So, with no further ado...DUEL OF PISTOLS
THE STORY OF GATLIN
Once upon a time, in a land not too far from RhyDin called West by its natives (though no one knew what it was west of), there lived a small-time enchanter named George Gatlin. One day, quite by accident, Gatlin discovered a process by which one could draw ambient magical energy into certain base metals and store it in a concentrated form. Upon further experimentation, Gatlin refined this process until sentient beings, who as everyone knows serve as conduits for magical energy, merely had to concentrate on transferring the energy within themselves into the metal for the process to take place. Curiously, this effort of concentration on the part of the imbuer seemed to be required for the metal to draw energy from a sentient being; a philosophical friend of Gatlin's remarked that it could have something to do with free will, but Gatlin was not interested in such ancillary questions at the time being. Even more curiously, the imbuing process seemed to have no effect on the imbuer, with only a slight feeling of tiredness for a few moments after each charge.
As Gatlin tested the limits to which the metals could store energy, a particularly stubborn test subject overloaded a chunk of copper after roughly three seconds of concentration. A green blast of energy exploded from the copper, leaving it unharmed but the subject knocked off his feet. Upon examination, the subject only reported a slight dizziness, so naturally Gatlin had him do it again to see the cumulative effect. The second time the subject was considerably dazed, and the third time he was knocked out completely. As Gatlin's assistant relit the lamp over their heads that had been blown out by the force of the blasts, Gatlin realized how he could take advantage of this.
Gatlin set about fashioning a device out of the metals that he used in his experiments. The device fit comfortably in one's hand, and was designed to store the energy imparted upon it by the user and explosively release it when a small pressure plate placed where the index finger would naturally lie was activated. So that the energy went where the user wanted it to and not explode in his hand, Gatlin fashioned the part of the device above the handle into a barrel called the chamber, which directed the released blast of energies in the direction the muzzle was pointed. The device was also calibrated so that those who were less willful than the original test subject could fill the chamber to full capacity in only three seconds; a safety measure in the form of a small shock when the chamber was full broke the user's concentration for long enough to avoid accidental overloading. He put the devices, which he called "blasters", up for sale, marketing them as the perfect non-lethal personal protection devices. One shot would daze an assailant for a couple of seconds, allowing a head start for an escape; two shots would cause the assailant to stumble; and three would be an instant KO.
At the time Gatlin made his invention, the youth culture of West had started a wildly successful cultural trend of resolving disputes through a contest of some sort. Especially with teenage boys, this contest was more often than not of a violent nature, and as knowledge of magical wards was scarce in West not a few serious accidents occurred when tempers got too heated. As West was trying to deal with this problem, Gatlin's invention hit the market. Not only was the blaster an effective, non-lethal form of settling disputes that required real skill, but the blasters were customizable; different base metals used in the production of a blaster created differently colored blasts. Copper created green blasts, zinc blue, and iron red. An alloy made of these metals created different colors based on the proportion of metals used in the alloy. Needless to say, the "Gat", as the slang term for the blaster was coined, was an instant hit with the youth population, along with the adults who bought it for its original purpose.
Over time, the youth of West grew up and became the elder generation, but the allure of the duel never left their hearts. As such, duels for honor became traditional in West, used as the primary method to resolve disputes and in some cases just as a contest of skill. Gat dueling as a sport was born in West, and the top dueler in a given area was given the title "Gatlin" in honor of the original inventor of the blasters. Eventually, travelers brought the tradition of Gatlin and some blasters to RhyDin, where the practice caught on quickly in a select group, who gave the strange magical devices a new name: "pistols"...
THE RULES
Duel of Pistols is a simulation of pistol dueling set in a context that makes it feasible in a fantasy environment, and which allows for non-lethal pistol combat. The duels are traditionally performed with duel-wielded single-shot pistols, though variants can differ on the number of pistols or the number of shots per pistol. Duels go to 3 points, by which time the loser should be knocked out; however, more hardy duelists have been known to keep fighting as long as their opponent is just as weakened as they are, in an attempt to get the last shot in before the blasts overwhelm them.
BASIC MOVES
There are seven basic moves in the DoP matrix, with two special moves that either are gained or lost as a duelist improves in skill.
1. Strafe Shot (ss): A shot towards the central mass of the opponent with a quick step to the side to avoid any poorly-aimed shots.
2. Head Shot (hs): A carefully aimed shot that requires the shooter to stand still but is guaranteed to hit if given the time to set up.
3. Quick Shot (qs): A shot so quick that the pistol is not even entirely leveled when the gun goes off, causing the blast to hit anywhere from the opponent's foot to mid-thigh.
4. Dive (di/dv): A leaping dive to the side, causing even the quickest of shots to miss.
5. Drop (dr/dp): The duelist drops prone to the ground, avoiding any high-flying bullets in the process.
6. Roll (ro/rl): An acrobatic roll to the side, low and quick.
7. Jump (ju/jp): A leap into the air to avoid having to dance away from low-flying bullets.
--
8. Dodge (do/dg): Some call it instinct, some call it the work of God, some just call it beginner's luck. Regardless, all potentially great duelists have those moments early on in their career where they inexplicably shift their weight to the side, duck down, or flinch just as a blast slices the air mere inches away. These "strokes of luck", which inexplicably become less common as duelists gain experience, allow duelists to survive to the point where they can challenge the best. However, if relied upon too much, these lucky saves can become nothing more than paranoid twitching, causing a duelist to break his or her concentration.
9. Counter (counter/c + dive or roll): Though lucky dodges become less common as a duelist gains experience, the increase in skill more than makes up for the loss in luck. The best duelists can even delay their shot, performing certain evasive manuevers and then making a counter shot, taking advantage of the opponent's wasted shot or the positional advantage to score. However, if the duelist gets shot in the process or the opponent is not where the duelist expects him or her to be, then the poised trigger finger is likely to fire off a shot wildly off mark.
Reloading: Since a few moments of concentration are required to reload a single pistol, duelists can only reload in breaks of action. Therefore, whenever there are no shots during a turn, each duelist reloads one empty pistol. However, if a duelist shoots or is shot, or attempts to shoot when both pistols are empty (this includes counters), they forfeit the opportunity to reload.
DUELING
As stated previously, duels are to 3 points with a 1 point lead. There is no round limit; however, after 15 rounds, the caller can announce a Sudden Death round before the moves are entered for a given round. In a SD round, both players must shoot (counters count as shots, and both guns automatically reload before a SD round).
In addition to the forfeit of a reload above, players who attempt to shoot when both pistols are empty are automatically hit by any shot by their opponent in the same round, including counters.
The caller announces the round number, the RP result, the moves ordered, and the current score. The caller does NOT inform the players how many rounds they have left in their pistols, though they can mention when players reload.
Any defensive move (4-7) cannot be ordered in two consecutive rounds, but a shot move (1-3) can. Dodges may also be repeated.
Draws are forbidden in match play, but in regular play consensus between the two duelists will result in a draw.
RANKINGS
Title(WoL required):#Dodges/#Counters
Greenhorn(0):3/0
Bandit(5):2/1
Pistoleer(10):1/2
Gunslinger(15):0/3
Gatlin(by challenge):1*/4
*Only usable in challenge match
Duelists are encouraged to take full advantage of their Dodges and Counters in regular and tournament play.
Inactive duelists are deleted after two months, with the exception of Gunslingers who are deleted after four. Reinstatement requires two official regular duels before the previous WoL is returned.
THE GATLIN
The Gatlin is the title traditionally given to the most skilled pistol duelist in a given area, and some say the spirit of Gatlin himself watches over such prodigies. The first Gatlin in an area is the first duelist to prove him/herself worthy of the title by achieving Gunslinger rank; from then on, the Gatlin Challenge determines who is worthy of the title. If the Gatlin resigns between challenges, the finals of the Gatlin tournament will be a best-of-three to determine the new Gatlin; the same occurs if it is generally accepted that the Gatlin will be unable to meet the challenge that cycle by the time of the Gatlin tournament.
TOURNAMENTS
DoP uses a one-month cycle, with three tournaments and one challenge per cycle.
DESPERADO
The Desperado tournament is held in the fourth week of every cycle, and is open to any duelist below Gunslinger rank. The winner gains the title Desperado and gains an extra Counter until the next tournament. All wins and losses in the Desperado tournament are counted towards the player's regular WoL.
ROGUE
The Rogue tournament is held in the first week of every cycle, and is open to any duelist below Gunslinger rank. The winner gains the title Rogue and may participate in that cycle's Gatlin tournament. All wins and losses in the Rogue tournament are counted towards the player's WoL.
GATLIN
The Gatlin tournament is held in the second week of every cycle, and is open to all Gunslingers and the Rogue. The winner goes on to challenge the Gatlin; if the Gatlin is vacant, then a best-of-three match in the finals determines the new Gatlin.
GATLIN CHALLENGE
The challenge to determine who is worthy of the Gatlin title is a best-of-three match between the current Gatlin and the winner of the Gatlin tournament that cycle. The Gatlin has until the end of the cycle to schedule the match; if he/she fails to meet the challenge in that time, the challenger wins by forfeit (though suspicion of failure should result in a best-of-three during the Gatlin finals).
VARIANTS
SINGLE PISTOL
Intead of duel-wielding pistols, players can choose to use a single gun each; there are two sub-variants of this variant given below.
Golden Gun: After a player makes his shot, he must wait for his/her opponent to make his/her shot before reloading. Duels are to 1 point, and 1-1 ties result in a rematch.
Double-Barrelled Pistol: Players use a specially modified pistol that can fire two shots, but only require one round of reloading to charge both shots back up.
BARESKIN
Players may agree to play with no dodges and no counters; this variant may be allowed in tournament play.
BLINDFOLD
Players do not get the moves for each round, and the caller may only indicate in RP whether a shot was fired and by who, whether someone was hit and who, and whether anyone reloads during a round.
MEXICAN STANDOFF
A multiplayer match in which each player has three hits before they are eliminated; last man standing wins. Each player may make two moves per round. Only one defensive move may be ordered per round, including counter moves. For example, a duelist may shoot twice, shoot once and make a defensive move, dodge and make a defensive move, shoot and dodge, shoot and counter, or dodge and counter. Shots are directed towards specific duelists, and a counter may only hit one duelist who shoots and misses the countering duelist. If no one shoots at the duelist, the shot is wasted, but if multiple people shoot at the duelist and miss, he is given the choice of who to counter by the caller before the round results are posted. A defensive move is successful against all shots directed at the duelist that it defends against. A dodge, however, only nullifies a single shot directed at the duelist; if any other shots are made and not defended against by a defensive move, they all hit.
DESIGN NOTES (to anticipate some of your initial concerns)
- Dodges and Counters are designed to counterbalance each other, to avoid the disadvantage that newbies have given that the more experienced players get the handicap in the other sports. A player with greater skill will use the Counters more efficiently than the newbie will use the Dodges, so the player with greater skill will win more often than not.
- There is no Title Rank equivalent (e.g. Baron, Opal, Keeper) since I felt with the tournaments and quick cycle turnover there was enough activity to keep duelists busy. There's also a nice image in one man above all, constantly challenged for his position at the top of the hill.
- SD rounds are designed to keep matches from going on indefinitely, since the last thing I wanted to do is have the majority of matches result in draws due to a round limit. DoP is a very defensive game as I view it, and so it is natural for matches to go on for considerable lengths of time. It may have been too drastic a manuever, however, as it does reduce the game to a RPS battle after many rounds of intricate manuevering.
- Shots are repeatable because you can only shoot twice before having to reload anyways, and that puts you in a disadvantageous position (as you have to defend two rounds to fully reload).
- There are only three levels of WoL ranks because Desperado and Rogue tournament wins count towards WoL; the reasoning behind this is that tournament play is identical to regular play with the exception of draws, which are discouraged in regular play anyways.
Well, I think that about sums the idea up. Questions, errata, comments, etc. are always welcome.
Flames are somewhat less welcome, but perhaps inevitable. 
P.S. Forgot to mention that the draft of the matrix is available to any curious; just contact me via AIM and I'll send you a copy (it's an XLS file).
))
