There have been a variety of roleplaying games set during the frontier expansionist era of 18th century America, but the majority have firmly been in the ‘weird west’ genre, often incorporating fantasy or steampunk elements. As such, it is a refreshing to find Tales of the Old West, a roleplaying game that respectfully sets the scene for a historical dramatisation of that time.
In Tales of the Old West, players take on the roles of ranchers, lawmen, settlers or even outlaws, as they try to survive in the frontier. Of course, the burgeoning civil war complicates matters, as do native American tribes, rival colonies and the environment itself.
The Old West uses the Year Zero Engine by Free League Publishing. The mechanics are a light-weight system that focus on roleplaying and immersion, rather than lots of dice rolling. As dice rolls can be challenging (a 6 on a six-sided dice is required in order to succeed), overly rolling dice can lead to failures. The low chance of success (1:6) means that players need to collaborate in order to succeed, thereby encouraging interaction.
The system is simple to learn and a joy to run. The rules are sufficiently light-weight that they never overshadow the narrative, yet has enough flexibility that players never feel constrained in their actions. The four core attributes of a character are flavourful, with Grit (strength), Quick (dexterity), Cunning (instincts) and Docity (intellect). Alongside these are a variety of skills, ranging from animal handling and shootin’ to makin’ and doctorin’ (sic).
Underpinning the system are the concepts of Faith and Trouble. Faith represents a character’s personal philosophy about trusting in something that is bigger themselves. This could be religious faith, such as the Christian faith of preachers, or the support of a community, which a settler would need. To balance faith, there is also Trouble, which represents the hardships of frontier life.
Tales from the Old West has a modular approach to its rule system. The conflict resolution mechanics remain the same throughout, but different aspects can be incorporated to provided added depth for specific moments, like gambling or quick draws.
Alongside the rules is a sample adventure and campaign setting (New Mexico), as well as a guide for storytellers to create their own. The creators have managed to balance a rich story for kickstarting new players, whilst providing sufficient flexibility in how it could be adapted.
The flexibility of the system means that it is possible for experienced storytellers to incorporate light-weight ‘weird west’ elements into their games. It would be fairly easy to run a supernatural mystery, in the style of Outer Range, using Tales from the Old West.
18th century America is a rich setting for storytelling (civil wars and exploration), but also one that can be challenging to handle respectfully due to the clash between native Americans and colonists. It is commendable that the creators have therefore highlighted the challenges of the setting and endeavoured to portray a historically accurate version of 18th century America, rather than what is typically presented in cinema or videogames.
Despite potentially challenging themes of 18th century America, Tales of the Old West is an incredible game for running rich roleplaying games in a setting that that is both dramatically different and yet instantly recognisable.
