The Western
Basic Information
The Western is a Genre of story, set in The American West, usually between 1840 and 1890.
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Table of Contents
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Tropes
Western Characters
The character lists are long enough to get their own pages:
Plotlines and Action Scenes
- Bank Robbery
- Bar Brawl
- Cattle Drive
- Claim Jumping
- Confidence Games to keep your eyes open for include:
- Salting the Mine
- the 1883 No Cents Liberty Head Nickel scam
- snake oil salesmen in general
- Cycle of Revenge
- Duel
- Gold Rush
- Head Em Off At The Pass
- Hostage Situation
- Lynch Mob
- Mexican Standoff
- Posse
- Run For The Border
- Runaway Horse
- Runaway Stagecoach
- Shootout in the streets
- Show Down At High Noon
- Stampede
- This Town Ain't Big Enough For The Both Of Us
- Train Job
- Violence Is The Only Option
- Western Characters
- You’ve Got Until Sundown
Guns and Gunplay Tropes
- Fanning the Hammer
- Fastest Gun In The West
- Gatling Good
- Gun Twirling
- The Gunfighter Wannabe
- Guns Akimbo
- Improbable Aiming Skills
- Little Useless Gun
- Multiple Gunshot Death
- Pistol-Whipping
- Quick Draw
- Quickest Draw In The West
- Revolvers Are Just Better
- Show Down At High Noon
- Smoking Barrel Blowout
- Throw-Away Guns
- You Always Hear The Bullet
Miscellaneous Western Tropes
- All Deserts Have Cacti
- Anti Hero
- Black Hat
- Bounty Hunter
- Cartwheeling Bodies
- The Cavalry
- Circling Vultures
- Crapsack World
- Donner Party
- Everyone is a Cowboy
- Folklore of the United States
- Gold Rush
- He Who Fights Monsters
- Hooker With a Heart of Gold
- Least Common Skin Tone
- Light a Match on your Face
- Ragdoll Physics
- Riding Into The Sunset
- Saloon Doors
- Shifty Eyes
- Tar and Feathers
- Transcontinental Railroad
- Unfortunate Implications
- Wagon Train
- Wanted Poster
- Western Characters
- White Hat
- You’ve Got Until Sundown
Overlapping Eras of History
- 19th Century
- Dawn of the Old West
- Settling the Frontier
- Texas Revolution
- American Civil War
- Mexican-American War
- The Gilded Age
- The Wild West
- Twilight of the Old West
Sub-Genres and Genre Variations
- Cattle Punk
- New Old West
- Samurai Cowboy
- Space Western
- Spaghetti Western
- Weird West
- The Wild West
- Wagon Train To The Stars
Locations
- Abandoned Mine
- Adventure Towns
- Bad Guy Bar
- Bank
- Barn
- Boardwalk
- Boomtown
- Boothill
- Brothel
- Canyon
- Company Town
- Cowtown
- Dance-Hall
- Desert
- Dry Riverbed
- General Store
- Ghost Town
- Goldmine
- Grand Canyon
- Hardware Store
- Homestead
- Log Cabin
- Mine
- Mountain
- Mountain Pass
- One-Room Schoolhouse
- Outhouse
- Panning Sluice
- Plains
- Railroad
- Railroad Tunnel
- Ranch
- Rio Grande
- Steamboat
- Town Square
- Wagon Train
Methods of Transportation
- Canoe
- Conestoga Wagon
- Covered Wagon
- Handcar (aka Railroad Pump Car)
- Horse
- Locomotive
- Oxen - typically pulling a wagon or cart
- leading a Pack Mule (see Donkey or Mule)
- Stage Coach
- Steamboat - the big paddle-wheel riverboat type, often with onboard gambling
- Train
- Wagon Train
Animals and Plants
- Buffalo
- Cattle
- Cactus
- Donkey
- Grizzly Bear
- Horse
- Jackalope
- Mule
- Oxen
- Prairie Dog
- Prickly Pear
- Rattlesnake
- Saguaro
- Tumbleweed
- Vulture
Equipment
Weapons
- Bow
- Bowie Knife
- Buntline Special
- Cap-and-Ball Revolver
- Cavalry Sabre
- Colt Peacemaker
- Colt Single Action Army Revolver
- Coup Stick
- Derringer
- Double-barrelled Shotgun
- Dynamite
- Gatling Gun
- Lasso
- LeMat Revolver
- Marked Bullet
- Musket
- Pepperbox Pistol
- Pitchforks and Torches
- Revolver
- Rifle
- Shotgun
- Tomahawk
- Winchester Rifle
Miscellaneous Equipment
- Bandana
- Badass Bandolier
- Badass Longcoat
- Badass Mustache
- Barbed Wire
- Bolo Tie
- Bugle
- Canteen
- Chaps
- Cowboy Hat
- Doctor's Bag
- Dynamite
- Harmonica
- Holster
- Lantern
- Laudanum
- Pickax
- Printing Press
- Rope
- Saddle
- Saddlebags
- Sarsaparilla
- Spittoon
- Spurs (that jingle-jangle-jingle)
- Straight Razor
- Tack and Bridle
- Telegraph
- Ten-Gallon Hat
- Tequila
- Wanted Poster
- Whiskey
Sources
Bibliography
2. RPG: Sidewinder Recoiled by Green Ronin - extensive d20 system rules for the Old West
3. RPG: Knuckleduster Firearms Shop by Forrest Harris - gaming stats for a huge selection of weapons from the Old West
4. RPG: Deadlands by Pinnacle Entertainment Group - wild west meets supernatural horror in an RPG
5. Miniatures Game: Shadows of Brimstone by Flying Frog Productions - wild west meets otherworldly horror in a cooperative miniatures game
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.
- For a list of character types to populate the setting, see Western Characters.
page revision: 35, last edited: 29 Oct 2019 16:35
