Gentleman Bandit | Western Cantos I

A dark Western poetry roleplaying game for 1 player, exploring violence, woe, and dissociation || Part I of the Western Cantos, a poetry RPG cycle

"They call you the Gentleman Bandit, because no one knows your name. They call you a monster, a villain, a dealer of death. But they don’t know you. Not your Heart, your Poet’s Heart filled with rage or filth or the expansiveness of True Love; not your Grieving Heart loosed over a chasm, making a sound like the sorrow of wolves as it plummets toward wet river stones, cracked bones left to bleach."

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In this bestselling writing-focused RPG, you personify the eponymous Gentleman Bandit to write a 13-line poem you'll leave for the dead — and the ones who discover them. Card draws guide the content of each line; optional dice rolls add poetic devices to further shape the experience and ratchet the difficulty.

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Play a spectral Bandit in DARK HIGHWAY
Play Part II of the Western Cantos
MOONBLIND, a poetry RPG for two players
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Rules for multiplayer versions — inspired by the Exquisite Corpse style of group poetry writing — are included for both in-room and online settings. 

A Poker Play ruleset supports replayability with recommended fictional positions for your Bandit, each corresponding to the poker hand(s) you hold at the end of a round.

Your Tools

• Writing implements of your choice
• A well-shuffled deck of 54 playing cards, Jokers intact
• One six-sided die (optional)

Mobile and print PDFs included. Layout and graphic design by John Harper, creator of Lasers & Feelings, Blades in the Dark, and AGON.

Staff Pick

I love this game! It uses a very cool "poker poem" generation mechanic, and it can be played solo or with friends.

The premise is very simple, but it can be surprisingly complex (in a good way) in execution. Each player portrays a bandit writing a poem to be discovered upon their death. The game's Western theme is lightly applied, and the layout is also really great!

Gentleman Bandit, along with its excellent supplement, Gentleman Bandit: Dark Highway, is a game I keep coming back to.

—Adriel Wilson, Indie Publisher Relations Rep, DTRPG