During my only run as a PC in this system I played your average dual pistol Mandalorian gunslinger, and found the dual wielding mechanic fair and pretty fun: just add another Difficulty (referred to as purple) die to the dice pool, and if you get two advantage, you can make the same difficulty check with your other weapon to essentially double your damage with the risk being that your first shot could do less damage, miss, and or not even allow you to take the second shot. I've since gotten myself stuck as the perma-DM for our games (I don't regret it) and had a recent thought to myself after talking to one of my PC's about how dual wielding works. How would the ruling work if a PC wanted to be a Besalisk, or Force forbid the six armed Harch, gunslinger? I don't think it'd be balanced for anything going against them if the gunslingers modified pool was still just the one purple with the two advantage being needed for the next shot, but if I were to add a purple for every extra weapon then at some point the gunslinger is going to hit everything save for his target.

Another related question I'm curious on: Would you consider having multiple weapons on a vehicle (not already linked weapons, like an X-wing's laser cannons) as dual wielding if they wished to shoot, say, lasers and proton torpedoes at the same time? And if so, and if they had about 5 different weapon emplacements, would the same rules apply from Dexter Jettster the gunslinger?

6 hours ago, Broopa said:

just add another Difficulty (referred to as purple) die to the dice pool, and if you get two advantage, you can make the same difficulty check with your other weapon to essentially double your damage with the risk being that your first shot could do less damage, miss, and or not even allow you to take the second shot

Maybe it's your description, but that's not how it works. You only roll the dice once. If you miss, that's it, you can't spend 2A (advantages) to try to hit another target. Only if you hit can spend that 2A and the extra damage is then automatic. That's why using two weapons rarely pays off unless your positive dice pool is at least 2 dice higher than your negative dice pool...you need enough leeway to get the hit and generate enough advantages to trigger the second hit. At even dice, the odds tend towards success + threat, or failure + advantage. You need a much higher pool to pull both the success axis and narrative axis in your desired direction.

So this:

6 hours ago, Broopa said:

I don't think it'd be balanced for anything going against them if the gunslingers modified pool was still just the one purple with the two advantage being needed for the next shot, but if I were to add a purple for every extra weapon then at some point the gunslinger is going to hit everything save for his target.

...wouldn't work anyway. If you did add a purple for every extra limb involved it would almost never be worth it, unless the PC has skill and ability maxed. I don't think there's an official ruling on multi-limbed species, but as they already get a benefit (1 free maneuver) I wouldn't be inclined to allow extra weapons. The rules only specifically cover two weapons after all.

That said...it would almost be worth it to allow the player the fun. In addition to the extra purple*, I'd probably also require using one maneuver to reflect the full attention required to make more than 2 limbs work like that. Since they need 2A for each extra hit, that's rarely going to pay off because each purple sucks away either successes or advantages. So most of the time it will be a non-event, and probably very disappointing, but once in a while it would be EPIC.

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* if the PC has a gunslinger talent that voids the extra purple penalty, I'd only allow that talent to remove one purple.

It's hard enough to coordinate two at once, more is going to be extremely difficult. I'm inclined to not allow it (especially because multi-armed species generally have a pair of dominant arms, with a dominant hand, and then secondary/tertiary sets of arms, which likely have even less dexterity than a human's off-hand).

But if you want to, I'd say increase the difficulty once and require them to make a Prepare Maneuver for each weapon past their second. Other than that, you'd follow the standard rules for dual-wielding.

And @whafrog is right, you increase the difficulty once and can spend 2 Advantage on a successful combat check to score a second hit automatically. Only one check is made.

I also concur with Whafrog that you should only allow them to use Guns Blazing once.

7 hours ago, whafrog said:

Maybe it's your description, but that's not how it works. You only roll the dice once. If you miss, that's it, you can't spend 2A (advantages) to try to hit another target. Only if you hit can spend that 2A and the extra damage is then automatic. That's why using two weapons rarely pays off unless your positive dice pool is at least 2 dice higher than your negative dice pool...you need enough leeway to get the hit and generate enough advantages to trigger the second hit. At even dice, the odds tend towards success + threat, or failure + advantage. You need a much higher pool to pull both the success axis and narrative axis in your desired direction.

Yea, after re-reading it seems that I've been doing it wrong (a habit and ruling I picked up from the former DM). That said, I think I prefer it the way I'm currently doing it, as I don't think it makes sense for one to not be able to make another attack with their offhand weapon due to their primary missing, I think a raised difficulty and and small advantage price tag on that first attack is enough. While it adds more rolling, it'll make a player feel stronger, they can get better and more devastating results... and it's not something I feel I should change mid-way through the campaign.

7 hours ago, whafrog said:

work anyway. If you did add a purple for every extra limb involved it would almost never be worth it, unless the PC has skill and ability maxed. I don't think there's an official ruling on multi-limbed species, but as they already get a benefit (1 free maneuver) I wouldn't be inclined to allow extra weapons. The rules only specifically cover two weapons after all.

That said...it would almost be worth it to allow the player the fun. In addition to the extra purple*, I'd probably also require using one maneuver to reflect the full attention required to make more than 2 limbs work like that. Since they need 2A for each extra hit, that's rarely going to pay off because each purple sucks away either successes or advantages. So most of the time it will be a non-event, and probably very disappointing, but once in a while it would be EPIC.

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* if the PC has a gunslinger talent that voids the extra purple penalty, I'd only allow that talent to remove one purple.

7 hours ago, P-47 Thunderbolt said:

It's hard enough to coordinate two at once, more is going to be extremely difficult. I'm inclined to not allow it (especially because multi-armed species generally have a pair of dominant arms, with a dominant hand, and then secondary/tertiary sets of arms, which likely have even less dexterity than a human's off-hand).

But if you want to, I'd say increase the difficulty once and require them to make a Prepare Maneuver for each weapon past their second. Other than that, you'd follow the standard rules for dual-wielding.

And @whafrog is right, you increase the difficulty once and can spend 2 Advantage on a successful combat check to score a second hit automatically. Only one check is made.

I also concur with Whafrog that you should only allow them to use Guns Blazing once.

I like the idea of needing to use the prepare maneuver for any amount of weapons above 2. I also think it's a very good way of keeping that scary 6 pistol Harch (or maybe even 3 rifle, since they could technically do it) build at bay).

I also agree with the Guns Blazing rule, though I wonder if maybe it should be ruled that it's a ranked talent in this case? IE: having two ranks of Guns Blazing, and suffering the necessary amount of strain per how much they're doing it, would lower the added difficulty equal to their ranks in GB. Example: They got 4 pistols they want to shoot at something at short range, and two ranks in GB. They suffer 4 strain (2 per each rank they used) and lower the difficulty of the attack by 2 purple (leaving it at 2 purple in total, 1 due to range and the other due to the uncancelled modifier.)

Thank you, fella's!

36 minutes ago, Broopa said:

That said, I think I prefer it the way I'm currently doing it, as I don't think it makes sense for one to not be able to make another attack with their offhand weapon due to their primary missing

Not to argue about what you prefer, but this game isn't really centred around which hand got the hit or how many shots are being fired. You can take out a squad of minions with one roll even with a "single shot" weapon if you get good results (say you take out 2 with damage and a third with a crit)...which doesn't mean you only pulled the trigger once because you rolled once. The roll just represents the end result, it's the sum total of your effect. You can then narrate that effect however you like.

So a "miss" means both shots missed, not just the primary hand.

I only mention it because it's a common misconception when people start playing this game, and it spills over into other parts of the game, including those non-combat related.

(Not to mention I can guarantee you're going to regret setting this precedent when your gunslinger starts walking all over your carefully prepared adversaries... )

3 hours ago, whafrog said:

I only mention it because it's a common misconception when people start playing this game, and it spills over into other parts of the game, including those non-combat related.

I get what you're saying, and I appreciate the concern, especially since it evidently did happen. It's still probably just best to roll with it for now, at least for this campaign. I don't have a muti-arm gunslinger, it was just a thought I had when talking to a PC who wanted to put a scatter gun attachment on his... scatter gun. Lots of variety in their equipment.

3 hours ago, whafrog said:

Not to argue about what you prefer, but this game isn't really centred around which hand got the hit or how many shots are being fired. You can take out a squad of minions with one roll even with a "single shot" weapon if you get good results (say you take out 2 with damage and a third with a crit)...which doesn't mean you only pulled the trigger once because you rolled once. The roll just represents the end result, it's the sum total of your effect. You can then narrate that effect however you like.

I am well aware of how minion groups work (more so than my players, as they have yet to even consider using squad mechanics when they have a group of soldiers with them. I have faith in them)

My grief with the way it works in the books also isn't that "oh, you can't shoot multiple times," I'm no stranger to saying that they fire off multiple shoots, even on a nemesis (IE: if a Sith Lord reflects their attacks but still takes damage, well, how's he gonna reflect it and get hurt if they only fired the one shot? How does a single pistol do anything to a rancor from behind, etc) It's more that, if they just get unlucky enough and roll all advantage in the results, and fail to hit otherwise, well they're gonna feel cheated.

Mechanically, I don't think the results are too different from whats in the book, at least not from my own gunslinger experience. On average damage is still doubled (assuming it's just two pistols) and maybe with some change. The worse thing to come out of rolling for every equipped weapon is that it's abit more rolling, but that's not a huge deal for me nor the PC's, especially once the PC gets the hang of it and we can look at it and go "alright, hit, hit, hit, miss, hit, here's the damage on each."

3 hours ago, whafrog said:

So a "miss" means both shots missed, not just the primary hand.

Again, I'm no stranger to adding flavor to their attacks, and I don't even care if (as long as they meet the mechanical requirements of having 2 weapons equipped and doing the correct difficulty, etc, etc) if they say the shots came from one single weapon. However, with the way it works in the book, if your primary misses, then your secondary misses by default. Your primary could also hit something, and your secondary not due to a lack of adv. These can, of course, again, be flavored to say differently, but if the pistols are worked VERY differently for specific builds and what not, it'll just upset them that at that point is does become reliant on one of the guns to do its job perfectly so the other can do it at all.

I also feel that since it's all reliant on the primary hand, what's the point of putting fancy attachments on both guns? Load up the primary with accuracy mods, auto-advantage, etc. Maybe it also gets utility sometimes, as it's their primary and the go to gun. Meanwhile the secondary, if it's never used for anything but, gets solely damage and pierce modifications. Accuracy wouldn't matter for it, because as long as the primary gets at least 1 Success and 2 advantage in the ends results, that inaccurate Bantha poodoo is still gonna hit them from across the building. That's really just me being worried about min-maxing which isn't a problem for me, but it might be for other people.

All that said, I might be missing something again, but this is how the CRB reads:
"To make the attack, he performs a combined check. First, the character denotes one weapon as the primary weapon. When making the combined check, he will be attacking with this weapon. He then determines what skills and characteristics he would use when making attacks with his primary weapon, and his secondary weapon (the other weapon he wields). Finally, he determines his target.

To assemble the dice pool for this check, the player compares the skills that would be used to make an attack with each weapon, and compares the characteristics that would be used to make an attack with each weapon. He then takes the skill that he has lower ranks in, and the characteristic that he has lower ranks in, and uses this skill and characteristic to assemble his dice pool. It's very possible that the ranks in either the skills or characteristics are equal, in which case he can use either. If both checks would use the same skill or characteristic, he simply uses that skill or characteristic." (Pages 210 and 211 of the EOTE CRB.)

So if that's true, any attachments added to either gun that add accuracy, inaccuracy, or automatic results only apply if it's the primary weapon. (Side note: this makes set triggers awful for gunslingers who I would think like the ability to quickdraw and deal alot of damage on the first hit. Sure it's 1 more success, but those 2 threat might render the second weapon useless, and if it's on your secondary, well then you have no success from it, just the base damage and already rolled success.)

All of that BS is kinda why I prefer the way I'm doing it. Roll for both shots separately (same difficulty for each, plus any modifiers based on the individual weapons accuracy ratings, and all that), with the second shot still requiring two advantage to fire but not for the primary to hit its target. Based on results you just flavor it then. First shot only had 2 advantage and the second hit? Cool, just that happens. The first shot hits but doesn't generate success, the second weapon then either misses a ton, or the first shot sent the target behind cover for a brief moment, and you were unable to pop off the second weapon effectively. Meanwhile, due to the added difficulty on both attacks it still rewards those who put the xp into the needed skills and talents while making using a single pistol a considerable option in the same the base game does it (by it simply being easier).

I understand that I type alot, (I have fun going on rants sometimes) so here's a quick run down of everything.
TL:DR , I'm not disagreeing with the quote from you, going off of the games rules, a miss in this scenario is shots from both weapons going wide. But I don't like how in the base game if the primary misses, your secondary doesn't even get a chance to do anything, and it's 100% reliant on your primary to do the work, getting both 1 success for both or just the primary to hit, while still needing the two advantage for the secondary to fire at all in a mechanical sense.

All of this is from a mechanical sense. Flavoring, as much as I and my PC's love it, is what it is, and it doesn't give results, and eventually hearing "oh you're secondary does fire... it just misses or gets soaked up..." because of the primariy weapons attack would get old.

3 hours ago, whafrog said:

(Not to mention I can guarantee you're going to regret setting this precedent when your gunslinger starts walking all over your carefully prepared adversaries... )

I currently have a hired gun-last-man-standing-now-a-force-sensitive-lightsaber-wielding-soak-of-10-Zabrak in my party as their main DPS and tank, meanwhile everyone else is a talker, utility, pilot, etc, and tries to stay away from combat for the most part. And I can't say, even with how stupid strong they are sometimes (They one shot an acklay through nothing but luck and alot of ranks in lethal blows). I love it when my players are happy, and more so when they fulfill the rolls they design themselves to fulfill. The session right after that Acklay they got their *** handed to them by a dark sider who was just slightly weaker then them statistically speaking, and only survived when the rest of the party shot the dark sider in the back and forced him to flee.

And as a final bit, should they be mopping the floor with what I had preplanned, and it was supposed to be much harder, I see nothing wrong with raising the stakes by changing something, be it reinforcements, using destiny points to do something crazy, etc. As long as it's in the name of fun, and not me fighting my players for the sake of GM S T R O N K , I think it's fine to make sure a fight doesn't end up being underwhelming if I can't afford it to be.

Sam Stewart already provided the official answer for Four Weapon Combat in the thread at

That said, if you want to home-brew a system to allow something different, then you’re certainly welcome to do that. But I would at least recommend reading what Sam has to say on the subject.