Monday, June 06, 2011

a couple Boot Hill questions

Which do you like better for the title of a campaign that focuses on professional gunslingers, "Live by the Gun..." or "Spectre of the Gun"? I like the latter a lot, but an unnecessary Star Trek reference will probably be seen as evidence that I'm planning a bait-and-switch. One of my players either has a running joke going or else is convinced that at some point the game with go multigenre. Given the kind of things I normally run I really can't blame the dude.

Can anyone recommend a source of good, detailed Old West tactical maps, gridded out to 1 square equals five or ten feet or so?  The only module I own from the Boot Hill line is the referee screen/mini-module combo. Do any of the others have decent tactical maps?  Any place else I should be looking for that kind of thing?

22 comments:

  1. How about "Shadow of the Gun" to distance it a little from the StarTrek reference?

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  2. How about "God made man free, Samuel Colt made 'em equal..."

    Might be too wordy for a campaign title, but it's a good quote...

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  3. Also, this game: Cowboys, The Way of The Gun has several town maps in a 1"/5' grid. It's pretty much a tactical gunfight game. Might be worth your while to check out.

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  4. Erich Holtz' White Wash CitY include detailed tactical maps for the interiors of all the buildings.

    If you want to do wild west tactical check out Legends of the Old West by Games Workshop. It uses miniatures rather than grids though.

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  5. I like "Live by the Gun," no ellipsis. The allusion is clear, but leaving the ellipsis out adds an element of ambiguity.

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  6. I like "Spectre of the Gun". If players make assumptions about cross genre play that will never really happen you get to screw with them and lead them on.

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  7. "One With Your Name On It"

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  8. http://cryhavocgames.net/Gunslinger.htm

    That page has links to maps from Gunslinger (an Avalon Hill skirmish game from 1982). They use hexes instead of squares, but each hex represents 6 feet, so the scale is about what you are looking for.

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  9. I like Live by the Gun best.

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  10. The suggestion above for Shadow of the Gun sounds cool to me... I was going to suggest Ghost of the gun.

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  11. "Live By The Gun or Die By the Law"
    "Gold, Guns and Glory"
    FWIW. I like "Spectre of the Gun" best.

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  12. Anonymous1:32 PM

    Smoke of the Gun.
    Have an npc marshal named Matt and his sidekick Festus.

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  13. For visual or DIY reference, some great galleries:

    http://www.ghosttowngallery.com/

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  14. I like 'em both, but "Spectre of the Gun" is a little better, maybe.

    How about a partial Magificent Seven quote? "We Deal in Lead"

    Or one from Once Upon the Time in the West: "Something to do wtih Death"

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  15. "Have Gun, Will Travel"?

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  16. Anonymous6:28 PM

    For my own OD&D Wild West campaign I used the name "Law of the Gun." You're free to use ut if you want.

    The now defunct Knuckleduster Publications put out a series of wonderful Wild West items, the best being the Cowtown Generator which details frontier towns and if crammed with details about life and personalities of the old west. The other book is Firearms Shop, which will tell you everything you would ever want to know about the weapons of the day, including how to statistically convert them for your game. Both get Doc's Seal of Approval.


    Doc

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  17. @scottsz

    I just lost 1 1/2 hours looking at that site. It was amazing to see all those little towns and histories. The Plummer gang leader turned out to be their Sheriff WOW!!

    Good thing I am at home and not work. LOL

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  18. Anonymous9:03 PM

    I'm with JD. Use the name you like, let them expect the kitchen sink, give them grit and blood. Lead them on with occasional herrings like a meteorite, disturbed graves, a drifter who seems strangely logical. But everything is normal, or at least not any weirder than history.

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  19. Anonymous10:00 PM

    Do unto others...first.

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  20. Bwaaa haa haaaa!! "A drifter who is strangely logical,"

    and he keeps his ears covered as well!

    Gun Trek
    Gun Wars
    All my Guns
    There's Something About Mary's Gun
    Lord of The Guns
    Guns of the Caribbean
    Desperate House Guns
    Gun Warehouse 13
    Guns on a Plane
    SharktoGun
    Gunzilla
    The X-Gun....

    ok, I'll stop now

    DaveL

    Oh, and yes, I liked "Spectre of the Gun" as well

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  21. I think they are both fine, but Spectre of the Gun makes me think more of something inescapable, while Live by the Gun implies more of a choice about the matter. Your mileage may vary, of course.

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  22. I love "We Deal In Lead."

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