D20 western/horror

[icantsavemyself]

So I've only GM'ed a couple of games before and I never really felt comfortable with it but, lo and behold, a great idea smacked me in the face last night and I already about three pages of rough notes that could support about two straight weekends of gaming.

Anyways, the idea is to have them work for Wells Fargo as stagecoach guards and eventually they end up in a smallish town in Death Valley that has succumbed to...wait for it... the zombie outbreak. After all this I have some intrigue and sabotage ideas to throw around.

I was wondering if you guys had any tips, comments, suggestions, criticism and anything else helpful or otherwise. We probably won't be able to game for another two months or so, so I'm willing to change things around.

[Wyntonian]

You planning on using d20 modern or what?

Hell, this would make a neat 3.5 campaign...

[icantsavemyself]

Yeah, I was planning on using D20 Modern and Past. If you think 3.5 would be better and you have advice on how to convert different weapons and western type class ideas into D&D I would appreciate it. As of now I see us using Modern though, unless I can pick up a copy of Aces & Eights but I don't see that happening any time soon.

Once again, any feedback would be great.

[Nepenthe]

Let me start by saying this is awesome and I would love to play this.

Some quick notes:
Zombies don't really play as horror anymore. People see zombies as fodder and will probably just try to kill as many as possible. They're probably better suited for an action-y shoot-em-up type game, but there's nothing inherently wrong with that, and it would still work great in the old west.

In my experience (and this is consistently being re-confirmed), horror only works at the table if all of your players buy into the horror. That is, the players have to know they are in a horror game and allow themselves to be scared. If only one person breaks the mood (intentionally or not) you're pretty much done. Don't let that discourage you though, just be up front with your players and make sure that everyone actually wants to play that type of game.

Finally, the types of horror that usually work best in table-top games (again, in my experience) are eldritch abomination or David Lynch-esque subtle perversions of the incredibly mundane.

[icantsavemyself]

That's actually really nice to hear that you guys think it's a good idea. My group is totally jam up when it comes to zombies in our games. We get really into it and let the characters actually come to terms with it on their own time.

Right now they're all up to play any type of game and our usual GM is a little burnt out so it's up to me. I've let them all know that I'm running a western game and they'll work for Wells Fargo. We've talked about doing a straight zombie western but the guy who had the aces & eights books is out of the loop.

I'm thinking of making the zombies be a mystery until later in the campaign and not really the focus. Kind of like one of those tall tales and "Those guys have been out on the trail for waayyy to long" kind of deals.

[Nepenthe]

[...] My group is totally jam up when it comes to zombies in our games. We get really into it and let the characters actually come to terms with it on their own time.
In that case, I envy your group.

[zorenathres]

they made a d20 version of deadlands, western & horror in a nutshell but not just zombies, its got mad scientists, hucksters, & a bunch of weird stuff...

[hoverfrog]

Zombies themselves become very easy to defeat after a few levels. Having a "boss" who is more than a zombie is pretty much a requirement. Converting the Zombie Lord (http://oracle.wizards.com/scripts/wa.exe?A2=ind0012a&L=ravenloft-l&D=1&P=4879) from Ravenloft to whatever system you decide on might be one option.

[Giggling Ghast]

Sounds pretty cool. I had an idea once for a fantasy Weird West (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/WeirdWest) adventure where the sheriff possessed a magical gun that animated the corpses of the criminals he killed. He made the zombies his deputies.

[eggs]

I really hate to endorse Deadlands d20, but I'd bet it has some material that addresses this scenario almost exactly.

[Kalaska'Agathas]

they made a d20 version of deadlands, western & horror in a nutshell but not just zombies, its got mad scientists, hucksters, & a bunch of weird stuff...


I really hate to endorse Deadlands d20, but I'd bet it has some material that addresses this scenario almost exactly.

As said above, Deadlands has got what you seem to want. But I would personally recommend the Classic Rules or the Savage Worlds versions over the d20 version. Or, if you already like GURPS, the GURPS variant might be worth checking out (I've never played GURPS, so I can't personally endorse it).

[icantsavemyself]

I'm only planning on having the zombies be a thing for one or two sessions and it's supposed to be one of those, "What the heck just happened?" scenarios. The idea I'm mulling around with is that a crazy railroad tycoon was trying to find a way to get free labor and infects this town with the zombie virus but it goes horribly wrong.

After a few days the characters find a way to get out safely and as they're leaving a flash flood hits the town and washes the zombies into some giant hole or something like that.

When they get back to the real world my plan is to steer the characters towards working for the railroad company and then finding about it's nefarious plans.

I would like to get the Deadlands book but we're all kinda tight with money and buying a gaming book we might use once or twice doesn't fall in any of our budgets/

[SilverClawShift]

I hate suggesting something of my own because it feels.... cheap.

But me and my group made The Dustlands (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=46752&highlight=Dustlands)

Of particular note, the Wasteling race fits incredibly well into an undead western.

[icantsavemyself]

I really dig the vibe of the Dustlands project but I don't it would really fit with what I'm going for.

I found a comic called Sixth Gun that talks about an undead confederate general and that seems really appealing to me. I think I might make him a zombie lord and have him be the leader of the private military for the railroad tycoon. This town was probably the first foray into changing people into zombies.

Earlier today I remembered a pulp fiction WWII campaign my step dad ran for us and he had a recurring bad guy who was a superstitious German Colonel who searched for ancient relics and alien artifacts for Hitler and I think I'm going to bring him into this game as the railroad tycoon and make him undying.

I remember he had a bowie knife that could read minds when he dug into your forehead and then he would take your pinky finger after he "questioned" you.