The Cattle-Baron's Daughter (DevLAM '17)

[Mad Lord Snapcase]

Over the Guy Fawkes weekend recently myself, Doug em4 and Vagabond got together to play some games. For the full story go to:

DevLAM '17

We used the Shoot 'N Skedaddle rules and Elbows (the author of the rules) very kindly designed a purpose-built scenario for a three-player game for us. The scenario worked very well and much fun was had by all. This was the Saturday morning game of a Friday to Sunday session.

So, firstly the scenario, 'The Cattle-Baron's Daughter':

and a photo to keep your interest until a true recounting of events that fateful day in Hog Thief Bend!

[Elbows]

Can't wait to read the AAR.  Now, in all fairness...Snapcase asked for a scenario and I sent him a paragraph or two --- none of the above was written by me!  All the phenomenal detail, names, etc. are all out of Snapcase's own brain-bin!    I'm not that clever.

[Vampifan]

I definitely want to know what happened in this scenario. I hope you post your AAR soon. 

[Vagabond]

I definitely want to know what happened in this scenario. I hope you post your AAR soon. 

Me too, and I was there. I am still not sure what went on. It was fast and furious, there was blood on the sand and glass in the eye.

I wont give any more away but the main thing I learned was don't take a single shot shotgun to a quick draw shoot out and miss with your 1st shot, you're going to die.

[dinohunterpoa]

OMG!!! 

 

[Doug ex-em4]

I'm looking forward to it also....

Doug

[Mad Lord Snapcase]

The Cattle Baron’s Daughter

Part 1

So, before I recount the tale of the merciless execution of the Hog Thief Bend lawmen and the abduction of Anna Maria de la Santa Cruz Rosalina Agnelia Cuellar Rodriguez a la Dominican el Gonzales Garcia Santiago de Hernandez, some pertinent points from the rules. We used the Shoot ‘N Skedaddle ruleset written by Elbows of this forum. There is a deliberate random element to the game which adds to the fun. For those of you not familiar with these rules, an important part of the game is the activation deck. There are two playing cards representing each model plus an ace per player in this deck. Therefore, it is entirely possible that a model can activate twice in a row before some models have moved at all. The aces are used to draw from the special deck allocated to each player. This adds some random events or benefits to the player drawing the card. We also used the Snake Oil Salesman expansion cards. Photos are a selection from those taken by myself, Doug em4 and Vagabond.

Now on to the fun.

It was a warm and sunny morning in Hog Thief Bend when two outlaw gangs came strolling into town. They entered town from opposite ends of the main street.





The townsfolk of Hog Thief Bend were going about their lawful business and all seemed quiet and peaceful.





The town’s lawmen were having an early morning shot of Panther’s Piss in the Sassy Gal Saloon to set them up for the day. The Free Range Boys enter the town heading up Main Street from the east.



The Hole in the Pocket Gang enter town from the western end of Main Street.



Whilst the gangs advance up Main Street the lawmen get their first reinforcement, Austin Tacious proceeding down North Side Street, who takes up position outside the offices of the Hog Thief Bend Reporter.



U.S Marshal Welland Dowd steps outside the Sassy Gal for a look up and down Main Street and sees an ornery-lookin’ gang of plug-uglies advancing from the west. The Judge, Mac Fleetwood plumps to stay at the bar for another shot of Panther’s Piss. Texas Ranger Dirk Gently steps out of the side door of the Sassy Gal and observes the Free Range Boys swaggering up the street. These boys look mean and ugly and Dirk feels the hairs stand up on the back of his neck.

(It was at this point that a scenario card was drawn from the outlaws special event deck which simultaneously revealed the location of Anna Maria de la Santa Cruz Rosalina Agnelia Cuellar Rodriguez a la Dominican el Gonzales Garcia Santiago de Hernandez to all the players. We shall refer to her as Rosa from now on for the sake of brevity! The lawmen now numbered four with the possibility of receiving two more reinforcements via the lawmen special event deck. Speed was now of the essence for Doug em4 and Vagabond who each controlled a gang of four outlaws).

More to follow…………………………………

[Mad Lord Snapcase]

Part 2

Rosa’s location was revealed to all as the Sassy Gal Saloon. Well, as the only decent hotel in town where else could she have stayed? Rosa had taken a suite of rooms on the top floor. From there she could indulge herself in playing Faro or Poker and drinking red-eye or beer. All things previously forbidden to her by her now deceased father, Esteban Enrique Núñez García Ramírez Vasquez Cortés Martínez Roberto Rodriguez a la Dominican el Gonzales Garcia Santiago de Hernandez. She was also considering taking a string of lovers and U.S. Marshal Welland Dowd had already caught her eye.

Suddenly, shots rang out in Main Street. Throwing caution to the winds, the Free Range Boys had opened fire. Austin Tacious was the first victim of their murderous attack. Ben ‘The Bantam’ Pullet had sidled up alongside Austin and shot him from point-blank range. As Austin went down on the boardwalk, ‘Rhode Island’ Red Rooster coolly stepped up to the wounded lawman and blew out his brains in front of the shocked townsfolk. ‘The Bantam’ was a vicious outlaw as attested to by the rest of the gang who had only just managed to persuade him not to lob a stick of dynamite into the pram being pushed across the street! “Well, damn, I jest want to liven up these here proceedin’s” he’d said.



Welland Dowd, hearing the shots further up the road took exception to the cut of the Major’s jib and fired a well-aimed shot, wounding the ex-confederate officer in his only good arm. Bill Gull, the town’s barber-surgeon can only watch in horror as the gunfight begins.



Unfortunately Welland Dowd was now rather exposed. Mild Phil Hicock of the Free Range Boys had sneaked into cover behind the prison wagon, parked by the Sheriff’s office.



Taking careful aim, Mild Phil fired at Welland Dowd and the U.S. Marshal was down, dying with his piece in his hand! It appeared now that there was some nefarious collusion between the two gangs and that they were intent on disposing of the lawmen before looking for Rosa.



The carnage had only just begun and already the besieged lawmen of the Bend were down to two men. Things were beginning to look bad for the forces of law and order. Texas Ranger, Dirk Gently dived back into the Sassy Gal after seeing Austin Tacious cruelly executed right before his eyes. With no lawmen outside both gangs began to converge on the Sassy Gal Saloon. Dirk and Mac Fleetwood were on their own, defending the ground floor of the saloon.

The Hole in the Pocket Gang move towards the back passage into the Sassy Gal.



More to follow…………………………………

[dinohunterpoa]

Very nice scenery! 

The best models IMHO are the ones on the clear bases! 

[Mad Lord Snapcase]

Very nice scenery!  

The best models IMHO are the ones on the clear bases!  

Thank you, sir!

There was a brief hiatus there in AAR writing. My lovely wife, SWMBO, cooked up a massive Full English Breakfast just now in celebration of my 60th birthday today. My stomach now having achieved a feeling of elegant sufficiency, I shall attempt to complete this sad story of murder and mayhem!  

Now, where were we?

[Malamute]

Happy Birthday !

[Doug ex-em4]

Happy Birthday, Sir....! About time the baby of DevLAM reached a sensible age

Doug

[Mad Lord Snapcase]

Thanks, Malamute and Doug.

Yes, it was a pleasure to be the boy in the DevLAM triumvirate!

............meanwhile back at Hog Thief Bend.

Part 3

The Major, seeing his compatriots-in-crime, Two-Gun Tex and the Preacher heading up the Sassy Gal’s back-passage, decides to make a surprise entrance himself into the Sassy Gal by another way. Diving headfirst through a window looking out onto Main Street, the Major surprises everyone in the bar. Unfortunately, no one was more surprised than the Major when a large shard of window glass penetrated his lower abdomen. By the time he hit the floor behind the bar he was dead! Two-Gun Tex burst through the back-office door just in time to see his outlaw compadre’s self-disembowelment.



Dirk Gently has cannily taken cover behind the stage when he witnesses the arrival of a dead Major flying through the window and a very-much alive Two-Gun Tex arriving from the rear of the Sassy Gal. Unfortunately for him, he had not allowed for the Red Rooster (“no man calls him chicken”) to burst through the side entrance and shoot him in the back.



Now that Dirk is wounded and has enemies front and back, he wisely decides to retreat upstairs. At the same time, Judge Mac Fleetwood lets rip at the Rooster and wounds him in the shoulder. The Red Rooster ducks back outside through the swing doors
.


Tex charges across the saloon and attempts to land a great haymaker on the Judge, only to find his fist bounces off the iron jaw of Judge Fleetwood with little or no effect! Unbeknownst to Tex, the Judge is armed with a Bowie knife which he plunges deep into the villain’s black heart. The Red Rooster meanwhile has recruited one of the Sassy Gal’s Soiled Doves to carry out an undercover mission. ‘Big Nose’ Kate is persuaded to duck through the gun-battle on the ground floor and make her way upstairs to try and locate Rosa. Kate is promised a share of the loot if she succeeds (the Soiled Dove in SnS is in disguise until she makes an offensive move which meant no-one could shoot at her).



Crazy Sam ‘Foul’ Deeds bursts through the front entrance of the Sassy Gal and…..



…….blasts Dirk Gently clean off the balcony. Only the Judge is left to fight on to save Rosa from a fate worse than death!

More to follow…………………………………

[Mad Lord Snapcase]

Off to open the champagne now and down some Buck's Fizz! Let's get this party started!

I am afraid that you will now have to wait until tomorrow for the denouement of this twisted and tragic tale. Bye for now........................ 

[Elbows]

I approve of birthdays, liquor, and gunfights.  Good show!