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What do you want to see: Western Champions


JmOz

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A Steam-punk - Wild , Wild West section. a section on tribal heroes. a section on legendary figures might be nice- Pecos Bill , John Henry etc. . As a suggetion there was a large meteor shower in 1833 the Indian clled the Year the Stars Fell [i think the name is right].This could be a tie in event for some super powers or origins.Oh yes and do not forget the Lone Ranger or the Original Ghost Rider or Zorro or the Cisco Kid. Also remeber Sky King for a slightly different time period but still the west. Clones or knock- offs of any of the above might be intresting templates or examples.

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Did heroes work for the establishment? (Confederate/Union soldiers in the war; Cavalrymen; Texas Rangers; Sherriffs; Union Pacific; Pinkerton Detectives; American Indians; Federalis)

 

I guess we can get Train & Horse stats elsewhere. I'm sure I can figure out how many BODY a wagon has.

 

Can't imagine people knew what a superhero was. Probably scared the daylights out of them even more so than in contemporary campaigns when the McGinty kid up the street suddenly shot lightningbolts from his forehead. He must be cursed or something!

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http://www.wolfram.demon.co.uk/rp_ch_om_1995_top.html

This guy has some cool ideas in his timeline, superhumans appearing in the 1880's and how this affects history.

 

Aside from that, how do superhuman archetypes interact with western archetypes? There would seem to be some overlap between speedsters and the fastest guns in the west, bricks and burly blacksmiths, indian scouts and sneaky stealthy types... Do all these fit into the same game, or are some superfluous?

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I can't think of one example of a Western Supers, plenty of Western Pulp (Wild, Wild, West, LXG, Folk Lore etc) but nothing I would consider Supers. I'll be interested to see what you come up with so my brain will stop hurting. :)

 

I think you are exploring a completely new genre, congratulations on your discovery. :cool:

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I wrote up porter Rockwell a little while ago. His talents (recieves divine protection from bullets and knives, as well as clairsentience level tracking) make him border on superheroic. But then he's my favorite old west icon. Too bad most movies featuring the Avenging Angel aren't very good.

 

I guess this could be a great opportunity for 'Tall Tale Hero'. Paul Bunyan, Davy Crocket, Pecos Bill, John Henry.

 

Any book of this nature would need plenty of setting information. List a few indian reservations, forts, etc.

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Originally posted by Toadmaster

I can't think of one example of a Western Supers, plenty of Western Pulp (Wild, Wild, West, LXG, Folk Lore etc) but nothing I would consider Supers. I'll be interested to see what you come up with so my brain will stop hurting. :)

 

I think you are exploring a completely new genre, congratulations on your discovery. :cool:

 

Zorro and the Lone Ranger are both Western Champions type characters. Also there have been a lot of Marvel & DC western superheroes, such characters as The Two Guns Kid (Who is an Avenger BTW), Nighthawk, Phantom Rider, Cinnemon. There are lots of examples, however most did not have any real powers, it shares this with Dark Champions.

 

I became interested when I picked up some issues of West Coast Avengers that involved time travel back to the 1800's where many of Marvel's old western heroes showed up in.

Also DC has done a number of Elseworld stories, such as the "Justice Riders" where they have placed familiar characters in odd time periods

 

I hope this helps with the pain in the brain.

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Are you limiting yourself to a period, or a geography, or either? I think just about any point in the westward expansion has interesting stuff in it. Daniel Boone never made it to Carson City, but either period would make a good setting.

 

The US dealings with Mexico, the CAS, and every tribe of indians from the Delaware to the Apache all seem to fit the genre. Also, it seems to go from just slightly pre-steam engine to just slightly pre-internal combustion engine. That's a long range, tech-wise.

 

For example, I have an ancestor (Lewis Wetzel, a bad bad man) who fought the Delaware on the Ohio river, left the Alamo (sorry folks, I only shoot Indians. I've got no problems with Mexicans...), did time in Louisiana, and eventually died there. He was a sweeping range hero, but he died long before the '49 gold rush.

 

Could be a huge project. Of course, I would rather be in any Leone Western than Jeremiah Johnson.

 

Looking at what I've written, I'm no help at all. sorry.

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I hadn't been going to contribute to this thread for lack of any helpful ideas, but one just came to me a few minutes ago.

 

I think it would be helpful to have some notes on how to maintain a Western "feel" in the game even if the PCs include a speedster and a guy who shoots lightning bolts from his fingertips.

 

My tuppence.... :D

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Originally posted by JmOz

Zorro and the Lone Ranger are both Western Champions type characters. Also there have been a lot of Marvel & DC western superheroes, such characters as The Two Guns Kid (Who is an Avenger BTW), Nighthawk, Phantom Rider, Cinnemon. There are lots of examples, however most did not have any real powers, it shares this with Dark Champions.

 

I became interested when I picked up some issues of West Coast Avengers that involved time travel back to the 1800's where many of Marvel's old western heroes showed up in.

Also DC has done a number of Elseworld stories, such as the "Justice Riders" where they have placed familiar characters in odd time periods

 

I hope this helps with the pain in the brain.

 

Ok, I can see calling the Lone Ranger and Zorro "supers", I can't explain the differance to me between Pulp and Supers but these two qualify in my opinion. I'm not familiar with the others you mention but thanks, I was really stumped for examples.

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I agree, powers should be kept to a minumim with options for higher power individuals. One important aspect I want to stress is the feel, they are not just characters who ride houses instead of motorcycles, they are justice where there is none. The Law range from ineffective (1 sherif and a deputy trying to police a huge stretch of land) to corupt...

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Modern Marvel Western Heroes

 

Marvel has several supers that maintain a Western feel to them and were at one time in a group called the Rangers...some of them were created for the first appearance of the Rangers, some had been around for awhile.

 

Texas Twister...I think he first appeared as a Shield super agent.

 

Shooting Star...created for the group, I believe, turned out to be a demon, but maybe there's a real Shooting Star out there somewhere.

 

Red Wolf...the quintessential Native American Western superhero.

 

Phantom Rider...a guy possessed by the ghost of one of the previous Phantom Riders.

 

Some other Marvel Native American supers are Black Crow, Puma, and American Eagle.

 

Also, props to DC's Jonah Hex, who is definitely a super level fighter.

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The Feel

 

I thought about this a few years ago myself. A Western Champions campaign should feel like a tall tale. Powers and abilities and gadgetry should be tailored to fit the 19th Century setting (perhaps stretching things a bit with a Jules Verne/H.G. Wells twist). Think about some of our traditional examples:

 

Pecos Bill -- super skill levels at riding, roping, shooting, etc., and probably Damage Reduction. He could ride anything -- vicious horses, moutain lions, tornados.

 

Paul Bunyan -- giant brick, masterful organizer and leader, clever inventor

 

John Henry -- brick, tunneling, super endurance, labor organizer

 

Jack Magnarac (I think that's it) -- Hungarian-born steel mill worker, the original Man of Steel. Strong, impervious to physical harm. He was working in the factories back East while Pecos Bill was taming the West. His name means "jackass," reflecting his strength and stubborness. He melted himself down to protest the closing of the steel mills.

 

Johnny Appleseed -- mystic. Single-handedly stops minor wars, talks to animals, expert herbalist and healer.

 

I'm sure you could find other examples at the library.

 

So ... no powered armor. No lightning bolts shooting out of people's heads. No spandex. The powers have to fit the time period.

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Another thing to notice is that all the tall tale heroes are vocation-related with abilities to match their jobs: Pecos Bill is the best cowboy there is; Paul Bunyan is the best lumberjack there is; Feebold Feeboldsen is the best backyard tinkerer there is; Jack Magnarmac is the best steel worker there is. So in your Western Champions campaign you wouldn't want to, say, have two cowboy characters because they both can't be the best. Instead, you'd have the best cowboy, the best frontier newspaperman, the best blacksmith, and so forth.

 

That would also limit the powers your player-characters would have. The best frontier blacksmith wouldn't need to fire Zeta Rays from his eyes but he'd probably be impervious to heat-based damage (so he can handle and shape iron with his bare hands), the strength to squeeze stubborn metal into the shapes he wants, and Inventor skill out the wazoo (again, limited in application by the 19th Century setting).

 

Also notice that tall tale heroes don't worry about origins much. Paul Bunyan was just born that way, growing outrageously fast after his birth. Pecos Bill fell out of his parents' wagon while it was crossing the Pecos River (hence his name) and was raised by coyotes. Jack Magnarac and Feebold Feeboldsen were immigrants apparently fresh off the boat from Europe. Johnny Appleseed was an entirely ordinary New England youth until he chose a vocation and headed West. Your player-characters' origins should be similar -- no space aliens, cosmic entities, elven halfbreeds, etc. Don't worry too much about how they got their powers; as long as they are appropriate to and consistent with the character's vocation it's all right.

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