🎲 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

  1. Jake "Rattlesnake" Morgan
  2. Molly Sutton
  3. Silas Black
  4. Doc Holliday Hayes
  5. Maria "La Rosa" Mendez
  6. Dutch Vanderbilt
  7. Sarah Thornton
  8. Cole "Deadshot" Mason
  9. Abigail Winters
  10. Wyatt Cordell
  11. Evangeline Cross
  12. Jesse "Bloody" Carver
  13. Ruth Hawthorne
  14. Buck Cassidy
  15. Josephine "Widow" Cain
  16. Ezekiel Stone
  17. Adelaide Porter
  18. Hank "Mad Dog" Miller
  19. Grace Blackwood
  20. Caleb Rourke
  21. Constance Fairchild
  22. Quinn "Quick Draw" Dalton
  23. Eliza Mae Hawkins
  24. Jedediah Pride
  25. Louisa Garrett

26-50

  1. Travis "Tumbleweed" Kane
  2. Belle Starr Monroe
  3. Josiah Blackburn
  4. Catherine "Cat" O'Brien
  5. Gideon Storm
  6. Martha Prescott
  7. Vernon "Rattlesnake" Price
  8. Harriet Crane
  9. Clayton Wells
  10. Miriam "Madame" Devereaux
  11. Butch Sullivan
  12. Pearl Dawson
  13. Silas "Six-Gun" Harper
  14. Virginia Lockhart
  15. Moses Cartwright
  16. Rebecca "Quicksilver" Nash
  17. Jasper Wolfe
  18. Prudence St. Claire
  19. Luther "Hangman" Rhodes
  20. Magnolia Calhoun
  21. Amos Bridger
  22. Delilah Cross
  23. Solomon "Preacher" Hayes
  24. Temperance Joy
  25. Colt Remington

51-75

  1. Charity Palmer
  2. Nathaniel "Nat" King
  3. Dorothea Vale
  4. Rufus Tate
  5. Ida May Hartwell
  6. Zachariah "Prophet" Crow
  7. Cordelia Weston
  8. Jeremiah Flint
  9. Annabel Granger
  10. Isaiah "Iron" McGraw
  11. Esther Blackwell
  12. Tobias "Scarface" Flynn
  13. Matilda Cooper
  14. Augustus "Gus" Raven
  15. Helena Marsh
  16. Obadiah Stone
  17. Victoria "Vixen" Vale
  18. Thaddeus Boone
  19. Millicent Ashford
  20. Beauregard "Beau" Sterling
  21. Octavia Rayne
  22. Malachi Graves
  23. Beatrice "Bet" Morrison
  24. Archibald "Archie" Sloane
  25. Penelope Frost

76-100

  1. Elijah "Tombstone" Black
  2. Lillian Goodwin
  3. Montgomery Ward
  4. Rosalind "Rose" Wilder
  5. Barnabas Colt
  6. Meredith Pike
  7. Cornelius "Corny" Drake
  8. Winifred Langley
  9. Phineas Whitlock
  10. Seraphina Moon
  11. Mordecai "Doc" Russell
  12. Clementine Wilde
  13. Zebulon "Zeb" Pritchard
  14. Imogene Starling
  15. Ephraim Wainwright
  16. Lucretia "Lucky" Shane
  17. Ambrose Holloway
  18. Sophronia Hale
  19. Thatcher "Quick" Payne
  20. Wilhelmina "Billie" Hunt
  21. Bartholomew "Bart" Slade
  22. Genevieve Sinclair
  23. Ichabod "Ike" Dempsey
  24. Arabella Knight
  25. 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
1Wanted poster offering $500 reward. For you. Crime you didn't commit. Or did you? Details disturbingly accurate about "your" methods.
2Leather 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.
3Silver bullets (6). Hand-carved with symbols. Each engraved with different name. One name is someone you know. Living or dead? Should check.
4Medicine bag. Indian craftsmanship. Contains herbs, bones, feathers. Also human teeth. Fresh ones. And a lock of hair matching your color exactly.
5Deck 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.
6Gold pocket watch. Inscription: "Time waits for no man." It's running backward. Has been for exactly your age in years.
7Map 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?
8Bottle of whiskey. Label: "Coffin Varnish - 180 Proof." Actually flammable. Drinking it provides visions of your death. Specific details. Tomorrow's date.
9Harmonica 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.
10Scalp. Fresh. Problem: it's from someone you met yesterday. They were alive and well. Still should be. Might want to check on them.
11Deed to property in town that doesn't exist. Or didn't. Until you found this deed. Now three people remember it always being there.
12Photograph. Sepia-toned. Shows lynching. Victim's face is your face. Dated ten years ago. You were somewhere else ten years ago. Weren't you?
13Knife. Bowie. Blade etched with names. All crossed out. Except three. Two you recognize as dead outlaws. Third is yours. Not crossed out. Yet.
14Bundle of letters. Love letters. To someone named in town. From someone claiming to be you. Handwriting matches yours. Events described - you remember them.
15Sacred Indian artifact. Clearly stolen from burial site. Clearly cursed. Also clearly worth significant money to collectors. Choices, choices.
16Black rose. Fresh. No thorns. Doesn't wilt. Smells like gunpowder and copper. Exactly like the ones growing on hanging tree in town square.
17Bag of gold teeth. 40 teeth. Each from different person. Five are definitely not human. Too many cusps. Wrong shape. What has teeth like that?
18Spurs. Silver. Jingle when you walk. Problem: they jingle when you stand still too. And when you take them off. And when you bury them.
19Bible. King James. Passages underlined. All describe end times and demons. One passage added in margin: coordinates. Leads to abandoned mission.
20Contract. 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
1Former gunslinger trying to go straight. Hand hovers near empty holster constantly. Flinches at loud noises. "Those days are behind me." Keeps saying it.
2Preacher-man. Quotes scripture constantly. Some verses you recognize. Others sound wrong. "Book of Revelations, Chapter 23." There is no chapter 23.
3Native American raised by whites. Caught between two worlds. Neither accepts them. Knows things about the land. Things white folk won't believe.
4Gambler. Professional. Can read every tell. Counts cards in their sleep. "Life's a gamble." Lost everything twice. Won it back three times. So far.
5Widow running boarding house. Buried three husbands. All died mysteriously. She's quite wealthy now. Also quite interested in eligible bachelors. Coincidence?
6Drifter. Never stays long. Always moving. Won't say from what. Checks horizon constantly. "Something's following me." Might not be paranoia.
7Prospector. Struck it rich once. Lost it all. Still looking. "One more big strike." Been saying that for twenty years. Probably won't stop.
8Railroad man. Believes in Progress and Civilization. Capital letters. Sees frontier as problem to be solved. Indigenous people as obstacles to remove.
9Frontier doctor. Trained back east. Horrified by frontier medicine. "This is barbaric!" Still learning to amputate by lantern light. Drinking heavily.
10Saloon girl with dreams of stage career. Actually talented. Actually going to make it. If she survives tonight. And tomorrow night. And the next.
11Veteran of Civil War. Don't ask which side. Sees both sides of every issue now. "War settles nothing." Still wearing pieces of uniform though.
12Snake oil salesman. Product actually works. Sort of. Side effects not mentioned. "Satisfaction guaranteed!" Leaves town before complaints arrive.
13Bounty hunter. Cold. Professional. Brings them in alive when possible. Dead when necessary. "Nothing personal." Always means it. That's worse somehow.
14Outlaw trying to build legitimate life. Changed name. Started over. Past keeps catching up. "Just one more score." Never is. Never will be.
15Homesteader. 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.
16Cavalry officer. By the book. Regulation for everything. Deeply uncomfortable with moral gray areas of frontier. Orders are orders though.
17Chinese immigrant. Railroad worker or laundry owner. Faces constant prejudice. Also knows where all bodies are buried. Literally. Very useful or very dangerous.
18Mexican vaquero. Best wrangler in three territories. Knows horses better than people. Horses trust them completely. People should probably listen to the horses.
19Schoolmarm. Educated. Idealistic. Believes in power of education. Also excellent shot. Had to learn. Frontier doesn't care about idealism.
20Old-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
1Hostile Territory: Crossed into Comanche hunting grounds. Or Apache. Or worse. Watched from ridgeline. Outnumbered. Nowhere to run on open prairie.
2Posse 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.
3Horse Goes Lame: Can't ride hurt animal. Can't leave it. Can't make meeting on foot. Miles from anywhere. Sun setting. Predators circling.
4Sandstorm: 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.
5Ambush: Outlaws picked perfect spot. High ground, clear sight lines. You're in kill zone. They're calling for surrender. Might want to consider it.
6Supply Shortage: Water almost gone. Or ammunition. Or medical supplies. Calculation error or theft? Either way, problem. Nearest town two days ride.
7Someone 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.
8Supernatural Sign: Something wrong. Blood moon. Phantom lights. Unexplained sounds. Horses spooked. Dogs howling. Hair standing up. Ancient evil or active imagination? Risk ignoring it?
9Fever: Someone's sick. Getting worse. Need doctor. Nearest one fifty miles away. Moving patient might kill them. Staying here definitely will.
10Witness to Crime: Saw something you shouldn't. Gang killing. Cavalry massacre. Corporate murder. They know you saw. Making sure you understand silence. Permanent silence.
11Debt 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.
12Claim 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.