In this alternate gameplay created by Tyler Ziegler, BANG! players absorb the character abilities of those they eliminate.

Object of the Game: Be the last man standing.

Set up: Get rid of the role cards (Sheriff, Deputy, Outlaw, and Renegade). Deal out the characters. Play as you normally would, with one rule change:

When you eliminate another player you absorb that player's character abilites.

Tyler Ziegler gave the following examples of how this works:
For example: Player A (Calamity Janet) eliminates Player B (Willy the Kid). Player A takes Player B's character card and places it next to his own. Player A can now use Calamity Janet's ability as well as Willy the Kid's!

Example 2: Player A (Calamity Janet/Willy the Kid) is eliminated by Player C (Slab the Killer). Player C gains control over both of Player A's character cards. Player C is now empowered with all three character abilities.

The game continues until only one player remains. Because there are no identity cards, players can feel free to kill whomever they wish. The last man standing wins!

I think this variant will only be fun if there are 2 changes made: (1) "Absorbing powers" is understood thus: the abilities of the two character cards do not function simultaneously, but at the beginning of each round (perhaps even each turn) a player chooses which ability is in effect. They symbolize this by playing that character card on top of the other(s) they player may have. If they do not make this change during the draw phase of the player who begins the round/turn, then they cannot swap abilities. This keeps the player from gaining ridiculous combos such as Suzy Lafayette + Elena Fuente (infinite Missed!), and provides order the ability swapping. (2) To keep players from getting targeted from the getgo without being able to build any cards up, I suggest playing this variant with the hidden characters house rule, or at least the early game elimination penalty rule.