Fool s Gold Credits Author: Jerimy Grafenstein Editors: Steve Johansson, Mark Plemmons Cartography: Jonathan Tinio Lead Playtester: Charles Brown Art Director/Layout: Mark Plemmons Production/Graphic Design: Steve Johansson Design Team: Jolly R. Blackburn, Brian Jelke, Steve Johansson, David Kenzer CHAPTER 1: GAMEMASTER BACKGROUND Introduction.......................................3 Background.......................................3 Christian s Folly...................................3 Adventure Hooks..................................5 Rumors...........................................5 CHAPTER 2: A NIGHT ON THE TOWN Bar Brawl.........................................7 Off to the Hoosegow..............................11 CHAPTER 3: GOLD IN THE HILLS Crazy Smart......................................12 Regional Area map................................15 CHAPTER 4: INTO THE WILD Ambush.........................................16 table of contents Ambush map.....................................17 Christian s Folly..................................20 The Mine........................................20 Upper Level map...............................22 Lower Level map...............................27 CHAPTER 5: REVENGE Guns for Hire....................................33 AWARDS Awards Tables for scenarios........................34 NPC SHEETS.....................................35 Designed in the United States of America Kenzer and Company 511 W. Greenwood Avenue Waukegan, IL 60087 Questions, Comments, Product Orders? Phone: (847) 662-6600 Fax: (847) 680-8950 email: questions@kenzerco.com Visit our website at www.kenzerco.com This book is protected under international treaties and copyright laws of the United States of America. No part of this book may be reproduced, without the express written consent of Kenzer and Company. Permission is granted to the purchaser of this product to reproduce sections of this book for personal use only. Sale or trade of such reproductions is strictly prohibited. PUBLISHER S NOTE: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the authors imaginations or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental. With respect to trademarks: Fool s Gold, Shattered Frontier, Aces & Eights, the Aces & Eights logo and the Kenzer and Company logo are trademarks of Kenzer and Company. Copyright 2009, 2010 Kenzer & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
1 GameMaster Background INTRODUCTION Fool s Gold is an Aces & Eights: Shattered Frontier adventure set in the town of Lazarus and the hills of the Cauldron, where an abandoned mining camp serves as the hideout for a gang of notorious outlaws. In addition to the adventure, we ve provided several reference maps and full game statistics for the Non-Player Characters. Should you wish to utilize the NPCs in a single page format similiar to those in Rustlers & Townfolk (in the likely event that some may escape to become recurring villains), they are included in said format beginning on page 35 of this document. Even after the players finish the adventure, you can continue to use the supplemental material as the surviving outlaws will likely continue to plague the Cauldron region in one guise or another. BACKGROUND Ezekiel Zeke Andersson was always an unlucky man. The youngest son of Swedish immigrants, he struck out on his own from Minnesota at the age of eighteen to make a name for himself prospecting for gold in Texas (following in the footsteps of his older brother Sven who left six years earlier). Zeke had little success but. all the while he managed to stay in contact with his older brother. One day, word arrived that Sven had stuck it rich in the West. So rich, in fact, that he even sent Zeke two hundred dollars and a stagecoach ticket to Pritchett s Rock. Eager to strike it rich himself, Zeke set out at once to join up with his brother. However, when he finally arrived, he learned that while his brother had one of the few successful claims in the area, there was no more gold to be found. The stubborn Zeke was tired of drifting from town to town and settled in the area once known as Christian s Folly, determined to find the gold that everyone else had long ago given up on. Sven, meanwhile, decided that all of his hard work had finally paid off and, with aspirations of purchasing a tavern or brothel, moved on to live the easy life in Rancho Bucareli. Sven found that the easy life suited him. He could sleep late, drink, and afford the finest ladies money could buy. In fact, he decided never to work another honest day in his life. When the money dried up, as it inevitably did, Sven s mettle was put to the test. Instead of finding a job, he took up with a gang of thugs. A big man, he quickly took to bullying others and never missed an opportunity to use his guns. During this time Sven and Zeke lost touch, one continuing to fruitlessly search for gold while the other lived the life of an outlaw. As the years wore on, Sven became infamous. His band of thugs and highwaymen robbed wagon trains and stages in Texas, the Arapahoe and Colorado Territories and the Cauldron. He was imprisoned for a short time in Muskeegie for shooting a man, though a silver tounged lawyer successfully reduced the charge by claiming Sven was acting in self-defense when he shot the unarmed man. As fate would have it, one day he spotted his long-lost brother purchasing supplies in Lazarus. The two quickly reunited. Zeke told his brother how he was still working the hills looking for gold. He had become well known as the hermit who arrived once a month in Lazarus to sell his meager placer gold (though he did bring in a nugget two years ago). It was then that Sven struck upon his most creative idea to date... A few years ago, a member of Sven s gang knew a bit of geology, eventually going straight and starting up an assaying business in Silver Town. With the little gold dust Zeke had left, Sven asserted that he and his old compatriot could concoct fake gold flake paint realistic enough to pass rocks off as gold nuggets to gullible rubes. Sven s plan was simple but ingenious, and it took little to convince Zeke. In order to obtain some real gold that would lend credence to their scam, Sven and his band of thugs began patrolling the Animas River valley, searching for prospectors who worked alone. When the prospectors returned to town to sell off their findings, Sven and his men would rob and murder them. Instead of selling the gold they collected they turned it over to Zeke. The following month, Zeke made his scheduled visit to Lazarus with his newfound gold. He told stories about how his hard work and a bit of luck had finally paid off and that he was going to be rich. That day, Zeke sold several small gold nuggets along 3
with some gold dust. Included with the group of gold nuggets was a small stone painted with the gold flake paint. The plan worked, and the following month Zeke sold several more stones - mixed in with genuine gold procured from another murdered prospector. Thus far the brothers plan has been a success, but that is about to change CHRISTIAN S FOLLY Christian Cody was never a follower. When he came to the Cauldron in search of gold, he eschewed the well-traveled areas and struck out on his own into the hills. During one of his forays into the woodlands he came across a small swift creek, little more than five feet wide, that ran through the hills and eventually fed into a small sluice. While panning in the stream, he discovered several gold placers and by nightfall had retrieved several hundred dollars worth of gold. In the weeks that followed he continued to pan but it became evident that the gold was a mere trace from a larger lode upstream. He returned to Lazarus and re-supplied, this time with climbing gear, mining equipment, and a mule and set out again. Over the next few days, Christian mapped and searched the hills for the lode. After some time, he finally discovered that the small creek emerged from a rocky hillside. He searched the area thoroughly, finally locating a suitable flat box canyon. There he climbed to the top of the hill and discovered that the creek flowed into a small chasm underground before emptying out of the hills below. He panned the portion of the creek above but soon determined that the gold must be located underground in the chasm. After a bit of spelunking, Christian pulled over $2000 worth of gold from the cave below the hill. It didn t take him long to realize he had neither the means nor the desire to exploit the find. The vast lode would have to be excavated by someone else capable of funding a hard rock mining operation. When Christian returned to Lazarus, he began quietly searching for someone willing to purchase his claim. Luckily for him, two gentleman from the East had arrived recently with just that goal in mind. Julius Williamson and Jack Pappy Harris were wealthy land brokers who decided to pool their resources and head West with hopes of procuring a working gold claim. The two greenhorns were far too excited at the prospect of purchasing Christian s mine to do the proper legwork and see just how massive the lode was. Instead, they mortgaged everything they had, took loans from several banks back east, and hired the finest miners they could find. The location of the claim was not easy to get to, and just moving in the equipment cost a small fortune, but they were not to be deterred. Within a few short weeks they were pulling thousands of dollars of gold out of the claim. News spread through the area like wildfire and, as is the custom with a new gold strike, the local merchants, whores, con men and thieves all sought out the mining camp to make a living. The locals named the new town Christian s Folly in honor of the poor man who sold a fortune of gold. Unfortunately, the joke was on Williamson and Harris. Only six short months after they began their operation, the gold began to dry up. Still in debt for thousands of dollars back home, the men began to panic. They sunk shafts into various areas in the hills with no luck. Eventually the workers and whores moved on to more prosperous areas. Then the merchants began to flee, and Christian s Folly became a ghost town. Williamson and Harris, heavily in debt, fled to California and were never heard from again. However, there were a few brave souls who stayed in Christian s Folly and hoped to make it home, including several families and gold miners too stubborn to move on. Sadly, their fate was sealed when Red Sleeves and his gang moved through the area. They butchered the few remaining residents of Christian s Folly and burned the town to the ground. Today, only the burned out husks of a few small buildings bear witness to the fact that the town ever existed. Zeke, Sven and their men make their home in the mine. They enter and leave the mine through the hidden entrance known only to them. NON-PLAYER CHARACTERS NPCs are the life s blood of any good Aces & Eights campaign and, as GameMaster, you control each of them. The game statistics for each notable NPC are listed in the chapter where the PCs encounter them. If you need additional NPCs, such as to populate the town of Lazarus, consider using some of the myriad of characters presented in the Rustlers and Townsfolk supplement. 4
ADVENTURE HOOKS... You can use several methods to introduce the players to the adventure. Which one you choose isn t really important, as long as you can pique the players interest in the fake gold or Christian s Folly. The hooks are broken into groups, based on what the PCs may be doing at the time. If the PCs are newly arrived in town, or not actively involved in the community, consider using the bar brawl and jail encounters detailed in Chapter 2 A Night on the Town....For Prospectors The McCabe Bank of Lazarus has always been the place to sell your gold. Recently the bank has been very scrupulous in weighing, measuring, and even rejecting the occasional nugget. No one is saying exactly why, but something must have happened. In truth, just four days ago, several gold-painted stones were found with a handful of small gold nuggets. The bank is now suspicious of all gold it handles, especially that brought to them by new prospectors. They haven t yet identified who the counterfeiter is, but they have alerted the sheriff to the problem. PCs attempting to sell their gold may find it difficult, maybe even impossible, while the bank investigates....for Lawmen and Bounty Hunters Sven is wanted in Muskeegie for attempted murder, manslaughter and theft. There is a reward of $300 on his head. Reports that Sven has been in the area should be of interest to the PCs. Those working for the sheriff would also be aware of the rumors of fake gold being passed about in town. Alternatively, PCs working as deputies could be summoned to the bar brawl encounter. Once arrests are made, those working overnight in the jail have a chance to overhear Jonas Lips Barclay in his jail cell. Rumors of missing miners will interest lawmen as well, especially if a corpse turned up....for Entrepreneurs and Businessmen Running a business is a difficult task, especially when someone is trying to cheat you. A player who realizes a small gold nugget he accepted in payment is fake would obviously become concerned. The problem is, the nugget is one of several brought in that day and it seems impossible to identify the culprit. Bringing the matter to the sheriff s attention would enlighten the player that a larger problem exists, even if it is being kept quiet for the moment....for Outlaws A lonely prospector who suddenly strikes it rich would certainly attract the attention of the kind of men who live off the hard work of others. Zeke s plan presents an ideal opportunity for such unscrupulous members of society. In addition, the PCs may take advantage of Sven s plan and go into the fake gold business themselves - if they learn what he s up to. RUMORS You can use the following rumors to give the players a sense of current events in Lazarus. In an ongoing campaign, some of these rumors can be put into play weeks ahead of the actual adventure, foreshadowing the events to take place. The rumors can serve as red herrings for the players, or you can expand upon them if you need more adventure material. g Thomas Payne, a local prospector, was found dead two days ago. He was shot in the back of the head but, strangely, his guns and belongings were untouched. (True. Sven and his men killed Thomas four days ago and took only a small stash of placer gold he had hidden in his boots). g Doc Barrister has packed up his belongings and is leaving Black Horse. Word is he is heading for Muskeegie. (True). g A wagon train from Texas was destroyed by a rampaging band of Indians. They murdered and scalped everyone. (False). g Three freed slaves have set up shop in Muskeegie selling horseflesh. So far they have had their fair share of troubles with the locals. It s been said that they are offering good money for hired guns. (Partially true. Three former slaves have opened shop trading horses in Muskeegie, but it is their competition that wants hired guns to drive them out. Thus far the three men are unaware of any oncoming trouble). g Tom Greeley sells moonshine on the side at Swing Station Alexander - a way station on the Kinnard-Lowrey Stage Company - located half-way between the boom towns of Lazarus and Muskeegie. (True). 5
g Rufus Blackwell, a prominent horse rancher who lives 20 miles west of Black Horse, is looking for ranch hands and cowboys for a cattle drive. He is paying good wages for hard working men. (False). g Brother James, a former minister, passed through Lazarus two days ago. He claimed to be searching for a young man who murdered his wife and son, a man by the name of Francis Copperhead Jackson. For a preacher, he was unusually well-armed. (Partially true. Brother James is a former minister turned bounty hunter. He s seeking Copperhead for a $255 bounty placed on him in Austin, Texas. After several days of searching in vain, Brother James returns to Lazarus looking for new leads). g Sam Two Shoes Wittman, a well-known Texas Ranger, has been in town for several days. Most folks think he is searching for someone, but he is being tight lipped about it. (False. Sam is not working in the area these days).? Doppelganger Flaw: If any of the player characters have this flaw and you haven t yet determined what outlaw he resembles, this would be an opportune time to do so. Saloons are always a good place to pick up rumors.