"Western RPG" Topic

Any good non-Deadlands one to recommend. Is Boot Hill worth the trouble to get?

True20 Wild West if you like d20. Gurps with their Western book. Aces & Eights, but I don't own it so can't comment. I own the others. Honestly, you can play Savage Worlds if you like Deadlands system with no magic.

Original Deadlands without magic is just a western game as CPBelt says. Savage Worlds (new Deadlands) without magic would work just as well.

D20 Modern works fine, just eliminate modern skills and substitute the old west equivalent. I ran a Deadlands (meaning their campaign world) game using d20 Modern and it was a lot of fun. You could pick up d20 Past for some extra flavor.

I find Aces & Eights to be terribly complicated, but the "shot clock" is kinda neat.

There's also Dog's in the Vineyard for something indie and really different.
lumpley.com/dogs.html

And really, Gutshot is a lite RPG the way it is.

I've been slowly reading my way through Aces High for Chaosium's Basic Roleplaying system…
link

It's got supernatural elements but it's a lot less of a wacky than Deadlands is. It's not steampunk… more Jonah Hex. It would be really simple to just ignore the weird/magic elements… unlike Deadlands it doesn't have an alternative timeline.

I'm in a bi-weekly Deadlands game and, while it's fun, there something about it that is too… soft for me. Too often if comes off as a spoof on the genre, which is fine but not really what I want out of a Western RPG.
I like Wild Wild West but it usually goes way way beyond even that in silliness.
I'd prefer to be playing Deadwood… with a hint of Voodoo.

I'd recommend Boot hill 3rd edition if you can get it. Use to play the Boot Hill rpg quite a lot but now my friends and I use it for miniature gaming with a bit of tweeking.

The rules are nice and simple, uses d20 and 1d6 for damage. You can easily create your own house rules if you wish.

Thanks for all the suggestions. Boot Hill intrigued me since the combat sounded more deadly and the playing field more challenging than your typical RPG. The idea of fights being finished with one or two shots sounded exciting.

Oh just saw first ed. on ebay. There are already a few bidders. Is the first ed. worth fighting for?

Thanks,
ALV

The 1st edition of Boot Hill (the digest sized booklet) is far from a complete RPG – or even a complete skirmish game. It's as if Blume couldn't decide which one he wanted and fell between the two. The old FGU western game (titled 'Wild West', IIRC) is marginally better. BH-1st is, however, a collector's item and will probably go for a pretty high price.

The FGU game used to be free online at their site. Don't have the URL though.

Bob

FGU's Wild West RPG rules (FREE):
link

There is also a FREE scenario book to view/download as well:
link

E.Hotz

I like "Go Fer Yer Gun!"
Its only $3.00 USD and its like 1st ed D&D.
When I ran it everyone like it.

link
or printed
lulu.com/content/3979226

The 1st edition Boot Hill rules is a d100 system. It's okay but not as good as the 3rd edition d20 rules. The 3rd edition rules is not your typical D&D type of rules. It's entirely different than that. It's like a trimmed down d100 system using a d20 for resolution and a d6 for damage when using certain weapons. Brawling is resolved differently. The attributes lines read like this:

Strength, Coordination, Observation, Stature, and Luck.

It also has skills (outside of weapon skills) you can pick for your characters to have. If I recollect, I don't think the 1st edition rules had any skills for your character but I could be wrong. It's been awhile since I looked at the 1st edition rules.

The play can be fast and deadly in both the 1st and 3rd edition rules. The "Luck" attribute can give a player a chance to avoid instant death in the 3rd edition rules.

I hope this helps you out. Good luck in finding these rules. May be pretty difficult.

Thanks all. I couln't find the 3rd ed. but I will keep looking. Thanks for the for the link to the free ones Mr. Hotz your products and your website are always enjoyable. I have used your database of minis and rules many a time.

ALV

Coyote Trail…http://www.pigames.net/store/default.php?cPath=59

I have the following from PIGames:

Coyote Trail RPG Core Rules
link
$4.95 USD for 77 pages.

Coyote Trail Enhancement Pack
link
$2.50 USD for 13 pages

The above have been replaced by …

Coyote Trails Expanded Edition
link
$9.95 USD for 173 pages

This version gives you the rules, and includes (at least in part) two of the stand-alone supplements for CT. One is Shady Gulch, the other is Indian Trails. The former gives you a town and characters, a setting for your game if you want one, and the latter gives you additional info in Indians (tribes, treaties, trails, wars, etc).

For the record, I purchased the first two above, and PIGames sent me the third, much enhanced and improved and expanded version for FREE. I was happily surprised by there most excellent customer service in this matter. It was nice not to have to pay for the upgrade.

There are other supplements I have not yet picked up. You can see them all here:
link

PIGames also sells these from their own website too:
link

I've never played the game, but it reads very well, and seems complete.

And then you have …

Sidewinder Recoiled:
link
$16.50 USD for 297 pages

This system had a BUNCH of inexpensive and free add-ons back in the day from RPGNow. Looks like this line is now exclusively e23 (Steve Jackson). Check out the whole line here:
link

Again, never played, but it reads well.

The only comments I've ever heard about Aces & Eights is "Gee, the shot clock is really interesting" and "OMG, the rules themselves are so overly complicated, it will take an hour to work out 10 seconds of real life action"

I've never purchased (no read) them as a result.

Steve

If your looking for true to our timeline wild west both Aces and eights and Deadlands are to be avoided, as both are alternate history games.

Aces and Eights seems far more complicated even then GURPS to run, and since I tend to get confused even by GURPS character creation rules, this could prove something. It is a storehouse of information on the wild West however (including descriptions and color pictures for the guns), so that alone could make it work tracking down for any game.

I'm kind of amused by the Deadlands coming off as a parody comment, but I can see it as one way of playing the game, and am curious as to how other gms run it, as I tend to run it more as 'The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly' with zombies, and pull off that spaghetti west meets world of darkness vibe fairly well wheen I need to play up the horror, and thats with a very arcane geared party (A Huckster, a Shootist and a Mad scientist, for those that have played.) And can keep it mysterious, mostly because my posse doesn't believe in the 'well I make an arcane knowledge roll to see what it is' approach.

I have started reading FGU's free RPG and the rules say all you need is a d6 and d20 or d20s but almost all the rolls in the rules call for a d100 or "percentile" dice. Am I missing something?

Just a guess but they might refer to old skool d20's that are numbered 1 to 10 twice and would be used as we use d10 now.

Bob

Thanks. I have an old LOTR RPG that uses that system (only with normal d10's) and this game is defnitely old school. Thanks.

ALV

Six Gun Sound would work quite well.

Thanks for the reminder Ed. I do have 6GS and was considering something more in depth in terms of characters but seeing what is out there sometimes I wonder if I am looking for what I already have.

If your looking for true to our timeline wild west both Aces and eights and Deadlands are to be avoided, as both are alternate history games.

The Aces & Eights alternate history doesn't affect the rules at all, except for the production date (real history -10 years) of a handful of weapons.

The only comments I've ever heard about Aces & Eights is "Gee, the shot clock is really interesting" and "OMG, the rules themselves are so overly complicated, it will take an hour to work out 10 seconds of real life action"

Then you should check out the previews, too. :)

kenzerco.com/aces_n_eights