"Campaigns advice" Topic

I am currently planning and painting up for a wild west game. My group plays D&D, so we are looking at occasional games to begin with to get used to a new game/rules etc.

However, as roleplayers we will prefer campaigns in the longer term.

Does anyone have any advice on the best rules for this, but especially campaign settings/storylines/scenarios I can tap into for ideas etc?

I am edging towards Gutshot with a few rule modifiers and perhaps a few more skill slots for 'rope use', 'card sharp' etc.

I am finding it really hard to track down campaign materials in genera.

Have a look on Ebay for any Boot Hill material. It is an old TSR RPG & comes in either a boxed set or the revised (and less liked, I believe) book form. Plus 5 separate midules and a GM screen/mini module set. It all tends to sell cheaply these days.

The system is really a tabletop rule set, fleshed out. Which sounds insulting to it, but it works really well.

Yeah, Boothill would work. Or if you just want to use history read about the Johnson and Lincoln County Wars.

Thanks,

John

I would consider Six Gun Sound from Two Hour Wargames. The reaction system takes a little getting used to, but the campaigning sections are good stuff.

Years ago, I ran a Boot Hill campaign using one of the Boot Hill adventure/campaign manuals. Wish I could remember the name of it. Worked out great.

Legends of the Old West has a good system for putting together group where events continue from one engagement to the next.

Hello.
I have Boot Hill 2 as a computer file, if you want a set.

omemin@aol.com

It's free-for-nothing, so you aren't out any cash if it doesn't work for you.

I've heard excellent things about Aces & Eights:

kenzerco.com/aces_n_eights

Running a game that's just a collection of gunfights is great for a minis game, but there needs to be a lot more to do for a good rpg campaign. It sounds like they "get" the trouble I've always run into with an Old West game: what do you do.

link

Cattle drives, prospecting, gambling, etc.

Worth checking out and looking at the rpg.net reviews and forums.

Six Gun Sound Blaze of Glory has campaign material for:
Buffalo Hunter
Mountain Man
Cowboy
Bounty Hunter
Marshal
Gunfighter
Prospector
Homesteader
Outlaw
Ranger
Deputy

And detailed campaigns for:
Cowboy
Gunfighter
Marshal
Outlaw
Ranger and Sheriff

Campaign Map covers almost the whole US and can be used with any set of rules.

link

For campaigns Boot Hill is a very similar style to D&D modules.
sky

I am kinda in the dark here…
DO you want a more minis game or an RPG?

Thanks for that folks.

I have Six Gun Sound and that certainly has a good set of campaign ideas, though much of it is really encounter tables/set ups.

I am much encouraged by the sound of some of the Boot Hill modules, but haven't seen them on ebay in the UK. I did manage to pick up the 3rd ed rule book, which I am plundering for skills to add to Gutshot for a more rpg style game.

I am also putting together a list of where the various most famous gunfighters/western characters were at anyone time. Not sure when I'll get round to finishing it. I just thought it would add a bit of flavour to have the characters bump into the likes of Billy the Kid if they happened to be in the same town as him.

Might try ebay in US as well if postage costs are ok (that's where I got all my al-Qadim D&D materials many years ago.)

The modules are magazine size but light – about the size of an old D&D module. So postage should be resonable. I got mine in ebay.
sky

Just got a copy of Rolemaster 'Outlaw' and that has a super setting in Deadwood with plenty of campaign ideas. Currently reading through.
Am also awaiting Ballots and Bullets (Boot Hill) campaign/set of scenarios from the US – might be a few weeks……

Yeah I was really attracted to Six Gun Sound for the campaign, but I have a group of 4-5 guys that want to play a campaign. And the campaign system by SGS seems to be centered around a single type of character. I mean if you run a detailed campaign for "marshal" what are the other 4 players doing that aren't the marshal?

Gutshot has good campaign rules, and if you're really playing up the RPG elements, then adding extra skills makes sense. As a minis game we focus mostly on the combat skills (kinda like AD&D First Edition), but it's easy to build on.

In fact, someone has expanded Gutshot to include more skills, and we've even got some beta rules that we've have not yet been released to the public, if you're interested.

Contact me through the Hawgleg Website if you'd like to hear more about increasing the RPG aspect of the game.

Mike Mitchell
hawgleg.com

Thanks Mike, that would be good to look at.

I have decided to use Gutshot for combat (those extra skills someone has done would be good to see) and characters can gain combat skills as per campaign system therein.

I have added a very simple RPG element as well. What I have done is plundered the Boot Hill skills (descriptions) but used a Cthulhu % system, ie players get to allocate a set amount of points to various (non combat) skills. They can then improve those if they successfully use the skill then roll over their current score at the end of the adventure/scenario. Therefore it is a quick role-play system tagged onto Gutshot that requires very little book-keeping.

Unfortunately I won't be able to playtest it for a while as the group is currently playing D&D.

Whichever rules you use for tabletop games, try and get some of the old 'Boot Hill' campaign scenarios – they are excellent. Happy memories!