T hey call you the Gentleman Bandit, because no one

knows your name. They call you a monster, a villain,

a dealer of death. They call you all manner of Unsavory,
For example, if you draw the Three of Spades, craft a line
framed by Loss, addressing the question What is missing?
™™ When will I see my home again, that place of solace dear?
the most feeble epithets from shriveled minds; they call
you Devil. ™™ This soul of mine, so pocked and lean, laid waste upon
the stones.
But they don’t know you.
™™ Brutes abound! They jeer and jest and drink to death upon
Not your Heart, your Poet’s Heart filled with rage or filth my hard-won spoils.
or the expansiveness of True Love; not your Grieving Heart
loosed over a chasm, making a sound like the sorrow of Conversely, if you draw the Three of Hearts, craft a line
wolves as it plummets toward wet river stones, cracked framed by Love, addressing the same question:
bones left to bleach; not your Tarnished Heart, barbed with motif ™™ In truth I am a hollow shell, torn lately from my Love.
jealousy; not your Heaving Heart, beating in meter, callous

} { [ ]
™™ Love, you Puck, you wicked imp — you mock me from
or kind or barren.
your perch.

Y ou’re a highwayman of the old guard, possessed of a

fine suit and even finer elocution, such that when you
speak, you command; and when you command, people Loss Love Freedom Fear
™™ The sumption of a heart so wan: how would one carry
emptiness?
divest themselves of their valuables: the strongboxes, the Draw the next card; write the next line. Continue until you’ve
sparkling baubles, the bricks of gold and other earthly goods matter completed all 13 lines, then commit your work to History.
too sublime for their irrepressible mediocrity.
And in those uncommon instances when your commands A 2 3 modes
fall flat, you avail yourself of more overt means of coercion, What drives Who needs What is If you choose, you can roll a Mode, which applies a poetic
your Remington single action, known to you and only you you? you? missing? device to your work. Before you begin drawing cards, roll
as Blue Bonnet, Harbinger of Poor Health. You call her this 1d6 and follow the instruction below.

4 5 6
in privitas, your own personal joke. Blue Bonnet, Muse and
1 Apply a rhyme scheme to your poem, e.g.,
Unmaker. Blue Bonnet, A Final Call to Arms.
aabbccddeeffg.
When you discharge her in service to your cause, when What is your What is your What is your
2 Compose each line using eight syllables or fewer.
you lead with hot lead into an unwilling breast, you wax outlook? darkest truth? secret need?
eloquent, composing 13 lines of glorious verse which you 3 Write in a poetic meter, such as iambic pentameter.
leave at the scene, a last stand for art and beauty, your
lasting Words to prove them wrong. 7 8 9 4 Craft six couplets, followed by a one-line summary.

your tools Where are Where are Who did 5 Include a word or phrase with a double meaning in
you from? you going? right by you? every other line.
™™ Writing implements of your choice
6 For each line, roll 1d6; use one of the words from the
™™ A well-shuffled deck of 54 playing cards, Jokers intact
™™ A six-sided die (optional)
10 J Q corresponding diction list (on the following page)
in that line. You may prescript your poem further,
Who wronged What do you wish What brought choosing the word that corresponds with the line
the game you? you'd done? you to this fate? number you are writing — for example, if you are
Write a 13-line poem to be left for the dead — and the ones writing Line 7 and roll a 3, use the word home; if you
who discover them.
Draw a card. Use the chart in the following column to
K Joker are writing Line 13 and roll a 5, use the word blossom.

Will you Wild

determine the Motif and Matter of your line: the Motif
gives you the theme of your line; the Matter prompts a topic.
change? (pick any Motif and Matter)
 diction poker play multiplayer options
1 blind 2 march 3 bile Each time you finish a poem, look at your final array of 13 Parlor Play, 2 to 13 players, in-room: Gather a group,
false expect rage cards. If you hold one of the hands below, approach your and provide paper and pen along with your deck of playing
wobegone betide cost next poem with the suggested fictional position in mind. If cards. Play as written, rolling Mode if you choose before
terrestrial stretch might you hold more than one, choose the fictional position that the game begins. Each member draws a card in turn; writes
worthwhile bind desire resonates most with you. a line and folds the paper to hide it; then passes it to the
brave expel will Royal Flush — You’re at the top of your game, untouchable. next player, who repeats until all 13 lines have been written.
depraved dally home Then, read the poem aloud. Parlor Play online: Follow
gauche aver bauble Straight Flush — You’ve been lucky so far, but the law is a the in-room format, but compose in a shared document or
brazen coddle grace bloodhound, unfazed. thread. You won’t be able to hide the lines that have come
ill-fated grasp breast Four of a Kind — Your resolve has been shaken ever so before — take them in or ignore them; it’s your choice.
leaden delimit war slightly — by a memory, a moment of grief, a flicker of remorse The Call, a boundless quantity of players, online: Play
beguiling brandish merit flitting like a lace handkerchief on the wind. Gentleman Bandit as written, solo; post your poem to social
inborn loathe lacuna Full House — There’s a competitor in your vicinity, a ruffian media and tag another player to create a poem based on
4 amid 5 cavern 6 base reaching into your coffers. your final poker hand. For example, if you end the game
since scrub hollow with Three of a Kind, tag a friend with the prompt to play
Flush — You’ve been left behind by someone you once called
away sand blessed as such: You hold hard to what was, but can’t seem to keep it in
Beloved.
during blood withering range. Let your tagged player decide whether to roll Mode.
Straight — You can’t sleep, you haunt the night highway,
toward vale beloved Arc of a Bandit, up to 9 players, in-room or online:
searching for something you haven’t yet named.
adrift hill kind Assign one poker hand (or more, depending on your player
within core stunted Three of a Kind — You hold hard to what was, but can’t seem to count) to each player. Roll a Mode for the entire group if
throughout rime alone keep it in range. desired, then play through Gentleman Bandit as written,
abound frost vast Two Pair — A past deed devours you day in and day solo, crafting your poem based on your assigned Poker Play
lo heart unfettered out — you wish for reprieve, mercy, redemption. prompt. When everyone has finished, share your poems in
aloft stain small order, from Royal Flush to Pair (or Pair to Royal Flush), to
near pool arid Pair — The law, the mob, the ones you left behind: someone is play through an arc that takes your Gentleman Bandit from
withal blossom bemused dogging your footsteps, hell-bent for leather. top of the world to the pits of despair (or vice versa).

credits 1
2
Design & Writing: Allison Arth (@arthograph)
3
Layout & Graphics: John Harper (@john_harper)
4
in gratitude 5
Thank you to Nadja Otikor, a fierce inventive spirit. 6
Thank you to Andi Carrison, for notes on grief and love; 7
for the always-magic. Thank you to John Harper, more
8
than muse, and the best creative partner. Thank you to
the writers of the West who have my heart in spades: 9
Charles Portis, Cormac McCarthy, and Willa Cather. 10
And thank you to my father, Mike Arth, for hours of 11
Bonanza, and for the greatest rendition of Streets of Laredo 12
I’ll ever hear. {
13