Tombstone (Alpha Playtest)

I am proud to announce the Alpha Playtest of Tombstone! Tombstone: Role-Playing In The Wild West, is a rules-lite system, inspired by a combination of TSR's Boot Hill, and B/X D&D. I have attempted at all times to keep the rules as simple as possible, while providing multiple options for the Judge (Game Master).

You can download a FREE PDF from HERE
You can download a physical copy from HERE

Please note the physical booklet is not a refined product, but is designed for playtesting purposes. Purchase at your own risk. 

The "full" version of Tombstone will (hopefully) be appearing later this year. Besides additional content, it will include all of Erik Wilson's fabulous artwork, as well as +Joe Salvador's beautiful maps.

In the meantime, I really hope you enjoy the Alpha version of Tombstone. My gaming group and I have been putting this game through its paces for close to a year, so I can attest that it's easy to play and very easy to run. 

Have fun!

P.S: If you have any suggestions, feedback, critiques, whatever, great! Please hit me up on G+ or email me at coreyrwalden@gmail.com. The purpose of this initial release is to refine the current rules. Don't be shy.

Tombstone: Wild West RPG Update

Work continues to progress on Tombstone - sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. I have been editing and amending the alpha rules, and tidying up various inconsistencies. I hope to have a playtest version ready by the year's end (if not sooner). 

Today I received a gorgeous town map of Silverton from +Joe Salvador. Joe has been doing an outstanding job capturing the grittiness and mood I've been attempting to create within Tombstone. His work nicely complements Erik Wilson's commissioned artwork, and at least from a artistic perspective, I can confidently say this game is going to look great!

Here's a preview of Joe's Silverton map. If you have not already, I'd suggest you follow Joe for updates, and head over to his blog to check out his existing work. He is a great game designer in his own right, and has a published module in the new Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea Kickstarter adventures.

In a month or so I plan to run some G+ playtests of Tombstone, so if you're interested in that, stay tuned...

In The Works: Tombstone - A Wild West Role-Playing Game

Some of you may be aware that I have a Wild West RPG in the works (tentatively titled Tombstone). It's been an on/off project for me over the past 8 months or so. The playtest version is nearing completion and I intend to provide a free (limited) download when the time comes. I imagine it will be artless or low-art, and released for the sole purpose of receiving suggestions for improvement. Thereafter, when Tombstone has been refined somewhat I intend to release a full version. The full version will be in colour - either softcover or hardback, though I'm still unsure of specifics. 

Given my general busyness currently I can't speculate on an initial release date, nor do I wish to. I work best when there is no pressure of a deadline, and this has been a project I do not want to rush. However I will say a few preliminary things about it.

Firstly, as you can see by the image to the left, I have commissioned some high quality artwork by Erik Wilson. He's done a fantastic job at capturing my vision for the project, and I cannot wait to show you guys the other pieces.

It should be mentioned too, that I've attempted to capture the spirit of Boot Hill without the game simply being a retro-clone of Boot Hill. I have created a completely independent set of mechanics, and it is indeed an entirely different game. The guiding principle in designing Tombstone has been that it needs to be easy to play, deadly and immersive. I feel like I've succeeded on those fronts thus far - if the playtests and con games can be indicative. The other purpose is that a Referee needs to be able to run this game with about 10-15 minutes of prep time. For this reason I think it makes an excellent episodic game played every now and then, over the course of a few months. Characters can likewise be made within 5-15 minutes, and this is important because they'll die often! My gaming group have a side campaign of Tombstone that we pick up between other campaigns, or when we want a break from fantasy or sci-fi. This game has been a perfect filler during these downtimes. I can literally have an idea and run an evening game with an idea or two. There will be options for "levelling" of course, though this is more subsidiary to the exploration and adventure components, which are the game's main foci.

Anyway, hopefully this gives a little taster of what's in the pipeline, and I hope to get this thing finished within the next year at most.