Appendix N for People, Plots and Places of the WIld West

This entry will present the books that I've read as research for my People, Plots and Places of the Wild West series. I will try to work through them in order, starting with the ones I read for PDFs released in 2024. 

-Nate

Appendix N for People, Plots and Places of the Wild West

Title: The American West

Author: Dee Brown, with photos edited by Martin F. Schmitt

Publisher and Date: Touchstone, 1994

Overview:

This book is an excellent, thorough overview for the history of European settlement in the American West, from the first fur trappers in the wilderness to the end of what people call the “Old West.” It is, in my opinion, a great place to start reading about the topic, from which other books can fill in details about more specific elements.

Title: The Rivermen

Author: Paul O'Neil

Publisher and Date: Time Life Books, 1975

Overview:

This book focuses on river activity in the Old West, especially steamboats. It was quite helpful when I was writing supporting material for “The Riverboat.” The last chapter tells of the steamer Far West and its race to bring survivors and news from the Battle of the Little Bighorn back to Bismarck, which was a gripping tale.

Title: Fort Robinson and the American West, 1874-1899

Author: Thomas R. Buecker

Publisher and Date: Red River Books/University of Oklahoma Press, 2003

Overview:

This is a good example of a book that focuses on a specific topic. It tells the story of this fort, from the events of its construction, through its role in numerous conflicts with Native people, to a time when it was becoming obsolete. While it could be a bit dry at times, it provided many useful details while I was working on “Military Fort.”

Title: The Soldiers

Author: David Nevin

Publisher and Date: Time Life Books, 1975

Overview:

This is an example of pairing a Time Life Book with another text. Specifically, I read it along with the Fort Robinson book mentioned above. It complimented that book well, providing a solid overview of life in the frontier Army, especially while the soldiers were on trail.

Revenge of the Imaginary Western

Back in 2024 I shared a link to some music on Youtube, "Soundtrack from an Imaginary Western." I was pleasantly surprised to see, while listening to that this morning, that it has a sequel!

Soundtrack from an Imaginary Western

-Nate 

People, Plots and Places of the Wild West: A Horse Without a Rider

Now available from DrivethruRPG is "People, Plots and Places of the Wild West: A Horse Without a Rider."

People, Plots and Places of the Wild West: A Horse Without a Rider

This six-page scenario, for use with the Savage Worlds RPG, starts when a horse returns to Fort Phillips without its rider, launching a search for the band of settlers with which it was traveling. 

Treasure Hunter Adventures at Con of the North 2026!

I am excited to once again be running Treasure Hunter Adventures at Con of the North in 2026. The scenario for 2026 is called "The Thule Ultimatum." It wraps up a series of adventures involving neo-Nazi sympathizers and their hunt for relics intended to support their evil machinations. The rounds are 10:00 - 2:00 on Saturday and Sunday. 

https://www.conofthenorth.org/

-Nate 

Drew Struzan Has Passed Away

I am sad to read about the passing of Drew Struzan, an artist perhaps best known for his iconic movie posters. His work captures the quintessential feeling of many great films, ones that certainly inspired me in the RPG hobby. 

https://www.ign.com/articles/legendary-movie-poster-artist-drew-struzan-dies-at-78

-Nate

Captain Quin's Logbook: Kith and Kin

What do you do when you're home from work with a sick kid? Put the finishing touches on a little D&D adventure, of course!

Now available from DrivethruRPG is Captain Quin's Logbook: Kith and Kin. 

"This scenario is written for a new party of 1^st-level Player Characters, with the goal, by the end of it, of introducing them to the wonders of the Spelljammer campaign setting; they should advance to 2^nd level by the time it is finished. It involves a plot by a marooned plasmoid to coerce the lizard folk of a deserted island into diving for sunken treasure, by holding their eggs captive."

Captain Quin's Logbook: Kith and Kin

The Ossuary

This supplement started as an idea for a scenario at a gathering with some old college Gaming Club friends; it reuses a map from my first convention scenario for Treasure Hunter Adventures, "The Templar Mystery." I ended up not having a chance to run it over the summer, and so decided to use it as a release for #SWAGtember. 

-Nate 

The Ossuary

This short supplement presents a nefarious plot to refit an old Templar church as a shrine to demonic powers. It is designed for use with the Savage Worlds RPG and Treasure Hunter Adventures, released for #SWAGtember and just in time for spooky season. 

Sources of Inspiration: Fountain of Youth

 

This movie came out back in May, but I just had a chance to sit and watch it. Here are some thoughts.

• The chases at the start of this movie are reckless! It's hard for me to like a movie if I don't like the protagonists, and it's hard for me like a hero who endangers innocent bystanders.

• What's with the dream sequences? They seem to relate to an experience that Luke had with his dad, but it isn't really explained.

• Luke seems manipulative, too. He causes his sister to lose her job, and then seems to dismiss it because he believed she'd be happier on a treasure hunt. She has a family to support! Once again, it does not make him likable.

• Bringing a section of the Lusitania to the surface was interesting. I doubt that the science behind it works, but it made for some cool action scenes.

• We have multiple groups of rivals pursuing the prize, but we don't know much about who they are. A little more back story for them would have made the rest of the movie more engaging for me as the viewer.

• The sibling squabbling gets old.

• Using music for puzzles was a cool idea. It also gives the young character something important to do, which isn't always the case.

• That mechanism underneath the pyramid would have to be massive. They make for an exciting scene as they start to retract, though.

• All in all, I didn't particularly like this movie. I think it was due to not feeling invested in the characters. There are several big fight scenes in which lots of guns are used, and I found that I wasn't especially concerned about who would survive them.

OSS Report on the Holy Alliance

Now available on DriveThruRPG is OSS Report on the Holy Alliance. 

This supplement, for use with the Savage Worlds RPG and Treasure Hunter Adventures, presents the secret service organization of the Vatican. It includes a short history of the Papacy, two bases of operations, stats for agents, three new relics, a puzzle, and more than a dozen plot hooks. 

-Nate

OSS Report on the Holy Alliance

Second Preview of the Holy Alliance: Tetramorph Code

This code system is used by the Holy Alliance to protect important parcels of information. 

-Nate

First Preview of The Holy Alliance: A Church and a Cathedral

Here's the first preview of O.S.S. Report on the Holy Alliance, a supplement that details the secret service of the Vatican. This preview presents two bases of operations for Holy Alliance agents, a little country church and a towering cathedral. 

-Nate

Reading The Sixth Gun: Road to the Six

This issue is just a preview of the upcoming series, the first issue of which should be released next week. Here are my impressions.

• This story is written in three arcs, each one focusing on different characters.

• The first arc features Drake Sinclair as a knight; a caption says, “600 years before Becky Montcrief receives the Sixth Gun.” Sinclair confronts the Grey Witch, but the battle is not decisive. She seems to predict that one day they will face each other again.

• Then the story shifts to an Andre Belton, who strikes me as a Pinkerton. He is exploring a cave system—one that, according to his guide, held “An entire civilization... right under the noses of whoever lived up above.” The caption says this is “Shortly after Becky Montcrief rebuilds the world.” Belton describes his activities as a tracker, which introduces intriguing characters and locations only briefly. What is most intriguing is that he is bringing the item—perhaps the spirit of a powerful creature—to Mizadori in his weird hotel! These are elements from Shadow Roads that I wanted to see more, so this is exciting. Then it is revealed that the intended recipient of Belton's item, who may be the leader of the mysterious Cabal, is the person who once led the Knights of Solomon!

• Third the story shifts to Ghost Eyes and Izzy, two more characters from Shadow Roads. I liked them and am glad to see that they're back. The caption here says, “Elsewhere,” so it seems like this is the same time period as the previous vignette. They are both members of the Black Stars now, trailing some kind of villain through a swamp. Traveling through the Crossroads brings them to what looks a like a village in feudal Japan. Their quarry is a warlock, who is also carrying a vial like the one Belton recovered. The warlock dies from a gunshot, and it turns out that Abigail is the one who shot him. She has Kalfu with her!

These all seem to be elements that will be mixed into the new storyline, so I'm excited for it. The Sixth Gun is a rich setting with many intriguing threads, and it seems like nearly everything will be in play for the upcoming series.

Streaming Inspiration for Treasure Hunter Adventures

As I was tracking down the four movies featured in Monday's post, it occurred to me that I should type up a post that lists which treasure hunter films are available on the various streaming platforms. Here is that. Note that I did not include non-fiction shows.

Amazon Prime: Lost Treasure of the Maya; National Treasure: Book of Secrets

AppleTV+: Fountain of Youth

Disney+: All five Indiana Jones movies; National Treasure; National Treasure: Book of Secrets; National Treasure: Edge of History (series)

Hulu: None?

Max: King Solomon's Mines (1950); The Goonies; Uncharted

Netflix: Finding 'Ohana; Mr. Car and the Knights Templar; Outer Banks (series); The Monuments Men; Tomb Raider: The Rise of Lara Croft (animated series)

Tubi: Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold; Firewalker; King Solomon's Mines (1985); the Librarian trilogy; Tomb Raider (2018)—and that's where I'll pause the list. A search for the word treasure turned up lots and lots of movies, most of questionable quality.

Please feel free to add comments with anything that I missed, or if some of the movies on Tubi turn out to be pretty good.

Using Treasure Hunter Adventures Material in the World of Indiana Jones

Here are some ways to use recent Treasure Hunter Adventures supplements and scenarios in the world of Indiana Jones.

Generic Heroes

These print-and-play characters work just as well in the 1930s as they do in the modern day, with the possible exception of the Technician. Even so, if that character functions more as a mechanic, then it can work, too.

The Shrine of the Sybil

The notion of exploring tunnels and caverns beneath Rome takes on added drama if there are Nazis present in the city, as during the build-up to World War II, or if the Allies are bombing it. The heroes could be racing to finish this adventure as the bombs are falling!

Past, Present and Future

The events of this scenario are affected in the same way as The Shrine of the Sybil, above.

The Reckoning

The finale for the Apotheosis Campaign ties up any loose ends from previous adventures, and so it is limited only by what has happened during previous scenarios.

Apotheosis Campaign Guide

Limitations do not apply to this supplement, which just provides guidance for running the scenarios in the campaign.

Curses!

This shot supplement is not affected by time period.

OSS Report on the Invisible College

The OSS came into existence at the start of World War II, meaning that it wasn't around during the time period of the first three films. In Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, however, it is revealed that Indy and Mac worked for the OSS, and they would have been active during the period depicted early in Dial of Destiny. In fact, Basil Shaw could be a member of the Invisible College!

The Ship in the Ice

This shot supplement is not affected by time period.

Artifacts & Enigmas of the American Revolution

All of the historical events related to the relics and puzzles in this supplement have happened by the time Indy is born. It is fun to imagine, though, the excitement that could arise regarding these items after the events in Dial of Destiny, when an old but not retired Indy is present for the bicentennial celebration of American independence, before and during 1976.

Ritual Magic

This short supplement is not affected by time period.

Artifacts & Enigmas of the Knights Templar

Similarly, this supplement is chock full of material that would fit easily into adventures and campaigns. Additionally, the Templars can be an additional faction that is involved in the conflict. They might be seeking revenge against the Vatican, or they could be promoting the fighting in general and taking advantage of it in order to acquire relics and lore for themselves.

Pandemonium

Because it assumes that adventures and campaigns are using the High Magic style of play, and focuses on demons, this supplement may not be appropriate for the world Indiana Jones.

Because It Was the 80s

Apparently, if you released a treasure hunter movie in 1985, then you had to make a music video for it, too.

When the Going Gets Tough

This song plays during the end credits from Jewel of the Nile, and the phrase itself is a them throughout the film.

The Goonies R Good Enough

This song takes it to a whole other level by combining Cyndi Lauper, WWF Superstars, and a favorite film from my childhood.

Indiana June 2024-25

 For the past few year's I've been in the habit of blogging about Indiana Jones during the month of June. It started in 2021, which marked the fortieth anniversary of Raiders of the Lost Ark. In 2024 I had a lot of family stuff happening, and so did manage to post anything. This year I intend to make up for that. In fact, the combination of these two years makes for a starting theme, since the years 1984-85 brought a wave of treasure hunter movies that seemed like they wanted to ride the wave of Raiders' popularity.

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)

I wrote a “Watching Again” post about this movie back in 2023, during the lead-up to Dial of Destiny arriving in theaters (https://d20pirates.blogspot.com/2023/06/watching-again-indiana-jones-and-temple.html). Since then, however, I've read a number of articles calling out its racist character depictions and White Savior narrative.

Romancing the Stone (1984)

Whereas The Goonies definitely appeals to the kid in me, this one has grown on me as I've gotten older. Here are a few reasons why.

• The chemistry between Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner, as Jack Colton and Joan Wilder, is great. As much as I like that of Harrison Ford and Karen Allen in Raiders, this takes it to a whole other level.

• Danny DeVito makes a great foil for them, too. He is a villain, yes, but a likable one—especially when his character Ralph is contrasted with his on-screen brother, Ira.

• The prize in this story, a huge emerald shaped like a heart, is not so interesting, in my opinion. That's not important, however, since what matters is the goals of the protagonists that matter. Jack wants to buy a boat and sail around the world; Joan is looking for real-life romance. In chasing after the stone, they find those things.

• There are good action sequences, none of them too grandiose, but executed well.

• The ending of this story just feels good.

The Jewel of the Nile (1985)

This movie has not aged as well as its predecessor, and here's why.

• This movie quickly undoes a lot of what the heroes accomplished in the first movie. Normally that would bother me, but they do it so quickly that the I don't have much time to think about it.

• The plot involves a mishmash of Arab, Egyptian and Muslim elements, all taking place in “Africa” somewhere. This is another example of someone writing a story and wanting to use the feel of a culture without actually representing that culture accurately.

• To its credit, the story tries to do something different, making a twist on the hunt for a valuable gem by having the Jewel be a person.

• The jet scene is fun. It strikes me as something that the players in an RPG session would actually try to do.

• The heroes' visit to the Nubians doubles down on cultural mishmash. We end up with a fight for Joan's hand, and end with a dance party. Again, it would be nice if they tried to represent the culture accurately.

• I do like the finale. The notion of hiring a rock concert producer to stage manage Omar's political rally makes for a great backdrop, and there's plenty of opportunity for exciting action.

The Goonies (1985)

Here are my thoughts.

• The opening sequence of this film provides a great chance to introduce each character, giving a little insight into their backgrounds and recent activities.

• This whole thing is a chase that lasts about a day, moving through a mapped location that is filled with puzzler, traps, discoveries and other details. It would be interesting to try writing—and running—a scenario like this.

• The subplot about losing their homes adds to the drama, much like the characters' goals did in Romancing the Stone. A pirate ship and treasure is cool in its own right, but the fact that they're fighting against rich developers makes it even sweeter.

• These are fun villains, too. Robert Davi, Joe Pantoliano and Anne Ramsey would each make for a memorable bad guy in their own right; together they are quite the ensemble.

• This all sets up a slam-bang ending, with not one but two great moments: first, Rosalita finds what's in the marble bag; and second, One-Eyed Willy's pirate ship goes on one last cruise.

King Solomon's Mines (1985)

I might look at this movie in a later post. For now, however, I'm not willing to pay the money to rent or buy it.

Pandemonium

Happy Free RPG Day! This two-page supplement presents stats for three different types of demons, for use with Treasure Hunter Adventures and the Savage Worlds RPG.

Pandemonium

Artifacts & Enigmas of the Knights Templar

 Now available from DrivethruRPG.com is Artifacts & Enigmas of the Knights Templar. 

-Nate

This supplement, for use with Treasure Hunter Adventures and the Savage Worlds RPG, presents a history of the organization, five new prizes, two puzzles, stats for characters of every Rank, half a dozen plot hooks, and layouts and descriptions for a chapter house and a stronghold. 

Artifacts & Enigmas of the Knights Templar

Second Preview for Artifacts & Enigmas of the Knights Templar

The second preview is a relic, ashes taken from the fire with which Jacques de Molay, the last official Grand Master of the Knights Templar, was burned at the stake. 

-Nate

First Preview for Artifacts & Enigmas of the Knights Templar

Presented here, as the first preview for the forthcoming supplement Artifacts & Enigmas of the Knights Templar, is a chapter house used by that order for its nefarious business. 

-Nate

The Sixth Gun Reborn

 This is coming, and I am excited!

-Nate 

https://www.onipress.com/news/the-sixth-gun-is-reborn-in-battle-for-the-six-1-coming-this-summer-from-oni-press

Fountain of Youth

I am curious about this trailer, for a number of reasons. First, of course, is that it's right up my alley as a treasure hunt story. Second is that I'm only hearing about it now, when it is about to be released. Third is that I like the actors. 

-Nate

People, Plots and Places of the Wild West: Military Fort

 "People, Plots and Places of the Wild West: Military Fort" is now available from DrivethruRPG.

This six-page supplement presents a layout for a U.S. Army fort and location descriptions, an overview of life in the United States Army of the frontier, stats for soldiers and other personnel, more than a dozen plot hooks and two Dramatic Tasks, and a map of the forts and battle sites of the Old West, all for use with the Savage Worlds RPG. 

-Nate

People, Plots and Places of the WIld West: Military Fort

A Tale of Two Parties: Con of the North 2025

At Con of the North 2025 I ran two sessions of this year's scenario, and it was interesting to see the differences in how the sessions went.

The first table had three players, who picked Thaddeus, Linh and Magdalena as their characters. Those three lean into the non-combat skills, and so the players tried to approach situations with that in mind. They seemed to enjoy the puzzles, which were a bit more frequent in this scenario. They also called upon characters met in scenarios from the previous years, and tried to avoid combat when possible. They really seemed to enjoy finding the lost Crown Jewels of England, and then making a run for it with Linh behind the wheel.

My second table, on the other hand, had six players—one more than I'd listed as the maximum. I doubled up on Gavin, the retrieval specialist, since I didn't want an extra version of Vaughn, the heavy. I had done this a few years ago, and that player happened to be present again, so it added some continuity. These players seemed more interested in a fight, however, and the characters were much more ready for combat. With two shooters and a brawler, and the holy person and occultist to Boost their Traits, they steamrolled the bad guys. I worry that they might have been disappointed by underwhelming foes, but I didn't think it was appropriate to stage an all-out assault. I need to do more work to create tougher bad guys, someone equivalent to the German Mechanic from Raiders of the Lost Ark. I have next year's scenario planned, though, and I think it might give them a more satisfying final fight.

-Nate

Sources of Inspiration: The Recovery Agent

Sources of Inspiration: The Recovery Agent

Recently I needed to do some solo driving, looking at a few hours in the car each way, by myself. For that reason I checked out an audiobook on CD from the library, one that I'd noticed in print but had not made time to read. That was The Recovery Agent by Janet Evanovich. Here are my thoughts.

• Admittedly, I'm not usually one for reading popular novels. The cover of this one caught my eye when I saw it in Costco, however. When I learned that I would need to drive to Duluth for a board meeting and a conference, then, I thought of it and checked out the audiobook on CDs from the library. I enjoyed it!

• There is a lot of bickering between the two main characters, who are ex-spouses. That doesn't interfere with the story, however, and I grew to like both characters. It would be interesting to see this dynamic used in an RPG campaign.

• The story digs into local superstitions, such as the Incan death deity Supay. This was an interesting decision by the author; I wonder how native people of Peru feel about the portrayal.

• Listening to the audiobook was a good lesson in using voices for NPCs. The reader, Lorelei King, needed to voice up to four different characters at a time, and did a good job of making each one pretty distinct.

• I was surprised by the amount of combat in this story. There was a lot of shooting and explosions, not something that I was expecting.

• The story also left some elements unresolved. Specifying which ones would be a spoiler, though, so I'll leave those for another time.

Ritual Magic for Treasure Hunter Adventures

Now available from DrivethruRPG is "Ritual Magic," a short PDF that provides suggestions for using the Dramatic Task rules from the Savage Worlds RPG to represent magical rituals, especially for use with Treasure Hunter Adventures. 

-Nate 

Ritual Magic

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

I found this video on Youtube this morning and am intrigued. While I'm not a video game player myself, I'm interested to see how it expands the lore of Indiana Jones. 

-Nate 

Freeport 2025 Campaign

I am pleased to start the new year with a new home campaign, playing Pathfinder 1E in the Freeport setting!

-Nate

Freeport 2025 Campaign Notes

The Party

Al—Chug—Male island troll war priest

Aric—Tasso—Male human sorcerer (djinn bloodline)

Brent—Falco—Male halfling freebooter

Geof—Gahd—Male halfling gunslinger (musket master)

14 January 2025—“The Ironjack Legacy”

The PCs met with Martin Hawkes and he made his offer, hiring them to explore the key and clues from Jenkin Hammer, the Ironjack; Tasso talked him up to paying for half the value of treasure found along with room and board. They settled into their lodgings and had a meal (Falco had two) before heading to the Freeport Institute to investigate the first clue.

In Hammer's old workshop, Gahd found the keyhole beneath the anvil and Tasso used the key in it, opening the trap door and finding the tunnel leading downward. Chug led the way down the ladder. In the first chamber, Tasso again tried the key, activating the mechanism. They split the party to explore further, with Tasso and Chug staying by the mechanism and Falco and Gahd venturing further. After opening and closing some of the doors, they ran into the first clockwork servant!

The servant caught Gahd in its net and started to drag him away, but Falco cut the rope. Gahd's musket misfired, leaving him frustrated. Chug joined the fray, charging in to attack. Falco tumbled through the melee, too, helping to flank the enemy, and they managed to defeat the constructs.

At the end of the maze they found the chamber holding Hammer's first Might Man. Once again it was Tasso who used the key in it, activating a potent magical effect that made his hair stand on end. He identified some kind of abjuration magic. In the aftermath they had time to treat their injuries and gather up valuables they could.

Loot: An alchemist's lab (175 gp), masterwork artisan's tools (50 gp), 3 sunrods, 2 candlerods, jar of armor ointment. The remains of the intact clockwork servant—one was crushed by a descending stone block—could be worth 1000 gp or more, and Hawkes is negotiating with potential buyers.