Westbound Travel (post-apocalyptic, surreal fantasy-western)

Hosted Games Works In Progress
, ,
1

BLURB
You are a wanderer in a dying realm, given a quest you do not fully understand by a Prince, bereft of other memories and purpose. Long ago the Empress Eternal sat upon her throne in the Westerne City, over the horizon, bestowing to Monarchs Authority. It has been an age and no new Monarch have been made. Starved of Authority the world is unraveling around you. You have been given a gun, and charged to walk the sunset paths, to find the Westerne City, stand before the Numinous Throne and beg for a new Monarch. Seek the west. Set right the world.

ABOUT
Westbound Travel is a surreal, fantasy-western in a dying world, inspired by Soulsborne games, the Dark Tower novel by Steven King, and the TTRPG setting Ultraviolet Grassland and the Black City by Luka Rejec. The player takes the role of a wanderer who wakes up in the dungeon of a Prince, with no memories of where they came from, and is given a quest, a gun, and a few companions to somehow fix the world. Create a wanderer who can be any gender, choose to be a knight or reject it, decide how you feel about your quest and the west, and possible even find love in a dying world.

Demo Here: CoGDemos

Update Plans

Currently the demo is clocking in at around 50,000 words. Everything is subject to change and I welcome feedback here. I plan on dropping another update when I have about this much more to add. I am about to be starting a new job, though, so I am unsure how long that will take me.

Content Warnings

Westbound Travel is a post-apocalyptic fantasy. There is extensive discussion and even the exploring of the ruins of war and plague, including skeletons, war machines, and the skeleton of a child (route dependent). There is also interpersonal violence and gun violence. If the PC is non-binary or questions the gender binary one character, reflecting the feudal fantasy culture he grew up in, expresses doubt. There is a religious cult that worships the end of the world.

ROs (minor spoilers)

Cu: Male, major romance, anyone can romance. A young squire and would-be academic, had he not been born into a world where such things are no-longer valued. Appreciates PCs who act like knights and also value knowledge.
Noemi: Female, major romance, anyone can romance. A west-bound pilgrim who like you has lost her memory. She also has a wolf’s head replacing her own. Appreciates PCs who like her are single-mindedly devoted to the journey west.
The Stranger: Player-choice gender, major romance, anyone can romance. An enigmatic figure who seems to dwell in the grey fog of forgetting devouring the world.
Styx: Nonbinary, major romance, can only be romanced by trans PCs. A punk and activist from Earth who, as reality is eroded, falls into the PCs world.
Prince Newt: Female, minor romance, can only be romanced by male PCs. The Prince who charges you to seek the west, and also offers to let you become her knight.
Sir Thrush: [spoilers], minor romance, can only be romanced by female PCs, a masked knight who serves Prince Newt. Approves of everything Newt approves of.
Sir Arch: Female, minor romance, can only be romanced by non-male PCs. An at first antagonistic knight who serves Prince Geb.
Prince Geb: Male, minor romance, can only be romanced by male PCs. Not yet in demo.

35 Likes
2

I’ll read better when I have more time, but the setup looks interesting.

2 Likes
3

Looks pretty wild but I like it so far

1 Like
4

This is really cool - the vibes/atmosphere of the world is honestly amazing.

In addition to the stated inspirations (of which I am only really familiar with The Dark Tower and Soulsbourne), it actually also kinda reminds of the Neverending Story.

1 Like
5

Thank you! I appreciate a lot that you commented after two years, very cool. I have never actually watched(or read? Isn’t it based on a book?) the Neverending Story so I will add it to the list!

@Dragomer Appreciate it!

@LiliArch Take your time, look forward to it.

2 Likes
6

I haven’t stated reading yet but it sounds interesting. Is the gun our only weapon or can we get a sword?

1 Like
7

So far only the gun. There may be an option to pick up a sword ahead though!

1 Like
8

Great because the whole knight outlaw thing is interesting and i wanted to be a sword wielding outlaw

1 Like
9

Next update then!

1 Like
10

Also wondering - does the MC have a plot-relevant backstory, or will everything that happened before they talked to the stranger remain lost?

(And yeah, Neverending Story is based on a book - in fact, I had kinda forgotten it even had a film adaptation.)

1 Like
11

Kinda an involved spoiler-y thing, but, dependent on choices the player character will eventually be able to claim to be the sole survivor of the party mentioned in the opening epigraph of chapter one, or, alternatively, reject that, in which case they may have less specific memories of a homeland somewhere else. Spoiler less version: it will depend on player choice, and even if the player chooses a plot-relevant backstory as opposed to having their past remain lost, they will have several different pasts to choose from.

1 Like
12

Soulsborn inspired game ? give me the papers i will sign anything, and silly and Spoilers below

Summary

nothing really important
but do you really have to name a charcter cu ? Means Butthole in portuguese,

2 Likes
13

Well poop now I gotta reconsider that. Was naming him after Cu Chulainn from Irish myth but, well, we’ll see now.

1 Like
14

You might also want to consider sir thrush-in English that is a yeast infection

15

Sounds interesting