The Inside Scoop on Gaming

The Great Maze is Pinnacle's first boxed set. The area it covers is the coastline of California, which has been fragmented by an earthquake. The set comes with the standard 128 page sourcebook on The Great Maze, a map of The City of Lost Angels, and two 32 page supplements: one of rules concerning martial arts, the other an adventure.
Da Map
I'm rather disappointed with the map. It is done in the style of those in the Dime Novels, except in color. However, the region it covers is limited--one side is The City of Lost Angels and the other is its environs. I hoped for a larger scale map showing only the main channels and towns, so that I'd have a framework to detail. Instead I got a map that I will probably only use once or twice.(The city map would have been useful except that it is also in the main sourcebook.)
The Sourcebook
The meat of this set is the sourcebook. It has Pinnacle's standard excellent artwork, and is easily legible, like most Pinnacle products. Robin Laws does an excellent job of describing the region. The book is full of activity and adventure hooks--I can think up twenty or so off top of my head. This is also its downfall, IMHO. Like The Quick and the Dead, it seems like there is something supernatural involved in EVERYTHING. Some people like this, but I feel the need to ignore about half of the paranormal stuff in it. Also, the book has very little "Western" feel to it.
Martial Arts
The booklet on martial arts describes it nicely and with just enough detail. The "Kung Fu" presented is over-the-top and absurd--just right for Deadlands. The only question is whether your group really needs another quasi-character class.(Please don't shoot me!)Pinnacle also experiments with sketch-artwork in here.
The Adventure
The adventure presented is pretty standard fare--servicable, but nothing spectacular. The difference between this and previous adventures is that this one seems to be designed to introduce a campaign. This is a nice change from the one-shot adventures previously presented--just as long as they don't present too many of them.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Deadlands:The Great Maze
Author: Robin Laws with John Hopler Category: game Company/Publisher: Pinnacle Entertainment Group Cost: $30 Page count: 128 pg. sourcebook 2 thirty-two pg. booklets and color map ISBN: 1-889546-08-9 Playtest Review by Andy Wills on 01/01/98. Genre tags: none	The Great Maze is Pinnacle's first boxed set. The area it covers is the coastline of California, which has been fragmented by an earthquake. The set comes with the standard 128 page sourcebook on The Great Maze, a map of The City of Lost Angels, and two 32 page supplements: one of rules concerning martial arts, the other an adventure. Da Map I'm rather disappointed with the map. It is done in the style of those in the Dime Novels, except in color. However, the region it covers is limited--one side is The City of Lost Angels and the other is its environs. I hoped for a larger scale map showing only the main channels and towns, so that I'd have a framework to detail. Instead I got a map that I will probably only use once or twice.(The city map would have been useful except that it is also in the main sourcebook.) The Sourcebook The meat of this set is the sourcebook. It has Pinnacle's standard excellent artwork, and is easily legible, like most Pinnacle products. Robin Laws does an excellent job of describing the region. The book is full of activity and adventure hooks--I can think up twenty or so off top of my head. This is also its downfall, IMHO. Like The Quick and the Dead, it seems like there is something supernatural involved in EVERYTHING. Some people like this, but I feel the need to ignore about half of the paranormal stuff in it. Also, the book has very little "Western" feel to it. Martial Arts The booklet on martial arts describes it nicely and with just enough detail. The "Kung Fu" presented is over-the-top and absurd--just right for Deadlands. The only question is whether your group really needs another quasi-character class.(Please don't shoot me!)Pinnacle also experiments with sketch-artwork in here. The Adventure The adventure presented is pretty standard fare--servicable, but nothing spectacular. The difference between this and previous adventures is that this one seems to be designed to introduce a campaign. This is a nice change from the one-shot adventures previously presented--just as long as they don't present too many of them. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Deadlands:The Great Maze