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New Monograph Submitted - Aces High
It seemed strange to me that an American company would be interested in a Western game supplement written by an English bloke. But what can you say, Chaos is a wonderful thing!
What follows is most of what went into the original proposition I sent to Dustin around september last year. I uploaded it to the Chaosium server near the end of Feburary.
ACES HIGH - a mythical western BRP supplement.
THE PLAYERS SECTION
Introduction, setting the scene.
Violence is an everyday occurrence on the frontier of Civilisation. Settlers make a grab for the fertile land, destroying whatever does not fit their ideal. Prospectors are raping the hills for precious metals; dumping their waste in the fresh, clear rivers. Trappers slaughter vast herds of buffalo for their valuable pelts, leaving a wake of rotting carcasses, a mountain of bone and skulls. The Law can barely cope, as lynch mobs leave cadavers hanging from the trees.
The Red Skins fight for their very existence, being caught between death and degradation. The Old Powers cannot compete with the New Power from the East. The Wise have begun to abandon hope; the young still believe they have a chance to even the score.
Ancient Mysteries are discovered as the White Man slowly conquers his New World. However, everything is not always as it seems.
Chapter 1
Character Generation - the rules and optional rules that will be used from the standard BRP rule book. Including cross referenced page numbers to the BRP book, and a modified character sheet, to allow for those options.
Chapter 2
Extraordinary Abilities – No magic, mutations or psychic powers for the player characters (as a general rule). However, there is an optional Table for random Extraordinary Abilities. Increased (or decreased) attributes, special skills, affinities and Psychosis, Phobias, Dependencies and other weirdness.
Chapter 3
New Skills - quite a short chapter refining and clarifying the basic rule set. Quick Draw, or Fast Draw, becomes an ability that anyone can use at anytime. Additional rules for Two Pistol Style, shooting rifles with one hand, shotguns with solid or scatter shot, firearm modifications, and pistol whipping.
Chapter 4
Occupations - specific occupations from both sides of the Law, for Slaves, Women and Chinese player characters. Be a Lawman, a Hired Killer or a Shaolin Monk!
Chapter 5
Guns, Equipment and Supplies - a cross section of weapons for the wild west period with the year that they were most common to allow pre or post civil war gaming periods. Possible expansion may include pre and post Independence gaming periods with muskets and black powder weapons.
Chapter 6
Religion, Piety and Allegiance - Includes brief descriptions of Evangelists, 7th day Adventists, Fundamentalists, Spiritualism, Voodoo, Mormon, Quaker, the Millerites and others.
Chapter 7
A period map of America c.1870.
The Harsh Law - covering hangings and lynch mobs, Outlaws and the chance of being Wanted. Can you survive being hanged? What does it take to be Wanted Dead or Alive?
Attitudes of the West - how did people regard and treat Women, the Celestials, Red Skins, Mexicans and Negroes on a day to day basis.
A brief history of the Americas, from the Land bridge to 1900 - One idea is to allow historical play from any period in the Americas from prehistoric natives to 1900.
A list of Presidents - a brief description of what they did.
THE MASTERS SECTION
An Introduction from behind the veil, Secrets revealed.
Chapter 8
Townscapes - What can you expect to find in a frontier town? A settler village? A boom town? Will include suggestions on how to quickly find out what is most likely to be available.
A Map of Mystic Sites - where to find some of the odd critters that live there.
Chapter 9
The Animal Kingdom - animal descriptions and statistics from Alligator to Wolverine. Approximately 30 types of animal, nothing particularly unexpected, all mundane.
Mundane or Otherworld - Why do some spirits come from their ‘Otherworld’ to our ‘Mundane’ world, and how do they do it? More importantly, how can we send them back?
The Not So Animal Kingdom - Animal Ogres to Zombies, with some Red Skin gods and a few lake monsters thrown in for good measure. Descriptions and statistics for Traditional Indian myths and other weirdness, including...
BIG HEAD / BAT PEOPLE
The Bat People are an old, mysterious and malevolent race. They inhabit the high branches of dark and forbidding forests. They are grotesque and very large bat winged heads.
This demonic race of beings has been known to live in heavily wooded areas or high in isolated mountain ranges. They are accused of cannibalism and see other races and beings as things to exploit and torture. They are universally regarded as evil and malicious.
Otherworldly creature powers and descriptions.
Chapter 10
Arcane Lore in the West
Optional Player occupations - includes Diabolist, Voodoo Priest, Witches, Warlocks, the Drifter and the Red Skins.
The Diabolist sees all life as if it were a complex mathematical or symbolic cycle of enlightenment and ignorance. Diabolists are after the pursuit of Evil for its own sake, committing deliberate wickedness whenever the opportunity arises.
The Voodoo priest of the coloured folk is a source of great fear and respect. The people in the Voodoo priests neighbourhood are required to support him; in return he aids them in whatever ways he can. He will not take kindly to lack of respect and can curse as well as cure.
Whipping, torture and lynching have the power to create a Drifter but there are many other ways. Hate and pain have conspired to create this avenging angel. He has been put in the situation where he can see that he has lost everything. He understands his complete and utter destruction.
The Red Skins are steeped in mystery; few outsiders are allowed to freely explore the insides of an Indian camp without being harassed. They call themselves ‘the human beings’ and seek guidance from the spirits.
Chapter 11
Red Skin Tribes
Red Skin rituals - All of the American Indian tribes are closely linked in some way to a mystical power. These rituals put them in touch with their Totem Animal, reveal knowledge or heal.
Totem Animals for the Brave and Magic for the Shaman.
Animism, Totemism and Fetishism - Three points of view for the origin of Red Skins magic.
The American Indian Language Tree - many American Indian languages all stemmed from one original language. How easy is it for Apache to talk to Sioux? Optional rules to cover this fact.
Chapter 12
A short scenario…
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Originally Posted by MrJealousy
