''Deadlands'' is a genre-mixing

alternate history Alternate history (also alternative history, althist, AH) is a genre of speculative fiction of stories in which one or more historical events occur and are resolved differently than in real life. As conjecture based upon historical fact, altern ...

role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within ...

which combines the

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

and horror genres, with some

steampunk Steampunk is a subgenre of science fiction that incorporates retrofuturistic technology and aesthetics inspired by 19th-century industrial steam-powered machinery. Steampunk works are often set in an alternative history of the Victorian era or ...

elements. The original game was written by Shane Lacy Hensley and published by

Pinnacle Entertainment Group Pinnacle Entertainment Group is a publisher of role-playing games and wargames. History When Shane Lacy Hensley decided to create a 19th-century miniatures game he contacted Charles Ryan's company Chameleon Eclectic about publishing it. The resul ...

in 1996. The eight-times

Origins Award The Origins Awards are American awards for outstanding work in the game industry. They are presented by the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Design at the Origins Game Fair on an annual basis for the previous year, so (for example) the 1979 aw ...

-winning setting has been converted to many other systems over the years and is available in the original Classic Rules, the revised Classic Rules, d20 System and

GURPS The ''Generic Universal RolePlaying System'', or ''GURPS'', is a tabletop role-playing game system designed to allow for play in any game setting. It was created by Steve Jackson Games and first published in 1986 at a time when most such systems ...

adaptations, and a ''

Savage Worlds ''Savage Worlds'' is a role-playing game written by Shane Lacy Hensley and published by Pinnacle Entertainment Group. The game emphasizes speed of play and reduced preparation over realism or detail. The game received the 2003 Origin Gamers' Choi ...

'' version called '' Deadlands: Reloaded''.

Development

Shane Lacy Hensley Shane Lacy Hensley is an author, game designer, and CEO of Pinnacle Entertainment Group and is a resident of Gilbert, Arizona. Career Shane Lacy Hensley was from Clintwood, Virginia, and began playing ''Dungeons & Dragons'' after he discovered ...

had the idea for a new game focusing on cowboys and zombies in 1994 as he was setting up his company

, when he saw a painting by Brom of a Confederate vampire on the cover of

White Wolf Publishing White Wolf Publishing was an American roleplaying game and book publisher. The company was founded in 1991 as a merger between Lion Rampant

's soon-to-be released '' Necropolis: Atlanta'' supplement; he then began writing the game that became ''Deadlands'', and after completing a first draft, Hensley flew in two game designer friends of his,

Greg Gorden Greg Gorden is an American game designer who has worked primarily on role-playing games. Career Greg Gorden has worked for several gaming companies: * For Victory Games he participated, during the early 1980s, in the design of the ''James Bond ...

and

Matt Forbeck Matt Forbeck (born August 4, 1968) is an American author and game designer from Beloit, Wisconsin. Biography Forbeck first became interested in role-playing games at age 13 when he started playing ''Dungeons & Dragons''. He earned a degree in crea ...

, and both of them liked the game enough that they asked to buy into Pinnacle.

Setting

The game is set in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in the last quarter of the 19th century. The canonical year for the first edition of ''Deadlands'' is 1876. A later supplement, ''Tales o' Terror'', advances the game's

backstory A backstory, background story, back-story, or background is a set of events invented for a plot, presented as preceding and leading up to that plot. It is a literary device of a narrative history all chronologically earlier than the narrative of p ...

and

metaplot The metaplot (also, metastory) is the overarching storyline that binds together events in the official continuity of a published role-playing game campaign setting, also defined as an "evolving history of a given fictional universe". Major officia ...

ahead one year, to 1877. The second edition of ''Deadlands'' uses the updated backstory of 1877 as the canonical starting point. '' Deadlands: Reloaded'' further updates the backstory and advances the canonical starting point to 1879. The basic rules provide for characters and settings that could be expected to appear in the "

Wild West The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...

" genre of movies and

pulp fiction ''Pulp Fiction'' is a 1994 American crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, who conceived it with Roger Avary.See, e.g., King (2002), pp. 185–7; ; Starring John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, Tim Roth, Ving Rhame ...

, and most of the in-game action is presumed to occur in the wild frontiers of the American West, or in barely tamed frontier towns like

Tombstone, Arizona Tombstone is a historic city in Cochise County, Arizona, United States, founded in 1877 by prospector Ed Schieffelin in what was then Pima County, Arizona Territory. It became one of the last boomtowns in the American frontier. The town grew si ...

Dodge City, Kansas Dodge City is the county seat of Ford County, Kansas, Ford County, Kansas, United States, named after nearby Fort Dodge (US Army Post), Fort Dodge. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 27,788. The c ...

. However, later supplements expanded the in-game adventuring area to include places such as the

Deep South The Deep South or the Lower South is a cultural and geographic subregion in the Southern United States. The term was first used to describe the states most dependent on plantations and slavery prior to the American Civil War. Following the war ...

, the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, and the

Northeastern United States The Northeastern United States, also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast, is a geographic region of the United States. It is located on the Atlantic coast of North America, with Canada to its north, the Southe ...

. These supplements often provide for adventures set in urban areas such as

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, or

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. The canonical, basic setting is referred to as the "

Weird West Weird West (aka Weird Western) is a term used for the hybrid genres of fantasy Western, horror Western and science fiction Western. The term originated with DC's ''Weird Western Tales'' in 1972, but the idea is older as the genres have been b ...

" due to the juxtaposition of the Western setting with the horrific and fantastical elements of the game. The history of the Weird West is identical to real-world history, up until July 3, 1863. On this date in the game, a group of American Indians from various tribes, led by a

Sioux The Sioux or Oceti Sakowin (; Dakota language, Dakota: Help:IPA, /otʃʰeːtʰi ʃakoːwĩ/) are groups of Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribes and First Nations in Canada, First Nations peoples in North America. The ...

shaman Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritu ...

known as "Raven," performed a ritual in an effort to drive out the European settlers. This ritual created a

conduit Conduit may refer to: Engineering systems * Conduit (fluid conveyance), a pipe suitable for carrying either open-channel or pressurized liquids * Electrical conduit, a protective cover, tube or piping system for electric cables * Conduit curre ...

to a spiritual realm populated by powerful malicious entities known as the "Reckoners." The events surrounding and immediately subsequent to Raven's ritual is known as "The Reckoning." The Reckoners feed on negative emotions, particularly fear. Sufficient levels of fear in the population of a given location allow the Reckoners to begin subtly altering the environment of that location: the sun shines a little less brightly, trees become stunted and "evil" looking, rock formations take on the appearance of corpses or monsters, and so on. The more powerful the fear, the greater the environmental changes. The ultimate goal of the Reckoners is to turn the entire

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

into an evil, haunted wasteland — literally a

Hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location in the afterlife in which evil souls are subjected to punitive suffering, most often through torture, as eternal punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hell ...

on Earth. However, the Reckoners cannot directly enter Earth's realm unless the overall fear level of the entire planet becomes sufficiently high. To this end, they use their powers to create monsters, madmen, zombies, and other creatures and villains that will sow fear and terror throughout the land. The first instance of this occurred on July 4, 1863, at the site of the

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In the battle, Union Major General George Meade's Army of the Po ...

that had just ended; dead soldiers from both sides of the conflict rose from the battlefield and began indiscriminately attacking the surviving soldiers and civilians. Since then,

undead The undead are beings in mythology, legend, or fiction that are deceased but behave as if alive. Most commonly the term refers to corporeal forms of formerly-alive humans, such as mummies, vampires, and zombies, who have been reanimated by super ...

gunslingers, hostile Indian spirits, strange cults, and deadly creatures have begun terrorizing the world. The

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

drags on thanks to the machinations of the Reckoners, and the country remains divided into U.S. and

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

sections along with "disputed territories." Federal agents and Texas Rangers struggle to deal with the eldritch menaces while hiding the awful truth from the general public. Seismic upheavals have pushed much of California into the ocean, creating a badlands area known as "the Great Maze." In the Great Maze, miners discover "ghost rock," a mineral that burns hotter and longer than coal and is used as the basis for most Deadlands technology as well as alchemical potions and semi-magical materials. The unleashing of the Reckoners has had a number of important side effects. Magic was revealed to be real, although it involves challenging otherworldly spirits, "manitous", in contests that are either viewed as a negotiation or a test of will. These same manitous can possess a recently deceased body and reanimate it, creating a "Harrowed". Harrowed beings are sometimes under the control of the spirit (which uses the opportunity to spread fear) and sometimes under the control of the deceased being. Scientific progress rapidly advances as the Reckoners support experimental designs that normally would not work. This progress drives the technological level of ''Deadlands'' from historical levels to a "

" setting. Players take on the role of various mundane or arcane character types, including

Gunfighter Gunfighters, also called gunslingers (), or in the 19th and early 20th centuries gunmen, were individuals in the American Old West who gained a reputation of being dangerous with a gun and participated in gunfights and shootouts. Today, the t ...

s, Lawmen (such as

U.S. Marshals The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The USMS is a bureau within the U.S. Department of Justice, operating under the direction of the Attorney General, but serves as the enforce ...

or local sheriffs),

Huckster A huckster is anyone who sells something or serves biased interests, using pushy or showy tactics. Historically, the term meant any type of peddler or vendor, but over time it has assumed pejorative connotations. Etymology The original meanin ...

s (magic users),

Shamans Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritu ...

, Blessed (those of faith), and

Mad Scientist The mad scientist (also mad doctor or mad professor) is a stock character of a scientist who is perceived as " mad, bad and dangerous to know" or "insane" owing to a combination of unusual or unsettling personality traits and the unabashedly amb ...

s in an attempt to learn about the Reckoning and the mysterious beings behind it.

System

''Deadlands'' features a unique way of creating playing characters for the game. Instead of spending character points, or randomly rolling dice, a character's abilities are determined by drawing cards from a standard 54-card

poker Poker is a family of comparing card games in which players wager over which hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, however in some places the rules may vary. While the earliest known form of the game w ...

deck (jokers included), which determine the character's Traits (their basic attributes). The game also uses polyhedral dice (d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, and d20) which are referred to as the "Bones", and a set of white, red, and blue poker chips called "Fate Chips". In a ''Deadlands'' game, the

Game Master A gamemaster (GM; also known as game master, game manager, game moderator, referee, or storyteller) is a person who acts as an organizer, officiant for regarding rules, arbitrator, and moderator for a multiplayer role-playing game. They are m ...

is called The Marshal, and the players are called The Posse. To perform an action a player rolls for successes with a handful of dice and hopes that at least one of the dice rolls the Target Number or higher. Rolling the highest possible number on any of the dice is known as "rolling an ace", and that die may be re-rolled, with the total being added to the initial roll value. In most cases only the highest single die's value (with "aces" added) is compared to a target number. For each five points over the target number the character is considered to have a "raise" which typically makes the character's action more effective. When attacking someone, raises give the attacker more control over where on the victim's body the blow or bullet strikes. When attempting to quickly reload a gun, each raise allows another round of ammunition to be loaded in a single action.

Spell Casting

Players with huckster characters use a deck of playing cards in addition to dice to cast their spells ( hexes). A successful skill check allows the player to draw five or more cards and makes the best possible

poker hand In poker, players form sets of five playing cards, called ''hands'', according to the rules of the game. Each hand has a rank, which is compared against the ranks of other hands participating in the showdown to decide who wins the pot. In high ...

with those cards. The strength of the hand determines not only whether the hex was successfully cast, but also the strength of its effects. In the game world, this mechanic is explained as the huckster literally gambling with a magical spirit in order to get it to do his or her bidding — a high ranking poker hand means the huckster has won, and the spirit casts the hex as desired; a low ranking poker hand results in failure. Both jokers are present and wild, increasing the chance of a good hand, but the black joker means that the spirit does something harmful to the huckster. Blessed characters can use their faith to invoke

miracle A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divin ...

s—they pray for their patron to grant their request. The miracles are usually protective or restorative in nature, although there are some for attack. The difficulty of a given miracle (the amount of

faith Faith, derived from Latin ''fides'' and Old French ''feid'', is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or In the context of religion, one can define faith as "belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion". Religious people often ...

required by the patron for their assistance) can vary. For example, a priest seeking to heal a gunshot to the stomach would require more faith than if he were trying to mend a broken arm. Although the basic miracle set is predominantly

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

in nature, one of the extension sourcebooks includes miracles from other

religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...

s, and some of those are not permitted to Christian player characters. Native American

s cast spells by making deals with spirits. This happens in three stages: the shaman asks for a favor, performs the ritual that tradition demands for that favor, and then his skill is tested by the spirit. If he succeeds all three, he earns "appeasement points" according to how well he succeeded. If he earned enough points for the favor, it is granted. If not, his work was in vain.

Action Decks

Instead of rolling for Initiative as in most other RPGs, the players make a "speed" roll on the bones — the exact number and type being rolled determined by each character's stats — and then draw a number of cards from a community playing card deck based on the results of that roll. The Marshal then calls out card values, starting from Aces and going all the way down to Deuces. The card's suit (Spades, Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs, which is reverse alphabetical order and also the valuation in bridge) indicates who goes first if the same value of card is drawn.

Fate Chips

Along with Bones and Cards, characters get Fate Chips which are typically poker chips, although colored stones or coins can also be used. These are drawn from a hat or some other container that the player blindly chooses at the beginning of play. Each player draws a certain number of Fate Chips at the beginning of the game from the Fate Pot, modified according to player actions and Marshal preference. Fate chips can be spent for in-game bonuses such as bonus dice to use during certain rolls, or the prevention of physical damage. The Marshal can draw chips as well for enemies to use.

Bounties

At the end of a gaming session, players can cash in unused Fate Chips for Bounty Points. These are like Experience Points in other systems and are used to improve Traits and Aptitudes. The Marshal may also award additional Bounty Points at the end of the session for completing the mission objectives and any exceptional role-playing by players.

Instant rewards for roleplaying

Marshals are also encouraged to reward players with instantaneous rewards for good role-playing. During character creation players can choose "Hindrances" (disadvantages) such as Big Britches, Bloodthirsty, or Big Mouth. When a player role-plays this Hindrance well, the Marshal can reward them instantly with a Fate Chip. This has the effect of promoting and encouraging role-playing.

Spinoff games

The "Weird West" mark is used to distinguish the primary game setting from the various other settings: *''Deadlands: The Great Rail Wars'' — a tabletop wargame with miniature figures. *''

Doomtown Doomtown: Reloaded (originally ''Deadlands: Doomtown'') is an expandable card game based on the ''Deadlands'' role-playing game. It was originally a collectible card game that ran from 1998 through 2001 and was revived as the Reloaded version i ...

'' — a

collectible card game A collectible card game (CCG), also called a trading card game (TCG) among other names, is a type of card game that mixes strategy game, strategic deck building elements with features of trading cards, introduced with ''Magic: The Gathering'' in ...

. A sourcebook for the town described in the game was released under the title ''Doomtown or Bust!''. A secondary sourcebook, detailing the town after the events of the CCG, was released under the title ''The Black Circle''. A third sourcebook titled ''The Collegium'', detailing the Mad Scientist faction of the same name, was also released. *''Range Wars'' — a tabletop

wargame A wargame is a strategy game in which two or more players command opposing armed forces in a realistic simulation of an armed conflict. Wargaming may be played for recreation, to train military officers in the art of strategic thinking, or to s ...

that used collectible cardboard disks instead of miniatures. As much a spin-off from ''Doomtown'' as ''Deadlands'', it used many of the same factions. It is based on the '' Disk Wars'' game. The base set: ''Doomtown: Range Wars'' was released, and a single expansion, ''Ghost Creek''. Material from this game was incorporated into the ''Black Circle'' sourcebook. *'' Deadlands: Hell on Earth'' — a role-playing game set in one possible future of the Weird West, where the Reckoners succeeded in turning the entire Earth into a haunted wasteland. This game features elements from the Western genre as well as elements from ''

Mad Max ''Mad Max'' is an Australian post-apocalyptic Action film, action film series and media franchise created by George Miller (filmmaker), George Miller and Byron Kennedy. It began in 1979 with ''Mad Max (film), Mad Max'', and was followed by thre ...

''-esque

post-apocalyptic Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; astro ...

fiction and, of course, horror. *'' Deadlands: Lost Colony'' — a role-playing game set in the same future as ''Deadlands: Hell on Earth'', except on another planet. This game features

sci-fi Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel universe ...

, Western, and horror elements. *''Deadlands: Lost Colony CCG'' - A collectible card game with the same setting as the Lost Colony RPG. *''

'' — a miniatures and generic role-playing game system derived from ''The Great Rail Wars''. *''Deadlands: The Battle For Slaughter Gulch'' - A board game from Twilight creations. *''FRAG Deadlands'' — A first-person shooter themed board game in the Frag series from Steve Jackson Games. *''Deadlands'' — a cancelled video game developed by

Headfirst Productions Headfirst Productions was a British video game studio established by father and son Mike and Simon Woodroffe (Adventure Soft) in 1998. The studio was an independent developer of games for both the console and PC market. Games *''Battle of t ...

for the PC. *'' Deadlands Noir'' — Set in the same world, but in a Dieselpunk 1930s New Orleans. Doomtown:Reloaded — The classic CCG is back in a non-collectible boxed set. Released at GenCon in August 2014 by Alderac Entertainment Group, the game (in September 2014) was already in its THIRD printing. Doomtown: Reloaded is basically the same game as the older version, (now referred to as Classic) with a number of rule revisions that have streamlined and simplified the game. The basics are the same, with minor differences. The four factions released initially were the Law Dogs, The Sloan Gang (similar to the Blackjacks), The Fourth Ring (a circus that is similar to The Whatleys) and the Morgan Cattle Company (which appears to be similar to a Sweetrock\Collegium blend)..

''Deadlands: Reloaded''

In May 2006,

Great White Games Pinnacle Entertainment Group is a publisher of role-playing games and Wargaming, wargames. History When Shane Lacy Hensley decided to create a 19th-century miniatures game he contacted Charles Ryan (game designer), Charles Ryan's company Chameleon ...

published a new edition of ''Deadlands'' under the company's

label. This new edition, written by Shane Lacy Hensley and B.D. Flory and entitled ''Deadlands: Reloaded'', used Great White Games' ''

'' generic role-playing system. The 256-page setting book updates the canonical setting to 1879 and includes information on the events of the past year, as well as new rules. Among the most drastic changes to the basic ''Savage Worlds'' rules was "The Way of the Brave" rule, which revamped the way combat works in the system, making it more dangerous and deadly for characters and increasing the effectiveness of melee combat. This book also updated Fate Chips to work with the ''Savage Worlds'' system. This book marked a first for Great White Games in that it is the first setting book published without a scripted or plot point campaign. The publisher has hinted that four complete plot point campaign books will be released for ''Deadlands: Reloaded'', each focusing on certain regions and events in the

of the game. In 2009 the first of these campaigns, ''The Flood'', was released. In 2012, the second of these campaigns, ''The Last Sons,'' was released. Matthew Cutter of Pinnacle has also stated that updated ''Hell on Earth'' and ''Lost Colony'' books will be published for the ''Savage Worlds'' system. The ''Hell on Earth'' update was released in 2012. Additionally, an equipment guide "The Smith & Robards Catalog", was published in 2011. A successfully funded

Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...

for a new spin-off setting, ''Deadlands Noir'', was conducted from May to June 2012, with the product's release expected in 2013. Reaper miniatures has, as of August 2012, solicited two white-metal miniatures for the Deadlands Noire setting to distributors: "Stone" and "Femme Fatal"

Release history

* 1996-1999 - Original ''Deadlands'' custom rules. Exists also in hardcover and leatherbound collector editions. * 1999-2006 - Revised ''Deadlands'' custom rules. * 2001 - '' d20 System'' rules. Supported for several years. * October 2001 - ''

'' rules, done under license to

Steve Jackson Games Steve Jackson Games (SJGames) is a game company, founded in 1980 by Steve Jackson, that creates and publishes role-playing, board, and card games, and (until 2019) the gaming magazine ''Pyramid''. History Founded in 1980, six years after the cr ...

**GURPS Deadlands: Hexes supplement **GURPS Deadlands: Varmints supplement **GURPS Deadlands Dime Novel 1 – Aces and Eights (adventure) **GURPS Deadlands Dime Novel 2 – Wanted: Undead or Alive (adventure) * May 2006 - ''

'' rules in ''Deadlands: Reloaded''. * May 2017 - ''Deadlands 20th Anniversary Edition'' is published after a successful crowdfunding campaign in 2016. The content is the same as the 1999 edition. * 2020 - Rerelease of 2001 ''

'' material as ''Classic GURPS'' * 2021 - Deadlands: The Weird West'' revised for compatibility with latest edition

rules''

Reception

In the December 1996 edition of ''

Dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

'' (Issue 236),

Rick Swan Rick Swan is a game designer and author who worked for TSR. His work for TSR, mostly for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, appeared from 1989 to 1995. Swan also wrote ''The Complete Guide to Role-Playing Games'' (1990), published by St. Martin's Pre ...

liked the energy of the Western/horror mash-up, calling it "a revolutionary mix of fantasy and cyberpunk." However, Swan criticized the lack of setting details: "What we’re given is little more than an overview... there are no interesting personalities to speak of. There’s next to nothing about geography, politics, or culture. Cities, villages, places to explore — practically none. And there’s not a single ready-to-play adventure." He concluded by giving the game an average rating of 4 out of 6, saying, "''Deadlands'' is by no means bad. It’s beautifully written and bursting with nifty ideas. It strikes a masterful balance between high camp and high adventure. It has a great cover. But it’s incomplete; with a setting this skeletal and the absence of adventures, how’s a newcomer supposed to cobble together a campaign?"

Awards

''Deadlands'', its supplements and spin-offs have won nine

Origins Awards The Origins Awards are American awards for outstanding work in the game industry. They are presented by the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Design at the Origins Game Fair on an annual basis for the previous year, so (for example) the 1979 a ...

: * Best Role-playing Rules of 1996 for ''Deadlands'' * Best Graphic Presentation of a Role-playing Game, Adventure, or Supplement of 1996 for ''Deadlands'' * Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Miniatures Rules of 1997 for ''Deadlands: the Great Rail Wars'' * Best Roleplaying Adventure of 1997 for ''Independence Day'' * Best Trading Card Game of 1998 * Best Graphic Presentation of a Card Game of 1998 * Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Figure Miniature of 1998 for ''Hangin' Judge'' * Best Vehicle Miniature of 1998 for ''Velocipede'' * Roleplaying Game Supplement of 2007 for ''Deadlands: Reloaded''

Reviews

*''

Valkyrie In Norse mythology, a valkyrie ("chooser of the slain") is one of a host of female figures who guide souls of the dead to the god Odin's hall Valhalla. There, the deceased warriors become (Old Norse "single (or once) fighters"Orchard (1997:36) ...

'' #14 (1997) *''

Shadis ''Shadis'' is an independent gaming magazine that was published in 1990–1998 by Alderac Entertainment Group (AEG). It initially focused on role-playing games. Publication history Shadis was conceived and started by Jolly Blackburn as an indepen ...

'' #30 (1996) *''

Pyramid A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilat ...

'' #23 (Jan./Feb., 1997) *''Arcane'' #13 (December 1996) *''Backstab'' (Issue 1 - Jan/Feb 1997)

Television series

In 2014, Microsoft announced that it was developing an original television series for the Xbox based on ''Deadlands''.

Notes

External links

Pinnacle Entertainment Group
{{Authority control Campaign settings Multigenre Western role-playing games Origins Award winners Pinnacle Entertainment Group games Role-playing games introduced in 1996 Steampunk role-playing games