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"Book o' the Dead" is the latest supplement from Pinnacle for their popular western/horror RPG: Deadlands. It is 128 pages in black & white, with a color cover by Brom. The book details the abilities, drawbacks and story hooks for playing "harrowed," or undead characters in the game.

Before reading the book, I had reservations about the playability and balance of playing undead characters with special abilities. I had nothing to worry about. It was as though Lester Smith had read my mind, and included an entire chapter on how to introduce a harrowed character into an existing game and how to maintain game balance.

"Book o' the Dead" includes over 50 new powers, 7 hindrances, and 3 character templates for those from beyond the grave. The powers appear to be very well balanced, although some more hindrances would have been nice. But that's okay--there's plenty of drawbacks to keep them busy for quite awhile.

The really interesting part of the book is the included background story involving "The Prospector," the old coot who introduced himself in the preface of the Deadlands rulebook. I won't reveal his plan here, but it does add a nice touch and some valuable plot ideas for your game.

Overall, Book o' the Dead would be a valuable addition to your Deadlands campaign. Some might feel that the material is a bit limited in scope, but I think that the harrowed can make for some interesting and powerful NPC's as well as player characters, so the book helps you to provide new stories and villains as well.

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

Book o' the Dead
Author: Lester Smith Category: game Company/Publisher: Pinnacle Entertainment Group, Inc. Reviewed by Tom Cashman on 07/05/97. Genre tags: none	"Book o' the Dead" is the latest supplement from Pinnacle for their popular western/horror RPG: Deadlands. It is 128 pages in black & white, with a color cover by Brom. The book details the abilities, drawbacks and story hooks for playing "harrowed," or undead characters in the game. Before reading the book, I had reservations about the playability and balance of playing undead characters with special abilities. I had nothing to worry about. It was as though Lester Smith had read my mind, and included an entire chapter on how to introduce a harrowed character into an existing game and how to maintain game balance. "Book o' the Dead" includes over 50 new powers, 7 hindrances, and 3 character templates for those from beyond the grave. The powers appear to be very well balanced, although some more hindrances would have been nice. But that's okay--there's plenty of drawbacks to keep them busy for quite awhile. The really interesting part of the book is the included background story involving "The Prospector," the old coot who introduced himself in the preface of the Deadlands rulebook. I won't reveal his plan here, but it does add a nice touch and some valuable plot ideas for your game. Overall, Book o' the Dead would be a valuable addition to your Deadlands campaign. Some might feel that the material is a bit limited in scope, but I think that the harrowed can make for some interesting and powerful NPC's as well as player characters, so the book helps you to provide new stories and villains as well. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 4 (Meaty)