Doc McCoy's Apothecary Sniper Kit

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Desperados 3

Status: Released
Year: 2020
Genre: Strategy
Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux

1. Summary

Doc McCoy's apothecary sniper kit defines a low-mobility, high-precision support role built around long-range silent shooting, reusable lure-and-blind setup, scarce area non-lethal control, healing, crouched body handling, and lockpicking access. The kit trades slow movement and the slowest melee profile for exceptional range, safe removal of exposed watchers, controlled enemy repositioning, recovery after damage, and mission utility that other squad roles cannot provide.

2. Tags

advanceddocumented

3. Design Intent / Job Story

When an encounter has distant watchers, clustered enemies, locked access, or wounded squad members, I want to use a precision-support kit with ranged removal, lure/blind setup, gas control, healing, and lockpicking, so that the squad can open safe routes without relying on fast close-quarters combat.

4. Role in Gameplay Loop

Provides the squad's longest-range precision removal option for isolated or high-ground watchers.
Converts fragile close-range presence into strategic setup through lure, blind, gas, and healing tools.
Opens mission routes through lockpicking when locked doors are part of the objective or stealth route.
Enables non-lethal area neutralization when enemies are clustered and follow-up tying/body control is possible.
Supports Showdown plans by queuing ranged shots, crowd-control throws, or setup actions alongside other squad abilities.
Creates a deliberate tradeoff: powerful tactical reach and utility, but poor mobility and slow melee make unsupported close combat risky.

5. Preconditions

A mission is active and the apothecary sniper kit owner is available, alive, and controllable.
The selected ability is present in the current mission loadout and not blocked by mission scripting.
The target, ally, object, or placement point satisfies the selected ability's range, line-of-sight, enemy-type, resource, cooldown, and pathing rules.
Finite ammunition or item charges are available for the Colt Buntline Special or gas vial when those abilities are selected.
The doctor's bag has been retrieved before it can be thrown again.
The ally targeted by bandages is damaged and reachable/targetable according to healing rules.
A locked door or lockpickable object exists before lockpicking can be used.
Enemy perception, hearing, and body-discovery systems are active so noise, visibility, and follow-up consequences can resolve.

6. Parameters

Parameter	Value	Type	Notes
Role profile	Precision support / utility	enum	High-range, high-utility kit balanced by low mobility and slow close-range takedowns.
Mobility limits	Slow; cannot climb ivies/ropes or swim; can climb ladders	rule set	Traversal constraints that make positioning and support from range important.
Crouched body carry	Supported; slow	boolean/rule	Body handling can remain crouched for safer movement through darker vision-cone areas, but cleanup speed is limited.
Melee takedown time	4.1 seconds	duration	Slowest melee profile in the cast; close combat should be used cautiously or synchronized.
Colt Buntline Special range	Highest ability range / 55.0 in current summary evidence	distance	Long-range precision removal profile for distant or high-ground enemies.
Colt ammunition	5 bullets per mission	integer	Finite firearm resource; mission-specific objective shots may grant exceptions.
Colt noise radius	4.5 in current summary evidence	distance	Hearing risk for the precision firearm; body visibility can still be a separate alarm risk.
Colt cooldown	6 seconds in current summary evidence	duration	Delay before repeat use after firing.
Sniped target death duration	3.9 seconds	duration	Time window during which a falling/dying target may be noticed before cleanup or concealment.
Doctor's Bag placement radius	Small radius around actor	distance	Maximum placement distance for the reusable bag lure.
Doctor's Bag resource model	Recoverable tool	enum	Must be manually retrieved whether or not the blind trap detonates.
Doctor's Bag eligible targets	Gunmen, dogs, civilians; not full lure for Ponchos/Long Coats	set	Enemy categories that can follow the bag and trigger the blind trap.
Doctor's Bag effect	Lure + temporary blind / narrowed vision	status	Pulls an eligible target and can severely reduce their vision after opening.
Gas vial resource model	Scarce finite item	enum	High-impact area control, limited per mission and rarely restocked.
Gas vial effect	Knock out normal enemies; stun Long Coats	status	Non-lethal area effect with archetype-specific downgrade for Long Coats.
Gas vial area	Area of effect	shape/radius	Multiple enemies inside the radius can be affected by one throw.
Bandage healing amount	2 HP	integer	Health restored to a valid damaged target.
Bandage cooldown	20 seconds	duration	Reusable healing limit between applications.
Lockpick eligibility	Lockpickable doors/objects only	rule set	Unique route-opening interaction when the mission provides locked access.
Showdown compatibility	Ability-specific	boolean/rule	Kit actions can be queued when normal target, resource, timing, and archetype rules are valid.

7. Core Rules

The kit owner is a specialist, not a generalist: high tactical reach and utility are balanced by low movement flexibility and the slowest melee profile.
The Colt Buntline Special is the kit's long-range precision firearm and can remove targets from farther away than normal personal weapons.
Colt shots consume finite mission ammunition and must respect line of sight, range, target validity, body visibility, and noise/listener consequences.
Quiet sniping can avoid immediate alarm when listeners and watchers are outside the relevant risk, but a watched death or visible body can still trigger investigation or alarm.
The doctor's bag can be thrown only within a small placement radius and functions as a lure for eligible targets that perceive it.
Eligible bag targets move toward the bag; if they open it, a powder trap briefly blinds them, narrows their vision, and then lets them return to investigation/patrol behavior.
The bag does not normally lure Ponchos or Long Coats into moving to it; those archetypes may be briefly distracted but should not follow the full lure behavior.
Whether the bag trap detonates or not, the kit owner must retrieve the bag manually before using it again.
The gas vial is a scarce area-control tool that can incapacitate normal enemies in its radius and only stun Long Coats rather than fully knocking them out.
Gas-incapacitated enemies remain unresolved bodies until tied, executed, moved, concealed, or otherwise handled by valid follow-up rules.
Gas vial availability is limited per mission and may only be replenished where a mission explicitly provides restock crates.
Bandages restore 2 health to a valid wounded ally or self and are reusable through cooldown rather than finite charges.
Lockpicking is a unique utility interaction that opens eligible locked doors or route blockers when the mission provides lockpickable access.
The kit owner can drag/carry bodies while crouched, allowing safer cleanup through darker cone regions, but body movement remains slow and vulnerable to patrol timing.
All kit abilities can participate in Showdown planning only when their normal range, resource, target, timing, retrieval, and enemy-type rules remain valid at execution.

8. BDD Scenarios

Scenario: Remove a distant watcher with the precision firearm

Given: the kit owner has Colt ammunition available
When: the player fires the Colt Buntline Special
Then: one bullet is consumed
And: a distant enemy is within line of sight and range
And: no enemy can hear the shot or see the resulting body state in time to escalate
And: the target is neutralized at long range
And: normal body visibility, noise, and alarm rules continue to apply

Scenario: Bag lure blinds an eligible guard

Given: the doctor's bag has been retrieved and is available
When: the player throws the bag to a valid placement point
Then: the enemy moves toward the bag to investigate
And: an eligible enemy can perceive the thrown bag
And: if the enemy opens the bag, the powder trap blinds them temporarily
And: the bag must be retrieved before it can be used again

Scenario: Resistant archetype does not fully follow the bag

Given: the player throws the doctor's bag where a Poncho or Long Coat can perceive it
When: that enemy evaluates the lure
Then: the enemy may be briefly distracted
And: the enemy does not perform the full walk-to-bag lure behavior
And: the bag remains governed by normal retrieval rules

Scenario: Gas vial controls a clustered group

Given: the kit owner has a gas vial available
When: the player throws the gas vial at the group
Then: normal enemies in the area are knocked out
And: multiple enemies are clustered inside the intended area of effect
And: Long Coats in the area are stunned instead of fully knocked out
And: any incapacitated targets remain unresolved until secured or concealed

Scenario: Bandages restore damaged health

Given: a squad member has lost health and remains a valid healing target
When: the player applies bandages
Then: the target recovers 2 HP
And: the bandage cooldown is ready
And: the bandage ability enters its cooldown before it can be reused

Scenario: Lockpick opens a mission route

Given: a locked door or object is marked as lockpickable
When: the player uses lockpick
Then: the locked access opens according to mission rules
And: the kit owner can reach the interaction point
And: the squad can use the newly available route if enemy perception and pathing allow it

Scenario: Slow close-range takedown is unsafe without setup

Given: the kit owner must neutralize a nearby enemy with melee
When: the player starts the melee action without distraction, synchronization, or sightline control
Then: the slow takedown can be detected before completion
And: another enemy can observe the action or body during the long takedown window
And: the enemy perception system can escalate to suspicion or alarm

9. Edge Cases

A Colt shot is quiet enough to avoid listeners but the target's falling/dying body is visible to another enemy.
A Colt shot is queued in Showdown, but the target moves out of line of sight or another queued action consumes the last bullet first.
The doctor's bag is thrown where multiple enemies can see it; only one eligible enemy should commit to the lure response.
The doctor's bag is opened and detonates while another guard is watching; blindness should not suppress normal witness or alarm logic.
The doctor's bag lands in unreachable terrain or behind blockers; retrieval and reuse must not enter a broken state.
A Poncho or Long Coat sees the bag; the enemy should not incorrectly perform the full lure-walk behavior.
Gas affects a mix of normal enemies and Long Coats; normal enemies become knocked out while Long Coats receive only the intended stun effect.
Gas knocks out several enemies whose bodies overlap; tying, selection, body carry, and concealment must remain readable.
The player attempts gas with no vial remaining or against an invalid target point; no resource should be spent.
Bandages are used on a full-health, dead, unreachable, or invalid ally; the heal should be blocked without starting cooldown.
Lockpicking is attempted while an enemy can see the actor at the door; perception and alarm rules should still resolve normally.
Slow crouched body carry crosses a moving patrol's cone; cleanup safety must depend on actual visibility timing, not only crouched posture.
Save/load occurs after bag placement, gas use, healing cooldown, ammunition spend, or lockpick state change; all resources and world states must restore consistently.

10. QA Notes

Verify the selected-character action bar exposes Colt, doctor's bag, gas vial, bandages, lockpick when available, with correct hotkeys, counters, cooldowns, and disabled states.
Verify Colt range, ammunition consumption, cooldown, noise behavior, line-of-sight validation, and body discovery outcomes across high-ground and long-distance targets.
Verify doctor's bag placement radius, eligible enemy response, blind duration/vision narrowing, non-alarm blind behavior, and manual retrieval after both triggered and untriggered uses.
Verify Ponchos and Long Coats do not incorrectly follow the doctor's bag, while normal eligible targets do.
Verify gas vial area-of-effect applies knockouts to normal enemies and only stun to Long Coats, with no resource loss on invalid throws.
Verify gas-vial victims can be tied, executed, moved, or concealed using standard body-control rules.
Verify bandages restore exactly 2 HP, respect the 20-second cooldown, and reject invalid or full-health targets.
Verify lockpick interactions open only eligible locked doors/objects and preserve mission scripting, objective state, and pathing.
Verify slow melee and slow body carrying create the intended detection risk when performed under active sightlines.
Verify Showdown queued kit actions consume resources and resolve target validity, timing, noise, and enemy archetype rules identically to live use.
Verify save/load restores ammunition, gas charges, bag world position/retrieval state, healing cooldown, opened locks, body states, and queued actions.

11. Mechanic Dependencies

Showdown Synchronized Planning (The kit's ranged shots, gas throws, and risky slow actions can be queued or synchronized with other squad actions in Showdown Mode.)
Squad Character Ability System (This kit is a character-specific loadout whose available actions, resources, targeting rules, and movement limits are exposed through the squad ability system.)
Takedown and Body Control (Gas and non-lethal removals create incapacitated bodies that must be tied, moved, concealed, or otherwise resolved by body-control rules.)
Enemy Perception and Alarm AI (Sniping, bag lures, blindness, gas throws, lockpicking exposure, and body cleanup all resolve through enemy sight, hearing, investigation, and alarm behavior.)
Lethal and Non-Lethal Combat Resource Limits (Colt ammunition, gas vial scarcity, healing cooldowns, non-lethal outcomes, stun effects, and enemy resistance all depend on the combat resource and outcome rules.)
Distraction and Noise Manipulation (The doctor's bag is a reusable lure/blind tool and gas or sniper setup often relies on attention manipulation to create safe timing windows.)

12. UI Links

Character Roster And Selected Portrait - The Character Roster And Selected Portrait identifies when McCoy is selected and drives the action bar context for this kit.
Character Action Bar - The Character Action Bar displays the kit's selectable abilities, hotkeys, limited-use counters, cooldown/disabled states, and targeting entry points.
Showdown Mode Execution Interface - The Showdown Mode Execution Interface allows kit actions such as sniper shots, gas throws, and setup actions to be queued and executed with synchronized squad plans.
Tactical Spatial Markers - Tactical Spatial Markers expose vision cones, targeting overlays, prompts, and alert markers needed to judge whether sniping, lure placement, gas use, lockpicking, or cleanup is safe.

References

1.
Steam Community :: Guide :: In-Depth Character Guide (L90-152 of 336)
2.
Steam Community :: Guide :: Character guides and tricks. (L133-160 of 167)
3.
Desperados III (L3-16 of 50)
4.
Desperados 3 Let's Play Gameplay Walkthrough Pt 1 Prologue & Byers Pass [1440p w/ Commentary] (20:44-21:05)
5.
Desperados 3 Let's Play Gameplay Walkthrough Pt 1 Prologue & Byers Pass [1440p w/ Commentary] (28:03-28:25)
6.
Desperados 3 Let's Play Gameplay Walkthrough Pt 1 Prologue & Byers Pass [1440p w/ Commentary] (34:33-34:45)