This is a game that I have had my eye on for a long time but I missed the initial release and it sold out (the first printing was 500 copies). I had to wait around for the second printing. I have always been a fan of Westerns and that whole era as a soft spot in my heart as it is one one of the settings where the world still feels bug and unknown. Just like the age of sail.
The Author states that the game was inspired in flavor by by movies such as Dead Man (1995), Ravenous (1999), Bone Tomahawk (2015), The Hateful Eight (2015), El Diablo (1990), Gallowwalkers (2012), The Quick and the Dead (1995), The Lighthouse (2019), The Witch (2015), and I Sell the Dead (2008).
As far as the term or setting Acid Western goes, I had to do some quick googling and have a few discussions with other people to understand it as it is a new term/style/setting for me. A consistent google result for the definition is this:
"Acid westerns are a unique subgenre of Western that emerged during the 1960s and 1970s. Pauline Kael first coined the term in a 1971 issue of the New Yorker during her review of Alejandro Jodorowsky's 'El Topo.' Acid Westerns combine classical revisionist Western motifs with the cinematic excesses of Spaghetti Westerns, incorporating LSD-inspired countercultural narratives to create a provocative, drugged-up version of the American Frontier"
With that being said, the "big picture" view can be summarized as follows (it is easy to replace filmmaker with Gamer Master and so on):
- Acid Westerns are a unique subgenre that combines classical Western motifs with cinematic excess and countercultural narratives.
- These films use symbolism to explore themes of spirituality, masculinity, femininity, and the journey towards death.
- Acid Westerns provide filmmakers with a space to experiment with narrative and image, challenging the audience to think differently and explore deeper philosophical questions.
Disclaimer: I was provided a physical copy for review purposes from Games Omnivorous.
Presentation: Right off the bat this book is layed out and presented in a way that I have not seen before. The first thing that stood out to me is the cover - the cover feels like it is made out out of thick solid cardboard - but that is not the material. In addition, the book sports an open sewn spine that is sealed with glue but allows the book to lay completely flat. For all intents and purposes it is just has durable as a book with a closed spine. I have not had any personal issues with durability or have I heard of any complains about the books durability from any of my online sources.
The other major thing that stands out to me is the page layout. The page layout is such that it feels like you are reading directly from a newspaper in the frontier. Handling and reading the book provides a unique immersive experience.
The book clocks in at 66 pages that include rule reference sheets and an adventure.
Character Creation: Character creations follows a type of life path system where the player rolls or can choose results fro various tables that bring the character to life.
Resolution: The core mechanic boils down to rolling a ability check, which is 1d20 + Ability Modifier versus a Difficulty Rating. The standard Difficulty Rating is 12 and unless otherwise listed, that is the Difficulty Rating for most things. There is a Difficulty Rating table that provided benchmarks to adjust the Difficulty Rating up or down.
It is written in black and white, that successful or not, no roll of the dice should stop the action or the story.
If a character has a skill that relates to the course of action and the GM agrees, the Player can make the check with advantage. A character can only have six skills and when a player rolls a natural 20 on a skill check they can opt to learn a new related skill instead of earning an Ace.
An interesting thing to note about the resolution system is that the system is player facing and NPC's do not roll 99.9% of the time. The characters react to what is going on around them.
Combat follows these steps:
- Roll a d6 every round, one a 1-3 the enemies go first, and on a 4-6 the PC's go first.
- On a turn you can move and take an action. The actions include melee attack, ranged attack (not a gun), shoot a gun (in melee), shoot a gun (tough shot), or do something else. If you are rolling multiple damage dice, you can assign one to different opponents within range.
- The Wrestling Clause: When players and NPC's are wrestling around or in a bar fight, instead of the players rolling twice for attack and defense, they just roll for attack and if the player succeeds they hit their opponent and if the player fails, the opponent hits them. If one side or the other is outnumbered, then +1/-1 DR depending on who is outnumbering who.
- Rinse and Repeat as needed.
Death, Dying and Healing:
- After a Scuffle: Heal 1d4. +1 for each - smoke, drink, and nap.
- Until Morning: Heal 1 + 1 for each - entertainment, food, sleep.
- Heal twice as much in comfort with good beds, company, food, and drink.
- If reduced to below 0 or below HP by non-lethal means roll a Drop Check: d20 + Grit - any negative HP. 10 or less drop unconscious until you gain 1 hp. 11 or higher remain at your current HP. If you are reduced by lethal means, you make the same roll and it is considered a death check. Compare the die results to the table and the high the better it will be.
Some other mechanic things to be considered or needs further explanation:
- Aces are a meta currency that each player start the session with one and they can spent on a re-roll. When a player rolls a natural 20, they can choose between gaining an Ace or a new skill. Though be warned, if any player rolls a natural 1, everyone loses their aces.
- Skills as explained before (and if the GM agrees) allows the player to make an ability roll with advantage. Characters can only have a maximum of six skills and if the player wants a new skill, they have to forget an old one.
- Advantage and Disadvantage is used. Advantage = rolling 2d20 and taking the higher result while Disadvantage = rolling 2d20 and taking the lower result.
- Tough Shots are the way to adjust the target number by GM fiat or to take into consideration range, weather, if the target is small/moving/behind cover/etc., is the shooter distracted/moving/blind firing, and the gun - rifles are good at long range/shotguns are good at hitting moving targets/close range. The more unlikely the shot, the greater the DR of the Slick check to
hit and the lower the DR of the Luck check to avoid being hit. - Conditions fall into two categories. Miserable and Drunk. Miserable results from a character not meeting basic needs/being poisoned/Frostbit/Exhausted/Soggy Boots and so on. If a character is deprived they cannot heal HP until the condition is resulted. Drunk results from intoxication and the first time a character becomes drunk they swap to abilities and must make a note of which abilities were swapped as the same abilities will be swapped each time the character becomes drunk.
- A small list of drugs, medical kits, and so on + what effect they have.
- The Hat! Players can sacrifice their hat to avoid being hit as their hat is shot off instead.
Final Thoughts: I have to say that Frontier Scum is dripping with flavor flavor from the layout, the character creation choices, the baked in setting, baked in locations, and some really great tidbits like determining the horse personality/looks/etc. One of my favorite things in the game is the ye old cowboy hat and how you can sacrifice the hat to avoid being hit.
I think the setting it comes with along with the adventure in the back really go a long way to help the players and the GM understand the vibe of that game plus, the characters are wanted men and women. You are Scum and Scoundrels in a frontier that never was.
If I am being honest, this game was my first exposure to the theme of "Acid Western". I had to do some research on the genre. I still need to watch some of the recommended source material but at the moment I do not have a firm grasp on the genre except for the foundation of things are bad and will rarely get better. People are just trying to survive day by day and will generally mind their own business unless they are up to nefarious plots.
The game also has information and proves for equipment, services, hunting/fishing/foraging, city life, NPCs, and a great starting adventure. There is an overshadowing of the weird/grotesque so a GM could lean into those aspects for a more supernatural feel or stay away from them for more of a focus on the darkness of humanity and the harshness of frontier life. Or just anywhere in between.
Frontier Scum is a Mork Borg hack with some strong influences from Death in Space.
Now there are some caveats I would like to mention:
- There is a lack of explanation on the genre
- There is a lack of guidance on how the wanted PC's interact with towns and other people. This includes what actions will cause the PC's to be reported to the authorities and how well known the PCs are.
- Low HP/Low possible stats can make the game lethal and the players will not have a chance to take advantage of the healing/rest rules.
- There is no progression. The reward is surviving to drink another day.
- The crime and wanted dead/alive/dead or alive determination tables can get a bit wonky as a character can end up being wanted dead or dead or alive for more minor crimes.
You can find Frontier Scum at:
- Frontier Scum Website
- Discord
- The Author's Deets
- Scumslinger's Arsenal
- Games Omnivorous
- Drivethrurpg
- Itch.io
- Exalted Funeral
