New Old School Games & Art
It is official. The final full version of Gunslinger RPG core rules are now available on DriveThruRPG.
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/435804/Gunslinger-Roleplaying-Game
It was a wild ride, and it is a relief to finally have it out there. I hope you all enjoy it.
Gunslinger goes to press today.
In this final installment of Gunslinger Preview Week here are a couple of the never before shown full page illustrations for the book. This will give you some kind of idea of the kinds of adventures you will go on in the game. This first one is "Bug Hunt" where a couple of daring gunslingers abscond with some giant wasp eggs to sell to the Smithsonian, hopefully for a good sum.
The second illustration, a native overlooks some gunslingers exploring mysterious ruins found in a hidden canyon. Could this lead to the fabled Arizona Underworld?
And in the last one a gang does a fast getaway after robbing a bank, will you go after them for the reward money? Or is your party of outlaws one of the gang members?!
You need to read about the history of the Apache Wars.
Truly, one of the most fascinating chapters in American history. Like many Americans I was vaguely aware of it. Of course I'd heard of Geronimo, but didn't know much else. Even though I'd grown up in Arizona, I think I slept through much of Arizona History class.
We think the Afghanistan war went on a long time, well the Apache Wars went on longer, and were a much tougher fight. The Chiricahua Apache had mastered guerilla warfare, they'd strike, and melt into the Arizona hills. They gave the US Cavalry hell for decades. And for the Apache this was after years of war with the Mexicans before US purchased the Arizona territory.
One of the most legendary fighters was Lozen. She was part of Geronimo's elite inner circle of warriors, and fought as hard as any man.
Generating NPC's is one of the more time consuming tasks for the game Referee, so pages of NPC's based on historical figures are included.
Gunslinger is an "open world" campaign, in terms of the Arizona Territory being presented as is, but there are many adventuring locations spelled out: abandoned mines, ghost towns, caves, and then some more "pulpy" locations added such as ancient ruins and a vast underworld. With the Apache wars as part of the backdrop.
One of the features of Gunslinger is Strange Science. To those familiar with Gamma World (or the classic Expedition to the Barrier Peaks) you'll recall how exciting it was to find some weird unknown piece of technology and trying to figure out how it works. Sometimes to great effect, and other times to disaster!
And since Gunslinger doesn't have magic* this is the closest thing to it. As Arthur C. Clarke famously said "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." That is certainly true in the Arizona Territory in the 1800's where strange science is involved.
For those fans of the genre, there are a lot of Easter Eggs in here I'm sure you'll appreciate.
Closing in on those last little details to send Gunslinger to press this week.
*There is a "Mythic West" appendix in the back for those who want a little supernatural in their campaign.
Another preview of the final text and art from the Gunslinger RPG.
I mentioned previously how much art went into the making of this game, well a huge amount of that went into the critters section. During research for the setting of the 1800's Arizona Territory I came across quite a few interesting legends. Many of these made it into the book, with some modification to make them useful for your own wild west (with a bit of strange science!) campaign milieu.
This week Gunslinger goes to press!
So, I'll post a little preview of final art and text each day this week. Let's start with our main character, the Gunslinger. I like to think of him as the "Paladin" of the game.
This will be your last chance to get the Gunslinger RPG (PDF) at the "Beta Edition" rate, once the full final version is posted it will go up to regular price. https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/435804/gunslinger-roleplaying-game
Information is beginning to trickle out on what is in D&D 2024. Here are the classes and sub-classes that will be in the Player's Handbook.
Barbarian:
Bard
Cleric
Druid
Fighter
Monk
Paladin
Ranger
Rogue
Sorcerer
Warlock
Wizard
June is the month Gunslinger goes to press. Come hell or high water it is getting finished. So I imagine I'll have to do a postmortem at some point to pinpoint why it took so long and how to make future projects more efficient.
Looking at the art folder there are over 200 art assets.
Over...two...hundred...art...assets.
This is a one man operation, I did have some help editing and playtesting, but the writing, design, graphics, layout, and art are all my responsibility. Just back of the envelope math if each art asset took 4-6 hours to make (some took a lot more, a few took less). That is 1200 hours of work. I have a full time job, and I'm a dad, so that had to be done between life responsibilities. And that doesn't include the writing, editing, playtesting, research, and design where the bulk of my time was spent. This project got to be a little ridiculous. I thought it was going to be a quick little OSR western. If I had been smart about it that is what Gunslinger would have been, but nope.
The book itself is clocking in at 134 pages. The kickstarter version is a little longer because it includes a prelude chapter to the Princess of the Red Planet adventure. By RPG standards 134 pages isn't huge, but note that it is the cream of the research and playtest efforts. Not a lot of drivel in it, like most RPG's have.
In the end nobody cares how long something took to make. The product stands or falls on its own. All I can say is I did my best on it. This month, June, the book goes to press. Fin.
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| For some reason I thought illustrating every critter was a good idea. |
