"Just played my first LotOW- overgenerous survival rates? " Topic

We played Vendetta, only one fatality (score of 1 or 2) out of a game with about half a dozen out of actions…

Does that really reflect the effect of later C19th weapons?

Quite probably. Hollywood makes the six-gun far too effective.

Well, the game is called LEGENDS of the Old West, right? How legendary would a legend be if he died every time he got shot?

Yep, lots of lead flew in real life with precious few fatalities.

That's why I ganme the 'Reel West' rather than the Real one.

Thanks,

John

Yep. Even the 'Legends' were pretty bad shots by wargaming standards. Most kills were from ambushes or being outnumbered 5+ to 1.

These guys could repeatedly empty revolvers at each other across a saloon and not cause a single fatality.

Overgenerous survival rates? No, not really. The game does indicate that losing your last wound doesn't *specifically* mean that you've been killed, it just means you're out of the fight for some reason.

The "1 or 2" would only be for henchmen, IIRC, as they get the simple damage resolution table (1-2: dead, 3+: fine). If a hero gets knocked out of the fight, he rolls d66 and has a lot more options for what happened to him.

Yep – guys taken out of action during a game stand a reasonable chance of losing an arm, eye or leg – that can have a dramatic effect on their usefulness in later games, and is pretty nasty in anyone's book.

At the OK Corral over thirty shots were fired by at least eight guys, in a narrow ally at very close range and only four shots found their mark.

So, a lotta shootin, and not much killin would seem to be pretty accurate, historically.

I agree that this is all generally right. But there were exceptions. In 1854, Captain Jonathan Davis and two friends were ambushed by a gang of 14 individuals. Davis's two friends were almost immediately out of the battle. But Davis proceeded to take out seven of the bandits with his pistols, and four with his bowie knife, the final three running for their lives. So the final tally defense 2 dead, offense 11 dead. Here's a link to the story: link

Yeah I've heard about the drunken point blank fights (Got talked about in a LOOK & LEARN annual back in the 70s!) and thats fine for the Bar Brawl but most of the scenarios are more earnest afairs. Certainly a lot less bloody than RULES WITH NO NAME!

I'm fairly sure the OK Corral is solid evidence of extreme deadliness instead of the reverse. The Mussel Slough shootout was also extremely deadly, with seven fatalities. Most of these were killed by a single man (Walter Crow) with a shotgun. Nearly half the participants of this ugly incident did not walk away from it.

Also – posse leaders get 8 experience at start, which is a threshold. Does that mean you roll for an advance before their first game?

It was obviously a good era to be a 'Red Jersey' if henchmen live on 4-6!

Sure, there were deadly gunfights. However, taken as a whole over a 30-45 year era, I would say that gunfights where 3 or more folks were killed were a rarity. I have an excellent book that covers every chronicled gunfight in the west. Lots of them. However, there just weren't as many deaths as you might think. Certainly not as compared to what we are accustomed to seeing on the big screen.

The movie 'Open Range' would have certainly been one of the most renowned gunfights in the old West if it had happened. Loads of folks get gunned down there.

Thanks,

John

Just that most wild west games reflect pretty extreme scenrios! eg Vendetta is based on the OK Corral. In our version one man died (with more characters than in the real fight)

Encyclopedia of Western Gunfighters by Bill O' Neil.

The LOOK & LEARN article implied that many gun carriers had weapons that were poorly maintained etc

"LotOW" My brain said Lords of the Old West. I hate acronyms. Bunch of lazy good for nothings that we all are.

Terrement, your average man may miss a target at 25 feet but I suspect that your average gunfight is more like at 25 inches.