In the Character Creation chapter, each player had

an opportunity 10 pick a reason why he came west (o r

to rol! for one random ly). If two players arc running
from the law, perhaps they were partners back East
and arc fleeing together. Perhaps two or more characters arc siblings, or even fathe r and son. Allowing
players to share their backgrounds be fore the campaign begins is a good way for them to suggest how
and \\'hy they happen 10 be travelling togethe r.
Regardless of which approach you usc starting out,
you'll find that after the playe rs have a few adven tures
under their belts they' ll begin to get a better feel for
the lay of the land and be more familiar with the setting. As charaCters die and new ones arc brought in to
replace them, players should be able to hit the ground
running.

ADVE NTURE HOOKS

Coming up with nell" adventures for your players is
the next order of business. I\'ote that adventures don't
have to be fully fle shed-out works brimming lI"ith
details. Coming up with a basic plodine, details on the
I\' PC(s) im'oked (as well as fo r others likely to be
encountered), and some idea of whal success or failure
in the adventu re means, is often enough \0 get you
started. T he important thing is that you keep tile players challenged and engaged.
T he following arc some ad\'enture hooks in our popular Bait and Tackle nI format to help gi\'e you some
ideas.

Golden Opportunity
SETTING:

Town/ Wilderness (Beginn ing CharaCle rs)

BAIT: Soon after hilling town the characters arc

spending time in a loca! watering hole sa loon wilen
Ihey are approached by a stranger wilh a proposition.

He produces a claim for a dig site barely a day's ride

from the town. A site, he cl aims, that has shown color
and looks p romising. T he problem is that he has just
recleved news from back East that his wife is dying. He
needs to return on the next stage, Since the rights to
any claim that 's not worked at least once a month are
forfeite d , he's in a bit of a tight spot.
His proposal? He asks the group 10 work his claim
umil he returns. T hen they will split any gold recovercd, they will shake hands and he' ll take over the digging.
The group may find the p roposal to be a no lose situation. All they are really ris king is time. T he stranger
explains they'll need 10 heavily provision themseh-es.
He suggests mules, a wagon, food enough for sevef(ll

146

weeks, and firearms. So tbere will be an investment of

money as well.
T he stranger is running a scam. T he claim
is bogus. T he stranger and his partners arc flat broke
and attempting to push through the Shattered Frontier
to California. The plan is to wait at the 'claim' and
ambush the group when they arrive and steal their
p rovISIons.
T AC KLE :

By drawing the playe rs out of town and into the

wilderness the stranger and his cronies hope to hedge
their bel.

Big 1!ouble Comes in Big Packages

SETTING :

Town/T rail Beginning Characters)

BAIT: A local businessman approaches the players

about ajob. He wams them to deliver a steamer trunk
to a nearby town . He's providing a wagon and two
horses for the job (10 be returned after the job). He
explains the trunk holds an expensive china set and is
10 be delivered to a specific person who will pay them.
The job pays 550 if the dinnerware arri\'Cs unbroken.
T ACKLE: It may seem like easy mane), but , unfortunately for the group. wagging tongues ha\'e complicat ed the ~ituation .. \ fal se rumor has sp read that the
businessman is actually smuggling a shi pment of gold
out of town he owes money to a lot of people).

BAIT AND TACKLE "

Bait: to lur e, te mpt, o r entice.
Tack le: to knock a n opponent to th e gro und.
Bait and Tack leT.\1 presents a se ries of brief
adventure hooks that a GJ\ l can take and flesh out on
the fly. T hey can be useful if the G!\ I finds he's short
on ideas when preparing an adventure, or finds his
group has outpaced the night's adventure and he suddenly finds himself ha""ing to improvise. Each hook
is presented in a simple three-part format.

Setting: T his is simply a tag identifying the setting

or type of ad\'enture hook, i.e. wilderness, city, subterranean, etc.
Bait: Exactly that - the situation or carrOt used 10
lure or 'bait' the players and prod them in the righ t
direction.
Tack le : T his is the hammer or twist that makes
the situation dangerous, exciting, or challenging.
\\ilhout Ihe tackle what's the point?
You can find more Bail and Tackle adventure
hooks on our Acts & Eights website and forums at
http://www.kenzerco.com.

E.ven berore the group has rolled out, word or the

"shipment' has sp read all O\'er the area. Clueless, th e
players soon find they have a target on their backs.

SErrING:

Town Beginn ing to :\I oderate Characters

B AIT : A new saloon has opened in town.

Unrortunately ro r the owner the competition isn't too
happy about it. Twice someone has attempted to burn
him out, and his gi rls have been lured 0 1' scared away.
Then , a rew nights ago, his barkeep was se\'e rcly beaten wi th an axe handle. Customers arc now avoidi ng
his esta blishment like the plague. His ruture looks
bleak.

the body by the trailside and claim th e I"aluables? Do

they take the body with them to the nearest town for
identification and turn O\'er the valuables to the
authorities?
The I'ictim was a \'e ry well -known gambler Ilamed
Harry Fontaine. When traveling, he liked to don his
tfa\'cling clothes and put his fan cy duds in a satch el. Ir
the players turn in the valuables and body, they will be
rell arded ror thei r t rouble by Harry"s widow (S I 00.00),

After the characters wander in unaware of what's

been happening " the friendl y owner begins s lidin ~
drinks down the bar
on the home. Once they arc
good and liquored up, he makes them a n ofTe r. He
needs muscle. He'll prO\'ide room, board and a percentage of his profit s for the next 30 days if they'll
stick around long enough ror him 10 ge t things under
control. T he competit ion is just hoping he'll run without a fight , he bclieves. If he takes a sta nd they 'll soon
back down.
TAC KLE: If th e players accept the job, they'll find
they 'll have their hands rull ror the next 30 days. Hired
thugs sent to cause trouble begin frequeming the bar,
a nd when the playe rs make their way out on the tOWI1
they find trouble rollows them. If they make it through
the 30 day period
and the owner hasn't been
burned out - he may exte nd his ofTer. If succe5sru l,
the group may even be able 10 le\'e rage their talents ro r
part ownership in the bar, making a ni ce base of operations for future advcntures.

If the), choose to keep the \'aluables and don"t report

finding the body, it could go bad ly ror them. Anyone
who knel\" Harry will rccogniz(" hi~ distinct i\'('
hat/boots ir they ,e(' someone cl ~e wearing them. Thi ~
\\ ill obviou<;ly rai~e que~tions, especially since Harry is
long O\'crdue, The players may hm'e ~ome explaining
to do and will be suspected of foul play.

Posse ibrming Up
SETTlNG: To\I' 1l

The 1!ouble witb JIarry

SETTING:

Wilderness/Trail Beginning CharaCters

BAIT: While traveling along a remote trail, the characters stumble upon a half-decomposed body. Lying
nearby is a satchel filled with banknotcs (S250.00 in
Texican dollars), a fine pair of boots and a fancy hat
with a sih-er hat band.
Ir the charac ters examine the body, the)' notice a
broken stirrup rrom a saddle wrapped around one
ankle, and that the corpse has a broken leg.
T he playe rs shou ld be able to quickly deduce that
the poor unrortunate was thrown from his horse, got
his ankle slUck in the stirrup and was dragged to his
death,
TACKLE: The d ownside of this enco unte r all
depends on what the cha racters do next. Do they bury

BAIT: The players arri\'e in a small town that seems

largely desertcd, ). Iost of the businesses arc closed
do\\ n and the only townsfolk wandering the street arc
women, old men and children.

After noticing the saloon is still open, the charactcrs

decide to get drinks. After bellying lip to the bar, the)'
learn rrom the bartender an old man that most everyo ne who cou ld carry a gun joi ned up with the posse
Ihe sherifT formed up that morning.
He explains that Three Whiskers Jake and his notorious gang tried to rob the bank that morning and th e
posse was determined to track him down.
TAC KLE: The G:\ l should emph asize the fa ci that
the town is mostly deserted
hoperully the characters
will take the bait and try to rob the bank themselves.
If they don 't take the bait , no worries, for Three

147

Whiskers J ake has outwitted the posse. The bandit has

backtracked to town and plans on another attempt.
This means that the players may ha"e to step up and
be heroes and defend the bank. If, however, they
choose to rob the bank themselves, it could be a race
to see who hits it first.

Rai se Ibe Color s

SETTING:

Town

BAIT: T he players are in a crowded bar soaking up

the suds and looking for work when they draw the
attention of some local men. One of the men olTers to
pay a S5 gold coin to whoe"er will elimb the nag pole
across the street and raise the nag he hands them. He
even gives the coin to the bartender and instructS him
to pay the man who gets the job done.
TAC KLE: If they fall for it, the players are about to
become the victim of a local practical joke. The saloon
(whose custOmers are mostly Confederates) has been
embroiled in a long-term feud with the Saloon across
the street (whose custOmers are mostly Union sympathizers).

For the past several months theY\'e been raising the

Confederate nag on the nag polc and tearing do\\"n the
Union colo rs. At first, it was all fun and giggles. but the
Yankees in town eventually gre'\" tired of the game.
They have become quite hostile and arc insisting the
prank cease.

Wanled Man
SETTING:

As much as J ack !ooks like the man on the wanted

poster, the truth is he's an innocent man. Of course,
chances are the players won't be convinced and will
want to go for what looks like easy money.
I f the players
decide to return
10 the shack and
attempt to ca pture Jack, they
will certainly nOt f.~",,_;;;
be very \\"anniy
recei\"t~d. Despite
Jack's
earlier
assertion. he has
been finding gold
in the claim that
the previous owne rs
thought had been 'played Out' . Its not much (S300 .00
in gold), but to him it's a fortune and he 's convinced
it's just the beginning.

When the players ride up, J ack is convinced they

have returned to rob him and boards himself up in hi s
shack. He has a rine, is a fair shot and will fire on the
group in an attempt to dri\"e them away.
Should the group capture or kill).Jack and baul him
in to collect the reward, the mistaken identity will be
revealed and there may be some unexpected consequences.

Wilderness

The characters arc tra"eling in a remote area

and stop to water their horses at what first appears to
be an abandoned miner's shack . While tending to
their business. a rough -looking charaCter rides up with
a pair of rabbits slung across his saddle.
BAIT:

Th e stranger seems annoyed to see the characters.

Still, he invites them to stay and share a meal with
him. Even if the players decline the olTer and mo,'e on,
they are struck by the stra nger's se nse of presence.
If they accept the meal, they learn the stranger (he
introduces himself as J ack) is extremely chari smatic,
loves to talk and seems a bit lonely. He explains he's
from back East and trying his luck looking for gold. He
makes a point of the fact he's found no color and is
abou t to throw it in and give up.
TACKLE: \Vhen the players arrive at the next town
lhey ride by a sherilT who is tacking up a wanted
poster. To their astonishment, the likeness on lhe
posler bears an uncanny resemblance 10 Jack. The

148

poster is for a nOlOrious outlaw known as "Three

R ivers Jake i\'IcCoy." and a S500 .00 reward is being
olTered for his capture - dead or alive.

Family Losl
SETTING:

Wilderness (Semi-experienced Characters)

BAIT: A local general store owner came \Vest to seck

his fortune until, finally, be is able 10 send back 10
Kentucky for his family 10 join him. However, they are
now a week a nd a half overdue. The poor man is fran
tic and is olTe ring a reward to anyone who will help
him find thcm. He has posted signs all over lawn olTer
ing a reward of $200.00 (or $500.00 credit at his store)
to anyone \\"ho finds his family and brings them back
safely. The last he heard from them, his family had
telegraphed that they were a mere five days away.
TACKLE: :"10nt hs ago, the sto re owner's father,
mother, and you ng wife (who is expecting their fir st
child) started travelling in a wagon loaded down with
all of th eir worldly possessions. Just after sending the
telegraph, they were approached by a couple of drivcrs heading in the same direction. The pair suggested
the family travel in their company for proteetion,

expla ining the road ahead was fi lled with bandits.

\ Vhen the weather took a turn for the wo rst, the group
got lost and turned off the main trail, becoming mired
in the mud. To make matte rs worse, Ind ians stole the ir
horses d uring the night.
T he players need to usc their T racking skill and
negotiate with Indians to retrieve the family without
gun play, T he rogue tribe demands a ransom for safe
passage out.

Mystery on Ih' Ranch

SE"ITI NG :

Ranch (Beginning Characters

BAIT: A local cattle baron seems to be losing se\'eral

bead of cattle every night. Other strange incidents are
happening around the ranch as well, such as saddle
straps being cut and causing injuries. horses coming up
ill, elc. Since he suspeclS one or more of his hired help
arc involved, he wanlS to bring in outsiders to imestiga le.

He has se nt his trusted fo reman into town to hire

some new me n with no bonds of frie nds hip with his
crew. They' ll be given orders to keep the ir eyes and
cars open, a nd will be pa id a handsome bon us if they
turn up anything, The cattle baron doesn't trust any of
his own men right now, with the exception of his foreman.
TAC KLE : As it turns out, the ranch owne r's youngest
son is secretly working with a ri,al ranch owner to sabotage his dad's ranch, resentful of how much attention
and responsibility his father gives his oldest brother.
O\e r the past year he hired ranch hands who answe r
to hi m and help him cause havoc around the ranch.

T he ranch owner will not want to hear that his so n

has been sandbagging him. If the son discovers the
new "ha nds" are snooping around and are close to
revealing the truth to his father. he may lake drastic
measures to p revent this,

1}oub), f rom Ih' Pasl

SETTI NG:

Indian sctt lement (Begi nn ing Characters'

BAIT: A merchant wants to hire several workers to

accom pany him on a trading expedition to an Indian
selliement, a th ree days' ride. He needs good men to
perform various tasks, from guarding the merchandise
to loadi ng and u nloading wagons, translating etc. T he
pay is a generous 515.00 fo r a wec k's wo rk .
TAC KLE : The merchant has made a career of trading 'and cheating people. Unfortu nately, in this situation his reputation p roceeds hi m when it comes to the
Indians. A few years ago he traded with a group of

Indians sevcral hundred miles away and swi ndled

them.
He doesn't real ize the
selliemcnt he intends to
trade with now is comprised of many of those
same Indians. As soon
as he arrives he will be
recognized, and those
he has hired will be considered guilty by association.

La nd Gra b
S ETTI N G :

Towl1

Lazarus IS
booming and thc
townsfolk arc JU St
giddy about their 1O\\n's future. 50 much so in fact that
they've been celebrating. A wealthy banker and land
speculator, Terrence Brice, arrivcd tOO late to cash in
on the bona nza, so he's looking 10 found a new lown
of his own,
B AIT :

He has come up with a surefire way 10 make money.

He has adyen ised in several small-town newspapers
back East that hl' wilt be hosting a land-grab con test in
a 'new' town that he promises will be 'booming" in no
lime. The winner of this contest. he Mates, lIill recei\"l'
fi,'c free lOIS of land in " Briceburg," and the winner
will get 10 pick the lots he wants. All are imited to participate. The entry fcc for this contcst, he ad,'cnises, is
a mere 51.
Terrance is hoping

10

rake in thousands.

TAC KLE: In order to win the contest, a pe rson must

compete and win several e,"ents. T he G;\. I can decide
the nature of the contest. A horse racc using the chasc
rules, a shooting contest, or a bare knuckles b rawl
could all be popular with the townsfolk
and the
players.

The person who willS this contest will indeed win

the deed for free land, but whethcr or not it ends up
having any real value depends if Briceburg gets ofT the
ground,

Rl si 1}acks 10 1}oub),
SE"ITING :

T rain

BAIT: The players are riding a train and enjoying the

magnificent scenery stream ing by outside the windows
of the passe nger car,

149

They picked a bad day for a train ridc,

Bandits arc waiting in ambush where the train has to
slow down to make a bend in the rails, They board the
train just behind the engineltender and begin making
their way to the rear of the train (going from car to
car) robbing passengers.
TAC KLE :

Their ultimate goal is to get to the mail car toward

the end of the train and seize the payroll shipment
they\re been tipped oIT about. Hopefully, the players
wi!! Step up and be the heroes of the hour and take on
the outlaws.
This is a nice adventure hook when the G :\! wilm s a
simple linear adventu re with cinematic feel i.e. lots of
gunplay and action). Combatants will h,l\'c plenty of
cover as they fight from car to car as \\'ell as other
options (such as going up on the roof).

CAMPAIGN EVENTS
In addition to the acl\-entures you'll be rUllnlllg session to session. you'll also need to think aboUl the o\'erall campaign and backstory that drives all the action.
T he following arc a few campaign elements that can
propel cvents in your campaign and suggeSt or c\'en
create) new adventu rc opportunties for your players to
ta ke on. You can usc one or se\'eral.

and personal and nOt just rumors of e\'cnts far

removed.
Gold claims could be in jeopardy. ;\ot to memion
thc very existence of squatter towns. But it can also
c reate opportunities for those say\'}' enough to recognize them . Instability tends to heighten tension in the
campaign
just the thing to keep your players on
their tocs.

Political Upb eaval

Since playcrs tend to g ravitate tOward towns and usc
them as their base of operat ions, the political arena is
a great \\"ay to get them involved in the welfa re of the
community itself.
As the playe rs busy themselves with adventuring, all
about them is the buzz of an upcoming election. Up
for g rabs is the oflice of mayor, sheriIT and other postions of prestige and powe r. Strong personalities arc
involved (perhaps even one or mo re of the players) and
the campaigning is getting heated. The potemial for
\'oting fraud and other dirty politics makes this camp;:llgn C\'ent ripe for advcnture oppo rt unities.

MU5KEEGIE
.. _

Thundering Rails
The railroad is coming and nothing can stand in its
way. Yet, with progress co mes turmoil, as those in the
way get shoved aside. Depending on terrain and the
le\'cl of dete r mination some rail crews arc able to lay
a mile of track per day.
With this campaign e\'el1l, the G:\ ! decides \\"hat
communities the railroad links, and ac\\'ances the railline as game time passes by, A mile a day is a bit
ambitous, so figure 2d3 miles a week and adjust for difficulty of terrain, such as mountains and ri\'er c rossmgs.
" 'ith the railroad comes throngs of people: adventure seekers, opportunists, laborers and morc, All of
these can ha\'e a huge impact on the <lrea.

Rumors of

~r

This is usually a given for the Shattered Frontier, but

with this clement one or more politic<ll or cthnic
groups <Ire in a state of uphea\al. Perhaps the Indians
arc upset o\'er a treaty violation, or m<lybe Imperial
:\! exico is upset th<lt so many Gnion settle rs arc filtering imo Ihe Cauldron. Such political unrest should
always be churning in the backdrop of your campaign,
but with this campaign elemem, it's suddenly up close

150

" ' _ . ...... _

rJ

,
HERALD
'"-7 - . ....

, ::en<

' .... _ %

APACHE UPRISING!

RBJ)

SLEEVES 8t'RNS OUT SE'l'TLEMENTS!

CUTS OFF SUP?L'l ROUTES TO SlI,vER TOWN!!

clllmm
WI! CBIIF
raLLO.S
mam
. 1111

IBm!! !

Gold Strike
This is already a major campaign clement in the
Shattered Fronti cr, but having a new sOll rce of gold or
silver pop up is good way to mix things up ,'and to
change the face of your map).

The lOwn Builders

One of the most fascinating cam paign opportunities
is the creation of new lowns and com munities where
none existed before. This can be e\'en more exciting
when players gct in on the action.

Be it to exploit a local resource gold, lumber. ealtlc.

etc), 10 fill a niche :such as taking advantage of Ihe nO\\
of people and materia l along a trade rout or simpl~ to
gain a footho ld in an open territory for sponsers o r
ilWCSlO f S back cast, there arc many reasons why a new
town may spring up.

.\ s soon as word hits that gold has been found, people flock to Ihe area. Boomlowns rise up o\ernight.
New Irails arc Cut. Supplies begin pouring in. Of
course, none of this guarantees how long the colo r will
hold out. Gold busts were a common occu rrence.

A new town can shift the center of power in a region

and have a fa r reaching impact both politically and economically. T he Old West was all about expansion, and
the re's no reason yOllr players should be lefl Out of the
act ion.
T he foll owi ng pages provide more information about
to\\ ns in the Ae($ & Eights campaign, and even provide
\wo sample towns for your usc!