The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Ghost Dancers review

A brief disclaimer, first-- I love Deadlands. It's the first RPG I've been excited about since I first found Call of Cthulhu some 12 years ago.

Now, for the review.

The world of Deadlands just got more interesting. Not just weirder, though that, too. Unlike some of the previous expansion books for Deadlands, this book goes beyond merely "beefing up" a type of character or expanding upon the same concepts of the original rulebook-- this one takes the world on a serious bender. Serious enough that a campaign run using several characters from the book would have little resemblance to any "standard" Deadlands campaign.

So exactly how is it different? What's in it?

As with all Deadlands rulebooks, Ghost Dancers is divided up into three sections-- the posse, no man's land, and marshal law. In this case, though, the divisions are renamed "The War Party", "Sacred Ground", and "The Chief's Words". In "The War Party", we find information which would be common knowledge to any Indian character-- but more importantly, knowledge which would NOT be known to your average non-Indian character. "Sacred Ground" holds, as you might anticipate, information which more-experienced characters might learn after some time of play, and "The Chief's Words" contains the deep, deep secrets of Deadlands.

The section on general Indian culture shows excellent scholarship, including a short bibligrapy (a feature which could really be used in many other historical games). As might be expected, various tribes and their interrelationships are discussed, as are the various roles of individuals within Indian society. The book then progresses into a discussion of character specifics, including the usual new edges and hinderances. The system for handling favors from the spirits hasn't changed drastically, though there is enough expansion and change to warrant very close attention.

The part which will drastically change many campaigns, though, is the new attention paid to the Hunting Grounds. In essence (and this is a generalization to avoid spoiling the secrets too much), the entire afterlife is explained, including methods for Indian characters to enter the Hunting Grounds to do spirit battle. This is some really great stuff!

Raven (the Medicine Man who started the whole slide into the present-day Deadlands world) is explained in greater detail, as are some other characters who are important enough that no stats are given.

The lowdown: 128 pages which can provide for a drastically different gaming experience in the Deadlands universe. A work of gaming art by Paul Beakly, no doubt.

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

Ghost Dancers
Author: Paul Beakley Category: game Company/Publisher: Pinnacle Entertainment Group Cost: $20.00 Page count: 128 ISBN: 1-889546-20-8 Capsule Review by Russell Mirabelli on 04/09/98. Genre tags: none	Ghost Dancers review A brief disclaimer, first-- I love Deadlands. It's the first RPG I've been excited about since I first found Call of Cthulhu some 12 years ago. Now, for the review. The world of Deadlands just got more interesting. Not just weirder, though that, too. Unlike some of the previous expansion books for Deadlands, this book goes beyond merely "beefing up" a type of character or expanding upon the same concepts of the original rulebook-- this one takes the world on a serious bender. Serious enough that a campaign run using several characters from the book would have little resemblance to any "standard" Deadlands campaign. So exactly how is it different? What's in it? As with all Deadlands rulebooks, Ghost Dancers is divided up into three sections-- the posse, no man's land, and marshal law. In this case, though, the divisions are renamed "The War Party", "Sacred Ground", and "The Chief's Words". In "The War Party", we find information which would be common knowledge to any Indian character-- but more importantly, knowledge which would NOT be known to your average non-Indian character. "Sacred Ground" holds, as you might anticipate, information which more-experienced characters might learn after some time of play, and "The Chief's Words" contains the deep, deep secrets of Deadlands. The section on general Indian culture shows excellent scholarship, including a short bibligrapy (a feature which could really be used in many other historical games). As might be expected, various tribes and their interrelationships are discussed, as are the various roles of individuals within Indian society. The book then progresses into a discussion of character specifics, including the usual new edges and hinderances. The system for handling favors from the spirits hasn't changed drastically, though there is enough expansion and change to warrant very close attention. The part which will drastically change many campaigns, though, is the new attention paid to the Hunting Grounds. In essence (and this is a generalization to avoid spoiling the secrets too much), the entire afterlife is explained, including methods for Indian characters to enter the Hunting Grounds to do spirit battle. This is some really great stuff! Raven (the Medicine Man who started the whole slide into the present-day Deadlands world) is explained in greater detail, as are some other characters who are important enough that no stats are given. The lowdown: 128 pages which can provide for a drastically different gaming experience in the Deadlands universe. A work of gaming art by Paul Beakly, no doubt. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 5 (Excellent!)