Boot Hill (role-playing game)
Encyclopedia
Boot Hill is a western
role-playing game
designed by Brian Blume
and Gary Gygax
. First published in 1975, Boot Hill was TSR
's third role-playing game, not long after Dungeons and Dragons and Empire of the Petal Throne.
combat game, but even in the later editions, most of the rules are combat resolution, with relatively little setting or social interaction rules. Combat could be short and deadly, with death often coming from a single gunshot. Boot Hill had no character levels per se, but attributes could be raised over time, and in no game of Boot Hill do player characters truly have an advantage over non-player characters in strict observation of the rules. There were also no non-human enemies, or alignment
rules, as in Dungeons and Dragons, making the difference between the "good guys" and "bad guys" a matter of interpretation or choice.
It was one of the first games to only (or mostly) use ten-sided dice as percentile dice, for character abilities and skill resolution.
Boot Hill, 2nd Edition was supported by a referee's screen and five 32 page adventure modules
:
TSR also released a three-figure pack of gunslinger miniatures for Boot Hill. http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~tpope/sol/tsr/boot-hill.html
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
designed by Brian Blume
Brian Blume
Brian J. Blume is noted for being a business partner of Gary Gygax in TSR, Inc., producers of the fantasy role-playing game, Dungeons & Dragons.-Biography:...
and Gary Gygax
Gary Gygax
Ernest Gary Gygax was an American writer and game designer best known for co-creating the pioneering role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons with Dave Arneson. Gygax is generally acknowledged as the father of role-playing games....
. First published in 1975, Boot Hill was TSR
TSR, Inc.
Blume and Gygax, the remaining owners, incorporated a new company called TSR Hobbies, Inc., with Blume and his father, Melvin Blume, owning the larger share. The former assets of the partnership were transferred to TSR Hobbies, Inc....
's third role-playing game, not long after Dungeons and Dragons and Empire of the Petal Throne.
System
Boot Hill has been both praised and criticised for focusing on gunfighting. The first edition was specifically marketed as a miniaturesMiniature figure
A miniature figure is a small-scale representation of a historical or mythological entity used in miniature wargames, role-playing games, and dioramas. Miniature figures are commonly made of metal, plastic, or paper...
combat game, but even in the later editions, most of the rules are combat resolution, with relatively little setting or social interaction rules. Combat could be short and deadly, with death often coming from a single gunshot. Boot Hill had no character levels per se, but attributes could be raised over time, and in no game of Boot Hill do player characters truly have an advantage over non-player characters in strict observation of the rules. There were also no non-human enemies, or alignment
Alignment (role-playing games)
In some role-playing games, alignment is a categorisation of the moral and ethical perspective of the player characters, non-player characters, monsters, and societies in the game....
rules, as in Dungeons and Dragons, making the difference between the "good guys" and "bad guys" a matter of interpretation or choice.
It was one of the first games to only (or mostly) use ten-sided dice as percentile dice, for character abilities and skill resolution.
Publications
- 1st edition, printed in 1975, 34 pages, no ISBN.
- 2nd edition, printed in 1979, ISBN 0-394-51875-6.
- 3rd edition, printed in 1990, ISBN 0-88038-976-1.
Boot Hill, 2nd Edition was supported by a referee's screen and five 32 page adventure modules
Adventure (role-playing games)
An adventure is either a published or otherwise written collection of plot, character, and location details used by a gamemaster to manage the plot or story in a role-playing game. Each adventure is based upon a particular gaming genre and is normally designed for use with a specific game or gaming...
:
- Referee's Screen and Mini-Module, ISBN 0-394-52590-6.
- Mad Mesa (BH1), printed in 1981, ISBN 0-935696-71-7, and 1982, ISBN 0-394-52705-4. Written to be playable solitaire, as a gamebookGamebookA gamebook is a work of fiction that allows the reader to participate in the story by making effective choices. The narrative branches along various paths through the use of numbered paragraphs or pages...
, or as a multiplayer module. - Lost Conquistador Mine (BH2), printed in 1982, ISBN 0-394-52594-9.
- Ballots and Bullets (BH3), 1982, ISBN 0-394-53067-5.
- Burned Bush Wells (BH4), 1984, ISBN 0-394-53466-2.
- Range War! (BH5), 1984, ISBN 0-88038-105-1.
TSR also released a three-figure pack of gunslinger miniatures for Boot Hill. http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~tpope/sol/tsr/boot-hill.html
External links
- Boot Hill - TSR's Wild West RPG Krakow RPGs has a complete bibliography with cover photos.
- Boot Hill, 2nd Edition - Review from the Museum of Roleplaying Games.
- Ride, Cowboy, Ride - The Forgotten Boot Hill - Review from GameGrene
- Boot Hill - Demian's Gamebook Web Page, mostly on the solitaire module, Mad Mesa.