In Grimdark West, players choose which Path or paths their character takes. One of these paths is the Gunslinger, the poster child for the Wild West theme of the setting. If you want to play a character skilled in shooting of any kind, this is the Path for you. Let’s take a look at a few Talents that the Path has to offer.
First up are the Tier One Talents Quick Draw and Breach Load.
Quick Draw: The character spends 1 Risk Dice to draw a Pistol weapon and make one ranged attack before the first round begins. If multiple Characters use this Talent, resolve the order following the initiative order determined at the start of the encounter!
Quick Draw allows you to get the jump on your target, and you may get to end a villain mid-monologue. Though only a Tier One talent in Grimdark, the goal is for all talents to stay relevant throughout a character’s play. One way is that the Higher a Tier a talent is on, the more Risk Dice it requires.
Breach Load: The character may reload any shotgun while moving!
Though not as flashy as Quick Draw, Breach Load allows Shotgun users to reload on the move. Usually, reloading takes the action on a player’s turn. Breach Load enables shotgun users to be a threat even with their weapon of choice’s limited ammo capacities.
Next, we will examine the Tier Two talents Rifleman and Duck and Cover!
Rifleman: The character doubles all the range increments of rifle weapons!
Don’t be fooled by the simplicity of the Rifleman Talent. Making a long-range weapon into an extreme-range one is no joke and allows the player to get the drop on enemies from afar. Combine this with either other talents for the Gunslinger or with a Spellbinder who has Nether Walked into an enemy camp for stealth play, and you have a recipe for tense and interesting encounters.
Duck and Cover: The character spends 2 Risk Dice, and all other party members may move their full speed immediately and take the Hunker Down action.
This Talent showcases some of the Leadership abilities that the Gunslinger has on the Path. It allows their posse members to get into a safe position for cover or clever use by allowing a melee-focused character to get extra movement to close the distance.
Lastly, we will look at the Talent Just a Graze from Tier Three.
Just a Graze: The character spends 3 Risk Dice to reduce the damage they have just taken to one Injury.
Reducing damage to just one is a powerful ability, especially in a game where the maximum number of wounds is Ten. Damage in Grimdark West should be discussed to illustrate just how strong this ability really is.
In Grimdark West, all players start with several Wounds determined by their Physical status. The maximum a player can start with is 5. With talents and traits, they can get to 10 wounds max. Every time a player takes damage, they lose one Injury, represented by a small box next to their wound count. Once the player has lost 5 Injuries, they lose 1 Wound. A player may only ever lose a max of 1 wound from a single source of damage unless that source of damage has the keyword Empowered. Losing wounds also causes a player to take a panic check to make sure they do not become Shaken or Panicked, which will significantly hamper their effectiveness.
So, being able to use Just a Graze to turn a high-damage source into a single injury is a very potent ability. You can take a 4-damage rifle shot and make it a scratch or a deadly strike from an enraged Werewolf that can do 8 Empowered Damage per swing to just a close call.
Next, we will discuss the Learned, who embodies the Craftsman, Healer, and Investigator-type characters in the game system.
Until then, Happy Gaming!