TEXT: Gunslingers 
  and Gamblers 
  TM 
  FJGaming
  
  Table of Contents
  Introduction................................. 2
  What you need................................2
  Glossary..........................................2
  Credits............................................2
  Game Mechanics.......................... 3
  Trait Rolls.......................................4
  Trait Scores.................................... 4
  Hands............................................. 5
  Opposing Hands............................. 5
  Botches...........................................6
  Raises............................................. 6
  Impairment.....................................7
  Increasing Traits............................ 7
  Character Creation.......................8
  Step by Step................................... 9
  Description................................... 14
  Traits............................................ 18
  Chips.............................................19
  Quirks...........................................19
  Combat....................................... 23
  Rounds..........................................24
  Initiative....................................... 24
  Actions..........................................24
  Attacking and Defending..............25
  Wounds.........................................26
  Spot Rules.................................... 27
  GM Hints...................................... 29
  Environment............................... 30
  Hazards........................................ 31
  Poisons......................................... 31
  Diseases........................................31
  Doctoring......................................32
  Lingo's.......................................... 32
  Poker............................................ 32
  Shoot-outs.................................... 32
  Conversations...............................34
  Breaking things............................ 34
  Tracking....................................... 34
  Hunting and Foraging..................35
  The Wild West............................ 36
  Major Events................................ 37
  The Wild West.............................. 37
  Towns........................................... 38
  The Law........................................41
  Travel........................................... 42
  Territories.................................... 45
  Places of Interest..........................45
  Campaigning................................ 48
  Quick Settlement Creator............ 51
  Quick Adventure Seed Generator 51
  Inspirations.................................. 52
  Belongings................................. 53
  Armour......................................... 54
  Melee Weapons............................ 54
  Ranged Weapons..........................55
  Wages...........................................57
  Supplies........................................58
  Folks and Critters.......................60
  Folks.............................................61
  Character Concepts......................61
  Critters......................................... 66
  Harris County............................. 69
  Wyoming.......................................70
  Indian tribes................................. 70
  Interesting Places.........................70
  Introductory Adventure................74
  Jawin`......................................... 79
  Appendix One............................. 87
  Appendix Two............................. 88
  1
  
  Introduction
  First things first, Gunslingers and Gamblers
  TM assumes a fair degree of familiarity with the “Wild West”, particularly that 
  presented in the cinema by Hollywood and the Spanish and Italian film makers of the 60's and 70's. It also makes the 
  assumption that you, dear reader, are familiar with the overall concept of role-playing games and how to run and play 
  them.
  The rules presented here are focussed on providing game mechanics to run a game set in the wild west and some fairly 
  broad brush strokes information on the Wild West of the period. Gunslingers and GamblersTM assumes a game set in 1876 
  in the Wild West territories of the Great Plains, Rockies, Great Basin and Southwestern Deserts.
  What you need
  A set of five poker dice for the GM and each player.
  Poker chips, or some other similar device (such as tiddly winks)
  Imagination.
  Two or more people.
  Glossary
  GM: The Games Master, responsible for setting the scene and controlling the game.
  Player: A player in a game run by a GM.
  Character: A character controlled by a player.
  NPC: A non-player character, which is a character controlled by the GM.
  Chips: Chips are spent during play to modify rolled dice.
  Hand: A “poker” hand assembled from a roll of poker dice. There are nine possible hands in Gunslingers and Gamblers
  TM 
  and the hands are rated from highest to lowest. A higher hand beats a lower hand.
  Raise: For each “step up” a hand is over another hand, it is said to have a “Raise”. So, Two Pairs has one Raise over a 
  Pair.
  Poker Dice: Dice marked with Nine, Ten, Jack, Queen, King and Ace rather than the usual one to six.
  Wounds: Significant injuries to a character which, ultimately resulting in incapacitation or even death.
  Session: A game session is a period of roughly three to fours of play (real time).
  Quirks: Quirks describe aspects of a character which aren't adequately covered by their description and traits. All Quirks 
  are balanced, with positive and negative effects.
  Trait: An ability possessed by a character and given a numerical value of 0 or more, higher is better.
  Trait Roll: A roll of five poker dice, seeking to make the best hand possible.
  Step Up/Step Down: The terms “step up” and “step down” are used at various places in the game in relation to dice 
  rolls. “Step up” means to increase a hands type up by one and step down means to reduce a hands type by one. For 
  example, if you step up a Pair once, it becomes Two Pairs.
  Card Abbreviations
  The following abbreviations are used throughout the game for poker dice faces (cards).
  Card
  Abbreviation Dice Face (if not 
  using poker dice)
  Nine
  9
  1
  Ten
  T
  2
  Jack
  J
  3
  Queen
  Q
  4
  King
  K
  5
  Ace
  A
  6
  Using normal dice
  You can use normal six-sided dice (marked from one to six) rather than poker dice to play the game. It's strongly advised 
  against, as using poker dice really helps to add to the flavour of the game, but if you must use normal dice simply treat 
  each dice number as a card face. The table above shows which card each dice face represents.
  Using the Game
  Gunslingers and Gamblers
  TM is organised into a series of chapters and to play the game, read from the start through to the 
  end, simple really.
  Credits
  Writing, Design and Development: Jonathan Clarke
  Play testers: Dave Stark, Kath and Andy McLelland, Paul and Sarah Mellor
  Proof-reading: Alison Ross
  ©2006 Jonathan Clarke. All Rights Reserved. This game is protected under the copyright laws of the United Kingdom. Any 
  reproduction or unauthorised use of the material herein is prohibited without the express written permission of Jonathan 
  Clarke.
  All images used in this work are public domain.
  2
  
  Game Mechanics
  “Among the Indians there have been no written laws. 
  Customs handed down from generation to generation 
  have been the only laws to guide them. Every one 
  might act different from what was considered right 
  did he choose to do so, but such acts would bring 
  upon him the censure of the Nation.... This fear of the 
  Nation's censure acted as a mighty band, binding all 
  in one social, honourable compact.”
  -George Kahgegabowh, Ojibwa Chief
  3
  
  Introduction
  This section deals with the basic game mechanics used in 
  Gunslingers and Gamblers
  TM, specifically, how to roll dice 
  and make trait rolls.
  Scenes
  The basic unit of time in a Gunslingers and Gamblers
  TM 
  game is the “scene”, like a scene in a play or film. 
  A scene is a series of actions or events which occur in 
  one place over a specific period of time. A scene ends 
  when the characters involve leave the location or there is 
  a major break in time.
  For example, if a group of characters set up camp and 
  then bed down for the night the “setting up camp” scene 
  ends, there is a break in time until the next morning 
  when the “next morning” scene begins.
  In practise, it is fairly obvious when a scene ends during 
  a  game.  A  combat  and  it's  immediate  aftermath  of 
  healing, interrogation of prisoners and so on is usually 
  one scene.
  A scene has no precise duration, instead it is a dramatic 
  “unit” of time related to story telling.
  Characters
  A character in Gunslingers and Gamblers
  TM is quantified 
  by their description, quirks and their traits. A characters 
  description  covers  all  the  less  “mechanical”  aspects 
  about  them,  including  their  personality,  appearance, 
  history and possessions.  Quirks and traits  are a game 
  concept, a way of quantifying a characters abilities in 
  game terms. 
  Rules Summary
  Just  to  make  life  easier,  these  points  summarise  the 
  game mechanics.
  •
  To perform a trait roll roll five poker dice and 
  make the best hand you can.
  •
  If you have a trait score of one or more you can 
  re-roll a number of dice equal to or less than 
  your trait score before making a hand.
  •
  If the best hand you can make is a high card 
  (five dice which cannot make any other hand) 
  the action fails and you have botched.
  •
  To succeed you have to beat the opposing hand.
  •
  Modifiers alter the hand which was rolled.
  Traits
  Characters  are  defined  by  traits.  Each  trait  has  a 
  numerical  value  of  0  or  higher.  If  it's  not  stated 
  otherwise, a trait can be assumed to have a score of zero. 
  The  higher  the  score  the  better  the  character  is  at 
  actions  relating  that  trait.  Trait  scores  progress  as 
  follows:
  0 (minimum)
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  5/1
  5/2
  5/3
  5/4
  5/5 (maximum)
  Traits are broken down into three groups, Body traits, 
  Wits traits and Knowledge traits. Sometimes a rule may 
  refer to, for example, “Wits traits” in which case that rule 
  applies equally to all of the traits in the Wits group. A full 
  list of traits, and the groups they are in, can be found in 
  the character creation section.
  For example, a character with Shooting 3 is a better shot 
  than one with Shooting 2.
  Trait Rolls
  The basic game mechanic in Gunslingers and Gamblers
  TM 
  uses poker dice and is based on Five card draw poker. 
  The object is to make the best hand you can from your 
  roll, just like playing poker.
  When a character attempts an action in Gunslingers and 
  Gamblers
  TM the GM may ask them to make a roll against a 
  specific trait, such as a “Fighting roll”.
  Trait  rolls  are  usually  made  when  attempting  actions 
  where there is a degree of luck involved in success or 
  failure. You wouldn't normally make a trait roll to open 
  an unlocked door, climb over a low wall or run across flat 
  ground. On the other hand, you would make a trait roll to 
  kick down a locked door, climb up a cliff, shoot someone 
  or  run  across  broken  or  treacherous  ground  without 
  losing your footing.
  To make a trait roll, simply roll  five poker dice and 
  make the best poker dice hand possible from the rolled 
  dice. The better the hand, the better you did. The various 
  hands are discussed in the Hands section (below).
  Trait Scores
  If the character has a score of 0 in a trait they are being 
  asked to roll against, they simply roll five dice and make 
  the best hand they can. They have no re-rolls.
  If you have a score of one to five in the trait being rolled, 
  you may re-roll a number of dice from the roll equal to or 
  less than your trait score, but you must take the new dice 
  (this  is  similar  to  the  way  “five  card  draw”  poker  is 
  played).
  For example, a character who has to make a Fighting roll 
  and who has Fighting 2 could re-roll one or two of the 
  4
  
  dice, keeping the new results. 
  If you have a score of 5/1 or more you can re-roll any or 
  all the dice from the roll then you may re-roll a number 
  of dice up to the value after the slash.
  For example, a character who has Fighting 5/2 could re-
  roll any or all dice, then could re-roll one or two dice 
  more before producing their final hand. Note that you 
  can re-roll dice you have already re-rolled, or dice which 
  you haven't re-rolled already.
  For example, a character with a 5/1 in Fighting rolls 
  9,10,J,Q,Q on their initial roll. They then decide to re-roll 
  the 9,10 & J, getting a K, A and a Q. This gives them 
  Q,Q,Q,K,A.
  They then use their extra re-roll (the 1 after the slash) to 
  re-roll the A, getting a Q as well. Their final hand is 
  Q,Q,Q,Q,K.
  To perform a trait roll, roll five poker 
  dice and make the best hand you can
  Hands
  Assemble your dice into a hand. The types of hand are 
  listed below from best hand (Poker) to worst hand (High 
  Card).
  •
  Poker (five of a kind)
  •
  Four of a Kind
  •
  High Straight
  •
  Full House
  •
  Low Straight 
  •
  Three of a Kind
  •
  Two Pairs
  •
  Pair
  •
  High Card
  Note that these are not quite the same as normal poker 
  hands because poker dice are being used rather than 
  cards. 
  In Gunslingers and Gamblers
  TM the values of the dice in a 
  hand  do  not matter  beyond  determining  the  type  of 
  hand.  A Pair of Nines and  Pair of Tens are functionally 
  identical as far as the rules are concerned.
  The hands are defined as follows:
  Poker (best)
  This is the best hand. Five matching dice- such as five 
  Kings.
  Four of a kind
  Four matching dice - such as four queens.
  High Straight
  This is five dice in a row, which means either 9TJQK or 
  TJQKA.
  Full House
  This consists of three matching dice and two other 
  matching dice - for example three nines and two tens.
  Low Straight
  This is four dice in a row, which could be a 9TJQ, TJQK or 
  JQKA.
  Three of a Kind
  Three matching dice plus any two other dice.
  The  the  harder  the  action  being 
  attempted, the “higher” the opposing 
  hand.
  Two Pairs
  Two Pairs are two different Pairs and one other dice.
  Pair
  A hand with two matching dice and three other dice 
  which do not match these or each other.
  High Card (worst)
  Five dice  which do not form any of the  combinations 
  listed above.
  Opposing Hands
  Whenever a character is asked to make a trait roll they 
  need to beat an opposing hand to succeed.
  For example, a Pair of Queens does not beat a Pair of 
  Aces in Gunslingers and Gamblers
  TM. That result would 
  be a failure or draw, depending on the circumstances To 
  beat a Pair of Queens you would need to get Two Pairs or 
  better.   
  The opposing hand represents the difficulty of the action 
  being attempted. The harder the action being attempted, 
  the “higher” the opposing hand. Sometimes the GM may 
  set this hand based on how hard they think the task is (a 
  “nominal” difficulty) and at other times the hand comes 
  from another characters trait roll. 
  In the latter case, the character is deemed to be making 
  an opposed roll (which is discussed in more detail later).
  For example, if you are trying to sneak past someone you 
  need  to  make  an  opposed  roll  of  your  Survival  trait 
  against their Notice trait. You would roll your Survival 
  and they roll their Notice. To succeed in sneaking past 
  you would need to beat their Notice roll.
  If you  are trying  to pick  a  lock  the  GM  would  set  a 
  nominal difficulty for the action based on how complex 
  the lock was.
  5
  
  The  table  below  gives  the  basic  hands  needed  to 
  accomplish a task based on its “nominal” difficulty set by 
  the GM.
  Nominal Difficulty
  Opposing Hand
  Easy
  High Card
  Average
  Pair
  Difficult
  Two Pairs
  More Difficult
  Three of a Kind
  Very Difficult
  Low Straight
  Extremely Difficult
  Full House
  Exceptionally Difficult
  High Straight
  Nearly Impossible
  Four of a Kind
  Almost Impossible
  Poker
  Automatic: Something which a character just can't fail 
  at, such as talking in their native language.
  Easy:  Something  which  virtually  anybody  could  be 
  expected to do without difficulty (such as opening a door 
  or walking along a path).
  Average:  A  task  which  an  average  person  would 
  normally succeed at, but might fail at occasionally (such 
  as hitting someone at close range with a thrown rock).
  Difficult: A task which an average person would fail at 
  significantly more often than they succeeded (such as 
  hitting someone in cover or at long range).
  More Difficult: A task which an average person would 
  normally fail at (such as hitting a target at long range in 
  cover with an attack).
  Very Difficult:  A task which an average person would 
  rarely succeed at, such as hitting someone in cover, at 
  long range, from a moving train.
  Extremely Difficult:  A task which an average person 
  would very rarely succeed at, such as hitting someone in 
  cover, at long range, from a moving train whilst the train 
  was rocking and swaying severely.
  Exceptionally Difficult: A task which is hardly every 
  succeed at, such as as hitting a small target in cover, at 
  long  range,  from  a  moving  train  whilst  the  train  was 
  rocking and swaying severely.
  Almost Impossible: A task which is virtually impossible 
  for the average person to succeed at, such as hitting a 
  tiny  target  which  is  in  cover,  at  long  range,  from  a 
  moving train whilst the train was rocking and swaying 
  severely.
  For example, to succeed at a difficult action (opposing 
  hand is Two Pairs) you would need Three of a Kind or 
  better.
  Task Format
  Throughout these rules you will find instructions to make 
  trait rolls. The standard format used is as follows:
  Trait(opposed Hand)
  So, Tinkering(Pair) means, make a Tinkering roll with a 
  Pair  as the  opposed  hand (so you  need Two  Pairs or 
  better to succeed at that task).
  A second format for trait rolls is:
  Trait(Trait)
  This  is  used  when  the  opposed  hand  is  the  result  of 
  another characters trait roll. The first Trait (outside the 
  brackets) is the Trait of the character who initiated the 
  task attempt and the Trait in brackets is the trait of the 
  character resisting the task.
  For example, sneaking past another character might be 
  described  as  a  Reflexes(Notice)  task.  The  character 
  doing the sneaking rolls their Reflexes. The character 
  who they are sneaking past makes a Notice roll. If the 
  sneaking character wins, they sneak past successfully, 
  otherwise they are detected.
  Modifiers
  Sometimes  circumstances  may  make  a  task  easier  or 
  more difficult than usual. 
  Modifiers may be applied to a roll to reflect this. Each +1 
  means increase the hand you rolled one step. Each -1 
  means reduce it one step.
  For example, if you rolled Three of a Kind and have a +1 
  modifier,  the  Three  of  a  Kind  is  increased  to  a  Low 
  Straight.
  If a hand is reduced to a High Card by modifiers, it is not 
  a Botch. You only botch if you got a High Card before 
  modifiers are applied.
  Botches
  A botch is something bad which happens in addition to 
  the normal result of a roll. A botch occurs when the best 
  hand you can make on a roll is a High Card (you can't 
  even make a Pair).
  Note that this is always after re-rolls due to trait scores, 
  but before the application of any modifiers, so characters 
  with higher trait scores tend to botch less often.
  A  botch  is  an  automatic  failure  and  something  bad 
  happens in addition to the consequences of failure.
  Raises
  Each “step” which your hand wins by is called a “Raise”. 
  The more Raises you get, the better you did.
  For example, if you got Three of a Kind and the Opposed 
  Hand was Pair, you win with two Raises.
  Each extra raise after the first either reduces the time 
  taken (for non-combat tasks) by half or gives additional 
  benefits  to  success  (such  as  more  information  for  a 
  research  or  investigation  task,  or  more  damage  in 
  combat).
  6
  
  Team Work
  Groups  of  characters can  work  together  on  a  task  to 
  increase the chance of success. In such a situation one 
  character is designated as the Leader and they roll. They 
  then  receive  an  a modifier  to their  roll based  on the 
  number of other characters assisting them. The assisting 
  characters do not roll.
  Number of Characters  
  Assisting
  Modifier
  1
  +1
  2-4
  +2
  5-9
  +3
  10 or more
  +4
  For example, three characters work together to move a 
  large boulder which is blocking their path. They agree 
  that the character with the highest Grit trait should roll. 
  That  character  then  rolls,  and  receives  a  +2  modifier 
  because they are being assisted by two others.
  Trying Again
  As a general rule, a character who fails at a task cannot 
  try that task again without some significant change in 
  circumstances. This rule does not apply to attack and 
  defence  rolls  in  combat,  or  to  rolls  to  treat  wounds, 
  though. You can try to attack someone as many times as 
  you wish, or heal a given wound as often as you wish. 
  The GM always decides whether another re-roll is 
  allowed.
  For example, a character fails to pick a lock. Before they 
  can try again they might need to go away and do some 
  more research on that type of lock or acquire a different 
  set of lockpicks.
  Impairment
  A character who is “Impaired” has only one action per 
  turn (see the combat chapter for more information on 
  actions and turns).
  An Impaired character can still hold their single action as 
  usual though. They just don't have to discard their other, 
  non-existent, action to do so.
  There are many reasons to be impaired including:
  •
  Wearing Armour (take off the armour to not be 
  Impaired)
  •
  Carrying a particularly heavy burden (shed the 
  burden to not be Impaired)
  •
  Being very tired (a good nights sleep removes 
  the Impaired status)
  •
  Being exhausted from long travel or hard work 
  (a hours rest removes the Impaired status, if you 
  then continue working only a good nights sleep 
  will remove the Impaired status again)
  •
  Being drunk or stoned (a good nights sleep 
  removes the Impaired status)
  •
  Being starving hungry or dehydrated (get a 
  good meal and/or water to stop being Impaired)
  •
  Suffering from heat stroke or exposure (getting 
  into shelter, then drinking plenty of water for 
  heat stroke, or slowly warming up for exposure, 
  removes the Impaired status)
  The GM  decides when a  character is “Impaired”, and 
  when they recover from being Impaired (the examples 
  above note how to negate Impairment in each case).
  Increasing Traits
  A characters Trait scores can increase in value over time. 
  At the end of each game session the GM should award 
  one  or  more  Experience  Rolls  to  each  character.  The 
  number  of  rolls  depends  on  the  character/players 
  performance in the session:
  •
  Receive one roll for taking part.
  •
  Receive one roll for good role-playing.
  •
  Receive one roll if you achieved your goals in 
  the session.
  These awards are guidelines, if you (the GM) feel it's 
  appropriate you may wish to award more rolls, but, as a 
  rule of thumb, don't award more than three or four for a 
  single session.
  Experience rolls can be saved up or used immediately. 
  To use an Experience Roll choose a trait, then look up 
  the traits current score on the left column of the table 
  below. Now roll one dice. If you roll one of the faces 
  listed in the right column for that trait score, the trait is 
  increased by one by point. A 5pt trait increases to 5/1, 
  5/1 increases to 5/2 and so on. A trait at 5/5 cannot be 
  increased any further.
  Trait Score
  Roll needed to Increase
  0
  Automatic
  1
  T,J,Q,K or A
  2
  J,Q,K or A
  3
  Q,K or A
  4
  K or A
  5 or more
  A
  For example, if you wished to improve your Fighting 3 
  score to Fighting 4 you would need to roll a Q,K or A on 
  the dice.
  There  are  no  restrictions  on  how  you  use  your 
  Experience Rolls. If you wish, you could allocate all your 
  Rolls to a single trait, for example.
  7
  
  Character Creation
  “Bill Hickock was regarded as the deadliest 
  pistol shot alive as well as being a man of great 
  courage. The truth of certain stories of Bill's 
  achievements may have been open to debate but 
  he had earned the respect paid to him.” 
  - Wyatt Earp
  8
  
  Introduction
  This section provides all the rules which you will need to 
  create characters to play in games of Gunslingers and 
  Gamblers
  TM.
  The character creation rules are broken down into two 
  major sections. The first section details the process of 
  creating  a  character. The  second section  explores the 
  process in more detail.
  Before you create your first character you need to read 
  through the  whole chapter. Note that these rules can 
  also be used to create random Non-Player Characters.
  Step by Step
  To make things easy for you the following section runs 
  through creating a character from start to finish. The 
  information is presented as a series of tables. Detailed 
  explanation  of  the  contents  of  these  tables  is  placed 
  after all the tables, so you need to read right through 
  this chapter before generating your first character.
  When you reach a table you can pick or roll on it, your 
  choice.
  The steps in character generation are as follows:
  1.
  Roll to determine if the character is a Generalist 
  or Specialist.
  2.
  Roll to determine the characters trait scores.
  3.
  Roll to allocate each score to a trait.
  4.
  Roll to determine Quirks.
  5.
  Roll to determine Gender.
  6.
  Roll to determine Race.
  7.
  Roll to determine Nationality.
  8.
  Roll to determine Name.
  9.
  Roll to determine Age.
  10. Roll to determine Distinctive Features.
  11. Roll to determine Religion.
  Roll one dice to determine if the character is a Generalist 
  or Specialist.
  Dice
  9TJ
  Generalist
  QKA
  Specialist
  Next roll one dice to determine your starting trait scores.
  Starting player characters never roll on this table, they 
  are always treated as having a roll of  J (you roll when 
  generating  Non  Player  Characters).  For  a  more  high 
  powered  campaign  the  GM  may  wish  to  give  new 
  characters the traits for a K or even an A.
  Dice
  Generalist
  Specialist
  9TJ
  One 3pt, two 2pts, 
  three 1pt
  One 5pt, One 3pt, One 
  1pt or Three 3pt
  QK
  One 4pt, two 3pts, 
  three 2pts, four 1pt
  One 5/2pt, One 5pt, One 
  3pt or three 5pt
  A
  One 5pt, two 4pts, 
  three 3pts, four 2pts, 
  five 1pts
  One 5/4pt, One 5/2pt, 
  One 5pt or three 5/2pt
  Roll once on this table for each trait score you have to 
  allocate. The roll determines which trait that score is 
  applied to. If you roll the same trait again, just roll again 
  until you get a trait which you have not already rolled.
  Dice
  Trait
  Dice
  Trait
  99
  Fighting
  JJ
  Tinkering
  9T
  Shooting
  JQ
  Learning
  9J
  Grit
  JK
  Survival
  9Q
  Reflexes
  JA
  Crafting
  9K
  Riding
  QQ
  Choose
  9A
  Notice
  QK
  Choose
  TT
  Gambling
  QA
  Choose
  TJ
  Nerve
  KK
  Choose
  TQ
  Jawing
  KA
  Choose
  TK
  Luck
  AA
  Choose
  TA
  Healing
  Next roll one dice to see how many Quirks the NPC has, 
  then use the Quirk tables to determine the quirks.
  Dice
  Quirks
  9
  0
  TJ
  1
  QK
  2
  A
  3
  You can use the tables below to generate random Quirks. 
  For each Quirk, roll one dice to see which Quirk table to 
  roll on, then roll two dice on that Quirk table, stating 
  which dice is first and which second before rolling.
  Dice
  Table
  9TJ
  One
  QKA
  Two
  9
  
  Quirk Table One
  Roll
  Quirk
  Roll
  Quirk
  99
  Abolitionist
  Q9
  Gunslinger
  9T
  Aggressive
  QT
  Guts
  9J
  Ailing
  QJ
  Hankering
  9Q
  Brawler
  QQ
  Harbinger
  9K
  Bully
  QK
  Haunted
  9A
  Burly
  QA
  Heroic
  T9
  Coffee Boiler
  K9
  Hippocratic Oath
  TT
  Compassionate
  KT
  Honest
  TJ
  Cowboys Code
  KJ
  Honourable
  TQ
  Curious
  KQ
  Illiterate
  TK
  Decisive
  KK
  Important
  TA
  Dependent
  KA
  Indecisive
  J9
  Diplomatic
  A9
  Jinxed
  JT
  Doomed
  AT
  Knack
  JJ
  Evangelical
  AJ
  Lawman
  JQ
  Fearsome
  AQ
  Loco
  JK
  Focussed
  AK
  Lone Wolf
  JA
  Forgetful
  AA
  Lusty
  Quirk Table Two
  Roll
  Quirk
  Roll
  Quirk
  99
  Lying Dog
  Q9
  Reputation
  9T
  Marksman
  QT
  Risk Taker
  9J
  Mean as a Rattler
  QJ
  Roustabout
  9Q
  Mercenary
  QQ
  Saddle Tramp
  9K
  Murderous
  QK
  Scholarly
  9A
  Oath
  QA
  Selfish
  T9
  Odious
  K9
  Silver Tongued
  TT
  Old Timer
  KT
  Spendthrift
  TJ
  Ornery
  KJ
  Stubborn
  TQ
  Pariah
  KQ
  Treacherous
  TK
  Phobia
  KK
  Trusting
  TA
  Pious
  KA
  Vapid
  J9
  Poor English
  A9
  Varmint
  JT
  Prohibitionist
  AT
  Vigilante
  JJ
  Proud
  AJ
  Warrior
  JQ
  Provocative
  AQ
  Warriors Code
  JK
  Purty/Handsome
  AK
  Wiry
  JA
  Reluctant
  AA
  Yellow Belly
  Random gender is simple. Roll a single dice on the table 
  below:
  Dice
  Gender
  9TJ
  Male
  QKA
  Female
  To generate a random race for your character roll here:
  Dice
  Race
  9TJQK
  White
  A
  Roll again:
  9 Asian
  TJ Indian
  QK Hispanic
  A Black
  Nationality is determined by rolling on the table below 
  and cross referencing  the  roll  with  your Race. White, 
  Asian, Hispanic and Black characters roll on this table:
  Dice
  White
  Asian
  Hispanic
  Black
  9TJ
  American
  American
  American
  American
  QK
  European
  Chinese
  Mexican
  Caribbean
  A
  Russian
  Other
  European
  African
  In the case of Indian characters use the table below to 
  determine Nationality:
  Dice
  Nationality
  Dice
  Nationality
  99
  Apache
  JJ
  Northern Cheyenne
  9T
  Arapaho
  JQ
  Pawnee
  9J
  Cherokee
  JK
  Pueblo
  9Q
  Comanche
  JA
  Shoshone
  9K
  Crow
  QQ
  Southern Cheyenne
  9A
  Dakota
  QK
  Tribeless
  TT
  Hopi
  QA
  Ute
  TJ
  Kiowa
  KK
  Zuni
  TQ
  Lakota
  KA
  Cree
  TK
  Mohave
  AA
  Blackfoot
  TA
  Navaho
  For American characters roll again to determine if the 
  character comes from a state or territory, then roll on 
  the appropriate table (state or territory).
  Dice
  9TJ
  Territory
  QKA
  State
  10
  
  If you came from a territory roll two dice to determine 
  which territory the character comes from.
  Dice
  Territory
  Dice
  Territory
  99
  Alaska 
  JJ
  Arizona 
  9T
  Arizona 
  JQ
  Colorado 
  9J
  Colorado 
  JK
  Dakota 
  9Q
  Dakota 
  JA
  Idaho  
  9K
  Idaho  
  QQ
  Montana 
  9A
  Montana 
  QK
  Washington 
  TT
  New Mexico 
  QA
  Utah 
  TJ
  Utah 
  KK
  New Mexico 
  TQ
  Washington 
  KA
  Wyoming 
  TK
  Wyoming 
  AA
  Choose
  TA
  Alaska 
  If you came from a State roll two dice (stating which one 
  is first and which second) to determine which state the 
  character comes from.
  Roll
  State
  Roll
  State
  99
  Alabama
  Q9
  Missouri
  9T
  Arkansas
  QT
  Nebraska
  9J
  California
  QJ
  Nevada
  9Q
  Connecticut
  QQ
  New Hampshire
  9K
  Florida
  QK
  New York
  9A
  Georgia
  QA
  North Carolina
  T9
  Illinois
  K9
  Ohio
  TT
  Indiana 
  KT
  Oklahoma
  TJ
  Iowa 
  KJ
  Oregon
  TQ
  Kansas
  KQ
  Pennsylvania
  TK
  Kentucky
  KK
  South Carolina
  TA
  Louisiana 
  KA
  Tennessee
  J9
  Maine
  A9
  Texas
  JT
  Maryland
  AT
  Vermont
  JJ
  Massachusetts
  AJ
  Virginia
  JQ
  Michigan
  AQ
  West Virginia
  JK
  Minnesota
  AK
  Wisconsin
  JA
  Mississippi
  AA
  *
  *Roll one dice to determine the state on the table below:
  Dice
  State
  9T
  New Jersey
  JQ
  Rhode Island
  KA
  Delaware
  For European characters roll again to determine  your 
  specific nation of origin:
  Dice
  Nationality
  Dice
  Nationality
  99
  English
  JJ
  Polish
  9T
  Irish
  JQ
  Greek
  9J
  Welsh
  JK
  Norwegian
  9Q
  Scottish
  JA
  Danish
  9K
  French
  QQ
  Austrian
  9A
  Spanish
  QK
  Hungarian
  TT
  Italian
  QA
  Finnish
  TJ
  Dutch
  KK
  Portugese
  TQ
  German
  KA
  Romanian
  TK
  Belgian
  AA
  Bulgarian
  TA
  Swedish
  To generate a random name just choose the appropriate 
  table for your race and roll.
  Chinese Names
  Just roll two dice dice three times and change the order 
  of the three names around if you wish, to come up with 
  your full name.
  Dice
  Name
  Dice
  Name
  Dice
  Name
  99
  Kong
  TJ
  Chi
  JA
  Bao
  9T
  Shi
  TQ
  Chu
  QQ
  Ho
  9J
  Xi
  TK
  Lao
  QK
  Ling
  9Q
  Mai
  TA
  Sha
  QA
  Li
  9K
  Pong
  JJ
  Han
  KK
  Ying
  9A
  Heng
  JQ
  Chan
  KA
  Zhao
  TT
  Jin
  JK
  Ning
  AA
  Shen
  For example, if you rolled TA, KK and 9J you would have 
  Sha Ying Xi. You could organise these three names as you 
  wished to give you a full name such as Sha Ying Xi, Xi Sha 
  Ying, Ying Xi Sha and so on.
  11
  
  “American” Names
  Roll two poker dice to get an “epithet” then roll again for 
  a  name  of  the  appropriate  gender  and  finally  for  a 
  surname.
  Dice
  Epithet
  Male 
  Name
  Female 
  Name
  Surname
  99
  Ace
  John
  Annie
  Anderson
  9T
  Buffalo
  Matt
  Brenda
  Brooks
  9J
  Cactus
  Phil
  Caroline
  Charles
  9Q
  Charming
  Alan
  Deborah
  Davidson
  9K
  Clever
  Bill
  Elizabeth
  Ferry
  9A
  Cold
  Bob
  Emma
  Howard
  TT
  Coyote
  Charlie
  Helen
  James
  TJ
  Deadeye
  Dave
  Jill
  Jones
  TQ
  Dirty
  Frank
  Jenny
  King
  TK
  Fast
  Gary
  Joan
  Michaels
  TA
  Iron
  Harry
  June
  Neal
  JJ
  Lightning
  Jim
  Katherine
  Patterson
  JQ
  Lucky
  Jesse
  Lucy
  Roberts
  JK
  Mad
  Ralph
  Mary
  Rogers
  JA
  Old
  Luke
  Meg
  Smith
  QQ
  Quickdraw
  Mike
  Patricia
  Stevens
  QK
  Rattlesnake
  Pete
  Robin
  Towns
  QA
  Shotgun
  Roy
  Sally
  Williams
  KK
  Sixgun
  Tom
  Sarah
  Franks
  KA
  Snake eyes
  William
  Suzie
  Murphy
  AA
  Texas
  Wyatt
  Victoria
  Connor
  Indian Names
  Roll two poker dice to get an “epithet” then roll again for 
  a name. You may wish to add  a suitable conjunction 
  between the epithet or name as well, such as “on, at, 
  with” and so on. You may also wish to add an English 
  forename to your character, common in “half-breeds”.
  Dice
  Epithet
  Name
  Dice
  Epithet
  Name
  99
  Brave
  Bow
  JJ
  Medicine
  Moon
  9T
  Clear
  Buffalo
  JQ
  Poison
  Pipe
  9J
  Crazy
  Bull
  JK
  Runs
  Poison
  9Q
  Dances
  Coyote
  JA
  Searches
  Prairie
  9K
  Dark
  Eagle
  QQ
  Shining
  River
  9A
  Deals
  Earth
  QK
  Snarling
  Sky
  TT
  Fast
  Gun
  QA
  Speaks
  Stream
  TJ
  Great
  Horse
  KK
  Still
  Sun
  TQ
  Iron
  Lake
  KA
  Talks
  Tomahawk
  TK
  Howling
  Lance
  AA
  Two
  Tree
  TA
  Lying
  Meadow
  Mexican Names
  Roll an epithet from the “American” names table and 
  then a first name and surname from this table.
  Dice
  Male 
  Name
  Female 
  Name
  Surname
  99
  Antonio
  Adriana
  Rodriguez
  9T
  Carlos
  Alejandra
  Hernandez
  9J
  Cruz
  Ana
  Lopez
  9Q
  Emilio
  Beatriz
  Gonzalez
  9K
  Enrique
  Berenice
  Perez
  9A
  Ernesto
  Christina
  Sanchez
  TT
  Francisco
  Dominga
  Rivera
  TJ
  Gabriel
  Elvia
  Torres
  TQ
  Hector
  Esmeralda
  Ramirez
  TK
  Jesus
  Graciela
  Diaz
  TA
  Joel
  Inez
  Cruz
  JJ
  Jose
  Juanita
  Gomez
  JQ
  Juan
  Lilia
  Morales
  JK
  Luis
  Manuela
  Ramos
  JA
  Miguel
  Maria
  Chavez
  QQ
  Pancho
  Myra
  Vasquez
  QK
  Ramirez
  Nailea
  Alvarez
  QA
  Raul
  Ofelia
  Fernandez
  KK
  Sandro
  Olademis
  Romero
  KA
  Sergio
  Pasha
  Mendoza
  AA
  Javier
  Rosa
  Vargas
  For example, if you rolled 9J and QA on the non-Indian 
  names table your random name would be “Cactus Roy” 
  or “Cactus Sally”. On the Indian names table the same 
  rolls would give you “Crazy Stream”.
  Roll two dice to determine your characters Age, stating 
  which is first and which second before rolling.
  Roll
  Age
  Roll
  Age
  Roll
  Age
  Roll
  Age
  99
  16
  TQ
  25
  Q9
  34
  KQ
  43
  9T
  17
  TK
  26
  QT
  35
  KK
  44
  9J
  18
  TA
  27
  QJ
  36
  KA
  45
  9Q
  19
  J9
  28
  QQ
  37
  A9
  46
  9K
  20
  JT
  29
  QK
  38
  AT
  47
  9A
  21
  JJ
  30
  QA
  39
  AJ
  48
  T9
  22
  JQ
  31
  K9
  40
  AQ
  49
  TT
  23
  JK
  32
  KT
  41
  AK
  50
  TJ
  24
  JA
  33
  KJ
  42
  AA
  51
  12
  
  If you have the “Old Timer” Quirk use this table instead 
  (the order of the dice doesn't matter):
  Roll
  Age
  Roll
  Age
  Roll
  Age
  99
  60
  TJ
  67
  JA
  74
  9T
  61
  TQ
  68
  QQ
  75
  9J
  62
  TK
  69
  QK
  76
  9Q
  63
  TA
  70
  QA
  77
  9K
  64
  JJ
  71
  KK
  78
  9A
  65
  JQ
  72
  KA
  79
  TT
  66
  JK
  73
  AA
  80
  Roll one dice to see how many “distinctive features” the 
  character has:
  Dice
  Distinctive Features
  9
  0
  TJ
  1
  QK
  2
  A
  3
  Then  either  make  them  up,  or  roll  on  the  Distinctive 
  Features table. On this table you need to state which dice 
  is first and which second.
  Distinctive Features
  Roll
  Feature
  Roll
  Feature
  99
  Scar
  Q9
  Nice hair
  9T
  Fat
  QT
  Bad teeth
  9J
  Scrawny
  QJ
  Gold tooth
  9Q
  Spits
  QQ
  Earring
  9K
  Runny Nose
  QK
  Spectacles
  9A
  White Streak of Hair
  QA
  Common
  T9
  Balding
  K9
  Well spoken
  TT
  Piercing Stare
  KT
  Slim
  TJ
  Muscular
  KJ
  Handsome/Pretty
  TQ
  Tall
  KQ
  Well dressed
  TK
  Short
  KK
  Scruffy
  TA
  Jumpy
  KA
  Smelly
  J9
  Calm
  A9
  Bad breath
  JT
  Talkative
  AT
  Consumptive
  JJ
  Silent
  AJ
  Pale
  JQ
  One eye
  AQ
  Tanned
  JK
  Missing finger
  AK
  Perfumed
  JA
  Limp
  AA
  Sexy
  Lastly, roll to determine your characters religion. Roll 
  one  dice  and  look  down  their  race  column  to  the 
  appropriate row to find out what their religion is.
  Dice
  White
  Asian
  Hispanic
  9TJ
  Christianity
  Buddhism
  Christianity
  QK
  *
  Taoism
  Christianity
  A
  Atheism
  Confucianism
  Atheism
  Dice
  Black
  Indian
  9TJ
  Christianity
  Old Ways
  QK
  Christianity
  Christianity
  A
  Atheism
  Atheism
  *Roll on the table below to determine your religion:
  Dice
  State
  JQKA
  Mormonism
  KA
  Judaism
  For  example,  if  you  rolled  a  K  on  your  first  roll  the 
  character  would  be  a  specialist.  A  roll  of  J  (rolled 
  because this character is an NPC. If they are a PC the rol 
  would automatically be a J) on the next table yields one 
  5pt trait, one 3pt trait and one 1pt trait.
  You then roll two poker dice three times, getting TQ, 9A 
  and TJ. These are Jawing, Notice and Nerve.
  The first rolled trait receives the 5, the second the 3 and 
  the third the one which gives you Jawing 5, Nerve 3 and 
  Notice 1. 
  Next you roll one dice to determine how many Quirks 
  you have, getting a Q, which gives two Quirks.
  Roll one dice twice, getting a 9 and an A which gives you 
  one roll one Quirk table One and the other on Quirk table 
  two. The first roll is A9 and the second is 9K, giving 
  “Jinxed” and “Murderous”.
  Next roll one dice for gender, a K gives “male”, then 
  another dice for race. An A and a second roll of T gives 
  “Indian” and a roll of 9K on the Indian nationality tables 
  gives us “Crow”.
  Rolls of JK & 9T give the epithet “Runs” and the name 
  “Clear”, for “Runs Clear”. A Q9 on the normal age table 
  gives an age of 34 (this character does not have the Old 
  Timer Quick, so uses the normal table for age). A T on 
  the  “how  many  distinctive  features”  table  gives  one 
  feature,  and  a  roll  of  JJ  on  the  “random  distinctive 
  features” table in the character creation section yields 
  “Silent”. A final roll of 9 on the religion table yields “Old 
  Ways”.
  Looking at the above information the GM comes up with 
  the following summary:
  “Runs Clear, the thirty four year old Crow tribe Indian 
  brave,  is a  psychopath,  taking  great  delight  in  killing 
  helpless foes. He tends to be quiet and restrained in his 
  words  and  deeds,  always  exuding  glacial  calm  whilst 
  observing others. He has enormous presence and, whilst 
  speaking little, his words have tremendous impact when 
  he does choose to utter them. Runs Clear is a believer in 
  the old ways and has little time for technology and, as 
  such,  any  tools  or  guns  he  gets  hold  of  tend  to  be 
  unreliable and ill maintained.”
  13
  
  Description
  The information from here on gives you more details on 
  character creation.
  How a player chooses to describe their character is very 
  much  a  matter  of  personal  choice.  Some  players  are 
  happy to have a character as little more than a set of 
  trait scores and some equipment, whilst others wish to 
  write a full biography of the characters life and describe 
  them  in  great  detail.  Most  player  fall  somewhere 
  between these two extremes. For the sake of argument, 
  you should consider covering the following points in a 
  characters description:
  •
  Concept: Start  off  by  thinking  up  an  overall 
  concept for your character. This serves as basic 
  idea on which you can hang the rest of their 
  description,  traits  and  quirks.  Some  example 
  concepts can be found in the Folks and Critters 
  chapter.  If  you're  using  random  character 
  generation  it's  best  to  come  up  with  your 
  concept  after you've  finished  rolling  (the  way 
  the example of Runs Clear was handled).
  •
  Gender: Choose between Male or Female.
  •
  Race: Decide on your characters race; Hispanic, 
  Indian, Black, White, Chinese or Other. Race is 
  discussed in more detail later.
  •
  Nationality:
   Choose
   
  your
   
  nationality. 
  Nationality refers to where you were born.
  •
  Assign traits:  See the traits section below for 
  information on specific traits.
  •
  Choose Quirks: You may take none, one, two or 
  three Quirks of your choice.
  •
  Name: Make up a name which is appropriate to 
  your Nationality.
  •
  Age: Decide how old your character is. As a rule 
  of thumb, characters with high Body scores are 
  likely  to  be  youngish,  whilst  those  with  high 
  Knowledge  traits  are  likely  to  be  older.  Wits 
  tends to be fairly age independent. Characters 
  with the “Old Timer” quirk are always sixty or 
  more years of age.
  •
  Distinctive  features: Choose  one  or  more 
  distinctive features (as a good rule of thumb, try 
  for  two  distinctive  features).  These  are  the 
  things that other people notice about you when 
  they  first  meet  you.  Examples  could  be;  long 
  hair, bald, a facial scar, cigar smoker, nervous 
  twitch, stutter, very high pitched or very deep 
  voice,  very  skinny,  slim,  broad  shoulders, 
  massive build, big beard, “zapata” moustache, 
  Tobacco chewer, Dead eyes, coughs a lot, has a 
  habit of spitting, slight limp and so on. Use your 
  imagination.  Note  that  distinctive  features  do 
  not have any mechanical effect in play, they are 
  only cosmetic and designed to give you a “hook” 
  to  roleplay  a  character  on.  Some  distinctive 
  features are things like “Nice Hair”. Obviously, 
  if you've just been dragged backwards through a 
  bush you won't have nice hair, but “Nice Hair” 
  indicates a general state of mind, so a character 
  in such a situation will attempt to return their 
  hair to a “Nice” state as soon as is practicable.
  •
  History:  Basically,  what  has  your  character 
  been doing since leaving the family home and 
  the  start of the game?  A  good history should 
  provide some possible plot hooks for the GM, 
  making the gaming experience more interesting 
  for everyone.
  •
  Belongings: What equipment do you have when 
  you start play? Every character begins play with 
  $150 in cash or belongings. You'll find detailed 
  equipment lists in the Belongings section, feel 
  free to go shopping. If you want anything which 
  is not on the list, ask the GM for a price.
  Languages
  All characters can speak their own native tongue and 
  English  fluently,  unless  they  take  the  “Poor  English” 
  quirk.
  Non-White Characters
  Whilst racism is endemic in the wild west players who 
  choose to play non-white characters  only suffer from 
  racism if they choose to take the Pariah quirk.
  Some brief information on non-white characters follows:
  Asian
  In Gunslingers and Gamblers
  TM the race “Asian” is used 
  to describe characters from the Asian subcontinent. This 
  includes  Chinese,  Indians  (from  the  country  of  India) 
  Vietnamese, Japanese, Thai and so on). Asians are rare in 
  the Wild West, but of all the Asian groups the Chinese 
  are by far the largest. As such they are discussed in a 
  little more detail in the next paragraph.
  Chinese
  The Chinese poured into America starting in 1852 with 
  the California gold rush and then continued to enter the 
  country as, amongst other things, labourers on the rail 
  roads Most towns have a Chinatown in some shape or 
  14
  
  form, the area of the settlement where the Chinese live. 
  By 1876 the Chinese population is around 100,000 (as 
  compared to forty million whites) and is largely centred 
  around the rail roads and major settlements in California 
  (such  as  San  Francisco).  Chinese  characters  speak 
  Chinese as their native language (for simplicities sake we 
  ignore  the  fact  that  China  has  various  different 
  languages and just treat all Chinese as speaking generic 
  “Chinese”).
  Blacks
  Blacks were bought to the America's as slaves and by 
  1876  the  Black  population  of  America  is  around  5½ 
  million.  Like  other  minorities  racism  is  common, 
  although this racism is more pronounced in the Southern 
  States (the old Confederate states). The Black population 
  in the territories of the Wild West is very low.
  Hispanics & The Irish
  In  1876  the  Hispanic  population  of  America  is  fairly 
  negligible,  although  there  is  a  significant  Mexican 
  presence in southern California, New Mexico and Texas. 
  Hispanic  characters  speak  Spanish  as  their  native 
  language.
  The Irish tend to be congregate in the cities of the East 
  coast,  but  a  fair  few  have  travelled  into  the  West, 
  following  the  gold  rushes,  rail  road  building  and 
  generally trying to carve out a new life for themselves. 
  Much  of  the  racism  towards  the  Irish  is  religious, 
  America being a strongly protestant country and the Irish 
  being staunch catholics.
  A good history should provide some 
  possible  plot  hooks  for  the  GM, 
  making the gaming experience more 
  interesting for everyone.
  Indians
  By 1876 most of the tribes have moved to reservations 
  whilst  the  others  occupy  large  areas  of  sovereign 
  territory in the west. Indian characters need to decide on 
  their native tribe, chosen from the following tribes (the 
  entry in brackets after each tribal name is the territory 
  which the tribe tends to frequent).
  •
  Apache (New Mexico, Arizona): Renowned as 
  scouts and raiders.
  •
  Arapaho  (Colorado,  Montana,  Wyoming, 
  Nebraska,  Kansas,  Oklahoma): Allied  with 
  the  southern  Cheyenne  and  renowned  as 
  peacemakers.
  •
  Blackfeet  (Montana):
   The  Blackfeet  are 
  renowned  warriors and  hunters of  Bison. The 
  Blackfeet and Sioux are mortal enemies.
  •
  Cherokee   (Kansas,  Oklahoma): Largely 
  vanished  due  to  repeated  displacements  and 
  Indian wars. Often found as scouts to Whites.
  •
  Comanche
   
  (Colorado,
   
  New
   
  Mexico, 
  Wyoming,  Nebraska,  Kansas,  Oklahoma): 
  Very violent and warlike.
  •
  Cree (Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, North 
  Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas): 
  The Cree are one of the largest Indian tribes 
  and  spread  from  the  north  east  coast  right 
  across to the Rockies and into Canada.
  •
  Crow  (Montana,  Wyoming): The  crow  have 
  sided with the whites on many occasions and 
  often work with the Texas Rangers or rail road 
  companies.
  •
  Dakota  (North  Dakota,  South  Dakota, 
  Nebraska): The  Dakota  are  another,  smaller, 
  member of the Great Sioux Nation, along with 
  the Lakota.
  •
  Hopi (Arizona): Notable farmers.
  •
  Kiowa  (Colorado,  New  Mexico,  Montana, 
  Wyoming,  Nebraska,  Kansas,  Oklahoma, 
  Texas): 
  Warlike  raiders  allied  to  the 
  Comanches.
  •
  Lakota (Dakota, Wyoming, Montana): A tribe 
  comprised  of  seven  bands  and  the  strongest 
  members of the Sioux nations. The Lakota are 
  often known as the Lakota Sioux, or just Sioux.
  •
  Mohave (Arizona): A warlike tribe living along 
  the Colorado river.
  •
  Navaho  (New  Mexico,  Arizona,  Utah):  The 
  Navaho are a powerful force in the Southwest, 
  protecting  the  other  indigenous  tribes  and 
  protecting many sacred places.
  •
  Northern Cheyenne (Montana): A small, very 
  spiritual, tribe.
  •
  Pawnee  (Nebraska):
   The  Pawnee  were 
  displaced from the native lands by the Lakota 
  when the Great Sioux Nation was formed and 
  are the sworn enemies of the Lakota.
  •
  Pueblo  (Colorado,  New  Mexico,  Texas): 
  Secretive  descendants  of  the  long  vanished 
  Anasazi people of the Southwest.
  •
  Shoshone
   
  (Colorado,
   
  Idaho,
   
  Utah, 
  Wyoming):  The  Shoshone  are  found  in  and 
  around the rocky mountains and are masters of 
  the few passes through the range.
  •
  Southern  Cheyenne  (Oklahoma):  A  very 
  spiritual  tribe  renowned  for  their  diplomatic 
  15
  
  abilities.
  •
  Tribeless: The character was either forced out 
  of their tribe or their tribe no longer exists, most 
  likely destroyed in the Indian Wars or by battles 
  with another tribe.
  •
  Ute (Colorado, Utah, Wyoming): The Ute are 
  actively in dispute with the Mormons of Utah.
  •
  Zuni (New Mexico): An isolated and reclusive 
  tribe, a mystery to most.
  Indian characters speak their tribal dialect by default. 
  Most Indian languages have no written form. Dialects 
  tend to blur together along geographical lines, so it can 
  be assumed that an Indian character can communicate 
  with other Indians from nearby tribes.
  Half Breeds
  Half  breeds  (also  known  as  Metis)  are  characters  of 
  mixed  Indian  and  non-Indian  parentage.  Half  breed 
  characters are subject to even more racism than pure 
  blood characters and often equally biased against in both 
  White and Indian cultures. Many half-breed characters 
  have an Indian name with a white first name, such as 
  “Daniel Howling Coyote”.
  Religion
  There are many religions practised in the West. In game 
  terms  most  Blacks,  Whites  and  Hispanics  will  be 
  Christians. Some Whites may be Mormons. Some Whites 
  may opt to be Jewish. Chinese characters tend towards 
  Taoism, Confucianism or Buddhism, although some are 
  Christian. Indian characters follow their native religion.
  The brief summaries of each religion given below are just 
  to give you a feel for the tenets of the religion. If you 
  wish  to  play  a  character  of  a  given  religion  with  the 
  Evangelical  and/or  Pious  quirks  it  is  seriously 
  recommended  that  you  undertake  some  additional 
  research into your chosen religion.
  The most common religions, at least in the west, include:
  Christianity
  Christianity is easily the dominant religion in the Wild 
  West. Whilst there are many sects, splinters, cults and 
  branches of Christianity all follow the same basic tenets 
  of recognising Jesus Christ as the Messiah, the son of 
  God.  All  Christians  follow  the bible  in some shape or 
  form. The two main wings of the church are the catholics 
  and  protestants.  Without  going  into  too  much  detail, 
  catholics are in a minority in the west. Christians have 
  ten commandments which define their moral conduct:
  1.
  I am the Lord thy god, who brought thee out of 
  the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 
  2.
  Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.
  3.
  Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy 
  God in vain.
  4.
  Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.
  5.
  Honour thy father and thy mother.
  6.
  Thou shalt not murder.
  7.
  Thou shalt not commit adultery.
  8.
  Thou shalt not steal.
  9.
  Thou shalt not bear false witness against they 
  neighbour.
  10. Thou shalt not covet anything that belongs to 
  thy neighbour.
  "Thou shalt not murder" 
  Mormonism
  Mormonism is a form of Christianity but merits special 
  mention due to it's importance to the development of the 
  Utah  territory.  Mormons  follow  a  creed  laid  down  by 
  their prophet Joseph Smith in 1823 and they founded the 
  Mormon State of Deseret (in Utah territory) in 1849. The 
  key articles of faith to Mormons can be summarised as 
  follows:
  •
  Belief in God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost.
  •
  Men will be punished for their own sins, and not 
  for Adam's transgression (no original sin).
  •
  Mankind will be saved through obedience to the 
  laws and ordinances of the Gospel.
  •
  The first principles and ordinances of the Gospel 
  are:
  •
  Faith in Jesus Christ
  •
  Repentance
  •
  Baptism by immersion
  •
  Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy 
  Ghost.
  •
  A man must be called of God, by prophecy, and 
  by the laying on of hands by those who are in 
  authority, to preach the Gospel and administer 
  in the ordinances thereof.
  •
  Adherence to the same organisation that existed 
  in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, 
  prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so 
  forth.
  16
  
  •
  The gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, 
  visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, and 
  so forth, are real.
  •
  The Bible is the word of God as far as it is 
  translated correctly; The Book of Mormon is also 
  the word of God.
  •
  Zion (the New Jerusalem where the ten tribes of 
  Israel will gather) will be built upon the 
  American continent; that Christ will reign 
  personally upon the earth; and, that the earth 
  will be renewed and receive its paradisical 
  glory.
  •
  Tolerance of other faiths and ways of worship.
  •
  The rule of law is paramount.
  •
  Mormons must be honest, true, chaste, 
  benevolent, virtuous, and do good to all men.
  Judaism
  Judaism has much in common with Christianity but Jews 
  do not accept Jesus Christ as the son of God. Jews follow 
  the old testament (which predates the coming of Jesus), 
  whereas  Christians  tend  to  concentrate  on  the  new 
  testament  (which  covers  the  life  of  Jesus  and  it's 
  aftermath). Jews adhere to the same ten commandments 
  as Christians.
  Taoism (pronounced Daoism)
  Only Chinese characters will normally follow the Taoist 
  path. Taoists believe that there is no personal god, the 
  closest thing being the Tao, which is a supreme force 
  which underlies change through the passage of time. A 
  devout follower must seek to become free of personal 
  desires, and become attuned to the flow of change. The 
  principle  of  inaction  has  great  importance,  because 
  attempting to right injustices does not agree with the 
  ideal that good and evil are complementary forces, which 
  are  part of the flow of  change. Meditation is a  basic 
  component of Taoism.
  Buddhism
  A  religion  based  on  the  teachings  of  Siddhartha 
  Gautama, known as Buddha. He refuted the idea of man's 
  having an immortal soul and did not preach the existence 
  of any Supreme Deity. Instead he taught that man should 
  seek  freedom  from  greed,  hatred  and  delusion,  and 
  enlightenment through realizing the Four Noble Truths 
  and following the Eightfold Path. The Four Noble Truths 
  are: 
  •
  The fact of suffering
  •
  The origin of suffering
  •
  The annihilation of suffering
  •
  And the Eightfold Path. 
  The  Eightfold  Path  comprises:  Right  Views,  Right 
  Aspirations,  Right  Speech,  Right  Conduct,  Right 
  Livelihood,  Right  Effort,  Right  Mindfulness  and  Right 
  Meditation. Buddhists are found all across Asia.
  Confucianism
  Confucianism is not technically a religion, rather it is a 
  way of life which emphasises the importance of a strong 
  social order through a clear hierarchy. For example, the 
  Emperor (of China) is the supreme authority and a son 
  must  obey  a  father.  Confucianism  is  based  on  the 
  teaching of the philosopher Confucius which emphasised 
  many  things  including;  a  love  for  humanity,  valuing 
  learning, devotion to family (including your ancestors), 
  peace and justice. 
  Hoodoo
  Hoodoo is not a religion, rather it is traditional African 
  folk magic. Hoodoo was bought too America by slaves 
  imported from Africa. It is mentioned here for the sake of 
  completeness. Virtually all blacks are Christians and the 
  practise of Hoodoo sits uneasily alongside the practise of 
  Christianity.  Hoodoo  should  not  be  confused  with 
  Voodoo, which is a “proper” religion with it's focus in the 
  Caribbean. Voodoo is rare in America and is generally 
  only  encountered  in  the  southern  states  around  new 
  Orleans.
  Old Ways
  The term “Old Ways” is a catch all term for the various 
  Indian religions. Various tribes have differing religious 
  belief's. Generally speaking, the more resources a tribe 
  has  access  to,  the  more  developed  their  religious 
  theology. Having said that most Indian religious belief's 
  have several things in common:
  •
  There is no discrete barrier between natural and 
  supernatural.
  •
  Spirits inhabit the world with men.
  •
  The religions emphasise an intimate relationship 
  with nature.
  •
  Religions  are  “light”  on  formal  ritual  and 
  ceremony, but the concept of veneration of the 
  spirits etc.. permeates day to day life in small 
  ways.
  Atheism
  Atheism is not actually a religion, rather it is a state of 
  mind.  Atheists  fall  into  two  broad  groups,  those  who 
  simply have no religious belief's and those who actively 
  disbelieve in the existence of deities.
  17
  
  Traits
  Characters in Gunslingers and Gamblers
  TM have one or 
  more traits, with those traits being organised into four 
  groups. Each trait is rated by a number, with a higher 
  number indicating a higher level of ability;
  Score
  Description
  0
  Character has no ability in the trait concerned.
  1
  Character is average in the trait concerned.
  3
  Character is considered to be skilled, or is of 
  superior ability, in the trait concerned.
  5
  Character is considered to be an expert, or is of 
  excellent ability, in the trait concerned.
  5/2
  Character is considered to be a master, or is of 
  exceptional ability, in the trait concerned.
  5/4
  Character is considered to be legendary, or is of 
  legendary ability, in the trait concerned.
  5/5
  Character is considered to be of mythical ability, 
  in the trait concerned. A score of five indicates 
  the  level  of  ability  which  is  remembered  by 
  generations  to  come.  Brett  Mavericks 
  Gambling`  and  Wild  Bill  Hickock's  Shooting 
  traits are at this level.
  Note that the table does not describe every possible 
  score, it just gives you a feel for the range of scores 
  available to a character.
  Body traits
  Body  traits  relate  to  a  characters  physical 
  characteristics, such as speed, strength and health.
  1.
  Fighting: Fighting trait is used when attacking 
  or defending at Close range (with or without a 
  weapon) or attacking with a thrown weapon.
  2.
  Shooting:  Shooting  trait  is  used  to  attack 
  targets  at  short  and  long  range.  It  covers 
  attacking with both guns and bows.
  3.
  Grit: Grit trait is used to resist injury, illness, 
  fatigue,  poisons,  diseases  and  drugs  and  for 
  feats  of  strength.  It  represents  your  overall 
  strength, toughness and healthiness.
  4.
  Reflexes: Reflexes is used for dodging, dancing, 
  climbing, running, acrobatics, sports and other 
  physical  pursuits  not  covered  by  Grit  (Grit 
  covers  endurance  contests,  such  as  long 
  distance running, or strength contests, such as 
  weight  lifting.  Everything  else  falls  under 
  Reflexes).
  5.
  Riding:  Riding is used when trying to ride a 
  horse  or  other  animal.  When  a  character  is 
  riding a horse, all their other traits are capped 
  at the level of their Riding trait, so a character 
  with  Riding  2  and  Shooting  4  would  have  a 
  Shooting trait of 4 when Shooting normally, but 
  only 2 when on horseback.
  Wits traits
  Wits  traits  relate  to  a  characters  speed  of  thought, 
  creativity, personality and mental agility.
  1.
  Notice:  Notice trait is used when deliberately 
  searching for something, or when something is 
  present which a character might notice (such as 
  an ambush  or  clue).  It is also used  to notice 
  when  someone  is  lying  to  you,  or  concealing 
  something from you.
  2.
  Gambling: 
  Gambling  trait  is  used  when 
  gambling, for calculating odds and for running 
  gambling games.
  3.
  Nerve: Nerve trait is used to keep cool, resist 
  influence attempts and also to maintain your self 
  control when faced with fear inducing, shocking 
  or terrifying occurrences.
  4.
  Jawing:  Jawing is how good you are at talking 
  and is used when you are trying to influence 
  another  characters  behaviour  by  seducing, 
  persuading or intimidating them. It also covers 
  your singing and acting ability.
  5.
  Luck: A character receives a number of Chips to 
  spend  each  day  equal  to  their  Luck  score. 
  Unspent Chips do not carry over from day to 
  day.
  Knowledge traits
  Knowledge traits are things that a character has learnt 
  through education, formal or informal.
  1.
  Healing: Healing trait is used to treat wounds 
  and illnesses. Healing is used to diagnose and 
  treat illnesses and poisonings whilst Surgery is 
  used to treat wounds.
  2.
  Tinkering:  Tinkering  trait  is  used  to  design, 
  make, repair and maintain mechanisms such as 
  guns, machines, steam engines and the like. It 
  also includes prospecting and mining.
  3.
  Learning:  Learning trait is a measure of your 
  “book  learning”  and  general  knowledge, 
  covering areas such as history, science, folklore, 
  geography,  art  and  the  like.  Someone  with  a 
  high Learning score would be considered to be 
  an “educated” person.
  4.
  Survival: Survival trait is used to survive in the 
  wilderness environment, which includes finding 
  food  and  shelter,  tracking  others  and  finding 
  resources. It also includes Sneaking and Hiding 
  (in the wilderness or settled areas).
  5.
  Crafting:  The Crafting trait relates to working 
  with  things  that  aren't  mechanisms,  such  as 
  melee  weapons,  structures,  clothes,  pots  and 
  pans and the like.
  18
  
  Chips
  Player characters starts each morning with a number of 
  poker chips (aka. Chips) equal to their Luck trait score. 
  Additional Chips may be gained in play from role-playing 
  certain quirks.
  Unspent chips from your Luck score are not carried over 
  from  day  to  day,  but  chips  gained  from  Quirks  are 
  carried over.
  For example, a character with Luck  2  has two  poker 
  chips a day to spend.
  •
  A poker chip can be cashed in during play to 
  increase a hand by one step (e.g. To make a Pair 
  into  Two  Pairs).  Two  Chips  can  be  spent  to 
  increase  another  characters  Hand  by  a  step. 
  There is no limit on how many Chips you can 
  spend in this way, but they must all be spent in 
  one go.
  •
  A poker chip can be cashed in during play to 
  take an immediate extra action. The usual rules 
  for actions apply to this extra action. There is no 
  limit on how many Chips you can spend in this 
  way.
  Unspent  chips  are  not  carried  over 
  from day to day.
  Quirks
  When creating a new character you can take none, one, 
  two or three Quirks. Quirks reflect facets of a character 
  which  are  not  readily  handled  by  traits  or  their 
  description. Quirks generally effect either the gaining or 
  spending of Chips in play. Where a Quirk awards you 
  Chips for some reason you can only receive one such 
  award for that Quirk per scene, unless the GM decides 
  otherwise.
  For example, the Blood Thirsty quirk awards you a Chip 
  when you kill a defeated opponent. Even if you murdered 
  twenty foes in one scene you would still only receive one 
  Chip from that Quirk in a given scene.
  •
  Abolitionist: You are fired by your hatred of 
  slavery. Whenever you free a slave or succeed in 
  stopping slave trading somewhere you receive a 
  Chip.
  •
  Ailing: You may opt to take a Chip at the start 
  of a scene. You cannot then spend Chips for the 
  rest of that scene, representing a bad spell of 
  your illness or problem. Ailing might be a 
  chronic disease like tuberculosis (characters 
  with tuberculosis are commonly known as 
  “lungers”), a physical impairment such as a limp 
  or badly healed wound or a state of general 
  unhealth.
  •
  Aggressive: You cannot spend Chips in a 
  combat which you did not start. You increase 
  your hand two steps if you spend a Chip on an 
  attack or defence roll in a fight which you did 
  start. You may be a total “mad dog”.. always 
  spoiling for a fight, or a calm individual who 
  uses violence quickly and decisively to solve 
  problems. Note that this quirk applies to normal 
  combat, not shoot-outs
  •
  Brawler: You cannot spend Chips on Fighting 
  rolls when armed, but you increase your hand 
  two steps when you spend a Chip on a Fighting 
  roll when unarmed.
  •
  Bully: You are a bully. Receive a chip whenever 
  you intimidate or browbeat someone into doing 
  what you want.
  •
  Burly: You cannot spend Chips on Grit rolls for 
  endurance and constitution type tasks, but 
  increase your hand two steps when you spend a 
  Chip on a Grit roll for strength type tasks and 
  for resisting damage.
  •
  Coffee Boiler: Receive a Chip whenever you 
  get out of doing your fair share of a job, forcing 
  someone else to do extra work in your place. 
  You only get the Chip if someone else suffers 
  because of your laziness.
  •
  Compassionate: Receive a Chip whenever you 
  help someone who is clearly in need.
  •
  Cowboys Code: You are bound to the Cowboys 
  code. Gain a Chip whenever you adhere to the 
  code in such a way as to cause difficulties for 
  yourself of your allies. The code says:
  •
  Avenge all insults
  •
  Protect women
  •
  Hang horse thieves
  •
  Always welcome a visitor with food or 
  tobacco
  •
  Never draw on an unarmed man
  •
  Never break your word
  •
  Never shoot someone in the back
  •
  Never borrow/steal another man's horse 
  without his permission
  •
  Curious: Receive a Chip when you solve a 
  mystery or discover something new and 
  interesting.
  •
  Decisive: Receive a Chip whenever you take 
  action suddenly and unilaterally.
  •
  Dependent: Someone depends on you, such as 
  a wife, sibling, friend or child. You may take a 
  Chip at the start of the session and that 
  dependent will somehow play a role in the 
  session (either directly or indirectly). Needless 
  to say, the dependent cannot look after 
  themselves.
  •
  Diplomatic: Receive a Chip if you can resolve a 
  potentially violent situation through non-violent 
  means.
  •
  Doomed: You cannot spend Chips on defence 
  rolls, but you increase your hand two steps 
  when you spend a Chip on an attack roll. You 
  may have embraced your fate and have a death-
  wish or may be actively trying to avoid it.
  •
  Evangelical: You are an evangelical and must 
  take every opportunity to push your faith onto 
  others, trying to gain converts to your cause. 
  You gain a Chip whenever you convert someone 
  to your religion.
  •
  Fearsome: You cannot spend Chips on Jawing 
  rolls when trying to to persuade or seduce 
  people, but Increase your hand by two steps 
  when you spend a Chip on a Jawing roll to 
  intimidate people.
  •
  Focussed: If you publicly set yourself a goal 
  and then complete it receive a Chip.
  •
  Forgetful:  Receive  a  Chip  every  time  you 
  deliberately “forget” a piece of information, or 
  19
  
  forget to do something, and the forgetting has a 
  negative impact on yourself or your allies.  
  •
  Gunslinger: You cannot spend Chips in normal 
  combats, but Chips spent during Shootouts 
  increase your hand by two steps.
  •
  Guts: You cannot spend Chips on Nerve rolls 
  against Jawing or other influence attempts, but 
  you increase your hand two steps when you 
  spend a Chip on a Nerve roll against horrifying 
  events or situations.
  •
  Hankering: You are addicted to some 
  substance, usually alcohol, laudanum, psilocybe 
  or peyote. This is a common quirk for Indian 
  characters. In any given scene you may gain a 
  Chip by taking enough of the substance to 
  Impair yourself for the rest of the scene.
  •
  Harbinger: Any allies within 100ft of you 
  cannot spend Chips on defence rolls but 
  increase your hand two steps when spending 
  Chips on attack rolls. Death follows you like a 
  shroud and those around you seem to die like 
  flies.
  •
  Haunted: You cannot spend Chips on Wits trait 
  rolls but you increase your hand two steps when 
  you spend a Chip on a Knowledge roll. Some 
  atrocious deed or event in your past haunts you 
  to this day and you are often found staring into 
  the distance, not paying attention to events 
  around you. On the upside, your preoccupation 
  with the past has sharpened your memory.
  •
  Heroic: You cannot spend Chips when acting in 
  a “cowardly” manner, but Increase your hand by 
  two steps when you spent Chips on “heroic” 
  actions. A cowardly manner is acting in your 
  own self-interest when you are in a position to 
  help others.
  •
  Hippocratic Oath: You are bound by the 
  Hippocratic Oath which obliges you to treat all 
  people fairly, help the sick and do no harm. 
  Every time you uphold the oath receive a Chip.
  •
  Honest: Receive a Chip every time you tell the 
  truth when lying or disseminating would be a 
  more sensible course of action. Lying means 
  telling a lie, concealing the truth from someone, 
  deceiving someone through act of omission of 
  the truth or colluding with others to deceive. 
  You're as honest as the day is long.
  •
  Honourable: Receive a Chip if you keep your 
  word when breaking it would be in your best 
  interests.
  •
  Illiterate: Your reading and writing skills are 
  very poor. Receive a Chip whenever you play up 
  this fact in such a way as to cause problems for 
  yourself or your allies.
  •
  Important: For some reason you are a very 
  important person. Decide why when you take 
  this edge. You might be an Indian chief, 
  Marshall or Clan leader. As an important person 
  you are required to put the interests of those 
  people that depend on you above your own. You 
  may voluntarily take yourself out of any given 
  scene (not playing in it) and gain a Chip 
  (representing tending to your responsibilities).
  •
  Indecisive: Receive a Chip whenever you wait 
  for the group to achieve a decision by consensus 
  and you follow that decision without expressing 
  your own point of view in the process.
  •
  Jinxed: You cannot spend Chips on rolls where 
  you use a mechanism (tools are okay though) of 
  any kind (which includes guns). Mechanisms 
  just don't seem to like you. On the upside, 
  Increase your hand by two steps when you 
  spend Chips on an action which doesn't use any 
  mechanisms or tools. This could be an almost 
  supernatural bad luck with machines, but 
  normally represents a tendency not to bother to 
  understand or care for mechanisms properly, so 
  they go wrong more often.
  •
  Knack: This is a “catch-all” quirk for situations 
  where you have a specific character concept but 
  no other quirk covers it. As such, you need GM 
  agreement for each Knack you take. When you 
  take a Knack quirk choose one specific type of 
  activity “in” a trait (such as knife throwing in 
  the Fighting trait). You may increase your hand 
  two steps when you spend a Chip on that 
  speciality, but cannot spend Chips on other uses 
  of that trait.
  •
  Lawman: You are a conscientious lawman. You 
  have sworn to uphold the letter and spirit of the 
  law and not to permit another to break the law 
  or fail to arrest someone who has broken the 
  law. It is not a lawmans job to decide on the 
  guilt or innocence of someone, that is the courts 
  job. You are just here to bring them to justice. 
  Receive a Chip whenever you bring someone to 
  justice.
  •
  Loco: You have some form of severe neurosis or 
  psychosis, chosen when you take this Quirk (you 
  can take this quirk more than once, having a 
  difference psychosis each time). Examples 
  include being delusional, paranoid, bipolar 
  disorder, multiple personalities and so on. 
  Receive a Chip each time you play the insanity 
  in such a way as to cause significant problems 
  for yourself or your allies.
  •
  Lone Wolf: Gain a Chip if you voluntarily leave 
  the party to pursue a course of action. To qualify 
  for the Chip you must be alone, meaning that no 
  one can help you, or come to your aid if things 
  go wrong.
  •
  Lusty: Receive a Chip if you take up a romantic 
  offer when doing so is not in your best interests 
  (e.g. You should be doing something else), or 
  the best interests of your allies.
  •
  Lying Dog: If you tell a lie when telling the 
  truth would be better for you, receive a Chip. 
  Lying means concealing important information, 
  telling outright lies, understating or 
  exaggerating important information at every 
  opportunity. You're a no good lying dog.
  •
  Marksman: You cannot spend Chips in Shoot-
  outs, but you increase your hand two steps when 
  you spend a Chip on a Shooting roll in non-
  shoot-out situations.
  •
  Mean as a Rattler: Receive a Chip when you 
  20
  Henry Rifle
  
  cause unnecessary pain or suffering to someone.
  •
  Mercenary: A mercenary character only helps 
  others out when paid. Receive a Chip whenever 
  you get paid for doing a job.
  •
  Murderous: Receive a Chip whenever you kill a 
  defeated opponent in cold blood.
  •
  Oath: You have sworn some kind of Oath. Each 
  time you take this quirk (you may take it more 
  than once, with a different oath each time) 
  choose an oath. Receive a Chip whenever you 
  follow a course of action appropriate to your 
  Oath, but detrimental to your own, or your 
  allies, well-being
  •
  Odious: You have some particularly odious 
  personal habit which offends everyone around 
  you. Decide what it is when you take this Quirk. 
  Examples might include swearing, spitting, 
  breaking wind, xenophobia, being very rude or 
  sarcastic, bad breath, awful body odour and so 
  on. Receive a Chip whenever you play this habit 
  up in such a way as to make your life, or the life 
  of your allies, more difficult.
  •
  Old Timer: You can't spend Chips on Body 
  rolls, but you increase your hand two steps 
  when you spend a Chip on a Knowledge roll. 
  You're as old as the hills and whilst your body 
  fails you, your accumulated wisdom and 
  experience is something every youngster seeks 
  out.
  •
  Ornery: Receive a Chip when you refuse to 
  participate in a course of action agreed to by the 
  rest of your group.
  •
  Pariah: You are a pariah, looked down upon by 
  the majority of people. This could be on account 
  of your profession (such as being a whore), race 
  (being black or Chinese), nationality (being Irish 
  or Mexican), some odious personal habit (such 
  as spitting all the time, swearing all the time) or 
  unpleasant feature (such as terrible breath or 
  never washing). At the start of a session you 
  may take a Chip, in which case you will have to 
  deal with a prejudicial situation at least once in 
  that session. If you don't take the Chip you don't 
  suffer the prejudice in that session.
  •
  Phobia: You have a phobia (fear) of something 
  which is fairly common, such as the dark, water, 
  spiders, heights or enclosed spaces. Decide 
  what it is when you take this quirk. When you 
  encounter the thing you are phobic to you may 
  take a Chip, but you cannot then spend Chips 
  for the rest of the scene.
  •
  Pious: You are very pious and obey the 
  strictures of your religion to the letter. Receive 
  a Chip if you obey the strictures of your religion 
  and, in doing so, suffer some personal cost.
  •
  Poor English: Your character doesn't speak 
  English fluently. Receive a Chip whenever you 
  play up your poor language in such a way as to 
  cause problems for you or your allies.
  •
  Prohibitionist: You consider alcohol and drugs 
  to be great evils and must take every 
  opportunity to stop the consumption, sale or 
  supply of such things. Receive a Chip if you are 
  able to shut down an alcohol supplier or 
  persuade someone to give up drinking. Needless 
  to say, you don't drink yourself.
  •
  Proud: Receive a Chip when you accept a 
  challenge of any kind.
  •
  Provocative: Receive a Chip if you can get 
  someone to attack you through your words and 
  behaviour without actually touching them.
  •
  Purty/Handsome: You cannot spend Chips on 
  Jawing rolls when trying to intimidate people or 
  trying to be taken seriously, but increase your 
  hand by two steps when you spend a Chip on a 
  Jawing roll to persuade or seduce people.
  •
  Reluctant: You cannot spend Chips in a combat 
  which you started. You are reluctant to fight for 
  some reason, such as being a retired soldier or 
  guilt ridden paid killer. You increase your hand 
  two steps if you spend a Chip on an attack or 
  defence roll in a fight which someone else 
  started though. Note that this applies to normal 
  combat, not shoot-outs.
  •
  Reputation: You have a reputation which 
  attracts the interest of others. Either those 
  looking to make a name for themselves or 
  people looking for revenge, fame or something 
  else. You may take a Chip at the start of the 
  session, in which case someone will approach 
  and challenge you during the session, with 
  potentially violent consequences. Note that your 
  reputation can be anything. You might be 
  renowned as a gunfighter (tending to attract 
  young guns looking to make a name for 
  themselves), an outlaw (bounty hunters or 
  lawman might be after you), a gambler (other 
  gamblers may wish to try and beat you in a 
  game) and so on. Whether your reputation is 
  deserved or not is up to you. You may have 
  multiple reputations, but you still only get to 
  take this quirk once.
  •
  Risk Taker: Whenever you take a real risk, gain 
  21
  
  a Chip. A “real” risk is defined as an action with 
  a reasonable chance of failing and serious 
  consequences if you do fail.
  •
  Roustabout: You can't spend Chips on 
  Knowledge rolls, but you increase your hand two 
  steps when you spend a Chip on a Body roll. 
  Your life of physical labour doesn't leave much 
  time for study.
  •
  Saddle Tramp: You can't spend Chips on 
  Knowledge rolls, but you increase your hand two 
  steps when you spend a Chip on a Wits roll. 
  “Ain't got no time for fancy book learning, I 
  learnt everything I know at the school of life”
  •
  Scholarly: You can't spend Chips on Wits rolls, 
  but you increase your hand two steps when you 
  spend a Chip on a Knowledge roll. You rarely 
  descend from your ivory tower, and when you do 
  your interactions with normal people tend to be 
  pretty disastrous.
  •
  Selfish: Receive a Chip when you refuse to give 
  someone something which they could use better 
  than you.
  •
  Silver Tongued: You can't spend Chips on Body 
  rolls, but you increase your hand two steps 
  when you spend a Chip on a Wits roll. You're 
  from back east where being able to cut a deal 
  and think on your feet is more important than 
  muscles and fitness.
  •
  Spendthrift: You spend money like it's going 
  out of fashion. If you spend all your money on 
  pointless things, such as wine, women and song 
  (minimum ten bucks) you gain a Chip.
  •
  Stubborn: You cannot spend Chips on Nerve 
  rolls against horrifying events or situations, but 
  you increase your hand two steps when you 
  spend a Chip on a Nerve roll against Jawing or 
  other influence attempts.
  •
  Treacherous: Receive a Chip whenever you 
  “sell out” a friend or ally. Selling out means that 
  you receive some benefit in exchange for your 
  treacherous action.
  •
  Trusting: Receive a Chip when you take 
  someone at their word and doing so has a 
  negative impact on your well being or the well 
  being of your allies.
  •
  Vapid: You cannot spend Chips on Knowledge 
  trait rolls but you increase your hand two steps 
  when you spend a Chip on a Wits roll. You have 
  a memory like a sieve and would forget your 
  own head if it wasn't screwed on but are very 
  amenable and good company.
  •
  Varmint: Receive a Chip when you steal 
  something that you want from someone else, 
  rather than obtaining it legally.
  •
  Vigilante: You have sworn to bring justice to 
  all, placing yourself in the role of judge, jury and 
  (sometimes) executioner. You must protect the 
  innocent from the guilty and cannot let a crime 
  go unpunished, even if that involves breaking 
  the law. Receive a Chip whenever you deal out 
  “Justice”. Another name for you is “vigilante”.
  •
  Warrior: You cannot spend Chips on Fighting 
  rolls when unarmed, but you increase your hand 
  two steps when you spend a Chip on a Fighting 
  roll when armed.
  •
  Warriors Code: You are a member of an Indian 
  warrior society and have sworn to uphold it's 
  code. Gain a Chip when you kill an enemy in 
  close combat, rescue a wounded comrade, count 
  coup on an enemy or scalp someone.
  •
  Wiry: You cannot spend Chips on Grit rolls for 
  strength type tasks or resisting damage, but 
  increase your hand two steps when you spend a 
  Chip on a Grit roll for endurance and 
  constitution type tasks (not including rolls to 
  resist the effects of damage).
  •
  Yellow  Belly:  You  cannot  spend  Chips  when 
  acting in a “heroic” manner. A heroic manner is 
  acting against your own self-interest in helping 
  others. Increase your hand by two steps when 
  you  spend  a  Chip  in  a  “cowardly”  manner 
  though.
  More Quirks
  The list of quirks above is not definitive and GM's and 
  players should feel free to invent new quirks, using the 
  ones already given as guidelines. The key thing to bear in 
  mind when creating new Quirks is that their positive and 
  negative aspects should be balanced.
  Gaining and Losing Quirks
  Characters may take new Quirks between sessions, or 
  lose old ones, with the GM's consent. Basically, it is up to 
  the player to persuade the GM that they should be able 
  to gain or lose Quirks. The gaining and losing of Quirks 
  should be clearly linked to the way the character has 
  been played. As a rule of thumb you can gain one new 
  Quirk  or  lose  one  existing  Quirk  between  each  game 
  session, no more.
  Hints and Tips for Character Creation
  Shooting,  Fighting,  Riding,  Reflexes  and  Grit  are 
  extremely useful traits for fighting orientated characters. 
  Nerve is important  for people  who intend  to get into 
  gunfights a lot.
  •
  Grit keeps you alive and functioning.
  •
  Nerve is crucial in shoot-outs 
  •
  Fighting determines how often you hit your foes 
  and how often they miss you in close combat. 
  •
  Shooting  is  useful  because  it  determines 
  whether you land decisive hits on targets or not.
  •
  Reflexes  is  useful  because  it  determines  how 
  often you get hit by ranged attacks and your 
  initiative.
  •
  Riding minimises the impact of being mounted 
  on your attacks.
  Each group should have at least one character with a 
  Healing score of one or more. This is a real life saver, 
  literally, as they can treat wounds and get characters 
  back on their feet quicker than normal.
  Luck  should not  be overlooked, as Chip can make  or 
  break a situation.
  22
  
  Combat
  "Shooting  at  a  man  who  is  returning  the 
  compliment  means  going  into  action  with  the 
  greatest  speed  of  which  a  man's  muscles  are 
  capable, but mentally unflustered by an urge to 
  hurry or the need for complicated nervous and 
  muscular actions which trick shooting involves."
  - Wyatt Earp
  23
  
  Introduction
  This  section  provides  more  detailed  rules  to  resolve 
  fights between characters.
  Rounds
  Each round is approximately five seconds in duration. In 
  a  round,  each  character  gets  one  turn.  When  all 
  characters have had their turn (or held it) the round ends 
  and a new one begins.
  Initiative
  At the start of a combat each character makes a Reflexes 
  roll (this is called an Initiative roll). Compare the hands 
  of everyone. The character with the best hand goes first 
  in each round from now on, the second best hand goes 
  second and so on downwards. 
  In the case of characters having the same hand those 
  characters re-roll until there is a clear winner.
  Once  every character has had  a turn  (or held  it)  the 
  round ends and a new round starts.
  You cannot botch an Initiative roll, a High Card is just 
  treated as a High Card (the lowest possible hand).
  Surprise
  If one side ambushes another the characters on the side 
  being ambushed do not get any actions in the first round 
  of combat. They do roll initiative at the start of the first 
  round as normal though. 
  Ambushes happen when one side is lying in wait for the 
  other and attacks with complete surprise, which usually 
  requires all the characters on the side being ambushed 
  failing Notice(Stealth) rolls against the ambusher with 
  the lowest Stealth.
  The first character to be attacked in such a situation gets 
  no  defence roll. Characters attacked later in the  first 
  round do get defence rolls as normal.
  Facing
  Characters are assumed to be constantly moving, looking 
  around,  listening  and  trying  to  stay  aware  of  their 
  environment during a battle. As such, they can attack or 
  defend against attacks from any direction.
  Actions
  Each character gets one turn per round and can perform 
  two actions on that turn or they can discard one action 
  and hold the other action to use later.
  A character cannot repeat an action in a round under any 
  circumstances.  Actions  like  evasion  and  aim  are  only 
  allowed once per round. You can attack more than once, 
  provided each attack is with a different weapon. You can 
  make any number of unarmed attacks (assuming each 
  attack is made with a different body part).
  For example, you could draw and fire a gun (two actions) 
  on your turn, but you couldn't fire the same gun twice. If 
  you want two attacks you need to have two weapons, 
  making one attack with each weapon.
  A  character  can  take  their  “held”  action  at  any  time 
  before their turn in the next round, but can only perform 
  one action on the held action.
  If a held action is not used before your next turn, it is 
  lost.
  If a situation arises where two or more characters wish 
  to use their held action at the same time, their actions 
  are considered to happen simultaneously.
  For example, one character uses a held action to run 
  between two buildings. A second character uses a held 
  action to shoot at them. The shot would be considered to 
  resolve as the running character is in motion between 
  the buildings and the held action character could choose 
  precisely when to fire. 
  As another example, if one character shot on their turn, 
  another character could interrupt with a held action and 
  fire  first  (the  holding  character  resolves  their  shot 
  between  the  shooting  character  announcing  their 
  intention to shoot and actually rolling dice).
  Sample actions include:
  •
  Run up to ten yards in a straight line
  •
  Run up to five yards whilst crossing obstacles or 
  treacherous ground
  •
  Open or Close an unlocked door
  •
  Unlock a door with a key
  •
  Change facing
  •
  Attack someone
  •
  Aim at a target
  •
  Take evasive action
  •
  Draw a weapon
  •
  Communicate more than a few words.
  •
  Reload one fresh round into any gun
  •
  Completely reload a suitable gun with a speed 
  loader or ammo tube
  •
  Take something from a pocket, pack or similar, 
  ready to use it
  •
  Use something you are holding
  Brief comments or gestures do not require an action, 
  they are free to perform as and when a player wishes. 
  More complex communications require an action.
  24
  Double Barrelled Scattergun
  
  Attacking and Defending
  Attacks are resolved as opposed attack rolls against an 
  opponents defence roll. The traits used depend on the 
  range between the characters.
  •
  At Close Range: The attacker rolls against 
  Fighting, and the defender also rolls against 
  Fighting.
  •
  At Short or Long Range: The attacker rolls 
  against Shooting and the defender rolls against 
  Reflexes.
  Note that you always use Fighting at Close range, even if 
  using a ranged weapon.
  Attacking uses up an action, defending is always free. 
  The only time a target does not get a defence roll is if 
  they are incapacitated, surprised or completely helpless, 
  in which case the Attack roll uses a Pair as the opposed 
  hand  (n.b.  If  the  target  was  surprised  they  are  not 
  surprised after being attacked, remarkably enough).
  The target of an attack can spend Chips to increase the 
  opposed hand needed to hit them as normal though.
  For example, an immobile character might spend a Chip 
  to increase the opposed hand needed to hit them to Two 
  Pairs.
  Attack and Defence Modifiers
  Attack and Defence modifiers are applied to attack and 
  defence  rolls  and  usually  come  from  external 
  circumstances. +1 means step up your hand one type 
  and +2 means step it up two types. -1 means step it down 
  one type and -2 means step it down two types.
  For example, if you rolled a Pair and had a +1 modifier, 
  the Pair is stepped up to Two Pairs.
  The following table lists a selection of common modifiers. 
  •
  Weapons Modifier
  •
  Soft Cover: +1 Defence Modifier
  •
  Hard Cover: +2 Defence Modifier
  •
  Aimed Shot: +1 Attack Modifier
  •
  Target Evading: +1 Defence Modifier
  •
  Outnumbered: -1 Defence Modifier
  •
  Miscellaneous Modifier: +1 or -1 modifier on 
  attack and/or defence as appropriate. 
  Each weapon has a modifier for each range which it can 
  engage targets at. When you use that weapon apply the 
  weapons  modifier  for  the  appropriate  range  to  your 
  attack roll. 
  For example, most sixguns have +1/+1 modifiers. They 
  receive a +1 attack modifier at Close and Short range, 
  but automatically miss targets at Long range.
  Some  weapons  (usually  melee  weapons)  also  give 
  defence modifiers which are added to defence rolls.
  Soft cover is something between you and your opponent 
  which makes you harder to hit without actually being 
  able to stop the attack (such as darkness, smoke, sheets 
  waving in the breeze or foliage).
  Hard cover is something between you and your opponent 
  which makes you harder to hit and which can actually 
  block the attack (such as a solid object of some kind).
  If  the  target  has  both  Hard  and  Soft  cover  (such  as 
  crouching behind a stone wall in the dark) they only use 
  the +2 modifier from Hard cover, not both.
  The Aimed shot modifier is used if your last action before 
  attacking was to Aim at the target of the attack.
  The  Target  Evading  modifier  is  used  if  you  used  an 
  Evasive action on your last turn, making yourself harder 
  to  hit.  Evasive  action  represents  any  of  a  variety  of 
  defensive actions, including parrying, dodging, moving 
  evasively and so on.
  The miscellaneous modifier is in the gift of the GM to 
  apply  as  they  see  fit.  You  might  give  a  character  on 
  slippery ground a -1 modifier on attack and defence rolls 
  to  reflect  their  unstable  footing.  You  might  give  a 
  character in hard cover an extra +1 defence if they have 
  carefully prepared their position beforehand. You might 
  give a character a -1 attack modifier if they are trying to 
  fight in a place where they have to crouch down or bend 
  over. A +2 or -2 modifier is possible, but should only be 
  used in extreme circumstances.
  The outnumbered modifier is used when a character is 
  outnumbered by enemies in close combat. It reflects the 
  fact  that  you  can't  effectively  defend  yourself  against 
  more than opponent if they can outflank you. The GM 
  may waive the outnumbered modifier if they feel that the 
  enemies can't effectively outflank the character (e.g. If 
  you are in a narrow corridor facing two opponents you 
  aren't really outnumbered, as they can't get round the 
  sides of you to outflank you).
  Results of an Attack
  The results of an attack depend on whether you win, lose 
  or draw on the attack roll:
  •
  If you lose the attack misses completely.
  •
  If  you  draw  on  any  attack  the  target  is 
  suppressed. They must use their next available 
  action to recover.
  •
  If you win, the target takes a wound of value 
  equal to the number of Raises on the attack.
  25
  LeMat Pistol
  
  For example, if your opponent achieved Three of a Kind 
  on their defence roll an attack roll of Two Pairs or less 
  would miss, Three of a Kind would suppress them, a Low 
  Straight would inflict a 1pt wound, a Full House a 2pt 
  wound, a High Straight 3pts, Four of a Kind 4pts and a 
  Poker 5pts.
  Suppressions  are  cumulative  in  effect,  so  a  character 
  who is suppressed twice before their next turn would 
  lose  their  next  two  actions  recovering.  If  they  were 
  suppressed three times they would lose the two actions 
  from their next turn, and the first action from the turn 
  after that as well!
  A suppression can be a near miss, forcing an opponent to 
  duck  or  shy  away,  a  hit  which  doesn't  inflict  any 
  significant damage (such as a shallow cut or bruise) or a 
  strike which knocks down, pushes back or momentarily 
  hinders the foe in some way (even a quick grab or brief 
  tussle  would  qualify  as  suppression).  Regardless,  a 
  suppressed  character  must  use  their  next  action to 
  recover, then they can act normally.
  It's  up to the GM and/or player to define  the precise 
  result of a suppression, circumstances depending.
  Wounds
  Wounds represent serious injuries to a character and 
  each wound is recorded separately.
  For example, a character who is hit by two attacks which 
  inflict 3 and 4 damage would be noted as having a 3pt 
  and 4pt wound, for a total of 7 damage.
  Whenever a character is wounded they must make a Grit 
  roll (also known as a damage roll). The opposed hand 
  depends on the sum of their current wounds (add all the 
  wounds up), as determined by the table below. 
  •
  If you succeed on the roll you are okay and 
  continue functioning normally.
  •
  If you draw on the roll the character 
  immediately collapses and remains 
  incapacitated for ten minutes. 
  •
  If you fail the roll (your hand is less than the 
  opposed hand) the character is incapacitated for 
  ten minutes and dies after the ten minutes has 
  elapsed if the wound which triggered the Grit 
  roll has not been successfully treated with first 
  aid (which also halves the wounds value as usual 
  for first aid).
  •
  If you botch the roll, you die on the spot.
  Total Value 
  of Wounds
  Opposed Hand 
  for Grit Roll
  1
  High Card
  2
  Pair
  3
  Two Pairs
  4
  Three of a Kind
  5
  Low  Straight  (four  in  a 
  row)
  6
  Full House
  7
  High  Straight  (five  in  a 
  row)
  8
  Four of a Kind
  9
  Poker (five of a kind)
  For example, a character with a 2pt wound is hit and 
  takes another 3pt wound. They must make a  Grit(Full 
  House) roll immediately, Low Straight being the opposed 
  hand because the sum of all their wounds is now 5. If 
  they get a Full House or better they are okay. If they get 
  a Low Straight they collapse and are incapacitated for 
  ten minutes, then recover. If they get Three of a Kind or 
  worse they collapse and die in ten minutes if the 3pt 
  wound (the one just taken which triggered the Grit roll) 
  is not successfully treated with first aid. If they roll a  
  High Card (a Botch) they die instantly.
  First Aid
  The opposed hand to successfully treat a wound with first 
  aid depends on it's value. A successful roll halves the 
  wounds  value  immediately,  always  rounding  fractions 
  down.  Each  attempt  takes  five  minutes.  If  you  get 
  straight to a character who is dying you can make two 
  first aid attempts on them before they die.
  Value  of 
  Wound
  Opposed Hand 
  for Healing roll
  1
  High Card
  2
  Pair
  3
  Two Pairs
  4
  Three of a Kind
  5
  Low Straight (four in a row)
  6
  Full House
  7
  High Straight (five in a row)
  8
  Four of a Kind
  9
  Poker (five of a kind)
  For example, to treat a 3pt wound you need to get a 
  Three of a Kind or better. Success reduces the 3pt 
  wound to a 1pt wound (half of three is one and half, 
  which is rounded down to one).
  Once a wound has been halved with a successful use of 
  Healing it cannot then be halved again with further uses 
  of Healing.
  26
  
  Natural Healing
  Each wound reduces in value by one point per week, or 
  two points if the whole week is spent resting.
  For  example, if a character has a 2pt wound and  1pt 
  wound  the  1pt  wound  vanishes  after  a  weeks  normal 
  activity  and  the  2pt  wound  is  reduced  to  1pt.  If  the 
  character had spent the week resting fully both wounds 
  would have completely healed by the end of the week.
  Melee  attacks  are  made  using  the 
  Fighting trait.
  Spot Rules
  The following section gives various spot rules to handle 
  specific occurrences in combat.
  Coup de Grace
  A character may administer a Coup de Grace ("blow of 
  mercy",  in  French  )  to  a  helpless  or  incapacitated 
  opponent with a single action. This kills them instantly 
  and outright. 
  A  coup  de  Grace  is  something  like  putting  a  gun  to 
  someone's head or cutting their throat where they lie.
  Trick Shot
  A  trick  shot  is  attempt  to cause  some  specific  effect, 
  aside from  just hurting  or knocking  out  an opponent. 
  Trickshots can be made at any range (contrary to the 
  name, you can make a trick shot with a melee weapon). 
  To perform a trick shot make a normal roll and apply a 
  modifier  set  by  the  GM.  A  successful  hit  inflicts  the 
  desired result. Some examples of trickshots include:
  •
  Disarm  someone  without  hurting  them  (-1 
  modifier to Attack)
  •
  Throw a knife to pin someone to a wall, they 
  need  to  use  an  action  to  escape  the  pin  (-1 
  modifier to Attack)
  •
  Force someone to move in a given direction (+0 
  modifier to Attack)
  •
  Suppress  a  target  without  hitting  them  (+0 
  modifier to Attack)
  •
  Inflict  a  1pt  wound  regardless  of  how  many 
  Raises you actually get if you hit (-1 modifier to 
  Attack)
  •
  Inflict  a  2pt  wound  regardless  of  how  many 
  Raises you actually get if you hit (-2 modifier to 
  Attack )
  •
  Inflict  a  3pt  wound  regardless  of  how  many 
  Raises you actually get if you hit (-3 modifier to 
  Attack) and so on.
  •
  Knock someone unconscious with a single blow 
  without  inflicting  any  damage,  known  as 
  buffaloing (-3 modifier to Attack)
  •
  Hit someone out of line of sight with a ricochet 
  (-3  modifier  to  Attack).  Inflicts  damage  as 
  normal if you hit.
  Thrown Weapons
  Thrown
   
  weapon
   
  attacks
   
  are
   
  made
   
  with 
  Fighting(Fighting), even if at Short or Long range.
  Rate of Fire
  All guns have a Rate of Fire (ROF). A gun with an SS rate 
  of fire can only fire single shots, which gives one attack 
  per action (and remember, you cannot attack twice with 
  the same gun in a turn). 
  A gun with an SB rate of fire can fire single shots or 
  short bursts. A short burst still uses up one action but 
  consumes three bullets, giving the character two attacks 
  with that gun in that action. The two attacks can both be 
  against the same target, or two different targets (roll 
  each attack separately).
  For example, the Ringo Kid is armed with an SB weapon. 
  On his turn he uses one action to fire a short burst, using 
  up three bullets and making two attacks. He cannot fire 
  that gun again with the second action, and instead opts 
  to reload one bullet into it with that second action.
  Botches in combat
  The precise effects of a botch in combat are up to the 
  GM. Some ideas follow for attack and defence botches:
  Attack Botches
  •
  Jam:  The gun jams and needs an action to be 
  used to clear it (no roll is needed to clear it).
  •
  Drop: The  character  drops  the  weapon  they 
  were attacking with. It needs an action to pick 
  up again.
  •
  Friendly Fire: The attack hits an ally or neutral 
  near to the intended target. The player should 
  re-roll  the  attack  against  this  new  target  (so 
  they can still miss the new target).
  Defence Botches
  •
  Trip: The character trips over and needs to use 
  their next action to recover their footing.
  •
  Leave Cover: The character accidentally leaves 
  cover, losing its benefit until they use an action 
  to move back into it again.
  27
  Peacemaker
  
  Improvised and Unreliable Weapons
  Improvised and Unreliable weapons break on a botched 
  attack roll. Melee weapons break on a botched attack or 
  a botched defence roll against a melee attack. 
  Normal weapons which are not kept clean and properly 
  maintained, or which become dirty or fouled by weather, 
  mud and so on, are treated as Unreliable until they have 
  been properly cleaned (no rolls are needed to properly 
  clean a gun, it just takes ten minutes work).
  A broken weapon can be repaired using the usual rules 
  for repairing broken items.
  Riding
  A  character  who  attacks  from  horse  back  has  their 
  Fighting and Shooting trait scores reduced to the same 
  value as their Riding trait, if they are higher, for the 
  attack. 
  On  the  upside,  a  mounted  character  gets  one  free 
  movement action per turn (they can use it to move up to 
  ten yards), reflecting the horses movement.
  Duck and Cover
  A character who has Hard cover between themselves and 
  an attacker can use an action to Duck and Cover on their 
  turn. If you duck and cover you are completely protected 
  from attacks until you choose to expose yourself again 
  (which requires another action).
  For example, if you ducked and covered you would need 
  two actions to attack someone. One to get up again and a 
  second to fire.
  Of course, your opponent may also maneuver into a new 
  position so the Hard cover no longer intervenes.. and 
  then shoot you.
  Two Weapons
  A  character  can  wield  a  one-handed  weapon  in  each 
  hand. In Gunslingers and Gamblers
  TM, the only benefit 
  this gives you is allowing you to use both actions in a 
  turn to attack with, making one attack with each weapon.
  Counting Coup
  Counting Coup is a practise common amongst Indians 
  with the “Warriors Code” quirk. Counting coup means 
  striking an opponent either bare handed or with the flat 
  of a melee weapon, and gaining honour in so doing (you 
  cannot count coup with a ranged attack). To count coup 
  simply state the intention to count coup then attack and 
  get  one  or  more  Raises.  You  inflict  no  injury  when 
  counting coup, though you may suppress you target still 
  if you draw with them.
  Jawing in Combat
  Characters can try to Suppress other characters during a 
  combat  by  using  their  Jawing  trait.  This  represents 
  intimidating, confusing or ridiculing them. 
  •
  A success suppresses the target, causing them 
  to lose their next action. 
  •
  A success with two Raises cause the target to 
  freeze up. They will take no further part in the 
  scene if left alone. If someone attacks them in 
  some way they will begin to act normally again.
  •
  A success with three or more Raises causes the 
  target  to  retreat  or  surrender  (if  they  can't 
  retreat).
  Use an action and make an opposed roll of your Jawing 
  against your opponents Nerve. Take  a +1 modifier to 
  your Jawing roll if your side clearly outnumbers and/or 
  outclasses the other side or a -1 if your side is clearly 
  outnumbered or outclassed.
  Wrestling
  A  wrestling  attack  is  an  unarmed  attack  with  the 
  intention  of  grabbing  an  opponent  and  pinning  them 
  helplessly.  To  do  this  make  a  normal  unarmed 
  Fighting(Fighting) attack. If your target has a higher Grit 
  than yours, you take a penalty equal to the difference.
  For example, if a Grit 0 character tries to wrestle a Grit 3 
  character they have a -3 on their Fighting roll for the 
  attack.
  •
  You need one Raise to pin them and two to get a 
  lock on them.
  A pin means that have rendered them helpless, but you 
  are also unable to do anything except maintain the pin. 
  You can release it any time.
  A  lock  means  that  you  have  rendered  your  opponent 
  helpless and still have one action per turn yourself (and 
  one hand free). You can still hold turns as normal.
  A locked or pinned character is treated as Helpless, and 
  gets no Defence rolls against attacks.
  Team Attacks
  It is possible for a  group  of  characters to  attack one 
  target  simultaneously  as  a  team  attack.  Everyone 
  involved in the attack must be able to act simultaneously 
  (typically by using held actions). Each character makes 
  an attack but only one individual rolls (usually the one 
  with  the  highest  relevant  trait)  and  they  receive  a 
  modifier  based  on  the  number  of  other  characters 
  attacking the same target.
  Number of Other Characters 
  Attacking Same Target
  Attack 
  Modifier
  1
  +1
  2-4
  +2
  5-9
  +3
  10 or more
  +4
  28
  Sharps Big 50 Rifle
  
  For  example,  a  unit  of  five  soldiers  performs  a  team 
  attack against a charging Grizzly. They all hold actions on 
  their individual turns and then all use their held actions 
  simultaneously to attack. Every soldier expends a unit of 
  ammo (because they are all shooting) then the soldier 
  with  the  highest  Shooting  rolls.  They  receive  a  +2 
  modifier as there are four other characters shooting at 
  the grizzly at the same time.
  Heavy Weapons
  Heavy  weapons  include  things  like  gatling  guns  and 
  artillery pieces (cannons). Such weapons fall outside the 
  scope of the game and should only feature in adventures 
  as part of the story line, never as an ancillary device. The 
  best way of handling a heavy weapon is to simply roll one 
  dice each time it is fired (firing it requires an action), the 
  result determines how many targets the weapon kills in 
  that round of fire. Player characters in the line of fire can 
  spend a Chip to avoid death, if they have any Chips left to 
  spend. The only way not to be in the line of fire is to be 
  behind hard cover or behind the weapon itself.
  Dice
  Kills
  9
  0
  T
  1
  J
  2
  Q
  3
  K
  4
  A
  5
  Dynamite and Grenades
  Light it, then throw it and/or stand well back. If you need 
  to throw it to a specific spot make a Fighting(Pair) roll. If 
  you need to throw it through a small opening or such 
  like, increase the opposing hand to Two Pairs. Maximum 
  range is Short.
  Unless  you  set  the  fuse  otherwise,  the  dynamite  or 
  grenade  detonates  at  the  end  of  the  round.  Roll  one 
  poker  dice  for  each  person  at  Close  range  to  the 
  explosion to see how much damage they take. Soft cover 
  has  no  effect  on  damage  and  Hard  cover  negates  it 
  completely. If you throw a bundle of dynamite, roll one 
  dice for each stick and add the totals together.
  Dice
  Damage
  9
  0
  T
  1
  J
  2
  Q
  3
  K
  4
  A
  5
  GM Hints
  The  GM  will  often  find  themselves  having  to  manage 
  several NPC's (non-player characters) at the same time 
  in combat situations. There are several ways in which 
  you can make life a bit easier (by the way, a lot of these 
  hints assume you are using miniatures).
  •
  Use  Folks:  Make  most  of  the  NPC's  normal 
  folks, so they have 0 in all traits. This means you 
  don't need to worry about re-rolls. As a rough 
  guide, a single fresh player character is a match 
  for  three  normal  folks  (fresh  means  they  are 
  unhurt and have all their Chips still).
  •
  Group initiative: If you have a lot of NPC's on 
  the  table  organise them  into  groups with  the 
  same trait scores, then roll initiative once for 
  each group. Named characters should have their 
  Initiative rolled separately as usual.
  •
  Bullet dice: For characters with Sixguns, place 
  a single six-sided dice by them for each gun and 
  use this to record their ammunition expenditure 
  and reloads. When they fire a bullet increase the 
  dice by one, when they use an action to reload 
  drop it by one. If the dice is showing a six they 
  cannot fire that gun (they've emptied the gun).
  •
  Unlimited  Ammo: 
  Folk's  and  Named 
  characters  can  be  assumed  to  have  sufficient 
  ammunition  to  reload  as  often  as  they  wish. 
  Note they  still have to use actions  to reload, 
  they  just  don't  have  to  record  how  much 
  ammunition they have on their person.
  •
  Wound dice: Place a six-sided dice (if you have 
  one)  by  a  wounded  character,  with  the  value 
  showing  how  many  wounds  they  have  taken. 
  When they become incapacitated lie them face 
  up. If a character is dying just lie them down 
  face down (so you know they are dying rather 
  than  just  normally  incapacitated).  If  they  get 
  killed outright just remove them altogether.
  •
  Suppression: Place a marker by each character 
  for  each  suppression  they  have.  Each  action 
  used to recover removes one marker. When all 
  the  markers  are  gone  that  character  can  act 
  normally again.
  •
  Waiting markers: If a character opts to hold 
  their turn place a poker chip or other suitable 
  marker  by  them.  This  reminds  you  that  they 
  have an action left to use before their next turn.
  •
  Think  Defensive:
   Most  folks  are  quite 
  concerned about not getting their head blown 
  off, and will tend to try and get into hard cover 
  then use Evasive actions and Attacks, preferring 
  to  occasionally  blast  away  in  the  general 
  direction of their opponents whilst trying to stay 
  down.
  •
  Morale  and  Common  Sense:  Use  common 
  sense  when  controlling  NPC's.  Assuming  the 
  NPC's are not fanatics who will give their life for 
  the cause, they will try to retreat if they are 
  clearly losing, and may even surrender or break 
  and run if the situation gets bad enough.
  29
  Gatling Gun
  
  Environment
  "Away  across  the  endless  dead  level  of  the 
  prairie a black speck appears against the sky ... 
  In a second or two it becomes a horse and rider 
  ... and the flutter of the hooves comes faintly to 
  the ear -- another instant ... a man and horse 
  burst  past  our  excited  faces,  and  go  winging 
  away like a belated fragment of a storm." 
  - The passing of a Pony Express Rider.
  30
  
  Introduction
  This section provides additional, more detailed, rules for 
  specific  circumstances  that  characters  might  find 
  themselves in.
  Hazards
  Hazards are things which can disable, wound or kill a 
  character.  In  game  terms,  a  hazard  inflicts  a  wound 
  automatically. The table below summarises the values of 
  wounds from various hazards.
  One Point Wound
  •
  Falling 5-10ft
  •
  Small burn
  •
  Falling off a moving horse
  Two Point Wound
  •
  Falling 11-20ft
  •
  Mild burn
  •
  Every  minute  spend  being  dragged  behind  a 
  moving horse
  Three Point Wound
  •
  Falling 21-40ft
  •
  Nasty burn
  •
  Losing a finger or toe
  •
  Being hit by small falling rocks
  •
  Being trampled by one animal
  •
  Being run over by an empty wagon
  Four Point Wound
  •
  Falling 41-80ft
  •
  Major burn
  •
  Losing a hand or foot
  •
  Being caught in a rock slide
  •
  Being trampled by a stampede
  •
  Being run over by a loaded wagon
  Five Point Wound
  •
  Falling 81ft or more
  •
  Losing a limb
  Instant Death
  •
  Being incinerated
  •
  Being decapitated
  •
  Being crushed by a great weight
  Poisons
  A character who is poisoned will die in short order if not 
  administered a suitable antidote. Some common poisons 
  include:
  •
  Rattlesnake venom:  Enters through an open 
  wound (or being bitten by a rattler) and causes 
  delirium within an hour or so and death within 
  five or six hours.
  •
  Bark Scorpion venom: The Bark scorpion is 
  the only scorpion in the US which can kill a 
  human (there are around 1500 species of 
  scorpion worldwide and only 25 can kill a 
  human). Bark scorpion venom is much like 
  rattler venom but causes death inside an hour.
  •
  Cyanide: Cyanide is swallowed or inhaled (as a 
  gas) and causes convulsions, foaming at the 
  mouth and then death in minutes.
  A weak poison (such as a spider bite or scorpion sting 
  from a non-lethal variety), or a small dose of a normal 
  poison, will not kill a character but will make them very 
  ill.  In  game  terms  a  weakly  poisoned  character,  or  a 
  character who survives a normal poison, is Impaired for 
  two to three days following the poisoning.
  Another  character  may  also  try  to  save  a  poisoned 
  character with a Healing(Full House) roll (this represents 
  getting  the  poison  out  of  their  system).  A  success 
  neutralises sufficient poison to reduce the poison to a 
  “weak poison”, saving their life.
  Drugs
  If a character is exposed to a Drug they suffer the effect 
  of the drug within minutes of exposure. Some common 
  drugs include:
  •
  Ether: A vapour which causes unconsciousness 
  within seconds of being inhaled.
  •
  Laudanum: Injected, it causes causes euphoria 
  and confusion within minutes, effects last 
  around half an hour. If drunk the effects take 
  about twenty minutes to occur but last for a few 
  hours.
  Diseases
  Things like the common cold are not significant enough 
  to worry about. More dangerous diseases will kill within 
  a week or so if the character concerned fails a Grit roll, 
  the opposed hand being Two Pairs, and even then they 
  will be intensely ill for the week and take a month or so 
  to recover fully (during the illness and recovery period 
  the  character  is  Impaired).  Some  common  diseases 
  include:
  •
  Cholera: Caught by eating or drinking cholera 
  infected food or water.
  •
  Rabbit Fever: Caught by eating or drinking 
  infected rabbit meat.
  •
  Texas Fever: Only effects cattle and is caught 
  through bites from infected ticks.
  Another  character  may  also  try  to  save  a  diseased 
  character  with  a  Healing(Full  House)  roll.  A  success 
  assist the characters natural defences sufficiently to let 
  them fight off the infection and survive.
  31
  
  Doctoring
  In play the Healing trait is mainly used to treat wounds 
  and poisons. 
  Antibiotics won't be invented until 1929, so all a Doctor 
  can do for a sick patient is make them comfortable and 
  ease their pain with morphine or other painkillers. One 
  thing a doctor  can do, though,  is try to maintain  the 
  quality  of  public  hygiene,  to  prevent  outbreaks  of 
  diseases  in  the  first  place.  If  an  outbreak  happens 
  doctors can try and trace the source and use quarantines 
  to stop the disease spreading.
  Because of the non-existence of antibiotics a gut wound 
  almost certainly guarantees a slow and painful death, as 
  septicaemia sets in.
  As Gunslingers and Gamblers
  TM is a game, rather than 
  historical  simulation,  septicaemia  doesn't  affect  player 
  characters.. they always seem to recover from anything 
  but mortal wounds.
  Cuts can be bandaged or stitched shut, depending on 
  severity.  Broken  bones  can  be  set  and  splinted  and 
  Bullets can be removed from the body. The treating of 
  wounds is discussed in the combat section and poisons 
  are discussed above.
  Lingo's
  A  character  is  automatically  fluent  in  their  native 
  language  and  English  (unless  they  take  the  “Poor 
  English” quirk). 
  In  addition  they  are  fluent  in  a  number  of  extra 
  languages (lingo's) equal to their Learning score (choose 
  these  before  play  starts).  It  can  be  assumed  that 
  characters  will  also  have  some  basic  ability  in  other 
  languages common to the campaign area, enough to get 
  by with, but inadequate for complex conversations (this 
  includes basic sign language). The following languages 
  are common in a western game:
  •
  English
  •
  Spanish
  •
  French
  •
  Chinese
  •
  German
  •
  Indian Dialects (one for each tribe)
  Poker
  Each round of poker consists of each player making a 
  secret Gambling roll (don't show anyone else what you 
  rolled), but before re-rolling any of their dice they place 
  a bet on their hand. Re-rolls are then made publicly and 
  the player with the highest hand (after re-rolls) wins the 
  round and gets all the bets. In the case of a draw, the 
  money  stays  in  the  pot  and  another  round  is  played, 
  continuing in this way until someone wins.
  Rodeo Riding
  Rodeo riding is a common past time for cowboys and 
  involves riding bucking horses or bulls. The contestants 
  in a rodeo should all make Riding rolls with the best hand 
  winning the contest. Characters who draw re-roll until 
  one  wins (representing multiple rounds of competition).
  If a character rolls a High Card the GM may give them a 
  1pt wound to reflect being thrown badly.
  Suffocation
  A  character  can  hold  their  breath  for  one  plus  Grit 
  minutes (a score of 5/1 is six, 5/2 is seven and so on). 
  After that time they pass out and die a few minutes later 
  if not rescued.
  Shoot-outs
  A shoot-out occurs when two or more characters face 
  each other down at Short range. The object of a shoot-
  out  is  to  intimidate  your  opponent  into  drawing  first, 
  then draw and shoot before they can finish their draw 
  and shoot at you.
  In game terms the characters in a Shoot-out are at Short 
  range (apply your weapons short range modifier to your 
  roll).  They make  an  Opposed  roll,  but  each  character 
  rolls  against  the  lowest  of  their  Shooting,  Nerve  or 
  Reflexes traits.
  For example, if your Shooting trait is 5, Nerve 2 and 
  Reflexes  3,  you  roll  against  your  Nerve  of  2  in  a 
  Shootout.
  32
  Playin` poker
  Sign Language
  
  A number of modifiers apply to your Shooting roll in a 
  Shoot-out
  •
  Using a Double Action Gun: +1 in a Shoot-out
  •
  Using a Carbine, Shotgun or Rifle: -2 in a 
  Shoot-out
  •
  Sun in your eyes: -1 in a Shoot-out (this means 
  that the sun is behind your opponent and is the 
  main reason for holding a lot of Shoot-outs at 
  noon. At noon the sun is in neither characters 
  eyes).
  •
  Shoot to disarm: -1 in a Shoot-out (shoot to 
  disarm is a Hollywood favourite). If you win you 
  don't wound your opponent, instead you shoot 
  their gun out of their hand.
  In addition any or all characters may secretly state their 
  intention to shoot first. This gives them a +1 modifier but 
  if they are the only character to take this modifier they 
  are  deemed  to  have  gone  for  their  gun  first  which, 
  legally, puts them in the wrong. 
  If two or more characters take the +1 modifier then no 
  one is deemed to have gone for their gun first (legally 
  speaking), though they still receive the modifier.
  The  object  of  a  shoot-out  is  to 
  intimidate  your  opponent  into 
  drawing first..
  Being legally in the wrong means that you are likely to 
  face murder, attempted murder or wounding charges if 
  you win the shoot-out (assuming there were witnesses). 
  If  you  lose  and  survive  you  may  still  face  attempted 
  murder charges, depending on the local legal situation, 
  but in  most of  the  Wild West getting  shot is deemed 
  sufficient punishment for going for your gun first.
  The  character  who  wins  the  opposed  roll  inflicts  a 
  number of wounds equal to the number of Raises they 
  won  by.  In  the  event  of  a  draw  both  characters  are 
  deemed to have missed.
  If  one  character  is  up  against  multiple  opponents 
  everyone rolls and the best hand wins. If the winners 
  weapon can fire short bursts they can inflict damage on 
  two of the losers (the wound equalling the number of 
  Raises over each of them). If the winner has two guns 
  they  can  inflict  damage  in  the  same  way  and  if  the 
  winner has two guns which can fire short bursts they can 
  inflict damage on up to four of the losers!
  If one or more characters is still standing after the Shoot-
  out, a normal combat begins (with Initiative rolls and so 
  on as normal).
  Double action guns receive the modifier because they are 
  slightly faster to shoot (the shooter doesn't have to cock 
  the hammer manually).
  For example, Lightning Billy Coltrane (Shooting 5, Nerve 
  4  and  Reflexes  3,  armed  with  a  peacemaker)  is  up 
  against three Mexican bandits (Regular Folks with 0 in 
  all traits, armed with peacemakers) in a small town on 
  the  border.  Both  sides  square  off,  then  make  their 
  Shootout rolls. The peacemakers are single action guns, 
  so no modifiers apply for that. No one is going for their 
  gun first and no other factors are involved. Peacemakers 
  give a +1 at Short range.
  •
  Billy rolls against his  Reflexes of 3 (the lowest 
  of the three traits used for Shoot-Outs) and gets 
  a Low Straight.
  •
  The first bandit (A) gets a High Card, a botch.
  •
  The second bandit (B) gets Two Pairs.
  •
  The third bandit (C) gets a Three of a Kind.
  Billy wins the Shootout with the best hand by far. The 
  peacemaker can fire SB if the shooter has a hand free, 
  which Billy does, so he can hit two of the bandits. He 
  chooses to hit B and C, inflicting a 2pt and 1pt wound 
  respectively. 
  Having been hit, the bandits now need to make Grit rolls 
  to resist the effects of their wounds. 
  B has a 2pt wound, so his opposing hand is a Pair. He 
  rolls his Grit and gets a Pair, a draw, so he collapses in a 
  heap but he'll survive and be back on his feet in ten 
  minutes.
  C has a 1pt wound, so his opposing hand is a High Card. 
  Unfortunately, he rolls and gets a High Card, a botch! 
  and dies instantly.
  The GM rules that the other bandit drew and managed to 
  throw his gun away in his enthusiasm. He takes one look 
  at the carnage and raises his hands, precluding the need 
  to go into normal combat. Unfortunately for him, Billy 
  has the Murderous Quirk. Billy laughs then shoots him 
  down in cold blood (the GM feels no roll is needed for 
  this) and receives a Chip for his action.
  33
  A Shoot-out
  
  Conversations
  Non-player  characters  (NPC's)  opinion  of  a  player 
  character always starts at one of the following levels:
  •
  Hostile (worst): The NPC doesn't like you at all 
  and will do their best to get in your way and 
  disrupt your plans.
  •
  Unhelpful: The NPC will only help you if there 
  is some significant advantage to themselves.
  •
  Neutral: The NPC neither likes nor dislikes you 
  and will assist you for a reasonable reward, but 
  probably  won't  undertake  dangerous  tasks  on 
  your behalf.
  •
  Helpful: The NPC likes you and will assist you, 
  doing  simple  things  for  free  and  requiring  a 
  reasonable  reward  for  more  complex  or 
  dangerous things.
  •
  Friendly (best): The NPC is anxious to help you 
  and requires little or no reward to help you.
  A  successful Jawing  roll opposed by the  NPC's  Nerve 
  shifts the NPC's attitude towards the character down one 
  step (improving it) for each Raise. 
  If the “target” beats you on their Nerve roll move their 
  attitude up one step for each Raise they got over your 
  Jawing roll.
  The GM may impose modifiers (rarely more than +/-1 
  though) on either the Nerve or Jawing roll depending on 
  the approach taken by the character and the role-playing 
  of the player concerned.
  For example, Salacious Sally needs to persuade a land 
  agent to give her some information. The GM rules that 
  the agent starts off Neutral towards her. She rolls her 
  Jawing and he rolls his Nerve. She wins with two Raises, 
  shifting  his  attitude  to  Friendly.  The  agent  can't  be 
  helpful enough to such a purty Lady.
  If you need to randomly set an NPC's attitude roll one 
  dice.
  Dice
  Attitude
  9
  Hostile
  T
  Unhelpful
  J, Q
  Neutral
  K
  Helpful
  A
  Friendly
  NPC's can use Jawing against player characters, or player 
  characters  can  use  Jawing  against  other  player 
  characters.
  Jawing is not “mind control”, it simply shifts a characters 
  attitude towards you. In the case of player characters, 
  players should roleplay this change in attitude to the best 
  of their abilities.
  Breaking things
  Objects have an Armour Rating (AR). If you hit an object 
  and inflict a wound of less than the objects AR, it has no 
  effect.
  If the object isn't moving the opposed hand to hit it is a 
  High Card.
  If your hit inflicts a wound of value greater than or equal 
  to the AR, the object breaks. A broken wall or barrier has 
  a  hole  in  it  which  is  big  enough  for  a  character  to 
  squeeze  through.  If  you  need  to  quickly  assign  an 
  approximate AR to an object, use the following values:
  Weight
  AR
  <1lb
  1
  <10lbs
  2
  <100lbs
  3
  <1000lbs
  4
  <10,000lbs
  5
  For example, to break a 100lb object you need to inflict a 
  wound of four or more points.
  Repairing things
  Objects can be repaired by spending a number of hours 
  equal  to  their  AR  working  on  them  then  making  an 
  appropriate roll. The appropriate rolls are as follows:
  •
  For mechanisms the roll is Tinkering(Pair)
  •
  For simple objects (not mechanisms) the roll is 
  Crafting(Pair)
  For example, each attempt to repair an AR 5 object takes 
  five hours.
  Tracking
  Following tracks requires an Notice(Survival) roll, using 
  the Survival score of the person who made the tracks.
  If you are following a group use the lowest Survival score
  A success lets you follow the tracks until they cross rock 
  or a river, or until rain erases them. At this point, make a 
  new opposed roll to continue following the tracks.
  Sneaking About
  To sneak past someone without being detected make a 
  Reflexes(Notice) roll. If you win you have managed to 
  sneak past. 
  If you have plenty of cover (such as shadows, darkness, 
  buildings or foliage) the GM may give you a +1 modifier 
  on your Reflexes roll.
  34
  
  Hunting and Foraging
  Characters  can  try  to  live  off  the  land,  making 
  Survival(High  Card)  rolls  to  find  food  and  drink. 
  Characters  cannot  hunt  and  forage  in  settlements.  In 
  rural areas they can make one roll every four hours and 
  in wild areas one roll every two hours. On a success you 
  find sufficient food and drink for one person for one day 
  for each Raise.
  For example, an Indian scout goes hunting and foraging 
  in the wilderness and gets a Low Straight. This is four 
  raises so they find four person/days worth of food after 
  their first two hours spent hunting and foraging.
  35
  
  The Wild West- 1876
  “Starting out ahead of the team and my men 
  folks, when I thought I had gone beyond hearing 
  distance,  I  would  throw  myself  down  on  the 
  unfriendly desert and give way like a child to 
  sobs and tears, wishing myself back home with 
  my friends.”
  -A young woman on the trail West in 1860. 
  36
  
  The State of the Union
  The year is 1876, the centennial year (one hundred years 
  since  the  war  of  independence)  and  the  wild  west  is 
  frontier  territory  with  settlers  from  the  east  of  the 
  country rapidly moving westwards, colonising the land.
  Major Events of 1876
  1876  was,  historically,  a  pretty  eventful  year.  The 
  following list of major events is by no means exclusive 
  but may give you, the GM, some ideas to use in your own 
  games.
  •
  Sioux and  Cheyenne  refuse  to move to  Great 
  Sioux  Reservation  in  South  Dakota  and  US 
  Government declares war on them.
  •
  Lakota,  Cheyenne  and  Arapaho  under  Sitting 
  Bull defeat Custer in Montana at the Little Big 
  Horn in June.
  •
  Sioux and Cheyenne under Crazy House defeat 
  General George Crook in Montana at Rosebud 
  Creek in June.
  •
  Dodge City, Kansas, is a booming cattle town 
  and one of the most lawless places in the West. 
  The  legendary  lawman  Wyatt  Earp  arrives  in 
  Dodge City in May.
  •
  Deadwood is at  the  centre  of  the  Black  Hills 
  gold rush in South Dakota. The Government has 
  ignored  its  treaty  commitments  to  the  native 
  Indian population, who's land the Black Hills lie 
  in  and  war  has  broken  out  with  Indians 
  attacking the prospectors and other immigrants 
  to the area, whilst fighting the army at the same 
  time.
  •
  Wild Bill Hickock shot in the Deadwood saloon 
  in August.
  •
  Colorado becomes the 38th state in August.
  •
  Rutherford  Birchard  Hayes  is  elected  as  the 
  President of the United States in November.
  •
  The  slaughter  of  the  buffalo  herd  in  the 
  southern part of the Great Plains continues with 
  a vengeance.
  The West
  The West is the most geographically diverse region of the 
  United States of America and its largest region, and can 
  comprise  more  than  half  the  land  area  of  the  United 
  States, depending  on  how it is  defined. This diversity 
  includes a number of the geographic regions, including; 
  the Pacific coast and temperate rainforests of the North 
  West  (Oregon  and  Washington  states),  the  Rocky 
  Mountains which follow the continental divide, all of the 
  Great  Plains,  most  of  the  tall-grass  prairie  and  the 
  western  Ozark  plateau,  the  western  portions  of  the 
  southern forests, the Gulf Coast, and all of the desert 
  areas located in the United States (the Mojave, Sonara, 
  Great Basin and Chihuahua deserts). 
  Dodge  City,  Kansas,  is  a  booming 
  cattle  town  and  one  of  the  most 
  lawless places in the West
  The Wild West
  Gunslingers and Gamblers
  TM focusses on the territories of 
  Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New 
  Mexico,  Dakota,  Nebraska,  Kansas,  Nevada  and 
  Oklahoma in 1876. This incorporates the eastern edge of 
  the Great Plains (an area of flat grasslands), the Rocky 
  Mountains and the Great Basin and Southwest desert to 
  its West (areas of cold, dry desert).
  In  1876  the  country  has  largely  recovered  from  the 
  immediate  aftermath  of  the  Civil  War  and  a  wave  of 
  settlers are moving to the west, resulting in significant 
  conflicts with the Indian populations.
  The Great Plains
  An area of semi-arid grassland which stretches 500 miles 
  wide  from  the  foot  of  the  Rockies  to  the  Central 
  Lowlands to the East. The mountains of Montana and the 
  Black Hills of South Dakota stand 1500-2000ft above the 
  plain and the Missouri, Arkansas, Red and other rivers 
  cut broad shallow valleys with steep valleys through the 
  otherwise  flat  landscape.  High  winds  and  sudden 
  changes in  temperature are  common,  along  with  cold 
  winters and high summers. Most of the annual 20” of 
  rain falls in the Spring, with severe thunderstorms and 
  powerful winds common in the Summer months. Warm, 
  dry Chinook winds soften the winter near the Black Hills 
  and the Rocky Mountain foothills.
  The  Wyoming  basin  forms  a  peninsula  which  reaches 
  westward from the great plains through the Rockies to 
  connect  up  to  the  northernmost reaches  of  the  Great 
  Basin.
  The Rocky Mountains
  The  Rockies  follow  the  line  of  the  continental  divide, 
  North-South.  Most  of  the  Rockies  are  11000ft  alpine 
  meadows  with  scattered  peaks  standing  like  low  hills 
  amongst  the  high  meadows.  Temperatures  vary  from 
  around  19  to  90  degrees  fahrenheit  and  rainfall  is 
  typically  between  10”  and  40”  per  year.  Late  spring 
  brings heavy rains, summer brings storms and hailstones 
  and winter brings severe blizzards and wind storms.
  The Great Basin and South west Desert
  The  Great  basin  lies  to  the  West  of  the  Rockies  and 
  stretches to the Sierra Nevada mountains in the West. 
  This inhospitable landscape receives around 6” of rain 
  per year and temperatures vary from 24 to 90 fahrenheit 
  through the year. Day/Night temperature is commonly 
  quite extreme, swinging from boiling hot days to freezing 
  nights. The Great Basin is cut by North-South ranges, 
  separated by deep flat valleys with an abundance of salt 
  pans and saline lakes.
  The South west desert is actually the Colorado plateau, 
  37
  
  an area of high desert much like the Great basin but 
  marked by great mesa's, buttes and canyons carved into 
  the  coloured rock (the Grand Canyon is found in this 
  area).
  Towns
  First and foremost a town has to have a reason to exist. 
  In the west there are eight main reasons for a town to 
  form;  Cattle,  Mines,  Timber,  Coaching  Station,  Rail 
  roads, Buffalo, Farming or Water.
  •
  Cattle: The town is the hub of an area of cattle 
  ranching,  acting  as  a  central  market  and 
  resource for the various ranches around it.
  •
  Mining:  The towns economy is based around 
  mining  and  it's  related  industry.  It  provides 
  supplies and facilities for workers, miners, and 
  acts as a trading centre for the materials being 
  mined.
  •
  Timber:  The towns  economy is based on  the 
  felling  and  logging  of  timber.  Like  a  mining 
  town, it provides supplies and facilities for the 
  workers and industries involved in this activity.
  •
  Rail roads: The town is built around a station 
  on the railway.
  •
  Coaching Station:  The town (which may just 
  be a handful of people) is a stagecoach station.
  •
  Buffalo:  The town is a base of operations for 
  buffalo hunters.
  •
  Farming: Farming towns are found in areas of 
  extensive  arable  farming.  They  act  as  trade 
  centres for crops and supply farmers with their 
  needs.
  •
  Water: The town is a watering hole. Such towns 
  usually appear along dry routes across country.
  Wild West towns vary in size tremendously but all tend to 
  share  some  general  features.  For  game  purposes, 
  settlements can be divided into four size categories:
  •
  Town: Less than 200 inhabitants.
  •
  Large Town: Less than 500 inhabitants.
  •
  City: Less than 2000 inhabitants.
  •
  Large City: More than 2000 inhabitants.
  The facilities below are listed in order of the town size 
  needed to support them, normally at least, so a town with 
  a Hotel almost certainly has a boot hill and newspaper as 
  well.
  Small Town
  •
  Newspaper: Usually the first thing put in place 
  by a prospective town founder is a newspaper 
  which  can sing  the towns  praises and  attract 
  incomers and bring more investment in.
  •
  Telegraph  Office: A  telegraph  office,  if  the 
  town lies on the railway.
  •
  Railway station: A railway station, if the town 
  lies on the railway.
  •
  Boot Hill:  The towns cemetery, usually some 
  distance outside the town itself.
  •
  Hotel: A hotel, offering rooms, a bar and dining 
  facilities.
  •
  Saloon: A saloon is much like a hotel, but tends 
  to focus more on drinking and gambling than 
  the hire of rooms. As a good rule of thumb a 
  town or city will have one saloon or hotel for 
  every fifty inhabitants.
  •
  General Store: A general store provides all the 
  various goods needed by people living on the 
  frontier.  Most  stores  also  carry  catalogues 
  which enable individuals to order fancy goods 
  from  back-east. The  General  storekeeper in  a 
  military post is known as a “sutler” and pays a 
  fee to the military to act as the sole supplier to 
  the troops stationed at the post.
  •
  General
   
  Craftsmen
   
  (Carpenters, 
  Blacksmiths,  Coopers  etc..):  A  range  of 
  skilled individuals who set up shop to meet local 
  demand.
  •
  Schoolhouse:  A schoolhouse for the education 
  of the young un`s.
  •
  Doctor: Most  settlements  have  one  or  more 
  doctors. Bear in mind that there are no such 
  things as “illegal” drugs in 1876. Drugs such as 
  laudanum can be purchased freely from general 
  storekeepers.
  Large Town, City or Large City
  •
  Assaying Office: A state assaying office values 
  and buys gold and minerals from prospectors at 
  standard rates.
  •
  Specialist
   
  Craftsmen
   
  (gunsmiths, 
  watchmakers): Specialist  craftsmen  tend  to 
  only be found in larger towns and cities.
  •
  Bank: Banks  are  common  when  significant 
  amounts  of  money  are  passing  through  the 
  town.
  •
  Courthouse and  Jail:  Typically,  only  towns 
  who  are  vying  for  the  status  of  county  seat 
  bother putting up a courthouse and jail.
  •
  Land Office: The land office is a state office 
  where individuals register land claims.
  •
  Land Attorney:  Most settlements have one or 
  more  land  attorneys.  These  are  lawyers  who 
  specialise in land related laws.
  •
  Lawyer:  Most  settlements  have  a  general 
  lawyer who deals with contract law, civil cases 
  and possibly also acts as the defence in criminal 
  cases.
  38
  Hunters
  
  Ghost Towns
  A Ghost town is a town which fails to develop sufficiently 
  to survive the loss of whatever it was based on originally. 
  The most common type of ghost towns are abandoned 
  mining  towns..  when  the  mines  play  out  there  is  no 
  reason  to  stay  any  more.  A  ghost  town  has  all  the 
  amenities of a town or city, but no one lives there, it's 
  just standing empty.
  Life on the Frontier
  In 1876 the wild west is still the home of adventurers, 
  trappers,  traders,  soldiers,  hunters,  gamblers  and 
  cowboys,  people  seeking  opportunity  outside  of  the 
  confines of eastern society, 
  Most work for their own individual advantage with little 
  thought for others and for recreation, they booze and 
  brawl, often over the few women who ventured into such 
  an environment. Human life is generally very cheap and 
  young  men,  especially,  are  lured  by  the  rough  and 
  tumble life of the frontier where they can could "sow wild 
  oats" with virtually no restraint.
  This is slowly being tempered by the increasing numbers 
  of settlers and homesteaders. These folks have travelled 
  to  the  west  to  start  new  lives  and  built  healthy 
  communities for themselves, a long term undertaking. 
  They are gradually replacing the frontiersmen with men 
  taking  on  the  roles  of  community  leaders  and 
  breadwinners for their families. Another major change is 
  that the recreational choices of such settlers tend to be 
  more cultured and urbane, unlike the wild partying of the 
  frontiersmen.
  Missionaries work to civilize the frontier by introducing 
  social  institutions  such  as  churches  and  schools, 
  although  their  efforts  have  only  a  minimal  impact  on 
  whites, missionaries still have an effect on the frontier by 
  preaching Christian values and by reducing the flow of 
  liquor that reaches the Indians.
  Human life is generally very cheap
  Homesteading
  Few people settle on the great plains. The  plains are 
  arid, cold in winter and hot in summer, an environment 
  not really suitable for farming and agriculture. Prior to 
  1870 most settlers were just passing through the plains 
  on their way to the west coast but the combination of the 
  rail road and the period 1870 to the late 1880's being 
  unusually  wet,  resulted  in  around  two  million  settlers 
  stopping and trying to eke a living on the plains. These 
  homesteaders  built  sodhomes  (so  called  because  they 
  used  sods  from  the  ground  to  roof  timber  walled 
  buildings),  planted  crops  and  raised  livestock  and 
  families.
  Some men arrived alone to stake their claim and build a 
  house before sending for their families, whilst others just 
  upped stakes from the east and moved lock, stock and 
  barrel to the west to start a new life.
  To supplement their farm income during the early years 
  or lean times, men often work for others breaking sod, 
  ploughing  fields,  digging  wells,  or  hauling  freight, 
  generally  making  around  $7.00  a  day  and  receiving 
  maybe $3 a day for “easy” work such as accompanying a 
  freighting trip.
  It is important to note that life is still hard and often 
  dangerous  on  the  frontier.  There  are  no  shortage  of 
  rampaging Indians and bandits who regularly attack and 
  pillage small settlements, so a man is wise to keep his 
  rifle near him at all times. 
  Most  farm  work  is  muscle  powered  still,  although 
  portable steam engines are starting to appear on larger 
  farms,  which  enable  more  land  to  be  cultivated  and 
  reducing the man-power needed for harvesting.
  As the farms in an area grow so do the local towns and 
  the range of non-agricultural jobs for men, along with the 
  development of new businesses. 
  The Military Life
  A string of forts have been built across the west. For 
  recruits stationed at these outposts, their daily routine 
  often does not meet their expectations of military life and 
  most of their time is spent doing manual labour with an 
  occasional  scouting  trip,  patrol,  or  campaign.  Many 
  never see combat. On the other hand, in some areas, 
  such as Dakota, Montana and Wyoming, things can get 
  pretty exciting with regular Indian raids occurring.
  The  military  did  not,  initially  expect  to  occupy  most 
  frontier forts permanently. This resulted in inadequate 
  funding  for  their  construction  and  the  military  also 
  required  that  all  construction  be  done  by  the  troops. 
  Conditions at many of these forts are so bad that General 
  Sherman commented in 1874: "Some of what are called 
  military posts are mere collections of huts made of logs, 
  adobes, or mere holes in the ground, and are about as 
  much forts as prairie dog villages might be called forts."
  Forts, according to military regulations, are constructed 
  of readily available materials. Living conditions are still 
  crowded and uncomfortable though.
  Officers always fare better than their troops with living 
  quarters,  with  the  amount  of  living  space  awarded 
  commensurate  to  their  rank.  Many  officers  share  this 
  space with their wives and families, a luxury few enlisted 
  men can afford.
  Some  of  what  are  called  military 
  posts  are  mere  collections  of  huts 
  made of logs, adobes, or mere holes 
  in the ground, and are about as much 
  forts as prairie dog villages might be 
  called forts
  Drinking and gambling are standard diversions for many 
  military men stationed on the frontier but penalties for 
  drunkenness  or  other  infractions  of  military  code  are 
  delivered swiftly and  severely.  Although  prohibited  by 
  39
  
  regulation,  a  few  common  forms  of  punishment  are 
  confinement  in  a  sweat  box,  marching  to  exhaustion 
  while carrying a heavy load, and suspension by thumbs, 
  wrist, or arms.
  While much about camp life is harsh, it is not void of 
  entertainment. Holidays and special occasions, such as a 
  visiting general, result in a festive celebration. Formal 
  dinners,  balls,  and  theatrical  productions  are  not 
  unknown on the frontier and horse racing, baseball, and 
  other athletic competitions are also favourite pastimes of 
  the troops.
  The  post  trader  supplied  troops  with  those  items  not 
  provided by the military, including liquor.
  Missionaries
  Early  in  the  19th century  missionaries  from  several 
  Christian denominations began to establish permanent 
  stations in the west (called missions), aimed at serving 
  the  Indian  tribes  that  had  been  resettled  from  areas 
  farther east.
  Life is hard at the missions. Many of the Indians resist 
  the  missionaries'  efforts  to  teach  them  white  culture, 
  whether religious or secular, often resulting the death of 
  missionaries  in  various  unpleasant  ways.  This  is 
  compounded  by  whites  selling  the  Indians  liquor  and 
  stealing  their  property,  which  undermines  the 
  missionaries' attempts to improve the lot of the Indians. 
  Financial support from the eastern missionary societies 
  is often meagre and irregular, and living conditions on 
  the  frontier  are  primitive at  best.  Fortunately for  the 
  male missionaries, they usually have wives who share 
  their  burdens  and  help  make  their  situation  more 
  bearable.
  The Buffalo
  With the arrival of the rail road in the early 1870s the 
  buffalo  trade  has  expanded  to  enormous  sizes,  with 
  thousands of young men became involved in the buffalo 
  slaughter. 
  Buffalo exist in such vast numbers that hunters can kill 
  hundreds in a matter of days and thousands in a matter 
  of months. Buffalo hunter Frank Mayer commented: "We 
  never killed all the buff we could, but only as many as 
  our  skinners could handle. Every outfit had its quota, 
  which was determined by the ambition and the number 
  of skinners. My regular quota was twenty-five a day, but 
  on days when my crew weren't tired, I sometimes would 
  run this up to 50 or even 60. But there I stopped, no 
  matter how plentiful the buff were. Killing more than we 
  could use would waste buff, which wasn't important; it 
  also would waste ammunition, which was."
  Buffalo  exist  in  such  vast  numbers 
  that  hunters  can  kill  hundreds  in  a 
  matter  of  days  and  thousands  in  a 
  matter of months
  Dodge City, Kansas is a major shipping point for buffalo 
  meat  and  hides.  In  the  first  3  months  of  1872,  over 
  43,000  buffalo hides and  nearly 1.5 million pounds of 
  meat were shipped to the East on the Santa Fe Rail road
  Buffalo are also killed in great numbers for sport. 
  Another industry has come from the slaughter of buffalo, 
  that of the Bone Pickers. Bone pickers are paid $4 to $6 a 
  ton for the dried buffalo bones which are then shipped 
  east to be used in the manufacture of fertilizer, combs, 
  dice, buttons, and bone china dishes.
  Mining
  Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals from the 
  ground. Of particular interest to player characters will be 
  the opportunity to mine for precious metals such as gold, 
  silver and,  to a  lesser extent,  copper.  There are  four 
  types of mining:
  •
  Placer:  Where raw minerals are deposited in 
  sand or gravel at the surface they can just be 
  lifted away, either by physically sifting the sand 
  or panning and sluicing water flowing through 
  the deposits. This is referred to as Placer mining 
  and  is  the  type  of  mining  most  commonly 
  associated with the early gold and silver rushes 
  where thousands of miners stake out claims on 
  rivers in gold or silver rich regions and pan the 
  water for the grains of the precious metals.
  •
  Hydraulic:
   Hydraulic  mining  is  typically 
  required once placer deposits have panned out 
  and is a capital intensive operation. Basically, 
  higher  pressure  water  jets  are  used  to  blast 
  away the sedimentary layers which the metals 
  lie  in  and  the  metals  extracted  from  the 
  resulting  run  off.  Hydraulic  mining  is 
  tremendously destructive to the environment.
  •
  Hard rock: Hard rock mining involves digging 
  down  into  hard  rock  deposits  for  veins  of 
  precious  metals  and  is  the  type  of  mining 
  associated  with  the  classic  “gold  mine”,  an 
  underground  network  of  tunnels  which  follow 
  the veins of metal. A hardrock mine consists of 
  tunnels and shafts, shafts are roughly vertical 
  and tunnels are roughly horizontal, running off 
  from shafts.
  •
  Open pit: Rarely used. Open pit mining involves 
  digging a huge pit in the ground to get at the 
  minerals  and  is  the  preserve  of  huge 
  corporations.
  What comes out of the ground is a metal ore. This ore is 
  then pulverised  and  the  precious  metal extracted and 
  sold on. 
  Player Characters and Mining
  Mining areas present a whole range of opportunities for 
  player characters to get involved in. Characters may wish 
  to join in with the mining, trying to find a fortune, or they 
  may  get  involved  in  the  provision  of  services  to  the 
  miners..  a  very  lucrative  endeavour  in  itself.  Mining 
  areas tend to be very lawless places and there is also 
  40
  
  work for a good gunhand, either to protect the miners 
  from ruthless robber barons and bandits, or to work for 
  such barons and bandits in shaking down the miners or 
  stealing their claims.
  Range Wars
  Range  wars  are  small  scale  conflicts  fought  over  the 
  ownership of land and resources. Most range wars are 
  between private citizens and the reasons vary, including:
  •
  Wars over mineral rights
  •
  Wars over water rights
  •
  Wars  over  grazing  rights  (ranchers  vs.  free 
  grazers or cattle ranchers vs. sheep herders)
  •
  Wars  over  agricultural  rights  (ranchers  vs. 
  farmsteaders)
  Wars are also often fought between criminal groups and 
  other criminal groups, law abiding citizens or the law. 
  These are not really “range wars”, but they are about 
  control, with the criminals wishing to gain control of the 
  community and its resources.
  Indian Wars
  By  1876  many  of  the  great  plains  tribes  have  signed 
  agreements  with  the  US  Government  to  move  onto 
  reservations. In practise, military force continues to be 
  used to force these agreements into practise, with US 
  Army units fighting against Indian war bands who do not 
  wish  to  move  onto  the  reservations.  The  four  major 
  Indian wars, in the wild west, of the period were:
  •
  Comanche s 1867-1875 
  •
  Apaches 1873
  •
  Lakota,  Cheyenne,  Arapaho  and  Sioux  1876-
  1877 
  By 1876 the Comanche and Apache wars had finished, 
  barring  the  occasional  minor  skirmish,  but  the 
  Lakota,Cheyenne,  Arapaho  and  Sioux  war  was  in  full 
  swing.. involving such notable battles as the Little Big 
  Horn and Rosebud Creek. This war took in the Dakota, 
  Wyoming and Montana territories, including the Black 
  Hills area.
  Ranching
  Ranching is one of the main businesses of the west, with 
  huge cattle ranches spreading over vast acreages. Over 
  five million cattle roam the great plains in 1876.
  Cattle are rounded up in the autumn (and unbranded 
  ones branded) then in the spring the cowboys cut out the 
  cows ready for market and drive them to the nearest rail 
  road  town,  often  hundreds  of  miles  away.  There  the 
  cattle  were  sold  to  eastern  buyers  and  the  cowboys 
  enjoyed  a  brief  period  of  relaxation  before  returning 
  home to begin the routine of another year. 
  Cattle Drives
  A  typical  drive  has  around  2500  cattle  and  eight  to 
  twelve cowboys overseeing it. It makes around ten to 
  twelve miles a day and takes around thirty days to move 
  the herd north from Texas to the railheads which lead 
  back east. A cowboy can expect to earn around $30.00 a 
  month.
  At night two cowboys circle the herd, slowly riding in 
  opposite  directions,  to  keep  the  herd  in  place,  often 
  singing as they do so as the sound calms the cattle down.
  On round ups and trail drives, cowboys sleep outdoors 
  for weeks at a time. Their bedroll often consists of a pair 
  of blankets rolled in a piece of oiled, waterproof canvass. 
  Inside his bedroll, a cowboy keeps extra clothes, letters, 
  and other personal items. The bedroll is the cowboy's 
  personal bedroom on the prairie. 
  At night the cowboys tell stories around the camp-fire or 
  listen  to  fiddle  or  harmonica  music.  Wake  up  time  is 
  often four o'clock in the morning (just before sunrise) 
  and each morning the cowboy has to make his bed and 
  load it on the chuck wagon, or the cook might leave it 
  behind. The chuck wagon moves ahead of the herd to the 
  night's camp. 
  Trail Food
  Meals for the cowboys came twice a day, once before 
  dawn and again after dark. The men often say they have 
  two suppers. Cowboys eat a lot of beans, biscuits, rice, 
  dried  fruit,  and  beef  but  almost  no  fresh  vegetables, 
  eggs, or milk  (mainly because these latter  food stuffs 
  tend to spoil on the trail, being hard to preserve).
  The Law
  On the whole, the west is a lawless place, mainly due to 
  inadequate  enforcement  of  the  official  frontier  court 
  system.  Some  local  peace  officers  are  capable  of 
  handling  most  problems  but  in  some  areas  county 
  sheriffs  or  Federal  Marshalls  are  needed  to  bring 
  fugitives to bay. Even if a fugitive is bought to court, 
  some have powerful patrons who intimidate local juries, 
  judges  and  prosecutors  into  acquitting  them  of  their 
  crimes. In such cases it takes a Federal judge or honest 
  circuit judge to make things stick. 
  The usual procedure is for a fugitive to be jailed once 
  caught, or chained to a tree or in the livery stable if no 
  jail is present. The prisoner is either held in this way 
  until a circuit court judge passes through, when they are 
  tried, or is taken to the nearest courthouse for trial.
  When the law is not effective the local citizenry often 
  resorts  to  vigilante  justice,  with  a  mob  trying  and 
  punishing the miscreant (usually by hanging or shooting 
  them). Sometimes vigilante justice is actually quite fair, 
  other times it is just a baying mob out for blood.
  The local law often co-opts citizens as deputies and/or 
  forms a posse to go after a known fugitive to bring them 
  back. Civil claims are dealt with by circuit judges or at 
  the county courthouse in the same way.
  Trials
  Generally  speaking,  if  a  character  gets  into  a  trial 
  situation the trial should be role-played out. A trial is a 
  great  opportunity  to role-play and  a  creative GM  can 
  come up with all sorts of hooks to play from it. These 
  might include investigating the alleged crime, unearthing 
  evidence, building case and then finally presenting the 
  evidence and arguing the points of case, after which the 
  41
  
  GM makes a judgement, which can then lead to attempts 
  to escape and so on if it goes the wrong way.
  Bounty Hunters
  It is common practise for authorities to post bounties for 
  the  capture  of  wanted  felons.  Most  bounties  stipulate 
  their return alive, although some may pay for a dead 
  felon, albeit at a lower rate. Normally, felons (or their 
  dead bodies) must be returned to the county jail to claim 
  the reward on them. Some example values for bounties 
  are:
  •
  Bank robber $100.00-1000.00
  •
  Stagecoach robber $50.00-100.00
  •
  Train robber $100.00-500.00
  These increase with the targets notoriety (Frank James 
  carried a bounty of $15,000.00 in 1876).
  Travel
  There are various ways of getting` around in the West 
  and they are discussed below.
  The Rail roads
  A railway train typically averages 30 miles per hour, day 
  and night.
  Stagecoach
  Stagecoaches typically make around sixty miles a day in 
  good terrain (open prairie). In mountainous, swampy or 
  badland areas speeds can drop as low as twenty miles a 
  day though.
  A  stagecoach  typically  holds  12-15  people  (although 
  some held as many as 35), with 6-9 inside the cab, 3 
  (driver, messenger and passenger) on the box and three 
  more on the roof. Stagecoach stations are located every 
  ten to fifteen miles along a route. When the coach pulls 
  in the team is unhitched and fresh horses put on.
  A  typical  station  employs  an  agent  (who  meets  and 
  greets  the  passengers  and  takes  care  of  their  needs 
  whilst also accepting books and the like), horse tenders 
  (who unhitch and hitch the horses and take care of their 
  feeding and watering) and livery boys (young boys who 
  help the horse tenders). In larger stations blacksmiths 
  and carpenters may be employed by the stagecoach line 
  to effect repairs, shoe horses and so on. In addition, all 
  these  people  will  often have families with  them, so a 
  station becomes a small settlement in it's own right.
  Stagecoach travellers should expect to get dusty, dirty 
  and wrinkled, so should dress accordingly. In addition, 
  men should be prepared to help drag the wagon out of 
  potholes,  replace  broken  wheels  and  similar  jobs. 
  Bandanna's for men, and veils for the ladies, are common 
  to help keep the dust out.
  In  cold  weather  passengers  often  wear  buffalo  robes, 
  muffs  for  their  hands  and  warm  soapstone's  between 
  their feet, to keep the chill off. If you don't have such 
  items yourself the stagecoach line will likely be able to 
  hire them to you at a cost of a dollar or so.
  Stagecoach driving is a skilled job and most drivers are 
  well paid (earning around a $100 a month), young (under 
  thirty)  and  intelligent.  Drivers  commonly  invite 
  passengers to sit by them and most drivers are skilled 
  conversationalists.
  Roads  are  just  dirt  tracks  and  tend  to  follow  ridges, 
  staying out of the valleys so as to avoid the inevitable 
  mud and flooding in the winter time. Where the road 
  crosses the flat the preferred routes avoid swampy or 
  marshy ground. Most roads in the west started life as 
  trails used by the early settlers.
  A passenger can typically take about 50lbs of luggage 
  with them, any more entails an additional charge.
  Passengers should be wary when getting off a coach, as 
  thieves and varmints often hang around coach stations, 
  preying on unwary travellers.
  Riding
  A character on horseback can make about 50 miles per 
  day (riding at 5mph for ten hours) but this is quite fast 
  and,  more  often,  mounted  groups  will  travel  around 
  twenty to twenty five miles per day. A horse can make 
  around eighty miles in a day at a push but the next day it 
  must rest and cannot travel.
  The Pony Express service (no longer operating in 1876) 
  could make around one hundred miles a day by swapping 
  riders every hundred miles and changing horses every 
  ten to fifteen miles.
  Walking
  A character, on foot, can make around twenty miles per 
  day. They can increase this to around thirty miles per day 
  but must rest the next day (no travel).
  Mule Trains
  A mule train consists of 50-200 mules fully loaded with 
  packs and it travels around 12-15 miles per day. Wagon 
  train work is hard, with freighters (the people working 
  the train) starting work before dawn and finishing after 
  sundown.  Freighters  are  not  generally  noted  for  the 
  manners and refinement. Where there is a real risk of 
  bandit  or  Indian  attack  a  force  of  soldiers  might  be 
  42
  
  dispatched  to  escort  a  train,  although  normally  mule 
  trains are left to their own devices.
  Wagon Trains
  Wagon trains head out in spring, when the prairie grass 
  is long enough to feed the teams. A typically train has 26 
  wagons and 35 men. Each wagon is pulled by ten mules 
  or six oxen and the train has around 30 spare animals. A 
  wagon  train  typically  makes  around  12  miles  a  day, 
  stopping at sundown, and stopping three times during 
  the day for the animals to graze (one hour per stop).
  The classic western wagon is the Conestoga, travelling 
  12-18 miles a day and pulled by a three teams of two 
  draught horses.
  Random Encounter Tables
  Roll one dice for each day spent on the trail. If you roll an 
  Ace a random encounter occurs. When and where the 
  encounter occurs on any given day is up to the GM.
  Roll two dice on the random encounter table below. The 
  order of the dice does matter on this table, so state 
  which dice is the first and which second before you roll.
  Roll
  Quirk
  99
  Abandoned Mine
  9T
  Abandoned wagon
  9J
  Bandit ambush
  9Q
  Bandits fighting travellers
  9K
  Battle
  9A
  Battle ground (battle finished recently)
  T9
  Bogged down
  TT
  Camp-fire
  TJ
  Carcass
  TQ
  Card sharp
  TK
  Cavalry unit
  TA
  Dog (tries to adopt party member)
  J9
  Dust Storm
  JT
  Empty house
  JJ
  Flash Flood
  JQ
  Ghost Town
  JK
  Inclement weather (½ movement)
  JA
  Indian scouts
  Q9
  Indian war party
  QT
  Infantry unit
  QJ
  Lost travellers
  QQ
  Mysterious stranger
  QK
  Posse
  QA
  Prospectors
  K9
  Rattler
  KT
  Rich hunter and entourage
  KJ
  Sacred Land
  Roll
  Quirk
  KQ
  Shady looking characters
  KK
  Skunk
  KA
  Snake oil salesman
  A9
  Stagecoach
  AT
  Tinker (selling pots and pans)
  AJ
  Town
  AQ
  Tracks
  AK
  Travelling circus
  AA
  Watering hole
  •
  Abandoned Mine: The characters stumble 
  upon an abandoned mine. How long the mine 
  has been abandoned for, and why it was 
  abandoned are in the hands of the GM.
  •
  Abandoned wagon: The characters find an 
  abandoned wagon. How long, and why, it has 
  been abandoned is up to the GM (perhaps the 
  owners are still nearby, or perhaps the wagon is 
  bait in an ambush?).
  •
  Bandit ambush: The characters are ambushed 
  by a group of bandits. Against starting 
  characters, the bandits will be Regular Folks (0 
  in all traits) and have a player character level 
  specialist leader (have one bandit for each 
  player character, plus their leader). If the party 
  looks tough the bandits will stay in cover and 
  call on them to drop their weapons and money, 
  then ride on. If the party looks vulnerable the 
  bandit leader will swagger around a bit and 
  make ridiculous demands whilst his men cover 
  the party.
  •
  Bandits fighting travellers: The party 
  encounters a group of travellers engaged in a 
  fight with bandits.
  •
  Battle ground: The party find the remains of a 
  recent battle.
  •
  Battle: The party runs into a pitched battle 
  (with at least thirty people on each side). This 
  could be a battle between soldiers and Indians, 
  two different Indian tribes, soldiers against 
  bandits or a posse fighting a bandit gang.
  •
  Bogged down: If the party has a wagon or 
  other wheeled wagon it gets stuck. The time 
  spent getting it loose halves the distance 
  travelled that day.
  •
  Camp-fire: The party spy a camp-fire (the light 
  at night, or smoke in the daytime). It is up to the 
  GM to decide who's camp-fire it is.
  •
  Carcass: The party finds a carcass. Who, or 
  what, killed it is up to the GM (perhaps the 
  wolves are still nearby?).
  •
  Card sharp: The party encounter a wandering 
  card sharp. He'll seek their hospitality then try 
  to take them for everything they've go in a 
  “friendly” game.
  •
  Cavalry unit: The party encounter a cavalry 
  unit travelling somewhere.
  •
  Dog: The party encounter a dog. The dog will 
  try to adopt a party member and come with the 
  43
  
  party. Of course, it may not be a stray and it's 
  owner may come looking for it.
  •
  Dust Storm: A violent dust storm blows up, 
  forcing the party to seek cover. This halves 
  movement for the day and all mechanisms (e.g. 
  Guns) become Unreliable until they are 
  thoroughly cleaned and oiled (a job which needs 
  the resources of a town to achieve).
  •
  Empty house: The party find an empty house. 
  Who lived there and why they left is up to the 
  GM.
  •
  Flash Food: A sudden thunderstorm triggers a 
  flash flood. If the party are on foot or horseback 
  they can just ride out of the way of the flood. If 
  they have any wagons or carts the wagons/carts 
  are swept away. Recovering them halves 
  movement for the day and you should roll one 
  dice for each significant item on the wagon/cart, 
  and one dice for each wagon/cart itself. On an 
  Ace the item (or wagon/cart) is destroyed by the 
  flood (a destroyed item cannot be repaired).
  •
  Ghost Town: The party find a ghost town. Why 
  it was there and why it was abandoned is up to 
  the GM.
  •
  Inclement weather: Either very hot, very cold 
  or very wet weather slows progress, and is very 
  unpleasant. Half movement for the day.
  •
  Indian scouts: The party encounters Indian 
  scouts. Whether the scouts are friendly or 
  hostile depends on the tribe and where they are 
  encountered.
  •
  Indian war party: The party encounters a 
  group of Indians who are on the war path. A 
  friendly tribe is no problem, but if the tribe is 
  hostile the party will have to be very diplomatic 
  to avoid a fight.
  •
  Infantry unit: The party encounters an infantry 
  unit on the march.
  •
  Lost travellers: The party encounters a group 
  of lost travellers. They could do with some 
  assistance in getting to the nearest town.
  •
  Mysterious stranger: The party encounters a 
  “mysterious stranger”. Who, or what, the 
  stranger is, and what their motivations are 
  depend on the GM.
  •
  Posse: The party encounters a posse of a dozen 
  riders out hunting criminals, or something else.
  •
  Prospectors: The party encounter a prospector, 
  or group of prospectors.
  •
  Rattler: One of the party gets bit by a Rattler. 
  Everyone should make Luck roll and the 
  character with the lowest hand is bitten. It's not 
  a fatal bite, but the nausea means they can't 
  spend Chips for the next two days.
  •
  Rich hunter and entourage: The party 
  encounter a rich hunter and his entourage. The 
  hunter may be a tinhorn from back east, or even 
  a rich foreigner on holiday.
  •
  Sacred Land: The party enters an area of 
  Sacred Indian land. This may lead to an 
  encounter with angry Indians, or not, as the GM 
  decides.
  •
  Shady looking characters: The party 
  encounters a group of shady looking characters 
  on the trail. They may be bandits or genuine 
  travellers.
  •
  Skunk: As Rattler, but the person gets the 
  lowest hand is squirted by a skunk and stinks to 
  high heaven for the next few days.
  •
  Snake oil salesman: The party encounter a 
  travelling snake oil salesman. He'll try to sell 
  them all manner of miracle cures and unguents
  •
  Stagecoach: The party encounter a stagecoach. 
  It may be stopped for a rest break or damaged 
  and in need of their assistance. It might even be 
  under attack by Indians or bandits.
  •
  Tinker: The party encounter a tinker, travelling 
  from town to town sharpening knives and selling 
  pots, pans and other items.
  •
  Town: The party find a town. Either there map 
  was wrong, they're off course or something 
  strange is going on.
  •
  Tracks: The party encounter tracks. Whether 
  they are fresh or old, where they come from and 
  where they lead to could be irrelevant.. or the 
  foundation of a whole new adventure.
  •
  Travelling circus: The party encounter a 
  travelling circus. This, of course, creates the 
  possibility of having to deal with an escaped 
  wild animal, such as a lion.
  •
  Watering hole: The party find a nice watering 
  hole.
  44
  
  States vs. Territories
  Congress divided the land mass into various territories, 
  each having it's own governor, legislature and  courts. 
  Unlike a state, the representatives of a territory could 
  not vote and the Federal government could reorganise 
  territories at will.
  All of the territories will become states eventually, by 
  meeting  requirements  laid  down  by  congress  which 
  included  having  a  constitution  and  a  minimum 
  population. Territories were, on the whole, significantly 
  wilder and more lawless than full states, reflecting their 
  frontier nature.
  Territories
  Gunslingers and Gamblers
  TM is set in the traditional “wild 
  west” territories of:
  Arizona
  Kansas
  New Mexico
  Colorado
  Montana
  Oklahoma
  Dakota
  Nebraska
  Utah
  Idaho
  Nevada
  Wyoming
  Places of Interest
  The following table gives some examples of interesting 
  places to be found in the West.
  Abilene, Kansas: End of the Chisholm cattle trail from 
  Texas
  Agua Fria, Arizona: A Indian settlement system dating 
  to A.D. 1250–1450, spread over two mesas and the Agua 
  Fria River canyon; more than 450 sites with pueblos, 
  stone forts, and petroglyphs.
  Albuquerque, New Mexico: Major town in New 
  Mexico.
  Aztec Ruins, New Mexico: Ruins of a Pueblo town.
  Bandelier, New Mexico: Ruins of 13th-century Pueblo 
  cliff dwellings.
  Bent's Old Fort, Colorado: A Fur-trading post and rest 
  station on the Santa Fe Trail.
  Bighorn Canyon, Montana & Wyoming: The 
  spectacular Bighorn Canyon, on the Bighorn River.
  Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Colorado: Deep, 
  narrow canyon of the Gunnison River, named for its dark-
  coloured walls, which are always in shadow.
  Black Hills, North Dakota: Sacred territory to the 
  Lakota
  Boulder Canyon, Colorado: Site of a major gold find in 
  1859.
  Bryce Canyon, Utah: A canyon with coloured walls and 
  rock formations. There are also many spires, fins, 
  pinnacles and mazes of rock.
  Butte, Montana: Site of the greatest copper mines on 
  earth, later to become a stronghold of union power 
  following the formation of the Western Federation of 
  Miners there in 1893.
  California Trail, Missouri River to California and 
  Oregon: The migration route extending 5,600 miles from 
  the Missouri River to California and Oregon.
  Canyon de Chelly, Arizona: Ruins of prehistoric Indian 
  villages.
  Canyonlands, Utah: Rocks, spires, and mesas; Indian 
  rock art and ruins.
  Canyons of the Ancients, Colorado: A rugged 
  landscape that is archaeologically rich, with some sites 
  dating to 10,000 years ago. including later pit houses, 
  cliff dwellings, and pueblos.
  Capitol Reef, Utah: Highly coloured sandstone cliffs 
  dissected by gorges; named for a white, dome-shaped 
  rock.
  Capulin Volcano, New Mexico: The huge cinder cone 
  of an inactive volcano.
  Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico: A series of great 
  limestone caverns.
  Casa Grande, Arizona: Huge building built c.600 years 
  ago, in the ruins of a Indian pueblo.
  Cedar Breaks, Utah: A huge natural amphitheatre 
  (2,000 ft/610 m deep) formed by erosion.
  Chaco Culture, New Mexico: 13 pre-Columbian ruins 
  of the Anasazi. Ruins representing the highest point of 
  Pueblo prehistoric civilization (A.D. 900–1000).
  Chiricahua, Arizona: Odd-shaped rock formations.
  City of Rocks, Idaho: An area of needle like granite 
  spires and other sculptured rock formations.
  Colorado Monoliths, Colorado: Huge monoliths and 
  other unusual erosional features.
  Coronado, Arizona: Area near Francisco Vásquez de 
  Coronado's point of entry (1540) into the United States.
  Craters of the Moon, Idaho: A blasted landscape of 
  volcanic cones, craters, fissures and rocky lava flows.
  Deadwood, South Dakota: A lawless boom town in the 
  45
  A map of the Western United States in 1876, 
  dark lines indicate major rail road tracks
  
  Black Hills, serving the gold rush.
  Denver, Colorado: The main supply town for the Rocky 
  mountain mining camps. It lies at the centre of an 
  extensive network of rail routes which lead it to be the 
  centre of banking, minting, processing and supply for 
  Colorado and its surrounding states.
  Devils Tower, Wyoming: A 1200ft high monolith of 
  volcanic rock sacred to many of the Great Plains tribes.
  Dodge City, Kansas: An important and very violent 
  town at the railhead to the cattle trail from Texas. Guns 
  cannot be carried north of the deadline (railtrack) but 
  anything goes on the south side of town.
  El Malpais, New Mexico: In English, “the badlands”, a 
  volcanic area rich in Pueblo history.
  El Morro, New Mexico: A sandstone monolith with 
  inscriptions of Spanish explorers and American pioneers.
  Fort Bowie, Arizona: A fort (est. 1862) that was the 
  base of military operations against Geronimo and his 
  followers.
  Fort Buford, North Dakota: A fort strategically located 
  in the heart of the Lakota buffalo hunting grounds.
  Fort Laramie, Wyoming: Began life as a fur trapping 
  outpost then became an important way post for 
  emigrants heading west on the oregon trail. In 1868 Fort 
  Laramie was the site of a peace conference between the 
  Federal government and the Great Plains tribes which 
  unfortunately led to a fresh round of Indian wars.
  Fort Phil Kearney, Wyoming: Established on the 
  Bozeman trail to protect miners heading across Lakota 
  lands into Montana. In 1866 it was the sight of the 
  Fetterman massacre when Lakota braves under the 
  leadership of Chief Redcloud led a patrol led by Captain 
  William J.Fetterman out of sight of the fort and 
  massacred them.
  Fort Union Trading Post, Dakota: A major American 
  Fur Company trading post.
  Fort Union, New Mexico: A U.S. army fort on the Santa 
  Fe Trail.
  Fossil Butte, Wyoming: An area containing rich in 
  Paleocene-Eocene fossil fish.
  Gila Cliff Dwellings, New Mexico: Well-preserved 
  dwellings built by the Pueblo into a 150-ft (46-m) cliff.
  Grand Canyon–Parashant, Arizona: Canyons, 
  mountains, and buttes on the portion of the Grand 
  Canyon's north rim. Prehistoric and 19th-century 
  remains; rare condors and tortoises.
  Grand Canyon, Arizona: A giant canyon through which 
  the Colorado river flows. First traversed from end to end 
  by the Powell expedition in 1869.
  Grand Staircase-Escalante, Utah: An area of 
  astonishing rock formations including natural arches and 
  bridges; prehistoric dwellings and rock art, and fossil 
  sites.
  Grand Teton, Wyoming: Scenic portion of the Teton 
  Range. The town of Jackson Hole lies within the Grand 
  Teton area.
  Great Salt Lake, Utah: A huge salt lake in Utah.
  Great Sand Dunes, Colorado: A large field of high sand 
  dunes in the Sangre de Cristo Mts.
  Green River, Wyoming: Until 1840, the site of the main 
  annual gathering of mountain trappers. Remained an 
  important land mark for emigrants on the Oregon trail 
  and the 49'ers heading west for the California gold rush.
  Hagerman Fossil Beds, Idaho: Fossil beds dating from 
  the Pliocene era.
  Hovenweep, Utah: Prehistoric Indian pueblos and cliff 
  dwellings.
  Hubbell Trading Post, Arizona: A late-19th-century 
  trading post in the South west
  Independence Rock, Wyoming: A large turtle shaped 
  rock on the Oregon trail which settlers carved their 
  names into as they passed by.
  Ironwood Forest, Arizona: A mountainous desert 
  landscape with large stands of iron wood trees, saguaro 
  forests and bighorn sheep.
  Jerome, Arizona: A copper town founded in 1876 when 
  the first copper lode was struck.
  Jewel Cave, Dakota: Limestone caves in the Black Hills, 
  with chambers connected by narrow passages.
  Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks, New Mexico: A group of 
  canyons, cliffs, and cone-shaped rock formations with 
  nesting birds.
  Knife River Indian Villages, Dakota: The ruins of 
  villages of Hidasta and Mandan Indians.
  Lawrence, Kansas: Stronghold for “free-soil” support 
  during the days of “Bleeding Kansas”. In 1863 site of the 
  Lawrence massacre by Quantrills Raiders.
  Little Bighorn, Montana: The site of Custers Last 
  Stand in 1876.
  Mesa Verde, Colorado: Prehistoric cliff dwellings.
  Missouri Breaks, Montana: An area along the upper 
  Missouri river notable for it's tremendous range of 
  wildlife, plant life and beautiful scenery.
  Missouri River, Dakota: The mighty Missouri River 
  with islands, bars, and chutes and native floodplain 
  forest.
  Montezuma Castle, Arizona: Well-preserved 
  prehistoric cliff dwellings.
  Mormon Pioneer Trail, Montana, Colorado and 
  Utah: The trail along which Brigham Young and his 
  followers passed to Utah in 1847–48.
  Natural Bridges, Utah: Three huge natural sandstone 
  bridges.
  Oregon Trail, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, 
  Wyoming, Idaho and Oregon: The major route to 
  Oregon. 2,170-miles long.
  Organ Pipe Cactus, Arizona: Unique Sonoran Desert 
  plants and animals.
  Pecos, New Mexico: 15th-century ruins of Pecos 
  Pueblo, once the largest Indian settlement in the South 
  west
  Petrified Forest, Arizona: A great field of petrified logs 
  amongst portions of the Painted Desert.
  Pikes Peak, Colorado: The 32nd highest peak in 
  America, became famous due to it's proximity to Boulder 
  Canyon and the term “Pikes Peak or Bust” used by the 
  100,000 miners who travelled to Boulder Canyon.
  Pipe Spring, Arizona: Spring first visited by the 
  Mormons and location of a fort.
  Pompeys Pillar, Montana: A large sandstone butte on 
  the Yellowstone River with inscription by William Clark.
  Powder River Country, Montana: Location of Red 
  Clouds War, where Chief Red Cloud led the Lakota 
  warriors against miners travelling the Bozeman trail and 
  troops located to protect them.
  Rainbow Bridge, Utah: A huge pink sandstone arch.
  Rock Springs, Wyoming: A major coal mining town.
  Rosebud Creek, Montana: The location where Lakota 
  and Cheyenne under Chief Crazy Horse defeats General 
  George Crook, turning back reinforcements which may 
  have saved Custer at Little Bighorn.
  Saguaro Land, Arizona: An area dominated by the 
  giant saguaro cacti, other cacti and other varied desert 
  growth.
  Salinas Pueblo Missions, New Mexico: Four 17th-
  century mission churches and ruins of three Pueblo 
  46
  
  villages.
  Salt Lake City, Utah: Heart of the Mormon Church.
  Sand Creek, Colorado: Two hundred Cheyenne men, 
  women and children were massacred and mutilated on 
  the reservation in 1864 by John Chivington and the 
  Colorado volunteers.
  Santa Fe Trail, Montana, Colorado, New Mexico: 
  The famous Santa Fe Trail.
  Santa Fe, New Mexico: Centre of commerce and 
  government in New Mexico and for trade with the east 
  via the Santa Fe trail.
  Sonoran Desert, Arizona: A large desert with mountain 
  ranges and lowland valleys. Historical and archaeological 
  remains dot the desert.
  South Pass, Wyoming: The pass through the Rocky 
  Mountains on the Oregon trail.
  Sunset Crater Volcano, Arizona: A volcanic cinder 
  cone with multicoloured crater.
  Taos, New Mexico: Unofficial headquarters for 
  mountain men and south west traders.
  The Arches, Utah: A series of giant rock arches formed 
  by erosion.
  The Badlands, Dakota: An area of gullies, ridges, and 
  other erosional landforms.
  The Glacier Area, Montana: An area of Glaciers, 
  forests, and lakes on the Continental Divide.
  The Lewis and Clark Trail, Montana and Dakota: 
  The 3,700-mile trail which the Lewis and Clark followed.
  The Petroglyph's, New Mexico: More than 15,000 
  prehistoric and historic Indian and Hispanic petroglyphs 
  and rock art carvings.
  The Rocky Mountains, Colorado: Rocky Mountains 
  region on the Continental Divide. Many are high with 
  snowcapped peaks.
  Timpanogos Cave, Utah: Limestone cavern on Mt. 
  Timpanogos in the Wasatch mountains.
  Tonto, Arizona: Well-preserved 14th-century cliff 
  dwellings built by Indians in the Salt River valley.
  Tumacacori, Arizona: Mission founded by Father 
  Eusebio F. Kino; rebuilt by the Franciscans.
  Vermilion Cliffs, Arizona: An area of remote cliffs, 
  plateaus, canyons, and desert grasslands.
  Virginia City, Nevada: A lawless town in Nevada which 
  serviced the comstock lode, America's richest gold and 
  silver lode ever. The lode was discovered in 1859 and is 
  still in production.
  Walnut Canyon, Arizona: 12th-century Sinagua cliff 
  dwellings.
  White Sands, New Mexico: An expanse of wind-drifted 
  gypsum sands.
  Wind Cave, Dakota: Limestone caverns in the Black 
  Hills.
  Wind River Mountains, Wyoming: Holds the highest 
  peaks in Wyoming, including Fremonts Peak.
  Wupatki, Arizona: Several prehistoric pueblos.
  Yellowstone, Wyoming: An area of hot springs and 
  geysers.
  Zion, Utah: A multicoloured canyon in a desert region.
  Big Springs, Idaho: A freshwater spring which runs 
  from ancient lava flows.
  Hell's half acre, Idaho: A rocky lava field.
  Cassia silent city of rocks, Idaho: An area of 
  weathered granite monoliths.
  Crater Rings, Idaho: Two adjacent, symmetrical, ring 
  craters.
  Medicine Lake, Montana: A large glacial lake.
  Red rock lakes, Montana: High altitude wetlands.
  Square Butte, Montana: A large square granite butte, 
  topped with grasslands.
  Summit Lake, Colorado: A high altitude lake.
  Garden of the Gods, Colorado: An area of massive 
  rocky cliffs and spires.
  Ship Rock, New Mexico: An isolated volcanic plug 
  surrounded by radiating dykes.
  Grants Lava Flow, New Mexico: A lava flow notable for 
  its gigantic pressure ridges, collapse depressions, and 
  lava tubes.
  Torgac Cave, New Mexico: A large cave.
  Fort Stanton Cave, New Mexico: A large cave 
  characterised by very long and large open passages.
  Kilborne Hole, New Mexico: A large depression 
  caused by a massive volcanic explosion.
  Mescalero Sands, New Mexico: A large field of sand 
  dunes.
  Neffs canyon cave, Utah: A very dangerous cave 
  formed by the capture of a surface stream. No horizontal 
  passages and most passages dip at angles in excess of 
  forty five degrees.
  Barringer Crater, Arizona: A massive crater, now 
  known to have been caused by a meteor hit.
  Wind Cave, North Dakota: A tremendously long and 
  complex cave
  Wasatch Mountains, Utah: A range of low mountains 
  which cuts off Utah from the east.
  47
  
  Campaigning
  A campaign is a series of linked scenarios played through 
  by  the  same  group  of  players,  usually  with  the  same 
  group of characters barring changes due to accident or 
  injury. Each scenario may take one or more sessions of 
  play to resolve and usually involves the Games Master 
  (GM) presenting the players with a series of obstacles 
  which  their  characters  must  overcome  to  successfully 
  complete the scenario. Some, or all, of the the scenario's 
  in a campaign may be linked by a common thread, theme 
  or story, or they may be just randomly thrown together.
  Role-playing Violence, Racism and Sexism
  Violence  is  part  and  parcel  of  Gunslingers  and 
  Gamblers
  TM and there's no real way to avoid it but the GM 
  should  consider  a  few  factors.  It's  obviously  a  group 
  choice how they want the game to run, but most players 
  want to feel special or heroic when role-playing, so they 
  don't really want to be placed in situations where they 
  feel helpless or out of control unless that is a key part of 
  the story line. If it is key to the story line try and ensure 
  that they don't stay helpless for long though. Physical 
  violence seems to be quite acceptable in RPG's, but the 
  GM  should  be  cautious  when  dealing  with  sexual  or 
  psychological  violence  as  these  subjects  can  cause 
  discomfort in players.
  The Wild West is a sexist and racist place and there's no 
  way  of  getting  round  that.  Women  were  considered 
  second class citizens and foreigners were even worse off 
  in many places. I would suggest that the GM turns a 
  blind eye to sexism and has NPC's interact with female 
  characters in the same way that they interact with male 
  characters. Racism is another difficult issue. 
  As  written,  the  game  effectively  embraces  racism  by 
  giving non-white characters the option to take the Pariah 
  quirk. If you are not comfortable with role-playing racism 
  you do not need to, as the mechanics of the quirk are 
  equally effective when not role-played.
  Creating a Campaign
  The first thing the GM needs to do, before starting a 
  campaign, is to talk to the players who will play in it and 
  get  a  feel  for  the  general  feel  they  want  from  the 
  campaign.  In  simple  terms,  there  are  four  kinds  of 
  Campaign in Gunslingers and Gamblers
  TM:
  •
  Heroic
  •
  Villainous
  •
  Mercenary
  •
  Tragic
  The Heroic Campaign
  In a heroic campaign the characters are motivated by 
  their  desire  to  right  wrongs,  help  the  innocent  and 
  generally be around “white hats”.
  The Villainous Campaign
  In a villainous campaign the characters are “black hats”. 
  Black hats are motivated by the desire to acquire power 
  and inflict suffering on others.
  The Mercenary Campaign
  In  a  mercenary  campaign  characters  are  primarily 
  interested in getting rich. A Mercenary campaign is the 
  most morally ambiguous of the three campaign types. 
  Characters in such a campaign would best be described 
  as “ gray hats”. Their primary concern is looking out for 
  their own best interests.
  The Tragic Campaign
  The Tragic campaign is really a subset of one of the other 
  three types already described. It differs in that a tragic 
  campaign is guaranteed not to have a happy ending. In 
  play, a tragic campaign is marked by its tendency for 
  both the player characters allies and enemies to die like 
  flies around them and, more often than not, all the player 
  characters will end up dead (or their lives in ruins) by the 
  end of the campaign. A slight twist on this theme is the 
  Japanese  style  tragedy  where  one  player  character 
  survives, their life ruined and all their enemies and allies 
  lying dead around them.
  Story Arcs
  Once the GM has decided on the type of campaign to run 
  they need to decide on an overall story arc which will run 
  through the campaign. Although they may decide not to 
  do this, just having the scenarios unlinked, it generally 
  creates a far more enjoyable role-playing experience for 
  everyone involved if there is some sense of development 
  as the campaign progresses. Having each scenario lead 
  onto the next, or reveal some piece of information which 
  gradually  reveals  the  story,  makes  for  a  far  more 
  enjoyable game.
  Scenario Outlines
  Once  the  GM  has  got  a  general  story  arc  for  the 
  campaign in their mind (or not, as the case may be) they 
  should  try  to  roughly  plan  out  the  scenario's  in  the 
  campaign.  One  way  of  doing  this  is  to  look  at  the 
  campaign  as  a  season  of  a  television  series.  A  series 
  normally consists of either, 12, 24 or 26 episodes. Most 
  stories take a single episode, others take two episodes or 
  more. Each episode becomes one gaming session (which 
  48
  A Locomotive
  
  will usually be three to four hours in length). Divide your 
  episodes up  into single or double episode stories and 
  come up with a simple plot outline for each story. When 
  you use double episode stories, break the story down into 
  two halves, ideally ending the first half with a cliffhanger 
  of some kind.
  If you are using a story arc campaign each story should 
  fall into one of the following categories
  •
  Background: A  background  episode  doesn't 
  contribute to the story arc directly, instead it 
  helps to add to the overall background of the 
  game,  increasing  the  players  sense  of 
  involvement  in  your  game  world.  Background 
  episodes  often  lay  down  clues  which  are 
  exploited in later arc episodes.
  •
  Arc:  An arc episode directly contributes to the 
  development of the story arc of the campaign, 
  its resolution leading to the character advancing 
  towards the end of the campaign.
  In  addition,  be  prepared  to  drop  in  new  stories  in 
  response  to  player  character  actions.  Characters  will 
  often wish  to digress away  from  your campaign  plan, 
  which  is  absolutely  fine  and  creates  more  depth  and 
  involvement in the game for everyone.
  “..most players want to feel special or 
  heroic  when  role-playing,  so  they 
  don't  really  want  to  be  placed  in 
  situations where they feel helpless or 
  out of control..”
  Detailed Scenarios
  Prepare your detailed scenario plans before playing the 
  scenario, rather than weeks in advance, that way you can 
  change and modify the scenario easily based on events in 
  the campaign to date. A scenario consists of a series of 
  scenes,  with  each  scene  being  linked by  a  significant 
  change  in  time,  focus  or  location.  The  party  bedding 
  down for the night and waking the next morning would 
  be a significant change in time, leaving the saloon and 
  riding to the old mine would be a significant change in 
  location. Change in focus is a little more tricky, but it 
  basically means that the location and time stay roughly 
  the same whilst the protagonists change, so one group of 
  characters might leave a bar and the focus shift to other 
  people in that same bar.
  The scenario has several different types of scene
  •
  Hook: The hook is the first scene in a scenario. 
  It  sets  the  scenario  up,  feeds  the  player 
  characters  the  relevant  background  to  the 
  scenario and gives them a reason to take part in 
  the  scenario.  Hook  scenes  are  usually  also 
  Information  scenes,  but  can  sometimes  be 
  Challenge scenes.
  •
  Challenge: A  challenge  scene  presents  the 
  player characters with a problem to overcome. 
  This  can  be  a  physical  problem,  such  as  a 
  dangerous climb or fight, or a mental problem, 
  such  as  solving  a  puzzle  or  outsmarting 
  someone.
  •
  Information:  An  information  scene  provides 
  the  player  characters  with  information  which 
  will  help  them  progress  further  through  the 
  scenario.
  •
  Climax: The climax is usually a Challenge scene 
  where  the  player  characters  have  to  beat  a 
  serious  challenge  to  “win”  the  scenario.  This 
  may be a big fight with the bad guys and his 
  cronies, or solving the final part of a mystery.
  •
  Aftermath:  The aftermath recants the  events 
  following the climax. This is the “happily ever 
  after” scene at the end of the scenario.
  Most scenario's start with a Hook, then there follows a 
  series of alternating Challenge and Information scenes, 
  finally moving to a Climax and then Aftermath scene. The 
  more Challenge and Information scenes you put in, the 
  longer the scenario will take to run.
  As a GM, do not be rigid with your scenario plan and be 
  prepared to improvise. It is not unusual for players to 
  mess up your carefully laid plans and miss out scenes 
  entirely, or wander completely off the track. This is fine, 
  just go with it and improvise your responses.
  Time Line Based Scenarios
  Another way to design scenario's is the time line method. 
  In  the  scene  method  described  above   events  circle 
  around the player characters, scenes do not happen until 
  the players move into them and so on. In a time line 
  based scenario the GM plans a series of events which 
  occur in a fixed time line, the clock starts ticking when 
  the scenario begins.
  Time line scenarios require considerably more effort on 
  the  GM's  part  to  run,  as  they  need  to  manage  more 
  variables and be prepared to improvise changes to the 
  time line on the fly (e.g. If the player characters kill an 
  NPC, that NPC cannot then perform an action later in the 
  time line, so the GM must decide on how that changes 
  the flow of events).
  Time line scenario's are a great way of creating a sense 
  of genuine nervousness and fear in players, as they are 
  fighting a constantly moving deadline and cannot afford 
  to prevaricate for to long.
  Themes
  Western  stories  usually  involve  a  conflict  designed  to 
  resolve a complex moral and/or political issue such as the 
  characters fighting to protect something like their family, 
  their ranch land, their freedom, or their gold. This might 
  involve dealing with issues of slavery or prostitution, or 
  fighting to stop a cattle baron or a rail road baron from 
  encroaching  on  their  lands.  They  might  protect  their 
  homestead  from  Indians  or  protect  Indians  from 
  homesteaders. In some cases, the protagonists might be 
  good-hearted  bad  guys,  gamblers  or  train  robbers 
  stealing  from  the  big  banks  or  wealthy  villains  (think 
  Brett Maverick of the Maverick TV series and film).
  In the wild west, dangers are usually physical, often with 
  a  strong  undercurrent  of  moral  danger,  such  as  the 
  threat of giving in to corruption, losing one's freedom or 
  of turning a blind eye to justice. There's a strong streak 
  of machismo in westerns (where men were men), but also 
  a sense of honour and gallantry. 
  The characters in westerns are usually bonded together 
  by friendship and a common past and they must either 
  struggle to change or resist change in the face of some 
  threat
   
  (physical,
   
  intellectual
   
  or
   
  moral).
  The  tools  of  the  Western  hero  include  guns,  horses, 
  honour and moral righteousness, and often these tools 
  are tainted in some way, such as the reluctant gunfighter 
  who is seeking to escape a blood stained past.
  The heroes may also be scoundrels, using deception and 
  underhand  methods  to  win,  although  even  such 
  49
  
  characters still tend to have a “heart of gold” and will 
  restrict their nefarious activities to the black hats.
  Key  themes  in  a  Gunslingers  and  Gamblers
  TM game 
  include duty, loyalty, honour, freedom, order vs. chaos, 
  the  individual  versus  the  faceless  corporation  or 
  government and honour versus efficiency.
  Older  western  films  were  often  rooted  in  the  classic 
  battle  of  good  vs.  evil  (white  hats  vs.  black  hats  in 
  western  parlance),  whereas  more  modern  films  often 
  immerse in moral ambiguity and question the notion of 
  the classic western “hero”.
  Events
  The following section endeavours to give you some ideas 
  for events in a Gunslingers and Gamblers
  TM scenario. The 
  GM should often introduce additional external factors to 
  important battles, things which effect both sides in the 
  fight equally and make everything  more dramatic and 
  exciting.
  Fights (brawls or gunfights) in a
  •
  Saloon (tables and chairs provide cover and can 
  be  used  as  weapons,  glasses  and  bottles  are 
  good improvised weapons, chandeliers to swing 
  on, dancing girls to panic and run screaming, try 
  sliding along the bar top shooting, or set fire to 
  the whiskey spilled on the bar)
  •
  Corral (dodge panicky horses or cattle, wooden 
  fences  provide  cover,  drive  the  animals  onto 
  opponents)
  •
  Gambling hall (much as saloon)
  •
  Top of a stagecoach (staying on when the coach 
  hits  bumps,  throwing  opponents  off,  sliding 
  under  the  stagecoach  and  getting  up  on  the 
  back, jumping on the team and fighting or riding 
  them,  playing  hide  and  seek  from  inside  and 
  outside the coach, people inside get cover and 
  can shoot out)
  •
  Top of a train (unstable footing, look out for low 
  bridges and water towers, throw opponents off, 
  fall off but catch yourself and try and climb back 
  on)
  •
  Desert,  while  on  horseback  (rolls  to  stay  in 
  range, hard to hit whilst bouncing around, jump 
  on foes horse and knocks them off)
  •
  In  a  dust  storm  (minimal  visibility,  stumble 
  around virtually blind and deaf looking for your 
  opponent
  •
  Frozen lakes or  rivers (rolls to maintain  your 
  footing, slide along the ice to hit foots or shoot 
  as you slide, danger of falling through the ice, 
  break the ice deliberately to drown foes or cut 
  off pursuit)
  •
  Flowing rivers (as still water, but also risk of 
  being  swept away by the  flow,  maybe over a 
  waterfall or through rapids)
  •
  Still  water  (drown  opponents,  rolls  to  stay 
  upright,  slow  movement  as  you  are  wading 
  through water)
  •
  Muddy  ground  (rolls  to  stay  upright,  try  to 
  drown opponents in the mud)
  •
  Mines  (dark,  maybe  not  able  to  use  guns 
  because  of  methane,  knock  out  pit  props  to 
  collapse  ceilings,  sheer  drops  and  shafts, 
  explosives can cause cave-ins)
  •
  Whilst climbing or in a lift basket (hang on or 
  fall  to  your  death,  knock  foes  off,  swinging 
  baskets, maybe a  time limit as dynamite fuse 
  burns down)
  Gathering up or opposing a
  •
  Posse
  •
  Lynching party
  •
  Massacre (e.g., of or by Indians)
  •
  New cattle ranch
  •
  New rail road
  Escape from a
  •
  Jail
  •
  Indian tribe
  •
  Texas Ranger
  •
  Federal Marshall
  •
  Pinkerton Detective
  •
  Lynching party
  Some Wild West Scenario Ideas
  1)
  Tension in town culminating in OK corral shoot-
  out.
  2)
  Characters  get  drawn  into  a  range  or  Indian 
  war.
  3)
  Characters  are  after  something,  either  for 
  themselves or for a client.
  4)
  Characters  have  to  get  something  from  one 
  place to another safely.
  5)
  Murder-Mystery.
  6)
  Treasure Hunt.
  7)
  Characters  accused/arrested  for  crime  they 
  didn't commit and must prove their innocence.
  8)
  Posse chasing.
  9)
  Magnificent 7 scenario, the party are hired to 
  protect a village from bandits
  10) Rescuing maiden from commanches
  11) Cleaning up a bad town.
  12) High noon scenario.
  13) War wagon scenario 
  14) Bounty hunting, capture someone dead or alive 
  and receive a reward.
  15) Prospecting, there's gold in them thar hills!
  16) Help  miners  protect  their  claims  from 
  marauding bandits or greedy landowners.
  50
  
  Quick Settlement Creator
  Roll one dice to determine why a settlement is where it 
  is, then a second dice to determine it's size (read along 
  the row of the type of settlement until you find your 
  second roll, then up to determine the size of the 
  settlement).  This table is designed around towns in the 
  Wild West.
  Dice
  Reason
  host Town
  G
  Town
  Large Town
  City
  Large City
  9
  Watering Hole
  9
  TJQK
  A
  T
  Rail road or Coaching 
  Station
  9
  TJ
  QK
  A
  J
  Mining
  9
  T
  JQ
  K
  A
  Q
  Timber
  9
  T
  JQ
  K
  A
  Q
  Cattle or Farming 
  (choose)
  T
  JQ
  K
  A
  A
  Buffalo
  9
  T
  TJQK
  A
  Roll to determine how many interesting places there are 
  near to the town, then roll two dice on the “interesting 
  places” column to determine what each place is. 
  Interesting places are the kinds of locations where 
  adventures often take place.
  Dice
  Interesting 
  Places
  9
  1
  TJ
  2
  QK
  3
  A
  4
  Dice
  Interesting 
  Places
  Dice
  Interesting 
  Places
  99
  Mine
  JJ
  Sacred Site
  9T
  Cave
  JQ
  Fort
  9J
  River
  JK
  Burial Ground
  9Q
  Stream
  JA
  Stone Formation
  9K
  Lake
  QQ
  Swamp
  9A
  Mountain
  QK
  Desert
  TT
  Hills
  QA
  Ranch
  TJ
  Old Battleground
  KK
  Rail road
  TQ
  Forest
  KA
  Station
  TK
  Town
  AA
  Abandoned Church
  TA
  Camp
  Quick Adventure Seed Generator
  To create a random adventure seed roll two poker dice 
  once on each column. This gives you a string of words 
  which you can then hook together to give you an idea for 
  an adventure.
  Dice
  Action
  Object
  Place
  Rider
  99
  Protect
  Gold
  Mine
  Double Cross
  9T
  Ambush
  Silver
  Cave
  Night
  9J
  Kill
  Daughter
  River
  Day
  9Q
  Rescue
  Brother
  Stream
  Solstice
  9K
  Kidnap
  Sister
  Lake
  Equinox
  9A
  Investigate
  Wife
  Mountain
  Events
  TT
  Solve
  Whore
  Hills
  Rumours
  TJ
  Coerce
  Mystery
  Ship
  Legends
  TQ
  Persuade
  Letter
  Forest
  Stories
  TK
  Find
  Deeds
  Town
  disappearance
  TA
  Destroy
  Map
  Camp
  Theft
  JJ
  Escape
  Gun
  City
  Secrets
  JQ
  Avoid
  Artefact
  Fort
  Sunday
  JK
  Intercept
  Honour
  Saloon
  Weekday
  JA
  Hide
  Grain
  Store
  Trust
  QQ
  Steal
  Booze
  Stable
  Relationship
  QK
  Use
  Horse
  Corral
  Holiday
  QA
  Buy
  Doctor
  Ranch
  Work
  KK
  Sell
  Fort
  Rail road
  Business
  KA
  Scare
  Bandit
  Station
  Worship
  AA
  Give
  Indian
  Church
  Bid
  For example, if you rolled 9T, JA, KK and TJ you would 
  have the words Ambush, Grain, Rail road and Legends. A 
  fairly  obvious  adventure  idea  from  this  would  be  the 
  players  being  paid  by a  local  developer to  ambush  a 
  shipment of grain off a rail road train before it reaches 
  an Indian settlement. The loss of the grain fits a local 
  Indian legend and will prompt the Indians to abandon a 
  sacred site which the developer wants to build on.
  51
  Double Barrelled Shotgun
  
  Inspirations
  The following section lists some places to find inspiration 
  for western scenario's.
  Film
  Great Train Robbery (1903)
  Stagecoach (1939)
  The Ox-Bow Incident (1943)
  Rio Grande (1950)
  High Noon (1952)
  Shane (1953)
  The Searchers (1956)
  Warlock (1959)
  The Magnificent Seven (1960)
  The Man who shot Liberty Valance (1962)
  Once upon a time in the west (1968)
  McCabe and Mrs Miller (1971)
  The Hired Hand (1971)
  Chato's Land (1971)
  Ulzana's Raid (1974)
  The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1967)
  Pat Garret and Billy the Kid (1973)
  The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)
  Dances with Wolves (1990)
  The Quick and the Dead (1995)
  Open Range (2003)
  TV Series
  Gunsmoke
  Bonanza
  Maverick
  Rawhide
  Have Gun Will Travel
  The Virginian
  Little House on the Prairie
  High Chaparral
  The Rifleman
  TV Mini-Series
  Lonesome Dove
  Centennial
  The Good Old Boys
  How the West Was Won
  The Sacketts
  Lewis & Clark
  The West
  The Rough Riders
  Fiction Books
  Shane (Schaefer)
  Lonesome Dove (McMurtry)
  The Big Sky (Guthrie)
  The Time It Never Rained (Kelton)
  The Virginian (Wister)
  The Shootist (Swarthout)
  Death Comes for the Archbishop (Cather)
  Riders of the Purple Sage (Grey)
  Monte Walsh (Schaefer)
  The Ox-Bow Incident (Clark)
  Hondo (L'Amour)
  All the Pretty Horses (McCarthy)
  Centennial (Michener)
  The Sea of Grass (Conrad Richter)
  Riders to Cibola (Zollinger)
  The Homesman (Swarthout)
  True Grit (Portis)
  The Searchers (LeMay)
  The Rounders (Evans)
  The Day the Cowboys Quit (Kelton)
  Call of the Wild (London)
  Non-Fiction Books
  Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (Brown)
  Across the Wide Missouri (DeVoto)
  Charles Goodnight (Haley)
  Cheyenne Autumn (Sandoz)
  The Longhorns (Dobie)
  Old Jules (Sandoz)
  Undaunted Courage (Ambrose)
  Men to Match My Mountains (Stone)
  Triggernometry (Cunningham)
  Black Elk Speaks (Niehardt)
  And Die in the West (Marks)
  Pat Garrett (Metz)
  Using props
  Props really can add to the sense of involvement in a 
  game. Some suggested props for different characters 
  might include:
  •
  Sombrero's and Fake handlebar moustaches for 
  Mexican characters.
  •
  Feather headdress (or just a feather) for Indian 
  characters.
  •
  Waistcoats and pocket watches for tinhorns.
  •
  Cowboy hats for cowboys.
  •
  Small round glasses for a pinkerton.
  •
  Corn cob pipe for an engineer or prospector.
  •
  Sharp suit and a hat for a snake oil salesman.
  •
  Bible and dog collar for a preacher.
  •
  Deck of cards for a card sharp.
  52
  
  Belongings
  "I have advised my people this way: When you 
  find something good in the White man's road, 
  pick it up; but when you find something bad, or 
  it turns out bad, drop it and leave it alone." 
  -Sitting Bull (Sioux Chieftain) 
  53
  
  Introduction
  This section provides game information on a variety of 
  items that characters may wish to use. +1 means step 
  up your hand one type and +2 means step it up two 
  types. -1 means step it down one type and -2 means step 
  it down two types.
  For example, if you rolled Three of a Kind and had a -1  
  modifier, the Three of a Kind is reduced to Two Pairs.
  Reliabilty
  Normal equipment is considered to be reliable if it is 
  properly maintained. 
  Normal pieces of equipment which are not looked after, 
  cheap  pieces  of  equipment  or  improvised  pieces  of 
  equipment are considered to be Unreliable.
  Unreliable items break when you are using them and 
  roll a Botch.
  Good  quality  equipment  is  never  Unreliable,  even  if 
  mistreated.
  Equipment Quality
  All the equipment listed in this section is assumed to be 
  of “normal” quality. You may buy items of “Good” quality 
  for five times the listed price.
  If an item is already Unreliable you can't buy a cheap 
  version of it.
  Armour
  Body  Armour  (worn  by  a  character)  gives  you  a  +2 
  Defence, but Impairs you whilst worn.  Armour consists 
  of heavy metal plates, a helmet and so forth (think Ned 
  Kelly),  costs   $5  and  is  uncommon,  if  not  to  say 
  downright  rare,  in  the  wild  west.  Unreliable  armour 
  breaks on a botched defence roll.
  Melee Weapons
  The following tables gives game values for a variety of 
  common melee weapons. 
  If you throw a weapon use your Fighting trait to attack 
  with it and the target defends with their Fighting trait.
  The hands column is the number of hands required to 
  wield the weapon.
  The  improvised  column  gives  examples  of  improvised 
  weapons which use that row of statistics. Remember that 
  improvised weapons break on any botched attack roll or 
  a botched defence roll against a melee attack.
  Weapon
  Close
  Short1 Defence
  Hands
  Cost
  Improvised
  Unarmed
  +0
  +0
  -
  -
  Cudgel
  +1
  -1
  +0
  1
  $0.10
  Sixgun Butt
  Knife
  +1
  +0
  +0
  1
  $2.00
  Straight Razor
  Club
  +1
  +0
  +1
  1
  $0.50
  Shovel or Chair
  Big Club
  +2
  -1
  +0
  2
  $0.75
  Sledge Hammer or Pickaxe
  Knuckle Dusters
  +1
  +0
  1
  $1.00
  Sword Cane or Rapier
  +1
  -1
  +2
  1
  $10.00
  Staff
  +0
  -1
  +2
  2
  $1.00
  Hoe or Rake
  Sabre
  +1
  +0
  +1
  1
  $7.00
  Meat Clever or Sickle
  Tomahawk
  +1
  +1
  +0
  1
  $2.00
  Hatchet
  Felling Axe
  +2
  -1
  +0
  2
  $3.00
  Scythe
  Short Spear
  +1
  +1
  +0
  1
  $2.00
  Lance/Bayonet
  +1
  -1
  +1
  2
  $2.00
  Carbine or Rifle Butt
  Shield
  +1
  +0
  +22
  1
  $2.00
  Small table
  Lariat3
  1
  $2.00
  Whip
  +1
  +0
  +0
  1
  $3.00
  1 To attack at Short range weapon must be thrown.
  2 Defence modifier applies to defence against melee attacks, thrown attacks and archery attacks, but not guns.
  3 A hit pins the target helplessly until the lariat is removed, or the target gets loose. Getting loose requires an 
  action and a Reflexes roll with a Pair as the opposed hand.
  54
  
  Ranged Weapons
  Unless stated otherwise it takes one action to reload one 
  round of ammunition into a gun. 
  •
  A musket, or muzzle loading shotgun, requires 
  four actions to ready between shots (one to put 
  powder  in,  a  second  to  insert  the  ball  and 
  wadding, a third to ram the ball in and a fourth 
  to replace the ram and cock the weapon). You 
  cannot speed load single action weapons.
  •
  An empty Spencer carbine can be reloaded in a 
  single  action  by  using  a  preloaded  tube 
  (basically  a  metal  tube  full  of  bullets).  The 
  bullets are simply poured into the butt of the 
  gun (where the magazine is located). 
  •
  A  breech  loading  rifle  requires  one  action 
  between each shot to reload.
  •
  A repeating rifle can fire until you run out of 
  ammunition, then it takes one action per bullet 
  to reload.
  •
  A Scattergun or Break open shotgun requires 
  one action per shell to reload. Single barrelled 
  guns have one  shot then must reload, double 
  barrelled ones have two shots then must reload. 
  You can fire such a weapon without having fully 
  reloaded it.
  Each weapon uses ammunition of a specific size (listed 
  on the table as .XX). Some ammo types are listed as .XX-
  YY, where XX is the diameter of the bullet, in hundredths 
  of an inch, and YY is the length of the bullet. 
  For  game  purposes,  pistol  and  carbine  bullets  of  the 
  same size are interchangeable with one another. Rifle 
  bullets cannot be used in pistols or carbines and vice 
  versa.
  An SS in the rate of fire column indicates the weapon can 
  fire  single  shot  only.  An  SB  indicates that it  can  fire 
  Single Shot or Short Bursts. An SB1 indicates that it can 
  fire Single Shot, or Short Bursts if the firer has a hand 
  free to “fan the hammer” with.
  A weapon with hands 1 requires only one hand to use. 
  One with hands 2 requires two hands and one with hands 
  ½ can be used one or two handed, but cannot be used at 
  Long range when fired one-handed.
  An F means that the weapon can only be fired from a 
  fixed position.
  Good Quality guns cost five times the list price and are 
  never Unreliable.  Unless stated otherwise, all Sixguns 
  are single action.
  Close Short
  Long Ammo
  ROF
  Hands Cost
  Notes
  PISTOLS
  Pepperbox .22
  +0
  +0
  4
  SS
  1
  $5
  Derringer .44
  +1
  +0
  1
  SS
  1
  $4
  Double Barrelled Derringer .44
  +1
  +0
  2
  SS2
  1
  $6
  1858 Starr Army model .44 Sixgun
  +1
  +1
  6
  SB
  1
  $7
  Unreliable 
  Double Action
  1863 Starr Army  .44 Sixgun
  +1
  +1
  6
  SB1
  1
  $10
  1861 Whitney Navy model .36 Sixgun
  +1
  +1
  6
  SB1
  1
  $10
  1860 Army Colt .44 Sixgun
  +1
  +1
  6
  SB1
  1
  $10
  1860 Navy Colt .36 Sixgun
  +1
  +1
  6
  SB1
  1
  $10
  1873 Colt Peacemaker .45 Sixgun
  +1
  +1
  6
  SB1
  1
  $10
  1875 Colt Newline .38 Sixgun
  +1
  +1
  6
  SB1
  1
  $10
  1875 Remington .44 Sixgun
  +1
  +1
  6
  SB1
  1
  $10
  1875 Smith & Wesson .45 Schofield Sixgun
  +1
  +1
  6
  SB1
  1
  $15
  See notes
  1862 Remington Army .44 Sixgun
  +1
  +1
  6
  SB1
  1
  $10
  1858 Starr Army & Navy .44 Sixgun
  +1
  +1
  6
  SB
  1
  $10
  Double Action
  LeMat .42 Revolver
  +1
  +1
  9
  SB1
  1
  $30
  See notes
  Volcanic .41 repeating pistol
  +1
  +1
  10
  SS
  1
  $20
  See notes
  J.M.Cooper .31 Pocket pistol
  +1
  +0
  6
  SB
  1
  $7
  Double Action
  1873 Forehand & Wadsworth Sixgun
  +1
  +1
  6
  SB
  1
  $10
  Double Action
  1871 Remington Rider new model belt Sixgun
  +1
  +1
  6
  SB
  1
  $10
  Double Action
  55
  
  Close Short
  Long Ammo
  ROF
  Hands Cost
  Notes
  MUSKETS
  Smoothbore Musket
  +0
  +2
  +1
  1
  SS
  2
  $5
  Model 1861 Percussion Rifle Musket
  +0
  +2
  +2
  1
  SS
  2
  $10
  Enfield .577 Rifled Musket
  +0
  +2
  +2
  1
  SS
  2
  $10
  CARBINES
  1864 Breech Loading Cook .58 Carbine
  +0
  +1
  +0
  1
  SS
  ½
  $15
  Breech Loading Burnside .54 Carbine
  +0
  +1
  +0
  1
  SS
  ½
  $15
  Winchester 1866 .44 Repeating Carbine
  +0
  +1
  +0
  13
  SS
  ½
  $25
  Winchester 1876 .45 Repeating Carbine
  +0
  +1
  +0
  12
  SS
  ½
  $23
  Model 1851 Breech Loading Sharps .52 Carbine
  +0
  +1
  +0
  1
  SS
  ½
  $15
  Spencer 1863 .56 Repeating Carbine
  +0
  +1
  +0
  7
  SS
  ½
  $20
  1870 Breech Loading .50 Springfield Armoury 
  Carbine
  +0
  +1
  +0
  1
  SS
  ½
  $15
  1873 Breech Loading .45 Springfield Armoury 
  Carbine
  +0
  +1
  +0
  1
  SS
  ½
  $15
  Volcanic .41 repeating carbine
  +0
  +1
  +0
  20
  SS
  ½
  $30
  RIFLES
  Winchester 1866 .44-40 Repeating rifle
  +0
  +1
  +1
  15
  SS
  2
  $30
  Winchester 1873 .44-40 Repeating Rifle
  +0
  +1
  +1
  15
  SS
  2
  $30
  1862 Henry .44 Repeating Rifle
  +0
  +1
  +1
  15
  SS
  2
  $30
  Model 1851 Breech Loading Sharps .52 Rifle
  +0
  +2
  +1
  1
  SS
  2
  $20
  1868 Remington Breech Loading Rifle
  +0
  +2
  +1
  1
  SS
  2
  $20
  1873 Springfield Trapdoor Breech Loading .45-70 
  Rifle
  +0
  +2
  +1
  1
  SS
  2
  $20
  1860 Spencer .52 Repeating Rifle
  +0
  +2
  +1
  7
  SS
  2
  $25
  1855 Colt .44 Revolving Rifle
  +0
  +2
  +1
  6
  SS
  2
  $15
  Unreliable
  1842 Colt Patterson .40 Revolving Rifle
  +0
  +2
  +1
  6
  SS
  2
  $15
  Unreliable
  Model 1874 Breech Loading Sharps “Business” 
  .45-120 Rifle
  +0
  +1
  +2
  1
  SS
  2
  $25
  1875 Sharps Big 50 Breech Loading  .50-90 Rifle 
  aka.."The Buffalo Gun"
  +0
  +1
  +2
  1
  SS
  2
  $25
  1836 Colt Patterson .69 Revolving Rifle
  +0
  +1
  +2
  6
  SS
  2
  $15
  Unreliable
  56
  
  Close Short
  Long Ammo
  ROF
  Hands Cost
  Notes
  SHOTGUNS
  Muzzle Loading Shotgun
  +1
  +2
  1
  SS
  2
  $5
  Winchester Break-Open Shotgun
  +1
  +2
  1
  SS
  2
  $15
  Winchester Scatter Gun
  +2
  +1
  1
  SS
  ½
  $15
  American Arms Break-Open Shotgun
  +1
  +2
  1
  SS
  2
  $15
  American Arms Scatter Gun
  +2
  +1
  1
  SS
  ½
  $15
  American Arms Double-barrelled Break-Open 
  Shotgun
  +1
  +2
  2
  SS2
  2
  $20
  American Arms Double-barrelled Scattergun
  +2
  +1
  2
  SS2
  ½
  $20
  Colt 1857 Revolving Shotgun
  +1
  +2
  5
  SS
  2
  $25
  Unreliable
  BOWS
  Indian Bow
  +0
  +1
  +0
  1
  SS
  2
  $1
  1 Can only fire Short Burst if you have a hand free to “fan the hammer” of the gun.
  2  Can fire barrels separately (one action each) or together (one action for both) at the same target as a single attack, for 
  +1 attack.
  Most of the guns listed are fairly self-explanatory and 
  mundane but a couple deserve special comment.
  •
  Revolving Rifles:  The Colt Patterson and Colt 
  revolving rifles combine the rotating cylinder of 
  a  Sixgun  with  a  rifle.  Whilst  a  great  idea  in 
  theory revolving  carbines,  rifles  and  shotguns 
  proved to be very unreliable (in part because the 
  residue  left by  the  black  powder  used in  the 
  cartridges  tended  to  foul  the  cylinder 
  mechanism  very  quickly)  and  were  never 
  particularly popular, particularly once repeating 
  rifles  and  carbines  came  onto  the  market.  In 
  game terms, all revolving shotguns, rifles and 
  carbines  are  Unreliable (so  they  break  on  a 
  Botch).
  •
  LeMat  Pistol: The  LeMat  pistol  is  a  curious 
  combination,  a  Sixgun  with  a  shotgun  barrel 
  under the gun barrel. The shotgun can be fired 
  in place of the normal barrel, giving a +2 attack 
  at close range and +0 at short range. Reloading 
  the shotgun barrel takes two actions.
  •
  Smith  &  Wesson  Schofield:  Opening  the 
  cylinder  on  the  Schofield  ejects  all  the 
  cartridges  in  one  movement,  making  the  gun 
  quicker  to  load.  A  character  can  reload  two 
  bullets into a Schofield in one action.
  •
  Volcanic  .41  repeating  pistol: The  volcanic 
  uses  a  tubular  internal  magazine  under  the 
  barrel,  giving  it  a  10  round  capacity. 
  Unfortunately this layout is more vulnerable to 
  jamming so the gun is Unreliable.
  Wages
  Below  is  a  listing  of  average  wages  (per  month)  for 
  various jobs in the wild west. The values are a rough 
  average, and can vary from place to place at the GM's 
  discretion.
  Army/Cavalry Officer 
  $25.00
  Army/Cavalry Trooper 
  $13.00
  Bartender 
  $25.00
  Blacksmith 
  $30.00
  Common Labourer
  $25.00
  Cowhand
  $25.00
  Foreman
  $50.00
  Logger or Miner
  $35.00
  Deputy Marshall 
  $35.00
  Deputy Sheriff 
  $25.00
  Federal Marshall 
  $45.00
  Railroad Engineer 
  $35.00
  Scout 
  $25.00
  Territorial Marshall 
  $40.00
  Texas Ranger
  $25.00
  Town Sheriff
  $35.00
  School teacher
  $60.00
  Freelance mercenaries (your typical player characters) 
  can reasonably expect to be paid around $5-10 a day for 
  dangerous jobs.
  57
  
  Supplies
  Prices listed are averages, and can vary from place to 
  place at the GM's discretion. As a rule of thumb, these 
  prices represent buying from a city or large town. In a 
  small  town or settlement double the prices listed and 
  increase  them  up  to  ten  times  in  a  gold  mining 
  settlement or similar location.
  AMMUNITION
  100 rounds, .38 calibre or smaller $2.00
  100 rounds, .41-.45 calibre $3.25
  100 rounds, .50 calibre or larger $4.75
  100 shotgun shells, $5.00
  5 pounds, loose lead balls $0.35
  5 pounds, black powder $0.50
  Sixgun speed loader $3.00
  Spencer carbine/rifle tube $1.00
  Whilst  a  great  idea  in  theory 
  revolving  carbines,  rifles  and 
  shotguns proved to be very unreliable
  MISCELLANEOUS GEAR
  Banjo $12.50
  Bear Grease (metal preservative/per pound) .05
  Bed roll $4.00
  Bible $5.00
  Binoculars, x10 magnification $25.00
  Binoculars, x5 magnification $15.00
  Boots & spurs $15.00
  Buckskin trousers $2.00
  Buckskin Shirt $2.00
  Buffalo robe $10.00
  Canteen $1.00
  Cards, Playing/pack .25
  Cartridge belt, holds 50 rounds $1.00
  Cashbox $0.50
  Chaps $4.00
  Cloth cap $0.50
  Cloth overcoat $3.00
  Dress $1.50
  Fur overcoat $15.00
  Gloves $1.00
  Gun belt $2.00
  Gun cleaning kit $1.50
  Hat $3.00
  Holster $3.00
  Horse blanket $3.00
  Jacket, leather $5.00
  Jacket, sheepskin lined (for cold weather) $10.00
  Jeans $2.00
  Lamp oil $0.25 per 5 gallons
  Lantern $2.00
  Lasso $8.00
  Mess kit $2.00
  Moccasins $1.00
  Pipe, briarwood $1.00
  Pipe, corncob $0.05
  Poncho (rain gear) $2.00
  Rifle scabbard $2.50
  Saddle (ornate, with bridle and blanket) $40.00
  Saddle (standard, with bridle and blanket) $35.00
  Saddle bags $6.00
  Saddle blanket $2.00
  Sheath, knife $0.50
  Sheath, rifle $3.00
  Shirt $0.50
  Shoes $3.50
  Suit, man's or woman's $12.00
  Sulphur matches $0.25 per box of 50
  Telescope, 14 mile range $15.00
  Telescopic Sight*, $20.00
  Thick leather jerkin, gives 1pt of armour against non-gun 
  attacks, $5.00
  Trousers $1.50
  *A telescopic sight can be fitted to a Sixgun, musket, 
  carbine  or rifle. It gives an  additional  +1  modifier to 
  attacks at Long range if you Aim before firing (for a total 
  +2  Attack  modifier  from  Aiming  and  the  sight). 
  Telescopic  sights  are  notoriously  easy  to  jar  out  of 
  alignment  though,  and  any  thumps  or  bumps  on  the 
  weapon  render  the  sight  useless.  Getting  the  sight 
  modifier  back  requires  ten  minutes  work  and  a 
  Tinkering(Pair) roll.
  LIVING EXPENSES
  Bath $1.00
  Beer $0.05 per mug
  Chocolate, 8oz tin $0.10
  Cigar, cheroot $0.05
  Cigar, fancy 2 for $0.25
  Coffee, 2lb tin $0.50
  Grain (for horses), one days $2.00
  Kentucky Mash/bottle $4.00
  Letter, by mail $0.03 per ounce
  Package, by mail $0.01 per ounce
  Package, railfreight over 100lbs $0.08 per pound
  Provisions (rations) $4.00 per week
  Restaurant Breakfast $0.50
  Restaurant Lunch
   $0.25
  Restaurant Supper $1.00
  Room, boarding house (meals included) $1.00 per day
  Room, bordello $5.00 per night
  Room, cheap hotel (no meals) $0.50 per day
  Room, average hotel (no meals) $1.00 per day
  Room, good hotel (no meals) $2.00 per day
  Room, high falutin` hotel (no meals) $6.00 per day
  Shave & haircut $0.25
  Stabling, overnight for man or beast $0.25
  Sugar, 1lb $0.10
  Tea, 6oz $0.50
  Telegram $0.50 per word
  Tobacco, plug (chewing) $0.10
  Tobacco, pouch (smoking) $0.20
  Visit to a doctor, $1.00, plus $1-2 more for medicines
  Whiskey, "red eye" $1.00 per bottle
  Whiskey, Kentucky mash $4.00 per bottle
  BOUNTIES
  Bank robber $100.00-1000.00
  Stagecoach robber $50.00-100.00
  Train robber $100.00-500.00
  These increase with the targets notoriety (Frank James 
  carried a bounty of $15,000.00 in 1876)
  TOOLS OF THE TRADE
  Anaesthetic, chloroform $4.00 per bottle
  Anaesthetic, ether $6.00 per bottle
  Bear grease (metal preservative) $0.05 per pound
  Blacksmith's anvil: Crafting rolls when working with 
  metal are at -1 without an anvil,  $25.00
  Blacksmith's forge: Crafting rolls when working with 
  metal are at -1 without a forge,  $60.00
  58
  
  Blacksmiths tools: Crafting rolls when working with 
  metal are at -1  without Blacksmiths tools, $30.00.
  Carbolic acid $3.00 per gallon
  Carpenters tools: Crafting rolls when working with wood 
  are at -1 without carpenters tools, $40.00
  Doctors tools: Healing rolls are at -1 when working 
  without doctors tools, $50.00
  Gunsmiths tools: Tinkering rolls are at -1 when working 
  with guns without Gunsmiths tools.
  Iodine solution $0.50 per quart
  Leatherworkers tools: Crafting rolls are at -1 when 
  working with leather without leatherworkers tools.
  Masons tools: Crafting rolls are at -1 when working with 
  stone without masons tools.
  Medicinal alcohol $2.00 per gallon
  Miner's tools (picks, drills, shovels, etc.): Tinkering rolls 
  when mining are at -1 without miner's tools,  $15.00
  Potters tools: Crafting rolls are at -1 when working in 
  ceramics without potters tools.
  Tailors tools: Crafting rolls are at -1 when working with 
  clothes without tailors tools.
  HOUSING
  Homestead,  160  acres  and  must  be  worked  for  five 
  consecutive years $10.00
  Townsite, 320 acres to be divided into 125 plots of 125' x 
  25' $400.00
  Town plot, poor location $50.00
  Town plot, mainstreet $400.00
  Town plot, choice location $1000.00
  Room, bordello $5.00 per night
  Visit  to  a  doctor,  $1.00,  plus  $1-2 
  more for medicines
  EXPLOSIVES
  Blasting caps $0.50 per cap
  Blasting powder $0.50 per pound
  Dynamite $3.00 per stick
  Fuse cord $0.10 per foot
  Gun cotton $1.00 per pound
  Nitro-glycerine $2.00 per 10 ounces
  TRANSPORTATION
  (For more live animals, see the Critters chapter) 
  Canoe $10.00
  Connestoga wagon (requires 4-horse team) $300.00
  Flatboat $1.50 per foot
  Heavy  freight  wagon  (requires 6-horse or  mule  team) 
  $500.00
  Keelboat  $3.00 per foot
  Light freight wagon (requires 2-horse team) $200.00
  Mule $90.00
  Pony $50.00
  Saddle Horse $60.00
  Stagecoach (requires 4 to 6-horse team) $1200.00
  Stagecoach fare, express $2.00 per 50 miles
  Stagecoach fare, local $0.05 per mile
  Steamboat $100,000.00
  Train fare, 1st class $10.00 per 100 miles
  Train fare, 2nd class $7.50 per 100 miles
  Two-seat buggy (requires 1 horse to pull) $80.00
  59
  
  Folks and Critters
  "I found him a loyal friend and good company. 
  He was a dentist whom necessity had made a 
  gambler; a gentleman whom disease had made a 
  vagabond; a philosopher whom life had made a 
  caustic  wit;  a  long,  lean  blonde  fellow  nearly 
  dead with consumption and at the same time the 
  most  skilful  gambler  and  nerviest,  speediest, 
  deadliest man with a six-gun I ever knew." 
  – Wyatt Earp speaking of Doc Holliday
  60
  
  Introduction
  This section provides information on running non-player 
  characters (folks) and animals (critters).
  Folks
  Folks are human characters controlled by the GM rather 
  than by players, hence the term “non-player character” 
  being used to describe them (abbreviated to NPC). Folks 
  can be broken down into three groups; Regular Folks, 
  Named Folks and Characters.
  Regular Folks are just the run of the mill folks who 
  hang around in the background and have little to do with 
  the game, or who act as disposable minions in action 
  scenes. Folk's have scores of 0 in all their traits.
  Named folks are more important to the game and have 
  their  own  names,  personalities  and  histories.  Named 
  folks usually form part of the story in a scenario and are 
  used by the GM to interact with the players and drive the 
  story  forward.  Named  folks  may  be  Generalists  or 
  Specialists  and  will  usually  have  traits  the  same  as 
  starting player characters.
  Characters are key figures in a scenario and usually 
  have traits which are better than player characters.
  For  quickness,  the  table  below  is  copied  from  the 
  character creation section and gives you a range of trait 
  scores to use for NPC's.
  Dice
  Generalist
  Specialist
  9,T,J
  One 3pt, two 2pts, three 
  1pt
  One 5pt, One 3pt, One 
  1pt
  Q,K
  One 4pt, two 3pts, three 
  2pts, four 1pt
  One 5/2pt, One 5pt, 
  One 3pt
  A
  One 5pt, two 4pts, three 
  3pts, four 2pts, five 1pts
  One 5/4pt, One 5/2pt, 
  One 5pt
  For  more  detailed  NPC's  you  can  use  the  normal 
  character generation system. The above two tables are 
  really just intended for “drop-in” characters who have no 
  depth.
  Character Concepts
  This section provides some ideas for different kinds of 
  character  who  would  fit  into  a  Gunslingers  and 
  Gamblers
  TM campaign. Each type of character has a brief 
  description to get you started and a suggestion of one or 
  more  suggested  traits  which  such  a  character  really 
  should have (if they are a Named character or player-
  character).
  Army Officer 
  An officer in the United States Army. Player characters 
  using this archetype may be serving or retired officers. 
  Decisive or Indecisive are common quirks amongst good 
  and bad army officers, respectively.
  Suggested Traits: Nerve, Jawing, Shooting
  Army Soldier 
  A  footsoldier  in  the  United  States  Army.  Player 
  characters  using  this  archetype  may  be  serving  or 
  retired soldiers. Soldiers are often Proud.
  Suggested Traits: Grit, Fighting, Shooting
  War Weary Veteran
  The veteran fought in the civil war and/or other wars 
  since  (such  as  the  Indian  wars).  They  are  tired  of 
  fighting  and  are  looking  to  settle  down  now.  Such 
  veterans are often Haunted.
  Suggested Traits: Grit, Fighting, Shooting
  Blacksmith 
  The classic blacksmith, bulging muscles and tough as an 
  ox.  Blacksmiths  work  in  the  sweltering  heat  of  their 
  forges all their round to make horse shoes and metal 
  tools and implements.
  Suggested Traits: Grit, Tinkering, Crafting
  Bone Picker
  The most prized part of the buffalo is the meat, which is 
  packed  and  shipped  back  east.  Bone  pickers  pick 
  through the discarded carcasses of slaughtered buffalo 
  and extract the bones, which can be bundled up and 
  shipped  back  east  where  they  are  processed  into 
  fertilizer, combs, dice, buttons, and bone china dishes. 
  Bone picking is a really quite disgusting job, involving 
  wading through dead buffalo guts day in and day out. It 
  is,  though,  quite  a  popular  trade  for  homesteaders 
  looking to earn a few extra dollars. Pariah is a common 
  quirk for bone pickers, as they stink of buffalo entrails 
  and no one wants to get anywhere near them.
  Suggested Traits: Notice, Nerve, Survival
  61
  
  Bounty Hunter
  A  bounty  hunter  makes  their  living  by  hunting  down 
  wanted outlaws and bringing them to justice, dead or 
  alive.  Mercenary  or  Vigilante  are  common  quirks  for 
  bounty hunters.
  Suggested Traits: Nerve, Jawing, Shooting
  Buffalo Hunter 
  Buffalo hunters are seasoned outdoorsmen who hunt the 
  buffalo across the great plains for its meat and hide. 
  Marksman is a common quirk amongst buffalo hunters.
  Suggested Traits: Shooting, Survival, Notice
  Buffalo soldiers 
  Black American soldiers. Buffalo soldiers were so named 
  by the Indians because of the similarity between their 
  tightly  curled  hair  and  the  tightly  curled  hair  of 
  Buffaloes. The  Buffalo soldiers  were  respected  by  the 
  Indians and were hard fighters. Pariah is a common quirk 
  for buffalo soldiers.
  Suggested Traits: Grit, Fighting, Shooting
  Cavalry Trooper 
  A trooper in the United States cavalry. Player characters 
  using this archetype may be serving or retired soldiers.
  Suggested Traits: Shooting, Riding, Nerve
  Cavalry Officer 
  An  officer  in  the  United  States  cavalry.  Player 
  characters  using  this  archetype  may  be  serving  or 
  retired officers.
  Suggested Traits: Shooting, Riding, Jawing
  Chinese rail road worker
  An immigrant Chinese rail road worker. These men (and 
  women) are used to hard work and often have to climb 
  around and work in dangerous places. Pariah or Poor 
  English are common quirks for rail road workers.
  Suggested Traits: Grit, Fighting, Reflexes
  Con-Artist
  A  con-artists makes his or her living by duping` and 
  scamming` folks. Most con-artists play on peoples greed 
  and some will never cheat an honest man. Lying Dog is a 
  common quirk for Con-Artists.
  Suggested Traits: Learning, Nerve, Jawing
  Cowhand
  Cowboys and Cowgirls. Cowhands ride the long trails, 
  escorting herds of cattle to the railheads at places such 
  as Dodge City. The Cowhand spends most of their time 
  in  the  saddle  on  the  range  with  occasional  bouts  of 
  carousing.  The  life  of  a  cowboy  is  hard  and  tiring, 
  exposed to the full force of the weather all year round 
  with only the occasional opportunity to let rip. Cowboys 
  Code is also a common quirk for cowhands.
  Suggested Traits: Riding, Grit, Notice
  Dance Hall Girl 
  A professional entertainer, some dancehall girls are just 
  what  they  say,  dancers,  whilst  others  offer  more 
  intimate services. Dance hall girls tend to learn early 
  how to talk their way out of dangerous situations and 
  many are quite adept at picking their patrons pockets. 
  Mercenary is quite a common quirk for dance hall girls.
  Suggested Traits: Reflexes, Jawing, Gambling
  62
  
  Doctor 
  A member of the medical profession. Many doctors have 
  the Hippocratic Oath quirk, which means that they have 
  sworn not to do harm to others.
  Suggested Traits: Healing, Learning, Jawing
  Federal Marshall
  Federal  Marshalls  are  employed  by  the  Federal 
  Government to perform a variety of jobs. Their main role 
  is to act as the enforcers of Federal Law, often acting as 
  both Judge, Jury and Executioner out on the fronter, but 
  they  also  act  as  prisoner  escorts,  census  takers  and 
  messengers  on  occasion.  A  lot  of  Marshalls  have  the 
  Lawman quirk
  Suggested Traits: Fighting, Shooting, Nerve
  Gambler 
  A professional gambler. Most gamblers walk a fine line 
  between legal and illegal activities and often need to be 
  quick on their feet to avoid lynch mobs and bad losers. 
  Risk taker is a common quirk for Gamblers.
  Suggested Traits: Gambling, Jawing, Nerve
  Freighter
  Freighters  are  those  men  who  work  the  mule  trains 
  which carry cargo to the places where the rail roads 
  don't yet run. They're a hardy breed, not renowned for 
  the culture and refinement, used to long hours and the 
  varied hazards of the wilds (including bandits, Indians, 
  storms,  exposure  and  animal  attacks).  Freighters  are 
  often Proud men.
  Suggested Traits: Grit, Riding, Survival
  Gunslinger 
  A hired gun. The Gunslinger is a professional killer who 
  specialises in the fast draw, baiting opponents in drawing 
  fast then gunning them down in cold blood. Cowboy Code 
  or Mercenary are quite common quirks for Gunslingers.
  Suggested Traits: Shooting, Nerve, Grit
  Retired Gunslinger
  The retired Gunslinger has opted to hang up their guns 
  and live a more peaceful life. Unfortunately, they often 
  have a Reputation and spend much of their time moving 
  on to avoid the young guns who are looking to make a 
  name for themselves by killing the old timer. A lot of 
  retired Gunslingers have the Reputation quirk and the 
  Reluctant quirk is not unusual.
  Suggested Traits: Shooting, Nerve, Grit
  Hunter
  Hunters make a living by hunting game then selling the 
  meat and skins. Hunters are common in the mountains 
  where they hunt bear and other animals.
  Suggested Traits: Notice, Survival, Shooting
  Homesteader
  Homesteaders  have  packed  up  their  belongings  and 
  moved from the settled east to the wild west to create a 
  new life for themselves by cultivating the land. Some 
  homesteaders have their families in tow, whilst others 
  have come  alone  with the  intention  of bringing their 
  family  later  or  of  finding  a  bride  on  the  frontier. 
  Homesteaders are often Honest and/or Proud.
  Suggested Traits: Grit, Crafting, Tinkering
  63
  
  Indian Brave 
  Braves  are  the  warrior/hunters  of  Indian  tribes.  Most 
  Braves are members of warrior societies and have the 
  Oath  quirk  which  represents  specific  oaths  sworn  as 
  members  of  that  society.  Warriors  code  is  a  common 
  quirk for Indian Braves, as are Pariah, Poor English and 
  Proud.
  Suggested Traits: Fighting, Survival, Nerve
  Indian Chief 
  The chief of an Indian tribe. Important is a common quirk 
  for an Indian chief, as are Pariah, Proud and Old Timer.
  Suggested Traits: Nerve, Jawing, Fighting
  Indian Medicine Man 
  The spiritual leaders of the Indian tribes. Medicine men 
  are held in high regard by their fellow Indians and are 
  always consulted for advice on important matters. The 
  Medicine men are believed to be able to commune with 
  the spirits and act as liaisons between the spiritual and 
  mundane  worlds.  Important  is  a  common  quirk  for 
  Medicine Men.
  Suggested Traits: Learning, Nerve, Jawing
  Stone Killer
  Where the Gunslinger plays by the letter of the law in 
  their murdering  business,  the killer is a cold blooded 
  individual  who  kills  without  compunction  or 
  consideration for the law. Stone Killers may kill at the 
  drop of a hat,  or only for  the  money, but either way 
  they'll shoot you down in cold blood if that's what the job 
  demands. Murderous and Aggressive are common quirks 
  for a Stone Killer.
  Suggested Traits: Shooting, Survival, Nerve
  Logger
  Loggers  work  the  woods,  felling  trees  and  working 
  timber. They are a hardy bunch, wielding axe and saw all 
  day long. Loggers are often Proud.
  Suggested Traits: Grit, Crafting, Fighting
  Loud-mouth
  The loud-mouth is a feature of every saloon in the West. 
  He mouths off to everyone, trying to pick fights, boast 
  about tough he is and asserting his “manhood”. Loud-
  mouths are often bullies, physically strong, young and 
  don't tend to get much older if they don't wise up. Bully 
  is a common quirk for a loud-mouth.
  Suggested Traits: Jawing, Grit, Fighting
  Merchant 
  A  merchant  makes  their  living  by  buying  cheap  and 
  selling  dear.  Some  merchants  stay  in  one  place  and 
  others travel from  place to place, trading as they go. 
  Mercenary or Selfish are common quirks for a merchant.
  Suggested Traits: Notice, Jawing, Learning
  Mysterious Stranger
  The mysterious stranger says little, but lets his actions 
  speak for him, Shooting down those who cross him with 
  consummate skill. He is the consummate professional 
  who comes to a town looking for revenge. Lone Wolf is 
  quite a common quirk for a Mysterious Stranger.
  Suggested Traits: Nerve, Shooting, Fighting
  Outlaw 
  An outlaw is a wanted man. Most outlaws certainly did 
  commit the crimes they are accused of, whilst a few are 
  innocent and may have been framed or wrongly blamed. 
  Mean as a Rattler and Reputation are common quirks for 
  outlaws.
  Suggested Traits: Survival, Shooting, Grit
  64
  
  Pinkerton
  A member of the Pinkerton detective agency. Pinkertons 
  are privately hired by rich individuals or the government 
  to investigate and solve criminal cases. In later years the 
  Pinkertons will be incorporated into what will become 
  the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Lawman or Curious 
  are common quirk for Pinkertons.
  Suggested Traits: Jawing, Shooting, Notice
  Politician
  Politicians  come  in  all  shapes  and  sizes  from  town 
  mayors  to  congressman,  senators  and  presidents. 
  Regardless they are all driven by a desire for power, 
  either for their own personal use or (more rarely) to 
  benefit those who elected them.
  Suggested Traits: Nerve, Jawing, Luck
  Prospector 
  A  prospector  goes  out  to  country  where  they  suspect 
  gold, silver or other minerals may be found, then sets up 
  and begins to look for them. Prospecting is a hard job, 
  but a success can yield huge riches. Prospectors range 
  from those following the latest gold rush to seasoned old 
  timers who've been at the game for decades. Prospectors 
  are often very Focussed.
  Suggested Traits: Notice, Survival, Tinkering
  Preacher
  A wandering minister of some religion. Most preachers 
  are Christians who are seeking to spread the word of 
  God  and  convert  the  ungodly  to  their  faith.  Christian 
  preachers often have the Compassionate or Evangelical 
  as a quirk.
  Suggested Traits: Jawing, Learning, Nerve
  Fire and Brimstone Preacher
  A  fire  and  brimstone  preacher  is  a  much  more 
  aggressive  preacher,  seeking  to  convert  people  to 
  Christianity by threatening them with eternal damnation 
  if they don't. A preacher appeals to peoples desire for 
  eternal  salvation  whereas  the  fire  and  brimstone 
  preacher appeals to their desire not to go to hell. Pious 
  or Evangelical are common quirks for fire and brimstone 
  preachers.
  Suggested Traits: Jawing, Learning, Nerve
  Scout 
  Scouts  are  typically  employed  by  wagon  trains  or 
  military units to ride out from the main body and scout 
  out the land ahead. Indians are often scouts, and white 
  scouts are often familiar with Indian customs. Lone wolf 
  is a common quirk for a scout.
  Suggested Traits: Notice, Survival, Riding
  Sheriff
  A sheriff is employed by a town to enforce the law. Some 
  sheriffs are elected by a common vote, whilst others are 
  employed by the mayor of a town. Lawman is a common 
  quirk for a sheriff.
  Suggested Traits: Jawing, Nerve, Shooting
  Sniper
  A sniper is a special type of soldier who specialises in 
  shooting targets at long range with rifles. He (or she) 
  moves silently into position before shooting and many 
  snipers aspire to the creed “one shot, one kill”.
  Suggested Traits: Reflexes, Notice, Shooting
  Snake-Oil Salesman
  A  snake-oil salesman is a particular kind  of con-artist 
  who specialises in selling fake medicines and cure alls to 
  local people. Lying Dog and Selfish are common quirks 
  for a Snake-Oil salesman.
  Suggested Traits: Jawing, Nerve, Healing
  65
  
  Stage Coach Driver
  Stage coach drivers are well paid (often making up to a 
  $100 a month) and are used to the hard outdoor life. 
  They are well regarded and many young boys dream of 
  becoming a stagecoach driver.
  Suggested Traits: Notice, Riding, Grit
  Texas Ranger
  A  member of the  Texas Rangers, the much respected 
  (and  feared)  law  enforcement  agency  of  the  state  of 
  Texas. There's a saying “One Ranger, One Riot” which 
  says just about all you need to know about the Rangers. 
  Proud, Lawman and Vigilante are common quirks for a 
  Ranger.
  Suggested Traits: Fighting, Shooting, Nerve
  Trader
  Traders make their living  buying  things cheaply then 
  selling them on a for a higher price. Traders do much 
  the same thing as merchants, but they tend to be found 
  in the rougher parts of the west and better equipped to 
  handle themselves if a deal “goes south”.
  Suggested Traits: Jawing, Nerve, Grit
  Trapper 
  Trappers live in the wilds and trap wild animals for their 
  skins and meat, which they then sell at trading posts. 
  Trappers are notoriously self sufficient and tend to like 
  their own company, often having the Lone Wolf quirk.
  Suggested Traits: Grit, Survival, Crafting
  Woodhawk
  Woodhawks  chop  down  trees  along  rivers  and  provide 
  cordwood (logs small enough to fit into the boilers) to 
  steamers. They are a hardy bunch who spend most of 
  their time in the woods.
  Suggested Traits: Grit, Crafting, Survival
  Critters
  The  following  is  a  small  bestiary  of  common  animals 
  found in the old west. 
  Most animals have a price listed. For domestic animals 
  this is the amount of cash required to buy a specimen of 
  that animal. For wild animals this represents the value of 
  the animals pelt and meat if sold.
  Quality animals cost five times the list price. A Quality 
  animal  gets +1  to all its traits. In the  case of  riding 
  animals (such as horses), a Quality riding animal gives 
  +1  to  its  riders  Riding  trait  when  being  ridden.
  Cheap animals cost half the list price and have a -1 to all 
  their traits and the Riding score of anyone mounted on 
  them.
  Animal Behaviour
  This  section  outlines common  behaviours  for  different 
  kinds of animals.
  Herbivores
  A herbivores first response to a threat is to run away. If 
  they cannot run away, or they are protecting offspring or 
  mates, they will attack the threat.
  66
  
  Omnivores
  An omnivore eats flesh and vegetation. An omnivore is an 
  opportunist and will attack prey if it is hungry and thinks 
  it can take the prey without injury, otherwise it will avoid 
  contact.
  Carnivores
  A  sated carnivore (one  which has recently eaten) will 
  ignore other animals unless threatened. If threatened it 
  will either attack if the target is not too threatening, or 
  move away if it is a serious danger. A hungry carnivore 
  will attack anything which it thinks it can kill without 
  taking undue damage.
  Animal Traits
  Unless stated otherwise, animals have 0 in all traits and 
  automatically fail any Knowledge trait rolls. This list only 
  provides traits for animals which can pose a real threat 
  to characters.
  Domesticated Animals
  The price listed for a domesticated animal is how much it 
  is worth to buy or sell alive.
  Cattle:  Cattle are  strong but stupid and are commonly 
  used for meat. Prices vary widely from place to place, 
  depending on demand, anywhere from $5.00 a head to 
  $30.00 a head. 
  Dog: Gunslingers and Gamblers
  TM classes dogs into three 
  groups;  Small,  Medium  and  Large.  Small  dogs  are 
  terriers and the like, Medium are labradors, spaniels and 
  so forth, and large dogs are alsatians, great danes and 
  the like. Dogs are reasonably intelligent and easy to train 
  and are found as both companions and working animals. 
  Prices vary widely, largely depending on the perceived 
  “quality” of the animal, from nearly free to $100.00 or 
  more.
  Donkey: Donkeys are popular pack animals, renowned 
  for their endurance and ability to navigate treacherous 
  terrain  safely.  Prospectors  favour  donkeys  as  pack 
  animals. $30.00
  Cavalry Horse:  Fast and strong, the cavalry horse is 
  trained not to spook in battle. $100.00 
  Draft Horse:  Slow but powerful, true draft horses are 
  uncommon out west. In the east they are used to pull 
  wagons around urban areas. They're not very good for 
  riding, but make excellent workhorses. $60.00 
  Saddle  Horse:  The  most  common  type  of  horse  out 
  west,  the  saddle  horse  is quick  and  relatively  strong. 
  $60.00
  Mule: Excellent pack animals, mules are sterile donkeys 
  and are far easier to maintain than draft horses. They are 
  notorious for refusing to overwork themselves. $90.00
  Pony: Also known as mustangs, ponies are descendants 
  of wild horses and are commonly rode by Indians who 
  value the ponies ability to live off the land. Although not 
  exceptionally  strong,  they  are  very  quick  and  agile. 
  $50.00
  Sheep: Stupid and even more stupid, sheep are used for 
  meat and for wool. $5.00
  Wild Animals
  The value listed for each wild animal is it's pelt and meat 
  value. The animals traits are summarised in the table 
  after following their descriptions.
  Armadillo: Native to southern Texas. Not good for much 
  of anything beyond their curiosity value. .30¢
  Black Bear: Common in the mountain states, the black 
  bear is usually not dangerous if left alone. $5.00
  Grizzly Bear: Mean, deadly and best avoided. Grizzly's 
  are unpredictable and dangerous and a very real hazard 
  in mountainous areas. $10.00
  Beaver: Beaver are small rodents noted for their habit of 
  constructing dams. They are valued for their pelts. $2.00
  Buffalo:  Buffalo are the lifeblood of the plains Indians 
  and  are  discussed  in  more  detail  elsewhere  in  these 
  rules. $5.00
  Coyote:  Smaller  but  more  intelligent  than  wolves, 
  coyotes are viewed as a nuisance by farmers. They are 
  difficult to trap and are often found rooting through bins. 
  75¢
  Eagle: Large birds of prey, eagles are considered sacred 
  by Indians. There are quite a few varieties of eagle in 
  America,  including  the  Bald  Eagle,  Fish  Eagle  and 
  Golden Eagle.  Captured live, they are worth $12.00.
  Gila  Monster:  Native to the arid southwest,  the  gila 
  monster is a 2-foot long lizard with a poisonous bite. The 
  poison is not fatal to humans, but anyone who is bitten by 
  a gila monster is treated as Impaired for a few days due 
  to the nausea and sickness the bite induces.
  Jackrabbit: Large, wild rabbits that are a nuisance to 
  farmers. Known to carry disease such as myxamatosis. 
  .05¢
  Porcupine:
   Generally  harmless,  the  porcupine  is 
  covered with sharp quills that can cause nasty wounds to 
  the  unwary.  Porcupines  are  not  aggressive  and  only 
  attack when defending themselves. The quills are barbed 
  and removing them is an unpleasant job.
  Puma: Also known as cougars or mountain lions, pumas 
  are large hunting cats. They are fast and agile, and can 
  be quite dangerous if cornered. $2.00
  Raccoon: Native to forest lands, raccoons are intelligent 
  scavengers, as well as being cute. .50¢
  Rattlesnake: A deadly poisonous snake, the rattlesnake 
  rapidly  shakes  it's  tail  when  threatened,  making  a 
  rattling sound as a warning to stay away. On a successful 
  Fighting hit the target takes no damage but is injected 
  with  Rattlesnake venom, rules for which can be found 
  67
  
  in the Environment chapter under Poisons $1.00
  Scorpion:  Despite their reputation, most scorpions are 
  relatively harmless. Some species do have a dangerous 
  sting  though.  A  character  stung by  most  scorpions  is 
  treated as Impaired for a few days, due to nausea, pain 
  and sickness caused by the sting. Only a few species 
  have potentially fatal stings, including the Bark Scorpion 
  (found  in  Arizona).  These  scorpions  inject  Scorpion 
  venom if they get a wound, rules for which can be found 
  in the Environment chapter under Poisons. 
  Skunk:  When threatened, skunks spray a noxious, foul 
  smelling liquid. Anyone hit by the skunks spray (treat as 
  a Fighting attack) stinks to high heaven and is treated as 
  Impaired until they can get a really good bath $1.00
  Vulture: Carrion eating scavengers. They are often seen 
  circling above wounded animals (and men), waiting for 
  death  so  they  can  feed  and  are  not  above  attacking 
  weakened prey to hasten death.
  Wolverine: Wolverines are renowned for their incredible 
  ferocity, attacking and driving away animals many times 
  their size. They are a serious nuisance to trappers, quite 
  capable of inflicting nasty wounds. $1.00
  Wolf:  A pack hunting animal, wolves are a nuisance to 
  both sheep and cattle farmers. Wolves are only a threat 
  to humans during very bad winters, where the wolves 
  starvation may drive them to attack lone travellers or 
  outlying communities. $1.00 
  Animal
  Fighting Grit Notice Reflexes Cost in $
  Cow
  3
  4
  2
  4
  20*
  Bull
  5
  5/2
  1
  4
  20*
  Buffalo
  5
  5/2
  1
  3
  5*
  Small Dog
  1
  0
  5
  5
  60
  Medium Dog
  3
  1
  5
  4
  80
  Big Dog
  5
  3
  5
  3
  100
  Donkey
  2
  3
  2
  3
  30
  Cavalry Horse
  3
  4
  2
  5/1
  100
  Draft Horse
  3
  5
  2
  5
  60
  Saddle Horse
  2
  3
  2
  5/1
  60
  Mule
  3
  4
  2
  3
  90
  Pony
  2
  3
  2
  4
  50
  Black Bear
  5/2
  5
  3
  4
  5*
  Grizzly Bear
  5/4
  5/3
  2
  4
  10*
  Coyote
  3
  1
  5
  4
  1*
  Gila Monster
  3
  4
  2
  3
  -
  Puma
  5
  3
  3
  5
  2*
  Rattlesnake
  2
  0
  2
  0
  1*
  Deadly Scorpion 1
  0
  -
  0
  -
  Wolverine
  4
  2
  3
  4
  1*
  Wolf
  3
  2
  5
  4
  1*
  *means pelt and meat price
  68
  
  Harris County
  “In 1881 I went to Wyoming and returned in 
  1882 to Miles city and took up a ranch on the 
  Yellow Stone, raising stock and cattle, also kept 
  a way side inn, where the weary traveller could 
  be accommodated with food, drink, or trouble if 
  he looked for it.”
  -Calamity Jane 
  69
  
  Wyoming
  The Great Plains meet the Rocky Mountains in Wyoming. 
  The state is a great plateau broken by a number of 
  important mountain ranges. In the northwest are the 
  Absaroka, the Owl Creek, Wyoming, Gros Ventre, Wind 
  River and the Teton ranges. In the north central are the 
  Big Horns; in the northeast, the Black Hills; and in the 
  southern portion of Wyoming, the Laramie, Medicine 
  Bow and Sierra Madre ranges. 
  The Continental Divide cuts through Wyoming from the 
  northwest to the south central border. Rivers east of the 
  Divide drain into the Missouri River Basin and eventually 
  the Atlantic Ocean. They are the Platte, Wind, Big Horn 
  and the Yellowstone rivers. The Snake River in northwest 
  Wyoming eventually drains into the Columbia River and 
  the Pacific Ocean, as does the Green River through the 
  Colorado River Basin. 
  Wyoming has the second highest mean elevation in the 
  United States at 6,700 feet above sea level. The climate 
  is semiarid, but because of its topographical diversity, it 
  is also varied. Annual precipitation varies from as little as 
  five inches to as much as 45 inches a year, some in the 
  form of rain and some in snow. 
  Because of its elevation, Wyoming has a relatively cool 
  climate. Above the 6,000 foot level the temperature 
  rarely exceeds 100 F. Summer nights are almost 
  invariably cool, though daytime readings may be quite 
  high. Away from the mountains, low July temperatures 
  range from 50 to 60 F. 
  Harris County
  Harris County is a large, and entirely fictional, county in 
  western Wyoming designed to be used as a campaign 
  environment for your first Gunslingers and Gamblers
  TM 
  game.
  The  very  western  edge  of  the  county  is  the  rocky 
  mountains  themselves.  The  southeast  of  the  county  is 
  high desert (the red desert). The middle east is a line of 
  the Rockies pushing out into Wyoming and splitting the 
  county in two (North and South), the Wind River range. 
  The  north  east  of  the  county  consists  of  low  hills 
  marching down from the Rockies to the wide plain of the 
  Bighorn  river,  then  rising  back  up  to  the  Bighorn 
  mountains on the easternmost edge of the county.
  The rail road just enters Wyoming in the very Southern 
  part of Harris county. The Oregon trail runs through the 
  Red Desert in the south of the county.
  Indian tribes
  The  following  Indian  tribes  can  be  found  in  Harris 
  County.
  •
  Arapaho
  •
  Comanche
  •
  Cree
  •
  Crow
  •
  Kiowa
  •
  Lakota
  •
  Shoshone
  •
  Ute
  Interesting Places
  Most of the places just have a paragraph attached, the 
  town of Comanche Wells has more detailed information 
  and is suggested as a possible “centre of operations” for 
  a campaign set in the County. Each place has several 
  possible adventure ideas, presented for the GM to flesh 
  out with more details.
  Gannet Peak
  The highest peak in  Harris County (and Wyoming), at 
  13,800 feet.
  The Red Desert
  The Red Desert is tucked away in the South West corner 
  of the County and is a High altitude desert inhabited by 
  Shoshone and Ute Indians. The desert is a mixture of flat 
  plains, badlands and deep valleys, canyons, buttes and 
  other features.
  The Oregon Trail
  Oregon trail passes through the southern part of Harris 
  county  (the  Red  Desert)  and  passes  through  the 
  mountains at South Pass. There are several forts on the 
  trail. The trail is much quieter now than in it's heyday of 
  the 1860's, being replaced by the transcontinental rail 
  road in 1869.
  South Pass
  The Southern pass through the Rockies, where the rail 
  road and Oregon trail runs. The pass is steep, narrow 
  and winding, with just enough room for the train to pass 
  through. Snow blocking the tracks is a constant problem 
  in the winter months.
  Hell's Half Mile
  A tremendous set of rapids on the upper reaches of the 
  Snake River. In the spring time the rapids can be heard 
  from miles around as the snow melt pours through them.
  Sky Butte
  A large granite butte topped with deep valleys. There is 
  no easy path up to the top of the Butte and getting there 
  requires climbing up vertiginous granite walls.
  •
  Bandits might be operating from a hidden camp 
  on Sky butte, using a hitherto unknown secret 
  passage to avoid climbing the walls. The party 
  could be asked to investigate.
  Fort Horn
  Lies along the Bighorn river in the North East of the 
  County.  A  frontier  outpost  on  the  edge  of  the  Rocky 
  mountains. With the decline in use of the Oregon trail 
  since the rail road came the fort has been downsized and 
  just holds a small garrison now.
  •
  Party is caught in the fort during a large scale 
  Indian attack. They must work with the tiny 
  garrison to hold out against the savage horde in 
  the oversized fort until reinforcements arrive.
  Yellowstone
  The Yellowstone plateau lies in the North West of Harris 
  County and is populated by Shoshone and Crow tribes. 
  Whilst being a beautiful place, the plateau has little of 
  economic value so whites have generally stayed out of 
  the Indians way.
  •
  The party are hired to negotiate the return of 
  something taken by the Indians on the plateau. 
  How they accomplish the return is up to them.
  70
  A Chuckwagon
  
  Rippling Hills
  Rippling hills lies just outside the Yellowstone plateau 
  and is a bustling town on the Red Creek river. The town 
  is now a centre for buffalo hunters, with hundreds of 
  hunters working the plains around the town for buffalo. 
  The  buffalo  are  processed  and  the  meat  and  hides 
  shipped out by river, the river route eventually meeting 
  the  rail  road  in  the  south  of  the  county.  The  name 
  Ripping Hills is an Indian name which reflects the sheer 
  size of the buffalo herds in the areas, they are so large 
  that they can cover whole hillsides in a rippling brown 
  carpet.
  Dry Hollow
  Twenty years ago Dry Hollow was a small boom town, 
  centre of a mini-gold rush. The gold ran out and the town 
  ran out of luck. Now it is a dusty ghost town populated 
  only by sage brush and rattlesnakes.
  •
  Bandits are using Dry Hollow as a camp to 
  attack stagecoaches from. The party are hired 
  by the stagecoach company to sort this out.
  Snake River Bluffs
  A  bustling  river  halt  (paddle  steamers,  hoodoo  and 
  riverboat gamblers). It is built where a line of bluffs mark 
  the river bank and nestles under their shadow on the 
  rivers edge. Snake River Bluffs marks the farthest up 
  river that paddle steamers can operate. Steamers run a 
  shuttle service, and cruise service, downriver from here.
  •
  Enterprising gamblers might wish to go aboard 
  a riverboat casino and try their luck.
  •
  A gang of pirates has been plaguing riverboat 
  traffic a little way downriver. The party is hired 
  by the riverboat company to ride shotgun on a 
  boat. They are attacked and beat off the pirates, 
  then the captain offers them a bounty to follow 
  the pirates back to their hideout in a hidden 
  cave and finish them off.
  Mineral River
  A  smelly, dirty, industrial town, built on iron ore and 
  copper deposits. Mineral River is run by the several large 
  ore  extraction  and  processing  companies  which  make 
  their  home  here.  Just  about  everybody  in  town  is 
  employed, directly or indirectly, by these companies.
  •
  The company has been having problems with an 
  Indian band who are trying to stop them 
  despoiling the landscape, using sabotage and 
  terrorism. The party could be hired by the 
  company to deal with the Indians, or might join 
  the Indians in attacking the company.
  Williams Find
  A boom town (lawless, gold and silver, Indian problems) 
  near south pass. It lies on the rail road and acts as hub 
  for the gold mining conducted in the region round South 
  pass. The local Shoshone tribes are not happy about the 
  miners and running skirmishes are a regular part of day 
  to day life. An army garrison is based at Fort Williams, 
  just outside the town.
  •
  A young boy has gone missing and the locals 
  blame the Indians. If the party can't find the 
  missing boy soon the powder keg will ignite with 
  bloody consequences.
  •
  A dying old timer asks the party to protect his 
  claim until his son arrives from back east to 
  take. In exchange they will get a percentage of 
  the profits from the mine for the next three 
  years. The mine is rich with gold. The party 
  must defend the claim from bandits, Indians and 
  roguish con-men, amongst others.
  Cutters Canyon
  The rail road cuts through a canyon in a low range of 
  hills and Cutters Canyon lies at the western end of the 
  Canyon.  Cutters  Canyon  is  a  railhead  for  local  cattle 
  ranchers and, as such, tends to have a lot of boisterous 
  cowboys in town at any given time.
  •
  The party are in town during when several 
  large, and mutually antagonistic, cowboy groups 
  come into town. The sheriff makes them 
  deputies and they must help keep the peace. 
  Pleasant Meadow
  A  sedate  little  farming  town  in  the  middle  of  Harris 
  County. 
  •
  The town is plagued by a bandit gang and the 
  town mayor hires the party to deal with the 
  bandits.
  •
  The sheriff is taken ill and the party deputised, 
  then a murder occurs and they must investigate, 
  interviewing witnesses and gathering clues to 
  find the killer before they strike again. If the GM 
  wants to heighten the tension the killer might 
  strike every night, and the longer the party 
  takes to solve the crime, the more killings that 
  will happen.
  Look Out Point
  A small settlement at the foot of the Look Out Hills on 
  mineral river. Lookout point serves mainly as a trading 
  post with the local Shoshone and Ute tribes, and as an 
  offloading point for cargoes from Mineral River. The metal 
  is unshipped, then taken by road to Founding.
  Look Out Hills
  An isolated range of low hills in the heart of the rugged 
  terrain of the Red Desert.
  Founding
  In the heart of the Red Desert, Founding is fuelling stop 
  for trains travelling along the Railway. It is also the 
  loading head for metal cargoes shipped from Mineral 
  River via Look Out Point.
  Meakersville
  A  rowdy ranching town. Meakersville is dominated by 
  two large feuding clans who ranch cattle nearby. The 
  town  is  caught  between  the  two  clans  and  violence 
  71
  
  regularly erupts between them. It will only take a severe 
  enough incident to turn the feud into a full scale range 
  war.
  •
  If a Range war breaks out the party could join 
  either, or both, sides as freelance soldiers. They 
  might even join the sheriff to try and restore 
  peace.
  Harrisburg
  County  seat  and  site  of  the  County  court  and  jail. 
  Harrisburg is a large city which houses the territorial 
  government  house,  county jail  and  courthouses  and  a 
  multitude of other businesses and residences.
  Comanche Wells
  Comanche wells is a small town in Harris county noted 
  for it's large lake, the “Comanche wells”. This lake serves 
  as a  watering stop for stagecoaches crossing the  Red 
  Desert desert and the town has grown up on it's western 
  shore. The route is busy, with stages coming through two 
  or three times a day. Passengers usually stay in one of 
  the two hotels in town, the Flamingo (prop. Roland Earl) 
  or the Golden Oyster (prop. Margerie Dunbar).
  Key People and Places
  •
  The Flamingo Hotel (prop. Roland Earl): 
  The main competitor to the Oyster, the 
  Flamingo is a more homely hotel, preferred by 
  those who seek a more personal lodging 
  experience. Roland Earl, his wife Jane and their 
  four sons all live in the hotel and it has very 
  family atmosphere.
  •
  The Golden Oyster Hotel (prop. Margerie 
  Dunbar): The Oyster is a good quality hotel 
  which caters almost exclusively to the 
  stagecoach trade. Margerie Dunbar runs a tight 
  ship and doesn't skimp on the quality. She is 
  unmarried, in her late 40's, and maintains a 
  pleasant but formal manner with the clientèle 
  Neither the Oyster or Flamingo approve of 
  prostitutes in the hotel, directing anyone 
  seeking such diversions to go to the Green 
  Gables.
  •
  China Town: The nominal leader of the small 
  Chinese community is Chi Bao Heng, a 67 year 
  old Chinese patriarch. Comanche Wells' China 
  town is pretty normal, it's main relations with 
  the white community being through laundry 
  services and a small, but profitable, opium 
  trade. The opium trade is run by the 34 year old 
  Lao Mai Chan, a young woman who represents 
  the triads interests in town.
  •
  Sheriffs Office: The office of Sheriff John Iron 
  Horse. The Sheriff is a Comanche Indian. It's 
  obviously very unusual to have an Indian sheriff 
  but Iron Horse has done such a good job of 
  keeping the running battles between the local 
  Comanche tribes and the whites from spilling 
  into town that everyone supports him 
  unequivocally. It also helps that's as hard as iron 
  and quick as lightning with a shotgun.
  •
  Livery Stable (prop. Ernst Jungen): A 
  successful business, the livery stable caters to 
  the stagecoach trade and Ernst is agent to the 
  local staging companies (you see him to book 
  passage on the stage). Ernst is in his mid 
  thirties having emigrated from Germany around 
  ten years ago. A jovial chap, noted for being the 
  unbeaten town wrestling champ since he moved 
  here.
  •
  General Store (prop. Clarence Whittaker): 
  Mr Whittaker's store stocks just about 
  everything a body could want and anything else 
  can be ordered in from the wide range of 
  catalogues he keeps in the shop. Mr Whittaker 
  is getting on in years, being in his early 60's, 
  and much of the hard work is done by his son, 
  Bill (who is in his 40's). Clarence's wife, Martha 
  Whittaker, died of a fever a few years ago.
  •
  The Lucky Dice Saloon (prop. Bill Parsons): 
  reasonably straight games of chance and some 
  hotel rooms. Most travellers stay at the Oyster 
  or Flamingo. Bill Parsons is a retired lawman 
  from back east, a city cop with twenty years on 
  the beat.
  •
  Green Gables (prop. June Aday): A well kept 
  whorehouse. Girls from the Gables frequent the 
  Lucy Dice next door and June has a deal with 
  Bill, giving him a cut of her profits in exchange 
  for her girls being allowed to solicit in the 
  saloon.
  •
  Annie “Temperance” Brennan: Annie is the 
  leader of the local temperance movement. In 
  fact, she is the leader and only member, as well 
  as being the church pianist and staunch 
  Christian
  •
  Lakeview Church (prop. Reverend Ian 
  Davis): Reverend of the small protestant church 
  in town. Davis is an unassuming man who looks 
  out for the poor and downtrodden in town whilst 
  tending to the spiritual needs of his parish. His 
  one vice is his occasional visits to Green Gables.
  Using Harris County
  Harris  County  is  a  good  place  to  run  your  first 
  Gunslingers and Gamblers
  TM campaign.  You might want 
  to consider basing your characters in Comanche Wells, 
  which is a fairly central location in the County. This gives 
  the characters a place to operate from and a chance to 
  get to know the locals.
  72
  
  A Map of Harris County
  73
  
  Introductory Adventure
  Bandits!
  NPC's
  Unless stated otherwise, all characters in this scenario 
  are regular folks (0 in all traits).
  The Mission
  The stagecoach company hires the party to find out who 
  is raiding their coaches and to deal with the problem. 
  The pay is $10 a day for each character.
  The  party  should  accompany  a  stagecoach  which  is 
  attacked. Ideally the party should chase off the bandits 
  then follow them back to a small nearby town,  Copper 
  Creek, but a violent thunderstorm swirls up, so they lose 
  them. All the party know is that the bandits went into 
  town.
  The party find the locals who are scared of the bandits 
  and it's up to the party to identify the bandits and bring 
  them in. The bandits were all wearing masks so the party 
  will have to listen in to gossip and influence local people 
  so they can work out where everyone was at the time of 
  the  raid..  then  they  can  try  and  work  out  who  the 
  offenders were.
  The local sheriff has no interest in getting involved and 
  may even obstruct the characters. The twist is that the 
  bandits are paying off the townsfolk who are turning a 
  blind eye to what's going on because of the money, so the 
  townsfolk may turn on the party if they find the bandits.
  Setting
  The characters are in Comanche Wells in March 1876 
  and are hired to capture whoever who keeps attacking 
  the  Silver  Line  stage  coaches  on  their  route  between 
  Comanche  Wells  and  Harrisburg.  It  may  be  Indians 
  (Lakota Sioux tribe are found in the area and are hostile 
  to Whites) or bandits. They can travel with a stage coach 
  which is to run to Harrisburg, two days away. The first 
  day is fine and dry. A couple of hours out of Casper the 
  coach  observes  a  group  of  Lakota  watching  from  the 
  nearby ridge line as the coach follows the valley road. 
  Everyone knows that relations with the Lakota are not 
  good at the moment.. war is in the air. The GM should 
  encourage the players to get nervous and overreact, as it 
  happens, the Lakota have no interest in the coach and 
  will follow the stage for half an hour or so before riding 
  off. This is a good time to tell the players that Lakota 
  scouts often range away from the main war party and 
  may now be riding to bring reinforcements to take the 
  coach.
  Nothing actually happens and the coach stops at Casper 
  overnight. 
  Its  freezing  cold  at  night  (being  March  and  at  about 
  5000ft elevation on the wide plain) and anyone who opts 
  to sleep outdoors will be Impaired all the next day due to 
  their cold and tiredness (there are plenty of hotels in 
  town). 
  On the morning of the second day (about two hours after 
  setting out from Casper) the coach is attacked by bandits 
  as it fords the Copper River at Kennedy's ford.
  The Bandit Attack at Kennedy's Ford
  There are seven bandits, comprising six regular folks (0 
  in all traits and no chips) and Rosco Kenny. Kennedy's 
  ford is a crossing over the Copper River. 
  Every character should make a Notice(Three of a Kind) 
  roll  as  they  approach  the  ford.  A  success  spots  the 
  bandits  who  are  hiding  on  the  far  bank,  waiting  and 
  carefully hidden.
  Rosco Kenny will call out for the coach to surrender once 
  it is half-way over the ford and characters can easily see 
  the bandits in cover with pistols and rifles pointing at 
  them.
  It will take the coach driver ten rounds to get the coach 
  across the ford from the moment the action starts. Both 
  sides are lightly wooded with plenty of soft and  hard 
  cover from trees, boulders, high grass and bushes. The 
  bandits are in Hard cover on the far bank. The ford is 
  twenty yards across, knee deep in water, which halves 
  movement through it. 
  If combat begins the characters are not surprised, having 
  been alerted by Rosco's call to surrender, but the bandits 
  will have already Aimed at them.. so the bandits first 
  shots get +1 Attack modifiers.
  The  bandits  will  concentrate  their  fire  on  the  most 
  dangerous  opponents  and  tend  to  ignore  unarmed  or 
  non-threatening characters.
  Shots from one side of the ford to the other are at Long 
  range. Shots from the river to the banks are Short range.
  Anyone inside the coach has Hard Cover. 
  Anyone trying to fight or shoot whilst in the water is 
  Impaired (so they only have one action per round) as 
  they  fight  to  stay  upright  in  the  fast  flowing  stream. 
  Anyone knocked down in the water will move five yards 
  downstream at the start of each round until they use an 
  action to get up again. The ford is fifty yards wide and 
  the coach is at the midpoint. If a character is swept more 
  than twenty five yards downstream from the coach they 
  are  swept  away  and  will  wash  up  a  long  way 
  downstream, wet and fed up. They are out of the fight, 
  but can rejoin the party after combat ends.
  74
  The Comanche Wells-Harrisburg 
  Stage
  Rosco
  
  Once the bandits realise that they are not in for an easy 
  win, and that the party are going to put up a fight, they 
  will retreat backwards and mount their horses to gallop 
  off. Typically, the bandits will withdraw after five or six 
  rounds.. earlier if they start taking casualties.
  8x Bandit Cowhands (Regular Folks)- 4 w/peacemakers 
  and 2 w/Spencer repeating carbines
  Rosco  Kenny  (Fighting  1,  Grit  3,  Riding  1,  Nerve  1, 
  Shooting 2, Luck 2)- begins fight with two Chips and is 
  armed with a peacemaker & Spencer repeating carbine
  .45  Peacemaker (+1  at  Close  and  Short  range,  6 
  bullets when fully loaded, Can fire single shot or short 
  bursts, wielded in one hand)
  Spencer Repeating Carbine (+0 at Close and Long 
  range, +1 at Short range, 7 bullets when fully loaded, 
  Can fire single shot only, wielded in two hands, or one 
  hand with a -1 penalty to attacks)
  The Storm
  Shortly  after  the  encounter  at  the  ford  an  almighty 
  thunderstorm rolls in. Visibility is reduced to feet by the 
  torrential rain and anyone who tries to continue through 
  the storm on horseback should make a Grit(Two Pairs) 
  roll. If they fail they catch a chill and will be Impaired for 
  the  next  four  days  as  they  are  struck  down  with 
  uncontrolled  shivering,  shaking,  sneezing  and  a  high 
  temperature.
  The storm wipes out any trail, but once it lifts the only 
  visible settlement is Copper Creek, along the river valley 
  and up into the hills. To get there the characters must 
  follow the trail along the river and up into the hills, an 
  hour or twos ride. If the characters don't dilly-dally they 
  can get to Copper Creek before nightfall. The PC's should 
  make Learning(Two Pairs) rolls and anyone who succeeds 
  knows the following about Copper Creek (the information 
  in the box below).
  Copper Creek, Wyoming
  Copper Creek is slowly dying on its feet. The town was 
  founded around twenty years back to cater to the needs 
  of miners on the nearby Copper River, which had several 
  valuable  copper  lodes.  The  lodes  have  been  mostly 
  mined out now and only a few miners remain. The town 
  now  caters  largely  to  the  few  remaining  miners  and 
  loggers up in the higher Wind River mountains nearby.
  Copper creek has a population of around one hundred 
  and  the  section  below  highlights  some  of  the  main 
  characters of the town. Unless stated  otherwise treat 
  these characters as Regular Folks.
  The  only  thing  upriver  from  Copper  Creek  are  small 
  mining camps and prospectors.
  The Stagecoach
  The following people are on the stagecoach. They are all 
  regular folks, except for Mr Sudbury. Riding trait is used 
  to control the stagecoach, if a player should decide to 
  take control.
  Old  Ernie: The  stagecoach  driver.  A  bluff  old-timer 
  who's been riding the coaches all his life.
  Ms. Emily Higgins: A lovely single schoolteacher on her 
  way to her new job. Emily tends to scream and faint if 
  trouble breaks out, but if really threatened she'll fight 
  back, kicking and screaming.
  Dr. Davis:  A respectable doctor, also on his way to a 
  new job. Actually he's a snake-oil salesman, real name Ed 
  Delaney.
  Mr. Sudbury: A small, very quiet, bespectacled man. If 
  asked he will say he is an articled clerk and little else, 
  taking papers to a client. Mr Sudbury is in fact a hired 
  assassin en route to kill someone. If his bags are opened 
  a variety of quality pistols, knives and garottes can be 
  found in a hidden compartment.. the tools of his trade. 
  Mr  Sudbury  will  not  get  involved  in  fights  unless 
  attacked first, in which case he will swiftly and efficiently 
  kill his attacker.
  Mr Sudbury (Shooting 5, Reflexes 3, Luck 1) armed with 
  one Sudbury special breech loading pistol hidden in bag 
  and one Chip for his Luck
  Sudbury special breech loading pistol (+0 at Close 
  Range, +2 at Short Range, one bullet, Single shot only 
  and wielded in one hand)
  The Bandits
  With the towns slow decline MacArthur and Rosco Kenny 
  came up with a plan to revive the towns fortunes. They 
  rounded up a gang of bandits who now work on the Lazy 
  Eight, taking their time so no one suspected foul play, 
  then set to work holding  up  stagecoaches, trains and 
  anything else passing nearby to Copper Creek. They have 
  been  bribing  a  town  clerk  in  Casper  who  passes  on 
  itinerary information for suitable targets, so the bandits 
  can be ready and waiting for them.
  The townsfolk don't question the regular influx of new 
  wealth into the town and everyone is happy, so when the 
  party  start  nosing  around  they  may  find  themselves 
  getting into hot water.
  The Townsfolk
  Each character has two pieces of information, what they 
  will say and what they know. What they say is easy, they 
  will tell it in passing. To get at what they know (noted in 
  italics) requires a successful Jawing attempt, opposed by 
  their Nerve.
  Izzy Wagoner: Local drunk and old timer. Izzy's shack is 
  on the edge of the town, up on the hillside looking down, 
  and  is  the  first  location  the  party  will  encounter  on 
  coming into town. Izzy is a talkative old soak and will 
  readily  mention  that  a  gang  of  riders  rode  into  town 
  during the storm and haven't left.  Izzy knows nothing 
  about the conspiracy.
  75
  Izzy's Sodshack
  Main Street
  
  Bill Valance: The Saloon keeper. Bill just chats about 
  the weather and other pleasantries in passing. Business 
  has been a bit slow but the cowhands from the Lazy 
  Eight always seem to have money, which is a bit odd 
  because the summers been poor this year.
  Mary Mahone: Irish Bar girl and Banks girlfriend. Mary 
  is  a  dancer,  entertainer  and  singer,  but  she  is  not  a 
  prostitute and anyone who suggests that she is will likely 
  have to deal with Bill Valance or Banks, if he is present 
  when its said (Mary is a good way to start a bar room 
  brawl). Like Bill, Mary has noticed that the cowhands 
  from the Lazy Eight never seem to be short of a bob or 
  two.  Some  of  them  are  a  mite  rough  too..  even  for 
  cowboys.
  Sheriff deWayne Wright: Anything for a quiet life is 
  deWayne's motto. He is not in on the bandit scam and 
  will harass the player characters if he thinks they are 
  unduly harassing townspeople. He will lock characters 
  up overnight for harassing people and tell them to git 
  out'a town the next day. DeWayne has two deputies, Bill 
  Coltrain and Ray Sparks. DeWayne knows nothing about 
  the bandits, but does have a few choice words about the 
  miners. They tend to come into town and get right royal 
  drunk,  giving  him  a  hard  time  keeping  the  peace. 
  DeWayne thinks that the miners are up to no good and 
  thoroughly disapproves of them.
  Bill  Coltrain  &  Ray  Sparks,  Deputies  (Regular  Folks)- 
  usually  armed  with  peacemakers  or  double-barrelled 
  break open shotguns when trouble's brewin`.
  Sheriff deWayne  Wright  (Fighting  3,  Grit  2,  Notice 3, 
  Shooting 2, Reflexes 2, Luck 1)- 1 chip, armed with a 
  peacemaker or shotgun when troubles brewin`
  .45  Peacemaker (+1  at  Close  and  Short  range,  6 
  bullets when fully loaded, Can fire single shot or short 
  bursts, wielded in one hand)
  Double barreled break open Shotgun (+1 at Close 
  Range, +2 at Short Range, 2 shells, Single shot only, but 
  can fire both barrels together for an extra +1 Attack, 
  Wielded in two hands)
  Mayor Dobbs: The Mayor of Copper Creek. A bombastic 
  sort,  incompetent  and  stupid  but  good  at  giving 
  speeches.  MacArthur  is  the  real  power  behind  the 
  throne. The Mayor hasn't got a clue what is going on in 
  town and is a total puppet for MacArthur. He is having a 
  very quiet affair with Regina Scott which he wishes to 
  keep secret. If anyone pushes him for information he will 
  assume they are referring to that affair and will get very 
  defensive.
  Mr Macarthur: Mayor Dobbs private secretary, a very 
  quiet self-effacing gentleman and leader of the bandits. 
  In  a  former  life,  before  coming  to  Copper  Creek, 
  MacArthur went under the moniker “the Quicksilver Kid” 
  and was a feared gunfighter on the Kansas/Texas border. 
  His bandit activities in Copper Creek are a mixture of 
  greed and altruism, in that he is getting rich but also 
  helping the town out by bringing money in.  MacArthur 
  knows everything about everything in the town.
  Mr MacArthur, Mayors private secretary, Bandit Leader 
  and retired gunslinger (Nerve 5, Shooting 5, Reflexes 5, 
  Luck 2)- has two Chips and normally carries a concealed 
  double-barrelled .44 derringer in his right sleeve, but will 
  strap on a pair of peacemakers when going into a fight.
  .45  Peacemaker (+1  at  Close  and  Short  range,  6 
  bullets when fully loaded, Can fire single shot or short 
  bursts, wielded in one hand)
  .44 Derringer (+1 at Close Range, +0 at Short Range, 
  2  bullets,  Single  shot  only,  but  can  fire  both  barrels 
  together for an extra +1 Attack, Wielded in one hand 
  and easily concealed inside clothing)
  Hernandez the Barber: Mexican barber. Hernandez os 
  chatty enough and will talk at length about his wife and 
  children (three young sons and two young daughters). 
  His  father  came  north  from  Mexican  and  set  up  the 
  barbers shop which Hernandez inherited. He very much 
  hopes that his sons will continue the business after him, 
  and  there  will  usually  be  on  of  the  Hernandez  boys 
  sweeping up around the shop. The barber will note that 
  the miners always seem very poor and the cowhands off 
  the Lazy Eight seem surprisingly well off, but he assumes 
  this is because Rosco pays well and they have had a good 
  season.
  Mrs Regina Scott: An upstanding lady and the owner of 
  the Scotts Pine Hotel. Regina inherited money when her 
  mother died and decided to move west and set up her 
  own hotel. Regina also has the towns stable behind the 
  hotel, run by an old timer named of Ezekiel Hunt. He 
  knows nothing about anything, being careful to mind his 
  own business.
  She is an upstanding local citizen and is having a secret 
  affair with the Mayor. Like the Mayor, she will clam up if 
  questioned, unwilling to discuss anything, assuming that 
  the questioner is interested in the affair.
  The  Right  Reverend  Donald  Murdoch:  The  towns 
  Minister. Murdoch has a small church on the outskirts of 
  town  and  is  a  classic  fire  and  brimstone  Preacher. 
  Murdoch is not much liked round town, being a bit of a 
  rabid extremist. He lost his wife to the consumption a 
  few years ago and now, every week or so, tends to get 
  drunk  in  the  church  then  stumble  into  the  saloon  or 
  casino and berate the customers for their wicked ways. 
  Rex or Banks usually escorts him back to the church and 
  puts him to bed, or Mary will do it if he is in the saloon, 
  she has a bit of a soft spot for him because he lost his 
  wife.  The  next  day  he  always  wakes  up  and  is  very 
  contrite  and  apologetic,  going  round  to  apologise  to 
  everyone. He knows nothing about the banditry.
  Jeremy  Castille,  The  Casino  owner  &  his  two 
  bouncers,  Rex  and  Banks: A  retired  card  sharp 
  (gambler), Jeremy has used his ill gotten gains to set up 
  the Shining Star casino. Jeremy is a bit of a wide-boy but 
  is basically honest. Rex and Banks are his bouncers. Rex 
  is  the  talker,  a  skilled  fighter,  wiry  and  reasonable. 
  Banks is the silent type, a mountain of muscle who steps 
  in when Rex can't talk someone down. Rex and Banks 
  76
  The Church
  
  may get involved if the party try and push Jeremy too 
  hard. Neither Rex nor Banks goes armed, but if someone 
  pulls  a  gun  Jeremy  has  a  double-barrelled  shotgun 
  hidden behind the bar which he'll pull.
  Jeremy  knows  that  there  is  some  kind  of  conspiracy 
  involving  the  mayor  and  one  of  the  local  ranchers, 
  although not which one.
  Rex (Fighting 3, Grit 1, Jawing 2, Nerve 1, Reflexes 2)
  Banks (Fighting 3, Grit 4, Nerve 2)
  William  George: The  town  blacksmith.  Remarkably, 
  William is a thin, wiry man who looks nothing like the 
  traditional  blacksmith,  but  make  no  mistake,  he's  as 
  strong  as  an  ox  (Fighting  4,  Grit  4).  William  once 
  wrestled Banks into submission.
  If  asked  about  the  miners,  William  went  out  to  the 
  Miners Camp Thursday morning to do some work and 
  found no one there.
  Terry  Lambert:  Terry  owns  the  Double  Ace  ranch 
  outside town, the other major ranch. He's had a terrible 
  year  and  is  on  the  verge  of  bankruptcy  but  he's  not 
  telling  anyone  that.  Terry  knows  nothing  about  the 
  conspiracy but cannot work out how Rosco is doing so 
  well.. particularly when he has an even smaller herd than 
  Terry. There's also been several incidents with some of 
  Rosco's cowhands out on the range.. they behave more 
  like hired thugs than cowhands.
  Moses  Strode  and  Miranda  Strode,  The  general 
  store owner & his wife: Moses and Miranda have been 
  in Copper Creek since its founding and are a good solid 
  pillar of the community, at least on the surface. 
  The strodes are in collusion with the “bandits”, fencing 
  much of the goods they steal. A Notice(Two Pairs) roll in 
  the store will notice some items for sale that clearly look 
  out of place. Neither of the Strodes will respond well to 
  influence attempts and likely call the sheriff who will 
  intercede and warn off, or arrest, the characters.
  The  Miners:  The  miners  tend  to  live  outside  town, 
  working a small copper lode. There are about two dozen 
  of them and they tend to keep themselves to themselves. 
  They  are  often  suspects  for  the  crime  and  the  real 
  bandits will do their best to shift the blame onto the 
  miners. The miners are a surly bunch and will react badly 
  to even the mildest inquiries (throwing insults or even 
  fists at  PC's), a  reaction that could be interpreted as 
  guilt. The miners are surly because the lode is drying up 
  quickly and they know they will soon have to move on. 
  The  miners  leader  is  Bill  Malone,  a  gruff  man  in  his 
  forties who informally leads the miners. They are mining 
  the lode under license to the owner, a bank in Texas, 
  splitting the yield 70:30 with the bank.
  The  miners  were  all  out  of  the  camp  on  Thursday 
  morning, they will refuse to say where they were and will 
  likely  only  speak  after  being  beaten  in  a  good  old 
  fashioned fist fight. They had taken their horses to a 
  nearby clean watering hole, which is why they were out 
  of camp.
  Miners-  The  miners  are  regular  folks  and  will  fight 
  unarmed or with improvised weapons such as spades or 
  pick-axe handles
  Bill  Malone,  Gruff  Miners  Leader  (Notice  1,  Grit  1, 
  Tinkering 2)
  Pick Axe or Other similar tool (+2 at Close Range, -1 
  at Short Range, but must be thrown for a short range 
  attack, No modifier to defence, wielded in two hands)
  The other bandits: In addition to Mr MacArthur there 
  are six other bandits who are working outside town as 
  hands at the Lazy Eight ranch. Note that of the eight 
  cowhands working the ranch, only six are bandits, two 
  are entirely innocent.  Rosco has been careful to make 
  sure the Lazy Eight boys don't flash their wealth around, 
  but they do tend to get baths and shaves at the barbers 
  in town more often than most. His plan is to send them 
  into Harrisburg in a few weeks to put their money in the 
  bank.
  Rosco  Kenny: Owner  of  the  Lazy  Eight  and  Mr 
  MacArthurs partner in crime. Rosco obviously knows all 
  the about the operation.
  Little Jim: The young farm boy on the Lazy Eight. Little 
  Jim isn't party to the criminal goings on, but is certainly 
  aware  that  something  odd  happens,  six  of  the  hands 
  riding out at odd times and so on. He also notes that 
  those six hands are a lot rougher than the others.
  Coral Canyon
  A narrow winding defile which must be passed through 
  to get to the Lazy Eight ranch. Going round the canyon 
  will  add  several  hours  onto  the  journey  (which  only 
  normally takes an hour on horseback).
  If the bandits set up an ambush they (the bandits) will all 
  have  hard  cover.  Player characters  can  get into  hard 
  cover  easily,  with  a  single  move  action,  once  combat 
  begins.
  If  the  bandits  are  set  up,  the  players  need  to  make 
  Notice(Three  of  a  Kind)  rolls  to  spot  the  ambush, 
  otherwise they walk or ride straight into it.
  The canyon is a narrow winding defile and all combat 
  occurs at Close or Short range.
  77
  The General Store
  The Miners
  
  Events
  Following the stagecoach raid the characters will likely 
  pursue the bandits, lose them in the  storm then end up 
  in Copper Creek. The party should then investigate the 
  town  to  try  and  find  the  bandits.  This  will  involve 
  speaking to each of the NPC's listed and extracting what 
  information they have, then following up those leads.
  Hopefully, the players will follow the red herring and get 
  into strife with the miners at some point. 
  If the players are too intimidating or threatening with the 
  townsfolk the Sheriff will step in and warn them off. 
  If the party are getting near the truth Mr MacArthur will 
  ride out to the Lazy Eight and arrange an ambush for the 
  party, then send Little Jim into town to ask for the party 
  to come out to the Ranch to meet with Rosco who has 
  something information which they need to know.
  In the meantime, the bandits will set up an ambush in 
  Coral Canyon (en route to the Lazy Eight) and try and 
  gun down the party. 
  Failing that, the bandits will retreat to the ranch and 
  fortify it, waiting  for the party to try anything. If the 
  party try to take the ranch a gunfight ensues. 
  If they retreat to get the sheriff by the time they return 
  the  ranch  is  deserted..  MacArthur  and  Kenny  will  be 
  good  recurring  villains  in  this  case  as  they  have 
  vamoosed with the other bandits.
  Continuing Adventures
  Once the bandit problem has been dealt with the party 
  may wish to stay in Copper Creek and use it as a base of 
  operations.
  78
  
  Jawin`
  Jawing: Talking. "We sat around the campfire 
  just jawing."
  79
  
  Introduction
  This section is a glossary of some common phrases and 
  words used in the Wild West. To make your game play 
  more  interesting,  you  may  wish  to  try  and  use  these 
  phrases in play.
  A Hog-Killin' Time: A real good time. "We went to the 
  Rodeo Dance and had us a hog-killin' time."
  A Lick and a Promise: To do a haphazard job. "She just 
  gave it a lick and a promise."
  Above Snakes: If you were “above snakes,” you were 
  above ground: meaning still alive.
  Absquatulate: to take leave, to disappear
  According to Hoyle: Correct, by the book. "Hoyle" is a 
  dictionary of rules for card playing games.
  Ace-High: Depending upon the context, this might mean 
  “first class and respected”, or it could mean a winning 
  poker hand.
  Acknowledge the Corn: to admit the truth, to confess a 
  lie, or acknowledge an obvious personal shortcoming
  Adobe: A building material of straw and earth, dried in 
  the sun.
  Agent: An employee of the U.S. government charged 
  with conducting official business with an Indian tribe.
  Air the Paunch: Vomit, throw up, regurgitate. He's 
  "airing the paunch" after a heavy bout of drinking.
  Airing the Lungs: A cowboy term for cussing.
  All down but nine: Missed the point, not understood. 
  (Reference to missing all nine pins at bowling.)
  All to pieces: Completely, absolutely.
  All-fired: Hell-fired.
  Almighty: Huge.
  Anasazi: Navajo for "ancient ones," this word describes 
  an ancient tribe of the Southwest. Some Navajo say this 
  meaning is a mistranslation for a word that means 
  "ancient enemies." Another interpretation is "ancient 
  ancestors."
  Arbuckle's: Slang for coffee, taken from a popular brand 
  of the time. "I need a cup of Arbuckle's."
  Arikara (also Arikaree): This term is believed to mean 
  "horns," after this tribe's ancient custom of wearing hair 
  ornaments that stuck upright and were made of bone.
  Arkansas Toothpick: A long, sharp knife
  At Sea: At a loss, not comprehending. "When it comes to 
  understanding women, I’m at sea."
  Bach: To bachelor it. For men to keep house without a 
  woman's help. Pronounced, and sometimes spelled, 
  "batch".
  Back down: Yield, retract.
  Bad Egg: A bad person.
  Badlands: From a French term meaning "bad country 
  for travel." The term applied to barren areas of South 
  Dakota, as well as other inhospitable western locations. 
  Badlands are regions nearly devoid of vegetation where 
  erosion has cut into soft, easily erodible rock forming an 
  intricate maze of narrow ravines and sharp crests and 
  pinnacles. 
  Balderdash: Nonsense
  Balled Up: Confused.
  Band: A grouping of people who form a stable 
  community.
  Bang-up: First rate. "They did a bang-up job."
  Barkin' at a Knot: Doing something useless; wasting 
  your time.
  Bazoo: Mouth. "Shut your big bazoo."
  Bear sign: Cowboy term for donuts. A cook who could 
  and would make them was highly regarded.
  Beat the devil around the stump:  To evade 
  responsibility or a difficult task. "Quit beatin' the devil 
  around the stump and ask that girl to marry you."
  Bee in your bonnet: An idea. 
  Bee:A gathering of friends, family and neighbours to get 
  a specific job done Usually used with women’s quilting 
  get togethers: a quilting bee.
  Beef: To kill. (This came from killing a cow for food.) 
  "Doc Holliday beefed a man today.”
  Been Through the Mill: been through a lot, seen it all
  Beeves: Cattle
  Belly-wash: Weak coffee.
  Bellyache: complain
  Bend an Elbow: Have a drink. "He's been known to 
  bend an elbow with the boys."
  Bender: Drunk. "He's off on another bender."
  Benzinery: A low-grade drinking place. Cheap whiskey 
  was sometimes called benzene.
  Berdache: An Indian male who dressed and lived 
  entirely as a woman, fulfilling a cultural role within the 
  tribe. Sometimes called in Indian languages a "would be 
  woman" and sometimes thought of as a third sex. 
  Common among the tribes of the Americas, these men-
  women had social and religious powers. They might be 
  givers of sacred names; first to strike the sun-dance pole; 
  leaders of scalp dances; good luck to war parties; 
  visionaries and predictors of the future; matchmakers; 
  excellent artisans in bead work, quill work, hide-tanning 
  and making clothing; creators and singers of songs. 
  Understood as following a vision by most Indians, they 
  were not tolerated by whites. They persist today, 
  discreetly.
  Best Bib and Tucker: Wearing your best clothes. 
  "There's a dance Saturday, so put on your best bib and 
  tucker."
  Between hay and grass: Neither man nor boy, half-
  grown.
  Biddy: Then.
  Biddy:Hen. Also used to refer to a nagging or 
  complaining woman.
  Big Bug: Important person, official, boss. "He's one of 
  the rail road big bugs."
  Big Fifty: A .50 calibre Sharps rifle used by 
  professionals for buffalo hunting. It was 16 pounds 
  unloaded, with three-quarter inch, 120-grain black 
  powder cartridges loaded for differing ranges.
  Biggest Toad in the Puddle: The most important 
  person in a group.
  Bilk: Cheat.
  Blow-up: Fit of anger. "He and the missus had a blow-
  up, but it's over, now."
  Blow: Boast, brag. "Don't listen to him, that's just a lot of 
  blow."
  Blowhard: Braggart, bully.
  Bluff: A high steep bank (usually formed by river 
  80
  
  erosion).
  Body: Person.
  Bone Orchard: Cemetery.
  Boot Yard: This was a cemetery, especially for those 
  who died with their boots on; also called bone yard, bone 
  orchard, grave patch.
  Bosh: Nonsense. "It was absolute bosh what he said."
  Boss: The best, top. "The Alhambra Saloon sells the boss 
  whiskey in town."
  Break open: A break open gun is much like a breech 
  loading one, but rather than opening a port in the gun to 
  eject the old cartridge and insert a new one, the weapon 
  is snapped open and the operation conducted in that way 
  instead.
  Breech loading: A breech loading gun holds one shot at 
  a time. After firing the spent cartridge is ejected and a 
  new one manually loaded.
  Breechcloth: Worn by men and boys, this soft square of 
  leather hangs from the waist by a belt.
  Brown Gargle: Coffee.
  Buck up: Cheer up; chin up.  
  Buckaroo: A cowboy from the desert country of Oregon, 
  Nevada, California or Idaho.
  Buffalo Soldiers: Black soldiers of the U.S. army who 
  fought Indians and policed the frontier in the years 
  following the Civil War. The term was derived from the 
  men's hair which the Indians thought resembled the fur 
  of the buffalo. Not all of the recruits were former slaves; 
  most were free blacks of Northern parentage and many 
  had served with distinction during the Civil War.
  Buffaloing: Striking someone over the head with the 
  butt of a pistol, usually by surprise. A favourite tactic of 
  Wyatt Earp.
  Bug Juice: Booze, fire-water, whiskey.
  Bullboat: A craft with a willow frame covered by buffalo 
  hide.
  Bulldoze: To bully, threaten, or coerce. 
  Bulldozer: A big person.
  Bullwhacker: A person who drives a team of oxen, 
  usually walking beside them.
  Bully: Exceptionally good, outstanding. (Used as an 
  exclamation.) "Bully for you!"
  Bunko Artist: A con man.
  Burg: A town, rather than the common camps and small 
  settlements.
  Bushwhack: A cowardly attack or ambush.
  Butte: An isolated hill or mountain with steep or 
  precipitous sides, usually having a smaller summit area 
  than a mesa. 
  Buzzard food: Dead.
  By hook or crook: To do any way possible.
  Caboose: Office for the conductor at the rear of a freight 
  train .
  Calaboose: Jail.
  Calf at a new gate: Upon surprise - “he looked at me 
  like a calf at a new gate.” 
  California Widow: A woman separated from her 
  husband, but not divorced. (From when pioneer men 
  went West, leaving their wives to follow later.)
  Canned Cow: Canned milk.
  Canyon: A valley with exceptionally steep sides, usually 
  carved by a fast-flowing river that may or may not still be 
  in evidence 
  Carbine: A carbine is basically a cut down rifle, popular 
  with cavalry and horsemen.
  Catawampously: Also 'catawamptiously'. Fiercely or 
  eagerly. 
  Cattle Baron: A cattle owner with numerous herds of 
  stock, welding power and influence in an area.
  Celestial: A term used in the West to refer to people of 
  Chinese descent; the word derives from an old name for 
  china, the "Celestial Empire."
  Chisel, chiseller: To cheat or swindle, a cheater.
  Chow: Food, dinner.
  Chuck: Food.
  Clan: A multigenerational group, descended from a 
  common ancestor. Marriage within a clan is strictly 
  forbidden.
  Clean his/your plough: To get or give a thorough 
  whippin'.
  Coffee boiler: Shirker, lazy person. (Would rather sit 
  around the coffee pot than help.)
  Cold as a wagon tire: Dead.
  Come a cropper: Come to ruin, fail, or fall heavily. "He 
  had big plans to get rich, but it all became a cropper, 
  when the rail road didn't come through."
  Consumption: Slang for pulmonary tuberculosis.
  Cookie: Ranch or cattle drive cook.
  Cooling yer heels: Staying for a while. "He'll be cooling 
  his heels in the pokey." 
  Coot: An idiot; simpleton; a ninny.
  Copper a Bet: Betting to loose, or being prepared 
  against loss. "I'm just coppering my bets."
  Copperhead: Northern person with Southern, anti-
  Union sympathies
  Cotton to: To take a liking to.
  Couldn't hold a candle to: Not even close. "She 
  couldn't hold a candle to that beauty across the room."
  Cowboy Up: Tuff-up, get back on yer horse, don't back 
  down, don't give up, and do the best you can with the 
  hand you're dealt, give it all you've got.
  Cowpunching: Driving the cattle to market.
  Crazy as a loon: Very crazy.
  Creation Story: A legend or belief that answers 
  questions about the universe, such as the origin of the 
  world, mankind and nature, man's place in the world, 
  animals, life and death.
  Creek: A small natural stream. Rarely navigable and may 
  be intermittent.
  Croaker: Pessimist, doomsayer. "Don't be such an old 
  croaker."
  Crowbait: Derogatory term for a poor-quality horse.
  Crowbar Hotels: Jail
  Crummy: The caboose of a rail road train. 
  Curly Wolf: Real tough guy, dangerous man. "Ol' Bill is a 
  regular curly wolf, especially when he's drinkin' 
  whiskey."
  Cuss Words: The swear words back then are pretty 
  much the same as they are now, though they were not 
  81
  
  used as prevalently back then. Profanity was frowned 
  upon by polite society and old west cowboys rarely would 
  swear in front of a lady.
  Cut a swell: Present a fine figure. "He sure is cutting a 
  swell with the ladies."
  Cutting Horse: A horse with the ability to cut cows out 
  of a herd.
  Daisy: Good; excellent.
  Dead Man's Hand: A poker hand consisting of a pair of 
  aces and a pair of eights. Traditionally, Wild Bill Hickock 
  was holding this hand when he was shot dead by Jack 
  McCall. Some sources dispute the hand, saying that it 
  really contained two jacks, not aces and two eights. 
  Deadbeat: Bum, layabout, useless person.
  Derringer: Derringer is actually the name of a company 
  which makes small, concealable, guns. All such 
  concealable “backup” weapons have become known as 
  derringers, even if made by different companies.
  Dickens: Devil, over-much, alot: a word most often used 
  in explanations of confusion or pain; "the dickens you 
  say," or "it hurt like the dickens."
  Dicker: Barter, trade.
  Die-up: The deaths of several cattle from exposure, 
  disease, starvation, or other widespread catastrophe.
  Difficulty: Euphemism for trouble, often the shootin' or 
  otherwise violent kind. "He had to leave Texas on 
  account of a difficulty with a gambler in San Antonio."
  Dinero: From the Spanish, a word for money.
  Directly: Soon. "She'll be down, directly."
  Dog Soldiers: Part of the warrior society of some plains 
  Indian tribes.
  Doggie: An orphaned calf or small calf; by extension, any 
  cattle.
  Don't care a Continental: Don't give a damn.
  Don't get your dander up: Anxious or excited.
  Douse-the-Lights: Lights out. Time to hit the hay.
  Down on: Opposed to. "His wife is really down on 
  drinking and cigars."
  Doxology Works: A church.
  Dragged out: Fatigued, worn out.
  Dreadful: Very. "Oh, her dress is dreadfully pretty."
  Driving the Nail: A sport consisting of attempts to drive 
  a nail into a post with rifle or pistol fire. 
  Dry Gulch: To ambush someone, especially when the 
  ambusher hides in a gully or gulch near a road and jumps 
  the passers-by.
  Ducky: Used in early century as term of endearment.
  Dude: An Easterner, or anyone in up-scale town clothes, 
  rather than plain range-riding or work clothes.
  Elephant: Short for 'to see the elephant'; to go to town, 
  or to see the world, usually for the first time. 
  Eucher, euchered: To out-smart someone, to be 
  outwitted or suckered into something.
  Exodusters: The Biblically inspired name taken by black 
  emigrants who departed the post-Civil War South for the 
  promised land of Kansas.
  Fag: In cowboy talk, to get out fast.
  Fandango: From the Spanish, a big party with lots of 
  dancing and excitement.
  Fanning the Hammer: Holding the trigger on a single 
  action sixgun down then fanning your hand over hand 
  against the hammer. Each fan draws the hammer back, 
  turning the cylinder, then releases it. This lets you shoot 
  very quickly, but with little accuracy.
  Faro: A card game that took its name from faroon, a 
  derivative of pharaon (pharoah.) The Pharoah was the 
  king of hearts in a regular deck of cards. Players bet on 
  the order in which cards would be drawn from a box.
  Feller: Fellow. "That big feller over there is the sheriff." 
  Fer: For.
  Fetch: Bring, give. "Fetch me that hammer." "He fetched 
  him a punch in the nose."
  Fight like Kilkenny cats: Fight like hell.
  Fine as cream gravy: Very good, top notch.
  Fish or Cut Bait: Do it or quit talking about it.
  Fish: A cowboy's rain slicker, from a rain gear 
  manufacturer whose trademark was a fish logo. "We told 
  him it looked like rain, but left his fish in the wagon 
  anyhow."
  Fixin': Intending. "I'm fixin' to get supper started."
  Flannel Mouth: An overly smooth or fancy talker, 
  especially politicians or salesmen. "I swear that man is a 
  flannel-mouthed liar."
  Flush: Prosperous, rich.
  Fork over: Pay out.
  Four-flusher: A cheat, swindler, liar.
  Free-Soilers: People opposed to the extension of 
  slavery. The name came from the Free-Soil Party, which 
  existed from 1848 to 1854.
  Full as a tick: Very drunk.
  Fuss: Disturbance. "They had a little fuss at the saloon."
  G.T.T: Gone To Texas. A common expression in use 
  following the Civil War. People would find the letters 
  G.T.T. carved into their doors, left by a kin. Many outlaws 
  went to Texas.
  Galvanized Yankees: Former Confederate soldiers who 
  served in the U.S. Army in the West following the Civil 
  War, and during the Indian Wars.
  Game: To have courage, Nerve, gumption. "He's game as 
  a banty rooster." Or, "That's a hard way to go, but he 
  died game."
  Gauntlets: These were worn at the wrist to protect the 
  hunter from being snapped by the bowstring.
  Get a wiggle on: Hurry.
  Get it in the Neck: Get cheated, misled, bamboozled.
  Get my/your back up: To get angry. "Don't get your 
  back up, he was only joking."
  Get the Mitten: To be rejected by a lover. "Looks like 
  Blossom gave poor Buck the mitten."
  Gitty-up: Go, Move. A term used to get the horse to start 
  moving.
  Give in: Yield.
  Go Boil Your Shirt: Take a hike, get lost, bug off.
  Go through the Mill: Gain experience. (Often the hard 
  way.)
  Gone up the flume: Yield, lost, dead.
  Goner: Lost, dead. 
  82
  
  Good-fer-nothin': Someone who is no good, causes 
  trouble.
  Gospel mill: A church.
  Gospel sharp: A preacher (supposed opposite of a card 
  sharp).
  Got the Bulge: Have the advantage. "We'll get the bulge 
  on him, and take his gun away."
  Grab a Root: eat a meal, especially a potato
  Grand: Excellent, beautiful. "Oh, the Christmas 
  decorations look just grand!"
  Granger: A farmer.
  Grass Widow: A divorcee.
  Grassed: To be thrown from a horse.
  Gringo: A derogatory word for Anglos. One source 
  claims it comes from a shortening of the title of a popular 
  song during the Mexican War: "Green Grow the Lilacs."
  Grubstake: To provide the materials a prospector needs, 
  including food and money, in return for a percentage of 
  any claim that the prospector might find.
  Gulch: A gulch is a deep V-shaped valley formed by 
  erosion. It may contain a small stream or dry creek bed 
  and is usually larger in size than a gully. Occasionally, 
  sudden intense rainfall may produce flash floods in the 
  area of the gulch. 
  Half breed: A character with one Indian and one non-
  Indian parent.
  Half seas over: Drunk.
  Hang around: Loiter.
  Hang Fire: Delay.
  Hanker: A strong wish or want
  Hankerin` for: Longing for.
  Hard Case: Worthless, bad, unpleasant,: often referring 
  to a person..
  Heap: A lot, many, a great deal. "He went through a 
  heap of trouble to get her that piano."
  Heeled: To be armed with a gun. "He wanted to fight 
  me, but I told him I was not heeled."
  Hemp: Cowboy talk for rope; in verb form to hang 
  someone. Hemp fever was a morbidly jocular term for a 
  hanging. Hemp party (also string party) meant the same. 
  A hemp committee was a group of vigilantes or a lynch 
  mob (depending on your point of view) and a hemp 
  necktie was the rope they did the deed with.
  Here's how!: A toast, such as Here's to your health.
  High-Falutin: Highbrow, fancy.
  High-Grader: In the mining camps of the Old West, a 
  high-grader was a man who stole any big nuggets which 
  he saw in the sluice boxes.
  Hill of Beans: Slang for something of trifling value, as in 
  “it ain’t worth a hill of beans.”
  Hit pay dirt: Mining term. To find something of value. 
  Hitch in the Giddy-up: Not feeling well, as in: "I've had 
  a hitch in my giddy-up the last couple days."
  Hitched: Got married.
  Ho Down: A party or celebration
  Hobble your lip: Shut up.
  Hog-killin Time: This a "what I mean" very good time!
  Hold a candle to: Measure up, compare to.
  Hold your horses: Stay calm. "Hold your horses, we're 
  on our way."
  Hoosegow: Jail, from the Spanish juzgado, meaning 
  courthouse.
  Horse feathers: Ridiculous.
  Hot as a whorehouse on nickel night: Damned hot.
  Hounds: Rowdies of the gold-rush days of San 
  Fransisco. 
  Hurricane Deck: The saddle of a bucking horse.
  In Apple Pie Order: In top shape.
  Injun: Indian 
  Iron Horse: A Railroad train.
  Is that a bluff, or do you mean it for real play?: Are 
  you serious?
  Jawing: Talking. "We sat around the campfire just 
  jawing."
  Jig is Up: Scheme/game is over, exposed.
  John Barleycorn: Beer
  Judas Steer: Part of the cowboy's job during the drive 
  was to identify the Judas steer. Once at the end of the 
  trail, the Judas could simply lead the other cattle to 
  slaughter with no hassle. If a particularly good Judas was 
  found, he was spared the meat hook and used again.
  Keep that dry: Keep it secret. 
  Kick Up a Row: Create a disturbance.
  Kidney Pad: Eastern Saddle
  Kinnikinnick: Tobacco, bark, dried leaves, herbs, and 
  buffalo bone marrow blended together for smoking. 
  Knock Galley West: Beat senseless.
  Knocked into a Cocked Hat: Fouled up, rendered 
  useless.
  Lands sake!: Acceptable alternative term of profanity. 
  Laudanum: A liquid morphine derivative commonly 
  prescribed as a painkiller.
  Leggings: A garment similar to pantlegs, tied to the 
  belt.
  Let slide/ let drive/ let fly: Go ahead, let go. "If you 
  think you want trouble, then let fly." 
  Lifting pole: The last pole of the tipi. The skins are 
  attached to it and lifted into place to complete the lodge.
  Light (or lighting) a shuck: To get the hell out of here 
  in a hurry. "I'm lightin' a shuck for California."
  Like a Thoroughbred: Like a gentleman. 
  Like lickin' butter off a knife: Something that is easy; 
  not hard.
  Lily Liver: Someone who is a coward. 
  Llano Estacado: The dry, treeless plains of Texas and 
  New Mexico, also called the "Staked Plains."
  Loco: Crazy.
  Long rider: An outlaw, someone who usually had to stay 
  in the saddle for an extended period of time while on the 
  run from a crime.
  Lower than a snake's belly in a wagon rut: An 
  untrustworthy individual
  Lunger: Slang for someone with tuberculosis.
  Madder than an old wet hen: "Mama woke up madder 
  than an old wet hen."
  Mail-Order Cowboy: This was a derogatory term used 
  to chide tenderfoot, urban "cowboys" who arrived from 
  the East all decked out in fancy but hardly practical 
  Western garb.
  Make a Mash: Make a hit, impress someone. (Usually a 
  female.) "Buck's tryin' to make a mash on that new girl."
  Make hay while the sun shines: To make the most of 
  83
  
  the day, or an opportunity.
  Man At The Pot: According to camp etiquette, when a 
  cowboy gets up to refill his cup from the coffee pot 
  hanging over the camp-fire, if someone shouts, "Man at 
  the pot!" the man at the coffee pot is required to fill 
  everyone's cup.
  Man for Breakfast: A murdered body in the streets at 
  dawn. Commonplace in the early days of Los Angeles and 
  Denver. Also used to describe certain saloons when men 
  were killed the night before. “Lambert’s only had two 
  men for breakfast.”
  Meaner than a one-eyed rattlesnake: A dangerous 
  individual
  Medicine bundle: Items used for ceremonial and 
  spiritual purposes 
  Mesa: An isolated, relatively flat-topped natural 
  elevation, usually more extensive than a butte and less 
  extensive than a plateau. 
  Mochilla: A rectangular leather saddlebag popularized 
  by the Pony Express.
  More scared than a chicken in the rain: Someone 
  who is very scared.
  Muddy end of the stick:Short end of the stick.
  Mudsill: Low-life, thoroughly disreputable person.
  Muleskinner: A person who drives and usually rides in a 
  wagon pulled by mules.
  Muley: A hornless cow.
  Mustard: To unsettle or disturb cattle. 
  Mutton-Puncher: Derogatory name used by cowboys to 
  describe a sheep herder.
  N.G.: No good. "He is n.g. and can't be trusted."
  Nailed to the Counter: Proven a lie.
  Namby-pamby: Sickly, sentimental, saccharin.
  Necktie Party: A hanging by a lynch mob.
  Nester: A squatter who settled on government land, 
  usually to farm.
  Night Hawk: While the rest of the cowboys slept under 
  the stars on a cattle drive, one unlucky soul who drew 
  the short straw, the "night hawk", had to stay up all night 
  standing guard.
  Nosey Parker:Someone who is nosey.
  Notion: An idea.
  Obliged: Thankful. Indebted for a favour "Thank you fer 
  the coffee and eggs, ma'am. Mighty obliged."
  Odd Stick: Eccentric person. "Ol' Farmer Jones sure is 
  an odd stick."
  Of the First Water: First class. "He's a gentleman of the 
  first water."
  Offish: Distant, reserved, aloof.
  Oh-be-joyful: Liquor, beer, intoxicating spirits. "Give me 
  another snort of that oh-be-joyful."
  On the Dodge:Hiding out somewhere; laying low for a 
  while. 
  On the Prod: Full of piss and vinegar and looking for 
  trouble. Said of both people and critters.
  On the shoot: Looking for trouble. "Looks like he's on 
  the shoot, tonight."
  Ornery as a fried toad: Bad tempered.
  Packin': Carry a weapon. 
  Paint: A horse with irregular patches of white.
  Painting the Town Red: Going out on the town for a 
  fun, sometimes wild, time.
  Parade chaps: A pair of chaps strictly for show. Might 
  be worn for the grand entry parade at a rodeo.
  Pard: Friendly version of partner.
  Pardner: Partner
  Parfleche: A folded, rectangular container made of 
  rawhide, used for storing dried foods, blankets, and 
  clothing. 
  Pass the buck: Evade responsibility.
  Pass the hat: Make a contribution. "They passed the hat 
  and collected money to help the widow." Or it could also 
  be used as, "We passed the hat and it was decided Bill 
  would ride into town."
  Pay through the nose: To over-pay, or pay 
  consequences.
  Pecker Pole: What a logger called a small tree or 
  sapling.
  Pecos:  To kill by drowning. (Literally, to throw into the 
  Pecos River.) 
  Pemmican: A cross between fruit leather and beef jerky, 
  made by mixing dried chokecherries, animal fat, and 
  dried meat. 
  Pennyweighter: In the mining camps of the Old West, a 
  pennyweighter was a person who stole very small 
  quantities of gold from the mining operation for whom he 
  worked.
  Peter out: Dwindle away.
  Peyote: A hallucinogenic drug derived from the cactus 
  plant. Often used by Indian medicine men as part of their 
  religious ceremonies.
  Pie Eater: Country boy, a rustic.
  Pig Sticker: Knife or bayonet
  Pimple: The cowboy's name for the very small saddles 
  used by Easterners. 
  Pining away for: Longing for.
  Pinkerton: A member of the Pinkerton National 
  Detective Agency, founded in 1850. The agency is a 
  private security agency which provides services to 
  private individuals, business moguls and the government.
  Pirooting: Having sexual intercourse 
  Play to the gallery: To show off. "That's just how he is, 
  always has to play to the gallery." 
  Played out: Exhausted.
  Plough handle: A single action pistol was sometime 
  referred to as a plough handle. These were also referred 
  to as "thumb busters," "cutters," "smoke poles," and 
  "hawg legs."
  Plumb: Entirely, completely. "He's plumb crazy."
  Plunder: Personal belongings. "Pack your plunder, Joe, 
  we're headin' for San Francisco."
  Point blanking: Shooting someone at point-blank range 
  with a gun, usually when they are helpless.
  Poke: A small sack, usually made of leather or rawhide.
  Pokey: Jailhouse.
  84
  
  Pony up: Pay the bill or “Hurry up!”
  Poppet: Term of endearment. "Come along, poppet." 
  Pot Shot: An Easy shot.
  Powder: Black powder. Used in bullets and as an 
  explosive.
  Powerful: Very. "He's a powerful rich man."
  Powwow: An Indian cultural gathering and dance 
  celebration. 
  Pray tell: Tell me. "What do you wish to know, pray 
  tell?"
  Promiscuous: Reckless, careless. "He was arrested for a 
  promiscuous display of fire arms."
  Proud: Glad. "I'm proud to know you."
  Psilocybe: “Magic mushrooms”. Hallucinogenic 
  mushrooms.
  Pull in your Horns: Back off, quit looking for trouble.
  Pullin my donkey's tail: A much older way of saying 
  "are you pullin my leg"
  Punching Doggies: Cowpunching: driving the cattle to 
  market.
  Purty: Pretty. "That woman shore is purty"
  Put a spoke in the wheel: To foul up or sabotage 
  something.
  Quakin' in your (their) boots: Someone who is scared.
  Quiller's Society: An exclusive women's group skilled in 
  Quill embroidery. 
  Quirley: Roll-your-own cigarette.
  Rattle Your Hocks: Hurry up, get a move on. 
  Reckon: To guess or think. "I reckon that'll do right 
  fine."
  Renewal of Medicine Arrows: An elaborate religious 
  rite meant to renew the four Sacred Arrows and to unify 
  the tribe. 
  Repeating: A repeating gun has an internal magazine of 
  bullets. After each shot some mechanical action, such as 
  working a lever or slide, ejects the spent cartridge and 
  brings a new one from the internal magazine into firing 
  position.
  Revolving: A revolving gun is a type of repeating gun, 
  where the bullets are stored in a cylinder which revolves 
  between shots, rather than a mechanic action which 
  brings a bullet from the internal magazine to the barrel.
  Rich: Amusing, funny, improbable. "Oh, that's rich!"
  Ride a Shank's Mare: To walk or be set afoot.
  Rifle: A “long arm”, meaning that it must be held in both 
  hands to fire. Fires a longer bullet (with more powder) 
  than a pistol of the same calibre.
  Right as a trivet: Right as rain, sound as a nut, stable.
  Right as Rain: Fine. "After a good night's rest, he'll be 
  right as rain."
  Rip: Reprobate. "He's a mean ol' rip."
  Road Agent: A robber, bandit, deperadoe.
  Rode Fence: Patrolled the range checking see if any 
  areas of fencing needed repairs.
  Roostered: Drunk. "Looks like those cowboys are in 
  there gettin' all roostered up."
  Row: A fight
  Sacred Arrows: Source of spiritual power for the 
  Cheyenne. There are four arrows, two for War and two 
  for Hunting.
  Sacred Buffalo Hat: Source of spiritual power for the 
  Cheyenne. 
  Saddle Bum: A drifter.
  Saddle Stiff: A cowboy.
  Saddle Tramp: A cowboy who spends most of his time in 
  the chuck line.
  Sand: Nerve; courage; toughness. "You got sand, that's 
  fer shore."
  Scattergun: A shotgun which has been cut down in 
  length. This reduces it's effective range but makes it 
  more useful at close range, as well as being more 
  concealable.
  Scoop in: Trick, entice, inveigle. "He got scooped into a 
  poker game and lost his shirt."
  Scuttlebutt: Rumours.
  See the Elephant: Originally meant to see combat for 
  the first time, later came to mean going to town, where 
  all the action was or to go somewhere to experience a 
  "worldly event."
  Seegar: Cigarette. "I reckon I'll sit on the porch an' 
  smoke a seegar."
  Sharps: Any firearm manufactured by Christian Sharps 
  for his Sharps Rifle Company. This term also applied to 
  professional gamblers who cheated at the Poker tables.
  Shave Tail: A green, inexperienced person.
  Shaver: A child or young person of either sex; "What a 
  cute little shaver."
  Shin out: Run away.
  Shindig: A dance, party, celebration.
  Shindy: Uproar, confusion.
  Shoddy: Poor quality.
  Shoot one's mouth off: Talk nonsense, untruth. "He 
  was shootin' his mouth off and Bill gave him a black eye."
  Shoot, Luke, or give up the gun: Do it or quit talking 
  about it.
  Shotgun: Rather than bullets, a shotgun fires a cloud of 
  lead pellets with each shot.
  Shove the queer: To pass counterfeit money.
  Shut yer cock holster: Shut yer mouth.
  Sick as a poisoned coyote pup: "I was feelin' sick as a 
  poisoned coyote pup."
  Sidle: Move unobtrusively or sideways; "The young man 
  began to sidle near the pretty girl sitting on the log" 
  Silk: Barbed wire. 
  Simon Pure: The real thing, a genuine fact. "This is the 
  Simon pure."
  Sin-Buster: A preacher. 
  Sinew: Tendon found along the backbone of the buffalo, 
  used for sewing thread. 
  Sixgun: A Sixgun (aka. Six shooter) is the ubiquitous 
  weapon of the wild west. A pistol with a revolving 
  cylinder of bullets. As each bullet is fired the cylinder 
  rotates placing a fresh bullet in line with the barrel, 
  ready to fire. Sixguns are so called because they 
  normally have six bullets in a cylinder
  Skedaddle: Scurry away or run like hell (circa Civil 
  War.) "I best skedaddle." 
  Slack: Slow. "This is the slack season."
  Slower than molasses in January: Very slow.
  Soaked: Drunk.
  Soft solder: Flattery. "All that soft solder won't get you 
  anywhere."
  Sold His Saddle: Disgraced
  Someone to Ride the River With: A person to be 
  counted on; reliable; got it where it counts.
  Sound on the Goose: True, staunch, reliable.
  Spell: Time; for a while.
  85
  Winchester '73 Repeating Rifle
  
  Spirits: Alcohol. "The men go down to the saloon and git 
  their fill of spirits."
  Stand the gaff: Take punishment in good spirit. "He can 
  really stand the gaff."
  Steamed up: Another version of riled up. "He was all 
  steamed up after comin' back from town.
  Stew in one's own juice: To suffer from one's own action.
  Stew in one's own juice:To suffer from one's own 
  action.
  Stop: Stay. "We stopped at the hotel last night."
  String: A line of horses.
  Strong enough to float a colt: Very strong coffee. 
  Stumped: Confused.
  Sucker punch: A completely unexpected punch or other 
  unarmed attack, usually to somewhere vulnerable such 
  as the genitals, solar plexus or kidneys.
  Sucking Hind Tit: Being last and getting the least.
  Sun Dance: A religious rite highlighted by ceremonial 
  dancing, it symbolized renewal of the world. 
  Superintend: Oversee, supervise. "He just likes to 
  superintend everything."
  Sweet Medicine: A Cheyenne prophet hero. 
  Take French leave: To desert, sneak off without 
  permission.
  Take on: Grieve. "Don't take on so."
  Take the Rag Off: Surpass, beat all. "Well, if that don't 
  take the rag off the bush."
  Tall Hog at the Trough: Superior, outstanding, exudes 
  leadership.
  Taos Lightening: A name given to any potent liquor.
  Tenderfoot: A person new to the job, or a young person.
  Tenderloin: The red-light commercial district of a town, 
  featuring brothels.
  The Draw: Drawing your gun "border style" consisted of 
  pulling your pistol, worn backward in the holster, by 
  putting your arm across the front of your body. This 
  fancy stuff was popular down around the Mexican 
  border.
  The Old States: Back East.
  The whole kit and caboodle: The entire thing.
  Three ways from Sunday: Moving quickly; high-tailing 
  it out of there.
  Throw up the sponge: Quit, give up, surrender.
  Tie to: Rely on. "He's a man you can tie to."
  Tipi: A cone shaped dwelling of the Plains tribes tha 
  consisted of a circular framework of poles joined at the 
  top and covered with animal hides. 
  Tiswin: A kind of weak beer brewed from corn, popular 
  among the Apache.
  To beat the Dutch: To beat the band. "It was rainin' to 
  beat the Dutch."
  To the manner born: A natural. "He's a horseman to 
  the manner born."
  Trailing: Moving cattle from one location to another.
  Travois: A carrier pulled by a horse, dog, or person. Two 
  poles are crossed and tied at one end, a leather pad is 
  attached to the other.
  Treaty: An agreement negotiated between 
  representatives of the United States and one or more 
  Indian tribes.
  Tribe: A type of society consisting of a community that 
  occupies a common territory and are related by bonds of 
  kinship, language, and shared traditions.
  Twig: Understand.
  Two Whoops and a Holler: Not far away. 
  Unshucked: Cowboy talk for naked. An unshucked gun 
  is one that's out of the holster.
  Up the spout: Gone to waste/ruin.
  Waddy: One of the words for cowboy, especially a 
  cowboy who drifted from ranch to ranch and helped out 
  in busy times.
  Wake up/Woke up the wrong passenger: To trouble 
  or anger the wrong person.
  War Bag: Cowboys travelled light, and stored their 
  meagre worldly possessions in his "war bag". Inside was 
  generally everything he owned, typically an extra set of 
  clothes, extra ammunition, spare parts for equipment, 
  playing cards, bill of sale for his horse, his makings and 
  maybe a harmonica or a few precious letters.
  Well, I Swan: So surprised, ready to faint or pass out.
  Who-hit-John: Liquor, beer, intoxicating spirits. "He 
  had a little too much who-hit-John."
  Wihio: Cheyenne word for spider. Literally, one who 
  spins a web and moves up and down, seemingly walking 
  on nothing. Wihio also means one with higher 
  intelligence. 
  Wind up: Settle. "Let's wind up this business and go 
  home."
  Windbag: Someone who is talking nonsense. "If that 
  windbag gets outta hand, you come tell me an' I'll take 
  care of the old coot."
  Wipe your chin: Be quiet. 
  Worse Than a Cat in a Roomful of Rockers: Someone 
  who is really nervous.
  Y'all: You all
  Yack: A stupid person. 
  Yammerin': Talking. "Drink yer coffee an' quit yer 
  yammerin'."
  Yellow Belly: A Coward.
  Yourn: A form of 'yours', as in "This un's mine, that un's 
  yourn."
  86
  
  Appendix One- Songs of the Frontier
  Home on the Range (a trail song)
  Oh, give me a home where the buffalo roam,
  Where the deer and the antelope play,
  Where seldom is heard a discouraging word,
  And the skies are not cloudy all day.
  Chorus:
  Home, home on the range,
  Where the deer and the antelope play.
  Where seldom is heard a discouraging word,
  And the skies are not cloudy all day.
  How often at night when the heavens are bright
  With the light from the glittering stars,
  Have I stood here amazed and asked as I gazed
  If their glory exceeds that of ours
  (Chorus)
  Where the air is so pure, the zephyrs so free,
  The breezes so balmy and light,
  That I would not exchange my home on the range
  For all of the cities so bright
  (Chorus)
  I’ve Been Working on the Railroad (Railroad song)
  I’ve Been Workin’ On The Railroad,
  All the live-long day;
  I’ve been workin’ on the railroad
  To pass the time away.
  Don’t you hear the whistle blowing,
  Rise up so early in the morn?
  Don’t you hear the captain shouting,
  “Dinah, blow your horn.”
  Chorus:
  Dinah, won’t you blow,
  Dinah, won’t you blow,
  Dinah, won’t you blow your horn?
  (repeat chorus)
  Someone’s in the kitchen with Dinah,
  Someone’s in the kitchen, I know;
  Someone’s in the kitchen with Dinah,
  Strumming on the old banjo.
  Fee- fi fiddle I-o,
  Fee-fi fiddle I-o,
  Fee-fi fiddle I-o,
  Strumming on the old banjo.
  She’ll Be Coming Around The Mountain (Railroad 
  song)
  She’ll be coming round the mountain when she comes, 
  toot, toot,
  She’ll be coming round the mountain when she comes, 
  toot, toot,
  She’ll be coming round the mountain,
  She’ll be coming round the mountain,
  She’ll be coming round the mountain when she comes, 
  toot, toot.
  Other verses:
  She’ll be driving six white horses when she come, (spoken) 
  whoa, back, etc.
  And we’ll all sing “Hallelujah” when she comes, (spoken) 
  oh, yes, etc.
  Don’t Fence Me In (Cowboy song)
  Wild Cat Kelly, looking mighty pale, was standing by the 
  sheriff’s side
  And when that sheriff said “I’m sending you to jail,”
  Wild Cat raised his head and cried:
  Chorus:
  Oh, give me land, lots of land under starry skies above,
  Don’t fence me in.
  Let me ride thru the wide open country that I love,
  Don’t fence me in.
  Let me be by myself in the evening breeze,
  Listen to the murmurs of the cottonwood trees.
  Send me off forever, but I ask you please,
  Don’t fence me in.
  Just turn me loose, let me straddle my old saddle
  Underneath the western skies.
  On my cay use, let me wander over yonder till I see the 
  mountains rise.
  I want to ride to the ridge where the West commences,
  Gaze at the moon till I lose my senses.
  Can’t look at hobbles and I can’t stand fences,
  Don’t fence me in.
  Wild Cat Kelly, back again in town, was sitting by his 
  sweetheart’s side
  And when his sweetheart said “Come on, let’s settle 
  down,”
  Wild Cat raised his head and cried:
  (Chorus)
  Cowboy Jack (Cowboy song)
  He was just a lonely cowboy with a heart so brave and 
  true,
  And he learned to love a maiden with eyes of heaven’s 
  blue.
  They learned to love each other and named their wedding 
  day, when a quarrel came between them and
  Jack, he rode away.
  He joined a band of cowboys, and tried to forget her name,
  But out on the lonesome prairie she waits for him the 
  same.
  One night when work was finished, just at the close of day,
  Someone said, “Sing a song, Jack, to drive dull cares 
  away.”
  When Jack began his singing, his mind did wander back,
  For he sang of a maiden who waited for her Jack.
  “Your sweetheart waits for you, Jack; your sweetheart 
  waits for you,
  Out on the lonesome prairie where the skies are always 
  blue.”
  Jack left the camp next morning breathing his sweethearts 
  name,
  “I’ll go and ask forgiveness, for I know that I’m to blame.”
  But when he reached the prairie he found a new-made 
  mound,
  And his friends they sadly told him they’d laid his loved 
  one down.
  They said as she lay dying, she breathed her sweetheart’s 
  name,
  And asked them with her last breath to tell him when he 
  came:
  “Your sweetheart waits for you, Jack; your sweetheart 
  waits for you,
  Out on the lonesome prairie where the skies are always 
  blue.”
  87
  
  Appendix Two- Cowboy Wisdom
  •
  "A gun is a tool, Marion, no better or no worse than any other tool, an axe, a shovel or anything. A gun is as good 
  or as bad as the man using it. Remember that." -- Shane
  •
  Always drink upstream from the herd.
  •
  Always take a good look at what you're about to eat. It's not so important to know what it is, but it's sure crucial 
  to know what it was.
  •
  An onion can make people cry but there's never been a vegetable that can make people laugh. 
  •
  Behind every successful rancher is a wife who works in town.
  •
  Diplomacy is the art of saying "Nice doggie" until you can find a rock. 
  •
  Don't interfere with something that ain't botherin' you none.
  •
  Don't judge people by their relatives.
  •
  Don't squat with your spurs on. 
  •
  Don't worry about bitin' off more'n you can chew; your mouth is probably a whole lot bigger'n you think.
  •
  Generally if a man has to tell you 'i'm for real,' he's not.
  •
  Generally, you ain't learnin' nothing when your mouth's a-jawin'.
  •
  Good judgement comes from experience, and a lotta that comes from bad judgement.
  •
  Grass is for bulls, what do you ride? 
  •
  If it don't seem like it's worth the effort, it probably ain't.
  •
  If lawyers are disbarred and clergymen are defrocked, shouldn't it follow that cowboys would be deranged?
  •
  If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop digging. 
  •
  If you get to thinkin' you're a person of some influence, try orderin' somebody else's dog around.
  •
  If you're riding' ahead of the herd, take a look back every now and then to make sure it's still there. 
  •
  It don't take a genius to spot a goat in a flock of sheep. 
  •
  It's better to be a has-been that a never-was.
  •
  Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier'n puttin' it back. 
  •
  Live a good, honourable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll enjoy it a second time.
  •
  Never approach a bull from the front, a horse from the rear, or a fool from any direction.
  •
  Never ask a barber if you need a haircut. 
  •
  Never kick a cow chip on a hot day. 
  •
  Never miss a good chance to shut up. 
  •
  Never slap a man who's chewing tobacco. 
  •
  Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
  •
  Sometimes you get and sometimes you get got. 
  •
  Talk slowly, think quickly. 
  •
  Tellin' a man to git lost and makin' him do it are two entirely different propositions.
  •
  The best way out of a difficulty is through it. 
  •
  The biggest troublemaker you'll probably ever have to deal with watches you shave his face in the mirror every 
  morning.
  •
  The easiest way to eat crow is while it's still warm. The colder it gets, the harder it is to swaller.
  •
  The quickest way to double your money is to fold it over and put it back into your pocket.
  •
  There's two theories to arguing with a woman. Neither one works. 
  •
  Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance. 
  •
  We all got pieces of crazy in us, some bigger pieces than others. 
  •
  We can't all be heroes because someone has to sit on the curb and clap as they go by. 
  •
  What the country needs is dirtier fingernails and cleaner minds. 
  •
  When you give a personal lesson in meanness to a critter or to a person, don't be surprised if they learn their 
  lesson.
  •
  When you lose, don't lose the lesson.
  •
  When you're throwin' your weight around, be ready to have it thrown around by somebody else.
  •
  You can't tell how good a man or a watermelon is 'til they get thumped (character shows up best when tested.)
  88
  
  Alphabetical Index
  Abolitionist...................................................................... 19
  Aggressive...................................................................... 19
  Ailing............................................................................... 19
  Ammunition..................................................................... 58
  Armadillo......................................................................... 67
  Army Officer.................................................................... 61
  Army Soldier....................................................................61
  Asian............................................................................... 14
  Assaying Office............................................................... 38
  Atheism........................................................................... 17
  Bank................................................................................ 38
  Beaver............................................................................. 67
  Black Bear....................................................................... 67
  Blacks.............................................................................. 15
  Blacksmith................................................................ 38, 61
  Body traits....................................................................... 18
  Bone Picker..................................................................... 61
  Boot Hill...........................................................................38
  Botches........................................................................... 27
  Bounties.................................................................... 42, 58
  Bounty Hunter................................................................. 62
  Brawler............................................................................ 19
  Buddhism........................................................................ 17
  Buffalo....................................................................... 40, 67
  Buffalo Hunter................................................................. 62
  Buffalo soldiers................................................................62
  Bully................................................................................ 19
  Burly................................................................................ 19
  Carpenter........................................................................ 38
  Cattle.............................................................................. 67
  Cattle Drives................................................................... 41
  Cavalry Horse.................................................................. 67
  Cavalry Officer................................................................ 62
  Cavalry Trooper...............................................................62
  Chinese........................................................................... 14
  Chinese rail road worker................................................. 62
  Christianity...................................................................... 16
  Coffee Boiler....................................................................19
  Compassionate................................................................19
  Con-Artist........................................................................ 62
  Confucianism.................................................................. 17
  Cooper............................................................................ 38
  Counting Coup................................................................ 28
  Coup de Grace................................................................ 27
  Courthouse...................................................................... 38
  Cowboys Code................................................................. 19
  Cowhand......................................................................... 62
  Coyote............................................................................. 67
  Curious............................................................................ 19
  Dance Hall Girl................................................................ 62
  Decisive.......................................................................... 19
  Dependent...................................................................... 19
  Desert............................................................................. 37
  Diplomatic....................................................................... 19
  Diseases.......................................................................... 31
  Doctor....................................................................... 38, 63
  Dog................................................................................. 67
  Donkey............................................................................ 67
  Doomed.......................................................................... 19
  Draft Horse...................................................................... 67
  Drugs.............................................................................. 31
  Duck and Cover............................................................... 28
  Dynamite........................................................................ 29
  Eagle............................................................................... 67
  Evangelical...................................................................... 19
  Events............................................................................. 50
  Explosives....................................................................... 59
  Facing............................................................................. 24
  Fearsome........................................................................ 19
  Federal Marshall.............................................................. 63
  Fire and Brimstone Preacher........................................... 65
  First Aid........................................................................... 26
  Focussed......................................................................... 19
  Forgetful.......................................................................... 19
  Freighter......................................................................... 63
  Gambler.......................................................................... 63
  General Store.................................................................. 38
  Ghost Towns....................................................................39
  Gila Monster.................................................................... 67
  Great Basin..................................................................... 37
  Great Plains..................................................................... 37
  Grenades......................................................................... 29
  Grizzly Bear..................................................................... 67
  Gunslinger................................................................. 20, 63
  gunsmith......................................................................... 38
  Guts................................................................................ 20
  Half Breeds......................................................................16
  Handsome....................................................................... 21
  Hankering........................................................................20
  Harbinger........................................................................ 20
  Hard cover...................................................................... 25
  Haunted.......................................................................... 20
  Heavy Weapons.............................................................. 29
  Heroic.............................................................................. 20
  Heroic Campaign............................................................. 48
  Hippocratic Oath............................................................. 20
  Hispanics......................................................................... 15
  Homesteader...................................................................63
  Homesteading................................................................. 39
  Honest............................................................................. 20
  Honourable......................................................................20
  Hoodoo............................................................................ 17
  Hotel............................................................................... 38
  Housing........................................................................... 59
  Hunter............................................................................. 63
  Illiterate........................................................................... 20
  Important........................................................................ 20
  Improvised Weapons....................................................... 28
  Indecisive........................................................................ 20
  Indian Brave.................................................................... 64
  Indian Chief..................................................................... 64
  Indian Medicine Man....................................................... 64
  Indian tribes.................................................................... 15
  Indian Wars..................................................................... 41
  Indians............................................................................ 15
  Irish................................................................................. 15
  Jackrabbit........................................................................ 67
  Jail................................................................................... 38
  Jinxed.............................................................................. 20
  Judaism........................................................................... 17
  Knack.............................................................................. 20
  Knowledge traits............................................................. 18
  Land Attorney................................................................. 38
  Land Office...................................................................... 38
  Languages....................................................................... 14
  Lawman...........................................................................20
  Lawyer............................................................................ 38
  Living Expenses.............................................................. 58
  Loco................................................................................ 20
  Logger............................................................................. 64
  Lone Wolf........................................................................ 20
  Loud-mouth..................................................................... 64
  89
  
  Lusty............................................................................... 20
  Lying Dog........................................................................ 20
  Marksman....................................................................... 20
  Mean as a Rattler............................................................ 20
  Mercenary....................................................................... 21
  Mercenary Campaign...................................................... 48
  Merchant......................................................................... 64
  Mining............................................................................. 40
  Missionaries.................................................................... 40
  Modifiers........................................................................... 6
  Mormonism..................................................................... 16
  Mule................................................................................ 67
  Mule Trains...................................................................... 42
  Murderous....................................................................... 21
  Mysterious Stranger........................................................ 64
  Named folks.................................................................... 61
  Natural Healing............................................................... 27
  Newspaper...................................................................... 38
  Oath................................................................................ 21
  Odious............................................................................. 21
  Old Timer........................................................................ 21
  Old Ways......................................................................... 17
  Ornery............................................................................. 21
  Outlaw............................................................................. 64
  Pariah.............................................................................. 21
  Phobia............................................................................. 21
  Pinkerton......................................................................... 64
  Pious............................................................................... 21
  Poisons............................................................................ 31
  Politician.......................................................................... 65
  Pony................................................................................ 67
  Poor English.................................................................... 21
  Porcupine........................................................................ 67
  Preacher.......................................................................... 65
  Prohibitionist................................................................... 21
  Prospector....................................................................... 65
  Proud............................................................................... 21
  Provocative..................................................................... 21
  Puma............................................................................... 67
  Purty............................................................................... 21
  Raccoon.......................................................................... 67
  Racism............................................................................ 48
  Rail roads........................................................................ 42
  Railway station................................................................ 38
  Ranching......................................................................... 41
  Random Encounters........................................................ 43
  Range Wars..................................................................... 41
  Rate of Fire......................................................................27
  Rattlesnake..................................................................... 67
  Regular Folks...................................................................61
  Religion........................................................................... 16
  Reluctant......................................................................... 21
  Repairing things.............................................................. 34
  Reputation...................................................................... 21
  Retired Gunslinger.......................................................... 63
  Riding........................................................................ 28, 42
  Risk Taker....................................................................... 21
  Rocky Mountains............................................................. 37
  Rodeo Riding................................................................... 32
  Roustabout...................................................................... 22
  Saddle Horse................................................................... 67
  Saddle Tramp.................................................................. 22
  Saloon............................................................................. 38
  Scenario.......................................................................... 48
  Scholarly......................................................................... 22
  Schoolhouse.................................................................... 38
  Scorpion.......................................................................... 68
  Scout............................................................................... 65
  Selfish............................................................................. 22
  Sexism............................................................................ 48
  Sheep.............................................................................. 67
  Sheriff............................................................................. 65
  Silver Tongued................................................................ 22
  Skunk.............................................................................. 68
  Snake-Oil Salesman........................................................ 65
  Sneaking About............................................................... 34
  Sniper.............................................................................. 65
  Soft cover........................................................................ 25
  Spendthrift...................................................................... 22
  Stage Coach Driver......................................................... 66
  Stagecoach..................................................................... 42
  States.............................................................................. 45
  Stone Killer...................................................................... 64
  Story Arcs........................................................................ 48
  Stubborn......................................................................... 22
  Suffocation...................................................................... 32
  Surprise........................................................................... 24
  Taoism............................................................................ 17
  Task Format...................................................................... 6
  Team Attacks.................................................................. 28
  Team Work........................................................................ 7
  Telegraph Office.............................................................. 38
  Territories........................................................................45
  Texas Ranger.................................................................. 66
  Thrown Weapons.............................................................27
  Trader............................................................................. 66
  Tragic Campaign............................................................. 48
  Trail Food........................................................................ 41
  Traits................................................................................. 4
  Transportation.................................................................59
  Trapper........................................................................... 66
  Treacherous.................................................................... 22
  Trials............................................................................... 41
  Trick Shot........................................................................ 27
  Trusting........................................................................... 22
  Trying Again...................................................................... 7
  Two Weapons.................................................................. 28
  Unreliable Weapons........................................................ 28
  Vapid............................................................................... 22
  Varmint........................................................................... 22
  Vigilante.......................................................................... 22
  Villainous Campaign........................................................ 48
  Violence.......................................................................... 48
  Vulture............................................................................ 68
  Wagon Trains.................................................................. 43
  Walking........................................................................... 42
  War Weary Veteran......................................................... 61
  Warrior............................................................................ 22
  Warriors Code................................................................. 22
  watchmaker.................................................................... 38
  Wiry................................................................................. 22
  Wits traits........................................................................ 18
  Wolf................................................................................. 68
  Wolverine........................................................................ 68
  Woodhawk.......................................................................66
  Wrestling......................................................................... 28
  Yellow Belly..................................................................... 22
  90
  
  d6
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  Poker Dice
  Nine
  Ten
  Jack
  Queen
  King
  Ace
  Gunslinger Character Sheet 
  Player
  Description
  Name
  Gender
  Race
  Nationality
  Age
  Religion
  History
  Distinctive Features
  Body Traits
  Wits Traits
  Fightinng
  Notice
  Shooting
  Gambling
  Grit
  Nerve
  Reflexes
  Jawing
  Riding
  Luck
  Knowledge Traits
  Quirks
  Healing
  Tinkering
  Learning
  Total Wounds Opposing Hand
  Survival
  1
  High Card
  Crafting
  2
  Pair
  3
  Two Pairs
  4
  Three of a Kind
  5
  Low Straight
  6
  Full House
  7
  High Straight
  8
  Four of a Kind
  9
  Poker
  
  Weapons
  Close Short Long Defence Ammo ROF Hands Cost Notes
  Belongin`s
  
  “Howdy Pardners and welcome to 
  the Wild West!”
  Gunslingers and Gamblers
  TM is a 
  role playing game set in the Wild 
  West of 1876. 
  Characters can be tough cowboys, 
  skilful bounty hunters, honourable 
  lawmen, slippery card sharps, 
  Indian braves  or just about 
  anything else you can imagine... 
  So saddle up, load your guns and 
  it's time to get rich or die trying!
  FJGaming
  FJG006
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Gunslingers and Gamblers/Gunslingers and Gamblers Corebook.pdf