Dead Man's Hand Redux The Law v Outlaws

Having tried What a Cowboy and feeling that it was not especially interesting I snapped up a set of the second edition of Dead Man's Hand at Salute.

On reading through it not much seems to have changed other than new rules for mounted figures, stampedes and stagecoaches etc. This is probably good as the original rules didn't seem to have any great flaws in them. 

The first run through saw my Lawmen take on Dave's outlaws in a small town somewhere in Arizona.

The Law close in on the Outlaws who are heading for the Bank:

Bullets quickly start flying:

The view from above:

The Law resolutely advancer on the miscreants:

Both sides blast away with little effect!

Disaster strikes for the Law as the Sheriff, Marshall, Deputy and the Preacher are all cut down. It's a bad day for the Law:

Great fun and reminded me of why I used to play DMH a lot. The gangs are different to each other and the scenarios and campaign really bring it alive.

As Dave hadn't played before we kept it fairly simple with limited weapons and a simple scenario, perhaps in the future we will start off a campaign.

Dead Man's Hand Scatter Terrain

When I first started playing DMH I intended to furnish the interiors of all the buildings. However, practically I'd not realised just how much stuff you would need for even a single building. 

Having bought a few things before realising the hopelessness of furnishing everything the project was quietly dropped and the buildings remain on the whole unfurnished. 

As a result I had some dusty, undercoated bits and pieces in my "unpainted and unlikely to be painted" box which I dug out and decided to finish.

The cause of many a showdown in cowboy movies, the card table:

These are Dixon's figures and make a nice group:

Next another mainstay of the cowboy movie saloon, the piano player and singer, again from Dixon:

A printing press, typesetting table and desk for the local newspaper from Great Escape Games:

The undertaker's workshop, again from Great Escape:

Finally Boot Hill where many a poor cowboy has ended his days. The gravedigger bears a remarkable resemblance to Lee Marvin from 'Paint My Wagon"!:

I'll probably glue most of these into the appropriate buildings. Great Escape Games do a lot more sets of nice resin interiors now so I might invest in a few more perhaps.

DMH The Law and The Hole In The Wall Gang

Having enjoyed my solo game I thought I'd add two more gangs for Dead Man's Hand, firstly "The Law" featuring the Earp brothers:

supported by the Sheriff and a couple of Deputies:

These are all Artizan figures. I was intending to paint them all with a black theme but decided to do the Sheriff differently. I might repaint the coat on the Deputy with the shotgun to give them a bit more variety, he looks more like an undertaker than a lawman as it is!

When I ordered the figures for the Lawmen I noticed that Pulp Figures also did some Wild West figures so I added a pack of 'Vaqueros Americano's" to the order. These turned out to be really nice figures, full of action and reminding me in some ways of the old Timpo toy soldiers I had as a kid. They will form the nucleus of an Outlaw gang:

I had a couple of unpainted Artizan figures left over from last time I bought some so I added them into the gang (the last two figures on the right):

One thing I didn't notice until after I'd placed the order was that Pulp Figures also did some Mounties in a range called "Yukon Peril"! If I had noticed I would undoubtedly have ordered some and with lock-down looking to extend for a while I suspect that sooner rather than later I'll be adding some of them to my collection.......

DMH Mr Favour's Drovers v Colonel Magruders Desperado's "Showdown"

The final act in the trilogy was the "Showdown" between the two sides. Both lined up across Main Street, who would act first?

The Stage Coach won't be departing until after the fight:

The Desperado's move first with Magruder, McGinty and Loco all rushing forward. They will be harder to hit as they are moving and will get the first shot off but will be vulnerable to return fire:

Pete Nolan advances and cuts down Loco! First blood to the Drovers:

A well aimed shot from Preacherman takes out Nolan in return:

The mad Irishman McGuinty rushes forward and blasts Billy Simpson with his shotgun. Simpson goes down again:

The Desperado's fire is effective putting hits on Yates,Wishbone and Mr Favour:

McGinty reloads and fires both barrels at Rowdy Yates. The cowboy falls, three cowboys are now down to only a single Desperado:

Charlie Jones, firing from the hotel balcony, takes out the Irishman but the damage has been done:

Another cowhand is cut down, Jim Quince by Colonel Magruder himself:

Fire from the Tucson Kid, Preacherman and finally Francesco takes out Mr Favour:

Only Jones, Wishbone and Joe Scarlet are still standing for the Drovers. They gather their wounded and flee the town leaving it to the Desperado's:

The initial rush paid off for the Desperado's giving them the first shot and making them harder to hit than the Drovers as they were moving, Again the shotgun proved a most effective weapon with it's ability to take a man down with a single shot.

After the fight it emerged that for the Desperado's Paddy McGinty would in future be residing in Boot Hill while for the Drovers Rowdy Yates and Billy Simpson would miss the next scene the gang took part in. As a result Mr Favour recruited a new man, Johnny Cash, to the gang. The Desperado's preferred to improve their abilities rather than recruit a replacement for Paddy.

DMH is a fun rule set and the gang members quickly begin to develop a character all of their own which is essential for a skirmish game I think. Inspired by getting them on the table again I've ordered some Lawmen and will probably continue the refurbishment programme on the figures I already have.

DMH Mr Favour's Drovers v Colonel Magruders Desperado's "Heist"

Act II saw the Deperados attempting to rob the First National Bank. Both gangs had all their members available.

Colonel Magruder and the Tucson Kid cover the streets while the rest of the gang rob the bank:

Jose lurks on a rooftop covering the bank itself:

Mr Favour, Joe Scarlet, Jim Quince and Charlie Jones are at the southern end of the town:

Rowdy Yates and Wishbone cover the north:

Pete Nolan and Billy Simpson are in the Silver Star Saloon:

The production suddenly turns into a horror movie as a Giant Cat invades the set:

Scarlet and Quince advance upon the Desperado's:

Jose takes a long range shot at Wishbone and gets a hit!:

In a remarkable display of shooting the Tucson Kid cuts down Billy Simpson who had been firing from within the Silver Star. Billy tumbles through the Saloon doors and bites the dust:

The robbers run north attempting to exit the town with their loot. Lead flies in all directions!

Magruder and the Tucson Kid cover the retreating Deperado gang, Rowdy Yates and Wishbone will need to hold them up until the other Cowboys can intervene:

Mr Favour fires at the Tucson Kid hoping to put him off his shooting:

Charlie Jones takes careful aim at Magruder with his trusty rifle and fires.  It's a hit! Jones proves himself a decent shot despite being a greenhorn over the course of the fight:

Loco and Dixie Smith fire wildly as they run with the loot:

The fight continues, the Desperado's decision to attempt to flee with the loot rather than fight it out seems to be working:

Joe Scarlet again advances, lowers his shotgun and lets rip with both barrels at Magruder! Magruder goes down and it will be a miracle if he survives:

The Tucson Kid opens up on Rowdy Yates and almost finishes him in a hail of bullets:

Francesco follows up and takes Yates down. Two Cowboys and one Desperado have fallen so far:

Preacher, Loco and Dixie Smith escape with over half the loot, a win to the Desperado's this time:

From what I remember this was a hard one to win for the Good Guys. The Bad Guys are concentrated and can either stand and fight or run off in whichever direction the Good Guys are weakest as happened here.

Post fight it emerged that miraculously Colonel Magruder emerged unscathed from the shotgun blast being 'Touched with Greatness' and becoming 'Cool as a Cucumber' as a result! His men will have been very impressed with the way the Colonel and the Tucson Kid covered the retreat with the loot.

For the Drovers Rowdy Yates sustained an injury to his left eye which will affect his shooting in future. Joe Scarlet is rapidly becoming a man of substance with his shotgun getting his second kill and building up his reputation and skills. Special mention also to Charlie Jones, the Greenhorn used his rifle to great effect and is one to watch in the future.

So next up is the Final Showdown when the Drovers and Desperados will meet again.....

DMH Mr Favour's Drovers v Colonel Magruders Desperado's "Ambush"

Having refurbished two of my old DMH gangs I thought I'd dig the scenery and rules out and play a solo lock down game. I chose the "Ambush" as Act 1 to be followed by "Heist" and "Showdown".

The town of Billington, Arizona:

Mr Favour's Drovers from left to right: Mr Favour (Boss), Rowdy Yates (Man With No Name), Pete Nolan, Joe Scarlet, Jim Quince, Charlie Jones, Billy Simpson and Wishbone:

Colonel Magruder's Desperados from left to right: Colonel Magruder (Boss), Dixie Smith, The Tucson Kid (Killer), Francesco, Paddy Mc'Ginty, Jose, Loco the Apache and the mysterious Preacher Man:

Wishbone is collecting supplies from the General Store:

Joe Scarlet (with shotgun!) enjoying a visit to the Saloon:

Pete Nolan ambushed by Francesco and Preacher Man:

Pete Nolan reacts quickly and gets the first shot in at Francesco but misses! Francesco returns fire putting two markers on Nolan. Preacher also opens fire on Nolan but misses while Joe Scarlet and Wishbone run to back Nolan up:

Joe Scarlet runs towards Francesco, raises his shotgun and blasts Francesco with both barrels! Francesco goes down and the Desperados flee the town!

The first act in DMH is usually quick and bloody, this one was no exception! it was also a good reintroduction to the rules for me. Joe Scarlet was lucky to hit with the shotgun while running though from memory the shotgun is a rather over powered weapon in DMH.

Post scene it emerged that Francesco had only suffered a flesh wound and would live to fight another day. The next act moves on to the "Heist"....