Western Picture Stories #1

Ah, Centaur, how you churned them out.

First up is "Treachery on the Trail", which demonstrates some instances of flavor text in combat.  No, there is not a game mechanic that would allow you to parry an attack aimed at someone else (by, say, kicking a rifle as it's fired). The attack simply missed, but the Editor got descriptive as to why.

Similarly, in this instance we see a rifle being used to parry a thrown hatchet. Although there are rules for using cover in combat, I don't think a narrow gun barrel should constitute even soft cover, so this is another instance of flavor text.

At one point I had considered adding illustrations of 1940s firearms to Hideouts & Hoodlums Book I: Men & Supermen.  I'm glad I didn't, as there doesn't need to be this big a focus on firearms in the game.  However, if anyone wanted such a thing for a cowboy-themed H&H game -- here it is.

And here.

You have to wonder how stupid these bad guys have to be not to see The Phantom of the Hills' plan here.  Don't ride up the slope towards those boulders, you idiots!  Sometimes, though, an Editor might have trouble deciding how smart to play his mobsters. For that, the Editor can use the save vs. plot mechanic to decide for him.

Dying from blood loss is not something you see much of in comic books of this period, and H&H has no game mechanic for such. There have been several optional rules over the years, though, for binding wounds.  One was that it would heal back a small amount of lost hit points immediately and the other was that it would speed natural healing, so that the next hit point back would only require half as much rest.  Not sure yet which the next edition will use.

Look before a certain Canadian tackled the Hulk, this was the first wolverine in comic books.  Wolverines are supposed to be really tough, so I guess I'd give them 1-1 Hit Dice, even though they're small and light.  

(Scans courtesy of Digital Comic Museum)