Tenkar's Tavern: Westerns Have a Good RPG Feel - An Afternoon of Watching Gunslingers

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Westerns Have a Good RPG Feel - An Afternoon of Watching Gunslingers

I started out by watching The Quick and the Dead, followed that with the original True Grit and wrapped it all with A Fist Full of Dollars. Very different movies but all had a similar theme of redemption.

Then again, westerns are American mythology, so I can understand the similarity in themes between westerns and RPG adventures: revenge, justice, gaining some gold, etc.

This could make for an interesting series of posts, if I ever get to all the other posts I want to get to ;)

4 comments:

Lord GwydionFebruary 19, 2011 at 10:08 PM
I've always found Westerns to be great inspiration for both fantasy and sci-fi RPGs. I'd definitely be interested in reading more about your thoughts on them.
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m.s. jacksonFebruary 19, 2011 at 10:43 PM
I have always had a soft spot in my heart for westerns and have long sought to bring western elements into my games, whatever genre they might be. The tropes found in the western are so often strong and black and white that they are easily transferrable to an RPG.
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Jamie AlbrechtFebruary 20, 2011 at 12:07 AM
And there are some westerns, like the Professionals, which are literally an RPG scenario. Team of mercenaries hired to retrieve the wife of a railroad baron from a Mexican revolutionary turned bandit, but things are not what they seem. Lee Marvin, Burt Lancaster, and a great scenery chewing Jack Palance as the bandit leader.
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BeedoFebruary 20, 2011 at 8:35 AM
I recently noted while skimming the DMG that Gary actually pointed this out back in the day; there's an obscure note on p91 (left side, middle paragraphs) where he compares the dangers adventurers bring to the social order to gunfighters in a Wild West town.

I've been thinking about how to incorporate those ideas as well.
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Why "Swords & Wizardry?"

Believe me when I say I have them all in dead tree format. I have OSRIC in full size, trade paperback and the Player's Guide. I have LL and the AEC (and somewhere OEC, but I can't find it at the moment). Obviously I have Basic Fantasy RPG. Actually, I have the whole available line in print. Way too much Castles & Crusades. We all know my love for the DCC RPG. I even have Dark Dungeons in print, the Delving Deeper boxed set, Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea. BOTH editions of LotFP's Weird Fantasy and some dead tree copies of the Greyhawk Grognards Adventures Dark & Deep

I am so deep in the OSR when I come up for breath it's for the OSR's cousin, Tunnels & Trolls

So, out of all that, why Swords & Wizardry? Why, when I have been running a AD&D 1e / OSRIC campaign in Rappan Athuk am I using Swords & Wizardry and it's variant, Crypts & Things, for the second campaign? (Actually, now running a S&W Complete campaign, soon to be with multiple groups)

Because the shit works.

It's easy for lapsed gamers to pick up and feel like they haven't lost a step. I can house rule it and it doesn't break. It plays so close to the AD&D of my youth and college years (S&W Complete especially) that it continually surprises me. Just much less rules hopping than I remember. (my God but I can run it nearly without the book)

I grab and pick and steal from just about all OSR and Original resources. They seem to fit into S&W with little fuss. It may be the same with LL and the rest, but for me the ease of use fit's my expectations with S&W.

Even the single saving throw. That took me longer to adjust to, but even that seems like a natural to me now. Don't ask me why, it just does. Maybe it's the simplicity of it. At 45 52, simplicity and flexibility while remaining true to the feel of the original is an OSR hat trick for me ;)

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Saturday, February 19, 2011

Westerns Have a Good RPG Feel - An Afternoon of Watching Gunslingers

4 comments:

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