Western USR 3rd Edition Full Color PDF Available for Review!

 Here is a link to the new 3rd edition of USR. This is the second of my publications to utilize AI-generated art. What I like about AI-generated art is it allows me to move forward with full-color publications without costing me my monthly mortgage. 

I would love to pay real people to make real things for my books but my stuff has limited appeal and limited revenue potential so throwing serious cash at artwork is not feasible for the VTP. Not that I haven't done it. I truly enjoy satisfaction from paying other DIY'ers cash  money for their contributions to my game books. Feeling connected to a greater hobby world through cash transactions is intention made manifest. But I still want to get books out and I want them to look as good as I can with the time available to me. 

So please download for FREE my finished PDF copy of Western USR. This is the same copy which will be available on Drivethrurpg.com, so yeah, a back door to free product. But please try and play it. Please shoot someone in the face utilizing the RAW, and tell me how it plays. Better yet, write a full on review of actual gameplay and I will send you a free softcover copy of the book with the actual full-color cover!

Dead Simple Western USR Gambling Rules

I like these rules "I" thought up. I believe they give gambling and gaming rolls emergent opportunities which otherwise might not so easily noticed during a call for Attribute tests. 

In keeping with the spirit of the (U)nbelievably (S)imple (R)oleplaying game, these rules are simple. Yet, are built on top of the internal logic Scott, the creator of the system, has incorporated successfully in his design. I'm referring to the three character attributes which make up all characters in the game. These are Action, Wits, and Ego. Pretty self-explanatory. The game revolves around three attributes. Further, each one of your attributes has one (and can only use one of each type) of the available dice allowed in play. These are a D10, a D8, and a d6. You can put these in any order you want, but being limited to one of each size the system has deftly added roleplaying prompts as soon as you look at a character sheet. 

What this means for Western USR, and saloon gambling specifically, are the following:

• Characters may use any of their 3 attributes to gamble.
• If the character chooses to use Action, they are cheating. 
• If the character chooses to use Wits, they are just good.
• If the character chooses to use Ego, any throw resulting in a Critical/Fumble check triggers a random encounter. 75% chance it is someone being accused of cheating, just not you.
• A character may switch which attribute they use for their check in between hands, and/or shoots of the dice, whatever the game of chance may be.
• A character may not change which attribute they use during a hand unless the Saloon Keeper approves. 

Western USR now in Hardback POD

Just got the proof in last night and I approve! The hardcover edition of Western USR. Pop on over to Drivethru and order yours today. 

This is the first hardback publication from the press and I can see why this digest sized format is popular. The same size LotFP has ridden for continued success. It lays flat at the table and compact size make it a breeze to travel with. The durable hardcover will make this indie print last forever on the game shelf, I imagine. Well, I don't need to imagine because I can look at my hardbacks currently on my game shelf. Monoliths of stone I tell you.

As with any USR game the rules are dead simple, but offer a granularity of results and uses only seen in bigger games. Character creation takes literally 5, 10 tops. The gun play is deadly, and splattering gore is encouraged. There is the introduction of a Speed attribute, all important on the day of your main street shoot-out. 

Decent equipment list for all your western sundries, straightforward weapons tables and a combat system. while simple, allows all the flexibility a game needs to provide opportunities for cinematic action. $15.58 at Drivethru, shipping has been 3 weeks for me from Drivethru. It has reached copper status already with no marketing what so ever, great. It will be a while before I release any supporting adventures, but if you want a set of Western rules you can pick up and go... can't go wrong with Western USR.

Oh. yeah, I totally nailed getting text on the spine. Perfectly located. You don't have much room vertically with a 34 page book. 

Return of Wester USR, rules-lite roleplaying in the Wild, Wild West

Since I am blessed with the Adobe suite of media products I've been dipping back in the old Vanishing Tower Press catalogue and redoing some old classics. Today I dug out Western USR, rules-lite roleplaying in the Wild, Wild West and reformatted the old PDF. This is now once again available for sale at DriveThruRPG. So no big whup there. The big WHUP is I also created the files needed to release a hardcover copy of the publication. Yessir-ree-bob this fast and bloody spaghetti western work is now a 36 page black and white book. It even has some new art from the public domain to make the book more attractive. Come hell or high water the printing press at DriveThru looks like it swallowed my files correctly for this POD version.

There is an original adventure in the works for the game, Broke Down in Bug Town, but it is going to take some time to finish. I'm writing it in the spirit of the original TSR Top Secret adventure which came with the original box set. Operation something something, Code Name:Pisces. The reason it is going to take some time is it will be much more coherent than its inspirational source was, but contain the same denseness of NPCs and cross-purpose conflicts which littered the old TSR game. It will need a map of Bug Town proper and some nice wilderness movement charts. Stats for horses, buffaloes, rattlesnakes, Wendigos, etc. will be included. A rather sprawling package to complement the tight set of rules. 

Western USR is a customized version of (U)nbelievably (S)imple (R)oleplaying written by Scott Malthouse. The additional chrome added which you will not find in the base rules are more elaborate combat rules and an additional attribute, Speed, to make the thrill of a showdown and fast draw gun-fighting action possible. Now keep in mind, while the rule book contains a complete playable game (you can make a character in no more than ten minutes) it does not contain much setting material. Rules-lite roleplaying products are just that, light on setting content because it is assumed the Saloon Keeper has a good idea on what kind of western campaign they want to run. 

But if you want to blow holy-hell out of each other at high noon then this slim volume more than delivers the goods! Find the PDF version here, and stay tuned for the announcement when the POD proof has been approved and released for purchase.
 

Western USR review sort of...

I actually took down my various PDF's for USR as I thought they all needed some heavy editing and didn't want someone to pay for a set of rules which didn't work.

But Western USR does work. Sure it need some polish. +Andrew Domino has recently discovered the awesomeness of USR and has delivered many useful blog posts on how to create different characters and campaigns with this universal system. He commented on my interpretation of Westerns with my Western USR rules set. Seems he liked my addition of a Speed attribute to the standard attributes listed in the game.

Besides the fact he interpreted the rules wrong in comparison to the speed of a knife versus gun, I am immensely pleased with more looks and critiques on how I use +Scott Malthouse 's lovely set of minimel rules mechanics.

I created Western USR with TSR's Boot Hill 1st edition in my hands. Speed was about the only thing out of the TSR rules I took away which needed to be captured. When mere humans meet hot lead who shoots first is all that matters. I'm finding more and more detailed tactical scenarios do not add to the game. As long as I can answer the question of how far away the target is I think players fill in the rest of the details on the combat environment. Players like to try and control the combat turn to their favor obviously. I like to try and rush combat events so as to make players feel out of control what happens next when the guns and blades come out. With Western USR I tried to construct the combat rules so instant death happens when cool heads do not prevail.

Try the game out and let me know what you think.