A Cinematic Gun Dueling System

[BigNash03]

But the key question is why would you even care if you go first?

Going first gives you the option to focus or draw first.

Example:
Fighters A & B. Fighter A wins the opposed Insight check and goes first.

Fighter A chooses to focus.

Fighter B can either Focus or Draw (with the low damage possibilities you described.) He chooses to Focus.

Fighter A can now Draw with +2 Attack, +10 Damage and +4 Initiative to see who shoots first, or he can focus for another +2A/+10D. He wants to do enough damage to bloody or kill Fighter B, but he doesn't want to let Fighter B get the draw on him (+4 Initiative). He Draws, hoping his +10 to damage will be enough to bloody Fighter B.


To Nytmare: I want the guns to be balanced with other ranged weapons, or at least close to balanced. I will post the guns I've created in another thread. For the purposes of this thread, you could assume they're dueling with longbows. The lethality of the duel should be part of the duel system, not part of the guns. This is just for my campaign world, I could understand a different DM wanting especially lethal guns. I want balanced ones.

 

[Nytmare]

I could understand a different DM wanting especially lethal guns. I want balanced ones.

I wasn't aiming for especially lethal guns (they're especially lethal?) I was trying to tie into your:

"if your opponent is bloodied by this hit he is stunned and gets -4 to hit" without having to deal a couple dozen points of damage with a single attack.


What exactly are you trying to emulate with this? Five or six rounds of gunslingers eyeing each other up, flexing their fingers with sweat trickling down their foreheads? Tumbleweeds rolling past while the clock in the town square slowly marches towards high noon?

What do you want the interplay to be between the two characters during that time, just a gamble between shooting first or doing enough damage to drop (half) the guy in one shot?

I don't know if the 4e combat system is really set up to embrace the idea of two static combatants hedging their bets on a round or two of actual combat. It's pushing more for the flipping over the card table/sliding down the bar/getting thrown through the second story window style of Western.

What if you built it into a feat?


Duelist's Mark - Minor action - One creature within 10 squares

You mark the target. This target remains marked till you use this power against another target, or you make an attack. A creature can only have one mark at a time, blah, blah, blah.

When you attack the creature you have marked, they can respond with a basic attack. Likewise, on their turn, if they attack you, you can respond with a basic attack. This is not an opportunity attack.

Each attack takes place simultaneously, but the "lower" attack roll only deals half damage.

 

[BigNash03]

What if you built it into a feat?

They're more lethal than other weapons, or at least less balanced, because they have a larger crit range and an ability that could have a powerful effect on opponents who have "when first bloodied" abilities.

A feat doesn't work well because I want it to be an option to all npcs/characters, not just those who have a specific feat.