An Afternoon in Purgatory, Texas

 

The possible line up?  Five players actually took part.
 

The inaugural Purgatory City Gunfight was held on Thursday 9th October 1867.  Colonel Quincy Ewing Whitmore of the Texas Rangers lead a motley band of gunfighters and desperados to rescue the town from the forces of El Lardo, the fattest Bandido in all of Mexico (but now in Texas...)

Purgatory, population 98.  Soon to be fewer than that.

Four heroes on the start line, Colonel Whitmore, Mad mike, Doc Parker and the Cakey Kid

Advancing up mainstreet

Doc ducks left

The Colonel befriends a stray dog and walks down mainstreet

Doc jumps the fence and ducks behind the church

First blood to the Colonel who forces a Mexican bandit to duck behind a watertrough

Mad Mike spots the dancing girl Miss Belle, but does not go near her

Another bandit pops up behind a water barrel

Doc asks a Nun directions to "Annies"  Inappropriate!

The Colonel meanwhile uses his long shot pistol to keep the Mexican's head down

Kid Cakey optimistically takes cover behind a picket fence, and meets the town mortician, who measures him for a box.

Mad Mike goes peeping around the bathhouse

A bandit appears on the roof, but the Colonel puts him down

Tuco appears at the end of the street

Doc shoots at the boy, mistaking a guy with a broom for a bandit, but misses.  The Mexican civilian flees.

Doc is still behind the church and spots the guy on the roof

 Cakey looks on bemused, as the Livery stable boy runs into the stable screaming.

Meanwhile El Lardo and the gang emerge from Annie's at the end of the street.  

Cakey shoots it out with the guy behind the barrel.  

Curley turns up

 Alas Curley had not heard the warning about Miss Belle.  Boot to the 'nads.

Mexican rifle guy on the roof is back up, but knocked back again.

Still peeping around the bathhouse Mad Mike spots a Mexican emerging from the town lavatory.  Can`t remember if he shot him or not, but he hid in the lavatory.  I gave Mike the 100 dollar reward.

Miss Belle sends Curley on his way.  I think she is interested!  In any future games Curley will get a +1 wooing modifier.  Women!  

Curley encounters the town Barber, again unaware of the "perv" warning.  He suffers the consequences.

Curley spots Pedro the Undertaker's assistant, asleep on the boardwalk and decides he is a threat.  He takes a shot.

And this photo was posted up.  Clearly this is the town drunk sleeping one off.

Pedro flees into the lavatory.

I really think Curley was proud of that one!

Curley then aimed his pistol at the Mexican kids, but decided against it.  I will point out that if Marshal Rooster Coburn had been in play Curley, and Doc, would have been in trouble.

Curley even approached the lavatory, but was driven back by the smell

Tuco aims at Curley but doesn't fire.  The Mexican's inaction is getting them killed

Doc pops up from the back alley and shoots at Tuco

Pinned, Tuco hides behind the Prospector's mule.  "THE PROSPECTOR'S MULE" he said with hidden meaning.

Mike finds Curley, seems to consider shooting him in the back ancd then makes off again.

Finally EL Lard begins to advance

Mike runs around the block.  With that +1 to movement he should probably be "Fast" Mike.

The Colonel gets into the Livery Stable.

Watched by a shaken Mexican Livery Stable boy

The Colonel approaches Doc's back alley... cautiously

Kid Cakey is befriended by the dog.  he uses the waterbarrel for cover

And Djambo appears to give Tuco some helpful advice.

Mike appears around the corner of the Hotel.  He sees an 8ft wall

And an incredibly detailed model of a rattlesnake...

Curley takes a shot at Djambo.  Once again I must note that Marshal Rooster would take a dim view of this sort of thing.

Djambo runs for it ans Tuco thanks Curley

Doc finally spots the safe, but takes a shot at Tuco after the Colonel misses

the Colonel decides to pass up a second back alley and goes to find one.

For the third time the guy on the roof recovers.

El Lardo fires his six guns, and he probably has six guns.

Unfortunately Doc fires at Tuco and the PROSPECTOR'S mule explodes.  Nitro or black powder? Probably.  Didn`t get a good picture.

The Colonel takes a shot at El lardo.  500 dollars on this guy.  He misses

But Doc guns the fat boy down

Mike uses the ladder to get a shot at the last Mexican

He misses but once again Doc doesn't

Curley shoots at the guy on the roof, but misses, again...

The Mexican behind the barrel.

Doc makes an incredible once in a lifetime shot...

And then makes a second

The guy on the rooof takes a shot and then slinks away.

And the Hole in table E gang have cleared the town...

Great game, and I intend to keep the town layout of Purgatory to run a few more.

Broadside and Salvo, 1898

It's 1898 and William Randall Hearst's rallying cry "Remember the Maine" has spurred the United States into action.  The Armoured Cruisers New Jersey, and Brooklyn have appeared off the coast of San Juan, blockading the island in the name of Freedom and Liberty.   They have been joined by the Battleships Texas and Oregon.  Overkill?

Fortunately for the forces of despotism and decay the Spanish Empire have sent out the fleet, three Armoured Cruisers and a pair of destroyers.  They have come out to fight.  What could go wrong? 

The Spanish Armoured cruisers in line ahead

And the Destroyer squadron to the flank

The American Line opens fire

The Spanish destroyers dash forward in a torpedo run, but are forced away by the secondary batteries on the American ships

The Spanish lose a cruiser, and a second is damaged

The last Spanish Cruiser runs for home, the destroyers giving cover with a smokescreen

Sizing up the Wild West

My Wild West figures finally appeared.  Originally I had concerns about how they would measure up.  I went with four different manufacturers Artizan, Knuckleduster, Black Scorpion and Northstar Pulp.

First Artizan.  These are excellent figures.  Size wise they are only slightly smaller than the largest figures here (Black Scorpion)  Not as detailed as the resins, and lacking the slotta base.

The Pulp figures are from the Villista Mexican revolution range, and these are slightly larger than the Artizan, with more "character," slightly caricatured perhaps. I really like them. Detail is crisp.

The Knuckleduster figures are 32mm but look, if anything, more slender than both the Artizan and Pulp. They are superb sculpts, and have an amazing level of detail. I like the wooden bases too!  They mix well with the other two ranges, although they cost twice as much.

No sign of my Rooster Coburn figure yet though!

Lastly the resin Black Scorpion.  These are just works of art.  I don't think I've ever owned figures that look as good as these.   Perhaps it's the different casting medium, allowing more scope for movement, but however they achieved it these are the best of my figures.

However, the Black Scorpion are bigger, and quite noticeably bigger, than the other three ranges.  Perhaps this is a result of the use of resin allowing the sculpts to have more movement. They have plastic slotta bases that match the size of the Knuckleduster almost exactly.  Given that these are skirmish figures a slight size difference doesn't matter too much. 

I was lucky in my selection from Black Scorpion too.  The Fat Mexican bandit chief is clearly a leader and so being slightly larger works.  The Apache are a faction, and thus need not match the other figures, and my female gunfighter is a solo type figure that doesn't really fit into any other faction. 

The Inaugural Purgatory City Gunfight

Gentlemen, you are cordially invited to the inaugural Purgatory City Gunfight to be held on Thursday 9th October 1867.  

The town of Purgatory, West Texas has been taken over by the Bandidos of El Lardo, the fattest bandit in all of Mexico.  He is supported by a foul smelling crew of desperate sombrero wearing thieves.  The town Marshal has forted up in the adobe built jail, with the safe from the bank.  The Bandits have taken over the Cantina and are forcing Sam the piano player to give renditions of ancient cockney Chas and Dave hits intended to unnerve the Marshal.

Our heroes are the group of bounty hunters and lawmen who have arrived to cash in and see off the bandits.  Meanwhile to the Mad townsfolk of Purgatory it's pretty much life as usual.   The solo Babbage rules are on he blog and control both the enemy and civilians.

My intention is to use the WhatsApp format, with a resident dice rolling player (Alan is volunteered) 

Rules will be Fistful of Lead Reloaded.  

Players use their own card decks declare ther own cards and dice rolls will determine ties.

My intention is to play test my Wild Bill Babbage amendments, through a one figure per player game against the solo programmed Bandidos and auto moving bystanders.  I would anticipate this as an hour and a half game.  The objective is to clear the town of bandits.

Obviously I only have the figures I have, but I'll give everyone a chance to generate their figure as a two point character with one weapon and one trait (or two if they take a weakness).  Players will be able to name their character but... My thinking is:

Captain Quincy Whitmore of the Texas Rangers, who may well retire to the Saloon Bar of the Red Rock mid action.  Dawlish Dirty Thirty Pistol and walking cane.

"Curley" McGurk. Two Pistols

"Doc" Hannibal Parker. Pistol and dynamite.

The Colt Kid. Two Walker Colt pistols

Wild Mike Shraner rifle and Colt pistol

Young Elliot Earp two pistols

Each player may choose one free trait, and add a second if they take a weakness.  They may only have weapons as depicted but I'll send out the pictures.

Players will have random deployment points on the way into town, and may choose one of six missions

Missions chosen secretly by the player.  Worth 300 points, equivalent to $300 in bounties.

1.  Woo Miss Belle, the nut kicking showgirl (you need a 6 and a cricket box)

2.  Rob the safe in the Marshal's office. 

3. Find and gun down the Mexican bandit called El Serpiente Rosas, over an ancient burrito related grudge.

4.  Rob the gunsmith's shop.  He has some fancy new irons in stock.

5.  Find the ancient Prospector O'Finnigan and steal his claim form

6.  Find and capture or kill as many Bandidos as you can for the reward money.