Dinosaur Cowboys – Tabletop Skirmish Game

Happy release day! I’m happy to report the v2.6 rules are now available for download and The Saloon has been updated accordingly. As I hoped I was able to squeeze the release in right before May starts.

Before I get into the big ol’ changelog, here are the links (of course just downloading from the main rules page works too):

Download the Dinosaur Cowboys v2.6 PDF Rulebook

or the 9-page Quickdraw Rules

So what are the highlights? Well my previous post what will v2.6 have covers the topic quite well, but I’ll repeat here.

The main focus is weapons. So those players who enjoy equipping their posses, humming and hawing over 6A-2D vs 2A-6D, and having a ton of variety will appreciate that. During development I’ve always had the rule of thumb that ranged weapons have a “top tier” of 9 possible damage, whether this is from 4A-5D, 7A-1D, 3A-6D, etc. and close combat weapons can go up to 10. However some branches or chains of weapons didn’t have a top tier variant. For example the Laserbow in v2.5 maxed out at 1A-6D, similarly the best Pump Shotgun was 3A-4D. This was fine and not really noticeable at the $1,000 posse range, but once you’re into $2k or higher the game boiled down to a whole lot of Lawstar Repeaters (6A-3D).
v2.6 fixes this. Now basically every weapon variant has a top tier equivalent. Do you love the attack pattern of double barrel shotguns? Welcome to the 2A-7D Coach Gun. How about the 1A-8D Laserbow 80 or 3A-6D Settler Defender shotgun? Another big push was to bring the same variety AND consistency to close combat weapons. Attack patterns make more sense, and you can progressively choose a 4A melee weapon right up to the top tier, for example. I also tweaked weapon special abilities. There is now Motivate, which can heal HP (basically the old “Sap” ability reworked and also applied to range weapons).
All in all the weapons are the best they’ve ever been. Think of this v2.6 release as a focus on refining the changes and knowledge gained from the old Battle to Seattle campaign, as well as the many weapons added during that time.

Another big focus is Traits. Some of the Traits have been here since the early RPG versions, more or less, so it was time for a grand rework. Passive Traits now use the highest stage like Active traits, for consistency. Every Trait should be valuable and viable in different situations. Most importantly the “Shot” abilities (like Knee Shot) were renamed and reworked to “Attack”, such as “Attack – Marked” or “Attack – Vital”. Again, consistency!

The Saloon was cleaned up a bit with some nice quality of life features added. Namely weapon special abilities now display their name in the weapon box in addition to the old astericks. Previously you’d know a weapon had an ability, but it was easy to forget which. Now you’ll see “O’Sullivan Sixer*” with “Fan the Hammer” in smaller text in the bottom right. Handy! Brawl weapons can be “bought” now so you can see the stats on your roster, which is nice for people who take the (now awesome) Boxer trait. Speaking of traits previous stages of Active traits will now be “X”ed out, so you can tell you just have one usable version.

I added a section called “Tips for New Players” which gives some ideas and tricks that might not be evident just from reading the rules. Stuff like activating in a certain order, what to do about dinosaurs, etc. Four new sepia photos (featured throughout this post), two new gameplay images, a new Deployment type, a whole bunch of alternative weapon names, etc. Nothing too major, but again refine, refine, refine.

So yeah! It’s been more or less 11 months since the last release, which is just insane for how quickly the time went. All in all I’m happy with the release, and it achieved my main hope for every release: improving the game to be the best it can be. Basically I never want people to think “Oh I liked this old version better”, and hopefully the slew of new weapons, tweaks, and touch ups should ensure that.

Not sure where we’ll go from here. The roadmap hasn’t been as clear since v2.0 to be honest, because in the back of my mind I keep thinking “this is the final release, there isn’t anything else I can tweak”. But somehow I find a bunch to poke and prod. I do want to continue focusing on painting new minis and getting battle reports up here, and really try to resist constantly tweaking the rules like I tend to.

Anyway time for the full changelog, which looks pretty overwhelming, and also might be missing a few changes here and there.

GENERAL CHANGELOG
– Moved version to 2.6
– Added contact email to initial info table
– Finally fixed that annoying overlap of the cloud and text on the title page!
– Compressed table of contents and objects to a single page, and changed page style
– Made table of contents clickable links
– Clarified Cover to be at least 25% obscured, instead of the vague “partially obscured” that was used before
– Added a “Tips for New Players” section (after Standalone Game) with some tips and tricks written in a casual tone
– Changed Armor definitions from flat Defense to +X, to align with possible base Defense from IP
– Defined IRP and STF on Armor/Medical page
– Removed Autosurgeon and Doctor’s Bag, which were Medical Devices to heal Wound/Injuries. Renamed Defibrillator to Autosurgeon as well
– Added a new gameplay image since we had some space on the credits page
– Added a sepia toned Velociraptor amidst the trees image to the Dinosaur Breeds page
– Named Neotechnoist weapon refund aspect of the Allegiance “Wealth” to make it more like a feature
– Changed first History image to a Siberian crater instead of the old volcanic plain
– Updated some minor History text for consistency with what the game world has evolved to (rewriting history to suit the present!)
– Fixed capitalization of “kW” vs “kw” in Quickdraw rules
– Fixed spacing in “Handcannon” in weapons image
– Fixed missing space for Biosteel Lance in weapons chart
– Changed Unbalanced Posse chart to be cumulative instead of “take the highest”
– Added a +2 HP bonus to Leaders when playing the Assassinate objective
– Cleaned up “Yeehaw!” text in various Quick Reference sheets so it doesn’t reference taking a Bravery Test on Leader death
— Added a note under Leader (in creation) and Bravery Tests to note taking a test on Leader death
– Slight clarification on Quick Reference Sheet for “In Close” to be “Attacker/Target” instead of just “Target”
– Also touched up formatting, spacing, and headers of Quick Reference Sheet to closer match Quickdraw version
– Changed “or” for alternative weapons to a slash “/” to match Armor listing. So “Shiv / Shank” instead of “Shiv or Shank”
– Changed any math division (such as Bravery Test formula for Hitpoints) to a proper division (÷) sign instead of the old “/” approach
– Removed the old “Clever Girl” deployment and replaced it with “Diagonal”. Pop culture references are sorta kinda fun, but the deployment was overly complex
– Slight change to “Deep Edge” deployment so the scout is a single unmounted character only, instead of a single entity (since you could technically use your entire posse on a dinosaur as the scout)
– Changed “Delayed” deployment to give a roll bonus per turn for undeployed entities, so that they eventually come on for sure
– Changed hireable Dinosaur list to use XA-YD instead of old X-Y style
– Changed “Scatter” deployment to be a choice, instead of random locations.
– Clarified Push damage to note you only take damage for the distance you actually travelled (ie: no damage if you’re up against a wall)
– Some editing to Game Overview to give it slightly better flow when reading
– Added a sepia wounded image to the Wounds and Injuries table section
– Changed ‘By Air’ travel from 6 passengers to 8 to match dinosaur resizing
– Buffed Lifesaving IRP threshold from < 3 to < 4
– Slight nerf to "Trip" Brawl attack to be 1A-0D instead of 1A-1D to help balance with Boxer trait
– Brawl attacks can now be used against dinosaurs, mounted, etc. Cannot be used as Snap Attack or Charging still.
– Added a sepia image of a fancy house to the end of the Objectives section
– Removed the Wandering/Roving Enemies option from Features
– Clarified Traits so that Active/Passive stages apply the same, so every Passive now has +X/+X instead of cumulative application of successive stages
– Split Traits into two tables with more spacing, instead of jamming it into one. So a table for Active and one for Passive
– Reordered Trait list columns so "Who" is last, to make reading a Trait a bit easier with the Effect immediately apparent
– Added sepia totem image to page containing Passive Trait List table
– Tons of Trait balances, renames, reworks, and stage additions/removals
– Added Dilophosaurus as a possible Raptor type
– Dinosaur change: Horned buffed attack from 6A-1D to 6A-2D. This is because Horned has 2 worse CTN, 1 worse speed, and 2 worse damage (before change) than King in exchange for 6 HP.
– Dinosaur change: Longneck / Titan brought closer together. DEF buffed 2 to 3. DIS from 10 to 9. Longneck CTN from 5 to 4. Titan PSPD from D6-1 to D6 and SPD from 4 to 5. Longneck HP from 35 to 34. Titan HP from 30 to 32. Titan attack to 2A-10D from 1A-15D.

WEAPONS CHANGELOG
– Buffed Both Barrels special ability to +2 Damage instead of +2 Attacks
– Buffed Lance special ability to do +1 Attack and +1 Damage on Charge
– Changed Illuminate special ability to do -2 Defense instead of half, for simplicity
– Changed Pulled to use a set inches, like Pushed, instead of the distance of the weapon
– Also reworded Explosion, Fireline, Hail of Shots, Lance, Lasso, Open Choke, Opportunity, Pulled special ability for consistency
– Removed Defoliant Grenades, and as a result the “Cover Breaker” special ability
– Changed Retractable Lasso to 0-7 distance and 6″ Pulled, to fit the new approach
– Kaboom Grenades / Bundle of Dynamite range changed to 5-14 so you can’t hit yourself, also size to Small to match other Grenades
– Buffed Glue Grenades from range 2-12 to range 2-13
– Repriced Flux Rifle from $90 to $80 to be inline with basic Light Repeater
– Changed range bands of Specialty Pistol line (Derringer, LeDuce, Handcannon) to be 1-8, 9-11, 12-14 instead of X-7. This helps balance their $10 higher price
– Repriced Derringer from $40 to $50
– Changed Handcannon to 2A-7D (max) and repriced to $160, changed to Projectile
– Added “Yannigan Pistol” (means “war bag”) between LeDuc and Handcannon, at the $90 price
– Added “Big Iron” as a replacement for old Handcannon stats (2A-6D) and $120 price
– Split Derringer, LeDuc, Yannigan, Big Iron, and Handcannon to a “Custom Pistols” section at the top
– Added a “Boot Blade” specialty melee with 1A-3D and Opportunity
– Changed Laserbow 60 to Large size
– Added Laserbow 70 and 80 to finish the line to top tier
– Added 5GJ and 6GJ Pump Shotgun to finish the line to top tier
– Added Crossbow as next tier Dart Gun
– Added Serrated Knife as Machete alternative
– Renamed Axe to Mountain Man Axe
– Renamed Hammer to Sledgehammer and added Spike Driver as alternative
– Added Overcharged Dinoprod as top tier upgrade to Dinoprod
– Swapped Shiv / Shank for Hunting Knife, then swapped Skinning Knife for Hunting Knife
– Added 300kW Twin Rifle to complete the line
– Changed all Twin Rifles to have 5-18 range instead of high end being only 5-17, to compare to Peacemaker
– Added specialty Pepperbox Pistol / Octochambered that is a good single use attack
– Repriced Glue Grenades to $70, Tangle Grenades to $140, Stun Grenades to $170, Riot Grenades to $50
– Changed Stun Grenades range to 2-11
– Added Winterfrost Grenades as an alternative to Glue Grenades
– Added Dustbomb as an alternative to Stun Grenades
– Added Geyser Grenades as an alternative to Tangle Grenades
– Added Hurricane Grenades as an alternative to Riot Grenades
– Added Harmonica, War Horn / Bugle, Battle Drum that have ranged Sap
– Added The Tombstone, a powerful 1A-9D weapon with Armor Piercing and Slowed that is only effective at exactly 12 distance
– Repriced Grenade Launcher to $220
– Repriced Rotary Rifle to $220
– Added Tirador Rifle as top tier scoped, then switched it with Hunting Rifle so Hunting is top tier
– Added Streetsweeper Shotgun and Coach Gun to finish the line
– Changed Auto Shotgun range to 0-5/6-7/8-9, changed Pump Shotgun short to 0-4/5-6/7-11, because otherwise Auto had no advantage over Pump
– Made 4GJ Pump Shotgun size Large
– Changed generic Shotguns to range 0-3/4-5/6-9 (from 4-6/7-9) to balance their lower price
– Changed Sawed Off Shotgun range to 0-4/5-6/7-9 to fit Open Choke
– Added Clark Airgun and Lewis Airgun that have Pushed special
– Changed Riot Grenades to be D6+3″ Pushed instead of D6″
– Added Harpoon Gun and Dinocatcher with Pulled
– Added Totem as alternative to Sonic Gun
– Replaced Flamethrower with Badlands Burner, made Flamethrower a 6A-0D version. Added Wagon Blazer as 7A-0D version. Changed range to 0-9, reload to 1×1, prices
– Added “Cavalry” weapon special ability: Add +1 Damage while mounted.
– Added Carbines to leverage the new Cavalry ability
– Added three new melee weapons to leverage the new Cavalry ability, including renaming Saber for one
– Added Rustler Revolver as Handcannon alternative
– Changed Long Sword to be an alternative to Motor Blade, and replaced Long Sword with Rattlesnake Axe
– Changed Glaive to be an alternative to Cutlass
– Added Horned Axe as alternative to Scythe
– Added Lasher as alternative to Flail
– Renamed “Sap” special to “Motivate”, to better fit with what weapons use it
– Changed Motivate to “On a hit of 2+ total damage the attacker heals 1 HP to self or another ally in 8″.”
– Reworked close Sap weapons to 1A-3D Catalyst, 4A-0D Coup Stick, 5A-0D Tornado
– Reduced price of Lances, to match the fact that they are unusable once dismounted
– Added Howdah Pistol as alternative to Sawed Off Shotgun
– Added Equalizer Shotgun as alternative to Break Action Shotgun
– Renamed Break Action Shotgun to Break-Action Shotgun, to match Lever-Action
– Added “Bow and Arrows” as alternative Throwing Spear

SALOON CHANGELOG
– Updated version to 2.6
– Updated traits, weapons, and dinosaurs to match v2.6 rules
– Added weapon special abilities to beside their name, in the bottom right corner of the cell, so that at a glance players can see what something does beyond the astericks that was used before (and is still present)
– Added Brawl attacks as a buyable option, useful for players who want to track these attacks in their weapon slots
– Similarly added Rope Lasso as a buyable option
– Slight update to Lasso A-D size in the PDF output, so that the numbers are the proper size if set, otherwise smaller for DinoA/DinoD
– Changed old Armor list headers of “Armor Rating” to “Defense” and “MV Penalty” to “SPD Penalty”, whoops
– Also changed Armor Defense listing to “+X” instead of flat “X”
– Updated Passive traits to apply properly using the new approach
– Close store and trait list on posse load, to ensure a fresh state
– Fixed “Clear Sight” passive trait so it properly works with non-standard weapon ranges. For example it won’t change Repeater med from 0-13 to 1-14 anymore
– Automatically ‘X’ Active traits that have previous stages, to help signify that only the highest stage is used

You made it this far? Good on you! Onwards to v2.7!

Remember how the last release was the fastest update ever? Well I’m going to have to guess v2.5 is the slowest. After the Battle to Seattle campaign wrapped up I was pretty much out of energy. Summer had just started as well, so a week delay turned into a month and before you know it here we are in July. If you have been following the bleeding edge version of the rules there shouldn’t be any surprises here.

Without further ado: Dinosaur Cowboys Rulebook v2.5

Anyway v2.5 is quite a milestone release because I added a TON of weapons. There are now plenty of fun options for pistols (Six-Shooters, Volcanic, Walker, Peacemaker) to suit any playstyle. Rifles have been tweaked and balanced and expanded. Shotguns are actually viable now. Repeaters have an “end game” version. There are lots of new specialty weapons too (like the LeDuc Revolver). Melee weapons have been completely redone so any type of Attack-Damage pattern you can imagine is available.
There were numerous tweaks and fixes from the experience of running a 4 person campaign. I also took some of the knowledge gained from the quickstart rules and applied it back to the core rulebook, such as actually explaining and demonstrating a statline before talking about it.

All in all I’m really happy with this version, even if it took far too long to get that last 1% done.

I’ll probably go back into quiet mode for a while here though. Lots going on outside of tabletop games, so it can be tough to find the time. I am of course still hoping to post battle reports and the like. I’d especially like to build a few Lego buildings and play a game of Dinosaur Cowboys using Lego minifigs. That and use some of the new dinosaurs in greater depth. I have a few miniatures I’m in the process of painting as well that I’d like to get a game in with eventually.

Anyway here are the specific changes around this edition:
– Tons of new weapons and special abilities
– Got rid of the old D4/D8/D10 usage which was JUST for Dinosaur panic. Now D6 or D12 ONLY is used, with modifiers where necessary
– Updated component picture to not have old dice, and also show more miniatures
– Added a new Statistics Overview section to give an idea of stats before we talk about them
– Added an example weapon to the start of Combat to give some context
– Default turn limit changed from 5 to 6
– “Explosion” special ability now does half damage to mounted characters
– Changed Wound/Injury table so that a roll of 1-1 is Bad Luck now, instead of having to re-roll 1s
– Buffed “Lend a Hand”, so HP transfer is done in a 1:1 ratio
– Added a +1 bonus to a Bravery Test roll while Mounted, to stop riders from being a huge weak link
– Changed dinosaur passenger size to Small 1, Medium 2, Large 3, Extra-Large 5 (up from 4)
– Updated Swimmer/Flyer notes so that Extra-Large dinos take 5 slots
– Changed Swimmer breeds to match actual length of dinosaurs, so larger versions are used for ferries compared to smaller “sloop” versions
– Moved where the Elevation rule is since it applies to both range/close
– Changed Movement attack modifier to be for All, and only apply if target moved 2″+
– Changed base distances to start at 0 instead of 1, for example Six-Shooter Short Distance is now 0-6″
– Added a ‘Who’ column to Traits, to specifically state whether a Human, Dinosaur, or Both can use a Trait
– Clarified that selling/replacing a dinosaur doesn’t refund training costs
– Reorganized Campaign section, added a note about Gentleman’s Agreements, and about two types of campaigns
– Armor changed to have Speed Penalty starting at +3 DEF instead of +4
– Eagle Eye is now an Active Trait, Clear Sight now has 1 Stage only
– Changed Pushed/Pulled to not affect dinosaurs in close combat
– Merged “Night” into “Sunset”, which also now includes a “Dusk” option
– Added Step totals, for example Step 1/6, 2/6, to give the reader an idea of how much they have left

Saloon Updates:
– Mirrored rule updates
– Added “Private Save” feature that will prevent a posse from being loaded in the Recent Posse List. Useful for campaigns with secret information
– Added a Number of Players link beside the Campaign Mode checkbox, which allows your PDF posse to have modified free Hitpoints for games with larger number of players