A powerful way both players and GMs engage with TTRPGs is by emulating the tones, themes, and ideas of the stories and media they enjoy through their characters and campaigns. Though games such as the Tales of the Valiant roleplaying game or D&D typically live in the genre of high fantasy, this is not hard-coded into the game.

The rules provided in those systems are tools by which players and GMs can live out heroic stories, regardless of genre. With a little insight into what makes other genres so exciting and appealing, we can dress our high fantasy games into completely new genres while remaining true to the intent of the game.

So grab your six-shooters and dust off your boots as we explore different ways to bring elements of the Wild West genre into your fantasy TTRPG experience.

Wild West Storytelling

Before we put on our cowboy hat of disguise and cast power word: howdy, let’s talk about why the Wild West genre is so compelling. Stories can thrive in any genre so long as we as storytellers can hone in on and implement the elements of the genre we are attempting to emulate, using them as tools to enhance our own narratives.

The Wild West is more than just an aesthetic backdrop; it can tell powerful stories regardless of whether they literally take place in the old west or not. Take Star Trek, for example. Even though it is squarely a science fiction property, it actually takes its storytelling structure from classic westerns. Exploring new frontiers, facing moral dilemmas, and encountering new cultures are cornerstones of Star Trek . . . and westerns! Here are a few standout elements of Wild West storytelling that you can build upon to craft your own fantasy western story.

Stories About People

The core of a great western is the characters we follow through the story. The focus is on the individuals and their morals and actions rather than on abstract grand forces vying for control of the multiverse. These stories are rooted in personality and the conflicts presented are very personal as a result.

Take the classic 1993 western movie, Tombstone, for example. On the surface, the story revolves around a gang of outlaws threatening a small town. It’s typical villainous action that GMs and players have dealt with in a game session before.

The movie uses this structure as a framework to establish very personal conflicts and rivalries: Wyatt Earp, the retired lawman, and his brothers feeling the pressure of the outlaw gang and taking up the fight to save the small town they are looking to settle down in, and Doc Holiday and Johnny Ringo’s deadly gunslinging rivalry are some examples.

The conflict in a western should focus more on individuals than larger entities. Rather than a conflict being a bandit gang against a town, specify leaders and characters. Maybe the conflict is a grudge between the Bandit Captain and the Guard Captain. Give them personality and motivation that go beyond law vs. chaos. The bandits and guards under their command are simply how they fight one another in an effort to settle their personal conflict. When given the opportunity, take the time to identify individual characters with personal motivation related to the larger conflict.

The Moral Dilemma

GMs and players making choices all the time in games. It’s a key element of RPGs. But a moral dilemma is more intricate.

What makes a dilemma different from a regular choice is that in a dilemma, the alternatives you choose between are equally undesirable. Players of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt are no strangers to moral dilemmas. The game’s opening act is a terrific example of one.

At some point during the game’s first act, Geralt of Rivia is forced to make a decision on whether to free or kill a trapped spirit. Freeing the spirit results in the destruction of a town and all of the innocent people who live there, while killing it secures the safety of those people, but the children the spirit has kidnapped will die. There is no “correct” option.

These types of choices make powerful moments in a story as they can highlight a character’s motivations and beliefs. What’s right to one character, may not be to another. This ties back into making stories focused on individuals rather than abstract forces.

The New Frontier

The name “Wild West” comes from the idea that venturing out into the unknown of the frontier will reveal strange, unexpected, or truly wild things. Our heroes are strangers in new places, and must learn new customs, meet new people, and literally contend with the wild to stay alive and keep moving forward.

This might sound surprising, but the real American West in frontier-times was a diverse region with multiple cultures blending together. It wouldn’t be that far-fetched for a frontier town to have Chinese, French, and Native American influences all at the same time. Being strangers in a strange land gives the players a unique perspective to enter conflicts that are already ongoing, allowing them to see with clearer eyes the forces and people at play.

Inversely, this gives NPCs a unique opportunity to draw inferences about the players based on how they (as total strangers) comport themselves in the already existing cultural and power systems. Exploration is one of the key pillars of TTRPGs, and players can explore existing relationships and power dynamics just as much as they could a physical location.