#DEADLANDS THE WEIRD WEST MAP SERIES#

Their chosen champions, a bunch of neвЂ™er do wells called The Servitors, have been defeated, so theyвЂ™ve gone back to square one: spreading their terrifying, corrupting influence through the small, unsuspecting towns of America as a prelude to bigger thingsвЂ¦ In Deadlands: Reloaded, they were pretty close to pulling it off but now theyвЂ™re on the backfoot. As has always been the case in Deadlands, the Reckoners, a collection of evil spirits trapped in another dimension called the Hunting Grounds, are trying their best to turn Earth into a nightmare-fuelled hellscape вЂ“ a dead land, if you will вЂ“ so that they can cross over and live there permanently. At the same time, it provides a perfect starting point for new players.

#DEADLANDS THE WEIRD WEST MAP SERIES#

Weird West definitely iterates on Deadlands, rather than completely reinventing it, but thereвЂ™s still plenty for series fans to be excited about. That was certainly the case with Deadlands: the Weird West, which I bought on Amazon last month for $92 (an 8-buck savings off the Kickstarter price).Д«ack cover of Deadlands: the Weird West. Game publishers view Kickstarter as a true launch vehicle, and many allow you to sign on after the campaign has officially ended - and most successful products eventually end up in game stores. Things are different in our new Enlightened Age. Those were dark and lean times, let me tell you.

Now in the olden days (IвЂ™m talking circa 2017 here), if you missed out on a Kickstarter, the only thing you could do was tear your hair and gnash your teeth, and haunt the aftermarket, hoping to find a reasonably-priced copy on eBay. Mariotte, and Boneyard by Seanan Mcguire (Tor Books, 2015-17 covers by Aaron Riley) The Deadlands novels published alongside the 20th Anniversary Edition: Ghostwalkers by Jonathan Maberry, DeadlandsвЂ small but loyal fanbase enthusiastically rallied to support the new Kickstarter campaign, and it blew through its $10,000 goal, with 4,973 backers pledging a whopping $568,636. Emboldened by that success, last year they tried something much more ambitious: Deadlands: the Weird West, a massive box set containing a complete system relaunch using the Savage Worlds core rules. In 2017 Pinnacle stuck a toe in the waters with a reprint of the 1999 edition, Deadlands 20th Anniversary Edition, funded by a crowdfunding campaign. Talk wasnвЂ™t enough to keep it alive though, and for long stretches of the last 25 years the game has sadly been unavailable. Created by Shane Lacy Hensley and published by Pinnacle Entertainment Group in 1996, the horror/steampunk game was a huge artistic and creative success, easily one of the most talked-about RPGs of the 90s. Kickstarter has brought those systems a whole new lease on life - and an explosion of new content.Дeadlandsis fine example. IвЂ™ve been playing RPGs since 1979, and in all those years IвЂ™ve seen countless new and innovative game systems fail because they couldnвЂ™t grow beyond a small but dedicated fan base.

ItвЂ™s the de facto launch platform for the hobby gaming industry these days, and it doesnвЂ™t look like thatвЂ™s going to change any time soon. Kickstarter completely transformed board gaming a decade ago, and over the last few years it has thoroughly reinvigorated role playing as well. Deadlands: the Weird West (Pinnacle Entertainment Group, April 2021)

Deadlands the weird west map