Our sci-fi adventure path

[Morrus]

Well, we don't want to deviate from D&D too much. The idea is that it's a D&D adventure path, not D&D 4.5 in space. We don't want people to have to learn new rules or anything.

We're toying with the idea of changing the feel of combat by givnig the ranged weapons drastically longer ranges, and doing the "half hit points, extra damage" thing with monsters to make them shorter and more dangerous - and cut out the grind.

 

[Khairn]

Any thoughts on a mechanic (other than simply initiative) for handling a gun fight between gunslingers? Similar to how iajitsu is dealt with between samurai? I understand that creating additional sub-systems is something you probably want to avoid, but the nerve, coordination and accuracy of this iconic western trope deserves some special attention. At least IMHO.

 

[RangerWickett]

If your rules cannot handle this

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-rFT-uHm4w]YouTube - For A Few Dollars More - Final Duel[/ame]


and this

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHFLwe98rYM&feature=related]YouTube - The Good,The Bad, And The Ugly - Graveyard Duel[/ame]


then go back to the drawing board. Here's my first take on it.


Gun Duel
In a gun duel, two or more duelists take their positions. They have a stand-off, sizing each other up and waiting for someone to make the first move. The longer the build-up, the more time the duelists have to aim, even before they have their gun in hand. Whoever shoots first will be able to deliver a lethally-precise wound. If you ain't first, well, you probably just ain't.

A gun duel has three steps - the challenge, the stand-off, and the draw.


The Challenge
Normally, this just involves one duelist challenging another. Both take their places, and then the stand-off begins.

Sometimes a gunslinger in the midst of an existing combat encounter will challenge one or more opponents to a duel. To do this, he delays his turn. Then on their initiative, the challenged opponents can choose to delay their own turns as well. As long as there are at least two duelists, the stand-off begins. Other duelists can join later by delaying their turn.


The Stand-Off
Once all duelists are in position, at initiative count 0 they each choose an opponent (usually there's just one to choose, but some duels can get complicated) and make a skill check. The DC is Hard, based on the chosen opponent's level.

Primary skills are Bluff, Insight, Intimidate, and Perception, though with a good explanation the duelist might be able to use another skill once in the stand-off.

Each duelist makes a new skill check every round at initiative count 0. Keep track of how many successes each duelist has against each opponent. Whenever a duelist gets a success with a particular skill, he takes a cumulative -2 penalty to further checks using the same skill against the same opponent. (So usually it's not feasible to get more than five or ten successes in a stand-off).

Benefits of the Stand-Off
Once any the duelist ends the stand-off and goes to the draw, each duelist gains bonuses based on how many successes he had. These benefits last until he makes an attack against that opponent, until his opponent becomes hidden from him, or until he moves.

For each success against a particular opponent, the duelist gets a +1 bonus to his attack rolls, and the first attack that hits deals a base of 20 extra damage, plus an amount of damage equal to the attacker's level times the number of successes he had.

For instance, Clint and Lee (both level 10 bad-asses) are about to duel. After a 10 round stand-off, Clint has 6 successes, and Lee has 5. When Clint attacks, he'll get a +6 bonus to his attack roll, and his first attack that hits will deal an extra 80 damage (20, plus 6 times his level of 10).


The Draw
At any time, any duelist can end the stand-off and draw. The duelists go in order of who had the most total successes, and they each get one standard action. Thereafter combat follows normal initiative.

If they had an equal number of successes, they act simultaneously, and they make opposed initiative checks to see who goes first thereafter.



My concern is that it's a lot of dice rolling. It might work mechanically, but emotionally I feel like there's a better way to build tension.

 

[Morrus]

The other issue is what if other players want to do something during those ten rounds? It could take a long time. I'd be more inclined to use a superhero game style "monologue" rule - you know the ones where a supervillain can make a whole speech as a free action, and nobody cares that really that should take, like, 10 rounds because dramatically it works?

 

[RangerWickett]

Alternately, maybe something like:


Each duelist gets four d6s. Each round of the stand-off, he can make a skill check, to a maximum of four checks total - one each for Bluff, Insight, Intimidate, and Perception. Each success gets him an extra d6.

When the draw occurs, each duelist rolls their d6s. If one duelist gets more 6s than the other, he wins. If the number of 6s is tied, add up the total of the dice to figure out who wins. If the total is still tied, your actions are simultaneous.

Complication?
If there are three or more duelists, you have to choose against whom you're rolling your dice. Usually you want to put all your dice against a single opponent, because you only get the bonus to your attack roll for a single turn. But if you plan to use an action point to attack two foes, or if you have a power that lets you attack multiple foes (such as Twin Strike), you may want to split your dice.

In this case, you go in order of who got the highest total die roll vs. a given opponent, which should stop paradoxical loops.

For instance, A, B, and C are in a duel, and each ends up with 8 dice. Each has two guns and Twin Strike, so they each split their dice 4 vs. one foe, 4 vs. another.

A: Total of 17 against B, 10 against C.

B: Total of 15 against C, 12 against A.

C: Total of 11 against A, 14 against B.

The order is thus:

17 - AvB
15 - BvC
14 - CvB
12 - BvA
11 - CvA
10 - AvC

If anyone gets killed, they don't get to make any further attacks.

Oh, and the bonus to attacks would be +1 per round of stand-off, with bonus damage equal to 20 plus (your level times the number of rounds of the stand-off). The idea is that a 5-round stand-off will kill or nearly-kill anyone.



I'm not sure if you should be allowed to use powers, or if you should limit it to basic attacks.

 

[RangerWickett]

The other issue is what if other players want to do something during those ten rounds? It could take a long time. I'd be more inclined to use a superhero game style "monologue" rule - you know the ones where a supervillain can make a whole speech as a free action, and nobody cares that really that should take, like, 10 rounds because dramatically it works?

Well, if somebody attacks a duelist while they're in the stand-off, that usually means the duelist will decide to go for the draw then, rather than continuing to stand around and let people take pot-shots at him.

 

[Morrus]

Well, if somebody attacks a duelist while they're in the stand-off, that usually means the duelist will decide to go for the draw then, rather than continuing to stand around and let people take pot-shots at him.

I was more thinking of:

.... 4 rounds of duelling passes....
Player 2: Wait, it's been four rounds? Well, in the case I'm gonna pick the lock to the tavern.
Player 3: Oh, in that case, I've had plenty of time to attack those guys down the street. I'm gonna move towards them and attack.
Player 4: Can I make some skill checks to check out the surroundings?
...etc...

 

[RangerWickett]

So you game with, what, 2-year-old cockerspaniels? They can't be patient enough to let two guys have a gunfight every once in a while?

 

[Morrus]

So you game with, what, 2-year-old cockerspaniels? They can't be patient enough to let two guys have a gunfight every once in a while?

We're not designing for my group. We're designing for all groups.

 

[RangerWickett]

Well, the point of a gun duel is that you build up to it, and it occurs in an environment where it's a marginally acceptable way to resolve a dispute, but a straight-up attack isn't. Even if you're on the frontier, if you just go around killing folks, the law will run you down.

But if someone's offended your good name, or has wronged you, you can challenge him publicly and force a duel. If other people interrupt, they lose face.