Thread: The Western Has Arrived

Well my friends- after painstaking efforts by myself and Foxee (who I am forever indebted to for all her help on this)- The Western RPG has landed. Here is the outline- any questions please ask here. Once interest has risen over the next few days (or whatever)- I'll post the profile thread up. Hope you will sign up.

The Western RPG

The Context

The setting is Texas, the year is 1892 and the end of the 19th century is bringing modern changes to the American West’s rugged individualists. In some instances the pioneers of the Industrial Revolution clash with the original pioneers who settled the west. In many cases unethical corporations ally with crooked politicians in order to amass choice land. They give the original settlers two options: work for us for little to no pay or get out of town.

We are all residents of one such frontier town. It is a typical setting of usual locations such as general store, livery stable, jailhouse, bank, boarding house, and, most importantly, the SALOON! The saloon is symbolic of both home and individual rights, encompassing music, sexual relationships, gambling, drinking, brawling, and, of course, shooting.

The Characters

Our characters can be drawn from a wide spectrum of townsfolk such as ranchers, settlers, gunslingers, or some other local resident. People in this time and place are fiercely independent and much more self-sufficient than we are today.

Whether we play local residents or passers-through our characters should have some vested interest in the plot.

The Plot

Our town has been approached several times by a company called Eli Mining. They want to mine the rich vein of ore beneath our land and have tried to persuade us many times to sign away our properties. It is our land, we settled it and most of the stubborn landowners have refused them many times. This only seems to make them more stubborn.

The man at the head of the company, Eli Wallach, is slightly sociopathic and extremely greedy. A working class guy , he has worked his way up via a life of crime and squalor, stealing, thieving, murdering and general bloodshed. He’s managed to pull together a group of thugs who do his bidding for various reasons.

The RPG will begin BEFORE Eli Wallach sets his vicious mercenaries on the town in order to ‘persuade’ the stubborn core group of residents who remain to deed over their land. I will inform you once the RPG is under way how your intros need to play out. It is important to make it clear that there is someone you care about deeply…or at least have some strong interest in them not disappearing. All the characters will need a strong reason to pursue the kidnappers and murderers into the untamed wilderness.

Just be prepared. Some of these ‘loved ones’ will be kidnapped and others will be killed on that night that the bandits come to do Eli’s dirty work. The story is about your reaction to it…you can’t prevent it.

Our quest is to trek through the wilderness of desert, mountain, and prairie…through Indian villages (nobody called them Native Americans then so stop wincing), ranches, boom towns, and ghost towns seeking our kidnapped loved ones. Our final goal will be to stop Eli Wallach and save our town and our way of life.

It is this group of viscious bandits that he one night sets upon our town.

However, The RPG will take place before the bandits come into town. They kill many we love, and kidnap people who are close to us. We will be left with no option but to trek across the harsh setting, the deserts, the mountan ranges, through Native American villages, through ranches and other towns in our quest to get back those who have been kidnapped and end the bloody reign of the oppressive company and bandits once and for all for the sake of our lives and our town. It is important to note that the RPG begins BEFORE the bandits have infiltrated. I will inform you all once the RPG gets underway how your intros should play out. It is important in your intro's to make clear that there is someone you care about deeply. I can then exploit this once the bandits enter so that every one of us has a reason to pursue the kidnappers and murderers. It will be an epic adventure across the west, constantly threatened by bandits, hostile gunslingers, bitter Native Americans, and of course the brutal landscape of the wilderness.

Is there a school, if so how big is it (both staff and students)?

The school would be of the one-room schoolhouse variety - all age groups together in one room - one teacher. As for number of students? That could vary according to the town's population, etc. but call it 38-45 kids who actually attend school.

Certainly sounds interesting.

Hmmm, reminds me of Deadwood.

Not seen it before so wouldn't know- interested slayer?

I'm interested, this will be my first effort but I'm aware of the rules. What do we do from here?

Im extremely interested, this is my kind of writing, real world and not created, something I can relate too.

I'll definitly join, this looks fun and you obviously put alot of effort into it ST.

kwl i'd certainly be interested.

I don't think I saw Deadwood either. (Or I did and I've forgotten...when you have a stinking rotten memory everything old is new again!)

Anyway, if we get enough people, I just need to write my character profile. That is, move it from my head to the computer.

Yee ha.

so tom not like fantasy... why ? It's great, the magic, the buzz, the weapons, come on Tom try to dream .... and Yes I'm in k My exams are one week through, going great.

Im in, or at least very interested

No idea what type of character to have though, so maybe ill wait untill someone else posts a char.

Same with me, I wonder what mine will be ?

Ill definately be some sort of gunner..... though I dont know much about the Western era... maybe being English has made me not read about it or anything.......

Aura, I can dream, and love dreaming and reading Fantasy. I also love writing the stuff, but for some reason, Im very good at writing real life situations, things that are more likely to happen.

Its not that I dont like Fantasy, Im just personally not very good at it.

Tom.