Buckshots: Johnny Comes Marching Home
From: Dog House Rules
Reviewed by Antonios S (formerly: Antonius)
Buckshots: Johnny Comes Marching Home is a new d20 adventure from Dog House Rules set in the Wild West, based on their award-winning game Sidewinder: Recoiled. It can be played by four to eight characters of 1st to 3rd level and it is nominally set in the rural region of southwestern Missouri, in the foothills of the Ozarks. It is a 44-page product and 42 of those are gaming material, the first being the cover and the second being blank.
From the website: “Now, usually, we like to whet your appetite by providin’ a short synopsis of the contents. In this case, if we serve up much more than a nibble, well, we’d be givin’ away the farm, so to speak. So iffin’ you don’t mind, we’ll just say that our heroes are returning home after an extended absence (the War as it were), but they must meet one more challenge before they can rest their weary bones.
Johnny Comes Marching Home is the second of a line of Buckshots adventures fit for any Wild West campaign. This 44 page Branded for Recoiled adventure features five full-scale Scenes, along with six major NPCs and some scattergun-fodder mooks. While Johnny is intended for 4-8 characters of 1st-3rd level who are just beginnin’ their wild west adventurin’, this Buckshot also comes loaded with ideas for scalin’ the adventure to handle various character levels and numbers.”
As an introductory remark, I will repeat what I have said on previous reviews of Dog House Rules products. Their Sidewinder: Recoiled RPG is in my opinion the best Wild West system that exists on the market. Not only it is concise and rules-clear, but it is also based on the real Wild West without any kind of fantasy trappings, alternate histories or other elements. Obviously enough, the adventures lived by the characters (or cowpokes) aren’t necessarily real historical events, however they feel real because they are based on real events.
'Johnny' deals with soldiers returning home after the war to find that things have changed. This is not about psychological problems though (even though a huge background can be enjoyed, if the players wish to seriously roleplay), but about real-life immediate dangers that can plague a rural and somehow isolated community at the end of a war. I sympathize with the creators for not wanting to reveal more since the whole point is returning home and not finding the idyllic place one would expect.
I am always very pleased to see stories that tie the characters to the events that transpire. Cowpokes are not on the trail in the search for the next goldmine. They return to their homes and families, thus the story offers great opportunities for role-playing and tie-ins with the adventures that will follow. And, of course, the stakes are high, should the heroes fail.
Content wise the product is excellent as expected. All the NPCs are fully fleshed with combat blocks at the end of the file for ease of reference. There is no unbalanced encounter; furthermore, the existing ones provide for a multitude of resolutions. Trigger-happy cowpokes are cautioned, since the final resolution of the adventure will be much more difficult if they approach it guns ablaze throughout. I want to also mention two small additional things I liked systemwise but which I feel add a lot to the fluidity of the adventure and can be effectively used elsewhere. At the beginning the players are asked to a series of die-rolls for important checks in the game. This resolves brilliantly the casual in-game problem of 'we wouldn’t be rolling for it if it wasn't important' and allows the Judge a bigger fluidity on the story's tempo. The second thing is that, since the characters lived at the homestead before the war, the Judge is to show the players a map of the area for half a minute. The players will remember as much as they can and will coordinate based on that knowledge. Again, this cleverly avoids the usage of checks throughout, eliminates the illogical continuous use of a map and incorporates cleverly into the game the fact that small things might have changed in the homestead. I also enjoyed the ideas for the inclusion of female players playing female characters in the game, something not obvious at all for a historically realistic game about soldiers returning home from war, as well as the tips on expanding the adventure, the crystal clear table on scaling it up or down depending on the cowpokes' experience, as well as some notes on how to provide extra motivation for players weary on compensation. By using the tips and ideas provided, the adventure can last up to double time or more, making it truly remarkable.
In addition to the 44 pages of material (which includes small versions of the maps at the relevant pages for ease of reference), all maps are also included in additional pdfs for the Judge and the players, the latter in both 15 millimeter and 25 millimeter variety. Thus, the Judge's preparation time can be really minimized.
As stated, the adventure can be easily scaled and expanded. It can even be played in another system like Mongoose’s OGL Wild West, or Kenzerco's Aces and Eights, since the distinction between crunch and fluff is extremely easy to make.
In line with the previous products, the presentation is of high quality. No typos were spotted. The writing is professional, clear and conveys the message, while retaining a wild-west feeling at times. Art-wise, each major NPC gets his own drawing. Continuing the tradition of Sidewinder precuts, the first page is colored while the interior is black and white with Wild West themed drawings. Your printer is once again spared the ink.
In conclusion, Buckshots: Johnny Comes Marching Home is an adventure I definitely recommend. Although it is relatively small, it can be placed pretty much anywhere during the adventuring life of the cowpokes, with its best use probably being the beginning of a campaign. It is highly enjoyable and even emotional with the tie-ins and backgrounds that can come up, and can end up by establishing a good place of reference for the heroes, if not a remote base of operations that can be further expanded by the Judge. I rate it five stars out of five.
For more details on Dog House Rules and their new d20 pdf Wild West adventure Buckshots: Johnny Comes Marching Home check them out at their website http://www.doghouserules.net/, or inquire at your local game stores.
Product Summary
Buckshots: Johnny Comes Marching Home
From: Dog House Rules
Type of Game: d20 pdf Wild West adventure
Written by: Christopher S. Warner and Bradley W. Hindman
Number of Pages: 44, 5.16 MB big zipped
Retail Price: $US 6.75
Website: http://www.doghouserules.net/
