Deadlands Classic

I can't help here but thanks for bringing this to my attention. I didn't know I needed zombie cowboys in my life until now.

>>53261485
It's not actually clunky at all, just takes some getting used to the suite system for initiative and whatnot. I don't know that I'd use it for a standard western, outside of the Deadlands setting, but it could work. Not a big fan of the chip system for XP, but it works I guess. Easiest fix is short and long term chips, you get duplicates you can spend on XP and use the rest for their in-game usage. Same complaint I have about the Cypher system, and the same fix.

>>53261838
That particular zombie cowboy is the deadliest fucker in the setting, a direct servant of the main threat of the setting. However, much like Ravenloft, you shouldn't go into it knowing much unless you're going to run it!

>>53261844
Thanks for the feedback! What do you think you would use if you were to run a more traditional western? I'm not going to do away with the supernatural elements entirely but definitely tone them down a bit.

>>53261485
Deadlands has always been that thing I want to like, but every time I pick it up and try to get into it I just can't. Both with all of the systems and more importantly the setting itself. I feel like it has too many different and themes and ideas pulling in different conflicting directions at once.

>>53261943
IMO Deadlands: The Wierd West is the best western RPG out, though im a little bias'd since it was my first non DnD rpg. If you really want you can have players start off with no Arcane Backgrounds, no chance of starting harrowed, and not able to be a Agency Member or Texas ranger and then take the horror aspect of the game and have them slowly learn of supers than work ingame to find a teacher for any Arcane Backgrounds they want. I feel the poker chip XP and Cards for init works well to give an 1880's poker style feel. To me deadlands without chips and cards isn't Deadlands. Its why Malifaux worked so well to me. Cards and 1880s just feels so right.

Though out of all the Deadlands settings H.O.E is my favorite.
Mostly cause Junker > Mad Scientist.

>>53261943
You can use it as-is, just get rid of Grit and the supernatural stuff.. and the setting itself probably, of the Civil War continuing for decades. Guns are dangerous as hell, cover is SUPER important, and uh.. you'd dump the obvious other supernatural classes, like the mad scientist, huckster, and preacher.
>>53261953
It's only one theme: true, unadulterated evil behind everything for the sole objective of creating mass terror. Everything else, from the continuing of the war to a boogie monster spooking settlers out west, serves that purpose. It's the player's duty to not only fight it, but be seen fighting it to create hope and combat the forces of terror.

>>53261943
Supes aren't well known in the game. After the 5th supe of a different type you start to fight end game bosses and started getting hunted down by stone and other servitors
Think of it like this 1 grit = 1 monster kill
5 grit = HE'S COMING TO KILL ME!
H.O.E supes are common so it ends up being
1 grit = 1 BBEG on super magical super saiyan 10x steroids kill

So with Weird west your mostly supposed to deal with Banditos, the law .etc.

>>53262607
Huckster>>>>All though.
Really not a fan of the XP as random poker chips, though, since bad luck will keep you weak forever, instead of anything on your end. Cards for stats, initiative, and certain abilities is pretty ace though!

>>53262690
PFF.
H.O.E Metal Mage >>>>>>>>>>>>> all
Cause its Huckster combined with Junker Hehe.

>>53262690
I never really had an issue with XP, and when ever players did my group suggested they get Luck O Irish.

>>53262707
Too bad HoE sucks!!!
The obvious best setting is the one where you're space cowboy colonists and saaaave the wooooorld!

Weird West is a pretty great setting, but I prefer Masque of the Red Death overall... not that people ever play that.

So y'all would recommend classic Deadlands over Savage Worlds? My group can get a little confused with rule sets that aren't D&D, but to be honest I think Savage Worlds seems to lack all of the interesting game elements of classic Deadlands.

Deadlands itself runs alright, once you get used to it.
Some of the later splatbooks mess with the power level a bit, but it generally works out alright.
Hell on Earth, on the other hand, is a glorious mess. Unbalanced as hell right out the gate. This only matters because some of the 'fixes' they made to the system showed up in later Weird West books. Granted, it's been a long, long time, so I'm hazy on the specifics.

>>53262727
I want to play Lost Colony a bit. But my DM always is like "Yo we gonna finnaly take your H.O.E peps to lost colony" and then it doesn't happen cause our doomy can spam Nuke, I have an Atlas Mech, and our Psycher can KALIMAAAAAAW everyone.

>>53262740
You should run a one-shot with it to see what they like, after making some one-shot characters for them to try. If they like it, go with it!
>>53262707
Deadlands Noir the best setting. The BEST.

>>53262741
>Hell on Earth, on the other hand, is a glorious mess
Mind explaining this? H.O.E is the game Ive played years in and it seems like every main Arcane Background has the ability to shit on everyone equally. Except maybe Templars.

>>53262740
Savage Worlds is my preferred bare-bones system, but it is very much a bare-bones system. Like, it can support a surprising amount of crunch added on, but most uses of it can come off pretty damn simple.
And for the most part, the 'complicated' bits of DL are generally in character creation (because 90s game), and after that, it's pretty smooth sailing.

>>53262779
Actually, I think
>every main Arcane Background has the ability to shit on everyone equally
Is a better way to describe what I meant; I didn't mean to imply one thing being more op than all the others.

>>53262801
My favorite thing is a Doomy accidentally nuking themselves. hehe.

>>53262772
My group played Noir. We agreed we like the setting, HOWEVER we can not stand savage worlds, to us classic system is better in every way for a Deadlands game.

>>53262856
Just run Noir in the classic system my man! Easy enough to do, not like auto/semi-auto weapons aren't in the classic rules already!

>>53262840
20% of HoE campaigns ended this way for us.

>>53262635
I would disagree, you have all of these overlapping themes and ideas that for me just don't work well together. It doesn't work as a Western for me because it is too grimdark and dreary, the grimdark elements don't work because it is also full of goofy and ridiculous stuff, the fantasy/

>>53263098
The fantasy/weird western stuff is inconsistent and goes back and forth between being underplayed and over the top.**

>>53263120
That's easy enough to fix on a case-by-case basis. Just run it the way you want it to be: Westerns with spooky cowboys, evil Confederate/Union treachery, ghost rock claim jumping, or what have you. Don't need to include ALL the elements of the setting at all times, after all, Back East is a WHOLE different ballgame than out in the Weird West.

>>53263120
Hmm I really don't see it. Hexlingin' is SO freaking Spaghetti Western that it litteraly would stick out in any Fantasy game period. Mad Science feels Dime Novel. Blessed and Shamans with Faith mechanic and it being able to be lost from witnessing the horrors of the night as well. Unless your using crossover stuff like Werewolf: Wild West (Which my group does, but we have played the game for so long, horror part doesn't work anymore since we know all the major villains and plot of the line from Wierd West 1> Wierd West 2 all the way to Lost Colony.) and even then some crossover stuff works amazing for the grim/horror of it. Theres a Call of Cthulhu crossover called Adios A Mi'go where you have to deal with, Mi'Go. That one worked nicely with Deadlands for horror. The only Arcane Background I can think of in Wierd West that feels silly to me is Martial Artist, but I don't think you have even touched the San Fran books or anything actually dealing with them since you don't like the game.
Also the way deadlands is set up is that you can do Western easily, hell Ronan Lynch does it all the time, just because you have the option to use abominations doesn't mean you need to use them all the time. Infact its discouraged by the Grit system. Since if players in the first 5 sessions fight 5 different monsters than Stone is now hunting them down, and they won't even be able to outrun him with that low of XP. The books also talk about supes being super rare. Honestly the only times I think grim dark in deadlands is Gammora and Lost Angels. And Lost Angels is only because I always play Hucksters, Mad Scientists, Harrowed or Shootists in Wierd West.

>>53263120
Weird Science is rare, expensive, explosive, a faustian bargain and drives people insane. Thats why you don't see it consistently unless your in places like Gammora. My group always uses Gammora as our base of operations partly because of that, but also because our home town didn't get added until Savage Worlds H.O.E.