"The Mission" is now available from DrivethruRPG.com.
This eight-page scenario, for use with the Savage Worlds RPG, sees the heroes recruited to accompany a band of pilgrims to reopen an old Catholic mission in the Southwest. There is more to the story, however, including evidence of a valuable discovery and a long-concealed murder.
-Nate
People, Plots and Places of the Wild West: The Mission
Here's a recap of the year for me in gaming. It has been a little bit quiet, which is okay.
In 2024, my group and I struggled to find consistent play. We finished up a Star Wars campaign by the spring, and due to a variety of reasons didn't start anything regular in the fall. I did run some Savage Worlds for some of the guys, both Treasure Hunter Adventures and People, Plots and Places of the Wild West. For the most part we played virtually.
That changed in 2024, when we regained a player and the group decided to start a Freeport campaign using the Pathfinder 1E rules. This gave me a chance to run the "The Ironjack Legacy" scenario from the big Pathfinder Freeport book released back in 2014. That took us all the way to summer break, and in the fall we started Plunder & Peril. Since we play every other week, that module has taken us until the end of 2025, but I have a couple of other scenarios in the queue for next year.
Over the course of the year I released three one-sheet supplements for Treasure Hunter Adventures: "Ritual Magic," "Pandemonium" and "The Ossuary." This is all material that didn't find a home in other supplements; hopefully it's been useful for people.
So far I've released a supplement and a short scenario for People, Plots & Places of the Wild West: "Military Fort" and "A Horse Without a Rider." I have one more ready that I plan on releasing before the end of the year, a longer scenario.
My two biggest writing projects of the year were both for Treasure Hunter Adventures. First there was "Artifacts & Enigmas of the Knights Templar." After focusing on the American Revolution last year, this seemed like a natural follow-up. That disbanded order is so steeped in legends that it was easy to find material. I also added "O.S.S. Report on the Holy Alliance," exploring an organization that I found intriguing.
Lastly, I released one little Spelljammer scenario for D&D 5E: "Kith and Kin." That had been fermenting in my brain for a while, and I finally finished it on a day when my son was home from school sick. I still haven't picked up the new D&D books from 2024, and don't have much of an impetus for doing so since I'm not playing it right now. Still, I hope one day to run another Spelljammer campaign using Graveyard of the Gods, and I think "Kith and Kin" would be the first scenario for doing that.
-Nate
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.
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
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.
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
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
