Gauging Interest - Bring back the false grit! Good Old Spaghetti Western!

[Inerrant Lust]

Looking for at least 4-6 players.

1 Lone Antihero. Feel free to take the reins of creativity from there.

1-2 Lawmen, ranging in flavor from honest local lawman or an ammoral Knight Templar federal policeman Go wild.

2-4 Bandits, part of a group of a larger group of NPC bandits (at the start of the game, at least), that can run the gamut between petty, stupid, but extremely competent to Philosopher Killer to the good old fashioned Bandito. But it's all up to you.

Since I prefer to discretely just drop a concept on the ground and back away from it slowly, letting you the players do whatever you want with it... consider the above as merely suggestions.

See, Spaghetti Westerns originated as a deconstruction of the typical 'Heroic Cowboy' genre of westerns... but recently with films like True Grit and games like Red Dead Redemption, the genre has shifted once again in the deconstruction territory, becoming even grittier and 'real' than the old Spaghetti Western way of doing things.

I like grit... but not TOO much grit. I want to bring back the Spaghetti Western. More this. Less this.

(Even though both songs are pretty awesome. <_<)

...The first scene will take place on a train, I've decided. ::)

Anyways, down to the nitty not-as-gritty!

Rating? Well... The whole story could go by without any explicit sex at all and I wouldn't be dissapointed any. Your call.
Systems or Freeform? I'm inclined to say system... just so there's a definable way of allowing the lone ranger to gun down 4 or 5 NPC bandits with ease, the lawmen to rally up an effective posse, and the bandits to say... steal from the US Army supply depot.  -and to heighten the tension whenever the three groups inevitable collide. Which I hope they will... repeatedly and non-fatally, if I can manage it. :P

Also, if I do a decent job as the DM, the three groups may end up by circumstance cooperating with and against eachother to accomplish goals. I want to stage a situation in which all three factions are motivated by a single object/person/thing but have entirely different reasons/methods/circumstances surrounding their pursuit of said macguffin.

[RedEve]

Would a female character fit into this universe? And if so, in what role?

[Inerrant Lust]

Would a female character fit into this universe? And if so, in what role?

Since the Spaghetti Western genre itself somewhat romanticizes the Wild West in of itself, I don't care too much on authenticity. Heck, the whole genre's based on improbable aiming skills as a departure from reality... so as long as it there's verisimilitude, I could care less.

Actually, I was hoping for a female character just to break the mold. A lady wearing a dress will be treated like a lady wearing a dress of the era, delicate and to be coddled... but a woman in chaps or wearing a badge may be no different than a man in the same clothes. So for the most part, it wouldn't be a  debilitating character design choice if you take the startling lack of female protagonists in those films as a reference.

So, any of the three roles could work.

[Alysanthia]

Would this be set in some of the well known Western towns like Tombstone, Virginia City and Carson City, Dodge or a made up place for creative building?

[RedEve]

Calpurnia White
Prostitute turned gunslinger

28 years old
born in Boston
headed West to escape her past



I've given it some thought and I decided I wouldn't want to take up the anti-hero slot. But perhaps she is or becomes his "side-kick" of sorts?

[Inerrant Lust]

Would this be set in some of the well known Western towns like Tombstone, Virginia City and Carson City, Dodge or a made up place for creative building?

More the latter. A new territory somewhere west of the Appalachian trail and east of California, or simply some place undefined. It's my hope that it'll be a bit open-ended, with the three groups chasing eachother all up and down the earth, so individual towns and locations will be defined but maybe not the state/territory itself.

I've given it some thought and I decided I wouldn't want to take up the anti-hero slot. But perhaps she is or becomes his "side-kick" of sorts?

While it was my intent to play straight the 'Lone Drifter' trope... heck, I can't ever resist the urge to subvert things. Still, the character concepts are very tentative, the lawmen could be either honest or corrupt- and the bandits themselves either Robin Hood or Jack the Ripper. Even the Anti-Hero could do with less Hero and more Anti, Clint Eastwood's Blondie (Particularly in The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly) actively helps criminals escape from justice, including one whose rap sheet takes the executioner about three minutes to utter in etirety. :P

[RedEve]

Aha, so does this mean you'll entertain my suggestion?

[Inerrant Lust]

What did you have in mind for the character, more specifically?

[RedEve]

What did you have in mind for the character, more specifically?

Well the basic character concept is above. Do you require a detailed character sheet?

[Inerrant Lust]

Well, the more information the better. Going overboard with the characterization is never a bad thing, and the smoldering mute doesn't have to be any less interesting than the bombastic philosopher anti-villian, to use an odd example. <_<

It also helps me out alot in figuring out an appropriate direction for the story to be nudged into, at least initially. :P

[RedEve]

Well she is a former prostitute (bought from one of the orphanages by her pimp) who left Boston after killing one of her Johns. She has wandered the West ever since, slowly honing her gun-skills as well as meeting the main anti-hero of your thread. Whether or not they are lovers would be up to whatever the person who plays the anti-hero decides.

[Major Major]

Hmm... I find myself intrigued by this plot. When would it be set, and what would be the overhanging plot?

[Inerrant Lust]

1860-1890 just about, although like the name of the region, that might never be mentioned. Consider it to be in a dramatic olde timey vacuum.

Edit: I realized I narrowed down the timeframe to... oh, "sometime between when the time period began and ended." >.<

Overhanging plot? Well... All three groups want X... the 'protagonist' wants X for reason Y. The lawmen want X for reason Z. The bandits want X for reason... A. It really depends upon the characters' motivations themselves, which is why I'm hesitant to set anything in stone. But to use a rather hastily drawn up example...

There is a bad guy NPC. The drifter wants this man dead in revenge for the murder of his/her father/mother/wife/husband/child/ect.

The lawmen want this man captured alive because he's got a kidnapped hostage holed up in his gang's hideout somewhere.

The bandits are associated with this bad guy, but they are in an uneasy relationship with him because they have a key to a lockbox full of gold that's buried in a place that the hostage only knows where. The bandits don't know where the hostage is being held and the bad guy doesn't know about their key.

I could have been more creative with the drifter, but you get the idea..

[Major Major]

I think I'll put my name down for the Drifter. I already got a decent chunk of his background drawn up in my head.

[Alysanthia]

I'm interested but unsure of what type of character I'd like to play...

[RubySlippers]

Oh god, oh god ..... Clint Eastwood in the early years ..... rising .....

How about a Chinese gal who is a dead aim with hurled dynamite (saw Harlan County War), a good knife fighter that knows Wing Chun and not opposed to a rifle or pistol?

Did I mention raping some innocent gal at knifepoint when she has a hankering for it - I saw High Plains Drifter it happened by the anti-hero she has needs not she would really harm the darling.  >:)

Her thing is taking out the banditsr who raped her she didn't mind really its a woman she kind of expected that to happen at some point, stole her gold again its just money but they KILLED HER PET DOG that is just wrong little Cha-chi didn't hurt anyone. Bastards! Then they ate her. They are going to get it. LOL  :D

[Lost Viking]

I wouldn't mind throwing up a CS sheet for the Anti-hero or a Lawman if either of those spots is still open.

[Inerrant Lust]

I'm interested but unsure of what type of character I'd like to play...

Wish I could help you there. x_x

Actually, if this is any inspiration. By all means...

Oh god, oh god ..... Clint Eastwood in the early years ..... rising .....

How about a Chinese gal who is a dead aim with hurled dynamite (saw Harlan County War), a good knife fighter that knows Wing Chun and not opposed to a rifle or pistol?

Did I mention raping some innocent gal at knifepoint when she has a hankering for it - I saw High Plains Drifter it happened by the anti-hero she has needs not she would really harm the darling.  >:)

Her thing is taking out the banditsr who raped her she didn't mind really its a woman she kind of expected that to happen at some point, stole her gold again its just money but they KILLED HER PET DOG that is just wrong little Cha-chi didn't hurt anyone. Bastards! Then they ate her. They are going to get it. LOL  :D

He is a sexy sexy man. This idea is actually so random and awesome I love it, I take she'd be one of the bandits?

I wouldn't mind throwing up a CS sheet for the Anti-hero if that spot is still open.

Go for it.

[RubySlippers]

No heroine sort of, Clint raped a woman in High Plains Drifter. She wants to kill the bandits since they KILLED HER DOG damn them, raping her and stealing the gold she could get but THEY KILLED HER DOG!!!

But she could be a bandit, I'm not picky in this case she just likes to rape pretty women when not doing major damage with big explosions. hee hee hee

[Major Major]

Well, I got a  half constructed character here, if you wants a look.

JAMES "JAMIE" CALHOUN
Age: 25
Bio: The son of a riverboat captain, Jamie left home at a young age, and ended up as a trapper and scout working for the Railroads, hunting for meat to feed the gangs. He left the company about a year ago, to which he always remarked "They left me before I left them". Since then, he's been driftin' from town to town, looking to lose himself in the wilderness, and once out there, find himself...

[RedEve]

Could I get some feedback on my character concept? :)

[Alysanthia]

Tvtropes did in fact help me come up with a idea, I will post her this afternoon. :)

[Inerrant Lust]

@RedEve

Hrmmm... Kay. While I'm quite willing to break the mold of your usual western (traditional male leads being replaced with females, racial minorities being relevant major characters instead of side-characters (African-Americans were among the first of the traditional 'cowboys', and although the influence of the Italians on the genre has led to a positive step towards displaying the sizable hispanic demographic (more specifically, the influence of cheap spanish actors a Peninsula away!) of the untamed west, it's still a very 'white male'-heavy genre.

What was I talking about again? Oh, right. While I'm quite willing to break the mold of your usual western, I'd like to play straight the themes. The lawmen don't really have to be police at all, just men (or women) in a position of authority. The bandits don't have to be literal outlaws, but more like foils to the authoritarian lawmen. Chaotic vs. Lawful, with shades of evil and good irrelevant to it. The anti-hero is there at the center, maybe good- maybe evil... but not overtly lawful OR chaotic. And in keeping with the anti-hero drifter trope, he/she would sort of have to be alone to keep the spirit of the whole.... lone ranger thing.

That being said, after doing some brainstorming... it would be possible to add a fourth group which Calpurnia could ascribe to. The macguffin itself, or the wielder of the macguffin. The aforementioned hostage mentioned above in that dreadful example. Less boring than that, yes, but still someone integral to the plot. Would require some... maneuvering on my part as far as the story is concerned, but that's not a big deal.

[RedEve]

So Calpurnia is to be the hostage?  ???

[Alysanthia]

So Calpurnia is to be the hostage?  ???

In most Spaghetti Westerns, if the male lead had a female side-kick they did get kidnapped quite often. >_>