Artillery Hexes
By Raymond Croteau
Hexslingers are a relatively new thing in the Weird West,
but, in one manner or another, they've been around for a fair bit... They just didn't know it at the time. Artillery Hexes ("Art-Exes" as
they're nicknamed, "Art-Ex" in the singular), were first "discovered"
during the Battle of Washington, when a Union Artillery Division started
throwing out shells that caused a thick, black smoke over the area, allowing
Civilians (And a good number of the Politicians) to escape from the oncoming
Confederate Army with their weird gizmos.
While it's one of the oldest forms of Hexslinging, it's not as advanced
as the gunslinger style (Less people around to throw ideas to each other, less
chance to practice, etc.), and, as each hex works only if certain person of the
cannon's team is using it, it can be a bit tricky to cast if you lose said
person, an
The 2nd Artillery Corp, 3rd Division is one of the most
famous of the Artillery Hexslingers, being the ones that did the deed in
Anyone (That has "Arcane Background: Huckster/Hexslinger", that is) can learn
to use these
Hexes, but, as there isn't any book or scrolls to learn them
from, they have to be taught (Or "invented"). Rumours of "Catapult Magic", however,
*HAVE* been heard, but those are just rumours (And anyhow, if there WAS any
truth to those rumours, all the info would be in
Art-Exes' Descriptions:
Little different than usual Hexes, Art-Exes have an
additional entry: Crew Member. This entry is the person who needs to perform
the hex, and also gives the Marshal an idea WHEN it needs to be cast. There are three kinds: Loader (the person who is putting the shell
into the cannon, or packing it down with Muzzle loaders), Aimer (the person who
is sighting the cannon after loading has been completed), Commander (the person
who is shouting out orders to his crew), and Any (Anyone can perform the
Art-Ex). The Loader Art-Exes have to be
cast during the loading phase, the Aiming Art-Exes have to be cast after the
loading phase, and the Commander Art-Exes have to be cast while making the Artillery
roll to see if the cannon was loaded that round or not.
Pigeon Shot
Trait:
Cognition
Hand: Three
of a Kind
Crew: Aimer
Speed: 1
Duration: 1 shot
Range: Touch
Everyone knows
how accurate pigeons are ('Specially after you wash your Steamwagon
or get your shoes shined!), now Artillerists can have that
same accuracy!
Adds +1 to the
artillery roll, with an additional +1 per hand over the minimum. In the shooters "Minds Eye", he can
see an above ground view of where the cannon shell is going to hit.
This Art-Ex needs line of sight to work... If there's something in the way (Hill, House,
Etc.), it does not work.
Smokers Cough
Trait: Vigor
Hand: Pair
Crew: Loader
Speed: 1
Duration: 1 shot
Range: Touch
The first Art-Ex,
it was created (Inadvertently) by a loader with the 3rd Artillery Division at
the Battle of Washington (In fact, the Pinkertons later found this Art-Ex was
one of the main reasons so many people were able to escape the Confederate
attack!).
The loader puts a
High-Explosive shell into the cannon, rubbing the back (for breech
loaders) or front (muzzle loaders) before packing the shell
in. When the cannon fires, it lets out a
VERY loud cough, rather than the usual explosion. Size of smoke clou
Anyone within this cloud is pretty much blind... Also, noone can target anything within, or
behind this cloud... 'Though, they can
fill it full of lead, and hope for the best with some stray shots!
Hand Size of Smoke Cloud
Pair 50
yards
Three of a Kind
100 yards
Flush
250 yards
Four of a Kind 500 yards
Royal Flush 1
mile
Grapes of Wrath
Trait:
Strength
Hand: Ace
Crew: Loader
Speed: 1
Duration: 1 shot
Range: Touch
Artillerists use
Grapeshot (See "Canister Loads" in Smith and Robards) when Infantry
gets too close to the cannon crew, but sometimes it's not
enough to convince 'em it's not a good idea to attack. Thus the GoW Art-Ex was made. The loader waves his hand over the breech or
barrel after he's done loadin' the cannon, and the shot within grows larger
after it's been fired!
Increases the
damage die type by 1, and an additional +1 die type per three hands over the
minimum (It's hard to concentrate on this powerful Art-Ex, 'specially when
you're facing down a bunch of guys with rifles!).
Overshot
Trait: Spirit
Hand:
Straight
Crew: Aimer
Speed: 1
Duration:
Concentration
Range:
"As the crow flies"...
Pigeon Shot has
one main problem, it requires line of sight.
If there's something in the way, like a hill, it doesn't work. Tom Hawkwings, a half-breed Indian with the
3rd, solved this problem by developing "Overshot". He does this by "Seeing through the eyes
of his Hawk". It works with just
about any bird (or animal, really, but birds are best), as long as their well
trained. Trainin' the beast requires a
Hard (9) Animal wranglin': Falconry roll
for birds, and a Fair (5) animal wraglin':
Dog Trainin' for dogs. Other
beasts are up to the Marshal to decide what the difficulty is.
Basically, this
Art-Ex allows someone to see through the eyes of their animal (Birds are best,
'cause they get a nice, broad view of a target), and can adjust their shots
accordingly. This allows any shot after
the first to be made as if they ha
Fire for Effect
Trait: Mien
Hand: Ace
Crew:
Commander
Speed: 1
Duration:
Immediate
Range: N/A
One of the few
Art-Exes developed by the South, it was made when an Artillery division
ran out of powder & shells. The Commander orders "FIRE!", and,
weither the cannons are crewed or not, they do so! Complete with muzzle flare, recoil, and
screaming shells falling!
However, no
shells are fired, it only makes it seem like they did. It's also useful for allowing other cannons
time to reload, or making a few cannons seem like many.
Into the Breech!
Trait:
Quickness
Hand: Jacks
Crew:
Commander
Speed: N/A
Duration: 1
Loading
Range: Earshot
Even the fastest
cannon crew isn't fast enough for most commanders (Most?), so this
Art-Ex was developed.
It reduces the minimum time to reload a cannon by 1!
The bad news is,
if the Commander pulls a Joker, or goes Bust, it effects the entire crew! Use this Art-Ex only under extreme
conditions!!!
4th of July
Trait: Spirit
Hand: Pair
Crew:
Commander
Speed: 3
Duration:
Immediate
Range: N/A
First used after
the
Two advantages
were found by Major-General Gartwaith later on.
First, due to a lack of muzzle flare from the cannon shot, it can be
used to light up a dark night without giving away a crews immediate
position. Second,
Goin' Bust, or
pulling a Joker, causes a "dark" fireworks display, with eerie
sounds, and weird shapes in the explosions!
And has an opposite effect on Union troops (Actually, ANY troops that
are human get minuses to the above mentioned rolls! It's really scary!).
Catchers Mitt
Trait: Deftness
Hand: Jacks
Crew: Any
Speed:
Immediate
Duration:
Concentration
Range: N/A
Any cannonball
fired at a cannon crew (Of equal size shell, or smaller) that is under this
Art-Ex, goes RIGHT into the barrel! Which
can then be fired as if it had been loaded normally! This works only on unloaded cannons, and the
shot fired has the same stats as the shell shot AT the crew.
Dirty Powder
Trait:
Knowledge
Hand: Three
of a Kind
Crew: Loader
Speed: 2
Duration:
Concentration
Range: Touch
Another
Confederate Art-Ex! This one was another
creation of necessity. When a crew
ran out of powder, but still had cannonballs left, the
loader put in DIRT from the ground! IT
WORKED! Basically, you don't need powder
to fire off a shell.
I Got a Rock!
Trait: Smarts
Hand: Three
of a Kind
Crew: Loader
Speed: 2
Duration:
Immediate
Range: Touch
Those poor
Southerners... Not only do they have to
fight off Northern Aggressors, but
they have to do it with less equipment!
This Art-Ex
allows a crew to replace a shell with a rock of similar size. With "Dirty
Powder", this can allow even the worst equipped cannon
crew to keep firing 'till they drop!
(Doing both Art-Exes at the same time requires a single
roll, but needs a Flush to work).
Math Master
Trait: Smarts
Hand: Ace
Crew: Aimer
Speed: Instant
Duration:
Concentration
Range: Caster
Artillerists need
to use A LOT of math, an
This Art-Ex adds
a bonus of +2 to initial attack rolls, which is kept until either the target,
or the cannon, moves.
Hell Mouth
Trait: Spirit
Hand: Three
of a Kind
Crew:
Commander
Speed: 1
Duration: 1 Shot
Range: Earshot
A Union Art-Ex
designed to try and convince Confederate troops that discretion is the
better part of valor (Or, rather, that they don't want to be
here any more!!!). The Cannons, when
fired, let out a MASSIVELY loud roar, and the shells scream worse than the
haunted wailin' of a full TON of burnin' Ghost Rock! This Art-Ex doesn't enhance the volley any
more than that, but it has been known to ALMOST scare a Veteran Texas Ranger
Unit into retreating ("Almost", mind you!).
Troops &
Commanders on the receiving end of a "Hell Mouth" colly need to make
a Fair
(5) guts roll for between 3-5 cannons fired at 'em, with a
+2 to the TN for each additional cannon afterward. 1 or 2 cannons firing this will spook the
troops, but then they'll laugh at the pathetic volley. If the troops fail the roll, they start to
retreat, and the Commander needs to make a Hard (9) Leadership roll to rally
them (Which takes three rounds). If the
Commander fails the roll, he runs in terror, while the troops laugh at the
scared officer. If both fail,
well... They run!!!
If both Commander
and Troops go Bust on the guts roll than the Fear Level in the area
goes up by 1! Pulling
a Joker DOUBLES the guts roll necessary to resist running in terror, but, if
both commander and troops fail the rolls, then the Fear Level in the area of
the battle increases by 1! Having BOTH
happen increases the Fear Level by 2! If
there's any Posse members in the cannon crew and the Fear Level increases, than
they gain a black chip (If the Marshal uses that rule.).
Joy Ride
Trait: Vigor
Hand: Pair
Crew: Any
Speed: 1
Duration: Depends
on Hand
Range: 5
yards/Hex level
This is one
Art-Ex with a humourous beginning...
Maj. Gen Gartwaith was positioning
his cannons for some testing, when he decided to stand on
top of an unloaded and unfired cannon to get a better view of the area. Just as he got comfortable, one of the
Art-Exes nearby went awry, and affected the cannon he was standing upon,
turning it into "something similar to one o' dem Rocket Packs the Flyin'
Buffalos got", as one of the Privates who witnessed this event later
said. The 3rd found the Englishman
almost two miles away, holding onto the cannon so tightly they almost literally
had to use crowbars to pry his fingers off of it!
While the first
trip wasn't a joy, some crews have been known to use this Art-Ex to get
themselves and their cannon away from sticky situations. However, as the wheels are usually ruined
because of this, it should be used sparingly.
Usage of this
Art-Ex for the purposes of Gambling, or as an Initiation will no longer be
tolerated!!!
The cannon has a
pace of 30, and lasts for two rounds per Hand.
If someone is hit with this flying cannon, they take the cannons' firing
damage, with two extra damage dice (Eg:
A 6 lbs. cannon will do 7d12 damage).
Golden Silence
Trait:
Cognition
Hand: Pair
Crew: Any
Speed: 1
Duration: 2
Minutes/Hex Level
Range: 2
yards/Hex Level (Centred around the cannon)
Finally, relief
on artillerists' ears!!! This Art-Ex was
designed initially to quiet down cannons when they were test firing around
cities, so the locals won't be disturbed.
Later on, more ideas came to light about methods that this Art-Ex can be
used, and now it's one beloved by Spys/Troops behind enemy lines.
What occurs is that, after the Hex is cast, an area of silence is created around the cannon, no sound will occur from this circle! Most crews that use this have learned Indian Sign Language, with some custom signs, so they can communicate. This Art-Ex doesn't do anything about the muzzle flare, just sound.