Combat

Weapon Base Tempos

Base Tempo by weapon category. Used to determine Steady Shot / Strike timing and to calculate Quick Shot / Shiv / Called Shot variants.

Weapon Type Base Tempo Examples
Light Melee 2–3 Brass Knuckles (2), Bowie Knife (3)
Medium Melee 4–5 Hatchet (4), Saber (5)
Heavy Melee 5–6 Sledgehammer (6), Cavalry Lance (5)
Light Pistol 3 Derringer
Medium Pistol 4 Peacemaker, Volcanic
Heavy Pistol 5 Dragoon, LeMat
Shotgun 3–5 Sawed-Off (3), Coach Gun (4), Pump-Action (5)
Rifle 5–6 Carbine (5), Repeater (5), Buffalo Rifle (6)
Heavy Weapon 7+ Gatling Gun (7)

The fast pistol shooter (Tempo 4) fires three times in the same window the heavy rifleman (Tempo 6) fires twice. Choosing a weapon is choosing your rhythm.