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Deadlands, Savage Worlds, all unique characters, creatures, and locations, artwork, logos,
and the Pinnacle logo are © 2020 Pinnacle Entertainment Group. Printed in China.
CREDITS
ADDITIONAL MATERIAL BY Tim Beach, Clint Black, John Goff, John R. Hopler
EDITING BY Shane Hensley, Matthew Cutter, Jay Kyle, Ron Blessing, Simon Lucas,
Jessica Rogers, Clint Black, Jordan Caves-Callarman, Adam Loyd
ART DIRECTION BY Aaron Acevedo, Alida Saxon
INTERIOR ART BY Aaron Acevedo, Bruno Balixa, Chris Bivins, Arthur Bowling,
Von Caberte, Matheus Calza, Donald Crank, Dennis Darmody, Sam Denmark,
Loic Denoual, James Denton, Martin de Diego Sádaba, Sebastien Ecosse, Alex
Elykov, Bartlomiej Fedyczak, Bien Flores, Quintin Gleim, Ross Grams, Konrad
Korgull, Irina Kovalova, Dio Mahesa, Wayne Miller, Fedrico Musetti, Christian
C. Otazu, Sabrina Pugnale, Aaron J. Riley, Alida Saxon, Martin Sickree, Tiago
Silverio, Unique Soparie, Jon Taylor, Joseph Weston
OPERATIONS & LOGISTICS: Jodi Black
DEDICATION: To all the Deadlands fans who’ve followed the Weird West’s story
across 24 years. Thanks, amigos!
And to mom for always encouraging and empowering me—and to dad for
countless Sundays watching John Wayne movies and our mutual love of heroes.
ENCOUNTERS93
LIFE IN THE WEIRD WEST 39
Adventure Generator�������������������������������������������� 93
Getting Around���������������������������������������������������� 39 Encounters�������������������������������������������������������������97
Dinero�������������������������������������������������������������������� 40 Encounter Results������������������������������������������������101
Communication����������������������������������������������������41
Ghost Rock������������������������������������������������������������ 42
The US Army��������������������������������������������������������� 42 THE WEIRD WEST 105
The Law������������������������������������������������������������������ 43 The Servitors�������������������������������������������������������� 109
Superstitions��������������������������������������������������������� 45 In the Twilight����������������������������������������������������� 114
Gazetteer of the Weird West����������������������������� 114
The Great Basin��������������������������������������������������� 115
SETTING RULES 47
The Great Maze��������������������������������������������������� 116
Guns������������������������������������������������������������������������47 The Great Northwest������������������������������������������ 122
Duelin'���������������������������������������������������������������������47 The Great Plains�������������������������������������������������� 124
Hangin'������������������������������������������������������������������� 49 Deseret������������������������������������������������������������������127
Stampedes�������������������������������������������������������������� 49 Indian Country��������������������������������������������������� 129
The Wild Southwest�������������������������������������������� 134
NO MAN'S LAND 51 The Great Rail Wars�������������������������������������������� 138
The Prospector Returns����������������������������������������51
Agents��������������������������������������������������������������������� 52 RASCALS, VARMINTS, & CREATURES 145
Blessed������������������������������������������������������������������� 55 Monstrous Ability����������������������������������������������� 145
Chi Masters������������������������������������������������������������57 Rascals������������������������������������������������������������������ 145
Harrowed��������������������������������������������������������������� 59 Varmints��������������������������������������������������������������� 153
Hucksters��������������������������������������������������������������� 64 Creatures�������������������������������������������������������������� 154
Mad Scientists������������������������������������������������������� 68
Shamans������������������������������������������������������������������71
Territorial Rangers����������������������������������������������� 73 INDEX195
New Powers����������������������������������������������������������� 75
CHAPTER
1
I don’t care what trouble you think I’m mixed I put three bullets in it and it just kept
up in, Marshal. I ain’t leavin’ town. First off, comin’. Its whisperin’ drove me crazy. Crazy
you ain’t got no right to make me go. Them enough to come here. To you.
rumors of rustlin’ down in Texas is more of I heard you’re a good man. A fair man. But
a…misunderstandin’. And that whole “Killer now you tell me to get outta town with that…
Cade” nonsense is a load o’ bull chips. monster…out there. Waitin’ in those woods
Second, I ain’t leavin’ civilization. Not where every tree looks like it’s laughin’ at you.
while…it’s out there. Where I keep seein’ things twitching around
Don’t gimme that look. You ain’t no in the shadows, hiding just as you turn your
greenhorn and you’ve ridden the High gaze. Where even the wind sounds like the
Plains more’n once. You know there’s things cold rasp of Death.
out there that ain’t in no schoolbook. I ain’t So here I am, Marshal. I reckon it’s come
talkin’ about prairie ticks an’ tummy twisters to this. I can see you ain’t gonna change your
an’ tumblebleeds. Or any ol’ haint or spirit. mind. Not with all these folks watchin’.
Everyone knows those are real. This ain’t how I wanted it to be. I didn’t
I’m talkin’ about the kind of things you want another law dog’s blood on my hands.
read about in the Tombstone Epitaph. Hell yes, But if you ain’t gonna turn and walk away,
I can read. I graduated the sixth grade! And well…a man’s gotta save his own skin an’
keep that hand away from that smokewagon, everyone else be damned.
Marshal. Don’t forget, I’m faster’n you. I don’t I know you won’t draw first. That ain’t your
wanna put you in the ground, but if you won’t way. But I’m a fair man too, and I know I’m
back down I ain’t got much choice. faster’n you. So I’m gonna give you an excuse
See…there’s something lurkin’ on the trail an’ a chance. That’s more’n I got my whole life.
outside town. Waitin’. An’ it wants me bad. If The strap on my holster is off, Marshal. I’m
I didn’t know better I’d swear it was ol’ Moses gonna grab my pistol and count one. If I ain’t
Moore, the hangin’ judge outta Dallas. But dead by the time I draw it, you will be.
he’s dead. Hung along the Chisholm years One—!
back, I heard tell. But I met him when I was Damn, Marshal. I told you I was faster.
no bigger’n a grasshopper, and that…thing…
out there looks just like him. It gunned down
three of my friends and I heard it whisperin’
my name over and over. “Cade…rustling…
hanging…” it said.
5
THE HISTORY IS NOT OUR OWN NEW NATIONS RISE
The Weird West of Deadlands is much like the The long war kept the governments of the
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
Wild West of our own world, but with a few North and South preoccupied, allowing other
fantastic differences. forces to rise and grow.
The most notable of these is that the After the Great Quake, Reverend Ezekiah
Civil War dragged on for far longer than Grimme proclaimed his theocratic rule over
it did in our history. Things escalated after the “Free and Holy City of Lost Angels” in
the “Great Quake” of 1868. It sundered 1876. His impressive black granite church
California into a maze of labyrinthine sea offered shelter and food to thousands in
canyons and exposed a new superfuel called the devastated territory before it was struck
“ghost rock.” The infernal ore screeches like a down in a titanic flood in 1880. Some claim all
banshee when burned, powering all sorts of was not as it seemed with the reverend, and
newfangled gadgets and gizmos like steam that his church was actually a murderous
wagons, auto-gyros, and more. This gave rise cult. Whatever the truth was, it now lies at
to new weapons of war the North and South the bottom of the ocean with Grimme’s bones.
just couldn’t help murdering each other with.
The Mormons also took advantage of the
The greatest and most terrible gathering situation to claim Utah for themselves in 1866,
of these deadly contraptions occurred at the proclaiming it the Independent Nation of
epic and bloody Battle of Washington in 1871, Deseret. It wasn’t just faith that powered their
where a desperate Northern victory finally perseverance in that hostile environment,
ended the long and tragic Civil War. however. Dr. Darius Hellstromme, foremost
inventor of the age and a master of the new
ghost-rock-powered inventions, became their
patron. His railroads and factories made
Deseret a powerhouse both economically
and militarily. Still reeling from a decade
of carnage, the Union had no option but to
accept their autonomy.
The same is true of the Sioux Nations and
Coyote Confederation, two independent
Native American states carved out of
their ancestors’ sacred lands. The Union
eventually made peace with the Sioux
enough to keep Deadwood and ghost rock
mining alive around the Black Hills, but the
tensions are always high.
The Coyote Confederation is far less
unified, and struggles mightily with their
former Southern allies in and around the
lands that used to be called Hell’s Half
Acre. The trouble between these hot-headed
warriors and the surrounding settlers and
hunters who covet their resources threatens
to boil over into full-scale war every day.
THE AUTHORITIES
The Tombstone Epitaph has grown to
prominence far beyond its Arizona roots.
Under the guidance of editor John Clum and
the incessant nosiness of roving reporter Lacy
O’Malley, the tabloid has gone national. It
6
prints lurid and sensational stories of ghosts,
monsters, and horrors on the High Plains. THE MORGANA
Few people discuss its stories, at least not in
polite company.
EFFECT
Longtime fans will notice some important
The Epitaph is a thorn in the side of
7
Free City of Lost Angels, the struggling US Logging and trapping dominate this area,
government, a powerful Chinese warlord but ranchers and farmers can be found as
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
named Kang, and any number of ruthless well. The lumberjacks tell fanciful tales of the
pirates of all stripes jumping claims, robbing bigfoot, and bloodier, more terrifying tales of
miners, and murdering folks left and right. wolves that walk on two legs and hunt the
flesh of humans.
The Maze is also home to some of the most
unique critters to be found in the Weird Scariest are the stories of unfortunate souls
West. Chief among these are the great beasts who, trapped in the grasp of winter’s chill,
known as “Maze dragons.” These behemoths succumb to hunger and resort to cannibalism.
swim the sea channels in search of prey, and Legends say these wretched folks turn into
they’re so big even great white sharks are ravenous things called “wendigos,” which
on the menu! roam the Northwest seeking to slake their
bottomless hunger.
The Great Northwest: From the fog-
shrouded evergreens of the Coast Range Deseret: As we noted, Brigham Young
to the icy peaks of the Cascades, the declared Utah the Independent Nation of
Great Northwest has some of the most Deseret in 1866. It’s largely a hot, dry, and
awe-inspiring landscapes to be found in barren region, but numerous oases have
North America. The region is made up of sprouted up to sustain the Mormon residents.
Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, and its
The greatest of these is Salt Lake City,
beauty is only matched by the harshness of
better known to most as the City o’ Gloom.
the winters and the brutality of its wildlife.
It gets its nickname from the pall of smoke
8
and soot that hangs over it, the product of
numerous factories churning out ghost-rock-
powered infernal devices. Smith & Robards
COWBOYS &
and Hellstromme Industries Ltd. are the ZOMBIES
primary New Science technology producers,
Deadlands: The Weird West has years
9
CHAPTER
2
MAKIN' HEROES
The Weird West is chock-full of strange and Chi Master: With the steady influx of
interesting types, and your hero can be any Asian immigrants over the past decades,
kind of person you can imagine. So strap various martial arts have become more
on your six-guns and saddle up, amigo— common in North America. Some masters
it’s time to create your salty gunslinger, hone their chi to a mystical degree, using it to
mysterious huckster, or courageous scout. invoke supernatural powers and phenomena.
Making a character for Deadlands: The Common Folk: Not everyone is a
Weird West is similar to creating one for gunslinger, war-weary soldier, or huckster.
any Savage Worlds game. The first step is Some are ordinary men or women—
to choose what kind of cowpoke you want craftsmen, farmers, traders, and so forth—
to play. Pick one from the following list or who traveled west seeking a new life and
devise your own concept. a fresh start. But folks like these are often
preyed upon by the horrors and outlaws of
the Weird West, so they’re sometimes forced
WESTERN CONCEPTS to pick up a weapon to survive.
Deserter: He’s seen his fair share of
People from all walks of life across the globe death and misery, and won’t be a party to it
find their way to the Weird West in search anymore. Or maybe she’d rather just shoot
of fame, fortune, freedom, or a million the bad folks, instead of the ones who wear a
other goals. particular uniform. Regardless, this character
was branded a coward and traitor by the
Blessed: Whether a pastor, nun, rabbi,
military they left behind, and being captured
or chosen slayer, these pious folks are
likely entails a long drop and a short rope.
humanity’s most powerful weapons against
the forces of darkness. And that’s because the Drifter: Some folks make a living on odd
miracles they wield are real. jobs; more often than not, these odd jobs
involve a smoking gun. Drifters never put
Bounty Hunter: This gun’s for hire. Some
down roots in the West, but there isn’t much
folks evade justice for an awful long time
for them Back East either.
in the lawless frontier towns of the West.
Bounty hunters make their grubstake by Escort: Most often of the feminine
hunting these varmints down and bringing persuasion, these “soiled doves”
’em in dead or alive. sometimes work a single saloon, and
11
sometimes travel from town to town plying
THE their trade. Most seem innocent enough,
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
12
manpower to subjugate the Sioux Nations
or the Coyote Confederation. Warriors are MAKIN' HEROES
fiercely loyal to their tribes, and most spend
their time hunting or patrolling tribal borders. Once you decide on a concept for your
Some adopt the white man’s ways, while sodbuster, it’s time to figure out his statistics.
others take up the Old Ways vow. Download a character sheet designed for
Deadlands at www.peginc.com.
Law Dog: The West is a wild frontier, with
Makin' Heroes
wilder outlaws. It’s up to the law dogs—
whether town marshal, county sheriff, US 1. RACE
Marshal, Agent, Texas or Territorial Ranger—
Humans are the only race allowed in
to keep a lid on the worst of them.
Deadlands. The West is a diverse place where
Mad Scientist: These eggheads use ghost all ethnicities are welcome, even though
rock to power their infernal devices and bigots of all types remain. Despite its general
gizmos of steam and steel. Some believe lawlessness—or perhaps because of it—folks
them geniuses, others think them mad. from around the world flock to America
Alchemists are mad scientists’ chemical pursuing a better life. Humans begin play
cousins, synthesizing potions to bestow with one Novice Edge whose Requirements
seemingly magical benefits. they meet.
Muckraker: Some folks believe in
reporting the truth, no matter who it 2. HINDRANCES
offends. Yellow journalism is their stock in
To a large degree, a character is defined by
trade, but the muckraker hopes to do a little
his or her flaws, or Hindrances. You can
good by lifting the scales from America’s
take up to 4 points of Hindrances. A Major
eyes. Unfortunately, the only rag willing to
Hindrance is worth 2 points, and a Minor is
publish the wilder (and truer) stories is the
worth 1. A hero could thus take two Major
Tombstone Epitaph, a notoriously sensational
Hindrances, four Minor, or any combination
newspaper. The “truth” sometimes requires
that adds up to 4 points. (You can take more
embellishment to appeal to the skeptical
Hindrances if you want but the maximum
masses.
benefit is 4 points!).
Outlaw: Whether a ruthless bank robber,
Use points gained from taking Hindrances
cold-blooded killer, or innocent fugitive on
to purchase benefits for your character, as
the run, outlaws have a price on their head
detailed on the following page.
and the law on their tail. Some outlaws
evade pursuit and build new lives, but some
crimes are so heinous that the US, Deseret,
and everyone in between wants to see the
varmint hanged.
AMERICAN
Prospector: There’s gold in them thar
INDIANS
hills—not to mention coal, silver, ghost rock, We use the contemporary term
and other valuable fundaments. Prospectors “Indians” to refer to the collective Native
devote their lives digging for it, and spend American tribes. Although inaccurate
what little they find on wine, women, and and dated, it’s generally accepted by
song. Only a few prospectors strike it rich. Native American organizations as
Some hunt more fantastic treasures, though non-pejorative, and we intend it the
they’re dismissed as dreamers or just insane. same way. We try to portray Native
Americans like all peoples of the world,
Soldier: These men bravely serve the
complex and layered with great heroes,
United States Army. Whether they fought to
villains, and everything in between.
preserve the Union or to aid the Confederate
States’ secession, they saw horrors none can
ever forget. Those who excel climb the ranks
to command other soldiers.
13
3. ATTRIBUTES 5. DERIVED STATISTICS
Next, assign your hero’s attributes. The following stats are based on the Traits
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
14
NEW HINDRANCES
RACISM &
All the Hindrances listed in Savage Worlds SLAVERY
are available in Deadlands. Here we provide
The real world of the 1880s was one
a herd of new ones particular to the
of public racism and bigotry. In the
Weird West.
United States, this resulted in a terrible
Makin' Heroes
and bloody Civil War fought primarily
AILIN' (MINOR OR MAJOR) over the Southern states’ dependence
Medicine is a rudimentary science on the
on slavery.
frontier, and there are worse ways to die
than a severe case of lead poisoning. Your In the alternate history of Deadlands,
cowpoke suffers from a chronic and at least evil influences allowed the war to
so far incurable disease of some sort. The continue far longer than it did in the real
Minor version of the Hindrance means world. In this edition, the Confederacy
you subtract 1 from any roll made to resist finally fell after the steam-powered,
Fatigue from any source. Subtract 2 if it’s a bloodbath known as the Battle of
Major Hindrance. Washington in 1871.
A Critical Failure on such a roll means It’s now 1884. Bigotry, violence, and
things are getting worse. If your pistolero has racism remain, but they are the province
the Minor version, she gets worse and her of villains and the shamefully ignorant.
Hindrance becomes Major. If she already has Progress against such vile behavior has
the Major version, the Reaper comes calling. been made, and more will come, albeit
The good news is you gain an immediate slowly, as people of all backgrounds
point of Conviction. The bad news is you begin to live and work together.
choose when and how your hero dies during
When depicting the worst parts of
that session. She might go out in a blaze of
history is central to the story, we won’t
glory or surrounded by friends on a peaceful
shy away from it. But by and large,
mountaintop. When your character finally
Deadlands is about valiant heroes and
passes, the other player characters gain a
heroines from all backgrounds, cultures,
point of Conviction, drawing strength from
and walks of life fighting imaginary
the brave death of their stalwart companion.
monsters and corrupted villains.
You can also buy off your Hindrance by
We recommend you do the same at
spending an Advance (two for the Major
your game table. Depicting racism or
version of the Hindrance). You should work
bigotry may be sadly realistic, but it’s
with the Marshal to figure out a narrative
also ugly and uncomfortable and can
reason for the improvement—treatment at
quickly ruin the fun for everyone in the
a sanatorium, a miracle cure, a transfusion
group. At the end of the day, this is a
from a unique donor, or some other story-
roleplaying game we hope you and your
based explanation for the character’s
friends find relaxing, exciting, and fun.
miraculous improvement.
CURSED (MAJOR)
Everybody’s got skeletons in the closet, but
yours are trying to claw their way out! Your GRIM SERVANT O' DEATH (MAJOR)
hero has done somebody wrong, either Only Wild Cards can take this Hindrance,
through past affiliation or dark, unspoken and you shouldn’t do it lightly, amigo. Your
deeds. While most folk don’t know or care, hero’s a killer. His family’s probably pushing
the Fella Upstairs sure does—and he ain’t too up daisies, his enemies are worm food, and
pleased. For each player character with the even a few of his friends have holes in them
Cursed Hindrance, the GM starts with one that are suspiciously the same caliber as his
additional Benny! very own shootin’ iron.
15
The good news is your hombre adds +1 to with his nightly torment. The repeated
every damage roll he ever makes, whether barrage on his psyche results in an overall
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
it’s from Fighting, Shooting, an arcane skill weakened resolve. He suffers a −1 penalty to
roll, or even using Athletics to throw things all Spirit rolls.
at people in a most inhospitable manner.
The downside is your malcontent winds
OLD WAYS OATH (MINOR)
Your hero has pledged to forego modern
up in the hoosegow or on the run from his
technology to honor the nature spirits. Those
enemies a lot. Worse, anytime his attack roll
who remain true to their vows get a free
is a Critical Failure, he hits the nearest ally
reroll on any Spirit roll.
in sight with a raise! This happens whether
the target’s in the line of fire or not. Maybe If the mortal violates the agreement,
the killer’s gun hand gets jostled, the bullet however, the spirits withdraw this advantage
ricochets, or he catches flying shrapnel from for 24 hours. If the oath-taker uses an item
an explosion. Other players’ characters are powered by ghost rock—a noxious and
always first choice, but any friendly soul will cancerous substance to nature spirits—their
do in a pinch. support is withdrawn for a week.
Even hand-to-hand attacks hit allies when
a Grim Servant o’ Death gets violent. This
TALISMAN (MINOR OR MAJOR)
Only characters with an Arcane Background
may require a little imagination, but either
Edge can take this Hindrance. It represents a
the weapon flies out of the hero’s hand and
mental dependence on a physical item to use
strikes his friend, or the hero moves adjacent
their powers. Anyone who sees the item used
to his erstwhile comrade and “accidentally”
to enact a power can tell it’s important.
whacks him. Even if you’re using miniatures,
combat is more fluid than the tabletop depicts. The Talisman could be a specific deck
of cards for a huckster, a medicine bag for
HEAVY SLEEPER (MINOR) a shaman, a holy item for a blessed, or a
A thunderstorm from Hell itself doesn’t unique weapon for a chi master. Whatever
wake this Dozing Doolie. Once he drops off, the item, the character suffers a −1 penalty
he must make a Notice roll (−4) to wake up. to all arcane skill rolls if she doesn’t have it
He also suffers a −4 penalty to Vigor rolls on her person. As a Major Hindrance, she
made to stay awake. suffers a −2 without it.
The hero can replace a lost Talisman, but
LYIN’ EYES (MINOR) it takes two game weeks to acclimate to the
Lies just don’t come easy to this hombre.
replacement, during which time the hombre
That sounds all good and noble, but often
suffers the appropriate penalties.
causes problems when dealing with more
nefarious types. A hero with this Hindrance Note that mad scientists already need a
suffers a −1 penalty to all Intimidation and chosen gizmo to enact powers—an actual
Persuasion rolls where lies—even little ones— dependence rather than a mental one.
must be told. Therefore, characters with that Arcane
Background aren’t eligible for this Hindrance.
Worse, if your hero plans to make money
playing poker, the penalty also applies to
bluffing. That’s −1 to your Gambling rolls in
TENDERFOOT (MAJOR)
Every little ol’ cut and scrape makes your
a poker or faro game as well, compadre!
cowpoke cry for mama. As long as he has
at least one Wound, he suffers an additional
NIGHT TERRORS (MAJOR) −1 penalty to all his actions (so a hero with
To say your hombre has bad dreams is a
two Wounds would suffer a −3, for example,
severe understatement. The Land of Nod is
although −3 is still the maximum). A hero
a constant nightmare. He tosses and turns
with this Hindrance can’t take the Don’t Get
like a demon on a rack, and likely keeps
’im Riled! Edge.
everyone within earshot of him awake
16
TROUBLE MAGNET (MINOR OR MAJOR)
Things never go smoothly for this hero. As OLD WEST
a Minor Hindrance, whenever the character
rolls a Critical Failure the consequences are
ARCHETYPES
subtly worse in some way, as determined Although you may wonder where the
by the Marshal. A hero isn’t just spotted Saloon Girl, Muckraker, or Gunslinger
trying to infiltrate a US Army fort, someone Edges are, they’re not necessary to create
Makin' Heroes
recognizes her face. A buckaroo doesn’t these cowpokes. Everything you need is
just fail at Intimidation, the target also has in the Savage Worlds rules.
friends. Or a botched attack roll results in the
When creating heroes, first think of
cowpoke’s weapon busting too.
them as an archetype. Consider what
The Major Hindrance has a different effect. skills and Edges best embody that type
Anytime the Marshal must choose a “random of hero’s role and life story.
character” to be hit, attacked, or otherwise
A saloon girl might be Attractive—or
negatively affected by something—it’s this
Ugly. Heck, she may be plain-looking
poor devil.
but Charismatic. If she’s “popular,”
she may have Connections among the
clientele. A muckraker might take the
NEW EDGES Investigator Edge. Being Charismatic
doesn’t hurt either.
The following Edges from Savage Worlds are
Want to play a gunslinger? Consider
not allowed in Deadlands: Arcane Background
the Dead Shot or Two-Gun Kid Edge.
(any), Soul Drain.
Indian warrior? Take the Woodsman
If you choose one of the Deadlands Arcane Edge. For a local lawman, how about
Backgrounds listed below, read up on the Charismatic or Command for a start?
details in No Man’s Land, starting on page Add an Obligation to keep the peace.
51. A character may only take one Arcane
For a group tied to one town or
Background Edge.
geographic area, the Marshal might
allow the Aristocrat Edge to represent
BACKGROUND EDGES authority in a hero’s jurisdiction.
17
ARCANE BACKGROUND (HUCKSTER) ARCANE BACKGROUND (SHAMAN)
REQUIREMENTS: Novice, Gambling d6+, Spellcast- REQUIREMENTS: Novice, Spirit d8+, Faith d4+
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
18
Beware—the results can range from
maiming to insanity. Your Marshal has all
IMPROVED FAN THE HAMMER
the details. You’ve been warned, Tex! REQUIREMENTS: Heroic, Agility d10+, Fan the
Hammer, Shooting d10+
As Fan the Hammer, above, but each
COMBAT EDGES shot suffers a −2 Shooting penalty.
DON'T GET 'IM RILED! QUICK DRAW
Makin' Heroes
REQUIREMENTS: Novice
REQUIREMENTS: Novice, Agility d8+
The hero with this Edge can be a real
You draw two cards when spending a
curly wolf when he gets roughed up. When
Benny for an additional Action Card at the
causing melee damage, he adds his Wound
beginning of a round. You may choose your
levels to the roll.
final Action Card from any of your available
A hero with three Wounds, for instance, choices, including additional draws from
adds +3 to his melee damage rolls! Level Headed, Quick, etc.
You also add +2 to Athletics rolls made to
DUELIST interrupt others’ actions (including resisting
REQUIREMENTS: Novice, Shooting d6+ being interrupted).
Your hombre is a deadly gunfighter, and
anyone foolish enough to face him at High
Noon is likely to end up in the boneyard by
sunset. In a duel, this hero receives two extra
Hole Cards at the start of the throwdown.
Rules for Dueling can be found on page 47.
19
PROFESSIONAL EDGES GUTS
REQUIREMENTS: Novice, Spirit d6+
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
AGENT
REQUIREMENTS: Novice, Smarts d8+, Fighting d6+, A hero with this Edge has learned to
Occult d6+, Shooting d6+ steel himself against the horrors that stalk
the Weird West. He gets a free reroll when
The shadowy Agency is responsible for
making Fear checks.
rooting out sedition, treason, espionage,
corruption, and illegal acts that might plunge
the country into another Civil War.
SCOUT
REQUIREMENTS: Seasoned, Woodsman
Agents are a secretive lot who don’t share
Scouts are masters of navigating the West’s
information outside their ranks if they can
vast wilderness. When the Marshal draws
avoid it—not even with the local law. They’re
a face card while the posse is traveling—
expected to conceal their credentials except
indicating an encounter—the Scout can make
under extreme and desperate circumstances.
a Notice roll at −2 to detect the hazard, critter,
Read the top secret details on page 52.
or event first. Scouts are always considered
alert for Notice rolls versus Stealth, ignore
BORN IN THE SADDLE up to 2 points of penalties on Survival rolls
REQUIREMENTS: Novice, Agility d8+, Riding d6+ to track, and on a raise gain more specific
Some folks spend so much time on information about what they’re following.
horseback, it’s as if they were born in They also add +2 to Common Knowledge
the saddle and live entirely in it. rolls to recall information about
There’s no place towns, outposts, landmarks and
they’d rather be watering holes, people, or tribes
than on the back of along a particular route they’ve
a trusty steed. traveled before.
Heroes with the Born in
the Saddle Edge get a free
SOLDIER
reroll on Riding rolls. They REQUIREMENTS: Novice,
also know how to get the Strength d6+, Vigor d6+
most out of their trusty steeds This Edge works as
in an emergency. This increases their described in Savage
horse’s Pace by 2 and their running Worlds, and means
die one step. the character served in
the military.
CARD SHARP If the hero still serves in
REQUIREMENTS: Novice, Gambling d6+ the military, he’s a Private,
Your hero has a knack for odds, gains the Obligation (Minor)
wagers, and when to call a bluff. Hindrance, and is paid monthly
He never feels more at home than (if he can get to it!). He’s
when he’s shuffling cards, tossing expected to do what he’s
dice, or calculating the chances of told and to put the lives of
some wager. others before his own. Not
all soldiers uphold that
Your character gets one free
principle, but they take
reroll when making a Gambling
the oath when they put
roll. That includes hucksters who
on the uniform.
Deal with the Devil (see 65)!
Soldiers may be demoted if
they perform poorly, abandon
their post, show cowardice in
the face of the enemy, disobey
orders, or otherwise shirk the
20
code of military conduct. Demotions are
entirely up to the Marshal.
US ARMY RANKS
Rank: A hero can start as a Sergeant
or 2nd Lieutenant, but his Obligation ENLISTED
becomes Major, and he’s expected to carry Rank Command Pay
out more difficult tasks lesser ranks might
Private — $20
retreat from. Officers attend one of several
Makin' Heroes
military training academies and must have Corporal — $25
Academics and Battle at d6+. The Command NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS
Edge isn’t a requirement for either, but highly
Sergeant Squad $30
recommended for both.
Ordnance Sergeant Squad $50
In Deadlands, it’s expected soldiers are Quartermaster Platoon $65
assigned to the posse for extra firepower, Sergeant
leadership, or expertise. They aren’t expected
Sergeant Major Company $80
to bring their troops with them, but in times
of extreme urgency the Marshal may allow OFFICERS
them to request such resources from their Rank Command Pay
superiors. 2 Lieutenant
nd
Platoon $30
Promotion: Regardless of starting rank, an 1st Lieutenant Platoon $40
active duty character with the Soldier Edge Captain Company $50
may spend an Advance for a promotion to
Major Company $75
his next rank. He may do this no more than
three times, and no more than once per Lieutenant Colonel Battalion $100
character Rank (not military rank). Colonel Regiment $120
Higher ranks are possible, but generally Brigadier General Brigade $200
outside the scope of normal play. Major General Division $400
Lieutenant General Corps $800
TALE-TELLER General Army $1,600
REQUIREMENTS: Novice, Performance or Persua-
sion d8+
A good storyteller not only entertains, he
gives hope and comfort as well. In the Weird
West, Tale-Tellers are critical to saving
TERRITORIAL RANGER
the world! REQUIREMENTS: Novice, Vigor d6+, Fighting d6+,
Intimidation d6+, Riding d6+, Shoot-
What? The world needs saving? You bet ing d6+, Survival d4+
it does. Spreading the tales of your posse’s
United States Marshals police the states.
derring-do is far more important in the grand
Rangers are responsible for the eight
scheme of things than putting down some
territories—Arizona, California, Idaho,
ornery varmint. So if you do something
Montana, New Mexico, Washington,
amazing, bucko, tell people about it!
Wyoming, the District of Alaska—and one
The Marshal has all the details on page state, Texas, given that organization’s long
84, but this Edge gives you two perks. First, history there.
when making a Persuasion or Performance
These law dogs hunt thieves, bandits,
roll to lower the local Fear Level, your hero
deserters, and other fugitives from justice
adds +2 to her total. Second, when you
throughout the territories. The Tombstone
successfully lower the local Fear Level and
Epitaph claims they often hunt stranger
get a raise on the Persuasion or Performance
prey—but only crackpots believe those
roll, the tale-teller and anyone who Supports
bedtime stories, right? There’s more
her earn Conviction (see Savage Worlds).
information about these tough hombres
on page 73.
21
SOCIAL EDGES germ of truth. A Knack is just that—folklore
come true.
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
22
character’s Command Range. This increased
range lasts until the end of the encounter.
FAST AS LIGHTNING
REQUIREMENTS: Legendary, Agility d10+, Quick
Storm Born: Your character was born in
When your hero reaches for his shootin’
the midst of a great storm. Among her people,
irons, folks rarely have time to blink, much
it’s said fear has no power over her. When
less draw him down. Some say he’s the
you spend a Benny to reroll a Fear check, you
fastest gun in the West.
ignore all Fear penalties, both from the critter
Makin' Heroes
and the local Fear Level. Your hero gets a fourth action. This
increases the maximum Multi-Action penalty
to −6 (which can be reduced by any Edges
LEGENDARY EDGES or abilities that do so, such as Two-Fisted or
Two-Gun Kid).
BEHOLD A PALE HORSE...
REQUIREMENTS: Legendary RIGHT HAND OF THE DEVIL
The Lone Ranger had Silver, Zorro had REQUIREMENTS: Legendary, Trademark Weapon,
Toronado, and your caballero’s steed is no Shooting, Fighting, or Athletics d10+
less impressive. Whether it’s a new stallion or
Your hero is fast on the trigger and
the same faithful pony your hero’s had since
renowned far and wide as one mean hombre.
she was young, there’s something special
Folks have taken to calling him the Right
about this horse. It has character.
Hand of the Devil (or Left if your cowpoke is
The faithful beast uses the statistics for of the sinister rather than dexter persuasion).
a war horse (see Savage Worlds) but gains
Whichever weapon your shootist typically
the Fearless special ability and the Danger
uses in his favored hand has been infused
Sense Edge. What’s more, the horse is a Wild
with some of the mythic status he’s accorded,
Card, and starts each session with its own
turning that weapon into a powerful relic. A
two Bennies.
relic weapon does an extra damage die of the
If the trusty steed dies, your hombre can same type as that weapon’s highest damage
start training another, a process that usually die. So a relic Colt revolving rifle would
takes a few weeks of game time (GM’s call). do a fearsome 3d8 damage. A hero usually
dresses it up a bit with a silver filigree, pearl
DAMNED handles, and the like. It’s not a requirement,
REQUIREMENTS: Wild Card, Legendary, Spirit d6+, but most legends are partial to such decor.
Reputation The Edge remains with the weapon, so if
Old gunslingers don’t die, they just… your shootist loses his gun, he loses the Edge
as well—at least until he can get it back. And
Okay, they do die. Usually in messy and
yes, anyone else who finds it in the meantime
embarrassing ways. But if your grizzled
gets its benefits!
veteran of the Weird West goes down, he’s
definitely coming back. Taking this Edge
is an insurance policy against having your
TRUE GRIT
plans for this old hand ended prematurely. REQUIREMENTS: Legendary, Spirit d10+, Grit
This grizzled veteran has seen things
If your hero is killed, he automatically
that’d make others’ eyes pop like they just
returns from the grave as a Harrowed (see
saw a rattler in their bedroll. He ignores all
page 60 for details). Just how long that
penalties when making Fear checks, and if
takes relies on the Marshal’s whim and the
failed, gets one free reroll on the Fear Effects
story. It could be near-instant, or it could be
Table if he chooses.
after your partners put you in a pine box and
read the 23rd Psalm.
Once you return as Harrowed, you
may trade this Edge for an additional
Harrowed Edge.
23
CHAPTER
3
A well-oiled six-gun in the holster. A some items cause bigger problems than
Winchester, ”The Gun that Won the West.” others (at the Marshal’s discretion).
A reliable horse and a sturdy saddle.
These are a few of the necessities, but all
EL CHEAPO GEAR
Cost: El cheapo gear costs half the normal
sorts of things are for sale in the Weird West.
price, but a cowpoke only receives a discount
The trick isn’t finding someone to sell them…
on types of gear described below.
it’s finding an honest shopkeep!
Breakage: Cheap guns, saddles, and so
This chapter holds an assortment of items
forth—anything a cowpoke might use in a
a cowpoke needs to get by, whether by the
Trait roll—break if the player rolls a Critical
skin of his teeth or in luxurious style. As we
Failure. An el cheapo tomahawk falls apart
told you in the last chapter, your hero starts
while you’re trying to whack some no-
the game with just $250 in local currency.
good rascal, or a secondhand wagon loses a
Anything you want in the way of possessions,
wheel. If your cowpoke has the All Thumbs
you’re going to have to buy!
Hindrance, the breakage is spectacular
We know that money won’t go far, so in enough to Stun the user. Powered items
Deadlands you have two options when you explode, the cinch on a saddle snaps like
go shopping. You can pay the prices listed in thunder, and so on.
this chapter, or you can hunt down a bargain
Persuasion Penalties: Items that don’t
by buying el cheapo gear.
come into play for skill rolls might affect folks’
perception of your hero. A ratty duster, for
example, is a sure sign of a no-good scofflaw
GEAR ON THE CHEAP or saddletramp in civilized company—even
in the most remote corners of the West. Each
Most anything in this chapter, excepting of these items inflicts a −1 modifier to your
services, can be bought secondhand for hombre’s Persuasion rolls, but the maximum
half the listed price. Common items such as penalty for el cheapo gear is −2.
clothes are ratty and torn, hats are crumpled,
and dinged-up playing cards can’t be used EL CHEAPO HORSES
anywhere except by the campfire. These Skinflint characters who cheap out on
effects are usually situational, which means horseflesh are in for a whole different
brand of trouble. El cheapo horses, in
25
addition to their normal statistics, have two
Minor Hindrances or a Major Hindrance of COMMON GEAR
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
26
GENERAL EQUIPMENT Tool kit $25 5
Notes: Ignores up to 2 points of penalties (see
Item Cost Weight Repair in Savage Worlds).
Ax, wood $2 5 Tool kit (Weird Science) $50 5
Notes: Medium Improvised Weapon Notes: Ignores up to 4 points of penalties
Backpack $2 3 (see Repair, specialized equipment, in Savage
Worlds).
Barbed wire (per yard) 5¢ 5/50 ft.
Watch, standard $2.50 .5
Bedroll $4 10
27
SERVICES
Item Cost Weight
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
Bath $1 —
Burial $5 —
Doctor visit
Office $3 —
House call $5 —
Photo $10 —
Room (per day)
Boarding house (w/ $1 —
meals)
Low-class hotel $2 —
High-class hotel $10 —
Shave and a haircut 25¢ —
Telegram (per word) 5¢ —
TRANSPORTATION
Item Cost Weight
Horse $150 —
Mule $50 —
Riverboat (per mile) 5¢ —
Saddle $25 30
Saddlebags $5 5
Stagecoach (per mile) 10¢ —
Train ticket (per mile) 5¢ —
AMMUNITION
Type Cost Weight Notes
Arrow $2/20 1/5 Arrows for bows
Pistol (Small) $2/50 3/50 .22–.38 caliber
Pistol (Large) $3/50 5/50 .40–.50 caliber
Rifle (Small) $4/50 6/50 .38–44 caliber
Rifle (Large) $5/50 8/50 .45 caliber and over
Percussion caps $.50/60 1/60 For cap and ball weapons
Shot (w/powder) $1/20 4/20 For black powder weapons
Shotgun shells $2/20 2/20 Standard buckshot
28
MELEE WEAPONS
Type Damage Min. Str Weight Cost Notes
Brass Knuckles Str+d4 d4 1 $1 Doesn’t count as a weapon for
Unarmed Defender
Bayonet Str+d4 d4 1 $5 Str +d6 and Parry +1 if attached to
a rifle, Reach 1, two hands
GATLING GUNS
Gatling weapons can’t fire single shots and must fire their full Rate of Fire. All models have been
updated, are fairly well-known in 1884, and are no longer considered infernal devices (see page 33).
A Critical Failure when firing a Gatling means it jams, requiring a Repair roll as an action to get
working again.
PERSONAL GATLING WEAPONS
Personal Gatlings have multiple barrels and a drum of ammunition that can be replaced in one action.
Pistol drums cost $2 and weigh 1 lbs. unloaded (3 lbs. loaded). Rifle and carbine drums cost $5 and
weigh 2 lbs. unloaded (7 lbs loaded). Shotgun drums cost $5 and weigh 2 lbs unloaded (3.5 loaded).
Type Range Damage AP RoF Shots Min Str. Weight Cost
Gatling Pistol (.36) 12/24/48 2d6 1 3 30 d4 5 $400
Gatling Carbine (.45) 20/40/80 2d8 2 2 30 d6 12 $750
Gatling Rifle (.45) 24/48/96 2d8 2 2 30 d8 17 $1,000
Gatling Shotgun 12/24/48 1–3d6 — 2 15 d8 15 $1,000
GATLING GUNS
The original six-barreled Gatling gun is mounted on a small carriage or pintle mount. This negates
the Recoil penalty, but may also restrict its arc of fire depending on how it’s mounted.
Type Range Damage AP RoF Shots Min Str. Weight Cost
Gatling Gun (.45) 24/48/96 2d8 2 3 100 d6 40 $1,500
Notes: Early Gatlings had a 20-round “stick” magazine (1 lb unloaded, 3.5 lbs loaded, $3). Later
models developed for the Battle of Washington feature a 100-round belt (5 lbs unloaded, 21 lbs
loaded, $12). Loading a new stick takes one action. Loading a new belt takes two actions.
29
RANGED WEAPONS
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
30
RANGED WEAPONS
RIFLES
Type Range Damage AP RoF Shots Min. Str Wt Cost
Ballard ’72 (.56) 24/48/96 2d8 2 1 1 d6 11 $24
Notes: Reload 3, black powder weapon.
Bullard Express (.50) 24/48/96 2d10 2 1 11 d8 11 $30
31
EXPLOSIVES
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
32
Customers can also have orders delivered
INFERNAL DEVICES to their doorstep. This takes 2d6 days via
train (or post if the item is small enough).
Infernal devices are products of the “New Payment must be made in advance at a bank
Science,” and all use ghost rock in some way. or sales outlet, which wires the factory to
Potions and elixirs require powdered ghost confirm receipt.
rock as a reagent, weapons and armors are
made with ghost steel plates or shavings, and RUSH ORDERS
33
COMMON INFERNAL DEVICES Liquid courage $30 —
Notes: This shot steels the nerves. Success adds
The following gizmos can be found at private +2 to Fear checks for 30 minutes, but the user
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
inventors and in the Smith & Robards and must succeed on a Smarts roll (–4) to run from
Hellstromme Industries’ catalogs. Most have life-threatening situations. A Catastrophic
been improved since their first introduction, Malfunction makes the hero Berserk (per the
Edge) and immune to Fear and Intimidation!
either in function, weight, or cost.
Restoration elixir $100 —
CLOTHES Notes: The drinker recovers all Fatigue levels.
Samson’s elixir $60 —
Item Cost Weight
Notes: Increases drinker’s Strength by two die
Hat periscope $200 12 types for 10 minutes.
Notes: Wearer can peer over and around Tactile desensitizer $30 —
obstacles. Notice rolls suffer a –2 penalty, and
Trait rolls for more complex actions performed Notes: The drinker ignores up to 2 points of
through the scope suffer a –4 penalty. Wound penalties for 10 minutes.
34
Mechanical mule $1,500 800
Notes: A steam-powered, mechanical, four-
legged walking device that moves at a steady
Pace 4 and can carry up to 1,000 pounds. The
operator controls and steers it with a levered
control stick. The mule can walk up to eight
hours on flat terrain per pound of ghost rock
expended. Size 1, Toughness 11 (2).
Powered de-moler $120 5
ARMOR
Ballistic Protection: Items marked with an asterisk reduce the damage from bullets by 2. (Ballistic
Protection in this era is 2 rather than the 4 of more modern equipment, such as that listed in Savage
Worlds.) Apply any Armor Piercing values after subtracting 2 from the bullet’s damage. All are made
from ghost steel, and subject to Malfunction.
Type Armor Min. Str Weight Cost Notes
Inventor’s apron +2 d4 4 $40 Torso and upper legs
Notes: The so-called “devil’s apron” covers the front torso and upper legs. It reduces damage from
fire or heat-based attacks to the wearer’s front torso and upper legs by 4, including those from most
powered infernal devices.
Armored hat (light) +1 d4 2 $40 Head
Armored hat (heavy) +2 d4 4 $80 Head
Armored vest/corset +2* d4 5 $100 Torso
(light)
Armored vest/corset +4* d6 10 $500 Torso
(heavy)
Armored duster (light) +2* d6 10 $200 Torso, arms, legs
Armored duster (heavy) +4* d8 20 $400 Torso, arms, legs
35
WEAPONS
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
36
VEHICLES
LAND VEHICLES
Top Speed
Vehicle Size Handling (MPH) Toughness Crew Cost
Rail Runner 4 (Large) −1 40 12 (5) 1+7 $2,500
Notes: A luxurious, enclosed cabin with rail wheels adjustable to any gauge track. When the tracks
37
CHAPTER
4
The year is 1884. In this modern world one Cowpokes who hit the trail in their own
can cross the entirety of North America by saddles make a Riding roll (−2) after each
steam train, traveling in style the whole week’s travel to see how well they handle
way. But most of the Weird West remains the trail’s rigors. A failure on the roll means
a savage frontier, a shadowy land holding a hero gains a level of Fatigue. On a Critical
oases of humanity—with equal measures of Failure the poor sod gains two levels
opportunity and mortal danger. of Fatigue.
This chapter covers the practical, day-to- Recovery requires 1d4 days of rest—
day realities of life out West in 1884. preferably in a bath house where he can
soak his brand-new aches and pains—which
removes all Fatigue levels.
GETTING AROUND
STAGECOACHES
For longer distances, the best bet is a stage.
The “civilized” world ends just west of the
Drivers stick to well-known routes—often
Mississippi. After that a traveler crosses
likely places for ambush, by the way—and
into the High Plains, the Sioux Nations, the
change horses every 15 miles or so to keep
Coyote Confederation, or Texas, Lord help
up a steady pace. Most reputable stagecoach
them. Travelers should tread cautiously and
lines average about 100 miles a day,
keep a six-shooter handy.
though less well-known ones realistically
average about 70.
HOOFING IT
Given favorable weather, a decent trail, a Stagecoaches are more comfortable than
healthy mount, and reasonably skilled riders, riding a horse. The coaches hang by leather
a posse can expect to travel 30 miles per day. straps to take away some of the bounce on
rough trails, but riders still need to make a
That being said, hoofing it across the West
Vigor roll (+2) after the trip. Failure means
is typically a bad idea for anything but the
one level of Fatigue that lasts a day. On a
shortest distances. The ride is long, hard,
Critical Failure the Fatigue lasts a week—
and uncomfortable, and horsemen tend to
better spend it on some plush pillows, amigo.
encounter outlaws, angry Indians, hungry
varmints, and all sorts of weird critters. Concords, by far the most popular
model, fit nine in the passenger
39
compartment and as many as can hold on up Train travel’s still dangerous. Besides
top. Six horses are typical for a stage, though outlaws there are the other rail companies
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
stages on shorter routes often use only four. to worry about. Some lines have dynamited
trestles and sent entire trainloads of honest
RIDING THE RAILS folks to their doom—just to inconvenience
Taking a train west is safer and faster than other Rail Barons. Hopping lines between
a stage or horse. If the train’s unmolested, it smaller companies can avoid this threat, but
covers 20 mph on average. This accounts for piecemeal passage costs twice as much.
multiple stops along the way and fuel refills,
There are other threats too. Sometimes
most often the water tank. Express trains
overnight trains show up at their destination
between larger cities—stopping only for fuel
with trembling passengers—or none at all.
and water—go 40 mph but cost double.
So night trains are rare, and to make sure
A train can only go as far as a railhead. To it’s worth any potential loss the cost is five
reach remote communities, a cowpoke has to times usual. Piecemeal and express passage
travel to the nearest railhead then hop a stage are mutually exclusive, but each stacks with
or ride a horse the rest of the way. overnight travel for 10× the cost!
Trains run on schedules (or try!). If your
game’s set in a rail town, Marshal, you
should create a schedule. Trains go to smaller DINERO
towns once or twice a day, and larger cities
twice as often. Half are express trains. Only a fool or a madman ventures into the
Weird West improperly outfitted. But to buy
For games without a schedule, roll a d12
any gear, folks need a way to pay for it. Most
when the posse looks for a train. The number
merchants out West don’t like paper money
rolled is the next hour a train leaves during
because its value tends to fluctuate. If a shop
the day. If that hour has already passed,
does take paper, it probably charges a 10–20
they have to wait until the next day. Best to
percent “exchange tax.”
check the train schedule in the morning! If
the number is the same as the current hour Metal’s always a safe bet. The United
or you need the exact time the train leaves, States issues coins minted from precious
roll the d12 again and multiply by 5 to metals (in various denominations, as shown
determine the minute it leaves. So a roll of 3 in the sidebar opposite), which can be spent
and 2 would have the next train leave at 3:10 on either side of the Mississippi River. Even
(possibly to Yuma). if a particularly tight businessman won’t
40
accept paper currency from Back East, he
usually accepts hard coin for the value of the
metal used in its minting. CURRENCY
41
GOVERNMENT MAIL steel—we’re talking hot, amigo. That’s why
ghost-rock boilers are made from ghost steel,
Postal rates vary based on the weight of the
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
42
are designated by Roman numerals within Western lawmen are a tough and
their army (I, II, etc.). independent breed, and this stubborn streak
often leads to a head-butting contest when a
Finally, three or four corps make up an
sheriff rides into an ornery marshal’s town.
army, almost always under the command of
43
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
44
desperado might wait anywhere from two And even though most folks are avid
to 10 weeks for a fair and speedy trial. Worse, readers of the Tombstone Epitaph, few admit
if the judge gets bushwhacked making his they believe the fantastical stories spun by
rounds, the accused has to wait even longer that rag on a regular basis. Certainly, weird
45
CHAPTER
5
SETTING RULES
47
to randomly discard one of his. Ignore this
BENNIES & FATE if it’s his last card—everyone finishes with
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
Fans of previous versions should note at least one. A Critical Failure when making
we’ve brought Deadlands in line with or resisting a Test also gives the foe an
our other Savage Worlds settings, where additional Hole Card.
Fate Chips are called Bennies and
Bystanders can Support an ally as usual.
Legend Chips are Conviction.
Testing a duelist’s foe is frowned on and
Bennies in Deadlands have the same might even discredit the ally depending on
effects as listed in Savage Worlds—rerolls, how obvious it is, but can be done. Allies
Soaking Wounds, new Action Cards, don’t get to affect either duelist’s Hole Card,
and so forth. There’s no distinction however, and have no additional effect on a
between red, blue, and white chips. raise (the enemy isn’t Shaken by Tests).
Otherwise, all the usual Combat Options
are available—except Aiming since no
On the first and second round, the weapons have been drawn yet. (The
bloodthirsty participants and any bystanders Marksman Edge is perfectly legal, however.)
who might want to get involved are dealt
The Third Round: At the start of the third
an Action Card as usual. They can perform
round, don’t deal Action Cards to the duelists
most actions (with a few exceptions noted
(deal bystanders in normally). Instead, both
below) except make an actual attack—that’s
characters simultaneously reveal the Hole
reserved for the third and final round.
Card of their choice (usually the highest).
Tests: Distracted and Vulnerable That’s their Action Card for this round, and
conditions incurred during the duel remain determines who goes first.
until the end of the third round. A raise on
Duels are voluntary by frontier custom so
a Test doesn’t Shake a duelist, however.
firing first isn’t generally considered murder.
Instead, the “attacker” can either draw a
If a duelist doesn’t want to shoot first though,
new Hole Card for himself or force the foe
he can let the other draw and try to interrupt
him before he fires. See Hold in Savage Worlds
for more, but a Joker doesn’t automatically
interrupt an action in a duel! It still adds +2
to the hero’s Athletics roll, though.
Death & Damage: If the attacker has one
or more additional Hole Cards higher than
his foe’s Action Card, he adds a single d6
bonus die to the damage of the shooter’s first
shot. Ignore the bonus damage if he shoots
more than once, whether he hits or not.
The Grim Reaper loves a good duel and
rewards the winner by making it a little less
likely his opponent just Soaks the damage
and fires back. For that reason, no one in a
duel can Soak Wounds from anyone else in
the duel. You gotta stand there and take it.
It’s the law of the West. You can Soak damage
caused by low-down cheatin’ varmints who
aren’t part of the throwdown, however.
After the third round of the duel, treat the
carnage and bloodshed as normal combat.
Bystanders can join in, folks can Soak as they
wish, and so on.
48
HANGIN' THROWDOWN AT
Sometimes the law moves too slow to suit
BLACK ROCK
people. Sometimes it’s just not around at all. Example: Gabe faces down Zeke, a low-down,
At such times, vigilante posses often take thievin’ rustler from Bleedin’ Kansas. They
care of matters with a dose of frontier justice. agree to duel at high noon. Both are dealt
This means chasing the suspect down like Hole Cards. Zeke is a Duelist (giving him
Setting Rules
an animal. If caught, he’s the guest of honor two extra Hole Cards) and he gets an Eight,
at a hemp party. That’s a hanging for you a Seven, and a Four. Gabe gets a lowly Two!
tinhorns, and it’s one of the worst Hazards On the first round, Gabe gets a Jack as
to be found in the Weird West. an Action Card and Zeke gets a Nine. Gabe
decides to Intimidate his rival with a steely
If a character is first dropped a few feet
gaze, and succeeds with a raise. He chooses to
(usually from horseback or a gallows), he
make Zeke Distracted, and draws a new Hole
makes a Vigor roll (−4). Failure means his
Card for himself. He gets a Nine.
neck snaps and he’s dead! A Critical Failure
Zeke goes next and Taunts Gabe, telling
does exactly what you might think. Though
him he couldn’t shoe a dead mule. The
if someone’s being hanged, they’re probably
rustler’s gang Supports Zeke with a few
not gonna need that noggin of theirs
words of encouragement and gives him a +2
anymore, are they?
bonus, but Zeke still just gets a success. He
Assuming the victim survives long enough decides to make Gabe Vulnerable.
to start worrying about little things like On the second round, Gabe goes first and
breathing, make a Vigor roll (at −6) each tells Zeke his mother dresses him funny. He
minute or suffer a level of Fatigue. Don’t rolls Taunt and gets a raise. Since Zeke is
worry, Stretch, it won’t take long. already Distracted, Gabe has to make him
Vulnerable this time. With his raise, he also
decides to make Zeke discard one of his Hole
STAMPEDES Cards—which turns out to be the Seven.
Zeke growls, “I’m gonna kill you, Gabe.”
He’s still Distracted but gets a success. Gabe
The slightest noise can cause a herd of cattle
resists—with Support from his constant
to stampede, and when it does it brings a
companion, Red, and beats Zeke’s opposed roll.
dang sight of difficulty for any cowpokes
The third round comes. Both men reveal
in its path.
their Hole Cards. Gabe’s Nine beats Zeke’s
Anyone caught in a stampede must Eight, but Gabe’s the lawful type and lets his
Evade as an action on their turn or take 2d6 foe draw first.
damage (more from certain critters, as listed Zeke goes for his gun and Gabe tries to
in their description). Add a bonus d6 if the interrupt. He has Quick Draw which adds
unfortunate soul Critically Fails to Evade. +2 to his Athletics roll, so he wins! Gabe fires
in self-defense at the still-Vulnerable outlaw
It usually takes three successful Evasions
and causes two Wounds.
to escape the tide of a typical herd, but
Zeke drops to a knee, Shaken. The beginning
shorter sprints to solid obstacles like rocks
of the round has passed so Zeke doesn’t get
or buildings might also carry one away from
his free roll to recover, but he spends a Benny
danger. You don’t have to make all three
so he can fire back before the duel is over.
Evasion rolls in a row—just three total.
He’s Distracted with two Wounds but Gabe
Rounding up a stampede of cattle usually is still Vulnerable (−2 total). Zeke manages
takes a few hours for the unlucky cowpokes to hit and Gabe takes a Wound. The duel is
responsible for them. now over, but the two gunslingers can keep
gunning each other down in normal combat
if they have the sand for it.
49
CHAPTER
6
NO MAN'S LAND
Players—avert your eyes unless the Marshal But now you have to come to terms with
told you to crack open this chapter and study up. the reality of the situation. You have to face
Mystery is crucial to the Weird West’s appeal and what you’ve become, Marshal. What’s inside
No Man’s Land is where we hide all the secrets… your worm-eaten mind. But here’s a silver
linin’ for ya: You got the power to help folks.
Listen up—my name’s Coot Jenkins. Most
THE PROSPECTOR RETURNS folks know me as the Prospector. And I’ve
come here specifically to see you. So we can
Looks like our Marshal is finally awake. And have a little powwow. Comprende? And quit
back a-hold of your senses, I calculate. You workin’ at them ropes. I tied ’em tight.
nearly punctured me with that coyote-sticker
There’s a group of folks spread all over the
before I regained the upper hand with my
world called the Twilight Legion. They delve
trusty shovel. Seems you and I have ridden
into the facts behind all those nasty things
this trail before. I guess the more things stay
that go bump in the night. Because it’s all real.
the same, the more they change.
They’re looking for folks to help root out
What’s ’at? Oh, I’ll tell you all about the
evil wherever it lurks. And they need people
atrocious brew I poured into your gullet.
to tell tales of their deeds, so we can spur a
Suffice to say it’s the only reason you and me
little hope in that huge, pooling darkness.
are sitting here having a polite conversation.
You think you’re up to the task, Marshal?
That is, instead of you making good on those
nasty things you threatened to do to me. Not Well, of course I’m recruiting you. The
to mention my corpse. And my kin. Legion’s got me rounding up all sorts of folks
to do the job. Hucksters, gunslingers, scouts,
Well, of course you don’t remember none of
shamans, martial artists, mad scientists, the
it. I declare, for a former lawman you’ve got
works. Travel from place to place and help
all the intellectual power of a stunted saguaro.
people in need is the basic job description.
All them blackouts you had? Stretches of time
simply vanished from your mind? You never Didn’t you used to do that before you met
got suspicious none of them times you woke up with that gunslinger, Killer Cade? I told
up, hands greasy with someone else’s blood? you all this because you’re going to work for
Way I figure it, you couldn’t face the truth. the Twilight Legion now…or I’m gonna
It’s a hard truth. I’ll grant you that. have to put you down.
51
Okay then. We’ll just sit here a spell until another devastating civil war, and many in
I see you stop trying to work free of them the Agency do just that. Behind the scenes,
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
ropes. You ain’t fooling me none. Let me just this means investigating and dealing with
set this here scattergun across my knees. supernatural evil.
See, that was the very last of my special
elixir. And I don’t recruit Harrowed no more
ORGANIZATION
Agents operate in the shadows and
if they can’t handle their own affairs. So just
operate independently in the field. Their
see what you can do about getting back in
headquarters in the West is located in
the driver’s seat, Marshal.
Denver, Colorado, but most Agents rarely
Or else I’d have to blow yer head off. And travel there. Individuals are instead assigned
that would be a damn shame. specific cases and track those down wherever
they lead. The higher an Agent’s grade, the
more dangerous the missions.
AGENTS During the war, the Texas Rangers were
tasked with similar duties throughout the
Edge: Agent Confederate states and territories. They
Requirements: Novice, Smarts d8+, came into frequent conflict with the Agency
Fighting d6+, Occult d6+, Shooting d6+ until the leaders of both organizations, Allan
Starting Equipment: Gatling pistol (kept Pinkerton and General William H. King,
hidden until needed), badge (+1 Per- realized their common goal—to fight the
suasion to law-abiding types), monthly strange rise of magic and monsters some
pay. Agents are issued mnemomizers at called the Reckoning. Their agreement was
Grade 2. called the “Twilight Protocol,” a truce that
paved the way for the cooperation of the
Note: If you’re playing an Agent, read
various legal authorities today, including the
the Territorial Rangers’ info too (page 73).
newly integrated Territorial Rangers.
These organizations know each other well.
Of course that doesn’t mean all
these groups like each other or get
THE AGENCY along personally—they just know
there are greater threats out there,
The United States government employed
and despite their differences,
the Pinkerton Detective Agency to
they’re all working toward
explore the strange supernatural
the same eventual goal.
phenomena that occurred after
the Battle of Gettysburg. Before
he was assassinated in April
WHAT THEY KNOW
All Agents know something
1865, President Lincoln decided
called the Reckoning either
the government needed tighter
created or empowered
control of these strange affairs
the rise of supernatural
and issued Executive Order 347,
creatures. They know
creating the new Special Services
magic is real and
Agency. Allan Pinkerton
generally where it
himself was retained to run it.
comes from, the
Since then, the Agency Harrowed are
has become the Union’s possessed by demons,
elite secret investigations and that an ancient order
arm with jurisdiction in all called the Twilight Legion
37 states. Officially, they’re has been hunting such
responsible for rooting creatures for millennium.
out sedition, corruption,
and other activities
that might lead to
52
RANK & ADVANCEMENT
New Agents are given a Gatling pistol upon AGENCY RANK
completion of their training course (free Grade Pay Max. Value of Favor
of charge) and credentials showing their 0 $40 1
employment as an official Agent. Most
1 $60 2
operatives like to keep their job private,
however, so as to better infiltrate all levels of 2 $80 3
No Man's Land
the communities they work in. 3 $120 4
Agents are ranked as Grade 0 through FAVORS
6. Player character Agents start as Grade 0
Clean/cover up a small operation 1
and are limited to Grade 3 in regular play.
with fewer than dozen witnesses.
Promotions come from taking the Agency
Promotion Edge (see page 54). Strong-arm a newspaper into printing 1
a particular version of a story.
Agents of Grade 0 through 3 know the Clean/cover up a large operation 2
basics of the Reckoning, who the four with more than a dozen witnesses.
Servitors are (or were), what Harrowed
Request specific information about a 2
and hucksters are, and that some critters sensitive topic, such as the Reckoning
are invulnerable until you find their or the corruption of a federal official.
specific weakness.
Quietly remove a county or local 3
Grades 4–5 are regional directors or official.
reserved for very special Agents in high Quietly remove a state or minor 4
places or sensitive locals. Grade 6 is reserved federal official, evacuate a town,
for the “Big Boss,” Allan Pinkerton himself. declare a disaster area, temporarily
close down a rail line.
They know much more about the Reckoning
and the sinister forces behind it.
Agents are paid each month depending
on their grade, wired to most any legitimate
bank in the country.
LESSER REQUESTS
Favors are big requests that require
By executive order, men, women, and
some off-screen pull from the Agency
persons of all backgrounds may be Agents.
itself. But Agents can always ask the
The only real requirement is allegiance to the
home office for lesser assistance, such as
United States of America.
money or information.
FAVORS Requesting aid costs a Benny and
Favors are requests an Agent can use to get allows the hero to request up to $200 for
a little help from the Agency itself. Of course equipment, travel, bribes, or hired help.
the operative has to be able to contact them
He can also spend a Benny to get basic
somehow—he can’t just ask for a cleaner
information about a critter previously
team in the middle of the wilderness with no
encountered by the Agency telegraphed
one around. But generally, if he can get word
or delivered to him by courier (in code).
to a known contact or a major city, he’ll get
what he asks for.
AUTHORITY
Every Agent starts play with one Favor,
Agents have federal authority across the
and gains another each time he helps lower
West, but like any law dog, must back it
the Fear Level (see page 84).
up with sheer willpower. Of course the
The maximum number of Favors an Agent badge helps, and if all else fails, a liberal
can spend on a single request is based on his demonstration of the Gatling pistol’s
Grade, as shown below (along with the pay deadly fire!
for his particular grade).
53
and effectiveness. The first time it’s taken he
THE MNEMOMIZER becomes a Grade 1 Agent. This grants him a
When an Agent reaches Security Grade 2,
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
54
A few chosen souls are nobler. They live
BLESSED the ideals of their faith and are beacons of
hope for others. These are collectively called
Edge: Arcane Background (Blessed) the “blessed.” Not all blessed are preachers
Requirements: Novice, Spirit d6+, Faith or nuns. The Lord truly works in mysterious
d4+ ways, and sometimes the most ornery cusses
Arcane Skill: Faith (Spirit) seem to inherit the divine wind, so to speak,
Starting Powers: 3 (holy symbol, plus two while the local padre can’t even light a candle
No Man's Land
of player’s choice) without a match.
Power Points: 15
Sometimes blessings are bestowed
Available Powers: Arcane protection,
because the soul beneath the surface is pure,
banish, barrier, beast friend, blind, boost/
other times because a particular person just
lower Trait, confusion, deflection, detect
happens to fit the Almighty’s divine—though
arcana (not conceal), dispel, divination,
often obscure—plan.
elemental manipulation, empathy, envi-
ronmental protection, havoc, healing, holy
symbol, light (not darkness), numb, pro-
tection, relief, resurrection, sanctify, sloth/
speed, smite, speak language, stun, warrior’s
gift.
Miracles: Blessed may take Edges that
require Arcane Background (Miracles).
Backlash: A Critical Failure on a Faith
roll causes the blessed a level of Fatigue
and all currently active powers are ter-
minated.
Sinnin’: Blessed who violate their core
beliefs (see Sin on page 56) are for-
saken by whatever forces of good grant
them their powers. Minor sins give the
character −2 to his Faith rolls for a week.
Major sins rob him of all arcane powers
for a week. Mortal sins cause the char-
acter to be forsaken until the penitent
hero completes some great quest or task
of atonement to regain his lost powers
(Marshal’s call).
PLAYING A BLESSED
Blessed are people who have been granted
supernatural abilities by mysterious and
distant powers of good. Some are priests or
actual clergy while others are simply chosen
for the nobility of their struggle or their soul.
Though most are enlightened and good by
nature they don’t have to be—sometimes the
light chooses even troubled souls to carry
out its will.
Most folks on the frontier pay lip service
to God—or Allah, or the Spirits, or whoever
drives the wagon in their particular hallelujah
hayride—but they don’t really stop sinning
unless they’re about to meet him face to face.
55
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
56
A sifu might be the head of a renowned
CHI MASTERS martial arts school or a wandering wise
man most mistake for a saddletramp.
Edge: Arcane Background (Chi Master) Most of the sifu’s students “graduate” as
Requirements: Novice, Agility d6+, competent martial artists; only a few learn
Spirit d6+, Martial Artist, Focus d4+ to master their chi. The key for these rare
Arcane Skill: Focus (Spirit) few is embracing a deep spiritual philosophy,
Starting Powers: 3 (deflection, plus two finding harmony with nature and the
No Man's Land
of player’s choice) world, and most importantly, the ability to
Power Points: 15 channel power from the Hunting Grounds
Available Powers: Arcane protection, without an intermediary such as a demon or
boost/lower Trait, burrow, curse, darksight, nature spirit.
deflection, detect arcana (not conceal),
empathy, environmental protection, farsight, PLAYING A CHI MASTER
healing, numb, protection, relief, sloth/speed, Would-be chi masters must take the Martial
smite (hands and feet count as weapons Artist Edge (see Savage Worlds) to reflect the
for this power), wall walker, warrior’s gift. physical aspect of their training. The Arcane
Gifted: Chi masters may take Edges that Background (Chi Master) Edge covers the
require Arcane Background (Gifted). mystical side of things.
Backlash: A Critical Failure on a Focus
The role of a chi master is to
roll causes the chi master a level of
bring peace and harmony
Fatigue and all currently active powers
to the world. Sometimes
are terminated.
that might require a quiet
Internal Focus: Chi masters focus power
word or a shining example.
from the Hunting Grounds through their
Other times, the only way
bodies. Beneficial powers have a Range
to settle a situation might
of Self (instead of the listed Range) and
be sudden and relentless
can’t be cast on others. Detrimen-
violence. Even here most
tal powers (such as lower Trait
chi masters prefer to use
or sloth) can affect others but
nonlethal attacks so that
the Range is Touch. Unwilling
the defeated may learn a
targets must be contacted via a
lesson—”The dead do not
Touch attack — then the power
learn,” one sifu has said.
may be cast on them as a
Multi-Action. Neither Heroic chi masters back up their
Range reduction grants companions, fight for human rights
the Limitation bonus and dignity, and never shirk their
for Self or Touch. duty when confronting the horrors of
the Reckoning.
THE CUP OVERFLOWS Evil chi masters seek to bring order
Learning martial arts
to chaos by gathering like-minded
requires years of training.
martial artists and eliminating
Becoming a chi master takes
anyone who stands in the way of
even longer, and requires
whatever it is they desire.
a teacher known as
a sifu. The mentor
teaches the student how
to channel mystical energy into
her body and use it to enhance her
martial prowess.
57
TRAPPINGS merizing calm to startling strikes in a
terrifying instant.
Chi masters’ powers are generally perceived
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
as being part of the fighter’s martial arts Once per round, anyone who fails a
style rather than “magic,” but those who Fighting attack against the martial artist is
know better always realize arcane energy is Distracted or Vulnerable (martial artist’s
involved. Intricate forms, rapid strikes, and choice). This is particularly effective when
special breathing techniques can all focus the combined with the Counterattack Edge.
chi and funnel arcane energy.
MONKEY: The hero shakes her limbs like
a primate, contorting and twisting in odd
CHI MASTER EDGES ways that throw off surrounding foes.
Though it’s not a requirement, chi masters The martial artist gains +2 Parry, rapidly
should strongly consider the Chi Edge slapping and blocking away his foes’
from Savage Worlds to augment their strikes. She may also make an Athletics
abilities as well. Test against all adjacent foes as a single
action. Each one resists separately.
SUPERIOR KUNG FU SHUAI CHAO: This form emphasizes light
REQUIREMENTS: Novice, Spirit d6+, Arcane Back- grappling techniques followed by throws
ground (Chi Master), Fighting d8+ or strikes. Once per round, when a foe
Through years of concentrated study fails a Fighting attack against the martial
under his wizened teacher, your hero has artist, she may make a grapple attempt
mastered several styles or stances that make as a free action (see Grappling in Savage
up her particular practice of kung fu. Worlds).
Choose one of the options below the first TAN TUI: The chi master focuses her attack
time you take this Edge, and another each into a powerful snap kick—increasing
additional time you take it. her unarmed combat damage for one
Fighting attack per round by one die type.
As a free action at the start of her turn, she
If the attack causes the foe to be Shaken or
can assume any one of the styles she’s taken
Wounded, he’s also knocked back 1d4”
below. The benefits of the style remain in
with success, or 1d4+2” with a raise. With
place until she changes to a different one.
a successful Athletics roll, she can also
DRUNKEN STYLE: The fighter weaves rise from being prone without costing her
around like she’s out of her tree on fire the usual 2” of movement.
water, making her moves hard to follow
WING CHUN: Wing Chun focuses on fast
or predict due to her staggering gait.
blocks and flexibility against attacks, like
Opponents subtract 2 from attack rolls to
bamboo before a storm. This gives the
hit her, but her Pace is reduced by 2 (she
warrior +1 Parry and subtracts 2 from
may still run).
any melee damage she takes while using
EAGLE CLAW: The warrior holds her this style.
hands like claws, then strikes quickly
and viciously at the enemy like a pecking CELESTIAL KUNG FU
raptor. This gives her unarmed Fighting REQUIREMENTS: Veteran, Spirit d8+, Superior
attacks AP 4, and it’s considered a Heavy Kung Fu, Fighting d10+
Weapon!
More options become available to a
This ability is critical for those chi martial artist as she masters the mystical and
masters who find themselves pitted physical aspects of her art.
against heavily armored foes, like Dr.
A hero with this Edge gains an additional
Hellstromme’s metal automatons!
style from Superior Kung Fu and may
MANTIS: A mantis student holds her assume two styles at once using either or both
hands like hooks, moving from mes options as she sees fit. She may change one
or both as a free action at the start of her turn.
58
Agency, perhaps mistakenly, chose the term
HARROWED “manitou,” an old Algonquin word for spirit.
This creature—the manitou—not only brings
Edge: Harrowed or Damned the dead man or woman back to unlife, but
Requirements: Wild Card, Novice, slowly grants him or her powers as well.
Spirit d6+ These undead are called the Harrowed—
Harrowed Edges: Demonic power grants literally, “dragged from the earth.”
the character access to Harrowed Edges.
No Man's Land
Let the Devil Out: The Harrowed BECOMING HARROWED
embraces his inner demon’s power, Players can take the Edge to have a hero
though it may cost him his soul. See begin the game Harrowed or a Legendary
Dominion on page 60. Edge (Damned) to ensure they end up that
Undead: +2 to Toughness and Spirit rolls way, but every Wild Card has a chance to
to recover from Shaken, ignore addi- join their deathly ranks just by getting killed!
tional damage from Called Shots except
When a hero dies, and still has most of a
to the head, ignore 1 point of Wound
brain intact, the GM shuffles the Action Deck
penalties, doesn’t breathe, immune
and deals one card for each of the hero’s
to disease and poison, doesn’t Bleed
Ranks. If a Joker comes up, the hombre’s
Out, and is only permanently slain by
on his way back from the bone orchard
destroying the brain.
with a demon from the Hunting Grounds
by his side.
DRAGGED FROM THE EARTH
Every so often, when a cowpoke’s number
comes up, an evil spirit from the Hunting THE UNLIFE OF A HARROWED
Grounds captures the departing soul, drags
To say a Harrowed’s life has its ups and
it screaming back into its corpse, and prods it
downs is probably the understatement of
to crawl back out of the grave—whether the
the year. Sure, being a walking corpse has its
host wants to or not!
advantages—it’s hard to kill something that’s
These evil spirits have many names, already dead—but there’s the whole “being
such as demons, devils, or shades, but the a walking corpse” aspect to consider as well.
59
of infernal power. This is called “letting the
DEATH WOUNDS devil out,”and adds +d6 to all Trait and
Harrowed all have at least one scar that never
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
60
Finally, Harrowed can’t catch normal massive damage if the GM thinks it would
diseases. Supernatural diseases and effects destroy the noggin). If the brain is mush, the
are fair game, though. The Reckoners have a manitou and the Harrowed are truly dead.
funny sense of humor sometimes.
The resurrection power can restore a
Harrowed to life. If this occurs, the demon is
SLEEP slain and he loses all his Harrowed abilities.
Although a Harrowed doesn’t need to sleep,
Of course the manitou does everything in its
the manitou requires 1d6 hours of rest every
No Man's Land
power to prevent such a thing!
24 hours to recharge its malevolent energies.
When it’s time to “sleep,” the manitou
simply shuts down the body. It entertains
HEALING
Harrowed who get their daily requirement
itself during this time by subjecting its
of meat may make a natural healing roll
host’s consciousness to her worst nightmare
every five days as usual. The deader must
or occasionally taking it for a walk to
physically stitch herself up somehow (needle
do something nasty (per the Mischief
and thread, baling wire, etc.), they can even
and Murder results on the Dominion
reattach body parts (assuming they aren’t
Table, page 87).
disintegrated).
A Harrowed can’t simply take a stimulant
The very existence of these walking
to stay awake. The hero can try to resist, but
corpses is an affront to the spirits of nature.
she must make a Spirit roll every hour or keel
No beneficial magic from Indian shamans—
over on the spot. This roll gets harder as time
including healing—affects them, though
drags on, with each additional roll suffering
detrimental or damage-causing powers work
a cumulative −1 penalty to a maximum of −3.
just fine.
The manitou maintains some awareness
of its surroundings, so a Harrowed is just COUNTING COUP
as likely to wake up as other folks if trouble A lot of nasties lurk in the Weird West. Most
rears its head. of these creatures have at least a spark of
supernatural energy in them, and the most
WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT? powerful have a lot. When one of these
Common folk are inherently wary of the critters dies, a Harrowed closer than the
Harrowed. Their attitudes are generally creature’s Spirit die in game inches can
Unfriendly and Persuasion rolls to bargain “count coup” on it and absorb its essence.
with them suffer a −2 penalty. This drops to
Harrowed who count coup gain some
Hostile and −4 if they saw the Harrowed do
pretty strange abilities, but some powers
something truly grotesque or horrific.
come with a drawback as well. Taking all
On the plus side, being Harrowed counts that evil inside is no small thing. In any
as the Requirement for the Menacing Edge case, Harrowed can only count coup on the
(see Savage Worlds). more powerful creatures of the Weird West.
Lesser critters just don’t have enough mojo
UNDEATH to collect.
It should come as no surprise that living dead
If more than one Harrowed is within
are fairly resilient. Harrowed add +2 to recover
range to count coup, they make opposed
from Shaken and don’t suffer Fatigue from
Spirit rolls to see which of them gets the
Hazards they’re immune to, such as those
honors. If a Harrowed can gain a coup power
related to breathing. They suffer Wounds
from a creature, it’s listed in the creature’s
normally, but ignore one level of Wound
description. The Marshal has the details on
penalties. If Incapacitated, roll Vigor as normal.
what powers come from each creature.
If they “die” from anything other than a head
shot, they’re only put down for 1d6 days,
after which they wake up with three Wounds.
UNCLEAN ABOMINATION!
Undeath isn’t all posies and ice cream,
Harrowed can only be killed by destroying hombre. By their very existence
the brain (a Called Shot to the head, or Harrowed are abominations and
61
affronts to life. Regardless of the host’s nature,
Harrowed always count as supernaturally
CLAWS
REQUIREMENTS: Novice, Harrowed
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
62
INFEST deader (GM’s call), and the power can’t be
REQUIREMENTS: Novice, Harrowed used on the same target more than once in
the same general encounter. The Harrowed
Like many aspects of nature, insects
can choose to take a level of Fatigue to
have spiritual counterparts in the Hunting
instead affect all targets within 12”.
Grounds. Manitous have a knack for
controlling creepy-crawlies, and some pass
this along to their hosts. A character with this
STITCHIN’
No Man's Land
icky ability can control swarms of biting or REQUIREMENTS: Novice, Harrowed
stinging insects. A dead man with Stitchin’ regenerates
much faster than normal—he may make a
Infest doesn’t give the Harrowed the ability
natural healing roll every day, provided he
to actually create bugs or summon them
consumes a pound of meat for each attempt.
from great distances. They must already be
present in the immediate vicinity (Marshal’s
call), but the deader’s swarm doesn’t have to
IMPROVED STITCHIN’
be composed of a single species. To summon REQUIREMENTS: Veteran, Harrowed, Stitchin’
the swarm, she uses an action and spends a As above, but the deader rolls every hour.
Benny to call forth a mass of spiders, roaches,
and millipedes into one wriggling, biting, SUPERNATURAL ATTRIBUTE
unholy horde. REQUIREMENTS: Novice, Harrowed
The Harrowed controls the swarm until it Supernatural Attribute immediately
dissipates—when destroyed or after about improves any one attribute by two die types
five minutes. See Swarm in Savage Worlds for (e.g., a d12 becomes d12+2). This Edge may
the critters’ statistics and Special Abilities. be taken up to five times, once for each
attribute. This increases the limit for that
SOUL EATER Trait (and any linked skills) a like amount.
REQUIREMENTS: Veteran, Harrowed
Nothing about the Harrowed is pleasant.
WITHER
If they aren’t eating something’s flesh, REQUIREMENTS: Novice, Harrowed
preferably raw and wiggling, the demon This horrifying Edge lets a deader
inside often goes for raw life force instead. unnaturally age her victim. As an action, the
Harrowed must touch her target and make
If the Harrowed causes a Wound or more
an opposed Spirit roll. If the undead wins,
with a successful barehanded Fighting
the victim’s flesh and bone wither and decay,
attack (including Claws if he has them), he
reducing Strength a die type (to a minimum
may make a Spirit roll at −2 immediately
of d4) for one hour. With a raise, both
afterward as a free action. If successful, he
Strength and Vigor are reduced a die type.
may heal one of his own Wounds (or a level
Multiple uses of Wither on the same target
of Fatigue, as he chooses). Inflicting multiple
don’t stack, but the Harrowed may make
Wounds has no additional effect.
secondary attempts to get the raise effect.
SPOOK
REQUIREMENTS: Novice, Harrowed
Every so often, an unfortunate soul gets
“THIS LITTLE SCRATCH? AIN’T NOTHIN’
a glimpse of the thing that lives inside a A POUND O’ FLESH WON’T FIX. NOW
Harrowed. Some run for the hills when they
see it. Others might just give a little whimper.
COME HERE AND LEMME GET AT IT.”
But everyone is affected by it, even the most
–The Gal With No Name
stalwart soul.
As an action, a Harrowed can force a single
target to make a Fear check at −2. The victim
must be reasonably close or able to see the
63
up with a cover story for his journal of the
HUCKSTERS arcane. You and I call it Hoyle’s Book of Games.
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
64
can add any leftover Power Points to his
PLAYING A HUCKSTER Spellcasting roll or his personal total.
If a Huckster wants to play it safe, he can
cast hexes as usual and use up his precious Here’s how to do it:
Power Points in the normal way. If he’s
1. Ante Up: Spend a Benny. That’s the cost
in a gambling mood, though, he can risk
the manitou requires to play, partner!
everything for more power.
2. Choose a Power: Tell the Marshal
The would-be warlock must first learn
No Man's Land
which power your huckster is trying to cast
to communicate with the manitous. This is
and total up the number of Power Points it
easier said than done, especially since the
requires, including all Power Modifiers.
huckster is trying to do more than scream
at the spirits to leave him alone (like most 3. Gamble: Make a Gambling roll, then
well-balanced folks would do in the same draw five cards plus one extra card for a
circumstances). success or two with a raise (no cheating on
this roll, amigo, the manitou is watching).
Assuming he’s successful, the huckster
Failure simply means you get no additional
tempts the manitou into a game of wits. This
cards. A Critical Failure means you get
contest between hucksters and manitous
no additional cards, and after the spell is
is entirely cerebral, but most hucksters
resolved, the Marshal rolls on the Backfire
visualize the process as some sort of game.
Table! (See page 88.)
The vast majority “play” poker, though a few
play cribbage, rummy, or mahjong. 4. Make a Poker Hand: Put together the
best poker hand from the cards you drew
DEALING WITH THE DEVIL and consult the Dealing with the Devil
Instead of casting a spell normally, a Table. Jokers are Wild Cards that can be
huckster can choose to engage his used as any other card, and you get
manitou directly. This is more your ante (Benny) back!
dangerous than the huckster’s
usual game, but has much greater
potential as well.
Dealing with the Devil is
an action which includes
casting the spell but can
only be attempted once per
turn. While the game seems
to take minutes or
even hours in the
Hunting Grounds,
only a few seconds
pass in the real world.
You can
There are two only use the
main reasons a Power Points granted by
huckster might the hand—not your own
want to Deal pool—when Dealing
with the Devil. with the Devil.
First, he can cast
If you didn’t get
any spell in his Available
enough Power Points,
Powers list, even those he
subtract however many
doesn’t normally know,
points you came up short
and including those
from the Spellcasting roll
above his current Rank!
in the next step—the game
Second, with a ain’t over yet!
good hand, he
65
5. Cast the Spell: Now make a Spellcasting fools most folks who don’t know exactly
roll at −2 for each Rank the power is above what they’re looking for.
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
66
Hexslingers who learn Holliday’s secrets extremely crazy. Hucksters with Whateley
gain the ammo whammy power (page 75) spirit running through their veins have
and can create their own rune-engraved “hex learned “blood magic.”
guns.” This takes four hours per weapon,
Many of the Whateleys are deformed,
most of which is spent inscribing the barrel
although your hero doesn’t have to be (take
with various runes. The weapon can be any
the appropriate Hindrance if he is). All have
firearm—a pistol is common, but nothing
some telltale mark—pale skin, jet-black hair,
stops a hero from making a hex gun out of
No Man's Land
long fingernails, sallow complexion, and so
a derringer or even a Gatling if she wants!
on, and all have green eyes.
Once complete, any hexslinger can use that
Whatever mark you choose, there’s
weapon to cast any of the following powers
something about their tainted blood that
(assuming they have them) on or with the
puts folks off. That unsettled feeling reduces
hex gun without incurring a Multi-Action
the huckster’s Persuasion rolls by 1, though
penalty: ammo whammy, deflection, boost
many overcome it with other Edges taken
Shooting, and protection.
separately (Attractive, Charismatic, etc.).
These spells have a Range of Self when
Now for the meat of the Edge. A huckster
cast in this way and can’t use the Additional
with Whateley Blood can voluntarily suffer a
Recipients modifier if they have it. Activation
Fatigue level for 5 Power Points, or a Wound
causes the runes on the weapon to glow
for 10. This is done exactly as you’d think—
subtly, throw sparks, or some similar effect.
by cutting, carving, or otherwise maiming
themselves (as a free action, which makes
HIGH ROLLER it pretty messy!). Whateleys are a slippery
REQUIREMENTS: Seasoned, Spirit d8+, Arcane bunch, so if this Incapacitates the caster he
Background (Huckster), Spellcasting d6+ completes his turn before keeling
Go high or go home. Your hero draws an over for a dirt nap.
extra card anytime he Deals with the Devil
(see page 65).
OLD HAND
REQUIREMENTS: Heroic, Arcane Background
(Huckster), Spellcasting d10+
With knowledge comes power, and this
huckster knows when to say when. After you
form a five-card poker hand when Dealing
with the Devil, you can discard up to three
cards and redraw!
WHATELEY BLOOD
REQUIREMENTS: Novice, Arcane Background
(Huckster)
Somewhere in your family tree is a
crooked branch known as the Whateleys.
This twisted family of inbred witches
and warlocks is known by arcane
types as being powerful—and
67
ghost rock. Whether smelted into ghost steel
MAD SCIENTISTS to reinforce their boilers, or powdered and
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
68
Mad scientists take great pride in their The Alchemy Edge is a bit of a cheat,
inventions, giving them outlandish names allowing a character to create up to three
to differentiate their creations from others, potions or elixirs, investing a single Power
whether they ultimately wish to sell Point in each. Creating the potions takes 30
their designs or market them for future minutes and $5 worth of various reagents
manufacture once they “work out the each, and always includes at least a pinch of
kinks.” An inventor’s weapon is never just a ghost rock. No Weird Science roll is made—
flamethrower, for example, it’s “Dr. Jergen’s creation is automatically successful, and
No Man's Land
Amazing Incendiary Device” or “Professor creates any mix of the potions listed below.
Plum’s Pernicious Purifier.” The more These can be given away freely and last for
outlandish, it seems, the more press one 24 hours. The scientist doesn’t get the Power
tends to get—perhaps even an invitation Points back until they’re used, discarded,
to join the prestigious “Collegium,” a loose or expire.
society of New Science inventors.
Drinking one potion is an action.
You should do the same for your powers.
Snake Oil: The recipient makes a
Rather than a healing power, give it the Self
natural healing roll. Success heals one
Limitation and call it an “Electrifying Elixir
Wound and a raise heals two.
for All Common Ailments & Maladies”!
Focusing Elixir: Add +1 to any one
Trait’s rolls (alchemist’s choice when
MAD SCIENTIST EDGES created) for three rounds.
Peptonic: The recipient makes a Vigor
ALCHEMY roll. Success removes one level of
REQUIREMENTS: Seasoned, Arcane Background Fatigue, and a raise removes two.
(Mad Scientist), Weird Science d8+
Weird scientists can already make potions,
IRON BOUND
elixirs, tinctures, and the like depending REQUIREMENTS: Novice, Arcane Background (Mad
on the Trappings of their powers. They can Scientist)
use them on others, but can’t “give” them Everyone has to learn their trade
to others unless they craft the item with the somewhere. Your mad scientist apprenticed
Artificer Edge (see Savage Worlds). to a master craftsman, or worked in a
69
Hellstromme Industries factory, Smith This is obviously a dangerous practice,
& Robards workshop, or even one of the but greatly increases the Weird Scientist’s
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
70
Nature spirits are generally ambivalent
SHAMANS about human affairs, but they do seem
somewhat rattled and upset about the power
Edge: Arcane Background (Shaman) their evil counterparts have gained in the last
Requirements: Novice, Spirit d8+, Faith couple of decades. Perhaps this is why they
d4+ seem more willing to help those who call
Arcane Skill: Faith (Spirit) upon them, though they still require proper
Starting Powers: 2 sacrifice and ritual for their attention.
No Man's Land
Power Points: 15
This is the shaman’s responsibility, to
Available Powers: Arcane protection,
contact the spirit world on behalf of his chief
banish, beast friend, blind, boost/lower
and tribe and ask for guidance and aid.
Trait, burrow, confusion, curse, darksight,
deflection, detect/conceal arcana, disguise, Most are spiritual leaders and healers for
dispel, divination, drain Power Points, ele- their people, though some are war leaders
mental manipulation, empathy, entangle, as well. Some shamans are feared, but all
environmental protection, farsight, fear, are respected. All must set an example for
growth (not shrink), havoc, healing, holy their people and live a life that pleases the
symbol, intangibility, numb, protection, spirits that grant their powers. Shaman
relief, resurrection, sanctify, shape change, characters who don’t uphold these beliefs
sloth/speed, slumber, smite, speak language, find the spirits rarely listen to their pleas,
summon ally, teleport, wall walker, warrior’s and a shaman ignored by the spirits isn’t a
gift, wilderness walk. shaman for long.
Miracles: Shamans may take Edges that
require Arcane Background (Miracles). NATURE SPIRITS
Backlash: A Critical Failure on a Faith Nature spirits watch over and nurture their
roll causes the shaman a level of Fatigue particular charge. A river spirit protects the
and all currently active powers are ter- river, buffalo spirits guide the herd, and so
minated. on. Their sacrifice, and that of the physical
Old Ways: The shamans represented flora and fauna they provide for humanity’s
here are based on the Sioux and Plains needs, is sacred to Indians. Meat and clothing
Indians as described in the world of come from the animals they represent. Tools
Deadlands. They don’t have to take the come from rocks and trees. Water and
Old Ways Oath (page 16) but most do. conveyances from rivers and streams. Breath
GMs are encouraged to research other from the air. These aren’t just resources to
Native American cultures and tailor the nature spirits, they are wonders—given
Edges to particular customs and beliefs. freely to the humans through the great and
terrible sacrifice of their creation’s death or
PLAYING A SHAMAN destruction.
“Indians,” as Westerners call Native
The spirits have no affection for mass-
Americans, have known about the spirits for
produced items that have no connection to
thousands of years. The most knowledgeable
nature or a human soul. They’re repulsed by
of all are “medicine” men or women, or
machines that destroy or pollute the earth.
collectively, “shamans.”
They’re appalled by steam-powered trains
In the modern era, the spirits rarely and wagons that crush the land beneath them,
answered the shamans’ calls. After the large mines operated by scores of men who
Reckoning began in 1863, they suddenly sell the earth’s riches for products made by
seemed a lot more talkative—and willing others, and most of all, the cancer that runs
to lend their supernatural abilities to through the earth’s very veins—ghost rock.
“the People.”
This is why many shamans follow the “Old
With their aid, several tribes were able to Ways.” They respect and pay homage to the
carve out and hold territories for themselves, natural gifts and sacrifices the spirits grant
resisting the inevitable encroachment of humanity. Much like hucksters channel
Europeans. magical energy through manitous,
71
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
72
headquarters company, and is usually based
TERRITORIAL RANGERS in the largest city of the territory.
A company officially consists of 100
Edge: Territorial Ranger
men and women led by a captain or major.
Requirements: Novice, Vigor d6+,
Suitable recruits are hard to find and the job
Fighting d6+, Intimidation d6+, Riding
is dangerous, however, so most companies
d6+, Shooting d6+, Survival d4+
struggle to keep more than 50 butts
Starting Equipment: Armored duster
No Man's Land
in saddles.
(+2), shotgun of the Ranger’s choice,
horse, badge (+1 Persuasion to law-abid- Most Rangers are “Field Rangers.”
ing types, +1 Intimidation to outlaws), They’re tasked with patrolling or wandering
Fugitives from Justice in the U.S. Territo- particular towns or counties for trouble,
ries. Rangers are issued Chapter 13 of tracking down regular criminals, or escorting
that book on attaining the rank of Lieu- groups of Twilight Legionnaires when
tenant. some abomination rears one or more of its
ugly heads.
Note: If you’re playing a Territorial Ranger,
you can read the Agents’ info too (page 52). Those Rangers who show more sand than
These organizations know each other well. the rest—which is saying something—are
promoted to sergeants. They operate in
the same way, but are the first to be given
THE RANGERS command when a posse of other Rangers or
After the Civil War, the United States hired guns are called for.
officially acknowledged or created “ranger”
Next in command are two to three
outfits in the remaining
Lieutenants, stationed at the most
territories. The new units
populous or troublesome
were modeled after the
spots in the territory. They
Texas Rangers, who had
hand out assignments to all
proved so effective at policing
the other Rangers in their
the frontier during the war.
district and help keep lines
US Marshals would handle of communication open
law in the states, and Territorial between them.
Rangers would bring law and order
to the territories. Both groups can WHAT THEY KNOW
actively pursue cases “pertinent” to Like US Agents, Rangers
their jurisdictions anywhere they see know something called
fit, so in reality, the two organizations the Reckoning either
often work side-by-side west of the created or empowered
Mississippi River, and sometimes east the rise of supernatural
of it as well. creatures. They know
magic is real and
The precedent for cooperation
generally where it comes
was set in the war’s final days under
from, the Harrowed
an agreement called the “Twilight
are possessed by
Protocol.” Anytime Agents or Rangers
demons, and that an
felt there was an existential threat to
ancient order called
humanity, they were obliged to set
the Twilight Legion
aside their “pistol-measuring contest”
has been hunting such
for the greater good.
creatures for millennia.
ORGANIZATION Ranger Lieutenants
Ranger companies are organized by have a bit more detailed
territory, and lettered A through F. information (see
An additional Company H is their Chapter 13, below).
73
secret Chapter 13 of the Fugitives from Justice
RANK & ADVANCEMENT in U.S. Territories book.
Player characters start as Field Rangers.
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
They’re given a badge, a horse, a shotgun, Chapter 13 goes into detail on the many
and a light armored duster (see page 35). weird and unexplainable events Rangers
They’re also given a copy of Fugitives from have encountered since the Reckoning
Justice in the US Territories, which details the began in 1863. This includes a bestiary of
known habits and haunts of criminals and common supernatural critters, the notion
gangs wanted all over the West. that the Reckoners are the Four Horsemen,
a brief essay on “terrorforming,” who the
Pay is $40 a month for Field Rangers, with
four Servitors are (or were), lore regarding
a guaranteed voucher honored by most
the Harrowed, and the general truth about
banks in the territory.
magic, miracles, and mad science.
In 1870, the Rangers admitted women into
Rangers with access to Chapter 13 add
their ranks. In 1872, the government replaced
+2 to Occult rolls to identify supernatural
some personnel and merged the Rangers
critters and their capabilities or Weaknesses.
with other territorial law enforcement outfits
Those who don’t have access can always
to officially create the Territorial Rangers.
must wire headquarters and hope one of
The Rangers’ current deputy director is
the “researchers”—Rangers retired by their
Lydia Oakes, a former US Marshal.
injuries—dig up the necessary information
and feel like sharing (use the system for
FAVORS Lesser Requests on 53).
Rangers are expected to handle most trouble
themselves, hence the motto, “One riot, one
Ranger.” But the organization knows it’s a big RANGER EDGES
evil world out there, and even the toughest
Ranger needs a little help now and then. RANGER PROMOTION
Rangers earn Promotions & Favors (page REQUIREMENTS: Seasoned, Territorial Ranger
53) just like Agents. They start play with Your Ranger’s been promoted to Sergeant.
one Favor and gain another each time they He gets a slight increase in pay, a Gatling
help lower the Fear Level. shotgun or rifle if he likes, and he can request
higher Favors.
The maximum number of Favors a Ranger
can spend on a single request (any one of the You can take this Edge a second time
categories listed on the Favors Table on page for a promotion to Lieutenant. This grants
53) is based on his rank, as shown on the him Chapter 13 of Fugitives from Justice (see
table below. Of course the Ranger must also above) as well as a little extra dinero and the
be able to reach someone in authority who ability to request greater Favors.
can grant the request.
At Heroic Rank, a Ranger can take this Edge
one last time to gain promotion to Captain,
RANGER RANK granting him access to 4-point Favors.
Grade Pay Max Value of Favor
Field Ranger $40 1
LIKE AN OAK
REQUIREMENTS: Veteran, Grit, Territorial Ranger
Sergeant $60 2
Few things settle the nerves of a posse like
Lieutenant $80 3
the sight of a Ranger standing toe-to-toe with
Captain $120 4 some horrific abomination.
All allies within 12” of the Ranger negate
CHAPTER 13 up 2 points of Fear penalties when making a
When a Ranger reaches the rank of Lieutenant, Fear check. If the Ranger fails his Fear check
he’s called to the territorial headquarters and or is Shaken or Stunned, the allies do not get
thrown a shindig. Then he’s given the the benefit. If a group makes the check at the
same time, the Ranger goes first.
74
EXPLOSIVE: The shot causes damage in a
NEW POWERS Small Blast Template.
FLARE: Firing this “flare” shot into the
The following new powers are found only in
night sky removes Illumination penalties
Deadlands: The Weird West.
in the immediate area for one minute.
If fired indoors, roll a d6: On a 2–6, the
AMMO WHAMMY bullet ignites flammable materials it
Rank: Seasoned
No Man's Land
strikes.
Power Points: 4
Range: Self GHOST BULLET: The shot is half in this
Duration: 5 world and half in the Hunting Grounds,
giving it AP 6.
This power can only be used by a huckster
with the Hexslinging Edge (see page 66). KENTUCKY WINDAGE: Doubles the shot’s
Arcane runes on the barrel of a hex gun Range.
trigger various powers on the bullets inside,
LOADED FOR BEAR: The shot is a Heavy
giving them extra punch and other surprises
Weapon and increases the gun’s base
for those foolish enough to tangle with him!
damage one die type. A pistol that does
While the power is active, the hexslinger 2d6 does 2d8 with this deadly round.
can choose any one of the effects below to
SACRAMENTO SURPRISE: This shot
apply to each shot fired from his weapon (or
surges with power of some sort—fire,
two simultaneous effects with a raise!).
electricity, cold, etc. It’s especially useful
ARGENT AGONY: The shot affects a against creatures with an Environmental
being as though it were composed of its Weakness!
Weakness. The hexslinger must know the
creature’s Weakness, and it doesn’t work BANISH
against certain powerful foes, such as the Rank: Veteran
Servitors. The manitous don’t have the Power Points: 3
ability to match that kind of mojo. Range: Smarts
Duration: Instant
BULLET WITH YOUR NAME ON IT: Add +2
to the hexslinger’s Shooting roll. Banish works as described in Savage Worlds,
but using it on the Harrowed requires some
additional description.
75
The manitou inside a Harrowed can never Attacks include area effect attacks that
be permanently banished or destroyed with would catch the bearer in their template,
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
this power—it’s bound to the host, body and but wouldn’t affect knocking a shelf over
spirit. A successful banishment does, however, to land on the bearer, for example. Holy
render the hateful thing “inert” for an hour. symbol has no effect on Tests or other non-
During this time the Harrowed can’t use damaging attacks.
any of his Harrowed Edges or Let the Devil
The blessed must have an actual holy
Out (see page 59), but he retains the basic
symbol to invoke the miracle. No holy
abilities granted by being Undead.
symbol, no holy symbol. Comprende, amigo?
If the manitou has obtained total Dominion, An improvised symbol works—a broken
the host’s consciousness returns while it’s window frame in the shape of a cross instead
inert, but is subjugated once more when of an actual crucifix, for example, but the
the manitou reasserts its control (and is no blessed subtracts 2 from the invocation
longer inert). without a proper symbol.
Vampires: Bloodsuckers (those in the
CURSE Savage Worlds core book and the nosferatu
Rank: Seasoned
in this one) have a built-in Weakness to holy
Power Points: 5
symbols. A character with this miracle may
Range: Touch
use either as she chooses—the power (using
Duration: Instant
Power Points and requiring an arcane skill
Some practitioners of the arcane arts heal roll) or the less powerful rules outlined in the
their allies. Others inflict sickness upon their Weakness (which has no raise effect).
enemies. To use this particularly nasty spell,
MODIFIERS
the caster makes an arcane skill roll opposed
AREA EFFECT (+2/+3): For +2 points the
by the victim’s Spirit roll. Failure means the
power affects all allies within a Medium
victim suffers a level of Fatigue immediately
Blast Template centered on the caster. It
and at sunset each day thereafter (further
does not prevent creatures from entering
castings of curse have no additional effect).
the area, only their attacks against those
Once the accursed becomes Incapacitated, within it. For +3 points the area of effect is
he makes a Vigor roll each day to avoid death. increased to a Large Blast Template.
Breaking the Curse: The curse can be STRONG (+1): Spirit rolls by the creature
lifted by the original caster at will, and are made at −2 (−4 with a raise).
ends automatically if she’s slain. Dispel also
removes a curse, though each individual PUPPET
may only try once—if failed it’s beyond her This power works just as in Savage Worlds, but
abilities. the Mind Rider modifier can be used with it.
MODIFIERS
HOLY SYMBOL MIND RIDER (+1): The caster can
Rank: Novice
communicate and sense through any
Power Points: 3
target under the effects of puppet.
Range: Self
Duration: 5
NUMB
Evil critters find it hard to attack a pious Rank: Novice
wayfarer with true faith—and a symbol of Power Points: 2
her deity to back it up. Range: Spirit
Duration: 5
Once invoked, any supernaturally evil
creature (Marshal’s call) that wants to make Numb alleviates pain caused by injury. With a
a direct, physical attack on the bearer of the success on the arcane skill roll, the caster and
symbol must make a Spirit roll as a free all allies within the caster’s Spirit in tabletop
action (the creature subtracts 2 if the inches ignore 1 point of Wound or Fatigue
blessed cast with a raise). penalties, or 2 with a raise.
76
Numb also nullifies any temporary Injury is in minutes instead of rounds (and is
Table results for its Duration. A character Maintained in minutes as well if desired).
made Lame by a hit to the leg, for example,
Conjured items typically appear in a
can move normally while numbed. The power
pocket, pouch, or bag to hide the magic that
has no effect on permanent Injuries.
conjures them, but it’s not strictly necessary.
SANCTIFY Once the Duration expires, the item fades
Rank: Veteran from reality. If the shyster used conjured
No Man's Land
Power Points: 10 coins to buy something, he might be in
Range: Special trouble if the merchant figures out who
Duration: Until the next sunset swindled him.
Significant or important places might become MODIFIERS
permanently “sanctified"—a sacred area that COMPLETE (+1): The object is a complete
causes harm to evil creatures. Such locales set or loaded (for firearms), though it still
are the result of long-term affiliation with must fit under the weight limit. A deck
a religion or belief. They usually coincide of cards has all 54 cards in it, a firearm is
with a structure of significant ceremonial completely loaded, and so on.
significance, such as a cathedral, but might
WEIGHT (+2): The item can weigh up to
also arise from the scene of some great
two pounds.
sacrifice, triumph, or tragedy.
A blessed can replicate these effects on a WILDERNESS WALK
temporary basis by strenuous prayer and Rank: Novice
devotion. The process takes four straight Power Points: 2
hours of meditation and rituals appropriate Range: Self
to his religion or beliefs. Duration: One hour
Once that’s complete, the blessed makes Wilderness walk asks the earth spirits to
his Faith roll. Failure simply means the move the shaman in and out of the Hunting
time is wasted. A Critical Failure means the Grounds as he travels, shortening arduous
powers that be will not sanctify this particular treks and concealing his path. Shamans use
place and the ritual can’t be attempted at this this power to communicate with their allies
location until some significant evil is defeated across vast distances and spy on their foes!
(Marshal’s call).
After walking at least one mile in the
Success means an area roughly 30 yards wilderness (GM’s call), every three miles
square is anathema to the forces of darkness. count as one (it has no effect on Pace) and
Any supernaturally evil creature (GM’s call) the shaman’s tracks are impossible to trace
that attempts to enter the sacred ground other than short sections. With a raise on the
must make a Spirit roll at the start of each arcane skill roll, every five miles count as one.
round (as a free action) or suffer Fatigue, at
MODIFIERS
−2 with a raise on the Faith roll. This can lead
ADDITIONAL RECIPIENTS (+1): The power
to Incapacitation but not death.
may affect more than one target for 1
additional Power Point each.
TRINKETS
Rank: Novice
Power Points: 3
Range: Smarts
“IT IS A SIMPLE MATTER TO CLOSE
Duration: 5 ONE’S EYES AND LET THE SPIRITS
Trinkets allows a huckster to create a minor GUIDE YOUR STEPS. TRUST THEM.”
mundane item weighing less than one –Wovoka
pound—a Derringer, a playing card, hand
mirror, and so on. With a raise, the Duration
77
CHAPTER
7
THE RECKONING
Stop right there, pardner! Everything beyond this The Reckoners took the form of the Four
point is for the Marshal’s eyes only. If you ain’t Horsemen of the Apocalypse—just like the
her or him, we kindly suggest you vamoose. ones in the Bible. Don’t get your dungarees
in a bunch, friend. That doesn’t mean the
If you’ve been paying attention, you might
Christian religion is the one true way. Those
have figured out that things started going
in the know say certain prophets of old got a
wrong with a capital W around 1863. That’s
peek at the Reckoners and they wound up in
both true and false. The fact is supernatural
the Bible. Others believe the spirits just took
evil has been around a whole lot longer.
that form because they knew it’d cause even
more fear and alarm.
79
Once more for those who need a little
BUSY BEES repeatin’—the Reckoners sow fear into
The Reckoners are like big, horrific queen
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
80
drawn folks to a region by appealing to their Coot was a bit skeptical at first, but as
greed despite the mortal dangers involved, horrific changes began taking place across
there’s no reason not to keep that cash crop America, he began to believe. Over time,
paying out a steady bounty of fear energy. Coot figured out most of the truth about
Harrowed folks, and he learned a whole lot
So evil is cyclical. When the Fear Level gets
about the Reckoning and the Reckoners as
to 5, the servitor goes to ground, hibernates,
well. And he decided to go to war with them.
or otherwise makes itself scarce as manitous
So as one does, he started in to gathering an
The Reckoning
feed on the harvest. Over time the Fear Level
army—an army o’ the dead.
decreases, or a band of heroes rides into town
to take care of it. But just when folks feel like He found an ancient recipe and brewed up
things are getting back to normal again, start a special elixir to put evil, spirit-controlled
to feel a little confidence as the Fear Level Harrowed back in control of their minds.
bottoms out—the evil returns. Unfortunately, Coot didn’t realize his newly
“loyal” Harrowed were bound to turn
WALKING NIGHTMARES bad again. He couldn’t be convinced of it,
When the Reckoners create a new horror, either. He took his army of Harrowed into
they prefer to base it on dark legends or the Hunting Grounds, lost control of them,
personal terrors of the local populace. If a wandered for months, and ended up in the
man is terrified of wolves, for example, the year 2094 to witness Hell on Earth and what
Horsemen might pluck that from his mind he believes to be the Reckoners’ final triumph.
and conjure up packs of shadowy canines
Eventually Coot found his way back to
to prowl the town’s outskirts. Or they
1884, addled and terrified. He doesn’t know
might bestow the “gift” of lycanthropy on
for certain if the terrible vision he witnessed
one of the residents. Or create any number
can be avoided or changed, but he’s thrown
of other abominations that draw from that
in his lot—and his elixir—with the Twilight
particular phobia.
Legion to help.
A few abominations the Reckoners created
or empowered transcend the general rule.
Maze dragons and giant worms—folks out
West call them “rattlers”—are accepted as
natural creatures, although many have to see
‘em to believe ‘em. And they’re big enough
and scary enough most folks still soil their
delicates when they do!
THE PROSPECTOR
With all this talk of fear, Marshal, there’s
one character we ought to mention who may
actually help out your posse. He’s a little
crazed after traversing time and space, but
he has a lot of information about the material
in this chapter. Plus he’s a trusted ally of the
Explorer’s Society and Twilight Legion.
Coot Jenkins is a grizzled old prospector
who met up with one of Raven’s Last Sons
long ago, shortly after the Reckoning began.
You’d kinda figure an angry native might
up and scalp old Coot, but this one did
something different. He confessed. See, by
this time the Last Son was dying, and guilt
for what he’d done was eating away at him.
81
CHAPTER
8
83
The epic needs to be recounted to a sizable
FEAR audience—or at least an influential one,
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
84
FEAR LEVELS
Now that we know how things get scary and
how heroes might reverse the trend, let’s talk
FEAR IN YOUR GAME
85
The powder is pure evil even on its own,
GHOST ROCK and is essentially radioactive on both a
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
86
DOMINION TABLE
Roll on this table whenever a Harrowed lets the devil out (or draw a Dominion Card if you have them).
87
Manitous are happy to latch onto villains. Arcane Backgrounds: Those who channel
They tend to get in trouble and offer many positive energy or commune with good
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
opportunities to claim their corrupted souls. or neutral spirits for their power, such as
But they’re also hungry for heroic spirits. blessed, voodooists, shamans, and the like,
Few things are more satisfying to a demented access their powers normally. The manitou
demon than putting a grimy tarnish on the can’t use their powers when it has Dominion,
shine of a once-great reputation. however.
In game terms, control is handled through Those who channel negative energy or deal
the Dominion system outlined on page 60 with malignant spirits, such as hucksters,
Some effects happen right away. Others give mad scientists, or witches also retain their
you time to plot the manitou’s nefarious powers, but so does the manitou! The latter
actions and take advantage of “off-camera” even adds +2 to arcane skill rolls while it’s in
breaks in the story. Be as insidious as you charge of the host.
want here, Marshal. It is a vile, tainted,
demon, after all. Just remember they won’t
usually do something that’s likely to get their HUCKSTERS
host killed outright.
A particularly crafty manitou might “save” When a huckster Deals with the Devil and
a chance to take Dominion later, in case it rolls a Critical Failure (see page 66), roll on
needs to act decisively to save its unlife or its the Backfire Table to see what the manitou
host starts thinking about resurrection. does to the unfortunate gambler.
A Harrowed with zero Dominion becomes
a villain under the Marshal’s control BACKFIRE TABLE
and can Let the Devil Out at will (page d20 Effect
59). This costs the Marshal a Benny each
1 Mindwipe: The manitou fries
time, however. the huckster’s mind with energy
channeled from the darkest parts
of the Hunting Grounds. Her
HARROWED ABILITIES Spellcasting die permanently drops
A manitou has access to all the abilities one type.
possessed by its host. Should the thing get 2–3 Brain Drain: As Mindwipe, but the
control of a Harrowed huckster, for example, effect lasts only until the end of the
encounter.
it gets to use her powers.
4–8 Corruption: The spell is twisted to
The manitou can see and hear everything have the worst possible result for
the Harrowed does, even when its host has the huckster. Damage-causing spells
the steering wheel. This makes it privy to affect her or her allies, protection
aids her foes, information-gathering
anything the Harrowed knows. incantations lie, and so on.
The opposite isn’t true. When the demon’s 9–12 Overload: Supernatural energy
in control, it’s one big blind spot for the overwhelms the huckster. She’s
Harrowed. This can really complicate a Distracted, Stunned, and Vulnerable!
hero’s life if the manitou was particularly 13–16 Backlash: The manitou overloads
malicious when it had the reins. the huckster’s nervous system with
eldritch energy. She suffers 2d6
A clever group might try to get information damage plus the number of Power
about the Reckoning or other occult matters Points she needed to successfully
out of a manitou. Even major manitous are activate the power.
pretty far removed from the Reckoners. They 17–19 Madness: The manitou drives the
know the Horsemen filled the Earth with fear huckster insane. Roll on the mad
scientist’s Madness Table (page 89).
energy so they could walk on it in the flesh, The condition lasts one week.
but they don’t have any insight into their
20 Dirty Dealer: The huckster catches the
current plans or the schemes of other manitou cheating. Immediately after
manitous or abominations. the hand is resolved, she’s Shaken.
88
MAD SCIENCE
MADNESS TABLE
If a result gives the scientist a Hindrance he already has, increase a Minor version to the Major version.
If he already has the Major version, roll again.
d20 Effect
1–2 Absent-Minded: The character forgets little details. He might forget to boil his coffee, wear
pants, or cinch his saddle. He gains the Clueless Hindrance.
3–4 Delusion: The inventor comes to believe something patently untrue. Maybe he thinks a
member of the party is a werewolf or the sky is blue because the “Moon People” paint it that
way every morning. He gains the Delusional (Minor) Hindrance.
5–6 Eccentricity: The scientist becomes more eccentric. Maybe he smothers his food in vinegar or
eats lots of bran to keep his digestive system clear. The condition is basically harmless and
amusing though occasionally annoying. He now has the Minor Quirk Hindrance.
7–8 Evil Deeds: An insidious manitou convinces the hero someone or something is evil and must
be stopped. Each time he gets this result increases his mania. At first he may only talk badly
about his “enemies.” Later on he might attempt to ruin or even kill them.
9–10 Phobia: The scientist develops a strange fear of something completely irrational. He gains
a Phobia (Minor) Hindrance the first time this comes up. It increases to a Major Phobia if it
comes up again. If it comes up a third time he gains a new Minor Phobia.
11–12 Mumbler: The engineer talks to himself constantly and his sentences often trail off into
meaningless drivel. He occasionally hears voices talking back, as well, and feels compelled
to listen. This gives him the Impulsive Hindrance. And sometimes those voices might be real!
13–14 Paranoia: Everyone’s out to steal the inventor’s ideas, or so he believes. Or maybe sinister
creatures from “Dimension X” are following his work so they can steal it and conquer the
Earth! The inventor gains the Jealous Hindrance (Minor) in addition to his general paranoia.
15–19 Madness: Choose a new Minor Hindrance that reflects mental instability each time this result
comes up. Work with the player to explain how his character is affected by this new madness.
20 Moment of Clarity: Things suddenly make sense for the inventor in some strange way. She
gains Conviction, and may instantly remove any one madness condition obtained previously,
if she has any.
89
SUPERSTITION TELEGRAPHS
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
After 21 solid years of living with the Rail raiders, bandits, and storms often cause
Reckoning’s daily horrors, people are more disruptions in the Weird West’s telegraph
superstitious than ever. After all, some folks service, but the real problem is gremlins!
say monsters are real! Here we give you two These nasty little spirits infest all the
ways to simulate this state of affairs, Marshal. telegraph lines in the Weird West.
Whenever your posse sends or receives
SUSPICION a telegraph and you want to mess with
In a small town, everyone knows everyone
them, roll a d20 on the table below and see
else and are soon aware of a stranger’s
what happens.
arrival. These days one can’t be too careful,
especially with all these drifters in their
peculiar get-ups, and those things lurkin’ out TELEGRAPH RESULTS
there in the dark. d20 Result
Whenever your posse arrives in a new 1–9 The message goes through fine.
town, apply a −2 penalty to rolls on the 10–11 The receiving telegraph station
Reaction Table (in Savage Worlds) until the receives no incoming messages for
cowpokes can ingratiate themselves and the next 1d4 hours. Unless they’re
prove they mean no harm. This takes a day expecting a message or are a larger
station, they likely have no clue
or two at least, barring some overwhelming they’ve “gone deaf.”
act of bravery, heroism, or charity.
12–13 The gremlins respond with a
random telegraph from another
SUPERSTITION station elsewhere along the line. A
Most townsfolk in the Weird West are God- desperate posse might telegraph for
fearing folk who view magic as the work of the authorities and receive a message
Satan. When folks see something undeniably that, “AUNT MINNIE ARRIVES BY
STAGE ON TUESDAY.”
strange, they tend to run from it. Word
spreads quickly, and if it’s scary enough a 14–15 Gremlins rearrange the words of the
mob gathers with as much rope as it can find, telegram to cause as much trouble
and mischief as possible.
whether the local law’s on board or not.
16–17 The gremlins change the message
Obvious displays of magic, deathly looking so that it’s insulting and rude, but
folks who smell of rot, voodoo rituals, weird echo the right confirmation from the
critters, and all such odd occurrences fit the receiver.
bill. And of course someone who knows 18–19 The message goes to the wrong
what they’re looking for can spot a huckster station. They might ask for the
or a witch from a country mile. location of a contact in Dodge but get
a reply back from Lost Angels. If the
message isn’t specific, the operator
won’t know it went to the wrong city.
“MONSTERS AIN’T REAL, YOU SAY? 20 The gremlins pretend to be a
deranged operator at the other end.
GONNA COME AS NEWS TO THAT They reply to the message with
crude taunts and cryptic responses.
CRITTER STANDIN’ BEHIND YOU.” Feel free to do just about anything
–Coot Jenkins you want to vex the heroes as much
as possible. Think like a lowdown,
mischievous gremlin, Marshal!
90
VETERAN O' THE WEIRD WEST
This is the table for those power-hungry dudes who bit off more than they can chew. Don’t forget to
Card Result
Two Jinxed: This hombre ran into something that jinxed him bad. He gains the Bad Luck
Hindrance.
Three Hunted: The veteran didn’t finish the job. Something is looking for him, and it
wants him dead. Or worse. The Marshal gets to whip up some nasty beastie to come
looking for the poor bastard. It’s something fairly powerful, certainly a Wild Card,
and perhaps more clever than strong. It might look to make the hero’s life a living
Hell instead of just springing out of the darkness one night.
Four Debt: The authorities have something on the hero that could make him swing if
it were revealed to the public. A group of the Marshal’s choice frequently recruits
him for the roughest assignments, and “no” isn’t really an option. When they come
knocking, these organizations don’t ask nicely, or twice.
Five Addicted: The unfortunate soul would like to forget the things he’s seen. He has a
Habit (Major) for alcohol, or a drug like opium or peyote.
Six Night Terrors: The cowpoke can never forget the horrors he’s experienced. They even
haunt him in his dreams, giving him the Night Terrors Hindrance.
Seven Maimed: An encounter with some supernatural creature left one of the character’s
limbs maimed or entirely missing. Roll a d6. On a 1–3, he’s Slow (Minor); on a 4–6, he
lost his non-weapon hand and has the One Arm Hindrance.
Eight Beat With an Ugly Stick: One of the abominations this unfortunate hero encountered
rearranged the hero’s face or some other visible body part. He has the Ugly Hindrance
(Minor).
Nine Insane: This dude’s mind isn’t what it once was. Gain a Minor Hindrance that affects
the mind or behavior, or increase a Minor Hindrance to Major.
Ten Paranoid: This tinhorn’s seen things he shouldn’t have. He’s afraid of the dark, afraid
to wander out of camp to relieve himself, and so on. He gains the Yellow Hindrance.
Jack Infected: The last creature this hombre tussled with left a mark that won’t go away.
The hero has an injury that gives him the Ailin’ (Minor) Hindrance.
Queen Bollixed: This gunfighter has a bad case of gremlins. These buggers infect every
device the hero touches, including guns and other non-Weird Science mechanical
devices. Anytime the hero rolls a Critical Failure when using a mechanical device, it
suffers a Malfunction and is unusable until someone spends 2d6 hours working on it
and makes a successful Repair roll. True infernal devices (already prone to mishap)
always suffer a Catastrophic Malfunction.
King Marked for Death: Some intelligent and phenomenally evil abomination from the
hero’s past uttered a dying curse. All of the hero’s Soak rolls are made at –2.
Ace Forsaken: Long ago, this lone rider did something awful to survive an encounter with
the supernatural. Ever since, the spirit world won’t aid him on a bet. No beneficial
magic works on him. Malignant mojo works just fine.
Black Joker Harrowed: This gunhand met his maker sometime in the recent past. Difference
between him and most folks, though, is that he got up again. The hero begins play
Harrowed, but he doesn’t know it. Don’t let the deader take his first Harrowed Edge
until he discovers the grisly truth.
Red Joker Eternal Champion: This hero’s the rarest of all — one who’s been blessed by the
powers of light. At the first appearance of supernatural evil in any scene, the hero
gains a point of Conviction.
91
CHAPTER
9
ENCOUNTERS
93
OBJECTIVE
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
The card’s suit determines how the heroes get drawn into the adventure, and the card’s value
decides what the objective of the adventure is.
Clubs (Unexpected Beginning): The adventurers stumble onto the action—or it
stumbles onto them.
Diamonds (Work for Hire): A posse’s got to have money to keep an infernal device
roadworthy, reload those guns, or even just eat.
Hearts (Character Motivation): One of the posse’s Hindrances or past actions draws
the group into the adventure.
Spades (Old Friend or Enemy): An old acquaintance seeks out a cowpoke, but not
always with his best interests at heart.
OBJECTIVES
Card Result
R&R: The heroes have their attempt at a little downtime interrupted rudely—maybe even
Two
lethally!
MacGuffin Hunt: The crew has to recover an item, bit of information, or other object. More
Three
often than not, the goal of their quest is already in someone else’s hands.
Strong Right Arms: A powerful individual needs protection from a potential attack by
Four rail warriors, Indians, outlaws, or another threat. This may be in one place or involve the
characters accompanying their charge on a journey.
There’s Ghost Rock in Them Thar Hills!: One of the cowpokes hears a rumor of a trove of
Five strange artifacts, gets her hands on a map to a lost ghost rock mine, or even finds an outlaw
gang’s hideout.
Bounty Hunters: The posse seeks to collect a bounty. It could be for outlaws or pirates, but
Six
it may also be a dangerous predator or to thin the population of an invasive species.
Seven Rescue: The heroes are called on to rescue someone from their captors.
Siege: The posse rides in to save the day for a group pinned down by some threat. Or maybe
Eight
they’re the ones pinned down.
Pony Express: Carrying a package from point A to point B isn’t always as easy as it looks
Nine
on paper…in fact, it never is.
Trailblazers: The posse sets out to parts unknown to establish a new route, locate a suitable
Ten
site for a new settlement, or similar purposes.
Book Learnin’: The group must either gather important data from a location or protect a
Jack
bunch of eggheads while they do.
Parley: The heroes have to negotiate some agreement between two parties. It might be a
Queen treaty between Indians and local ranchers, a trade contract between two rail companies, or
just a feud between two gangs.
Reconnoiter: The characters have to slip into hostile territory to gather information, whether
King it’s on an Indian uprising, pirate stronghold, or some other target. Getting caught may mean
disaster, not only for them but also others.
Shoot ‘em Up!: Despite their best efforts (or maybe because of them), a fight or battle has
Ace
broken out, and the adventurers find themselves smack dab in the middle of it.
Wild Goose Chase: The mission is just a shell game to keep the posse distracted while
Black
someone else pulls the real job. Draw twice more—once for the distraction and once for the
Joker
true objective. The characters should have a chance to discover, and even thwart, the action.
Strange Bedfellows: Hellstromme Industries, a Rail Baron, or some other powerful
Red
individual needs a favor, something big enough to put aside any past issues. Draw another
Joker
card to determine the Objective, ignoring the suit.
94
OBSTACLE
The second card determines who or what opposes the heroes. If adversaries or other hazards
are called for, refer to the relevant region’s Encounter Table (page 99).
The suit also dictates which Reckoner’s influence casts a subtle pall over events. How—and
even if—this manifests is up to you, Marshal.
Clubs (War): Everyone concerned is particularly contentious and looking for a fight.
Encounters
Any attempts to avoid a conflict are made at a disadvantage.
Diamonds (Famine): Supply and fuel shortages are always a part of life in the Weird
West. Here they’re a factor in the original problem or plague the posse’s efforts.
Hearts (Pestilence): Disease or health issues, like ghost rock fever, come into play.
Spades (Death): Death’s pale hand taints the entire affair. Foes may be undead or just
particularly murderous.
OBSTACLES
Card Result
Underdogs: Standing in the posse’s way is a group that’s just plain outgunned, like a rancher
Two and his family, a lone prospector, or a starving tribe of Indians. Hopefully, the posse has some
moral conflict over riding roughshod across them.
Robber Baron: The heroes find themselves opposed by a rich and influential entrepreneur
Three or company who sees their efforts as a threat to profits or power. Their opponent prefers to
rely on the law, but when that fails he is happy to bring in muscle.
Red Tape: The posse has to overcome some sort of bureaucratic obstacle to accomplish
Four their goal, like an existing treaty, contract, or other legal issue. Whatever form it takes, it’s a
problem that can’t be solved with the business end of a shotgun.
Natural Phenomena: Mother Nature’s in a bad mood, and the adventurers suffer the
Five consequences. It could be a tornado on the High Plains, a blizzard in the Pacific Northwest,
or a drought in the Wild Southwest. See the region’s Encounter Table for ideas.
Hired Guns: Someone has brought in mercenaries to stonewall the team. These folks are
Six
better heeled than the average thug, too.
Competition: Another group of adventurers smells money, either on the posse or its
Seven objective. The posse has to pay them off, fight them, or otherwise dissuade them. The rival
group usually includes some Wild Cards.
Critters: Some strange abomination of the Reckoning, like a ’glom or chupacabra, menaces
Eight
either the heroes or their objective.
Varmints: You never know where a pack of coyotes, rattlesnakes, or a couple bears will
Nine
appear. Pick a common critter or chose one from the region’s Encounter Table.
Lynch Mob: A band of citizens becomes convinced the heroes mean trouble and take matters
into their own hands. They may be vigilantes or just normal folk, but either way, shooting
Ten
it out with them might lead to complications. Use the stats for Townsfolk (page 151) for an
average member of the group.
Jack Outlaws: A band of gunmen or Maze pirates is horning in on the characters’ action.
Government Enforcers: The heroes have to deal with local law enforcement officers, Rangers,
Queen
US Marshals, or even the Agency to accomplish their goal—hopefully without gunfire.
Big Trouble!: A major threat stands in the posse’s way, like a hangin’ judge, Los Diablos, or
King
a US Army detachment.
True Believers: The heroes’ goal is somehow tied to the ideological or religious beliefs of a
Ace band of fanatics—the Church of Lost Angels, cultists, etc. Regardless, they’re not known for
reasonable discourse.
Black No Luck at All: As in, “If it weren’t for bad luck…” Draw twice more. The heroes must face
Joker both obstacles.
Red Strange Bedfellows: The posse discovers an unexpected ally. Draw twice more, and the
Joker first card represents their obstacle. The second result actually works in the heroes’ favor!
95
COMPLICATION
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
The final card represents any additional hurdle the posse has to overcome to complete their
mission. The card’s suit determines the general nature or origin of the trouble, and the value
identifies the specific problem.
Clubs (Tough): There aren’t any real twists or turns to the complication, but it’s a
tough one. Any skill rolls made to overcome it face a −2 penalty, as things just seem to
be constantly tougher than they should be.
Diamonds (Monetary): The fastest way to overcome the problem is to pull out the old
wallet and fork over some bucks. To get a rough estimate, multiply the card value by
$100, with face cards counting as 10.
Hearts (Emotional): The complication involves one or more posse members’ Hindrances,
or another powerful source of emotional conflict, like a former lover, old friend, etc.
Spades (Nemesis): An old (or new) enemy works behind the scenes, at least initially, to
thwart the posse’s efforts by throwing obstacles in front of them. The crew may or may
not identify the source of their woes by the end of the adventure.
COMPLICATIONS
Card Result
Mistaken Identity: A posse member is mistaken for another person. Whoever it is — a
Two
lawman, vicious outlaw, or war criminal—the identity comes with plenty of its own baggage.
Can Anyone Hear Me?: Maybe the telegraph was garbled, and a crucial piece of info was
Three
lost in transmission. Or maybe the heroes just can’t call for help when they most need it.
Wagons Ho!: The adventure requires the posse to go on a journey spanning a long
Four
distance—passing through the Badlands, for example, or even traveling to or from Oregon.
Shortages: The posse runs low on fuel, provisions, or ammunition unexpectedly. Getting
Five
resupplied becomes a priority.
Nonlethal: For some reason, the adventurers can’t use deadly force: a bounty must be taken
Six
alive, they’re in a town with strict weapon laws, etc.
Led Astray: A guide, expert, or piece of information the posse relies on turns out to be
Seven
completely wrong.
Tick-Tock: Time is the heroes’ enemy. Within 2d4 days, some event occurs spelling failure
Eight
for the entire mission if they’re not done by then.
Malfunction: An important piece of equipment malfunctions, breaks down, or just goes
Nine
missing at the worst possible time.
Outbreak: A virulent illness plagues the region —and the team. Each day, the characters
Ten must make a Vigor roll or gain a level of Fatigue. The disease can be treated, but not until
the heroes complete their mission.
Shocking Revelation: Events unearth unexpected information. It may be something merely
Jack embarrassing about one of the cowpokes, or it might threaten a powerful individual or
organization.
Celebrity: An important personality somehow gets mixed up in the heroes’ affairs. It could
Queen
be a hero or a villain, but either way it’s a huge distraction.
Doublecross: A trusted ally of the cowpokes is revealed to be invested in their failure —
King
probably at the worst possible time.
Sudden Death: An unexpected death throws a wrench in things. Hopefully, the recently
Ace
deceased wasn’t too important for the posse’s plans!
Black Nothing But Trouble: It never rains unless it pours. Draw twice.
Joker
Red Black Hats: It turns out the heroes’ opponents are actually the good guys. What they do
Joker once they realize this is up to them…
96
Encounters
ENCOUNTERS ENCOUNTER LOCATION
d20 Location
In this section we give the Marshal a quick 1–11 On the trail.
way to play up the dangers of the wild spaces
12–15 In or near a town, village, or city.
between towns. Don’t worry about rolling
encounters when the group is in a settlement 16–18 While the posse stops to water the
of some sort. In town players tend to direct horses, or breaks to water the local
bushes.
the action, the location largely determines
the denizens, and heroes are involved in the 19–20 Once camp is made. Roll d8 to see
ins and outs of whatever Savage Tale the how many hours after camp is made
the encounter takes place.
Marshal’s running.
97
REGIONAL ENCOUNTER TABLES
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
98
REGIONAL ENCOUNTER TABLES
GREAT NORTHWEST ENCOUNTERS
d20 Spades|Enemies Hearts|Strangers Diamonds|Treasure Clubs|Obstacle
1–2 Catamount 2d6 Townsfolk Lost Treasure Blizzard
3–4 Chinook Stranger Food Tainted Water
5 Badman Prospector Infernal Devices Ghost Town
Encounters
6 Wendigo 1d6 Rail Warriors Currency Epidemic
7–8 1d6 Wolflings 2d4 Trappers Ghost Rock Detour
9–14 2d6 Outlaws 2d20 Settlers Shelter Good Samaritans
(Use Gunman)
15 Werewolf Territorial Ranger Abandoned Mine Abandoned Mine
16–20 Sasquatch 2d6 Indian Warriors Vehicle Blizzard
DESERET ENCOUNTERS
d12 Spades|Enemies Hearts|Strangers Diamonds|Treasure Clubs|Obstacle
1–6 1d4 Wall Crawlers 1d4 Prospectors Dynamite Dynamite
7 Walkin’ Fossil 2d10 Deseret Soldiers Infernal Devices Infernal Devices
8 Catamount Agent Ghost Rock Ghost Rock
9 Rattler Metal Mage Food Detour
10–12 Automatons (1d4) Mad Scientist Vehicle Epidemic
99
REGIONAL ENCOUNTER TABLES
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
100
blocks the trail or waterway. The posse
ENCOUNTER RESULTS spends 1d4 days finding a route around it.
Drought: The locals aren’t getting nearly
When an encounter is indicated, roll on
enough water. Unless the posse brought their
the appropriate regional Encounter Table
own, see Thirst in Savage Worlds.
(found on the preceding pages), using the
column that matches the card suit. Here Dynamite: A worksite, mine, or rail-
we’ve compiled the results into one handy laying operation left a crate of TNT behind.
list. Monster or character results not listed It contains 3d6+1 sticks. If it’s listed as
Encounters
here are found in the Rascals, Varmints, & an Obstacle, the dynamite is old and has
Creatures section beginning on page 145. begun to sweat pure nitro (see page 32 for
restrictions on handling this volatile stuff).
Abandoned Mine: Whether silver, gold,
or ghost rock, all the miners are gone. They Epidemic: The heroes’ location or the
might have left when the vein played out, or town over the next rise is stricken by disease.
maybe whatever currently lives in the mine Consider it a Debilitating Disease (see Savage
chased them off—or ate them! When listed as Worlds). Medicine is available, but not locally.
Treasure, the mine also contains substantial
Food: Whether it’s plentiful game or fish, a
riches (Marshal’s discretion).
convenient apple orchard, a whiskey barrel
Badman: The posse meets a gruff but that fell from a wagon, or good Samaritans
capable cowpoke (Marshal’s choice of willing to share their fare, the posse need not
archetype), down on his or her luck. If roll Survival to eat their fill today.
someone befriends the badman he or she
Fortune Teller: The fortune teller might
plays along until an opportunity to rob, kill,
be Romani, a huckster dealing cards, or a
or otherwise betray the posse presents itself.
shaman staring oddly at the posse from a
Battlefield: The blasted, haunted remains tall boulder. She asks a favor of the group in
of a conflict from the Civil War or the Great exchange for a reading. No matter if it’s true
Rail Wars (see page 108), or a live skirmish or false, the reading leads to adventure.
between two rival factions.
Ghost Rock: Roll a d6: On a 1–4, this is
Blizzard: Those caught in a blizzard must a hogshead barrel containing 1d6 lbs of
make a Fatigue roll (−2) every hour until unrefined nuggets; on a 5–6 it’s 1d4 shaped
they find shelter (Survival at −4, one roll fuel cores. Whoever lost it may be on the
per group). A Critical Failure means the lookout for it.
wandering character falls into a crevasse or
Ghost Town: Anything from a dried-
canyon (2d12”deep). Blizzards cause a −4
up well, to a dilapidated trading post, to
penalty to Agility-based skills like Driving,
a deserted settlement, fort, or boomtown.
Piloting, Riding, and Shooting. A typical
“Ghost” might merely refer to the fact that the
blizzard lasts 1d20+5 hours.
locale is empty, or it might be because creepy
Buffalo Hunters: Use Townsfolk stats abominations have taken up residence.
(page 151) but they have Shooting d8.
Good Samaritans: The posse finds a
Cattle Drive: A band of 2d6+4 hired family of settlers or some other relatively
Cowboys led by a Veteran Cowboy ramrod, defenseless group surrounded by hostiles,
all on horseback, driving a herd of 200–400 bandits, or supernatural creatures. The
cattle to market. They’re accompanied by a defenders might be in circled wagons, a
cook (use Townsfolk profile) and his wagon. besieged homestead, or an Indian village
under attack.
Currency: A satchel, gunny sack, or rail
express pouch containing 1d10 × $50 in local Heat: The temperature skyrockets above
or foreign currency. Needless to say the cash 90 degrees for 1d6+1 days. See Heat and
belongs to someone and they want it. Thirst in Savage Worlds.
Detour: A bridge is out, a sudden Infernal Devices: A lost, abandoned,
downpour washes out the road, a landslide or misrouted delivery crate from
101
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
102
Storm: A thunderstorm reduces visibility
to 12”, imposes a Dark Illumination penalty
(−4), and turns the ground into a quagmire.
ADVENTURE CREATION
Running characters must make an Agility Let’s run through a quick example of
roll or fall prone and become Vulnerable. adventure creation so you can see how it’s
Most Agility-based skills suffer a −2 penalty, done, Marshal.
including Driving, Piloting, Riding, and
First we draw a card for the Objective
Shooting rolls (due to slippery ground,
and it’s a Seven of Hearts. That means the
poor visibility, and high winds). When a
Encounters
posse has to rescue someone, but it also
character’s Action Card is a black Joker,
means the villains responsible are related
that cowpoke’s horse or vehicle is struck by
to the heroes’ Hindrances or past actions.
lightning for 2d10 damage (AP 10).
Let’s say the Major Enemy of one of your
Stranger: Riding in the same direction is cowpokes is the varmint responsible.
a tough but friendly soul (Marshal’s choice
Next draw is for an Obstacle—Four of
of archetype), down on his or her luck. If
Diamonds. That means the posse has to
someone befriends the stranger he or she
deal with red tape; perhaps they’re tasked
becomes a stalwart friend to the posse.
with venturing into Sioux lands without
Tainted Water: Travelers discover a permission. Thanks to the card suit, those
watering hole, but its contents are tainted lands are likely to be racked by famine.
with Texas tummy twister (see page 187).
For the Complication we draw a Six
Trappers: Grizzled mountain men looking of Clubs. That means the pistoleros can’t
for pelts. Use Townsfolk stats (page 151). go around killing folks—doing so might
jeopardize the United States’ treaty with
US Cavalry: A patrol of Soldiers (one
the Sioux—and the entire escapade
Veteran) led by an Officer, all on horseback.
is destined to be tougher than the
Vehicle: A broken-down conveyance of usual outing.
some type determined by the Marshal and fit
So old rival “Rabid” Rance Hitchcock
for the region. Roll a d6: On a 1–5 the vehicle
kidnaps the mayor’s son, looking to collect
is mundane; on a 6 it’s a steam-powered
a ransom. He runs off to the Sioux Nations
infernal device. Either way, it requires either
with his hostage, which means the posse
a successful Repair or Weird Science roll and
has to tread carefully, avoid violence, and
2d6 hours’ work before it functions again. (A
resist hunger to see the job done.
mundane wagon or stagecoach also needs
horses; a gizmo needs ghost rock for fuel.)
103
CHAPTER
10
Hold onto your Stetson and make sure your THE LAST SON
spurs are tight, because the trail is about to
For a long time, the Old Ones’ plan worked.
get rocky. Just around the next bend are more
But then along came Raven.
terrible secrets and dire dilemmas than you
can shake a Buntline at. Raven was born more than a hundred
years ago to the Susquehanna tribe. In 1763,
This chapter gives the Marshal the true and
when he was a young man of about 18,
bitter history of Deadlands, an overview of all
settlers in Virginia slaughtered his whole
the strange locales and perilous regions of the
tribe. Whatever else you hear about Raven,
Weird West, and information on the major
know that those settlers made him what
players, their secrets, schemes, and hidden
he became. He was the last son of his tribe,
agendas. We also talk a bit about where
and he swore vengeance—no matter how
things stand among the Rail Barons, a matter
long it took.
of special importance to the Reckoners.
Turned out it took a Hell of a long time.
To most folks, the West’s weirdness is a
Near a hundred years.
recent development—started in 1863, like
the man in the Tombstone Epitaph said. Fact is, But Raven was patient and he lived on
it goes back near a thousand years to some raw hate. He spent all that time wandering
shamans calling themselves the Old Ones. North America, studying the secret ways of
the shamans, absorbing all the ancient lore
These ladies and gents were fed up
he could find and gathering others of his
with evil spirits roaming the world and
temperament—whom he called his fellow
tormenting their people. So they gathered
“Last Sons,” whether they really were or not—
together from among all North America’s
wherever he met them.
Indian tribes and cooked up a plan to stop
them spirits for good. By this time Raven was bent and wizened,
but then he found the legendary Fountain of
The Old Ones traveled into the twilit world
Youth. What Ponce de León couldn’t find in
of spirits, what they call the Hunting Grounds,
Florida, Raven discovered under an Anasazi
to fight a Great Spirit War. They won, but
ruin somewhere in the wild Southwest. Or
there was a catch. They sacrificed their bodies
something that did the exact same thing—
to an endless state—not particularly alive yet
grant eternal life! It prevents the effects
not really dead—to seal the spirit world and
of aging, at least.
trap its evil phantoms inside.
105
With Raven’s longevity guaranteed and THE CIVIL WAR
his forces gathered, he and his Last Sons set
The Civil War started in 1861, and was fought
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
106
The Weird West
Californians named the ore ghost rock and Confederate navies, a handful of Chinese
because of the peculiar, moaning wail it warlords, and a pack of rich industrialists
makes when burned. Most folks believe locked in a chaotic dance of blood and death.
impurities and pockets of gas create the
wailing sound, but the crackpots have THE AGENCY & RANGERS
this one right—ghost rock is made of It took the bigwigs in the North and South
damned souls! a while to figure out what Raven had set
in motion. All that dark, negative energy
The new superfuel set off a scientific
was fuel for something ancient and evil.
revolution, with famous inventors like
Somehow the Four Horsemen came to be
Dr. Darius Hellstromme, Jacob Smith, and
called the Reckoners, and their return to the
Sir Clifton Robards making all sorts of
world “The Reckoning.”
miraculous gizmos and doodads that run on
the stuff. The government’s best operatives figured
out the Reckoners fed on humanity’s worst
The Union and Confederate governments
emotions, fear chief among them and easy
started cranking out highly advanced
to generate. Fear’s the oldest, most primal
weapons and armored vehicles to kill each
emotion known to humanity, and it’s the
other even faster, and a war that was already
Reckoners’ bread and butter. Fear and
notorious for bloody excess became even
warfare walk hand in hand.
more violent.
After a few more disastrous battles and
In 1869, after Ulysses S. Grant’s election
epic tragedies, the United States charged the
as Union President, CSA President Jefferson
Pinkerton Detective Agency with figuring
Davis annexed the Great Maze—or at least
out how to stop it, a job soon taken over by a
claimed to—which set off what some folks
new government operation called simply the
call the Maze Wars. It wasn’t nearly so
“Agency.” The South gave the job to the
organized as it sounds—more like the Union
stalwart Texas Rangers.
107
Coached by a shadowy organization counterattack. Desperate infantry ran into
known as the Twilight Legion and the faltering but terrible steel jaws of the
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
108
than the Civil War, because the Rail Barons at Gettysburg. But he was also too mean to
used the horrors of the Reckoning for their die. Instead, he got up off the operating table
own ends! Bayou Vermilion put dead men to where he’d expired and sauntered out, the
work laying track, actual witches worked for first Harrowed spawned by the Reckoning.
Black River, and Wasatch rolled out clanking Now Stone is Death’s red right hand, stalking
metal men armed with Gatling rifle arms to the world looking for heroic types who get in
demolish everything in their path. the Reckoner’s way.
109
The final Servitor is one known far and the Wasatch line vanished into the Rocky
wide across the West as a great man, patron Mountains sometime in 1878 and hadn’t been
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
110
work of rooting out the Reckoners’ minions
after the war, were already familiar with the
Explorers—many of whom belonged to a
secret society called the Twilight Legion.
WEIRD WEST TIMELINE
Here’s a quick summary of major events
The inquisitive reporter rooted this out
in the United States and the Weird West.
pretty quickly, and discovered the Legion’s
roots could be traced back to the Roman 1861: The Civil War begins.
111
Sure, they tried to warn as many innocents and inevitably fighting with the Sioux—
as they could, but the die had been cast and which is just what the Reckoners want.
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
112
Stick with us, Marshal, because here’s sufficient quantity of “liquid fear” to fuel
where things get temporally twisted. The another daring assault on the gates of Hell.
Morgana Effect (page 7) isn’t the first time And that meant another chance to save his
reality was rewritten by the forces of evil. The beloved Vanessa.
first time around, you see, brave heroes in
Unknown to Hellstromme, his prior trip
some bright future defeated the Reckoners
to Hell was to have more dire consequences
entirely. The Four Horsemen didn’t like that,
than mere failure. On that occasion, an
113
And they know that whatever it was
IN THE TWILIGHT changed the world somehow. Those who
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
114
The Weird West
THE GREAT BASIN The lower portions of the valley are
covered in salt flats, left behind by a rare
wash from the Amargosa River, which is
Southern California, Nevada
usually dry as a bone but fills with a few
FEAR LEVEL: 2 inches of water about three times a year.
Southern California and Nevada form the The only reason people go there is for rich
Great Basin. This arid land is mostly desert, veins of borax, originally brought out by “20-
though water can be found if one knows mule teams” until a rail spur and a few steam
where to look—and of course there’s a wagons made it out this way.
heapin’ helpin’ of death for the careless. A
Ghost rock has also been discovered in the
cowpoke who knows what’s good for him
hills, in deposits just big enough to warrant
doesn’t venture out in this region without a
the search and just small enough to ensure
map, several weeks’ provisions, lots of water,
it’s never truly worth it. But locals swear
and even more bullets.
there’s a massive vein of ghost rock just
To the east of Death Valley, the region is waiting to be found somewhere out there in
liable to eat a man alive—sometimes literally. those scorched lands.
Mojave rattlers, dust devils, tumblebleeds,
The Twilight Legion has noted a new
and their ilk are common here, as are
type of devil bat circling the skies over the
starvation, thirst, and exposure.
hard-headed miners. This particular breed
The Mexican army left southern California breathes fire and explodes when it dies! See
a few years back after a long, tenacious war page 162 for their description, Marshal.
with the territory’s various factions. Raids
from bitter holdouts or bandits are still
common, however.
FORT 51
FEAR LEVEL: 2
115
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
raiders and battling Apaches in the Mojave worms, the largest of the various
mountains. These were Captain Jay Kyle’s rattlers, which can grow up to a hundred
famous “Flying Buffalos,” a troop of all-black yards long!
soldiers who gained significant notoriety
Truth be told, the rattlers win most of the
through the 1870s.
time. That’s because they’re actually ancient
After the war, the fort was moved to creatures some consider gods rather than the
northern Nevada. The original Flying mindless predators everyone assumes. You
Buffalos were rotated out and Captain Kyle can read all about them on page 180.
retired as a Colonel.
A mercenary group of former rail warriors
took their place and are loyal to the coin of THE GREAT MAZE
the sole remaining scientist, “Mr. Eddington.”
Only a few assistants know Eddington is California
actually the famous Thomas Alva Edison! FEAR LEVEL: 3
He’s been corrupted by his studies and
In August 1868, a disaster folks call the
the Reckoners are helping “light his bulb,”so
Great Quake shattered the California coast
to speak. It’s only a matter of time before
from San Diego to Crescent City. In 1884
something terrible happens at this isolated
the broken landscape of the Maze remains
research station.
a terrible yet magnificent sight. From certain
vantage points, a cowpoke can see thousands
MOJAVE DESERT of settlements, some perched atop the many
mesas, others in the rubbled sea canyons
FEAR LEVEL: 4
below. But the shadowy canyons of the Maze
The Mojave is a barren expanse in southern are also haunted by famine and death, and
California. Part of the desert is hard and crippling dread is ever-present.
brittle, with only a few stray cacti and dry
The Great Maze is sometimes called the
scrubs scattered across the landscape. The
“Fast Country,” because living a year there is
rest is made up of shifting sand dunes and
said to be the equivalent of living five years
bizarre rock formations.
anywhere else. But hopeful prospectors
There isn’t much reason for sane folks in rigs and harnesses still chip away at the
to head out into the Mojave, though a few cliff faces for gold, silver, or ghost rock,
of the crazy sort make an honest—if suspended hundreds of feet above the ocean.
dangerous—buck hunting massive
116
Below them, ore barges and paddle- This ravenous hunger occasionally
wheeled Maze runners scud back and forth in leads some to the most terrible practice of
blue-green Pacific waters. The lucky ones are cannibalism. Those who do have a good
guarded by US ironclads. The less fortunate chance of becoming a Hunger Spirit (see
are preyed upon by pirates and raiders. Faminites on page 119).
Wider channels host a variety of colorful
vessels, including Warlord Kang’s sampans
LOST ANGELS
117
inspiration. That’s the official story, anyway. up the mantle, slipping out into the Weird
In truth, as we mentioned before, Grimme West with what they claim are some of
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
died and the 13 survivors lent a bit of their Grimme’s bones. For now the “Cult of Lost
souls to create a new Reverend Grimme in Angels” is just establishing followers and
the original’s unholy image. setting up secret bases. What comes after is
anyone’s guess.
The “apostles” found a natural spring on
the coast near what used to be part of Los
Angeles, and proclaimed the site a new home
THE REFORMED CHURCH OF LOST ANGELS
After the flood, the mostly normal followers
for his “Lost Angels.” The camp soon became
of the church came together under a new
a town, and within three years it grew into a
leader, Reverend John Prosperi. They
city with a population just shy of 20,000. The
rebuilt the city on what dry land remained
City of Lost Angels was born.
and expanded eastward. Rapid recovery
Grimme’s sanctuary eventually became of ghost rock refining and exports helped
the natural shipping point for more than the city’s economy to recover, and the
half of everything coming into and out of slackening of Famine’s grip after Grimme’s
the Maze. This gave Grimme monumental walloping allowed local farmers to bring
economic power, and the Sunday feasts goods to market for the first time in more
for starving locals increased his social and than a decade.
political pull.
Prosperi is basically a good man, but he
Remember, food isn’t just scarce was never exposed to the Church’s vile
in California, this is Famine’s home secrets during Grimme’s reign. Thus, in
turf. Everyone here is hungry all the time. his sermons he echoes Grimme’s public
Supernaturally hungry. It doesn’t take much exhortations to deny the taint of the outside
pushing to get a starving man to try a world. He’s less isolationist than Grimme—
little meat he can’t identify, and a bit visitors can come and go as they please
more to make the worst of the bunch eat in the city—though rival faiths and
it even when they wonder just where “witchcraft” are still strenuously
all those strangers disappeared to. persecuted (Grimme considered
Get hungry enough, the saying hucksters a particular threat to
goes, and you’ll eat anyone. his power).
Grimme’s law was absolute, Prosperi sees himself as a
and after the Edict of powerful mayor. He has no
‘77, where he declared sway over the rest of the
California and the city’s territory. That’s for Kang and
independence under the US Navy to figure out.
his rule, his thugs
The red-robed Guardian
took charge with
Angels act as the city’s
authority. Special
de facto police force and
enchantments—he is a
militia. Most are cut from
Servitor, after all—even allowed
Prosperi’s cloth, though a
his more horrific minions to
few bad apples from
appear as angels and other
Grimme’s days remain.
divine beings.
The port is open to all, including the
Numerous trials and tragedies
Rail Barons, Deseret, and the United
transpired under Grimme’s
States. Wasatch owns the exclusive
administration before he was
rail line in, but even his competitors
brought low in the Deluge by
can use it for a fee.
heroes of the Twilight Legion.
The reverend and his 13 apostles All this trade is heavily taxed, but it
were wiped out, but other brings food to the region and lessens
hangers-on have since taken the lingering effects of Famine’s control.
118
FAMINITES PERDITION
Every now and then, a disease called FEAR LEVEL: 4
“faminism” breaks out in a community.
East of Lost Angels, on high and somewhat
Victims become ravenously hungry,
unstable cliffs overlooking the city and
devouring everything in sight and eventually
smoldering Ghost Town, Hellstromme
going mad. Their bodies become thin and
founded a company town called Ore
gaunt and they spread their disease by
119
Petals Su is the official ruler of the towns, prostitution rings—they’re popular with
dividing her time between them. the miners. Further, since they’re in charge
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
120
The Weird West
moonlight, and on the far shore a posse finds of Bandits. Anyone is welcome to settle here
themselves strangers in a very strange land. as long as they’re seeking redemption. To the
rich and powerful, Devil’s Armpit is a city of
The Twilight Legion knows the Cackler
thieves run by a bandit king. To the poor and
is holed up somewhere near Knights Ferry.
downtrodden, it’s a haven from the deadly
Little do they suspect that he hides in a dark,
rigors of life in the Maze.
unseelie realm in the Hunting Grounds, a
strange melding of the Old West and the Fort Lincoln (Fear Level 2): Fort Lincoln
medieval world. is one of the US Navy’s supply depots. A
few hundred civilians live in and around
Its most prominent feature is Castle
the fort as well, vying for various jobs and
Camlann, where Mordred and Morgana
the slightly more regular food supplies their
dwell and scheme their diabolical designs.
earnings can buy.
Gomorra (Fear Level 4): Gomorra is a
MESA TOWNS mining town located between Shan Fan and
Some of the Great Maze’s mesas are big Devil’s Armpit. Aptly named “Doomtown”
enough to hold a town—or what passes for because many of the poor souls who visit
a town—on the plateau up top. There are wind up in a pine box, dark forces turned it
hundreds of mesa towns in the Maze. Some into one of the most dangerous places to visit
are temporary and vanish in a few months in the Weird West.
when the vein’s tapped out. Others last for
Over the years, the town has been
years and harbor a few hundred souls.
destroyed time and again by outlaws,
Here are a few of the most well-known. demons, fanatical cults, and even a traveling
circus. A few holdouts remain, and new
Devil’s Armpit (Fear Level 4): This small
veins of ghost rock are found in the
mining town is run as a collective by the
surrounding mesas all the time, so it
outlaw T’ou-Chi Chow—the self-styled God
121
seems Doomtown is fated to be around for a
good while longer. THE GREAT NORTHWEST
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
122
food is scarce and new wendigos tend to The truth is the land here is befouled. The
rise, leading to what the Agency calls the veil to the Hunting Grounds is thin, and the
“winter wars.” earth is responding much like the skin does
to a pox. The things that emerge from the
Sasquatches, it turns out, aren’t monsters
mounds in the small hours of the night leak
of the Reckoning but a lost species of quasi-
into our world and steal into Olympia or the
supernatural beings. They aren’t exactly fond
surrounding towns to cause mayhem and
of the encroaching humans, but seem dead
OLYMPIA PORTLAND
FEAR LEVEL: 4
FEAR LEVEL: 3
Portland, Oregon, rose from humble
Olympia’s the capital of Washington
beginnings as “The Clearing,” a stopover on
Territory, not by virtue of its fundaments but
the route to Oregon City or Fort Vancouver.
because it’s always been at the center of the
Once folks discovered the waters near the
action. A major supplier of farm goods and
Clearing were deeper and more suitable for
produce, Olympia is located at the crossroads
shipping than those upriver at Oregon City,
of three major trade routes—ghost rock and
they filed a land claim and founded the city
gold imported from British Columbia and
of Portland. It remained in the shadow of
Alaska, lumber and copper from Seattle and
Oregon City for many years until its superior
the Cascades, and firearms, heavy machinery,
location on the river and access to the Iron
and luxury goods from Back East—headed
Dragon rail line made it the port of choice.
into the Maze via the Iron Dragon line.
Despite steady shipping and trading,
Located on the southern end of Puget
Portland remains a frontier town. Stumps
Sound, Olympia was first settled by French
and trees lie strewn about, the roads are
Catholic missionaries in the 1840s, under the
muddy mires, and during spring floods
direction of the Hudson’s Bay Company. By
one might need a rowboat to reach the
the 1850s, American settlers were pouring
nearest saloon.
into the area, which lay upon an important
north-south trade route. These days the area Snooty outsiders call Portland
exports produce and dairy goods, while “Stumptown” or “Mudville.” The main
playing host to the steady stream of ghost worry for most folks in Stumptown is getting
rock coming south out of British Columbia. shanghaied. There used to be a mayor, and
even a US Army fort, but then Kang’s people
Most of Olympia was built by the labor of
moved in at the invitation of the local timber
Chinese immigrants, many of whom arrived
barons. Within six months they’d seized
in the Puget Sound area in the past 20 years.
control of government, turning the mayor
Most found work with Iron Dragon, sending
and marshal into puppets. After that, the
money home to their families in China.
number of annual disappearances kept rising.
But others opened laundries in Olympia,
worked as cooks for affluent households, or
grew vegetables to sell door-to-door. The SALEM
commercial produce market, now a major FEAR LEVEL:
3
industry in Olympia, was begun by the
Chinese. Fortunately for the locals, most of Salem, Oregon, is situated on the Willamette
those vegetables are exported to the Great River, about 50 miles upriver from Portland.
Maze for astronomical returns. The city boasts a large capitol building in the
Greek revival style, a thriving downtown
THE MIMA MOUNDS filled with hotels and shops, and an economy
A series of large mounds southwest of based on the cherry-picking industry, which
town are said to be anything from Paul lends Salem the nickname, “Cherry City.”
Bunyan’s barrows to termite homes to Others refer to it by whispering a
extraterrestrial lairs. lesser-known name—Witchburg.
123
The Indians who originally inhabited “Must be something in the water,” outsiders
the Willamette Valley called their home shrug. They’re right. Silver City’s drinking
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
Chemeketa (“resting place”). When trustees water percolates through the layer of ghost
Barnabas Leslie and W. W. Willson filed land rock that makes the town so prosperous
claims in 1850, Mr. Leslie named it after his before it reaches cups and lips.
birthplace—Salem, Massachusetts. No one
Meanness: Over time, those who drink
knew the Leslie family had harbored an evil
the local water get a mite ornery. A character
secret since the Puritan days. Barnabas Leslie
who drinks the water regularly—and anyone
came to Oregon to make a fresh start, where
living needs water, Marshal—gets the Mean
no one suspected the evil taint he carried in
Hindrance after a month or so in Silver City
his blood—Whateley blood.
(and fades a month after leaving). Nonplayer
The Leslie and Willson families remain characters are generally Unfriendly when
pillars of the community, along with local using the Reaction Table from Savage Worlds,
businessman and publisher, Asahel Bush. and some are downright Hostile.
Bush is respected well enough, but something
of a troublemaker. He uses his publication,
the Oregon Statesman, as a vehicle for THE GREAT PLAINS
scathing editorials deriding the corruption
that infects the capitol building, demanding
Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska
the city’s name be officially changed back
to Chemeketa, and even accusing the Leslie FEAR LEVEL: 3
family of black magic.
Most of the Great Plains looks harmless. Low,
Barnabas’ coven doesn’t want a repeat rolling hills seem open and inviting, and the
of what happened in the original Salem, so gently swaying grasses seem incapable of
they’re slowly leaving town to create their concealing danger.
own compound about 50 miles west, in the
But no place in the Weird West is what it
Valley of Giants. This old growth forest is
seems. These idyllic surroundings conceal
filled with towering Douglas firs and 20-
horrific creatures behind nearly every hill. In
foot thick Western Hemlocks that offers the
the tall grass, fiends with bloodshot eyes and
cult protection from those they see as their
dripping fangs silently stalk lone travelers for
oppressors. Of course, the nearby timber
meat—or entertainment.
jacks aren’t likely to take kindly to their
relocation. War and Death partner up in this broad
swath of the middle United States, so the
whole region is still plagued by bandits,
SILVER CITY rail raiders, and outlaw bands larger than
FEAR LEVEL: 3 those elsewhere in the US. The villains are
particularly hard on local law dogs—town
Silver City, Idaho, stands at the epicenter of
marshals, county sheriffs, and the like. The
the Owyhee River mining boom. Without a
pay is pretty good for most anyone willing to
doubt, it’s the liveliest burg in Idaho these
pin on a badge, but they don’t seem to have
days, with a population of 2,500 and about
much time to spend it.
75 businesses. It’s also the most cutthroat
boomtown east of the Snake River, so Jackalopes, prairie ticks, and saddle
visitors ought to watch their step. Duels and burrs lurk in the tall grass between weary
brawls are daily occurrences in Silver City. settlements. Walkin’ dead, ’gloms, and
Nobody’s sure why the locals are generally mourning mists rise occasionally from the
so mean as to make hornets look cuddly. old battlefields or anywhere the bandits
slaughter their unfortunate marks.
Despite the hostile climate, Silver City
stays busy, mostly due to the steady stream
of silver dug out of War Eagle Mountain and
the tons of ghost rock coming down the
Owyhee River.
124
DENVER BLEEDING KANSAS
FEAR LEVEL: 2 FEAR LEVEL: 3
Colorado achieved statehood in 1876, with Kansas’ early history was defined by the
Denver as its capital, and the people are question of whether it would enter the
still prouder than peacocks. Denver holds Union as free soil or a slave state. Partisan
railheads and major depots for Wasatch, guerrillas plagued the region, waging bloody
125
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
south and Dodge was soon flooded with corpses, to pink elephants. Some of these
newcomers. Some were war-weary folks stories are even true. Some of the vanished
tired of living in the shooting gallery that folks are victims of the intrigues so common
was Kansas, others just wanted to earn an in Dodge, but others are victims of the colony
honest dollar, and a few harbored more of ghouls that lives in a vast network of
sinister motives. warrens beneath Boot Hill.
Several secret attempts to clear out the
THE MEAT MARKET warrens have been undertaken by Agents
Most folks looking to make a legal buck in
or hired guns, but they just seem to keep
Dodge do so in the cattle trade, shipping,
coming back. It likely has something to do
or catering to everyone else. There are
with all the abattoirs, but no one has figured
numerous large abattoirs in Dodge, not to
out the connection yet.
mention tanneries and all kinds of other
businesses dedicated to making use of the
enormous number of cows killed here every THE BADLANDS
day, then shipped east or west. FEAR LEVEL: 4
The big outfits and cattle owners’
The Badlands south of the Black Hills host
associations have exclusive deals with local
many dangers. These twisted foothills of the
railroads to haul their beeves. Small-time
Rocky Mountains are home to all manner of
ranchers have to drive their longhorns to
predators—some human, some less so.
Dodge the old-fashioned way. The rowdy
cowboys who push steers all the way from Even though the Californian desert is
Texas enter town tired of watching cow’s far from here, the occasional sighting of
asses for months at a time. They’re eager for Mojave rattlers is enough to keep travelers
vice and adult-themed revelry, and often put on their toes.
the town law dogs through their paces when
Marauding Sioux war parties are not
they “whoop it up” on payday.
uncommon either. Ever since the Great
Summoning (page 112), the Sioux Nations
CITY O' GHOULS have enjoyed others’ awe and trepidation.
Most folks who spend any amount of time
Belligerent young warriors occasionally
in Dodge hear tell of the body snatchers.
roam the Badlands looking to exact a little
Depending on who you talk to, these nasties
vengeance for the white man’s previous
loot the dead, eat the dead, or even raise the
incursions into the sacred Black Hills.
dead. They’re described as anything
from little green men, to shambling
126
The twisted valleys and canyons of the
Badlands are home to swarms of devil bats DESERET
who protect their aeries fiercely. They’ve
been so effective in their hunts that the Fear Utah
Level of the area has shot up to 4 over the last FEAR LEVEL: 4
couple of years.
Mormons, or Latter-Day Saints, are God-
127
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
Most important, his inventions greatly Reckoning would give him the means to
enhanced the capabilities of the Mormons’ somehow resurrect his lost love.
own army, the Nauvoo Legion. Suddenly,
He attempted several trips to the Hunting
the Mormons were Hellstromme’s biggest
Grounds to retrieve her, even building
boosters, and it didn’t take long for him to
train tracks in complex patterns to channel
be accepted among the Latter-Day Saints as
energy into his infernal inventions and break
one of their own. Little did they know the
open the doorways to the abyss. Each of his
Servitor of Pestilence now walked among
schemes ended in disaster, however, and
them. At this point, the technology that has
he’s been in seclusion since 1883. (You can
infected their society is taken as just another
read about these forays into Hell in the short
side-effect of modern life.
story “Out of the Frying Pan” and the Plot
Point Campaign Deadlands: Good Intentions).
HELLSTROMME'S FALL
Being a genius, Hellstromme was one of the
few who suspected the true significance of THE CITY O' GLOOM
the events surrounding the Reckoning, and FEAR LEVEL: 4
one of fewer still who surmised that powerful
beings—the Reckoners—were behind them. Salt Lake City is the capital of Deseret, but
it’s known more often by its nickname the
The trouble is, Hellstromme didn’t give
“City o’ Gloom” for the constant pall of smoke
a whit. Some time ago, his beloved wife
from Hellstromme Industries’ many factories.
Vanessa committed suicide and the event
It’s the most technologically advanced city
nearly shattered him. Only the Reckoning
in the world. Thousands of high-voltage
gave him hope, for he saw that the spirit
wires and pipes bearing natural gas sprawl
world could be accessed from the mortal
through the urban tangle, bringing light, heat,
realm, and that death was no longer
and electricity to those who can afford it.
necessarily the end. He hoped the
128
But Salt Lake City’s mechanization doesn’t In fact, Hellstromme Industries has
come without a cost. Besides the choking overtaken Smith & Robards in the mail-
smog, it’s also attracted a rogue’s gallery of order business. Certainly the industrial
prospectors, former rail warriors, and settlers titan’s mail-order catalogs are far more
down on their luck and hoping for a job in common than they were even a few years
the factories. Most of these lost souls never ago. Although the news has not yet gone
leave the city’s factory district, known locally public, Hellstromme Industries is rumored
129
Any formal dealings with the Sioux must be so the Sioux are the uncontested masters of
carried out through these men and women. Dakota’s open prairies.
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
The four tribes directly represented by the A few US Marshals and bounty hunters
wicasas are the Hunkpapa, Miniconjou, Brule, have become experts at “non-technological”
and Oglala. The other tribes of the Sioux expeditions into Sioux lands, to root out
Nations, including the Northern Cheyenne outlaw gangs and fugitives brave enough
and the Sans Arcs, must win the ear of one of to hide there. They need permission from
the wicasas to air their grievances. the wicasas to enter anywhere but a few
areas, but are often given it if they’re of good
THE OLD WAYS REIGN standing and don’t violate the Old Ways.
On June 21, 1881, the Great Summoning
brought the thunderbirds, and technology THE RAVENITES
hasn’t functioned correctly inside the Sioux Not every Sioux thinks the Old Ways are
Nations’ borders ever since. the proper path for the People’s future.
Numerous younger Indians, in particular,
Mass-produced items fail quickly in
reject the movement. They think it’s foolish to
Sioux lands, including all kinds of infernal
turn down modern weapons, transportation,
devices, mad scientists’ gizmos, rifles, pistols,
medicines, and other inventions that would
telegraphs, locomotives, cotton gins, the
improve their families’ quality of life.
whole shebang. Even modern wagons tend
to go to pieces—wheels fall off, reins break, These are deep, philosophical questions for
or traces snap (see sidebar on page 131). the Sioux, and will greatly affect their future.
They must either side with “progress” or stay
Hand-made, “primitive” items like those
loyal to the nature spirits.
favored by the Sioux work just fine. Most
leather gear, including saddles and other One group of malcontents known as the
riding gear, is reliable as well. Anything Order of the Raven, or Ravenites, go to even
more modern has a short lifespan though, further extremes. In their service to Raven
130
they seek to foment conflict and ultimately
drive the white man from North America.
It would be a great shock to most to learn
that the secret leader of the Ravenites was
THE OLD WAYS
none other than Sitting Bull himself! The Mass-produced devices, or any devices
duplicitous wicasa was buying and providing that use ghost rock, are less effective
guns to young warriors for years. He fought in the Sioux Nations. Narratively, an
131
DEADWOOD OFFICE OF INDIAN AFFAIRS
FEAR LEVEL: 4 All miners are required to register their
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
132
The Weird West
THE COYOTE CONFEDERATION those who are to grant favors, not beg them,”
as an Ohio reporter once wrote in 1867.
FEAR LEVEL: 4
The Confederation is restless now that
The Coyote Confederation was formed in
the American Civil War is over. Their allies
1874, just a few months after the Battle of
in the CSA are gone and the Union grows
Adobe Walls, Texas. They’re a loose coalition
more powerful. Many want better lands
of Cheyenne, Comanche, and Kiowa, and a
than those they were forced to settle with,
few smaller disparate but capable groups of
and their leaders, the always volatile chiefs
Plains Indians.
Satanta and Quanah Parker, are looking for a
Like the Sioux, the Coyotes gathered common enemy to keep their people united.
and bred buffalo after sealing their borders.
Though the beasts have gone mostly extinct COYOTE
in North America, they are plentiful within Somewhat confusingly, the “first shaman”
the Confederation. Poachers from Oklahoma of the Coyote Confederation is known as…
and other surrounding lands creep across Coyote. Coyote is actually a shaman named
their borders to hunt the beasts frequently. Isatai, who took part in the Adobe Walls
Vengeful warriors collectively called “skin attack in ’74. He caught a bullet in the battle,
hunters” hunt the intruders down, even and Parker and Satanta carried him to the
tracking them outside the Confederation, sacred Black Mesa of Oklahoma to die.
and do to the poachers what they do to the
He didn’t. Instead, he was visited by a
buffalo—skinning them as a warning to
vision of Coyote, the trickster, who informed
anyone else who steals from the People.
him that he would live only if he went on
Most Coyotes live in iconic villages to form a new confederation of the People
of tepees, though a few have built more in the trickster’s name. Further, Isatai must
permanent settlements. Their warriors forever after guard his identity. When he
are excellent riders who can fire weapons asked why, Coyote only hinted at a dire fate
accurately even while galloping, or stick a that awaited the shaman should he fail. Isatai
lance in a man’s heart at a full charge. has maintained his secret in the hood of a
voluminous vermilion cloak ever since.
Most of the Coyote Confederation doesn’t
follow the Old Ways, and technology Isatai’s vision wasn’t given to him by the
functions normally in their lands. Cheyenne trickster god, but by Raven. He uses the
Dog Soldiers are particularly feared—they’re shaman as a pawn, manipulating the People
“armed to the teeth with revolvers and bows… of the Confederation into constant raids
proud, haughty, defiant, as should become
133
against the surrounding whites, primarily in to Perry, the Guardsmen will be called
and out of Hell’s Whole Acre. on to interrupt the business of vice. Those
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
134
The Weird West
Most of the Southwest consists of scrub ADOBE WALLS
plains, with a few scattered deserts, lush river FEAR LEVEL: 4
valleys, and concentrated forests thrown
in for good measure. Some of it is fairly High in the Texas Panhandle is a ruined
rugged, but appears more mountainous village by the name of Adobe Walls. It was
than it is since you can actually see them. built in 1843 by the Bent, St. Vrain & Co.
With a little elevation, the lack of consistent trading company. Bent believed the town
forests and trees means a fellow can see for would give him an edge on his Indian
dozens of miles. competition for buffalo hides and stolen
horses. The Indians didn’t take kindly to this,
The northern highlands of Arizona and
and sent Bent scurrying Back East with his
New Mexico are covered in pine forests and
tail between his legs.
get plenty of rain and snow. In the lower
south are found palm trees and the “green” Since then, Adobe Walls has been the site
Sonoran desert, and occasional patches of of several conflicts between Indians and
dry sand dunes. whites, most recently in 1874. That last fight
left the town in ruins and, according to the
West Texas is characterized by rolling hills,
Coyote Confederation, haunted.
auburn fields, cottonwood stands, and scrub
plains. East Texas throws in swamps, thickets, The leaders of the Coyote Confederation
and scraggly forests to boot. There’s good often meet with government officials here.
farm and grazing land in all parts of Texas The Coyotes figure it’s a reminder to the
if a settler is willing to put in a little work, whites that they don’t win all the battles.
so this is currently where most of the West’s
beef comes from. Cattle are either shipped
up to Kansas by rail for those ranches big
POTENTIAL
enough to join the various associations, or FEAR LEVEL: 3
driven up on hoof for smaller outfits.
Tombstone is the undisputed mining
Stagnant Water: Water is often scarce in center of Cochise County. But upstart
the Southwest, and thirst can make folks a Potential to the north has also raised a
mite careless on occasion. When a traveler ruckus. Potential is situated in the foothills
in Texas rolls a Critical Failure on a Survival of the Galiuro Mountains, in the northwest
roll, it means she and any companions she corner of Cochise County. It was surveyed
provided for get Texas tummy twisters (page in November, 1879, following the discovery
187). of a 3-lb nugget of ghost rock in nearby
Nugent’s Pass.
135
A whole mess o’ folks thought there was willing to pledge loyalty to the US kept their
a mother lode of “California coffee” to be jobs and continued developing weapons for
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
found, and there was, all right—up on the the United States Army and Navy.
slopes of Whistling Rock. From that moment
The rivalry with Fort 51 continued as well,
the rush was on…and it hasn’t stopped yet!
though this time it was for funds and talent
Spring 1881 saw Lone Star swoop in to rather than a war of infernal devices.
secure the right-of-way and establish critical
The new government in Washington
ties to local ghost rock mining interests.
didn’t publicly acknowledge the base for a
The technological might of Hellstromme
long while, figuring the best security was
Industries followed, along with new,
keeping things quiet. This resulted in a
powerful commercial interests like the Gage
devastating raid by various Rail Barons in
Export Co. These days, the Potential Miners’
1876. Now a platoon of infantry and several
Coalition—as locals say, “the PMC”—also
Territorial Rangers are stationed nearby for
takes a strong hand in swaying town policies
security. Ostensibly they’re here to protect
to meet their needs.
travelers, but the secret base is their primary
Recently, a mysterious sinkhole opened responsibility.
near the base of Whistling Rock. For a
while it was a mere nuisance, causing locals
to blaze new trails around it, but soon it
TOMBSTONE
widened into an unavoidable hazard. As it FEAR LEVEL: 4
grew it threatened numerous claims. Now
The United States claims Arizona as a
the hole is closing on 100 yards across, the
territory, but anyone who spends time near
sandy earth continually draining away into
Tombstone knows better. Geronimo and
a deep subterranean cataract. Nobody, from
his Chiricahua Apaches are masters of the
Hellstromme’s scientists to Tucson geologists,
surrounding countryside.
has figured out where it goes yet.
Tombstone was founded as a silver-mining
The sinkhole actually drains into a stygian
town in 1874 by Ed Schieffelin, becoming a
underworld and newly exposed ancient
boomtown overnight. Folks told Ed all he’d
caves…and their malevolent inhabitants.
find in the mountains was his tombstone,
and the name stuck. In months the town was
ROSWELL flooded with transients, merchants, outfitters,
“soiled doves,” and saloon-keepers.
FEAR LEVEL: 3
The law in Tombstone is Marshal Virginia
As far as most visitors can tell, Roswell,
“Ginny” Earp, Wyatt Earp’s kid sister. In late
New Mexico is a backwater trading post,
1881 her older brothers wired the previously
freshwater spring, and Lone Star depot
unknown relative from Tombstone, where
that achieves little beyond baking in the
they had their hands in a number of business
Southwest oven. The ruins of Fort Roswell
interests as well as providing the town’s law.
stand a few miles away in mute testimony to
the 1876 battle that left it ransacked. Big trouble was brewing, they said,
between the Earps and a gang of no-account
Roswell has always had a reputation for
outlaws called the Cowboys. A bloody
strange occurrences. Back in the summer of
shootout had taken place at the OK Corral.
1876, rumors flew about odd “flying disks”
Ginny high-tailed it south to help out, but by
in the night skies near town. Though public
the time she reached Tombstone a wandering
speculation continues to call this proof of
killer named Stone had shot all her brothers
visitations from other worlds, the truth is a
dead, along with Doc Holliday to boot. Once
little simpler.
a posse had taken vengeance, the Cowboys
The Confederate government used the were pretty much wiped out as well.
fort here to develop their secret weapons of
Ginny took over as town marshal not long
war, much as the Union did at Fort 51.
after. Much like her brother Wyatt, Ginny is
When the war ended, those inventors
136
almost as good at using the butt end of her The lion’s share of reports published by
pistols as the barrels. The Sheriff of Cochise the Epitaph are composed by roving reporter
County, John Behan, doesn’t help much. He Lacy O’Malley. Independent submissions are
excels at one part of his job—collecting taxes, reviewed by the paper’s editor, John Clum
of which he’s entitled to 10 percent. You (also longtime mayor of Tombstone).
can count the number of arrests he’s made
The Agency and Rangers were intent on
on one hand.
shutting down the Epitaph to keep a lid on
137
a site, she always guarantees repayment for They battled Union troops before the Civil
any breakage or theft—and she makes good War, Confederate troops during the conflict,
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
138
The Weird West
Here’s an overview of the major railroad Rail Warriors: Bayou Vermilion’s rail
companies. For each, you’ll find a brief workers and warriors are honest-to-badness
history followed by the outfit’s main walkin’ dead! Gang bosses do their best to
territory, the typical rail warriors it fields for keep them out of sight of townsfolk, though,
construction and confrontation, and finally sending them to barren, lonely stretches to
its current driving goals. lay track. Typical gangs consist of a dozen
walkin’ dead (page 190) led by a voodooist
(see the Deadlands Companion or substitute a
BAYOU VERMILION huckster, page 149). Baron LaCroix is also
Baron Simon LaCroix known to use fiendish skinwalkers (page
founded and runs the 185) as spies and saboteurs.
Bayou Vermilion
Goals: LaCroix cares little for state or
Rail Co. As far as the
federal ghost rock shipping contracts, nor
public knows, LaCroix
for his railroad’s success. He got involved
is a wealthy New
in the Great Rail Wars because a dark loa—
Orleans merchant of
actually a powerful manitou in service of
Haitian descent. They
the Reckoners—ordered him to join the fray.
don’t even know where he
The only joy he derives from the competition
got his title or if he just made it up himself.
is witnessing the misery and bloodshed
Baron LaCroix is a voodoo master of the Bayou Vermilion leaves in its wake. LaCroix
first order, and he prefers dealing with the doesn’t know he’s just a patsy. These days,
sinister loa—the petro—for his power. Once he expands his rail line for one purpose:
LaCroix was a servant to his sister Simone, a to carry more walkin’ dead and barrels of
powerful voodoo queen. Ambition eclipsed phosphorescent green reanimation fluid to
blood, though, and he overcame her and every corner of the Weird West.
stole her magic in a bizarre ritual.
Territory: Bayou Vermilion’s headquarters BLACK RIVER
is in New Orleans, and its rails run along
Black River is run by
the United States’ southern border from
Mina Devlin, widow of
Louisiana to Railhead, California, roughly
the railroad’s founder,
80 miles east of Lost Angels. BV has major
Miles Devlin. These
depots in Houston, San Antonio, and El Paso,
two were like peas in a
Texas, and in Tombstone, Arizona.
pod…if peas could have
cold, shriveled hearts and
139
souls as black as midnight. But for all their be found most days, tending the girls at her
ruthlessness, they were quite enamored of “orphanage”).
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
each other.
Rail Warriors: Black River gangs like the
Mina Devlin was no garden-variety Wichita witches are some of the meanest
grieving widow. In fact she’s one of the in the Rail Wars. Mina can’t match the
most powerful witches in the Weird West. technology or wealth some of her competitors
After Miles was assassinated, Mina tracked wield, but witchcraft goes a long way. She
down his killer. Then she murdered the teaches her most qualified (read: most
Tennessee Central executives who ordered vicious) female employees the dark arts. A
Miles’s assassination…and bumped off their typical fighting gang numbers five Wichita
families too, just for good measure. Her thirst witches (page 152).
for revenge sated, Mina took over Black
The Wichita Witches are very well known,
River Railroad.
though their numbers have dwindled in
Mina is infatuated with Joshua recent years as Agents and Rangers tracked
Chamberlain of Empire Rail. Perhaps it’s a them down. The heroine Morgan Lash was
case of opposites attracting, for his heart is once a Wichita Witch before battling the
pure and hers is black as ghost rock. The two Cackler alongside Agent Nevada Smith and
are either bitter enemies or the best of allies, Texas Ranger Hank Ketchum.
depending on the current state of flirtation.
It was Morgan’s lost sister Rachel who
Territory: Black River is based in Memphis, served as Morgan Le Fey’s vessel. Lash has
Tennessee. Its main line runs to Little Rock, vowed to rescue Rachel somehow, but it’s
Arkansas, and through the heart of the not entirely clear if that’s possible. (See The
nation to its western terminus in Denver, Cackler graphic novel for the whole story.)
Colorado. Major depots are located in Perry,
Goals: Mina Devlin is a canny double-
Oklahoma, and Dodge City (where Mina can
dealer who’s made and betrayed alliances
140
with other Rail Barons in the past, and she’s as possible per its contract with the US
become fantastically rich in the process. government. And it does. Various forces
But Black River rarely ponies up cash for inside the investment group have their own
right-of-way through a town. Mina prefers designs, however, and may eventually win
campaigns of seduction, violence, or out if Chamberlain can’t control them.
intimidation—sometimes all three at once!
She has many enforcers, but her Wichita
IRON DRAGON
141
Goals: Kang makes fistfuls of cash Goals: Most of Lone Star’s business these
shipping ill-gotten ghost rock to points days involves shipping cattle from the
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
East—that’s Far East, Marshal. The rest of West’s vast ranches to meat markets Back
his filthy lucre comes from the opium trade, East, and from there to the world. But the
prostitution, and any other vice he can dip company also gained a boost from its depot
his well-manicured hands into. And vice is in Potential, Arizona, located at the center
a very big business in the Maze. The bottom of a region rich with ghost rock. Lone Star
line of Kang’s activities is the spread of has an exclusive contract with the Rangers to
violence, despair, and fear. supply ghost rock to their scientific facilities
at Roswell, New Mexico.
Kang’s longstanding, secret ambition is
to establish his own nation in the northern Little does the board of directors know, but
Maze with Shan Fan as its capital. To achieve McSween’s involvement with the Rangers
this he needs money, and lots of it. Piracy goes far beyond mere ghost rock deliveries.
and graft are lucrative pursuits, but Iron Her late husband Alexander was a Texas
Dragon has been his greatest income source Ranger, and before he died he clued her in to
for over 10 years. In 1884 he’s much closer to a little thing called the Reckoning. Now she
founding the Kang Empire. uses company resources to aid the Rangers
in their goals, and by extension helps out the
Twilight Legion from time to time.
LONE STAR
For her part, McSween’s unaware that
Originally owned in
remnants of the Santa Fe Ring—with whom
part by Confederate
she and her husband clashed during the
General Robert E. Lee,
Lincoln County War—are still gunning for
Lone Star Rail Co. was
her. Worse yet, the Santa Fe Ring’s remaining
conceived as a way to
members are undead abominations bent on
shuttle CSA troops across
placing the company’s resources firmly in
the American frontier during the war. With
the Reckoners’ greedy claws.
the discovery of ghost rock it joined the
other railroads in striving westward. Not
long after the Civil War’s end, its former WASATCH RAIL
directors retired and a loose coalition of
When the Great Rail
Texas ranchers acquired its assets. It’s now
Wars started in 1871,
run by the feisty Susan McSween, the “Cattle
most folks bet on
Queen of New Mexico.”
Darius Hellstromme
Territory: From the headquarters in Dallas, and his Wasatch Rail
Texas, the main line stretches east through Co. to win the race to Lost
the South to Richmond, Virginia, and west Angels. As the Weird West’s preeminent mad
as far as Dead End, Arizona. Although the scientist, Hellstromme’s amazing technology
line’s importance fades the farther west it and financial might allowed him to lay track
goes, it maintains major depots in Dallas and at an astounding rate. He never had trouble
Lubbock, Texas, Albuquerque and Santa Fe, securing rights-of-way through the various
New Mexico, and Potential, Arizona. boomtowns of the West. Where bribes of
cash or marvelous inventions failed, setting
Rail Warriors: Lone Star hires retired and
loose legions of mechanized monstrosities to
out-of-work cowboys to man their rail crews
terrify the locals worked like a charm.
and fighting squads. This is also a big help
given all the livestock the company ships. A But Hellstromme came up against a wall
typical gang consists of eight to 10 cowboys called the Denver-Pacific Railroad, owned by
(page 146) with a veteran cowboy leader his most prominent scientific rivals, Smith
(page 146), all on horseback. Rarely, the & Robards. He would have wiped them out,
company hires an off-duty Territorial Ranger but that would have incurred the ire of his
(page 151) or two to guard particularly Mormon neighbors.
valuable trains on dangerous routes.
142
Instead, he created a drilling machine
called the Hellbore, and burrowed clear
FLASHPOINTS
The titanic battles between rivals are done,
under the Rocky Mountains and across the
but conflicts still erupt, resulting in death,
West to emerge clear of the Denver-Pacific
financial loss, and ever-increasing fear. A
line—and a stone’s throw from the Great
few activities and areas are “hot spots” in
Maze. Following the Battle of Lost Angels
the simmering Great Rail Wars.
(1879), won by Wasatch in decisive fashion,
143
CHAPTER
11
AGENT
MONSTROUS ABILITY Employed by the shadowy Agency,
US Agents investigate espionage and
supernatural incidents.
HORNS/TUSKS Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d8, Spirit d6,
Just like mounted riders, these animals add
Strength d6, Vigor d6
+4 when striking with their horns or tusks
Skills: Academics d6, Athletics d6, Common
and can charge at least 5” (10 yards).
Knowledge d6, Fighting d6, Notice d8,
This is noted after the attack’s damage Occult d6, Persuasion d6, Research d6, Shoot-
value as “May charge.” ing d8, Stealth d8, Survival d4
Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 5
LIMITED INVULNERABILITY Hindrances: Cautious, Vow (Major—Destroy
This works like Invulnerability except the or contain the supernatural)
individual or creature can be Wounded Edges: Agent, Guts, Level Headed, Rock and
as stated in their description, but is only Roll!
actually killed by their Weakness. When Gear: Gatling pistol (Range 12/24/48,
they’ve taken their maximum Wounds, they Damage 2d6, RoF 3, AP 1), disguise kit,
just can’t take any more—but still feel the Agency badge.
hurt of Wound penalties (up to −3, no matter
how many Wounds they actually have).
145
BLESSED Gear: Colt Frontier (Range 12/24/48,
Damage 2d6+1, RoF 1, AP 1), lariat (Parry −1,
A blessed might be a righteous crusader,
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
146
GUNMAN
147
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Spirit d8,
Strength d8, Vigor d6
SERVITORS
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
148
HEXSLINGER
149
MAD SCIENTIST Edges: Block, Martial Artist
Gear: Cloak, straw hat.
Folks can pick out a mad scientist from a
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
150
Rascals, Varmints, & Creatures
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d4, Spirit d6,
Strength d6, Vigor d6
SOLDIER, OFFICER
Officers are trained at a military academy
Skills: Athletics d6, Common Knowl-
or promoted from the ranks. They’re
edge d4, Boating d6, Fighting d8,
responsible for their men’s lives, the army’s
Intimidation d6, Notice d6, Persuasion d4,
success, and any trouble their troops cause.
Shooting d6, Stealth d6, Thievery d4
Pace: 6; Parry: 7; Toughness: 5 Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d8, Spirit d8,
Hindrances: Greedy, Mean Strength d6, Vigor d6
Edges: Block, First Strike, Martial Artist Skills: Athletics d6, Battle d8, Common
Gear: Colt Navy (Range 12/24/48, Damage Knowledge d8, Driving d6, Fighting d6,
2d6, RoF 1, AP 1), cutlass (Str+d6). Gambling d6, Notice d8, Persuasion d4,
Riding d6, Shooting d8, Stealth d6, Sur-
SOLDIER vival d6
Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 5
United States soldiers, often cavalry patrols
Hindrances: Obligation (Major—US Army)
on horseback, are encountered throughout
Edges: Command, Hold the Line!, Inspire,
the Weird West. Former Confederate soldiers
Soldier
are common as well, looking for a new
Gear: Colt Army (Range 12/24/48, Damage
cause to serve.
2d6+1, RoF 1, AP 1), saber (Str+d6).
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d4, Spirit d6,
Strength d6, Vigor d6 TERRITORIAL RANGER
Skills: Athletics d6, Common Knowl-
The toughest hombres in the US Territories
edge d6, Driving d4, Fighting d6,
are no doubt the Rangers. They operate on
Gambling d4, Notice d6, Persuasion d4,
their own. If several gather, you can bet
Riding d6, Shooting d6, Stealth d6, Sur-
there’s some major trouble brewing.
vival d4
Pace: 6; Parry: 5 or 6 (bayonet); Toughness: 5 Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d8, Spirit d8,
Hindrances: Obligation (Minor—US Army) Strength d8, Vigor d8
Edges: Soldier, Steady Hands (for cavalry) Skills: Athletics d8, Common Knowledge d6,
Gear: Winchester ’76 (Range 24/48/96, Fighting d10, Intimidation d8, Notice d6,
Damage 2d8, RoF 1, AP 2), bayonet (Str+d6, Occult d6, Persuasion d6, Riding d10, Shoot-
Reach 1, Parry +1). ing d10, Stealth d6, Survival d8
Pace: 6; Parry: 7; Toughness: 8 (2)
SOLDIER, VETERAN Hindrances: Stubborn, Vow (Major—Destroy
These men have seen the elephant and lived or contain the supernatural)
to tell the tale. Whether it’s against Mexicans, Edges: Brave, Guts, Territorial Ranger
Indians, or other Americans, they’re Gear: Armored duster (+2), Colt Frontier
experienced combat veterans and have the (Range 12/24/48, Damage 2d6+1, RoF 1,
scars to prove it. AP 1), Bowie knife (Str+d4+1, AP 1), horse,
Ranger badge, Fugitives from Justice. Most
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Spirit d8,
also keep a rifle or shotgun and a few sticks
Strength d8, Vigor d8
of dynamite on their horse for particularly
Skills: Athletics d6, Common Knowledge d6,
dangerous critters.
Driving d6, Fighting d8, Gambling d6, Intim-
idation d6, Notice d8, Persuasion d4,
Riding d6, Shooting d8, Stealth d6, Sur-
TOWNSFOLK
vival d6 The pioneer spirit runs deep in the folk of
Pace: 6; Parry: 6 or 7 (bayonet); Toughness: 6 the Weird West, whether they’re blacksmiths,
Hindrances: Obligation (Minor—US Army) cowhands, or saloon gals. Put aside whatever
Edges: Marksman, Soldier, Steady Hands you think you know about frail, cowardly
(for cavalry) townspeople, Marshal. It takes folks with
Gear: Winchester ’73 (Range 24/48/96, sand to make a life for themselves on the
Damage 2d8−1, RoF 1, AP 2), bayonet frontier. Townsfolk don’t take guff and
(Str+d6, Reach 1, Parry +1). they look out for their own.
151
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit d6, Pace: 6; Parry: 6; Toughness: 7 (2)
Strength d6, Vigor d6 Hindrances: Ruthless (Major)
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
Skills: Athletics d4, Common Knowledge d4, Edges: Arcane Background (Black Magic),
Fighting d4, Notice d6, Persuasion d6, Shoot- Attractive, Menacing.
ing d4, Stealth d4, Trade d8 Powers: Blast, boost/lower Trait, deflection,
Pace: 6; Parry: 4; Toughness: 5 smite. Power Points: 20
Hindrances: — Gear: Black armored duster (+2), Colt Fron-
Edges: — tier (Range 12/24/48, Damage 2d6+1, RoF
Gear: Items appropriate to their trade. Most 1, AP 1), whip (Str+d4, Parry −1, Reach 2),
own a firearm or knife (Str+d4). black horse, chaps, saddle.
152
Rascals, Varmints, & Creatures
Edges: Rock and Roll!, Steady Hands Pace: 7; Parry: 5; Toughness: 12
Gear: X-Squads are outfitted with “Devil’s Special Abilities:
aprons” (Armor +2, −4 damage from Horns: Str+d6, may charge.
fire), armed with Gatling weapons or Size 4 (Large): Buffalo are massive crea-
flamethrowers, and other infernal devices tures.
depending on the mission and terrain. Stampede: Buffalo cause 2d6+4 damage
in a stampede (see page 49).
VARMINTS CATTLE
This profile represents the average cow
There are countless animals in the Weird
or steer in any cattle herd. Use the Bull in
West, some of which are found in Savage
Savage Worlds for the more powerful varieties,
Worlds. Here are some more critters that your
and note that female longhorns—a type of
posse might stumble across. For unsettling
steer common in Texas—also have horns!
encounters, add a few Monstrous Abilities to
these beasts, courtesy of the Reckoners. Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d4 (A),
Spirit d4, Strength d10, Vigor d10
Skills: Athletics d6, Fighting d6, Notice d6
BLACK BEAR Pace: 8; Parry: 5; Toughness: 9
Black bears are more common than grizzlies Special Abilities:
and range from coast-to-coast and from Horns: Immature or female longhorn
Texas to Montana. They’re not so fearsome as cattle cause Str+d6 damage with their
their larger cousins, but an angry black bear horns and may charge. Use Bull in
is more than a match for a sodbuster. Savage Worlds for male longhorns.
Size 2: Cattle weigh over half a ton.
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6 (A),
Stampede: See page 49.
Spirit d8, Strength d10, Vigor d10
Skills: Athletics d8, Fighting d6, Notice d8,
Stealth d8
COYOTE
Pace: 8; Parry: 5; Toughness: 8 These small canines range from the Rocky
Special Abilities: Mountains to the Pacific Ocean, but are
Bite/Claws: Str+d6. most common in the Wild Southwest. They
Size 1: Black bears average 300 lbs, but usually avoid humans, but this is the Weird
some specimens may top 500 lbs. West, so sometimes a pack grows bold.
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6 (A),
BOAR Spirit d6, Strength d6, Vigor d6
A big, ill-tempered, feral hog. These animals Skills: Athletics d6, Fighting d6, Notice d10,
are the descendants of domestic pigs that Stealth d8
were released or escaped into the wild. Pace: 8; Parry: 5; Toughness: 4
Edges: Fleet-Footed, Quick
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d4 (A),
Special Abilities:
Spirit d12, Strength d8, Vigor d10
Bite: Str+d4.
Skills: Athletics d6, Fighting d6, Notice d6
Size −1: Coyotes are medium-size
Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 7
canines.
Edges: Berserk
Special Abilities:
Hardy: A second Shaken result does not
MOUNTAIN LION
cause a Wound to a wild boar. Also called a cougar or puma, this is the
Tusks: Str+d4, may charge. largest cat in the Weird West. A mountain
lion is usually a tawny color, though jet-black
BUFFALO (BISON) versions have been reported.
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d4 (A), Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6 (A),
Spirit d8, Strength d12+2, Vigor d12 Spirit d8, Strength d10, Vigor d8
Skills: Athletics d6, Fighting d6, Notice d6
153
Skills: Athletics d8, Fighting d6, Intimida- Poison (−2): Anyone Shaken or
tion d6, Notice d6, Stealth d8, Survival d6 Wounded by a scorpion’s sting must
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
154
Rascals, Varmints, & Creatures
Size −3 (Very Small): The hand is… Hellstromme has no desire to see the
well…about hand-size. inner workings of its invention exposed.
Strangulation: When an animate hand Each automaton is wired with a powerful
scores a raise on a Fighting roll, it latches explosive that destroys the brain and most of
onto the victim’s neck. The victim its internal parts should the automaton suffer
makes a Vigor roll then at the start of a fatal Wound or be captured.
each of his turns thereafter or suffers a
Although the Tombstone Epitaph “revealed”
level of Fatigue from suffocation. The
the secret years ago, few civilized folks take
victim may tear the hand away with an
such stories seriously. They still give the
opposed Strength roll. After the hand is
automatons a wide berth, though…
removed the victim recovers one Fatigue
level per round. Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d4, Spirit d4,
Undead: +2 Toughness; +2 to recover Strength d12, Vigor d12
from Shaken; Called Shots do no extra Skills: Athletics d8, Fighting d8, Intimida-
damage; doesn’t breathe; immune to tion d6, Notice d6, Shooting d8
disease and poison. Pace: 4; Parry: 6; Toughness: 13 (4)
Weakness (Fire, Acid): Fire and acid Gear: Gatling gun (Range 24/48/96, Damage
permanently destroy an animate hand. 2d8, RoF 3, AP 2), 100 rounds of ammo.
“Greater” versions can only be destroyed Edges: Brute
by the original owner. If he’s deceased, it Special Abilities:
can be rendered inert by placing it with Armor +4: Heavy Armor. Automatons
his body (or some meaningful posses- have thick iron plating.
sion if the body is no longer available). Claw: Str+d8.
Construct: +2 to recover from Shaken;
AUTOMATON ignore 1 point of Wound penalties;
immune to disease and poison.
Hellstromme Industries builds these
Fearless: Automa-
mechanical abominations in the City
tons are immune to
o’ Gloom and deploys them all over the
Fear and Intimida-
Weird West to protect its various interests.
tion.
Automatons are roughly humanoid in shape,
consisting of a large torso housing a ghost
rock boiler, piston-driven limbs, and a
vented, cylindrical head. One arm ends in a
pincer-like claw while the other terminates
in a Gatling gun or flamethrower attached
at the elbow.
The key to the automatons’
intelligence is a zombie brain!
Hellstromme reanimates dead brains
and installs them into his automatons,
making them heavily armored
walkin’ dead.
The metal monsters can’t be reasoned
with, can’t be bargained with, don’t feel
pity or remorse, and absolutely will not
stop until their foes are dead. You get
the picture.
155
Gyrostabilizer: The automaton suffers An Aztec mummy has a specific upkeep
no recoil penalty when firing its Gatling. requirement. Every 20 days, it must obtain
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
Hardy: A second Shaken result does not a new heart, fresh from a live human being.
cause a Wound.
The appearance of an Aztec mummy
Self-Destruct: If an automaton is Inca-
varies according to the freshness of its heart.
pacitated, it explodes in an area equal to
With a new heart, the mummy is similar to
a Medium Blast Template, inflicting 3d6
a Harrowed—only detectable as undead
damage on anyone within.
with some effort. As the heart weakens, the
Size 1: Automatons are considerably
mummy’s skin begins to dry and tighten until,
bulkier than a human.
on the last day, it becomes little more than a
dried-up, withered bag of walking bones.
c Aztec Mummy Some Aztec mummies are buried with a
During certain periods of their history, the
small jade stone under their tongues. These
Aztecs practiced a form of mummification,
stones protect the mummy from all forms of
particularly for those who were considered
attack while in place (see below).
blessed or important. Occasionally, one of
these mummies—usually that of a mighty Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Spirit d10,
king or priest—returns to the world of the Strength d12, Vigor d10
living. These revenants usually inhabit ruins Skills: Athletics d8, Common Knowledge d4,
or other areas tied to their past, and often Fighting d10, Intimidation d8, Notice d8,
attract cults of human followers. Occult d8, Persuasion d6, Spellcasting d10,
Stealth d6
Pace: 6; Parry: 7 or 6 (war club); Toughness: 9
Edges: Brave, Level Headed
Gear: An obsidian-edged, bladed war club
(Str+d8, Parry −1).
Special Abilities:
Black Magic: Aztec mummies have 20
Power Points and know the beast friend,
curse, puppet, stun, and zombie powers.
Fear (−2): Those encountering an Aztec
mummy make a Fear check at −2.
Invulnerability: An Aztec mummy with
a jade stone under its tongue can be
Shaken, but not Wounded, by damage
from any source, even if it’s directed at
the abomination’s heart.
Undead: +2 Toughness; +2 to recover
from Shaken; ignore 1 point of Wound
modifiers; Called Shots do no extra
damage; doesn’t breathe; immune to
disease and poison.
Weakness (Heart): If the mummy takes
damage to the heart from a Called Shot
that causes at least a Shaken result, it
causes an additional Wound as well
(which may be Soaked with any others).
Weakness (Jade Stone): Called Shots
to the jaw (−4) knock the stone from
the mummy’s mouth with a Shaken or
Wounded result, negating its Invulner-
ability.
156
Rascals, Varmints, & Creatures
Coup (Unstoppable): A deader who Fearless: Soldiers of the Black Regiment
counts coup on an Aztec mummy gains are immune to Fear and Intimidation.
+1 Toughness (only once). Undead: +2 Toughness; +2 to recover
from Shaken; Called Shots do no extra
BLACK REGIMENT damage; doesn’t breathe; immune to
disease and poison.
The Black Regiment consists of reanimated
Coup (Terror Bugle): A Harrowed who
soldiers slain on both sides of the Civil War,
counts coup on the bugler gets his bugle.
their uniforms stained black by their own
He can blow it once per encounter with a
blood. The only members of the unit who
Performance roll. Success causes every-
seem to have any individuality are the Lt.
one within 24” to make a Fear check (at
Colonel and the Bugler, whose horn sounds
−2 with a raise).
a bloodcurdling charge.
During critical battles between the Blue c Black Regiment Commander
and Gray, the Black Regiment sometimes
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Spirit d8,
appeared to tilt the battle in favor of the loser,
Strength d8, Vigor d8
solely in the interest of sustaining further
Skills: Athletics d8, Fighting d10, Intimida-
bloodshed. With the war over, the Regiment
tion d6, Notice d6, Shooting d6, Stealth d8
has moved West, encouraging bloodshed in
Pace: 6; Parry: 7; Toughness: 8
armed conflicts or testing units who have
Edges: Command, Command Presence,
become lax in their discipline.
Fervor, Hold the Line!
The undead of the Black Regiment prefer Gear: Colt Dragoon (Range 12/24/48,
to fight viciously rather than effectively, Damage 2d6+1, RoF 1, AP 1), saber (Str+d6).
favoring charges with their rusty bayonets. Special Abilities:
They attack their enemies mercilessly, but Fear: The Black Regiment causes a Fear
don’t act in any way to protect their “allies.” check.
Fearless: The commander is immune to
The Regiment always fields at least 10
Fear and Intimidation.
men, and sometimes as many as 500! When
Undead: +2 Toughness; +2 to recover
a battle ends, the regiment returns to the
from Shaken; ignore 1 point of Wound
Hunting Grounds, swelling its ranks with
modifiers; Called Shots do no extra
the recently deceased.
damage; doesn’t breathe; immune to
Fear: The horrors appear with a shrill, disease and poison.
bone-shaking blast from the bugler, Coup (Commander): A Harrowed who
subtracting 2 from the rolls of all who hear it. counts coup on a Black Regiment com-
Individual members have Fear as a Special mander gains any one Leadership Edge
Ability, but typically their foes must only roll he’s eligible for.
once when the regiment first appears.
BLOODWIRE
BLACK REGIMENT SOLDIER Related to tumblebleeds, this thorny, vine-
One member of the Regiment is always a
like abomination is nigh indistinguishable
bugler, with the Resilient ability.
from barbed wire. It camouflages itself along
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Spirit d4, fences until prey approaches then lashes out,
Strength d8, Vigor d8 wrapping around its victim and draining
Skills: Athletics d8, Fighting d8, Notice d4, blood through its thorny tendrils. Following
Performance d6, Shooting d6, Stealth d8 a meal, the engorged bloodwire resembles
Pace: 6; Parry: 6 or 7 (bayonet); Toughness: 8 a fat, red milkweed. It slowly slithers along
Gear: Spencer carbine (Range 20/40/80, the fence to lay a new ambush. Bloodwire
Damage 2d8, AP 2), bayonet (Str+d6, +1 is to blame for many range wars. Gunmen
Parry, Reach 1). employed by opposing cattle barons assume
Special Abilities: their counterparts are responsible for the
Fear: The Black Regiment causes Fear. bloodwire’s victims, whose wounds
resemble small-caliber gunshots.
157
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d4 (A), Reform: If a bone fiend is Incapacitated,
Spirit d4, Strength d4, Vigor d4 the ebon skull hovers over the body,
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
Skills: Athletics d4, Fighting d6, Notice d4, losing its next turn as it reforms the
Stealth d12+2 body. The skull has Dodge (Imp) in this
Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 2 mode, but does not get the Armor of the
Special Abilities: rib cage (see below).
Blood Drain: A bloodwire causes 2d4 Size 2: Bone fiends are 10 feet tall.
damage on a successful Fighting attack, Undead: +2 Toughness; +2 to recover
draining the target’s blood through its from Shaken; ignore 1 point of Wound
tendrils. If it Shakes or Wounds the foe, modifiers; Called Shots do no extra
he takes Fatigue from blood loss as well! damage; doesn’t breathe; immune to
Fear: Bloodwires cause a Fear check. disease and poison.
Size −2 (Small): All bundled up, blood- Weakness (Ebon Skull): A Wound to
wires are a mass of strands forming a the skull (−4 to hit) destroys the bone
two-foot diameter sphere. fiend. It has 4 points of Armor while
Whip Thin: Bloodwires are difficult to tucked inside the rib cage.
hit thanks to their peculiar dimensions, Coup (Bone Shards): A Harrowed that
so attack rolls suffer a −4 penalty, in absorbs a fiend’s essence can hurl bone
addition to any Scale penalties. shards: Range 4/8/16, Damage 2d4,
RoF 1.
c Bone Fiend
Bone fiends come from charnel pits or mass c Boogeyman
graves full of bones. A manitou possesses a The boogeyman is a spindly abomination
single human skull, turning it black as pitch, made of dried twigs and sticks with a
and builds a massive, new form from the tumbleweed for a head. Absurd, you
bones that surround it. say? In fact it’s terrifying. Once a creature
of children’s nightmares, the Reckoners
The “ebon skull” hides inside the rib
gave this horror unholy life. It takes joy in
cage for concealment and protection. The
frightening the young, whose elders rarely
creature’s body varies in appearance
believe their tales. The boogeyman is careful
based on the available supply of bones,
not to let adults see it, going out of its way to
but generally looks like a large, humanoid
ensure its young victims witness its cruel and
skeleton with a longhorn skull.
deadly mischief. If it can frame some poor
Attributes: Agility d10, Smarts d8, Spirit d12, child for its deeds, all the better—it lives for
Strength d10, Vigor d10 mischief as much as terror and death.
Skills: Athletics d10, Fighting d12, Notice d6
Attributes: Agility d12, Smarts d8, Spirit d10,
Pace: 8; Parry: 8 or 7 (bone scythe);
Strength d8, Vigor d8
Toughness: 11
Skills: Athletics d12, Common Knowl-
Edges: Fleet-Footed, Sweep (Imp)
edge d6, Fighting d12, Intimidation d10,
Special Abilities:
Notice d6, Persuasion d8, Shooting d10,
Bite/Claws: Str+d4.
Stealth d12+2, Taunt d8, Thievery d10
Bone Blast: When a bone fiend is
Pace: 6; Parry: 8; Toughness: 6
destroyed, it shatters into a barrage of
Special Abilities:
bone shards for 3d6 damage in a Large
Claws: Str+d4.
Blast Template.
Fear: Anyone who encounters a boogey-
Bone Scythe: Bone fiends form massive
man must make a Fear check. A hero
scythes to reap their foes (Damage
with the Young Hindrance suffers −2.
Str+d10, Two Hands, Parry −1).
Limited Invulnerability: Adults (GM’s
Bone Shards: The fiend can hurl shards of
call) just can’t seem to kill a boogeyman.
bone: Range 4/8/16, Damage 2d4, RoF 3.
Unbelievable: Adults are skeptical of the
Fear (−1): Bone fiends cause Fear.
boogeyman, believing only when they
Fearless: Immune to Fear and
manage to catch sight of it. Persuasion
Intimidation.
rolls to convince them suffer a −2 penalty.
158
CARCAJOU
159
a fearsome abomination. It stalks hunters
and often turns their own traps against
c Chinook
The chinook’s name is an Indian term for
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
CHUPACABRA
Legend says these small gray or brown
creatures were once humans who
betrayed their families. Now they
scurry about in the shadows, joining
hidden herds and feeding on their
livestock (the name means “goat-
sucker” in Spanish).
Greater or “true” chupacabras are
those whose betrayal resulted in some
great tragedy for their families. They’re
160
Rascals, Varmints, & Creatures
Wild Cards with Strength and Fighting d10. The mechanical arachnids are terrifying
They often lead herds of 20+ other chupas. opponents, made more so by the potent
acid they inject or spray at targets. Should
Chupacabra are vaguely monkey-like with
a clockwork tarantula be defeated, its
large heads, long arms, and short legs. Their
remaining acid is released to destroy the
hands and feet end in vicious claws, and they
creature, thus concealing the method of its
have round mouths filled with jagged teeth.
construction.
The creatures are nocturnal, and their large,
round, milky black eyes provide excellent Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d4 (A),
night vision. Spirit d4, Strength d6, Vigor d6
Skills: Athletics d6, Fighting d8, Notice d6,
Besides drinking blood, chupacabras also
Shooting d8, Stealth d8, Survival d6
like eating the soft, tasty bits of critters, such
Pace: 6; Parry: 6; Toughness: 6 (2)
as eyes and lips. They’ve even been known to
Gear: Acid sprayer (Range 1/2/4, Damage
stick their long arms down a critter’s throat
2d6, RoF 2, AP 5). A target Shaken or
to pick out other “delicacies.”
Wounded by the attack takes 2d4 damage
Attributes: Agility d10, Smarts d6, Spirit d6, at the start of his next turn.
Strength d6, Vigor d6 Special Abilities:
Skills: Athletics d6, Fighting d6, Notice d8, Acidic Bite: Str+d4. A target Shaken
Stealth d12+2, Survival d6 or Wounded by the attack takes 2d4
Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 5 damage at the start of his next turn from
Edges: Dodge (Imp), Frenzy (Imp) a painful inject of acid!
Special Abilities: Armor +2: Clockwork tarantulas are
Bite/Claws: Str+d6. covered in metal plates.
Fear: “Chupas” cause Fear. Construct: +2 to recover from Shaken;
Low Light Vision: Chupacabras ignore immune to disease and poison.
Dim and Dark Illumination penalties. Fearless: Clockwork tarantulas are
Trackless: Chupas are hard to track. immune to Fear and Intimidation.
Survival (tracking) rolls to follow them Self-Destruct: When a clockwork taran-
are made at −4. tula takes a Wound, it releases acid into
Coup (Trackless): Harrowed who defeat its braincase to dissolve the brain.
a true chupacabra gain its Trackless Size −1: Clockwork tarantulas are the
ability. The deader can’t turn the ability size of medium dogs.
off if it ever becomes an issue though. Wall Walker: A clockwork tarantula can
walk on vertical or inverted surfaces at
CLOCKWORK TARANTULA its full Pace, and may run.
Clockwork tarantulas stand about three feet
tall and resemble enormous, mechanical
DESERT THING
versions of their namesakes. Eight gear- Desert things are loathsome horrors lurking
driven legs, each over a yard long, emerge beneath the soft sands of southwestern
from the bulbous, armor-plated body. Within deserts. They move slowly beneath the dunes,
this hard steel carapace are the pistons and setting up shop along busy trails or in or near
devices that give the creature “life.” The head a water hole. When a hapless traveler passes
contains a set of sharpened, hollow tubes by, the thing grabs its legs or hooves with
that function as the mechanism’s primary long tentacles and drags it into its insatiable
weapons, or “fangs.” circular maw.
These are another of Hellstromme’s Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d4 (A),
devices, originally designed for the Great Spirit d4, Strength d12+2, Vigor d12
Rail Wars. Like automatons, the duplication Skills: Athletics d10, Fighting d8, Notice d6,
of these machines is beyond the ken of Stealth d12+2
most inventors, and for the same reason. Pace: 2; Parry: 6; Toughness: 15 (2)
But clockwork tarantulas don’t rate human
brains. They get reanimated animal brains!
161
Special Abilities: DEVIL BAT
Armor +2: This critter has rubbery skin.
Devil bats live in the Badlands of the Dakota
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
162
Rascals, Varmints, & Creatures
Infection: Anyone Shaken or Wounded
c Devil Bat King by the bite of a dread wolf must make a
Like the Reckoners’ tactics, some of the
Vigor roll or gain the Berserk Edge and
creatures they conjured from travelers’
Night Terrors Hindrance, which can
nightmares have evolved and become even
only be cured via magical healing with
more deadly. Devil bat “kings” are larger and
the Neutralize Poison modifier. This
more powerful than most of their kind. More
particular infection is highly supernat-
importantly, they breathe fire! The Tombstone
ural and can even affect the Harrowed.
Epitaph’s Lacy O’Malley has coined the term
“dragon bats,” but since they rule their local
flock, devil bat king has become the official
DUST DEVIL
name in Chapter 13 of the Rangers’ Fugitives These vicious killers are long, whip-like
from Justice. creatures. They lie dormant in the dusty
deserts of the southwest until they sense prey.
Devil bat kings have the same profile as
Then they whip themselves into a whirlwind
devil bats, but are Vigor d12, Toughness 8,
and race in for the kill.
and can breathe fire once per turn:
Dust devils attack by centering on their
Breathe Fire: Cone Template, 3d6
prey and whirling around it with their
damage.
spiny, serpentine bodies. They attack from
the center of their dirt-filled whirlwinds,
DREAD WOLF making them difficult to see or hit with
Dread wolves have blood-red eyes and normal weapons.
constantly drool bloody saliva that coats their
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6 (A),
fur with gore. Their ferocious appearance is
Spirit d4, Strength d12+2, Vigor d8
accentuated by the carrion stench that clings
Skills: Athletics d8, Fighting d12, Notice d8
to their mangy pelts. The smell and sight of a
Pace: 12; Parry: 8; Toughness: 6
dread wolf causes normal animals to flee, and
Special Abilities:
it doesn’t do much good for people either.
Deflection (−4): Physical attacks against
These creatures, also called blood wolves a dust devil are made at −4. Ranged
or banshee wolves, are sometimes created projectiles that miss are sucked into
when a pack of normal wolves consumes the whirlwind and spat back out at a
a supernatural corpse. The corrupted flesh random target, hitting automatically for
transforms the animals into the Reckoners‘ regular damage (no raise)!
servants, infecting them with “bad blood,” Whirlwind: The dust devil is the size
an unnatural form of rabies. of a Medium Blast Template. Anyone
inside the template takes Str+d4 in
Otherwise, dread wolves act much
damage and is Distracted until the end
like normal wolves, traveling in packs,
of their next turn after moving out of it
coordinating attacks, and looking for
(this stacks with its Deflection). Goggles
easy prey.
protect against the Distracted effect.
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6 (A), Coup (Reap the Whirlwind): Once
Spirit d8, Strength d8, Vigor d10 a Harrowed absorbs a dust devil’s
Skills: Athletics d8, Fighting d8, Intimida- essence, ranged attacks against him
tion d10, Notice d6, Stealth d8 subtract 2. This stacks with Dodge and
Pace: 10; Parry: 6; Toughness: 7 similar Edges, powers, or abilities.
Edges: Fleet-Footed
Special Abilities: DUSTER
Bite: Str+d6.
Dusters are scrawny, emaciated, rabbit-
Howl: As an action, dread wolves may
like creatures that blend in well with their
make an Intimidation Test against a
surroundings. In the Weird West, looks can
single target within 12”. The pack can
be deceiving, and the duster is no exception.
do this together as a group roll.
Per ounce, they’re the cutest little killers
in the Weird West.
163
These critters live by sucking the water Gear: None. It’s rare, but they can pick up
out of other living beings. Those who live and use gear if needed.
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
164
Rascals, Varmints, & Creatures
Bound or helpless—then it can be flayed Edges: Frenzy (Imp)
off with a Healing roll at −2. Failure Pace: 6; Parry: 6; Toughness: 6
causes the host a Wound (two on a Crit- Special Abilities:
ical Failure). The healing power can’t be Bite/Claws: Str+d4.
used to remove a skin jacket, but can be Invulnerability: Gaki take no damage
used to heal the victim. from non-magical attacks.
Envelop: Flesh jackets take over a host Fear: Anyone who sees a gaki in its true
by grappling. Their stretchy, fleshy skin or cat-like form must make a Fear check.
adds +2 to Grappling attempts. Once a Shape Change: A gaki can mimic
victim’s Bound, he’s controlled. another human or appear as a mon-
Fear (−1): Seen without its host, a flesh strous cat. Changing form takes a full
jacket prompts a Fear check. round. It can’t do anything else during
Wall Walker: Hostless flesh jackets can this time.
walk on vertical or inverted surfaces at Slow Regeneration: A gaki makes a
their full Pace, and may run. natural healing roll once per day.
Weakness (Magic): A gaki takes full
GAKI damage from magical attacks.
The gaki is an emaciated spirit with an
unquenchable desire for something strange—
GHOST
it could be ghost rock, animals, people, Ghosts come in a wide variety of types.
or stranger things. This is why they’re Poltergeists tend to throw things, shades
sometimes called “hungry ghosts.” haunt particular families or places, and
phantoms are frenzied killers. Exactly what
The creatures were drawn from the
powers your ghost has are up to you, but
nightmares of Asian immigrants, and in the
here are the details on the most common.
American West have gained the ability to
shape-change as well. They might appear as Particularly powerful ghosts are Wild
joyful travelers asking for whatever it is they Cards and should have additional skills
crave or seductive strangers luring in those or Special Abilities as fit the person they
they think have whatever they’re looking for. were in life.
After it’s taken what it wants from a victim Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit d10,
it may use their appearance as a lure to Strength d6, Vigor d6
capture others, but it has no knowledge of Skills: Athletics d12, Common Knowl-
the person’s memories or personalities. It can edge d6, Fighting d6, Intimidation d10,
only mimic the physical form. Notice d10, Persuasion d4, Stealth d12
Pace: 8; Parry: 5; Toughness: 5
If the thing decides to attack, it first shifts
Special Abilities:
into its normal visage—requiring a Fear
Anchor: Some ghost have anchors which
check—then screams and transforms over
tie them to the world of the living. An
the round into a monstrous-looking cat-
anchor may be any thing, place, or
like horror.
person important to it in life. Such spirits
This profile is for the humanoid form. may not travel more than one mile from
Use the profile for a Mountain Lion (page their anchor.
153) when in cat form, including the Chill of the Grave: A ghost may make
Invulnerability, Slow Regeneration, and a Touch Attack that deals 2d6 damage.
Weakness Special Abilities. Most gaki are Only magic armor protects against this
not Wild Cards, but leaders of gaki clans are. damage. The damage is usually non-le-
thal, but particularly vicious spirits can
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d8, Spirit d10,
kill if they choose to do so.
Strength d8, Vigor d8
Ethereal: Ghosts can become invisible
Skills: Athletics d6, Common Knowledge d6,
and immaterial at will and can only be
Fighting d8, Notice d8, Occult d6, Persua-
harmed by magical attacks.
sion d6, Stealth d8, Survival d10
Hindrances: Greedy, Ruthless (Major)
165
Fear: Anyone who sees a ghost must Special Abilities:
make a Fear check. Some ghosts are Bite/Claw: Str+d4.
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
more terrifying; subtract 2 to 4 from Fear Fear: Seeing a ghoul spurs a Fear check.
checks if they’re particularly grisly. Low Light Vision: Ghouls ignore pen-
Nightmares: Some ghosts can affect alties for Dim and Dark Illumination.
the dreams of those who sleep in their Their eyes have a slight red glint.
haunting place. This gives a target the Poison: Anyone Shaken or Wounded
Night Terrors Hindrance (page 16). by a ghoul’s bite or claws must make a
Poltergeist: Once per encounter, a ghost Vigor roll against Paralyzing Poison (see
can create a storm of objects in an area Savage Worlds).
the size of a Large Blast Template. The Weakness (Light): Ghouls suffer a −2
storm may move up to 12” per round, penalty to all Trait rolls in light brighter
and lasts up to 5 rounds. Anyone inside than a torch.
suffers 2d4 damage per round.
Terror: The ghost reveals its most c Ghoul King
heinous form, forcing witnesses to make Ghouls live in large groups underground,
a second Fear check with a −2 modifier. where they’re led by a bloated, bestial Ghoul
Weakness (Banishment): Ghosts are King or Ghoul Queen. Each is different, but
susceptible to the banish power, but the profile below serves as an example of
they return to the anchor in 2d6 hours one such creature currently ruling the brood
as long as it remains intact. Most ghosts beneath Dodge City, Kansas.
can be permanently laid to rest if a hero
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d4, Spirit d8,
manages to rectify whatever caused
Strength d12, Vigor d10
them to remain in our world. This might
Skills: Athletics d8, Common Knowledge d10,
be anything from finding out some
Fighting d10, Notice d8, Persuasion d8,
hidden truth to avenging a murder, or
Stealth d8
properly burying their remains.
Pace: 6; Parry: 7; Toughness: 7
Edge: Command, Counterattack, Fervor,
GHOUL Sweep (Imp)
Ghouls are pale, clammy creatures that Gear: Large bone club (Str+d8).
lurk in graveyards and scavenge the dead Special Abilities:
or dying. They prefer fresh meat so they’re Bite/Claw: Str+d4.
often found near battlefields, grabbing those Fear (−2): Ghoul kings are terrifying
too badly wounded to defend themselves creatures.
and dragging them into hidey-holes to finish Low Light Vision: Ghouls ignore pen-
their grisly feast. alties for Dim and Dark Illumination.
Their eyes have a slight red glint.
Ghouls are humanoid in appearance.
Poison: Anyone Shaken or Wounded
Sometimes they’re created from pure
by a ghoul’s bite or claws must make a
nightmare by the Reckoners; other times
Vigor roll against Paralyzing Poison (see
they’re actually a transformed man or
Savage Worlds).
woman who committed the blasphemy of
Weakness (Light): Ghouls suffer a −2
consuming human flesh.
penalty to all Trait rolls in light brighter
Ghouls are pitiful wretches with a stooped, than a lantern.
shuffling gait. Their skin is corpse-gray and
covered in sores and pustules from the
constant infections that plague them.
c ’Glom
A ’glom—short for conglomerate—is a group
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d4, Spirit d4, of corpses joined together into a horrifying
Strength d8, Vigor d10 mass and animated by an especially strong
Skills: Athletics d8, Common Knowl- manitou. The parts of the component bodies
edge d6, Fighting d6, Notice d8, can be seen clearly, although they’re merged
Persuasion d4, Stealth d10 inseparably into a single abomination. The
Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 7 creation of a ’glom requires at least two
166
Rascals, Varmints, & Creatures
corpses. One corpse, in which the manitou Fearless: ’Gloms are immune to Fear
houses its primary essence, must be relatively and Intimidation.
intact, but the others needn’t be so tidy. ’Glom: A ’glom takes a full round to
add a corpse to its mass. For every addi-
Most ’gloms are formed from considerably
tional corpse it adds, the thing gains a
more than two corpses, usually at the site of
die type in Strength and Vigor and +1
a recent battle. Even more terrifying is the
Size. A ’glom may grow as large as 10
’glom’s ability to join additional corpses
corpses (Strength and Vigor d12+7, Size
to its seething mass, increasing its power
9, Toughness 22); after that is splits into
proportionately.
two equal ’gloms.
’Gloms use their limbs and whatever A ’glom can take three Wounds, plus
weapons are handy to kill any living person one additional Wound for every corpse
in sight, then add those corpses to their mass. after the third. A ’glom made of five
’Gloms can wield guns if available, though bodies, for example, can take five
since their limbs often flail wildly, any shots Wounds before it’s destroyed.
they fire are made at a −2 penalty. Size 1: ’Gloms start as two corpses.
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d4, Spirit d4,
Strength d8 (see ’Glom, below), Vigor d8
Skills: Athletics d8, Fighting d8, Intimida-
tion d6, Notice d10, Shooting d6, Stealth d4
Pace: 6; Parry: 6; Toughness: 9
Gear: ’Gloms carry weapons accord-
ing to the number of hands they
possess.
Special Abilities:
Claws: Str+d4.
Fear (−2): Anyone seeing a
horrible ’glom
must make a
Fear check at −2.
167
Undead: +2 Toughness; +2 to recover of mad scientists and infernal devices
from Shaken; ignore 1 point of Wound are their favorites). Once inside, they’re
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
modifiers; Called Shots do no extra trapped there until forced out (see
damage; doesn’t breathe; immune to below). The number of gremlins a
disease and poison. device holds depends on its size. Small
Weakness (Head): A Notice roll at −1 for items hold up to four creatures, medium
each ’glommed body (−4 max) reveals devices (bigger than a breadbox) up to
which of a ’glom’s many heads is the eight, and large machines (e.g., a steam
primary. If it’s destroyed the entire thing wagon), may contain up to 12 gremlins.
dies instantly. Invulnerability: As long as they’re
Coup (’Glom): Deaders who absorb a inhabiting a device, gremlins are imper-
’glom’s mojo gain its ’Glom ability to vious to mundane and magical attacks.
absorb a corpse, but only one. It takes a They can’t even be Shaken or Stunned
full round to add or remove a ’glommed while nestled in a cozy device.
corpse, and using this power provokes a Jinx: Every two gremlins in a device
Fear check for witnesses, and probably (round up) inflicts a −1 penalty to use it.
an angry mob if townsfolk see it! If the device is a mad scientist’s gizmo
(his power) or an infernal device, all
GREMLIN Malfunctions are Catastrophic!
Size −3 (Very Small): A gremlin is thin
Gremlins are devious little critters that infect
and 18” tall.
mechanical devices. Their spirit form resides
Weakness (Destruction): Gremlins
within, and causes the device to malfunction
remain in a device until it’s destroyed, a
more often than usual.
successful banishment is performed on it,
Gremlins sometimes come into the world or the device enters consecrated ground.
when a mad science device malfunctions If any of these things happen, the crea-
and temporarily rips a hole into the Hunting tures erupt from the device in physical
Grounds. The things flock to the breach form and may be slain normally. They
in a mad frenzy, hungry to escape. Most can’t inhabit another device for at least
immediately inhabit a device, but some 24 hours, so they try to escape as quickly
roam for a time in physical form looking for as possible.
juicier targets.
Attributes: Agility d10, Smarts d6, c Hangin' Judge
Spirit d8, Strength d4, Vigor d6 From 1863–69, five Confederate circuit
Skills: Athletics d10, Common judges—Hiram Jackson, Cyrus Call, Luther
Knowledge d4, Fighting d8, Kirby, Moses Moore, and Marcus Lafayette—
formed a secret alliance to steal land, ruin
rivals, and eliminate anyone who stood in
Notice d8,
the way of their wealth and fame. All who
Stealth d10,
opposed them were framed for “hangin’
Thievery d10
offenses,” and hauled to the lynching tree.
Pace: 5; Parry: 6;
Toughness: 2 After six years of tyranny, the hot-blooded
Special Abilities: Texas locals fought back. They rounded
Claws: Str+d4. up the judges and hanged them from trees
Inhabit: As a all along the Chisholm Trail as a warning
free action, a to other authorities who would abuse
gremlin may their power. The Reckoners seized this
become ethereal opportunity to infuse the judges’ spirits with
and inhabit any unholy energy and send them back to earth.
type of machine
Now the hangin’ judges stalk the Chisholm
(though the
by night, terrorizing anyone who crosses
inventions
their path. They might decide blue is illegal
168
Rascals, Varmints, & Creatures
one day and whistling is a hangin’ offense the the following night, likely Hell-bent on
next. Being from Texas is always a heinous revenge.
crime in these horrors’ evil book of law. Coup (Revolvers): Hangin’ judges are
Whatever “charge” they bring, the judges’ horrors of the highest order. A Har-
sentences are always of the fatal variety. And rowed who counts its coup gets one of
death is the judges’ stock in trade. its revolvers as coup. The gun won’t
fire a single shot in the hands of a living
Hangin’ judges are solitary and relentless
person, but a Harrowed need never
hunters but avoid towns and other large
reload.
congregations of people. Hangin’ judges
never speak except to whisper their prey’s
offense over and over. Their prey is often
found lynched from a tree with their offense
written on their forehead in blood.
Attributes: Agility d10, Smarts d6, Spirit d8,
Strength d12, Vigor d8
Skills: Athletics d8, Common Knowledge d8,
Fighting d12, Intimidation d12, Notice d8,
Persuasion d10, Shooting d12+2, Stealth d12
Pace: 8; Parry: 10; Toughness: 6
Edges: Ambidextrous, Block (Imp), Dodge
(Imp), Level Headed (Imp), Marksman,
Master (Shooting), Nerves of Steel (Imp),
Quick, Two-Gun Kid
Special Abilities:
Colt Revolvers: Judges carry two
single-action Army revolvers
that never need reloading
(Range 12/24/48, Damage
2d6+1, RoF 1, AP 1).
Fear (−2): Hangin’ judges
provoke a Fear check at −2.
Fearless: Hangin’ judges are
immune to Fear and Intimi-
dation.
Invulnerability: Hangin’
judges can’t be Wounded by any-
thing other than their Weakness,
see below.
Pistol Scythes: Str+d6. The
pistols of these horrors are fitted
with scythes the judges can use
in melee combat.
Weakness (Bullets of a Law
Dog): Hangin’ Judges can be
Wounded by bullets fired by
a duly authorized law man or
woman. If this “kills” the crea-
ture, it dissipates and comes back
the following night.
Weakness (Hangin’): The only
way to permanently destroy a judge
is to hang ’im high. Otherwise it returns
169
HORNED SERPENT huge range of frequencies at a ridiculously
high volume.
A horned serpent’s belly is solid black, while
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
the rest of its long body is covered with The humbug’s mating call is so piercing
scales of varied green and blue hues. Its head it prevents anyone from sleeping for miles
is viper-like, similar to a rattlesnake or water around. Sadly for the humbug, they’re
moccasin. But from the crown of its head rare and it usually takes a solid month to
to the base of its neck runs a series of small, find a mate.
bony horns. On either side of this crest is a
The random, on-and-off nature of the
sharp, two-foot-long horn.
humbug’s sonic drone drives locals into
These creatures dwell in the deeper rivers a tizzy. After a couple of days without
of the Southwest. They lurk just beneath sufficient shut-eye or even the ability to hold
the surface, waiting for unwitting prey to a decent conversation, the locals get irritable
approach for a life-saving drink. and prone to violence.
When the serpent strikes, it delivers a The humbug is a cowardly little critter that
poisonous bite, then coils around its victim to loves to hide in hard-to-reach places and flies
hold the poor sap while it feasts. The horned away quickly when it feels cornered. Finding
serpent uses its shape-changing ability to its specific hidey-holes takes an hour of
hunt outside its normal domain, but if its searching—the sound reverberates in such a
true nature is discovered, it reverts to its way as to make them hard to pin down—and
serpent form and attempts to escape. If it’s a Survival roll at −4. Once found, it emits its
cornered, it doesn’t give up without a fight. sonic attack (see below) and flies to a new
hiding place.
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d4 (A),
Spirit d8, Strength d10, Vigor d8 Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d4 (A),
Skills: Athletics d8, Fighting d8, Notice d8, Spirit d4, Strength 1, Vigor d4
Stealth d10 Skills: Athletics d4, Fighting d4, Notice d8,
Pace: 6; Parry: 6; Toughness: 6 Stealth d12
Special Abilities: Pace: 1; Parry: 4; Toughness: 1
Aquatic: Pace 12”. Edges: Danger Sense
Bite: Str+d4. Special Abilities:
Constrict: +2 to Athletics and Strength Bite: Str.
rolls when grappling. Flight: Pace 20”.
Horns: Str+d6. May charge. Size −4 (Tiny): A humbug is the size of
Poison (−2): Anyone Shaken or a scarab beetle.
Wounded by the serpent’s bite must Shatter: Glass shatters within 10 yards of
make a Vigor roll at −2 or suffer the the humbug, including vials, eyeglasses,
effects of Knockout Poison (see Poison camera lenses, scopes, and even glass
in Savage Worlds). eyes!
Shape Change: Horned serpents have the Sonic Attack: A threatened humbug
shape change power, activated with Ath- emits a sonic screech as an action. Every-
letics and costing no Power Points. It can one in a Large Blast Template centered
change its shape to become identical to any on the critter must make a Vigor roll
creature it preyed on in the last 24 hours. or suffer 2d4 damage. Armor doesn’t
It may remain in that form indefinitely. protect, but thick wax earplugs reduce
the bone-rattling damage by 2.
HUMBUG Sonic Drone: Everything within five
miles of the humbug vibrates at a fre-
The mercifully rare humbug is related to
quency that drives humans mad, even
the common cicada. It mostly keeps to itself,
the deaf. Sleeping with a humbug nearby
but when it gets the urge to mate it lets
takes a Spirit roll at −6, or −2 with thick
out a terrible screeching whine intended
was earplugs or the Hard of Hearing
to attract a humbug of the opposite
Hindrance. See Sleep in Savage Worlds
sex. Unfortunately, the noise covers a
for the effects of sleep deprivation.
170
c Hunger Spirit
171
These little beasts look like jackrabbits Knifegrass feeds on blood, blooming with
with antlers, and they’re damned hard to kill. bright red flowers after it feeds.
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
172
Rascals, Varmints, & Creatures
Marked—they can’t spend Bennies to Soak Immunity (All): Diablos are immune to
damage until the impending los diablos are all attacks except those of their chosen
defeated! targets.
Size 3: Diablos are massive, brawny
On the fifth night of the hunt, at 13 minutes
bulls.
after midnight (if possible), the bulls arrive,
Weakness (Target): Diablos may be
smashing through walls, doors, or windows
harmed normally by their chosen
to get at their prey.
targets.
There’s one diablo for every character of Coup (Armor): A deader who absorbs
Heroic rank or higher in the group. They’re a diablo’s infernal spark gains natural
the devil bulls’ sworn enemies and the only Armor +2.
individuals Fate allows them to hunt.
The bulls fight until they or all their prey c Maze Dragon
are dead. And if their prey hides in some All kinds of strange creatures emerged when
impenetrable place, the bulls just wait for California broke apart and fell into the sea.
them to emerge. They’re patient, undying, One of the biggest is the California Maze
and have nothing else to do but enforce the dragon. These tremendous serpents attack
Reckoners’ will. ships hauling ore and prospectors mining
the canyon walls of the Maze.
The Devil’s Own Herd: Those who die
fighting los diablos join the Devil’s Own Unlike most abominations, Maze dragons
Herd, a ghostly stampede of lesser diablos are known and accepted as terrifying yet
that follow los diablos for all eternity. ordinary creatures by the populace. Most
folks figure the Great Quake awoke or
The herd can’t harm characters of Heroic
released them somehow. The Chinese
rank or higher, but other unfortunates in the
warlords of the area started calling them
area are caught in the stampede, requiring
dragons and the name stuck.
three Evasion rolls to escape the phantom
tide (see Stampedes, page 49). Those who
perish become yet another damned soul in
the Devil’s Own Herd.
Nothing on earth can harm or deter
the herd. They dissipate instantly only
when the diablos leading them, or their
prey, are dead.
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6,
Spirit d8, Strength d12+4, Vigor d12+2
Skills: Athletics d12, Fighting d12, Intim-
idation d12, Notice d8, Stealth d6
Pace: 8; Parry: 8; Toughness: 20 (8)
Edges: Fleet-Footed, Nerves of Steel
Special Abilities:
Armor +8: Diablos have scaly
hides forged in the pits of Hell.
Fear (−2): Those targeted by the
coming of the bulls don’t have to roll
again when they finally arrive. Others
who see them are fair game though.
Fearless: Diablos are immune to Fear
and Intimidation.
Horns: Str+d12. May charge.
173
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6 (A), A mourning mist has no statistics, but is a
Spirit d4, Strength d12+9, Vigor d12+2 floating cloud of negative energy. At the end
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
Skills: Athletics d10, Fighting d10, Intimida- of its turn, anyone inside it takes 2d4 damage.
tion d10, Notice d8, Stealth d8 Those who are Shaken or Wounded also get a
Pace: 0; Parry: 7; Toughness: 26 (5) vision of whatever betrayal called the cloud
Special Abilities: into being. Resolving that betrayal somehow
Armor +5: Heavy Armor. is the only way to destroy it. This might
Aquatic: Pace 10”. mean bringing a traitor to justice or telling
Bite: Str+d12. the true story of the event to a crowd with
Size 12 (Gargantuan): These massive a successful Persuasion or Performance roll.
serpents are over 100 feet long and
Special Abilities:
have three extra Wounds. Its attacks are
Weakness (Banishment): A mourning
Heavy Weapons.
mist can be banished, but returns the fol-
Slam: A Maze dragon can rise from the
lowing sunset.
water to crush boats or prey beneath its
massive body. Place a Cone Template to
represent the portion of the creature’s
MUDSUCKER
body used to crush. Everything within These large, leech-like creatures lair in muddy
must beat the monster in an opposed banks near stagnant waters, including bogs,
Athletics versus Agility roll or take its ponds, lagoons, and swamps. Individual
Str as damage. Ignore Scale modifiers mudsuckers hollow out small chambers
when making a slam attack. to store their meals for later consumption.
Swallow: A dragon that hits with a raise When hunting, they lie in shallow murky
swallows Normal Size or smaller prey water and grab their prey as it passes nearby.
whole. The victim suffers 2d6 damage
Although their bite isn’t particularly
every round from the crushing gullet
formidable, mudsuckers are venomous,
and acidic bile. The only way to get out
incapacitating their prey so it can be safely
is to kill the beast. On the plus side, the
dragged underwater.
hero can still attack the Maze dragon
from the inside, where the creature Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d4 (A),
doesn’t benefit from its Heavy Armor. Spirit d4, Strength d10, Vigor d8
Coup (Thick Skin): Maze dragons grant Skills: Athletics d10, Fighting d6, Notice d6,
+1 Toughness to deaders who claim Stealth d10
their mojo. Pace: 2; Parry: 5; Toughness: 7
Special Abilities:
MOURNING MIST Aquatic: Pace 6”.
Bite: Str+d4.
When it wants to be seen, a mourning mist is
Poison: Anyone Shaken or Wounded by
a large, dark red cloud. It’s amorphous with
a mudsucker makes a Vigor roll versus
thick tentacles and thin tendrils extending
Paralyzing Poison.
from the core. A close study of the mist
Size 1: A mudsucker is slightly larger
reveals shadowy human faces distorted by
and heavier than a human.
silent screams of agony, moving furtively
throughout the cloud.
NIBBLER SWARM
Mourning mists are born at the sites of
These fish resemble their larger South
tragic battles where cowardice or treachery
American cousins, the piranha. They’re
resulted in disastrous defeat or lives lost.
between three and four inches in length and
Most mists lurk on the infamous battlefield
fairly narrow. Their scales are blood-red and
where they were born, but a few have been
their mouths feature a pugnacious underbite
known to follow museums and traveling
bristling with needlelike fangs.
displays filled with relics that serve as an
anchor for the vengeful spirits trapped within. Due to the Reckoning’s influence, these
ferocious biters live in fresh and saltwater,
and pass freely between the two. They travel
174
Rascals, Varmints, & Creatures
in schools of 300 or more; infested waters Fearless: Night haunts are immune to
may contain thousands. An animal entering Fear and Intimidation.
such waters is likely stripped of its flesh Flight: Pace 10”.
in minutes. Soul Eater: When it kills, a night haunt
feasts on the victim’s fleeing soul. As a
Attributes: Agility d10, Smarts d4 (A),
result, a haunt’s victims never return
Spirit d12, Strength d8, Vigor d10
from the grave Harrowed, and can’t be
Skills: Notice d6
resurrected.
Pace: 0; Parry: 4; Toughness: 7
Weakness (Banishment): Successful
Special Abilities:
use of the banish power permanently
Aquatic: Pace 10”.
destroys a night haunt.
Bite: Nibbler swarms inflict 2d4 damage
Weakness (Light): Night haunts are Dis-
per round against every target in a Large
tracted in the presence of bright light (a
Blast Template. Apply damage to the
torch, lantern, etc.).
least armored location.
Split: Nibbler swarms split into two
smaller swarms when Wounded.
NIGHT RAVEN
Reduce the Blast Template one size after Night ravens are an Indian myth come to life.
a Wound. Small swarms are destroyed. When the mystical birds sense a human with
Swarm: Parry +2. Nibbler swarms cover vivid dreams, they land nearby and link with
the area of a Large Blast Template. them psychically. The thing then enhances
Cutting and piercing attacks inflict no and exacerbates the victim’s nightmares and
damage. Area effect weapons work nor- feeds off the fear and anxiety they cause.
mally. Neither splashing, stomping, nor
Night ravens sometimes serve other
flailing bothers them.
abominations or evil sorcerers. They’re
frequently tasked with inflicting nightmares
NIGHT HAUNT on their master’s enemies to soften them up
Night haunts are evil creatures of corrupted for some impending confrontation.
shadow that subsist on human souls. These
Night ravens are clever birds. With each
lone hunters appear at dusk and follow
visit the terror they inflict increases. They
travelers across the plains, waiting for them
never attack physically and flee the moment
to camp for the night.
they sense danger. When threatened, the bird
Night haunts are patient hunters. When tries to make eye contact and frighten the
one spots prey, it hides away in the attacker into inaction long enough to escape.
enshrouding darkness and waits until most
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6 (A),
of the travelers are asleep. Then it uses
Spirit d8, Strength 1, Vigor d6
mimicry and illusion to draw out its chosen
Skills: Athletics d4, Notice d10, Stealth d12
foe and rend him with its night-black claws.
Pace: 2; Parry: 2; Toughness: 1
Attributes: Agility d10, Smarts d8, Spirit d10, Special Abilities:
Strength d8, Vigor d4 Fear: A night raven can cause Fear as an
Skills: Athletics d10, Fighting d10, Intim- action, gazing into the eyes of a foe in an
idation d10, Notice d8, Performance d10, attempt to scare him off.
Persuasion d10, Stealth d10, Taunt d10 Flight: Pace 20”.
Pace: 0; Parry: 7; Toughness: 4 Nightmares: A night raven must be
Special Abilities: within 12” (24 yards) of a victim to link
Claws: Str+d10. Night haunts attack into his dreams and turn them into
corporeal beings at will, ignoring all but nightmares. Each night it does so, the
magical armor. victim must make a Fear check. When
Ethereal: Night haunts can become failed, the victim has a level of Fatigue
invisible and immaterial at will and can for the next 24 hours. This can’t cause
only be harmed by magical attacks. Incapacitation, but the longer it goes on,
Fear (−2): When seen, night haunts cause the more the victim evidences faint
a Fear check at −2. scars and injuries from his night-
175
mares. This continues until the night Undead: +2 Toughness; +2 to recover
raven is killed or the victim perishes in from Shaken; Called Shots do no extra
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
176
Rascals, Varmints, & Creatures
Pace: 6; Parry: 6; Toughness: 8 Edges: Command, Fervor
Edges: Alertness Special Abilities:
Special Abilities: Armor +2: Exoskeleton.
Bite: Str+d4. Patchwork men with claws, Flight: Pace 12”.
horns, fangs, or other grafted parts inflict Hive Mind: Pit wasps within 100 yards
Str+d6 or Str+d8 damage. of the queen (even through solid barri-
Fear (−2): Patchwork men force any who ers) use her Smarts, Spirit, and Notice
see them to make a Fear check (−2). Traits.
Hardy: A second Shaken result does not Poison (−2): Anyone Shaken or
cause a Wound on a patchwork man. Wounded by the queen’s stinger makes
Limited Invulnerability: A patchwork a Vigor roll versus Lethal Poison (−2).
man can be healed by those with an Stinger: Str+d6.
Arcane Background, even if Incapaci-
tated. The only way to permanently kill PIT WASP WARRIOR
a patchwork man is to destroy the head.
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6 (A),
Undead: +2 Toughness; +2 to recover
Spirit d8, Strength d4, Vigor d6
from Shaken; ignore 1 point of Wound
Skills: Athletics d10, Fighting d10, Intimida-
modifiers; Called Shots do no extra
tion d8, Notice d6, Stealth d6
damage; doesn’t breathe; immune to
Pace: 3; Parry: 7; Toughness: 3
disease and poison.
Special Abilities:
Coup (Fresh Flesh): A patchwork man’s
Flight: Pace 15”.
essence reverses decay slightly. Subtract
Hive Mind: Pit wasps within 100 yards
2 from Notice rolls made to detect the
of the queen (even through solid barri-
smell of death (see Decay, page 60).
ers) use her Smarts, Spirit, and Notice
Traits.
PIT WASP Poison: Anyone Shaken or Wounded
The pit wasp is a two- to six-foot-long wasp. by a warrior’s stinger makes a Vigor roll
Folks unfortunate enough to live close to a versus Knockout Poison.
hive of the critters call them “redcoats” on Size −2 (Small): Warriors are about
account of their spiky, red exoskeletons. three feet long.
Stinger: Str+d6.
Pit wasps consume wood so they usually
build nests in forested regions, but have also
been known to demolish small towns in
PIT WASP WORKER
search of sustenance. Attributes: Agility d10, Smarts d4 (A),
Spirit d12, Strength d8, Vigor d10
A pit wasp nest looks like a huge dome
Skills: Notice d6
made out of bark. It’s usually 12–30 feet tall
Pace: 3; Parry: 4; Toughness: 5
and 20–90 feet across, with tunnels and pits
Special Abilities:
dug beneath it. The tunnels branch out into
Flight: Pace 10”.
the ground, so the entrance to the nest can be
Sting: Pit wasp swarms inflict 2d4
located up to a mile from the main structure.
damage per round against every target
These underground passages can run close
in a Medium Blast Template. Apply
to the surface; it isn’t unheard of for a person
damage to the least armored location.
or animal to fall through the ground into one.
Swarm: Parry +2. Wasp swarms cover
Fortunately for any wasp hunters, nests have
the area of a Large Blast Template.
the consistency of paper and burn easily.
Cutting and piercing attacks inflict no
damage. Area effect weapons work nor-
c Pit Wasp Queen mally. The swarm is foiled by immersion
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d8 (A), in water.
Spirit d12, Strength d4, Vigor d8
Skills: Athletics d8, Fighting d6, Intimida-
tion d8, Notice d10, Stealth d6
Pace: 3; Parry: 5; Toughness: 8 (2)
177
c Poison Woman c Pox Walker
Sioux legends suggest that whenever a When a particularly angry Indian warrior
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
woman kills a man with poison she might or shaman dies of smallpox or other
become a “poison woman.” She then disease brought by encroaching whites, the
wanders away from her tribe, pretending to Reckoners sometimes take note and grant the
be a lost maiden but actually a servant of the deceased new life as an abomination.
Reckoning with madness and murder in her
Pox walkers can appear normal when
mind—literally.
needed, but once exposed they reveal
At first glance, a poison woman looks pockmarked skin oozing with yellow pus,
exactly as she did in life, but close and flesh hanging limply where sores have
examination beneath her scarf, hat, or other burst. Its eyes are milky and its body is
covering reveals the top of her skull is wracked by fierce tremors. Froth gathers
missing and her brains are exposed! at the corners of its mouth and it dribbles
gobbets of sputum as it exhales.
Poison women are often taken in by other
tribes where they’re asked (or forced) to take Pox walkers are solitary creatures who use
part in the chores, including cooking. That’s stealth and vicious cunning to spread disease
when they pick out pieces of their brain among those they feel have wronged them.
and use them to poison the camp’s food! Pox walkers victimize white settlements
Once that tribe is destroyed, she moves on over all others. Some have won out over the
to the next. dark influence of the Hunting Grounds and
thrown themselves off cliffs or into rivers
Attributes: Agility d4, Smarts d12, Spirit d10,
rather than attack their fellow tribesmen, but
Strength d10, Vigor d8
this is rare.
Skills: Athletics d6, Fighting d6, Intim-
idation d8, Notice d10, Persuasion d8, Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit d6,
Spellcasting d10, Stealth d4, Survival d8, Strength d8, Vigor d10
Taunt d10 Skills: Athletics d6, Common Knowledge d6,
Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 6 Fighting d8, Notice d6, Stealth d8
Gear: Knife (Str+d4), miscellaneous gear. Pace: 6; Parry: 6; Toughness: 9
Special Abilities: Gear: Varies.
Black Magic: Poison women wield pow- Special Abilities:
erful black magic. They have 20 Power Fear: A pox walker’s ravaged flesh pro-
Points and know the bolt, darkness (not vokes a Fear check.
light), fear, and stun powers. Disease (−2): Each time the victim comes
Invulnerability: A poison woman may into close contact with a pox walker,
be Shaken but never Wounded by any- or is Shaken or Wounded by one of its
thing but her Weakness. tainted weapons, he must make a Vigor
Poison (−2): A poison woman can pull roll at −2 or contract a Chronic Disease.
parts of her own brain out through the Symptoms manifest a day later, and can
opening in her skull and use it to taint then be spread to others as well (but
food. Anyone who consumes it makes ignore the −2 penalty when contacted
a Vigor roll at −2 versus Lethal Poison. by someone other than the pox walker).
Weakness (Back o’ the Head): Called The disease is magical in nature, so even
Shots to the back of a poison woman’s Harrowed may be infected — though
head (−4) cause normal damage and can they can’t spread it.
kill her. Disguise: A pox walker can hide its
Coup (Poison): A Harrowed who counts infection with an illusion. Detect arcana
coup on a poison woman gains her detects it as such, and dispel negates it.
peculiar brain chemistry. He may inflict The walker can resume the illusion as an
a Wound on himself to pull out a bit action on its turn, but in the meantime,
of gray matter (through his nose), and others see it for the horrid thing it truly
poison anyone who consumes it. is (and make a Fear check!)
178
Rascals, Varmints, & Creatures
Undead: +2 Toughness; +2 to recover Seismic Sensors: Prairie ticks sense
from Shaken; ignore 1 point of Wound prey by vibrations in the earth. They can
modifiers; Called Shots do no extra detect a human’s movement up to 25”
damage; doesn’t breathe; immune to (50 yards) distant. This is an opposed
disease and poison. Notice versus Stealth if prey is trying to
Coup (Cure Disease): A Harrowed who step lightly (−2 if running), otherwise it’s
absorbs a pox walker’s coup may cure a simple Notice roll for the tick. Horses
another’s diseases by taking the infec- double the distance; wagons triple it.
tion into himself. He uses an action to Size −4 (Tiny): A tick is the size of a
lay hands on the victim, then suffers one man’s fist.
level of Fatigue for the next week. At the Weakness (Castor Oil): The only way
end of that week, the disease is flushed to remove a prairie tick inside a host is
from his system. to pour a quart of castor oil down the
victim’s throat. The host needs to make
PRAIRIE TICK a Vigor roll (−2) to get the stuff down. If
he does, the awful tick comes crawling
Prairie ticks are the scourge of the High
out and can be easily squished.
Plains. These horrid bloodsuckers live in
underground burrows and are controlled by
a single, giant queen that rules over each nest.
PRAIRIE TICK HATCHLING SWARM
Prairie tick hatchlings ride on the abdomen
of the queen or nest in the central chamber
PRAIRIE TICK, ADULT of the warren until they reach full size. If the
When prairie ticks sense prey, they burst
queen comes under attack, she mobilizes
from their burrow and bound through the
the hatchlings into swarms to combat
tall prairie grass at top speed. They leap for
intruders.
the mouth and crawl down a victim’s throat.
When the host dies of blood loss, it bursts the Hatchlings are in every respect just like a
ribcage and crawls from the guts or throat. larger prairie tick, except they have
an easier time slipping down
Attributes: Agility d10, Smarts d4 (A),
some poor sap’s throat.
Spirit d8, Strength 1, Vigor d4
Skills: Athletics d8, Fighting d6, Attributes: Agility d10,
Notice d10, Stealth d10 Smarts d4 (A), Spirit d12,
Pace: 8; Parry: 5; Toughness: 2 (1) Strength d8, Vigor d10
Special Abilities: Skills: Fighting d8,
Armor +1: Prairie ticks have a hard, chi- Notice d4, Stealth d12
tinous carapace. Pace: 10; Parry: 4; Tough-
Hooks: A raise on a Fighting roll means ness: 7
the tick yanks its victim’s lip down with Special Abilities:
its two front hooks and crawls into his Bite: Hatchling swarms inflict 2d4
throat. Every hour damage per round against every target
thereafter, the in a Medium Blast Template. Apply
victim must damage to the least armored location.
Hooks: Each round, a swarm of
hatchlings may make a Fighting
roll against one target under
the swarm template. This
attack inflicts no damage,
roll Vigor
but on a successful attack
or suffer
a few hatchlings get
a level of
into a victim’s nose or
Fatigue. Death means the tick
throat.
has grown large enough to burst out of
After an hour, the target
the ribcage in a gory explosion (seeing it
must make a Vigor roll each hour
provokes a Fear check at −2).
or suffer a level of Fatigue. If the
179
victim dies from this Fatigue, the now ticks to increase the Gang-Up bonus to a
full-grown prairie tick bursts from his maximum of +6 instead of +4!
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
guts in a shower of blood and gore. Size −3 (Very Small): A prairie tick
Swarm: Parry +2. Hatchling swarms queen is about the size of a small dog….
cover the area of a Medium Blast Tem- though some say there are far larger out
plate. Cutting and piercing attacks inflict there.
no damage. Area effect weapons work Coup (Pet Tick): A Harrowed who
normally, and a character can stomp counts coup on a prairie tick queen
to inflict his damage in Strength each gains a prairie tick “pet.” It’s psychically
round. The swarm is foiled by immer- linked to the host as if he’s its queen, and
sion in water. They split into two Small it can even live inside the Harrowed’s
Swarms when they take a Wound. guts if it wants! If it’s squashed or dies,
Weakness (Castor Oil): Drinking at it’s gone, but of course a new one could
least a half-a-quart of castor oil requires be captured…
a Vigor roll at −2, and kills all the hatch-
lings in one’s system. c Rattler
They call these great worms “rattlers”
c Prairie Tick Queen because a person’s teeth start chattering as
A prairie tick queen lives in the central
the rattler rumbles through the earth beneath
chamber of the warren, hidden deep within
him. Though they’re most common in the
the earth. Her chamber is typically more than
Mojave, rattlers are also found in isolated
20 feet in diameter, but most tunnels leading
flatlands in Montana and Utah.
to it are no more than two feet around. The
queen is fed by the bloated drones from the Those of each region have their own
prairies above. New queens evolve from colors, behaviors, and personalities. Mojave
drones when the old queen dies, or when a rattlers go straight for the kill while the
drone strays far enough from one colony to ones in Montana are skulkers. Utah rattlers
start another. are smaller but faster, and they absolutely
love to chase steam wagons across the great
When she’s receiving an adequate supply
Salt Flats.
of blood, the queen lays many eggs and
spawns many hatchlings—often enough for Like Maze dragons, rattlers are accepted
a swarm a week. Some of the swarms stay near the regions they terrorize as natural
nearby to defend her while the rest venture creatures. Folks Back East think Westerners
out looking for prey. A queen is too fat to exaggerate, but the locals know better.
fit down most critters’ throats, so she simply
The greatest secret of the rattlers is that
uses her hooks to flay her opponent’s flesh.
they’re not creatures of the Reckoning,
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6 (A), though they were awakened by it. Long ago,
Spirit d6, Strength d10, Vigor d8 the rattlers were a race of near-gods, ruling
Skills: Athletics d10, Fighting d10, Notice d8, over the primordial creatures of Earth’s
Stealth d6 past. Their reign ended under mysterious
Pace: 6; Parry: 7; Toughness: 5 (2) circumstances, but they have been slowly
Special Abilities: recruiting new worshipers from the odd
Armor +2: A prairie tick queen has a creatures (humans) who now tread upon
hard carapace. their former domain. (An evolution that
Bite/Claw: Str+d8. A queen causes occurs by the time of Deadlands: Hell on Earth.)
damage and Entangles her foe with a
Rattlers are ambush predators, slithering
raise on her Fighting roll.
through the earth to arise beneath their prey,
Hive Mind: The queen can control all
entangling it with their tentacles and pulling
prairie ticks within 100 yards, coordi-
it into their voracious maws.
nating their activities for hunting and
defending the nest. This allows prairie Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d8, Spirit d10,
Strength d12+9, Vigor d12
180
Rascals, Varmints, & Creatures
Skills: Athletics d8, Fighting d8, Intimida- of Scale penalties against smaller targets.
tion d10, Notice d10, Stealth d10 Bound or Entangled prey may be bitten
Pace: 6; Parry: 6; Toughness: 24 (4) as usual.
Special Abilities: Weakness (Nerve Cluster): Rattlers
Armor +4: Heavy Armor. The worms are have a cluster of nerves deep in their
covered in thick, scaly skin. mouth at the nexus of their tentacles.
Bite: Str+d8. A rattler can only bite after If hit with a Called Shot (−6), damage
grappling prey with its tentacles. ignores the rattler’s Size modifier and
Burrow (20”): Rattlers spend most of Heavy Armor.
their lives underground, surfacing only Coup (Burrow): A deader who kills
to feed. They tunnel swiftly through the a rattler gains the ability to burrow up
earth, stopped only by heavy rock or to 2× their Spirit (per the Monstrous
other solid obstacles. Ability in Savage Worlds).
Fear (−2): Anyone who encounters a
rattler must make a Fear check. RATTLER YOUNG 'UN
Seismic Sensors: Rattlers sense prey Rattler larvae are found wherever rattlers
by vibrations in the sand. They can dwell. Strangely, all the baby rattlers
detect a human’s movement up to 100” trappers kill are about three feet long. The
(200 yards) distant. This is an opposed theory goes the creatures stay underground
Notice versus Stealth if prey is trying to until they reach this size, prowl around the
step lightly (−2 if running), otherwise a surface for a while, then go down for further
Notice roll for the rattler. Horses double incubation. Young rattlers travel in packs of
this distance; wagons triple it. six or more.
Size 12 (Gargantuan): These great
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit d6,
worms are over 100 feet long with Heavy
Strength d4−1, Vigor d6
Armor and three extra Wounds.
Skills: Athletics d8, Fighting d6, Notice d8,
Its attacks are Heavy Weapons.
Stealth d6
Slam: Rattlers can crush prey
Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 3
beneath their massive bodies.
Edges: Quick
Place a Cone
Special Abilities:
Template to
Bite: Str+d4.
represent the
Tentacles: Young rattlers get
portion of
two tentacle actions with a
the creature’s
Reach of 1.
body used to
Burrow (15”): The crea-
crush. Every-
tures can burrow through
thing within must
all but solid stone.
beat the worm in an
Size −2 (Small): Rattler
opposed Athletics versus
young ’uns are three feet
Agility roll or take its Str
long.
as damage. Ignore Scale
modifiers when
making a slam
attack.
Tentacles: The
creature has
four tentacle
actions and
Reach 8. The
tentacles are
designed to
grapple smaller
prey, so they
ignore up to 4 points
181
RAZOR ROACH Most victims of the leviathan see nothing
but tentacles, which they often claim are
These nasty critters—ravenous, possum-
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
SADDLE BURR
Saddle burrs are about the size of walnuts,
with brown quills sticking out of them like a
prickly pear cactus. They’re light enough to
be carried by the wind, so you can find ‘em
most anywhere.
Accidentally squishing a burr pushes
quills into the skin. They deliver a little jolt
of poison that causes swelling and pain for a
few days, along with a numbing effect—the
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Rascals, Varmints, & Creatures
kind that renders someone unable to use a Skills: Athletics d4, Fighting d6, Notice d6,
gun hand in a duel the next day. Or maybe Stealth d8
the posse flees a lynching party only to find Pace: 2; Parry: 5; Toughness: 5 (2)
the horses can barely stand, much less gallop. Special Abilities:
The possibilities are endless, Marshal. Armor +2: Sand vipers have a shell.
Burrow: Pace 2”. Sand vipers can only
Attributes: Agility d4, Smarts d4 (A),
burrow through sand or similar sub-
Spirit d4, Strength 1, Vigor d6
stances. Solidly packed soil and rock are
Skills: —
too dense for the critter to penetrate.
Pace: 1; Parry: 2; Toughness: 1
Fearless: Sand vipers are immune to
Special Abilities:
Fear and Intimidation.
Immunity (Slashing/Piercing): Saddle
Fluid Drain: A sand viper drains bodily
burrs are too small to be targeted by
fluids from a paralyzed victim at the rate
piercing and slashing weapons, but see
of one Fatigue level per minute. This
proliferation below. Magic and blud-
Fatigue can kill, and recovers at the rate
geoning attacks affect them normally. If
of one level per day.
it suffers a Wound, a burr is destroyed.
Poison (−2): Anyone Shaken or
Poison: Anyone touching a saddle burr
Wounded by a viper’s stinger makes a
with bare skin is stung by the quills. The
Vigor roll (−2) versus Paralyzing Poison.
poor sap must make a Vigor roll or suffer
Size −2 (Small): A sand viper is a three-
a −2 penalty to Agility and Agility-based
foot-long conch weighing around 30 lbs.
skill rolls requiring the use of the stung
Stinger: Str+d4.
area for 1d4 days. If the area that’s stung
isn’t obvious, roll on the Injury Table in
Savage Worlds. Multiple stings may affect
SASQUATCH
different body parts. The Salish Indians of Seattle believe
Proliferation: When squished, cut, or sasquatches live in tremendous, hollowed-
flicked off, a saddle burr bursts into out tree trunks high in the Cascade
d4 smaller pods, each of which flies Mountains. They’re right. Where the Salish
off and automatically hits some other are wrong is their belief that sasquatches
sidewinder within a Large Blast Tem- remain, as they always have been in the past,
plate. Smaller pods don’t split until they benevolent protectors of nature, harmless to
mature (about a week). those who treat the land with respect.
Size −6 (Tiny): Saddle burrs are one inch
Long ago, sasquatches existed in harmony
diameter, walnut-sized varmints.
with the Salish, but an increase in numbers of
their age-old enemies, the wendigos, caused
SAND VIPER the sasquatches to adopt a fiercer stance.
A sand viper looks like a three-foot-long,
Sasquatches often leave food for small
greenish-black conch. A long spike projects
parties of starving humans. Large parties
from the narrow end of the shell when it’s
are more problematic—sasquatches can
attacking, and short tentacles emerge from
only provide so much and they know from
the crown to pull the abomination through
long experience some of the bad apples in
the sand. Beneath its shell the sand viper is
the party will hoard the food or grow hungry
a large, saltwater mollusk that buries itself
enough to engage in cannibalism. Though
in sand just offshore. It’s usually found in
they don’t enjoy the task, sasquatches often
colonies of 20 or more.
arrange for avalanches or other disasters to
This creature uses its spear-like appendage dispatch such groups—saving women and
to inject a powerful paralytic toxin into its children when they can—before they spawn
victims. Once the target is paralyzed the sand a wendigo.
viper uses the same organ to drain vital fluids,
Sasquatches are intelligent and primitive
leaving only a desiccated corpse behind.
beings. Crafty woodsmen, they use simple
Attributes: Agility d4, Smarts d4 (A), tools and traps to hunt and elude
Spirit d4, Strength d6, Vigor d6 the eyes of man. They only recently
183
learned the secrets of fire from humans and night it descends from its pole to spread fear
take pleasure in its warmth and ability to and death. A scarecrow has a body of hay-
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
CORN STALKER
A corn stalker is a two-foot tall, humanoid
corn husk. It has a black corn-kernel head
with arms of brittle leaves that end in
sharp claws.
Corn stalkers often accompany scarecrows,
and scurry off once their “master” is
destroyed to find new fields and eventually
grow into scarecrows themselves!
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Spirit d6,
Strength d4, Vigor d6
Skills: Fighting d8, Notice d6, Stealth d10
Pace: 6; Parry: 6; Toughness: 2
Special Abilities:
Claws: Str+d4.
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Rascals, Varmints, & Creatures
Construct: +2 to recover from Shaken; every round to heal its Wounds, even
immune to disease and poison. after being Incapacitated. It can’t regen-
Go to Ground: As a free action, a corn erate damage caused by metal blades,
stalker can enter the soil of a corn field, however.
reappearing on its next turn anywhere in Sin Eating: Sin eaters become twisted
the same field, often getting The Drop on versions of the people they consume.
unsuspecting victims. Weakness (Metal Blades): A sin eater
Size −3 (Very Small): Corn stalkers are can’t regenerate damage from a blade,
two-foot-tall ears of demon corn! though it can heal naturally. If it’s
chopped limb from limb and each part
c Sin Eater buried in hallowed ground, the creature
does not return to life.
The sin eater looks like a deformed human
Coup (Brain Picker): A Harrowed who
with shadowy, writhing forms under its skin.
counts Coup on a sin eater can absorb
A hand or face comes occasionally to the
memories from a human corpse. The
surface of the creature’s skin as if attempting
deader has to consume a few bites to do
to escape its awful prison.
so, but if he does he gains fleeting mem-
All this abomination requires to work ories or whatever the Marshal feels fits
its malicious mojo is the grave of a person the victim and the adventure.
buried in unconsecrated ground in the last
week. Once it finds the grave, the sin eater
consumes the corpse and absorbs the soul. It
c Skinwalker
Skinwalkers are so named because they
soon rises with the dead person’s appearance,
murder someone and magically “wear” their
personality, and memories—a perfect copy.
skin as a disguise, literally taking over that
Then it sets out to cause mayhem, mischief, person’s life!
and grief among the victim’s former friends
In their normal, skinless state, these
and enemies alike.
abominations look like a flayed corpse with
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d8, Spirit d6, a weird greenish tint—muscle, tendon,
Strength d10, Vigor d12 cartilage, and bone unveiled for all to
Skills: Athletics d6, Common see. They have razor sharp claws they
Knowledge d6, Fighting d8, use to kill then skin their prey.
Notice d10, Performance d10,
Unlike sin eaters, skinwalk-
Persuasion d8, Shooting d6,
ers gain a person’s voice and
Stealth d8, Taunt d8
appearance but
Pace: 6; Parry: 6; Toughness:
only the most
8
basic knowl-
Hindrances: Vengeful
edge of self
(Major)
(key memories)
Edges: Any the victim
and mannerisms—
had in life.
just enough to fake it pretty well
Special Abilities:
with all but their close friends
Fear (−2): Seeing a sin eater in
and family.
its natural state causes a Fear
check. Baron LaCroix, owner
Invulnerability: A slain sin of Bayou Vermilion, has
eater is reborn the next night, formed a strange alliance
rising from a grave in unhal- with a cabal of New
lowed ground. If there are no Orleans skinwalkers.
such graves within 10 miles, He tasks them with
the sin eater is permanently spying, terrorism, and
destroyed. assassinations.
Regeneration (Fast): A sin
eater makes a Vigor roll
185
Attributes: Agility d10, Smarts d12, Spirit d6, Split: Terrantulas split into two Small
Strength d8, Vigor d10 swarms when Wounded.
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
Skills: Athletics d8, Common Knowledge d10, Poison: Anyone Shaken or Wounded
Fighting d10, Notice d8, Performance d10, by the swarm makes a Vigor roll versus
Persuasion d10, Stealth d12 Paralyzing Poison.
Pace: 6; Parry: 7; Toughness: 7 Swarm: Parry +2. Hatchling swarms
Edges: Ambidextrous, Two-Fisted cover the area of a Medium Blast Tem-
Special Abilities: plate. Cutting and piercing attacks inflict
Claws: Str+d6, AP 2. no damage. Area effect weapons work
Disguise: A skinwalker’s skeleton is normally, and a character can stomp
mutable so it can impersonate any size to inflict his damage in Strength each
human — child, adult, or elderly — as round. The swarm is foiled by immer-
long as it has their skin (see below). An sion in water.
alert hero may make a Notice roll at −4 to Wall Walker: A terrantula swarm can
detect anything amiss with a disguised walk on vertical or inverted surfaces at
skinwalker. If a hero knows the skin- its full Pace, and may run.
walker’s victim well, the penalty may
be reduced to −2, or even no penalty at LARGE TERRANTULA
the Marshal’s discretion. Picture a hairy spider as big as a dog, and
Fear (−2): Seeing a “naked” skinwalker twice as mean. That’s your adult terrantula.
provokes a Fear check. Territorial critters, they hunt similarly to
Skin Stealer: It takes a skinwalker about trapdoor spiders. Luckily they also hunt each
five minutes to skin a corpse and lap at other, so few terrantulas grow to giant size.
its brain to steal enough personality
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d4 (A),
and memories to ensure a convincing
Spirit d6, Strength d8, Vigor d8
disguise.
Skills: Athletics d8, Fighting d8, Notice d8,
Stealth d12
TERRANTULA Pace: 10; Parry: 6; Toughness: 3
A subspecies of tarantula that infests the Special Abilities:
Wild Southwest, these horrid beasts swarm Ambush: Terrantulas of this size dig
when spawning. The spider—identified by a trapdoor-covered holes near trails,
unique set of markings resembling a grayish which may be spotted with a Notice roll
human skull—has been given the rather at −4. The terrantula gets The Drop on
colorful sobriquet of “terrantula” by some anyone unaware of its trap.
frontiersmen. Bite: Str+d6.
Fear: Terrantulas provoke a Fear check.
SMALL TERRANTULA SWARM Poison: Those Shaken or Wounded by
The terrantula has two growth stages, the the terrantula’s bite make a Vigor roll
first similar to the common tarantula. These against Lethal Poison.
small spiders—roughly the size of a grown Size −3 (Small): These terrantulas are
man’s palm—are mere hatchlings. But the size of a small dog.
they’re still capable of overcoming much Spring: Terrantulas can spring up to 3”,
larger prey. gaining a +2 bonus to their first Fighting
roll when they do so.
Attributes: Agility d10, Smarts d4 (A),
Wall Walker: A large terrantula can
Spirit d12, Strength d8, Vigor d10
walk on vertical or inverted surfaces at
Skills: Notice d6
its full Pace, and may run.
Pace: 10; Parry: 4; Toughness: 7
Special Abilities:
Bite: Terrantula swarms inflict hundreds
GIANT TERRANTULA
Terrantulas’ tendency to cannibalize each
of bites each round, hitting automatically
other keeps their numbers down, which
and causing 2d4 damage to everyone in
is lucky for pioneers. But every so often a
a Medium Blast Template.
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Rascals, Varmints, & Creatures
terrantula carves out a territory of its own Bite/Blood Drain: Skeeter swarms inflict
and grows to truly horrific proportions. hundreds of bites each round, hitting
automatically and causing 2d4 damage
Attributes: Agility d12, Smarts d8, Spirit d10,
to all in a Large Blast Template.
Strength d12+8, Vigor d12
Flight: Pace 10”.
Skills: Athletics d8, Fighting d12+1,
Split: Skeeter swarms split into two
Notice d8, Stealth d6
Medium swarms when Wounded.
Pace: 8; Parry: 8; Toughness: 16
Reduce the Blast Template one size after
Special Abilities:
a Wound; Small swarms are destroyed.
Bite: Str+2d8, AP 2.
Swarm: Parry +2. Texas skeeter swarms
Fear (−2): Spotting a giant terrantula is
cover the area of a Large Blast Template.
always cause for a Fear check!
Cutting and piercing attacks inflict no
Poison (−2): Anyone Shaken or
damage. Area effect weapons work nor-
Wounded by a terrantula’s bite makes a
mally. The swarm is foiled by immersion
Vigor roll against Lethal Poison.
in water.
Size 8 (Huge): A giant terrantula is 20
Weakness (Fire): Skeeters don’t like fire
feet tall, 40 feet long, and has two extra
or smoke, so they don’t attack anyone
Wounds.
within 3” (six yards) of a bonfire. Large
Wall Walker: A giant terrantula can
amounts of smoke (Marshal’s call) drive
move on vertical surfaces at full Pace. It’s
off a swarm.
too large and heavy to walk on inverted
surfaces.
TEXAS TUMMY TWISTER
TEXAS SKEETER SWARM The most insidious plague to wrack the
Southwest is a microscopic critter that lives
These insects are big versions of normal
in still ponds and muddy swimming holes.
mosquitoes, about the size of a man’s hand.
When it infects a human host, it grows
The skeeters travel in swarms, descending on
quickly and takes over the poor sod’s mind!
animals and humans alike to feast on their
blood. Unlike their smaller cousins skeeters A human under a tummy twister’s control
need a lot of blood to survive, so they attack isn’t particularly bright. The parasite can
to kill rather than simply annoy. manage a few words and remember its
close friends’ names, but that’s about it. A
The name “Texas skeeter” refers to this
successful Notice roll reveals only that the
critter’s size, not its habitat. They range up
victim is suffering some sort of delirium.
and down the Mississippi and farther west,
The twister can see through its host’s eyes,
preferring swamps, bayous, and bogs.
but prefers to burrow out through the gut
Attributes: Agility d10, Smarts d4 (A), and use its own! When this peephole isn’t
Spirit d12, Strength d8, Vigor d10 in use, it leaves a long oozing wound on the
Skills: Notice d6 host’s belly.
Pace: 0; Parry: 4; Toughness: 7
Attributes: Agility d4, Smarts d4,
Special Abilities:
Spirit d4, Strength d4, Vigor d8
187
Skills: Athletics d4, Fighting d6, Notice d6, If their work eventually causes a cave-
Stealth d8 in, the things hunt down and feed on any
DEADLANDS: THE WEIRD WEST
Pace: 4; Parry: 5; Toughness: 3 trapped miners, picking them off one by one
Special Abilities: as lack of food and oxygen weakens them.
Disease: Tummy twisters start out as a The mere rumor of a tommyknocker can
nasty microbe. A cowpoke who drinks raise a mine’s Fear Level overnight.
infested water makes a Vigor roll at −2.
Tommyknockers are four-foot-tall
Failure means he’s infected; the parasite
humanoids with oversized heads. They’re
latches onto his gut and starts drinking
perpetually hunched over, skin mottled
blood. This presents as Debilitating
blackish-gray, with solid black eyes as large
Disease (see Disease in Savage Worlds).
as saucers. Their hands have only three digits,
If it’s not removed within a week, the
but all three end in vicious claws.
critter grows as big as a house cat and
inserts an appendage into the host’s Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d8, Spirit d6,
spine. This allows the twister to control Strength d8, Vigor d10
the body as a “vehicle” of sorts. Skills: Athletics d10, Fighting d6, Notice d10,
Fear (−2): Seeing a tummy twister in Stealth d8, Survival d8
someone’s gut is just nasty. Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 6
Human Shield: Being nestled in some- Special Abilities:
body’s gut gives the twister some Burrow: Pace 4”. Tommyknockers can
protection. The twister’s host is consid- burrow through solid stone and earth.
ered an adjacent target per the Innocent Claws: Str+d6.
Bystanders rule in Savage Worlds. Fear (−2): Anyone spotting a tommyk-
Size −3 (Very Small): Full-grown, these nocker must make a Fear check at −2.
creatures are the size of a cat. Night Vision: Tommyknockers can see
Tentacles: The creature has two tenta- just fine in the dark, ignoring Dim and
cle actions. With a raise on a twister’s Dark Illumination penalites.
tentacle Fighting roll, it impregnates its Size −1: Tommyknockers are somewhat
target with a larval tummy twister. The smaller than humans.
sickness proceeds as if the hombre had Weakness (Light): Anything brighter
drunk diseased water (see above). than torchlight Distracts a tommy-
Weakness (Spicy Heat): The knocker until the source is
only way to get rid of a twister removed. A tommyknocker
is to eat something dragged outside or trapped
incredibly spicy (or in bright light takes
force-feed the host). Fatigue each
Jalapenos make the round until it
nasty critters come dies, boiling
crawling out in a few away in a putrid
minutes where cloud of steam.
they can be easily
squished. TUMBLEBLEED
Even the tumble
TOMMYKNOCKER weeds are out
These carnivorous to get you in the
abominations lurk deep Weird West!
in mines, where they
Tumblebleeds are
damage supports, mine car
vicious critters that look
tracks, and other structures.
much like tumbleweeds, the
Miners and watchmen hear the
dried plants that blow across
creatures tapping away down in the
desolate desert plains. They attack by rolling
depths after the workers go home for
into a victim and entangling him in their
the night.
thorny branches. Then the ornery things’
188
Rascals, Varmints, & Creatures
mouth and spiny thorns penetrate the skin Armor +1: Hard, chitinous shell.
and drain the prey’s blood til he’s bone dry. Bite: Str+d4.
Egg Insertion: The round after a victim
Tumblebleeds travel in packs for more
is paralyzed (see below), the critter
efficient hunting. Hungry tumblebleeds stay
injects him with eggs (an Athletics roll)
well away from any prey carrying fire—they
which hatch in 1d4 hours. If the victim
burn like dry tinder when they haven’t fed
is alive when the eggs hatch, his death is
recently. A tumblebleed that’s just feasted
as gruesome as you might imagine (and
looks like a pile of wet, bloody seaweed.
those who see it make a Fear check). A
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d4 (A), surgeon can remove the eggs before they
Spirit d4, Strength d6, Vigor d4 hatch with a Healing roll at −2.
Skills: Athletics d8, Fighting d4, Notice d10, Poison (−2): Anyone Shaken or
Stealth d10 Wounded by a critter’s bite makes a
Pace: 10; Parry: 4; Toughness: 2 Vigor roll versus Paralyzing Poison.
Special Abilities: Sonar: Tunnel critters navigate in total
Size −2 (Small): Tumblebleeds are a darkness by making tiny clicks and
little over three feet in radius when dry. sensing the echoes from solid objects.
Blood Drain: A tumblebleed can drain They ignore all Illumination penalties.
blood from an Entangled or Bound Size −1: Adult critters are the size of a
foe with its thorns. Instead of “crush- large dog.
ing” a Bound or Entangled foe with its
Strength, the thorny vines automatically c Tunnel Critter, Elder
cause 2d4 points of damage. Tunnel critters feed on anything living—even
Weakness (Fire): Dry tumblebleeds take each other—so old specimens are rare. These
+4 damage from fire. They’re extremely stats represent a beast nearly 10 feet long.
flammable and catch Fire on 4–6 on 1d6
Attributes: Agility d4, Smarts d8 (A),
(see Savage Worlds).
Spirit d8, Strength d10, Vigor d10
Skills: Athletics d8, Fighting d8, Notice d8,
TUNNEL CRITTER Stealth d6
Tunnel critters are monstrous subterranean Pace: 6; Parry: 6; Toughness: 11 (2)
insects with centipede-like bodies. They Special Abilities:
have large mandibles and vestigial eyes