Cowboys Vs. Zombies

You are on your own. The Army is MIA and our government is gone! There are no communications of any kind. Cities and towns have gone dark, and zombies fill the streets. The dead have risen and it would seem to be the end of the world. Help me, Mommy!

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Unfortunate Son
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Cowboys Vs. Zombies

Unread post by Unfortunate Son »

Currently working on a campaign set in the late 1800's and was wondering if anyone has any resources that might he helpful in that. Any help is appreciated, more so any damage list on calibers
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Re: Cowboys Vs. Zombies

Unread post by say652 »

44/40 that was the most common rifle.

45 long colt.
44 magnum.

45/70 Sharps after 1873.
12 gauge shotgun.

Also allowing some new west occs, like Cowboy, sheriff and gambler all seem seeing fitting
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Re: Cowboys Vs. Zombies

Unread post by filo_clarke »

say652 wrote:
44 magnum.


.44 Magnum?
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Re: Cowboys Vs. Zombies

Unread post by say652 »

Yes, it has a slighter higher velocity than a 45 long colt and supposedly improved accuracy.

The modern 45acp is a chopped down version of the long colt to create the 1911 design.

Browning was a genius. Lol
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Re: Cowboys Vs. Zombies

Unread post by filo_clarke »

say652 wrote:Yes, it has a slighter higher velocity than a 45 long colt and supposedly improved accuracy.

The modern 45acp is a chopped down version of the long colt to create the 1911 design.

Browning was a genius. Lol


The .44 Magnum was made by Elmer Keith in 1955, not 1855. He was wildcatting .44 Special cartridges and needed a longer parent case for the hotter loads.
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Re: Cowboys Vs. Zombies

Unread post by say652 »

filo_clarke wrote:
say652 wrote:Yes, it has a slighter higher velocity than a 45 long colt and supposedly improved accuracy.

The modern 45acp is a chopped down version of the long colt to create the 1911 design.

Browning was a genius. Lol


The .44 Magnum was made by Elmer Keith in 1955, not 1855. He was wildcatting .44 Special cartridges and needed a longer parent case for the hotter loads.


I stand corrected.

Though how worrying other posters caliber quotes helps the original poster and isn't considered flaming and a warning issued its amazing.
I get banned for less.
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Re: Cowboys Vs. Zombies

Unread post by Unfortunate Son »

I know the common calibers, !ore interested in if anyone has said calibers stated out as a start point for me. Seeing that I may need need to write over a hundred pages of notes, it would save me some time.

Working on alterations of those classes to fit more into an Old Western setting, thinking this is going to be a long process, but does have epic campaign written all over it. Also seeing I'm going to have to alter skill starting levels as well.
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Re: Cowboys Vs. Zombies

Unread post by filo_clarke »

Kitsune's web page had a great assortment of common weapon calibers. It wouldn't take much searching to find which were common in the time period you are interested in.

A campaign set at the end of the nineteenth century presents some challenges, but also some opportunities. The challenges are, of course, a loss of the technological advantages that come with modern living, while the opportunities come in the form of population density and self-sufficiency.

The loss of technology includes obvious issues like the prevalence of black powder weapons over the still burgeoning smokeless powder variations, resulting in lesser powered cartridges. Also, there were few semi-automatic weapons, and almost no fully-automatic arms, resulting in lower rates of fire, and lower ammunition capacity across the board (there are of course exceptions, but this is a short post). But think of technological innovations other than weapons, like the internal combustion engine, for example. In the present, if you park your car and hide inside a building, zombies largely ignore the vehicle. The same cannot be said for a corral full or horses, so that hiding from zombies while on the move includes the added complexity of hiding your “ride”. Likewise medicine in the 1890s is a very different affair. Commercial antibiotics weren’t created until the 1930s, and even Sulfa drugs date to around that era. Wound treatment in the 1890s would be basic, at best; heat sterilization of surgical instruments wasn’t invented until the 1880s and wound excision dates to 1898. So, you had a VERY good chance of infection with any traumatic injury, not to mention the various diseases and afflictions which had no cure. Finally, I would like to mention communication. While the telegraph joined North America from coast to coast by the 1860s, there were no long range radio broadcasts until the 1920s. This means that getting news about survivors and outbreaks was substantially more difficult.

Now, let’s have a thought to opportunities. Population density was much lower, with the USA having only about 65 million people in 1890, with the Midwest being extremely underpopulated. The East Coast had the bulk of the population, with the West Coast having a sizable chunk as well. This means that escaping the worst of the infestation means simply moving to the central regions. Likewise, small towns and villages will be in a position to take care of the entirety of the zombie threat completely. Self-sufficiency also means that smaller groups will have a much broader skill-set for long term survival.
Now, let’s look at some ideas and core campaign concepts;

Isolation: Picking a small Midwestern town as the location could mean that on the day of the Wave, the citizenry are completely unaware of the threat. No reports of infection or illness have reached them yet, and with the rise of the undead, communication routes are quickly eliminated. The PCs are suddenly completely in the dark about the rest of the outside world. No information is coming in, and no one is coming to help. Play on the notion about the distance between towns, and the emptiness outside of their outpost.

Loss: The ease of information in modern times is too simple to overlook. Things like basic medicine, engineering and uncountable other skills are in the hands of a select few, rather than a click-away on the internet. If the town doctor dies, does anyone within 100 miles know anything about surgery? If the farrier, or the gunsmith are gone, can anyone replace them? Canned foods and dry goods weren’t as easy to come by, but neither was anything else. Give the PCs access to a good supply of gear early on, and then feel no sadness for them when is all runs dry and replacing it becomes difficult, if not impossible.

Environment: Remember that in the 19th century many buildings didn’t have indoor heating, and those that did relied on regular coal deliveries. Weather can become a fierce opponent in a hurry, and with no synthetic clothes or modern insulation, it can be deadly. Without asphalt, roads wash out with heavy rain and the environment changes at night with no streetlights. Press the feeling of being at the mercy of the weather, and use it to herd the PS to where you want them.
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Re: Cowboys Vs. Zombies

Unread post by say652 »

1858colt Navy pistol, that's the gun that changed the game.
44 caliber blackpowder.

The ability to pull the cylinder and just slap another one like a magazine is what made the weapon legendary.
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Re: Cowboys Vs. Zombies

Unread post by eliakon »

say652 wrote:
filo_clarke wrote:
say652 wrote:Yes, it has a slighter higher velocity than a 45 long colt and supposedly improved accuracy.

The modern 45acp is a chopped down version of the long colt to create the 1911 design.

Browning was a genius. Lol


The .44 Magnum was made by Elmer Keith in 1955, not 1855. He was wildcatting .44 Special cartridges and needed a longer parent case for the hotter loads.


I stand corrected.

Though how worrying other posters caliber quotes helps the original poster and isn't considered flaming and a warning issued its amazing.
I get banned for less.

Presumably because the quoting poster was trying to help the OP by correcting what appeared to be a misunderstanding about two close calibers so that the historically accurate one could be used?
And in the process provide a bit of trivia about how/why the second one showed up (and why it is so close to the first one)
Its not 'flaming' because it isn't intended to provoke someone into responding nor is it written in an overtly hostile way.

(and to be honest... I myself had no idea about the magnum and will confess to having had magnum rounds in my Wild West games... oops well, now I know *cue flying star & rainbow*)
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Re: Cowboys Vs. Zombies

Unread post by Mechghost »

don't forget the The Walch 12-shot .36 caliber Navy revolver, great surprise when someone is counting your rounds :-) made in 1859
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Re: Cowboys Vs. Zombies

Unread post by Axelmania »

Looking past the pistolplay of the westerns, more true to the spirit of cowboys: how about the rope/lasso skills? Rifts WB 14 New West goes into that a bit, and I think TMNT's Mutants Down Under had a bit on that as well.

There's plenty of rope in the world, and it probably wouldn't be as scarce as ammo because fewer people would know how to use it effectively.

You wouldn't have to worry about natural AR because that's just for damage, if the point is simply to ensnare/entangle you just need to make a successful strike over 4.

Zombies would for the most part be too stupid to try and remove rope, so if you hogtied their ankles you can instantly change a Sloucher into a Crawler.

The weapon is silent so it wouldn't attract crowds like gunfire, and it wouldn't instantly alert the attacked zombie that a target is near if you rope them from behind.

By keeping at a distance, it protects you from simultaneous attacks and benefits from PP bonuses unlike guns.

It's also reusable like a thrown weapon, but being on a rope, can be retrieved without having to physically walk to the location.

Nets would also be pretty useful if you raided some fishing boats for them.

One major concern is that you also want a means of obstructing the zombie's vision so they don't let loose with a moan.

I wonder if you could possibly just throw a tarp over the zombie to solve that problem.

Zombies don't moan if attacked after all, only if they see an enemy, so if you can attack them while obsctructing their vision with physical barriers, you prevent hordes.

Once a zombie's arms are tied, they can't grab/entangle you as you attack them, and you can easily beat down their main body to make them inactive and then worry about beheading them once they're no longer an active threat (ie you can remove the tarp obstructing vision once HP is depleted)
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Re: Cowboys Vs. Zombies

Unread post by eliakon »

Axelmania wrote:Looking past the pistolplay of the westerns, more true to the spirit of cowboys: how about the rope/lasso skills? Rifts WB 14 New West goes into that a bit, and I think TMNT's Mutants Down Under had a bit on that as well.

There's plenty of rope in the world, and it probably wouldn't be as scarce as ammo because fewer people would know how to use it effectively.

You wouldn't have to worry about natural AR because that's just for damage, if the point is simply to ensnare/entangle you just need to make a successful strike over 4.

Zombies would for the most part be too stupid to try and remove rope, so if you hogtied their ankles you can instantly change a Sloucher into a Crawler.

The weapon is silent so it wouldn't attract crowds like gunfire, and it wouldn't instantly alert the attacked zombie that a target is near if you rope them from behind.

By keeping at a distance, it protects you from simultaneous attacks and benefits from PP bonuses unlike guns.

It's also reusable like a thrown weapon, but being on a rope, can be retrieved without having to physically walk to the location.

Nets would also be pretty useful if you raided some fishing boats for them.

One major concern is that you also want a means of obstructing the zombie's vision so they don't let loose with a moan.

I wonder if you could possibly just throw a tarp over the zombie to solve that problem.

Zombies don't moan if attacked after all, only if they see an enemy, so if you can attack them while obsctructing their vision with physical barriers, you prevent hordes.

Once a zombie's arms are tied, they can't grab/entangle you as you attack them, and you can easily beat down their main body to make them inactive and then worry about beheading them once they're no longer an active threat (ie you can remove the tarp obstructing vision once HP is depleted)

Since Zombies can 'see' through clothes, armor, and some walls... I don't think any mere tarp is going to 'blind' one.
The upside of weapons like lasso's, bolas, and nets are still valid though.
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Re: Cowboys Vs. Zombies

Unread post by Axelmania »

I think that might be a matter of where the tarp is placed. Like if a human were hiding right underneath one then our light would shine through because of our auras which extend beyond our flesh, but if there was a human, 10 feet of space, a tarp held up like a wall, and then another 10 feet of space, and then a zombie, I don't think it would see us.

Where does it talk about them being able to see through walls?

I know walls don't stop them sensing you if you are close but their sense without sight range is short.
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Re: Cowboys Vs. Zombies

Unread post by Blue_Lion »

sources of info on guns.

page with drop down menu of replica od west guns with pics and years. Sorted by black powder cartage pistol and rifle.
http://www.uberti.com/

at the bottom of
http://www.militaryfactory.com/smallarm ... t-guns.asp

Google pics
https://www.google.com/search?q=guns+of ... AQ_AUIBygC

bing pics
https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=gu ... ORM=HDRSC2
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Re: Cowboys Vs. Zombies

Unread post by bradshaw »

I love this thread. Just info.
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Re: Cowboys Vs. Zombies

Unread post by Unfortunate Son »

Me too. Sadly ended that project.
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Re: Cowboys Vs. Zombies

Unread post by tsh77769 »

How about a real life 34 round lever action rifle with a helical magazine in the stock from 1873?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evans_Repeating_Rifle

Or, a .50 cal 20rd air rifle strong enough for medium game from 1780 and used by Lewis and Clark.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evans_Repeating_Rifle

Fast firing and high capacity weapons are nothing new. For as long as guns have existed there has been a continuous effort to decrease the time it takes to reload and to put reloading off as long as possible.

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Re: Cowboys Vs. Zombies

Unread post by Axelmania »

MFW recent season of Walking Dead uses rope works to take on a horde. The validation.
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