Way out West

Your character is:

Elijah Entwhistle
It is the spring of 1884. America’s west coast is slowly
being populated with small towns full of settlers, come to
prospect for precious metals, set up ranches and run
dubious saloons – and now the railroad is coming!
Cactus Gulch is one such small town, founded 20 years
ago and tonight it has a festive air as the townsfolk get
set to start their 20th anniversary celebrations. However,
all is not running smoothly. Land disputes, disreputable
card games, strange folk from out of town and hostile
Indians all add to a tense atmosphere.
Join us in the Silver Dollar Saloon as celebrations begin,
and find out how the evening unfolds…
 Elijah Entwhistle — Traveling preacher
You are Elijah Entwhistle, a traveling preacher who castigates
sinners and converts them to the Good Word.
Actually, that’s a lie. Your real name is Jake Calhoun, and you are
the gunslinger brother of Zeke Calhoun, the local wealthy prospector
and land-owner.
You haven’t seen Zeke much over the last 20 years, not since he left
home to try his luck at Cactus Gulch. Zeke has always been unhappy
about your wild and dangerous profession, and has kept your
existence a secret from other folks – especially from his daughter
Lucy.
You have a fearful reputation as a merciless and ruthless gun for
hire – you have played on this with your mean looks. You even have
tattoos across your hands – ‘Love’ on the right hand and ‘Hate’ on the
left. Just being called in has often been enough to resolve an
argument, although you have never killed anyone but outlaws who
deserved what they got.
But blood is thicker than water. Zeke wrote you a few weeks ago and
told you he was uneasy about the pressure being put on him by
railroad folks that want to run a line across some of his land. He
thinks that he and his daughter Lucy are in danger! You thought
you’d mosey up to Cactus Gulch and see if you could give your older
brother a hand. You decided to come in disguise though, and it sure
has been fun preachin’ fire and brimstone to the folks hereabouts.
Zeke was mighty glad to see you, and told you that Clem Parham
from Mid West Rail has been making veiled threats about what
might happen if he sealed a deal with South West Rail.
Then a week ago your darn fool brother got drunk and lost Fat Bull
Range to Doc Faraday in a suspect card game – this is the land the
railroad people want to buy! Zeke insists that Blaise Sadler, Madame
at The Silver Dollar, can prove Doc was cheatin’ if she chooses to –
but he didn’t tell you why he thinks that.
It seems that Zeke has promised to give Blaise a cut of the profits
from his newly-discovered silver mine if she will blow the whistle on
Doc. However, he doesn’t trust Blaise. He has therefore made a false
map of the location of the silver lode and given Blaise half of it as a
sign of ‘good faith’ to her. He has given you the other half of the false
map, just in case anything should happen to him, so that you can
carry on the deception. Zeke hasn’t told you where the real map is.
There is another complication. Since arriving in town, you have
fallen in love with goodtime girl Kalamata Kate. It’s quite a surprise
– you never thought it would happen to you. It seems to be mutual,
too. In fact, you have just enjoyed a secret dalliance with her this
afternoon – although that meant you had to take your eye off your
brother, and you feel uneasy about that.
So you have come to The Silver Dollar saloon to look for your brother.
You’re just about to start on about the evil of drink to anyone who’ll
listen, when you see that the Bartender is climbing onto the bar and
is about to make an announcement…

Zeke’s death
You are filled with a furious righteous vengeance – whoever did this
will pay in blood, and none of that nonsense about due process of law.
From what Zeke said to you, you suspect Clem Parham is the guilty
party. But you are a cool enough customer to keep a lid on your
emotions, until you know for sure who was responsible – for now you
will just act the shocked Reverend.

Your Goals
 Avenge your brother’s death: Find out who murdered Zeke,
and make sure they pay in blood.
 Blaise: Find out why Zeke thought that Blaise could prove that
Doc cheated.
 Lucy: Lucy doesn’t know that you’re her uncle – or even that she
has an uncle. You should reveal you true identity to her at some
point.
 The real map: Zeke gave you one half of the false map – but you
know he had a real map to the silver lode somewhere. You should
try to find it.
 Fat Bull Range: make sure that Fat Bull Range is returned to
Lucy.
Other people
Clem Parham: Your brother Zeke has given you the complete low-
down on this dirty rattlesnake, who uses underhand ways. You know
that Clem has been applying pressure for Zeke to sign a deal, and
has been threatening him. You would like to get even if you can.
Slick O’Hare: Zeke also told you that Slick is some kind of sidekick of
Clem’s, so you need to watch your back in his direction too.
Kalamata Kate: Although you have only known her for a week, you
are glad that you have recognized your soul-mate. You would never
have believed it a month ago, but you are looking forward to settling
down with Kate by your side, and hanging up your guns forever. You
do wish you hadn’t been distracted by her this afternoon, though.
Blaise Sadler: You have quite enjoyed playing the preacher and
scolding Blaise, the saloon madame, for her love of a drink or two (or
three). However, you are going to have to have a serious discussion
with her soon to try and trade your half of the (false) map for her
evidence – if she really has any – so that you can prove that Doc
cheated, and get the land back.

Tips for Beginners

If you’ve not played a Freeform Games murder mystery game before,
then we suggest you start by doing the following:
 Go and talk to Blaise Sadler, let her know that you have half of a
map and see if you can use that to trade at all to get your hands on
the marked cards (if she has them that is).
 Go and talk to the Sheriff (or deputy if the sheriff is not in town),
let him know that you are really Zeke’s brother and offer to help in
any investigation.
 Abilities
You have three abilities, as shown below. Each ability explains
how many times it may be used – check a circle each time you
use it. Once they are all checked, you may no longer use that
ability.

It’s Just a Flesh Wound!

Play this immediately after someone has defeated
Ability

you in combat. The blow has no effect: you are not

injured and may now either strike back or flee.
Does not work against poison.
Three uses: O O O

Sharpshooting
Ability

When you shoot someone, you hit them if you win

or tie at Rock-Paper-Scissors, rather than just
when you win as is normal.
Three uses: O O O

I’ve bared my heart — now you bare yours

If you reveal your Secret to another person
Ability

(whether voluntarily or because they’ve used an

Ability to make you do so), they must reveal their
Secret to you.
Three uses: O O O
 Secret and Clue
Your Secret contains your guilty secret, while your Clue contains
one or more items of information you know. Both may be
affected by abilities.
While you can show your Secret and Clue to whomever you like,
you will probably not want to reveal your Secret too often.
(Please note that you can’t solve the mystery by looking at
everyone’s Secret and Clue – it’s not that easy!)

You are really Jake

Calhoun, Zeke’s brother
and Lucy’s uncle, a gun for
Secret

hire. You came here to

protect Zeke. Also, you have
half of a map to Zeke’s
silver lode.

The half map Zeke gave to

Clue

Blaise is a fake.
 Rules for Way out West
The Bartender’s Word is Law: The Bartender is impartial. If
you have a problem or want to do something unusual, see the
Bartender. The Bartender’s power is absolute – and cannot be
affected by Abilities!
Winning and Losing: You can achieve most of your goals
simply by talking to people. The Bartender will announce when
the game is over. If you haven’t succeeded by that point – you’re
too late! Be warned – not everyone here will want you to
succeed!
Doing Stuff: Ordinary actions are resolved by simply carrying
them out. If you want to try something unusual (such as swing
from a chandelier), see the Bartender. The Bartender knows
everything – and will be able to tell you the outcome of whatever
it is that you are trying to do. (For example, the chandeliers may
be too high to reach.) Do use your imagination, though! – this is
a very flexible game, and you can do all sorts of things beyond
what’s listed in these rules.
Fighting: 1884 was a rough, tough time in Cactus Gulch! Your
character may wish to grapple with, come to blows with, or even
stab or shoot one of the other characters. Should you wish to do
something along these lines though, don’t just dive in! See the
Bartender first and tell them what you plan to do so they can
oversee and give you more detailed rules if it’s necessary.
Leaving the town: Cactus Gulch is in the middle of nowhere
and the surrounding territories can be quite hostile. You are
therefore advised not to attempt leaving town during the course
of the evening.
Item Cards: Any items of importance within the game are
represented as Item cards – and the only items that can affect
the game are those detailed on the cards. If you do not have an
Item card, you do not have that item with you.
Time: Way out West is played over three hours, with extra time
for reading your character etc. There will be breaks to get drinks
and food! The Bartender will keep track of the time for you.
 Way out West — Cast List
Locals
 Lucy Calhoun: Zeke Calhoun’s daughter, young woman,
complete tomboy

 Able Blane: The town’s reliable sheriff

 Dan Fairweather: Slow and honest deputy sheriff

 Blaise Sadler: Aging saloonkeeper

 Kalamata Kate: Young waitress

 Doc Faraday: Notorious gambler

 John Paulson: Town’s much-revered judge

Natives
 Three Feathers: Revered Indian shaman

 Runs Like a Deer: Indian woman

Out-0f-towners
 Elijah Entwhistle: Traveling preacher

 Mel Easton: City slicker, South West Rail rep

 Slick O’Hare: Scruffy ranch hand for hire

 Clem Parham: City slicker, Mid West Rail rep

 Christy Martin: Storekeeper from out of town

Way out West is copyright © 2003, 2012 Freeform Games LLP www.freeformgames.com