GUN&SLINGER
A downloadable game
Physical copies available at Dinoberry Press!
GUN&SLINGER is an RPG geared for short, episodic sessions about a weapon and a wanderer. A Maestro and two players (Gun and Slinger) set out into a dead planet mutated by a god's forgotten child and hunt strange bounties, investigate the world and unlock hidden powers. During play, they seek to learn the nature of what’s hunting the Slinger, figure out why the Gun is sentient and discover how the world died.
- Tell the story of a post-magic world and the people working together to survive.
- Explore the nature of a twisted reality and a force that hunts the players.
- Answer Questions & Prompts at the table to establish a bespoke setting to adventure in.
- Play with or without a gamemaster!
- Mix and match any of the 7 unique character types and 3 unique settings to create a truly unique story that's all your own!
- Roleplay using an entirely unique and intriguing resolution system: GO FISH!
In GUN&SLINGER, all conflict is resolved using a deck of playing cards. When a player wants to do something under pressure or with an uncertain outcome, The Maestro presents them with how difficult it'll be to do, and the players need to figure out how best to overcome the challenge.
In order to solve the problems they face on their quest to help fix their broken world, they’ll need to tap into the cards they have (through imaginative game-mechanical twists on Go Fish and Blackjack), their stats, and any other tools they happen to have at their disposal.
As you venture through the world, tackle problems, and fight monsters, you’ll get to change your stats and rework the game into something that’s truly your own.
Learn more about the included expansions
Get a physical copy!
Physical copies are available now from these fine stores!
Required for play:
- 2-3 players
- 1 standard deck of playing cards or an online alternative (I recommend playingcards.io)
- Writing implements, paper, or some other method of taking notes and tracking information
- 1-2 hours a session, 3 at the most.
Purchase
In order to download this game you must purchase it at or above the minimum price of $25 USD. You will get access to the following files:
Exclusive content
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Community Copies
If you are enduring financial hardship, feel free to reserve a copy.
How to contribute to the pool of Community Copies:
- Rating the game adds 1 Community Copy
- Telling us about your game of GUN&SLIGNER in the comments adds 1 Community Copy
Download demo
Development log
- y'all ever fix typos?Jan 20, 2021
Comments
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I am having a lot of trouble learning this game to play with two of my indie-rpg-newbie friends. There are mentions of Failure, Success, Mixed Success and Major Success, but they're never explained anywhere? I haven't found any information on how a Mixed Success is even possible with the conflict resolution mechanism. The PDF is very pretty and the setting is very evocative but I'm just so frustrated trying to understand the mechanics. If anyone has any tips, please reach out!
Hey hi hello! This is definitely one of those things that I'd design a bit differently nowadays, or at least present better in the text. The whole game is definitely designed with a bit too much "inside baseball"/assumptions made about peoples' familiarity with mechanics and it ends up asking for more lifting than I'd like.
That said, the explanations are there, they're just a bit tucked away on like a single page and then somewhere separate- so it's a bit hard to follow. Success & failure are basically you either pay the cost or don't, and do the thing or don't accordingly. Major success is a "crit" with a pair of aces, and there are some extra benefits you get as a result.
Mixed Successes only come from Bargains- if you don't want to, or can't, succeed a Check the Maestro can instead make an offer for a middle-ground; you can give me something else, and in exchange you won't totally fail the check.
It's all very much designed to ask the Maestro to make some decisions based on what they think feels best, and to be interpreted.
I hope this helps! Last thing I'd say is our Discord has a spot to talk about G&S, so you could totally swing by and chat mechanics and stuff in there~ https://bytes.rip/discord
thanks so much! :D
Really excited to give this a go with friends! we were wondering if this is more suited to single sessions/one shots? or is it more designed for long term campaigns?
I recommend playing for 2-3 sessions~ One for setup and maybe a little play, then two or three more for an adventure
Quick question, in the Scenarios & Starting Points section, each of the four prompts has a list of questions to answer before starting. Are these questions intended to be answered by the Maestro, the whole group, or are some intended to be the whole group and others for just the Maestro?
I recommend answering them together
Thanks for the clarification!
How do I reserve a copy? I rated the game, love the idea and the world setting!
There's no reserving copies, community copies are first-come-first-serve when we add them. That said, we just added some!
Okay, thank you :)
do i have to say if i rated it to add the community copy
We add community copies at the start/end of a month~
gotcha thanks
Just wanted to let you know we just added some copies~
Hey! would anyone want to form a group to play this? I've been wanting to for a while! I'd probably illustrate the characters :)
Could you add more community copies?
Thank you.
This is awesome!
Hey Dude, me and my group ran this game for our podcast. We just did world creation so far but it has been a blast. https://fandible.com/gun-slinger-broken-hearts-ep-1-part-1-of-2/
This is awesome, loving the worldbuilding y'all are doing!
Hi, is there any chance of getting a community copy? This game sounds dope!
Gila RPGs' "games in five minutes" video of GUN&SLINGER
GUN&SLINGER Actual Play part 1 on 1EXP
So I really love this system as it has an awesome setting and rule set, but I was wondering if anyone has attempted to play it with more than 3. I know it is meant for 2-3, but the people I play tabletop with often prefer groups of at least 4 players and one dm. If anyone has tried this please let me know. Either way, this system has been a blast.
So I've like, toyed with the idea, and I have some thoughts on how to actually execute this in a thing I'm planning for next year. I haven't tested yet, but I think if you just... use multiple decks? It might work? No idea!!
I will let you know how it goes then if I manage to give it a try!
Awesome, thanks!
so the mech stuff talks about "limiters" but none of the stats are labeled that. does that mean filling up the assimilation gauge or what??
Nevyn never got back to you, so maybe you don't even need this information anymore after a couple months, but in their Discord they said about limiters: "If I remember right they're basically like Connection for the Gun; points you spend to do cool shit. I think we just couldn't fit 'em on the character sheet."
yep, that was the answer!!
Hello! Really enjoyed reading this over and can't wait to run it with my group over the weekend! Are there form-fillable character sheets anywhere to download? Or a Roll20 version?
Hey glad to hear you like it! There are currently no form-fillable versions, nor are there's plans to make them or to make Roll20 assets.
Thanks for the quick reply! No prob, I'll try to whip something up for my players.
Hey, I was reading over it - in The Demon section, only the Demon has a character sheet - what does the possessed use?
As stated in the text, The Demon is made to be used with any other character. "The Possessed" simply refers to whatever character is used for Player 2.
ah okay! Thank you, i missed that in the text :)
Hey,
this game looks great and I am very interested in reading it soon!
But do you have a rough estimate on when physical editions will be available? The design and artworks look so great that I would love to have it on my shelf.
(No matter what: I am looking forward to finally buying this!)
Hi Mouf,
Glad to hear you're stoked!
Physicals are still in production, but we're at the tail end of the estimated timeline so they should be shipping to me within the next week or so (I HOPE!)
Once they ship, it'll be ~2-3 weeks before they show up on my doorstep
The pdfs for character and reference sheets are formatted as a single page, meaning it's not possible to print them double-sided - would you consider reformatting them to facilitate that?
They're actually intended to be printed on one 8.5x11 page and folded into a small pamphlet! They were specifically designed for this format, but if there's enough demand (and time), I'm not opposed to scrapping something up.
I would love to see something like this
May I ask what program or programs you used to put the pdf together?
All layout design was done in Affinity Publisher
Thanks for the reply, I'll check it out. Your layouts are gorgeous!
Thank you very much, but the layout work was not done by me! The main G&S layout is by Sinta Posadas, while the stretch goal layout is by Julie-Anne Munoz!
Hey! I don't mind sending you one since you like, literally just missed the last one and IDK when another one will come in. Shoot me an email!
Full of original ideas while keeping crunch and bookkeeping at a minimum. Currently pitching it to all of my friends :)
This is excellent. I'm so excited to play it with my group, but in general some real standouts are the novel conflict resolution system, and the option to run gmful or gmless that gives you options on how large of a group you're going to run this game with.