RIVAL GUNS

A SUPPLEMENT FOR

B Y A L E X C . VA N A L L E N
 IN T RODUC T ION
Welcome to Rival Guns, the first I have played with incorporating into
supplement for Dead by Lead. Within Dead by Lead since its very conception,
this book, players will find the but creating what is essentially an
resources needed to create a rival “A.I” system for a tabletop game is
gang of gunslingers to play against! an incredibly challenging process. As
These new resources include tables such, this content has been crafted as a
for naming your new rivals, and vital step towards a fully autonomous
rules for helping them cause havoc in system for players to enjoy games
and around the city of Bloodstone. In alone or cooperatively with friends.
addition, you will find rules for playing The scenarios within these pages are
CREDITS games of Dead by Lead either solo or intended to act as a foundation for these
cooperatively. We have designed three purposes. Players should consider
Author and Game Designer, new scenarios for you to play to help the underlying framework within this
Alex C. Van Allen
showcase these new rules. text, and expand on it where desired
Graphic Design and
Layout, Gregory Horton to make it the most enjoyable gaming
Rival Guns provides players with
and Mitchell Englander
new ways of approaching games of experience possible.
Illustration, Carl Genovese
Map, The Forge Studios Dead by Lead. The idea of having
Roster Sheet Design, Garrett Kipp recurring rivals that challenge you at
Miniatures, Skullforge Minis, every twist and turn is something that
Artizan Designs, Black Scorpion
Miniatures, Great Escape Games,
Knuckleduster Miniatures,
Wargames Foundry

M E D I A C O N TAC T
[email protected]

CONNECT WITH US

BLASTER, © 2023 Electi Studio llc. All

rights reserved. Dead by Lead © 2023 Alex
C. Van Allen. All rights reserved.
RI VA L GUNS CA MPA IGN
The Rival Guns campaign is a set of three brand new
GANG NAMES
scenarios that are designed to challenge either a solo player
ROLL GANG NAME ONE GANG NAME TWO
or multiple players working together cooperatively. The
1 Breakneck Bunch
scenarios and rules have been written as though the players
2 Copper Crew
are starting a brand new gang, but may also be used to help
3 Devil’s Drifters
players “catch up” to another ongoing campaign if they are 4 Grim Gang
joining late. Several special rules are listed below to help 5 Cutthroat Few
players get started with Rival Guns. 6 Lawless Lot
7 Phantom Party
PL AYER GAN G CRE ATIO N 8 Lucky Posse
9 Runaway Raiders
Gang creation for the players is simple, and is mostly
10 Sixgun Riders
conducted in the normal way with a few minor exceptions
11 Vengeful Terrors
– firstly; should players choose to play the Rival Guns
12 Wasteland Robbers
campaign cooperatively, they must split the initial $100
allocated starting funds among all the players. For the
purposes of the gang creation and rules definitions, all Follow the steps below to generate your new rivals. Feel
gunslingers involved in a cooperative campaign are free to reroll any randomized results as desired.
considered to be members of the same gang. Players should
• Roll 1d12 for the gang name on GANG NAMES chart
still take individual ownership of models hired in whatever ONE and TWO to determine the name of the rival gang
way they see fit, and as such, should each roll individually
• Roll 1d6+2 to determine the number for rival gang
for things like initiative when deciding priority. members.

CREATING A RIVAL GANG • For each member, roll 1d12 on each chart to determine
the character’s NICKNAMES, FIRST NAMES, and
The process of creating an enemy gang for Rival Guns is also SURNAMES.
fairly straightforward. This rival gang generator is meant to
• Designate one member of the rival gang to be the leader.
be a starting point for players wishing to play Dead by Lead
Give this character the “Rival Leader” profile.
solo or cooperatively. Feel free to change things or tweak
• Roll 1d6 from the henchman professions for each other
them where necessary to help fit the narrative you and your
gang member and assign the results.
friends are trying to tell.

In order to better minimize confusion, and to capitalize

on a “what you see is what you get” style of play for non-
player controlled characters, each rival gang member may
be equipped with any of the following weapons free of cost:
A Heavy Pistol, Shotgun, Repeating Rifle, Musket, or two
Six-shooters. In addition, each should be granted a free
Bowie Knife.

5
NICK N A MES

ROLL NICKNAMES MALE 1ST NAME FEMALE 1ST NAME SURNAMES

1 Banjo String” Burt Allie Anthony

2 “Cold Creek” Charley Catherine Brown

3 “Deadeye” Clay Dollie Carroll

4 “Dirty” Doc Jane Dixon

5 “Dusty” Frank Kate Evans

6 “Goldtooth” Henry Mary Finch

7 “Holdout” Joe Mattie Green

8 “Kansas” Lee May Howard

9 “Lead Finger” Morgan Polly Little

10 “Slick Gun” Pancho Rose Miller

11 “Texas” Sid Susan Reed

12 “Trigger” Wyatt Violet Woods

6
 Designate one member of the rival gang to be the leader.
RI VA L PROFESSIONS Give this character the “Rival Leader” profile.Roll 1d6 from
the henchman professions for each other gang member and
assign the results.

1-2 3-4

Thug (Henchman)
Muscle (Henchman)
IRON BRAWL GRIT LUCK
IRON BRAWL GRIT LUCK
1 2 2 1
2 4 4 2
Cruel Hearted - Thugs do not care for the
well being of the other rival gang members, Stay Down - Models who lose a Brawl
as such, a Thug does not have to roll to against Muscles are reduced to 1 AP
randomly determine the target when shooting during their next activation.
at a target in base contact with an ally.

5-6

Ace Shot (Henchman) Rival Leader

IRON BRAWL GRIT LUCK IRON BRAWL GRIT LUCK
4 2 3 3 5 3 5 3

Sure Shot - Models who are wounded in Cunning - Assuming the movement is
the Torso hit box by an Ace Shot’s ranged unrestricted, Rival Leaders may move an extra
attack suffer 1 additional damage. 2”- free of cost - at the end of their activation.
Additionally, Rival Leaders may always roll twice
on post-game injury tables, choosing either result.

7
PL AY ING RI VA L GUNS
In the following section, players will find a “Solo & core rules, should they desire to lengthen their solo or
Cooperative NPC Flowchart”. The flowchart provided cooperative campaigns.
should be used to determine the actions of non-player If playing a campaign, players should roll for Keepin’
characters during a match. Should any circumstance arise Busy and any post-game injuries as per normal.
that “breaks” the flowchart, or does not make sense in
Keep track of all advancements in rival gang member’s
accordance with what the NPC would “logically do”, it is
Notoriety. For every 5 Notoriety received by a rival gang
always best to use your personal judgment and tweak the
member, increase their highest statistical value by ‘1’; up to
chart where needed.
a maximum value of ‘6’. Should the character have multiple
When playing matches solo or cooperatively, NPC statistics as their “highest”, simply choose one to increase.
enemy gangs activate characters two at a time, by order
of the gunslinger’s Iron values. NPC gangs always go
last in the initiative order, unless otherwise noted by a Check Base Contact
particular scenario. Is the character in base contact with an enemy?

Players should feel free to use the Rival Guns mechanics

to play any additional scenarios from the Dead by Lead

YES NO

Brawl Check Line of Sight

It will use 1 AP to Brawl. If it wins the Brawl, it will remain in com-
bat and end its turn. If engaged with multiple enemies, it will target Is there an enemy character within line of sight?
the enemy with the highest current wounds.

YES NO

Check Range, Fire and Reload. Bring into Range

If armed with a firearm that is within range, the character will shoot Does the character have a firearm that can be brought in range with
at the closest eligable target. It will use it’s second AP to reload. If
a single movement?
the character has no firearm to shoot with, or is not with in range,
it will move as close as it can towards the neareast enemy, moving
over obstacles if necessary, and ending movement behind the closest
viable cover.

YES NO

Move to Cover Bring into Range

Make the shortest possible move, ending behind cover where vi- If there is an objective for the scenario, move the char-
able, and bring an enemy within range of the character’s firearm.
Use the character’s second AP to shoot. acter 1 AP towards the objective. If there is no objec-
tive, move the character in a random direction. If the
8
character encounters a table edge, wall or other similar
obstacle, end its moevement.
SET-UP SPECIAL RULES
Set up a 2’ x 2’ table to represent the center of The Opposing Jobs scenario is designed to be a
Bloodstone. Fill the table with buildings and scatter fast and violent introduction to the rival gang. If a
terrain in a desired manner to depict the bustling model in the player’s gang is defeated, “the message
boomtown. Deploy all your models within 6” of the has been delivered”, and the rival gang rides off.
center of the table, then place the rival gang in line Alternatively, should a member of the rival gang be
of sight, at a distance of 10” from your models. defeated first, the rival gang decides to “hedge its
bets” at the moment and scrambles.
WINNING CONDITIONS
The game ends as soon as the first model is defeated. REWARDS
All surviving characters in the winning gang are
awarded 1 Notoriety.

10
SET-UP Deploy the attacking models at least 16” away
This scenario should be played on a 4’ x 4’ square from the stage coach. The attacker may not deploy
table. Run a single dirt road directly from one within 6” of the road.
corner of the table to the opposite corner. Place a The attacker automatically starts with initiative
few additional terrain pieces - such as buildings, for the first round.
rocks, or hills - on each side of the road.

The players must decide whether they wish to WINNING CONDITIONS

attack, or defend Judge Blackburn’s stagecoach. The game ends as soon as the stagecoach escapes off

Whatever the decision, the rival gang will the table corner opposite of its starting position, if it

automatically take the opposing role. is immobilized (destroyed), or the defending gang is
defeated.
The defender deploys first. Deploy all defending
models within 6” of the stagecoach, or alternatively,
they may deploy unmounted riding on top of
the coach, so long as their models may freely fit.
Position the stagecoach on the road within 6” of one
of the corners, facing towards the opposite.

11 R i v a l G u n s , A l e x Va n A l l e n
SPECIAL RULES Any model wishing to board must spend 1 AP
The stagecoach is controlled by the defending player while adjacent. Roll 1d12. Unmounted models are
and receives its own activation each turn. successful on a 6+, while mounted models are
successful on a 4+. Any model who fails an attempt
Any model who is moved through by the
at boarding is knocked directly backwards 2”, and
stagecoach is considered to have been “run over”
suffers 2 wounds to their torso hit box.
and is immediately defeated. Treat the model as
though it has suffered a torso injury for the purposes
REWARDS
of post-game injury rolls.
All surviving members in the winning gang are
Hostile models may attempt to board the awarded 2 Notoriety each.
stagecoach, assuming there is room on the
stagecoach model for them to do so, in order to
engage in melee with enemies riding it.

STAGECOACH
IRON BRAWL GRIT LUCK
- - 10 -

Mount - Stagecoaches may move up to 10” in a straight line per AP, and are not affected by “difficult
terrain”. Stagecoaches may never climb, but are still subject to falling damage. Stagecoaches may not use
stairs, swim, or enter buildings. A stagecoach may turn up to 45 degrees per AP spent on movement. As
such, a stagecoach may never turn more than 90 degrees during a single activation. All damage dealt to
the stagecoach is applied to a single ‘Torso’ hit box for any ruling purposes. Any unmodified attack rolls
of ‘12’ against the stagecoach are automatic hits, but are not considered “deadly”. Each wound suffered
by a stagecoach results in a cumulative -1” to its movement. Stagecoaches automatically lose brawls if
engaged in melee combat. Models may “mount” the stagecoach using standard mounting rules. While
on top of the stagecoach, allied models should be considered “mounted”, and as such, they activate with
the stagecoach. However; during the stagecoach’s activation, all models mounted on the stagecoach are
permitted to spend their allotted APs during the activation as normal. Models riding the stagecoach are
treated as automatically having “standard cover”, and suffer a -1 penalty while shooting a ranged weapon.

12
SET-UP are still fire markers on the table, place one new
This scenario should be played on a standard 3’ x fire token on the building that started with the
3’. The table should be set up as a clustered western fire markers. In this way, the flames continue to
frontier town with several structures in close spread each turn until all the flames have been
proximity to one another. Ideally, there should be extinguished, or until all of Marcy has caught on
at least six buildings on the table. Place your gang fire.
within 10” of one of the table edges, and deploy the The flames are dangerously hot, and spreading
rival gang the same distance on the opposite side. quickly. Any model who moves within 2” of a
Place a number of fire markers equal to half the building with a flame marker on it automatically
player’s gang size rounded down, to a minimum of suffers 2 wounds to their torso hit box, and will
one. These markers start on the building that is continue to do so each time they activate within 2”
closest to the rival gang. of the on fire building.
Place one water terrain feature within 6” of Any model within 1” of the water terrain feature
the player’s deployment area. This terrain feature may “collect a water bucket” for 1 AP. Models
may be a well, a stream, small pond, or any water carrying a water bucket may throw them for 1 AP
feature of your choosing. at a range of 6”. Doing so, extinguishes a desired
fire marker within range at the expense of the
WINNING CONDITIONS water bucket. Immediately remove the fire marker
Marcy Burning is played until one of the following from the table.
conditions are met: If all the buildings catch fire, the
players lose the scenario. If the rival gang is defeated REWARDS
before the town burns, the players win. Any character who defeats a member of the rival
gang is awarded 2 Notoriety. Additionally, if all the
SPECIAL RULES flames are successfully extinguished, each model
Each turn, before rolling for initiative, move all of in the player’s gang who survives the match earns
the fire markers to the nearest building without 5 Notoriety.
any current fire markers on it, and then, if there

13 R i v a l G u n s , A l e x Va n A l l e n
 Below, you will find some new purchasable
NEW EQUIPMEN T equipment. Feel free to use these new pieces of
equipment in addition to the standard one found in
the core rules.

OTHER EQUIPMENT

TYPE FEATURES COST

Rigged Deck Once per game, a model with a Rigged Deck of Cards may look at
$15
of Cards the top four cards of the Aim Deck and return them in any order.
Extra Strong Whiskey offers a character +1 temporary Grit at
Extra Strong the expense of -1” movement for the remainder of the game.
$5
Whiskey This effect may never bring a gunslinger’s Grit above ‘6’.
Consumable.
Permanently increase the optimal range of a buffalo rifle,
repeating rifle, or musket by 1”. This item may never be
Rifle Scope $16
used to upgrade an individual weapon more than once.
Consumable.
Lock Picking Kit may be used to negate a
Lock Picking Kit $3
result of ‘1’ on Keepin’ Busy table Four.

14
15 R i v a l G u n s , A l e x Va n A l l e n
OP T ION A L RULES
Within this section, you will find new optional rules “ WE COULD USE A HAND ”
that may be implemented into games of Dead By We Could Use A Hand is a basic feature that allows
Lead, assuming all players agree upon doing so. players who have played at least 1 campaign game,
These rules offer a list of new mechanics that are to replace any lost character with the following
designed around further balancing campaign play character, completely free of charge.
to help promote a more even progression for players
who start to “fall behind” after losing several games.
Farmhand
IRON BRAWL GRIT LUCK
“ CHECK THE P O CK ETS”
1 1 1 1
Check the Pockets allows gunslingers to loot enemy
Earn Your Keep - Farmhands may never
bodies during a match. Doing so will allow players purchase Character Upgrades or Flaws
to roll on a unique items table, and is a good way
to ensure that a character will not leave the match
empty handed. To do so, simply leave any defeated “ REVEN G E ”
gunslingers on the table during a game, and place
Additionally, should players desire to do so, they
them on their side to represent a “downed” character.
may roll 1d12 after each character death. On a result
During a match, models may choose to “check of 10+, players may elect to replace a dead character
the pockets” of any downed enemy that they are with a family member or friend who is “seeking
within 1” of. Doing so requires 2 AP, and allows revenge”. Replace the dead character with a newly
them to make an immediate 1d12 roll on the named character of equal Statistics, reduced by ‘1’.
“Knickknack” table. Do not reduce any statistics below a value of ‘1’ in
this way. The new character automatically starts at
1 Notoriety. This character counts as being of the
same Profession, and should gain that Profession’s
Trait. Character Upgrades and Flaws may be
purchased as normal. If desired, the character
may be equipped with one of the dead character’s
weapons, free of cost.

16
K NICK N ACKS

RESULT TYPE FEATURES SELL VALUE

A gunslinger may add Pocket Lint to

1 Pocket Lint $0
their own collection of pocket lint…
Trail Jerky may be consumed to give a character
+1 temporary Brawl in their next melee combat.
2 Trail Jerky This effect does not stack with itself. This effect $1
may never bring a gunslinger’s Brawl above ‘6’.
Consumable.
Players with a number of Bandanas in their
3 Bandana cache equal to the number of gunslingers in $2
their gang may add +2 to all Initiative rolls.
Shaving Razor may be equipped as a weapon, and
has the same profile as a Bowie Knife without
the “Throwing Weapon” feature. Additionally, a
4 Shaving Razor $3
Shaving Razor may be used used to remove the
‘Poor Hygiene’ Character Flaw; remove this item
from your Gang Cache if used in this manner.
This item must be used with a Matchbook.
Gunslingers in possession of a Smoking Pipe may
5 Smoking Pipe $4
spend 1 AP to restore 1 Luck. This may not bring
a gunslinger above their starting Luck value.
This item must be used with Extra Strong Whiskey.
Extra Strong Whiskey that is used with
6 Fine Flask $5
a Fine Flask provides “+2 temporary
Grit” instead of the standard “+1”.
This item must be used with a Smoking Pipe.
7 Matchbook $1
Consumable.
Canteen may be used once per game to provide
8 Canteen an unmounted character with an additional 2” $6
of movement in a single movement action.
A player in possession of a Compass may
9 Compass choose to redeploy all of their models after $10
seeing how the enemy gang deploys.
A gunslinger may choose to use a Pocket
Bible at the expense of 5 Notoriety to
10 Pocket Bible $10
permanently remove one Character Flaw.
Consumable.
A gunslinger in possession of a Necklace of
Ears gains 1 Notoriety - starting with the
first - any time they roll the Necklace of
11 Necklace of Ears $1 per ear
Ears result on the Knickknacks chart.
Players should keep note of the number of
times that a character receives this result.
Roll 1d12 and add the result in
12 Money -
dollars to your gang’s cache.

17 R i v a l G u n s , A l e x Va n A l l e n
 REFERENCE SHEE T
1 . I N IATIVE & 3 . B R AWLI N G STANDARD ACTIONS Brawling (pg 37): Engaging
AC TIVATI O N (Dead by Lead, pg 37.) The following are standard in melee combat with
(Dead by Lead, pg 27.) actions and all require an enemy model.
• Both players, 1d12 1 AP to perform:
• Each player rolls 1d12. + Brawl Stat Careful Aiming (pg 35): Taking
Highest roll wins initative. Movement (pg 28): move 6.” the time to line up the target for a
• Apply wounds 1+ +1 Iron modifier before shooting.
May use two movement actions.
• Players take turns activating weapon damage
two characters then Reloading (pg 35: Topping off
• Roll on hit location. Shooting (31): Attacking the ammunition of a firearm.
passing to the other player. an enemy model within
• Optional Disengage
• Each character gets two range and line of sight
standard actions. 4 . LU CK with a ranged weapon.
(Dead by Lead, pg 38.)
2 . S H O OTI N G Mounting & Dismounting
Any time you would take a
(Dead by Lead, pg 31.) (pg 30): Climbing on or off of a
wound you may spend characters
friendly horse or mule character.
luck to to roll 1d12 (+luck
• Determine cover
spent). If result is equal to or
• Draw cards greater than modified roll of
• Add modifiers attack, no damage is taken.

• Roll 1d12
5 . DA M AG E & WO U N DS Check Base Contact
(Dead by Lead, pg 36.)
Is the character in base contact with an enemy?
• Roll hit location
• Apply weapon damage
to location.
• Apply hit box effects
YES NO

Brawl Check Line of Sight

It will use 1 AP to Brawl. If it wins the Brawl, it will remain in com-
bat and end its turn. If engaged with multiple enemies, it will target Is there an enemy character within line of sight?
the enemy with the highest current wounds.

YES NO

Check Range, Fire and Reload. Bring into Range

If armed with a firearm that is within range, the character will shoot Does the character have a firearm that can be brought in range with
at the closest eligable target. It will use it’s second AP to reload. If
a single movement?
the character has no firearm to shoot with, or is not with in range,
it will move as close as it can towards the neareast enemy, moving
over obstacles if necessary, and ending movement behind the closest
viable cover.

YES NO

Move to Cover Bring into Range

Make the shortest possible move, ending behind cover where vi- If there is an objective for the scenario, move the char-
able, and bring an enemy within range of the character’s firearm.
Use the character’s second AP to shoot. acter 1 AP towards the objective. If there is no objec-
tive, move the character in a random direction. If the
18
character encounters a table edge, wall or other similar
obstacle, end its moevement.

18