BLOODSMOKE! was initially intended as a classical vampire hunter story. You know the type -- ancient European kingdoms, towns in the shadows of elaborate, ornate castles, peasants cowering in fear as strange corruption seeps into the land itself. But we watched Costner's new movie as a family and my kids more than anyone else twisted my arm to bring in cowboys and the Old West.

The larger takeaway for me watching Horizon: An American Saga Chapter 1, was getting lost a swirl of childhood memories. There's no doubt that back in the 90s, Westerns -- as a genre -- badly needing to address the deeper issues disenfranchisement, loss, and suffering that came with territorial expansion. Dances with Wolves of course did that, and would earn Costner an Academy Award. But as a 9-year old kid I just wanted the romping adventure that I would get a year later with Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. It wasn't until Maverick a few years later that I would get that outlandish, Leap-of-Faith, last minute Hail Mary, shoot-six-bad-guys-dead-with-just-two-bullets kind of whirlwind action.

So BLOODSMOKE! is my homage to that kind of sorta, almost, hard-edged spaghetti Western. Mechanically, it pioneers an entirely need kind of conflict resolution system -- an Action Table -- which allows Players to define multi-action sequences each turn. It's bare bones, relying heavily on the GM and Players together to interpret the rules to their own comfort. Take your time with it, enjoy, please let me know how it works for you.

Sam Izanagi,

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