The game mechanics will be either 1e/OSRIC or 3e/OGL, depending on the player’s preference, with some custom bolt-on mechanics (concerning firearms). Humans only and generated as the following classes: Cleric, Fighter, Ranger, Thief and Magic-user. These classes are then ported to Mystic, Gunslinger, Ranger, Swindler and Alchemist, respectively.
The setting, as outlined in the most popular paper on the frontier:
Lore of the Plains
WEST HAMBURG, July 7, 1869 – HISTORY AND REMEMBRANCE
On this day marking the Founding of the Federation, we reflect on the remarkable history of our Great Nation. In 1352, Murhic sailors from Northwest Africa, descendants of the Phoenicians, discovered this untamed and seemingly uninhabited continent. They named it Atlantica and established the port city of Tangier-Tequan.
Shortly thereafter, the Holy Roman Empire expanded across the Atlantic, establishing its colonial sphere, followed by other Europan and African powers. The wild continent was home to large and dangerous megafauna, descendants of Ice Age beasts. In the northern interior, a lost colony of Vikings, who had migrated from the Isle of Greenland, evolved into several nomadic tribal groups collectively known as the Horse Norse.
The landscape of Atlantica is shrouded in an enduring mystery. Megalithic ruins, remnants of a pre-human civilization that once thrived here, are scattered across the land. Whispered rumors persist that these ancient beings, dubbed “Trogs,” may still inhabit remote areas and deep subterranean caverns. Hauntings and supernatural events add to the mystique of the Wild Frontier.
Conflict over territorial boundaries eventually escalated into the Eight Winters War, with battles raging on both sides of the Atlantic. The war culminated in the defeat of the Holy Roman Empire by a coalition of Angland, Frankland, and Iberia. Although the Anglish Empire was granted the position of Viceroy over the land, it was too weakened and economically drained to govern them effectively from Europa. As a result, the Treaty of Cologne was negotiated, establishing a self-governing nation formed from the various colonial holdings: the United Federation of States and Territories.
Today, the United Federation of States and Territories (UFST) is gradually recovering from the devastation of the Eight Winters War. Former Coalition troops now form the backbone of the new Federation Army, with their distinctive maroon uniforms serving as both a symbol of authority and a reminder of the Coalition's victory.
The Prussians of the Holy Roman Empire, the defeated belligerents, remain resilient within their cultural zone. Though anglicized and under the watchful presence of Coalition regiments, their pride endures. However, many German colonials, scorned and blamed for the war, have joined the latest waves of migration, heading westward into the vast, open frontier on both sides of the Barbarossa Mountains.
- Kent Brooks, Associate Editor
This is the background for Weird West adventuring.
In summary: An alternate United States on a parallel Earth set during the late 1800’s, replete with ancient ruins, supernatural disturbances, dangerous megafauna, and heterodox nomadic tribes.
Feel free to ask any questions. I look forward to new adventures.
