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Because I believe bias is important to understand, let’s start with a little about me and my style of gaming. I have been playing (mostly running) games since the late 80s and I have run/played just about every obscure and bizarre game out there. Based on my experiences I have found that I gravitate toward two general types of games: Games with a narrative focus and games of supernatural horror. That does not mean that I don’t enjoy an odd Fantasy or Supers game, it’s just when left on my own I am reading Kult rather than the latest Forgotten Realms setting release. I also believe that the D20 system is the harbinger of Famine for the role-playing community, there I said it.
Now that that’s out of the way, on with the show!
Deadlands, the New face of the Weird West?
Old time players of the Deadlands system will remember the system well. This was the game that used cards to create your characters, regulate initiative, and resolve spells. It used poker chips to remove damage, allow for failed rolls to be re-attempted, used for experience, or to active special powers. It was fairly unique and well integrated; it took a common “Western” feeling pastime and made it a game mechanic. My Fate chip were even stored in a western style hat, it was hard not to be taken in by the ambiance the game drew to itself just by the props of the game itself.
The setting was also fairly involved. The creator, Shane Lacey Hensley, created a world that was slightly to the left of ours on a few points and then ran forward 13 years blending an alternate history with our own. By adding steam tech, horror, magic and history the world seemed to thrive and teem with plot options. The only bone of contention I have ever had is their tendency to hint and the bigger pictures and teases the truth to the Marshals (the GMs in Deadlands). I am still waiting for some of the answers that were promised in the main books for this game and Hell on Earth (the sequel). These minor quibbles aside I very much enjoyed the blending of the elements presented, and so did many of my fellow gamers.
So the question is, can this new version hold itself up to its big brother and stand on its own?
The book itself
The book is a nicely made fully color book with a picture of one of the most evil characters you do not want to meet in Deadlands (and its cover boy from day one,) Stone. The binding seems to be of good quality and the layout is well thought out and flows well. The only thing that kind of sticks in my craw is the title pages for each chapter is in a script font on a desert vista, my eyes want to skip over these pictures to get right into the meat of the chapter but they contain overviews and warnings, warnings that not all of my players will see until its too late and spoilers have been had. Otherwise it’s a strong looking quality product.
Players Handbook
This consists of four chapters: Out West, Makin’ Heroes, Gear & Goods, and Setting Rules. Out west contains player background, including a common knowledge history of the current setting. It does a good job of hinting at the horrible secrets without pointing the players in their direction, it’s also very direct and focused giving facts without a lot of extra flavor. This is followed with a fairly informative overview of the West as it stands, as a long time player/marshal I found it informative because it clearly shows that this is the follow up to the classic game and puts new and old players on the same page for the setting. Makin’ Heroes is straight forward enough, it shows new edges and hindrances that add to the lists in Savage Worlds and notes the changes to the basic creation rules used for this setting. Gear & Goods gives a price guide for the setting stuff like Winchesters and guns plus the weird other things player may pine for like Gatling pistols. It also gives basic rules for the Mad Science stuff in mass production. Finally the Setting Rules notes the major changes that players will see to the rules, like upping the lethality of combat and making hand to hand weapons more effective. It also gives setting specific rules like Grit, which is a trait that makes heroes more resistant to fear, and duals.
The new game is built off of the Savage Worlds game system, a universal game approach published shortly after Deadlands went into the ground. Like Deadlands proper, the game uses cards for initiative resolution and different dice types to represent varying levels. It does away with rolling multiple dice for the most part, however, going with a much more simplified approach. For example: a gun fighter in Deadlands may have a Gun-fighting skill of 5, so they roll their Deftness dice (a d12) 5 times and keep the highest roll with the target number being variable. The Savage Wolds systems way is to have them roll a d12 against a target number of 4 +/- any modifiers. They also kept edges and hindrances, adding a whole bunch of different ones to make the system more customizable.
One of the things I found a little disappointing is that they pulled the template characters, pre-made starters that I have found very useful with introducing the game to new players.
No Mans Land
This section covers the “Top Secret” player’s information. The whole section is just one big chapter that discusses the different Arcane Backgrounds and Harrowed. Arcane Backgrounds are special edges that give the players access to special powers. In Deadlands you have a few choices for your special powered types. A Blessed character is a man of god who channels divine wrath and sooths the meek of the west. A Huckster is a card sharp who bargains with Demons for magic. A Shaman is one who listens to the older spirits of the Hunting Grounds and works his natural magic on the world. A Mad Scientist is driven by his genius to produce the wonderful but unreliable steam punk element. Then you have your Enlightened Martial Artists, those who use Chi to do the impossible. Finally you have Harrowed, dead heroes possessed by dark forces they fight with in their head for control of their bodies and destiny. Each section contains the details of these strange folk and introduces the specific edges they have access to. This is followed by a complete list of the powers available to everyone except Harrowed (all their stuff is Edges) that show how each power is flavored by the background. To finish things off we have a more complete version of the history of the setting for those who seek a darker and more complete truth, one that fills in more of the gaps from the players section.
This section is a wealth of character specific understanding and was very well done. There is a good selection of Edges for each Arcane Background, Edges originally available in supplements that have now been converted making the cross into the new system easier. It is not comprehensive, but the way it has been done makes converting new stuff easier.
Marshal’s Handbook
Ahh, the dark heart of the game... This section consists of four chapters: There Will Come a Reckoning, More Setting Rules, the Weird West, and Encounters. There Will Come a Reckoning contains the truth, the stuff players may never come to know. More Setting Rules covers the hidden rules, like Fear Levels (every place has one) and its effects both for the players and the land (including a Deadland, you didn’t think it was just a pretty name did you). This section also includes how to make the Harrowed, a topic that appeared to have been omitted; its only available to players who have died in game (can’t start Harrowed without Marshal Approval). The Weird West expands on the setting information in the Players section, it includes local secrets to the regions and more adventure seeds than an adventure farm. The final section is the Encounters chapter; this gives stats on the creepy crawlies and important (or famous) NPCs.
Overall Evaluation
So there it is, Harrowed from the past and risen to haunt the land again. The system is simplified, which could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on ones point of view. On the one hand Death is swift and brutal; it makes for a more cautious player in general. On the other hand, Death is swift and brutal, it makes for unhappy players when a Notice roll fails to spot the ambush and the first shot takes a life. The new book has a much more open tone, they are right out there with the secrets that took years to have trickled out (but then most of these secrets have already been around from previous books.)
My players do all agree: it’s been too long since they last took to the trail and its time to ride. The Great Maze here we come!
