The Boomtown Planet

by Rich Parkinson
Copyright 2007
Timeless Games/Bettermousetrap Games

The Boomtown Planet

- Saturday Edition

Foreword In 2005, I released The

Boomtown Planet, a pulpy RPG that
focused directly on the newspaper trade.
Why? Well, because game design is something I do in my spare time. The rest of the
time I am involved in the newspaper trade.
In The Boomtown Planet the PCs were
reporters, photographers, editors, and a few
other things as well. The primary goal of
the PCs was to get the scoop. The setting
was the city of Boomtown (and its immediate environs), a place that was loaded with
colorful characters and plot-hooks.
In hindsight I realize that the rst edition of The Boomtown Planet (BTP) was a
rushed job. It was a late breaking edition,
hot off the press. In my desperation to get
the scoop I made a cardinal mistake and
may all editors forgive me for doing so. I
failed to get the full story out there. I left
my readers wanting more.
Thank God, this is a business that can
forgive those early mistakes, so long as they
are corrected in a second (or revised) edition. Gamers are compassionate that way.
The newspaper industry on the other hand is
unforgiving. You are rarely given a second
chance.
I want to thank Dan Davenport and those
other RPG enthusiasts who freely offered
constructive criticism. I have applied

the lessons they taught me, especially Dan

through his well-written review at RPGnet,
and hopefully it shines through in this newest release, The Boomtown Planet Saturday Edition.
Is it perfect? No. Nothing is. But its getting there.

Copyright Notice - You have the right

to read, play, and critique this game. You do
not, however, have the right to sell and/or
distribute it as you wish. With any PDF
le, piracy is a concern. The electronic le
is yours and yours alone. You can print out
as many hard copies from this le for your
gaming group as you need but you may not
sell them. If you have the book version of
this game, then treat it like other copyright
protected material.
A Notice to Parents - This game is innocent enough, but it certainly isnt designed
with youngsters in mind. The complexity of the
mechanics aside, mature themes are found within
this text. Read it over and judge for yourself
whether you want your child involved or not. If
you decide to let your child play this game, then
I suggest you sit down and play it with him. Better yet, take the lead role, as the Game Master.
Help your child through the difcult bits so he
can enjoy the best part of any game, playing.

Credits
Written by - Rich Parkinson
Layout by Rich Parkinson and Shelley
Beaudoin
Art by - Shelley Beaudoin and Rich
Parkinson
Cover Art by Rich Parkinson and Shelley Beaudoin
Cover Design by - Rich Parkinson and
Shelley Beaudoin
Thanks to - Clash Bowley, Dan Davenport, and the guys in my playing group.

Playtesters - Jay Cottrell, Bill Fenton,

Rick Lamoges, Dean Valentino, Shelley
Beaudoin, Chris Kent, Paige Lee, Scott
Stevenson, Bill Noade, Tony Lapain, and
members of the Gladden Gaming Group.
The Boomtown Planet Saturday Edition
by Timeless Games (a humble imprint of
Better Mousetrap Games)
Copyright 2007

Table of Contents
Intro What is role-playing; setting introduction, etc.

Pages 6 - 8

Intro to the rules

Dice rolling; intent; degrees of success; modiers; degrees of difPages 9 15
culty; relative to scale; types of dice rolls.
Chargen
Character generation; PC templates; Skills; Special Skills; Health.
Pages 16 50

Mechanics
Mechanical details; combat.

Pages 51 68

Setting
Era overview; Boomtown overview; newspapers in the 30s; the
competition; particulars about Boomtown; NPCs. Pages 69 175
Generic NPCs
Usual and unusual NPCs.

Pages 175 177

Slang in Boomtown
The slang of the day.

Pages 178 179

Hail River
The Hail River Report newspaper; staff; the town. Pages 180 202
Rules tips
A few nal pointers regarding the rules.

Pages 203204

Guns and vehicles

Sample rearms and vehicles of the 1930s.

Pages 205206

Character Sheet

Pages 207208

Index -

Pages 209212

Boomtown city map

Page 91

Hail River town map -

Page 185

What is Role-playing?
Editors note: the following piece is
written as though Maggie Talent, the
ctional Managing Editor of the Boomtown Planet penned it. As a result, you
may have to use your imagination a bit
as some of the terms used may seem unusual. Nonetheless, I hope you enjoy it.
by Maggie Talent
What is role-playing? This question or
a similar question is found in the rst few
pages of the majority of traditional, pen
and paper, role-playing game (RPG) source
books regardless of whether they were
published on the east coast, the west coast,
or beyond.
For those familiar with the hobby,
the question answers itself. The denitive
answer, however, often eludes these hobbyists as they try to provide it. The denitions found in the source books, and there
are many, have slight variations but the
core theme remains the same. But, for the
layman, even the core theme (the essence of
the answer) is confusing.
Is role-playing make-believe? Is it acting? Is it storytelling? Or is it something
else the core of a secret society, perhaps?
The answer to all four questions is yes.
The Slow-Flow database, Wikipedia,
says that a role-playing game is one in
which the participants assume the roles of

ctional characters and collaboratively create or follow stories. Participants determine

the actions of their characters based on their
characterization, and the actions succeed or
fail according to a formal system of rules
and guidelines. Within the rules, players can
improvise freely; their choices shape the
direction and outcome of the games.
The entry goes on to say there are no
winners or losers in an RPG. The games,
it says, are played in weekly (or more
frequent) sessions that can span months, or
even years. If you wish to explore the SlowFlow entry more completely, you can nd
it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roleplaying_game
Another source of information is John
Kims Slow-Flow database, found here:
http://www.darkshire.net/~jhkim/rpg/whatis/ Kim is a chronicler of RPG information.
Both sexes and all age groups play roleplaying games. Men tend to be attracted to
the hobby more than women, as less than
twenty percent of all players are female.
The pre-dominant age of gamers, as these
hobbyists call themselves, is 25 to 35,
with 19 to 24 year olds coming in second
and 12 15 year olds a close third.
All of the information ofcially provided
seems innocent enough. However

...continued on next page

World wide there are millions of gamers. This is interesting because, despite this,
little is known of the hobby itself. More
to the point, self avowed role-players often
give cryptic answers to the question, what is
role-playing? It is not that they dont know
the answer, it is that they choose to be very
selective to whom the clear answer is given.
This leads one to believe that it is a secret
society of sorts.
Like the members of all secret societies,
role-players meet in small groups, their activities concealed behind the walls of homes
or the walls of the public facilities they
use. Sometimes these small groups gather
together at convention halls where they
hold very public, and seemingly, innocent
meetings. They also meet in Slow-Flow

rooms to discuss, in-depth, the vagaries of

their hobby. Here are several Slow-Flow
rooms you can visit yourself: http://www.
rpg.net/, http://www.therpgsite.com/, and
http://www.therpglounge.com/forums/
So, when it comes to answering the
question, what is role-playing, there is little
more than anyone can do than offer the lines
given by the hobbyists themselves. In essence, the must parrot the party line.
The easiest way to learn what it is all
about is by joining or forming a playing
group of your own and indulging in the
hobby. It is very easy to join the hobby
but it is very difcult to leave it. This reporter is a case in point.
You have been warned.

Whats this role-playing

game all about?

I salute the lengthy roll of legendary

reporters - which includes the likes of Mike
Berger, Arthur Gelb, Homer Bigart, Katherine Graham, Margaret Bourke-White,
etc. - who went to great lengths to keep the
public informed. I tip my hat to wits like
Samuel Clemens who titillated (and sometimes shocked) their audiences.
Newspaper reporters brought people the
news before the golden age of both television and radio.
The old-time reporters lived and breathed
the reporters life. They bled black ink and
were blessed with newspaper hides. Man or
woman, it didnt matter, all were referred to
as newspapermen, and they were proud...

The intent of the Boomtown Planet-Saturday Edition is to be rst and foremost

an enjoyable game. Beyond that, I hope to
emulate some of the romance, mythology,
and high adventure attributed to old-time
reporters and journalism in general.
A bit Film Noir, a bit Pulp, a bit Little
Caesar, a bit Dick Tracy, and a whole lot of
weird these are some of the elements that
I have attempted to infuse in the Boomtown
Planet Saturday Edition. Its up to you to
decide whether or not I succeeded.

...of it.
Now its your turn, your chance to pick up
where they left off; your chance to stick a
press card in the brim of your hat, gather up
pencil and notepad, and wade into the thick
of it. Your readership is waiting. People of
all ages and walks of life will eagerly pick
up the Boomtown Planet expecting to be
informed. Dont disappoint them.
You are a knight of democracy, a custodian of the public record, and a seneschal
of the written word . . . or something like
that. The uncensored press (free of inuence
political or otherwise) is the pillar of your
ideals.
So, get out there and get the scoop!

Make it your own

Im glad I got the opportunity to write the
Boomtown Planet Saturday Edition. But I
dont consider this to be my game. I put my
vision down on paper and I expect you to
take that vision and run with it. A role-player is creative and critical; he likes things
just so, and he has the drive and ability to
make things just so. I encourage you to do
this with this game.
An RPG is always a work-in-progress.
The rules, ideas and concepts found in this
book are guidelines only. You know what
you like. You know what you want. Make
this game your own.

If you dont want to play members of the

Boomtown Planets staff, then dont. Maybe
you want to play gangsters, police ofcers,
or thrill seeking adventurers. Why not? That
option is open to you. Go ahead. This is
your sand box now.

The setting
Boomtown Planet Saturday Edition is
set in the Dirty 30s. It isnt necessary to be a
student of history to enjoy this game. Its all
in fun. Its ction.
In this book, I give you a basic outline of
the world as it was in the 30s. I touch on
some of the main events and key historical
gures but the game is very focused.
The core, physical setting of the game is
the city of Boomtown. Boomtown, as it is
presented in this game, doesnt exist in the
real world; its ction; its all make-believe.
The details of some of the outlying communities are also provided. I dont, however,
provide details on the world-at-large. If you
choose to take your game outside the city
limits, youre on your own.
Yes, there are strange things in Boomtown. And many of the strange things are
bad guys. Having said that, the strange
things are often the least of the characters
worries.

The Rules an overview

Ill talk more about the setting later. For
now, lets touch on the rules (the dice rolling) of this game.
In this game all the players work together
to create a tale or series of tales; or, if you
prefer, adventure or series of adventures.
The GM is a kind of free-form narrator who
describes the setting of the tale/adventure
and plays the part of the numerous co-stars
and extras that are found in it. He also
implements the rules of the game and is
sometimes referred to as a referee because
of this.
The Players assume the roles of the main
characters in the tale/adventure and work
within the framework established by the
GM. Often the Players will attempt to have
their characters carry out many challenging and complex actions in the course of
playing a game and the rules are there to
determine whether or not the characters succeed in those actions.
In a way the rules are the laws that govern the imaginary game universe.

If you have the wherewithal and you dont

stress over particulars, then all you need
to know about the rules is encapsulated in
the next few pages. As we get older, time
is of the essence. If you want to get a quick
game going, give this section a thorough
read through and pick up the rest as time

warrants. Remember, its just a game and

the only rules that count, are the ones you
choose to apply.

The right stuff

Youve got the rules youre reading them
right now. Along with these rules youll need
a few other items as well.
They include:
- Four ten-sided dice (preferably more).
- Pens, pencils, or other writing tools.
- Copies of the character sheets found at the
back of the book, but loose paper will do in
a pinch.
- Two to six friends (the recommended number is three or four).
- Some creativity, imagination and enthusiasm.

Dice Rolling

Here are several examples of dice rolls as

they apply to the Go 4 10 rules set:

The Boomtown Planet - Saturday Edition uses a mechanic called Go 4 10. The
mechanic is neither new nor novel. Its a
tool. It works.

1, 1, 1, 1 = a disastrous failure
1,2,2,3 = a failure, but not a disastrous one.

Dice rolling plays a part in most roleplaying games and this is one of those
games. Usually you roll four ten-sided dice
in this game to determine the outcome of
your characters actions. The goal of any
dice roll is to aim for 10 or better.
While rolling a 10 on a single ten-sided
die is the ideal, the chances of it happening are low. To improve your odds you can
add two dice together to achieve the magic
number. The more tens you can amass in a
single roll, the better.
In order to succeed on a dice roll, one die
or two dice together must add up to 10 or
more. Anything less than 10 results in failure, and rolling all 1s results in disastrous
failure.
If you roll a natural 10, it is treated as a
success and the die explodes. This means
you get to roll the die again. The results of
the second roll are added to any remaining
dice that you havent used. If you have no
remaining dice left, the result stands on its
own. If you get another 10, roll again, and
so on.

10

4,4,9,2 = a marginal success; 9 can be added

to either a 4 or a 2 to get 10 or better.
5,5,4,4 = another marginal success; 5 and 5
equal 10.
9, 5, 9, 3 = a success; you can get 10 or better twice here.
9, 10, 1, 2 = at least a success; you are guaranteed two totals of 10 or better. In addition,
you have a natural 10, so the die explodes
and you roll again. If you hold back the 2,
you need to roll at least an 8 to get 10 or
better again.
10, 10, 4, 8 = a total success; you are guaranteed three totals of 10 or better. In addition you re-roll both your 10s. There are no
dice remaining. You can, however, add the
results of the two re-rolled dice together to
get 10 again in which case youll achieved
the ultimate, a stunning success.

State your intent

So now you know the basic rules that govern dice rolling. Lets put those rules to use.
The intent of a characters action is very
important in this game. In fact, intent is the
bedrock upon which the mechanic is built.
Whenever your character carries out an
action, you (the Player) must state the full
intent of the action. The intent of an action
explains why someone is carrying out the
action in the rst place.
For example, if you say that your character is trying to clear a hedge give us the
intent so we know why he is jumping the
hedge. My character jumps the hedge
in order to pursue the two-bit snitch Tom
Bragg.
Why is intent so important? Ill explain.
There are varying degrees of success in this
game. Just how successful you are in an action, determines whether or not you get the
intended results you want.
While your character, in the example
above, might safely clear the hedge, he
might fail in his intent to immediately pursue Tom when he lands on the other side.
Other examples of what you intend to do
and what actually happens are:

11

You go to punch a thug in the mouth

with the intent to knock him on the ground.
Maybe you do punch him in the mouth, but
you fail in your intent and your punch only
splits his lip and makes him angry.
You bully a youth on the street corner
with the intent to get information from him
regarding his purse- snatching friends. You
succeed in bullying him but he is totally
cowed. He does nothing but snivel and say
hes, Sorry.
You quickly scan through the lengthy
letter with the intent to nd some clue as to
where the missing heiress has disappeared.
You notice several references to a hunting
lodge located in the woods outside of town
but you arent convinced that is where the
heiress has ed.
You start playing a raucous version of an
old favourite on the piano with the intent
to impress the red headed girl in the corner.
You manage a reasonable rendition of the
song with a few nger fumbles but the girl
isnt sold on you or your talents.
So, you see, the road to misadventures can
be lled with good intentions.

Remember: always state your intent.

The degrees of success are as

follows:
Partial Success when you get a single
10 on the dice, you have achieved a partial
success. A partial success allows you to succeed in your action (just barely) but you fail
in your intent.
Sticking with the hedge-jumping example,
if you get a partial success your character clears the hedge but he brushes a few
branches and is slowed down. He stumbles
a bit when he lands and Tom widens the
gap. He is getting away.
Success when you get two 10s on the
dice, you have achieved a success. You not
only succeed in your action, you also succeed in your intent.
You clear the hedge and are hot on Toms
heels.
Total Success when you get three 10s on
the dice, you have achieved a total success.
You surpass your expectations in carrying
out an action and succeed in your intent.
You clear the hedge with such grace that
you dont even break your stride. Tom the
snitch is in your grasp.
Stunning Success when you get four 10s
or more, you have achieved a stunning success. You surpass all expectations.
You spring over the hedge and crash into
Tom. He falls to the ground and immediately surrenders.

12

Cub reporters Ruby Olsen and Skip Donahue have been following some leads on a
string of violent attacks in the Bridge End
district of Boomtown. Their investigation has
led them to the apartment of Wyatt Henderson, a dockworker with a penchant for booze
and bar ghts.
The overly ambitious Olsen has decided to
charge into the apartment by herself, where
she confronts Henderson. Skip is hot on her
heels but a few steps behind. Backed into a
corner by the prying reporter, Henderson has
just revealed his true nature; hes a werewolf of signicant size but limited power.
Nonetheless, his transformation has left Ruby
cowering in a corner. All that stands between
her and the werewolfs slathering chops is
Skip who has just stepped onto the scene.
The werewolf bats at Skip with the intent to
hit and clear a path to Olsen. The GM rolls
the dice for the werewolf. He rolls 8, 2, 7,
and 2 - a partial success. While the werewolf
does backhand Skip to the oor, Skip still
blocks were-Hendersons path to Olsen.
In desperation Skip decides to kick the werewolf in the groin with the intent of driving
the beast back. The player rolls 4, 10, 10, and
10 a total success. He re-rolls the three 10s
and gets a 2, 5, and 5 making his total success a stunning success. Skips kick not only
wounds the beast, it knocks it to the ground
and it rapidly transforms into an agonized
and pacied Henderson.

Keep the action rolling when someone succeeds in his action but fails in his intent, dont
just leave it as a failure. Make it a new opportunity for the character to succeed. Keep the
action rolling.
Say the character does clear the hedge while
pursuing Bragg, but loses his step when he lands
on the other side. He should still get the chance
to maintain the pursuit, hell just have to take
risks and pick up the pace a bit.

Sharpening and Dulling Rolls

In other words Modiers
Usually, you roll four dice to determine
the outcome of a characters action. Character strengths and weaknesses as well as
circumstances can affect your characters
ability to succeed. This is reected in the
dice rolls.
When a roll is sharpened, you get to roll
extra dice. A sharpened roll is illustrated in
the text like this, +1 or +2, etc. The number
tells you how many extra dice are rolled.
When a roll is dulled, you roll less dice. A
dulled roll is illustrated in the text like this,
-1 or -2, etc. The number tells you how
many dice are subtracted from your rolled.
Modiers can stack up to greatly increase
or decrease your chance of success.

13

Degrees of Difculty
Just as there are degrees of success so too
are their degrees of difculty. The more difcult an action is the more difcult it is to
succeed in that action. Simple.
Here are the degrees of difculty and how
they affect dice rolls:
ROUTINE: a dice roll is unnecessary.
The character automatically succeeds.
Examples include, purchasing a pack of
gum at a corner store, taking candy from a
baby, and a walk in the park.
VERY EASY: the roll is sharpened +2.
The character has a very good chance to
succeed.
Examples include, tossing a brick through a
plate glass window, placing a bet with your
regular bookie and riding a bicycle on a
path in the woods.
EASY: a roll is sharpened +1. The characters chance to succeed is favourable.
Examples include, sifting through a newspaper to nd a particular article, conning a
child out of an ice-cream cone, and running
up a single ight of stairs.

Degrees of Difculty contd...

AVERAGE: the dice roll is unmodied.
The character has a 50/50 chance of pulling
off his intended action.
Examples include, researching a common
subject, staring down an indignant lackey,
sprinting 200 metres.
DIFFICULT: the roll is dulled 1. The
characters chance to succeed is so-so.
Examples include, nding a rather obscure
book in a private library, gaining access to
a high-ranking public ofcial and hitting a
home run.
VERY DIFFICULT: the roll is dulled 2.
The character will have a hard time succeeding in his intended action.
Examples include, deciphering arcane symbols on a cave wall, turning a loyal henchman of your enemy against him, pitching a
no-hitter.
IMPOSSIBLE: a dice roll is unnecessary.
The character cannot succeed in his action.

Relative to Scale
A small child has a much better chance
to knock over another small child than he
does to knock over a brawny adult. An adult
faces the same difculty when tangling with

14

something that is much larger than him.

As a rule when you are dealing with
something that is two times your size (or
more), you only get to roll two dice against
it instead of four. This is relative to scale.
While the small child could knock over a
brawny adult, his chances are slim.
This rule is applied to monumental tasks
as well where the Player Character has a
very slim chance to succeed. The task is almost too big for the character. Very Difcult
tasks are monumental tasks.
So whats a simple way to put the Relative to
Scale rule to good use?
If an opponent has +3 (or better) than you on
an Attribute, then the Relative to Scale rule applies when you are battling against that Attribute.
Certain supernatural creatures and mechanical
monstrosities have supernatural Attribute scores.
Conversely, if an opponent has 3 (or less) on an
Attribute then the Relative to Scale rule applies
in your favour.

The Relative to Scale rule can be used

when a character is attempting to pull off a
nearly impossible act, something that would
normally require a heroic effort. For example, while a PC couldnt force open a bank
vault with his brute strength, it is within the
realm of possibility that he could force open
a metal hatch. This is when youd use the
Relative to Scale rule.

Use this rule to increase the excitement level

of the game, but avoid it if it just frustrates the
efforts of the Players.

Now you know the core mechanics (rules)

of the game. There are other rules. I will
explain them as we go along.
TIP minimize the dice rolling. It heightens the excitement level when the Players are
required to make dice rolls. You might decide
that no roll is required for Very Easy tasks. Its
up to you!

The Specics - Types of dice

rolls
There are two basic types of dice rolls
action rolls and opposed rolls. Action rolls
are rolls you make for your character when

15

he carries out any unopposed action.

Opposed rolls are made when two characters are opposing each other. The rolls are
made as per normal and the character with
the better roll (most successes) wins. Remember, the Relative to Scale rule applies.
When you get down to it, all rolls are
made on one of your characters Attributes. Attributes are the basic building
blocks of your character and Ill explain
them in the next chapter . . . now.

Creating your character

The most important thing in any roleplaying game is the Player Character,
specically your Player Character. The
Player Characters are the stars of the show,
the heroes and anti-heroes of the tale you
are about to tell. They are the focal point of
the drama.
In this chapter well generate your Player
Character.
Its best if your playing group makes its
characters together. You can bounce ideas
off one another and gure out ways that the
characters know one another. If you dont
have the time to do that, however, dont
worry. You can form those associations as
you play.
To make things simple the character generation
process is broken down into numbered steps.

Step 1. Picking a name.

The rst thing you need to do is give your
character a name. Names can be common,
like Jane Smith, for example, or they can
tell us something about your character.
Names that help dene ones character are
common in detective novels; Dirk Steel,
Susie Sunshine, Chip Granite are a few
examples.

16

There are many opinions about how a game

book should be laid out, where this and that
section should go; unfortunately, the opinions
vary. Some of you (particular you veterans)
arent interested in burying yourself in the
character generation process at the moment.
In fact, you want to explore some other section of the book. By all means, do so.
For the rest of you, lets begin!

Step 2. What are you known for? (Also

known as: the Golden Talent, the Dening Characteristic).
Coming up with a single phrase that sums
up your characters claim to fame in a succinct manner is a handy way for you, the
player, to get into character. In Boomtown
Planet Saturday Edition its also a way to
enhance play. Once per game session you
get to re-roll an unsatisfactory roll when
your character is doing the thing that hes
known for.
So, how do you sum up your characters
golden talent? Well, its easy.
Well use Robin Hood as an example
to show you how easy it is. Robin Hood
is known for Taking From the Rich and
Giving to the Poor. It was something he
excelled at it.

In Boomtown, the Bombers Jacques Strap

is known for Hitting Home Runs, the
Planets Dane Ringwald is known in Boomtown for Getting the Scoop, and mobster,
Bobby Bustetone, who does occasional legwork for the Planet, is known for Busting
People in the Chops.
Here are some sample sayings that you
can use to sum up what your character is
known for if you dont want to make your
own. Is known for . . . Being Cool Under
Fire; Rushing Head Long Into Trouble; Integrity and Honesty; Getting Things Done,
Just Under the Wire; Being a Man About
Town; His Sense of Honour
What you are known for can be very
specic, Busting People In the Chops, for
example, or very broad, Integrity and Honesty. Its really up to you to decide how
specic you want your characters claim to
fame to be. Confer with your GM and discuss the options with your fellow players.
This is a dening element of your character.
Optional: your character could be known for
some exceptional item that he has in his possession, an item that he is in some way tied to. The
Mask is an example. The Rocketeer, is another.
Even Frodo, is known as the Ring Bearer. But,
Frodo is also known for a lot more than this. And
this is where things get tricky.
Tying your character to a specic item can be
interesting. But you stand to lose a lot if the item
is lost or destroyed. Game sessions, however, can
revolve around getting the item back and thats

17

exciting.
If you choose to make your character known
for an item in his possession, youll have to make
the item up. Youll also have to work out what
powers it has, if any, with the Game Master (and
your fellow players). If your group decides they
dont want any mystical items in the game, then
go with the majority.
The item can also be a prop only. It has no real
power, but your character thinks it does. Pootie
Tangs belt was just a belt, but it takes him the
majority of the movie to nd this out. The real
power lay inside of Pootie all along. If your item
is a prop, right down what powers your character thinks it gives him because that is what he is
really known for.

Its a Double-edged Sword: You get bonuses for doing what youre known for, but
its a double-edged sword. Doing the things
that youre known for can get you into serious trouble. For example, if your character
is known for his Integrity and Honesty,
hell stick to the truth, even when he maybe
shouldnt.
Thats okay! Getting into trouble is fun
in an RPG. Thats when the action heats up
and things get exciting.
When you stick to your guns and continue
to do the thing youre known for and it gets
you into trouble, you get bonuses too. Not
only do the dice roll bonuses apply, but you
gain a Spirit Point as well.
Lets talk about Spirit now.

Step 3. Spirit.
Spirit is good stuff. You start the game
with 1d10 Spirit Points, and you earn more
through game play.
You can bank your Spirit and use it to
improve your character, or you can spend it
to improve your chances in dicey situations
during play. You can also use Spirit Points
to negate damage that your character has
suffered. Its up to you.
The GM awards Spirit Points to the Player
Characters for achieving personal and group
goals.
When you have banked a certain amount
of Spirit Points, you can spend them to
improve your character. For 30 SP you can
sharpen an Attribute, +1 (to a total of +2).
Or, if you have some available Skill slots,
you can acquire a Skill for 20 SP or a Special Skill for 25 SP.
You can spend Spirit Points to improve
the results of dice rolls. Spend 2 Spirit
Points for an automatic success or spend
one Spirit Point for a re-roll. You can also
spend Spirit Points to heal your character.
Spend 1 Spirit Point to improve your Health
by one point. You cant heal your character
if your character is Unconscious or Dead.
Yes, this is a fake, but ctional heroes
frequently enjoy heroic recoveries. If you
dont like this rule dont use it.
Encourage players who are at the table
more often to spend their Spirit Points on
re-rolls. This allows them to succeed more

18

often and reap the consequent whirlwind,

while it allows all the Player Characters to
advance together at a similar pace.

We wont talk about how Spirit Points are

awarded, just yet. Well reserve that for the next
Chapter.

Step 4. Goal.
Most people have goals in life. So, too,
does your character. There is one goal,
however, that is more important than the
others and your character will work hard to
achieve that goal. This Goal helps you focus
your characters energies. Its the primary
thing that motivates your character.
For a character like Ebenezer Scrooge his
Goal was rst to, get money and horde it,
and then later to spread good cheer.
For many Planet staffers their Goal is
simple; its to put the truth in print. They
see themselves as the guardians of an untarnished public record.
For others, like Dane Ringwald, their
Goal is more specic. In Danes case, it is
to expose corruption.
Your Goal can change as your character
develops through game play. You have to
have a solid reason to change your characters Goal, and get the approval of the GM
to do so.
Scrooge is the perfect example of a character
that changed his Goal - from getting money
and hording it, to spreading good cheer. Author
Charles Dickens had a good reason to change
Scrooges Goal; so should you.

Step 5. Background.
The preceding Steps have helped you
dene your character. Now, its time to add
some back-story, so we know a little bit
more about him or her.
If your character is new to play and new
to the Planet staff, you might want to reveal
your background through game play, or
keep it to yourself until you feel the other
characters have gained your characters
trust.
While developing background, get into
character and answer these questions:
1. How old am I?
2. Do I have an existing family? What
is my relationship to the members of my
family? Am I still in contact with them? Do
they live nearby?
3. Do I come from a wealthy, middleclass, or poor background? How did my
upbringing affect my life?
4. What are some dening moments in my
life?
5. What led me to choose my career?
6. When did I join the Boomtown Planet
staff?
7. What is my relationship with the other
staffers?
8. Am I harbouring any secrets? If I am,
what are they?

19

There are other questions you can ask

yourself, as well. It really depends on how
detailed you want your background to be. If
possible, the players should work through
some of the background elements together.
Maybe they can establish prior relationships
with one another, ways to really connect
them together. You should certainly provide
your GM with your background details,
because he can use it to strengthen and personalize the games you are about to play.
Step 6. Attributes.
Attributes are the basic building blocks,
the bedrock (or silt) that your character is
built on. There are ve Attributes - Brains,
Brawn, Versatility, Leadership, and Balderdash.
Brains - measures overall intelligence
and/or problem solving skills. Your characters Brains also determine his level of
overall awareness. You might have 20/20
vision, but if you lack Brains you wont
process any incoming danger until its right
on top of you.
Brains come into play when your character researches a topic, investigates an area,
or tries to gure out a mental problem.
Brawn - measures overall strength. You
use Brawn when you try to lift something,
move something, wrestle with something,
etc.

Versatility - measures overall agility,

hand-to-eye coordination, etc. You use
Versatility when you try to palm an object,
leap a fence, etc.
Balderdash - measures personality and
charm. When you try to strike a deal or win
someone over, you rely on Balderdash.
Leadership measures presence and
charisma. You use leadership to lead or
inuence others.
An Attribute can be sharpened, to illustrate that your character is strong in
that particular Attribute. Equally, it can
be dulled, to illustrate some weakness or
character aw.
An Attribute may only be sharpened to
+2. Anything beyond that is superhuman.
Certain animals, monsters, and machines
may have Attributes that are sharpened by
+4 or more.
A construction worker, for example, might
have Brawn, +1. A weight lifter might have
Brawn, +2. An athlete may have Brawn,
+1, and Versatility, +1. A university professor may have Brains, +1. And a professional
entertainer may have Balderdash, +2.
When you sharpen an Attribute, you gain
a bonus to any die roll governed by that
Attribute. When you dull an Attribute, the
reverse is true.

20

At the start of the game you have two

points to play with that you use to sharpen
your Attributes. You can, however, gain
additional points by dulling Attributes, but
you can only dull two Attributes by -1.
Step 6. Archetypes.
An Archetype is nothing more than a template. It is a framework on which you can
hang some Skills, Special Skills, and some
character.
Ten Archetypes are provided that suit the
setting. Remember, they are templates only,
so feel free to modify them as you wish.
Equally you can create your own Archetypes. If you decide to create your own
Archetype, remember, new characters start
the game with 5 Skills and 1 Special Skill.
Along with templates, we provide you
with some sample pre-generated characters.
The pre-generated characters are members
of the Boomtown Planet staff. If you choose
to play one, thats great. He or she is ready
to go. The GM is encouraged to use these
staffers as regular Non-Player Characters.
Reporter the Reporter strives to get the
facts, to carefully lay them out, and present them
to the public. It has been said that an effective
Reporter loves his job; he loves the news business.
Reporters keep odd hours. When the news
breaks they are expected to be on the scene,
at ground zero, getting the scoop. The news is
relentless; it stops for no man.

Part gumshoe, part diplomat, part walking encyclopedia, the reporter is an amalgam of many
things. He is an odd jobs man, an article writing,
jack-of-all-trades.
In the 1930s, reporting was primarily a mans
profession. That is not to say that
it was exclusively so. There
were women reporters. Women,
however, had to work hard to
prove themselves in a predominantly male profession, and they
were paid less for the same work.
Thats just the way things were.
As New York Times Editor,
Arthur Gelb, so neatly put it. The
biased mindset was that, since
women did not have families to
support as men did, they should
not expect to earn as much as men.
The Boomtown Planet has a number
of women on staff and they are
every bit as effective as their male
counterparts.
The newspaper world was also segregated in
the United States in the 1930s. In 1945, the New
York Times (the bastion of white newspapers
in America) had just one African-American
reporter. The staff at the Boomtown Planet boasts
progressive thinkers, tolerant individuals that
run contrary the bigotry of the age. The PCs are
encouraged to play reporters of whatever race,
culture, or creed they fancy.
Many reporters are published authors of some
sort; having either published biographies on
subjects known to them or other works of nonction. Few venture into the realm of ction,
having so long established themselves as professionals who deal with facts. In their spare time,

21

the reporters on the Boomtown Planet pursue

many of these literary side-projects.
A note on reporters and higher education:
Although its hard to believe in this age of college diplomas and university degrees, many
successful reporters during the golden age of
reporting were disdainful of higher education.
For them, the newspaper business was a business, not a profession. Reporters, they argued, learned their
craft in the eld, not on college
campuses.
If this is the type of Reporter
character youd like to play, then
he is well read and self-educated. His
Education skill is one he built up over
the years through personal study.

Reporter
Goal: to put the truth in print, regardless of the cost.
+1 Balderdash, +1 Leadership
Skills: Curiosity, Education, Fast
Talk, Short Hand, and Status.
Special Skills: Photographic Memory.

Sample Reporter - Bob Kennedyis known for his panache in tackling high
prole crime stories
Goal: to thoroughly cover the Crime Beat in Boomtown.
+1 Brawn, +1 Balderdash
Skills: Connected, Curiosity, Fast Talk, Short Hand, and Status.
Special Skills: Respect.
His story Bob Kennedy is a veteran reporter. He is a short, powerfully built
man with a large head and red face. His build has more to do with genetics than
lifestyle.
Now, in his late fties, he has a tough beat, one that most reporters prefer to
graduate from early in their careers. Kennedy is the Boomtown Planets go-to
Crime Reporter. He could have dished the job off to a junior reporter years ago.
Hes certainly earned the right.
He does his job well; some would argue too well where his personal safety is
concerned. Kennedy, however, loves being a newspaperman. In particular, he
loves exposed the citys seedy underbelly.
Kennedy never settled down or got married and the closet thing he has to a
relationship is a sporadic affair with one of the local nightclub girls, now approaching retirement herself.
Kennedy spends his days and free nights at the club,
drinking whiskey, smoking cigars, and talking to
connected men. He is also a gambler (or so he
likes people to believe) and can be found at the
racetrack on any given Sunday. Few are aware
of the fact that he only places small bets. At the
track he sits as close as possible to high-ranking Syndicate men and eavesdrops on their conversations.
Game Hooks: Kennedy is connected. As
a result, a member of the Syndicate (the mob)
could ask him for a favour. Equally, a member
of the Syndicate or a common criminal could
seek revenge against Kennedy for some past
indiscretion he put in print.

Sample Reporter - Tess Trimbleis known for her keen sense of style.
Goal: to keep Boomtowns fashionable elite well informed on the latest styles
and trends.
+2 Brains
Skills: Curiosity, Eavesdropping, Scrutiny, Shorthand, and Status.
Special Skills: Photographic Memory
Her Story - In her mid-fties, Trimble has been a member of the Planets
staff for nearly as long as Kennedy. The two have formed a solid alliance, if not
friendship, over the years.
Trimble is the Fashion and Lifestyles reporter. As a result, she is a public gure,
courted by celebrities and Boomtowns elite. No one from high society would
dare to snub her. Her poisonous pen and acerbic wit are legendary.
What Kennedy lacks in presentation, Trimble makes up for. She wears her hair in
the latest style and sports the latest fashions. When she smokes she uses a long,
ebony holder. The mink stole is her trademark. When her stole gets worn she
knows its time to nd a new husband.
She likes tall martinis and taller men. Shes been
through several husbands and the joke is that
the list of men shes divorced is longer than the
list of men shes married.
Game Hooks: Trimble is always on the lookout for an eligible man. Trimble has made a
number of enemies amongst Boomtowns
elite and anyone of them could be out to
get her.

Sample Reporter - Dane Ringwaldis known for getting the scoop.

Goal: to win a Pulitzer.
+1 Balderdash, +1 Brawn
Skills: Break & Enter, Curiosity, Fast Talk, Investigation, and Short Hand.
Special Skills: Reckless Abandon
His Story - Dane is the classic beat reporter. He eagerly rolls up his sleeves to
get elbow deep in the muck.
In his early thirties, with movie star good looks, Ringwald has been dubbed one
of Boomtowns most eligible bachelors. Ringwald, however, has little interest in
chasing women.
He is much more intent on chasing down stories for the newspaper. He is so
incredibly focused on his job that hes failed to notice Planet photographer, Paige
Mercys, obvious interest in him. This has been a cause for amusement around
the ofce. Elliot frowns on this type of gossip and
staffers are careful to look over their shoulders
before indulging in it.
Ringwald is an exceptional investigative
reporter. He has many contacts at the docks
and in the factories. Unfortunately, his prolabour stance has earned him a poor reputation with the bosses and owners.
Game Hooks: In his quest for the news, Dane
fails to see the dangers of covering certain
stories. The industrial elite would love to
see Ringwald disappear. Dane is particular
when it comes to his words. He doesnt
like anyone, including editors, tampering
with them.

Cub Reporter the cub reporter is fresh in

the eld. He or she worked their way up from
copy boy to the real deal by showing spark and
initiative. As a rule, the Cub Reporter gets assignments that are of little or no interest to the
seasoned veterans things like obituaries and
small items on the church page. The Cub has
to work hard to gain the respect of the readership, the community-in-general and the senior
members on staff. The big thing for the Cub
Reporter is to graduate from runny-nosed rookie
to full-edged news hound.
In his wet-behind-the-ears naivet the Cub Reporter can expect to stumble a few times before
he gets his stride. Used to writing for high school
and college newspapers, and experiencing hardnosed reporters from the wings as a copy boy, the
Cub can be either too timid or too anxious.
Photographer the Photographer augments
the work of the Reporter, going to great lengths
to capture the perfect photo with his bulky
camera. Make no mistake, however, the Reporter
overshadowed the Photographer in the 1930s. It
was still an age of words, not images.
Nonetheless, the Photographers job is an
important one and in the case of a great frontpage photo, it is a crucial one. The Photographer
also shares the same risks and sense of urgency
as the Reporter. Often the Photographer and the
Reporter work together to provide full coverage
for a story.

Cub Reporter
Goal: to get the scoop and get noticed by doing it.
+1 Brains, +1 Balderdash
Skills: Athletically Inclined, Camera Work, Curiosity, Education, and
Short Hand.
Special Skills: Reckless Abandon

Photographer
Goal: to capture a shot that says it
all.
+1 Brains, +1 Versatility
Skills: Artistic Talent, Camera Work,
Curiosity, Fast Talk, and Schmoozing.
Special Skills: Reckless Abandon.

25

Sample Cub Reporter - Skip Donahue is known for his eager to please attitude.
Goal: to become a full-edged Reporter.
+1 Brawn, +1 Versatility
Skills: Athletically Inclined, Curiosity, Education, Short Hand and Swim.
Special Skills: Lightning Draw
His Story - Skip is the poster boy for the wholesome, young American male.
Tall, good looking, with golden locks and grey eyes he epitomizes the Hollywood
ideal.
Skip is a recent college graduate and something of an idealist. The 22 year old
is a baseball enthusiast and he played for his university team. He could have gone
pro but instead went the academic route. He rolled through writing courses and
became obsessed with the reporter legend. He knew what he wanted to do.
Skip is a solid churchgoer and somewhat naive. Kennedy
would call him wet behind the ears and all of the veteran
staff at the Planet would agree. Skip has only been a part
of the Planet for two and a half months, supplementing his
income with a part-time job at a bakery, baking bread in
the evenings and on the weekends.
Currently, Skip writes obituaries, getting the names of
the deceased and their particulars. Skip is anxious to get
into the eld.
Game Hooks: Something odd is going on at the bakery
that Skip works at. The owner works late into the night
and often meets behind the bakery with rough looking
customers. Skip plans to investigate his bosss affairs.
This could be the big scoop he has been waiting for.

Sample Cub Reporter - Ruby Olsenis known for her drive to succeed regardless of the odds.
Goal: to gain veteran reporter, Bobby Kennedys, respect.
+1 Brains, +1 Versatility
Skills: Curiosity, Fast Talk, Gambling, Scrutiny, Shorthand, and Status.
Special Skills: Photographic Memory
Her Story - Ruby is 21 years old. Shes small with dirty blonde hair and a
pretty face but she rarely dolls herself up.
As a hard hitting dame who grew up on the wrong side of the tracks, Ruby left
high school and became a switch board operator at the Planet. Her typing skills
(which she improved through a night course) landed her a secretarys job.
She would constantly solicit Elliot to give her a try as a reporter and nally
Elliot gave her a chance. Now, she primarily does reporting but sometimes gets
demoted to the typewriter. She desperately wants to make a name for herself and
shes driven to succeed. Unfortunately, shes a perfectionist and abhors bad grammar. She got on Kennedys bad side when she dared to comment on his incorrect
use of grammar in one of his articles and he overheard her. He immediately tore
several strips off her and humiliated her in front of the bulk
of the staff. Now, he refuses to have her assist him on any
assignment to Olsens great consternation.
She has redoubled her efforts to salvage some sort of
respect and spends a lot of late nights at The Planet.
Game Hooks: Olsen has a number of rough
contacts in the slums, inlcuding her brother, Reg, a
Bayside runner for the Boomtown mob.

Sample Photographer - Paige Mercy is known for her calculated ambition.

Goal: to nally break free from her past.
+1 Balderdash, +1 Versatility
Skills: Acting, Camera Work, Curiosity, Education, and Short Hand.
Special Skills: Photographic Memory
Her Story - Paige was hired three years ago, having come from an internship
post with the New York Herald Tribune.
Little is known of her past, because Paige prefers to talk about the present.
She was rst hired at the Planet as a reporter but her exceptional photography
skills landed her in her present job. She replaced veteran photographer, Bull
Burningham, after Bull went missing and his body turned up two weeks later in
Ghost Town. His camera was also found but not any lm.
Paige is pretty. She is stylish and irtatious, a snappy dresser, who likes to play
coy when it suits her. She has recently turned 25 and seems
determined to move up the ladder. Her crush on reporter Dane
Ringwald is apparent.
One person who really dislikes Paige is the Planets other
resident photographer, Pearl Hunter. The feeling is mutual.
The two photographers have very different (but strong)
personalities and, in this instance, opposites do not attract.
Hunter is rough, forthright and tomboyish. Mercy is feminine
and determined.
Game Hooks: Paige is running from her past. Born Violet Ferguson, she is a member of a well-to-do New York family.
Her mother, an overbearing, over-achieving woman, ran
Violets life. When Violet graduated from college, she
ran away from home and assumed a new identity.
Hired detectives, however, were closing in on
Violet Ferguson (a.k.a. Paige Mercy). Rather
than full under the inuence of her mother
again, Paige ed the east coast and ended up
in Boomtown.

Columnist at larger newspapers the Columnist is an expert in a certain eld, quite often a
reporter who has graduated from covering hard
news to covering what he likes. Furthermore, his
column is a subjective piece (based in fact) rather
than an objective one.
Columnists for smaller newspapers are rarely
journalists. Instead, they are people in the community who have a desire to write, to state their
opinions boldly in print. Quality varies, but the
zeal of the columnist does not.
The Boomtown Planets columnists are mix
of graduated reporters and experts in the eld.
Some, like Candy Windstrom and Irvine Marcott,
spend more time at the Planet than they do at
their day jobs. Others, like Pete Plasky and Dr.
Brian Bedesko, are very attached to their vocations and are rarely at the Planet building.
Editor while the Boomtown Planet has several copy editors, the copy editor isnt the type
of editor that we are concerned with. The three
Editors we are concerned with at the Boomtown
Planet are: Editor-and-Chief, Seth Elliot, Metropolitan Editor, Maggie Talent, and Night-time
Editor, Ted Worthy.
Im not diminishing the copy editor, who has
the important job of editing and often rearranging the reporters copy before it goes to print; its
just that the copy editor rarely leaves his desk.
As a result, he isnt the stuff that a good PC is
made of.

29

Columnist
Goal: to win a large audience of
adoring readers.
+2 Balderdash
Skills: Education, Fast Talk,
Schmoozing, Short Hand, and Status
Special Skills: Respect.

An Editors job is both simple and complex.

First and foremost, the Editors goal is to ensure
that each published edition is as accurate and
complete as possible. Secondly, the Editor has to
muster all the elements and make sure the paper
gets out on time. In order to achieve these basic
goals, the Editor has to manage the editorial staff
- knowing what reporter to assign to a certain
story, what stories are ready for print and where
they will fall in the newspaper, what stories to
tighten or even kill, and what the competition is
up. He also suggests story ideas.
It is a stressful job, for sure. The Editor is constantly questioning himself, wondering if there
is something he overlooked, some story that he
missed.

Consider this quote from Arthur Gelb, who

wore several hats before retiring as the Managing Editor of the New York Times:
As a reporter I had written one or two stories
a day. Now [as deputy metropolitan editor at the
Times] I was dealing daily with twenty or more,
assigning and editing, arranging for space, helping reporters develop angels, and anticipating
that big news breakI saw stories everywhere.
At dinner parties, I would leave with two or three
story ideas. Every phone conversation, every
movie or play, every walk down the street or trip
on the subway brimmed with possibilities.
Gelb wrote down every idea that came to him
and as a result wandered around with his jacket
pockets stuffed with scraps of paper.
The editors at the Planet are just as zealous as
Mr. Gelb.
Legman A good legman is indispensable to a
reputable newspaper. Like a reporter the legman
gathers facts. He is not, however, expected to
write a story. Rather he calls in the information
that he gathers and someone else, often a rewrite
man, assembles it.
The legman is street-smart. He has contacts
that are willing to spill the beans when a story
breaks.
Rough and unpolished, the legman often
guides junior reporters through their tful early
days on assignment. Legmen also work in conjunction with seasoned reporters on all manner
of stories. Sometimes a reporter starts out as a
legman.

30

Editor
Goal: to put out the best edition possible, day after day.
+1 Brains, +1 Leadership
Skills: Bargain, Curiosity, Education,
Status, and Worldly.
Special Skills: Respect.

Legman
Goal: to gather the facts and keep the
reporters informed.
+1 Balderdash, +1 Brawn
Skills: Connected, Curiosity, Fast
Talk, Interrogation, and Schmoozing.
Special Skills: Photographic Memory

Sample Columnist - Pete Plaskyis known as an exemplary male chauvinist, a

real mans man.
Goal: to be universally admired for his ruggedness.
+1 Brawn, +1 Versatility
Skills: Athletically Inclined, Gambling, Gun Fu, Hunting/Tracking, and Survival
Special Skills: Everyman
His Story - Pete Plasky loves to wear outdoorsmen attire. The 55-year-old
owner of Petes Perfect Hunting & Sporting Goods Store is a rabid sportsman
who loves to hunt and sh. Hes an all round mans man.
More than a few people on staff think that Plasky is an overbearing loudmouth
who likes to toot his own horn. The most remarkable thing about Plasky is his
plaid shirt, noted gossip columnist, Irvine Marcott.
Nevertheless, Editor Seth Elliot knows that the Plasky has a solid readership.
His columns on local sports and the sporting life are favourites among male
readers of
the Boomtown Planet. In particular, Plasky loves to write about
horse racing and the Boomtown Bombers, the citys
national league baseball team.
Plasky offers race advice in one of columns, advice
that includes his pick of the week.
Game Hooks: While Plaskys pick of the
week column is printed for amusement only
that didnt save Plasky from the wrath of a local
Syndicate heavy who followed the columnists
advice. It is rumoured the mobster lost a
considerable sum and is forcing Plasky
to compensate him for the money
that he lost, with interest.

Sample Editor - Seth Elliot is known for being immensely cool under pressure.
Goal: to always put the truth in print, no matter how outlandish the truth is.
+1 Balderdash, +1 Leadership
Skills: Bargain, Education, Curiosity, Education, Investigation, and Status.
Special Skills: Respect
His Story - Seth is of average height, with broad shoulders and a thin, respectable frame. He has thick brown hair, blue eyes, and rugged good looks. He
dresses in the attire of a Boomtown businessman with a touch of non-chalance
about him (often his suit coat is tossed over a chair and his sleeves are rolled up).
Elliot is 37 years old, which is young for an Editor of a daily.
He isnt a Boomtown native. He grew up in Drurytown, West Virginia, a small
town (pop. 8,000) with agricultural roots. In Drurytown, Elliot was the big sh
in a small pond a gifted student, an exceptional athlete and he showed great
promise.
He avoided parties and being a part of high school hierarchy. His popularity
spared him any ribbing, however. Elliot was the quintessential nice guy. His
main passion was writing and with a small group of friends formed a writers
circle. They had grandiose dreams of creating a magazine similar to the New
Yorker but the dreams gave way to reality when the members of the group graduated from high school.
Elliot went to College, got a degree in English Literature, and despite a desire
to become a real writer he got a job in the newspaper business. He worked
at the Timber Rapids Gazette, a bi-weekly in the Planet Publishers stable. He
worked at the Gazette for 11 years and went from copyboy to reporter, and
reporter to Assistant Editor. When the Editors position at Planet became available, he applied on a whim with no real hope of landing the job. He was more
surprised than anyone when he was selected.
At 35 he packed his belongings into his old Model A and drove the twenty-ve
miles or so from Timber Rapids to his new home, Boomtown.
Hes been Editor of The Boomtown Planet for two years but has yet to meet his
employer, the Publisher, a mysterious benefactor who keeps the money rolling in
and has got Elliot out of a few scrapes.

Detective The Boomtown Planet, like other

larger newspapers, can afford outside resources
people who are not strictly members of the
staff, but work on contract and the paper information.
The Planet has a few detectives on retainer.
The detectives are called in to gather information, just like the legmen. The detectives,
however, work in an entirely different manner.
Not ofcially associated with the Planet, the detectives can investigate stories without gathering
untoward attention.
We are all familiar with the detectives of old
fedora and trench coat wearing guys who
smoke incessantly and talk out the side of their
mouths. The detectives who work for the Planet
pretty much fall into this mould.

Informant Most Informants tip off the

newspaper out of a sense of morale obligation.
The Informant is sometimes paid a small fee
for insider-information but its a practice that is
discouraged. How morale can an insider/informant/whistle-blower be if he will only provide
you with some disturbing insider-information
after he receives an envelope of money?
Certain informants, however, have proved
they are reliable. Furthermore, they are buried in
organizations that are not easily accessible to the
media. The mob stands as a perfect example.
The Planet goes to great lengths to protect the
identities of the few reliable informants it has.
In good faith it offers these informants small stipends for information, but usually the informant
declines any payment.

33

Detective
Goal: to dig up the dirt and crack the
case.
+1 Balderdash, +1 Versatility
Skills: Connected, Curiosity, Gun
Fu, Interrogation, and Schmoozing.
Special Skills: Photographic Memory.

Informant
Goal: to right a wrong and set the
record straight.
+1 Brains, +1 Balderdash
Skills: Bargain, Connected, Education, Schmoozing, and Status.
Special Skills: Every Man.

Sample Detective - Merv Wileyis known for his attention to detail. He leaves
no stone unturned.
Goal: to nally break free from her past.
+1 Balderdash, +1 Versatility
Skills: Acting, Camera Work, Curiosity, Education, and Short Hand.
Special Skills: Photographic Memory
His Story - Wiley is in his mid-30s, a hardened gumshoe in every sense of the
word. Like most Boomtown detectives he wears a trench coat and fedora. He is
naturally a good-looking man but typically sports a few days of growth on his
chin and is entirely disinterested in his appearance.
Hes been doing investigative work for the Planet for a number of years. In fact,
the work that he does for the paper pays his bills. His other work (infrequent and
often shady) pays for his whiskey, cigarettes, and repairs on his old car.
Wiley is a good detective and he loves his work. He also loves his pulp ction.
He also likes his neighbourhood bar, The Crooked Roost, his
whiskey, his cigs, and his dame - Samantha Cowley, a downtown ofce gal who works a switchboard.
Wileys done some shadowy business in the past. What it is
he isnt telling. Hes also worked for some shady characters.
Who they are, again, he isnt tellin.
Wileys frequently used by Elliot and the reporters
to scrounge up information that they would have
difculty getting their hands on. The dic seems
to have a little black book full of contacts, from
high hats to ragamufns, from cops to palookas.
He even knows a few heeby jeebies from Ghost
Town.
If it werent for Dan Davenport, many detectives
would have lucrative careers. As it is, the P.I.s of
Boomtown have to make due, renting out cramped
ofces on the edge of Slaggy Bottom and Crumbly Court and living in apartments off Wire Road
or some other second rate main road.

Sample Informant - Bobby Bustetoniis known for busting people in the

chops.
Goal: to somehow, some way, make the city a better place.
+1 Brawn, +1 Versatility
Skills: Break & Enter, Connected, Driving, Hand-to-hand, and Gun Fu.
Special Skills: Block/Dodge
His Story - Roberto Bobby Bustetoni works for the Boomtown mob.
Hes not a main player but his face has been seen around and its an ugly mug,
too.
Bobby is short but hes stocky with a thick neck, barrel chest and beefy arms.
Despite his dim appearance, Bobby (as he is known), isnt anybodys fool.
The 28-year-old mobster was born into the racket and hes grown tired of it.
The street smart, wise guy, has been tipping off the Planet and acting as an inside
source for three years now. He acts thick and stupid around his mob superiors and
no one suspects him of being the Planets informant . . . at least, he hopes.
Game Hooks: Bobby is running a dangerous game.
He is afraid that his mother and sisters might be
harmed if someone on the inside discovers that he
is an informant. Because of this, he has moved
his family to Timber Rapids. Bobby suspects
that someone is onto him, but he doesnt know
whom.

Socialite The well to do hunger for notoriety.

One way to ensure notoriety is to have ones
name frequently printed in the local press.
The upper strata of society are often denied to
the lowly reporter and this is where the Socialite
comes into play. The Socialite leaks gossip to
the newspaper, sometimes at the behest of the
subject of the gossip.
Perceived as a vehicle for yellow journalism,
the Planet has very few socialites on which it
can count. The few socialites that are afliated
with the Planet, however, are very loyal to the
newspaper.

Socialite

Wizard Strange things happen in Boomtown

unexplainable things to the uninitiated.
All other newspapers refuse to believe that the
supernatural is involved in certain events, explaining it away with science and logic stretched
to the breaking point. The people of Boomtown
know whats going on and they except it, laughing as they read the bizarre scientic explanations put forth by the so-called reputable
newspapers in the city. When the readership
wants to know the real truth, they turn to the
Boomtown Planet.
Unlike the other newspapers in town, the
Boomtown Planet covers the real story, including
the supernatural story. The Publisher quickly realized that regular run-of-the-mills reporters, no
matter how good, were simply out of their league
when it came to the subject of the supernatural.
As a result he hired on several students of the
metaphysical world. Wizards!

The Wizard, as a subject, will be explained further in the book. For now, it is safe to say that the
Wizard can harness the power of the supernatural
world. As for wizards on the Planets staff, they
carry out similar duties to the rest of the frontline staffers.

Goal: to rise up the social ladder.

+1 Balderdash, +1 Leadership
Skills: Bargain, Curiosity, Eavesdropping, Status, and Worldly.
Special Skills: Naturally Lucky.

Wizard
Goal: to master the arcane arts.
+1 Brains, +1 Balderdash
Skills: Bargain, Connected, Education, Occult Knowledge, and Worldly.
Special Skills: Arcane Inclination.

For simplicitys sake, each Skill is governed by a single Attribute. You roll on the
Attribute when you use the Skill, to see if
you successfully use the Skill or not. Your
Skills improve as their governing Attributes
improve.

Making Your Own Template

You are encouraged to create your
own PC templates. Simply give your
template a name, a brief description,
suggested Attribute bonuses, ve
suggested Skills, a suggested Special
Skill and a suggested Goal.

Why Skills are so important: If your

character is attempting to do something
that normally requires a Skill, and you lack
said Skill, then your chances to succeed are
seriously reduced. In fact, success might be
impossible. As a rule, if your character
is attempting to carry out an action that
requires a Skill you lack, you roll two dice
instead of four to see if you succeed.

Lets create a quick template for a

Cop.
Description: A Cop upholds the
law. He serves and protects the innocent civilians in his community and
he brings lawbreakers to justice.
Goal: to keep the community safe.
Attribute Bonuses: +1 Brawn, +1
Versatility
Skills: Connected, Curiosity,
Hand-to-hand, Interrogation, and
Gun Fu.
Special Skill: Lightning Draw

Step 7. Skills.
We all have some select Skills that help
dene who we are, or at least dene what
we are capable of. Characters are no different.

37

A Character starts the game with 5 Skills.

You can use the Skills provided with the
above template Characters, or just pick 5
Skills that you want.
Your Character is limited to the number
of Skills he can have at any given time. The
maximum number of Skills he can have is
7. This is reected on the Character Sheet
(found at the back of the book). When you
look at it, youll see that there are only 7
Skill slots.
You can drop a Skill to free up a Skill slot
whenever you want, but once you drop the
Skill, its gone. If you want it back, you
have to purchase it, just like any other new
Skill you acquire.

For the GM to make things easy, when

you draft up secondary NPCs give them
only two or three Skills that are pertinent to
the tale.
Here is a list of some sample Skills. This
list is not complete, so, by all means, add
your own Skills when the need arises.
The governing Attribute is contained in
brackets next to the name of the Skill. Remember, the Attribute is what you roll on to
see if you succeed when using the Skill.
Acting (Balderdash) You have a air
for acting. You can use this Skill to pass
yourself off as someone else and successfully pull off a disguise. You can also fake
emotions to play on peoples sensibilities.
Artistic Talent (Balderdash) You have
an inherent or developed Artistic Talent of
some sort music or the ne arts. You can
use this Skill to impress an audience. A
person who is musically inclined could nd
employment at a nightclub or tavern where
gossip and possible news leads abound. A
person, who has a penchant for drawing,
could sketch a building or a person from
memory.
Athletically Inclined (Versatility) You
are naturally sporty. You pick up the rules
of any game easily. You are knowledgeable when it comes to sports facts. You are

38

also highly competitive. In addition, when

it comes to physical actions (that rely on
Brawn or Versatility), you gain a bonus
on top of whatever bonuses the applicable
Attribute gives you. You get to sharpen a
roll, +1.
Beast (Leadership) You know how to
work with and tend a specic kind of animal, horses or dogs, for example. You have
a natural afnity with the type of animal
you work with, and when dealing with an
unruly or unfamiliar beast of this type you
sharpen a die, +2.
Bargain (Leadership) You use Bargain
whenever you attempt to negotiate. Negotiations can be simple determining who is
going to pay for the dinner bill, for example
or complex.
A PC that has Bargain as a Skill is a competent negotiator he sharpens a roll, +1.
Break & Enter (Brawn) You have a talent for overcoming obstacles that bar your
entrance. You dont use nesse to gain entrance; you use precision and brute strength.
Camera Work (Brains) You are familiar
with cameras and the intricacies of operating them. You stand a much better chance
of taking a decent photo than someone does
who lacks this Skill.

Climbing (Versatility) You are an experienced climber having either actively

climbed cliff faces or tree trunks in the past.
You are familiar with climbing gear and
know how to use it.
Connected (Leadership) You have connections in a particular organization (the
mob, town hall, the police department, etc.).
You can use your connections to gain inside information and ask for (and receive)
favours.
Curiosity (Brains) You have a natural
Curiosity. Your curiosity plays in your
favour when youre attempting to ferret information from someone. You have a knack
for asking the right when questions.

its easier to eavesdrop in certain situations

than it is to eavesdrop in others.
Education (Brains) You have either a
diploma, a degree, or you are self-taught.
Regardless, you are particularly knowledgeable in one subject area. You can take this
Skill again, to acquire knowledge in another
subject area.
Electrical Repair (Brains) You know
how electrical systems work. You can make
electrical repairs. Equally, you can sabotage
electrical systems.

Demolitions (Brains) - You can create and

disarm explosive devices. You can handle
and use explosives safely and with desired effect.

Exotic Weapon (Versatility) Any weapon

that is not a small arms rearm or a knife is
considered an exotic weapon. If you have
Exotic Weapon as a Skill, then you are
procient in the use of one type of exotic
weapon. That doesnt mean, however, that
you can brandish the weapon in public without drawing attention to yourself.

Driving (Versatility) You are a skilled

driver. You stand a good chance of keeping your vehicle on the road when you are
traveling at high rates of speed or pulling
tricky maneuvers.

Fast Talk (Balderdash) This is the art of

bullshitting. You use Fast Talk to trick others or throw them off their game. This Skill
is especially useful in acquiring information.

Eavesdropping (Brains) You have honed

the act of listening in to a re art. Even at
crowded social functions you can eavesdrop
on the conversations of others. Of course,

39

Fix-It (Brains) You can make simple

repairs to just about anything. The repairs
are short-lived and often result in catastrophic failure when they give way. Nonetheless, your repairs will carry you through
for a moment of two longer.
For each 10 that you acquire on your
roll, the repair holds out for 10 minutes of
game time.
First Aid (Brains) With rst-aid you can
stop bleeding, bandage wounds, set splints
and patch up people.
A successful roll on First-Aid moves the
patient one rung up the Health Ladder (explained at the end of this chapter).
Forgery (Brains) Given time and the
correct materials, you can forge most documents. In a pinch, you can supply forgeries
that will pass a cursory inspection.
Note: a person with the Skill Scrutiny will
immediately detect a quick forgery.
Gambling (Balderdash) You are skilled
in games of chance and tend to win more
than you lose at the table. On a successful
Gambling roll the character will win 1 to
10 times his initial stakes. Of course, the
reverse is true if the roll is failed.
Note: People dont like to lose at games of
chance, especially when the stakes are high.

40

Gun Fu (Versatility) You are familiar

with most small arms. You know to handle
rearms safely can re them with accuracy.
Hand-to-hand (Versatility) You are a
procient street ghter, trained in some sort
of martial arts or self-defense technique.
Hunting/Tracking (Versatility) You are
a skilled hunter. You know to track your
quarry including people in many environments, including the urban environment.
Interrogation (Brawn) You can make
people spill their guts through intimidation and, if necessary, physical persuasion.
Given the time and right tools you can crack
the most difcult nut. On the y, you a better chance than most people do at making
someone talk.
Investigation (Brains) You are good at
gathering clues through examination or research. You know how to use clue-gathering
equipment, like databases, nger printing
kits, etc.
Lingo (Brains) You are uent in a
language other than your mother tongue.
It could be a well-known language (like
French, Spanish, or German) or something
more obscure, including ancient languages.
Note: In order to be uent in an additional
language you must purchase this Skill again.

Medicine (Brains) You have a medical

background either as a General Practitioner or a veterinarian. You can stop bleeding,
close wounds, set broken limbs, diagnose
and treat illnesses, etc.
On a successful roll on Medicine a
patients health goes up two rungs on the
Health Ladder (explained at the end of the
Chargen chapter).
You can also accelerate a patients recovery by giving him constant care. The patient
will heal twice as quickly as normal with
you at his side.
Mechanically Inclined (Brains) You
understand how machines work. With the
right tools and the time you can repair damaged mechanical systems. Equally, you can
sabotage mechanical systems.
Occult Knowledge (Brains) You are a
student of the occult and the supernatural.
When faced with either you have some understanding of what is occurring. You know
the strengths and weaknesses of supernatural creatures.
Piloting (Versatility) You can y a plane.
Public Speaking (Leadership) You are
an effective public speaker. You can deliver
moving speeches. You can sway crowds
with your words, even written words.

41

Sailing (Versatility) You know how to

sail a small craft. You can also be an effective member of a large crew and can give
directions to others to help you sail a large
vessel.
Scrutiny (Brains) You are a natural
skeptic. You are better at detecting lies,
forgeries, and fakes than most people. You
are nobodys fool.
Schmoozing (Balderdash) You are an
exceptional lickspittle. Ingratiating yourself
to others has taken you far.
Shorthand (Brains) This is a handy Skill
for any Reporter. Armed with a note pad
and pencil you can quickly jot down the
news as it happens.
Slow-Flow (Brains) You are a procient
Slow-Flow operator and can navigate the
Slow-Flow Architecture.
Launched in mid-1920s, Slow-Flow is
a form of Internet, peculiar to the parallel world of the Boomtown Planet. It is a
testament to the approaching technological/communication age. Slow-ow units are
bulky and expensive. They look like a cross
between a typewriter and a television with
lots of apparent wires, tubes, and transistors.

With the Skill Slow-ow, you can hack

databases and acquire information found on
the Architecture. The heart of the SlowFlow Architecture lies in the land of its
creators, Germany.
Spelunking (Versatility) You are an expert cave explorer. You know how to navigate through natural cave networks. You
are familiar with the equipment required to
survive a spelunking expedition.
Status (Leadership) You have acquired
Status, either through your actions, deeds,
or reputation, or through your pedigree.
Doors that are closed to others are opened
for you. You can use your Status to inuence others.
Survival (Brains) You know how to
survive in the wilderness. You can navigate
without the aid of a compass. You can nd
natural sources of fresh water, shelter, and
food.
Swim (Versatility) You are an experienced swimmer and are comfortable in the
water.
Worldly (Brains) You are well read and
have a solid general knowledge base. While
specics sometimes stump you, you can
join in a general conversation on nearly any
topic and hold your own.

42

Step 8. Special Skills.

Special Skills lack a governing Attribute.
Thats one way that they are special. Some
of the Special Skills are more applicable to
ction than they are reality. Special Skills
make you stand out; they give you an extra.
Some of the NPCs the characters meet will
have Special Skills of their own.
Your Character starts the game with 1
Special Skill. You can use the Special Skills
provided with the above template Characters, or just pick the Special Skill that you
want.
Just like Skills, your Character is limited
to the number of Special Skills he can have
at any given time. The maximum number of
Special Skills he can have is 3.
Unlike Skills, however, you cant drop
a Special Skill to free up a slot. Once you
have lled up all 3 Special Skill slots, thats
it. So choose your Special Skills wisely.
For the GM important NPCs can have
Special Skills.
Here is a list of some sample Special
Skills.
Ambidextrous most people have a dominate hand. Its the hand they write with. A
few, however, are blessed with the ability to
use both hands equally. This can be of great
advantage to a Character.

An example of this Special Skill in play

The columnist, Irvine Marcott, is bound
to a piling that supports a boathouse. His
dull-witted captors didnt intend to harm
Marcott, they just wanted to make a clean
getaway. Unfortunately, they forgot about
the incoming tide. The tide is coming in fast
and if Marcott doesnt quickly free himself,
he will drown.
The GM informs the Player that Marcotts
left hand is free. Marcott happens to be
Ambidextrous and this improves his chance
to escape dramatically. After a few attempts,
Marcott wriggles free of his bonds and
swims safely to shore.
This would not be the case with a Character who is not ambidextrous if his off-hand
was the free hand. A Character that is not
ambidextrous suffers a penalty when he is
using his off-hand and the roll is dulled,
-1. The ambidextrous Character suffers no
penalty.
Arcane Inclination You were born with
the gift; some would call it a curse. You
are aware of the metaphysical world and
you are able to tap into it to inuence the
real world.
Bear with me; this Special Skill is the rock
upon which the magic in this game is built.
As a result, Arcane Inclination gets more
than its share of real estate in the book. If

43

you arent playing a wizard, or dont intend

to have wizards in your game, you can skim
through this part to see if any of it interests
you.
Excerpt from A Guide to the Arcane
World for the Layman by Excalibur Jones,
wizard and occasional contributor to the
Boomtown Planet.
Non-wizards have as much control over the
metaphysical world as a farmer has over a
barn cat. That is to say, the non-wizard may
be aware of some presence (although
probably not), but he has no control over it.
Wizards, on the other hand, are very much
aware of the metaphysical world. In fact, we
can inuence it and bend it to our will. Its
a tricky business, however, as messing with
the metaphysical world can be lethal.
The metaphysical world is a world of balance. It is also a world of absolutes, of dark
and light, black and white. The shades of
grey evident in our own world are absent
in the metaphysical world. A wizard taps
into the energy of the metaphysical world
and harnesses it to inuence the physical
plane. He does so by either tapping into the
negative energy or the positive energy of
the beyond. This energy is powerful and its
volatile. It takes a wise practitioner to know
when he is exceeding his limits.

Contrary to popular belief, a wizard is free

to tap into whatever form of energy he likes
both black and white magic. Generally,
however, his talents push him one way or
another. Black magic is not inherently evil,
just as white magic is not inherently good.
Both types of magic are merely tools. Its
how you use these tools that matters.
Through the use of metaphysical energy
wizards are able to inuence the seven
known elements earth, wind, water, re,
wood, mineral (or metal) and living tissue,
or esh. Black magic is used to destroy or
damage elements, white magic is used to
strengthen or repair elements.
I am telling you all this to give you an
understanding of the metaphysical world
and the role that wizards play in it. Most
wizards are decent folk, but there are exceptions. There are some truly nasty wizards
out there, so consumed that they are scarcely human. It is a delicate game the wizard
plays. Those who choose to embrace their
gift and pursue it can do great good. They
can also do that exact opposite. And thats
when the Arcane Society comes into play.
Several thousand years ago, the Arcane
Society was a matriarchal one. Women held
the highest ofces in the Society. The Society, however, was divided into many different Orders. Each Order struggled to gain
absolute control over the Society. Sometimes alliances were formed, but they were

44

short-lived. It was fractious state of affairs

and valuable arcane information was lost or
destroyed through the ongoing conict.
Shortly after the rise of Christianity, the
Orders began to assemble themselves in
accordance to the magic they practiced.
Wizards were classied. A clear line was
drawn and the Arcane Society was divided
not quite down the middle between those
who practiced the black arts and those
who practiced white magic. The Order
of White Magicians had powerful allies in
the Church and it used these allies to make
war on the Order of the Black Arts. Through
purging, inquisitions and general prosecution the Dark Order was nearly destroyed.
Many practitioners of the black arts went
into hiding. Innocent civilians were purged
along with bona de wizards. Any who
were suspected of harbouring the dark
gift were consumed in the purifying res
of the Inquisitions. And, to think, many of
the Inquisitors were wizards themselves!
The modern age, with its origins in the
Age of Reason, ended the conict between
White and Black wizards. But still, the
Black wizards harboured a deep resentment,
and who could really blame them. This
resentment still runs deep today.
Today, there is no distinction between
White or Black wizards. We are all considered members of the same Society. For
obvious reasons we tend to keep our gifts to
ourselves.

Although I think this is a mistake. The

general population would do well to know
that things that sometimes mean them harm
inuence them. Nonetheless, archaic law
must be heeded. The Cardinal Law of the
Arcane Society is that magic shall not be
used to take mortal life. Why? Not for any
hard moral reason, although most of us are
as moral as the next man, but because the
taking of mortal life upsets the balance of
the metaphysical world.
The highest members of the Arcane Society
sentence a wizard who breaks the Cardinal
Law to immediate death. This strikes me
as the denition of irony, Though shall
not kill or you will be killed. Nonetheless,
thats the law that wizards live by. Well,
most of us do. Inevitably, when the Law is
broken, the wizard who broke the Law cannot be found. He (or she) is almost always a
nasty sort and the type to shoot rst and not
bothering asking any questions, even later.
Wizards meet around once a month at a
thing we call Conclave. Its like a club for
wizards. Each community has its Conclave,
with membership numbers usually determined by the size of the host community
- although there are some small communities that boast unusually high numbers of
wizards. In Boomtown our Conclaves
membership is around 30, with the occasional tourist sitting in on our meetings. Conclave meetings are boring affairs,
with the Elders going over the minutes of

45

the last meeting and the affairs of the day

usually how much money we made at the
last bingo. We eat small sandwiches, drink
soda and lemonade (so as not to offend the
abstainers) and talk shop. Id prefer not to
go but Im obligated.
With respect to the myths of wizardry:
Yes, we do live for an incredible long
time, although thats changing. Some of the
venerable members of the Arcane Society
are nearly a thousand years old. Now, a wizard can expect to live to for several hundred
years.
No, we arent immune to re or physical
assaults. What can hurt and kill you can hurt
and kill me.
No, we arent particularly fond of black
cats or ravens or toads. When one lives a
long time and they want companionship,
they have pets. Losing a pet is often (but not
always) easier than losing a human companion to old age.
Yes, Merlin was real. My great-greatgrandfather knew the man. He didnt like
him.

The game mechanics behind the magic

Wizards can affect elements through white
or black magic, drawn from the positive and
negative planes of existence respectively.
As Jones tells us, black magic is used to
damage or destroy elements and white magic is used to strengthen or repair elements.
For example:
Black magic can be used: to damage
the metal in a lock, so the lock breaks; to
weaken a door so it shatters; to make the
water in a glass disappear; to cause harm to
a person*.
White magic can be used: to hold together a tire that is losing air; strengthen a window so it repels bullets; to heal a person; to
cause a small re to are into a large re.
*When the element esh is manipulated to
harm or heal a person use this as a guide:
it is Easy to do one point of damage to a
person, Average to do two points, Difcult
to do three points, and Very Difcult to do
four points.
A newly generated wizard PC can only
inuence two of the seven known elements
earth, air, water, re, wood, mineral (or
metal) and living tissue, or esh. In addition, he is partial to one form of magic or
the other (white or black). This is reected
in the fact that all rolls in one form of magic
are sharpened, +1.

46

Using Spirit to improve your wizard - The

Player spends banked Spirit Points so his
wizard PC can either gain control over
another element or to increase his ability
to cast either black or white magic. Like
other advances, it costs the Wizard 25 Spirit
Points to add an element or increase his
spell casting ability with an existing element. The most a wizard can increase his
spell casting ability is +2.
When manipulating an element (casting
a spell), rolls are made as per normal, with
difculties being assigned to the task, etc.
The intent of the wizards spell must be
clear. If he fails his roll, the spell backres.
If he fails in his intent, things go haywire.
The relative to scale rule also applies. If a
wizard is trying to manipulate a large mass
(or amount) of an element then he fewer
dice are rolled.
Block/Dodge A character with this Special Skill has a decided advantage in combat
because he can lessen the impact of blows
or negate damage altogether.
When the character is struck the Player
declares that his character is attempting to
block (or dodge) the blow. The Player rolls
on his characters Versatility. Each 10
that the Player gets on the dice lessens the
damage by 1.

An example in play Detective Merv

Wiley is trapped in a blind alley. His only
escape is back the way he came. Unfortunately, the gangster, Polish Paulie, is barring Mervs escape. Merv decides to make
a run for it anyway and Polish pulls out his
revolver and shoots Merv.
The Player declares that Merv is going to
dodge the attack. The Player rolls the dice7, 3, 8, and 4. The result is two 10s. A pistol
bullet normally does 3 points of damage.
But, because Merv was trying to dodge the
shot, the bullet just grazes him as at ies by,
doing 1 point of damage. Merv gets nicked
and keeps on going. He just might get out of
this alive.
Note: a character without this Skill can
attempt to Block/Dodge an attack, but he
is at a serious disadvantage. Only 2d10 are
rolled.
Everyman - You are completely average
looking in every way. You blend into a
crowd.
It is difcult for people to remember your
description. You can easily slip into a crowd
and elude any pursuers. Finding a person in
a crowd is hard enough, nding an Everyman in a crowd is next to impossible.
Only two dice are rolled when attempting to
nd an Everyman in a crowd.

47

An example in play Boomtown reporter

Bob Kennedy is on the trail of a middle
management type who works for Locket
Steel Inc. The man, few can remember his
name but Kennedy knows its Joe Smith,
stands accused of embezzling considerable
funds for the companys coffers. Kennedy
tails Smith to Bridgend Station, Boomtowns
main train station. Unfortunately, Smith
quickly ducks into the crowd of passengers
and tourists.
The Player says that Kennedys going to
try to nd Smith in the crowd. The GM informs the Player that Smith is an Everyman.
The Player rolls his eyes and rolls two dice
only, a 6 and 5. The GM informs the Player
that while Kennedy catches the occasional
glimpse of Smith, Smith manages to elude
Kennedy entirely after a few minutes.

Lightning Draw With Lightning Draw

you always get the drop on your opponent,
regardless of who has the initiative. Essentially, you steal the initiative. In addition,
you are never caught with your pants down;
you are never surprised.

ld Wars

Naturally Lucky - Maybe you know

someone who is devilishly lucky in real life.
No matter what happens, he always comes
out ahead. If your character has Luck then
hes that guy.
A Player whose character has Luck, rolls
on the following table at the start of each
game session.
1 to 4 - Monetary gain: you nd $1d6 X
10. The rule of nders-keepers/losers weepers applies.
5 to 6 - Spirit Boost: youre feeling lucky.
As a result you get 1 Spirit Point.
7 - Contact: an ally will assist you in some
small way once during the game session.
You decide when the ally offers his help.
8 - Dodge a Bullet: you completely dodge
one attack during the game session. No roll
is required.
9 - Instant Success: sometimes you seem
to be able to pull off the impossible. You
automatically succeed on one action during
the game session. No roll is required.
10 - Fortunate Coincidence: this is a good
to use in a time of crisis. A Fortunate Coincidence can get you out of any jamb. This
happens only once during the game session.
For example your Character is trapped
on top of a burning building. There is no
way down. The Player decides to play this
card. The GM informs the Player that the
burning building starts to collapse but by

48

fortunate coincidence it collapses in such

a way that it is now leaning against the
building next to it. The Character can easily
make the jump to the roof of the other building but he better hurry.
Photographic Memory - A Photographic
Memory is great when it comes to remembering clues or particular passages from
research material. When your Character
draws from this information you get to roll
the dice twice, instead of once, to see what
he remembers.
Furthermore, a Character with Photographic Memory can recall useful bits of
info - like names, phone numbers, descriptions, street addresses, etc. GMs, keep this
in mind.
Too often Players ignore details, oftencrucial ones, and then expect their GMs
to relay everything back to them. Only
Players whose characters have Photographic
Memory can ask the GM to remind them of
the details they have forgotten.
Reckless Abandon - If your character has
Reckless Abandon he has a distinct advantage over a lot of people when the action
heats up.
A character with Reckless Abandon has
no sense of self-preservation. In combat, or
any dangerous situation, he never inches.
In game terms he never loses his Cool.

Respect Respect goes beyond Status.

While Status helps you gain access to
certain social functions and members of the
upper class, Respect allows to you walk
among the upper crust (of your particular
organization) as an equal.
Respect gives you an upper hand in Social
Combat. You sharpen all rolls, +1.
Ruthless You do whatever it takes to
achieve your goals. You are naturally
cold-hearted. The whole concept of squeamishness is unfamiliar to you. When others
blanche, you carry out the task with brutal
precision.
Under normal circumstances, it is extremely difcult for the average person
to muster up the courage to intentionally
hurt or kill others. You arent your average
person. The idea of torture doesnt disconcert, neither does shooting someone in cold
blood. For you, they are sometimes unfortunate necessities.
Tough - You are real tough and can take
a lot of damage. In game terms, all the
damage that your Character takes is halved
(round down).
Step 9. Money & Possessions. We have
little concern for money in this game.
Characters start the game with $1d10 X 10
for cab rides, meals, and other incidental
expenses. As members of the Boomtown

49

Planets staff, the Characters either receive

salaries or fees for services rendered.
Male reporters at the Planet earn $30 to
$35 a week; female reporters $20 to $25.
Senior reporters, like Bob Kennedy, Tess
Trimble, and Dane Ringwald, might earn
more than the average wage. Photographers
and Legmen earn less than reporters, $25 to
$30 being the average. Cub Reporters earn
$10 to $15. Editor-and-Chief, Seth Elliot
earns $55, Night-time Editor, Ed Worthy, $50; and Day-time Managing Editor,
Maggie Talent, $40. Columnists earn $5 to
$10 per column and not every column is
accepted. Resources are either paid directly
for information - $5 to $10 or they are
paid by the hour, with 50 cents an hour being the standard fee.
If the Characters keep their spending to
a minimum, the GM can assume that any
costs are covered by wages.
A Character might be wealthy. How the
GM manages a wealthy PCs spending
habits is up to him.

When it comes to a Characters possessions the ones that are listed on the character sheet, we
arent talking about humdrum items like clothes,
packages of cigarettes, etc. We are talking about
special items, including personal equipment,
weapons, etc. things that hold real value to the
Character for practical or personal reasons. For
example, a detective may value his trusty detective kit, a reporter may value a gold pocket watch
that belonged to his father that keeps exceptional
time, etc.

Step 10. Game Hooks.

You dont to ll this eld out, immediately. You can leave it blank until something
hits you. Game Hooks are the interesting
things about your Character that the GM
can use in his game.
Here are some examples:
Your Character has a nemesis, a real annoying individual who seems to block your
every move.
Your Character has an older brother who
went missing three years ago. Certain clues
lead your Character to believe he is still
alive and living in the city.
Your Characters family has a curse
attached it. The eldest daughter always dies
before her 28th birthday. Your Character is
the eldest daughter and she is 23. The curse
hangs over her and she is obsessed with
nding a way to lift it.
When they are used PC Game Hooks
make the game personal. The stakes get a
little higher, the action heats up, and the
game is more fun.
Step 11. Finishing Touches.
Now you are ready to draft up a short
description of your Character and a brief
history that touches on some key moments
in the Characters life.

On Health and Vital Signs By now,

youll have noticed that there are no hit
points or damage points in this game. Instead, we use what is called the Health Ladder. Some of you may be used to the Health
Ladder used in other games. For those who
are unfamiliar with Health Ladders, they are
pretty simple to use.
There are seven rungs on the Ladder. The
top rung is Alive and Kicking. When you
get hurt you lose heath and drop down the
ladder. The farther down the ladder you go,
the more injured you are.
Players whose Characters are injured
suffer penalties on their dice rolls. Rolls are
dulled. The more the Character is injured,
the more the roll is dulled.
Here are the rungs on the Ladder and the
associated penalties suffered when you are
on them:
Alive and Kicking (0)
Nicked (-1)
Scraped (-1)
Bruised (-2)
Battered (-2)
Injured (-3)
Unconscious
Dead
As you heal or receive medical care you
move up the Ladder.

* see Health & Recovery at the end of the Combat section.

50

Putting the mechanics to good use

Weve discussed how dice rolling works
in this game. Here are some ways that we
put the dice to work during play testing.
Nearly all the dice rolls in this game are
made on one Attribute or another - physical
actions on Brawn or Versatility, mental feats
on Brains, and social interaction on Balderdash or Leadership.
Generally, Attributes are as low as 2 and
as high as +2. The average adult Attribute
value is 0. A 2 Attribute might denote a
serious character aw; the character is weak
in that particular Attribute. Conversely, the
reverse is true a +2 Attribute means you
are strong in that particular area.
Its important to note that Players can (and
should) play to their characters strengths.
Let me explain. Most of us have heard the
expression, There is more than one way to
crack a nut! That statement bears weight.
Human beings are versatile creatures and
they use whatever means they have at their
disposal to overcome obstacles.
There are usually multiple solutions to any
given problem. You are encouraged to nd
the solution that best suits your character.
For example, if a door is barring your characters way, and your character is weak, he
doesnt have to rely solely on brute strength
to force it open. He could use his exceptional brains to tamper with the lock, knock out

51

the hinges, or nd something that will give

him the leverage he needs to compensate for
his lack of strength. He could also use his
exceptional Leadership skills to get a strong
person to open the door for him.
Players can always use their characters
strongest Attributes to carry out an action,
if they can explain why they should get to
do so.
Below are common tests or rules that
require more detailed explanations. These
rules arent etched in stone, so change them
to suit your play style.
Game Time
Outside of combat, game time is measured
in seconds, minutes, hours, days, etc.
Player: How long does it take me to walk
to the safe house?
GM: Three minutes.
Player: How long will it take me to jog to
the safe house?
GM: A little over a minute.
There are no fancy names for blocks of
time in the Boomtown Planet; its stuff you
know.

Relying on your characters Brains

Idiot Proong Sometimes Players can
be dumb. They overlook the obvious and
trundle along oblivious to some obvious
danger or glaring oversight. When this occurs you might want to give them a chance.
A characters might not be as dumb/oblivious as the Player whos playing him. Have
the Player roll on his characters Brains.
The intent of the action is overcome the
stupidity of the Player and see the glaring
danger. A partial success indicates that the
character is alert to something . . . something he is overlooking.
*You can sometimes make the Players
roll the dice simply to heighten the tension
of the game. Theres no need to tell them
youre making them roll just because.
Perception Check - When the characters
are scoping the horizon or scanning an area,
the Players make a Perception Check on
their characters Brains.
Problem Solving While Players like to
solve mental problems themselves, sometimes the problems are mundane. Equally,
problem solving can slow the pace of the
game when everyone just wants to keep the
action moving. In these instances have the
Players roll on their characters Brains.

52

Insanity- There are gamers out there

who think insanity rules are great and cant
wait until their characters become gibbering fools. If you are one of those people
and everyone else in your gaming group is
too then feel free to incorporate these rules
into the game. If not, I recommend caution before you start dolling out insanities
on Player Characters. Inicting a character
with an insanity can ruin a Players experience and, by extension, your game. Of
course, insane NPCs are always fun.
Trauma, circumstance, injury or mental
tampering can bring on insanity. Initially,
I didnt want to add a rule that would help
determine whether a character snaps, or not.
I wanted to leave the decision up to the GM
and (heaven forbid) the players. But then
someone pointed out that I couldnt list a
bunch of insanities without having a rule
that governs the chance to obtain one. Fair
enough, I guess.
When an event occurs in the game that
could drive a PC mad (Im really leaving that up to you), the player rolls on his
characters Brains. The intent is to maintain
ones sanity. If the roll fails, then the character is a loon. If a partial success is rolled,
the character is temporarily insane.
How insane the character is, is governed by
the circumstance(s) that led to his lunacy in
the rst place. Draw these conclusions on
your own.

Here are examples of the various types of

insanities characters may suffer from.
Stressed Out this is a common mental ailment. Prescription drugs, changes of diet, herbal
remedies, and mandatory relaxation are the
things most typically prescribed for recovery.
Stress causes migraines, muscle aches, sleeplessness, fatigue, temporary short-term memory loss,
etc.
Fortunately, PCs are resilient. Which means
they often beat the bell curve when it comes to
coping with stress. Nonetheless, an overdose
of stress can send a PC over the edge. A player
whose character suffers from stress must roll the
dice at the start of each game day. He rolls on
his characters Brains. A failed roll means the
character is having a rough day and suffers a -1
modier. A partial success means the character
is ne, but still suffers from stress. A success (or
better) means the character is no longer stressed
out. Hes obtained some form of inner peace.
Mild Depression - isnt unusual. There are
numbers of reasons why a character might suffer
from mild depression - they lost something or
someone important to them, they failed at some
important task, or they have suffered too many
tough days on the job with no respite. Life seems
dull and pointless.
A character with Mild Depression suffers a -1
modier on all rolls until the period of depression is over. While medicine, herbal remedies
(most of which are laced with natural stimulants)
and therapy might snap a character out of a mild
depression; a change of setting is just as effective. Relaxing in a carefree environment while

53

enjoying pleasant company is as good a tonic as

any. Pulling oneself out of a mild depression
is a conscious decision. The character can only
make the attempt to do so after suffering for
1d10 days. When a character attempts to brighten
his mood, a roll is made on Brains. If successful,
the character snaps out of it. Failure means he
spirals into deep depression.
Deep Depression - is brought on by traumatic
loss. It can also be the advanced stage of Mild
Depression.
The character is in an unshakably dark mood.
He has zero motivation. Even eating and dressing are major chores and ones that he frequently
skips. The character has suicidal thoughts and
might turn to alcohol or other drugs to forget
about life (gaining an addiction in the process
and further compounding his problems).
A character in Deep Depression suffers a 2
modier on all rolls. The character will make
no attempt to get help; someone must intervene.
Even then, its a tough ride. A roll is made on
Brains and the -2 modier applies. Success
indicates that the character has gone from Deep
Depression to Mild Depression.
Changes of diet, prescription drugs, herbal remedies, mandatory relaxation, even institutionalization might all be a part of the recovery process.
Usually sessions with a psychiatrist are essential
for full recovery. For more extreme cases electric
shock is prescribed.
Phobia - is an overwhelming fear of something. It could be anything, a type of animal or
plant, a type of person, a fear of heights, re, etc.

Usually, the Phobia is trauma related. For example, a character that is savaged by wild dogs
might gain a phobia of dogs of all sorts.
Whenever the character is around the thing
they are afraid of, the player suffers a -2 on all
his rolls. To overcome the effects of a Phobia,
a player must roll on Brains and the -2 modier
applies.
Usually, a character has a Phobia forever. In
rare instances, however, the Phobia becomes a
mania.
If the Player fails his roll, the characters Phobia becomes a mania; his overwhelming fear of
something becomes an irrational passion for it.
For example, a character that has a Phobia of re
suddenly loves re and becomes a pyromaniac.
Changes of diet, prescription drugs, herbal remedies, mandatory relaxation and institutionalization might all be a part of the recovery process.
Usually sessions with a psychiatrist are essential
for full recovery. For more extreme cases electric
shock is prescribed.
Neurosis - come in many forms. Hypochondria and Compulsive/Obsessiveness are obvious
examples.
These afictions dont impact on dice rolls,
but they certainly impact on how a character
acts. For example, the hypochondriac will never
shake hands, he avoids places where he believes
diseases may congregate, and he avoids sick people. The compulsive/obsessive might constantly
clean his glasses, check out his appearance in a
mirror, re-arrange his comic book collection, put
his clothes on in a specic order, etc. He gets
angry if he isnt allowed to do so.
Changes in diet, prescription drugs, herbal
remedies, therapy and relaxation help curb the

54

effects of a neurosis but the person never fully

recovers from it. A neurosis usually manifests
itself over time and the GM can drop hints that
a neurosis is coming on. Your character gets a
bad feeling when he turns off the light. He wants
to switch it on and then turn it off again.
Manic-Depressive Psychosis - results in
periods of near elation followed by periods of
massive depression.
When the character is elated, the player gets a
+1 modier on all rolls. When the character is
depressed, the player suffers a 1 modier on all
rolls. The player rolls a die at the start of each
game day. If the result is even (2,4,6,8,0), his
character is elated. If the result is odd (1,3,5,7,9),
his character is depressed.
Uncured manic-depressive psychosis can lead
to suicide. Changes of diet, prescription and
herbal drugs/treatment, mandatory relaxation,
and therapy sessions are essential for full recovery. The player rolls on his characters Brains
after a month of treatment. Failure means no
change. A mild success means the character stills
suffers from mood swings, but modiers are no
longer applied to dice rolls. If the roll is successful, the character no longer suffers from manicdepression. He is mildly depressed instead.
Schizophrenia - often results in a split personality. The subject is withdrawn, talks or acts in an
irrational manner, suffers from audio and/or visual hallucinations, and might become paranoid.
Unfortunately, schizophrenia cannot be cured.
A player whose character suffers from schizophrenia rolls a d10 when asked to by the GM.
The result determines the mood of the character.

The GM might add some details if the character

is suffering from some form of hallucination.
The GM might decide to secretly roll the die
himself and then inform the player what is happening to his character.
1 5: the character is sullen and withdrawn.
6-7: the character acts bizarrely, constantly
muttering under his breath.
8-9: the character hears voices, sees things that
are not there, etc.
10: the character is paranoid. Everyone is out
to get him, including his friends.
Paranoia - results in an exaggerated (and annoying) sense of self-importance. Unfortunately,
the important person believes that everyone
is out to get him because he is so important.
Changes of diet, prescription and herbal drugs,
mandatory relaxation, and therapy sessions are
essential for full recovery.
Suicidal or homicidal mania are self-explanatory. A character that suffers from one or
the other does not necessarily act on his feelings
but he certainly has strong urges and voices them
frequently. Given an opportunity, he may act on
these urges.
A suicidal maniac is extremely reckless and
charges headlong into danger. He doesnt care
about himself, at all. He drinks, gambles, hurls
insults at anyone and everyone (the more dangerous, the better) and can get his friends killed.
Suicidal mania is brought on by extreme trauma,
extreme loss, or through a long-term ailment.
A homicidal maniac is a dangerous individual.
When he has a chance to kill someone, he will.
Like the suicidal maniac, the homicidal maniac
can get his friends killed - if he doesnt kill them

55

himself. Homicidal mania is brought on by extreme trauma or extreme loss through violence.
Changes of diet, prescription and herbal drugs,
mandatory relaxation, therapy sessions, institutionalization, and electric shock are essential for
full recovery.

Relying on your characters Brawn

Forcing Doors and Windows Obstacles often stand in the way of Characters
and sometimes those obstacles are doors
and windows.
Doors and windows are ranked from Very
Easy to open to Impossible to open. If a
door is half-rotten and falling off its hinges,
it is Very Easy to force it open. A good kick
will do the trick. A bank vault, on the other
hand, is Impossible to open without knowing the combination or without having a
hefty amount of explosives on hand.
Intent comes into play when the Player
determines why his character is forcing
the door. Questions the Player should ask
himself before rolling the dice are:
1. Am I trying to open the door/window
quietly?
2. Am I trying to open the door/window
quickly?
3. Do I want to open the door/window
carefully to protect the contents (or occupants) behind it?

Poison - When a character is poisoned,

the Player rolls on his characters Brawn.
The intent is to overcome the effects of the
poison and survive.
Failure means the character succumbs
fully the effects of the poison. A Partial Success means the character survived but has
suffered some long lasting effect.
Different poisons affect people in different ways. Some poisons kill, others like
small insect stings are merely irritating. It
is up to the GM to determine the effects
of different poisons. Something like a bee
sting might result in minor irritation, and
a -1 Modier on dice rolls, for an hour of
game time. A dose of straight arsenic might
result in death. Long lasting effects from a
bee sting might be nothing more than slight
skin discoloration or an allergic reaction to
future stings. For more deadly poisons, long
lasting effects can be debilitating resulting in a negative Attribute of some sort (-1
Brawn, for example).
Intoxication - PCs often imbibe in alcohol and sometimes they take illicit drugs.
When PCs head into a social setting they
inevitably consume a battery of drinks and
then start snooping around for rumours or
information. Heavy drinking (or drug use),
however, affect a characters performance.
Your character can consume 1 drink per 20
kilograms of weight without any ill effects.
He might be light headed, have a slight

56

buzz, but he is still very capable. When the

character passes this magic number, he is
drunk. A drunken character has the following modiers: Brains -1, Brawn +2, Combat
Prowess 1, Versatility 1, Leadership 1,
and Balderdash -1.

Addiction: if a character is fond of drinking,

smoking, or using illicit drugs he might develop
an addiction. If the GM feels a character is
developing an addiction, he can ask for a roll on
the characters Brawn. The intent of the action is
to avoid becoming addicted.
Failure results in substance addiction. Partial
Success means the character is not addicted yet,
but could still become addicted. Success means
the character isnt addicted to the substance and
never will be.
A Player whose character has an addiction suffers a 1 modier on all rolls when the character
isnt using and a -2 on all rolls if the character
withdraws from the substance completely. Each
day that the character suffers through withdrawal, the Player rolls on the characters Brawn
(with the - 2 modier applied to the roll). The
intent is to kick the habit. After three days of
drying out, the character no longer suffers from
withdrawal. If the character failed to kick his
habit, a roll on Brains is required whenever he
is exposed to the substance he was addicted to.
Failure indicates that the character immediately
indulges and is fully addicted once again. A
Partial Success means the character passes on the
substance but hes Jonesing in a bad way. A 1
Modier applies.

Disease - In the 1930s, diseases like tuberculosis, cholera, measles, inuenza, etc.
were a real problem, particularly in poverty
stricken neighbourhoods. There are stories
in the slums and reporters have to go cover
them sometimes the story is a particularly
vicious outbreak of one ailment or another.
When a character comes in contact with a
disease, a roll on Brawn is required. The
intent is to avoid any ill effects from the
disease. A failed roll results in the character
contracting the disease. A Partial Success
means the character will contract something, not necessarily the disease itself, and
suffer mild illness.
It would require a lot of real estate to present you with a long list of common diseases
and their effects. I suggest a quick pass
on Google to gather any details you might
need.
Against the Elements - Ill-prepared PCs
suffer from climate extremes just like anybody else. Harsh elements rapidly eat away
Health.
In terms of game mechanics, the GM
should determine how harsh the climate is
and how exposed the character is to it. The
character drops one rung down the Health
Ladder every day, every hour, or even every
minute.
A character that falls Unconscious might
suffer some form of permanent injury
because of exposure. A roll on Brawn is

57

required. If the roll is failed, the character

loses one point of Brawn. A Partial Success results in visible scarring because of
exposure. Success means full recovery from
exposure.
Fire - Fire is a real concern. Any character unfortunate enough to catch re will
drop a rung down the Health Ladder every
ve seconds until the re is extinguished.
A character that falls Unconscious might
suffer some form of permanent scarring and
injury. A roll on Brawn is required. If the
roll is failed, the character loses one point
of Brawn. A Partial Success results in visible scarring because of exposure. Success
results in full recovery.
Aging - You get old and you die.
We all know that. Most players wont see
their PCs crack a wrinkle, let alone sprout
grey hairs and become incontinent. Nonetheless, to appease purists, here are some
rules on getting old.
The steps of aging:
The Ahs - the ahs are the good years, from
18 to 35. This is the peak period of your
life. Things are going good. You are hitting
on all sixes. You have sex appeal. Age and
gravity have yet to bring you down.

The Mas/Pas - from 36 to 44, things are

still okay. You arent at the peak of your
game any more, but you can keep up. You
still have limited sex appeal. More the
point, you now have respect and responsibility.
Age is starting to take its toll. Knock a
point off Brawn and Combat Prowess.
The Blahs - you are over 46. The blahs
have set in and they are here to stay until
you reach 60. You are out of touch with
the youth of today and are no longer interested in playing the game. You are riding
out your last years in the labour force and
are looking forward to retirement. Knock a
point off Brawn and Balderdash. Pick up a
point in Brains and Leadership.
The Grandmas/grandpas - youre well
over the hill (over 60) and skidding down
the downward slope.
You are a wrinkly and will soon be a
crumbly. You dont know the rules of the
game any longer. Youre out of play and
proud of it. As you slide through this stage
of life, you fear death less and less and
welcome it more and more. Youve lived a
good life. Its time to let the younger generations reap the whirlwind. Knock 1 point
off Combat Prowess and Versatility. Pick up
a point in Balderdash. Roll 4 dice on a xed
date every year. If all the dice are even or
odd, your character dies.

58

Drowning - If a character doesnt have

Swim as a Skill and he falls into water that
is over his head he starts to drown.
A drowning character can attempt to stay
above water but a successful roll on Brawn
is required to do so. A roll is required for
every minute the character remains in the
water and it gets exceedingly difcult as
time goes on. For every two minutes that
the character is in the water, apply a cumulative -1 modier to the roll. When you fail
your roll your character takes one point of
damage. If you score a Partial Success you
keep your head above water. In the case of a
success you can move 1d10 metres towards
safety.
A character (PC or NPC) that has First
Aid or Medicine as a Skill can resuscitate
someone who has drowns. Time is of the
essence. Keeping it simple, a drowning
victim has a ve-minute window in which
to be revived. His rescuer rst rolls on his
Skill (Medicine or First Aid). If successful (even partially successful), then CPR is
under way. A roll for the drowning victim is
required next. This roll must be successful.
If it is, the character is revived.
Health is recovered at the rate of 2 rungs
a day.
Note: Even exceptionally brawny swimmers can drown in rough waters or because
of undertows.

Keeping your cool When faced with a

scary or stressful situation, Characters (like
all of us) can lose their cool.
When an unreasonably scary or stressful
situation arises, the GM can have the Players check their characters Cool. The intent
for the PCs is to stand their ground whatever the ground happens to be at the time.
Rolls are made on Brawn. Failure indicates
they will suffer one of the following effects
(roll 1d10):
1 - 5 Your character is pinned down. He
wont move or do anything. At the start of
every combat cycle, roll on Brawn to see if
he rallies.
6 - 7 Your character is cowering. He
weeps, soils himself, prays, and does other
less-than-manly things for 1d10 combat
rounds at the end of which you roll on your
Brawn to see if he rallies.
8 - 9 Your character is routed and ees
from the action. He throws away anything
that might slow him down. When hes
safely away from the ghting or stress you
can roll on Brawn to see if he rallies.
10 Your character is lled with fools
courage. As a result he will attempt absurdly
courageous acts. This lasts for 1d10 combat
rounds or until he is killed. If he survives,
roll on Brawn to see if your character gathers his senses. If you fail the roll, roll on this
table again to see what your character does
next.

A partial success means they stand their

ground but are scared and suffer a 1 Modier on all rolls until the scary or stressful
situation has passed.
On character death - If PC death is a
distinct possibility/probability in your game,
then warn the players ahead of time.
Considering the crazy things PCs do, most
of them should die. But the PCs are supposed
to be the stars of the show. To a certain extent
PC stats and skills reect this. This betters his
chance to survive whatever the GM (or the
Players blind stupidity) throws at him.
Ordinarily, when a character dies, he dies.
There are, however, a few tools that the GM
can use to enhance the game experience.
Cinematic Death - the character dies but he
clings on long enough to utter some parting
words. Judging on the players performance,
the GM can award the player some freebies
when he makes his new character.
Heroic Death - the character dies but he has
the opportunity to go out in a blaze of glory.
The character gets a free turn immediately
before he hits the earth.
Heroic Recovery - this comes into play if
your group has great aversion to character
death. Regardless, each character can only
heroically recover once in his lifetime.
When the character dies, he topples over.
Doctors declare, however, that he is barely
clinging to life and the prognosis is grim.
Despite the prognosis, the character bounces
back. In 1d10 days he is on his feet. Taking it
a step further, a caregiver might play a large
part in the PCs recovery.

The will to kill, maim, or hurt Unless

your character has Ruthless as a Special
Skill, he will have to dig deep if he wants to
harm an innocent/unarmed person. A roll on
Brawn is required. A Partial Success means
that the character will stand idly by, stomach turning, and allow someone else to do
the deed. Failure indicates that the character
will not allow even another to do something
nasty to an innocent/unharmed person.
Charging into
danger unless
your character has
Reckless Abandon as a Special
Skill hell lack
any enthusiasm
for charging
into a dangerous situation. A
roll on Brawn
is required. A
Partial Success
indicates that your character has mustered
up the courage to act but he is still sweating
bullets. A 1 Modier applies until danger
passes. Failure indicates that he refuses to
act.
Relying on your characters Versatility
Vehicle Chases - There are no sure-re
mechanical methods to govern vehicle

60

chases. There are simply too many variables

involved. There is some excellent material
out there on vehicle chases and youre welcome to implement those rules, but this isnt
the French Connection were playing. Still,
Ive tried to condense things for you.
A vehicle chase boils down to two things
- the quality of the driver and the quality of
the vehicle.
The quality of a driver is apparent. First
of all, does the character even have the
Skill, Driving (or, if
hes mounted, the Skill,
Beast)? If he doesnt,
he might not be able to
start a vehicle, let alone
drive it. If he has Driving, then his Versatility
determines his quality
from frightening (-2)
to average (0) to superb
(+2).
All vehicles are assigned a level of Quality. The level of Quality runs from 1 to 4.
Level 1 (40 kph or less): Rickshaws,
sway back mares, run down Model Ts, and
heavy horse drawn wagons fall into this
category. These are poor quality vehicles.
1 Modier.

Level 2 (60 kph or less): Horses, smaller

motorcycles and many older model cars fall
into this category.
Level 3 (80 kph or less): Most motorcycles, trucks, your average cars, and most
mass-transportation vehicles fall into this
category.
Level 4 (140 kph or less): Larger motorbikes, police cars, and sports and luxury
cars fall into this category. +1 Modier.
First of all, use
common sense.
Here are some
examples of how
you can put common sense to good
use:
Sometimes
Vehicle Quality
doesnt matter at
all. If a man on
a mule urges his
mount into mountainous terrain, Johnny
Roadster in his Rolls Royce with its fancy
coachwork is not going to be able to pursue
him - at all.
Sometimes a chase isnt even necessary.
A chase between a well-maintained Ford
Roadster and a rundown Model A is not a
chase. Its a farce. The man in the Roadster
will be off, down the road, and making
his rst sharp right before the guy in the
Model A can crank start his car. Likewise,

61

a 12-year-old pygmy who has never saw a

car before wont stand much of a chance in
a vehicle chase when a professional racecar
driver pursues him.
On an even playing eld, if a vehicle outclasses another by two or more levels, then
there is no chase. The race is over before it
begins.
GMs! Like it or not, when a chase occurs
youre going to have to do things on the y.
Unless youve totally
mapped out the race
route, determined
population density
and trafc ow, and
factored in weather/
road conditions, you
havent began to
scratch the surface.
No one expects you
to do all of that. I
certainly dont.
When a chase starts,
think of the terrain. If the PCs are racing
through the streets of a business district,
what kind of obstacles can you throw in
their way? Is trafc backed up? Is there a
high police presence?
When you throw an obstacle in front of a
PC, the dice rolling begins. A Player rolls on
his characters Versatility and then applies
any modiers according to his Driving (or
Beast) Skill or his vehicles Quality (whichever one is better) to avoid the obstacle.

Usually, the intent of the driver is to avoid

the obstacle without slowing down. A Partial Success means the obstacle is avoided
but the driver has lost some ground.
First, rate each obstacle from 1 to 4.
Level 1 obstacle is an annoyance, like a
trafc cone or an empty trashcan. It wont
do any real damage but it will require an
unmodied roll all the same to deal with it.
Level 2 obstacle is a hindrance, like a
vendors carts or pedestrians. It will damage any vehicle that strikes it, lowering the
vehicles Quality by one Level. 1 Modier
to avoid.
Level 3 obstacle - is a major obstacle, like
another vehicle. Any vehicle that strikes it
loses 2 Levels of Quality. 2 Modier to
avoid.
Level 4 obstacle - is nearly insurmountable, like a concrete construction barrier or
an elephant. Any vehicle that strikes it loses
3 Levels of Quality. 3 Modier to avoid.
Vehicle Damage - when your vehicle is
reduced to zero Quality, it is broken. In the
case of an animal it is either injured or too
winded to continue. As your vehicle falls
apart you rely more and more on your own
abilities to keep you in the race.
Climbing (& Falling) the GM determines the difculty of a climb. Weather
conditions, equipment (or the lack of it),
overhangs, etc., all play a part.

62

Weapon damage to vehicles Damage done to the power plant or wheels/

tracks is more debilitating than damage
done to the body of a vehicle. A single
rie round to an engine can cripple or
stop a vehicle. As a rule, a vehicle loses
a Level of Quality for every 10 points of
damage it takes.
PCs can aim at a specic part of a
vehicle but a die is subtracted from the
to hit roll when they do so.

If the roll is successful the character manages to climb to his intended destination
(probably the top of the hill). If the roll is
partially successful, he has not nished the
climb, and another roll is required. A failed
roll means the character loses his grip and
starts to fall.
A character that is falling has one chance
to grab onto something and stop his fall.
Even a partial success is treated as a full
success. If the character fails to grab onto
something he suffers from a fall.
Regardless of the height of a fall, the dice
are rolled. If you roll a 1 on all the dice,
the character is killed outright. If you roll
all 10s, he is perfectly ne. Otherwise, the
character takes a point of damage for every
4 metres he falls.

Shadowing when a character is shadowing

someone, a roll on Versatility is required. The
intent of the action is to go unnoticed. Failure
indicates that the character has made noise or
stepped into the open and is suddenly noticed
by his quarry. Partial Success indicates that the
quarry might be alerted in some way; a roll is
made on the quarrys Brains and if successful he
spots the character that is following him. Success
indicates that the quarry is oblivious to being
followed.
Even when a character is successfully shadowing another, a fresh roll is required when the
environment changes.
For example: Detective Merv Wiley is successfully shadowing Lady Billington through the dark
corridors of Billington house. Suddenly, she steps
out the back door and into the moonlit garden.
Wiley follows. A roll is required.
On Balderdash and Leadership
Balderdash is used to charm or persuade others
and Leadership is used to lead or convince them.
Balderdash is all about surface, not substance.
When you win someone over with Balderdash,
its a eeting and hollow victory, a swindle.
On the other hand, Leadership is about substance and character. Its about winning someone
over for a long term.
Both Balderdash and Leadership are used in
Social Combat.

Spirit Almighty!
Each game session is a single episode in your
gaming season. And each session can be broken

63

down into several scenes. A scene* is a sequence

of events that has a denite beginning and end.
Your opening scene might introduce us to the
characters. It might re-cap what has occurred and
prepare the stage for what is about to happen.
The scenes in the middle are where the action
happens. The nal scene in a gaming session
wraps things up until the next time you play.
A scene usually, but not always, takes place in
a single location. It ends when the characters that
are involved either leave the location or there is a
signicant break in the action.
A scene can be an action packed car chase, a
ght, or it can involve simple dialogue. Regardless, for each scene the GM should establish a
group goal, something that the PCs need to do to
drive the game forward. If they accomplish the
goal the GM should award all the Players with 1
or 2 Spirit Points. In addition, the Players might
set character goals, things that they want their
characters to accomplish in a scene. If they do,
the GM should reward them with a Spirit Point
or two.
Spirit Points can add up quickly. Each session
a GM could award between 3 to 10 Spirit Points.
The Players should be encouraged to spend their
Spirit Points when necessary. No doubt, they
will want to bank some as well to improve their
characters.
*Scene: heres an explanation given by Korhal IV on
RPGnet. He attributes his insight to someone far more
clever than I.
Nonetheless, Korhal says a scene has three components: Characters, Time, and Location.He goes on to
say, When any two of these three change, the scene
ends. So if the PCs are in a restaurant eating, thats one
scene, but when theyre outside being confronted by a
local thug its a different scene.
Thats a good explanation.

Combat

By combat we mean physical combat, the

act of destroying or subduing an opponent.
Combat is treated differently than other
actions because the intent of your action
is limited. You either intend to harm (or

kill) your opponent or you intend to subdue

him. In either case, the mechanics are very
similar. Its only the outcome of a successful action thats different.
A character that lacks the appropriate
combat Skill be it Exotic Weapon, Gun
Fu, or Hand-to-hand - rolls only two dice.
When you are trying to harm an opponent
every success, 10, counts as a point of real
damage. If you are trying to subdue
an opponent, your opponent is not
physically harmed by your attacks.
Instead, when he takes enough
damage to drop to Dead on the
Health Ladder he surrenders.

Initiative before
combat begins we must
determine who attacks
rst. Each combatant
rolls 1d10 and then adds
their Versatility to the
result.
Combat is broken down
into two basic categories
ranged and close combat. Lets look at ranged
combat rst.

64

Ranged Combat: involves any ranged

attack.

Shooting while kneeling

Shooting while prone

+1
+2

To hit - you roll on Versatility. The number of dice you get to roll may be modied. Like any roll you need 10 or better to
succeed. With automatic or semi-automatic
weapons, the number of successes determines the number of bullets that hit your
target.

Shabby Light
Near Dark
Target is Silhouetted

-1
-2
+1

Damage is determined by the weapon.

Modiers there are a number of factors that inuence your chance to hit with a
ranged weapon. Here is a sample list with
suggested modiers:
Weapon is scoped

+1*

Target behind Partial Cover

Target behind Decent Cover
Target behind Full Cover -4

-1
-2

Point Black Range

Short Range
Medium Range
Long Range
Extreme Range

+1
0
-1
-2
-3

Shooting while moving

Target is moving

-1
-1

Called Shot when you are trying to hit

a specic part of a target, you modify the
roll, -2.
Typical Weapon Damage - the following is a list of the damage done by various
ranged weapons.
Pistol/SMG bullet
.22 calibre rie bullet
Rie bullet
Shotgun blast
Air rie bb or pellet

3
2
4
4
1

Arrow
Crossbow Bolt
Spear
Knife

3
3
3
2

* A scoped weapon is only useful when you are

taking an aimed shot over a distance.

65

Close Combat: is all face-to-face, toe-totoe combat. Close combat comes in two
forms; hand-to-hand combat and melee
combat.
Hand-to-hand combat: incorporates all
forms of sticuffs. To-hit rolls are made on
Versatility. The damage of an attack is equal
to Brawn + the Type of Attack. The Types
of Attack, modiers, and the applicable
damage are as follows:
Rabbit Punch - damage 1, no modier
Roundhouse - damage 2, -1 modier
Uppercut - damage 2, -1 modier
Elbow - damage 1, no modier
Knee - damage 1, no modier
Straight Kick - damage 2, -1 modier
Head Butt - damage 1, no modier
Stunning Opponents - you can stun an
opponent with a Rabbit Punch and a Head
Butt. Your opponent rolls on his Brains. If
he is successful (even partially successful),
he is not stunned.
Grappling you can attempt to overpower an opponent with a grappling attack.
A grapple attack does no damage. When
you hit, roll against your opponents Brawn.
The winner of the grapple is free to act the
next combat round, while the loser is pinned
and helpless.

66

Tossing you can attempt to toss an opponent. A toss does no damage, but your
opponent must roll on his Versatility to stay
on his feet. If he fails his roll, he is prone.
You get a +1 modier when you attack a
prone opponent.
Just it ignore it sometimes, it makes
sense to ignore certain rules, especially if
it enhances the gaming experience. For
example, two characters are in a stght
and neither have the Skill, Hand-to-Hand.
Ordinarily, youd roll 2 dice for both because they lack the necessary Skill. But, to
enhance the brawl and increase the Players
options, you should ignore the rule and allow the Players to roll 4 dice.
Melee combat: incorporates all attacks
made with close quarter weapons. To-hit
rolls are made on Versatility. The damage of
an attack is equal to Brawn + the Weapon.
Weapons, their modiers, and damage are
listed below:
Knife - damage 1, +1 modier
Sword - damage 2, +1 modier
Hammer - damage 1, no modier
Maul - damage 3, -1 modier
Axe - damage 2, -1 modier
Spear - damage 2, no modier
Billy Club - damage 1, +1 modier
Crowbar - damage 2, -1 modier
Improvised - damage 1, -1 modier

Multiple-attacks - you can technically attack twice in a single round. You just split
your dice between your two attacks.
The same holds true if you want to attack
and carry out a non-combat action. You split
your dice.
Soaking Damage - if your GM allows it,
you can spend Spirit Points to soak damage.
Health and Recovery - remember, a person
who is hurt usually recovers 1 point of
Health per day. Medical attention can accelerate the healing the process.
It takes a long time to recover from
signicant injuries, like multiple fractures
or gun shot wounds. In these cases, its up
to the GM to determine recovery times. He
might decide to accelerate recovery times
for the sake of the game.
When it comes to hand-to-hand damage
health is recovered quicker. A character
recovers 1 point of Health
per hour until he reaches
Scraped, at which point he
recovers his Health
as per normal.

67

Hit location when you strike your opponent in combat, you roll to see where
your blow landed. 1 = head, 2 = right
arm, 4 to 6 = upper torso, 7 = left arm, 8
= lower torso, 9 = right leg, 10 = left leg.
Head: a blow to the head does two times
the damage.
Arm: when your arm is hit, a roll on
Versatility is required to hold onto
whatever is in your hand. The damage
modier applies to the roll. A partial
success means that you still have a hold
on the object but you cant you use for
one round.
Torso: when you are hit in the torso, a
roll on Brawn is required to stay on your
feet. A partial success means you are still
on your feet but suffer a 1 for a single
round because you are off balance.
Leg: a roll on Brawn is required to stay
on your feet. A partial success means
you are still on your feet but suffer a 1
for a single round because you are off
balance.

Social Combat

There are those who would argue that all forms

of social combat can be role-played out, and
thats true. Some take the argument further and
say that all social combat should be roleplayed out because thats the best way to do it.
That might be true.
However, small exchanges crop up between
PCs and NPCs that we, as players, would prefer
to gloss over because they are time consuming.
There are also players who are uncomfortable
getting into the role. For these players and those
occasions that we feel warrant dice rolling rather
than role-playing, the following rules are for
you.
The two basic principals of Social Combat:
1. You rely on Balderdash to con or trick someone. You arent interested in building long-term
relationships here; you are only interested in
making a sale. You use Balderdash when you are
doing business, when you want to sweet talk a
girl/guy, or are begging for your life.
2. Leadership is necessary to win over hearts
and minds. You are trying to build strong allies.
You use Leadership to motivate employees, team
members, or even strangers.
Social Combat is carried out like regular
Combat. The main difference is you are attacking a persons character or resolve. Its up to
you to decide whether you use Balderdash or
Leadership to win your battles. Just remember,
Balderdash will help you win the battle, but not
the war. You need Leadership to win the war.

68

Initiative - just like regular Combat, the rst

thing we do in Social Combat is we determine
who goes rst. Roll 1d10 and add your characters Balderdash.
To hit depending on what it is you are trying
to do, attacks are made using Balderdash or
Leadership.
Damage verbal assaults and snubs dont
damage a person physically; instead they damage a persons reputation or their resolve. As in
all Combat, the goal in Social Combat is clear
to win! In order to win you have to reduce
a persons resolve to the point where they are
completely submission.
The Ladder of Resolve:
Dominant
Irritated
Annoyed
Disturbed
Weakened
Shaken
Deated
Submissive

+1
-1
-1
-1
-2
-3

When you succeed in an attack you damage

your opponents resolve. If you fail in your attack you damage your own resolve.
Each attack knocks you one rung down the
ladder. You start at the top, at Dominant. When
you get to Submissive you are defeated and you
will do what your opponent wishes. Of course,
the reverse holds true. Lost resolve is recovered
at the rate of 1 point per hour.

The Setting - Its your sandbox

1920 to1939 as pulled from the headlines of
the New York Times

1920 In January the 18th amendment goes into

affect in the U.S., marking the start of Prohibition. Prohibition ends in 1933.
Also in January, the Peace Treaty is signed,
ending World War I. Talks begin to form a
League of Nations.
In June, President Warden Harding elected
U.S. President.
1921 In April, Germany is presented with a
$132 Billion bill for damages caused during
World War I, laying the foundation for World
War II.
In December, an independent Ireland is declared.
1922 In January, Pope Benedict XV dies.
In March, Gandhi is arrested for sedition in
India.
1923 In February, King Tut-Ankh-Amens
tomb is discovered and opened after 3,400 years.
In August, U.S. President Warren Harding dies
suddenly of a stroke in August and Vice President Calvin Coolidge is declared President.
In September, a massive earthquake, declared
the greatest in the countrys history, hits Japan.
The initial death toll is estimated at 200,000 to
300,000.
1924 In January, Nikolai Lenin dies of cerebral
hemorrhage.

69

In February, past-U.S. President, Woodrow

Wilson, dies.
In November, Calvin Coolidge is elected President of the U.S.
1925 In April, Field Marshal Von Hindenburg
is elected President of Germany.
1926 - In May, Lieutenant Commander Richard
E. Byrd ies to the North Pole and back to Kings
Bay. Later that same month, the dirigible airship
Norge ies over the North Pole and delivers
the rst-ever wireless message from the Arctic
waste.
1927 Things are up in China. In March,
Americans and British killed in attacks at Nanking.
In May, Captain Charles A. Lindbergh celebrates his triumphant ight across the Atlantic.
Lindberghs 33.5-hour ight takes him 1,000
miles through snow and sleet, from New York to
Paris.
In August, U.S. President Calvin Coolidge
surprises his Republican party when he says he
will not run in the 1928 election.
1928 In June, Amelia Earhart ies from Newfoundland to the Welsh coast in 21 hours. She is
the rst woman to y across the Atlantic.
In November, Herbert Hoover wins the U.S.
Presidential election.

1929 Black Wednesday, October 30th. The

U.S. stock market collapses. The roaring twenties are coming to a close and the dirty thirties
lie on the horizon. This is the start of the Great
Depression.
In November, Commander Richard E. Byrd
ies to the South Pole and back.

in Germany announces that Germany is leaving

the League of Nations. President Von Hindenburg dissolves the Reichstag and declares a
November election in Germany.
In December the 18th amendment to the
Constitution of the United States is repealed,
effectively ending prohibition.

1930 In September, French pilot, Captain

Dieudonne Coste becomes the rst to y from
Paris to New York.

1934 In July, Hitler turns on his brown

shirts and squashes Storm Troop leadership in
Germany.
Also in July, federal agents gun down the
notorious criminal, John Dillinger, in front of a
Chicago movie theatre.
In the same month, a Nazi revolt fails in Austria. The Austrian Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss
is killed in the failed revolt.
In August, German Reich President Von Hindenburg dies and Hitler takes the Presidency.

1931 In April, King Alfonso quits Spain and

Spain becomes a republic. The stage is set for the
Spanish Civil War.
1932 In March, Imperial Japanese forces step
up attacks in China. Shanghai falls to Japanese
troops in what is described as the most sanguinary battle since the World War.
Also in March, the Lindbergh baby is kidnapped. 72 days later, in May, the baby is found
dead near the Lindbergh home.
In July, U.S. Presidential hopeful, Franklin
Delano Roosevelt, is nominated at Democratic
National Convention.
Also in July, 20,000 U.S. World War veterans
that make up the so-called Bonus Expeditionary
Force are forcibly driven from Washington by
troops acting under Hoovers eviction order.
In November, Franklin D. Roosevelt wins the
U.S. Presidential election in a landslide.
1933 In February, an attempt is made on
Roosevelts life in Miami. The President-elect is
uninjured but ve others are wounded, including
Chicago Mayor Anton Cermak.
In October, the National Socialist government

70

1935 In February, Bruno Hauptmann is sentenced to death for the murder of the Lindbergh
baby.
1936 In January, Englands King George V
dies and Edward VIII becomes the new King of
England.
In March, German troops return to the Rhineland.
In November, Franklin D. Roosevelt is reelected as the President of the United States.
In December, English King Edward VIII
abdicates in order to marry American sweetheart
and divorcee Wallace Simpson. George VI is
Edwards successor.

1937 In May, the German airship, the Hindenburg, burns over Lakehurst New Jersey. 21
people are reported dead in the spectacular crash,
another 12 are reported missing. 64 escape.
Also in May, George VI is crowned King of
England.
In December, Japanese bombs sink a U.S.
gunboat, the Panay, on the Yangtze River.
1938 In February, Hitler demands the right of
self-determination for Germans in Austria and
Czechoslovakia.
In March, the Nazis seize Austria and German
troops are invited in to maintain order.
In September, British Prime Minister Neville
Chamberlain meets with Hitler over the CzechSudetan crisis. Europe is on the brink of war
despite Chamberlains assurances and optimism.
1939 In August, Germany and Russia sign a
ten-year non-aggression pact. Two years later,
Germany invades Russia.
In September, Germany attacks Poland. Britain
and France declare war. World War II begins.

An overview of Boomtown as it pertains

to the world
Boomtown is a ctional place. I located
it on the west coast of the United States, in
southern Oregon. You can locate it anywhere you wish. I really liked the suggestion to place it on the shores of Lake Michigan, in place of Chicago or Milwaukee.

71

The world in which there lies a Boomtown is a ctional world, but not so ctional
that world geography is unfamiliar and
history unfolds itself in some suspicious
manner. There is a New York, a United
Kingdom, and a China. The stock market
crashed in 1929 and the Great Depression is
on. The World War is over but another war
is possible with the Nazis on the rise. You
see its all familiar stuff.
Boomtown is a nexus of sorts, a cross
roads or focal point of weirdness. There are
other forms of weirdness in the world of the
Boomtown planet. The supernatural is an
accepted part of the fabric of this otherAmerica.

The History of the Boomtown Planet

The Planet has always been considered
at anti-establishment newspaper, although
that term was not used in the 30s. It is also
unfairly considered, by the journalistic
standards of the day, something of a yellow paper. The Planet, however, prints
only the facts, which no other publication
in the city does. The other newspapermen
shy away from publishing accounts of mad
scientists, werewolves, zombies, monsters,
but not the reporters of the Planet. This has
the Planet, and its reporters, credible in a
city that is lled with the incredible. The
readership knows strange things happen in
Boomtown and readers turn to the Planet to
get the real news, rather than the apologetic, watered-down take of the respectable
papers.

Still, the reporters and staff at the Boomtown Planet suffer a lot of ribbing from
their colleagues. Sometimes the ribbing is
in good fun, but usually it is condescending
and vicious. This only reinforces the staffs
resolve to stick to the facts as they see them,
rather than compromise and publish safe,
but misleading, articles.
The Planet opened its doors over 50 years
ago. At that time it was called the Boomtown Globe. Located in a small ofce behind a shoe store on Wire Road, the Globe
was run by Grant Granite, an out-of-towner
with a loud voice and a stony personality.
He was known for his pull no punches
reporting and his scathing editorials.
It was a vibrant time in Boomtown and
Granite faced erce competition. There
were four other newspapers in the community. Each represented a particular class
of readership. The muck was ung fast and
furious and the stink of it lay heavy over the
city.
In those days, Boomtowns readership
was clearly divided. Blue-collar workers
read the Record, intellectuals the Herald or
the Reader, the well to do the Tribune, and
everyone else the Globe.

Granite was a ghter with money. In three

years he moved the Globe down the road
to the Anniversary Building, a four storey
brown stone, located on the Four Corners
a location that it still occupies today. The
newspaper ran out of a few rented ofces
on the main oor and the printing was
outsourced. Granite switched from a weekly
format to a daily format. There wasnt
another daily in town. Even The Tribune,
by far the biggest paper, was printed twice
a week.
The Tribune was the rst established
newspaper in Boomtown and it had the old
family names and associated connections
behind it. The Tribunes ownership, the
Dubios family, and most of its readership
wanted Granite out of the newspaper business and out of Boomtown altogether.
And so began the great newspaper war,
a war fought with words and wit (or lack
thereof), until the streets of Boomtown ran
black with printers ink.
While Granite and the Dubois family
taxed themselves to their limits, the printer,
Jack Stamp, made a bundle printing both
publications.
The Dubois had high society and old
money behind them. Granite had his bombast and talent to turn a phrase. The Dubois
used their inuence in an attempt to put
Granite out of business but he clung on.
More than that, he thrived. The Record and
the Reader threw in their lots with Granite;

73

the Herald threw in its lot with the Dubois.

The Dubois used dirty tactics and smeared
Granites name. They pulled strings to deny
his reporters access to town meetings and
city ofcials. Their paperboys bullied the
Globes carriers. Newsstands were destroyed. Granite fought back.
He hired adult labourers and suspected
mobsters to deliver the Globe. These paperboys happily thrashed all other paperboys they came across. Radicals torched
the Tribunes newsstands and smashed the
windows of the Tribunes ofces. It was an
ugly time to be in the newspaper business.
When old man Dubois died, the war ended.
A group of west coast businessmen purchased the Tribune and they made a hasty
peace with Granite. Granite died three
months later.
Granites heirs had no interest in the
newspaper business and the Globe was
auctioned off. The bidding was intense and
west coast philanthropist, Morgan Forthright, came in with the highest offer. Forthright announced a change in The Globes
format and a change in name too. The Globe
became the Boomtown Planet. Forthright
purchased the Anniversary building and installed a set of presses. He made it clear that
he wanted total control over the day-to-day
operations of his publication.

Forthright remained the Planets publisher

for twenty years. It was a far cry from the
hard line and opinionated Globe but it was
a stringently honest newspaper all the same,
printing all the strange and supernatural
occurrences in the city without trying to
explain them away in some scientic way.
It also maintained a less conservative
approach to journalism than the Tribune,
which prides itself as a respectable newspaper for professionals and, as a result,
ignores the obvious weird things that happen in Boomtown.
When Forthright announced he was selling the newspaper, the bidding was mild. It
was 1919, the economy was thriving, and
people were exploring all sorts of other ventures. Investors had little interest in purchasing a newspaper with an unfairly questionable reputation. A few east coast publishers
looked at buying the Planet but in the end
an anonymous party purchased it.
To this day no one knows who the
publisher/owner of the Planet is. There is
speculation and rumour but nothing substantial. The Publisher is certainly a powerful person, a man or woman who has taken
it upon him/herself to expose the underbelly
of the city. Rather than shy away from the
format established by Forthright with a
move toward more traditional reporting, the
publisher has directed his staff to stay the
course.

74

Newspapers in
the 30s
We all have perceptions of what a
reporters life is like but few of us have experience that life. And the life of a modern
reporter varies greatly from the life of a
reporter in the 20s, 30s, and 40s. Thankfully, great reporters and newspapermen of
the past carefully chronicled their careers.
I draw on the recorded experiences and
observations of two great journalists to get
a feel for what journalism was like in the
1930s, New York Times editor, Arthur Gelb
and CBS anchor Walter Cronkite.
Gelb rst stepped into the New York
Times city room in 1944. Like many, he
started his career as a copyboy. He was 20.
The city room was his home away from
home; the epicentre of action at the Times
as far as Gelb was concerned. In his autobiography, City Room, he provides a description of what he saw on his rst day at the
New York Times 1:
What I saw was a high-ceilinged room
lled with clamor, clutter and cigarette
smoke. There was an overwhelming sense of
purpose, re and life; the clacking rhythm
...continued
1
City Room, by Arthur Gelb. The Berkley Publishing
Group, New York. Published by the Penguin Group.
Copyright 2003

...of typewriters, the throbbing of great

machines in the composing room on the
oor above, reporters shouting for copyboys to pick up their stories. Some of the
editors wore green eyeshades while others
relied on fedoras to block the glare of the
suspended lamps as they worked feverishly
with pencils, scissors, paste pots and copy
paper. Solid brass spittoons were placed
strategically around the room and a carpet
of cigarette butts all but obscured the gray
concrete oor.
He goes on to say that the city room was
compact and cozy with no partitions to
separate the reporters and editors working
away at the rows of wooden desks. It was
an electrifying and exciting atmosphere and
Gelb was hooked immediately. I knew instantly this was my element, he wrote. It
was where I wanted to stay forever.
Although this game is set 10 to 15 years
prior to 1944, Gelbs observations are still
sound and valuable to us. We can still use
them to enhance our gaming experience.
Gelb describes the newspaper world as it
was before faxes, computers, satellite communications, or the internet.
Next we move on to Walter Cronkite.
Most of us know him as the CBS anchorman. Like many older journalists, however,
Cronkite started his career in print, before
the advent of T.V. or even radio journalism.
Cronkite was a student journalist rst, hop-

75

ing for his big break. He prided himself on

his ability to produce fast copy throughout
his newspaper career. He started at the
Houston Post in the thirties as a copy boy,
but worked more in the capacity of a cub
reporter.
He described the newsroom of the day
in his autobiography, A Reporters Life, as
follows2:
The newsroom used to be a wonderfully
noisy, dirty place of only partially organized
chaos. Toward edition time its oor was almost invisible underneath a layer of earlier
editions, discarded publicity releases and
crumpled early drafts of that days history,
testimony to the poor wastebasket marksmanship of frustrated writers. Deafening
was the din of clacking news service printers and scores of typewriters, of rewrite
men shouting into old stand-up telephones,
or reporters and editors calling for copy
boys, and of editors calling for reporters to
come forward for assignments or perhaps to
explain obtuse language or doubtful facts.
God how I loved it!

2
A Reporters Life, by Walter Cronkite. Published by
Ballantine Books. Copyright 1996.

This is a game and the object of any game

is to have fun. A faithful recreation of a
reporters life might be interesting but it
probably wouldnt make for a great game.
Reporters often cover mundane events.
What we want are exciting adventures that
have us sitting on the edges of our seats.
As a result, the stories that our PC reporters
cover should be of the thrilling, and possibly dangerous, variety.
Stories are sometimes assigned by editors
or, in the case of breaking news, called in.
Stories are also the result of a reporters
own initiative. Reporters might work with
legmen, photographers, other reporters, and
newspaper resources like private detectives.
A lot depends on the importance of the
story.
In the case of breaking news, the pressure
to get the story to print before the deadline is great. The staff is literally working
against the clock. This is a great tool that
can add excitement to the game as the
GM announces how close the PCs are to
deadline and points out how that one crucial element a decent source or a vital
piece of information still eludes them.
In the case of features or investigative
news, a great deal of research is required.
Sleuthing might be necessary, even underhanded deception and skullduggery.
The Planet publishes seven times a
week, Monday to Saturday. It publishes a
morning edition each day and an evening

edition on Saturday. For the morning edition, Editors shoot for a 1:00 a.m. deadline,
which is extended in the event of a large,
breaking story. Extra editions might push
the deadline as far forward as 4:00 a.m. The
paper hits the streets at around 6:00 a.m.
The Saturday evening edition has a 2:00
p.m. deadline, rarely pushed to 4:00 p.m.,
and hits the streets around 6:00 p.m.

The Competition the Planets main

competition is the Boomtown Tribune. The
Tribune is similar in format and circulation
size to the Boomtown Planet. The Tribune
is considered a conservative newspaper, in
every sense of the word. It shies from the
supernatural and any mention of it, leaving
such yellow journalism to the Planet.

Of course, the Tribune staff is eager to

scoop the Planet and goes to great lengths
to do so. While there is some camaraderie
amongst the newspapers frontline reporters
that camaraderie only goes so far.
The four star reporters on the Tribune staff
are:

Mack Wellington in his mid-40s Wellington once worked for the Boomtown Planet.
In fact, he built his reputation at that newspaper. But perks, promises and money lured
Wellington to the Trib. It wasnt a smooth resignation as many Planet veterans feel that
Wellington purposely tried to sabotage the Planet in the weeks prior to his
betrayal.
Wellington covers the city beat and he covers it well. He is a top-notch
reporter. He is smooth, well liked, has connections at city hall
and friends among some of the citys well to do. He is a keen
observer and works well under pressure.
He has a tendency to talk down to Planet reporters, particularly the cubs. A smug arrogance and obvious vanity are
his weaknesses.
Goal: to climb the social ladder and be somebody.
+2 Balderdash, +1 Leadership
Skills: Acting, Athletically Inclined, Connected, Curiosity,
Fast Talk, Gun Fu, Investigation, Lingo - Mandarin
Chinese, and Short Hand.
Special Skills: Block/Dodge and Naturally
Lucky.

77

Ray Archer is closing in on 60. He should have made the jump from reporter to editor
a decade ago but has stayed true to his calling. Ray has an almost superhuman instinct
when it comes to the news. He can nose out a story with ease.
Ray sees reporters as part of one big fraternity. Regardless of what newspaper you
write for, if you respect the profession then Ray has respect has for you.
Ray is a chain smoker and is rarely seen without a cigarette hanging from the corner of
his mouth.
Goal: to just stay true to the job, dammit!
+1 Balderdash, +1 Leadership
Skills: Artistic Talent, Camera Work, Curiosity, Eavesdropping, Fast Talk, Investigation, and Short Hand.
Special Skills: Everyman.
Scott Webster is a abby, pasty-faced man in his mid-thirties. Despite his appearance,
Webster has a forceful personality. He has a way of bullying information out of people
and he has a knack for squeezing sources.
Webster is very competitive and very career oriented. He has loyalty to only one person,
Scott Webster. He wants to build up an impressive portfolio and move to a New York
newspaper, preferably the Times. Webster is certainly capable of being underhanded.
Goal: to become an editor at the New York Times.
+1 Balderdash, +1 Leadership
Skills: Bargain, Break & Enter, Connected, Curiosity, Eavesdropping, Interrogation,
Schmoozing, and Short Hand.
Special Skills: Ruthless.

Mary Ann Clark is a forceful woman in her late-thirties. She is short, stocky, and
walks with purpose. She doesnt take no for an answer. In fact, she demands answers
to all her questions. Clark has earned the respect of a number of key sources including
several Councilors, mob gures, and big businessmen. She protects her sources well and
never reveals or hints at their identities.
A direct woman, she dislikes attery and subterfuge. She believes that the only way to
tackle a story, or a problem, is head on.
Goal: to never take no for an answer.
+1 Balderdash, +1 Leadership
Skills: Athletically Inclined, Bargain, Curiosity, Eavesdropping, Fast Talk, Interrogation, and Short Hand.
Special Skills: Photographic Memory and Tough.

Games revolving around the newspaper

trade - one-shot games can revolve around
breaking stories. The PCs have to go to the
story, get the scoop, and pull it all together
before the deadline. Go!
Game series can follow a big, ongoing
story, or several stories.
Campaigns can follow careers.
Flash backs: you could run a series of
games that revolve around ash backs,
where the PCs are covering a story in the
present that has its origins in ten or more
years in the past.

79

Other members of the staff: lowly

copyboys, copy editors, advertising department staff, pressmen, art department (design
and layout) staff play important roles with
the newspaper and they can be incorporated
into your games. Maybe an advertising
representative pressures a reporter to do a
story on a prominent business. Maybe a
copy editor dislikes a reporter and decides
to make it personal.

Boomtown a short
history
In 1819, Jim Boom, a veteran ofcer of
the War of 1812, traveled to the west coast
and established an outpost for the American
Republic.
The outpost was nothing more than a
single cabin at the mouth of a modest bay. A
few years later, a handful of settlers arrived
and built cabins of their own. Ships cruising
along the coast put in where the cabins were
to collect water, food and news. In 1833 a
saloon was built on the waters edge, attracting more ships. A few shops followed
and the population grew. By 1853, Blissful
Bay, as the community was then called, was
a proper port community.
Twenty years later, the town, which was
bursting at its seams with prospectors and
failed prospectors, merchants, adventurers,
charlatans, and freeloaders, became Boomtown, in honour of its founder, Jim Boom,
recently deceased. Boomtowns population
at the time was over 50,000.
By the 1880s, the arrival of heavy
industry pushed the citys population past
100,000.
At the turn of the century, Boomtown was
referred to as one of United States largest and most promising cities. The boom
continued until well after WWI. When the
stock market crashed in 1929, a number of

80

afuent Boomtown families were wiped

out, and the city suffered. Its suffering was
mild compared to the suffering in other
parts of America. Boomtowns isolation has
allowed it to cruise in the Great Depression
somewhat intact.
Boomtown was struck by two inuenza
outbreaks, one in 1922 that swept through
Bayside, claiming 520 residents, and a
larger outbreak in 1924 that gutted a part of
Oldtown, claiming 812 residents.

Boomtown today - 1931

Boomtown has a population of around a
half a million. Shipbuilding, manufacturing,
mining, and lumber are the citys mainstays.
There is a great deal of supernatural activity in Boomtown. Just how weird you want
things to be is up to you.
The names Davenport, Dan Davenport, and this is my town. Boomtown
they call it.
Hell, Id call it something else. Dreams
are made, hearts are broken, fortunes
are won, and lives are lost.
In the day, this city is okay. But
nighttimes my time, just like anyone can
tell you. Its when the dead go to sleep
and the living come out swinging.

The politics of Boomtown

An elected council that, in theory, makes
its decisions based on the recommendations
of the citys Department Heads governs
Boomtown. But hey! This is Boomtown,
and that means corruption. Graft comes in
its many forms.
The current council
consists of a Mayor and
seven Councilors (one per
borough). Fierce debate is
being waged at City Hall
on whether to increase
the number of boroughs
or not. Currently, recognized boroughs are Old
Downtown (which includes Bridge End, China
Town and Ghost Town),
Brixton Walls, Bayside,
New Downtown, Barley
Meadows, New Heights,
and Old Heights (which includes the Artists
Quarter). Petitioners from Bridge End,
China Town, Ghost Town, and the Artists
Quarter want an independent voice.
Municipal elections are exciting, turbulent, and dangerous. Candidates put their
lives on the line when they stand for ofce.
In the last election, Bayside was subject to
a number of small-scale riots when work-

81

ers discovered that the big companies were

backing an upper management gure and
paying residents to vote for him. An Old
Downtown candidate was gunned down
outside his store (probably by the Syndicate) because of his ties to China Town. And
nearly every candidate faced some form of
death threat.
Politics is an ugly, dirty game in Boomtown but someone has to play it.
Mayor Darwin Kraftyman
The current Mayor, Darwin
Kraftyman, is in his late forties. A snappy dresser with
a distinguished manner, his
nickname is Spit n Polish.
Syndicate men call him Mr.
Manicure. His frequent trips
to the citys top stylists on
the citys dime are common
knowledge.
Kraftyman is in his second
term and looks forward to a
third. He is an exceptional speaker and even
better fence sitter. He always stands on the
middle ground.
Kraftyman was born and raised in Brixton
Walls. He attended Stone College and went
into business with his father who operated
a string of shoe stores including one on
Capital Drive.

Dar, as his dad called him, worked at the

Capital Drive store and was a popular gure
in the neighbourhood. Cronies encouraged
him to run for Council and he eventually
did so, winning by a considerable margin.
Unfortunately, Dars father died when Dar
had a year remaining in his rst term. Dar
resigned from public ofce to take care of
his fathers estate and the family business.
At the reading of the will it was revealed
that Dars dad was harbouring some secrets.
Along with some serious health problems,
he was hiding the fact that he was involved
in numerous side-ventures. Shoes werent
the only things that old man Kraftyman was
involved in. In short, Dar, as the only heir,
was left with a tidy sum.
Darwin invested a great deal of his inheritance into real estate and was one of the
principal developers in the recent expansion
of Barley Meadows.
When the opportunity arrived, he stood
for re-election and won, narrowly capturing the Old Downtown council seat, edging
out rival, Clarence MacDoyle. Kraftyman
continued to hold the council seat until he
won the Mayoral race ve years ago.
Kraftyman has business ties to Councillor
Wally Washburn and is tight with Clarence
MacDoyle.

82

Darwin Kraftifman
+2 Leadership, +1 Versatility
Skills - Bargain, Connected, Public Speaking, and Schmoozing.
Special Skills - Respect

Clint Lemmon, New Downtown

Clint Lemmon is often referred to as Mr.
Big Shot because he acts like a big shot.
Clint sports a handlebar moustache, ten-gallon hat, and cowboy boots. He smokes large
cigars and talks in a loud, brash tone. His
front shirt pocket is always full of envelopes. But what those envelopes contain is
anyones guess.
He has a horse ranch about 20 miles
from the city and he lets everyone know it.
A number of his horses race at Trampled
Downs; some are champions. He owns a
slice of New Downtown real estate, including a palatial home.
His obnoxiousness, arrogance and swaggering manner apparently appeal to the high
hats of New Downtown. Hes easily strolled
into political ofce in the past two elections.
The last election he won by acclaim because
no one was willing to run against him.
Clint is more than bluster. Hes a sly,
cunning man and an exceptionally crooked
politician. Clints hand is always out and his
pocket is always open.

He is a man dened by underhanded affairs and backroom deals.

Clints political platform is, Whatevers
good for Clint is good for Boomtown.
In a city full of crooked politicians, Clint
Lemmon is the most crooked of them all.
Excerpt from an editorial piece found in
the Planet.
Clint Lemmon
+1 Balderdash, +1 Brawn
Skills - Beast - Horse, Connected, Gun Fu,
Interrogation, and Public Speaking.
Special Skills - Ruthless

Wally Washburn, Barley Meadows

The Barley Meadows Councilor is one of
the better politicians in the city. There are
those who suspect he is up to something
when it comes to rapid real estate expansion in his district but otherwise he is an all
round swell guy.
Washburn tends to wear stark white
suits and tan fedoras that contrast sharply
with his dark complexion. He is a habitual
smoker and is rarely seen without a cigarette in his hand.
A pillar in Boomtowns black community,
he has won over the majority of the voters
in the Meadows. His open friendship with
the Mayor has helped Washburn win over
any whites in the Meadows too.

83

Washburn is so approachable that people

from other boroughs have gone to him with
their problems. In addition, he is often selected to attend minor public functions.
Washburn, Mayor Kraftyman, and Councilor MacDoyle have formed a development
company (New Horizons Incorporated)
that is aggressively buying up patches of
land on the outskirts of the city. As the city
expands developers are buying this land
back from New Horizons Inc. at four or
times its initial purchase value. The company is making a killing. The three politicians use their political clout to quickly cut
through any red tape that may stall or kill a
deal.
New Horizons activity has drawn the
attention of the Syndicate. Boomtowns
mobsters want a cut of the action. Its a
shame for Washburn that his name is the
only known name attached to the company.
Wally Washburn
+1 Balderdash, +1 Leadership
Skills - Bargain, , Interrogation, Public
Speaking, and Scrutiny.
Special Skills - Respect

Clarence MacDoyle, Old Downtown

Bob Holden, Bayside

MacDoyle ran for the Old Downtown

council position when Kraftyman ran for
Mayor.
MacDoyle is a short and stalky. He has a
nely trimmed beard and moustache. He
talks rapidly and his voice has a nasal tone.
In his fties, he was a foreman with the
Brewer & Brewer Brewing and Spirit
Company, but was forced to retire from the
brewery because of a bad back. He opened
up a newspaper and tobacco shop on Capital
Drive and turned to politics.
MacDoyles passion for horse racing is
well known. Hes a regular at Trampled
Downs and has a stake in several horses
that run there. Most are unaware that he is
a consummate gambler, involved in back
room games and often rubbing elbows with
Syndicate heavies as a result. Hes also a
heavy drinker and sells cheap liquor out of
the back of his tobacco shop, the bottles
wrapped in a copies of the Boomtown
Planet.
MacDoyle and his wife have been estranged for years because of his unfaithfulness. He has had numerous affairs. Currently, he is entangled with a woman whose
cousin is in the mob.

As a whole, Bayside is the poorest

borough in the city. Certainly, Old Downtowns Slaggy Bottom and Crumbly Court
neighbourhoods are poorer but they are
isolated pockets in an otherwise middleclass
borough.
Bayside is working class. It is packed
with company homes (most of them bungalows), company stores, warehouses and
factories. Every election, the labour movement and the communists split the vote,
allowing a corporate stooge to run down the
middle and win the election. Case in point,
Bob Holden.
Holden is a lower management type,
working for Locket Steel Inc. Hes well
known as Jack Lockets lapdog. During
the last election, the communist candidate
Bill Willcox, said, Holdens got his head
so far up Jack Lockets backside that I hear
Lockets charging him rent. Nonetheless, with Lockets money Holden bought
enough votes to win the heated race.
Holden is indecisive and speaks with a
shaky voice. He is a conservative dresser,
an avid church-goer, and an abstainer. He
is at odds with his constituents and many
assume he will lose the next election.

Clarence MacDoyle
+1 Brawn, +1 Leadership
Skills - Connected, Fast Talk, , Gambling,
Public Speaking, and Scrutiny.

Bob Holden
+1 Balderdash
Skills - Connected, Fast Talk, and Schmoozing.

Oliver Martin, Old Heights

At 83, Oliver Martin (no relation to the
Martins who own The Three Brothers bank)
is the oldest member of council. With an
open-mouthed, hound dog expression and
stooped poster, many think the old man
is losing it. Those who know him know this
isnt the case.
While its true that he naps more (especially at the boring meetings) and he needs a
cane, when it comes to debate there are few
who can best him. The Old Man may look
three days older than dirt but his mind is
very alert, noted a political opponent. His
ability to coin a phrase, to spin an interesting yarn, or simply give a person a verbal
dressing down is exceptional. Truth be told,
the Old Heights is one of the better represented districts on Council.
Olly is a favourite in Old Heights. Coming
from old money, he is liked by old money.
And the artists of the Artists Quarter enjoy
his quirky character.
Olly has one big secret. Six years ago,
his wife passed away. Her funeral was a remarkable occasion and a highly social one.
The councilor made a great show of grieving for his dearly departed signicant other.
A few days after she was buried Martin
scurried off and married his mistress of ve
years, Darla Grey. Grey was only 21, having
been his mistress since she was 16!

85

Oliver Martin
+1 Brains, +2 Balderdash
Skills - Fast Talk, Public Speaking, Status,
and Worldly.

Amelia Marbletongue, New Heights

Born and bred in high society, Amelia
Stack married Edward Marbletongue (ten
years her senior) when was she was 22 and
hasnt looked back. From her rst introduction into Boomtown society, she put herself
forward as a woman of strength.
In her forties, she ran for political ofce
in the last election on a whimsy and won.
Already wealthy and respected, she is not
susceptible to bribes. The various criminal
organizations in the city arent concerned
because there are no rackets in New
Heights.
Marbletongue doesnt do much. Wearing
minks and stoles, she is mostly concerned
with the troubles of her friends and uses
the public purse to pave their roads and line
their avenues with expensive street lamp.
Although she fancies herself an educated
woman, her education is lacking.
Amelia Marbletongue
+1 Brains, +1 Leadership
Skills - Bargain, Public Speaking, Scrutiny,
Status, and Worldly.

City Administration
When it comes to the citys administration, the big cheese is Clerk Carleton
Slick Whitewash (a.k.a. Whitey to his
friends).
Whitey has a shock of white hair and
shiny blue eyes. He is a conservative dresser and he has a dry, humourless personality. His ngers are yellow from constant
smoking.
Whitey is close to retirement and there
are many who think its about damn time.
Whitey works hard, for his friends. If he
doesnt know you, he passes off the work to
underlings or ignores the matter entirely. He
appoints friends to various paid positions.
He makes concessions for his friends. In
short, he makes sure his friends are taken
care of. Unfortunately, for Whitey, his list of
friends isnt long enough.
Syndicate boss Tony Testerone despises
the Clerk having been snubbed by him one
too many times. The nal straw for Testerone was when he heard that Whitewash was
in tight with the Chinatown Gang. As a man
who likes to gamble Whitewash prefers
the backroom games in Chinatown to the
racetrack. Testerone is seriously toying with
the idea of putting out a contract on the city
Clerk.
Whitey has a peculiar way of walking
with short, quick steps. Testerone commented on Whiteys shufe. That guy

86

walks like hes holding a penny between the

cheeks of his ass. And maybe, one day, Ill
give him a swift kick and knock that penny
right out of there.
Carleton Whitey Whitewash
+2 Balderdash
Skills - Connected, Gambling, Lingo - Mandarin Chinese, Scrutiny, and Slow-Flow.

Security
Keeping Boomtowns citizens safe
is difcult. Common hoods, mobsters,
supernatural aberrations, monsters, mad
scientists, wizards, mutants, and everything
in between keep the Boomtown Police Department and the National Guard busy.
There are half a million people in Boomtown and around 700 police ofcers.
This number includes plainclothes detectives but excludes meter maids and trafc
cops.
The Boomtown Armoury is where the
National Guard parade. It is located in Old
Downtown. The National Guard unit trains
with old, WW I bolt action ries. In addition there are two WW I vintage machine
gun, several crates of untested grenades,
and two armoured cars.
The National Guard is called out when
theres a dire emergency. Funnily enough,
thats quite often in Boomtown.

Police Chief Russell Straitenarrow

Russ has been Boomtowns Police Chief
for a number of years. Hes tall and big. He
has an easy smile and a hearty handshake.
He attends every public function possible. Hes charitable, especially when it
comes to underprivileged children. He uses
police funds to make donations to the local
orphanages. At Christmas time he dresses
up as Father Christmas (Santa Cop) and
hands out toys to the children of Crumbly
Court and Slaggy Bottom.
The public see him as a friendly, down-toearth, do-gooder. Straitenarrow is, however,
as crooked as they come. He receives hefty
bribes. He rigs police patrols so the Syndicate and China Town gang can do their dirty
work. He assigns Boomtown police ofcers
to guard private enterprises, homes, and
even known mobsters.
Most likely, the Chiefs shenanigans will
go unnoticed and unpunished. The administrative tiers and senior police ofcers under
him are just as crooked as he is. No one will
rat out the Chief rat in fear that they will get
ratted out themselves.
Chief Straitenarrow
+1 Brawn, +1 Leadership
Skills - Bargain, Connected, Fast Talk, Gun
Fu, and Scrutiny.
Special Skills - Lightning Draw and Tough

Swass Goodiman and the Boomtown

Patrol
If Boomtown has a hero then that hero is
Swass Goodiman, the Captain of the famous
Boomtown Patrol. Youngsters and honest
citizens look up to Swass; criminals fear
him and corrupt ofcials hate him.
The Patrol consists of 24 motorcycle cops.
It has a reputation as incorruptible, a trait
that comes from its leader, Swass Goodiman.
Goodiman and his Boomtown Patrol have
busted up more rackets and put more scumbags in prison than any other element of
the Boomtown Police Department. Because
of this, Goodiman is a marked man. Many
attempts have been made on his life and all
have failed. Mobsters opened up on him
with machine guns, the China Town gang
blew up his apartment, and Dexter Loominus attacked him with giant robots. In every
case Goodiman prevailed and won the day.
A comic strip has appeared in the Planet
that revolves around the daring adventures
of Jazz Quickman, an obvious parody of
Boomtowns own Swass Goodiman.
Swass Goodiman
+1 Brawn, +1 Versatilikty
Skills - Athletically Inclined, Curiosity, Driving - Motorcycle, Gun Fu, Hand-to-hand and
Investigation.
Special Skills - Ambidextrous and Reckless
Abandon

87

The Fire Department

The Boomtown Fire Brigade is spread
out across the city with stations in each of
the boroughs. The larger, main station is in
Bridge End.
The city relies heavily on volunteer reghters. Theres only a small core of full
time reghters in Boomtown.
While the days are quiet, the nights are
not. At least once a night the wail of the
sirens is heard in the city.
Fire Chief Bruce Hero is affable and loud.
He is in his late fties and was a sergeant
in the U.S. Army and part of the Armys
Engineering Corps during WW I. Bruce has
a voice that carries across even the most
hectic emergency scenes. Hero is denitely
a hands-on guy who gets into the thick of
things when the action heats up.
Bruce Hero
+2 Brawn
Skills - Athletically Inclined, Climbing, Demolitions Fix-It , and Gun Fu.
Special Skills - Reckless Abandon

hardware store, hairdresser, diner, tavern,

etc. This means, theres little need to drive a
car except for special trips.
People may ride their bikes - women and
children more than men. There are buses
electric trams that run regular routes. The
public transportation system is used heavily
in the mornings and later in the afternoons
(Mondays to Fridays) as people travel to
and from work.
Pickpockets work the crowds and many of
them make a good living.
Taxis are available but are used later in
the day when the trams and buses stop running. Businessmen, however, rely on the
more reliable and private taxi service.
Out-of-towners and people who live on
the outskirts of Boomtown can drive or take
the regular trains.
When traveling greater distances, trains,
ships, airplanes, and zeppelins are used.
Worship
Many Boomtown residents are avid
church-goers. In the 1930s going to church
is a big thing.
Bishop Thomas Shoot is Boomtowns
most renowned man of the cloth. He is the
celebrant at the cathedral in New Downtown. His parish consists of 2,000 families,
most of which are wealthy.

Transportation
People in Boomtown tend to stick to
their own neighbourhoods, walking to the
corner store for the staples, the news, and
the gossip. Each neighbourhood has its
own commercial district its own grocer,

88

Shoot is a celebrity, with two Sunday

radio shows. People tune in to listen to his
message of high morals, a hard work ethic,
and the importance of family. His words
are often quoted in social newsletters but
seldom in newspapers.
Bishop Shoot is spiritual advisor to many
Boomtown VIPs. He has married and buried
notable mobsters, and christened their
babies.
The Bishop is a mildly handsome and
slightly overweight. He gives off the air of
saint. In reality, however, he is a sinner. He
is consummate drinker, gambler, and womanizer. He hides these activities very well.
He has a bastard son, who lives with his
mother, a hardnosed woman from Crumbly
Court.
Bishop Calvin Shoot
+2 Balderdash
Skills - Connected, Eavesdropping, Fast
Talk, Gambling, Occult Knowledge and
Public Speaking.
Special Skills - Ruthless

Magic in Boomtown
The Society, the Arcane Brotherhood, and
the Arcane Circle are just three of the names
that the community of wizards goes by.
Modern wizards prefer, the Society. There
are wizards in Boomtown and, yes, they
create a society of their own.

89

Wizards are born, not created. And the

ability to harness the powers of the elements
- magic - runs through the blood of a select
few.
Social class and race are unimportant in
the Society; youre either a magus or youre
not, and even the most insignicant magus
is more important than the wealthiest and
most inuential golem (the name given to a
non-magus).
Still, there is a distinct hierarchy in the
Society.
On the lowest rung are mere apprentices.
Most will fail to rise to the rank of full
Magus. The Society keeps a close eye on all
apprentices because apprentices mingle in
golem society. Nearly all apprentices know
enough to keep their mouths shut when it
comes to the Society. All strive to either
marry a full Magus or become full Magus.
Full Magi are the foundation of the Society. While they hold jobs in the golem world
they are aloof to it.
Magus Exemplars are the civil service of
the Society. They hold positions of minor
administrative importance. Select Magus
Exemplars make up the Court of Inquisition,
which try Magi and apprentices who get out
of line. Magus Exemplars are remote gures
rarely interacting with the golem world.
The High Magi are rare, even in the
Society. A High Magus lords over a specic
area of the golem world, running all Society
affairs within it.

There are even higher echelons of power

in the Society but little is known about
them.
Magi are often perceived as arrogant,
studious, and disciplined. Although
Magi are allowed to marry nonMagi, it is frowned upon.
The word golem is used to dene
any non-magi. The term has
its origins a simple belief
a belief that magi created
the other members of the
human race to serve their
arcane masters. Because
of this, non-magi, or
golems, are seen as
mere creations and
slaves. I am uncertain whether or not
I believe the magi
myth. I only know
that a non-magus is
not my equal.
Cornelius Snout,
Magus Exemplar

Types of magic power

Apprentices - have no magical abilities,
just magical blood. That means they can
sense magic and resist it.
Ghost Talkers - are magi who deal
specically with the spirit world.
They can communicate with the dead.
This is referred to as ghost talking.
They can also interact directly
with ghosts and harm them.
Seers - are fortunetellers. They
have the ability to sense things
and see over vast distances
(called remote viewing). ESP,
clairaudience and clairvoyance
are examples of their abilities.
Wizards - are magicians in the
storybook sense of the word. Some
pose as parlour trick hacks and stage
magicians. They can, however, use
real magic and they manipulate the
elements to do so.

Boomtown City District Overview

Old Downtown - this is the oldest Boomtown borough, found on the east bank of
the Sluice. Back in the day, Wire Road
down which the rst telegraph wire ran
was lined with saloons and stores to
Capital Drive (then called Market Lane).
All the original wooden structures are long
gone but a few larger, brick buildings (circa
1860) still stand in Old Downtown.
Before development ercely got underway on the west bank at the turn of the
century, Old Downtown was indisputably
the largest and most important borough. As
the city expanded, Old Downtown became a
solid middle class neighbourhood. The real
money lived across the Sluice in the Heights
and the poor lived in Bayside.
At the turn of the century the last of Old
Downtowns well to do emigrated to the
Heights. The lower middle classes settled
in Brixton Walls and the entire borough
dropped a notch on the social ladder.
Today, Old Downtown still has appeal. Its
certainly the citys most populated, diversied and busy district. From Crumbly Court
to Dollar Avenue, the desperately poor rub
shoulders with some of the citys more aggressive and successful entrepreneurs.
Brixton Walls - aside from the large,
stately homes found on Brixton Walls few
tree-lined boulevards the houses in this

92

neighbourhood are modest bungalow styled

dwellings. Brixton Walls is predominantly
middle and lower-middle class. The bungalows are snuggled tightly, side by side, and
are often indistinguishable.
While there is a commercial district, the
bulk of Brixton Walls is residential.
Bridge End - is a commercial and warehouse district. The north end of Bridge End
borders the docks. Working class families
crowd the apartments and tenements above
the stores.
Bridge End gets its name from the old
Progress Bridge (built in 1860 and replaced
in 1890) and the newer Commercial Bridge
(erected in 1920) that has its footings in this
neighbourhood.
Ghost Town - used to be the CanterburyEast High Street neighbourhood. It was an
eclectic district with old money families
located south of East High Street and working class families lodging in the Canterbury
corridor in the north. The old money moved
to New Downtown and the neighbourhood
lost any luster it had.
In 1919, an inuenza epidemic struck the
Canterbury-East High Street neighbourhood. Around 20 percent of the residents
died and another 30 percent picked up and
left.

Today, there are many vacant buildings

in the area. Neglect has taken its toll. The
entire neighbourhood has a run down, decrepit, feel to it.
China Town - in the last century many
Chinese immigrants took up residence in
Boomtown. Some were afliated with the
railway companies and the mining companies, others werent. Some provided cheap
agricultural labour. As Boomtown grew, so
too did China Town. Soon it was a bustling
community of its own. The Chinese labour
pool drastically shrank as the younger generations of China Town went into business
for themselves.
China Town is a bustling, densely populated neighbourhood. It is very colourful.
Many of the buildings are decorated with
ornamental facades and a distinctly oriental
are. Plaster dragons, gold painted tigers,
paper lanterns, and pagoda-styled rooftops
are popular. Behind the facades are the same
buildings you nd elsewhere in Boomtown.
While whites and blacks visit Chinatown
to dine and shop they seldom linger. You
eat, you go, is a popular China Town
phrase. Troublemakers and lollygaggers
must deal with the China Town Gang.
Bayside - at the end of the last century,
Bayside was blocks of factories, worker
housing, and a handful of company stores.
Just before the War, developers purchased

93

acres of real estate on the outskirts of

Bayside and built neighbourhoods over
night. After the war these neighbourhoods
boomed.
In Bayside factories are still predominant
some are old, some are new. All the company stores are gone, replaced by modern
stores and shops. Workers still cram the tenements, but many live in the small houses
surrounding them.
The Docks are a separate onto themselves. They are tied to the city through
arterial roads, service roads, and rail lines.
Shipyards, warehouse blocks, depots, storage dumps, etc. are the stuff that the docks
are made of. Diners, booze joints, op
houses and stores are sprinkled throughout.
New Downtown
Forty years ago, New Downtown was
little more than a line of clapboard buildings
along High Street (then Wagon Road) with
some farmland and a few hamlets behind
them. All that has changed.
The clapboard buildings, the quaint hamlets, and the farms are gone. New Downtown is a bustling commercial district as
active and vibrant as any in America. Even
the older residents of Boomtown forget that
New Downtown is a young borough.
Today, it is the commercial and administrative hub of the city.

Old Heights

Many city residents shop here for the artwork and other oddities.

At the end of the last century many of

Boomtowns wealthy families lived along
High Street. They lived in fancy homes on
magnicent estates.
Today, the estates arent as magnicent
but there are many more of them. Where
there were once three or four homes to a
street, now there are 10 or 20. Still, the
grounds around these glorious residences
are well groomed, spacious, and speak of
money.

New Heights

Artists Quarter
From 1841 to 1869 sawmills lined the
banks of Sluice River in this area; most
remained in operation until the turn of the
century. A good portion of the lumber that
is found in the frames of the citys older
buildings came from these mills. A few of
these mills still operate, sawing up coastal
lumber.
Behind the mills is a congested neighbourhood consisting of tight dwellings,
store-lined streets, market squares, the odd
factory, and a hodge-podge of other things
besides. Theres little rhyme or reason
behind development patterns in the Artists
Quarter.
Its no surprise that Boomtowns intellectuals and artists are drawn here. It is
an ecletic and interesting neighbourhood.

94

While there is resistance from a segment

of Boomtowns old money families to shift
from the Old Heights to the New Heights,
an ever-increasing number is making the
move.
The New Heights is growing. Movie stars
and millionaires are erecting swanky, new
homes in this borough. Members of the
crusty old families peer down their angular
noses at these vulgar, new rich with their
gaudy accoutrements.
Wealth is denitely worn on ones sleeve
in New Heights.
Barley Meadows
Like New Downtown, Barley Meadows
was primarily farmland at the turn of the
century. There were a few hamlets - a huddle of homes, a general store, and church at
a crossroads.
Barley Meadows is where Boomtowns
black community has settled. Over the past
thirty years, the borough has grown rapidly,
encouraged by a string of development
ventures. The vast majority of commercial
property in this district is found east of Cart
Street.

Beyond the Citys Limits

Beyond the citys limits are towns, villages and hamlets. Arkhams Rest is less
than a dozen kilometers away. The smaller
communities have maintained their rural avour despite Boomtown. Its only a matter
of time, however, before the city swallows
them up.

The Syndicate
Like any large city, Boomtown has its
share of criminals - on the streets, in the
back alleys, and behind closed doors. While
there are petty thieves, two-bit hoods, cat
burglars, and the odd street gang of ragamufns and reprobates, the majority of the
citys criminal activity is organized by one
group, the Syndicate.
The Boomtown Syndicate was founded
25 years ago when Pino Pops Pallumbo,
a respected member and head of one of
Boomtowns four crime families, negotiated
a truce after a bloody mob war. The truce
brought the warring families together. The
truce was a direct result of the biggest gang
battle in Boomtowns history. The gang
war to end all gang wars, they called it.
The shootout occurred in Old Market
Square, right outside the Boomtown Planets front doors. Boomtown natives refer to
Old Market Square as the Four Corners. On

95

Bloody Monday, the Four Corners were lit

up, and the guns chattered away.
Ofcially, ten gangsters were seriously
injured; four were killed, and so were seven
innocent bystanders. The exact number of
people who were hurt in the pitched battle is
purely speculative. Many gangsters limped
away, licking their wounds. All that is certain is that many of the citys doctors made
house calls in the days following Bloody
Monday.
According to legend, Billy Big Mouth
Popoffski started the whole thing when he
hurled an insult at a member of one of the
other citys crime families. Quickly, Big
Mouth was heaping insults all around and
soon the lead was ying.
The only good thing about it all,
recalled one of those involved in Bloody
Monday, was when that palooka Popoffski
caught a lead pill in the kisser. He didnt die
but he couldnt speak no more neither. His
days of appin his gums were over and I
guess the bosses gured that was punishment enough.
When the smoke cleared, Pops negotiated
a meeting with the heads of the other crime
families. The meeting was held in the basement of Boomtowns Police Headquarters,
the only place that was considered neutral
ground. Negotiations were delicate but the
bosses were tired of the senseless war.
Pops warned the bosses that the Chinatown
Gang would take over the whole city if the

war continued and the crime families didnt

band together. The heads of the families
heeded the warning and opted for a merger
with Pops as the head of a newly formed
Syndicate.
Pops ran the show for 18 years. Included
in his inner circle was Tony Testerone.
Testerone was a promising, young wise guy
- one of the wisest, Pops joked. Little did
Pops know that Testerone was planning
Pops downfall.
Seven years ago Tony made his move.
The Chinatown Gang was making inroads
into Syndicate territory and Tony used
that as his excuse to take over the operation. Pops was assassinated along with the
Syndicates second-in-command, Big Red
Deluccio.
The Syndicate was shaken and an all-out
war was imminent. Someone had to take the
fall and Tony knew just the guy, his brother,
Vinnie. One night, shortly after the

death of Pops, Tony hosted a big shindig

for his brother at one of the citys nest
nightclubs. Vinnie realized it was his goodbye party and he even managed a brave, sad
smile when Tony strolled up to him near
the end of the night, gave him the kiss of
death, and said, We all gotta take one for
the family sometime. Vinnie was shot to
death later that night. His death wasnt in
vain, however, as the Syndicate accepted
Tonys explanation that Vinnie orchestrated
the hit on Pops and Big Red. As the natural
remaining successor, Testerone was the new
boss.
Tonys been the big cheese for seven years
now. He keeps his friends close and his enemies closer - and hes got a lot of enemies.
Hes always looking over his shoulder and
hes always on the look out for danger. Hes
no fool. Now that hes at the top, he knows
theres only one place to go from there.
Yeah, its lucky number seven for the
boss man and hey, rumours are rumours. Some say that sometimes lucky
seven makes you wanna itch but ya
better be a real wise torpedo if yer
thinkin about sinkin Tony Testerone.
- Anonymous Syndicate source.

Tony Testerone The Syndicate boss

wasnt born in Boomtown, he was born in
Brooklyn, N.Y.
Like nearly every other Testerone in
Brooklyn, Tonys dad worked for the local mob. Naturally, Tony followed in his
fathers footsteps. Of course, by that time,
the heavies from New York were starting to
muscle their way into every shady operation up and down the east coast. Tonys dad
threw in his lot with the big city mobsters.
As it turned out he picked the winning
team. For his loyalty the area Don
embraced young Tony and brought him
into the family fold. Tony was only 16
at the time. Still, he carried out a
lot of important jobs for the family, earned his stripes, and gained
a reputation.
The Don sent Tony to Boomtown
as a favour to Pops. Testerone was a
proven hit man, a real heavy, and
Pops needed some heat to hold onto
his territory.
It wasnt long, however, before
Pops realized there was more to
this bit of muscle than muscle.
Rather than waste Tonys mental talents on the front lines he
brought him into his inner
circle.
The rest, as they say, is
history.

Tony Testerone
+1 Brawn, +1 Leadership
Skills - Bargain, Break & Enter, Driving,
Gun Fu, Hand-to-hand, Interrogation and
Schmoozing.
Special Skills - Respect and Ruthless

Lefty Hooligan - is Testerones right hand

man. A hulking brute, dressed in practical
suits, he is a sharp contrast to his boss, who
is short and a snappy dresser.
Lefty has a slab-like face, wears a permanent scowl, and has hands like concrete
blocks. Many have judged Lefty on his
appearance, dismissing him as a common
thug. This is a common mistake, but its one
that Testerone has never made.
Hooligan is not a dull witted stooge. He is
intelligent, shrewd, cunning, and well read.
In fact, Hooligan was a Chicago accountant
at one time. He worked for the mob and was
a whiz with gures.
Working the numbers racket he was eventually asked to carry out additional duties,
usually running booze. He was good at that
too. In time, his additional duties started
took precedence over his book keeping.
Soon his work took on
darker tones. He was
roughing people
up, shaking them
down, and using his

muscle.
Hooligan took it all in stride. Work was
work and the money was good. In 1921 he
carried out his rst hit. As usual, Lefty tackled the task with effectiveness. He was so
good that he was given similar assignments
and his reputation as a torpedo was made.
In 1924 he was sent to Boomtown because
there was concern about how Pops was
running the show. Leftys job was to observe and report back to Chicago.
Less that a month later he wired a statement to Chicago, If I were you, Id put all
my money on TT.
The Chicago bosses now knew that Tony
Testerone was going to be the Boomtown
boss. They wired back, Place the bet. So
Lefty backed Tony when the time came.
While he is Testerones right hand man,
Hooligans real loyalties lie with Chicago.
Of course, he keeps this a secret. Theres
only one price you pay for questionable
loyalty in the mob. Every month he sends a
post card to his aunt in Illinois. The seemingly innocent passages on the post card are
laced with information on what Testerone
is up to.
Lefty Holligan
+1 Brawn, +1 Brains
Skills - Athletically Inclined, Break & Enter,
Driving, Gun Fu, Hand-to-hand, Interrogation and Scrutiny.
Special Skills - Block/Dodge and Ruthless

The Fog
Ghost Town has its share of ghosts and no
living criminal would dare prowl the streets
of Ghost Town (day or night) this includes
members of the China Town Gang. That
isnt to say that petty hoods dont make a
dash into Ghost Town in an attempt to hide
from the law. Unfortunately, most of them
are never seen again.
The few that do come back from Ghost
Town (often a few days later) are soon
institutionalized.
Yeah, I once knew a lolly gagger who made
a scamper for Heeby Jeeby ville, a side street
runner stated in an interview. He took off with
all the kale loaded in his jalopy. No one saw him
for a while and then he turned up again nuttier
than a fruitcake. The white wagon came along
and that was the last I ever saw or heard of im.
He got more than the icy mitt in Ghost Town I
tell ya, and that aint no hooey!

In the decrepit, run down tenements of

Ghost Town, its business as usual as far as
its residents go.
Part of the population that died as a result
of the inuenza epidemic made their living
through crime when they were alive; not
just petty crime, but organized crime. Even
Syndicate men were not exempt from catching inuenza and dying from it.
A handful was wrapped up in the occult
and when they became ghosts they con-

99

tinued to do what they have always done,

extort from the masses.
The criminal organization in Ghost Town
is called the Fog. Its not a large organization, with only a dozen members, but its
a very dangerous one. How can ya shoot
a macaroon who aint nothing but air? Ya
cant Im telling ya,, said Syndicate hit
man, Jimmy Four Eyes, and hes right.
The Fog, however, can make other ghosts
disappear and even a ghost wants to cling
onto its existence.
The Syndicate had to employ wizards
to force the Fog to stay on their own turf.
Initially, the Fog threatened the entire city
of Boomtown. But when the wizards did
away with
Fog gangster Lucky Louie Lambosa, and
the bakers dozen became a dozen, The Fog
scurried back to the safety of Ghost Town
and there they remain.
Victor Balista - is the Fog boss. When he
was alive he was one of Pops lieutenants
and later worked for Tony Testerone. As a
hit man he took the difcult jobs, like the
time he was asked to whack an invalid and
he did it.
When he died, there was a sigh of relief,
even within the organization. All agreed that
Balista was only a necessary evil - so, good
riddance. The problem was, he came back;
this time, as a ghost.

He quickly acclimatized to his new

form and coddled together a gang of ghost
mobsters. Surrounded by mist, the ghost
mobsters are collectively known as the Fog.
Balistas cold heartedness in life hasnt improved in death. He terrorized Ghost Town
and established himself as its undisputed
boss. He started to inltrate surrounding
neighbourhoods and crossed swords with
the China Town Gang and the Syndicate.
No one knew how to kill a ghost and the
Fogs increasing activity started to disrupt
everyday life in Boomtown. As a result, the
Society of wizards intervened.
Balista in his arrogance dismissed the
Society. He ordered his lieutenant Lucky
Louie Lambosa to deal with them. Lambosa
was never seen again.
Powerful wizards met with Balista and
they laid things out for him - stick to
Ghost Town or a change in the weather
will clear away the Fog for good.
Victor Balista
+1 Brawn, +1 Balderdash
Skills - Break & Enter, Driving, Gun Fu,
Hand-to-hand, Interrogation and Scrutiny.
Special Skills - Ruthless
Special Abilities - Immune to Physical Attacks

The Chinatown Gang

While the Syndicate runs roughshod
over Boomtown proper, it has no power
in Chinatown. The Chinatown Gang runs
Chinatown.
The Chinatown Gang is a gang of female
ninjas. The head of the gang is Fen Wu.
Ofcially, Fen Wu is an herbalist, who runs
a string of shops in Chinatown and one in
the city itself. A select few know that shes
also the owner of the Sing- Sing, Chinatowns only nightclub, over 10 Chinese

laundries, several restaurants and eateries,

and a dozen opium dens.
Fen Wu has been top dog for the past 10
years, assuming leadership when her mother
handed the reins of power over to her. Fen
Wu has been training her two daughters to
take over when she retires.
The Chinatown Gang has around 40 members - all of whom are ninjas. They are
supported by a contingent of thugs.
The Chinatown gang seldom ventures into
Boomtown, although Fen Wu has stakes
in the racetrack and a few boxing arenas.
Generally, the Gang tends to its own, extorting protection money from the merchants of
Chinatown, while running the opium trade.
Its hard to become a member of the
Chinatown Gang. First, a woman has to be
presented to Fen Wu by an older female
relative.
If the candidate is judged worthy during
this rst interview, Fen Wu takes the girl
in for several weeks and puts her through
a grueling initiation period. Many fail and
are cast out in shame. Those who succeed
are xed with The Chinatown Gang tattoo
- an amazing work of ink that covers the
womans back. Rumour has it that Planet
columnist, Irvine Marcotte, was shown
the Chinatown Gang tattoo, Fen Wus, in
fact. This was an honour because the tattoo
requires its wearer to reveal a lot more than
one may expect. Absolutely gorgeous,
is Marcottes stock remark whenever he is

101

questioned about the incident.

Once a woman gets the Chinatown Gang
tattoo she is a member for life.
Fen Wu
+2 Versatility, +1 Brains
Skills - Bargain, Connected, Demolitions,
Exotic Weapon, Hand-to-hand, Interrogation
and Worldly.
Special Skills - Respect

Sheer Terror The Mad

Scientist
While the Syndicate and the Chinatown
Gang are powerful criminal organizations in
Boomtown, they are small potatoes when it
comes to generating sheer terror. At the top
is the mad scientist, Dexter Loominus.
Loominus main laboratory is housed
within one the worlds largest zeppelins, the
Baron David VonLathrop. The zeppelin was
launched two years ago and was considered a marvel of the modern age. Its owner,
Baron VonLathrop, an ostentatious, German
blue blood, boasted that the VonLathrop was
the fastest airship in the world. Furthermore,
he planned to prove it with the ships rst
trans-Atlantic ight. Bets were placed and
the VonLathrop left Paris with much to-do.
Someone over the Atlantic, the VonLathrop
vanished. For weeks search parties scoured
the ocean for any sign of the airship, but
none was found. It was assumed lost.

Loominus was behind it all. He hijacked

the airship, murdered the crew and pickled
the Baron, preserving him for some later
use.
Loominus uses the ship to spy on the city
that epitomizes all perceived failures in life.
His goal is to one-day lord over Boomtown,
to enslave its people, and make everyone suffer like he suffered when he was a
youngster and a youth. If he fails in that he
will carry out Plan B (which is always his
Plan B regardless of what hes doing, even
if its making the worlds largest omelet)
to destroy Boomtown!
He keeps the zeppelin hidden by use of
a cloaking device, which has a tendency to
malfunction. When it malfunctions, he uses
a cloud machine to hide the vessel.
Along with the zeppelin Loominus has
smaller laboratories sprinkled throughout
the city, hidden installations where he conducts various experiments. He enjoys creating mechanical monstrosities and mutating
the natural world. He has a small army of
loyal lackeys who carrying out his instructions to the letter.
Dexter Alexander Loominus was raised in
New Downtown, close to the Heights. The
Loominus family home was a nice threestorey, brick residence. Dexters father, Dr.
Wilfred Loominus, ran his medical practice
out of the house. As a child, Dex ried
through his journals, gazing at the photos

102

and illustrations of injuries, ailments, etc.

While his father encouraged his sons interest, he forbade Dex from heading down into
the basement and the door was always kept
locked. Curiosity got better of the boy and
he rooted around for the key. He was caught
tampering with the lock, thrashed soundly,
and sent to his room. Shortly thereafter,
Dex (who was six at the time) was sent to a
private school in The Heights.
The Dainsberry School was a home-awayfrom home for many Boomtown boys. It
was a prep school for the citys golden lads.
As a result, Dex rubbed shoulders with the
likes of Maximilian Martin and Duncan
Portman. The Martins lived close to the
Loominus family and Dex and Max became
chums.
Dainsberry was instrumental in transforming Dexter Loominus from a shy, somewhat
introverted boy into an evil genius. While
public school life can be torturous, private
school life can be doubly so. Immediately,
Dex was singled out for special treatment
from the bullies at the school. His pal, Max,
even took part in the bullying. The fact that
Loominus took a shine to academics and
excelled didnt help either. Neither did his
erratic growth rate that morphed the plump
boy of High Street into a gangly, weed-like,
gure. His nickname at Dainsberry was
Walking Stick.

Nevertheless, he had friends, including

the bullies, at times. Max, in particular,
chummed around with Walking Stick . . .
when he wasnt making fun of him.
For some reason Dex was always drawn
to experimentation and mechanical invention. From a very early age he dreamed
about creating biomechanical creatures.
He spent long hours in the schools science
labs. Alienation from his peers led to him
delving deeper into the scientic world. His
experiments were often bizarre.
Eventually, one of the schools professors
caught him torturing a monkey. Apparently,
Dex planned to remove its legs and replace
them with some sort of wheeled device.
He was hauled before the schools board
and asked to explain his bizarre behaviour.

103

Attempts were made to contact his parents

but they were out of town. Dex argued an
interest in science as his defense. The board
did not expel him but he was placed on
probation.
While Dex was dealing with this, his parents were arrested. In the Boomtown Planet
it was reported:
Doctor Wilfred and Mrs. Ethel Loominus,
of 1127 High Street, were arrested yesterday
and charged with a number of shocking
crimes. There was a buzz around the picturesque residence as police vehicles arrived
and constables entered the home.
It is reported that a number of bodies were
found in the dwelling but the Boomtown
Police has made no ofcial statement.
There was always something odd about
the Doctor, a neighbour of the suspects
stated. I always knew he was up to something . . . strange glowing lights from the
basement, queer noises, that sort of thing.
Im not sure what to think of Mrs. Loominus
though.
While the police have yet to comment on
the matter, an inside source revealed that
three bodies were found in the basement
of the home, the victims of some sort of
experimentation. The source went on to say
that Dr. Loominus may be responsible for
a number of disappearances in the Bayside
neighbourhood.

In the end evidence revealed that Dr.

Loominus and his wife had kidnapped
and murdered 11 people and unlawfully
exhumed 57 cadavers. While Loominus
was given the electric chair as the principal agent in the crimes Mrs. Loominus
was sentenced to life imprisonment in the
Boomtown asylum.
Dex was hauled out of school by an aunt
and carted off to a crumbly estate on the
eastern outskirts of town. There, he lived a
life of solitude and attended Sunnyside, the
nearby public school.
Sunnyside was a far cry from Dainsberry.
There were only two classrooms in the
school with a small and uctuating student
population. Most of the students were farm
boys and girls. Dex had little in common
with his peers and he retreated farther into
himself, exploring the musty old tomes of
his aunts library. For her part, the aunt ignored her nephew. This allowed him to explore the estate at his leisure where he came
across his grandfathers secret laboratory.
Ah yes, we forgot to mention his grandfather, because Dexter never knew the man.
All he was to the young boy was a scowling
face found in an old oil painting hanging on
the wall in the family parlour. When Loominus found the laboratory, he had the tools
necessary to continue the family business
mad science.
Dex was the only student at Sunnyside
with a perfect attendance. He was the

104

only student to pull off straight As, but

it didnt matter. No one was interested in
Sunnyside students. A teacher took a shine
to the star pupil. Miss Craftree, a diminutive 30-year-old school marm, took Dexter
under her wing. Dex repaid her by making
her the subject of his rst real experiment.
Miss Craftree disappeared and the family
tradition was maintained. Oh, Miss Craftree
is still around but not in any form that
anyone would recognize. She was the rst
companion that Loominus created, a halfmechanical, half chemically altered mutant.
In this form she has become his number one
assistant and right hand woman.
Loominus grew stranger, made more companions (his aunt followed Miss Craftree),
hurried through school and later Stone
College. He obtained a doctorate through
correspondence just so he could call himself
a doctor.
In 1924, Loominus entered one of his
inventions into the North American Science
Exposition (which happened to be hosted
in Boomtown). His invention was a marvel,
a mechanical robot of no small proportions.
Trouble came when the exhibit judges
asked the Doctor to give them a demonstration of the robots abilities. The robot
malfunctioned and destroyed a wall in the
exhibit hall. When it nally had a melt
down the robot collapsed on one of the
judges, who was killed.

Loominus was arrested but he quickly

acquitted. The trial (and even its outcome)
was of little signicance to him, however.
What really angered him was the response
of the scientic community. Whenever a
mistake was made, either academically or
applied, it was referred to as a Loominus.
Scathing and mocking pieces in the science
journals didnt help either.
He holds no real degree of note, therefore to call him a Doctor is ridiculous.
The man creates oddities. He is no
scientist. One could argue he is an inventor
but then his inventions would serve some
purpose and, at least, have the remote possibility of successfully working.
Doctor Loominus is a disgrace to his
community which is not the scientic community but the community of entertainers.
The clowns at the circus do not kill members of the audience.
These are just some of the excerpts found
in the periodicals and journals of the time.
Dr. Loominus was ruined as was cast out of
intellectual circles.
Even worse, the citizens of Boomtown
showed no mercy either. Loominus was
taunted wherever he went. Only the Planet
showed Loominus some leniency at the
time. A brief opinion article stated:
To be fair to Doctor Loominus, the fault
of the judges death was proven in a court
of law to lie with the exhibit Judge who

105

ignored verbal warnings about the possible

dangers of the mechanical exhibit. Furthermore, Loominus is not the only scientist
or inventor to fail in his creation. Science,
more importantly science that leads to true
advancement, relies on a system of trial and
error.
The scientic community and the intellectuals, it seems, are looking for a scapegoat
to draw attention from the fact that this
years exhibit displayed nothing revolutionary or even of note. By focusing the publics
attention on the Loominus incident (which,
in its own way, was remarkable) they diverted attention away from the fact that the
North American Scientic Exposition was a
failure.
Dexter Loominus
+3 Brains
Skills - Curiosity, Demolitions, Education
- Weird Science, Electrical Repair, Fix-It,
Mechanically Inclined and Slow-Flow.
Special Skills - Photographic Memory

The Tulip Eaters

At a glance, the Tulip Eaters are little
more than high school seniors and college
students having some fun but, in reality,
they are more than that.

The Tulip Eaters have been around for

over 40 years and, as a group, they are
something of an institution. Only certain
seniors are selected to become members,
often the sons and daughters of the wealthy.
The Eaters go out on weekends and selected
weeknights and they hit the town. They
dress up in costumes (as clowns, harlequins,
etc.), wear theatrical makeup, drive around
in shiny automobiles, and have a good time.
They are recognizable because of their
attire and the distinctive paper
tulips they wear in the lapels
of their coats.

106

Most people are unaware that the Tulip

Eaters are actually ghouls (see page 174)
preying on the guttersnipes and rummies
that are found in Boomtown. They are also
members of a blood cult. In time, Eaters rise
through the ranks of the cults hierarchy and
become part of the Eaters alumni.
The cultists have secret handshakes and
meet in parks or the basements of private
dwellings. They carry out bizarre rituals.
Despite their bloodthirsty nature the
Eaters rarely kill anyone to avoid
drawing unwanted attention.
Sometimes they host parties
called feeding frenzies where
they drink each others blood and
follow it up by eating a corpse,
fresh from the morgue.
They have to feast on esh and
blood to survive. This has led to trips
to the asylums, hospitals, prisons,
and opium dens. The Tulip Eaters are
blessed with long lives, exceptionally long lives,. Mortimus Blake, the
founder of Boomtowns Tulip Eaters
chapter, is 97 and still spry.

The Tea Totalers

All about money

The Tea Totallers aint nothin but a bunch of

Ethels!
This quote was attributed to Syndicate man,
Vinnie Sassione, in the Boomtown Planet. A
few days after the quote was published his body
was found oating in Blissful Bay. The strange
thing about it was that the Syndicate didnt seek
any retribution for the death of one of its own
respected members. Sassiones passing was a
relatively quiet one.
The Tea Totallers is the name of a powerful
cabal and a highly secretive one. True, its members have weird ways and initiation rites. And,
yes, one could say, they are a bunch of Ethels.
Consisting of the most powerful men in
Boomtown, the Tea Totallers is the most exclusive club of exclusive clubs in the city. To be a
member you have to be either extremely wealthy,
extremely powerful, or both.
Members meet in out-of-the-way locales;
church halls, the back rooms of social clubs,
warehouses, etc. They travel in disguise, dressed
as prim and proper old women. They take part
in a variety of activities such as bridge, ballroom
dancing, croquet, and bingo. They host quilting
bees, create crafts and discuss cross-stitching
patterns.
The membership fee is $1,000/annum in cash
(or kind, i.e. political favours). Women arent
allowed in this all boys club and neither are
wizards. Anyone who is sworn in, is sworn to
secrecy. Those who fail to maintain a strict code
of silence wind up dead.

107

Money is important and so is a regular

pay cheque, especially in the Dirty 30s. In
the 1930s, $75 is equivalent to around $900
in todays money. And anyone who makes
$75 a week is doing really well.
Money, however, isnt dolled out equally.
Women make less money than men. It is a
bigoted time and many men believe that a
womans place is in the home.
With this in mind, heres a sample of the
weekly payroll at The Boomtown Planet:
Seth Elliot, $100/week; Maggie Talent,
$55/week; Bobby Kennedy, $75/week; Tess
Trimble, $40/week; Ermoss Pembroke,
$45/week; Dane Ringwald, $65/week; Skip
Donahue, $30/week; Scoop Cardigan, $30/
week; Ruby Olsen, $20/week; Pete Plasky,
$15/week; Irvine Marcott, $15/week; Candy
Windstrom, $10/week; Dr. Brian Bedesko,
$15/week; Detective Merv Wiley, $30/
week; Bobby Bustetoni, $30/week; Paige
Mercy, $30/week; Pearl Hunter, $30/week.
Here is a sample price list:
A roll of wallpaper - 8 to 45 cents
A quart of enamel paint - 75 cents to $1.60
Inclusive 500-mile rail trip (including rail
fare, meals on train, and hotel room) - $35
Straight rail fare - 500 miles, $11.80; 600
miles $13; 800 miles $17; 1,500 miles $25
...contd on next page

...Price List contd from previous page

Dry Cleaning - 70 cents for suits,
dresses, and topcoats
Average nightclub admission (featuring
music and dancing girls) - $1.10 to $3.30
Beer hall burlesque admission - 20 to
30 cents
Trees - around $1.30
Shrubs - around 90 cents
Checker Cab - around 20 cents for a mile
and half
Package of tobacco - around 15 cents
Boxing admission - from 40 cents to $1
with ladies admitted free with one paid
admission
A warm meal delivered to your door - 10
to 15 cents
Womans haircut, style, shampoo, etc.
- from $2 to $4
Womans permanent and wave - $1.25 to
$7
Mohair Chestereld & Chair - around $9
6 Piece Bedroom Set - around $12
Kitchen set - around $4
Metal beds - around $4
Floor rugs - $3 to $8
Brand name sewing machines - around
$12 to $45
Refrigerator - around $95 to $140
Portable typewriters - around $35 (they
are available for rent)
Apartment rent/month (often furnished)
- starts around $25

108

Cottage/bungalow style homes for rent

- around $30/month
Cottage/bungalow modest homes for sale
- from $1,800 to $2,100
Larger family home for sale - around
$4,000
Adult bicycles - from $10 to $30
Cars - slightly used 4 door sedan, from
$200 to $300; slightly used coach model
car, from $225 to $500; slightly used coupe,
from $350 to $400; new vehicle/deluxe
sedan, $800; jalopy, starts at $65
Dresses - $3 to $25
Three-piece suits - $10 to $50
Bomber Stadium tickets - 50 cents bleachers, 80 cents pavilion, and $1 grandstand
As a general rule the average home is
worth the average annual income. For
example, Tess Trimble makes $40/week,
which is $2,080/year. She could purchase
an upper end bungalow with a years wages.
Most people make around $35 a week.
There are mortgages and loans, of course.
Most loan rates are high - around 12%. In
addition, many things that we purchase
outright, such as a typewriter, a radio or furniture, were purchased over time in the 30s.

Hotels and Accommodations

Hotels and accommodations are found in
every borough in the city. Accommodations
run from the gamut - from seedy, dangerous
dives to ve star hotels.
Boarding houses and ophouses are
perfect for people who are on the lamb.
Questions are seldom asked and guests are
left alone. Sharing a dirty public toilet at the
end of the hall with strangers is a fair price
to pay when one is lying low.
At the other end of the spectrum are multistorey hotels with red carpets and welldressed doormen. While rooms and suites
cost a pretty penny, the room service and
service in general is exceptional.
Here are some examples of Boomtown
establishments:
The Star Hotel located in New Downtown, the Star is arguably Boomtowns
nest establishment. When movie stars,
celebrities, dignitaries, high prole business types or other VIPs come to town they
check into the Star.
The Star boasts a large ballroom that offers nightly entertainment of the highest
caliber. It has a fabulous kitchen staffed by
a team of nationally renowned chefs. It has
an experienced staff.
The bill reects the hotels quality, which
led to one critics remark, Boomtowns
Star Hotel, offering you a bill like no other.

109

Rooms: single/double/suite, Room

Service: Yes, Restaurant/Lounge: Yes,
Phone/Telegraph Service: Yes/Yes, Laundry
service: Yes (full), Chemist: Yes, Pool: Yes,
Pet Service: Yes. Overall Rating: 5/5, Cost:
Outrageous.
The New York (Hotel) - was once the place
stay.
Located on the corner of Capital and Wire
roads, across from the Boomtown Planet, its
age is apparent in its exterior. Its architecture is outdated.
Still, the New York offers its guests
dignied elegance. The hotel is, however,
rather pricey. Meals can be ordered in-house
from the hotel kitchen or from a number of
nearby restaurants. The New York has its
own small restaurant.
Rooms: single/double/suite, Room
Service: Yes, Restaurant/Lounge: Yes,
Phone/Telegraph Service: Yes (only in
certain rooms)/Yes, Laundry service: Yes
(no in-house tailor), Chemist: No, Pool: Yes,
Pet Service: Yes. Overall Rating: 4/5, Cost:
Pricey.

Hodgins Boarding House - is located at

the end of Golden Mile on City Limit Road.
It is an old, converted farmhouse. While the
rooms are clean and fresh the services are
limited and the patrons uncouth. The owners, Mr. and Mrs. Hodgins, live in a small
cottage next door.
Rooms: single/double (shared bath), Room
Service: No, Restaurant/Lounge: No,
Phone/Telegraph Service: Yes (one in the
house where payment is paid/call)/No,
Laundry service: Yes, Chemist: No, Pool:
No, Pet Service: No. Overall Rating: 2/5,
Cost: Low.
The Carleton is located at the end
of Division Road on Capital Drive. The
Carleton was once a rambling inn and
stagecoach stop. Later it was converted to
a bunkhouse for railroad workers. Twenty
years ago it was purchased from the Western Pacic Rail Company and converted
into a hotel.
A lot of money was sunk into the Carleton
and today it is a respectable and modestly
priced hotel.
Rooms: single/double, Room Service: Yes,
Restaurant/Lounge: No (bar only),
Phone/Telegraph Service: Yes in lobby/Yes,
Laundry service: Yes (no in-house tailor),
Chemist: No, Pool: Yes (outdoor only),
Pet Service: No. Overall Rating: 3/5, Cost:
Moderate.

110

Station - located in Bridge End at Boomtowns main (train) station, the Station Hotel is a new establishment built on the site
of an old, clapboard hotel of the same name.
The demolition of the old Station Hotel
was a cause for mourning in the neighbourhood. The old Station was attached
to a large music hall that hosted popular
vaudeville shows. The new hotel has a banquet hall attached but it lacks the nostalgic
appeal of the old hall.
Rooms: single/double, Room Service: Yes,
Restaurant/Lounge: Yes/and music hall,
Phone/Telegraph Service: Yes/Yes, Laundry
service: Yes, Chemist: Yes, Pool: No, Pet
Service: Yes. Overall Rating: 3/5, Cost:
Moderate.
Bayside Resort - is part of the Boomtown
yacht & country club. The resort is elegant
and reserved for country club guests only.
The resort has the clubs services at its
disposal, including a large swimming pool,
tennis courts, a horse riding trail, and an
exclusively night club.
Rooms: single/double/suite, Room Service:
Yes, Restaurant/Lounge: Yes, Phone/Telegraph Service: Yes/Yes, Laundry service:
Yes, Chemist: Yes, Pool:
Yes, Pet Service: Yes. Overall Rating: 5/5,
Cost: Outrageous.

Boomtown Barbers
There are many barbershops in Boomtown
and there are many barbers but two barbers
stand out from the rest.
Slick Nick Delucca owns a barbershop in
Bridge End, a stones throw from the docks.
Youll never see a dockworker getting a hair
cut there, however. Instead, Syndicate types
sit in the seats and big sedans guarded by
large men are parked out front.
Delucca is in his late fties. He has grey
hair, hairy arms, and sharp features. He
wears a traditional barbers smock and a
smack of grease in his hair.
Supposedly, Delucca was a doctor when
he was young and he takes care of the
Syndicate men when they need immediate
medical attention and dont want the cops
involved.
Rubbing shoulders with Syndicate men
(and possibly administering medical care to
them), Delucca has access to clubs, parties, and shindigs that a man of his station
wouldnt normally have. Delucca also
has money and owns a large home in Old
Downtown. He collects cars and has 10 in
total, stored in a large garage behind his
house.
For whatever reason, Delucca has an open
rivalry with Boomtowns other celebrity
barber, Francois Cologne.
Dubbed the stylist to the stars, Francois
Four Fingers Cologne is middle-aged and

amboyant. His fancy salon is found in the

middle of New Downtown. Sports cars and
large sedans are parked in front of his place
and a handsome doorman ushers in the
clientele in and keeps out the riff-raff.
Cologne is Franky to his high-class clients
and friends. Everyone else calls him four
ngers because he only has three ngers
and a thumb on his right hand. His forenger is missing. Now, hes a lefty, deftly and
gracefully clipping hair with his left hand,
while his right holds the comb.
Cologne claims he nicked his nger with
a pair of scissors, the cut became infected,
and the nger had to be removed. Local legend says different. According to the tale that
circulates around the city, Delucca sliced off
Colognes nger.

I heard it from a guy who heard it from

a guy who knew a guy who was there when it
happened how that barber, the guy who cuts the
stars hair, lost his nger.
Supposedly this Cologne guy is at this club
punching the bag with the mob barber Slick
Nick. Somehow or another they started mixing
it up and arguin. Words got heated and then
Cologne starts shakin his nger under the nose
of Slick Nick.
Slick Nick says, Im warnin ya to not shake
your nger under my snout. Cologne says back,
Ill do whatever I want and shakes his nger
under Slick Nicks nose again.
Slick Nick says, This is your last warnin.
Cologne shakes the nger one more time, saying, Whatre you gonna do about it. Slick Nick
comes back, Ill tell ya what Im gonna do about
it and as quick as a cat he whips out a shiv and
chops the guys nger off.
To make matters worse, Slick Nick kicked the
nger into the sewer. Then Slick Nick and all
these Syndicate guys just leave and Cologne is
there holding his stump and bleedin all over the
place.
Well, thats the story, I heard.
- Dockworker Danny Heezer

Francois Cologne
+2 Balderdash
Skills - Artistic Talent, Eavesdropping, Fast
Talk, Schmoozing, Status and Worldly.

Slick Nick Delucca

+1 Balderdash, +1 Brawn
Skills - Bargain, Connected, Fast Talk, Gun
Fu, and Scrutiny.
Special Skills - Respect and Tough

112

Places of Note - in New

Downtown
The Three Brothers Bank - the largest independent banking institution in Boomtown
is the Three Brothers Bank.
The Martin brothers established the Three
Brothers Bank over 30 years ago. The
Martins were born into a wealthy family
- their mother Gladys was the heiress to the
Hawking fortune - and their birth caused a
sensation.
The Martin brothers (Gordon, Wallace,
and Stapleton) were triplets and Wallace
and Stapleton were Siamese twins, joined at
the hip. Like their father, Earnest, they went
into the banking business.
Earnest was a shrewd customer and
armed with his wifes fortune he established
the lucrative Boomtown Bank. Unfortunately Earnest wasnt very earnest. He was
unscrupulous and was involved in dirty
side-ventures. Directly, he was linked to the
Boomtown mob.

He rubbed elbows with the citys elite and

was rumoured to be a member of the mysterious Tea Totaller Club (see Page 107).
Earnests wife suffered a solitary life of
neglect and died when her sons were 14.
Upon her death, the boys fell under the stern
eye and iron hand of their father.
While Earnest wanted the best for his
boys he also wanted them to learn the value
of a hard days work. He hired tutors and
had his employees instruct his sons, using a
heavy hand to re-enforce their lessons when
necessary. The boys learned the ins-and
outs of the business, including its shadier
aspects. By the time they were 21 they were
ready to take over and, as fortune would
have it, Earnest just happened to drive off
the Boomtown Bridge and into the river a
few months after their 21st birthday.
Although his body was never recovered,
he was presumed dead and the boys took
control of the bank. They changed its name
to Three Brothers Bank and all advertisements featured the beaming brothers. Times
were good.
Literally joined at the hip, Wallace and
Stapleton never married, preferring the
company of stage girls and the like. Gordon,
however, did. When Gordon turned 28 he
married Anne Pimpleton, a daughter of one
of Boomtowns elite families. A piece in
the Boomtown Planet, written at the time of
her courtship to Gordon, described her as
follows: Among the bouquet of colourful

113

Boomtown owers present at the gala, there

was Miss Anne Pimpleton. Only 24 years
of age her stony exterior is so extraordinary
that she is known in Boomtowns proper
social circles as the Dowager. The name is
tting. With her erce glare, disapproving
frown, and dismissive air, Miss Pimpleton
withers men twice her age.
When Gordon married Pimpleton she
insisted on keeping the Pimpleton name,
and so she became Mrs. Anne PimpletonMartin. Pimpleton-Martin was featured on
the cover of The Boomtown Planet in her
wedding gown, coldly holding Gordons
arm and scowling at the camera.
Somehow Gordon managed to convince
his cold new bride into his bed. A year and
a half after they married the couple announced that Mrs. Pimpleton-Martin was
expecting. Gordon built a marvelous summerhouse in the suburbs in which his wife
could convalesce while she waited for the
arrival her rst born. As it turned out, Mrs.
Pimpleton-Martin remained at the summerhouse and rarely returned to the family
home even after the arrival of her son,
Morton.
Morton Martin was a large baby and a
larger lad. He was the apple of his fathers
eye but was a disappointment to his mother.
Put simply, Morton was a bit of a dope.
And so, Pimpleton-Martin conceded to visit
Gordons bedroom again. Ten years after the
birth of her rst son came her second.

From the outset it was obvious that there

was something different about Maximilian.
He wasnt your run-of-the-mill baby. He
was small, despite his mothers attempts
to force-feed him, and he stayed small. He
never broke three feet which is something
Pimpleton-Martin never
forgave her husband
for, blaming his side of
the family for the small
stature of her favourite
child. Nevertheless, Max
(as his mother and his
friends called him) was
a different character than
his brother. Max was
smart, cunning even, and
he was constantly on
the go. He always had
something to prove.
When Morton turned
21, Gordon brought him
into the family business,
much to the disappointment of Pimpleton-Martin. She couldnt fathom
how her husband had placed the family
business in the hands of his simplest son.
Desperate, she plotted and schemed. She
protested to her husband to hold off and
make Max a partner and not Morton. Her
husband retorted that Max wasnt of age
and Mort was. Gordons brothers backed
their brother, partly out of spite. They al-

114

ways hated their sister-in-law.

When Max turned 21, many believe that
Anne took matters into her own hands. According to gossip and rumour (unfounded
by any authority, including the press) the
Dowager hired a hit man to kill her husband. The story goes
that she provided the hit
man with a photo and
he went on to carry out
the botched hit of the
decade.
The hit mans account
(possibly ctional) was
published in a crime
magazine.
So that PimpletonMartin dame gives me a
picture. She wants me to
whack her husband, the
banker. I do a few calls,
put the word out, and a
guy says he knows where
this guy hangs out. Its a
quiet joint downtown.
So, I strolls down, gun in hand, planning
to do business. I go into the place, real
swanky and smelling of money, and I get
myself a seat. The bartender rolls up and I
says, Get, me a whiskey!
He says, they dont sell whiskey, only martinis and the like, the kind of Ethel drinks
the bosses like.

I gives him a glare and says, Get me a

damn whiskey. He does that and I sit a bit
and drink. Then I show him the photo. He
points down at the end of the bar and the
guy in the photo is there. But theres two of
him. I think the bartender spiked my drink.
So, I haul out my pistol, shoot the bartender,
and then shoot the guy at the end of the bar
right between the eyes.
But, heres this guy, dead, and then theres
this other guy that looks just like him hollering away. So, I shoot him too and everythings quiet. I run the hell out of that place
lay low a couple of days and go to collect
my dough. The dame is mad as hell. Says I
shot the wrong person.
Like hell, I did, I said. I shot im twice.
Just to make sure.
She yells a lot, really casts a kitten, and
throws down the newspaper and there are
these two dead Stooges lying in the same
casket. Turns out I did shoot the wrong person. Turns out I shot these Siamese twins. I
laughed loud but the woman wasnt laughing. Never mind, I told her; Ill get it right.
I drive out to where theyre holding the
wake for the two dead guys. This time I got
a Boomtown Typewriter. I drive out to the
fancy house, go inside, and see the guy from
the photo standing over the other two guys
from the photo. I haul out my Typewriter
from under my coat and let im have it. I let
a few other people have it too, just to cause
a commotion, so I can bust outta there.

Turns out, I got it right that time. I got

paid good and I aint been back to Boomtown since.
With the murder of the three owners of
the Three Brothers Bank, the business was
handed over to Morton, his brother Max,
and Anne. Anne easily convinced Mort to
relinquish his controlling share to Max and
Max promptly red the Board of Directors
and replaced it with a Board more to his and
his mothers liking.
Today, Anne and Max run the Three
Brothers Bank, while Mort collects a pay
cheque and is assigned menial tasks to keep
him busy and out of the way. Unbeknownst
to Anne, her son Max is plotting against her.
Hes more a chip off the old block than she
realizes. Like his grandfather, Earnest, Max
has been tied to the Boomtown mob.
Max Martin
+1 Balderdash, +1 Leadership
Skills - Bargain, Connected, Driving, Gun
Fu, Scrutiny, Slow-Flow, and Worldly.
Special Skills - Respect and Ruthless
Morton Martin
+2 Brawn, -2 Brains
Skills - Hand-to-hand.
Special Skills - Tough
Anne Martin
+1 Brains, +1 Leadership
Skills - Bargain, Connected, Scrutiny and
Worldly.

Boomtown Metropolitan Hospital - While

Boomtown General is bombarded with patients, things move at a more leisurely pace
at Boomtown Metropolitan. Met caters to a
smaller, wealthier portion of the population
than Boomtown General does.
Met is large and new and located on the
corner of Golden Mile and Commercial. It
is modern with small wards of six to eight
beds each. Patient privacy is a priority and
so is exceptional care.
Wheeler and Dealer Car Dealership Located in New Downtown, the Boomtown
Auto Market is owned by Bob Wheeler and
John Dealer. B.A.M. is the largest car dealership in the city and Wheeler and Dealer
make a lot of money selling vehicles.
Mostly, they carry used models.
Bomber Stadium - Bomber Stadium is
located in the heart of New Downtown.
On game day the large stadium is packed
to the rafters as over 40,000 fans wave the
yellow, white, and black pennants of the
hometown team - the Boomtown Bombers.
The peanut hawkers sell paper bags of
warm roasted peanuts while the beer and
pretzel peddlers hawk paper cups of beer
and pretzel rings. All the while soda runners
sell ladles of soda, drawn from tin buckets,
to the thirsty mobs.
The voice of stadium announcer, Charlie
Clipper, calls out the plays while the organ

116

grinding of his wife, Midge, lls in the

gaps. At half time theres always a show
- sometimes clowns at other times a marching band. This is when the bookies take the
half time bets and dads leave their seats
to run down to place them, trying to salvage
whatever it was they lost on the rst half of
the game.
Bomber Stadium is home to the Boomtown Bombers, Boomtowns professional
ball team. The Bombers are a powerhouse
and always in the run for the pennant.
Jacques Strap is the star of the Bombers.
Hes their rst baseman and a heavy hitter
who is currently leading the league in home
runs. He is large and in his late twenties.
He has a larger-than-life personality that
makes him the centre-of-attention. He lives
fast, surrounded by beautiful women and
hangers-on, hitting the best nightclubs and
rubbing elbows with movie stars, high hats,
and even Syndicate men.
While Strap basks in the glow of celebrity,
the real talent of the team, Pitcher Slider
McGee, is essentially unnoticed. Only the
diehard baseball fans realize that the Bombers strength lies in the exceptional pitching
prowess of McGee.
While McGee publicly denies any jealousy towards Strap, there are rumours that
a high tension runs between the pair. An
inside source reported that an all out brawl
ensued when the Bombers owner, shipping

and railway magnate, Gig Sherman, had

a private locker room built for Jacques.
Yeah, the day that news was announced,
McGee just had it and he really threw a
t. He jumped on Strap and a real tussle
ensued, the source said. Jacques caught
Slider in the ear with a real haymaker and
he went down. He had murder in his eyes
and we all thought, thats it! Fortunately,
the coach jumped in between them and
calmed them down. Still, theres no love
lost between them, thats for sure.
A picture of Sliders bruised ear was run
with the story but Slider denied it saying
that he caught his ear in a car door.
Jacques Strap
+1 Brawn, +1 Versatility
Skills - Athletically Inclined, Connected,
Driving, Fast Talk, and Status.
Special Skills - Ambidextrous
Slider McGee
+2 Versatility
Skills - Athletically Inclined, Hand-to-hand,
and Status.
Special Skills - Lightning Draw

The Satin Club - Beyond the velvet rope,

the Satin Club offers patrons an experience that includes topnotch entertainment
and bottomless drinks. Tuxedo clad waiters
carry trays of martinis and scantily clad
cigarette girls sell the best brands. The mar-

117

tinis are free and so are the cigarettes and

the wealthy patrons of Boomtowns hottest
joint enjoy the privilege.
The Satin Club is a glittering place
decorated with silver, shiny glass, and crisp
white linen. There are candles for ambiance
on every table and the house lights are kept
really low. The atmosphere alone makes it
worth the exorbitant cover charge ($15 on
an off-night and $20 on a Saturday).
Patrons enjoy the best in Big Band, Big
Name entertainment. The menu boasts a list
of expensive wines, real champagne, and
world-class meals. Gentleman patrons can
order from a list of cigars and ladies can
select a spray from a number of top line
perfumes.
Where a person stands on the social ladder
determines where they sit in the Satin Club.
While bums dont get past the large doormen, a Boomtown suitor wanting to impress
his lady friend might. The average Joe
who can afford a night in the Satin Club is
directed to a table in the pit, which occupies
the central portion of the clubs main room.
Richer patrons are seated at raised booths,
which line the walls, while Boomtowns fat
cats are settled in the balcony above.
Of course, the Satin Club has a dark side.
Owned and operated by Syndicate member, Paulie Palozolli, a cousin of mob boss
Tony Testerone, the Satin Club is a gangster
hangout.

The Satin Club is located in New Downtown. At the turn of the century it was the
Palm Hotel, an exclusive resort for the well
to do. As the city grew, the Palm lost its
appeal. The Palm became a stop over for
out-of-town business types.
In 1928 Tony Testerone purchased The
Palm. The hotel was gutted, renovated
and renamed, The Palm Deluxe. It was the
Syndicate bosss rst attempt in cashing in
on the nightclub craze. While the Deluxe
did quite well, it was a taxing venture and a
year later Tony turned it over to his cousin,
Paulie.
Paulie has a reputation as a man who
can turn a dive into a moneymaker and a
moneymaker into a real moneymaker. He
certainly worked his magic with the Palm
Deluxe, which he renamed the Satin Club.
Four years in and Paulie has turned the
Satin Club into Boomtowns premier nightspot.
Paulie
+1 Brawn, +1 Brains
Skills - Bargain, Connected, Fast Talk, Gun
Fu, and Schmoozing.
Bernie Speck
+1 Balderdash, +1 Brains
Skills - Bargain, Fast Talk, Schmoozing,
Scrutiny, and Worldly.

118

Scheikmans Department Store Scheikman is a name known across

America, a name known for dependence and
affordability.
Scheikman Department Stores started
springing up all over the country around a
decade ago. Owner Ernie Scheikman had a
vision. Namely, a vision of him standing on
a mountain of money.
When Scheikmans Department Store
opened in Boomtown ve years ago the occasion was met with a certain apprehension.
The chain has a reputation of putting the
little guy out of business.
Scheikmans occupies the rst ve oors
of a large New Downtown building. With
lifts, escalators, an interior waterfall, and
other attractions, not to mention a wide
variety of products, most middle class and
well-to-do residents go to Scheikmans once
a week.
One of Boomtowns six theatres, The
Palace, is located next door, so people head
over to watch a matinee after they shop.
Several attempts have been made on the
life of Scheikman Manager, Bernie Speck.
Speck is tiny, pale, and petulant. He has a
penchant for pinching girls bums and talking down to people. The fact that someone
tried to kill him isnt surprising but there
arent any leads. Speculative rumour points
to Duncan Portman, the owner of Boomtowns longstanding Portmans Department
Store.

The Boomtown Gallery of Fine Art - This

ostentatious building exists because of the
patronage of the rich, famous, snobby, and
corrupt. With its stately outward appearance, grand front step, and pillared porch
it looks more like a courthouse than an art
gallery. Inside its a different story. The
drafts, chills, and dampness are testaments
to shoddy workmanship and poor building
materials.
A tax shelter, a right off, a money-laundering scheme, a way to look good - these are
the real reasons why the gallery was built
three years ago. Dane Ringwald knows.
The gallery was the subject of a number of
articles written by the Planet reporter.
Unskilled labourers were employed to
erect this building and the materials used
are rotten, Ringwald wrote in his last
published piece on the gallery before he
was forced off the story for his own safety.
This edice was referred to by one city
hall insider as an icon for a city rife with
corruption.
The gallery collection consists of donated
works, usually pieces no longer wanted by
those donating them. As a result most of
the paintings, sculptures, and other artistic
works are mediocre, at best. One exhibit is
actually quite amusing. Consisting of the
personal works of the wealthy, self-proclaimed artists of Boomtown, it features the

119

crude drawings and oil paintings of the rich

and famous. Max Martin (of Three Brothers
Bank) donated 12 of his personal pieces, entitled A study in wax. It is done in crayon.
A stroll through the gallery is uninspiring.
The most popular exhibit is Illustrations
of Our Time. The exhibit occupies a small
room and is devoted to North American
cartoonists and illustrators.
Boomtown Stone College - Stone
College was founded and built by shipping magnate, Arthur Stone, late in the last
century. It boasts some of the older buildings in New Downtown. The campus covers
several acres of land. Most of the college
buildings are long, narrow brick structures.
Dormitories are found off-campus.
Arthur Stone founded the college so his
son, Arthur Stone Junior, could gain an education. Junior was dense and couldnt have
obtained a diploma otherwise. But boy! Was
he ever a rugby player!
The College has a reputation of delivering
a solid, straightforward education. Around
2,000 full-time students are enrolled at the
college. Another 4,000 or so attend the college part-time or are businessmen taking a
course or two.
One of Stone Colleges strong points is its
football team, the Stone Grays. The Grays
have won a number of championship titles
- in 1915, 1919, 1921, 1929, and, last year,
1930. As a result, a number of Neanderthal

like men (some of them well over college

age) stomp around campus, cat calling the
women and guffawing during lectures.
The Tulip Eaters started targeting members of the football team in 1922. A few
select members of the team laid a beating
on some of the Eaters. From that moment
on the Tulip Eaters declared open season on
the Grays. The Eaters alumni declared an
end to the hunt when two star members of
the football team went missing and the Tulip Eaters were implicated. The matter was
cleared up without charges being laid but it
was still unwanted attention. Nevertheless,
the Eaters still occasionally attack members
of the Stone Gray football team.

The Boomtown Main Library

Is housed in a giant, stone building
located one block north of Town Hall. The
building was once a warehouse for the
Capital Shipping Company but was sold
to the city when the company went bankrupt. It sat for close to a decade, empty and
abandoned, before the decision was made to
move the Main Library from Old Town to
the new downtown core.
For days, trucks shuttled back and forth,
carting the large collection of books to their
new home. Rumour has it that some of the
more obscure and interesting titles went
missing in transit. Scholars have found
some sections depleted and others padded
with modern novels and poorly written
textbooks.
Fortunately, a mysterious benefactor donated a 22,000-item collection to the library.
The collection included many literary gems.
The problem is that many of these gems are
still packed in crates in the librarys basement.

120

Places of Note - in Old

Downtown

Moe Yasky
+1 Brawn, +1 Versatility
Skills - Bargain, Electrical Repair, Fix It, and
Mechanically Inclined.

Moes Garage - Moes Garage (and gas station) is located right behind the Boomtown
Planet,.
Moes has been around for a long time
and Schleps diner (right next door) has
been around for just as long. Both are white
washed brick buildings. The garage has
two bays, one for car repair and another for
larger vehicles.
Owner Moe Yasky is a solid mechanic
and a surly one. Generally he leaves the
handling of the customers to his wife, Mil,
but she is just as surly as Moe. Still, if you
want an automobile xed right (the rst
time) Moes the guy you take it to.
Moe cuts Boomtown Planet staffers a
good deal and he always does his best work
for them.
Schleps Diner - Harry Schlep is the loud
mouthed, animated owner of Schleps Diner,
a diner that makes the best sandwich and
soup around. Most of the Planet staff head
to Schleps at lunch, leaving the mornings
to the deliverymen and the evenings to the
locals. One of the best things about Schleps
is that you can take your sandwiches to go,
carefully packed in a brown paper bag.

121

Harry Schlep
+2 Balderdash
Skills - Bargain, Connected, Fast Talk, and
Schmoozing.
Sharkey Watson
+1 Balderdash, +1 Brains
Skills - Bargain, Connected, Fast Talk, and
Gambling.

Just Chez No - is a speakeasy located just

around the corner from the Boomtown
Planet. Its a sleepy, little dive frequented
by an aging gang of patrons who sip easy
and spend little. They mostly nurse drinks,
nibble on sandwiches, and reminisce about
the good old days.
The Planet staff frequent the Just Chez No
and owner, Sharkey Watson, is grateful.
After all, the Planet staff keeps his creditors
at bay, especially reporters like the whiskey
loving Kennedy who pops down several
times a day for a drink or two.

Wewanit Insurance - There are a number

of insurance companies in Boomtown, but
Wewanit Insurance is the most established.
Owner, Quentin Ball, is a shrewd nancier
who offers preferred rates to preferred
clients.
According to rumour, the mob put the
squeeze on Q. Ball after the company failed
to make good on payments for a number of
mob assets destroyed in a re.
A bunch of Syndicate fellas strolled
into the ofce, past security, up to Mr.
Balls ofce. They were carrying guns and
everything. They shut the door and had a
few minutes with the boss. When they left,
Mr. Ball didnt come out for a long time.
The next day, a lot of les went missing
and were replaced a few days later with
new les. Some of us got the sack shortly
thereafter.
A past secretary at Wewanit Insurance
Rustys Junkyard - Sometimes called
Flaky Towers, Rustys is a place people go
to for two reasons (four actually but well
get to that in a moment):
1. Youre dropping off junk. Rusty rarely
pays for scrap.
2. Youre buying junk. While Rusty rarely
pays for scrap, he expects a fair penny for
his junk.

122

Rustys Junkyard is around the size of a

city block. Located on the south side of the
city on the citys outskirts, it is enclosed in
an old wooden fence. The fence keeps out
any prying eyes and keeps in the junk.
Tall weeds and thick bushes grow along
the foot of the fence. Among the thorns,
nettles, poisonous ivies and oaks are carnivorous plants - some that can devour stray
cats and dogs, and others that can devour
much larger prey (like you).
The whereabouts of Old Town resident Terrance Sizely remains a mystery. Two weeks ago
his wife Margaret reported him missing. Police
scoured the Sizely neighbourhood with no results
or leads. A few days later the police asked the
Planet for its assistance in the search for the
missing man and a picture of Mr. Sizely was
published.
Despite, tips from phone calls and letters, Mr.
Sizelys whereabouts are unknown. An unidentied woman who lives in sight Rustys Junkyard
provided the latest lead. I saw a man who
looked just like [Terrance Sizely] wandering
around the junkyards old fence, she said. One
minute he was there, the next he wasnt.
Police constables questioned Mr. Rusty Thomson, the owner of the junkyard, but Thomson
swore he never saw Terrance Sizely.
As a precaution the police insisted that Mr.
Thomson chop down a number of dangerous
looking plants that grow around the yards perimeter. Although the plants were removed, they
are growing back.

Could the plants be somehow responsible for

the disappearance of Mr. Sizely?
This reporter conducted a controlled experiment with several stray cats and found that the
plants appear to be carnivorous. When this reporter further questioned police about the matter
he was told to mind his own business.

Now, we will explain the other two reasons why people visit Rustys:
3. You want to get rid of someone (or, at
least, their body). If you slip Rusty a few
bucks, he turns a blind eye and lets you use
the yards crusher or the furnace.
4. Youre really in the know and you have
business with Dexter Loominus.
A handful of people know that Rusty is
really one of Dexter Loominuss automatons. Under the grimy exterior (which, at
least, appears vaguely human) are Rustys
innards - transistors, batteries, wires, servos,
cogs, and the like. Rusty is an intermediary
between the Dexter Loominus and others.
He also maintains a half dozen of Dexters
giant robots that are hidden under the mountains of junk. Loominus can activate the
robots at any time.
The junkyard is a dirty place. There are
mountains of junk. It always seems to rain
even when it isnt raining elsewhere in the
city. The rain collects in the yard, creating
oil-covered cesspools and rivers of rust
coloured mud.
Heavy machinery, in various states of
repair, is strewn about the yard. This in-

123

cludes a crusher for mashing cars into more

manageable cubes of steel and a furnace
for melting steel down and turning it into a
crude stock. An electro-magnetic crane is in
the centre of the yard. The crane burps out
columns of black smoke when its started
and it moves around on large steel treads.
There are sheds, tire enclosures lled with
rotten old tires, and crumbly old pallets.
Rustys shack is found in the far corner of
the yard. Next to his shack is a sizable dog
kennel.
Nut and Bolt - two nasty, junkyard dogs
sleep in the kennel. Exactly what breed
these dogs are is anyones guess. What is
certain is they are extremely large. Both are
the size a VW bug and they have teeth to
match.
Nut and Bolt are mutant hounds, created
by Loominus. They protect the junkyard and
the giant robots. They only obey Rusty and
when he isnt around they are very edgy.
They will give a brief one-second growl. If
a trespasser fails to heed the warning, they
will attack.
Rusty
+1 Brawn, +1 Versatility
Skills - Bargain, Fix It, and Mechanically
Inclined.
Nut n Bolt
+4 Brawn, +2 Versatility
* Bite attack does 4 damage; super sense of
smell and acute hearing.

Theodore Nougats Candy Company

- Nougats candies are very popular in
Boomtown. They are tasty and reasonably
priced. Gum balls, swizzle sticks, lollipops,
chocolate bars, gob stoppers, boiled sweets,
taffy, oss, sprinkles,
rockets, in short,
anything sweet is
manufactured by the
Theodore Nougat
Candy Company.
Theodore Nougats
candy shops are strategically sprinkled
around the city to cater to all of Boomtowns sweet teeth.
Its no secret that the
companys owner, Mr. Theodore Nougat, is
a candy fascist and hates any competition.
Five years ago there was another candy
manufacturer in Boomtown, Billy Bompa.
Unfortunately, Billy Bompas Bonbon factory went boom with Bompa in it. Bompa
had no heir, so Nougat moved in and bought
up all of Bompas assets. Now, Nougat is
the undisputed king of sweets.
Nougat harbours a secret. Under his
hardboiled exterior is a crafty sour interior.
Nougat is a mutant, a Hyde baby thats all
grown up.
The Hyde side of Nougat is an effeminate
fellow and a very crafty individual. The
Hyde side calls itself Percival and claims to

124

be Theodores brother. Both Percy and Ted

are listed as the companys co-owners.
When Percys around, Ted isnt (obviously). Percy always claims that Ted is out
of town on business. Company employees tread very carefully when the Percy
is behind the big desk.
Theres no telling what
nastiness Percival will
dream up.
Percy was the man
who planned the unscheduled demolition
of Billy Bompas candy
factory. He also slips
Hyde formula into select
Nougat candies that
are then distributed around Boomtown and
consumed.
Theodore Nougat
+1 Brawn, +1 Versatility
Skills - Artistic Talent, Bargain, Fix It, and
Mechanically Inclined.
Percival Nougat
+2 Brains
Skills - Bargain, Demolitions, Gun-Fu, Scrutiny, Survival, and Worldly.
Special Skills - Lightning Draw and Ruthless.

Boomtown General Hospital - A large,

four-storey brick building located a few
blocks south of The Boomtown Planet on
Capital Drive, the old hospital is surrounding by green lawns and mature trees.
Old-timers sit on benches on the hospital
grounds and feed the birds. Local youngsters play baseball on the lawn or sh in
the pond. The ambulance eet is parked
alongside the hospital and occasionally an
eagerly hit baseball bounces off one of the
ambulances.
If anyone needs acute medical care on the
east bank of the Sluice River they are sent
to Boomtown General.
Sprawling wards dominate the second and
third oors of Boomtown General. Female
patients are housed in the southern wings,
and male patients are housed in the northern wings. The top oor of the hospital is
reserved for those who can afford private
and semi-private rooms. The morgue is in
the basement.
A boarded up structure is behind the
hospital. It was an old icehouse that was
once used as the hospital morgue. According to local legend, several ghosts haunt the
old icehouse. Daring neighbourhood kids
peel back the boards and venture inside.
Occasionally, one returns frightened out of
his wits.

125

Brigade Stadium - Baseball isnt the only

sport celebrated in Boomtown; football
is too. Brigade Stadium is located in Old
Downtown and was once the home of the
Bombers. When the baseball team moved
to its new home, the Brigade settled into
the Bombers old digs. The stadium has had
some renovation work done on it and it can
now seat 22,000. While the Brigade is a
part of the National Football League, it is a
mediocre team. Quarterback Chip Flash is
the only star on the team. Chip has movie
star good looks and his face is featured on
product posters and billboards.
Chip Flash
+1 Leadership, +1 Versatility
Skills - Athletically Inclined, and Driving.
Special Skills - Block/Dodge

The ten count of Boomtown boxing

- There are a number of boxing rings in
Boomtown. Nearly every neighbourhood
has one. The ghts are popular and the more
violent they are the better.
The best arena in the city is a converted
workingmans club in Old Downtown. It
is barn-like with thick brick walls and a tin
roof. Located immediately behind Capital
Drive in Brixton, everyone still refers to it
as Union Hall. Fights are held there every
Tuesday and Thursday night with an occasional Saturday matinee performance. Most
of the time, semi-pros and amateurs are on

the bill as the real pros only ght once a

month.
Along with the ghts, there is the betting.
Along with the betting, there is the Syndicate. The mob has its hands in the boxing
racket and ghts are sometimes xed.
Ghastly Wax Works - There was once
a wax museum in Old Downtown but it
closed when the owners died. While G&G
Studios acquired the museums props and
costumes, the wax dummies were left
without a home. A few were gathered up
by other museums but most were covered
in cloth and stored in the basement at town
hall.
A year ago the Strangefellows moved
into the area. They had recently purchased
the Zeeder estate, located outside the city
limits. The Strangefellows wanted to purchase the wax collection and open their own
museum. The city sold the lot for $500. Too
many ling clerks were complaining about
sifting through records under the glassyeyed gaze of the dummies. The dummies
were packed into the back of three delivery
trucks and transported down Middle Road
to the Zeeder place.
The Strangefellows have created a real
attraction with startlingly life-like wax gures. Most of the old dummies were placed
in glass cases and few are used. This is odd
but no one complains because the new wax
gures are much better.

The museum is open during the week but

it draws its largest crowds on the weekends. A penny arcade in the front lobby is a
favourite with children.
What no one realizes is that the wax
gures are real live people. Augustus
Strangefellow is a chemist by trade and his
wife Mildred is a taxodermist. Along with
their sons, Lyle and Carlton, the Strangefellows kidnap drifters, bums, women
with questionable morales, and traveling
salesman. They are taken into the museums
basement where they are injected with a
serum that paralyzes them. Then, they are
dressed up to look like famous people from
the past. Unfortunately, the people/gures
start to whither after a week or so and they
are heartlessly incinerated in the museums
basement. The diabolical Strangefellow
family has been opening wax museums up
across the country. They run a museum for
a year or two and then skip town when the
police start snooping around.
Augustus Strangefellow
+1 Brains
Skills - Bargain, Education-Chemisty, Fast
Talk, Fix It, and Mechanically Inclined.
Mildred Strangefellow
Skills - Artistic Talent, Exotic Weapon - Scalpel, Gun-Fu, and Scrutiny.
Lyle and Carlton - +1 Brawn, Exotic
Weapon - Axe.

Portmans - Located in Old Downtown,

Portmans Department Store is owned by
Duncan Portman, the heir of the Portman
legacy. At one time the Portman family was
one of Boomtowns most important families. That day has passed.
The Portmans opened their rst general
store in Boomtown over 50 years ago. They
expanded into importing and exporting,
and later shipping. The Portmans empire
has waned considerably over the past two
decades.
The Portman Department store, however,
is still popular. A large building, its three
lower oors are dedicated to sales while the
basement and upper two oors are used for
storage. At one time every oor, save the
basement, was dedicated to sales.
Portmans sells household items, candy,
clothes, and furniture. Most is reasonably
priced but the selection is limited to the few
Boomtown suppliers that Portman deals
with. A member of the old boys club, Portman only does business with friends.
Portman sometimes walks the oor. He
is always dressed in a well-tailored suit
and frequently smokes. He glares at any
employee who he thinks is shirking.
Portman despises Bernie Speck, the Manager at Schleikmans.
Duncan Portman is tall, silver haired, and
has a distinguished look. In his sixties, he
inherited the business from his father, the

127

late Edward Portman. Edward was a chronic

gambler and he sold off large portions of
the business to pay off his debts. All that
remained of the Portman Empire at the
time of Edwards death was the Department
store.
Duncan, however, is convinced that his
family name still means something and, in a
way, it does. But the old guard is dying off
and shopping trends are changing. Portman hates the competition. Schleikmans
department store is everything Portmans
is not new, modern, and vibrant. Portman
takes it personally when any acquaintance
of friend shops at the Scheikmans and he
sneers whenever he hears the competitions
name mentioned on the streets.
The police have investigated Portman
twice. Both investigations revolved around
unsuccessful attempts made on the life of
Schleikmans Manager, Bernie Speck. Portman was outraged when the police knocked
on his door. He called the mayor and the
police chief and raised hell. The rst time
he was met with a stream of apologies, the
second time he received a cool reception
from the Mayor and the Police Chief.
I over heard the Chief talking to Portman. He
was really casting a kitten. He said something
like, Portman, Ill damn well investigate anyone
I damn well please, especially a has-been like
yourself. Then he slammed down the phone real
hard.
- Police Sergeant Gus Winslow

Duncan Portman
+1 Brains, +1 Balderdash
Skills - Bargain, Fast Talk, Gun Fu,
Schmoozing, and Scrutiny.

Boomtown University - Boomtown University is located in Old Downtown several

blocks south and west of the Boomtown
Planet building. The university campus is
small, covering a block and a half. The various faculty buildings form the perimeter of
the campus with a park area in the centre.
Founded nearly 50 years ago, Boomtown
University is an older university but not
a prestigious one. It has several unorthodox Departments, including a Paranormal
Department. The Arcane Department was
closed fteen years ago following the
mysterious death of Faculty Head, Lawrence Snout. Snouts body was discovered
in his ofce along with several cardboard
boxes containing bizarre research materials.
Unfortunately, it is believed the research
materials were destroyed a few years ago.
Boomtown University has around 2,000
full time students and 1,000 part-time students. About 500 students live in residence,
staying in old dorms.
The Faculty of the Arcane was housed in
a small, three-storey, brick building that resembles a house. The windows are boarded
over and the front and back doors are nailed

128

shut. It is apparent the building is no longer

in use.
All lectures and lab work ceased there
over a decade ago. After the death of Professor Snout, the building remained vacant
for several months and classes were moved
to other buildings. The program was soon
dropped from the Universitys curriculum.
A year later the drama department briey
used the building. Complaints from students
about unusual disturbances led to a general
belief that the building was haunted. The
drama department vacated the building and
returned to its original location.
A year passed and the theology department moved in, going through all the
appropriate exorcisms and blessings. That
seemed to do the trick. There were no more
disturbances save clunking radiators and a
University caretakers tumble down a ight
of stairs.
Then, about ten years ago, the disturbances returned with a vengeance. Everything
came to a head with the death of Father
Deslippe. The ofcial report stated that
Father Deslippe accidentally fell out of a
third storey window. The general conclusion around campus, however, differs from
the conclusion found in the ofcial report.
Many suspect foul play was involved.
Inside the building there are small classrooms, smaller ofces, and a number of
apartments. The desks and other furniture
are carefully stacked, covered in linen, and

lined against the walls. The dust is thick but

disturbed in areas by small animal tracks. A
replace ue in a one of the main halls was
left open and leaves and other things have
entered the building through it. Squirrels,
raccoons, birds, bats, and other small critters have taken up residence.
A Ghoul also lives in the basement,
Boomtowns Ghoul. Professor Snout was a
wizard and secretly a member of the Tulip
Eaters. He urged the Eaters to house the
Ghoul at the university, until more suitable
lodgings could be found. When the Society of Wizards found out that Snout was
harbouring a ghoul, they insisted that the
creature be removed outside the city limits
at once. Snout had no choice but to comply.
He convinced the Eaters that it was time for
a move. The creature killed snout when the
attempt to move it was made. After the Professors death the Tulip Eaters managed to
relocate the Ghoul but only after the drama
department had vacated the building. The
ghoul was housed in a mausoleum in one
of Boomtowns cemeteries. The Ghoul was
unimpressed. Eventually, the Ghoul decided
to return to its old university haunt. Finally,
fed up with the students and the university
faculty, the Ghoul tossed Father Deslippe
out of a window. The Ghoul has lived undisturbed quiet for the past decade. It gains
access to the city through a storm drain but
it rarely has to venture out of its lair because
the Tulip Eaters bring it its food.

129

Boomtown University faculties are English, Applied Sciences, Archaeology, Fine

Arts, Sociology, History, Classics & Antiquities, and Paranormal Stuides. Off-campus
there is a small Business Faculty that is
afliated with Boomtown U. It is located on
the Stone College campus.
Boomtown University has no athletics
department. It has a baseball team and a
womans eld hockey team but nothing
else. It used to have a rie team but an accident that resulted in the coach being shot
put an end to that.
University Ghoul
+2 Brawn, +1 Versatility
Skills - Hand-to-hand.
Special Skills - Lightning Draw and Tough.

The Museum of Antiquities

The Boomtown Museum of Antquities is
located two blocks south of the University
campus. The museum is housed in a large,
brick mansion.
Up until about 15 years ago, the museum
only occupied a single wing of the stately
Dewright home and visitors could only view
the private collection by appointment only.
Huff Dewright was an independently
wealthy man, tied directly to Dewright
Steel. Huff left the management of the family business to his brothers and only visited

the New York ofce once or twice a year.

The rest of the time he, his wife, and their
three children traveled the globe, usually in
search of antiquities.
While the Dewright children were all
gifted in their own way, their eldest child,
Marcus, displayed a particular genius. At
the age of 14 he was leading digs and organizing expeditions.
The War was winding down when
the Dewrights left on their last expedition. It was a glorious affair, spearheaded
by Marcus and well documented in the
Boomtown Planet and other publications.
The Dewrights wired their reports to the
newspapers, sometimes daily. They had
found something big the reports claimed
and would be returning home soon. Scholars and journalists from across the country
ooded Boomtown shortly before the
Dewrights return.
On the big day, a ticker tape parade lined
the route from the docks to the Dewright
home. Trucks loaded with crates drove the
docks to the Dewright home. Journalists
vied for an interview but the Planets Tess
Trimble managed the rst exclusive.
The interview was conducted in the
parlour of the Dewright home. The photograph that accompanied the article showed
the happy family, tanned and bright eyed,
back from what looked like a wonderful
adventure. Promises were made to reveal
the collection soon, only

130

It never happened. Something horrible

happened in the Dewright house that night.
Witnesses saw strange lights and heard
scream emanating from the house. When
the police arrived and stormed the place
there was a lot of gunre.
No one knows exactly what happened
that night, but the Dewright family wound
up dead. The police report was carefully
led away. An FBI investigation revealed
no wrong doing on the part of the Boomtown Police Department. The Bureau also
conscated and tagged a number of crates
in the Dewright home. These were loaded
onto a train.
Attempts were made by newspaper reporters to uncover the story but they received
very little cooperation from the authorities.
Planet reporters pressed the issue. They
redoubled their efforts after a police ofcer
that was involved in the incident at the
Dewright home committed suicide. The ofcer was heard screaming something about,
yellow eyes and the stench of death,
shortly before he shot himself. Two other
ofcers who took part in that fateful night
fell mysteriously ill. They were admitted
to The Boomtown Hospital and died a few
days later, one right after the other.
The Planet staff that was assigned to the
story made a concerted effort to track down
other police ofcers at the Dewright home
that evening. Several FBI agents marched
into the newspapers ofces, met with the

Editor and the papers lawyers, and the

story was dumped. Serious threats were
obviously made.
A great battle ensued over the Dewright
estate. Huff Dewright clearly stated in his
will that the entirety of the estate would be
turned over to the City of Boomtown and
Boomtown University on condition that the
family home became a Museum of Antiquities.
In the end, a core group of Boomtown
elite offered a tidy sum to Huffs brothers
and the Huffs Last Will and Testament of
Huff was honoured. Some choice items
went missing from the Dewright collection
and later turned up in a number of private
homes, but who could blame them? They
had donated money to secure the collection.
Today, museum patrons are primarily
university students, professors and ardent
hobbyists. Children sneak in and scare
themselves as they take in the mummies and
the clothes dummies.
The two curators are an odd pair. Pete n
Paul Miles are twin brothers. The live in the
pool house and are walking encyclopedias
when it comes to knowledge on antiquities, ancient cultures and history in general.
They used to live in the main house but odd
noises and disturbances made sleeping in
the home impossible.
The disturbances were attributed to the
ghosts of the Huffs. More than a few caretakers and museum patrons claimed to have

131

seen a Huff ghost. The ghosts seem innocent enough but are a nuisance. Attempts to
communicate with the ghosts have failed.
Pete Miles
+2 Brains
Skills - Bargain, Education - Classics,
Fast Talk, Occult Knowledge, Scrutiny, and
Worldly.
Paul Miles
+1 Brains, +1 Versatility
Skills - Bargain, Education - History, Exotic
Weapon - Sword, Scrutiny, and Worldly.

Places of Note in China Town

Madame Kittys - is located on the edge of
China Town. Its front entrance faces Boomtown proper. It is decorated in an oriental
style with ornamental woodwork, hanging
paper lanterns, and a pagoda styled porch.
The sign out front says Tea House but most
know it is a house of ill repute.
Inside, the main room is set up like a
tearoom. Pretty oriental ladies in colourful
kimonos serve tea to an exclusively male
clientele. The menus contain lists of the
names of the girls who work at Madame
Kittys. A patron asks for a girl and when
she becomes available, he heads upstairs for

a visit.
Well-armed men, dressed as porters, keep
an eye out for troublemakers (anyone hassling the girls). The tea servers are strictly
off-limits, no pawing allowed. The unruly
customer rst gets a stern verbal warning.
If that doesnt work, the customer gets a
severe beating and is tossed out the back
door onto the streets of China Town. Common thieves lurk near the back door. They
rob the ejected patrons of all their valuables,
including clothes.
An elderly woman runs Madame Kittys.
She is a member of the Chinatown Gang,
well versed in wire-fu. She lives in an apartment found on the top oor of the establishment.
A basement entrance, found on the China
Town side, leads to a small bar where
patrons drink and dance to the sounds of
China Towns Swing bands. In the back of
the bar are rooms where illegal gambling
occurs. Further back, behind a false wall,
are a series of strong rooms where the China Town gang stores smuggled contraband
(including weapons, money, and booze).

132

Places of Note - Bridge

End
Bob Bulls Fine China - Bob Bulls Fine
China shop is located a block north of the
Bridge End intersection, next to the old
Sharpes Department store (which is now
the Boomtown Farmers Market). Bob Bulls
shop is more of a haberdashery than a china
shop. Only the rst oor is devoted to china
and glassware. The two upper oors sell
everything from carpets to fresh onions.
Boomtown residents stop at Bob Bulls
because he sells ne and affordable crockery. And the prices on the other items are
also reasonable.
The shop owner, Mr. Robert S. Bull, is
in his early sixties. He is extremely large,
standing over 6 8 in height, and has the
girth to match. He has a face like a pressed
ham but a delightfully friendly manner.
Bull harbours a secret. He is a shape
shifter, a were-bull, and he has been for
two years. It started after a trip he made
to San Francisco. When he shape shifts he
storms from his top oor apartment down
the stairs and through the shop. He charges
around Bridge End, ramming cars and tossing around garbage cans (and occasionally
people). Bull wakes up in the morning with
no recollection of what occurred.

The Minotaur of Bridge End is a nuisance. The authorities are anxious to capture
the beast. At night, residents are careful
when they travel around the neighbourhood
and many stay locked in their homes.
Robert S. Bull
+1 Balderdash
Skills - Bargain, Fast Talk, and Scrutiny.
Were Bull
+4 Brawn, +1 Versatility

Places of Note - Crumbly

Court and Slaggy Bottom
Down and Out Seedy Side
This game is set in the Depression. While
the Depression hasnt hit Boomtown as
harshly as it has hit other cities, it has still
impacted on the communitys economy.
Some residents lost their shirts in the stock
market crash and either rely on the charity
of relatives or have moved to the slums.
Destitute outsiders roll into the city everyday in search of work. Even Boomtowns
slums are denied them and they take up
residence in the jungles, the shantytowns
on the citys outskirts. Scroungers knock
on doors hoping for handouts and beggars
loiter on the street corners. The citys charitable organizations are taxed.

133

The slums of Boomtown deserve a mention.

These slums lay side-by-side in Old Downtown north of Middle Road with Wire Road
as the border. The slums consist of blocks
of run down tenements, gloomy shops, and
vacant buildings. Flea market style shops, art
shops, and used bookstores are found along
this part of Wire Road.
An investment group known only as
Investment Group 117 - owns some outlying
blocks of Crumbly Court and Slaggy Bottom
real estate. This group wants to demolish the
vermin-infested buildings and develop a new
suburb. Red tape is holding up the process.

Prior to the Depression poverty was

prevalent in Boomtown. This is an age
where overall wages are low, rents are high,
and social service programs are almost
non-existent. The most evident example of
standing poverty in Boomtown is the Crumbly Court and Slaggy Bottom slums. The
Bayside District isnt much better.
Crime is high in the slums as the desperately poor seek to line their pockets any way
they can. The mob actively recruits muscle,
mules, and foot soldiers here. Battles are
fought over the blind pigs and gin joints that
are sprinkled throughout these desperate
neighbourhoods.
Charitable crusaders work hard to champion the poverty-stricken residents of the
city while at the same time many of the
well to do condemn the slums as sinks of
immorality.

While the slums contain most of the

citys poverty, poverty is found elsewhere
in Boomtown. Bums lie on all the park and
public benches. Other reprobates and
undesirables are found in Brixton-Walls,
Barley Meadows, and throughout New and
Old Downtown.
These neighbourhoods are tumours, spat
Gloria Locket, the wife of steel magnate, Jim
Locket. They should be carved out by the three
basic principals of honest men everywhere - hard
work, determination, and restraint. If the men in
these districts applied themselves in any way, the
slums would disappear over night.
Lockets statement was published in the Boomtown Planet. Numerous letters poured in over
the weeks that followed. While a few agreed with
Mrs. Lockets words, most condemned them.
My husband was employed at a company
run by Jim Locket, one Boomtown housewife
responded. The wages were poor and the working conditions deplorable. When he was working
there he worked extremely hard, showed great
determination to keep his job, and displayed
great restraint by not giving Mr. Locket what he
deserved, a swift kick in the backside.

Crumbly Court - Crumbly Court is located

in Old Town on the south side of Wire Road
behind a row of run down shops and businesses.
Narrow alleys allow access to the Court,
which is a maze of narrow roads. Besides
the colliery, a few beer joints and a grocer
or two, there are no businesses to speak of.

134

Its just rows and rows of run down tenements that wear their neglect openly.
Coal smoke hangs heavy in Crumbly
Court. Reprobates, winos, and criminals are
prevalent but most folk are simply the hard
working or unemployed poor of Boomtown. Its a surprisingly industrious little
neighbourhood where people make money
and make do anyway they can. Women
knit and sew, clean laundry, and make soap
while they care for their children. They tend
chickens that they keep in rooftop coups
and garden plots in the walled courts behind
the buildings they live in. There are even
pens where larger animals like goats and
pigs are kept and a few residents have a
cow or two, selling the fresh milk to their
neighbours.
Many Crumbly Court men work at the
neighbourhood colliery or at the docks.
Some are oddjobsmen or day labourers
working on the farms just outside town. A
man makes a buck however he can.
Gambling and bare-knuckle ghts take
place in alley ends. These lamp lit activities
attract knots of Crumbly Court men and a
fair number of women too.
B.D.S. Smith & Sons Colliery located in
the heart of Crumbly Court, the colliery is a
large yard with coal mounds, coal bunkers,
coal sheds, and other buildings, all contained within a high brick wall. A spur line
runs into the colliery.

The Colliery supplies a good portion of

the city with its coal. A large stable holds
the heavy draft horses that haul the coal
wagons and the motorized eet of trucks is
growing.
Working in the Colliery is no easy task.
Its backbreaking labour that starts early in
the morning and runs until late in the night.
Some men work 16-hour shifts as the coal is
loaded up, hauled, and delivered.
In the 1920s the Colliery was connected
to the local Syndicate and in 1927 the police
raided the business and Smiths home.
Many colliery men were arrested but only a
few did real jail time. Most returned to the
Colliery. The owners were cleared of any
connection to criminal activities.
B.D.S. Smith - is tall and heavy-set. He
is in his late 70s with steel grey hair and a
stern look.
Smith migrated to Boomtown from the
east coast in the 1870s. He arrived with
little money but had great ambition. He ran
a string of businesses, some successful and
others not, before he wormed his way into
the Crumbly Court Colliery at the turn of
the century.
Initially, he had only a minor interest in
the Colliery. But when Ken Blackstock, the
Collierys principal owner, became ill in
1910, Smith purchased Blackstocks shares.
No one is certain how he did this. There are
rumours. Most suspect that Smiths mob ties

135

played an important part in the acquisition.

In 1914, Smith married Dot Wilson, a
Crumbly Court widow who ran several gin
shops and a house of ill repute. Although
Wilson herself never practiced the oldest
known profession she had three young sons
from three different fathers. Smith adopted
them and gave them his last name. Now,
the Smith boys are part owners of B.D.S.s
business.
While the Smiths have money they never
moved out of the neighbourhood. They live
in Crumbly Courts only large private house
that is located next to the Colliery.
Smith has a penchant for drinking but
regardless of how much he consumes he

never seems to get drunk. His drink of

choice is whiskey.
Smiths connection to whiskey is well
known in Crumbly Court, especially among
the colliery boys. He has been called The
Tap of Boomtown because of the amount
of booze he moves for the Syndicate. Its
booze that has made Smith wealthy, not
coal.
The werewolves of Crumbly Court, and
there are several, act as intermediaries.
After all, everyone knows that the hairies
move the good stuff across country. Smiths
trucks and coals wagons are perfect for
distribution. The crates of booze are hidden
under the coal.
B.D.S. Smith
+1 Brains, +1 Leadership
Skills - Bargain, Connected, Fast Talk,
Gun Fu, Hand-to-hand, Interrogation, and
Scrutiny.
Special Skills - Block/Dodge and Ruthless.

Knock Em Down
While there are plenty of booze joints and
gambling dens in Crumbly Court the most
popular form of entertainment are the
bare-knuckle ghts. Betting on them plays a
big part in the appeal.
The ghts, some of which are impromptu,
take place in alleys and in the larger courts
of the slum. Most of the ghters are known

136

Rocco Bruizer
+1 Versatility, +1 Brawn
Skills - Athletically Inclined, Hand-to-hand,
and Scrutiny.
Special Skills - Ambidexterous and Block/
Dodge.

neighbourhood toughs and local heroes rise

and fall over night as men beat other men to
the ground.
At the top of the heap is Rocco Bruizer,
a 28 year-old colliery boy with ears like
cauliowers and a nose to match. Hes a
big, ugly brute and he has a vicious jab and
throws a mean haymaker to boot. Out of
the ring, however, hes a nice guy, always
willing to help someone a helping hand
especially when they are down and out.
Boomtown boxing managers have approached Rocco. Despite their appealing
contracts Rocco refuses to leave Crumbly
Court. No one knows why but his friends
have their suspicions. They believe that
Rocco stays because old man Smith has
something on him and the colliery boss
makes a lot of money on the 6 4, 280pound, ghter.

Slaggy Bottom - Slaggy Bottom is another

Old Town slum located directly across from
Crumbly Court on the north side of Wire
Road. Along with the run down shops along
this stretch of the Wire is a small artists
ghetto. Photography studios, art shops, and
even an old theatre make up the Painters
Block as it is called.
Remarkably, the Painters Block is a popular hang out for Old Town artists. Brixton
Walls art connoisseurs frequently buy paintings, sculptures, and other artwork here.
Behind the Painters Block is the Old
Farmer Market where produce, livestock,
dressed meat, and other agriculture produce
is bought and sold daily. Like the Painters
Block, the Market draws many Old Downtown residents.
The Slaggy Bottom slums lie behind
Painters Block and the Old Farmer Market.
The slums consist of row upon row of crumbling tenements broken by the occasional
shop or booze joint. Slaggy Bottom is notorious for its card rooms. These illegal gambling dens are lled with desperate men.
At the core of Slaggy Bottom are the
Three Burlesques. There used to be four
burlesques but now one is gone
The slums main intersection is called
Four Ring Circus. Lit at night by the large
neon signs of the burlesques and strings
of bulbs that hang overhead, this place is
crowded with people, day and night. Dock
workers and their wives from Bayside,

137

clerks from Bridge End, and shop keepers

from Brixton Walls crowd the Circus along
with Slaggy Bottom and Crumbly Court
natives. While peanut sellers and peddlers
sell wares, pickpockets work the crowds. In
front of the burlesques, men stand on soapboxes urging people to take in the show
while pretty girls walk through the crowd
and hand out pamphlets.
The Three Burlesques are the Peacock
Club, the Sugar Bowl, and the Bee Hive.
All aggressively compete for patrons and
violence is used to beat the competition. All
three clubs have platoons of goons used for
security. Sometimes these goons clash in
the Circus, whacking each other with black
jacks and even hauling out guns. Innocent
bystanders beware.
Inside, the clubs are large, open spaces
with dance oors, dining areas and a stage.
Second-rate musicians provide the music
while lines of dance girls put on shows of
their own. Of course, the mob has its hands
in the burlesques but so too does the China
Town Gang. The Syndicate has interests
in the Peacock and the Sugar Bowl, while
the China Town Gang has interests in the
Bee Hive, occasionally padding the clubs
entertainment with Exotic Girls from the
Orient. This mob interest has fanned the
ames of violence.
The Swan Song was a casualty of this
ongoing war. A year ago it was a thriving
burlesque, drawing in more than its fair

share of patrons. The Swan Song was an

independent and its owner Mack Hardshoe
refused to pay any protection money. The
club was bombed with Mack in it. It burned
to the ground. Today, the Swan Song site is
a vacant lot with a wooden fence around it.
Club Owners
Shakes McGee - the 60 year-old owner of
the Peacock Club lives in Brixton Walls. He
is, however, a Crumbling Court native.
Born and raised in the Court, Shakes
was a prizeghter in his day. He was the
bare-knuckle champ for a number of years
and carefully saved his winnings, knowing
it would only be a matter of time before
someone came along and bested him.
In his heyday, he was called Snakes because his long, sinewy arms moved uidly
when he fought and his sts struck quickly
and with deadly accuracy. When Barney
The Train Boxman laid his patented locomotive punch on Snakes that was the end of
McGees ghting career. He never recovered from the vicious punch. He acquired a
nervous tick and people started calling him
Shakes, a malicious twist on his old nickname. Shakes took his savings and he left
Crumbling Court at the turn of the century.
He moved to Brixton Walls and opened a
small beer and sandwich joint.
Shakes quickly got into the boxing racket
and he started xing real ghts in Brixton

138

Walls. He was wrapped up with the mob. In

1911 he got busted after a boxer was nearly
beaten to death. Shakes was implicated,
arrested, and he spent three years in prison
as a result. While Shakes was doing time
his second cousin, Clara Kelley, ran his
restaurant.
When he got out he laid low and married Clara. While she managed the shop
he took up bootlegging for Smith. In 1920
he got out of the bootlegging business and
purchased the Peacock. Common sense
says that Shakes got the money from Smith
and/or the Syndicate. Regardless, the clubs
muscle is made up of colliery boys.
Shakes McGee
+1 Versatility, +1 Brains
Skills - Gun Fu, Hand-to-hand, and Scrutiny.
Special Skills - Block/Dodge and Ruthless.

Beverly Bev Hamst - owns the Sugar

Bowl. He is closing in on 60 and he knows
it. Not a day goes by when he doesnt wake
up suffering from the aches and pains of a
hard knock life.
Bev was born in Slagside, a notorious court in Slaggy Bottom, where dying
prostitutes, consumptives, aging winos, and
desperate criminals live.
Bevs mother was a prostitute whose back
was broken when she was run over by a
horse. She was only 16 when she gave birth
to Bev, her one and only child. She died...

...two months after the delivery and an aunt

adopted Bev.
The aunt lived on the other side of Slaggy
Bottom, just around the corner from Bagley
Road, which was famous for its fortunetellers. Like many in the area, Bevs aunt was
a charlatan. Together with her beau, a guy
named Willy the Weasel Hamst, the
aunt conned rich people out of their money,
charging high prices for sances and other
clap trap.
The aunt and Willy were good parents
- frivolous, fun loving, and carefree. Bev
enjoyed his stay near Bagley Road and
got to know many of the fortunetellers and
mediums. This idyllic life came to an end
when one of Willys schemes put the Hamst family in harms way. Willy unwittingly
swindled a Syndicate man who put a hit on
Hamst. When Hamst ate some bullets so
did his girl. Bev was 10 and once again an
orphan.
One of the Slaggy Bottom matrons hustled
Bev to an Orphanage in Bayside because
there were no relatives left to care for him.
There he stayed, and suffered, until he was
14. Although his Slaggy Bottom upbringing
made him tough enough to avoid the bulk
of the bullying, living in the orphanage was
no picnic. The people who worked at the
orphanage were ruthless and maintained
strict discipline. The diet was sufcient but
bland. The older kids often contracted out
to work at the surrounding factories and

139

their meager wages were turned over to the

orphanage.
The silver lining for Bev was he landed
a job at a boot and leather factory he was
forced to work at. He slept in the factory
dormitory and met Catch, a gangly 18
year old who had factory privileges and a
bit of money in his pocket.
Catch was a member of a Bayside gang.
He took Bev under his wing and brought
him into the fold. Bev was an eager and
loyal gang member and rapidly rose in the
ranks. In three years he outranked Catch and
was ordering him around.
For fteen years Bev was a part of the
controlling criminal element in Bayside.
Then the Syndicate moved in and the mobsters werent messing around. A turf war
erupted. and The Bayside criminals were
undermanned, outgunned, and disorganized.
Bev was caught up in the war and his side
lost. To the victors go the spoils and Bev
was one of the spoils. He went from being
a Bayside runner to a Syndicate goon. He
served his new masters as faithfully as his
last and eventually became a made man. For
a brief stint he was in charge of all Syndicate operations in Bayside.
When Tony Testerone made his move to
seize control of the Boomtown Syndicate
from Pino Pops Pallumbo, Bev was on
the winning side. He was one of Tonys
lieutenants and, rumour has it, was directly
involved in whacking Popsenforcer...

...Big Red. The story on the street is that

Tony gave Bev the Sugar Bowl as a thank
you present.
Bev Hamst
+1 Brawn, +1 Leadership
Skills - Break & Enter, Connected, Fast Talk,
Gun Fu, Interrogation, and Scrutiny.
Special Skills - Ruthless and Tough.

Charlie Clipstone - is a thin, jittery and in

his mid-forties. He wears ashy white suits
and greases his hair. He is highly visible in
the Bee Hive, working the crowd, catering
toVIPs, and even making appearances on
the clubs stage himself from time-to-time.
Charlie is something of a celebrity and
was a crooner in his day. He worked the
vaudeville circuit and later moved into
nightclubs when they started to take off in
the 20s. Many suspect that he owns the Bee
Hive because of his oriental connection.
His mother was a China Town native who
took up with the ashy salesman, Hank
Clipstone. The Clipstones lived in Bridge
End, in an apartment directly across the
road from China Town. It has been said that
Lily Clipstone was ordered to marry the
salesman by the leader of the China Town
gang. According to the tale, the salesman had somehow swindled or offended
the gang leader and she wanted revenge.
Lily was the weapon that carried out that
revenge.

140

There are two stories that deviate from

this root. The more popular tale of the two
has Lily falling in love with Clipstone and
giving him a son by her own free will. In
this little yarn the leader of the China Town
Gang is a spurned lover and shortly after
the birth of Lilys son, the gang leader kills
Clipstone herself in a t of jealous rage but
leaves Lily and the baby alive to suffer in
shame and loneliness.
The second tale seems more logical. In it,
Clipstone is a drunk, womanizer, who more
or less rapes Lily and gets her pregnant.
Lily cant kill Clipstone because shes in
the family way. So, she marries Clipstone
and he gets a nine-month reprieve. When
Charlie is born Lily ends Clipstones life by
tossing him out a window.
While the rumour mill continues to churn
out gossip, the fact remains that Hank swan
dived out of an upper storey window of
the Clipstones apartment building. Shortly
thereafter, widow Clipstone and her son
moved to China Town and she married a
Chinese man.
The boy never t in and was prone to
wander. When he was 13 he ran off and
joined a vaudeville troupe. In 1917, Charlie
signed up and headed overseas to do his bit
in the Great War. He was part of a clerical
battalion that manned the typewriters while
others manned the machine guns. His talent
as a singer and vaudeville actor saw him attached to the Entertainment Corps. So, he

sang, danced and spoofed his way through

the War while other troops suffered in the
front lines.
When he got back to Boomtown in 1920
he worked at a few clubs, opening for bigger and better acts. The pay wasnt great
and Charlie was living in a dive in Bayside.
He tried to pick up extra work and ended up
working at a China Town restaurant.
Throughout the 20s, Charlie Clipstone
was a name associated with China Town
clubs. He eventually became the emcee at
the Flying Tiger.
Two years ago the Bee Hive became
available. Clipstone rolled up and offered
the asking price. It doesnt take a university
professor to know that Charlie is just the
front for the China Town Gang. Now, the
Chinese have a toehold in Slaggy Bottom.
Charlie Clipstone
+2 Balderdash
Skills - Artistic Talent, Connected, Fast Talk,
Lingo - Mandarin Chinese, and Scrutiny.
Special Skills - Naturally Lucky.

Bagley Road is famous, even outside of

Slaggy Bottom. If you want your fortune
told or you want to engage in an sance,
then you go to Bagley Road.
Bagley road is wide, cobbled and has a
late-19th century air, It even has old gas
lampposts lining it. Admittedly, the lights
are electric now but the posts give the road

141

a quaint appeal.
Bagley is known for its neon signs, the
shingles put out by the mediums, fortunetellers, palm readers, and clairvoyants who
live along the street. All the clairvoyants
claim to be the real deal. Of course, very
few are legit. Most are opportunists. Some
hire private detectives to dig into their important clients histories and personal lives.
This information is like gold to these con
artists.
It is true, however, that several legitimate
wizards have set up shop on Bagley Road.
Unlike the mass of Bagley Road charlatans,
the wizards are genuine.
Eleanor Hayes - is the most sought after
fortuneteller on Bagley Road. She is large,
wears colourful outts, garish jewelry, and
peers down her nose at the world. She has a
head of brilliantly red hair that has become
her trademark of sorts. The locals refer to
her as Red
Despite her outlandish appearance, Hayes
has a favourable reputation. The demands
for her service are high.
Hayes is strictly a fortuneteller. She is not
a medium nor does she claim to be. The
dead are dead and I dont know how to talk
to them, she snaps when someone asks her
to contact a deceased relative.
Hayes is a low ranking wizard. She is well
versed in her particular brand of the arcane
arts. This has more to do with constant...

...study than lineage. She uses her talents to

make predictions about peoples lives, often
with astonishing accuracy.
Privately, she tells her condantes that her
talent has more to do with observation than
arcane ability.
Slaggy Bottom hoods avoid harassing
Hayess customers because bad things happen to those who interfere with her business.
There was this two-bit kid who used to hang
around here, one dew dropper recalled. He
was a real palooka. He liked his giggle water
and was on the lam. He was always looking over
his shoulder, like the cops were about to put the
nger on him real quick. He liked to ap his
gums and talk tough and he was mean one. Hed
roll over just about any tourist who looked like
they had two pennies to rub together.
So one day, this kid sees one of Reds customers walking about. Some high hat who loved to
wear the glab rags. The kids all up on the hooch
because hes been on a toot and decides this is it.
He pulls out a shiv and robs this rich fella naked.
The job done, the kid runs off. He doesnt get two
blocks before a truck hits him. But he doesnt die,
you see. No, thats not the way it goes when you
mess with Red.
Theres a cop right behind the truck that hits
the kid because it isnt just any old truck, its a
cop truck. The cops clamber out and nd the kid
with all this stuff on him that they know aint his.
They are scratching their heads trying to gure
out where the kid pulled his caper and who he
pulled it on when the high hat wanders up in his
personals and says, Hey, those things are mine

142

and thats the man who robbed me.

Instantly, the cops know whats up and realize
they got this kid who theyve been wanting for
months. Needless to say, that kid aint around
anymore. Last I heard he was holed up in Kastle
Krag on vacation.
Elanor Hayes
+1 Balderdash, +1 Brains
Skills - Acting, Artistic Talent, Curiosity,
Eavesdropping, Occult Knowledge, and
Scrutiny.
Special Skills - Arcane Inclination.
She is versed in White Magic. She can inuence the elements of Air (+1) and Flesh (+1).

Mia Rawbanana - is a celebrity in her own

right. This ighty, pretty, Crumbling Court
native is in her thirties. She is illiterate and
uneducated but as wily as they come.
Born Sally Watson, Mia was a waitress in
a Wire Road restaurant before landing a job
as a cigarette girl at the Peacock Club. She
would talk about how she was born with a
veil over her eyes and was blessed with the
second sight. Occasionally, shed read fortunes at the Peacock when nights were slow.
In time, Sallys clientele grew and her
boss became aggravated by the type of
people she was bringing in. Old dames,
old men, and people who had money but
werent spending it at the club, Shakes
groused once to a reporter when he was
asked who the famous Mia Rawbananas
clients were before she moved to Bagley

Road. Finally, I told her, either they go or

you go.
At that moment Sally made up her mind.
She transformed herself into Mia and
moved to a small apartment on Bagley
Road. With a solid base of customers and
contacts, Mia did would few other fortunetellers refuse to do - she made house calls
and guest appearances at the dinner parties.
This was a shrewd move. She ingratiated
herself to wealthy people. She lived by the
words, You let a rich man hear what he
wants to hear and hell keep giving you
money.
Mia has amassed a fortune and now owns
a home in the nicer part of Brixton-Walls.
She keeps a storefront on Bagley Road for
practical reasons. Despite how hard shes
tried, Mia has failed to land herself a rich
husband.
Mia is an opportunist. Her so-called mystical talents are nothing but a charade. Her
sances and readings are well-orchestrated
magic shows.
Mia Rawbanana
+1 Balderdash
Skills - Curiosity, Eavesdropping, Fast Talk,
and Scrutiny.

Vaya Papaya - is another swindler.

She is short, stocky, and powerful looking
and has a stony glare that can stop a mad
bull in its tracks. Papaya dresses in a mas-

143

culine manner. The dowdy 60-year old is

referred to as the matron (sometimes patron)
of Bagley Road.
Born Mildred Hawkins, Vaya was raised
in an atmosphere where illusions and cons
were a part of everyday life. Her parents
were part of a notorious vaudeville troupe
that harboured petty criminals and con artists.
In the 1880s her parents were on the lam.
They abandoned the vaudeville troupe and
headed to Boomtown to lie low. Doc
Hawkins set up a medical practice in Slaggy
Bottom. The quack had a wall covered in
phony diplomas and developed a lengthy
list of patients. His brand of medicine was
pure quackery but the price was right. He
was cheap.
Doc hoped to save enough money to
buy a house in Bayside or Brixton Walls
but he was a heavy drinker. He died ve
years after the family came to the city from
a bleeding ulcer. Mrs. Doc Hawkins took
her husbands death hard and blamed the
city for his ailment. Boomtown killed my
man, she told a reporter at her husbands
funeral.
Two years later, Mrs. Hawkins went mad
and threw herself in front of a train. Mildred
was alone but she was 22 years old and well
on her way to total independence. Mildred
obtained her high school diploma at one of
Slaggy Bottoms high schools and was hired
as a teacher at Sunnyside.

The board suspended Mildred when they

discovered her peculiar social habits. She
is a lesbian.
Taking things in stride she worked at a
camera shop at the end of Wire Road. Carla
Riggs owned the shop. Riggs introduced
Mildred to Bagley Road and the fortunetellers.
Hawkins was obsessed with the fortunetellers and convinced herself that she
was gifted. She rented a small room along
Bagley Road and started telling fortunes of
her own. She dropped her legal name and
became Vaya Papaya, a name she claimed
was given to her by her spirit guide. Her obsessions with the occult led to her estrangement from Riggs.
In 1911, Papaya was featured in the pages
of the Boomtown Planet. The paper was doing a piece on the fortunetellers in the city.
The exposure brought her a stream of new
customers.
Today, she is well known in Boomtown.
Her ability to accurately tell a persons fortune is as sound as a dogs ability to y. She
is a master of self-delusion, however. She
really thinks she has some sort of supernatural power.
Cynthia Fleckman - is thin, middle-aged,
with black hair and a haunted look. She
talks in a whisper and constantly wears
black.
This is all an act. Once a month the

144

fortuneteller goes on an excursion. She

claims she visits a spiritual advisor but
actually shes let her hair down. The mousy,
gloomy, Cynthia Fleckman becomes Gloria
Pearlman, the ashy and bubbly socialite
of Timber Rapids, a town that is around 30
miles from Boomtown.
While she collects cash from numerous
Boomtown clients, some of them extremely
wealthy, she spends most of her earnings in
Timber Rapids. She has a large house there,
drives a fancy car, and hosts soirees and
gatherings.
She had a close call once when one of her
clients was visiting her cousin in Timber
Rapids and ran into Fleckman/Pearlman.
Cynthia convinced the woman that she was
mistaken about her identity but decided to
hire a hitman to make sure the Boomtown
lady had a car accident on her way back
to the city.
Vaya Papaya
+1 Balderdash
Skills - Acting, Curiosity, Eavesdropping,
Education - BA, Fast Talk, and Scrutiny.
Cynthia Fleckman
+2 Balderdash
Skills - Acting, Bargain, Curiosity, Eavesdropping, Investigation, and Scrutiny.

Mara Handi - is a well-known medium.

She is young, exotic looking, and beautiful. She keeps an Indian Salon on Bagley
Road.
Draped in colourful silks, reeking of
incense, with music playing from a hidden
gramophone in the background, Handis
salon is remarkable. Many pay the price of
admission just to get a peak at the place.
Handi is a wizard. She is also a ghost
talker. As a result, she is a highly skilled
medium and sought after.
While many eligible men have courted the
beautiful woman of Bagley Road, she has
carefully kept her independence.
Every evening, a large black sedan rolls in
front of her Bagley Road salon. The sedan is
driven by a stony faced chauffeur (actually
a zombie). Handi clambers in and the sedan
drives off. A few gentleman callers have
tried to tail the car and failed. The chauffeur
drives Handi to her home, located somewhere in New Heights.
Mara Handi
+1 Balderdash, +1 Brains
Skills - Acting, Connected, Curiosity, Eavesdropping, Occult Knowledge, Scrutiny, and
Status.
Special Skills - Arcane Inclination.
She is versed in Black Magic. She can inuence the elements of Fire (+1) and Flesh
(+1). She is a Ghost Talker and can talk to
the dead.

145

Slaggy Bottom high school is located on

the edge of the city. It replaced the three old
high schools that catered to Slaggy Bottom
youth. Construction was completed on the
new school six years ago.
The new school, however, is hardly a
match for the hardnosed Slaggy Bottom
boys who have already left their mark on
the building through acts of vandalism and
mischief. Still, many appreciate the high
school because it offers a way out.
Girls and the occasional academically
inclined boy gain their high school diplomas. A few even get scholarships. But, for
most Slaggy Bottom boys, their ticket out is
earned on the baseball diamond.
The Slaggy Bottom Baseball team is one
of the best in the state. These boys play with
heart, determination and often desperation.
Frequently, the Slaggy Bottom team nds
itself pitted against their cross-town rivals,
the New Heights Academy for Boys, in the
city championship game. These games are
nasty affairs. Insults are hurled and tempers are. The New Height boys refer to
the Slaggy Bottom Spartans female fans as
Slags and go out of their way to pick these
girls up. When a New Height boy hangs
around with a Slaggy Bottom girl hes said
to be slumming it.
A lot of Slaggy Bottom players go on to
play in the minors, a few even go pro. More
earn scholarships to a College or University.
Few return to Slaggy Bottom.

The church and downtown missions - The

church plays an important role in the slums.
The most ardent churchgoers are women.
They hustle their kids along while their
husbands shufe behind in their wake.
Along with providing spiritual guidance,
the church takes an active role in charity work, acting as both soup kitchen and
shelter for the many homeless. While all
churches are active in the communities they
support, they have different ways of approaching the business at hand.
There are two downtown missions in
Boomtown, one in Old Downtown and one
in New Downtown. Realistically, they are
little more than halfway houses and bookie
dens. For a long time the mob ran a racket
out of the basement of the Old Downtown
mission, right under the noses of the mission workers. That particular enterprise was
moved because the cops were starting to
demand a bigger piece of the action. Still,
individual bookies work the crowds and
meet clients on the front steps.
Father gures - the celebrants of the
churches in the slums are the spiritual
pillars in their communities. While the slippery Calvin Shoot is well known in other
parts of town, hes nobody in the slums.
Chief among the known church leaders
in Crumbling Court and Slaggy Bottom is
Father Michael OGoodson. Now in his 60s,
OGoodson is short and white haired. He

146

has a twinkle in his eyes and compassion in

his heart. He walks the walk and talks the
talk. He is the celebrant at all three Catholic
churches in the slums. He goes to bat for
his parishioners and has led the stampede
on the city hall to ensure that the slums get
their fair shake.
Ten years ago, a gunman shot Father
OGoodson through the hip. At the time,
Father was protesting rising rents and had
rallied the residents for a weekend of celebration (and protest) in the streets. No one
can afford to entertain in their homes so we
are taking the party into the streets, he said
at the time.
Unfortunately, the landlords of the various
apartments were unimpressed. People were
surprised, however, when someone shot the
priest. I woulda thought theyd just put
the knuckles on him, thats all, one Slaggy
Bottom resident remarked after the shooting. It aint right to try to whack a man of
the cloth. I hope they catch the palooka who
did it, coz his life aint worth spit.
They never did catch the palooka who
did it. Speculative rumour points to Jimmy
Keegan, the manager of the horse track,
Trampled Downs. Keegan was a suspect
in the murder of his own brother, Father
Kenny Keegan, another man of the cloth.
That guys hard boiled, a Colliery
boy said of Keegan a few months after
OGoodson was shot. I could see im puttin a bullet in the Father for a dollar. I mean

the guy shot his own brother dead for Petes

sake!
OGoodson survived
the shooting but has
walked with a limp ever
since. He now uses a
cane. Hes never made
any accusations and he
continues to ght for
his parishioners. This
ghting spirit has earned
the priest a lot of respect
from men who are
used to having to ght
for the good things in
life. Specically, it has
earned him the respect of
the
Syndicate and the Colliery Boys. It is well
known that Syndicate boss, Tony Testerone,
has stamped a personal guarantee of protection on the priest, vowing a fate worse than
death on the gunman if hes caught.
Father OGoodson
+1 Balderdash, +1 Leadership
Skills - Bargain, Curiosity, Fast Talk, Public
Speaking, Scrutiny, and Status.
Special Skills - Respect

The Reverend Tom Traveler and the Reverend Ed Calm are well known celebrants.
People say that the Reverend Traveler was
a door-to-door salesman before he found the

147

Lord. Today, he is a jovial do-gooder who

likes to drink on the sly. The Rev has never
married and has no inclination to do so as
his charity work keeps him
extremely busy. Every
once in a while hell
make trips to Trampled
Downs to bet some money
on the ponies. Although he
loses more than he wins he
has faith in God. That big
win will happen one day
and hell be able to build
a brand new church,
complete with community room, in the heart of
Slaggy Bottom.
The Reverend Ed Calm is a Crumbly
Court native, a one-time Colliery Boy and
bare- knuckle ghter. He was a wild fellow
in his youth, loosely connected to the mob.
Just after the war, there was a big gangland
hit on a farm just outside the city limits.
Some small time hoods used the farm to
warehouse booze. The Syndicate didnt
like the hoods cutting in on their action and
ordered the Colliery Boys to take them out.
Four men paid the piper that day and people
say that the Rev was one of the killers.
Shortly thereafter, Edward Calm joined the
church and became one of its pillars in the
worst part of Boomtown.

Another celebrant of note in the slums is

Reverend Riel Savage (a.k.a. Fire n Brimstone). The large, greasy haired, red-faced
pastor runs a church that is located on Dock
Street, on the border of Slaggy Bottom and
Bayside. Fire n Brimstone is a popular and
ery orator. He puts on quite a display as he
blasts out hour to two hour long sermons,
working himself up into a sweat, and sometimes (people swear its true) foaming at
the mouth as he rails against the sins of the
world. In between these blasts of righteous
fury, he takes long pauses to rally for the
next round. Funnily enough, out of the pulpit hes a mild mannered, family man, who
loves wholesome social gatherings.
The Reverend Tom Traveller
+1 Balderdash
Skills - Bargain, Fast Talk, Gambling, Public Speaking, and Scrutiny.
The Reverend Ed Calm
+1 Brawn, +1 Versatility
Skills - Connected, Fast Talk, Gun Fu,
Hand-to-hand, Interrogation, and Scrutiny.
The Reverend Riel Savage
+2 Balderdash
Skills - Fast Talk, Public Speaking, and
Scrutiny.

148

Cathouses - The oldest known profession

is openly practiced in Boomtowns poorer
neighbourhoods. There are a number of
houses that harbour women who follow this
line of work. Here are two examples:
The Meow Meow is located in Crumbly
Court. It is a large house of ill repute with
30 to 50 girls working at it at any given
time. In the 1880s the Meow Meow was
a workhouse but Madame Chandelier
purchased it at the turn-of-the-century. She
turned it into a whorehouse. While men
drank at the bar or played cards around the
tables in the main parlour, other men took
quick trips upstairs.
In 1910, the city shut down the Meow
Meow and drove Chandelier out of town.
For a month or so the Meow Meow was
vacant and then a new tenant moved in and
started it up again.
Repeatedly the city has tried to shut down
the Meow Meow. Each time they have
failed. In 1911, 1912, 1914, and 1919 the
police raided the establishment. Finally,
they gave up.
Today, the Meow Meow is notorious. It
operates like it did when it was rst opened.
Men drink and play cards downstairs and
enjoy the favours of women upstairs.
Thistle ONeil, a 50 year-old strumpet
who has a fair share of regulars herself, runs
the club.

The Gentleman Caller in Slaggy Bottom

operates differently than the Meow Meow.
While the Crumbly Court house has an open
door policy, membership is required at the
Gentleman Caller. Hefty doormen reject
non-members.
Inside, clients enjoy stiff drinks and meals
on the rst oor and the company of women
on the upper oors. The monthly membership fee is a dollar.
Thistle ONeil
+1 Balderdash, +1 Versatility
Skills - Bargain, Eavesdropping, Fast Talk,
Gambling, Gun Fu, and Scrutiny.

The circus and freak show - Mr. Gibsons

Circus & Freak Show is located on the
eastern edge of the city. Technically, the
attraction went out of business around thirty
years ago but swindlers and showmen still
try to make a living with bizarre attractions
and wild entertainment. All the shows are
found under run down strips of canvas and
in rotting wooden sheds.
A few hawkers sell peanuts and soda on
busy weekends and the occasional vendor
will pitch his/her wares but business isnt
exactly booming. Each attraction brings in
about 30 or so people and there are usually
around a dozen attractions. There are vaudeville style shows, acrobats and magicians,
pony rides, and freakish displays.
The owners and entertainers live in cara-

149

vans that are parked next to the tents and

sheds where the shows are held.
Gorilla in the Mist: entertainer J.J. Kitely
is working on a caper that will bolster the
circuss appeal.
The caper will feature his greatest attraction. Even his closest friends dont
know what the attraction is. All they know
is that it is big, really big, because he has it
hidden under the canvas of the old big top.
A gang of tough looking men guards the big
top and they scare off anyone who gets too
close.
Among those who are allowed into the big
top are veterinarians and academics.
Under the acre of stinky, rotten canvas is
Kitelys attraction - a huge (and we mean
huge) ape. This gorilla stands around 30
feet in height. Kitely swung a deal with the
game hunter who captured it. Kitely plans to
show it as the Eighth Wonder of the World.
But rst, he has to gure out how to best to
capitalize on this unique opportunity.
J.J. Kitely
+2 Balderdash, +1 Versatility
Skills - Bargain, Connected, Fast Talk, Gun
Fu, Scrutiny, Survival, and Worldly.
The Ape
+4 Brawn, +2 Versatility
Skills - Hand-to-hand
Special Skills - Tough.

Places of Note - Bayside

Bayside is a step up from Slaggy Bottom
and Crumbly Court, a small step but a step
nonetheless. At least, if you are a Bayside
resident, then you probably have a job.
Bayside is tied into the docks and heavy
industry. Amid the warehouses, factories,
and network of spur lines, are the tenements
and old company towns. Private parties
have bought up the company towns and
co-ops but old habits die hard. Residents are
ercely loyal to their neighbourhoods. Men
and women live, eat, sleep, shop, socialize
and are eventually buried within the same
few city blocks.
Some of the old factories were leveled
at the turn-of-the-century to clear the way
for a new commercial district. Still, there
are many vacancies in the district because
residents remain loyal to their neighbourhood merchants.
A big shift in Baysides complexion occurred when many of the old tenements
were knocked down and replaced by small
homes, which were either sold or rented
out. These bungalow-styled dwellings are
sprinkled all over Bayside. The older residents complain that it has taken away from
the Districts charm, but many beg to differ,
saying that charm is something that Bayside
has always lacked.

150

The Proletariat - Dockworkers, factory

workers and other hard labourers are a sizable segment of the citys population and
most of them call Bayside home. While they
are generally paid enough to keep food on
the table and a roof over their heads, theres
rarely any spare money lying around. Any
extra money is spent on booze, the ghts,
the ponies, the dogs, dice or cards, or other
low forms of nighttime entertainment.
Currently, there is a great deal of labour
unrest in the city. With unemployment on
the rise in other parts of the country and
many men out looking for work, wages
have dropped in Boomtown and working
conditions have deteriorated. The unrest
has spilled out of the factories. Naturally,
Bayside is the hardest hit the citys Districts
because a large portion of the citys labour
force lives there.
When the workers take to the streets,
Bayside battens down the hatches. Heads
are cracked, stores trashed and company
holdings burned.
Bayside is a breeding ground for Communism. Communist clubs, many disguised
as Workers Clubs, are everywhere. According to steel magnate, Jim Locket, There is
a communist club on every street corner.
While that is exaggeration, its closer to the
truth that some might think.

Currently, the Communist clubs are more

like social clubs. Workers drink, talk politics, and gure out labour actions. There are
few hardliners, no designated leaders, and
no organized mass movements. The seeds,
however, are planted. There is good reason
for the Jim Lockets of the world to take note
and feel some panic.
On one side of the fence you have the
labourers and on the other you have the factory owners and management. Obviously,
the owners and their immediate unkies
are outnumbered. In order to stack the odds
in their favour, the owners hire muscle to
protect their assets and strong-arm labour
leaders.
The most obvious example of hired
muscle is paid Security. Uniform clad, and
armed with billy clubs and sometimes guns,
the Security guards are ready for a tussle.
When strikes turn nasty, companies bring
in hundreds of these hired goons. When
violence erupts it is on a large scale. The
police often sit on the sidelines and pick
off stragglers. If things turn really sour, the
National Guard is called in.
Certain owners hire outright criminals
to augment their forces and carry out their
dirty work. These fellows dont wear
uniforms but they are better armed than
any old Pinkerton. They blow up buildings,
murder labour bosses, and threaten workers
families. The Syndicate will sometimes side

151

with the workers when these goons get out

of line.
Locket Steel Incorporated - Locket Steel
Inc. is Boomtowns iron company. In
Boomtown, if iron is involved, then so too
is Locket Steel. Locket Steels large foundry
is on the north side of the city, near the
docks. It runs day and night. The glow from
its furnaces and the sounds of rolling stock,
shuttling ore in and nished steel out, are
constant.
The foundry men are tough, tougher even
than the dockworkers. Some are involved
with the Syndicate and others are a part of
the labour movement. The mob gets rid of
dead goombas, guns, and even cars at the
foundry.
Locket Steel Inc. is the sole manufacturer
of safes in Boomtown. And Locket Steel
Inc. owner, Jack Locket, sells some of their
combinations to the Syndicate.
Locket has a manufacturing arm. There
are six Locket Steel Manufacturing plants
operating just outside the city limits. Locket
built three of these plants during the War.
Now, all three of those plants are closed and
another, plant #2, is off limits to the general
public and security is tight.
Jack Locket is your old school, robber
baron. He is a large, loud mouthed, overbearing, obnoxious bully. He smokes big
cigars and wears cheap suits. He is obtuse
and crude. His language is both colourful

and larger than life. Now in his 60s, he

remains a driven workaholic. Most certainly
hes corrupt, but hes no more corrupt than
many of his peers.
Lockets wife, Gloria Penelope Locket,
is as much a character as her husband.
Born Penny Smythe, her father was a tailor
who, in his hey-day, owned several small
factories, a department store, and a shipping
company. Unforunately, he gambled away
half his fortune and lost the other half in the
crash of 29.
Still, the Smythe family was old money
and long before Pennys father lost his shirt
he married her off to Jack Locket. In 29
the Smythes turned to Penny for support.
Penny, however, ignored her family, which
fell into destitution.
When Penny Smythe married, she assumed the name Gloria. She also became a
self-righteous, arrogant, high society prude,
a gossipmonger, and head of the Ladies
League of Boomtown (the LLB).
As the head of the League, a title shes
held for the past 20 years, shes sabotaged
careers, destroyed upstart businessmen,
and assassinated characters. Shes lied and
ung more muck than a mechanical muck
spreader. Shes such a wily, cunning old bag
that her poisonous words are perceived as
the Gospel and taken at face value.
However, there is one thorn that she
is unable to remove from her side, the
Boomtown Planets, Tess Trimble. Two

152

years ago Trimble dug up the dirt on Gloria

Locket and published her entire history in
a ve-part series. To this day, people refer
to Gloria Locket as Miss Penny, behind her
back.
Locket tried to damage Trimbles reputation but failed. Her appeals to the Planets
Editor to have Trimble red also failed. And
her husbands hollow threats that hed stop
supporting the paper were laughable. He
never advertised in the Planet.
Realizing she was defeated, Gloria Locket
withdrew from the eld. She realized her
position with the LLB was becoming precarious. Now, she simply turns her nose up
whenever someone mentions that rag, the
Boomtown Planet. If someone makes note
of Tess Trimble and Locket is in earshot,
Locket becomes incensed. She entirely
loses her cool and verbally dresses down
the offending party.
Locket secretly reads The Boomtown
Planet from cover to cover. She pours over
Trimbles columns because (ironically) that
is where Locket pulls her information from
and then manipulates it to suit her purposes.
Jack Locket
+1 Leadership
Skills - Bargain, Fast Talk, Scrutiny, Status,
and Worldly.
Gloria Locket
Skills - Bargain, Curiosity, Eavesdropping,
Fast Talk, Status, and Worldly.

Trampled Downs - Around 50 years ago

Trampled Downs was a straight run, a place
for Boomtown bluebloods and wild adventurers to race their quarter horses in the
quarter mile.
Today, Trampled Downs is a full-sized
track, complete with a large covered stands,
restaurant, and mini-casino.
The racing season at Trampled Downs
opens on April 1st with the Fools Run and
closes on October 31st with the Witchs
Run. These two nights draw exceptional
crowds.
For the men in fancy suits and the women
in the pretty hats, the guys who drink
lemonade and beer and the dames who
sip on the mint juleps, race night is Friday
night. Sunday evenings are reserved for
Boomtowns high rollers and professional
gamblers, the keen eyed cons who can spot
a good horse a mile away. The cigarette
girls and femme fatales go to the track on
Sunday, hoping to hook a sucker who won
some big money.
When a race is on, Trampled Down
patrons continue to carry on their conversations over the voice of announcer, Tiny
Littleman. Its only when the horses hit
the homestretch that people sit up and take
notice. Littleman seems to urge the horses
on with his rapid tempo reports, whipping
the crowd into a frenzy.
The racetrack is a social hang out, a place
to see and be seen. Its also a place to make

153

business deals. Many handshakes take place

after a race that have nothing to do with
what transpired on the track.
Its no secret that the Syndicate is involved in rigging the races. The trick is to
nd out the horse that theyve selected to
win.
No one knows for certain who owns the
track, only that Jimmy Keegan manages it.
The le at the Three Brothers Bank, reveals
nothing, only a number #00965 with no
explanation as to what it means.
In fact, the leader of the Chinatown Gang
owns a hefty share of Trampled Downs as
does Three Brothers Bank owner, Maximilian Martin, and Syndicate boss, Tony
Testerone. A large sweatshop operation, that
manufacturers slacks, suit coats, and dress
shirts is housed under the concrete bleachers.
Jockeys - The days of jockey celebrity are
still to come. As it stands, jockeys are low
paid schleps that take great risks for others with very little benet for themselves.
Living in cramped quarters in a series of
converted bunkhouses the jockeys live
simple lives.
Three to a bunk, is more than a saying
for a Trampled Downs rider.
On occasion, the Tea Totallers come to the
track late at night. The jockeys are roused
out of bed and are forced to run the circuit
themselves. The Tea Totallers place...

...bets on the jockeys of their choice. True,

the Tea Totallers pay the jockeys well but it
is extremely humiliating.
What? What? We pay them well, really well.
Why are they complaining? If we wanted to we
could make them do it for free.
Teatotaller Angela Wisebury (a.k.a. Syndicate
Boss, Tony Testerone).

Jimmy Keegan is the Manager of Trampled Downs. He is short and stocky and has
the personality of a Pitbull. Keegan walks
around with a cigar jammed in the corner of
his mouth, stinking of B.O. and whiskey.
Keegan is a notorious gure. Hes tied to
the Syndicate and has been the subject of
police investigations numerous times.
When Keegans brother, Father Kenny
Keegan, was killed, Jimmy was the main
suspect. Father Keegan was well known and
well liked. He was the celebrant for several
churches in the Bayside area. He was also
a vocal advocate for workers rights. Still,
it was a big surprise when Father Keegan
wound up on the wrong end of a revolver.
The priest was shot dead when he stepped
out of a Bayside bar. Who would murder a
holy man? Jimmy sprang immediately to
mind. The authorities, however, failed to
pin anything on the racetrack manager and
he was released from custody. To this day,
Father Keegans murder remains unsolved.

154

Jimmy Keegan
+1 Versatility
Skills - Bargain, Connected, Fast Talk, Gun
Fu, and Scrutiny.
Special Skills - Ruthless

The Doghouse - Lowlifes, down and out

losers, petty criminals and reprobates wile
away their time at the dog track that is
located on the extreme edge of the city. The
track is just a hop, skip, and jump away
from the Poor Mans Inlet and the lake
cliffs. Many a Doghouse dew dropper has
taken his last leap off that set of bluffs.
The bulk of the bums at the Doghouse
are just that. They dig deep into their grimy
pockets and place small bets on a favoured
pooch. Covered bleachers and a pavilion
line the western side of the track, providing
shelter from the elements and seating for
patrons.
A canteen serves up hot meals and coffee
- nothing special but its cheap. The Chinese
cook at the canteen sells homemade hooch
on the side for ve cents a glass. The hooch
is harsh but effective. He keeps his still in a
nearby woodlot.
A series of tiny rental cottages are located
across the road from the dog track. Many
suspect the cottages are haunted because
strange things have happened to some of the
renters. A couple even disappeared but their
belongings were left behind.

The Martin Race Track - Car racing is

an exciting sport that is just catching on in
Boomtown. An asphalt racetrack is located
outside the city at the end of Waterview
Road. The track is a basic 5-mile loop.
Theres a set of stands, a multiple bay garage, and a small restaurant.
Max Martin developed the track. He
loves to race and he loves to win. Despite
his small stature he is big when it comes to
car racing. Max has invested a good deal of
money in the Martin Race Track and hes
trying desperately to generate real interest in
the the sport in the city.
Pirolis Delicatessen - If you enjoy ne
cheeses, meats, and breads, then a visit to
Pirolis is on your weekly to-do list. Located
on the edge of Bayside (on the corner of
Dock Street and Capital Drive), Pirolis is
owned by Vito and Maria Piroli. In their
mid 60s the Pirolis are still going strong.
On one side of the delicatessen there is a
cooler. The cooler holds an array of meats,
and cheeses. Bread is sold out of whicker
baskets. There are tables and a few booths
for customers who want to enjoy a sandwich or a cup of Mamas espresso.
The Pirolis live in the apartment over
the delicatessen. In the back of the shop are
several small ofces. Syndicate accountants
work in the ofces where they practice their
creative accounting skills. The books are
stored in a number of large, heavy safes

155

sunk into the oor. In the event of an intruder, Vito keeps a Tommy gun next to the
bed. Mama will make a phone call directly
to Mr. Testerone if the police demand to
search the place.
Vito Piroli
+1 Balderdash, +1 Brawn
Skills - Connected, Curiousity, Gun Fu, and
Scrutiny.

Pips Diner - Pips is many a dockworkers

home away from home, a place to grab a
good breakfast, wash away a hang over with
some strong black coffee, and poke through
the newspaper. Plus, Pip is a good listener
and willing to listen to anyones tale.
Pips diner is of the trailer variety. One
night it was rolled into position and the
next morning it was open for business. An
old wooden stove still heats Pips but plush
back booths have replaced the old benches
and counter that used to run around the perimeter of the diner. Unfortunately, theres
no toilet only an outhouse out back next to
the shack that Pip and his dog, Scruffy III,
calls home.
Pip
+1 Balderdash
Skills - Curiousity, Eavesdropping, and
Scrutiny.

The Docks - Boomtown is a port and its

docks play a large part in its economy.
There are shipyards, warehouses, and train
yards. Businessmen with an eye for business have set up diners and beer joints to
cater to stevedores, steelworkers, and other
hard working Joes down at the docks.
Worker unrest usually starts at the docks
and fans out to the rest of the city. There
are many workingman clubs in this district.
Most are political hotbeds and meeting
places for Communists.
The Syndicate and, to a lesser extent,
the Chinatown Gang have business at the
docks. Occasionally disputes between the
two organizations erupt in violence.

Places of Note - Barley

Meadows
The All Trumps Club - This jive joint is
located in the heart of Barley Meadows. At
the All Trumps, jazz reigns supreme. The
club has been around for a number of years
but the building that houses it has not. The
original All Trumps was a refurbished barn.
Now, it is a large, modern nightclub.
The Syndicate has a stake in the All
Trumps, as do a few of the citys politicians.
The clientele are members of Boomtowns
black community, although there is no
policy barring whites from the club.

156

The Manager, Russ Dookson, is a retired

vaudeville performer. He has made a killing
in the bootleg business. Russ is big and his
presence lls the club. He keeps a keen eye
on the main room as well as the card rooms
in the back.
Aside from the odd night, when big band
music booms from the stage, people are
usually jiving to the sounds of jazz. Some
of the biggest names in the jazz music roll
through the All Trumps. The house band is a
hit too with Ethel George and Ben Wallace
at the front.
While many go to the All Trumps for
the entertainment, more go for the cards.
The tables on the outside of the main room
are for the casual players, the pin money
crowd, as Dookson calls them.
In the back rooms things are different.
The real deck hands play here. Tensions
rise with each cloud of cigar smoke as piles
of clams ride on every hand played. Heavy
green curtains keep out the music and the
idle spectators. A bouncer is in each card
room. Its no secret that the bouncers and
the card dealers are armed.
Parker Poker Collingwood is the owner
of the All Trumps. He occasionally sits in
on a game or plays piano in the house band.
Hes a cool cat and a keen dresser. In his fties, he made his money at the poker table.
He is courteous, charming and extremely
laid back. He takes the time to meet all his

customers and he has a knack for making

them feel like they are the only customers in the club. Hes well known in Barley
Meadows and while he is a charitable, he is
also dangerous.
Russ Dookson
+1 Versatility, +1 Balderdash
Skills - Artistic Talent, Bargain, Connected,
Fast Talk, Gun Fu, and Scrutiny.
Special Skills - Lightning Draw
Parker Collingwood
+1 Brains, +1 Balderdash
Skills - Bargain, Curiosity, Eavesdropping,
Fast Talk, Gambling, Gun Fu, Investigation,
and Scrutiny.
Special Skills - Ambidextrous

Glitz & Glam Studio - Boomtown is home

the movie company, Glitz & Glam Studio.
While the studio is not a Hollywood studio,
its still respectable. G&G produces three or
four movies a year.
The studio sprawls over 150 acres. Sets,
enclosed studios, editing labs, a small theatre, warehouses, and ofces are sprinkled
over the grounds. Pinkerton guards maintain
security on the property. The only access is
a main gate.

157

This business is all glitz and glam, baby!

When you cease to have one or the other, you
should retire.
- Archie Galvenstein, President of G & G

Archie Galvenstein is the President and

owner pf G & G Studio. He is prissy, effeminate, and arrogant. Tall, with slightly
stooped shoulders and the abbiness of
middle age, he still maintains a polished
appearance.
As a young boy Galvenstein was drawn
to vaudeville and live theatre. And when
moving pictures went mainstream he was
transxed by the magic of the silver screen.
His parents were extremely wealthy and
they sent him to the best schools but he
spent a lot of time ditching school and going
to the movies. His one attempt to get a college education ended in disaster.
After a brief stint in journalism, he even
penned a few weak columns for the Planet,
he conned his parents into buying Guilded
Cage Entertainment, a small, agging lm
studio. Galvenstein turned Gilded Cage
around and eventually renamed the studio
Glitz and Glam, or G&G as it is commonly
called.
G&G lms follow a fairly standard formula; handsome, brooding man storms onto the
scene and saves a damsel in distress from all
her woes. While Galvenstein is credited as
the writer of most of G & Gs...

...movies, he actually has a team of writers

behind him. The problem is these so-called
writers are sycophantic hacks.
Only a select few know that Galvenstein
scans the docks from his studio ofce suite
with a large and powerful telescope, which
he claims he uses to watch boats in the bay.
Galvenstein loves to watch the men work,
especially the good-looking, young men.
Often settles on a particular man and later
approaches him, offering to make him a
star. Of course, the catch is that the man
must be willing to become Galvensteins
lover.

Candice Candy Delaney, the wife of

Archie Galvenstein, is an aging starlet. She
has appeared in 17 of her husbands 30
movies. She is only in her late twenties but
her career is denitely in its autumn years.
She was 16 when she rst met Galvenstein. She was a cocktail waitress in a
shady club that he frequented. He took a
shine to the spunky, little brunette with the
large blue eyes and eventually asked her to
appear in one of his lms. She agreed and
a relationship evolved. Galvenstein soon
asked Candy to marry him. She said she
would if he agreed to make her a star and
that is what he did.
She knows her husband is a homosexual
but keeps his secret. The two are very good
friends. Galvenstein allows her to have
discreet affairs and the two have (unknowingly) shared lovers.
Archie Galvenstein
+1 Leadership, +1 Balderdash
Skills - Camera Work, Connected, Fast Talk,
Sailing, Scrutiny, Status, and Worldly.
Special Skills - Respect
Candice Delaney
+1 Brains, +1 Balderdash
Skills - Artistic Talent, Curiosity, and Fast
Talk.

Brewer & Brewer Spirit Company Ltd.

- The main operation is on the bay, down
near the G&G studio grounds. B & B brews
beer, but secretly its biggest seller is whiskey. The smell of fermenting spirits is thick
around the main plant.
There are small warehouses near the plant
itself but the main warehouse is located in
Old Town. Why? So, drop offs can be made
throughout the city to numerous bootleggers.

Places of Note - The Artists Quarter

The Boomtown School of the Arts - occupies the top three stories of a four storey
brick building in the Artists Quarter. The
building housed a boot factory in the 1880s.
Now, quaint shops and dwellings occupy
the rst oor while the school takes up
the other levels. Entrance to the school is
through the side and up a wide staircase.
The students range in age from 16 to
60. They are current or promising artists
in various elds. There are 220 students
enrolled at the school. The faculty is small,
consisting of six professors/instructors and
an artist-in-residence, the abstract painter,
Merv DOeil.
The rst oor of the school is devoted to
academic studies and ne arts. The stink of

159

oil paints is heavy and plaster of Paris dust

coats every surface. A series of cramped
classrooms are for practical textbook study
and common lectures while the other rooms
serve as studios.
The second oor of the school is split,
between ne art studios and dance studios.
Gramophones squawk out melodies and the
sound leaks under the wooden doorways
and into the halls.
The top oor is dedicated solely to the
theatrical arts, with a small room devoted
to puppetry. Large performance areas are
littered with props, costumes, and bits of
scenery.
The Boomtown School of the Arts is
more about making money than it is about
producing the next genius. The current Head
Mistress, Agnus Courtney, was a shining
star in her day, but that was over 30 years
ago. She rubbed shoulders with European
artists, including many French impressionists.
Today, her wizened appearance and
outdated mode of dress have made her
something of a laughing stock among the
members of high society. Still, she is a
shrewd administrator. Twice, Three Brothers
Bank has placed a lean on the school. Both
times anonymous donours stepped forward
and paid off the schools debts. The rumours
are rife as to the identity of the donours.

Places of Note - Just Outside the City Limits

The Boomtown Airport - The airport is
located several miles east outside of town.
It has several large hangars, a control tower,
and a small terminal building.
During the war, the airport was used for
training. Those were exciting days. Planes
no longer land or take off with such frequency.
Nonetheless, private and commercial
planes y in and out of the airport on a daily
basis.
The Boomtown Asylum and Wellness Institute - Located outside the city limits, the
Boomtown Asylum and Wellness Institute is
a secluded old estate located on Sandylane
Drive.
At one time the estate was a private
residence. The old portico remains. It has
a huge hanging iron lamp that lights the
visitors way in the evenings. Thankfully,
the stone gargoyles were removed.
Woods surround the main house and the
outbuildings. Pathways wind their way
through the forest.
Boomtown Planet lifestyle columnist Dr.
Brian Bedesko and his wife Lillian run the
asylum. While Bedesko is creepy his wife
is even more so. She is thin, pale, has black
hair and dark brown eyes that shine with a

160

near crazed intensity. Despite this, her voice

is calm.
Bedeskos ofce is an old study located
down the hall directly behind the main desk.
Medical books (old and new) line the walls
of the study. A giant oak desk dominates
the centre of the room. A horsehair settee
sits across from the desk. On a shelf behind
the desk is a large, locked leather case that
holds banks of vials, a syringe, and a bag of
needles.
The Doctors entire focus is on the human
mind. He has dedicated his life to its study.
The asylum can house up to a hundred
patients. It averages around 80 at any given
time. Patients are kept in small rooms. A
staff of solid orderlies and a handful of
nurses ensure that a calm is maintained.
Most of the staff lives at the asylum.
The patients run the gamut, from the
outright insane to the mildly disturbed.
Treatment is costly so the patients come
from well-to-do families. A few are ancient
patriarchs and matriarchs who have outlived
their usefulness to their families. As a result
they were committed to live out the remainder of their lives at the asylum. Bedesko
allows these poor old souls some latitude,
giving them many privileges that the other
patients lack.
While most of Bedeskos work consists of
simple counseling and the administering of
drugs some of his work is unusual. The

hard cases are taken to the basement surgery where extreme treatments like electroshock therapy and chemical ablution are
administered.
In the day the grounds are slightly disturbing; at night they are positively unnerving. Werewolves from nearby Arkhams
Rest roam the woods and their howls are
heard when the moon is full. But they have
learned to stay clear from the asylum itself.

Any werewolf that has ventured over the

asylums walls (topped with iron spikes and
broken glass) has never returned. Sometimes their pitiful howls emit from the
bowels of the main house, indicators that
they are still alive and under the care of the
good Doctor. Poor creatures.
Note: phone calls are made from a remote
phone box found a half-mile from the asylum on Sandylane Drive.

Planet Columnist Dr. Brian Bedeskois known for rehabilitating hard cases.
Goal: to fully understand the human mind.
+2 Brains
Skills: Beast, Education - Psychology, First Aid, Medicine, and Occult Knowledge.
Special Skills: Arcane Inclination (White Magic, Elements - Flesh and Earth).
His Story - Dr. Bedesko is considered creepy by some of his newspaper colleagues. Dour, of
undetermined age, he dresses in old style wool suits and greases down his dark
hair. His skin is the colour of bleached our and he has bags and dark circles
under his tired eyes. He smells of pipe smoke, mothballs, and something else.
Its anyones guess what the something else is.
Although he is something of a loner he is an exceptional conversationalist
when he chooses to speak. He has a calming, hypnotic tone to his voice
and a knack for knowing things and dispensing excellent advice. Much
of this advice nds its way into his lifestyle column, a column that
focuses on health, mental health, and wellness in general. Frequently,
the staff consults with Bedesko when medical knowledge is needed.
Dr. Bedesko is a wizard, but it isnt something he advertises. He is
a medical doctor and a registered Psychologist by trade. He runs the
asylum on the edge of Boomtown.

The Boomtown Prison Castle Krag The Boomtown Prison is on Peril Island, located just off the coast. North of Peril Island
is Beacon Island which houses a lighthouse
that guides harbour pilots and ship captains
entering Blissful Bay.
The only road to the prison is a narrow
causeway. The prison is a great slab of
stone, surrounded by high concrete walls
topped with concertina wire. Guard towers are located around the perimeter. Each
tower is xed with a mounted searchlight
and the tower guards are armed with ries
and machineguns.
There are around 1,000 inmates in the
prison, the hard cases of Boomtown and the
surrounding area. The Boomtown Prison
is not a county jail or local lockup. The inmates here are the doing hard time. Prisoners are crammed in three (sometimes four)
to a cell and conditions are harsh. Prisoners
get their three square meals a day, shelter,
but not much else.
The inmates have a name for the Boomtown Prison, Castle Krag. Its a name they
whisper, even when they get out. Warden
Charlie Krag is as hard as they come. With
a strong jaw, steel coloured hair, and eyes
the colour of int, he takes his job seriously.
Krag served in the Army for a number of
years and he is harsh disciplinarian.
Too many ex-cons have made the mistake
of bad mouthing Krag when they got out of
prison. Many of them have vanished. The

162

prisoners are terried of the Warden. They

are convinced he has a way to get at a man
even on the outside.
Charlie Krag
+1 Leadership, +1 Brains
Skills - Bargain, Connected, Gun Fu, Handto-hand, Scrutiny, and Status.
Special Skills - Ruthless

Characters About Town

Lenny and Benny Catchpenny - are a
father and son duo ahead of their time.
Catchpenny stores have sprung up around
Boomtown and Catchpenny delivery vans
are found in every borough.
The main Catchpenny grocery store is in
New Downtown. It has a chemists department and an area devoted to beauty products. Everything under one roof, Lenny
declares in his advertisement. If they had
a name for it, it would be called a super
market.
In Old Downtown the original Catchpenny grocery serves up Really Fresh
Milk - right from the cow, just the way the
housewives like it. They also serve up
Really Fresh Eggs - warm and straight out
of the hen.
As well as the grocery stores, the Catchpenny family is into wholesaling, importing/exporting and warehousing foodstuffs...

...from around the world. They own farmland outside of Boomtown and bus cheap
labour from the slums and Chinatown out to
work it.
Lenny Catchpenny
+1 Balderdash, +1 Brains
Skills - Bargain, Fix-It, Scrutiny, Status and
Schmoozing.
Benny Catchpenny
+1 Balderdash, +1 Brawn
Skills - Bargain, Fast Talk, Scrutiny, and
Schmoozing.

Heart Fly-y Cocktail - is the citys

most popular show girl. Everyone knows
Fly-y or claims they do. She used to sing
at a number of nightclubs but now she is the
exclusive property of the Satin Club.
Most are unaware that Fly-y is only 23.
Shes been in the business for six years, so
many assume she is older. She started as a
cigarette girl in the gin joints in Old Downtown and worked her way up. It was a long
and rough journey to the top.
Throughout her career Fly-y has rubbed
shoulders with Syndicate men and their
gals. She is well connected to Boomtowns
mobsters. Many refer to Fly-y as Tonys
girl because shes frequently in the Syndicate bosss company. Irvine Marcott even
eluded to their supposed intimacy in one of
his columns.

163

Heart Cocktail
+2 Balderdash, +1 Brains
Skills - Artistic Talent, Connected, Gun Fu,
Scrutiny, and Status.
Special Skills - Photographic Memory

Detective Dan Davenport - Swass Goodiman is a hero in Boomtown. Dan Davenport

is a legend.
Davenport is the denition of the gumshoe detective. He keeps a small ofce in
Old Downtown and has a large list of varied
clients.
There is no caper that is too difcult for
Davenport to solve and he is a man in high
demand. He has made the headlines in
the Boomtown Planet and the citys other
newspapers. It is a notoriety hed rather
avoid. Davenport isnt the kind of guy who
enjoys the limelight. Despite the headlines,
he never reveals information that would
compromise a client. When pressed, he once
sniped, They call me a private detective for
a reason. I avoid making peoples private
affairs public. If I was a public detective, Id
be a cop.
His London Fog is tailor-made and he
never goes anywhere without it. With
pictures of the ruggedly handsome Davenport slapped all over the paper, people have
adopted the look, resulting in the Davenport
trench coat.

Davenports nemesis is Fog Boss, Victor

Ballista. In Davcnports le cabinet is the
only case he has yet to solve. At the heart of
that case is Ballista.
Dan Davenport
+1 Versatility, +2 Brains
Skills - Curiosity, Gun Fu, Investigation,
Occult Knowledge, Scrutiny, and Status.
Special Skills - Photographic Memory

Duke Gruff - Stray dogs are a nuisance

in Boomtown, particularly in the outlying
neighbourhoods and the slums. The stray
dogs eat scraps; they worry family pets and
poultry and can be vicious. While most
avoid people, some will attack if provoked.
Children, in particular, are prone to dog
bites. When you have a dog problem in
Boomtown, theres only one guy to call,
Duke Gruff.
Gruff is short, stocky, powerful, and
extremely hairy. When Duke walks around
in an undershirt, people think hes wearing a
sweater. This man has hair everywhere - on
his knuckles, in his ears, and on the end of
nose. He drives around in a truck, scoops
up dogs, and taking them away. Frequently,
hell scoop up a family pet. His defense is
always the same, No tagsin the bag.
Duke has a way with dogs, big and small.
If a dog doesnt take a shine to Duke right
away, then he glares at the beast and leaves
it cowering, whimpering and shaking. Duke

164

has an empathy with mutts mainly because

he is almost a mutt himself.
Gruff is a werewolf. He has full control
over his condition, except when theres a
full moon. When the full moon approaches,
Gruff packs up his caravan and drives out
into the country.
Duke Gruff
+1 Versatility, +2 Brawn
Skills - Curiosity, Driving, and Hand-tohand.
Special Skills - Tough
Were Gruff
+1 Versatility, +4 Brawn
Skills - Hand-to-hand

Squeegee Jackson - No one knows how old

Squeegee Jackson really is. Some say he
was old when other old folk were young.
Squeegee has always been a window
washer in the city. Armed with his squeegee
and a tin bucket full of murky water he goes
from window to window.
Some say that Squeegee owns the building he lives in and an old bi-plane as well.
Whether thats a load of hooey is anyones
guess.
The fact is, Squeegee really does own
the building, a bi-plane and more besides.
Squeegee is quite well off thanks to a long
life full of successful extortion and black
mail schemes. While Squeegee gets peanuts

for cleaning windows, he does see and hear

everything that goes on in the stores, the
windows of which he is cleaning. Squeegee
is a veritable sponge when it comes to sucking up information.
When he has some dirt on someone he
sends the person a black mail letter saying
he will spill the beans on them unless they
fork over some cash. He never identies
himself in his letters and has a knack for
orchestrating drop offs.
Squeegee Jackson
+2 Brains
Skills - Curiosity, Eavesdropping, and
Investigation.

John Chinese Jack - is a seedy character

of Slaggy Bottom/Crumbly Court fame.
Chinese Jacks mother is from China Town
and his father is from Slaggy Bottom. Hes
always been a criminal. When he was seven
he rolled over fruit stands and picked pockets in the Slaggy Bottoms market. When
he was 17 he rolled over drunks. Now, hes
27 and the leader of a gang of criminals that
prowls Slaggy Bottom and Crumbly Court.
Chinese Jacks ego has got the better of
him. Hes starting to muscle in on ShiftyEyed Morgans business and, by extension,
the Syndicates business. Many feel that
Chinese Jack will soon take a trip to the bottom of Blissful Bay.

165

Chinese Jack
+1 Versatility, +1 Brawn
Skills - Fast Talk, Gun Fu, Hand-to-hand
and Scrutiny.
Special Skills - Ambidexterous

Milo the Milkman - Milo Cruz is well

known in Boomtown, particularly in Old
Downtown and Brixton Walls, where his
route is located. Hes one of a dying breed,
a milkman who delivers his milk in a horse
drawn ice wagon.
Milo has milky eyes, eyes so light in
colour that its hard to see where the white
ends and the iris begins. He has a pasty
complexion and his shiny black hair is
plastered to his head with a greasy paste.
When he tried wearing a red coat instead of
the traditional white coat people mistook
him for a harlequin, an aged Tulip Eater out
on a lark.
Milo has noticeable hygiene problems
excessive perspiration, dandruff and halitosis. Still, Milo is well liked, because he
is a personable guy. People conde in Milo
and tell him things. Hes got the skinny on
everyones personal life and is a conduit
through which neighbourhood gossip ows.
The kids like him because he occasionally
gives them cold milk or lets them give Ned
(his horse) a sugar cube. He also has a way
of spitting tobacco juice with perfect

accuracy to the youngsters delight.

Milo is missing his left pinky nger.
He says he lost it when a horse bit him.
Rumour says somebody lopped it off on
account of a piece of gossip he let slip. Who
knows?
Milo Cruz
+1 Versatility, +1 Brains
Skills - Bargain, Curiosity, Eavesdropping,
Fast Talk, and Scrutiny.
Special Skills - Photographic Memory

Shifty-Eyed Morgan - is a strange character. He is the Syndicates main muscle in

Slaggy Bottom and Crumbly Court. Shiftyeye is a known transvestite and homosexual.
He is also a very large man. This has played
a part in developing a bit of local slang.
When any woman gives her man the whatfor in the Slaggy Bottom or Crumbly Court,
the typical remark is, He had a Morgan
laid on him.
Shifty-Eyed Morgam
+1 Versatility, +1 Brawn
Skills - Curiosity, Exotic Weapon - Club,
Fast Talk, Hand-to-hand, Gun Fu and
Scrutiny.
Special Skills - Ruthless and Tough

Ernie Nossick - has a wooden leg. Everyone knows that. No one knows how the
scruffy, 40 year old, Bayside wanderer lost
his leg and know one is foolish enough to
ask him why. It is common knowledge that
he refuses to talk about his leg and he goes
crazy if someone mentions it.
Ernie lives with Old Widow Boodle, a
strange little woman who owns a few buildings. Boodle likes the ner things in life and
collects anything and everything. Some say
that Ernie is just another piece of the elderly
eccentrics collection but all agree he is far
from one of the ner things in life.
The decrepit cripple has a sour disposition
and likes to frequent booze joints.
Nossick has a secret. He is a werewolf.
Years ago he got his paw caught in a bear
trap and gnawed his own leg off. A hunter
stumbled across an unconscious Ernie (now
in human form), got frightened, and ran
away to get help. When the hunter returned
with a few friends, Ernie was gone.
Aside from the fact that he is a werewolf,
Nossick is also a serial killer. He has a penchant for killing salesmen and has knocked
off three already.
Ernie Nossick
+1 Versatility, +1 Brains
Skills - Curiosity, Exotic Weapon, Hand-tohand, and Scrutiny.
Special Skills - Ruthless
Were-Nossick +4 Brawn
Skills - Hand-to-hand

Polly and Molly - These two creepy old

ladies are barely four feet in height. They
dress in rags, have wild hair, tiny eyes, large
noses and an ugly appearance.
Both are petty thieves and garbage pickers
and while one has the faint smell of urine,
the other one positively wreaks of the stuff.
They push around an old baby pram, loaded
with junk.
They rarely share a word with anyone and
when they do it is obvious that their command of language is limited.
These two are, in fact, mole people who
have found their way to the surface and now
occupy a few rooms in a vacant building
in Slaggy Bottom. They prefer the surface
world to their old subterranean digs.
Polly and Molly
+1 Versatility, +1 Brawn
Skills - Scrutiny and Survival.

Billy Rudabaker - is a Bayside hero.

Hes had his picture in the paper more times
than you can count.
Hes a bit slow on the uptake but ever
since he found old Jack Johnson the Mailman lying face down on a sidewalk and
carried the old geezer to the nearest doctor
he has wore the heros mantle.
If theres a dog in a tree, Rudabaker is
there. If theres a re, Rudabaker is there. If
theres a . . . wait a second, roll that back. If
theres a dog in a tree! Yep, Billy Rudabaker

167

was rescued a crazy mutt that get itself

stuck up in a tree. And the Planet was there
to take the picture to prove it.
The fact is, Billy Rudabaker got a taste for
being a hero and he liked it. After he saved
old Jack Johnsons life, kids stopped teasing him and started admiring him, people
shook his hand and he got free coffees and
lunches.
At rst, Billy wandered around looking
for ways to be a hero but situations like that
seldom occur. So, Billy tipped the odds in
his favour. First, he grabbed a small dog
and, after a few tries, he got it up in a tree.
Someone came along and Billy clambered
up and rescued the mutt. Billy, youre a
hero, the man cried. Just the words that
Rudabaker wanted to hear.
Now, every once in a while, Billy creates
his own opportunities to keep himself in the
limelight.
Billy Rudabaker
+1 Versatility, +1 Brawn, -1 Brains
Skills - Fast Talk and Scrutiny.

Bunny and Bing Shysterman - When you

think of gold or diamonds you think of the
Shystermans. Gems, jewels, jewelry and
shiny trinkets of any kind are their business.
Bunny and Bing make an odd couple - Bunny with her painted red lips and old-fashioned hair, propped up by pins and wire and
Bing with his uffy, white hair sticking...

...out from the sides of his head like wings.

Bing also has a golden smile with scarcely
a real tooth in his head. Both Shystermans
are short and they take turns holding their
miniature white poodle, Bella.
The Shystermans had a storefront in Old
Downtown that was destroyed in an explosion. The ofcial report stated that an old
gas line ruptured and a spark tipped off the
gas that collected in the Shystermans store.
The validity of the report has been debated.
The Shystermans were in South America
when the explosion occurred. When they
returned they didnt open a new store.
Instead, they changed the way they did
business. Now you can see the Shystermans
and their jewels by appointment only. And,
they are only available after dark. If you
call them in the day, you get a number thats
out of service. In addition, they come to
you. You dont go to them.
They travel to the potential customers
home in a limousine and when they step out
an entourage of large, suited goons quickly
surrounds them. These same goons are
expressionless and zombie-like. One goon
is in charge of the famous Shysterman Case,
a leather case on wheels with velvet-lined
drawers that are lled with gems, jewels,
and jewelry.
Only one person has attempted to steal
the case, Bubba Larski. Bubba managed
three steps and was broken in half by one of
the Shystermans goons. The Shystermans

168

claimed self defense, the judges wife got a

beautiful necklace as a gift, and the case
was closed.
Bing Shysterman
+1 Versatility, +1 Brains
Skills - Bargain, Curiosity, Demolitions,
Education - Archaeology, Exotic Weapon
- Sword, Gun Fu, Hunting/Tracking, and
Survival .
Special Skills - Block/Dodge
Bunny Shysterman
+2 Brains
Skills - Bargain, Education - Geography,
Gun Fu, Investigation. Occult Knowledge,
and Piloting.
Special Skills - Lightning Draw

Monsters, etc.
The following is information on the
strange creatures found in and around
Boomtown. These creatures, from giant,
blobby beasts to multi-headed monstrosities, add extra avour to the game and are
entirely optional.
Mutants - Boomtown has its share of
mutants. Few were born mutants; most
are mutants by design. They were normal
people, warped by Prescription H* or bizarre experiments and formulas.
Of course, the majority of mutants try to

appear normal. Its only in the slums, like

Crumbly Court and Slaggy Bottom, where
mutants relish in the fact that they are mutants. Twisted deformities go unnoticed in
these derelict neighbourhoods.
Mutants
+4 to either Versatility or Brawn
Special Abilities - all Mutants are naturally
Tough (see the Special Skill). Mutants are
also Ruthless.
* Prescription H - is the name given the
Hyde formula, a formula that distorts the
normal human form. There is no known cure
for Prescription H.

Blobs - are often the creations of the mad

scientist, Dexter Loominus. These amoebalike blobs come in various colours and
shades. They start out small, less than a
metre in diametre, and expand as they
consume organic material. The biggest blob,
which lurked in Boomtowns sewers, was
10 metres in diameter.
Blobs hate re and salt water. A healthy
does of either will destroy a blob.
Blobs
+2 Versatility, +2 Brawn, no Brains, Balderdash, or Leadership.
Special Abilities - blobs are immune to physical attacks, save re and salt water; blobs
are Tough. When a blob attacks it smothers
the target. A blob attack does 2 points of
damage. A roll on Versatility is required to
escape a blobs clutches.

Multi-heads is your standard, garden

variety of animal type monster. They have
multiple heads and bad dispositions. There
was the three-headed dog of Shady Path
Park, the Brook Farm four-headed chicken
that grew to the size of a bus before it was
dispatched by a hail of gunre, and there
was the hissing eight-headed monstrosity of
Renfrew court.
Multi-heads
+2 Brawn
Special Abilities - multi-heads are large
creatures and very tough. It takes an
incredible amount to bring one down - 30
to 40 points of damage. All mutli-heads are
Ruthless.

Bug men and other aberrations - a bugman is half man/half bug. There have only
been two known bug men in Boomtown.
In 1918, the Waspman appeared one day
and was hit by a car the next. A taxidermist
preserved Waspman who is now on display
in the Boomtown Museum. In 1929, the
Flyman of Oldtown was a pest for a number
of months, preying on the innocent. A Tommy gun put holes in Flyman and his plans.
He lived long enough to be the subject of a
rst rate lynching.
Cowfeet (Gus Trotsky) was another aberration but he was a funny old fellow who
charged people a nickel to watch him tap
dance. He died old and comfortable. He...

...even married a bearded lady and the pair

had two children, a boy and a girl, neither
of which had any sort of defect.
Bearclaw McGraw, who sported a pair of
hands that looked remarkably like animal
paws, tried and failed to become a circus
performer and robbed banks instead. His
criminal career came to an explosive end
when he tried to blow a safe and blew off
his hands. No longer Bearclaw, he convalesced in hospital for a while, did a stint in
prison, and, when released, drank himself
to death.
To generate your own monstrous creation
roll the die, three times, and consult the
chart below. Continue to roll, until you have
the combination you like:
Roll #1
1. Fish scale hide.
2. Wings.
3. Antennae
4. A monkeys tail.
5. Compound eyes.
6. Fur.
7. Tusks.
8. Horns.
9. A snout.
10. Whiskers.

4. Patterned skin.
5. Webbed feet.
6. A beak.
7. A third eye.
8. A snake tongue.
9. Long neck or limbs.
10. Quills.
Roll #3
1. Talons or claws.
2. Gills.
3. A stinger.
4. Toxic saliva.
5. Snake jaw.
6. Dew claws.
7. Extra digits.
8. Mandibles.
9. Animal body human head.
10. Human head animal body.
Mix and Match Monsters
Special Abilities - are determined by the
particular aberration(s). Mix and match
monsters might have Special Skills like Ambidexterous, Ruthless, or Tough.

Vampires - just outside the Boomtown city

limits, to the southeast, over Wounded Hill,
is Arkams Rest.
At one time Arkams Rest was an idyllic
rural community. Today, it is a ghost town
- a hamlet of moldy, boarded up, houses.
The Southeast Road, which passes

Roll #2
1. Green hair.
2. Cats eyes.
3. Reptilian Eyes.

170

through Arkams Rest, carries a fair amount

of trafc. As a result, theres a Pinos Oil
gas station on the edge of Arkhams Rest.
The gas station is the only place where there
is any sign of life in the defunct community.
The stations Manager, Luke Derringer,
always closes up early and never stays in
Arkams Rest after sun down. Why? Because local legend has it that Arkams Rest
is the home of vampires.
Ofcial investigations of Arkhams Rest
have revealed nothing, just empty buildings,
with signs of tramp occupation.
Vampires do, however, occupy the hamlet;
quite a few of them, in fact. Around 20
vampires occupy the network of interconnected basements, subbasements and cellars
in the town.
These vampires are the bloodsuckers that
youd expect them to be. While they prey
on animals, they prefer to prey on people.
Sometimes they snack on tramps and salesmen stopping in Arkams Rest. Occasionally, theyll have the opportunity to snack
on picnickers. But most of the time they
have to travel to Boomtown if they want to
taste human blood.
The vampires of Arkams Rest rarely kill
their victims. They are prudent eaters.
They are also intelligent creatures and know
better than to draw the attention of humans.
How do you deal with a vampire? Very
carefully. The vampires of Arkams Rest
avoid unwanted human contact. They arent

171

outlandishly violent but they could be if

they were threatened or cornered. If you insist on destroying the poor creatures, a stake
through the heart, exposure to sunlight, or
re will do the trick.
What can a vampire do? They can mesmerize people long enough to get a good
drink, they can y, and they are incredibly
strong.
How do you become a vampire? Anyone
who is completely drained by a vampire
and not devoured (or in some other way destroyed) will become a vampire him/herself.
Special Abilities - a vampires Attributes
reect its strength and intelligence. While a
newly generated vampire might have +1 on
all Attributes, an ancient vampire will have
+4 on its Attributes.
Vampires have the same Skills and Special Skills that they had in life. Some even
acquire Skills and Special Skills after they
become vampires.

Werewolves Most Werewolves live near

Arkhams Rest in the thick woods covering
Wounded Hill. Aside from running around
in the woods and howling on those nights
when there are full moons, the werewolves
operate mush stills and sell moonshine to
the Boomtown mob and unscrupulous yokels. The authorities think the werewolves
are hillbillies. Little do they know.

When the werewolves make forays into

Boomtown, which is rare, they travel in
packs, and attack at random. They are archenemies of the wizards of the Society who
capture werewolves, enslave them, and use
them to guard their enclaves.
A few werewolves live in Boomtown.
They live in the slums where they go unnoticed.
How do you deal with a werewolf? If you
want to kill them massive repower or re
will do the trick. Cold iron and silver are
also very effective.
What can a werewolf do? They are
extremely strong and tough. They have
heightened senses of smell and hearing.
How do you become a werewolf? Anyone
who is bitten and not killed by a werewolf
will become one.
Special Abilities - A newly turned werewolf
has no control over its condition. It turns
frequently, nearly every night, and is more
wolf than man. Contrary to popular belief,
like any wild animal the werewolf shies
away from humans. Its only as the werewolf gains control over his condition that
he maintains some semblance of the human
form and can interact with (and sometimes
attack) humans. Werewolves are physical
creaturesand are incredibly strong (+2 to +4
Brawn). They are also Tough.

Zombies are created by unscrupulous

wizards and are used to guard enclaves.
Zombies like to eat. They like to eat meat
most of all; cooked, raw, or rotten, a zombie
has no preference. As the saying goes,
Hand a zombie a steak or hotdog and hell
forget all about you.
The Zombie Attack of 1913 is well documented. Around 200 zombies shambled
through the streets of Boomtown eating
anything they came across. Eleven people
were killed and another 30 were injured
before the zombies were destroyed.
How do you deal with a zombie? Zombies
can be destroyed through ordinary means
but they can take a lot of damage.
What can a zombie do? It can take lots of
damage.
How do you become a zombie? You have
to die and then be reanimated by a wizard.
Simply being attacked by a zombie wont
do it.
Special Abilities - Zombies are slow and
clumsy creatures (-1 Versatility). They are
also Tough.

Mole People - Theres a Boomtown under

Boomtown, a place that longtime locals call
the Boomtown Basement.
Beyond the citys salt-mine is a maze of
caverns and catacombs. Those that have
delved deep into the deep have never

172

returned. This includes the entire expedition

party of 1929. The Spelunking 29ers,
they called themselves.
Today, people are still reeling from the
disappearance of the seven scientists and ten
other team members, which included Planet
correspondents Ben and Jane Wightly.
They were a very nice couple, recalled
reporter Tess Trimble, her strong exterior
crumbling in a moment of warm reection.
They were very much in love, very energetic, and very pleasant to be around. Its a
shame, really. Boomtown lost, perhaps, the
two most decent people it had when they
disappeared.
Most likely, Ben and Jane fell victim
tothe Mole People.
What are Mole People? There is little
scientic documentation because Mole
People are elusive. They also dont like humans. Still, in 1871, naturalist Dr. Bertheron
Bergeron spent several months with the
Mole People before returning to Boomtown
and writing his tale.
Bergeron tale was dismissed as ction.
When he insisted his account was fact, he
was declared a fraud. When he continued to
insist, he was declared insane and institutionalized.
Following his death, at the turn of the
century, several scholars at the Boomtown
University reviewed his work. Mysterious
disappearances were occurring in the city

173

and evidence led the scholars and investigators to believe that Bergerons Mole
People were somehow involved. Sewer
accesses and drain covers were locked and
night watches posted. The disappearances
stopped.
Over time the people of Boomtown have
become complacent, even forgetful. Locked
sewer grates and closed drains arent practical. The antiquated covers, gates, and grates
have been replaced in the past few years and
odd disappearances are no longer attributed
to Mole People.
The city of the Mole People is found deep
in the earth under Boomtown. The Mole
People harvest luminescent fungi for food,
fuel and building materials. Their close
association with the fungi makes the Mole
People luminescent themselves. They also
sh and harvest grubs, worms, and other
creepy crawlies.
The clothes and accoutrements of the surface dwellers fascinate the Mole People and
they steal what they can when they go on
forays to the surface. These forays are made
at night and the Mole People access the city
via old drain and sewage networks as well
as through unused tunnels in the salt mine.
Appearance - the adult male stands just
below 5 in height. His posture is bent and
he has a sinewy frame. His skin has a grey
pallor and he is covered in a thick, coarse,
coat of fur. He has a sloping forehead,...

...pronounced snout (with exceptional

smelling ability), and cloudy, beady eyes
that are nearly blind. A cauliower-like
growth in between his eyes is part of a builtin echolocation system. He has shovel like
hands and feet, equipped with hard talons,
great for digging or whacking foes with.
More info the Mole People have their own
primitive language and use simple
tools. They worship some sort of Toad God.
There is a denite hierarchy in their society
with Chieftains and Shamans at the top.
Origins - Who knows? They may have
been brought in from somewhere, as
Bergeron suggests, to be used as slave
labour by unscrupulous entrepreneurs and
prospectors in the early days of Boomtown.
They may also be native to the region.
Special Abilities - Mole people can freely
navigate in the dark. They have Climbing,
Hunting/Tracking, Spelunking, and Survival
as natural Skills.

Ghouls - are hideous creatures. They may

have been humans once, possible wizards,
but they gave up that charade long ago.
There are few real ghouls left in the world,
merely their creations.
Ghouls die just like anything else. Bullets kill them, re kills them, and speeding
locomotives kill them. You get the picture.
Ghouls are, however, extremely strong

174

and resilient. They can take tremendous

amounts of damage.
Certain scientists, who study monsters
and such madness, hypothesize that ghouls
are related to zombies because the two
creatures act in similar manners. But, where
zombies are mindless automatons, ghouls
are not. Ghouls are cunning, if not intelligent. They often disguise themselves,
wearing human attire and wandering the
streets at night.
Ghouls must drink blood and eat raw esh
to survive. Although they feast on animals
and even carrion, they prefer human esh.
Hunting humans, however, is a dangerous
business. Ghouls are smart enough to avoid
killing a person if possible. That doesnt
mean that they dont attack people, they do.
Ghouls create herds from humans that
they select to become their creations. It is
unknown how Ghouls turn your average Joe
or Josephine into a Ghoul-lite, but they do.
Unlike Ghouls, that wont die from old
age, Ghoul creations are mortal.
Ghouls dry up and enter a mummied
state when they are denied food. They hibernate until an unwitting meal comes along
and ripens them again.
Special Abilities - Ghouls are extremely
strong and have a +4 Brawn. They are
also agile with a +2 Versatility. Ghouls are
Tough.

The Bogeyman!
Its hard to say where the Bogeyman hails
from; some say Mole Town but most say
Ghost Town. Whatever its origins, the Bogeyman is unique. Theres only one Bogeyman and one only. Reports of its appearance
vary. Some say the Bogeyman is hairy with
huge hands, a long nose and bug eyes. Others say its a transparent apparition.
Parents talk about the Bogeyman to
frighten and discipline their children. This
has resulted in the unfounded myth that
the Bogeyman can enter peoples homes
through the backs of closets.
To date, all Bogeyman sightings have
been isolated to Ghost Town. All eyewitnesses were driven mad by what they saw
and eventually institutionalized. This has
added to the Bogeyman legend.
Special Abilities - little is known about the
Bogeyman and many suspect the creature is
nothing more than a hoax.

Friends and Foes Generic NPCs

These are your everyday, generic NPCs.
Each template has suggested Attribute values and suggested Skills. Feel free to tweak
the templates. Its also easy to create your
own.
Cop a man who upholds the law, keeps
the peace, and occasionally takes a bribe.
Most cops are uniformed ofcers. There are
also plainclothes detectives.
+1 Brawn, +1 Versatility; Skills: Curiosity, Gun-Fu, and Interrogation.
Dock or Factory Worker this tough,
hard workingman earns his pay loading and
unloading the ships that haul into port.
+2 Brawn; Skills: Fast Talk and Gambling.
P.I. a hardnosed gumshoe. He has a seedy
ofce in a seedy part of town. He likes
whiskey, cigarettes, and his dame. Hes the
man to hire if you want to dig up some dirt
on someone.
+1 Balderdash, +1 Brains; Skills: Curiosity, Fast Talk, Gun Fu, and Investigation.

175

Mob Goomba this ape-man is muscle for

the mob. If youre heading into a turf war,
youll want an army of goombas behind
you.
+2 Brawn; Skills: Gun Fu and Hand-tohand.
Mob Torpedo a hit man, a professional
mob killer. If you want to whack someone
you send a torpedo in to blow him out of the
water.
+1 Brawn, +1 Versatility; Skills: Gun Fu,
Hand-to-hand, and Interrogation.
Mob Boss - the Boss might not be the Boss,
but hes high up the food chain. He has
respect.
+1 Leadership, +1 Brains; Skills: Connected, Gun Fu, Hand-to-hand, Scrutiny,
and Status.
Pinkerton - the Pinkerton is ofcially a
security guard. In fact, hes managements
muscle and he loves to crack heads.
+1 Brawn; Skills: Hand-to-hand.
Bookie this shifty-eyed guy takes and
places your bet. He makes money off your
misfortune.
+1 Balderdash, +1 Brains; Connected,
Fast Talk, and Scrutiny.

Common Thug - this purse snatching piece

o crap clutters lurks in the shadows. You
might meet him at the end of a dark alley.
+1 Versatility; Skills: Exotic Weapon
- Shiv and Hunting/Tracking.
China Town Gang member the Ying is
the front line muscle and grunt labourer of
the China Town Gang.
+1 Versatility, +1 Brawn; Skills: Connected, Exotic Weapon, Gun Fu, and Handto-hand.
China Town Gang member - the Yang is a
female ninja.
+2 Versatility; Skills: Break & Enter,
Climbing, Demolitions, Exotic Weapon, and
Hand-to-hand.
Fog gangster - hes dead and if youre not
careful hell make you dead too.
+2 Brawn; Skills: Gun Fu and Hand-tohand; Special Skill: Tough.
Fog boss - is the big cheese of the ghost
mob.
+1 Leadership, +1 Brains; Skills: Connected, Gun Fu, Hand-to-hand, Scrutiny,
and Status; Special Skill: Tough.
Robot - one of Dexter Loominus mechanical cronies. The robot is great at carrying
out menial tasks.
+2 Brawn.

176

Giant robot is another of Dr. Loominuss

mechanical cronies. The giant robot stands
10 or more metres in height. It is designed
to wreak havoc.
+4 Brawn; Special Abilities: Armed with
heavy weapons, protected by armour plate.
The giant robot can take 100 points of damage (or more) before it is neutralized.
Common Joe - this is an ofce worker,
a salesman, a stores clerk, etc. He is your
average male citizen.
Skills: Bargain and Fast Talk.

Magus - a wizard.
+1 Brains; Skills: Education, Occult
Knowledge, and Worldly; Special Skill:
Arcane Inclination.
Entertainer a musician, a movie star, a
comedian. All are entertainers.
+2 Balderdash; Skills: Artistic Talent,
Bargain, and Schmoozing.
Cigarette Girl - this dame makes her living hustling cigarettes at a nightclub. Shes
hoping to land a big sh so she can live on
easy street.
+1 Balderdash; Skills: Bargain, Fast Talk,
and Schmoozing.

Common Jane - this is a secretary, a

switch board operator, a waitress, etc.. She
is your average female citizen.
Skills: Bargain and Fast Talk.

Jockey - this guy rides a horse at Trampled

Downs.
+1 Versatility; Skills: Athletically Inclinced and Beast.

Kid Any citizen under the age of 12.

Skills: Curious and Fast Talk.
Young Punk the teenager qualies, especially the teenager with an attitude.
Skills: Athletically Inclined and Fast Talk.
Boomtown Motorcycle Patrol Man a
cop who patrols on a motorcycle.
+1 Versatility, +1 Brawn; Skills: Curious,
Driving - Motorcycle, Gun Fu.
Flyboy a pilot.
+1 Versatility, +1 Brains; Skills: Athletically Inclined and Piloting.

177

Soldier in this game, a solider is a National Guardsman. He spends one weekend

per month training in the countryside. When
theres real trouble in the city hes called to
duty.
+1 Brawn, +1 Versatiliyt; Skills: Athlertically Inclinced, Gun Fu, and Hunting/
Tracking.

Slang in Boomtown
Atta boy: well done, way to go
Applesauce: nonsense
And how: I really agree
Baby: a term of endearment
Baloney: nonsense
Bear cat: a hot-blooded woman
Bees knees: terric
Big cheese: the big guy, the boss
Bug eyed Betty: an ugly woman
Bump Off: to kill
Bums rush: to get rid of someone by force
Butt me: give me a cigarette
Cake eater: a ladys man
Cast a Kitten: to have a t
Choice bit of calico: an attractive woman
Ciggy: a cigarette
Cheaters: eyeglasses
Clam: a dollar
Dame: a woman
Dead soldier: an empty beer bottle
Dew dropper: a lay about
Dogs: feet
Doll: a woman (usually pretty)
Dont know for nothing: dont know anything about it, have no info
Dont take any wooden nickels: dont do
anything stupid
Ethel: an effeminate man
Everythings Jake: everythings okay
Fella: a guy
Floor usher: a good dancer
Flyboy: a pilot

178

Futz: f*&k
Gams: legs
Get up: an outt
Get a wiggle on: get moving
Get bent: get drunk
Get blotto: to get drunk in the extreme
Get in a lather: get angry
Giggle water: booze
Glab rags: fancy clothes
Go chase yourself: get lost
Hairies: werewolves.
Hard boiled: tough
Hay Burner: a gas guzzling car or a horse
you lose money on
Heeby Jeebies: the shakes (or ghosts)
High hat: a snob
Hip to the Jive: I know whats going on
Hit on all sixes: performing successfully at
100 percent
Hooch: booze
Hooey: nonsense
Icy mit: a brush off or rejection
Im going to iron my shoelaces: Im going
to the washroom
Its nobodys onions: its no ones business
Jallopy: a crappy car
Jane: a woman ones related to
Joint: establishment
Killjoy: a downer
Lay off: stop it or cut the crap
Left holding the bag: dumped on
Level with me: tell me the truth
Lollygagger: a lay about
Mack: dude

Manacle: a wedding ring

Mind your potatoes: mind your own business
Noodle juice: tea
Now youre on the trolley: youre on the
right track
Off ones nut: crazy
On a toot: on a drinking binge
On the lam: running away from the police
On the level: being honest
Palooka: a person who is down and out
Petting pantry: a movie theatre
Pipe down: shut up
Punch the bag: make small talk
Raggamufn: a scruffy person
Ratz: disappointed
Rummy: a drunken bum
Sap: a fool
Scram: get out of here
Shiv: a knife
Sinker: a doughnut

Sitting pretty: living the good life

Skirt: a good-looking woman
Sos your old man: a reply made in irritation
similar to, Go screw yourself.
Swanky: nice
Swell: good
Take em for a ride: kill them
Take it to Sweeney: go and tell someone
who will believe you
The banks closed: no kissing or messing
around
To beat ones gums: to blather on
Torpedo: a hired hit man
To spill: to talk
Whats eating you: whats bothering you?
Youre all wet: youre full of it

The Hail River Report

This was released as a stand-alone supplement to the rst edition of the Boomtown
Planet. It was well received and is now being incorporated into the latest BTP edition.
The Hail River Report is an add-on setting that focuses on the community of Hail
River. It provides players who are role-playing reporters with an opportunity to tackle
a different brand of newspaper work. While
the Boomtown Planet is a large daily, the
Hail River Report is a small weekly.
The stories in a small town might seem
dull and uninteresting to city folk, but they
are important to the residents of their small
communities. Sometimes the stories are
more interesting than big city snobs realize.
With small town reporting comes small
town politics, back room deals, and the
dangers of exposing any of it.
Newspaper publishers often have a few
ponies in their stable, with the smaller publications padding the assets and feeding the
larger papers.
The Publisher of the Boomtown Planet
owns the Hail River Report. The Report is
the weekly that serves the community of
Hail River. There are four full-time staff
members at the Report, Managing Editor Deke Kettle, Reporter Wendy Monroe,

180

and Pressmen Stamp Guthrie and Todd

Buxton. Because the staff is small everyone
wears a number of hats. Kettle and Monroe
get the news, gather the ads, answer phones
and do the books. Guthrie and Buxton print
the paper, typeset, collect ads and deliver
the paper after it is printed. There are several unpaid columnists who contribute small
tidbits about the things that interest them.
Their submissions are irregular and the
quality of this writing frequently substandard.
Occasionally, a Planet staffer will augment the Reports staff. While Hail River
lies just 12 miles outside the Boomtown
City limits, it is a trip that demands an
overnight stay in Hail River. Typically, the
Planet rents rooms for its staff at the old
railway hotel.
The Report has a small circulation with
just over a thousand subscribers. There
are around 600 subscribers in the town
itself as basically every household gets the
paper with only a few holdouts. The other
subscribers live in the countryside. When
the paper rolls off the press, Guthrie and
Buxton are in charge of delivery.

Hail River Report Staff

Managing Editor, Deke Kettle - is 26 years
old. He was born and raised just outside Orange Grove, a small west coast community.
His father owned a sizable orange growing
operation. As a result, Kettle spent his summers working in the orchards with his father
and the farm hands.
Deke was an awkward looking boy but
grew into a handsome man. The new interest that girls showed in him in high school
unsettled him and he didnt have a girl
friend until he was 20.
It was chance that steered him to the
newspaper trade. He left college to help his
father with the orange operation. A visit to
his aunt, however, changed all that. His aunt
lived in Berkeley Falls and a job was open
at the local paper for a part-time reporter.
Deke hired on to pass the time and make a
little money.
Sam Wilson, the editor of the Berkeley
Falls Gazette was an old hand in the publishing industry. Inspiring, educated, and an
exceptional storyteller, he encouraged the
cub reporter and offered him a full time job.
Deke vacillated until Wilson barked at him
that he could work in the oranges any old
day but the chance to do some hard reporting came once in a lifetime. Deke hired on
and telegraphed his father the bad news. So
began a chain of newspaper jobs.
He spent two years with the Gazette, six

months with the Ingram Telegram, and three

years with the Wingham Chronicle before
he applied at the Boomtown Planet and was
shufed off to the Hail River Report.
Deke Kettle
+1 Versatility, +1 Brains
Skills - Athletically Inclined, Curiosity,
Investigation, Scrutiny, and Shorthand.
Special Skills - Photographic Memory

Reporter Wendy Monroe - is 22 years old

and went to the Report straight out of Stone
College. Like many aspiring Boomtown
journalists, the small redhead applied at the
Planet. She worked there as a switchboard
operator before being sent to work as a
reporter at the Report.
Raised a few blocks from Slaggy Bottom, her father worked at the docks and her
mother worked at a laundry. Monroe is the
middle child and has seven brothers and
three sisters. The family is tight knit but
poor.
Shes been in Hail River for a year now
and still gets bouts of homesickness. Whenever she can spare some time from work she
catches the train to Boomtown to pay her
family a visit.
Wendy Monroe
+1 Versatility, +1 Brains
Skills - Curiosity, Eavesdropping, Fast Talk,
Scrutiny, and Shorthand.
Special Skills - Tough

Stamp Guthrie - moved from Timber

Rapids to Hail River when he was 15 years
old. At the time he was employed with the
railway company as a reman, shoveling
coal into an engine.
He took up resident in the Railway Hotel.
When he was 19 he was hit by a fever and
let go by the railway. The Managers of the
Hotel, Mr. and Mrs. Slack, took Stamp
in until he was better. They got him a job
at Mr. Morgans printing and stamp shop,
which a year later became the Hail River
Times.
For 32 years he worked for the Morgan
family until the paper was sold. As an
experienced pressman he kept his job when
the newspaper changed hands. Now, at 55,
he still has an allegiance to his old boss,
Bob Satchel Morgan, the towns current
Mayor.
Todd Buxton - is a Hail River local. His
parents and older brother Will run the family farm located across the river at the
end of William Avenue. As a young lad and
teenager, Todd was a hardworking farm boy.
He was considered sharp and was known
for his exceptional manners.
When the war broke out, Buxton enlisted.
Unfortunately he took a bullet in the head
and was critically wounded.
When he was released from the hospital
and sent home, arriving back in Hail River
in early 1919, he had changed. The bullet

182

had damaged Buxtons brain. This damage

manifested itself in violent outbursts. Eventually, Buxtons family had him institutionalized. He was shipped off to the Boomtown
Asylum and Wellness Institute where he fell
under the care of Dr. Brian Bedesko.
In 1923, the Doctor declared him cured
and sent him home to Hail River. While
Buxton is no longer a violent man he is no
longer sharp. He is quiet, courteous, and
nice but a touch simple. Still, he got married, landed a job at the Report, and now, at
34, has a family of his own.
Gossip Columnist, Jeannie Thatch - is a
columnist of note, mainly because she is the
only columnist who writes a regular column
- the gossip column - for the paper. Thatch
used to work for the Report when it was the
Times and owned by Mr. Morgan.
When the paper changed hands, Jeannie
Thatch (then Jeannie Gestly) was red. For
a while she was sour and bad mouthed the
paper. She married an old widower and
mellowed a bit. Eventually, her husband
encouraged her to pick up the pen again and
write a column for the Report.
She did and has ever since, happily penning the gossip column. She often refers to
herself as a member of the Report staff and
uses her position with the paper to intimidate people. Unfortunately, her column is
popular and getting rid of her a second time
would be difcult.

Stamp Guthrie
+1 Brawn
Skills - Bargain, Scrutiny, and Shorthand.
Todd Buxton
+1 Brawn
Skills - Eavesdropping.
Jeannie Thatch
+1 Balderdash
Skills - Curiosity, Eavesdropping, Fast Talk,
and Shorthand.

Newspaper History - The small brick

building on the corner of Main and Meadow
has been many things but rst and foremost
it has always been associated with one family, the Morgan family.
The rst structure built on the site was a
clapboard building in 1865. The Morgan
General store occupied the lower oor and
the Morgan family lived upstairs. Ten years
later William Old Man Morgan moved
the General Store down the road to a newly
erected brick building. The old clapboard
building was leveled and a small brick
structure built in its place.
William Morgan ran a telegraph and photography studio out of the small building.
Morgans oldest daughter, Elsie, managed
the photography studio while his son, Jim,
operated the telegraph. When Elsie was
married in 1878 she gave up the photography business and the telegraph was moved
down the road to the general store.

183

The Old Man had a small printing press

brought in by rail and ran a printing business out of the back of the building selling
stationary, cards, etc. out of the front. Duke
Ellis helped Morgan with the presswork,
printing yers, posters, signs, and anything
else they could.
For 20 years they ran the print shop,
expanding and updating the presses as
technology and the cramped connes of the
building allowed. With the population of
Hail River growing there was a call for a
newspaper. A newssheet was printed periodically out of the back of the shop, drafted
up from the bits of news that came into
town. It sold for a penny.
In 1898, Duke caught a cold that became
full blown pneumonia. Although he didnt
die from the ailment, lingering on for ve
more years, he was became an invalid. In
1899, the Old Man got rid of the stationary shop, hired a local youth as a reporter,
and ofcially launched the Hail River
Times.
The Times was mainly a vehicle and
mouthpiece for Morgan, backing his council
and Mayoral bids, championing his political
views, and supporting his various businesses, ventures, and schemes. This drove a
wedge between the Old Man and his oldest
son, Jim, who frequently crossed swords
with his father over the content of the newspaper.

Eventually, Jim was so disgusted that he

sold all his shares in the family businesses
to his younger brother, Bob, packed up
and moved to Timber Rapids. Bob happily
towed the family line.
In 1920, the Old Man handed the Times
over to Bob. Will was 90 at the time and
still the Mayor. He got out of politics too,
with his son (already a Councilor) running
as Mayor in the 22 election that he won.
While Satchel, as Bob Morgan is
known, has enjoyed the Mayors seat for
the past 11 years, he may face his rst
defeat in the upcoming election. The Hail
River Report tells it like it is and Morgans
opponent Red Tilson, has used this to
his advantage. Tilson has avoided the back
room deals and crooked capers that have
been a part of Hail Rivers political process
for as long as anyone can remember.

Hail River - Country living

at its best!
Town History - the earliest known settlement in the community was built in 1850.
It was a U.S. cavalry post. As land was
cleared, settlers moved in. A rail line was
laid through town in 1870.
By 1880 the population of Hail River
was around 400. In 1885 it rose to around
550. The next ten years were a period of
solid growth and the population closed in

184

on 1,000 in 1890. At that time, Hail River

was incorporated as a village; a year later it
incorporated as a town.
Hail River had electrical power before
many larger communities did. This was due
to location more than the foresight of the
towns founding fathers. The Sluice River
Valley Hydro Company, which supplied
power to Boomtown, built a secondary
plant on the Hail River at the town of Timber Rapids. On October 1st, 1910, Mayor
William Morgan announced, Let there
be light, icked a switch, and for a few
minutes the corner of Meadow and Main
was illuminated by a string of bulbs. A gust
of wind broke the connection and the lights
were restored the following spring. By the
time the Great War began nearly every
home in Hail River had electricity.
In 1924, Highway #24 was extended, a
direct connection Boomtown. As a result,
Hail River enjoys considerable trafc, particularly on weekends.
One thing thats always disturbed Hail
River locals is that they live only a mile or
so from Arkhams Rest. The trees are too
thick to see the abandoned community at
the top of the large hill to the north of town
but its presence is felt. Hail River natives
know that strange things lurk in the ruins
and buildings of Arkhams Rest and no one
ventures past Satchs Gas & Service station
(the last building on the north edge of town)
after dark...

...A few Hail River families had relatives

who lived in Arkhams Rest when it was
a vibrant village community. The horror
stories that came from these relatives when
vampires moved in still ring in the ears of
valley residents. A number of Hail River
locals once called Arkhams Rest home.
Its no secret that the Mayor and Sheriff
Steves deposited bums and other reprobates
on the top of the hill shortly before sunset.
Its something that happens even today.
The Power - The indisputable power in
Hail River is town council. A powerful
Womans League and PTA back council.
The ve-member council is a gang of good
old boys that has run the community as a
members only club for years. Small town
politics is more than a phrase in Hail
River; its a way of life. Back room deals,
payoffs, favours for friends, nepotism and
underhanded shenanigans are not only
known about, they are the norm.
Mayor, Bob Satchel Morgan - Born and
raised in Hail River as part of the communitys elite, Satchel knows all about the
importance of a family name in a small
town. He does carries himself with the air
of a man who knows he is important.
Satchel, or Satch, was born in 1873. For
many years lived under the shadow of
his older brother, Jim. While Jim was an
outspoken and open; Satch was guarded.

186

He always keeps his cards close to his

chest, commented Councilor Soup McGee,
Always has, since he was a young boy. To
sum things up, Satch is sneaky and underhanded.
There was a quiet animosity between the
two brothers. Jim saw Satch as his fathers
toady and Satch saw Jim as a troublemaker.
Satch gave a silent prayer of thanks when
he helped load his brother onto the train for
Timber Falls. Satch knew that once Jim was
gone he would gain the condence of his
father and eventually head the Morgan Empire. Jim left in 1903 and rarely corresponds
with his brother.
So whats with the nickname? There are
only three names Robert Morgan answers
to - Satchel, Satch and Mr. Mayor. Nobody
calls him Robert, Bob, Bobby, or any other
variant of Robert. Nope, they call him
Satch, a nickname he has had since he was
a small boy. It was a pet name given to him
by the Old Man. When Satch was seven
he delivered groceries and other items from
the Morgan general store to peoples homes.
He carried these items in a large satchel that
was nearly as large as he was. The Old
Man started calling him Satchel and the
name stuck.
Satch has held a Council seat for the past
35 years, 11 of them as Mayor. Hes milked
all he can from his political posts, using his
power and inuence for personal gain.

When Satch and Sam Smiley Credit (the

Town Clerk) head out back behind the town
hall to smoke cigars, you can be certain that
something is up.
Through the Scarlet Robe (we will talk
more about them later) Satch and the rest of
Council can do as they please. When they
pass a questionable by-law, the Robe makes
sure that people dont oppose it. Council is
not held accountable for its actions.
Satch has one detractor, Red Tilson.
Red is a few years younger than Satch. He
constantly attacks the Mayors policies
and the ineptitude of council. Intelligent,
well liked, respected and a Sheriff Steves
brother-in-law, Tilson is free to talkfor
now.
Tilson has even made fun of the Mayors
southern accent.
Southern accent? Yes, it is true. For some
odd reason Satch has a tendency to speak
with a southern drawl. Why? Nobody
knows. The Mayor was born and raised in
Hail River and never made any excursions
to the south as far as anyone can recall.
Still, he likes to think of himself as a southern gentleman. He wears white suits, straw
hats, carries a walking stick (although he
has no limp) and frequently smokes expensive cigars. All of this, he believes, marks
him as distinguished. As an aside, Satchs
accent tends to slip when he gets excited or
has dark too many beer and lemonades, his
favourite social drink.

187

Satch was declared the towns Most

Honoured Citizen a number of times at the
summer festival. He gures he is due to be
presented with the award again.
If there is one thing that the Mayor regrets, it is selling the newspaper. He realizes
now that it was a mistake. The $2,000 he
was paid for it was a pittance when measured against the lost of this magnicent
piece of propaganda. Although he has toyed
with the idea of opening another publication
hes bound by a clause in the contract that
forbids him to do so. Maybe, he will just
burn the Report to the ground instead.
Satch Morgan
+1 Balderdash, +1 Leadership
Skills - Bargain, Gun Fu, Hunting/Tracking,
Public Speaking, and Schmoozing.
Special Skills - Ruthless
Mayor attacks The Report again
An excited Mayor Robert Morgan thundered
in Council last week about an article printed
in this publication that revealed the legal facts
surrounding the purchase of the Steadman Farm.
The purchasers, which included the Mayor and
Councilman Soup McGee, were forced to hand
over another $150 to Timber Rapids resident
Betty Holt (nee Steadman) when it was discovered that she owned a small parcel of the farm,
willed to her by the late Don Steadman.
When contacted about the sale of the
estate, which included her parcel, Ms. Holts...

...husband hired a Timber Rapids lawyer to

intervene. In the end Ms. Holts parcel was purchased through a separate agreement.
We werent trying to swindle Betty,
the Mayor railed. We just didnt know she
owned it, thats all. As soon as we learned of our
mistake we made amends and paid her accordingly. We werent trying to cheat anyone but
thats how the paper made it seem, you see?
Gosh darn it, this here is the best
place to live in this country as far as Im concerned, he continued. Now we have these big
city people, these newspaper people, coming
here and stomping all over everything. Its going
to ruin Hail River, I tell you, just ruin it.

Morgan owns Morgans Department Store

(the old Morgans General Store), Sams
Taproom (a greasy spoon that despite prohibition serves alochol), and the Hills End
Gas & Service Station. He also owns a considerable amount of Hail River real estate.
Morgan has several skeletons in his
closet. First and foremost he maintains
his familys contract with the vampires of
Arkhams Rest. Through the contract the
vampires stay clear of Hail River but are
paid in blood to do so. The Scarlet Robe run
railroad bums and other transients, including the odd travelling salesman, up to the
top of the hill just before sunset where they
are deposited. Only the vampires know
what happens to these poor souls.
Also, along with his numerous swindles,
he played a part in the Hillcroft affair,
which is later described in detail.

188

Councilor, Soup McGee - oddly enough

Soups Christened name is Soup. In his sixties, Soup is a childhood friend of Morgan.
Soup is the owner of Soups Diner, Hail
Rivers most popular family restaurant
Soup spends more time down at his garage
(across the river) on the corner of Morgan
Street and Main than anywhere else. His
wife, Missy, runs the diner.
One of Soups side ventures has him tied
to the Boomtown mob. He runs booze for
the Syndicate, as well as bets. Booze, bets,
and pay-offs are carried on the 7:30 train
that runs through Hail River every evening.
In terms of assets and actual wealth,
Soup is the poorest member of council,
meaning hes fairly well off as far as Hail
River residents go. Nonetheless, he holds a
high position within the Scarlet Robe. His
Syndicate and city connections, give him
further power. Because of his booze and
bookie work, McGee makes monthly trips
to Boomtown.
Like all the Councilors, save Marchand,
he was part of the Hillcroft affair.
Soup McGee
+1 Balderdash, +1 Brawn
Skills - Bargain, Connected, Fast Talk,
Gambling, and Schmoozing.

Councilor, Watt Wittstone is tall with a

thick head of silver hair. Watt is known in
town as the Silver Fox.
His name was properly applied when he
went prematurely grey at 19. Now, it is as
much a nod to his cunning as it is to the
colour of his hair.
The 55-year old owner of Watts Furniture
has irons in many res. He is the only certied auctioneer in the area and skims quite
a bit off estate sales for himself. He was the
mastermind behind the acquisition of the
lucrative Hillcroft lumberyard.
In addition, he owns three large farms that
he rents out rather than works himself. He
uses a barn found at one of them to store a
collection of farm equipment.
He is a member of the Scarlet Robe and
has been since 1902.
Watt Wittstone
+2 Brains
Skills - Bargain, Fast Talk, Gun Fu, Hunting/Tracking, and Swim.

Councilor, Michael Marchand - elegantly

dressed, well groomed and in his late fties,
Marchand is a quiet individual and denitely the odd man out. Coming into Hail River,
few would guess that a man like Marchand
would be seated on its council. Marchand,
however, is the womens favourite and he
always gets their votes, much to the chagrin
of the old boys club that would love to re-

189

place the effeminate clothes merchant with

any one of a hundred others.
Marchand, who insists on being called
Michelle, owns Marchands Suit & Dress
Shop. If Hail River has any real sophistication then Marchand holds the largest share
in it. Tall, stylish, handsome, he is also Hail
Rivers most eligible bachelor, despite his
age. Hes been on many dates but has never
gone steady with a woman.
In the fall, Marchand goes on buying
excursions. In his absence, Manager Ethel
Strack runs the show. No one knows that
his junkets serve a dual purpose. They
provide him the perfect opportunity to meet
and travel with his lover, a gentleman who
lives in Boomtown and owns/operates an art
shop in the citys Artists Quarter.
Marchand is not a member of the Scarlet
Robe or involved in any of its operations.
A scandal surrounded the 1930 election
when attempts were made by scrutineers to
burn a number of ballots in a wood lot not
far from Hail River. The men were caught
and ned but avoided jail. The men were
trying to ruin Marchands chances to be
re-elected.
Burning ballots and rigging elections
is almost a Hail River tradition. The only
problem with the attempt made by the men
in the 30 election is that they were caught.
Seeing as we retrieved all the ballots
before the men could carry out their...

...misdeed, handing them a ne is sufcient, Mayor Morgan declared at the time.

We know these boys and, all in all, they
are good people. They had some liquor in
them, which, mind you, isnt an excuse, but
I dont think they intended any real harm.
They simply didnt realize the extent of their
actions and, I believe, they now know better
than to interfere with our electoral system.
When an outside observer, from Timber
Rapids, pointed out to the Mayor that he
was admitting scrutineers were drunk the
man was sharply told to mind his own business.
Watt Wittstone
+1 Brains, +1 Balderdash
Skills - Acting, Artistic Talent, Athletically
Inclined, Bargain, and Scrutiny.

Councilor, Barley Bedford - is large and

clumsy-looking with a head of wispy silver
hair.
Bedford, who is also called Snowy, runs
the Hail River Bank but he doesnt own it
- the Martins do. When it comes to cooking books, ddling with facts, and shifting
gures, theres few as skilled at it as he is.
In his late 60s, hes the oldest member on
council. He was a close friend of the Old
Mans and is one of the only people in town
who is aware of all the details surrounding
the Hillcroft affair.

190

Barley Bedford
+1 Brains, +1 Balderdash
Skills - Bargain, Connected, Fast Talk,
Forgery, and Scrutiny.

Additional pillars in the community include...

Town Clerk, Sam Credit - is one of three
lawyers in town, all of whom operate out
of the same rm. In between managing his
own client list, Credit also manages the affairs of Hail River as Clerk.
Credit goes by Smiley, a name he
picked up as a child on account of his
captivating smile. It is a trademark he uses
with efciency and he hits people with it
whenever the need arises - usually when he
is trying to win them over or swindle them
somehow.
Credit, who is in his early 50s, dresses
in a similar manner to Satch, wearing light
coloured suits, straw hats, etc. The two are
thick as thieves (in every sense of the word)
and are involved in numerous business
deals together, the bulk of which are dubious in nature.
Sam Credit
+1 Brains, +1 Balderdash
Skills - Bargain, Curiosity, Education - Law,
Fast Talk, and Scrutiny.

Sheriff, Earl Steves - The tall, lanky Sheriff of Hail River is now in his mid-forties.
Soft-spoken, he keeps the peace and avoids
using extreme measures most of the time.
He has a small ofce on Oliver Street. A
three cell lock-up is in back. Currently, he
lacks a deputy. He works 9 to 5 and takes
his evenings and weekends off. If there is
trouble when he is off duty, people call him
at home.
Prior to becoming Sheriff he was a bookkeeper and worked part-time at his brotherin-laws, Tilsons hardware store. Steves applied for the Sheriffs job when it came up
in 1920 and there were three main reasons
why he got it.
1. He did shady bookkeeping for four out
of ve Councilors; Marchand was the only
exception.
2. He was a member of the Scarlet Robe.
3. It was hoped that his appointment
would stie some of Tilsons criticism,
which it did for a year or so.
When Steves became Sheriff he fell into
line and worked hand-in-hand with council.
Whenever council needed the law, Sheriff
Steves was there to administer it. But while
the Sheriff does things for council and the
Scarlet Robe, he also takes his job seriously
and he is considered a good Sheriff because
of this.
There is one thing that Steves has a
problem with and thats running bums up to
the top of the hill in the evening. He knows

191

that vampires live in Arkhams Rest and he

is uncomfortable with sending men to their
dooms, even if they are bums.
Sheriff Steves
+1 Brawn, +1 Balderdash
Skills - Bargain, Fast Talk, Gun Fu, Interrogation, and Scrutiny.

Doctor, Bud Collins 70-year old Bud

Collins is the town doctor. He keeps a small
ofce in his large home located on Oliver
Street and owns a barbershop across the
road from his practice. The large, barrelchested man clips hair for a lark and he does
a good job at it.
Bud took over from Doc Bolger, who
was well into his eighties before he nally
retired. Collins patient list is lengthy,
consisting of everyone in Hail River and
the surrounding area. He is always making
house calls, paying visits after hours and
driving here, there, and everywhere.
When the demands of his job become
too much, his wife, Jean, helps him out.
Jean is a trained nurse who did a brief stint
overseas during the War. Another help for
the doctor is the local vet, Clem Redding.
Redding jumps in, in a pinch. A few babies
have been delivered by Redding and the
unfortunate souls suffer some teasing when
they get older...

...Collins is an honorary member of the

Scarlet Robe, knowing a bit about their
business but not much. He doesnt attend
Robe meetings and has avoided being directly involved their affairs.

Dr. Collins
+2 Brains, -1 Versatility, -1 Brawn
Skills - Artistic Talent, Curiosity, Education
- Biology, First Aid, and Medicine.

Hardware Store owner, Red Tilson is a

constant detractor of the small town politics
that governs his community. Red is a year
younger than the Mayor and the two have
been at each others throats since they were
small boys.
As the owner of Hail Rivers only hardware and sporting goods store, Red talks
to a lot of people. His friendly manner has
made him a popular man in town. Everyone pops by Reds Hardware (located on
the corner of Grist and Main, across from
the Railway Hotel) including Bob Morgan
himself.
Red is an intelligent man and well read,
despite the fact that he only has a high
school diploma. He is a champion writer
and this is has set off alarm bells amongst
Councilors and members of the Scarlet
Robe. His letters are published in the Report
and people are reading them. Something is
amiss in Hail River.

192

Red Tilson
+1 Versatility, +1 Brains
Skills - Bargain, Curiosity, Fast Talk, Fix It,
and Investigation.

Places to go in Hail River

The Town Hall - Hail Rivers Town Hall is
a raised, single story brick building. Inside
are the Council Chambers, the Mayors
Ofce, the Clerks Ofce, and an ofce for
the towns employees. The town library
is housed in the basement and is accessed
through a side door. The re department
keeps its single pumper in a vehicle bay out
back.
The current building replaced an older,
wooden structure that burned down in 1913.
In the blaze a good portion of the towns
original records were destroyed. What was
salvaged was stored in the banks vault until
the new building was erected. Some suspect
foul play was involved but keep their suspicions to themselves. According to a rumour
that circulated shortly after the blaze, a
box of the towns records was found on the
banks of the Sluice River. There may be an
element of truth to this because a box was

delivered by a couple of Boomtown City

Police ofcers to the bank two weeks after
the re.
A year ago there was talk of setting up
a radio station in an unused room in the
building but these plans never materialized.
The Company decided to set up a station in
Timber Rapids instead.
The Railway Hotel - Since 1870 the Slack
family have owned the Railway Hotel. Over
the past 61 years the Slacks have maintained a mild association with the community as they are more connected to the rail
line itself.
While locals get a meal at the Hotel or go
there to drink and gossip, they dont rent
rooms unless they are really down on their
luck. For one thing the rooms are cramped,
dusty and dirty. For another they are nearly
all claimed by railway men.
The bulk of the Railway Hotels local clientele come from the south side of the river
as those in the main part of town have a
couple of drinking holes of their own. They
break up into little groups and gossip until
their wives call them home on the lobby
phone.
Mr. and Mrs. Slack are in their 70s. Ben
Slack purchased the Hotel from his father in
1882 and has ran it ever since. While Ben
does some mechanical and blacksmithing
work in a shed on the side of the hotel, he
spends most of his time keeping the water

193

tower full for the boilers of the thirsty trains.

Mrs. Slack minds the hotel with some
help from the local ladies she hires. She
also operates the telegraph and lls the
mailbag, hanging it on a hook out back for
the railway men to grab when the train rolls
through.
A passenger train stops in Hail River on
Saturday mornings at 8:00. Passengers purchase their tickets from the Slacks at 7:00
and congregate in the lobby until the train
arrives from Timber Rapids. The Saturday
Morning Express, as it is referred to, carries
passengers into Boomtown. The train back
leaves the city at 6:00 PM and arrives in
town around 7:00. The only other train that
travels through Hail River is a night train,
a freight job, which passes through around
7:30 PM. It sometimes stops to take on
water, change its crew, and gather mail and
the odd bit of freight.
The Hail River Bank - The bank is a well
built red brick building, built a few short
years ago on the site of the old bank. With
a raised front step, barred windows, and
strong, re-enforced entrance doors, it looks
more like a city branch than anything.
Thats probably due to the fact that the bank
is owned by Boomtowns Three Brothers
Bank and was built when it was adding
a few Boomtown city branches. Leftover
materials from these projects were used in
the Hail River building.

The bank is Councilor Barley Bedfords

home away from home. As Bank Manager,
he is diligent and, as a result, the Hail River
Bank turns a reasonable prot. He has a cot
in the basement that he sleeps on sometimes
after hes done burning the midnight oil.
Everyone in town knows that one of the
reasons why Bedford works such long hours
is his henpecking wife, Mildred.
Once a month, a Three Brothers Bank employee arrives in Hail River on the Saturday
train. He meets with Bedford at the bank,
collects the bag money, and leaves.
Watts Furniture - While a few stores in
Hail River sell furniture on occasion, most
residents buy their furniture at Watts. Along
with chairs, couches, dining room and bedroom sets, Watts sells radios, pianos, and
home accessories (curtains and such).
Theres one thing that can be said about
Watts merchandise - it is cheap, and not
in a good way either. In fact, his prices
are high. Watts gets its furniture from a
Boomtown manufacture and everything else
from low priced wholesalers. Some of the
merchandise is purchased at out-of-town
estate sales.
Tilsons Hardware & Sporting Good
store - Red Tilson runs a well-stocked hardware store. He sells sporting goods (shing rods, guns, etc.) as well as hardware.
Occasionally, he even sells bait and tackle.

194

Tilson is fair. This is reected in the stores

reasonable prices.
Red keeps reams of notes and other evidence regarding the corruption in the town
in a hidden oor safe, a throwback to when
the store was a saloon. Only the painter,
Dab [Talbot], knows about the safe and the
info stored inside it. Not even Reds wife is
privy to that.
Marchands Suit & Dress Shop - is a three
storey building located on Oliver Street that
was once a storehouse. Coal was kept in the
back rooms of the storehouse. Despite constant cleaning, the soot and dust still lingers
in the corners. These rooms are off limits
to the public - strictly employees only. This
is where owner Michael Marchand stores
mannequins, racks, etc.
The main oor carries current fashions
and the second oor older items. Many
women in Hail River go to the second oor
rst, in search of a bargain or two. Marchand keeps a small tearoom in the shop, for
housewives to sit in and gossip.
The upper oor is empty. As an amateur
actor/director Marchand reserves the space
for the local theatre group, the Hail River
Players, to rehearse in. He also allows the
Hail River High Schools art teacher, Miss
Helen Blum, to use a portion of space as a
studio/workshop. Occasionally Miss Blum
invites some of her artiste friends from
Boomtown to stay for a week or so.

Some of these friends pose as models for

drawing classes, etc.
While Marchand is in the clothes business, he is no tailor (much to his fathers
chagrin). He hires out tailoring work to Hail
River housewives.
Soups Diner - Soups is a hang out for
young and old alike. From 7:00 a.m. to 9
p.m. Soups is full, with a few brief lulls.
Mrs. McGee and her three daughters carry
out the bulk of the work at the diner with a
few local girls helping out and manning the
tables. Occasionally Soup makes an appearance to whip up one of his famous Got It
All soups.
As the dinner crowd thins out, men come
in to sip cold beer and chat. Sometimes,
Soup ips the closed sign and hosts a games
night, converting the diner into a small
stakes gambling den.
Watts Lumberyard - Watts is unremarkable in every way. Lots of Hail River boys
try to land a job at the yard over the summer
because the pay is good and you get to drive
the big truck - the biggest in Hail River.
What is interesting about the lumberyard
is that it has a dark past. No one, save Watt
Wittstone, Satch Morgan, Soup McGee and
Barley Bedford (the current owners) know
the entire story but many in town speculate.
Watts Lumberyard was once the Hillcroft
Lumberyard and as such it is tied in with the

195

whole Hillcroft affair. People in Hail River,

however, refuse to talk about the Hillcroft
affair.
You have to travel to Timber Rapids and
seek out the lawyer, Bartholomew Cooper,
to get all the details. Cooper was the lawyer
who represented the Hillcroft estate after the
family was murdered.
Wittstone approached Cooper to purchase
the lumberyard from the estate. Cooper informed him that the lumberyard was valued
at $4,500 but the family was willing to part
with it for $3,900 rm. Wittstone thanked
Cooper and left.
A few weeks passed and Wittstone returned; Old Man Morgan, Soup McGee
and Barley Bedford accompanied him.
They offered $500 for the purchase of the
lumberyard.
Five hundred dollars, an outraged Cooper shouted. Its worth $4,500 dollars and
its up for sale for considerably less.
The Hail River men informed the solicitor
that the Hillcroft lumberyard was in arrears
for a lordly sum, over $4,000 in total. The
men were willing to pay the property taxes
and present the Hillcroft family with a small
bit of money out of the goodness of their
hearts.
Cooper demanded the documentation to
prove it. The Hail River men quickly turned
it over. Although the papers were presented,
Cooper suspected they were forgeries and
he intended to hire a detective to prove it...

...He ordered Wittstone and his companions

to leave his ofce immediately. Shortly
thereafter, a letter from the Hail River Clerk
informed Cooper that the Hillcroft family
had to pay the outstanding $4,143.57 in
taxes or the town would seize the lumberyard.
Bitterly, Cooper informed the Hillcrofts
of the situation and recommended they
investigate the matter before agreeing to sell
the lumberyard for the $500 offered. The
Hillcrofts declined and stated theyd accept
the offer. And, with that and a few signa-

tures, the lumberyard was turned over to the

four Hail River men for a pitiful sum.
Cooper intended to pursue the matter
himself but war broke out and he was busy
drafting Wills for men heading overseas.
In 1918, Cooper went off to war himself.
By the time he was demobilized, back in
Timber Rapids, and had his practice running
again, it was 1922. The Hillcroft affair still
disturbs the lawyer today. He knows that
Wittstone and the other purchasers swindled
a dead man and his surviving relatives but
really theres nothing he can do about it.

Curlys Barber Shop - If you are a man

(or a child) and you want a hair cut in Hail
River there are two places to go, Bud Collins or Curlys. For Hail River woman,
however, theres only Curlys.
Curly Smith and his wife Betty run their
barber shop and hair salon out of sizable
main oor business on Main Street. The
shop smells of hair products and cigarette
smoke and a partition separates the girls
from the boys.
Curly isnt a Hail River native but Betty
is. She met Curly at Stone College. The two
were married after they graduated and set
up business in town. Curly sports tattoos
and a few scars, leftovers from his stint in
the Navy during the war.
A rumour has started in town that Curly
wasnt in the navy at all, that, in fact, he was
a Boomtown mobster who did prison time.
If there is any truth to this bit of gossip,
neither Curly nor Betty will admit it.
Thats a loud of hooey, Curly snapped
at Sheriff Steves when the Sheriff tossed it
out. Spread, no doubt, by Whitey Troppe
cause I clipped his ear with the scissors a
year or so back and still charged him for
the cut. Hes been sore about that ever since
and still wont look me in the eye to this
day.

197

Curly Smith
+1 Balderdash, +1 Versatility
Skills - Break & Enter, Connected, Education - History, Gun Fu, and Schmoozing.

The Scarlet Robe - What is it? The Scarlet

Robe is a secret society that has been
around since the dawn of the U.S. Republic.
It is primarily a rural organization.
Initially, it was a benevolent organization,
an organ through which wealthy landowners assisted poor farmers who were down
on their luck. As the Scarlet Robe grew, it
took on a sinister tone. Localized circles,
as they were called, strong-armed people to
follow certain agendas, back certain politicians, and pay out protection money.
In the mid-1880s, the U.S. government
outlawed the Scarlet Robe, and law enforcement ofcials across the land cracked down
and broke up the circles. For all intents
and purpose the Robe ceased to exist.
Then, at the turn of the century, Scarlet
Robe activity started up again. This time,
however, the Robe was careful to keep an
extremely low prole. Its members were
sworn to secrecy. Still, a few men were
jailed for being members of the Scarlet
Robe.
In the past three decades the Robe has
been slowly growing. Some speculate that
its numbers exceed those of the 1870s when
it was in its heyday. It is still very much...

...contained to the rural areas.

Only men can be members of the Scarlet
Robe. You have to be 21 years of age and
sponsored by a current member to join.
When you join the Robe, you are sworn
to secrecy and are a probationary member
for a year. Throughout this period, you carry
out activities for the Robe, typically any
dirty work.
Regular meetings are held once a month
in secret, out-of-the-way places. During a
crisis, the Scarlet Robe meets more frequently. The members of the Robe wear
red robes with large hoods to meetings to
conceal their identity. They go through various rituals (somewhat religious in nature)
and then discuss whatever business needs
to be discussed. A member of the Scarlet
Robe never discusses Robe business with
outsiders - although he is allowed to admit
he is a member when attempting to lure in a
potential recruit(s).
There is a clear hierarchy in the Scarlet
Robe.
At the very top are the High Dragons. A
High Dragon usually oversees Robe activity in a specic geographic region, be it a
county, tri-county area, whatever. Once a
year the High Dragons convene and discuss
issues pertaining to the Scarlet Robe as a
whole.
Beneath the High Dragons are the Dragons. These men are the leaders of specic
Scarlet Robe circles. In Hail River, Mayor

198

Morgan is the Dragon.

Beneath the Dragons are Judges, Knights,
and Squires. The Judges of Hail River
are the other members of Council (save
Marchand), the Clerk, and the High School
Principal (Henry Hogwash). The Knights
are people like Sheriff Steves. The Squires
make up about 40 percent of Hail Rivers
male population over the age of 20. In Hail
River the Robe does do some advocacy
work but mostly it strong-arms people to
tow the Scarlet Robe line.
Back in the Old Man Morgans day, the
Scarlet Robe circle of Hail River made a
deal with the vampires of Arkhams Rest.
To keep the vampires from feeding on Hail
River citizens, the Robe promised to deliver
a certain number of sacrices to the vampires each year. This agreement has been
honoured for over three decades. For the
most part, railroad bums and other tramps
have helped the Scarlet Robe meet its side
of the agreement, with the occasional traveling salesman tossed in for good measure.
Scarlet Robe members know various hand
signals, handshakes, etc. to distinguish
themselves from others.
Things to do - Hail River is a small rural
community with heavy ties to agriculture.
Many of the residents still farm, helping
brothers, fathers, uncles, cousins, etc. There
is a set of silos set back from the rail line...

...where grain is stored before it is loaded

onto rail cars for shipment into Boomtown.
There is also a stockyard for livestock. Both
of these facilities are old and inadequate
and there has been an outcry to build newer
facilities closer to the rail line for easier and
more efcient distribution.
The rural element plays heavily in how
Hail River natives pass their time. Family
is important and every Sunday afternoon
theres a family gathering after church.
There are three churches in Hail River a
Baptist, a Lutheran, and a Catholic Church.
There are barn raisings, quilting bees,
threshing parties and, of course, an Independence Day Festival.
The Independence Day Festival is held
in the town park over the July 1st weekend (the rst weekend in July). There are
pony rides, a shooting gallery, games and
other forms of entertainment. A parade
runs through town on Saturday morning,
followed by a horse show in the afternoon,
and a hoe down in the evening. The Independence Day Queen, one of Hail Rivers
young ladies, is crowned immediately after
dinner. A horseshoe tournament and a card
tournament accompany the Independence
Day festivities.
While theres been talk of opening a lm
theatre in Hail River, the idea has never
materialized. Most are content to take in
high school plays and those rare productions
put on by the Hail River Players. People go

199

to Boomtown if they want to see the latest

lms.
Youth hang out at Soups Diner on Saturday mornings. This idle gathering is on
by the adults of the community but Soup
doesnt mind the extra money they bring in,
especially as Saturdays tend to be slow days
for business.
With a passenger train only stopping
in Hail River on the Saturday, many take
the opportunity to hop on it and head into
the city. A trip to Boomtown is a treat that
many look forward too. In many ways these
Saturday treks have hurt Hail River businesses. More and more women are saving
their money to spend it in the big city. The
concern of the town merchants has led to
Council seeking ways to attract tourists
to Hail River. Councilor Soup McGees
outspoken uncle, Gam McGee, made a sarcastic remark on this latest initiative, Good
luck with that! Better to ask a crow to crap
in your eye than ask a man to come to Hail
River for a vacation.
For youngsters, baseball is all the rage,
along with the usual childrens games like
hide n seek, tag, etc. The Hail River Little
League team (consisting of players from
10 to 14 years of age) has played in (and
won) the County Championships a number
of times, taking a special train into Timber
Rapids for the tournament that is held on
that towns baseball diamonds.

The Hail River high school team has

also made its mark. Despite Hail Rivers
small size, the high school team has won a
number of pennants over the past 28 years.
A few Hail River boys have gone on to play
in the pros - the most famous among them
being Spike Marchand, a second cousin
of Councilor Marchand. Spike is currently
playing second base with the Boomtown
Bombers and carries a decent batting average.
The Vampires of Arkhams Rest - We
touched on these bloodsuckers earlier.
Were not going to esh out every minute
detail but well provide you with enough
information to incorporate them into any of
your Hail River sessions if the PCs decide
to go Vampire Hunting.
First off! Myths and Facts - vampires
in this RPG are similar to the vampires of
popular myth. They need blood to survive;
whether its from a human, an animal or
from an exceptionally undercooked steak it
doesnt matter.
A vampire doesnt have to kill its prey
when it feeds and, in fact, it rarely does.
There are two good reasons for this.
1. If they started killing humans indiscriminately (or even livestock) people
would grow wise to the threat and deal with
it accordingly.
2. If you drain the blood out of a person
and dont dispose of them entirely, they

200

come backas a vampire. This is not good.

As predators, vampires are very aware the
impact they have on the food chain.
Vampires adhere to a strict hierarchy
with a Head Vampire lording over all the
other vampires in his/her family. Only
the Head Vampire can decide when to add a
new member to the family. Vampires dont
wander from place to place like a vaudeville show. They tend to set roots in out of
the way places close to population centres.
While they interact with humans, they enjoy
solitude and try not to step on anyones toes.
Vampires live abnormally long lives.
In fact, they are immortal. They can be
destroyed, however. Sure re methods of
destroying a bloodsucker include a stake
through the heart, decapitation, exposure
to sunlight, or a good barbequing. Because
direct sunlight can destroy a vampire they
sleep through the day and are active at
night. A vampire can be destroyed through
conventional methods but their supernatural
toughness makes it extremely difcult to
do.
Despite their limitations, vampires have
some benets. They can mesmerize a
person long enough to get a good drink,
they can y, and are incredibly strong (up to
three times as strong as they were in normal
life). They can take an incredible amount of
damage before they are destroyed. And they
heal rapidly.

Vampires rarely appear as gorgeous

women or handsome men, most are horric
with mottled, discoloured skin, animal eyes,
irregular patches of hair, fangs, claws, and
twisted forms.
The history of Arkhams Rest - Local
legend has it that vampires were the direct
cause of the demise of Arkhams Rest but
this isnt true. The vampires moved in when
Arkhams Rest was already on its last legs.
Arkhams Rest was established in the
1870s around an existing roadside hotel and
general store. The hotel and store belonged
to Maurice Cravat and his two sons, an enterprising trio from Timber Rapids who saw
the need for a stopover for people traveling
to Boomtown.
A few lumber mills fueled the hamlets
economy, as logs were cut and ran down
the hill into Hail River. Portions of the old
log chute still exist. With the mills booming, Arkhams Rest grew steadily until the
troubles started.
As it was, the large homes of the mill
owners were impressive. There was talk of
a telegraph wire and phone service being
run into the community and a school being
built. The locals were working on a way to
incorporate as a village.
Then, in 1890, a blight struck the forest
around Arkhams Rest that left the trees
dead, dying and rotten. It became increasingly more difcult for lumbermen to nd

201

good trees to cut down. Costs soared and

revenues plummeted. The mills closed
down. By the turn of the century, Arkhams
Rest population had dropped from over
400 residents to around 50 people. The few
families that remained made a living catering to road trafc.
The rst vampire activity in the hamlet
was recorded in January 1901. The Boomtown Police Inspector deemed an attack
on a little girl an act of vampirism. Several
people went missing, a few died of mysterious circumstances. The derelict buildings in
the north end of the village were said to be
haunted. By 1914, a single family remained
in Arkhams Rest.
Gregory Slim Cravat, his wife, and
their three daughters were the hamlets last
registered residents. When Slim died in
1917, Mrs. Cravat packed up the family and
her belongings. She sold her small parcel of
land for a tidy sum to Pinos Fuel Company,
clambered aboard her wagon, and traveled
the twenty or so miles to Timber Rapids to
live with family.
Today, strange things happen in Arkhams
Rest, particularly at night. Local motorists
that are forced to drive through the community after sunset pass through as quickly
as possible. Even in the day, the locals avoid
it. When local hunters stray within sight of
the village, they turn around and head in the
opposite direction...

...The only person who spends any time

within sight of the town is Luke Derringer,
the service manager at the Pinos service
station. With no one willing to man the
pumps, Derringer does it all himself. When
hes xing a burst radiator or a blown tire,
he has the waiting customer pump the
petrol. If a repair job takes longer than
expected or he has to order in parts from
Boomtown, he drives the motorist down
into Hail River or invites the person to his
house to stay the night. His home is located
a few miles east down the road and Mrs.
Derringer is happy to cook a meal and set
up a bed in the spare room for visitors.
Arkhams Rest irregular residents - in
Hail River children refer to the Head Vampire of Arkhams Rest as The Monster on
top of the hill. The monster has a sizable
family living under his roof, around 20
vampires strong, that live in the inter-connecting basements, sub-basements and cellars of the town, all of which are carefully
disguised to avoid detection.
He holds court and enjoys listening to
gramophone music incessantly in his basement lair, the sound of which sometimes
leaks to the surface. He has sprinkled his
home with whatever human trinkets he can,
including a steering wheel and fender that
he stole from the Pinos. As far as blood
sucking monsters go, he isnt a bad chap.
But he is a hideous one with tight, brown

202

skin drawn over a heavy brow and inhuman

eyes.
The rest of the vampires are his creations. Men and women plucked off lonely
roadsides and snatched from homes over
the years that he has wandered the earth. A
few are Hail River reprobates sent to tickle
his taste buds by the Scarlet Robe. Most,
however, are from all over the country.
There are only two vampires in Arkhams
Rest who are human in appearance - Thistle
and Dabney. Both were out of work actors
who wandered into Arkhams Rest in 1910
on a summer evening. They never left.
Occasionally, they put on impromptu plays
for the other vampires, forcing the others to
join in their midnight productions.
Like all vampires, those of Arkhams Rest
rarely kill their victims. They are prudent
eaters. The only unfortunates who never see
another morning are the tramps.
A pack of werewolves lives a few miles
north of Arkhams Rest. Although they chat
with the vampires on occasion, they dont
interact with them in any signicant way.

Some nal pointers and

tips regarding the rules
On dice rolling when a PC attempts an
action determine the following:
1. On what Attribute is the dice roll made?
2. Is a Skill (or Special Skill) required to
carry out the action? If the PC lacks the
necessary Skill, the Player rolls 2 dice (+
any modiers), instead of the usual 4. If
the PC has a related Skill (or Special Skill),
then you may allow the Player to roll 3 dice
or even the usual 4.
3. Determine the difculty of the action and
modify the dice roll accordingly.
4. Determine any PC Attribute modiers
that may be applied.
Example #1 - Harry Hardcase and Michael Helstrom attempt to hop on to a slow
moving train. The GM decides the Skill,
Athletically Inclined, is required. He determines that the action is difcult, and a 1
modier applies.
Harry has the skill, Athletically Inclined
(4 dice). However, the action is Difcult (4
1 = 3 dice). But Harry has a +1 Versatility
(3 + 1 = 4 dice). Harrys Player rolls 4 dice.
The intent, he says, is for Harry to run, hop
onto the ladder of a boxcar with the intent to
assist Michael if necessary. The dice are

203

The cast:
Harry Hardcase, a hard-nosed P.I. who
does some occasional investigative work for
the Boomtown Planet. Hardcase is known
for shooting rst and answering questions
later. His Attribute bonuses are +1 Brawn,
+1 Versatility. His Skills include Athletically
Inclined, Education Criminology, Fast
Talk, Gun Fu, and Investigation. His Special
Skill is Reckless Abandon. Harry has 3 Spirit
Points.
Michael Helstrom, a wizard-for-hire who
pens an occasional column in the Boomtown
Planet. His column focuses on the supernatural. He is known for being cool under
re. His Attribute bonuses are +1 Balderdash, +1 Versatility. His Skills are Curiosity,
Gun Fu, Occult Knowledge, Schmoozing,
and Worldly. His Special Skill is Arcane
Inclination. Helstrom tends towards black
magic and the elements he manipulates are
earth and metal.
Ruby Olsen, our pre-generated, friendly
neighbourhood, Cub Reporter, is known for
her drive to succeed regardless of the odds.
Her Attribute bonuses are +1 Brains, +1
Versatility. Her Skills are Curiosity, Fast
Talk, Gambling, Scrutiny, Shorthand, and
Status. Her Special Skill is Photographic
Memory.

rolled 7, 3, 5, and 6. Two successes. Harry

is runs, grabs a hold of the ladder, pulls
himself up, hooks his arm around a rung
and waits for Michael.

Michael lacks the skill, Athletically

Inclined, (2 dice). The action is Difcult
(2 1 = 1). Michael has a +1 Versatility
(1 + 1 = 2). Michaels Player rolls 2 dice.
The intent, he said, is to run, hop onto the
boxcar, with the intent to then climb onto
the boxcars roof. The dice are rolled 7 and
1. No successes. Michael fails to catch up
to the train and watches as the train, and
Harry, speed off down the track.
Example #2 Harry breaks into a warehouse to rescue Ruby Olsen. Ruby is tied
to a chair in the middle of the warehouse. A
time bomb is under her chair. A zombie is
guarding Ruby, just in case she escapes, or
in case someone comes to rescue her. Harry
sees the zombie that starts to shufe menacingly towards him. He draws his Colt 1911
and res at the creature. His intent is clear,
destroy all zombies.
The GM knows that one needs Gun Fu to
effectively use a rearm. While the zombie
is moving, the GM decides its slow shufe
hardly counts. The range is acceptable and
the lighting is fair. The GM decides that a
modier unwarranted.
Harry has the skill, Gun Fu (4 dice). There
is no modier to the roll. Harrys Versatility
is +1 (5 dice). Harrys Player rolls the dice,
2, 10, 6, 5, and 5. So far, thats 2 successes.
The Player holds back the 6 and rolls the
exploding 10. Its a 4. Another success.

204

With three successes, Harry has hit the

zombie with three bullets. While that much
damage is more than enough to kill a person, the zombie is still shufing forwards.
Example #3 Ruby wants to help Harry
out. Harry has arrived at the warehouse
where she is tied to a chair and trapped. A
time bomb is ticking under the chair and a
zombie is guarding her. Harry arrived guns
blazing and has red three shots into the
creature. Ruby decides to act. She kicks out
her foot with the intent to trip up the zombie
and buy Harry some more time.
The GM says no special Skill is required
to kick out ones foot. But because Ruby
is tied securely to the chair, he decides that
Rubys act is Difcult. The roll will be
made on Versatility.
No skill is required (4 dice). The action is
Difcult, so a 1 Modier is applied to the
roll (4 1 = 3 dice). Ruby has a +1 Versatility (3 +1 = 4 dice). Rubys Player rolls
the dice, 3, 7, 8, and 1. One success. While
Ruby manages to kick the zombies foot,
she doesnt trip it up.

Guns & Vehicles

A lot of the following info about rearms
and automobiles of the 1930s was pulled
from the best 1930s-related website out
there: http://www.paper-dragon.com/1939/
intro.html
We urge you to visit the site to get a real
feel for the era.
Popular rearms of the era

Mauser K98; 5 shots; bolt action; 1898

(Germany)
Mosin-Nagant; 5 shots; bolt action; 1891
(Russia)
Remington Model 30; 6 shots; bolt action;
1921 (U.S.)
Springeld M1903; 5 shots; bolt action;
1903 (U.S.)
Winchester 1894; 10 shots; lever action;
1894 (U.S.)
Shotguns: do 4 points of damage.
Ithaca Model 37; 4 shots; pump action;
1937 (U.S.)
Remington 11; 4 shots; autoloader; 1911
(U.S.)
Winchester 21; 2 shots; double barrel; 1921
(U.S.)

Pistols: do 3 points of damage.

Colt 1911; 7 shots; 1911 (U.S.)
Luger P-08; 8 shots; 1902 (Germany)
Mauser C-96; 10 shots; 1896 (Germany)
Walther P38; 8 shots; 1935 (Germany)
Revolvers: do 3 points of damage.
Colt Detective; 6 shots; 1935 (U.S.)
Colt Peacemaker; 6 shots; 1873 (U.S.)
Eneld No 2 Mark 1; 6 shots; 1927 (UK)
Smith & Wesson Model 10 Police; 6 shots;
1902 (U.S.)
Smith & Wesson Model 27; 6 shots; 1935
(U.S.)
Webley Revolver; 6 shots; 1887 (UK)
Ries: do 3 points of damage.
Lee-Eneld; 10 shots; bolt action; 1895
(UK)
M1 Garand; 8 shots; autoloader; 1936
(U.S.)

205

SMGs: do 3 points of damage.

Beretta 1938A; 10,20,30 shots; 1938 (Italy)
MP-38; 32 shots; 1928 (Germany)
Thompson M1928 (Tommy Gun); 20, 30,
50, 100 shots; 1928 (U.S.)
MGs: do 4 points of damage.
Browning Automatic Rie 1918a1; 20
shots; 1918 (U.S.)
Lewis MG; auto; 1913 (Belgium)
MG34; auto; 1934 (Germany)

Effective Ranges of rearms (in metres)

- Short, Medium, Long, and Extreme
The operative word in effective range is
effective. The following ranges are reasonable estimations. They are not exact. These
estimates were provided by an infantry ofcer in the Canadian Armed Forces with the
understanding that things had to be kept as
simple (and playable) as possible.
Pistols & Revolvers: 7 21 50 100
SMGs: 25 50 100 200
Shotguns (ring shot): 15 30 50 100
Light weight rie: 50 100 200 300
Heavy rie (Lee Eneld, Mauser, etc.):
100 200 400 600
MG: 100 200 400 600
Some vehicles of the era
1930 Cadillac v-16 Roadster; top speed 100
mph; $5,300
1930 Ford Model A Coupe; top speed 75
mph; $750
1931 Chevrolet Cabriolet; top speed 85
mph; $275
1931 Lincoln Model K 202A; top speed 95
mph; $4,600
1932 Dodge truck; top speed 75 mph; $750
1932 Rolls Royce Phantom; top speed 50
mph; $6,500
1933 Harley Davidson motorcycle; top
speed 90 mph; $179

206

1934 Buick 50; top speed 95 mph; $1,190

1934 Ford V8 Cabriolet; top speed 100
mph; $590
1935 Chrysler Airow Sedan; top speed 83
mph; $2,245
1935 Studebaker President Eight; top speed
75 mph; $2,690
1936 Chevy Half Ton Pickup; top speed 75
mph; $550
1936 Jaguar SS 100 Sport; top speed 100
mph; $1,000
1936 Packard Super 8 Touring; top speed 85
mph; $3,690
1937 Ford Panel Van; top speed 65 mph;
$696
1937 Lincoln Zephyr; top speed 90 mph;
$1,245
1938 Phantom Corsair; top speed 115 mph;
$24,000
1938 Volkswagen 30; top speed 72 mph;
990 RM
1939 Ford DeLuxe Coupe; top speed 87
mph; $702

Character Sheet
PCs NAME:________________________
IS KNOWN FOR:____________________
___________________________________
ARCHETYPE:_______________________
HIS/HER GOAL IS:___________________
___________________________________
___________________________________

SPECIAL SKILLS:
___________________________
___________________________
___________________________
SPIRIT POINTS:_____

ATTRIBUTES:
Brains:

_____

Brawn:

_____

Versatility:

_____

Balderdash:

_____

Leadership:

_____

SKILLS:___________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
Copyright TIMELESS GAMES 2007

STATE OF HEALTH:
ALIVE AND KICKING
NICKED
BRUISED
BATTERED
INJURED
UNCONSCIOUS
DEAD

(0)
(-1)
(-2)
(-3)
(-4)

MONEY:

_______

KEY POSSESSIONS:
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________

BACKGROUND:
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
Copyright TIMELESS GAMES 2007

GAME HOOKS: __________________

________________________________
________________________________
________________________________
________________________________
________________________________
________________________________
________________________________
________________________________

Index
Boomtown Asylum and Wellness Institute 160161
Boomtown Gallery of Art 119
Boomtown General Hospital 125
Boomtown Met Hospital 116
Boomtown Planet 72-74
- Competition 77
Boomtown Prison 162
Boomtown University 128-129
Boxing 125, 136
Brains 19, 52
Brawn 19, 55
Brewer & Brewer Spirit Co. 159
Bridge End 92,132
Brigade Stadium 125
Brixton Walls 92
Bug Men, etc. 169-170
Bunny and Bing Shysterman 167-168
Cat Houses 148-149
Character Death 59
Character Generation 16-50
- Name 16
- Is Known For 16
- Spirit 18
- Goal 18
- Background 19
- Attributes 19
- Archetypes 20-37
- Skills 37-42
- Special Skills 42-49
- Money & Possessions 49, 107-108
- Game Hooks 50
- Health 50, 67
Character Sheet 207-208
Charging Into Danger 60
Charlie Clipston 140-141
China Town 93, 131
China Town Gang 100-101
Chinese Jack 165

Aging 57-58
All Trumps Club 156-157
Artists Quarter 94
Attributes 19
- Brains 19, 52-55
- Brawn 19, 55-60
- Versatility 20, 60-63
- Balderdash 20, 163
- Leadership 20, 163
Archetypes 20
- Reporter 21
- Cub Reporter 25
- Photographer 25
- Columnist 29
- Editor 29
- Legman 29
- Socialite 36
- Wizard 36
B.D.S. Smith 135-136
B.D.S. Smith & Sons Colliery 134-135
Bagley Road 141
Balderdash 20, 163
Barley Meadows 94, 156
Bayside 93, 150
Beverly Hamst 138-140
Billy Rudabaker 167
Blobs 169
Bob Bulls China Shop 132
Bob Kennedy 22
Bobby Bustetoni 35
Bogeyman 175
Bomber Stadium 116-117
- Jacques Strap
- Slider McGee
Boomtown 71
- History 80
- Politics 81
- Districts Overview 92-95
Boomtown Airport 160

209

Circus (and Freak Show) 149

City Administration 86
Combat 64-68
- Initiative 64
- Ranged Combat 65
- Close Combat 66
- Hand-to-hand 66
- Stunning
- Grappling 66
- Tossing 66
- Melee Combat 66
- Multiple Attacks 67
- Soaking Damage 67
- Hit Location 67
Cool, Keeping Ones 59
Councilors 82-85
- Clint Lemmon 82
- Wally Washburn 83
- Clarence MacDoyle 84
- Bob Holden 84
- Oliver Martin 85
- Amelia Marbletongue 85
Crumbly Court (and Slaggy Bottom) 133-150
Dan Davenport 163-164
Dane Ringwald 24
Dexter Loominus 101-105
Dice Rolling 10, 203
Disease 57
Docks 155
Doghouse 154
Doors, Forcing 55
Dr. Brian Bedesko 161
Drowning 58
Duke Gruff 164
Elements, Against Them 57
Ernie Nossick 166
Falling 62
Firearms 205-206
Fog 99
Fortune Tellers 141-145
Fire 57
Fire Department 88
Francois Cologne 112

Game Hooks 50
Game Time 51
Generic NPCs 175-177
Ghastly Wax Werks 126
Ghost Town 92
Ghoul 174
Glitz & Glam Studios 157
- Archie Galvenstein 157-158
- Candice Delaney 157-158
Hail River Report 180-202
- Report Staff 181-182
- Report History 183
- Hail River 184
- Bob Satch Morgan 186-188
- Hail River Council 189-190
Health 50, 67
Heart Cocktail 163
Hotels and Accommodations 109-110
Insanity 52-55
Intoxication 56
Jimmy Keegan 154
Just Chez No, Speakeasy 121
Leadership 20, 163
Lefty Hooligan 98
Lenny and Benny Catchpenny 162-163
Locket Steel Inc. 151
- Jack Locket 151-152
- Gloria Locket 151-152
Library, Main 120
Madame Kittys 131
Martin Race Track 155
Mayor Darwin Kraftyman 81
Merv Wiley 34
Milo the Milkman 165-166
Mole People 172-174
Moes Garage 121
Money & Possessions 49, 107-108
Monsters 168-174
- Mutants 168-169
- Blobs 169
- Multi-heads 169
- Bug Men, etc. 169-170
- Vampires 170-171, 200-202

210

- Werewolves 171-172
- Zombies 172
- Mole People 172-174
- Ghouls 174
- Bogeyman 175
Multi-heads 169
Museum of Antiquities 129-131
Mutants 168-169
NPCs 175-177
Newspapers 74-76
- Games revolving around 79
New Downtown 93, 112
New Heights 94
Old Downtown 92,121
Old Heights 94
Paige Mercy 28
Parker Collingwood 156-157
Perception 52
Pete Plasky 31
Pips Diner 155
Pirolis Delicatessen 155
Poison 56
Police 87
- Police Chief Straitenarrow 87
- Swass Goodiman 87
Polly and Molly 167
Portmans Department Store 127
Proletariat 150
Reporter 21
Role-playing 6
- Successes 10, 12
- Intent 11
- Modiers 13
- Action Rolls 15
- Opposed Rolls 15
Ruby Olsen 27
Rules 9, 51, 203
Rustys Junkyard 122-123
Satin Club 117-118
Scheikmans Department Store 118
School of Arts 159
Schleps Diner 121

Social Combat 68
- Resolve 68
Seth Elliot 32
Setting 8, 69-168
Shadowing 63
Shakes McGee 138
Shifty-eyed Morgan 166
Slaggy Bottom (and Crumbly Court) 133-150
Slaggy Bottom High School 145
Slang 178-179
Special Skills 42-49
- Ambidextrous 42
- Arcane Inclination 43-46
- Block/Dodge 46
- Everyman 47
- Lightning Draw 47
- Naturally Lucky 48
- Photographic Memory 48
- Reckless Abandon 49, 60
- Tough 49
Slick Nick Delucca 111
Skills 37-42
- Acting 38
- Artistic Talent 38
- Athletically Inclined 38
- Beast 38
- Bargain 38
- Break & Enter 38
- Camera Work 38
- Climbing 39, 62
- Connected 39
- Curiosity 39
- Demolitions 39
- Driving 39
- Eavesdropping 39
- Education 39
- Electrical Repair 39
- Exotic Weapon 39
- Fast Talk 39
- Fix It 40
- First Aid 40
- Forgery 40
- Gambling 40

- Gun Fu 40
- Hand-to-hand 40
- Hunting/Tracking 40
- Interrogation 40
- Investigation 40
- Lingo 40
- Medicine 41
- Mechanically Inclined 41
- Occult Knowledge 41
- Piloting 41
- Public Speaking 41
- Sailing 41
- Scrutiny 41
- Schmoozing 41
- Shorthand 41
- Slow ow 41
- Spelunking 42
- Status 42
- Survival 42
- Swim 42
- Worldly 42
Skip Donahue 26
Spirit 18, 63
Squeegee Jackson 164-165
Stone College 119-120
Syndicate 95-96
Tea Totalers 107
Tess Trimble 23
Theodore Nougats Candy Company 124
Three Brothers Bank 112-115
- Max Martin
- Morton Martin
- Anne Martin
Tony Testerone 97
Trampled Downs 153-154
- Jockeys 153 - 154
Transportation 88
Tulip Eaters 105-106
Vampires 170-171, 200-202
Vehicles, Chases 60-62
- Vehicles 206
Versatility 20, 60
Victor Balista 99

Wewanit Insurance 122

Werewolves 171-172
Wheeler and Dealer Car Dealership 116
Will to Kill 60
Wizard 36, 43, 44-46, 89, 90
Worship 88, 146
- Bishop Calvin Shoot 88,89
Zombies 172

Other Timeless Games

@rpgnow.com

The Fifth Wheel (the book of West Marque) - is a western-fantasy

RPG. In it, you play a Fifth Wheel, a lawmans lawman. Set in the world
of West Marque, a not-so-wild west of some forgotten yesterday, the law
of the land is yours to uphold.
The core mechanic is condensed to a handful of pages but many optional rules are available to suit your personal tastes. Tailor the game how
you want.
Outlaws, dirt riders, low lifes, and Dead Priests...Bring them to justice,
hang em high, or put em in their graves. Its all up to you.

The Creep Chronicle - Imagine if you woke up tomorrow and discovered that the things you read about in your old storybooks were true; that
deep in the woods lurked a Big Bad Wolf waiting for a Little Red Riding
Hood, that shadows stalked the night time streets, that angels were not
mere apparitions or visions for a select few but were as real as your next
door neighbour.
As you stare in the mirror in the morning and your reection stares
back at you, you somehow know that the world on the other side of the
mirror exists. More than that, gods walk among men. They rain thunder
and lighting down on the brightest cities, shatter mans nest monuments
with a whim, and subjugate the strongest leaders with a word.

Shebang - is an open-ended sci- RPG set in the near future.

The home world is nothing but a hollow shell, a bleak place of ruins
and untamed wilderness. Mars is the bastion of humankind now. In a
fearsome technocracy, with a wild frontier, the strong survive and weak
do what they are told.
Choose from a list or pre-set character archetypes, or make up one of
your own.
Use the core, rules-lite, mechanic, or add as many of the provided
optional rules as you wish.
Pick a specic game style or blend a number of styles to suit your fancy.
Its all up to you.
Go big or go home. This is the whole Shebang!

The Boomtown Planet Saturday Edition is an RPG that focuses on the

newspaper world of the dirty 30s. A noir-styled game with the promise of
pulp action you play reporters, photographers and legmen, hunting down the
dangerous scoops that are every day occurrences in the city of Boomtown.
Monsters, mad scientists, mobsters, and the competition stand in your way.
Getting the dirt in Boomtown is a dirty job and someone has to do it. That
someone is you! The setting and all the rules are found in this core book.