Wild West Horse Opera
Worlds of Pulp:Wild West Horse Opera
Role Playing Game Set in Mythic Arizona
Excerpted from Review for Rolling Boxcars¸ A Shiny New Star
Like many Western RPGs¸ WWHO replicates a romanticized version of the American Wild West. Pulling inspiration from mass media of the early to mid 20th century while remaining respectful to the indigenous peoples who roamed the plains before the great expanse. Its action is over the top and unrestrained as any good pulp story should be. Though it is set in the historic west¸ its stories run parallel or seen from afar as opposed to direct interaction with history. The game steers gamemasters to built their own stories instead of interceding into those already written. The game's suggested base setting¸ Mythic Arizona Territory¸ is a mirror of reality with enough divergence to stay true to the genre but flexible enough to tell your own tales.
Well¸ was the wait all worth it? In the time Wild West Horse Opera hit Kickstarter to its final release¸ it easy to see a lot of research¸ thought¸ and time was put into the project. It's clearly reflected in the work. The game mechanics accentuates the feel of a pulp game¸ and it's attention to detail to the western genre is present. The rules are clearly written and very well organized. The book uses a decimal numbering system for each chapter and subsection¸ which I found useful when writing this review. It allowed me to quickly find the sections of rules and undoubtedly will aid a gamemaster at the table. The publication layout is very clean and well thought out. It's interior black and white illustrations are highly detailed¸ ooze pulp¸ and a lot of flavor. The extensive random generators have applications well beyond this game or system. I¸ for one¸ will no longer have a simple horse in any of my games. It took a long time to make it¸ but it's finally here¸ and it's a welcomed addition to the western RPG genre.
~Stephen Penissi
Pinned down behind the rocks¸ as a near endless barrage of rifle rounds explode off the crumbling stone¸ the trail tested hero looked back at the sorrel stallion and the rifle still sheathed in the saddle scabbard. The reports of the weapons sang in the canyon¸ as the relentless salvo continued. But perhaps¸ the hero thought¸ there might still be a way out of this.
As the GM you craft and control the story and its myriad of characters and villains.
As a player¸ you become the hero of the story¸ developing an original character from the well-known western archetypes inside.
Play in any western setting¸ it can be horror¸ pulp¸ or science fiction.
The power to choose is yours!
• Simple¸ fun¸ and fast 2d6 mechanic
• Rules designed to enhance Role-Playing aspects of game
• S.L.I.C. NPC rules allows GMs to create NPCs with one number¸ as an alternative to fully fleshed out NPC. This enhances game speed.
• Fully detailed towns of Slow Funeral Ridge¸ and Gunshot¸ with maps
• Over 30 Archetypes and 80 Abilities to bring your character to life
• 128 Story hooks to keep games fresh and new
• Random event generators for town and mountain/canyon encounters
• Guidelines for creating original¸ fast¸ simple towns.
• Simple encounter definitions allowing you the freedom to tell complicated stories without being encumbered
by excessive math.
• Rules for Western Horror¸ Saddles of Samhain
• Guidlines for Western Pulp and Science Fiction.