Deadlands Reloaded - Getting Started

[Topdecker]

Today I grabbed the Deadlands Reloaded pack. I hopped in close to blind, but I am halfway through the players manual and like what I see.

Anyhow, there is an enormous amount of background history or setup. Is there some document or even a website that sums up the timeline in a few pages? The initial hurdle will be to get the players up to speed on the setting - which is many pages of reading in the players 's companion.

Thanks!

[Mask_of_winter]

Check out the timeline of Doom: https://savagepedia.wikispaces.com/Gaming+Aids

[Topdecker]

Check out the timeline of Doom: https://savagepedia.wikispaces.com/Gaming+Aids

That is an awesome resource! I am not sure that it will work for players, but I like it a lot.

[Mask_of_winter]

Is this better? https://docs.google.com/document/d/1AX6MEawXoj5yviP_QJz-O-zUVOjbzzVkOqOIpHFPjBA/edit

[Topdecker]

Yeah, that will certainly make them think when creating a character, thank you.

I cooked up the following - it isn't complete, but I hope it is a working 1-page summary suitable for a starting player:

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In 1863, the Battle of Gettysburg was closing just as it should; Meade scored a victory for the Union and Robert E. Lee began his retreat. But Meade did not pursue the confederates, with some saying the color of his uniform changed from blue to yellow, while less stable folk claim dead soldiers rose up and shot at their living comrades.

Lee’s forces escaped to fight another day. And the fight went on and on, with the North keeping an advantage in men and materials while the South’s brilliant leaders and tenacious troops kept the war raging. A cease fire of sort was finally called in 1878.

To endure war for so long, the Confederacy needed support from other nations and to get it, the institution of slavery needed to be retired. In April of 1865, the Confederacy freed its slaves and quickly gained the support of both Great Britain and France. This allowed them to break Union blockades and a flood of arms and munitions quickly brought parity back to the conflict.

In 1868, a massive earthquake shattered the west coast from Mexicali to Oregon, effectively destroying California. What remains of the coast is a jumble of islands and canyons now called the ‘Great Maze’ which exposes deep layers of rock and earth. In those layers, a black rock very similar in appearance to coal was discovered that, when consumed by fire, audibly howls while burning five times hotter and over a hundred times longer than coal. The power of the new mineral, called ghost rock, soon powered all manner of inventions, including horseless carriages, ghost-rock powered ships, and weapons capable of great destruction.

Because of the massive earthquake and the drain upon manpower that the civil war was costing both sides of the conflict, the expansion into the west slowed to a halt. In fact, the United States lost ground, with the Mormons claiming Utah as the Republic of Deseret.

The Sioux peoples gathered as one and created the Sioux Nation over the Dakota Territory. Once ghost rock was discovered, they started allowing outsiders into the area for a fee.

In Oklahoma, the Creek, Kiowa, Seminole, Choctaw, and Chickasaw Indians banded together to form the Coyote Confederation. This confederation has been hard at work to drive foreign settlers from the lands of Oklahoma and the towns that remain have been under siege for several years.

The City of Lost Angels is a town in the Great Maze that is physically positioned so it controls most of export of Ghost Rock. The town is ruled by Reverend Ezehiah Grimme who has declared it and the surrounding lands to be a religious state.

The transcontinental railroad is still a dream, with six major railroads constantly sponsoring violence as they battle for the control of both food and ghost rock. They actively recruit gunslingers and sabotage one another which makes rail travel often more dangerous than it would be otherwise.

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If anyone notices a problem in my summary or thinks something really needs to be added, please let me know. I am just trying to hand over a solid, 1-page summary of the setting that is accurate and enticing.

Tim