what are some of your ideas for western themed dnd that's still fantasy enough with the base classes and magic and etc?
Hope you don’t mind me referencing a few different adventures here, friend, I started out writing a whole thing relating classic fantasy adventure to the westward expansion to the post-empire dissolusion periods of east asia, but it was all getting a bit wordy for a single prompt.
To put it simply: The setting doesn’t have to change that much, just swap out kings, dukes, and other nobles with corporations, occupying military forces, elected politicians n the like. The wild-west is still a largely feudalistic state, save that the distances are larger and the terrain is generally harsher, necessitating the need for technology like trains and airships. Also, from a personal perspective, I like using firearms systems that paint blackpowder weapons as no more special than the swords and bows used by most heroes. It may sacrifice “realism” in the name of fun, but fun is the point right?
Alkeron’s Riddle: Specifically designed as a western adventure, this story sees the players occupying a frontier town outside the long abandoned ruins of a tremendous wizard’s tower/megadungon, with arcane oddities descending from its heights just as bandits close in from beyond.
Poison in the Vein: A merchant company of geomantic mages that’d fit seamlessly into the role of cruel minebosses in frontier settlement, with their reckless greed endangering workers and provoking the wrath of underdark horrors.
Drenmwar on the Water: A port of prospectors and metalsmiths, full of side adventures and haunted by a dark and unseen past. A perfect setting for characters looking to make it big or risk it all as a hired gun.
Reshmaan Al-Haddad, Frontier Outfitter: Behind every famous gunslinger, there’s a gunsmith dedicated to their craft. This inventive young woman is the descendant of one of the pioneers of blackpowder technology, and innovates upon that legacy frequently and with little regard for safety precautions when doing so.
Prospective Claims: An entire adventure arc set in an underdark frontier town, featuring a mine that’s become recklessly animated, a marauding orc warband masterminded by a sinister naga, and even an infestation of drakes for your party to clash with.
Hope that helps friend, if you’d like some advice on creating your own Western adventures, stay tuned for this weekend where I’ll lay it all out in longform.
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