PROJECT 60: Okay, I Might Have A Problem 😱

 

Despite having already named Go Fer Yer Gun! as my favourite roleplaying game set in the Old West, and having an ever-expanding collection of Deadlands material from across the ages, I still managed to purchase two more distinctly different games in the last seven days: Tales of The Old West and Shooting Iron.

While I admire Go Fer Yer Gun! for its elegant simplicity, Shooting Iron is another d20-based system (class, level, hit points et al), with a heap of background material (although nothing on Native Americans; they were supposed to be covered in a supplement, which has yet to see print seven years after the core rules were published).

I could see this nicely written and laid out, 200-plus page, tome being a source of "houserules" and additions to a possible GFTG! campaign, with little need for much tinkering with the stats and mechanics. 

On the other end of the spectrum, Tales Of The Old West employs the Year Zero Engine, the award-winning d6 dice pool mechanics that power such Free League roleplaying games as ALIEN, Tales From The Loop, The Walking Dead etc

I'll admit the book is quite intimidating. Tales of The Old West may be too complicated for my little noggin, although one of our group mentioned to me in the past of her experience playing ALIEN, so that could help persuade me (always helps to have someone else at the table who knows the rules of the game you are playing).

Although a licenced product (it is produced by Effekt) the book has the high production and art standards consumers of Free League games have come to expect.

Of course, these "straight" West books are just the latest addition to my RPG library.

The other week I picked up a couple of "Weird West" games: Down Darker Trails (a Call of Cthulhu supplement) and We Deal In Lead (based heavily on Stephen King's Dark Tower saga).

So, now, I have six Western-themed roleplaying games: three with ghosts and monsters and three for playing pseudohistorical reality!

What does this all mean for my current superhero campaign that I'm running for the Tuesday Knights?

Maybe nothing, but maybe something. 

I guess it depends if the current game has legs (we've only managed three sessions in five months, for various reasons). 

Things Are Getting A Mite Weird Round These Parts!

This week's mail call had a very "weird west" flavour to it, with the arrival of Down Darker Trails (Chaosium's official Old West supplement for Call of Cthulhu) and We Deal In Lead (an indie game HEAVILY inspired by Stephen King's Dark Tower saga).

From an initial perusal I reckon both of these will remain in the "research and inspiration" pile, rather than actually hitting the table. 

At the moment I cannot see either replacing Go Fer Yer Gun! or Deadlands as my 'go-to' system, should I ever have a chance to gamesmaster a western campaign (weird or otherwise) for the Tuesday Knights.

Down Darker Trails, like all good Call of Cthulhu supplements and adventures is highly detailed (I love having stats for a selection of Old West 'celebrities', from Billy The Kid to Wyatt Earp), but probably too intricate for my current style of gamesmastering.

I'm sure Call of Cthulhu would have a better chance if I could keep my brain focussed on the single objective of a running a great Weird West horror campaign, but I'm too easily distracted and/or overwhelmed by thick, dense rules books.

Conversely, We Deal In Lead is ultra-streamlined, meaning that - despite the game's magnificent setting - I already feel as though the rules remove too much of the potential excitement of the combat elements of the game.

Also, I fear the prospect of a "freeform" magic system would go down like a lead balloon. My players have made it clear they like a list of spells to pick and choose from.

But, as I say, these are just first impressions, I haven't given either book a fair shake yet and so am not writing them off.

Although, getting way ahead of myself, I am rolling around the idea of a Dark Tower-inspired campaign using Go Fer Yer Gun! as the engine, with some fuel borrowed from We Deal In Lead.