12-18-2014, 11:11 AM | #1 |
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Pyramid #3/74: Wild West
The Western genre is a strange one. It's fiction about a scant century (and mostly a few decades) of history that mattered to only a handful of people in a sparsely populated region of North America. Yet we've been making up new yarns about it ever since – and not just in America. Many of the classic films were shot in Europe, and the Western had an undeniable impact on cinema as far away as Japan. To this day, you can find novelty riding gear and toy six-shooters almost anywhere without looking very hard, and there are plenty of places where "cowboy" is synonymous with "American."It's wild, that's for sure In the GURPS world, though, this influential genre hasn't had its own supplement since GURPS Old West, Second Edition in 2000. Rectifying that oversight is the goal of Pyramid #3/74: Wild West. Here's a quick roundup of what it has in store for you:
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Sean "Dr. Kromm" Punch <kromm@sjgames.com> GURPS Line Editor, Steve Jackson Games My DreamWidth [Just GURPS News] |
12-18-2014, 11:27 AM | #2 |
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Join Date: Feb 2005
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Re: Pyramid #3/74: Wild West
Probably the most useful article in the issue, and another demonstration of how the Action series has preempted a lot of books which might be written for campaigns set after the Industrial Revolution. Like Kromm's pulp adventurers article a while back, this shows how most of the Action templates work in a different era with a few tweaks, and only a few new ones are really needed to round out the most popular genre types. Clearly, there's a cyberpunk article in this vein waiting to be written (assuming it hasn't been already and I've just forgotten), and probably versions for other SF genres.
A close second for utility. I wonder if any specific vessels/train models were used here? I'd love to be able to work up maps, particularly for the steamboat. Some not-very-game-related thoughts about my own article here.
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12-18-2014, 02:15 PM | #3 |
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Eindhoven, the Netherlands
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Re: Pyramid #3/74: Wild West
This was the issue I didn't know I wanted. I got the mail, thought "Wild West? Well, I'll take a look."
What do I find? GURPS Action hacks for the wild west. A lost Native American civilization. Steam boats and locomotives. ZOMBIES! And, I actually lost myself in Hans' article on actual gunfights. Just glanced at it, then read a little, and then ten minutes later came up for breath. Some pyramid issues leave me going meh. Some get shelved under "Should look into this in more detail when I have time," and some make me go "Man, I need to RUN this!" This issue was one of the last.
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12-18-2014, 02:37 PM | #4 |
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Re: Pyramid #3/74: Wild West
Well, more low-key than lost. Everybody with an interest in the region has known exactly where they were since the early 16th century. But they break a lot of stereotypes, which is nice.
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12-18-2014, 02:38 PM | #5 |
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Canada
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Re: Pyramid #3/74: Wild West
I confess, I'm a bit nonplussed by Old Western stuff - it's not really my genre. As Kromm says, it's a very narrow point in time and geography and to me that's a bit baffling; it's reframing a perfectly interesting time in American history into this weird, all-consuming narrative.
So it says something that the lineup of articles for this issue is so attractive that I'm running off to get it right now :)
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12-18-2014, 02:48 PM | #6 |
Join Date: May 2009
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Re: Pyramid #3/74: Wild West
Even though we got a recent Monster Hunters-themed issue, I really miss a "Monster Hunting in the Old West" article from this issue. And that's not much of a criticism at all, just a personal whine. ;)
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12-18-2014, 02:52 PM | #7 |
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Eindhoven, the Netherlands
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Re: Pyramid #3/74: Wild West
GURPS MH 4: Sidekicks as has rules for including Action characters in a MH game. This issue has Action Templates for the Wild West and Zombies. I'm just sayin'
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12-18-2014, 03:08 PM | #8 |
Join Date: May 2009
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Re: Pyramid #3/74: Wild West
Yeah. I hear ya. :)
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12-18-2014, 03:11 PM | #9 | |||
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Portsmouth, VA, USA
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Re: Pyramid #3/74: Wild West
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
Yup.
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12-18-2014, 03:15 PM | #10 |
Join Date: Aug 2014
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Re: Pyramid #3/74: Wild West
Despite the fact this is for the wild west, this well work wonders in my steampunk great war game. (Britland and the 2nd confederacy well likely be duking it out with the union in the great plains and rockies mountains)
And I also hear about steam trains and steam ship... I wonder how easy it will be to turn them into tanks and Steam landships... |
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