Setting specific rules and notes ^_^<br/><br/>Send me a message if you do not have the Savage Worlds rules or the Deadland Reloaded rules.<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Setting and Background</div><div class="spoiler_body">The year is 1879, and the history is not our own. After almost two decades of bitter fighting, the American Civil War has ground to a standstill. The Confederate States are still free. California has fallen into the Pacific Ocean. Rail Barons fight bloody battles to decide who the victor will be in the race for a transcontinental railroad, while a superfuel called ghost rock advances technology by unpredictable leaps and sometimes dangerous bounds. The Sioux have retaken the Dakotas and the Coyote Confederation dances the Ghost Dance on the High Plains. Some even say abominations walk the land.<br/><br/>The confrontation between the American North and South remains unchanged, as is the current political situation as described in the book in 1879. Same for the native tribes and people.</div></div><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Character Creation</div><div class="spoiler_body">This is also the same as the book, $250 starting money.<br/><br/><strong>The Fairer Sex</strong><br/>Starting in the 1850s there was a sudden and unexplained shift the ratio of men and women born. By the middle of the decade it was around 3 to 1 girls to boys and by the end of the Civil War is had climbed to 5 to 1. Anyone of a magical type background can sense something at work in the womb of a pregnant woman. No heritage, race or tribe has been immune and it affects everyone in the Weird West. Fear, or the worry of spreading fear, keeps most mouths shut but secretly this phenomenon is certainly being studied.<br/><br/>Now that first generation of girls has become women in their 20s and with the Civil War and Tribal Wars (among themselves and the white man) taking its toll on the male population there has been a profound shift in the demographics. Depending on the local situation, men might be so rare that they are almost treated like a commodity. Competition in matters of the heart can be fierce… and deadly. Some women have simply adjusted seeking comfort elsewhere. An odd situation has developed where the birth of a boy is a momentous occasion, even as women have gained unprecedented cultural influence. Reality prevents discrimination of women from taking part in all roles of society. Even still, most of this is concentrated at the local level; simply not enough time has passed to dislodge older men from the upper echelons inside institutions of power. But these men are keenly aware of the ambitious women just waiting in the wings and are only happy to exploit their competitive nature.</div></div><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">The Weird West</div><div class="spoiler_body">Those of the appropriate background who would know of these things (Arcane, Ranger or Agent) still understand something other worldly is occurring and magic is real, both black and “good”. Ghost Rock remains unchanged as well.<br/><br/>Unlike in the Deadlands setting, changes happened earlier but much more slowly at first. Occurrences started getting reported in the 1850s although these were incredibly rare and for the most part dismissed. Something happened on July 4th 1863 that brought more rapid change and this date is still referred to as “The Reckoning”. The “Reckoners” are still thought of as dark gods and whispers that these evil forces choose mortals as servitors still abound. Monsters are real and tales about them abound. The nature of the Harrowed is somewhat different. They are still called that in reference to its more arcane meaning (pillaging and plundering). They aren’t undead but possessed by supernatural forces which are still referred to as “manitous”.<br/><br/><strong>Fear and Terrorforming</strong><br/>These concepts still exist in the game. Fearmongers exist although their purpose is to not only generate fear but to directly consume souls. Abominations pretty much exist solely for the latter purpose. Servitors are those who specific allow their life energy to be absorbed in the service of evil, in exchange for keeping (part of) their soul and power. The cost being they serve the Reckoners and are in effect slaves to them. Unlike in Deadlands, once transformed servitors pretty much know what is going on. Since the process blackens their souls to the point of no return, any misgivings they would have had once the truth is revealed have been washed away by darkness.<br/><br/><strong>Monsters</strong><br/>The undead are still around, but play less of a part, mostly replaced by what is collectively known as abominations. The manitous potentially possess those who become fully drained (more on that later), taking over their bodies completely after consuming the host body’s soul. There is no dominion game mechanic. Although potentially a character might become an agent of evil but simply be played on by the player until such time that the creature inside decides to reveal itself. But up until that point, no one can see anything wrong with them although animals still always seem to know. While inside a body, the person still has to eat, sleep and do everything a normal person does. When a manitous leaves a possessed body, the body simply collapses as it is an empty shell.<br/><br/>Agents and Rangers are on the case, tasked with hunting down monsters.</div></div><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Game Rules</div><div class="spoiler_body"><strong>Bennies</strong><br/>To keep things simpler we are not going to use Fate Chips, but use Bennies as per the regular SW rules. Bennies will be regenerated at some regular interval. I’m thinking every two weeks but depending on the pace of the game I might either make it longer or shorter. Unless anyone has suggestions we can just start this way and see how it goes.<br/><br/>The one Fate Chip we’ll still use the Legend Chip. When the group does something to lower the fear level, the chip is awarded automatically to the group. And as a group you can discuss when and how the chip will be used, it is a shared bennie.<br/><br/><strong>Wounds and Life Drain</strong><br/>Since the game is less about undeath, people who die do escape the torment. Except of course if they are raised as undead to serve a nefarious scheme (or an eager player who needs a few extras in a pinch) but at least their souls are safe. Turns out though, people are generally not too keen on giving up their souls. So the creatures have to take it from them. Generally your life force is “protected” deep within you. These creatures get people to give up that protection in the throes of ecstasy, forced or not.<br/><br/>It doesn’t do the monsters much good to mutilate their victims so damage is handled differently in a thematic sense. You still get shaken and take wounds as per the normal game mechanics; however a monster after your life force will instead assault you in a sexual manner: lick you head to toe with a slimy tongue, rip open your bodice or tear off a section of pants. These count as wounds in the game.<br/><br/>Becoming incapacitated in this instance means you are defeated and as such still suffer the same restrictions. You are also now a potential victim of the monster, unless you still have friends around or some other extraordinary means of escape. The monster will ravish you and try to get you to orgasmic release, and the release of your life force. Instead of Vigor, you make a Spirit roll with no wild die but do NOT include your wound penalty. Certain monsters instead have an inherent penalty that you won’t discover until it is too late:<br/><br/><ul class="bbc_list"><li>Total of 1 or less: Your life force is completely consumed or the monster decides to just devour you whole instead of going for ecstasy.</li><li>Failure: You are forced to orgasm and the creature drains your life force deeply, giving you a -4 penalty on all rolls</li><li>Success: You fend off a full climax outlasting the beast as it finishes. It still manages to sap some of your life away, giving you a -2 penalty on all rolls. For each raise this is reduced by 1</li></ul><br/>The life drain penalty applies until all “wounds” suffered from the amorous advances of a creature are healed. Healing is as per the normal rules (heal skill, magic or natural) including the “Golden Hour”. Also, the maximum drain penalty you can sustain is -6, any more then that results in character death.<br/><br/>Now, if you face off against a group of bandits and everyone starts shooting at each other, well the normal rules apply. If one of those bandits seems reluctant to directly harm you, you might want to be on your guard.</div></div>