Is it too much to ask for a decent game about the West that doesn't include demons, spirits, witches, "steampunk," or any other sort of bullshit?
I guess so, because even a quick google search will give you 90 thousand shit steampunk games, 10 thousand weird west games, and then two Old West games that nobody posted the PDF of and nobody is selling because the world's gone shit-stirring, fuck-faced crazy over "steampunk" because everybody likes the hats and goggles and nobody seems to give two shits what sort of game it involves because they don't plan on playing it anyways.
Like, seriously, just write a game where you can stare down some punks, maybe fend off an Indian raid, gamble with some banditos, and get in a shootout with some assholes. But no, people want their overblown pseudo-anime steampunk more.
No robots or goggles or top hats or giant wrench-swords or phlobotinum rays, just six-shooters and shotguns and rough frontiersmen. (You can keep the shamans if you want, but I wouldn't.)
Even on Stack Exchange, all they've got is the massive Aces and Eights, which I plan on checking out despite the nut-bustingly thick tome it is in, then some shitty generic games (GURPS, HERO), Coyote Trail, and then the old-n-crusty Boot Hill. That's about it, apparently. The only shining light might be Dust Devils, but c'mon.
Looks like I'll have to strip entire chunks out of, say, Deadlands if I want to get any decent non-supernatural frontier games out.
Hmm sorry to displease you, but I've heard that Aces and Eights is sort of alt-history thing, though I may have been mistaken.
ReplyDeleteAlt history is fine, honestly, as long as it's not too egregious.
Delete"The Civil War lasted slightly longer!" is fine. "The Roman Empire lasted until the 1900s!" or "Nazi Germany Won The War!" isn't.
For these purposes, I mean. I'd check out both of those games, but not for my high-noon-shootin, spitoon-ptewin', bandito-hangin' cravings.
For D20, there's Simon Washborne's "Go Fer Yer Gun" and the OGL Western from Mongoose. I like both (but I like D20...)
ReplyDeleteI'm not anti-d20; I'll check those both out. Thanks for the tip!
DeleteAmen, but no, try Dust Devils instead. I haven't played it but was following along intently when it was being developed and I think it might be exactly what you're after.
ReplyDeleteOh, and did you consider Boot Hill?
ReplyDeleteI did, but I'm not sure about it. I'd have to look at it again, because all you ever hear about it is how it's old and sometimes in passing reference to, say, oD&D. Always in the context of "that other game," you know.
DeleteGunslingers & Gamblers fits the bill.
ReplyDeleteAs does Coyote Trails.
Now there's one I haven't looked at yet: Gunslingers and Gamblers.
DeleteI'm not sure that I liked what I'd read about Coyote Trail, but honestly, I haven't looked at it in a great long while.
Gunslingers & Gamblers doesn't "read" awesome or have killer style. But it does do a solid job of a no frills western with a resolution method that "feels" western & keeps you in the genre.
ReplyDeleteCoyote trails is a bit more cinematic (from memory), but had a fun lighter tone & great background info if you get some of the expansion packs, which helps a guy like me frm Oz who are probably not as steeped in Wild West history as Americans.
Hmm didn't see my post come up so will redo... Sorry if there is a double post... I know this is a very old forum question but will answer it anyway. . Avalon Hill put out a board/RPG game called Gunslingers. The board part is different landscapes that could be used for different scenarios. And it had lots of markers to use for characters.
ReplyDeleteAnother game to check out is "Boot Hill" by TSR. It used the D&D rules only redone to fit old west scenarios...