Lead Legionaries: Fallout Skirmish Playtest Using 'Blast Pistol' Rules

Super-mutant 'Big Boss' charges towards two Minutemen in a skirmish set in the world of Fallout

My friend Mike S is a huge fan of the Fallout series, having played the video games and bought the various versions of the official rules. However, he hasn't been exactly crazy about the mechanics of those games. The first we tried, with its proprietary dice, was tedious in keeping track of what each symbol meant. We did one game using it back in 2022, but quickly told him it really wasn't for us. He agreed. He also bought the more recent version, Fallout Factions, I believe it is called. He wasn't that impressed with those either. So, he set off on a search for a set of rules he could play Fallout games with.

Soldiers of the New California Republic advance onto the table searching for supplies & food

He ended up picking Nordic Weasel's Blast Pistol as the first set to try out. The rules were released back in 2017 by the author of the more well known Five Parsecs from Home (or the fantasy version, Five Leagues from the Borderlands). I ran a short solo campaign using Five Parsecs back in 2024 to see if it would be appropriate for a Sci-Fi campaign with the Sunday Night Gamers. Blast Pistol is very similar in its combat mechanics -- very bare bones and easy to pick up. Mike asked me to create a Quick Reference Sheet for it, so I did. And lo and behold! The gamers actually used my QRS Sunday night...ha, ha! Everyone picked up the mechanics quickly. Essentially there are two things to take into account when making a ranged attack. Are you in your weapon's most effective range (typically about 12"), or beyond? Is the target in cover or not? So, a chart with two rows and two columns (four possible "to hit" numbers) is sufficient and very easy to remember.

The 'Gunners' mercenary faction, my other neighbor, and came under attack by Super-mutants

We had an amazing turnout that evening, as Mike brought his son Jason along and Tom brought along Bob, our gaming pal from a long time ago (in a galaxy far, far away). Mike divvied out the factions to the nine players, including two of "Super Mutants," two Vault denizens, one cannibal raiders, and a variety of other survivor factions. Each player's faction was composed of anywhere from 7 to 14 figures. I ended up with a generic "Survivor" faction of seven figures armed with a different weapons, but also including one guy in an armored suit and a robot with a nasty cutting wheel as a melee weapon.

My neighbors on the left also came under attack quickly, this time by the Reservation Vault faction

Next to my generically named Survivors on the left was Mike W with the New California Republic faction. They looked like a uniformed paramilitary organization and were armed mainly with shotguns and assault rifles. On my right was Allen with a mercenary faction called the Gunners, whose main motivation was wealth. My faction's goal was to set up trade networks (+5 VP apiece) with each faction that agreed, find supplies or food (+2 VP), and eliminate "Threats" (+1 VP). The only factions my briefing called "threats" were far from me on the board, though. Tom's Super-mutants were in one corner, Keith's "Jackals" (cannibalistic raiders) were in the other opposite corner, and Joel's Super-mutants were on the other side of Allen.

Jenny's faction was a typical, blue-clad Vault faction and they stumbled upon a Deathclaw

I decided to approach each of my immediate neighbors first and see if they agreed. Fortunately, both trusted me enough to agree to set up a trade network (despite Tom's calling out to everyone not to trust me...ha. ha! To set up a network, one of our figures had to be within 6" of the other to make the parley (and not fire on each other, obviously!). Honestly, I was amazed that I pulled that off! It probably helped that Mike had immediately been fired upon by the Reservation Vaulters (Bob's faction), and Allen was attacked by his brother's Super-mutants. Each welcomed a secure flank. I decided to shift my forces to the right to assist my new allies, the Gunners, against the hulking, nasty-looking Super-mutants and their ravenous, oversized dogs. They were pretty far away, though, and Joel was very clever in utilizing cover, so most of my shots needed a "10" on 1d10 to hit. Needless to say, I think I missed the first half dozen shots or more!

Meant to be a target of my Survivor faction, Tom's Super-mutants were too far away from me

On the other hand, the two warring factions on my left (NCR and Reservation Vaulters) were not so keen on cover. Both simply lined up like a gunfight in Tombstone and blazed away at short range and in the open. Bob's dice were abominable (despite it actually being his birthday). Mike W soon began to make short work of his Native American survivors. It didn't help that Bob simultaneously attacked Tom's Super-mutants. His search rolls at the end of each turn also discovered a large group of Feral Ghouls that promptly attacked him. Caught between the NCR's blazing shotguns, the Super-mutants return fire, and the ghouls, Bob's vaulters were down to two figures by the end of the game.

It was a huge turnout with 9 players, but Mike's game and 'Blast Pistol' rules handled the crowd well

Allen's Gunners began to lose guys to the Super-mutant attack, too. One soldier was vaporized by a "buzz bomb," two were devoured by the dogs, and two failed morale and bolted away from the threat to hide in the ruins. Like a good ally, my men and women began to lay down fire on the mutants from positions of good cover. I slowly began working my robot forward so that he could charge into melee with his cutting saw. Surprisingly, he succeeded in getting close enough without being shot. He promptly rolled into contact with one of the mutants blazing away from behind a beat-up pickup truck. From our understanding of the rules, it doesn't take an Action to do hand-to-hand. Instead, it happens immediately upon contact. The ambulatory buzzsaw sliced into two Super-mutants all by itself, while my forces succeeded in gunning down another. A mastiff on steroids charged one of my survivors, but amazingly, he was able to drive it off.

Jenny's Vault denizens retreated from the attack of the Deathclaw & actually ended up killing it!

Despite horrible my very bad dice rolling at the beginning, my rolls were heating up. A pack of Feral Ghouls sprang on us, too. However, one by one, we were able to gun them down over the course of the next two turns (and avoid taking any damage from them). We weren't so lucky when our own searching sprung a Deathclaw from its burrow inside a wrecked box truck. Startled by our presence, it sprang towards us, prompting an immediate debate between Mike W and myself about who it would charge on its subsequent action. I insisted (loudly enough so the GM could hear) that his guys were closer. Mike replied that it couldn't see his guys. I showed him with the laser pointer that it could.

As a result of my end-turn search rolls, a party of Feral Ghouls leapt from cover to attack my group

My proof failed to convince the GM, though, who charged the monster into one my gals. Luckily, the survivor contacted survived to recoil rather than be eaten. The monster roared with a terror attack and my survivor sullied her drawers and sprinted off-table with alacrity. Two of my other survivors who were near the Deathclaw had already fallen back, leaving my sniper trapped in a corner of the ruins alone. We were saved by our new trading partners, though. Mike's NCR team opened up on the Deathclaw (fearing they would be dessert after it ate my sniper for dinner). Mike's rolls were even hotter and the towering monstrosity went down with a crash. My sniper sighed in relief, wondering if she would have to seek a change of clothes when she got back to camp, too!

The Boy Scouts...er, Minutemen, take cover from the shooting of the Jackal cannibal clan

The fighting raged back and forth between the various factions, most of whom were all too happy to open up on their neighbors. I guess they didn't have "set up trade networks" as a victory condition! Jenny's Vault faction sprang a Deathclaw, as well. In addition, she was attacked on three sides, by both Tom's Super-mutants and Keith's fine young cannibals. One of Joel's dogs thought the Vaulters in their trademark blue jumpsuits looked too much like squirrels and sprinted across the board after them. It ate one of the vault denizens (they tasted soft and juicy, apparently), then howled in frustration when it couldn't have another. The howl brought the Super-mutants' "Big Boss" onto the table -- more trouble for Jenny's vaulters!

Despite the number of players, Mike's game moved quickly - everyone had fun & enjoyed the laughs

Who would be a "Boy Scout" and come to save those naive Vault denizens in their foray into the Wastes? The Boy Scouts, of course! Or that's what we jokingly called Jason's faction all game long. Technically, they were the Minutemen, but their khaki uniforms brought the Boy Scouts of America to my mind (which I dubbed them to the group's great humor). When they leapt forward to protect Jenny's Vaulters from the Big Boss, I quipped that they were all hoping to earn their "Big Scary Monster" merit badge! Anyway, Jason took the ribbing in good grace, and was easily quick to disparage his survivor's efforts at...well, surviving! He was on the losing end of a fight with Keith's cannibalistic Jackal clan, when surprisingly both agreed to a truce. I guess the Jackals had enough Boy Scout for one day and couldn't eat another bite...!

Pity the player in the middle! Poor Jenny's Vault denizens under attack on all three sides

All in all, it was a lot of fun with laughter around the table. No one took it hard when they came under fire. Everyone picked up the rules well and understood that a simple d10 system would be very "swingy," as Jason called it. My opinion was that a system that allowed around 100 miniatures controlled by nine players fight it out, man-to-man, in less than three hours, can't be too bad! Mike seemed happy with how the rules played, too. So, barring him getting a case of the "Ooh, shiney!", we will likely be doing more Fallout soon. Hopefully, it will be in a continuing series of games, aka a campaign. We shall see, though!

Things are looking grim for my sniper Daisy, both a Deathclaw & Feral Ghoul hungry for her flesh!

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

Miniatures acquired in 2026: 179
Miniatures painted in 2026: 125

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

Terrain acquired in 2026: 12
Terrain painted in 2026: 26

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

Scatter acquired in 2026: 21
Scatter painted in 2026: 59

Keith's Jackals shoot it out with Jason's Minutemen, with Jason starting to get the worse of it!

Vault Denizens from the Reservation were particularly aggressive, attacking both of their neighbors

One of Joel's Super-mutants taking cover in the junkyard and firing on Allen and I (mostly Allen!)