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[Dermonster]

Some games were never meant to be RTD'd.

[Darvi]

Make it so that the expedition leader has only so many potential decisions per situation. For instance, three. Then a player could suggest an action for each of those three possibilities.

So if they get to a flooded river, you give the leader the options to a) cross the river, b) follow the river until they find a bridge, or c) wait until the flood goes back. Then a player can suggest to a) Put on their waterproof boots, b) stay on the wagon or whatever, or c) to get out their sleeping mats.

[SeriousConcentrate]

So... what, then, is the problem with the

have separate wagon trains

idea? It gets rid of pretty much every problem a single wagon train RTD would have. Each player is a wagon leader and they get to decide these things. You would also create other, interesting situations, such as players trading between trains and such... or trying to sabotage each other by hiring away personnel....

[Theifofdreams]

NPC the wagon leader slot and let the party chip in suggestions, democracy style?
Removes the problem completely by putting the actual power for that situation back in the hands of chance, and giving the players the chance to sway fate with their own efforts. Just like normal, really.

EDIT: Oh, gods. Did I really just suggest giving the vote to some of the most power-mad, greedy, selfish, self-centered individuals? What have I done?!

EDIT Part 2: ... Wait, that's just like our government. Never mind.

[Gatleos]

Now that I think of it, the separate wagon train idea is perfect. Each player could choose their surname (team name) and the names of all the wagon members. It would be a race to the finish, with the game ending when someone reaches Oregon City or there is only one wagon left. When wagons meet each other on the trail, it would be counted as an event for both.

Should players be able to suggest multiple actions? They do have multiple people on the wagon, after all. Maybe it should all be determined by a single roll regardless. Giving a separate skill to every wagon member might be too much, so maybe it should be limited to one.

[Darvi]

Of course you guys have to do it the easy way :V

[Dermonster]

I think we're missing a fundamental flaw here.

What the hell actions do you even make? As far as I can tell it will be just a repeat of fix wagon, find food, treat disease, ford river, turn left, and trade.

[Darvi]

But what if you happen to become ill just as the cart breaks down while on a left turning river?

[Gatleos]

Mix in some more ridiculous and creative elements and you've got gold.

^^^
This is an RTD, not an edutainment game. There will be many, many random events. At any given time, one player could be on the run from a tribe of Indians, while another has a shopkeeper from Fort Laramie tied up in the back of their wagon after a hilarious series of misunderstandings. I could even throw in secondary goals with prizes, to keep things interesting. If nothing else, amusing things will occur when players' wagons meet on the trail.

[monk12]

Wagons and War Paint: Race to Oregon!

Word of warning, as long as Strike the Earth has been brought up- you'll need a LOT of random events if they're going to be the driving force of the action. Short-term goals would be a good thing too- does the player spend a turn hunting a thief (and cashing in on the reward,) or do they press onward to get a jump on the other players? I could see a system where there's the "straight" way, and the "scenic route." The scenic route has the best loot and fringe benefits, but slows you down a lot. Just taking the straight route will likely result in death, however, as those players will be comparatively under-equipped.

[Toaster]

It's like the opposite of practically any RPG ever, where the major villain sits around and patiently waits for the hero to go complete every single sidequest!

[monk12]

It is an interesting decision-making process. Instead of "do I have the resources to survive this side excursion" the question is "do I have the resources to survive the next leg of the journey?" It's like preemptively deciding you need to do some grinding to survive the next bit.

[Gatleos]

That all depends on how the map works out, though. If we go with the original one (i.e. the real trail), there are a few branching paths but they're all essentially equal. I suppose I could make my own map, but that sounds like more trouble than it's worth.

[Toaster]

I'll go with the Bacterium Family!
-Dysentery
-Cholera
-Diphtheria
-Measles
-Typhoid Fever

[monk12]

I know I've got a version of the Oregon Trail kicking around somewhere that had a whole mess of other sidetrails- you could set a variety of alternate endpoints (I distinctly remember Utah) and there were multiple branches that had a significant impact on how the trail played out. I wonder where it is...