Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is LIVE! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Deadlands: D20
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Horacio" data-source="post: 2008491" data-attributes="member: 82"><p>Deadlands d20</p><p></p><p>To make a fair review, I must begin saying I'm a longtime Weird West fan. I bought Deadlands (the non d20 version) when it was published, in 1996/97. I have searched a wertern game for years, but I didn't like the two I had found (Boot Hill by TSR and Outlaws, for Rolemaster). I loved Deadlands. I found their vision of the Wild West new and well thought. To me, it was like crossing and old John Wayne movie with a Call of Cthulhu tale. So I loved that old game...</p><p></p><p>But I couldn't ever find enough people to play a good campaign with it. Maybe in the US it was easy, but here in Europe... So I had my deadlands books, sometimes I played an adventure or two but never arrived to DM a good campaign with it.</p><p></p><p>Some months ago, Pinacle Entertainment announced the Deadlands d20 project. They were highly criticized by the Deadlands 'purists', it was seem almost like if they were selling themselves for a few bucks... But for me it was a great idea, merging one wonderful setting with the most popular ruleset, so I pre-ordered it, and I received it two weeks after GenCon. And since then, I have began a campaign. I have found many players willing to try it, because they musn't learn a new set of rules, and those who try it, repeat...</p><p></p><p>So, let's start with the serious review:</p><p></p><p>Setting</p><p></p><p>Well, the Deadlands d20 world was alike our world until something went horribly wrong at Battle of Gettysburg in 1863. Supernatural evil forces were freed with an urge for chaos and revenge and their minions, demons and spirits called 'manitous' by the Indians, spread on the world. From that day everything changed. Monsters from nightmares become real, occultists and shamans find their magic boosted, and dead that come back form their graves, with a hunger for living flesh and tentacular horrors roam out there.</p><p></p><p>The Battle of Gettysburg ended when the thousands of deads rose up and began to kill both North and South soldiers, so the Civil War never ended. Governements, fearing the public reaction to this occult uprising, tryied to hide it, and created two special Secret Services to study supernatural facts and hiding them, the North created the Agence (aka Men in Black) and the South put there their Texas Rangers.</p><p></p><p>The Indians shamans took advantage of their new spiritual powers, so the Indian Wars never were won by the White Men, and neither the Union nor the Confederation could take Indian holy lands from the tribes.</p><p></p><p>And what about gold fever ? Well, California got half sunk in the sea after a earthquake, and in the shattered remainings, the Maze, a new mineral was found, the Ghost Rock. A mineral with an energetic potential thousands of times stronger than coal. Using it, a new breed of (mad) scientists, have begun to build crazy gozmos as steam cars, steam robots or even flying machines.</p><p></p><p>I know what you're thinking, such a mixture couldn't work... It's like a bad series B movie, a pastiche of Cthulhu Mithus, Jules Verne tales and John Wayne movies. But it works! And it works great! You can play investigation type adventures (I've played some with more investigation than a Call of Cthulhu game) or classic western adventures, from Zorro to The Night of the Living Dead.</p><p></p><p>In my oppinion, one of the secrets of the succes of Deadlands is their refusal to take themselves seriously. Their game is meant to be gritty, and horror is omnipresent, but there are a comedy vein that mix very well. Even the rules are written using a fresh western slang, and form the first page to the last one, reading the rules is an funny experience.</p><p></p><p>Chapter by Chapter</p><p></p><p>>Chapter 1: The Tombstone Epitaph</p><p></p><p>As most of Deadlands classic books, the first chapter of Deadlands d20 is an 'in character' introduction. The Tombstone Epitaph is the most know tabloid in the Weird West, and here we have a special edition of the Newcomer's Guide to the West. When you read it, you will have a basic perspective of the life in the west, as people see it. You will find they think there're something bizarre, but they don't know what. It's a nice introduction, an it's the only material a new player needs to know.</p><p></p><p>Classes</p><p></p><p>Deadlands d20 don't use any of the d20 standard classes, they have a whole new classes set:</p><p></p><p>Brave: A bit like d20 Barbarian, the Brave is the ideal class for an Indian warrior.</p><p>Blessed: Cleric equivalent class, this faithful man (Christian, Jew, Muslim, Buddist...) is the moral core of a party. And its healing center too, with his clerical spells.</p><p>Gunslinger: the most typical western character, from the white hatted sheriff to the black hatted bandit. Fast and deadly...</p><p>Huckster: The sorcerer like character, the hucksters get their spells winning intelligence contests with the evil manitous. They learn his powers from a old book of card gambling, so they use cards as spell components.</p><p>Mad Scientists: They use Ghost Rock and occult power to build bizarre gizmos. The 'mad' of mad scientist is the consecuence of dealing with this occult forces.</p><p>Maverick: They are rogues, gamblers, spies and scoundrels. They know a cunning will or a beautiful face can arrive further than a revolver... but they have a revolver too if more subtle methods fail.</p><p>Rowdy: Tough as nails. They are the true cowboys. Now as deadly with a revolver as a gunslinger, but tougher and stronger, you will want a Rowdys on your side in a bar fight or when trying to stake a vampire. They can use almost every existent weapon , not only these firearms.</p><p>Scout: From the indian scout to Grizzly Adams, scouts are people used to live in the wilderness. They can follow trails, they can hunt, they can sneak behind you without you ever notice.</p><p>Shaman: White men ways have corrupted Indian spirit, but these Shamans, with their refusal to White Men life and their taking of the Old Ways, are in contact with spirits and can ask them for help.</p><p></p><p></p><p>To be continued... Soon. Very soon</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Horacio, post: 2008491, member: 82"] Deadlands d20 To make a fair review, I must begin saying I'm a longtime Weird West fan. I bought Deadlands (the non d20 version) when it was published, in 1996/97. I have searched a wertern game for years, but I didn't like the two I had found (Boot Hill by TSR and Outlaws, for Rolemaster). I loved Deadlands. I found their vision of the Wild West new and well thought. To me, it was like crossing and old John Wayne movie with a Call of Cthulhu tale. So I loved that old game... But I couldn't ever find enough people to play a good campaign with it. Maybe in the US it was easy, but here in Europe... So I had my deadlands books, sometimes I played an adventure or two but never arrived to DM a good campaign with it. Some months ago, Pinacle Entertainment announced the Deadlands d20 project. They were highly criticized by the Deadlands 'purists', it was seem almost like if they were selling themselves for a few bucks... But for me it was a great idea, merging one wonderful setting with the most popular ruleset, so I pre-ordered it, and I received it two weeks after GenCon. And since then, I have began a campaign. I have found many players willing to try it, because they musn't learn a new set of rules, and those who try it, repeat... So, let's start with the serious review: Setting Well, the Deadlands d20 world was alike our world until something went horribly wrong at Battle of Gettysburg in 1863. Supernatural evil forces were freed with an urge for chaos and revenge and their minions, demons and spirits called 'manitous' by the Indians, spread on the world. From that day everything changed. Monsters from nightmares become real, occultists and shamans find their magic boosted, and dead that come back form their graves, with a hunger for living flesh and tentacular horrors roam out there. The Battle of Gettysburg ended when the thousands of deads rose up and began to kill both North and South soldiers, so the Civil War never ended. Governements, fearing the public reaction to this occult uprising, tryied to hide it, and created two special Secret Services to study supernatural facts and hiding them, the North created the Agence (aka Men in Black) and the South put there their Texas Rangers. The Indians shamans took advantage of their new spiritual powers, so the Indian Wars never were won by the White Men, and neither the Union nor the Confederation could take Indian holy lands from the tribes. And what about gold fever ? Well, California got half sunk in the sea after a earthquake, and in the shattered remainings, the Maze, a new mineral was found, the Ghost Rock. A mineral with an energetic potential thousands of times stronger than coal. Using it, a new breed of (mad) scientists, have begun to build crazy gozmos as steam cars, steam robots or even flying machines. I know what you're thinking, such a mixture couldn't work... It's like a bad series B movie, a pastiche of Cthulhu Mithus, Jules Verne tales and John Wayne movies. But it works! And it works great! You can play investigation type adventures (I've played some with more investigation than a Call of Cthulhu game) or classic western adventures, from Zorro to The Night of the Living Dead. In my oppinion, one of the secrets of the succes of Deadlands is their refusal to take themselves seriously. Their game is meant to be gritty, and horror is omnipresent, but there are a comedy vein that mix very well. Even the rules are written using a fresh western slang, and form the first page to the last one, reading the rules is an funny experience. Chapter by Chapter >Chapter 1: The Tombstone Epitaph As most of Deadlands classic books, the first chapter of Deadlands d20 is an 'in character' introduction. The Tombstone Epitaph is the most know tabloid in the Weird West, and here we have a special edition of the Newcomer's Guide to the West. When you read it, you will have a basic perspective of the life in the west, as people see it. You will find they think there're something bizarre, but they don't know what. It's a nice introduction, an it's the only material a new player needs to know. Classes Deadlands d20 don't use any of the d20 standard classes, they have a whole new classes set: Brave: A bit like d20 Barbarian, the Brave is the ideal class for an Indian warrior. Blessed: Cleric equivalent class, this faithful man (Christian, Jew, Muslim, Buddist...) is the moral core of a party. And its healing center too, with his clerical spells. Gunslinger: the most typical western character, from the white hatted sheriff to the black hatted bandit. Fast and deadly... Huckster: The sorcerer like character, the hucksters get their spells winning intelligence contests with the evil manitous. They learn his powers from a old book of card gambling, so they use cards as spell components. Mad Scientists: They use Ghost Rock and occult power to build bizarre gizmos. The 'mad' of mad scientist is the consecuence of dealing with this occult forces. Maverick: They are rogues, gamblers, spies and scoundrels. They know a cunning will or a beautiful face can arrive further than a revolver... but they have a revolver too if more subtle methods fail. Rowdy: Tough as nails. They are the true cowboys. Now as deadly with a revolver as a gunslinger, but tougher and stronger, you will want a Rowdys on your side in a bar fight or when trying to stake a vampire. They can use almost every existent weapon , not only these firearms. Scout: From the indian scout to Grizzly Adams, scouts are people used to live in the wilderness. They can follow trails, they can hunt, they can sneak behind you without you ever notice. Shaman: White men ways have corrupted Indian spirit, but these Shamans, with their refusal to White Men life and their taking of the Old Ways, are in contact with spirits and can ask them for help. To be continued... Soon. Very soon [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Deadlands: D20
Top