Elements of a Western

[demonicgerbil]

From the World Create Yahoo! Group comes this potentially handy reference and idea e-mail for Western games/campaigns/settings:


1. Elements of a Western
Posted by: "Michael Adams" abrigon@gci.net abrigon66
Date: Sat Aug 19, 2006 11:01 pm (PDT)

I suspect most or all below can be modified for various Genres, since many are
nothing but the same story but one is medieval, another is wild west and another
is in space.

Mike
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Game idea for module:
(edited 04/21/06)

(Thank you Steve, Mars, David and others for ideas and corrections)

ELEMENTS OF A WESTERN:

CHARACTERS:
Sheriff/Marshal
Cattle Police
Russlers
Priest/Preacher
Cowboys
Bandits
Little Boy/Girl
Soliders/Federals
Mexican Army
Federal Agent
Indian Agent
Scout - white or indian, or maybe even black.
Indians (helpful of they are known aggressive types, but not always, depends on
the plot)
Bartender
Bar Maid
Whores/Entertainers/Madame
Drunk(s)
Preacher
Lord/Don/Owner of the local ranch
Undertaker
Hangman
School Teacher
Snake Oil Salesman (or some other travelling sales person)
Conmen (see snake oil, but not always the same)
Carpet Bagger (more for southern style)
Bankers (can be a character or just a plot device, or? )
Prospectors/Miners
Blacksmith
Gambler
Gunslinger
Peasants/Peon
Slaves - Former or even depending on time and place, current. Slaves are not
always black, some asian and irish slaves/in dentured servants, as well as some
Indians (From India) was used in late western times.
Chinese/Blacks/Irish slaves or semi-slaves (Indebtured). Many southerners used
black slaves from their plantations/stock to mine california gold from their
lands there.
Confederates (former/bandits or refugees?)
Engineers (Train normally, but possible others, like the oil or water or
projects type)
Doctor/Dentist/Snake Oil Salesmen - Kwak or for real
Adventurer/Big Game Hunter
Judge
Post Master
Gunsmith
Carpetbagger (southern style or ?)
Foreign dignatary (not often)
President or member of current or past administration)
Member of Congress, but not often
Secret Agent (See James West for some ideas, but not always)

CHARACTERS - GENERIC
Hero
Villain
Side Kick
Victim(s)
Snitch
Love Interest (Even if not romantically involved)
Horse
Dog or other animal non-riding
Madame
Deputies/ Posse
Vigilanties
Bounty Hunters
Buffalo hunters
Barber/ bathhouse
Telegraph operator
piano player
farmer
cattle rancher
sheep rancher
calvarymen
pony express
wells fargo
Spanish Mission monks and maybe nuns
Suttler (general store)
Sule Skinner
Chinese railroad workers
Early Union Organizer
Cooper
Wainwright (making wagons and like)
Assayer
(got to remember what some of the professions was doing)

PLACES:
Hotel/Bar
Whore House
Ranch - Sheep/Cattle
Farm
Bank
Jail
Train Stop/Station
Store (General)
Houses
Court House
Feed Store/Livery Stable/Blacksmith/Corral
Hacienda/Ranch (And buildings for it)
Church
Gallows
Undertakers Office
Doctors Office
Post Office
Fort
Apothecary
Opium Den (sometimes the same as the Apothecary, some time separate) Often run
by a Chinese doctor.
Corral
Brothel
Assayers office
Land claims office
Wainwrights or Cooper place/shop (one does wagons the other does wheels or is it
pots/pans and like?)

GROUPS:
Cattlemen
Sheep Herders
Farmer
Former Slaves - Settlers
Settlers
Mormons
Wives Club
Grange/Farmers Groups
Crime Group
Hattfield/McCoy/etc: Any group that might have a natural grudge against the
other, often due to a land or like issues that went to far.
Racial/Religious/Romance and more (Romeo and Juliet).
Deputies
Soldiers
Tribes
Cattlemen
Sheep Herders
Farmers
Miners
Chinese: Chinese or other Asian group (most often seen in the western US).
Chinese and like can add Eastern elements, such as the early Tong/Triads and
more. But also how they was treated..
Mexicans (Spanish and Non-Spanish).
Revolutionaries (Ponco and Friends and more). Much of the troubles of the 1840s
to 1920 was over Northern Mexican issues, and land acquisition from Mexico).
Groups, ex-Confeds, like Klan or like type people, or you mean like the
James/Younger/Dalton gangs, who had Mosby or Quamtrille backgrounds.. True,
need not be ex-confedes, can be real ones, such as they mission in like 1863 to
go to California. But they did not get there to cut off the gold mines..
Mormons or other religious group, most often christian in nature. Like Black
settlers, off to find a land where slavery is not around, or something like
that.
Monestary or like.

PLOT IDEAS:
Gun slinger
Cattlemen vs Sheep Herders
Sheep Herders vs Farmers
Farmers vs Cattlemen
Farmers vs Sheep Herders or Cattlemen
Miners vs someone? Claim jumpers or ?
Murder or self defense
Locked up wrongy
Defense, sheriff arrests someone and he can not do much until judge or marshal
is in town or army is.
Runaway slave
Burning down the local Chinese doctors house (why many Chinese doctors
houses/work place was strong and nearly bullet proof).
Conflict: Well, hatfields and mccoy, can also means two groups that do not like
each other, to include farmers vs cattle headers, or sheep herders vs cattle and
so on.


Looking for more ideas and such, some westerns are more 1900s, but could be
westerns, sort of.

OTHER ELEMENTS:

Foreign elements such as:
Mexico/Spanish
- Poncho Vila
- Emperor Maximillian
- Texas/Chiuahua Rebellion
French
Canadian
- What is now NW US was once US/British Territory (Oregon/Washington/Idaho and
..)
As well as foreign trade. California was a nation for a short time.. Also Russia
claimed what is now Alaska, British Columbia, Washington/Oregon/California coast
to San Fransisco and Hawaii..

CLASSIC PLOT LINES:
Corrupt Judge or like? Such as federal agent, indian agent, sherif and more.
Hum, maybe a list of known clash types as well as scenarios for classic
weasterns?
Cattle/Sheep Rusters
Herders vs the Animals (not common, but more than people think)
Sheriff vs someone, sometimes a good thing, sometimes not, like a corrupt
sheriff in the pocket of the cattlemen, and the son of the local sheep herder
who is in love with the cheif cattlemans daugjhter or something else, but he
faces hanging cause of a murder or self defense or ..
Like the classic Sheriff besieges in his jail until the Army gets there?
Railroad vs ... Cattlemen or .. Sheep or Indians or ....

Will review and make changes..

How many movies that was not a western, but might as well been one?

Star Wars for instance?

Moves that come to mind for ideas?

Mike


From Steve


DISPUTES:

There was always disputes between farmers and ranchers. Often Ranchers would
buy up huge tracts of land and then fence it off, usually tying up water
supplies ans roads that farmers disparately needed. Sometimes it was vice-versa
where farmers would fence off alot of small properties and not allow ranchers to
let their cattle/sheep/whichever to graze.

Grange/Farmers Groups

Commonly, farmers were in struggle with buyers. These companies, back when
there were no regulations, would try to low ball them every time and would go so
far as to use hired guns or sabotage to get their way. Farmers would try to
fight back with their Co-op groups (kinda like a farmer's union) but these were
often busted up with hired guns. Alternately, buyer companies would try to pose
as legit commodities brokers and start co-ops with farmers - and then screw them
afterwards (very low).

Crime Group

usually ex-confederates who didn't get over losing the war, or just didn't
adjust to life after the civil war.

Hattfield/McCoy/etc

I persoanlly wouldn't focus on something like that. Thats more of a southern
thing - although if you want to combine it with one of the above themes, it
might make interesting twist.

Soldiers/Tribes

Enraged natives who are hellbent on protecting their way of life because the
white man keeps renegging on their treaties - and the soldiers who are caught up
in the mess. Many times, ranchers and prospectors would encroach on native
lands despite ironclad treaties, these groups would form lobby-groups in
washington who in turn would make laws which allowed these groups to ignore the
treaties. Also, the effort to put telegraph lines and railways tracks across
the country. Almost always they didn't ask first. How would you like it if it
built a swimming pool half on your backyard - and then built a fence around it
so you couldn't use it?

These are merely some ideas off the top of my head. I watched many a western as
a young lad...so often these plot ideas can be political back drops to a
senario. Of course you could still mix in the typically bank robbers, glory
seekers, street duels (gunfights), barroom brawls, etc etc. Until civilization
moved in in the 1880's-90s, the west was fairly lawless - except in big cities
or large towns (Dodge City for instance). But out in the boonies, it was pretty
pure anarchy.

Steve







From David I Think:

The 7 Standard Western Plots

1 Shane - retired gunslinger defends the little guy

2 The Magnificent 7 - Team is hired to defend entire town.

3. Silverado - team must get rid of evil sherrif and his cronies.

4. Save the widder's farm from Simon LaGrie who is forclosing on the
mortgage

5. Zorro (late period swashbuckling adventures)

6 Defense of the Settler from Indians or Bandits, or on the trail from
starvation or like

7 Train robbers or like


Check out the cowboy channel on cable or satellite. Just look at the
schedule menu, the plots are summarised.

Claim jumpers on gold prospectors, Jail breaks or preventing jail
breaks, Bankrobbers,

From David (world create?)

Leader / Planner / Lawmaker

Diplomat / Translator

Counsellor / Peacemaker / Priest / Philosopher

Archeologist / Scientist / Scholar / Designer

Berserker / Loner / Wild Card

Sidekick / Comic Relief

Con Man / Charismatic
---------
LAW ENFORCMENT:
Sheriff/Marshal
Cattle Police
Deputy

LEGAL:

BUSINESS:

ENEMIES: (depends on point of view):