Chapter 25 — Dust Devil's Bargain (Weird West Demo)

Part VI — Starter Worlds

A walkthrough of the weird west starter.

Setting

A frontier town hides a cult summoning something from the red mesa. You’re a drifter caught between law, spirits, and a rising supernatural dust that claims anyone who lingers too long. The desert doesn’t forget.

Contents

Element	Description
Drifter’s Crossroads	Starting zone — hitching post, dusty road, vultures
Saloon	Social zone — bar, poker table, wanted board
Sheriff’s Office	Authority zone — desk, cell, strongbox
Red Mesa Trail	Wilderness zone — cult territory, rattlesnakes, burning sun
Spirit Hollow	Supernatural zone — bone circle, whispering wind, spirit anchor
Bartender Silas	NPC — informant, lore 5, mesa cult intel quest
Sheriff Hale	NPC — law with a secret, grit 6
Dust Revenant	Enemy — cursed gunslinger (draw-speed 7, grit 5)
Mesa Crawler	Enemy — spirit beast (lore 8, grit 7)
Sage Bundle	Item — reduces Dust by 20
Gunslinger	Progression tree — quick-hand → iron-will → dead-eye

Ruleset: weird-west-minimal

Stat	Role
Grit	Toughness, willpower, endurance
Draw-Speed	Reflexes, reaction time, quick-draw ability
Lore	Supernatural knowledge, spirit communication

Resource	Range	Notes
HP	0–30	Physical health
Resolve	0–20	Mental fortitude, regens 1/tick
Dust	0–100	Inverse pressure — accumulates, 100 = claimed by the desert

Unique verbs: draw (quick-draw duel), commune (speak with spirits).

How the Systems Interact

1. Dialogue — Bartender Silas interrogates you about your business, then reveals what he knows about the Red Mesa congregation. Choosing to investigate sets the mesa-mission global flag.

2. Environment — Two hazard types: dust storms raise the Dust counter for human entities, spirit drain reduces resolve near supernatural zones.

3. Cognition — The spirit perception presentation rule makes spirits perceive all living entities as “echoes of the future.” This inverts the normal horror dynamic — the supernatural isn’t malicious, it’s confused.

4. Combat — Two enemy archetypes: the Dust Revenant is a fast gunslinger (draw-speed 7), the Mesa Crawler is a lore-heavy spirit beast. Different verbs suit different enemies.

5. Factions — Townsfolk (low cohesion 0.4, reflecting frontier individualism) vs the Red Congregation (high cohesion 0.9, cult discipline).

Install

npm install @ai-rpg-engine/starter-weird-west

import { createGame } from '@ai-rpg-engine/starter-weird-west';
const engine = createGame(42);