[Basic] Advantage of the Week: Gunslinger

[johndallman]

Gunslinger [25] is a cinematic mental advantage. You have a talent with ranged, non-muscle-powered weapons, that removes many of the realistic penalties and limitations that GURPS applies to shooting. This advantage appeared at GURPS 4e, as a major revision of the 3e Sharpshooter advantage.

The revisions were necessary because of the overhaul of ranged combat rules. After a few years, 4e Gunslinger proved to be doubtful value for its cost. A revised version appeared in several supplements, and became part of the Basic Set at 7th printing, in January 2020. That’s the version described in this article.

Gunslinger applies to weapons that use the Beam Weapons, Gunner, Guns, and Liquid Projector skills, and assists Fast-Draw (Ammo). It does not apply to muscle-powered ranged weapons, but versions for them have always been possible, and Martial Arts has an example, Heroic Archer [20], which only applies to weapons that use Bow skill, plus Fast-Draw (Arrow). Other plausible skills for their own version include Blowpipe, Crossbow, and Sling, and maybe individual forms of Artillery.

The benefits of Gunslinger are:

• You get the Acc bonus without Aiming with one-handed guns, and half of it with two-handed guns. If you Aim, you get full Acc, plus bonuses for bracing, scopes, additional seconds, etc., apply normally.
• When you Move and Attack, you don’t get Aim bonuses, but you ignore the penalties (-2 or Bulk), and any extra penalties for jumping, acrobatics, driving, and so on.
• In close combat, you don’t get Aim bonuses, but you ignore Bulk penalties.
• Ignore the -2 penalty for pop-up attacks.
• While Riding, use full weapon skill, not capped by Riding.
• Halve the total of any Fast-Draw (Ammo) penalties, rounding favourably.
• You have improved defaults for techniques that allow faster shooting: halve the default penalty, with favourable rounding, and buy them from that default.
• You can buy any cinematic trait that the GM feels can work with the weapon skills covered by this advantage. This works in the same way as Trained by a Master and Weapon Master. You can usually ignore skill prerequisites for cinematic skills.

Action and Monster Hunters give extra benefits for shooting at multiple targets, and for shooting on the move. Gun-Fu makes this a key advantage for its genre. High-Tech has the original set of upgrades for Gunslinger and adds Zen Marksmanship skill. Mars Attacks provides special Limitations for this advantage, allowing you to restrict it by skill or weapon type.

While I’ve played several characters who were quite good with guns, they were all in games that weren’t cinematic enough for Gunslinger, and predated the improved version. Has it seen use in your games?

[WingedKagouti]

Originally Posted by johndallman

The benefits of Gunslinger are:

• You get the Acc bonus without Aiming with one-handed guns, and half of it with two-handed guns. If you Aim, you get full Acc, plus bonuses for bracing, scopes, additional seconds, etc., apply normally.

As a reference point this is all the original version offered. For 25 points.

I've had some character drafts that included Gunslinger, but I have never played a character with it.

[JulianLW]

Originally Posted by johndallman

[*] While Riding, use full weapon skill, not capped by Riding.

Where is this from? Has this benefit ever been added to Heroic Archer from Martial Arts? Heroic Archer appears in MA, along with the Combat Riding and Mounted Shooting techniques, neither of which mention in their descriptions either Gunslinger or Heroic Archer....

[johndallman]

Originally Posted by JulianLW

Where is this from?

Page B58, third column, third bullet point, in the 7th printing of the Basic Set, as mentioned above.

Has this benefit ever been added to Heroic Archer from Martial Arts?

Not that I know of - Martial Arts is far older than 7th printing of Basic - but it would seem plausible.

[Phil Masters]

I seem to have one Gunslinger among my past PCs; the SAS sniper in the Reign of Steel/Action campaign. Because, well, Action character, focus on guns. I'm not sure how much use he got out of it, but he did shoot a lot of robots at various ranges.

The problem with Gunslinger (and to a lesser but non-trivial extent, Trained by a Master and Weapon Master) in GURPS is of course that it mostly gives, in effect, situational bonuses to specific combat skills - and very often, one could get as much or more by dumping 24 points into one's best Guns skill and riding the defaults train from there. It also acts as an Unusual Background granting access to various cinematic things, but those are a bit specialised and not always terribly interesting. The history of the advantage is mostly about attempts to find more cool and unusual benefits for it to grant, to justify the existence of the advantage.

I've not really looked at it closely enough, recently enough, to decide how successful that effort has been...

[WingedKagouti]

Originally Posted by Phil Masters

The problem with Gunslinger (and to a lesser but non-trivial extent, Trained by a Master and Weapon Master) in GURPS is of course that it mostly gives, in effect, situational bonuses to specific combat skills - and very often, one could get as much or more by dumping 24 points into one's best Guns skill and riding the defaults train from there.

The one thing dumping more points into the best Guns skill doesn't help with is the Riding scenario (since a non-Guns skill serves as the cap), but that is generally not useful outside a wild west setting.

[Say, it isn't that bad!]

It seems like Gunslinger, Heroic Archer, Weapon Master, et al., could be split into multiple different benefits, and an unusual background each.

[RyanW]

Originally Posted by WingedKagouti

The one thing dumping more points into the best Guns skill doesn't help with is the Riding scenario (since a non-Guns skill serves as the cap), but that is generally not useful outside a wild west setting.

Should also give the same benefit with Drive (Motorcycle), etc. Very thematically appropriate for Cyberpunk Action.

[WingedKagouti]

Originally Posted by Say, it isn't that bad!

It seems like Gunslinger, Heroic Archer, Weapon Master, et al., could be split into multiple different benefits, and an unusual background each.

Some of the benefits seem like Extra Option or Rules Exemption Perks while others are more expansive and expensive. But an overhaul of the Cinematic Combat Option/Training advantages does feel like it would be useful in general.

Originally Posted by RyanW

Should also give the same benefit with Drive (Motorcycle), etc. Very thematically appropriate for Cyberpunk Action.

It should offer the same benefit for Vehicle skills in general, making it useful in a lot of modern action settings.

[Phil Masters]

Yeah, “hangs out of moving vehicle, gunning down mooks” is basic action movie stuff.