Deadlands D20

[Tinker Gnome]

Has anybody here played it? And if so, how did it go? Is Gming it similar to Gming D&D? Or is it completely different. I know it uses a class system. But could someone tell me what the classes are? Thanks, in advance, to anyone who is willing to help me. I was able to find some basic info. I am also very interested in the Mad Scientist class.

 

[bolen]

have played it. The names won't be right but they should give you a vague idea. The classes are

- preacher

- gunfighter

- Huckster - analogus to a magic user who casts spells with cards

- Brave

- Mad Scientist (not the name) makes gagets

- some type of rogue -like class

- Indian medicine doctor type


It was a fun game. I doubt I'd like it as a long campaign but it is fun for a month long campain (say three or four sessions)

The setting is the old west with ghosts and demons and such.

 

[Shewolf]

bolen has a good summary... and since my books are at home and I'm at work, I can't do any better, either

A note on the setting, though - as it might be a make-or-break point, depending on your gaming preferences...

"Old west with ghosts and demons and such" doesn't really do it justice. Deadlands is an old west style alternate time-line. The US Civil War did not end in anything remotely resembling a unified country... California has been broken into a maze of small islands by drastic (and I believe supernatural) earthquakes... and the "fuel" for all the mad-science gadgets (and many other things) is a newly appearing element known as Ghost Rock.

There's loads more, but we haven't played in a while... and yes, I'm pouting about it It's a lot of fun.

 

[Douane]

Since I have the book in front of me:

Blessed - infused with holy power

Brave - native american warrior with innate connection to the spirit world

Gunslinger - "devil with a shooting-iron"

Huckster - card-shuffling magician

Mad Scientist - his infernal inventions of steam and steel may spell a new hope for humanity ... or doom it!

Maverick - rogue-like Jack-of-all-trades

Rowdy - rough-and-tumble fighters on the frontier

Scout - stealthy wilderness warrior

Shaman - drawing on the favor of the spirits


The mad scientist may build all kinds of weird gizmos like flamethrowers, gatling pistols, rocket packs and steam wagons. Many of them powered by "Ghostrock" they share one common aspect: There's always the chance of a rather disastrous malfunction when using these.



As for the setting: It's 1877 and as Shewolf put it "The US Civil War did not end in anything remotely resembling a unified country... ", in fact the Civil War didn't end at all!

(The break from our history occurred at Gettyburg, when, amidst the heavy fighting, the dead on battlefield suddenly rose.)


So the USA and the CSA remain, still fighting, at least two different native american nations (Coyote Confederation and Sioux Nations) , the independent "State of Deseret" (a mormon nation), the "disputed lands" (Kansas, Oklahoma, Colorado and Utah), the Great Maze (remains of California) and thr independent "City of Lost Angels".

The "Quest" to build a trancontinental Railroad has led to the great Rail Wars. Today six different railroads are left and they still fight tooth and nail while struggling onwards.



The supernatural is indeed an integral part of the setting (undead, monsters of legends, etc.), so if that is a turn-of, you should try Sidewinder (Classic Wild West for D&D 3E) or Sidewinder: Recoiled (D20 Modern) [not out yet].


So if you have any further questions, just ask away, pard!

Folkert

 

[Tinker Gnome]

The supernatural is indeed an integral part of the setting (undead, monsters of legends, etc.), so if that is a turn-of, you should try Sidewinder (Classic Wild West for D&D 3E) or Sidewinder: Recoiled (D20 Modern) [not out yet].

Nope, its not. That is one of the reasons i was looking into it.

Anyone know any retailers that are known to carry the books. I have no FLGS near me.

 

[Mythmere]

Pinnacle's website sells it cheap, because it's discontinued in favor of their new generic system, Savage Worlds (the Deadlands game's not discontinued, just d20). You can get it for like $12

It's awesome, by the way, but a lot of the classic rules players seem to prefer the classic over the d20 rules.

I've got a Yahoo group with some support info at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/deadlands20/, but it's all crunch and no background - stats and such.

I'll be happy to help further if you want more info, but I don't check in here often: leave me a message at the URL above.

Good luck!

 

[Tinker Gnome]

Well, buying online is not an option. But i will see what i can do where live.

 

[Gospog]

I love Deadlands.
And I love D20.

But Deadlands D20 didn't do much for us.

It is an excellent way for D20 players to try a new game, but in the opinion of our group, the original Deadlands rules make for a more fun game (funner?).

Good luck to you.

 

[Gothmog]

I love Deadlands.
And I love D20.

But Deadlands D20 didn't do much for us.

It is an excellent way for D20 players to try a new game, but in the opinion of our group, the original Deadlands rules make for a more fun game (funner?).

Good luck to you.

I'm in complete agreement Gospog. My group loves D20, are nuts about Deadlands, but D20 Deadlands took the soul and fun out of Deadlands. D20 Deadlands was basically a product to get more D20 players interested in Pinnacle's excellent games. D20 Deadlands has all the background an wonkiness of Deadlands, but the D20 mechanics just aren't quite right for the game. Galeros, if you're wanting to play Deadlands, do yourself a HUGE favor and get the original edition- you WON'T be sorry. I think you can still get the Players Guide to original Deadlands for free on RPG.now.

 

[bubbalin]

Well, if you're willing to wait, apparently mongoose is going to release OGL wild west with fully optional supernatural rules.

Matt Sprange spilled it in their forums, but he didn't say when. It also doesn't appear on their release schedule yet, but it came from the horse's mouth, so...