Blue Text = Changes made since the last version
of the FAQ
Red Text = Correction or reversal of
a previous answer
This FAQ contains common questions on Doomtown game play. For rulings on specific cards, please see the Accumulated Rulings.
In addition, the section of the old FAQ containing resources and release dates can now be found in the History section.
""When in doubt, win the trick" - 5:12" - Hoyle's 1838
Table o' Contents
Section B: Them CardsSection H: Obligatory Legal Boilerplate
Dudes
Top
Q: What is a deed?
A: A deed is a location other then a player's home, or the Town
Square.
Q: And a strike?
A: A strike is a deed that is almost always
found out of town. (The Lode is an exception.)
Q: Ok smart guy, what's the real difference?
A: All deeds that aren't labelled "Strike" or "Out Of Town"
are in-town, and are therefore adjacent to the Town Square.
Q: And what about this Public and Private stuff?
A: While different parts of Gomorra are owned by different outfits,
there’s usually nothing to stop you wandering into one of your opponent’s
deeds. However sometimes you ain't really welcome there. If you’re ever
at a Private location that you don't own, and a shootout starts, any dudes
in your posse become wanted the moment they join your posse (even if you
didn't start the shootin'!)
Q: Right, got that. Now, what's the difference between owning
and controlling?
A: The owner is the player who put the deed/strike in play,
and this won't usually change (unless a card specifically allows it). The
controller is the person with the most Influence at that location, and
this likely to change a lot durin' the game as player's vie for control
o' Deeds. If there is a tie in Influence, including a tie of zero, the
owner is also the controller (even if he has no Dudes there). For more
info on this, see Controllin' Cards
Q: Suppose the upkeep on a deed is zero or positive. Can I decide
not to receive it and let it go to the discard pile?
A: No you can't.
Q: Production Modifiers - I am a
new accountant for Sweetrock Mining Co., and I've run into a spot of difficulty
that someone may be able to clear up for me. It seems that the IRS wants
to know what the production was at the Spirit of Kentucky Shaft last quarter,
and I've not been able to get an answer from Mr. Findley's office. Thus,
I am forced to calculate it myself.
Here is the situation:
The base production at the Spirit of Kentucky
(S of K) shaft is 3 GR / quarter. In the previous quarter, I know that
the company had Max Baine order Double Time for all workers at the
S of K Shaft, effectively doubling their output for last quarter. Of course,
just knowing the great Howard Findley is leading our great company
inspires the workers and increases their production each quarter by 1.
Furthermore, Mr. Findley chose to supplement the workforce at the S of
K with those loveable waifs from the Orphanage, again doubling last
quarter's production. Overtime was announced for all mines at the
beginning of the quarter, increasing their production by 1. Finally, since
Robert Northrop is present at the strike, the production is doubled.
What's the final production for the S of K Shaft?
A: Unless the card specifically states
to apply it's bonus before or after other modifiers (e.g. Orphanage), apply
them in the following order...
1) Any modifiers that specify "Printed" production
are applied first. e.g. Labor Dispute
2) Then apply any other modifiers to a Deed's
Production e.g. Double Time
In both cases, apply Addition and Subtraction first, then Multiplication and Division.
So in the example above, the only card that affects printed production is Robert, so he doubles the production to 6. Next we do the additions for the other cards (Findley and Overtime), to take it to 8. Then we do the multiplication for Double Time, to take it to 16. Finally, as stated on the card, the Orphanage is applied after all other bonuses, so that takes the total to 32.
Q: What if two or
more effect double the "Printed" production of a Deed? How can the
Printed production change anyway?
A: You're right, in fact it doesn't. When an effect says to double printed
production, it's actually shorthand for "Increase the production of this
Deed by it's printed production". So if a Deed has production of 3, and
has two effects played on it that both double printed production, the first
effect would increase it's production by 3 to 6, and the other would increase
its production by another 3 to 9.
Top
Q: Are Goods Unique?
A: Not unless the Goods card states it. There are a few unique
Goods, found in some of the expansion sets, so you can't play another of
these if there's already a copy in play or in Boot Hill. But there's no
such limit on other Goods cards.
Q: If I have a dude with a Draw Bullet rating, and I give him
a weapon with a Stud Bullet, how does that change his Bullet rating? Is
he a Draw or a Stud?
A: Goods with Bullet modifiers modify your Dude's Bullets -
ignore the color on the Goods. So if your Dude is a 2 Stud, and you give
him a weapon with a +2 Draw Bullet, he becomes a 4 Stud dude.
Q: Can you move a gadget from a mad scientist to someone who
is not a mad scientist. e.g. can I give T.C. a Ray Gun after Erik Zarkov
creates it?
A: Yes.
Q: Do I need anyone special to bring Mystical goods into
play?
A: Not unless another trait of the goods card requires it. (i.e.
If there were a mystical gadget you would need a mad scientist.) Mystical
goods in and of themselves do not require anyone special.
Q: Can I unready the only weapon on a dude?
For example if Josef Nicolai Rocescu was about to take on a Maze Dragon,
and wanted to unready his Winchester
A: Nope,
this one changed as of Boot Hill. You can't unready a weapon if you
don't have another weapon to ready in its place.
Q: Can more than one dude trade Goods as
part of a single action?
A: Yes. So long as you all the dudes are
in the same location, and you control it, those dudes trade any number
of Goods between them as a single action. In fact, just to make it easy,
here's a clarification on the rules for trading Goods...
Q: I've heard about this new headline rule, can you tell me what
it's about?
A: Sure. It was felt by the design team that Events were becoming
a bit too overpowering, and it was decided to reduce their impact on the
game a little. What this means is that each player can now only resolve
one Event per day. If a player has two or more Events appear in his or
her lowball Draw hand, pass them face down to an opponent who randomly
selects one - this Event resolves while all others are discarded without
effect.
Q: Hang on, you said discarded. What if my Event would normally
ace itself?
A: Doesn't matter. No part of the Event's text resolves, so
it just goes straight into your Discard pile.
Q: What about effects that cancel or delay events?
A: They are resolved after the event is selected.
Q: Do all Events go to boot hill?
A: Events that ace themselves tell you do so. All cards that
are aced go to Boot Hill. An Event that doesn't ace itself goes back into
your Discard pile.
Q: If I reveal a lowball hand with Events, and then use a card
to redraw my lowball hand, what happens to those Events?
A: Nothing. Only one Event in the final revealed draw
hand will take effect, regardless of how that hand was achieved.
Q: If I've got Events in my lowball hand, can I choose not to
have them resolve?
A: No.
Top
Q: What is an action, anyway?
A: Actions are card effects that begin with "Noon", "Reaction",
or "Shootout". As a matter of fact, Movin', Callin' Out, Shoppin' and Tradin'
are also considered Noon Actions, but we're not concerned with them right
now - we'll just talk about actions on cards..
Q: So how often can I perform these actions?
A: Action cards from your Play hand can be played at the times
the cards specify. So for example, if you have 3 copies of the "Sun In
Yer Eyes" shootout action in your Play hand, you can play all 3 during
a shootout if you so wish. Actions printed on cards in play can only
be performed once per turn, unless the card specifically says otherwise.
That means that you've got to be careful when you use an Action like the
Ranger’s movement action, or Tao Cheng's Bullet Bonus action. Pick your
time carefully.
Q: Sure, but I've got this Dude with a reaction effect - that
means I can use that every time the reaction's triggered, right?
A: Nope. Many folks don't realise this when they first start
playing, but reactions are a type of action, and so can still only be used
once per turn.
Q: How long do shootout actions last? I had someone tell me that
actions which target a dude, such as "Out of Ammo", last the entire shootout
even if it goes past the first draw hand.
A: Unless a card says "for this round of the shootout", it's
effects last the entire shootout.
Q: I don't understand what the picture on the Action card background
is.
A: It's the "Action" of a rifle. It's a bad visual pun by the
graphic designer, Al Skaar (I kid you not) who was featured as One Eyed
Al the Barber on the original Episodes 1&2 display box.
Top
Q: Can I give a spell to a booted Dude
A: No, he must be unbooted to attach it unless you're using
a card effect to attach it.
Q: Ok, but what if the spell is already attached. Can my Dude
still use if he’s booted?
A: Yes he can, but only if the spell does not require the Dude
to boot when casting it.
Q: Can I swap spells between Dudes? Does it work like swapping
goods?
A: No, spells can’t be traded.
Q: Can my Dude cast multiple spells during the same turn?
A: Yes, but each spell card can only be used once per
turn, even if it has more than one spell on it.
Q: Can I put multiple copies of the same spell on a Dude to make
it easier to cast.
A: No. Two Soul Blasts means he can Soul Blast twice. It doesn't
reduce the difficulty.
Q: If I have no cards left in my deck and
Discard pile, is a spell pull automatically successful? Does it automatically
fail?
A: No to both. For a skill check, you
add the pull to the skill level, and if the total is greater than the difficulty,
the spell's successful. If there is no pull, add zero to the skill level.
You could still succeed at a simple spell, if your skill level is high
enough.
Top
Homes
Q: Are the home locations "non-unique", if not, is there some
special rules exception that allows two different law dog players to have
the law dog location?
A: The Homes are non-Unique.
Q: Can you ever control an opponent's home?
A: No, never, you can only control deeds plus your own home.
Top
Startin'
the Game
Q: Am I allowed to pick as many Dudes
as I like for my starting gang, so that if I lose any to pulls I can bring
someone else in instead.
A: Definitely not. You must be able to
pay for all of your selected starting Dudes.
Q: Some non-unique Dudes have experienced
versions that are unique. If I try to start with a non-unique inexperienced
Dude, and my opponent attempts to start with the unique experienced one,
do we need to do a pull?
A: No. You only do a pull for starting
dudes if both players attempt to start the game with the same Unique
dude.
Top
Table
Layout - Deck, Discard & Boot Hill
Q: If a card has changed ownership during a game and is later
discarded, which Dscard pile does it go to ? (the owner in game terms is
different from the "real-world" owner, assuming players actually own the
cards they are playing with)
A: Cards that have changed ownership always revert back to their
original owner when they leave play.
Q: If a card allows you to get a card from your deck, does that include
your Discard Pile?
A: No.
Q: If an effect allows
me to search my deck for a card, and it doesn't say I have to show the card
to my opponents, do I have to?
A: The short answer is no. But...in a tournament, the other players are
perfectly within their rights to have a judge ensure that the card selected
was a valid one.
Q: Can anyone look through anyone's discard pile
at any time?
A: No.
Q: When I discard cards, can I discard them as
a block so my opponent only gets to see the top one?
A: No. Whenever you discard cards, your opponents are entitled to see
them.
Q: When do I shuffle my Discard to make
a "new" deck? Is it when my deck is down to 0 cards, or is it the
first time I need to Draw or Pull?
A: The first time you need to Draw or
Pull
Q: What if a card allows me to look at the top card of my deck?
A: Shuffle, then look. If you are allowed to look at more cards then you
have left, shuffle your discard pile up and place your remaining deck on top,
then look.
Q: If I have a Dude in Boot Hill who has
never been in play, but was put there via the Stagecoach Office
for example, is he treated any different than a Dude who was gunned down
in a shootout at High Noon?
A: Nope. Once a card has been aced and
sent to Boot Hill, it is then treated the same as any other card in Boot
Hill. So if the card in Boot Hill is a Dude, he can be affected by any
card that targets a dude in Boot Hill, such as Hells Fury. A Gadget
can be retrieved by Robert Holmes, etc.
Q: How many Boot Hills are there in this town anyway?
A: Actually there's only one. Each player has his or her own
Boot Hill pile, but all piles are considered part of the same Boot Hill.
Q: I played a game the other day where I had no cards left in
my deck and only 3 left in my discard pile. I got into a shootout and had
to make a draw hand - what happens now?
A: Just draw as many cards as possible, in this case 3, and
make the best hand you can.Don't forget that to make a straight or flush
requires 5 cards in the Draw hand, so you won't be able to make those.
Q: Do I discard face up or face down? And can I ever search through
my discard pile.
A: You always discard face up, but you can never search through
any discard pile without a card effect that allows you to do it.
Q: Right, now I've got this card that lets me search through
my discard pile. Does that include my deck as well?
A: Nope! If a card doesn't specifically allow you to search
your deck, then you can't.
Top
Q: Does it matter who controls or owns a Deed?
A: You bet it does. Some deeds have special abilities which
are usually prefaced by the word controller. If this is the case whoever
controls the deed can perform the ability. Any ability on a deed, which
does not specify owner, can only be performed by the controller. However,
the owner is the only one who can collect Ghostrock from a deed and even
then only if they are also the controller. If a deed has a different owner
and controller, nobody collects the production, and nobody has to pay the
Upkeep. Finally, the controller is the one who receives any Control Points
from the deed.
Q: So if I control a deed owned by my opponent, it produces no
ghostrock, right?
A: Wrong, its production doesn't change, it's just that nobody
collects the ghostrock.
Q: Can you ever control the town square?
A: No, never.
Q: Can control of a Deed change in the middle of a job or shootout?
A: Sure. Control of a Deed can change at ANY point.
Q: Let's say I control a Deed, and it has a Controller reaction
that I can play when a Dude gets aced. e.g. The Good Doctor. If
all my dudes there get aced as a result of a shootout draw - do I lose
control of the Doc's as soon as they were aced, or do I keep control until
they hit boot hill?
A: Although your dudes are aced they haven't left the location
yet (they're about to). You still control it and can still use the reaction
to try and save one of your Dudes.
Q: If I take control of another player's Dude for a turn, and
he gets sent home booted, whose home does he go to?
A: He goes to yours i.e. the Controller's.
Q: I managed to take control of my opponent's Dude, who then
got aced in a shootout. Whose Boot Hill pile does he go to?
A: Whenever you control another player's card and that card
leaves play, it always returns to it's real owner. So it goes in your opponent's
Boot Hill.
Top
Q: Two players reveal their Lowball hands. Both wish to play
reactions...who gets to play first?
A: There isn't a new winner until the lowball is done. Whoever
won lowball last turn is still The Winner and would play first.
Q: Who plays reactions first on the very first hand of Low-ball?
A: I have to admit there's no rule for this. I would say determine
randomly in this case.
Q: If there are pulls to be made during Lowball, for example
with Easter Sunday, who pulls first?
A: The winner of this lowball round
Q:
It says in the rulebook that if you don't have five cards left to draw, your
Draw hand's considered the lowest possible. What does that mean?
A: If you've got cards in your discard pile, just shuffle 'em up as normal
to make your new deck. If you still haven't got enough cards left after shufflin'
up your discard pile, then just make the worst hand you can with the cards you
have left.
Q: What do you mean by the worst possible hand?
A: I mean take the cards you have in your hand, and add 'phantom cards'
to the Draw hand to make it as bad as possible. For example, let say you only
have 2 cards left in your entire deck and discard pile - a 9H and a 10C. In
this case, you can potentially have a 4 of a kind (4 10's), so that's considered
to be your lowball hand.
Top
Q: Do I have to pay the Upkeep cost of all my cards that I both
own and control?
A: No. You may choose not to pay, in which case the card is
discarded.
Q: What about if the card has zero Upkeep, or has Production
instead. Can I choose to forfeit the production and discard the card?
A: No
Q: I've just put a Dude from another outfit into play,
so I have to pay the additional Upkeep cost. If I then use a card to increase
that Dude's Influence, does his Upkeep cost go up as well?
A: Yes. When calculating additional Upkeep due to Influence,
use the Dude's total Influence. The additional upkeep cost only applies during lowball, and not for other card effects such as
Insurance Policy.
Top
Shoppin'
Q: I've got 2 ghostrock left in my vault, and I decide to play
a New Hat, with a cost of 2. My opponent then plays a reaction to
raise the cost of my Hat to 3. What happens next?
A: To play a card (or perform an action), you must be able to pay all
costs involved in playing the cost (or action). If the cost changes, then you
may continue trying to pay the cost. If you are unable to pay the full cost
or reduce the cost back down again, the card does not enter play (the action
is cancelled) and any partial costs that have already been paid (ghostrock,
booting dudes, etc) are lost and not returned. So in your case, the New Hat
remains in your hand and ghostrock you paid is gone.
Q: I've got a card that says its cost can't be
reduced. What about another effect that brings the card in for free - can I
play that instead
A: Nope, making it free is definitely reducing
the cost.
Q: Someone's just played a card on me that's
cancelled my shoppin' action...what happens to the card and ghostrock paid?
A: If you change the cost of a Goods so the player can't afford it, he
loses what he's paid so far, but the Goods remains in his hand. I'd say if you
cancel a shoppin' action, it should follow the same rule to keep it simple.
Costs would remain paid, but the shoppin' action has no effect so the Goods
doesn't enter play. Therefore it stays in your hand.
Q: I have a card effect that allows me to attach a goods or spell card to a dude.
Does this override normal attachment restrictions?
A: Yes, it will allow you to attach a card to a booted dude, even in a location you cannot control.
It does not allow you to attach cards the dude could not normally attach.
Top
Q: I can't figure out how Movement works. Please help!
A: It's real simple. You always boot your dude when you
move...
...With 2 simple exceptions:
1. If you're moving a Dude from your own Home to an adjacent location.
2. If you're moving a Dude from the Town square to an adjacent location except your own Home - if you wish to move there, you must boot.
Q: Wait a minute! What about when I'm at a Deed and I want to
move to an adjacent Deed?
A: You boot when you move. Adjacency is mostly important for
figuring out who can join a Posse in a Shootout or to do a Job. It has
little to do with movement.
Q: So I don’t boot when moving out of my own home to an adjacent
location, but I do boot when moving out of yours, right?
A: Correct
Q: Can I move to an out-of-town Deed without going through the
Town Square?
A: Sure. In fact, there is no reason whatsoever to go via the
Town Square when you're moving out of town.
Q: Those chickens keep holin' up in their home, can I go in and
call them out?
A: Well, you can move into your opponent's home at any time,
but you can't call his dudes out without a card effect.
Q: If a card lets me move to a new location, do I still have
to boot.
A: No. When moving via a card effect, your dude only boots if
the card tells him to.
Q: Some Deeds only let me move to them
by using a card effect. What does this mean?
A: Moving via a card effect means using
an effect that actually moves the dude. For example the Rocket Pack says
"Noon: Boot the Pack to move this dude to a different location". Don't
get confused with card effects that alter the way you move though. For
example, the Roan does not have an effect that moves a dude - it just says
that if your dude is moving and happens to boot in the process, the Roan
is booted instead of the dude. That is not a card effect that moves your
dude.
The Rocket Pack will get out to the Sweetrock Western Corporate Office startin' Strike, the Roan won't.
Q: I boot to move a Dude, but my opponent plays an action that
cancels my movement or redirects me. Does my Dude remain booted?
A: Yes. Booting is a cost of moving, and all costs remain paid
after an action is cancelled. You also remain booted if you are
redirected to a location you would not have booted to move to, and do not need to boot
if you are redirected to a location where you would have needed to. Booting is a cost, not an effect, of movement.
Top
Q: You used to have to control a location
to attach Goods using a card effect. Has that changed now?
A: It sure has! You can now attach a Goods
to a Dude using a card effect even if the Dude doesn't control his or her
location, and even if the Dude's booted. This is to make the Tradin' rules
consistent with the other standard Noon actions (Shoppin', Movin', and
Callin' Out).
Q: Can you trade a goods that has already been used that turn (like
the still)
A: Yes, although obviously you can't use any actions that have
already been used
Callin'
Out
Q: Right, so I know how to move about town, and I know how to
buy new cards and trade Goods. Now, how do I start a fight?
A: Simple really, any of your unbooted Dudes at the same location
as another player’s Dude may "call out" the opposing Dude.
Q: Ok so what happens if I call someone out?
A: Depends on the opposin' Dude's guts. He can either accept
the challenge, or run like a dog to his home. Of course, sometimes a Dude
can be a bit tired and can't run at all, this happens if the Dude bein'
called out is booted.
Q: Does calling someone out boot my Dude?
A: Nope, kinda scary huh.
Q: Can I call out my own Dudes?
A: No way, and nor can you target your own Dudes with Jobs,
before you go gettin’ any funny ideas. Not even with a card effect that does not say opposing; it doesn't need to.
Q: Can I call out my opponent’s Dude who’s sitting at home?
A: You can, but only by using a card effect. There are many
cards that let you call a Dude out or start a shootout with a Dude, and
you must use one of them to call out a Dude in his home.
Q: What's the difference between calling someone out, and starting
a shootout with them?
A: The defending Dude may refuse if called out, and run home
booted. But if a card effect starts a shootout, that defending Dude cannot
refuse.
Q: My Dude is already at home, and I want to refuse a calling
out. Can I do that?
A: Yes, you just remain at home booted.
Q: Right, got all that, now what happens if they accept?
A: Both players form a posse. For a Dude to join the posse,
the Dude must belong to that player’s gang, and be in: a) the targets location,
or b) adjacent to the targets location. Dudes in adjacent locations must
boot to join a posse.
Q: When creating posses, what's the order for adding people?
A: The Dealer adds whichever Dudes he wishes to his posse, then
the Target does the same. The Dealer always tips his hand and reveals his
Shooter first.
Q: If I get into a shootout at another player's Private Deed,
at what point do my Dudes become Wanted?
A: As soon as they join your posse, they immediately become
Wanted.
Q: If two players are in a shootout, and neither player owns
the Deed, do they still become Wanted?
A: Damn straight! Just 'cos they ain't shootin' at the owner,
doesn't mean they're allowed to be there. They're both trespassin', and
they both become Wanted.
Top
Actin'
Q: I've got this card that says I must
ace a Dude to get an effect. Can I save the Dude after I've aced him?
A: Good question, which boils down to
whether acing the Dude is a cost or not.
If the card reads: "Do X. Gain Y", then doing
X is not a cost of gaining Y.
If the card reads: "Do X to gain Y", then doing
X is considered a cost.
Example 1: Undead Miners reads "Ace one of your Strikes. Target another one of your Strikes. The target Strike has it’s printed Production permanently doubled". In this case, if you save the strike with a Bucket Brigade, you still the double the other strikes production because acing the first strike is not a cost.
Example 2: Nasty Docs reads "Boot Doc's and ace any non-Terror Dude you control to Harrow a dude who has just been aced." Note the difference - this time, acing the non-Terror Dude is a cost of harrowing the just-aced Dude. If you save the non-Terror Dude, you have not paid the cost of the action and it will fail.
Q:
Let's say I use an action on a unique or non-unique card, like a Dude or Deed,
and that card is then discarded. If I play another copy of that card on the
same turn, can I use the action again?
A: No. The action on that card has been used this turn, even if it did
temporarily leave play.
Q:
So when exactly is a Dude considered to be performin' an action?
A: Good question. A Dude's performin' an action...
Q:
If an action is cancelled, does it resolve?
A: Yes. The card resolved, even though one or more effects on it were
cancelled.
Top
Passin'
Q: Is Passin' a Noon
action?
A: Definitely not!
Top
4.
Nightfall
Q: Do I have to draw back up to my maximum hand size during
Nightfall?
A: Yes
Shootouts
Q: My Dude is already at home, and I want to chicken out of
a shootout. Can I do that?
A: Yes. If you chicken out of a shootout at your home, you just
remain at home but outside the shootout.
Q: One of my dudes has a Shootout action printed on him. Does
he have to be in the Shootout to use this action?
A: Yes he does, with one exception. If the purpose of the action
is to move the dude into the Shootout, then he can use it to join the posse.
Q: My opponent has a card that sends my dude home booted.
If he plays this during a shootout at my home, does my dude continue to
take part in the Shootout?
A: No, any card that sends a dude home booted automatically
removes him from any shootout he's in. He’ll remain at home, booted, but
out of the shootout.
Q: When doing the shootout do you keep going after the first
Draw, or does the shootout only end when one side either chickens out or
is aced?
A: The shootout ends when there is no opposing Posse. If everyone
boots to run home, there's no more Posse. If all the Dudes in the Posse
are dead, there's no more Posse. Otherwise, you're standin' in and lettin'
the lead fly, pardner! If the location of the shootout is discarded, the shootout ends without
resolution, and all dudes in both posses go home booted..
eg. Jackelope Stampede or Foreclosure.
Q: Can booted dudes be your primary shooter?
A: Yup.
Q: I've seen some cards that start a shootout in the middle of
another shootout, such as Rooftop Sniper. My question is, do shootout effects
from the original shootout carry over into this new one? For example, if
my Dude had increased his Bullet rating by +1 during the initial shootout,
and then he suddenly finds himself in the middle of another, does he keep
his increased Bullet rating in this one too?
A: No. Any card effects played during the original shootout
never carry over into the new one, even though the original shootout hasn't
even finished yet.
Q: I've got one Dude in my posse, and my opponent uses a shootout
action to send him home, out of the shootout. Can I use my next shootout
action to bring another of my Dudes into the fray, using an action on the
Dude's card.
A: Nope, 'fraid not. As soon as your initial
Dude leaves the shootout, you don't have a posse, and as soon as that happens,
the shootout ends. Just in case it matters, your opponent is considered
the winner of the shootout in this situation.
Q: I've got a card that does something
when I win a shootout. Exactly when am I considered to have 'won a shootout'.
A: When you have the only surviving posse
in a shootout, you win. Even if you just send all the opposing Dudes home,
you are still considered to have won the shootout.
Q:
My opponent has got this card that says "Card effects cannot prevent opposing
Dudes from being aced in this shootout." Can I still use an effect that lowers
the number of casualties I take.
A: Sure, that's a different card effect.
Q: My opponent plays a card effect that prevents one of my dudes from
contributing to the number of cards drawn or redrawn. What does this mean?
A: Effectively, the dude does not help you for determining your total stud or draw bonus. (S)he can still be chosen as a casualty though.
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Draw vs Stud
A dude can only ever be either a Draw or a Stud - these Bullet types are mutually exclusive. Therefore, if there are two abilities, one saying "Bob is a Stud", and the other saying "Bob is a Draw", the two effects cancel each other out, and the dude will be whatever bullet type he would otherwise have been. Note that an 'ability' is not an a action - both are card effects, but an action is a card effect preceded by 'Noon', 'Shootout', or 'Reaction', and an ability is any other card effect.
Examples of these abilities are:
Pearl Handled Revolver This dude is
a Stud in a Shootout.
Poison Woman
All Studs become Draws during a shootout with the Poison Woman.
The Jinx
All Stud Dudes are Draws while at The Jinx's location.
Katie Karl
All Dudes in a posse with Katie Karl are Studs while she remains in
the shootout.
Actions can still alter one of these effects as always (think Out Of Ammo vs a Pearl Handled Revolver).
Now for some examples.
************************************************************
1.
Posse A has Austin Stoker with a PHR, and Billy
No Neck.
Posse B has the Jinx
Result:
Austin is a Stud (Jinx effect is nullified by
the PHR)
Billy is a Draw (he has no protection from the
Jinx)
************************************************************
2.
Posse A has Austin Stoker
Posse B has the Poison Woman
Crack Shot is then played on Austin
Result:
Initially Austin is a Draw as per the PW, but
the CS then changes him to a Stud
************************************************************
3.
Posse A has Zeke Beauchamp
Posse B has a Walking Dead
Crack Shot is played on Zeke. Then the Poison
Woman joins Posse B using Hiding In The Bushes.
Result:
The CS changes ZB to a Stud, then the PW turns
him back to a Draw.
************************************************************
4.
Posse A has Austin Stoker with a PHR, and Katie
Karl.
Posse B has The Jinx and the Poison Woman
Result:
For Austin, the PHR nullifies The Jinx and KK's
effect nullifies the PW. He remains a Stud.
Katie has no defense against either effect (note
than her effect doesn't include keeping herself as a Stud), so she is a
Draw.
************************************************************
5.
Posse A has Austin Stoker
Posse B has a Walking Dead
First, Out of Ammo is played on Austin - then,
the Poison Woman joins posse B, and finally Katie joins posse A
Result:
OOA turns Austin into a Draw. When the Poison
Woman joins posse B, Austin obviously remains a Draw. When Katie joins
posse A, her effect nullifies the PW, but the effect of the OOA remains
so Austin is still a Draw.
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Q: Do I have to defend against a job, or can I just let it succeed
without putting up a fight
A: You are never forced to defend, and sometimes it's a good
idea not to, particularly if you could lose a lot of Dudes in a shootout.
Q: When I nominate a Dude to start a Job, does that Dude have
to be part of the posse going on the job or can the other dudes do the
Job without him.
A: He must always go along
Q: If an effect prevents the nominated dude from
performing an action, such as Mob Justice or Singing Feather, what happens?
A: The job does not start, as the action is cancelled before posses are formed.
Q: Can a booted dude start a job that does not require the Dealer to boot?
A: No. As of Boot Hill, only unbooted dudes can start jobs.
Q: Can I target my own cards with jobs?
A: Mostly yes, but the exception is Dudes - you can't target
Dudes you control with your own job.
Q: So if I own a strike that's controlled by another player,
and I want to Arson it, who forms the defending posse?
A: The controller of a card always has first choice to defend
it. If he or she opts not to defend, then the owner of the card can do
so instead. So in the above example, if the controlling player opts not
to defend, you can choose not to as well and the Arson will automatically
succeed.
Q: I start a job at an opponent's Deed,
and we both form posses. In the middle of the shootout, one of us plays
a card effect that sends both posses home booted. Is the job successful?
A: No, if the Dealer doesn't have a posse
left standing at the location of the Job when it's over, the Job fails.
Q: What about if my posse never even makes
it to the target location, due to some devious trick played by my opponent.
What happens to the job then?
A: If you don't have a posse, there's
no shootout and the job will automatically fail. However, as
long as at least one dudes arrives at the target location, the job continues, even if the Dealer gets Lost in the Badlands.
Q: Some cards, like the Stained Glass
Window, move a shootout to another location. If that happens during
a job, does the job still succeed if the target loses the shootout?
A: As above, the answer's no. For a job
to succeed, the Dealer has to have the sole surviving posse at the original
target location. So if I tried to Arson your St. Martin's Chapel,
and you threw me through your Stained Glass Window into the Town
Square, the job would fail even if I won the shootout.
Q: But what if the target was a Dude? If
the Dude got thrown into the Town Square as well, presumably the shootout
is still taking place in the target location, and so can succeed.
A: Once again, that's a no. The target
location is determined when the job is declared, and doesn't change even
if the Dude moves elsewhere.
Q: The rulebook says third parties involved in a job can play
Shootout Actions. What about Reactions?
A: Sure. You can play reactions that don't require you to have
a draw hand (which is most of them). So, for example, Nice Boots Chief
and Fanning the Hammer are both fine (you don't have to have a Draw hand
to play them), whereas Quickdraw is out. For more information, see the
Reactions List here
Q: If a third player includes one or more of his Dudes in my
Job's posse, can I choose one of those Dudes as my shooter?
A: Yes, absolutely
Q: So presumably I'll get Draw bonuses for all his or her other
Dudes that have joined my posse too?
A: Correct.
Q:
When I declare a job using an Action card, do I discard the card immediately
or wait till the job finishes? It makes a difference if I have to reshuffle
my discard pile to draw my Draw hand.
A: Wait until the job completes before discarding the card..
Top
Section D: ...And All the Rest
Card Memory
Q: Does card memory apply to Goods? For example, if I give a Goods a
permanent +1 Bullet bonus, does that apply to all copies of the Goods when they
come into play?
A: No, the only time card memory applies to a Goods card is if it's unique.
Q: My Dude has his
value reduced to less than an Ace which aces him, and then somehow returns from
the grave. When he comes back into play, does he immediately explode again?
A: No, he returns with a value of Ace.
Q: Say I’m in a shootout and I cheat. Can anyone in the
game play a cheatin' card on me, or only my opponent in the shootout?
A: Anyone, but only once on each Draw. Multiple players can't
hit you on the same Draw, even if your hand is replaced with a new one.
Q: If my hand has less then 5 cards for some reason, is it considered
a cheatin' hand?
A: Nope, there’s nothing in the rules about having a full sized
hand. That is not cheatin.
Q: Can cheatin' cards be used in the lowball hand?
A: Sure, but remember they do exactly as specified. In other
words, they do not do the "opposite" of what they say simply because it's
the lowball hand. (Cheatin' varmint does not increase a hand by 3 ranks)
Q: If I have a Cheatin' hand, but a card effect changes the rank
of that hand, say from a Five of a Kind to a Dead Man's Hand, is my hand
still considered to be Cheatin'?
A: Yes, you still have two or more cards in your hand with identical
values.
Top
Q: If I use a card to modify my Draw hand,
or even replace it with a new hand, am I 'revealing' a new Draw hand, meaning
can I play reactions like cheatin' cards on it?
A: Whenever you draw a poker hand, you
are drawing for a single hand. No matter how many times you modify the
hand, or even discard it and redraw it, you are still just drawing cards
for the same hand. Therefore you only 'reveal' the hand once.This means
there is only one point in time when you can play reactions that occur
before a hand is revealed, one point when you can play reactions that occur
when a hand is revealed, and the same again for reactions that occur after
the hand is revealed. For more information, see Reactions.
Q:
Can my hand rank ever go above 11 or below 1?
A: If it does, keep track of it but consider it as 11 (or 1).
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Q: If I have the experienced-Harrowed Northrop in play and I
replace him with the inexperienced, does the inexperienced get in play
as normal, or is he a harrowed inexperienced Northrop?
A: The inexperienced one enters play normally and is NOT harrowed.
Strange, but true...
Q: What if I'd given the experienced Northrop
a Harrowed power, and then replace him with the inexperienced version.
Does he keep the Harrowed power, even though he's no longer Harrowed?
A: Yes, it's a permanent change to the
Dude and therefore remains through card memory.
Q: Say I've got a non-unique Dude in play,
and my opponent also has a copy. I switch in an experienced version who
is also unique. What happens to my opponent's Dude?
A: Nothing happens to him, he remains
in play.
Q: If a Dude has goods or Spells, and is
replaced by a different version, are they discarded?
A: No, he keeps them.
Q: If two players try to start with different
versions of the same dude, do they still have to make the pull to see who
starts with him.
A: If both versions are unique, yes, otherwise
no.
Q: The rulebook explains how to replace
a dude in play with an Experienced version of that same dude (or vice-versa).
It does not, however, address card orientation (booted vs. unbooted).
A: It remains whatever it was before the
switch.
Q: What do the rules mean when they say
"Different versions of a dude are considered the same dude for deckbuilding"?
A: It means you can only have a total
of 4 copies of that dude in your deck, regardless of what version you include.
For example, if you have 2 copies of the inexperienced Nate Hunter, and
2 copies of the experienced version, you can't include any more copies
of Nate in your deck.
Q: Can I take control of an opponent's
Deed then switch it with another version? If so, am I considered the owner?
A: Yes you can, but ownership hasn't changed
- it's still owned by your opponent.
Q: Some non-unique Dudes have experienced
versions that are unique. What happens if two players have a copy of the
non-unique inexperienced version out, and one wants to bring in the experienced,
unique one?
A: Yeah, this one's confusing. You can
bring the experienced version of the Dude in because there isn't another
unique version in play to prevent it. The non-unique versions are unaffected
when you do this, but you can't now make any of them experienced unless
the first one is somehow discarded.
Q: If I try to start with a non-unique
inexperienced Dude, and my opponent attempts to start with the unique experienced
one, do we need to do a pull?
A: No, for similar reasons. You only do
a pull for starting dudes if both players attempt to start the game with
the same Unique dude.
Q: My Dude had a value of 10, but it's been reduced by 3 to 7.
If I replace the Dude with an experienced version who's printed value is
a Q, what is the actual value of my Dude now.
A: It's Q (12), reduced by the 3, giving a current value of
9.
Top
Q: If the Fear Level goes below 1, how
should I read it?
A: Like negative costs, keep track of
it, but always read it as 1. Do the same if it goes above 10.
Q:
Just for the record, what's the current Fear Level?
A: As of Do Unto Others, it's 5.
Top
Harrowed
Dudes
Q: I've got a card effect that says nothing
can stop my opponent's Dude being aced. If I play it on a Harrowed Dude,
does it prevent the Harrowed pull?
A: No - this is a common mistake. The
Harrowed pull does not stop a Dude being aced, it just changes his
destination. So instead of going to Boot Hill, the aced Dude goes to discard
or home instead.
Q: If a dude is harrowed and returned from
Boot Hill, do his goods come back with him?
A: Not the goods he originally died with,
but if he's aced in the future, his goods move with him to home or the
discard pile.
Q: An Abomination is not by definition
Harrowed, correct? So the Vampiric Dance Hall Girl is as easy to kill as
anyone else, right?
A: Correct.
Q: Do harrowed dudes who have been discarded
after a shootout retain their harrowed status through card memory?
A: Yes.
Q: So, just so's I'm completely sure about
this, who is acing the Harrowed dude? And does the player who aces a Harrowed
dude always makes the Harrowed pull?
A: The loser chooses the dudes to be aced,
then the winner aces them and gets to make the Harrowed Pull.
Q: If I give an experienced Harrowed
Dude a Harrowed Power, and then replace him with an inexperienced non-Harrowed
version, does he keep the Harrowed Power.
A: Yes, it's a permanent change and remains
through Card Memory
Q: And when am I supposed to make that
Harrowed pull?
A: The timing of the Harrowed pull occurs
after all other reactions to the dude being aced. Note: The Harrowed
pull is NOT a reaction, and cannot be prevented with No Funny Stuff
Top
Influence
Q: Some Dudes say "[This Dude's] Influence
does not add to your total during Nightfall. Does that mean it doesn't
count for control of Deeds either?
A: No, it just means it's not included
in your overall total, used for checking Victory Conditions and to see
who gets the extra card.
Jokers
Q: Can I use a Joker to make a Dead Man's Hand, or does it have
to be the exact 5 cards?
A: Yep, you can use a Joker.
Q: My final Draw hand consists of 4 Queens (one of each suit)
and a Joker. If I say the Joker is a Queen to give myself a 5 of a kind,
does that make my hand illegal?
A: No. It's true that you have to declare the value and suit
of your Joker, but a Joker itself never makes a Draw hand illegal.
Q: When do I declare the value of a Joker? This
makes a difference for card effects that affect particular hand ranks, such
as a Dead Man's Hand.
A: You don't need to declare it until after all
reactions to the Draw hand have been played, just before you compare hand ranks.
Q: The Joker says it can be any value. Does that
literally mean any value? e.g. the 100 of clubs?
A: No, it has to be a legal card value, between Ace and King.
Top
Kung Fu Powers
Q: So how do these
work?
A: Pretty much the same as Harrowed powers actually, instead they're
attached to Kung Fu dudes instead of harrowed dudes..
Q: So can a Kung Fu Dude be targeted with more
than one copy of a Kung Fu power?
A: No, like Harrowed powers, a dude can only have one copy of each.
Top
Maximum
Hand Size
Q: What is the maximum hand size? (Maybe I missed it but it
doesn't seem obvious anywhere.)
A: There is no limit to the number of cards you can have in your play hand. At nightfall,
and sometimes due to other card effects, you refill your hand to what is referred to as your maximum hand size. This starts the game at
5 cards, and can be modified by other cards.
Q: So if a card lets
me redraw back up to my maximum hand size, and I have the most Influence, do
I include the extra card when I redraw?
A: No. The extra card for having the highest influence is a bonus card
that's only drawn during Nightfall. After you refill your hand normally.
Q: Do I have to draw
the extra card?
A: Yes you do.
Q: If I have degenerated my deck and discard piles
down to a total of 5 cards, and I have no cards left in my hand, can I choose
not to draw any cards?
A: No, you must draw back up to
5 cards (or your maximum hand size if it's not 5) if you can
Top
Q: Some cards in the game stop my dudes moving to a location.
If one of those targets my home, can I still boot to go home, or did I
get locked out without my keys?
A: Whenever you move home booted, you override movement restrictions.
Doesn't matter why your dude went home, whether voluntarily through normal
movement, through chickening out, through his deed being aced etc. Any
time that a dude boots to go home, he cannot be prevented. Note the importance
of the booting bit. You can't Shadow Walk to a restricted home, because
you're not booting.
Q: These movement restrictions stop my Dudes moving to a location,
right? Does that just mean using the noon Movin' action, or is it any form
of movement?
A: Any time a Dude changes location for any reason that Dude
is considered to be moving. This includes moving to join a posse, being
a part of a posse that moves to another location, moving using a Horse
or a Gadget, etc. As a result, any effects which restrict the movement
of a Dude always restrict the movement of that Dude.
Q: If I want to bring a Token Dude into a shootout at a location
with movement restrictions, can I do that?
A: Yes. Bringing a Dude into play at a location is not the same
as moving a Dude to that location, which means you can ignore any movement
restrictions.
Top
Q: Reactions - ugh! I'm confused about
the timing of 'em - please help!
A: Yeah, this can be tricky at first,
so we'll take it a step at a time. First off, all reactions have a trigger
- this must occur for the reaction to be played. For example, take a look
at the action Only Winged 'Em. It states "Play when a Dude is
aced." That means you can't play this card until a Dude is aced, and
if you wish to play it, you must do so at the time the Dude is aced - you
can't leave it till later.
Q: Ok, I understand that, but the wording
on some of the reactions is different. For example, you mention Only
Winged 'Em, but I'm now looking at And Stay Down! That says
"Play immediately before a Harrowed Dude is aced". So does that
mean it gets played before Only Winged 'Em (assuming the Dude who's
been aced was Harrowed of course)?
A: That's right - the wording on these
reactions is important. Reactions that occur 'immediately before' a trigger
are played and resolve before reactions that occur 'when' a trigger occurs,
and these in turn are played and resolve before reactions that are triggered
'after' something happens.
Q: Right, gotcha. So that means them Cheatin'!
cards must occur before most of the other reactions to Draw hands, 'cos
Cheatin' cards are played when a hand is revealed whereas cards like Ace
In The Hole and Bluff are played after.
A: That's exactly right. In fact, if I
were to use Ace In The Hole to place a second Ace of Spades into my Draw
hand, you can't touch me with a Cheatin'! card, because the time to play
it has now passed.
Q: Seems ok, so here's my last question.
In our earlier example with the Dude who's been aced, let's say it's your
Dude who's been aced. I want to play Nice Boots Chief, which says
"Play when an opposing Dude is aced in a shootout".You announce
that you want to use Only Winged 'Em. Both of these reactions occur
at the same time, so what happens?
A: Whenever 2 or more players want to
play a Reaction at the same time, the Winner (that is, the player who won
the lowball poker hand) goes first, followed by the player to his or her
left and continuing clockwise.To see what happens, take another look at
the text of the two cards
Nice Boots Chief Reaction: Play when an opposing Dude is aced in a shootout. Take a Goods from that Dude and attach it to one of your Dudes that was in the shootout.
Only Winged 'Em Reaction: Play when a Dude is aced. The Dude is not aced, but is discarded instead.
If you were the Winner, you play your card first, so you take the chosen Goods card and attach it to your Dude. Then I play mine, and my Dude is discarded instead of aced, going to my discard pile instead of Boot Hill. So far so good, but the situation changes significantly if I was the winner. In that case, I play my card first, which changes the status of the Dude to not-aced. That means that when it's your turn to play your reaction, you can no longer play it because the trigger no longer exists (there is no longer an aced Dude). That's why winning lowball is so important!
For more info on Reactions, see "You
can't do that yet!" - A guide to reactions and shootouts
Top
Skill
Check
Q: If I have to make skill check, say
for a spell, but I've completely run out of cards in both my deck and discard
pile, what happens? Does the spell automatically fail?
A: No. For a spell to succeed, the skill
plus pull must be greater than the difficulty. If there's no pull, just
compare skill vs difficulty.
Q: Is booting considered to be part of
the cost to build a gadget?
A: Yes.
Top
Statistics
Modifications
Q: Card Stats. If a card effect reduces influence or bullets
below 0, it just reduces them to 0 right?
A: Unless specified, a stat can go below 0, but whenever you
check the stat, it is counted as a 0.
Token
Dudes
Q: If I have a card effect that requires me to boot a Dude,
can I select one of my token Dudes to 'boot'?
A: Yes. While a token Dude is in play, it's treated just like
any other Dude. It can boot, unboot, be targeted with actions, and anything
else that can happen to a normal Dude during a shootout.
Q: So does that mean they can become wanted?
A: Sure, if they join a posse on someone else's Private land.
Q: And when exactly do these token Dudes leave play?
A: As soon as the shootout in which they were generated ends.
So if the shootout lasts for three rounds, and a token Dude is aced in
the first round, the Dude goes to Boot Hill until the end of the third
round at which point it disappears from play.
Q: If I want to bring a Token Dude into a shootout at a location
with movement restrictions, can I do that?
A: Yes. Bringing a Dude into play at a location is not the same
as moving a Dude to that location, which means you can ignore any movement
restrictions.
Q: What about if I'm in a shootout that no other Dudes can join
- can I bring a token Dude in?
A: No. They are treated like normal Dudes, and cannot join the
posse.
Q:
If I bring a Token Dude into play, does he belong to my outfit?
A: Nope. All Token Dudes are drifters.
Q: Aren't all token dudes unique? Doesn't this mean I can't create more than one at the same time?
A: Nope. This rules is slightly confusing, but "Buckets", etc can create as many dudes as you wish; each is a separate, unique dude.
You can have more than one in play at once.
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Wanted
Dudes
Q: When exactly does a Dude become Wanted in a shootout?
A: Assuming the shootout's on someone else's Private land, the
Dude becomes wanted the moment he or she forms or joins the posse.
Weapons
Q: If my opponent only has unready weapons in his posse, does he count as having weapons for other card effects?
A: No. Unready weapons have no effect on play, so you can use actions such as TC's shootout action.
Q: If a ready weapon is removed from a dude, when does that dude ready a different weapon?
A: Automatically. If the dude has more than one unready weapon, choose one. This does not require an action.
Q: What if it's during a shootout
A: As long as the weapon has not been used during that shootout, ready a new weapon immediately.
If the dude has used a weapon this shootout, then you need another card effect to ready a different weapon. eg. Just What I need.
Section H: Obligatory Legal Boilerplate
Deadlands is a registered trademark of Pinnacle Entertainment Group, Alderac Entertainment Group, Authorised user. DOOMTOWN is a trademark of Alderac Entertainment Group. All graphic elements, characters, storyline elements and card illustrations are Copyright (C) 1998 Pinnacle Entertainment Group. All rights reserved. This FAQ document is based on the original Legend of the Five Rings(tm) FAQ, started by DJ Trindle and maintained by Jeff Alexander.