Gunplay is meant to be a fast set of generic skirmish rules for simple tabletop skirmish games. These rules can also be used as a fast combat system for convention games, or as a simple replacement for overly complicated combat rules in your otherwise favourite game.
The rules found on this page are only the basic rules and don't give the full gaming experience, but you can learn them in 10 minutes or less and they're good enough for pick-up games. You can expand these rules by adding any intermediate modules that you like to these basic rules. Links to the intermediate modules are found at the bottom of the page.
If you have any questions or comments please feel free to email me at danabbott32@yahoo.com. I'm always interested to hear from other gamers.
MODIFIED: April 27, 2022 - fire & movement have been made easier to make the game more dynamic. Pistol, rifle, & shotgun ranges changed.
When playing GUNPLAY each player controls a small band of figures, each figure being a major or minor character in the game. As a group they struggle to control the tabletop battlefield. Victory is achieved by defeating your opponent or by gaining certain predefined scenario objectives. All characters start off essentially the same although some may have special skills or talents. These advantages are what separates the major from the minor characters. They are not slotted into levels of power by predefined character "types", or come with a list of skill numbers such as in a specific stat line. Each figure is treated as an individual.
All characters may normally perform 2 actions per turn. The 2 most common actions are Move, and Shoot.
A list of permitted Actions with their explanations may be found in the Notes & Examples section below.
All actions have a difficulty rating which determines how difficult the action is to perform. Some actions will be automatic (always succeed) or impossible (always fail). These difficulty levels are considered "off the chart" and are never modified or rolled for. For the rest, the Target Number for success is shown below in brackets. The player must roll GREATER than this number on a 12 sided die (d12) to successfully accomplish the action. Rolling equal to the Target Number is NOT a success, you must beat it. (Rolling equal to the number is a special case, used later in the intermediate modules.)
| Automatic | Easy (3) | Moderate (6) | Hard (9) | Impossible |
Modifiers - there are two different types of modifiers, difficulty level shifts and/or dice modifiers.
Difficulty Level Shifts - these are column shifts that make the action easier or harder. Positive shifts move the difficulty level to the left making it easier, and negative shifts move it right, making it harder. If you have multiple positive and negative column shifts for the same action, combine them and shift the result. If this modifier moves the difficulty level beyond Easy the action becomes automatic, and if it shifts past Hard the action becomes impossible - remember, it is not necessary to roll the dice in either of these two cases.
Dice Modifiers - these are + and - modifiers that are applied directly to the dice roll to change the final total. If you have multiple + and - dice modifiers for the same action, combine them and apply the result.
Difficulty Level Shifts are usually caused by game situations while Dice Modifiers are caused by character skill levels.
A list of modifiers and examples of play may be found in the Notes & Examples section below.
Each turn, each player gets a chance to activate every character they control. At the beginning of each turn randomly determine who moves first by rolling a d12. The winning player chooses a character, performs 2 actions, and marks it as activated. Then the other player chooses a character and does the same. This continues back and forth until one side has activated every character. Then the other player activates their remaining characters. In a multiplayer game, if the winning roll is even (ie 2,4,6 etc) then play proceeds clockwise from the winning player, if odd then it proceeds counterclockwise.
Cautious Movement - up to the character's basic speed (3 inches) per action in any direction and ending facing in any direction. Characters MAY move cautiously and fire as a single action but may not combine this with any other action such as aiming.
Quick Movement - this allows a character double movement (6 inches) per action but this movement must be in any straight line and may not pass through difficult terrain without first passing a difficulty test. After moving, the character ends up facing in the direction they moved. Characters MAY move quickly and fire as a single action but this makes it harder to hit your target and therefore any shooting receives a negative Difficulty Level column shift.
Difficult Movement - such as jumping or climbing is done after succeeding a difficulty test determined by how fast you're trying to climb or how far you are jumping. The difficulty of such movements should be determined by the scenario.
You must have line of sight to your target. In other words, your character must be able to see what they are shooting at. A weapon's Rate of Fire (RoF) determines how many dice you roll per shooting action. All shooting is done using the Difficulty Levels. How easy it is to hit your target depends on how much of them you can see.
Difficulties - To hit someone in the open is Easy (beat a 3), hitting someone behind "some" cover (at least 33%) is Moderate (beat a 6), and hitting someone with "lots" of cover (at least 67%) is Hard (beat a 9). This can be modified by such things as range, aiming, and/or movement.
Once you've calculated the modified Difficulty Level roll the d12(s). If you roll greater than the Target Number (after adding the dice modifiers) then you have a hit. If you hit, your weapon's Damage stat determines how difficult it is for your target to remain standing.
| Example Weapon Stats | Range | |||
| RoF | (Close/Effective/Extreme) | Damage | ||
| Pistol | 1 | 9" / 18" / 36" | 1 | |
| Rifle | 1 | 18" / 36" / 72" | 2 | |
| Shotgun | 1 | 12" / 24" / 48" | 2/1* |
(*Shotgun damage 2 at close range, 1 at effective or extreme).
Examples and shooting modifiers may be found in the Notes & Examples section below.
To engage in melee your character must be in contact with an opponent's character. During melee each character attempts to hit their opponent, done in the same fashion as shooting but with different timing. Striking your opponent in melee takes an action, or is done as part of a charge, and requires passing a Hard Difficulty test, with appropriate melee modifiers. Your opponent strikes back for free. Both players roll and the character with the lowest roll struck fastest and goes first. Without rolling again, check to see if the roll just made is high enough to count as a hit. If it is then the other character takes damage and must roll a Toughness test to see if they stay up. If they stay up, the two characters switch roles and using their own first melee roll, the other character checks to see if they hit. If they did, the character that went first takes a Toughness test. In the case of a tie, both characters attack simultaneously. A Down character does not get to strike back in melee.
| Example Weapon Stats | Damage | ||
| Knife | 1 |
Examples and melee modifiers may be found in the Notes & Examples section below.
Toughness Test - When hit, a character rolls a Toughness test to see if they stay "Up". This test starts with an Automatic success rating but receives Difficulty Level column shifts towards Impossible equal to the strength of the weapon causing the damage, and by any previous wounds suffered by the target. A weapon's Damage Rating (see above) is how many column shifts it inflicts and each previous wound (other than the current one) causes 1 additional column shift. If the target fails the test the model is placed on its back and is "down". If they beat the target number they stay up.
Each hit causes 1 permanent wound whether the target passes its Toughness test or not. Each previously accumulated wound causes a Difficulty Level shift towards Impossible for all Toughness tests for the rest of the game.
A character that is already "down" when they activate must first pass an Automatic level difficulty Toughness test to recover. This takes an action. Each wound the character has already taken is treated as a negative Difficulty Level shift for this test. If they succeed they become prone (face down - or give them a "prone" marker) and may use any remaining actions they have. If they fail they receive another wound and their activation ends for that turn. If necessary this continues each turn until it becomes impossible for them to recover and they are removed from the game. Characters do not have hit points. You never know just how serious a wound is until (or if) the character recovers. It may take multiple turns for the character to get "up" again. This represents misjudging the seriousness of the wound.
Cautious Move - move up to basic movement allowance (3 inches) in any direction
Quick Move - move up to double basic movement allowance in any straight line
Recover - attempt to recover from being "down"
Interact - used by characters to interact with objects they are in contact with
Pass - do nothing
Combat Actions
Fire (shooting) - attempt to shoot an opponent
Aim (shooting) - gain a positive Difficulty Level shift if the character's next action is to fire
Strike (melee) - attempt to hit an opponent in melee
Charge (melee) - move Quickly into contact with an opponent and fight a round of melee.
Firing Modifiers
Positive Difficulty Level shifts - Aim action
Negative Difficulty Level shifts - Quick move, Moderate range, Extreme range (double)
Negative Dice Modifiers - wounded (per wound)
Melee Modifiers
Positive Difficulty Level shifts - charging, target down
Negative Dice Modifiers - wounded (per wound)
Firing Example
Character "A", with 1 wound and armed with a rifle, uses an action to aim, and then a second action to fire at Character "B". Character "B" is 20 inches away and is hiding behind a wall with only his head visable. The shooting calculation is as follows:
Difficulty Level starts as Hard (lots of cover). Character "A" aimed first so the difficulty level decreases to Moderate. Range is Effective so the difficulty level increases back to Hard. A Hard difficulty level requires the player to beat a 9 on a D12. However, Character "A" has a wound and therefore will receive a -1 on the die roll result. If Character "A" rolls an 11 or higher on the D12 (11-1=10) then they have succeeded in hitting Character "B".
Melee Example
Character "C", armed with a knife, charges Character "D". Both players roll D12s, Character "C" rolling a 6 and Character "D" rolling a 10. Since Character "C" rolled lowest then they struck fastest and go first. Striking an opponent in melee is a Hard difficulty test (beat a 9) but Character "C" charged, which gives them a positive column shift to Moderate and only needs to beat a 6. However, they rolled a 6 and missed. Now it is Character "D"s turn. They rolled a 10 and score a hit. Character "C" must now take a Toughness test.
Toughness Test Example
Character "E" already has 1 wound and takes a hit from a rifle shot. Character "E" must take a toughness test. Toughness tests begin with an Automatic chance of success. A rifle does 2 damage so the shot causes 2 negative column shifts to Moderate. But Character "E" already has 1 wound so this makes a additional shift to Hard. If Character "E" rolls a 10 or higher, they stay "up", otherwise the figure is placed "down".
NOTE - If you do not have any d12s (or if you don't like using them) you can still play these rules by
using a d20
and using the following Difficulty Level ratings: Easy (5)
Moderate (10) Hard (15).
Character Traits - Character Traits,
Talents and Skills
Initiative & Morale - expanded
Initative rules, Overwatch, and Character Morale
Combat Extras - Extra Difficulties,
Extra Damage, Extra Toughness, Glancing Hits & Solid Hits
Weapon Charts - Pistols, Rifles,
Shotguns, Submachine Guns, Carbines, Bolt Action Rifles, Thrown Weapons, Clubs, Blades
(click on above sub-heading to link to module)
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