As your gang grows in size, strength and infamy, you may find the need to add more than just men to your ranks. Some may turn to heavy weapons when necessary and bring out the heavy artillery!

What follows are the standard rules for Artillery weapons in Blackwater Gulch. Don't forget to refer to your Weapon Card for any special rules that may supercede what is below.

Artillery is an all-encompasing word to define an extra-large weapon in the game. Often a large machine of some sort, this weapon will be too large and heavy for a normal man to effectively move and fire in the heat of battle, and usually a piece that will remain in more or less the same place for the duration of the gangfight.

An Artillery piece is considered an obstacle as well as a normal model. If a gang member is behind an Artillery model, he may be condered to be in cover depending on line of sight, just as if he were hiding behind a huge rock or some other terrain piece.

Movement

Artillery cannot be moved unless it has wheels, or it is mounted to something that can move it. If your Artillery piece has wheels, any member of your gang may move it up to half his Strength in inches, rounded down. For example, if his strength is 5, he may only push or pull the Artillery model 2 inches. More than one model may assist moving, but the movement will only happen as each gang member is activated, each one pushing it just a little farther. If your Artillery model is being pulled by a horse, it can move the horse's full distance, but the horse cannot run. Regardless of Strength, a model may turn the gun to change it's facing, but this also counts as moving the model (remember, every model has a 180 degree arc of fire, facing front). If an Artillery piece is moved it cannot be fired until the next game turn.

Activation

Artillery pieces are not activated like a normal gang member would be, instead they are fired by choosing a member of your gang to fire it on his activation instead of using his normal weapon. To fire the artillery piece, a member of your gang must stand in the Artillery model's rear arc, and the firer's base must be touching the weapons base.

Special skills, such as a Gunslinger aiming, may not be used, since the weapon is too large and unwieldy. Refer to the Weapon Card for weapon's range, strength or additional rules. An Artillery weapon may only be fired once per game turn. If a member of your gang moved an Artillery model, he will be too busy pushing it to attack with his own weapon or perform any other action until his next Activation.

Attributes

Your Atrillery model will have Health Points, Defense Points and Experience Points, plus a Level rating. HP, DP and XP will work the same as any other model in your gang. In this case the weapon's HP will define how much damage it can take before before it is destroyed, and DP defines how difficult it is to damage it in the first place, as most Artillery pieces are made from iron or steel.

The Level of the Artillery model works the same way as any other wepaon, your Melee or Ranged Combat Attributes must meet or exceed the level of the weapon in order to fire it effectively. If your skill is too low, you will have a to hit penalty the same as any other weapon.

Attacking Artillery

An Artillery piece may be attacked just like any other model in the game. When the model's HP is reduced to zero, it is considered destroyed (out of action), but it should be left on the board where it was so it continue to be used as cover.

Adding Artillery to your Gang

You may have 1 Artillery model in your gang for every ten gang members, including any Hired Guns. For example, if you had 10 men, the Artillery piece would be considered your 11th gang member. For the purposes of gang creation, Artillery models are considered Henchmen.

Last, but not least, don't forget to add the XP cost of the weapon to your gang's Fame!


The Gatling Gun

HP: 3, DP: 5, XP: 50, Level 4
Str: 4, Short Range: 10", Long range: 24"
Inaccurate: This weapon is difficult to fire accurately. All shots suffer a +1 to hit penalty.

Firing the Gatling Gun: The Gatling Gun spews a massive amount of bullets at your targets, spraying the general area with lead. To fire the gun, the model firing will select his target and roll 1D6 for the weapon's spray radius. This number rolled will be the radius in inches, any any other model (friend or foe) within this radius can be hit. For example, if you roll a 4, measure 4" from the target model's base and any model touching this 4" radius may be hit. After targets have been determined, roll to hit for each one separately, using the firer's Ranged Combat skill as normal.

Jamming: There is a chance this weapon can jam, especially in the hands of someone inexperienced. When rolling to hit, if ALL dice rolled show a 1 or a 2, the weapon has jammed. The weapon cannot hit any other targets this turn, and it cannot be fired again until the jam is fixed. Any model may attempt to fix it by making an Intellect roll with the weapon's level as the target number.