Blood and Dust

Description

The Setting

Inspired by both the raw, lawless world depicted in Spaghetti Westerns and the more traditional American films of the genre, Blood and Dust allows players to immerse themselves in the roles of characters roving the expansive plains and lawless towns of the Old West. While the great American cowboy tales notoriously hold a special place, we’ve taken our cues mostly from the European take on the genre, populated with a cast of roughened rogues and desperate outcasts. This game draws primarily from the tradition of the European Western – commonly referred to as Spaghetti Western – where the frontier is not a proving ground for virtue, but a landscape where survival, profit, and vengeance hold greater weight than law or sentiment. In these stories, men are rarely clean in conscience or reputation. They arrive from nowhere, carry their past like a burden they do not speak of, and leave little behind but bodies and unanswered questions. Violence is not exceptional; it is routine, deliberate, and oftentimes the only reliable instrument available. At the same time, Blood and Dust does not confine itself to that interpretation alone. By design, it permits a broader range of characters than its predecessor, Wretched Country. Without the moral framework imposed by Sins and Virtues, players are free to approach the setting through more traditional roles if they so choose: the lawman who believes order can still be imposed, the rancher defending his land, the soldier who has not yet abandoned his code. These figures belong to the older American tradition, where the West still carries the possibility of justice, even if it must be upheld at gunpoint.

The Mechanics

Like other Red games, Blood and Dust isn’t strictly an old-school game, but instead an OSR-compatible game: it shares enough similarities (such as being d20-based) to be easily adaptable using the rules of Wretched, or any other OSR game. This compatibility allows for seamless integration of existing OSR materials – including any of our previous settings, sourcebooks and scenarios – and provides a familiar foundation. Characters are defined by six Attributes—Strength, Intelligence, Wits, Agility, Toughness, and Charisma—which measure natural ability, and a range of Skills that reflect training, experience, and profession. Players choose an Archetype that determines their role, granting recommended Skills, special abilities, Health bonuses, and unique talents. Additional customisation comes through Perks and Drawbacks. As characters gain experience, they improve their Skills, acquire new abilities, and may even change Archetypes to reflect changing fortunes and hard-earned lessons.