The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Book o' the Dead is the first "character class" supplement for Deadlands. It includes the full information on the Harrowed - formerly dead people whose souls are now sharing their corpse with an evil spirit, or manitou, animating it.

Like most PEG products, this is broken down into three sections - Posse, No Man's Land, and Marshal's. This keeps the PCs from looking at information inadvertantly that would adversely affect their playing (i.e., giving away secret information) and helps set good guidelines.

After an introduction from the Prospector, the book goes through on how to make a Harrowed hero, additional hindrances (such as Angst), and several Harrowed archetypes. The book reiterates the fact that the Marshal does not have to allow starting Harrowed characters, and even encourages him *not* to do so. A Harrowed hero should - at least it seems in opinion of the author - come about by the PC getting killed in play and coming back Harrowed (through a technique usually reserved for Marshall information).

A section then describes the more mundane parts of being Harrowed - when and how wounds affect one, the advantage of drinking whiskey if you can't get drunk, even how it affects their sex life. It is followed by over 30 pages of Harrowed powers, some of the good things about being undead. Some of these powers can be potentially unbalancing, but they are balanced by the fact that if they are used obviously, the Harrowed is begging for a lynching. He might be tough, but a bullet to the head will still put them six feet under - permanently this time.

Finally, the posse section ends with a short section on Dominion - or who controls the body, the original owner or the manitou. The character must always struggle with his evil side, and it is inevitable that it will get out on occasion. This can be disasterous for the people around the Harrowed, and is the biggest reason why they are not trusted. Those in the know often think that the best Harrowed is a headless Harrowed.

The No Man's Land section is the shortest one. It includes a warning from the Prospector about various things hunting down Harrowed. It also includes a new miracle for Blessed that can help them against Harrowed. The majority of this section is best given to the PCs if and when they meet up with the Prospector; otherwise, they should try to investigate the facts in it on their own, rather then having it spoonfed to them.

At this point, it might look like the Harrowed are very powerful, and potential munchkin-fodder. Indeed, they are very powerful. However, their powers come with a very strong downside - and the Marshal's section goes into that in detail. It explains how others in the Deadlands universe treat Harrowed, as well as additional rules on Dominion and what to do when the manitou gains control. It also goes into more detail on why a manitou would choose the hero to inhabit, and its goals in controlling the Harrowed. Just because a manitou is in control don't expect the Harrowed to just open up with his smokewagons on everybody around - a shot to the head and the manitou is gone, too. It's much more devious then that.

This section also includes guidelines for running the nightmare scenario - the initial nightmare that the soul must go through when being reanimated by the manitou. There are few to no die rolls in the nightmare scenario; the players reactions determine how much dominion he or his manitou starts with.

The Marshal's section ends with a scenario. Without giving away too much, it's a decent starting scenario but it does seem to railroad the players excessively. It's also not too good of a starting scenario for anything other then a completely Harrowed group.

All in all, however, this book is a definite plus in the collection of any Deadlands Marshal, or any player who plans on playing a Harrowed character. At $20, it is not cheap, but with PEG it is always worth the money. The art is not as good as some but maintains the flavor of the Weird West.

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

Book o' the Dead (#1003)
Author: Lester Smith Category: game Company/Publisher: Pinnacle Entertainment Group, Inc. Cost: $20.00 Page count: 128 ISBN: 1-889546-03-8 Capsule Review by SeanMike Whipkey on 03/08/99. Genre tags: Science_fiction Horror Old_West	Book o' the Dead is the first "character class" supplement for Deadlands. It includes the full information on the Harrowed - formerly dead people whose souls are now sharing their corpse with an evil spirit, or manitou, animating it. Like most PEG products, this is broken down into three sections - Posse, No Man's Land, and Marshal's. This keeps the PCs from looking at information inadvertantly that would adversely affect their playing (i.e., giving away secret information) and helps set good guidelines. After an introduction from the Prospector, the book goes through on how to make a Harrowed hero, additional hindrances (such as Angst), and several Harrowed archetypes. The book reiterates the fact that the Marshal does not have to allow starting Harrowed characters, and even encourages him not to do so. A Harrowed hero should - at least it seems in opinion of the author - come about by the PC getting killed in play and coming back Harrowed (through a technique usually reserved for Marshall information). A section then describes the more mundane parts of being Harrowed - when and how wounds affect one, the advantage of drinking whiskey if you can't get drunk, even how it affects their sex life. It is followed by over 30 pages of Harrowed powers, some of the good things about being undead. Some of these powers can be potentially unbalancing, but they are balanced by the fact that if they are used obviously, the Harrowed is begging for a lynching. He might be tough, but a bullet to the head will still put them six feet under - permanently this time. Finally, the posse section ends with a short section on Dominion - or who controls the body, the original owner or the manitou. The character must always struggle with his evil side, and it is inevitable that it will get out on occasion. This can be disasterous for the people around the Harrowed, and is the biggest reason why they are not trusted. Those in the know often think that the best Harrowed is a headless Harrowed. The No Man's Land section is the shortest one. It includes a warning from the Prospector about various things hunting down Harrowed. It also includes a new miracle for Blessed that can help them against Harrowed. The majority of this section is best given to the PCs if and when they meet up with the Prospector; otherwise, they should try to investigate the facts in it on their own, rather then having it spoonfed to them. At this point, it might look like the Harrowed are very powerful, and potential munchkin-fodder. Indeed, they are very powerful. However, their powers come with a very strong downside - and the Marshal's section goes into that in detail. It explains how others in the Deadlands universe treat Harrowed, as well as additional rules on Dominion and what to do when the manitou gains control. It also goes into more detail on why a manitou would choose the hero to inhabit, and its goals in controlling the Harrowed. Just because a manitou is in control don't expect the Harrowed to just open up with his smokewagons on everybody around - a shot to the head and the manitou is gone, too. It's much more devious then that. This section also includes guidelines for running the nightmare scenario - the initial nightmare that the soul must go through when being reanimated by the manitou. There are few to no die rolls in the nightmare scenario; the players reactions determine how much dominion he or his manitou starts with. The Marshal's section ends with a scenario. Without giving away too much, it's a decent starting scenario but it does seem to railroad the players excessively. It's also not too good of a starting scenario for anything other then a completely Harrowed group. All in all, however, this book is a definite plus in the collection of any Deadlands Marshal, or any player who plans on playing a Harrowed character. At $20, it is not cheap, but with PEG it is always worth the money. The art is not as good as some but maintains the flavor of the Weird West. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

Book o' the Dead (#1003)