Sidewinder: Recoiled vs OGL Wild West

Hey all,
I am looking to purchase a resource to DM a d20 Wild West-style campaign, and I have disocvered two possibilites: Sidewinder: Recoiled by Green Ronin and OGL Wild West by Mongoose Publishing. I have seen great things from both publishers, but I do not have the option to browse the products before I buy them.

Has anyone tried either game supplement? I have been searching for a reliable review for OGL Wild West, but I keep finding re-printed cover text instead of a "hands-on" review. I am strongly leaning towards Sidewinder (trusting my gut instinct) but I would really like a comparison of the two.

If anyone can help, please do!

My opinion would probably be considered a bit biased , so I will only provide links to a couple of free downloads. Hopefully, they will make your decision easier to make.

You may already know that a free preview of Sidewinder: Recoiled is available. But, in case you are unaware, here is the link

Sidewinder: Recoiled Preview

You can also get a free download of the first issue of Dog House Rules' western e-mag, The Fort Griffin Echo (The Fort Griffin Echo: Volume 1, Number 1). While The Fort Griffin Echo won't tell you what's inside of Sidewinder: Recoiled, I think it is pretty indicative of the way we do things.

I can't say enough nice things about Sidewinder: Recoiled. It's one of my favorite products that I got in 2004, and it's very well done. I'd recommend it over OGL Wild West.

Runesong42 said:

Hey all,
I am looking to purchase a resource to DM a d20 Wild West-style campaign, and I have disocvered two possibilites: Sidewinder: Recoiled by Green Ronin and OGL Wild West by Mongoose Publishing.

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Does OGL Wild West use the d20 Modern rules? If not then that could be a big determiner as to which one would work best for your game. I like Sidewinder but can't use it as it requires d20 Modern.


Aaron

Aaron2 said:

Does OGL Wild West use the d20 Modern rules? If not then that could be a big determiner as to which one would work best for your game. I like Sidewinder but can't use it as it requires d20 Modern.
Aaron

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As Brad has said, I won't give an opinion on which is better since I'm probably a bit biased as well. However, I will say that although Sidewinder: Recoiled uses the d20 Modern system, virtually everything you need to play and run the game is in there. The only things absent are character creation and advancement rules which we couldn't add per the d20 license. So it's nearly a complete game in itself.

I would also like to put in my vote for Sidewinder: Recoiled. I picked this up when they were still offering it as a POD product and have never regretted it from the moment I opened up the pages. EVerything has a great feel to it, and I think that using the d20 modern rules actually makes the game better product.

Now if they would only put out a good gazetter of the old west & a book on the Native Tribes I would be in heaven. By the way has anybody picked up the new Fort Griffen? I heard it has a lot of new info on period guns.

Xyth

Bah. Geoff beat me to the punch. By time I got done responding, he had already made my point. I will leave what I posted (all that appears below) just to avoid confusion.

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Aaron2 said:

I like Sidewinder but can't use it as it requires d20 Modern.

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I was a bit confused by this statement. Are you saying that Sidewinder: Recoiled wasn't useful to you because you don't like d20 Modern? Or was it not useful because you don't own d20 Modern? If you don't like the d20 Modern ruleset, then obviously Sidewinder isn't the game for you. Fair enough. However, if the reason is because you don't own (or have access to d20 Modern), perhaps you would be happy to know that the only thing missing from Sidewinder is an experience point chart and a step-by-step description of character creation. All the rules necessary to create a character are there, but the d20 license precludes a direct discussion of how it is done (as it precludes an experience level chart). Of course, those missing bits can be found in a variety of sources other than d20 Modern: D&D, CoC, Spycraft, any Mongoose OGL product, etc.

Xythlord said:

By the way has anybody picked up the new Fort Griffen? I heard it has a lot of new info on period guns.

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It has an extensive article on Colt Percussion firearms including the description and statistics for two dozen new weapons.

Xythlord said:

Now if they would only put out a good gazetter of the old west & a book on the Native Tribes I would be in heaven. By the way has anybody picked up the new Fort Griffen? I heard it has a lot of new info on period guns.
Xyth

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A gazette of the Old West may come in time...who knows. But for the time being it's only as far away as some good internet resources or your library. Covering the Old West with a comprehensive gazette would be a huge undertaking.

We've also heard a ton of feedback regarding the lack of information on the various Indian tribes. In our view, each tribe is a subject unto itself. Trying to cram information on them into Sidewinder: Recoiled would have been an injustice. We have already tackled an extensive article on the Comanche in the Fort Griffin Echo - Volume 1, Number 1 and plan on doing more in the future. As Brad mentioned earlier, you can download the first edition of the Echo free!

Is this thread supposed to determined which is the best ruleset for Wild Western genre, whether or not we have d20 Modern or have a preference for standalone core rulebook?

I mean, granted, Sidewinder: Recoiled is merely a campaign setting book that requires d20 Modern because it uses the bulk of those rules as a foundation, just as much as any d20-labeled products that requires the Player's Handbook or any Core Game Book published by Wizards of the Coast. Good for d20 Modern gamers, but may not be good who don't want to lug two books everywhere.

Now, I haven't seen OGL Wild West so I'm biased. I'm a d20 Modern gamer looking for more support for d20 Modern rules, just as GURP gamers want more "worldbook" supplements. So, any d20 Modern owners out there who want a Wild West campaign, I strongly recommend Sidewinder: Recoiled, available in PDF and in print (check your FLGS).