Fistful of Lead: Bring Me The Head of Big Nick!

 Happy New Year, gentle readers! In keeping with my goal of playing at least two games, solo or otherwise, every month in 2025, I got the dining room table cleared off (we never actually eat at the table, so it quickly becomes a catch-all site) and set myself up with a modern game of Fistful of Lead. Here we have two rival gangs - one a Mexican cartel group, and the other a group of Hell's Angels-style bikers - out for each other's blood, using the "Head Hunting" scenario from Wiley Games' "Wasteland Warriors" supplement. Since I had more cartel soldiers than I had bikers, the bikers became the defenders in the scenario, with the cartel's goal being to kill the biker leader "Big Nick." To that end, they've tracked Big Nick's gang to this trailer park...

The Los Lobos gang deployed in cover behind the Taco Truck, and are as follows:

• Carlos (Leader; Leader, Steady, Inspiring, Encouraging), armed with a Pistol
• Javier (Specialist; Eagle-Eyed, Killer), armed with an Automatic Rifle
• Ramon (Regular; Sprinter), armed with a Modern Rifle
• Michael (Regular; Sniper), armed with a Modern Rifle
• Hector (Regular; Observant), armed with a Pistol
• Marcus (Regular; Dodge), armed with a Pistol

L to R: Ramon, Marcus, Javier, Carlos, Hector and Michael

Meanwhile, the Satan's Sadists biker gang deployed spread out, in cover in two trailers and crouching behind the hummer in the car port. They consisted of:

• Big Nick (Leader; Leader, Tough as Nails, Impervious, Cold-Blooded), armed with a Submachine Gun
• Grill (Specialist; Stealthy, Deadeye), armed with a Flamethrower
• Legs (Regular; Quick), armed with a Shotgun
• Hogan (Regular; Loads of Ammo), armed with an Automatic Rifle
• Barbie (Regular; Killer), armed with a Submachine Gun

Big Nick keeps Barbie close by

Grill lurks in the car port

Legs and Hogan watch from cover in the other trailer

Per the scenario, the game goes for a semi-random number of turns, between 6 and 10, before the noise of the fight brings authorities to the scene. I rolled an 8, so we had eight turns for mayhem before the police showed up. 

The Los Lobos began to cautiously move forward, moving from the Taco Truck to the UPS van, while Michael moved towards the fence to get a better vantage point for shooting; Ramon fired a potshot at Grill but missed. 

A nervous Barbie stepped outside for a cigarette, and Grill moved forward to retaliate against Ramon; he sent a gout of flame towards the Los Lobos member, but Ramon managed to avoid being roasted. 

Legs was drawn outside by the noise, and Ramon rolled out of the way, firing off another ineffective shot. Moving forward, Grill got Ramon and Javier in his sites and let loose another spray of flame - wounding Javier and killing Ramon. 

Meanwhile, Michael lined up a shot and put Barbie out of action:

"Enough of this," Hector thought to himself, and jumped into the UPS van. Hotwiring it, he hit the gas as hard as he could and accelerated directly into Grill, pulping the biker under the tires.

In the confusion (and with the UPS van as added cover), Marcus and Carlos moved forward into the trailer park - Marcus to distract and take down Legs and Hogan, while Carlos hightailed it towards the other trailer. A shot from Hogan put a Shock token on Marcus and sent him tumbling for cover among the trash; Legs put a second Shock token on him with a blast from her shotgun. However, Marcus got up, shrugged off both Shock tokens, and shot Legs, putting a Wound on her. 

Meanwhile, Carlos darted and weaved towards the other trailer, leaping over the tire barricade. Unfortunately, as he landed in the yard, Big Nick erupted from the trailer.

"Heard ya was lookin' for me!" the biker roared, his submachine gun spitting lead. Bullets tore into Carlos, sending him out of action!

That could have been the end of things right there; the Los Lobos were leaderless, after all. However, the scenario didn't say anything about the attackers' Leader being killed, just whether or not the defenders' Leader was alive at the end of the game. 

Michael was still behind the fence, 11 1/2 inches away from Big Nick. Taking a deep breath, he aimed, fired, and put a round in the big biker's forehead. 

With Nick's death taking place at such a long range, I decided the surviving gang members would need to get close and verify that the biker leader was dead before they could flee the scene.

Legs struggled to her feet, and Marcus decided he wasn't having any of that; he leapt forward and pistol-whipped her back to the ground. Meanwhile, Hector made his way to the trailer to take a better look at both Big Nick and Carlos, undeterred by Hogan's ineffectual shots in his direction. 

With the deaths confirmed, Hector, Marcus and Michael loaded the wounded Javier into the UPS van and sped away, minutes ahead of the approaching police sirens. 

***

That was some spectacular carnage and mayhem, and the perfect start to 2025. When Grill hit both Ramon and Javier with the flamethrower I thought this game might swing towards the defenders, especially with Hogan in cover firing through a window at the attackers and Big Nick hidden deep in the second trailer. I gave the Los Lobos an extra guy since so many of them only had pistols. I think having the extra figure made a difference, especially since Javier spent the entire game on his back, too wounded to get up but not enough so to bleed out. And clearly, Hector was an MVP with that vehicular assault!

I've never used the vehicle rules for Fistful of Lead (found in Galactic Heroes 2nd edition) before, but it occurred to me that I have vehicles now, and that they can do more than just be scatter terrain. Plus, in moving it, Hector provided better cover for his teammates - it was a brief thing, but very useful and game-changing. 

I decided to roll on the recovery table under the campaign rules in Wasteland Warriors for Carlos and Ramon, since this may become a campaign this year, with different gangs fighting for control of Anytown, USA, police trying to maintain/restore order, and other events going on.

Carlos was "just winged," and so makes a full recovery and will be available to partake in the next game the Los Lobos take part in. 

Ramon needs more intensive healing; he'll miss the next game, and upon his return in the following game he'll start with a Wound. 

As for Satan's Sadists...

• Big Nick and Grill are pushing up daisies. There's no coming back for them.
• Legs and Barbie will recover, but will need to miss the next game. 

The Los Lobos receive 5 Renown Points, and the Sadists receive 0. 

***

And finally, I'm adding this to my blog posts this year - an accountability tracker for figures and terrain purchased and painted.

Figures Purchased in 2025: 0

Figures Painted in 2025: 0