gamerprinter
Mapper/Publisher
I've been publishing Starfinder supplements and modules over the past 5 years, and began working on a setting for it updating my published Kaidan setting of Japanese Horror (PFRPG), however, before I started developing content for Starfinder, I had been working on a Weird West setting I called Gothic Western. Well suddenly inspired, I've decided to pull it off the shelf, dust it off and return to development, however it began as a PF1 setting, but since I'm finally back at it, I'll need to convert it to PF2. I'm also considering creating this game system agnostically, and making it compatible for PF and 5e, and other systems.
How Gothic Western stands apart from other weird west settings is that it includes legends of Americana, realworld heroes and villains as NPCs, and both Masonic conspiracy theory and Cthulhuesque horror. It was developed to be humanocentric, however. Also rather than using an analog version, Gothic Western is the US and the world in 1879+, utilizing real world events to incorporate into the horror stories. I don't have to reinvent history, rather overlap it with some alternate history based on the setting specifics - otherwise it's treated as real 19th century Earth.
The Knights Templar possessed a treasury of powerful artifacts, like the arc of the covenant, they wanted to keep out of the wrong hands, so they they hid them away in North America before Columbus, in places like Oak Island, hidden caves in New Mexico, etc. As the West is being settled, the risk of items being discovered, is forcing Masonic Knights Templar, a kind of paladin, must recover them, move and hide them again (perhaps Antarctica). Cults of Mayhem largely based in Europe seek these items for their own devious agendas. So there's a struggle. The government deals with the diplomatic issues and tries to keep things secret from the general public, with Pinkertons, Texas Rangers and ultimately the US cavalry to take care of conflicts.
Artifacts (essentially most magic items) confer Taint to those who possess and use them, as well as encountering Cthulhuesque monstrosities. Enough Taint and you start to transform into a monstrous being. Eventually, you'll be hunted by Pinkertons and Texas Rangers and be listed on a registry, eventually sent to a prison or executed. Even the good guys risk Taint. "Unclean" is a term that also refers to Taint. Taint comes in tiers of 5, with increments of 10 points of Taint at each tier, each confer affects, once you cross into the next tier, you cannot possess less taint than you've acquired at tier crossings. At end of 5, you're a monster, an NPC that must be destroyed. Templar have protections against Taint, but still acquire it, though have rituals to lower Taint, before tier crossings. Only Templar have these spells and abilities.
Had a full 1st level module for it, but would need to be updated to PF2, if I chose to pursue that project, called Unclean Brand. 1st level PCs are hired to recover stolen cattle and bring rustlers to justice. What they don't know a cult of mayhem has hired the rustlers, and have branded an unclean sigil onto the stolen cattle that transforms them into monsters intended to be random encounters released into the wild.
Also created a powerful artifact that an entire campaign could be built around.
I'm including an 1880's news sheet with every module, and after reviewing the already written module (still needs to be updated to PF2), I decided I needed some visual content, so I created a news sheet for it, intended to be B/W laser printed, double-sided on tabloid size sheet (11 x 17).
While the adventure doesn't actually take place in Tombstone, it does start just west of town, so obviously Tombstone is the closest city with a newspaper that fits the module, so might as well use it as the local city and newspaper. Even though the date of the module, setting and newspaper is 1879, technically the Tombstone Epitaph wasn't founded until 1881, nor was it this nicely laid out, rather looking a bit more primitive, but using this for creative license. I'm designing as a template to create all my newspaper sheet samples, same fonts, number of and width of columns, etc.
The first story at the top although the 'main story' is a non story for the adventure, I happened to have the stock illustration of the train so decided that's what I'll make that story about. However, on the backside of this sheet, once I design the regional map for the module, I'll label it Southern Pacific Railroad Proposal Map, and mark the proposed rail line down the middle of it. In reality I don't need the railroad data, as the map completely encompasses the region where the module takes place - it's an excuse to use that map. The second story on bottom left is about the actual module, the third story describes a possible encounter in the module as a heads up. The fourth story, though a 'fluff story' to a Masonic Knights Templar the description of the aristocrat and his cane tells him this is an agent of the Order of Oblivion (a European cult of mayhem; the bad guys) and the person who hired the rustlers in the adventure. Oh, and the ad at the bottom, I thought someone in the adventure party might want to purchase a camera (while an older style camera, it had remarkable resolution even by today's standards, so make a good investigator's camera). On the backside beneath the map, I'll fill it with period ads.
How's it look? I just made it last night.
How Gothic Western stands apart from other weird west settings is that it includes legends of Americana, realworld heroes and villains as NPCs, and both Masonic conspiracy theory and Cthulhuesque horror. It was developed to be humanocentric, however. Also rather than using an analog version, Gothic Western is the US and the world in 1879+, utilizing real world events to incorporate into the horror stories. I don't have to reinvent history, rather overlap it with some alternate history based on the setting specifics - otherwise it's treated as real 19th century Earth.
The Knights Templar possessed a treasury of powerful artifacts, like the arc of the covenant, they wanted to keep out of the wrong hands, so they they hid them away in North America before Columbus, in places like Oak Island, hidden caves in New Mexico, etc. As the West is being settled, the risk of items being discovered, is forcing Masonic Knights Templar, a kind of paladin, must recover them, move and hide them again (perhaps Antarctica). Cults of Mayhem largely based in Europe seek these items for their own devious agendas. So there's a struggle. The government deals with the diplomatic issues and tries to keep things secret from the general public, with Pinkertons, Texas Rangers and ultimately the US cavalry to take care of conflicts.
Artifacts (essentially most magic items) confer Taint to those who possess and use them, as well as encountering Cthulhuesque monstrosities. Enough Taint and you start to transform into a monstrous being. Eventually, you'll be hunted by Pinkertons and Texas Rangers and be listed on a registry, eventually sent to a prison or executed. Even the good guys risk Taint. "Unclean" is a term that also refers to Taint. Taint comes in tiers of 5, with increments of 10 points of Taint at each tier, each confer affects, once you cross into the next tier, you cannot possess less taint than you've acquired at tier crossings. At end of 5, you're a monster, an NPC that must be destroyed. Templar have protections against Taint, but still acquire it, though have rituals to lower Taint, before tier crossings. Only Templar have these spells and abilities.
Had a full 1st level module for it, but would need to be updated to PF2, if I chose to pursue that project, called Unclean Brand. 1st level PCs are hired to recover stolen cattle and bring rustlers to justice. What they don't know a cult of mayhem has hired the rustlers, and have branded an unclean sigil onto the stolen cattle that transforms them into monsters intended to be random encounters released into the wild.
Also created a powerful artifact that an entire campaign could be built around.
I'm including an 1880's news sheet with every module, and after reviewing the already written module (still needs to be updated to PF2), I decided I needed some visual content, so I created a news sheet for it, intended to be B/W laser printed, double-sided on tabloid size sheet (11 x 17).
While the adventure doesn't actually take place in Tombstone, it does start just west of town, so obviously Tombstone is the closest city with a newspaper that fits the module, so might as well use it as the local city and newspaper. Even though the date of the module, setting and newspaper is 1879, technically the Tombstone Epitaph wasn't founded until 1881, nor was it this nicely laid out, rather looking a bit more primitive, but using this for creative license. I'm designing as a template to create all my newspaper sheet samples, same fonts, number of and width of columns, etc.
The first story at the top although the 'main story' is a non story for the adventure, I happened to have the stock illustration of the train so decided that's what I'll make that story about. However, on the backside of this sheet, once I design the regional map for the module, I'll label it Southern Pacific Railroad Proposal Map, and mark the proposed rail line down the middle of it. In reality I don't need the railroad data, as the map completely encompasses the region where the module takes place - it's an excuse to use that map. The second story on bottom left is about the actual module, the third story describes a possible encounter in the module as a heads up. The fourth story, though a 'fluff story' to a Masonic Knights Templar the description of the aristocrat and his cane tells him this is an agent of the Order of Oblivion (a European cult of mayhem; the bad guys) and the person who hired the rustlers in the adventure. Oh, and the ad at the bottom, I thought someone in the adventure party might want to purchase a camera (while an older style camera, it had remarkable resolution even by today's standards, so make a good investigator's camera). On the backside beneath the map, I'll fill it with period ads.
How's it look? I just made it last night.
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