Twelve. And this would be Number Thirteen.
As always, it appeared to happen in a sort of slow motion. The Challenger reached for his holster and Ringo's gun was firing before the kid had cleared his holster. And the explosion which preceded the sight of another lifeless boy lying in the dirt.
The smoke cleared. And the kid was still standing. No! Ringo couldn't have missed, not with the sun as his back and with such an easy mark! The sun shone on a wide grin on the kid's gun rose (in that infuriating slow motion!) towards Ringo ----
And then that maddening preacher had pushed him to the ground and was shouting something about the devil falling to the ground. Another shot - no, a thunderclap. And there was nothing left of the Challenger but a blackened spot on the ground.
When your players weary of hacking various types of intelligent life, when magic and magic items are as common as -- well, magic in a D&D world -- when they have turned your world topsey-turvey with sword, axe, and fireball; then, my friend, it is time to take them to a millieu more realistic and yet steeped in mythology.
As Horace Greeley and Groucho Marx advised, Go West.
Let them sweat in a hot sun, breath the western trail dust, and grow saddle sore as they either seek justice or run from it. Or, perhaps, they'll just attempt to get by, breaking their backs with menial work that - at best - will pay them $1 a day. Maybe they'll attempt to strike it rich from one of the famous mineral deposits of the American West. Gold and silver have called before and many have grown rich just from selling supplies and whiskey to prospectors and miners. Why, the possibilities are limitless for an adventurous sort!
Let them beware the violence of the Old West, made doubly dangerous by the presence of those infernal followers of Lucifer who, hungering for a body of their own, may lurk behind the eyes of every gunfighter, sherrif, drunk, or prostitute they meet. Watch them scramble to retain their sanity, and either grow strong in faith or spiral into paranoia. *Blaze of Glory* brings the age-old struggle between demon and man into the classic Western, and the rules are as simple and out of the way as with the basic game (*Spiritual Warfare*).
As before, PC's knowledge of the way the universe works (and their increase of that knowledge) makes all the difference between survival and obliteration. Using real-world methods adds to the realism of the game. And gaming in a unique (similar to home, hugely different) environment will challenge your players' roleplaying and rule-playing capabilities. Imagine your PCs discovering a Hell-spawned plan to possess President Grant, or to destroy entire communities just for fun. Or there might just be that one dark stranger passing through town...
Matt Dillon said it best: "It's a chancy job. And it makes a man watchful -- and a little lonely."
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