Re: [DL] What is "Western"?

["Brom Clancy" <spleen23@webtrolls.com>]

It seems like essence of every western seems to be for each charater not 
to just succeed, but to achieve greatness. The farmers and ranchers arn't 
just out to make a living, they came out west because it would be 
possible to own more land and larger herds then possible back in the more 
settled east, outlaw don't just want to make off quietly with some money, 
they want to be famed outlaws, Gunslingers don't want to just quietly 
retire, they have to go out with one last ultimate duel, miners don't 
want a mine with a stable output, they want the one big strike that will 
make them rich, indians don't just want to survive, they want thier old 
way of life entirely restored. 
Probally the best way of thinking of a western setting is to picture it 
as a violent gritty setting like cyberpunk, but to remember that every 
person liveing in the setting thinks their the star of a swashbuckling or 
mythological story with names and deeds that will live forever.


-----Original Message-----
From: Aaron Chusid <aaron@to-the-point.org>
To: deadlands@gamerz.net
Date: Tue, 27 May 2003 00:34:03 -0400
Subject: [DL] What is "Western"?

> Silly question, I know, but as I get ready to GM my first ever DL
> campaign 
> (not having even played before), I want to have a better feeling for
> what 
> Western is.
> 
> It's more than just Cowboy hats and horses and six shooters and
> showdowns 
> at high-noon; those are the decorations, not what really makes it a
> western.
> 
> What are the themes, the motifs, the elements, plot devices, character 
> traits, and so on that I should keep in mind to make the world, the
> story, 
> and the npc's *feel* western?
> 
> 
> To unsubscribe, send a message to esquire@gamerz.net with
> 	unsubscribe deadlands@gamerz.net
> as the BODY of the message.  The SUBJECT is ignored.