GMing Children's Old West TV Show
 

Hello. I have lurked on the forum for many years. I recently observed that although my brother is fortyish, he watches the Gospel Bill Show (this is a religious children's program set in the Wild West; it is similar in mood to The Andy Griffin Show) almost every day and has since we were children, so I went into a "fey mood" as they say on the Dwarf Fortress forums and wrote an adventure for him in that setting. I have never before even slightly succeeded in getting anyone I know to play GURPS with me, but he loved it and requested another adventure. His character is based on 100 pts and has Guns! along with Talker Talent plus Social Stigma (half Apache) as his main features. I gave him a Weapon Bond six shooter, a horse, and a pack mule. It seems just a horse was not enough to carry him plus water and food. (Is this the way it's supposed to be?)

I've run into a few issues. One, every western adventure I can find that has any review whatsoever is a horror adventure too, which does not match the setting, and I don't think my brother would like that. Any suggestions? I did a "find the person who is supposed to be bringing medicine for the sick child but is currently treed by wolves" thing for the first game. I can probably come up with something else, but I am stressed about it.

I have Gurps Old West. I do not have 3rd edition Basic Set. I assume there was a major change in pricing between editions because everything in the book is extremely cheap when compared to 4th edition. Would multiplying the prices by 20 put it roughly in the 4th edition ballpark? I am using the 4e basic set.

Any suggestions welcome. Thanks!

Re: GMing Children's Old West TV Show
 

It probably isn't really what you're looking for, but Big Lizzie, a premade GURPS adventure in which a group of Arizona pioneers set off to rescue a hostage from outlaws and, owing to a minor mixup in the space-time continuum, wind up having to rescue her from dinosaurs, should be mentioned. It is certainly not a historical drama, but neither is it horror- the author claims to have been trying to match the tone of the Ray Harryhausen movies.

EDIT: Regarding prices, I think Old West lists prices in period dollars, whereas 4e lists universal prices in units theoretically corresponding to a modern (well, early 2000s) American dollar. A conversion factor of 20x would be a workable approximation.

Re: GMing Children's Old West TV Show
 

If he's travelling long distances through arid terrain, yes.

GURPS' default style is "realistic cinematic" - characters need to make sensible plans, use the right equipment and supplies, and consider realistic costs, problems and logistics. As GM, you can ignore some of these issues if you want, which will get you more of a TV show atmosphere. It's a good idea to make those decisions deliberately, and tell your player(s) about them, to avoid clashes of expectations.

Re: GMing Children's Old West TV Show
 

Thanks for the tips. I think a one-off dinosaur would work for the setting.

I see. We'll probably have the mule come up only if it's plot-relevant, then, like a TV show.

Re: GMing Children's Old West TV Show
 

Most TV westerns played a bit loose with the equipment. The mounted cowboy was always shown with a saddle, scabbard for the lever action rifle + rifle(unless lost due to plot), a rope, and bedroll and maybe a canteen and pistol. Yet somehow the cowboy managed to cut firewood, have a method to make the fire, produce a coffee pot and coffee, and often a skillet to cook breakfast with. Said breakfast often including eggs and bacon. So probably OK to play a bit loose with the equipment and food loading if you are staying true to the TV cowboy.

As far as adventures, find an otherwise suitable fantasy "Rescue the princess" or "Guard the caravan" type and reskin the characters as western. Swords become pistols, armor goes away, orcs become bandits, etc. The princess becomes the rancher's daughter and the caravan becomes a wagon train.

Reuse the "Timmy down the well/trapped in a cave/lost in the woods." tropes. Not all adventures have to involve shooting.

Re: GMing Children's Old West TV Show
 

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone. I am going to try a series of social encounters to get a job at the ranch and then a cattle drive which may extend into the next session as well. I am attempting to use the chase scene rules from Action for lassoing a stray calf. Would riding horses have maybe a stability rating of 3? It seems like they should be rather good at not crashing since they have minds of their own, but I couldn't find any examples of an animal vehicle stat block in Basic or Old West (except wagons).

Does anyone have any suggestions on how Acute Vision would benefit a cowboy with his six-shooter? My brother bought this, but I'm not sure how to make it come into play. Should the level add to search rolls, etc? Can he use it in combat? Would it improve Aim? What is the intended effect?

Re: GMing Children's Old West TV Show
 

Acute vision benefits rolls to see something- e.g., "do you spot the bandit hiding in the brush before he gets the drop on you" would be a contest of Perception+Acute Vision versus the bandit's Stealth or Camouflage. Search rolls would often benefit ("Your keen eyes spot a gun-shaped bulge concealed amoung the wrinkles of his coat"), although a pat-down search wouldn't, and tracking and finding traps are explicitly called out as getting the bonus.

Acute vison doesn't benefit rolls to hit a foe (except insofar as spotting the foe is necessary before attacking). If you want preternaturally sharp vision to improve shooting, take Telescopic Vision instead, which does improve Aim. Technically, it's not a realistic advantage for humans, but, in a cinematic campaign, such rules can be slightly bent- and if it's good enough for elves, surely it's good enough for sharp-eyed frontiersmen.


EDIT: Regarding your first question, mounts don't have a stability rating under the rules as written. It might be a reasonable house-rule, however, to allow the horse to attempt a Dexterity roll to prevent a whipeout when the rider fails.

Re: GMing Children's Old West TV Show
 

Or allow them to take the ability of Archer's Trance from GURPS Powers: Enhanced Senses (p. 28). It lets you estimate the range to a target within ±5%, and gives you +3 to hit with an aimed attack, at the expense of narrowing your vision to a 30° range to the side and giving you -2 to active defenses against side attacks. It worked for the ancient Hindu hero Arjuna, so it could plausibly work for a legendary gunfighter, with a change of name.

Re: GMing Children's Old West TV Show
 

Okay, a lot of modern Westerns draw from the "Revisionist" films initiated by (most famously) Sergio Leone and Clint Eastwood. They depicted the West as an endemically violent, morally ambiguous place filled with maladjusted people who didn't want to (or just couldn't) deal with civilized life.

However, the more "Traditional" Westerns might offer some nicer models for a campaign with your brother. I'd go with TV series for inspiration, because the serial nature of them works best for an ongoing campaign.

Wagon Train (1957-65): This series featured stories about a huge wagon train making its way across the American West, from Missouri to California. Each episode featured an interaction of a few members of the wagon train with whatever they discovered, or whomever they encountered, along the way.
Star Trek was originally pitched as "Wagon Train in space," IIRC.

Rawhide (1959-65): This TV series brought Clint Eastwood to the notice of Sergio Leone, although his character, "Rowdy Yates," was much nicer (and had less impulse control) than the Man With No Name. Similar to Wagon Train, Rawhide centered on a group of cowboys on a cattle drive who had all sorts of episodic adventures as they met locals along the way.

Maverick (1957-62): Widely considered one of the most hilariously accurate portrayals of life in the Old West, James Garner's Bret Maverick traveled around as a professional gambler of considerable skill, who sometimes took part in con games with decidedly mixed results. Maverick generally did his best to avoid violence because he really didn't want to hurt anybody (or get hurt himself), and specialized in smooth talk and quick departures (frequently out of windows in the middle of the night) about a half-step ahead of the law (or angry locals).
Even if your brother doesn't want to play someone such as Bret Maverick, it would be fun to include one as a recurring NPC whose appearance heralds an imminent outbreak of chaos as he tries to rope your brother's character into a scheme, or use him as a distraction.
You could even make an attractive female version of the character (such as Jody Foster's Annabelle Bransford, from the 1994 film based on the TV series) as a combination romantic interest and comedic foil.

The Wild Wild West (1965-69): No discussion of inspirational materials for an Old West RPG setting is complete without this utterly brilliant, absolutely legendary TV series. Robert Conrad's James West and Ross Martin's Artemus Gordon are two agents of the United States Secret Service who travel around the country in a special train (The Wanderer). They encounter, investigate and oppose mad scientists, criminal masterminds and others who threaten the United States.
A cross between two popular genres -- Super Spies and Westerns -- The Wild Wild West accidentally laid the foundations for what would become Gaslight Romance and Steampunk.
(However, Do Not watch the 1999 film with Will Smith. Ever.)

Re: GMing Children's Old West TV Show
 

Check out the Buckshot Adventures on drivethru. They are a series of well-written, classic old west adventures -- scenarios like coming home after the war to find rustlers have taken over the town, finding a kidnapped rancher's daughter, etc.

They're built for Savage Worlds, but pretty easy to convert over the GURPS. Solid maps, NPCs, and GM suggestions for extending the adventures too.