Gun-Fu Playtest? Sorcerer, Sex and Sorcery Required

[Andy Kitkowski]

Hey all.  I pulled a Siddhartha on my Kyuseisha project, and after attempting to make a new system, then going back to formula to make another new system (which was basically Tenra Bansho meets Sorcerer meets TROS spiritual attribs), I'm heading back to Sorcerer (which, ironically, is what I started with some 2 years back!). Final call. I expect to be done writing in 3 months, proofing and playtesting for more, then hopefully releasing near the end of the year as a Sorcerer mini-sup.

Anyway, I was digging the clever Martial Arts rules in Sex and Sorcerery (which you'll need to have to comment on this mod, unfortunately), and after watching some clever HK blood cinema, plus some other flicks (Versus, and of course Equilibrium), and the games Gungrave and Devil May Cry, I decided to try to incorporate their fast flava into gun-based martial arts.

Simple background: Post apocalypse western with martial arts and gunslingers. Cinematic combat, completely pulled stylistically from the above resources and as realistic as them as well (which is to say, "not at all").

Gun Dream (Gun Fu)

Everyone with Gun Dream as a descriptor for Stamina knows the following moves:

Concentrate Fire - This involves firing one or more pistols while concentrating on (looking at) one target.
Wild Fire - Firing blind, akimbo, two pistols at different angles, while not specifically looking at one opponent.
Manuver Fire - Acrobatic manuver attemped while firing: Jumping, rolling, sprinting up a wall, etc.

Short Unarmed Strike - same as S&S, but also possible to use pistol as blunt weapon (butt of pistol, etc)
Long Unarmed Strike - same as S&S, same qualifier as above
Power Inside - same as S&S
Grab - same as S&S
Throw - same as S&S

Stance - same as S&S
Reload - This is the only tricky new thing to the ruleset: It will be assumed that the player's pistols will carry enough charges, bullets, etc for "6 actions' worth" of fire combat (in other words, when you use any technique or move with a "fire" word in it, and subsequently use the pistol damage chart). Therefore, at some point before a seventh fire action is made, the player will have to go back to Reload Stance.

I see a VERY simple "6 checkbox gauge" on the character sheet. Check off each time a character makes a fire attack.

You can come back to Reload as often as you want, giving up an attack to reload weapons, resetting the checkbox gauge to zero.

Reload does NOT give you a bonus on defense like the basic Stance does.
Reload also does NOT link to (move to) any other technique automatically (except for the basic 'Stance', which does as per S&S rules), but you can set links up in a martial arts style, just like any other technique.

With the above moves set into chains, just like S&S, you can use the Sorcerer and Sword rules on p.70 about "trading victories".

One more bit: Trading Victories and Reloading: If Reloading is part of a chain, you may "freeze" the victories for one round (or use them for defense for the reload round).

Sample Styles:

WRATH OF THE PUNISHER
Links: Concentrate Fire to Wild Fire, Concentrate Fire to Manuver Fire, Manuver Fire to Wild Fire, Concentrate Fire to Reload,  Wild Fire to Short Unarmed Strike.
(skipping names for moves for now for simplicity)
This is meant to be a simple, perhaps "default", style for testing the Gun-Fu rules.
Also, note that Reload doesn't link to another Fire: this means that any Traded Victories that you keep can be used for defense, or freezed and used in Stance next for defense, but not for attack.

SUPREME RIVER OF PALMS
Links: Grab to Power Inside, Power Inside to Grab, Grab to Concentrate Fire, Power Inside to Throw, Power Inside to Short Unarmed Strike

This is meant to be a second, "master" style that only some posess.  It allows the player to:
1) Use the gun skills in close, hand to hand fighting
2) More importantly, recreate the "Chi Sau (sticking hands) with Guns" style of scenes like in HK cinema, and at the end of Equilibrium. :-)

Notes on the above, and possible points of discussion:

1) I tried to keep it as simple as possible.
1.1) However, I did add that "six shot record" bit, which I assume would be nothing more than six boxes somewhere on the character sheet, or just checkmarks somewhere.
1.2) Reloading can be fun.
1.3) And "balance wise" (not needed, but still...), the bonuses that the artist gets by being able to use pistol damage is counterweighed with the need to reload.

2) You can't auto-link to Reload (you have to create those links in the style, else break the chain and reload, losing bonuses), and Reload offers no bonus protection (unlike Stance): I thought this was reflective of the cinema and other influences.
2.1) Is Reload too complex, with its specific chain rules (Freezing Traded Victories), etc? I don't think so, but I made the rule up so of course I've got a blind spot. This is what I need playtesters for.
2.2) Reload is a little more complex than Stance, for example... but it is a staple of the genre.

3) The Moves: I thought about these for a bit, they seem to work for the genre.
3.1) I was thinking about adding in an "Acrobatic" move (basically Manuver Fire without the Fire), but I figure that Stance can cover this (Go into Stance, see a threat, then dive out of the way, run up a wall, etc to defend).
3.2) I left out one or two moves from S&S because they really couldn't be performed while holding a pistol or (more accurately) two.
3.3) Is Manuver Fire needed?  I'm thinking it's a very important stylistic ingredient of HK gun-action fight scenes, but on the other hand this could be collapsed into the other two Fire Moves: Diving, rolling and Firing while concentrating on one target (Concentrate Fire), else akimbo (Wild Fire).

4) Penalties for using Fire moves up close, or Grabs, etc from afar?
4.1) I say "Naw", because that's too much record-keeping for something that's effectively supposed to be a Combat Visualization and Spice-Up Tool.

That's about it.  What do you think?

And more importantly, if you have a sec, could you help me playtest?  Running them with a friend (one vs one) wasn't a problem, but I haven't had a chance to run a combat of:
* 3-4 gunslingers against each other (or 2 vs 2, or 1 vs 3, etc- At least 3-4 active gunslingers fighting in some combination).
* A gunslinger against a martial artist or three.
* One or more gunslingers vs a horde of mooks.

Thanks, all!

[Mike Holmes]

Nobody is taking up Andy on playtesting this? He certainly deserves the help, and the game ought to rock. I hope there've been some private mails to you on this one Andy.

Mike

[Andy Kitkowski]

Nobody is taking up Andy on playtesting this? He certainly deserves the help, and the game ought to rock. I hope there've been some private mails to you on this one Andy.

No problem, man, it's all good. :)

I'll actually continue to playtest this once every few weeks on the side (I'm actually focusing on other stuff right now, this is on the side), and will post my notes here later.

But if anyone has a chance to run through it, give it a shot!

[Minx]

Wow, I would, it certainly sounds cool, but I´m still struggling to buy Sorcerer, so I don´t meet the requirements...

But maybe one day :D ...

[Mike Holmes]

Minx, if you play Andy's game, I will personally work you through any Sorcerer problems you may be having. I don't have time to play his game myself, but I could commit to that.

Mike

[Jeph]

Out of curiosity, what do martial arts have to do with sex/love/conception?

[Lxndr]

Out of curiosity, what do martial arts have to do with sex/love/conception?

EVERYTHING

[Ron Edwards]

Heh,

As the author, I 'fess up in the text of the book that the martial arts rules got in there only because they fit in well with the setting material for one of the chapters, in a completely irresponsible fit of creativity.

Best,
Ron

[Andy Kitkowski]

Minx, if you play Andy's game, I will personally work you through any Sorcerer problems you may be having. I don't have time to play his game myself, but I could commit to that.

Heh, it's not exactly a game yet, it's just a rules mod for Sorcerer.  Think of it more like a "Hey, does this new d20 Armor Rule work?" kindof post than an actual game.

Still, though, if anyone has a chance to give this a shot, please do.  Again, though, I'll be posting a bit more after this weekend once I do a mini-session of Sorcerer.

Thanks, all.

[anonymouse]

I'll add to the "would like to play it, don't meet requirements" crowd, unfortunately.

I'll also say that I expect one of the sample characters used in play examples be named Gally. Don't let me down, man.