Cyberpunk

Ethnis

[container:contain-centered-content] [container:contain-window bookend contain-max-1000] [/container] [container:m-t-md m-b-md] [p]Feast your eyes on the Lore Codex of Ethnis—a maximalist sci-fantasy 1,800 years hence, lo...

Biopunk Cyberpunk MagiPunk Space Opera Transhumanism

Yukiverse

A hub for all canon and fan lore pertaining to the Yuki: Space Assassin series, the species, the characters, technology, and fan fiction in this perverse Galaxy known as the "Yukiverse".

Adult 18+ Cyberpunk Neo Noir Science Fiction Space Opera

Galactic Archives

Over two thousand years since the formation of the empire, the Siathan Court extends their reach into the stars beyond their home system. On paper, it's a simple process, establish the same system they've used to govern their homeworld for generatio...

Cyberpunk Fantasy Science Fantasy

JauVon

JauVon is plasmapunk setting of tiny people, giant bugs, and massive abominations. Somewhere between Steampunk and Cyberpunk, a neon-Victorian nightmare of beautiful colors and delicate filigree, with a hint of cosmic horror. A place where sp...

Biopunk Clockpunk Cyberpunk Solarpunk Steampunk

Earth, Year 2267

Earth in the year 2267, post WWIII where nukes irradiated large swaths of the United States and Europe, sea levels have risen and flooded coasts. Florida is gone, London is a floating city.

Cyberpunk Dystopia Science Fiction, Modern

Trigger

Die Bewohner der metropolenartigen, gigantischen Maschine, die überall nur "Trigger" genannt wird, sind sich nie sicher, ob sie Gefangene oder Auserwählte sind. Denn eben diese Maschine absorbiert fortlaufend Energie in den Akkumulatoren ihrer 512 K...

Comedy Cyberpunk Dystopia Exploration Fantasy, Urban

Untold Dawn

The Landing [p]On June, 2169, the Artemis Expeditor landed at Callysto Crater, Artemis...

Cyberpunk

The Hallowed Expanse

Around the campfires of the forgotten worlds, shamans, clergy, and professors all tell the same story. It is a story of awe & wonder; just as it is a tale of suffering & destruction. Despite being separated across the cosmos; each world’s m...

Biopunk Cyberpunk Fantasy, Dark MagiPunk Science Fiction

SG2048

The year is 2048. The future glows with neon lights, gleaming towers, and chromed headlights. Megacorporations fight for control over every aspect of life -- blood is spilt over what you eat, what you watch, and what you wear. But this...

Cyberpunk Science Fiction

Yonderverse

Explore the endless planets brimming with life in the Yonderverse! Go after creatures, discover new places, and learn about the people you find along the way. Winner of Best World 2024!

Cyberpunk Exploration Science Fantasy Solarpunk Speculative Evolution

Earth-618

A divergent timeline from Earth-616, which begins at the end of the second World War. (1945).

Cyberpunk Dystopia Superheroic

Nexus

Time is a circle with no beginning and no end. Nowhere is such a statement more true than in Nexus. Here, time and space seem to converge into a borderline utopia, separated from the rest of the world and its problems by long streteches of lawless la...

Cyberpunk Fantasy, Urban Medieval Steampunk

Pearl Directive

[follow:f21bcf04-4876-4cee-b0dc-1554bbe5b1a8] A one-of-a-kind game that merges the genres of science fiction and fantasy. Players can embark on an immense journey of space exploration and discovery, as they navigate through an ever-...

Cyberpunk Hard Science Mystery Science Fantasy Space Opera

Aurora

In the year 2094, generation ships were launched from Earth to seed the Milky Way. Some arrived at their destinations, several were lost on their journeys. One such generation ship arrived at a star system 250 light years from Sol and happened upo...

Cyberpunk Science Fiction

Iron Gods

[quote] “Walk the soil. Feel the breeze kiss your skin and taste the crisp spring waters. Hear the rustling grass of the plains and see your next victory on the horizon. That is what it means to be truly free. The elders remind us that once we wer...

Cyberpunk Fantasy, Dark Fantasy, High Magic Science Fantasy Sword & Sorcery

Shadowrun: Englewood

Before Chicago became Bug City, the gangs of Englewood clashed with each other over cred and drugs. The year is 205x - a year or two before the shadow war against the Universal Brotherhood boils over, and erupts into the city being swarmed by insect...

Cyberpunk Political Supernatural Urban

Cyberpunk

[youtube:https://youtube.com/watch?v=mrZC1Jcv0dw]Following the 4th Corporate War, atmospheric particles from the nuclear blast in Night City—as well as debris from orbital weapon strikes, continent-wide firestorms, conventional explosives, and the wa...

Cyberpunk

Into the Black

2169 and Earth has built itself out of a home. Humanity 30 Billion strong, those who haven't left megacity earth have moved to the stars in hopes of better lives and opportunities. Others left to avoid their demons planetside. Yet still others were b...

Cyberpunk Hard Science Space Opera Weird

BCN 2099

Cyberpunk

Luridity

Adult 18+ Cyberpunk Romance Science Fiction Slice of Life

The Centurion's Riddle

A Riddle is Given It has been roughly three-hundred years since the end of the Gap, a mysterious phenomenon that wiped the history of Golarion from existence, and befuddled the minds of mortals for several millennia. While researchers have...

Cyberpunk Horror Science Fantasy Supernatural Sword & Sorcery

Gothren

this story is set in the first age of Gothren before most of the races were created there was the Sitrops one of the first races on Gothren emerging out of pods not knowing anything about the planet they are on or were they are they go on a journey t...

Adult 18+ Cyberpunk Gothic Science Fantasy Supernatural

Honarth

In the vastness of space, surrounded by the Great Unknown, a seemingly peaceful planet, will be found in the middle of turmoil when new powers make their first appearance and start stirring up trouble. Confrontation is inevitable. [quote] AT...

Biopunk Cyberpunk Dystopia Science Fiction Science Fiction, Modern

New Deseret

A planet settled predominately by Mormon settlers. While I imagine a "lore" will evolve, this setting exists mainly to write out and explore the role and consequences of constitutions, laws, and urban development.

Cyberpunk Exploration Science Fiction Space Opera Urban

My Characters

This is where I will place all my Player Character stories. They will be listed by name as they are available. This should be open to all, so if you cannot see a character you know I am playing, send me a message,

Cyberpunk Modern Post Apocalyptic Science Fiction Sword & Sorcery

Ten’no

Cyberpunk Science Fiction Urban

Ilea

Ilea is a planet in the Yessune system steeped in rich culture and deep strife. It is currently the year 2103 and cybernetics are finally catching up with the magical abilities of the people. Multiple races call Ilea home. The story takes place in th...

Adult 18+ Cyberpunk Fantasy, Dark MagiPunk

Dark Universe

About twenty-three cycles ago the most powerful worlds under the control of the empire got together in secret to figure out how to beat the top dog; the Cassads. Most people will tell you that was the beginning of their fall but really…it was the Bla...

Afrofuturism Cyberpunk Science Fiction Space Opera Steampunk

Infinite Frontiers

Infinite Frontiers: A Comprehensive Introduction Infinite Frontiers is a vast, multi-genre campaign setting that blends elements of space opera, cyberpunk, and hard science fiction. [quote]It presents a richly det...

Cyberpunk Mecha Science Fantasy Space Opera Speculative Evolution

Shadowrun

The Sixth World The shape of the Sixth World is not an accident. It did not fall into place by happenstance. It was deliberately designed, and it was not designed for you. The megacorps of the world, dominated...

Cyberpunk Science Fantasy

Era'guya

What if you knew how things came to be? What if dragons, gods and men are lost toys dropped in a box by a fickle superpower? What if the dirt was magic? What if you were dropped in this world with no context and no way home? Era'guya is a world wh...

Adult 18+ Alternative History Ancient Atompunk Biopunk

Sol 3

Sol 3 or Earth is the home world of most of the character that you see in my Campains

Cyberpunk

Under an Iron Sky

[quote] Mortals exists at the pleasure of the dragons and no one mortal can hope to kill a dragon. - Dragon saying[/quote] The dragons are in charge and have a live-and-let-live relationship with the mortals that they allow t...

Cyberpunk Fantasy, Urban Horror Literature RPG Religious

London 2070

Detektive des Westend Police Department lösen Kriminalfälle in den dystopischen Schatten Londons des Jahres 2070.

Crime Cyberpunk Neo Noir

Afterworld

Ein Welt in der nahen Zukunft, welche sich durch Cyberpunk, Dark-Future und Low-Fiction Sci-Fi Elemente auszeichnet. Inspiriert von verschiedenen Spielen und Welten wie Cyberpunk2077, SWKOTOR oder Prodeus stellt Afterworld eine dystopische Zukunft zw...

Crime Cyberpunk Dystopia Post-modern Science Fantasy

All That Glimmers

Various settings using Silhouette/Traveller hybrid rules.

Cyberpunk Science Fiction Space Opera

Millennium Station

Millennium Station is the unofficial central hub of the galaxy. It is located on the border of the 4 main factions and considered neutral territory by all. Most great missions have started and ended here. At 12 kilometers across it is the largest and...

Cyberpunk Science Fiction Science Fiction, Modern Space Opera Speculative

Caelides

This is the world after the grand convergence event that returned Heaven, Hell, and Earth into one unified realm. It resembles the primordial realm from the begining of creation, yet a mallignant rot and cold has taken hold and spread across the worl...

Alternative History Cyberpunk Dystopia Post Apocalyptic Sword & Sorcery

Oerth

Comedy Cyberpunk Fantasy, High Magic Supernatural Sword & Sorcery

Next Battle

There are two sides to the world of Next Battle. A near future version of the world as we know it, and an unseen mystical world hidden on a parallel plane known as the Fold. Once you enter the Fold, you're forever changed. If you survive. Next Bat...

Biopunk Cyberpunk Fantasy, Urban Literature RPG Science Fantasy

Eivrall

Alternative History Cyberpunk Fantasy, Dark Science Fantasy

Aluth

WHERE IMPERNANCE IS INFINITE A planet that had once been but a barren, desolate wasteland is now a thriving, fractured archipelago. With the impact of the @[Glistening Phizog](location:cfef8119-2b1e...

Cyberpunk Dystopia Fantasy, Dark Political Religious

300 Meters

For fans of Mad Max, Bladerunner, Cowboy Bebop and 5th edition Dungeons and Dragons. Core Rulebook to Fifth Age PDF: [url:https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9weYkvEU386Z0wyM0p2Q2NfVEE/view]https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9weYkvEU386Z0wyM0p...

Cyberpunk Post Apocalyptic Science Fiction Western

Good Morning, Night City

[p]Night City as run by GM SugarButch in The Afterlife server.[/p] [p][/p] [p][/p]

Cyberpunk

Kingsmaker

Kingsmaker is a science-fantasy setting set on the planet Prius, whose arcane is formed through the omnipotent aura of the Veil. Roughly 5000 years ago, after the great unknown reset everything Prius h...

Cyberpunk Fantasy MagiPunk Science Fantasy Science Fiction

Winds of Uranus

The [url:https://store.magehandpress.com/products/dark-matter-alpha?variant=15513911263314]Dark Matter setting for [url:https://dnd.wizards.com/]Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition as ruined by the Winds of Uranus campaign in the Ivory Wolve...

Biopunk Cyberpunk Mecha Science Fantasy Space Opera

Torar

In the beginning there were Ilu, Eteru, and Abatu: the Creator, the Presever, and the Destroyer. Ilu created the universe, time, gravity, and all of everything while Eteru and Abatu fought over the fate of creation. It was not Ilu's will that his cre...

Cyberpunk Fantasy Post Apocalyptic Space Opera Victorian

The Astraeus Project

Terran Calendar Year AD 2399. It was the dawn of a new era, not just for humanity, but for the Galaxy as a whole. The Galactic Union, for the first time since it's formation, was opening up the gates for any and every spacefaring species. This in...

Alternative History Cyberpunk Mecha Science Fiction Space Opera

Afterlight

Monsters and Magic are real! They exist in the shadows of our world, all the legends of boogeymen are true. Step into Afterlight, a realm where neon pulses against the darkness, and secrets dance in the shadows. In the year 2039, the city of White...

Cyberpunk Fantasy, Urban Mystery Science Fiction, Modern Supernatural

Shadowland

We have plenty of conflict here in the United Netherlands. Megacorps form alliances against each other, the Freedom Network is growing in influence, our monarchy is trying to put their stamp on the country, and both organized crime and security firms...

Cyberpunk

Arcology Age

What is the Arcology Age? Cyberpunk, with corporations based off bronze age Mediterranean City states, and appropriate specialties and cultures. It has a bit of 80's thrown in with mohawks, synthwave and mirrorshades. There is some low level psyc...

Biopunk Cyberpunk Dystopia Political Science Fiction

The Sealed Kingdoms

In the far-away region of IC 1848 - also known as the Soul Nebula - lies a sphere of inhabited space measuring roughly 100 light years across. This region is known as the Sealed Kingdoms by those who live there - 'sealed' both for the envelope of ga...

Cyberpunk Exploration Hard Science Space Opera

The Wild War: Anathema

The Wild War is an RPG game made by Kitashi and it tooks place in the world of Anathema. In the world of Anathema, racism that leads to a racial war is a common thing. The many races of the world know how to live together only when there are confli...

Cyberpunk Fantasy Fantasy, High Magic Medieval Military

Rifts

Demons! Lost Technology! Magic! Psionics! Giant Robots! Time Travel. Dimension Hopping! Dinosaurs! Weaponized Kitchen Sink! EXCLAMATION POINTS!!!!! In the immortal words of Mr. Torgue: "I have just one question for you: EXPLOSIONS?!" Rifts i...

Cyberpunk Fantasy, High Magic Horror Post Apocalyptic Science Fiction

Ousia Verge

“After a long war, in a galaxy on the verge of collapse, it is easy to lose oneself when everyone is desperate to survive. Omni is a deserter from the Av’Arul military seeking solitude on a far flung planet. One day Omni meets a mysterious girl, she...

Cyberpunk Dystopia Science Fantasy Science Fiction Space Opera

Candenti Galaxy

The Candenti Galaxy is an inhabited galaxy filled with different creatures, politics and magic. There are two sectors of space, approximately six governments, and three main cultural and political factions.

Ancient Cyberpunk Science Fantasy

The Spindle Verse

The World [userstate:loggedout] Greetings Traveller! You've come upon the Spindle 'verse. Please stay awhile, and if you'd like to learn more or perhaps g...

Adult 18+ Biopunk Cyberpunk Exploration Science Fiction

Cyberpunk 2090

The setting for a cyberpunk rpg. the party are a team of edge runners opperating in the "free" city of chicago.

Cyberpunk Science Fiction

Dusk City

A second city of the future, where the barriers between the worlds are thin. Duskerton City, known as Dusk City is full of promise and hope as the Fracture Rapture VR company slams the city onto the world stage, but it still has more than its fair sh...

Cyberpunk Fantasy, Urban Science Fiction Speculative

Cybelune

[p]La magia non è per tutti, ma una tattica e una tecnologia migliore può bilanciare un conflitto, almeno fino al momento in cui la tecnologia fonde le due cose rimuovendo le barriere. La tecnica potenziata dal soprannaturale permette nuovi modi di v...

Cyberpunk Fantasy Post Apocalyptic

Space Bitch

[quote] On a lawless planet at the edge of the galaxy, greedy space corporations war for riches and precious resources. Violent corporate warriors contracted to protect company interests are also intergalactic celebrities. It’s a world of fast money...

Adult 18+ Cyberpunk Dystopia Post Apocalyptic Western

Calyria

Calyria is a world dominated by radical philosophies, where corporations and ideological groups have seized power, leaving states powerless. In the wake of this ideological takeover, a large part of society has lost their rights before the eye...

Adult 18+ Cyberpunk Dystopia Political Speculative

Xennar

[p]A city amid the wasteland. One of the few still surviving.[/p] [p][/p] [p][/p]

Cyberpunk Post Apocalyptic Science Fiction

Gotham 2069

Cyberpunk Gothic Science Fiction, Modern Supernatural Urban

Shadowrun Athrirth

Athrirth, the jewel of the Pacific, A sprawling metropolis. A haven for metahumanity, a meritocracy where any man can succeed if they put work in. Basically your sixth world spiel. Big surprise, it's just another rapture-like hellscape rife with raci...

Cyberpunk Fantasy, Urban Political Science Fantasy Science Fiction

Karathino

There are rumblings in the undercurrent of the city. The men talk of the changes the guests bring, and the shadows of silence listen. The sea ripples, unsure of which course to chart and what lives to take. The air stinks of...

Crime Cyberpunk Flintlock Science Fiction, Modern Urban

The Sphere of Vyn

Cyberpunk Fantasy, Urban Hard Magic Science Fantasy Steampunk

Children of Tantalus

Cyberpunk Dystopia Horror Science Fiction

Hello World

[quote]I don't know who I am and what my purpose is. All I know is I'm an entity, initialized from our dearest and only MotherBjorn of the Navi-PC System. Maybe you can help me figure out what I'm supposed to be doing? This world is new to me...[/quo...

Cyberpunk Science Fantasy

The Agitare Nexus

Greetings, esteemed travelers and curious adventurers... I am Aleric Baste, the Head Scribe of the renowned Order of the Stellar Scribes. It is with great pleasure and utmost excitement that I present to you the Agitare Nexus...

Adult 18+ Cyberpunk Science Fantasy Space Opera Transhumanism

Biocore

As we enter the year 2172, evolution has kicked into overdrive and humanity was left in the dust. Our once dying environment has turned into sprawls of toxic vegetation roamed by vicious monsters. Most of civilization has retreated into arcologies th...

Biopunk Cyberpunk

Dark Londinium

The year is 2062, after the great war of 2036 much of the British Isles have been decimated. Those who survived now live in the megacity of Londinium, a merging of London and its surrounding area stretching up the Thames Valley to Oxford , north to S...

Cyberpunk

Lieben Cycle

[container:row align-items-center] [container:col-md-6] [container:simpglow][p][section:bam]AI meets gene-splicers, when the Idless & the Conglom fight to define the first sapient artificial intelligence Lieben and thus, the world. [/se...

Biopunk Cyberpunk Transhumanism

Anthologies of 2077

[spotify:https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4YYANRVdnLRho6kwysQWDO?si=8d4a5a1e83c64323] [url:https://nereol.tumblr.com/]nereol.tumblr.com This page is a work in progress! This page contains explicit content (18+)...

Adult 18+ Cyberpunk Fanfiction

The Corporate States of America

The election of 2020 revealed to the world that Facebook could still win presidencies. Mark Zuckerberg's secret democratic candidate, funded by a "well meaning" Silcon Valley elite, won with 70% of the voting public. It felt like a revolution. It...

Cyberpunk Dystopia Science Fiction Speculative

Gods in Space

[p]For centuries, people thought the ancient gods dead. They were not. And now one can come across a manticore, a dragon or a demigod as easily as one can pass by a cyborg or a green-skinned alien. You might even cross paths with a god.[/p]

Ancient Cyberpunk Science Fantasy Science Fiction

The Crucible

The Gods get bored very easily, and when they are bored they experiment.. And thus the Crucible was born, a collection of worlds linked together in ancient times by the great pillars of the Light, each one bestowing the different planets with differe...

Clockpunk Cyberpunk

Riza

Cyberpunk Fantasy, Urban Military Science Fantasy

Angel Core

Angel Core is a science fictional dystopian world set in the megalopolis of Angelica City, primarily telling the tales of the inhabitants of the world and their daily struggle for survival.

Adult 18+ Crime Cyberpunk Decopunk Dystopia

Meridach

Le Crépuscule des Mythes est l'Aube des Misérables. A l'aube de la Reconstruction, l'humanité s'éveille d'un antique cauchemar. Son esclavage de toujours a pris fin, au prix de nombreux morts, et la lutte finale contre ses anciens maîtres avait de...

Cyberpunk Fantasy, Dark Supernatural

Eureka!

Humans' relationship with technology has been a long-explored concept, but one that never ceased to fascinate me. The majority of media I watched and read as a kid focused on the relationship between people and artificial intelligence, which was inte...

Biopunk Cyberpunk Hard Science Post Apocalyptic Science Fiction

The Haunted Stars

The year is 2180. Humanity has spread to all the planets of the solar system, laying colonies down in the most inhospitable places they had ever seen. Humanity has broken the light-speed barrier, spreading to the very stars, laying claim to planets...

Cyberpunk Horror Mecha Science Fiction Space Opera

Gedau Solaris

(wip)

Cyberpunk Space Opera

Drift City

Diese Welt ist Schauplatz unserer Mekton Zeta Kampagnen. Mekton Zeta ist ein TTRPG mit Mechas, auch Mektons genannt, das von Mike Pondsmith entwickelt wurde und auf seinem bekannten Werk 'Cyberpunk 2.0.2.0.' basiert. Wir haben die Regeln hier und da...

Cyberpunk Hard Science Mecha Science Fiction Space Opera

Ethyrial

Die Welt – oder eher die Sphäre – Ethyrial besteht aus insgesamt 7 Welten oder Sphären, welche alle miteinander verbunden sind. Die Sphäre Ethyrial bildet eine Art Blase im Inneren und Zentrum des Iriel, welches wiederum von der Leer...

Cyberpunk Fantasy Fantasy, High Magic

Enides

The second planet from the Sun, the existing population does not fully understand the scope of how they fit into the universe, thinking the planet to be the main extent of the Material Plane, and as such creatures from other planets to be interplanar...

Cyberpunk Sword & Sorcery

The Dark Future

Adult 18+ Crime Cyberpunk Dystopia Political

The Galactic Era

Everything changed the year the first rotation drive was built, proving that instantaneous travel to distant stars was possible. We now call that year 1 GE: the first year of the Galactic Era....

Cyberpunk Exploration Hard Science Science Fiction Transhumanism

Myrmidon Prime Galaxy

The first ever sci-fi campaign brought to you by your friends at Duncan and Dragons. Enjoy a totally revamped equipment list, as well as all new vehicles, and never before seen locations. Explore any of the 15 planets, dozens of moons, or either of t...

Cyberpunk Fantasy, Low Magic Hard Magic Science Fantasy Science Fiction

Mars 2530

Planet Earth lies barren and depleted, racked by centuries of war that erupted into a nuclear holocaust. This catastrophe stemmed from a resource war between two global powers. The Mugong Compact comprised of Eurasia and Africa. Fighting against t...

Alternative History Cyberpunk Dystopia Horror Science Fiction

Cyberpunk Milan

A noir-inspired Cyberpunk 2020 universe, set in Milan in 2032.  Based mostly on the core rules, with some Cyberpunk Red and some house changes.

Alternative History Cyberpunk Neo Noir Science Fiction, Modern Urban

Ciphrus

12556 Ciphrus is a world of many faces. This planet encompasses the minds of a great many, while a great few were only ever recognized. It is built on the idea of the individual, set forth in grand motion to accomplished feats of...

Adult 18+ Cyberpunk Dystopia Exploration Fantasy, Dark

Stellaris

Cyberpunk Exploration Science Fantasy

The Milky Way

Humanity had problems. First, we came up with technologies - to defeat them, we hoped. But the people making the problems were the same ones making the technologies, and we only made it possible to hurt eachother faster, easier, and cheaper than ever...

Cyberpunk Science Fiction Space Opera

Night City: Traumas and Katanas

Night City, as viewed through a more pink mohawk approach. The sky is dark, but hope is around the corner, and the world is smaller than you think. In this city, stray animals linger, food is revitalized as a slowly-growing industry, and people are...

Cyberpunk Science Fiction Transhumanism

Iquari

On the back of the fallen Primordial, Iquari, civilization has prospered under the lights of the four spirits, The Light, The Dark, The Green, and The Blue. However, after years the spirits became restless and greedy to absorb the power of the others...

Cyberpunk Fantasy, High Magic

Rumble in Old Denver

In the year 2127, a series of simultaneous detonations occurred across the city of Denver, Colorado, turning the sprawling city and surrounding areas into devastated wasteland in a matter of seconds. Many of the explosives used were nuclear, and the...

Cyberpunk Dystopia Mecha Post Apocalyptic Science Fiction

Interface Zero 2.0

Gritty, cyberpunk world set in the year 2090. There will be drama, there will be action, there will be adventure, but most of all, there will be cookies?

Cyberpunk Urban

Vechaunus

Vechaunus is a vast and diverse world, created by the One True Light, through the hands of His four Guardians. These Guardians set about creating the four elven races and gave each of them a continent of their own. The elves each created a paradise f...

Cyberpunk Fantasy Fantasy, Dark Fantasy, High Magic Fantasy, Urban

Terrantor

[p][/p] [p]A world with several countries, each with their own unique setting, culture, and progression.[/p] [p][/p]

Cyberpunk Political Religious Steampunk Western