A downloadable setting guide

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There came a time when the Old Gods died! The wild died with the weary! The magnificent perished, locked in battle with the unforgivable! It was the last day for them! An ancient era passed in a Great Disaster!

Now, well over three thousand years later, the tales of the Old Gods are little more than myths in the Inner Systems. But in the Outward Space of the Fourth Galaxy, on many dingy frontier planets, they know different. They’ve seen gunslingers who found embers of the Old Gods' power. Fashioned into shooting irons these drifters can unleash the elements, rip apart the fabric of space, and commit the impossible.

It’s a lonely life for a young gun with a godly ember. They say that the God’s story starts to influence you. A shooter who starts to echo the legend, who keeps a little bit of the magic alive, they become more powerful. Last longer. But Outward Space is full of gunfighters who'll kill for a taste of the ember. A Godslinger’s gotta keep their wits about them and their draw quick in these lawless stars.

What is Old Gods and Young Guns?

Old Gods and Young Guns is a system-agnostic setting guide. It details a space fantasy western setting inspired by Jack Kirby's New Gods comics. The guide provides details on the world of Outward Soace and the history of the dead gods who left behind great power. The guides includes information on how life is in this setting, possible character archetypes, and a specific look at a location with named places and characters to hang plot hooks off but it doesn't include any mechanics for play.

You might pair a setting-agnostic game or system with this system-agnostic setting. You may consider games where the vibe already has a resonance and consider taking a game out of the implied setting and into the world of Old Gods and Young Guns.

The Titanomaki System

Titanomaki is a particularly lawless star system in Outward Space. You'll meet assorted factions vying for control; the crooked Inter Phantom Corp, the cold and efficient mercenary outfit the Eternal Furies and the interstellar Pirate Congress, among others. You'll find hooks for different adventures on planets like the arid and dusty New Theogany, where a powder keg of conflicting interests is due to explode. Insert yourself into the gang war taking place on the Skull if the Sporelord, a strange moon with a legendary history, allegedly. Keep your trigger hand itchy when you visit Station SAL-00N, a glossy orbital casino hiding a rotten core.

Thoughts on the Western genre

Engaging with the western genre means engaging with this and engaging with the genre’s relationship with settler colonialism. Settler colonialism enacts and perpetuates generations of injustice and cruelty. 

The setting is a science fantasy setting that does not have a relationship to the history of Earth. We did not create sci-fi/fantasy analogues of Indigenous people and cultures as that is not something we felt comfortable or even qualified to do, as a white designer. This does mean however we’ve written a western inspired setting without Indigenous peoples. That gives us pause. It is worth thinking about how this can affect your experience of play and how best to be kind and patient with each other. 

We'd encourage you to use safety tools at your table to manage any issues that might come up.

Interested in a physical copy of this setting guide?

You can purchase physical copies of Old Gods and Young Guns via the SoulMuppet Store. Purchases include PDF copies.

Included in this purchase

  • PDF, pages and spread
  • ePub
  • Kindle Edition 

What people are saying about Old Gods and Young Guns

"Old Gods and Young Guns presents a vibrant, capital-W-Weird setting, filled with colorful people, places, and plothooks. The guide draws on familiar themes and archetypes in a novel way, lending it an eminent playability and charm to spare." - Clove Fulminata (Our Minerva, CHOKE.)

Purchase

Buy Now$10.00 USD or more

In order to download this setting guide you must purchase it at or above the minimum price of $10 USD. You will get access to the following files:

Old Gods and Young Guns Setting Guide, pages.pdf 29 MB
Old Gods and Young Guns Setting Guide, spreads.pdf 29 MB
Olds God's and Young Guns - Setting Guide, ePub.epub 4 MB
Olds God's and Young Guns - Setting Guide, Kindle.mobi 2 MB

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Comments

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Is this a re-upload of the Even Gods Must Die game that was part of the Ukraine bundle last year, that's now restricted from downloading?

No it's a setting guide that uses some of the same inspirations.

Even Gods Must Die is restricted in part due names on credits no longer being accurate, though you should still be able to download items you own that are restricted.

(6 edits)

The first challenge that presents itself on looking at this setting is what to run it with.  A few options come to mind:

    1. Leaning into the Space side of the setting, Solar Blades & Cosmic Spells is worth a look.
    2. Alternatively, if you want to learn into the Western side, Haunted West is an option.
    3. If you want to get all story-gamey with it, Sorcerer would be an interesting choice where the demon is the ember in your gun.
    4. An old-schoolish option would be Dungeon Crawl Classics with Galaxy Black layered on top for extra science-fantasy goodness.  The embers of the Old Gods are effectively Patrons of the Fourth Galaxy.
    5. Finally, what about Death in Space!

    Would love to hear what others are thinking about running this with.