Question Bringing the space western to chaos?

[Tae'l Vizsla]

Star Wars to me has always been one parts Jedi shenanigans and one parts space western, With rutheless bounty hunters, Gunslinging smugglers and lovely scenes like the mos esly cantina or basically the entire first season of the mandalorian.

So for all the gunslingers, Samurai-Cowboys and bounty hunters who love that space western feel, Here is my question: How do you bring that feel to chaos threads or characters?
(Be it how you personally do it or someone else might. Tips & Tricks or just sharing your love for the space western, Come on down and let's discuss!

 

[Aeshi Tillian]

For me, it’s all about the details and the thematic settings. Things are grimy and dirty, coated with dust and grease. Space is big. Light takes 120,000 years to travel from one end to another. There are millions of planets that can be weeks apart, even in hyperdrive, and even in the days of the canon Galactic Republic, there are thousands of worlds that aren’t part of the government and are essentially the frontier. Sparsely populated, no real government, harsh and difficult for survival.

So when I want to be very Space Western, I emphasize these points:

1. Space is big and everyone in it is tiny. Distances are incomprehensibly vast and travel times still take significant time.
2. Survival is the main goal. Hardscrabble existence, small credit amounts, moisture farmers, ranchers, very wild and rural. Little to no urbanization (It’s why I never really got involved with Darkwire), technology is old and worn down, with maintenance being done by hand at home.
3. Law enforcement and government are pretty much non existent. Problems are resolved by individuals.
4. Everything is dirty and everyone is drinking alcohol.

 

[Tae'l Vizsla]

1. Space is big and everyone in it is tiny. Distances are incomprehensibly vast and travel times still take significant time.
2. Survival is the main goal. Hardscrabble existence, small credit amounts, moisture farmers, ranchers, very wild and rural. Little to no urbanization (It’s why I never really got involved with Darkwire), technology is old and worn down, with maintenance being done by hand at home.

This part here especially interests me because I think it's easy to forget as we teleport ourselves from one thread to another. The distance and time isn't always accounted for in some RPs, And it's definitely something I want to be more mindful of myself!

 

[Aeshi Tillian]

For sure! It’s hard to keep track of and remember. It’s part of what I was trying to do with the Imynusoph Run, where the incredibly fast travels went from one end to the end in a week, and that’s not even including time for refueling, repairs, sleep, or downtime waiting in lines. And these were ships three or four times faster than most other ships. So five or six weeks is probably a better timeframe to travel across the entire galaxy. Which is still tiny compared to the months traveling the Oregon Trail, but fairly significant compared to how we do things.