The Pale Country

"And I looked, and behold a pale horse..."

(Taos, New Mexico, Sheila Sund)

The Year is 1877

Twelve years have passed since the cannons fell silent and the American Civil War came to an end. The United States has survived, but the wounds remain open. The railroads push farther west year after year, carrying settlers, soldiers, immigrants, and fortune seekers into lands still scarred by war and conflict. The nation promises progress, but beyond the cities the law is often only as strong as the person holding a gun.

The bitter election of 1876 has just ended in a political bargain. Federal troops are leaving the South, and the Reconstruction governments established after the Civil War are collapsing. The country claims the war is over, but old hatreds remain. Many formerly enslaved people who briefly gained political power and protection now face a dangerous and uncertain future. Across the country, Americans argue over what kind of nation will rise from the ashes of the war.

New Mexico is not yet a state, but a frontier territory caught between worlds. Spanish and Mexican families have lived here for generations, long before the United States claimed the region after the Mexican-American War. Indigenous peoples such as the Mescalero Apache, Navajo, Pueblo communities, and others continue fighting to protect their homes, traditions, and ways of life as American settlement expands.

The territory is a crossroads of cultures. Mexican ranchers, Indigenous nations, American soldiers, European immigrants, freedmen, merchants, cowboys, outlaws, and fortune seekers all share the same harsh landscape. Some come seeking land, others gold, others simply a place where nobody knows their name.

The town of Lincoln sits along the Bonito River, surrounded by mountains, desert, and miles of dangerous country. The nearest help may be days away. People rely on neighbors, reputation, and their own weapons.

Power in Lincoln County belongs largely to wealthy merchants and cattle interests. The Murphy-Dolan faction, known simply as “The House,” controls much of the area’s business and political influence. But newcomers, including an Englishman named John Tunstall and lawyer Alexander McSween, are challenging that control.

Everyone knows trouble is coming.

Ranchers whisper about stolen cattle. Travelers vanish on lonely roads. Old battlefields and abandoned settlements litter the frontier. Some blame criminals, some blame Apache raiders, some blame superstition.

A few people know better.

There are things in the darkness older than America.

And somebody has to hunt them…


I’ve been brewing on an idea like this for a while. Supernatural (2005) meet’s the Spaghetti Western Genre. So I Frankenstein’d together a simple system. Its a very different feeling to be creating and running a story set in a real place. And I feel a certain sense of responsibility to do good research. Especially since it involves the topics of Genocide, Slavery and Imperialism in a much more real context than what I have been using as dramatic tools in my own setting Daedoras.

I plan on having the campaign start in Lincoln, New Mexico. But there are so many great spots that could be used to start a campaign.

I got the bones of this system from The Devil's Brand by Will Philips. Its more focused on heists so with some surgery I added some tissue from Deadlands, Shadowdark and my own brain meat.

It’s intended to be combat light, investigation heavy. Fighting a creature without identifying it is suicide. You carry iron for other humans, though once in a while maybe you can slow down a monster with some rock salt shot.

The aspect of the system I am most excited to try is the Initiative. Which uses a standard playing card deck.

Initiative

When danger strikes and every second counts, each character draws a card from the deck.

Turn Order

Characters act from highest card to lowest.

Card Rank:

Ace (highest) → King → Queen → Jack → 10 → 2 (lowest)

If two characters draw the same value, break ties by suit:

♠ Spades

♥ Hearts

♦ Diamonds

♣ Clubs

Red Cards — Blood & Thunder

♥ Hearts and ♦ Diamonds represent instinct, passion, violence, and decisive action.

You have momentum.

+2 to Aggressive Actions

Examples:

• Shooting from the hip

• Charging into danger

• Wrestling a creature

But:

-2 to Careful Actions

Examples:

• Aiming patiently

• Examining clues

• Performing surgery

Black Cards — Cold & Calculated

♠ Spades and ♣ Clubs represent patience, discipline, planning, and precision.

You have clarity.

+2 to Careful Actions

Examples:

• Taking careful aim

• Setting a trap

• Searching for clues

But:

-2 to Aggressive Actions

Examples:

• Firing wildly

• Charging

• Intimidation

Joker — Wild Card

A Joker is fate intervening.

A character who draws a Joker may act at any point in the round, even interrupting another turn.

They do not receive a Red or Black bonus.

Each Hunter Path which players select at level one gets a special action when they draw a card of the suit their class is connected to.

More to come…

I will also continue to be writing things for Medieval Fantasy. Expect some small stuff for that soon as well.