Your Magnificent 7

Wargame Shop have designed these rules for use with cowboy miniatures of 25mm, 28mm or 32mm scale in the Old Wild West.

This is a cinematic set of western gunfight rules that incorporates seven characters, from one of the seven frontier groups: Lawmen Posse, Outlaw Gang, Hired Guns, Gunfighter Band, Cowboy Ranch Family, United States Cavalry Squad, American Native War Parties.

Two players, who are the directors, cast their seven characters against each other in this classic shoot ‘em up production.

Tailor your magnificent seven cast with proficiencies, abilities, traits and even give some of your crew personalities that are specific to their group or of a more generalised nature. Proficiencies add bonuses to skilled dice rolls like firing a revolver or rifle. Abilities are learnt talents like aiming a rifle before firing, whilst Traits are naturally developed talents like being courageous or hardy. Specific personalities could be a Texas Ranger, Safe Cracker or Gambler, whilst nonspecific personalities include a Doctor, Blacksmith or Civil War Veteran. All this is achieved in CASTING PARTS.

Characters will receive immediate in game advancements when they roll exceptionally good dice or mortally wound a foe, this gives them tombstone points and possibly an infamous notoriety. This allows characters to progress through the experience classes of Greenhorn, Competent, Practised, Expert and Renowned. They improve their proficiencies and gain new abilities and they may even become a Legendary Character.

Include autonomous extras or townsfolk, as we like to call them, they can get in the way, run for cover when the shooting starts, seek out the local Town Marshal if they identify characters has wanted criminals or even feel brave and have a shoot-out with them!

Characters have a fixed number of actions to expend each game turn to either move, shoot or brawl. Opponents may react to specific actions, allowing them to have a shoot-out, dodge a bullet or even dive behind nearby cover. Directors can use their limited clapperboard tokens for a director’s cut, this allows characters to perform a one-off cinematic action or use a cinematography technique to enhance their activation.

Move around the set, ducking and diving behind cover. Jump across buildings or gaps, climb obstacles and drop on unsuspecting rivals. Shoot a foe and wound them, it may be a light, grievous, critical or mortal wound, it’s all dependent on your skill with a gun and a little bit of luck on the shooting dice. Although, you might jam your gun or run out of ammunition just when you need it the most.

Brawl through the streets or in a saloon, throwing punches, kicking and grappling. Use props and break a chair over your opponent’s back or smash a bottle across their head, if fact use anything that comes to hand. Throw your foe through a window or along a bar top, pistol whip them with your revolver or the butt of your rifle; recreate the classic movie brawl scenes, it’s all possible.

Combine all these actions and you’ve got that the greatest show-down on earth.