Welcome to...

Jenn, my wife, has asked me if she and I can do some miniatures gaming. When we first got together she used to play Mordheim with me and the guys and has always been a gamer of sorts, but hadn't shown much interest in miniatures gaming for a while. Obviously, I was happy to hear this and so began a discussion of what we might like to play. I had been considering taking a foray into the realm of Old/Wild West miniatures gaming and as Jenn is fond of skirmish level games, I thought these two interests might meet nicely in the middle. I pitched the idea to her and she liked the sound of it. Jenn enjoys terrain building and she also expressed an interest in trying to build some terrain for this setting.

On the recommendation of my buddy and fellow blogger J over at Victoria's Boys in Red, I ordered up a copy of Hawgleg Publishing's Gutshot!. Jenn actually placed the order for me and got herself some zombie gunfighters and cowgirls because she's cool like that. The really cool thing is that I ended up getting my copy of Gutshot! signed by Mike from Hawgleg because I "know somebody" (thanks J). My package showed up with everything I ordered and a few extras. It's all good stuff.

So, what's with the odd name at the top of the post?

I asked Jenn to name the town for our proposed game and this is what she came up with. I like it. It has a nice Old West feel to it without resorting to some morbid or Dante-esque name or utilizing some sort of topographical feature (gulch, valley, hollow, etc) in the name. As I had already expressed an interest in placing our town in the southwest, it fit nicely. So, Dustwallow it is!

What is Dustswallow?

When I considered a setting for our Gutshot! games I envisioned a place where I could maximize my western drama potential. I wanted it all - indians, banditos, cattle men, railroad, farmers, miners, and I evne had a strange idea for throwing in a rogue Mexican warlord. I settled on New Mxico after getting some feedback from some buddies who arem uch more familiar with that region of the USA.

Dustswallow is a town at the foot of a mountain valley where farmers and ranchers in the hgihland valleys mingle with the miners in the hills and mountains around. The town is on a rail line and benefits from the influx of people and goods from parts east and west as well as having a route to export their own goods (ore, cattle, etc). There are local outlaws and bandits and there would be in any setting where wealth gathers and moves. It's just a basic framework for now and will grow as we start actually building and playing.

Look for more tales of Dustswallow in the coming months.

Take care,

-Eli