Character Creation Challenge - Day 9

Today's character was created with my own free game, Six-Shooters & Wagons.

Zebediah Blackwood
Level 1 Swindler

Str 9             Int 9
Dex 12         Wis 12
Con 9           Cha 11

1 HD (3 HP) 

Save: 15 

Movement: 12
AC 9 [10] 

Attacks 

Hold Out Pistol (+0 to hit, 1d6 dmg, 15' range) 

Knife (+0 to hit, 1d6-1 dmg)

Other

Backstab - +4 to hit and inflicts double damage to surprise foes

1-3 on 1d6 chance to climb walls and cliffs without tools and ropes

1-3 on 1d6 chance on hear noises behind closed doors

1-3 on 1d6 chance to forge documents

1-2 on 1d6 chance to feign injury/play possum

1-2 on 1d6 chance to hide in pick pockets

1 on 1d6 chance to track foes in wilderness

1 on 1d6 chance to track foes in wilderness

1-2 on 1d6 chance to hunt forage in wilderness

1-2 on 1d6 to apply first aid

Equipment 

hold pistol, knife, lasso, marked deck of cards, lock picks, horse, saddle bags, bedroll, flint and steel, lantern, 50' rope, crowbar, canteen, bottle of cheap hooch, mess kit, 7 days rations, $5

Background

Zebediah Blackwood is a gambler and cheat. He goes from town to town, looking for his next big score. While not malicious, he can be a bit callous to the needs of others. 

Character Creation Challenge - Day 3

 Today's character was created with my own free game, Six-Shooters & Wagons.

Deputy Jedediah Lang
Level 1 Gunslinger

Str 16 (+1)   Int 10
Dex 14         Wis 14
Con 14         Cha 11

1 HD (6 HP) 

Save: 15 

Movement: 12
AC 9 [10] 

Attacks 

Pistol (+1 to hit, 1d6 dmg, 60' range) 

Pirate Rapier (-4 to hit, 1d6+1)

Other

Quick Draw - Lang's party receives a +1 bonus to their initiative. 

1 on 1d6 chace to track foes in wilderness

1-2 on 1d6 chance to hunt forage in wilderness

1-2 on 1d6 to apply first aid

Equipment 

Horse, backpack, bedroll, flint and steel, 50' rope, crowbar, canteen, bottle of cheep hooch, mess kit, 7 days rations. $5.00

Background

Deputy Jedediah Lang is a young idealistic lawman in the Dakota territories. He is well liked by most folks, though he has earned the ire of a few local land barons. Though he rarely uses it in combat, he carries his great great grandfather's rapier and does his best to maintain it.

The Nite Folk

The Nite Folk are a murderous faction in Red Dead Redemption 2. They make perfect villains for Six-Shooters & Wagons and the expanded White Box version of the game I've got in the works.

Human, Nite Folk
Armor Class: 7 [12]
Hit Dice: 1+2
Attack: Weapon
Special: Stealthy
Move: 12
HDE: 2/30

Nite Folk are unnaturally quiet killers that wear tattered clothing and cover themselves in dirt to blend in with their surroundings. They never speak, but do communicate in animal growls and whistles. They eschew the use of firearms, using only bows and knives. Because of their stealthy nature they have a 4 in 6 chance to move unobserved in swampy terrain.

Six-Shooters & Wagons Redemption

For Christmas, I finally bought myself a copy of Red Dead Redemption 2. While I'm still digging into it, I'm loving it and it seems like a worthy sequel (or rather prequel) to my all-time favorite video game. The game has inspired me to revisit Six-Shooters & Wagons. The original is built off of Swords & Wizardry Continual Light. I think I'm going to expand it to a full White Box length release. Like the original I'm going to keep it straight western, with the thought that I might release some weird west stuff later on.

Until then you should check out the pay what you want version and the content I've created for it.

If you're familiar with my original version, what would you like to see expanded?

You'll Not Find A Stranger or More Fantastic Posse Anywhere Else

Want even more goodness for Six-Shooters & Wagons? Last month Josh Beckelhimer of JB Publishing did a series of posts he called OSRober. Several of them were for Six-Shooters and Wagons and I've decided to link them all in this post.

Sabrina Spellman
Dr. Frank N Furter
Two-Face
Joker
Frank Castle
The Rocketeer
Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde
Count Orlock

Also, remember Josh did a one page adventure. Blood Mask & Envy.

It's really great to see other folks make content for Six-Shooters. One of these days, I'll hop back in the saddle and finish some of the things I had planned.

Undead To The End

I haven't posted new content for Six-Shooters and Wagons for a while, so I decided to write up stats for John Marston as of the end of Red Dead Redemption Undead Nightmare

John Marston

Level 7 Soldier (Lingerin' Dead)

Dead Points: 5

Str 15 (+1)    Int 10
Dex 16 (+1)  Wis 12
Con 18 (+1)   Cha 9 (-1)

7 HD (40 HP) Save:10 Movement: 12

AC 8 [11] (Dex)

Attacks: Volcanic Pistol (+7 to hit, 1d6 dmg, 60' range) or Repeater Carbine (+7, 1d6, 120' range) or Knife (+7, 1d6+1 damage) or Holy Water (+7 to hit, 3d6 damage (undead and demon only), 20' range) or zombie bite (1 damage, 20' range, undead move to bait and are distracted for 1d6 rounds)

Other: 7 attacks a round against foes of 1 HD or fewer, +1 save vs. death and poison, no penalty for fighting from horseback. 1 chance on a 1d6 to track foes in wilderness, 1-2 chance to hunt/forage for food in the wilderness, 1-2 chance on 1d6 to administer first aid

Equipment: Volcanic Pistol, Repeater Carbine, Knife, Undead Horse (treat as horse with lingerin' dead quality and a piss poor attitude), lasso, backpack, canteen, 1 vial of holy water, 3 zombie baits

Saddle Up!

The amazing Josh Beckelhimer has released his newest one page adventure and this time it's for Six-Shooters & Wagons!  The adventure (or episode) as Josh calls it is really good. There's a lot of good background info and the villain is very memorable. Do yourself a favor and check it out. You can find the adventure in this post on Josh's page.

Z is for Zorro

I realize Zorro was set before what is considered the old west, but I think it's still appropriate for Six-Shooters & Wagons. Also, my Zorro stats are for his successor.  

Zorro

Real Name: Alejandro Muiretta 

Level 7 Vigilante

Str 15 (+1)    Int 12

Dex 16 (+1)  Wis 11

Con 13          Cha 16 (+1)

5 HD (24 HP) Save: 9 Movement: 12

AC 8 [11]

Attacks: Saber (+7 to hit, 1d6+1 dmg) or Whip (+7 to hit, 1d6+1 dmg, 20' range) 

Other: Backstab (+4 to attack and double damage vs surprised foes), 1-5 chance on a 1d6 to climb walls and cliffs without tools, hear noise behind closed doors, and forge documents, Feign Injury/Play Possum, Open Locks, Hide in Shadows, or Move Silently,  1 chance on a 1d6 to track foes in wilderness, 1-2 chance to hunt/forage for food in the wilderness, 1-2 chance on 1d6 to administer first aid

Equipment: Saber, whip

The Gunfighter (feat. Nick Offerman)

Earlier my friend Stew reminded me about this hilarious video. If you've not seen it before, do yourself a favor and check it out.

As I've mentioned before I don't like posting videos without game content. So here's an optional rule Six-Shooters and Wagons based on the video.

Quirky Characters - During character creation you can give your character a weird quirk. This may be a catch phrase you have to shout before going into a fight or the fact the you're a grown man that love dolls (like the younger Henderson brother from the video). This quirk should come into play at least once per session. You may reroll one die per session. If this roll is for a task/save/attack, you must choose to use the reroll before success is determined by the GM.

Y is for Yellow Belly

Here's an optional morale rule for Six-Shooters & Wagons.

Yellow Bellied - When the posse is getting the upper hand on no-good varmints they might be able to cause their foes to turn tail and run. In groups of 5 or more, when half the number are killed, the rest must make a saving throw or flee in fear. This is done again when the group is reduced to 1/3 or its original number. You might also have a group do this if their leader is taken down in spectacular fashion (blown up, taken out with one bullet, etc).

X is for X Marks the Spot

I'm cheating with this one but it's hard to find wild west things that start with X. This is from a cover of a public domain comic I found on Comic Book Plus. I don't remember what issue and to be honest, I'm too lazy to go looking for it. It's still a great picture and silly idea. So who would say "X marks the spot" in a Six-Shooters & Wagons game? Why pirate bank robbers of course!!!!

The Pirate Gang

AC 8 [11]   HD: 2+1    Attacks: Pistol (1d6, range 60') or cutlass (1d6+1) Move: 12/12 (swim) 

These spur-wearing buccaneers are a strange sight, even in the weird west. They dress and talk like pirates. Those first encountering the gang must make a saving throw or be unable to act due to the sheer bizarre nature of the group. 

W is for Wendigo

Source

Wendigo are monstrous spirits native to the Americas. They are associated with greed, the cold, hunger, and cannibalism. They are extremely dangerous and feared by all that know of their exisentce. 

The Wendigo

AC 5 [14]   HD: 5    Attacks: Claw (1d6+1) Move: 15'

Wendigo are surrounded by an supernaturally cold aura. Anyone within 10' ft of a Wendigo takes 1d3 damage on their turn. They can possess and control anyone that's eaten human flesh. Finally anyone killed by a wendigo and not devoured will rise as a ghoul. 

V is for Vampire

Rudolph Sevarian

First Appearance: Tales of Horror #13 (October 1954)

AC 5 [14]     HD: 5   Attacks:  Pistol (1d6, range 60') or Slam (1d6) or Bite (1d3, see below)   Special: see below    Move: 15

Rudolph Sevarian is a Hungarian vampire who traveled to the American west because the people their were unfamiliar with vampires and their inherent weaknesses. Even if reduced to 0 HP, he will regain 1 HP a round unless the damage was done by silver, fire, sunlight, blessed items, or magic. He takes 10 damage every round they are in direct sunlight. Unless decapitated, anyone killed by Rudolph's bite will rise as a vampire the next night.

U is for Undead Nightmare

Undead Nightmare is the best Weird West video game out there. Honestly, I wish it wasn't a stand alone expansion. I would play a full length game like this, especially if they added other supernatural creatures.

The Fresh Dead

AC 9 [10]   HD: 1    Attacks: Bite (1d3) Move: 12' Special: Anyone bitten by a fresh dead must make a saving throw. If they fail they will die and become one of the fresh dead in 1d3 minutes. A head shot will instantly kill the zombie.

Bruisers

AC 9 [10]   HD: 4    Attacks: Acid Spittle (1d6, range 20') or Bite (1d3) Move: 9' Special: Ayone bitten by a retcher must make a saving throw. If they fail they will die and become one of the fresh dead in 1d3 minutes. A head shot will instantly kill the zombie.

Retcher

AC 9 [10]   HD: 3    Attacks: Flail (1d6+special) or Bite (1d3) Move: 9' Special: Anyone hit by a flailing bruiser must make a successful saving throw or be knocked to the ground. In addition, anyone bitten by a bruiser must make a saving throw. If they fail they will die and become one of the fresh dead in 1d3 minutes. A head shot will instantly kill the zombie.

Bolter

AC 8 [11]   HD: 2+1    Attacks: Claw (1d6) or Bite (1d3) Move: 15' Special: Anyone bitten by a bolter must make a saving throw. If they fail they will die and become one of the fresh dead in 1d3 minutes. A head shot will instantly kill the zombie.

T is for Tom

Long Tom is a trick-shooting little person who worked as an entertainer in Buffalo Will's Wild West Show. He has been both an ally and enemy of bounty hunter, Jonah Hex.

Long Tom

Real Name: Unknown

First Appearance: Jonah Hex: Shadow West #1 (February 1999)

AC 6 [13]      HD: 3+1   Attacks:  Pistol (1d6 damage, range 60') Move: 9

Equipment: pistol, oversized hat

Long Tom is a fast gunslinger and gets a +2 bonus to initiative. He reduces all cover by 1/4. 

S is for Silver Ranger

The Silver Ranger

Level 7 Gunslinger

Real Name: Unknown

First Appearance: Silver Streak Comics #21 (March 1941)

Str 12            Int 11

Dex 18 (+1)  Wis 14

Con 13          Cha 12

4 HD (15 HP) Save: 9 Movement: 12

AC 8 [11] (Dex)

Attacks: Pistols (+8 to hit/+3 to hit, 1d6 damage, range 60')

Other: Party gains +3 to initiative, can also use lassos and knives

Equipment: 2 pistols, lasso, knife, Lucifer (wonder horse)

The Silver Ranger is a mysterious crime fighter that battles injustice in the West. He's a great detective and fighter. 

R is for Red Dead Redemption

Red Dead Redemption is my favorite video game of all time. The story is engrossing, the characters are fantastic, and the game is just plain fun. I've beat the story several times and spent many hours playing a zombie hooker in the online multiplayer with my buddy John. If you haven't played the game, here's the trailer:

The game's protagonist, John Marston, was the first character I statted out for Six-Shooters & Wagons. You can find those stats here. There's definitely more RDR content coming for Six-Shooters. I will stat the zombies from its Undead Nightmare expansion out for my U post. 

Red Dead Redemption 2 comes out later this year. I'm beyond stoked!

In RDR you can enter Dead Eye Mode. This is bullet time mode that allows you to aim at multiple targets and automatically hit. If you would like to make your games more cinematic like this, you can use this rule.

One per day per every three levels the character possesses can use deadeye. While in Dead Eye all of the characters attacks are considered backstabs. Characters using the Deadeye optional class can the ability to use this ability at 1st level.

Q is for The Quick and the Dead (1995)

Synopsis: A tough as nails female gunslinger enters a shooting competition in a corrupt town. Her goal, kill the corrupt head of the town... the man who made her the person she is today.

The Good: A tough as nails female gunslinger enters a shooting competition in a corrupt town. There are some great character actors in this one. Keith David and Lance Henrickson are both great as some of the competitors. I mentioned before, I absolutely love DiCaprio's The Kid. Gene Hackman steals his scenes, but then again, he is Gene Hackman.

The Bad: This is a B western with some interesting scenes and characters. It isn't masterpiece theater. The acting in general isn't the greatest, but if you like Sam Raimi's stuff, it's enjoyable.

The Ugly:  Stone's performance, while not bad, is kind of bland. Then again, she's a female version of a classic trope. She's just a quiet brooding hero with a dark past. Sometimes I like these heroes, sometimes I don't. I feel the same about Crowe's performance. It wasn't great, but it's not bad.

In Your Game:  

Dueling

To simulate the tension and deadly nature of shoot outs in Six-Shooters & Wagons you can include the following optional rules.

In a duel, the shooter that wins initiative can make their attack a backstab. The attack gains a +4 to hit and inflicts double damage. If the character already has the ability to backstab, then this becomes a death attack. They gain the previous benefits, plus the target must making a successful saving throw or die.

P is for Pistolero

Here's a new class for Six-Shooters & Wagons.

Pistolero 

In your hands shooting irons tend to do things that defy reality. Maybe it's magic? 

  Level                      HD                           BHB                         Save

1                              1                              +0                            15

2                              2                              +1                             14

3                              2+1                         +2                            13

4                              3                             +3                            12

5                              4                              +4                            11

6                              4+1                         +5                            10

7                              5                              +6                            9

Pistoleros know how to use pistols and hold outs. They also know how to bludgeon folks with them in melee (doing 1d3+strength bonus damage)

Quick Draw: Gunslingers are faster than lighting on the draw. When determining initiative, the gunslinger's party gains a +1 bonus. This bonus increases by one at 3rd and 6th level.

Trick Shot: Once per day per level you do an impressive shooting display (such as shooting the top off a bottle of whiskey or putting a whole in a cowpokes new hat without braining him). This shot may not be an attack, but it also doesn't require a role to succeed. 

Ignore Cover: By aiming carefully and letting bullets ricochet can reduce the AC bonus given by cover. At first level you can treat one fourth cover as if the target had no cover. At 2nd level you can treat half cover as one fourth cover. At 4th level you can treat three fourths cover as half cover. Finally at 6th level you can treat full cover as three fourths cover.

O is for Ozark Howler

Sightings of this cryptid date back to the 1800's so it seemed like a good critter for Six-Shooters & Wagons. 

Ozark Howler

AC 4 [15]             HD 4              Attack  claw (1d6 damage)                Move 12

These bear sized creatures have thick body, stocky legs, shaggy hair, and horns. They live in remote areas of Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas. They are named for their cry, which sounds like a strange hybrid of wolf howl and elk bugle.

Instead of attacking an Ozark Howler can howl. Anyone within 100 yards that hears that howl must making a saving throw or lose their next action out of fear.