OSR Commentary - Gunslinger Roleplaying Game by Thomas Denmark

 One of the hearts & souls of the Gunslinger Roleplaying Game by Thomas Denmark is the fact that the Engineer class is a full on beast. As long as they have access to pieces of spacecraft & Science Fantasy relics. Why because Gunslinger could easily be paired with the Warriors of the Red Planet rpg. This blog entry picks up from here on the blog. 

If the Engineer has access to weird tech artifacts then they can create some killer (literally dangerous) technological gadgets. This does not take away from the fact that Gunslinger is a fantastic game! 

According to Timothy Peter on Drivethru rpg;"The game is an outstanding addition to western themed old school games, with ER Burroughs inspired optional weird west lore, critters, and a super-science cross over into sci-fi Mars. As the Mars books of Burroughs began with the hero John Carter in a Western setting, this game situates itself very well to be used with Night Owl Workshops previous sword and planet game, "Warriors of the Red Planet." At the same time, one could easily just run this as an excellent pulpy OSR game for the Wild West in Texas. One thing this game does which is outstanding is include a few Apache archetypes. It is territory that modern games tend to shy away from, but this game approaches it from careful research and does so respectfully without any feeling of stereotyping. This is a lot to say for a pulpy game! Along with many character archetypes (10 in all), this 132 page book includes such detail as name tables, character background tables, extensive encounter and setting tables, and a menagerie of encounters including a host of wild animals and strange monsters. There are great descriptions of devices, contraptions and elixirs that the Engineer can create. And just when you think the book has finished - it continues with several interesting appendices including famous historical people of the wild west fully stated, historical dates, and a several useable maps such as a tavern or cave. The overall game looks very sharp and polished with a two column letter sized page (easily compatible for A4 printing). The art has very appropriate feeling pen and ink drawings of character archetypes and several encounters which are visually stunning. Oh, and did I forget to mention the game is so detailed about riding animals that the horse your cowboy rides even gets its own character sheet and can be trained to do certain things? This book is easily the best cowboy rpg I've seen in a long time, and in short manages to pack an incredible number of things in in a short page length. It is definitely one of these 'one book and happy' rpgs, and one that should not be missed in your collection!" 

Engineers are the wizards & weird scientists of the Gunslinger rpg. Engineers  are literally responsible for any of the weird tech within Gunslinger. And the 'dungeons' and 'ruins' of Gunslinger are ripe with lots of these artifacts. 

Drawing the Old School Weird and Wondrous Wild West Campaign Together With Night Owl Workshop's Gunslinger Roleplaying Game Core Rules BETA EDITION By Thomas Denmark - Little Girl Lost?!

Today's blog entry draws from the otherday's blog post of Night Owl Workshop's Gunslinger rpg. Today's entry is the skeleton of a campaign using some bits of Night Owl's Warriors of the Red Planet rpg. 

 It the 1860's the modern era and Mars has swung closest to it's Earth window. Back on Mars a royal sky fleet is escorting the royal personage of the royal princess of the city state of Werg.This minor citystate was up and coming. Suddenly without warning a hyperspacial gate opens. The royal fleet is thrown into Earth's gravity and the nineth ray tanks can not compensate for the higher gravity. Instantly the fleet  crashes on a strange barren world! And only a small form crawls from the wreckage. She instantly hears the thunderous clatter of hoff beats and sees six men with long and mean faces. Daxus Paluci princess of the mighty citystate of Werg has fallen into the hands of the Hole in The Rock gang. 

 Daxus Paluci princess of the citystate of Werg is a 5th level space noble and a 7th level soundrel. The princess within 5 months blends into the background of Promises Made Gultch as a bar maid. Actually she's the head of the Hole in The Rock Gang. 
Blending into the gang at first as a prisoner it was only a small matter for her to off Bud Cranson the head of the gang. She then roped in his young second in command as her lover/mouthpiece. Daxus has been loving the freedom away from her family's stifling royal promises. 
Unfortunately for her, her father has sent a team of four royal bounty hunters too Jansoom to look for her. 

Daxus has used her position within the small town to scope out payrolls, stage shipments, and has made the Hole in The Rock gang quite profitable. The player's PC's are brought in too find out what happened with the incredible explosion and why the Hole in The Rock gang has suddenly become a major threat in the area. 
And then the curve ball, The Hole in the Rock gang has an outlaw engineer name Red Skelton. Red has been salvaging the energy cannons and power sources from the Martian fleet.  He's going to use these to fortify the lair of the Hole in Rock gang into a fortress. 

For quick NPC stats and ready to go NPC's I'm using  the Red Room's Wretched Country. And this also includes the campaign setting itself with Hellstone the town included with Wretched Country being the primary campaign setting. 

First Impressions Of Night Owl Workshop's Gunslinger Roleplaying Game Core Rules BETA EDITION By Thomas Denmark For Your Old School Weird and Wondrous Wild West

 "Gunslinger Roleplaying Game Core Rules BETA EDITION

Welcome to the Weird and Wondrous Wild West!

Saddle up, partner, and prepare to embark on an unbridled journey through a science-fantasy adventure, inspired by the yarns of classic western lore and the pulp fiction sagas of the early 20th-century. Gunslinger, the thrilling roleplaying game, is here to send you on a white-knuckle escapade, galloping through the untamed frontiers of the Arizona territory in the era of the Wild West.

Features you won't want to miss:

• Dish out frontier justice and tame the lawless lands
• Explore enigmatic ancient ruins and unearth hidden treasures
• Unveil mind-bending horrors that defy human comprehension
• Expose sinister conspiracies that lurk in the shadows
  
  
  
  
  
  

"A unique blend of the old and the new, Gunslinger combines elements from various editions of the Original Fantasy Roleplaying game and related systems, delivering a refreshing and exhilarating gaming experience that remains true to its roots while offering a wealth of options.

10 Character Classes

• Brave
• Doctor
• Engineer
• Gunslinger
• Huckster
• Muckraker
• Arizona Ranger
• Scout
• Cavalryman
• Greenhorn (0 Level)

Unleash fantastic powers with hundreds of gadgets and highly advanced Strange Science items.

Encounter over 70 heinous critters that will challenge your wits and courage.

Embark on an exhilarating introductory adventure, and navigate through dozens of lavishly illustrated maps.

And there's so much more to discover!

Gunslinger is a stand-alone game, but it's also designed to be a companion and expansion to the Warriors of the Red Planet roleplaying game.

Please note, this is the BETA EDITION with placeholder art being offered at a discount price. We want to make sure to stomp out typos before offering the print version (let us know if you find any!), then you will get the full upgraded edition upon completion. After which this game will be made available at regular price.

Grab your six-shooter and saddle up for the ride of your life with Gunslinger"

Usually Ninety percent of the time I don't bother with Beta versions of  OSR games. However I missed the Kickstarter for Night Owl Workshop's  Gunslinger Roleplaying Game Core Rules BETA EDITION. Now tonight I went searching for this little Rpg & I was not disappointed. One thing I'm a huge Wild West rpg fan & there hasn't been a version of a Wild West game that I haven't played. So after downloading this Gunslinger I wasn't disappointed. It's a complete role playing game but it's missing pieces of it's artwork. Well alright because Night Owl has done this before with Warriors of the Red Planet. 
And Gunslinger is a dense game for one hundred and thirty two pages. Seriously Thomas Denmark packs a lot of game in here. This is a Weird West game with a difference & you can see this in the PC choices;"The basic classes are Brave (or Scout), Doctor, Engineer, Gunslinger (either Lawman, Drifter, or Outlaw), Huckster, Muckraker, Ranger, and Soldier. An optional class, the Medicine Man, is described in Appendix A: the Mystic West; use it if you want to add the supernatural into your campaign." All of this is done with the grand game of a style of Original Dungeons & Dragons. Denmark designed these classes with levels 1-10 and Gunslinger is meant to be playable along with Warriors of the Red Planet rpg. Classic ERB or Brackett Mars crossing over with Gunslinger leads to Weird Science adventures proliferating into campaigns. And the Weird Science device generation systems Denmark does are incredible. 
Character creation is both incredibly familar and yet more then a bit different then classic OD&D. Here we can see this with the the Brave class. 

For those familar with classic original Dungeons & Dragons this style of character will be familar. And this was done on purpose according to the introduction;"Gunslinger is a roleplaying game set in the Arizona territory in the late 1800’s. This game is semi-historical, but it takes a larger-than-life legendary approach to the Old West. Men are braver, outlaws more ruthless, whiskey pours freely, dollars are won and just as easily lost. It is also rooted in the real stories and our knowledge of the time to lend it some authenticity and weight. One other thing, don't tell the other players this, let it be a surprise; strange technology from other worlds has found its way here." 

Gunslinger looks really well done and I can't help think of the Red Room's Wretched Country being the perfect campaign setting powered & played with the Gunslinger system.