Skirmish in the Square - Empire of the Dead AAR

First off, I'm very happy to say that this is my 100th blog post on By Brush and Sword. I started this blog over two years ago to document my progress through the wargaming hobby and beyond, and also to share some of the incredible games I've seen and played in. I'd like to thank everyone that takes the time to read this blog - your comments and continued interests go a long way in helping me to continue posting. 

Last Saturday was supposed to be another EotD campaign day with our new gangs, and I was happy to get to use my finished Tong miniatures. Unfortunately, Carl fell ill and Bob forgot his list (and retrieving it would take another hour both ways) so I played against Gary and his Darkfire club. 

Gary set up the table, using some great paper and cardboard terrain from an old D&D set to create a country village. 

We rolled randomly for the mission and got The Prisoner (which was the same mission in the first game of EotD I'd ever played). I decided to be the defender this time, and so the Tong were guarding their captured Darkfire member in the middle of the square, awaiting a carriage to take him away. After that, well - let's just say The Inscrutable One had some questions for the gentleman that wouldn't be so gently asked. 

With that in mind, the Darkfire gang set up around the village. Some waited just out of sight behind the buildings. 

Others waited for a chance to assault the front gate. 

Basically forgetting that they were their to guard a prisoner, the majority of the gang went further into the village to confront the approaching Darkfire members. One Darkfire, already Unhinged as a result from another game, immediately fled the table after being shot at. The rest of the Tong used their weight of fire - Light Pistols may not have the range of rifles, but they still hurt, and I had a bunch of them - and their close combat skills with great results. 

The Darkfire members that had tried attacking the village's gates found themselves stopped by the sawn-off shotgun wielding Bludger, who despite having the constitution and fortitude of a kitten, blew away the one Gentleman who tried his luck and ran into the gate. Doing so triggered the Bludger's Watch and Shoot action, and the Darkfire member caught both barrels in the chest and went down hard. 

Gary's Gatling gun carrying Secretary could have turned the Bludger into a holey man, but the weapon was so bulky that its wielder was forced to either move or shoot. Deciding that moving into the sawn-off's template range was a bad idea, Gary instead began to move his remaining Darkfire members around the edges of the walls. 

They didn't have enough time to reach the fight, however. With the Darkfire Rifleman going down, it was suddenly a four-on-two fight. While my Gent of the Road went down, Gary decided to retreat rather than risk two more of his gang members potentially suffering injuries. With his concession, victory went to the Tong. 

With another successful mission came more rewards. Every model that had a Light Pistol was instead given a Heavy Pistol - apart from the Dipper and the Gent, who can only wield Light Pistols - and the Dipper managed to have his arm injury healed. Unfortunately my Gent suffered a Leg Injury, decreasing his movement speed. Which is fine, since he's there more for his +1 to Initiative rolls. 

We managed to generate some more interest in the game - probably thanks to Gary's awesome terrain - and Gary ran a demo for one of the Warmachine players, who has now joined the campaign with her Nosferatu. It's awesome to see more people take interest in the game, which should add some new blood to the group.