The Gamers Arms

Howdy folks,

I'm very sorry I left you all in the lurch with our game of MÖRK BORG earlier this year. I enjoyed it while it lasted, but life got a bit busy in mid-February and the impetus just fizzled out. But, I'm feeling a little more on top of things just now, so I'd like to propose trying again, if you will, but this time starting a new TTRPG mini-campaign using rules called FRONTIER SCUM.

It's based on the same system as MÖRK BORG, but it's set in the Old West. Strictly speaking, it defines itself as an Acid Western, which seems to me a little hard to precisely define, but I found this quote (which might actually be several quotes mashed together, because I can't remember where I found them) which puts it in a nice way:

“The traditional Western celebrates the hero’s journey to freedom and empowerment. The Acid Western drags so-called heroes through the guttermuck and mudslop toward death—or worse. The Acid Western isn't about redemption, honor, or saving the world, but the journey toward an inevitable death and the occasional fantastical absurdity along the way. It's not 'I'm a cowboy who's gonna save the town'. It's 'my socioeconomic situation has forced me into a world of murder and death, and my life is determined by the luck of the draw'.”

So, imagine MÖRK BORG...but with cowboy hats and revolvers.

Is anyone interested in signing up for some forum-based, dice-rolling chaos with a YEEHAW?

Sounds amazing, sign me up (pardner)! ^_^

Awesome!

Like before, there's an automated character generator:

https://frontier-scum.maletta.space/

Unlike MB's character generator, this one's not 'official' (i.e. not made by the designer), but it works well enough.

Have a play around until you've got a character you like.

Cool... would it be possible to get a brief overview of the available classes and what the various stats do?

No need for a hugely detailed explanation, but an idea of what it all means would be cool.

Edit: I guess it's mainly Slick I'm not sure about, I can pretty much guess what the rest is.

Maybe I could speed-run this character

Sly Boots wrote: ↑

Thu May 15, 2025 8:19 am

Cool... would it be possible to get a brief overview of the available classes and what the various stats do?

No need for a hugely detailed explanation, but an idea of what it all means would be cool.

Edit: I guess it's mainly Slick I'm not sure about, I can pretty much guess what the rest is.

Sure, no problem.

Grit: Strength, toughness, intimidation, melee combat
Slick: Dexterity, aim, deception, ranged combat
Wits: Knowledge, perception, persuasion, medicine
Luck: Gambling, sheer serendipity, not getting shot

There aren't really 'classes' as such, more 'former careers', before you became an OUTLAW (which everyone is).

The former careers generate potential skills and potential starting gear, and a 'flavour' of your character's background, but that's all.

The former-careers are:

1. Carcass Trapper
2. Frostbit Prospector
3. Discharged Deputy
4. Suffering Clerk
5. Butcher-Cook
6. Doctor Sans Diploma
7. Ghoulish Undertaker
8. Factory Cog
9. Calloused Ranch Hand
10. Gambler and a Cheat
11. Charlatan and a Fraud
12. Drifter

I'd be up for this one. My forum access tends to come in flurries at the moment though so I will be very active and then have a few hours of absence each day. Gone are the days where I can just sit and refresh every five minutes and keep up with the break neck action that these games tend to unfold.

I think I've found my spirit animal character.

I give you:
Artham "Crusty" "Scrotum" Scotum, a terminally stupid pretend doctor who makes medicine out of sewage, who steals corpses to experiment on, but does so in a spectacular fashion (whatever that involves lol). He gets by on his above-average good luck and a donkey that is always happy to extinguish any fires his brainless experiments produce.

Meet Parcheval. I feel like being wanted dead for "accidental" theft is rather harsh but then that's frontier justice for you.

Exciting! Welcome aboard, Mantis!

I'll try to reduce the pace this time, folks. Again, sorry about before. I got a bit carried away, but I think I'll have to slow it down this time because of how busy I tend to get. No pressure at all, this time. I don't want anyone to feel rushed, and I don't wanna get burned out myself. So, slow-coaches, please feel welcome.

Let me explain the skills.

Each of your characters has three instances of "...a skill from that time when..." some crazy thing happened. What you do is think of something you might have learned when that crazy event took place.

For example:

"You have a skill from that time you were thrown from a balcony" might be something along the lines of cat-like grace (the exact wording is up to you)

Since you have that skill, when you test Slick to test to see if you can land on your feet unharmed, instead of rolling one d20, you roll d20s and pick the higher result.

Alternatively, for the same event, you might choose something like: hit the dirt where you test Grit to see if you can land hard without actually getting hurt, or something.

So, look at the three skills you have and see if you can come up with an idea for each one.

Mantis wrote: ↑

Thu May 15, 2025 8:47 am

Spoiler

Meet Parcheval. I feel like being wanted dead for "accidental" theft is rather harsh but then that's frontier justice for you.

On the downside, Parcheval seems to get thrown out of things a whole lot, on the upside he learns something new each time (though presumably not something to help him avoid future defenestrations)

Sly Boots wrote: ↑

Thu May 15, 2025 8:39 am

I think I've found my spirit animal character.

I give you:

Spoiler

Artham "Crusty" "Scrotum" Scotum, a terminally stupid pretend doctor who makes medicine out of sewage, who steals corpses to experiment on, but does so in a spectacular fashion (whatever that involves lol). He gets by on his above-average good luck and a donkey that is always happy to extinguish any fires his brainless experiments produce.

So with Doug's post about coming up with suitable skills, for ol' Crusty Scrotum, how about something like:

- Sneaking into medical school - rather than interpret this as something stealth-related, I imagine it being more about being able to convincingly pass himself off as something he isn't so: Quack's Bluster - has an innate ability to bluff others into thinking he's more qualified and knowledgeable about medicine than he is (will let Doug work out the exact game mechanics of that )
- Making medicine from sewer slop - they say that one man's trash is another man's treasure, so surely it follows that one man's waste is another man's miracle elixir: Brown Gold - is able to fashion potentially useful, potentially quite dangerous, potions and nostrums from whatever crap (sometimes literally) he finds lying around. He's confident they won't kill you - after all what doesn't kill you will surely make you stronger - but how desperate do you have to be to take that chance? (again will let Doug decide the practical mechanics)
- You drank overmuch: Faker's Fortitude - perhaps unsurprisingly, given Crusty himself is the traditional guinea pig for his disgusting concoctions, but he has built up something of a tolerance for ingesting strong and occasionally toxic liquids (again etc etc)

How do those sound?

Nailed it.

So, basically:

- When you pretend to be something you ain't (and this can be anything), say, a sheriff for example, you make a Wits test on 2d20 to pass.

- You can concoct "medicine" out of stuff you find lying around. Preferably stuff you can mix in a bottle. If you attempt this, you'll make a Wits test on 2d20 to make a functional healing potion, providing a d4 HP gain when drunk. If you fail, you've made something poisonous instead.

- Whenever you drink alcohol, or poison, you test Grit on 2d20, or suffer the negative effects.

Stormbringer wrote: ↑

Thu May 15, 2025 9:54 am

Nailed it.

So, basically:

- When you pretend to be something you ain't (and this can be anything), say, a sheriff for example, you make a Wits test on 2d20 to pass.

- You can concoct "medicine" out of stuff you find lying around. Preferably stuff you can mix in a bottle. If you attempt this, you'll make a Wits test on 2d20 to make a functional healing potion, providing a d4 HP gain when drunk. If you fail, you've made something poisonous instead.

- Whenever you drink alcohol, or poison, you test Grit on 2d20, or suffer the negative effects.

Great!

Brown Gold.

Absolutely delightful.