So I Want To Run A Western Game...

[YourSwordIsMine]

GURPs does Old West very well.

We had some wonderful western games using it.

 

[The Shaman]

Sidewinder Recoiled is one of my favorite d20 games, but if you want lethality, it's hard to surpass the grandpappy of Western rpgs, Boot Hill.

Deadlands is too gimmicky for my tastes; so is Savage Worlds, and I've not seen a Western-specific iteration of the game. Aces and Eights is too fiddly for me.

 

[Woas]

How about Barbarians of Lemuria? It's a Sword & Sorcery game at it's core but so easily adapted to any genre or theme. It is a 2d6 > TN game system so if you are familiar with Traveller, it will be easy to learn and get playing.

 

[Nikosandros]

GURPs does Old West very well.

We had some wonderful western games using it.

Seconded, GURPS is a perfect fit.

Aces & Eights is also intriguing, even if the system is somewhat complex.

 

[ExploderWizard]

For a historical game GURPS is hard to beat. Do you want weird/fantasy mixed in ?

 

[Filcher]

Boot Hill!

As soon as I can get out of this rocking chair and find my teeth, I'll get the neighborhood kid to go through my attic and dig up the rules ...

 

[lejanius]

I am biased but Aces and Eights is the best western style game out there. It is somewhat complicated but a few sessions in you will find that it gets much easier.

Good luck, the Western Genre is often overlooked but it is a great genre and there are some good games for it out there.

Let us know how it goes.

 

[Aegir]

Seeing as all the obvious ones have been tossed out there, I'll toss Cortex out there. It was designed for a Firefly/Serenity game after all, and Firefly is just a western with spaceships.

 

[Treebore]

If you really want "action packed" and very palpable lethality get Aces and Eights. Its also scaled, so you can keep it as simple as you want, and add whatever complexity you want. First Western that really "grabbed" me, and I have tried Savage Worlds, Go Fer Yer Gun, GURPS, Boot Hill, and a couple of others, and even though they were fun, none were as action packed and on the edge of your seat lethality. Heck, even the brawls and chases were exciting.

However, we all know tastes vary, so I can only hope your tastes are similar enough to mine to like it best.

 

[P1NBACK]

I have to second Dogs in the Vineyard. Despite it's religious overtones, it really is an excellent 1800s era roleplaying game and might simply change how you play RPGs forever.