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509 Something Weird This Way Comes

GURPS 4th Wild Weird West: Something Weird This Way Comes

Seventeen years ago, the Ghost Dance proved the impossible was real. The dead returned. Ancient beasts walked again. Magic entered the world—and never left.

It is now 1888. America runs on steam, steel, electricity, and belief.

You are elite Chicago Pinkerton agents, backed by J.P. Morgan and Nikola Tesla, traveling west aboard a luxury armored train filled with experimental technology. Your rivals—the New York Pinkertons—answer to Edison and Rockefeller, and wherever you go, they are never far behind.

When strange reports emerge from Sundance, Wyoming, near Devil’s Tower—vanishing miners, unnatural phenomena, and a traveling carnival that does not follow normal rules—both Pinkerton teams are dispatched. Local law is overwhelmed. Industry is watching closely. Something about Sundance matters, but no one agrees why.

This cinematic GURPS Weird West adventure emphasizes investigation, social conflict, desperate action, and high-stakes choices. Expect tense negotiations, strange science, supernatural danger, and rivals who are sometimes enemies, sometimes allies, and always competitors.

The game runs 8 hours with two breaks, using eight pre-generated characters, each with clear motivations, secrets, and personal connections—both within the party and across rival lines.

The frontier is changing again.
The question is who controls what comes next.

THE WORLD AFTER THE GHOST DANCE

In 1871, the Ghost Dance changed history. For a single night, death loosened its grip. Anything larger than a golf ball, at the moment it died, was offered a second chance. Most returned only briefly. Some endured. All left scars.

The event proved something undeniable: belief shapes reality.

Magic exists. Elemental forces can be harnessed. The dead sometimes refuse to stay quiet. Alchemy, however, does not exist—there are no universal shortcuts, only tradeoffs. Power must be earned through labor, electricity, sacrifice, or faith.

By 1888, this knowledge has reshaped the world.

STEAM, STEEL, AND THE SUPERNATUAL

America’s second industrial revolution runs hotter than the first. Steam engines burn alongside bound elementals. Rail lines are warded as often as they are patrolled. Experimental devices push the boundaries of science and sanity.

Nikola Tesla believes the universe is understandable—if dangerous. J.P. Morgan believes stability is worth any cost.

Together, they fund the Chicago Pinkertons, a specialized group tasked with handling problems that fall between law enforcement, corporate interest, and the supernatural. Their authority comes not from government, but from contracts, rail compacts, and corporate courts that hold real power in the modern world.

Opposing them, often openly, are the New York Pinkertons, backed by Thomas Edison and John D. Rockefeller. Where Chicago favors precision, innovation, and negotiation, New York favors brute force, spectacle, and decisive outcomes. Both sides claim they are protecting the nation’s future.

THE FRONTER IS NOT EMPTY

The West is no longer just lawless—it is unstable.

Ancient creatures occasionally surface in remote regions. Some towns coexist uneasily with revenants. Others collapse under the strain. Religious movements, spiritual traditions, and fringe cults have flourished in the wake of the Ghost Dance, each offering different explanations—and solutions—for a world that no longer behaves predictably.

Devil’s Tower, long sacred to Indigenous peoples, is one such place of tension. During the Ghost Dance, it became a focal point of strange phenomena. Since then, the surrounding region has never fully settled.

SUNDANCE, WYOMING

Sundance is a frontier town that should not matter.

It has a modest population, a rail stop, a few mines, and a history of hard luck. And yet, unusual events cluster there: unexplained disappearances, distorted electrical effects, animals behaving strangely, and rumors that the land itself is changing.

Local law enforcement is stretched thin. Outsiders are watched closely. A traveling carnival has recently arrived, drawing crowds—and suspicion.

Corporate interests are suddenly paying attention.

THE PINKERTON'S ROLE

Pinkertons in this era are not detectives in the modern sense. They are troubleshooters, negotiators, enforcers, and arbitrators. They carry legal authority derived from contracts, not constitutions. When they arrive in a town, everyone knows something is about to change.

As Chicago Pinkertons, the player characters are trusted agents with access to significant resources, experimental technology, and wide discretion. They are expected to make judgment calls that will shape lives, property, and sometimes history.

The New York Pinkertons are always nearby—sometimes openly, sometimes in the shadows. Personal rivalries, professional grudges, and conflicting philosophies complicate every situation.

CONTENT: Mainstream, expect quick descriptions of non-bloodless violence, small chance of spiders, and extremely likely descriptions of snakes. Games aides are colored, I will provide aides for those with color blindness if asked.
PC's are GM supplied at 300+ power levels. Beginners are welcome (and will get extra play aides and copy of the rules).