Deadlands is a role-playing game set in an alternate Earth where the supernatural is real, and history isn't quite the same. "Deadlands: The Weird West" is set in an alternate "wild west" -- an odd blend of "Wild Wild West", "Pale Rider", "Brisco County Jr." and various horror flicks. "Deadlands: Hell on Earth" moves to an alternate future, exploring a post-apocalyptic setting in the "Wasted West".

However, there's a lot that transpired between the Weird West and the Wasted West. A great many evils and a great many heroic deeds took place during the first half of the 20th century -- including "The Great War," and its sequel, World War II.

This site focuses mainly on the years from about 1933 to 1937 -- the era in which Nazi Germany arose as an aggressor in our own history, but America had not yet joined in the conflict. This was the era of Saturday matinee cliffhanger serials -- and, in a bit of revisionist history, the era of Indiana Jones, The Rocketeer and The Mummy. In my ideal adventures, the "Posse" is a group of adventurers traveling the globe -- not necessarily confined to the Western United and Confederate States. They may find themselves racing against Nazis to obtain mystical artifacts, or even clashing with the interests of mobsters still around after Prohibition.

Despite the allusion in "Weird Wars" to the major armed conflicts framing this period, the real focus is on an ongoing battle behind the scenes ... in the shadows of the world where the light of logic and science can't fully penetrate. Technology is more prevalent than it was in the Weird West, but it's nowhere close to what will be found in the Wasted West -- and the supernatural is still on the fringes of reality. There are no Horsemen of the Apocalypse stomping across the globe, and not even the monsters know what the "Reckoners" are.

The intent of this section of my web site is to accumulate my thoughts, ideas and notes for a short campaign that I ran from late 2000 to early 2001, as well as sone one-shot convention scenarios.

It can be argued that these adventures don't really need to be run in the Deadlands universe. There's already an Indiana Jones role-playing game, after all. Pinnacle Games even has its own "Weird Wars," which introduces a supernatural twist to World War II, though without the baggage of sticking to the Deadlands timeline. Dream Pod 9 has "Gear Krieg," which introduces the wonders of "mad science" to World War II. And then, there's always "GURPS Cliffhangers."

Furthermore, it complicates my job to be working with an alternate history where the United States is no longer united, yet somehow the North and South collectively fill much the same role in the Deadlands universe that the USA served in actual history. To call this a stretch is an understatement.

That's not the point, though. This isn't serious fantasy or science fiction, and definitely not a serious attempt at "alternate history." It's high adventure with a touch of horror thrown in. Hopefully, the forces of good will prevail, but it is possible for the bad guys to win. After all, we know what happens in Hell on Earth in the next century! (If "we" don't, the title ought to give a clue.)

Furthermore, Deadlands is a great game system. I've run Hell on Earth and Weird Wars campaigns, and I've invested quite a bit in books and miniatures. Even if you take out its wacky alternate history, and just use the game mechanics, you still have a very enjoyable system. (In fact, I think you might have even better games if you tinker a bit with the Deadlands history to make it a little closer to our own ... but I digress.)

The articles on this site were primarily generated in response to requests on the parts of my players for especially unique (and often bizarre) characters they wished to play in this setting, and my own notes for adventures set in this era. From time to time, I may expand what's available for Marshals to make use of.

Since this is a resource for running games, and not a money-making venture, I'm inclined to draw my inspiration from other established works that have inspired me.

This would include the Indiana Jones movies (and spin-off stories), The Rocketeer, The Mummy, and other "cliffhanger" types of movies and television shows. I've also drawn a few ideas from a PC game called Nocturne, put out by Terminal Reality. This game is actually based in the late 1910s and the 1920s, rather than the 1930s, but the mood is perfect for Deadlands. Any references I make to "Dhampir" or "Frankenmobsters" are drawn from that game.