© Copyright 1995 - 2003 Eoin Connolly, Rob Brennan and Eric Nolan. All rights reserved.
Principle design and original concept: Eoin Connolly
Additional design and editing: Rob Brennan
Scenario design: Paul Kavanagh
Special thanks to: All Wasteland Games staff
First Edition - Version 1.01
Dedicated to Chow and John, for pretty obvious reasons.
Playtesters: Steve "Pick it up" Blair, Wee Alan "Come on if you think you're hard enough" Dunbar, Paul "I still think HAF is a class name" Kavanagh George "Bullet Magnet" McConnon, Chris "W'eve got them outnumbered one to thirty" McCormack, Eoin 'Love Puppy' Connolly, Thomas "Fixer" Needham, Wee "Time for your operation" Ivor, John "I see the sniper! He's over th-" Bankhead, Conor "MAC-10's o'death" Brown, Andy "I ain't got time to bleed, I'll be dead in seconds." Brown, Eric "When Hell's too full, they're going to need me to empty it out" Nolan, Robert "This is a carrot, this is a stick and don't tell me the carrot looks like another stick" Brennan, Ultan, Pete, Laurette, Some guy we'd never seen before, Garvin "It's Malkie Time" Campbell, Cian "Racial hatred" Merne, Brian "Braveheart" Cleeland, John "No, no, let's plan this time!" Clavin and Donagh "I want to do it, but is it Cool?" Kilmurray.
POINT BLANK is Wasteland Game's trademark for their Action Movie Role Playing Game. Neither HONOUR nor HOT TWO GUN ACTION are trademarks of Wasteland Games, but, hey, life isn't perfect. This game is protected by the Intergalactic Copyright Laws. Any attempts to break or even bend these laws will result in your abduction to an alien lab where you will be cut into teeny, tiny slices.
Welcome to Point Blank, the Action Movie RPG!
You've seen the movies. Now play the game. This game does not try and reproduce real world violence. It gives you the chance to mow down bad guys with an Uzi in each hand while shrugging off whatever wounds they manage to inflict. In this game, the characters do not hesitate before entering a room full of heavily armed gangsters. They go diving through the window, firing in mid-air and landing on the ground in a combat roll before coming up to finish off those left alive. If you're hopelessly outgunned, bleeding from a dozen pistol wounds and in a building threatening to blow up, you know it's time to go to work.
The world of Point Blank is one populated by larger than life villains; terrorists intent on the destruction of the free world, gangsters who have reduced entire cities to cesspools of corruption and violence and government agencies drunk with power attempting to force a New World Order - regardless of the consequences to freedom and democracy. In this world, the innocent die on the streets every day, crime is rife and concepts of Honour, Truth, Justice and Freedom have been forgotten as the millennium draws to a close. The players are the only thing standing in the way of a social apocalypse, the last honourable cops and killers in a world driven mad by greed and power.
Point Blank is a violent game. We make no excuses for this. Like the action movies it represents, it thrives on high octane excitement and nail-biting suspense. Games should be fast-paced with characters making themselves stand out with their actions as well as their words. Style and memorable one-liners become the new forms of characterisation as the players place their characters own unique stamp on every encounter, each vying to turn each encounter into a quality scene worthy of inclusion into the best of action films. Inspired by the action films of Hong Kong, Point Blank gives the players the chance to play the roles of modern day action heroes. The rules allow characters to take risks they would normally think suicidal. In Point Blank, death holds no fear. Everyone dies at some point, it's what you do with your life that counts.
Wasteland Games Staff, June 1995
Before play decide the type of scenario that you intend to run. There are two options available to the referee based on the type of game he wants to run.
Hong Kong-style: characters are fantastically powerful and routinely perform physically impossible acts.
Hollywood-style: characters are powerful but rarely perform impossible acts.
While all games played using these rules will have a very cinematic, heroic feel, the two levels of power allow referees to properly imitate particular styles of movie direction. Throughout the rules the Hong Kong style has been assumed, we provide notes anywhere that play in the Hollywood style differs.
The basic characteristics outline the physical and mental capabilities of the character. They are concerned with how smart or strong the character is, not what skills or abilities the character possesses.
Physical
Strength (The physical strength of the character)
Speed (The reflexes and speed of the character)
Mental
Education (The amount of formal training the character has)
Experience (How long the character has been around)
These range from 4 to 20, with a value of 4 in any characteristic (or stat) being pitiful and a value of 20 being pretty impressive. Characteristics are generated by rolling 2d10 and adding the two die results re-rolling any 1's. In fact, as low stats are not good for morale re- roll any stats that are less than 10.
A character's characteristics determine Skill Adds, the characteristic applicable is determined by the particular skill. Due to the heavy dependence of total skill levels on characteristics a player would be unwise to place a low value in a characteristic that determines the skill adds for a skill that they see as central to their character.
In addition to skill adds, the physical characteristics also determine a character's actions in combat, damage bonus and toughness. A character's Speed determines the number of actions a character can perform in a combat round. A character's Strength determines the character's Damage Bonus (modifier to the Damage of Unarmed or Melee attacks) and Toughness (modifier to the Damage of attacks made on the character).
| Characteristic | Skill Add | Actions | Damage Bonus | Toughness |
| 5+ | +2 | 1 | -2 | +2 |
| 10+ | +4 | 2 | +0 | +0 |
| 15+ | +6 | 3 | +2 | -2 |
| 20+ | +8 | 4 | +5 | -5 |
Each skill has four levels of ability; Trained, Experienced, Professional and Expert. Some skills are commonly acquired and so characters start trained in those areas at no cost. These are called Common skills. These skills are marked with an '*' in the skill list. Other skills require training, without which they have a base of 0.
There are a few skills that have an optional training cost, these skills are treated like a Common skill (i.e. trained for free) but there is some specific area of the skill's use (such as flying aircraft for the vehicle skill) that the character is excluded from. This optional training (2 pts) may be paid during character generation to grant the character full use of the skill. Optional training skills are marked "**" in the skill list.
Each character has 20 Skill Points to be spent as the player wishes. The costs for each level of skill are as follows (costs are not cumulative):
| Level | Normal Skills | Common Skills (*/**) | Effect |
| Trained | 2 | 0 | Gives skills a base of 5 |
| Experienced | 3 | 1 | Base + Skill Add |
| Professional | 4 | 2 | Base + (2 x Skill Add) |
| Expert | 7 | 5 | Base + (3 x Skill Add) |
Skills on the character sheet have four boxes in the training column. The first box in those skills which do not need training has a solid dot in it. Those skills which require training have an empty first box. Skills that have an optional training cost are shown with a hollow dot in their first box.
You must give the character a Driving Force. This is what keeps the character going, be it a sense of justice, a desire to clean the streets. The second thing to give the character is a Quirk, such as 'Never gets drunk' or 'Sleeps with one eye open'. These must always bow to the referee's interpretation. They cannot directly involve skill rolls and can never be used to improve skills. They are effective only when the referee says so. Optionally you may give your character a flaw, this should be some limitation on the characters activities and give good scope for roleplaying. Remember that these characters are larger than life and choose something that really gives the character grief.
Joe Yuen is a cop who dislikes paperwork and criminals equally. He has no time for corrupt police officers and likes getting his hands dirty arresting bad guys. His Driving Force is "To make sure the world his children grow up in is a safe one". His Quirk is that he can "Always smell an ambush."
Having got the character idea worked out, his player then starts by generating the basic statistics. The rolls are 17, 12, 14 and 16. There were two rolls that were less than 10 but they were discarded. The dice rolls are then assigned to the stats as Joe's player wishes. Joe's basic statistics are now: STR 14, SPD 16, EDU 12 and EXP 17. This gives him 3 Actions and a Damage Bonus/Toughness of +0/-0. His Skill Adds are EDU +4, EXP +6 and SPD +6.
Joe now needs some skills. He has 20 skill points to spend. He buys Legal at the Experienced level. This costs him 3 skill points as it is not a Common skill. He then buys Awareness at a Professional level. This costs him 2 points. He wants the character to be good at judging people and questioning them so he buys Social at Experienced, costing another 1 point. He has 14 skill points left. He then gets serious and buys Combat at the Expert level, costing him 5 points. He would also like to have the optional Martial Arts training, so he spends the extra 2 points and fills in the circle on the character sheet. He brings his Stealth and Athletics skills up to the Professional level costing him 4 points (2 points each). He has 3 points left. He wants to be able to drive so he brings his Vehicles skill up to the Experienced level and does not take the optional training. This costs him 1 point. He has 2 points left and he decides to become Trained in the Criminal skill, giving him a base of 5.
His skill totals are:
Legal 9 Awareness 17 Athletics 17 Social 11 Stealth 17 Vehicles 11 Criminal 5 Combat 23
| Languages | EDU | Gives the character the ability to speak, read and write all languages. Expert level gives complete native-like fluency. | |
| Medical | EDU | This skill allows the character to treat wounds and diagnose illnesses. | |
| Legal | EDU | Knowing the law and how to bend it. Handy for cops to have at Amateur level at least. Hot-shot lawyer/thief-takers will need it at a higher level. | |
| Technical | EDU | This skill covers technical abilities such as engineering, computers and motor mechanic. It is the skill used when disabling electronic locks and alarm systems. If it involves machinery or circuitry, you can use this skill. | |
| Arts | * | EDU | Knowing literature, history and other such liberal things. This is a useful skill for journalists to have. |
| Outdoors | * | EXP | This skill covers hunting, tracking, navigation by the stars, and finding edible plants in the wilderness. |
| Social | * | EXP | Charming, manipulating, lying to people and spotting lies. A character with a high Social skill knows basic human psychology and body language intimately. |
| Criminal | EXP | Picking locks, sleight of hand, simple forgery etc. Most petty criminal acts, such as hot-wiring cars, are covered by this skill. | |
| Contacts | EXP | A successful skill roll will let the character get in touch with arms dealers, forgers, policemen etc. The referee decides how long it takes and how hard the task is. | |
| Awareness | * | EXP | Spotting ambushes, hearing people sneak up on you. Anything involving the five senses is covered by this skill. |
| Stealth | * | EXP | Hiding from, sneaking up on and following people in crowds. |
| Combat | ** | SPD | Shooting guns, using fists, feet, knives, machetes and swords. It also includes grenade launchers and flame-throwers. The optional training gives the character knowledge of deadly martial arts. |
| Athletics | * | SPD | Jumping, running, swimming, diving, leaping, somersaulting are all covered by this skill. When a character wants to leap over a wall or jump onto a moving bus, this is the skill they must roll. |
| Vehicles | ** | SPD | Driving cars, trucks and riding bikes, also includes driving speedboats and sailboats. If the optional Training is taken, the character can also fly planes and helicopters. |
Notes * Common skill. ** Optional training possible.
All skill rolls are made with a d20. Essentially the system is as follows: the GM first decides which skill would be applicable to a particular situation and then asks the player to try and roll less than their skill on a d20, success is when the die result is less than or equal to the skill. Most skill rolls are made like this.
There are a number of variations possible to this basic scheme. Some of these
are as follows:
A variation of the skill system that is useful for situations where two forces or characters are actively working against each other is called an opposed roll. A good example of a suitable situation in which to use an opposed roll is a player sneaking up on a patrolling guard (sneaking player's Stealth opposed against the guard's Awareness) or kicking open a door (character's Combat or Strength opposed against the door's resistance to opening).
To make an opposed roll you take an arbitrary penalty to your skill or characteristic as mentioned above. The target opposing the character must roll their skill or characteristic at that penalty. If the character succeeds and the target fails, the attempt has been successful.
If both succeed or fail, the attempt has been unsuccessful and must be repeated. This approach can be used in many different contexts. If a character is trying to disarm a booby trap or dismantle an alarm system, the fact that the player has no real idea if the attempt has been successful.
Joe is doing some shopping downtown. He's got a big bag of groceries and he's looking for a present for his nephew. The street is reasonably busy with fellow shoppers. The referee asks Joe's player to make an Awareness roll at -5. Joe's Awareness is 17, so his chance of succeeding is 12 or less on a d20. He rolls a 5, making the roll. Across the street he sees two men waiting outside a bank. They are wearing overcoats despite the evening heat. A car waits beside them, its engine idling.
Joe puts his groceries down and walks across the street, trying to keep the other shoppers between him and the bad guys so they don't see the badge in his left hand and the pistol in his right. The referee asks him to roll his Stealth opposed against the bad guys Awareness. Joe's player takes a voluntary -5 to his Stealth to try and get as close as possible to the men and an additional -5 to make himself as difficult to spot as possible.
Joe's Stealth is reduced to 7 and the bad guys' Awareness is reduced from 5 to 0. He rolls a 3 and gets as close as he desired to the men. The additional -5 he took to his skill means that the bad guys have no real chance of spotting him unless they roll a 1. They do not and Joe gets within three metres of the waiting men.
He holds up the badge and the gun. "Police. You're under arrest." The two men swing around, their eyes widening. Their hands come out of their coats, one has a machine pistol, the other a pump shotgun. Joe realises he has to drop them before any innocents get killed in the crossfire. Everything goes into slow motion. As Joe fires, he can see the car start to accelerate. The wheels spin madly. In front of the car a small child steps out into the road...
In the movies, there are distinct types of role to be played, some central, some incidental. The minor characters with incidental roles usually have no real impact on the plot, their purpose is to give colour to the setting. Central characters drive (or are driven by) the plot, it is their successes and failures that captivate us. This approach has been mirrored in POINT BLANK, the players and their key opposition are central characters whereas everyone else is a minor character. Minor characters are always played by the referee. In order to set the correct mood the player archetype section gives players some ideas for the sorts of characters that are possible. The NPC archetype section provides similar ideas for the referee and gives example stats for NPCs.
Below are some guidelines on how your average film hero behaves. Make sure all your players are aware of these before any game starts.
Players should read this section before generating a character to get some idea of the sorts of characters that are suitable for most POINT BLANK games. All player characters are automatically central characters. Feel free to let players create their own archetypes if they feel the need to do so. Hollywood films tend to more flexible in the archetypes they use in their films having archetypes like The Cynical Private Investigator and The Socially Inept Technical Person. Always remember that a cliche only restricts if you are unwilling to add to it and place your own unique stamp on it.
You are a hard-boiled cop. Sometimes you have to bend the law to get things done but that's okay. You have no time for petty bureaucracy or office work. Your place is out there on the streets making them safe for ordinary people. The system can get in the way but as long as you act with honour nothing else matters. All you really have to worry about is being shouted at by your boss or being killed by criminals. You lead a relatively simple life - as long as you don't kill any innocents, you'll be okay.
You came out of the academy full of ideals, wanting to do the right thing. You went undercover knowing this was the only way to catch the big criminals. Now you're not sure whether you're a criminal or a cop. You can't remember your real name and you're getting higher and higher up the gang ladder. One of these days you'll shoot a cop and then there'll be no going back... It's a hard life. Criminals want you dead for being in the wrong organisation and cops want you dead for being criminals. You can be asked to kill innocents and you have no choice if you want to keep your identity secret. It is a life of moral torture and social decadence. No matter how much money you have, you know you're still a cop and that it will all end one day. You just want it to end right.
You're an assassin, a paid killer. You're getting sick of the violence and you can't understand the new criminals. All they're concerned about is money, they know nothing of honour. You're a dinosaur and everyone knows it. An honourable person can always be trusted to do the right thing and that makes you dangerous. As most of your victims are other criminals, it is possible for you to be honourable and have a strict code. You can turn down any work you do not want to do and work when you want. The money you make doesn't go on big houses or flash cars but gets put aside and invested in your new life when you finally leave the business far behind.
You've worked with the gangs since you were a child. It's all you know. You're not interested in power - to you, it's just a job like any other. It's getting harder for an honest criminal; the new bosses have no respect for their workers. All they care about is money and power. They think nothing of double-crossing and stabbing their friends in the back. Unlike the other archetypes, the Criminal is actively working for the gang bosses. They do not lose Honour for killing policemen and while they do not agree with the new methods they will do their job. Honour is important not your occupation.
Unlike player characters who are all central characters, the referee's arsenal of opposition will be mostly made up of minor characters. The one exception to this rule is the Main Bad Guys (MBGs), all of whom are central characters just like the player characters. In the basic game there are three types of minor characters: Henchmen, Bodyguards and Crime Bosses (Innocent Bystanders count as non-firing Henchmen).
These exist by the truckload - gang members or criminals. They are only dangerous to ordinary people, you average hero eats them for breakfast. They generally carry a pistol but some are known to have an SMG or a shotgun.
These are the people at the head of the gang member pyramid. They generally wear sunglasses. They order people around. They only get involved when all their flunkies are dead. They are more likely to carry two guns in an attempt to look like a hero, the more cowardly carry an SMG. If you want better bodyguards, give them E.N.'s of 20 and stats and skills of 20.
These are the bosses who lead from the office, preferring to let others do the hard work for them. They survive on their wits, not their ability to take bullets. Occasionally some are honourable and only their age and encroaching infirmity has led them to lead from the office. These criminals rarely carry guns and are often quite fatalistic about dying. They have an Effect penalty which reduces the damage of weapons so it generally takes an Aimed shot to kill them. They usually know when their time is up and don't try to fight it.
These are usually a more violent, younger version of the crime boss or a hired killer brought in specially for a job. Money is usually all that matters to these people. The stats given above are only an average as these characters will usually be given a character sheet and are generated in the same manner as player characters. They are the most dangerous opponent of all and should be treated carefully. They will do anything to win, including killing innocents, cops and doing deals to get a light sentence in prison from which they can still run their business. Honour is an extreme rarity for these individuals but is not unknown. A Main Bad Guy with honour is a worthy opponent and should be treated with respect.
This combat system is different to that presented in most games, in that it is firmly based in cinematography rather than reality. The main effect of this is that characters are treated differently according to their importance to the plot.
Time in combat is both measured and structured by the use of combat rounds to control all activity.
A combat round lasts a few seconds. Characters can have up to 4 actions each round depending on their Speed. The phases of the round that characters can perform an action are as follows:
Phase 1 Characters with 4 actions act.
Phase 2 Characters with 3 or 4 actions act.
Phase 3 Characters with 2, 3 or 4 actions act.
Phase 4 Characters with 1, 2, 3 or 4 actions act.
All actions within each phase are usually considered to be simultaneous. With the exception of movement and parrying melee attacks (see below) characters without any actions in a given phase are stationary.
Joe has three actions each Round. This means he gets his first action in phase 2. The bad guys are only Henchmen with one action and do not act until phase 4. Joe's player knows he has two actions to drop both look-outs and then must get the child out of the way of the car before the kid gets run over. In phase 2, he starts moving forward, firing as he moves.
A character can move up to 3 metres each Phase. A character can move every phase in a round regardless of how many actions the character has, but it takes an action to start moving. A character cannot move in phases lost due to wound effects.
The child stepping out in front of the speeding car is about ten metres away. The referee tells Joe's player that he can still make it in 3 phases (always err on the side of cinematic reasoning in these things). Joe must move full pelt for the next three phases to get to the kid. As the driver is a Henchman, the car will not start moving forward until the last phase in the round.
Damage effects depend on the type of target as well as more mundane factors such as weapon type, armour etc.. As mentioned previously, there are two main types of characters in this game: central characters and minor characters. There is variation within each type of character but a different damage resolution system is used for each type.
Whenever a character is damaged the referee rolls a d10 and adds the weapon damage value plus any other modifiers (armour, toughness, damage bonus etc.).
If the damage roll comes up a ten (0 on a d10), the referee should roll again and add the two numbers together to get the final result. If the second or subsequent dice also give a ten result, further dice are rolled until a result other than 10 occurs. All dice are then totalled. This applies to the damage against all types of characters and is vital in giving the more puny minor characters some chance of affecting the players.
Every type of weapon or attack has a base damage value. If a character uses
an attack type listed on the table below they add the listed damage value
to all damage rolls.
| Damage | Attack |
| 1 | Punches and Kicks |
| 3 | Melee Weapons |
| 5 | Pistols and SMGs |
| 7 | Magnum rounds |
| 9 | Shotguns, Rifles and Grenades |
All minor characters have an Effect Number that determines their resistance to damage. The Effect Number for the various types of minor character is specified in the NPC Archetypes section. Whenever a minor character is hit, the referee compares the damage total with the character's Effect Number. If the total is higher than the Effect Number of the target then the target is killed. If lower than the Effect Number is rolled, the target is merely stunned and incapable of action for the rest of the combat round.
Stuns do not accumulate, a minor character is never stunned for multiple rounds. This keeps things nice and simple for the referee, but does have the side effect that some minor characters will "never" die. The referee can always rule that a particular minor character has slumped into unconsciousness due to kinetic energy poisoning.
Joe fires his pistol in phase 2. He can fire two shots each phase (see later for weapons' rates of fire). He puts the first two shots into the closest henchman. His Combat skill is 23, he rolls a 17 and a 5 - both hits. The referee rolls 1d10+5 (the damage of a pistol) for each hit. The two shots do 7 and 13 points of damage. The first shot stuns the target for the rest of the round and the second shot kills him instantly.
Joe ducks under the spray of blood and in phase 3, fires another two shots at the second lookout. He rolls a 15 and an 18, both hits. The referee rolls the damage and gets a 9 and a 12. Again, it is the second shot which proves to be the killing blow. As the henchman spins to the ground Joe dives for the small child. Joe dives in phase 4, the same phase as the henchman driver begins to act. As the car squeals forward, the referee rules that Joe's player must make an Athletics roll at -5 to grab the child. This gives him a chance of 12 or less on a d20. Joe's player is nervous now as the death of the child would rest heavily on Joe's conscience. He rolls a 6, a success. Joe grabs the child and drags her out of the way of the car.
As the car screams past he spins, protecting the child with his body, and levels the pistol at the car. He fires twice. The referee gives him a -5 to-hit modifier because he is firing at a man in a moving car. Joe's Combat skill is reduced to 18. He rolls a 6 and a 7, both hits. The referee rolls damages of 11 and 12. Both shots are instantly fatal. The car ploughs into a pile of packing crates filled with chickens, the driver dead at the wheel. Having just killed the three henchmen in under three seconds, Joe clips his police badge onto his jacket pocket. He pulls out his spare pistol and, with a gun in each hand, he strides into the bank.
Player characters and Main Bad Guys are much tougher and have a wider range of wound effects ("Don't worry son, it's only a scratch"). When such a character is hit, instead of comparing the total damage rolled to an effect number, it is compared to the wound tables below. The first table indicates what type of wound is inflicted and any immediate consequences, the second table details the wound's effects (if any).
| Damage Roll | Wound | Effect |
| up to 10 | Flesh Wound | No effect. |
| 11-13 | Minor Wound. | Impressive spurt of blood. |
| 14-17 | Seriously Injured. | Drop one weapon. |
| 18-21 | Critically Injured. | Drop both weapons. |
| 22-25 | Mortal. | Drop to ground. |
| 26+ | Instantly killed. | Go into slow motion and play sad music. |
| Wounds | Effect |
| Flesh Wound | Grit teeth and consider retaliation. |
| Minor Wound | -5 to all activities. |
| Seriously Injured | -5 to all activities. Lose one action permanently until healed. Character will have a medical crisis in 1d10 hours unless Medical Attention is received. |
| Critically injured | -10 to all activities. Lose two actions permanently until healed. Character will have a medical crisis in 1d10 minutes unless Medical Attention is received. |
| Mortally Injured | -15 to all activities. Automatically unconscious for 1d10 rounds. Character will also have a medical crisis in 1d10 rounds unless Medical Attention is received. |
All penalties and action losses are non-cumulative.
As Joe walks through the bank doors, one of the gang fires a shotgun at him. The shot hits and Joe takes 14 and 12 points of damage (see shotgun rules). The first 14 points of damage are enough for a Serious Wound. Joe loses an action (down to 2 each round) and is at -5 to all activities (all skills and stats get reduced by 5). The referee rolls a d10 and sees that Joe will have a medical crisis in 6 hours. The 12 points of damage also inflicted is a Minor Wound which is ignored. Joe will now only become more injured if he takes a Critical Wound (or worse).
When a character has a medical crisis, they are in immediate danger of dying. To see if a character pulls through successfully they must roll versus their Strength subtracting any modifiers due to wounds. For example, a critically injured character will have to roll less than their Strength-10 after a d10 minutes or they expire.
If a central character has a toughness bonus/penalty then all damage rolls against them are modified by this number.
Player characters can make an Aimed shot which increases the Damage of each weapon by +5 for every -5 penalty taken to the Combat skill. For example, Johnny Ho aims for a -15 to his Combat skill. If he hits, the Damage is increased to 20 for a single attack.
Another form of Aimed attack is to decide to go last in the Phase. This gives a +5 bonus to an attack or the Damage of an attack. Only one attack per weapon can be made if you decide to go last. This is the only time combat is not simultaneous inside a Phase. If two people elect to go last, their actions are simultaneous.
As Joe staggers under the force of the shotgun blast, he sees the man who shot him racking another shell into his pump shotgun. To his left two henchmen raise their guns and to his right, one of the bank robbers holds a gun to the head of a terrified man in a suit.
The bodyguard has just fired on phase 3, so Joe has a chance to shoot him in the same phase as the shotgun blast. Joe points one pistol to his left and fires two shots, while the pistol in his right hand fires a single, aimed shot at the Bodyguard. Joe's Combat skill is still 23 (his fire is simultaneous with the shotgun blast and so he will not be at -5 to fire until the next phase). He takes a -10 to his Combat skill (to do 10 points of extra damage), reducing his chance to 13. He fires and rolls 8, a hit. The damage of his pistol is increased to 15 +1d10. The referee rolls the d10 and the total damage of the shot is 22. As a Bodyguard's Effect Number is only 15, Joe has killed him comfortably.
At the same time, he fires the pistol in his left hand at the men to his left. Firing from the left hand with a pistol reduces his Combat skill by 5 (see later). This brings it down to 18 (the shotgun blast has still not taken effect). He fires a shot at each of the henchmen, rolls a 5 and a 6. The referee rolls damage of 12 and 9 for each shot. One of the henchmen is dead and the other is stunned for the rest of the round. All of this shooting was done as the shotgun blast ripped through Joe's side. You have to imagine it in slow motion with Joe getting hit and firing as he falls backward, the aimed shot at the bodyguard happening first, the film then speeding up as he fires rapidly at those to his left.
The table below shows the rates of fire of each weapon in shots per phase.
| Weapon | Shots | Notes |
| Shotguns | 1 |
Pump or semi-auto shotguns |
| Revolvers | 1 |
Police .38's and the like. |
| Magnums | 1 |
Dirty Harry revolvers and Desert Eagles |
| Autopistols | 2 |
Berettas, Colt .45's and Tokarevs |
| SMGs | Auto* | MAC-10's, MP-5Ks and Uzis. |
| Assault Rifles | Auto* | AK-47's and M-16's |
| Rifles | 1 |
M21s, hunting rifles, etc. |
These are automatic fire weapons which fire bursts instead of single shots. The rate of fire of these weapons is done differently to other normal weapons. They are autofire weapons and they make one roll to hit but get 5d10 to roll if they do hit. As such, autofire weapons can attack up to five people with one shot. It is at the referee's discretion how close together people have to be to be hit by the one burst. If an aimed shot is made with an autofire weapon, all five dice get the damage bonus. Each dice represents one wound, they do not all add up together to give a damage total!
As Joe falls to the floor, already beginning the roll that will take him back onto his feet, the bodyguard with the hostage goes last in the phase, brings up her MAC-10 machine pistol and sprays Joe (not caring that her buddies are also in the line of fire). As a bodyguard, her Combat skill is 10. Going last in the phase brings it up to 15 (+5 bonus). She aims at Joe for a -10 to her skill, which would mean that the first bullet in the burst would have a damage of 15 and the other four bullets would do normal damage of 5. She needs a 5 to hit, rolls 8 and misses. The burst rips up the carpet around Joe and pieces of fabric fly into the air.
These roll 2d10 for damage when they hit, like auto weapons (see above) they may split the two dice between two targets or focus the attack on one target. For shotguns, an aimed shot affects both dice. In a hostage situation one dice has to go into the hostage.
Optional (if outside base range shotguns damage is reduced to 3)
Normal hit chances apply for all guns up to their base range, beyond this all shots are at -10. No hits are possible beyond five times Base Range (unless a 1 is rolled). The distances given below are guidelines only, Point Blank should not be played in the style of a skirmish wargame. Characters should never feel that by running forward a few metres they will lose the -10 penalty for being out of range. In general, be lenient whenever the scene calls for it.
| Weapon | Base Range |
| Shotguns/Pistols | Across the street (20m) |
| Magnums/SMGs | Half a block (50m) |
| Assault Rifles | A city block (100m) |
| Rifles | As far as you can see (500m) |
The modifiers below are handed out during combat. They affect the Combat skill and if more than one modifier applies, the penalties are cumulative.
| Action | Modifier | Notes |
| Off-hand Firing | - 5 |
Applies to all off-hand firing |
| Movement | - 0 to -10 | * See below. |
| One Hand SMG | - 5 |
Firing an SMG one-handed. |
| One Hand Rifle | -15 |
Firing an assault rifle one-handed. |
| Unsuitable platform | - 5 |
Firing from a boat, car or stair banisters |
| Soft Cover | - 5 |
Hostages, glass doors and paper screens. |
| Hard Cover | -10 |
Behind cars, walls, riot shields and such like. |
| Firing Blind | -20 |
Shooting around corners or through doors. |
The player decides the modifier (-0, -5 or -10) used when shooting at them. The character takes an equivalent penalty to their own attacks while undergoing this leaping/dodging etc. Referees may cap the modifier chosen depending on character circumstances - a character tied to a chair won't be doing much dodging.
It is phase 4, Joe is at -5 to all activities due to his wound. He ignores the henchman to his left (who has been shot and is currently crashing against the wall) and fires from the ground at the bodyguard behind the hostage. Being behind a hostage counts as Soft Cover and reduces Joe's chance to hit by 5. This brings it down to 13. Joe decides to go last in the phase, aiming at the bodyguard for that split second of time that makes the difference between a snapshot and an aimed shot. She must kill Joe before he fires so she does not go last and does not take any penalties to her skill for extra damage. Her chance of hitting is 10 in 20. She rolls a 14 and misses Joe again.
As Joe went last in the phase his Combat skill is increased to 18 (13 + 5). He takes a -10 to hit, bringing his chance of success down to 8. The referee tells him that if he rolls a 16+ he has hit the hostage. Joe fires. He rolls a 3 and does 15 + 1d10 points of damage to the bodyguard. The referee rolls seven and 22 points of damage hit the bodyguard. She drops to the ground dead. The hostage wets himself, he's deaf in one ear and he's had a bullet miss his head by inches. He drops to the ground in a dead faint. Joe picks himself up and goes over to the last henchman.
A weapon runs out of ammunition whenever a natural 20 is rolled (apart from autoweapons - they jam on a 16+). If the gun has fired an embarrassingly small number of bullets, it has jammed. Reloading or clearing a jam takes an action and a successful Combat skill roll.
Body armour reduces the Damage of all attacks made on the wearer. For every -5 penalty to the Damage, the wearer takes a -5 penalty to all skills. Up to a -10 Effect Penalty Flak Vest is concealable under a casual jacket and up to a -20 Effect Penalty Jacket can be worn - but boy will you look scared.
In melee or unarmed you choose to either attack or defend with each action. Decide before any dice are rolled. If the defending character cannot act that phase, they can still make a defence attempt at -10 to their skill. If the defending character is busy doing something else - like shooting their attacker - they cannot make a defence attempt and both attacks will occur simultaneously. If the two characters decide to both defend then nothing happens that phase, they just pace around each other. If both decide to attack, then neither can make a defence attempt and the blows land simultaneously.
An attack is blocked by a successful defence attempt. An tricky blow can be made by taking a penalty to your attack roll, which the defending character also takes as a penalty to their defence attempt. It can be mixed with an Aimed Shot for extra damage.
A character with martial arts skill has a number of advantages in unarmed and melee combat. To make their attacks more deadly they roll 2d10 for damage whenever their attack die rolls an odd number (i.e. 1, 3, 5, 7, etc.). Each d10 may be applied to a separate opponent, if both are applied to the same opponent each is a separate attack (as with guns only one die may get a bonus for aiming). If a defence attempt is an odd number they may roll one d10 for normal damage in addition to defending against the blow.
There are also a number of special attacks available to martial artists, the procedure for making these attacks is as follows: the player must take a minus to his attack roll equal to the difficulty of the special attack, if the attack hits and is not parried the special effect is inflicted in addition to any damage caused by the attack.
| Special Attack | Effect | Difficulty |
| Disarm | foe drops one weapon | 5 |
| Stun | foe loses next action | 10 |
| Throw | foe down and loses next action | 15 |
| Immobilise | foe down and out | 20 |
A dropped weapon takes 1 action to retrieve. A downed foe is downed for 1d10 phases and must roll against Speed not to drop any weapon held . A foe knocked out is out for 1d10 phases and automatically drops any weapon held.
The last surviving bank robber raises his pistol weakly at Joe as he approaches. As a henchman, he only acts on the last phase of each round. Joe, even injured, can act on phase 3. He uses his Martial Arts training to disarm the gangster. His Combat is 18, he goes last that phase (not much danger of being shot at) and brings his skill up to 23. He takes the -10 penalty and rolls a 7. This is a success. Joe just wants to disarm the crook, he doesn't want to kill him, so he elects not to do any damage. The defenceless crook surrenders without a peep. One arrest and six deaths with no innocents killed. A good day in Joe's book, but not unusual. He waits for the clean-up crew to arrive.
A successful Medical roll reduces the level of injury by one. For example, a Critically Injured character who has 1d10 minutes to live is given medical Attention. If the roll is successful, they are now only Seriously injured and have 1d10 hours to live. This should be more than enough time to get them to hospital. Medical rolls performed by the characters is known as Emergency Medicine and all Medical rolls performed on a character are at a cumulative -10 after the first roll (whether it was successful or not and irrespective of how many people attempt the Medical).
The time it takes to administer this emergency medicine depends on the level of injury. A Mortally injured character takes 1 round to treat, a Critically injured character takes 1 minute to treat and a Seriously injured character takes 1 hour to treat. No medical rolls may be made to treat minor wounds.
A minor wound can only be healed naturally and takes a week to do so. A Hospital will automatically cure all injuries after three days and will bring any level of injury down to a Minor Wound overnight. Beware of men bringing flowers while you wait in hospital. A referee may rule in exceptional cases that it takes longer for a given character to heal.
All wound levels take a week to heal if you're not in a hospital. A character who pulls through a medical crisis will not die and begins natural healing at a rate of one week per wound level if not in hospital.
The meat wagon arrives with about four cop cars. The street fills with the sound of sirens and cops telling people to stand back. Joe drags his criminal out to the other cops and drops him at their feet. "Armed robbery with violence. Book him." Joe pushes the paramedic to one side and retrieves his groceries before getting in the ambulance. He spends the night at the hospital and his serious wound gets reduced to a minor wound automatically. The next day he's back on the streets. After all, he still has to buy his nephew that present...
Honour is accrued by the player not the character. If a character dies or is retired, the next character played by that player starts off with the Honour Points of the previous character. Honour Points are handed out after each Scene. The referee allocates Honour Points depending on how well the character has acted according to two main criteria: flair (Would it look good in a film?) and effectiveness (Did it get the job done?). Each player receives between 0 and 5 Honour Points for each. Up to 3 points can be handed out at any time for a player acting in character. Also, if a character performs a cool move in a scene (the sort of manoeuvre that would be in slow motion in a film) they should be awarded up to 3 points of Honour on the spot.
Occasionally the character can gain extra Honour Points through extreme acts such as sacrificing yourself for a friend or giving away everything you have to help another. These acts should gain the player anywhere between 10 and 30 Honour Points.
For the Scene described in the examples running through these rules, the Honour Joe's player will receive would be calculated as follows. For flair, Joe would get 4 Honour Points and for effectiveness, another 4 would be given. This makes a total of 8 honour points. Joe's player loses out on the full 10 by getting wounded after walking blindly into the bank, rather than rolling in at -10 to be hit. Flair is a more subjective appraisal and can depend on a player's involvement in the character during the scene as well as the player's ability to see the chance for a cool move and do it. As with most things, the perfect 10 should be a rarity. Don't forget that Joe's player could also have earned honour points during the scene for good lines and characterisation. Let's say that, including points for roleplaying, Joe's player has picked up a total of 12 honour points for that one small scene (be generous, remember that you want your players to respond, not cower).
Honour Points are spent in groups of ten. Ten Honour Points can do any of
the following:
Those actions marked with a (C) are the only times Honour Points can be used in Combat.
Honour can be lost by doing dishonourable acts. Examples of these and recommended
Honour losses are listed below. The referee can increase the losses if the
act is particularly heinous or relevant to the character or scenario.
| - 5 Honour | Killing an unarmed opponent (if they have no weapon on their person) |
| - 10 Honour | Allowing an innocent to die, killing a cop (undercover or uniformed). |
| - 20 Honour | Killing an honourable opponent unfairly, betraying a friend. |
| - 30 Honour | Killing a friend against their will, killing an innocent. |
Occasionally a character will be able to redeem themselves after committing a dishonourable act. Their act of redemption should counterbalance their dishonour and should give them back most their Honour. Whether or not they have redeemed themselves is up to the referee.
Joe's player decides to use ten of the twelve honour points gained to increase Joe's Experience. It is now 18. When Joe's EXP reaches 20, his Skill Add for that stat will increase to +8 and all of the skills based on Experience will increase. Joe's player has 2 honour points left.
If a player has been dishonourable and has a negative Honour Point total, the referee can use that dishonour to give opponents of that character an advantage. For every ten points (or portion thereof) of negative Honour the character has, the referee can give an opponent of that character a +5 to any skill or a +5 to the Damage of any attack. The character's Honour does not change when it is used in this manner and the amount that the referee can use is reset after each scene with that character. For example, the opponents of a player with -26 Honour will gain up to three +5 bonuses during every scene involving that player.
Although it is possible to run Point Blank as just another gun game, this is in fact missing the point. Scenarios for Point Blank can be as intricate as scenarios for any other game. The thing that differentiates Point Blank from other games is the emphasis on action. The honour system ensures that players will get involved with the action and do their best to keep things moving. To stand still is to stagnate.
The tiered power levels of the opposition (from henchmen to bodyguards to main bad guys) means that the threat level of each scene can be easily estimated. This allows for a good mixture of cinematic yet not-too-dangerous scenes to advance the plot and the dangerous scenes which form the climax of the scenario in which the characters could easily be killed. Any competent character is a match for up to twenty henchmen but the odds are evened if they go up against five bodyguards or one main bad guy. It is even possible for some main bad guys to be more than a match for an individual character and this will stop the players from getting bored with their apparent invulnerability.
For Hollywood style games, the power level of the opposition should be raised. This means having less henchmen and more bodyguards and MBGs. These films rely less on the human wave tactics of the Hong Kong film and prefer to have smaller groups of opponents with the bad guys being afforded more characterisation. Point Blank is capable of being as lethal, if not more lethal, as other role playing games and characters can drop like flies if the opposition is up to scratch.
The first thing to remember when running a game of Point Blank is to be cinematic whenever possible. This means making things larger than life and always, always thinking of how it would look in the movies. The referee's descriptions should invoke images for the players and signal to them the sort of heroic actions that are required of them. This means giving them the benefit of the doubt when they perform, players shouldn't be overly punished for rash acts - they're trying to act out the roles of heroes. If this sounds like a lot of hard work remember to get the players involved too, listen to their suggestions for events.
Big expensive set piece scenes are the core of a lot of these movies. Feel free to steal blatantly from any films you've seen. When designing a scenario, you should have the locations in mind that major events will take place in. Often a scenario will involve a sequence of such scenes, leading up to the conclusion. Because of the essentially visual nature of cinema, visual imagery is often used. You can echo this in your game. Imagery can be simple, for example describing the bad guys wearing black, or involved, like inserting a scene including dream sequences or flashbacks had by one of the central characters. The use of a repeated motif, such as the appearance of doves after a death or the onset of bad weather before a confrontation can also be used to give the games an individual flavour.
If you come up with a great new idea, don't be afraid to re-work a scene in a more visually appealing way. This tactic shouldn't really change the outcome of the scene, just its presentation to the players. On a more practical level, things to be considered in a scene are lighting, weather, dress and anything else that adds visually to the scene. Once you've figured out the location, you should think about what type of things happen in that location, what type of people would normally be there and the interactions that can happen between the people and the things in the location.
We've tried to remove most of the book-keeping used in other games to allow you the time to concentrate on these things. The rules systems used emphasise two main things, central characters and immediate effects. This should help you concentrate on what's important, no one wants to spend ten minutes wading through combat rules every time a NPC is hit. The central characters are the only ones that deserve this attention and even for them, things have been kept to a minimum. This also keeps the action fast but tense, which is characteristic of movie action.
Although combat is important, this is not a wargame. Each player should be giving a verbal description of what they are doing, throwing in the appropriate game information at the end. Players who just sit there and say, "-10 to hit, dodge for -5," will not get much Honour for flair (and they definitely won't get any for cool moves). Make sure that the players understand this. As a referee during combat, your job is to try not to 'block' any of the players' moves. In general, try and be fairly easy going and let the players add to the situation for their own benefits. Try not to be concerned about facings and map positions, the combat should be free-flowing and inventive, not stifled and rules orientated. Basically, go easy on them. Point Blank can be more lethal than any other game and players can get disheartened if they are constantly dying.
If you want players to get attached to their characters, keep the danger level low for the first part of the game. Give them enough Honour to invest in their character in addition to keeping 20 aside in case they get shot. Once they have invested in the character they will be less willing to let the character die to preserve the Honour they have stored up.
And, above all, the object of the Point Blank game is to have fun.
This is a simple, introductory scenario for Point Blank. It will give the players a chance to try out the game while also allowing the referee a chance to go mad with power as the minions of the main bad guy rush forward like heavily armed lemmings. It is suitable for three to six players (any more and the opposition will have to get beefed up a bit) and should be playable within a single evening or afternoon.
The game is set in Hong Kong. Over the last three months there has been a rapidly escalating war between three rival criminal organisations. The largest and most brutal of these organisations is led by Joey Chan a vicious psychopath known affectionately (by those who are terrified of him) as Uncle Chan. The police and other gangs have been trying to get Chan for a very long time, but he has always proved too clever for them. Until now.
Uncle Chan is planning a bank heist. He doesn't want word of the heist to leak to the other gangs so he is using outside men, criminals who cannot be linked to his own organisation. As none of the outsiders know the exact details of the plan, Joey reckons he will yet again reap the rewards of crime while remaining untouchable. The characters play the parts of those outsiders brought in for the bank job. None of the characters will know each other and the character's backgrounds should adhere to the background suggestions given below.
Uncle Chan has in fact reached a higher state of importance than he could ever imagine. The HK Police want him arrested to help stop the gang violence and the other gangs want him dead so that they can fight peacefully over what was his. The player backgrounds reflect this.
If you have more than four players: Note that there can be more than one undercover cop in the party. After all, these undercover operations are very secret and hardly anyone ever really knows what's going on in them. There can also be more than one thief and criminal. The whole point is that there isn't an honest crook among them.
In the past, Chan had your partner killed. That day, you swore that you would bring Chan to justice. You've been unofficially watching him for the past month, meeting the right people and now it's finally paid off. As soon as Uncle Chan turns up to take the stolen money off you, you're going to arrest him and bring him in. If the other criminals get in your way you'll have to "arrest" them too.
You've been gradually working your way into the big leagues and the years of preparation are finally going to pay off. By a stroke of fortune you have the chance to put away the most notorious gangster in the entire city. This will be the bust of the century - if the other crooks don't get in the way.
You work for one of the other gangs fighting Uncle Chan. When you steal the money after the job and bring it back to your boss, you're going to become a damn sight more respected in the organisation. If the others try to get in your way, you will kill them.
You have no intention of giving the money back to Uncle Chan. If you're going to bother to steal it, why should you give it to someone else? And if the other dweebs try to get between you and your lifetime ambition of being richer than god, then you're going to show them.
Uncle Chan arranges for all the characters to come to a deserted warehouse on the day of the job. This is the first time any of the characters will have met. Uncle Chan sits at the head of a large table waiting for everyone to arrive. He will not tolerate talking while everyone waits for the last arrivals. In case any of the characters get frisky, Joey has brought along two bodyguards and six henchmen. They will wait in their places around the warehouse while Uncle Chan delivers his speech. He starts off by giving everyone a pseudonym. No-one is to use their real name on this operation. As Uncle Chan has a keen sense of humour, he will name the characters after animals so you will have a Mr. Hedgehog, Mr. Vole, Mr. Lemming, Mr. Skunk, Mr. Badger, Mr. Flopsy the Rabbit etc. If anyone objects to their name (and who would like to be called Mr. Monkfish) then Uncle Chan will have a mild fit and scream abuse at them for a minute, before relaxing instantly and becoming all smiles again. Yes, that's right. Uncle Chan is a nutter.
The players will then be shown a map of the bank and informed by Uncle Chan that it's up to them how they go about it and what they take. If they want to go for the vault, their percentage of the cut won't change, but the total take for the job will be considerably bigger. The players should be left to discuss how to go about it. Each character can have at least two guns (but never more than three), smoke grenades etc. Two of the characters can have silenced MAC-10's in briefcases and one more can have a semi-automatic shotgun.
Ground Floor:
Lobby with two guards. Four cash desks along the far wall, each one with
a teller. The manager's office is along the left wall, with a one-way mirror
allowing him to watch the lobby. Each till has a panic button that the clerk
can push to set off the alarm. The guards are armed with pistols. Half of
the guards are henchmen, the other half are bodyguards.
Basement:
Room 1: Counting room for totalling the days takings. Depending on
the time of day, this room may be empty or in use. If its in use then there
will be a guard from one of the other positions in here. There are alarm
buttons on each wall.
Room 2: Kitchen area. Empty.
Room 3: Vault. Lots of money, three guards with pistols. Entrance
to the vault is via a time locked door, although the guards inside can open
it at anytime.
Referees only: There is a fourth room in the basement unknown to the
players. This room contains the monitors for the video cameras in the lobby.
The players have also not been told about the panic shutters that will fall
that will fall as soon as the panic buttons are pressed. The panic shutters
should be dropped only when the robbery is well underway.
Alleyway:
At the back of the bank there is an alleyway which is used to load and unload
the armoured cars that feed the bank. These cars arrive sporadically and
since the door can only be opened from the inside, this is only usable as
an escape route for the gang. There could easily be a large armoured car
waiting for a pick-up as the characters start robbing the bank.
The bank is one big trap. There are more guards than expected. The guards are better armed than expected and no-body said anything about those damn panic shutters. The reason for the heightened security is that the bank's owners were tipped off that a robbery was going to occur that day, and they have placed 10 armed henchmen (two machine pistols, six pistols and two shotguns) in the secret room. The guards patrolling the bank are not normal guards but replacements just for the day. They are all gang members squeezed into the badly fitting uniforms. The characters might notice this as they enter, but it's more likely they'll be too busy shouting and firing guns.
The bank is owned by one of the other gangs and they will not let Uncle Chan walk in and rob them (Chan was sort of hoping they would). The staff can see all the new faces among the security staff and this has made them very jittery.
All player characters need the robbery to suceed so that they can accomplish their real goals. The guards will try their best to resist the robbery and force will have to be used. There should also be the usual responses from the people in the bank..."Oh God please don't kill me!!"...."Scum...." ...."Come on then try it....".
The moment the alarm sounds, all local law enforcement will come running. The fact that there is an undercover officer present has not been mentioned to the uniformed officers and a mix up in communications will result in confusion at the bank.
If there is an armoured car loading or unloading cash in the alley, then unlike the bank guards, these security people count as armed innocent bystanders. Even the criminals, who are allowed shoot the police outside for no honour loss, will lose honour for killing these men. The guards are obviously terrified and will stay in their armoured car, too scared to move, until they are persuaded to leave by whatever means the players can think of. It would be very easy to get past the police roadblock in an armoured truck...
If the gang get out of the bank, they should be chased across HK by the police until they are either captured, killed or manage to get to the rendezvous. If they get this far, then leave them waiting for a while before Uncle Chan shows up... There's every chance they'll stick around for Uncle Chan. The bank knew they were coming, it smelt of a set-up and Uncle Chan is going to have some explaining to do. Also the cops want to give him the money. It is entirely possible that there will be only one character alive at this stage what with being attacked by both the police and the armed 'bank guards' and the fact that every player character has a good reason to kill the other characters.
Okay, it's probably not that big a surprise. Uncle Chan has twigged to the identities of some of the player characters. He wants them dead and he wants them dead quickly and he wants to be there when the trigger gets pulled on their stinking rat asses. He gathers together about 30 henchmen and starts driving to the warehouse. With him he has his two trusted bodyguards and as a special treat for the characters, he has paid Abel Hansard, a cold- blooded killer, to help him clean out the warehouse. The players should know something's up when the cars crash through the side of the warehouse. All hell will break loose which will hopefully result in the end of Uncle Chan's reign of terror (and indeed his reign of breathing).
If you or your players get bored with gritty cityscapes and troublesome gang-members why not try playing a couple of scenarios in a different setting. In this section we present an example of another possible location for your stunning productions. Rather than laden you with background details (we'll do that in El Paso) we present a few character generation specifics for running games in a Western setting. If you've seen any number of Western films you should have no real difficulty bluffing your players. Just keep things nice and vague and concentrate on the action, the characters and the fun.
The main difference when generating characters is to use the modifications to the standard skill list suggested below and to have a look at the western archetypes section. Obviously, the type of Western best suited to a POINT BLANK campaign is the Spaghetti Western, complete with mysterious big-hatted Mexicans, conniving cattle/railroad barons and dangerous desperadoes, not to mention bushwhackers, rustlers and road agents. NPCs in a Western setting will always tend to a Hollywood style, that is fewer and higher quality NPCs should be used.
You're the only thing standing between the gentle folk of the West and the no-good, low- down desperadoes stalking across the tumbleweed-ridden plains. A dollar a day is all they pay you and for that pittance you've got to risk your neck facing down cattle-rustlers, gunfighters and dangerous bandits.
You serve justice - as long as it pays. You hunt outlaws for the price on their heads, taking them in dead or alive (dead's easier). It's a short, brutal life where the hunter often becomes the hunted in the lawless territories of the West. Your kind is despised but without people like you, the entire system would collapse under the weight of human detritus (scum).
From the Mississippi steamships to the smallest saloon, you earn a living using your wits, natural talent and skill at dealing from the bottom of the deck. It's a dangerous profession, vaqueros make bad losers, that's why you keep a spring-loaded derringer up your sleeve - right beside your spare aces. When you leave a town, wearing your fancy Eastern suit, you know that you've broken a few more hearts and emptied a few more wallets.
The NPC archetypes from the basic game can be used without change. However as the general danger from opponents in a western setting is usually greater, more bodyguards (call them gunslingers) and MBG's should be used. The henchmen NPCs should be reserved for members of lynch mobs, cattle-rustlers and other amateur gunmen.
| Medical | EDU | Same as in basic game. | |
| Legal | EDU | Same as in basic game | |
| Engineering | EDU | This skill covers technical abilities such as gunsmithing, carpentry, inventing bizarre devices, using dynamite (to blow up safes of course) and keeping the steam trains running. | |
| Academic | EDU | Knowing how to read and write, do complicated math (division) and fancy Eastern stuff like literature and history. This is a useful skill for newspaper-men to have. | |
| Scouting | * | EXP | This skill covers hunting, tracking, navigation by the stars, and finding edible plants in the wilderness. |
| Indian Lore | EXP | Knowledge of Native American cultures, languages and customs. Pretty essential for your average scout. | |
| Social | * | EXP | Same as in basic game. |
| Criminal | EXP | Same as in basic game. | |
| Gambling | EXP | Knowing how to win, cheat and spot cheaters in all games of chance (poker, blackjack, roulette and faro). | |
| Awareness | * | EXP | Same as in basic game. |
| Stealth | * | EXP | Same as in basic game. |
| Combat | ** | SPD | Same as in basic game. |
| Athletics | * | SPD | Same as in basic game, except if the optional Training is not taken, the character cannot swim. |
| Cowboy | SPD | Riding horses, judging horseflesh, roping steers and general ranch duties are all covered by this skill. It also includes driving buggies, stagecoaches, wagons etc. |
Notes
All player characters are assumed to be able to speak English and any other
languages appropriate to their background.
The Killer
Hard Boiled
A Better Tomorrow I, II, III
Tiger on the Beat
Police Story III
Wicked City
God of Gamblers
Hard Boiled II
Saviour of the Soul
City on Fire
Bullet in the Head
My Love is like an Eternal Rose
Moon Warriors
Barefoot Kid
Die Hard I, II, III
Leon
Lethal Weapon II
Waterworld
Hard Target
Cliffhanger
Under Siege
Aliens
Commando
Predator
The Last Boy Scout
Reservoir Dogs
Point Break
Total Recall