God's Country
The year is 1881, and the sprawling west is still yet conquered. In the wake of the civil war, mass produced revolvers ended up replacing knives as the protection of choice for the contemporary adventurer. Both trusty tools in the hands of the destitute and the adventurous. That destitute adventurer is you. Westward bound in the name of glory, wealth, power, and freedom.
Your gang (on the run from the law in the east) find themselves in the mesa dotted, desert fringed, shrublands and plains west of Texas. And though the railway is long, and connects cities and towns all through America on guiding tracks - that is only the case on the eastern front. Here, out west, the natives beat down the magnates savagely - with their attacks on railway camps and their workers. In doing so, impeding the creation of the transcontinental railroad and preventing westward expansion. So instead of arriving in the luxury of the iron horse (the transportation of the future), you had to make do and lie low with an old fashioned caravan of homesteading folks.
About halfway between Spur Valley and New Canaan, in between two large mesas west of Texas, lies a little town called Drywood (colloquially known as the 'Gulch'). It's a quaint little town in the southern part of the territory of Columbia. Downright idyllic - were it not for the town's reputation as a haven for outlaws and degenerates. And a cemetery bigger than the town itself. You hop off the caravan into this town's station - with nothing but the change in your pocket, the rags on your back, and your gang at your side.
Somehow you feel as if this little patch of cracked dirt, cactus, and tumbleweeds, is just a stepping stone on your path to greater things.
This is mostly an interest check for a western game I intend to run. I'm not really sure what the reception is here on these types of games, as I know this is really just a freeform roleplaying forum. I have some material prepped from the last time I tried to get this going elsewhere, but it didn't go so well - as the first thing the players tried to do was murder their patron. Hopefully this time around, it'll run smoother. I've got the framework for three arcs somewhat planned out - A murder mystery, a bounty hunt, and one that is a combination of the two previous.
Some things worth noting; I have no real experience with the system, the game mentioned previously did not get very far off the ground before players slammed it into the dirt. In addition, from what I've heard and read, combat is pretty deadly - so I'm hoping no 'rule of cool'/'heroic protagonist' types apply, as they will most definitely resent me when their character dies from their poor choices. But even outside of mechanics, I like to at least try to adhere to realism - even if I'm not perfect, I still strive for simulationism as a minimum. I also am not quite sure exactly how I intend to run this (mechanically? functionally?) - as I don't think this forum has a diceroller. But there are a few options worth considering; a)r20, b) discord dicebot, or c) I roll when a roll is required. Practically, all really rely on players being able to get together at one time, and I'm not sure if that's something viable - as this place is pretty staunchly rooted in pbp stuff.
Anyway, do post if you're interested - I'm sure we can work something out. Thanks for reading, and have a good friday.
