Boot Hill 2nd Edition
One of the original RPGs, first released in 1975 (yes, it occasionally boggles my mind that some of us have been playing these games for over 30 years). It’s the first “Wild West” RPG on the market and has been praised and criticized over the years for it’s emphasis on gunfights over all other elements of the genre (and was in fact primarily a miniature wargame in the first edition). It was also the first game in my collection that basically ran entirely on d10’s and percentiles.
Having just read the Serenity comics, I’ve got a hankering for a good old wild west character, so out comes Boot Hill (2nd edition – from the early 80’s) and the percentile dice. And I swear I can taste the dust already. But that’s probably because this book has been in storage for so long.
A few percentile die rolls (modified for being a Player Character so low rolls don’t suck entirely) gives me an incredible set of stats (truly astounding, honestly):
- Speed: 62 (+6) (Very Quick)
- Gun Accuracy: 93 (+15) (Excellent)
- Throwing Accuracy: 62 (+5) (Fair)
- Strength: 95 (18) (Very Strong)
- Bravery: 78 (+2 Speed, +6 Accuracy) (Brave)
- Experience: 95 (+2 Accuracy) (6 Previous Gunfights)
Now all I have to do is buy some equipment and I’m done. In the third edition I would have the opportunity to pick up some non-gunfighting skills, but really, that’s all she said.
In the end, we have Dwight Hendrix, a second-generation American, the Funeral Director of Dusty Springs, a small town near Promise City where he really ran the whole operation, from building coffins to digging graves as well as presiding over the funerals themselves. When Dusty Springs was overrun by an outlaw gang and the sheriff was shot, Dwight found himself the centre of the town’s resistance. Now, with Dusty Springs a ghost-town, he’s taken his carpentry trade, smooth talk and shotgun to Promise City, looking for a fresh start.
Name: Dwight Hendrix
Occupation: Funeral Director (currently a carpenter)
Age: 28
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 228 lbs
Nationality: Caucasian AmericanSpeed: 62 | Very Quick | +6
Gun Accuracy: 93 | Excellent | +15
Throwing Accuracy: 62 | Fair | +5
Bravery: 78 | Brave | +2 Speed, +6 Accuracy
Strength: 95 | Very Strong | 18
Experience: 95 | 6 Previous Gunfights | +2 AccuracyRepeating Shotgun | Speed 3 | Base Accuracy 73 | Range 4 / 10 / 20 / 40 | ROF 3 | Reload 3
5 shot DAR | Speed 13 | Base Accuracy 73 | Range Range 6 / 12 / 18 / 36 | ROF 1 | Reload 2Kit
Repeating Shotgun
25 ShotShells
5 shot Double Action Revolver
100 rounds .45 Colt Long
Nice character!
Gosh I loved BH… I remember running a game where some players convinced the governor to bring the railway into the town. There were some great shootouts and bar brawls too (not all the landowners wanted to let the railway through so there was trouble on that account, beyond the usual disagreements at the poker table).
You should check out some of the later (non-undead) sets of Western rules that have come on the scene.