Customer Reviews

Deadlands: The Weird West Roleplaying Game

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

First, the setting:

The year is 1876, and the American Civil War is still going on. Why? Because on July 4th 1863, a group of Indians crossed over into the spirit world and opened the door for hostile being to move from thier world to ours. Our fear is their currency and they are on a spending spree. California fell into the ocean, revealing deposits of something called Ghost-rock. It burns practically forever (imagine that as a power source), but wails like a banshee as it does. With the renwed power of the Indian tribes and the loss of California, the USA and CSA are at a standoff against each other. meanwhile, the released spirits are wreaking havoc and the deaD RISE AGAIN. Some of these things you can't shoot; that's where it helps to know how to handle the cards. That is, you can cast magic with a deck of cards if you know the right moves. Sometimes having religion will give you some supernatural tricks to pull too. As a setting, DEADLANDS is just incredible and has a lot of fascinating stuff going on.

The mechanics: As an old AD&D player and then a Cthulhu player, I had trouble understanding the mechanics. After having looked at a White Wolf product for the first time, I now understand that the mechanics of DEADLANDS are the World of Darkness dice pool with some proto-D20 aspects and a card-playing gimmick attached.

I think the basic concept is that you have a dice pool based on either your skill OR your attribute. However, the die-type ranges from d4 to d12. Your attribute is determined by a card draw; the value of the card determines the die type and the suit determines your pool size. If you get an "ace" (best number on a die), you roll again and ADD the rolled to the base. Your best value counts in a dicecheck against a target number chosen by the GM (this sufficiently reminds me of a DC that I'm interested in the d20 version as well).You have wound levels that track your health and you use experience to buy up your dice pool. You have merits and flaws and taking more flaws gives points to start your character with. Sound familiar?

The card playing motif returns for initiative (you draw cards for actions in a turn and follow order) and magic (the strength of your effect dpends on the poker hand that you draw). You also get fate chips, which allow you to add dice to your dice pool. There are also some color plates that show an archetypical character; this was a big help in figuring out character creation goes.

Content: A lot of the book is spent on mechanics (about third). ANother third is 1-2 page descriptions of character "classes", including being undead. Unfortunately, these are very short with minimal information on anything (obviously, you should buy all the splatbooks). My big beef is the huckster (spellcaster). For the hex to work, there is a minimum poker hand that must be drawn. Usually this is 1 pair or higher. Frankly, it's not that easy to get a pair without extra cards. I believe that the power level was raised in future splats, but the huckster seemed somewhat ineffective of a character.

The last third is for the GM only and tells of the ssecrets of Deadlands. Overall, a good section.

So to summarize, The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

The Good: very innovative concept, looks fun to play, great atmosphere. I like the fate chips (although I would make them more powerful; white rerolls one die, red choose a value for 1 die, blue allows a change of reality that is small, like the villain's holster is still buttoned or the character remembered to bring his pocketknofe after all).

The Bad: many aspects not well explained; more samples of rolling dice for different situations needed. Hucksters' magic seems ineffective

The ugly: EVERYTHING requires buying another splat, and the book is so vague, and the metaplot requires keeping up with the releases. Wait, who published this again?

Anyway, DEADLANDS was a fun read and looks exciting to play. If you are just starting, the d20 version might be more natural to the game but this version has many fun aspect, like drawing cards for attributes.

A great game with a great history and a great and annovative character creation system. The combat system is quick to learn and drastically more deadly than your beginner RPGs like AD&D. I've never had one problem with this game or any of the sourcebooks.

When I first saw the sourcebooks for this game, I thought the playing-card based system would be too complicated. Once the Marshal and the Players have all the rules for combat down, the system goes down like a bottle of The Good Stuff, smooth and quick. The storyline is very imaginative and interesting, it makes it easy to keep your players captivated for many, many sessions and keep them coming back for more.

This is a game for both the neophyte or veteran gammer. A breath of fresh air, the Deadlands system offers a role-playing experience matched by few other systems. The system is fairly easy to learn, and offers a flexibility of play that is rare in RPG's. The use of a point system allows the player to create a character that has not only skills and abilities, but also has depth, personality, and motivation. The text is well written in a style that is not stilted or dense. Humor, horror and myth of the Old West are expertly blended to create an excting game world. Examples of play abound, and the artwork adds to the whole presentation without being distracting. All in all, Deadlands offers a wonderful opportunity to try a new game that is really worth the investment in both time and money.

Deadlands provides the players a change of the usual fantasy world of Role-Playing. They can recreate events in the mid-1800s acting like cowboys and indians. They can recreate their own western movie. The Deadlands world also includes a colorful cast of creatures and its own, personlized form of history. A must for role-players with a need for a change of pace. The game does have problems. Most notibaly in the combat sequences. However, character creation is fun.

This system is a must for roleplayers who have either become jaded with their existing system or just want to try something new. It provides a comprehensive story-line and time-line and gives the characters a whole new lease on development. The lay-out the book is easily read-able and engaging and provides the reader with an understanding of just how much is left to the players and Marshal. When I bought this book, I just had to show it to my roleplayign buddies, and they now are totally hook as I am sure you will be. If you wish to know more contact me or the Deadlands list serve. Marshal Psycho.

This is a great, original RPG! I was really impressed with the entire feel for the book. They write with just the right ammount of camp and technical rules. However, it does get a little daunting in terms of learning new rules. If you end up liking this book, check out Deadlands: Doomtown, a CCG based on the RPG. Also a must-have!

Deadlands has provided perhaps the most RPG fun I've had in almost 20 years of gaming. The mechanics are easy to learn, fun and fast. To go along with the western motif, you use dice, playing cards and poker chips to determine the outcome of your characters' actions. The "Weird West" storyline is a fun read regardless, campy and original. Started playing this game three months ago and we just can't put it down!

I've been playing role playing games for over 20 years. This is without a doubt the freshest new game since Star Wars. There is no limit to what type of characters you can play, and the system easily accommadates any action the players wish to perform. The rulebook is written in a manner that both new and old gamers will enjoy (sense of humor required). The game is fully backed up by great adventures (dime novels), minatures, and even an official website with current errata and "house rules". I highly recommend Deadlands. It's the Spagetti Western...with Meat.

must have game for any fan of whe west.. or people sick of the same old same old in RPG's....