D&D Western - Every D&D boxed set blended with King's Dark Tower. Serve chilled.

[Silver Moon]

This is really interesting. The only real problem I see is that D&D has a certain. . . flavor, and that's not always compatible with westerns. Don't you think?

Err, no, I'm afraid that I don't agree. My gaming group is currently on our third module using hybrid D&D/Boot Hill rules. So far it has worked very well. We're using D&D races and classes super-imposed onto the western setting. For the first module we played it fairly straight, using a 1982 TSR Boot Hill module as the base. Our second outing involved the James Gang and Billy the Kid. The group is currently in Tombstone for the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.

The Story Hour for all three "Arcade's Gang" modules is at the following link:
http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=28906

 

[Aryoche]

Umm... actually, I believe the first book does, in fact, feature raise dead ("He was touched by God.").

You are quite correct, though considering the victim raised by Walter was already heavily under the affects of Devil Grass, his "raising" isn't quite what we're accustomed to in D&D.

However, I might suggest those that are seriously contemplating doing this lil project take a look at Stephen King's The Dark Tower: A Concordance, by Robin Furth. It's essentially an Encyclopedia on people, places, and things covering the first 4 books in the serious, including books and page references. Volume II of the concordance will be publish in the fall of 2004 in conjunction with the final book in the Dark Tower series.

 

[Melan]

This is really interesting. The only real problem I see is that D&D has a certain. . . flavor, and that's not always compatible with westerns. Don't you think?

I respectfully disagree. I believe that D&D - particularly old school D&D - is deeply rooted in the myths and themes of the Old West. You have:
-the encroachment of civilization upon native cultures (player characters are supposed to establish strongholds and "push civilization further - they are the frontiersmen of fantasy worlds)
-a boomtown economy and the lowlifes (read: adventures) the promise of treasure attracts
-an implied setting where might makes right and no society can hinder an individual with the right amount of weapons and experience - hell, local rulers don't send soldiers to clear out monsters and bandits - they hire bounty hunters instead.

And so on. The influence is often indirect (through pre-Tolkien sword&sorcery fiction), but it is there. Keep on the Borderlands, for example, could be a frontier town at the edge of nowhere, treathened by the robbers lurking in the Caves of Chaos... who happen to be kobolds, orcs and evil clerics. Westerns are what the themes of adventure fiction and the D&D adventuring model are based on. I find it no coincidence that among the first games put out by TSR were:
-A fantasy game (D&D)
-A postapocalyptic game (Gamma World - essentially, westerns in the future)
-A wild west game (Boot Hill)

Besides, you could take any Sergio Leone western and write it up as a D&D module. In fact, my campaign is heavily influenced by the Man with No Name trilogy - except with swords and barbarians instead of sixguns and Mexicans.