System: Poker Hands: Poker hands determine action quality. At least a pair is required for a basic success, with hands ranked above that as normal. Jokers are included in the deck, they are not wild but are instead special cards. The jokers are different: one is the red joker, one the black joker (mark them if there is no difference). Hand Ranking Game Effect Pair Basic Success Two Pair Three of a Kind Impressive Success Straight Flush Full House Kicking Ass Four of a Kind Straight Flush ...and taking names too. The standard effect of a black joker is a dead card - it's good for nothing. The standard effect of a red joker is the same, but the person with the hand may also draw a chip from the pot. This still sucks, but not as bad - more on chips later. Jokers also have special effects if you're some sort of magic-using type. Skills and such add to the number of cards one can draw. Default human is a five card hand. One point of skill gets you a six card hand. Two points a seven, and so on. If your skill ever gets to five (so you're drawing ten cards), you may choose between a ten card hand or a five card with one wild pick (you just make one of the cards of your choice wild, guaranteeing a pair at least). If you get up to skill six, you get a six card hand and a wild. These also apply if your skill is normally lower but you are drawing more cards - you can never draw more than ten cards, and at ten cards you may wild pick instead at your option. You always must declare this before you draw. Obviously the GM may levy modifiers on your draw whenever he feels like - usually just plus or minus one card to represent adverse or advantageous situations. Here are some examples of things that will get you an extra card: Ambush. He's an old friend. Taking extra time. They like you. You know something he doesn't. You've got the drop on him. And here are some things that will take away a card: Ambushed! Everyone is already mad at you. It's dark out. You're bleeding. You're tired. Long range. Going Bust: If you draw one or more jokers and you do not at least have a pair, you have gone bust. This is the critical failure of this system, something bad is going to happen to you. The GM will ask you "how black is your hand" - how many black cards vs red cards you have. The blacker, the worse things are going to be. Poker Chips: As well as poker hands there are poker chips. These have a variety of uses, and come in a variety of colors - white, red, and (rarely) blue. Whenever you draw a chip it's a blind draw from the pot. You may never have more than five chips - if you do, you may not draw. Use 'em up! You will get chips whenever you draw the red joker, amuse everyone, do something heroic, or just roleplay really well. You also get a chip at the beginning of each session. Uses for chips: Hand manipulation. After the hand is drawn, you may play a chip to change it. White allows you to draw one more card. Red allows you a wild pick. Blue allows you two wild picks, which ought to be enough for anyone. If you play your red or white chip before draw and it pushes you to ten cards or above, you may use the wild pick rules as usual (then drawing fewer cards). Pick me up. You may throw a white chip for a "second wind" if you're winded. (The GM will tell you when that is. Generally, when you've cast a lot of spells or wrangled cattle for hours.) You may throw a red chip to avoid (but not recover from) a wound that you are about to take. You may throw a blue chip in order to recover from a wound you've already taken (looks worse than it is!) or to avoid some sort of death wound you're about to take (landed on a prarie dog!)". Powering knacks. You can buy a knack at character creation - a limited situation you're very good at. This allows ANY chip to act as a red chip for hand manipulation - it gives you a wild pick. So you never have to fail, and you probably succeed well. Sample knacks are given in the section on character creation. Powering stunts. A stunt is something that you can just do by throwing a chip, with no skill roll required. Sample stunts are given with character creation. The level of chip thrown determines just how amazing the stunt is, but you never have to throw more than a white chip to make it go off. Just Getting Lucky. A white chip may be used for an extremely minor and likely piece of luck - for example, despite not having mentioned packing a rope when you left, you packed said rope, because after all you knew you might have to tie something up. A red chip may be used for a quick lucky occurence - the bad guy is standing on a rug you can yank, or the tiny little store happens to have a crate of dynamite for sale. A blue chip may be used to seriously bend reality - the guards must have fallen asleep, and the keys to your cell are within reach of a long broomstick they left you. Special Uses for Blue Chips. A blue chip may be used by a magic using type for one-time access to a spell they don't actually have. This goes for hucksters, shamans, faithful, and what have you. It has no effect other than access. For hucksters, the spell is drawn for at the maximum level (their hexslinging skill). Contests of Skills: To succeed at something you have to beat the hand assigned by the GM - usually a pair, for basic stuff, but the GM could assign a value, such as "pair of jacks", or even a higher hand, such as three of a kind. To succeed in a contest, both you and the opponent draw and compare. Pretty simple. Skills Enhancing Skills: Sometimes one skill is used to prepare for another skill, or one person helps another with their task. In this case, the helper draws a hand and adds cards to the leaders draw as follows: Pair +5 value to hand (fives become tens) Two Pair +1 card Three of a Kind +2 cards Straight +3 cards Flush +3 cards Full House add a wild pick (as though using a red chip) Four of a Kind +1 card, wild pick Straight Flush GM's choice, but good Combat: To determine turn order, everyone will draw a hand (5 cards modified by skills and advantages like "quick draw" and "cool headed") and then play will proceed in descending order for the rest of combat. Anyone who can make more than one hand out of their cards (again, these don't have to be five card hands, but must be at least a pair) may go at all values. You can use the same cards in multiple "sub hands" - so someone who is fast can be extremely dangerous. So a full house goes at full house, three of a kind, and pair. However, a full house does not go twice on pair, even though it has two pairs... you can only go once per hand as the GM calls down the hands. Anyone who doesn't get at least a pair acts at the end of the round and at -1 for combat paralysis. Combat is scary. Hitting people is a simple contest (GM assigned difficulty) unless they're dodging (ranged fire) or blocking / wrestling / whatever (close quarters) in which case it's a contest against their hand. In hand-to-hand fighting, the blocking is automatic and not a separate action - you're protecting yourself and attacking with the same value, and that value lasts until you take another action. Dodging, on the other hand, lasts until your first action the next round (so you can dodge as your first action and enjoy protection until your first action of the following round). Dodging will be interrupted by actions that require you to specifically stand still. Called shots come up a lot (damn zombies!), so here's a specific ruling for them: step 1, take a 1 card penalty. Step 2, draw your hand. A pair hits your target, but not where you were asking (and not well either). Two pair hits where you were asking, but not well. Three of a kind is a good hit on target. The one card penalty might be replaced with a two or three card penalty for shots to the eye or the left nostril or what have you. Damage is mostly at the whim of the GM, but it's based on the attacker's hand, modified by the defender's hand if there was one. And of course the weapon has a lot to do with it as well. Fear: This is a horror game - sometimes the GM will call for a fear check. This is a standard hand draw vs. a difficulty assigned by the GM - usually a pair. If you succeed, you're stalwart, otherwise you're either shaken and at -1 card, or if you fail badly you're going to be running like a jackrabbit. In general the skill is "courage" or "bravery" or whatever, but you might be able to use another skill if it's what you're using to face the danger. Gunfighters may use their pistol skill if they're facing something that can be shot to death, and priests may use faith most of the time. Generally an event will have a hand draw for fear or a set hand. An area can also add to the fear of an event, and will raise the value of the hand. For example, a fear level three area would raise a pair of deuces to a pair of fives. It would also raise a pair of aces to a low two pair. Character Creation: You get 30 points to create your character. You have no "base stats" - anything you want to be better than normal, you spend points for. Skills: Skills are medium in width. You can't buy "cowboy" but neither do you have to buy "cow knowledge: longhorns". Instead, you might buy "roping", "riding", and "cattle driving" or "ranching". In general, the more useful the skill in game, the narrower. Gun skills have to be pretty narrow: "pistol", "rifle", "shotgun". Knowledge skills can be fairly broad. You probably won't have too many skills at any sort of high level - the typical character might have a couple of professional skills and a few other backup skills. Buying a skill costs points equal to the sum of the levels bought (or, for adding one level, points equal to that level). Here's a chart: Level Cost Description 1 1 Tenderfoot 2 3 Learning 3 6 Professional 4 10 Veteran 5 15 Master Raising a skill later will cost the same number of points - so going from 4 to 5 will cost 5 points. Sample Skills: Acrobatics Alertness Biology Bluff Bravery Brawling Cattle Driving Chemistry Climbing Doctor Faith Fast Draw Gambling Kung-Fu Leadership Mechanics Occult Persuasion Pistol Preaching Riding Rifle Roping Scouting Shotgun Sneaking Survival Swimming Advantages: Some things about you aren't skills, they're just advantages. An advantage gives you +1 card to your hand whenever the GM thinks it applies. Advantages cost 3 points in general, but may go lower if they are quite narrow. Sample advantages: Alert 2 Determined 3 Quick 3 Nose for Trouble 1 Pretty 2 Smart 3 Speak other language 1 Strong 3 The Voice 3 Knacks: Knacks were discussed earlier - any chip thrown on a draw becomes a wild pick. Knacks in general cost 1 point, but may go up to 3 if they're really useful. Sample Knacks: Cattle Roping 1 Fancy Riding 1 Old Colorado Hand 1 Trick Shooting 2 Stunts: Stunts were also discussed earlier - a chip throw makes them succeed. Stunts generally cost one to three points. There's a trend here. Obviously, a stunt needs a little specification as to what it does. Sample Stunts: Ace up the Sleeve 1 Fanning the Hammer 3 Favors 1-3, see Shamans below Horse Whisperer 2 Road Agent Spin 1 Shoot holes in tossed cards 1 The Stare 2 Disadvantages: A disadvantage is something about you that makes you get one fewer card. They will give you 1-3 points. Some may also have other effects than the card loss (such as being one armed). Sample Disadvantages: Chicken 3 Ferner 1 Grating Voice 1 One Arm 3 Stupid 2 Tinhorn 1 Ugly 1 Weak 2 Hinderance: A hinderance is a roleplaying hook - something that gives you trouble every now and then. You get no points for a hinderance, but whenever it holds you up you get a chip for the roleplaying. Sample Hinderances: Addict Curious Foreigner Tinhorn Spells and Spellcasting: Spellcasting, no matter what type, has two parts. The first is the master skill. For hucksters, it's hexing. For priests, it's faith. For shamans, it's guardian spirit. This skill is rated like any other. A knowledge skill might go with it (theology with faith, or occult with hexing) but isn't strictly necessary. For hucksters, and other spellcasters who aren't defined as being different, the spells are bought as skills as well, but at a reduced cost: 1 point per level. The catch is that they can't be any higher than the master skill. The other catch is that once you've used as many spells as your levels in the master skill, you're winded, and at -1 card to everything (unless you spend a white chip to get a second wind). You can also just rest for a few hours, but who has time for that? Hucksters who pull a joker suffer some sort of backlash from the spirit they're beating into doing the spell. If they actually went bust, the backlash will be quite bad. If they made the hand, the spell will work, but may have somewhat twisted effects. For the faithful, they automatically know a number of miracles equal to the level of their faith skill, and the miracle "protection" as a bonus. Unfortunately, they can't have any more than this. On the plus side, they don't get winded while they're using their miracles for a good cause. When a faithful pulls a joker, they either receive a surge in power (red joker) as their god backs them up, or have to throw in a chip to make the blessing work (black joker) as their faith is tested. Shamans have a different row to hoe. They buy their spells (spirit favors) as stunts, and spend chips to power them. Sounds terrible. But they may also buy ritual skills as normal skills. These rituals generate chips which may only be used to power favors. They must also buy a guardian spirit skill (which comes with an associated oath as a hinderance). The shaman may have up to his guardian spirit skill in favor chips held at any time. He may also generate chips to be used immediately by performing his ritual and using the generated chip or chips on an instant favor. Shamans don't get winded using their favors either, though doing their rituals may make them tired. Each ritual may only be used once per session, however, unless a decent amount of time passes in game. The spirits get bored with repetition. Rituals generate chips as follows: Pair White Chip Two Pair Draw a chip Three of a Kind Draw two chips Straight Draw two chips Flush Red Chip Full House Red Chip and draw Four of a Kind Red Chip and draw two Straight Flush Blue Chip (even if there isn't one in the pot) If you pull a joker during a ritual, you've annoyed the spirits in some way and must throw one chip back into the pot (from your favor chips if possible, otherwise from your regular chips). You get to take a chip or draw afterwards if you actually succeeded. If you go bust, you've seriously angered the spirits and lose all favor chips at a minimum. Favors cost one point for something that isn't dramatic, two points for useful in combat or dramatic, and three points for seriously ass-kicking (like invisibility). For favors in the medicine way your guardian spirit likes (Trickster way for Coyote, for example), your white chips spent from your favor pool, or raised by ritual and immediately spent, count as red. This is quite useful. Science!: For Mad Science, gadgetbuilding, and that sort of thing, you need a core mad science skill. Science skills are also useful, as is an engineering or mechanics skill. The way mad science works to make something new is: First, make up the theory behind the device. "My new JetSki is a simple application of hydrodynamic compression through the application of twinned turbines!" This is free. Second, make a design for the device by making a mad science check. You may make an appropriate science check first to add to the mad science check. Required design ratings are: Pair simple application of existing tech: hat gun Two Pair complex application of existing tech: gatling pistol Three of a Kind minor novel tech: steam wagon Straight / Flush novel tech: rocket boots, magnetic gloves Full House crazy tech: jetpack, revivifier, clockwork workers Four of a Kind impossible tech: ectoplasmic calcifier Straight Flush you built what?: bulletproof clothing The JetSki is novel tech - it has a pretty funky propulsion system. If you beat the required hand, by two or more hand, you can take a bonus card (or cards for really smashing it) for the construction check. Jokers in the design hand have special effects. A red joker means that the design requires at least one exotic and annoying item to construct. A black joker results in more eccentricity for the inventor as he thinks too hard. Designs take time to fully conceive - a few hours for the lower ones, a few days for the middle ones, a week or two for the higher ones. They also produce a physical artifact, which is the design copied down. You may recopy this design and give it to other manufacturers for use. Finally, you make a construction check. You can construct as many instances of an object as you want off a single design. If it's not your design, you'll be at a one card penalty the first time. The construction check is again a mad science check, this time modifiable by an engineering skill check first. Your target hand for construction is the same as design. How well you hit it determines how well the device works: Miss required hand by three or more: just won't work. Miss required hand by two hands: reliability 10, 10 card fail hand. Miss required hand by one hand: reliability 7, 8 card fail hand. Hit required hand: reliability 5, 7 card fail hand. High required hand: reliability 4, 7 card fail hand. Beat required hand by one hand: reliability 3, 6 card fail hand. Beat required hand by two hands: reliability 2, 6 card fail hand. Beat required hand by three hands: reliability 1, 5 card fail hand. Jokers in build hand should be noted, more on that in a moment. The construction takes time to build, depending on the complexity of the object. Generally that tracks the design complexity, but for especially small and fiddly or large and complicated designs the GM will modify it. Complexity Time (below simple) an hour simple a day complex a week insane a month (above insane) a year You may rush construction at a cost in reliability determined by the GM - generally +2 per category rushed. Construction also requires access to materials, perhaps exotic materials if the GM feels especially cruel. Reliability: The GM draws this many cards. If either joker comes up during that time, the device suffers a breakdown. The GM will draw five plus half the reliability more cards the non-joker cards already drawn to determine the severity of the breakdown. If a black joker was drawn during build, the GM will just keep the reliability cards and draw five cards to add to them (a much larger hand). If a red joker was drawn, the GM is limited to a five card hand as this device doesn't usually fail badly. Black trumps red. Minimum reliability is one card, or a 4% failure rate with five cards drawn on failure. Hitting the required hand is a 21% failure rate and a seven card failure hand assuming no jokers during build. Sample Character 1: Bert Muskie, Gunfighter Skills: Pistol 4 10 10 Fast Draw 3 6 16 Riding 2 3 19 Alertness 2 3 22 Intimidate 1 1 23 Advantages: Quick 3 26 Determined 3 29 Stunts: Road Agent Spin 1 30 Shoot Holes In Cards 1 31 Disadvantages: Grating Voice (1) 30 Hinderances: Addict: Cigars Reputation: Gunfighter Sample Character 2: Sally Swift, Huckster Skills: Occult 3 6 6 Hexslinging 4 10 16 Spell 1 2 2 18 Spell 2 2 2 20 Spell 3 2 2 22 Spell 4 3 3 25 Gambling 2 3 28 Persuasion 1 1 29 Advantages: The Voice 3 32 Disadvantages: Weak (2) 30 Sample Character 3: Three Eagles, Shaman Skills: Guardian Spirit (Elk) 4 10 10 Ritual: Paint 2 3 13 Ritual: Tobacco 3 6 19 Preaching 2 3 22 Advantages: English 1 23 Indian Sign 1 24 Stunts: Ask The Spirits 1 25 Healing 2 27 Invisibility 3 30 Turtle's Shell 2 32 Disadvantages: Ferner (1) 31 Hard of Hearing (1) 30 Hinderances: Elk Oath Old Ways Oath