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The Junkman Cometh is the latest sourcebook for the Deadlands: Hell on Earth role-playing game. It describes a "class" of character known as "junkers." The main Hell on Earth rulebook did not go into much detail about these folks except to describe them as the post-apocalyptic versions of mad scientists from the Weird West setting with the added twist that they are not used by the dark forces of the world, but rather they are the ones doing the using. Happily, this book provides much more insight into these characters.

The opening section of the book is the standard story as told by one of the premier members of whatever group the particular sourcebook details. In this case the speaker is a junker by the name of Lazlo Huber, and he has a story to tell that will interest any hard-core fan of the Deadlands setting. Suffice it to say that it involves the lead-up to the day the bombs dropped and the further adventures of everyone's favorite mad scientist, Dr. Darius Hellstromme.

The next two chapters focus on enhanced character creation rules and ways to build a better radioactive mousetrap. As the introductory story describes, junkers are really "techno-shamans." They get help from technological spirits in the same way that regular shamans call upon the spirits of nature. Some of the new edges and hindrances, particularly those concerning souped-up access to the techno-spirt world, are very useful for the creation of your very own techno-wizard.

The chapter on "Buildin' Stuff" is less helpful, however. I found the rules for creating gizmos and gadgets to be more than a little too complex and cumbersome. As long as these rules are used out of game time (ie, bring in your plans to show the Marshal before the game gets underway), the rules are fine. Trying to build something on the spur of the moment, however, would be a drag on game time and bore the non-junkers to tears.

The final section reveals all of the junker secrets that were alluded to, hinted at, or just plain lied about in the opening story. The section is well written and throws in a couple more factions of which your characters can run afoul. With all the potential allies and enemies in each new supplement, you would think there would be a lot more people running around the "Wasted West" than the sourcebooks claim there are. The best part of this section describes the perils of going down the dark side of being a junker.

In terms of layout and artistic merit, this book is pretty much par for the course for Pinnacle. The art maintains the cartoonish quality that we have come to expect from the Deadlands folks. The layout continues the style of indicating where the Marshal can go to find out the truth behind what is revealed in the opening story, and personally, I like this style very much.

If you want to play a junker or you're looking for a new kind of bad guy for your campaign, this book is for you. If you aren't too interested in junkers, you will probably still be interested in the details revealed about the events leading up to the last war. Although not the best book in the Deadlands: Hell on Earth line of products, this one retained the quality that fans of the system have come to expect.

Style: 3 (Average)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)

The Junkman Cometh
Author: John Hopler Category: game Company/Publisher: Pinnacle Entertainment Group Line: Deadlands: Hell on Earth Cost: $20.00 Page count: 128 ISBN: 1-889546-52-6 Capsule Review by Andrew Schubert on 07/05/99. Genre tags: Horror Post-apocalypse	The Junkman Cometh is the latest sourcebook for the Deadlands: Hell on Earth role-playing game. It describes a "class" of character known as "junkers." The main Hell on Earth rulebook did not go into much detail about these folks except to describe them as the post-apocalyptic versions of mad scientists from the Weird West setting with the added twist that they are not used by the dark forces of the world, but rather they are the ones doing the using. Happily, this book provides much more insight into these characters. The opening section of the book is the standard story as told by one of the premier members of whatever group the particular sourcebook details. In this case the speaker is a junker by the name of Lazlo Huber, and he has a story to tell that will interest any hard-core fan of the Deadlands setting. Suffice it to say that it involves the lead-up to the day the bombs dropped and the further adventures of everyone's favorite mad scientist, Dr. Darius Hellstromme. The next two chapters focus on enhanced character creation rules and ways to build a better radioactive mousetrap. As the introductory story describes, junkers are really "techno-shamans." They get help from technological spirits in the same way that regular shamans call upon the spirits of nature. Some of the new edges and hindrances, particularly those concerning souped-up access to the techno-spirt world, are very useful for the creation of your very own techno-wizard. The chapter on "Buildin' Stuff" is less helpful, however. I found the rules for creating gizmos and gadgets to be more than a little too complex and cumbersome. As long as these rules are used out of game time (ie, bring in your plans to show the Marshal before the game gets underway), the rules are fine. Trying to build something on the spur of the moment, however, would be a drag on game time and bore the non-junkers to tears. The final section reveals all of the junker secrets that were alluded to, hinted at, or just plain lied about in the opening story. The section is well written and throws in a couple more factions of which your characters can run afoul. With all the potential allies and enemies in each new supplement, you would think there would be a lot more people running around the "Wasted West" than the sourcebooks claim there are. The best part of this section describes the perils of going down the dark side of being a junker. In terms of layout and artistic merit, this book is pretty much par for the course for Pinnacle. The art maintains the cartoonish quality that we have come to expect from the Deadlands folks. The layout continues the style of indicating where the Marshal can go to find out the truth behind what is revealed in the opening story, and personally, I like this style very much. If you want to play a junker or you're looking for a new kind of bad guy for your campaign, this book is for you. If you aren't too interested in junkers, you will probably still be interested in the details revealed about the events leading up to the last war. Although not the best book in the Deadlands: Hell on Earth line of products, this one retained the quality that fans of the system have come to expect. Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 4 (Meaty)