When a character makes an action/reaction to ready a weapon in combat, he/she may attempt to draw the weapon more quickly than the normal three action points. To achieve this fast draw, the character must make a dice roll using his/her Sleight of hand (including fast draw specialism) + CO.
There is a modifier to the dice roll, based on the size of the weapon and where it is currently stored as follows:
| Weapon size | Weapon location | Modifier to fast draw dice roll |
| Small | Concealed | -4 |
| Waist | +1 | |
| Medium | Waist | +0 |
| Back | -1 |
The dice roll result then determines how fast the weapon is readied, as follows:
| Dice roll result | Meaning |
| Zero or less | Fumble - the action/reaction uses 3 action points, but the character either fails to draw the weapon or drops it while drawing it |
| 1/2 to 3 | No benefit - the action/reaction uses 3 action points (as normal) |
| 3 1/2 to 6 | Fast draw - the action/reaction uses 2 action points (one fewer than normal) |
| 6 1/2 to 10 | Very fast draw - the action/reaction uses 1 action point (two fewer than normal) |
| 10 1/2 or more | Lightning draw - the action/reaction uses no action points, no-one can react to it, and the character may then follow up with an attack follow-on if he/she wishes |