Characters
Every character in a BOOT HILL® game has five attributes:
Strength
Coordination
Observation
Stature
Luck
Strength measures physical power (how much can this character lift and carry?), stamina (how far can he run without collapsing?), health (how many nights can he sleep on the cold, damp ground before getting sick?), and wound capacity (how many bullets will it take to lay him low?).
Coordination measures manual dexterity (can this character pick a lock?), agility (can he turn a somersault?), balance (can he walk across the balcony railing without falling), speed (can he beat Dirty Dan to the draw?), and accuracy (can he shoot the spot off a playing card at 50 paces?).
Observation measures alertness (does this character notice the bandit sneaking past?), vigilance (does he stay awake all night while guarding the gold?), eyesight (can he see the spot on a playing card at 50 paces?), and other senses (does he hear the gun cocking behind him? can he feel the approaching rainstorm?).
Stature measures how widely known the character is (has anyone in the saloon heard of him?), how much of a reputation he has (is anyone in the saloon afraid of him?), and how physically imposing he is (if no one has heard of him, are they afraid of him anyway?). There were plenty of Western characters whose reputations far outstripped their deeds, while others deliberately played down their reputations to remain anonymous.
Luck measures the character’s ability to escape unharmed from harrowing dangers (how did he survive the buffalo stampede?), survive a fatal wound (look, the bullet must
have hit the sheriff’s badge!), and accomplish any other task that he has no reason to think possible (I swear that fellow could track a rabbit under water).
Attribute Scores
The character has a numerical score in each of these attributes. This score indicates how gifted the character is in that attribute— how strong, coordinated, observant, notorious,
and lucky. Scores for Strength, Coordination, and Observation range from 2 to 20. Scores for Stature and Luck range from 1 to 10. Scores can be increased outside these ranges through experience (described below). High numbers mean the character is wellendowed in that attribute, low numbers mean he lacks that quality. The Attributes Scale provides a handy comparison for different
attribute scores. (Don’t interpret this scale too rigidly. After all, Strength measures a lot of different things. One character with a high Strength score could be powerfully muscled while another is wiry but incredibly tough.)
Generating Attributes
Roll 2, d10’s adding them together. Record the score and repeat four times. Add the below modifiers to each recorded number to get a final score.
2-5 =+5
6-10 = +3
11-14 = +2
15-17 = +1
18-20 = +0
After you have the modified scores, you assign them to Strength, Coordination, Observation, Stature, and Luck (Stature and Luck are both halved, rounded up if necessary to form the score)
Using Attributes in Play
Attribute scores are very important during the game. Whenever a player wants his character to do something and the judge decides that the outcome isn’t certain, he can ask the player to perform an “attribute check” using a certain attribute. The player rolls a 20-sided die and compares the number rolled to his attribute score. If the number rolled equals or is less than his attribute score, the action worked. If the number rolled is greater than his attribute score, the action failed. The extent of that failure is up to the Judge.
If a task is unusually easy or unusually hard, the judge can impose modifiers to the character’s attribute for this check. These modifiers usually won’t exceed + or – 5 in even the most extreme cases. A +1 modifier, for example, temporarily increases the character’s attribute by one point, making it slightly easier for his attribute check to succeed.
Skills
In addition to his five attribute scores, each character also has skills. These skills give the character special knowledge, special abilities, or modifiers to their attributes.
There are 62 skills available to characters in the BOOT HILL game. Of these, 57 are work skills like Accounting, Gambling, Swimming, and Trapping, and five are weapon skills: Archery, Brawling,
Knife/Sword, Pistol, and Rifle.
Skill Scores: Like an attribute, each skill has a score. To determine the score for a work skill, follow the same procedure as determining an attribute score: roll two 10-sided dice, add
them together, and modify the result.
Weapon skills always begin with a score of 1. A character can, however, choose a weapon skill more than once and add 1 to his score each time. Choosing Pistol skill twice,
for example, give the character a score of Pistol 2
Learning Skills: Every new character gets up to 10 skills of the player’s choice. The exact number depends on the total of the character’s attribute scores. Total up all the character’s
attribute scores and consult the Initial Skills table.
- Total Attribute Score 27-40 = 10 skills
- Total Attribute Score41-62 = 8 skills
- Total Attribute Score 63-80 = 6 skills
At least half of these initial skills must be work skills. They can all be work skills if the player wants, but no more than half can be weapon skills. A weapon skill can be taken
more than once to get a higher score, but each time counts as one skill.
New skills can be learned during the course of play, and old skills can have their scores increased, if the player spends experience points for the skill. This is explained
under the heading Experience.
Using Work Skills
Work skills are used during play the same as attributes. When a character tries to use a skill, the player makes a “skill check” by rolling a 20-sided die. If the result is equal to
or less than his skill score, he succeeded at his task. If the die roll is greater than his skill score, he failed.
If a task is unusually easy or unusually hard, the judge can impose modifiers on the character’s skill scores. These modifiers usually won’t exceed + or – 5 in even the most
extreme cases.
skill check of any sort is required only if there is some degree of difficulty to the task. Routine tasks are assumed to be completed automatically. A blacksmith need not make a
skill check every time he shoes a horse, for example. If an outlaw is forcing him to do it at gunpoint, however, this adds an element of difficulty calling for a skill check.
Rolling a 1 or a 20
It is possible for a character’s skill or attribute score to be modified below 1 or above 20. This does not, however, mean that the character’s skill works or fails automatically.
If a character’s skill score is less than 1, the character can still succeed by rolling a 1. However, success must be confirmed with a Luck check. If the character subsequently
rolls his Luck score or less on a 20-sided die, his task succeeds. Otherwise, it fails.
Similarly, if a character’s skill score is modified to 20 or more, that character can still fail by rolling a 20. On a roll of 20, the character must confirm his success with a
Luck check.
Using Weapon Skills
Weapon skills modify a character’s hit number when using that type of weapon. The skill score is added directly to the character’s hit number. For example, a character with a
hit number of 12 and Pistol 2 effectively has a hit number of 14 when firing a pistol.
Work Skills
Accounting. A character with this skill is trained as a bank clerk, accountant, store clerk, railroad ticket agent, or in another position that involves using math and handling
money. He has a fair amount of business sense. prerequisite: Literacy.
Artillerist. This character probably served in the U.S. or Confederate artillery during the Civil War. He knows how to handle and fire a cannon, mortar, and even a Gatling gun
Artist. This character is a skilled painter. He could be a wildlife artist, a newspaper sketch artist, or a traveling portrait painter. Alternatively, a player could choose this skill
to be a poet or playwright (in which case its prerequisite is Literacy).
Assaying. This skill lets a character assess the value of gold, gems, and other minerals. He is qualified to work in a government or private assaying office. He can identify fool’s gold automatically, and a skill check will let him identify a metal or mineral, spot a counterfeit coin (if he handles it), or judge the value of cut or uncut gems.
Bartending. This character is skilled at all the various aspects of tending bar, from the simple (pouring a shot of whiskey without spilling) to the complex (telling some lout what his problem is without making him mad). He knows how to make a wide variety of mixed drinks (which were quite popular in the West), judge good whiskey from bad, and make bad-tempered men happy.
Bureaucracy. This skill conveys understanding of the inner workings of the army, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and all forms of national, state, and territorial governments and commissions. A successful skill roll can help the character navigate through the channels to get whatever information, permit, license, or deed he requires. prerequisite: Literacy.
Carpentry. This character is trained to build wooden buildings, furniture, toys, and equipment. If the character tries to build something small, a single skill check at the end determines whether it turned out right (on a bad roll, for example, the lid of a chest might not fit quite right). On larger projects, several skill checks should be made, one for each stage of the work. When building a
house, for example, one check could be made to determine whether the frame went up all right, a second to check the exterior appearance, and a third for the interior finishing. Failure does not necessarily mean that the whole job is flawed, but some part of it probably needs to be done over. A carpenter can also repair wooden items that have been damaged.
Chemistry: