One of the oft-overlooked elements of the black powder era in RPGs is dueling. In real history, pistol duels were a somewhat common from the 18th century until well into the 19th century so any RPG that includes 18th century weaponry ought to have some kind of dueling mechanic. Some games like En Garde! and Flashing Blades have dueling systems, although theirs are far more focused on melee duels. All Western games include some kind of system for quick-draw duels, but what about the Hamilton vs Burr, 10 paces, turn and fire style of dueling? Since my setting of Nighthaven is a black powder fantasy setting, I felt that it was important for me to come up with some kind of dueling mechanic. That’s what this article will be dedicated to. These are my thoughts and proposals for dueling in a D20 system.
The first thing that we need to realize is that a simple attack and damage roll will not be sufficient to simulate any kind of duel. That’s too much abstraction for a 1-on-1 fight. Because there are fewer combatants, there will be fewer attacks made overall which allows each of the attacks to be a little more complex. In the example of a pistol duel, there will only be two attacks under circumstances that greatly differ from a battlefield situation. With this in mind, each attack will entail a slightly different process. A standard attack in D20 systems is a D20 roll plus modifiers versus the armor class of their opponent. In a duel, armor is not typically worn, so the target number will be base AC with any associated bonuses or penalties from Dexterity. Instead of rolling damage on a hit, your damage will depend on a hit location table. Hit location will determine a modifier added to your damage roll. Depending on how well you roll, you will have different tables to roll on. The best way to explain it will be to break things down step-by-step, so lets go ahead and outline each part of the pistol duel.
Step 1: Negotiation
Duels historically always had a period of negotiation before the actual duel started. This was to allow for one last chance at reconciliation and resolution of the conflict before dueling commences. It also allows for the representatives of the duelist, called seconds, to choose weapons and choose the field for the duel. Historically, the challenged picked the weapons and the challenger picked the location, although the challenged could protest the choice of location and propose an alternative. Players should treat duel preparations as a social encounter where they will be able to interact with the other side’s representatives. In PvP duels, the party may even be divided between the two participants and will have to reconcile with each other. A duelist needs at least two people on their side, a second and a doctor. Historically, duelists would have multiple seconds, generally three but sometimes more. What this means for your table is that a duel will involve not just one or two of your players, but the whole party. In this time, players may even try to cheat by tampering with the weapons, buying off the arbiter of the duel, hiding armor, or bluffing to convince the other side to yield. If no resolution can be reached, then the duel will commence and the seconds will need to step back and allow their duelist to take the field.
Step 2: Initiative and Action Declaration
Roll initiative using whatever system your game uses. The loser of initiative will declare their action first. The winner gets to declare last but his action will happen first. Action declaration is important because there are a handful of options available outside of just firing at your opponent. A duelist can also choose to fire past their opponent, fire in the air, not fire at all, or even try to run away. Some of you may be asking why the loser declares their action first? The answer is that it gives the winner the chance to alter their action or interrupt the action of their opponent. This idea is present in the classic James Bond RPG from Victory Games and it works well for a pistol duel. Players that win initiative will get the cool feeling of being quick on the draw and cutting their adversary off with a bullet. With actions declared, now it’s time to roll.
Step 3: Rolling Attacks and Damage
Now it’s time to roll for and shots taken. Roll a standard attack with all applicable modifiers. A miss is a miss. A hit will result in a light wound from the Light Wounds Table. A hit that exceeds the AC by 5 or more is a critical wound from the Critical Wound Table. A 20 is a kill shot without rolling damage. Before listing out the damage tables, I should note that if a player opts to fire past their adversary, giving the illusion that they’re taking a shot but deliberately missing, they will still need to roll an attack. If the result is a 1, they will need to roll on the Light Wounds Table for their adversary. For each table, roll a d100 and check your result
Light Wounds Table
1-10: Shot hits the opponents gun causing them to drop it. No damage.
11-25: Shot to the arm with no exit wound. Roll normal damage.
26-50: Shot to the torso in a non-vital area. No exit wound. Roll normal damage.
51-75: Shot to the hand or foot. Roll normal damage.
76-95: Shot to the leg with no exit wound. Roll normal damage.
96-100: Grazing shot to the head. Roll damage at -3 for a minimum of 1 HP.
Critical Wounds Table:
1-10: Shot in the groin. Roll double damage.
11-25: Shot to the arm with an exit wound. Bone shattered and arm permanently disabled. Roll damage +3.
26-50: Shot to the torso in vital area. Roll double damage.
51-75: Shot to the hand or foot. Permanent nerve damage that disables the appendage. Roll normal damage.
76-95: Shot to the leg with an exit wound. Leg bones shattered and permanently disabled. Roll damage +3.
96-100: Direct headshot. Opponent is dead.
After receiving your result from the appropriate table, roll damage with the appropriate modifiers and apply the results. Once damage and wounds are applied, the challenger will need to decide whether or not their honor has been sufficiently satisfied. If the challenger or the challenged are dead, incapacitated or are ruled unable to continue by a doctor, then the duel is over. If both duelists are able to continue, the challenger may opt for another round until the challenged is dead or incapacitated or he feels that his honor is satisfied.
These are my rules for pistol dueling. In my next post, we will be discussing rules for melee duels, including those that are conducted unarmed. Until then, I welcome all feedback on these rules and how they might be improved upon.