🎲 GM Quick Reference
Essential tables for running weird west sessions. When you need a gunslinger name, saloon rumor, or complication on the spot - roll or choose instantly.
👤 Frontier Names (d100)
Names for gunslingers, townsfolk, and frontier characters
1-25
- Jake "Rattlesnake" Morgan
- Molly Sutton
- Silas Black
- Doc Holliday Hayes
- Maria "La Rosa" Mendez
- Dutch Vanderbilt
- Sarah Thornton
- Cole "Deadshot" Mason
- Abigail Winters
- Wyatt Cordell
- Evangeline Cross
- Jesse "Bloody" Carver
- Ruth Hawthorne
- Buck Cassidy
- Josephine "Widow" Cain
- Ezekiel Stone
- Adelaide Porter
- Hank "Mad Dog" Miller
- Grace Blackwood
- Caleb Rourke
- Constance Fairchild
- Quinn "Quick Draw" Dalton
- Eliza Mae Hawkins
- Jedediah Pride
- Louisa Garrett
26-50
- Travis "Tumbleweed" Kane
- Belle Starr Monroe
- Josiah Blackburn
- Catherine "Cat" O'Brien
- Gideon Storm
- Martha Prescott
- Vernon "Rattlesnake" Price
- Harriet Crane
- Clayton Wells
- Miriam "Madame" Devereaux
- Butch Sullivan
- Pearl Dawson
- Silas "Six-Gun" Harper
- Virginia Lockhart
- Moses Cartwright
- Rebecca "Quicksilver" Nash
- Jasper Wolfe
- Prudence St. Claire
- Luther "Hangman" Rhodes
- Magnolia Calhoun
- Amos Bridger
- Delilah Cross
- Solomon "Preacher" Hayes
- Temperance Joy
- Colt Remington
51-75
- Charity Palmer
- Nathaniel "Nat" King
- Dorothea Vale
- Rufus Tate
- Ida May Hartwell
- Zachariah "Prophet" Crow
- Cordelia Weston
- Jeremiah Flint
- Annabel Granger
- Isaiah "Iron" McGraw
- Esther Blackwell
- Tobias "Scarface" Flynn
- Matilda Cooper
- Augustus "Gus" Raven
- Helena Marsh
- Obadiah Stone
- Victoria "Vixen" Vale
- Thaddeus Boone
- Millicent Ashford
- Beauregard "Beau" Sterling
- Octavia Rayne
- Malachi Graves
- Beatrice "Bet" Morrison
- Archibald "Archie" Sloane
- Penelope Frost
76-100
- Elijah "Tombstone" Black
- Lillian Goodwin
- Montgomery Ward
- Rosalind "Rose" Wilder
- Barnabas Colt
- Meredith Pike
- Cornelius "Corny" Drake
- Winifred Langley
- Phineas Whitlock
- Seraphina Moon
- Mordecai "Doc" Russell
- Clementine Wilde
- Zebulon "Zeb" Pritchard
- Imogene Starling
- Ephraim Wainwright
- Lucretia "Lucky" Shane
- Ambrose Holloway
- Sophronia Hale
- Thatcher "Quick" Payne
- Wilhelmina "Billie" Hunt
- Bartholomew "Bart" Slade
- Genevieve Sinclair
- Ichabod "Ike" Dempsey
- Arabella Knight
- Solomon "Sol" Graves
🗣️ Saloon Rumors (d20)
What folks hear over whiskey and cards in frontier saloons
| d20 | Rumor |
|---|---|
| 1 | "Cattle baron Morrison's herd spooked last night. All 300 head stampeded straight off Devil's Cliff. Cowhands say they heard singing." |
| 2 | "Old mine on Skeleton Ridge opened back up. Been sealed forty years since the cave-in. Men who died down there were never recovered. Now someone's mining it again." |
| 3 | "Preacher Blackwell's been delivering sermons in languages nobody recognizes. Congregation says it sounds like prayer. Don't sound like no prayer I ever heard." |
| 4 | "Stranger rode into Deadwood yesterday. Wouldn't take his hat off indoors. When wind blew it off, weren't no head underneath. Just empty collar." |
| 5 | "Mexican witch up in hills selling love potions. They work - maybe too well. Last three buyers can't stop thinking about each other. Literally. Haven't slept in days." |
| 6 | "Railway company surveying route through sacred Indian burial ground. Shoshone medicine man put curse on project. Three surveyors dead in two weeks. Company hiring replacements." |
| 7 | "Gambler at Scarlet's been winning every hand for three straight nights. Same cards every time: dead man's hand. Says someone keeps dealing it to him." |
| 8 | "Doc Hayes treating illness he can't diagnose. Patient sweats silver. Actual silver. Refines to 90% pure. Patient's wasting away but suddenly very popular." |
| 9 | "Full moon last week, every dog in town howled at exactly midnight. Then stopped all at once. Then every coyote in the territory started. Lasted thirteen minutes." |
| 10 | "Prospector found vein of gold so pure it glows in dark. Took one nugget to assayer. Assayer locked it in safe and left town that night. Didn't take family." |
| 11 | "Wagon train disappeared on prairie. Twenty wagons, sixty people. Found the wagons this morning. Empty. Not a sign of struggle. Food still warm on fires." |
| 12 | "Hanging tree on Boot Hill been blooming out of season. Black roses. Sheriff says it's normal. Sheriff also won't walk past it after sundown." |
| 13 | "Snake oil salesman selling elixir that actually works. Cures anything. Bottle costs everything you own. People paying it. Doctor's concerned about the cures." |
| 14 | "Comanche raiding party attacked settlement. Killed everyone. Thing is - settlement was already abandoned. Been empty two years. Comanche insist they saw people there." |
| 15 | "Outlaw gang robbed bank in Prosperity. Rode north. Posse tracked them to canyon. Found the money but no gang. Tracks just stopped mid-stride." |
| 16 | "Widow Crane's mirror shows things that aren't there. Or maybe things that are. Hard to tell. She sees her dead husband in it. He's trying to tell her something." |
| 17 | "Dust devil been following the stagecoach run. Same one, three days running. Stays exactly twenty paces behind. Driver swears he sees a face in it." |
| 18 | "Mexican territory reporting La Llorona sightings. Weeping woman at the river. Except she's not crying for her children. She's calling your name. Don't answer." |
| 19 | "Blacksmith making bullets from strange meteoric iron. Says they'll kill things that can't be killed. Problem is - they're choosing their own targets." |
| 20 | "Railroad magnate offering ridiculous money for workers on new project. Don't say what the project is. Only requirement: must not be afraid of the dark. Or the dead." |
🔍 What's in the Saddlebags? (d20)
Found on outlaws, in abandoned camps, or hidden caches
| d20 | Item Found |
|---|---|
| 1 | Wanted poster offering $500 reward. For you. Crime you didn't commit. Or did you? Details disturbingly accurate about "your" methods. |
| 2 | Leather journal. Last entry: "The thing we killed in Tombstone wasn't a man. We need to burn the body. It's still moving." No date. Still warm. |
| 3 | Silver bullets (6). Hand-carved with symbols. Each engraved with different name. One name is someone you know. Living or dead? Should check. |
| 4 | Medicine bag. Indian craftsmanship. Contains herbs, bones, feathers. Also human teeth. Fresh ones. And a lock of hair matching your color exactly. |
| 5 | Deck of cards. 53 cards total. Extra card shows your face. When you check later, it's gone. All other cards now show same face. Yours. |
| 6 | Gold pocket watch. Inscription: "Time waits for no man." It's running backward. Has been for exactly your age in years. |
| 7 | Map showing treasure location. X marks spot that's currently occupied by active stagecoach station. Dig under it or... wait for it to burn down first? |
| 8 | Bottle of whiskey. Label: "Coffin Varnish - 180 Proof." Actually flammable. Drinking it provides visions of your death. Specific details. Tomorrow's date. |
| 9 | Harmonica that plays itself. Only one song. Sounds like funeral dirge. Previous owner's name carved on side. Died three days ago. You saw the body. |
| 10 | Scalp. Fresh. Problem: it's from someone you met yesterday. They were alive and well. Still should be. Might want to check on them. |
| 11 | Deed to property in town that doesn't exist. Or didn't. Until you found this deed. Now three people remember it always being there. |
| 12 | Photograph. Sepia-toned. Shows lynching. Victim's face is your face. Dated ten years ago. You were somewhere else ten years ago. Weren't you? |
| 13 | Knife. Bowie. Blade etched with names. All crossed out. Except three. Two you recognize as dead outlaws. Third is yours. Not crossed out. Yet. |
| 14 | Bundle of letters. Love letters. To someone named in town. From someone claiming to be you. Handwriting matches yours. Events described - you remember them. |
| 15 | Sacred Indian artifact. Clearly stolen from burial site. Clearly cursed. Also clearly worth significant money to collectors. Choices, choices. |
| 16 | Black rose. Fresh. No thorns. Doesn't wilt. Smells like gunpowder and copper. Exactly like the ones growing on hanging tree in town square. |
| 17 | Bag of gold teeth. 40 teeth. Each from different person. Five are definitely not human. Too many cusps. Wrong shape. What has teeth like that? |
| 18 | Spurs. Silver. Jingle when you walk. Problem: they jingle when you stand still too. And when you take them off. And when you bury them. |
| 19 | Bible. King James. Passages underlined. All describe end times and demons. One passage added in margin: coordinates. Leads to abandoned mission. |
| 20 | Contract. Signed in blood. Selling soul for "perfect aim, fastest draw, and immunity to bullets." Signature matches previous owner. Worked for them. Briefly. |
🎭 NPC Personality Quirks (d20)
Quick traits for frontier folk and gunslingers
| d20 | Personality Quirk |
|---|---|
| 1 | Former gunslinger trying to go straight. Hand hovers near empty holster constantly. Flinches at loud noises. "Those days are behind me." Keeps saying it. |
| 2 | Preacher-man. Quotes scripture constantly. Some verses you recognize. Others sound wrong. "Book of Revelations, Chapter 23." There is no chapter 23. |
| 3 | Native American raised by whites. Caught between two worlds. Neither accepts them. Knows things about the land. Things white folk won't believe. |
| 4 | Gambler. Professional. Can read every tell. Counts cards in their sleep. "Life's a gamble." Lost everything twice. Won it back three times. So far. |
| 5 | Widow running boarding house. Buried three husbands. All died mysteriously. She's quite wealthy now. Also quite interested in eligible bachelors. Coincidence? |
| 6 | Drifter. Never stays long. Always moving. Won't say from what. Checks horizon constantly. "Something's following me." Might not be paranoia. |
| 7 | Prospector. Struck it rich once. Lost it all. Still looking. "One more big strike." Been saying that for twenty years. Probably won't stop. |
| 8 | Railroad man. Believes in Progress and Civilization. Capital letters. Sees frontier as problem to be solved. Indigenous people as obstacles to remove. |
| 9 | Frontier doctor. Trained back east. Horrified by frontier medicine. "This is barbaric!" Still learning to amputate by lantern light. Drinking heavily. |
| 10 | Saloon girl with dreams of stage career. Actually talented. Actually going to make it. If she survives tonight. And tomorrow night. And the next. |
| 11 | Veteran of Civil War. Don't ask which side. Sees both sides of every issue now. "War settles nothing." Still wearing pieces of uniform though. |
| 12 | Snake oil salesman. Product actually works. Sort of. Side effects not mentioned. "Satisfaction guaranteed!" Leaves town before complaints arrive. |
| 13 | Bounty hunter. Cold. Professional. Brings them in alive when possible. Dead when necessary. "Nothing personal." Always means it. That's worse somehow. |
| 14 | Outlaw trying to build legitimate life. Changed name. Started over. Past keeps catching up. "Just one more score." Never is. Never will be. |
| 15 | Homesteader. Stubborn. Won't be run off land. Family's been here two generations. Will be here two more. "This is our land." Probably die defending it. |
| 16 | Cavalry officer. By the book. Regulation for everything. Deeply uncomfortable with moral gray areas of frontier. Orders are orders though. |
| 17 | Chinese immigrant. Railroad worker or laundry owner. Faces constant prejudice. Also knows where all bodies are buried. Literally. Very useful or very dangerous. |
| 18 | Mexican vaquero. Best wrangler in three territories. Knows horses better than people. Horses trust them completely. People should probably listen to the horses. |
| 19 | Schoolmarm. Educated. Idealistic. Believes in power of education. Also excellent shot. Had to learn. Frontier doesn't care about idealism. |
| 20 | Old-timer. Saw "when it was still wild." Fought Indians. Survived outlaws. Buried friends. Still here. "You young folks have it easy." Might be right. |
⚠️ Frontier Complications (d12)
When things are going too smoothly, roll for obstacles
| d12 | Complication |
|---|---|
| 1 | Hostile Territory: Crossed into Comanche hunting grounds. Or Apache. Or worse. Watched from ridgeline. Outnumbered. Nowhere to run on open prairie. |
| 2 | Posse on Your Trail: Sheriff's convinced you're outlaws. Or maybe you are. Either way, dust cloud behind you. Armed men. Not discussing reasonable doubt. |
| 3 | Horse Goes Lame: Can't ride hurt animal. Can't leave it. Can't make meeting on foot. Miles from anywhere. Sun setting. Predators circling. |
| 4 | Sandstorm: Massive dust cloud rolling in. Visibility dropping to zero. Easy to get lost. Easy to die. Need shelter don't have. Storm lasting hours minimum. |
| 5 | Ambush: Outlaws picked perfect spot. High ground, clear sight lines. You're in kill zone. They're calling for surrender. Might want to consider it. |
| 6 | Supply Shortage: Water almost gone. Or ammunition. Or medical supplies. Calculation error or theft? Either way, problem. Nearest town two days ride. |
| 7 | Someone From Your Past: Person you wronged. Or helped. Or loved. Here. Now. Complicated history. They remember. They haven't forgiven. Or they want help. Again. |
| 8 | Supernatural Sign: Something wrong. Blood moon. Phantom lights. Unexplained sounds. Horses spooked. Dogs howling. Hair standing up. Ancient evil or active imagination? Risk ignoring it? |
| 9 | Fever: Someone's sick. Getting worse. Need doctor. Nearest one fifty miles away. Moving patient might kill them. Staying here definitely will. |
| 10 | Witness to Crime: Saw something you shouldn't. Gang killing. Cavalry massacre. Corporate murder. They know you saw. Making sure you understand silence. Permanent silence. |
| 11 | Debt Called In: Someone you owe finds you. Money, favor, or blood. Debt's due now. Can't pay. They're creative about collection methods. Very creative. |
| 12 | Claim Jumped: Your stake, your claim, or your land. Someone else moved in. Better armed. Legally questionable. Morally certain they're entitled. Sheriff's bought. Options limited. |