The Western
Basic Information
The Western is a Genre of story, set in The American West, usually between 1840 and 1890.
List of Western Tropes
- Anti Hero
- Bad Guy Bar that's also a Dance-Hall or Brothel
- Badass Longcoat
- Bank Robbery
- Bar Brawl
- Cattle Drive
- The Cavalry
- Cycle of Revenge
- Guns Akimbo
- Guns and Gunplay Tropes
- Head Em Off At The Pass
- Hostage Situation
- Least Common Skin Tone
- The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
- Marked Bullet
- Mexican Standoff
- Quickest Draw In The West
- Revolvers Are Just Better
- Run For The Border
- Show Down At High Noon
- Train Job
- Violence Is The Only Option
- Wagon Train
- Wanted Poster on every wall
- Western Characters
See Also
- For a list of character types to populate the setting, see Western Characters.
- Weapons unique to The Wild West include the Buntline Special, LeMat Revolver, Cap And Ball Revolvers and the Gatling Gun.
- The most famous is the Revolver, especially the Colt Single Action Army.
- Confidence Games to keep your eyes open for include Salting the Mine and the 1883 No Cents Liberty Head Nickel.
- Overlaps with the era of the American Civil War.
- Modes of transit include Horse, Stage Coach, Covered Wagon, and Conestoga Wagon. Get enough of them together, and you got a Wagon Train.
Sources
Game and Story Use
- Instantly recognizable setting and genre. A campaign located here will connect with the players before the GM finishes describing the first scene.
- Elements of The Western can be incorporated into other settings. See New Old West and Space Western for ideas.
page revision: 12, last edited: 20 Jun 2009 18:31