Basic Roleplaying (BRP) is Chaosium's generic house TTRPG system, on which most of their percentile/D100 games are based. It has a long history and many variants. Some of the TTRPG world's richest world building, settings, and games have come from or are related to BRP.

These reviews, initially focused on BRP monographs, are an homage to the incredibly creative people involved in BRP gaming.

Chaosium retired its monograph series in 2022.

Monograph Imprints

Chaosium monographs were published under different imprints, depending on the system and sometimes the era they're intended for.

BRP Monographs

BRP monographs are adaptations and/or expansions of BRP rules, with a specific setting or settings in mind. BRP monographs are usually sourcebooks; they provide settings, adventures, and new rules (and spells, powers, etc.), but still require the main BRP rulebook.

BRP monograph covers usually include the monograph imprint which shows the BRP Vitruvian Man (featured prominently on the cover of the Big Gold Book, as the main BRP ruleset is often called), a BRP monograph number, and a statement describing BRP monographs.

Some BRP monographs have second lives, being republished by the authors or by subsequent licensees. Some of these are explicitly repurposed for other systems (generally D100 BRP relatives).

BRP Games

BRP games are kind of like BRP monographs. However, they're not labeled as such, and their covers do not show a monograph imprint.

Like BRP monographs they provide settings, adventures and new rules, and require the main BRP rulebook. They're sometimes called supplements, sourcebooks, or adventure packs. Many were published by Alephtar Games.

I assume that BRP games are/were not published as monographs because they were more commercially focused and often produced by a game publisher (e.g., Alephtar) rather than a single author.

BRP Rulebooks

These are official BRP publications.

BRP Relatives

These are games or game systems that have BRP ancestry or lineage, which they may or may not acknowledge.

BRP (Basic Roleplaying) is Chaosium's D100 house system, on which many of their games are based. Please refer to their trademark and copyright information for information on trademarks and copyright for BRP, Call of Cthulhu, and any other referenced Chaosium property.

Monograph Imprints

Monographs were published under different imprints, depending on the system and sometimes the era they're intended for.

Chaosium retired its monograph series in 2022.

Miskatonic University Library Association Imprint
The Order of St. Jerome Imprint
University of Cadsandria World Studies Imprint
Basic Roleplaying Imprint

Miskatonic University Library Association (MULA) Monographs

MULA imprint monographs are (with some exceptions) intended for Call of Cthulhu. The imprint identifier section includes a logo with an eldritch book - presumably the Necronomicon - at top and bottom.

The Order of St. Jerome Monographs

The Order of St. Jerome imprint monographs are intended for distant past Call of Cthulhu, generally Middle Ages, Dark Ages, or Republic/Imperial Rome. The imprint identifier includes what appears to be a Middle Ages-era man with fins instead of limbs at the top, and an eldritch book - presumably the Necronomicon - at the bottom.

University of Cadsandria World Studies/Young Kingdom Studies Monographs

University of Cadsandria monographs are intended for Stormbringer or Hawkmoon. The imprint identifier includes scales (presumably a reference to the Cosmic Balance) at the top, and an eldritch book - presumably the Necronomicon - at the bottom.

Another University of Cadsandria Monograph

Basic Roleplaying Monographs

BRP monographs are intended as sourcebooks for BRP. The imprint identifier includes the BRP Vitruvian Man.

BRP Monographs

These are the BRP Monographs I'm aware of - I am sure this is not a complete list.

Monograph 308: Chaos Cults of the Young Kingdoms AKA Gods Of Chaos (Stormbringer)
Monograph 327: Michael Moorcock's Hawkmoon - Adventures in the Tragic Millenium (Stormbringer/BRP)
Monograph 331: Old Hrolmar (Stormbringer)
Monograph 335: Gods Of Law (Stormbringer)
Monograph 352: Ashes to Ashes
Monograph 392: Ashes to Ashes - Dust to Dust
Monograph 357: Berlin 61
Monograph 360: Agents of the Crown
Monograph 365: Outpost 19
Monograph 366: Aces High/Devil's Gulch
Monograph 407: Aces High - New Mexico
Monograph 368: BRP Adventures
Monograph 370: Basic Magic
Monograph 371: Basic Creatures
Monograph 372: Basic Gamemaster
Monograph 374: Light Without Shadow, Blade Without Edge
Monograph 375: In Search of the Trollslayer
Monograph 376: Val-Du-Loup
Monograph 378: The River Terror
Monograph 383: Classic Fantasy - A Return to the Dawn of Roleplaying
Monograph 384: Fractured Hopes
Monograph 385: The Modern Equipment Catalog
Monograph 386: BRP Witchcraft
Monograph 388: The Green
Monograph 389: Rubble & Ruin
Monograph 398: Lords of Tarsa
Monograph 400: Blood & Badges
Monograph 401: Operation Ulysses
Monograph 409: A Nation Ransomed
Monograph 411: Swords of Cydoria
Monograph 412: Mission to Epsilon

Provenance
The Author
Introduction
Cults of Chaos: Progression through the Cults
About the Player's and Gamemaster's Sections
Arioch
Balan
Chardros
Conclusion

Provenance

Chaos Cults of the Young Kingdoms (hereafter Chaos Cults or Monograph 308) is among those BRP monographs that were republished, in this case by the author, who made it available on the excellent Stormbringer RPG site.

The Chaosium version of Monograph 308 (titled Gods of Chaos) was published in 2004; Mr. Green's subsequent republishing includes a 2008 copyright.

Chaosium's 2004 Gods of Chaos was published under the MULA imprint rather than the University of Cadsandria imprint; my guess is that the University of Cadsandria imprint hadn't yet been created.

Monograph 308 frequently references The Bronze Grimoire, a supplement for the Elric! version of Stormbringer. Despite that, I think it is written for Stormbringer 5th Edition. There are multiple citations to page numbers of an unspecified Stormbringer rulebook (listed in order of appearance in Monograph 308):

Pages 72 - 73, professions
Page 147, Buzzard Eyes spell
Pages 260 -261, Allegiance rules
Page 144, learning spells
Page 60, characters starting with bound demons
Page 120, Pan Tangian plate armor
Page 163, Magic Point/POW draining
Page 222, shark stats
Page 172, Shape Change demon ability
Pages 221 - 228, NPC stats

Each of these topics are found on the cited pages in Stormbringer 5th Edition.

The Author

The writing in this monograph is excellent, and I've discovered a prolific RPG writer in the author - "discovered" because he's new to me. Charles Green has written sourcebooks and games for several systems including but not limited to BRP, RuneQuest, Stormbringer, D&D, and Savage Worlds, and for several publishers, including but not limited to Alephtar Games and Mongoose Publishing.

In the conclusion of another review, I suggested that the benchmark for quality would be set too high, because it was so well written. Given Mr. Green's depth in BRP games and his excellent writing, that concern was unfounded (at least for this review).

Introduction

The introductory section describes some motivations for the Lords of Law and Chaos (collectively the Lords of the Higher Worlds). It very concisely explains how humans (and human adjacents like Melniboneans and the Mabden) fit into the picture.

This section explains a bit about subsequent sections, and concludes with with a suitably ominous warning about succumbing to the temptation that is Chaos.

Cults of Chaos: Progression through the Cults

In this section, the various ranks one may attain in a cult are explained - along with requirements, privileges, and responsibilities. It's explained that the ladder of progression comes from the Church of Chaos in Pan Tang, which the various cults use as a pattern for their structure.

It's noted (as one might expect from Chaos) that the progression as described isn't an invariant across cults. A couple of notable exceptions are provided. I would also assume that each cult might choose different names for their ranks.

Agents are discussed also, as sort of wildcards in terms of the hierarchy of a Chaos Cult.

This exposition on progressing through the levels of authority in a cult, and some of the risks involved in holding those levels of authority, seems a rich source of adventure seeds for those who enjoy political intrigue.

The progression detailed in this monograph, and its relation to Pan Tang's Church of Chaos, is (I am assuming) influenced by the Stormbringer 4th Edition supplement Sorcerers of Pan Tang, which has a section on the Church of Chaos, and also on the same section in Stormbringer 5th Edition.

About the Player's and Gamemaster's Sections

The meat of this monograph, the Player's and Gamemaster's sections, each detail the same eight cults:

Arioch
Balan
Chardros
Hionhurn
Mabelode
Pyaray
Slortar
Xiombarg

The Player's section lists each as "Cult of ...", and the Gamemaster's section lists each as "Secrets of...". For example, "Cult of Arioch" and "Secrets of Arioch".

Each of the Player's cult sections is organized with the following outline:

Observations
- Affiliation
- Character of Cult Members/Ideology
- Clerical Vestments
- Common Methods of Worship/Important Rituals
- Size of Cult
- Major Worship Centers/Places Of Power
- Current Goals & Activities
Followers
- Allegiance
- Skills (some cults)
- Spells
- Additional Benefits (some cults)
- New Spells
- Spells from The Bronze Grimoire
- Demon Pacts (some cults)
- New Demon Abilities (some cults)

The Player's sections provide excellent motivation both for players and GMs.

The Gamemaster's cult sections are not as uniform as the Player's sections. They vary, with some including quite a bit of backstory and many plot hooks, and some being fairly brief. Some include new demon breeds, stats for noteworthy NPCs, and new spells or items.

Rather than reviewing each cult's material in detail, I'll discuss some of the things I found to be interesting¹ or particularly useful in the first three: Arioch, Balan, and Chardros.

Arioch

The Duke of Hell · Lord of the Seven Darks · Knight of the Swords

The discussion of organized Arioch worship services in the Player's Section feels almost cinematic. I can imagine the impression it could make on players having it described to them for the first time, whether as participants or observers. The spectacle of bloodletting and a temple blood fountain could be striking.

Balan

The Grim · Lord of Pain and Ecstatic Agony

The history of Kardo V'ash is a fun read, making for morbid but rich history. The inclusion of his Iron Helm and notebook - artifacts that are obviously meant as plot hooks - is a nice addition. Even if one isn't interested in using those items specifically, the story and items are excellent inspiration for inventing one's own artifacts.

Chardros

The Reaper · Chaos Lord of Death and Darkness

Because the cult of Chardros is the most influential within the Church of Chaos, it's great to have the detail and information provided. The author takes pains to point out that the cult of Chardros is one of the most significant factions in the Young Kingdoms, and thus potentially one of the most significant in a campaign. The plot hooks and examples of scenario creation are very good.

The details on necromancy and how it might be used promises fun whether viewed from a player's or GM's perspective. Everyone loves skeletons and zombies.

As with the section on Balan, the backstory and artifact introduced (in this case the Skull of the Theocrat) offer great plot hooks and inspiration. There's also a worthy foe in Aldomar Chu, Agent of Chaos and Priest of Chardros.

Conclusion

As mentioned, the writing in Monograph 308 is excellent. There are very minor punctuation and grammar issues. This is nitpicking really - there's nothing terrible, and it would disappear with the support of a full publishing crew.

My own Stormbringer games have not tended to focus much on the Balance, or the Lords of the Higher Worlds. That wasn't by design, it's just how things evolved for my group and I².

After reading Chaos Cults, I think I would do Stormbringer differently. By this I mean I would avail myself more of the intrigue and bizarre spectacle offered by the motivations and constraints found in the pantheon of the Lords of Chaos. Whether this would materialize as main plots, side quests, one shots, or just flavor, I think it could only make things more interesting.

As with all games, Your Stormbringer May Vary³. For those who wish to flavor their Stormbringer deeply with the spirit of Moorcock's Young Kingdoms - the struggle between the Lords of the Higher Worlds - Chaos Cults is an excellent, perhaps necessary supplement. My suspicion is that after I read Mr. Green's Monograph 335: Gods of Law, I will feel the same about it.

The fact that Monograph 308 would change how I would do Stormbringer is, I think, a clear statement about how good it is. Read this monograph - it will improve your life and games.

At least, interesting to me.

I suspect it's also due to the fact that we (exclusively, I think) played 1st edition rules, which while very enjoyable, didn't have quite the depth that later supplements provided and that 5th edition rules seems to have out of the box.

Lifted from Your Glorantha Will Vary

A Multiverse of Hawkmoon Games
The Author
Introducing Hawkmoon
Granbretan - The Dark Empire
The Beast Orders
Hawkmoon's World
The World Beyond
Adventuring in the Tragic Millennium
The Runestaff
Sorcerer-Science
Personalities
Scenarios
Welcome to the Machine
Smoke and Mirrors
All Roads Lead to Londra
The Dogs of Straw
Sons of the Desert
Conclusion

A Multiverse of Hawkmoon Games

In reviewing this monograph, it seems appropriate to mention Hawkmoon BRP relatives. These are the versions or adaptations that I am aware of and understand to be BRP descendants or relatives:

Chaosium Hawkmoon (published 1986)
Darcsyde Corum (published 2001) (Hawkmoon adjacent)
BRP Monograph 327 (published 2005)
Mongoose Hawkmoon (published 2007)

I think that the publication of BRP-related Hawkmoon is one chapter in the larger saga of licensing, companies/corporate entities, and intellectual property issues involving (but not limited to? I don't know):

Chaosium
Issaries
Mongoose Publishing
Moon Design Publications
The Design Mechanism
Darcsyde

I haven't asked and don't personally know anyone involved, and I've just done some cursory searching for things like publication dates and authors. So - I could be wrong about that context.

Not meaning to criticize the authors or anyone else involved, Chaosium's Hawkmoon feels like a quick-and-dirty re-skin of their 1st or 2nd edition Stormbringer. Don't get me wrong about this: I dig all of the 80s/90s/00s BRP variants. I wouldn't change a thing about them.

I haven't read Darcsyde's Corum.

Mongoose's Hawkmoon seems to be consistent with much of Mongoose's content: detailed and well written.

Based only on the timeline and author, I would hazard a guess that Monograph 327 saw a second life as material or inspiration for Mongoose's Hawkmoon.

There's a lovely "Final Words of Thanks" section at the end that suggests Monograph 327 was a labor of love and fun that was taken up and put down many times, and involved Chaosium, Darcsyde, the Tentacles Convention (now THE KRAKEN), and the author's personal gaming group.

I can't not mention that the word millennium is misspelled in the title and throughout the monograph (it's spelled correctly throughout as well). The same is true of Chaosium's Hawkmoon, but not Mongoose's Hawkmoon.

Monograph 327 is published under the University of Cadsandria imprint.

The Author

The author of Monograph 327 is Lawrence Whitaker. Mr. Whitaker is also (often with Peter Nash):

An author of Runequest II, published by Mongoose (which became Mongoose's Legend)
An author of much of Mongoose's Legend
A founder of The Design Mechanism (TDM)
An author of Runequest 6 (which became TDM's Mythras)
An author of much of TDM's Mythras
An author of Mongoose's Castle Brass sourcebook
Credited for "Additional Editorial Advice" in Darcsyde's Corum
Credited for contributions to many, many other RPG publications

I didn't know who Mr. Whitaker was before doing this review. Now, it seems to me that he's a pivotal figure in RuneQuest and many BRP relatives, perhaps as influential as writers I'm more familiar with such as Sandy Petersen. I should point out again that I don't personally know anyone involved - this is my subjective assessment.

Introducing Hawkmoon

Like most adaptations of Moorcock's settings, this includes a discussion of the Eternal Champion, the Multiverse, and where this fits, along with the requisite listing of specific books and compare/contrast with Elric/Stormbringer stories. It's not bad.

The discussion of the Tragic Millennium is entertaining and nicely brief.

Granbretan - The Dark Empire

Well written, and given how long it's been since I read the Runestaff novels, a nice review for me.

This paragraph struck me as interesting in the wake of Brexit:

"Granbretanians do not consider themselves European and look upon the continent with disdain, seeing only potential enemies occupying lands that should belong to the nation with the most power. It is no wonder that Europeans consider all Granbretanians to be mad, and all Granbretanians consider Europe ripe for conquest."

The Jewel in the Skull was published in 1967; the UK joined the European Union in 1973 and exited it on Dec 31 2020¹. I find Moorcock's picture of the UK (Granbretan) as summarized or paraphrased in the quoted paragraph to be thought provoking in light of the UK's recent history with the EU.

The section on Granbretan (and how Moorcock apparently thought of the UK then) will be familiar to readers of other Eternal Champion books; e.g., Melnibone as a caricature of the UK during the Cold War or post WW2.

It also reminds me as I read it (and I recall the same feeling many years ago when reading the 1986 Chaosium Hawkmoon) of TSR's² Gamma World. The notion of wastelands populated by bandits, mutants, and monsters has that Gamma World vibe - if perhaps better written and designed than Gamma World.

The timeline is complicated: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brexit#Timeline

TSR: 1st - 4th editions; Wizards of the Coast: 5th, 7th editions; Sword and Sorcery Studios: 6th edition

The Beast Orders

This subsection is a survey of selected Beast Orders - it's good motivational material for scenarios, NPCs, even characters.

Comparing it to Chaosium's 1986 Hawkmoon, it's much better; Chaosium's Beast Order content is mostly limited to the Granbretan section of character generation.

Comparing it to Mongoose's 2007 Hawkmoon (the Granbretan sourcebook), one will find that the Mongoose sourcebook is more detailed (not uniformly; there are places that Monograph 327 is superior in my opinion), providing material that would be helpful to those wanting to build Granbretanian characters.

While Monograph 327 doesn't include e.g. skill specialization for Beast Orders, there's enough expository discussion that one could homebrew Beast Order character generation without much trouble.

Hawkmoon's World

At about 33 pages, this is the largest section of Monograph 327. It's a nice contrast to the perfunctory region descriptions in Chaosium Hawkmoon's character creation section. It compares favorably to the Gazeteer section in Mongoose Hawkmoon's core rulebook.

This section is written as Huillam D'Averc's report to King Emperor Huon - essentially, an audit of continental Europe's various nation-states' resilience or weakness to conquest. It's a fun perspective to read from (for some definitions of "fun", given the grim subject matter; I liked it).

The various countries, nation-states, provinces, etc., are given reasonably detailed write ups - high level as one would expect given the breadth of the subject, but at the same time with enough detail about personalities, regional relationships, and history to help motivate adventures.

The "Things My Father Told Me" block quotations in each major regional section are clever, appropriately dark or humorous, and complement the "Notes Concerning..." sections at the end of each regional description, which help to guide character building.

About "Notes Concerning...": Given that there's currently rather more sensitivity about culture and differences than there's been in the past, the stereotypical descriptions (French are "passionate", Germanians are "legalistic"/"unthinking rule followers") might rub some the wrong way. I'm not suggesting they are racial caricatures or truly offensive stereotypes, but if one were overly sensitive one might be offended. I'm not, but some could be.

The section on France is about 13 pages. I would say that generally, it's the most detailed region. Plenty of fodder for someone planning a campaign or scenarios in, around, or involving France.

The section on Germania is about 8 pages; it's also got a nice amount of detail to motivate adventure material.

The sections on the rest of Europe are given the same treatment: witty, thoughtful and with enough meat to include them in or build a campaign or scenario around. It's well written, and it's thorough given what's available in the source material. But...

But. The problem I have with "the rest of Europe" is the same problem I have with the Young Kingdoms in Stormbringer: other than Pan Tang, Purple Towns, and one or two others, who really wants to play characters from those regions? A merchant from Filkhar? A hunter from Ilmiora? (Certain professions or backgrounds are also questionable, but that's another topic.) This is no criticism of the author or contributors. As I've taken pains to note, it's well written.

Throughout, there are interesting notes and hints about science, artifice, magic, and the like. The Runestaff and the Mad God's Amulet are among them.

The World Beyond

In character for this setting, there's some interesting things to be found outside of Europe, but not that many things, and they're not that interesting. Amarekh, Asiacommunista, and Garathorm get brief write ups.

Adventuring in the Tragic Millennium

This section provides guidelines for creating and playing characters in the Europe of the Tragic Millennium, using either Stormbringer 5th Edition or BRP rules.

In the guidelines for using BRP rules, the Basic Roleplaying Players' Book and Basic Roleplaying Magic Book are referenced, referring to the Players' rulebook as a monograph. Apparently prior to the BGB (the Big Gold Book, as the combined BRP rules are known), BRP was published in separate Players', Game Masters', and Magic rule books, with monograph numbers. I thus believe that the Game Master rulebook is Monograph 372 Basic Gamemaster, and the Magic rulebook is Monograph 370 Basic Magic. I have been unable to locate a reference to the Players' rulebook monograph. However, I was able to find a forum posting from 2006 that asserts that the (Avalon Hill) RuneQuest 3rd Edition rule books are the same as the BRP Monograph rule books³.

To help map from Stormbringer or BRP rules, suggestions are provided for character professions and cultural backgrounds to aid in determining appropriate skills and abilities. There are subsections about money, equipment, weapons, and technology.

There's a subsection on playing Granbretanians; reasonably, this is mostly a list of caveats about playing inherently amoral and insane characters.

http://forums.sjgames.com/showthread.php?t=17494

The Runestaff

The black sword is an iconic and influential entity in the Young Kingdoms, and in Tragic Millennium Europe, the Runestaff is instrumental in ensuring the Cosmic Balance is maintained. This section explores how the Runestaff could become entwined in the fortunes of Hawkmoon characters. It's largely color, motivation, and hooks for a Game Runner to use in creating adventures.

Sorcerer-Science

This section explores pre-Tragic Millennium science and technology - but not by attempting to provide any concrete explanations for how things work. Indeed, care is taken to point out that unlikely devices and effects make for better play if they're mysterious and often indistinguishable from magic.

There's some discussion about how uncommon technology is and how it's often hoarded or coveted by the powerful. This provides some decent adventure hooks.

A subsection details some examples of scientific or technological artifacts. Examples of devices for transportation, weapons, defence and communication are listed. As with the rest of this monograph, it's well thought out and reflects consideration for how such things could affect play.

Subsections on Granbretanian and Soryandum sorcery-science provide some fun examples, including a discussion of the infamous Black Jewel.

The section concludes by touching on actual magic in the Hawkmoon world. As this is a world of the Multiverse governed mainly by Law, it's noted that true magic is quite rare. It's also noted that the barriers between Tragic Millennium Earth and planes more ruled by Chaos are not robust, and that Chaos and magic can and do intrude.

Personalities

Some of the more pivotal figures in the world of Hawkmoon are discussed, both good guys and bad guys. Statistics are not provided, although for some you can find statistics in Chaosium's or Mongoose's Hawkmoons. The following personalities are explored, listed here in alphabetical order (by name or title):

Baron Kalan of Vitall, Grand Constable of the Order of the Serpent
Baron Meliadus of Kroiden, Grand Constable of the Order of the Wolf
Bowgentle, advisor to Count Brass
Count Brass, Guardian of the Kamarg
Countess Flana Mikosevar of Kanbery, cousin of King Emperor Huon
Duke Dorian Hawkmoon von Koln, Eternal Champion
King Emperor Huon, big baddie
Oladahn, Giant of the Bulgar Mountains, Companion of the Eternal Champion
Orland Fank, servant of the Runestaff
Sir Huillam D'Averc, French mercenary and spy for Granbretan
The Warrior in Jet and Gold, servant of the Runestaff
Yisselda, daughter of Count Brass, wife of Dorian Hawkmoon

The descriptions shore up some plot points, personal or regional motivations, and political machinations in the novels. They also help map out relationships between the characters of the novels.

Scenarios

Monograph 327 generously gives the reader five scenarios over 20 pages. I'm not going to review each of them in detail; I don't wish to ruin this for potential players, so teasers with no spoilers will have to suffice.

It's noted that stats and mechanics are not provided in the scenarios - a Game Runner is expected to do that homework themselves using Stormbringer or BRP rules. I think that's a fair decision given the liminal space this monograph inhabits. It's not truly system agnostic, but it's BRP relative⁴ agnostic.

Welcome to the Machine

This scenario is intended for Young Kingdoms characters - but takes place in Tragic Millennium Europe. Visiting this world of Law comes as something of a surprise.

Smoke and Mirrors

Have you met Dorian Hawkmoon? Meet Dorian Hawkmoon!

All Roads Lead to Londra

The adventurers are bystanders while the drama of Empire unfolds. A smart person would mind their own business, but sometimes you have to take a stand.

The Dogs of Straw

You think you're tough enough to run with the big dogs? Prove it.

Sons of the Desert

Everyone loves a romp through the Afrikan desert. Right?

⁴

I use the term "BRP relative" to mean games or game systems that have BRP ancestry, lineage, or strong influence.

Conclusion

When I set out to review this monograph, I didn't think it was going to start with having to puzzle out publishing timelines and performing mini-reviews of other Hawkmoon gaming adaptations. At times, I was bouncing between several versions for comparison. It was entertaining, and I feel that I've learned more about BRP, world building, and gaming in the process.

Given how well written Monograph 327 is, I anticipate that the benchmark for quality is set too high. There's almost 30 other monographs that I intend to review (not counting two adventure sourcebooks); I don't know how many of them were crafted by professionals like Lawrence Whitaker but I am somewhat apprehensive. I suppose I'll find out.

Before starting, I wasn't planning to use this material in my games. Now though, I am planning at least one campaign or perhaps a set of scenarios that use at minimum the first scenario in this monograph. I think that, more than any kind of score or quality assessment, indicates how good this material is.

Elric of Melnibone, the Young Kingdoms, and Stormbringer are familiar to more readers of fantasy than Dorian Hawkmoon, Tragic Millennium Europe, and the Runestaff. So it goes with the popularity or success of the Stormbringer RPGs in comparison to the Hawkmoon RPGs; when it comes to Eternal Champion or Multiverse settings, Stormbringer is simply more popular. The sheer number of sourcebooks, adventures, supplements, and versions of Stormbringer in comparison to those for Hawkmoon makes that clear.

I think therefore that we're lucky Mr. Whitaker and Chaosium turned their attention to this incarnation of the Eternal Champion; I'm only disappointed that Monograph 327 didn't get the full production and publishing attention I think it deserves.

Introduction
Racism In The American Frontier
Two Takes on the Weird Wild West
Aces High
   BRP vs. Aces High Rules
   Aces High Character Creation
   Aces High Skills
   Occupations
   Guns, Equipment, and Supplies
   Religion, Piety, and Allegiance
   The Land, the Law, Attitudes, and History
   Townscapes and Map of Mystic Sites
   Creatures, Natural and Otherwise; Powers
   Arcane Lore in the West
      Diabolist
      Drifter
      Voodoo Priest
      Wicca; Witches and Warlocks
      Red Skins
    Red Skin Tribes, Traditions, Lore
    Scenario and Bibliography
Devil's Gulch
   Devil's Gulch Character Creation
   Devil's Gulch Skills and Spot Rules
   Devil's Gulch Firearms
   Scenarios and Locales
      Locale: Devil's Gulch
      Locale: Outside of Devil's Gulch
      Scenarios: Wealth & Privilege and The Medicine Show
Conclusion

Introduction

This review changes things up a bit, discussing two publications at once. One is a BRP Monograph, and one is a BRP Game. I'm reviewing them together because they are two different treatments of roughly the same setting: the Weird Wild West.

BRP Monograph 366, Aces High was published in 2008 under the Basic Roleplaying imprint. The author, Stuart Godbolt, also wrote BRP Monograph 407, Aces High - New Mexico, a campaign setting for Aces High.

Devil's Gulch, published in 2010, is a BRP Game by Troy Wilhelmson. Mr. Wilhelmson also wrote the BRP Game Astounding Adventures, the BRP Game supplement Astounding Adventures - Murder in the Footlights, and BRP Monograph 375, In Search of the Trollslayer.

Racism In The American Frontier

In the American Frontier (the period of American history often referred to as the Old West or the Wild West), hateful language was used, and was often backed up with violence. Today most of us would find that language and behavior to be unacceptable.¹

Aces High does not shy away from this: in particular, the terms Red Skin and Negro are used (one might suggest that it could be worse). However, I find that it is meant in context, and is not gratuitous. My reading is that Aces High's treatment of race, culture, and religion or spirituality is respectful and game-focused. I believe it is not meant to be hateful or racially divisive.²

In contrast with Aces High, Devil's Gulch steers somewhat clear of this. There are two brief discussions of Native American and other ethnicities, and the bigotry of the American Frontier.

Despite there being progress, in the United States your mileage may vary in race relations. I'm certain that's true of many other places; my own experience is limited almost entirely to the United States.

I'm fortunate in that I'm not the subject of (much) racial intolerance. That may disqualify my interpretation of this material's intent or offending nature; I do not profess to be an authority in these matters.

Two Takes on the Weird Wild West

Aces High and Devil's Gulch are both gaming supplements for BRP. They're both set roughly during the American Frontier, and both may be used for traditional Wild West gaming or Weird Wild West gaming.

In tone and delivery though, they're very different. Aces High is grim, dark, and brutal. Devil's Gulch is light-hearted and tongue-in-cheek. The contrast is clear from the introductions: Devil's Gulch starts with an entertaining story about gunslingers making questionable choices, while Aces High starts with warnings about conflict, avarice, difficult choices, and the travails of life on the hardscrabble frontier.

Aces High takes a detailed approach to character background, equipment, the setting of the American Frontier, culture and attitude, and the unnatural or mystical world. This fits with its gritty realism approach. It would lend itself well to a no- or low-magic setting. Where there is magic or the unnatural, its approach is flavored by historical mystical traditions such as Voodoo, Wicca, Native American, and mysticism influenced by Abrahamic religions, including the Satanic side of things.

Devil's Gulch paints with a different brush. It has less of a realism approach; it feels almost like a fantasy game or setting. This certainly feels intentional - as mentioned it feels a little less grim; it's a bit more geared towards swashbuckling Wild West adventures.

Some observations about the two publications:

	Aces High	Devil's Gulch
Page count	116	92
Word count	53,370	38,301
Introduction	1/2 page	2 pages
Character creation³	22 pages	10 1/2 pages
Scenarios	13 pages	59 pages
Mundane creature/NPC stats⁴	17	59
Otherworldly creature stats⁵	29	7
Wild West professions	30	27
Weird Wild West professions	6 - 22⁶	5⁷
New skills⁸	21	5
New spells/powers	63	3
New spot rules⁹	6	7

Includes professions, backgrounds, skills, religions, and powers.

⁴

Aces High does not include stats from scenarios. Devil's Gulch only includes stats from scenarios. Devil's Gulch NPCs are provided both mundane and unnatural stats.

⁵

Aces High includes individuals/notable unnatural NPCs as well as species, and does not include stats from scenarios. Devil's Gulch only includes stats from scenarios, and does not include unnatural human NPC stats as they're already counted under mundane NPCs.

⁶

It's difficult to categorize some of the Aces High Weird Wild West professions; depending on how one counts, it's anywhere from 6 to 22. Ish.

⁷

Devil's Gulch professions Medicine Man and Preacher are both Wild West and Weird Wild West professions.

⁸

Includes weapons skills and specializations of BRP skills.

⁹

Not all of these are called "spot rules", but it's my count of what I think are effectively spot rules.

Some selected word frequencies (ignoring case, counting both plural and singular)⁹:

	Aces High	Devil's Gulch
cowboy	17	15
fast¹⁰	39	20
firearm	68	4
gun¹¹	48	75
gunslinger	0	5
hang¹²	11	11
horse	103	57
kill¹³	32	15
lawman	5	1
magic¹⁴	104	16
outlaw	33	1
pinkerton	4	1
rifle	35	40
sheriff	14	31
spell	47	29

⁹

¹⁰

Includes fast, faster, fastest

¹¹

Includes gun, shotgun, scattergun, machinegun

¹²

Includes hang, hanging, hanged

¹³

Includes kill, killing, killed, killer

¹⁴

Includes magic, magical, magician, magically, countermagic

Aces High

Aces High makes good use of the BRP base rules, and expands them with some interesting new rules, skills, and powers. The BRP rule options used are listed below. Aces High notes that it uses the 2008 edition of BRP rules.

BRP vs. Aces High Rules

BRP Rules, No Variation

Dice or point-based characteristic generation
Age
Know roll based on EDU
Derived characteristics
Hit points per location (and, ignore Major Wounds)
Fatigue points
Sanity points
Height and weight
Distinctive features

BRP Rules, Variation

EDU characteristic: If point-based characteristic generation option is used, EDU starts at 10 and can be no more than age - 5
Skill bonuses
Skill point pools
- Normal level: EDU * 20 occupation pool; INT * 10 personal pool
- Heroic level: EDU * 25 occupation pool; INT * 15 personal pool
Equipment and cash by occupation
Allegiance (allegiance as extra skill points)

Aces High Rules

Personality definitions
Occupations
Religion, piety
Extraordinary abilities/disabilities

Chapters 1 - 7 are labeled "The Players Section", and chapters 8 - 12 are labeled "The Masters Section", meaning Game Master (note that I have renamed some chapters for brevity):

Players Section

Chapter 1: Character Creation
Chapter 2: Extraordinary Abilities
Chapter 3: Skills and Spot Rules
Chapter 4: Background Occupations
Chapter 5: Guns, Weapons, Equipment, and Supplies
Chapter 6: Religion, Piety, and Allegiance
Chapter 7: Land, Law, Attitudes, and History

Game Masters Section

Chapter 8: Townscapes; Map of Mystic Sites
Chapter 9: Natural and Otherworldly Creatures; Otherworld Powers
Chapter 10: Arcane Lore in the West
Chapter 11: Native American Lore, Magic, and Spirituality
Chapter 12: Scenario; Bibliography

Aces High Character Creation

The character creation process in Aces High is detailed, although I found it just a bit annoying with how much one has to jump around to different pages to reference various tables and references - this is nitpicking, but for me at least noticeable.

Extraordinary Abilities/Disabilities

Extraordinary Abilities and Disabilities are things like increases or decreases in characteristics, bonuses or penalties to specific categories of skills, unique abilities (specialist combat or other skills, otherworldly powers), and unique weaknesses (phobias, addictions, etc.).

Characters may choose to roll for Extraordinary Abilities if they wish. Aces High takes pains to point out that one must roll rather than choose these, unless the Games Master allows. Also, one must accept the outcome of rolling for Extraordinary Abilities and Disabilities.

These (both Extraordinary Abilities and Disabilities) seem mostly to focus on a character's physical elements, although some (for example Shamanic Power or Otherworldly Parents) are outside the realm of the mundane, and would presumably need to somehow fit into a Games Master's plans.

This part of character creation (Extraordinary Abilities/Disabilities) definitely helps to put the Weird into Weird Wild West.

Personalities, Occupations, and Skills

Aces High provides six personality definitions - these are explained as a character's childhood and background, along with the skills a character picked up during that time:

City Born
Wilderness Survivor
Rancher/Homesteader
Native Indian/Half Breed
Slave
Orphan

Occupations are grouped under the categories The Cowboys, The Outlaws, The Red Skins, The Ladies, The Negroes, and The Chinese.

Characters get a pool of Occupation skill points and a pool of personal skill points. Occupation skills come from the Aces High Occupations, and personal skills come from the Skills chapter, which combines available BRP skills with new Aces High skills.

Occupations also determine a character's starting wealth and equipment.

Wrapping Up Character Creation

Finally, players can determine whether they are religious, and their piety and allegiance; they can also choose a home town and/or country.

Aces High Skills

Aces High provides quite a few new skills, generally specific to the American Frontier setting: piloting or repairing riverboats, handling wagons and horses, etc.

One of the more interesting to me is Two Pistol Style, which allows either simultaneous firing of two guns at a disadvantage, or alternating left and right handed shooting. I could see using this skill with sawn-off shotguns, for two devastating attacks of 3d6 each.

Lasso also looks interesting - it allows entangling, which could make for some canonically Western action.

Occupations

Occupations in Aces High have what feels like a good balance between detail and brevity. There's enough in each to inspire players to craft interesting backstories but not so much that it locks players out from creative variation.

There's a damn near endless list of Western character tropes that probably inspired or influenced Aces High Occupations. The most obvious¹⁵ is the Shaolin Monk Occupation: it's almost certainly a nod to the early 70s David Carradine show Kung Fu. Every Occupation, from Bartender to Rustler to Stagecoach Robber to School Ma'am is well designed for colorful character development.

¹⁵

It seems obvious to me - I could be wrong.

Guns, Equipment, and Supplies

The usual suspects are included. Fun outliers are things like the Gatling Gun, artillery, and dynamite. A typically BRP-style¹⁶ price list includes such sundries as cigars, mixed nuts, musical instruments, waistcoats, a stagecoach, blankets, fire making/tinder (no price list would be complete without tinder), magnifying glass... you get the idea.

¹⁶

Going back to the early days of RuneQuest, silly price lists seem to be a tradition. The excellent podcast Breakfast in the Ruins has an episode in which they poke fun at the price list in Stormbringer 1st Edition, which has pricing for things like a fortified castle (500,000 Large Bronze) and a cylinder seal (30 Large Bronze). What the fuck is a cylinder seal?

Religion, Piety, and Allegiance

The section on religion in Aces High is mainly concerned with a Piety score, which if I'm correct is suggested to be used as an extra skill pool, following the BRP Allegiance option.

The subsection titled Breakdown of Religions includes a discussion of Buddhism and Animism/Totemism/Fetishism, although otherwise it seems almost entirely focused on the Christian branch of Abrahamic faiths. There is what's effectively a blurb on Judaism. One could suppose that the various sects of Christianity dominate religious tradition in the American Frontier, and it's not given prominence in Aces High only because the author is more familiar with them. Given the attention paid to Native American spirituality and Wicca/Voodoo elsewhere, it stuck out to me as odd that they weren't mentioned in this section.

The Land, the Law, Attitudes, and History

The next few chapters provide maps, guidelines for applying in gameplay the harsh effects of frontier life, fun rules for outlaws and justice, common attitudes towards outgroups, and timelines of relevant events going back as far as 20,000 BCE (BC) and as close as 1901 CE (AD).

The remaining chapters are the Game Masters Section. This starts with a suggestion that players do not read these chapters.

Townscapes and Map of Mystic Sites

The section on townscapes describes categories of frontier settlements from semi-permanent to full cities, and a set of public services that may be available depending on size. The map of mystic sites provides 20 spread across continental North America and coastal areas. All are clearly provided as inspiration for plot hooks; they're nicely open ended in that regard (i.e., they're brief, described with a few words each).

Creatures, Natural and Otherwise; Powers

The section on natural creatures provides quite a few animals that players might encounter on the frontier, including staples like bears, bison, mountain lions, and wolves. I appreciate the author's effort on this mundane American Frontier bestiary.

The section on otherworldly creatures is equally good - there is an emphasis creatures from Native American lore, and some straight up weirdness like the Big Head Bat People.

The author seems to caution against too much exposure to the otherworldly, but I might find myself as a Game Runner indulging a bit in exposing characters to these creatures and powers.

The section on otherworldly powers also has an emphasis on Native American lore, which is perfectly in character for the genre. The weather manipulation powers in particular are a fun read, and would be fun to see in play.

Arcane Lore in the West

This chapter details otherworldly occupations. Game Runners are cautioned to be selective when including NPCs with these occupations and when allowing players to select them.

Diabolist

The Diabolist includes Magicians and Satanists. Magicians may or may not be religious, but perhaps obviously Satanists always are. Magicians are noted to be followers of the middle path - eschewing allegiance in favor of neutrality. Satanists on the other hand are followers of the dark path, intentionally choosing evil. It is noted that the Preacher occupation from the players section is essentially the opposite of the Satanist.

Diabolists have access to BRP Sorcery and Aces High powers Command, Sacrifice, and Summoning.

Drifter

The Drifter is a special kind of undead: a revenge seeker, who can attempt to pass into the mundane world once per year at the exact time of their (assumed to be) terrible death. Once their revenge is complete, they must leave the mundane world, or powerful otherworldly forces will track them down and either return them to the otherworld or destroy them.

Voodoo Priest

Voodoo Priests are practitioners of the religion taken with them from Africa. Although things such as creating zombies are part of the Voodoo Priest tradition, that does not necessarily make a Voodoo Priest evil. There is a specific type, the Caplatas or Bokor, that like the Satanist intentionally choose the dark path.

Voodoo Priests have access to BRP Magic and the Aces High power Sacrifice.

Wicca; Witches and Warlocks

Witches and Warlocks are described as outcasts from Wicca covens, generally because they've done something distasteful from the majority of the coven. It's suggested that turning to dark or evil forces is often the reason.

Wiccans have access to BRP Magic and Sorcery with some limitations, and the Aces High powers Command, Sacrifice, and Summoning.

Red Skins

A number of occupations are described, but the Game Runner is cautioned to only allow characters to be Half Breeds, Outcasts, or Scouts from the players section. This effectively prevents these characters from starting out with magic or otherworldly powers.

Red Skin Tribes, Traditions, Lore

I'll note again that terms like red skin are used in context. It's still kind of jarring.

This chapter provides fairly detailed¹⁷ material on the different cultural groups. Rituals and the role of shamans is discussed. Many will be familiar with the ritual names the Buffalo Dance, the Vision Quest, and the Ghost Dance; these and other rituals such as the Sundance Ritual and the Life Way are explained in terms of how they might affect or be included in game sessions.

There's a section on totem spirits and animals and their powers, which seems oriented towards Native American characters, or perhaps non-Native American characters that come to be accepted by a tribe and included in their culture and rituals.¹⁸

There's a brief, oddly formatted section on Shaman Magic (maybe it seems odd because it's short and the two-column layout makes it just - weird?). It mainly explains that a shaman is limited in the spells available.

The section on animism, totemism, and fetishism is largely for NPC flavor.

There's sections on Native American languages, regional lifestyle (nomadic vs. quiescent), and names. It's quite interesting, although my guess is that unless a campaign were very specifically focused on Native American culture, it may not be as useful as other material.

¹⁷

Not being an expert in these topics, they seem to me to be detailed; I'm guessing that someone actually familiar with Native American cultures would have a different read on the material.

¹⁸

The reason I find this of note is that there's some strong language cautioning against players having characters that are (initially?) steeped in these rituals and powers.

Scenario and Bibliography

I like the provided scenario. Briefly, a greedy shaman causes his tribe and the local area to be visited by a curse. There's conflict with ranchers and farmers, a Witch or Warlock running around causing trouble, and of course outlaws. The player handouts (maps and a newspaper advertisement) are well done.

I don't read westerns, so I don't have an opinion about the bibliography other than that I'm glad it's included.

Devil's Gulch

As noted earlier, Devil's Gulch is less about gritty realism and more about high adventure.

Devil's Gulch seems to rely more on the existing BRP rules. It adds a few skills, a few spot rules, and five Weird Wild West professions.¹⁹

The specific version or edition of BRP is not mentioned. Every page number reference to a BRP rule in Devil's Gulch is the same in both the 2008 and 2010 editions of BRP (i.e., the referenced rule can be found on the cited page in both editions).

¹⁹

This isn't meant negatively - it's a strength of Devil's Gulch, allowing the material to focus more on setting and flavor.

Devil's Gulch Character Creation

For Wild West (as opposed to Weird Wild West) characters, there's a table that maps Devil's Gulch professions to BRP professions, with some notes about suggested changes to skills. Characters are separated into the broad categories of Old West Archetypes, Native American, and Other Common Nationalities and Ethnicities. This is one of the places Devil's Gulch discusses issues of race and discrimination.

For Weird Wild West characters, there's some new professions.

Hex Master
The Hex Master is described as a spell-using warlock or folk magician. It's noted that Hex Masters often take on disguises like gamblers or gunfighters. Hex Masters have access to Heroic Level BRP Magic. Hex Masters may have a Spell Focus, which like the BRP Wizard's Staff allows storage of POW.
Medicine Man
The Medicine Man is described as a Native American spiritual leader. Medicine Men have access to Heroic Level BRP Sorcery. Like the Hex Master, they have a POW storage item, the Medicine Bag. They also have a new Sorcery spell, Vision Quest.
Preacher
Generally from a Christian branch of the Abrahamic religions, it's noted that they may really be from any religious tradition. Preachers have access to Heroic Level BRP Sorcery, and of course their POW storage item is a bible. Of course.
Snake Oil Hustler
Snake Oil Hustlers are con-man alchemists. It's a fun profession: they create potions or elixirs that impart BRP Mutations. A bit Jekyll-and-Hyde, a bit traveling hustler. They have access to BRP Mutations, and have the "Mother Essence" alchemical soup for POW storage.
Mad Scientist
Mad Scientists are clockpunk/steampunk artificers and inventors. They have access to BRP Super Powers, specifically equipment. Some excellent sample inventions are provided, including the Electrical Discharge Pistol, the Inferno Rifle, the Aether Lantern, and the Clockwork Automaton.

Devil's Gulch Skills and Spot Rules

There's new specializations to three BRP skills to reflect the setting: Drive, Knowledge, and Language.

There's also new skills, "Special Combat Maneuvers", and "Combat Spot Rules". In my opinion the new Quick Draw skill, along with Special Combat Maneuvers and Combat Spot Rules are all more or less spot rules. I think between the two, I tend to prefer Aces High's take on gunfights, although there's nothing wrong with how Devil's Gulch does things.

There are some additional rules for chases (horse and wagon as opposed to cars and other kinds of vehicles), to take into account that horses are animals subject to fatigue or stamina.

Devil's Gulch Firearms

There are some nicely detailed firearms including specifications for single and double action pistols, rifles, and Gatling guns. Also a mention of knives.

Scenarios and Locales

The character creation, skills, etc. sections from Devil's Gulch seem brief when compared to Aces High - because they are. As noted previously, Aces High's provided scenario is 13 pages, and Devil's Gulch's scenario is 59 pages. That's not a perfect comparison, because there is a great deal of motivating material and plot hooks throughout Aces High, and while the scenario is fairly short, there's no lack of scenario ideas.

The locales and scenarios provided in Devil's Gulch are the meat of the publication.

Locale: Devil's Gulch

The town of Devil's Gulch is intended to be a possible home base for characters, and the author points out that it could just as easily be a traditional American Frontier town, or in a steampunk setting perhaps a colony based on another planet.

It's well detailed, with important buildings and NPCs described and provided stats. A very nice addition is details for both standard Wild West and Weird Wild West settings, sometimes with stat changes, sometimes with equipment or plot hooks. The following buildings and their denizens are included:

Sheriff's Office and Jail
General Store
Doctor's Office
Undertaker
Hotel
Saloon
Livery and Blacksmith
Bank
Church
Graveyard
Train Station
Other

It's 27 well-written pages of setting and motivating material.

Locale: Outside of Devil's Gulch

The surrounding environs outside of the town of Devil's Gulch are detailed in this section. As with the town locale, both Wild West and Weird Wild West settings and stats are provided.

Bar-T Ranch
Providence Mine
Road Agents' Hideout
Indian Burial Ground

This section isn't as extensive as the town locale, but it's equally well written and has interesting NPCs and plot hooks throughout.

Scenarios: Wealth & Privilege and The Medicine Show

I don't want to give too much away - these scenarios are both good and hey, maybe you'll play them sometime, so I don't want to spoil them.

They both make use of standard Wild West story tropes, with which you will probably be familiar - including jail breaks, haunted burial grounds, posses, and get-rich-quick schemes.

As a hint, I will say that in my opinion the scenarios would be more fun in a Weird Wild West setting.

Conclusion

When I started this review, I was fairly certain that I was going to really like Devil's Gulch and perhaps not really like Aces High. I think this was because the production quality of Devil's Gulch is better. The layout, editing, and art is more polished, and generally nicer to look at and read through. I was also rather more interested in something light and fun, and less enamored with the grim and gritty Aces High esthetic.

After going through both in detail though, I think I prefer Aces High. Its artwork is certainly less polished, but it's striking and it reflects the tone very well. The layout and organization is less professional, but there's more packed into it. Spelling and grammatical errors are pervasive, and it could absolutely benefit from a copy editor, but as a BRP Monograph that's fairly standard.

Play Devil's Gulch if you want

A lighter tone
To get up and running quickly
A steampunk or clockpunk Western setting

Play Aces High if you want

Grim, gritty, and brutal
To do some game prep
A more realistic American Frontier Western setting

If I do a traditional or weird American Frontier setting, I will use elements from both Aces High and Devil's Gulch. They both have much to recommend them. I applaud both authors; their visions are well reflected in these books.

BRP Games

These are the BRP games I'm aware of - I am sure this is not a complete list.

Astounding Adventures
Astounding Adventures - Murder in the Footlights
Blood Tide
Blood Tide - Tales From Dead Men
Celestial Empire
Crusaders of the Amber Coast
Devil's Gulch/Monograph 366: Aces High
Dragon Lines - Guardians of the Forbidden City
Mecha
Merrie England
Mythic Iceland
Mythic Iceland - Night of the Yule Cat
Rome
Rome - Veni Vidi Vici
The Chronicles of Future Earth
The Chronicles of Future Earth - Children of the Worm
Wind on the Steppes

Introduction

Racism In The American Frontier

In contrast with Aces High, Devil's Gulch steers somewhat clear of this. There are two brief discussions of Native American and other ethnicities, and the bigotry of the American Frontier.

Two Takes on the Weird Wild West

Some observations about the two publications:

	Aces High	Devil's Gulch
Page count	116	92
Word count	53,370	38,301
Introduction	1/2 page	2 pages
Character creation³	22 pages	10 1/2 pages
Scenarios	13 pages	59 pages
Mundane creature/NPC stats⁴	17	59
Otherworldly creature stats⁵	29	7
Wild West professions	30	27
Weird Wild West professions	6 - 22⁶	5⁷
New skills⁸	21	5
New spells/powers	63	3
New spot rules⁹	6	7

Includes professions, backgrounds, skills, religions, and powers.

⁴

Aces High does not include stats from scenarios. Devil's Gulch only includes stats from scenarios. Devil's Gulch NPCs are provided both mundane and unnatural stats.

⁵

⁶

It's difficult to categorize some of the Aces High Weird Wild West professions; depending on how one counts, it's anywhere from 6 to 22. Ish.

⁷

Devil's Gulch professions Medicine Man and Preacher are both Wild West and Weird Wild West professions.

⁸

Includes weapons skills and specializations of BRP skills.

⁹

Not all of these are called "spot rules", but it's my count of what I think are effectively spot rules.

Some selected word frequencies (ignoring case, counting both plural and singular)⁹:

	Aces High	Devil's Gulch
cowboy	17	15
fast¹⁰	39	20
firearm	68	4
gun¹¹	48	75
gunslinger	0	5
hang¹²	11	11
horse	103	57
kill¹³	32	15
lawman	5	1
magic¹⁴	104	16
outlaw	33	1
pinkerton	4	1
rifle	35	40
sheriff	14	31
spell	47	29

⁹

¹⁰

Includes fast, faster, fastest

¹¹

Includes gun, shotgun, scattergun, machinegun

¹²

Includes hang, hanging, hanged

¹³

Includes kill, killing, killed, killer

¹⁴

Includes magic, magical, magician, magically, countermagic

Aces High

BRP vs. Aces High Rules

BRP Rules, No Variation

Dice or point-based characteristic generation
Age
Know roll based on EDU
Derived characteristics
Hit points per location (and, ignore Major Wounds)
Fatigue points
Sanity points
Height and weight
Distinctive features

BRP Rules, Variation

EDU characteristic: If point-based characteristic generation option is used, EDU starts at 10 and can be no more than age - 5
Skill bonuses
Skill point pools
- Normal level: EDU * 20 occupation pool; INT * 10 personal pool
- Heroic level: EDU * 25 occupation pool; INT * 15 personal pool
Equipment and cash by occupation
Allegiance (allegiance as extra skill points)

Aces High Rules

Personality definitions
Occupations
Religion, piety
Extraordinary abilities/disabilities

Chapters 1 - 7 are labeled "The Players Section", and chapters 8 - 12 are labeled "The Masters Section", meaning Game Master (note that I have renamed some chapters for brevity):

Players Section

Chapter 1: Character Creation
Chapter 2: Extraordinary Abilities
Chapter 3: Skills and Spot Rules
Chapter 4: Background Occupations
Chapter 5: Guns, Weapons, Equipment, and Supplies
Chapter 6: Religion, Piety, and Allegiance
Chapter 7: Land, Law, Attitudes, and History

Game Masters Section

Chapter 8: Townscapes; Map of Mystic Sites
Chapter 9: Natural and Otherworldly Creatures; Otherworld Powers
Chapter 10: Arcane Lore in the West
Chapter 11: Native American Lore, Magic, and Spirituality
Chapter 12: Scenario; Bibliography

Aces High Character Creation

Extraordinary Abilities/Disabilities

This part of character creation (Extraordinary Abilities/Disabilities) definitely helps to put the Weird into Weird Wild West.

Personalities, Occupations, and Skills

Aces High provides six personality definitions - these are explained as a character's childhood and background, along with the skills a character picked up during that time:

City Born
Wilderness Survivor
Rancher/Homesteader
Native Indian/Half Breed
Slave
Orphan

Occupations are grouped under the categories The Cowboys, The Outlaws, The Red Skins, The Ladies, The Negroes, and The Chinese.

Occupations also determine a character's starting wealth and equipment.

Wrapping Up Character Creation

Finally, players can determine whether they are religious, and their piety and allegiance; they can also choose a home town and/or country.

Aces High Skills

Aces High provides quite a few new skills, generally specific to the American Frontier setting: piloting or repairing riverboats, handling wagons and horses, etc.

Lasso also looks interesting - it allows entangling, which could make for some canonically Western action.

Occupations

¹⁵

It seems obvious to me - I could be wrong.

Guns, Equipment, and Supplies

¹⁶

Religion, Piety, and Allegiance

The section on religion in Aces High is mainly concerned with a Piety score, which if I'm correct is suggested to be used as an extra skill pool, following the BRP Allegiance option.

The Land, the Law, Attitudes, and History

The remaining chapters are the Game Masters Section. This starts with a suggestion that players do not read these chapters.

Townscapes and Map of Mystic Sites

Creatures, Natural and Otherwise; Powers

The section on otherworldly creatures is equally good - there is an emphasis creatures from Native American lore, and some straight up weirdness like the Big Head Bat People.

The author seems to caution against too much exposure to the otherworldly, but I might find myself as a Game Runner indulging a bit in exposing characters to these creatures and powers.

Arcane Lore in the West

This chapter details otherworldly occupations. Game Runners are cautioned to be selective when including NPCs with these occupations and when allowing players to select them.

Diabolist

Diabolists have access to BRP Sorcery and Aces High powers Command, Sacrifice, and Summoning.

Drifter

Voodoo Priest

Voodoo Priests have access to BRP Magic and the Aces High power Sacrifice.

Wicca; Witches and Warlocks

Wiccans have access to BRP Magic and Sorcery with some limitations, and the Aces High powers Command, Sacrifice, and Summoning.

Red Skins

Red Skin Tribes, Traditions, Lore

I'll note again that terms like red skin are used in context. It's still kind of jarring.

The section on animism, totemism, and fetishism is largely for NPC flavor.

¹⁷

Not being an expert in these topics, they seem to me to be detailed; I'm guessing that someone actually familiar with Native American cultures would have a different read on the material.

¹⁸

The reason I find this of note is that there's some strong language cautioning against players having characters that are (initially?) steeped in these rituals and powers.

Scenario and Bibliography

I don't read westerns, so I don't have an opinion about the bibliography other than that I'm glad it's included.

Devil's Gulch

As noted earlier, Devil's Gulch is less about gritty realism and more about high adventure.

Devil's Gulch seems to rely more on the existing BRP rules. It adds a few skills, a few spot rules, and five Weird Wild West professions.¹⁹

¹⁹

This isn't meant negatively - it's a strength of Devil's Gulch, allowing the material to focus more on setting and flavor.

Devil's Gulch Character Creation

For Weird Wild West characters, there's some new professions.

Hex Master
The Hex Master is described as a spell-using warlock or folk magician. It's noted that Hex Masters often take on disguises like gamblers or gunfighters. Hex Masters have access to Heroic Level BRP Magic. Hex Masters may have a Spell Focus, which like the BRP Wizard's Staff allows storage of POW.
Medicine Man
The Medicine Man is described as a Native American spiritual leader. Medicine Men have access to Heroic Level BRP Sorcery. Like the Hex Master, they have a POW storage item, the Medicine Bag. They also have a new Sorcery spell, Vision Quest.
Preacher
Generally from a Christian branch of the Abrahamic religions, it's noted that they may really be from any religious tradition. Preachers have access to Heroic Level BRP Sorcery, and of course their POW storage item is a bible. Of course.
Snake Oil Hustler
Snake Oil Hustlers are con-man alchemists. It's a fun profession: they create potions or elixirs that impart BRP Mutations. A bit Jekyll-and-Hyde, a bit traveling hustler. They have access to BRP Mutations, and have the "Mother Essence" alchemical soup for POW storage.
Mad Scientist
Mad Scientists are clockpunk/steampunk artificers and inventors. They have access to BRP Super Powers, specifically equipment. Some excellent sample inventions are provided, including the Electrical Discharge Pistol, the Inferno Rifle, the Aether Lantern, and the Clockwork Automaton.

Devil's Gulch Skills and Spot Rules

There's new specializations to three BRP skills to reflect the setting: Drive, Knowledge, and Language.

There are some additional rules for chases (horse and wagon as opposed to cars and other kinds of vehicles), to take into account that horses are animals subject to fatigue or stamina.

Devil's Gulch Firearms

There are some nicely detailed firearms including specifications for single and double action pistols, rifles, and Gatling guns. Also a mention of knives.

Scenarios and Locales

The locales and scenarios provided in Devil's Gulch are the meat of the publication.

Locale: Devil's Gulch

Sheriff's Office and Jail
General Store
Doctor's Office
Undertaker
Hotel
Saloon
Livery and Blacksmith
Bank
Church
Graveyard
Train Station
Other

It's 27 well-written pages of setting and motivating material.

Locale: Outside of Devil's Gulch

The surrounding environs outside of the town of Devil's Gulch are detailed in this section. As with the town locale, both Wild West and Weird Wild West settings and stats are provided.

Bar-T Ranch
Providence Mine
Road Agents' Hideout
Indian Burial Ground

This section isn't as extensive as the town locale, but it's equally well written and has interesting NPCs and plot hooks throughout.

Scenarios: Wealth & Privilege and The Medicine Show

I don't want to give too much away - these scenarios are both good and hey, maybe you'll play them sometime, so I don't want to spoil them.

They both make use of standard Wild West story tropes, with which you will probably be familiar - including jail breaks, haunted burial grounds, posses, and get-rich-quick schemes.

As a hint, I will say that in my opinion the scenarios would be more fun in a Weird Wild West setting.

Conclusion

Play Devil's Gulch if you want

A lighter tone
To get up and running quickly
A steampunk or clockpunk Western setting

Play Aces High if you want

Grim, gritty, and brutal
To do some game prep
A more realistic American Frontier Western setting

BRP Rulebooks

These are the BRP rulebooks I'm aware of - I am sure this is not a complete list.

2nd Edition
3rd Edition
Quick-Start
Big Gold Book 2nd Edition
Big Gold Book
Enlightened Magic

BRP Reviews