A NEW BASIC ROLEPLAYING SETTING

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.

NEW MONOGRAPH

THE GHOSTS IN THE HOUSE is a Call of Cthulhu campaign suitable for 3-6 beginning characters. The adventure emphasizes data collection and discussion over running and screaming, and thus it is suitable for beginning players as well as experienced ones. The first adventure is long (it takes place over 3 sessions or more); the subsequent adventures are much shorter. The campaign starts with The Man in the Hat, a long and involved situation involving the discovery and elimination of an alien being feeding on a creepy diet. Next is A House Full of Ghosts, a not-quite-triumphant return to the home to deal with the natural aftermath of the alien’s absence. The Hole in the Attic dealswith an unrelated problem in the home. And finally, the campaign wraps up in The Last Gasp, which is precipitated by the discovery of what may be the egg of another alien. The Man in the Hat should take several group meetings to run; the other adventures should be easily wrapped up in a single session each.

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Delta Green: Targets of Opportunity is an all-new sourcebook for Call of Cthulhu and Delta Green, a conglomeration of evils, many of them whispered in hints and rumors since the earliest days of Delta Green.

Summer’s Gone!
The Folks at Chaosium