Deadlands Classic was an innovative RPG in the ’90s. The poker-inspired mechanics enhanced game play because of their iconic representation in the American West. It won every major award the industry had to offer and then some!
Here are a few reminders about the Classic Deadlands rules:
- A standard deck of playing cards with the Jokers left in is used for initiative, as well as for hucksters to “deal with the devil” or the Marshal to determine the outcome of your character’s transition to Harrowed. You even use a deck of cards to build your character! Hope you come up better’n Aces, pardner…
- A set of poker chips in white, red, and blue mixed in a “Fate Pot” are drawn blind by players and Marshal alike, and when spent, they go back into the pot. You gotta work for those Legend chips…
- Dice? Deadlands Classic uses ALL of them. And lots of them. It’s not uncommon to need five or six sets of dice from d4 to d20. And yes, they Ace! When you roll more “1s” than anything else, you go “bust” and your character fails catastrophically. Rolling the bones is not always a metaphor in this game…
- Part of the character build process is to figure out what scares your sodbuster the most. Your Worst Nightmare can most certainly come true!
- “Wind” is a derived statistic used rather like hit points. Wounds knock you down a few pegs…
- The Game Master is called the Marshal, and the characters the posse. Some things have stayed the same! Deadlands Classic also uses Traits, Edges, and Hindrances!
One book has all the information needed to play. Players and Marshals read the front and the Marshal reads the last half to figure out what makes the West so Weird.
