Devil's Gulch: Basic Roleplaying Adventures in the Weird Wild West
Details
Title: Devil's Gulch: Basic Roleplaying Adventures in the Weird Wild West
Publisher: Chaosium
Product Code: CHA2024
Publishing Year: 2010
Pages: 88
Cover Price: $16.95
Author(s): Troy Wilhelmson
Artist(s): Thomas Boatwright, Stef Worthington (maps)
Setting(s): 1870s, 1890s, Gaslight, Weird West
Format(s): Softcover
ISBN: 1-56882-328-2 (978-1-56882-328-7)
Contents
Scenarios: "Wealth and Privilege", "The Medicine Show"
Articles: TO DO
Additional: Combined Map/Illustration of Town, Town's Main Buildings, Town's Inhabitants, Locations on Outskirts, Basic Rules, Skills, Additional Rules (Gunslinger Manoeuvres, Gun Smoke, Horse/Wagon Chases, Showdowns), Weapons, Handouts, Suggestions for Alternative Settings (Steampunk, Science Fiction, Wild West, Weird West), two Scenarios
Front Cover Text
Basic Roleplaying BRP
Devil's Gulch
Basic Roleplaying Adventures in the Weird Wild West
Troy Wilhelmson
Chaosium Inc.
Back Cover Text
Devil's Gulch is a typical town of the American Old West from 1870 through 1885. It is a collection of buildings set along a single dirt road with side streets where private residences are found. It features saloons, a bank, a general store, and a church. Most buildings are made of wood, though some boast of a brick addition or a stone foundation). Hitching rails are found in front of most buildings, and water troughs are set sporadically along the main street. Train tracks form one of the town’s borders. On the outskirts of Devil's Gulch are mines, ranches, and box canyons perfect for hiding desperadoes.
The cast of characters includes gamblers, gunfighters, a preacher, a blacksmith, and a nymph du prairie (that’s a prostitute to those in the know). If you make Devil's Gulch a base of operations for your Wild or Weird West campaign, the players may be interested in taking on the roles already filled by NPCs. There are many players who would jump at the opportunity to play the town sheriff or even the established gambler.
The basic layout of Devil's Gulch is suitable for an historical campaign set in the American Old West, but there are many suggestions included for placing the town in the Weird West. You can modify the setting even beyond the author’s suggestions: Devil's Gulch could be easily transferred to a steam-punk setting in which the town is an outpost of the new British Colony on Mars; perhaps it is populated with humans and grays, and the real trouble comes from tribes of xenomorphs roaming the Martian landscape; or maybe Devil's Gulch is an immersive amusement park created by an evil gunslinger with superpowers, just waiting to test his skills against your heroes!
The town is a tool to use and transform as needed. Also included is a fold-out town illustration and diagram with major establishments identified. On the other side we offer a broadsheet touting Dr. Farnam's Astounding Medicine Show.
Comments / Trivia
List dedication, color plates, rarity of the book, etc.
Links
Link to outside reviews
- Pookie at Reviews from R'lyeh, (link)
Spoilers - Keepers Eyes Only
Players should not read any further.
Keepers Comments
Pookie's review suggests the following:
- "The Knuckleduster Cow Town Creator" (ISBN 0-9667046-3-0) (to fill in the blanks on the town)
- "Call of Cthulhu in the Wild West: The Good, the Bad, and the Utterly Insane" from Worlds of Cthulhu #2 (for character creation background and ideas)