Where The Law Ends: A Solo Western Outlaw Adventure

Every Creative Concepts Solo Journaling Adventure is different, with its own unique card meanings and events, making a “core” book unnecessary. Where the Law Ends *Warning* These are outlaws doing deadly, cruel deeds. If you are sensitive to descriptive violence, as you would find in a cinematic western, you have been warned. Night settles thick over the Rocking R Ranch, cattle lowing uneasily as we ride through the dark like wolves slipping into the fat man’s pasture. I swing down from the saddle and can’t help myself as I call toward the big house, “Clayborn! You home? Or you hiding behind your boys again?” Lanterns flare to life along the porch, and Clayborn Collins bellows back, “You thieving sons of . . . this is my land!” Rosa fires first, dropping a ranch hand off his saddle and laughing, “All them cattle is too much for one man. You need to share!” From the corral, Segundo cracks a shot and shouts, “Run the herd! Let’s see ’em guard a thousand head at once!” One of Collins’ sons shouts from the barn loft, “You ain’t riding outta here!” “Watch me!” I answer him as Segundo cuts the gate rope with his machete and the cattle thunder into the night. Through the chaos comes a shotgun blast and an angry yell: “That’s far enough!” Sheriff Russell Green is riding in hard with a handful of deputies. I leap back into the saddle, dust and debris swirling around us, and grin into the dark, “Sheriff, you’re gonna be late to your own hangin’!” The ranch explodes in gunfire, hooves pounding, men shouting, and the dark night hides whoever has an appointment with the town undertaker. And it ain’t gonna be me. It’s you and your gang against the townsfolk and Sheriff Russell Green. Grab your guns and ammo and prepare an ambush! If you want to make the town a typical Western town, nothing in the cards needs to be changed. If you want to make it a "Weird West" type environment, please do. Cattle Barons could be vampires. Mountain men could be werewolves. Widows could be witches or sorceresses. Gunslingers could be possessed dead. Gender and race are not biased; anyone can have a profession called for in the cards. Change as needed. Ultimately, it's up to you. If you like the Dead Lands world of Savage Worlds from Pinnacle Entertainment, this is a perfect aid for playing their RPG. Materials you will need. You will need some simple items as follows: • A Standard Deck of Playing Cards (with Jokers): I own several decks with different face card themes. You can use a standard deck or a unique one to play solo games with themes. Every card will have a different meaning as you draw one. They produce the adventures to start you on your way, a side quest, a discovery, how your character may feel, or people or creatures you will meet along the way. You will need a d6. • Paper and pencil, or a writing program: I prefer a writing program or a spreadsheet to log in order to enter your ideas as you travel the world. Now, before you begin, you have to decide who you are: 1. Are you a Bandito, a Fugitive from Prison, or an outlaw who knows their way around? What’s your gender? How long have you been on the run? What’s your race, and how are you viewed among the wild western landscape? 2. Choose Your Role: What firearm or blade are you skilled with? Are you a dirty fighter? What’s your own moral code and standards? Any bad habits? A risk taker or risk avoider? How ruthless are you? Do you plan, or are you more spontaneous? Are you foolhardy, realistic, or a coward? 3. Prepare your Deck: Shuffle your deck of playing cards and place the stack face down. With your character’s nature made, your role in the story selected, and your cards ready, it’s time to start your journey. Gameplay: Each card creates a new event or discovery for your character; make sure to chronicle them in order. A series of turns of fate may reflect on the card you have, two cards later. *Special game play: do NOT shuffle the 2 Joker cards in with the rest of the deck. Put them aside for use during conflicts.* 1. Draw a single card at a time from the deck. Begin by drawing a card, specifically a Club suit, which sets you off on the adventure. Reshuffle the deck with the cards drawn before the first Club and continue. 2. The prompts below will tell you the card’s meaning by number and suit. Try to imagine the scene with all five senses. 3. Write your entry describing the moment using your senses. Imagine it’s a scene in a movie, comic, or novel, and play with it. Use that imagination! 4. After writing down your scene, draw the next card to continue your adventure. When you reach the end of the deck, you can either imagine going back to where you started or use it as a cliffhanger for your next story after you shuffle the deck. You just completed “Book One” of your adventure. 5. Even though this is a solo adventure, you can bring your friends along and have them as part of your group, and all of you write your part in the adventure separately. Careful, their character may not be trusted! Watch your back.