Western Elements 2018 (review and edit 2013 and what else? Print it out and see?)11/20/2017Game idea for module:(Edited 04/21/06, 04/02/2009)(Spell Check 2012, not sure of any other changes or corrections this or like documents. Print out the other Elements of a Western and see what pops up?) https://sites.google.com/site/abrigon/gaming/elements-of-a-western-2013 (Thank you Steve, Mars, David and others for ideas and corrections) ELEMENTS OF A WESTERN:
INDEX:
Characters
Character – Generic
Places
Groups
Plot Ideas
Other Elements (such as foreign, or outside the US, or science fiction or like, that fit the Western Ideal/Mold but are far from Western US/Canada or Northern Mexico).
Disputes
Should be more like: CHARACTERS:
Sheriff/Marshal
Cattle Police
Rustlers – Cattle main ones but need not be.
Priest/Preacher
Cowboys
Bandits
Little Boy/Girl
Soldiers/Federals
Mexican Army
Federal Agent
Indian Agent
Scout - white or Indian, or maybe even black.
Indians (helpful of they are known aggressive types, but not always, depends on the plot). Never know they might be the victims.
Bartender
Bar Maid
Whores/Entertainers/Madame
Drunk(s)
Preacher
Lord/Don/Owner of the local ranch
Undertaker
Hangman
School Teacher
Snake Oil Salesman (or some other travelling sales person)
Conmen (see snake oil, but not always the same)
Carpet Bagger (more for southern style)
Bankers (can be a character or just a plot device, or? )
Prospectors/Miners
Blacksmith
Gambler
Gunslinger
Peasants/Peon
Slaves - Former or even depending on time and place, current. Slaves are not always black, some Asian and Irish slaves/in dentured servants, as well as some Indians (From India) was used in late western times.
Chinese/Blacks/Irish slaves or semi-slaves (Indentured). Many southerners used black slaves from their plantations/stock to mine California gold from their lands there.
Confederates (former/bandits or refugees?)
Engineers (Train normally, but possible others, like the oil or water or projects type)
Doctor/Dentist/Snake Oil Salesmen - Quack or for real
Adventurer/Big Game Hunter
Judge
Post Master
Gunsmith
Carpetbagger (southern style or ?)
Foreign dignitary (not often)
President or member of current or past administration)
Member of Congress, but not often
Secret Agent (See James West for some ideas, but not always)
CHARACTERS - GENERIC
Hero
Villain – Often a big land owner or trying to be.
Main Secondary Villain, often the head of the local ranch or like, the face of the Villain.
Side Kick -
Victim(s)
Snitch
Love Interest (Even if not romantically involved)
Horse
Dog or other animal non-riding
Madame
Deputies/ Posse
Vigilantes
Bounty Hunters
Buffalo hunters
Barber/ bathhouse
Telegraph operator
Piano Player
Farmer
Cattle rancher
Sheep Herder/Ranch
Cavalrymen
Madame
School Teacher
Pony Express
Wells Fargo Stage
Railroad
Spanish Mission monks and maybe nuns
Suttler (general store)
Mule Skinner
Chinese railroad workers
Chinese Doctor/Pharmacy/Apothecary.
Early Union Organizer
Cooper
Wainwright (making wagons and like)
Assayer
(Got to remember what some of the professions was doing)
PLACES:
Hotel/Bar
Whore House
Ranch - Sheep/Cattle
Farm
Bank
Jail
Train Stop/Station
Store (General)
Houses
Court House
Feed Store/Livery Stable/Blacksmith/Corral
Hacienda/Ranch (And buildings for it)
Church
Gallows
Undertakers Office
Doctors Office
Post Office
Fort
Apothecary
Opium Den (sometimes the same as the Apothecary, some time separate) often run by a Chinese doctor.
Corral
Brothel
Assayer’s office
Land claims office
Wainwrights or Cooper place/shop (one does wagons the other does wheels or is it pots/pans and like?)
GROUPS:
Cattlemen
Sheep Herders
Farmer
Former Slaves - Settlers
Settlers
Mormons
Wives Club
Grange/Farmers Groups
Crime Group
Hatfield/McCoy/etc.: Any group that might have a natural grudge against the other, often due to a land or like issues that went to far. Racial/Religious/Romance and more (Romeo and Juliet).
Deputies
Soldiers
Tribes
Cattlemen
Sheep Herders
Farmers
Miners
Chinese: Chinese or other Asian group (most often seen in the western US). Chinese and like can add Eastern elements, such as the early Tong/Triads and more. But also how they were treated..
Mexicans (Spanish and Non-Spanish).
Revolutionaries (Poncho and Friends and more). Much of the troubles of the 1840s to 1920 were over Northern Mexican issues, and land acquisition from Mexico).
Groups, ex-Confeds, like Klan or like type people, or you mean like the James/Younger/Dalton gangs, who had Mosby or Quantrill backgrounds.. True, need not be ex-confederates, can be real ones, such as they mission in like 1863 to go to California. But they did not get there to cut off the gold mines.. Or as said before they got lost or just trying to escape from justice.
Mormons or other religious group, most often Christian in nature.
Like Black settlers, off to find a land where slavery is not around, or something like that.
Monastery or like things?
PLOT IDEAS:
Gun slinger
Cattlemen vs. Sheep Herders
Sheep Herders vs. Farmers
Farmers vs. Cattlemen
Farmers vs. Sheep Herders or Cattlemen
Miners vs. someone? Claim jumpers or ?
Murder or self defense
Locked up wrongly locked up/imprisoned.
Defense, sheriff arrests someone and he can not do much until judge or marshal is in town or army is.
Runaway slave
Burning down the local Chinese doctor’s house (why many Chinese doctors houses/work place was strong and nearly bullet proof).
Conflict: Well, Hatfield’s and McCoy, can also means two groups that do not like each other, to include farmers vs. cattle headers, or sheep herders vs. cattle and so on.
Looking for more ideas and such, some westerns are more 1900s, but could be westerns, sort of. OTHER ELEMENTS:
Foreign elements such as:
Mexico/Spanish
- Poncho Vila
- Emperor Maximillian
- Texas/Chihuahua Rebellion
French
Canadian
- What is now NW US was once US/British Territory (Oregon/Washington/Idaho and ..)
As well as foreign trade. California was a nation for a short time.. Also Russia claimed what is now Alaska, British Columbia, Washington/Oregon/California coast to San Francisco and Hawaii..
CLASSIC PLOT LINES:
Corrupt Judge or like? Such as federal agent, Indian agent, sheriff and more.
Hum, maybe a list of known clash types as well as scenarios for classic westerns?
Cattle/Sheep Rustlers
Herders vs. the Animals (not common, but more than people think)
Sheriff vs. someone, sometimes a good thing, sometimes not, like a corrupt sheriff in the pocket of the cattlemen, and the son of the local sheep herder who is in love with the chief cattlemen’s daughter or something else, but he faces hanging cause of a murder or self defense or ..
Like the classic Sheriff besieges in his jail until the Army gets there?
Railroad vs. ... Cattlemen or .. Sheep or Indians or ....
Will review and make changes.. How many movies that were not a western, but might as well has been one? Star Wars for instance? Movies that come to mind for ideas?Mike From SteveDISPUTES:
There were always disputes between farmers and ranchers. Often Ranchers would buy up huge tracts of land and then fence it off, usually tying up water supplies and roads that farmers disparately needed. Sometimes it was vice-versa where farmers would fence off a lot of small properties and not allow ranchers to let their cattle/sheep/whichever to graze.
Grange/Farmers Groups
Commonly, farmers were in struggle with buyers. These companies, back when there were no regulations, would try to low ball them every time and would go so far as to use hired guns or sabotage to get their way. Farmers would try to fight back with their Co-op groups (kind of like a farmer's union) but these were often busted up with hired guns. Alternately, buyer companies would try to pose as legit commodities brokers and start co-ops with farmers - and then screw them afterwards (very low).
Crime Group:
Usually ex-confederates who didn't get over losing the war, or just didn't adjust to life after the civil war. Confederacy did move out to the western US, but failed.
Hatfield/McCoy/etc.
I personally wouldn't focus on something like that. That is more of a southern thing - although if you want to combine it with one of the above themes, it might make interesting twist.
Soldiers/Tribes
Enraged natives who are hell bent on protecting their way of life because the white man keeps reneging on their treaties - and the soldiers who are caught up in the mess. Many times, ranchers and prospectors would encroach on native lands despite ironclad treaties; these groups would form lobby-groups in Washington who in turn would make laws which allowed these groups to ignore the treaties. Also, the effort to put telegraph lines and railways tracks across the country. Almost always they didn't ask first. How would you like it if it built a swimming pool half on your backyard - and then built a fence around it so you couldn't use it?
These are merely some ideas off the top of my head. I watched many a western as a young lad...so often these plot ideas can be political back drops to a scenario. Of course you could still mix in the typically bank robbers, glory seekers, street duels (gunfights), barroom brawls, etc etc. Until civilization moved in in the 1880's-90s, the west was fairly lawless - except in big cities or large towns (Dodge City for instance). But out in the boonies, it was pretty pure anarchy.
Steve?From David I Think:The 7 Standard Western Plots
1 Shane - retired gunslinger defends the little guy
2 The Magnificent 7 - Team is hired to defend entire town.
3. Silverado - team must get rid of evil sheriff and his cronies.
4. Save the widow's farm from Simon LaGrie who is foreclosing on the
Mortgage
5. Zorro (late period swashbuckling adventures)
6 Defense of the Settler from Indians or Bandits, or on the trail from starvation or like
7 Train robbers or like
Check out the cowboy channel on cable or satellite. Just look at the Schedule menu, the plots are summarized. Claim jumpers on gold prospectors, Jail breaks or preventing jail Breaks, Bank robbers,From David (world create?)
Leader / Planner / Lawmaker
Diplomat / Translator
Counselor / Peacemaker / Priest / Philosopher
Archeologist / Scientist / Scholar / Designer
Berserker / Loner / Wild Card
Sidekick / Comic Relief
Con Man / Charismatic
---------LAW ENFORCMENT:
Sheriff/Marshal
Cattle Police
Deputy
LEGAL: BUSINESS: ENEMIES: (depends on point of view):(From Adds) PLOT LINES:
Abused wife on the run
Cowardly Sheriff
Escaped Slave
Freed Slaves (group or)
Mexican
Laborers
Escaped Indians
Peons
Soldiers
Damsel in Distress
Kidnapping
Rustled Cattle
Sheep Herders
Water Rights
Westerns can include South America?Wandering Monk(s)PilgrimsMissionaries of a variety of kinds.Chinese Monk and like?Basque sheep herders and like persons.How far back is a Western?Spanish conquest?Pre-Spanish (some basic background from pre-Columbian. CHARACTERS:
Post Master/Clerk
Stagecoach Driver/Guard/Clerk
Sheriff/Prison Guard/Deputy/Marshal
Bounty Hunter
Madame/Whore/Bartender/Kid
Bank Manager/Clerk/Guard
General Store Owner/Manager/Clerk/Worker
Miner/Prospector/Assayer
Cattlemen Police/Sheriff
Newspaper Owner/Press person
Mortician/Grave Digger
Executioner/Hangman
Priest/Pastor
Mine Owner/Manager
Doctor/Nurse (more like helper or wife?)
Doctor might also do Vet work?
Blacksmith/Copper Smith, Gunsmith.
Bandits
- Mexican
Former Union/Confederate/French/Mexican Army.
Guards/Soldiers
Former or current Militia
MOVIES/TV SHOWS/BOOKS:
Magnificient Seven
Gun Smoke
Jerimiah Johnson
Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo. (1966)
C'era una volta il West (1968)
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
The Wind (1928)
High Noon (1952)
Per qualche dollaro in più (1965)
No Country for Old Men (2007)
Unforgiven (1992)
The Ox-Bow Incident (1943)
The Gold Rush (1925)
WESTERN FILM LINKS:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_(genre)
http://www.imdb.com/Sections/Genres/Western/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Western_films Western Films List