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Like most of Pinnacle's supplements for Deadlands, Rascals, Varmints & Critters is a 128 page softbound book retailing for $20.00. Inside of it a the reader will find three sections - Posse Territory, No Man's Land, and Marshal Section. As a change of pace, No Man's Land is the largest section of the three, though they're all about equally useful.

Posse territory includes two chapters. The first one is on animals and animal sidekicks. This gives an added dimension, yet an added level of complexity, to a posse's animals. If you're playing a small campaign, giving distinct personalities to everybody's horse or pet dog can help fill out the posse. In a larger group, however, this can add some bookkeeping to the operation. The posse territory is rounded out with some archetypes - mostly people who deal with animals of various sorts and the such.

No Man's Land, as stated earlier, is the longest section of the book. It is done as a book published by the Explorer's Society but seized by the Pinkerton agency. As such, it shouldn't be casually disseminated to the posse, as it would give away many of the secrets and horror behind the abominations in Deadlands. Merely finding a copy of the book should be at least one adventure in and of itself, as would keeping it. Of course, the book isn't completely accurate itself.

It includes sections on many abominations, most of the made by the fans of Deadlands. It is written as a compilation of reports from various sources, but mostly narrated by a British explorer named Captain Roderick Pennington-Smythe. His tone comes across - mostly intentionally - as incredibly arrogant and smug. This is good for color but I found that it got old very quickly.

The pages themselves are done stylistically like other books such as The Quick and the Dead and Smith & Robards. As I've said in those reviews, this can be bad, particularly if you plan on photocopying the book. It does make it look more like a copy of an old West newspaper, but it's not always completely necessary. No game rules are provided in this section, which means that it can easily be given out without losing the atmosphere of the game.

Most of the abominations are interesting and varied. Some of them have rather vague weaknesses; it would take a posse a good amount of investigating and even more luck to find what could kill them, or having the information spoon-fed to them. Others, such as the Union Blue Ghost Train, could probably use more elaboration, but still provide decent plot hooks for the Marshal.

The last section of the book is the Marshal's section. Here some of the information on the abominations is reprinted, and the exact details of which are released. It also provides more information on the Explorer's Society, which can provide a powerful patron to the posse, an enemy, or a group that they might want to join. It ends with a section on stats for ordinary creatures and a table for mysterious pasts for a PC's pet.

In the end, this book is definitely a good investment for any Marshals. It provides a ton of plot hooks, as well as additional rules for animals that can help a lot in the Weird West. Unlike most sourcebooks, however, it does not include an adventure, and is of a limited resource towards players.

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