's range is 24". The base damage of a shotgun is 3d6 for any target within 6". For targets in the next 6", the damage is 2d6. Any targets beyond that (which is long range) take only 1d6 damage.
Fighting Damage
Damage from a hand-to-hand (Fighting) attack is equal to the attacker's STR plus the weapon's damage bonus. A figure with a STR of d6, for example, rolls 1d6 and adds the weapon's damage bonus (usually +1 or +2) to get his total damage.
Note that unlike other types of damage, since a STR roll is involved (and Fate chips can be spent on Trait checks), you could spend Fate Chips on the damage roll!
As with Shooting, the victim must make a Vigor check higher than the damage total or he's in trouble (see Wounds).
Wounds
Once you've rolled damage above a target's Vigor roll, subtract the Vigor total from the damage and find the difference on the table below.
| Difference | Result |
|---|---|
| 1-4 | Eatin' Dirt |
| 5 or more | Put Down |
| 10+ (Heroes & Rigs) | Pushin' Daisies |
Eatin' Dirt
This result means the victim was forced to take cover, got his skin grazed, or maybe just banged his knee on the way to the ground while avoiding some sidewinder's attack.
Lie the figure on its back to show it's Eatin' Dirt. Any Hold counters are lost, and on its next action, the figure must try to recover by making an Easy (4) Vigor test. If successful, you can set the figure back up on its feet if you like, but it cannot move or attack on that action. It may act normally on any later actions.
A really tough or lucky figure who gets an 8 or better on the recovery test can act normally right away.
Crawling: Figures that can crawl may do so after attempting to recover, regardless of whether or not they were successful. This way a cowpoke who's made to Eat Dirt out in the open can crawl toward safety to catch his wind, count his bullets, and get back to fighting.
No Mercy
A figure that's Eatin' Dirt is particularly vulnerable in hand-to-hand combat. In fact, a Fighting attack on any Action Card after the one in which the opponent was wounded automatically Puts Down any figure that's Eatin' Dirt. Even Heroes can be killed if they're caught in this predicament.
Say two Gunmen from the same posse are carving up a huckster with their Bowie knives. The first makes the hexslinger Eat Dirt. The second cowpoke can't kill him automatically, since his attack is made on the same Action Card. He can still attack the huckster normally though. The huckster had best hope he has an action left this turn, or goes before the killers in the next, because if he's still Eatin' Dirt when the Gunmen go again, either cowpoke can go for the "No Mercy" kill.
Shooting: You can shoot at a figure Eatin' Dirt too, but there's no extra effect for it. It's just another chance to make the loser push some daisies.
Guarding: The only way to prevent a character who is Eating Dirt from being "no mercied" by the enemy is to move a friendly figure in contact with the wounded one. That way, any enemy troops who want to finish off the downed figure must fight the guardian instead. This counts even if the guardian is at one "end" of a downed figure (assuming he's human sized) and the attackers touch the other. Assume the defender is standing "over" his fallen comrade and can cover him.
Put Down
The tough hombres of the Weird West know they're going to Boot Hill someday—maybe soon. Most just hope they're buried with their boots on.
A figure who is Put Down has taken a real wound, one so bad it's removed from the table. The loser may not be dead, but he's definitely out of the fight.
When Heroes are Put Down by a damage roll of 5-9 points higher than their Vigor total, they roll on the Critical Hit Table instead (see below).
Vehicles that are Put Down suffer a critical hit, as explained in the Derailed! supplement.
Pushin' Daisies
Heroes and rigs (again, see Derailed!) that take 10 points of damage over their Vigor or Durability roll are automatically Put Down. They're out of this fight (though Heroes may come back Harrowed—see Appendix B).
Hero Critical Hits
| 2d6 | Location |
|---|---|
| 2 | Flesh Wound! This hombre's been hurt worse shaving. Ignore the damage and immediately take one free shot (or whack) at the varmint who nicked him for revenge. |
| 3 | Groin! The Hero takes an embarrassing but nonlethal hit. He's Eatin' Dirt until he makes a Hard (8) Vigor roll. |
| 4 | Weapon Arm! The character Eats Dirt and must subtract -2 from his Shootin' and Fightin'. This is cumulative, so put a Winged! counter on his card for each wound. |
| 5-9 | Guts! The Hero Eats Dirt and is Put Down unless he makes an Easy (4) Vigor roll. |
| 10 | Leg! The Hero catches one in the knee and develops a serious hitch in his getalong. He Eats Dirt and his Pace drops by 2" to a minimum of 1". Put a Lame! counter on his Troop Card to represent the wound. A Hero can only have his movement reduced twice. |
| 11 | Gizzards! Uh-oh! Something important got hit! The Hero Eats Dirt and is Put Down unless he makes a Hard (8) Vigor roll. |
| 12 | Head Shot! The Hero's head explodes like a melon. He's dead (permanently Put Down), and has no chance of coming back Harrowed. |
Marking Wounds
We've made it so that you don't have to clutter your pretty, blood-soaked battlefield with lots of counters and markers. You can put those things directly on the Troop Cards, instead. Even better, for the most common wound results (Eatin' Dirt and Put Down), you can use the figures themselves to mark their condition.
| Position | |
|---|---|
| Prone | Lie the figure on its front |
| Eatin' Dirt | Lie the figure on its back |
| Put Down | Remove the figure from the table |
Guts
Most troops rustled into fighting for the Gangs have stared the Reaper in his empty eyesockets before. The ones who live to tell it are sometimes those smart enough to run away. Doing that takes Guts. Troops must make Guts checks on two occasions: when they lose one of their own and when one of their Gang's Heroes bites the dust.
Casualties
Figures in a troop that loses a figure often start wondering about their own mortality. At the end of an action segment in which a figure that was part of a troop is Put Down, its troop must make an Easy (4) Guts check. Only one Guts test is made for all the figures left in a Posse or Crew.
Multiple Casualties: The troop must only make one Guts check per Action Card (roll only after all attacks against it have been resolved). If the troop loses an amigo on a later Action Card, they have to test again.
Halting a Charge: Also, a troop that takes a casualty while moving into hand-to-hand combat must make an instant Guts check after any and all Hold actions are used to fire on it. If failed, the troop stops in its tracks. Otherwise, they can keep moving in to attack. If the chargers lose a figure during the attack (which might happen if the defenders were Holding an action), they must check again after the melee is resolved. This is the only way in which a troop can be forced to make more than one Guts check on a single Action Card.
Death of a Hero
Most of the mercenaries hired by the Rail Barons could care less what happens to those outside their posse. But even these folks flinch when a renowned Hero falls beside them.
Any troop within 6" of a Hero who is Put Down must make an Easy (4) Guts check. It's hard for the average Gunman to make a stand when a legend of the Weird West gets gutted like a trout by some slavering horror.
The Guts Check
A troop that makes its Guts check suffers no ill effects. If the troop's roll fails, however, it becomes Shaken.
Going Bust: If the troop's Guts total is 1 or less (after modifiers and Fate Chips), it immediately becomes Panicked.
Shaken
A Shaken troop is starting to lose its nerve. The cowpokes aren't ready to run away yet, but their shaky trigger fingers and jumpy nerves are rubbing everyone in the troop the wrong way.
Place a Shaken marker on the Troop Card. Until it rallies (see below), all of its rolls are made at -1.
If a Shaken troop is forced to make a Guts check and fails, it becomes Panicked.
Panicked
These troops are getting the Hell out of Dodge. Get in their way and they'll put a bootprint on your head as they hightail it home.
Panicked troops immediately run directly away from their enemies or the source of their terror (even if they've already moved this turn). They stop when they reach the board edge or a spot behind cover where they can't be attacked. Troops that panic while in hard cover—and not engaged in hand-to-hand combat with enemy figures—can choose to hunker down on the spot instead of running away.
Panicked troops cannot attack or take any other actions besides running or hiding. If they are caught in hand-to-hand, they cannot attack, and the enemy gets +2 to hit and damage.
Rallying
A troop must rally to improve its morale. This is a Guts check, and the TN depends on whether the troop is Shaken or Panicked. Rallying takes a troop's entire action, during which time it cannot do anything besides move or run.
If a troop makes its rally check, it improves one step. Panicked troops become Shaken, and Shaken troops become normal.
Penalties: A Shaken troop does not subtract -1 from rally checks, by the way. This is the only time it can ignore the Shaken penalty.
Bust: Rolling a 1 or less when rallying does not cause a troop to panic. We're not that mean, partner.
| Morale | TN to Rally |
|---|---|
| Shaken | 4 |
| Panic | 8 |
End Game
All good things must come to an end. High Noon comes to an end sometime after the 4th turn. That's when night falls, the cavalry arrives in force, the militia shows up, or whatever.
At the beginning of the 5th turn, one player should roll a d6. On a 6, the game is over. Every turn after the 5th, subtract -1 from the Target Number. (On turn 6, the battle ends on 5 or more, on turn 7 the game is over on 4 or more, and so on.) This allows you to finish a game in a single evening (a couple of hours once you know how to play).
The Rule of One: A roll of 1 always means the game lasts at least another turn, however. This way, no one knows when the game is going to end, preventing a player from throwing away his troops just because he knows it's the last turn.
Victory!
When the smoke has cleared and the day is done, the player with the most total Bounty Points wins. Bounty Points come from two sources: wiping out the bad guys and completing scenario objectives.
Bounty Points
Most of your Bounty Points come from taking care of the bad guys in that permanent, bullet-ridden fashion. Whenever you Put Down an enemy figure, increase your Bounty Points by the Bounty listed on its Troop Card. Putting an enemy Gunman out of action, for instance, is worth 5 Bounty Points. Keep track of points on a piece of paper, an erasable white board, an easel, or somewhere that everyone can see. That way everyone knows what they need to do to win.
Objectives
The value of battlefield or mission objectives are always listed in the scenario description. These Bounty Points add to your total just like those gained by offing the bad guys.
Spending Bounty Points
Besides determining who wins, once per turn, you may buy a draw from the Fate Pot by spending 50 Bounty Points. You can do this at any point in the turn, whether your troops have an action or not.
It's a tough call whether or not you should blow your lead to gain some chips, but that's probably the only way you can keep valuable Heroes alive if Fate's gone the way of the dodo.
Fortune Table
| 2d6 | Result |
|---|---|
| 2 | Freak Event. Roll on the Freak Event Table. |
| 3 | Twist o' Fate! Take 1 Fate Chip at random from an opponent of your choice. |
| 4 | The Quick & the Dead! Take any one of your opponent's cards and give it to any of your troops. Return it at the end of the turn. |
| 5-6 | Rally! If you have a Shaken or Panicked troop, it rallies and can act normally on its action. Otherwise, just draw an additional Action Card for this troop. |
| 7 | Hand o' Fate! Draw a Fate Chip. |
| 8-9 | Spirit o' Battle! Draw an additional Action Card for the fortunate troop immediately. |
| 10 | Heroic Effort! Draw an additional Action Card and give it to any of your troops immediately. |
| 11 | Iron Will! Roll 1d6. That many of your figures who are currently Eatin' Dirt recover immediately and may act normally on their next action. If you don't have any figures Eatin' Dirt, treat this as a Heroic Effort instead. |
| 12 | Jackpot! Take your pick, partner. |
Calamity Table
| 2d6 | Result |
|---|---|
| 2 | Freak Event. Roll on the Freak Event Table. |
| 3 | Fate's a Bitch! Give your highest card to your opponent. He may give it to any troop on the table as he sees fit. |
| 4 | Busted. Choose one of your cards and give it to your opponent for the turn. He must immediately assign it to one of his troops. |
| 5-6 | Dirt Slow! The troop loses all its actions this turn. |
| 7 | Reload! The troop has to reload or hesitates for some reason. Discard the Joker as usual, but there's no other effect. |
| 8-9 | Fickle Finger o' Fate! Your opponent (roll off in multiplayer games) gets to draw a Fate Chip. |
| 10 | Confusion! Your opponent may give the Joker to any other troop under your control. This troop now loses its action, but the troop that originally got the Joker gets the lost cards. |
| 11 | Yeller! A close call with death makes the troop think twice about this fight. It must make a Hard (8) Guts check immediately. |
| 12 | Bad Moon Risin'! Your opponent gets to pick your result, amigo. |
Freak Event Table
| 1d20 | Result |
|---|---|
| 1 | Dust Devils! A fierce wind whips across the dusty battlefield. All Shooting attacks are made at -2 for the rest of the game. |
| 2 | Militia! A gang of locals has decided to lend its guns to your side. A posse of Gunmen pops up at a random building (or a random board edge if there are no buildings). They can act on this card segment, and they are dealt Action Cards normally next round. |
| 3 | Whims of Fate! The player with the least number of Fate Chips gets to draw chips until he has the same number as the player with the most. |
| 4 | Rain! It begins to rain. For the rest of the battle, no troop can see further than 24", and all Shooting attacks are made at -2. |
| 5 | Brother Against Brother! It turns out one of your Heroes has a relative or former friend fighting for the other side. Pick one of your Heroes and roll randomly for your foe's Heroes. These two Heroes are either related or have worked closely together in the past. They refuse to cause the other harm no matter what. |
| 6 | Worms! All the ruckus disturbed a Mojave rattler. The giant worm pops up out of the ground and tries to eat one of your opponent's Heroes. Roll randomly to see which one. If the Hero can't make a Hard (8) Strength roll, he's worm food. Afterward, the worm disappears back into the dirt. |
| 7 | Hired Gun! A grim gunfighter pops up in the middle of a town or train (or a random board edge otherwise). All players secretly place Fate Chips in their hands. The player who bids the most hires the grim gunfighter. In a tie, the gunfighter wanders off and joins no one. Use the standard Gunfighter Hero from the Great Rail Wars Army Book. |
Rules Glossary
(Printed in the source as an introduction to "Grim Crusade" rules; transcribed as printed.)
We're about to dig into the actual rules of Grim Crusade. If you're new to the world of Deadlands, or to miniatures games in general, there's a mess of strange words you're going to run into as we mosey along. Here are some of the more notable ones. Refer to this list anytime you see a term you don't understand.
- Action: The moment at which a troop can move, shoot, fight, or try to accomplish something else. Action order is determined by drawing cards.
- Crew: Crews operate big guns such as cannons, and rigs such as Velocipedes and Ornithopters. The exact number of figures in a Crew is listed on its Troop Card. A Gatling Gun, for instance, has a Crew of 2, and thus says Crew (2) on its Troop Card. Crewmen are completely interchangeable—a Gatling gunner can man a cannon or even a weapon on a rig. The only restriction is that Crewmen cannot operate rigs or weapons available only to another Gang. Chapter XXX has the complete lowdown on Crewmen if you need to know more.
- Dice Terms: Grim Crusade uses six different types of dice (which are included in the boxed set). They're abbreviated as d4, d6, d8, d10, and d20, with the number after the d telling you how many sides the die has. If there's a number before the d, that tells you how many of that kind of die you need to roll. For instance, 2d6 means to roll 2 six-sided dice and add them together. Other modifiers can pop up too. So 3d4+2 means "roll 3 four-sided dice, add them together, and then add +2 to the total." For 3d4-2, you would subtract 2 from the total.
- Gizmo: The Reckoning and the discovery of ghost rock (see above) has led to the invention of all kinds of infernal devices. Collectively, any gadget with supernatural undertones or that is ahead of the real-world tech-level, is called a gizmo.
- Hero: A single "named" figure, such as Ronan Lynch. Heroes are a little better than most other troops. They take wounds differently and usually get to do more in a turn.
- Measurements: Inches and feet are often noted with " and '. Two inches is 2", and two feet is 2'.
- Posse: A troop composed of 5 figures, such as Gunmen.
- Relic: Magic items. Most can only be used by Heroes, but there are some exceptions.
Appendix A: Special Abilities
Special troops and Heroes have bizarre powers, talents, and unusual skills that we collectively call Special Abilities. Beneficial abilities are called Edges, and harmful ones are called Hindrances. When you see one of these listed on a Troop Card, look it up here to see how it affects your game.
Many of these abilities apply mostly to Heroes. Others can only be used by Abominations and other critters. Don't feel like you need to read all these right now—you can always look them up as you need 'em.
A Note on Heroes
In the previous version of the Great Rail Wars, we let you make your own Heroes. We're going to design Heroes for you from now on. Why? Because the Pony Express delivered an awful lot of mail to us about sidewinders cheatin' and buying certain killer advantages for their Heroes. Most of 'em didn't make any sense and just tended to anger the rest of the folks trying to play the game. So you'll find a passel of Heroes in the Great Rail Wars Army Book, as well a few unique characters as well.
Accursed
The Hero's family bears a terrible curse. Draw 1 less Fate Chip at the beginning of the game for each of your Heroes with this Hindrance.
Ailin'
The troop has some sort of ailment. Its Vigor has already been reduced by one die type to a minimum of d4.
All Thumbs
This Hindrance affects a troop's gizmoes. Whenever the troop rolls on the Malfunction Severity Table, add +2.
Aquatic
The troop is a natural swimmer. It doesn't have to make the usual Strength rolls to avoid drowning when in deep water. While in the water, it can swim equal to its Pace plus its aquatic die. For example, a Maze Dragon can move 10" (its Pace) plus another 1d10" while underwater.
Arcane Background
The Hero is a hexslinger or mad scientist of some sort. See Appendix C for more information, compadre.
Armor
Scaly hides, bulletproof vests, and steel plates hidden under a poncho can all act as armor. The amount of armor a figure has is subtracted directly from an opponent's final damage roll. Thus armor 4 subtracts -4 from some ornery cowpoke's damage roll before you compare it to the target's Vigor.
Artillery
This is the skill and knowledge used to fire big guns like cannons and Gatlings. Artillery is always followed by a die type. This is the troop's skill when firing an artillery piece. Don't use the troop's Shootin' skill—that's used for their sidearms when they choose to fire them.
Bad Eyes
This hombre can't see well, even with spectacles. Subtract -2 from its Shootin' rolls.
Bad Karma
This Hindrance only affects dark sorcerers, houngans, hucksters, and witches. The Hero has a bad name in the Hunting Grounds—so bad, in fact, that just about every manitou is itching to take a lick at her! Any time she suffers backlash, roll twice on the Backlash Table and your opponent gets to choose which result affects her!
Bad Luck
Someone cursed this unlucky cuss. You may never spend Fate Chips for this loser.
Big Britches
These fools believe they're unkillable. They won't use cover even when they're surrounded by it. Troops with big britches never benefit from cover modifiers, even when they're in cover. They also won't go prone intentionally, though they still receive prone modifiers if they're shot at while Eatin' Dirt (and even that makes 'em really mad!).
Big 'Un
The Hero's had too many vittles. His Pace is 4, though he may run normally. On the plus side, he adds +1 to his Vigor rolls, too.
Bloodthirsty
Bloodthirsty troops never take prisoners. When they make someone Eat Dirt, they have to keep attacking the same poor sod until he's Put Down.
Born on Horseback
The troop is a natural horseman. The figure can ignore the usual penalty for Shootin' rolls while mounted.
Brave
The troop gets two chances to make any Guts checks.
Brawny
Add +1 to the troop's Vigor rolls when resisting damage, and +1 to any Fighting damage.
Burrowin'
Creatures that burrow can tunnel underground and reappear elsewhere. In between these points, they cannot be attacked, even by those with Hold counters. They could be attacked just before going underground or after they've emerged, however.
The distance a creature can burrow in a turn is its Pace plus its burrowin' die. A Young Rattler, for example, can burrow 6" plus 1d10". If a burrowin' creature moves its full Pace or more and then emerges from beneath an opponent, it gains +4 on its Fightin' roll.
Buildings: Burrowers may surface through the floor of a building.
Hiding: Burrowin' creatures do not have to return to the surface each turn.
Deployment: Unless a scenario states otherwise, burrowin' creatures may begin the game underground, though they must still start within the player's Deployment Zone.
Bushwack
A troop with bushwack may hide in ambush until the owning player decides to reveal it.
Before the battle begins, each player must write down where his bushwackers are hiding. This can be a terrain feature such as a building or the big rock near the stream, or "coordinates" such as 10" due east of the old mine.
In a game in which one player starts already deployed on the board, he places his troops and records his bushwackers' locations. Then the other players record the locations of their bushwackers, though they must be at least 12" away from any of the first player's visible troops.
Deal the bushwackers in as usual from the start of the game. They can emerge and act normally on any of their actions.
Hiding in Plain Sight: Bushwackers may be hidden most anywhere, including out in the open, as there's assumed to be tall grass, shallow sand, or some other cover even in "open" terrain. They stay hidden there even if an enemy unit walks right over them.
Hiding Again: Once revealed, bushwackers can't hide again. They just don't have time to prepare such a good hidey-hole. Use 'em wisely.
Cautious
The troop must make a Hard (8) Smarts roll to charge into Fighting combat.
Clueless
Duh. The Hero's Smarts has been reduced by a die type (minimum of d4).
Crisis o' Faith
This Hindrance only applies to Heroes with the arcane background: blessed Edge. The Hero has seen a few too many ghastly sights and has begun to doubt his calling. All his rolls to cast miracles are at -1.
Climbin'
The troop adds +2 to its Strength rolls when climbing.
Clown
In an Indian tribe, a clown has a certain honor afforded him. The character's contrariness grants him a strength of spirit. The Hero gets a +2 bonus to all Guts rolls.
Indians Only: Only Indian characters may have this ability.
Crack Shot
When a crack shot scores a critical hit on a Hero (or rig, see Derailed!), she may adjust her roll on the Critical Hit Table by 2 points in either direction.
Damned
Sometime in the past, the Hero stepped on some powerful entity's boots, and now she's paying for it. Maybe she accidentally shot a priest, stole from the Church, or ate a sacred cow she shouldn't have. Whatever the case, no beneficial spells of any sort work on the poor damned soul. Such magics automatically fail, regardless of the spell roll. Of course the harmful ones work just fine!
Death Wish
For whatever reason, some troops are eager to meet their makers. Troops with a death wish refuse to go into cover or go prone, and they never gain the benefits of such protection, just like those with Big Britches.
Doubting Thomas
Those who don't believe in supernatural creatures are steady souls—at least until they are faced with the undeniable truth.
Doubting Thomases add +2 to their Guts checks when checking against Fear or Terror. Should they roll a 1 on such a check, however, they see the true face of horror and know it for what it is. Their view of the world shatters, and they become immediately Panicked. They cannot rally in this game and run directly off the board to gather their wits.
Drivin'
This is the ability of a troop to maneuver any regular vehicle and any vehicles particular to his faction as well. A figure must have this ability to drive a rig, as you'll see in Derailed!
Eagle Eyes
The troop may ignore the -2 penalty for firing on troops with the sneaky Edge.
Enemy
At the end of Turn One, choose one of your opponent's Heroes. This is your troop's sworn enemy. Announce this to the other player. If either of the enemies puts the other down, the winning troop gains a blue Fate Chip and double the foe's Bounty Points for its player.
Familiar
Some spellslingers have found ways to forge mystical links with animals, called familiars. This bond allows the caster to draw on the animal's strength, adding +1 to their spell die rolls.
Fannin'
A figure with a single pistol and this ability can "fan" by holding back the trigger on her pistol while slamming the hammer back with her opposite hand. Fanning throws a rain of lead into the air, but it isn't a particularly accurate way to go around shooting.
Fannin' counts as an entire attack, so a Heroine can't fire one of her pistol shots and then fan on her second. Also, Fannin' requires she have one hand free to work the hammer, so even a two-fisted gunslinger can't use two pistols while fannin'.
To fan, a Heroine declares her attack and rolls 1d4+2. This is the number of shots she gets this action.
Accuracy: Because fannin' is so inaccurate, each shot is made at a -2 modifier to the Shootin' roll.
Arc of Fire: Because of the rapid nature of the shots, all the targets must be to the Heroine's front.
Fear
The troop forces any other troop it charges or who charges it to make an Easy (4) Guts check. When troops are charged by feared opponents, they can be Shaken or Panicked normally.
Charging Feared Opponents: Figures that try to charge such an opponent don't become Shaken or Panicked if they fail—they simply do not move this action.
Been There, Done That: Once the figures makes their Guts check to enter combat with a feared opponent, they don't have to roll again as long as at least one figure remains in contact with the enemy. If the whole troop breaks it off and then wants to charge again, the group has to make a new Guts check.
Fearless
The troop never has to make Guts checks and cannot become Shaken or Panicked.
Fleet-Footed
The troop may roll a d10 when running instead of a d6.
Flight
The troop can fly. The Pace is listed immediately after this special ability. Mostly, this just means the varmint can ignore terrain. Derailed! has more detailed information on flying varmints and machines if you're interested.
Frenzy
The model can make two Fighting attacks every action. The defender makes a defensive Fightin' roll only once per opponent, and both attacks are compared against this total.
Geezer
There are some cantankerous old coots fighting for the Gangs. The troop's Pace is slowed to 4, and its Strength has been reduced by one die type to a minimum of 1d4.
Greedy
Whenever the troop enters an empty building or Puts Down a foe in hand-to-hand combat, it must stop to fill its pockets with loot. This takes one entire action.
Grim Servant o' Death
This troop acts like a lieutenant for the Grim Reaper himself. Any living model harmed by the servant subtracts -2 from its Vigor roll when resisting damage.
Unfortunately, all those allies unfortunate enough to side with him suffer as well. Friendly troops within 12" of the Hero suffer a -1 modifier to their Vigor rolls.
Hankerin'
The troop has a hankerin' for something like alcohol, tobacco, or soiled doves. Roll a die each turn. On an even number, nothing special happens. On an odd number, the troop suffers from the shakes this turn and must subtract -1 from all of its rolls.
Heavy Armor
Troops or rigs with heavy armor ignore small arms fire (pistols, rifles, shotguns, and Gatlings) and most all Fightin' attacks. The only weapons that cause damage are Flamethrowers, Cannons (including pom-poms), steamsaws, and explosives such as balls o' doom, dynamite, or rockets.
Heroic
The Hero sees it as his duty to go after the worst of the bad guys before his "lesser" companions are killed by them. They don't call them Heroes for nothing.
Whenever your Heroic Hero Puts Down an enemy Hero, an individual troop with fear or terror, or the last figure of a posse with fear or terror, you get a draw from the Fate Pot. Not bad, eh? This may not sound like a Hindrance, but it is, since you'll likely jeopardize your Hero more often to go after chips.
Infiltration
The Bosses sometimes place spies—or worse—within their opponent's Gangs. This Edge allows the troop with the power to infiltrate an enemy troop. This infiltration does not take place during the game—it was accomplished long before the scenario began.
Since infiltrators can never stand up to close scrutiny, they can only pose as faceless hired guns. A troop with the infiltration ability can use its ability on any hired gun Posse (those that aren't Gang-specific). That means your infiltrator can sneak into a band of Buffalo Hunters or Scouts, but not a Cannon Crew, Sawbones, or Tong Gang. If your opponent has no hired guns, the troop with infiltration is lost for the game—most likely infiltrating elsewhere in the Weird West.
The infiltrator's target must be written down and placed beneath its Troop Card at the end of the first turn (once you've seen all your opponent's troops.) For instance, at the end of Turn One, you might name as your target "the shotgun guy from the leftmost posse of Gunmen."
Demasking: The infiltrator (or at least the figure that the infiltrator is going to replace) fights against his own side normally until the player controlling the infiltrator wishes to drop the disguise and start wreaking havoc. The infiltrator does not receive any separate Action Cards prior to revealing itself, and it is in all respects treated just like a normal troop owned by your opponent. When you're ready to reveal your infiltrator, just point out the enemy figure it will replace. At that point, the enemy model is replaced by the infiltrator.
Action Cards: In the turn it's first revealed, the infiltrator acts on the Action Cards assigned to the troop it has penetrated. Due to surprise, the infiltrator acts first, then the betrayed troop can respond to the treachery. At the beginning of the next round, deal the infiltrator its own Action Card as usual.
Hiding Troop Cards: You usually have to place your Troop Cards out where everyone can see them. Troops with the infiltration ability can be written up on a separate Troop Sheet and revealed only when they activate. A sharp opponent may figure out you have an infiltrator once you field your force shy a few points on the table, however.
Double Infiltration: If two (or more) players in a multiplayer game choose the same target to infiltrate, the imposters roll Smarts. The winner is the infiltrator, and the loser is gone. If the result is a tie, both infiltrators are lost.
Kid
This fellow's under-age. His Smarts and Fightin' have both been reduced one die type (minimum 1d4).
Lame
The troop's Pace is 4, but it can run normally.
Law Dog
This ability is only available to Heroes. A law dog is a duly authorized agent of the law—at least on one side of the border.
This Hero brought along a posse of Gunmen with him. This costs you no points, and can be used however you wish.
Limit: A player can only get one free posse of deputies, no matter how many law dogs he has, even if a rival Gang has characters with the outlaw ability.
Law o' the West
This honorable troop won't shoot at a foe's back, no matter what.
Leadership
Leaders command other groups of men. The specific kind are listed immediately after the leadership ability. A Union Blue Officer, for example, leads only UB Troopers, so that's what would be listed after his leadership.
To use leadership, the leader has to be within 4" of any member of the troop (normal "cohesion" distance). When he is, the entire group acts on whichever troop got the highest Action Card. If the Officer got a 10 and the Troopers got a Jack, for example, they could discard the 10 and all act on the Jack (as if they were one unit).
If the leader dies, whether he was a Hero or not, the rest of the troop must make a Guts test (just as with the The Death of a Hero).
Legendary
Legendary Heroes are just that. These are famous Heroes of the Weird West, like Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday, who have gotten caught up the middle of the Great Rail Wars.
Just as Heroes are a cut above your average gunmen, these individuals are truly exceptional—even for Heroes. Each battle, legendary Heroes may draw three chips for their own personal use. These chips may only be spent for rolls made by and for the Hero.
Level-Headed
Every Draw! Phase, the troop can discard its Action Card and draw another if it chooses.
Jokers: You cannot discard Jokers with this ability.
Malfunctions: If a Deuce is drawn and the troop has the malfunction Hindrance, it must still check for malfunction, but can then draw a new card as usual. If this card is another Deuce or a Joker, the troop must check a second time. Be careful, amigo!
Loco
This Hero is plumb loco. There are several varieties:
- Delusional: The Hero believes something that just isn't true. And it's really weird. Heroes with this Hindrance have special rules in their description relating their peculiar beliefs.
- Paranoid: The Hero won't get within 6" of any other figure, friendly or otherwise. If other figures approach him, he must use his next action to move away.
- Manic-Depressive: He's got a Death Wish.
- Phobic: The Hero believes every other person and thing is tainted with evil. He treats all opponents as if they had fear. Against creatures with fear and terror he subtracts -2 from his Guts roll.
- Schizo: He's got multiple personalities, and one of them works for your opponent! At the start of each turn, roll a d6. On 6, turn the Hero over to your opponent for the turn. He returns to you at the beginning of the next turn, unless you roll a 6 on the Schizo check again.
Loyal
A loyal Hero won't leave his companions when the going gets tough. When there are friendly troops within 12", the Hero can't run away when Panicked, even if you want him to. He keeps on fighting at -2 until he's dead or his companions have moved away. If there are no companions around, he runs when Panicked, just like any other cowpoke.
Luck o' the Irish
Whenever you spend a blue or red chip for this troop, roll two dice instead of one and take the better of the two results.
Magic Resistance
Magic just doesn't take well to some folks. Any type of magic, whether beneficial or not, has a hard time affecting this troop. They gain their magic resistance level in armor against any magical atack.
Also, should someone cast a spell of any sort directly on the figure, the caster must subtract the magic resistance rating from his Smarts roll. This would not apply to spells like ball o' doom, which targets the ground instead of the figure (though they would get their armor modifier against that spell). It would affect mind twist, soul blast, and similar spells, however.
Malfunction
The troop has a gizmo that is subject to malfunctioning. Sometimes, the troop itself is the gizmo. See Chapter xxx for details.
Martial Artist
The character has one or more kung fu powers. These are listed immediately after the martial artist special ability. In addition, he may add +2 to his Fightin' attack rolls and damage (although not his Fightin' defense rolls).
Mean as a Rattler
Even their momma's don't love 'em. Troops who are mean as a rattler take great offense at being shot at. The first enemy troop to cause this figure or someone in his posse to Eat Dirt or get Put Down becomes their sworn enemies. If at all possible, the mean troops concentrate their attacks on their sworn enemies. They can only attack other enemy troops if their original targets are out of sight or range.
Once this troop's hated foes are dead, the next enemy troop to cause it to Eat Dirt or worse gains its ire.
On the plus side, every time the angry thugs kill a sworn enemy who's a Hero or the last member of a posse, they give you a draw from the Fate Pot.
Miser
The Hero's gear is cheap, causing it to malfunction occasionally. When he is dealt a Deuce or a Joker, he must check for malfunction just as if his gear were gizmos. Normal gear has a malfunction rating of 1d6. Relics have a malfunction rating of 1d12. Should these devices fail the check, they simply don't work that turn.
Gizmos: Gizmos that already have malfunction numbers have already had their rating lowered by a step, to a minimum of 1d4.
Gear Defined: Gear includes firearms, hand-to-hand weapons, and even horses. If the Hero is mounted when his horse "malfunctions," the tired old nag can only move at half its total Pace plus running bonus.
Mechanically Inclined
Since weird gizmos are prone to breaking down, somebody needs to know how to fix them. A mechanically inclined individual may fix gizmos that aren't entirely destroyed, acting as Sawbones on mechanical troops like Automatons and Clockwork Tarantulas. See the sawbones rules to see exactly how this works.
Nerves o' Steel
If the troop becomes Panicked, it may choose to stand its ground instead of running away. It suffers a -2 modifier to all its skill rolls while Panicked, however.
Night Terrors
Even the hardened souls who fight for the Rail Barons reel at the horrors of the Weird West. Roll a die each turn. On an even number, your troop suffers no ill effects. On an odd number, the Hero's nightmares catch up with her. She suffers a -1 to all her die rolls this turn.
Occult
A few of the Weird West's hardest veterans know things man was not meant to know. Such knowledge can mean the difference between victory and defeat when an abomination of the Reckoners is on the loose.
A troop with occult knowledge knows dark secrets about the Reckoning and its minions. These resourceful individuals use magic bullets, weird scientific gizmos, or blessed weapons to Put Down unearthly beings (see below). They can kill such horrors even with their normal weapons, regardless of the abomination's particular weaknesses.
Old Hand
This Edge is only available to hucksters. A spellslinger with this Edge has been around long enough to know when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em. Anytime the Hero rolls an unmodified 1 on his spell die, he has a chance to avoid Backlash. If he succeeds at a Hard (8) Smarts roll, his spell simply fails, and he doesn't suffer from a supernatural power surge. If he fails, he takes Backlash as normal.
One-Armed Bandit
The Hero's lost an arm somewhere in the Weird West. His Strength and Fightin' have been reduced by one die type to a minimum of 1d4.
Two-Handed Weapons: One-armed bandits can't use rifles, shotguns, or any other two-handed weapons.
Outlaw
The troop is wanted for a crime somewhere and there's a bounty on his head. Putting this dirty dog down nets the attacker double the usual bounty points (which should already be accounted for on its Troop Card).
Pacifist
The troop won't shoot at any human that hasn't attacked it or its friends yet. Undead, animals, and machines make fine targets, however.
Paralysis
Certain creatures and poisons can make a foe fall to the ground and start doing the "kickin' chicken." Once they do, they're easy prey for their merciless opponents.
After a successful hand-to-hand attack in which the target takes no damage, the victim must make a second Vigor check against an Easy (4) TN. If failed, the model Eats Dirt anyway.
This doesn't work on nonliving troops such as Automatons or Walkin' Dead. It does work on living creatures such as Mojave Rattlers, Devil Bats, and the like, however.
Poverty
The Hero has shoddy equipment that fails to function on occasion. Treat this just like he's a miser.
Rank
There's something about a uniform that inspires folks—particularly on a battlefield.
The Hero may spend an action to attempt to rally a friendly Shaken or Panicked troop within 12". The troop rolls a Guts check against the Rallying TN for their current morale, and adds +2 for the figure's rank. If it's successful, it's morale improves one level.
Renown
The Hero is so well-known he attracts a body of wanna-bes. You get a free posse of Gunmen, but they must stay within 12" of the Hero for the duration of the battle. Only one renowned Hero per side gets the free posse.
Sand
The Hero adds +2 to her Vigor checks when trying to recover from Eatin' Dirt.
Sawbones
A skilled doctor can quickly patch up a wounded figure and get it to fighting again. A figure who is Eatin' Dirt with a sawbones within 2" adds +2 to its Vigor roll to recover. If there are multiple wounded figures in the sawbones area, they all get the bonus.
If a living, human figure is Put Down near a sawbones, leave it on the table until the end of the turn. If the doctor gets to the figure before the end of the turn, he can make a Hard (8) Smarts roll. If failed, the victim is removed as usual. If successful, the model is simply Eatin' Dirt instead.
A sawbones can even run and still use this ability. If your doctor goes early in the turn, it's a good idea to put him on Hold so he can help his companions later on.
Treating Heroes: A sawbones can also heal specific wounds on Heroes. A character who was winged or made lame can be healed if an adjacent figure with this ability makes an Easy (4) Smarts roll.
Scrawny
The troop subtracts -2 from its Vigor when resisting damage.
Slowpoke
The troop cannot run.
Sneaky
Sneaky troops use all the cover they can to keep themselves from being seen. Troops making ranged attacks on sneaky foes subtract -2 from their rolls.
Area Effect Weapons: Area effect weapons that cover an area (such as dynamite and flamethrowers) ignore the sneaky penalty.
Squeamish
The Hero doesn't much like the sight of blood. Especially his own. Subtract -2 from the troop's Vigor rolls when trying to recover from Eatin' Dirt.
The Stare
The glaring eyes of a gunslinger can send lesser men scrambling for cover. The troop can use an action to stare down an opponent within 12". The target must make an immediate Guts check if it hasn't already made one this segment.
Fearless: Fearless figures are immune to The Stare.
Superstitious
The Hero is even more afraid of the supernatural than most. He must subtract -2 from his Guts checks when confronted by creatures with the power of fear or terror.
Tale Tellin'
The exciting stories told by tale tellers can build the fame of your Gang. With a little luck, your Heroes might even find themselves the subjects of dime novels.
A Hero with this ability adds his Bounty to your total Bounty Points at the end of the game—assuming he's still around to do so.
Non-Heroes: If the tale-teller isn't a Hero himself (such as a Muckraker), he has to follow around a Hero to get the real scoop. If this is the case, pick one of your Heroes for your tale-teller at the beginning of the game. The muckraker must stay within 4" of him to catch the action first-hand. If he gets forcibly separated, he has to catch up as fast as he can.
The Last Tale: If the Hero dies, you can still claim your Bounty Points as long as the tale-teller is still alive at the end of the game. Running defenseless Muckrakers to safety when the subject of their next tale is dead is a perfectly legal tactic.
Terror
Terror works just like the fear ability, except the TN is Hard (8).
Thick-Skinned
The Hero adds +2 to her Vigor checks when trying to recover from Eatin' Dirt.
Thin-Skinned
This is the same as squeamish.
Tough as Nails
The troop adds +2 to all its Vigor rolls.
Two-Fisted
Some folks do things equally well with both hands. The character can fire two pistols or use two knives in one action at no penalty to either attack.
Tuckered
The troop gets tired easily. Divide its run rolls in half, rounding up.
Ugly as Sin
This cowpoke's so ugly his momma had to tie a mouse to his leg to get the sidewinders to bite. Human troops charging him in melee must make a Guts check as if he had fear.
Undead
Undead go about dying the hard way. Most need a lot more killing before they're ready to return to the ground. To reflect this, add +2 to their Vigor rolls when resisting damage and recovering from Eatin' Dirt.
Unearthly
A few rare creatures of incredible renown have occasionally been tricked, controlled, or drafted into the armies of the Gangs. Such abominations are truly horrible sights when they emerge on the battlefield.
Unearthly creatures cannot be Put Down by normal means. When they are hit by an attack, roll damage normally. Ignore Eatin' Dirt results, and treat Put Down results as Eatin' Dirt.
Weaknesses: Some Unearthly creatures have specific weaknesses as well. A Hangin' Judge, for example, can be Put Down by any duly-authorized lawman, such as a law dog or even a law dan's posse.
Occult: A troop with the occult ability can Put Down any kind of Unearthly being. These folks have figured out the creature's weakness and know how to kill it.
Vengeful
This is the same as mean as a rattler.
The Voice
When some Heroes give orders, those around them jump to make sure they happen.
On any of the Hero's actions, he can utter a threat to any enemy human Hero within sight and 12". The enemy must make an immediate Guts check. Making a threat is a "free action," so the Hero can plug his rival after making him shake his boots if he wants to.
Wall Walker
The troop has the ability to climb up sheer surfaces as if they were Rough Ground. No roll must be made, and the model can even climb over roofs and across ceilings (upside down) if it wishes.
Yeller
Lily-livered gunfighters don't last long in the Rail Gangs. Trouble is, you never know who's got sand until the shooting starts. The troop subtracts -2 from its Guts checks.
Appendix B: The Big Guns!
The Gangs have developed a whole mess of infernal devices to blow the snot out of their rivals. This section teaches you how to handle these devastating war machines in your tabletop battles.
Crews
In their relentless pursuit of victory, the Gangs have used all manner of devices to blast their foes to jerky. All of these devices are crewed by mercenaries who risk life and limb to fire these massive guns. Collectively, we call these wild-eyed lunatics "Crews."
What defines a Crewman (or woman) from any other cowpoke? Easy. Two simple skills, artillery and drivin' (we tell you what drivin's good for in Derailed!). Any figure with the artillery skill can fire any type of "heavy" gun used in the game, from Gatlings to cannons, whether they are mounted on carriages or strapped to the side of some horseless-carriage.
Heroes: A Hero figure can also man a gun or drive a rig, but he must also have the appropriate skill (artillery for firing guns and drivin' to pilot a rig).
Foreign Devices: There is an exception to the rule that Crewmen can handle any gun. Crews cannot man a gun that is unique to another Gang. Iron Dragon's Celestial Thunderer (which you'll see in the near future), can only be manned by Iron Dragon's Crewmen. In general, if a gun is unique to one Gang, none of the other Gangs' Crews can operate it (even if they are Heroes or Allies).
Using Crews
Here are some general guidelines for how to position Crew figures around the guns and rigs they man, as well as what to about about removing casualties and replacing them with other Crewmen.
Placing your Crewmen appropriately is very important, because those big honkin' guns they fire give them cover from enemy attacks. Treat the gun just like any other obstacle. If it blocks the figure or gives him partial cover, then give the Crewman his due.
2-Man Guns: Small direct-fire guns, such as Gatlings typically have 2 Crewmen. Both of them are placed behind the weapon.
4-Man Guns: Cannons and other large guns typically have four crewmen. Two of these are placed at the rear of where they aim and fire the gun. The other two are placed near the barrel, where they load shells into the muzzle. (See the diagram: for guns with 4 Crewmen, you must place the figures as evenly as possible between the front and rear of the gun. This allows two of the figures to load the weapon while the other two aim and fire it.) If the Crew wants to take cover behind the gun and fire their pistols instead, they may do so.
Replacing Crewmen: You can't buy extra Crewmen to stand around and replace casulaties, but you can trade them off. The Civil War and the Rail Wars have produced a cadre of hired guns who can fire cannons, drive steam-powered vehicles, and even fly such infernal devices as Ornithopters and Autogyros. All of these Crewmen are interchangeable. If a Gatling Gun crew has been wiped out, a nearby Cannon Crewman could replace him. Similarly, if the enemy abandons an autogyro near any of your Crewmen, they can swipe it and get airborne.
To man a vehicle or gun, simply move any of your Crew in contact with the device.
Shootin'
Crews don't use their Shootin' scores when firing big guns—they use their artillery ability instead. A Crew with artillery d8, for example, rolls 1d8 when firing their cannon at an opponent.
Sidearms: So what's a Crew's Shootin' Trait for? No artillery crew in its right mind would wander onto the battlefield without sidearms. Crews always carry pistols, and they can fire these instead of their big gun if they choose. Sometimes this is the most effective way to deal with bad guys who get in too close to the artillery.
Casualties
Remove whichever casualties are hit as usual. When the cannon's turn comes up, reposition the crew as evenly as possible betwen the front and back.
Mixed Crews: If a Crewman with a higher artillery score joins a less experienced Crew, use the artillery score of the lowest team member.
Templates
In the back of this book are a couple of templates. These are used to determine which figures are affected by explosions and other area effect weapons. Print these suckers (in color if you'd like), mount them on some solid cardstock, and keep 'em with your figures.
When you use a round template, simply place it so the center of the template is at the point where the blast or spell effect goes off. Any figure that's even partially under the template is hit.
Cover from Explosives
If any figures under the Boom! Template have cover or are prone, treat the protection as armor instead (see the High Noon Rulebook), translating negative cover penalties into positive points of Armor. Thus a prone troop always has 1 point of Armor from an explosive, and a figure lying in a boulder field (prone in hard cover) has 3 points of armor.
Sneaky: Sneaky troops gain no additional protection against burst effect weapons such as these (they do not get their sneaky bonus as armor).
Complete Cover: If a figure is prone behind a wall, inside a building, or otherwise completely shielded from an explosion, he takes no damage from it. Basically, if the center of the template is on one side of a wall, stone fence, or other solid obstacle, and the figure is on the other, ignore the attack. That's what walls are for. If the cover is less solid, give him the appropriate cover bonus and roll damage normally.
Big Guns
There are several varieties of big guns available to the Gangs—everything from cannons to rockets. We'll include dynamite in this discussion too since it works the same.
Cannons
When the Great Rail Wars started, a few outdated smoothbore cannons were sold to the Rail Barons by the armies of the North and South. These slow, inaccurate, and unwieldy guns are fine for defensive works. These days, however, the Gangs need faster, lighter, guns. Lugging a 12-lb "Napoleon" smoothbore across the High Plains just isn't practical. When heavy firepower is needed, however, lighter 6-lb "horse" or "flying artillery" can be quickly and easily set up and fired.
Crew: Cannons are served by 4 Crewmen. Half the team loads the gun, the other half aims and fires it.
Line of Sight: Firing a cannon is just like firing any other kind of gun. You just get down behind the cannon and eyeball along its line of fire to make sure it's got a straight shot at its target. You can't arc shots over obstacles or troops, but if the cannon is at a higher elevation, it can fire over them as usual.
Rate of Fire: A Cannon's Rate of Fire is 1 until there are only 2 crewmen remaining. At that point, those men left must spend an entire action doing nothing else but loading the gun before it can fire it again.
Ammunition
Cannons can fire 3 different types of shells: solid shot, shrapnel, and canister. You can pick the type of ammunition every time your Crew fires the gun.
Solid Shot: Solid Shot is just that: big round balls made to batter walls or take out really big or tough targets (like Automatons or rigs).
To fire, the player puts a marker down on his target (a die works well). The TN depends on the range as usual. If the artillery roll is made, the shot hits the target.
If the skill roll is unsuccessful, the shot deviates d10" in a d12 direction (use the Boom! Template to figure this, pointing the 12 directly away from the cannon). Trace a straight line from the cannon to the new target spot, then extend the line from the target spot to the end of the cannon's range. The first target under the shot's path is hit.
Solid shot fired from 6lb cannons causes 3d10 damage. Yowch!
Shrapnel: Shrapnel is an explosive shell filled with metal balls, nails, and other scraps. This "shrapnel" is hurled outward when the shell explodes, shredding lightly armored targets in a shower of steel.
To determine the effects of a shrapnel shot, the attacker first places the Boom! Template where he wants it to land. The Crew must have a clear shot at the spot it's firing at, though it could place the shot on a wall and therefore hit any figures hiding behind it.
Measure the range to the center of the template and fire as usual. The shot explodes on impact under the Boom! Template. Every target beneath the template is hit for 2d10 damage.
If the shot misses, the shell lands d10" in a d12 direction (see Deviation, below).
Shrapnel Deviation (diagram caption): A shrapnel shell is fired at the figure in the upper right, but the Artillery roll is blown. Rolling a d12, the firer gets a 7, and she rolls 8" for distance. The shell lands in the lower left instead, smack in the middle of a group of very unlucky Gunmen.
Canister: Canister is a shell made to detonate inside the barrel of the cannon. The jagged metal inside the "canister" then sprays out of the cannon to shred anything within its deadly cone, sort of like a giant shotgun.
To determine the effects of canister, place a tape measure or string between the cannon and a target point 12" away. If the crew makes an Easy (4) artillery roll, the path is set as desired.
Once you've determined the path of the canister burst, retrace the path from the cannon through the target spot. Place the Boom! Template at the tip of the cannon and move it all the way to the end of the canister's range. Every target that falls beneath it is automatically hit for 2d8 damage. Targets prone or in cover subtract those modifiers from the damage as usual.
If the artillery roll is failed, the target spot deviates d4" to the left or right (roll odd or even to determine which way). Retrace the canister shot based on this new path and hope your own troops didn't get in the way!
Canister Deviation (diagram captions): A canister shot that misses can deviate up to 4" off its intended line of fire. This canister shot hits Gunmen A and B, but Gunman C is safely outside of the line of fire.
Deviation
We put the clock directions right on the Boom! Template to make things easy for you. Just point the 12 directly away from the attacker, and you're all set.
Maximum Deviation: When a shot deviates, it can't deviate more than half the distance it was originally fired or thrown. This keeps short range shots from going behind the shooter.
Obstacles: If a shot devitates to an "impossible" location, you'll need to do some adjusting. Say you're firing a shrapnel round at a target hiding at the corner of a building. If the deviation puts the round behind the building (meaning it somehow "curved" around the target to a target point to which it had no line of sight), that's obviously an impossible shot. In these cases, simply draw a line between the weapon and the "impossible" point. The first target bigger than a person and higher than a fence stops the shot and becomes the new target point.
Limbers
Limbers are simply wheeled contraptions used to haul artillery pieces around with horses or mules. Those gizmos that can be limbered up say "may be limbered" smack in the Troop List. One of the crew drives the limber and the rest ride along on the rig or the gun itself. Limbering or unlimbering costs 4" of movement.
Limbers have two horses and have a Pace of 9". They can get along another d6" if the animals run. Reduce the Pace to 6" if one of the animals is slain.
Running with limbered guns can be dangerous, however. These are huge hunks of metal racing along with little in the way of brakes, and the terrain is often less than ideal. If the running d6 comes up a 1, the gun bounces hard enough to wreck the whole rig, gun included. Any crewmen riding on the rig take 2d8 damage. You can ignore this rule if running on a good road.
Guns must be unlimbered to fire. The horses just won't put up with being strapped into something that makes that much noise and smoke.
Moving and Firing: Heavy guns cannot be fired in a turn they were unlimbered. Assume a gun is heavy unless it says flying artillery in the Troop List.
Flying Artillery: Light guns with good carriages can unlimber and fire in the same turn. 6-pound cannons, Gatlings, and similar weapons all fall into this category. If a gun is too big to move and fire, we'll tell you that in its description.
Gatling Guns
The terror of the Plains is the Gatling Gun. This murderous device has made massed formations suicide and changed the nature of warfare forever.
Essentially, a Gatling Gun is nothing more than a number of rifles set on a rotating wheel. As the barrels rotate, a bullet is first chambered then fired in quick succession. Anyone standing in front of this hail of bullets quickly becomes Swiss cheese.
Crew: Gatling Guns have 2 Crewmen. One of the gunners rotates the handle that fires the rifles while the other keeps the ammo cylinder loaded and can take over if the gunner should fall. These Crewmen have pistols and can fire these as well if that's ever needed.
Rate of Fire: Gatling Guns have a very high but variable Rate of Fire. Each time your troops fire the weapon, roll 2d6. The higher of the two dice is the number of shots the gun fires this action. If you roll a 3 and a 4, for instance, the gun fires 4 effective shots. Declare all your targets (even turning the gun if you need to between shots), then make a Shootin' roll for each shot in the standard manner. Anyone hit by a round from a Gatling Gun takes the normal damage for a rifle (2d8).
If only one Crewman is available to fire the weapon, roll only 1d6. Needless to say, the Gatling is much faster when both gunners are up and in a nonbleeding, squirming, and yelling for Mama kinda way.
Snake Eyes: If both dice come up 1's, the gun has jammed and does not fire. Up to 4 figures per action who have either the artillery or mechanically inclined skill can attempt to make Easy (4) Smarts roll to clear the jam on their action. The gun does not fire until someone clears the jam.
Limbers: Gatling Guns may have limbers just like cannons. See those rules for the number of horses, the dangers of running the team, and so on.
Flying Artillery: Gatling Guns may always fire, even if they moved, unlimbered, or went to a Sunday-dance on the same turn.
Other Weapons of Mass Destruction
There are three other types of weapons that cause massive damage but are not manned by Crews. They are covered here because they use many of the same rules as cannons and Gatling Guns, but the troops who wield them are always highly specialized. Dynamite, for example, is very unstable in the Weird West, so it is only employed by some Heroes and the expert Demolitionists of Black River. The same goes for rockets. They are far too inaccurate for most, but the wizards of Iron Dragon seem to have little trouble devastating their opponents with them.
Dynamite
Any figure armed with dynamite can throw it up to its Strength in inches, plus 2". A figure with a d6 Strength, for example, could throw dynamite up to 8".
As with any other ranged weapon, half the thrower's maximum range is short range (TN 4). Between short range and the thrower's Strength is long range (TN 8).
Place the Boom! Template where you want the dynamite to go and make a Strength roll. If you make the TN, the Boom! goes off where you wanted, and everything beneath the template takes 2d10 damage. If you miss the roll, the dynamite deviates 1d4" (half a d6 roll) in a d12 direction.
Duck!: As you can see, throwing dynamite can be dangerous. A cowpoke has to be careful not to catch himself in his own blast. Since most every cowpoke is aware of this, a figure with dynamite can go prone immediately after chucking it at the enemy (and he certainly will do so if he's smart!).
Bows: Some really smart cowpokes attach sticks of dynamite to arrows and fire them from bows, giving them much greater range. Black River's Demolitionists are famous for this. Such attacks are resolved normally. Simply place the Boom! Template where you want it to land, then make a Shootin' roll for the troop. If successful, the dynamite goes off where you intended. Otherwise it deviates normally.
Flamethrowers
In any event, it has become a devastating weapon, and a staple of so-called "mad scientists" and fanatical thugs looking for an edge to help get them hired. The way they work is very simple. When you want a figure equipped with a flamethrower to fire, simply lay the Flamethrower Template so that the small end is at the nozzle of the weapon, and the large end covers whatever targets you want to immolate. Everything beneath the Template automatically suffers 2d10 damage—there is no Shootin' roll to hit.
Cover: Troops that are prone or in cover gain armor for their cover modifier as usual. Troops inside buildings or other "sealed" cover take no damage unless a window, door, or other opening to their location also falls within the Template.
Malfunction: Flamethrowers are a little ahead of the technical curve, and were made with a bit of hoodoo by mad scientists of the Weird West. They're tainted by this process, and thus subject to malfunction, described in the Gadgets and Gizmos appendix. They have a malfunction rating of d8.
(The source's introductory paragraph to this section reads: "The Confederate geniuses at the 'secret' base in Roswell, New Mexico, supposedly designed these incendiary fountains of death just before the Battle of Washington in 1870 (Dr. Hellstromme claims they merely copied one of his prototypes).")
Rockets
Rockets are rare in the Weird West, but one occasionally sees them arcing across the battlefield, screaming death and destruction from above. Iron Dragon is particularly fond of rockets.
Rockets work just like shrapnel shells for cannons. The firer nominates a target point, places the template, and makes an artillery roll. Their standard range is 48".
Since rockets continue to burn even after they're fired, they tend to deviate more than most other types of artillery rounds. Measure the range to the center of the template and fire as usual. If the shot misses at short range, it deviates 2d6" in a d12 direction. At long range, its deviates 3d6" in a d12 direction.
Rockets cause 2d10 damage to everything under the template.
Blowing Things Up
Now you know how to blast people into people parts, but what about sterner stuff? In High Noon, bridges and trestles, buildings, and trains are common targets for an hombre with a mad-on.
You can usually only blow up things this big with fire and explosives like those detailed above. Bullets and hand-to-hand attacks, even when you get lucky and roll a really high damage total, just don't inflict the kind of destruction that's likely to take down a house.
Small buildings can generally take 50 points of damage per story before they collapse and are demolished. So it would take 50 points of damage to knock down a one-story barber shop, but 100 points of total damage to destroy a two-story saloon (which is bound to make the locals angry, by the way—you just don't go blowing up saloons or brothels in the Weird West!). Small arms (pistols, rifles, and shotguns) don't do any damage to buildings.
Damage to Figures: Figures inside a building when it is detroyed take 3d6 damage, plus an additional 1d6 per story. Cowpokes in a 2-story hotel that collapses, for instnace, take 4d6 damage.
The Ruins: Those figures who survive can keep fighting from the ruins and generally get hard cover.
Firing Into Buildings
Your troops don't have to blow things up to get at the ornery sidewinders inside. They can always fire shrapnel, rockets, and other explosives into buildings as well. Firing into a window or door increases the normal TN by +2.
Remember the rules on Deviation we talked about in the sidebar on page 20? Consider this a bit of an exception. When a troop fires a shot at a door or window of a building and misses, resolve deviation from the opening instead of the target point. This means it's likely the round simply detonates against the side of the building (and damages it as usual). It might also go through the opening as intended, but only if it deviates to 12 o'clock (straight ahead).
Just use common sense, muchaco. If you and your amigoes can't figure it out, just say it hits the building and get on with the game.
Appendix C: Magic!
Don't think every cowboy fighting in High Noon is a gunslinger with a six-gun on his hip. There are some hombres who have learned darker skills. These Heroes have mastered the eldritch arts, and have the arcane background special ability. They call themselves mad scientists, hucksters, priests, shamans, houngans, and dark sorcerers, and their powers are as deadly as any gunslinger's pistol. This chapter details these Weird Western wizards, their powers, and in the case of mad scientists, their infernal devices.
After that, we'll jump right into another type of supernatural Hero—the "Harrowed." Sometimes even death isn't enough to keep a hombre down. When a Hero dies, there's a chance he'll come back as an undead creature called a Harrowed. These characters are powerful, but dangerous to their friends as well as their foes. Why? Because the source of their power is a demon wiggling around inside their undead corpse. We'll describe these unusual individuals last.
Arcane Heroes
In High Noon, there are several types of Heroes who have the ability to perform magic of one type or another. Mad scientists do not cast spells, but instead use their powers to build impossible devices. All the rest use spells, hexes, miracles, or rituals to call down power from the Hunting Grounds and channel it for specific effect in the physical world.
Some of these spellslingers use the manitous to help them channel eldritch energy. Others use the favor of divine beings or friendly spirits. The following section tells you how a specific type of spellcaster works in the game, as well as any special rules for the way he channels his power.
The Blessed
The blessed are pious individuals chosen by the Almighty to be His vessel on the Earth. They are not given incredible powers, but instead benefit from augmentations of their own personal strength and willpower. Since they do not rely on manitous to channel their power, however, the blessed never have to worry about backlash or other spell failures.
The blessed are most often priests, rabbis, nuns, or holy men or women, but they don't have to be. A gunslinger who lives a good life but never stepped foot inside a church might be chosen as a champion by the power of goodness. The blessed are most commonly Christians just because Deadlands takes place in the American West, but they don't have to be. Muslims, Hindus, Chinese monks, and others have all proven themselves blessed by higher powers.
Dark Sorcerers
These spellslingers don't fool around. They have asked for power from the dark forces and received it. Some worship dark or false gods, others believe their power comes from strange sources such as animals or even ghost rock. In truth, all dark sorcerers draw their power directly from the Hunting Grounds, courtesy of the Reckoners. Not all of them know they're evil, but most do, and they enjoy it. Those who believe they follow the path of righteousness are unfortunately misguided. Even if their ends are good, their means have dragged them into the dark gaze of the Reckoners and rewarded them with unholy power.
The Reckoners do not appreciate failure, however. Dark sorcerers are susceptible to magical backlash just like hucksters.
Hucksters
Hucksters gain their magical powers by engaging in games of wit and chance with the manitous that lurk in the Hunting Grounds. When they cast their hexes, physical remnants of their spiritual game materialize about their hands then quickly vanish in a flash of energy. In the Weird West, most hucksters envision their mental duels as poker games, so these remnants most often take the form of poker cards.
Sometimes hucksters lose their games—badly. Since they draw their power from dark sources, failure causes them to suffer the devastating effects of supernatural backlash.
Shamans
A shaman is a Native American medicine man (or woman), skilled in the ways of magic. Like other types of spellcasters in Deadlands, a shaman draws his powers from the Hunting Grounds. However, he isn't as foolhardy—or just plain foolish—as a huckster.
Instead of engaging in dangerous games of chance, a shaman contacts nature spirits and other denizens of the Hunting Grounds. By means unknown to "civilized" folk, he petitions these entities for supernatural aid, and these entities respond by granting favors (spells).
Like the blessed, shamans don't have to worry about backlash when they fail to appease the nature spirits. Their spell simply fails.
Choosing Spells
When you purchase a spellslinger, its Troop Card either lists the character's specific spells, or says something like "Any 3," or "Any 5." If the spells are listed, simply look up the spell in this book or on the spell cards that come with Cry Havoc!. If they are not, you may choose any spell that type of character is allowed to have. (Remember, mad scientists have gizmos instead.)
Casting Spells
A spellslinger uses his Smarts to cast spells. Casting a spell takes a single action and is resolved immediately unless the spell's description says otherwise. Roll the figure's Smarts die and check the spell's description to see what happens. The higher the roll, the better the effect.
Spell Descriptions
A healthy dose of eldritch power (spells, partner) are listed over the next few pages. You'll find even more, including deluxe full-color spell-cards, in Cry Havoc! Here's what the statistics for all these nasty incantations mean.
The TN is the Target Number a spellslinger needs to get a particular effect. Most spells have one effect if the figure makes an Easy (4) Smarts roll, and another effect if the roll is Hard (8) or better. Unless the spell says otherwise, the figure does not have to declare which effect she is going for. She simply rolls the die and compares the results to the spell's possible effects.
The Range is how far away the spellslinger can affect a target with her spell. If the range is equal to the caster's Smarts, it is read as a number of inches equal to the die type. So a huckster with Smarts of d10 would have a range of 10 inches.
The Duration of each spell has several possible entries. Most spells are instant. The figure casts the spell, resolves the effects, and moves on.
Other spells last for a variable number of rounds. Mark how many rounds a spell lasts by placing a die on the spellslinger's Troop Card. Reduce the number showing on the die at the beginning of every new round to show when it expires. A spell that lasts 1 round, for example, expires in the Draw! Phase of the very next turn.
Some spells list the duration as "Concentration". This means the caster can keep the spell going until the end of the game, but there is a cost.
First, when casting a new spell, you must subtract -1 from the figure's Smarts roll for every spell he is currently maintaining (though the figure may drop a maintained spell at any point in his action).
Second, if the spellslinger is hit by an attack but resists the damage with a successful Vigor roll, he can maintain his concentration by making an Easy (4) Smarts roll for each maintained spell (do not subtract -1 for other maintained spells from this roll). If the spellcaster is made to Eat Dirt, the TN for maintaining each of his spells is Hard (8). If the spellcaster is Put down, he automatically loses concentration and the spell's effects end automatically.
Substitution helps translate Deadlands role-playing characters into High Noon. You can ignore this if you're only playing the miniatures game. Roleplayers should use this list to help them pick equivalent spells.
Backlash
Some spellslingers draw their energy from the Hunting Grounds—a mad, evil place of nightmare and eldritch energy. Messing with such incredible power is not always without some cost. Miserable failures cause a "backlash" of supernatural energy that can cripple, madden, or even kill the caster.
| 2d6 | Result |
|---|---|
| 2 | Spontaneous Combustion! The spellslinger is consumed in a fiery display of arcane energy. He's toast and cannot return Harrowed. |
| 3-4 | Brain Burn! The spellslinger's mind is fried. He forgets this spell and can't cast it for the remainder of the battle. |
| 5-9 | Supernatural Surge! The spellslinger must make a Smarts roll versus 2d6. The difference is read as damage. |
| 10-11 | Eldritch Calamity! The spell backfires in a big way. The nearest opposing figure acts as if it just cast the spell with the best possible effect. The opponent can choose any targets of the spell. |
| 12 | Dementia! The spellslinger goes completely mad. The enemy controls the figure for the next 1d4 turns. |
Priests and shamans deal with the "Happy" part of the Hunting Grounds and never suffer from supernatural backlash. There are some benefits for working for the right side. If the description of a spellslinger type says these sort of characters are susceptible to backlash, they have to roll on the Backlash Table whenever they try to cast a spell and roll a natural (unmodified) 1.
Fate Chips: Fate Chips can never be spent to change this roll, though they can be spent on any rolls resulting from the Backlash Table, such as a Smarts check made to resist the damage of a Supernatural Surge!
Armor o' Righteousness
- TN: Easy (4): 2 points of armor; Hard (8): 4 points of armor.
- Range: Caster only
- Duration: 1d4 turns
- Types: Blessed, Shaman
This miracle armors the spellslinger in the strength of her faith, whether it be in the powers of light or darkness. The caster gains the Edge armor for the duration of the spell. The level is based on her spell die roll.
Substitution: This spell also substitutes for turtle's shell (favor) and dark protection (black magic).
Ball o' Doom
- TN: Easy (4): Range of 24" or less; Hard (8): Range up to 48"
- Range: 48"
- Duration: Instant
- Types: Witch
This spell is a Black River witch's bread and butter. It combines the two things Black River is famous for: sorcery and explosions.
The caster fires a ball of glowing green energy at her target. Place the Boom! Template on the target. If the caster makes her spell TN, which is shown below, the Ball o' Doom lands where she wants it and everyone under the Boom! Template takes 2d8 damage. If she misses her spell TN, the arcane explosion still happens—just not where the spellslinger had planned. Determine the ball o' doom's deviation by rolling 1d12 for direction and 1d10" for distance. As the explosion is magical, damage modifiers for cover or being prone are ignored.
Beastmaster
- TN: Opposed
- Range: Smarts x2
- Duration: Concentration
- Type: Huckster, Shaman, Witch
Beastmaster lets a spellslinger take magical control of animals already present on the battlefield. This occasionally happens when rogue creatures appear, or when a friendly (or rival) spellcaster uses the call o' the wild spell.
The caster must roll her Smarts versus the animals' Smarts. If she wins, she controls the entire troop for the spell's duration. If the troop is under the arcane control of another spellslinger—for example from a call o' the wild spell—the caster must roll against the other magician's Smarts instead.
Black Lightnin'
- TN: Easy (4): Damage 1d6+2; Hard (8): Damage 1d8+2
- Range: Smarts
- Duration: Until bolts are exhausted
- Type: Houngan, Huckster, Witch
This spell creates 1d6 crackling black lightning bolts the caster can instantly hurl at her foes. Each bolt automatically strikes any eligible target in range—no roll to hit is necessary.
Black lightnin' is also effective in hand-to-hand combat. Black lightnin' does double damage to the caster's foe when the caster makes a successful Fightin' attack. This damage roll replaces the normal Strength damage roll.
Metal armor—like bulletproof vests or that of an Automaton—doesn't protect against this spell. (Iron Dragon Samurai and Pyro Masters do have bits of metal in their armor, by the way, and so gain no protection from this spell.)
Call o' the Wild
- TN: Special
- Range: Unlimited
- Duration: Concentration
- Type: Houngan, Huckster, Witch
This spell summons creatures of the wild to fight for the caster. The creatures appear on the board edge closest to the caster at the beginning of the next round. They remain under his control as long as he continues to concentrate.
There is no limit to the spell's range. The statistics of creatures without Troop Cards are listed below. Simply transcribe these onto a copy of the blank Troop Card provided in this set. Once a spellslinger drops his concentration, the animals flee the table as quickly as they can.
| Creature | TN |
|---|---|
| 1 Bear | 8 |
| 5 Wolves | 8 |
| 5 Rattlers | 4 |
| 5 Mountain Lions | 8 |
- Bear: Strength d10, Smarts d4, Vigor d10, Shootin' -, Fightin' d8, Guts d10; Damage: STR+2; Brawny.
- Rattlers: Strength d4, Smarts d4, Vigor d4, Shootin' -, Fightin' d8, Guts d10; Damage: 2d6 (unliving targets are immune); Fleet-footed.
- Mountain Lions: Strength d8, Smarts d4, Vigor d6, Shootin' -, Fightin' d8, Guts d8; Damage: STR+2; Frenzy.
(The source lists no statistics line for Wolves.)
Cloak
- TN: Easy (4): TN 4; Hard (8): TN 8
- Range: Caster only
- Duration: Concentration
- Types: Blessed, Huckster, Shaman
This spell conceals the caster from sight. Any figure making a ranged attack (including Shootin', spells, and so on) at the caster must make a Smarts roll versus a TN determined by the caster's roll. If the attacker makes her Smarts roll, he can make a normal attack. If the Smarts roll is failed, the attacker can't find the caster and loses the rest of his action, though he may still move normally.
Substitutions: This spell also substitutes for incognito (hex) and invisibility (favor).
Consecrate Weapon
- TN: Easy (4): TN 4; Hard (8): TN 8
- Range: Smarts
- Duration: Battle
- Type: Blessed
Many preachers consider the very existence of many abominations a blatant affront to their god. It's only natural that they should bless weapons to rid the world of such creatures.
A consecrated weapon is capable of killing an unearthly creature. Treat this just as if the wielder of the weapon has the occult edge. Such weapons are also more capable of hurting Harrowed and other undead folks. Add +1 to the damage roll of any hit inflicted with a consecrated weapon. This roll doesn't apply to the Shootin' roll—only to the damage done.
The miracle's TN determines who it can affect—TN 4 for a single figure's weapons and TN 8 for a posse or Crew-served weapon. When the miracle is worked on a posse, it affects every figure in it.
Consecrated weapons cannot be traded among troops. Nor can they be taken from the bodies of the fallen. Once the wielder is Put Down, the power of the blessing fades instantly, as it comes from the ceremony the weapon's owner took part in, not from the actual weapon itself.
Corporeal Tweak
- TN: Easy (4): +1 step; Hard (8): +2 steps
- Range: Smarts
- Duration: 1d4 turns
- Types: Houngan, Huckster, Witch
Corporeal tweak imbues living troops with energy to make them stronger and tougher. It has no effect on unliving beings. Choose Strength, Fightin', or Vigor. The Trait of the entire troop is raised by one or two die types, depending on the caster's spell roll. If this raises a troop's physical Trait over d12, it becomes d12+1 or d12+2, respectively.
A troop affected by any kind of tweak or twist is entirely immune to any other tweaks or twists.
Substitutions: Endure (miracle), fortitude (miracle).
Corporeal Twist
- TN: Easy (4): -1 step; Hard (8): -2 steps
- Range: Smarts
- Duration: 1d4 turns
- Types: Houngan, Huckster, Witch
Corporeal twist calls upon mystical power to weaken a foe. It actually lowers an enemy troop's Strength, Fightin', or Vigor Trait by 1 or 2 die types to a minimum of d4. It only works on living targets.
A troop affected by any kind of tweak or twist is entirely immune to any other tweaks or twists.
Dervish
- TN: Easy (4): 1 extra attack per action; Hard (8): 2 extra attacks per action
- Range: Caster only
- Duration: 1d4 turns
- Types: Blessed
This spell turns the spellslinger into a veritable whirlwind in hand-to-hand combat. The caster gains extra attacks in Fightin', depending on her spell roll—1 extra attack at TN 4 and 2 extra attacks at TN 8. Of course, this means the wily wizard must actually get in a fight, something most sorcerers don't excel at.
Dispel
- TN: Easy (4): Single or Hero; Hard (8): Posse or Crew, or area of effect spell; or Opposed (Smarts)
- Range: 24"
- Duration: Instant
- Types: Blessed, Houngan, Huckster, Witch
More than once a spell has snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. It seems like just about every Boss has a spellslinger or two to foul up his opponents' strategies with one arcane sorcery or another. Fortunately, dispel can remove the effects of a lasting spell plaguing your side.
The spell can be cast in two ways. The first is to cast it at any troop who's under the effect of another spell such as corporeal tweak or puppet. It can also be cast at an area currently affected by a spell like texas twister. If dispel is successfully cast, the other spell and its effects are immediately ended. The TN for dispel depends on who or what the other spell is affecting (TN 4 for Singles or Heroes, TN 8 for Posses, Crews, or area effect spells).
The second way to cast dispel is against a spell being cast by a rival sorcerer. In this case, dispel affects any rival spellcaster the interrupting spellslinger can see. To use it, he simply discards a Hold counter or Action Card and allows the rival to roll his spell die. Then the dispeller gets to roll his own spell die. If the dispeller rolls higher, the rival's spell automatically fails.
Substitution: Censure, dispel, disrupt, foil.
Draw
- TN: Easy (4): Single or Hero; Hard (8): Posse or Crew
- Range: Smarts
- Duration: Special
- Types: Huckster, Witch
This spell lets the caster draw an Action Card and give it to a friendly troop in range. If the card is higher than the current Action Card "segment," the troop must use it immediately. The spellslinger can target herself, but there's not likely to be much advantage to doing so.
Flight
- TN: Easy (4): Pace 12"; Hard (8): Pace 24"
- Range: Caster only
- Duration: 1 Turn
- Types: Witch
This spell lets a Black River witch levitate herself off the ground and race around the battlefield. When combined with ball o' doom, the witch becomes a deadly airborne troop-buster.
If successful, the witch may fly, ignoring all terrain for movement purposes. The spell's TN determines the witch's Pace for the Turn. The caster can't run while under the effects of this spell.
Haywire
- TN: Easy (4): Single or Hero; Hard (8): Rig, Posse or Crew
- Range: 24"
- Duration: Special
- Types: Huckster, Witch
Haywire gives a single gizmo a visit from gremlins. This spell affects any device with a malfunction die. This includes Automatons, Clockwork Tarantulas and the like, as well as complicated rigs like Ornithopters and Battlesuits (see Derailed!)
If the spell is successful, the affected troop must make an immediate Hard (8) malfunction roll for every gizmo in the troop.
Substitutions: Rust (hex)
Helpin' Hand
- TN: Special
- Range: Smarts
- Duration: Permanent
- Types: Blessed, Huckster, Shaman
A spellslinger can cast this spell to keep one of his comrades from kicking the bucket.
If used on a figure that is Eatin' Dirt, the spell's TN is 4. If the spell is successful, the figure recovers immediately and may act on its next action.
If you would like to try and save a figure that was Put Down, simply leave the figure on the table until the end of the current turn. Once the 2 of Clubs passes by, you have to remove any Put Down figures. They're beyond hope now. When used in this way, the TN of the spell is 8. If successful, the model is only Eatin' Dirt and can attempt to recover normally on its next action.
Helpin' hand can also be used to heal a Hero's wounds. Healing a Winged or Lame Hero requires a spell roll of 4.
Holy Roller
- TN: 8
- Range: None
- Duration: Instant
- Types: Blessed, Shaman
By praying to the Heavens (or the higher power of the blessed's choice), the miracle worker can call upon Fate to smile down on the supplicant and his flock.
The TN for this spell is 8. It's always difficult to pull off, and there is no affect for beating a TN of 4. If you make the roll, you get to take a draw from the Fate Pot. If you roll a natural 1, though, you instantly lose your worst Fate Chip (white, then red, then blue).
Hurry Up!
- TN: Special
- Range: Smarts
- Duration: 1d4 turns
- Types: Huckster, Shaman, Witch
The target of this spell gains a burst of speed. There are two possible effects of the spell roll.
On an Easy (4) TN, anytime the target troop runs, it may roll double the usual running dice and take the best result. On a Hard (8) TN, the target troop can roll double the usual running dice and add them together.
This spell works equally well on single figures, Heroes, or posses. Hurry up! can be cast on any troop. The spell has no effect on vehicles, although it does work on horse-mounted troops.
Substitutions: This spell also substitutes for speed of the wolf (favor).
Martyr's Mirror
- TN: Easy (4): 4 attacks; Hard (8): 8 attacks
- Range: Caster only
- Duration: 1d4 turns
- Types: Blessed, Houngan, Huckster, Witch
This spell lets the caster get a little arcane payback on an opponent.
After this spell is cast, a figure doing damage to the caster takes a like amount of damage. It doesn't protect the caster from any of the damage, however it only inflicts the same back on the attacker. For example, a gunman shoots a huckster protected by martyr's mirror. He does 8 points of damage to the hexslinger, so he takes 8 points of damage as well. The spell isn't much on protection, but it's great for revenge! Especially for a well-armored or otherwise protected mage.
For crewed weapons like cannons and Gatling Guns, a single crewmember is selected at random as a target for the damage.
The spell only mirrors one or two attacks. The exact number is determined by the caster's roll. Once this number is reached, the spell ends, regardless of the duration.
A spellslinger can only be under the effect of a single martyr's mirror at a time.
Substitutions: This spell also substitutes for retribution (miracle).
(Source note: the TN line reads "4 attacks / 8 attacks" while the text says "one or two attacks"; transcribed as printed.)
Mental Tweak
- TN: Easy (4): +1 step; Hard (8): +2 steps
- Range: Smarts
- Duration: 1d4 turns
- Types: Houngan, Huckster, Witch
Mind tweak strengthens the psyche to make living troop strong-willed, steady, and brave. It has no effect on unliving beings.
Choose Smarts, Shootin', or Guts. This Trait is raised by one or two die types, depending on the caster's spell roll. If this raises a troop's mental Trait over d12, it becomes d12+1 or d12+2, respectively.
A troop affected by any kind of tweak or twist is entirely immune to any other tweaks or twists.
Mental Twist
- TN: Easy (4): +1 step; Hard (8): +2 steps
- Range: Smarts
- Duration: 1d4 turns
- Types: Houngan, Huckster, Witch
Mental twist mystically lowers an enemy troop's Smarts, Shootin', or Guts Trait by 1 or 2 die types to a minimum of d4. It only affects living troops. A troop affected by a tweak or twist is immune to other tweaks or twists.
Substitutions: Bedazzle, hinder, nightmare realm, strike blind (miracle), and temptation (miracle).
Missed Me!
- TN: Easy (4): -2 penalty; Hard (8): -4 penalty
- Range: Smarts
- Duration: 1d4 turns
- Types: Houngan, Huckster, Witch
This surrounds a troop in a shield of energy that deflects Shooting attacks. All shots against the troop subtract the modifier from the Shootin' roll. Fightin' and area attacks are unaffected.
Phantom Fingers
- TN: Opposed (Strength)
- Range: Smarts x 2
- Duration: Instant
- Types: Huckster, Shaman, Witch
Phantom fingers gives the caster a pair of mystical hands to cause havoc with his foes. It has three possible uses in High Noon. Phantom fingers is always used against a single figure.
First, it can be cast on a figure's weapon, causing it to lose its Action Card. This is an opposed roll of the caster's Smarts versus the figure's Strength.
Second, phantom fingers can pluck a relic from the hands of a foe. This is also an opposed roll versus the figure's Strength.
Finally, if used against a rig, it can be used to yank the steering wheel, throw a lever, or hit the brakes at an inopportune time. This is an opposed roll versus the driver's Strength. If the caster wins, the rig immediately goes Outta Control (see Derailed!, partner).
Protection
- TN: 4
- Range: 6"
- Duration: Concentration
- Types: Blessed
This useful miracle calls upon the blessed's higher power to keep undead and unearthly beings at bay.
If the spellslinger makes his spell roll, no undead or unearthly being may get within 6" of him, nor may they cast spells, use powers, or fire on anyone within the caster's protective circle. Even a distant target is safe if the circle of protection comes between the supernatural attack and its target. The circle of safety is inviolable by those it wards against.
Creatures that were already within the protective circle are not affected, though they cannot enter it again should they otherwise be forced out.
Puppet
- TN: Opposed
- Range: Smarts
- Duration: Concentration
- Types: Houngan, Shaman
One of the nastier tricks in a spellslinger's bag is puppet. This spell lets the caster attempt to take control of another person's body.
The spellslinger rolls a contest of his spell die against the target's Smarts. If the caster wins, he takes control of the figure for the rest of the turn.
The victim still acts on its normal Action Card. At the start of each action, she must try to break free by winning a contest of her Smarts against the caster's Smarts. If the victim is successful, she is released from the spellslinger's control and can act normally that turn.
The caster must be in range when he firsts attempts to control a victim, but the range is ignored once the victim is controlled. A spellslinger may only ever control one victim at a time, and he must follow all of the rules for concentrating while the spell is in effect. Finally, the caster may choose to release his victim at anytime.
Crewmen: Puppet can be used on a Crewman as long as the caster can see him. That rules out the crews of Trains, Steam Tanks, Battle Suits, and Air Carriages, since the crews of these rigs are completely enclosed.
Rapid Fire
- TN: Easy (4): Single or Hero; Hard (8): Posse or Crew
- Range: Smarts
- Duration: 1 round
- Types: Huckster
This spell magically speeds up a firearm's Rate of Fire. It only affects normal rifles, pistols, and shotguns. Rapid fire has no effect on gizmos or artillery pieces.
The affected weapon has its Rate of Fire raised by +1 for the round. The TN for the spell depends on who the caster is trying to affect.
Substitutions: Infernal Machine
Reanimate
- TN: Easy (4): Eatin' Dirt; Hard (8): Put Down
- Range: Smarts
- Duration: Permanent
- Types: Houngan, Huckster
Sometimes even the undead need a hand—a helpin' hand, that is! This spell works just like the helpin' hand spell, except it only heals the undead. Any undead, including a Harrowed, can be healed or even brought back to unlife by reanimation.
Reassurance
- TN: Easy (4): 1 level; Hard (8): 2 levels
- Range: Smarts
- Duration: Instant
- Types: Blessed
If there's one thing the blessed are good at, it's saying a kind word at the right time. This spell lets the caster boost the morale of a broken troop.
The caster can improve the condition of a Shaken or Panicked troop. Depending on the blessed's roll, she can raise the morale by +1 or +2 levels. This spell has no effect on a troop not already Shaken or Panicked.
Reflect
- TN: Opposed
- Range: Caster only
- Duration: Instant
- Types: Huckster
This spell acts as a mirror to other spells, turning an opposing spellslinger's magic back onto her. It can only affect spells that actually target the Hero himself.
The caster must have a Hold counter to be able to use reflect. When another spellslinger attempts to cast a spell on the Hero, he discards his Hold counter, casts reflect, and attempts to turn the spell on the caster.
After the enemy spellslinger rolls her spell die and cranks it up as high as she wants with Fate Chips, the caster of reflect rolls his spell die. He can also spend Fate Chips to boost his number. If his final number beats hers, her spell bounces back and has full effect on her. Otherwise, the original spell has full effect.
Area Effect: Area effect spells not centered on the Hero can't be affected by reflect, so a ball o' doom cast 1" to the Hero's right couldn't be bounced back at the caster.
Shadow Man
- TN: 4
- Range: Caster only
- Duration: Concentration
- Types: Huckster, Shaman
This spell wraps the spellslinger in shadows, camouflaging her so she appears to be part of her surroundings. This allows her to move around more effectively during the battle.
If the spellslinger makes an Easy (4) TN, she gains the ability sneaky for the duration of the spell.
Substitutions: This spell also substitutes for wilderness walk (favor).
Shadow Walk
- TN: Easy (4): Range up to Smarts x 2; Hard (8): Range over Smarts
- Range: See below
- Duration: Instant
- Types: Houngan, Huckster
Shadow walk allows the spellslinger to move from one spot to another on the tabletop without having to actually cross the distance in between. The TN of the spell roll determines just how far the spellslinger can zap herself through space.
Velocity: When a hexslinger shadow walks, he actually steps quickly through the Hunting Grounds and back out again. This brief change brings his velocity to zero, so if he stops on or in a vehicle, he gets hit by it. Basically it would have the same effect of someone stepping off of a platform and onto a moving rig.
The long and short of it is that a hexslinger can shadow walk onto a moving vehicle, but he automatically suffers Crash damage from doing so. Thus a huckster who shadow walks onto a Steam Wagon moving at Full Steam takes 3d6 damage—and he would probably lose his favorite hat.
Shapeshift
- TN: 4
- Range: Caster only
- Duration: Special
- Types: Houngan, Huckster, Shaman, Witch
This spell lets the caster change her form to that of a normal living animal. The caster can select any normal animal listed for call o' the wild and gain all of that creature's Traits and special abilities for the duration of the spell. The caster can also choose a bird shape. The profile for an average bird is listed at the end of the spell description.
Only the caster's Smarts, Guts, and mental Edges and Hindrances remain unchanged. The caster can't cast any spells while in the animal shape. The caster is subject to any spell which affects normal animals while under the shapeshift.
Shapeshift lasts until the caster Eats Dirt, is Put Down, or spends an Action Card to end it.
Substitution: This spell also substitutes for: skinchange (hex).
Bird of Prey (Single): Strength d4; Smarts *; Vigor d4; Shootin' —; Fightin' d6; Guts *. Weapons: Claws and Beak (Strength +2). Special Abilities: Eagle Eyes, Fleet-Footed, Flight (Pace 15). *Trait is as caster's.
Smite
- TN: Easy (4): +2 to Fightin'; Hard (8): +2 to Fightin' and damage
- Range: Caster only
- Duration: 1d6 turns
- Types: Blessed, Shaman
This miracle gives the spellslinger a heapin' helpin' o' muscle to pummel their foes. The spellslinger can add a bonus to his Fightin' and damage, depending on the spell rating.
| Bonus | TN |
|---|---|
| +2 to Fightin' rolls | 4 |
| +2 to Fightin' and damage rolls | 8 |
Soul Blast
- TN: Easy (4): Range Smarts; Hard (8): Range Smarts x 2
- Range: Twice the caster's Smarts
- Duration: Instant
- Types: Houngan, Huckster, Witch
This is the spell that makes spellslingers the equals of deadly gunfighters. It sends a ghostly bolt of ethereal force smashing into the very soul of the wizard's foe.
Soul blast has to hit the target just like a firearm (TN 4 at short range, TN 8 at long range). The huckster must also account for such modifiers as cover and the like. The damage of the soul blast is 2d6 plus the difference between the TN and the caster's hex roll. So if the huckster needs a 4 to hit and rolls a 6, he does 2d6+2 damage.
Immunities: Undead, buildings, machines.
Strike Blind
- TN: Opposed
- Range: 6"
- Duration: 1d4 turns
- Types: Blessed, Houngan
This spell blinds a single figure. The target must make a Vigor roll against the caster's spell roll. If it fails, the figure is blinded. Blinded figures receive a -4 penalty to all Shootin' and Fightin' rolls, move at half pace and no running is allowed.
Stun
- TN: Easy (4): TN 4; Hard (8): TN 8
- Range: Caster only
- Duration: 1d4 turns
- Types: Houngan, Witch
This wicked little spell makes even the weakest spellslinger a dangerous opponent in hand-to-hand combat.
For the duration of stun, whenever the caster makes a successful Fightin' attack, he has a chance to paralyze his opponent. First, resolve any damage as normal. Then the opponent must make a second Vigor check against a TN determined by the caster's spell roll. If failed, the model starts Eatin' Dirt. Unlike the paralysis ability, stun works just as well on nonliving troops as it does living ones.
Substitutions: Spiritual backhand (miracle).
Texas Twister
- TN: Easy (4): TN 4 twister; Hard (8): TN 8 twister
- Range: Sight
- Duration: Concentration
- Types: Huckster, Witch
This devious hex creates a dust devil the size of the Boom! Template. Any troop inside the twister must win a contest against the twister's Strength (as determined by the caster's roll) to act on its action. A troop that loses the contest is blinded and forfeits its action.
Once created, the twister can be moved 2d6" per round as long as it stays in sight of the huckster. Texas twisters can never be created indoors.
Tweak
- TN: Easy (4): +1 step; Hard (8): +2 steps
- Range: Smarts
- Duration: 1d6 turns
- Types: Huckster
Since mad scientists unwittingly draw their inspiration from the manitous, it only makes sense those same beings could make a gizmo even more effective. This spell boosts the level of a troop's malfunction die by +1 or +2 steps. The increase depends on the caster's roll.
Zombie
- TN: Easy (4): Single or Hero; Hard (8): Posse or Crew
- Range: Smarts
- Duration: Permanent
- Types: Houngan
The spell can only be cast on a dead human troop. The troop must have been killed in this battle and had to be living to start with. Zombie can't bring the undead back. The TN for this spell depends on the number of troops the houngan is turning into zombies.
If the spell is successful, the troop rises at the beginning of the next turn as Walkin' Dead. All its Traits are d6, and it has the special abilities fear, fearless, and undead. Any other special abilities the troop may have possessed are lost in the fog of undeath. The newly risen Walkin' Dead are armed with the weapons they had in life—even if they carried gizmos like flamethrowers!
Appendix D: Gadgets & Gizmos!
Mad scientists are special folks. Unlike others with the arcane background, they construct gizmos instead of casting spells. Their connection to the arcane is through the ghost rock they use, not any mystical knowledge. All mad scientists automatically come with the mechanically inclined special ability as well.
Gizmos
Those crazy mad scientists didn't get their nickname by making toasters. Nope. These demented geniuses earned their monikers by creating incredible weapons, infernal devices, and wild gizmos. You'll find a number of these dangerous gadgets listed hereafter. When you buy a mad scientist Hero, his Troop Card either tells you which gadget to arm him with, or it allows you to choose. Here's how some of these clever devices work.
Malfunctions
All troops armed with gizmos take their lives in their own hands. These incredible machines are deadly effective when they work, but have often disastrous backfires when they don't.
All gizmos have the malfunction special ability. This means that whenever the troop is dealt a Deuce or a Joker in the Draw! Phase, the player must make a malfunction check for each device. The die rolled is always listed immediately after the malfunction special ability. The higher the die type, the more reliable the device. An Automaton for instance (which is a gizmo itself), has a listing of: malfunction d6. That means it rolls a d6 when dealt a Deuce or a Joker.
The TN of the malfunction check depends on whether the troop was dealt a Deuce or a Joker, as shown on the Malfunction Table below.
If the roll is equal to or greater than the TN, there's no effect and play proceeds normally.
If the roll is failed, the device suffers a malfunction of some sort. Roll again on the Malfunction Severity Table to find out how bad the malfunction is. Once you find out whether the device suffered a minor, major, or catastrophic malfunction, check the device's description and resolve the effects immediately.
| Card | TN |
|---|---|
| Deuce | 4 |
| Joker | 8 |
Malfunction Severity
| 2d6 | Result |
|---|---|
| 2-4 | Major Malfunction |
| 5-9 | Minor Malfunction |
| 10-12 | Catastrophe |
Air Catchers
No matter how good a pilot is, sometimes she's going to have to bail out, and it's a mighty long drop without an Air Catcher.
An Air Catcher is huge piece of canvas that allows a figure to waft safely to earth—assuming it deploys that is. When first deployed, roll an automatic Malfunction. On a Minor or Major Malfunction, the chute opens. On a Catastrophe, the chute fails, and the troop falls to the ground taking normal Falling damage.
A rig or figure descending by Air Catcher drops one Altitude level on its first action each turn and drifts 1d6" in the direction of the wind.
While in the air, a figure can fire any personal weapons it has a -2 penalty, plus any other penalties for height.
Chainsaw
This is a version of the Smith & Robards labor-saving device which has been modified to be attached to a Battle Suit. The saw replaces one of the Suit's gripping claws. If the driver wins a Fightin' roll, the saw does the driver's modified Strength+8 damage.
A chainsaw is subject to its own special malfunctions as described below. While this particular version is designed for use in the Battle Suit, a similar gizmo can be bought for Heroes with the Belongin's Edge. These are smaller, however, and cause only Strength+4 damage. A Catastrophe with one of these smaller saws causes only 2d6 damage instead of 2d8. Either version of the chainsaw can affect Heavy Armor.
Malfunction!
- Minor Malfunction: The chain jams. The weapon is useless unless the driver can make a Easy (4) Smarts roll.
- Major Malfunction: The chain breaks, or the tank runs out of fuel. The Chainsaw makes a bad club (Strength+1).
- Catastrophe: The saw's steampack explodes, doing 2d8 damage in the area of a Boom! Template centered on the saw.
Flamethrower
Flamethrowers were first invented by the Confederates for the Battle of Washington in 1870. The Rebels turned up the heat on the Union and sent them running with their tails between their legs—at least until the Rebels ran out of ghost rock.
To use the flamethrower, just place the flamethrower template at the tip of the figure's flamethrower. You can rotate it anywhere in the figure's front. Any figure that is even partly beneath the template is hit for 2d10 damage. You don't need to roll to hit the figures beneath. Just break out the marshmallows!
Malfunction!
- Minor Malfunction: A sudden wind blows the pilot light out. The flamethrower fails to function until the user makes an Easy (4) Smarts roll to relight it.
- Major Malfunction: The user takes a stray round. He takes 2d6 damage and spins around in pain. Rotate the flame template around the figure and torch everyone it touches.
- Catastrophe: The flamethrower explodes. Place the Boom! Template over the unfortunate figure. The wielder is hit automatically for 4d10 damage. Every other figure beneath the template takes 2d10 damage.
Gatling Weapons
Since the advent of the Gatling Gun, many inventors have taken to applying the same principals to hand-held firearms like pistols, rifles and shotguns. After all, if one certain kind of gun can be improved upon, why not every other sort?
While most of the entire class of Gatling weapons were not actually personally developed by Mr. Gatling, enough regular folks plastered these unusual new guns with his moniker to make the name stick. Since then, Gatling weapons have become the trademark weapons of diligent Pinkertons across the Weird West.
A Gatling pistol allows a figure to fire up to three times per action. Gatling rifles and shotguns can each fire up to twice per action.
Malfunction!
- Minor Malfunction: The weapon jams until the user makes an Easy (4) Smarts roll.
- Major Malfunction: The weapon is useless until the user makes a Hard (8) Smarts roll.
- Catastrophe: The weapon fires on its own. Six shots ring out before the weapon burns itself out and becomes useless. Make Shootin' attacks at 6 random targets, chosen from among all possible targets in short range, even friendly ones.
Rocket Pack
The Flying Buffaloes of Fort 51, Utah, made these devices famous. They use them on their daring raids on to navigate the dangerous passes of Apache Canyon, New Mexico.
A rocket pack allows a troop to make short jumps across the battlefield. Each figure can jump 10+d10" in any horizontal direction (ignore the vertical distance), soaring over any obstacles in its path.
On landing, the figure must make an Easy (4) Smarts roll. If failed, he deviates from his intended touchdown point 1d6" in a random clock direction (use the Boom! Template and roll a d12, friend). Make the Smarts check and determine any deviation for each figure separately.
Landing on top of an enemy for an attack requires a Hard (8) Smarts roll. If failed, the figure deviates as usual. If the roll is made, the target is so surprised by the assault that the jumper can attack at the end of his jump and add +4 to his Fightin' roll. The Flying Buffaloes call this maneuver "Death from Above."
Note that enemy troops with Hold orders can fire on a troop using a rocket pack in mid-jump. That's why the Texas Rangers sometimes derisively call this foolhardy maneuver "Dead from Above."
Malfunction!
- Minor Malfunction: The jet pack coughs, sputters, and wheezes to a noisy halt. It refuses to work again until the user spends an action making an Easy (4) Smarts roll.
- Major Malfunction: Oops! The jet pack fires on its own, launching the figure 10+1d10" in a random direction. If the figure doesn't make an Easy (4) Smarts roll, the unexpected jump causes him 2d6 damage.
- Catastrophe: The figure launches unexpectedly into the air and performs a spectacular airburst. Place the Boom! Template over the figure's final landing point, rolling deviation as with a major malfunction. The jumping figure is hit for 3d10 damage. Any other figure under the template is hit for 2d10 damage. Needless to say, the rocket pack is entirely destroyed.
Improved Rocket Pack
Smith & Robards is rightly proud of its latest model of the rocket pack. Taking a cue from the suggestions of the troops in the Flying Buffaloes unit based in Fort 51, Smith & Robards has improved on the original model. No longer limited to short hops on the battlefield, this improved rocket pack gives individual troops extended mobility.
Unlike the original model of rocket pack described in The Great Rail Wars rulebook, this pack actually lets the wearer fly. Figures wearing Improved Rocket Packs have a Pace of 5/10/20. Rocket packs move in the same way as regular figures, and rocketeers can perform Pop-Up attacks just like a normal flying vehicle.
Malfunction!
- Minor Malfunction: The steering controls jam. Roll on the Outta Control Table.
- Major Malfunction: The pack's thrusters stutter. The wearer drops 1 Altitude Level immediately. If the figure reaches the ground, it takes Falling damage.
- Catastrophe: The steam vessel ruptures in an explosion. Center the Boom! Template over the pack. Everything under the Template takes 2d10 damage. If the wearer survives the explosion, he falls to the ground taking normal Falling damage too.
Appendix E: The Harrowed
In the Weird West, death is not always the end. Especially for legendary heroes. When one of your heroes bites the bullet, leave his Troop Card on the table for the following turn and deal it in as usual. If the hero is dealt a Joker, he's coming back from the grave. We call these undead heroes the "Harrowed," which means "dragged forth from the earth."
The hero arises at the end of the turn he got the Joker, so he's always out for at least one turn. If the game ends before then, you have a brand-new Harrowed hero for your next battle.
Powers of the Harrowed
A Harrowed starts with the Undead ability and one special Harrowed power, rolled randomly. Below are a few powers to get things started. You'll find a ton more in Cry Havoc!
| d20 | Power |
|---|---|
| 1-3 | Cat Eyes |
| 4-8 | Claws |
| 9-10 | Ghost |
| 11-12 | Soul Eater |
| 13-16 | Stitchin' |
| 17-20 | Supernatural Trait |
Cat Eyes: The Harrowed can ignore penalties for shooting at Sneaky troops and any other penalties due to nightfall, rain, or any other "vision" modifier.
Claws: The Harrowed does Strength+2 damage with his bare hands. He can even make two attacks with them, though at the standard penalties.
Ghost: The Harrowed can walk right through physical objects such as rocks, walls, other troops, and even machines (including automatons!).
Soul Eater: Every time the Harrowed puts someone down in hand-to-hand, he can raise his Strength or Vigor by one die type (say from d6 to d8) to a maximum of d12. This only lasts until the end of the battle.
Stitchin': The hero is particularly resistant to damage. Add +2 to his Vigor checks when attempting to recover from Eatin' Dirt.
Supernatural Trait: Permanently increase any one of the hero's Traits (your choice) by one die type.
The Beast Within!
The down side of being Harrowed is that there's a manitou crawling around inside your rotting husk. This mischievous demon is always out to wreak havoc and chaos on the battlefield.
Once per turn, any one of your opponents can spend a blue Fate Chip to make your hero test his control over the thing inside him. Your opponent rolls a d12 and cranks up the number as high as he can with Fate Chips in the usual manner. (The blue Fate Chip he spent to initiate the test doesn't count.)
The number your opponent gets is the manitou's "Dominion," a measure of how hard the creature is trying to take control. Your hero now has to make a Smarts roll equal to or higher than this. If you beat it, nothing happens. If you fail, your opponent gets to control your hero for the rest of the turn! You get him back at the start of the following turn—but in the meantime—he's likely to raise some serious Hell.
Appendix F: Strange Locales
The rail barons sometimes stumble across the most eerie places the Deadlands has to offer. These "Strange Locales" harbor grave dangers for the troops who must explore them, and fabulous rewards for their employers.
In the sections below are descriptions of six Strange Locales. After each description is a table detailing the contents of the location.
As soon as the first troop enters the area, roll 1d6 to find out what's lurking there. Unless the description says otherwise, the contents are only rolled once, no matter how many times the location is entered during the course of a battle.
Sometimes, a Strange Locale already has inhabitants. These could be anything from a horde of Walkin' Dead to a posse of outlaws on the run. They may attack the first troop they see, or they may sell their services to the highest bidder. These creatures are called "rogues."
Rogue troops emerge as posses unless the location says otherwise. Assume these bushwackers were on Hold, just waiting to pounce on the first troop foolish enough to blunder into them. So who controls them? The player's opponent, of course. In a multiplayer game, everyone should roll a d20. The highest-rolling player gets to control the bad guys. They're not part of his team, but the enemy of your enemy is—well—not your enemy for the moment, at least.
Bidding
From time to time, a Strange Locale is inhabited by a troop willing to fight—if the Rail Baron can offer the right price. In this case, the location's description calls for a bid.
Whenever such a bid is called for, any player can bid Fate Chips to gain the troop. The player who bids the most chips (count whites as 1s, reds as 2s, and blues as 3s), gets the troop for the remainder of the game.
| d6 | Strange Locale |
|---|---|
| 1-2 | Deserted Cabin |
| 3 | Graveyard |
| 4 | Ancient Mound |
| 5 | Eerie Clearing |
| 6 | Weird Tree |
Ancient Mound
Long before Europeans came to the New World, the natives constructed strange hills. These are burial mounds or sacred sites.
| d6 | Result |
|---|---|
| 1 | Secrets cowpokes weren't meant to know! The troop is faced with some horror beyond its understanding. The troop must make a Hard (8) Guts check or run screaming off the nearest board edge. Regardless, the poor saps pick up the Hindrance Loco (Paranoid). Fearless troops just lose an action. |
| 2 | Rattlers. Your cowpoke put his boot in a nest of rattlesnakes. They attack immediately (see their stats below). |
| 3 | Bust. It's just a big pile of dirt. |
| 4 | Collector of rare antiquities. A dashing and daring archaeologist by the name of Illinois Johnson is exploring the ruins. He's had little luck of late and needs to bankroll his next expedition. He joins the highest-bidding player's side (and his stas are below). |
| 5 | Solid-gold goodies! It turns out this mound was a mighty ruler's burial site. The first troop onto the mound finds loot worth 50 Bounty Points. |
| 6 | Ancient temple. The player controlling the first troop to reach the top of the mound immediately gets two draws from the Fate Pot. |
Rattlers
- Traits: Strength d4; Smarts d4; Vigor d4; Shootin' —; Fightin' d8; Guts d10
- Weapon: Poison fangs (2d6, unliving targets are immune)
- Special Abilities: Fleet-Footed
- Bounty: 5
Illinois Johnson
- Traits: Strength d6; Smarts d8; Vigor d8; Shootin' 10; Fightin' d10; Guts d12
- Weapon: Pistol, Whip (+2 STR)
- Special Abilities: Crack Shot, Luck o' the Irish, Heroic
- Bounty: 70
Cave
This dark hole in the ground could be some critter's lair, or maybe it's home to potential allies. Caves are always situated in two- or three-level hills (the placer chooses which). Any troop hiding in a cave gets the benefit of hard cover.
| d6 | Result |
|---|---|
| 1 | Let sleeping bears lie. One to two bears charge out at the troop that disturbed their slumber. |
| 2 | Mad hermit. A crazed old hermit attacks any "claim jumpers" on his land. He's a tough old coot—treat him as a hero—but killing him gives a -25 Bounty Point penalty. Killing "defenseless" old men makes the Rail Barons look bad! |
| 3 | Empty. |
| 4 | Mountain men. A posse of mountain men (treat like Buffalo Hunters) are holed up in the cave. They're down on their luck and join up with the highest-bidding side. |
| 5 | Hidden treasure. An outlaw gang has hidden its take from a recent bank job here. The Loot! is worth 25 Bounty Points. |
| 6 | Wise hermit. An old sorcerer has taken up residence here. He passes on some of his knowledge to the first troop to enter his abode. If the troop investigating the cave has Arcane Background, he teaches her one spell (appropriate to the spellslinger's type) of the player's choice. Otherwise, the player can take a draw from the Fate Pot. |
Deserted Cabin
A lonely cabin sits in the middle of nowhere. Any troop within the cabin has hard cover. Time has taken its toll on the building, however, and the cabin can only take 25 points of damage before collapsing. (Remember, only cannons, dynamite, and other explosives can damage buildings.)
| d6 | Result |
|---|---|
| 1-2 | Outlaw hideout! A posse of outlaws is hiding out from the law. They've been down on their luck lately and have no Loot! They stay holed up in the cabin and fire on the closest troop in range. |
| 3 | Empty. But still good cover. |
| 4 | Outlaw gang. As above. However, these gunmen are willing to hire out to the highest bidder! |
| 5 | Claim map. This cabin used to belong to a prospector, and he left his map here. Any troop with the map can use the local terrain more effectively. The troop gains the sneaky edge for the length of the battle. There's also a sample of his find—a bag of loot worth 25 Bounty Points. |
| 6 | This was once the house of a great person. Roll to see who (second table below). |
| d6 | Result |
|---|---|
| 1 | Mad scientist. A gizmo of your choice hangs over the fireplace. |
| 2 | Gunslinger. You find his prized weapon. Any Hero may use this hogleg—adding +2 to their attack and damage scores. |
| 3 | Sorcerer. Choose a spell. The first spellslinger to the cabin can read through the arcane tomes here to gain the spell. |
| 4 | Preacher. A holy man once dwelt here. The first Blessed hero to enter the cabin gains a new miracle of his player's choice. |
| 5-6 | Treasure. Your troops find jewelry or other goodies in the ruins. The Loot is worth 25 Bounty Points. |
Outlaw Gang (Posse)
- Traits: Strength d6; Smarts d6; Vigor d6; Shootin' d8; Fightin' d6; Guts d8
- Weapon: Pistols
- Bounty: 12
Eerie Clearing
The clearing is always found in forest terrain, so surround it with thick woods or scrub.
| d6 | Result |
|---|---|
| 1 | Bokkor. Whoops! You've just interrupted a houngan whipping up a nasty gris-gris. He doesn't leave the clearing, but he does attack any troop in sight of it. While he's in his clearing, he gets extra protection from spirits he's bound. All Shootin' and Fightin' rolls against him get a -2 modifier, and all his Vigor rolls are at +2. |
| 2 | Get off my land! A posse of hunters has laid claim to this parcel of ground. Treat them as Buffalo Hunters. They don't leave the clearing, but they do take pot shots at any troop they can see. |
| 3 | Empty. |
| 4 | Swampers. A posse of Cajuns is resting in the clearing after an unsuccessful hunting trip. They hire on with the highest-bidding player. (Treat them as Gunmen if you don't have either Fistful o' Ghost Rock or Dogs o' War 2). |
| 5 | Southern comfort. In the center of the clearing is a crude moonshine still. Any troop that takes a swig of the contents must make a Hard (8) Vigor roll. Roll once for the entire troop. If they succeed, the liquid courage gives them a bonus of +2 to all Guts and Vigor rolls. If they fail, the homebrew hooch knocks them on their backside, Eatin' Dirt. There's only enough for one troop in the still. |
| 6 | Voodoo magic. A lone houngan sits at the edge of the clearing. He gives the first hero to reach the clearing a Voodoo Doll. The hero chooses one of her opponent's heroes to be represented by the doll, who then has a -2 to all actions as long as the owning hero is alive. |
Houngan
- Trait: Strength d6; Smarts d10; Vigor d8; Shootin' d4; Fightin' d4; Guts d8
- Weapons: Shotgun, Dagger (STR+1)
- Special Abilities: Arcane Background: Houngan. Spells: If you have Cry Havoc, his spells are deadly creepers, phantasm, puppet, and soul blast. If not, he has soul blast, puppet, and corporeal and mental twist.
- Bounty: 70
Field o' Bones
This flat area is covered knee-deep in sun-bleached bones. The field is treated as difficult terrain.
The spirits of the slain haunt the area. Any hero slain in the field of bones draws five extra cards to see if she comes back Harrowed.
| d6 | Result |
|---|---|
| 1 | Spirit possession. The ghosts infesting the field attempt to seize control of the trespassers. Any troop entering the field o' bones must roll a contest of Smarts against the spirits. The spirits have a Smarts of d8. If the troop loses, it gains the Edge Fearless and becomes rogue, attacking the nearest troop. |
| 2 | Skeletal guardians. The spirits haunting the place animate a posse of skeletons to attack any interlopers. Treat these as Walkin' Dead. They come after the trespassers with their bare bones. These undead get a bonus of +2 to all Fightin' attacks. When the trespassers leave the area, the bones drop lifeless to the ground. New ones reanimate the next time the field is entered. |
| 3 | Desolate. Nothing but a whole passel of bones. |
| 4 | Ghostly champions. The spirits of the fallen warriors smile on the first troop brave enough to enter the field. The troop gets a +2 to all rolls for the remainder of the battle. However, the spirits' influence also cause the troop to become bloodthirsty for the rest of the battle as well. |
| 5 | Supernatural fortune. The first troop entering the field inadvertently puts the tormented ghosts to rest. In gratitude, they grant their owner a blue Fate Chip from the pot. |
| 6 | Fallen heroes. Amid the carnage, the first troop to brave the field finds a Battle Banner relic. |
Graveyard
An old graveyard sits out in the prairie or on a lonely hill. The placer can choose where to place this Boot Hill.
The eerie surroundings give Guts rolls made in the graveyard a -2. The tombstones provide light cover to any troop brave enough to take refuge here.
| d6 | Result |
|---|---|
| 1-2 | Haunted! Walkin' Dead erupt from their fresh graves and attack. These zombies don't have any guns, but they attack the nearest troop with their bare hands. |
| 3 | Empty. |
| 4 | Medical "Researcher." A demented sawbones wanders among the graves, looking for new subjects. He needs funding for his "research," and is willing to work for the highest bidder. Treat the doctor as a hero. |
| 5 | Grave robbers! A group of unsavory characters have been interrupted in the process of robbing the dead. Chasing them out of the graveyard earns a bonus of 25 Bounty Points. |
| 6 | Arcane treasure. A crypt in the center of the graveyard holds the legendary book of the dead, The Necronomicon (see the Great Rail Wars rulebook for details). Unfortunately, it's guarded by a posse of Walkin' Dead. They're unarmed, but they attack any looters with their bare hands. |
The Doctor
- Traits: Strength d4; Smarts d12; Vigor d6; Shootin' —; Fightin' d8; Guts d10
- Weapon: Saw (+2 to Fightin' damage)
- Special Abilities: Sawbones, Frenzy, Bloodthirsty.
- Bounty: 70
Grave Robbers
- Traits: Strength d6; Smarts d6; Vigor d6; Shootin' d6; Fightin' d6; Guts d6
- Weapons: Pistols, shovels (+1 to Fightin' damage)
- Bounty: 10
Indian Burial Grounds
Burial grounds are more than just Indian cemeteries. They are places of great spiritual importance, and transgressors are seldom welcome.
This site is either on a small hill or on a flat area (placer decides). The raised burial platforms provide no special cover, but even the densest cowpoke can sense the power of the spirits. All Guts checks made in the area are at -2. Additionally, the spirits occupying the burial ground frown on the unnaturalness of the living dead. Undead troops, including Harrowed heroes, suffer a -2 to all of their skill rolls while in a burial ground.
| d6 | Result |
|---|---|
| 1 | Shaman's spirit. A powerful shaman's ghost curses any troop that enters the sacred burial ground. The troop receives a -2 to all of its skill rolls for the duration of the battle. |
| 2 | Burial ceremony. The troop trespassing on the burial ground has interrupted an ancient and sacred ceremony. It's immediately attacked by a band of angry Indian braves! These braves can't leave the burial ground, but they attack any troop entering the area or attacking them. |
| 3 | Empty. |
| 4 | Renegade comancheros. A posse of Comancheros (treat as Scouts) are camped in the burial grounds. They are in need of some loot, and they are willing to fight for the highest bidder. |
| 5 | Valuable artifacts. The troop finds rare Indian relics. The Loot! Token is worth 25 Bounty Points. |
| 6 | Shaman's fetish. The troop finds the medicine bag of a powerful shaman. If you can get a hero to the site, she can use the bag to perform a single Shaman spell of your choice once. |
Braves
- Traits: Strength d8; Smarts d6; Vigor d8; Shootin' d8; Fightin' d8; Guts d8
- Weapons: Muskets, tomahawks (Strength +2)
- Special Abilities: Sneaky
- Bounty: 14
Mine Shaft
This mine could hold a rich strike or nothing more than fool's gold. The entrance of the mine is located in a medium- or large-sized hill (placer decides).
Any troop taking cover in the mine gets hard cover. The mine opening caves in if it takes 50 points of damage from heavy weapons like cannons or explosives.
| d6 | Result |
|---|---|
| 1 | Devil Bat lair. There's a reason this mine's abandoned. A posse of Devil Bats has taken up residence here! These rogues attack any posse that moves within 12" of the mine. The Devil Bats return to the mine if the intruder moves outside of 12". |
| 2 | Trigger-happy Forty-Niners. This mine is still in use, and the miners don't want anybody cutting in on their claim. The miners attack the nearest troop and any other troops entering the area. The miners' stats are given below. The Forty-Niners will also attack any troop type attacking them without entering the mine. If the miners are dispatched, any troop spending a turn in the area can dig up loot worth 25 Bounty Points. |
| 3 | Empty. |
| 4 | Miners. These miners have struck nothing but dirt, and they're none too happy about it. In order to make up for their loss, they abandon their mine and fight for the railroad that pays them the most. See below for their stats. |
| 5 | Secret tunnels. This mine has long been abandoned, but shafts riddle the region. Any troop entering the mine can move through these tunnels to any other point on the board on its next move. |
| 6 | Mother lode. This mine is abandoned, but there's still gold in these hills. Each action the troop spends in the mine dig loot worth 25 Bounty Points. |
Miners
- Trait: Strength d8; Smarts d6; Vigor d6; Shootin' d6; Fightin' d8; Guts d6
- Weapon: Shotgun, pickaxe (Strength +2)
- Bounty: 11
Rattler Pit
This isn't any old rattler pit—it's a Mojave Rattler pit! It may hold valuable Rattler eggs or even a shrine for the Cult of the Worm—and there's always a chance the Rattler is home.
The pit is a hole in the ground surrounded by steep cliffs. Any troop trying to enter the pit has to make an Easy (4) Strength roll or fall for 1d6 damage. Once inside the pit, the troop can't be seen except from the rim of the pit.
| d6 | Result |
|---|---|
| 1 | Worm attack! A huge Mojave Rattler bursts into the pit and tries to gobble up the unfortunate troop. Of course, these things have huge appetites, so it spends the rest of the battle filling its belly with any troop it can find. |
| 2 | Enraged cultists. These Cult of the Worm loonies actually worship Rattlers. Maybe they're angry being interrupted or just embarrassed about their kooky religion. Whatever the reason, this rogue posse attacks the nearest troop. |
| 3 | Empty. |
| 4 | Cultists. A band of cultists (see 2, above) offers to join the highest bidding railroad. |
| 5 | Rattler egg. The troop finds an unhatched Rattler egg. This Loot! token is worth 50 Bounty Points. Unfortunately, this baby's near hatching. If a Freak Event occurs during the remainder of the battle, don't roll for it. Instead, a Young Rattler replaces the Loot! Token, and begins attacking the nearest troop. Once the Young Rattler appears, the Loot! Token is lost. |
| 6 | Altar. The troop stumbles upon a sacrificial altar of the Cult of the Worm. An unscrupulous troop can use the altar to send a Rattler to attack any troop on the board, as in Worm Attack!, above. Once it's Put Down the entire troop (or is Put Down itself), it leaves. However, the troop using the altar automatically looses one of its own members as 'payment.' |
Cultists
- Trait: Strength d6; Smarts d6; Vigor d6; Shootin' -; Fightin' d4; Guts d8
- Gear: Dagger (STR+2)
- Special Abilities: Arcane Background: Cultist (The cultists know geyser. The Cultists cast spells like heroes but must combine their power to do so. To cast a spell, roll the Cultist's Smarts. Add +1 to the roll for every active Cultist over 1 in the posse. For example, with 1 of their number Put Down or Eatin' Dirt, the cultists would add +3 to the Smarts roll. On a 1, roll backlash separately for each cultist. Casting Geyser takes the entire posse's Action. Occult.
- Bounty: 11
Mojave Rattler
- Trait: Strength d12+10; Smarts d8; Vigor d12+12; Shootin' —; Fightin' d6; Guts —
- Weapon: Teeth (STR+2)
- Special Abilities: Armor 2, Burrowing +d10, Fearless, Terror, Pace 15
- Bounty: 50
Young Rattler
- Trait: Strength d6; Smarts d4; Vigor d8; Shootin' -; Fightin' d6; Guts d6
- Weapon: Teeth (STR+2)
- Special Abilities: Burrowing +d10, Fear, Pace 6
- Bounty: 10
Ruin
An abandoned monastery, Spanish fort, or some more ancient and sinister structure looms at this location. The original owners may have long since gone (perhaps even centuries ago), but does something else lurk within its weathered walls?
The ruin may be on flat terrain or a one- or two-level hill (placer's choice). The ruins offer hard cover to any troop within its walls.
| d6 | Result |
|---|---|
| 1-2 | Vampire lair! Apparently, the original owners haven't left the ruins. A posse of rogue Nosferatu attack the trespassers. |
| 3 | Empty. |
| 4 | Children of the night. As above, a posse of Nosferatu hides in the ruins. However, these bloodsuckers are a little more intelligent than most and offer their unique abilities to the highest-bidding railroad. |
| 5 | Hidden treasure. The troop finds a chest of lost Conquistador gold. Whoever carries it off the board gets loot worth 50 Bounty Points. However, it's quite heavy and takes a combined Strength of 18 to carry it. |
| 6 | Ancient magic. A strange relic transforms the first troop that enters the ruins. The troop becomes undead and gains the Edges fear and fearless. If the troop is a hero, it becomes Harrowed, with one random Harrowed power. The troop is still controlled by its owner. |
Strange Tower
This odd, stone tower rests atop steep cliffs. Climbing the cliffs takes an Action and two Easy (4) Strength rolls. Any troop failing the Strength roll takes 2d6 damage.
| d6 | Result |
|---|---|
| 1 | Avalanche! Climbing the cliffs, the troop dislodges a boulder. Unfortunately, this brings the whole cliff down—including the tower. The troop takes 4d6 damage. The tower and cliff are now rubble. The area counts as difficult terrain and provides hard cover to any troop in it. |
| 2 | Devil Bat nest. A posse of Devil Bats has nested in the tower. They swoop down and attack any figure that approaches within 12" of the tower. Any troop managing to reach the top of the tower (another Easy (4) Strength roll) finds loot worth 25 Bounty Points. |
| 3 | Empty, but the troop can use the tower for hard cover. |
| 4 | Mad scientist. A mad scientist has made the tower his laboratory. Scientific research needs funding, however, and he employs his talents for the highest-paying railroad. He even throws in "Frankie"—an artificial man! |
| 5 | Abandoned creation. The first player to get a troop into the tower gets control of a single Automaton. |
| 6 | Gizmo! The troop finds a single gizmo of your choice with a malfunction of d12. Give the prize to one of your heroes. |
Mad Scientist
- Trait: Strength d6; Smarts d8; Vigor d10; Shootin' d8; Fightin' d4; Guts d8
- Weapon: Acid Gun
- Special Abilities: Arcane Background, Mechanically Inclined, Loco, Malfunction d6
- Bounty: 70
"Frankie"
- Trait: Strength d12+2; Smarts d4; Vigor d12; Shootin' —; Fightin' d6; Guts —
- Weapon: None
- Special Abilities: Fear, Fearless, Undead, Slowpoke
- Bounty: 70
Weird Tree
A strange, old tree sits atop a lonely, one-level hill. Is it a hangin' tree? Or is there something even more sinister lurking in its tangled branches? Roll when the first figure gets within 3" of the tree to see what happens.
| d6 | Result |
|---|---|
| 1 | Hangin' tree! The tree is actually an evil abomination. Any troop within 3" of it must make a Hard (8) Strength roll or be snatched up and killed by one its noose-like tentacles. Destroying the tree takes 50 points of damage from artillery, explosives, or fire. Folks nearby consider killing the tree a heroic deed and award the side doing so 50 Bounty Points. |
| 2 | Hangin' Judge's court. A Hangin' Judge appears to pronounce sentence. The rogue Judge attacks the nearest troop. |
| 3 | It's just a tree. Don't be so paranoid! |
| 4 | Lawmen. A posse of duly deputized gunmen sell their guns and badges to the highest bidder. They are mounted. |
| 5 | Notorious outlaw. A low-down, wanted outlaw lurks around the tree. The yellow-belly surrenders to the first troop to approach the tree. If your troops can escort him off of the nearest edge of the board, the reward is a Loot! Token worth 50 Bounty Points. |
| 6 | A man hangs from the tree. Is he dead, or just undead? Save him from this grisly "death," and a Harrowed hero joins your side. |
Deputies
- Trait: Strength d6; Smarts d6; Vigor d6; Shootin' d8; Fightin' d6; Guts d8
- Equipment: Rifle, horse.
- Bounty: 13
Harrowed Hero
- Trait: Strength 6; Smarts d6; Vigor d6; Shootin' 10; Fightin' d6; Guts d8
- Gear: Any basic weapon of your choice.
- Special Abilities: Undead, and one random Harrowed Power.
- Bounty: 80
(Source note: this appendix lists more locales than the "six" mentioned in its introduction, and the locale d6 table at its start lists only six; locales are transcribed as printed.)
Appendix F (second): Weird Warriors!
(The source prints this chapter heading as "Appendix F" a second time.)
The following pages detail the nefarious hirelings used by the Rail Barons to wage the Great Rail Wars. Each entry starts with the soldier's Traits (Strength, Smarts, Vigor, Shootin', Fightin', and Guts). Record these onto the blank Troop Cards found at the end of this chapter.
The next listing is what kind of Weapon the troop is armed with. If the listing says Basic, you may choose how to arm your team, whether with basic Pistols, Rifles, or Shotguns. You can't buy unusual weapons (such as Buntlines or flamethrowers) for troops armed with Basic Weapons. Note also that most artillerists and Crew members have pistols in addition to whatever piece of equipment they happen to be operating. These come in handy when some ornery varmint tries to rush an expensive cannon or vehicle from outside its arc of fire.
The next entry is the troop's Special Abilities. Here's where you'll find out whether something is undead, is subject to Malfunction, and so on.
Bounty is the number of Victory Points an opponent gets when he puts down a single member of this team. If you add additional equipment (horses, extra guns, and so on) to this team, don't recalculate the Bounty—it stays as is regardless of any additional costs. Write the troop's Bounty in the bag on the Troop Card.
The Cost is the money it takes to hire this troop. If it says $50, for example, it costs 50 points to hire the entire Crew, Posse, Single, or Hero. Write the troop's Cost in the round circle in the lower right.
A Note to Veterans
For those of you who played the old Great Rail Wars game, there are a few important differences in this new version.
First, note that you don't recalculate Bounty Points. If you add a limber to an artillery piece, it doesn't change its Bounty, only its Cost.
Second, guns have no Bounty of their own—only the Crewmen do. And yes, if you can get one of your Crewmen over to a functioning gun or vehicle (as long as it's not gang-specific), you can use it.
Finally, notice there is no "Speed." All troops get one action per turn now.
Hired Guns
The following troops may be used by any of the Rail Gangs, and there's no limit on the number you or any other rascal can hire.
Artillery
Artillerists who once served in the Confederate or Union armies often head West when their term is up. Some retire honorably, others desert their posts for the Rail Barons' gold.
Limbers can be had for any of these standard artillery pieces (Gatlings and 6-pounders) for 10 extra points. Mark the Troop Card with a Mounted counter when limbered, and remove it once the gun is deployed. Remember that this doesn't change the Bounty.
Gatling Gun
- Traits: Strength d6, Shootin' d8, Smarts d6, Fightin' d6, Vigor d6, Guts d6
- Weapons: Pistol
- Special Abilities: Gatling Guns may have limbers for 10 additional points. They may unlimber and fire.
- Number: Crew of 2.
- Bounty: 10 per Crewman
- Cost: 25
Six-Pound Cannon
- Traits: Strength d6, Shootin' d6, Smarts d6, Fightin' d6, Vigor d6, Guts d6
- Weapons: Pistol.
- Special Abilities: 6-lb. cannons may have limbers for 10 additional points. They may unlimber and fire.
- Number: Crew of 4.
- Bounty: 10 per Crewman
- Cost: 40
Buffalo Gal
These wild and wooly women are the loudest whipcrackers on the High Plains. Their beauty and fearlessness in the face of a male-dominated West make them strong allies in the Great Rail Wars.
- Traits: Strength d6, Shootin' d6, Smarts d10, Fightin' d6, Vigor d8, Guts d12
- Weapons: Rifle, whip
- Special Abilities: Brave
- Number: Hero
- Bounty: 20
- Cost: 20
Buffalo Hunters
The buffalo-hunting craze means there are plenty of hunters with big rifles roaming the plains. The Rail Barons sometimes hire groups of these unscrupulous Hunters to bring down even bigger game—their opponents.
- Traits: Strength d6, Shootin' d8, Smarts d6, Fightin' d6, Vigor d6, Guts d6
- Weapons: Buffalo rifles (Sharps Big .50s) and Bowie knives
- Special Abilities: None
- Bounty: 13
- Cost: 65
(No Number is printed for Buffalo Hunters in the source; the Cost and Bounty match a Posse.)
Gunmen
The rabble of the West make a good living killing for the Rail Barons. They are often the core of any gang. Some are murderers, others are war veterans, and a few honestly believe they're doing something good for their country.
- Traits: Strength d6, Shootin' d6, Smarts d6, Fightin' d6, Vigor d6, Guts d6
- Weapons: Basic
- Special Abilities: None.
- Number: Posse
- Bounty: 10
- Cost: 50
Gunslinger
More skilled than the average Gunman, Gunslingers have proven themselves in more than a few High Noon shootouts.
- Traits: Strength d6, Shootin' d12, Smarts d6, Fightin' d6, Vigor d8, Guts d8
- Weapons: 2 Pistols
- Special Abilities: Crack shot, fannin'
- Number: Hero
- Bounty: 20
- Cost: 20
Muckraker
While these intrepid journalists aren't much for fighting, their stories can win the Rail Barons fame and fortune. Or turn the public against them in a heartbeat.
Muckrakers follow around the railroads' fastest guns, hired hexslingers, and other heroes. After a good fight, the heroes are immortalized in countless dime novels and penny dreadfuls by these forgotten writers.
Most Muckrakers send their stories to the Tombstone Epitaph. It pays the most and has the largest circulation, but most readers believe it lies at worst and exaggerates at best.
Killing Muckrakers has become a popular pastime for some of the Rail Barons. Bayou Vermillion and Black River are both notorious for murdering members of the press. The strange troops they employ make it unwise for them to allow reporters on their battlefields.
- Traits: Strength d6, Shootin' —, Smarts d8, Fightin' d6, Vigor d6, Guts d6
- Weapons: None
- Special Abilities: Pacifist, sneaky, tale-Tellin'
- Number: Single
- Bounty: 25
- Cost: 25
Preacher
Holy men of all denominations often round out the Rail Baron's forces. These pious priests look to fight evil in all its forms. Preachers may not be hired by Bayou Vermillion, Black River, or those heathens at Iron Dragon.
- Traits: Strength d8, Shootin' d6, Smarts d8, Fightin' d8, Vigor d8, Guts d8
- Weapons: Pistol
- Special Abilities: Arcane background (blessed), brave, occult
- Number: Hero
- Bounty: 20
- Cost: 20
Sawbones
The sawbones of the Rail Barons are by-and-large disreputable fellows. Many have been run out of their hometowns by angry townsfolk tired of their mischievous malpractices. Others were mustered out of the Union or Confederate armies Back East because of their incompetence. These unscrupulous hacks can find work only with the desperate railroads.
Still, a good doctor can shove a fellow's guts back inside and get him fighting again. That's why you'll find a few of these maniacal medics standing knee-deep in blood at the thick of any large battle of the Great Rail Wars.
- Traits: Strength d4, Shootin' —, Smarts d10, Fightin' d4, Vigor d4, Guts d8
- Weapons: Saw (STR +1)
- Special Abilities: Pacifist, sawbones
- Number: Single
- Bounty: 10
- Cost: 10
Sioux Brave
A very few lone wolves are willing to work for the highest bidders. These fearsome fighters follow the Old Ways movement and will not use guns, but their bows, tomahawks, and fearsomeness in battle more than make up for their inability to sling lead.
- Traits: Strength d8, Shootin' d6, Smarts d6, Fightin' d10, Vigor d8, Guts d8
- Weapons: Bow and arrow, tomahawk (STR+2)
- Special Abilities: Brave, frenzy
- Number: Hero
- Bounty: 20
- Cost: 20
Sioux Shaman
Very few shamans make their way into the Great Rail Wars, but there are some who have followed the advice of spirits—malevolent or benign—and entered the employee of the Rail Barons. No Sioux Shaman would be caught dead working for Bayou Vermillion.
- Traits: Strength d8, Shootin' d6, Smarts d6, Fightin' d10, Vigor d8, Guts d8
- Weapons: Bow and arrow, tomahawk (STR+2)
- Special Abilities: Arcane background (shaman), eagle eyes, occult
- Spells: Any 4
- Number: Hero
- Bounty: 20
- Cost: 20
Scouts
Scouts are used mostly between fights to help the Rail Barons find their opponents and choose their battlegrounds.
During a battle, Scouts sneak about and try to bushwack their oblivious foes from behind. It's not a particularly courageous way to live, but the saying among these veterans of the frontier is that honorable Scouts never die of old age.
- Traits: Strength d6, Shootin' d6, Smarts d6, Fightin' d6, Vigor d6, Guts d6
- Weapons: Basic
- Special Abilities: Bushwack, sneaky
- Number: Posse
- Bounty: 13
- Cost: 65
Undead Gunslinger
The restless dead sometimes arise and stalk the High Plains. These feirce fighters can sometimes be persuaded to work for the Rail Barons—at least for a while. No player may have more than one Undead Gunslinger in his force.
- Traits: Strength d8, Shootin' d12+, Smarts d6, Fightin' d8, Vigor d8, Guts d8
- Weapons: Pistol
- Special Abilities: crack shot, fannin', harrowed, supernatural ability (Shootin' +2)
- Number: Hero
- Bounty: 25
- Cost: 25
X-Squads
Gunmen and other servants who fail in their duties to Doctor Hellstromme often wind up in his infamous X-Squads. These are groups of doomed men who must test the doctor's latest experimental devices in the field.
- Traits: Strength d6, Shootin' d6, Smarts d6, Fightin' d6, Vigor d6, Guts d6
- Weapons: Choose Flamethrowers, Rocket Packs, or Gatling Weapons (see Appendix D) for each squad. If you choose Rocket Packs, the X-Squad has basic weapons as well.
- Special Abilities: Gizmos, tinkerin' d6.
- Bounty: 12
- Cost: 60
Bayou Vermillion
Doc Bayaeux
Unlike most houngans, Doc Bayaeux hails from New Orleans society rather than the backwater swamps. He once served as a doctor, but had to flee the city when it was discovered his amazing cures were the result of "black magic." Now he fights on the frontier where he can finally practice his trade without the restraints of "polite society."
- Traits: Strength d6, Shootin' d6, Smarts d10, Fightin' d6, Vigor d8, Guts d12
- Weapons: Shotgun
- Special Abilities: Arcane background (houngan), occult
- Spells: Any 4
- Number: Hero
- Bounty: 20
- Cost: 20
Nosferatu
Rumor has it these hideous vampires were discovered in an ancient ruin somewhere out West. Baron LaCroix captured the creatures, then set them loose in a specially designed train riding his opponent's rails.
But these Nosferatu were too powerful to control. So Baron LaCroix performed obscene experiments on a few captured Nosferatu, drained their blood, and fed it to some unsuspecting victims.
The result was an entirely new breed of bloodsucking Nosferatu. While they are not quite as invulnerable as their "parents," they are far less independent and will work alongside the rest of Bayou Vermillion's troops.
It doesn't take wooden stakes or holy water to kill these "lesser" Nosferatu, but since they are undead, they are still formidable opponents, particularly once they've tasted blood. Just before a battle, LaCroix's men throw freshly killed game to the Nosferatus to whip up their "blood frenzy." Once they're set loose, their gnarled claws and gruesome fangs will not rest until they've tasted human blood.
Unlike most undead, Nosferatu are not fearless. In fact, they act more like craven ratlings than true horrors of the Reckoning. Still, it is their strong sense of survival that keeps them "alive" when the rest of LaCroix's groaning undead are dropping like flies on rancid meat.
- Traits: Strength d8, Shootin' —, Smarts d4, Fightin' d6, Vigor d6, Guts d6
- Weapons: Claws (STR+2)
- Special Abilities: Fear, frenzy, undead
- Number: Posse
- Bounty: 8
- Cost: 40
Walkin' Dead
There are no more fearless scum in the Great Rail Wars than those who have already died fighting for the Rail Barons. Walkin' Dead are Bayou Vermillion's most numerous and terrible troops. In fact, every time LaCroix's living troops lose a battle, his undead horde grows that much stronger.
The Baron uses a secret voodoo potion to resurrect the dead. On occasion, his trains transport drums of this concoction to reinforce his gangs along his lines. One such train was sabotaged in Nagodoches, Texas, and the foul tonic found its way into the local cemetery. The locals never found out Bayou Vermillion was responsible for the "Night of the Walkin' Dead." If they had, they would certainly have strung the Baron's crewmen up by their necks.
Walkin' Dead come with a standard weapon mix of 2 pistols, 2 rifles, and 1 shotgun. You can change this mix however you like.
- Traits: Strength d6, Shootin' d6, Smarts d6, Fightin' d6, Vigor d6, Guts —
- Weapons: Basic
- Special Abilities: Fear, fearless, undead
- Number: Posse
- Bounty: 13
- Cost: 65
Skin Walkers
Deep in the swamps of southern Louisiana dwell the dreaded skin walkers. These horrible creatures skin living beings and use their hides as disguises to infiltrate enemy troops. LaCroix somehow recruited a few of these dreadful creatures into his ranks. They serve him willingly and well for now, but no one knows how long that might last.
- Traits: Strength d6, Shootin' d6, Smarts d6, Fightin' d6, Vigor d6, Guts -
- Weapons: As per victim, plus bite (STR+2)
- Special Abilities: Fearless, infiltration, terror
- Number: Posse
- Bounty: 25
- Cost: 25
Black River
Diva Devlin
Diva is Mina's only daughter, though it's ambiguous whether or not her father was truly Mina's former husband. There are those who say Diva has a darker sire, one whose true inheritance has not yet been passed on to his beautiful and deadly daughter.
- Traits: Strength d6, Shootin' d10, Smarts d10, Fightin' d8, Vigor d6, Guts d10
- Weapons: Pistol, whip
- Special Abilities: Arcane background (witch), occult
- Spells: Any 4
- Number: Hero
- Bounty: 25
- Cost: 25
Demolitionist
Next to black magic and devilish sorcery, Mina Devlin's next greatest love is fireworks. Anything that goes boom is likely to find its way into her arsenal of weapons. (In this way, she has something in common with Kang other than ruthlessness.) In fact, she's even recruited strong archers to launch sticks of dynamite into her opponent's ranks. She calls these individuals Demolitionists.
Firing dynamite from a bow works just like firing a shrapnel shot from a cannon. Simply nominate the target point, make a Shootin' roll based on the distance, and if missed, check deviation. Every figure under the Boom! Template is hit for 2d8 damage.
Carrying bundles of dynamite around a battlefield can be more than just a little bit dangerous. If a Demolitionist is ever dealt a black Joker, his quiver has been hit by a stray round and explodes. Place a Boom! Template over the figure. The Demolitionist is killed instantly. Those under the template take 2d8 damage as usual.
Demolitionists can fire their bows without dynamite as well, should they choose to.
- Traits: Strength d8, Shootin' d8, Smarts d6, Fightin' d6, Vigor d6, Guts d6
- Weapons: Bow, dynamite
- Special Abilities: Demolitionists carry dynamite and can launch it with their bows or throw it manually. They may also fire their bows normally.
- Number: Single
- Bounty: 20
- Cost: 20
Devil Bats
These creatures dwell in the Badlands. In a land ruled by more than one abomination, they are kings of the skies. Mina pays a band of rugged trappers to capture the creatures, then her dark sorcerers somehow bind the Devil Bats to her evil service.
- Traits: Strength d6, Shootin' -, Smarts d4, Fightin' d6, Vigor d6, Guts d6
- Weapons: Claws (STR+2)
- Special Abilities:
- Flight: Pace of 15"
- Death from Above: If a Devil Bat wins a Fightin' contest against a man-sized (or smaller) opponent by more than 4 points, it grabs him, soars up into the sky, then drops its prey for 6d6 damage at the end of the turn. Armor does not protect from a fall. The prey can continue to fight or shoot at its captor if it has any actions later in the turn, but such attacks are made at -2. If the bat is wounded in the same turn it picked someone up, the prey is dropped at half the height and takes only 3d6 damage.
- Number: Posse
- Bounty: 10
- Cost: 50
Hangin' Judge
Of all the strange creatures Mina Devlin has managed to subdue, coerce, or ally her railroad with, the Hangin' Judges must be the strangest. They are also the most powerful.
The first Hangin' Judges were a band of five Confederate judges who formed a secret alliance to ruin their rivals. They used the courts—and the local gallows in particular—to terrorize those around them into submission.
Fate eventually caught up with these selfish men. They were strung up themselves back in '69, leaving only a black memory in the minds of all those whose lives they ruined.
But the Reckoners don't let such dark memories die easily. These enigmatic beings resurrected the Hangin' Judges and set them loose on the Chisholm trail. There they stalked innocents in the false name of justice, whispering imaginary offenses as they gunned them down or strung them from the trees lining the trail.
Mina Devlin caught wind of the Judges in '72. Her Witches went to work, and within two years they had made a dark pact with the Judges. The horrific creatures would come to Black River's aid when summoned, but only if Mina's Witches would sacrifice a lawman to them in return.
- Traits: Strength d6, Shootin' d12, Smarts d6, Fightin' d8, Vigor d8, Guts -
- Weapons: 2 pistols with scythes (STR+2)
- Special Abilities: Fearless, terror, two-fisted, undead, unearthly
- Weakness: Hangin' Judges can be Put Down by any duly authorized law officer. This includes Pinkertons, Texas Rangers, and heroes with the Law Man Edge and their deputies.
- Unique: There are only 5 Hangin' Judges. Though they can return from battle to battle even if Put Down, Black River may never field more than 5 of them in a battle.
- Number: Single
- Bounty: 75
- Cost: 75
Wolves
Devlin's dark conjurers have enslaved and trained several fierce wolf packs. Their incredibly fast gait and powerful jaws make them more than a match for most hired guns—providing the wolves can get close enough to sink their teeth into their prey.
- Traits: Strength d6, Shootin' -, Smarts d4, Fightin' d8, Vigor d6, Guts d6
- Weapons: Fangs (STR+2)
- Special Abilities: Fleet-footed, frenzy, Pace 8"
- Number: Posse
- Bounty: 6
- Cost: 30
Dixie Rails
CSA Troopers
These hardy troopers are usually young recruits dragged out of the Confederate Territories to defend Dixie Rails in the Weird West. Like their counterparts Back East, they're natural warriors who won't usually back away from a fight. By and large these are hardy Texas gunmen spoiling for a fight, or veteran frontiersman drafted from the new Confederate territories. By necessity, all are excellent shots with nerves of steel.
- Traits: Strength d6, Shootin' d8, Smarts d6, Fightin' d6, Vigor d6, Guts d8
- Weapons: Rifles
- Special Abilities: None.
- Number: Posse
- Bounty: 12
- Cost: 60
CSA Sharpshooters
Confederate Sharpshooters are just as deadly as their Union counterparts, crack shots one and all. When two of these units spot each other on the battlefield (usually from quite a distance), they consider it something of a contest. The winners live. The losers are dragged off the field later.
- Traits: Strength d6, Shootin' d10, Smarts d6, Fightin' d6, Vigor d6, Guts d6
- Weapons: Rifles
- Special Abilities: Crack Shot, sneaky
- Number: Posse
- Bounty: 16
- Cost: 80
Ranger Duncan McCrae
Ranger Duncan McCrae was born on Christmas. Folks in the west Texas hills where he was raised say that means dark hoodoos won't work on him. That seems to be true, for ever since joining the Rangers, evil magic cast against him has had little effect. McCrae is much appreciative of his gift, and often volunteers for those assignments where he knows his knack might come in handy. Frequently, that means he's assigned to Dixie Rails to help stave off the eldritch attacks of Black River and Bayou Vermillion.
- Traits: Strength d8, Shootin' d8, Smarts d8, Fightin' d8, Vigor d10, Guts d10
- Weapons: Pistol
- Special Abilities: Magic resistance 2, occult, tough as nails
- Number: Hero
- Bounty: 20
- Cost: 20
Texas Rangers
Known far and wide as the pride of Texas, the Texas Rangers' reputation extends far beyond the borders of their massive home state. The saying goes, "One riot, one Ranger." Imagine how bad a whole posse of them are.
In the Great Rail Wars, Rangers hunt in relentless packs, stalking the battlefield like cunning wolves.
Every Ranger carries two pistols. They aren't two-fisted, however, so if you choose to fire both guns, you have to take -1 from the first two shots and -2 from the second two.
- Traits: Strength d8, Shootin' d8, Smarts d6, Fightin' d8, Vigor d8, Guts d8
- Weapons: 2 pistols, Bowie knife
- Special Abilities: Occult.
- Number: Posse
- Bounty: 16
- Cost: 80
Iron Dragon
Pyromaster
These madmen love their toys, particularly ones that scream like banshees and explode. Kang brought several masters of these devices from the Far East to aid him in the Maze, and he's found them useful on the High Plains too.
Pyromasters carry satchels of small but powerful rockets. They launch these into the center of tightly packed, lightly armored troops for ultimate carnage.
- Traits: Strength d6, Shootin' —, Smarts d8, Fightin' d4, Vigor d6, Guts d6
- Weapons: Rockets
- Special Abilities: Armor 2, artillery d10
- Number: Single
- Bounty: 30
- Cost: 30
Mitsubishi
This dark samurai is another of Kang's Japanese "imports." Rumors abound that before taking on the name of Japan's most poisonous snake, Mitsubishi was a high-level advisor to Daimyo Aratake—who was assassinated shortly before Mitsubishi fled to the States.
- Traits: Strength d10, Shootin' d6, Smarts d6, Fightin' d12, Vigor d10, Guts d10
- Weapons: Sword, bow and arrow
- Special Abilities: Armor 2, martial arts, nerves o' steel
- Number: Hero
- Bounty: 20
- Cost: 20
Ronin
Kang's influence reaches even to Feudal Japan. When he finds rogue samurai willing to join his cause, he quickly ships them West and adds them to his colorful army. Ronin are utterly loyal to Kang, whom they see as a revolutionary leader rising from the aristocracy of the Orient.
- Traits: Strength d8, Shootin' —, Smarts d6, Fightin' d10, Vigor d8, Guts d8
- Weapons: Katanas (STR+2)
- Special Abilities: Armor 2, Frenzy, Martial Arts
- Number: Posse
- Bounty: 11
- Cost: 55
Tong Gang
The ruthless warlord has many devout followers. His most fanatical are the Tong gangs, fierce fighters who pummel their foes in a flurry of hand-to-hand combat. Tong Gangs are full of young immigrants Kang takes in and gives shelter, food (scarce in the Maze), and—most importantly—training in the martial arts.
In return, these fanatics attack Kang's rivals in the Great Rail Wars. Their foolhardy charges have come to be feared by all. Scores of martial artists may die in such a charge, but there are always more behind them.
- Traits: Strength d6, Shootin' —, Smarts d6, Fightin' d8, Vigor d6, Guts d6
- Weapons: Hand weapons (STR+2)
- Special Abilities: Frenzy, Martial Arts
- Number: Posse
- Bounty: 6
- Cost: 30
Union Blue
Buffalo Sergeant
Most buffalo soldiers are former slaves fighting for freedom. Some of the toughest are those who joined the Union Army.
- Traits: Strength d8, Shootin' d8, Smarts d6, Fightin' d8, Vigor d8, Guts d8
- Weapons: Rifle
- Special Abilities: Brave, frenzy
- Number: Hero
- Bounty: 15
- Cost: 15
Pinkertons
The Pinkertons have created many special posses to fight the horrors of the Weird West. The most common are full-time agents armed with the latest technological gizmos and sent hurriedly to Union Blue's defense.
The weapons Pinkertons use have been tested in secret government laboratories, and so are better than those found in the hands of most Mad Scientists. The Malfunction die is d10 instead of the usual d6.
- Traits: Strength d6, Shootin' d6, Smarts d6, Fightin' d6, Vigor d6, Guts d8
- Weapons: Gatling pistols, rifles, and shotguns
- Special Abilities: Occult, malfunction d10
- Number: Posse
- Bounty: 14
- Cost: 70
Nevada Smith
One of the Pinkerton's most successful secret agents is Nevada Smith, though that is likely not his real name. Nevada is most active in the City of Gloom, where his mastery of disguise has made him the single greatest thorn in Dr. Hellstromme's side. Nevada is close to uncovering the secret of the Automatons. If he does, Union Blue may soon have clockwork soldiers of their own.
- Traits: Strength d6, Shootin' d12, Smarts d10, Fightin' d8, Vigor d8, Guts d10
- Weapons: Gatling pistol (Nevada may use this even if using his infiltration ability)
- Special Abilities: Infiltration, occult, malfunction d12 (for Gatling pistol), sneaky
- Number: Hero
- Bounty: 14
- Cost: 70
USA Troopers
Joshua Chamberlain's status as the hero of Gettysburg gives him friends in high places. President Grant has ordered Union forces in the West to dispatch troops as necessary to protect Union Blue's interests. Few outposts can afford to send more than a handful of men when trouble arises, but these diehard Troopers are almost always available to protect Chamberlain's railroad.
- Traits: Strength d6, Shootin' d6, Smarts d6, Fightin' d6, Vigor d6, Guts d8
- Special Abilities: None.
- Weapons: Rifles
- Number: Posse
- Bounty: 11
- Cost: 55
USA Sharpshooters
Federal Sharpshooters are the bane of opposing heroes throughout the Great Rail Wars. There are few things more demoralizing than watching a company's top hired gun winning the day when a sniper's bullet comes out of nowhere and drops him like a sack of rotten potatoes.
Besides being naturally good marksmen, Sharpshooters use only the best rifles, scopes, and enhanced sights to make sure they hit their unfortunate targets. The US government makes sure they have the best equipment available at all times.
- Traits: Strength d6, Shootin' d8, Smarts d6, Fightin' d6, Vigor d6, Guts d6
- Weapons: Rifles
- Special Abilities: Crack Shot, sneaky
- Number: Posse
- Bounty: 15
- Cost: 75
Wasatch
Professor Pyro
Professor Pyro was once Norman Lesman, a shy, retiring teacher at a small university Back East. After being bullied and passed over for promotion one too many times, Norman set fire to his school, fled West, and changed his name to "Professor Pyro." Now he lives up to his colorful nickname by carrying a customized flamethrower and roasting Dr. Hellstromme's enemies to the bone.
- Traits: Strength d4, Shootin' d6, Smarts d10, Fightin' d6, Vigor d8, Guts d8
- Weapons: Flamethrower
- Special Abilities: Arcane background (mad scientist), malfunction d10, occult, tinkerin' d12
- Number: Hero
- Bounty: 20
- Cost: 20
Automatons
By far Hellstromme's most expensive—and most effective—minions are the nearly legendary Automatons, odd creations of the good doctor's weird science that walk, run, and fight like a man. Within these polished metal shells are a mix of weird science and, some say, vile necromancy.
The hulking monsters are slow but fearless, dim-witted but powerful. Their Gatling arms and armored hulls can easily best an army ill-prepared for their arrival.
Mad Scientists across the West talk in hushed whispers about the secret of the Automatons. The clockwork gears that move and fire its weapons are simple enough to understand, but how a machine makes decisions and reacts to the world around it remains a mystery.
The mystery surrounds a sealed "braincase" within the automaton's head. This steel case sits directly behind the thing's bulletproof black-quartz visor. No one knows what is inside this case, for when an Automaton is about to be destroyed, a massive explosion wrecks it completely.
Some say that inside the braincase sits a human brain, kept alive by blasphemous scientific sorcery. No one knows for sure, since Dr. Hellstromme never allows his insane blueprints outside his assembly plants hidden high in the Wasatch Mountains surrounding Salt Lake City, also known as the City of Gloom.
When an Automaton is destroyed, it blows up. Place the Boom! Template on top of it. Everything under the template is automatically hit for 2d6 points of damage.
- Traits: Strength d8, Shootin' d6, Smarts d4, Fightin' d4, Vigor d8, Guts -
- Weapons: Gatling gun
- Special Abilities: Armor 4, fearless, malfunction d6, slowpoke
- Number: Posse
- Bounty: 30
- Cost: 150
Malfunction!
- Minor Malfunction: The Automaton's Gatling gear is knocked out of whack. It cannot fire until it makes an Easy (4) Smarts roll.
- Major Malfunction: The Automaton goes haywire and stops. It can fix itself if it spends an action making a Hard (8) Smarts check.
- Catastrophe: The Automaton's ghost-rock-powered boiler explodes, causing 2d8 damage to everything beneath the Boom! Template.
Clockwork Tarantulas
Another of Hellstromme's "living" gizmos are the Clockwork Tarantulas. These small but deadly creatures are wound up like clocks, then sent scurrying toward the enemy. Their acidic "bite" is sprayed through a long needle.
How they receive their orders and determine friend from foe is another mystery like that of the Automatons. It is a secret Hellstromme will keep, for the Tarantulas release their acid and melt themselves when destroyed. When a Clockwork Tarantula is destroyed, every figure in base-to-base contact with it takes 2d6 damage.
- Traits: Strength d4, Shootin' d6, Smarts d4, Fightin' d6, Vigor d4, Guts -
- Weapons: Acid (ignores Armor and works in both missile and hand-to-hand combat)
- Special Abilities: Armor 2, fearless, malfunction d6, wallwalker
- Number: Posse
- Bounty: 12
- Cost: 60
Malfunction!
- Minor Malfunction: The tarantula halts and refuses to move until it makes an Easy (4) Smarts test, which it may attempt at the beginning of each of its actions.
- Major Malfunction: The tarantula's acid tank ruptures, melting it instantly.
- Catastrophe: The tarantula gets its signals crossed and leads its entire troop at the nearest friendly troop. The Tarantulas attack this troop unless they make a Hard (8) Smarts test, which they may try at the start of each action.
Troop Sheet
The source ends with blank Troop Sheet cards (fields: Strength, Smarts, Vigor, Shootin', Fightin', Guts, Special, Weapons/Range/ROF/Damage) and the Boom! and Flamethrower templates as page graphics; they contain no further rules text.