Pistoleer

Pistoleer

Martial arts and the people who practice them are a well-known concept across the galaxy. Some, such as the Jedi and Sith who practice Teräs Käsi or noble Noghri warriors who practice the ways of Stava, are legendary. But there are other styles not so well known. This doesn’t make them any less effective. The Pistoleer Style is one of those lesser-known martial arts.

Practitioners of the Pistoleer Style come from all walks of life, from nobles and smugglers to bounty hunters and beyond. Like any martial art, this style demands focus and dedication. In return, skilled students can accomplish uncanny feats of marksmanship in even the most impossible combat situations. Feats that some claim can only be done through use of the Force. But a true student of the Pistoleer Style knows that the Force has little, if anything, to do with the matter.

Anyone can learn to draw fast. Some people have a natural talent for it. But it doesn't matter if it's on Chalcedon, Nar Shaddaa, or Fondor... the one who wins a duel is the one who took their time. Everyone else is just blaster fanning, putting enough energy in the air to try and hit at least something.

— Jangir Toth

The common misunderstanding is that this art is only about reflexes and speed. Those do matter, but so does precision, accuracy, and a head for mental mathematics on the fly. A true pistoleer works towards a balance of physical reaction and mathematical understanding of geometry and angles between themselves and a target. It’s rumored there are even grand masters of this style where any ranged weapon is deadly in their hands.

Pistoleer is like any martial art, and so takes time to learn and even longer to perfect. Many students practice and study for years but only perfect one or two maneuvers. But even those few allow the student incredible prowess with their sidearm, making them a valuable ally or a deadly opponent. A person with skills that border on Force-like talent that rivals a Jedi, Sith, or other Force practitioner.

Game Notes and Mechanics

Pistoleer is an advanced skill based on the character’s blaster skill. Being an advanced skill, it requires an instructor, holocron, or other reliable source of information to show the details and philosophy around the maneuvers.

Before a player can purchase this advanced skill, they must have the following requirements:

at least 4D in Blaster, Slugthrower, or other pistol ranged weapon. Note this must be the base skill, not a specialization in a particular blaster or blaster type.

at least 2D Mathematics

Both of these skills must not be defaulting off the attribute the player must have spent character points to specifically learn these skills.

For every 1D a character increases their martial arts: Pistoleer skill, they may pick one Pistoleer technique as described below. The character may only pick one per for every die of skill improvement. Increasing the skill by “pips” does not count. At the start of the character’s martial arts: Pistoleer learning, they are required to learn Quick Draw first. Later, they may choose any other technique from the list.

Using Pistoleer

To use this martial art, a character would simply use it like any other skill in the following fashion:

The player declares they are using Pistoleer and announces which technique they are attempting to use. When the player does this, they should explain the effect in the story they are trying to achieve.

After that, the GM applies any appropriate modifiers to the technique’s difficulty range listed. This is based on the situation in the story and may even raise or lower the difficulty range the player needs to roll against.

Then the player builds their dice pool. To roll, a player adds their Blaster skill to their Pistoleer skill. Again, this is the base 'Blaster' (or slugthrower, etc) skill, not a specizaliztion. There is no need to remove dice for “multiple actions” for any of the maneuvers. A Pistoleer maneuver, no matter what the effect is, counts as 1 action with regards to the “multiple action” rule.

If, depending on the maneuver ( as some forbid multiple actions ), the Pistoleer wants to perform a maneuver and another action, then they should reduce 1 die from their Blaster skill as per the multiple action rules.

Any 6s on the wild die are re-rolled and 1s are considered a critical failure as always. Remember, a ‘critical fail’ doesn’t always mean ‘the weapon breaks down’ or a complete miss. It could be an unfortunate consequence has happened that either blocked the shot, affected the Pistoleer, or made the situation more complicated than it was before!

Note that many maneuvers are a combination of actions, action + defense, and so on. This does not mean a player has to roll more than once. Only one roll is required for these combination of actions. But! If the roll is a failure, all the actions in the maneuver fail. This is because for the multiple actions to work, the first action ( which is where the roll comes in ) must succeed and is a setup for the subsequent actions.

Finally, the GM judges the roll by comparing it to the Difficulty Chart. If the player rolls a number in the target range, they succeed in their action. If not, they don’t or it may have been a near miss.

If the roll was successful, the player rolls damage ( if necessary ) and the GM rolls or applies any defenses for the target against player’s damage roll for their character.

Finally, the GM explains the result of the rolls and attempt in the story.

Pistoleer Maneuvers

General for all maneuvers:

These maneuvers are character scale only. None of the following will work at vehicle scale, as would be the case to shoot at a weapon on a gravtank, or a pilot shooting while flying an X-Wing. This is only for hand held weapon against hand-held weapon only. Any attempt to use a Pistoleer maneuver against a vehicle or larger weapon is considered an automatic failure.

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Ace in the Hole

Difficulty: Moderate
Description: Ace in the Hole represents the character’s ability to fire into a hand-to-hand fight between two or more people with uncanny accuracy. They can hit their target without harming anyone else nearby in the fight.
Effect: Pistoleers can fire at a target in melee with this maneuver, at extremely long range if necessary, with no penalty. The target takes a -2 to their Dodge or other defense skill.

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Backbiter

Difficulty: Difficult
Description: Here the pistoleer uses surfaces around the target, like walls, floors, or ceiling, to bounce a shot around an obstacle at a target. Common situations are when the pistoleer is trying to hit a target that is hiding behind cover, such as a wall or a doorway.
Effect: Bounce a shot off a wall or other solid surface to hit an opponent from the side or behind with no penalty. If the opponent is behind partial cover or less, this removes that as a defense for the opponent. Otherwise, the target takes -1D to their defense when attacking with this maneuver.

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Blind Shot

Difficulty: Difficult
Description: With a display of skill that borders on using the Force, the pistoleer can fire accurately to the left, right, or behind them at a target without having to see them.
Effect: Fire at a single target to the left, right, or behind the pistoleer at short range or longer without a penalty, or being able to see them. If the pistoleer uses this maneuver, they may not make multiple attacks or actions for that turn. Opponents may still use any defense or cover they have available, but the Pistoleer adds their dice in Scholar (Mathematics) to their damage roll.

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Cover Fire

Difficulty: Easy
Description: Cover Fire is when the pistoleer fires a series of rapid shots over a wide area in front of, around, or just over one or more opponents. This flurry of shots causes the pistoleer’s opponents to dive for cover instead of returning fire. In addition, this acts as an effective Cover defense bonus for the pistoleer’s nearby allies on the very next turn.
Effect: If successful, the pistoleer is firing at two to four opponents in rapid succession, causing them to dive or run for full cover. The pistoleer’s opponents lose their chance to attack that turn. In addition, the pistoleer’s allies gain +1D cover defense on the next turn only.

If the pistoleer has already used this maneuver, they may not use it again until the +1D cover defense for their allies has expired. Also, if the pistoleer uses this maneuver, they may not make take multiple attack actions that turn.

Note that this does not grant the pistoleer any defense bonus. This only grants their allies a defense bonus, provided allies are within 10 squares, which would be medium range or less, of the pistoleer.

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Deadeye

Difficulty: Moderate
Description: Here, the pistoleer takes extra time to aim, sizing up their target and predicting their movements. No matter if the target is running for cover or is under partial cover, the sharp eye of the pistoleer can pinpoint the best angle for the shot to hit their opponent.
Effect: If the roll for the maneuver is successful, it counts as an attack roll. The opponent does not get to use any cover that is 1/2 cover or less in their defense against this roll. In addition, the pistoleer’s opponent takes a -1d to their defense against damage from this attack.

Note that for the pistoleer to use this maneuver, they must not be under direct attack in that turn.

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Disarming Shot

Difficulty: Moderate
Description: In an uncanny display of skill, the Pistoleer fires at their opponent’s weapon, knocking it out of their hand. If the weapon is physically attached, then it is damaged. Their opponent has to take that turn to recover their weapon if they want to use it.
Effect: On a successful roll, the pistoleer has knocked the opponent’s weapon out of their hand. As a result, the pistoleer’s opponent may only use normal Dodge this turn and not attack. They may, if they choose, attempt to get the weapon back on this turn, but will have to wait until the next turn to use it.

Now, if the opponent’s weapon cannot be knocked out of their hand, as with certain types of military droids, the weapon is damaged. It can only be repaired with the correct ‘Repair’ type skill under ‘Technical’.

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Dodge and Shoot

Difficulty: Difficult
Description: In this fast-paced maneuver, the pistoleer moves and shoots on their turn. This combines both move and attack all at once. But, despite being a flashy maneuver, its sole purpose is to provide a defense bonus for the pistoleer when other cover is not available. The only caveat is that the pistoleer must get behind at least partial or better cover after the complete the maneuver.
Effect: On a successful roll, the pistoleer’s rapid move and shoot applies a penalty to all attackers attempting to shoot them. This penalty is -1D to the attacker for every 2D in Scholar (Mathematics) that the Pistoleer has. This maneuver, at most, will reduce an attacker’s ability to shoot to 1D.

If the Pistoleer does not end the maneuver behind half or full cover, anyone attacking the Pistoleer on the next turn takes half the Pistoleer’s dice in skill as a bonus to fire. Rolling this maneuver takes the place of the blaster skill roll.

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Double Tap

Difficulty: Moderate
Description: Double Tap is where the Pistoleer can fire two quick shots in succession at a single target. Most often believe that the pistoleer is trying to hit the target twice. In fact, hitting twice is only a bonus. The pistoleer is trying to make sure they have a better chance of hitting with the second shot.
Effect: If the attack with the maneuver is successful, the pistoleer as effectively fired twice. Therefore, they roll two damage rolls. The first damage roll is per typical blaster damage. But the second blaster damage roll is the Blaster’s dice in damage + the pistoleer’s dice in the “Pistoleeer” skill.

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Fast Reflexes

Difficulty: Easy
Description: This maneuver is when a Pistoleer moves unexpectedly, either dodging or rolling aside from an incoming ranged attack. Almost as if they knew it was coming as if through the Force, the fire back with a counterattack.
Effect: This is a defensive maneuver that the pistoleer can use in place of a dodge. It can only be used against character scale ranged attacks only. If the pistoleer is successful, this roll acts as their dodge roll, allowing them to move out of the way. In addition, they do an automatic counter-shot that does only 2d damage.

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Focused Aim

Difficulty: Easy
Description: Through an extreme force of will, the pistoleer enters a state of calm concentration that improves their accuracy and reflexes for the next few moments.
Effect: If this maneuver is successful, the pistoleer can concentrate, similar to the Force skill. They gain 5D to their next action provided that action is firing their pistol or other sidearm, or dodging a ranged attack. These extra dice may only be used for attack or dodging, not damage. Though they may be used for multiple actions.

To use this maneuver, the pistoleer must not be actively attacked at the moment by either ranged or melee attacks.

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Maverick's Draw

Difficulty: Moderate
Description: In a display of fast reflexes and body language, the pistoleer moves to fire in rapid succession or quick draw their pistol. But they never fire on their target. Instead, the pistoleer startles their opponent by the move that they dodge instead of fire on the pistoleer or the pistoleer’s allies.
Effect: If the roll to “attack” with this maneuver is successful, the opponent must (if possible) drop their weapon and dive for the nearest full cover, losing all chance to attack this turn. The pistoleer also loses any chance to shoot on this turn. This maneuver only works on one opponent at a time.

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Precision Shot

Difficulty: Very Difficult
Description: With uncanny accuracy, the pistoleer can shoot at just the right spot to disable a weapon, device, or hit an opponent right where they’re the most vulnerable.
Effect: If successful, and the target fails to dodge, the pistoleer can hit a specific location on their opponent, their weapon, or a device. If the target is a weapon or device, the item is broken and cannot be used until repaired. If their target is a living creature, it is stunned for that turn, even if they resist the damage. Also, the Pistoleer adds their dice in Scholar (Mathematics) to their damage roll.

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Pistol-Fu

Difficulty: Very Difficult
Description: With a quick, lightning-fast motion, you’re able to reach out and block an opponent’s pistol, grabbing and moving it in such a way that it will automatically make the target miss any shot this turn. At the end of the turn, the weapon is disabled and can’t be used until repaired as the pistoleer has used their knowledge of firearms to disable the pistol with one hand.
Effect: If successful in their roll and the target fails to dodge, this counts as a parry to a blaster or similar ranged weapon attack. Note that the pistoleer’s opponent does not have to be attacking the pistoleer but could try to fire at someone else. Here, the opponent automatically misses the shot and their weapon is disabled until it is repaired.

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Quick Draw

Difficulty: Moderate
Description: Quick Draw allows the character to draw and fire their blaster in one fluid motion. This catches their opponents off guard, giving the Pistoleer an edge in combat. Note that once the Pistoleer has drawn their pistol, they may not use this technique until they have holstered their weapon again.
Effect: If the character succeeds in the skill roll, their target takes an automatic -1D to any attempt to dodge or avoid the shot, no matter if the shot is energy or physical. In addition, the Pistoleer may make a second shot with no multiple action penalties.

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Quick Swap

Difficulty: Moderate
Description: The pistoleer can quickly holster one blaster in favor of another one in a blur of motion. At that moment, the character catches their opponent off guard, who has less time to react, dodge, or dive for cover.
Effect: If the character succeeds at this roll, they can swap from one pistol to another and shoot in the same turn. Their opponent or target is at a disadvantage, which reduces their dodge by -1D to no lower than 1D. But the pistoleer can only do only 3D+2 damage with that one shot.

Also, the pistoleer may not use this as part of any multiple actions for that turn.

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