I have a idea for a open world RPG for Bethesda set in the 19th century wild west. It could be a game where you could choose between several races (cowboy, city slicker, freed slave, foreigner, and indian) each with its own unique abilities an chalanges. now before i go any farther there would be some racism in this game, but no more than you would find in TES, it would only touch closer to home because it is part of our actual history. i am not in any way shape or form racist or condone racism, this is only an idea that would set a game in a very racial part of American history. any ways these are the races i thought of

Cowboy- white man born on the west coast, they are ruten and tuten and know when to hold them, when to fold them, and when to draw your gun. they are excelent with pistols and rifles and have great skill with riding a horse. they have alot of street since but dont fair well in the world of business.

City Slicker- white man born on the east cost. they come from New York City in search of better business opertunity. smooth talking and charming they know how to mingle with a crowed. they are good with pistols and knives but prefer to talk. they do well among the few business men with grand ideas of how to change the west but are seen as incapable of being a real man among the Cow boys.

Freed Slave- now that they have been freed from hundreds of years of slavery in America they are now known as African Americans. though with there new freedom they are still not seen as equal by the white man. they are hard workers and excel at any job they take on, they are good with the pistol and shot gun but prefer just to not have any trouble at all.

Foreigner- Fresh off the ship from China they have come to America in search of work and opertunity out side of a opressive government. they are often misunderstood and seem mystical to the white man. they are excelent with hand to hand combat and know how to use a knife.

Indian- the original inhabitants of america they have a deep grudge against the white man. some tribes have been "converted" to the ways of the modern man they still hold the old ways in their heart. they are excelent with the knife and bow.

there would be several weapon classes each with several weapons under each class and each class is a skill

rifle
shotgun
pistol
knife
bow

Skills :
rifle- skill with a rifle
shotgun- skill with a shotgun
pistol-skill with a pistol
knife-skill with a knife
bow-skill with a bow
horse riding- skill with riding a horse
trading- skill in trading alowing you to buy cheap and sell high
medical- skill in fixin those bullet holes you got in your sorry hide
speech- skill in talking to people. maybe find some new information, maybe talk your way out of the OK Coral
gambling- skill in playing cards, maybe get good hands, maybe catch some one cheating, maybe get away with cheating

story i have not worked on but im sure beth could do a wonderfull job

Not to be a jerk but the idea of a western RPG has come up very often and we will just have to hope for the best.

These threads pop up every once in awhile. I'd love a Wild West themed RPG as much as the next guy, but it's hard for me to see it happening.

I will say, I believe this is the first thread of this nature to have something mapped out, as opposed to "Hey, wouldn't it be cool if.."

I think you've got a good idea in place though.

Your "races" are more of a mixture between classes and races.

well i was trying to pull from tes where some races are better at things than others making them better fit to be certain classes than others. thats not to say that a Cowboy cant open up his own banking empire, just means it would be a little harder for him than a City Slicker

Oh I get what you were going for and thats how all RPGs should be IMO. Just work on the races.

Edit: I would just go white man, Black/African/African American, Foreigner/Chinese, Indian. Each one of these races could have sub races/specialities. Different types of Indians, different types of white man etc. Then add attributes and refine the skills and you've got character creation for a Wild West RPG.

ah, kinda like eve where you have 4 corporations with several races under them. i could see that happening.

white man - cowboy, city slicker
black man- free'd slave, african
foreigner- chinese, european
indian- civilized, uncivilized

I think RDR was good enough at this.

And before Red Dead there was :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boot_Hill_(role-playing_game)

Both Red Dead, 2 Call of Juarez games with another this year, I think the market isn't too saturated for more

but did they have the rpg style skill set to them where you had to "train"skills to become better at them?

No it wasn't. I want full on Sergio Leone style. Scored by Ennio Morricone himself.

will some one explain this to me because that went over my head at the speed of noob.

I'd love to see Bethesda go for the Deadlands license:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deadlands

I think they could do a really good job at it, it would play to their strengths.

Oh OK then:

These ring any bells?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjjDOdaFZg0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4x7RchYCMc&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRw00jaFgo4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLASZgtteQE

All directed by Sergio Leone, music by Ennio Morricone.


Savvy?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jj4gx2a2810&feature=related

This.

Deadlands! Who can beat the wild west zombie game?

You got it.

I had a variation on this idea since some find western RPGs, even though none have really been made, cliche. It makes no sense, but I remedied this by just having a Native American RPG. Every "race" was a tribe. Each adept at certain skills, weaponry, etc. It could be set in antiquity with North American Lions, Camels, Giant three toad sloths, with little in the way of Indian tech being left on the table, minus horse riding. Or have it set in a more modern time with the arrival of colonies. This would also work with an ancient Greek historical low fantasy RPG I had in mind. Different races like Thracian, Athenian, Egyptian, Persian, etc. You can make an RPG about anything. you just need depth.

I made one of these posts awhile ago, and I got the exact feedback that this one got haha.

but yes I would love it if they made an open RPG wild west. Except I don't want the west to be dying. I want it to be in its prime!

i think before it started to die was when it became most interesting. this is the time frame i would like to see it in... when all the struggle and lawlessness was rampant.

exactly! I don't understand why game companies always have to do some game where "at the end of this era a new one begins" or something like that. why can't we either play in the middle or at the start of a new one? I dunno. just something I've noticed.

I can't agree with this at all. Red Dead Redemption was your typical Rockstar game: slick production values coupled with totally schizophrenic design. Irritatingly linear missions, boring horse travel, it fell so short of what an open world western should be. Really, really not a fan.