The Inside Scoop on Gaming

This promises to be the first of several archtype-specific sourcebooks. Pinnacle has both a Huckster and Mad Scientist book in the works, but this one deals exclusively with Harrowed characters, a possibility touched on in the main manual.

Book o' the Dead ($20) packs in 128 pages of new material, including a significant amount of source material. As expected, it also presents new powers and abilities for a Harrowed character, including a more detailed account of how a character must struggle to stay in control over the literal demon inside. Marshals may also find more detail of the Prospector, a character introduced in the other manuals. This book give more of the Prospector's motives, making him an easier insert as an NPC.

Also included is an introductory adventure for drawing in newly Harrowed characters. It's too much railroading for my taste, and a bit too heavy on the PCs as an audience, but it may work out for a new GM or a new party. It's pretty sparse with a weak conclusion, IMHO.

On the plus side, the rules touch on some important aspects of Harrowed life- something that may not come into everyone's campaign, but reassuring to know that the design team considered many facets. This book has enough information and rules changes to merit a Harrowed character in our group to recreate parts of his character after seeing some of the new material.

For some reason, Pinnacle seems to have trouble keeping their binding together. Some pages started to come loose two days after purchase. Our main manual has held up longer, but still suffers from book baldness, so to speak. Also, even though this book has a cover by artist Brom, it contains no color pages like the companion books. Hence my low Style rating.

On the whole, it has enough content to justify its purchase, providing you have a Harrowed. If you want to stick with NPC Harrowed, you should probably stick with the rules in the Deadlands manual. If you even hope to have a PC, you should probably get this book.

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

Book o' the Dead
Author: Lester Smith Category: game Company/Publisher: Pinnacle Entertainment Group, Inc. Reviewed by Mischa Krilov on 08/11/97. Genre tags: none	This promises to be the first of several archtype-specific sourcebooks. Pinnacle has both a Huckster and Mad Scientist book in the works, but this one deals exclusively with Harrowed characters, a possibility touched on in the main manual. Book o' the Dead ($20) packs in 128 pages of new material, including a significant amount of source material. As expected, it also presents new powers and abilities for a Harrowed character, including a more detailed account of how a character must struggle to stay in control over the literal demon inside. Marshals may also find more detail of the Prospector, a character introduced in the other manuals. This book give more of the Prospector's motives, making him an easier insert as an NPC. Also included is an introductory adventure for drawing in newly Harrowed characters. It's too much railroading for my taste, and a bit too heavy on the PCs as an audience, but it may work out for a new GM or a new party. It's pretty sparse with a weak conclusion, IMHO. On the plus side, the rules touch on some important aspects of Harrowed life- something that may not come into everyone's campaign, but reassuring to know that the design team considered many facets. This book has enough information and rules changes to merit a Harrowed character in our group to recreate parts of his character after seeing some of the new material. For some reason, Pinnacle seems to have trouble keeping their binding together. Some pages started to come loose two days after purchase. Our main manual has held up longer, but still suffers from book baldness, so to speak. Also, even though this book has a cover by artist Brom, it contains no color pages like the companion books. Hence my low Style rating. On the whole, it has enough content to justify its purchase, providing you have a Harrowed. If you want to stick with NPC Harrowed, you should probably stick with the rules in the Deadlands manual. If you even hope to have a PC, you should probably get this book. Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 4 (Meaty)