Frontier Towns: Fort Griffin, Volume 1

[Geoff]

It’s time to hitch up the horses and load up the wagons; the Dog House Gang is fixin’ to ride to Fort Griffin for the inaugural issue of Frontier Towns.

Frontier Towns is a support product for Old West role playin’ games. The Dog House Gang plans to offer several installments. The first volume is set in Fort Griffin, Texas—with two more volumes set there as well.

Each Frontier Towns product will come with a ready-made settin’ and stand-alone buildings complete with maps, history, inhabitants, adventure ideas and full interior descriptions. We figure a Judge could take this product right off the shelf and have a town set up in no time. Or, a Judge with more time on his or her hands could pick and choose the establishments that strike a fancy, customizin’ them to fit an existin’ campaign.

Fort Griffin, Volume 1 has a potent five card draw of fully-described buildings for your gamin’ pleasure. You’ll get a pair of saloons and a pair of service establishments, along with an ace-in-the-hole: the town Jail. Read ‘em and reap:

* Shannsey’s Saloon: Based on the legendary saloon where Doc Holliday met Wyatt Earp, Shannsey’s offers a mighty fine gatherin’ place for soldiers, buffalo hunters and famous gunfighters. No tellin’ who you might meet here, but don’t be surprised to see Lottie Deno (“The Poker Queen”) dealin’ a hand of Faro.

* Pete Haverty’s Livery: You’ll probably want to water and secure your horse before you do much else in The Flat. You can count on Pete and Henry Sixkiller to do right by your trusty steed.

* York & Meyers Outfitters: Need supplies before settin’ off on the trail? Lucky for you, H.E. Chapin and his staff keep the place well-stocked. If they don’t have it, no one does. And behave yourself, Queenie can smell trouble clear across town.

* Beehive Saloon: If you’re itchin’ for a buzzin’ good time, come see why the locals say the “Hive is Alive.” Dancing girls, old-timey piano, dice games, Faro, poker, and plenty of good spirits. Not to mention the likes of Big Nose Kate, Doc Holliday and Mike Fogerty.

* Picket Jail: The Flat might be wild and wooly, but it ain’t lawless. Iffin you decide to stir up too much trouble, you might earn a “visit” to Picket Jail, courtesy of Sheriff Billy Cruger and his deputies.

But that ain’t the whole shootin’ match, no sir. You’ll also get full scale battle maps that you can print out for table-top gamin’ sessions (in 15mm and 25mm) and a final chapter containing 35 adventure and encounter possibilities (and a few extra cowpokes) that we’ve rustled up for your enjoyment.

 

[Scott]

Frontier Towns: Fort Griffin, Volume 1 presents locations for gaming in an old west campaign. Although intended for use with Dog House Rules' ENnie-winning Sidewinder: Recoiled game, it can be easily adapted to any western game. The five buildings detailed here are placed in Fort Griffin, Texas, in the late 1870s, but they could be easily moved, individually or together, to wherever a Judge needs them.

Frontier Towns, once downloaded, consists of five files: both color and B & W versions of the text, and three versions of the building plans--one full-page size for the Judge's reference, and two scaled for use with 15mm or 25mm miniatures. Some Windows XP users may have difficulty extracting the text files, once downloaded. This seems to be a glitch with XP, not with the download. I was able to extract the files using FreeZip. The Dog House Rules gang have posted pointers to a patch for this problem in their forums, here.

There are seven floor plans in all; two of the five buildings are two storeys. The maps are in color, making them easy to read and attractive on the table top. I found most of the features easy to identify without the map key (which is located in the text). Small touches, like showing the locations of support columns for porch roofs and the opening arcs of doors, add a lot. The maps match the descriptive text, which should be a given, but too often in RPG products isn't the case. A couple of minor quibbles: the scale grid is somewhat hard to see on some of the maps, and they weren't labeled with the building names. The floor plans also appear in the text for easy reference.

The layout of Frontier Towns follows the same format as previous DHR products; since of of Recoiled's ENnie nominations is for layout, I'm clearly not the only one who thinks this is a good thing. Sidebars and character stat blocks are boxed and shaded for easy identification. Illustrations are scattered throughout. The drawings are nicely done and are appropriate to the text. Some are reprinted from earlier products. All the drawings appear to be the work of the same artist, who is not credited. As mentioned above, the building floor plans are included with the proper descriptive text for easy reference.

The color version of Frontier Towns isn't full color on every page. Sidebar text boxes (but not sidebar stat blocks) are shaded wood brown, as are the chapter headings. Building floor plans, and their key, are in color. And the page headings are a brown sign board hanging against a sky blue background. You can print the color version, as I did, without spending more for ink than you did for the download. Even if you choose to print B & W, or not at all, the color version gives you an attractive option for onscreen reading. I hope future DHR products will be offered in both versions.

The introduction has the usual "what's inside" material, explaining how each building description is laid out. Stat blocks list game mechanic properties for doors, walls, locks, safes, furniture, and windows, so a Judge can be prepared for whatever the player characters decide to break. The floor plan key is in this section as well. A short section on the historical Fort Griffin--the town was called "The Flat" to distinguish it from the fort itself--rounds out the introduction.

Each of the businesses here--two saloons, an outfitters, a livery, and the jail--gets its own section. For each, there's a short introduction covering the structure and appearance of the building as a whole. The building key offers a complete, detailed look at the interior of each business. Much more than just a "what you see" description, the key tells you what's on the shelves, what's hidden under the bar, who has keys to the door, and even a bit about how the business is run. There's more than enough detail to make the business come to life.

Each of the businesses also has three or more personalities associated with it. Some of the people detailed here are historical figures; others are fictional. Historical figures are marked with a special icon. As with the buildings themselves, the authors use sidebars to say where they've drawn from history, and where they've tweaked it a bit. Each personality gets a brief biography and a full stat black. (All the stats given in Frontier Towns are for Sidewinder: Recoiled, which is based on d20 Modern).

Rounding out each of the establishments is a section of adventure hooks, They present ideas a Judge can use to involve PCS with the establishment and the people therein. Some of the hooks could lead to full-fledged adventures; others would make great sub-plots, or just entertaining scenes. Some of the hooks come with "Frks in the Road," where the authors show different directions a story could go from the same basic starting point.

Frontier Towns concludes with a section on how to link the various buildings and personalities together. A few more people, not connected to any one location, are detailed here--including Doc Holliday, a few years before his Tombstone days. Also here are a lot more adventure hooks, bringing Fort Griffin to life. Some of these would make great adventures, while others would be good for background activities going on while the characters visit the town. This section allows Judges to use Fort Griffin as a setting "right off the shelf." There's enough material here to keep a group of PCs busy for quite awhile.

A list of sources used closes out the text, allowing those who wish it a starting point for further research.

For Judges wishing to use Fort Griffin as a setting, Dog House Rules plans two more volumes of Frontier Towns set there. DHR also has free downloadable maps of both the town and its north central Texas area available in the Snakebites section of their site, here.

Frontier Towns delivers what it promises: a product flexible enough to be used in bits and pieces, yet complete enough to be used as is. Any gamer will find a lot to like here.

 

[Scott]

[No message]

 

[Scott]

Sidewinder: Recoiled, the "parent" game for Frontier Towns, won the 2004 ENnie for Best Electronic Product (not free). It was also nominated for Best Revision/Update/Compilation and Best Graphic Design & Layout.

 

[Crothian]

Frontier Towns Fort Griffin

The old west town is dungeon of that setting. It is the places people explore and encounter brawls, shot outs, bank robbers, and perhaps some fun in a house of ill repute. The old west is not my setting of choice though. I was not a fan of westerns growing up, but it is still good to see this genre being covered. Dog House Rules has done an excellent job with their main book Sidewinder: Recoiled. This a town is for that setting though should work will for any game set in the old west.

Frontier Towns Fort Griffin is a fifty five page PDF by Dog House Rules. It comes in a zip file that is a bit over seven megs in size. Inside are five files. Two of them are a color and black and white version of the book. The other three are maps of the town. These maps are color and designed to use with minis. They have maps for a 15mm scale and for a 25mm scale. The maps are nice and easy to print out even though the color ink will take a hit. The book is nicely book marked, has a great table of contents, and a good bibliography.

Fort Griffin is a good old western town. While the book seems to assume one has the Sidewinder Recoiled book, it might have been better to try to make this a bit more general. One thing they do differently in Sidewinder then normal d20 games is they call hit points grit. Grit is not explained in this book and it would have been good to see it as it took me a while to remember this change. I spent a few minutes looking for the definition of grit in the book. This is not a big problem with the book though as it is mostly setting. There are some NPCs write ups, but that is about all the rules one finds here.

There are a few buildings described here. The first is the Shannsey’s Saloon. The building is very nicely described with some history and explanations of the different rooms. There are NPCs described for it as well as plot hooks. The other places York and Meyers Outfitters, Pete Haverty’s Livery, Beehive Saloon, Fort Griffin Jail, and finally a great section on bringing this all together.

This is a good western town. The NPCs are nicely fleshed out with a good flare to them. The Plot hooks are many and make this town better then any modules for adventures. There are plenty of places for action, fighting, and interactions as well as watching plots and storylines unfold. I am not a western fan and both times I have reviewed one of the books I have had a sense of dread going into it. However, at the end of the reading I find myself looking for more from these guys. They are good and have this western thing down.

 

[GameWyrd]

The significant plot twist in Frontier Towns: Fort Griffin, Volume 1 is that we're not looking at Fort Griffin but the nearby town known as The Flat. Despite the un-inspirational name The Flat is an interesting town due to the interesting Wild West characters who pass through and dwell there.

Frontier Towns: Fort Griffin is something of a hybrid product but it's a good and a successful mix. We have some NPC background and NPC stat blocks. We have some adventure seeds. We have some cartography. All this comes together to nicely illustrate a roleplaying town.

This Dog House Rules is a supplement for the rather good Sidewinder: Recoiled. It's not surprising to see that the Dog House Rules manage to maintain the quality and professional shine they instilled in their d20 Wild West RPG.

The goal of Frontier Towns: Fort Griffin is to create an interesting and vibrant setting. Dog House Rules work hard to keep that Wild West flavour and throughout the supplement you'll find colloquialisms (shucks) in the narrative. This isn't annoying, though I fear it could easily be over done, and with the delicate balance struck the phraseology does help to strengthen the mood.

History provides a lending hand to Fort Griffin and The Flat. This isn't an entirely fictional place; far from it. Dog House Rules don't simply namedrop with the likes of Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday and Lottie Deno the authors, Geoff Spakes and Christopher Warner, have done their research.

Take this direct quote from the game as a good example. "Most accounts agree that Doc Holliday arrived in Texas in 1873. Details about exactly when he spent time in Fort Griffin are unclear, but there is little doubt that he did visit The Flat from time to time.
Based on the premise that Doc's visits occurred in the mid-to-late 1870s, the Dog House
Gang has decided to provide statistics reflecting an experienced and deadly Holliday, circa 1877; he's formidable but not yet at the height of his gunfighting and gambling career."

The supplement does then go on to give us a d20 modern character sheet for the famous Doc Holliday as well as information on Holliday.

The Flat isn't just people. It's places too. Our tour of The Flat focuses on the key buildings. Shannsey's Saloon is the focus for many of the important NPCs and is an easy place to adventure hook PCs. It's in the Saloon that the famous NPCs; especially Poker Queen Lottie Deno are most likely to be encountered.

If things go pear shaped then the PCs might also find it easy to get into Fort Griffin Jail. In addition to getting the floor plans for each building we're given a history too - this is handy if you want to be accurate but want to set your scenario in The Flat just before the default timelime (so you know whether the building was actually built).

Front Towns Volume 1 also serves up York & Meyers Outfitters, Pete Haverty's Livery and the Beehive Saloon. For each locale we have maps, NPCs with background and stats and a list of adventure hooks.

The cartography is good enough. Dog House's maps sit above the basic line drawings, hand drawings or basic computer generated images which still appear in professional RPG supplements but below the quality you'd find from those publishers with a name for cartography. We've coloured and computer drawn maps. The colouring and the shading combine to give the maps some "oomph". The extra effort in the cartography comes from the three supplementary PDFs with the Frontier Town: Fort Griffin package. In addition to 15mm Battle Maps and 25mm Battle Maps there's the extremely handy Judge Reference Maps PDF too. I tend to need a Judge/GM reference map when I'm running anything more than just a tactical combat. Simply put I want to use paper minis on the players' version of the battle map but I want a copy for myself so I can keep tabs of secret doors, traps and scribbled notes.

For each location and in partnership with the floor plans there is a fairly extensive "building key" which gives a thorough textual run through of the local. The building key is far more than just a map legend.

This volume of Frontier Town's has 55 pages and will set you back US $6.75.

Fort Griffin dots all the i's and crosses all the t's. The supplement succeeds in its goal of providing an interesting and atmospheric setting for a Sidewinder game. I think the setting is rather dependant on legends from actual Wild West history and if you're trying to play down their role in your Sidewinder: Recoiled game then you might be a little caught out. The Flat is an interesting place and the adventure hooks are nicely baited and do sometimes chain together but there's nothing which really leaps off the page as a "must use" for me. If you're a Sidewinder fan then there's every reason to part with seven dollars for this visit to Fort Giffin.

* This Frontier Towns: Fort Griffin, Volume 1 review was first published at GameWyrd.