The Inside Scoop on Gaming

The original Boot Hill is almost as old as the hobby of roleplaying, having been published in 1975. It was written by Brian Blume and Gary Gygax, who might be familiar to a few RPGnet readers. The second edition, written by the same team, was published in 1979 and some support material was still being released in the early 1980s. Then a period of quiet followed, lasting until 1990. That year saw the re-release of several old TSR games, of which Boot Hill was one.

Boot Hill is, as it says on the cover, a Wild West Role-Playing Game. It is somewhat surprising that there aren't more of them around. I have GURPS Old West, and once upon a time there was also Western Hero, or so I've been told. Nowadays we have Deadlands, of course, but it is not an "old school" western game. But western movies are not as popular as they used to be, and perhaps this is also the reason why all of the above games (except Deadlands) are out of print. Personally I think it's a crying shame. But then, I still watch western movies. I still get a kick out of Rio Bravo, even though I know the story by heart. And the endings of The Wild Bunch and Unforgiven never fail to move me in a way few modern action films can.

On with the review... Boot Hill is a generic western RPG, offering tools for handling many kinds of campaigns. Its age shows, however, when you compare the detail of combat rules to other sections. But the same complaint could be leveled at quite a few modern RPGs. The rules begin with character creation, which is fast, straightforward and cleverly balanced. The five attributes are Strength, Coordination, Observation, Stature (a measure of reputation and how imposing the PC looks) and Luck; the range is 1-20. The attributes also betray the game's roots as a combat-based RPG, but during years of steady playing they have never presented a problem. To the contrary: it is refreshing to have a game which is different from the rest, where things like intelligence and charisma are up to the player. In addition to the attributes, PCs also have a number of skills, which are divided into Work skills and Weapon skills. At least half of the initial skills must be Work skills. Work skills are not based on attributes; a separate score is generated for each skill. Weapon skills serve as modifiers to the PC's hit numbers.

The balancing mechanism is simple and elegant. Attributes are created randomly (there are three different methods for different levels of reality), and the number of your initial skills depends on the total of your attribute scores. The better you roll, the less skills you can choose. There are no rules for different professions or backgrounds; some people may dislike this. However, literally dozens of NPCs from different walks of life are presented later, and they give a good idea of possible jobs and the skills associated with each. Me and my players have enjoyed this freedom of choice, but I realize it doesn't work for everyone. The system can be used to create PCs which are mere numbers on paper, living solely for violent encounters, but this is again the case with many other games as well. Rules alone can force no-one to roleplay.

After character creation, the book details gunfighting rules in a quite detailed fashion. Both quick-draw shootouts and open gun battles are covered, and they use a different turn sequence and scale, in fact. It sounds awkward, but works well in practice. And so do the rules in general. In fact, I believe they are one of the best rule sets ever for recreating gunfights, being fast, detailed enough and sufficiently realistic while still allowing for heroic characters. One shot can kill the toughest guy in town, but a very lucky man can take half a dozen bullets and remain standing. Different firearms have suitably different characteristics; for example, shotguns at close range are truly frightening. Separate rules are given for fistfights, melee weapons, mounted combat, explosives and heavy weapons; all of which are treated with less detail than gunfights.

Next comes a two-page timeline from 1848 to 1912. Rules for horses follow that: your beloved mount can also have detailed attributes and even skills such as Herding and Swimming. Next chapter discusses NPCs, giving mini-templates for typical characters from Artists to Hangmen to Widows. There are also stats for dozens of real life and fictional gunslingers. The latter have some special abilities which are unavailable to anyone else: these include things like Never Surprised and Weapon Never Runs of of Ammunition. Billy the Kid, Wyatt Earp, The Lone Ranger and The Magnificient Seven, they're all here.

The campaign rules chapter covers healing, frontier justice, loot, transportation, gambling, equipment costs, long distance movement, random encounters and a sample campaign location, the fictional Promise City. Most of these topics are dealt with in a cursory fashion, again revealing the game's roots. The book comes with a large fold-out map of a generic Old West area which can be used to represent Promise City and its surroundings, for example; its reverse side features a map of a typical western city. (A side note: miniatures for the game are really cheap. Just pick up a bag of cheerfully colored plastic cowboys and Indians and you're set.)

Finally, there are some short scenarios. Two of them are historical: the Gunfight at the O K Corral and the Battle of Coffeyville. The appendices include a short bibliography and glossary, and a two-page summary of all tables needed during a fight.

I seem to have written much more about the contents of the book than I intended, especially considering it is out of print. But it shows how much I like this game. I firmly believe it to be one of the best things TSR has ever put out, and certainly a great value for your money. All you need to buy is in the book, which is nice because no support material for the third edition was released. But then, no "official" support is needed. You can watch the films, read the novels and make a trip to the local library if more accurate historical information becomes necessary. Yes, it would have been nice to have more background material in the book. But it is not really necessary. And should you find them, supplements for other games can easily be used. I have found GURPS Old West an excellent book for its period detail. Also, Central Casting: Heroes Now! by Task Force Games can be used to spice up the heroes' backgrounds, and in my current game its use has led into some very interesting, somewhat paranormal events. No, there are no rules for them. Yes, they can be integrated easily.

The layout can be described as functional. It is far from fancy, but everything is easy to read and the illustrations, reproductions of old paintings, are splendid. I do not recall any typos, but the tables in the melee combat section have a couple of columns which have moved a bit from their intended position.

Heck, I ramble like any damn old-timer. But I feel I have to. Boot Hill is a game I love, and one of the few which I haven't fixed with a house rule or two. For its intended genre, the system is rock solid; as a generic game it would need some work to make it usable, though. Any RPG that you can play with only a 128-page book and some dice has to have that certain something. Boot Hill certainly does, in spades. Put on your John B., check that the old thumb buster is loaded and saddle up; it's time for some adventure in the good, old-fashioned way!

Style: 3 (Average)
Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

Boot Hill, 3rd edition
Author: Steve Winter Category: game Company/Publisher: TSR Line: n/a Cost: $20.00 Page count: 128 ISBN: 0-88038-976-1 SKU: 7005 Playtest Review by Mikko Kauppinen on 10/26/99. Genre tags: Historical Old_West	The original Boot Hill is almost as old as the hobby of roleplaying, having been published in 1975. It was written by Brian Blume and Gary Gygax, who might be familiar to a few RPGnet readers. The second edition, written by the same team, was published in 1979 and some support material was still being released in the early 1980s. Then a period of quiet followed, lasting until 1990. That year saw the re-release of several old TSR games, of which Boot Hill was one. Boot Hill is, as it says on the cover, a Wild West Role-Playing Game. It is somewhat surprising that there aren't more of them around. I have GURPS Old West, and once upon a time there was also Western Hero, or so I've been told. Nowadays we have Deadlands, of course, but it is not an "old school" western game. But western movies are not as popular as they used to be, and perhaps this is also the reason why all of the above games (except Deadlands) are out of print. Personally I think it's a crying shame. But then, I still watch western movies. I still get a kick out of Rio Bravo, even though I know the story by heart. And the endings of The Wild Bunch and Unforgiven never fail to move me in a way few modern action films can. On with the review... Boot Hill is a generic western RPG, offering tools for handling many kinds of campaigns. Its age shows, however, when you compare the detail of combat rules to other sections. But the same complaint could be leveled at quite a few modern RPGs. The rules begin with character creation, which is fast, straightforward and cleverly balanced. The five attributes are Strength, Coordination, Observation, Stature (a measure of reputation and how imposing the PC looks) and Luck; the range is 1-20. The attributes also betray the game's roots as a combat-based RPG, but during years of steady playing they have never presented a problem. To the contrary: it is refreshing to have a game which is different from the rest, where things like intelligence and charisma are up to the player. In addition to the attributes, PCs also have a number of skills, which are divided into Work skills and Weapon skills. At least half of the initial skills must be Work skills. Work skills are not based on attributes; a separate score is generated for each skill. Weapon skills serve as modifiers to the PC's hit numbers. The balancing mechanism is simple and elegant. Attributes are created randomly (there are three different methods for different levels of reality), and the number of your initial skills depends on the total of your attribute scores. The better you roll, the less skills you can choose. There are no rules for different professions or backgrounds; some people may dislike this. However, literally dozens of NPCs from different walks of life are presented later, and they give a good idea of possible jobs and the skills associated with each. Me and my players have enjoyed this freedom of choice, but I realize it doesn't work for everyone. The system can be used to create PCs which are mere numbers on paper, living solely for violent encounters, but this is again the case with many other games as well. Rules alone can force no-one to roleplay. After character creation, the book details gunfighting rules in a quite detailed fashion. Both quick-draw shootouts and open gun battles are covered, and they use a different turn sequence and scale, in fact. It sounds awkward, but works well in practice. And so do the rules in general. In fact, I believe they are one of the best rule sets ever for recreating gunfights, being fast, detailed enough and sufficiently realistic while still allowing for heroic characters. One shot can kill the toughest guy in town, but a very lucky man can take half a dozen bullets and remain standing. Different firearms have suitably different characteristics; for example, shotguns at close range are truly frightening. Separate rules are given for fistfights, melee weapons, mounted combat, explosives and heavy weapons; all of which are treated with less detail than gunfights. Next comes a two-page timeline from 1848 to 1912. Rules for horses follow that: your beloved mount can also have detailed attributes and even skills such as Herding and Swimming. Next chapter discusses NPCs, giving mini-templates for typical characters from Artists to Hangmen to Widows. There are also stats for dozens of real life and fictional gunslingers. The latter have some special abilities which are unavailable to anyone else: these include things like Never Surprised and Weapon Never Runs of of Ammunition. Billy the Kid, Wyatt Earp, The Lone Ranger and The Magnificient Seven, they're all here. The campaign rules chapter covers healing, frontier justice, loot, transportation, gambling, equipment costs, long distance movement, random encounters and a sample campaign location, the fictional Promise City. Most of these topics are dealt with in a cursory fashion, again revealing the game's roots. The book comes with a large fold-out map of a generic Old West area which can be used to represent Promise City and its surroundings, for example; its reverse side features a map of a typical western city. (A side note: miniatures for the game are really cheap. Just pick up a bag of cheerfully colored plastic cowboys and Indians and you're set.) Finally, there are some short scenarios. Two of them are historical: the Gunfight at the O K Corral and the Battle of Coffeyville. The appendices include a short bibliography and glossary, and a two-page summary of all tables needed during a fight. I seem to have written much more about the contents of the book than I intended, especially considering it is out of print. But it shows how much I like this game. I firmly believe it to be one of the best things TSR has ever put out, and certainly a great value for your money. All you need to buy is in the book, which is nice because no support material for the third edition was released. But then, no "official" support is needed. You can watch the films, read the novels and make a trip to the local library if more accurate historical information becomes necessary. Yes, it would have been nice to have more background material in the book. But it is not really necessary. And should you find them, supplements for other games can easily be used. I have found GURPS Old West an excellent book for its period detail. Also, Central Casting: Heroes Now! by Task Force Games can be used to spice up the heroes' backgrounds, and in my current game its use has led into some very interesting, somewhat paranormal events. No, there are no rules for them. Yes, they can be integrated easily. The layout can be described as functional. It is far from fancy, but everything is easy to read and the illustrations, reproductions of old paintings, are splendid. I do not recall any typos, but the tables in the melee combat section have a couple of columns which have moved a bit from their intended position. Heck, I ramble like any damn old-timer. But I feel I have to. Boot Hill is a game I love, and one of the few which I haven't fixed with a house rule or two. For its intended genre, the system is rock solid; as a generic game it would need some work to make it usable, though. Any RPG that you can play with only a 128-page book and some dice has to have that certain something. Boot Hill certainly does, in spades. Put on your John B., check that the old thumb buster is loaded and saddle up; it's time for some adventure in the good, old-fashioned way! Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

Boot Hill, 3rd edition