Ashes to Ashes Rulebook

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Doomtown Rulebook Ashes To Ashes

Table o’ Contents

Welcome to the Weird West!

Welcome to Doomtown!

Them Cards

Playin’

Startin’ the Game

Table Layout

Controllin’ Deed

Sequence o’ Play

1. Gamblin’ Phase

2. Upkeep Phase

3. High Noon

4. Nightfall

Winnin’ the Game

Shootouts

Draw!

Jobs

…And All the Rest

Glossary

What’s New in These Rules

Welcome to the Weird West!

The year is 1877, but the history is not our own. The Civil War grinds on. A huge earthquake has sunk California into the sea and formed a labyrinth of sea-canyons known as the Great Maze. The Sioux have retaken the Dakotas. The Coyote Confederation dances the Ghost Dance on the high plains. Monsters stalk the deserts and prowl the dark streets of the boomtowns. And the dead walk among us.

This is the world of Doomtown. In 1863, Raven, an American Indian shaman, released the manitous—centuries-imprisoned demons—and a flood of supernatural energy. This awakened the Reckoners, mysterious beings that create deadlands on Earth—areas where humanity’s terror is so great it warps the land. The manitous and other monsters that roam the Weird West create fear for the Reckoners, though to what sinister end the Reckoners work has yet to be revealed.

But where there are monsters, so there are heroes—hex-slingin’ hucksters, Bible-thumpin’ preachers, deadly gunfighters, fearless American Indians, wizened shamans, and mad scientists armed with weird steampunk gadgets.

Gomorra, called "Doomtown," needs such heroes. A huge vein of the superfuel known as ghost rock was struck in the Maze there, turning it into a boomtown. Miners search the caverns or chip at the faces of the Maze’s towering mesas. After them come bartenders and soiled doves, outlaws and law dogs, politicians and other hard-bitten folk, all desperate to fleece the miners of the rock they spend their days scratching out of the unforgiving canyon walls.

Over the last year, Gomorra's seen its share of misery. Knicknevin, a rogue manitou of enormous power, was released from his eternal prison in the Hunting Grounds by the degenerate Whateley clan and their allies, the Flock. The demon rampaged across the fledgling boomtown, a long trail of ruined homes and businesses left behind in its wake. When the monstrous creature was finally put down by Austin Stoker and his ally, the Ghost, more than half the town's residents were dead, and Gomorra was changed forever.

Gomorra’s a hard place, and most that come to town these days seem to leave it in a pine box.

That’s why they call it Doomtown.

Welcome to Doomtown!

Doomtown's the game o' shootouts and strange horror in the Weird West, a world pioneered by Pinnacle Entertainment Group in its Deadlands roleplaying game.

You're the leader of an Outfit in Gomorra, the Great Maze's biggest boomtown. Your Outfit has plans for Gomorra, and you'll wanna make sure nobody can interfere. Your gang'll lend a hand: gunfighters, mad scientists, and even stranger sorts.

What Is Deadlands?

This here's a tradin' card game, or TCG. You get sixty cards in the deck box this rulebook came with. You can fill out your deck with Saddle Bags (booster packs). New cards come out about every three months or so and advance a story that goes along with the game.

How Do I Start?

Get at least two people (one of 'em bein' you), a deck o' cards for each o' you, and about twenty tokens - like poker chips or shell casings - each.

Deckbuildin'

Buildin' a personalized deck is a big part o' Doomtown. You can make your deck however you like, so long as it has only fifty-two cards (besides your Home and Jokers) and no more than four copies of each card. While learnin' the ropes, just play with whatever cards you've got, and you'll get ideas for tailorin' your deck.

Them Cards

There are eight card types: Dudes, Deeds, Improvements, Goods, Events, Actions, Spells, and Jokers. (See page 61 about Jokers.) There's also Outfit's Homes, which ain't part o' decks.

Unique Cards

Unless they say otherwise, Dudes and Deeds in Doomtown are Unique - there's only one Black Jack in Gomorra, and only one Jail to lock 'im up in. You can put more than one copy in your deck, but you can't bring a copy of a Unique card into play if another card with the same name's already in play or in Boot Hill (see page 11). There's also a few rare Improvements, Goods and Spells that say they are Unique - same thing applies to them.

Some Dudes and Deeds are Non-Unique instead, which means each player can play one copy o' that card. If you already own a copy of a Non-Unique card in play or in Boot Hill, you can't bring another copy o' that card into play - but if another player's got a copy in play, that don't stop you playin' yours.

Unless they have the Unique trait, there ain't no limit to the number of each Improvement, Goods or Spell you can put into play, though you can still only put up to four copies in your deck.

Dude

Take a gander to your left. That there's an hombre known as Black Jack - Mr. Jackson to you.

Let's cover all the bits o' this card one at a time. Pay close attention here, because a Dude has just about everything you might find on a card durin' your visit to Gomorra.

Poker value Every card (except Jokers) in your deck has a poker suit and value for when you use the card in a poker hand durin' play. The value roughly indicates how powerful a Dude is. Aces always played low as a 1 (one).

Bullet rating/Bullet bonus Bullet rating is how good a Dude can shoot. Some Goods (usually Weapons) have a "+" number here - the Dude gets that Bullet bonus added to his or her Bullet ratin' while the Goods attached.

Influence/Influence bonus Dudes with Influence (a red poker chip) can get folks to do what they want, and can take control o' properties around Gomorra for you. If a Dude attaches a card with a "+" number here, the Dude gets that bonus to his or her Influence.

Outfit symbol This shows what Outfit a Dude belongs to, such as Law Dogs or Blackjacks. You can hire Dudes from other Outfits to work for you, but it'll cost more (see "Hiring Dudes" on page 41). Dudes without symbols are Drifters. They don't cost extra and ain't part of an Outfit.

Ghost rock cost This is what you pay to hire a Dude, buy a Deed, Improvement, or Goods, take an Action, or buy a Spell.

Upkeep cost/Production Upkeep cost is what you pay to keep a card workin' for you. If there's a "+" number here, the card has ghost rock Production instead.

Text box This tells you all kinds o' good stuff about the card, includin' special skills (like Mad Scientist, Shaman, Blessed, or Huckster skills), how to use the card in the game if there's anything special about it, and any special actions the card can take. Boldfaced text at the top, like Harrowed or Public, is the card's traits. The text at the bottom in italics is "flavor text." Flavor text don't affect the game, but it gives you an idea o' what makes a card interestin' in the story you're playin' out.

Deed

Deeds are Gomorra property. Some are buildin's. Others are mines. They usually produce ghost rock, and some have abilities. You get a Deed's ghost rock Production every turn unless somebody else's Dudes take control of it (see "Controllin' Deeds" on page 36).

Most information on Deeds is the same as on Dudes. The one exception is Control Points

Control Points are in the same place on a Deed as Influence is on a Dude, but a Control Point chip is blue instead o' red. If a Deed don't have a blue chip, it ain't worth any Control Points.

Deeds with Control Points are the more important places in Gomorra, and havin' control o' them is how you take over the town. You'll find out more about that under Winnin' The Game (see page 48 ).

All Deeds are either public or private. Start shootin' on someone else's private land, and you'll find yourself Wanted (see page 50).

Improvement

While Improvements look kind o’ like Deeds, they ain't Deeds, or even locations. An Improvement changes a Deed: you attach it to a Deed you own and control, unless text on the Improvement directs otherwise.

An Improvement is a part of its Deed in every way: If a Deed gets aced, discarded, or otherwise removed from play, any Improvements on it go with it. Since Improvements ain’t locations, Dudes can’t move to ’em—only to their Deeds. Control of an Improvement changes with control of its Deed. Upkeep cost on an Improvement is part of the Deed’s total Upkeep cost—if you don’t pay an Improvement’s Upkeep cost when you pay its Deed’s Upkeep cost, you lose both the Deed and the Improvement.

A Deed can have any number of different Improvements attached, but it can only have one copy of each Improvement attached at a time.

Goods

Goods-Weapons, Horses, Hats, and other such tools o' the trade-outfit Dudes with everything they need to get their jobs done. Those Mad Scientist folks cook up some wacky Gadgets, and even them Huckster types dig up some weird stuff.

You place Goods cards under Dudes to attach the Goods cards to the Dudes. A Goods card either improves things like Bullet rating or Influence or gives its Dude an ability. Dudes like to keep their Goods close at hand: they take 'em along if they leave your employ and are buried with 'em if they get themselves killed.

Event

Events are occurrences that happen sort of randomly in the game. You put 'em in your deck because you're hopin' they'll help you somehow, but you never know when they're gonna come up. The best part about Events is that your opponent never sees 'em comin'. That's what gives you the edge. An Event takes effect if it turns up in a Gamblin' Phase Draw hand (see page 37). Only thing is, each player can only resolve one Event per turn, so don't rely on 'em too much.

With a Labor Dispute, for instance, Strikes each produce 2 fewer chunks o' ghost rock for the turn. You gotta keep your workers happy-the ghost rock won't mine itself.

Action

There's three kinds of actions in the game: Noon actions, Shootout actions, and Reactions. You do Noon actions durin' High Noon, Shootout actions durin' a shootout, and Reactions when they're triggered.

Most actions come from Action cards in your Play hand, which contains the cards you can play this turn. Play the card, resolve its effect, then discard it. Other actions are printed on cards in play. To use one o' them, just say you're usin' it and then do what it says.

Now then, take note, 'cos the next bit's mighty important. Whether a Noon action, a Shootout action, or a Reaction, you can only use each action on a card once per turn (Spells work slightly differently; see page 27).

If an action don't require bootin', Dudes can use the action even when booted. If an action is canceled, any costs (bootin', discardin', etc.) still happen.

Spell

Some Dudes-Hucksters, Shamans, and Blessed-have tapped into higher powers. Spell cards represent these Dudes' spells and skills.

You must attach a Spell to a Dude with the right skill: only Hucksters cast Hexes, only Shamans call Spirits, and only Blessed perform Miracles. Like Goods, Dudes keep their Spells close: if they leave play, their Spells always follow 'em.

You can only use each Spell card once per turn, even if more than one action is printed on it. If a Spell has more'n one action, say which action your Dude's usin' before he or she tries to cast the Spell. A Dude with more'n one copy of a Spell can use each copy once per turn, and like other actions, a booted Dude can use Spells that don't require bootin'.

These powers are unpredictable. When one o' your Dudes uses a Spell, you make a skill check (see page 65).

Outfit Card

Your Outfit's Home tells you everything special about your Outfit. Though it's a location where Dudes can go, it ain't a Deed. It includes your Outfit symbol, startin' ghost rock, and startin' Production. Your Home is always Private.

More'n one person can play usin' the same Home. If someone else has the same Home as you, you'll just have to fight that much harder.

Your Outfit card matches the back o' your deck box. You can even use the deck box as your Outfit card.

Your Home can never be aced, discarded, or otherwise removed from play.

"The Cards Are Always Right"

Some cards do crazy things. If a card contradicts a rule, you'd better believe it can do what it says. The cards are right.

Bootin' Cards

Most times when you use a card's ability, the card tells you to boot it-turn it sideways. A booted card can't be booted again until it's unbooted-turned straight up. Cards come into play unbooted.

Playin'

You and the other players have got conflictin' plans for Gomorra. To keep the other players from running the town, you need to get Control Points and Victory Points. Control Points you'll get by buildin' or seizin' Deeds around town. Victory Points are permanent Control Points that you can earn in many different ways, most of 'em sneaky. Cards'll tell you when you earn Victory Points.

Startin' the Game

Pick your Outfit and get yourself a deck o' fifty-two cards together (not countin' your Home and Jokers). Most Outfits have more'n one Home to choose from. You can only have one Home, so use the one that has special abilities you like the most.

Make sure you've got about twenty counters per player to represent ghost rock. Heap 'em on the table to make the Bank.

Put your Home in front o' you. In the lower right corner is a picture of a brown bag with a number in it. Take that much ghost rock from the Bank now.

Next, you can spend some ghost rock to start with up to five Dudes under your control in town-the first members o' your gang. Take 'em out o' your deck before shufflin' and put 'em face down. They can be from your Outfit and Drifters, but you can't hire other Outfits' Dudes 'til after play starts. Oh, and startin' with Dudes ain't considered "bringin' 'em into play," in case it comes up.

Don't spend all your ghost rock now. If you do, you won't be able to buy stuff like Deeds. On the other hand, if you don't start with a Dude or two, somebody else might take over Gomorra right away.

Everybody reveals who they plan to hire at once. Players tryin' to start with the same unique Dude each draw a card from their deck. The player who pulls the lowest value keeps the Dude while the others shuffle him or her back into their decks. (For ties, all players reshuffle the Dude back into their decks.)

Now you gotta pay for them Dudes you're startin' with, so toss the ghost rock for 'em into the Bank. Then put 'em at your Home. Finally, shuffle your deck and draw five cards for your Play hand.

Buildin' Gomorra

This here's a fast-growin' town, and it pays to know your way around.

Your cards

Each player has their own deck, to draw cards from during the game. After you use a card, or make a draw or pull, put the cards face up in your discard pile. Players can't look through any discard pile (even their own) unless a card allows them to. If you need to take a card from your deck for whatever reason, but you've run out o' cards, shuffle up your discard pile and make that your new deck. Oh, and if you've ever gotta take a card from your opponent's deck, make sure you put it in his or her discard pile when you're done with it.

You also have a Boot Hill, a discard pile that you never shuffle back into your deck. Some cards get aced (killed or destroyed) durin' play - whenever a card gets aced, put it in its owner's Boot Hill, out of play. While all players have their own Boot Hill pile, there is only one Boot Hill. Any card effects that refer to Boot Hill apply to all Boot Hill piles unless the card says otherwise.

Occasionally cards get removed from play completely - taken out o' the game without bein' aced or discarded. Put them to oneside, as you won't be seein' them for the rest o' this game.

The Town

At the start o' the game, put your Home in front o' you. This starts your street-the row o' Home and Deeds you own (your Home, remember, ain't a Deed). Deeds are in town unless they have the traits Strike or Out o' Town.

When you bring an in-town Deed into play, put it at either end o' your street, adjacent to the location at that end. As players place their in-town Deeds, their streets grow, creatin' a town map. If an in-town Deed with locations on both sides is destroyed, the locations move together and become adjacent.

Sittin' in between all these streets is the Town Square. This is adjacent to all in-town Deeds, but like your Home it ain't a Deed. Going through the Town Square makes movin' around town real easy, but it can be a mighty dangerous place too, so watch yer step.

Strikes and other out-o'-town Deeds are outside town and not adjacent to anything, even each other. When you bring one into play, put it off to the side.

Controllin' Cards

You always control your Home, and no one ever controls the Town Square. And you'll probably own cards you bring into play for the rest o' the game. But just because you own a card don't mean you control it. If a card refers to "you," it's talkin' about its controller.

Control o' cards other than Deeds only changes by card effects. When a player has the most Influence at a Deed, that player controls the Deed, even if someone else owns it. If you control a Deed, you get its Control Points and you are the only player who can use its abilities. Some Deeds have abilities that only the owner can use, but they say so, such as: "Owner Reaction: Boot this Deed to...."

A Deed's controller can change any number o' times a turn. This don't move it, boot it, or otherwise affect it. If there's a tie for the most Influence (even a 0-0 tie), the owner has control, even if the owner's not part o' the tie.

Durin' the Upkeep Phase, you collect ghost rock from any Deeds you own and control. If you own a Deed but don't control it, you're out o' luck-but at least you don't have to pay its Upkeep cost. If a Deed's owner and controller are different players, no one gains or loses ghost rock from it.

Sequence o' Play

A turn (or day) in Doomtown has four phases: the Gamblin' Phase, the Upkeep Phase, High Noon, and Nightfall.

1. Gamblin' Phase

At the start of each turn, each player antes up 1 ghost rock. If you don't have any, borrow one from the Bank, but you gotta pay it back in the Upkeep Phase right after collectin' your Production, before you do anything else.

Then players set aside their Play hands and draw five-card Draw hands. You can't play cards from Draw hands; all you care about with them is their poker values.

This is lowball. Unlike other Doomtown poker hands, the lowest hand wins. (Players with exactly tied hands-like A, 2, 3, 5, K and A, 2, 3, 5, K-draw again.) Inside the back cover o' these rules is a hand-rank cheat sheet. In case you're used to playin' it different, straights and flushes always count for determinin' hand rank here in Gomorra. If you don't have five cards left to draw, your hand's considered the lowest possible with the remainin' cards.

The player with the lowest hand, called the Winner for the turn, gets all anted ghost rock. The Winner gets to take the first action each phase o' the turn and whenever players wanna take an action at the same time.

After you determine the Winner, check to see if any Events turned up in the Draw hands. If they did, carry out the instructions on the Events immediately. Since a newspaper can have only one headline, each player may only resolve one Event per turn. Whenever two or more Events appear in a lowball hand, the player must select one randomly - the rest are discarded without resolving. Once each player has their Event selected, start with the Event with the highest value and work to the one with the lowest, resolving them in order. If there's a tie, start with the Winner and go clockwise. Each Event can only resolve once per turn, even if it's canceled, so discard any duplicates without effect.

After you've dealt with any Events, discard the lowball Draw hands.

2. Upkeep Phase

The first thing you do durin' the Upkeep Phase is collect all the ghost rock your cards have been producin'. Add together all the Production numbers on all your cards and take that much ghost rock from the Bank. Don't forget, if you own a Deed but don't control it, nobody gets its Production.

Now it's time to pay wages and rent. To keep all o' your cards in play, you have to pay ghost rock to the Bank equal to the total o' their Upkeep costs. Just like Production, if you own a Deed but don't control it, nobody pays its Upkeep.

If you're due to pay a card's Upkeep cost, but can't or don't pay it, you have to discard it along with any cards attached to it. If a Dude is on a Deed that leaves play, the Dude goes Home booted.

Any Dude in your gang from another Outfit wants a little extra. (A Dude's from another Outfit if the Dude has an Outfit symbol on his or her card and it's different from the one on your Home.) You have to pay 1 extra ghost rock for each point o' the Dude's Influence.

Players can do this phase at the same time, but if somebody gets ornery, you can do it one at a time, startin' with the Winner and goin' clockwise.

3. High Noon

Startin' with the Winner and goin' clockwise, each player takes one action at a time. You keep goin' around and around the table 'til everybody decides not to take any more actions. Each time it's your turn to take an action, you can do one of the following: you can take one o' the four basic Noon actions (Shoppin', Tradin', Movin', or Callin' Out), or you can act, or you can pass. You can do each o' these things in any order and any number o' times per turn.

Shoppin': Use this Noon action to bring a Dude, Deed, Improvement, Goods, or Spell into play from your Play hand. Just pay its ghost rock cost to the bank, then put it on the table unbooted - you can start usin' its abilities this turn. The way you play a card depends on the type o' card it is:

Dude: A Dude starts at your Home.

Deed: Put an in-town Deed at one end o' your street, adjacent to the location on that end o' the street. Put out-of-town Deeds (includin' Strikes) off to one side.

Improvement: Target a Deed you own and control, then attach the Improvement to the Deed by slidin' it partway under the Deed.

Goods or Spell: Target one o' your unbooted Dudes at a location you control, then attach the Goods or Spell to the Dude. A Dude can usually carry any number o' Goods and Spells (them's big saddlebags!), but a Dude can only ever have one horse attached at a time. (See also Weapons, page 68 ).

If you use a card effect to bring another card into play, play the new card in the same way as above unless the card effect says otherwise.

Movin': Those Dudes you've hired ain't gonna do you no good just sittin' at Home, and sooner or later you're gonna want to get them out the door.

Movin' is a Noon action you can use to move one o' your unbooted Dudes to any other location in play (a Deed, a Home, or the Town Square), so long as the Dude is allowed to move there (see Movement Restrictions, page 63). Unless you're makin' one of the two moves mentioned below, usin' this Movin' action boots the Dude.

The two moves a Dude can make without bootin' are:

Movin' from the Dude's Home to an adjacent location

Movin' from the Town Square to an adjacent location, except back to the Dude's Home.

Neither o' these moves boots the Dude, but the Dude still has to be unbooted to make 'em.

Confused? Ok, here's an example. Take a gander at the setup on the right. You've got the St. Martin's Chapel next to your Home. To its left is the Railstation and past that is Miss Greene's Room. Now let's say you've got a Dude at Home, a fella by the name of Cort Williams. For your first Noon action, you declare a Movin' action and move him from Home to the Town Square - that's one o' them special moves that don't require bootin'. For your next Noon action, Cort moves to Miss Greene's Room, again usin' one o' them Movin' actions. Since Miss Greene's Room is adjacent to the Town Square, he still doesn't boot. Finally, you decide to move Cort to the Railstation. This time he boots, because now you're movin' him from a Deed - you only get "free" moves from your Home and the Town Square. Now that he's booted, Cort can't use any more Movin' actions this turn.

Now you know about Movin', here's a quick reminder of adjacency. Locations next to each other in a street are adjacent. The Deeds and Home on one gang's street ain't adjacent to those on another's. The Town Square, which ain't a Deed, is between gangs' streets and adjacent to everything in town. Out-of-town Deeds ain't adjacent to anything, even each other.

A Dude who gets sent home booted goes to his or her controller's Home, and can ignore any movement restrictions. If a Dude gets sent home booted and is already there, the Dude just stays put, bootin' to run upstairs and hide. If a Deed leaves play, any Dudes at it always go home booted.

As well as the Movin' action, some card effects let you move a Dude. These are usually Noon actions, but there's also a few shootout actions and reactions too. When you use one o' those actions, you can use it to move a booted dude, and it also don't boot your dude to move. But them movement restrictions still apply.

Tradin': If you have two or more o' your Dudes in the same location and it's under your control, you can use a Tradin' action to exchange any number of Goods (includin' Gadgets) between them. All Dudes gettin' Goods must be unbooted and can't take anything they ain't allowed to carry (which includes more'n one horse). Once they get the Goods, the Dudes can't trade 'em away again this turn. And just in case you're wonderin', no, you can't trade Spells. A Dude carries them somewhere in his noggin, not in a saddlebag!

There's also some card effects that let you take a Goods from one Dude and attach it to another, sometimes when the Goods don't even belong to you. Most folks would call that last bit stealin', but that ain't important right now. If you use one o' them cards, the Dude can attach the Goods when booted, and even when in a location you don't control. But the Dude still can't take anything they ain't allowed to carry. If a Dude takes another player's Goods and then leaves play, the Goods goes to its owner's Boot Hill or Discard pile.

Callin' Out: When you've got Dudes from another gang hangin' around your saloon, and they're refusin' to leave, it's time you cleared 'em out the hard way. As a Noon action, one o' your unbooted Dudes can target another player's Dude at the same location, and call out that Dude to a shootout. This don't boot your Dude, so while he stays unbooted, he can call out any number of opposin' dudes. If unbooted, the target can refuse and then run Home booted, but a booted Dude has to accept. Now the bad news - you can't use this Callin' Out action to call out a Dude at his or her Home.

Luckily for you, there's card effects you can use to call out a Dude. Course, you've still gotta target another player's Dude, but when you're using one o' those effects, your Dude can use it while booted, and more importantly you can use it to target Dudes in their home. Unless the card says otherwise, the shootout occurs at the target's location and both sides can form posses.

If the target accepts, the lead starts flyin' and the dudes start a Shootout (see page 48 ).

Actin': Use a Noon action on an Action card in your Play hand or one o' your cards in play. To do so, just declare the action, pay any costs, and resolve its effect. Don't forget, you can only use each action on a card in play once per turn.

Passin': Do nothin'. This don't mean you can't take a crack at somethin' later in the turn. As soon as everybody passes consecutively, it's Nightfall.

4. Nightfall

Once High Noon's over, the first thing you do is check to see if anybody's won (see below). If not, you can discard any Events in your Play hand plus one other card, if you wanna get rid of it. Then refill your hand back up to your maximum hand size, which starts at five but can change durin' play (see page 62). The player with the most Influence (see page 62) then draws an extra card. If there's a tie for the most Influence, nobody gets the extra card.

Finally, unboot all your booted cards.

Then go back to the Gamblin' Phase.

Winnin' the Game

If it's the start o' Nightfall and you have more Victory Points plus Control Points than the highest Influence among the other players, you win.

If two or more players meet the victory condition, the one with the most Victory Points plus Control Points wins. If that's tied, the player with the most Influence wins. If that's also tied, play another turn and check again.

Shootouts

Fights break out in Doomtown all the time, and folks don't usually need a reason. So now's the time to settle yer differences, Gomorra style. Both the player and Dude doin' the callin' out are known as the dealer, while the player and Dude bein' called out are known as the target.

Formin' Posses: Before the start of shootout rounds, both Dudes form posses, with the dealer declarin' his or her posse first. All Dudes added to a posse, includin' the original dealer and target, are 'joining' the posse. Both players can only include Dudes at the same location or an adjacent location to the target. A Dude in the same location can join even when booted, but only unbooted Dudes can join the posse from an adjacent location. Only Dudes in the two gangs involved (controlled by the two players) can join posses squarin' off for a shootout. A player can never have Dudes in both posses.

Once both players have declared their posses, all Dudes not already there boot and move to the target location - they do this simultaneously. Movement restrictions do apply though, so Dudes who can't move to the target location can't join the posse.

Sometimes a shootout started by a card effect has restrictions on who can join posses - a common one is: "No other Dudes can join this shootout." That means only the dealer and target can fight.

Wanted by the Law: If lead flies in a Public place like the Town Square or a Saloon, folks figger you're shootin' in self-defense. But if you ever find yourself in a shootout on Private land (a Deed'll tell you if it's Public or Private, and all Homes are Private) that you don't own, all Dudes joining your posse become Wanted (see page 68 ), even if there's Wanted Dudes in the opposin' posse.

Shootout rounds. Below is the order o' play for a shootout. For an example, see page 48.

1. Startin' with the Winner-or the target if the Winner has no Dudes in the shootout-and goin' clockwise, each player with a Dude in the shootout either passes or plays a Shootout action. Shootout actions must come from your Play hand, or from cards in the shootout - you can only use a shootout action on a card outside the shootout if it brings a Dude into the shootout. Once per shootout, a Dude in the shootout who hasn't used an action on his or her ready Weapon can switch his or her ready Weapon as a Shootout action. Keep playin' these shootout actions 'til all players pass consecutively.

Unless it says otherwise, a shootout actions' effect lasts 'til the shootout ends. If an action ever sends a Dude Home booted, the Dude leaves the shootout booted, even if already Home. If there's ever only one posse in the shootout, the shootout ends immediately and that posse wins.

2. The dealer and target choose and announce their shooter from the Dudes in their posse, for this round o' the shootout. Booted Dudes can be chosen as a shooter.

3. DRAW! to see who wins this round. When you draw, put your Play hand aside and draw a new, five-card hand from your deck-a Draw hand (see "Draws" on the next page).

4. After any Draw hand Reactions, and assumin' there's still at least one Dude left in each posse, compare the hand ranks o' them Draw Hands (check the cheat sheet inside the back cover). The winner is the player with the higher hand rank. The difference between the two ranks is the number of casualties the loser takes - that player's gotta ace one Dude in his or her posse for each casualty taken. If the hand ranksare tied, both posses take one casualty even if one player has a better hand (that player still wins this round of the shootout). Aced Dudes go to Boot Hill with any attached cards.

5. Discard the Draw hands.

6. Startin' with the dealer, Dudes can choose to chicken out o' the shootout by leavin' the posse and movin' Home booted. Even if a Dude's already booted, or already Home, the Dude can still chicken out of the shootout.

7. Go back to Step 1 to start the next shootout round, and repeat 'til only one posse's left, at which point the shootout ends immediately. The remaining posse is the winner of the shootout.

Draws

Drawin's about Bullet ratin's and the color o' Dude's bullets. If your shooter's a Stud-meanin' his or her bullet's silver-you draw extra cards equal to his or her Bullet ratin'. Make sense? So if your shooter's a 3-Stud, you draw eight cards.

If your shooter's got a brass bullet, that means the Dude's a Draw. You can discard, then redraw, a number o' cards equal to his or her Bullet ratin', so if your shooter's a 2-Draw, you can redraw up to two cards.

A Goods givin' a Bullet bonus to a Dude increases the Dude's Bullet ratin', regardless o' whether the Dude's a Draw or a Stud. If a Goods' Bullet's brass and the Dude's is silver, it don't matter: a Goods givin' a 3-Stud Dude a +1 Bullet bonus always makes the Dude a 4-Stud.

Other Dudes in your posse can give your shooter some help. You can draw one extra card for each Stud besides your shooter in your posse, and you can redraw an extra card for each other Draw in your posse. So if you've got a 3-Stud shooter and two Draws in a posse, you draw eight cards, then discard and redraw up to two. That'll make a pretty darn good hand.

Note that the extra Dudes' Bullet ratin's don't matter; them Dudes ain't your shooter. Here's some advice: if you've got a Dude with a 0 Bullet ratin' in a posse, don't make that Dude your shooter because the Dude won't help a bit that way. But the Dude can sure lend a hand to a shooter with a useful Bullet ratin'.

If you have both Stud and Draw bonuses, take Stud bonuses first. You only get to redraw once, even if you've got a big Draw bonus. If you have a bigger Draw bonus than cards in your hand, you can only redraw as many cards as you have in your hand.

When you finish drawin' and discardin', keep the five cards that make the best poker hand. (Hoyle's book and the first Doomtown rulebook include rules for poker.) Ignore any Events in these Draw hands - Events only happen in the Gamblin' Phase.

If you run out of cards in your deck while drawin', just shuffle up your discard pile as normal to make your new deck. If you still ain't got enough cards after that, just make the best hand you can with all the cards in your hand.

You might wind up with cards o' the same suit and value in your hand - that's known as an illegal hand. There ain't no reason why you can't play it, but if somebody plays a Cheatin'! card on it, you'll suffer the consequences.

Jobs

Certain card effects set you up to do a job, which usually involve gettin' a bunch o' your Dudes together to take care o' some unpleasant business. Jobs are one of the trickier parts o' the game, so we have a detailed example of a Job here. Better get one thing straight before we start though - you can't target your own Dudes with jobs.

Declarin' the target. All jobs have a target, and the job card will tell you what it is you can target. Dudes or Deeds are the most common, but there's others too. The first thing the player performin' the job must do is declare the target.

Startin' the job. That player then declares which o' his or her Dudes is gonna be the dealer - that's the Dude startin' the job. Only unbooted Dudes can start a job. Unlike callin' out, the dealer doesn't have to be in the same location as the target to start the job - in fact, the dealer can start the job from anywhere, just so long as he or she can move to the target location (see movement restrictions, page 63). Once the dealer's chosen, it's time to form posses.

Formin' posses. Just like in ordinary shootouts, the dealer forms a posse first. Any o' that player's Dudes who are at the same location as or adjacent to either the dealer or the target can join the posse. All Dudes other than the dealer have to boot to join the posse unless they're already at the target location, so booted Dudes can't join unless they're already there. Movement restrictions still apply - if a dude can't get to the target location, the Dude can't join the posse. Once the dealer declares who's joinin' his or her posse, the target card's controller can form a posse, but only usin' Dudes at or adjacent to the target location. If the controller doesn't defend, the card's owner, if different, can do so (in which case the owner becomes the target).

Gettin' help. A Dude belongin' to a player not otherwise involved in the job can join one o' the posses if both the player and the posse's controller agrees. The same rules for joining the posses apply. Such a Dude doesn't get to draw durin' the shootout, but the Dude's player can play Shootout actions. The Dude's Bullet rating also contributes to the number of cards drawn or redrawn for the shootout, and the Dude can even be selected as the shooter if the posse's controller desires.

Saddle up. Once posses are formed, all Dudes in both posses move to the target's location simultaneously. This movement doesn't require bootin', but most Dudes will have already booted to join the posse. If the dealer and target both end up with posses there, a shootout starts (see page 48 ). If the land's private, trespassin' Dudes become Wanted just like in a normal shootout.

Did it work? If the dealer's posse wins the shootout and is still at the target location at the end of the shootout, or if the defendin' posse never shows its face or chickens out, the job succeeds. The results of a successful job are given on the card, and resolve right after the dealer's Dudes go Home (see below). Otherwise, the job fails, which usually means nothin' happens.

After the shootout's over-successful or not-all survivors o' the dealer's posse go Home booted. Survivin' Dudes in the target's posse stay where they are.

...And All the Rest

That's about it. Here's the lowdown on some other stuff you might encounter.

Aces

Aces always count as 1s (ones), so they're low in both hands and pulls.

Card Memory

If a Unique card gets a permanent change while in play-like if a Dude gets Wanted or Harrowed, the change applies to all cards o' that name, for all players, for the rest o' the game, unless somethin' specifically changes it. For draws and pulls, ignore any changes to a card's value or suit. Changes to your Non-Unique cards are permanent for you but not for anybody else. Temporary changes are not kept through card memory.

Experienced Cards

When somethin' changes as the story rolls along, another version of its card with the Experienced trait will come out. Different versions of a card are considered distinct for play, but they're the same card for deckbuildin', card memory, and uniqueness. You can't have two versions o' the same card in play.

As a Noon action, you can switch a card you control in play with a different version from your Play hand. The card you're replacin' goes to its owner's discard pile-but it ain't considered aced or discarded. The new card keeps the old one's attached cards, and comes in with the same booted state as the one it's replacin'. You can't switch in a Unique card if a gang already has the Unique card in play.

You can switch in any version: you might switch a non-Experienced card for an Experienced version (time can do weird things in Gomorra). You can also switch a card that you already switched earlier in the game.

Fear Level

This number represents the level o' horror in everyday Gomorran life. Some cards work different dependin' on the Fear level. When the game starts, the Fear level is 6. If the Fear level gets raised or lowered, the player that made the change keeps track of it. Make sure everybody can see it. The Fear level always lies between 1 and 10. If it tries to go under 1 or over 10, keep track of it, but always read it as 1 or 10 as appropriate.

Jokers

Jokers don't count against the deck limit o' fifty-two cards. They're only useful for pulls and Draw hands; you can't play one from your Play hand. A Joker can't make a hand illegal; for example, a legal Four of a Kind with a Joker is a legal Five of a Kind.

Harrowed Dudes

Some Dudes start out Harrowed. Others get that way when manitous get in their heads. Either way, Harrowed Dudes still walk around when they should be pushin' up daisies. Mark your Harrowed Dudes with counters.

After a Harrowed Dude gets aced, and after all Reactions to his acin' have resolved, the player that aced the Dude pulls (see "Pullin' " on page 64). Note that this ain't an action. If the pull's an Ace, the Dude goes to Boot Hill. Otherwise, the Dude ain't been put down for good (although he has still been aced). If the pull's lower'n the Dude's value, the Dude goes Home booted. Otherwise, the Dude gets discarded with all o' his or her stuff. If the player can't make a pull for any reason, the Dude goes Home booted.

Harrowed Ability Action cards apply only to Harrowed Dudes. They give 'em Harrowed abilities. These cards have the trait "Harrowed Power". A Harrowed Dude can't be targeted by more than one copy of each Harrowed Ability card per game, though there's no limit to the number o' different Harrowed abilities a Dude can have.

Influence

Your gang's total Influence fluctuates as your Dudes die, you hire new Dudes, and card effects raise and lower Dudes' Influence. A player's Influence total must be visible to the other players.

Maximum Hand Size

Your maximum hand size starts at 5 cards, although this can go up and down durin' the game. Whenever you refill your Play hand, always draw back up to your maximum hand size if you can. It doesn't matter if you have more cards at any point than your maximum hand size - you don't have to discard down. But you won't be able to draw any new cards at Nightfall until you've managed to reduce your hand size down below its maximum.

Movement Restrictions

Some cards say things like "Dudes can't move to the Town Square 'til after Nightfall" or "Terrors can't move to this Deed." These movement restrictions apply when a Dude moves, does a job, joins a posse, or otherwise changes location. Even a card that lets you move a Dude doesn't override movement restrictions. The only exception is when a Dude boots to go Home - there ain't nothin' that can stop that.

Optional Victory Conditions

If you're playing a multi-player game and you're a bit short o' time, you may want to use the optional Victory Conditions instead. If so, you only need to have more Control Points plus Victory Points than the lowest Influence on the table to win the game. As this tends to lead to quicker, bloodier games, make sure everyone agrees before playin' this way.

Pullin'

When you pull, you look at the value (A, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, or K) o' your deck's top card. Usually, you compare the value to a number indicated in the pull instructions. Aces are 1s, Js are 11s, Qs are 12s, and Ks are 13s. When you're done with whatever made you pull, discard the card. If you have no cards left to pull, your pull's considered an A, unless you're makin' a Harrowed pull (see Harrowed, page 61).

Reactions:

If a player does somethin' that triggers a Reaction you have, you can jump on in and play it. It happens immediately. If more than one player wants to play a Reaction at the same time, start with the Winner o' lowball and go clockwise, playin' and resolvin' one Reaction each 'til everybody's done. If an action gets canceled, any costs (bootin', discardin', etc.) still happen. After all Reactions resolve, play returns to normal.

Skill Ratin's

Mad Scientists, Shamans, Blessed, and Hucksters have special skills. On a skilled Dude's card is a label that tells you the kind o' skills the Dude's got, like Mad Scientist. A number-the Dude's skill ratin'-follows the label (such as Mad Scientist 2). You use this with Spells and Gadgets.

Skill Check

Whenever one o' your Dudes wants to use a skill, he or she's gotta perform a test. This involves makin' a pull, and adding the value of the pull to the Dude's skill ratin'. The result is called the skill check.

Spells

Each action on a Spell has a Difficulty level. Whenever your Dude wants to cast a Spell, perform a skill check usin' the Dude's skill ratin'. If the skill check exceeds the spell's Difficulty, the Spell succeeds and you take its action. Otherwise, the Spell fails and nothin' happens (though it's still considered to have been used; it's the next player's turn to play an action).

Gadgets

Mad Scientists can build Gadgets (usually a kind o' Goods), which only someone off their rocker could invent. If you've got a Mad Scientist in your gang, the Mad Scientist can try to "create" a Gadget you hold in your Play hand, as a Noon action. Boot the Mad Scientist while he or she is in a location you control. Pay the Gadget's cost, then perform a skill check usin' the Dude's Mad Scientist ratin'. If the skill check exceeds the Gadget Difficulty, the Gadget works: attach it to the Mad Scientist.

If the skill check ain't higher'n the Difficulty, the Gadget falls to pieces and you lose anything you paid for it. Curse your luck, and toss the Gadget into your discard pile.

Statistics Modifications

A cost can't drop under 0. Any other stat can drop under 0, but whenever you check it, count it as 0. A stat is always equal to the printed stat plus any modifiers from card effects and attached cards. Some card effects only involve printed stats-stats before modifications.

Targeting

Sometimes a card says it can't be targeted. So how do you know when a card effect targets?

1) If a card effect says it targets, it does.

2) An action always targets, unless it has a global effect (e.g. "All terrors are booted"). Global actions do not target.

3) Nothing else targets.

Token Dudes

Some cards create temporary Dudes in a shootout, called 'token Dudes'. These are controlled by the player who created them, and only remain in play until the end of the shootout. While they're in play, they're treated just like any other Dude. Each one is a separate, Unique Dude.

Wanted Dudes

Wanted Dudes are hunted by the Law. Put 1 ghost rock from the Bank on each of 'em to show they're Wanted. If you ace a Wanted Dude in a shootout, you earn the 1 ghost rock as a bounty. As a noon action, you can boot one or more o' your Law Dogs or Texas Rangers with more combined Influence than a Wanted Dude to make the Dude un-Wanted: it pays to have friends in high places. A Wanted Dude who is "made Wanted" doesnt' change in any way.

Weapons

A Dude can only have one Weapon ready. If a Dude with a Weapon attaches another one, the new one is unready-face-down-and doesn't affect play, though other players can still affect and view it. Once per turn, a Dude can switch his or her ready Weapon with an unready Weapon as a Noon action. Once per shootout, a Dude who hasn't used an action on a ready Weapon in this shootout can switch the ready Weapon with an unready Weapon as a Shootout action.

Glossary

Abomination: A type o' Terror.

ace: Put into its owner's Boot Hill.

adjacent to: Next to. A Dude is adjacent to a location when in a location next to it. The Town Square's adjacent to all Deeds in town. Streets don't wrap around; Deeds at either end of a street ain't adjacent. A location ain't adjacent to itself.

Bank: The central pile of ghost rock tokens that nobody owns. This is not the same as the Deeds to The 1st and 2nd Banks of Gomorra.

boot: Turn a card sideways to show it's busy doin' somethin' or has finished its day.

Blessed: A Dude with the Blessed skill can attach and perform Miracles.

Boot Hill: Your pile o' destroyed and aced cards. Keep it separate from your discard pile. Usually, cards don't come back into play after goin' to Boot Hill. Be afraid o' those that do.

card effect: An effect generated by a card.

control: For a Deed: Have the most Influence at, even if somebody else owns the Deed. For a Dude: Have in your gang. When a card refers to "you," it's talkin' about its controller.

Control Point: The number in the blue poker chip on some Deeds. If you control a Deed, you get its Control Points. If your total Control Points plus Victory Points is more than another player's Influence, you win the game.

discard pile: Where cards go after bein' used, unless they've been aced.

Draw hand: A five-card hand drawn to resolve a shootout or other conflict, separate from the Play hand. It gets discarded after it's used.

Drifter: A Dude who don't belong to an Outfit. "Drifter" ain't an Outfit.

gang: All the Dudes under your control.

Harrowed: Undead. A Harrowed Dude is a Terror.

Harrowed ability: An ability given to a Harrowed Dude by a Harrowed Ability card.

Harrowed Ability card: An Action card that gives Harrowed Dudes "Harrowed abilities." It has the "Harrowed Power" indicator.

Home: Your Outfit's Home. It starts in play and is the first card o' your street. It ain't a Deed, can never leave play, and you always control it. It's Private.

Huckster: A Dude with the Huckster skill can attach and cast Hexes.

illegal Draw hand: A Draw hand with two or more cards of identical suits and values (Jokers excepted). You can play illegal Draw hands, but somebody might nail you for cheatin'.

Influence: How much power a Dude wields around Gomorra, shown in a red poker chip on the card. Influence helps you take control o' Deeds.

in play: Started with or played from a Play hand, and not in Boot Hill or a discard pile.

in town: Where your Home and the Town Square are, as are Deeds that ain't labeled "Strike" or "Out o' Town."

location: Any Deed in play, the Town Square, or any Home. Dudes can travel to these places.

Mad Scientist: A Dude with the Mad Scientist skill can create Gadgets.

maximum hand size: The number o' cards in a full Play hand. It starts at five.

Non-Unique: Able to enter play even if another player has a copy in play or in Boot Hill. A player still can't play a Non-Unique card if he or she has a copy of it in play or at Boot Hill.

opposin': In a shootout against.

Outfit: A group tryin' to control Gomorra.

out of town: Outside Gomorra. An out-o'-town Deed usually ain't adjacent to any other locations.

own: Have brought into play.

Play hand: The five-card hand that a player plays cards from durin' the turn.

posse: One or more Dudes temporarily grouped together to get into a shootout, do a job, or stop another posse from doin' a job.

pull: Draw a card, check its value, and discard it.

ready Weapon: The Weapon a Dude uses. Extra Weapons attached to a Dude are face down and don't affect play.

removed from play: Taken out o' play and the game without bein' aced or discarded.

Shaman: A Dude with the Shaman skill can attach and call Spirits.

shooter: The lead gunfighter of a shootout posse.

skill ratin': A number on a Dude, such as "Mad Scientist: 1," that tells you how skilled the Dude is at castin' Spells or creatin' Gadgets.

street: The row of in-town Deeds each player builds.

Strike: A ghost rock mine. Strikes are out of town.

target: noun - Somethin' that's targeted.

target: verb - Select to be affected. Somethin' only targets if it says so or if it's a non-global action.

Terror: An Abomination or a Harrowed Dude.

Token Dude: A temporary Dude created by a card effect.

Town Square: The area between streets. It's an in-town location (but not a Deed) adjacent to all Deeds in town but no Deeds out o' town.

trait: A boldfaced descriptor at the top of a text box.

unboot: Turn a card straight up.

Unique: Not able to enter play if any player has a copy in play or in Boot Hill. Dudes and Deeds are Unique unless they say otherwise.

unready Weapon: A Dude's extra, face down Weapon.

Vault: A player's pile o' ghost rock tokens.

Victory Point: A permanent Control Point you get for doin' somethin' special.

Wanted: Wanted by the law. Worth a 1 ghost rock ransom.

you: The controller. Normally, you control cards you own, but another player can take control.

After Knicknevin

With the center of Gomorra destroyed in the battle of between Knicknevin and Austin Stoker's army of heroes, the town is hardly the same.

While the actual rules of play have not changed for this new storyline, the description of the town has. What is called the Town Square is the ruins of Gomorra. A player's street is a rail-line entering town, with deeds springing up along those lines to support the newcomers to town. As dangerous and wasted as Gomorra is, it's one of the best sources of ghost rock out there. And as we all know, greed is more powerful an emotion than fear. Usually...

If you want to simulate the town of Gomorra after the fall of Knicknevin, limit yourselves to cards in Boot Hill and future expansions. You may use any version of a dude that is alive and printed in these sets, regardless of whether which version (experienced or not) is in the set.

What's New in this Rulebook

Clarifications to: Uniqueness (11), Improvements (19), Homes (29), Boot Hill (33), discard pile (33), Events (38 ), Movin' (42), Tradin' (45), Callin' Out (46),

Formin' Posses (49), takin' casualties in a shootout (51), Jobs (54), Fear Level (59), Maximum Hand Size (62), skill checks (64), Targetin' (66), and Token Dudes (66).

Most Recent Printin' Rule

The most recent printin' of a card overrules all previous printin's, which are considered to read identically to the current printin'. (This doesn't apply to printing new, "Experienced" cards) Also, this rulebook overrules all previous rulebooks. This rulebook was printed in April, 2000.