We Deal in Lead

We Deal in Lead

The Other Worlds Jam (#OtherWorldsJam) saw 11 amazing projects made for We Deal in Lead.

You look to those closest to you, fellow gunslingers of the Order of the King. The arduous trek across the bleached desert is over and now you stand before a slip door. Though tested, the fellowship of your Order stands true.

You grasp the worn sandalwood grip of your artefact gun and twist open the door. You gasp as the sharp sea air hits your lungs. Gulls caw and the foam sprays your face like a baptism. You step through to another reality.

After all, there are other worlds than these.

We Deal in Lead is a weird west wanders TTRPG by Colin Le Sueur for 1 or more players. Streamlined rules, fast character creation, and gameplay built on exploration and player choice. Based on Cairn by Yochai Gal.

Features:

• Set in a strange post-apocalyptic world eerily close to ours, where the borders of time and space wear thin
• You are Gunslingers, mythic champions holding off the forces of chaos with lead and grit
• Combat and exploration gameplay designed for 1 or more players, including solo or group play
• Streamlined d20 roll-under rules based on Cairn, Into the Odd, and Knave
• Hard-hitting gunslinger combat with new gun mechanics
• Includes an introductory Gunslinger adventure: Swampwater Shootout
• Generate a random adventure with the excursion generator or consult the oracle for solo play
• Compatible with other Cairn adventures and settings; journey with your gunslingers into other genres and times
• Recruit heroes from other worlds to join your quest, even those fallen to death; death is just another door, after all
• Keep the bonds of fellowship strong within your Gunslinger Order and your aim will remain true
• Wilderness survival and exploration through a world that has moved on — the known and unknown lands are dangerously unpredictable
• Friend and train beast companions to act as your eyes, ears, or fangs, including hawks, wolves, and bumblers

Itchfunding is an alternative to typical crowdfunding methods like Kickstarter and is more flexible and less stressful for creators. Unlike Kickstarter, there's no hard endpoint for the campaign or risk the funding will fail. The campaign remains open and the book remains in development until the funding goals are met.

You aren't funding a final product (though you will get a release PDF and physical copy, if you choose that level of support), but you're funding the development and progress of We Deal in Lead.

We Deal in Lead is in active development. When you purchase it, you get the Ashcan Version, the latest and greatest version currently available, and any subsequent updates. Any payments you make go toward improving the book with art and editing.

When we hit each funding goal, the PDF will be updated with the result (the first milestone is the cover).

Update (10 Sep 2022):

We Deal in Lead Itchfunding has now closed. Pre-orders are now open on shop.byodinsbeardrpg.com.

UNLOCKED - Goran does amazing work and his style fits perfectly with the theme and feeling of We Deal in Lead.

If the project hits £250 I'll commission him to do a full-colour A5 cover.

UNLOCKED - If the project hits £500 I'll also be able to commission an editor to bring a professional and critical eye to the game to help unlock its true potential!

I'm delighted to announce that Fiona Maeve Geist will be coming on board as a developmental editor. She's worked on some amazing projects (if you're like me, you've got loads of the books she's edited) so I can't wait to see how she'll shape the book!

UNLOCKED - I've got a long list of amazing artists that I'd love to commission for this project and if we hit £750 I'll make that a reality!

UNLOCKED - If we manage to hit £1000 I'll upgrade the physical release with better paper and colours. Full details to be decided!

UNLOCKED - Thanks to the staggering response, I've decided to expand the original goals. If we hit £2000, I'll upgrade the physical zine release to a full-colour hardcover release!

If unlocked, everyone who's supported at the Physical Release level will now get the hardcover version.

UNLOCKED - If we unlock the hardcover goal, the next goal is to improve the quality of the hardcover with a sewn binding and fancy endpaper colour.

Having a sewn binding is the ultimate in quality, so I really hope we hit this goal!

UNLOCKED - Why not take the opportunity to commission more artists and get even more cool interior art?

UNLOCKED - After we fill the hardcover with even more art, why not make the endpapers a bit more colourful?

UNLOCKED - What's Western without a rousing and atmospheric soundtrack?

If we hit £3250 I'll commission Of Sleeping Bears to create a 6-track EP Spaghetti Western/synth soundtrack.

Your purchase gets you the Ashcan PDF version of We Deal in Lead and any and all updates. This is the core game but without art or layout.

10 September 2022 (v1.0, Release)

Complete:

• Cover
• Logo
• Character creation example
  
• Soundtrack (Watch & Warrant)
  
• Combat example
  
• Bestiary
  
• Interior art
  
• Character sheet
  
• Integration with other adventures/settings
• Layout

Purchasing the Physical Release reward gets you access to the PDF as well as a hardcover printed copy of We Deal in Lead when it goes to print, shipped from shop.byodinsbeardrpg.com. 

Ships to the UK, US, Canada, and the EU. Shipping costs will be collected separately at a later date.

Due to the unpredictable nature of crowdfunding and worldwide paper shortages/shipping delays this may not be for some time.

Of Sleeping Bears has done an amazing job with Watch & Warrant, the companion 6 track EP for We Deal in Lead.

• 01. High Moon
• 02. The Ghost Town of Lud
• 03. Ash & Brimstone
• 04. Rest for the Wicked
• 05. A New Frontier
• 06. Broken Order

All 6 tracks are included with the Ashcan PDF and Physical Edition.

Album art by Kim Diaz Holm.

I'm currently taking retailer pre-orders for We Deal in Lead (hardcover), so if you're a retailer (online or bricks and mortar), email me at colin@byodinsbeardrpg.com to arrange a wholesale order. 

Retail price is £30 GBP / $35 USD.

You can find Colin (@ByOdinsBeardRPG) on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook.

Or you can find our store at shop.byodinsbeardrpg.com.

Colin Le Sueur (@byodinsbeardrpg) - Writer/Designer

Fiona Maeve Geist - Editor

Kim Diaz Holm (@DenUngeHerrHolm) - Interior Illustrations

Amita Sevellaraja (@volapardus) - Interior Illustrations

Perplexing Ruins (@perplexingruins)- Interior Illustrations

Felipe da Silva Faria (@FELIPEMUKY) - Interior Illustrations

Colin Le Sueur (@byodinsbeardrpg) - Interior Illustrations

Evangeline Gallagher (@egallagher_art) - Interior Illustrations

Carlos Castilho - Interior Illustrations

Goran Gligović (@GoranGligovic) - Cover Illustrator

Andriy Lukin (@andriylukin) - Logo Designer

Of Sleeping Bears (Bandcamp) - Soundtrack Composer

From Colin

The tales of the Gunslinger and the Dark Tower have lived inside my head since I first read the novels in high school. A broken world, the last gunslinger in his quest to find the meaning of existence, his motley band of fellow gunslingers. There they stayed, locked away, every so often bubbling up to the surface. I've been searching for a way to translate the worlds of the Dark Tower into a faithful, exciting, engaging TTRPG and I think I've cracked it. 

We Deal in Lead is the Dark Tower filtered through my personal roleplaying experience, using the excellent and modular Cairn system. Make the broken world your own and forge new adventures. Stand true, gunslingers!

ModernModron (@modernmodron), artist and designer:

Absolutely dripping in flavour, We Deal in Lead feels ripe to create a dark fiction environment. I particularly like the rules for the order/ breaking the order and it sets up a great narrative arc leading out of a major loss, which is fantastic.

byneonlight:

First come smiles, then lies. Last is gunfire.
This has not only the mechanical prowess to accomplish its genre/setting emulation, but the soul. I cannot wait to assemble my ka-tet and ride!

If you have additional questions, would like to schedule an interview, or have any other questions please feel free to reach out via email: colin@byodinsbeardrpg.com

Here's a recent playtest of the v0.10 rules and a preview of the introductory scenario. Thanks to Joe and Phil for helping me with the playtest!

Second playtest and actual play. Thanks to Jeremy, Kent, and Ryan!

Third playtest and actual play. Thanks Jack, John, and Wendi!