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In keeping with their line, PEG released Smith and Robards, their guide to Mad Scientists in the Weird West. It not only covers them but also includes rules on alchemy, a variant of mad science, and a full catalog of S&R's gear that they will deliver anywhere in the West - for a price. It concludes with an adventure set in a beseiged Union fort.

The book is divided into two major sections - posse territory and the Marshal's section. This keeps the posse from knowing the whole story, or exactly what effect their consorting with the supernatural to become mad scientists will affect them.

The posse section starts off with an introduction from a long time worker with Smith and Robards. After some history and a short tour, it delves into the specifics about developing mad scientist characters and gadgets. This clarifies many sections in the Deadlands main rulebook though it doesn't change anything drastically.

The next section deals with alchemy - the more "chemical" form of mad science. This allows the creation of elixirs that can heal, boost abilities and do many other things. PEG states exactly what an elixir can and cannot do, thus helping to prevent munchkins from developing uberpotions of game unbalancing. There are also several character archetypes such as an alchemist and S&R courier, in case your players are needing inspiration or you need a character quickly.

It also includes rules for the bigger weapons and vehicles in Deadlands. Not every posse is going to be dealing with railroad trains, Maze runners, or the such every session - however, if they need to do so, the rules can be very helpful. They do add an extra level of complexity to the combat system, however, and are not completely necessary.

The book then changes style and presents the Smith and Robards catalog for 1876. It changes style on the page, as well; it looks more like the Tombstone Epitaph section of "The Quick and the Dead" then an ordinary RPG book. This is good for flavor, but not so good if you plan on photocopying the book. It gives gadgets of all sorts and flavors, including most of the rules for them. Everything from a gatling shotgun to an automatic flapjack maker. These help give flavor to every aspect of life in the Weird West as well as providing many possible adventure hooks - and interesting malfunctions - to posses.

Of course, not all of them are perfectly balanced. For example, the electrostatic stun gun requires a malfunction for every time you pump it. With a 1 in 10 chance of malfunctioning on every pump, that makes it inevitable that it will malfunction very quickly. It's up to the Marshal, however, to decide if he feels that some of the malfunction numbers are a little too close to Paranoia-levels, however.

The marshal's section includes the real story of Smith and Robards, including write-ups on their relationship with the most famous mad scientist of the Weird West, Dr. Darius Hellstromme. It also includes a scenario putting the posse in a very tight situation along with the Union army.

The biggest thing that I've found with it was the cover art. The interior art in PEG's products has always been average, though minimal, which is something I appreciate in a book - it has more then say Blue Planet, but isn't overloaded like a WoD book. However, the cover art on S&R I didn't care for much; it seemed rather fuzzy, rather then painting style like many of their other books, and rather busy.

All in all, S&R is a good investment for marshalls, as well as for players thinking of playing mad scientists. It's well worth the $20 price tag, and is good even for groups without Mad Scientists.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

Smith & Robards (#1004)
Author: John Hopler Category: game Company/Publisher: Pinnacle Entertainment Group, Inc. Cost: $20.00 Page count: 128 ISBN: 1-889546-04-6 Capsule Review by SeanMike Whipkey on 03/08/99. Genre tags: Science_fiction Horror Old_West	In keeping with their line, PEG released Smith and Robards, their guide to Mad Scientists in the Weird West. It not only covers them but also includes rules on alchemy, a variant of mad science, and a full catalog of S&R's gear that they will deliver anywhere in the West - for a price. It concludes with an adventure set in a beseiged Union fort. The book is divided into two major sections - posse territory and the Marshal's section. This keeps the posse from knowing the whole story, or exactly what effect their consorting with the supernatural to become mad scientists will affect them. The posse section starts off with an introduction from a long time worker with Smith and Robards. After some history and a short tour, it delves into the specifics about developing mad scientist characters and gadgets. This clarifies many sections in the Deadlands main rulebook though it doesn't change anything drastically. The next section deals with alchemy - the more "chemical" form of mad science. This allows the creation of elixirs that can heal, boost abilities and do many other things. PEG states exactly what an elixir can and cannot do, thus helping to prevent munchkins from developing uberpotions of game unbalancing. There are also several character archetypes such as an alchemist and S&R courier, in case your players are needing inspiration or you need a character quickly. It also includes rules for the bigger weapons and vehicles in Deadlands. Not every posse is going to be dealing with railroad trains, Maze runners, or the such every session - however, if they need to do so, the rules can be very helpful. They do add an extra level of complexity to the combat system, however, and are not completely necessary. The book then changes style and presents the Smith and Robards catalog for 1876. It changes style on the page, as well; it looks more like the Tombstone Epitaph section of "The Quick and the Dead" then an ordinary RPG book. This is good for flavor, but not so good if you plan on photocopying the book. It gives gadgets of all sorts and flavors, including most of the rules for them. Everything from a gatling shotgun to an automatic flapjack maker. These help give flavor to every aspect of life in the Weird West as well as providing many possible adventure hooks - and interesting malfunctions - to posses. Of course, not all of them are perfectly balanced. For example, the electrostatic stun gun requires a malfunction for every time you pump it. With a 1 in 10 chance of malfunctioning on every pump, that makes it inevitable that it will malfunction very quickly. It's up to the Marshal, however, to decide if he feels that some of the malfunction numbers are a little too close to Paranoia-levels, however. The marshal's section includes the real story of Smith and Robards, including write-ups on their relationship with the most famous mad scientist of the Weird West, Dr. Darius Hellstromme. It also includes a scenario putting the posse in a very tight situation along with the Union army. The biggest thing that I've found with it was the cover art. The interior art in PEG's products has always been average, though minimal, which is something I appreciate in a book - it has more then say Blue Planet, but isn't overloaded like a WoD book. However, the cover art on S&R I didn't care for much; it seemed rather fuzzy, rather then painting style like many of their other books, and rather busy. All in all, S&R is a good investment for marshalls, as well as for players thinking of playing mad scientists. It's well worth the $20 price tag, and is good even for groups without Mad Scientists. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

Smith & Robards (#1004)