Boot Hill: Campaigns (Part I)

Boot Hill devotes several pages in the middle of its 32-page rulebook to campaigns.

The full flavor and scope of BOOT HILL comes out in campaign play, with numerous players vying, through the use of their game characters, for a wide assortment of goals and objectives. The interplay of personalities (on both sides of the law) can be fascinating and fun, and a well-run campaign with a competent gamemaster and a good assortment of players will be a satisfying endeavor for all. Campaigns should be tailored to suit the preferences of the players, but some general guidelines are here. All campaigns require an impartial referee. 

 None of this is new. The game's introduction already covered a lot of the same ground. Nevertheless, I personally find it gratifying to see yet another suggestion that roleplaying reaches its zenith in campaign play – and by "campaign play," the author means an open-ended and player-directed series of sessions with a shared continuity, overseen by "an impartial referee." There's no mention here of "story" or "plot," just "players vying ... for a wide assortment of goals and objectives." 

The person taking the role of gamemaster is a pivotal figure, for it is her or she that will shoulder the principal responsibility for all aspects of play. The referee should thus be a person who has a good working knowledge of the rules.

This is just common sense.

A referee should be impartial, and should moderate the action without interfering in the course if might take. The referee will be in charge of processing and revealing all information as the campaign goes on, and this "limited intelligence" aspect will greatly add interest, since not every character will be aware of all that is happening. 

This conception of the referee is clearly derived from miniatures wargaming, which only makes sense, as the entire hobby of roleplaying arose out of it. More interesting to me is the statement that the referee's primary job is not to direct the action of the campaign – that's the purview of the players – but to "moderate the action without interfering in the course it might take." That's very different than the way a referee, game master, or Dungeon Master is generally conceived of nowadays (and, if I'm honest, most of the time that I've been playing RPGs).

The gamemaster provides background for the players, and the scope of the campaign will be determined by the referee's judgment. The referee's decisions will be important in many instances, and the players must accept the judgments accordingly. 

The referee, then, establishes the status quo ante for the campaign, including its locale, major NPCs, conflicts, etc. Much of the rest is left to the players.

Two campaign scenarios are included in this booklet – one which is quasi-historical, and another which is completely fictional. These can provide the beginnings of a campaign in themselves, or an independent campaign can be started "from scratch," if desired. In any event, players can make up their own roles in such settings by rolling the dice to determine their character's abilities and then choosing a personal role or occupation. The objectives of each character can then be outlined by the referee, and these are the goals each will seek as the campaign goes on. 

The two campaign scenarios referenced above both take place in the fictional Promise City at different periods in history (1876 and 1890). The earlier of the two scenarios is "quasi-historical" in that it involves a gambling competition that attracts famous historical gamblers to the town, like Johnny Ringo and Bat Masterson. Otherwise, however, it's entirely fictional in nature, as is the later 1890 scenario. Notably, this paragraph seems to suggest that it's the referee rather than the players, who decides the objectives of each character. I suppose this might only apply in circumstances where the referee is working from a pre-generated scenario, such as those in the Boot Hill rules, but it's a bit unclear. Ultimately, though, what's most important is that campaign play proceeds according to the principle that characters have "goals" that they will seek and the bulk of the campaign's action derives from their attempting to do so.