The Inside Scoop on Gaming

"Smith & Robards" is a new supplement for the Deadlands role-playing game. It is 128 pages in black and white. The supplement expands upon the role of the mad scientist and all of the wondrous and bizarre gadgets they can produce. There are handy new rules on inventing, alchemy, vehicle driving/combat, and artillery combat. Also included is a history of Smith & Robards (the premier mail-order gadget company in the Weird West) as well as a 50-page catalog from which to place your order for your first submersible boat--if you have $20,000 in gold or ghost rock, that is. Finally, there is a 20-page adventure called "The Crucible", involving the Denver Pacific railroad (which is now owned by S&R... very interesting).

The layout of the material is easy to read, if a bit uninspired. The various chapters break down the material in logical fashion, making it easy to find the information you need from the table of contents, but I felt as though the chapters needed to be a little more connected together.

The material itself is first-rate. We get some interesting background on S&R themselves (with both a posse and a marshal section of course), details about what happened at the secret Confederate research base at Roswell, and some information relevant to the Great Rail Wars, with S&R now running the Denver Pacific and holding off "the big boys" (Wasatch, Union Blue and Black River RR's) from swallowing them up.

The expansion rules for mad scientists (starting equipment, laboratories, group research and construction, four new templates) are just what the professor ordered. The alchemy rules should make for some very interesting new characters and plot hooks (now where are we gonna find that last ingredient...).

The mail-order catalog is the centerpiece of the book, filled with all sorts of interesting new gadgets and more information on the few that were described or mentioned in the main Deadlands rulebook. Each gadget has a basic description, prices for add-ons, operating and mafunction rules. If your posse thinks they've amassed a small fortune in gold, show them the catalog and watch them gulp: submersible vehicles start at a cool $20,000. My own personal favorite gadget is the Hat Gun; better be careful next time that low-down polecat starts to tip his hat at you!

The rules for vehicle driving/combat and artillery are a tall, cool glass of water in Death Valley; they were much missed before now. You can now ram your opponent, drop bombs on him, sink him with a torpedo, or fill him full of cannister shot. My hat's off to Pinnacle for including this (don't worry, I disarmed the gun first).

After a brief reading of the 20-page adventure, I was a little disappointed that it didn't have more hooks included for mad scientist characters, seeing as how that's the main reason for the book. It does involve the S&R-owned Denver Pacific, which I think is a really cool idea, so I'll give them credit for that.

Overall, I think "Smith & Robards" makes a fine addition to the Deadlands universe, especially if you have any inclination to use mad scientists or gadgets in your campaign.

Style: 3 (Average)
Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

Smith & Robards
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 Tom Cashman on 12/22/97. Genre tags: none	"Smith & Robards" is a new supplement for the Deadlands role-playing game. It is 128 pages in black and white. The supplement expands upon the role of the mad scientist and all of the wondrous and bizarre gadgets they can produce. There are handy new rules on inventing, alchemy, vehicle driving/combat, and artillery combat. Also included is a history of Smith & Robards (the premier mail-order gadget company in the Weird West) as well as a 50-page catalog from which to place your order for your first submersible boat--if you have $20,000 in gold or ghost rock, that is. Finally, there is a 20-page adventure called "The Crucible", involving the Denver Pacific railroad (which is now owned by S&R... very interesting). The layout of the material is easy to read, if a bit uninspired. The various chapters break down the material in logical fashion, making it easy to find the information you need from the table of contents, but I felt as though the chapters needed to be a little more connected together. The material itself is first-rate. We get some interesting background on S&R themselves (with both a posse and a marshal section of course), details about what happened at the secret Confederate research base at Roswell, and some information relevant to the Great Rail Wars, with S&R now running the Denver Pacific and holding off "the big boys" (Wasatch, Union Blue and Black River RR's) from swallowing them up. The expansion rules for mad scientists (starting equipment, laboratories, group research and construction, four new templates) are just what the professor ordered. The alchemy rules should make for some very interesting new characters and plot hooks (now where are we gonna find that last ingredient...). The mail-order catalog is the centerpiece of the book, filled with all sorts of interesting new gadgets and more information on the few that were described or mentioned in the main Deadlands rulebook. Each gadget has a basic description, prices for add-ons, operating and mafunction rules. If your posse thinks they've amassed a small fortune in gold, show them the catalog and watch them gulp: submersible vehicles start at a cool $20,000. My own personal favorite gadget is the Hat Gun; better be careful next time that low-down polecat starts to tip his hat at you! The rules for vehicle driving/combat and artillery are a tall, cool glass of water in Death Valley; they were much missed before now. You can now ram your opponent, drop bombs on him, sink him with a torpedo, or fill him full of cannister shot. My hat's off to Pinnacle for including this (don't worry, I disarmed the gun first). After a brief reading of the 20-page adventure, I was a little disappointed that it didn't have more hooks included for mad scientist characters, seeing as how that's the main reason for the book. It does involve the S&R-owned Denver Pacific, which I think is a really cool idea, so I'll give them credit for that. Overall, I think "Smith & Robards" makes a fine addition to the Deadlands universe, especially if you have any inclination to use mad scientists or gadgets in your campaign. Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 5 (Excellent!)