RIVAL GUNS

A SUPPLEMENT FOR

B Y A L E X C . VA N A L L E N

CREDITS
Author and Game Designer,
Alex C. Van Allen
Graphic Design and
Layout, Gregory Horton
and Mitchell Englander
Illustration, Carl Genovese
Map, The Forge Studios
Roster Sheet Design, Garrett Kipp
Miniatures, Skullforge Minis,
Artizan Designs, Black Scorpion
Miniatures, Great Escape Games,
Knuckleduster Miniatures,
Wargames Foundry
M E D I A C O N TAC T
info@electi-studio.com
CONNECT WITH US
BLASTER, © 2023 Electi Studio llc. All
rights reserved. Dead by Lead © 2023 Alex
C. Van Allen. All rights reserved.
IN T RODUC T ION
Welcome to Rival Guns, the first
supplement for Dead by Lead. Within
this book, players will find the
resources needed to create a rival
gang of gunslingers to play against!
These new resources include tables
for naming your new rivals, and
rules for helping them cause havoc in
and around the city of Bloodstone. In
addition, you will find rules for playing
games of Dead by Lead either solo or
cooperatively. We have designed three
new scenarios for you to play to help
showcase these new rules.
Rival Guns provides players with
new ways of approaching games of
Dead by Lead. The idea of having
recurring rivals that challenge you at
every twist and turn is something that
I have played with incorporating into
Dead by Lead since its very conception,
but creating what is essentially an
“A.I” system for a tabletop game is
an incredibly challenging process. As
such, this content has been crafted as a
vital step towards a fully autonomous
system for players to enjoy games
alone or cooperatively with friends.
The scenarios within these pages are
intended to act as a foundation for these
purposes. Players should consider
the underlying framework within this
text, and expand on it where desired
to make it the most enjoyable gaming
experience possible.
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
the Torso hit box by an Ace Shot’s ranged
attack suffer 1 additional damage.
Cunning - Assuming the movement is
unrestricted, Rival Leaders may move an extra
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 &
Cooperative NPC Flowchart”. The flowchart provided
should be used to determine the actions of non-player
characters during a match. Should any circumstance arise
that “breaks” the flowchart, or does not make sense in
accordance with what the NPC would “logically do”, it is
always best to use your personal judgment and tweak the
chart where needed.
When playing matches solo or cooperatively, NPC
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
particular scenario.
core rules, should they desire to lengthen their solo or
cooperative campaigns.
If playing a campaign, players should roll for Keepin’
Busy and any post-game injuries as per normal.
Keep track of all advancements in rival gang member’s
Notoriety. For every 5 Notoriety received by a rival gang
member, increase their highest statistical value by ‘1’; up to
a maximum value of ‘6’. Should the character have multiple
statistics as their “highest”, simply choose one to increase.
Check Base Contact
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-
able, and bring an enemy within range of the character’s firearm.
Use the character’s second AP to shoot.
8
If there is an objective for the scenario, move the char-
acter 1 AP towards the objective. If there is no objec-
tive, move the character in a random direction. If the
character encounters a table edge, wall or other similar
obstacle, end its moevement.
SET-UP
Set up a 2’ x 2’ table to represent the center of
Bloodstone. Fill the table with buildings and scatter
terrain in a desired manner to depict the bustling
boomtown. Deploy all your models within 6” of the
center of the table, then place the rival gang in line
of sight, at a distance of 10” from your models.
WINNING CONDITIONS
The game ends as soon as the first model is defeated.
10
SPECIAL RULES
The Opposing Jobs scenario is designed to be a
fast and violent introduction to the rival gang. If a
model in the player’s gang is defeated, “the message
has been delivered”, and the rival gang rides off.
Alternatively, should a member of the rival gang be
defeated first, the rival gang decides to “hedge its
bets” at the moment and scrambles.
REWARDS
All surviving characters in the winning gang are
awarded 1 Notoriety.
SET-UP
This scenario should be played on a 4’ x 4’ square
table. Run a single dirt road directly from one
corner of the table to the opposite corner. Place a
few additional terrain pieces - such as buildings,
rocks, or hills - on each side of the road.
The players must decide whether they wish to
attack, or defend Judge Blackburn’s stagecoach.
Whatever the decision, the rival gang will
automatically take the opposing role.
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
Deploy the attacking models at least 16” away
from the stage coach. The attacker may not deploy
within 6” of the road.
The attacker automatically starts with initiative
for the first round.
WINNING CONDITIONS
The game ends as soon as the stagecoach escapes off
the table corner opposite of its starting position, if it
is immobilized (destroyed), or the defending gang is
defeated.
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
This scenario should be played on a standard 3’ x
3’. The table should be set up as a clustered western
frontier town with several structures in close
proximity to one another. Ideally, there should be
at least six buildings on the table. Place your gang
within 10” of one of the table edges, and deploy the
rival gang the same distance on the opposite side.
Place a number of fire markers equal to half the
player’s gang size rounded down, to a minimum of
one. These markers start on the building that is
closest to the rival gang.
Place one water terrain feature within 6” of
the player’s deployment area. This terrain feature
may be a well, a stream, small pond, or any water
feature of your choosing.
WINNING CONDITIONS
Marcy Burning is played until one of the following
conditions are met: If all the buildings catch fire, the
players lose the scenario. If the rival gang is defeated
before the town burns, the players win.
SPECIAL RULES
Each turn, before rolling for initiative, move all of
the fire markers to the nearest building without
any current fire markers on it, and then, if there
13
are still fire markers on the table, place one new
fire token on the building that started with the
fire markers. In this way, the flames continue to
spread each turn until all the flames have been
extinguished, or until all of Marcy has caught on
fire.
The flames are dangerously hot, and spreading
quickly. Any model who moves within 2” of a
building with a flame marker on it automatically
suffers 2 wounds to their torso hit box, and will
continue to do so each time they activate within 2”
of the on fire building.
Any model within 1” of the water terrain feature
may “collect a water bucket” for 1 AP. Models
carrying a water bucket may throw them for 1 AP
at a range of 6”. Doing so, extinguishes a desired
fire marker within range at the expense of the
water bucket. Immediately remove the fire marker
from the table.
REWARDS
Any character who defeats a member of the rival
gang is awarded 2 Notoriety. Additionally, if all the
flames are successfully extinguished, each model
in the player’s gang who survives the match earns
5 Notoriety.
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
that may be implemented into games of Dead By
Lead, assuming all players agree upon doing so.
These rules offer a list of new mechanics that are
designed around further balancing campaign play
to help promote a more even progression for players
who start to “fall behind” after losing several games.
“ CHECK THE P O CK ETS”
Check the Pockets allows gunslingers to loot enemy
bodies during a match. Doing so will allow players
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
gunslingers on the table during a game, and place
them on their side to represent a “downed” character.
During a match, models may choose to “check
the pockets” of any downed enemy that they are
within 1” of. Doing so requires 2 AP, and allows
them to make an immediate 1d12 roll on the
“Knickknack” table.
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“ WE COULD USE A HAND ”
We Could Use A Hand is a basic feature that allows
players who have played at least 1 campaign game,
to replace any lost character with the following
character, completely free of charge.
Farmhand
IRON BRAWL GRIT LUCK
1 1 1 1
Earn Your Keep - Farmhands may never
purchase Character Upgrades or Flaws
“ REVEN G E ”
Additionally, should players desire to do so, they
may roll 1d12 after each character death. On a result
of 10+, players may elect to replace a dead character
with a family member or friend who is “seeking
revenge”. Replace the dead character with a newly
named character of equal Statistics, reduced by ‘1’.
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.
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

1 . I N IATIVE & 3 . B R AWLI N G
AC TIVATI O N (Dead by Lead, pg 37.)
(Dead by Lead, pg 27.)
• Both players, 1d12
• Each player rolls 1d12. + Brawl Stat
Highest roll wins initative.
• Apply wounds 1+
• Players take turns activating weapon damage
two characters then
• Roll on hit location.
passing to the other player.
• Optional Disengage
• Each character gets two
standard actions. 4 . LU CK
(Dead by Lead, pg 38.)
2 . S H O OTI N G
Any time you would take a
(Dead by Lead, pg 31.)
wound you may spend characters
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.
REFERENCE SHEE T
STANDARD ACTIONS Brawling (pg 37): Engaging
The following are standard in melee combat with
actions and all require an enemy model.
1 AP to perform:
Careful Aiming (pg 35): Taking
Movement (pg 28): move 6.” the time to line up the target for a
+1 Iron modifier before shooting.
May use two movement actions.
Reloading (pg 35: Topping off
Shooting (31): Attacking the ammunition of a firearm.
an enemy model within
range and line of sight
with a ranged weapon.
Mounting & Dismounting
(pg 30): Climbing on or off of a
friendly horse or mule character.

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

18