I've been working on a Weird West style game using Warhammer Fantasy as the base.  One aspect in particular I've been trying to narrow down is the mechanics for the Duel.  I've certainly drawn inspiration from Deadlands when thinking of different things.  Plus before someone says - Why not just use Deadlands - it's because I simply prefer Warhammer as a rules base to go from.  

With that out of the way Rules for: The Duel!

There was actually some law surrounding the Duel in the west.  The idea is to goad your opponent into drawing first.  Then draw and fire your gun before he gets a shot off.  That way you can kill the son-of-a-bitch all nice and legal because it's considered self defense.  Granted giving your opponent that kind of chance is potentially deadly, but it's the only way you can legally call someone out and stay out of jail.

Dueling isn't a simple matter of just pulling your gun out and shooting someone.  It's practically a ritual unto itself.  Two gunfighters walk into the street and face off.  The crowd gathers and time seems to stand still.  It's as if the world has taken a pause to see the result of the next few seconds.  It's not just a question of who's the fastest.  It's a battle of wills as well.  One that will likely result in Death.

Once the Duel has begun there's no backing out of it.  So, if you don't have enough sand to stare down the devil you better think first before calling someone out.  It may be better to take a few licks and swallow your pride then swallow some lead.

Step 1: I'm calling you out!
This is the start of the duel.  You call (or are called) someone out.  You meet under whatever arrangements, take your 10 paces and face each other.  The range for the duel is normally considered to be at short range for the shortest ranged weapon.  However, you and your opponent may negotiate other stipulations.
*The duel has to be formally stated.  Just pulling our your gun doesn't turn into a duel.

You finally track down the low down dirty varmint that done shot your paw.  You grab him by the shoulder spin him around and call him out into the street.  You step back from each other, never letting your steely gaze waver.

Step 2: Stare Down.
You and your opponent are each given 2 cards.  These are your hold cards.  Some talents may give you more cards.

Next is the test of wills.  This represents you and your opponent eyeballing each other and trading insults.  Each of you must make willpower tests to see if you crack under the pressure.  If you have extra ranks in intimidate you may use them to increase your willpower roll.  If you both pass you each get another hold card and make another test.  This battle of wills continues until one person fails.  The strain is to much for them and they reach for their gun.

Whatever the outcome, witnesses will attest to seeing that person move first.  If you lose the Stare Down you also suffer a 10% penalty to your Ballistic skill in step 4.  If that wasn't enough they must make one more willpower test (assuming they survive) or gain a number of insanity points equal to the number of willpower tests made during the stare down.
That's just the risk you take when you stare down death.

You look into his eyes and see your opponent starting to crack.  Sweat is dripping into his eyes and his fingers start to twitch.  He snaps under the pressure and reaches for his iron.

Step 3: Draw!
The GM (or perhaps another player not involved) places three cards face up.  Then two more cards are dealt face up, one at a time, pausing between each, this will give you a total of 5 face up cards.  The goal is to make the best 5 card poker hand using at least two of your hold card and up to three face up cards.  At anytime after the first three cards are turned up you may shout 'Draw!'.  At which point no more cards are turned up.  If neither duelist yells 'Draw!' before the fifth card is turned, both have to draw.
 
Your opponent goes for his gun, time to see if you are the quicker draw.
 
Step 4: The Quick
It's time to decide if you go for speed or accuracy.  Whoever lost the stare down has to declare their actions first.  Like a normal combat round your action is split into two half actions.  Normally you take a a half action to ready your gun and the other half action to fire.  If you have the Quick Draw talent you can draw your gun as a free action.  Which means you could fire on the first half action.  

Alternatively, if you have Quick Draw you could aim for the first half action and fire on the second half action adding +10% to your BS check as normal.  Without the Quick Draw talent you can't aim, unless you spend a Fortune Point for an extra half action.  You can only ready, then fire on the second half action.  Which means if you don't have the Quick Draw talent, you probably shouldn't be getting into a duel in the first place.

* If you spend a Fortune Point for an extra half action that half action goes to the beginning of the round.  So spending a Fortune Point would be the same as using Quick Draw to ready your weapon.  If you have Quick Draw and spend a Fortune Point for an extra half action, your first action would go before someone with just Quick Draw or who just spent a fortune point.

With that out of the way it's time to put down your cards.
 
Your pistol thunders, but is that echo or your opponents gun?
 
Step 4: and The Dead.
This is the part where we see who is alive and who is dead.
Any duelists who fired on their first half action makes their ballistic skill now, normal ranged combat modifiers apply.  Remember, if you lost the Stare Down you are at -10% to your roll.  It doesn't matter who rolls first as these shots are simultaneous.  Any gunfighters who fired during their second half action, and are still alive get to fire.

Assuming you hit, you get to roll damage.  Roll the normal damage for your gun and if you had the better poker hand you get to roll an extra D10 for every step you beat your opponents hand by.  This works like the impact quality.  You only take the best result for damage, but when checking for Righteous Fury you have that many more dice to potentially roll a 10 with.

You're still standing, but so is your opponent.  Then you notice the new hole you've added to his head.  He stares in disbelief for a moment and falls over.

If both opponents are left alive the duel is over and combat starts under the normal rules with an initiative roll.

Wild West WFRP? Intriguing.

bummer, i was genuinely interested in the sound of a wild west wfrp game. oh well, if you can't be bothered...

Just been busy - life and what have you.

I haven't worked on the setting much at this point.  But the rough background is this.

The game is set several hundered years past when the New World was Discovered.   It was originally populated by isolated Dwarves in the Mountains Warring Greenskins in the plains/deserts and Elves in the forest/plains.  

The Old World settlers came to the New World started to spread out.  A few hundred years of expansion, war and treaties brings the New World to about the same state as we had during the mid>late 1800's.

The Dwarfs run all the mining operations and have become very wealthy.  The native elves have more or less reached a truce with the settled areas, though they still claim forested regions as their own.  Greenskins are still problematic in the deserts and constantly raid outer settlements and forts.

Chaos had little influence in the New World until it started to spread with the arrival of the Old World settlers.  It's now had a few hundred years to work it's way.  Unlike the Old world though there is no direct portal to the Chaos Wastes.  So it's been an ongoing corruption influencing leaders and spreading out more social/politically.

Technology wise it's Weird West so iron and steam are prevalent.  The train is the main mode of mass transportation.  But they also rely on horse, carriages and steam powered carriages as well.  Revolvers and rifles are the primary weapon, but the Dwarfs have come up with some crazy inventions like steam powered chain guns and steam cannons as well.

The Dwarfs have maintained rune magic but they almost use it in a utilitarian means.  There is an active Runesmith guild.  Regular magic in the New World is much more difficult to pull off. The Winds of Magic are very few and far between in the New World so traditional magics have their difficulties increased by 2.  Plus the original settlers were very puritanical about the use of magic and were quick to burn out heretics.  The elves have their own ritual magic that they practice as do the Greenskins.  There is also the occasional Person that discovers how to use magic on their own and do their best to hide it.

For character development there are two parts.  You have your Path and a Role.  Roles are similar to the Basic/Advanced Careers idea from WFRP and are your starting point.  However once you start out the game you start heading down a path.  Your path determines how you may spend experience points on abilities, skills and talents.  However you may also spend xp to take on a Role.  Taking on a roll may give you discounts on things you could normally buy on your path or give you access to things outside of your path.  There probably will only be 6 or so paths.

For example you start out in the roll of Prostitute and on the Gunslinger Path.  You adventure around and eventually find yourself in the position of being Sheriff.  So you take on the Sheriff role.  While as sheriff you get discounts on certain skills and talents and your fellowship would be cheaper to increase.  Essentially I'm trying to work it in so that while you don't need to have a 'Career' all the time you can still progress in various areas just from adventuring around.

I haven't worked out the details, but that's the concept.

pretty groovy.

How much are you planning to change the system? I mean in terms of how attributes, skills, and tests work.

Overall very little.
While I originally started the game out based on WFRP it's now based more off of Dark Heresy's rules for the skills and attributes.

I think characters will probably advance a little quicker which should increase their survivability a little more and hopefully make it a little more heroic.
But given the nature of gun fire it'll still be pretty damn dangerous I would imagine.  It'd be rare that you walk out of a gun fight that lasts for more then one round without taking some lead.

But for the most part if you know WFRP or Dark Heresy there won't be anything new here for the standard play.  Where I'll be deviating is in some of the special systems.  The Duel rule for example.  I'm also toying with the Fate/Fortune system a little bit.

One idea I'm having is to allow you to spend a fortune point to have some limited control over the results of a die.  
For example, you fail to pick a lock.  You could spend a fortune point and alter it so that you actually did manage to pick the lock but your lock pics broke or perhaps you managed to pick the lock but in the process you alerted the guards on the other side who are now ready for you.
Perhaps you actually picked the lock but you spend a fortune point to allow your group to setup an ambush for the guards on the other side.

Things like that.  You can introduce small story elements that allow you to alter a success or failure by introducing another element.

What it really comes down to is I like Warhammer pretty much as it is and I'm a big Western fan and I think the feel of Warhammer fits really well with that setting.