Day 8 Prompt: Resolve
Week 1 Prompt: Intellect
Weekday Prompt: Works Hard
Thank you again for the encouraging feedback you’ve all been providing for me. It’s making me feel that my efforts are being appreciated. For Day 8 of the RPGaDAY 2026 Challenge we were provided with the prompt of Resolve. I’m worried that this would be too generic (as a lot of these prompts seemed to be). So, I’m returning to my twisted world of morphing the prompt and I’ve come up with Resolute. Close to the original, but it got some creative juices flowing.
Following the recent patterns, I’m keeping this system agnostic, but it could be used for Boot Hill, Amazing Adventures, Tall Tales B/X, Modern Necessities-Single Action and others.
::Standard Telegraph Services Start::
From: T Finch Jr., Field Reporter
To: Editor T Pembroke, Chicago Sentinel
FORT RESOLUTE KAN JUNE 20 PART 1 OF ARTICLE SENT BY POST STOP
FIRST ROUND OF INTERVIEWS COMPLETED STOP
EXPECT PART 2 ARRIVAL IN TWO WEEKS STOP
ADDITIONAL FUNDS REQUESTED TO COMPLETE ASSIGNMENT STOP
::Standard Telegraph Services End::
The following article appeared in Edition XXI Volume Four of the Chicago Sentinel on June 29, 1875.
THE WILD WEST BECKONS SETTLERS, PART I
Fort Resolute, Kansas
June 20, 1875
By Thomas Finch Jr., Field Reporter for the Chicago Sentinel
Edited by Theodore Pembroke
On the edge of the American frontier stands one of the last bastions of civilization that many travelers will pass through on their way to points west. The trail ends, and begins, at a lone U.S. Army fort in Kansas near the borders with Missouri and Nebraska known eloquently as Fort Resolute. In the two weeks since my arrival, I have encountered dust, winds, rain and the widest variety of humanity that I’ve had the fortune of encountering. Travelers stocking up at this military base before heading west. Their destinations could be the gold hills of California, driving cattle south to Texas and Mexico, or places in-between. Many souls are looking for new lives with religious freedoms, fair pay for an honest day’s work or even a new husband. The expansion of knowledge also brings travelers along this stop, both the highly regarded and the depths of the unknown.
For the price of a drink, an act of kindness, or an exchange of information, I was able to interview a number of individuals who made the temporary stop at Fort Resolute before moving on in their quests. Here is a short snippet of some of those conversations.
While the scar on the side of the face of U.S. Marshal Elija Boone may frighten some of the children he has come across, I found the calm demeanor of this lawman very pleasant. Unlike most of the individuals that I’ve met, Marshal Boone lacks the freedom of choosing his next destination. He had just arrived with a fugitive that will soon be tried in the local courthouse. Having a drink before heading out again, Marshall Boon informed me that “The law ends nowhere. It merely gets harder to carry.”
After assisting with a runaway horse, I was thanked by Sarah Whitaker and her four children. She told me that after her husband had passed away in the Appalachian coal mines back east, she decided to head west to provide a better life for her family. “Back east we rented the ground beneath our feet. Out here we’ll own it.”
Not all travelers were heading west from the rugged fort. I met a group of railway workers from the oriental land of China. Only their foreman, Chen Wei, spoke English. From our broken conversation he said that “A railroad is a promise made of iron. Every mile says the world will be smaller tomorrow.” They had worked on the western half of the new network of railways and were heading east to assist with the further expansion.
There were two sets of educated parties within the fort, but they seemed to come from different worlds all together. First was Professor Bernard Holloway of the Stanton Institute. He was more than happy to explain that “Every region leaves bones behind. Some of these bones are answers to the un-asked questions.” He was more interested in the supernatural legends and following up on leads of the paranormal. While I had my doubts about some of his theories, I gladly accepted his gift of a protection token at the end of our conversation.
The second learned individual came from the shores of England. Dr. Percival Finchhh, F.R.S. is a natural philosopher and explorer. Documenting the plants for possible medicinal use was his goal. It took some time to convince him that I was serious about my interview. “I came seeking fossils and unusual fauna. The Americans insist on showing me gunfights and violence.”
“The frontier does not create sinners. It merely removes the walls that hide them.” Was proclaimed to me by Reverend Josiah Cooper. What I found most interesting was the derringer that the good reverend kept hidden in a secret compartment in his bible.
A scout that went by the name of Runs-Between had told me of many wagon trains that he assisted guiding them to the Rocky Mountains. The proud Indian informed me that “Most people lost on the plains do not know they are lost until they run out of water.”
In Part II of my article has many more freedom seeking individuals ready to tame the rugged lands. Mormon pilgrims from Sweden, cattle drivers from Texas, a gambler looking to press his luck, brides who have only known their engaged partner by letter, a Canadian Fur Trapper looking for his last big score and many more. There are many souls that can be found walking through the gates at Fort Resolute, who will I interview next?
Did this get the dusty trails vibe? There are quite a few western RPG and scenarios out there for players and GMs. What suggestions would you like to see for a future blog entry? This article is open for discussion on the TardisCaptain dot Com Discord server. You can also email me at Carl (at) TardisCaptain.com or click on my social media links with any comments.
