Further musings from the ferretile mind of a graying gamer with little enough time on his hands. (A Hot Time in the Old Town, sort of). I have always been a fan of the Western Gunfight genre. I have watched almost every movie there is, and my favorite author was Louis L'Amour. With the appearance of Pass of the North Wargames Line and the "Desparado" rules, my longings have been satisfied. To me, the essence of a good gunfight is the struggle of a few, good gunmen who must defeat a foe who is either greater in numbers or is just as good if not, perhaps better. There is a definate element of roleplay in gunfight games. Players need some reason to be involved. I have played in undirected games, and they descend into exercises of the ridiculous, or a bloodbath where you shoot anyone you see first or get shot in the back yourself (even down to killing the schoolmarm - which, the Unforgiven not withstanding, was simply not done, unless one enjoyed being a target for everyone in the territory). The release of the Magnificent Seven by PotNW along with their excellent line of Villistas got me going. I purchased the Seven (which includes the seven gunfighters and Calvera, the bandit leader), and 18 Peasants, who would face off with an eventual total of 36 Bandits. I got so into this that I constructed some 16 buildings of cardboard and foamcore! The next step was to work with the rules. "Desparado" is fine for a free-for-all gunfight, but is suicide in a situation like I planned. The following modifications were made: Character Body pts. Gun/Bonus Chris 125 Pistol +25% (Yul Brunner) Winchester +10% Vin 125 Pistol +25% (Steve McQueen) Winchester +10% Brit 125 Pistol +30% (James Cobum) Knife (6”) +30% Harry 100 Pistol +10% Winchester +10% Bernardo 125 Pistol +20% (Charles Bronson) Winchester +25% Lee 100 Pistol +30% (Robert Vaughn) Roll of 6 to Activate Chico 120 Pistol +15% (Horst Bucholtz) Winchester +10% Calvera 100 Pistol +10% (Eli Wallach) Lieutenant (2) 100 Pistol +5% SPECIALS: 1). Any wound worse than a Graze eliminates a non leader bandit figure. 2). All Peasants have only 75 body points. 3). AIMED SHOTS: cost 2" to aim a shot for 10% bonus. 4). Covering: Must be announced at the beginning of a turn. The figure may fire on any figure which enters his firing arc, one shot. The covering figure receives no card this turn. Firing arc is one side of a block or one side a building. 5). FINAL SHOT: Any gunfighter of the Seven who is killed outright, gets one final shot at his killer. The game is designed for six players: Magnificent Seven have the following: 1). Chris, Chico, & Harry (Enters Late) 2). Brit, Lee (Must be activated) 3). Bernardo, Vin Bandit Players have the following: 1). Calvera + 9 Bandits 2). Lieut. #1 + 9 Bandits 3). Lieut. #2 + 9 Bandits STARTING POSITIONS: The Bandits are distributed throughout the village. Maximum three to any Casa. The 18 peasants are distributed in three houses, 6 each, with two guards to each group. The peasants may only become active if they are left unguarded. The Bandits MAY NOT KILL the peasants until the peasants become activated. The Magnificent Seven may enter from anywhere. The first move belongs to the Bandits. One Bandit from the house nearest to Vin must walk into view of Vin, and Vin gets a free shot. Thereafter the standard card draw is used, If you wish to play the initial meeting, give 2 extra bandits to each group, and distribute 2 villagers with rifles, and three with pistols to the Seven. The Bandits start mounted in this game, in the village at the square. The Magnificent Seven are scattered around the village at the player's discretion. PEASANTS IN MELEE: These receive a 10% Bonus due to ferocity and the use of melee weaponry (machetes, shovels, rakes, hoes, stools, etc.) Here's to good gaming now and future. God Bless and until next time. Your Obedient Servant, Stephen Lawrence, Lockport Illinois. Back to MWAN #63 Table of Contents Back to MWAN List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 1993 Hal Thinglum This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com