Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => Pulp => Topic started by: CapnJim on July 16, 2022, 01:53:20 AM
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I'm not 100% sure this thread goes here, but since it's essentially just modern(ish) gangsters, I thought it better here than the "Conflicts That came in From the Cold" section. Of course, the moderators may move it if it fits better there. But, in any event here we go...
I built and painted up some modern armed civilians using Wargames Atlantic bodies, and various heads, arms, and more modern weapons. Pictures of them can be found here: https://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=131442.60
I haven't played with them yet, but we took care of that little problem Wednesday at our weekly gaming group. Ted and I played a game using some of these figs and some Spectre Miniatures civilians. We used Fistful of Lead (the newer version).
The basic premise of the game was that 2 gangs, in an undisclosed small European town, had captured members of each other's gang. They had agreed to meet on one of the gang's home turf to conduct a prisoner swap. At high noon. We picked 6-man gangs from my figures, and did up our character sheets. Our gang Boss could have the "Leader" trait and one more trait, while his Lieutenant could have one single trait. All d10s. The prisoners had matching armed figures, who (once freed) had to go to a logical place too retrieve a firearm, and could join the fray as a d8 figure.
By random determination, Ted played the local gang. While I stepped out of the room, he chose one of the buildings as his home base (the one with the red car parked at the curb). At least 2 of his 6 men (and his prisoner) had to start there. The rest could be deployed anywhere on the board. Also via random determination, I was to enter, in 2 vehicles, from the southeast road.
We decided that no shots could be fired until at least one of the prisoners was freed for the exchange. After that, a player could use a joker as a wild card to open fire, or could open fire on any other card after passing a difficult task test (replicating that figure losing his cool). That built a little tension and drama into the whole affair.
We also use jokers in 2 ways. 1. It is a wild card, with an extra advantage for the activating player (an extra move or fire action, for example). OR, 2. While forfeiting one figure's action, it could be used to disadvantage an opponent's figure (low ammo, falling down, flat tire, etc.).
With all that out of the way, here we go with the battle report. I will tell it from the perspective of the owner of the Chinese restaurant (a Spectre Minis fig, he's on the sidewalk in Pic 1, far left, behind the green car). Perhaps this is the statement he gave the police when they showed up after the gunfight...
I just went out on the sidewalk to grab a cigarette before my lunch customers came in. In fact I could see 2 of them walking up the sidewalk toward me. They had parked their black Mercedes in front of the town hall. That's when I noticed him. One of our local thugs that shake me down each week, standing right in front of the town hall, holding a rifle. Then I saw another one across the plaza at an alley between 2 shops. I figured something was about to go down, so I motioned to the couple coming toward me to hurry up.
Then I heard the sound of tires thup-thup-thupping on our cobblestone streets, coning from behind me to the left. Just as an orange sedan came into view at the corner of my restaurant to my left, I saw a guy with a rifle get out and look at the front left tire of his car. He yelled something to another guy in the car. That guy got out of the passenger side front, and pulled yet another guy out of the back seat at pistol-point. He shoved him along toward the fountain at the center of the plaza. Just then, 2 things happened. A pick-up truck passed the orange car, and pulled into the plaza a bit. 2 guys got out - one with a rifle, and the other a shotgun. They both got behind the truck, pointing their guns toward the center of the plaza. Also, one of my kitchen staff yelled out that there were 2 guys with rifles moving through the back garden of our building.
Then I saw 2 guys come out of the alley across the plaza, one with a submachinegun and the other with a rifle, pushing another tied-up guy toward the fountain. As he ushered the couple into his restaurant, he saw 2 guys with rifles pop out of the ally between his buildings and the town hall, one looking toward his direction and the other toward the local guy standing in the doorway of the town hall. I also saw one of the guys who got out of the pickup run over and get behind the red car across the plaza from my restaurant.
Just then, the out-of-town guy with the pistol untied the hands of the guy he was pushing, and shoved him toward the local guys coming from the other direction. I didn't like the looks of this. Both the local guys I recognized, and the guys that drove into town - they all looked nervous and tense. I figured something was about to happen. And I was right...
Too be continued.... 8)
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Fistful of Lead does give a good fun cinematic game.
It also lends itself (easily) to scenario specific rules,
such as your use of the Jokers. I really like that.
Nice set up too. I look forward to the conclusion.
I think it might involve gunplay. lol lol lol
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I can see why you went with Pulp, it's not really a modern conflict and with the cars it has a cops and robbers vibe.
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Nice set up. Good to see that Dodge Power Wagon. I have one waiting to be transformed into a Russian truck.
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I'm a real fan of reports like this one :)
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I'm a real fan of reports like this one :)
Thanks! I like to do my AARs in a narrative manner, usually told from the perspective of one of the participants. I enjoy telling the stories of our games like that...
Nice set up. Good to see that Dodge Power Wagon. I have one waiting to be transformed into a Russian truck.
Thanks! I thought about transforming that truck, but decided to leave it as is. It's appeared in several of our games...
I can see why you went with Pulp, it's not really a modern conflict and with the cars it has a cops and robbers vibe.
Thanks! Well, robbers-n-robbers is more like it. But, I'll get to the possible presence of the local constabulary in a bit..
Fistful of Lead does give a good fun cinematic game.
It also lends itself (easily) to scenario specific rules,
such as your use of the Jokers. I really like that.
Nice set up too. I look forward to the conclusion.
I think it might involve gunplay. lol lol lol
Thanks! We really like Fistful of Lead. I had the opportunity to visit Wiley Games HQ on vacation in June - Jaye and Robin are really nice people... :D And why would you think gunplay might be involved? ;) :D
And now, on with that gunplay....
The owner of that restaurant took a break from his statement to have a cigarette or 2. Then, he continued...
And I was right. That's when all hell broke loose. I'll try to get this right - it all happened so fast.
I saw that out-of-town guy by the pickup suddenly raise his rifle and fired several shots at a window on the top floor of the shop building right across the plaza from my restaurant. I too had seen someone with a rifle at the window. The out-of-town guy must have seen him too, but I think he missed. The guy in the window fired at the chap by the truck, and he went down behind that truck. I never saw him get back up. After a moment of stunned silence, the two local guys with the prisoner fired at the out-of-towners, dropping their prisoner and the out-of-town guy with the pistol. And the local thug in front of the town hall fired at the 2 out-of-town guys who had appeared from the alley there. I think he missed. The guy that the out-of-towners let go starting running across the plaza, toward the buildings across the plaza from my place.
I had that couple get inside my restaurant, and i followed them inside. But I kept watching out the windows. I knew someone would have too tell you guys what happened when it was all over.
It didn't look good for the out-of-town bunch. But it seemed like everyone kept having to fiddle with their guns. I don't know whether they jammed, or they were reloading, but guys on both sides kept having to do it.
Then, things started to go south for the local guys. The 2 out-of-town guys shot up the local thug by the town hall. I think they killed him. The out-of-town guy with the pistol got back up, and he and a guy he was with traded shots with the 2 local guys who had just killed their prisoner. The local guys game up on the short end of that stick. A local guy had gotten behind that red car across the plaza, and he and the out-of-town guy at the same car traded shots. The local guy went down there too. Now it didn't look good for the local gang.
Then, a local guy I recognized came out of that alley across the plaza with a pistol, and started shooting at the out-of-towners in the plaza. The unarmed guy ran into the building across the plaza, and that guy in the top floor across the plaza wasn't shooting anymore. It looked like all the local goons in the plaza were down, and they weren't moving. And there were still 5 of the out-of-towners still shooting.
Then something weird happened. A yellow car that had been parked by the church just drove right through the gunfight and left town. I don't think it suffered a scratch. Why they drove through all that, and how they didn't get hit, I'll never know...
Then, someone started firing from inside the shop across the plaza. That surprised a couple guys from the out-of-town bunch. My guess is the guy that the other guys had let go had gotten in there and had grabbed a gun from inside that shop. He didn't last long. The out-of-town bunch lit up those shop windows, and the guy inside soon wasn't firing back anymore.
It looked like 5 to 1 now. The only local guy I could see was the guy with the pistol, and he had gotten in behind that red car. The 5 out-of-town guys were closing in on him, and their guy with the pistol yelled him to surrender. He only yelled obscenities back. They all 5 fired at him then, apparently wounding him pretty bad, and a guy with a shotgun just walked up to him and finished him off.
Then it got really quiet. The out-of-town guys looked around, scooped up 2 of the bodies, got in their vehicles, and drove away the same direction that they had come from. They left 5 local thugs laying shot up in the street, and I'm guessing there are 2 more bodies in that shop across the plaza from my place. One on the ground floor in the shop, and one in one of the rooms on the top floor. And that red car is all shot up.
That's what I remember. If you need anything else, I'll be in my restaurant. It's lunchtime, and I have customers. Jeez, I moved here too get away from this kind of stuff...
That's it. Once shooting started, it gut ugly for the out-of-town gang right off the bat. I though Ted might take advantage of me letting his guy go first, and he tried. He had a guy with a scoped rifle in the top floor of the building in front of which the red car was parked (it turns out that building was his home base). He made his difficult task roll (losing his cool), and tried to shoot my guy att the pick-up. I had put him on Ready (essentially overwatch, borrowing a rule from Fistful of Lead: Bigger Battles). They both missed their first shot (just because you have a sniper rifle doesn't make you a sniper!), but the local guy's aim was true the second time he fired. And my leader and my prisoner of theirs went down early too, while their prisoner of mine was free to try to get in the fight (which he did).
But things went south for the local guys after that. My wounded leader shrugged off his wound, and I slowly picked off Ted's guys, one by one. And the grand finale saw 5 of my guys closing in on Ted's leader by the red car, with my shotgun-armed guy putting in the coup-de-grace.
All in all, it was a hoot! Very gangstery, but with mostly modern(ish) weapons.
The civilians moved on their own card (all on one card). As you can see the couple walking towards the restaurant, and the owner of it (Spectre Minis), ducked inside once shooting started in earnest. There was a guy working on a tractor by his garage, but he wisely stayed out of this mess. And that yellow car? When they left the church, we decided to decide their direction of travel randomly. Of course, it took them right through the gunfight :o ...and nobody shot at them...
Again, it was a blast. I may even use it as a participation game at a relatively local convention at Fort Meigs (Perrysburg, OH, US) in November. But Ted and I talked about having the local constabulary show up randomly, and have their quality decided (d12, d10, or d8) randomly, as well. Of course, their quality would help determine their response to all the hubbub...I have 2 non-US police cars, but I'll have to paint up a few non-US police (which luckily I have). That couple throw a wrench in somebody's gears...
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By they way, the white microdice indicated shock. the red ones indicated wounds, and the blue ones indicated "Low Ammo". The white crosses indicated "Out of Action".
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Good looking set up and a game that looks a lot of fun. May I ask where the buildings are from and is that a terrain mat of cobbles? It all really looks the part.
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Well done Capt. my Capt.
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Good looking set up and a game that looks a lot of fun. May I ask where the buildings are from and is that a terrain mat of cobbles? It all really looks the part.
Why, yes, you may! Many of the buildings are from Crescent Root Studio. The exceptions are the church (Mad Bob's Miniatures folding terrain, obtained through his Kickstarter), the white building across the street from the cemetery (4Ground), the town hall (I don't recall the manufacturer ??? - I got it at a convention several years ago...), the lone building at the head of the plaza (Miniature Building Authority), and the crypt in the cemetery (WizKids). EDIT: That is indeed a terrain mat. A fleece one from Cigar Box Battle Store, available here: http://cigarboxbattlestore.bigcartel.com/product/midieval-city-fight-4-x6-plus-340
Well done Capt. my Capt.
My pleasure, my good man!
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Looks great; very enjoyable AAR. Love it😀
Doug
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Ted's bad die rolling continues...! Great AAR, Jim. Sounds like a fun game. I love the way your building's bases blend in with the mat and create sidewalks. That's been something I am trying to tweak - a cohesive look to a modern city.
Mike Demana
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Thanks, Doug. Appreciate your comments.
And, Mike, Ted had been on a bit of a win streak. Oh well... 8)
As for the sidewalks, they are separate pieces (except around the town hall). 4Ground made a set of them, with 6", 4", 2", and 1" sections, as well as 1" corner sections. I got a few sets, and they are VERY versatile right out of the package... and thanks for your comments.
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Looks and sounds like a great game. Always nice to see FfoL in a new genre. We did a Wasteland Warriors game where we used the Jokers in a similar way. Give yourself 3 actions, or use on opponent where they only get one.
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Thanks, Jaye. We even used official Wiley Games tape measures and dice trays! Not that it helped Ted.... :o
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What a great idea for a scenario - very cinematic and that toy car black merc really looks the part...
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Thanks, Golgotha!
That black Mercedes has appeared in several games so far...
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Great story line Cptn Jim along with lots of action.
I'd think this would make a great convention game with 3 or so players per side. Maybe give each of them a main quest with an additional one that might be a bit more self serving than the overall good of the gang.
Your mat looks great because you've edged the buildings with pavement, it adds an extra level of realism. :o it's on my list of things to do that will never get done. ::)
Cheers
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As for the sidewalks, they are separate pieces (except around the town hall). 4Ground made a set of them, with 6", 4", 2", and 1" sections, as well as 1" corner sections. I got a few sets, and they are VERY versatile right out of the package... and thanks for your comments.
And I was juuuust at a convention where there was a lot of 4Ground products... lol
I'll have to look into them. For now, having made my asphalt tiles and using my acrylic floor tiles that looked like concrete, I feel better about the effect it gives. I'll post some more pics of my Historicon games, soon.
Mike Demana
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Thanks, Vagabond. High praise from you indeed, having seen your stuff!
And we've already decided that scenario would indeed make a good convention game! I'm already on it... 8)
And that figures Mike. Ain't that how it goes? Looking forward to seeing your Historican pics!
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We're set to do a redo on this game this coming Friday eve. Only this time, the local constabulary will get stuck in. Of course, an illustrated AAR will follow...
And for those of you interested in my "armed civilian" figures we used in that (and will sue in the upcoming) game, see my thread in the "Conflicts That came in From the Cold" Board. Here: https://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=131442.45 and here: https://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=131442.60
The 2nd link also shows the local constabulary...
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We're set to do a redo on this game this coming Friday eve. Only this time, the local constabulary will get stuck in. Of course, an illustrated AAR will follow...
Looking forward to reading it 8)
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Always a joy reading your stuff Cap'n! 🫡
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Thanks, chaps! Stay tuned.... :D
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...and I like, lucky devil, look forward to playing in that games this weekend! lol
Mike Demana
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Me too. Looking forward to see how my Policia do on their first outing!
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We did indeed play this scenario again this Friday past. Pretty much the same setup as before. A local gang and an out-of-town gang agreed to exchange prisoners in the local gang's town plaza. Only this time, the local police show up. Ted played the police, while I played the local gang. LAF member Mike Demana came up and played the out-of-town gang. All very fitting, as it was my building, Mike came from out-of-town, and Ted is a retired Corrections Officer (all of which just dawned on me...)!
As previously noted, the armed thugs are all Wargames Atlantic French Resistance with Warlord arms and more modern(ish) weapons. Civilians are Spectre Miniatures. The new kids on the block, the Policia, are from Brigade Games here in the States. All 28mm. The buildings and scatter terrain are from a variety of sources. The mat is a Cigar Box Battle Mat. The vehicles are various diecasts (save for the pick-up - its a Walking Dead truck).
We again used Fistful of Lead (the core rules).
As happens, this little dust-up went very differently than the last one. Here are a few pics of the area in which this "incident" would play itself out...
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And now to see how it played out...
It was quiet at first. The local gang leader, with his assistant, had the prisoner with them holed up in their base - a nice house at the southern end of the town plaza. He had 4 other guys set up around the plaza, keeping an eye on things. One was up in the house's balcony, while another was across the plaza in the church tower. He had a guy patrolling the sidewalk around the plaza, and his last guy was in an apartment above the shop across the street from his house. He thought he had things under control.
He could see local townsfolk going about their business around town. A guy was walking up the sidewalk to near where one of his gang was patrolling, while another one (looked like a teenager with his hoodie up) was at the fountain. Another nice-looking couple had just gotten out of their car, and was heading toward the Chinese restaurant across the side street from the gang's house. The owner of the restaurant was standing on the sidewalk out in front of his place, having a smoke it looked like. And a yellow car was coming toward the plaza by the church.
The out-of-town bunch came in from the southeast. They were riding in an orange car and a beat-up green pickup truck. But this was weird - a couple of the local police were walking the beat, coming toward the plaza along that same road. He'd never seen them walking like that before.
The 2 out-of-town cars pulled up and stopped right out in front of the house, near the statue in the center of the plaza. They all piled out and took up positions around their vehicles. Well, all but their boss. He and their prisoner got out of the car, and headed toward the statue - their agreed-upon place to do the swap. By now, those 2 police had made it to the restaurant, and were talking to the owner. The older policeman was calmly smoking a cigar, while the younger one looked a bit edgy.
The local gang boss waited a few minutes to bring out their prisoner. But they finally did. As they left the house, the younger policeman headed toward the out-of-town gang boss and his prisoner to see what was going on. Looks like they noticed all the guns... The local gang boss and his prisoner met the policeman halfway to the fountain. That's when it happened. Someone fired a shot. It would later be discovered that it was the local guy in the apartment above the shop - he'd lost his patience and nerve.
Things happened quickly at this point. Before anyone knew it, 3 of the local gang members and an out-of-towner were laying bleeding and motionless in the street. The young policeman, crouching near the fountain, was frantically calling for back-up on his portable radio. The older Policeman was calmly watching events unfold, perhaps waiting to see what would happen. The civilians were scattering to get out of the line of fire.
The out-of-towners rescued and untied their guy, as the local boss was down, and hustled him toward their vehicles. The police decided to side with the locals, and opened up on the out-of-towners. The out-of-towner guarding their local prisoner went down, and a local guy got to the prisoner and untied him. As the out-of-towners got to their vehicles, another went down wounded. Two of them, along with their rescued prisoner, got into the orange car and sped off, leaving 2 of their guys behind. One of them was wounded.
As the orange car sped away from the plaza to the southwest, the local gang's rescued prisoner had gotten a rifle out of the out-of-towners' pick-up and fired at their orange car, just as 2 Police cars came into town along the same road. He missed all 3 vehicles! The Police cars pulled up in front of the pick-up truck, and one policeman got out and fired at the local who they thought had shot at them. The local guy knocked that policeman down to the ground, while the other policemen got out and surrounded the last out-of-towner standing. He wisely surrendered, and the wounded out-of-towner died "from his wounds" (the report said). The out-of-towners in the orange car got away.
It was over. The out-of-towners got 2 gang members and their rescued comrade away. But they left behind 3 dead gang members, and one was in police custody. And they left their pick-up behind. For their troubles, the local gang lost 3 members, but their guy was rescued. And the Police only had one of their men injured. No civilians were injured. Technically, everybody kinda won...
The introduction of the Police definitely had an impact on how things played out. We decided to let Ted play the police as he saw fit. At first they were neutral. But as the local gang took it in the shorts early, he decided that the local police would side with the devil they knew, and help them out against the devil they didn't know. One interesting bit with the Police was that both back-up cars randomly rolled to come on the same road off which the out-of-towners were trying to escape. And BOTH back-up Police crews failed to recognize the car as a suspect car, and sped right past it into town, allowing it to escape.
With the addition of the Police, it becomes 3 different factions, each with their own goals. I now plan to run this game at our HMGS-Great Lakes Advance the Colors game convention in Springfield OH, USA this October. It was interesting and fun!
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Awesome! Wish I could make that con.
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It was indeed a blast to play in the scenario. I had a lot of fun, especially turning the tables on Capn Jim after he fired the first shot! I took out, what? Three guys in quick succession? Then the worm (and Ted) began to turn on me. There was a bit of negotiation/whining about who Ted should attack by the criminals. That was part of the fun and storytelling, though. lol
In the end, I would estimate the police fired about 3/4's of their attacks against the out-of-towners (me). So, I feel it was a definite win to move into a town with the locals set up in ambush positions and get away with our rescued prisoner.
Hopefully, later tonight I will post some of my own pictures. For those in the Midwest of the United States, I highly recommend Advance the Colors (Oct. 7-8, 2022). We have some amazing games scheduled, including Capn Jim's two events and Ted's mega-sized Napoleonics clash. Here's the link:
https://www.hmgsgl.org/advance-the-colors
Mike Demana
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Great AAR, sounds like a fun scenario. I finally found some of those sidewalks, they are scarce now that 4Ground is out of business.
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Thanks, chaps!
Mike, it was great having you up. Glad you enjoyed it!
miros - In hindsight, yeah, I'm glad I got them when I did. Glad you found some!
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And, Jaye, it is indeed unfortunate you shan't make Advance the Colors. Fear not, though. I imagine I'll be able to take my show on the road your way one of these times...
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Capn Jim, we are still picking a weekend for Wiley Wargames Weekend in October and it might end up on same weekend as Advance the Colors. I don't consider Ohio the Midwest. lol That's Yankee territory.
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Capn Jim, we are still picking a weekend for Wiley Wargames Weekend in October and it might end up on same weekend as Advance the Colors. I don't consider Ohio the Midwest. lol That's Yankee territory.
Well, keep me posted. As I said (typed?), one of these times...
And it would do you well, sir, to keep in mind that most of the "Midwest" (about which, by the way, there is some disagreement about its composition) was also "Yankee" territory... :D
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I don't consider Ohio the Midwest. lol That's Yankee territory.
Ohio is an interesting mix of influences both past and present. In settlement days, southern and central Ohio was settled by Southerners (lots of Virginians) moving north. However, simultaneously, the northeast (Cleveland) was settled by New Englanders. Thus, the historical basis for the Cleveland vs. Cincinnati rivalry! lol
Still, Ohioans consider themselves Midwesterners. But then again, so do people from Wisconsin!! It's all relative, I guess... ;)
It would have been great if you could join us at Advance the Colors. Our local Sunday night group here in Columbus has been playing a lot of Wiley Games. My friend Keith is running Star Wars games using Starfighters. I am running Post-Apocalyptic using the Core Rules.
Mike Demana
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It would have been great if you could join us at Advance the Colors. Our local Sunday night group here in Columbus has been playing a lot of Wiley Games. My friend Keith is running Star Wars games using Starfighters. I am running Post-Apocalyptic using the Core Rules.
And of course, there will be my 2 games at Advance the Colors (the "Prisoner Swap Gone bad" game shown in this thread, and a WW2 game centered on the fight on D-Day for the Le Fiere bridge), both using rules from the Fistful of Lead stable...one day, Jaye, one day...
Meanwhile, back at the painting table, I've had a church for some time now. But no men of the cloth to go with it. No more can I say that. Here are some pics of 2 such figures I just did today. The bespectacled priest holding the Bible is Father Mulcahy from Warlord's MASH set. the Protestant Minister is a Footsore figure from their Irish War or Independence range. The first 3 pics below show them in front of the bespoke bar, while the last pic shows them in front of their church. These can be used for just about any setting in the last 100 years or so...
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Nicely done. :-*
Beware of clergymen and strong drink. My grandfather was one of the very few people I knew who could drink me under the table. Admittedly, his skills were finely honed with 20 odd years in the RAF.
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Great figs, Jim! I particularly love the expression on the Protestant minister's face...
Mike Demana
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Carlos: Thanks! And as someone raised in the Catholic Church, I am versed in the connection between the clergy and libations. In fact, our Brigade Chaplain in Germany used to buy us beers at the Officers' Club. 8)
Mike: Thanks, too! Methinks he's trying to convert Father Mulcahy... :D
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Another great read, it's only taken me 2 weeks to get round to this. but well worth the wait. ::)
It's always interesting to play the same or similar scenario and see how things usually pan out differently. When the Mad Lord makes it up here I have a similar 3 sided game planned, if we can get Doug on a remote link using some sort of new fangelled technology that's recently been invented.
The Mabel Street Mob will try and take down the Bank in Little Whiskey, a small town in the South West, that's your South West not mine. The local cops might have something to say about it, unless the bribes been taken. The Bank staff will certainly not give up the money easily and I'm sure the local citizens will join in to save their savings.
Cheers
Oh by the way, my camp has a well now. ;)
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Thanks, Vagabond! Looking forward to news on the bank heist.
And I've made a few poignant comments in your thread about the escape plan that's afoot......
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Missouri to Ohio drive would test the limits of patience as a human being. The drive to GenCon was 9 hours and almost ended in murder.
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Missouri to Ohio drive would test the limits of patience as a human being. The drive to GenCon was 9 hours and almost ended in murder.
You could always come over to this side of the pond. lol lol lol
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Has.been I do, yearly. I'll be at Salute this year.
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Has.been I do, yearly. I'll be at Salute this year.
I thought this year's Salute was canceled.
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Not from what I heard. Mid April. They contacted their vendors who then contacted me. Guess we'll just have to wait and see.
Regardless, if Salute gets cancelled I'll be in the UK in the Fall (London, Edinburgh, Dublin).
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. Mid April.
Next year? (2023)
(London, Edinburgh, Dublin).
Don't you just hate those cheap Airlines? Never know where you'll land.
lol lol lol
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Flights from International cities are cheap, it’s getting to them from KC that coats money
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Missouri to Ohio drive would test the limits of patience as a human being.
I actually drove this on a weekend trip to St. Louis this past spring. A trip to the mounds at Cahokia puts one in a better mood right away!
Mike Demana
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I ran my "Prisoner Swap Goes Bad" scenario at the Advance the Colors convention in Springfield, OH, USA this weekend past. Had 2 players - they ran the 2 gangs. One of the players was Kirk from Miniature Building Authority (he ran the local bunch). A shout out to him, as het let me borrow 2 Soviet-era GAZ jeeps he had on display at his vendor booth, since I managed to forget my Policia cars....
I played the local cops.
28mm, using Fistful of Lead.
These 4 pics show the sleepy little Village somewhere in Europe (about 1990 or so). It all started out as a normal quiet day...but it didn't stay that way...
I should get to the AAR tomorrow....
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Great looking game. Wish I could have made. Maybe I'll be getting an order for rules from Miniature Building Authority...
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Thanks, Jaye. Maybe Kirk was impressed enough by our game...
Anyways, on with the show...
It was indeed a quiet morning in that little Village somewhere in Europe about 1990 or so. The weather was fair, and the locals were going about their daily business, unaware of what was coming. Two farmers were dickering over the price of a tractor, while 2 brothers were visiting their mother's grave in the local cemetery. Across the street, the parish priests were engaged in deep theological conversation with one of their parishioners. The owner of the local Chinese restaurant was out on the sidewalk having a smoke before the lunch rush, while a couple was headed to that same restaurant. Across the plaza, a chap has emerged from the butcher shop, while 2 guys were enjoying the tranquility of the fountain in the middle of that plaza. And on a corner, a young man, his hoodie drawn up, was just hanging out. None of them had any idea things were about to get very noisy.
Neither did the 2 local cops walking their beat. They came on walking up the street toward the plaza from the southwest. Just another day on patrol.
The first hint of trouble came when 2 vehicles, unfamiliar to the locals, came up the road, also from the southwest. A small puke-green car and a big blue van. They pulled up in front of the big house at the southern end of the plaza. One by one, men with rifles and shotguns, trying to be discreet, got out and set up so they could keep their eyes on things. The last guy out was manhandling another unarmed man, his hands tied behind his back.
The beat cops somehow got distracted by something behind the first house they came to and went behind it. Maybe they heard a noise. Or maybe one of them had to take a leak. We'll never know, but one of them had been on the force a long time, so they must have had a good reason. When they returned from whatever it was they were doing, the other beat cop (a rookie) saw one of the unfamiliar chaps with a rifle, and ordered him to drop his weapon. Twice.
His demands were met with a hail of gunfire. The veteran officer went down hard, and the rookie frantically called for backup on his radio before he too was shot down. He had managed to get a few rounds off before he fell, but to no avail. These guys from out-of-town apparently meant business. All the while, the leader of the local gang of thugs brought another unarmed man out of the restaurant, his hands ties behind his back as well. He led him to the middle of the plaza, that apparent meet-up place for some kind of prisoner swap (at least that's what the Police learned after this whole sordid affair).
By now, sirens could be heard, from the southeast and the north. As the locals scattered to get out of the way of the gunfire, the local cops' first backup unit arrived from the southeast. Their Soviet-made jeep pulled up right in front of that blue van, the 2 officers inside piling out to do what they could. Which wasn't much.
As the 2 gang leaders yelled at each other about where exactly to swap their prisoners, the unfamiliar guys with guns shot one of the back-up officers down in the street, and cornered another (wounded) in his jeep.
It was then a second back-up police unit arrived, from the north. As they entered the plaza, they too were met with gunfire, several rounds holing the radiator of their GAZ jeep. As steam poured out of their stricken vehicle, the driver maintained enough control to keep from crashing. But their jeep was dead. The 2 officers in this vehicle hopped out, took up positions, and returned fire. Hitting no one...yet.
As the local townsfolk slowly disappeared from the streets, back in the plaza the 2 gang leaders finally came to terms on the swap. And the prisoners were exchanged. As gang-members untied their respective men, the wounded officer in the 1st back-up unit was trying desperately to survive the out-of-town gang members hunting him in his vehicle. By now, members of both gangs were engaged in a shootout with the cops in the 2nd back-up unit. Those 2 went down, one by one, but not before taking the leader of the local gang with them.
With 5 cops down and the 6th wounded and fighting for his life, and the sound of more sirens drawing closer, the leader of the out-of-towners ordered his men into their vehicles. They left the 6th officer laying in the street next to his vehicle, barely clinging to life. He lived long enough to report that the interlopers had fled in both their vehicles, heading southeast out of town.
When more cops showed up, they found 5 of their fellow officers lying dead in the street, both patrol jeeps all shot to hell, and the 6th officer badly wounded lying next to his vehicle. The leader of the local gang was also lying in the plaza, dead. It was not a good day for local law enforcement, and there would be hell to pay for this.
And that was it. The game was over. My 2 players had decided to go ahead with the swap, and take on the cops together. First time that happened. But they had fun, and now I think it's time to put together a follow-on scenario where the national police get involved, and seek retribution. Maybe they round up the local gangers and find out what the hell happened. Maybe they raid the HQ of that out-of-town gang to take revenge for those fallen officers. We'll have to wait and see. In any event, I'm sure they will erect a memorial in that plaza, telling the story of what happened on that fateful day, in a small town somewhere in Europe, around 1990...
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That's so awesome that Kirk stuck around after manning his booth solo all day to play in your game, Jim. Surely, you didn't tempt him with libations of a malted variety? lol
I bet you were wondering how to be fair to both players with yourself playing the cops when they turned the tables on you...haha! :D Serves you right for shooting my guys in the last game...! lol
Mike Demana
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That's so awesome that Kirk stuck around after manning his booth solo all day to play in your game, Jim. Surely, you didn't tempt him with libations of a malted variety? lol
What? Who? Me? Why, I'm the model of temperance.... 8)
I bet you were wondering how to be fair to both players with yourself playing the cops when they turned the tables on you...haha! :D Serves you right for shooting my guys in the last game...! lol
Well, things did work out, in terms of who's side the local constabulary would be on....and Karma is a fickle mistress, isn't she? :o
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OK. I got my copy of Osprey's new Pulp! rules. While my initial read-throughs didn't particularly impress me, I think we're gonna play a game with them this coming Wednesday. It'll involve US 1920s gangsters robbing (or trying to rob...) a US Mail truck guarded by US Marines. I'll post an illustrated battle report, along with any thoughts we have on the rules, after we play. I reserve the right to final judgement until after we actually play them... ;)
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OK. I got my copy of Osprey's new Pulp! rules. While my initial read-throughs didn't particularly impress me, I think we're gonna play a game with them this coming Wednesday. It'll involve US 1920s gangsters robbing (or trying to rob...) a US Mail truck guarded by US Marines. I'll post an illustrated battle report, along with any thoughts we have on the rules, after we play. I reserve the right to final judgement until after we actually play them... ;)
Looking forward to seeing an actual play through
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Well, we did indeed play our US Mail truck robbery scenario today, using Osprey's new Pulp! rules. I'll do the AAR in 3 parts. This is the first part - the scenario set-up.
The first 3 pics below are the US Mail scenario information, the Gangster Information, and scenario rules for vehicles and civilians. One of my biggest complaints about the rules is the lack of rules for either...
All the US Mail figures and Marines start out in the Mail truck (I actually have a suitable period diecast US Mail truck...). The Gangsters start out riding in 2 cars.
The 2nd 3 pics show the field of battle from various angles (it was about a 3'x4' board).
I'll do the battle report next (hopefully later this evening). Then I'll post our thoughts on the rules, likely tomorrow.
By the way, this scenario can be easily adapted to other rules. In fact, we plan to play it after the first of the year using Fistful of Lead, to see how it plays out with other rules. It's helpful if the Gangster player doesn't know about the Marines... ;)
Stay tuned...
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Looks like an interesting game. Just you and Ted playing it out? Or are you rolling solo?
Mike Demana
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Okay. Now the battle story. As Mike alluded to, Ted was indeed there. He played the US Mail truck and the Marines. Gene played the Gangsters. I GM'd. And away we go...
The US Mail truck, with the driver and Postal Inspector riding in the cab and the 5 Marines in the back, came down the road from the north. The Gang Boss and his crew came up the road from the southwest, while the Gang Lieutenant and his crew drove on from the southeast. The US Mail truck and the Gang Boss' car headed right for each other, while the Gang Lieutenant's car took the long way around the get behind the US Mail truck.
As the US Mail truck tried to pass the Gang Boss' car on the narrow road, the Gang Boss (who was driving) cut right in front of the US Mail truck, and they collided, damaging both vehicles. The Postal Inspector and the Marines piled out of the US Mail truck to see what was going on (the Gangsters were chagrined to see Marines again...). The Gang Boss and the Gangster in the left passenger seat (who had a Tommy Gun) opened up. They didn't hit anybody. Meanwhile, the Gang Lieutenant's car continued along to get behind the US Mail truck.
The Marines returned fire, wounding the Gang Boss in his car.
The Gang Boss Fired on the Marines near the back right of the US Mail truck, dropping one. The Gangsters got out of their car to continue the fight. Another marine went down. Then the Gangster with the pistol tried to get around the left side of the US Mail truck, but the Marines their put him down.
The Gang Lieutenant's car came in and blocked the road behind the US Mail truck. The Gangster with the shotgun got out, but the Marines shot down the Gangster in the Gang Lieutenant's back seat before he really had a chance to do anything. This took his Tommy Gun out of the fight.
Then things got really messy. The Postal Inspector approached the Gang Boss' car, trading shots with the Gang Boss still inside. The Gang Boss lost, but not before wounding the Postal Inspector. Then the Marines shot down the Gang Lieutenant in his car. Things started out bad for the US Mail truck and the Marines. Now, it wasn't looking too good for the Gangsters.
The Marine Gunny hunted down the Gangster with the shotgun by the Gang Lieutenant's car, killing him with a close range shot from his .45. But he took a shotgun blast in doing so, wounding him. And the 2 surviving Marine riflemen ganged up on the Tommy Gunner behind the Gang Boss' car, dropping him there, ending the fight.
The US Mail would get through, but at the expense of 2 dead Marines, 2 wounded Marines, a wounded Postal Inspector, and a damaged US Mail truck.
During the whole gunfight, the US Mail truck driver hunkered down in the cab of his truck, trying not to get shot.
This was a good fight, but the Marines' training won out in the end. Which is why they put Marines on US Mail trucks and trains in 1921 and 1926...
As I mentioned, I'll post our thoughts on the rules in the next day or 2.
In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this report!
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Nice little game. I look forward to your opinions (on rule differences)
after you try it with Fistful of Lead.
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Fun! I really liked your cars.
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Nice little game. I look forward to your opinions (on rule differences)
after you try it with Fistful of Lead.
Thanks! I'll be sure to post a battle report and out comparative thoughts after we paly it.
Fun! I really liked your cars.
Thanks. They are all diecasts. The truck by the car in the yard of the one house is one I repainted. The rest are straight out of the box. Next time I'm at my wargame building, I'll take notes about manufacturers, and post that info here.
Now. on with our thoughts on the rules...
General Thoughts
These rules don't really break any new ground, in our opinion. They did OK in presenting an enjoyable game, and they had a couple interesting features, but nothing ground-breaking.
They did have some editing issues, though. For example, on Page 14, under Resolving Ranged Attacks, it says "(see the weapons table on page XX-XX)". It also mentions the "standard rules" a couple times, in regards to not having terrain effects and vehicles rules. But, it then provides a section on Advanced Terrain and Movement, but nothing on vehicles. We made up our own vehicles rules for the scenario, that we felt worked within the spirit of the rest of the rules. And, aside from having Unit Type of "Extras", there are no non-combatant rules. We made them up too, but ended up not using them (no civilians appeared...).
The rest of our thoughts below are by game section...
Unit Types
There are several Unit Types, from Heroes and Villains (the best folks in the game) to Extras (the worst). Unit Sizes range from 1 figure to 4 figures, depending on Unit Type. Pretty straightforward. Figures are In Touch if they are within 3" from another figure in the Unit. Otherwise they are Out of Touch. Single-figure units are always In Touch
Initiative
Sides roll a d6 for initiative to determine who activates a unit first. High die wins. Then players take turns activating a unit in die order, until all units are activated. Nothing fancy here.
Activation
When a player picks a unit to activate, they roll a d6, and must score equal or higher than the Unit Type's Activation score to get a full activation. Otherwise, they get a Partial Activation. There are a few modifiers for this roll (taking into account Suppression, being Out of Touch (the figures, not the players... :D)), etc. Full Activations may choose from any of the allowed actions (walk and shoot, run, charge into melee, stay put and shoot with a bonus modifier, etc.). Partial Activations may only Pass, go into Defensive Stance (getting a Save bonus), or go into Reaction Fire (allowing them to shoot during an enemy figures activation). Full Activations may also do those 3, as well.
The better the Unit Type, the lower their Activation score. This worked out OK, but Gene rarely rolled Higher than a 2 on his Activation rolls for his gang member units. They spent a lot of time on Reaction Fire, but it did cause Ted to use a lot of caution in moving his figures...it proved to be a very interesting dynamic...
If a unit was Suppressed when it activated, that Suppression was removed as soon as the Activation roll was made. Thus no figures ever fired ranged weapons while they were suppressed.
Once a figure did anything (moved, went into Defensive Stance or Reaction Fire, fired, fought in a melee, etc.), they were considered Activated for that turn except figures on Reaction Fire could still do their Reaction Fire). We liked that.
In addition, at the end of the turn, all Defensive Stance, reaction Fire, and Activated markers were removed. Interesting, but satisfactory.
Movement
This was pretty straightforward. Up to 4" for walking, 6" for charging into melee, and 8" for a full-out run. The Advanced Terrain rules had movement penalties for some terrain types, which we used. There were no movement penalties for being Wounded.
Ranged Combat
Again, pretty straightforward. Units rolled a number of dice equal their weapons' Impact Points (IP). Dice that equaled or exceeded their Skill rating hit. The target figure rolled die equal to the number of hits, trying to equal or exceed their Protection rating (the lower the better, and the rules account for everything from essentially no extra protection to varying levels of armor, natural, and energy protection). A successful save sees nothing happen. A failed save results in a Suppression. A failed save on a figure that already has a Suppression is a Wound. A 2nd Wound and the figure is Knocked Out. The only modifier (aside from Special Benefits, which I'll cover here in a bit) is Degrading Terrain, which provides a -1 to hit. Overall, this worked out pretty well, but was nothing ground-breaking.
There were 3 things we didn't care for. First was that figures had 360-degree visibility, so they could react to figures behind them with out penalty. Second was the relatively short ranges for ranged weapons. 8' for pistols, shotguns, and submachineguns, and 12" for rifles. As it turned out, our gunfight happened within those ranges, so it wasn't a factor. But it could have been had the players done things differently. And third, being Wounded didn't affect a figure's marksmanship.
Melee
Also pretty straightforward. A similar mechanism to ranged combat, but both figures roll to hit with a number of dice equal to the Impact Points each figure has for Melee (depends on their melee weapons and training). Figures had to be in base-to-base contact to fight a melee. The usual modifiers - Suppressed, Wounded, fighting multiple enemies (the rules limit a melee to no more than 2 opponents. Even though we didn't have any melees in our little gunfight, we thought that could be a bit limiting), etc. The figure that caused the most hits wins. The loser rolls a number of saves equal to the difference between hits caused by the 2 figures. Figures remain locked in combat until one is Knocked Out or Withdraws.
One thing - a failed save in Melee is a Wound. No Suppression here.
Another thing, Melee can happen at 2 points in a turn. 1st, when a figure charges into Melee during its activation. 2nd, after Initiative and before Activations, figures locked in Melee fight a round of Melee, unless one or both choose to Withdraw. Regardless of the result, any figure that fights in a Melee or Withdraws is marked as having Activated.
Special Benefits
Units have a number of Special Points they can spend on Special Benefits, depending on the Unit Type. Special Benefits are advantages for the activating unit, or disadvantages for an enemy unit. They include die roll modifiers (both positive and negative) for various kinds of die rolls, die re-rolls, added weapons ranges, added movement, etc. This serves the same purpose as the special cards in Fistful of Lead, for example. While units could only use them a limited number of times in a game, they were an enjoyable element of our game.
In fact, by the 10th or 11th turn (we played 20 turns in about 2 hours), we no longer had to consult the rules much. The exception was to peruse the list of Special Benefits to see which might be applicable to the situation at hand.
Other Elements of the Game
There are other elements included in the rules which we did not use. More roleplaying-like aspects, such as character backgrounds, character Obsessions, character progression, campaign rules, and even rules for various animals/beasts are included in the rulebook, but played no part in out game. My read-throughs of them, while they surely add some "Chrome" (as they put it) to games, we didn't think they broke any new ground.
Conclusion
Pulp! is a very playable set of rules. It does a decent job of differentiating between Heroes/Villains, Elites, Veterans, Seasoned "troops", Green "troops", and extras. For example, the Gang Boss, Gang Lieutenant, Postal Inspector, and Marine Gunny played like the high-level characters they were. And the Marines' better training proved too much for the gang members to overcome (even with Gene's crappy Activation rolls for his gang members). Everything felt right, but nothing screamed "this is unique".
We would have liked to see at least rules for vehicles, but they were easy enough to come up with.
I'm glad I bought them, as they made for an enjoyable game, and we're likely to play them again sometime (likely with a few tweaks). But my guess is that they won't become a regular part of our game rotation...
To be fair, the above is strictly an opinion, but is based on readthroughs, a couple discussions of the rules with Gene and Ted, and an actual game. Others may see it differently. But I hope my scenario, the battle report from it, and our observations on the rules prove helpful...
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Thank you for the write-up of the game and your thoughts on the rules. Really enjoyed them and are now closer to giving those rules a chance.
One quick question on the rules - is it impossible to "one shot" a figure? From your description it seems that if you shoot an non-wounded figure and they fail their save they only get suppressed without a chance to straight up wound or KO that figure. It feels a little odd, even for a pulp game that it would not be possible, so maybe I'm reading it wrong?
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This is really helpful, thank you very much. I had been interested to see the initial announcement about these rules, then put off by online comments i saw. Now I think I will give the rules a try.
I am not looking for any ground-breaking ultimate ruleset, just something that will give a fun game for skirmishes in the interwar period. I had been using the micro-version of the Men Who Would Be Kings, which works OK, but does not have provision for the single figure heroes, just units.
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Thanks for the run-through of the rules, Jim. Wait a minute...TED was on the positive end of unbalanced die rolls...? lol
Seriously, very helpful AAR and analysis. Not that I was thinking of buying the rules, but very useful nonetheless. The fact that you guys were not needing to consult the rules once you were fairly far along into the game, and the fact you played 20 turns, is a good sign for those thinking of picking them up. Hope you guys are surviving the Snowpacalypse and Arctic temperatures up north...
Mike Demana
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@frd: it is mathematically possible to wound a character in one ranged attack. With some weapons, you could even knock a figure out in one ranged attack.
One note, pistols and rifles have 2 IPs. Submachine guns have 3 IPs. Shotguns have 3 IPs out to 4", and 1 IP from 4+ out to 8". Thete are several other weapons in the rules - these are what we used.
A: Green "troops" and Extras don't get supressions. All unsaved hits cause wounds. So with 2 unsaved hits, a Green "troop" or Extra can be KOd in one ranged attack.
B. If an unsuppressed figure is shot at, 2 unsaved hits would result in a suppression and a wound. 3 unsaved hits would be a suppression and 2 wounds. THAT would knock a figure out.
C. If a suppressed figure is shot at, any unsaved hits become wounds. So, 2 unsaved hits on a suppressed figure knocks him/her/them out.
Does that help?
@EasyE: My gangster-era cars are from a variety of manufacturers. Matchbox Models of Yesteryear (the Mail truck and the car in the yard), Eligor (the green gangster car), Athearn (the yellow gangster car and the black pickup in the other yard), and the repainted truck in the yard is from an unknown maker. I also have some from Lledo and Solido.
@Sunjester: As I mentioned, you certainly can have single Heroes and Villians. One thing we liked was that the rules do well at rating various figure/unit types. In our one game, figures acted like we thought they should (with the possible exception of Gene's crappy activation roles).
@mikedemana: Yep - Ted rolled pretty good for once. And so far, it's just cold and wind. Not much snow here...
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Your game story is as good as ever, an enjoyable read with some very nice cars and thanks for the info on manufacturers.
It never fails to astound me the number of posts and opinions that appear on the LAF around rules that haven't been published yet, let alone opinions based on a quick skim through once they have gone public. So it's good to read a reasonable appreciation of a set of rules after playing a game, thanks.
I did like your opinion, as I understood it, that the game wasn't won or lost based on a few good or bad dice rolls, having just played some d20 rules where dice throws dominated the game detrimentally, this is a good point.
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Thanks Vagabond! Appreciate your comments...
Yeah, you got the gist. Tactics, if one can call them that, won that game - crappy die rolls didn't lose it...
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Hello CapnJim,
I wonder if this rule can allow me to play in some sword and sorcery or scifi settings ?
Thanks !
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Hello, Ghost. SciFi definitely. There are rules in there for that kind of stuff. But keep in mind you'll have to come up with vehicle rules, though...feel free to steal and adapt the ones we came up with... ;)
As for Swords and Sorcery, maybe. You'd have to adapt them for the Sorcery part, but the Sword part, I would think so.
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My weekly gaming group is going to play the US Mail Truck Robbery scenario I came up with (and that we previously played using Osprey's new Pulp! rules) using the Fistful of Lead rules this Friday coming. Below you will find the scenario information in Fistful of Lead terms. First is the US Mail truck info, then the gangster info, and last the civilian info.
Of course, I will post an illustrated report following that affair...
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Otis took his car out of gear, having just parked in front of the diner in town. He set the parking brake, turned the car off, and got out. He walked around the back of it, looking at the newly dented rear bumper. I haven't seen shit like that since the war, he thought to himself.
He gave the paper kid selling his wares on the sidewalk a nickel in return for a paper, and there it was. A 3-inch headline above the fold: MARINES FOIL MAIL TRUCK STICK-UPS! Below the headline read, in smaller letters 12 GANGSTERS, 2 MARINES OUT OF ACTION, 2 MARINES INJURED! Oh, he thought, there was another stick-up? One of 'em happened pretty much in his front yard.
He went into the diner, and sat down with Earl and Frank for their usual Saturday morning coffee and peach cobbler. Frank asked Otis "Didja hear what happened?" Otis came back "Hell yeah! Have I got a story for you guys!"...
Yes - my regular gaming group played out my US Mail Truck robbery scenario this Friday past, only this time we played it using Fistful of Lead (see the scenario sheets above). Twice. Ted (again) played the US Mail truck and the Marines in both games, and Gene played the gangsters again. And now, I'll let Otis tell his story to Earl and Frank.
"You guys ready for this? And this is no shit!" He went on "Well, I had yesterday off, and I was just finishing lunch. I looked out my front window, and I saw a couple cars came up the Northern Pike. 2 Fords - a green one and a yellow one. Never seen 'em out there before. And I swear i saw Tommy guns. Turns out I was right." "Tommy guns? You sure?" asked Earl. "Yep." replied Otis. "Now keep up, boys. The green Ford kept going up the Pike, while the yellow one headed east toward the County Road. Then I saw the Mail truck coming down the Pike on its usual Friday run. You won't believe what happened next!" "Go on", said Frank. Otis: "Well sure as shit, the green Ford tried to ram the Mail truck. That Mail truck driver must be good. He swerved through that gap in the fence at the north corner of my property, and the Ford nailed that phone pole across the road from there. Nailed it good. Caved in the front end of that Ford."
"Anyway, the Mail truck kept going along the fence through my front yard and a couple of guys come out of the wrecked Ford guns blazing. And one of them did indeed have a Tommy gun. Then I seen that yellow Ford slam on its brakes, and hit it in reverse. He tried to cut off the Mail truck at my driveway, but I'll be damned if that Mail truck driver squeaked through between my car and the yellow Ford. Smashed right through my fence. If some dumbass in a stake truck hadn't come up the Pike, the Mail truck would've gotten away."
"What happened?" asked Frank. Otis went on "The Mail truck hit that stake truck dead on its rear axle. Took it off the truck's frame, but it mashed the Mail truck's front end. I don't know how the guys in the front of the Mail truck didn't get hurt or worse." "Then, 3 guys came out of the yellow Ford, and they had a shotgun and a Tommy gun. That's when things got really hot."
"Whaddya mean?" said Earl. "C'mon, Earl. I said keep up." "A Mail Dick hopped out of the front of the Mail truck, and I'm not kidding here, Marines piled out of the back of the Mail truck. And they weren't foolin' around."
"They had a Sergeant with 'em, and that ol' boy knew what he was doin'. Musta been in the war too. I heard about those Marines when I was over there, - the Hun called 'em Devil Dogs. I can see why." Earl then said "Yeah, my nephew is a Marine. He is one tough sumbitch". "You ain't kiddin' " Otis continued "I had grabbed the shotgun off the wall, and was gonna go out an help 'em, but they sure didn't need my help. Those ol' boys took care of business. So did that Mail Dick. In fact, one of those punks knocked a Marine on his ass by my car in my front yard, and the Mail Dick emptied his revolver into him. Dropped him cold. And the Marine just got up and shook it off. Before I knew it, it was over."
"That was it?" asked Frank. "What happened next" asked Earl. Otis came back "Well, I ain't never seen so may cops and Marines and G-men in one place. I found out there were 6 of those sonsabitches who tried to stick up the Mail truck. Not one made it out alive. In fact, one of the cops told me that one of the crooks musta broke his damn neck when his car hit that phone pole. They found him crumpled up in the back seat of that car - no bullet holes in 'im. One of the Marines got messed up when the trucks crashed, too. Hell, another Marine got hurt in the crash, but he got his ass into the fight anyway."
"You look none the worse for wear, Otis" exclaimed Frank. "Yeah, nothin' hit the house. My car's back bumper is all dented up and there's a few bullet holes on my car, but I'm OK. Oh yeah, I got some ruts in the yard and a fence to fix now..."
"Oh, and look a this headline. There musta been another Mail truck stickup try, too. Here, let me read it to you..."
That was our second game Friday. Just as in the game we played a few weeks ago using the Pulp! rules, the Marines and the Postal Inspector came out on top. 6 dead gangsters. One dead marine (killed in the truck wreck) and 2 injured Marines (one in the truck wreck, and the one "knocked on his ass" by the gang boss).
I'll post my notes on Fistful of Lead vs. Pulp! after Otis reads the newspaper article to Earl and Frank (that'll cover our first game). Stay tuned for that...
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By they way, we used red micro-die to track wounds, blue ones to track shock, and black ones denoted "out of ammo". Whitish ones indicated which figures had activated each turn...
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Sounds like two more fun games, thanks for posting.
The big question is...which set of rules do you, & your mates, prefer?
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Really enjoyed your AAR!
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Sounds like two more fun games, thanks for posting.
The big question is...which set of rules do you, & your mates, prefer?
has.been, I'll get to that in a minute... ;)...and they were fun games. Thanks.
Really enjoyed your AAR!
Thanks! And now I'll let Otis read the paper to Frank and Earl about the other stick-up (our first game)...
Otis went on, "OK, listen up, boys. Here it is"
"Let's see, says here there were 2 Mail truck stick-up tries in the County yesterday. The one I just told you about, and another out on Township Road 13. Sounds like it was out by the Johnson place."
"It says here that a Marine Major Mel Funkshyn talked to reporters about both of 'em. He said the Mail truck was heading south on County Road 13 by that bend in the road in front of Old Man Johnson's place. It seems tthree punks pulled their car in front of the Mail truck, but the Post Office Dick had already figured out something was up. The gangsters started shooting at the truck, and Marines came out of the back of the truck and started shooting back. Then 2 more cars came up behind the Mail truck."
"Two cars?" questioned Frank. "Yeah", replied Otis. "Says here the other one was just some good 'ol boys out drivin' around. Drove right into a gunfight!. Dumbshits..." Earl and Frank agreed with Otis's assessment...
Otis took another bite of cobbler, and washed it down with some of Flo's coffee. "Come on, Otis. Keep reading!" said Earl. "All right, all right. Just hang on!" replied Otis. "Oh Jesus!" exclaimed Otis. "What?" said Earl and Frank, almost at the same time. "One of the punks shot the Marine sergeant down with a shotgun." "That musta pissed off the other Marines!" said Earl "knowing my nephew." Otis came back "Sounds like it. Major Funkshyn said after that, the Marines slowly dropped the punks, one at at time. They shot the asshole with the shotgun first." "Good" said Earl "Served him right." Otis: "Anyhow, it says here one of those punks had run behind that good ol' boys' car to get away from the Marines, and almost got his ass run over when those good 'ol boys backed the hell on outta there." "Hah. That would've been funny" said Frank.
"Well, it says here that the Marines took care of the punks that came up behind them. But Major Funkshyn said the Post Office fellas got back in their truck, and high-tailed it on outta there, leaving the Marines behind."
"What happened to the Marines?" asked Earl. Otis replied "It says except fer the Sergeant, they're all OK. It looks like that last punk tried to get into the car that tried to block off the Mail truck to get away, but it stalled and the Marines filled him full of thirty-ought-six rounds."
"It says here that Major Funkshyn said that the Marines were pretty damn good shots. Except for that last guy in the car, the other gangsters were all killed with one shot. Says here they even killed one guy in the 2nd punks' car before he even got out of it. Meh - good for him!" Otis grinned.
"That's it, fellas. They killed 12 bad guys in the 2 stick-ups, but lost 2 Marines doing it. Major Funkshyn also said the 2 Marines that were hurt by my place are gonna be OK."
And that was that. 2 games in one afternoon. Game 1 went for 12 turns, and Game 2 for 10.
So far, using 2 sets of rules, the Marines are 3-0 in this scenario. Here are our thoughts:
1. We thought both sets of rules gave good games, all of which felt right for the period. In all 3 games, it was the Marines edge in training and marksmanship that won out.
2. While Pulp! had 6 experience classes for figures, Fistful of Lead only had 3. But you can tweak the individual figures in Fistful of Lead with traits to help differentiate them. For example, I gave the Marine riflemen the Dead-eye trait ot give them a bit of an edge over the gangsters.
3. Pulp! has Special Abilities to give friendly figures periodic advantages or enemy figures disadvantages. Fistful of Lead uses special cards to do that (and the way we use Jokers, too.). Both systems produced similar effects throughout the game.
4. The big difference was the activation sequence in Pulp!. Lower level characters tended to have fewer options in their turn, based on the figure's activation roll. Being Suppressed only negatively affected the activation roll. But, as I mentioned, failed activation rolls limited your figures actions in that turn, so again the lower level characters tended too have fewer options in their turns. Fistful of Lead pretty much allows all figures to activate, but Shock negatively affects movement and shooting. 2 different approaches to depict the same net effect. In both, the lower level the figure, the harder time they have doing what they want to do.
5. The other difference was that most figures only take 2 wounds in Pulp!, while they take 3 in Fistful or Lead. This didn't seem to affect the course of the game as much as we thought it might.
6. While both rulesets gave good games that felt right and gave similar results given the players involved at their "tactics", I think our preference is still Fistful of Lead. We prefer it over Pulp! due to points 3 and 4 above. We will likely play Pulp! again, but I think our current "Go To" ruleset for our games is still Fistful of Lead.
We hope this helps! And I hope you all enjoyed visiting with Otis, Earl, and Frank at their Saturday morning at the diner.
And if our games are even close to what really happened, it's easy to see why Mail truck and train robberies completely stopped after the Marines got involved. And FYI, here are the Marines guarding the Mail's standing orders (see this link): https://www.wearethemighty.com/popular/intense-rules-for-marine-guards/
1. To prevent the theft or robbery of any United States mails entrusted to my protection.
2. To inform myself as to the persons who are authorized to handle the mails entrusted to my protection and to allow no unauthorized persons to handle such mails or to have access to such mails.
3. To inform myself as to the persons who are authorized to enter the compartment (railway coast, auto truck, wagon, mail room, etc.) where mails entrusted to my protection are placed, and to allow no unauthorized person to enter such compartment.
4. In connection with Special Order No. 3, to prevent unauthorized persons loitering in the vicinity of such compartment or taking any position from which they might enter such compartment by surprise or sudden movement.
5. To keep my rifle, shotgun, or pistol always in my hand (or hands) while on watch.
6. When necessary in order to carry out the foregoing orders, to make the most effective use of my weapons, shooting or otherwise killing or disabling any person engaged in the theft or robbery, or the attempted theft or robbery of the mails entrusted to my protection.
The FAQ section of the Mail Guards’ training manual tells you everything you need to know about how Marines would respond to this robbery problem, once the gangster tried to break in:
“Q. Suppose he [the robber] is using a gun or making threats with a gun in trying to escape?
A. Shoot him.
Q. Suppose the thief was apparently unarmed but was running away?
A. Call halt twice at the top of your voice, and if he does not halt, fire one warning shot; and if he does not obey this, shoot to hit him.
Q. Is it permissible to take off my pistol while on duty; for instance, when in a mail car riding between stations?
A. Never take off your pistol while on duty. Keep it loaded, locked, and cocked while on duty.
Q. Is there a general plan for meeting a robbery?
A. Yes; start shooting and meet developments as they arise thereafter.
Q. If I hear the command ‘Hands Up,’ am I justified in obeying this order?
A. No; fall to the ground and start shooting.
Q. Is it possible to make a successful mail robbery?
A. Only over a dead Marine.”
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Thanks Capt. I enjoyed the AAR in its Coffee & Cobbler format.
Your assessment of the rules sets was helpful too.
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Q. Is it possible to make a successful mail robbery?
A. Only over a dead Marine.
Brilliant!
Great looking games and superb AARs. Marvellous stuff!
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Thanks Capt. I enjoyed the AAR in its Coffee & Cobbler format.
Your assessment of the rules sets was helpful too.
Thanks has.been. Sometimes, I rather enjoy telling my battle stories from a participant's or observer's perspective. Just about any wargame can be turned into such a story...
And I'm glad our analysis was useful for you. :)
Brilliant!
Great looking games and superb AARs. Marvellous stuff!
Thanks, your Lordship! High praise indeed, having read your tales of high (and sometimes low) adventure! :D
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I like being the “Go to” guy!
On point 5, yes miniatures can have 3 wounds, but they can taken out with just one hit if you roll high enough. Many a Hero has gone down on s “10”. Also Grunts only have 1 wound.
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Always a pleasure to read your report :)
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I like being the “Go to” guy!
On point 5, yes miniatures can have 3 wounds, but they can taken out with just one hit if you roll high enough. Many a Hero has gone down on s “10”. Also Grunts only have 1 wound.
Baron! You forgot to mention the toughness option that can boost a character
up to FOUR wounds.
:D
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On point 5, yes miniatures can have 3 wounds, but they can taken out with just one hit if you roll high enough. Many a Hero has gone down on s “10”. Also Grunts only have 1 wound.
Baron! You forgot to mention the toughness option that can boost a character
up to FOUR wounds.
Yep to both. But it really didn't help in our first game Friday (the one Otis read to Earl and Frank from the newspaper). Of the 7 figures put out of action, 6 (the Marine Sergeant and first 5 gangsters) were all put Out of Action on the Wound Rolls after they were hit. Only the poor bastard trying to get away in his car at the end was the only figure Wounded before he was put Out of Action. The 3 Marine riflemen lit that car up! All other Wound Rolls were Shocks...we were beginning to think we were gonna get through an entire game without a Wound result on Wound Rolls. :D
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As some of you may have noticed from some of my other threads (Modern, Vietnam, WW2, Old West, and War of 1812), I have been taking group shots of my collections, and posting them on my appropriate threads. I was inspired by Ash, who did the same thing...
I've started with my 28mm stuff. Next up is my 1920/1930s US gangster collection. And here they are:
The gangsters are almost all Brigade Games metal figures, although there are a few my wargaming bud Ted gave me that I'm not sure who made them. The law enforcement chaps are also almost all Brigade Games metals, except for the plain-clothes Feds - they are GEG The Chicago Way metal figs. The civilians are mostly Blue Moon metals, with a couple I'm not sure about and one that is an "O" gauge model RR figure. The ones Ted painted are the ones with the light gray bases.
The cars and trucks are a variety of die-casts. Matchbox, Solidos, Lledos, Eligor, Athearn, Corgi, etc. The two busses are from a couple US National Parks...
My last 28mm figs will be my Canadian force for the 1866 Fenian Raids Battle of Ridgeway...
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Sounds like you guys had a blast -- especially since you immediately played it a second time! We area also enjoying Fistful of Lead for our skirmishes. And our games seem to play out, as well, that most figures knocked out of action are not due to accumulating three wounds. Still, everyone is having fun.
We were supposed to do my second post-apoc game last Sunday, but the snowstorm nixed that. It's been rescheduled for Sunday, Feb. 5th. I'll post a report on the Post-Apocalyptic Adventures board once we get it played.
Glad you guys are having fun up there in the semi-frozen north, Jim!
Mike Demana
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Thanks, Mike. Yep - we did indeed have a blast!
Looking forward to your AAR...
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Cool gangster collection.
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Cool gangster collection.
Thanks! It's about ready to get some additions. Empress' Brummies, some Warlord British LDV and Defenders of the Realm, and Footsore Irish Wars of Independence civilians are 2nd in line in my painting queue...
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Nice collection. Who are the gangsters by?
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Nice collection. Who are the gangsters by?
Thanks. The vast majority of my gangsters are from Brigade Games, here in the states.
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I'm now painting up some Warlord Bolt Action 28mm "British LDV Section" and "Defenders of the Realm" figures. I'm doing them up to use with my 20s-30s US gangster wars collection. I did a few conversions, and I hope to have them finished, photographed, and posted here before I leave on vacation March 14. Stay tuned...
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And here they are!
The first 2 pics show figures from the Warlord Bolt Action Defenders of the Realm pack. I added a cigar to the dapper fellow. I wonder what he is reaching for under his coat....and I really like the Boy Scout...
The next 2 pics show figures from Warlord's Bolt Action LDV Section pack. 3 of these chaps hold blunt instruments. The pack came with several figures with no right hand, and several separate right hands with various improvised weapons. As you can see, these guys got a club, a crowbar, and a sledge hammer. The 4th chap will be an Officer for my Marines/National Guardsmen...
The 3rd 2 pics show guys with guns, again all from that LDV pack. The 2 dudes with the side-by-side shotguns came that way. The guy with the Winchester 1897 riot gun was one of the guys with no right hand, so I gave him one from a Warlord plastic American GIs sprue. That hand just happened to have the shotgun molded with it...same for the smartly-dressed chap with the pipe. He got a right hand with a .45 from that same sprue.
The last 2 pics show the whole bunch together...
Hope all y'all like them...
Next up, likely in April after I get back from Florida, should be Empress Miniatures' Brummie Mafia figures, which I will use for my US gangster stuff...
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Clever use of the Warlord LDV pack Cap'n. I briefly dipped my toe into the Chicago Way which I'll revisit with a mind to completing it. . . .
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A great menacing looking lot!
Hmm, that LDV section has a lot of good figures for a 'neighborhood watch' gang for Mean Streets...
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Clever use of the Warlord LDV pack Cap'n. I briefly dipped my toe into the Chicago Way which I'll revisit with a mind to completing it. . . .
Thanks, Johnny Boy. There is a lot of stuff out there to use for that genre...
A great menacing looking lot!
Hmm, that LDV section has a lot of good figures for a 'neighborhood watch' gang for Mean Streets...
Thanks, Cat. And you could easily do that. That pack has 6 of the 10 figures with no right hand, and enough right hands with "improvised weapons" to make a good gang...the other 4 have (as you can see) a couple double-barrel shotguns and that Officer-type. There's also a guy with a tin hat and a bolt-action rifle (trim the magazine off, and it could pass for an M1903....
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Those shotgunners could easily be carved into 2x4s as well. Handy for lesser thugs in the gangsters ranks too.
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...Handy for lesser thugs in the gangsters ranks too.
Yep. That's my plan. That gives me 7 or 8 guys who'll forget to bring a gun to a gunfight.... ;)
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Hmm, that LDV section has a lot of good figures for a 'neighborhood watch' gang for Mean Streets...
Wow...you are correct, sir! I missed those when sourcing figures.
Mike Demana
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Wow...you are correct, sir! I missed those when sourcing figures.
Mike Demana
Glad I could help, Mike! :D
Sorry about my recent lack of posts. 2 weeks in Florida kinda got in the way...
But now, another AAR. I ran my "Gangsters Try to Rob a US Mail Truck" scenario, using Fistful or Lead rules, at DayCon last Saturday (the 1st). DayCon is a small gaming convention held in Kettering, OH (a suburb of Dayton, OH).
I had 4 players, one of whom was a Wiley Games Rangerider...he played on the US Mail truck side...and away we go...
It was 1926. The Gunny sat in the back of the US Mail truck, bumping along on the rural dirt road with his 4 Marine riflemen. A Postal Inspector rode shotgun in the front of the truck. Mail robberies had gone up recently, so the Commandant deployed US Marines again to guard the mail. The Gunny figured the gangsters hadn't learned their lesson back in '21. The Gunny had seen action in the war and in Nicaragua, and had guarded the mail in '21. He knew his business...
Just then, the Postal Inspector hollered from the front of the truck "Looks like we have company. One of those fancy foreign cars is coming up the road toward us." Gunny responded "Okay". And them he said to his Marines "Load up, boys. Be on your toes".
Down in that car, the Gang Boss said to his driver "There it is. get up to that intersection. We'll stop 'em there". His driver tried, but the Mail truck turned off on the side road just before they could cut it off. "Stop!" said the Boss. "I'll get out here, and run through these woods to try to cut 'em off. Vinnie and his boys should be coming up that road. We'll box 'em in". "Why you gonna do that? That don't make no sense."" asked the driver. "Just shut up and do what you're told, responded the Gang Boss, holding his .45 in one hand and his pipe in the other. "After I get out, follow 'em and get in behind them. Maybe Vinnie can cut 'em off."" The driver stopped at the intersection, and the Gang Boss got out and headed east through the woods.
The Gunny watched from the back of the truck as that black car turned in behind them. Then, just as he figured, the gig was up. A guy leaned out the front passenger window of the car, aiming a Tommy Gun at them. Then, nothing.... Gunny could see that gangster fiddle with the drum magazine on his Tommy Gun as he leaned back inside the car. "Dumbass", thought the Gunny. "You gotta make sure that magazine is fully seated to use it". Then the Gunny said, in his Gunny voice, "That's all I need. Open fire, boys". And his Marines did. Holes appeared in the windshield of the black foreign car. Gunny could see the guy with the Tommy Gun slump in his seat, and he thought the driver got hit too.
In the woods, maybe a couple dozen yards away, the Gang Boss heard the distinctive crack of .30-'06 rounds being fired. "Shit' he said out loud. "That's gotta be Marines. I shoulda stayed in the car". He picked up his pace.
Gunny could feel the truck slow down to take a curve. Just then, the Postal inspector yelled back "More trouble. They got the road blocked. A Green ford, and there's a guy with a shotgun". Just then, Gunny heard what he knew to be shotgun blasts. He also heard the report of the Postal inspector's .45 Smith & Wesson. He could feel the truck make a hard turn to the right. More gunfire. Then he heard the Postal Inspector tell their drive "Gun it! Ram the sonsabitches!". "Brace, boys" ordered Gunny. Then they felt the impact as their truck hit the Ford.
The Gang Boss came out of the woods near his car, and saw Rocco slumped dead in his seat, a hole in his head. Or what was left of it, anyway. Lorenzo was standing next to the car dazed and bleeding from a shoulder wound.
After the collision, the truck driver kept driving, even though Gunny could sense the truck had been damaged in the collision. Once they gat past the wrecked Ford, he could see the driver's side had been crunched in. He also could see guys getting out of the car. Now there were 3 gangsters near the crumpled up Ford. One had a Tommy Gun. "Keep firing, boys."
Over at the black car, the Gang Boss told Tommy to get after the truck. The Gang Boss got in the car and restarted it.
Then Gunny could see the gangster near the wrecked Ford level his .45 and fire at the truck. He could hear the tires blow it, and the truck came to a jerky halt. "That's it, boys. Dismount and get to work!" he and his men did just that. So did the Postal Inspector. After a brief firefight, his men had dropped all 3 gangsters near the Ford. "Follow me, boys!" yelled Gunny, as he headed back toward that fancy black foreign car.
The Gang Boss had a decision to make. He could back the hell on outta there, or he could try to plow through those damned marines and get away that way. Just then, he saw Lorenzo go down, another victim of .30-'06 fire. Now he was pissed. He made his decision. He gunned his car, and headed straight for the Marines coming toward him. 2 got out of the way, but he clipped one of them. Then he heard the rifles fire. Window glass shattered around him. Then he felt the sting in his back. His last thought, just before his car slammed into the green Ford and things faded to black, was "I shoulda listened to Ma...In Nomine Patris...".
It was over then. The Gunny went over to Williams and said "You okay?" Williams limped up and told him "Yeah, Gunny, I'm fine. The bastard caught my leg as I tried to get out of the way." Gunny said "Good", and then "Okay boys, check the bodies. See if any of these sumbitches are still alive". Then he said to the Postal Inspector "My boys will secure the truck and its mail. Let's you and me go up to that house, and see if they have a telephone..."
And that was that. 6 gangsters down, and only 1 injured Marine. And 3 wrecked vehicles. But the mail was safe and secure.
This was the 4th time running this game, using 2 different rule sets. The Marines are 4-0. And this was, by far, the worst showing for the gangsters. Each time, I think it's the quality of the Marines that win out in the end. That, and the gangsters have yet to really take advantage of their short-range advantage in firepower (with their 2 Tommy Guns).
I plan to run this scenario twice at Drums At The Rapids May 20 at Fort Meigs in Perrysburg, OH (a suburb of Toledo, OH). The challenge now is to see if the gangsters can pull off a win. We'll see...
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A few more pics...
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Will read more later but what the heck is a Wiley Games Rangerider? A play tester maybe? Promotional sales person? Someone who arrives at the convention on horseback?! lol
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but what the heck is a Wiley Games Rangerider?
I believe Jim means one of our Road Warriors. We can't be at every convention, so people who run multiple Wiley games at wargames conventions can get our special Road Warrior packages. You get giveaway promotional stuff and coupons to hand out.
Jim, you can always add more gangsters.
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Man...remind me to pick the Marines' side if I play this game at Drums next month...! lol
Great pics, Jim. Sounds like the usual, enjoyable mayhem and slaughter! Hope you enjoyed your vacation in Florida. I had a good time in Vienna and Slovakia. So, back to work for both of us, eh? Well, except you're retired... :D
Mike Demana
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I believe Jim means one of our Road Warriors...
Jim, you can always add more gangsters.
Thanks, Jaye. That's indeed what I meant.
And that is a possibility. I'll see how Drums at the rapids goes, and go from there...
Speaking of which:
Man...remind me to pick the Marines' side if I play this game at Drums next month...! lol
Great pics, Jim. Sounds like the usual, enjoyable mayhem and slaughter! Hope you enjoyed your vacation in Florida. I had a good time in Vienna and Slovakia. So, back to work for both of us, eh? Well, except you're retired... :D
Mike Demana
Hope you do indeed play, Mike. Looking forward to seeing you and Jenny at Drums, and hearing about Vienna and Slovakia.
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I love the sepia toned pics. Very atmospheric.
You know with that collection of minis you are inexorably heading towards Matewan and the Battle of Blair Mountain. Just need to fill out the ranks with a few hillbilly types.
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I love the sepia toned pics. Very atmospheric.
You know with that collection of minis you are inexorably heading towards Matewan and the Battle of Blair Mountain. Just need to fill out the ranks with a few hillbilly types.
Yes, I'm aware of that. Matawan's already crossed my mind.... :D
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Great minds think alike my friend. Started building a collection a little while back myself. The idea of a gaming scenario where you can legitimately listen to Loretta Lynn at the same time is too appealing.
There was an on-line article in one of your country's gun nut magazines that went into some detail on the weapons used and the archaeology of the brass and lead found on the battle site at Blair Mountain. I'll try and dig it out for you.
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Found it quicker than expected and it wasn't even bookmarked. :o
https://www.americanrifleman.org/content/guns-of-the-battle-of-blair-mountain/#:~:text=Of%20the%20cornucopia%20of%20arms,and%20the%20Thompson%20submachine%20gun.
Great potential, as at one point, the Coal Company used an old Curtiss Jenny to drop homemade bombs on the workers (it crashed) and the Federal Govt sent the USAAC down south.
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Interesting article. Thanks. I knew about the lever guns and the Tommy Guns, but Vetterlis? I think the rifles in the Wargames Atlantic Partisans set just might pass for those....
While Blair Mountain is a bit big for me to want to tackle, as I mentioned Matewan is right in my wheelhouse. I would just need to paint a few more informally dressed rifle-armed guys for the miners. I have suit-clad chaps with pistols and Tommy Guns already, and a perfect figure for Mayor Testerman. I can surely do 13 "detectives" vs. Chief Hatfield, Mayor Testerman, and a bunch of miners and townsfolks with various weapons. But I think I would have them fight along Ferrell Street near the RR tracks (like in the movie) instead of along Mate Street where the actual fight took place.
Hmm. Maybe I could do it at one of the Fall conventions around here...
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The beauty of that is that looking on Google maps street view and modern photos of the town suggests that the relevant bits of town haven't actually changed that much since 1920 and that many if not of the original buildings remain intact. Sure there's a gas station, a Rite Aid and a Family Dollar along with enormous piles of empty OxyContin bottles but a decent modelling guide remains.
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Yup. Already looked at it on Google Maps. And it's just a 6- or 7-hour drive from me. May have to do some on-site research...
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Like the commitment. I have bought into another 9 hour flight to go and look at Vietnam again. This time I'll be going to Hue and Da Nang along with Vung Tau and Ba Ria. Maybe we can work out a photo exchange. Requests for shots of specific spots will be taken.
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Yup. Already looked at it on Google Maps. And it's just a 6- or 7-hour drive from me. May have to do some on-site research...
Wow! I live in the middle of England.
Two hours tops, in just about any direction & I'll be in the sea! lol lol lol.
Lots of battlefields are a short hop away:-
Bosworth, Edgehill, Naseby etc. etc. Bugger all from the ACW or Vietnam though. lol lol lol
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Nine hours in a car gets me to a giant sodding coat hanger in a city best known for an opera house that looks like turtles fucking and whose population has the intellectual depth of a teaspoon.
A bit under that in another direction gets me to a city*, of sorts, whose profound dullness is only partly relieved by its history of grisly serial killings and child abductions. It's somewhere that makes Milton Keynes, Patterson, NJ or Santiago in Chile look positively cosmopolitan and lively.
* Adelaide. There was twat from Adelaide captured during the invasion of Afghanistan, training with the Taliban. The Yanks whisked him off to Guantanamo where he was banged up for a decade or so. Said to be the only person on earth who has ever evinced a desire to return to Adelaide.
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Hmm. I can certainly share any photos I take down in Matewan. Not just with you, but anyone else who might be interested. My wife and I are discussing a road trip down there yet this spring.
As far as shots from Vietnam, let me ponder that. I may indeed like a few shots to give me terrain ideas...thanks, Carlos!
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I've painted up some more figures for my Prohibition-Era Gangster collection. These 28mm guys and gals are from Empress Miniatures, and are part of their Very British Civil War range. They are called Brummie Mafia on Empress' site, and are based on characters from the British TV series Peaky Blinders. I think they will do nicely in my Gangster collection.
These figures are great. Sculpted my Paul Hicks, they ooze character, and were a joy to paint. They measure 28mm foot-to-eye. For those of you familiar with the show, I did not specifically paint them to resemble the characters they represent. I just painted them up in fashions I made up on the spot. I'm quiet happy with how they turned out. I will say, though, that they must have smuggled the SMLE and the Lewis gun down from Canada...
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Good paintwork fella.
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Looking good! :-*
You can almost hear the irritating, adenoidal, tones of the Brummy accent. :D
Justify their presence in the US as BSA sales reps or Canadian bootleggers.
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Empress Brummie rules O.K.
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Thanks. As I mentioned, I really enjoyed painting them.
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Here are my latest figures to add to my US Prohibition Era Wars collection. I'm preparing to run a Battle of Matewan (WV, USA) scenario later this year at cons. Matewan was one of the opening engagements in the West Virginia Coal Mine War.
The first 6 pics are 28mm Footsore Irish War of Independence civilians. They are eminently usable for my 1920's US scenarios (including Matewan). Of these, of course, women and children first. Then the menfolk. Then the whole lot together.
The last 2 pics are WIP shots of some coal miners/townspeople for Matewan I converted. The first is guys with shotguns. They have Wargames Atlantic plastic partisan bodies and heads, with Warlord WW2 plastic arms and shotguns. And (it's hard to see in the pic) the guy in the middle has a cigar in his left hand. The 2nd of these pics show guys with rifles, and a guy with a pistol. The guy with the lever gun has a WA plastic body and head, and GEG plastic cowboy arms and rifle. The middle 2 are GEG Chicago Way metal figures with cigars added. The guy on the right has WA body, head, and weapon arm, and a Warlord right arm (with the grenade carved out and a metal pipe added). I have 11 more figures straight outta the box/blister to go in this batch 9WA plastic partisans, and GEG Chicago Way metal figs). Most of these 18 figures will be armed townspeople/coal miners, but a couple will be Baldwin-Felts detective agents. Once these are painted, I'll be sure to post pics.
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Very nice!
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I’m liking the WA conversions…where are the shotguns from?
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Very nice!
Thanks, Carlos...
I’m liking the WA conversions…where are the shotguns from?
Thanks! The 2 Winchester 1897 shotguns are from Warlord's Bolt Action plastic American GIs set (the 2nd one). The one over his shoulder came with the arm molded that way. and the one being fired is a separate gun on the sprue, with Warlord plastic German Grenadiers arms. The double-barrel gun came on one of Warlord's ProjectZ survivor weapons sprues as a separate gun.
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Bought a couple of these for conversion purposes, as they look good for the period and locale. Eventually I'll get around to making a UMW union banner.
https://www.eurekamin.com.au/product_info.php?cPath=87_126_862&products_id=13348
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Oh, I did not know of the West Virginia Coal Mine War, another topic I have to look into.
The conversions are great, and I have to agree the WA Partisans lend themselves to conversions.
EDIT: Are any labour sluggers going to make an appearance?
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Looking good. I hope to see the scenario played (or get to join in) at a convention later this year... ;D
Mike Demana
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Bought a couple of these for conversion purposes, as they look good for the period and locale. Eventually I'll get around to making a UMW union banner.
https://www.eurekamin.com.au/product_info.php?cPath=87_126_862&products_id=13348
Oh, they should work. Nobody was waving any banners at Matewan, but I can certainly see them at the 3-Days Battle, Blair Mountain, or any of the hundreds of strikes/protests/rallies...
Oh, I did not know of the West Virginia Coal Mine War, another topic I have to look into.
The conversions are great, and I have to agree the WA Partisans lend themselves to conversions.
EDIT: Are any labour sluggers going to make an appearance?
Thanks. Those partisans are proving very versatile. I've gone through a whole box of them, and I haven't even done up any WW2 partisans yet...
No Labor Sluggers down in WV. They were up in NYC during the same time as the WV Coal Mine Wars. Nicknames down there were Gun Thugs (the mine company guards) and red Necks (the miners and their supporters). I'll have both in my Matewan scenario...
Looking good. I hope to see the scenario played (or get to join in) at a convention later this year... ;D
Mike Demana
Thanks, Mike. My plan is to run the Matewan scenario at Advance the Colors in October.
I just got back from a visit to Matewan. Walked around the area where the gunfight took place - it looks a lot like it did in 1920. Went to the Mine Wars Museum in Matewan, too. The museum's ED and a Board-member were really excited that I plan to run games based on the battle. They even want photos and reports, so they can run (an) article(s) in their quarterly mini-magazine.
I have 16 armed miners/townsfolk to paint, as well as 2 more Baldwin-Felts Detective Agents (the Gun Thugs). And, I have 4 downtown store-front buildings to put together. Once that is done, playtesting with Gene and Ted can commence...
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The museum's ED and a Board-member were really excited that I plan to run games based on the battle. They even want photos and reports, so they can run (an) article(s) in their quarterly mini-magazine.
Great outreach for our hobby, Jim! I'm sure there are those out there who are fertile ground for recruiting into miniatures but don't know about us. And they are very likely the museum-going types (or "fellas," as you'd say... lol). Can't wait to see the game at Advance the Colors, Oct. 13-14, in Springfield, Ohio!!
Mike Demana
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No Labor Sluggers down in WV. They were up in NYC during the same time as the WV Coal Mine Wars. Nicknames down there were Gun Thugs (the mine company guards) and red Necks (the miners and their supporters). I'll have both in my Matewan scenario...
Thank you for the reply, Jim! I will follow the thread with interest!
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Thanks, fellas!
Painting on the rest of the figures for Matewan starts later today...updates to follow as events warrant...
In the meantime, I'm running my "Rob the Mail Truck" gangster scenario twice Saturday at Drums at the Rapids at Fort Meigs in Ohio. AARs will follow, for sure, then back to Matewan prep...
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Looking forward to seeing the miners and gun thugs finished! Always found Matewan an interesting piece of history
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Looking forward to seeing the miners and gun thugs finished! Always found Matewan an interesting piece of history
Thanks!
Painting has begun on my batch of 18 figures I'll be using for Matewan. Pics of the first 9 (2 Baldwin-Felts gun thugs and 7 miners/townsfolk, all with long guns) should appear here next week. The other 9 (miners/townsfolk with shotguns and pistols) should appear not long after that...
Then it's on to a bit of terrain. Got 4 brick 2-story storefronts to build (one will be Chambers Hardware, where it all began, and another the Post office). And I wanna build 2 Railroad crossing signs and source 9 ft. of RR track. of course, pics of that stuff will follow in due time...
I'm aiming for playtests in July and/or August, and actual convention games in October and November...
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Well, I ran my "Rob the Mail Truck" scenario twice yesterday at Drums at the Rapids at Fort Meigs in Ohio. Used Fistful of Lead for both. I had a full game both games, and everyone indicated that enjoyed the scenario and the games. I acted as GM/umpire both games. For a refresher on the scenario, you may refer to page 5 of this thread.
Since previously, the Post Office/Marines have gone 4-0, using 2 different rule sets, I made a few tweaks to the scenario:
A. I made the Mail Truck driver indicate his intended exit point (to me) prior to the game beginning. And I made him adhere to that.
B. In allowed the gangsters to set up hidden ambushes anywhere in the middle third of the board. Combined with Point A above, this made placement of the ambush important.
C. I put a herd of cattle in the field hear the east end of the board, and a dog tied up to a front corner of the cabin near the southwest corner of the board. As appropriate, the animals would activate on the civilians' card.
Unfortunately, the Marines are now 6-0....
Game 1
The gangsters opted against setting up an ambush. They did it the old-fashioned way, buy having a car come on at each of their entry roads. The stated exit point for the Mail truck was the southeast corner road.
The gangster car that came on at that road immediately blew a tire. The gangster in that car (3 of them) got out, despite the fact that car could still drive, just at a slower pace. A civilian car entered at the north road, ahead of the Mail truck, and proceeded to drive toward where the gangster car with the flat tire was. This made the gangsters nervous, fearing that it was a carful or Marines.
Meanwhile, the other 3 gangsters in the other car came on at the southwest corner road, and stopped near the driveway to that cabin. A gangster with a Tommy Gun got our, and entered that cabin's yard, getting the attention of both the farmer and his dog. The dog barked a lot, and the farmer, while defiant at first, ultimately decided that discretion was the better part of valor and went back inside. And down the road came the Mail truck toward that cabin.
Once the gangsters at the other road figured out the civilian car wasn't a threat, they left their car blocking the intersection, and headed down the road on foot toward the cabin with the dog barking.
The gangsters over there puller their car across the road to block the Mail truck, and the gang boss got out, walked over to the farmer's truck to try to pull it over to aid in the road block. It wouldn't start though....
The Mail truck rammed the car blocking the road in front of the cabin, wrecking the car and killing the guy with the shotgun who had been the driver of the car (and was still in side it). The Postal Inspector and the Gang Boss traded shots from the trucks, and the Postal Inspector slumped in his seat dead as a doornail. The Marines un-assed the truck. A general firefight ensued, with the Marines coming out on top. One Marine was killed in the fight though, but all but one gangster went down - and the guys from down that road had made their way into the scrum. The Marines got back in the truck.
The Mail truck driver gunned his engine and headed for his exit point. The last gangster managed to jump up on the truck's driver-side running board just before the Mail truck careened through a fence to get around the gangster's car with the flat tire. Luckily, that section of fence was all rotted away, and the truck managed to get through the fence. And then stalled. But the gangster fell off, likely knocked off by a piece of flying fence. The Marines un-assed the truck again, and promptly filled the poor bastard full of .30-06 and .45 ACP...
And that was that. Another failed Mail truck robbery attempt. All 6 gangsters were down, but they took a Marine and the Postal Inspector with them.
Game 2
This game was a bit more interesting. The gangsters damn near pulled it off.
They set up an ambush on the west road, just south of the intersection with the road that headed east. They parked their car across the road, and a Tommy Gunner and the Gang Boss hid in the woods waiting for the Mail truck. The other car, with the other four gangsters, was waiting down the road the headed east, just around the bend in the road near the cabin at the northeast corner. They would head to the ambush site once they heard gunfire.
The Mail trucks stated exit point was the road at the southwest corner. That just happened to play into the gangster's ambush plans. And to top it all off, the Marines all had gastro-intestinal issues, likely caused by a funky breakfast...
It's too bad the gangsters sprung their ambush a little early. The Mail truck blew a tire and stopped short of the intended kill zone, and the Marines and the Postal Inspector promptly un-assed the truck and set up 360-degree security. This spooked the gangsters, who opened up too early. The Mail truck driver likely panicked, and moved out to try to get away. But his truck stalled. The driver got out to check on his flat tire and was gunned down for his troubles.
The Marines returned fire, including at the gangsters in the second car who had come speeding around the bend headed straight for them. A confused firefight broke out. Men dropped, including Marines. Even the farmer's dog got in on the act. He had slipped his lead, and went charging at the guys who had trespassed near his yard. Too bad for a gangster with a Tommy Gun. Just as that gangster dropped the Mail truck driver, the dog attacked the gangster, killing him after several minutes of frenzied hand-to-paw combat.
While that was going on, the Gang Boss had jumped up into the Mail truck, and was desperately (and unsuccessfully) trying to get it started when the Postal Inspector and Marine shot the snot out of him and dragged him back down out of the truck.
When the gunfire died down some, the Mail truck driver, the Marine Gunny, and a Marine rifleman were dead. But so were 5 of the gangsters. The last gangster ran for it, stole a farmer's truck, and drove the hell away, all the while Marines were firing at him trying unsuccessfully to stop him.
And that fight too was over...
So, like I said, the Marines a 6-0. The gangster got close on this one, though. The gangsters played a Joker to caused the Mail truck to blow a tire, but they did it a turn too soon. The blown tire caused the Marines to dismount and spread out, which caused the gangsters to react to the Marines, instead of vice versa. And I personally thought they should've had both Tommy Gunners in for the actual ambush. And the farmer's dog didn't help matters. That dog had a 50-50 shot at attacking the gangster with the Tommy Gun or the Mail truck driver. He chose the gangster...oh well. But if the Gang Boss had gotten that Mail truck started up right away, he may well have driven off with it...
Boy, if my games even remotely resemble what actually happened, I can see why Mail truck and train robberies stopped completely after Marines began guarding the Mail in both 1921 and 1926.
If I run this scenario again, I will likely either reduce the Marines to 3 Rifleman from 4, or add a gangster or 2...but I still think this is winnable for the gangsters with a properly laid-in and executed ambush.
I've attached a few pics from each game, for your viewing pleasure...
And now, it's back to getting stuff ready for my planned Matewan Battle/Massacre scenario...
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Sound like a fun game. Kudos to the marines!
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Get any converts to the system?
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Great looking games! Sweet collection of cars too.
Boy, if my games even remotely resemble what actually happened, I can see why Mail truck and train robberies stopped completely after Marines began guarding the Mail in both 1921 and 1926..
"I feel that I could have given Al Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate his racket in three districts. I operated on three continents."
— Major-General Smedley Butler, USMC
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Sound like a fun game. Kudos to the marines!
It was fun. And Yeah, the Marines have been kickin' ass and takin' names...
Get any converts to the system?
Maybe. Of the 8 players between the two games, 4 players were new to the rules. They all indicated they enjoyed them...
Great looking games! Sweet collection of cars too.
"I feel that I could have given Al Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate his racket in three districts. I operated on three continents."
— Major-General Smedley Butler, USMC
Thanks, Cat. And good for Gen. Butler...
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And now, back to getting ready for my Matewan scenario. Today, I finished the first of 2 batches of figures, all prepped and primed. I already have a bunch of figures I can use in my collection, but these will provide the rest of what I need to do the scenario - 13 Gun Thugs (including the Felts brothers), 24 Coal Miners/Armed Townsfolk (including Police Chief Hatfield and Mayor Testerman), and 10 or so regular townsfolk (milling around the street and at the train station).
These 9 all have long guns (although a few could also be shotguns - but for Matewan, they'll be rifles). The first 2 pics are a couple Baldwin-Felts Gun Thugs. The next 4 are Coal Miners/Armed Townsfolk. The last one is the whole batch together.
The other 9 ready to go include 4 guys with shotguns (Winchester '97s and double-barrels), and 5 fellas with pistols. Painting on them should begin this weekend...
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Be careful with Smedley. You'll be gaming an alterative version of McArthur breaking up the bonus marchers and the plot to put an unwilling Gen Butler into the White House before you know it. :D
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Nice figs, I need me some more gangsters.
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Be careful with Smedley. You'll be gaming an alterative version of McArthur breaking up the bonus marchers and the plot to put an unwilling Gen Butler into the White House before you know it. :D
A fellow Butler fan!
You sir, are an upstanding fellow of unparalleled taste and sophistication.
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Oh, I like to think I'm on the side of the angels. :)
Long time fan of old Smedley. One of those rare creatures who took the notion of public service seriously.
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That he certainly did.
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Okay you two. Settle down... :D 8)
Back to the business at hand - more figures for my Matewan scenario. These are all gonna be coal miners/armed townsfolk. Some are from the Moonshiner box set from GEG's The Chicago Way. The others are kit-bashed Wargames Atlantic plastic French Partisans.
The first 2 pics are guys with shotguns, while the 2nd 2 pics are the fellers what have pistols. The last 2 pics are this batch all together...
With those, I should have all the figures I need. Now it's on to terrain...
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Nice work!
That box of Partisans is kitbashers' heaven.
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These are great! You could use them for so many things...
Mike Demana
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Nicely done but you can never have enough figures and these are crying out for a place on that table.
https://www.copplestonecastings.co.uk/prod.php?prod=184
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Nice work!
That box of Partisans is kitbashers' heaven.
Thanks, Cat. Yes indeed regarding that kit's kit-bashing potential. I've gone through a whole box so far, with nary a one being a French Partisan. Cowboys? Yep! Prohibition Era and Modern armed civilians? Yep! But no partisans. Maybe some partisans will come from my 2nd box... ;)
These are great! You could use them for so many things...
Mike Demana
Thanks, Mike. And yes - some of these will undoubtedly be used in periods other than the Prohibition Era...
Nicely done but you can never have enough figures and these are crying out for a place on that table.
https://www.copplestonecastings.co.uk/prod.php?prod=184
Thanks, Carlos. And I've seen those figs. They would work perfectly in the scene in the Matewan movie where the hill folk intervene when Hickey and Griggsy are harassing the miners' camp...
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A growing collection of useful wargames figures. Well done.
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Thanks, has.been. Appreciate that.
And here are 2 buildings I'll be using in my Matewan games. As you can see they represent Chambers Hardware and the Post Office, in front of which most of the actual gunfight took place. In fact, you can still see bullet holes in the building that used to be the Post Office (see the first pic below).
They are generic enough, however, that I can use them in any prohibition era game. Or really, just about any US/Canada genre from about 1900 up to today.....
These are 28mm, of course. They are "Americana Shop" kits (pre-painted) from Mad Bob Miniatures' "Folding Terrain" line. I got them from Badger Games here in the States. I did up the signs in MSPaint, and cut-and-pasted them into an MSWord document, and then sized them appropriately. I them printed them off on standard printer paper and glued them to the sign boards included in the kit. I did do a bit of touch-up painting here and there. I also put up venue-appropriate posters on both exterior and interior walls of these buildings (even including Wanted posters for the inside of the Post Office!).
These were a cinch to put together. It took me about 7 hours all told to do both of these buildings, including doing up the signs and posters.
Next up are a couple more similar buildings - "Americana Tenement" kits from Mad Bob Miniatures. I'll work on them next week.
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Those are looking great, Jim!
Mike Demana
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Thanks, Mike. I should have pics of 2 more posted next week, but they'll be a bit more generic...
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Thanks, Mike. I should have pics of 2 more posted next week, but they'll be a bit more generic...
And here they are. These two, also by Mad Bob Miniatures (received from Badger Games here in the States), are generic Americana tenement buildings in his folding terrain line. These (as well as the previous two shop buildings) measure 5" wide x 4" deep x 4.75" tall. Like the other 2, they were easy to assemble. As you can see, I put the side windows on opposite sides of these 2 buildings, as the side wall sections are interchangeable. Looking at the 3rd pic below, maybe I should have used 1920s era vehicles, scatter, and figures...oh well....you still get the idea scale-wise... 8)
As a note, Mad Bob also makes add-on floors, so you can make 3 or more storied buildings if you'd like. I may do that...
I'm waiting on my mat from Cigar Box Battle Mats, and I plan to borrow Ted's train station. Other than that, I think I have everything I need terrain- and figure-wise for my Matewan scenario. Just gotta do up the scenario sheets...
Once I have everything ready, I'll post pics of the terrain, all the Baldwin-Felts agents and Coal Miners/townsfolk, and the scenario information here. That shouldn't be too far down the road. And then playtesting will commence, likely in late July.
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Growing well Capn.
I do like the high fencing over the alley entrance.
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Growing well Capn.
I do like the high fencing over the alley entrance.
Thanks. It's 4Ground, as is the sidewalk. Got quite a bit of both...and they'll be out for the Matewan scenario...
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Great looking street scene. Love your scatter -- especially the parking meters in this shot and the telephone/electric poles in your other games.
Mike Demana
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Thanks, Mike. Appreciate that...model railroad accessories (especially the pre-painted stuff) works great!
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Great looking street scene. Love your scatter -- especially the parking meters in this shot and the telephone/electric poles in your other games.
Mike Demana
Mike's right it's all the detail that changes it from a relatively sterile wargames table to something believable. You do a great job with that in your setups.
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Thanks, Vagabond! I really appreciate that... :)
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Okay. Looks like I've got all the terrain and minis ready for my 1920 WV Mine wars Battle of Matewan scenario. It's all 28mm, from various manufacturers. I've set up the terrain, and below are pics. What it IS NOT is an exact reproduction of the battle site. What it IS is (I believe) a decent setup that represents the battle site and sets the right mood. I will likely add some more scatter terrain (firewood piles, outhouses, more crates/barrels, etc.) when I actually run the games. I still have to do up the scenario sheets for Fistful of Lead (which I hope to do this week sometime, and will post here when I do), but the plan is to do some play-testing later this month and/or in August. Then, I plan to run it a some cons this fall (i.e. Advance the Colors in Springfield, OH and World at war in Fort Meigs in OH, etc.)...
Pics of the figs are in the next post.
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And here are the combatants for the Battle of Matewan. The first 3 are Police Chief Sid Hatfield, Mayor Cabel Testerman, and the armed coal miners and townsfolk. The last 3 are the Baldwin-Felts Detective Agents, led by none other than the Felts Brothers.
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Looking very good Jim!
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Looking great, Jim! Who knows? Maybe the central Ohio crew can drive north for a playtest in August? I know Jenny didn't get to come last time, and Stelzer was talking about wanting to go up and see your gaming clubhouse in person...
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Looking great, Jim! Who knows? Maybe the central Ohio crew can drive north for a playtest in August? I know Jenny didn't get to come last time, and Stelzer was talking about wanting to go up and see your gaming clubhouse in person...
Thanks, Mike. And I meant to ask yous guys about that at Drums. Maybe we can figure something out...
Looking very good Jim!
Thanks, Carlos!
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Okay. Playtest for Matewan is this Friday. 1100 hrs. AAR to follow...
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Mother Jones sends her regards: Give 'em hell boys! :D ;)
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Okay. Playtest for Matewan is this Friday. 1100 hrs. AAR to follow...
Woo-hoo! Sorry we weren't able to come up with a date for the Ohio crew to invade Blissfield and do a playtest. We're still working on a weekend later in August, maybe. Maybe we could do the second playtest?? :D
Mike Demana
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Thanks, fellas. And, Mike - we'll figure something out...
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Like I said, 1st playtest for Matewan is tomorrow (Friday). It'll be Ted, gene, and me. Here are the scenario sheets I plan to use. Subject to tweaking after tomorrow, if needed...
An AAR will follow, so stay tuned!
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That looks like it's going to be a fun game. Love the work you have done on the layout to.
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Thanks, Carlos. And it was fun to play out today.
Gun Battle in Matewan!
6 Dead, 16 Wounded. Felts Brothers in Custody!
...was the above-the-fold banner headline in the papers the next day...
There, that's the teaser.
Gene and Ted played the Coal Miners/Townsfolk. And I played the Baldwin-Felts guys. 10 turns took about 2 hours. And we actually used Fistful of Lead: Bigger Battles, which worked just fine. In our next playtest, which might be if/when mikedemana and Co. come up later this month. I'll act as umpire and play the civilians, while the players will play both the Coal Miners/Townsfolk and the Baldwin-Felts Detective Agents.
We also made a house rule, which I will add to the Scenario Rules Sheet. Since some of the Objectives include arresting somebody, we decided that if a figure/group won a melee, then they can declare the defeated figure "in custody", and that figure would move with the "arresting" figure/unit. Of course, they can try to get away by winning a separate melee in a future turn when their card comes up...
The set-up at the beginning of the game is shown below. Pics 1-3 are Matewan. Pics 4-6 are the starting positions of both sides. And I really do need to make up some backdrops...
Matewan, It Begins will be in the next post. Matewan, the Finale will come after that...
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Looks great!
I showed this thread to one of our regulars, a good lefty who as expected, really wants to play — but Ohio is a long ways away...
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Like the arresting idea - thought it could be a simple die role for a 'difficult task' check. Might go that way.
And glad to hear you are using FFOL:BB. I might have started a modest trend out this way (California) by hosting a game at a recent convention. Seems two games have been 'spawned' from that.
Will read more when I have more time.
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Looks great!
I showed this thread to one of our regulars, a good lefty who as expected, really wants to play — but Ohio is a long ways away...
Thanks! And, actually, I'm in Michigan. But I reckon the same thing about the distance applies...
Like the arresting idea - thought it could be a simple die role for a 'difficult task' check. Might go that way.
And glad to hear you are using FFOL:BB. I might have started a modest trend out this way (California) by hosting a game at a recent convention. Seems two games have been 'spawned' from that.
Will read more when I have more time.
Thanks. Yeah, we love the Fistful of Lead stable of products. They are one of our go-to rule sets...
And now, on with the show...
Matewan: It begins...
Matewan, WV. 19 May 1920, about 4:00 in the afternoon. It was quiet. Too quiet. There was a nervous energy in the air, and the overcast skies didn't help. Chief Hatfleld and Mayor Testerman were standing in front of Chambers Hardware along with 3 armed coal miners. They were waiting for those Baldwin-Felts guys to come down to the train station from the Buskirk Building, where they were having dinner. Chief Hatfield had arrest warrants for the Felts Brothers from a local Justice-of-the-Peace, and he aimed to serve them before they took the train out of town. There were 3 more armed miners at the northeast corner of the train station, and another three up on the roof of the station. Everyone was waiting for the Baldwin-Felts fellas. More armed miners were headed this way, too. There were too many unarmed townsfolk around though....
Something was about to happen, but nobody quite knew what. But they were about to find out, as the Felts Brothers and another 11 Baldwin-Felts Agent came around the corner of the building at the far east end of Railroad street, heading west. Hatfield didn't know it, but the Felts Brothers had a warrant for his arrest, and the 13 of them were headed his way....
As the Baldwin Felts-Agents turned up Railroad Street and headed toward where Hatfield and Testerman were standing, 3 miners moved from the back corner of the railroad station toward a car that was parked at the side of the station. They took aim at the Agents, and pulled the triggers. Nothing. Sh*t, they all thought together, and then chambered rounds into their weapons...but the guys on the roof had already done that, and gunfire rang out from the train station's roof. A Detective Agent dropped by the railroad tracks. What was gonna happen had begun...
The civilians, both those on the sidewalk along Railroad Street and those at the train station waiting for the 5:00 train, just stood there, not sure what to do...but the guys with guns knew what to do. Chief Hatfield moved to intercept the Felts Brothers at the railroad tracks, while the Felts Brothers and 4 Agents moved toward him. Several Baldwin-Felts men returned fire toward the train station roof, and those 3 miners went down. And the 3 miners at the car by the station fired at the Baldwin-Felts men near the tracks, and missed.
Things got confusing now. All the unarmed civilians scurried into their nearest buildings to them, doing their best to get out of the way. Chief Hatfield and the Felts brothers met at the tracks, and a back-and-forth struggle ensued as they each tried to subdue the other. The 4 Agents who had followed the Felts Brothers exchanged fire with the 3 miners near Testerman. The miners lost that exchange, as well, but Testerman came out unscathed. But by now, more miners were coming onto the scene from the direction of the City Hall and Jail, north of the train station.
The Baldwin-Felts men at the tracks had dropped 2 of the miners at the car, but more were coming. The Felts Brothers had gotten away from Chief Hatfield, and Hatfield retreated into the train station. 3 more miners came up the east side of the station to that car, while 3 more the west side. And Mayor Testerman ducked inside a building and made his way to the rooftop....
At this point, things didn't look good for the miners. But then things started to swing in their favor. The miners at the car shot down 2 more Agents at the tracks, and the miners who came up the west side of the station were able to shoot and wound both Felts Brothers. The miners at the west end of the station were able to grab one of the Felts Brothers on the station platform, while the other Felts Brother lay nearby, wounded. And Chief Hatfield was just inside the doorway nearby.
But it wasn't over yet. 4 Agents were crossing the tracks to try to rescue the Felts Brothers, while 3 more were advancing across the tracks toward the miners at the car. Things could still go either way...
Stay tuned for Matewan: The Finale, to be posted soon... 8)
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Very nice. :-*
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Ayyyy! Can't wait for the 2nd part!
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Great to see something different. Good idea on using FFOL BB too, I can see how that would work.
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Caught up on my reading of the play test. Looks good, reads good. Looking forward to the Finale.
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Very nice. :-*
Thanks!
Ayyyy! Can't wait for the 2nd part!
Read on then!
Great to see something different. Good idea on using FFOL BB too, I can see how that would work.
Yeah - FFoL:BB worked quite well. The game moved along nicely.
Caught up on my reading of the play test. Looks good, reads good. Looking forward to the Finale.
Thanks. And as I said, read on...
Matewan: The Finale
Hatfield grabbed the Felts Brother who the miners had "taken into custody", pulled him into and through the train station and out the back door. Good thing for those miners, as 4 Baldwin-Felts guys were crossing the tracks headed straight for them. And the other Felts Brother had regained his senses, and scurried around the west end of the train station to try to rescue his brother.
Meanwhile, over at the east end of the station, the 3 miners there sent the Baldwin-Felts fellas headed for them back across the tracks. 2 of them anyway - the miners put down the 3rd one. Then the miners retreated behind the station. The Baldwin-Felts guys left there followed them, but the 3 miners there waiting for them.
Back at the west end, the miners and Baldwin-Felts guys shot it out. 3 miners became 2, but 4 Baldwin-Felts agent also became 2. The one Felts Brother saw Hatfield hustling his brother toward the Jail, and took a shot. He missed Hatfield, but his shot got too close to his brother - freaked him out a bit. Then, 3 more miners came on from the north, and they ganged up on the Felts Brother Hatfield didn't have. Hatfield and the miners then hustled the Felts Brothers off to the Town Jail. And the driver of the truck at the train station, who had gotten in his truck, sped off to get out of the way.
Back at the station, 3 miners at the eastern rear of the station were holding off 2 Baldwin-Felts guys, while the 2 miners at the west end shot down another Baldwin-Felts guy. The remaining 3 Baldwin-Felts men knew that the Felts Brothers had been nabbed, and could hear the train approaching the train station. They knew the gig was up, and decided discretion was the better part of valor. They turned and ran. And then things got quiet again.
Imagine the scene that was waiting for the townsfolk when they headed back outside after the shooting died down. The same scene awaited the passengers and crew of the incoming train. 22 men laying dead and wounded in Railroad Street, across the tracks, and around the station. Would've been quiet the sight, and only a bit more disconcerting than the real battle aftermath (10 men dead, and a few more wounded). We rolled on the "Out of Action" chart in the core rulebook's campaign section, to see how the 22 men who were shot down fared. Of the 8 Baldwin-Felts men who were shot down, 3 were killed and 5 wounded to varying degrees. Of the 14 miners who went down, 3 were killed and 11 were wounded. A bloody day in Matewan, WV indeed.
We all thought the game went well. Using Fistful of Lead: Bigger Battles, instead of the core Fistful of Lead rules, allowed us to fight small groups of men, instead of individuals. With the mixed bag of weapons used (rifles, shotguns, and pistols), we just used different color d10 if To Hit or Wound rolls had different target numbers and/or modifiers. It worked quite well, and allowed us to move the game along at a good pace. As I mentioned, I will re-do the Scenario Special Rules sheet to include the "Taking into Custody" special rule we used (which worked very well, we thought). Aside from that, we think the scenario might be convention-ready. Although, I do want to run it one more time before I take it to a convention, with me as the GM and playing the civilians, and players playing all the combatants. Just out of curiosity, more then anything.
One thing we discussed as we sat down and talked after the game - if you replaced the brick store front buildings with clapboard buildings, replaced the few vehicles with horses-and-wagons, and replaced the figures with Old West figures, this could easily be an Old West scenario...
Thanks for taking the time to read all this, if you did indeed do that. :)
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Thanks for the entertaining finale.
And just a comment. I have a Prohibition era gangster collection (15 mm Bluemoon including the Streets of Chicago buildings) languishing to be worked on and one thing I've decided on is that the game will run along one street - and maybe an alley behind the buildings - rather than have multiple streets. So, it will be fairly similar to what you setup except no train station. That keeps all of the action easily accessible (unless inside a building maybe). Can even run it on a common 2 1/2' wide table at whatever length needed. Probably be cross streets included for a little variety but still 'one' street of action other than a bit of 'just around the corner' stuff.
So, thanks for the inspiration to move along on that project - eventually. ;)
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Fabulous stuff and a win for the workers! :-* :-*
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Looking good Jim. Glad the game worked out.
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Great ending, loved it.
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Sounds like an action-packed game, Jim! The terrain and figures look magnificent. This is definitely going to be a showpiece at Advance the Colors 2023 this Fall. Folks who are anywhere near the Ohio area, you should come and get in a chance to play in one of Capn Jim's games. I've played in a number of them and they're always fun.
https://www.hmgsgl.org/advance-the-colors
Like a good wine, Jim the GM gets better and better with age retirement! lol
I hope the Ohio crew can come up this month for your second playtest! :-*
Mike Demana
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Too bad it’s the same weekend as Wiley Wargame Weekend or I’d head up to tell him what he’s doing wrong. lol
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@FifteensAway: Glad this little affair inspired you. Eventually... :)
@carlos marighela: Yep. Score one for the coal miners. Given the history of the whole thing, though, I'm not sure how long The Brothers Felts would remain incarcerated...
@FramFranson: Thanks!
@BaronVonJ: It diid indeed work out. Quite nicely. And we didn't do nuthin' wrong... :D
@mikedemana: You're too kind. But thanks nonetheless! Here's hoping youse guys can come up later this month...as mentioned previously, I do want to run another playtest before unleashing it on an unsuspecting gaming public...
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...and its official! Four of us are coming up to Michigan to join Jim, Ted, and their group to do another playtest on Aug. 25-26. I will add in my photos of the game so we can have two reports of it...ha. ha! Looking forward to it :-*
Mike Demana
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Looking forward to it, Mike. Happy to have youse guys up!
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It's official. 2nd playtest of Matewan is set to take place this coming Saturday. Mike Demana and some of his Ohio crew are trekking north to render their able assistance.
And I've registered this Matewan scenario for Advance the Colors in October. Gonna run it twice - Friday evening and Saturday morning...
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Excellent!
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Thank you. The whole thread has been an entertaining read.
One thing we discussed as we sat down and talked after the game - if you replaced the brick store front buildings with clapboard buildings, replaced the few vehicles with horses-and-wagons, and replaced the figures with Old West figures, this could easily be an Old West scenario...
Depending on where you were and exactly when you are playing, there were brick buildings out west Tombstone, Prescott, Jerome and Tucson all had a few. They would not have been be out of place mixed with clapboard buildings. A couple of examples from Tucson
(https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/tucson.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/8/ab/8abf9cc6-4bcd-11e7-92ee-a31dd653a186/593878de9f6c8.image.jpg?resize=1200%2C927)
(https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/tucson.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/8/0d/80d81328-4bcd-11e7-b8a8-8305be5a4da4/593878ce03beb.image.jpg?resize=1200%2C636)
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@BaronVonJ: Thanks, we think so, too!
@snitcythedog: Thanks! And thanks for the pics. Gives me ideas... ;)
And, of course, an AAR will follow Saturday's games. But with the number of players likely to be there (6), I think I'll try it with the Fistful of Lead Core Rules...
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Great looking town and an interesting fight report. Looks like it should be a show stopper. :)
I only read through it once so may have missed it but do the citizens do anything except run away? I wondered if someone might have defended themselves,.
How did the 2 main protagonists have an arrest warrent for each other?
Cheers
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Great looking town and an interesting fight report. Looks like it should be a show stopper. :)
I only read through it once so may have missed it but do the citizens do anything except run away? I wondered if someone might have defended themselves,.
How did the 2 main protagonists have an arrest warrent for each other?
Cheers
Thanks! Once the shooting starts in earnest, the civilians usually try to get into the buildings and out of the way. But it takes a turn or 2 for them to see (and hear) what's going on before they do so. In certain circumstances (like when a Baldwin-Felts "Gun Thug" enters a room they are in, for example), I roll randomly to see if the actively interfere. They've (wisely) not chosen to do so yet... 8)
As for the warrants, Sid Hatfield's warrants for the Felts brothers were signed by a local Justice of the Peace. The Felts brothers' warrant for Mr. Hatfield was signed by a judge from a different county. There were (and still are) some questions about the legitimacy of any of those warrants...
And now for the report on Playtest #2 yesterday (Saturday the 26th)! We had 6 players, so we used the Fistful of Lead Core Rules (which worked out just fine!). Some of the Ohio crew came up to play, as did my regular gaming group. Mike S, his son Jason, and Jenny T (LAFs own mikedemana's SO) played Chief Hatfield, Mayor Testerman, and the Coal Miners. Here is their info sheet:
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/59/16550-270823183335.jpeg)
Ted, Gene, and Mike D played the Baldwin-Felts fellas. Here is their info sheet:
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/59/16550-270823183312.jpeg)
I acted as GM and Umpire. I also ran the afore-mentioned civilians. Here are the Scenario Special Rules, which covers the civilians (as well as "arresting" a figure):
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/59/16550-270823183247.jpeg)
Just as a reminder, here are a few shots of the scene of the crime. First up is a view looking west down Railroad Street:
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/59/16550-270823183118.jpeg)
Next is a view looking east down that street:
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/59/16550-270823183056.jpeg)
These next 2 are looking south toward the storefronts along Railroad Street from the area around the train station.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/59/16550-270823183011.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/59/16550-270823182954.jpeg)
The Battle Report
The coal miners set up first. Chief Hatfield and Mayor Testerman milled around in front of Chambers Hardware, while another 9 armed coal miners and townsfolk set up on various rooftops, in upper floor windows, out on the sidewalk along Railroad Street, and near the train station. They were all waiting for those Baldwin-Felts Agents to come around the east end of Railroad Street. Everyone in town knew that they were up at the Buskirk Building having dinner, but that they would be heading down to the train station to catch the 5:00pm train to Bluefield any minute now. About 4:00pm, the 11 Baldwin-Felts detective Agents, led by Lee and Albert Felts (there were 13 of them altogether) came walking around the corner at the east end of Railroad Street. They saw Hatfield and Testerman down the street, and began heading down Railroad Street toward them.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/59/16550-270823182935.jpeg)
A few miners, who were on the sidewalk not far from Hatfield and Testerman started moving toward the agents.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/59/16550-270823182913.jpeg)
That's when it all started. Shots rang out from the rooftops and upper floor windows, and an agent went down on the sidewalk in from of the tire store. It looked like the miners weren't about to let any of those agents near Chief Hatfield, if they could help it. The detective agents started to spread out...the innocent bystanders along Railroad Street and at the train station stood there in stunned disbelief...
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/59/16550-270823182856.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/59/16550-270823182839.jpeg)
Some of the agents moved along the storefronts, trying to stay in what cover the could find, while other moved across the track toward the station. A miner on the upper floor of the train station dropped another agent with his trusty Winchester lever gun. But it wouldn't go all the miners' way. An agent moved up to the northeast corner of the train station, and put a load of buckshot into a miner there, dropping him. And by now, with some if the gunfire getting way too close for comfort, the civilians had all ducked into their nearest buildings, trying to get out of the line of fire.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/59/16550-270823182814.jpeg)
But the miners had the advantage of position. There were some with rifles on the roofs overlooking the street.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/59/16550-270823182758.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/59/16550-270823182727.jpeg)
They kept up their fire on the agents. A couple more agents went down out the street. But several agents worked their way around back of the train station...
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/59/16550-270823182713.jpeg)
Meanwhile, Chief Hatfield had made his way over to the train station, followed by a miner. And Mayor Testerman ducked into Chambers Hardware, and went up to the upper floor to shout encouragement from a front window.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/59/16550-270823182657.jpeg)
Miners moved to contest the rear of the train station. More miners were coming on the scene, having been alerted by the sounds of gunfire.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/59/16550-270823182632.jpeg])
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/59/16550-270823182609.jpeg)
Things took a turn for the worse for the miners at this point. While several agents were down along Railroad Street, one shot and wounded Chief Hatfield, and dropped a miner, on the platform of the train station.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/59/16550-270823182550.jpeg)
Albert Felts saw his opportunity. He rushed to Chief Hatfield and took him into custody...
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/59/16550-270823182532.jpeg)
...dragged Hatfield into the train station, where another agent was waiting. The bystanders who had gathered in that room considered intervening, thought better of it, and retreated into the next room. Out of the way...but the miner with the lever gun upstairs heard the ruckus, and came charging downstairs. Only to be shot and wounded for his trouble.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/59/16550-270823182516.jpeg)
Outside, more miners came on scene, and were getting the upper hand out there.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/59/16550-270823182459.jpeg)
Inside the station, Chief Hatfield fought for his life. He was able to wound another agent, but Albert regained control of Hatfield...the civilians cowered in the next room...
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/59/16550-270823182443.jpeg)
Out on Railroad Street, A woman came up the tracks from the east, and unceremoniously gunned down Lee Felts with her rifle. And some miners had a couple agents cornered in the tobacco store and the tire shop. Those agents didn't last long...
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/59/16550-270823182426.jpeg)
Those miners then headed across the tracks to help Chief Hatfield. They were indeed able to shoot down Albert Felts and rescue a very injured Chief Hatfield.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/59/16550-270823182401.jpeg)
The Baldwin-Felts Detective Agency was running out of men in fighting condition in Matewan. The last one standing was taking cover behind the automobile at the east end of the train station, but was about to be surrounded by miners. He threw down his gun and threw up his hands in surrender.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/59/16550-270823182308.jpeg)
Epilogue
And it was over. When the shooting stopped, 11 of the 13 Baldwin-Felts Detective Agents were down, including both Felts Brothers. A 12th had already fled the scene, and the 13th had surrendered. But 6 coal miners were down (a 7th - the woman - bugged out after shooting Felts), and Sid Hatfield was badly wounded. The miners had won, but at a cost...
After discussing the fight, I think the only other tweak I plan to make to the scenario will be to randomize where the coal miner reinforcements show up. This will (possibly) prevent the miners from always showing up at the most convenient places...but other than that, I think the scenario is ready to go...
And mikedemana told me he plans to post his version of events, as well... :D
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Yahoo! Another brilliant report! (and another win for the workers lol )
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(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiji7JOJkt6Jg5HAcjcx2t9ITPfZ-cJCakY9LmCuvgzecj0XZ7r7u_G6SUQYqEMvthNOMoFRyrpwnX0HSTwloVHcWRcvgIox4lm-4xk44npdenV-Ys3Mv_fqTGPl5XyxAGAO8cTBJ-9T_yCQh6AF-gWQnPL0rLUwFcyWjY94ltBGD6cfG9YSqVReKkYfg/w640-h344/Matewan_TrainStation.jpg)
Miners and passengers with tickets for the 5pm train out of Matewan, WV, wait for action to unfold
FROM THE TESTIMONY OF LEE FELTS (BALDWIN-FELTS DETECTIVE AGENCY):
"Alright, I'm goin' to give it to ya straight, boys. Mom always said my big brother Albert wasn't born with the brains needed to find his way down a one-way street. I promised her I'd try to keep him safe, the big lug, but there was only so much I could do down in Matewan on that cursed day in May!"
(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKrA88ehlw4VvaMQ0a4DiuZEHgzzGX5tWuQWwheMsmP0zXjLoL41HsLnjhSPHmbv2g0cVpXM0VKly2Up2v7W6N5Gag8F687m5r1jQs0AzLnEKv47KcUsZZ8A_WsISEtc0g3_Qrh-WgRBnmwPbkUrCXMdDousE2d9rhJZUUriyG-SlXxovxrmG5jbJz0sM/w640-h318/Matewan_MInersMovingUp.jpg)
Locals eye the armed miners warily, wondering if gunfire is about to break out in their WV town
"Albert insisted we take da dumbest contract you could imagine. Go down to this town full of redneck miners with a dozen guys and basically arrest da whole place! Always pushing his belly forward like for seconds of pasta, Albert soon enough got the whole town riled up, arresting folks right and left. It'd be one ting if we had the law on our side down there. But no! Albert just nods his head and says "Yes, boss" when we'z were told to arrest the police chief and freaking mayor of the town!"
(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9qqAcVGExB2xbE7HTdHKFEXbV90z4r6lsva-Wn_-PfNh-CLPdTmIKed1acO8FbKRG17NQ6BsEV-c75qz0FUcA6iZdSMZA7Yfh6TScblbEOYGOfi_0yIx1_kNeGAJLHDzc4sbmfarOa-_1btRnsDlxLIDN0pmJMN8O13NMkiEm0W6NPaYVv00tOtnOeaM/w640-h326/Matewan_MinersTakingStreets.jpg)
Capn Jim's Matewan tabletop is very eye-catching, and has been modeled to look like the town he visited
"So, after filling our bellies with pasta after a hard day's work arresting rednecks, we were heading to the train station to take the 5:00 out of this Hellhole. We rounds da corner, and what do we see, but half of the town of Matewan toting shotguns, pistols, and rifles just a-waiting for us. The dozen or so of us froze in our tracks. I heard a few of da boys say 'Holy Mudder of Christ' or sumptin' like that. That's when Albert spots Sid Hatfield, the police chief, at the other end of the street and yells, 'Get 'em, boys -- there he is!' I shook my head. Holy Mudder of Christ!'
(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcxSE9TljMVjqixcO9KtrIBeV3vgedPDchz5TsLwrm81y-uuIoMwMoiF_fegjKTflTzOfDWLiMAg4ZRvcQObOVHEdtKiBVKkuqmYbeq1QfIQI2R0ByAYQmoiXU8OgGX9T9-sQ7CLXifTO8lRkoSkRPFgW4LQO_mMO1v-ySBfQv_-_kb2MSNVO1qZnpw3w/w640-h308/Matewan_Baldwin-FeltsDeploy.jpg)
Baldwin-Felts Detective thugs round the corner on Railroad Street to see armed miners gathering
"I had a feeling this was going to end up bad, so grabbed Quick Fingers Larry and sent him running across the tracks for cover at a parked car. I slapped Seamus and sent him following Larry with his shotgun. I grabbed Steely-Eyed Dan and told him to cover us with his rifle until we were across the tracks, then join us. We were going to make an end run. Let Albert go up the middle and see what happens. Momma always said I was the clever one, the seventh son of a seventh son and all..."
(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVU1v7pqmKO4U9obcA6YmE1uh2VB41I-vdpsylu_E5JtjLYHhP3ku8np83FA0N_U5Zcgr4YHnizBlWh6ig6mqZRbQw_nNY0HJ2heUqjvpoArLPdIiRPks-jowcTbb-jp0rVyZsyDNwyX3cLq7WmoGksjE4JGgo6TTBt4E4qRVRaXc7jNYerh5klhlrh74/w640-h424/Matewan_DashToCar.jpg)
Quick Fingers Larry takes cover by the car, waiting for Lee and the rest of the boys to catch up
"For a few moments, it was like things in da Big War. Covered by Larry, Seamus runs up to the miner who'd retreated from the car to the corner of the building. With one shot from his 12-gauge, he sends him down to the great coal mine in Hell. Steely-Eyed Dan reminds us how he got his nickname and guns down another redneck on the platform. We begin to move around the back of the train station like we were clearing da Kaiser's trenches. Let me tell ya, boys, it was sumptin' beautiful to behold..."
(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL7TrBrbPPshR0KJQLgcd24maLHn5Yau0SsAlKtjeELSMi7hNJaskTCqmXfUFlLFiIWKvWtfvkZMu2QgJZZd6ZDi6_DlzkLmyljCwqbOIkZ3ikOCbifPosHfixUIli_qChacUtNO87oXrUv5zSqAo3rDwXenEdC0R_7psH8j0i9m0uNZJZ_W49hQ1mTRs/w640-h368/Matewan_MinerRetreatByStation.jpg)
A coal miner not long for this world takes cover at the corner of the train station
"We had them West Virginey boys on the run for a few minutes, I tell ya! However, I could see on all sides that more and more of the townsfolk were comin' to join the fight. Like I said, I had a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach...like it just knew some lead was coming its way with my name on it!"
(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUMiysdtizUn2_NK79YAkC4ffLjHqzBdGVyP3a7tjkBxQ0RyU9JVeQfQ1pjfA5sAECFjwIUu7YLDRAeCGSfu8zHP6i77aK6ZgpIQsU74yHoIQEdjitl78Swr5u8Z0hzvgep9acK91hTlcfmIWcuX_yvo2OLfRVbjMh4nZXmeZ38TOcu6HUxVIH7ZKvD2c/w640-h452/Matewan_ShotgunBlastMiner.jpg)
Boom! Seamus blows away the coal miner blocking our path to the back of the train station
"Suddenly I hear a bunch of folks shouting out front of the train station and figured something big had just happened. I motioned Seamus to dash through the station and find out. Now, I didn't see this, but Seamus himself told me this after he got out of the hospital. He ducked out the door and there was Sid Hatfield with a bullet wound in his side just staring back up at him, his mouth making a big O. Seamus whacks him so hard with the butt of his 12-gauge that it went flying out into the street. The big Irishman tosses the chief over his shoulder and drags him back into the station."
(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinHjEjrIB6T4E2sVympv0gGHutn7UWvFthshAQF8kLD4Z72q6YtqWs7mwwz70DXR2qdJw2aF2DxUYZND_o1r-g-ulH1U7Q4kum9IVg-kTnoYM8JXtXGWUxIhqW10eQxw-h0eJEYCwSygY0i9NYfA-sQv1OK4LNhJfBkgyF5qZKouS3t3T1n1oizqUawNk/w600-h640/Matewan_CapturingSidHatfield.jpg)
Seamus defeats Police Chief Sid Hatfield in melee and then drags him back into the station
"I started hollering for all our guys to gather round and defend the station. It was like Davey Crockey in da Alamo or sumptin'! Except Albert, bless his pasta-eating soul, had stirred up da whole damn town. We had no chance. Zero. Zilch. Nada. One by one, my boys began to take lead in da belly and fall."
(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnIGPZA3N8TJ7UEFuUYlPkMTIEW8mjJhRJMYLS4v1WYtDBBjTqiNj-gXR1uxqlJX3skzkBZCJuWHyBxCDpXAhynlPxYojLDU6VAje8BtjUkSG5bakfpFqpv9FLTZaMM56cGGSMDP7VePsorjkZbN6n7fKJXmMVCkMcCVff-6y4PVAs0hZhHvO12GgzLQE/w640-h562/Matewan_MinersTurnTide.jpg)
Another of Lee's boys falls to the gathering hordes of miners
"Quick Fingers Larry, Seamus, pretty soon everyone wear a suit and fedora of Baldwin-Felts was catching bullets and falling down. When two miners burst through the door while I was reloading my pistol, I knew the end was near. I saw a couple big flashes and felt a stab in my guy worse than the indigestion from the time Albert tried to cook dinner. Tings went black and I woke up in da Hospital. Tell you what - I was surprised I ever woke up. Honestly. The way Albert stirred up the town, I'm surprised I wasn't swinging from a lightpole that evening!"
(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2qstzojTwEVBSJ5AiJFzLxk5J_JAWSBqYgQLl0y0-hnSOl_ofpGlo9TQvMI033ZvtkN8nXACepsrEjvAP6uaO5eUaexyAAjVtsiH-gosepTX71pCZeTw18F1P61c6M96Fglexn5Jikcp_rkrbBfL8Pr1-sya32d4sXML_DLIxJmqvlyZnkqKfNf4qsJM/w640-h582/Matewan_LeesLastStand.jpg)
Lee Felts makes his last stand beside Seamus and the squirming, bleeding lump of hte police chief
"Oh, one udder ting! Steely-eyed Dan was a true soldier of da Great War. He held off so many of dem rednecks! They were coming from all sides and he kept firing. It was only when he ran out of ammo that he dropped his rifle and held up his hands. I sure hope wherever he is, Steely-Eyed Dan knows how much Lee Felts appreciates him. With a few more like him, maybe we might have won at the Massacree at Matewan. Probably not, but hey, a guy can dream, right? Okay, boys, now do wit me what you think I deserve. That's all Lee Felts has gots to say..."
(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcpZxk1M4EnalcZT5kr6EK4VJww-ZlIKZiyOTiW-pgul5dqqHnqOdZLwypsif79ewzAXacprVQNjLjIrJGVolhkiOlLvH1D7_Vgkn-nn2hTe6IO975Dlu9EZ-_SxGcFnuQkIs-obZQAYvVHdTaaTdGcAHl33E8naE4wkBvUXeCypnIxDC0XY5LGGmpcos/w632-h640/Matewan_RiflemenGuardingFlank.jpg)
Steely-eyed Dan expertly holds off many times his number of miners before finally surrendering to overwhelming numbers of coal miners and townsfolk
Mike Demana
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Ooh, lots of great pictures!
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@FramFramson: Thanks! and yeah, the miners are 2-0. This is tough nut for the Baldwin-Felts boys to pull off...
@mikedemana: Thanks for your report, Mike. Well done! And thanks for coming up again this year. Maybe it should be an annual event!
@Cat: Thanks. And yep. Between mine and Mike's reports, there's plenty of eye candy...
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Well, I'm all set to run this scenario twice next weekend at HMGS-Great Lakes' annual convention - Advance the Colors in Springfield, OH, USA. So far, the Coal Miners are 2-0. We'll see how they fare this time. Of course, I will post AARs afterwards...
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Amazing looking game! The figures, vehicles and buildings are fantastic!
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Amazing looking game! The figures, vehicles and buildings are fantastic!
Thanks!
I'm looking forward to seeing how things go with it this weekend....
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Here's a figure query, if they're out there you're likely to have come across them for Matewan or Old West — any good assortment of civilians in overalls/dungarees available anywhere? (preferably 25–28mm, maybe 30mm in a pinch, 32+ is right out)
My keyword searches and scouring of likely manufacturers websites has only turned up some cartoon hillbillies/rednecks that are quite unsuitable for anything else.
This has been a staple of working class garb for over 150 years now since Levi Strauss perfected denim manufacture during the Gold Rush!
Currently looks like my best option for modelling the Punks gang from The Warriors is conversion — carving down the tops of plastic Partisans and Gunfighters would be the path of least resistance. (Some of Ainsty's Hooligans could work with their tops puttied a bit, but I've already used those figures for the High Hats in their suspenders.)
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I'm not aware of any. If you find some, let us know. And if I do, I'll post it here...
...carving down the tops of plastic Partisans and Gunfighters would be the path of least resistance...
And did you use the word "resistance" in regards to Partisans on purpose? :D
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And did you use the word "resistance" in regards to Partisans on purpose? :D
Umm, a bit, yes.
: 3
I just spent tea time going through the stash of extra figures from Warriors shopping and did manage to pull out a mix of lead figures from Ainsty, Killer B, and Mega that are suitably armed and will carve easily enough into overalls. Will do one plastic conversion for the Punk in the red shirt who is head and shoulders taller than all the others.
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I do have 2 figures clad in overalls. One is from the Warlord Bolt Action British LDV Section (see circled figure in pic below). He came without a right hand, and a sprue of various firearms/improvised weapons to glue into the wrist socket. I chose an M1897 Winchester pump shotgun from a Warlord plastic GIs sprue.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/60/16550-111023215658.jpeg)
The other one is from Great Escape Games The Chicago Way range - their Moonshiners pack (see circled figure below). He comes with a big revolver molded in his right hand.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/60/16550-111023215723.jpeg)
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Yeah, there's a few scattered out there, but not easy to amass 9 or 12. Twould be nice if there was a pack of them considering that they are handy for several centuries of use and beyond...
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There's another in the Copplestone Hillbillies set. For full body overalls/coveralls have a look at the Eureka Soviet Workers Militia. As an added bonus the Remington and Winchester US contract Moisin Nagants were apparently reasonably popular guns sold to the NRA for $3.50 a piece, so you can get away with the rifles 'as is' if you like.
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Well, we did get one of my 2 scheduled games of Matewan off last weekend at Advance the Colors. I plan to post the AAR here within the next couple days (it's been a busy week...).
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As I mentioned, I got in one of my Matewan games at Advance the Colors last weekend (14 Oct). I had 4 players - 2 coal miner players, and 2 Baldwin-Felts players.
As a reminder, here's a shot of the scene of the action, looking east down the railroad street...
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/60/16550-221023203911.jpeg)
Police Chief Sid Hatfield and Mayor Testerman started out in front of Chambers Hardware. The other coal miners started out spread out, along the street, in some buildings, and on the rooftops. The Baldwin-Felts men started out at the east end of the railroad street. Albert Felts took several men west along the sidewalks in front of the storefronts, while Lee Felts took the rest toward the train station. They saw 3 miners behind a car parked by the station, and immediately opened fire on them.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/60/16550-221023203856.jpeg)
Albert Felts and his men stole a car parked in the street, and began to back up west along that street. And they traded shots with coal miners in and up on the buildings.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/60/16550-221023203839.jpeg)
Meanwhile, civilians stood stunned for a while, including some railroad workers who watched Mayor Testerman run past them around to the back of the train station.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/60/16550-221023203820.jpeg)
While Albert Felts and his men were shooting it out from the car in the streets, Lee Felts and his men shot down some miners behind a car at the train station, and went looking for more.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/60/16550-221023203759.jpeg)
The civilians finally all scattered, heading indoors. Those railroad workers fled in their truck.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/60/16550-221023203742.jpeg)
Lee Felts and his Baldwin-Felts boys cornered Mayor Testerman behind the station, put a couple slugs into him, and took him into their custody.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/60/16550-221023203724.jpeg)
More gunfire rang out and more miners and Baldwin-Felts men went down. Some miners grabbed Albert Felts, roughing him up some...
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/60/16550-221023203704.jpeg)
Chief Hatfield came over to help hustle Albert Felts away, while more coal miners help shoot down Baldwin-Felts men in the street.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/60/16550-221023203650.jpeg)
It was chaotic. Coal miners and Baldwin-Felts men alike had been shot down. Coal miners had grabbed Albert Felts, while Baldwin-Felts men had grabbed Mayor Testerman. Men yelled to exchange them, but nobody budged.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/60/16550-221023203635.jpeg)
Then, more tragedy almost struck. The coal miner on the rooftops fired at some men on the platform at the train station, not realizing they were more coal miners. Luckily for them, he missed.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/60/16550-221023203620.jpeg)
But, it seemed like things were coming to a head. Some miners had a few Baldwin-Felts men trapped in the train station...
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/60/16550-221023203602.jpeg)
...while other miners hauled Albert Felts off to the town jail...
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/60/16550-221023203547.jpeg)
...and even more charged in and rescue Mayor Testerman.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/60/16550-221023203531.jpeg)
Then, the shooting stopped. 8 Baldwin-Felts men and 8 coal miners lay shot down in the street and around the train station, and Mayor Testerman was badly hurt. And Albert Felts was lodged in the town jail. Lee Felts and the other 3 Baldwin-Felts men scattered. What a sight awaited the passengers and crew on the 5:00 train as it pulled into the station...
Well, the coal miners are now 3-0, but the Baldwin-Felts men came close this time. Everyone said the had fun, and one player told me he had kinfolk from Matewan...
I plan to run it again at the World at War event November 4 at Fort Meigs, near Perrysburg, OH, USA. We'll see how things go in that gunfight!
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Super AAR!
Wow, if the workers keep winning at this rate in your alternative USA you'll end up with all that commie nonsense like free healthcare, decent annual leave and workers rights. lol
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Wow, if the workers keep winning at this rate in your alternative USA you'll end up with all that commie nonsense like free healthcare, decent annual leave and workers rights. lol
:D :D :D
Mike Demana
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Super AAR!
Wow, if the workers keep winning at this rate in your alternative USA you'll end up with all that commie nonsense like free healthcare, decent annual leave and workers rights. lol
Thanks, Carlos. And 2 out of 3 ain't bad - nothin's free, ya know.... :o
And I'm gonna run Matewan one more time this weekend (Saturday, in the morning) at World at War at Fort Meigs in Perrysburg, OH, USA. We'll see of the miners can go 4-0...
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Go Union, Beat Bosses!
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We'll see. the scenario is a bit stacked against the Gun Thugs, but they can win if they play it smart......
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the scenario is a bit stacked against the Gun Thugs, but they can win if they play it smart......
Maybe a re-tooling of objectives? Instead of having the thugs looking to kidnap the sheriff, how about them "calling it a victory and trying to get out of town alive"? Keep the aggressive objectives for the townsfolk, but let the thugs go to ground and have the train show up ontable on a certain turn. Then you have the climactic attempt to jump aboard and survive till the train pulls out of station?
It could use a lot more of your cool terrain as the thugs use their ingenuity to hole up and survive, then sprint for the platform when the train pulls in. Plus, you could get a train on the table, and how freaking cool would that be...?
Mike Demana
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Good ideas Mike. I'll ponder them, but I think I'll retire the scenario for now. I have my grubby little mitts into too many periods to stay in any one for too long... :D
BUT, we did get that game in this past Saturday morning at World at War at Fort Meigs (Perrysburg, OH, USA). I had all 4 player slots filled - 2 coal miners and 2 Baldwin-Felts men. It started well enough for the Baldwin-Felts boys.
As a reminder, here's the scene of the crime...
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/60/16550-081123213402.jpeg)
The Baldwin-Felts men deployed at the east end of the railroad street, as usual. Of course, Chief Hatfield and Mayor Testerman started out in front of Chambers Hardware. 6 coal miners were set up inside the train station, and another 3 in the big gray building on the railroad street. 3 more were out on the sidewalk, keeping Hatfield and Testerman company. Several unarmed townsfolk were scattered about...here's Hatfield, Testerman, and the 3 miners with them (not to mention a few innocent bystanders)...
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/60/16550-081123213346.jpeg)
Lee Felts took most of the Baldwin-Felts men and headed straight for the train station. They came under very ineffectual fire from the upper floors of said station. Their return fire had more effect...
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/60/16550-081123213331.jpeg)
Albert Felts took 3 men and headed behind the storefronts along the railroad street...
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/60/16550-081123213313.jpeg)
The civilians stood motionless for a bit - not sure where the gunshots were coming from or what to do. The 3 miners along the railroad street headed toward the train station...
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/60/16550-081123213300.jpeg)
The Baldwin-Felts Gun Thugs lived up to their nickname, and gunned down coal miners at the tracks...
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/60/16550-081123213242.jpeg)
Some of the Gun Thugs headed around back of the station. Chief Hatfield moved to cut them off...
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/60/16550-081123213225.jpeg)
Too bad for Chief Hatfield. The Gun Thugs cut him off, and bundled him into the confines of the train station. Chief Hatfield may have been roughed up a bit as they did so. And by now, the civilians had scattered into the safety of their nearest buildings. The 3 railroad workers jumped into their truck and drove off. The folks inside the train station huddled together in the cargo room...
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/60/16550-081123213210.jpeg)
By now, the Baldwin-Felts men had shot down several coal miners, while only losing 2 of their own. But, some of the wounded coal miners got back in the fight, encouraged by Mayor Testerman. A few headed toward the Tobacco Shop, where Albert Felts and 3 Gun Thugs had come in from the back door. A vicious short-range gunfight ensued - all 4 Baldwin-Felts men in the Tobacco Shop were shot down, but at the expense of 4 coal miners.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/60/16550-081123213156.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/60/16550-081123213140.jpeg)
By now, the ranks of the Baldwin-Felts men were growing thin, and they holed up in the waiting room in the train station. Coal miners converged on the station...
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/60/16550-081123213126.jpeg)
The end came with some suspense. 3 Gun Thugs had a badly shaken Chief Hatfield under guard in the train station. The 3 remaining coal miners upstairs in the station came down, and frenzily (is that a word?) fired into the group of men around Chief Hatfield. Luckily, they were able to gun down all 3 Baldwin-Felts men. Unluckily, they also managed to wound Chief Hatfield in the process.
But, the gunfight was over. All 13 Baldwin-Felts men lay dead or wounded, along with several coal miners. Oh, the sight that awaited the passengers and crew on the 5:00 train when it rolled into the station...
Things started out quite well for the Baldwin-Felts boys. The game went 8 turns - and by the end of turn 4, the Baldwin-Felts men had given quite a bit better then they had got. And, they had Chief Hatfield in custody. Then, things went south for them. 2 turns of wounded coal miners getting back into the fight, as well as more miners coming in sounded the death knell for the Gun Thugs. Early on, I thought the Gun Thigs might pull one off, but they ended up losing the worst of the 4 games we've played using this scenario! :o
However, all 4 players said they enjoyed the game, and that's what's important...