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BY MATTHEW CUTTER

DEADLANDS CREATED BY SHANE LACY HENSLEY

WWW.PEGINC.COM

Deadlands, Savage Worlds, all unique characters, creatures, and locations, artwork, logos,
and the Pinnacle logo are © 2020 Pinnacle Entertainment Group. Printed in China.
 CREDITS

Writing & Design: Matthew Cutter

Additional Material: Shane Hensley, Clint Black,
John Goff, Erica Balsley, Simon Lucas
Editing: Shane Hensley, Matthew Cutter, Jay Kyle,
Ron Blessing, Simon Lucas, Jessica Rogers
Proofreading: David Harriss, Andrew LaCara,
Adam Loyd, Laurie Marks, René Martin
Art Direction: Aaron Acevedo, Alida Saxon
Interior Graphic Design: Karl Keesler
Layout: Shane Hensley, Matthew Cutter, Simon Lucas, Thomas Shook
Cover Art: Aaron J. Riley
Interior Art: Aaron Acevedo, Bruno Balixa, Chris Bivins, Arthur Bowling,
Von Caberte, Matheus Calza, Donald Crank, Dennis Darmody, Sam Denmark,
Loic Denoual, James Denton, Martin de Diego Sádaba, Sebastien Ecosse,
Alex Elykov, Bartlomiej Fedyczak, Bien Flores, Quintin Gleim, Ross Grams,
Konrad Korgull, Irina Kovalova, Dio Mahesa, Wayne Miller, Fedrico Musetti,
Christian C. Otazu, Sabrina Pugnale, Aaron J. Riley, Alida Saxon,
Martin Sickree, Tiago Silverio, Unique Soparie, Jon Taylor, Joseph Weston
Playtesting: Michael “Mortimer” Conn,
Jessica “Abigail” Moore, Tracy “Ranger Daniel” Sizemore,
Darrell “Suyin” Hayhurst, Michelle “Cora Lee” Hensley, Simon
“Agent Cranston” Lucas
Operations & Logistics: Jodi Black
Customer Support: Jodi Black & Christine Lapp
Production Liaison: Alexander Hau
Executive Producer: Simon Lucas

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events

portrayed in this book are either products of the author’s imagination
or are used fictitiously.
 CONTENTS
GONE TO WYOMING
The Story So Far..............................................5
Quakin' Aspens...............................................6
The Cult o' the Critter.....................................6
Without A Trace..............................................7
UINTA COUNTY
Uinta Towns................................................... 11
HEASTON HILL
Heaston Hill...................................................19
History o' the Hill..........................................19
Around Town................................................. 21
Fitting In.........................................................22
Establishments...............................................22
Heaston Hill Environs..................................46
ENCOUNTERS49
Encounter Tables...........................................49
Encounter Results.........................................49
Twilight Events..............................................52
HORROR AT HEADSTONE HILL
Running the Campaign................................55
Plot Point Overview.....................................56
Act 1: The Missing Agent............................57
Act 1 Episode A The Searchers....................58
Part One: The Investigation Begins..........58
Part Two: Followin' Up.............................. 61
Part Three: House o' Madness...................62
Act 1 Episode B The Summons...................67
Act 1 Episode C Legend o'
Spooky Hollow..............................................68
Act 1 Episode D Last to See Him Alive......72
Act 2: The Headstone Hill Massacre...........75
Act 2 Episode A Local Politics.....................75
Act 2 Episode B Now It's Personal..............76
Act 2 Episode C Blood in the Streets..........77
5 Act 3: Days of Blood......................................78
Act 3 Episode A Shebang Sorcerer..............78
Act 3 Episode B Quiverin' Aspens..............82
Part One: To the Woods.............................82
Part Two: Twisted Trails............................83
Part Three: The Screaming Tree...............84
9 SAVAGE TALES 89
Run for the Nations......................................89
Findin' the Gangs..........................................90
19 Huntin' the Gangs......................................... 91
Run for the Nations......................................94
Lost in the Bog...............................................95
Range Murder................................................98
Burnin' Down..............................................102
Crooked Streets...........................................102
Dem Dry Bones...........................................103
Devil in Sheep's Clothes.............................103
Embers..........................................................104
Etched in Blood...........................................104
Hangin' Tree................................................104
Hungry Waters............................................105
Infernal Bartender.......................................105
Invasive Species..........................................106
55 Jump Off Joe's Bloody Revenge................106
Luck o' the Loper.........................................107
Nest o' Thieves............................................107
Old Vaskiss..................................................107
Train Wreckers............................................108
Where Wolf?................................................109
Night Hoss...................................................109
Wizard Oil....................................................110
You're Kiln Me............................................. 111
BESTIARY113
Rascals..........................................................113
Varmints.......................................................116
Creatures......................................................116
HANDOUTS123
 GONE TO
WYOMING
Look alive, amigo! We hate to be a stick in the mud
but this book’s for Marshals. Read the player’s
booklet if you’re as curious as the proverbial cat.
Welcome to Wyoming Territory, Marshal!
It’s a place of wonder and beauty, but these
days it ain’t for the faint of heart. Not since
the twilight of fear and terror fell over it.
Uinta County is the territory’s westernmost
region, bordering Deseret and the Sioux
Nations to the northeast. It’s home to miners,
trappers, loggers, ranchers, and farmers,
whose numbers have been growing steadily
since the Denver-Pacific rail line came
through in 1872.
THE STORY SO FAR
Tarrytown, Wyoming, remained a flyspeck
of a burg up through 1883, consisting of
the Frontier Store, a small livery, and a few
other establishments. Everything changed
in February, when a down-on-his-luck
prospector named Warfield Phoenix dug up
a 66.6-pound ghost rock nugget. He found it
on Tarrytown Bench, the grim, rocky ridge
that looms like a gravestone over town.
Unfortunately, that nugget attracted
trouble like flies to carrion. Warfield
Phoenix’s final fate is revealed in the
Savage Tale Lost in the Bog, and his nugget
has since been through several ill-fated
hands, including the town’s top dog and a
luckless US Agent.
Rock Rush
Word got out quick about the “Headstone
Nugget.” By March the sleepy mountain
burg of Tarrytown exploded into a
bustling boomtown.
Heaston Mining Co. rolled in soon after
and bought up a good chunk of the claims
out on the bench as well as the town’s
real estate. Owner Jerem Heaston tried to
cajole the locals first, handing out loans to
local businesses and even installing electric
lighting up and down Main Street.
But the “ingrates” didn’t vote for his
puppet mayor and they weren’t impressed
by his big-spending, high-falutin’ ways. So
Heaston populated the town council with
lackeys, bought himself a town marshal, and
started stacking the deck. His town council
even changed Tarrytown’s name to Heaston
Hill—just to rub the locals’ faces in it.
Now Heaston has two goals. The first is
to secure all the independent claims in the
area, especially on Tarrytown Bench—also
called “Headstone Hill.” He’s set his goons
to bully and terrorize the local miners to join
his outfit, and even secretly caused a deadly
explosion to demonstrate how dangerous all
these small, “fly-by-night” operations are.
5
HORROR AT HEADSTONE HILL
Jerem’s second goal is to gobble up as
much of the nearby land as he can. The local
rail line is currently served by Denver-Pacific,
but Heaston knows the DP is failing. He’s
secretly funding several gangs to make sure
Denver-Pacific continues to lose money in
Uinta County. Jerem respects power more
than anything, and believes once DP fails,
Dr. Hellstromme’s mighty Wasatch Railroad
will gobble up the scraps like hungry
wolves among bleating sheep. And that will
send the value of the land in Uinta County
skyrocketing.
Heaston is smart and tricky. He knows how
to antagonize his enemies and manipulate his
friends, and maintains just enough distance
to stay out of trouble with the law.
But as bad as he is, Heaston isn’t the real
threat in Headstone Hill.
Quakin' Aspens
Northeast of Heaston Hill is a massive aspen
forest. You might not know this, Marshal,
but aspens are connected underground
via their roots. They essentially form one
6
massive organism that seems to be able to
communicate across their vast network.
Don’t believe us? Look it up. It’s all real, and
they’re downright alien.
Now imagine such a giant organism
sinking its roots into a massive layer of
corrupted ghost rock. That’s what happened
here. The forest sucked in all that pure evil
and became something truly terrifying. It
gained consciousness, focused its central
being into a “Mother Tree” at its heart, and
set about doing what aspens always do—
taking over the rest of the land around them—
with a vengeance.
The hoodoo of the malignant ghost rock
deposits and a little touch of evil by the
Reckoners gave the aspens some additional
powers as well. They can move and confuse
mortal senses, making the trails through
the forest difficult to navigate and steering
interlopers away from the Mother Tree.
More important, the trees can spawn pods
that give rise to slimy humanoids—pod
people! The green, featureless things slide
out of their pods when ripe and look for
unconscious, sleeping, or helpless humans.
When they find such a victim, they envelop
and consume them and take on their shape,
mind, and even powers if they happened
to have ’em!
Once a shape is assumed, the pod-person
is a “replicant.” He or she looks just like the
unfortunate soul they consumed. The forest
uses these replicants as spies, bodyguards,
and agents in the human world.
And Marshal, Heaston Hill is full of them!
The Cult o' the Critter
Over the last year or so, the patient forest
gathered a number of followers. Some of
them are replicants of its own making. A
few, like Frank Debeney, joined of their own
damn accord.
In February 1884, Frank discovered one
of the replicants and forced it to talk. It took
some doing, but eventually the tight-lipped
replicant told him of the forest and the
Mother Tree. The thing planned to spread
throughout Uinta by destroying everything
in its path—including Heaston Hill.

Frank was astounded that such a thing
existed...a tree that was actually a “critter.”
But rather than reveal the replicant, the wily
Debeney made a deal. Frank is head of the
Miners Union—not because he believes in
the freedom and independence of honest
labor, but because he’s a greedy son of a bitch
who knows there’s a lot of money in being
the president of a union.
Frank pledged to use his small army
against Jerem Heaston’s outfit, virtually
ensuring the town would burn to the ground.
He’ll make a fortune while he puts the pieces
into play, and once Heaston Hill is a charred
ruin he’ll set off for greener pastures with a
fortune under his belt.
Debeney gathered a few of his closest
cronies into the “Cult o’ the Critter” and
quickly murdered anyone who proved
suspicious of the sometimes-awkward
replicants.
Without A Trace
The disappearances quickly caught the
attention of the Agency, who dispatched
Agent George J.A. Reeg—badge #682—to
Heaston Hill on March 15 to look into the
situation. Before dawn on May 1, he vanished
without a trace.
Reeg’s mission was cloaked in secrecy.
Governor William Hale, a longtime family
friend, requested him. Hale hoped to secure
a cut of the mineral rights while Reeg settled
the town’s stranger troubles. Reeg was a good
man but saw no conflict of interest between
his official duties and making a little cash on
the side, so he went along with Hale’s plan.
At first everything was routine. Reeg
rented a house and bought a stake in a ghost
rock mine. His alias of Len Buckles, aspiring
miner, let him look into disappearances,
blend in with locals, and secure Governor
Hale’s mineral rights.
Reeg was a clever fellow. Yup—“was.” As
you might surmise, this mission didn’t go
well for him.
At first he thought the source of the town’s
troubles was the Headstone Nugget, which
once sat on the hearth at Heaston Manor. He
Gone to Wyoming
Running
Headstone Hill
Horror at Headstone Hill gives your
players almost total leeway in how they
tackle its mysteries and antagonists.
The story of the cult and the monstrous
tree they serve is the main plotline, but
how your wranglers pursue it and what
tangents they go off on is completely
up to them.
This increases flexibility, Marshal,
but it also adds complexity. Don’t feel
overwhelmed by this sandbox aspect.
Everyone in Heaston Hill has a story, but
you only need to worry about the ones
your players choose to interact with and
care about.
slipped in, stole it, hid it in his rented house,
and quickly regretted it (see page 62).
Then Reeg discovered the cult. He wrote
up what he could about it and put the
evidence in a strongbox at the claim he shares
with Prospector Bob Malone. He secured the
key and the combination (it requires both)
but wasn’t able to share those with anyone
before the cult caught him and killed him.
The Setup
That’s where the posse comes in, Marshal.
They’ve been sent to Wyoming by the
Twilight Legion in mid-May 1884 to
investigate Agent Reeg’s fate and the town’s
ills. If you decide to run the Plot Point
Campaign, Horror at Headstone Hill, the
gory details start on page 55.
It’s assumed the posse are Seasoned at the
start of this campaign. It’s certainly possible
for a posse of Novice-ranked characters to
play Horror at Headstone Hill, but some of the
bigger threats assume that the heroes have a
few Advances under their belts. Don’t worry
though Marshal, there’s more than enough
mayhem to go around while your posse
gains experience, and plenty of opportunities
for Advancement in Uinta County.
7
UINTA COUNTY
 UINTA
COUNTY
This chapter covers the places and people
of Uinta County, Wyoming. During the Plot
Point Campaign (page 55) buckaroos need
to travel all over it to run down clues, evil
critters, and threats to the locals.
With the entire county only about 50 miles
across, a traveler can cross it on horseback in
two hard days. Or even faster by rail.
UINTA COUNTY
FEAR LEVEL: 3
Uinta (“you-IN-teh”) County was formed
in 1869, one of five in Wyoming Territory.
Uinta comes from the Ute word Yoov-we-teuh,
meaning “pine forest.” These days Uinta’s
a hotbed of take-no-prisoners electioneering
and rampant fear. As is so often the case
when industrial giants tussle, it’s the region’s
everyday folks who are caught in the middle.
The county stretches north all the way to
Montana and encompasses all of Yellowstone,
the world’s first national park established by
the US Congress in 1872. Its southern and
western borders run up against the nation
of Deseret. About 80 miles northeast of Fort
Bridger, the Sioux Nations jut into Uinta
County and carve out a sizable chunk.
Early 1800s trappers were the first
whites to reach the area. Old pelt hunters
like John “Uncle Jack” Robertson and Jim
Bridger became legends, lending their
names to locales that still stand in 1884. The
county’s population is growing, with more
homesteaders and ranchers arriving all the
time. Small communities pop up like Indian
paintbrush flowers all along Smith’s Fork
and Cottonwood Creek.
Horror at Headstone Hill focuses on the
county’s most populous southern end, where
the Oregon and Mormon Trails pass through
Fort Bridger, and where the Denver-Pacific
railroad line passes through the county on its
way west to Deseret and to points Back East.
Geography & Climate
Uinta is wild Wyoming mountain country,
much of it at least a mile above sea level. The
county’s geography is defined by two river
valleys—Bear River in the west and Black’s
Fork of the Green River in the east—and the
mountain range that splits them roughly
down the center, known locally as the Divide.
Bear River is the world’s longest waterway
that doesn’t end up in the ocean; it runs to
the Great Salt Lake instead. The typical
climate is generally more arid in the eastern
parts of the county, tending toward alpine to
the west. Winters are brutally cold, and last
roughly from November through early May.
9
HORROR AT HEADSTONE HILL

The Third District Court of Wyoming has

jurisdiction over Uinta County. Attorney and
future congressman Clarence D. Clark serves
as county prosecutor in Evanston. Circuit
judges visit the towns under their jurisdiction
to mete out justice. That’s currently handled
by Territorial Auditor Jesse Knight, making
the rounds from his offices in Evanston.

Denver-Pacific Railroad
The Denver-Pacific line enters Uinta County
following the Overland Trail. The tracks pass
within about 10 miles of Fort Bridger. From
there the line cuts sharply south, through
Piedmont and up the grade to cross the
Divide at Aspen. Then it angles north along
the Bear River to Evanston, and from there
west into Deseret. It’s about 100 miles from
the border to the City o’ Gloom.
The Denver-Pacific’s status in Uinta
is precarious, however. Wasatch Rail is
already planning a hostile takeover. They’re
in cahoots with several local gangs who
terrorize their rival’s interests, and they’ve
quietly begun moving rail warriors and
materiel into the area. They’re spoiling for
a fight and will almost certainly win, given
Temperatures may plunge to 5° Fahrenheit, or their much greater resources.
as low as –5° in mountain valleys. Summers
are often hot and sunny, with cooler nights, Ranchers
but the temperature almost never tops 95°. The region’s first ranchers arrived in Bear
River Valley around 1858. With completion
Wyoming Law of the Denver-Pacific line in 1872, ranching
Wyoming is a US Territory, so the Territorial got big. Cattle and sheep graze in the high
Rangers have legal jurisdiction. Ramon Uinta meadows in the summertime and
“Tex” Fimbres has an office in Evanston munch hay inside barns during the winter.
but he’s rarely in. He spends most of his
Most round-ups and cattle drives end up
time chasing criminals (or strange critters)
at Carter, a wild and woolly cowtown that
in the rugged northern reaches of the
ships the most stock from hereabouts. That
county or Yellowstone. When Field Rangers
said, almost all the county’s railroad towns
receive orders, they usually get them from
have corrals. Conflicts between ranchers and
Tex Fimbres.
farmers have grown in frequency; ranchers
County Sheriff J.J. LeCain is based in refer to hostile homesteaders as “grangers.”
Evanston, the county seat. Although his main
duties involve tax collection and prosecuting Farmers
instances of election fraud and ballot stuffing, About 30 farms and homesteads are scattered
LeCain’s been known to round up a posse through Uinta, typically close to the rail line
now and then to hunt down criminals or or a major stream. As the county’s population
help out when Ranger Fimbres is on a hunt. continues to grow, farmers and ranchers
Despite attempts to grease his wheels, LeCain find themselves more often at odds. Most
maintains a noble and ethical distance from work out some kind of amicable agreement,
Territorial Governor William Hale’s lackeys. but where the bull-headed meet the goat-
stubborn, bloodshed is likely.

10
 Uinta County

Indians
Eastern Shoshone, Bannock, and Ute bands  UINTA TOWNS
migrate through the region seasonally, but
those who follow the Old Ways almost
always winter within the Sioux Nations’ Now let’s swoop in for a closer look at the
borders. Shoshone and Bannock Indians are communities large and small scattered across
more likely to be friendly with whites. The Uinta County. Savage Tales are marked with
Shoshone host an annual trade rendezvous the Twilight Legion’s setting sun: k
on Smith’s Fork northeast of Robertson,
which typically includes Bannock and Utes,
and sometimes visiting members of Nez
Almy
Percé and Flathead tribes as well. Due to FEAR LEVEL:
4
their societal connections with the Comanche,
Shoshone usually have horses for trade. Almy is a high mountain town known for
rich ghost rock mines. The elevation of
The Utes are known as fierce warriors
6,588 feet above sea level turns away most
and master horsemen. In the course of the
sane folks, and frigid ice-clad winters turn
Ute Wars, culminating in the White River
away the rest. But beyond the awful weather,
War of Colorado, many were driven off
the Almy mines are also known for hellish
their traditional lands and resettled on
working conditions. The town’s even earned
reservations. Negative sentiments toward the
itself a grisly nickname—the Grinder.
tribe resulted in the Ute Removal Act of 1880.
Nearly 40 workers were killed here in
In Uinta County, a warband led by Black
an 1881 mine explosion. Accidents have
Horse (see page 113) has abandoned the
maimed and injured more than a dozen since
Old Ways and burned two homesteads
the disaster, and close to two dozen have
since the year began. But the Utes’ attacks
succumbed to ghost rock fever. Company
are just as often reprisals for their brutal
scientists theorize that workers breathe
treatment at the hands of US cavalry troops.
ghost rock atomized by the blast, increasing
It’s exactly the sort of vicious, violent circle
the disease’s incidence. Burnin’ dead
the Reckoners take great glee in perpetuating.
(see Deadlands) spawned by these deaths
The Outlaw Trail plague the miners and contribute to their
bloodcurdling cookfire tales.
This trail is a rugged, out-of-the-way route
known to Uinta County’s gangs, with But the draw of ghost rock is strong, and
hideouts, safehouses, and supply caches Almy boasts some of the richest deposits in
all along its length. Fresh horses, weapons, the county aside from those at Heaston Hill.
ghost rock, provisions, cash, or an infernal These are tapped via a miles-long series of
device like a rocket pack or a few healing mines along a ridge above the Bear River
elixirs aren’t uncommon. rapids near town.
The Outlaw Trail stretches as far north as Almy’s population consists primarily of
Montana and south to Vernal, Deseret, using Chinese miners, who are able to get work
rugged canyons, mountain plateaus, and here despite the Chinese Exclusion Act
river crossings to keep ahead of the law. The and rampant bigotry elsewhere. In fact, the
trail isn’t well-marked or often trod—it looks Denver-Pacific Rail brought in most of the
more like an animal track—but cowpokes Chinese residents after the Shan Fan line was
might discover it near certain towns, as noted completed in 1880. Few others are willing to
in those places’ descriptions. live and work in such harsh conditions, but
as always, where there are riches in the soil
Note that the Outlaw Trail is shown on the
all colors and creeds are found.
county map in this book, but omitted from
the full-size player’s map. Your cowpokes k Burnin’ Down (page 102): The heroes
have to find it on their own! cross paths with the burnin’ dead.

11
HORROR AT HEADSTONE HILL

Between the D-P line and the new Army

fort, the logging business has picked up
Disease: Mountain Ail considerably. Munson Logging is the biggest
Dozens of maladies plague settlers
company. Although her father passed on
in Wyoming Territory, including
before he could see his endeavor succeed,
cholera, typhoid, diptheria, pleurisy,
Lida Munson built his outfit into the only
and smallpox. The most common and
game in town—nearly all the local loggers
troublesome in the Uinta foothills
work for her. Cut trees are dragged from
is “mountain ail”—better known
the woods with steam donkeys and wagons,
as malaria.
and a newly established lumber mill in town
Malaria: A parasitic infection carried preps the logs for rail transport.
by mosquitoes and some Texas skeeters
A small, dismal Army fort and stockade,
(see Deadlands). An explorer bit by a
eponymously named, sits on the ridge over
skeeter carrying mountain ail must
Bear River. Its troops are demoralized and
make a Vigor roll or gain the Ailin’
listless, beaten down by their service to
(Minor) Hindrance.
Captain Colton J. Barron. After presiding
over a massacre of enemy prisoners during
the waning days of the Civil War, Barron
escaped court-martial with a demotion from
Aspen major to captain. Bitter melancholia and
brutal discipline are all he has left.
FEAR LEVEL: 4
At 6,580 feet, Bear River’s nearly as lofty
This mountaintop refueling station sits at the as Almy. It’s fairly mild in summer, but
high point of the Divide. Trains laboring up outrageously cold winters make it a tough
the long grade in either direction stop here place to cut lumber or be stationed as a
to refuel, replenish wood and coal, and learn soldier. And in the chill of deep winter, some
of any obstructions lying in either direction, claim to hear an unsettling howl keening in
courtesy of the D-P telegraph office. In the the hills. Others awaken in the dead of night,
past few months the tool house has been gripped by an unspeakable hunger...
burglarized twice. More recently, a near-
k Etched in Blood (page 104): A
derailment prompted panicked telegraph
cannibal Army captain turns wendigo.
operators to call in a company rail agent.
They swear they saw shadowy figures
skulking in the trees at Aspen’s verges... Bridger
k Train Wreckers (page 108): Cowpokes FEAR LEVEL: 3
hunting saboteurs meet a night haunt!
This rail stop and supply depot lies at the
Bear River intersection of the Oregon Trail and the
Denver-Pacific line. It’s commonly called
“Bridger Depot” to distinguish it from the
FEAR LEVEL: 3
more famous Fort Bridger. The town’s
Along the recent rail spur to Almy lies the transient population is diverse, consisting
logging town of Bear River. No place else in of travelers east and west, while ranchers,
Uinta County lives up to its sheer wildness cowboys, and D-P rail workers make up the
and lawlessness—despite a US Army local populace. Sitting up on a rail fence to
stockade overlooking its single main street. watch all the strange new people coming and
The town was founded in 1871 in hopes going is a favorite pastime of local kids.
the approaching Denver-Pacific line would
Prosperous cattle exporter and merchant
put it on the map. When the line bypassed
Bushrod Lovingood and his family run
them entirely, the local logging industry
several establishments in town, including a
languished for 10 long years until the new
general store, hotel, and fancy saloon. Until
spur from Evanston arrived in 1881.
three months ago Lovingood also held the

12
 Uinta County

sutler’s contract to supply the US soldiers Evanston has grown beyond the rail line
at Fort Bridger, but he lost it to the Frontier
to become a city in its own right, featuring
Store in Heaston Hill. Ostensibly this was toall the services and attractions of a major
shorten the distance, but Bushrod suspects settlement. Sporting a population of nearly
collusion. The Army maintains a garrison in 1,400 souls, it’s the largest community in Bear
Bridger to keep watch over this vital depot River Valley and in the county at large. Brisk
and point of trade. exports of lumber, livestock, and fundaments
are the norm, as ably reported in Evanston’s
Deacon Eleanor’s Watering Hole caters to
newspaper, the Uinta Chieftain. So a diverse
those who prefer their drinking establish­
array of humanity has taken root, all eager
ments darker and grimier than Lovingood’s.
for their piece of the Uinta County Boom.
A custom-built, steam-powered infernal
bartender serves the drinks. Eleanor keeps Evanston was platted in 1868 by the D-P’s
watch over the proceedings from a rocking chief engineer Granville Dodge. Such was
chair on the balcony, a well-oiled and rune- his admiration for his employers and their
marked Gatling shotgun on her knees. transatlantic mission, Dodge aligned the
streets to the rail line rather than observe
k Infernal Bartender (page 105): Deacon cardinal directions. Some say Dodge had
Eleanor’s bartender goes haywire!
other, more malevolent masters, for whom
he platted a few “crooked streets” on the sly.
Carter Denver-Pacific maintains extensive
holdings—including the Evanston rail
FEAR LEVEL: 3
depot, D-P executive offices, warehouses
Named for Fort Bridger’s original store and storage facilities, hundreds of acres of
keeper, Judge William Carter, this railroad trainyards, and a massive stone roundhouse
town lies along the banks of Muddy Creek. for engine repairs. And it employs a small
It’s grown into the primary rail-shipping army of men and women to staff them.
point for livestock from Bridger Valley.
Every summer, Shoshone encampments
For that reason the biggest stockyards in
dot the hills west of town during the tribe’s
the county are found here, packed with
annual migration. Evanston’s Chinatown,
thousands of milling cows and sheep.
just north of the railroad tracks on company
Ranchers and their families, the wranglers land, shelters a population of more than 250
in their employ, and railroad folk make up in rough shanties. Envoys from California’s
the bulk of the town’s population. People progressive New Tomorrow Triad have
come here to enjoy the freshest cuts of meat in secretly made contact with local community
the county, while cowboys fresh off the trail leaders, hoping to help them improve
blow in to spend wages in the dance halls, working conditions in Uinta County’s mines.
gambling dens, and more than 40 saloons.
The Uinta County courthouse was the
k Devil in Sheep’s Clothes (page 103): county’s first permanent structure of its kind.
A stockman fears the hodag’s revenge. It started as the county jail and was expanded
into a courthouse a few years later. Sheriff
Evanston J.J. LeCain operates out of this building.
Territorial Ranger Ramon “Tex” Fimbres
also has an office but he’s rarely in it, instead
FEAR LEVEL: 3
riding all over Wyoming looking for trouble.
Originally a railroad town, Evanston took
Evanston’s post office is a major outlet,
its name from Denver-Pacific surveyor
offering “brass lock service” for those who
James A. Evans. Now it’s Uinta’s biggest city
can afford it. For $10/ounce, a cowpoke can
and county seat. Its orderly grid of streets
mail a canvas pouch secured with a brass
presents a veneer of refined civility, but look
lock for which only postmasters along the
too deep beneath the surface and prying eyes
rail line have a key.
find a society both ruthless and violent.

13
HORROR AT HEADSTONE HILL
Evanston also has a dangerous underbelly.
Deseret’s spies infiltrate Denver-Pacific
operations, while Wasatch Rail has begun
importing its own loyalists for the coming
conflict with D-P. Just south of downtown,
the Wyoming Insane Asylum broods in the
middle of a 100-acre plot of forested dells
and overgrown gardens. On quiet nights the
inmates’ moans and shrieks are haunting.
k Crooked Streets (page 102): A
cult plots to use Evanston’s unique
streetplan to summon a demon.
Fort Bridger
FEAR LEVEL: 4
Named for its founder—the legendary
trapper and mountain man Jim Bridger—
Fort Bridger is “The Place Where All Trails
Meet.” The California, Oregon, Mormon,
Cherokee, and Overland Stage Trails pass
through Uinta County, and all of them either
reach or have a trail leading to Fort Bridger. which he believes will get him a more
Established in 1843, it was originally Jim
Bridger’s trading post to serve travelers
14
headed west. Pioneers could trade exhausted
animals for rested ones, buy supplies and
provisions, stock up on water, and enjoy a
few rare luxuries and exotic goods. Bridger’s
partner was Louis Vasquez, affectionately
known around the post as “Old Vaskiss.”
In 1855, Bridger sold his post to the
Mormons at Fort Supply. Two years later,
during the Utah War, Nauvoo Legionnaires
burned Fort Bridger to the ground to prevent
its capture by US Army forces. By 1858 the
US Army had again taken possession and
built a stockade, and in the 1860s used it as a
stop on the Pony Express route.
In the 1870s it became an active military
post after Deseret declared independence
from the United States. In 1884, Major
Newton X. Chelmsford of the Third United
States Cavalry runs the post with an iron fist,
sending his riders on ever-more brutal forays
against Black Horse’s Utes.
He hopes to force them onto a reservation,
desirable post. But the raiders tend to vanish
into the Sioux Nations when pursued.
Chelmsford’s single-minded focus on the

Indian threat has blinded him to Wasatch’s
designs on the county—and a possible return
of the Nauvoo Legion!
The fort’s sutler is Frank Debeney, owner
of the Frontier Store in Heaston Hill about
four miles away. (Bushrod Lovingood of
Bridger Depot formerly held the post.) As
sutler, Debeney has the rank of warrant
officer—he can lord it over the troops but not
the officers. He pays for the privilege, but it
gives him a monopoly to sell anything the US
Army doesn’t provide to the troops.
That doesn’t include liquor, but thanks to
Debeney’s “special relationship” with Major
Chelmsford (who belongs to Debeney’s Cult
o’ the Critter; see page 79) he sells it on
the sly. Debeney splits his time between Fort
Bridger and Heaston Hill. When he’s in the
latter, a tough gal named Ruby Zane minds
the sutler’s store.
Fort Bridger’s most loyal and alert sentry
is Thornburg, a stray dog who showed up
at the stockade one day. Since he’s been
around, Thornburg has alerted the troops to
more than one Ute raid and sniffed out a fire
before it became a blaze. He’s a beloved ally
and unofficial mascot.
A posse that becomes familiar around Fort
Bridger and helps out its troops might gain
Thornburg the dog (page 116) as an allied
Extra, via the Ally Twilight Event (page
52) or at the Marshal’s whim. Cowpokes
can also get a vial of the Prospector’s Elixir
(page 108) if they make friends with Old
Vaskiss first.
k Old Vaskiss (page 107): The posse’s
asked to check up on Fort Bridger’s
oldest resident.
Fort Supply
FEAR LEVEL: 4
A high lonely wind rattles dry sagebrush. Founded in 1879, until a month ago this place
Colorful yellow Indian paintbrush pokes was called Tarrytown for its founder’s New
up here and there. The charred, blackened York birthplace. Heaston Hill—popularly
remains of a stockade and a few buildings known as “Headstone Hill” for the miners
are all that remain of former Mormon outpost who’ve died here—is the epicenter of the
Fort Supply.
Fort Supply was sacked and burned by
US forces in 1883, after a series of skirmishes
Uinta County
culminated in a pitched battle between US
troops and Nauvoo Legionnaires. Deseret’s
forces retreated to Utah and haven’t set foot
in Uinta since. Critters and birds are just
about the only inhabitants now, except for
the angry ghosts of Nauvoo Legionnaires
who died in the raging flames.
k Embers (page 104): Travelers who
light a fire in the ruins anger the ghosts.
Gunsight
FEAR LEVEL: 3
Located among the Uinta Foothills south of
Hilliard, this gold and silver mining town is
entirely crammed into a long, narrow, high-
walled canyon. Most new construction is
forced to go up rather than expand outward—
clinging to the canyon walls and linked by
precarious catwalks and rope bridges. At
night the canyon is filled with twinkling
lights and soft fluttering of tents and wagon
covers. The upper catwalks are haunted by
the ghost of “Jump Off Joe,” a miner who
hurled himself into Gunsight Canyon in
despair when his gold mine played out.
The Little Rock Irregulars, a gang of former
rail warriors led by the notorious outlaw
Arkansas Ted Harwell, maintain a hideout
in a box canyon about five miles northwest
of Gunsight on the Bear River. When they’re
not robbing Denver-Pacific express cars they
mosey over to Gunsight to blow some cash
on whiskey and other diversions.
k Jump Off Joe’s Bloody Revenge (page
106): Joe’s ghost hunts its killers.
k Little Rock Irregulars (page 116): The
posse brings the gang to justice.
Heaston Hill
FEAR LEVEL: 3
Reckoners’ activities in the area. Looming
over it is the dark, striated mass of Tarrytown
Bench and the Uinta Mountains beyond.
15
HORROR AT HEADSTONE HILL
It was originally little more than a trading
post and gathering spot for the occasional
miner or rancher to share whiskey and
gossip. Since Heaston Mining Co. moved
in and bought up a good portion of the
lots, it’s a major boomtown on a high slope
overlooking Bridger Valley. See page 19
for the details.
Hilliard
FEAR LEVEL: 3
Hilliard’s your typical jerkwater town—just a
water tower, a name on the depot, and some
Denver-Pacific storage facilities. For the time
being it’s a rail stop without a town, a spot
for locomotives headed over the Divide to
refuel. This is the closest rail access for folks
coming and going from Gunsight.
Recently D-P workers have had trouble
with an infestation of big bugs—and we
don’t mean influential folks, Marshal. It’s
actually a huge Texas skeeter nest. And those
recent derailments on the long grade down
to Evanston? The superstitious among the
rail warriors attribute their awful luck to a
jackalope seen skulking on the slopes.
k Luck o’ the Loper (page 107): Heroes
need to drive off a jackalope before it
causes another rail disaster!
Hog Thief Falls
FEAR LEVEL: 3
This town doesn’t appear on any official
maps, but it’s well-known to local ne’er-
do-wells as a safe spot to hide out along the
Outlaw Trail. The outlaw encampment is
nestled on the east bank of Sage Creek where
the Cottonwood flows into it, sheltered from
view by thick stands of willow, aspen, and
pine. There’s a rustic trading post and saloon,
livery stable, flophouse, smithy, and other
necessities for those running from the law.
Outlaw Trail: See page 11 for the details
on this little-known route. Cowpokes who
find Hog Thief Falls can pick up on the
trail’s existence with success on a Survival
(tracking) roll.
16
k Nest o’ Thieves (page 107): The Blind
Gunslinger and his gang rob $10,000
from a Wyoming Express stagecoach.
Lonetree
FEAR LEVEL: 3
This high mountain burg sits at 7,556 feet
above sea level. It’s named for a mammoth,
dead pine at the center of town that also
serves as a hangin’ tree when necessary.
Lonetree is accessible by trail from Heaston
Hill, and it’s a thriving hub of commerce for
nearby cattle ranchers, featuring a general
store, three saloons, and even a post office.
Only lawbreakers know it’s a major stop on
the so-called “Outlaw Trail.”
Jesse Applegate holds the title of town
marshal, but he gained it not through election
but simply by virtue of being the toughest
so-and-so around. Thing is, he’s got a town
full of wanted folks who back him on nearly
any play. And the lone pine’s often crowded
limbs are silent proof of Marshal Applegate’s
limited tolerance for troublemakers.
Members of the Sage Dragons Gang come
here to lie low when the law heats up. And
if the law tracks them this far they run off to
Hog Thief Falls. Beyond that, they make a run
for the Sioux Nations; the closest border lies
roughly 80 miles northeast of Fort Bridger.
Outlaw Trail: See page 11 for the
details on this backwoods road. Explorers
passing through Lonetree can pick up on the
trail’s existence with success on a Survival
(tracking) roll at –2.
k Hangin’ Tree (page 104): He who
takes pity on the evil dead must
contend with Old Man Salcido’s curse.
k Sage Dragons Gang (page 116):
Cowpokes looking for the Sage
Dragons find them in Lonetree.
Piedmont
FEAR LEVEL: 2
Piedmont sports a large general store,
two-story hotel, school, post office, and
newspaper, the Piedmont Proclaimer. It’s
largely populated by rail workers (and
 Uinta County

warriors!). US Army soldiers from nearby day lecturing ranch hands about the wisdom
Fort Bridger frequent the town’s numerous of its contents. The book exhorts readers to
saloons. Piedmont’s also a timber town invest in “cattle-growing, sheep-farming,
whose loggers cut railroad ties for Denver- horse-raising, and dairying” in the West—
Pacific. This creates a salty and volatile mix. and tells how to do so—but many find its
strident, salesman-like tone repellent.
The town was settled about 1867 by Moses
Byrne and others. The railroad arrived in Lobdell Ranch is also situated near
1868. Piedmont was established as a refueling Robertson. Prime grazing land has at times
station designed to provide helper engines been an issue between owner Sylvester
on the long grade from Carter to Aspen. Lobdell and the bellicose Largo concern.
Helper engines are needed on the grade, as Largo’s boys once dammed a stream flowing
well as coal and water refueling stations onto Lobdell’s property. For now they’ve
to keep them running. As logging became worked out their differences, but Sigmund
established, Moses Byrne built a series of Largo isn’t one to be silent when he feels he’s
charcoal kilns to burn aspen and pine logs been wronged. Lobdell’s wife Amanda (see
hauled here by ox teams. page 36) is mayor of Heaston Hill.
In May 1872, Piedmont was the site of a k Range Murder (page 98): It’s the
labor strike. D-P workers demanding back Largos versus the Rosses, and there’s a
wages sidetracked a passenger car holding wedding at stake!
Smith & Robards co-owner Jacob Smith and
several board members. A telegraph from Sir
Clifton Robards mollified the strikers, and
Urie
two days later an armored express train from FEAR LEVEL:
2
the City o’ Gloom arrived carrying $200,000.
The workers rejoiced and Smith’s train was A small farming community in Bridger
allowed to continue. Valley, Urie sits about halfway between
Fort Bridger and Heaston Hill. It isn’t much
k You’re Kiln Me (page 111): Wolves more than a trading post and livery stable,
and the dead plague Piedmont.
since most of its residents live on the land all
around it. Locals tend to be closed-mouthed
Robertson and won’t look a stranger in the eye. That’s
because most of them know the Ghost Steel
FEAR LEVEL: 2 Gang has local connections and often uses
Urie as a hideout and staging area for raids
Named for famed trapper John “Uncle
on ranches all around Carter.
Jack” Robertson, this small community on
the banks of Willow Creek services nearby The farmer’s market was recently thrilled
ranches. Miners from Tarrytown Bench by the remarkable offerings of Moon’s
frequent its saloons and Shoshone travelers Experimental Farm. Dr. Theodorick Moon’s
often stop in to trade goods and information spread is located about three miles east
with the locals. People tend to be friendly of Urie. There the botanist and explorer
and at ease here, but that’s mostly due to pioneers the use of hydroponics and grafting
being secure about who’s in charge. to create hardy new plant species, using
unique samples he collects in the Aspen
That would be rancher Sigmund Largo,
Forest. Unfortunately, Dr. Moon was also
whose Bar-6 Ranch’s operations dominate
responsible for the hunger lily, an invasive
Robertson and are some of the most extensive
abomination that escaped the farm to spread
in the county. After all, the last person who
throughout Uinta County.
got in Largo’s way ended up floating face-
down in the creek! k Ghost Steel Gang (page 115): Law
dogs seeking outlaws go to Urie.
Mr. Largo swears by his copy of The Beef
k   Hungry Waters (page 105): Heroes
Bonanza: Or, How to Get Rich on the Plains, by
who go looking for the missing Dr.
James Sanks Brisbin, and spends most of his
Moon battle his ravenous creations.

17
 HEASTON
HILL
On a bitterly cold day in February 1883, prospector
Warfield Phoenix carved a huge ghost rock nugget
out of the titanic, black rock shelf looming over
Tarrytown, Wyoming Territory.
Inside a week, an area previously known
for good fishing and trapping was swarming
with prospectors and land-lookers. By March,
Tarrytown’s population tripled as new
homes and businesses sprang up. Along
with that explosion came a rash of robberies,
murders, and disappearances.
Later that same year, Heaston Mining
Company out of Evanston set up shop.
Heaston’s bent on nothing less than total
domination. If he has to drive off or murder
independent miners or ruthlessly crush
a labor strike...well, that’s just the cost of
doing business.
 HEASTON HILL
FEAR LEVEL: 3
Heaston Hill has swelled from a quiet one-
horse town to a nonstop hive of activity
(pop. 500+) in a short year. During the
daylight hours it’s a whirlwind of weather-
board buildings going up, carts and wagons
full of supplies rumbling hither and yon,
windmills pumping creek water and
powering machines, shopkeeps competing
to hawk their wares, and hundreds of miners
spending cash and ore. Tarrytown Bench—
the “Headstone”—looms on the ridge above,
a constant omen of the town’s fortunes,
good and bad.
Seen from a distance at night, partly
illuminated by the New Science, Heaston
Hill appears both miraculous and terrible.
Electric lights run up and down Main Street,
imparting an unnatural gleam where they
shine. Where they don’t shine, the shadows
seem deeper and darker. And sometimes
they move in unnatural ways...
History o' the Hill
Back in 1878, Standish and Angel Epp left
their home Back East in New York after their
business failed. The journey took the intrepid
pair across the Midwest to the Oregon Trail.
They followed its rugged stretches west
along the verges of Sioux country with the
other settlers of their wagon train, finally
arriving at Fort Bridger, Wyoming, in 1879.
They gazed on the high Uinta Mountains
and knew they were finally home. Their
Frontier Store and trading post thrived for
several years and a town grew up around it.
By 1881, Epp and his friends became aware
of a malevolent influence that held sway over
the nearby Aspen Forest.
19
HORROR AT HEADSTONE HILL

Standish and a few of his fellow settlers Years later in September 1883, physician
resolved to burn the forest down, but it and Twilight Legion member E.B. Kirk read
wasn’t without its own defenses. They about miners going missing in the Uinta hills
vanished somewhere beneath the aspens’ of Wyoming—now nicknamed Headstone
quivering boughs. Hill by the locals. Ghost rock, missing miners,
a name like that, and Born in a Bowl’s vision
Bad Medicine acted on Doc Kirk’s curiosity and wanderlust
Put those images of cowardly, craven and off he went.
townsfolk out of your head, Marshal. Settlers
In January 1884, Doc Kirk telegraphed
of the West are a sturdy, sinewy breed and
the Legion. There was definitely something
they don’t shirk from trouble or strife. They
going on in Heaston Hill and he needed
certainly don’t blanch when somebody calls
help. Telegraphs flew, wheels turned, and US
their town “Headstone Hill.” No—they take
Agent George J. A. Reeg, badge #682, arrived
it as a challenge. But the way the fear’s been
on March 15.
rising lately, everyone’s definitely on edge.
Heaston Hill has been on the Agency’s Rail Barons & Industry
ledger for quite a long time. In 1878, the The long Civil War slowed the progress of
Explorer’s Society lodge in Shan Fan railroads and settlements alike, but since
hosted a genuine Luiseño shaman named the cessation of hostilities it’s all sped up
Born in a Bowl. The explorers wanted a again. Heaston Mining’s influence has been
“demonstration” of her deep connection with transformative. The company has installed
the nature spirits. Born in a Bowl experienced electric lights on Main Street, donated a
a vision she described as, “A creeping doom water pump for the Fire Department, and
spreading from the Uinta Mountains. From started a bank and newspaper. They even
it Death will emerge.” put in a baseball diamond for the local nine.

20

Behind the scenes, Heaston puts the screws
to independent miners and uses every trick
in the book to drive wedges between them.
His boys rile up lone camps in the middle of
the night, set fires, fire random shots into the
tents, and even spread ghost stories. Basically
anything they can do to keep miners on
edge and eventually give him ownership or
control of the town and every valuable thing
around it.
Heaston’s main goal is to get rich off the
extensive ghost rock veins found in the
surrounding hills, then cash in again when
Wasatch inevitably forces the Denver-Pacific
out of business and starts buying up the land.
Around Town
Heaston Hill’s population consists mostly
of unattached miners, cowboys and loggers
from the surrounding area, and employees
of the businesses set up to serve them. There
aren’t a lot of families living here yet. This
makes for a wild-and-woolly, wide-open
boomtown where people come and go as
they like.
Once an observer gets past the town’s sheer
unstoppable industry, the odor becomes
apparent—a miasma one newspaperman
of the time termed, “The quintessence of
putrefaction.” Sanitation is generally poor.
Between the ever-present horses and the ox
teams hauling logs, most of Heaston Hill’s
streets are a foul mix of mud and dung. Stray
dogs and pigs roam free, earning Marshal
Wister a bounty every time he shoots one.
Largely due to Heaston’s pull with the
Land Office, but also on account of folks’
tendency to stick together with friends and
family, a few distinct ethnic neighborhoods
have formed in Heaston Hill—Chinatown
and the Creek Street Collective. The town’s
not completely segregated by any stretch,
but if Jerem Heaston has his way it will
be someday.
Chinatown is roughly bordered by First
and Third Avenues to the east and west,
and by Bridger and Smith Streets to the
north and south. Across town, Creek Street’s
predominantly black residents have opted
for collective action and mutual aid in the
face of any prejudice that arises.
Heaston Hill
Folks Who Roam
Some Heaston Hill residents aren’t
attached to a particular place. All are
Wild Cards.
Antonio Jouvenceau: A Frenchman
with a talent for sales and promotion,
Jouvenceau’s in charge of town pro­
motion for Mr. Heaston. He produces
pamphlets and writes fawning articles
for the Heaston Hill Examiner to attract
new investors. Use the Townsfolk
stats in Deadlands, add Smarts d8,
Performance d8, Persuasion d8, and the
Overconfident Hindrance.
Caledonia Summers: Caledonia’s a
spry old woman who makes her living
doing laundry. She’s very observant and
could be a good source of supernatural
information. Use the Townsfolk stats in
Deadlands, add Notice d10, Occult d10,
and the Elderly Hindrance.
“Kid” Lewis: A troublemaker with
a bad reputation. If Kid decides he
doesn’t like the look of a hero, or feels
he has something to prove, he calls the
pistolero out for a Duel (see Deadlands).
Use the Gunman stats in Deadlands, but
add the Small Hindrance.
“Long Neck” Charley Holloway:
Charley’s reputed to have survived a
hanging, which gives him his nickname
and his distinctive appearance. He finds
work on ranches where he can. Children
are scared of him, but Charley’s a fast
friend to anyone who shows him
kindness. Use the Cowboy stats in
Deadlands, add the Quirk (Crooked neck
makes him look at everyone sideways)
and Ugly (Minor) Hindrances.
Vernon Maddox: Uinta County’s
duly appointed hangman, Maddox is
the fella who goes from town to town
to pull the lever at convicted felons’
necktie jigs. Besides having a little too
much enthusiasm for his job, Maddox
is an honorable man. Use the Townsfolk
stats in Deadlands, add Academics d10.
21
HORROR AT HEADSTONE HILL
The Red Light District along Third Avenue
holds typically illegal joints like the gambling
hall, a “ladies’ boarding house,” and a
half-dozen back-alley opium dens. Laws
surrounding “immoral” activities may be lax,
but common decency demands a measure of
restraint and delicacy. Marshal Wister (page
36) doesn’t pester these places, mostly
because Mr. Heaston told him not to but
also because the miners would riot. Saloons
are found nearly everywhere in town, and
they’re open 24 hours a day, seven days a
week—including Christmas.
FITTING IN
Horror at Headstone Hill is a deep dive into a
town and its residents. Roleplaying and social
interaction are critical not only for solving
the mystery of the Plot Point Campaign, but
also for simply getting along with the people
who live there. Most of these individuals
aren’t critical to the core mysteries, but as
friends, informants, and allies they can have
crucial roles in the heroes’ efforts.
Remember this as the players go about
their business. If they perform a kind act for
a deputy, he should remember it when they
need him later on. If they hassle the baker’s
kids, the baker and his friends might come
looking for the heroes later.
This applies to Heaston’s crew as well.
Most of them are greedy or generally mean—
that’s why Heaston hired them—but they
aren’t monsters. Gunning them down won’t
just increase Heaston’s resistance, it also
turns the townsfolk against the bloodthirsty
killers as well, even if they claim to be heroes.
Keep notes on the various characters as
the heroes interact with them. If they make
friends, those characters might provide
free meals, discounts, lines of credit, or
vital information. The more physical types
might even accompany the heroes on a
dangerous mission if asked or compensated
in some way.
22
ESTABLISHMENTS
In this section we cover a wide range of local
establishments and the individuals who own
and run them. Let your group wander about
and discover what interests them. Focus on
the folks your posse warms up to, and gloss
over the others until they become important.
For characters without a defined person­
ality, you can easily make something up
on the spot by adding a few Hindrances
and Edges to the Townsfolk stats, or by
rolling on the Allied Personalities Table in
Savage Worlds.
Wild Cards are marked with a marshal’s
badge, like this: c
1. Alvord Detective Agency
Burt Alvord and his daughter Clementine
run this private detective service. It’s located
in a squat, fortified building more secure
than the town jail. They keep a staff of eight
gunmen and toughs on the payroll, one
of them a burly mountain of a man called
Sledge. Alvord’s outfit is for hire by anyone
with enough cash. Although the former
soldier and railroad inspector has taken a
few jobs with Heaston—security and union-
busting, mostly—he and his outfit remain
steadfastly independent.
Alvord charges $25 per day plus expenses
for the services of one of his “detectives,” or
$40 plus expenses for an investigation he
himself conducts. He has his own home in
town. His employees bunk at the office. The
building’s equipped with a jail cell that can
hold two prisoners; it has an iron-barred gate
(Hardness 14; Thievery –2) and reinforced
walls (Hardness 10). The armory is extensive
and well-stocked.
c Burt Alvord: Use Soldier (Veteran) stats
in Deadlands, but add Research d8.
„ Clementine Alvord: Use Gunman
(Veteran) in Deadlands, but add Research
d8 and Trade (Law) d6.
„ Sledge: Use Gunman in Deadlands,
add Strength d8, Vigor d8, Brute and
Brawler Edges.
„ Toughs (7): Use Gunman in Deadlands.
 Heaston Hill

2. Angel's Corner
This cozy restaurant run by Angel Epp is City Ordinances
known for the chicken fricasee. Angel’s Refer to the Deadlands rules for crimes
Corner is open 24 hours a day, seven days like murder and cattle rustling. Below
a week, feeding homestyle breakfast, lunch, are a few additional laws on Heaston
and dinner to the town’s miners whenever Hill’s books.
they want it. Although she has a small staff,
Heaston Mining employees generally
Angel’s able to stay open because she’s never
ignore these laws—especially the
been much of a sleeper. Since her husband
prohibition on firearms—and Marshal
was killed, she hardly sleeps at all.
Wister turns a blind eye. Fines of “no
Angel is a matronly and protective sort, less than $5 and no more than $10 are
with an air of sadness. She and her husband otherwise up to the law dog’s discretion.
Standish Epp were the first settlers to arrive
Firearms: It’s illegal to carry any
in the area. They came all the way from
firearm, concealed or otherwise, within
Tarrytown, New York, to found its sister
city limits. Guns must be checked at a
city here. They built the Frontier Store and
hotel, boarding house, saloon, or the
Restaurant, made friends with the miners
marshal’s office on arrival and are
and Shoshone, and enjoyed a good life until
returned upon departure ($10 fine/
weird events in the Aspen Forest got their
weapon, plus confiscation).
attention. Standish and a few of his friends
went to burn it down but never returned. Liquor: No establishment shall serve
liquor on Sundays or election day
Lacking the money to keep the store
($150 fine).
running, Angel sold the Frontier Store (see
29) to opportunistic newcomer Frank Conveyances: It’s illegal to ride a
Debeney. Then she picked up stakes and horse, mule, or any other conveyance
opened her restaurant, favored by members faster than 6 MPH within city limits
of Debeney’s independent miners union. ($5–$10 fine), or to drive any ghost-rock–
fueled conveyance or Infernal Machine
The restaurant takes up the ground floor
within city limits between sunset and
of a two-story dwelling. Angel shares the
sunrise ($5–$10 fine).
upstairs with her employee and confidante,
a Shoshone named Biagwi’yaa who goes by Nuisances: It’s illegal to toss the
Billie Gentle Eagle. contents of a chamber pot or similar
“filthy substances” into a street or alley
„ Angel Epp: Use Townsfolk stats in
($5–$10 fine).
Deadlands, add Spirit d8, Healing
d8, Performance (Singing) d6, Trade
(Restaurant) d10, Night Terrors
Hindrance, Charismatic Edge.
The Gatling pistol actually belonged to
„ Billie Gentle Eagle: Use Indian Shaman
George J.A. Reeg. Blaine purchased it from
stats in Deadlands, add Outsider (Minor)
Agnes “Scarlet” Kenney prior to her arrest
Hindrance.
(see Jail on page 34). Blaine’s a former
3. Aspen Lounge outlaw himself, a no-nonsense sort who
doesn’t appreciate sass from the customers.
This watering hole is frequented by outlaws,
drifters, strangers, and shady characters. His house specialties are Taos Lightning,
It’s a rough place with frequent brawls and Skull Bender, and a concoction brewed
shootings. Owner and bartender Elmer on the premises called Redeye: “Makes a
Blaine keeps gunny sacks full of dirt piled hummingbird spit in a rattler’s eye!”
under the bar for protection from stray shots
The Aspen Lounge’s main attraction
(Hardness 8), with a double-barrel shotgun
is Thomas Cashel, the bar’s talented Irish
and newly-acquired Gatling pistol in case of
fiddler. He sits on a pneumatic pulley
threats to his person or the cash box.
platform that hoists him into the ceiling and

23
HORROR AT HEADSTONE HILL

out of harm’s way if shooting breaks out. All run a side business with his cowboy brother
he has to do is throw the lever! “Rider Gallagher,” who supplies Paddy with
choice beef cuts from time to time, which he
„ Elmer Blaine: Use Townsfolk stats
sells to local restaurants.
in Deadlands, add Shooting d8, Trade
(Saloon) d6, Wanted (Minor) Hindrance. Gallagher’s a bit of an oddball, what with
„ Thomas Cashel: Use Townsfolk stats, his egregious height and saturnine demeanor,
add Spirit d8, Performance (Fiddle) d8, and he’s very serious about his work. Most
Elan Edge. folks chalk it up to eccentricity, shrug,
and enjoy the clean shave. In fact, Paddy
4. Bakery di Bianchi Gallagher’s a remorseless killer who’s in
“The Italian bakery,” as most locals call it, is a charge of abducting troublemakers for the
beloved institution. Although Massimo Bianchi Cult o’ the Critter (page 79).
and his family weren’t among the town’s
Once a victim’s dosed with laudanum,
founders, they arrived from Italy before the
Paddy pulls a lever to dump the poor sap
boom. They offer a selection of fresh breads and
down a chute to the cellar, where he’s soon
pastries (cannolis are a specialty), and sell scores
hogtied, gagged, and taken to the cult’s barn
of “sweet rings” every morning (doughnuts
for assimilation by a pod-person.
in all but name). The bakery does most of its
business in beef-filled turnovers called meat Gallagher isn’t a replicant himself (see page
pies. Miners snatch them up by the handful for 122). He’s just greedy and evil and some of
easy meals out at the mines on Tarrytown Bench. those he bushwhacks aren’t turned over to
the cult. See, his brother Rider doesn’t really
Massimo runs the counter while his wife
exist...and those choice cuts he sells aren’t beef.
Zarina and oldest daughter Gianna handle
the baking. Another three children attend c Paddy Gallagher: Use Gunman
school and help out around the shop when (Veteran) stats in Deadlands, add Trade
they’re able, and the baby rocks in her crib (Barber) d8 and Hard to Kill Edge,
just outside the kitchen. But Massimo has armed with a straight razor (Str+d4+1).
a secret: After he disowned his eldest son
Antonio for committing armed robbery, the 6. Blacksmith
boy ran off and joined the Ghost Steel Gang Towering, burly Nils King has been the
(see page 115). Now Antonio Bianchi rides town’s blacksmith since its earliest days.
under the alias of John Jacob White. His hair is so blonde it’s almost white, and
most people just call him “Swede.” Long,
„ Massimo Bianchi: Use Townsfolk stats
ferociously hot days spent in back-breaking
in Deadlands, add Trade (Baker) d8,
labor are no stranger to Swede. In fact he
Secret (Major) Hindrance.
enjoys it. Swede specializes in shoeing horses
„ Zarina: Use Townsfolk stats, add Trade
and repairing busted wagons, preferring to
(Baker) d8, Stubborn Hindrance.
leave the firearms work to Mr. Groseclose,
„ Gianna: Use Townsfolk stats, add Trade
the gunsmith (page 31). His pet cattle dog
(Baker) d6, Attractive Edge.
Huldra is exceptionally cunning and true.
„ Pietro, Luca, & Angela: Use Townsfolk,
add Small and Young Hindrances. He doesn’t know spit about the super­
natural, but Swede is opposed to Heaston’s
5. Barber & Dentist campaign of intimidation and is a valuable
Paddy Gallagher, peerless barber and dentist, ally to a posse that befriends him.
arrived recently in town and quickly built up
„ Nils “Swede” King: Use Townsfolk
a loyal clientele for his services as a “tonsorial
stats in Deadlands, add Strength
artist.” One wall of his establishment is
d8, Vigor d8, Fighting d8, Trade
covered with wooden pegs, each holding
(Blacksmith) d10, Brawny and Iron Jaw
a customer’s personalized ceramic shaving
Edges, armed with a hammer (Str+d6).
mug. Gallagher buys laudanum from Dr.
„ Huldra: Use Dog stats in Savage Worlds,
E.B. Kirk (page 27) and keeps it on hand to
add Smarts d8 (A), the Brave Edge, and
soothe painful extractions. He also claims to
the Loyal Hindrance.

24
 Heaston Hill

7. Boot Hill „ Father T.D. Branch: Use Townsfolk stats

in Deadlands, add Spirit d8, Intimidation
According to the tin sign, this barren rise west
d8, the Command, Strong Willed, and
of town is officially Heaston Hill Cemetery.
Work the Room Edges, and the Pacifist
Everyone calls it Boot Hill though. One of
(Major) Hindrance.
the first things a visitor notices are heavy
rocks piled on top of all the graves. Most 9. Cowboy Saloon
assume this is to keep the critters out. But
Decorated with tattered lariats, shot-up hats,
those who’ve been around since the town’s
blasted-apart saddles, cow and horse skulls,
founding know better—it’s also to make
and other evidence of dire trail mishaps—
sure the stiffs stay planted. The earth here
every one with a story, all true—the Cowboy
has a distressing habit of spitting up corpses
Saloon is where local ranch hands and
a little more lively than when they went in.
drovers blow in to spend hard-earned cash.
When there’s a burial, the undertaker’s It’s a rowdy place for those who aren’t
man Gravedigger Malachi (page 44) does cowboys, but the crowd is usually more
the work. More than 60 souls are interred at interested in imbibing than in bloodshed.
Boot Hill, pretty substantial for a town that’s Then again, no sense slapping leather when
only been booming for a year or so. Twenty- a bloody nose or two will do.
two miners were buried here in April after
The Cowboy Saloon’s owned by Heath
the accident at Tarrytown Bench, giving the
Crittenden (of Crittenden Ranch, see page
cemetery’s population a grisly boost.
47) and run as a company outfit. Crittenden
See Twilight Events (page 53) for infor­ employees are entitled to a line of credit
mation on when the dead rise. based on future wages. Notorious skinflint
G.H. Shrobel runs the bar, scowling and
8. Church coughing into a handkerchief as he keeps
Father T.D. Branch—Heaston’s fire-and- an exact total of what every buckaroo owes
brimstone Methodist preacher—keeps his boss.
guard over his flock’s eternal souls. It’s not
„ G.H. Shrobel: Use Townsfolk stats in
easy shepherding a bunch of rough miners
Deadlands, add Trade (Saloon) d8, Ailin’
and cowboys but Branch is up to the task.
(Minor—Tuberculosis) and Greedy
He’s stern and unyielding, but also kind and
(Major) Hindrances, armed with a
generous to those in need. And he has the
Derringer (Range 3/6/12, Damage 2d4,
town’s best interests at heart.
RoF 1).
Heroes may suspect Branch of being
connected to the region’s woes if they 10. Dance Hall
hear rumors of his late-evening visits Located at the edge of the red light district,
with Heaston, but he has no supernatural the dance hall has always flirted with
connection. Father Branch is focused on respectability while turning a blind eye to
mediation between Mr. Heaston and the debauchery. Plain old dances are 50 cents, as
local miners, hoping to hit upon an amicable is a drink, but a “quick two-step” in one of
agreement. Little does he know the mining the 16 cribs upstairs runs $2 (overnight stays
magnate has no intention of settling for less aren’t allowed; see Whispering Pines on page
than total ownership of town. 44 for that sort of thing).
The church holds a camp meeting every few Kitty Labeau owns the place with her
months during the spring and summer. A camp husband, Clovis, but after a “haircut” by
meeting is a large gathering held just outside Paddy Gallagher (see Barber & Dentist,
town in the willow grove where the South 24), he ain’t been quite right. That leaves
Creek splits from Smith’s Fork. Townsfolk Kitty to handle the dance hall’s public and
and farmers from the region attend with their private business concerns and look after
entire families, along with mobs of miners the 20 women who work here. She’s doing
and cowboys, so these joyful occasions are as a great job and has acquired a good deal
much for socializing as they are soul-saving. of wealth.

25
HORROR AT HEADSTONE HILL

The Earl, a mysterious figure and “family not yet marred by the filthy patina that
acquaintance” who keeps the peace at the settles over every structure before too long.
Dance Hall is reputed to be a disgraced A long veranda wraps around the single-
English lord. It’s true—his family dispatched story building’s left side, where gents can
him to the American West after repeated enjoy cigars in rocking chairs after supper.
dalliances with young women caused his A haggard old raven caws on the roof.
family no end of embarrassment. Locals Entertainment’s provided by a tinkling
refer to him as a “remittance man,” meaning clockwork music box straight from the Smith
his rich style depends on a stipend from & Robards factory in Salt Lake City, while
his family. the grinning Frank Debeney—owner and
proprietor—drifts among tables greeting his
The Earl is engaged in a romantic affair
customers personally.
with Kitty Labeau—but it’s actually a plot to
steal the dance hall’s deed while old Clovis Frank’s a canny businessman and
is off his rocker. But the Earl’s actual lover is politician. In the short time he’s lived in town,
Tillie Nagel, a dance-hall girl to whom he’s he purchased the Frontier Store (page 29),
promised the moon. Tillie’s in on it but acts opened his café, bought three ghost rock
sweet as can be when Kitty’s around. claims on Tarrytown Bench, secured the Fort
Bridger sutler’s contract, and rose to promin­
Her brother is Eli Nagel, who works for
ence as leader of the TMU—the Tarrytown
Wasatch as a rail warrior. He and his gang
Miners Union. He leads
spend a lot of time hanging out here, posing
meetings at the union hall
as contract linemen and waiting for orders to
(page 37), organizing
sabotage various Denver-Pacific operations.
the independent workers
„ Clovis Labeau: Clovis isn’t home before Heaston can buy
anymore. Use the Townsfolk them out, drive them off,
profile from Deadlands with the or plant them in the
Replicant Special Ability (page bone orchard. He
121) and the Habit (Major — prefers loud
Alcohol) Hindrance. exclamations
„ Kitty Labeau: Use Townsfolk like, “Miners
stats in Deadlands, add Trade got to stick
(Dance Hall) d8, and the together!”
Charismatic and Rich Edges.
Secretly,
„ Stanton “The Earl” Bothwell: Use
Frank Debeney
Gunman (Veteran) stats in Deadlands.
is one of the town’s
„ Tillie Nagel: Use Townsfolk in
most insidious threats.
Deadlands, add the Attractive and
He’s the Aspen Forest’s
Connections (Wasatch Rail) Edges.
spy, head of its cult,
„ Eli “Brick” Nagel: Use X-Squad
and is even learning
stats in Deadlands, add Agility d8,
a little black magic
Riding d8, Repair d8, Shooting d10,
to help him in his
armed with Gatling shotgun (Range
various schemes.
12/24/48, Damage 1–3d6, RoF 2),
Bowie knife (Str+d4+1, AP 1), tool kit. c  Frank Debeney:
„ X-Squad (5): See Deadlands, add See page 114.
Riding d6, Repair d8, Shooting d10.
Armed with flamethrower (1), Gatling 12. De Leon
pistols (2), Gatling shotguns (2), tool Haberdashery &
kit.
Boutique
11. Debeney Cafe & Cigar Store This rambling, ware­
Located on Main Street, this newly built house-like space is
establishment practically sparkles, filled wall-to-wall with

26
 Heaston Hill

clothing racks offering everything from Avenue. He sees patients downstairs and
common work dungarees to coveralls to lives above, typically charging $1 a visit and
unmentionables, all the way up to fancy, $15–$35 for surgery or other treatment ($15,
high-end suits and women’s attire. Most of plus $10 per additional Wound). That said, a
the haberdashery’s clothing is made to be small-town sawbones takes what he can get.
bought and worn straight off the rack. They Patients pay with cash, ore, labor, livestock—
also do a brisk trade in vapor masks. one time Kirk took a chicken as payment.
And if somebody’s got nothing to pay with,
The owners, Marisol and Isabella de León,
Doc Kirk provides care gratis.
provide tailoring services for an additional
fee. Custom, unique designs cost the most— Kirk has hellish nightmares, though, and
as much as 200–300% of standard prices sometimes dips into the laudanum to soothe
(see Deadlands). Marisol is the designer his troubled mind. When he’s “indisposed,”
and Isabella is an expert seamstress. Their schoolmarm Celeste Munson (page 40)
fashions have quickly become de rigueur
among Heaston Hill’s more affluent citizens.
The De León sisters fled Mexico City in
1880 following their parents’ murder by
Fear Effects
As the Fear Level rises, the Reckoning’s
General Diaz’s rebel Porfiriatistas. Marisol
eerie energies have palpably unsettling
and Isabella crossed the border north
effects all over town. Use these effects
of Chihuahua and traveled to Tucson in
liberally as the Fear Level changes.
Arizona Territory. They had modest success
doing tailoring and alterations there, but Fear Level 3: Things are a little weird.
when Mormon missionaries told them stories Big, nasty, hairy horseflies swarm
of Fort Bridger and the Uinta Mountains, outdoors. Biting, crawling in folks’ ears,
they took the plunge and rolled to Wyoming. and up their nostrils—and they stink.
„ Isabella de León: Use Townsfolk stats Folks notice eerie movement in the
in Deadlands, add Smarts d8, Healing corners of their eyes, and everyone feels
d6, Trade (Seamstress) d8, and the Loyal like they’re being watched.
Hindrance.
Fear Level 4: The land begins to
„ Marisol de León: Use Townsfolk stats,
change. Tarrytown Bench resembles
add Agility d8, Shooting d8, Trade
a massive black headstone. And the
(Clothing Design) d8, the Quick Draw
mountain wind carries secrets. A
Edge, and a Colt Peacemaker (Range
cowpoke might hear a voice whispering
12/24/48, Damage 2d6+1, AP 1).
names of people she’s killed or family
13. Doctor E.B. Kirk members lost. It reveals dark omens,
awful regrets, and hidden crimes.
Edwin Barrett Kirk, native of Boston, was a
gifted surgeon in the Union Army, where he Fear Level 5: Dogs and pigs shot by
saw suffering and bloodshed beyond belief. the marshal start coming back undead.
At Gettysburg in July 1863 he witnessed That weird movement in your eye
things so awful, so shocking, everything he’d isn’t imagination—it’s your very own
seen before paled in comparison. He’d seen shadow tearing off the wall (see Creepin’
brother do battle with brother, but now their Shadow on page 117).
corpses rose to viciously attack the living.
Heroes start catching glimpses of
After the war Dr. Kirk swore he’d do their Worst Nightmares in waking life,
anything to turn back the darkness creeping a profoundly discomfiting experience.
across the West. After living for a time in Shan And when that scary voice on the wind
Fan and learning of the Explorer’s Society, he whispers dark secrets, not only the
was inducted into the Twilight Legion. person who did the crimes can hear it.
Everyone in the area can!
Doc Kirk, as he’s known hereabouts, lives
in a small two-story dwelling on Second

27
HORROR AT HEADSTONE HILL
helps out around the office and sees patients,
referring to the doc’s tattered copy of Ewall’s
Medical Companion if needed.
Once the heroes make contact with Kirk
and establish their Twilight Legion bonafides,
the doc provides information, medical care,
and other aid free of charge.
c Dr. E.B. Kirk: Use Townsfolk stats in
Deadlands, add Smarts d8, Spirit d8,
Healing d10, Habit (Minor—Laudanum)
and Night Terrors Hindrances, and the
Healer Edge.
14. Drug Store
The Heaston company drug store sells medical
supplies, surgical tools, and amputation kits.
The shop’s cold and clinical druggist, Emma
Mortimer, compounds medicines using a
stone mortar and pestle, based on a doctor’s
prescription. Prices are normal for Heaston
employees; everyone else pays double.
The shop’s wares include pressed soap bars,
apothecary containers, herbal nostrums, and
diet enrichers like Imperial Granum Wheat
Germ and cod liver oil. Patent medicines on
hand include Dr. John Bull’s Vitality Draught,
Ayer’s Cathartic Pills, Dr. B.P. Sherman’s
Prickly Ash Bitters, Dr. Kilmer’s Female
Remedy, Balm of Childhood, and Extract
of Sarsaparilla. Most are made of alcohol,
opium, coca, or a blend of all three.
This is also a licensed Hellstromme
Industries Tonics & Elixirs outlet. Most types
listed in Deadlands are on sale (roll d6; on a
result of 4–6, the desired elixir is in stock) at
$10 above their listed price. The drug store
also carries vapor masks.
Anti-Pain Plaster: The best-selling item is
a unique, medicated dressing the druggist
designed: Mortimer’s Anti-Pain Plaster ($5/
dose; each dose removes 1 point of Wound
penalties for four hours).
c Emma Mortimer: Use Cultist stats in
Deadlands, add Smarts d8, Healing
d8, Trade (Druggist) d10, and Secret
(Major—Heaston’s mistress) Hindrance.
15. The Emporium
This mining and lumber supply establishment
doubles as a hardware store, and it lives up
to its grandiose name. Just about any sort
28
of tool used in mining or logging can be
found here, from picks, shovels, and axes all
the way up to mine carts and even Smith &
Robards steam carts, shaped ghost rock cores,
and vapor masks (see Deadlands). They also
stock dynamite and nitro, which is stored in
a fortified, dugout building out back.
The Emporium’s owned by a tall drink of
water named B.F. Moore, whom everyone
calls Stretch. He’s been a resident since the
town’s earliest days. Between the buildings
going up all over and the sudden rash
of Tarrytown Bench mining claims, the
Emporium is doing business at a furious rate.
Moore has made an enemy of Jerem
Heaston, who sees the Emporium as a lifeline
for those pesky independent miners. Despite
various legal complaints from Heaston’s
bothersome attorney and more acute
reminders—like stones thrown through
the shop windows now and again—Moore
refuses to back down. So far.
c B.F. “Stretch” Moore: Use Townsfolk
stats in Deadlands, add Smarts d8, Taunt
d8, Trade (Shopkeep) d8, Loyal and
Stubborn Hindrances, Retort Edge.
16. Feigel's Fine Footwear
Feigel’s specializes in men’s and women’s
boots and shoes. They perform shoe repairs,
mostly on miners’ boot soles. Feigel’s stocks
some infernal device footwear as well, such
as noiseless shoes and spring boots (see
Deadlands), at a $5 mark-up. Feigel’s charges
$.50 to replace a single sole, $1 for a pair, or
more depending on the extent of repairs.
Elmer Feigel owns the shop and takes
care of cobbling responsibilities in his
workshop. His 14-year-old son Jeremiah
stocks the shelves and handles the cash
register, although he’d rather be in training
as a deputy marshal. Since Elmer’s wife Dina
perished from a case of mountain ail (malaria),
he, Jeremiah, and his elderly mother Tova are
Heaston Hill’s only Jewish citizens.
Cowpokes who make friends with the
Feigels find they can get their shoes fixed
without the typical week-long wait, and
Elmer waives the mark-up on infernal
footwear. Most important, old Tova Feigel
is a fount of scholarly facts, local gossip, and
homespun occult wisdom.

„ Elmer Feigel: Use Townsfolk stats in
Deadlands, add Spirit d8, Trade (Cobbler)
d10, and the Strong Willed Edge.
„ Jeremiah: Use Townsfolk stats,
add Agility d8, Shooting d8, Trade
(Shopkeep) d6, Young (Minor)
Hindrance, armed with a Colt Navy
(Range 12/24/48, Damage 2d6, RoF 1,
AP 1).
„ Tova: Use Townsfolk stats, add Smarts
d10, Spirit d10, Academics d8, Common
Knowledge d10, Occult d8, Elderly
Hindrance, Bolster Edge.
17. First National Bank
The bank is a shiny, new affair built with
Heaston Mining’s capital. The First National
bills itself as “the safest vault west of
Laramie.” It provides miners with loans to
get their claims up and running, and a place
to store their filthy lucre once they earn it.
Miners who work with the company
receive decent enough rates. For the
independents, interest rates are nothing short
of predatory.
The vault is extremely secure (Hardness
18; Thievery –4) and hasn’t yet been pierced
by robbers or safecrackers. Heaston Mining
owns and administers the bank’s operations,
while three clerks work on site.
The head teller, Hap Bowdre, prides
himself on being “Heaston’s man” when it
comes to company finances.
Heaston Hill
„ Hap Bowdre: Use Townsfolk in
Deadlands, add Smarts d10, Trade
(Banking) d10.
„ Clerks (2): Use Townsfolk in Deadlands,
add Trade (Banking) d6.
18. Frontier Store
Standish Epp’s Frontier Store and Restaurant
was the first building to go up, back when
Heaston Hill was still Tarrytown. It’s a
rambling log structure not far off Main Street,
looking more rustic every day as a small
metropolis grows up around it.
In the divide between the town’s old-
timers and Heaston’s Johnny-come-latelies,
the Frontier Store is a very sore spot. The old-
timers haven’t forgotten that Frank Debeney
low-balled Angel for the store once her
husband Standish went missing in the woods.
But for many, the Frontier Store is the
“shebang,” the general store of Heaston Hill.
It’s a meeting place for miners, who gather
by the stove and gossip while digging into
the cracker barrel—use the Grapevine
Telegraph Table on page 41 to see what
rumors are spreading. (Friends and regulars
might get a glass of whiskey, gratis.)
Folks pay with cash, credit, ore (or dust),
barter, or even labor. Like most cash registers
in town, Debeney’s has a built-in scale for
weighing fundaments.
Nearly any item is for sale, from flour,
sugar, and salt to clothing, hardware, and
29
HORROR AT HEADSTONE HILL
candy—and that’s just for starters. It’s a
thrilling window-shopping experience
for folks too poor to buy. Debeney has the
sutler’s contract to provision Fort Bridger, inner circle, but they hold a private table in
and has also become an officially licensed
Smith & Robards Outlet, so interesting
gewgaws abound. Infernal devices in
Deadlands may be in stock (Marshal’s call), orshoot him dead, Martha June lays a hex on
require a special order. Debeney keeps 1d6
refined ghost rock cores on hand, too.
A new item on the Frontier Store’s shelves—
to be more accurate, flying off the shelves—
are “bumbershoots,” or rain umbrellas.
They cost $3 each and do an admirable job
of keeping the rain off a body, much like a a fancy suit, with a stylish mustache painted
parasol except for bad weather.
Frank’s employees, Hod and Buckshot,
run the store when he’s seeing to affairs at
the restaurant or Fort Bridger. They’re not
too smart, but they follow orders and don’t
have any qualms about violence.
c Frank Debeney: See page 114.
„ Hod: Use Gunman stats in Deadlands,
add Smarts d4, Strength d8, Brute Edge.
„ Buckshot: Use Gunman in Deadlands,
add Marksman Edge, shotgun (Range
12/24/48, Damage 1–3d6, RoF 1).
19. Gambler's Paradise
Miners, cowboys, and trailhands strike up
informal poker games all over town in nearly
every saloon. When high rollers and miners
flush with new riches want a high-toned
game to make them feel important, they go to
Gambler’s Paradise. Decked out with crystal
chandeliers, rosewood wainscoting, polished
brass rails, smooth hardwood floors, and
patterned wallpaper from Paris, it’s easily
the town’s most opulent joint. Anybody
who’s anyone gambles here, including Jerem
Heaston and his sons when they’re in the
mood for a game.
Gambler’s Paradise offers nearly every
game of chance they’ve thought up, with four
poker tables, two faro spreads, a craps table,
roulette (“The Wheel of Chance”), and keno.
In one side room are a pair of billiard tables,
and in the other a polished ten-pins alley. A
player piano provides music, and gamblers
can try their hands against a newfangled
clockwork dealer! A veranda wraps around
the back of the building on the second floor.
30
Big Dan Mimms runs the hall with the help
of his paramour Martha June Hoodoo (she’s
also the faro dealer). They’re not in Heaston’s
the back for whenever he and his boys drop
in. Cheating is punished severely—if Big
Dan doesn’t take the offender out back and
the errant tinhorn. Retired soldier Vol Ivers
handles security, but he’s really a Nauvoo
Legionnaire and Deseret spy sent to keep
an eye on things, but no one—not even Eli
Nagel’s crew (page 26)—knows that.
Clockwork Dealer: A shiny metal man in
on its “face.” The dealer rolls Gambling d8.
On a Catastrophic Malfunction, its arms
windmill wildly and its head spins, spraying
springs, cogs, and cards. This is Suppressive
Fire (see Savage Worlds) with Shooting d10.
Henrik Pretorius custom-built the dealer
for Big Dan about a month back. Dr. Pretorius
was a shifty-eyed, former Hellstromme
Industries scientist driven mad by his devices’
failures. His “clockwork” man, who he calls
Stanley, is actually an automaton with the
brain of a poker dealer Pretorius murdered
in Evanston. Whether the evil scientist still
lurks nearby is up to the Marshal.
c Big Dan Mimms: Use Gunman
(Veteran) in Deadlands, add Ruthless
(Major) Hindrance and Brawny Edge.
c Clockwork Dealer (Stanley): Use the
automaton in Deadlands, Gambling d8.
c Martha June Hoodoo: Use Voodooist
stats in the Weird West Companion, add
Gambling d10 and the curse power.
c Vol Ivers: Use Soldier (Veteran) stats
in Deadlands, add Smarts d8, Repair
d8, Thievery d8, Weird Science d10,
Secret (Major) and Vow (Major—
Nauvoo Legion) Hindrances, Arcane
Background (Mad Scientist) and
Streetwise Edge. He has a ghosting belt
(intangibility, 10 Power Points) and tool
kit.
„ Poker Dealers (3): Use Townsfolk stats
in Deadlands, add Gambling d6, d8, and
d10 (respectively), Alertness Edge.
 Heaston Hill

20. Gunsmith really big scoop and publish his first article,
but he’s completely naive.
The way miners are killing each other up
on Tarrytown Bench, the gunsmith gets A former railroad man called Gormley
a lot of business. Just about any firearm or provides security. Can’t be too careful
ammunition listed in Deadlands is on sale these days, considering what happened
here (Marshal’s call on exotic and uncommon to the town’s first paper, the Tarrytown
items), but add a +10% mark-up. Demand is Omen (page 43).
high, and firearms hard to come by with all
„ Apprentice Typesetters (2): Use
the commotion lately on the D-P line.
Townsfolk in Deadlands for Marsha (14)
Owner Herbert Groseclose is a gray- and Luke (10), add Common Knowledge
haired man in his early 40’s with spectacles d8 and the Young Hindrance.
and haunted eyes. You wouldn’t know it to „ Caleb Reese: Use Townsfolk stats in
look at him, but the gunsmith is a former Deadlands, add Smarts d8, Academics
soldier and expert marksman. He fought— d8, Common Knowledge d8, Occult d6,
without any particular enthusiasm—for the Research d8, Trade (Typesetting) d6,
Confederacy, serving in the 13th Alabama the Curious Hindrance, and the Scholar
Infantry under Captain Jasper Stone. He saw (Occult) Edge. If he gets any inkling the
the cruel captain shot down by his own men heroes are up to something interesting
at Gettysburg, and witnessed the slaughter he stalks them and pesters them with
when Stone came back for revenge in the ceaseless questions.
winter camps of Virginia, 1864. Groseclose „ Lew Gormley: Use X-Squad stats in
deserted and traveled west to settle down Deadlands, add Gatling shotgun (Range
in Tarrytown. He keeps his former activities 12/24/48, Damage 1–3d6, RoF 2).
secret, or at least doesn’t advertise them. „ Scope Trowbridge: Use Townsfolk in
Deadlands, add Common Knowledge d8,
c Herbert Groseclose: Use Gunman Connections (Heaston Mining) Edge.
(Veteran) stats in Deadlands, add
Repair d8, Bad Eyes (Major) and Secret 22. Heaston Hill Hotel
(Minor) Hindrances, Soldier Edge, and
Established in partnership with the Heaston
a Winchester ’73 (Range 24/48/96,
Mining Co., the town’s biggest and fanciest
Damage 2d8–1, RoF 1, AP 2).
hotel is a two-story affair with 14 rooms
21. Heaston Hill Examiner and two “presidential suites” (that means a
double-bed and separate washroom, amigo).
Heaston started this paper soon after he
Downstairs there’s a saloon and lounge,
arrived in town, installing former hog farmer
restaurant, and plush back room for private
Scope Trowbridge as publisher and editor-in-
parties ($250/night), where Jerem Heaston
chief. The Examiner engages in steadfast if not
occasionally entertains guests and business
entirely accurate town promotion, designed
partners when he doesn’t necessarily want
to draw miners, laborers, and service
them up at the manor.
workers to a burgeoning economy in rugged,
beautiful surroundings. Their tools are the Rooms cost $12 per night or $70 by the
press, shelves full of movable type, and big, week (or $15/$100 for a suite). Iron bars
flat stones upon which the broadsheets are (Hardness 14) on the ground-floor windows
laid for printing. back up the hotel’s claims to security, and the
door to each room is fitted with a good lock
Scope’s not truly qualified to work a
(Thievery –2).
fountain pen, much less run a newspaper,
but he’s good at taking orders. Heaston’s Signage on the hotel veranda proclaims
clerks over at the mining company write the the rooms SAFE!, SECURE!, and BULLET-
articles, and Scope’s crew of three youthful PROOFED! For an additional fee, tenants can
apprentices led by 18-year-old Caleb Reese rent a room with a heavy plate under the bed
are responsible for setting the type. Caleb is to shield against accidental shootings from
chomping at the bit for his chance to land a the sometimes-rowdy festivities below—

31
HORROR AT HEADSTONE HILL

either cast-iron (Hardness 14, add $5/night) Heaston put electric lights up and down
or ghost steel (Hardness 18, add $10/night). Main Street!
That’s about where the security ends. The T.C. Scordins is the ostensible owner,
hotel’s proprietors, T.C. and Edna Scordins, but these days he wanders about drooling
are staunch allies of Jerem Heaston. Every with rheumy eyes and a slack jaw, doing
room is equipped with a telephonic receiver, the housekeeping and menial chores. It’s
all of them connected to a switchboard-like about all he’s good for since Frank Debeney
device in a secret room behind the front desk. kidnapped him and replaced him with a
Edna can listen in on conversations, and she replicant spy that didn’t take quite right.
reports anything important to Jerem Heaston. Edna Scordins was always the brains in their
Other facts she keeps to herself, for use in marriage anyway, but now she runs the show.
blackmail or other schemes. The electrical When nobody’s around she tortures T.C.
network needed to power it is the real reason mercilessly; sometimes his muffled screams
are heard echoing in the dead of night. She
knows he bleeds green, but is keeping that to
herself so far as she tries to figure out exactly
what’s going on—and use it to her advantage.
Citizen Groups
Heaston Hill’s townsfolk organize Singer Lilah Denslow, currently performing
into numerous groups, clubs, and at the Music Hall Saloon (page 38), stays
associations. For some of these we list in one of the hotel’s suites (on the saloon’s
the members involved. Others we leave dime). Born in Shan Fan to Chinese parents,
open for the Marshal to define, and for she was orphaned as an infant and adopted
the cowpokes to join! by a Western family of wealth. She travels
the West for exclusive engagements with her
Town Founders: Standish and
manager, Quilla June Thompson. Quilla June
Angel Epp (page 23), Nils King
makes sure Lilah gets paid and provided for
(page 24), B.F. Moore (page 28),
per the contract’s stipulations, and doesn’t
“Prospector Bob” Malone (page 68),
take guff from anybody.
Mose Drachman (page 35), Isidor
Neustatter (page 43). „ Edna Scordins: Use Townsfolk in
Deadlands, add Smarts d8, Spirit d8,
Town Council: Mayor Amanda
and the Strong Willed Edge. She has a
Lobdell (page 36), Angel Epp, Jerem
Derringer (Range 3/6/12, Damage 2d4,
Heaston (page 114), Mose Drachman,
RoF 1).
Ah Lin (page 40), Frank Debeney
„ Lilah Denslow: Use Townsfolk, add
(page 114), J.C. Philpot (page 43).
Spirit d8, Performance (Singing) d12,
The Lyceum: A literary society for Outsider (Minor) Hindrance, and the
debates, lectures, and song fests. Attractive and Investigator Edges.
„ Quilla June Thompson: Use Gunman
Baseball: Every town has a team,
(Veteran) stats, add Two-Gun Kid Edge,
known informally as the “local nine.”
Trade (Law) d6, and 2× Colt Frontiers
The Heaston Hill Gophers are unbeaten.
(Range 12/24/48, Damage 2d6+1, RoF
Brass Band: Nearly every town has a 1, AP 1).
brass band or musical group. Members „ Restaurant & Kitchen Staff (4): Use
include Angel Epp, Myron Bee (page Townsfolk stats in Deadlands.
34), Thomas Cashel (page 23), and „ T.C. Scordins: Use Townsfolk stats
Amanda Lobdell. with the Replicant Special Ability (see
121). He didn’t come out quite right,
Volunteer Fire Fighting Corps: This
so reduce Smarts to d4 and add the
service is key for voter and financial
Clueless and Clumsy Hindrances. He’s
support, which is why Mayor Lobdell
lost touch with the aspens, so if treated
and Mr. Heaston both support it!
kindly he might reveal he was “born to
spy here,” but doesn’t remember how.

32
 Heaston Hill

23. Heaston Manor When Heaston is out and about in town,

he goes in a fancy black rail runner (see
Jerem Heaston didn’t just build himself
Deadlands)—a gift from his Wasatch investors
a mansion when he came to town. To
in the City o’ Gloom.
accommodate his vision, he had surveyors
plot out a new road at the north end of c Jerem Heaston: See page 114.
Tarrytown Street called Heaston Circle. A c Maxim: See page 114.
big arched sign over the entrance gate says „ Wang Ya: Use Townsfolk stats, add
HEASTON MANOR. (Have you figured out Smarts d10, Spirit d10, Notice d8, Trade
Mr. Heaston has an enormous ego yet?) The (Cook) d10, Code of Honor Hindrance,
circle encompasses a rambling, two-story Alertness and Brave Edges. She’s seen
home, a barn and stables full of riding horses, disturbing things. Ya has contemplated
outbuildings and sheds, and separated running off or finding someone she can
kitchen and servants’ quarters. tell about Heaston’s crimes.
„ Colt: See page 115.
Heaston has three sons—Maxim, Gatling,
„ Gatling: See page 115.
and Colt. Adult sons Max and Gat spend
„ Housemaids (6): Use Townsfolk stats.
their days managing company affairs at
„ Michael Hidden Bear: Use Indian
the mine (page 48) and sleep here unless
Warrior in Deadlands, add Spirit d10,
they’re gallivanting in town. The youngest
Riding d10, Loyal Hindrance, and Born
son, Colt, and his father spend their days
in the Saddle Edge.
at the mining office (page 33) and sleep
here. Colt’s 16 but not quite out of his 24. Heaston Mining Company
father’s shadow yet.
Jerem Heaston runs his empire from
Emma Mortimer, the town this modest office downtown. His
druggist (page 28), stays here youngest son Colt is typically on
some nights. Mrs. Esther Jean hand, as well as his accountant Lee
Heaston, on the other hand, Ogle and two clerks.
lives back home in Salt Lake
Heaston’s attorney, Angus
City and is oblivious to
Diehl, Esq. (see page 35)
her husband’s adultery.
comes by frequently for
While it wouldn’t ruin
meetings, plotting to
him for the affair to go
break the miners’ union
public, Heaston’s wife
and drive off the staunch
finding out about Ms.
independents—using
Mortimer would cause
the law as much as violence
him severe consternation
and terror. Angus is aware of
(–1 to all Trait rolls for
Heaston’s activities, both illegal and
two weeks).
otherwise.
Heaston employs a
half-dozen housemaids, c  Jerem Heaston: See page
114.
an Ute horse wrangler
„  Colt: See page 115.
called Michael Hidden Bear,
„  Accountant & Clerks
and a personal chef named
(3): Use Townsfolk in
Wang Ya. Despite the fact
Deadlands, add Smarts d8
he’s a ruthless, literally
and Trade (Accounting)
murderous businessman,
d8. Lee Ogle has a sawed-off
Heaston treats his staff
double-barrel shotgun hidden
very well. He pays
in a larger drawer in his desk
them good wages
(Range 5/10/20, Damage 1–3d6,
and provides secure
RoF 2).
quarters, without
exception based on
race or gender.

33
HORROR AT HEADSTONE HILL

25. Hool's Hats 27. Ladies & Lords Saloon

C.K. Hool sells just about every lid under Ladies & Lords is not your typical boomtown
the sun—cowboy hats in a hundred varieties, saloon. A sign out front suggests it’s “For
flop hats, top hats, ladies’ hats, and bowlers. those of an educated thirst.” To match its
And although he specializes in just one item fantastically expensive decor, the L-and-L
of clothing, hats are sought by just about (as local miners term it) stocks only the
every living man and woman in Heaston finest liquors, liqueurs, wines, and brandies
Hill. So Hool’s shop is crammed with miners, imported from all over the world. No two-bit
cowboys, and other folk all the live-long day. tonsil wash for sale here, amigo! They also
Although it isn’t a licensed Smith & Robards sell fine cigars and employ a full-time string
outlet, Hool stocks armored hats, hat quartet to fill the hazy air with music.
periscopes, and vapor masks (see Deadlands).
No gambling of any kind is allowed at
C.K. is a quiet man who lives above his the L-and-L, which is ironic if you know the
shop and mostly keeps to himself. His few owner is a genuine hex-dealing huckster.
acquaintances know him as a gifted linguist. His given name is Laird Eddleman, and
to all appearances he’s a filthy rich dandy
„ C.K. Hool: Use Townsfolk stats, add
from Back East trying his hand at Western
Smarts d8, Academics d8, Quirk
enterprise. But in the trade he’s known
(Bashful) Hindrance, Scholar (Latin)
as Lord Diamond, a devious yet amoral
Edge.
magician who sells his talents to the
26. Jail highest bidder.
This stout stone structure stands next to the Laird is in fact the illegitimate son of a
Marshal’s office (page 36). The walls are member of the Empire Rail board of directors
roughly two feet thick and made of stone in New York City. To cover his indiscretions,
and mortar (Hardness 16), with iron-barred Laird’s father sent him West and pays him a
windows (Hardness 10) and four cells inside. generous stipend each month. Laird uses it
The front door is fortified with a locked iron to run the business and support his mother,
portcullis (Hardness 12; Thievery –2). Mariposa. She still hopes they’ll return to her
childhood home in Matamoros, Mexico, but
The jail was originally a wooden building,
for now Laird is happy to run the table (so to
but after some outlaws escaped through
speak) in Heaston Hill.
the flimsy walls Mayor Lobdell lobbied the
council to throw some money at a better lock- Jerem Heaston often brings business
up. This bunker was the result. associates and investors here for luxurious
entertainment. He has a special arrangement
Maximum occupancy is eight but the
with Eddleman to keep his safety in mind.
marshal goes over the limit when he needs
Between his hexslinging talents and the small
to. Any prisoner expected to run gets an
cadre of trigger men who patrol the premises
Oregon boot—16 lbs padlocked to his foot.
in fancy suits, Lord Diamond gets the job
Prisoners not expected to run are called
done. That said, Laird truly has no allegiance
“trusties.” When heroes arrive in town, the
to anyone but his mother. For the right price
only occupants are trusty Myron “Double-
he would betray Heaston and spill whatever
Eye” Bee (the closest thing Heaston Hill has
secrets he knows.
to a town drunk) and a member of the Ghost
Steel Gang named Agnes “Scarlet” Kenney. c Laird “Lord Diamond” Eddleman: Use
Hexslinger in Deadlands, add Language
„ Myron Bee: Use Townsfolk stats in
(Spanish) d8, the Filthy Rich Edge, and
Deadlands, add Spirit d4, Performance
the mind rider and trinkets powers.
(Brass) d8, and the Habit (Major—
„ Mariposa del Rios: Use Townsfolk in
Alcohol) Hindrance.
Deadlands, add Language (Spanish) d8.
c Scarlet Kenney: Use Gunman (Veteran) „ Gunmen (5): See Deadlands.
stats in Deadlands, add the Double Tap
„ Musicians (4): Use Townsfolk, add
Edge. See the Ghost Steel Gang on page
Performance (Musical Instrument) d8.
115.

34
 Heaston Hill

28. Land Claims/Assay Office in his satchel (Range 3/6/12, Damage

2d4, RoF 1).
This office is busy all day long, and it stays
open late with all the claims being filed for 30. Len Buckles' House
mines on Tarrytown Bench (page 48).
Agent George J.A. Reeg rented this small,
Beyond filing claims, prospectors can trade
two-story dwelling from restaurateur J.D.
raw fundaments for cash (minus a 5% fee).
Nolly (page 38). Now it sits vacant and
Four county clerks work the desk, efficiently
eerie at the edge of town, its windows dark.
handling each person’s unique circumstances.
Kids used to dare one another to go inside
Clerk Ned Little is a spy for Heaston, and find some trinket to bring back and
reporting to him when independent miners prove their bravery. After little Emil Blachey
file new claims, or when some digger comes fell down the stairs and broke his wrist—
in with sacks full of raw riches. When a mine swearing he was pushed by something
hits paydirt, Heaston sends his goons to make unseen—the kids have left it alone. An
the miner an offer on his claim. Negotiations unsettling aura permeates this place.
start friendly, but if the miner declines
If the posse investigates the house or rents
he finds himself visited by less-friendly
it for themselves, go to Plot Point episode
“bandits” later on to scare him off his find.
House o’ Madness on page 62.
„ Clerks (3): Use Townsfolk stats, add
Academics d8 and Trade (Clerk) d8. 31. Livery Stable
„ Ned Little: Use Townsfolk stats, add Livery proprietor Mose Drachman was
Fighting d8, Trade (Clerk) d8, the among Tarrytown’s founders. A former
Secret (Major) Hindrance, Bowie knife soldier who fought for the Union, Mose is
(Str+d4+1, AP 1) in his boot. an influential figure on the town council as
well as the black community’s de facto leader.
29. Law Office Mose is shrewd, tough, and no-nonsense, but
This modest building in the heart of town is at heart he’s a kind and caring soul. As such,
the office of Angus Diehl, Attorney-at-Law. he has little regard for Jerem Heaston and his
Intense and ambitious, Diehl is far more opportunistic gang.
interested in money than maintaining any
Mose has rebuffed several attempts by
illusion of scruples. True to form, he’s on
Heaston to buy out his business, and even
retainer ($500/month) as Jerem Heaston’s
foiled one attempt to set his barn on fire.
lawyer and only represents others if they’re
Mose suspects Heaston’s sons were to blame,
well-heeled.
and he’s right, but he has no proof and little
Angus spends part of each day at the recourse with the local law. That said, he
Heaston Mining Co. offices (page 33), and draws enough water among the townsfolk
visits the dance hall (page 25) to see Tillie that he’s been able to hold fast against
Nagel three nights a week on average. Angus Heaston’s growing power.
is sweet on her but she’s just stringing the
The livery offers stabling, feed, a corral
rich lawyer along, thinking he might be of
for exercising animals, and buggy rentals.
use in the Earl’s scheme. But Tillie’s brother
It costs 25¢ a day to board a horse, but free
Eli Nagel (page 26) doesn’t like the
parking in the fenced wagon yard is included
lawyer seeing his sister. If things come to a
(otherwise it costs 25¢ a day per wagon).
head there, it might create tension between
Drachman has two buggies available to rent
Heaston and Wasatch.
($1/day), and also a steam wagon ($25/day,
„ Angus Diehl, Esq.: Use Townsfolk customer provides her own ghost rock cores).
stats, add Smarts d10, Academics d10,
Language (Latin) d8, Research d10, the c Mose Drachman: Use Soldier (Veteran)
stats in Deadlands, add Vigor d10,
Enemy (Minor—Eli Nagel) and Greedy
Shooting d10, Loyal Hindrance, and
(Minor) Hindrances, and the Scholar
Brave, Command, and Fervor Edges. He
(Academics) Edge. He packs a Derringer
keeps his Army Winchester mounted on
the wall in his office.

35
HORROR AT HEADSTONE HILL

they visit one another frequently. Syl Lobdell

came out West hoping his wife would run his
Wanted By The Law ranch home, but once the children were old
Three major outlaw gangs are active enough to chase cattle she longed for more.
in Uinta County. The members of each
Wyoming Territory granted women
and the bounties offered for them are
suffrage in 1869, and the first woman voted
listed below. We also include a few lone
in 1870. In 1881, in the new, nearby mining
miscreants for your law dogs to track.
settlement of Tarrytown Amanda saw an
opportunity. She ran against Prospector
Ghost Steel Gang Bob Malone (see page 68) on a platform of
Wanted alive for cattle rustling leveraging the area’s riches for the benefit of
Bud “Ghost Steel” Balach $2,000 all, and creating a city to rival Evanston for
John Jacob White $500 county seat. She won in a landslide.
Agnes “Scarlet” Kenney $500 Along with most of the town council and
Dr. Seamus McLoon $500 the Miner’s Association, Mayor Lobdell
Octavio Contreras $500 opposes Heaston’s attempts to take total
control of their town. But they’re rapidly
Little Rock Irregulars
Wanted dead or alive for train robbery, running out of options as the situation
murder, and arson between Heaston and the Tarrytown Miners
Arkansas Ted Harwell $3,000 Union comes to a head.
Broncho Rip Potter $1,000 „ Amanda Lobdell: Use Townsfolk stats,
Jenny Dotterman $1,000 add Smarts d8, Spirit d10, Academics
d8, Performance (French Horn) d10,
“Two-Belt” Johnny Dotterman $1,000
Persuasion d10, Shooting d8, Taunt
Kid Vance $500 d8, the Obligation (Major —Mayor)
Rip “Apocalypse” Drago $1,500 Hindrance, Charismatic, Common Bond,
Sage Dragons Gang Retort, and Work the Crowd Edges.
Wanted dead or alive for grand larceny of a She carries a Colt Lightning (Range
bank and murder 12/24/48, Damage 2d6, RoF 1, AP 1).
Hong Xue, “The Dragon” $2,500
Rufus Shen $1,500
33. Marshal's Office
Marshal Pilsbury “Chips” Wister’s office—a
Sing Wan $1,000
simple shack with a tin roof—is situated next
Tong Lee $1,500 door to the town jail (page 34). Marshal
Big Wade Sunday $1,000 Wister and his deputies patrol the town or
Lone Outlaws play cards here, but at least one of them is
Indio Red (murder, horse $3,000 always on duty at the office unless there’s
theft, arson) trouble elsewhere.
Demetrio Dominguez $1,500 Marshal Wister pulls a salary of $100/
month, with bonuses for arrests and a
commission on fines levied. His contract
includes breakfast and lunch every day at
32. Lobdell House Debeney Café. These are strong incentives
for Wister to enforce the law, and he does.
Mayor Amanda Lobdell lives in this cozy
Unfortunately, Wister is loyal to Jerem
two-story house with an old tabby cat named
Heaston—whose campaign of terror and
General Bisbee and six caged songbirds. Mrs.
ballot-stuffing got him elected—and chiefly
Lobdell wasn’t one of Tarrytown’s founders,
serves the mining company’s interests.
but she arrived soon enough after that
folks consider her one. Amanda’s husband A board outside the office is plastered with
Sylvester and their family live on the cattle wanted posters, new ones nailed or pasted
ranch near Robertson (see page 17), and right over the old. The most current posters

36

offer rewards for the county’s most notorious
outlaws at large (see sidebar).
c Marshal Pilsbury “Chips” Wister: Use
Gunman, add Mean and Obligation
(Minor—Town marshal) Hindrances.
„ Deputies (2): Use Townsfolk, add
Shooting d6, shotgun (Range 12/24/48,
Damage 1–3d6, RoF 1).
34. Meat Market
A large, painted picture of a grand heifer over
the front door announces the meat market’s
wares. Cattle and sheep ranchers in the area,
especially the Crittendens (page 47), drive
a portion of their wares to market here. The
rest go to Carter (page 13) for the long trip
Back East by locomotive.
Ernest Thacker, broad and bloody-aproned,
runs the place with his brother John and two
sons. The air inside is heavy and oppressive
with animal blood and musk. Huge sides of
beef and lamb adorn the walls. Wild game
like rabbit, grouse, and pheasant are also for
sale—customers can tell by the stuffed elk
next to the cash register.
„ Ernest & John Thacker: Use Townsfolk
stats, add Trade (Butcher) d8, and Ernest
has the Brawny Edge.
„ Thacker Boys (2): Use Townsfolk stats,
add Trade (Butcher) d4 and the Young
Hindrance.
35. Mill
This stamp mill on the Smith’s Fork Creek is
primarily used to extract gold from quartz.
Because ghost rock—aka “spirit”—is rapidly
outpacing gold as the fundament of choice
around these parts, the mill doesn’t see as
much use as it once did. A few holdouts still
seek the “color,” though, hoping a mother
lode of gold awaits in the Uinta foothills.
A large waterwheel powers the mill.
Mercury is used to extract gold from
surrounding materials. For anyone who
spends more than an hour or two here,
it’s considered a Mild Poison (–2, see
Savage Worlds).
„ Mill Workers (5): Use Townsfolk
stats, add Trade (Mill) d6. Each has a
near-permanent level of Fatigue from
mercury poisoning.
Heaston Hill
36. Miners' Association Hall
This large building holds one large room
that’s used as an auditorium, with an office
and locked supply closet up front near the
double doors. The TMU—Tarrytown Miners’
Union—holds its bi-weekly meetings here.
The miners cling proudly to their town’s
original name to symbolize their resistance
to Heaston.
Frank Debeney recently defeated Pros­
pector Bob Malone to become union
president. Though mild-mannered himself,
he knows how to rile up his base, including
the rowdier opinion-makers he knows will
carry on the grumbling outside the union
meetings. When the time is right, he plans
to mobilize this “army” against Heaston
and make sure the town burns for his
forest master.
37. Mountain View Restaurant
Located on Creek Street, this restaurant
owned and run by Millie LaChance special­
izes in Southern home cooking. It’s got some
of the best eats in town. Millie’s secret is her
vegetable and herb garden. Between that and
fresh meat from the Thackers’ market, all her
plates are wholesome and satisfying.
Millie lives in the house next door with her
parents, Tom and Ginny, former slaves from
Back East who fled to Wyoming Territory
when Millie was only six.
Millie was romantically involved with
Len Buckles, and found out about his secret
identity of Agent George J.A. Reeg. She
knows he found dirt on Jerem Heaston,
talked about spirits in his house, and
mentioned the existence of a cult—all of
which terrified the poor girl out of her mind.
Just before he went missing he told her they
were in danger and he was getting them both
out of town until he could get help. He went
to gather his things from his house and she
never saw him again.
„ Millie LaChance: Use Townsfolk stats
in Deadlands, add Spirit d8, Occult d4,
Trade (Restaurant) d8. She also has
Agent Reeg’s mnemomizer.
„ Tom & Ginny: Use Townsfolk stats in
Deadlands, add Occult d6 and the Elderly
Hindrance.
37
HORROR AT HEADSTONE HILL
38. Music Hall Saloon
The Music Hall Saloon is famed for its
performances—variety shows with
musicians, singers, dramatic readings,
tumblers, and dancers. It’s owned and run by
Pete “Coal Oil” Stoudenmire, who ironically
has a tin ear for tunes but knows how to
serve a drink. Coal Oil keeps himself well- 5), Lilah’s song induces strong emotions in
groomed and likes his bar polished to a high patrons—melancholy, nausea, or Fear checks.
shine. His partner Ethan Nelson is more the
physical type—he keeps an eye on the door
and ensures the customers don’t get rowdy.
Singer Lilah Denslow (page 32) performs
her original composition, “The Ballad of
Bogwater Bill,” one night a week to a lonely
fiddle’s accompaniment. She’s by far the
bar’s biggest draw.
Lilah heard the story of Bogwater Bill from
town drunk Buster “Nails” Trenchworth
The Ballad of
Bogwater Bill
In the lonely high Uintas
Where the cold winter wails
Up long trackless canyons
Down old, forgotten trails
There roamed my sweet Bill
With death on his tail
Though he never came back
My love for him won’t fail
He built up a shack
Way out in the bogs
Where the moss hangs down low
It’s a bed for the frogs
And the crickets all sigh
As they sing him to sleep
I promised sweet Bill
For him I shan’t weep
He’ll stay there forever
Alone in his shame
So disgraced and disheveled
Folks lost his true name
But I walk the wild hills
With these words on my breath—
Goodbye, my sweet Bill
Who was tracked down by death
38
(see page 95). Since then she’s become
fascinated by the tale, and even sent word
to the US Marshals’ office to look for Sara
Houck (see Lost in the Bog on page 95,
and the unfortunate marshal’s fate under
Desperate Searchers on page 82).
Fear Effects: At higher Fear Levels (4 or
„ Lilah Denslow: Use Townsfolk, add
Spirit d8, Performance (Singing) d12,
Outsider (Minor) Hindrance, and the
Attractive and Investigator Edges.
„ Ethan Nelson: Use Townsfolk in
Deadlands, add Agility d8, Fighting d8,
the Overconfident Hindrance, Two-
Fisted Edge, brass knuckles (Str+d4) and
a wooden baton (Str+d4).
„ Pete “Coal Oil” Stoudenmire: Use
Townsfolk, add Shooting d6, the
Quirk (Fastidious) Hindrance, and the
Attractive Edge. Keeps a double-barrel
shotgun (Range 12/24/48, Damage
1–3d6, RoF 1) behind the bar.
39. Nolly's Grub Counter
Every morning a line of cowboys and miners
forms on Third Street, often wrapping around
onto Main. They’re all in line to take away
breakfast and lunch from Nolly’s, considered
among working folks the finest grub in
Heaston Hill. The storefront is literally a long
wooden plank countertop covered by a tent
awning. Behind it is the open kitchen, where
sweat-drenched Nolly works feverishly to
prepare every order himself.
The menu only has one item. For 50¢
a hungry patron gets two bread pockets
filled with either beef or lamb and a stewed,
pressed vegetable concoction. Each customer
drops his money into a sealed hogshead
barrel with a slot in the top, calls out her
order, and J.D. serves it up in waxed paper
with a gap-toothed smile.
Nolly recently attempted to expand his
business interests in town. On a whim, he
bought a small house on the north side to
rent out (see page 35). Since Len Buckles’
disappearance, however, the house has sat
vacant and Nolly has been unable to find a
tenant for $30/month. Now his loans are
coming due with the First National Bank of
 Heaston Hill

Heaston Hill (page 29), and he fears the

loss of his house and his lunch counter.
„ J.D. Nolly: Use Townsfolk stats in
Deadlands, add Smarts d8, Trade (Cook)
d8, Impulsive Hindrance, Alertness and
Level Headed Edges.

40. Photography by Chong

This small studio’s owned by Chong Hoy,
the sole proprietor. He has a wide variety of
backdrops on hand, from simple decorated
folding screens to wilderness imagery to
famous locales like Tombstone and the
City o’ Gloom. He also has some fancy hats,
suits, and dresses for folks who don’t bring
their own. Portraits cost $4 each. Hoy is
also skilled at fabricating fireworks; he sells
skyrockets for $1.50 each.
„ Chong Hoy: Use Townsfolk stats, add
Smarts d8, Repair d8, Science d10, tool kit.

41. Post Office

This small stone building at the east end of
town was recently installed, the US Postal
Service expecting a greater volume of mail
the town’s electric lights up and down
in and out of this region with ghost rock’s
Main Street. Inside, large ghost-rock-fueled
discovery. In lieu of a rail line or depot, the
steam engines, fed with water piped in from
post office also serves as the telegraph office—
the creek, power eight crackling dynamos.
normal rates apply (see Deadlands).
Between the cacophonous wailing of ghost
The clerk assigned to this post is Vail Balch, rock and the unsettling shapes and skulls
a former US Army soldier who went West to glimpsed tumbling up from the stacks, some
find adventure after his discharge. Instead folks claim it’s haunted.
he found boredom in Heaston Hill. He’s a
Two engineers trade shifts keeping the
decent enough fella but a terrible know-it-all..
ghost rock boilers fired and the dynamos
„ Vail Balch: Use Soldier stats in in good repair. Besides having been trained
Deadlands, add the Loyal and Quirk at Hellstromme Industries in the City o’
(Know-it-all) Hindrances. Gloom and currently employed by Heaston
Mining Co., it’s up to you who these folks
42. Power Station are and whether they’re up to any odd
No edifice in town is more ominous than the activities, Marshal.
power station, a squat ugly building with
Fear Effects: The engineers refer to the
four smokestacks that belch weird coils of
station’s dynamos as “banshee pistons”
ebon-black soot. Wailing and clangs echo
because they sound like a woman’s high-
from inside, day and night. High, square
pitched shriek. Combined with the howl of
windows flicker with eerie light. And its
burning ghost rock in the boilers, it’s one
stone walls thrum with the force of eight
hellacious racket. At Fear Level 4 or higher,
dynamos spinning within. Folks shun this
the station looks like it’s seething, heaving,
place. Those who can’t avoid passing by tend
and about to blow sky-high.
to cross to the sunny side of the street.
„ Engineers (2): Use Townsfolk stats in
The power station was financed by
Deadlands, add Smarts d8, Academics
Heaston Mining, and its machinery runs
d8, Repair d6, and Science d8.

39
HORROR AT HEADSTONE HILL
43. Red Door Saloon
A ramshackle affair in the middle of town, the
Red Door’s built up against a rocky outcrop.
Its patchwork construction of logs, weather-
board, and tin doesn’t appear too promising,
but the steady stream of customers says
otherwise. Inside is an open room three
stories tall, with balconies accessing various Tova Feigel, Tom and Ginny LaChance, and
taprooms and lounges.
The Red Door was the town’s first saloon,
opened in 1879. Back then it was just an
oilcloth tent rigged up against the rock
outcropping to keep the rain out of the shot
glasses. “That ol’ rock took care of one wall
for me,” quipped the proprietor, George
“Beam” Gleason. Beam started out mining
gold from the tunnels under that rock. When
the seam played out, he shifted to full-time
barkeep and Tarrytown—later Heaston Hill—
grew up around him.
Inside the bar a big, wooden door—
painted bright red—leads directly into the 45. Silver Fountain Restaurant
rocky outcrop and the original mineshaft.
For $1, a cowpoke can climb down there
with a small pick-ax and a bucket and try his
luck. That’s what passes for entertainment;
Bud doesn’t like music. The Red Door also
doubles as courthouse when the Hon. Jesse
Knight (page 10) comes through each
month to mete out justice.
„ George “Beam” Gleason: Use
Townsfolk stats, add Smarts d8, Spirit
d8, Occult d8, Trade (Miner) d4, Trade
(Barkeep) d8, and the Elderly Hindrance.
44. Schoolhouse
This small, simple structure at the west
end of town has separate entrances and
cloakrooms for boys and girls. Inside is a
single room where schoolmarm Celeste
Munson dispenses learning to the town’s
young ’uns from McGuffey’s Reader, Pike’s
Arithmetic, and Bylerly’s Speller. She has 14
regular students, and a half-dozen others
who show up when they aren’t working their
family’s fields or rounding up a herd.
Children can be a great source of
information about adult activities when
the heroes are Networking (see Savage
Worlds). They usually know a lot more about
what’s going on than adults think. Plus the
40
information’s always delivered with an
entertaining amount of sass.
Miss Munson teaches school on weekday
mornings. In the afternoons she works on
fixing the schoolhouse and volunteering at
Doc Kirk’s office. Evenings, she goes around
to the town’s few elderly residents (including
Beam Gleason) and reads them Robinson
Crusoe, Shakespeare, or Don Quixote. Every
Sunday morning she’s in her usual pew
at church.
„ Celeste Munson: Use Townsfolk stats
in Deadlands, add Smarts d8, Spirit d8,
Academics d10, Healing d8, Repair d8,
Shooting d8, Code of Honor Hindrance,
Marksman and Strong Willed Edges.
Owns a Winchester ’76 (Range
24/48/96, Damage 2d8, RoF 1, AP 2)
and carpentry tools, left to her by dear
departed father.
At the heart of Chinatown sits the opulent
Silver Fountain Restaurant. There’s scarcely a
better spot in town to get grub of the Chinese
or Western persuasion. Head chef and owner
Ah Lin does it all. He first honed his culinary
arts in Shan Fan, California. Following
the Chinese Exclusion Act and its 10-year
immigration ban, Ah Lin and his partner
Sam Tang headed east alongside miners
who were recruited to work the rugged and
dangerous Wyoming Territory.
Finding Evanston and the mines of Almy
(page 11) not to their liking, Ah and Sam
pressed on and landed in Heaston Hill, where
gold and ghost rock strikes were drawing
more Chinese residents every day. When Ah
Lin started the Silver Fountain Restaurant it
was immediately Chinatown’s beating heart.
Ah Lin became spokesman and guardian of
the local Chinese, who look up to him like a
wise grandfather.
Ah Lin’s flush with cash and generous
with it. But it isn’t just good grub that keeps
the money rolling in. Through Sam Tang’s
connections in Shan Fan, Ah Lin is now the
town’s sole supplier of opium. As the sheer
amount of miners in town increases and the
Red Light District swells with ready cash, Ah
Lin’s network of suppliers rakes in most of it.
 Heaston Hill

Sam handles security at the restaurant, 46. Speaker's Stump

but spends most of his time collecting “vigs”
Ever since Standish Epp first climbed onto
(illicit cash) in the opium dens and Fan-Tan
it back in 1879 to deliver a rousing speech to
parlors. While they’re certainly involved in
his fellow settlers, folks have used this old
what most folks consider criminal enterprises,
stump to say their peace. Only once was a
Ah and Sam aren’t particularly bad fellas
speaker challenged, and that was Christmas
(although Sam has a violent temper). Ah Lin
Day 1883 when Prospector Bob went on a
figures vice is going to happen no matter
drunken tear inveighing against Heaston
what. At least this way he can look out for
Mining generally and Jerem Heaston
his people. And if someone has to make a
personally. Young Gat Heaston donned a
pile of cash in the process—might as well be
leather glove and walloped Bob in the nose,
him and Sam.
knocking him out in one blow.
c Ah Lin: Use Townsfolk in Deadlands, Any sort of speech is tolerated on the
add Smarts d10, Taunt d10, Trade
stump, as long as it isn’t cussin’ or outright
(Cook) d12, Loyal and Ruthless (Minor)
blasphemy. Lately the stump is occupied
Hindrances, Humiliate and Rich Edges.
almost every day by a hellfire preacher, a
„ Sam Tang: Use Chi Master stats in
traveling missionary from out West who
Deadlands, add Spirit d8, Thievery d10,
wears a blood-red cloak and calls himself
Driven (Minor) Hindrance, Berserk,
Powder Jack. While this near-toothless
Connections (Shan Fan Triad), and
graybeard admits that the local Methodist
Streetwise Edges, Colt Peacemaker
church is “doing its level best for God,” he
(Range 12/24/48, Damage 2d6+1, AP 1),
insists only he and his true faith can save
tailored black suit.
Heaston Hill’s souls. A few more interested
listeners gather every day.

Grapevine Telegraph
This phrase traditionally describes the uncanny way news travels in the Weird West. Sometimes rumors
spring up with no apparent origin...but they’re still true! Here we use it as a rubric for the various tales,
rumors, and gossip bouncing around Heaston Hill. Roll on this table whenever investigators chat with
locals about no specific topic, or whenever the urge strikes you, Marshal. Each rumor is marked true
(T) or false (F), but sometimes even a true story can lead a posse to the wrong conclusion. These rumors
almost always start with, “You know what I hear? I hear...”
d12 Rumor
1 Father Branch is often seen going to Mr. Heaston’s office in the late evening. (T)
2 A gang of Chinese miners burned down the Tarrytown Omen office. (F)
3 Railroad toughs at the Dance Hall quietly put their drinks on Heaston’s tab. (T)
4 Bloodthirsty Utes lurking in the Aspen Forest are bushwhacking travelers. (F)
5 Sometimes the newfangled clockwork dealer at Gambler’s Paradise goes haywire. (T)
6 The power station is haunted by the ghost of an engineer who died there. (F)
7 Sometimes shady characters sell stolen horses over at the wagon lot. (T)
8 There’s something mighty odd about that undertaker. Looks like Death himself. (F)
9 Ever since Clovis Labeau got that bad haircut, something about him ain’t right. (T)
10 The Cowboy Saloon is a haven for several known killers and badmen. (F)
11 Headless riders up on Tarrytown Bench trampled a miner to death. (T)
12 Mister Heaston is seeing the druggist, Emma Mortimer, on the sly. (T)

41
HORROR AT HEADSTONE HILL

Powder Jack is in fact a former disciple of 48. Storm Acquisitions, Ltd.

Reverend Grimme who serves the Cult of
Lost Angels (see Deadlands). In his robes he
carries bone fragments that transform into
bloody ones when hurled to the ground, a
grisly fact that fuels his fervent faith. At night,
Jack and his flock make camp about halfway
between the town and Blood Pond.
c Powder Jack: Use Cult Leader stats in
Deadlands. Armed with hunks of bone
that become bloody ones (see page 116)
and a crate of dynamite at camp.
„ Bloody Ones (Up to 10): See Deadlands.
„ Lost Angels Cultists (6): Use Guardian
Angel stats in Deadlands. Armed with
a variety of guns —pistols, rifles, and
shotguns.
47. Stagecoach Office
A low, sturdy building made of pine logs and
sod, with a barn and stables out back, this
is a “home office” of the Wyoming Express
Company. Stagecoach travelers bunk and
take meals here during stopovers. It’s grimy
and the beds are likely as not to be filled
with lice, but manager Anna Abernathy
does her best. She’s a former ranch hand who
discovered a fondness for town life, despite
out-riding most of the other cowboys. She
keeps a few hands on the payroll to cook and
look after the horses.
„ Anna Abernathy: Use Cowboy stats in
Deadlands, add Riding d10 and Trade
(Stage Business) d8.
„ Hands (3): Use Townsfolk in Deadlands.
This nondescript, false-front building just
off Main Street looks like a business office
from the street, but it’s hard to be sure. If
anyone asks the two clerks working inside,
one of them says they’re in the business of
land speculation—and won’t say much else.
They’re actually employees of Wasatch Rail
in Salt Lake City, here to acquire lots for a
new depot and trainyard. Wasatch wants
to be ready to swoop in as soon as Denver-
Pacific Rail gives up the ghost. They’re in
contact with Jerem Heaston on a regular basis.
„ Wasatch Clerks (2): Use Gunmen in
Deadlands.
49. Tailor
A town full of miners and cowboys results in
no end of torn britches and worn-out elbows,
so this humble shop sees no end of business.
The tailor, Francisco Sotelo, used to ply his
trade Back East in Chicago, but he lit out for
the West to leave the smoggy skies and soot-
covered streets behind. That’s what Francisco
tells people, at least.
Sotelo’s actually a spy on assignment from
the Agency office in Chicago—but he’s not
an Agent. He’s just a humble tailor collecting
information for his bosses. If he discovers
an Agent in the posse, Sotelo doesn’t
make contact until he’s sure she’s more
ethical than George Reeg was; he’s aware
of Reeg’s side-dealing with the governor.
He doesn’t reveal his true nature except
under duress. Ironically, if a Ranger comes

42
 Heaston Hill

to town Francisco seeks out the cowpoke’s Tarantula Hole’s got one rule: no spittin’.
acquaintance right away. “Dog” Stiles can’t abide spittin’ in his joint.
„ Francisco Sotelo: Use Townsfolk c Bronco Tillie: Use Cowboy (Veteran)
stats in Deadlands, add Secret (Minor) stats in Deadlands, add Persuasion d8,
Hindrance, Connections (Agency) Edge. Wanted (Minor) Hindrance, Attractive
Edge.
50. Tanner c Walter “Dog” Stiles: Use Gunman
This tannery’s run by “Sidewinder” Chico (Veteran) in Deadlands, add Mean
Lugo, a former rattler hunter who made Hindrance and Rich Edge.
a name for himself killing those great „ Ed Sharky: Use Gunman in Deadlands,
burrowing beasts on the salt flats east of add Loyal Hindrance.
Ogden, Utah. Now he manufactures and sells „ Gunmen (6): See Deadlands.
leather gear and goods, clothing, saddles, and
tack and harness. True to his former trade, he 52. Tarrytown Omen
also offers a limited selection of rattler-hide The so-called “news-in-exile” operates
garb: boots ($100), chaps ($200), and dusters under an old elm on Smith’s Fork Creek, just
($250). A posse in need of a scout could do far outside of town. The press, filing cabinets,
worse than Sidewinder. two desks, and numerous other supplies sit
under several ragged-looking tents.
c “Sidewinder” Chico Lugo: Use
Gunman (Veteran) stats in Deadlands, How did the Tarrytown Omen come to this
add Strength d8, Survival d10, Giant sorry state of affairs? Well, once it was the
Killer and Woodsman Edges. town’s original newspaper and an institution
beloved by all. Then its offices burned down.
51. Tarantula Hole Twice. Each time right after running articles
This disreputable-looking joint sells “world- supporting the Tarrytown Miners Union and
famous” Tarantula Juice, according to the criticizing Heaston’s outfit.
signage out front. In fact it’s the headquarters
The first arson was in fact perpetrated by
and base of operations for three outlaw
Eli “Brick” Nagel and his gang (page 26) on
gangs—the Owlhoot Syndicate (see page
Heaston’s orders. The second was Debeney’s
91). Given how stingy their leader and
doing—to keep tensions high since everyone
mastermind is when doling out information,
would blame Heaston anyway!
only a few gang members know who really
leads them. All of them are forbidden from The Omen’s dogged editor-in-chief,
ever coming to the Tarantula Hole. Isidor Neustatter, writes and typesets the
newspaper on his own. He has information
Their leader is Walter “Dog” Stiles, who
linking Heaston Mining to Wasatch Rail,
runs the saloon with the help of his lady
but has been hesitant to report it given the
Bronco Tillie and a cadre of loyal gunmen.
escalating violence. Generally, townsfolk
Ravenous hogs in a pen out back consume
who support the Tarrytown Miners Union
the bodies of any folks who wrong Dog Stiles.
also support the Omen.
Stiles is the criminal mastermind behind
„ Isidor Neustatter: Use Townsfolk stats,
all three outlaw gangs currently running
add Smarts d10, Academics d10, and the
roughshod over the county’s banks,
Stubborn Hindrance.
stagecoaches, and express cars. He uses Ed
Sharky as a front-man for all his activities, 53. Two-Penny Theater
putting yet one more layer between himself
Despite the variety theater’s name, tickets
and his villainous employees.
cost anywhere from $1 to $1.50, depending on
Stiles doesn’t work for Heaston, but when the act. Owner and shamelessly flamboyant
Jerem quietly sends a fat envelope of money promoter J.C. Philpot tries just about any
over with a target on it (usually a Denver- scheme he can think of to get audience
Pacific asset of some sort), one of Stiles’ gangs members through the door. Once he bought
is sure to hit it within the week. a barrel full of skyrockets from Chong Hoy

43
HORROR AT HEADSTONE HILL

(page 39) and set them off in fusillades of the town’s Volunteer Fire-Fighting
on Main Street while his dancing girls did Corps (see page 32) have a key. Inside is
the can-can on the theater’s front veranda! a fancy new steam-powered water pump
Philpot’s stunt nearly burned down a few from Hellstromme Industries, donated by
buildings, but he happily paid the fine and Jerem Heaston in a show of false generosity
made it back a hundred-fold in ticket sales. following the Tarrytown Omen blaze.
There’s no such thing as bad publicity! Although Heaston and the mayor butt heads
on just about every subject, they see eye-to-
The Two-Penny Theater hosts any old show
eye on the Volunteer Corps.
that passes through—whether it’s acrobats,
orators, theater troupes, demonstrations of 56. Wagon Lot
infernal devices and the New Science, freak
For $1, buckaroos can park a wagon or
shows, traveling circuses, medicine shows, or
buggy here all day long and owner Sidney
Oscar Wilde himself. When the material is
Moss keeps watch over it. Moss isn’t entirely
particularly highbrow, the town’s Lyceum
aboveboard, however. His lot doubles as
(page 32) is likely to attend. When there
“horse thief corner,” where shady crumb-
are no traveling acts to book, Philpot’s
bums sell horses of questionable legality
dancers fill the bill. He occasionally hires
with oddly altered brands. These count as El
“Sidewinder” Chico Lugo (page 43) to trap
Cheapo horses (see Deadlands) and may have
a few grizzlies for Bear-Baiting Night.
rightful owners on the lookout for them.
„ Dancing Girls (8): Use Townsfolk
„ Sidney Moss: Use Townsfolk stats in
stats in Deadlands, add Agility d8,
Deadlands, add the Mild Mannered
Performance (Dance) d8.
Hindrance. Armed with a double-barrel
„ J.C. Philpot: Use Townsfolk stats in
shotgun (Range 12/24/48, Damage
Deadlands, add Smarts d10, Common
1–3d6, RoF 1).
Knowledge d8, Arrogant Hindrance,
Jack-of-all-Trades Edge. 57. Whispering Pines Fancy House
54. Undertaker This ladies’ “boarding house” is next door to
the dance hall. Whereas some of the dancers
Shubael Hume’s shop on Main Street
over yonder engage in brief assignations in
displays its wares out front: a full selection
private rooms, here at the Whispering Pines
of coffins from plain pine box ($5) on up to
a visitor can buy an hour’s companionship
fancy aspen corpse-lockers ($60). Hume is
for $10 or a whole night’s for $50. Twelve
tall, rail-thin, and wears a black suit with
calico queens are employed by a pint-sized
stovepipe hat. His skin is so white and
madam, Maura McGillicuddy—a former
drawn, his yellowed teeth so prominent,
outlaw herself. The Whispering Pines’ owner,
they lend his face a disturbingly skeletal cast.
on the other hand, is an uptight, milquetoast
In fact Hume’s a kind man with nothing
teetotaler and former cowboy named John
supernatural about him. That don’t stop
Loughlin, who inherited the place from his
folks from talking. Shubael Hume employs a
dissolute brother Pete.
former miner and reformed drinker named
Gravedigger Malachi to heft the shovel. Born in Dublin, Maura hasn’t shed her
Irish accent or her fiery temper. She and her
„ Gravedigger Malachi: Use Townsfolk
girls stick together and look out for each
stats in Deadlands, add Quirk (Talks
other, while rolling their eyes and giggling
to himself) Hindrance. Armed with a
at Mr. Loughlin’s pleas for modesty in the
shovel (Str+d4).
common rooms. Maura keeps a detailed
„ Shubael Hume: Use Townsfolk stats in
ledger of who visits her girls, especially the
Deadlands, add Trade (Undertaker) d8
town’s married men and elected officials.
and the Ugly Hindrance.
Such information helps keep the law dogs
55. Volunteer Fire Department out of Whispering Pines.
For now the “fire department” is a sturdy „ Courtesans (12): Use Townsfolk stats in
shack secured with a padlock. Members Deadlands.

44
 Heaston Hill

„ John Loughlin: Use Cowboy stats in costs $2.50 a plate but is worth every cent.
Deadlands, add the Code of Honor and The joint’s owner and host is Adolph “Big
Quirk (Bashful) Hindrances. Dolph” Newton, a German immigrant
„ Maura McGillicuddy: Use Gunman with a booming laugh and an artistic bent.
stats in Deadlands, add Spirit d8, He decorates the dining room with his oil
Cautious and Small Hindrances, Strong paintings, mostly local landscapes. Heading
Willed Edge. up the kitchen crew is Bart Wallace, a former
trail cook for the Crittendens who helped set
58. Wildcat's Den up Big Dolph’s exclusive arrangement.
Welcome to the Wildcat’s Den, exclusive
The restaurant’s situated at the west end
seller of Wildcat Whiskey! This rickety dive
of Creek Street, affording a lovely view
is popular with miners, since owner Crawley
of Tarrytown Bench and the high Uinta
G. Dake offers a “drunkard’s heaven”
Mountains beyond. Diners can gaze at the
upstairs—50¢ for a single cot for an hour, $1
hundred-foot-tall cliffs, charcoal black and
for the night.
lined with gray strata, covered in scaffolds
“Wildcat Whiskey” is actually the lowest and conveyor belts and steam-powered
quality tonsil varnish Crawley can get diggin’ machines. After supper, cowboys
his hands on, but a quick application of and miners enjoy cigars and brandies on the
mucilage and one of his handmade wildcat- porch, where a fleet of rockin’ chairs awaits
emblazoned labels transmutes lead into gold. those tuckered tuchuses.
With the fancy label on it, Crawley’s able to
„ Adolph “Big Dolph” Newton: Use
sell five-cent rotgut for 25¢ a shot. The miners
Townsfolk stats, add Spirit d8, Notice
wouldn’t be too happy if they found out
d8, Obese Hindrance, Reliable Edge.
about his scheme.
„ Bart Wallace: Use Cowboy stats in
„ Crawley G. Dake: Use Townsfolk stats Deadlands.
in Deadlands, add Trade (Saloon) d6 and „ Staff & Cooks (3): Use Townsfolk stats
the Secret (Minor) Hindrance. in Deadlands.

59. Wyoming Restaurant 60. Zang's Brewery

This steakhouse serves the finest cuts of Zang’s is located on Creek Street, giving
beef and lamb in Heaston Hill, exclusively proprietor and brewer B.G. Zang access to a
supplied by the Crittenden Ranch (page ready supply of reasonably clear mountain
47). They’re only open for dinner, which water. The chairs and tables are arranged

45
HORROR AT HEADSTONE HILL

around his brewing vats, so B.G. can make

beer and serve it at the same time. Mining
activities upstream put a little grit in the mix
HEASTON HILL ENVIRONS
sometimes, but not enough to spoil the brew.
Zang’s partial to morose statements like,
Now that we’ve met Heaston Hill’s citizens,
“Mister—if you’d been tending bar as long
let’s take a quick tour of its surroundings.
as me, you wouldn’t expect so much human
Savage Tales are marked with the Twilight
kindness in a place like this.”
Legion’s setting sun: k
Tainted Beer: Little does Zang know his
water is spiked with trace amounts of ghost
rock, which is what really gives the beer its
Aspen Forest
kick. Two or three mugs have the same effect
The area’s quaking aspens are renowned—
as normal beer. A pistolero who downs more
dreaded by some—for the unique clicking
than that in one sitting has to make a Vigor
and clattering sound their leaves make when
roll (–2). Success means the drinker is fine.
stirred by an alpine wind. Plenty of folks find
With a failure, he gets loopy and is Distracted
it downright unsettling.
and Vulnerable for an hour. On a Critical
Failure, the poor sod contracts ghost rock Some old-timers say the trees themselves
fever (see Deadlands). move, helping folks get lost. And as the Fear
Level gets higher people think they can pick
„ B.G. Zang: Use Townsfolk in Deadlands,
out sounds in the quaking and clattering—
add Suspicious (Minor) Hindrance.
voices, great big bugs, clicking fingernails,
whatever scares ’em. Sometimes those
sounds draw them in. When they come back
they’re different.

46
 Heaston Hill

The vast, deep Aspen Forest was always at by most adults—this is where Bogwater
spooky but the Reckoners’ advent of ghost Bill dwells (see Lost in the Bog on page 95).
rock nearby provided strange fertilizer. As
the unholy mineral percolated through the
hills, it infected the trees and bestowed on
Crittenden Ranch
them a sinister intelligence and weird powers.
This cattle ranch south of Poverty Flats is
Now, deep in the Uinta foothills east of owned by Heath Crittenden, who runs it with
town an unnatural garden thrives in a dark the help of his oldest son Brock. The cattle
hollow. A swollen, misshapen, quiverin’ range freely in the Uinta foothills during the
aspen excretes pale green pods that pulse summers, fattening up on mountain grass for
and quiver. From these seeds emerge pod the eventual round-up and drive to Heaston
people. If they consume a human, they can Hill and Carter depot (page 13).
duplicate him, becoming a “replicant” to
The Crittendens’ herds have recently been
protect the ancient woods and infiltrate any
attacked by a weird nocturnal predator
nearby human “colonies” that threaten it.
whose tracks are like nothing Heath
(See Replicants on page 121.)
or Brock has ever seen. That’s because
In fact, the entire forest is one huge they’re horrifying reanimated dinosaurs—
organism connected by its root system. And walkin’ fossils!
the quiverin’ aspen is aware of everything that
k Dem Dry Bones (page 103): Walkin’
happens under its boughs. (Look up real-
fossils stalk the foothills seeking prey.
world aspens, Marshal—they’re fascinatin’!)
The forest can also rearrange itself when
folks aren’t looking, subtly moving its trees
Poverty Flats
to confound and confuse trails and traces
Poverty Flats is the name given to a wild,
through its vast acreage.
rolling expanse of land southeast of town.
There’s not much to be seen there besides a
Blood Pond lot of sage-grass, Indian paintbrush blooms,
and wild critters. In Tarrytown’s early years
This idyllic pond was a favorite swimming it was the site of a tent camp for miners too
hole of local youths until a boy drowned in poor to live in town. “Guess I’ll go bed down
it. Now it’s shunned by superstitious folks, on Poverty Flats” became a common refrain.
even though no one’s sure whether a child
These days the only camp on Poverty
really drowned in the pond or it’s just a story
Flats belongs to eggheads from Back East.
that took root.
Paleontologist Dr. Erastus Weeks and his
What has taken root are two hunger lilies graduate assistants are hard at work, digging
(page 119)—a mated pair. While nesting in the dirt for dinosaur bones. Weeks has
these weird plant-like abominations are even been a member of the Explorer’s Society for
more territorial and ornery than usual. several years, but he hasn’t been invited into
the Twilight Legion and doesn’t know a whit
k Invasive Species (page 106): Heroes about the supernatural. He’s more interested
poking around Blood Pond encounter
in rehabilitating his professional reputation
hunger lilies and angry nimerigars.
after a disastrous publication error.

Bogwater Lake c Dr. Erastus Weeks: Use Townsfolk

stats in Deadlands, add Smarts d10,
Academics d10, Science d12, and
This swampy area lies along the Lonetree
Shamed (Minor) Hindrance.
Trail, out beyond Poverty Flats. It’s dotted
„ Graduate Assistants (4): Use Townsfolk
with dead trees and has a shallow, muddy
stats, add Smarts d8, Academics d8.
lake at the center. According to local legends—
whispered fearfully by children and scoffed

47
HORROR AT HEADSTONE HILL

Wasatch scientist “Chloride Beck” Benitez

Tarrytown Bench oversees operations. He outfitted Eli “Brick”
Nagel’s X-squad (page 26) and keeps
This hundred-foot-tall shelf of black stone
the rest of the troops’ gizmos in working
streaked with gray looms over Heaston Hill.
order. Benitez is also responsible for keeping
It juts from the foothills a mere 400 yards
Heaston’s mining machinery and flumes
from town. If the town is to be “Headstone
functioning. Problem is, they’re currently
Hill,” some wags say, then Tarrytown Bench
infested with gremlins and going haywire
is surely the memorial slab. Given how
near every day. Benitez’s suspicion that all
many miners have been killed on the Bench
the ghost rock under Tarrytown Bench is
since the boom started, it’s a more accurate
“tainted” doesn’t help much.
statement than most wranglers like to admit.
And all jesting aside, the great mass of stone c “Chloride Beck” Benitez: Use Mad
just plain radiates bad mojo. Scientist stats in Deadlands, add the
Delusional (Minor—Tainted rock)
Generally speaking, the Bench’s
Hindrance and Connections (Wasatch
western, more gradual slopes are mined
Rail) Edge.
by independent prospectors. The walls are
„ Workers (35): Use Townsfolk stats in
festooned with wood scaffolding, steam-
Deadlands.
powered cranes and exhaust fans, windmills,
„ X-Squad Troops (12): Use X-Squad stats
rope bridges, and makeshift staircases, all to
in Deadlands.
access a honeycomb of ghost rock mines in
the cliff face.
Heaston Mining dominates the steeper,
Tolbit Farm
eastern side with noisy flume-extraction rigs.
The Tolbit farmstead covers 120 acres, its
High-pressure hoses wash away earth and
southernmost boundary running north of
the ghost rock goes with it. An extensive
Heaston Hill along the Fort Bridger Trail.
system of chutes and steam-driven conveyor
The Tolbits rely on the Frontier Store and
belts carries raw ore to a series of storehouses
Emporium in town for their household
along Bogwater Trail.
goods and on the bank for credit. In turn
Wasatch Rail the farmers grow alfalfa that helps feed the
Crittenden’s stock, as well as crops of barley
Tarrytown Bench’s biggest secret is the
and sugar beets. The largest chicken coop
airstrip being built on top of it. Guess who’s
in Bridger Valley helps the Tolbits produce
responsible for that? That’s right, amigo—
record numbers of eggs every year.
Wasatch Rail. For now it’s for ornithopters
and auto-gyros. When Wasatch goes public, k Where Wolf? (page 109): The Tolbits
the plan is to erect a mooring mast for suspect a wolf’s been at their livestock.
airships so the Bench can act as an aerial In fact it’s a ringdocus!
extraction point. They’re laying foundations
for a refinery, armory and magazine, and
research lab. No one ever accused Wasatch
of using half-measures.
“You see that fancy whirly-
bird up the top of the bench
A camouflaged, steam-powered draw­
bridge controls access to the top of the Bench.
yesterday?”
All other land routes require climbing, and “Fred said he saw it. Told
most of it’s dangerous. Barracks are provided everyone, too. Now Fred's dead.
for the workers in an attempt to preserve
the operation’s secrecy, but many men and So I didn't see nothin'."
women find ways to sneak out to town for
--Miner's on the Tarrytown Bench
drinks, dancing, or other entertainment.

48
 ENCOUNTERS
Rascals, varmints, and creatures lurk in
every square mile of Wyoming’s wilderness.
This chapter gives you encounter tables
customized for Uinta County, and a system
for adding random elements to the Plot Point
Campaign—Twilight Events.
ENCOUNTER TABLES
These tables work with the system in
Deadlands: The Weird West. Refer to that book
for information on checking for encounters
and where the meeting takes place.
In Deadlands we advise the Marshal not to
roll for encounters in a settlement or town,
and that’s mostly true in Horror at Headstone
Hill. But sometimes you may need a random
encounter or two in Heaston Hill since the
group spends so much time there. One
difference: In town, the Diamonds column is
for Events rather than Treasure.
ENCOUNTER RESULTS
When an encounter’s indicated, roll on the
appropriate Encounter Table (found on
the following page), using the column that
matches the card suit. For variety, use the
Great Plains Encounter Table in Deadlands.
Here we’ve compiled new results into a
concise list. Results not listed here are found
in the Bestiary (page 113) or in Deadlands.
Baseball Game: The Heaston Hill Gophers
go head-to-head with another town’s “local
nine.” Gamblers place bets on the match.
Brawl: Whether it’s rowdy cowboys,
railroad men, loggers, or some other folks
talking tough, a fistfight breaks out.
Bonanza: An unforeseen bounty of a local
product floods Heaston Hill’s market—beef,
farm produce, eggs, beer, etc. Cowpokes
need not pay for their food or drinks today.
Concert: The Heaston Hill brass band
(page 32) puts on a show.
Cultists: Most likely members of the Cult o’
the Critter (page 79), but possibly Powder
Jack and the Cult of Lost Angels (page 42).
Epidemic: Heaston Hill or a nearby town
is stricken by malaria. See the Disease:
Mountain Ail sidebar on page 12.
Fire: A building in town is set alight by
accident or malice. Heroes can join the Fire
Corps and help. See Fire in Savage Worlds.
Footpads: Muggers or thieves. Use the
Gunman stats in Deadlands, add Thievery d6.
49
HORROR AT HEADSTONE HILL

ENCOUNTER TABLES
Uinta County Encounters
d20 Spades|Enemies Hearts|Strangers Diamonds|Treasure Clubs|Obstacle
1–4 2d6 Walkin’ Dead 2d12 US Cavalry Currency Knifegrass
5–8 1d4+1 Piranha Dog Badman Shelter Epidemic
Swarms
9–10 Hodag 2d6 Ute Warriors Food Abandoned Mine
11 Hunger Lily Cattle Drive Infernal Devices Ghost Town
12 1d4 Nimerigar Posse Ghost Rock Detour
13 Ringdocus Stranger Lost Treasure Tainted Water
14–15 1d4 Tumblebleeds Territorial Ranger Dynamite Dynamite
16–20 2d6 Prairie Ticks 2d6 Rail Warriors Vehicle Blizzard

Heaston Hill: Day Encounters

d20 Spades|Enemies Hearts|Strangers Diamonds|Event Clubs|Obstacle
1–6 2d4 Outlaws 1d6 Prospectors Bonanza Wild Mustang
(use Gunman)
7–8 1d4 Cultists 2d4 Cowboys Baseball Game Runaway Wagon
9–12 1d6 Wild Dogs 2d4 US Cavalry Funeral Brawl
13–18 Rat Swarm 1d4 Gunmen Traveling Show Storm
19 Animate Hand 1d4+1 Shoshone Trial Epidemic
20 Replicant Townsfolk Territorial Ranger Hanging Fire

Heaston Hill: Night encounters

d20 Spades|Enemies Hearts|Strangers Diamonds|Event Clubs|Obstacle
1–4 1d4 Walkin’ Dead 1d6 Gunmen Traveling Show Storm
5–6 1d4 Rat Swarms 2d6 Rail Warriors Town Meeting Power Failure
8 1d6 Footpads 1d4 Prospectors Funeral Fire
9 1d6 Cultists 2d4 US Cavalry Prize Fight Epidemic
10–16 1d4 Replicant 1d8 Townsfolk Bonanza Brawl
Townsfolk
17–20 1d6 Creepin’ Shadows 2d4 Cowboys Concert Wild Mustang

50
 Encounters

Funeral: A large funeral procession makes Traveling Show: A medicine show, theater
its way through the streets to Boot Hill, troupe, band of acrobats, freak show, circus,
carrying one or more coffins on a wagon. menagerie, or other traveling entertainment
act comes to Heaston Hill. The outfit may
Hanging: Whether a legal execution
be mundane or they might hide some
performed by the hangman Vernon Maddox
supernatural evil in their ranks. See also the
(page 21) or frontier justice, someone
Wizard Oil Savage Tale on page 110.
catches a lethal case of hemp fever.
Trial: Circuit Judge Jesse Knight (page
Power Failure: A colossal BANG! in the
10) comes through Heaston Hill to pass
night signals a breakdown at the power
judgment on criminals awaiting trial.
station (page 39)—the lights on Main
Proceedings are held at the Red Door Saloon.
Street go dark. Dozens of creepin’ shadows
If the heroes are somehow involved in the
(page 117) run riot in the darkened streets,
case, run it as a Social Conflict (see Savage
committing acts of mayhem and murder.
Worlds) with local attorney Angus Diehl Esq.
Prize Fight: Two bruisers enter the ring representing the accused.
and pummel each other to the town’s delight.
Town Meeting: The Heaston Hill Town
The winner takes a purse of $100–$500, and
Council (see page 32) assembles to discuss
spectators gamble on the outcome.
policy or current events at Heaston Hill
Rat Swarm: Use Swarm in Savage Worlds. Hotel. The meeting is open to townsfolk.
Runaway Wagon: A wagon, stagecoach, Ute Warriors: Members of Black Horse’s
buggy, or other vehicle listed in Deadlands is band (see page 113).
running out of control. Buckaroos may have
Wild Dogs: Use Dog in Savage Worlds.
to help Townsfolk in its path or run it down.
Use the Chase rules in Savage Worlds. Wild Mustang: An ornery horse runs into
a saloon, store, restaurant, or someplace else
Shoshone: Use the Townsfolk, Indian
it shouldn’t be. Use Horse in Savage Worlds
Warrior, or Indian Shaman stats in Deadlands
but add the Mean Hindrance.
for these traders and travelers.

51
HORROR AT HEADSTONE HILL

TWILIGHT EVENTS
Fighting evil and lowering the Fear Level is the posse’s main job. But as long as the main
threat in an area persists, the Reckoners strike back. In and around Heaston Hill, the “big
bad” is the corrupted Aspen Forest. We’ll tell you all about it in the tale to come, but for now,
know that every time the posse successfully lowers the Fear Level in Heaston Hill, they also
get a Twilight Event. Roll on the table or create your own unfair retaliation, Marshal.
Fighting fear elsewhere in Uinta County is a wonderful thing for the folks who live there,
but since they aren’t in the aspen forests’ clutches (yet), lowering their Fear Level doesn’t
cause a Twilight Event.
So how often should your wranglers sit the townsfolk down and spin a rousing tale of their
victories over evil? That’s up to them, but they should definitely get the feeling the Reckoners
are fighting back until their fear-mongering champion is defeated once and for all. It’s up to
the group to find a balance between driving back the horror and biding their time.

Twilight Events
d12 Event
Blind Terror: Frightful events at a nearby locale cause its Fear Level to rise by 2.
Roll on the table below to see which town is affected. Each week the problem isn’t
dealt with, there’s news of another murder or disappearance and the Fear Level
rises again by 1 (max 5). Also, whatever threat is described in the town’s Savage
Tale grows in number, power, or both.

1 d8 Town
1 Almy
2 Aspen
3 Bear River
4 Carter
d8 Town
5 Evanston
6 Gunsight
7 Hilliard
8 Piedmont

Risin’ Dread: Spooky happenings at a nearby locale cause its Fear Level to rise by
2
1. This is otherwise treated exactly like Blind Terror, above.
Pestilence: An outbreak of the “mountain ail” cripples a nearby locale, and all sorts
of wild stories go around trying to explain it. Roll on the table under Blind Terror,
above, to see where the outbreak occurs. A posse might be called upon to ease
3
the locals’ suffering, escort vital medical supplies, or seek out and eradicate the
disease’s source—usually infected mosquitoes or Texas skeeters (see Deadlands)
spawning in stagnant water
Famine: Food simply isn’t available to purchase unless one’s willing to pay triple
or even quadruple the price. See Hunger in Savage Worlds if a posse can’t get
enough vittles. The famine lasts until the posse gets involved somehow. The
4
Marshal should devise an appropriate Savage Tale centered around bringing food
to the county, such as protecting a DP train full of produce from some of Heaston’s
bandits or restoring power to Dr. Moon’s Experimental Farm.

52
 Encounters

Twilight Events - Continued

Yellow Journalism: Heaston Hill muckrakers seek out the pistoleros for interviews.
The Tarrytown Omen likely depicts them as valiant heroes while the Heaston Hill
Examiner brands them reckless interlopers and focuses on any way they’ve made
5
the situation worse. Further draws of this event might represent opportunistic
lawyers, hack politicians, or journalists trying to curry favor with the heroes. They
all have ulterior motives!
Ally: An allied Extra (see Savage Worlds) joins the posse. Typically this is a local
6–7 from Heaston Hill or elsewhere with whom the posse has had prior, positive
dealings.
Angry Skies: Dark clouds gather on the horizon, compadre. Just as the Fear
Level affects local geography, the weather can take on ominous traits when the
8 Reckoners get their bristles up. Refer to the Storm Encounter Descriptions in
Deadlands. Conditions persist for a d4 days or until the session’s end, whichever
comes first.
War: Rivalry between two or more local groups simmers or explodes into violence.
Nearly any groups may be in conflict, but the friction affects all interactions while
it persists. This generally means a –2 modifier to rolls on the Reaction Table (in
Savage Worlds), but has specific situational effects at the Marshal’s discretion.
9
Roll on the table under Blind Terror, above, to see where the outbreak occurs.
Examples of conflicts include the miners’ union versus the company, clashes
between different ethnic or religious groups, or townsfolk versus the county’s
rural inhabitants.
Death: They say folks are shamblin’ around the cemetery after midnight. In truth,
a pack of walkin’ dead raised by Bogwater Bill have wandered far from the bog.
10 Roll on the table under Blind Terror, above, to see where 1d4 walkin’ dead (see
Deadlands) show up to terrorize the countryside.

Attractin’ Attention: Some faction picks up the posse’s scent and decides to make
life miserable for them. Roll on the table below to see which one. Factions’ tactics
11
vary. We encourage you to customize the foes’ plots to best thwart your heroes’
efforts.
Roll a d6: 1 = Cult o’ the Critter, 2 = Heaston Mining, 3 = Aspen Forest
Replicants, 4 = Owlhoot Syndicate, 5 = Wasatch Rail, 6 = Bogwater Bill.
Savage Tale: The posse hears about a situation or someone comes to them directly,
especially if they’ve made a name for themselves. Roll on the table below to see
which Savage Tale the buckaroos set off, or pick one.

d8 Savage Tale
1 Dem Dry Bones (page 103)
2 Embers (page 104)
12
3 Invasive Species (page 106)
4 Old Vaskiss (page 107)
5 Range Murder (page 98)
6 Train Wreckers (page 108)
7 Wizard Oil (page 110)
8 You’re Kiln Me! (page 111)

53
 HORROR AT
HEADSTONE
HILL
In Horror at Headstone Hill, your posse is
charged with solving two mysteries. What
happened to Agent George J.A. Reeg in
Wyoming, and what’s behind all those
weird events he was sent to untangle in
the first place? Peeling away the onion’s
layers, wranglers uncover much more than
they counted on—a murderous tycoon, a
bloodthirsty cult, and a living forest bent on
ruthless domination.
Horror at Headstone Hill has specific
opening and ending episodes. The posse,
Marshal, and Twilight Events take turns
driving the action between them. The team’s
true antagonist—the forest—lurks behind
key scenes throughout.
Events from various episodes and Savage
Tales may overlap, so it’s a good idea to read
the entire book before play. Also, jot down
notes about various Extras and the posse’s
interactions with them. Any of these minor
characters can develop into major storylines
if that’s where the players’ interests lie.
The most important advice is to be flexible,
Marshal. Don’t worry about whether your
storyline is “correct.” Use this book as a
source of ideas and toolbox rather than a
script to follow. Feel free to alter, omit, or
add details as needed to best customize the
campaign to your posse!
Running the Campaign
After you’ve had a chance to read the Player’s
Booklet included in this box, Marshal, give
it to your players. It lays out the situation
for the posse, including background and
notes about Lacy O’Malley and the Twilight
Legion, and newspaper clippings report
recent events in Heaston Hill. More generally,
it gives players an idea what they need to do
to succeed at their mission.
Cowpokes should settle down and make
Heaston Hill their home for a while, forming
relationships with townsfolk to gain allies,
information, and other perks. Meanwhile,
they ride all over Uinta County, tracking
down evil critters and following up on the
clues they uncover during play.
The plot’s wide-open enough for your
posse to drive the action—especially in the
early going—but gives you ample defined
events to create a thrilling tale. Lay out
the included map of Uinta County and the
players decide where to go and what to do.
After each episode, give some thought as
to what effect the heroes’ actions might have
on the townsfolk. Did the buckaroos piss off
the town marshal? Break the law? Have the
locals been spurred to action? Has the posse
given anyone a reason to retaliate or conspire
against them?
55
HORROR AT HEADSTONE HILL
Timeline
Here’s a handy timeline to help you
keep track of recent events, Marshal.
Spring, 1879: Standish and Angel Epp
found the Frontier Store Trading Post.
1883
February: Warfield H. Phoenix discovers
the Headstone Nugget. He’s murdered
soon after and returns Harrowed as
Bogwater Bill (page 97).
March: Warfield’s find sets off a ghost
rock rush. Tarrytown becomes a
boomtown.
July: Jerem Heaston arrives and
establishes the Heaston Mining
Company.
August: Town renamed Heaston Hill.
September: Doc Kirk arrives in town
after hearing rumors of Uinta’s strange
disappearances.
1884
January: Doc Kirk telegraphs the
Twilight Legion for help.
February: Frank Debeney discovers the
secret of the Aspen Forest and founds
the Cult o’ the Critter.
March: United States Agent Reeg arrives.
He adapts the identity of Len Buckles
and goes in on a claim with local miner
Bob Malone.
April 19: Explosion on Tarrytown Bench
kills 22 independent miners.
April 21: Agent Reeg steals the
Headstone Nugget, buries it in the cellar
of his rented house.
April 30/May 1: Agent Reeg abducted by
the cult and “replicated.”
Mid-May: The posse arrives.
56
PLOT POINT OVERVIEW
The Plot Point has three acts, with certain
conditions the wranglers have to meet or
information they have to find out before
the next act is “unlocked.” Within an act,
cowpokes can tackle the adventures in any
order they prefer, or take breaks from the
primary storyline to explore nagging rumors,
weird happenings, and assorted cries for help.
Savage Tales may be inserted in between
by the Marshal or triggered by Twilight
Events (see page 52). Sometimes these are
beneficial for your wranglers, but most are
setbacks or diversions.
Act One: The Missing Agent
In this act the posse gets to know the people
of Heaston Hill, look for Agent Reeg, and
gather clues to his disappearance.
Ep. A—The Searchers: The cowpokes
arrive in Heaston Hill, settle in, act neighborly
with the locals (or maybe they don’t), and
gather information on missing Agent George
J.A. Reeg—known hereabouts as miner Len
Buckles. The posse finds out “Len” rented a
house in town, purchased stakes in a ghost
rock mine, and might have been killed by
some rustlers known as the Ghost Steel Gang.
In Len’s house, after a number of unsettling
and downright terrifyin’ occurrences, the
heroes discover a hidden cache holding
Reeg’s Agency badge and an odd key. They
might also discover the Headstone Nugget
hidden beneath the house.
Ep. B—The Summons: Jerem Heaston
invites the heroes to his offices and lays
down the law.
Ep. C—Legend of Spooky Hollow: On
Tarrytown Bench, the explorers look into
Agent Reeg’s ghost rock mine and meet his
former partner, town founder Prospector
Bob. After run-ins with claim jumpers
and vigilantes, the posse encounters the
dreaded Headless Riders. In the mine they
find a strangely advanced safe that uses the
key from Buckles’ house—but still need a
combination to crack it open.
 Horror at Headstone Hill

Ep. D—Last to See Him Alive: The posse villain of the tale. They ride out to the forest
tracks down the Ghost Steel Gang, no easy and fight the climactic battle in burning
task. There’s a standoff, during which it’s ravine surrounded by replicants.
revealed the Ghost Steel Gang claim to have
befriended (and even rescued!) Len Buckles.
Worried for his safety, the miner revealed
himself and asked the gang to deliver his
Gatling pistol and notes to an Agent or
ACT ONE:
Ranger. The notes reveal the combination for THE MISSING AGENT
his safe and the clues therein.
As we mentioned, Marshal—by now your
Act Two: The Headstone players should have perused the Player’s
Guide included in this set. Go ahead and give
Hill Massacre them the first five handouts:
Act Two begins when the searchers gather
• Handout A: Letter from Lacy O’Malley
everything they need to open Agent
• Handout B: Photograph of Agent Reeg
Reeg’s safe. Inside they discover troubling
• Handouts C, D, E: Three news­
information about a secret cult and the Agent
paper clippings
himself. While the posse becomes ever more
entangled in local events the following The players’ goal in this act is to figure out
episodes occur. where to look. By the end of it they should
have three solid leads: Reeg’s house, his mine,
Ep. A—Local Politics: Prospector Bob
and the spot he most likely died.
Malone is kidnapped and forced to write a
letter telling the independent miners to join Keep the supernatural largely in the
Heaston’s outfit. background during this episode, Marshal,
aside from the odd feelings of malice Heaston
Ep. B—Now It’s Personal: Heaston’s men
Hill inspires. This establishes the “West”
step up their campaign of terror against the
before the weird busts loose. The sidebar on
Tarrytown Miners Union. They likely even
page 27 suggests some unnerving Fear
harass or murder some of the allies the
effects to drop in while the posse gets settled.
heroes have made in town.
Ep. C—Blood in the Streets: Fed up—and
spurred on by cult leader Frank Debeney—
the miners march through the streets, leading
to a terrible bloodbath between them and
Heaston’s army.

Act Three: Days of Blood a town

“We're riding intoamed
In the third and final act, the posse goes up literally nickn
don't
against the fearsome Cult o’ the Critter and Headstone Hill. I yself
its terrible mama aspen. know how I get m .."
Ep. A—Shebang Sorcerer: The Cult o’ the into these things.
Critter takes survivors of the Heaston Hill --Red
massacre to be replicated. The posse finds
out just in the nick of time and battle the
cult and their mutated, ambulatory aspen!
With a little luck and a lot of bullets, they
(hopefully!) put an end to the cult’s dark
deeds.
Ep. B—Quiverin’ Aspens: The heroes now
know the corrupted aspen forest is the real

57
HORROR AT HEADSTONE HILL

Act 1, Episode A Part One: The

The Searchers Investigation Begins
SETUP: This episode kicks off our tale of The heroes can start their investigation
mystery, mayhem, and murder. however they wish. Here are the three main
avenues most posses use to get started.
Let your players set the scene, describing
their means of travel, in whose company Networking: General Info
they arrive, and so forth. They may be open
Asking around town about the general
or secretive as fits their wranglers’ needs. If
situation here in Heaston Hill takes about
someone wants to tell a good story of their
an hour and a successful Persuasion roll.
trip to Wyoming Territory, consider it an
Intimidation isn’t recommended for the
Interlude (see Savage Worlds) to establish that
town’s basics, but see below.
cowpoke’s character and help set the scene.
Reveal one of the following pieces of
Everyone sees the same ominous vista
information with a success (or two with a
upon arrival (and there’s an illustration of it
raise). An extra hour allows another roll and
on page 20). Read this to your group:
can reveal more information:
There it is now, amigos...that dark mass
• Heaston Hill was originally Tarrytown.
of buildings huddled on the mountain’s
It was founded in 1879 by Standish and
shoulder. A place they call Headstone Hill.
Angel Epp, the Frontier Store’s original
The sharp black slab of Tarrytown Bench
owners. Jerem Heaston’s people renamed it in
looming over it. And beyond, the high Uinta
August of 1883.
Mountains ragged against a cobalt sky.
• The big news around town is the disappearance
See the town’s Main Street ablaze with
of the Headstone Nugget—the original nugget
electric light. Electric light! It verges on
that kicked off the local ghost rock rush. It sat
miraculous. But notice how strangely the
on Jerem Heaston’s mantle for the last year,
light flickers, how every shadow grows
but someone had the gall—and skill—to break
deeper and more suspicious in its presence.
into his manor and steal it without anyone
Just looking at the place puts a chill on
seeing a thing!
your spine.
• Amanda Lobdell is the mayor. Most people
But that’s where Agent George Reeg
like her, and are glad she stands up to Jerem
vanished. So that’s where you’ve got to go.
Heaston now and then.
If the posse arrives around sunset or • Heaston owns the biggest mines and tries to
anytime during the night, call for Notice run the town where he can. His outfit has been
rolls (at –2) as the stage approaches town. pushing the independent miners to join him,
Those who succeed hear a faint, high-pitched especially after the big explosion up on the
humming sound—reminiscent of swarming “headstone,” Tarrytown Bench, last month.
insects or a keening scream—issuing from • The independent miners have formed a union
somewhere in town. No one can tell what’s under Frontier Store owner Frank Debeney.
causing it just yet. (It’s the sound of the power Fights between them and Heaston’s boys
station’s “banshee pistons;” see page 39). are common. Most believe it’ll all end in a
shootin’ war eventually.
Using the town map, ask your players to
decide where to go. The Heaston Hill chapter Further information or more open-ended
(page 19) has detailed descriptions of folks, questions result in rumors and hearsay
establishments, Fear Effects, and ominous instead—use the Grapevine Telegraph Table
rumors. The Heaston Hill Encounter Tables (page 41) to see what sort of medicine is
(page 50) have random events and folks for in the air.
when heroes mosey around.
Networking: Askin' 'bout Len Buckles
Once the posse starts asking about Len
Buckles specifically—hopefully after getting

58

the basic information listed above—use the
following depending on whether they use
Persuasion or Intimidation.
Subtract 2 from either type of Networking
roll if the heroes don’t show Buckles’ photo.
Note that using Intimidation on respectable
citizens can backfire. And if the informant
works for or is friendly with Heaston or
Debeney, they’re likely to run and tell them
that newcomers are poking around in the
town’s business.
Go to Followin’ Up on page 61 when the
searchers look further into each lead.
Persuasion: Give the investigator one of
the leads below for a success and another
with a raise. This takes about four hours of
carousing. The same hero can repeat this
action if she wants more information, or
other posse members can spread out to work
different parts of town and get different leads.
• If that fella was a miner, you should go ask at
the Emporium. They outfit just about all the
independents around these parts.
• Oh, I recall Len Buckles. He rented a house
from J.D. over at Nolly’s Grub Counter.
• If’n you cain’t find him, you ought to ask
after him at Marshal Wister’s office. Maybe
the law can help.
• I recollect Mr. Buckles took all his meals at
Mountain View Restaurant. Between you’n
me, I think he was sweet on Millie LaChance
who runs the joint.
• Len Buckles? Legend in the trade. Only miner
who ever convinced “Prospector Bob” Malone
to go in on a claim with him. Prospector Bob
goes it alone!
Intimidation: Asking two-fisted questions
is also effective, but might make enemies in
such a small town. Share one of the following
leads with success (or two with a raise) for
each investigator who Networks in an
unsavory manner. Each attempt takes about
four hours of carousing, followed up with
Intimidation and possibly even fisticuffs!
• Take it easy, friend. I heard o’ Buckles. Don’t
know who he is, but heard a fella by that name
was prospectin’ up on Tarrytown Bench with
Prospector Bob Malone.
• I ain’t afraid o’ you, but this don’t have to
get no uglier. I heard that bandit they got in
the jail—I don’t know her name—sold Elmer
Horror at Headstone Hill
Blaine at the Aspen Lounge a pistol they
took off someone named Buckles. A Gatling
pistol. Y’know, like the kind those rats at the
Agency carry?
• Name’s Nails. Don’t hit me. I don’t know
nothin’ about Len Buckles. I stay drunk most
of the time. Ever since I saw Bogwater Bill.
Don’t believe me? I don’t blame you, but that
monster’s out there in the swamps south o’
town. That’s why I stay here surrounded by
the living.
Research
Only one place in Heaston Hill keeps public
records—the Land Claims office. The group
might also search the Examiner’s back issues,
but that’s a long shot.
Land Claims/Assay Office (page 35):
If inquirers succeed on a Persuasion roll,
clerk Ned Little provides the basics about
Len Buckles’ mining claim—primarily its
location, and that Buckles bought in on it
with partner Bob Malone, an “old-timer.”
With a raise on the Persuasion roll, Little lets
them peruse the documents themselves. If
they further examine the documents with a
Research roll (or Common Knowledge at –2),
they note a few irregularities. One, Reeg’s
financing came from a bank in Evanston, but
which one isn’t identified. Instead, it says
“CONFIDENTIAL.”
Heaston Hill Examiner (page 31): Since
the Tarrytown Omen burned down (twice!),
the Examiner holds the only newspaper
records in town. They aren’t of much use.
The paper only began publishing earlier this
year and the majority of their content consists
of shamelessly inaccurate town promotion.
Hog farmer Scope Trowbridge isn’t too
helpful. Apply a –2 penalty to Persuasion
rolls to access the files; if Scope has reason
to suspect or dislike the heroes, they’ve got
no chance of reading the back issues. If they
get in, success on an Research or Common
Knowledge roll and an hour’s time turns
up a story about the recent mine explosion
(Handout F).
The Good Doctor
Either through Networking or because they
seek out a physician to heal their Wounds,
the posse eventually crosses paths with a
59
HORROR AT HEADSTONE HILL
Agent George J.A. Reeg
gray-bearded man in a shabby suit. This is
town doctor E.B. Kirk. Speaking with the
good doctor and succeeding on a Healing
roll (–2) tells an observer the man frequently
uses laudanum.
Kirk is a member of the Twilight Legion. If
he’s given the hand signal or the code phrase,
he visibly relaxes, murmurs “Lux in tenebris,”
and invites the wranglers to visit his office
at their soonest convenience. See page
27 for the details on Kirk’s shack. (The
posse might also meet schoolmarm Celeste
Munson there.)
Back at his office, E.B. seems scared—and
maybe a little bit off his rocker—but fills in
the wranglers on several subjects. He begins,
“I’m grateful to’ve made contact with you.
Since Agent Reeg went missing things have
gotten worse. Feels like something’s always...
creeping up on you...’round here. You can
just about feel the tension rising.
“This place was all right for a while, it
seems. But then Jerem Heaston came to town.
Everything changed. Put the newspaper out
of business, bought out the old-timers, sent
his toughs to beat up on independent miners.
60
“Now he’s got this whole town in one fist,
just squeezing the life out of it. He’s got the
law and the news in his back pocket. And no
one says a word. They’re all too scared.”
Kirk has this to say about the miners’ union:
“The rank and file have my utmost
support. Folks ought to be able to make a
living however they want. Risk and reward
and all that. But that new union president,
Frank Debeney? He’s ambitious, at least.
Some don’t like him because he bought
out the original Frontier Store from Angel
Epp when her husband died. Some say for
pennies on the dollar.
“Besides the store, which I have to admit is
quite impressive since he bought it, Debeney
also opened a restaurant and got himself
elected union head. He even edged out all his
other competitors and snatched up the Fort
Bridger sutler’s contract. That’s more luck
than seems natural for anyone. But then—
he’s always seemed a decent fellow to me.
He’s certainly a toothy son of a gun. Always
smilin’ and shakin’ hands.”
The doc also has some news on Agent Reeg:
“Reeg was fairly tight-lipped with me.
When I asked too many questions he would
say it was Agency business. That was my
cue to be quiet. I know he bought in on a
ghost rock mine, out on the Bench. Not sure
where. Said it was part of his cover story.
And he had some powerful financial backing
in Evanston. Seemed a little on the greedy
side, but still one of us, you know? He was
always asking people about the Headstone
Nugget and any other major find—like
maybe someday he’d give up the secret agent
business and go hunt the spirit himself.
“Soon after the nugget went missing Reeg
started looking like a dead man. Wasn’t
getting much sleep at his house. I prescribed
him a tincture that seemed to help.
“He was all over the place for a while—
meeting with Millie, working the mine with
Prospector Bob, or sneaking around town
at night in various disguises to figure out
what’s really going on around here. He was
suspicious of Heaston, of course, but also
talked about Debeney, all the local gangs,
and even Bogwater Bill.
“I think he was going out of his mind, to
tell you the truth. I’ve seen it before.

“Anyway, just before he went missing
he said something about a secret society in
town. I never heard anything more about it...
then he was gone.”
Kirk pledges to help the posse out with any
information or medical care they need, free
of charge. He also tells them to be careful:
“Headstone Hill’s a dangerous place.”
„ Dr. E.B. Kirk: Use Townsfolk stats, add
Smarts d8, Spirit d8, Healing d10, Habit
(Minor—Laudanum) and Night Terrors
Hindrances, Healer Edge.
Part Two: Followin' Up
Here’s what happens when the cowpokes
run down the leads they found out via
Networking. Follow the page number where
provided to look up a location’s general
features and inhabitants.
ASPEN LOUNGE (PAGE 23)
Elmer Blaine’s none too pleased with folks
barging into his place asking all sorts of
questions. He denies having any Gatling
pistol, much less an Agency-issue piece. Of
course he’s lying; the gun hangs on a nail
beneath the bar.
Cowpokes likely don’t have much recourse
here besides trickery or force. But law dogs
who telegraph for information or succeed on
a Common Knowledge roll (–4) realize Blaine
is wanted in Shan Fan for a string of small-
time grifts. He fled to Wyoming in 1882 to
escape the tongs’ reach. If he’s forced to or
Intimidated, Blaine spills the beans:
“All right, you caught me. I bought that
Gatling from the gal they got locked up in
the hoosegow. It was just a good price. How
should I know where she got the dang thing?
Marshal plans to ship her off to Evanston for Buckles were “courting” before he vanished.
trial in a few days anyhow.”
THE EMPORIUM (PAGE 28)
“Stretch” Moore has a good memory.
Given a decent description or a look at the
photograph, he remembers Len Buckles and
is happy to talk about him when he’s not
busy (no Persuasion needed). Stretch recalls,
“Sure, I remember Len. He had a crate
delivered here once. From Smith & Robards.
Horror at Headstone Hill
No bigger than a breadbox, but I swear that
thing was 500 pounds if it was 50. He was
coy about the contents. Must have been some
kind o’ diggin’ machine like Heaston uses.
Len did not strike me as much of a miner.”
GHOST STEEL GANG (PAGE 72)
Run Last to See Him Alive when the
wranglers go looking for Bud “Ghost Steel”
Balach and his gang.
MARSHAL'S OFFICE (PAGE 36)
Marshal Wister’s leaning way back in his
chair with his boots on the desk, dusty black
hat over his eyes, blowing at a fly that keeps
pestering his whiskers. The marshal’s not
much of a talker. Success on a Persuasion roll
gets him to open up:
“To be honest I ain’t too concerned over Len
Buckles’ disappearance. This town’s wide
open. People comin’ and goin’ every day.
Now, I heard a rumor that some varmints
runnin’ these hills—call ’emselves the Ghost
Steel Gang—might’ve seen Buckles the night
he vanished. Or the night he left town. Who
can say? These miners fit to drive me crazy
with their carryin’ on.”
Wister’s loyal to Heaston but he isn’t lying
here. He knows Len was an Agent but has
no idea the Cult o’ the Critter exists or was
responsible for his death.
MOUNTAIN VIEW
RESTAURANT (PAGE 37)
Buckaroos can talk to Millie LaChance
between meal rushes when she’s not so
busy in the kitchen. Wiping her hands on
a checkered cloth, she’s hesitant to speak of
Len Buckles. Success on a Persuasion roll (at
–2, or no penalty if the hero identifies himself
as a law dog) prompts her to tell she and Mr.
But it’s clear she’s not saying everything.
If the heroes score a raise, tell Millie point-
blank they know Len’s real identity, or bring
any degree of Intimidation to bear, she sobs
and tells the story between gasps:
“Yes, I knew his real name—George J.A.
Reeg. He was kind and generous and gentle.
He said he had to fulfill his duties here but he
was going to make sure we were taken care of
then we’d...well...we’d have a future together.
61
HORROR AT HEADSTONE HILL
“He was havin’ all kinds of trouble at
his house. Said the shadows weren’t quite
right. I figured it was just the stress of his
job, but things are definitely a little strange
around here.
“He came around after our dinner service
one night saying things had gone bad and
we had to get out of town. He would tie up a
few loose ends and we would leave that night.
That was April 30. I haven’t seen him since.”
NOLLY'S GRUB COUNTER (PAGE 38)
J.D.’s running at his usual speed—
maximum—when the wranglers stop by. If
there’s a breakfast or lunch rush on, your Run this encounter when the posse
compadres have to wait. When he’s asked investigates Agent Reeg’s now-vacant house.
about Len Buckles, J.D.’s reply is forthright:
“I leased him a house over on Bridger
Street for...let’s see...a month and a half. Last and dare each other to go inside. Someone
month he up and vanished and didn’t pay
no rent at all. Man owes me $45. Tell him
I said so if you see him! You know anybody
looking to rent a place? I’ve got one—only
$30 a month.”
Nolly gives the house’s address—8 Bridger
Street. Success on a Persuasion roll drops
the rental price to $25. With a raise, or if he’s
asked directly, he lowers it to $20 and adds:
“Look, Buckles left the place a mess. It needs
some cleaning. He also swore someone was
messin’ with him. He’d hear noises at night
or see figures movin’ in the darkness. He was
a high-strung fella though, so I wouldn’t get
too worked up about it. And I’ve been over
there twice and didn’t see a thing.”
When the posse heads to Reeg’s house, run
House o’ Madness, below.
JAIL/SCARLET KENNEY (PAGE 34)
Heroes trying to talk to the inmate at the
jail find it’s a difficult proposition. Asking
Marshal Wister (see above) results in his flat
refusal. No one talks to his prisoner except
her attorney, and the jail is right next door to
the marshal’s office where it’s easy for him or
his deputies to see or hear any shenanigans.
At best, cowpokes might be able to
distract Wister and quickly speak to Scarlet
through the high cell window. She laughs at
questioners:
62
“I don’t know nothin’ about Agency-issue
guns. I’m innocent. So whoever told you
I sold a weapon like that’s a liar. But you
know what? Best write up yore last will and
testament if you go lookin’ for the Ghost
Steel Gang.”
PROSPECTOR BOB'S CLAIM (PAGE 68)
When the posse tracks down old-timer Bob
Malone on Tarrytown Bench, run Legend o’
Spooky Hollow on page 68.
Part Three: House o' Madness
There’s a ramshackle house on the edge
of town. All the children say it’s haunted
knocked out a window with a rock, but
otherwise the house shows no serious signs
of disrepair. Despite that, it oozes evil. It
almost shimmers and twitches on its own
when seen from the corner of the eye.
Agent Reeg had several goals when he
came to town and rented the house for a base
of operations. He hid his Agency badge and
suit there, and stored weird items collected
during his investigations. For a month the
house served its purpose admirably.
At first, Reeg suspected the Headstone
Nugget was responsible for some of the
town’s woes. He disguised himself as one of
Heaston’s servants, slipped it off the mantle,
and walked out with it pretty as you please.
Reeg couldn’t determine anything special
about the nugget, but he didn’t want to give
up so easy. And he might have had a notion
to keep it for himself when his work here
was done.
He knew he was being watched and didn’t
want anyone finding it while he was away,
so he buried it in the dirt beneath the house.
A few nights later the spirits within erupted
and haunted the place, but Reeg never
connected them with the ghost rock nugget.
It’s still there now, lying in the darkness
waiting for someone else to find it...

Last House on the Left
The last house on the left on Bridger Street
is number 8. Wranglers likely arrive here as
new or interested renters (in which case J.D.
Nolly lets them in), or as trespassers.
If the searchers get to the house during
daylight hours, they find three children
dawdling out front. These are Pietro, Luca,
and Angela di Bianchi, skipping out on
chores at their parents’ bakery (page 24)
and daring each other to go in. Luca holds a
piece of chalk.
Success on a Persuasion roll (+2 if
enhanced with candy) gets the eldest, Pietro,
to tell what they’re doing and what he knows
of the place. At the first sign of Intimidation,
violence, or plain weirdness, the kids scatter
and run home to tell their parents. He says,
“I was telling my brother Luca to go in
and make a mark, or else he’s a fraidy-cat.
Yes you are, Luca! He thinks it’s haunted.
All the kids do. My father says it’s la
sciocchezza—foolishness. Some miner
went mad and ran off into the hills, and now
all the babies make up ghost stories. You are
a baby, Luca! You are!”
After some horseplay, the Di Bianchi kids
run off to play on the baseball diamond
down the street.
Ground Floor
The house is small, 22 by 45 feet, prefabricated
in Salt Lake City and shipped to Heaston Hill
for assembly. It’s a sturdy little structure
with a good roof on it.
Flower Garden: A colorful wildflower
garden flourishes under the parlor’s bay
Horror at Headstone Hill
Creepin' Shadows
As the posse explores Nolly’s house and
uncovers all the scares and critters it
holds, the manitous swarming around
the Headstone Nugget start their
twisted hijinks.
Their tricks escalate from sounds
like light scratching inside the walls
and footsteps above or below wherever
the party’s currently investigating, to
illusions of dead people or whatever
else you think will creep your players
out, Marshal.
The closer the newcomers get to the
nugget (see page 66), the more active
the creepin’ shadows become. Once
it’s moved, it takes a while for them to
reconnect to our world, so they like it
right where it’s at.
windows, or lies brown and fallow during
fall and winter months. Creeping vines and
ivy run up a wooden trellis. Eagle-eyed
botanists who succeed on Notice (–2) note
one plant deep within the tangled garden
that thrives year-round.
Inspecting the plant with success
on Academics or Science (or Common
Knowledge at –2) taps a unique find. It’s
similar to an aspen seedling, with distinctive
pale bark and oval leaves, but it has long,
bulbous seedpods covered with fine,
filament-like hairs. Most unnervingly, the
plant twitches when disturbed.
63
HORROR AT HEADSTONE HILL
This thing is actually a replicant seed,
planted by quaking aspen pod people
under a full moon. (See page 121 to learn
all about replicants.) When the pod ripens in
1d6 weeks, the pod-person inside slides out
and tries to absorb whoever’s sleeping in the
master bedroom upstairs.
Entry/Porch: A creaky rocking chair coated
with dust sits here, with an old cob pipe and
some ashes lying on the windowsill beside
it. The window looks in on the parlor. A
chirruping family of sparrows nests under
one corner of the porch roof. Success on a
simple Repair or Thievery roll jimmies the
front door or a window latch.
Dining Room: This otherwise plain room
has a round wooden table, four chairs, and
a sideboard for plates and utensils. There’s
a painted portrait of Jim Bridger hanging
on the north wall, with eyes that seem to
follow the viewer wherever she goes. Despite
its unnerving qualities the picture isn’t
supernatural.
Study: A small study nestles behind the
dining room and under the stairs. It holds a
threadbare green-and-blue upholstered chair,
a table, and an oil lamp. A small bookcase
stands against the wall, mostly classic
literature and drama. A literary type who
spends 1d6 hours going through the books
and succeeds on a Notice roll (–2) finds an
old treasure map tucked into the endpapers
of one. The map dates from the people who
lived here before Agent Reeg; it’s up to the
Marshal where and what the map leads to.
On top of the bookcase is a thick glass
jar with a rubber cork sealed by generous
amounts of wax. It’s filled with cloudy
yellow liquid—embalming fluid—and has a
gray, fleshy mass coiled within. Success on
a Notice roll (–4) while inspecting the mass
picks out details such as tiny fingers and toes
that suggest it was a child in life. Success on
a Healing or Science roll at –2 reveals it’s not,
though. The thing’s proportions suggest an
18-inch-tall human adult. It’s actually a dead
nimerigar (see page 119). Agent Reeg shot
it on Tarrytown Bench and intended to ship
it back to Denver for further study.
Kitchen: Typical kitchen setup with
exterior door and back steps. The back door is
64
sturdy; it takes success on a Thievery roll (–2)
to spring the lock. Numerous empty whiskey
bottles lay scattered like dead soldiers under
the kitchen counter. Investigators might
guess Agent Reeg sank low enough to drown
his troubles near the end.
A hinged trapdoor in the kitchen floor
accesses an earthen root cellar. Eight wooden
steps lead down into the dark. It smells like
rotten fish, animal musk, and pine sap. With
success on a Notice roll, a searcher finds a
small mound of dirt. Digging it up unearths
the Headstone Nugget! See the sidebar on
page 66 for details.
Digging for the nugget incenses the
manitous swirling around it. They first use
their illusion powers to terrify the interlopers.
If that doesn’t work, they fade in for a quick
claw attack before fading out again.
„ Creepin’ Shadows (5): See page 117.
Pantry: The shelves hold nothing but
cobwebs, dust, a sealed can of molasses, and
a sack of flour that’s been feeding the mice.
Parlor: This spacious room has utilitarian
furniture, a card table, a player piano, and a
small fireplace. Bay windows look out over
a colorful wildflower garden. A grandfather
clock in the corner ticks solemnly, but its
hourly chimes have a sick warble to them.
When it’s cranked up, the player piano—
or pianola—rattles out a selection of popular
cowboy songs and classical pieces before the
paper roll runs out and it needs to be cranked
again. It’s also possible to play it like a
normal reed organ. Best not tickle the ivories
alone, though, amigo...that pianola’s alive!
c Flayer Piano (1): See below.
c Flayer Piano
Until recently this pianola was perfectly
normal, built in the City o’ Gloom and
shipped east with the rest of the layout.
The Headstone Nugget, however, has
drawn in a nasty demon to possess the
thing, turning it into a “flayer piano”! It
looks just like a normal player piano until
it attacks. It prefers to strike when prey is
alone, chomping down on a cowpoke’s

fingers and working in from there until all
the skin’s gone!
Attributes: Agility d4, Smarts d8, Spirit d8,
Strength d12, Vigor d12
Skills: Athletics d10, Common Knowledge
d4, Fighting d4, Notice d8, Stealth d10
Pace: 1; Parry: 4; Toughness: 13 (3)
Edges: No Mercy
Special Abilities:
„ Armor (+3): The piano is made of solid
ash wood.
„ Bite: Str+d6. The piano Grapples with
the keyboard cover and bites with its
ivory “teeth.”
„ Construct: +2 to recover from being
Shaken; ignores 1 point of Wound pen-
alties; does not breathe or suffer from
disease or poison.
„ Environmental Weakness (Fire): +4
damage from fire-based attacks.
„ Fear (–2): It’s a living piano! The thing
prompts a Fear check (–2).
„ Hardy: The piano doesn’t suffer a
Wound from being Shaken twice.
„ Size +2: The piano weighs 1,000 lbs.
Horror at Headstone Hill
Upper Story
Chamber 1: The room at the stairhead is
full of mounted animal heads and stuffed
birds. Deer, elk, wild hog, and badger hang
fanged and glassy-eyed beside multi-hued
songbirds displayed as if in flight. At the
room’s center is a stuffed bald eagle on
a table. It smells dank and musty in here.
Anyone alone for more than a few minutes
sees nothing strange, but starts to hear stuffed
heads twitching and snapping, bird feathers
shivering, and talons scratching on wood—
which provokes a Fear check.
Chamber 2: The corner bedroom has
windows overlooking Bridger Street and the
trail leaving town. It’s equipped with two
single beds, a nightstand, and a closet with a
few old nightshirts in it. There’s a bible and
a single .45-caliber cartridge rattling around
the nightstand drawer.
Hall Closet: Empty except for dust and a
little extra firewood. A panel in the closet’s
ceiling leads to the crawlspace under the roof,
cramped and fetid and filled with dead mice
65
HORROR AT HEADSTONE HILL
Relic: The Headstone Nugget
Sixty Six-and-a-half pounds of trouble!
The find “big enough to crown a grave,”
the Headstone Nugget’s discovery set
off a mining frenzy that’s yet to slow
down. But it didn’t take long after the
66.6-lb nugget arrived at the Assay
Office for folks to grow apprehensive.
This particular piece of ghost rock
worries at the walls between our world
and the Hunting Grounds. Sinister
manitous slip through on occasion,
causing mischief and mayhem.
Power: The nugget’s invisible, evil
mojo sits astride the physical and
spiritual world, prying open a portal
after it sits a while in the same location
(d6 hours or so). When it does, the air
cools a few degrees in a 25-foot radius
(or fills a structure of roughly similar
size). Spellcasters with the Arcane
Background (Black Magic) Edge gain
+2 on arcane skill rolls while within its
influence.
Smashing the nugget to pieces and
scattering the fragments, burning it, etc.
causes its power to be lost forever.
Taint: Lesser manitous worm their
way into the physical world through
the nugget’s influence. There’s always
a handful swarming around it, ready to
mess with folks. You’ll find the stats for
the type most attracted to it—creepin’
shadows—on page 117. They play
tricks on anyone who comes into the
nugget’s area of effect, pushing folks
down stairs, creating creepy illusions,
making strange sounds to scare and
separate the party, and so on.
Anyone who sleeps within the
nugget’s sphere of influence also has
soul-wrenching nightmares. Treat this
as the Night Terrors Hindrance.
On the plus side, players can
share their characters’ nightmares as
Interludes if they wish!
66
and a few roosting bats. It’d be possible but
unpleasant for someone to hide out up there.
Chamber 3: The main bedroom has a four-
poster bed, outside veranda, and a fireplace
with wood and tools stacked beside it.
Hanging in the closet are what appear to be
a few sets of mining garb, most of it clean
and new from the Emporium.
There’s a loose floorboard in the corner.
Wranglers who search the room find it with a
Notice roll (–4). If no one discovers it, the next
time a hero goes in that room her boot tilts
the loose board by chance. Under the board
is a child’s shoe, shriveled and worn out, on
a piece of canvas. Success on a Common
Knowledge roll tells the curious that this is
an old custom people thought would bring a
house good luck.
Under the canvas is Reeg’s stash. A tailored
black suit lies folded in the space, and on it
rests a shiny silver Agency badge—#682—
and an odd-looking, barrel-shaped key. The
key opens Agent Reeg’s safe at the mine, but
investigators may not suspect this yet.
Renting the House
Once the nugget is removed, and assuming
the party figures out to keep it moving
around so it doesn’t “settle” (see sidebar),
the house is as safe and secure as any in
town. They can rent it from J.D. Nolly (as
described page 38) and use it as their base
of operations.
If they do, the party gets a few visitors in
the coming days.
The Caretaker: J.D. Nolly hired a
handyman named Strawhorn, who stops
by occasionally to look after the place’s
upkeep. He has bulging eyes, a long neck,
prominent adam’s apple, a shaved head,
and wears stained overalls. Strawhorn’s
not too swift but he can fix anything. He’s
actually a hireling of Debeney’s who reports
on anything out-of-the-ordinary he sees or
hears. He doesn’t know about the cult or the
aspens, however; he’s a victim of Debeney’s
smooth-talking ways.
c Strawhorn: Use Townsfolk from
Deadlands but add Strength d10, Smarts
d4, Repair d10, and the Clueless and
Illiterate Hindrances.

Proselytizers: Folks go door-to-door for
all kinds of causes, mostly the local church
group savin’ souls, the Women’s Temperance
Movement looking for whiskey to pour on
the ground, and folks seeking donations for
the “New Colossus” they’re building Back
East in New York City—the Statue of Liberty.
One evening a group of four townsfolk
shows up at the door, asking, “Have you
heard the sound, friends?” They seem
friendly if a little too fervent, and they don’t
explain exactly what “sound” they mean.
The encounter goes on long enough to be
confusing and awkward. The folks never
really say anything else of substance, and
when they leave depart with: “We sure hope
you hear the sound!”
A hero who succeeds on a Notice roll (–2)
as they walk off could swear she hears them
gurgling or squeaking softly at each other.
„ Townsfolk (4): These are actually
replicants (use Townsfolk from
Deadlands with the Replicant Special
Ability, page 121). They’re not
interested in fighting; the aspen is just
doing a little independent fact-finding.
Act 1, Episode B
The Summons
SETUP: Run this episode when the heroes catch
Jerem Heaston’s attention.
Jerem Heaston hears of the posse’s actions
and asks for them to meet him at his office
in town. One morning when the wranglers
are gathered for breakfast, Maxim Heaston
approaches and sizes up the posse before
extending an invitation:
“Mornin’, strangers. My father Jerem
Heaston would like to say howdy over at his
office on Main Street.”
At the mining office, Heaston is still going
over financial records with his attorney
Angus Diehl. Heaston greets each cowpoke
warmly, introduces them to Mr. Diehl, and
welcomes them to town with the skill of a
career politician. Max hangs around the
offices on the front porch, now with a few
extra “boys,” conspicuous but not exactly
threatening.
Horror at Headstone Hill
Once names are exchanged, Heaston says,
“Offer you a whiskey? I’m not looking to be
friends, and I reckon you ain’t either. But we
each have our own business here in my town.
Misunderstandings happen. But there’s no
need for it to escalate. That’s why I figured
I’d invite you over, say hello, and make sure
there’s a line of communication should our
agendas ever run at cross purposes.”
Heaston then lets the cowpokes talk,
steering them into their backgrounds and
business in Heaston Hill. It’s all framed
as friendly chit-chat, but Heaston’s using
his shrewd mind to weigh every word
the newcomers utter. Those who spin lies
roll Performance or Persuasion opposed
by Heaston’s Notice. That goes both ways,
though—those asking questions can take
stock of Heaston’s answers too.
Once he’s learned everything he feels he
can, Heaston drops the other shoe.
“I need to you all to understand—this is
my town, lock, stock, and barrel. I know why
you’re here. More or less. Ain’t a thing that
walks, crawls, or flies over this town I don’t
know about. You’re looking for Buckles.
Though I’m sure that’s not his real name.
It’s a rare individual who carries a Gatling
pistol, and Elmer Blaine down at the Aspen
Lounge just added one to his collection. If I
were looking for the man who used to own it,
I reckon I’d start there.
“So there you go. That’s some friendly help.
Perhaps you can repay the favor some day.”
Jerem won’t say how he came by that
information—he just reminds them once
again it’s his town. Then he bids them
farewell and says he looks forward to their
next meeting.
c Jerem Heaston: See page 114.
c Maxim Heaston: See page 114.
„ Angus Diehl, Esq.: Use Townsfolk
stats, add Smarts d10, Academics d10,
Language (Latin) d8, Research d10, the
Enemy (Minor—Eli Nagel) and Greedy
(Minor) Hindrances, and the Scholar
(Academics) Edge. He packs a Derringer
in his satchel (Range 3/6/12, Damage
2d4, RoF 1).
„ Heaston’s Boys (4, plus 1 per hero): Use
Gunman stats in Deadlands.
67
HORROR AT HEADSTONE HILL
Aftermath
This episode’s over when the posse recovers
Reeg’s badge and his strange key, but
its events may resonate in adventures
to come. Strawhorn could mention the
posse’s activities to Debeney, or the local
pod people may decide to come after the
new tenants. Hell, Nolly’s house might not
even be standing when the wranglers get
finished with it.
Recovering the Headstone Nugget and
returning it to Jerem Heaston gains the
group a strong dose of fame and maybe even
a favor from Heaston himself. This doesn’t
make them friends, he’s quick to point out,
but grants them a favor they can call in. Once.
Destroying the nugget is more likely for
Twilight Legionnaires, and best of all it’s still
valuable ghost rock (but not as valuable—
the Headstone Nugget is famous, after all).
More crucially, it no longer breaks the barrier
between this world and the Hunting Grounds.
Act 1, Episode C
Legend o' Spooky Hollow
SETUP: Run this episode when the posse visits
Reeg’s mine on Tarrytown Bench. Check the
Heaston Hill Environs Map on page 47 for
the location of Bob’s mine.
South of Heaston Hill the sage-grass hills
rise to the base of Tarrytown Bench about
400 yards away. The narrow, dark slab of the
Bench soars 100 feet straight up, its cliffs and
crags worked by a seething hive of miners
and newfangled diggin’ machines.
What About Prospector Bob?
It’s a short trip on the Ghost Rock Trail—an
hour on foot, half that on horses—to reach
the site of Len Buckles’ and Prospector Bob
Malone’s claim. A narrow footpath leads 300
feet from the trail, winding halfway up the
Bench’s slope into a dense stand of pines.
The claim isn’t much to look at—a big
hole in the hillside with piles of dirt and
rock around it, a beat-up mechanical mule
with picks and shovels leaned on it, trash
scattered about. Over in the trees is a little
68
tent rigged up with oilcloth and branches
and a smoldering campfire.
Success on a Notice roll (–2) picks out
shotgun barrels poking from behind the mule,
where Bob’s hiding. Cowpokes approaching
the claim hear his hoarse voice shout,
“If I said it once, I done said it a hundred
times. I ain’t sellin’! Go tell Mr. Heaston or
I’ll pepper your backsides!”
Success on Persuasion or Intimidation
calms Bob enough to hear the posse’s
business. He emerges from hiding and
apologizes, offering some coffee from the
cookfire. When he’s reasonably convinced
the cowpokes are who they say, he listens
patiently to their spiel. He says,
“Well, that’s fair enough I suppose. I
thought you was Heaston’s sons again,
looking to raise some Hell. Trying to force
me out. Can’t abide them blaggards. So I
understand you got business regarding Len
and need to look around inside. Take a full
accounting, as it were.
“Fact is I own this claim now, free and
clear. And no offense intended, but I need
to know you got nothin’ to do with Heaston.
I need to trust it. So here’s what I propose.
You look like capable folks, and I could
sure use some help with the ruffians been
plaguing us. Some of ’em are out there right
now causin’ trouble. What do you say?”
Bob’s earnest even if he has a bit of a crazy
glint in his eye. Bob fervently believes the
waters of eternal life flow out of Tarrytown
Bench, which is why he’s so keen to protect
it. If the heroes agree to help him he claps his
hands and shouts, “Well, hot dog! Let’s go
meet the Logans.”
„ “Prospector Bob” Malone: Use
Townsfolk stats, add Trade (Mining)
d10, Delusion (Minor—Aqua vitae)
Hindrance, double-barrel shotgun
(Range 12/24/48, Damage 1–3d6, RoF
1).
Citizens of the Bench
Bob leads the explorers along another trail
south through the trees, running parallel to
Ghost Rock Trail. Bob’s willing to answer
questions about his partnership with Buckles.
Way he tells it...
 Horror at Headstone Hill

“Len Buckles came to town with a sizable c Maxim Heaston: See page 114. He
grubstake and no experience. My finances rides his favorite horse, a blood bay
weren’t lettin’ me live the dream right then mare named Cimarron.
and he seemed all right, so I let him buy in „ Heaston’s Boys (1, plus 1 per hero): Use
on my claim. Tight-lipped regarding his own Gunman stats in Deadlands. They all ride
business, but that’s any man’s right. Len horses.
was a good egg. But—life out here can be full „ Miners (6): Use Townsfolk stats in
of trials. And I think Len just cracked. Holed Deadlands and add Trade (Mining) d6.
up in his house for a week or so, wouldn’t
answer the door. Then one night he just lit Tale o' the Holler
out. Godspeed, Mr. Buckles. Godspeed.” When the confrontation’s over, Bob
introduces the posse to some grateful miners.
Bob has no knowledge of Len’s Agency
The leader is Tyree Logan, accompanied
affiliation or supernatural investigations.
by his sister Myra and their employee Red
But he’s happy to speak at length about the
Bannister. In the shack is Tyree’s wife Jenny
virtues the Tarrytown Miners’ Union, his
and their kids, Candy and Noon. Bob asks
utter contempt for Jerem Heaston and his
Logan to relate his tale.
sons (Max, Gat, and Colt), and the early
history of the town—in which Bob played Logan figures they better have some coffee
an integral role. Heck, Bob was personally and get comfortable. Then he says,
acquainted with Warfield Phoenix, the fella
“I suppose Bob’s already told you his
who dug up the Headstone Nugget.
opinion. Now, I got no love for Jerem
After a half-mile or so, the troubleshooters Heaston or his beastly sons, but I’m tellin’
hear raised voices through the trees. Bob you they’re no part of it. This isn’t some
holds a finger to his lips for quiet and creeps hoax or trick to make us pull up stakes and
forward. Peeking out into a clearing they run. This is a nightmare come to life.
see a small mining operation and a gang
of armed men on horseback in dark brown
dusters. Three miners brandish their tools
defiantly. Some other folks hide in a small
shack and peek out the door. The lead
miner yells:
“You got no cause to harass us, Max
Heaston! ’Cause that’s what this is—
harassment, plain and simple. Our claim’s
in order at the Assay Office. If you got a
problem I say you take it to them.”
The armed riders’ leader—Max Heaston—
yanks his Colt and aims it at the face of the
miner who spoke. Children in the shack wail
in fright. Your cowpokes can leap in at any
time they like, but this needn’t be a fight
to the death. Max isn’t really going to kill
anyone, not in broad daylight anyway. That
doesn’t gain his pa any claims or people to
work them.
Whether he’s beaten or simply driven off,
Max rides hard back to town to tell Heaston
about the do-gooders helping out miners up
on the Bench...

69
HORROR AT HEADSTONE HILL
“Way the story goes, back when this place
was founded they called it Tarrytown. Ol’
Standish Epp who used to own the Frontier
Store was from there, you see. Naming it that
reminded him of home. Now Tarrytown is
also famous for its legend of a headless rider
who plagued the roads at night, murdering
the innocent. That evil spirit must’ve
followed them here, or maybe its friends.
“’Bout a year ago, a band of miners decided
they didn’t like the Utes around. They killed
two women and the Utes responded as you
might expect. The Indians harried them
into a place called Spooky Hollow. The
prospectors cooked up a last stand with guns
and dynamite but the Utes snuck in after
dark and captured the miners, then lopped
their heads off one by one and chucked ’em
down a deep hole.
“But them miners came back. On the
bleakest, blackest nights they ride out o’
Spooky Hollow, bringin’ fire and woe—
unstoppable. I put two slugs in one o’ them
bastards and it didn’t even slow ‘im down.
“Get rid o’ them horrors and maybe
we can focus on a coherent strategy for
Heaston’s goons.”
Prospector Bob makes it clear he thinks
it really is a hoax perpetrated by Heaston’s
boys, but he asks the wranglers to put a stop
to it regardless. (Logan’s kids Candy and
Noon start arguing over whether it’s more of
a “holler” or a “gulch.”) The heroes do that,
Bob promises they can have all Len Buckles’
possessions back at his claim.
Headless Horsemen
Success on a Survival roll allows the heroes
to follow the miners’ directions. They ride
another two miles south along the western
slopes of the Bench. Passing by another small
mining camp they find it devoid of life, the
tents and tools all burned up in a fire.
The trail rises up narrow canyons and
treacherous switchbacks into the Uintas, until
the riders emerge onto a high, windswept
prairie. About a half-mile distant lies Spooky
Hollow, looking like a tremendous axe
cleaved the mountains in twain. Read this
passage to the players:
70
Spooky Hollow sure lives up to its name.
A thin, black canyon between two peaks, no
sun or moonlight seems to penetrate its
depths. The wind rushes down its length
with an agonized groan, thrashing pine
branches and kicking up dust. You see no
signs of life.
Horses can’t make it into the narrow
defile, but cowpokes can if they go single-
file. Anyone walking this trail has to succeed
on an Athletics roll or stumble and suffer
Fatigue from Bumps & Bruises. About a half-
mile up the rocky, tumbled slope is the site of
the slaughter Tyree spoke about.
Tangled in the vines and weeds at the
back of the canyon are six headless skeletons,
several rusted and corroded guns, and a
spoiled crate of TNT. There’s also a gap in
the rock with a deep catacomb beneath it.
About 60 feet down, forgotten in the dark, are
six human skulls.
Soon after searching the camp, the
searchers hear a high, warbling scream
echoing through Spooky Hollow. It’s
impossible to tell what’s causing it, but
it sure makes folks uncomfortable. If the
cowpokes figure it’s time to depart, they
emerge onto the high prairie below to find
six riders awaiting them. Read this:
Spread out in a line about a quarter-mile
off are six riders. The wind pulls and tears
at their ragged black forms. It’s impossible
to tell where their bodies end and the horses
begin. But one detail stands out more than
any other—they’ve got no heads! One of the
horses lets out a warbling shriek, and they
all break into a gallop toward you. What
do you do?
Time for the Action Cards, Marshal. Still
driven by the irrational hatred that fueled
them in life, the headless horsemen focus
attacks on native characters before other
ethnicities. Once any Indians are dead,
though, they attempt to kill everyone else.
Being eldritch apparitions, these riders fight
to the “death.”
„ Headless Horsemen (6): See below.
Headless Horseman
These abominations aren’t actual horses
and riders, only shadowy apparitions that

look that way. They all but vanish in deep
shadows and darkness, only revealing
themselves when they fling blasts of unholy
brimstone from their twisted claws.
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Spirit d8,
Strength d6, Vigor d10
Skills: Athletics d10, Common Knowledge
d4, Fighting d8, Notice d8, Riding d10,
Stealth d8
Pace: 8; Parry: 7; Toughness: 7
Edges: Block, Fleet-Footed, Steady Hands
Special Abilities:
„ Anchor: Headless horsemen are tied to
the Spooky Hollow environs. They can
travel anywhere on the Bench but no
farther.
„ Brimstone: Range 6/12/24, Damage
2d6+1, SBT, target ignites on a 6 on d6.
Headless riders can throw howling
blasts of brimstone that smell like ghost
rock. A victim who is immolated by this
attack and dies rises in 1d6 rounds as a
burnin’ dead (see Deadlands).
„ Claws: Str+d6.
„ Ethereal: Headless horsemen can be-
come invisible and immaterial as a free
action once per turn and can only be
harmed by magical attacks.
„ Invulnerability: A headless horse-
man can be Wounded and even killed
by magical attacks, but reforms soon
after (generally one round later, but the
Marshal can vary this as needed so as
to avoid a total posse kill). Use this to
scare the heroes—not wipe ‘em out.
„ Weakness (Banishment): Headless
horsemen are susceptible to the banish
power, but they return to the anchor in
2d6 hours as long as it remains intact.
To permanently lay the horsemen to
rest, the heroes must find their skulls
down in the catacomb and destroy them
(Hardness 5).
Aftermath
When the posse returns, Prospector Bob
and the Logans shower them with thanks.
They’re happy to throw in a meal and a bottle
of whiskey, too, for anyone who’s interested.
After the cowpokes have a chance to recover
and catch their breath, Bob takes them back
to his claim.
Horror at Headstone Hill
Inside the Safe
Here’s what’s inside Agent Reeg’s safe
when the buckaroos open it.
„ Handout G: Wasatch Rail stock
certificates worth $4,500.
„ Handout H: Telegraph from
Governor William Hale.
„ Handouts I, J, K: Agent’s black
book (with three handwritten
clues).
„ Cash: $2,000 in US scrip.
„ Ghost rock ore: 5-lb sack worth
$500 minus 5%.
True to his word, Prospector Bob lets
them in his mine shaft and shows them
Len Buckles’ belongings. They find some
garden-variety mining gear as well as a few
specialized diggin’ devices from Smith &
Robards. Bob says mildly,
“I expect you’re interested in Len’s safe.”
This Agency-issue lockbox was the 500-lb
item Reeg had delivered to The Emporium.
It’s a Smith & Robards Self-Anchoring
Vault, 18 inches square, made of ghost steel
(Hardness 18; Thievery –6), and equipped
with expanding ghost steel anchors. After a
hole is carved for the safe to sit inside and
the anchors deployed (which can be done
only once), the safe permanently embeds
itself in solid rock. This provides an Agent
with a secure cache in nearly any locale. It’s
impossible to extract and take away without
excavation or nitro. Bob strictly forbids either.
The safe opens with a barrel-shaped
key (hidden in Reeg’s house, page 66).
But having the key isn’t enough; there are
numbers around the keyhole as well. If it
isn’t turned with the correct combination
(noted on the page of Reeg’s book now held
by the Ghost Steel Gang—see page 115) the
safe doesn’t open.
If the posse has the key and combination,
the safe opens. Inside is a trove of Reeg’s
notes, evidence, and suppositions, all of
which can be used to build a case against Mr.
Heaston and root out the Cult o’ the Critter.
See the sidebar above for a list of clues.
71
HORROR AT HEADSTONE HILL

Crittenden Ranch: A Persuasion success

Act 1, Episode D at the Crittenden Ranch (see page 47;
Last to See Him Alive Intimidation automatically results in hurt
feelings and threats) confirms that Balach
SETUP: Run this episode when the posse seeks used to work there. Crittenden and his boys
out the Ghost Steel Gang. seem surprised Bud took up that line of work;
he always seemed like a stand-up fella. One
Bud “Ghost Steel” Balach isn’t a bad guy as far
of the hands recalls Bud Balach mentioning
as outlaws go. He’s never killed anybody, he
his brother in the town of Urie. With a raise,
just has a fondness for easily acquired cattle
another ranch hand warns that the Ghost
and an aversion to hard work. Unfortunately
Steel Gang rides around fully encased in
for any wranglers who go gunning for the
jackets made of their namesake.
Ghost Steel Gang, they’re having what you
might call an internal dispute. That’s because Urie: Riding to the town of Urie (see page
one of them has the werewolf’s curse! 17) brings a posse very close to Balach
indeed. Although the folks around here
The Hunt Is On are notoriously tight-lipped, success on a
Networking roll (nice or not) reveals that
If pistoleros want to find out more about the most people around here know Bud. Like the
Ghost Steel Gang, the board outside Marshal Crittendens, everyone speaks highly of him—
Wister’s office (page 36) has the basic infor- except for his unfortunate choice of a line
mation. Unlike most of the other criminals, the of work. On a raise, cowpokes are directed
gang isn’t wanted for murder and thus sought to the Gold Coin Saloon at the west end of
alive. Asked about the gang’s activities, Wister’s town: “Bud’s brother Lee owns the place.”
exactly as helpful as usual. He guffaws and says,
At the Gold Coin
“Oh, so you’re law dogs now? I ain’t about
The Gold Coin hardly lives up to its gilded
to discuss my open cases with the likes o’
name, being a rundown ranch-style affair on
you. I suggest you stay away from them
the edge of town. Sluggish smoke comes out
renegades. Huntin’ outlaws ’round these
of the stovepipe, and several horses are tied
parts is hazardous to your health.”
out front.
Networking in Heaston Hill alone isn’t
Going in through the batwing doors,
enough to track down the gang, which
visitors find a silent, dank, musky space
operates all over eastern Uinta County.
festooned with more furs, pelts, and
Searchers have to ride to a few locations close
cowhides than liquor bottles. One might be
by before the situation becomes clear. Of
excused for thinking it was a tannery. Several
course they might run across a Savage Tale
surly looking folks sit around, and they all
or a few encounters as the Marshal prefers.
turn to stare down newcomers.
Here’s what they can find out, by location:
Lee Balach—sweaty, black-haired, blue-
Heaston Hill: Success on a Networking
eyed, in his late 20s—stands behind the bar.
roll drums up information about the gang’s
He wears a bearskin robe. Lee spits tobacco
leader, Bud “Ghost Steel” Balach. Apparently
on the floor behind the bar and asks what’ll
he was a former hand at the Crittenden
it be. Everything proceeds as usual until
Ranch, but flew the coop to take up cattle
wranglers ask questions about Lee’s brother
rustling last year. He hasn’t been seen in
Bud. Lee says,
town in quite some time.
“Sure, Bud Balach is my brother.
With a raise a buckaroo also hears that the
Everybody knows that. But I don’t talk about
Ghost Steel Gang is suspected of Len Buckles’
my brother with any ol’ scab herder moseys
murder (which they may already know). No
through the door. And that includes you,
one’s quite sure how this rumor got started—
applejack. So either buy a drink and shut up,
probably a gang member flapping his gums—
or get the Hell out of my place.”
but such things often happen in small towns
where nearly everyone knows each other.

72

Lee doesn’t give in without a fight. If
trouble breaks out, Lee’s customers all jump
in on his side. Unlike Bud Balach, Lee has no
compunction against justified killing. If he’s
beaten up, Lee’s all too willing to trade Bud’s
hide for his own:
“Just hold on! I can be reasonable. You
want to find Bud. Fine. I just didn’t
understand how badly you wanted him.
“Bud’s gang is pulling a job right now.
There’s a spot in the hills north of Carter
called Bluegrass Meadow. Ranchers fatten
up their herds on the rich bluegrass and
wild alfalfa before they sell ’em at the
stockyard. Word is a big herd’s coming
down from Elkhorn Ranch in the north
of the county, and they’re sure to camp at
Bluegrass Meadow.
“That’s where Bud and his gang’ll strike.
I’d stake my saloon on it. First they’ll come
up with a ruse to distract the hands, then cut
out part of the herd and vamoose. There’s
a rustler’s roost overlooking Bluegrass
Meadow. That’s Bud’s favorite spot to plan.”
Lee tells the group how to reach Bluegrass
Meadow and gives them a general rundown
of the gang’s capabilities (see page 115). He
doesn’t mention they wear armored vests.
„ Lee Balach: Use Gunman (Veteran) stats
in Deadlands.
„ Lee’s Bunch (1 per hero): Use Gunman
stats in Deadlands.
Hogtied at the Corral
It’s about 26 miles to Carter by trail, a full
day’s ride on horseback. On the way the posse
passes through Fort Bridger and Bridger depot.
Lee Balach was thorough in his betrayal,
so the posse can sneak up on Bud and his
gang with simple Stealth rolls. They find the
gang’s horses first, grazing in a makeshift
rope corral. Flanking Bud, they see him
hiding on a grassy bluff, looking down on
herds of cattle grazing Bluegrass Meadow.
He and his crew appear to be making a plan.
Since the Ghost Steel Gang is wanted
alive, it’s up to the heroes how they go
about capturing them. They might try to
intimidate them, or choose subterfuge or
some other plan. Reward creativity, Marshal;
Horror at Headstone Hill
Bud and his gang are shrewd but they’re not
criminal geniuses.
There’s little doubt of the gang’s intentions
once they’ve been apprehended. Bud carries
a “running brand”—a straight iron poker—
used to alter the “stamping brands” owners
use to mark their stock. Their plan was to cut
out part of the herd and drive it northeast to
the Sioux Nations to throw off any pursuit.
The herd from Elkhorn Ranch is owned
by a relative newcomer to Uinta County—
26-year-old Theodore Roosevelt Jr., lately
enamored of the cowboy life. It’s up to the
Marshal whether “Teddy” plays a greater
role in the story; use Cowboy stats in
Deadlands for him and his trail hands.
c Bud “Ghost Steel” Balach: See page
115. He has a Colt Peacemaker (Range
12/24/48, Damage 2d6+1, RoF 1, AP 1)
and six silver bullets.
„ Ghost Steel Gang: See page 115.
Bo Peep's Sheep
By the time the gang’s subdued and
contained, night has fallen, the wind moans,
and a full moon blazes white overhead.
Although some might prefer to travel at night
and risk a horse breaking its leg in a gopher
hole, most travelers bed down until morning.
Not long after supper Bud Balach starts in on
his spiel:
“We’re on opposite sides o’ the law on this
issue but that don’t make us bad people. We
ain’t killers. I think you know that. And as
someone who avoids killin’, it’s only sportin’
o’ me to warn you folks what you done
stepped in. No fault o’ yours, not pointin’
any fingers, but—you stumbled on somethin’
bigger than you. I’m givin’ you a chance to
cut us loose and walk away.”
It’s big talk for a handcuffed villain, and
unlikely to change any minds. Bud hopes
to get one or more wranglers asking him
questions, but either way he plunges on,
“Me and my friends, we’re in the midst of
what you might call an internal dispute. Our
old pal John Jacob White’s got a beef with us.
And Johnny’s not exactly in what you’d call
a rational mood these days. You don’t want
to get stuck in the middle o’ that, do you?”
73
HORROR AT HEADSTONE HILL

Bud keeps at it until someone finally tells
him to shut up. He shrugs and goes silent.
Big Bad John
A thick, chilly fog rolls in and surrounds the
group, limiting vision to 20 yards (10” on
the tabletop). An hour passes; call for Notice
rolls. Success picks out the snap of a branch
somewhere out there in the fog, maybe 35 or
40 yards away. A raise detects soft footfalls
crunching back and forth in the sage-grass.
Let the players sweat this one out while
you ratchet up the tension, Marshal. There’s
no other sound, so the cowpokes can’t know
whether whatever it was went away or still
lurks in the fog. Give them a chance to come
up with ideas. Still the silence persists.
Just as conversation resumes, call for
another Notice roll. This time success detects
a deep, rattling growl, so guttural and
unnatural no one can figure out what animal
it belongs to. The best guess is a bear...but it’s
not like any bear they’ve heard. The sound
dies away again.
When it comes back, the weird growling
is faintly audible by everyone. It’s
circling the campsite and
travelers now. The
prisoners grow more
fearful by the second.
Bud whispers,
“Listen—we can
help you. We’ve got
a better chance
all fighting
together. Just
let me out o’
here and I’ll
tell you what
you want to
know. None o’
my people killed that
miner, but we sure as
Hell know where he went
that night. I swear on my
mother’s name I’m tellin’
the truth!”
Bud’s being com-
pletely honest. Hopeful-
ly the heroes see fit to accept his help. At that
exact moment, though, read this passage:
Before you can move, a huge dark shape
hurtles from the fog, bounding in two great
leaps to the campsite with an ear-splitting
howl. All you see are fur and teeth, you
hear bones crunch as it clamps down on
a shrieking outlaw, hot blood showers
everyone. The thing leaps again into the
fog, gone—taking the outlaw’s flopping
body with it.
It’s better if someone exclaims, “What was
that?!” But no matter what Bud says mildly:
“Well, now. That would be our old pal John
Jacob White.”
Time to deal the Action Cards, Marshal!
John Jacob White (whose real name is
Antonio di Bianchi, see page 24) was bitten
by a werewolf out near the town of Lonetree
a few months ago. The gang assumed he
was dead, but then Antonio returned last
full moon to stalk and kill. Worse, he has
summoned a gabriel hound, with Bud as
its target, and the pair now relentlessly
pursue the gang.
Since then Bud prepared himself with
silver cartridges, but now he’s hoping
not to perish before he can fire them.
If the heroes set Bud, his gang,
or all of them loose, they
fight alongside them as
promised. The werewolf
and its companion fight
to the death trying to kill
Bud Balach.
c  Big Bad John (1):
Use the standard
Werecritter stats
in Deadlands.
„ Gabriel
hound: see
page 117
Aftermath
When the beast is
slain and reverts to Antonio di
Bianchi or it’s driven off, Bud
makes good on his promise.
He takes a small, folded
sheet of paper from his
breast pocket and says,

74

“This proves what I said. We helped Len
when he was in a tight spot one night up on
the Bench. We were hidin’ out from Wister’s
men when we came across Buckles fightin’
off a couple of miners acting...well...weird.
We tried to reason with ‘em but they wasn’t
havin’ it, so we had to put ‘em down. When
we did they just sorta...dissolved.
“Buckles didn’t seem surprised. But
he was in a hurry to get back to town for
some reason. He was afraid he might not
make it, and promised there’d be a reward if
we’d deliver this piece of paper to an Agent
or Ranger. We ain’t exactly been eager to
find such an individual given our choice of
careers—not sure he knew that—but I still
have it, so here you go.”
Give your players Handout L, containing
Reeg’s note. The opposite side holds the
correct combination to Reeg’s Agency
safe (page 71).
If Bud is asked about the Gatling
pistol, he adds,
“Scarlet took a fancy to it. He gave it to
her as a way of saying thanks for saving his
bacon. Then she went and got herself caught
by Wister’s morons. Don’t know what
happened to the pistol after that.”
Having held up his end, Bud tries to talk
the cowpokes into letting him and the gang
go—for now.
“Let me go this time, and maybe next time
I can help you again. What do you say?”
Setting Bud Balach free brings benefits if
the heroes go to track down the gangs later
on. (See Run for the Nations on page 94
for the full scoop.) But if your posse’s full of
law dogs who want to drag Bud to prison,
taking delight in his pleas, that’s their duty
and their right. After all, he’s worth a great
deal of cash.
Aftermath
The heroes should now have Len’s key and
combination and can open his safe. Once
they’ve done that and had a chance to
examine its contents (page 71), move on
to Act Two.
Horror at Headstone Hill
ACT 2: THE HEADSTONE
HILL MASSACRE
Act Two begins after the wranglers secure
the contents of Agent Reeg’s safe. The tale
unfolds a bit more slowly now, building on
connections the party’s made and the leads
they’ve uncovered.
The tension also rises as the Tarrytown
Miners Union (manipulated by Frank
Debeney and the Cult o’ the Critter) come to
blows with Jerem Heaston’s boys.
Act 2, Episode A
Local Politics
SETUP: Sensing growing support for Debeney’s
Miners Union, Jerem Heaston tries to break
their back before they get any stronger. He
starts by having his sons kidnap that pillar
of the mining community, Prospector Bob
Malone. They force Bob to sign a letter to
the Examiner then take him far away into the
Uinta Mountains. He’s held hostage there in
case they need anything else out of him, but
don’t plan on letting him leave there alive
when this is all over.
Union Man's Outrage
SETUP: Our twisted tale moves into a phase of
blood and politics. But mostly blood.
One day a letter to the editor appears in the
Heaston Hill Examiner that causes rising anger
throughout town (Handout M). The note—
from Bob Malone, of all people—floats the
idea of passing a law prohibiting any mining
operations not affiliated with Heaston, “to
provide for all miners’ safety.” This idea does
not go over well among certain folks.
In the days that follow, angry mobs of
prospectors march through the streets
and congregate around Heaston’s place.
Heaston—who comes across looking like the
victim—hires the Alvord Detective Agency
(page 22) to provide security for his home
and holdings in town. Marshal Wister (page
36) takes the opportunity to deputize a
dozen more men.
75
HORROR AT HEADSTONE HILL

Bob’s Claim: Having a prior acquaintance Anyone patrolling the streets at night
with Bob, the posse may want to look into thenear Chinatown or Creek Street can track
finer details. Successful Networking in town the villains down. If Heaston’s men see
reveals no one has seen Bob Malone in about the party coming, they call off the raid and
a week, though he’s usually in town every depart without violence. Heroes can use
few days to resupply. A trip out to Bob’s Stealth to lie in wait and follow them though.
claim finds it deserted; a successful Survival
If successful, the posse follows the raiders to
roll (–2) says no one’s been there for days. the house they plan to attack and might even
get the drop on them. Heaston’s thugs scatter
Bob’s being held up in the Uinta Mountains
in all directions as fast as they can, though—
by some of Heaston’s men for insurance. Bob
they were warned not to get caught and give
and five goons are in a simple camp, well-
away the game.
supplied. Bob is freed during the day but
watched. He’s tied up at night. Any given raiding party is led by one of
Heaston’s sons—either Maxim or Gat.
The heroes might come up with a scheme
to find and save him, but Debeney uses the c Max Heaston (1): See page 114.
event to add fuel to the fire. c Gat Heaston (1): See page 115.
„ Hired Guns (5): Use Gunman stats in
„ Hired Guns (5): Use Gunman stats in
Deadlands.
Deadlands.
„ “Prospector Bob” Malone: Use
Townsfolk stats, add Trade (Mining) Act 2, Episode B
d10, Delusion (Minor—Aqua vitae)
Hindrance, double-barrel shotgun
Now It's Personal
(Range 12/24/48, Damage 1–3d6, RoF 1). SETUP: Run this episode when the miners’
conflict with Heaston comes to a head.
Disharmony
Heaston steps up his campaign of terror
While the Tarrytown Miners Union falls to
against the locals, sending his sons on
infighting over Prospector Bob’s betrayal
constant raids. But these only serve to
and Mayor Lobdell begs the town for calm,
strengthen the union’s resolve, much to the
Heaston puts the screws to his enemies.
tycoon’s chagrin. Most everyone in town
His men stoke various divides among the
takes sides. Fights break out several times
miners to stop the union mounting a unified
a day. The Twilight Legionnaires can feel
response. This causes the Fear Level to
the Fear Level rising (it doesn’t just yet, but
rise by +1.
it’s coming!).
Heaston’s methods are simple and
Let the pot simmer, Marshal. Ask the
brutally effective. His men wear either
heroes what they’d like to do—stay in town
dark cloth masks or Chinese sedge hats and
and get involved in every fracas, head out to
changshan shirts. In these crude disguises
Uinta County to deal with some of the other
they launch nightly raids in Chinatown or
rumors (Savage Tales) they’ve heard about,
the Creek Street Collective’s neighborhood.
or wait and see what happens.
The lowdown varmints start fires, shoot out
windows, shout vile epithets, and generally Here are some of the incidents likely to
hurrah the residents. happen during the Heaston-union conflict:
Before too long the town’s various groups The Mayor: Amanda Lobdell (page 36)
are distrustful of one another. Not long after speaks to the cowpokes, expressing her
that they’re at each other’s throats. Sentiment concerns about the violence between Heaston
to join Heaston’s outfit and the security and the Miners Union. She doesn’t know
begins to win reluctant favor. anything about the cult or Jerem’s criminal
activities, but asks the heroes to help end the
Frank Debeney needs blood and fire
bloodshed and save the town.
though, so he approaches the heroes and asks
for help on behalf of the independent miners.

76

Hitting ‘em Where It Hurts: If the party
hasn’t played nice with Heaston, he makes
things personal. Every couple of days,
Marshal Wister and his deputies (page 36)
go after a business or contact the group has
befriended. They start with harassment—
there’s no business certificate on file, a rat is
found in a restaurant’s stew, and so on. If the
victim puts up much of a fight, their building
might just spontaneously catch fire late one
night when no one’s around. Pistoleros need
to keep a close eye on their friends to stave
off disaster.
War on the Bench: It’s bloody war up
on Tarrytown Bench. Heaston’s sons and
an army of hired killers act against the
scattered mining community. But the miners
aren’t without backbone and fight back
tenaciously. Brave riders might join up with
a beleaguered bunch of miners to fend off
Heaston’s sons (page 114) and their gunmen
(2 per hero, use Gunman stats in Deadlands).
All are willing to get a bit more bloodthirsty
up here away from the witnesses they have
to contend with in town.
Range Riders: Heaston shells out money
for the Owlhoot Syndicate to harass
independent miners traveling to and
from town so that they can’t sell their ore.
Sometimes his sons and some of their riders
patrol the roads in and out of Heaston Hill to
“protect” the miners from the outlaws their
father hired. Such displays always end with
each side making a show for the travelers
without a single hit on either side.
Train Wreck: Heaston asks Eli “Brick”
Nagel and his secret Wasatch crew to step
up their attacks on Denver-Pacific trains.
Supplies start drying up, food gets scarce,
and travel and communication are limited
to horseback—especially dangerous with the
bandit gangs lurking around the outskirts of
town.
Horror at Headstone Hill
Act 2, Episode C
Blood in the Streets
SETUP: Run this encounter when you’re ready
to move into Act Two’s big finale.
No matter how bad things get, Debeney
sweet-talks the independent miners and their
supporters to hold the line. Eventually (when
you’re ready to get to the big finale), Debeney
gathers his supporters together for a massive
rally at High Noon.
The angry miners are armed to the teeth
and ready for payback against Heaston’s
campaign of terror. After a rousing speech
by Debeney, they march from Chinatown
straight down Second Avenue toward the
Heaston Mining Office.
Above the office, arrayed on rooftops
and behind whatever cover affords itself,
is Heaston’s personal army—the Alvord
Detective Agency, Eli “Brick” Nagel and
his band, Marshal Wister and deputies, any
of his sons who survives, and a pack of
hired gunmen.
Jerem Heaston stands in the middle of
Main Street, flanked by his sons. He bellows
at the oncoming miners:
“NOT ONE MORE STEP! Not one more!
You think you call the shots? You think these
ragtag bums are gonna stand up to MY
MEN? MY WRATH? No, sir. Not today.
Not any day. This is MY town, this is MY
land, and every ounce of ghost rock in this
Godforsaken county belongs to ME. Any of
you men want to throw down your arms
and grab a pick-ax for the Heaston Mining
Company you can do so right now. Or you
can go straight to Hell. Your choice.”
The First Shot
Debeney quietly casts deflection and protection
on himself while Heaston rages. Then, as
instructed, one of the miners—a replicant—
draws his pistol and fires right at Jerem
Heaston’s heart.
What follows is Hell on earth. Every adult
inhabitant of Heaston Hill opens fire or
charges in with axes and shovels. Either way,
Death is sure to get his due today.
77
HORROR AT HEADSTONE HILL

It’s up to the posse whether they protect

miners, take the fight to Heaston and his
crew, or somehow try to forestall the violence.
Most of the miners scatter when the
shooting starts, but a good bunch of armed
troublemakers remain. Any other allies or
friends of the posse might be on hand as
well. If any of the following characters have
been arrested, defeated, or killed in previous
episodes, they’re not present for what comes
to be known as the Headstone Hill Massacre.
Here’s a list of likely participants, but you
should add in anyone else who makes sense
given events in your particular campaign.
You can game this out in a big fight or
use a dangerous Quick Encounter, likely
with multiple stages, to describe the action.
When it’s over, make sure you know who’s
left standing and who’s ready for a trip to
Boot Hill.
c Burt Alvord: Use Soldier (Veteran) stats
in Deadlands.
c Frank Debeney: See page 114. If
possible, Debeney slips away as soon
as the fight begins and watches from a
distance. But if he gets a chance to take a
cheap shot at someone, he does!
c Jerem Heaston: See page 114.
c Max Heaston: See page 114.
„ Clementine Alvord: Use Gunman
(Veteran) stats in Deadlands.
„ Gat and Colt Heaston (2): Page 115.
„ Eli “Brick” Nagel: Use X-Squad stats
in Deadlands, add Agility d8, Riding
d8, Repair d8, Shooting d10, armed
with Gatling shotgun (Range 12/24/48,
Damage 1–3d6, RoF 2), Bowie knife
(Str+d4+1, AP 1). Eli has a tool kit
nearby as well in case of emergencies.
„ Sledge: Use Gunman stats with Strength
d8, Vigor d8, and the Brute and Brawler
Edges.
„ Union Miners (30): Use Townsfolk stats
in Deadlands.
„ X-Squad (5): See Deadlands, add Riding
d6, Repair d8, Shooting d10. They’re
armed with a flamethrower (1), Gatling
pistols (2), Gatling shotguns (2).
Aftermath
No matter who wins the fight, the bloodshed
and death are incredible. Weeping spouses
and children pick through the bloody, torn
remains. The miners may have defended their
right to claims on the Bench, Heaston’s grip
on town may be broken forever, but there’s
no way tale-tellers can frame this victory
in a positive light. The town’s Fear Level
automatically goes up by +1 (maximum 5).
This is exactly what Debeney promised
the aspens. Move on to Act Three for the big
reveal and not one but two big showdowns!
ACT 3:
DAYS OF BLOOD
Heaston’s bid to take over the town has
ended in horrific bloodshed. Now it’s time
for the heroes to go toe-to-toe with the burg’s
malignant cult—and the malignant entity
they serve!
Act 3, Episode A
Shebang Sorcerer
SETUP: Run this chapter when you’re ready
for your wranglers to battle the Cult o’ the
Critter. This can follow immediately after the
massacre, or you can give it a few days if you
want to let the heroes tie up other loose ends.
Either way, Frank prepares to leave town
but has one last terrible task before he can
vamoose. The posse can get involved in
several ways. They might have noticed Frank
casting spells at the massacre and decide to
keep an eye on him, or maybe they turned
up clues through their own powers and
abilities that make him a prime suspect for
the mysterious cult Reeg mentioned.
If neither of those are true, or the party
isn’t watching him, begin the act with a visit
from the beleaguered Doc Kirk.
“I’ve only got a minute. Still treating the
survivors of that bloodbath. But something’s
going on. Frank Debeney and a few others
gathered up some of the injured miners in a

78

big wagon and were supposed to bring them
to me, but Millie just stopped by with food
for the injured and said she saw him heading
out of town.
“I don’t like it one bit, and would sure
appreciate it if you’d see what he’s up to.
Millie said he was headed south. If you hurry,
I’d guess you can catch up to him and see
what he’s doing with those miners.”
The Harvest
Frank Debeney and his cult head to an
old horse barn in a small grove of aspens
at the western edge of Poverty Flats. The
Crittendens built it years ago, but left it to the
elements as it grew decrepit. (Old barns are
dangerous to take down, so they just sit and
rot instead.) Its windows are painted over
and boarded shut. Inside, the cult gathers to
worship their dark god one last time.
Refer to the map on the following page
when the posse approaches. There are no
guards outside, but doesn’t mean the cult’s
defenseless.
Piranha Dogs: Frank used his beast friend
power to summon ravenous piranha dogs.
They created a good-sized burrow next to
and underneath the barn. Debeney taught
them not to attack folks wearing the cult’s
white garb, but everyone else is fair game to
these demonic rodents.
Aspen saplings grow all around the barn.
Anyone observing it can roll Notice (–2) to
pick out mounds and holes in the grass near
the barn. Success on Common Knowledge or
Survival notes it’s a prairie dog den; with a
raise a hero notes several white, picked-clean
bones strewn among the burrows.
„ Piranha Dog Swarms (2): Page 120.
Sneaking In
Assuming soft-footed cowpokes can sneak
past the piranha dogs, infiltrators find
the windows boarded shut and the doors
locked and barred from inside. But the loft
doors stand open, allowing lantern light
and soft voices chanting in unison to escape.
Daredevils can use Athletics to climb through
the loft doors, but silence is the trick. With
success a hero reaches the loft but makes
a noise; unaware that the cultists inside
Horror at Headstone Hill
Cult Members
Here’s a quick summary of all the
cult members’ names and where their
profiles can be found.
c Frank Debeney (page 114): Cult
leader, Miners Union president,
Frontier Store and café owner,
licensed sutler to Fort Bridger, and
US Army warrant officer.
„ Major Newton X. Chelmsford
(page 14): Commanding officer
at Fort Bridger.
„ Paddy Gallagher (page 24):
Barber, dentist, and cold-blooded
killer.
„ Hod & Buckshot (page 29):
Debeney’s employees at the
Frontier Store.
„ Ruby Zane (page 14): Debeney’s
clerk at Fort Bridger.
„ Strawhorn (page 66): Caretaker
who looks after Len Buckles’
house.
„ Cultists (12): Twelve others. Use
Cultist stats in Deadlands.
become alert and start looking for intruders.
On a raise the hero reaches the loft without
alerting anyone.
If the group makes a lot of noise outside—
enough to alert the cultists—they peek out
several holes in the wall and prepare for
the fight. Debeney starts by sending out his
secret weapon—“prairie bombs.” He cut the
three biggest piranha dogs from his “herd,”
gave them a little TLC and special training,
and tied a bottle of nitro to each one’s back.
Surprise!
After either approach fails or succeeds, the
fighting becomes general. At some point the
heroes see what’s really going on in that barn,
and what Frank and the cultists are doing
with Heaston Hill’s injured miners!
Each horse stall has an aspen pod, all ready
to birth a pod-person. Lying at the foot of
each pod is one of the injured miners, put to
sleep with a little laudanum. As the rescuers
enter, the pod people are just crawling out of
79
HORROR AT HEADSTONE HILL

their sacs to consume the unconscious miners.
It’s time for a big ol’ Fear check, Marshal!
The cultists gathered in the center lane take
cover behind haybales and barrels, attacking
with a variety of firearms. But Frank opens
the door to a box stall and reveals a surprise
even the other cultists haven’t seen yet—a
horrible “aspen skulltrap”!
Frank can’t resist a little gloating:
“HA HA HA! You’re too late! Our forest
mother has already won! There’s nothing
you can do! Nothing!”
The monster springs forth and bites off
one of the unnamed cultist’s heads with its
huge toothy maw! Blood sprays all over the
cult’s white garb and the now-headless body
topples into the garden as fertilizer.
Frank cackles with glee. He knows he is
to be the lone survivor of the skulltrap. He
directs it to kill the interlopers for now, but
after, he plans to watch it eat the rest of
the cult. He isn’t interested in sharing the
gains they’ve built up while they served the
tainted forest.
c Aspen Skulltrap: See below.
c Frank Debeney: See page 114.
„ Cultists (18): Use Cultist stats in
Deadlands. Subtract any named cultists
who are already defeated, jailed, or
dead.
„ Prairie Bombs (3): Piranha dogs with
nitro tied to them. Use Cat, Small in
Savage Worlds for the profile. They rush
to attack anyone not wearing a white
robe in melee. They can’t really hurt
anyone that way, but if they take more
than 4 points of damage or roll a Critical
Failure on a Fighting attack, the nitro
blows up for 3d6 damage in a Medium
Blast Template!
c Aspen Skulltrap
The skulltrap is a massive, mutated tree with
tentacles and a toothy maw that spits caustic
glop. It bites off people’s heads and sustains
itself on their fear as they slowly rot away in
transparent sacs. It’s a prototype of horrors
to come and must be stopped.
Attributes: Agility d10, Smarts d10 (A),
Spirit d12, Strength d12+2, Vigor d12
Skills: Athletics d8, Common Knowledge
d6, Fighting d10, Notice d10, Stealth d8

80
 Horror at Headstone Hill

Pace: 6; Parry: 7; Toughness: 14 (2) Frank's Last Words

Edges: Frenzy (Imp)
Once the skulltrap and the cultists are
Special Abilities:
defeated, the heroes can learn about the
„ Armor +2: The aspen has thick bark.
Aspen Forest and the great tree at its center.
„ Bite/Claws: Str+d10. Two fleshy ap-
pendages end in jagged wood spikes, They likely deduce the “forest mother”
which it also uses for locomotion. Frank mentioned comes from the Aspen
„ Combust: The skulltrap is infused with Forest on the map, but if not, one of the
ghost rock sap. If killed with fire it surviving cultists spills the beans. If they’re
explodes in a Large Blast Template for all dead, one of the rescued miners tells her
2d10+2 damage. rescuer she overhead them talking about
„ Environmental Weakness (Fire): +4 a “mother tree” at the center of the Aspen
damage from fire-based attacks. Forest east of town.
„ Fear (–2): The skulltrap is terrifying and
prompts a Fear check (–2).
„ Hardy: The skulltrap does not suffer a
Aftermath
Wound from being Shaken twice. The heroes have one last mission to wrap
„ Plant: Called Shots do no extra damage. up the Horror at Headstone Hill Plot Point
Bullets, arrows, and piercing weapons Campaign. Assuming they stopped the cult,
inflict half damage. they have a little time now. The tree is reeling
„ Size 4 (Large): The aspen is 15 feet tall, from its defeat, so it takes a little time for its
weighs two tons, and has one extra new plan to take root.
Wound.
„ Tentacles: The aspen skulltrap has
four tentacle actions and Reach 4.
Bound or Entangled prey may be bit-
ten as usual.
„ Vomit: As an action, the
skulltrap spits caustic green
glop from its maw in a
Cone Template for 2d6+2
damage.

81
HORROR AT HEADSTONE HILL
Act 3, Episode B
Quiverin' Aspens
SETUP: This episode gets rolling when the
posse investigates Aspen Forest. They might
do this immediately after the showdown at
the barn, or might wait a bit to patch up their
wounds.
A few miles east of town, the Aspen Forest’s
bone-white trees cloak the foothills. Mile
on mile of pale, quaking aspens stretch
up the mountainsides into the high Uinta
Mountains. Folks in Heaston Hill are wary
of the place. It’s easy to get lost and folks just
seem to go missing there sometimes.
The Aspen Forest’s most terrifying secret is
that all the trees are connected underground
by a vast root system. Every tree and every
pod person in the woods is like an antenna
transmitting information to “mama”—the
bloated, fleshy quiverin’ aspen at the forest’s
heart (see page 86). The ghost rock deposits
under Tarrytown Bench granted it fiendish
and corrupt intelligence, and now it wants to
spread until it reaches the ocean itself.
Part 1: To the Woods
It doesn’t take long to reach the Aspen
Forest’s verges—just a half-hour’s ride out
past Lonetree Trail—but the forest is vast
and its ways are tangled. A few eerie events
transpire along the way.
Silent Watcher
Approaching the forest, riders spy a solitary
figure standing in plain view on a ridge
about a half-mile distant. Success on a
Notice roll (–4) or use of a spyglass allows
one to pick out details. The figure wears a
barley-sack mask with eye-holes cut into it,
gun and knife on his belt, clothes soiled with
what looks like mud. He watches, motionless,
unless anyone tries to get closer. Then the
watcher retreats behind the ridge, and by
the time heroes arrive he’s gone. (This is
Indio Red, the quiverin’ aspen’s most fierce
replicant. We’ll see him again.)
Uncovered Wagon
A Conestoga wagon, weathered and torn and
tilted onto a busted wheel, sits abandoned
82
by the Lonetree Trail. An old wheelbarrow
lies on its side. A child’s rag doll with one
button eye missing is abandoned in the
tall grass. There’s no sign of life, just the
lonesome mountain wind hissing through
the sagebrush.
The travelers pass this several times as
they search the forest despite few branching
paths or crossroads, a sign that they’re
lost and running around in some sort of
magical circuit.
Desperate Searchers
The scene alters subtly as riders enter the
forest’s sparsely wooded verges. A hush
falls over the land and sounds seem muffled,
even as the aspen leaves quiver and clatter
in the wind. A successful Survival roll alerts
a scout to the lack of bird calls and wildlife...
yet every part of the forest seems alive.
After traveling a few more miles, riders
hear a voice calling out. “Sarah!” A flat,
booming voice, tolling like a bell deep in the
forest, sounding at intervals. “Sarah Houck!”
It’s getting closer, but the posse has plenty of
time to vacate the trail and hide if they wish.
Soon a small posse of grim horsemen
approaches. They all wear dark dusters and
hats. It’s the lead rider who’s calling out—an
ancient Wyomingite, deep wrinkles creasing
his face, with long, wispy white hair and a
matching mustache. He holds up a hand in
greeting and says in his oak-barrel voice,
“Hello, strangers. Name’s Jeb Stroh. US
Marshal. Me and my posse here are looking
for a woman lost in these hills. She’s called
Sarah Houck. A man named Frank Debeney
told me we might find her up here in the
aspens. She has blue eyes and hair the color
of ripe grain. You see anyone matching that
description?”
Stroh waits to hear what the pistoleros
have to say. Stroh’s boys don’t cause any
trouble but they don’t seem too friendly,
either. A few of them stare down the heroes,
white showing all around their fiery pupils.
Jeb’s crestfallen if the heroes have no news,
and his posse rides on. As they depart,
wranglers who succeed on a Notice roll catch
a faint, piney odor like fresh pitch...but it’s
unclear where it’s issuing from.
 Horror at Headstone Hill

Sarah is the girl Bogwater Bill killed (see Part 2: Twisted Trails
Lost in the Bog on page 95). Marshal Stroh
Riding deeper into the forest, the posse’s
responded to Lilah Denslow’s request to find
almost certain to get lost. That’s because the
her and has been wandering the aspens for
quiverin’ aspen isn’t just aware of everything
weeks, unable to escape the forest’s diabolical
that transpires under the forest’s boughs—
trails. While they camped, his men were
she can also move the trees. This is subtle,
consumed and replaced by replicants in their
Marshal, so there’s no moss-bearded trees
sleep. Now they ride with Stroh, keeping him
spoutin’ sass or vamoosin’ to Fort Bridger.
lost until he collapses from exhaustion and
But the trees can shift enough to obliterate
pod people can absorb him as well!
established trails.
„ Jeb Stroh: Use Cowboy (Veteran) stats
Trails shift and landmarks move,
in Deadlands, add Trade (Law) d6,
streambeds seem to alter their paths, and
Obligation (Minor —Uphold federal
trees revolve in place so mossy growths face
law), and US Marshal (Deputy) Edge.
a different direction. It’s bewildering for any
„ Deputies (3): Use Gunman from
scout. In game terms, once the posse enters
Deadlands with the Replicant Special
Aspen Forest it takes a successful Survival
Ability (page 121). The deputies aren’t
roll (–4) to get out again. Each attempt takes
looking to shed their ruse just yet, but
about a day’s travel. With a raise, a scout not
they note the posse’s arrival and pass it
only finds the way out but also can’t get lost
on to their “mother” in the trees —the
in Aspen Forest ever again.
quiverin’ aspen (page 86).
Each night after the first the posse camps in
the eerie, near-silent forest, a single replicant
pod hatches nearby. A featureless, smooth-
skinned humanoid emerges from the slime,

83
HORROR AT HEADSTONE HILL
creeps into camp, and attempts to mimic a
hero or allied Extra. These critters aren’t
much of a threat, Marshal, so play them for
creepiness and suspense.
„ Replicants (1 per night): See page 121.
The Miner
A little farther into the woods, the posse
comes upon a mining claim dug into
the embankment above the trail. A lone
prospector works the rock face with a pick-ax,
not having much success. He keeps doggedly
at it until anyone greets him.
This is Orville Miller, a prospector who
hiked into the woods several weeks back and
hasn’t been seen since. He’s amiable enough,
knocking off work to gab with travelers and
offering whiskey, but his eyes have a slightly
wild look to them—whites visible all around
the pupils. He says,
“Orville Miller’s my name, huntin’ the
color is my game. There’s gold under this
earth. You mark my words, youngsters!
When I find it, I ain’t sharin’ it with nobody.
Ha! Thing is—sometimes I hear sounds.
Late at night. You ever heard them sounds?”
Miller rambles on in his half-mad diatribe
as long as the wranglers stick around.
Success on a Common Knowledge roll tells
an observer Miller doesn’t seem to have
any provisions or fresh water on hand, and
a raise alerts the cowpoke to the fact Miller
offers whiskey—but drinks none. Success
on an Academics (–2), Common Knowledge
(–4), or Trade (Mining) roll tells a hero there’s
almost zero chance of Miller striking gold at
this location—the geography ain’t right.
The miner’s a replicant, subconsciously
reporting all he sees to the quiverin’ aspen.
If threatened, he only says:
“The mother sees you. The mother sees all.”
Personal threats don’t work against
replicants, but if Orville is somehow forced
to help the heroes by magic or other means
he reduces the Survival penalty to find the
mother tree by 2.
„ Orville Miller: Use Townsfolk from
Deadlands with the Replicant Special
Ability (page 121). He’s armed with a
pick-ax (Str+d6).
84
Dark Hollow
The quiverin’ aspen’s goals are twofold—
keep invaders from leaving the woods before
pod people can mimic them, but also stop
them from finding Aspen Forest’s dark heart.
The narrow, shadowed ravine where the
bulbous, twitching tree grows is also where
she’s most vulnerable.
Trackers trying to find the heart of evil
need success on two Survival rolls (–2), but
these don’t need to be on consecutive days.
Failure means another night of camping
in the trees—with the attendant replicant
attack—and a Critical Failure means any
further Survival rolls to track down the
forest’s heart suffer a –4 penalty.
Part 3: The
Screaming Tree
Deep in Aspen Forest is a thickly wooded,
narrow ravine crossed by numerous
“bridges” of fallen trees. The shadowy
valley’s choked with underbrush and
festooned with creeping vines and brambles.
Totally, ominously silent. But the quiverin’
aspen lives in its deepest recesses.
And she’s not alone. Aware of the posse’s
movements, the aspen’s able to draw a mob of
replicants stationed in the woods for defense.
If the party pays attention, they might hear
the whispered summons of the aspens in its
quivering limbs, spreading outward from the
mother like ripples on a pond.
Keep things suspenseful, and read this
when cowpokes make their way up the
ravine to its high end:
You break through the underbrush into a
shadowed clearing and your breath catches
in your throat. Beyond the moss and vines
and fallen trees tilted overhead, a bulbous,
fleshy tree clings to a sickly mound of earth.
It could almost be an aspen, if not for its
translucent bark and the hairy, quivering
seedpods pendulous on its limbs.
Wanted killer Indio Red—last seen
watching from afar—lurks close by but
doesn’t show himself until the fight starts,
using the confusion to creep through the
brush, get close, and knife pistoleros to death.
Horror at Headstone Hill

85
HORROR AT HEADSTONE HILL
If the replicants win, they truss up surviving
heroes like cattle and leave them lying about
for newly hatched pod people to absorb.
These conditions are in effect during
the tussle:
• Fallen Trees: Mossy trunks form
“bridges” raised eight to 15 feet above
the ravine floor. These are slippery,
requiring an Athletics roll (–2) to cross
without falling.
• Fire: Someone’s likely to use a fire attack
on the tree—a flamethrower, an ammo
whammy, a blast with a fire Trapping,
or even a thrown whiskey bottle and
a match. Once that happens, the entire
ravine fills with smoke and flame. The
heroes have five rounds before they have
to vamoose.
• Illumination: Dimness and the
fog combine to impose a –2 Illumination
penalty, increasing to Dark (–4, targets
not visible beyond 10”) if the fight
happens at night.
• Vines: Crawling vines cover the trees still
standing. A hero can use one of these to
swing across the ravine with a successful
Athletics roll. (Note that this trick is only
for the heroes to think of; pod people
aren’t nearly that creative.)
Deal out Action Cards, Marshal, because
now the gathered replicants go all-out to
protect their big mama tree, screeching
and squawking to each other in their weird
language. Those with guns fire from the
rocks above, while the rest swarm out of the
underbrush to cut heroes down. If he still
lives, Orville Miller is here too.
And the lost miner isn’t the only missing
person who shows up—Agent Reeg is
here too! The replicant Agent now fights in
defense of its mother aspen, revealing at long
last George Reeg’s sad fate.
c Indio Red: Indio’s been absorbed by a
pod person. See below.
„ Quiverin’ Aspen: See below.
„ Replicants (2 per hero): Use Townsfolk
in Deadlands (or Agent for Reeg) with
the Replicant Special Ability, page
121. Half of them have Winchester
’76s (Range 24/48/96, Damage 2d8,
86
RoF 1, AP 2), half Colt Frontiers (Range
12/24/48, Damage 2d6+1, RoF 1, AP 1).
c Indio Red
Indio Red was a vile killer while he lived. His
replicant is just as lethal with even less of a
conscience.
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d8, Spirit d10,
Strength d6, Vigor d8
Skills: Athletics d8, Common Knowledge
d6, Fighting d6, Intimidation d8, Notice d8,
Performance d8, Persuasion d6, Shooting
d10, Stealth d8
Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 8
Hindrances: Bloodthirsty, Wanted (Major)
Edges: Fan the Hammer, Guts, Menacing,
Quick Draw
Gear: Bowie knife (Str+d4+1, AP 1), Colt
Peacemaker (Range 12/24/48, Damage
2d6+1, RoF 1, AP 1).
Special Abilities:
„ Replicant: +2 Toughness; Called Shots
do no extra damage; Environmen-
tal Weakness (Fire); Fearless; Hardy;
Mimic.
c Quiverin' Aspen
This pulsing, fleshy, tree-like abomination
spawns the seedpods from which replicants
hatch (about a dozen a month) anywhere in
Aspen Forest. It’s also connected to all the
trees, giving it preternatural awareness of its
domain. But it has only pod people to defend
it. The scariest thing about the quiverin’
aspen is how it shrieks like an animal when
it’s wounded. If sorely pressed, the creature
uses its mind link ability to beg for mercy.
Attributes: Agility N/A, Smarts d8, Spirit
d10, Strength N/A, Vigor d12
Skills: Common Knowledge d10, Notice
d12, Persuasion d10
Pace: 2 (can’t run); Parry: 2; Toughness: 13
Special Abilities:
„ Awareness: The quiverin’ aspen is
aware of everything that happens under
her forest’s boughs, and can alter trails
to impose a –4 penalty on Survival rolls
to find a way out.
„ Fear: Anyone who hears the bulbous
tree scream in pain makes a Fear check.
„ Fearless: The quiverin’ aspen is im-
 Horror at Headstone Hill

mune to fear and Intimidation.

„ Hardy: A second Shaken result does not Aftermath
cause the aspen a Wound. It’s time for the heroes to return to Heaston
„ Mind Link: The aspen has the mind link Hill and tell their tale. If they’re successful,
power, activated with Spirit, costing no they lower the Fear Level as usual and do not
Power Points, with no modifiers. set off a Twilight Event.
„ Plant: Called Shots do no extra damage.
There are still a number of loose ends to
Bullets, arrows, and piercing weapons
tie up for those who want to put a bow on
inflict half damage.
their escapades, but for now heroes can sit
„ Size 5 (Large): The quiverin’ aspen is 18
back, pour a whiskey, and tell the long tale
feet tall and has an extra Wound.
of their victory. After all, the twilight seems
„ Weakness (Fire): The creature is in-
just a little brighter tonight.
fused with ghost rock. It takes double
damage from fire-based attacks. Build-
ing a bonfire at its base kills the tree
after about 2d12 minutes of ear-splitting
screams.
„ Coup: A deader who absorbs the tree’s
essence can spend a Benny to talk to
plants. This works just like the object
reading power, but costs no Power
Points and uses Spirit as the arcane
skill.

One Last Gasp

When the aspen takes more than one
Wound, it rips free of its roots and starts
crawling out of the ravine! Yes, we told you
it couldn’t do this earlier. It normally can’t.
But its incredible fear and the power of the
Reckoners have given it new mobility.
The terrifying thing screams as it climbs
upward, scrambling with its limbs and
dragging its torn (and likely burning) roots
behind it.
If the posse can’t kill it, the thing tops the
ravine and shambles off into the forest. It
eventually collapses but its seedlings scatter
in a thousand directions, carried on the wind
to live another day.
If the heroes manage to finish the monster
off before it can escape, it collapses into the
ravine where it either burns fiercely or begins
to crumble away to papery, ash-like remains.
Either way, the corrupted tree is gone.
The aspens are still a living organism like
all members of their species, but they’re no
longer sentient creatures bent on covering
the world.

87
HORROR AT HEADSTONE HILL

88
 SAVAGE
TALES

Soul-shattering horror hides in every corner What few folks realize is all three gangs are
of Uinta. Use the Savage Tales in this chapter linked in a criminal organization called the
to round out your campaign. Some are fully Owlhoot Syndicate. Hell, most of the outlaws
fleshed out while others are synopses you don’t even know it. But behind all the gangs
can use as springboards for your own ideas, lurks the syndicate’s secret boss—Walter
customizing them for your party and the “Dog” Stiles and his proxy Ed Sharky. They
adventures they’ve already experienced in coordinate the gangs’ actions county-wide,
Uinta County. using their connections with Heaston (and,
by extension, Wasatch Rail) to keep everyone
The Adventure Generator in Deadlands
clear of the hoosegow.
provides further objectives, obstacles, and
complications if you need ‘em. Don’t forget Rather than scripted scenes, this Savage
to work in your cowpokes’ Hindrances and Tale gives you tips as to where the outlaws
backstories wherever it’s apt to do so as well! hide out, what crimes they’re up to, and how
they react to the law on their tail. This lets the
heroes use their strengths to best advantage,
RUN FOR THE NATIONS choosing when and where to confront the
villains. They might even complete this tale
in sections, one gang at a time.
SETUP: Run this tale if the heroes move to break
Uinta’s criminal network.
"I didn't say you
had
For months, outlaw gangs across Uinta it . I just said you to like
County have grown bolder with every
successful raid. Former rail warriors the
do it . Now get ou had to
Little Rock Irregulars are the terror of the and blow that trest there
Denver-Pacific line, having robbed six Maximum casual tle up.
express cars. The Sage Dragons Gang prefers gettin' paid to chties. We're
as
bank robberies, hitting unsuspecting towns off, not host a tea e people
in carefully planned strikes. And the Ghost par ty."
Steel Gang is out there stealing cattle, if the --"Dog" Stiles
posse didn’t arrest them already.

89
HORROR AT HEADSTONE HILL
Wanted!
The wranglers may have had prior
run-ins with the county’s outlaws via
Twilight Events or random encounters.
Rangers, Marshals, Agents, and other
law dogs should be keen to arrest them.
If not, here are a few ideas you can use
to prod the heroes along:
• Jailbreak!: A prison stage is slated
to take Scarlet Kenney of the Ghost
Steel Gang to Evanston to stand trial.
Word is she had a falling out with
her old gang and now rides with the
Irregulars. It’s a sure bet her new
friends try to bust her out. Marshal
Wister hires the posse to escort the
armored stage. See Prisoner Transfer
on page 92.
• Reward: After the latest robbery, the
Sage Dragons Gang’s bounties go
up by $250 each for gang members
and $500 for leader Hong Xue,
“the Dragon.”
• Call for Help: By now the wranglers
have made friends all over Uinta
County. When one of them is
robbed, he or she telegraphs the
posse for help.
• Sheriff’s Telegraph: If the posse
has scored a few wins and had
newspaper accounts written about
their exploits, they might receive
a telegraph from Sheriff J.J. LeCain
or Territorial Ranger Ramon “Tex”
Fimbres in Evanston. The law asks
for their help bringing in the outlaws,
any way they know how. Use the
form-fillable handouts at www.
peginc.com to customize a message.
90
Findin' the Gangs
As usual, the group’s best bet is to first ask
around. They can use Networking (see Savage
Worlds) in any town or rail stop in Uinta
County, presumably talking to the local law
and the criminal element. What they discover
depends who they ask about. See below.
Ghost Steel Gang
If the posse put Bud Balach and his gang in
jail in Act One, it’s pretty easy to find them.
Most are still in prison in Evanston awaiting
trial, except for the few who were extradited
Back East by US Marshals. That said, Bud’s
sour and tight-lipped. It takes success on
Intimidation (–4) to force him to talk.
Wranglers who bent the rules for Bud last
time can track him down at the Gold Coin
Saloon (page 72) in the town of Urie, like
last time. Successful Networking can also
lead them there. Bud isn’t up to any crime,
just drinking whiskey with a few of his
pals. He buys drinks for the heroes. After a
while Bud says,
“I did promise to help you next time, didn’t
I? I s’pose one good turn deserves another.
Here’s some inside information for you.
There aren’t a bunch of little gangs in Uinta.
They’re all one big gang and they don’t
even know it—the Owlhoot Syndicate. Me
and the other leaders take our orders from a
higher pay grade.
“They leave messages in a wooden box
near Aspen Forest, written on sheets torn
out of a ledger. Sometimes it’s a cattle job,
sometimes they warn us about the law. We
leave 20 percent of our take for them. Try
to get out, they kill you. No idea who they
are. But you know who does know? Hong
Xue—nicknamed the Dragon—leader of the
Sage Dragons Gang. Hong knows for sure.
“One more thing. They’ve got a system.
Nobody in the gangs knows each other, so
the Sage Dragons use a token—a .45-caliber
bullet with a cross carved into the lead.
That’s how they know you’re in the syndicate.
Maybe you’ll find that knowledge useful.”
Bud plays along, chatting amiably until
pistoleros ride off in search of other gangs. In
fact he’s about to pull the biggest cattle heist
of his life and is waiting for the posse to make

itself scarce. The posse may indeed be called
upon to hunt down Balach’s gang again.
c Bud “Ghost Steel” Balach: See page
115.
„ Bud’s pals (4): Use Gunman stats in
Deadlands.
Little Rock Irregulars
Using Networking to ask about the Little
Rock Irregulars turns up one of the following
pieces of information for each success
and raise. Add a +2 bonus to Networking
attempts in the town of Aspen and points
west of it, since the Irregulars are most active
in the western part of Uinta.
• The Irregulars are rail fighters led by ruthless
killer Arkansas Ted Harwell.
• Other gang members include scout Broncho
Rip Potter, gunslinger siblings Two-
Belt Johnny and Jenny Dotterman, TNT
specialist Kid Vance, and the mysterious Rip
“Apocalypse” Drago.
• The Irregulars are partial to railroad jobs. In
the most recent, they dynamited a railroad
trestle over the Bear River to stop the
locomotive and made off with nearly $60,000
in Denver-Pacific payroll.
• Agnes “Scarlet” Kenney recently left the
Ghost Steel Gang and joined up with the
Irregulars.
• The Irregulars like to blow off steam at the
saloons in Gunsight.
• The Irregulars’ hideout is close to Gunsight.
Sage Dragons Gang
Networking also reveals reports of the Sage
Dragons Gang. Give out one of the leads
below with success or two with a raise (per
attempt or hero). Add a +2 bonus in the town
of Piedmont and points east of it; the Dragons
are most active in Uinta’s eastern portion.
• The Sage Dragons were originally active in
California, and are led by master gunslinger
Hong Xue, “the Dragon.”
• Other gang members—all gunfighters—
include Rufus Shen, Sing Wan, Tong Lee, and
Big Wade Sunday.
• The Sage Dragons pull bank jobs. No vault
has stymied them yet. Recently they killed two
people robbing the Robertson bank, causing
their bounties to go up.
• Folks have seen the Sage Dragons at Lonetree
when the law gets too fervent.
Savage Tales
Huntin' the Gangs
This section presents some considerations for
hunting down each of the gangs, from how
to get the posse started to what happens
when the ne’er-do-wells are found. Use the
Encounter Tables in Deadlands and on page
50 to add spooky interludes and monstrous
run-ins as the posse crosses Uinta County.
Bounty Hunters
Buckaroos might take up the hunt based on
their own law enforcement proclivities, or
because they receive a telegraph from the
sheriff or Territorial Ranger in Evanston.
Maybe wranglers see the juicy bounties
offered up at Marshal Wister’s office (page
36) and take the job. Wister’s all in favor
of this (secretly hoping the posse comes to
ruination), but offers no helpful advice or
intelligence. Instead he spits and says,
“Now, remember—dead or alive means
shoot ’em and save yourself a heap o’ trouble.”
Owlhoot Syndicate
Very few people know of the Owlhoot
Syndicate’s existence. This loose
affiliation of Uinta outlaw gangs pays
a percentage of their respective takes to
a secretive boss in return for “mutual
protection and assistance.” One thing’s
for sure—it’s a protection racket.
The Sage Dragons and Little Rock
Irregulars work for the syndicate
willingly. The Ghost Steel Gang does its
bidding under threat of bodily harm.
The gangs use secret watchwords and
tokens to identify one another, and take
their orders from Ed Sharky (page 43).
Ed in turn takes orders from his boss
Walter “Dog” Stiles (page 43). And
who tells Dog Stiles what to do?
That’s Marshal Wister (page 37),
on behalf of his boss Jerem Heaston.
Hidden behind several layers of
vigorous criminal activity hides yet
another way for the mining tycoon to
sabotage Denver-Pacific’s business.
91
HORROR AT HEADSTONE HILL

Irregulars in Gunsight and-answer watchword: “Did you make the

crossing?” to which the answer is, “Powder
In the gold-and-silver boomtown of Gunsight,
River! Let ’er buck!”
success on a Networking attempt directs
explorers to a saloon called Cattle Corner. Box Canyon Hideout: See the map below
That’s where Arkansas Ted Harwell and for a diagram of the Irregulars’ hideout, a box
his cronies wet their whistles, it’s said. Most canyon located about five miles northwest
folks give them a wide berth; they’re wild of town, along the Bear River and not far
and woolly. from the Mormon Trail. Wranglers may
choose to follow the gang home or otherwise
Cattle Corner Saloon: The steam wagon
track them to their lair. In that case let them
and velocipedes parked outside this place
formulate their own plan of attack.
might clue searchers in to the outlaws’
presence. Sure enough the gang’s inside „ Little Rock Irregulars: See page 116.
playing poker, drinking liquor, and generally
causing a ruckus. They are one mean bunch Jailbreak!
of wolves. Confronted in the middle of this The Little Rock Irregulars might unexpectedly
canyon town, Arkansas Ted and his crew blast their confederate Agnes “Scarlet”
have no compunction against slapping Kenney out of the Heaston Hill jail with
leather. They fight their way out of Gunsight dynamite, beginning a pursuit that spans
and flee by any means necessary. the county. If they don’t think they’re being
pursued, the Irregulars head for their hideout
If the heroes try to use the carved-bullet
(see Irregulars in Gunsight, above). Noting
“system” Bud Balach told them about, they’re
trackers on their tail, they head for Sioux
in for a rude surprise—the Irregulars don’t
country (see Run for the Nations, page 94).
use that system. Never heard of it. The
It’s up to your group to devise a plan, pronto.
Irregulars’ system for identifying fellow
Owlhoot Syndicate members is the question-

92
 Savage Tales

Prisoner Transfer „ Dutch Gristy: Use Gunman stats

in Deadlands, add Riding d8, the
Word gets out that outlaw Agnes “Scarlet”
Overconfident Hindrance, and the
Kenney is being transferred to Evanston for
Brave Edge. Armed with a Colt Frontier
trial. Marshal Wister hires the posse to escort
(Range 12/24/48, Damage 2d6+1, RoF
an armored stage to the county seat, The
1, AP 1).
job pays $500 total, or $650 with successful
„ Little Rock Irregulars: See page 116.
Persuasion. (The marshal hopes for the
posse’s demise.) Sage Dragons in Lonetree
Use the stagecoach stats in Deadlands Meanwhile, following their bloody bank
for the vehicle, but reinforced ghost-steel heist in Robertson the Sage Dragons are up
plates give it Toughness 16 (8). The driver at Lonetree staying out of the law’s path.
is Dutch Gristy, a salty old sheriff’s deputy. Success at Networking overhears word the
His shotgun man is Choctaw Lee, a shrewd gang likes to smoke opium, drink whiskey,
half-Indian. Dutch isn’t afraid of ambushes and play Fan Tan at the Ocean Wave Saloon.
at all. He says,
“Four-Ace” Dora Letts owns the place, and
“Mister, I drive a six-horse team. Outlaws her head of security’s an old salt with a white
don’t scare me none. Or any other son of a streak in his hair, “Blaze” Ballantine. No one
bitch in Wyoming for that matter!” here is exactly friendly with the law, but
faced with an armed posse they opt to keep
Sure enough, though, Agnes’ new friends
the saloon in business over protecting the
the Little Rock Irregulars lie in wait. They
Sage Dragons. That said, “Blaze” Ballantine
pull the attack on an upward grade in the
and his crew are fearsome.
trail—anywhere between Heaston Hill and
Evanston—ensuring Dutch Gristy is too busy If pursuers spoke to Bud Balach and
manipulating the reins to do much else. A learned the gang’s “system” of carving a
masked robber pops up with a shotgun at the cross into a bullet’s lead, they might use
roadside and shouts, “Hold!” Dutch whips it to deceive them or infiltrate their ranks.
the horses and bellows, Posing as a fellow member of the Owlhoot
Syndicate may coax the gang into giving
“I DON’T HOLD FOR NOBODY!”
up other information, such as Ed Sharky’s
Deal out the Action Cards as shots are name. Otherwise they need to devise a plan
traded. The stage tops the slope and buckets for surveillance and capture.
downhill. The Irregulars tear out in pursuit
If the Sage Dragons have to flee, they
on a steam wagon and two velocipedes. A
head west on the Outlaw Trail (see page
cross-country Chase (see Savage Worlds)
11), following it along Sage Creek to Hog
ensues. The heroes may be in the stagecoach’s
Thief Falls (page 16). If the law’s still in
group, make up a group of their own, or
pursuit, the Sage Dragons keep going north,
both, depending whether any ride their own
crossing the Oregon Trail or making a Run
horses. For a vehicular Chase, use 5” Range
for the Nations (see below) if necessary. If the
Increments.
gang suffered losses in Lonetree, they might
The pursuit might end with the heroes’ double back for a revenge-fueled ambush.
escape, the gang’s capture, or the Little Rock
Irregulars riding off with Scarlet and leaving c “Blaze” Ballantine: Use Gunman
(Veteran) stats in Deadlands.
ruin in their wake. If wranglers ride after
them, the Irregulars might make a Run for c Four-Ace Dora Letts: Use Townsfolk
stats in Deadlands, add Persuasion d10,
the Nations (page 94).
Trade (Saloon) d8, and the Charismatic
„ Choctaw Lee: Use Indian Warrior stats Edge.
in Deadlands, replace Old Ways with „ Ballantine Security (4): Use Gunman
the Cautious Hindrance, add Survival stats in Deadlands.
d8 and the Scout Edge. Armed with a „ Sage Dragons Gang: See page 116.
sawed-off shotgun (Range 5/10/20,
Damage 1–3d6, RoF 1).

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HORROR AT HEADSTONE HILL
Run for the Nations
Under sufficient duress, any of Uinta
County’s three gangs makes a run for the
Nations. The idea is to take advantage of
technology’s inherent uncertainty to frustrate
and throw off pursuers. See Deadlands for
details on the Sioux Nations.
This involves a quick change-up. All
manufactured gear and technology is thrown
into a gunny sack and cached somewhere
along the wayside. Then outlaws high-tail it
into the Sioux’s prairies.
This comes with a measure of risk from
Sioux patrols, but almost always dissuades
outside pursuit. A gang might camp just
within the verges of Sioux territory for a few
weeks before venturing back to Uinta County,
or trek farther north before they cross back
into wild Yellowstone country.
Cut Off the Head
After any gang’s been captured, cowpokes
who’ve heard about the Owlhoot Syndicate
might try to find out more information.
Heroes can make friends with their captives
or, more likely, use Intimidation to pry out
further details.
Hong Xue, leader of the Sage Dragons, gets
his orders personally from Ed Sharky.
Bud Balach only knows what he reads on
written orders left in a drop-box located just
inside Aspen Forest. If the heroes learn its
location, they might stake out the location
until someone comes along to deposit a note
or pick up their cut—Ed Sharky.
Arkansas Ted Harwell gets all his orders
via telegraph at the office in Gunsight. At
the office, successful Persuasion extracts the
telegraphs’ origin of Bridger Depot. Again,
a posse who stakes out or otherwise gets
in with the clerks at Bridger Depot may be
able to learn who’s sending those missives.
To almost no one’s surprise the name is
Ed Sharky.
94
Tarantula Hole
Tailing or surveilling Ed Sharky, or
successfully using Networking to find
out about him, reveals he’s in charge of
keeping the peace at Tarantula Hole Saloon
(page 43) in Heaston Hill. A raise on
Networking gains his boss’s name too—
Walter “Dog” Stiles.
Convincing Ed Sharky to roll over and
name his boss as the kingpin behind the
Owlhoot Syndicate would be quite a feat
given Sharky’s loyalty. It takes stronger
measures, or even trickery or arcane powers,
to unmask the underworld’s true leader.
Should the buckaroos do so, they stand to
learn explosive details about Jerem Heaston.
The Heaston Connection: If “Dog” Stiles
is outed and threatened with a swift hanging,
he’s desperate to provide information to
mitigate his sentence. Dog would rather rot
in prison than face the hangman’s rope.
Intimidating a cornered and defeated Stiles
makes him tell his deepest secret. Mostly the
gangs do what they want, but Jerem Heaston
often pays them to hit specific targets.
Marshal Wister is in on it as well. Dog says
Heaston uses the county’s three gangs to
wreak havoc on Denver-Pacific trains—
he figures he’s in cahoots with Wasatch
somehow but doesn’t know the details.
Sometimes he’s also instructed the gangs to
rob certain banks where miners deposit their
funds to ruin prospectors and their union, or
rustle some cattle.
A few days after “Dog” Stiles gives
up this information to the posse or the
authorities, he’s found murdered. Despite
being in custody he’s been hanged in his
cell. If elsewhere he’s shot down by masked
assailants in the dead of night
c Walter “Dog” Stiles: Use Gunman
(Veteran) stats in Deadlands, add Mean
Hindrance and Rich Edge.
„ Ed Sharky: Use Gunman in Deadlands,
add Loyal Hindrance.
„ Gunmen (6): Use stats in Deadlands.

LOST IN THE BOG
LOCATION: Bogwater Lake
Warfield Phoenix died in the high Uintas,
shortly after finding a 66.6 pound nugget
of ghost rock in February 1883. He rose
Harrowed the next night. He wandered the
hills, lost and afraid for days, before finally
making his way back to the little shack on a
lake he shared with the woman he’d hoped
to marry, Sarah Houck.
But Sarah was terrified of the undead
thing that darkened her doorway. She fled
into the bogs with Warfield chasing after.
What happened there isn’t fit for print, but
when it was all over, Sarah’s corpse lay in the
stinking mud and Warfield’s manitou gained
total Dominion.
Warfield Phoenix truly died then, and
Bogwater Bill was born.
Neighbor Buster “Nails” Trenchworth
came around to the couple’s shack later that
day and saw signs of a struggle. He searched
the bogs for his friends, figuring they’d
been struck by bandits, but unfortunately
caught a glimpse of a monstrous horror—
unrecognizable as Warfield by this point—
and went mad. Now Nails spends his days
seeking the bottom of a bottle, hiding among
crowds of people in Heaston Hill. Buy him
a round and he’ll tell you what he saw.
That’s how Lilah Denslow found out about
the creature in the swamp—now called
“Bogwater Bill.”
The Boglands
The heroes might seek out Bill when they
hear “The Ballad of Bogwater Bill,” or
read Agent Reeg’s note about looking into
the mystery.
The bogs are obvious on the map of the
Heaston Hill Environs (page 46). Networking
around town also finds out the local children
believe “boogeyman” Bogwater Bill lives in a
creepy old shack at the center of the boglands.
Grown-ups scoff at the old legend...but won’t
go there for anything.
Savage Tales
Brambles & Knifegrass: The entire bog
is surrounded by a hedgerow of briars and
knifegrass (see Deadlands), in some places
60 feet thick. Anyone trying to push or chop
through the barrier has to make three Vigor
rolls versus the knifegrass’ effect.
As the posse enters the bogs, read this:
A trail that’s more of an animal track
winds into the bog through a gap in the
thorny bushes. It crosses over muddy hillocks,
past sickly, moss-draped pines, through
mires of stagnant brown water. Fog clings to
the ground. Mosquitoes whine around your
ears in thick clouds. The sucking mud pulls
at your mounts’ hooves and your boots, like
it’s fixing to pull you under. The whole place
seems dead...and yet seethes with life.
The farther in the searchers venture, the
more horrifying the swamp becomes. Use
the following scenes and locations as needed.
• On a hillock, three rotting corpses lie on
their backs under a cloud of buzzing flies.
Two of them had their brains beaten out.
Success on a Notice roll catches the third
corpse’s eyes flicking back and forth,
looking all around, as though in panic. It
doesn’t attack.
• An old horse, nearly skin and bones,
wanders the trails. A rider’s shot dead
and lashed to the saddle. The corpse
mutters in a clotted voice, “Beware the
bog.” It doesn’t attack or respond to
questions.
• Texas Skeeters: Big, bloodsucking insects
spawn in the stagnant water here. Passers-
by stir up 1d4 Texas Skeeter Swarms; see
Deadlands for stats. Also see the Mountain
Ail sidebar on page 12; these skeeters
are infected!
• Piranha Dog Town: These ravenous
critters attack anyone coming within 20
yards of their burrows. At first it’s just
one swarm, but if intruders don’t go away
1d4 Piranha Dog Swarms follow up the
attack; see page 120.
• Prairie Tick Nest: These bugs don’t
roam too far from their nest, but they
swarm after anything warm-blooded
that wanders within 50 yards of it—1d4
Hatchling Swarms, and three adult Prairie
Ticks per hero (see Deadlands). A Prairie
Tick Queen used to live deep inside the
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HORROR AT HEADSTONE HILL
large earthen mound, but Bill squished it
recently and counted Coup.
• Mudsuckers (1, plus 1 per hero): See
Deadlands. These horrifying leech-like
beasts might attack anyone who leaves
the trail or gets lost in the swamps, or if
the Marshal thinks things are going a little
too smoothly for the wranglers.
Deathtrap
Bill’s old shack sits on a small, grassy hill
at the center of a swamp. Ravaged animal
corpses, raw but half-eaten, lie about the
porch and forsaken rooms. Skulls, human
and otherwise, rest on tables and bedposts.
This is the lair of a Harrowed gone full demon.
Bill’s not in the shack—he heard the
posse coming and ghosted out the back
where he watches from the shadows. At an
appropriately creepy time, the demon plays
his favorite trick.
Sarah Houck’s body appears on a small
island in the middle of the bog. From this
distance, and given the mist, the party
can’t tell if she’s unconscious or dead (she’s
very much the latter). The water is fairly
96
deep here—about chest-high on most with
several inches of muck and mud underfoot.
When a hero wades out to check on Sarah, a
grisly horde of mud-covered undead—Bill’s
castoffs—rise up and surround the would-
be rescuer!
Don’t forget Fear tests—including for the
party’s horses!
The undead try to gang up, grapple
their victims, and drag them into the bog.
Characters in the bog must make a Vigor roll
each round they’re Bound or Entangled or
take a level of Fatigue from drowning.
Those on the shore are swarmed and
grappled as well. The deaders pit their
Strength (as many as three may Support one
other) against a Bound or Entangled foe, and
after one round, pull them into deep enough
water that they must make a Vigor roll or
begin to drown as well.
c Bogwater Bill: He’s here, but stays
hidden. See 97 for his abilities.
„ Walkin’ Dead (4 per hero): See
Deadlands.
 Savage Tales

The Tragedy of Sarah Houck killed her. Warfield was lost that day and
“Bogwater Bill” was born.
After the fight, the heroes can investigate
Sarah’s corpse. She’s been dead for quite Bill rarely shows himself since his death
some time. Her wounds are horrific—like wound was from a scalping gone bad, leaving
something a bear might inflict (Bill’s claws). half his face torn off. His sole remaining eye
gleams pale yellow in darkness.
There’s nothing else to find here, but Bill
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d8, Spirit d10,
takes the posse’s interference personally.
Strength d10, Vigor d12
From this point on he stalks them, always
just at the edge of detection. Skills: Athletics d8, Common Knowledge
d8, Fighting d10, Intimidation d8, Notice
Maybe they occasionally see his single d8, Persuasion d6, Shooting d10, Stealth
yellow eye shining in the dark, vanishing d10, Taunt d6, Thievery d8
(via his Ghost Harrowed Edge) before they Pace: 6; Parry: 9; Toughness: 10
can get close enough to pick out any details. Hindrances: One Eye, Vengeful (Major)
Bill’s also happy to burn down the house of Edges: Block (Imp), First Strike (Imp), Har-
anyone the posse seems friendly with, or rowed, Rabble-Rouser, Thief
even murder them once the game of cat and Harrowed Edges: Cat Eyes (Imp), Ghost,
mouse goes on long enough. Infest, Nightmares, Stitchin’ (Imp), Soul
How the party brings a clever killer with Eater, Spook, Supernatural Attributes
the Ghost Edge to heel is up to them, but (Strength, Vigor), Trackin’ Teeth (Imp)
Bill’s clever, runs when he needs to, spies on
them whenever he’s able, and won’t walk
blindly into obvious traps.
It’s also possible the posse tries something
different—like appealing to Warfield’s
soul. That’s a hard fight, but if they have
the Prospector’s elixir (available from Old
Vaskiss, see page 107), they might tempt
Warfield out for a round or two. He can
roll Spirit at –4, Supported by the party’s
efforts. With success, he takes the formula
and Warfield is once more in charge. What
happens then is up to you, Marshal.

c Bogwater Bill
Warfield H. Phoenix came to Uinta from
Cleveland, Ohio, in 1880. He was dirt-poor
until he found the Headstone Nugget in
February 1883. Killed and half-scalped soon
after, Warfield came back Harrowed.
He eventually returned to the shack
he shared with the love of his life,
Sarah Houck, whom he hoped to
marry once he had enough scratch to “do
it proper.” But Sarah screamed and fled,
horrified at the undead thing that was once
her “Sweet Warfield.”
Warfield’s manitou used its host’s pain to
take control, chased Sarah into the bogs, and

97
HORROR AT HEADSTONE HILL
Gear: Convincin’ Stick (Relic, Damage
Str+2d6+2), Colt Frontier (Range 12/24/48,
Damage 2d6+1, RoF 1, AP 1), Bowie knife
(Str+d4+1, AP 1), needle and thread.
Special Abilities:
„ The Bogwater Bunch: Bill haunts the
bog and has become its master. The
Reckoners have granted him the ability
to raise the dead anywhere in the bog
as an action. He’s gathered up every
corpse he could find (and added a few
of his own) and thrown them in the
pond in front of the shack. This gives
him enough bodies to field a small army
(as seen in the encounter). Elsewhere in
the bog, he can typically only raise d4
walkin’ dead per encounter.
„ Pet Tick: Bill has a prairie tick (see
Deadlands) for an allied Extra. He men-
tally controls the tick within 100 yards
as a free action. The ugly little sucker’s
name is Thirsty.
„ Undead: +2 Toughness; +2 to recover
from Shaken; ignore 1 point of Wound
modifiers; Called Shots do no extra
damage; doesn’t breathe; immune to
disease and poison.
Relic: Bill's Convincin' Stick
Bill’s convincin’ stick started as a
mordant joke—his chosen weapon
to “convince” folks to leave him alone.
After he rose from the dead Harrowed
and slowly went sour, the stick became
an emblem of Bogwater Bill’s brutality.
The stick is a thick club made from an
aspen branch, with a sharpened railroad
spike driven through its business end.
Power: The stick inflicts Str+2d6+2
damage. It’s virtually unbreakable
(Hardness 20) and can withstand open
flames without even being singed.
Taint: Anyone who possesses Bill’s
stick for more than 24 hours gains
the Bloodthirsty and Ruthless (Major)
Hindrances. If the stick is discarded the
Hindrances fade away in six days.
98
RANGE MURDER
LOCATION: Robertson
Ranchers and homesteaders get along best
in Uinta County when they occupy different
regions. But in Robertson, conflicts over
grazing lands have put Sigmund Largo’s
Bar-6 Ranch up against farmer Aaron Ross’
spread. Now a wedding hangs in the balance!
But here’s the real story, Marshal: Secretly,
a vile critter called a skinwalker crept onto
Largo’s ranch, killed one of his hands—Rio—
and stole the man’s skin. The monster now
hides in plain sight in Largo’s posse, telling
lies and sowing fright.
Part 1: The Largo-Ross Feud
Buckaroos may hear of the famous feud
between the Largos and the Rosses when
they ride into Robertson, or from Mayor
Amanda Lobdell in Heaston Hill. (Her
husband Sylvester runs a cattle ranch not far
from Robertson.)
Everyone keeps saying what a shame it
is there’s going to be no marriage. If asked
what all the hubbub’s about, the speaker says,
“Why, the feud between the Largos and the
Rosses, of course! You must be new around
here. Sigmund Largo—he’s the owner out at
the Bar-6 Ranch—wasn’t too happy about
bobwire popping up on his range after the
Rosses settled down, so he cut it all down.
You know how it goes.
“Wasn’t nothin’ but bad feelings from then
on. But it sure seemed like they were gonna
mend that rift. Heir to the ranch Link Largo
and farmer’s daughter Maureen Ross got
engaged to be married. They didn’t give a
fig ’bout no dang feud.
“Yesterday everything went sour. Aaron
Ross rode into town with his sons, angry as
hornets, said the Largos been out rim-rockin’
their sheep. Stampeded a whole herd over a
cliff to slaughter it.
“Today things got even worse when
Sigmund Largo rode in with his crew. Largo
says the Rosses kidnapped his son Link.
Aaron Ross says that’s hogwash.
 Savage Tales

“So now we got the Largos occupyin’ the back inside. Observers can feel the slow fuse
Scruggs Saloon, and across Willow Creek of conflict burning to a showdown.
the Rosses are dug in at the Weeks-Stevens
Hotel. It’s a standoff! And we got no marshal
right now, so if you ask me it’s only a matter
Part 2: Power o' Diplomacy
of time before somebody gets killed.” If no one in the posse decides to try her
hand at settling the issue, the townsfolk ask
Refer to the description of Robertson on
for help. If pistoleros demand a bounty the
page 17, and use the map above to chart
townsfolk offer a pair of rusty spurs.
the posse’s movements in town. With armed
posses in town and violence imminent, the They insist these spurs belonged to old
Fear Level is currently 4. Grampa Weeks, who rode with the town’s
namesake “Uncle Jack” Robertson. The
„ Townspeople: Most named individuals
use the Townsfolk or Cowboy stats in
Deadlands, but you can sprinkle other
character types as you prefer, Marshal.
Relic: Grampa Weeks' Spurs
Grampa Weeks was a trapper and rider
Occupied Territory beyond compare who learned his trade
from John “Uncle Jack” Robertson. His
If the wranglers mosey around to take a look,
old spurs picked up a little bit of his
they find the townsfolk weren’t telling tall
spirit and skill.
tales. Sigmund Largo and his cowboys have
taken over the Scruggs Saloon and Aaron Power: The wearer of Grampa Weeks’
Ross’ boys are arrayed on the hotel porch. spurs gains the Steady Hands Edge.
There’s no clear view between the two
Taint: None, but the owner gains a
buildings, but every so often a member of
taste for sarsaparilla, like Grampa had.
one camp or the other ventures out, throws
an icy glare toward his nemeses, and goes

99
HORROR AT HEADSTONE HILL

spurs may not look like much but they’re
good luck. A hero who accepts the spurs and
wears them finds they really do have some
mojo (see below).
Any attempt to sort things out probably
starts with a trip to each camp to find out
what it’s going to take to secure the peace.
Scruggs Saloon
Two wild and woolly looking cowboys in
chaps and 10-gallon hats lounge on the front
porch at Scruggs Saloon. One of them spins
her Colt Peacemaker in ornate loops on its
trigger guard. The other one spits tobacco
juice in the posse’s path and drawls,
“Sorry, tinhorns—saloon ain’t open for
business. Mr. Sigmund Largo’s usin’ it to
conduct his war council. So I suggest you
mosey across the street for a shot o’ whiskey.
Circle Brand Saloon just down the street a
ways is rather nice too. Or so they tell me.”Link, Largo is skeptical but invites them to
do their best. He assures them he’s a man of
The speaker is “Brink” Templeton and his
his word, and he already said what’s going
silent gun-toting partner is Sheila “Two-Step”
to happen when the sun sets.
Marto. Mr. Largo put them out front to make
sure no one comes in. It takes a successful
Persuasion or Intimidation roll at –4 to get coaxes the rancher into adding,
them to shirk their duty.
If words don’t do the trick, and it seems
as though a brawl or other violence is about
to ensue, Two-Step Marto says in a quiet
voice to any gunslinger in the posse who
catches her eye,
“You know how to use that smokewagon or
is it just for show? Listen—only way you’re
getting in this saloon is through me. So how
fast are you? Care to find out?”
Two-Step tries to pull a hero into a Duel
(see Deadlands) if she can. She and Brink
aren’t necessarily out for blood, though—
they’re just bored. Eventually, another
dude pokes his head out to see what the
commotion is. When that happens a voice is
heard bellowing from inside Scruggs’ place: is unlikely to be unmasked so soon. It says
“What on God’s green earth is transpiring
out there?! I ask you to preserve the silence
for me and now all I hear is commotion! Who
in Hell is that? SEND THEM IN HERE.”
Brink and Two-Step smirk at the heroes as
if to say, Well, you got what you wanted.
c Sheila “Two-Step” Marto: Use Duelist
stats in Deadlands.
c “Brink” Templeton: Use Cowboy stats
in Deadlands.
Largo's Rage
Inside, the towering Sigmund Largo holds
court at a large, round table in the center of
the room. He’s a huge bull of a man. After
he’s given wranglers a chance to say their
peace, he looks at them through narrowed
eyes and growls,
“You’re feeding off your range, strangers.
Nobody asked you to poke your big bazoo in
my business. Nobody in here, at least. Fact
is, my son Link’s been kidnapped by them
no-good grangers over at the hotel. And if I
don’t find out where he is by sundown, I’ll
burn that place to ground if I have to.”
If heroes suggest they may be able to find
Asking Largo for details on the kidnapping
“My boy Link is gone! That’s all I need
to know. Rio over here told us this morning
just after sunrise. So we rode into town to
find that liar Aaron Ross spinning all sorts
of tales about us rim-rockin’ his sheep. It
never happened. He won’t get away with it!”
The “Rio” Largo mentions is one of his
ranch hands, up from Arizona Territory and
recently hired on. Rio’s tight-lipped and
fairly surly, but he says he saw two riders
make off with Link and head toward the Ross
Farm. A buckaroo who talks to Rio for a few
minutes can make a Notice roll at −4 to detect
anything amiss—since “Rio” is actually an
evil skinwalker wearing the man’s face!
Even if Rio seems a little off, the skinwalker
as little as possible and waits to see how it
might manipulate the posse.
c “Rio”: Use Skinwalker in Deadlands.
c Sigmund Largo: Use Cowboy (Veteran)
stats in Deadlands, add the Brawny Edge.
„ Largo’s Posse (12): Use Cowboy stats in
Deadlands.

100
 Savage Tales

Paul Scruggs: Saloon owner and

„
barman. Use Townsfolk in Deadlands. PART 3: Countdown to Death
The posse has about eight hours to solve the
Weeks-Stevens Hotel trouble before Sigmund Largo’s boys launch
Over at the hotel, armed gunmen have taken an all-out assault on the hotel. That said,
up defensive positions and watch Willow those eight hours are not without drama.
Creek for incursions. A bearded man in
overalls and work boots points a double- Probing maneuvers
barrel shotgun at the posse as they approach. A few hours after noon, Largo sends a half-
dozen of his men to prowl the streets and see
“Turn around. No vacancy.”
what Ross’ crew is up to. Ross’ lookouts see
As before, success on Persuasion or them leaving Scruggs Saloon, so the farmer
Intimidation is needed to gain entry. This sends his own party to confront them.
time there’s no penalty, since farmer Aaron
Pretty soon the two groups are dug in
Ross made no demands on his people for
on either bank of Willow Creek near the
silence or total solitude. Ross sits at a table
pump house taking potshots at each other.
inside with a few of his sons looking angry
Buckaroos in town may try to stop the gun
and red-faced, drinking whiskey.
battle. If they’re elsewhere trying to find Link,
Ross seems far less full of himself than the shooting lasts until one target is winged
Sigmund Largo but no less outraged. Once on each side. Then the groups retreat to lick
the shootists introduce themselves and ask their wounds.
about the trouble, Ross replies,
„ Largo’s Boys (6): Use Cowboy stats in
“That Largo’s got some nerve. He’s been Deadlands.
a thorn in my heel ever since we put down „ Ross’ Posse (8): Use Townsfolk stats in
stakes. Now he’s got the audacity to kill a Deadlands.
whole herd of my sheep.
“But that’s not enough for the great ...But Now Am Found
Sigmund Largo, oh no! His own son goes Heroes have a few options for tracking down
and gets himself lost in the hills, and I’m Link. They may think of others on their own
somehow responsible. Yes, Largo accuses me or attempt to use arcane powers to divine
of abducting his boy. the truth.
“It’s absurdity! We Rosses are God-fearing
Riding out to Largo’s Bar-6 Ranch to check
people. I’d never harm another man’s child,
up on Rio’s story is a possibility. In this
and he’s a blaggard for saying I did.”
case searchers are able to find evidence of a
Former soldier Aaron Ross isn’t interested scuffle in the stables, just as Rio testified. But
in hearing about Largo’s claim that he didn’t a scout who succeeds at Survival (–2) to track
send a herd of sheep plunging over a cliff to the abductor finds only one set of hoofprints
its death. But if the heroes suggest they’re departing the area.
going to find Link and settle the issue, the
While poking around the Bar-6, a cowpoke
farmer invites them to try.
catches the foul, intense odor of rotten meat.
Aaron’s daughter Maureen is distraught The smell’s wafting out of an old, dried-up
and beyond consoling, but she swears she well not too far from the house. Investigators
loves Link dearly. No one in her family can use Athletics (climbing) or some other
would ever harm him. means to check out the bottom of the well.
c Aaron Ross: Use Soldier stats in Although they may fear it’s Link Largo’s
Deadlands. corpse, they actually find a pile of bloody,
„ Maureen Ross: Use Townsfolk stats in shredded organs and bones. Heroes must
Deadlands. roll Spirit to resist Fear/Nausea. A successful
„ Ross’ Posse (16): Use Townsfolk stats in Healing roll tells a cowpoke it’s probably the
Deadlands. entire contents of a human body—except
for the skin.

101
HORROR AT HEADSTONE HILL
Under the Skin
If a cowpoke noticed Rio acting strange
earlier, he may be a suspect already. Or
trackers might follow the trail from the Bar-
6 Ranch, which leads to a muddy hollow
on Black’s Fork riverbank about two miles
distant. That’s where the skinwalker in Rio’s
birthday suit stashed Link Largo, planning to
come back and kill him later.
The skinwalker also rim-rocked the Ross
family’s sheep not long after it impersonated
Rio. Then it snatched Link, left him bound
and gagged, and rejoined Largo’s group
to feed him lies. Once Link’s gag is off, he
curses bitterly and says,
“That bastard Rio did this to me.
Where is he?!”
Link’s hot to get back to Robertson as soon
as possible. He wants to see Maureen and tell
his father the truth of what happened. Most
of all, he wants to gun down Rio!
„ Link Largo: Use Cowboy stats in
Deadlands.
102
Unmasked!
Back in Robertson, if it’s not yet sunset the
posse has time to avert the slaughter. If Rio’s
confronted with the truth of what happened,
the skinwalker attacks!
Aftermath
A posse needs some luck, sharp eyes, and
diplomacy to sort this one out without
bloodshed. If they do, Link and Maureen get
married, the heroes are guests of honor, and
the feud is over and done! The reception’s
a great time to tell a tale and lower the
Fear Level.
BURNIN' DOWN
LOCATION: Almy
Cases of ghost rock fever have been on the
rise ever since the Almy mine disaster. Some
miners who die of it become burnin’ dead,
skulking in mineshafts in search of prey.
Miners speak darkly of an area deep in
shaft #16 called the Oven, where intense
heat radiates from the back wall. In fact
it was ignited by the mine explosion. The
Reckoning’s dark magic has turned tales of
miners trapped by the blast into a horrifying
reality—a sealed catacomb of flaming ghost
rock and shrieking, burnin’ dead.
To put out the fire, the mine owners order
their workers to bust open the seam. They
end up setting loose a dozen fiery fiends.
„ Burnin’ Dead (12): See Deadlands.
CROOKED STREETS
LOCATION: Evanston
Through contacts at the county seat,
buckaroos hear a story about Lucian Pardee,
a surveyor who helped Granville Dodge
plat the town in 1868. Now Pardee’s an
inmate at the Evanston insane asylum, and
they say he’s been hollering himself hoarse

saying the same phrase for nearly a week:
“November garden!”
Networking turns up nothing on the
phrase, but investigators hear rumors of
unholy symbols Dodge and Pardee encoded
into the street-grid. Asking around also
brings unwelcome attention from a local
Railroad Cult, which works to decode the
streets’ symbolism and put it to unholy use
in controlling Denver-Pacific. Shadowing
the cult, heroes catch wind of a plot to send
a loathsome flesh jacket after wealthy D-P
executive Tate Wheelwright.
It turns out November Garden is the name
of Wheelwright’s personal passenger car at
the D-P railyards. Unknown to him, a hidden
safe in the car contains Granville Dodge’s
journal. Inside it are instructions for using
black magic, a human sacrifice, and the
street-symbols to summon a demon.
„ Cultists (10): See Deadlands.
„ Flesh Jacket: See Deadlands.
DEM DRY BONES
LOCATION: Crittenden Ranch
Word gets around that rancher Heath
Crittenden and his son Brock are fighting
mad. Somebody killed a bunch of their cattle
up in the foothills and stamped outlandish
tracks in the mud as some kind of sick prank.
Survival rolls (–2) to inspect the tracks
reveal there aren’t any bootprints at all—just
a bunch of big, three-clawed tracks that look
almost like birds made them. But they’re
too big and spaced too far apart to be a bird.
That’s why the Crittendens figure it’s a joke.
But the grisly way those cattle were torn limb
from limb isn’t funny at all. Brock adds,
“And not an ounce of meat missing.
What a waste.”
Following the trail successfully leads
out onto Poverty Flats (page 47) and the
paleontologists’ camp. Erastus Weeks is at a
loss to explain what’s happened. Little does Beeves' Boneyard
he know one of his graduate students, Jessica The hodag leads pursuers (or those who
Stenbaugh, is responsible.
Savage Tales
Always a little peculiar, when Jessica
heard rumors of Bayou Vermilion’s green
reanimation fluid she became obsessed with
applying it to a complete fossil. The scientists’
recent discovery of two Utahraptor skeletons
gave her the chance. Now a pair of nocturnal
fossils seek prey all around the area. They
still know to kill, but can’t seem to hold any
meat in their bony insides!
„ Walkin’ Fossils (2): See Deadlands.
DEVIL IN SHEEP'S CLOTHES
LOCATION: Carter
While the posse’s in Carter they hear an
interesting story about a stockyard foreman
named James Kelley. Seems he’s locked
himself in his shack with a bottle of whiskey
and refuses to come out. Once a hard man
who was cruel to animals, now he sobs
and whimpers into the bottle about, “Them
horrible empty eyes!” The informant adds,
“You know...ever since Kelley went into
hiding, something powerful strange has been
coming around each night at the witching
hour. It attacked a few stockyard hands and
guards and damn near killed one of ’em.”
At his shack, Kelley doesn’t open up,
shouting, “It comes at night! At midnight!”
With success on Persuasion or Intimidation,
Kelley crawls to the door and whispers,
“I didn’t believe it at first. It was too
terrible. But it’s that mangy beeve. That poor
ol’ beast come back on account o’ what I did.”
Pistoleros who hang around Kelley’s shack
until midnight find out what the trouble is.
An old, diseased Longhorn that Kelley used
to whip mercilessly—until it perished—
returns for retribution as a terrifying hodag.
It tries to bash its way into the shack. If the
hodag takes a Wound, it retreats into the
darkness at a run, lowing wildly.
c Hodag (1): See page 118.
succeed on a Survival roll to track it) to a
steep-walled, rocky pit outside town. When
103
HORROR AT HEADSTONE HILL
stockyard workers and ranchers kill tainted,
diseased, or otherwise “weird” livestock,
they toss the carcasses in here to rot.
If the posse kills the hodag stalking James
Kelley, other monsters continue the midnight
attacks in Carter on subsequent nights until
they ride out here and put them down.
The pit is a seething cauldron of the
Reckoning’s evil. Filled with bones, rotting
livestock, and vermin, it’s a breeding ground
for more hodags—and worse.
Dynamite, nitro, or fire are highly advised, before he ran off—cannibalism.
since the beeves’ boneyard spits out quite the
menagerie of monsters once it’s stirred up.
c Bone Fiend (1): See Deadlands.
c Hodags (2): See page 118.
„ Rat Swarms (3): Use Swarm stats in
Savage Worlds.
EMBERS
LOCATION: Fort Supply
Most people in Uinta County know how Fort
Supply was put to the torch by US cavalry
forces last year. Many have heard about the
strange disappearances since then. But only
a few know the ghosts of the dead still linger.
If anyone ignites a flame or campfire
within Fort Supply’s ruins—or even carries
in a lit lantern—the fiery, enraged ghosts
of burned Nauvoo Legionnaires rise to slay
intruders. Banishment drives them off, but
only burial of their remains in consecrated
earth puts the spirits to rest.
„ Ghosts (1 per hero): See Deadlands.
Replace their Poltergeist ability with the
Harrowed Hellfire Edge. Their Chill of
the Grave ability produces Heat instead.
ETCHED IN BLOOD
LOCATION: Bear River
Loggers in Lida Munson’s employ begin
telling tales of a weird creature stalking their
camps, probably the bigfoot. It’s already run
104
off with two lumberjacks in the night, and
woodsmen are quitting the job in droves. Ms.
Munson looks for help solving the problem.
There’s a critter in the woods all right. At
the saloons, men whose huge beards are near
indistinguishable from their great fur hats tell
the tales. Successful investigation at the US
Army fort reveals Captain Colton J. Barron
vanished a few weeks ago—just before the
attacks started. The soldiers don’t want to
reveal it, but persistent cowpokes also find
out Barron committed a vile act of insanity
Barron, now a wendigo, haunts the peaks
around the logging camps and hunts flesh.
c Wendigo (1): See Deadlands.
HANGIN' TREE
LOCATION: Lonetree
Passing through Lonetree, travelers find an
example left to rot by Marshal Applegate. A
rotted corpse hangs by the neck in the big
tree at the center of town. He was a killer.
As wranglers pass, the cadaver’s eyes snap
open, prompting a Fear check. It begs,
“Please. Please cut me down.”
It doesn’t do anything but beg in a
strangled, hissing voice. Though anyone can
hear it, the corpse begs only the posse, no one
else. But everybody in town from Marshal
Applegate to passers-by to the trash at the
saloon warns,
“You better not cut down that corpse.
That’s Old Man Salcido.”
If anyone takes pity on the corpse and cuts
it down anyway, he’s saddled with a weird
curse. Every day when he wakes, Old Man
Salcido’s corpse is lying nearby, stinking and
collecting flies. Even burned or buried, the
next day it’s back—stinkin’ and grinnin’. You
can imagine the ruckus this might cause.
The wrangler who cut him down has to
pay some penance, undertake a quest, or seek
the blessing of a holy person to be free of Old
Man Salcido’s curse. On the plus side, as the

troublesome cadaver’s finally laid to rest, it
whispers the location of a great treasure or
relic (your choice what it is, Marshal).
„ Old Man Salcido (1): Use Walkin’
Dead in Deadlands. Salcido doesn’t do
anything but laugh sometimes.
HUNGRY WATERS
LOCATION: Urie
Shoppers at Urie’s famous weekend farmer’s
market—biggest in the county—have been
disappointed lately. Dr. Theodorick Moon
quit bringing his huge vegetables and hardy
fruit trees. What’s become of him?
Dr. Moon’s Experimental Farm lies about
three miles east of Urie. It appears disused
and neglected, overgrown with strangely
misshapen trees and ivy vines. Since Moon
unwittingly created the hunger lily (page
119) using grafted clippings from Aspen
Forest, his mind has gone steadily downhill.
Now he lives in madness among his ravenous
creations, believing the plants speak and all
strangers are replicants!
Moon seems merely addled and afraid at
first, but it’s just an act. He’s not fooled by
the cowpokes’ appearance. He knows they’re
all pod people here to absorb him. Just like
those danged assistants he had to kill! He
leads heroes into a big room full of water-
filled vats...where the lilies dwell.
If he’s pacified and questioned, Moon’s a
font of information about the forest and its
weird trees. He knows the real-world basics
of aspens, and hypothesizes that ghost rock
has somehow gotten into the local forest and
corrupted it somehow.
c Dr. Theodorick Moon: Use Mad
Scientist stats in Deadlands, with
Delusion (Major—Pod people).
„ Hunger Lilies (1 per hero): See page
119. They don’t attack Dr. Moon.
Savage Tales
INFERNAL BARTENDER
LOCATION: Bridger Depot
The only thing on people’s minds in Bridger
Depot is that steam-powered bartender over
at Deacon Eleanor’s Watering Hole. Thing’s
gone plumb loco!
Sure enough, the Watering Hole has a few
windows knocked out and the inside is a
shambles. The remaining customers cower
under tables while others fled hours ago. The
infernal bartender—having been infested by
a whole mess of gremlins—flings whiskey
bottles with wild abandon. It assaults anyone
entering the saloon.
From her balcony, Deacon Eleanor takes
potshots at anyone who tries to damage or
disable her “merchandise.”
Anyone with the Weird Science skill can
roll to see it’s chock full o’ gremlins! The best
way to get rid of them without the banish
power or similar abilities is to destroy the
machine and kill ‘em. Eleanor needs some
serious convincing to agree to that: success
on a Persuasion roll at –4 and pointing out
her business is just as ruined with a mad
steam-powered bartender as a broken one.
c Deacon Eleanor: Use Hexslinger stats in
Deadlands, add the Rock and Roll! Edge
and a Gatling shotgun.
c Infernal Bartender (1): Use Automaton
stats in Deadlands, remove Gatling
gun and Gyrostabilizer, add Athletics
d8. Armed with bottles (Range 3/6/9,
Damage Str+d4).
„ Gremlins (8): See Deadlands.
„ Townsfolk (4): See Deadlands.
"You take ano
mechanical bather shot at my
gonna put a h r tender and I'm
o
big enough to le in your head
p ou r
whiskey throu straight
gh ."
--Deacon Elean
or
105
HORROR AT HEADSTONE HILL
INVASIVE SPECIES
LOCATION: Blood Pond
Everyone’s heard the story of the boy who
drowned in Blood Pond. But half those
people say it’s just a legend to scare kids.
Why do those people seem so scared too?
To all appearances, Blood Pond is an
idyllic spot. Some aspens and pines grow
around it, and the water’s cold and deep. A
Survival roll at –2 tells a scout this place is far
too quiet—hardly any birds. With a raise it’s
clear there are no fish in Blood Pond either.
Near the pond grows a thick circle of
mushrooms, known as a “fairy circle” to
anyone who succeeds on an Occult roll.
Inside the circle are lily flowers, signs of the
spirits paying reverence to growing things.
Poking around long enough garners the
attention of two hunger lilies, a mated pair.
They zealously guard their territory, and
these two are Wild Cards. Worse for anyone
threatening the critters, a small band of
nimerigar has adopted the lilies as their own.
106
The angry little spirit people take vengeance
on anyone who tries to hurt the plants.
c Hunger Lilies (2): See page 119.
„ Nimerigar (3): See page 119.
JUMP OFF JOE'S
BLOODY REVENGE
LOCATION: Gunsight
Jump Off Joe’s legend is well known in
Gunsight. After the miner lost the map to a
precious motherlode in Gunsight Canyon, he
flung himself off the city’s high scaffolds in
despair and died in the fall. But the truth is
Joe didn’t kill himself. He was murdered.
The bloody, mashed ghost of Jump Off Joe
visits a hero in the dead of night, telling his
story and asking for help putting his soul to
rest. If only the wrangler can regain the map,
Joe can sleep.
To do so, they must find the varmints who
killed him and took it: Deliverance Holliday
and her gang.
 Savage Tales

Networking or other means tracks down

Deliverance and her thugs in a saloon high
up on the canyon wall called The Aerie.
NEST O' THIEVES
When the posse arrives they’re talking over
what to do with their map. A Chase (see LOCATION:
Hog Thief Falls
Savage Worlds) ensues through the scaffolds,
rope bridges, platforms, precarious trails, The theft of a Wyoming Express stagecoach
and diggin’ flumes of Gunsight. has folks talking all across Uinta, mostly
because no one’s sure who did it. Made of
But Jump Off Joe didn’t really want the
pine, strapped with ghost steel, painted blue,
map—what good does treasure do a ghost?
and padlocked, law dogs all over Uinta are
What he really wants is sweet revenge!
looking for the $10,000 payroll inside it.
During the chase or any fight scene, the ghost
sweeps in to gleefully murder Deliverance A posse that engages in not-so-nice
and her thugs. It’s actually their deaths Networking with the criminal element, or
that lets him rest. If the heroes regain Joe’s any kind of Networking in Hog Thief Falls
map they can keep it; it’s up to the Marshal (page 16) or Lonetree (page 16), can
whether the motherlode’s real. learn the identities of the thieves—the Blind
Gunslinger and his crew. Additional digging
c Deliverance Holliday: Use Gunman leads wranglers to believe the sightless
(Veteran) stats in Deadlands.
shootist is hiding out in Hog Thief Falls with
„ Holliday Gang (1 per hero): Use
his treasure box.
Gunman stats in Deadlands.
„ Jump Off Joe: Use Ghost stats in Deadlands. The Blind Gunslinger (he has no other
name) is holed up in the saloon, which has
no sign. True to his name, he can’t see worth
LUCK O' THE LOPER a hoot. He uses arcane talents to make up
for that! The outlaw tries to outlast a siege,
barricading the doors and windows with
haybales. If he’s pressed he makes a run for
LOCATION: Hilliard
the Outlaw Trail and the Sioux Nations.
Tracks have been torn up all over Uinta lately.
Two trains have derailed near Hilliard in c The Blind Gunslinger: Use Hexslinger
stats in Deadlands, add the Bad Eyes
recent months, one severely enough to kill
(Major) Hindrance and Marksman Edge,
two passengers and injure several others.
and replace deflection with farsight.
Superstitious Denver-Pacific workers swear
„ Blind Man’s Gang (1 per hero): Use
they saw a critter near each derailment: a
Gunman stats in Deadlands.
jackrabbit-like beast with vicious horns.
A jackalope’s been causing the train
derailments. Woodsmen can attempt to track
the beast with Survival (–2). Following the
OLD VASKISS
trail, they stumble on a large nest of Texas
skeeters infected with Mountain Ail (see LOCATION: Fort Bridger
page 12). It stands to ruin a posse’s day.
When Jim Bridger sold his trading post to the
The jackalope’s trail leads to the vicinity
Mormons in 1855, his partner Louis Vasquez
of a train trestle over Bear River. The beast
couldn’t bear to leave the place behind. It
soon causes a catastrophic bridge failure that
was his home. “Old Vaskiss,” as he was
plunges a locomotive and all its screaming
known, stuck around—and he’s still there!
passengers into the gorge...unless the heroes
stop it! But now it stalks the posse. Old Vaskiss ain’t alive but he ain’t evil
either. Several years ago the trapper died
„ Jackalope (1): See Deadlands.
and came back Harrowed. Unfortunately
„ Texas Skeeter Swarms (1 per hero): See
for the manitou in his head, Vaskiss has an
Deadlands.
iron will and no trouble resisting the urge to

107
HORROR AT HEADSTONE HILL
let the Devil out. Instead he lives on as Fort
Bridger’s secret protector.
If the group becomes a familiar presence
around Fort Bridger and aids the community,
during one of their visits they’re asked to ride
out to Vaskiss’ camp and check up on him—
he hasn’t been heard from in several days.
Heroes find Vaskiss trapped in a shallow
cave where he was resting. Unfortunately for
him, a grizzly wants the cave and has been
nosing around waiting for the “dead thing”
to quit fighting it. The grizzly is a mama LOCATION: Aspen
bear—old and cunning—and a successful
Survival roll reveals tracks of her cubs nearby,
so the posse might not want to kill her.
Years ago, the Prospector passed through there’s not much supernatural about it.
Fort Bridger and gifted Old Vaskiss a few
vials of his elixir (see sidebar). Vaskiss has Saboteurs
only one left, but he offers it to the posse if The culprits are a gang of miscreants hired
Relic: The
Prospector's Elixir
No one’s sure where the Prospector got
his recipe for making the glowing green
elixir he uses on the Harrowed. What
is certain, however, is he never has
much of it at a time. He can make one
application’s worth per week.
To use the elixir, Jenkins has to pour
it down the throat of a Harrowed.
This usually requires the undead to
be unconscious. In the case of more
degenerated Harrowed, whose flesh
has decayed too much to swallow it, the
elixir need merely be poured over the
corpse’s appropriate part.
Power: When the elixir is applied, the
Harrowed rolls Spirit. A success gains 1
Dominion, or 2 with a raise.
Harrowed heroes can spend their
own Bennies on the roll as well. There
may never be a better time to regain
control, so they’d better take advantage
of it. Control can be regained even if the
manitou has total Dominion.
Taint: None.
108
they help him out. Vaskiss can be a valuable
ally and information source.
c Old Vaskiss (1): Use Harrowed stats
in Deadlands, replace Hindrances with
Code of Honor and Loyal.
„ Bear, Grizzly (1): See Savage Worlds.
TRAIN WRECKERS
Burglarized tool sheds. A near-derailment.
Shadowy figures lurking near the refueling
station. Something’s amiss in Aspen but
by Jerem Heaston to sabotage Denver-
Pacific trains and facilities. Led by Shoot-
’em-up Dick Polsen and his right-hand
woman, Sabada—a Wichita Witch—the
crew is composed of badmen and killers.
They’re planning a major derailment on the
downgrade from Aspen to Hilliard.
To make that happen they’re busy
stockpiling dynamite and nitro in a makeshift
lean-to about halfway between Aspen and
the Mormon Trail. Wranglers might find
their shack by staking out the D-P facility in
Aspen, tracking the gang with Survival, or by
some other means. If they don’t track down
the shelter heroes might catch the bandits in
the act of sabotage.
c Shoot-’em-Up Dick Polsen: Use
Gunman (Veteran) stats in Deadlands,
add Strength d8, Repair d10. Armed
with a custom-built Gatling shotgun
(Range 12/24/48, Damage 1–3d6, RoF 2,
Shots 15, Min Str d8, Wt 15, Cost $1,000).
c Sabada: Use Wichita Witch stats in
Deadlands.
„ Shoot-’em-Up Gang (1 per hero): Use
Gunman in Deadlands.
Voices in the Night
The train wreckers aren’t the only ones
lurking around the woods near Aspen. A
vile creature called a night haunt, hungry for
 Savage Tales

the souls on which it feeds, was drawn to the

area by the lives lost on the railroad.
While the cowpokes track down Dick
Polsen and his gang, the creature in turn
stalks them. It mimics the voices of posse
members or of their enemies to confuse them
and separate them...before it attacks.
„ Night Haunt (1): See Deadlands.

Aftermath
Shoot-’em-up Dick and Sabada
don’t hesitate to gun down anyone
foolish enough to get in their way.
That said, if they’re captured they
sing a different tune and name
their employer with success on
Intimidation or Persuasion. Jerem
Heaston pays them each $2,000 a
month for their services. Depending
on when the searchers learn this
information, it may aid their ongoing inquiry
in Heaston Hill.

WHERE WOLF?
LOCATION: Tolbit Farm

Young Maynard Tolbit, in charge of tending

his father’s sheep, swears there’s a wolf
preying on the flock after several go missing.
No one believes him, though, because they
NIGHT HOSS
can’t find any tracks. They figure Maynard
just fell asleep and let the sheep wander off. LOCATION: Heaston Hill
Maynard swears up and down he saw
The Aspen Forest pointed Frank Debeney
a wolf, or at least what looked like a wolf.
to a moldering book of black magic a few
Maybe even a werewolf! Locals scoff, “More
months back. You see, a sorcerer once tried
like nowhere-wolf.” When more animals
to harness and control the forest entity for his
go missing, Artemus Tolbit issues posters
own uses. The trees responded in kind.
with a $200 reward for the beast or culprits’
capture—dead or alive. That wayward wizard is now one of many
replicants protecting the forest, bereft of his
Survival attempts to track Maynard’s
once powerful knowledge and belongings.
critter are useless; it leaves no spoor. Staking
When Frank proved his loyalty sufficiently,
out a herd for a few nights is successful if the
the tree pointed out the blasphemous
cowpokes stay nice and quiet. In that case
tome and enabled her pet human to serve
they meet the terrifying ringdocus that’s
her further.
responsible when it comes to feed!
One of the spells in the sorcerer’s book
c Ringdocus: See page 122. summons a terrible equine spirit of ven­
geance called a “night hoss.”

109
HORROR AT HEADSTONE HILL
Frank is wary of tipping his hand, so he
only conjures the demonic steed if the party
becomes particularly effective or seems to
be aware of the Aspen Forest’s secret. If he’s
suspicious at all, he uses his night raven to
listen in, confirms the party’s insight, then
sets the night hoss loose and lets the chips
fall where they may.
Once summoned, the terrifying
abomination stalks the sorcerer’s prey
relentlessly. It lurks in the distance at night,
building tension as its victims hear a distant
whinny or the heavy clop of iron hoofbeats LOCATION: Heaston Hill
like distant thunder. When the victims are
suitably unnerved, it charges out of the night,
a coal-black maverick with eyes that burn
and dance like St. Elmo’s Fire.
The night hoss doesn’t go inside buildings also plays church services and charity
but might kick out a board or window and bazaars for free.
use its Death’s Breath on those hiding inside.
After the sixth night, the summoning Exposition,” out of Chicago, promotes and
expires and the monster returns to the abyss sells McCaslin’s Wizard Oil, naturally. They
it was summoned from.
110
c The Night Hoss
The Night Hoss manifests only in the
dark of night.
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Spirit d8,
Strength d12+2, Vigor d10
Skills: Athletics d10, Fighting d10, Notice
d10, Stealth d8
Pace: 8; Parry: 7; Toughness: 10
Edges: Fleet-Footed
Special Abilities:
„ Death’s Breath: As an action, the night
hoss exhales a shadowy, frigid cloud
in a Cone Template. Opponents in
the cloud must roll Vigor –2 or suffer
numbing Fatigue (this cannot cause
death). The intense cold also slows the
victim, reducing her Pace by 1 (further
attacks don’t affect Pace).
„ Ethereal: The night hoss can become
invisible and immaterial at will and can
only be harmed by magical attacks.
„ Hell’s Escort: The soul of anyone slain
by the night hoss plunges into Hell.
They can’t be Harrowed or resurrected.
„ Kick: Str+d6, front or rear as desired.
„ Size 3: The night hoss is a large, power-
ful creature with six legs.
„ Weakness (Banishment): The night
hoss can be banished, forcing it to return
to the Hunting Grounds immediately.
WIZARD OIL
A medicine show comes to town, with sword
swallowers, fire-eaters, tumblers, fortune
tellers, and speakers of rhetoric. They’re
heralded by a dapper singing quartet that
“The Great McCaslin Traveling Wizard Oil
also peddle Blood Pills and Cough Balsam.
The infernal elixir versions, which actually
work, go for premium prices!
The troupe rolls into town in a train of
Conestoga wagons pulled by oxen. Soon the
 Savage Tales

dashing Rod McCaslin, inventor of Wizard

Oil, gives a rousing speech.
See the table below for a summary of
what the infernal versions do. They’re quite
effective. The problem is troupe leader
McCaslin is an evil magician and grifter.
When anyone partakes of his infernal wares,
he threatens to reveal their use of “witchcraft”
publicly—unless they pay him!
c Rod McCaslin: Use Cult Leader stats in
Deadlands.
„ McCaslin’s Boys (6): Use Gunman in
Deadlands.
„ Performers (15): Use Townsfolk, add
Performance d8.

McCaslin's Elixirs (per dose)

Imbibers must make a Vigor roll when ingesting
any substances listed below. Critical Failure on
the roll indicates a Malfunction (see Deadlands).
Drinking a potion or taking a pill is an action.
Item Cost Weight
Blood Pill $25 —
Notes: Each pill increases Vigor by a die type
for 10 minutes.
Cough Balsam $50 — covered with ash and cinders once every
Notes: Soothes coughs and sore throats, and
grants +4 to Vigor rolls to recover from Ghost
Rock Fever (see Deadlands).
Wizard Oil $250 — these poor souls join the undead marauders.
Notes: Grants a user with an Arcane Back-
ground Edge 5 Power Points/dose.
YOU'RE KILN ME
LOCATION: Piedmont
Weird, ululating wolf howls in the woods.
Folks going missing in the dark of night.
There’s big trouble at the rail town of
Piedmont and it’s getting worse.
It all started about a month ago. A few
old friends started telling quiet stories about
the Rail Wars and before you know it they
recalled the bodies of the dead burned in the
town’s charcoal kilns. Soon their festering
guilt and dread turned into something more
tangible—the rail warriors’ corpses returned
from the kilns for revenge!
These scorched walkin’ dead emerge
week or so. They stealthily seek prey in
Piedmont, dragging victims back to the kilns
to smother them in ash. The following week
Also, a wolf pack took up territory near
town after they ate one of the ashen dead
and changed. Now these dread wolves
attack anyone coming or going from
Piedmont at night.
A posse might unravel the mystery by
staking out the town at night or by using
Networking to find anyone who has an
inkling as to what’s going on. Success leads
to George “Little Steve” Stevens, a D-P
foreman who still remembers the atrocities
of the wars, and the dead fed to the kilns.
„ Dread Wolves (10): See Deadlands.
„ George “Little Steve” Stevens: Use
Soldier stats in Deadlands.
„ Kiln Dead (2 per hero): Use Walkin’
Dead in Deadlands, add Stealth d10 and
the Resilient ability.

111
 BESTIARY

d6, Fighting d10, Intimidation d8, Notice

Deadlands: The Weird West has many dan­
d6, Persuasion d6, Riding d10, Shooting d8,
gerous rascals, varmints, and creatures for
Stealth d8, Survival d8
a posse to face down. Here’s a selection of
Pace: 8; Parry: 8; Toughness: 6
Uinta County’s unique terrors.
Hindrances: Impulsive, Vengeful (Major)
Edges: Block, Fleet-Footed, Frenzy (Imp),
Marksman, Scout, Steady Hands, Woods-
RASCALS man
Gear: Winchester ’76 (Range 24/48/96,
Damage 2d8, RoF 1, AP 2), Colt Frontier
Uinta County features human and nearly (Range 12/24/48, Damage 2d6+1, RoF 1,
human rascals. Here are the most prominent. AP 1), tomahawk (Str+d6), horse.

Black Horse's Band c Ouray

Since the 1880 Ute Removal Act, the US Army Named for a great chief, medicine woman
ruthlessly hunts tribe members who don’t Ouray is Black Horse’s loyal friend. She
live on a reservation or in the Sioux Nations. reveres the Old Ways to respect the spirits.
Black Horse pledged vengeance, giving up Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d8, Spirit d8,
the Old Ways to make his task easier. Strength d6, Vigor d6
Skills: Athletics d6, Common Knowledge
d6, Faith d8, Fighting d6, Notice d8, Occult
c Black Horse d8, Persuasion d8, Riding d8, Shooting d6,
The warband’s leader is hot-headed in Stealth d8, Survival d8, Taunt d6
matters of war, but in calmer times has a Pace: 6; Parry: 5 (6 with spear); Toughness: 5
reputation for fairness and humor. He rides Hindrances: Old Ways Oath
with a band of 25 loyal Indian Warriors (see Edges: Arcane Background (Shaman),
Deadlands) at his side. Black Horse is well Channeling
aware of the evil presence in Aspen Forest. Powers: Banish, burrow, entangle, healing,
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Spirit d8, holy symbol. Power Points: 20
Strength d10, Vigor d8 Gear: Bow (Range 12/24/48, Damage 2d6,
Skills: Athletics d8, Common Knowledge RoF 1), spear (Str+d6, Parry +1, Reach +1).

113
HORROR AT HEADSTONE HILL

Powers: Beast friend, boost/lower Trait, deflec-

c Frank Debeney tion, dispel, fear, invisibility, protection, zom-
Frank Debeney’s a shrewd businessman, bie. Power Points: 25
ambitious politician—and a vicious killer. Gear: Ritual dagger (Str+2d4, for Frank
Few vipers are more venomous than Frank. only).
Special Abilities:
He’s always been ruthless, running a
„ Night Raven: Frank has a night raven
cutthroat livestock business in Cheyenne,
familiar and uses beast friend to com-
Wyoming. But on a train journey west to Salt
municate with and command it. See
Lake City, Frank heard the clattering of the
Deadlands.
quaking aspens’ leaves. In their song he saw
promises of power and riches and forbidden
knowledge. From that point all he thought c Jerem Heaston
about was the Aspen Forest, wondering what
When Heaston arrived in town his only goal
grew in its dim depths.
was to control it from top to bottom. He tried
With his most trusted lackeys Hod and it the nice way—with fistfuls of cash and
Buckshot, Frank mounted an expedition electric lights—but the townsfolk wouldn’t
into the woods. The trio found the quiverin’ play along. So Heaston threw in with the big
aspen, a mutated and unnaturally smart bugs at Wasatch Rail, doing their bidding
abomination. Rather than replicate Frank, now for a chance at true power once Denver-
the tree offered earthly rewards if he would Pacific operations stall and sputter out.
serve its needs.
Heaston wants to cause so many problems
That sounded good to Frank, the greedy for Denver-Pacific—from sabotage to
bastard. Over time, the evil tree told Frank robbery to outright murder—that Smith &
where to find valuable ghost rock deposits, Robards has no choice but to sell out their
treasures lost by those who fell beneath operations to Wasatch. He hires the county’s
its boughs, and even a forbidden tome of three main outlaw gangs to achieve his
blackest magic—something Frank took bloody goals while maintaining his mining
quickly to his dark heart. operations in town.
Back in town, Frank bribed or recruited Jerem’s become ruthless in his desire
a few susceptible folks to join his “Cult o’ to rule Uinta County. The April 19 mine
the Critter.” Replicants and pod people had explosion that claimed 22 lives—mostly
their uses, but the quiverin’ aspen needed independent prospectors—was tripped on
intelligent allies too. Heaston’s order.
Frank’s goal, per the aspen’s instructions, Attributes: Agility d4, Smarts d10, Spirit d8,
is to burn down Heaston Hill and create an Strength d6, Vigor d6
army of replicants it can use to spread farther Skills: Athletics d4, Common Knowledge
and farther abroad. Frank knows the forest’s d6, Fighting d6, Gambling d10, Intimida-
plans will ultimately fail, but he’s going to tion d10, Notice d8, Occult d6, Persuasion
make a fortune in the meantime. d8, Riding d6, Shooting d6, Stealth d4,
Trade (Business) d10
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d10, Spirit d8,
Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 5
Strength d10, Vigor d8
Hindrances: Arrogant, Driven (Major),
Skills: Athletics d8, Common Knowledge
Ruthless (Major)
d6, Fighting d8, Notice d8, Occult d10,
Edges: Filthy Rich, Guts, Reputation (Bad),
Persuasion d8, Shooting d6, Spellcasting
Knack (Seventh Son).
d10, Stealth d8, Thievery d8, Trade (Busi-
ness) d8
Pace: 6; Parry: 6; Toughness: 6 c Maxim Heaston
Hindrances: Greedy (Major), Ruthless
(Major) Ruthless and headstrong, Max Heaston is
Edges: Arcane Background (Black Magic), his father’s son through and through. As the
Brave, Charismatic, Rich eldest, Max tells his younger brothers what

114
 Bestiary

to do, and expects to inherit his father’s

wealth and business someday.
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Spirit d8,
Strength d6, Vigor d8
Skills: Athletics d8, Common Knowledge
d6, Fighting d6, Intimidation d8, Notice
d8, Persuasion d6, Riding d8, Shooting d10,
Stealth d8
Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 6
Hindrances: Arrogant, Driven (Major),
Ruthless (Major)
Edges: Fan the Hammer, Marksman, Men-
acing, Quick Draw
Gear: Colt Peacemaker (Range 12/24/48,
Damage 2d6+1, RoF 1, Shots 6, AP 1),
Cimarron (horse).
c Gatling Heaston
Gat Heaston isn’t just ruthless, he’s a rabid
wolf. Delighting in wanton cruelty, Gat’s his
father’s favorite means of attack.
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Spirit d8,
Strength d6, Vigor d6
Skills: Athletics d6, Common Knowledge
d6, Fighting d6, Intimidation d6, Notice
d6, Persuasion d6, Riding d6, Shooting d8,
Stealth d6, Taunt d6
Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 5
Hindrances: Bloodthirsty, Mean
Edges: Duelist, Quick Draw, Two-Gun Kid
Gear: Colt Frontiers ×2 (Range 12/24/48,
Damage 2d6+1, RoF 1, AP 1), Bowie knife
(Str+d4+1, AP 1), horse.
The Ghost Steel Gang
The Ghost Steel Gang is most active in the
eastern reaches of Uinta County, rustling
cattle and running it to the Sioux Nations for
sale. They all have riding horses.
Hideout: Urie (page 17)
c Bud “Ghost Steel” Balach: Use Gunman
(Veteran) in Deadlands, add Strength d10
and replace Hindrances with Wanted
(Major). Bud wears a heavy armored
vest (Armor +4, see Deadlands).
c Dr. Seamus McLoon: Use Mad Scientist
stats in Deadlands. The weird gunsmith’s
burst power uses a Gatling gun
Trapping. Doc wears a light armored
vest (Armor +2).
c Hector Gadelia: Use Gunman stats in
Deadlands, add Survival d8 and the
Scout and Woodsman Edges. He wears
a heavy armored vest (Armor +4).
c John Jacob White: Actually Antonio,
disowned son of the di Bianchis of
Heaston Hill. Use Gunman stats in
Deadlands, and he’s also a werewolf!
c Octavio Contreras: Use Gunman stats
in Deadlands, add Performance d6 and
a harmonica. Octavio wears a light
armored vest (Armor +2).

Colton Heaston
Heaston’s youngest son Colt is a master
horseman at 16. He follows his father’s lead
out of loyalty but there’s still good in him. If “You think you're fast? I've
anyone were to see the light and be redeemed,
it’s Colt Heaston.
seen fast. I'm fast. You ain't.
But I'll spell it out in blood
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Spirit d8,
Strength d6, Vigor d6 for you if you like."
Skills: Athletics d6, Common Knowledge
--Gatling Heaston
d6, Fighting d6, Intimidation d6, Notice
d6, Persuasion d6, Riding d8, Shooting d8,
Stealth d6, Taunt d6
Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 5
Hindrances: Heavy Sleeper, Loyal
Edges: Born in the Saddle, Quick Draw
Gear: Colt Frontier (Range 12/24/48, Dam-
age 2d6+1, RoF 1, AP 1), horse.

115
HORROR AT HEADSTONE HILL
Little Rock Irregulars
Formerly employed by Kansas City & Little
Rock Rail, the Irregulars lit out for Wyoming
after the Great Rail Wars’ end. Now they raid
rolling stock, tearing all over the county in
two steam wagons (each with a mounted
Gatling gun). The Dotterman Twins drive a
velocipede with sidecar.
Hideout: Gunsight (page 15)
c Arkansas Ted Harwell: Use Soldier
(Veteran) stats in Deadlands, add Driving
d8, the Ace Edge, and a steam wagon.
c Broncho Rip Potter: Use Gunman stats
in Deadlands, add the Rock and Roll! and
Steady Hands Edges.
c Jenny Dotterman: Use Gunman in
Deadlands, add Driving d8 and a
velocipede.
c Two-Belt Johnny Dotterman: Use
Gunman stats in Deadlands, add the
Steady Hands Edge.
c Kid Vance: Use Gunman in Deadlands.,
add Repair d10 and a tool kit.
c Rip “Apocalypse” Drago: Use Gunman
(Veteran) stats in Deadlands, add Driving
d8 and a steam wagon.
c Agnes “Scarlet” Kenney: Use Gunman
(Veteran) in Deadlands, add Double Tap
Edge. Scarlet leaves the Ghost Steel
Gang and joins up with the Irregulars.
Sage Dragons Gang
The Sage Dragons frequent Uinta’s towns,
primarily targeting banks. Sing Wan’s a
champion safe-cracker, and if she fails there’s
always Tong Lee’s dynamite.
Hideout: Lonetree (page 16)
c Hong Xue, “The Dragon”: Use Chi
Master stats in Deadlands, add Shooting
d10, the Double Tap, Duelist, and Quick
Draw Edges. Armed with two Colt
Frontiers.
c Rufus Shen: Use Hexslinger stats in
Deadlands, add the burst power.
c Sing Wan: Use Martial Artist stats in
Deadlands, add Thievery d6 and the
Thief Edge. She uses a stethoscope to
hear the tumblers or a set of lockpicks.
116
c Tong Lee: Use Gunman stats in
Deadlands, add the Pacifist (Minor)
Hindrance and 15 sticks of dynamite.
c Big Wade Sunday: Use Gunman stats
in Deadlands, add Strength d8, Vigor d8,
and the Brawny and Bruiser Edges.
VARMINTS
Thornburg
Thornburg the cattle dawg is Fort Bridger’s
most loyal sentry and servant. More ally
and mascot than pet, Thornburg alerts the
troops to dangers such as raids or fire. He’s
far smarter than the average hound, but still
a mundane critter.
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d10 (A), Spirit
d6, Strength d6, Vigor d8
Skills: Athletics d8, Fighting d6, Notice d10,
Stealth d8
Pace: 8; Parry: 5; Toughness: 5
Hindrances: Loyal
Edges: Alertness
Special Abilities:
„ Bite: Str+d4.
„ Size −1: Thornburg’s head comes to a
cowpoke’s waist; weighs about 60 lbs.
„ Resilient: Thornburg can take one
Wound before being Incapacitated.
„ Speed: d10 running die.
CREATURES
Bloody One
Reverend Grimme used to gift his priests
enchanted bones that could call forth a blood-
covered zombie with putrefying organs they
called “bloody ones.” Since Grimme’s death,
a few of his remaining followers have learned
how to create the bones as well.
A cultist need only toss the bone on the
ground to summon the horrid servant. The
thing follows its summoner’s orders to the
letter afterwards, as long as he’s a member
of Grimme’s cannibal cult. Anyone else is
attacked on sight.
 Bestiary

Bloody ones don’t speak, but sometimes
emit a slurpy laugh, usually at the prospect
of devouring human flesh. As long as they
consume at least a pound of it, they continue
their unearthly life another 24 hours. Without
it, they fall apart into a disgusting pile of
guts and gore.
Attributes: Agility d10, Smarts d8,Spirit d6,
Strength d6, Vigor d6
Skills: Athletics d6, Fighting d6, Intimida-
tion d8, Notice d6, Stealth d6, Taunt d8
Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 7
Special Abilities:
„ Claws/Bite: Str+d6.
„ Fear (–2): Bloody ones are grotesque
zombies covered in blood and gore.
„ Fearless: Immune to Fear and Intimida-
tion.
„ Improved Frenzy: Bloody ones roll
a second Fighting die with up to two
melee attacks each turn.
„ Undead: +2 Toughness; +2 to recover
from being Shaken; no additional dam-
age from Called Shots; doesn’t breathe;
immune to disease and poison.
Creepin' Shadow
„ Illusion: A manitou can activate one
illusion (per the power) as a free action
once per turn. No roll is required, and it
acts as if cast with a raise and the Strong
and Sound Modifiers. The manitou may
maintain the power as long as it cares to
focus on it (–1 to all other Trait rolls).A
single manitou may not have more than
one illusion active at once, but the hate-
ful things usually travel in groups!
Gabriel Hound
Gabriel hounds (also called gabbe brecht
or barghests) are associated with witches,
werewolves, or other shape-changing
humans. The large, black dogs resemble
mastiffs with red sparks in their pupils and
low growls rolling from their throats.
Gabriel hounds are almost always
encountered as the forerunner of some
more powerful evil. Although others may
see it, only the creature’s target is cursed
by its power. The hounds seldom attack
outright. If they do, they begin with a blood-
chilling howl and follow up with their
formidable fangs.

Creepin’ shadows are lesser manitous drawn

into the physical world by the Headstone
Nugget (see page 19). They’re driven to
cruelty, competing among their fellows to
see which can create the most anguish, pain,
or mayhem among the mortals they despise
so greatly.
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Spirit d10,
Strength d8, Vigor d8
Skills: Athletics d8, Common Knowledge
d8, Fighting d8, Intimidation d8, Notice d8,
Persuasion d8, Stealth d10, Taunt d10
Hindrances: Mean, Ruthless (Major)
Edges: Frenzy (Imp), Menacing
Pace: 6; Parry: 6; Toughness: 6
Special Abilities:
„ Bite/Claws: Str+d6.
„ Ethereal: Manitous can become invis-
ible and immaterial at will. On the
physical plane, they can only be harmed
by magical attacks.
„ Fear (–2): The sight of a manitou pro-
vokes a Fear check at –2.
„ Flight: Pace 12”.

117
HORROR AT HEADSTONE HILL
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d8, Spirit d12,
Strength d8, Vigor d10
Skills: Athletics d8, Fighting d8, Intimida-
tion d10, Notice d10, Stealth d8, Survival
d12
Pace: 8; Parry: 6; Toughness: 7
Edges: Frenzy (Imp)
Special Abilities:
„ Bite: Str+d8.
„ Curse: Gabriel hounds are summoned
and sent after a specific target. When
the victim sees the hound, he auto-
matically suffers from the Bad Luck
Hindrance until the hound’s master is
destroyed. Destroying the hound has no
effect on the curse.
„ Fear: Any who see the hound make a
Fear check.
„ Howl: As an action Gabriel hounds
may make an Intimidation test against
all within 12”.
„ Immunity: Gabriel hounds take half
damage from normal weapons.
„ Weakness (Holy Water): A pint of holy
water does 2d6 damage to a Gabriel
hound.
„ Weakness (Silver): Gabriel hounds
take normal damage
from silver
weapons.
118
c Hodag
A hodag is formed by the spirit of a
mistreated ox or other beast. Best known
among the lumberjacks of the northern
Midwest forests, hodags are found wherever
oxen, Longhorns, or even buffalo roam.
A hodag usually has horns, clawed feet,
and the disposition of a wet wolverine. Rigor
mortis pulls the flesh from the critter’s teeth,
so they look larger and almost fanglike. The
animal’s spine protrudes through its skin,
giving it a spiked appearance.
Hodags are quadrupedal and attack by
charging, but can also rise onto their hind
legs at will. This helps them chase after their
favorite meal: human flesh.
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d4, Spirit d4,
Strength d10, Vigor d10
Skills: Athletics d6, Fighting d8, Intimida-
tion d8, Notice d8, Stealth d6, Survival d10
Pace: 8; Parry: 6; Toughness: 12 (2)
Edges: Sweep (Imp)
Special Abilities:
„ Armor (+2): The monster’s hide is tough
and leathery.
„ Bite/Hooves/Tail: Str+d6.
„ Fear (−1): Anyone encountering a
hodag makes a Fear check (–1).
„ Horns: Str+d8. Add +4 damage at the
end of one Fighting action in which it
Runs, moves at least 5” (10 yards), and
successfully hits with its horns.
„ Miasma: Anyone within 25 feet (4”) of
a hodag must make a Vigor roll (−2)
or receive a –2 penalty to all Trait rolls
due to its overpowering stench of
decay.
„ Size 1: Hodags are large creatures,
weighing nearly half a ton. When
standing on their hind legs, these crea-
tures are over eight feet tall.
„ Undead: +2 Toughness; +2 to recover
from Shaken; ignore 1 point of Wound
modifiers; Called Shots do no extra
damage; doesn’t breathe; immune to
disease and poison.
„ Coup (Bull Strength): The deader’s
Strength die type increases one level, as
does his stench. Notice rolls to detect
the deader’s decay get a +4 bonus, or +2
if alcohol masks it.
 Bestiary

Hunger Lily
They say the Amazonian floating water
hyacinth—an invasive species—was
introduced in the United States at the
1884 World’s Fair in New Orleans. Few
know the flowering plant actually came to
Wyoming a year earlier. It arrived packed
amidst the samples and collections of Dr.
Theodorick Moon.
After the Wilton-Moon Amazonian
Expedition of 1882, the doctor hoped to make
a fortune in exotic, ornamental flowering
plants. Nourished by a solution of fertilizer
and ghost rock, the water lilies grew quickly
at his farm. But then Moon—who hadn’t
been quite right in the head since the
expedition—hit upon a new idea. Why not
combine the lilies via grafting with certain
unique samples he’d picked up in Aspen
Forest? Mixed with the weird forest’s essence,
the hunger lily became a ravenous predator.
Several escaped the farm and disappeared
into Uinta County’s waterways.
A hunger lily looks like a large patch of
water hyacinths, emerald green with white surface, but a lily’s pod-like body is the
or purple flowers, floating on a pond or size of a bison.
lake’s surface. The thing’s mass and tentacles „ Tentacles: A hunger lily has two
hang underwater, poised to seize unwary tentacle actions and Reach 4. Bound or
prey. Hunger lilies spend most of their time Entangled prey may be bitten as usual,
in the water, but in a pinch they can haul or even held underwater (see Drowning
themselves over land for great distances in in Savage Worlds).
search of prey or a bigger swimmin’ hole.
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6 (A), Spirit
d8, Strength d12+1, Vigor d8
Nimerigar
Skills: Athletics d8, Fighting d10, Notice d8, Indians tell tales of “little people,” the most
Stealth d10 common nature spirits, which look like small,
Pace: 2; Parry: 7; Toughness: 11 (2) delicate humans and are generally helpful.
Edges: — But Shoshone shamans also tell stories of
Special Abilities: the nimerigar, a violent tribe of little people
„ Aquatic: Pace 8. who escaped the Hunting Grounds in the
„ Armor +2: A hunger lily’s leaves and days before the Old Ones sealed them shut.
body are tough and fibrous. During the Reckoning their jealousy of the
„ Bite: Str+d8. “big people” has grown to pure hatred.
„ Combust: Hunger lilies are infused Nimerigar look like diminutive Indian
with the Aspen Forest’s ghost rock sap. warriors with unnaturally contorted, evil
When killed they explode in a Medium faces and pale glowing eyes. Their tiny
Blast Template for 2d6 damage. bows fire poison-tipped arrows, and they’ve
„ Plant: Called Shots do no extra damage. learned to target humans’ weak spots.
Bullets, arrows, and piercing weapons Nimerigar always mummify their dead if
inflict half damage. possible; a rare few of these mummies rise
„ Size 3: Its leaves spread on the water’s as abominations in their own right.

119
HORROR AT HEADSTONE HILL
Attributes: Agility d10, Smarts d8, Spirit
d10, Strength d4 –2, Vigor d8
Skills: Athletics d10, Fighting d6, Notice d8,
Persuasion d4, Shooting d8, Stealth d10
Pace: 8; Parry: 5; Toughness: 3
Edges: Danger Sense, Fleet-Footed, Giant
Killer
Gear: Bow (Range 12/24/48, Damage 2d4,
RoF 1, poison), 12 arrows, knife (Str+2).
Special Abilities:
„ Low Light Vision: Nimerigar ignore
Dim and Dark Illumination Penalties.
„ Poison (–2): Nimerigar arrows are laced
with Lethal Poison (–2). Failure on a
Vigor roll means the victim is Stunned,
takes a Wound (two on a Critical Fail-
ure), and perishes in 2d6 rounds.
„ Second Life: Nimerigar “cheated” to
escape the Hunting Grounds by bind-
ing their spirit forms into unliving flesh.
When a nimerigar is killed, it rises from
its shell in 2d6 rounds in ghostly form,
with the Ethereal Special Ability. If the
ghostly form is destroyed, the nimerigar
is forever dead.
„ Size –3 (Very Small): Nimerigar stand
about 18 inches tall and weigh 12 lbs.
„ Vanish: When nimerigar are startled,
120
they can vanish as a free action. This
works like the teleport power, but uses
Spirit as the arcane skill, costs no Power
Points, and can’t be modified.
Piranha Dog Swarm
These little varmints look exactly like prairie
dogs from a distance, living in extensive
subterranean “towns” dug into the open
range. But these vicious bastards aren’t much
more than fur, teeth, and appetite. One of
them is just a painful nuisance—but there’s
never just one. Where piranha dogs have dug
in, they number in the hundreds.
Piranha dogs originated in the area around
Devils Tower, but have spread all over
Wyoming looking for more grub. In remote
areas, piranha dog towns grow to enormous
size, holding 300 or more hungry terrors.
Any living thing that wanders in is stripped
of flesh in minutes.
Attributes: Agility d10, Smarts d6 (A), Spirit
d12, Strength d8, Vigor d10
Skills: Notice d8
Pace: 10; Parry: 4; Toughness: 7
Edges: —

Special Abilities:
„ Bite: Piranha dogs inflict dozens of bites
every round, hitting automatically and
causing 2d6 damage to everyone in the
template.
„ Fear: The sight of frenzied piranha dogs
provokes a Fear check.
„ Plague: Anyone Shaken or Wounded
by piranha dogs must roll Vigor. Failure
means the poor sod contracts the plague
(a Chronic Disease, see Savage Worlds).
„ Split: Piranha dog swarms split into
two smaller swarms (Small Blast Tem-
plates) when they take a Wound. Small
swarms are destroyed when Wounded.
„ Swarm: Parry +2, Medium Blast Tem-
plate. Piercing weapons do no damage.
An hombre can inflict his Strength in
damage each round by stomping on the
toothy varmints.
Replicant
Replicants are horrible, intelligent plant
-people that protect and venerate the tree-like
abomination that created them. The replicant
is “born” a slimy, featureless humanoid,
driven to make contact with a victim to
absorb his memories and personality. It
attempts this while the victim sleeps or is
unconscious, and if successful, mimics its
victim and assumes his or her identity—a
perfect physical copy.
That doesn’t mean it becomes that
person. Replicants have their own agenda,
meeting with others of their spawning in
the dead of night, crying out in degenerate,
devolved gibberish that only other replicants
understand.
Replicants don’t bleed, but their wounds
seep thick, white sap with a heavy, cloying
odor like fresh pine pitch. It’s also infused
with ghost rock from Tarrytown Bench!
The quiverin’ aspen (page 86) produces
a dozen or so seedpods per month, and the
resulting replicants become guardians of
the Aspen Forest (see page 46), protecting
it from anyone who would harm it or the
quiverin’ aspen. Sometimes they range out
across Uinta County, “priming the earth” for
new growth by sparking random brushfires.
The forest’s only goal is to grow without limit
Bestiary
Monstrous Ability: Replicant
The replicants created by the Aspen
Forest have the abilities below in
common. Note that replicants don’t
have the Fear Special Ability, but the
first time a person sees one bleeding
green sap calls for a Fear check!
When a replicant is killed it dissolves
into an indistinguishable puddle of sap
and fiber.
„ Environmental Weakness (Fire):
Replicants take +4 damage from
fire-based attacks.
„ Fearless: Replicants are immune to
Fear and Intimidation.
„ Fibrous Body: +2 Toughness and
Called Shots do no extra damage;
Environmental Weakness (Fire);
Fearless; Hardy; Mimic.
„ Hardy: A second Shaken result
does not cause a Wound.
„ Mimic: When a replicant first
emerges from its pod, it uses its ru-
dimentary skills to locate and touch
a sleeping or unconscious victim.
After five minutes of uninterrupted
contact, the victim dies (crumbling
into fine ash) and the replicant
gains all the target’s skills, Edges,
and Hindrances. Traits and second-
ary statistics are replaced by the
victim’s. If the replicant can’t drain
the memory of a source character
within 24 hours, it melts into a pud-
dle of green goo. After the transfer
a replicant has Performance d8 and
is capable of mimicking its victim
almost perfectly. Close friends or
relatives may see inconsistencies in
the host’s behavior on an opposed
Notice roll at −4. If the target was a
Wild Card the copy is also a Wild
Card.
Once a replicant has assumed an
identity it’s permanent —it can’t
mimic a new victim.
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HORROR AT HEADSTONE HILL
until it rejoins other aspen forests in a vast
subterranean root system. Then it will cover
everything on earth...and rule it all!
Replicant
This is the profile for a replicant before
it mimics a target. Once it duplicates an
unfortunate human, use that individual’s Pace: 6; Parry: 6; Toughness: 7
profile with the Replicant Special Ability Edges: Frenzy (Imp)
listed below (minus Mimic).
Attributes: Agility d4, Smarts d4, Spirit d8,
Strength d4, Vigor d6
Skills: Athletics d4, Fighting d4, Notice d4,
Stealth d6
Pace: 4; Parry: 4; Toughness: 7
Special Abilities:
„ Replicant: +2 Toughness; Called Shots
do no extra damage; Environmen-
tal Weakness (Fire); Fearless; Hardy;
Mimic.
c Ringdocus
The ringdocus, known in Indian legends
as the shunka warak’in (literally, “carries off „ Spines: The ringdocus can attack with
dogs”), is a terrifying nocturnal predator.
It eats most anything, including Scraps the
family dog, but tales say the beast considers
people’s fingers, toes, and other, er—soft
parts to be delicious. And it prefers its food
alive and screaming.
This creature looks much like a hyena, but
with an elongated snout and thick, ringed
tail. It runs on all fours, and on the attack
its snout opens unnaturally wide to reveal
burning red eyes inside it. Ringdocuses
sleep in tall evergreens, hanging upside-
down from branches by their razor-sharp
122
claws. Their cries sound almost human, all
the better to lure unwitting victims.
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Spirit d8,
Strength d6, Vigor d8
Skills: Athletics d10, Fighting d8, Intimi-
dation d8, Notice d6, Performance d10,
Stealth d8
Special Abilities:
„ Bite/Claws: Str+d8.
„ Camouflage: When hanging in a tree,
a ringdocus gains +2 to Stealth rolls. If
the critter succeeds on a roll opposed by
a target’s Notice, it gets The Drop.
„ Fear (–2): A ringdocus prompts a Fear
check with a –2 penalty.
„ Low Light Vision: Ringdocuses ignore
Dim and Dark Illumination penalties.
„ Mimicry: A ringdocus can alter its cry
to sound like a human scream. It takes a
Notice roll (–2) to figure out the ruse.
„ Size 1: A full-grown ringdocus is as big
as a lion.
its spiked tail, and often does so as part
of a Multi-Action when surrounded.
This causes Str+d4 damage and anyone
Shaken or Wounded by it must make
a Vigor roll at -2 or be paralyzed (see
Poison in Savage Worlds)
„ Trackless: Although they leave grisly
evidence of their attacks, these critters
don’t leave a trail. Survival rolls made
to track them automatically fail.
„ Coup: Anyone attempting to track the
Harrowed subtracts 2 from their Sur-
vival rolls.
 HANDOUTS

OFF ICE OF

T O M B ST O N E E P I TA P H
e, AZ
Phil ip Clum • Tomb ston
EDIT OR IN CHIE F John

Dearest friends and colleagues,

healthy, and well-prepared for your
I trust this missive finds you hale, used the Denver-Pacific’s rail service
journey to Wyoming Terri tory. I’ve d it
on several occasions, and always foun
between the home city and Salt Lake is lovely country when the sun shines on
quite scenic and pleasant. Wyoming
it.
t. There’s been no word on the wire
Time is short so I shall come to the poin than a week. His Agency superiors are
from Agent George J.A. Reeg in more
king our aid was the correct call, but answer it
nervous and unsure if invo ing Reeg’ s mission and his subsequent
we shall. Given the mystery surround the utmost caut ion.
disappearance, I advise you to use
two
items. Please find three news clippings, of
This package contains a few useful the Epitaph. Reeg went by the alias
from Heaston Hill papers and one from er strict orders not to reveal his iden
tity.
miner “Len Buckles,” and was undto help you locate him.
We’ve included a recent photograph
ct already living in Heaston Hill.
Lastly, there’s the matter of our conta to the vagaries of classified files and
I’m informed by the Agency that due lost to official channels with Reeg’s
total secrecy, the contact’s name was the contact holds membership in our
disappearance. But I happen to know , use the signs and watchwords, and
humble association. Keep your eyes open
most important—watch your back.
Lux in tenebris!

Lacy O’Malley

A C
123
HORROR AT HEADSTONE HILL

B f

j
(Front
and
back)

j
124
 Handouts

D E I

L (Front and back)

125
HORROR AT HEADSTONE HILL

of Iowa
Incorporated Under the Laws of the State

9389 500

The Wasatch Railroa d Company

SHARES
CAPITAL STOCK 500

George J. A. Reeg
500-Five hundred
The Wasatch Railroad Company

RAILRO 15th April 884

CH
A
T

D
WASA

9678
Compa
he

n
T

500
y

M G h

126
 INDEX

Adolph “Big Dolph” Newton    45 City Ordinance    23 George “Beam” Gleason    40
Agnes “Scarlet” Kenney    34 C.K. Hool    34 Agent George J.A. Reeg     20, 23,
Ah Lin    40 Clementine Alvord    22 35, 37, 55
Almy    11 Clovis Labeau    25 The Ghost Steel Gang    115
Amanda Lobdell     17, 36 Colton Heaston     33, 115 G.H. Shrobel    25
Angel Epp     19, 23 Captain Colton J. Barron    12 Ginny LeChance    37
Angus Diehl     33, 35 Crawley G. Dake    45 Gormley    31
Anna Abernathy    42 Creek Street Collective    21 Granville Dodge    13
Anti-Pain Plaster    28 Creepin’ Shadow    117 Grapevine Telegraph     29, 41
Antonio Jouvenceau    21 Crittenden Ranch     45, 47 Gravedigger Malachi     25, 44
Arkansas Ted Harwell    15 Cult o’ the Critter    15 Grinder. See Almy
Aspen    12 Deacon Eleanor’s Gunsight    15
Aspen Forest    46 Watering Hole    13 Hap Bowdre    29
Aspen Skulltrap    80 De Leon Haberdashery Headless Horseman    70
The Ballad of Bogwater Bill    38 & Boutique    26 Heaston
Bart Wallace    45 Denver-Pacific Railroad    10 Alvord Detective Agency    22
Bear River    12 Dr. Theodorick Moon    17 Angel’s Corner    23
B.F. “Strech” Moore    28 The Earl    26 Aspen Lounge    23
B.G. Zang    45 Dr. E.B. Kirk    24 Bakery di Bianchi    24
Big Dan Mimms    30 Edna Scordins    32 Barber & Dentist    24
Billie Gentle Eagle    23 Edwin Barrett Kirk     20, 27 Blacksmith    24
Black Horse    113 Eleanor    13 Boot Hill    25
Blood Pond    47 Eli “Brick” Nagel    26, 30, 35, 43, 48 Church    25
Bloody One    116 Elmer Blaine    23 Cowboy Saloon    25
Bob Malone    37 Elmer Feigel    28 Dance Hall    25
Bogwater Bill     47, 97 Emil Blachey    35 Debeney Cafe
Bogwater Lake    47 Emma Mortimer     28, 33 & Cigar Store    26
Bridger    12 Dr. Erastus Weeks    47 Doctor E.B. Kirk    27
Bronco Tillie    43 Ernest Thacker    37 Drug Store    28
Burt Alvord    22 Ethan Nelson    38 The Emporium    28
Bushrod Lovingood    12 Evanston    13 Feigel’s Fine Footwear    28
Buster “Nails” Trenchworth    38 Flayer Piano    64 First National Bank    29
Caleb Reese    31 Fort Bridger     9, 14 Frontier Store     23, 29
Caledonia Summers    21 Fort Supply    15 Gambler’s Paradise    30
Carter     13, 37 Francisco Sotelo    42 Gunsmith    31
Celeste Munson     27, 40 Frank Debeney     15, 23, 26, Heaston Hill Examiner     21, 31
“Chloride Beck” Benitez    48 29, 37, 114 Heaston Hill Hotel    31
Chong Hoy     39, 43 Gabriel Hound    117 Heaston Manor    33
Citizen Groups    32 Gatling Heaston     33, 115 Heaston Mining Company    33

127
INDEX
Hool’s Hats    34 Jerem Heaston     28, 33, 34, 35, 36, Piranha Dog Swarm    120
Jail    34 37, 41, 44, 114 Poverty Flats    47
Ladies & Lords Saloon    34 Jeremiah Feigel    28 Powder Jack    42
Land Claims/Assay Office    35 Jesse Applegate    16 Quilla June Thompson    32
Law Office    35 Jim Bridger     9, 14 Quiverin’ Aspen    86
Len Buckles’ House    35 Sheriff J.J. LeCain     10, 13 Relic
Livery Stable    35 John Loughlin    44 Bill’s Convincin’ Stick    98
Lobdell House    36 John “Uncle Jack” Robertson    9, 17 Grampa Weeks’ Spurs    99
Marshal’s Office    36 Jump Off Joe    15 The Headstone Nugget    66
Meat Market    37 “Kid” Lewis    21 The Prospector’s Elixir    108
Mill    37 Kitty Labeau    25 Replicant     121, 122
Miners’ Association Hall    37 Lacy O’Malley    55
Ringdocus    122
Mountain View Restaurant    37 Laird Eddleman    34
Robertson    17
Music Hall Saloon     32, 38 Len Buckles    37. See also George
Ruby Zane    15
Nolly’s Grub Counter    38 J.A. Reeg
Sage Dragons Gang     16, 116
Photography by Chong    39 Lida Munson    12
Sam Tang    40
Post Office    39 Lilah Denslow     32, 38
Little Rock Irregulars    116 Sara Houck    38
Power Station    39 Scope Trowbridge    31
Red Door Saloon    40 Lobdell Ranch    17
Lonetree    16 Shubael Hume    44
Schoolhouse    40 “Sidewinder” Chico Lugo    43
Silver Fountain Restaurant    40 “Long Neck”
Charley Holloway    21 Sidney Moss    44
Speaker’s Stump    41
Lord Diamond. See Laird Eddleman Sigmund Largo    17
Stagecoach Office    42
Malaria    12 Sioux Nations    9
Storm Acquisitions, Ltd.    42
Mariposa del Rios    34 Sledge    22
Tailor    42
Marisol de León    27 Standish Epp     19, 41
Tanner    43
Martha June Hoodoo    30 Sylvester Lobdell     17, 36
Tarantula Hole    43
Massimo Bianchi    24 Tainted Beer    46
Tarrytown Omen    43
Maura McGillicuddy    44 Tarrytown. See Heaston Hill
Two-Penny Theater    43
Maxim Heaston    33 Tarrytown Bench    48
Undertaker    44
Mayor Lobdell    34 Tarrytown Miner’s Union     26, 36,
Volunteer Fire Department    44
Michael Hidden Bear    33 43, 57, 76
Wagon Lot    44
Millie LaChance    37 T.C. Scordins    32
Whispering Pines
Mose Drachman    35 Father T.D. Branch    25
Fancy House    44 Moses Byrne    17
Wildcat’s Den    45 Thomas Cashel    23
Mountain Ail    12 Thornburg     15, 116
Wyoming Restaurant    45 Myron “Double-Eye” Bee    34
Zang’s Brewery    45 Tillie Nagel     26, 35
Nauvoo Legionnaires    15 Timeline    56
Heaston Hill     15, 19 Ned Little    35
Heaston Mining Co    5 Tolbit Farm    48
New Tomorrow Triad    13
Heath Crittenden    25 Tom LeChance    37
Major Newton X. Chelmsford    14
Henrik Pretorius    30 Tova Figel    28
The Night Hoss    110
Herbert Groseclose     24, 31 Twilight Legion     7, 11, 20,
Nils King    24
Hilliard    16 27, 28, 46, 47, 55, 56
Nimerigar    119
Hodag    118 Old Vaskiss    15 Uinta County    9
Hog Thief Falls    16 Ouray    113 Geography & Climate    9
Huldra    24 The Outlaw Trail     11, 16 Urie    17
Hunger Lily    119 Owlhoot Syndicate    43 Utah War    14
Indio Red    86 Paddy Gallagher     24, 25 Vail Balch    39
Isabella de León    27 Pete “Coal Oil” Stoudenmire    38 Vernon Maddox    21
Isidor Neustatter    43 Pete Loughlin    44 Vol Ivers    30
James A. Evans    13 Piedmont    16 Walter “Dog” Stiles    43
James Sanks Brisbin    17 Piedmont Proclaimer    16 Wang Ya    33
J.C. Philpot    43 Marshal Pilsbury Wasatch Rail    48
J.D. Nolly     35, 38 “Chips” Wister    36 Wyoming Law    10

"Well, I ain't eatin' vegetables

again for a while."
--Red.

128