There's an Iron Creek in South Dakota and an Iron Creek in Alaska, there's an Iron Creek in Idaho and an Iron Creek in southwest Washington State.
This here is a different Iron Creek, an entirely fictitious Iron Creek that stakes its claim to being the wildest town in the Old West...

Wednesday 29 June 2016

A Desperate Street-Fight


 
As might be expected, our foray into Dead Man’s Hand began with ‘The Good, The Lead and The Ugly,’ a series of three games that chronicle the arrival of the Jackson Gang in Iron Creek. The once-peaceful town proved entirely unprepared for the violent entrance of Jackson’s desperados and the three games played in a quick and bloody fashion that seemed entirely fitting.
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Main Street. Iron Creek.
In the first scene, ‘The Stranger,’ Deputy Carter was confronted by three of Jackson’s gang, his first shots sending Garrett 'The Killer' Cady running for cover before Theo Toland drew his rifle and brought him down with a single shot (rolling a 20). And that was that. We did wonder if the bad guys were allowed a rifle in this scene – if we replay it I think we’d stick to pistols.



Rogan's Bar. Iron Creek.
The second scene ‘This Town Ain’t Big Enough’ saw the arrival of Jackson himself along with three of his men (armed with a rifle, a shotgun, and a pistol), facing off against Sheriff McCallister, U.S. Marshal Kincade, and their three deputies (armed identically to the desparados). Jackson spent much of the game drinking whiskey in just his boots, while the rest of his gang set to the business of killing. The game played out well, and we ended up with one query which was whether a cards that specify a range (in this case 'Long arm of the law' which can be played on a model withing 20cm) must be discarded if they’re declared and then found to be out of range. In the end we decided they were, it seemed more fun.

The final scene We Will Be Waitin’ saw the same cast return to Mainstreet. This time the Desperados outnumbered the lawmen, with three of the good guys waiting off-set ready to come to sweep in and save the day in a suitably cinematic style. At least that was the plan. As it was they didn't come on until the third turn, by which time it was too late for them to help their fellow lawmen who had made a bold, some might say foolhardy, decision to rush the desparados despite their lack of numbers. At the end of the day the lawmen were gunned down and run out of town...

Jackson (right) and his gang take hold of Iron Creek.
So, after a great first three games the Jackson Gang has managed to establish a firm grip on Iron Creek, making short work of the lawmen and bringing terror to the streets. Eagle-eyed readers will have realised the reason for this - while Jackson's gang is painted, the forces of the law remain bare resin, a situation that must be remedied if they're to stand a chance of bringing order back to the town...

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