TEXT: peration, “get the stones out of your head. This is
  the pitch: this Maev and Ailill are mobbing up every-
  body that owes Cuchulainn here a score, and when
  they get them all together, they’re going to put a geas
  on him that will make him fight them all at once,
  and it’s too bad.”
  Cathbadh combed his beard with his fingers. “If
  this be true. . .” he began.
  “It’s the McCoy. Think I’m on the con?”
  “I was going to say that if it be true, it is high
  tidings from a low source. Nor do I see precisely how
  it may be dealt with. If it were a matter of spells only
  . . ."
  Cuchulainn said with mournful and slightly
  alcoholic gravity, “I would fight them all without
  the geas, but if I am fated to fall, then that is an end
  of me.”
  Cathbadh turned to Shea. “You see the trouble
  we have with himself. Does your second sight reach
  farther, slave?”
  Brodsky said, “Okay, lug, you asked for it. After
  Cuchulainn gets rubbed out, there’ll be a war and
  practically everybody in the act gets knocked off,
  including you and Ailill and Maev. How do you like
  it?”
  “As little as I like the look of your face,” said
  Cathbadh. He addressed Shea. “Can this foretelling
  be trusted?”
  “I’ve never known him to be wrong.”
  Cathbadh glanced from one to the other till one
  could almost hear his brains rumbling. Then he said,
  “I am thinking, Mac Shea, that you will be having
  business at Ailill’s court.”
  “What gives you such an idea?”
  “You will be wanting to see Ollgaeth in this
  matter of your wife’s geas, of course. A wife with a
  geas like that is like one with a bad eye, and you can
  never be happy until it is removed entirely. You will
  take your man with you, and he will tell his tale and
  let Maev know that we know of her schemings, and
  they will be no more use than trying to feed a boar
  on bracelets.”
  Brodsky snapped his fingers and said, “Take him
  up,” in a heavy whisper, but Shea said, “Look here,
  I’m not at all sure that I want to go to Ailill’s court.
  Why should I? And if this Maev is as determined as
  she seems to be, I don’t think you’ll stop her by
  telling her you know what she’s up to.”
  “On the first point,” said the druid, “there is the
  matter that Cucuc saved your life and all, and you
  would be grateful to him, not to mention the geas.
  And for the second, it is not so much Maev that I
  would be letting know we see through her planning
  as Ollgaeth. For he will know as well as yourself,
  that if we learn of the geas before he lays it, all the
  druids at Conchobar’s court will chant against him,
  and he will have no more chance of making it bite
  than a dog does of eating an apple.”
  “Mmm,” said Shea. “Your point about grati-
  tude is a good one, even if I can’t quite see the valid-
  ity of the other. What we want mostly is to get to our
  own home, though.” He stifled a yawn. “We can
  take a night to sleep on it and decide in the morning.
  Where do we sleep?”
  “Finn will show you to a chamber,” said Cuchu-
  lainn. “Myself and Cathbadh will be staying up the
  while to discuss on this matter of Maev.” He smiled
  his charming and melancholy smile.
  Vol. III No. 1
  Finn guided the couple to a guest-room at the
  back of the building, handed Shea a rush-light and
  closed the door, as Belphebe put up her arms to be
  kissed.
  The next second Shea was doubled up and
  knocked flat to the floor by a super-edition of the
  cramps.
  Belphebe bent over him. “Are you hurt, Har-
  old?” she asked.
  He pulled himself to a sitting posture with his
  back against the wall. “Not — seriously,” he
  gasped. “It’s that geas. It doesn’t take any time out
  for husbands.”
  The girl considered. “Could you not relieve me of
  it as you did the one who howled?”
  Shea said, “I can try, but I can pretty well tell in
  advance that it won’t work. Your personality is too
  tightly integrated — just the opposite of these hys-
  terics around here. That is, I wouldn’t stand a
  chance of hypnotizing you.”
  “You might do it by magic.”
  Shea scrambled the rest of the way to his feet.
  “Not till I know more. Haven’t you noticed I’ve
  been getting an over-charge — first that stroke of
  lightning and then the wine fountain? There’s some-
  thing in this continuum that seems to reverse my
  kind of magic.”
  She laughed a little. “If that’s the law, why there’s
  an end. You have but to summon Pete and make a
  magic that would call for us to stay here, then hey,
  presto! we are returned.”
  “I don’t dare take the chance, darling. It might
  work and it might not — and even if it did, you’d be
  apt to wind up in Ohio with that geas still on you,
  and we really would be in trouble. We do take our
  characteristics along with us when we make the
  jump. And anyway, I don’t know how to get back to
  Ohio yet.”
  “What’s to be done, then?” the girl said. “For
  surely you have a plan, as always.”
  “I think the only thing we can do is take up Cath-
  badh’s scheme and go see this Ollgaeth. At least, he
  ought to be able to get rid of that geas.”
  All the same, Shea had to sleep on the floor.
  To be concluded
  in Vol. III No. 2 #16
  Random Encounters for BOOT HILL
  46-65
  by Michael E. Crane
  Have you ever wanted to play Boot Hill but didn’t have a modera-
  66-75
  tor? Or have you, as the moderator, ever wanted to lighten your bur-
  den? Or have you ever finished an adventure early and just wanted to
  kill some time? The answer is to have a random encounter chart. This
  almost totally eliminates the need for a moderator and relieves all the
  76-80
  demands of role-playing, for the most part, on the players. For an ex-
  ample, I have made up a wilderness encounter chart; encounter charts
  could be made up of cities or rural areas.
  81-85
  For each day in the wilderness, roll a six-sided die. A roll of six in-
  dicates an encounter. If an encounter is indicated, roll percentile dice
  and consult the table below:
  86-90
  Wilderness Encounter Table (WET)
  91-85
  Roll
  Encounter
  1-10
  2-12 mounted bandits, armed with an assortment of revolvers
  and rifles. There is a 15% chance of $l-6,000. Otherwise there
  will be $1-10 per bandit.
  11-40
  2-12 wagons containing 1-4 homesteaders apiece. There is also
  96-100
  a 50% chance of cows (1-12) and a 25% chance of pigs (1-6).
  The wagons are usually loaded with foodstuffs, clothing,
  furniture, etc. . . . 10-60% of the homesteaders are armed
  Soldiers-75% chance of a detachment (7-12 + Leader) and a
  25% chance of a Troop (42-52 incl. Leaders and scouts)
  soldiers. Soldiers are mounted, and are armed with SAR’s and
  Standard Army Issue rifles. Each soldier has $2-40.
  Indians-1-40. 95% are mounted. All Indians are armed with
  Tomahawks and/or knives, 40% are armed with bows, 20%
  are armed with lances, 20% with Civil War rifles, 10% with
  standard rifles, and 10% with revolvers.
  Pony Express Rider-Has $1-20 and is armed with a DAR and
  a standard rifle. There is a 75% chance that he has a good
  horse and a 25% chance he has an excellent horse.
  Trapper-Armed with DAR, Buffalo Rifle, Throwing Knife
  and Axe. A trapper has 1-3 horses (75%) or 1-3 donkeys
  (25%). There is a 50% chance that he has $1-20.
  Posse consisting of 3-18 men armed with DAR’s and stand-
  ard rifles. Posses are mounted.
  Stagecoach-Has a guard, driver and 1-6 passengers. Guard is
  armed with DAR and standard rifle. 1-4 passengers are armed
  (30% chance CBR, 20% chance SAR, 10% chance DAR and
  40% chance standard rifle). There is a 50% chance that each
  passenger has $1-20.
  Packet Train-1-10 wagons-l driver per wagon-armed with
  SAR and shotgun. Cargo is determined by moderator-is
  usually foodstuffs. Each driver has a 20% chance of having
  $1-10.
  (rifles) and know how to use them. The homesteaders that are
  As you can see, this chart contains many possible variations with
  armed have a 50% chance of having $1-10 apiece.
  the possibilities being endless. After using this type chart for a while
  41-45
  1-3 clergy-unarmed-20% chance of having $1-20 in gold.
  you will find that the most enjoyable adventures can come through it.
  32
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Boot Hill/Magainzes (relocated to Games - Magazines)/Random Encounters for BOOT HILL - Dragon.pdf