Gun Strategies

[Totally Guy]

Next week I'm going to be running The Sword, then my group will burn characters and we'll establish what the world is like.

Anyway, one of my players asked if the system supported guns, and I told him yes and went on to describe Range and Cover. So I've got the feeling that we'll end up with a gunman in the party.

But when I looked at gun stats I see that they are probably best used in Fight! for their improved VA. But their reload times make that impractical outside of R&C.

So what's the best way to use a gun? Do you couple it with a bayonet or practice a melee weapon to contribute after you've fired? Or do you carry several one shots, derringer style?

Or am I just missing a key advantage of guns somehow?

[Dwight]

Strategy for standard BW firearms.

Show up loaded.
Hope you only have one opponent.
Have a backup plan incase you miss with that one shot (run, sword, etc.)
Don't get shot by one.

[luke]

Guns are devastating one shot weapons in fight and decent in range and cover.

[johnstone]

The best strategy for guns is to carry about six of them, all loaded.

Shoot a guy first thing, put your gun away, draw another, shoot a guy, etc. And stay out of hand-to-hand range. Like, ride a horse for example.

[cathexis]

Guns will murder people so hard in fight it's scary. Guns in base BW R&C are all right but nothing compared to a really good bow or heavy crossbow, but at the same time that's fairly accurate to the source material. I'd go musketeer style: blow someone away with your rifle and then it's saber time. Do be aware of the fairly decent change of blowing your face off with firearms as it can get messy.

[Dwight]

Gunblade!


This poster does not endorse nor condone actual Gunblade use. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paFE573s6vI&feature=player_embedded)

[Kublai]

Nerf? Pshh!

There's been real pistol blades since pistols and blades have been around.

http://www.aaawt.com/html/firearms/images/f192a.jpg

And to up the ante even further? Rifle Axe!

http://www.gunandgame.com/forums/attachments/knives-cutlery/18044d1233336717-powell-knife-pistol-brutus_8x10.jpg

[Totally Guy]

I've been practicing some combat with a Gunman pistol using character and I have a few questions.

The optimal range of a ranged weapon is 10-30 paces. But the pistol's extreme range is 10 paces. In the context of range and cover will the extreme range ever be used or is it just for positioning tests?

I had a situation where the gunman won positioning by 4 successes in the volley he was reloading. He took cover and spent the other two aiming. Can you aim a weapon that's not loaded?

If the attacker's close to Too Close to Shoot and start using the Fight machanics can the characters withdraw back to Range and Cover? When a the bowman won a Withdraw against the gunman who was already outside striking distance I moved back to R&C.

The test battle was really quite good. The gunman landed a shot on the archer but only a superficial wound, last ditch on a close, but after failing to engage in melee he hid and reloaded. They fired a couple of misses each until they both spotted each other at the same time. Bang, the bowman was dealt another superfical wound. But it was too late as the gunman took a suberb shot to the chest. And died.

[Kublai]

It's just in context of positioning tests.

You can't carry over aiming dice from one Volley to another.

You can withdraw from Fight! into R&C with successful Withdraw from outside striking distance.