Dinosaur Cowboys – Tabletop Skirmish Game

Halloween Supplement
Get the Dinosaur Cowboys Halloween Supplement here, which will allow you to pit your cowboys against a few deadly variants of Undead! Happy Halloween!

Encounter Overview
This game was really fun and light hearted to play. I set out my spookiest terrain yesterday night, grabbed a bundle of plastic figures from Zombies!!!, put my Undead brainstorming ideas to paper, and rocked a Halloween special event.
Why the human posse were by the old Bunker doesn’t matter. They could have been looting scrap or old world artifacts, just passing through, or investigating the strange reports of shambling creatures. Regardless the living dead started to spill from the old Bunker. Their goal was clear: get inside and destroy the point of origin (which turned out to be a trapdoor).
I started the game with the Halloween Hunters deployed in a rough circle by a giant pumpkin. Barrels scattered from blast impacts acted as a crude shelter, and a rusty Cannon emplacement was nearby. The Bunker was in sight, but a seemingly endless supply of Undead rose to block their advance.

Details
Posse Deployment: Deploy first within 10″ of Pumpkin
Undead Deployment: D6+4 Pioneers and D3 Savages start within 6″ of the Bunker on a random side. This ended up being 10 Pioneers and 2 Savages. Each Undead rolled a D4 on Spawning for the direction from the Bunker they started at, with 1=north, 2=east, 3=south, 4=west

Cannon Emplacement: Action Phase to fire. 12″ range, 1A-12D Fireline
Bunker: Objective Trapdoor had 4 HP. Entering the building blasted the entity through a portal and to a random start point (either north or south) inside the Bunker

Variant Rules: Dual Wield
Special Rules: Halloween Supplement: Double Tap (Shotguns have 1D6″ Knockback), Fear of Death (never take BRV or DIS, rise as Juggernaught if killed), I Will Survive (+2 HP to all), Planning (do not roll Initiative to Activate, just alternate Posse/Undead each Turn)

Table Setup
Terribly shaky or washed out images of the table. My camera really didn’t appreciate a dark cloth mat instead of the usual grass or sand look:

Posse: Halloween Hunters: 120 IP, 2150 ND, 3 Traits
I built this posse entirely based on the coolest and most suiting figures. Plus it was a perfect chance to get my new latest two figures onto the table. How suitable is a Priest and a character from Zombieland for this scenario, right?! I basically started picking fun weapons and gear and worrying about the cost later, which is why I ended up with such a high Neodollar value.
First of all was Ronald Gin. Gin is a funny last name. He was my Priest figure, so instantly his shotgun pistol became a Sawed Off Shotgun. I gave him a Hunting Knife and Cloth Armor and called it a day.
His daughter is Alson the Red, and again I tried to match the figure. So she got a Heavy Pistol and Boom Grenades (since the figure has a big pack of grenades on her hip). Plus she seemed like the motivational sort, so voila I assigned her the “Get Up!” Trait.
Then Carl “Coyote” Sternah, my Zombieland figure. Dual Stub Pistols (I realized I don’t have machine gun pistols :( ) were an obvious choice, especially with the Dual Wield variant rule being used. He looked like the Bandit-y type.
Vladizlov and Trista Camus are old classic figures to me, since I’ve used them for everything from post apocalyptic to zombie hunting (see, they are veterans in the field) to my very first Dinosaur Cowboy battle report! Vlad got his usual Assault Rifle, but also a pack of Riot Grenades to represent the demolition pack his figure has. Trista got her usual 400kW Lever-Action Rifle and a backup six-shooter. Bandit for Vlad, Neotechnoist for Trista (poor Trista never gets above 12 HP).
For a dinosaur I chose my favorite one: Ankylosaurus, or in this case “Armored”. He’d be named Mace Mate, and hopefully could stand up to some clawing Undead hands pretty well with his AR 4.
In terms of IP expenditures I went pretty basic. Some -1 RMC here and there, a few extra HP, some faster movement, etc. Nothing too wild and thus why I was fine with only 120 IP.
Here is the result (note that this is before the “I Will Survive” special rule took effect, so they all gained an extra +2 HP beyond what you see):

Ronald Gin (Duster Leader)
MV 3, AR 1, RMC 7, MMC 7, BRV 7, HP 12, Escape. Sawed Off Shotgun, Hunting Knife, Cloth Armor, Small IRP.

Carl "Coyote" Sternah (Bandit)
MV 4, AR 0, RMC 6, MMC 8, BRV 8, HP 8. Stub Pistol, Stub Pistol.

Vladizlov (Bandit)
MV 5, AR 0, RMC 6, MMC 8, BRV 8, HP 8, Knee Shot. Assault Rifle, Riot Grenades, Axe.

Trista Camus (Neotechnoist)
MV 4, AR 0, RMC 7, MMC 8, BRV 6, HP 6. 400kW Lever-Action Rifle, 80kW Six-Shooter.

Alson the Red (Duster)
MV 3, AR 0, RMC 7, MMC 8, BRV 6, HP 10, Get Up!. Heavy Pistol, Boom Grenades, Shank.

Mace Mate (Untrained Armored Dinosaur)
MV 3, PMV D4, AR 4, MMC 7, DIS 5, HP 20.

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The Undead Menace
Here are the details on how the Undead played, as well as a picture showing who is who (and yes, that is a 2nd edition Warhammer 40,000 Plague Marine). The only difference in statistics between my game and the Halloween Supplement is my Juggernaughts only had D8 Dark Power.

Special Rules
Dark Power
– Roll when hit
– Roll >= incoming damage = Stunned and Stopped
– Roll < incoming damage = killed
– Cannot use Dark Power when Stunned or Stopped
Relentless
– Ignore Difficult Terrain
– Never take Bravery Test
Shambling Horde
– When being attack never benefit from the Movement penalty
– Can’t Run
– Can Charge

Undead Pioneer
MV 5, MMC 5
Melee 2A-5D (Slowed on hit)
D6 Dark Power

Undead Cowboy
MV 4, RMC 7
Range 3A-2D (range 12″)
D6 Dark Power

Undead Savage
MV 6, MMC 5
Melee 4A-1D
D6 Dark Power

Undead Juggernaught
MV 4, MMC 5
Melee 1A-7D (1D6″ Knockback on hit)
D12 Dark Power

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(Left) The mass of Undead waiting to be used plus an early version of the Halloween Supplement
(Right) A cool ruined vehicle left on the table from years and years ago

Blurry Deployment
Curse you camera!

(Left) The Halloween Hunters deployment. Gin on the Cannon, Trista in the back, Vlad in the middle, Coyote and Alson on the frontline, and Mace ready to distract up top
(Middle) The initial Undead sprawled around the Bunker, 10 Pioneers and 2 Savages! Some were already in range of the posse
(Right) The Cannon actually looks really cool up close, and in focus

Fright Night Begins!
T1: Having seen the shambling Undead arise from the Bunker the various members of the posse grit their teeth and await the onslaught. These are no amateur dinohands though, and four Pioneers drop from the combined fire of everything but Gin (who was out of range). Of those kills only a single Pioneer even got to roll their Dark Power (which they failed), since the rest of the damage was far above 6. Coyote especially impressed me, as he would the rest of the match, with a powerful opening salvo of two Criticals and two high hits.
After dropping their targets everyone moved forward…well, except for Gin. He hung back on the Cannon, just in case a quick retreat was needed. Mace Mate lumbered forward, his slow 4″ Run getting him ever closer to crushing Undead flesh.
Undead: +1 Pioneer, deploys west

T2: The firing continues in earnest. Coyote and Vlad kill a Savage each, easing some of the pressure of impending melee. Alson and Trista keep up without any problem, both killing a Pioneer. Gin feels left out so he leaves the Cannon emplacement and Runs forward. Mace continues his Run, stopping just past a wall.
Undead: +4 Pioneer, 3 deploy north, 1 deploys east

T3: Seeing the advancing horde of Undead Pioneers so foolishly clumped together Alson knew her best course of action. Grabbing a heavy Boom Grenade from her belt she flipped the ignition switch and threw it into the center of the crowd of walking dead.

BOOM! The grenades live up to their name as 4 Pioneers are shredded. Coyote looks on, jealously, then sets his own weapons to work. Along with Vlad and Trista they kill 3 Pioneers total. Gin and Mace continue their trek forward, both Running to keep up with the rest of the posse. The rest of the Halloween Hunters just shift their position slightly, with Alson moving north and Trista edging forward closer to cover. Vlad boldly moves towards to the cleared Bunker door, hoping to get inside and put a permanent end to the Undead horde.
Undead: +1 Juggernaught, deploys south

(Left) The first Juggernaught arrives
(Right) Vlad is almost to the front door

T4: The ground shakes as Mace finally reaches a witless Pioneer. Spinning furiously the Armored dinosaur smashes the Undead into pulp. Guns roar around him as Gin shotguns another Pioneer, while Alson edges into the cover of the rocks and downs a third Pioneer. Coyote levels both Stub Pistols and riddles the lone Juggernaught full of holes for 8 damage. Trista takes some time to reposition, Running forward to get into her optimal range.

Meanwhile Vlad finally reaches the Bunker door and enters. Instantly he is blasted by cold and disoriented, and when his vision clears he’s deep in an underground complex, appearing from the south entrance.
Undead: At this point the Undead in the Bunker were Spawned with three rolls on the Undead Generation Chart. The result was 9 Pioneers and 3 Savages, who were deployed throughout the tunnels.

In addition since the Bunker was breached the Undead started Spawning frantically. Now the Undead got TWO rolls on the Undead Generation Chart at the end of each Turn, instead of just one. This resulted in +4 Pioneers (2 deploy east, 1 deploys north, 1 deploys south) and +1 Juggernaught (deploys east).

Meanwhile the situation outside…

T5: Alson suddenly feels overly exposed, even in the cover of half a fence and a pile of rocks. She misses her shot on the nearest Pioneer and decides to move backwards. Gin on the other hand bravely moves forward, killing the only Juggernaught on his way towards the Bunker (7 damage vs a 4 Dark Power roll). Trista and Coyote both earn their pay, with the woman killing a Pioneer to the right and the man killing a Pioneer to the south. Mace continues his advance forward, killing the last Pioneer east of the bunker (4 damage vs Dark Power 2 roll). The Bunker door is clear once more, and Gin is very close to entering it.
Inside the bunker Vlad knows his situation is desperate. He’s not wounded yet, but the stench of death surrounds him. Easily, almost casually, he kills the first Pioneer in a long row of Undead, and advances around the corner to face the remaining horde.

Undead: The Pioneer nearest to Vlad growls and slashes dirty fingernails at the Bandit. The attack hits for 7 damage, which leaves Vlad with a deadly wound at 3 HP. The Spawn is +1 Cowboy, deploys west and +5 Pioneers, 2 deploy south, and 1 to each other direction.

T6: Gin continues his march forward, ending up right outside the Bunker door. Next Turn he can enter the sordid pit of death. On the way he kills another Pioneer, but empties his Sawed Off Shotgun in the process and needs to Reload! Coyote and Trista continue to methodically murder the already-dead, almost if they were competing for number of kills. Each bag a Pioneer this Turn.
Seeing the effectiveness of her last Boom Grenade and know the Undead tended to bunch up, Alson focuses on Reloading her grenade. Mace is much less reserved, Charging around the corner of the Bunker (since he can’t fit in the door) and trampling the first Pioneer he sees.
Inside the Bunker, Vlad kills the Pioneer that just wounded him and continues to advance. He knows the next foe may be his killer.
Undead: As the Pioneers on the surface advance, the Cowboy rounds the corner and fires his rusty revolver at the first warm target he sees: Coyote. The shot is true and the human takes 4 damage. The Savage facing Vlad easily hits him for 3 damage, which kills the poor soul. The Bunker remains in Undead hands. The Spawn roll was +4 Pioneers, 1 deploying in each direction, and the second Spawn roll was nothing.

(Left) Mace Mate continues to hold his own against the horde of Undead streaming from the bunker.
(Right) The mighty Vlad falls to the blade of a Savage

T7: Shaken by the horrible screams emanating from the Bunker, Trista fluffs her shot and misses the Pioneer in front of Gin (with 3 attacks on 7+ no less). Alson moves closer to Short range and kills the very same Pioneer, keeping her father safe and providing a clear route into the Bunker. Coyote and Mace kill one Pioneer apiece, with Mace’s method being a bit more brutal and gory compared to bullets.
Unwavering in his dedication to sunder the Undead home, Gin enters the Bunker. The entry portal puts him opposite where Vlad died, so he appears in the northern corridor. The leader hasn’t had time to Reload his shotgun so he draws his Hunting Knife and severs the head of the first Savage he sees. His eyes widen in horror though as the Savage merely falls rolling to the ground, hurt and stunned but certainly still thrashing (5 damage vs a Dark Power roll of 5!).

Undead: Even with multiple pairs of claws scratching at Mace’s hide, the Undead fail to hit him at all. The Undead Cowboy is luckier and strikes Coyote for another 3 damage. The first Spawn roll is nothing, but the second is a big improvement with +6 Pioneers (3 deploy north, 2 deploy south, 1 deploys west).

T8: Seeing Coyote pouring blood from two bullet holes, Alson desperately cheers him on with “Get Up!”. Her inspiring words restore 5 HP to the Bandit, and he’s now back to 8 HP. Ignoring the pain he focuses on the Cowboy while the Undead fumbles with his pistol. A loud crack echoes across the blackened land and the Cowboy falls dead(er). Trista regains her composure and shoots a Pioneer who was getting close enough to rush Alson and Coyote, but a lucky Dark Power roll saves the Undead (5 damage vs 6 Dark Power roll). Mace continues his relentless assault on the Undead, his strong muscles and heavy tail never tiring. Another Pioneer falls to his attack.
Inside the Bunker, Gin stabs down at the writhing, headless form of the Savage and kills it. He advances forward to face the next Undead menace.
Undead: Three Pioneers scratch, claw, and stab at Mace, but only one hits for 7 damage. The Pioneer in the Bunker facing Gin misses the dauntless Priest. And with the worse luck for the forces of darkness BOTH Spawn rolls result in nothing!

Both Spawn rolls come up with a 1-2 result of Nothing!

T9: The Turn starts encouragingly with Mace slaying another Undead Pioneer. Trista tries to support the mighty dinosaur by firing at one of his adversaries, but she misses the long range shot.
The spotlight again settles on Alson as she heaves another Boom Grenade at the closest clump of Pioneers. With a perfect roll of 12 on the single attack this…

…turns to this…

Seeing an opening Coyote nods to Alson and Runs through the nearby Bunker door. The entry portal is fickle and the Bandit winds up opposite Gin in the southern corridor. The leader hears his comrade’s feet clattering on the metal floor, and is inspired to stab another Pioneer to death, followed by a slight advance to the next Undead.

Undead: The Undead start strong with a Pioneer hitting Mace for 6 damage, and an underground Undead hitting Gin for 7 damage. The nearest Savage rounds the tunnel corner and lashes out at Coyote for 3 damage. The rest of the Undead in the Bunker shamble forward, eagerly awaiting their turn to rip warm flesh apart. This lucky streak of damage turns to frustration as BOTH Spawn rolls come up with nothing (again!).

(Left) The deadly fight in the Bunker continues, but the Undead numbers are dwindling
(Right) Another terribly unlucky set of Spawn rolls!

T10: Wanting to stand by her father in the fight against evil, Alson Reloads her Boom Grenade and moves towards the Bunker door. Covering her from the cover of a wood blockade, Trista kills the Pioneer blocking the young girl’s path. To the north of the Bunker the Armored dinosaurs tears another Pioneer in half, leaving only a single Undead creature facing him.
Underground in the Bunker both men kill another Undead, with Coyote getting a Savage and Gin getting a Pioneer. Both of them advance another square towards the trapdoor objective, but many Undead still block the way.

Undead: The Bunker forces perform well for mindless minions, with one Pioneer hitting Gin for 6 damage and on the opposite end of the Bunker another Pioneer kills Coyote! One of the Spawn rolls is nothing, but the other is +6 Pioneers (3 deploy north, 2 deploy south, 1 deploys east).

T11: Trista continues to cover Alson, taking aim and killing the recently risen Undead blocking Alson’s path to the Bunker. Alson sees her chance and dives through the entryway. The portal is finally on humanity’s side and she arrives behind Gin in the northern section. Immediately she makes her presence felt by shooting the nearest Pioneer with her Heavy Pistol. The shot hits for 5 damage but the Dark Power roll is 6, so the Undead Pioneer merely drops to the ground. Taking advantage of the opening Gin sheathes his knife and Reloads his Sawed Off Shotgun.
Above ground, the dinosaur wearily misses his attack on the nearest Pioneer.
Undead: One of the many Pioneers clumping around Mace hits the dinosaur for 7 more damage. Mace Mate is down to 2 HP from a towering 22 at the start of the game. All the Undead in the Bunker shift closer to the humans. The Spawn rolls result in +1 Savage (deploys south) and nothing.

T12: Lowering his freshly reloaded shotgun into the face of the knocked down Pioneer, Gin puts the sorry excuse for a life form out of it’s misery. He quickly steps back from the junction after hearing Alson’s hurried command over his shoulder. Just as he gets clear a spinning grenade flies over his shoulder. Alson has thrown another Boom Grenade, this time aiming for the t-intersection. The grenade looks to be sailing short (roll of 4 to hit) but Gin gleefully shouts “Yeehaw!” and the path ends up being true. The re-roll is an 11 and the Boom Grenade decimates the 4 Undead clumped around the intersection. Only 1 Pioneer remains in the Bunker, blocking the path to the trapdoor.

Above ground Trista kills another Savage at long range, while Mace fails to hit any of the four Pioneers around him.
Undead: With a horrible gurgling sound Mace finally drops to the ground, dead. Pioneers crawl all over the falling body, tearing chunks of dinoflesh from the corpse. The first Pioneer had hit for 5 damage which finished off the dinosaur. In total 6 Pioneers mindlessly shuffle towards Trista, who is all alone on the surface now. The Spawn roll results in +4 Pioneers (2 deploy south, 1 deploys east, 1 deploys west).

T13: The lone Pioneer standing between the survivors of the posse and the Bunker trapdoor is cut in half by Gin’s shotgun blast. He moves as far forward as he can, eager to finish his task and destroy the origin of the Undead. Alson Runs to right behind Gin. Above ground Trista kills another Pioneer and starts falling back to the Cannon emplacement. The powerful weapon can send a massive shot rolling right through the ranks of the advancing horde. And it truly is a horde, with at least a dozen Pioneers chasing Trista.

Undead: Massive Spawn roll of +10 Pioneers (deployed evenly on each side)

T14: Trista Runs and leaps over the old sandbags and grabs the elevation wheel of the Cannon, ready to put it to deadly use until the final Undead creature has been slain. In the Bunker, Gin lines up the most important shot of his life. The Sawed Off Shotgun masterfully blasts the trapdoor for 7 damage, destroying the feeble hinges and dropping the iron gate on the dark tunnel below. The new west is safe…for now…