I’ve been converting quite a few ‘classic’ adventure modules for more modern systems recently (check out these Star Wars Outgunnned! adaptations), so for the CRIT online convention I thought I’d run this Boot Hill classic tournament module for Index Card RPG.

The Original Module

Let’s start by talking about the original module. There’s a frontier town, Dead Mule, and a hook to an ancient mine full of gold. There’s then 9 town encounters, 9 wilderness encounters on the lengthy and involved hexcrawl to the mine, and a short ‘dungeon’ for the mine itself. The town’s got a map to it and description of locations, which obviously are triggered in the encounters, and there’s the aforementioned enormous hexcrawl to the mine when the PCs eventually find the map to it.

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The encounters and locations veer from the sublime to the ridiculous – a brilliant botched bank robbery sits next to a confusing gunslinger who the players (from my read) are likely to suspect is a baddie, but is actually on their side. The town’s got a newspaper – I don’t know how that’s a sustainable business model – but who cares, because the proprietor keeps a bear chained up outside to protect him from trouble! To be honest, most of the variability of these scenarios can be dealt with by just picking the good bits, and ignoring those that fall flat. I suspect that way back in Gen Con 13, when this was a tournament module, that was how this was actually run – “This module contains town and wilderness scenarios that can be combined to create a series of exciting adventures.”

It’s worth a note that, even for the time (published in 1982), there’s some really bad racist tropes in here – in particular around Native Americans. To try and avoid this, I took out the most problematic and tried to make the town a bit more multicultural – I also flagged this at the start in my safety tools discussion and asked for the group’s help (particularly as a white British dude running for an American table.)

The sets that I split the adventure into were easy – the Town, the Wilderness, and the Mine – and I prepped a few possible encounters for each one. In play, the bank robbery went on a bit (it was great fun though!) so they found the map in the bank vault, and set out. #

As with previous conversions, you’ll need the original module to run this – but it’s available on Drivethru! The bullet points are setting description things to sprinkle in as needed, the structure of which is inspired by The Alexandrian’s post on Evocative Descriptions.

LOST CONQUISTADOR MINE – Conversion/Prep Notes

You’ve heard the legends – the Mendoza mine, found in 1548 and said to yield 10 jackloads of gold a year. Many have searched for it – all have failed!

Until ten years ago, an old prospector named Dutch Jack arrived in the town of Dead Mule with a handful of gold nuggets. You know, and others suspect, he knows the location of the town – and you’re going to find it!

How did you hear about the Mendoza mine?

To whom did you let slip that you had a lead on it?

How can you be sure that Dutch Jack knows where it is?

What terrors did you face on the way to Dead Mule?

Generic bushwacker/criminal/bad ‘un

STATS +2, 1 HEART

PART 1 – Town of Dead Mule

• The blazing sun, the sting of dust in your eyes, the smell of the trail – and drifters, thick with sweat.
• The saloon sign for the High Pass Hotel hangs skew by a thread of thin chain, flapping in the wind and threatening to blow off – outside the stables, a thick-set man with mutton chops has his hand resting on a shotgun as he nods a welcome.
• The Dead Mule Gazette, with a sleeping bear on a chain, and blacked out windows with newsprint – people give it a wide berth
• La Loma Alta, a saloon and pool hall, partially built into the hillside, even in the day a drunkard is staggering out of it, advertising “Black Bill’s famous Tarantula Juice!”
• The Black Mountain Bank, the only stone building in town. No sign of it being open, but whitewashed walls and well-maintained fittings make it look almost as grand as the High Pass

Event 1 – Stable Fire and Bank Hold-Up (TARGET 10)

Shout up – “Fire! The Stable’s Gonna Burn!”

Then the bank robbery takes place, but the bucket brigade crosses their getaway – then return fire from the stable hands.

There are 5 GENERIC OUTLAWS and “Mysterious Dave” Matthews – STATS +3, 2 HEARTS, Shotgun for D12 damage 1 shot – he has 1 piece of GHOST MOUTAIN LOOT

Event 2 (optional) – The Manchester Mangler (TARGET 10)

Jeremy Bentham offers out Big Mike O’Halloran, the Manchester Mangler, to all and sundry. While the fighting is going on, Andrew Colder attempts to pick the pockets of the crowd – hot-headed Jim Grafton from the Stables catches him and attempts to shoot him. Chaos ensues. Resolving the situation grants one GHOST MOUNTAIN LOOT.

The Manchester Mangler: STR +3, OTHERS +0, 2 HEARTS

Event 3 – Death of Dutch Jack (TARGET 10)

Stage coach arrives with gold prospectors – strikes further south have brought these visitors. A tent city appears outside, and fights break out on the regular.

Soon after, Dutch Jack arrives. Antonio Mendoza is looking for him – and will kill him, if he can. Upon his death, he gives his map to the PCs, along with some GHOST MOUNTAIN LOOT.

Mendoza is +3 STATS, 2 HEARTS

PART 2 – The Wilderness

• The blast of wind on the trail, with a freshness not present in the town. The howl of coyote (?) and other animals, the hairs on the back of your neck at the cutbacks and trails in these badlands
• All trails lead to Dead Mule – you can’t help but think this is the only town in the area
• A few settler’s cabins, log-built with a few cows and silent occupants watching you pass
• A skeletal cactus, struck by lightning, towering at 10 feet tall
• A pinnacle of rock teetering dangerously – with fragments of rock below it and a carved horseshoe pointing further
• A waterhole, with a sign at with a skull and crossbones, and a dead coyote next to it – the brackish water smells funny

Now the players have the map, they just have to content with the gold prospectors and the people they know are after them. Should be fine.

Event 1 – Bushwhackers! (TARGET 12)

The bushwhackers could be any of the previous enemies the PCs have made, or the default, John Lee, Dirty Bill Hoover, and Will Normans

The three of them target the PCs as they pass through an narrow, rocky area

All are STATS +2, 1 HEART – they have one piece of GHOST MOUNTAIN LOOT

Event 2 – The Gallant Sportsman (TARGET 12)

They meet the Grand Duke of Orsha, Aleksandr Ignatius Petrovich Romanoff, and his entourage at camp. He offers dinner, and whisky, and laments how poor the hunting has been. Towards the end of the meal, make HARD rolls to stay awake – any that succeed still get a HERO COIN. They will then be hunted by the Duke, his companions, and his wolfhound

Hunters are STATS +2, 1 HEART – there are 5 of them and the Wolfhound

Event 3 – Cloudburst (TARGET 12)

As you travel down a dry streambed, a sudden rain causes a flood – can you and your horses survive? This is a skill challenge – you’ll need 4 successes before 3 failures to escape with the horses.

PART 3 – The Mine (TARGET 15)

• The sudden relief of cold as you enter into the mine, the whistling winds that seem to speak – odd voices in Spanish, the occasional knocking sounds
• The smell of something animal to the North passage, and a sense of being watched
• Shale and slippery underfoot, and creaking from the mine stanchions holding the ceiling
• A rotten bag of supplies, long since lost to a flood
• Dripping water from the ceiling, leading to puddles and a collapse
• A shadow passing from outside – have other outlaws tracked you?

Run this as the mine in the book – stats are below. Everything in the mine is Target 12, or Target 15 in the lower level.

MOUNTAIN LION – +3 all rolls, 1 Heart

SLEEPING BEAR – +3 all rolls, 2 Hearts

GHOST – +2 All Rolls, 3 Hearts, Claws are MAGIC, 2 actions per turn

INT SPELL – Howl. Roll CON or disabled 

Drain MAGIC EFFORT to heal themselves