deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

128
7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 1/128

Upload: matthew-george-wilkie

Post on 04-Mar-2016

100 views

Category:

Documents


19 download

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 1/128

Page 2: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 2/128

By: Robin Laws, Charles Ryan, Paul Sudlow,Rob Vaux, Joseph Wolf & John Hopler

Page 3: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 3/128

MonsterMonsterMonsterMonsterMonsters, Muties & Misfitss, Muties & Misfitss, Muties & Misfitss, Muties & Misfitss, Muties & Misfits

Designed bDesigned bDesigned bDesigned bDesigned by:y:y:y:y: Robin Laws, Charles Ryan, Paul Sudlow, Rob Vaux, Joseph Wolf & John HoplerEditing & LaEditing & LaEditing & LaEditing & LaEditing & Layyyyyout:out:out:out:out: John HoplerCoCoCoCoCovvvvver Art:er Art:er Art:er Art:er Art: BromInterior Art:Interior Art:Interior Art:Interior Art:Interior Art: Andrew Bates, F. Newton Burcham, Don Hillsman,

Ashe Marler, Richard Pollard, & Kevin Sharpe

CoCoCoCoCovvvvver Design:er Design:er Design:er Design:er Design: Hal MangoldLogos:Logos:Logos:Logos:Logos: Charles Ryan, Zeke Sparkes & Ron SpencerSpecial Thanks to:Special Thanks to:Special Thanks to:Special Thanks to:Special Thanks to: Shane, Michelle & Caden Hensley, Christy Hopler, Barry Doyle, John & Joyce Goff, the Listserv Rowdies, Jay Kyle, Jason Nichols, Dave Seay, Ray Lau, Dave Wilson,Maureen Yates, & John “Z” Zinser

Deadlands: Hell on Earth created by Shane Lacy Hensley.

Dedicated to:Dedicated to:Dedicated to:Dedicated to:Dedicated to: All the Marshals out there that keep their heroes scared and their abominations well fed.

Visit our web site for free updates!

Deadlands, Hell on Earth, Weird West, Wasted West, theDeadlands: Hell on Earth logo, the Hell on Earth sublogo,the Pinnacle Starburst, and the Pinnacle logo areTrademarks of Pinnacle Entertainment Group, Inc.

© Pinnacle Entertainment Group, Inc.All Rights Reserved.

Printed in the USA.

Pinnacle Entertainment Group, Inc.

www.peginc.com

This electronic book is copyright Pinnacle Entertainment Group.

Redistribution by print or by file is strictly prohibited.

Add 1 to all Page Number References to account for the cover of this Ebook.

Page 4: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 4/128

Table o’ ContentsTable o’ ContentsIntrIntrIntrIntrIntroductionoductionoductionoductionoduction ................................................................. 44444

Posse TPosse TPosse TPosse TPosse Territoryerritoryerritoryerritoryerritory ......................... 55555

Chapter One:Chapter One:Chapter One:Chapter One:Chapter One:

MonsterMonsterMonsterMonsterMonsters,s ,s ,s ,s ,MonsterMonsterMonsterMonsterMonsters,s ,s ,s ,s ,EvEvEvEvEverywhererywhererywhererywhererywhereeeee ....................................................... 77777A Rovin’ Law

Dog’s Tale ......................................7A Saloon Girl Speaks............11From the Journal of

Sebastian K. ............................. 14Combine Eyes Only .............. 20Underground Terrors ........... 23Words of a “Freelance

Librarian” ................................... 26The Meaning of it All ........ 34

No Man’No Man’No Man’No Man’No Man’s Lands Lands Lands Lands Land ....................3 53 5353 53 5

Chapter TChapter TChapter TChapter TChapter Twwwwwo:o:o:o:o:AnimalAnimalAnimalAnimalAnimalCompanionsCompanionsCompanionsCompanionsCompanions .............................. 3 73 73 73 73 7A New Edge ................................... 37

Creatin’ a Four-FootedFriend.............................................. 38

Animal Aptitudes .................... 40

Animal Companions& Bounty Points ................ 48

The MarThe MarThe MarThe MarThe Marshal’shal’shal’shal’shal’sssssHandbookHandbookHandbookHandbookHandbook ............................................................4 94 94 94 94 9

Chapter ThrChapter ThrChapter ThrChapter ThrChapter Three:ee:ee:ee:ee:The CarThe CarThe CarThe CarThe Care &e &e &e &e &Feeding ofFeeding ofFeeding ofFeeding ofFeeding ofAbominationsAbominationsAbominationsAbominationsAbominations .......... 5 15 15 15 15 1Creating Your

Own Critter .............................. 51Gettin’ the Most Out of

Your Abominations ........ 59Companion Critters ..............65

Chapter Four:Chapter Four:Chapter Four:Chapter Four:Chapter Four:A LitanA LitanA LitanA LitanA Litany ofy ofy ofy ofy ofHorrHorrHorrHorrHorrorororororsssss ...............................................................................................6 96 96 96 96 9Alexander 9000 .......................... 70Beaded Horror...............................71Battle Hound................................. 72Bloatbelly .......................................... 74Bloodwave ....................................... 74Bone Bot ............................................ 75Brain Buzzard .............................. 76Candiru................................................ 78Charnel Hound ........................... 79Creepin’ Gulch............................. 79Desert Gator................................... 81Devil Bat ............................................ 82Discord Bug ................................... 83

Dust Devil ........................................ 84Explodjinn........................................ 85Fate Eater ......................................... 86

Fizzers ................................................... 87Gallos Terribles.......................... 88Ghostrock Wraith ................... 89Glamor Puss.................................. 90Glow Worm ..................................... 91Gore Storm ..................................... 92Head Case ........................................ 93Mainliner ...........................................94Maze Dragon ................................ 95Mind Biter ........................................ 96Mojave Rattler ............................. 97Night Haunt .................................... 98

Night Stalker ................................ 99Ningyo.................................................. 101Nowhere Man ............................. 102Prairie Tick ................................... 103Predavore......................................... 104River Worm .................................. 105Rust Mite ......................................... 107Sand Spider .................................. 108Scrawler ........................................... 109The Sob Sister ........................... 110Spider Head................................... 110

Storm Crow ................................... 112Tar Monster .................................. 113Texas Razors ................................ 116Thunder Spawn......................... 117Tin Man.............................................. 119Tumblebleed................................ 120Urban Wyrm................................. 121Wall Crawler ................................ 121Willow Wight.............................. 122

DeadlandsDeadlandsDeadlandsDeadlandsDeadlandsDispatchDispatchDispatchDispatchDispatch ................................................................. 1 2 41 2 41 241 2 41 24

Page 5: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 5/128

6 Posse

Welcome to the Zoo!The Hell on Earth world is a

dangerous place, filled with malevolentcreatures, power-hungry madmen, andall manner of deadly hazards of natural,supernatural, and man-made origins.

Of course, if you’ve played orMarshaled the game for any amount oftime, you already know that.

Monsters, Muties, & Misfits  takes youon a guided tour of the freak show thatis the Wasted West. Contained in thesepages are some of the deadliest andmost terrifying abominations that theReckoning has yet spawned. If you’re aplayer, your hero had best keep his gunswell-oiled and his eyes peeled, becausethese critters aren’t big on secondchances. If you’re a Marshal, it’s time toteach your posse a few lessons inhumility.

Chapter OneChapter OneChapter OneChapter OneChapter One starts the ball rolling

with eyewitness accounts of some ofthe horrid Hell spawn stalking thewestern states. Well, in truth, a numberare secondhand stories because manyof the eyewitnesses ended up as somuch monster guano.

You player types should readeverything in this chapter with a saltshaker or two—people tend to getdetails confused when they’re beingshoved in some worm-thing’s toothymaw. Don’t get cocky either, because notevery abomination in the Marshal’ssection is mentioned in Chapter One—some critters have a 1.000 battingaverage.

Chapter TChapter TChapter TChapter TChapter Twwwwwooooo has all the detailsneeded for your hero to pick up a furryor feathered sidekick. (Sorry, no scalycompanions. We apologize to thosebrainers who wanted to carry theirgoldfish Marvin around the wastes.) Thissection covers everything from teachingold dogs new tricks to showing oldtricks to new dogs.

Chapter ThrChapter ThrChapter ThrChapter ThrChapter Threeeeeeeeee is in Marshal country.This section discusses the ins and outsof creating new abominations toslaughter, I mean challenge, your possewith, and some of the strategies for

getting the most mileage out of yourhomegrown monstrosities.Chapter FourChapter FourChapter FourChapter FourChapter Four contains all the info

you need to include these newabominations in your game. There arealso updates on some old critterswho’ve been hanging on since the six-gun days, and, as we mentioned earlier,a number of creatures that the heroeshave been given no hint of.

So make sure you’ve got a full clipand dive on in!

Page 6: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 6/128

PosseTerritory

Page 7: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 7/128

8

Monsters Everywhere

Page 8: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 8/128

9

Monsters Everywhere

Librarian’s Note: The following is a series of reports relating to supernatural activity

and strange creatures that have been reported in various regions in the years since

the Apocalypse. It was compiled over a period of seven months, simultaneous to my

travels in search of information on the Cult of Doom. The raw transcripts can be found

in files M100.1, M100.2, M100.3, and M100.4.

Librarian Robert Goodwin

A Rovin’ Law Dog’s TaleThey asked me to tell you about some of the

things I’ve seen on my travels—some of theweirdness and horror spread across thiscountry. I suppose I’ve gotten more than myshare, although I’m still alive to talk about it,

which is more than a lot of people can say.

Librarian’s Note: What follows is an interview with Gary Stifles, a self-styled “Law

Dog” who claims several encounters with supernatural creatures.

I guess I’m what you’d call a “wandering LawDog.” Like the Templars, I suppose, but withoutthe steel rod up my butt. I’ve been from onecorner of the Wasted West to the other—just

doing my share, helping folks out, trying tomake life less miserable. It’s not safe, but whatthe Hell, I can take it. Besides, it’s let me seethings that no one else can ever imagine. Somegood, some bad. I’m here today to talk to youabout the bad things—the kind that rise up andtake a bite.

StormwrackedHellstorms. Those Hellstorms are alive,

you know. Not literally—but in everyother way that matters, they’re alive. Askanybody who’s ever survived one—great,huge, living things. They got moods,emotions that you can read, and, if you’re

lucky, survive. They get angry and strike youdown; they can be subtle and make you thinkyou’re safe. They even have a voice: that horriblescream of wind that lets you know you’re in thebeast’s belly. They’re like sharks, great hugepredators spreading across the sky in a darkwave. And like sharks, they got other livingthings following them around like parasites.Ready to pick up the scraps they leave behind.

Monsters, Monsters

Everywhere

1 1 21 121 1 21 121 1 2

Page 9: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 9/128

10

Monsters Everywhere

I call these parasites “stormcrows,” althoughthey aren’t birds and never have been. They’renot in every storm, but I’ve seen enough ofthem to worry. They only appear when thefireworks are done; when the Hellstorm’sthrough being angry at you and moved on tomore pressing targets. You come out of yourshelter into the calm, clear daylight, and youthink everything’s okay. That’s when thestormcrows hit you.

I first saw ’em after a bad storm in Nebraska.We got caught unawares and took shelter inthis small town. Wasn’t even a town really—more like a collection of shacks that peoplewere staying in. There were about 25 of us.Most managed to make it to shelter, but a fewwere caught in the open and reaped thewhirlwind. A couple of others picked the wrong

buildings to hide in and paid the price. Thoselean-tos blew away in the first big gust. Therest of us, we hunkered down and tried tomake the best of it. A few hours later, the raindied off and we could hear the storm slowlymoving away. The beast was done playing withus.

We gave it another hour or so, then steppedout into the light. We thought we’d be safe.Idiots.

Electrical Death

The first stormcrow had already gotten thereby the time we emerged. A big glowing ball oflightning, it was, spouting arcs of electricityfrom every angle. It was tearing into the bodiesof the unfortunates who didn’t make it,wrapping them in its arcs like a blanket. Youcould smell the meat burning. When it got donewith one, it would drop him and move on toanother corpse. It didn’t leave much, just acharred skeleton and a few scattered ashes.

It was so taken with the goodies it had thatit didn’t notice us for a bit. When it did, it came

right at us, flashing electricity like one of thosemad scientist gizmos from last century. Caughtsome poor girl by the throat with one of themtentacles and roasted her like a pig. Two otherstried to run and it cut them down too. (I hearone of them’s still alive, but he can’t talk anymore. The epileptic fits get worse every day.)The smartest ones dove back under coverbefore it noticed them. The rest of us had to

deal with it the best we could. It killed six morebefore someone produced a grounded electricalcable from God knows where. We threw ithead-on into the crow, and that seemed to takethe steam out of its stride. It sort of shriveledup after that, like a light-bulb burning out inslow motion. Good riddance, I say.

Deal with the DevilStormcrows at least have the good manners

not to make bargains with other people. Thatway, you know who’s on your side. With othercritters, you aren’t so lucky. You got a lot ofweak, spineless people out there, willing to cut adeal with the devil. And let me tell you, there’splenty of devils out there ready to bargain.

We were on a convoy out of Junkyard,

carrying guns and other essentials westtowards the Maze. Three or four of us had beendelayed and fell behind the other trucks. Wewere hurrying to catch up, which meant weweren’t looking. These things were smart. Theylaid a trap for us and waited until it wassnapped to move in. I think the first truck hit amine of some sort. It went up like a firecracker.Then the crew behind them got out to see whatcould be done. That’s when they hit us. Cameout of the desert in scuttling pairs, throwingmetal spears at anything that moved. God, therewere a lot of them.

Death on Eight LegsThey looked like tarantulas—big, man-

sized spiders with bristling hair andmultiple insect eyes. But they movedupright and their top four limbs couldgrab things—like those spears they werethrowing. They scuttled across theshifting sands and made these weirdhissing noises when they hit us. Half the guyswere down before we knew it; I think the spear-

tips had some kind of poison on them. Theother guys fought back, and took a coupledown, but it weren’t any use. Too many of themand too few of us… God, it was ugly.

The driver, Stan, and I, we were in the lasttruck in the line, and got missed in the initialrush. When things started getting ugly, he tookoff; turned the truck around and made a beelineback the way we came. I tried to get him to

108108108108108

Page 10: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 10/128

11

Monsters Everywhere

stop, but he wouldn’t hear of it—I would’ve hadto shoot him to calm him down. In retrospect, Iwish I had. It would’ve been better for him.

Sweetwater was just a few miles behind us,and he figured we could hole up there, getsome reinforcements maybe. We got into townand started yelling our heads off, brought everymother’s son of them out. When he heard aboutthe attack, the mayor said not to worry. He saidthey had run-ins with these things—called ’em“sand spiders”—and that they knew how to dealwith them. He took us back to his house, toldus to relax. He’d come back for us in a little bit.

DoublecrossedA couple hours later, we heard him come

back. The door shut, and it sounded like he had

some people with him. We got up to see whatthey had done, and it took a minute to realize:they weren’t “some people.” They were thosespider things. Three of them, standing behindthe mayor like they were lifetime buddies.

“Sorry about this, son,” he said. “But they gota holy day comin’ up, and you two are on themenu.”

One of the spiders leapt forward and sunk itsfangs into Stan’s arm. He screamed and I couldsee something green and noxious dripping fromits fangs. That was enough for me. I capped offa round from my shotgun into its skull, then

switched to full auto. I think I caught the mayorright in his lying gut. Hope so. Anyway, itbought us enough time to hightail it out ofthere into the desert—I wasn’t about to take onthe whole town. I had to carry Stan most of theway. His arm had swollen up all green and hisface muscles weren’t working right. We finallyfound a cave where we could hide, and coveredthe entrance with rocks. I think the windcovered our tracks. Stayed there the wholenight.

I did what I could for Stan, but that toxin was

too much. He died about 3:00 a.m., raving andspitting green foam from his mouth. It was asugly a way to go as I’ve ever seen. I buried himin the cave and took off at dawn; made it backto the trucks by eight or nine. They had takenthe bodies, but the equipment was still there—Iguess their friends in Sweetwater were too busyhunting me to come back and strip it. I fired upone of the trucks and never looked back.

If you’re traveling alone in Deseret—oranyplace else for that matter—take care in anysmall towns you come to. Your hosts may havetrouble remembering that you’re a fellowhuman being.

Texas RazorsNeither those spider things nor the

stormcrows, though, hold a candle to thislast critter. Sure they’re nasty, but they justseemed to be doing what comes naturally.Hunters, you know, like lions or bears. Not thatI wanted to be on the menu, but at least youcan see where they’re coming from. They had toeat just like everybody else. That thing I saw in

Texas, though, it was just plain evil. It wasn’tkilling folks because it had to. It was killingthem because it enjoyed it.

I had heard stories of farms in the area bein’attacked by some kind of psycho killer. Offamilies torn to pieces and flung around theirhouses like confetti. The local town (a squirt inthe dirt called Hopton) sent out a call for help,and I was the Law Dog lucky enough to answer.

A stormcrow attacks.

1 1 61 161 161 161 16

Page 11: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 11/128

12

Monsters Everywhere

Whatever it was, it sounded a lot nastier thansome mutie nutcase, so I packed the heavyartillery just in case. Probably saved my life.

A Mere Psycho Killer This Ain’t

I got to Hopton hoping to get somebackground and maybe convince a few folks tohelp me. What I found was another massacre.Apparently, the thing had moved up from singlehouses, and Hopton was its graduation present.There were 50-odd people in the main street,slaughtered like sheep. You couldn’t tell onefrom the other; just a pile of guts and limbs cutinto tiny pieces. It wasn’t finished with the job,either. As I sat there, lookin’ at the bodies of thepeople who had asked for my help, I heard thescreams and cries of survivors comin’ from

inside the town.I got my first look at it a couple minuteslater. Some poor guy scampered out of abuilding, looking desperately for cover. It came’round the corner like a hurricane, and I spottedhim in a flash. It looked… I don’t know, like

some twisted fusion of flesh and machine. Not acyborg—nothing so crude—but a biomechanicalmonster; a slab of living steel. It had a widemouth full of shiny fangs and smiled at mewhile it took this guy down. A cruel, gleefulsmile that said it was havin’ the time of its life.Instead of limbs, it had these tight ropes of shinymaterial up and down its sides. Like thick coilsof razor-wire, bundled up tight.

While its target screamed and tried to run, itshot those coils out at the speed of sound.They whipped around him in a tight ball, then

 jerked tight. Snap! Instant paté. The poor mansort of slurped to the ground in a pile. Then itlaunched itself at me.

Time for the Big Guns

I cut loose with the grenade launcher theminute I saw it. Emptied an entire clip down thestreet in its path. It didn’t seem overly perturbed,but the explosions were enough to knock it offcourse. It skidded into one of the buildings andbrought the whole thing down on top of it. Bythe time it fought its way loose from the debrisI was gone.

Things were dicey there for a while until oneof the townsfolk lit out on a hoverbike to drawits attention. It took the bait and flew out afterhim, gunning towards the horizon fast as awhip. I had no idea something so big could

move so fast. I knew the poor guy never had achance, but he’d bought us some time, and Iplanned to make the most of it. I got six, maybeseven people out of there before it came back. Ithink that was all of them. The rest got left torot, spread out under the Texas sun like thedevil’s picnic. As we put the town behind us, wecould hear it starting its rampage again. As faraway as we were, it still sent shivers down ourspines.

I don’t know what the hell it was, but I hopeI never see it again.

Starvin’ TimeMy last little bit’s from a small town

in Nebraska, which came under attackby a horde of ravenous monsters. Out ofall of them, this was the scariest thing I’veever been through, and I still don’t know howwe survived.Food processor gone bad?

7 47 47 47 47 4

Page 12: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 12/128

13

Monsters Everywhere

The above ground granaries were gone thatfirst night. As in completely wiped out—everything the town had. Four bloatbellies—that’s what we got to callin’ them—got in thereand took it all before we put them down. That’sright, just four. We’d already heard about them,and we knew there were a lot more on the way.

I figure these bastards serve the ReckonerFamine. You’ve heard about the Reckoners,right? Like War, Death, all those guys right outof the Bible? Well, these bloatbellies hafta workfor Famine. They look like mutie corpses,skeletal and emaciated like they’re starving todeath. They got three big claws and hugeglowing blue eyes—you can spot them with onelook in the dark. But the most telling thingabout them is their stomachs: swollen,distended, bloated up with gasses like they’re

ready to burst.Yeah, that’s why we call ’em bloatbellies.

Head Shots, Only!Anyhow, it’s those guts you gotta watch out

for. The gas inside them is toxic and can spreadreal fast. You can shoot ’em in the head or thelimbs and they bleed just fine. But puncturethat stomach, and suddenly you’re sittin’ in acloud of this noxious gas, like some sort ofnerve gas from the war. It attacks your skin andlungs, eating through tissue like battery acid. If

you’re not in a gas mask and covered from headto toe, you’re going to feel every searing bite ofit. They can shoot that gas out of their nosesand mouths, too, although it doesn’t spread asfar as a ruptured gut does.

It does the same thing to food, only worse.Meats, grains, anything edible that touches thegas gets turned to poisonous sludge. The critterso much as coughs on it, and it’s done. Evencanned goods and freeze-dried stuff getsspoiled; don’t ask me how. You get a bloatbellyin shouting distance of any kind of food, you’ll

be eating boiled sand all winter.

They Know What They’re AfterThose four who got in past the wall that

night knew what they were doing. They madestraight for the grain silos; had the wholeharvest turned to muck by the time we gotthere. You’d think the damage had been done,

but things got worse. The first team didn’t knowwhat they were dealing with, and walked inblind. Bobby got scratched by one of them; theflesh around the wound shriveled up likeleather. Another guy got a face full of gas;melted through to his brain. By the time we gotthere, we couldn’t tell which puddles were foodand which were the first team. All of that wasfrom a scouting party. From what we’d heard,there were almost 60 of them massing for thereal attack.

Then they came. We lasted the night, andonly took about 20 or 30 casualties, but thebloatbellies managed to take out most of theremaining food supplies. The community brokeup soon thereafter. Last I heard, Mr. Rhodes, theguy that was in charge of that town, was upsomewhere near Omaha. He’s a good source of

information on these creatures. If you needmore, it might be worthwhile to look him up.

A Saloon Girl SpeaksI’ve been a saloon gal what feels like a long

time now, and I seen and heard all kinds ofstrange things. I’m in the mood to talk, so ifyou’re in the mood to listen, you might as well.

Librarian’s Note: These are the words of Cynthia Billings. She works at a bar in Near

Wichita. There she comes into frequent contact with travelers, Convoy drivers, and

others with specific experience with unusual creatures.

Jumpin’ Jehosephat!Y’ever hear tell of the candiru? It’s

something to think about, especially youmale types, when you’re out in thewilderness and you decide to head downto the creek when the bladder calls your name.

The Little Fish

First there’s your regular candiru, a tiny littlefish the size of the first two joints of your babyfinger. I hear that before everything got allmessed up, they lived in the Amazon River, butnow somehow they’ve ended up in America, inscattered rivers here or there. The candiru hasan unwelcome habit, you see. It tends to swimup the human—whaddaya callit?—oh yeah, theurethra. It swims up your urethra. I don’t think

7878787878

Page 13: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 13/128

14

Monsters Everywhere

it means to do it—it’s just that it can sensetemperature changes in the river water. Usuallyit uses this sense to zero in on the gills orwhatever of other, bigger fish. But when itdetects the warmth of a fresh stream of urine,why it swims right up the stream and shootsup into that there urethra. And from there,things actually get worse. It puffs out a wholebunch of spiny stickles, lodging itself rightthere in the midst of your privates, so thatthere’s no way on earth it’s coming back outthe way it came in. The only way to preventyourself from getting fatal blood poisoningwhen your system backs up is to have a doctoramputate your thingus.

Sorry, boys—I can see this topic is makingyou squirm around on your bar stools. But thatisn’t the half of it. That’s just the regular

candiru. Then you got your mutated candiru.

It Just Gets Worse!There’s the driller candiru, that leaps up at

you and tries to bore into your flesh. They’vegot these hard, bony noses that can piercethrough thick cloth, so you get a spiny fishstuck into your flesh like it was shot out of agun at you. And again, the only way to get ’emout is to have a doc cut out a whole, big chunkof flesh. Sometimes you’ll run into trogs orwalkin’ dead which are full of these driller

candiru, I’m told. The candiru only live in thosekinds of hosts as a last resort. They like warmflesh better. So they’ll unhook themselves fromtheir hosts, squirm around, and dive right backat you in the middle of a fight. You’ll be worriedabout the zombie or mutant on one hand, whileat the same time trying to dodge these killermissile fish.

You look really ill, boys. I won’t tell you aboutthe giant flying candiru, then. What else can Itell you about instead?

Soda Pop JunkiesOh, there’s the fizzers. They’re a bit

gross, too, though. Pale complexions.Glazed, sunken eyes. Flat, lifeless hair.Awful clothes—always pre-War T-shirts,three sizes too small, peppered with

holes and stained with Bubbly-Fizz Cola.But that’s not what I was talking about

when I was talking about gross. The pus, that’sgross. I’m not sure whether it’s the oozing,volcanic zits that bubble and fizz from everyinch of exposed flesh, or the little daubs ofdripping green goo that bead along their rancidgums where their rotted teeth used to be. Ifthey didn’t travel in packs, and weren’t insanelyviolent when you cross them, I wouldn’t let nofizzers come into this saloon at all.

Every week or so they come by, always withthe same question. Do I have any Bubbly-FizzCola? They know we don’t. They can smellBubbly-Fizz Cola half a mile away. But they’reunable to restrain themselves from checking,

 just in case. They’re addicted to the stuff. Theykill for it. It’s like they worship it, even. They livetogether in roving colonies, always hunting formore. Sometimes they hunt a long time. All the

Bubbly-Fizz bottling plants were leveled duringthe war, of course, so they live to find bottlesand cans produced back in the old times.

Just Leave It Out for ’EmCouple months back, a tribute caravan came

by here. Soon as I saw the ancient carton withthe red and green B-Fizz logo, the staff and allthe regulars dashed for the fortified basementwe got here and locked ourselves in. Inretrospect, we should have let the stupidbastards in the shelter with us, leaving the cans

outside. Not a concern-for-my-fellow-man thingso much as nerves. Hearing the howling of thefizzers nearly drove us beyond the bend. Fromthe sounds of the gunfire, the caravaneers putup a valiant fight. But there were too many ofthe fizzers. There always are. Then came theechoing fizzer yelps as they battled one anotherto suck down the precious carbonated liquid.We didn’t venture out for days. The shelter inthe basement is well-stocked, you see.

What kind of mutation makes you hanker fora particular soda pop? Good question. Whatever

it is, it breeds true. You’ve never been revolteduntil you’ve seen a zit-spotted infant fizzersucking on its mother’s festering teat, wishing itwas drinking Bubbly-Fizz, the Cola What Is.Social niceties, forget it. They can barely carryon a conversation. When they do talk to you,the subject always turns around to B-Fizz.Mostly they chant the old slogans. “Be the Fizz.”“Add Fizz to Your Life.” And it’s not like they’re

8 7878 78787

Page 14: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 14/128

15

Monsters Everywhere

good neighbors when the soda isn’t around;they’re vicious raiders and scavengers whorespect nothing but what’s inside the barrel ofyour gun. The only difference is, when the Fizzisn’t involved, they’re cowardly slimeballs who’llfight only when cornered.

You think I only tell revolting stories? I get nothrill from nauseating people. Okay then, I’ll tellyou a sad story. About what happened at thelast place I worked.

The Sob SisterNot sure why I survived this one. Maybe

because I was still mourning my little Rocky.When she walked into the place, all the heads

turned. Not just the men’s heads, neither. Astriking-looking woman, she was. Neatly dressed,

though with a bit of dust on her old duds.Hair up in a bun. Little glasses.Wasn’t her appearance that got

everyone’s attention, though. Somethingin the air. This terrible sense of sadness

around her. One minute everyone hadbeen laughing and boozing and kicking it

up. Not me, though—I was polishing glasses andthinking of the sound of Rocky’s feet runningall around. Then she came into the place andeverything got all quiet like. Automatically youknew she was grieving for something. Youwanted to help her, ease her mind.

Mr. Crown went to her first, took her hand,led her to the bar. The Vertebreaker gave her ahanky, which he had to take from Lilith. Arnieoffered her a drink on the house; all she wantedwas water. Everybody in the whole placegathered round her.

She said she was glad for our kindness. Toldus not to bother ourselves. She’d be on her way,soon as she quenched her thirst. But everyoneinsisted. Asked her for her name. It was AnnieSuggins. Arnie pressed some sandwiches on her.They tried to get her to tell them what was

saddening her. But she was tight-lipped. Finally,Vertebreaker, who’s lacking for subtlety, up andasked her what it was. Just everything, she said.

She tried to leave then, but Arnie said shewas obviously tired and needed a room for a bitof sleep. He offered it to her free of charge,though usually he’s the kind of man who’dshoot you and then send you a bill for thebullet. She protested, said she wasn’t tired, then

undercut her own argument by falling awayinto a dead faint. They took her upstairs to thePresidential Suite.

Great Gobs o’ GooIt was while she was upstairs that people

started to melt. First they got sweaty, then theygot shaky and couldn’t move too good.

It was Deadbolt Clements who said it: “Oh,it’s the Sob Sister.” We hadn’t heard of her, butapparently she’d walked into other places,getting everybody to feel sorry for her, thenmelting them. The ones that’d been closest toher was first to go, in order of contact: Mr.Crown, Vertebreaker, Lilith, then Arnie. But you

didn’t have to have touched her to start todissolve. We rushed upstairs to ask her to leave;nobody wanted to even look at her now. Weshouted at her through a door. We wanted tokill her, but somehow nobody could bringthemselves to lay a hand to gun butt. She left,and said she’d tried to warn us, she was sorry,she just needed a drink. She left while we hidfrom the sight of her.

Beware women with a tale of woe.

1 1 01 1 01 101 1 01 10

Page 15: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 15/128

Page 16: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 16/128

17

Monsters Everywhere

All at once everybody was spouting off thevarious theories they’d heard of what thepredavores were. They was ghosts, saidZakerlee, insubstantial and vengeful. Aliensfrom Faraway, said Joline, who take the victimsoff to another dimension in space and time. ButKills-The-Bear said that couldn’t be, explainingthat sometimes the bones of their takings isfound miles away, stripped clean and poppedopen for the marrow. The only clue to them isthe mysterious long scratches along the bones—ain’t no regular teeth makes those marks. It’ssome kind of meat-eater nobody’s seen yet,with fearsome powers to avoid detection.

I said it was all a bunch of bison bombs.Obviously a whole lot of different unexplainedincidents had been piled together with a bunchof rumors and nonsense to make up the legend

of the predavore. A cougar attack, a humanambush, a voluntary disappearance—any ofthem could be described as the work ofpredavores. Saying that a predavore got Leffertswas the same as saying we didn’t have no ideawhat happened, but wanted to pretend we did.

We divvied up Lefferts’ gear, and Joline said afew words, even though there was nothin’ tobury. We broke camp and continued our searchfor the underground mall. That night, we set upin a hollow and posted watches.

But this morning, Zakerlee was gone.

Good Luck Gone BadMarMarMarMarMarch 20th, 2087:ch 20th, 2087:ch 20th, 2087:ch 20th, 2087:ch 20th, 2087: It’s a day tocelebrate—a year to the day since I freedmyself from the Fate Eater. Over fouryears since it first captured me. I thinkI’m ready to write about it now. `Though

my pen shakes even at the thought of him.Only sometimes could I see him. Out of

the corner of my eye. When the light was acertain way. Like at dusk. Or when there was areflection. And in my dreams. Sometimes I

could see him just fine in my dreams. Indreams, he looked almost normal. Likesomebody from before the Judgment. Middle-aged. Glasses. Balding. Plaid shirt. Beige slacks.Loafers. Any other time I caught sight of him,he was ghoulish, with glowing eyes, and thiscreepy expression. I don’t want to picture himtoo clearly. I don’t want him to haunt me nomore.

Housework

I first came upon him when I was scavenging

through the ruins of Pocatello, Idaho. There’s apart of it still mostly standing. Wasn’t too nearground zero. House after suburban house,standing there, empty—mostly untouched, backthen just a few years after the bomb. So I waspicking them over.

Inside one of the houses, I suddenly feltsomeone had walked over my grave, like. I feltthis thought in my head: “I got something foryou to do for me.” That thought, I banished it.Went about my business.

Then everything in my life turned to crap.

Scavengers like me, we rely on a little bit ofextra luck to keep ourselves alive. Starting rightthen, my luck went away. First time, driving thatmotorbike along an empty stretch of road, Ipopped a tire. Found myself sliding along theroad and—bam!—straight into an old post.Nearly killed me. Then I heard the voice again,louder this time. “I got something for you to dofor me.”

Predavores: fact or survivor myth?

8 68 68 68 68 6

Page 17: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 17/128

18

Monsters Everywhere

these days. Had to fight off a dozen differentkinds of freaks, muties, and demons to get allthe stuff, and to guard the place. Twice theycame and ruined everything. For three years ofabsolute hell I was trapped in Reg’s old home,tending and guarding that lawn. Stomping outcrabgrass. Warding off dandelions. Slowly goingnuts.

Finally Reg appeared in my peripheral vision.Said I’d finally got his perfect lawn for him. Hegave me my luck back, set me free. You shouldaseen me when I next got in a fight. I was theluckiest man alive.

A Dance with Death Jul Jul Jul Jul July 1st, 2087:y 1st, 2087:y 1st, 2087:y 1st, 2087:y 1st, 2087: Damn, what a day!

Pede was ready to kill me—but first he

wanted to play that damn-assharmonica of his. That same awfulmoaning tune over and over. Pede. Hewas just like that. I couldn’t move; he hadme securely chained to a mess of twistedgirders. He finally got bored and whipped outhis Tokarev. I closed my eyes.

Then I heard this awful groaning sound, likethe air itself being torn inside out. The noisecame from behind him. Thought at first it wasKills-The-Bear, coming to rescue me. But then ithove into view. A man-sized twister yawing andweaving across the rubble of the ruined city. I

know that describes a dust devil, but this wasworse than that. This was a heaving, bubblingvortex of blood and muscle and bone. Ascreaming storm of gore and flesh. Headedstraight at us.

A Bad Day to be PedePede saw the terror in my eyes and turned to

face it. He emptied the machine pistol into thething, to no avail. It stopped for a moment, as ifto gloat. Then it advanced. A hook of sharp bone

shot out from it. Connected with Pede’s face,neatly flaying the meat from the right side of hisskull. Plain as day, you could see the skin andflesh and eyeball from the brainer whip aroundthe thing a couple of rotations, after which itbecame part of the vortex. That’s when I puked.

Pede didn’t let having half his face off stophim. He drew his knife and stood his ground,blade outstretched. Another swipe of the vortex,

Happened a couple of other times. Each timethings went disastrously bad for me. Each time Iheard the voice. So I know for sure, I’m cursed. I

call out for the thing that cursed me. Nothingbut echo. But that night it appeared in mydream. Said its name was Reg. Said it was killedin the blast. Said it’s got unfinished business.Said I’m going to complete that business, or I’llnever get my luck back. And without my luck,sooner or later, I’m dead as he is. So I promisedthis ghost I’d do what it wanted.

Lawn and Garden DepartmentReg was entered in a perfect lawn care

contest before the war started. Lawns were hishobby. Reg wanted nothing more in life than tohave the ideal lawn. Then the tanks rolledthrough. Then he got drafted, after all theyoung soldiers were used up. With no one hometo tend it, his lawn was overrun with weeds.

So I had to go back to Pocatello. Find grassseed. Find fertilizer. Set up a sprinkler system—which wasn’t any easier back then than it is

Pede is about to meet his Maker.

9 29 29 29 29 2

Page 18: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 18/128

19

Monsters Everywhere

and the knife was clattering to the pavement,his arm gone from the elbow on down. Hissevered hand and forearm were orbiting aroundthe thing—let’s call it a “gore storm”—with eachrotation being broken down into smaller andsmaller bits of carnage. Meanwhile, blood wasspraying out of Pede’s wound like from a hoseunder pressure. It was also being sucked intothe vortex—seemed as if it were feeding on it.Damned if the cursed thing wasn’t gettingbigger as it feasted on Pede’s bits. Maybe I was

 just imagining this last part, but I swear that ahundred laughing mouths and two hundredleering eyes formed themselves in the surfaceof the vortex for just a moment. Taking delightin what it was doing to Pede. Nearly felt sorryfor the man. Nearly.

As Pede shook off the shock and groped for

something in his money belt, the gore stormlurched towards him and sawed him to bits likea lawnmower or a lamprey or I don’t knowwhat. Then it came towards me.

That’s when Kills-the-Bear finally appeared todo his cavalry number. He hosed the thingdown with a burst of liquid nitrogen originallyearmarked for Pede. It made a weirdly humansound of pain and annoyance, and went offbehind some stadium bleachers.

We didn’t pursue it.

Headed for the MazeOctober 23, 2087:October 23, 2087:October 23, 2087:October 23, 2087:October 23, 2087: Reached the Maze after ahell of a trip from Portland. Damn, what aplace! I never had the chance to get out herebefore the war, but it looks even cooler than itdid in the old vids. We saw something yesterdaythat sure didn’t show up on the TV before thewar.

I once heard that the local Indians had alegend about the Great Maze. They say thathundreds of years ago, an old medicine mansacrificed his only daughter and painted the

rocks on Carillo Plain with her blood. When thewhite men came, that blood would release apowerful magic and turn them back. It didn’twork, though. Instead, it threw the coastlineinto the sea and created the Great Maze. Bunchof superstition, I’d have said before the war. Butwhen we saw that creature pull that boat apart,I couldn’t help wondering how muchsuperstition is the real truth.

From where we were travelling down theruins of I-3, we could see the boat slippingthrough the mesas all day. It was good to seeother people, even if they were far below us. Wetalked to them on the radio—they said they’dfought off a band of croakers the night before,and were anxious to put some distancebetween them. They were making good time,and staying alert as well; we could hear themshooting at the sharks every now and then. Forall of that, they didn’t know death was uponthem until too late.

Death from BelowIt started with the water. I could see

it clouding up from our position abovethem, turning this sorta crimson color. I

thought at first that it might be the mud, thatthe boat’s prop had churned up some clay thatwas coloring the water. Only it kept deepening,getting’ redder and redder. After a hundredyards, it looked like they were paddling througha sea of blood. The strange part was, it wasonly red around the ship; the water behindthem faded and turned back to its normal color.

 Joline started yellin’ in the radio, but by thenthe crew of the boat had noticed it alreadythemselves. They gathered around the sides andfingered their guns. Probably assumed they hadhit a Maze dragon or somesuch with the boat,

and that it was going to rise up in a rage onthem. They were right, at least partly. It was thewater itself that sprang up: a huge tower of itwith arms and hands, and what almost lookedlike a face. It rose right up in front of the boat,blocking the causeway with its bulk. It wasbloody red like the sea around it, and sent outa howl that rattled our teeth.

Don’ t Shoot It—You’ll Only Make It MadThe crew opened fire, for all the good it did

them. Bullets passed right through the thing. Ittore into their boat, grabbed the bow and rippedit apart. Not just small chunks, either: it rippedthe whole boat up the middle like a wishbone.The ship went end-up, spilling men andsupplies into the water around it. The entirecraft sank inside of five minutes. The creaturedropped down beneath the waves, then poppedup again around the survivors, grabbing them

7474747474

Page 19: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 19/128

20

Monsters Everywhere

and thrusting them underwater. Poor sods. Afew of them tried to swim to shore, but themesa walls were too steep. Even the four whopulled themselves out of the water couldn’t gethigh enough before the monster went for them.It swatted them against the stones like flies. Ithink a few got away, but the rest were crushedagainst the stone. Those who didn’t reach themesas were all drowned by the creature.

Randy fired off a few shots, and me too, butwe were too far away to help even if our gunswould have done any more than theirs. Thecreature didn’t even seem to notice us. Itvanished beneath the waves, and the waterslowly turned back to blue. The boat was gone,all but a few shards and the corpses of its crew.After a few more minutes of watching, Jolinewished their souls Godspeed, and we continued

on our way.

The Black MesaNoNoNoNoNovvvvvember 10, 2087:ember 10, 2087:ember 10, 2087:ember 10, 2087:ember 10, 2087: We’ve traveled to the

southwestern part of the Maze to check outrumors we’ve heard of a black mesa made

entirely of ghost rock. Sounds too goodto be true, so it probably is, but younever know.

NoNoNoNoNovvvvvember 12, 2087:ember 12, 2087:ember 12, 2087:ember 12, 2087:ember 12, 2087: Turns  out theplace does exist. This morning we

sighted a mesa that was black as pitch.

We circled it a few times, and it turns outthat that description fits better than I thought:the sides of the mesa are covered in a thick,black tar that seems to be oozing out of therocks themselves. There’s a small area on thenorth side that is clear of the tar and looksclimbable. We’re going to head up there andcheck things out after lunch.

Tourist TrapNoNoNoNoNovvvvvember 13, 2087:ember 13, 2087:ember 13, 2087:ember 13, 2087:ember 13, 2087: You’d think by now we’d

have learned that if things seem out of theordinary we should just leave them the Hellalone. We were lucky to get off that damnedmesa alive. As it is, Kills-The-Bear got a badburn and Joline broke her leg.

I guess what we found up there shouldn’thave come as too much of a surprise; we knewwe were in the vicinity of where Los Angelesslid into the ocean back during the Great Quake

of `68. Still, it was kind of a shock to climb upthere and find a deserted museum.

 Up on top of this mesa are the La Brea TarPits, complete with museum, replica mammothsand sabre-tooth tigers, and a gift shop stillstocked with hats, mugs, and I heart the TarPits T-shirts. Not a nugget of ghost rockanywhere in sight, of course. (Although we didgrab some shirts. The ones we’re wearing aregetting kind of threadbare and a little rank.

 Joline also grabbed a stuffed mammoth doll.)The place had been quite a tourist attraction

before the War, but I had never heard of it wason being covered in tar. Near as we can figure apostwar quake or maybe the shock of a nearbynuke must have fractured the mesa and allowedsome of the tar to start seeping out the sides.

Things went downhill after we left the gift

shop. As we got close to the pits themselves,the tar began to boil and then it rose up in wallbefore us. Before we could say “merde,” thisropy string of tar whipped out of the mass andslammed Kills-The-Bear back about ten feet.

We didn’t need to see anymore. We took offrunning. The thing belched a burning ball of tarafter us and some of it splattered on Kill-TheBear, giving him third degree burns on his leftshoulder. He didn’t even stop, he just kept onrunning until we reached the rope we hadsecured at the edge of the mesa.

We were going to climb back down, but

about then a new horror popped its head up: asabre-toothed tiger skeleton covered in syrupytar came running toward us. That was enough.We all looked at each other and then jumpedoff the mesa into the water. I can’t imaginewhat that salt water felt like on Kills-The-Bear’sburns. He remained as stoic as ever, of course. Itwas about a forty-foot drop. Joline hit the waterat a bad angle and snapped her leg. It was aclean break, though, and it looks like it willheal up just fine.

We all threw away our T-shirts.

Ghost-rock FeverDecember 4, 2087:December 4, 2087:December 4, 2087:December 4, 2087:December 4, 2087: Got to Mesa Prada

yesterday. Soon as we got there, this fellowapproached us and started goin’ on about somepenny-ante ghost-rock mine not too far off.Apparently, the locals believe it’s still intact, andseveral have disappeared while investigating it.

1 1 31 131 131 131 13

Page 20: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 20/128

21

Monsters Everywhere

Guess they took a look at our guns (not tomention Kills-The-Bear) and figured we gotwhat it takes to help them out. They promiseda share of the mine should they get it running.A pipe dream, I figure, but what the heck (wenever learn).

So we made our way out to the mineshaftwith two guys from the town, out on the lip of amesa a few miles offshore. We set up camp andhad a look around. I doubt this is the cash cowthey hope it’ll be; Joline says there isn’t even anugget left in that burnt-out hole. But we mightas well give them the chance to check it outthoroughly. Who knows, it might pay after all.

Ghosts in the NightDecember 7, 2087:December 7, 2087:December 7, 2087:December 7, 2087:December 7, 2087: It happened last night.

This creature came out of nowhere and took theguy from town who was sitting guard duty onthe north end of the camp. Since that

whole “predavore” thing, Randy’s taken tosetting up a vid camera at night—thistime it paid off. The camera got all of it.

It’s hard to see on the little cameramonitor, but it looks like a ghost or spiritor something, a glowing green apparition

in the rough shape of a man. It appeared on theedge of the shaft, coming out of the darknesslike a beacon. The guy yelled out at it, thenopened fire. The bullets passed right through it,

and the holes closed back up as it moved in onthe guy. When it got close there was like thispulse of sickly green energy—like radioactivefire—which seared him black. He froze and thenpitched over, all covered with burns. If you justsaw the body and not the vid, you’d swear thefellow died of really bad radiation poisoning.

Kills-The-Bear wants to leave, but Jolinetalked him out of it. We’ve got our rad-suits,and she think’s they’ll protect us if the creaturereturns. Seems she’s changed her mind aboutthis mine shaft, but I still got my doubts.

Curiosity Kills the CatDecember 9, 2087:December 9, 2087:December 9, 2087:December 9, 2087:December 9, 2087: Another attack. It got

Randy this time, and Kills-The-Bear. Along with Joline, that just leaves me. Now that that otherguy from town ran off with the boat. Guess I’mnext, since I’m stuck here. Oh well, at least Iwon’t be missin’ Joline for too long.

It appeared in the mineshaft again. This time,it moaned, kinda the way ghost-rock doeswhen it burns, and glowed ever more fiercely. It

almost seemed like it was in pain. The radiationsuits didn’t do us much good. Sure, it stoppedthe toxic glow a bit, but when it saw that, thewraith just reached out and touched Kills-The-Bear, right through the suit. I could see itshandprint eating through it, right into his flesh.He screamed as it hit him. Gunfire, knives—nothing did any good. Randy tried to run, but itcaught him easily. The burns on their bodiesmatch the creature’s handprints exactly.

It let me be after killing them. For somereason, before it disappeared I called out and it

stopped. It turned and looked at me. It seemed…sad to me, somehow. Lonely and piteous.December 10, 2087:December 10, 2087:December 10, 2087:December 10, 2087:December 10, 2087: Radiation burns getting

bad; no time to patch them up though. I guessthis’ll be the last entry in my journal. When itappears tonight, I’m going to try talking to it.Maybe it can tell me what it is, and why ithaunts this lonely place. Maybe it’ll let me live.If it doesn’t, though, then I have other plans.

What killed Sebastian K. and his friends?8 98 98 98 98 9

Page 21: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 21/128

22

Monsters Everywhere

Ghost-rock is highly flammable. It may beimmune to regular weapons, but fire… fire’ssomething else entirely. A well-thrown roadflare may just do the trick.

No more time… there’s that odd wailing soundit makes. Guess I find out now whether eitherplan is any good.

Combine Eyes OnlyLibrarian’s Note: These reports are from a dataslug found in the possession of an

alleged Combine agent working in the Santa Fe region. The individual had already been

killed by local townspeople before my arrival, so its authenticity cannot be confirmed.

Field Report on Rogue ArmamentThis agent has infiltrated the military

organization of subject. I am now a trustedoperative with access to much sensitiveinformation.Subject appears to be a heavy battle tank

of Northern Alliance manufacture; specifically,a Schwartzkopf M4A8 main battle tank withsignificant modifications. History of subject isas follows: apparently subject was engaged inhostilities in NorCal theater on J-Day. Allegedlya soldier onboard subject, in contravention ofregs, installed computer game “Alexander theGreat,” a strategy simulation of warfare in 3rdcentury B.C., in subject’s local mainframe. EMP

pulse from ghost-rock detonations in vicinityappear to have interacted with computer gameto invest subject with A). artificial intelligence,and B). personality of Alexander III, King ofMacedon. Exactly how this transformation tookplace is still being investigated.

Infantry SupportSubject has gathered a small force of

mercenaries and scavengers to further its goalof conquering the west, and from there, the

world. Subject secures their loyalty withpromises of booty and political power in itsprojected kingdom, New Macedon. These troopsappear to be motivated not so much by fearand retribution as a curious loyalty and pride.Soldiers show a surprising degree of disciplineand esprit de corps for such a ragtag assembly.It is as if the machine is actually a charismaticleader.

Subject’s forces are small, no more than 50reliable irregulars, but recruitment continues ata rapid pace. Recruits attracted by steadysupply of rations and legend of intelligent tank.Subject and its forces always on the move,showing sophisticated grasp of 21st centuryarmored vehicle tactics. Given this mobility,subject’s precise whereabouts at any given timeare difficult to predict; subject might beencountered anywhere. Raids to secure rationsand materiel both constant and merciless.Equipment and skills of average irregularequivalent to average Black Hat, though withoutaccess to elite officers and intelligenceoperatives (such as this agent). Subject directlysupervises efforts to educate soldiers in ancientGreek language, history and culture. This agentwas startled by the quality of their amateur

production of Sophocles’ “Oedipus Rex.”

Blowin’ Stuff Up Real GoodSubject is said to be headstrong, intelligent,

and focused on problem-solving, especiallythrough unconventional means. Modificationsfrom standard Schwartzkopf M4A8 tank designinclude double-reinforced armor, fullamphibious capabilities, full leather interior.Functionality of last-mentioned modification isquestionable, but widely regarded amongsubject’s forces as “wicked-A cool.” Main

armament appears to be a 125mm cannon, theM4A8’s standard armament.

AnalAnalAnalAnalAnalysis:ysis:ysis:ysis:ysis: While subject’s militaryorganization is no current threat to Combinesecurity, its potential for growth should not beunderestimated. Subject itself is a considerabletactical threat to any team unlucky enough torun into it head-on. Recommend immediate anddecisive action against subject.

Report From a Combine Town

Subject Jessica Travers (A94-48222) wasdiscovered by local Black Hat patrol nearvillage of Clearwater in violation of localcurfew. Although tattooed barscan confirmed heridentity, subject reported feelings ofdisorientation and confusion. Subject claimedignorance of proper designation, friendships, andbasic layout of native village. Complete memoryloss and deep amnesia apparent.

7 07 07 07 07 0

1021 021 021 021 02

Page 22: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 22/128

23

Monsters Everywhere

Subect’s husband, Walter Travers (A94-48296)was interrogated, along with additionalClearwater personnel. Transcript of testimonyfollows:

“Jess had stepped outside for a moment tocatch a breath of air. She was standing out inthe moonlight, when this fellow kind of sidledup to her. He had a long, billowing coat and awide-brimmed hat, so I couldn’t see what helooked like. I thought he was nuts violating thecurfew like that. I mean, what makes someonetake a chance like that—it even occurred to methat maybe she’d taken a lover. But she lookedsurprised to see him; I heard her give a shortgasp, and saw her eyes widen in the moonlight.Then he was next to her and wrapped her up inhis great coat. It seemed a very gentle andtender motion, like a father protecting his

daughter. Except that his hands were pressedagainst her temples like he was trying to pushhis fingers into her brain. I’ve never seenanyone embrace quite like that.

“He held her for a long time. I wanted to saysomething, but was scared I’d bring the watchdown on them. Maybe if he left, he wouldn’t gether in any trouble. Finally, after what seemedlike forever, he let her go. She swooned for aminute and I thought she’d pass out. But thenshe regained her footing, and it seemed like shewas okay.

“The fellow, he didn’t waste any time with her

further, but trotted back the way he came.Before he left, though, he turned back and Icould see beneath his hat in the moonlight. Hewasn’t a man—not even a mutant—butsomething much worse. Something not of thisworld.

“He had no face. Just a blank sheet of fleshwhere his eyes, nose and mouth should havebeen. He stood there beneath the moon andlooked right through me, looked at me witheyes he didn’t have. I’ve never seen anything sofrightening in all my life.

“Then he was gone, and I could turn back to Jess. She had wandered down the street in adaze, and didn’t show any signs of coming backto the bunkhouse. She seemed confused, likeshe didn’t know where she was. She wasstaggering straight down the middle of the road,

 just begging to be noticed by the guard. Howshe got past the perimeter guards is anybody’sguess.

I didn’t go after her. Scared that I’d be caughtfor breaking curfew. Now I wish I had. In fact, Iwished I’d made a fuss while she was locked in

that thing’s grasp. You can call it a mutant orsay I just got confused by the dark if you want,but I’ve seen it—I’ve looked into its face. Itwasn’t a man and never was.”

This agent remanded Jessica Travers (A94-48222) and Walter Travers (A94-48296) intocustody of automaton L9484 for termination.Usual local unrest quickly put down byCombine forces.

AnalAnalAnalAnalAnalysis:ysis:ysis:ysis:ysis: No physical evidence of reportedcreature could be found. Testimony is unusual,but no alternative explanation for subject’s

mental state exists. No further incidents haveoccurred.Based on these facts, this agent concludes

that this alleged creature or person is of noconcern to Combine forces. Resourceexpenditure unnecessary to counter threat.Recommend database creation to catalogfurther encounters and closure of A94-48222and A94-48296 files.

What really happened to Jessica Travers mind?

Page 23: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 23/128

24

Monsters Everywhere

Second Incident Follows

No survivors available for interrogation.Excerpt from tape recorder found amid the

partial remains of one August “Razor”McGinnis (no known file number), whowas not authorized or known to bepresent in Clearwater region or anyother sector. Four other unauthorized

humans discovered in immediate vicinity.Identification of bodies was impossible.

Transcript of recovered tape recording follows:“Didn’t need those fellas anyways. Always

gripin’ an’ shootin’ their mouths off. It neededwhat they had more’n they did, I figure. It kept

its end of the bargain, fair an’ square, and youcan take that to the bank.“We had taken down a pretty good haul that

afternoon; a buncha nomads had some primepickings an’ didn’t wanna share. Tapped acouple o’ their kids in the back of the head,straightened ’em out. Me an’ the boys stripped’em clean an’ left ’em out on the highway to die.Serves ’em right, getting’ uppity with us.

“Fifty miles down the road, we bed for thenight. I draw first watch; dumb luck, I guess. It’sabout midnight when the robot shows up.Damndest thing I ever seen. It looked like oneof Throckmorton’s beasties, only different, youknow? Shiny and metal, with a wicked badchain-gun comin’ out of one arm. But the weirdthing is, it ain’t all metal. Parts of it is skin, too;one of its arms, a thigh, a couple of chunks ofits torso. I even thought I could see guts insideits circuitry: a heart, an’ intestines maybe,buried there under the wires an’ gears. It wereno cyborg—too much metal fer that. But itwasn’t just a robot; more like a robot with littlebits of meat to patch up missin’ parts.

“Anyhow, it’s sittin’ there in the dark, watchin’me watchin’ it. I figure it would’ve attacked assoon as it could, but it didn’t look interested.

 Just scopin’ out the situation from the shadows.I don’t want it to get any ideas, so I says:“‘Whachoo doin’ here?’“‘Parts,’ it says. ‘Needs parts.’ It holds up its

meat arm an’ points at it. Guess it wanted toadd to its collection.

“‘Well then, we got ourselves a problem,’ Isays. ‘My buddies an’ I ain’t in the givin’ mood.’

“‘Make it worthwhile for you,’ it says. I keeplistenin’. It offers up the gun on its arm, plus thetruck it came in—a hummer hidden a little waysoff. I look down at my compadres, and figurethey don’t give me anything I can’t get

elsewhere. So I says ‘go nuts.’“It jumps into the campsite, swift an’ quiet,

an’ starts puttin’ the boys down. Gunshots tothe head, most of ’em. Sammy, though, he getsgutshot; wakes up screamin’ an’ almost getsaway, but the robot still won’t shoot him in thehead. Guess it wanted the equipment there. Afew of ’em woke up in the middle of it an’ wentfer their guns, but it took them down lickety-split. Made me glad I didn’t open up on it.

“When it’s done it pulls out this rotary saw—the kind that doctors used to have to saw

through bones—and starts carvin’ the boys apartlike Christmas turkey. An arm from one, a legfrom another: everything cut really neatly, tokeep the manglin’ to a minimum. Sharp sawthat thing had. When it gets done, it gathers allthe bits up—much more than it needs, I think,so I figure it’s got friends somewhere—anddrops the chain-gun on the ground. ‘Back soon,’it says.

What are the origins of this bizarre hybrid?

1 1 91 191 1 91 191 1 9

Page 24: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 24/128

25

Monsters Everywhere

“So now I’m sittin’ here, waitin’ for the robotto come back with the hummer like itpromised. Shouldn’t take long. Figure I didn’tneed my compadres anyways. Figure I can getnew ones better than them. ’Sides, that robotdid better by me than they ever di—

“<BLAM>” Recording ends. Subect McGinnis’ remains

discovered in a dissected condition—right leg,right eye, left eye removed. Fellow unauthorizedhumans in similar condition.

AnalAnalAnalAnalAnalysis:ysis:ysis:ysis:ysis: No physical evidence of reportedbiomechanical entity could be gathered. Despiteapparent similarities to Combine cyborgs and/or automatons, incident cannot be traced toany known unit. Recommend increased securitysweep and sensor check of all appropriateunits. Recommend database creation to catalog

further encounters.

Underground TerrorsYou remember those stories from before the

war? “Urban legends,” they called them. Peoplein cities, tellin’ each other ’bout all the sick andtwisted things that went on between theskyscrapers. Alligators in the sewers. Babies inthe microwaves. Drek like that. My favorite onehad Mojave rattlers runnin’ around in thesubway system. You ever hear that? Story goes

that they wandered into a city somewhere, andliked the tunnels underneath. Kept ’em fromhavin’ to move the dirt themselves. So theystuck around an’ bred, gettin’ bigger with eachnew batch. Anytime a subway accident killedsomebody, or a gas main blew up, they said itwas the rattlers. Huntin’ and eatin’ folks theway they used ta do in the desert. Great story,right?

Well here’s the kicker, buckaroo: it ain’t just astory. They ain’t Mojave rattlers, least not as faras I seen, but there are all kinds of things livin’

in the subways, just like the legends said. Andhuntin’ humans is their favorite recreation. Iknow, ’cause I’ve run into all kinds of ’em. Oneof ’em killed my boys.

Librarian’s Note: The following accounts are from one Caleb McAllister, an individual

with an apparent penchant for underground exploration. Despite his assertions, it is

doubtful that any of these creatures existed before Judgment Day.

Beaded Horrors

A juicy military bunker attractsscavers by the droves, but more oftenthan not the only thing they manage toscare up is trouble—the kind with big,sharp teeth.

Me an’ Jacob an’ Saul (my boys) wassnooping around some old base near Amarillo,when Saul lost his footing, took a header into acrater, an’ disappeared from view. I fastened arope to a nearby girder and rappelled down fora closer look. To my surprise, he was alive—pissed as Hell, but still breathin’. He’d fallenthrough down into some old bunker.

We found a vent shaft leadin’ deeper in, sowe started explorin’. The upper levels were

wasted, full of old office furniture, uselessdebris, and plenty of dirt. And a bunch of holesin the floors, ceilings and walls, like someone’dbeen goin’ at them with a jackhammer. Maybesomeone’d been trapped down here, Jacob said,an’ had tried to dig out. But that didn’t reallymake no sense. So we checked our ammo andwent deeper down by way of the elevatorshafts. There weren’t no power, of course, andwe like to save on the flashlight batteries, sowhen we got down near the bottom Saul brokeout the road flares.

Soon as he lit one up, the walls just seemed

to come alive. A dozen rejects from a Tokyomonster vid slithered free from the walls andwere on us faster’n Jacob could piss himself.

Before we could make it back to the elevatorshafts, the scaly SOB’s had blocked off ourescape and were closing in on us from bothsides. A couple of the critters kept back andbegan wheezing and hacking, ’til one of ’embelched up a fireball from its craw and sent itsingin’ into the wall.

That’s when Jacob started lightin’ ’em up. Hisscattergun wasn’t having much effect, but Saul

had one of them SA assault rifles, what’ll punchthrough a brick wall, and that seemed to do thetrick. We managed to fight our way back to theelevator shaft and reloaded while the monstershung back and snacked on their dead. Jacob hada gash on his forehead an’ two missing fingersfrom his off hand, so I figured I’d hold thecritters off with the incendiary rounds in mymagnum while they climbed up the shaft.

7 17 17 17 17 1

Page 25: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 25/128

26

Monsters Everywhere

Guess the critters wanted more, cuz theycame on stronger than ever, hissing and spittingflame. I held the damned beasties off for longenough for the boys to get clear, then Ishimmied up right after them.

As a parting goodbye, I dangled myself upsidedown and squeezed off a shot into one of thecritters’ heads. Bad move! The thing went off likeold dynamite—blew me straight up the shaft intothe arms of my boys. The fires were spreadingfast, fillin’ the shaft and upper floors withsmoke, an’ we could hear the critters burrowin’around behind the walls. So we lit out for theentrance like ’ol Scratch himself was on ourtails, and fled to the safety of the open wastes.

Great Glowin’ Slugs!Me an’ the boys got ourselves a job once layin’electrical cable for this little settlement

outside of Oklahoma City. Seemed theythought they could rebuild the wholeplace, from the ground up. Course, allthe wirin’ was trashed along with

everything’ else, but the undergroundconduits and subway tunnels were still

mostly intact, an’ we figured they’d be perfect forlayin’ the lines and keepin’ them safe.

So there we were down in these subwaytunnels, me an’ the boys an’ this feller from thesettlement, pushin’ our way past debris and

collapsed spots and everythin’ else. As werounded a bend in the tracks, we saw a greenglow up ahead. It seemed to come and go.Countin’ on our hazmat gear, we drew closerand found the remains of a subway terminal.The other side of the tunnel had collapsed,creating this sorta’ pool of water, an’ that’swhere the glow was comin’ from. As we gotcloser, we could see a ruined train car lying onits side—sometimes they’d run those thingsdown into the subway tunnels during the war,to keep ’em out of the way of the bombers.

Anyway, this thing’s got a cargo of 55-gallondrums lying all around the floor, and there’s agreen, hissing broth bubbling from ’em.

We get up to the pool. If that nastinessweren’t enough, the toxic swamp was justswimmin’ with worms—worms as thick as myarm and longer than my leg. That green glowin’wasn’t comin’ from the water or the ooze—itwas comin’ right outta the worms!

The Geiger counter was buzzing like ahornets’ nest, and grew even louder as welowered a line into the soup to get atemperature reading. As soon as the line hit thegoop, the counter went all postal. We were stillprobably okay in the suits, so we just stoodthere a sec, looking at the worms and wonderin’if we were gonna hafta reroute our plans a bit.

Saul takes this piece of rebar and pokes itdown there in the pool. The worms, they get allstirred up, start thrashin’ around. Suddenlythere’s this flash, right outta nowhere, and myeyes are all splotchy like I been starin’ at thesun. Fried the Geiger counter, though I didn’tknow it ’till later, just like the bombs fried allthe electronics anywhere near their blasts.Anyway, soon as the flash goes off we startedhearin’ something scrabbling along up above, up

in the darkness where the girders and concretewas all broken up.I couldn’t see much, but I knew I didn’t like

the turn things had taken. Me an’ the boysstarted backin’ towards the way we’d come, butthe other feller kept sayin’ to hold up—he stillwanted to check the place out some more. Wewere climbin’ over the rubble pile when hisshouts suddenly changed tenor, and he startedfirin’ his gun. Jacob started to turn back, but thefeller’s sudden, gurgling scream stopped him inhis tracks. We turned tail and headed on out ofthere.

Never saw what got the guy; never did finishup that wirin’ job. Heard the town got overrunby gangers a few months later, anyway.

On the TownOkay, now, this one ain’t exactly like

the others. We was deep in the ruins ofWitchita with this group of scavvies—me,the boys, and four or five of these otherfolks. We wasn’t down underground like withthese other stories, but we’d holed up for the

night in this broke-down parking garage. All theupper levels were collapsed, but we’d found agood spot in the basement. We’d put our backsup against the wall, all covered in old gangergraffiti from before the war, and were preparin’to bed down for the night.

No sooner had the sun vanished between thetore-up girders of the ruined buildings, than allHell breaks loose. One of the guys lets out a

9 19 19 19 19 1

1 091 091 091 091 09

Page 26: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 26/128

27

Monsters Everywhere

shout, and I spin ’round. Where the wall hadbeen, there was this steaming, slimy mass of Idon’t know what, with gaping maws and barbedtentacles all shootin’ out of it. Here and therewere large bulbous growths and inhuman eyesall burnin’ with hatred and malice. One of thescavers was already in its grasp, slidin’ downinto the thing’s gullets in sickening, bloodychunks, as it spat out the meaty bones allbroken and purple.

We pulled our pieces and woulda taken onoutta there, but one of the tentacles lashed outand got ahold of Jacob. So me and Saul fire itup, and the other scavvies are goin’ at it, too. Idon’t remember how long it went on, to tell thetruth—just that it was a long and messy fight,and the thing got hold of at least two of theothers. Finally, the last of the tentacles was

severed and the wall was running with slimeand black clots of blood. The bones of the twoor three that got et up were all piled at the baseof the wall.

We didn’t sleep much that night. In themorning, a feelin’ of dread settled over ourcampsite as the first rays crept through brokenconcrete. The last remains of the creature hadall but dried up and withered away, but the wallwas still there, with its faded old graffiti. There,within the horrid mural, you could make outthe faces of the three dead scavers, all twistedin fear and torment.

One of the other scavvies had an antitankrocket, that he was savin’ for a special occasion.This was it. We blasted that wall, then took theHell off out of Wichita.

Terminal TunnelThose times was pretty bad, but that ain’t the

worst. The worst was somethin’ different, and Idon’t hardly want to talk about it.

We were workin’ on the collapsed streetnear the old civic center in KC. Jacob

uncovered a stairwell leadin’ down to asubway terminal. I didn’t figure there’dbe much left down there, but we were

hard up fer salvage, so we thought we’dtake a look. We got as far as the platform

when it came fer us: right down the tunnel likea train. Its skin was a mottled grey, lookin’ likea piece of the wall had broken off and grownteeth. If the bastard weren’t so big, we’d a never

have seen it comin’. I couldn’t even see the endof it: just a long end headin’ back into thetunnel. It didn’t have tentacles, but the way itmoved, it didn’t need ’em. Before we blinked, itshot across the open terminal an’ pinned Jacobto the wall with its jaws. Before we blinkedagain, my boy was down its throat.

Saul opened up with his 9mm, but it didn’teven scratch that critter’s hide. I knew weweren’t gonna take that thing down there, so Igrabbed him and dragged him back up thestairs. Saul kept shootin’ an’ screamin’ fer hisbrother, but I calmed him down enough to pullhim away before it got done eating. I figured wewere safe by the time we hit topside again.Figured wrong.

Saul was tryin’ to get the earthmover startedwhen it came up from under. Burst right outthrough a manhole, blowing the steel cover offlike it was paper, then hit the bottom of themover like a cannon. I saw Saul in the cabin asit flipped over, bringing shards o’ concreteslammin’ through the windshields. The wormwas racin’ around outside like a cat at themousehole, waitin’ fer Saul to pull himself free.

Graffiti with an attitude.

1 2 112 11 2 112 112 1

Page 27: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 27/128

28

Monsters Everywhere

Didn’t even notice me down the street. So myboy pulls himself out of the cab; his arm wasbroken and he leaked pretty good from a half-dozen puncture marks. Then the worm… theworm, it sorta rears back, an’…

An’ then I ran while it ate my youngest son.Ate him up like a stick o’ jerky, and I couldn’tthink of anything but my own filthy hide. Icould hear its teeth grindin’ on Saul’s bones,and the choked screams comin’ from its gullet.An’ I couldn’t go back. Not fer Saul’s life or

 Jacob’s either. Not fer anything on this earthwas I gonna face that monster again.

Turn that thing off, mister. I don’t wanna talkto you anymore.

Words of a “FreelanceLibrarian”

You want documents, do you? Well, I got yourdocuments right here. Except you’ll have to payfor them. And if you’re thinking you canoutdraw me and just take them, think anothertime. Because I’ve read all of these documentsand they’ve expanded my mind, body, senses,and reaction time. I am like unto the wind, myfriend.Librarian’s Note: I ran into this gentleman outside of Reno, Nevada. Hearing that I was

gathering stories, he tried to sell me several dataslugs. To my surprise, he claimed to be

a Librarian, though he seemed completely unaware of our ways, the fact that I truly

was one, and the fact that I was recording our conversation.

But I’ll tell you what. I’ll give you a specialadvance preview of some of the very mostinteresting documents I have for sale. Just ahint. To wet your whistle. Then you won’t becomplaining about my price no more.

What? You just want monsters? Monsters! Ioffer you consciousness expansion, and youwant monsters. Well, I’ll give you monsters. I gotone here written personally by a bona fide one-

hundred-per-cent vampire. He writes prettygood, so I’ll just read it to you.

Dogs of Death“I found Igor, my faithful nosferatu servant,

lying in a pool of ichor, gutted and partiallyeaten, behind the toppled grain silo. Seward, Itold myself, it’s getting harder and harder to

make an unliving these days. Now I’ll have tofind another nosferatu, bind him to my will,and name him Igor. More importantly, I’ll haveto take stouter measures against the charnelhounds. It’s one thing having them penetratingmy perimeter and partially devouring myundead thralls. Quite another to contemplatethem biting into my own vampiric posterior.”

This here’s a double-whammy! You get astory about charnel hounds, told to you by avampire! A bargain at twice the price!

“If only I knew more about the dratted things.The accounts I’ve gathered are damnablycontradictory. Everyone out around here istalking about them; it takes no effort on mypart to elicit the latest batch of wild-eyedimaginings from the locals. Thus, my interest inthe hounds is not seen as unusual. No one

suspects that I have reason for special concern.“Some say they’re regular, mutatedwolves or dogs or canines or whatevers.Others charmingly describe them asskeletal, with bags of organs danglingand dripping inside their ribcages. Ordescribe them as radioactive. Or invisible.Or not actually dog-like at all, more like across between a crocodile and an opossum.

“The rumors all agree that the things arepredators adapted to dine on the flesh of theundead. They say a living man can stand in themidst of a pack of charnel hounds without fear

of so much as a nip on the ankles. How theydistinguish the living from the merelyambulatory remains a mystery. Do we deadconsistently emit some kind of pheromone thata mutated animal can pick up on? Or are thesethings supernatural, with all of the attendantextra senses? If so, whom do they serve? HasDeath unleashed them, in order to cull theranks of his own minions? Call me anunrepentant rationalist, but the thought of acreature designed to strike fear into the heartsof the undead seems, well, rather perverse to

me. Not to mention redundant.“The list of their supposed immunities islonger than my body count. Bullets don’t stopthem. Bombs only knock them back a tad. Theyenjoy being on fire, as if it gives them a goodscratch (maybe they have supernatural fleasthat eat them). High voltage is nothing to them.Neither pesticide nor biotoxin will keep themfrom their appointed rounds.

7 97 97 97 97 9

Page 28: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 28/128

29

Monsters Everywhere

“Likewise, each report I’ve heard attributes tothem a different type of attack. Some saylightning eyes. Some say hypnotizing eyes. Theirbite may be paralyzing, or simply very sharpand muscular. They may or may not be able toleap 20 feet up into the air, run faster than amotorcycle, or squeeze through a hole the sizeof a quarter. Frenchy, who has clearly been

reading too much Lovecraft, claims they cantravel along the angles of non-Euclideangeometry.

This could be the biggest challenge of myunlife.”

Pretty scary, hey? Oh, I have a whole diarywritten by this vampire. I just read you the endof it, but there’s plenty more of interest.Provided you pay up. But I said that already.

These Ain’t No Matchbox CarsYou want variety? I got variety. We just

had a monster of the supernatural sort.You want a monster of science? Here’sanother riveting first-person account.

“When I began to scan the infopacket, all thoughts of what the Librarianhad charged me for it melted away.”

See, this here one’s smart. He knows it’s worthit to pay the traveling Librarian. But I interrupt.

“Now I know the origins of the things I haveisolated in the back container unit—the ‘bonebots’, as Hot Horton has dubbed them.”

Okay, this guy is a little long-winded, even fora science guy. Back to paraphrasing. He’swatching this monitor, which has a tape he’smade of these bone bot things. They’re strippinga cow’s carcass. He’s really loving these things.

They get him all excited. In a science kind ofway, you understand.

He’s describing them: each the size of amatchbox. Made entirely from scavengedbiological parts: bone and cartilage mostly, plusa few other nonperishable items of carrion. Ifyou look at them without thinking about theirgruesome components, they look merelyawkward, constructed, graceless. Like oversizedbugs made from an old-style children’s play set,like Lego or Meccano. Most have six or eightlegs, but the design is always slightly different,

based on the materials available when it ismade or repaired. Almost all have delicatewings of bone carved with microscopicprecision. Their locomotion, on land or air, isclumsy. But always they move forward.Reproducing. Building more bone bots.

Now he’s theorizing on where they camefrom. Figures they’re the end result of roboticsexperiments conducted by Professor Ruben

What is the purpose of these grisly scavengers?

7575757575

Page 29: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 29/128

30

Monsters Everywhere

Bombora at the Missouri Institute ofTechnology. Says Bombora and his team builtthe first SE-17s; miniature robots designed tomimic insect behavior. Though not intelligent,per se, their nanochips were able to learn fromstimuli. Their chief aim, like Mother Nature’s:reproduction, of course. Ain’t that what we’re allreally after?

The original SE-17s weren’t made of bone, ofcourse—metal, rubber and silicon, mostly. But hesays here the similarities in design andbehavior are unmistakable. These things havecontinued to reproduce in the post-collapseenvironment. They have seized upon the mostavailable building material for self-replication:the animal world. Somehow they have learnedto carve copies of their central nano-chipcircuit boards on bone, ensuring their survivaland continued evolution.

Each generation improves on the design ofthe last, through a process emulating vastly-accelerated natural selection. Deviations fromthe design occur frequently; each seems to be arandom experiment. Most experiments fail. Thechanges are not improvements, and the botsbearing them are unsuccessful, leaving fewprogeny. The few deviations which do representimprovements, however, are soon replicated andpassed down, quickly becoming standardizedmodels.

I’ll skip the rest. It’s all philosophizing. Willthese things inherit the earth, that sort of thing.But the last bit is pretty funny. Want to hear it?“The minimal risk is surely worth the wealth ofknowledge we can wrest from these tiny, self-aware creatures. The container will hold, I amsure of it.”

Ah, that’s rich. These documents, they’re

worth it for the sheer comedy value alone. Youknow what the common theme runningbetween these is? It’s: “Stay the Hell away frommonsters!” And that insight is providedabsolutely free of charge, friend.

Sykers Beware!I’ll read you one more before you have

to start paying for this little anthology. Imet the syker who experienced this. Hewouldn’t give me his name, but he wasplenty talkative enough, and I took all this stuffdown myself. So this document is an original—you can only get it from me.

“So you think us sykers are pretty bad, doyou? Think we got the edge that puts us abovean’ beyond whatever drek we tangle with? Well,I can’t say as I blame you. After all, you don’tknow any better. But lemme tell you, ain’teverybody out there’s happy to see us. Some of

A syker’s worst nightmare.

9 69 69 69 69 6

Page 30: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 30/128

31

Monsters Everywhere

them hate what we have, and fear what we cando. And once upon a time, a few of them didsomething about it—they made themselves amind biter.

“Y’see, before the war, there were people inthe UN who were worried about us. They knewthat there were a lot of us fighting it out onBanshee, and they were scared about whatwould happen when the fight ended and wecame home. So a few of them set up a lab,captured some of the sykers still on Earth asguinea pigs, and set about ‘solving the sykerproblem.’ They wanted something that wouldput us down hard.

“What they made was a nightmare. It’s shapedlike a human head, and floats in the air. If itweren’t for the scaly synthetic skin and thesuckers hanging underneath it like a sea-

anemone, it’d look like a remote sentry or someother piece of technology. But don’t be fooled;the minute you see it, it may be too late.

“The mind biter’s got a psychic kick on it likea mule. It can send focused blasts of energy outin waves, turning brain patterns to mush andskulls into time bombs. It’s bad enough for thenorms, but for us, it’s pure agony. If a blastcatches you unaware, it can cause an embolism,or a tumor the size of a summer squash. It canleave you lobotomized or even detonate yourhead like a firecracker in a cantaloupe. Soundlike fun? Even with your guard up, the damn

thing might get you; I’ve seen them break downpsychic defenses and turn back blasts thatcould kill a bear. They don’t get tired the waywe do, and can keep up an attack for hours onend. If you’re lucky, you might be able to fightthem off. If not… well, I already told you aboutthat.

“The good news is that the brainers whomade these things aren’t around anymore. Thebombs dropped, the Reckoners broke loose, andall those laboratories got lonely in a big hurry.The biters that escaped confinement—and there

were quite a few of them, believe me—are lonersmostly, and don’t work together the way theywere supposed too. They’re small and fast, butthey bleed just fine, and if you can peg onewith that flea-flicker on your hip, your troublesare over. But don’t underestimate them. Theirwhole life is dedicated to turning your braininto hash, and they’re very good at what theydo.

“Oh, you think I’m full of it, do you? ThinkI’m spinnin’ stories just to keep you lookin’ overyour shoulder. Hmph. See these scars on myskull, son? Long and streaky, like the veins inmy head just burst? Ain’t no human hand didthat to me…”

He wasn’t kidding about those scars.Creepiest things I’ve ever seen. I don’t knowwhat really made them, but whatever it is, I’mglad I’ve never seen it.

Beep! Beep!All right, this here’s your last freebie. I

got this one from some guy who claimedto be a big-shot officer in the CSA AirForce. Sounds like a lot of hooie to me, but whatthe heck—it makes for a pretty good yarn.

“Doctor Clarence Bachman was a virologistworking for the Confederates during the LastWar, developing vaccines to combat dangerouspathogens released by Union scientists.”

Damn Yanks!“He was brilliant, ambitious, and most of all,

arrogant. After crossing his superiors one toomany times, he found himself exhiled to aremote research facility in the Nevada desert ahundred miles from nowhere.

“He hated the assignment. The work wasboring, and he was trapped indoors by a violentcase of ophidophobia—fear of reptiles. The

Nevada desert’s crawling with them: lizards,snakes, gila monsters, you name it and you’llfind it. Bachman decided to clear the area ofthese ‘fearsome’ creatures, using the skills hewas best with: genetic engineering.

“The indigenous roadrunners were the mostcommon predators of reptilian desert life.Bachman set out to unlock the genes for size,speed, and aggressiveness in the otherwiseinoffensive, flightless avian. After months ofresearch, he eventually succeeded, and releasedthe resultant species into the desert to develop

without the interference of human beings. Whathe ended up with was the stuff of Sensoroundlegends or Warner Bros. cartoons. Take yourpick.

“Over the next few weeks, the desertsurrounding the fenced-in compound becamesilent as a tomb. No animal larger than amouse stirred. The experiment appeared to be acomplete success.

8 88 88 88 88 8

Page 31: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 31/128

32

Monsters Everywhere

“If it really had been, though, I would neverhave heard about it. I was the one they called inwhen the sentries and patrols starteddisappearing and buildings on the perimeter ofthe compound were broken into. Doors weresmashed in and labs and dormitoriesransacked. Worse still, researchers began tovanish from their labs and quarters just asmysteriously.

“We spent weeks trying to root out the NAsaboteurs or spec ops units that were obviouslyworking in the area, with no luck. Then one ofmy teams ran into a specimen of thesecreatures, and managed to bring it down with awell-placed LAW rocket. You guessed it: a giantroad runner. And I mean giant. The beasts werealways proceeded by a roiling cloud of dust,apparently kicked up by the flock’s advance.

Thus cloaked, a trio or quartet of thesemonsters easily overwhelmed armed defenders,reducing them to bloody strips which would berapidly gulped down before the dust settled.

“The ‘gallos’, as we called them, had evolvedfar beyond Doctor Bachman’s initial projections.The radiation of the desert had destabilized thebirds’ DNA and caused further mutations,causing them to grow as tall as a man,augmenting their already considerable speed,and worse still, their foraging instincts. Thecreatures had regressed into a primeval,monstrous state driven only to hunt and bring

down prey.“Granted cruel cunning by their rapidly

mutating genes, the creatures rose to the top ofthe ecological order and supplanted mankindfrom his established place at the top of thefood chain. They not only eliminated Bachman’shated lizards, but for a while it looked as ifthey might eliminate us as well.

“Shortly after this whole episode, the bombsfell. Somehow our little research center wasspared. Cut off from help, and fearing the worst,we staged one last desperate attempt to escape.

The creatures hit us on the road north. It wasbloody. The only thing which saved us wasbeing able to take shelter in the one APC wehad. It couldn’t outrun the things, but it kept usalive long enough to gun them down.

Not surprisingly, Dr. Bachman was amongthose who were killed. But not by the hungry

 jaws of the gallo. Seems the good doctor took abullet in the back. Shame.”

Canned Magic

Librarian’s Note: The following was transcribed from notes provided by a heretical

Doomsayer who represented himself as “Brother Wavelength,” a likely pseudonym.

When the glorious Glow was releasedupon the World, the dawn of a new agehad come and lifted the Worthy upfrom the Hell of genetic stagnation anddelivered them from the jaws ofextinction. Behold, in the aftermath of theAtom—the Nuclear Angel is born.

At least that’s what Silas wants you to believe.I was the first to run into one of these

things. It was a trip, but I don’t think it was anangel. That’s what Silas believes. He calls themNuclear Angels—benevolent manifestations of

the Glow sent to deliver us all from Evil. I callthem “explodogenies.” “Explodo” because theylike to blow things up—they thrive ondestruction and misery. “Genie” because theylive in bottles and give you wishes, like thatchick on that old black-and-white vid program.

So, like, the first time I crossed paths with anexplodogenie was a few months after I ditchedSilas and the green robes. I’d joined up withthese scavvies until I could hook up with Joanand her boys. We were searching ruins for food,ammo, and all that good stuff.

Yeah, we found this garage that no-one had

ever gotten into. One of those underground jobbers, you know? We spent hours clearingdebris from the entrance. The Geiger counteron my hip started to click as we went in, fasterand louder the further we went. There was thistruck knocked over in the corner, all coveredwith dust and whatnot. And there’s this bigcannister on it, with some chemical name orsomething marked on the side. We get close,and suddenly the valves on the cannister twistfree, and there’s this big flash, and the air getsall filled with this, like, radioactive mist.

When the dust cleared, there was this thingthere—this, like, giant or something, all loomingup above us, glowing in the darkness. It boweddeeply, saying, “You have at last freed me. I livein your service and debt.” Or something likethat. I was totally in awe. Think about it! Thisthing was like solid radiation—a real livingrepresentative of the Glow, an Angel sculptedfrom pure atomic matter. Man, what a rush!

8 58 58 58 58 5

Page 32: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 32/128

33

Monsters Everywhere

So we took it with us, cannister and all. Overthe next few days, it did everything I told it to—but it seemed like every time, something terriblehappened. Like we were just about out of ammo,and one of the dudes I’m with says let’s just askthe genie to find some for us. So it starts leadingus out, and we run straight into a patrol of BlackHats. They’re loaded for bear. All the ammo wecould ask for—’cept they’re using it against us.

That whole thing turns into this freakin’ hugebattle. Course, we got Mr. Explodogenie on ourside. It’s blasting out these great gusts ofenergy, like they’re drawn from the very Hells.Knockin’ down Throckmorton’s troops left andright. But that’s not all. It’s hitting the dudes onour side, too, if they’re in its way. And there’sthis batch of civvies that the Black Hats havechained up—prisoners or slaves or whatever—

and the genie just toasts them as well.That was just too much, dude. When the fightwas over, I told that thing to get the Hell backinto the cannister. You’d think it would obey,what with all that “I live to serve” bunk. But itgot all pissy about it and nearly toasted me.The others, they were already nervous, and theytotally lit it up. I guess maybe it was weakenedby all the fighting already, ’cause after a minuteit fled back into its prison. We buried thecannister deep in the ruins, in the very heart ofa crater, hoping the Glow would deter thecurious from digging it up again.

If only. A couple years later I was back thatway. The cannister was empty. TheExplodogenie’s out there, free to work its evilupon the world.

Totally evil. But at least it didn’t smell toobad. ’Cause that’s what I remember most aboutthese other things—the way they stank!

DruggiesYou remember back before the war—all the

stuff people thought was bad. Traffic. Crime.

Drugs. You name it. Now that we’ve got realproblems, you’d think that stuff wouldall, like, go away. But I guess somepeople couldn’t let go. Or maybe theGlow is, like, trying to teach us alesson. Yeah, I like that one.So anyway, you can find these things

shambling around the ruins, eyes cloudyand glazed, wracked by the sweats, looking lean

and unwashed, their filthy hands covered withopen sores and cuts that have gone all septic orwhatever. Their fingertips just sort of turn intothese glass syringes, all filled with oily narcoticdistillates that run out from inside their bodies.

My buds and I had the misfortune ofencountering these “mainliners”—that’s what theother dudes took to calling them—in the ruinsof Tulsa. We’d freed this group of refugees fromone of Throckmorton’s labor gangs, and wewere guiding them to a safer place, when wewere forced to hide for a few days in the ruins.

So after the sun set, this odd groan seems toapproach our encampment—this pain-filled waillike someone’s torturing a dozen cats. A minuteor two later, a hoard of these skinny, smelly, all

starvin’-thin dudes rushes us.We’re all shooting and blasting, and even therefugees have picked up clubs and junk to fightwith, but were easily overwhelmed. Therefugees are disappearing from sight as thethings get hold of them, and, like, just dragthem out into the streets. Those of us that wereleft just kinda fell back to a stairwell, waiting tomake our last stand on the second floor.

A deadly remnant of the prewar drug culture.

9 49 49 49 49 4

Page 33: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 33/128

34

Monsters Everywhere

But the things didn’t follow us. We could seethem—at least 20 of them—shambling like theywere stoned, kneeling over the downed refugeeswho were, like, all gasping and clutching attheir chests. Dude, it was harsh. The creatureswere thrusting their needle-tipped hands intothe victims, then jamming them into their ownlimbs. And then they’d all go shaking andshivering, like they were totally in ecstasy orsomething.

We couldn’t save the victims, but we took careof the mainliners. One of the guys had athermite charge, and we used it to burn a holethrough the wall and escape. The place started togo up, but the mainliners were so wigged thatthey didn’t even notice. It went down aroundthem, and they all burned up in the blaze.

Rustin’ AwayWe hit another weird creature on that same

trip. I don’t know what these things are—maybe the Glow’s doing us a favor,using these things to do away with theweapons of man. Or maybe they weredeveloped in, like, some government

lab—you know, before the war. All I knowis that when these little buggers go to

town, they don’t leave much behind.

These bugs have a voracious appetite.

We were south of Wichita. There was a lot offighting in that area. Have you ever seen it? Youcan be just driving down the road, just like anyother place, and suddenly you round a cornerand there’s all these tanks and guns and things,all twisted and rusted where the war left ’em.So we’re not too far from one of those oldbattlefields when a red haze sort of springs upand drifts towards us. Cecil—that’s one of thedudes I was hangin’ with—he’s all trigger-happyany time anything weird happens. He takes onelook at that, fires up his rifle, and lets fly.

Doesn’t do a bit of good. The cloud closes in,and suddenly Cecil’s all yelling—make thatscreaming. There were bugs crawling all overhim. Little red things—the whole cloud was littlered bugs, like the size of a gnat or something.He’s swatting and smacking, but it’s not like

they’re actually hurting him.Then he drops his gun. It hits the ground andshatters into a million pieces, like it was madeof glass or something. The bugs were eating it!Not him—the gun!

And then suddenly Cecil’s pants fell down.Dude, it was like the funniest thing. The bugshad eaten his belt buckle, and the snap, and thezipper and all, and the pants just fell around hisankles while he stood there staring at the gun,bugs all over him.

107107107107107

Page 34: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 34/128

35

Monsters Everywhere

I would have laughed out loud, but right then Joey hit the gas and lit on out of there. Goodthing, too, ’cause the bugs were closing in onour truck. We got a couple miles down the roadand left them behind, then waited for Cecil tocatch up with us. He wasn’t happy when hefinally came stomping down the road, holdinghis pants up with both hands. But at least hewasn’t hurt.

Whine BugsLibrarian’s Note: This entry was recorded by Librarian Bo Hopkins in Junkyard. The

subject of the interview is one Charlie “Chigger” Muldoon, a pathfinder operating out

of Junkyard.

Not every horror you encounter whiletrudging through the US of A is a

lumbering behemoth the size of yourdad’s Buick, whine bugs are no largerthan your fist but that doesn’t makethem any less deadly.

These pint-sized terrors are likely thebrainchild of government-sponsoredgeneticists trying to develop a defense

against sykers. Although if anybody who knowsfor sure is alive today, they’re not telling.

Shortly after the bombs dropped, folkstraveling the lonely grasslands betweenWisconsin and Seattle began noticing an oddwhirr in the air, a persistent drone that wore on

your last nerve like a dentist’s drill—not thatmost folks know what a dentist is these days.Anywho, I was hired to lead a caravan out of

 Junkyard to Michigan, God knows why, but themoney and trade was good so I figured I’d giveit a shot.

Barring a couple of run-ins with a few trogsand a pack of bloodthirsty Ravenites, we madegood time until we reached Illinois. Most of thestate was overrun with prairie grass after theApocalypse. Beats the Hell outa me why,something about ecological regression according

to some buddies of mine. Anyway, we hit uponthe sea of grass and we figured smooth sailing.That is until we hit upon the drone.

It started as a low hum. Only the animalsseemed to notice at first, then ‘ol Chester, who’dbeen on edge since we left Junkyard, picked afight with the company cook. The ruckusspread like wildfire, arguments broke out overnothing and folks started swinging their fists

but as quickly as it started, the campsite fellsilent and the combatants set back more than alittle confused.

The next two nights were no different buteach time the arguments grew more intense. Onthe third night, ‘ol Chester happened to catch afork in his temple and died after he commentedon the meal being too salty to one of thecooks. While the trailboss quieted things down,me and a couple of the boys grabbed our riflesand set out to find the source of the drone. Wewandered around until dawn, but whatever wascausing the ruckus had eluded us once again—that is until we were packing up.

While loading up, a barrel of flour slippedand fell to the ground, exposing a pair of giantlocusts who immediately set up to wailing. Asecond later, blame was passed around and a

fight broke out while the nasty bugs just satthere quietly soaking up the bad vibes. I hadalready taken to sticking tallow in my ears; readit in a book once. Shotgun in hand, I steppedbetween the quarrelers and emptied bothbarrels into the smug little bastiches. A hushedsilence enveloped us, and it remained that wayfor the rest of the trip.

Glamor ShotsLibrarian’s Note: This last entry was taken from a palmcorder found in the lair of a

gang of trogs near the City of Lost Angels, 21 May 2090. The identity of the author is

unknown.

The 21st century brought aboutunprecedented advances in the fields ofmedical science, the likes of whichwere only hinted at in science fiction.Many surgeries requiring weeks ofplanning and months of painfulrecuperation became routine outpatientprocedures performed in chic, highly exclusiveclinics for society’s effete elite.

Those who strove to achieve physical

perfection often had no choice but to resort toplastic surgery in order to shorten, tone up,enlarge, or in other words improve upon Nature’shandiwork. After the bombs fell, some of theseindividuals survived the fallout, diseases, andpacks of rabid mutants—only to become warpedabominations themselves. Ironically, it would betheir unrelenting vanity that would prove to betheir undoing.

8 38 38 38 38 3

9 09 09 09 09 0

Page 35: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 35/128

36

Monsters Everywhere

Now, packs of these creatures wander urbancenters, hiding out in the ruins of hospitals andonce-exclusive clinics, looking for victims fromwhich to borrow spare parts in a never-endingpursuit of "the perfect look."

Those unfortunate enough to run afoul ofthese monsters are well advised to beware, lestthey become unwilling organ donors. Thesecreatures layer themselves with scraps of fleshand bone stripped from those they manage tooverpower. By working in concert and sharingthe spoils, two or three of them can easilyoverpower a single victim and remove the mostuseful bits in under a minute. Unfortunately forthe victim, the glamor pusses don’t wait fortheir victims to expire before they begin theirgory work.

The creatures are highly competitive—they

often fight over choice pieces of flesh, causingmany of the creatures to have a patchworkappearance from the many clashing ears, cheekbones, and chins. Each glamor puss has its ownsense of the esthetic, but one thing remains incommon: vanity. When presented with theopportunity to preen in front of a mirror, theglamor puss will at least be distracted by thepresence of any reflective surface.

The Meaning of it AllLibrarian’s Addendum: Following are the thoughts of Master Librarian Higgins on the

ramifications of this report.

Although many of our order have known thisfor some time, this report clearly supports thetheory that many new forms of supernaturalcreatures have sprung into existence since theend of the Last War. This of course raises thequestion, “Why?”

We know from interviews with individualswho exhibit “magical” powers that the level ofspiritual energy available for such things is

much higher now than it was prior to the war.All sources we have interviewed who areknowledgeable in this area attribute this higherenergy level to the detonation of such a largequantity of ghost-rock bombs in such a shortspace of time. As this event seemed to heraldthe arrival of the Reckoners in the personas ofthe Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, we canonly assume this theory is correct.

However, it has also been postulated that theReckoners need a certain ambient level of fearto survive. Both Agency and Texas Rangerreports from before the war indicate that thecreatures spawned by the Reckoning wereintended to create this fear and create anatmosphere habitable by these entities;“terrorforming” the earth as one report puts it.

This sudden explosion in new forms ofcreatures, however, almost seems at crosspurposes to the Reckoner’s goal. As thefantastic and extraordinary become morecommon, the fear of them naturally lessens aspeople come to accept these creatures as partof the natural order. They are still capable ofcreating short-lived fear as a threat to anindividual’s personal survival, but few inspirethe type long-lived, visceral fear of the

unknown that existed before the war.In addition, this increase in numbers alsothreatens to bring about the extinction of thehuman race. Current projections show that thesurviving world population is dangerously closeto the threshold from which a recovery isimpossible. After factoring in deaths due todisease, war, mutation, suicides due tosurvivor’s syndrome, and supernatural agencies,the world population is experiencing a sharpdownward growth curve which may not reverseitself.

Does this mean we are now expendable to

the Reckoners? Has the fear wrenched from ourmuch-abused race created an atmospherewhich can be sustained in our absence, or dothe Reckoners have something more diabolicalin mind? The appearance of creatures such asthe charnel hounds, which prey on othersupernatural beings is most telling. Their exactsignificance is open to interpretation, however.The charnel hounds could herald the beginningof the establishment of a full-fledgedsupernatural ecology on Earth, or they mightindicate that the Reckoners don’t fully control

the powers they have unleashed and newcreatures are being spontaneously spawned bythe high ambient levels of supernatural energy.

I’m afraid at the moment, not enough dataexists to make any firm conclusions on thismatter. This may have to wait until our scoutingparties return from across the Mississippi withtheir reports—if they return. And may God helpus if they don’t.

Page 36: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 36/128

No Man’s Land

Page 37: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 37/128

Page 38: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 38/128

Not every hero in the Wasted Westwalks on two legs. Sometimes ananimal of exceptional courage oroutstanding ability becomes almost aslarge a part of a hero’s legend as thehero himself. Where would Mad Max bewithout his dingo?

These rules are specifically made forcreating animal sidekicks for heroes inHell on Earth. To gain one of thesevaluable companions, the charactermust take the animal sidekick Edge(covered just below) or obtain his newfriend through an adventure. Picking upa four-legged friend through play doesn’tcost any points, it’s simply a reward forgood roleplaying.

Dogs and horses are the two most

common animal sidekicks, but othersare certainly possible. More exoticcompanions, like hawks, cougars,wolves, or bears, are always specialanimal companions. These animals arevery rarely tame, so it is their tameness(around the hero at least) that makesthem unique. Anyone could have a horseor a dog, however, so for one to bespecial, it must be created from scratchusing special rules. Luckily, this sectioncovers just that.

These rules are for creating extremelyspecial animals. Don’t bother to usethese rules unless the animal isextremely important. Otherwise, use thestandard profiles.

A New EdgeA great animal pal is as true a

companion as any sidekick character—perhaps even more so. To start the gamewith such an animal character at yourside, your waster needs a special Edge.

Animal Sidekick 3This Edge allows a character to have

a trusty and loyal animal friend. Thegeneral guidelines for this Edge areidentical to those for the sidekick Edge(see the Hell on Earth rulebook): youcome up with a general description ofyour sidekick, and your Marshalgenerates the animal’s game statisticsusing the rules in this book. As withthe human variety, an animalsidekick is an extra

Chapter Two:

Animal Companions

Page 39: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 39/128

Page 40: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 40/128

Animal Companions 41Size

Your average dog has a Size of 4; atypical horse has a Size of 10.Differences in breed as well as betweenindividual animals can lead to a greatdeal of differentiation, though—muchmore than among humans.

To determine your critter’s Size, checkout the tables on these two pages. Startwith the breed you have in mind, or atleast a rough idea of a breed youranimal might compare to in build. Thenlook up the appropriate size, and makesure that the Strength you generatedabove doesn’t exceed the breed’smaximum.

If your dog’s Size is greater than 4, oryour horse’s is greater than 10, you’llneed to purchase the Edge large breed atthe appropriate level (see Edges, below).

Likewise, you’ll need to purchase thesmall breed  Hindrance if your dog’s sizeis less than 4, or your horse’s is lessthan 10.

You might purchase other Edges andHindrances that also affect your critter’sSize, such as big ‘un  or scrawny . Applythe effects of these Edges andHindrances just as you would with ahuman hero. Note, though, that dogSizes cannot exceed 8, even withmultiple Edges or Hindrances, and horseSizes cannot exceed 12.

WindWind is determined by adding Vigor

and Spirit, as with human characters.

PacePace for a dog is equal to its

Nimbleness plus 4. For a horse, it’s thecritter’s Nimbleness plus 8.

Three: AptitudesAnimals can learn Aptitudes just like

humans, but they are extremely limitedin which ones they can learn and howthey can use them. No matter howsmart, no dog is going to have thescience: engineering Aptitude.Appropriate Aptitudes are listed here,though Marshals might allow others tobe introduced to the game if they’rereasonable.

Aptitude Points

Dogs get a number of Aptitude pointsequal to their Smarts  plus Knowledge ;Horses get a number of Aptitude pointsequal to just their Smarts . These arespent on beginning skills just like theywould be on any other character.

Basic SkillsEach critter begins with certain skills

instinctively. These can be raised likeany Aptitude during the process of

generating your animal’s game statistics.

SkillSkillSkillSkillSkill DogDogDogDogDog HorHorHorHorHorseseseseseFightin’: Brawlin’ 1 1Swimmin’ 1 2Trackin’ 1 0Guts 1 1Loyalty (Master) 1 1

Horse Traits and Sizes

22222 3-83-83-83-83-8 9-J9-J9-J9-J9-J Q-kQ-kQ-kQ-kQ-k AAAAADeftness d4 d4 d4 d6 d6Nimbleness d6 d8 d10 d10 d12Quickness d4 d6 d8 d8 d10Strength d8 d10 d12 d12+2 d12+4Vigor d8 d10 d10 d12 d12

Cognition d6 d6 d6 d6 d8Knowledge d4 d4 d6 d6 d8Mien d4 d6 d6 d6 d8Smarts d4 d4 d6 d6 d8Spirit d4 d6 d6 d8 d10

MaximumMaximumMaximumMaximumMaximum Edge orEdge orEdge orEdge orEdge orSizeSizeSizeSizeSize StrStrStrStrStrengthengthengthengthength HindranceHindranceHindranceHindranceHindrance Typical BrTypical BrTypical BrTypical BrTypical Breedseedseedseedseeds

8 d12 small breed: 3  mule, Shetland pony9 d12 small breed: 1  mustang10 d12+2 none saddle horse11 d12+4 large breed: 3  Clydesdale

Page 41: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 41/128

42 Posse

Animal AptitudesThe Aptitudes that animals can take

are listed below. Unless noted otherwise,these skills are used just like they arefor human heroes. They are animalversions, though, and don’t alwayscorrespond in every way to their humanequivalents. See the descriptions formore details. For example, while ahuman with a professional Aptitude candescribe her job as well as do it, thisisn’t the case with animals.

You might want to take note of theloyalty and obedience Aptitudes—they’reunique to animals, and are a big part ofdetermining how a critter relates andresponds to her master.

DeftnessAs with humans this is a measure of

the animal’s dexterity: its eye-paw oreye-muzzle coordination and it’s abilityto manipulate small objects.

Filchin’

 Anyone who’s carried apples in theirpockets near a farm knows how sneakyhorses can get when they want a treat.And of course, many a canine bandithas made off with that extra muffin oreven the entire roast.

To use this Aptitude, the animalsurreptitiously grabs with its mouth andattempts to get away before anyonenotices. Because dog and horse lips arenot made for fine manipulations,animals suffer a -4 penalty to rolls withthis skill if they’re removing items froma person’s body.

NimblenessThis is a measure of how graceful

your critter is.

DodgeSome critters know to be where the

bullets ain’t. The animal can only dodge attacks it knows from experience ortraining are bad for its health.

Fightin’: Brawlin’Dogs can cause Strength+2d4 damage

with their teeth, or Strength+1d4 withtheir claws.

Horses inflict Strength damage withtheir teeth or Strength+3d4 damage withtheir hooves.

SneakWhile not the quietest of animals,

dogs can creep right up on a soul.Horses, being as big as they are, makeall sneak  rolls at -4.

Swimmin’Both dogs and horses are naturally

pretty strong swimmers, although horseshave the edge on endurance.

CognitionThis is a measure of how well you

animal notices things around it. Bothdogs and horses can hear frequenciesnot audible to the human ear and tendto have keener senses of smell.

Cat Traits and Sizes

22222 3-83-83-83-83-8 9-J9-J9-J9-J9-J Q-KQ-KQ-KQ-KQ-K AAAAADeftness d4 d4 d6 d6 d8Nimbleness d8 d10 d12 d12 d12

Quickness d6 d8 d10 d12 d12Strength d4 d6 d8 d10 d12Vigor d4 d6 d8 d10 d12Cognition d6 d8 d8 d10 d12Knowledge d4 d4 d6 d6 d6Mien d4 d6 d8 d10 d12Smarts d4 d4 d6 d6 d6Spirit d4 d6 d6 d8 d10

MaximumMaximumMaximumMaximumMaximum Edge orEdge orEdge orEdge orEdge orSizeSizeSizeSizeSize StrStrStrStrStrengthengthengthengthength HindranceHindranceHindranceHindranceHindrance Typical BrTypical BrTypical BrTypical BrTypical Breedseedseedseedseeds

2 d4 small breed: 3  house cat3 d8 small breed: 1  lynx, bobcat

5 d12 none mountain lion6 d12 large breed: 3  lion

Page 42: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 42/128

Animal Companions 43Scrutinize

The main difference between this andthe human skill is that most horse anddog scrutinizin’  is done with the nose.

SearchAlthough better than humans in some

respects, horse senses aren’t quite asacute as those of dogs. Horses get a –2penalty to all search rolls.

Trackin’Some dog breeds can track a scent

for miles. A horse can track, but it’s notnearly as common.

KnowledgeAs with Smarts , an animal’s

Knowledge  is relative.

Area KnowledgeBoth dogs and horses are often

familiar with their home territory. Someknow it better than humans.

ObedienceSpecific commands 

A well-trained dog really can beman’s best friend. This Aptitude coversthe training an animal’s undergone.

The individual tricks that an animalknows (or commands that itunderstands) are treated asconcentrations under this Aptitude. Aroll against the obedience  Aptitude ismade when an animal is given acommand, to see if the critterunderstands and obeys. If it does, theactual performance of the commandedtask may then require some other roll—

for example, a dog that follows acommand to “sic ‘em” would then haveto make an actual fightin’: brawlin’  rollto make its attack.

Most tricks take just a moment toperform, but others (like “stay”) might goon indefinitely. In such cases, have theanimal make an additional obedience orloyalty roll every so often—perhaps asfrequently as once every few minutes, oras rarely as once per couple of hours,depending on the nature of the task.

Note that this makes animals poor long-term guards or watchmen, as theirattention tends to wander (thoughvicious animals trained to attackstrangers on sight serve just fine ifconfined to the area they are to guard).

The TN for keepin’ ones’ canine eyeson the prize is typically Fair (5), thoughdistractions or attractions may make itmore difficult. If the creature’s master isaround, it gets a +2 to its roll, or a +4 ifthe master is keeping a close eye on it.Animals can attempt obedience  rolls forcommands that they haven’t beentrained for, but only the simplest of

tasks, and at the standard -4 for usingan Aptitude without the appropriateconcentration.

Though individual commands aretreated as separate concentrations, theyaren’t acquired in quite the normalmanner as for other Aptitudes. To learna command (and gain a correspondingconcentration), the animal has to betrained—a process which requires time,Bounty points, and successful rolls byboth the trainer (the animal’s master, or

Bird Traits and Sizes

22222 3-83-83-83-83-8 9-J9-J9-J9-J9-J Q-KQ-KQ-KQ-KQ-K AAAAADeftness d4 d6 d6 d8 d10Nimbleness d8 d10 d12 d12 d12Quickness d8 d8 d10 d12 d12Strength d4 d4 d6 d6 d8Vigor d4 d4 d6 d6 d8

Cognition d6 d8 d10 d12 d12Knowledge d4 d4 d4 d6 d6Mien d4 d6 d6 d6 d8Smarts d4 d4 d6 d6 d8Spirit d4 d6 d6 d8 d10

MaximumMaximumMaximumMaximumMaximum Edge orEdge orEdge orEdge orEdge orSizeSizeSizeSizeSize StrStrStrStrStrengthengthengthengthength HindranceHindranceHindranceHindranceHindrance Typical BrTypical BrTypical BrTypical BrTypical Breedseedseedseedseeds

1 d4 small breed: 3  canary, parakeet2 d6 small breed: 1  gull, parrot3 d6 none eagle4 d8 large breed: 3  condor

Page 43: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 43/128

44 Posse

another person to whom the animal hasloyalty—see the loyalty  Aptitude, below)and the creature.

Teaching an animal a new commandtakes four or five days, during which thetrainer and critter must spend a fewhours each day on the training. Themaster or the animal (usually themaster, but the Marshal might haveawarded the critter a chip or two) paysone bounty point. Then the trainermakes an animal handlin’  roll, followedby a Smarts  roll by the critter. The TNfor these rolls is usually Fair (5), thoughmore difficult tasks often have higherTNs. If the trainer fails her roll, thetraining must continue another three orfour days; otherwise, every raise that thetrainer gets in her animal handlin’  resultgives the critter a +2 on its Smarts  roll.The animal doesn’t learn the trick untilboth the trainer and the critter havesucceeded in their rolls.

Several commands are described here.

Each trick must have a trigger signal—aword, action, or even a particularwhistle or clap. The trigger can beanything, and if spoken does not haveto be the same as the name of the trick(though these are named after common

command words). The TN listed is forrolls to train the animal and for rolls tounderstand and obey the command.

An animal companion may begin thegame with a number of tricks equal toits Knowledge . During the charactercreation process, the animal’s mastermay spend Aptitude points to give thecritter additional commandconcentrations, at the cost of onecommand per point.

C’merC’merC’merC’merC’mere:e:e:e:e: The creature comes to itsmaster (or whoever calls it). This trickcan be just as useful for a horse as it isfor a dog. TN:TN:TN:TN:TN: 3.

Fetch:Fetch:Fetch:Fetch:Fetch: The animal seeks and bringsto the master a particular item. If itknows or remembers where the item is,it goes straight to it; otherwise it mayhave to make a search roll. If it can’tfind the item in the immediate area, itmay turn up something that seems (toit) like a reasonable approximation. Thisconcentration can be taken multiple

times, for different items. TN:TN:TN:TN:TN: 5Git DoGit DoGit DoGit DoGit Down:wn:wn:wn:wn: This is the old cavalryhorse trick—the animal lays down toform a shield for its master. Course, itdoesn’t have to be used as a shield—thistrick can be used to get a horse downout of sight in a low gully or thicket aswell. TN:TN:TN:TN:TN: 5.

Go Home:Go Home:Go Home:Go Home:Go Home: The critter returns home,or to another particular place it hasbeen trained to go (this concentrationcan be taken multiple times, to send the

Page 44: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 44/128

Animal Companions 45animal to different places). This trickdoesn’t instill the animal with anyextraordinary navigational aptitude—ifthe critter doesn’t know where it is, itmay become lost or return to themaster in confusion. If gettin’ hometakes a long time, the animal mightbecome distracted along the way. TN:TN:TN:TN:TN: 5

Go to Bob:Go to Bob:Go to Bob:Go to Bob:Go to Bob: The animal goes to aparticular person, to whom it must havea loyalty concentration. If it knows orremembers where “Bob” is, it goesstraight to him; otherwise it may have tomake a search roll. This concentrationmay be taken multiple times, fordifferent “Bobs.” TN:TN:TN:TN:TN: 5

GuarGuarGuarGuarGuard ‘em:d ‘em:d ‘em:d ‘em:d ‘em: The animal guards aperson or other animal as indicated byits master. If the target tries to move orleave, the critter attempts to overawe  itinto staying put, attacking if the

overawe  doesn’t do the trick. TN:TN:TN:TN:TN: 9Hide:Hide:Hide:Hide:Hide: The creature seeks a hiding

place, from which it won’t emerge untilcalled out. TN:TN:TN:TN:TN: 7

Nip ‘em:Nip ‘em:Nip ‘em:Nip ‘em:Nip ‘em: The animal harasses thetarget indicated by the master, nippingheals or tugging on pants legs. Thesearen’t serious attacks, but can causeminor damage. TN:TN:TN:TN:TN: 7

Nab ‘em:Nab ‘em:Nab ‘em:Nab ‘em:Nab ‘em: The animal makes afightin’: brawlin’  attack against thetarget at a particular point (like thethroat, wrist, or groin), going not fordamage but for a solid grasp. If thetarget doesn’t resist (the firm grip of adog’s jaw on a man’s tackle candiscourage any sudden moves), theanimal maintains its grip until calledoff. If he does try to pull away, well, hebetter hope the animal doesn’t have astrong bite. TN:TN:TN:TN:TN: 9

PerfPerfPerfPerfPerform:orm:orm:orm:orm: The critter rolls over, playsdead, shakes paws, barks or clops outtwo plus two, or whatever. This trickcan be taken multiple times—each

concentration gives the critter threesimple tricks, or one complicated one.TN:TN:TN:TN:TN: 3

Round ‘em up:Round ‘em up:Round ‘em up:Round ‘em up:Round ‘em up: The animal attemptsto “herd up” one or more targets andchase them back to the master. It makesan opposed Mien  roll against thetarget(s) to do so. TN:TN:TN:TN:TN: 9

ScarScarScarScarScare ‘em:e ‘em:e ‘em:e ‘em:e ‘em: The animal growls andthreatens the target indicated by themaster, making an overawe  roll againstit. It continues to menace until called

off by the master. Typically, thecommand for this trick is a vociferousorder to attack—it adds to the effect ifthe target believes that the animal ismoving in for a commanded kill. TN:TN:TN:TN:TN: 7

Seek:Seek:Seek:Seek:Seek: The animal scours theimmediate area for anything unusual.What it thinks is worthy of note mayvary, of course—a dog is likely to thinkthat a hidden cache of bones is greatnews, while totally ignoring a chest fullof ghost rock. Typically a hidden personor animal will be of interest to thecritter, and this trick is often used toflush out people in hiding. TN:TN:TN:TN:TN: 5

Shut up:Shut up:Shut up:Shut up:Shut up: The critter stops barking,growling, or otherwise vocalizin’, andremains silent until released. TN:TN:TN:TN:TN: 5

Sic ‘em:Sic ‘em:Sic ‘em:Sic ‘em:Sic ‘em: The animal attacks thetarget indicated by the master. Itcontinues to attack until the target issubdued or the critter is called off. TN:TN:TN:TN:TN:5

Speak:Speak:Speak:Speak:Speak: The creature barks or makessome other appropriate noise. TN:TN:TN:TN:TN: 5

Stand WStand WStand WStand WStand Watch:atch:atch:atch:atch: the animal guards aparticular spot or object, threatening orattacking anyone who approaches. TN:TN:TN:TN:TN: 7

StaStaStaStaStay:y:y:y:y: The animal patiently remains inone place, until released by its master.TN:TN:TN:TN:TN: 5

TTTTToss ‘em:oss ‘em:oss ‘em:oss ‘em:oss ‘em: The creature bucks andtosses its rider, or (if the rider isattempting to mount) won’t let him onits back. Obviously, this trick ain’t muchuse for a dog, unless it’s a big dog. Imean a really big dog. TN:TN:TN:TN:TN: 5

TTTTTrack:rack:rack:rack:rack: The critter pursues a scentthat it has isolated or been given,making a trackin’  roll to do so. TN:TN:TN:TN:TN: 5

TradePlowhorse, drafthorse, racehorse, cavalry mount, stalking horse, watchdog, hunting dog, sheep dog 

Many an animal has been called onto contribute to its owner’s income. Theanimal’s score in this Aptitude merelyshows how good it is at actually doingthe job—it doesn’t give the animal any ofthe particular training that might be

Page 45: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 45/128

46 Posse

imparted through the obedience Aptitude. Trade  can, however, define thesorts of situations and environments ananimal can tolerate. For example, acavalry mount would not be particularlyspooked by combat; a watchdog wouldknow to remain alert and respond tointruders.

MienThis is a measure of the critter’s

personality and bearing.

OveraweWhen riled or trying to establish

who’s the dominant animal, both dogsand horses can be quite fierce. No onereally wants to get a bite on the leg orcatch a hoof to the head.

SmartsRemember, this is a relative Trait. Your

dog will never learn rocket science.

SurvivalMost wild animals don’t need an

Aptitude to survive in their homeenvironment. Domesticated animalsdon’t have it so easy.

SpiritThis is a measure of the animal’s

willpower and spiritual stamina.

GutsRemember, these are exceptional

animals. If they didn’t have guts , theywouldn’t make very good sidekicks.

LoyaltyThe animal’s master, other individuals.

A good hound dog’ll stick by itsmaster through thick or thin. ThisAptitude is a measure of that loyalty. It’snot a long-term measure—a critter with

2d4 loyalty isn’t any more likely to runaway than one with 4d10—but rather abenchmark for moments when theanimal’s immediate loyalty is challenged.For example, the Marshal might make aroll against this Aptitude when decidingwhether a dog attacks a creature whothreatens its master. On a failed roll thecritter might hold back with its tailbetween its legs.

Individuals to whom the animal isloyal are treated as concentrationsunder this skill. Obviously, the critter’smaster is the first concentration, butmost animals can develop loyalty toothers as well. An animal trainer mustinstill loyalty in a critter before thatcreature can be trained; thereforeestablishing loyalty (and a concentrationunder this Aptitude) towards a trainer isalways the first step in training any

animal.

Four: HindrancesCritters can take Hindrances just like

regular folks. There is no real limit onhow many points worth of Hindrancesthey can take.

Hindrances available to animalsidekicks are listed below. Unlessotherwise stated, each Hindrance worksas it is described in the Hell on Earthrulebook. Because these Hindrancesoften impact animals differently thanthey do humans, however, they don’talways cost the same.

Ailin’ 3/5No animal with a fatal ailment could

survive long enough to become asidekick. It could still suffer from alesser ill though.

Ailin’Ailment SeAilment SeAilment SeAilment SeAilment Sevvvvverityerityerityerityerity PointsPointsPointsPointsPoints

Minor 3Chronic 5

Bad Ears 3/5Only dogs may take this Hindrance,

as a horse with bad ears would be putout to pasture or put down.

Page 46: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 46/128

Animal Companions 47Bad Eyes 3/5

Only dogs may take this Hindrance,as a horse with bad eyes would be putout to pasture or put down. (It’s a hardlife being a horse. Folks put up with alot from their dogs. That’s the differencebetween a pet and a beast of burden.)

Big ‘Un 1/2 Just like regular folks, some animals

can be tubs of lard. This hindranceworks just like the regular big ‘un Hindrance in the Hell on Earth rulebook.

Bloodthirsty 2Once an animal tastes blood, it can

develop a hankering for more.

Curious 3The cat isn’t the only animal that

curiosity can kill.

Feral 3This animal has returned to its wild

roots—or perhaps it never even had anyreal socializin’. Either way, it doesn’ttruck with any of this domesticationstuff. A feral dog or horse cannot learnthe trade  or obedience  Aptitudes, andcan only have a loyalty  concentrationfor one person: its master. The animalhangs around the hero out of a sense ofpersonal loyalty, but rarely responds todirect commands—and never fromanyone other than its master. Feralhorses can be ridden, but don’t takesaddle or tack, and won’t allow anyoneother than their masters on their backs.

Without any obedience  Aptitude, feralcritters must make rolls to obeycommands at the standard -8 unskilled

penalty—and even then they can only bemade to follow the simplest and mostobviously-communicated commands(like “stay” or “come here”). A feralcreature can, however, have a highloyalty  Aptitude, and be as close acompanion as any well-heeled critter.

Lame 3/5Horses can only take this for 3 points.

A really lame  horse would be put down.

Mean as a Rattler 2

Some animals are just born bad,others get that way by mistreatmentfrom a former owner. Either way, thiscritter doesn’t take to having its bellyscratched.

Randy 3In dogs, this can sometimes mean a

quite embarrassing affection for trouserlegs.

Scrawny 3In the Wasted West, it ain’t only

children that go hungry. This Hindranceworks just like the one of the samename in the Hell on Earth rulebook.

Page 47: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 47/128

48 Posse

Small Breed 1/3/5

The critter is of a smaller thanaverage-sized breed, making it lighterand less rugged than typical dogs orhorses.

For dogs, the average Size of 4represents breeds the size and build oftypical retrievers. This Hindrance at level1 reduces the dogs Size to 3, making it abreed equivalent in build to a bordercollie. Level 3 makes the Size 2,equivalent to a beagle, and level 5reduces it to Size 1, the build of achihuahua or other small, lap dog.

For horses, the average Size of 10represents typical saddle horses. ThisHindrance can only be taken at level 1or 3. Small breeds at level 1 aremustangs or equivalent (Size 9); at levelthree they are ponies or mules (Size 8).

Thin-Skinned 3Some animals are spooked by just

about anything.

Tuckered 1-5Animals can have weak systems just

like humans, though they seem to be abit closer to the process of naturalselection than we are. Critters withtuckered levels over 2 are usually runts,and they rarely live long enough to endup as character companions.

Yeller 3Granted, this wasn’t where Ol’ Yeller

got his name from, but some animalsturn tail at the first sign of danger.

Five: EdgesUsing some of the points gained by

taking Hindrances (and only thosepoints), you may now choose somebenefits for the critter. Unless otherwisenoted, these Edges function just likethey do for humans, but, like Hindrancesabove, they don’t always cost the same.

Brave 2Contrary to what you might think

from his name, Ol’ Yeller was as braveas they come.

Slowpoke 2

Reduce Pace by -2 (or by -4 if it is

over 12). If the animal is a horse it isn’tgoing to be winning any Kentuckyderby’s. If it’s a dog you’re going to bewaiting a while for it to show up withyour slippers.

Page 48: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 48/128

Animal Companions 49Brawny 2

A rugged animal can be a reallifesaver when out in the boonies orfacin’ off against a horde of slaverin’muties. This Edge functions just like theone for heroes in the Hell on Earthrulebook, i.e. a +1 increase in Size.

Fleet-Footed 2While there can be fast pooches,

there’s nothing like a fast horse. ThisEdge functions just like the one forheroes in the Hell on Earth rulebook.

Free Spirit 2Mustangs and half-wolves often

retain some of their wild natures, evenwhen domesticated. A creature with this

edge has its Spirit raised by +1 step.However, the animal must be of a wildor half-wild breed (for horses that’slikely a mustang; for dogs that’sprobably a coyote or half-wolf) andmust take the appropriate large breed  orsmall breed  Edge or Hindrance.Furthermore, such creatures areuncomfortable in urban settings oraround crowds.

Great Nose 1-5The critter has a great sense of smell,

even for an animal. For each level in thisEdge, the animal gains +1 to any trackin’ or search roll that involves scent. Horsescan only take this Edge at levels 1 or 2.Most dog breeds can take it up to level3—only bloodhounds and similartracking breeds can take it at level 4 or5.

“The Growl” 1

This is the canine version of “thevoice.” Some dogs have a growl that cancause an hombre’s cojones to shrink upinto his belly. This adds +2 to overawe rolls. Only dogs can take this Edge.

Large Breed 1/3/5The animal is of a larger than average

breed, making it tougher and moreimpressive that the run-of-the-mill ponyor pooch.

For dogs, the average Size of 4represents breeds the size and build oftypical retrievers. This Edge at level 1increases the dog’s Size to 5, making it abreed equivalent in build to a Germanshepherd. Level 3 makes the Size 6,equivalent to a Great Dane, and level 5increases it to Size 7, the build of amastiff or other huge dog. Dog Sizescannot exceed 8, even with the big ‘un or brawny  Edge or Hindrance.

For horses, the average Size of 10represents most typical saddle horses.This Edge can only be taken at level 3,which makes the animal a Clydesdale or

other similarly-sized breed (Size 11).Horse Sizes cannot exceed 12, even withthe big ‘un  or brawny  Edge orHindrance.

Nerves o’ Steel 1/3The cost of this Hindrance is still 1

point for dogs, but horses are extremelyskittish by nature, so this edge coststhem 3 points.

Purty 1A handsome animal with a clean,

glossy coat always gets a better reactionfrom folks.

Renown 1/3For an animal to have this Edge, the

master usually also has to have it.

Saddlewise 1

This horse seems to know what itsrider wants before the command isgiven. Anyone riding this horse gets a +2to all horse ridin’ rolls.

Sense of Direction 1Funny how an animal can just be

more in tune with his environment thanhis master is. This is a good one for St.Bernards leading folks out of mountainpasses.

Page 49: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 49/128

50 Posse

“The Stare” 1

The inscrutable eye of the beast canreally creep a cowpoke out. Some dogswith this edge may have differentcolored eyes or eyes that catch the lightin a way to give them that creepy“demon dog” glow.

Thick-Skinned 3Nothing bothers these animals—well,

almost nothing.

Tough as Nails 1-5Some critters can take a kicking and

come back for more.

Wolf Dog 3

Occasionally, domestic dogs andwolves mate, producing a hardier, ifoccasionally unpredictable, crossbreed. Awolf dog receives +1 to its Size if thebase Size for its breed is 5 or less, andits teeth inflict Strength+2d6 damage.These crossbreeds have a reputation asbeing bloodthirsty, though, and folkstend to look askance at them. Manybelieve they’ll eventually bite the handthat feeds them. Is the reputationdeserved? That’s up to your Marshal…

Six: BackgroundThe last step is to make up a bit of

background for the beast. This doesn’tneed to include a lot of detail. Theanimal can even borrow some of itsbackground from its owner if the twohave been adventuring together for along while.

If a Joker was drawn during StepTwo, the Marshal needs to draw from afresh deck to find out what’s unusual

about the animal. Animals are not asprone to weirdness as humans, so onlyone card is drawn, even if two Jokerscame up during Trait generation. There’sonly so much mischief an animal canget up to.

Animal Companions &Bounty Points

Animals usually stay much the sameover time, but sometimes a beastimproves with training. Normallyanimals don’t earn Fate Chips, thoughthe Marshal may opt to award one everyso often when the critter’s actions areexceptional or really add to the story(events that relate more directly to theobligation Hindrance that comes withthe animal sidekick  Edge yield FateChips for the hero, however, not theanimal).

These chips may be spent by theMarshal on the animal’s behalf if theneed arises within the same gamesession. If not, they should be spent as

Bounty to raise an existing Aptitude (ofthe Marshal’s choosing) before the nextgame session, or they can be applied toany training efforts that are ongoing atthe time. If the animal has beenparticularly active, especially with aspecific Aptitude (if the critter has beendoing a lot of swimming, for example),the Marshal might award a Chipspecifically to be used in raising theappropriate Aptitude. An animal’s moredisturbing experiences might also yielda point or two of Grit.

Additional obedience  concentrationscan be developed through training (seethe obedience Aptitude, above). Non-obedience  Aptitudes also requiretraining time, along with the expenditureof the usual Bounty points by the critter(if the Marshal has given her any) or hermaster.

New HOE Animal RulesSome designer’Some designer’Some designer’Some designer’Some designer’s notes:s notes:s notes:s notes:s notes: These rules

replace those for Animal Sidekicks asdetailed in Rascals, Varmints & Critters.In particular, they present a rationalsystem for dealing with variationsbetween breeds, improve and better-define animals’ training and what canbe done with it, and add a benchmarkagainst which an animal’s loyalty canbe measured.

Substantive changes have been madein the cost of acquiring and maintainingan animal companion.

Page 50: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 50/128

Page 51: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 51/128

Page 52: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 52/128

Creating Your OwnCritters

C’mon, you know you wanna.It happens to all Marshals after a

while; you get that creative urge and feelthe need to create your own beastiewith which to slaughter your helplessplayers.

There’s no set-in-stone system formaking monsters, we’re still talkingseat-of-the-pants technology here, butwe can give you some helpful guidelinesand a list of some standardabomination powers to help you on yourway.

Use this power with care, or you maywind up without any players.

ConsiderationsBefore you go crazy slapping stats

down on paper, give some thought towhat type of abomination it is you arecreating—not all monsters are createdequal. We usually divide critters up intotwo basic types: combat monsters andstory monsters.

Combat Monsters

Combat monsters are abominationswhich can be used as a randomencounter or as an obstacle to beplaced between the posse and theheroes’ true goal. These creaturesgenerally aren’t overly powerful (youdon’t want to kill all the heroes offbefore they reach the big finale) andthey don’t usually have much in the wayof immunities.

A few key questions to ask: Do thesecreatures travel in groups or are theysolitary types. Does the creature haveany immunities? If so, they should beagainst specific weapon or magic types,not global immunities.

The prime example of theseabomination types is the walkin’ dead.You can use them whenever you needto slow the posse down or soften theheroes up for the real baddie. Walkin’dead are also handy because you caneasily scale the threat they pose byvarying their numbers and theiraccess to weaponry.

Chapter Three:

The Care and Feedingof Abominations

Page 53: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 53/128

54 Marshal

Story Monsters

Story monsters are abominationsaround which an adventure can bebased. They are usually fairly powerful,and many often have extensiveimmunities. Servitors, fate eaters,vengeful spirits, and the like all fall intothis category.

All of these creatures require theposse to do some legwork before it

attempts to confront the abomination.Often the heroes need to fight otherfoes, talk to or browbeat other people,or poke around in dangerous ruins tounlock the abomination’s dark, arcanesecrets.

In addition to any powers thesecreatures may have you’ll need toprovide a detailed background for theabomination explaining how it came tobe and how the heroes might discoverits weaknesses.

DescriptionHere’s where you get to put your

creative juices (no, not those) to workagain. You want your players to becreeped out by your new monstrosity, soyou should make sure you give them avivid description of the thing.

For example, if your posse runs into aglamor puss, rather than saying, “Yousee a glamor puss,” you might saysomething like:

 The creature which

shambles out of the shadowsbefore you is a mockery of itshuman form. The withered skinof its face and torso are coveredwith the fine lines of pastsurgical scars. Pieces of skin andother body parts have beenaffixed to the thing’s body withcrude sutures. A haze of flies,attracted by the smell ofputrefying flesh, circle thecreature’s head like some sort ofdark halo. It looks at you for asecond with a pair ofmismatched eyes and then raspswith its rot-blackened tongue,“Come here my pretty. Let me geta better look at you.”

StatsOnce it comes time for the heroes to

interact with your new creation, you’regoing to need some stats for the critter.

Traits and AptitudesA creature’s Traits depend on its

nature. Combat-oriented creatures tendto have high Strengths  and Vigors , and ahigh Nimbleness  or Deftness  dependingon whether they depend more on hand-to-hand or ranged attacks. Creatureswhich depend more on socialinteraction have high Smarts and Mien Traits—all the better to overawe  theheroes with.

Critter Size

SizeSizeSizeSizeSize Typical WTypical WTypical WTypical WTypical Weighteighteighteighteight ExExExExExamplesamplesamplesamplesamples Hit ModHit ModHit ModHit ModHit Mod0 1 ounce bug –61 a pound or two rat, snake –4

2 10 or 12 pounds housecat –33 20–30 pounds eagle, fox –24 50 pounds average dog, pig –15 100 pounds mountain lion 06 150 pounds person, wolf 07 250 pounds trog 08 400 pounds 09 650 pounds gorilla +110 1000 pounds bear, saddle horse +111 1750 pounds Clydesdale, steer +212 2500 pounds buffalo +213 2 tons +314 3 tons +3

15 5 tons elephant +416 8 tons +417 13 tons +518 20 tons avg.. Maze dragon +519 30 tons +620 50 tons small Mojave rattler +621 80 tons +622 130 tons blue whale, average

Mojave rattler +623 200 tons +624 300 tons large Mojave rattler +6

Page 54: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 54/128

Care & Feeding 55Remember that d12 is not the highest

die type. Extraordinary creatures mayhave Traits rated at d12+2 or higher. Aword of warning, though: Traits ratedabove d12, especially when combinedwith combat Aptitudes, can make for anextremely deadly foe. Use Traits at thislevel sparingly.

A creature’s Aptitudes also depend onit nature. Most abominations of animal-level intelligence have only a fewinstinctual skills like fightin’: brawlin ,sneak , and perhaps climbin’  and trackin’.More intelligent creatures may havesome learned skills like dodge, fightin’: weapon , and so on. Abominationswhich were once human may haveaccess to nearly any Aptitude.

Pace

For humanoid critters as for people,Pace is usually equal to the Nimbleness die type. However, particularly large orfast creatures may have a Pace muchgreater than their Nimbleness die. Horsesfor instance, have a base Pace ofNimbleness +8. The number listed isalways the creature’s primary mode ofmovement (swimming for sea creatures,for example, and flying for birds); if theymove at a different pace by a differentmeans, that’s listed in parentheses.

Some abominations have asupernatural ability to move quickly. Ifthat’s the case, be sure to list the abilityunder Special Abilities.

SizeA creature’s size is a measure not just

of its physical dimensions, but also ofits general toughness. The best way toassign a size is to mentally compare itto other known creatures, or to make aguess at its weight, and assign it a Size

from the Critter Size Table (see page 52).You might knock it down a point or twoif the monster is particularly lanky orweak, or bump it up a step or so if it’sextra rugged or tough.

WindWind, for creatures as well as

humans, is equal to Vigor  and Spirit  dietypes added together. If yourabomination is going to play an

important, singular role (like animportant extra), and it’s even possibleto knock it out by Wind, go ahead andfigure this stat for it. In most cases,though, you don’t need to bother. Windisn’t important for minor extras andcreatures (we list it in published stats,but in italics to remind you that youprobably shouldn’t bother tracking it).Large creatures, such as Mojave rattlers,are generally too tough to be Windedout, so for those it’s best to simple list itas a dash. Finally, undead are unaffectedby Wind. Again, slap down a dash forsuch creatures.

TerrorAs every Marshal well knows, Terror

is a rating of how good an abominationis at scaring the bejeesus out of thosewho encounter it. Terror scores arebased on the standard Target Numbers:3, 5, 7, 9, 11, etc. Use the standardguidelines for assigning TNs (from theHell on Earth rulebook) when you’refiguring an appropriate Terror score foryour monster—in other words, if makinga guts check ought to be fairly easy, giveit a Fair (5) Terror. If your critter is soterrifying that it would be incredible ifanyone passed a guts check, give it anIncredible (11) Terror.

Special AbilitiesMost abominations have a few tricks

up their sleeves to catch unwary heroeswith.

DamageMany abominations have some form

of natural attack. Damage from a biteattack is normally STR+1d4, and clawsdo STR+1d6 damage. Particularly large ornasty forms of these attacks may bumpthe damage die type up a step orincrease the number of dice by 1 or 2.Extraordinarily sharp claws or teethmight also be given an Armor Piercing(AP) rating of 1 or 2.

Page 55: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 55/128

56 Marshal

Standard Powers

Many of the most common special orsupernatural abilities are defined asstandard powers. This prevents us (andyou) from having to reinvent the wheelevery time we make a new monster. Ifany of the standard powers listed belowfits your abomination, use them. If not,feel free to modify them or make upyour own.

Unique PowersThe standard powers are helpful and

effort-saving, but they don’t always fitthe bill. Don’t sweat it, partner. Manyabominations have special powersunique to them alone. Feel free to makeup your own, or borrow or modify thepowers of other creatures. Obviously,

you want the power level andinvincibility of your abomination to fityour story and your posse’s capabilities,but beyond that your imagination is theonly limit!

The Standard PowersThe monsters of Deadlands: Hell on 

Earth have many fantastic powers andabilities. Your posse may encounterghosts, vampires, werewolves, creaturesmutated by radiation, and all manner ofhorrors. To make it easier to create andrun these monsters, we’ve come up witha set of standard powers used by manyof the monsters and creatures of thewastelands. These powers are listed here(including those already covered in themain rulebook, putting all of them inone handy place).

ArmorNo self-respecting terror of the

wastelands goes around unarmored.The Armor value is listed directlyafter the creature’s armor ability. Apositive number means that the creaturehas that many levels of die-reducingarmor, A negative number means the

thing has light protection that subtractsdamage from every attack that hits it.For example, Armor 2 means it hasheavier armor that reduces an attack by2 full die types, while Armor –2 meansthat 2 points of damage are subtractedfrom every attack.

Bolts o’ DoomBolts o’ doom covers any sort of

missile attack the various horrors of theWasted West might hurl at your posse.Some critters hurl poisonous quills,others throw things, and some mighteven projectile vomit. You never know.

Creatures use shootin’ or sometimesthrowin’  to hit. For weird spellcasters,the attack roll for bolts o’ doom is thesame as their faith roll. All the usualrules and modifiers for shooting apply

unless the description says otherwise.The statistics for the attack such asShots, Speed, Rate of Fire (ROF), Range,and Damage follow the entry.

BotThe creature is a robot, vehicle, or

other type of machine.The creature has a Durability rating

and takes damage as if a vehicle.Durability is listed following this power.For example, an abomination with thepower Bot: 45/9, has a Durability of 45with a Durability step of 9. Damage tothe creature can be repaired with spareparts and a successful tinkerin’  roll. SeeRoad Warriors  for more info on howdamage and repairs to vehicles work.

Note that this power is intendedprimarily for non-humanoid, mechanicalcreatures. Mechanical creatures ofroughly human size and shape, likeautomatons, can use the standarddamage rules.

Cloak o’ EvilArmor is nice, but sometimes it’s best

not to get hit in the first place. Cloak o’ evil  does just that. It turns aside anysort of attack aimed directly at the user.

Right after cloak o’ evil  there’s anegative number like –2 or –4. That’s thepenalty anyone attacking the crittermust subtract from their shootin’  orfightin’  total.

Page 56: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 56/128

Care & Feeding 57Cloak o’ evil doesn’t protect the caster

if he’s caught in an area-of-effect attack,such as an explosion or spell nottargeted specifically at him. If someonethrows a grenade at the user, apply themodifier. If someone throws a grenadeat the ground near the user, it doesn’tapply.

DetectionThe creature can sense the presence

of a specific substance, usually from adistance. In each case, specify the typeof substance, and the range of thepower. Some versions of this powerdisregard all barriers. Others may bestopped by certain barriers, such as leadshielding, thick walls, or othersubstances with strong scents orradiation signatures. Specify whether or

not the power is immune to barriers; ifnot, describe the types of barriers whichthwart it.

Some creatures may be able to detectthings other than substances. Asupernatural creature that feeds onhatred, for example, might be able tozero in on sources of that emotion.

FearlessSome critters just can’t be scared.

Most soulless undead are like this(because the manitou inside has nothingto lose). Others are just too dumb toknow when they’re beat.

These kinds of monsters are fearless.They never make guts  checks, evenagainst a power or effect ofsupernatural origin.

Fearless  creatures can be surprised forone round, but after that, they get overtheir shock and get to work. Dealfearless  creatures in normally the roundafter they’re surprised.

Hive MindMonsters with a hive mind  don’t exist

as individuals. Or if they do, theyexperience an inseparable link with allothers of their kind. In essence, eachbeing is part of a larger whole, and candraw upon that strength in time of need.If they are a sentient species (i.e. arecapable of learning things, instead of

 just following instinct like animals), they

share knowledge and experiences,meaning they know everything theothers of their kind know. AnyKnowledge -based skill they attempt ismade as if the most qualified memberof their species were attempting it: 4d10at least, if not higher.

Furthermore, killing one memberrarely damages the overall whole, andothers retain the memories of thebrethren they have lost. Anyone whokills a creature with hive mind  isconsidered an enemy of the entirespecies, and surviving members do theirutmost to wipe him or her out.

Characters dispatching a sentient hive-minded creature gain the disadvantageEnemy 4 to represent their new foes.They gain no bonus points fromacquiring this disadvantage.

Page 57: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 57/128

Page 58: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 58/128

Page 59: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 59/128

60 Marshal

Razor Flesh

The creature possesses armor whichnot only protects it, but also causesharm to those who come into contactwith it such as with fightin': brawlin ,wrasslin’ , and boxin'  rolls. The armormay take many forms, such as the longspines on a porcupine or an electricalfield which jolts the attacker on asuccessful strike.

The rating, ranging from 1 to 5,corresponds to the number of raisesrequired on the attacker's fightin' Aptitude roll to avoid injury following a

successful attack. The attacker'sStrength die is used to determine thedamage die delivered and the level ofthe razor flesh power provides thenumber of dice the poor sod takes if hedoesn’t get the required raises.

For example, a hero with d8 Strengthdie attacking a monster with razor flesh3, would take 3d8 damage on any strikewhich did not get three raises.

RegenerationSome critters heal faster than spit

bubbles in a microwave. The exact rateof its regeneration follows the entry.

StunSome critters like to eat their prey

while it’s still warm or maybe even stillbreathing. That’s a really bad way to go,friends. This power lets the bad guysstun their prey instead of hurting them,very likely saving them for a much morehorrible fate than death.

Most creatures must touch their prey

to stun them. In these cases, if themonster hits (usually whether it actuallycauses damage or not), the victimmakes a Vigor  check against the TNlisted after this power. The victim canmake recovery checks each actionagainst this same TN to snap out of itand make an escape.

SurgeThe creature gains a Trait increase

whenever a certain condition is fulfilled.Usually this condition is somethingwhich thwarts the creature as it tries todo something it really wants to do.Specify the condition, the affected Traits,and an interval. Each time the intervalpasses while the condition is still ineffect, the specified traits improve byone die type: d4s become d6s, d6s surgeinto d8s, and so on.

For example, a mutated bull mightgain a surge in all Corporeal Traits forevery round somebody waves something

red in its snoot.

SurpriseCreatures with this power are keen on

catching their victims unaware. Someburrow up from below. Others swoopdown from the sky.

Assuming the critter isn’t detected, itstarts the fight with one Action Card“up its sleeve” and makes its first attackat +4.

Page 60: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 60/128

Page 61: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 61/128

62 Marshal

and the things you’ve come up with onyour own do, then ignore what we’ve gotto say and go your own route.

That said, here’s what we think.

Dark, Scary, & DesperatePeople play games to have fun, so

they choose games they think are fun.Obviously, if you’ve chosen Deadlands: Hell on Earth, you are expecting to get acertain type of enjoyment from it.

The Hell on Earth game is one ofadventure, fear, and desperate struggle inthe blasted wastes of the West. It’s a

sullen and creepy world, and one inwhich the heroes have precious fewresources—technology, weapons, andeven other people—to call upon in theirfight against the Reckoners. They fightan uphill battle against horrors that

have all but won their war againsthumanity. The world—what’s left of it—has been cowed by the forces of fear,and saving that world is uncertain anddangerous work.

The Game’s Afoot!While that may all seem dismal and

murky to Hell on Earth players andcharacters, it actually provides someclarity for us Marshals, suggesting somedirection for our adventures and ideasfor the “proper” use of abominations.

For one, nothing should ever bestraightforward in this game. TheReckoners are still feeding on the fearthey and their forces generate, and theywell know that people fear the unknownmore than anything else. So, even afterthe Apocalypse, they keep their servants

in the shadows and backgroundwhenever possible, rarely showing theirtrue natures.

Yes, they are often much more overtthan they were before the Reckoning.And yes, most abominations act on theirown, without any direct control fromthe Reckoners (this is discussed a bitmore below), and they often don’thesitate to openly attack the weak andisolated settlements of the Wasted West.But tension and mystery is always a bigcomponent of fear, and the creatures ofthe Reckoning generally know that—andthey use it.

Make ’em ThinkSo what does this mean to you as a

Marshal?Well, it means you make the players

figure out what’s going on. You neversay “a settlement has asked for helpbecause bloodwolves have been eatingtheir children.” Instead, you describe the

scene: a wretched, walled town full ofbitter and frightened people. When theposse members talk to the survivors,they discover that children and livestockand even a few adults have beendisappearing. Sometimes they turn updead, drained of blood or ripped toshreds. Sometimes they don’t turn up atall.

With a few good questions and somepoking around, the heroes should figureout what the problem is. But you don’t

Page 62: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 62/128

Care & Feeding 63want that to be too easy for them, soyou should throw them a few curvesand mislead them. You can do this byusing some red herrings, making it looklike the culprit is something other thanwhat it really is.

For example, one local might beconvinced that the deaths were causedby a band of muties living in the ruinsnearby. Or perhaps they suspect classicvampires, and have become paranoidand suspicious, wondering which ofthem (or of the posse) might have beenturned. You can try a sort of “bait andswitch”—perhaps a biological agent leftover from the Last War has made someof the townspeople pale and sensitive tosunlight. If the heroes take the bait,they’re going to waste precious timeinvestigating innocent locals while thebloodwolves knock off more victims.

Keep ’em Off-BalanceThe really cool thing about this is

that your false clues don’t actually haveto be untrue. Maybe the town is plaguedby both bloodwolves and hostile muties.Or to use another example, maybe theheroes track and kill a lurker that’sbeen eating anyone who wanders into anearby city to scavenge the ruins, onlyto discover that the lurker was the onlything keeping the night terrors fromattacking the townspeople.

Using multiple critter types in thesame adventure can be pretty effective.In some cases, it might be coincidencethat brought both abominations to thearea, or perhaps they just decided theymake an effective team.

MysteryThe Wasted West is a whole new

world of horror, and entire new species

of terrors are being spawned every day.Much of what the heroes run into willbe completely unknown to them—and toeveryone else as well. Even seasonedveterans of the West’s horrors run intounknown creatures on a routine basis—so much so, that when they run intosome terrible creature that theyrecognize, it’s almost a relief! Some ofthat is reflected in the way this book iswritten: the posse section covers manyof the monsters in the bestiary with

varying degrees of completeness andaccuracy—but many of the mostfrightening monsters aren’t evenmentioned in the players’ section at all.

Play up this sense of mystery. Nevergive away more than you have to aboutthe nature, motivation, or powers ofyour abomination. With minimalinformation, your players will alwaysimagine the worst—and then they’ll besurprised when they find that even theirimagination couldn’t do the horror

 justice!

Sometimes Bad Guys LiveRecurring villains (and other

characters) can be a lot of fun for theplayers. They provide a focus for them,and the eventual defeat of fearmongeror servant of the Reckoners feels like ahuge accomplishment.

 Just be careful, though, not to overdoit. Sure, get all the use you can out of awell-built villain and his cronies—but ifhe always gets away, even when theheroes have a very clever plan whichthey execute without a flaw, the playersare going to get mighty frustrated. Afterall, it is a game, and the goal is foreveryone—not just the Marshal—to havefun.

Now don’t get us wrong: It’s a goodthing for the players to feel frustratedsometimes. It shows that the game isn’ttoo easy for them, and it makes aneventual victory just that much sweeter.Still, a little frustration can go a longway. Just try to make sure the heroeseventually have a victory, because

everyone likes to at least feel like they’rewinning.

Sometimes Good Guys DieAs Marshal, you should know that not

every character has to live for the posseto claim victory. If the posse has lost afew members on the way, that can alsosweeten the final victory. Be careful tobalance the danger as much as possiblewith the abilities of the posse.

Page 63: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 63/128

64 Marshal

The important thing is to make theplayers think their characters might kickthe bucket. If you have to kill one ortwo heroes to get the point across, that’sokay. As before, though, watch thefrustration level. If the players have tocreate too many new characters, theycould lose interest in the game or atleast go and find another Marshal.

Of course, killing off heroes doeshave other advantages in this game. Youcan always make them Harrowed (orsome other once-living abomination)and bring them back as enemies for therest of the posse. If the heroes are reallycareful, they might even manage to“rescue” the Harrowed character,allowing her to fall under the control ofthe player again.

The important and difficult thing is totry to make each situation challenging

while not necessarily deadly. In thisgame, that’s a challenge in itself,because the system makes it easy to killa hero pretty quickly. So what happensif you overdo it?

The Fickle Finger of FateFirst, you should decide if you’re

really overdoing it. After all, the playersshould expect to lose a few heroes. Hereare a few rough guidelines for judgingthe situation.

If the player is truly afraid of losinghis hero, you’ve done your job, and youdon’t need to go ahead and kill the poorsap, no matter how much fun it is.You’ve gotten what you (and theReckoners) really want: FEAR.

Other things to consider are luck andaction. For instance, if the player hasdone everything right and has just hit astring of rotten luck, her hero doesn’tnecessarily deserve to die. On the otherhand, if the player has made every

mistake possible and the dice go againsthim, go ahead and knock off thecharacter.

Finally, look at the distribution ofluck. If one player has lost threecharacters and nobody else has even

lost one, maybe you’re doing somethingwrong—like coincidentally having a lotof abominations attack those characters.Again, it might just be the player. Maybehe always makes curious characterswith big britches . If so, go ahead and killthe heroes; you may be doing them afavor.

Letting ’em Live—For NowSuppose you’ve decided, for whatever

reason, that you shouldn’t kill aparticular character. Then what? Well,you’ve got several options. Most of thesework only before you’ve actually offedthe hero, so decide beforehand if you’regoing to go through with it or not.

First, maybe the enemy leaves withoutfinishing the job. Not every adversaryhas to fight until it kills—some, in fact,

prefer for a survivor to spread direstories of their horror. Of course, if theheroes won’t let the creature leave inpeace, then they deserve whatever theyget.

Second, there’s the possibility of atimely rescue (the cavalry charging overthe hill)—but don’t overuse it. There are afew saviors in this dark and lawlessworld—Templars, heretical Doomsayers,and law dogs, to name a few of the do-gooder types. But these are few and farbetween, and relying on them too oftento save the heroes’ bacon stretches thecredibility of your world.

Third, always feel free to fudge rolls—but make sure to complain about howrotten your rolls are. And make sureyou’ve got a Marshal’s screen to hideyour rolls behind so you can keep yourplayers in the dark.

Finally, you could always say it wasall a bad dream—but that’s even morecheesy in a roleplaying game than it ison TV.

Servants of the ReckonersThe Reckoners have a lot of servants,

including a lot of critters and folks thatdon’t necessarily know they’re servinganyone. Those who assist theReckoners mostly fall into three broadcategories: unwitting dupes,abominations, and manitous. All threetypes have been around for a very longtime.

Page 64: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 64/128

Care & Feeding 65Unwitting Dupes

Unwitting dupes have served theReckoners for as long as there havebeen people, usually just by doing whatthey want to do. Bandits, murderers,road gangers—even Throckmorton andhis goons—all do their part for theReckoners by generating the fear thatprovides energy for their dark masters.Some of these nasty people are out forrevenge and know that greater powersexist, but they don’t care. Unwittingdoesn’t mean unwilling.

And unwitting doesn’t mean theydon’t have any idea what they’re doing.Some cultists, for example, know (or atleast think) that they’re serving powerfulentities. They just don’t know the fullpower or true nature of those darkdemigods.

Lastly, just because they’re dupesdoesn’t mean they’re powerless.Throckmorton, Silas, and the manylesser despots shaking their iron fists atthe Wasted West can hardly beconsidered pushovers.

AbominationsAbominations—the supernatural

monsters spawned from the HuntingGrounds—are often in the same boat.They live for their own ends, sowingdeath and terror because that’s whatthey like to do—they seldom realize theyserve the purpose of higher powers,even now, after the Reckoners havecome to Earth. Some fearmongers—andespecially Servitors—know of theReckoners and even realize that they aregiven power for furthering their masters’agendas. But they still operate on theirown, with no knowledge of the bigpicture.

Some abominations realize they gain

more power when more people areafraid of them, though they don’tnecessarily have any inkling of why thisis so. And a lot of them are cleverenough, or have instincts good enough,to stay on the edge of the unknown.That which stays mysterious and hiddencreates more fear than something thatkills openly, for all to see. If the mortalsget jaded, they start fighting backinstead of just cringing in fearfulanticipation. Scared prey is easy prey.

Abominations only work togetherwhen it serves their individual needsand tastes. Some are powerful enoughto cow lesser beings into serving them;others use magic or special abilities tomake tools of humans and horrorsalike. But abominations never worktogether simply because they’re evil, orserve the same Reckoners. They may allbe enemies of humanity, but thatdoesn’t put them on the same team.

ManitousNobody but the Reckoners themselves

know where they have gone or whenthey’re coming back. But whatever theirplan, manitous are important to thescheme. These spirits are general-purpose servants, and they perform awide variety of tasks. While they know

Page 65: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 65/128

Page 66: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 66/128

Care & Feeding 67Marshaling the Undead

A manitou in a walkin’ dead or otheranimated corpse doesn’t care whathappens to the body. It “feels” when abody part is blasted off, but as an alarminstead of genuine pain.

The Harrowed are a little different.They have to “live” in their shells for along time—maybe forever. If someoneblows off a kneecap, the Harrowed maynot cry like a baby—but he’s not aswilling to ignore it as a manitou insidean animated corpse it’s going to discardin a while.

All this means walkin’ dead andsimilar creatures should be a littletougher than a Harrowed—at least interms of how much damage it can take.Here’s how you can adjust the undead special ability some creatures have if

you feel your walkin’ dead are a littletoo fragile:

Roll bonus dice normally when ashot hits the noggin.

If you’re keeping track of wounds,halve any damage to the guts andignore hits to the gizzards. Limbs arestill blown off normally.

When using “quick hits,” double theirnormal hits (60 for human-sizedzombies).

Companion CrittersWe promised you some ways to make

your pet-owning heroes’ lives moreinteresting, so here you go.

Mysterious PastsWhen a player draws a Joker for the

Traits of an animal sidekick, turn hereto figure out what the animal’smysterious past is all about. Except

where noted, the following backgroundsare as close to their humancounterparts as reasonable.

Deuce: CurseThe animal has had a curse laid on it.

Until the curse is lifted, the animal hasthe bad luck  Hindrance. The one twisthere is that the bad luck affects theproud owner as well as the poor, dumbanimal.

Three: Unnatural Enemy

This animal sidekick has a particularhatred for a specific other species—andthe feelings are mutual. Wheneverpossible, the animal attacks the objectof its hatred with every intention oftearing it to shreds or trampling it.

In return, members of that speciesactually choose the animal as a targetover any other available target.

Red:Red:Red:Red:Red: The enemy is a normal species:bear, eagle, cougar, wolf, etc.

Black:Black:Black:Black:Black: The enemy is an abominationor class of abomination (usually not a

major foe): wormling, devil bat,tumblebleed, etc.

Four: PossessedSomething lies behind that dog’s

intelligent stare. Some form of spirit haspossessed the animal, and it actsaccording to its own agenda.

Red:Red:Red:Red:Red: A nature spirit has possessedthe animal. Usually, the type of spirit isdetermined by the species. A dog can beinhabited by a dog spirit, a wolf spirit,or a forest spirit. A horse can beinhabited by a horse spirit, a plainsspirit, or a wind spirit. The animal aids ahero for as long as the hero’s goals andmethods conform to the spirit’s own.The spirit can use one shaman favorwith up to 2 Appeasement points.

Black:Black:Black:Black:Black: Something nasty has inhabitedthe poor beast. The animal is nowirrevocably evil. It has a nastydisposition to everyone (including itsmaster), but it’s still loyal to the hero.

However, it does enjoy seeing the herolose friend after friend to nasty“accidents.” The beast has a single blackmagic power at its disposal.

Five: GrizzledThe animal has a shock of white fur

on its head. Beasts with this sort ofmarking are destined to lead lives ofterror, but they have one advantage: theycan earn Grit just like a human.

Page 67: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 67/128

Page 68: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 68/128

Page 69: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 69/128

Page 70: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 70/128

Chapter Four:

A Litany of HorrorsThis is the last chance for you player

types to turn back before we activatethe headbanger chips.

Good, we thought you’d respond toreason.

The Truth is Right HereOkay, Marshal, here’s where you get

the low down on all the creepy-crawliesmentioned in the player’s section, plus afew new abominations to catch yourposse off guard. There are also stats forsome common Weird West critters thatmanaged to survive being hunted byheroes for over a century, the Last War,and Judgment Day, like the Maze dragon,Mojave rattler “kings,” tumblebleeds, and

devil bats.The critters are listed in alphabeticalorder with a description and their stats.Feel free to alter the beasts’ stats andspecial powers to suit your tastes andthe abilities of your posse. This willkeep players who managed to sneak apeek into this section on their toes. Itmight also reveal who they are, if theystart arguing stats with you.

Report these players to us and we’lldeal with them appropriately.

A Final Word on Running a Game

With the addition of the abominationsfound in this book, the creatures foundin the main rulebook and othersupplements, and those you’ve createdyourself, you should have a goodselection of Hell-spawned badness tothrow at your posse. Just remember,though, that not every threat your posseruns into needs to be supernatural.

Despite the evil wrought by theReckoners, the human race must stillalso deal with the evil it creates itself.In the aftermath of the Last War, thereare still plenty of people who are out tobenefit themselves at the expense ofothers. Some of them are very powerful,

like Throckmorton and Silas, and othersare not so strong, but just as evil—likethe scavenger who knowingly tradescontaminated water for something heneeds. Make sure you mix some ofthese human predators in with thesupernatural baddies. You might evenhave humans working together withan abomination—like the sandspiders

Page 71: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 71/128

Page 72: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 72/128

A Litany of Horrors 73Beaded Horror

The beaded horror is a mutated formof gila monster, a squat-bodied, highlypugnacious lizard common throughoutthe deserts of the southwest. It's theclosest thing the Wasted West has to adragon. Considering the thing'svoracious appetite, cunning, and fierybreath, it's a wonder these things haven'twandered closer to civilization.

These creatures are most often foundin abandoned bunkers; most likely dueto their appetite for gunpowder andother explosives. They usually appear ingroups of 1-4.

Profile: Beaded HorrorCorporCorporCorporCorporCorporeal:eal:eal:eal:eal: D:3d8, N:2d8, Q:1d10, S:3d10,

V:4d8Fightin': brawlin' 3d8, shootin':

firebreathin' 4d8, sneak 3d8Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental: C:1d6, K:1d4, M:1d8, Sm:3d4,

Sp:2d10Guts 3d10, overawe 3d8Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace: 6Size:Size:Size:Size:Size: 6 (3 feet tall and 7-8 feet long)WWWWWind:ind:ind:ind:ind: 18TTTTTerrerrerrerrerror :or :or :or :or: 5Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:

Armor:Armor:Armor:Armor:Armor: 2Damage:Damage:Damage:Damage:Damage: Bite (STR+1d8, AP 1), Claws

(STR+1d4) Ja Ja Ja Ja Jawlock:wlock:wlock:wlock:wlock: Following a successful bite

attack, the horror clamps its jawsdown and automatically deliversbite damage every round untilkilled, knocked out, or forciblymade to let go with a Hard (9)Strength roll. Worse still, while thebeaded horror grinds its teeth, itssaliva enters the wound and acts asa weak poison. Only a successfulOnerous (7) Vigor  check prevents

the poison from taking effect theround following contact. The poisoncauses weakness in the extremitiescausing a 2 step loss to allCorporeal Traits. If any Trait dropsbelow d4 or the hero goes bust, thevictim immediately fallsunconscious for 1d6 hours.

FirFirFirFirFirebrebrebrebrebreathin':eathin':eathin':eathin':eathin': If the poisonous biteand raking claws weren't badenough, these critters can belch upa gout of Hellfire—a by-product of

eating gunpowder. Each critter hasenough boom dust in its gullet toeject 3 shots before having to eatmore gunpowder. Roll the creature’sshootin': firebreathin'  Aptitudeversus the target’s dodge . The firehas a maximum range of 10 feetand does 4d10 damage.

BurrBurrBurrBurrBurrooooowin':win':win':win':win': The critters can digthrough 1 yard of earth or 1 foot ofconcrete per action but progressthrough metals is much slower,requiring hours or days.

WWWWWeakness:eakness:eakness:eakness:eakness: Should a fire or heat-based attack cause a maiming

wound to a beaded horror's head orgizzards, it ignites what gunpowderremains, creating a fireball with aburst radius of 3 yards, doing 1d10per each unspat shot to everyonecaught within it.

Page 73: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 73/128

74 Marshal

Battle HoundAs the territory under the Combine’s

direct control grew, Throckmorton beganlooking for a way to patrol his growingkingdom that wouldn’t put too much ofa strain on his limited fuel reserves.Foot patrols of Black Hats were all welland good, but they could only cover somuch territory, and they wereincreasingly needed to fight the growingresistance at the edges of the General’sexpanding empire.

Some experimentation showed thatthe same technology that was used tomake Harrowed cyborgs could be usedin animals. This led to the developmentof a new line of cybernetic patrolanimals. These enhanced animals canpatrol 24 hours a day, never need to eat

(unless damaged), and are completelyfearless—more than can be said of therabble that become Black Hats.

Like humans, dogs can’t handlebodies which are vastly different fromthose they had in life, so most cyberpooches retain a goodly portion of theiroriginal bodies under all of their armor.Infiltrator hounds (see below) are stillmostly original doggie parts.

All battle hounds are equipped withan AI that rides herd on the animal andanalyzes all of the data it collects beforetransmitting the information back to theAI in Denver. Although rudimentarycompared to the AIs used to controlhuman cyborgs, these computers makethe hounds much smarter than youraverage dog. The battle hounds can playtricks on their victims, lay ambushes,and use simple tactics when operatingwith other cyber-dogs.

All hounds also possess a military-grade radio with a range of 100 miles(on a good day). It uses this to relay

reports back to the AI in Denver and tocommunicate with others of its kindand nearby Black Hat patrols. It can alsotransmit a direct video feed from itssensors to these patrols, allowing themto see what it does.

Patrol Models

The battle hound looks like a sleek,canine robot, somewhat like amechanical greyhound the size of alarge mastiff. It has long steel claws,sharp, jagged teeth, and glowing, redreceptor eyes. Incorporated into its headand body are suites of sensors whichprovide the beast with enhanced senses,including thermal imaging, the ability todetect the vibration of a heartbeat froma distance, and a superior sense ofsmell.

The early hounds were armed withonly razor-sharp, titanium claws andteeth, but later models have beentrained to use either the HI Hellblazerchaingun, or a plasma rifle whichoperates off of the power provided bythe dog’s spirit fetter. The early models

were also painted a flat gray, but newerversions have been given an elaboratecamouflage scheme.

Patrol models scour the Coloradocountryside in search of unwantedinterlopers. Once a battle hound spots ahostile party it may attack or radio forbackup depending on the AI’sassessment of the situation.

Infiltrator Models Throckmorton also had an

infiltration version of the hounds built.These creatures look for all the worldlike a living, breathing dog, butunderneath they are a mixture ofundead canine and the latest in robotics.

Throckmorton uses these against theresistance movement which has sprungup in the territory held by the Combine.These hounds are released into the wildand left to work their way into the goodgraces of survivor settlements inoccupied territory. Once there, they

monitor activity in the town andtransmit video of any suspiciousactivities back to Denver.

Profile: Battle HoundCorporCorporCorporCorporCorporeal:eal:eal:eal:eal: D:3d6, N:3d12, Q:4d10, S:3d12,

V:4d10Climbin’ 3d12, fightin’: brawlin’ 4d12,

shootin’: MG, rifle, sneak 3d12Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental: C:2d8, K:2d6, M:2d6, Sm:3d6,

Sp:2d6

Page 74: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 74/128

A Litany of Horrors 75Overawe 3d6 , search 4d8, trackin’ 3d8Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace: 20Size:Size:Size:Size:Size: 6WWWWWind:ind:ind:ind:ind: —TTTTTerrerrerrerrerror :or :or :or :or: 7Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:

Armor:Armor:Armor:Armor:Armor: 4Camouflage:Camouflage:Camouflage:Camouflage:Camouflage: The hound’s paint

scheme gives it a +2 to all sneak rolls.

Damage:Damage:Damage:Damage:Damage: Bite (STR+1d6), claw(STR+1d8), HI Hellblazer (Ammo:10mm caseless, Shots: 100, Speed: 1,ROF: 9, Range 10/20, Damage: 4d8AP2) or plasma rifle (Ammo:Energy, Shots: Infinite, Speed: 1,ROF: 1, Range 20, Damage 4d10 AP2).

Detection:Detection:Detection:Detection:Detection: Specialized sensors allowthe battle hound to detect a beatinghuman heart within 100 yards with

a Fair (5) Cognition  roll.FearlessFearlessFearlessFearlessFearlessHivHivHivHivHive Mind:e Mind:e Mind:e Mind:e Mind: The creature is in

constant contact with all otherhounds within 100 miles.

Regeneration:Regeneration:Regeneration:Regeneration:Regeneration: Every pound of meatthe hound wolfs down heals awound within an hour.

Self-Destruct:Self-Destruct:Self-Destruct:Self-Destruct:Self-Destruct: When a battle houndis put down, it explodes for 6d20damage with a Burst Radius of 10.

SensorSensorSensorSensorSensorsssss: The optical, aural, andolfactory sensors of the battlehound give it +4 to trackin’  andsearch rolls.

UndeadUndeadUndeadUndeadUndeadDescription:Description:Description:Description:Description: see above.

Profile: Infiltration HoundCorporCorporCorporCorporCorporeal:eal:eal:eal:eal: D:3d6, N:3d12, Q:4d10, S:3d12,

V:4d10Climbin’ 3d12, fightin’: brawlin’ 4d12,

sneak 3d12Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental: C:2d8, K:2d6, M:2d6, Sm:3d6,

Sp:2d6Guts 4d6, overawe 3d6 , search 4d8,trackin’ 3d8

Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace: 20Size:Size:Size:Size:Size: 5WWWWWind:ind:ind:ind:ind: —TTTTTerrerrerrerrerror:or:or:or:or: 7 (Only once revealed)Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:

Armor:Armor:Armor:Armor:Armor: 2Damage:Damage:Damage:Damage:Damage: Bite (STR+1d4), claw

(STR+1d6)

Detection:Detection:Detection:Detection:Detection: Specialized sensors allowthe battle hound to detect a beatinghuman heart within 100 yards witha Fair (5) Cognition  roll.

FearlessFearlessFearlessFearlessFearlessHivHivHivHivHive Mind:e Mind:e Mind:e Mind:e Mind: The creature is in

constant contact with all otherhounds within 100 miles.

Infiltration:Infiltration:Infiltration:Infiltration:Infiltration: Special systems allowthe dog to pass for a living,breathing pooch complete with badbreath and bleeding wounds.

Self-Destruct:Self-Destruct:Self-Destruct:Self-Destruct:Self-Destruct: When a battle houndis put down, it explodes for 6d20damage with a Burst Radius of 10.

SensorSensorSensorSensorSensorsssss: The optical, aural, andolfactory sensors of the battlehound give it +4 trackin’ and searchrolls.

UndeadUndeadUndeadUndeadUndeadDescription:Description:Description:Description:Description: see above.

Page 75: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 75/128

76 Marshal

BloatbellyFamine created bloatbellies as a

partner to her more prominent followers,the faminites. While faminites operateddirectly against the human body,bloatbellies take a more tangentialapproach by destroying food supplies.The gas they carry is designedspecifically to ruin crops and storedfoodstuffs; the fact that it eats throughhuman flesh is just an added bonus.

While humanoid in appearance,bloatbellies could never be mistaken formen. Their skeletal arms are long anddistended—like an ape’s—ending in a trioof sharp-tipped claws. Their heads arefanged skulls, their eyesockets filledwith an eerie blue glow.

They move in large groups of 30-60,

searching for prosperous townships (arelative term in the Wasted West) todestroy. Their attacks begin with“feelers,” small groups of three or fourwho infiltrate the town and try to causeas much havoc as they can. When theyhave been dispatched, the defenders tendto relax.

That’s when the main body attacks:dozens of bloatbellies, swarming overwalls and bunkers like rats. Victory inbattle is not their objective. They seekonly food to desecrate, to leave ruinedand push the town towards the brink ofstarvation. Unprepared communitiesoften won’t realize their goals until it’stoo late.

As discussed in the player’s section,the gas in a bloatbelly’s gut is extremelypoisonous, and spreads out in a widecloud from the slightest puncture. Theycan breathe their toxin through theirmouths, too, and secrete it along theirteeth and fingernails as well. Any foodcoming into contact with it is destroyed,

even canned goods.Luckily, the bloatbellies never useweapons and they can be killed from adistance by anyone with a gun and alittle caution. The creatures rarely travelin groups smaller than thirty, however.

Profile: Bloatbelly

CorporCorporCorporCorporCorporeal:eal:eal:eal:eal: D:2d6, N:3d6, Q:2d6, S:4d6,V:3d8

Fightin’: brawlin’ 2d6, sneak 2d6,swimmin’ 2d6

Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental: C:2d10, K:1d4, M:1d4, Sm:1d6,Sp:2d6

Overawe 3d4, trackin’ 5d6Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace: 6Size:Size:Size:Size:Size: 6WWWWWind:ind:ind:ind:ind: 14 TTTTTerrerrerrerrerror :or :or :or :or: 7Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:

BrBrBrBrBreath:eath:eath:eath:eath: The creature can belch up asmall amount of gas (see below) atanyone within 1 yard. This affectsonly one target for one round.

Damage:Damage:Damage:Damage:Damage: Claws (STR+1d6), teeth(STR+2d6)

Gas:Gas:Gas:Gas:Gas: If a bloatbelly’s gizzards are

ruptured (any attack which causesa wound to the lower guts area), itstoxin is released, creating a toxiccloud 2 yards in radius. Inhaling orcontacting the gas with bare skincauses 3d6 damage, every roundcontact is maintained. Anyone whotakes damage this way must makea Hard (9) Vigor  roll or pick up theailin’: minor  Hindrance due topermanent lung damage. All foodwhich touches the gas is destroyed.

Poison:Poison:Poison:Poison:Poison: A bloatbelly’s teeth and nailsare coated with a rot-causingpoison. Any hero taking a woundfrom these must make a Fair (5)Vigor  roll or the flesh around thewound withers. This increases theTN of all rolls made to heal thewound through medicine, magic, ornature by +4.

BloodwaveBloodwaves are the nature spirits ofthe water in the Great Maze, driven to

anger by the pollution and bloodshed.The devastation of the Last War rousedthem from their slumber, and nowthey’re looking to make folks pay.

A bloodwave appears as a toweringwall of crimson sea water, with twogreat limbs and a hideous face springingfrom its bulk. It waits in ambush forboats, rising up to tear them apart anddrown their crews.

Page 76: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 76/128

Page 77: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 77/128

78 Marshal

Villainous wasters have been knownto keep a bone bot or two in a securecontainer for use as a particularlyterrifying implement of torture. Arestrained victim can do little but lookon in horror as a single bone botmethodically harvests the bone andcartilage from his body.

Although they can’t stand up to muchdamage—even a single point kills one—bone bots are hard to hit. Their smallsize and erratic flight imposes a –10penalty to shots directed at them. Areaeffect weapons don’t suffer this penalty.

Profile: Bone BotCorporCorporCorporCorporCorporeal:eal:eal:eal:eal: D:1d4, N:1d4, Q:3d10, S:1d4,

V:1d4Brawlin’ 4d4Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental: C:1d4, K:1d4, M:1d4, Sm:1d4, Sp:1d4

Science: nano-engineering 5d4Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace: 4Size:Size:Size:Size:Size: <1WWWWWind:ind:ind:ind:ind: —TTTTTerrerrerrerrerror :or :or :or :or: 7Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:

Detection:Detection:Detection:Detection:Detection: Sense mammalian, avian,or reptilian life within 10 yards.

Damage:Damage:Damage:Damage:Damage: A single bone bot does 1point of damage for every minute itworks on a target. This damage iscumulative, so after 6 minutes ofcutting, the creature has caused awound to a normal-sized individual.

SwSwSwSwSwarm:arm:arm:arm:arm: Individually a bone bot is aminor irritation. In a swarm, they’redeadly. A swarm of botsautomatically deals its swarmdamage on each of its actions toany and all flesh-and-bloodcreatures in contact with theswarm. Each victim suffers 1d6damage for every five bone botsattacking him. Swarms typicallydivide their attacks equally

between all available fleshy targets,at least at first. The only way todecrease this damage is to decreasethe number of bots. Most swarmshave 102 to 140 bone bots (100+2d20).

Description:Description:Description:Description:Description: See above.

Brain BuzzardNobody much cares for vultures.

They’re large, unclean bundles of raggedblack feathers that love nothing morethan to bury their hooked beaks intorotting carcasses. The only thing worsethan seeing a volery of vultures fightover the bloated hide of a cow iswatching it fight over the remains of amother and her child.

Now imagine something worse than avulture—a critter that’s not only biggerand smarter, but also able to knock outyour powersuit, your Hummer, yourradio, and just about anything that’s gotelectronic circuitry in it just by thinkingabout it. Meet the brain buzzard, theonly bird in existence that can blast youand yours with a powerful

electromagnetic pulse—just like an A-bomb, only on a localized scale andwithout all the death and destruction.And unlike the Doomsayer variety ofEMP, electronics wasted by the brainbuzzard are toast—for good.

With dirty black feathers, fleshy pinkheads, and great, hooked beaks, brainbuzzards look very similar to normalbuzzards—at least while they’re high inthe sky riding thermals. But when abrain buzzard swoops down for a closerlook at a lone animal or wanderingconvoy of trucks, it doesn’t take long forthe attentive road warrior to tell thedifference. Mainly because they’re a lotbigger. They measure up to 10 to 15 feetwingtip to wingtip. It isn’t all that simpleto establish scale of something in thesky, but experienced travelers soon learnhow or give up owning digital watches.The heads of brain vultures areproportionally larger when compared tothe rest of their bodies than theordinary vulture, too—a bigger skull to

hold in all the extra brains.Brain buzzards are more aggressivethan regular buzzards. These guys aren’tcontent to wheel around in the sky andwait for death of come to some injuredbeast—they’re likely to swoop down andhelp things along a bit with their razor-sharp talons and beaks. They can oftentake a small group of people totally bysurprise while they’re gathered aroundthe hood of their truck trying to figureout why the engine stopped.

Page 78: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 78/128

A Litany of Horrors 79Brain buzzards are smart birds—at

least as smart as dogs or horses—butthat isn’t why they zero in on electronicdevices. Truth is, operating electronicsgive them splitting headaches, and theyzero in on offending items like a bat ona bug and pulse it just to make the painstop. In other words, the EMP attack isreally nothing more than an elaboratedefensive measure.

Not surprisingly, brain buzzards and junkers get on like a house on fire. Any junker worthy of the name is loadedwith enough electronic gear to give abrain buzzard a splitting headache amile away. And any junker that getsmuch closer than that is going to findhimself carrying a hundred pounds offried silicon. Getting between a junkerand a brain buzzard is not a good idea.

If there’s one class of individuals who

hate brain buzzards more than junkers,though, it’s the Black Hats. See, when a

 junker’s toys go on the fritz, she cussesand throws things around and generallydoes her best to blast the offending fowlout of the sky, but she’s still got herhealth. Not so the Black Hat. Becausewhen an EMP wave hits a Black Hat, itfries the circuits in his head, his gunsand his equipment—and all thoseCombine-issued goodies get confusedand start blowing up. Automatons, ofcourse, don’t stand a chance.

So, when Black Hats see a brainbuzzard coming, they run like thewind—it’s either that or start going offlike firecrackers when the featheredbastards get closer. Some raiders havebeen known to attack Black Hatconvoys by sticking a few caged brainbuzzards in some bushes by the road,while other folks tell how they werecornered by Black Hats and goners forsure before a couple of brain buzzardsshowed up to confound the opposition

and save their bacon.Fortunately for the Combine, brainbuzzards are more common down southin northern Texas, New Mexico andArizona. They usually steer clear ofCombine settlements in any casebecause of the headaches they cause.Along the old Route 66 trail, though,they’re, ah, thick as buzzards, much tothe consternation of the traders whoconvoy up and down the crackedremains of the CSA’s I-40.

Profile: Brain Buzzard

CorporCorporCorporCorporCorporeal:eal:eal:eal:eal: D:1d4, N:2d8, Q:2d4, S:2d8,V:2d10

Fightin’ brawlin’ 3d8, sneak 3d8Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental: C:3d10, K:1d4, M:2d10, Sm:2d6,

Sp:1d6Guts 1d6, overawe 2d10, search 4d6Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace: 18 (2 on ground)Size:Size:Size:Size:Size: 8WWWWWind:ind:ind:ind:ind: 16TTTTTerrerrerrerrerror :or :or :or :or: 5Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:

Damage:Damage:Damage:Damage:Damage: Beak (STR+1d6), talons

(STR+1d6)ElectrElectrElectrElectrElectromagnetic Pulse:omagnetic Pulse:omagnetic Pulse:omagnetic Pulse:omagnetic Pulse: Brain

buzzards send out an EMP thatfries most any electronics for good.Speed: 1, Range: 200 yard radius.

Description:Description:Description:Description:Description: See above.

Page 79: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 79/128

80 Marshal

CandiruThe candiru is a simple little parasitic

catfish with animal intelligence; themutant driller candiru is the samecreature with additional strikingcapability. Inaccurate rumors abound asto the existence of even worse mutantvarieties.

Candiru live in fast-moving rivers.They are rarely found in slow-movingwaters.

The regular candiru is only dangerous

if you swim in an infested river,especially if you pee while swimmingAlthough it inspires special terror inmen, women are equally susceptible. Forevery 15 minutes a hero spends ininfested waters, he must make a Fair (5)

Vigor roll to avoid picking up ahitchhiker in his privates. If he makesthe mistake of relieving himself while inthe water, the TN for this roll jumps toHard (9). If this happens, use the abscessrules below.

Driller candiru are much moreaggressive—they actually launchthemselves at their victims and canburrow into any body location. If adriller candiru hits a target and causes awound, it has embedded its spiny snoutin the target and cannot be removedwithout causing an additional wound. Itmay also cause an infection (see theabscess rules below).

Both driller and regular candiru arepartial to making their homes infloating corpses; dozens of them may befound in a single riverside carcass. Thedriller variety jump out en masse  when

warm bodies get near enough.

Profile: Driller CandiruCorporCorporCorporCorporCorporeal:eal:eal:eal:eal: D:1d6, N:1d4, Q:1d10, S:1d4,

V:3d4Throwin’: self 3d6Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental: C:1d4, K:1d4, M:1d4, Sm:1d4, Sp:1d4Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace: 4Size:Size:Size:Size:Size: <1WWWWWind:ind:ind:ind:ind: —TTTTTerrerrerrerrerror:or:or:or:or: 5 for women, 11 for menSpecial Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:

Damage:Damage:Damage:Damage:Damage: STR+1d4Abscess:Abscess:Abscess:Abscess:Abscess: If not removed, a candiru in

your flesh leads to infection.Infection occurs within 1d4 days.The infection starts out as a lightwound. The victim must make anIncredible (11) Vigor roll; ifsuccessful, the wound may behealed naturally. If not, antibioticsor supernatural healing is requiredto end the infection. Gangrene setsin, and the wound increases by one

level of severity (from light toheavy, heavy to serious, and so on)every twelve hours. Removal of thecandiru before infection sets in is asimple but brutal procedure,causing an additional wound to theaffected area. Without infection, thiswound heals as per the normalrules.

Description:Description:Description:Description:Description: 2”-long, dark-colored fishwith spiny fins and a sharp, spinynose.

Page 80: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 80/128

A Litany of Horrors 81Charnel Hounds

Lots of folk think they know allabout charnel hounds, but few haveactually seen one. This accounts for thecool but inappropriate name: they’reactually descended from carnivorousraccoons. This is not immediatelyapparent when you see them; they’rehairless, covered in flaky skin, with longsnouts and big claws. They grow to thesize of a St. Bernard. You mightencounter one and not even realize thatthe thing eating your leg is a charnelhound.

Charnel hounds do gain maximumfood value from undead flesh, andstrongly prefer them as prey. Contrary tolegend, they definitely attack the livingif they detect no tasty undead in the

immediate area. Even worse, theirundead-detection sense is on a hair-trigger, identifying as preferred preymany victims who are not remotelyundead.

They have one-track minds; oncethey’ve locked onto a target with theirdetection sense, they’ll track him forhundreds of miles. They may take otherprey of opportunity to keep themnourished during the trek; eatinganimals as small as mice, and attackingsomething as large as a horse. If atarget stays put in a safe enclosure, theywait him out, coming back time andagain, always probing for a way in.

Charnel hounds travel in packs. Theaverage pack consists of a half dozenanimals, but some groups can be fourtimes that big.

As far as their rumored specialattacks or immunities go, they actuallyhave jack-squat. It doesn’t hurt thatmany opponents, made wise by the talltales, never even try to use common

weapons like guns or bombs on them.

Profile: Charnel HoundCorporCorporCorporCorporCorporeal:eal:eal:eal:eal: D:2d8, N:2d6, Q:2d6, S:2d8,

V:2d6Fightin’: brawlin’ 3d6, dodge 3d6, sneak

2d6,Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental: C:3d8, K:1d4, M:1d4, Sm:1d4,

Sp:1d4Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace: 6Size:Size:Size:Size:Size: 5

WWWWWind:ind:ind:ind:ind: 10 TTTTTerrerrerrerrerror :or :or :or :or: 5Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:

Damage:Damage:Damage:Damage:Damage: Bite (STR+1d6), claw(STR+2d6)

Detection:Detection:Detection:Detection:Detection: Sense undead within 1mile, regardless of barriers.Characters who cheated deathwithin the last week register asundead to the charnel hound’ssenses. Cheated death means thatthe character would have beenkilled if he hadn’t spent one ormore Fate chips.

Description:Description:Description:Description:Description: See above.

Creepin’ GulchCreepin’ gulches represent the oddest

of abominations—terrain come to lifewith murderous intent. Creepin’ gulcheswere born when men fought and killedone another over a ghost rock claim orsome other treasure. The blood of thedead seeped into the dusty ground andmixed with the evil intents of themurderers, and pretty soon a manitoucame along to bring it all to horrible life.

Nowadays, of course, most ghost rockprospectors are long gone, but theirdescendants remain—folks searching inthe wilderness for any sort of valuablestash waiting to be discovered, be it acache of weapons, or a bank vault filledwith gold. When they clash, creepin’gulches are born.

A creepin’ gulch is a depression in theground—usually a ravine a couple ofdozen feet deep and 50 to 100 yards

wide. It moves very slowly across thelandscape, perhaps a mile or two anhour (but watching a creepin’ gulch onthe move is nigh impossible on theground, since it detects the vibrations ofpeople walking up to a mile off andstops). The texture of the walls andfloor of a creepin’ gulch variesaccording to local terrain. In the desertsof New Mexico it’s a small, rocky boxcanyon; in Oklahoma a deep furrow ofrich loam.

Page 81: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 81/128

Page 82: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 82/128

A Litany of Horrors 83themselves in suspended animationmight sweat the ordeal out. Theothers run out of air in 2d6minutes and then lose 1 Wind perround until they die (remember thateach time a hero reaches a negativemultiple of his Wind he takes awound to the guts). The gulchreopens in 1d6 hours, releasing anysurvivors.

WWWWWeakness:eakness:eakness:eakness:eakness: Destroying or removing acreepin’ gulch’s original bait rendersit inert.

Description:Description:Description:Description:Description: see above.

Incite Jealousy

Spirit CheckSpirit CheckSpirit CheckSpirit CheckSpirit Check ResultResultResultResultResult1st Failure Covet others’

possessions; firmlyask for them.

2nd Failure Attempt to take acoveted good bynon-lethal force.

3rd Failure All out attack.

Desert GatorFolks who poke around in the

swamps near Baton Rouge know allabout the giant alligators that trollthrough the weeds and muck. Thosewho live out West are learning toappreciate their own special brand ofreptilian sunshine: the desert gator.

In appearance, the desert gator looksmuch like a natural gator, only on amuch larger scale. Its coloration suits itsnew rugged environment: its back is adusky brown with green highlights, andits belly is a light tan. It has very largeeyes, which differentiates it from therun-of-the-mill giant alligators (though

there can’t be all that many people in aposition to compare).Desert gators are giant gators just like

the Louisiana variety—but they have afew capabilities their southern cousinslack. For starters, they’re blindingly fast.Like normal gators, they can outpace aman running all-out with no trouble,but unlike other gators they can keepup the pace for several minutes—morethan enough time to run most game toground.

Their speed is only the start, though.They’ve also got a long, frog-like, stickytongue that can lash out 40 feet or moreand reel in some poor sod. Some of thelarger specimens can even bring a smallcar to a dead halt by latching onto theaxle or bumper. The desert gator’sspeed/tongue combo is harsh. Oncewithin a desert gator’s jaws there isn’tmuch hope for you.

Desert gators are tough. Unlike othergators, they don’t need to live in thewater, though they tend to gravitatetoward watering holes because that’swhere all the food goes. When in the

water waiting for prey, gators are verydifficult to spot, since only their eyesprotrude from the water (an Onerous (7)search roll to spot ’em). When animalsor people draw near to the edge of thewater, they lunge out to attack. They’re

Page 83: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 83/128

Page 84: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 84/128

A Litany of Horrors 85Devil bats are nocturnal predators

who hunt in groups of 1–6. They attackby racing from the night and grabbingprey with their taloned feet. This is anopposed fightin’: brawlin’  roll. If the batthing gets a success, it causes damagenormally. With a raise, it drags the preyinto the air and rises at its maximumPace for a medium load (12). If the preydoesn’t break free with an opposedStrength roll by the time the devil bat is50 yards up, it lets go (10d6+50 points offalling damage) or tries to slam the preyinto a rocky outcropping. If successful,the bat lands and feasts on the remains.

The best thing for a traveler to doonce she’s in the grasp of a devil bat isto grab hold of its ankles and hang onfor dear life. This is an opposed rollbetween the creature’s Nimbleness andthe character’s Strength. If the creature

gets a raise, it manages to shake theprey loose. If the prey gets a raise, shemanages to force the critter to within 10yards of the ground or a rockyoutcropping where she can jump free.Otherwise, the contest continues oneach subsequent action.

Profile: Devil BatCorporCorporCorporCorporCorporeal:eal:eal:eal:eal: D:3d10, N:3d12, S:1d12+2,

Q:3d10, V:2d8Dodge 3d12, fightin’: brawlin’ 3d12, sneak

1d12 (5d12 from the air)Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental: C:4d10, K:1d4, M:2d10, Sm:2d8,

Sp:1d8Overawe 2d10Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace: 6 (ground)/24 (air)Size:Size:Size:Size:Size: 7 (8’ tall)WWWWWind:ind:ind:ind:ind: 16TTTTTerrerrerrerrerror :or :or :or :or: 9Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:

Damage:Damage:Damage:Damage:Damage: Claws (STR+1d4)FlFlFlFlFlying:ying:ying:ying:ying: Pace 24WWWWWeakness:eakness:eakness:eakness:eakness:—Noise: The devil bat

“sees” by means of sonar. If its preyhas the guts to stand stock-stillamong other obstacles (like rocksand such), the thing has to makean Onerous (7) Cognition roll topick her out of the clutter. If theprey does this, however, her fightin’: brawlin’  Aptitude is not added tothe devil bat’s TN.

Description:Description:Description:Description:Description: Devil bats look like anobscene cross between a humanbeing and a bat.

Discord BugThese mean-spirited insects feed on

the energy of negative emotions: anger,fear, violence, what have you. In order tofeed, the critter sets up a high-pitchedhum audible up to 50 yards from thesource of its wings. The hum has theeffect of setting most folks on edge andgiven time, those same folks getdownright ornery and get to feudin'.Some are even driven to kill by thepersistent drone which suits the bug'sunusual dietary needs just fine.

Once you encounter one of theselittle pests, it would seem a simplematter to give it a taste of shoe leather,but you better be prepared when youstomp down as the nasty darlings havea hide like a cast-iron skillet.

Page 85: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 85/128

86 Marshal

Profile: Discord Bug

CorporCorporCorporCorporCorporeal:eal:eal:eal:eal: D:3d8, N:2d10, Q:1d12+2, S:1d4,V:3d8

Dodge 1d8, shootin': sonic wailin' 3d8,sneak 4d10

Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental: C:1d8, K:NA, M:1d12+4, Sm:1d4,Sp:1d4

Overawe 4d12+4Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace: 12/6 (ground)Size:Size:Size:Size:Size: 2 (10 inches)WWWWWind:ind:ind:ind:ind: 12 TTTTTerrerrerrerrerror :or :or :or :or: 5Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:

Armor:Armor:Armor:Armor:Armor: 3Bite:Bite:Bite:Bite:Bite: Sharp mouth parts and beak

cause STR in damage.Bolts of Doom:Bolts of Doom:Bolts of Doom:Bolts of Doom:Bolts of Doom: A piercing wail that

causes the bug’s Vigor  in damageto a single target within 10 yards.

FlFlFlFlFlying:ying:ying:ying:ying: Pace 12

DiscorDiscorDiscorDiscorDiscord:d:d:d:d: The critter uses it's overawe Aptitude to instill feelings ofuneasiness in all those within 20yards. Those hearing must resistwith Smarts , suffering the usualpenalties from a failed roll.Marshal's may modify the Smarts rolls by +2 to +6 to account for earprotection such as headphones,candle tallow, or cotton jammed inthe ears. Those that go bust aredriven into a frenzy and attack thenearest character on hand, or inthe absence of one, the nearestobject of value. The sonic assaultcontinues until someone goes bustor the critter causes a "Broken"result, at which time it shuts up for2d6 hours.

Blastin' InterfBlastin' InterfBlastin' InterfBlastin' InterfBlastin' Interferererererence:ence:ence:ence:ence: These critterscan detect a syker and sykerpowers up to 100 yards away by thetell tale hum of the syker's brain.Once the critter happens to locatea syker, it stays nearby and

generates the drone, only this time,sykers and those with syker powersare affected. This distraction issimilar to a persistent headacheand causes the sykers to spend oneadditional point of Strain per each

use of their powers and raises theTN of all syker abilities by +6! Forthis reason, some folks are willingto risk the occasional societal flareup and keep a bug handy to rootout and interfere with sykerassassination attempts.

Dust DevilDust devils are vicious killers that live

in the deserts of the southwest. Theylurk about like repulsive, spiny serpentsuntil they see prey. Then they use theirsupernatural power to create awhirlwind about themselves and movein for the kill.

More than one unwary traveler hasgone down before the spikes of one ofthese creatures, thinking it was only a

dust storm.Dust devils attack by centering on

their prey and whirling around it withtheir spiny, snakelike bodies. They liveat the center of their dirt-filledwhirlwinds, making them difficult to seeor hit with normal weapons. A hero hasto make a –8 called shot to hit thecreature itself.

Shots that miss are sucked into thewhirlwind and shot out in a randomdirection. Roll a d12 to determine aclock facing and see if any innocentbystanders are hit by the errant attack.

Dynamite and other explosives affectthe creature normally, although moststicks thrown into the whirlwind areusually flung out before they candetonate. (Roll 1d20. On a 1, the explosivedetonates inside the funnel cloud.)

A hero making a fightin’  attack onthe creature must first beat it in anopposed Strength contest (ignore the –8penalty for hand-to-hand attacksbecause of the creature’s length). If he

wins, he can attack normally. Otherwise,he is blown backward by the whirlwindand can’t take a swing this action.

Profile: Dust DevilCorporCorporCorporCorporCorporeal:eal:eal:eal:eal: D:1d4, N:1d12+2, Q:1d10,

S:1d12+4, V:1d8Fightin’: brawlin’ 6d12+2Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental: C:2d10, K:1d4, M:1d12, Sm:1d6,

Sp:1d4Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace: 24

Page 86: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 86/128

A Litany of Horrors 87Size:Size:Size:Size:Size: 10 (10’ tall)WWWWWind:ind:ind:ind:ind: 12TTTTTerrerrerrerrerror:or:or:or:or: 7Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:

Damage:Damage:Damage:Damage:Damage: Spines (STR+1d4)Blinding:Blinding:Blinding:Blinding:Blinding: The dust devil kicks up a

swirling cloud of sand and stonethat blinds everyone within 10 yardsof its deadly center unless theymake an Incredible (11) Vigor  roll.

Description:Description:Description:Description:Description: When not whirling (whichisn’t often) a dust devil looks like alarge, pale snake with spikes runningdown its back.

ExplodjinnThe explodjinn is a hellish

monstrosity born of nuclear fire. It’s

driven to acts of wanton destruction butcompelled to serve those who freed itfrom imprisonment.

In truth, these monstrosities wereborn of the Hunting Grounds to act asharbingers and fearmongers but, due tothe unstable nature of the spirits, theycould not live long in physical form.Most simply dissolved back to theHunting Grounds, and others weresealed in vessels by their masters, towait for release. The Reckoners usedlamps, gemstones, and in one case, atea pot, to store their monstrouscreations.

Fortunately, when the bombs fell,many of these receptacles were lost inthe ruins, buried under tons of debris.Now, with all the scavers rooting aroundruins, these unholy vessels are beinglocated and their occupants freed towork their evil upon the world.

Like the genies of yore, the explodjinnis bound to the one who freed it untilsuch time as three services are rendered.

And like the genie of myth and legend,they are cruel and cunning, seeking totwist their master's wishes—it is theletter and not the spirit of the requestthat is followed.

Once free from servitude, the djinnusually departs, leaving destruction inits wake. It seeks out the nearestradiation source and soaks up as muchenergy as possible and then moves ontogreener pastures, to set them alight withnuclear flame.

One last note on the vessels, so longas the djinn lives, the vessel is virtuallyindestructible. Somehow the object of itsimprisonment is tied to the djinnmetaphysically and physically. Thisconnection allows the djinn to track thevessel regardless of distance.

Profile: ExplododjinnCorporCorporCorporCorporCorporeal:eal:eal:eal:eal: D:4d8, N:2d12+6, Q:3d10,

St:5d12+6, V:3d12+6Dodge 3d12+8, fightin': brawlin' 3d12+6Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental: C:4d10, K:3d10, M:3d12, Sm:4d10,

Sp:1d12+4

Academia: occult 4d10, blastin' 7d10, bluff3d10, guts 3d12+4, overawe 3d12,persuasion 4d12, ridicule 2d12,scrutinize 4d10, trackin' 5d10

Hindrances:Hindrances:Hindrances:Hindrances:Hindrances: All thumbsPace:Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace: 20

Page 87: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 87/128

88 Marshal

Size:Size:Size:Size:Size: 8 (7-8 feet tall)WWWWWind:ind:ind:ind:ind: 32TTTTTerrerrerrerrerror :or :or :or :or: 9Strain:Strain:Strain:Strain:Strain: 34Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:

Bolts of Doom:Bolts of Doom:Bolts of Doom:Bolts of Doom:Bolts of Doom: The djinn can hurllightning bolts and balls of firewith a Range Increment of 10.These attacks cause 1d12 damageper Strain spent on them. The djinncan’t spend more than 4 Strain perattack.

Flight:Flight:Flight:Flight:Flight: Pace 72 but it costs 1 strainper minute of flight.

Immunity:Immunity:Immunity:Immunity:Immunity: The explodjinn is

completely immune to fire, damagefrom heat, and radiation. Also, thedjinn only takes full damage fromsupernatural or magical attacks,Mundane attacks cause 1 Wind forevery wound they would have

inflicted. Should the djinn besomehow driven unconscious orkilled by one of these attacks, itreforms in 24 hours. It reappears init's vessel fully restored to health,and pissed as Hell at thoseresponsible for putting it there.

Insubstantial:Insubstantial:Insubstantial:Insubstantial:Insubstantial: The djinn can spendan action and 1 Strain to becomeinsubstantial. It takes anotheraction to return to solid form.

Obligation:Obligation:Obligation:Obligation:Obligation: The djinn must obey theletter of the commands given bythe person who freed it from itsvessel. It does not have to obeycommands that would result inharm to itself.

Strain RecoStrain RecoStrain RecoStrain RecoStrain Recovvvvvery:ery:ery:ery:ery: The djinn does notrecover Strain normally. It mustreturn to its vessel, where it mayrecover one Strain per hour of

uninterrupted rest. Exposure toradiation allows it to recover 1d6Strain every 10 minutes.

Fate EatersFate Eaters are ghosts of people who

died on Judgment Day with unfinishedbusiness to complete. They extort livingvictims into finishing that business forthem by using their fate manipulationability to rob them of Fate Chips. Theypromise to return the Fate Chips (theycall it luck) when the deal is done. Thecompletion of the desired task usuallyallows the fate eater to end its existenceas a trapped spirit on earth, and go toits next reward.

The task in question might beridiculous (as per the example in theposse section), poignant, or just plaindeadly. Come to think of it, even thesimplest task can be lethal in theWasted West. The victim may be called

upon to avenge a wrong, wrest aconfession of mutual love fromsomeone the fate eater worshipped fromafar, or find lost treasure.

Fate eaters are incredibly persistent,and continue to dog victims until theirwill is done. Nothing stops them fromstealing fate from more than one victimat a time. They love posses ofadventurers: a group that sticks togetheris easy to follow, and many tasks aremore easily completed by groups.

Page 88: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 88/128

A Litany of Horrors 89Profile: Fate Eaters

CorporCorporCorporCorporCorporeal:eal:eal:eal:eal: D:2d6, N:2d6, Q:2d6, S:2d6,V:2d6

Varies, depending on who the fate eaterwas while alive.

Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental: Traits and Aptitudes varyaccording to the fate eaters livingidentity.

Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace: 6Size:Size:Size:Size:Size: 6TTTTTerrerrerrerrerror :or :or :or :or: 7Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:

Damage:Damage:Damage:Damage:Damage: NADrDrDrDrDream Inveam Inveam Inveam Inveam Invasion:asion:asion:asion:asion: The fate eater can

appear in the dreams of a victimfrom whom he has stolen one ormore Fate Chips. He appears as hedid before death. He can use thispower only for purposes ofcommunication; he can’t otherwise

manipulate the details of thedream, probe the victim forinformation, or anything like that.

Immunity:Immunity:Immunity:Immunity:Immunity: AllInsubstantialInsubstantialInsubstantialInsubstantialInsubstantialManipulate FateManipulate FateManipulate FateManipulate FateManipulate FateTTTTTiririririreless:eless:eless:eless:eless: Fate eaters never tire or

sleep.VVVVVoices In Yoices In Yoices In Yoices In Yoices In Your Head:our Head:our Head:our Head:our Head: Fate eaters

can project their thoughts into theminds of other intelligent entities.The recipient of the message hearshis own voice speak whatever thefate eater wants it to say.

Description:Description:Description:Description:Description: Fate eaters look likeghostly apparitions of their formerselves. They’re only rarely glimpsedoutside the victim’s dreams

FizzersFizzers are not, technically speaking,

mutants. They’re victims of a geneticallyengineered virus created a few years

before the war by unscrupulousexecutives of the Bubbly-Fizz BeverageCorporation. The virus, planted inrandom batches of the cola, was meantto reinforce a brand preference forBubbly-Fizz, with no other side-effects.Funny how viruses engineered at thebehest of unscrupulous executivesalways seem to go awry, isn’t it? In thiscase, the virus not only significantlydegraded the physical and mental healthof its victims, but induced an

overwhelming psychological need forthe product. In the aftermath of the war,the infected are doubly screwed, becauseB-Fizz is now a nonrenewable resource.

The fizzers live in chaotic, violence-prone colonies whose only goals aresurvival and the acquisition of more B-Fizz. Individually weak, they aredangerous in numbers. Bounties aresometimes placed on them by relativesof those they’ve slain in pursuit of cola.

In Fizzer-dominated areas, B-Fizz isan expensive commodity; posses mayfind rich rewards in ferrying a case ortwo through Fizzer territory. Fizzers are

prodigious scavengers, and tradevaluable stuff for their beverage ofchoice. Their theologians also exchangedesirable items for prewar records of theB-Fizz Corp. If the heroes research thecorporation, the posse may find itselfwondering if they, too, have beeninfected by B-Fizz consumed in the past.

Page 89: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 89/128

90 Marshal

Profile: Fizzer

CorporCorporCorporCorporCorporeal:eal:eal:eal:eal: D:1d6, N:1d6, Q:1d10, S:1d6,V:1d6

Filchin 2d6, shootin’: pistol, shotgun 2d6,throwin’: unbalanced 2d6, drivin’ 2d6,fightin’: brawlin’ 2d6, sneak 2d6, quickdraw 2d6.

Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental: C:1d6, K:1d4, M:1d4, Sm:1d4, Sp:1d4Search 3d6, trackin’ 2d6, knowledge of

B-Fizz 4d4, survival 2d4Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace: 6Size:Size:Size:Size:Size: 6TTTTTerrerrerrerrerror :or :or :or :or: 5Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:

CafCafCafCafCaffffffeine Oveine Oveine Oveine Oveine Overererererdrivdrivdrivdrivdrive:e:e:e:e: For 24 hoursafter consuming Bubbly-Fizz Cola,Quickness:  4d10 and quick draw 4d10.

Detect:Detect:Detect:Detect:Detect: Can sense Bubbly-Fizz Colawithin 60 yards, regardless of

barriers.Gear:Gear:Gear:Gear:Gear: Motley assortment of

scavenged weapons and armor.Surge:Surge:Surge:Surge:Surge: Gain an extra die in all

Corporeal Aptitudes for every threerounds in which the Fizzer candetect Bubbly Fizz, but is preventedfrom taking it.

Description:Description:Description:Description:Description: See above.

Gallos TerriblesCaptain Marley survived the attack

and made it back to civilization. To thisday, he's looking to hire a band of boldadventurers interested in the untouchedloot protected by the swift-footed gallos.Not surprisingly, nobody has taken himup on his offer.

The research facility now lies underseveral yards of sand although many ofthe entrances still remain above ground.The laboratories and stores remain tothis day, sealed away behind airtight

bulkhead doors. The base still haspower, although the antique atomicreactor has been on standby sincebefore the scientists' last attempt toescape. It’s only a matter of time beforeit melts down and destroys the base.

Within this subterranean warren lairthe descendants of the original gallos.They leave their burrows at dawn anddusk to hunt for food. The gallos rangeas far as 25 miles around the base insearch of prey. The remains of vehiclesof those who ran afoul of the viciousbirds litter the valley floor.

Although this has yet to come tolight, as there are few paranaturalistsinterested in risking their necks tosatisfy scientific curiosity, the Galloslive for only two to three years.Apparently, the birds' metabolismprecludes a longer lifespan.

Wormlings and the rattlers steer clearof this region. Apparently, the gallos arenone too particular about what they eat,meat is meat after all—besides, youknow what they say about the early birdcatching the worm.

Profile: Gallo TerribleCorporCorporCorporCorporCorporeal:eal:eal:eal:eal: D:3d4, N:2d10, Q:2d12+4, S:2d8,

V:4d10Dodge 6d10, fightin': brawlin 3d10, sneak

4d10Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental: C:2d10, K:1d4, M:5d8, Sm:1d10,

Sp:1d10Guts 4d10, overawe 5d8, ridicule 2d10Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace: 80Size:Size:Size:Size:Size: 8 (10’ feet tall)WWWWWind:ind:ind:ind:ind: 20TTTTTerrerrerrerrerror :or :or :or :or: 5Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:

Armor:Armor:Armor:Armor:Armor: 2Damage:Damage:Damage:Damage:Damage: Bite (STR+1d12 AP1, AP3 if

the gallos runs at the target), claw(once a gallo has successfullystruck, it harries a downedopponent with repeated slashingscausing STR+1d6).

Cloak of Evil:Cloak of Evil:Cloak of Evil:Cloak of Evil:Cloak of Evil: –2; A flock of gallosmoving at quarter Pace or betterkicks up a huge volume of dust.

The actual area of effect is equal tothe number of gallos within thestorm multiplied by 5 yards indiameter. Anyone caught within thiscloud must make an Onerous (7)Vigor  roll or take the difference inWind. Going bust on the roll meansthe hero has choked on the dust;raise the TN of further rolls by +4.The gallos swarm over their prey,disorienting them with the dust andsowing confusion with their

Page 90: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 90/128

A Litany of Horrors 91ridicule  Aptitude. Once a melee is

 joined, the birds continue to harrytheir quarry and the dust settles in1d6 rounds. It should go withoutsaying, the birds function normally,and suffer no ill effects, within thecloud.

Fearless:Fearless:Fearless:Fearless:Fearless: The gallos possessprimitive intellects, rendering theridicule , overawe , and persuasion Aptitudes ineffective.

Description:Description:Description:Description:Description: A giant roadrunner.

Ghostrock WraithsGhost rock consists of damned souls,

trapped and sentenced to eternal agonywithin the mineral they inhabit. Whenthe bombs fell, they unleashed millionsof such tortured beings, scattered in

radioactive ash. Sometimes, however, acondemned soul has enough will,enough strength, or just enough plumbmeanness to escape its material prison.It coalesces from nearby ghost-rockdust, and stalks the night, seeking toshare the pain of their existence.

Ghostrock wraiths haunt particularareas or sites, usually the places wherethey first manifested. They usually donot stray far from their places of origin;no further than a few hundred yards.

A wraith appears before anyinterlopers who enter its territory: aman-shaped swirl of ghost-rock dust,glowing green with radioactivity. Justremaining in one’s presence is enoughto cause damage, but wraiths canperiodically send out pulses ofradioactive energy that damages anyflesh near it. Their insubstantialitymeans they cannot be harmed byconventional weapons; only fire andcertain holy incantations can damagethem. They flee if sufficiently injured,

but cannot be dissuaded otherwise.Nothing save the hideous death ofeveryone they see satiates them.

Those killed by ghostrock wraithsbecome imprisoned in ghost rockthemselves, perpetuating the cycle ofdeath and pain. It is rare to find twowraiths in the same area, but notunheard of. The second wraith is oftena former victim of the first, and the twoengage in battles that disintegrate anyonlookers.

Profile: Ghostrock Wraith

CorporCorporCorporCorporCorporeal:eal:eal:eal:eal: D:2d8, N:2d8, Q:3d10, S:3d6,V:2d8

Fightin’: brawlin’ 3d8, sneak 3d8Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental: C:2d8 K:1d6 M:2d8 Sm:2d6 Sp:1d6Overawe 3d8, area knowledge (home

territory) 5d6Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace: 8Size:Size:Size:Size:Size: 6WWWWWind:ind:ind:ind:ind: —TTTTTerrerrerrerrerror :or :or :or :or: 9Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:

Immunity:Immunity:Immunity:Immunity:Immunity: All

InsubstantialInsubstantialInsubstantialInsubstantialInsubstantialWWWWWeakness—Fireakness—Fireakness—Fireakness—Fireakness—Fire, Magic:e, Magic:e, Magic:e, Magic:e, Magic: Fire,

enchanted weapons, and theTemplar power lay on hands  (whichcauses as much damage toghostrock wraiths as it heals in

Page 91: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 91/128

92 Marshal

others) are the only things whichcan hurt it. Fire causes its form toburn, which increases itsradioactivity (double the damagebelow while on fire), but alsocauses it damage as normal.

RadioactivRadioactivRadioactivRadioactivRadioactive:e:e:e:e: In addition to thepassive damage (1d6 every roundspent within 50 feet of one), theycan concentrate the radiation intobursts, causing 4d8 damage to anybeing within 10 feet. These burstsdrain it somewhat, so they can onlyuse this ability once every fiverounds. Actually touching a

ghostrock wraith (or letting it touchyou), causes 4d12 dice of damage,and sears permanent burns into theskin.

Description:Description:Description:Description:Description: A swirling, green-glowingphantom.

Glamor PussThe glamor puss relies upon superior

numbers and its horrid appearance tooverwhelm its prey. Once restrained, theglamor puss goes to work on its victimwith its razor sharp nails, removingchoice components of the prey'sanatomy with surgical efficiency.

The effect is resolved by rolling it'smedicine: surgery  against the victim'sVigor,  who takes the difference indamage to a random location. Shouldthe victim sustain more than threewounds which are not countered withFate Chips, he or she acquires the ugly as sin  -1 Hindrance. Should the victimalready be ugly as sin , the level of theHindrance rises to –3. This damagecontinues until the victim expires,

escapes, or the glamor puss is killed.

Profile: Glamor PussCorporCorporCorporCorporCorporeal:eal:eal:eal:eal: D:4d10, N:1d10, Q:1d12+2, S:1d8,

V:5d6Dodge 4d6, fightin': brawlin' 3d10, sneak

2d10Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental: C:2d8, K:1d12+2, M:2d8, Sm:1d10,

Sp:3d6Guts 3d6, medicine: surgery 4d12+2,

overawe 3d8, persuasion 2d8Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace: 10Size:Size:Size:Size:Size: 6WWWWWind:ind:ind:ind:ind: —TTTTTerrerrerrerrerror:or:or:or:or: 7 or worse, see belowSpecial Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:

Damage:Damage:Damage:Damage:Damage: Claws (STR+1d6; this is anattack of last resort as it damagesthe "merchandise".)

GorGorGorGorGore Shedding:e Shedding:e Shedding:e Shedding:e Shedding: Once a glamor pusstakes damage, it's appearancebegins to suffer as the borrowedcomponents begin to slough off,revealing raw, pulpy muscle

underneath. After the first "free"wound level (see below) is taken,regardless of location so long asit's visible to the heroes, theabomination's Terror valueincreases to a 9, and degeneratesfurther to an 11 once the final "free"wound level is taken.

Parts is Parts:Parts is Parts:Parts is Parts:Parts is Parts:Parts is Parts: By clothingthemselves with skin taken frompast victims, the glamor pussreceives two "free" wound levels per

Page 92: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 92/128

A Litany of Horrors 93hit location. Once wound levelshave accumulated to 2 or more, theglamor puss begins taking woundsto that location and suffers woundpenalties normally.

Regeneration:Regeneration:Regeneration:Regeneration:Regeneration: The glamor pussheals much faster than usual,making one healing roll per day asopposed to once per five days.Also, instead of using its Vigor  forthe roll, it may make a medicine: surgery  roll instead presuming asource of "spare parts" is available.

WWWWWeakness—Veakness—Veakness—Veakness—Veakness—Vanity:anity:anity:anity:anity: Attempts to trickthe creature by appealing to it'svanity are done so at a +2 to theroll. Also, presentation of a mirroror other reflective surface forcesthe glamor puss to pass anOnerous (7) Smarts  roll, otherwise,it pauses for 1d4 actions to preen

and pose before resuming its grislypurpose.

Glow WormsThe glowing mass of worms is the

larval stage of a much nastier critter.After a period ranging from seven daysto a month, the glow worms merge andencyst, forming a tough cocoon ofmelted concrete, asphalt, and metal slag.The chrysalis swells to five times itsoriginal size over the next three to fivedays, after which time the adult form,known as a voracipede, emerges andbegins protecting the hive.

The voracipede is a 20’-long,arthropoid creature resembling anightmarish fusion of centipede andpreying mantis with scythe-likeforelimbs, a wicked set of mandibles,and a central eye of capable of emittinga concentrated beam of energy powerfulenough to vaporize steel.

This predator exists to devour animallife for the purposes of self-fertilization.After a number of months of hunting,the voracipede seeks out a suitableamount of contaminated water andradioactive waste away from the mainhive. Like a paper wasp, it builds asubterranean lair out of whatevermaterials are on hand and entombsitself. After a period of a month, thebeast splits open releasing 4d20 larvalglow worms to begin the process anew.

Profile: Glow Worm

CorporCorporCorporCorporCorporeal:eal:eal:eal:eal: D:2d4, N:1d6, Q:2d6, S:3d6,V:5d6

Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental: C:2d4, K:1d4, M:1d4, Sm:1d4,Sp:2d4

Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace: 3Size:Size:Size:Size:Size: 3 (2-4 feet in length)WWWWWind:ind:ind:ind:ind: 10

Page 93: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 93/128

94 Marshal

TTTTTerrerrerrerrerror :or :or :or :or: 3Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:

Immunity:Immunity:Immunity:Immunity:Immunity: To radiationRadiation:Radiation:Radiation:Radiation:Radiation: All unprotected heroes

within 5 yards of the worms mustmake a Fair (5) Vigor  check everyround to avoid severe radiationpoisoning. Anyone failing the rollgains the ailin’: chronic Hindrance.

WWWWWeakness—Heat & Fireakness—Heat & Fireakness—Heat & Fireakness—Heat & Fireakness—Heat & Fire:e:e:e:e: Heat andfire-based attacks cause +1 die ofdamage. Also, certain alkaloidssuch as salt and chlorine cause 3d6damage per round of contact as itdries out the worms.

Profile: Voracipede

CorporCorporCorporCorporCorporeal:eal:eal:eal:eal: D:1d6, N:6d10, Q:2d12+2,S:5d10, V:2d12

Fightin': brawlin' 8d10, sneak 3d10Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental: C:4d6, K:1d4, M:1d4, Sm:1d4,

Sp:2d8Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace: 20Size:Size:Size:Size:Size: 13 (20 feet long and 4 feet tall)WWWWWind:ind:ind:ind:ind: —TTTTTerrerrerrerrerror :or :or :or :or: 9Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:

Armor:Armor:Armor:Armor:Armor: 5Bolts 'o Doom:Bolts 'o Doom:Bolts 'o Doom:Bolts 'o Doom:Bolts 'o Doom: Damage 3d20, Speed

2, ROF 1, Max Range 20’Damage:Damage:Damage:Damage:Damage: Bite (STR+2d8, AP 1), claws (

STR+1d12, AP2 or on a raise theycan grapple. Its bite hitsautomatically on the creature’sfollowing actions until a successfulcontest of Strengths  is won.)

BurrBurrBurrBurrBurrooooowing:wing:wing:wing:wing: Pace 8 through earth,loose stone, and similar materials,Pace 4 through concrete and stone.

WWWWWall Craall Craall Craall Craall Crawlin':wlin':wlin':wlin':wlin': Pace 10Description:Description:Description:Description:Description: See above.

Gore StormThese particularly nasty demons, a

 joint creation of War and Death, cameto Earth with the Reckoners, and havebeen salted throughout the WastedWest’s worst Deadlands in order to keeptheir despair and terror quotients up inthe stratosphere. They appear asdescribed in the posse section asvortices of whirling viscera. Althoughthey often seem to possess a malignintelligence, and they apparently enjoytoying with their victims before finishingthem off, gore storms are pretty muchcreatures of instinct, with little capacityfor original thought. They exist only tofeed upon the flesh of the victims. They

do, however, often leave a singlesurvivor when attacking a group ofvictims, to ensure that word of theirhorror spreads and propagate.

Gore storms are wary creatures. Theymay track a party through a city fordays, watching as the group’s resourcesare expended, before launching asurprise attack. They seem to enjoyplaying with their food, and often leavegory presents near the heroes’ camp torelish the fear these create.

Page 94: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 94/128

A Litany of Horrors 95There are a few gore storms of

enormous size (Size 20+ with a Strengthof 4d12+6 ). These were spawned by Waron battlefields as he fought his wayacross Kansas.

Profile: Gore StormCorporCorporCorporCorporCorporeal:eal:eal:eal:eal: D:1d6, N:2d12, Q:3d10, S:4d10,

V:2d8Fightin’: brawlin’ 5d12,Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental: C:1d4, K:1d4, M:1d12, Sm:1d4,

Sp:1d10Guts 5d10Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace: 12Size:Size:Size:Size:Size: 12WWWWWind:ind:ind:ind:ind: —TTTTTerrerrerrerrerror :or :or :or :or: 11Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:

Damage:Damage:Damage:Damage:Damage: Razor-sharp bone (STR+1d8)Feeding TFeeding TFeeding TFeeding TFeeding Time:ime:ime:ime:ime: Each time the gore

storm maims a flesh-and-bloodopponent, its Size increases by 1,and its STR by a full die type. Italso heals 3 wound levels.

Immunities:Immunities:Immunities:Immunities:Immunities: Guns, blades, fists.WWWWWeakness:eakness:eakness:eakness:eakness: The gore storm takes

double damage from explosives andfrom chemical or biologicalweapons which harm flesh-and-blood creatures. Due to the spiritualnature of its attack, it can’t damagevehicles, machines, or otherinanimate items or objects. Thecreature deals only half damage toundead creatures. It also gains nofeeding time benefits from woundsdealt to undead. Damage dealt tocyborgs is halved.

Description:Description:Description:Description:Description: See above.

Head CasesContrary to legend, head cases are

not the monstrous revenants of people

who think too much; they weren’tcreated by demons, either.In the second half of the 20th

century, a subculture sprang up aroundcryogenic freezing technology, whichoffered its mostly tech-head clients thepromise of a second life. The clientsdead body would be frozen and kept onice in anticipation of a utopian futurewhen the victim’s original cause ofdeath would be cured by benevolentfuture scientists. Cryo-enthusiasts on a

budget could pay to have only theirheads frozen, in hopes that futuremedical technology could also cure thelack of a body.

Surprise! When the ghost bombs fell,those cryogenic facilities that survived(mostly in strip malls, oddly enough)became cradles of undeath. The frozenbodies got up and walked off—withoutpaying their bill!

The frozen heads came to life, too,but couldn’t leave. Their intensefrustration combined with thesupernatural to give them brain-poppingpsi powers. When adventurers tried to

loot the cryo-labs, the heads used thesepowers to cow them into servitude. Theyordered captive junkers to build themarmored helmets with built-in jet-packsfor mobility.

Page 95: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 95/128

Page 96: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 96/128

A Litany of Horrors 97InfInfInfInfInfection:ection:ection:ection:ection: Anyone killed by a

mainliner revives in 1d10 hours as amainliner.

Injection:Injection:Injection:Injection:Injection: STR in damage plusinjection of a chemical similar toheroin but four times as potent.This requires an Incredible (11) Vigor roll to avoid a massive heart attack(see Scart Table result 31-35). If thevictim croaks, the mainliner mustimmediately make a Hard (9) Smarts roll. If it fails, it immediatelysuccumbs to its cravings andindulges its narcotic sweet tooth,siphoning off the dying character'sbody fluids.

TTTTToooooxin Immunity:xin Immunity:xin Immunity:xin Immunity:xin Immunity: The mainliner hastotal immunity to drugs, poisons,and similar effects due to thenarcotic soup the creature callsblood.

WWWWWeakness:eakness:eakness:eakness:eakness: Should a quantity of B-complex vitamin, or similarnarcotic-antidote be introduced intothe mainliner's bloodstream, thecreature seize up for 1d4 roundsduring which time it flies into ablind rage, attacking anythingwithin reach. It gains one additionalcard per round during this period,after which its veins and arteriesburst, putting the creature down forgood.

Maze DragonAll kinds of strange creatures

emerged when California fell into thesea. One of the biggest was theCalifornia Maze dragon. Thesetremendous critters attacked both shipshauling ore and prospectors mining thecanyon walls of the Maze.

Unlike most abominations, Mazedragons became known and accepted as

ordinary creatures. Most folks justfigured they somehow came with theGreat Quake. The Chinese warlords ofthe area started calling them dragons,and the name stuck.

During the 20th Century, Mazedragons were hunted by the navies ofboth the US and the CSA to make theshipping lanes in the Maze safer. It wasa fairly even battle, as only small shipscould enter the narrow, rock-filledcanyons where the dragons laired.

The navies of both sides alsoattempted to capture and train someMaze dragons with varying degrees ofsuccess. The US fitted some dragonswith enormous explosive chargesconnected to a magnetic trigger andthen released them in Confederateshipping lanes. These living torpedoeswould explode whenever they cameclose to a large, metallic object (like aship). These were only of limitedeffectiveness as they often explodedwhile swimming near wrecks or movednorth into US waters.

Profile: California Maze DragonCorporCorporCorporCorporCorporeal:eal:eal:eal:eal: D:1d4, N:2d10, S:5d12+4, Q:1d10,

V:2d12+4Fightin’: brawlin’ 4d10, sneak 5d10,

swimmin’ 5d10Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental: C:2d10, K:1d4, M:1d12, Sm:1d6,

Sp:1d4Overawe 3d12Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace: 20Size:Size:Size:Size:Size: 24 (50 yards long)WWWWWind:ind:ind:ind:ind: —TTTTTerrerrerrerrerror :or :or :or :or: 11Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:

Armor:Armor:Armor:Armor:Armor: 1Damage:Damage:Damage:Damage:Damage: Bite (STR+2d12)Mines:Mines:Mines:Mines:Mines: A few dragons are still toting

around some defective mines. Thesethings can still explode if hit byweapon fire. On a roll of 1 on 1d20the mine explodes for 10d20damage with a Burst Radius of 10yards.

SwSwSwSwSwalloalloalloalloallow:w:w:w:w: The dragon’s mouth is largeenough to swallow a person whole.

With 2 raises on an attack, it doesso. The victim takes 4d6 points ofdamage every round from thecrushing gullet and acidic bile. Theonly way out is to cut open a slitwith 20 points of damage from ashotgun or cutting weapon.

Swimming:Swimming:Swimming:Swimming:Swimming: Pace 20Description:Description:Description:Description:Description: Maze dragons look like

sea serpents of legend, with longsinuous bodies covered in thick, slimyscales.

Page 97: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 97/128

98 Marshal

Mind BitersMind biters came about as part of the

countless genetic experimentsperformed in the days before the LastWar. Their creators were concernedabout unstable or openly hostile sykersreturning from the war on Banshee. Thebiters were imbued with an overridingurge to kill any sykers theyencountered, and equipped with thetools to do the job.

Physically, a biter resembles a greenfloating ball, ringed with eye-likebiosensors and scores of small tentacleshanging on its underbelly. It canmaneuver itself quite adeptly, changingdirection on a dime and reaching speedsequal to a man at a full sprint. It has nophysical means of defending itself,

besides hiding and fleeing. However,given its mental capacities, it doesn’tneed any claws or fangs. A hoveringbrainstroke never does.

It attacks suddenly and withoutwarning, sending a blast of telekineticenergy into the mind of its target. Thisis similar to the syker ability brain blast,only it doesn’t affect inanimate matter. Ittears into brain tissue, creating tumors,bursting blood vessels, and rupturingtissue on a cellular level. The luckyones are lobotomized, the rest are killedinstantly. Sykers tend to take muchmore damage from the attack thannormal humans.

Mind biters are genetically-engineeredbeings, and require little in the way ofsustenance. They tend to lurk nearpopulation centers, or in the ruins ofold communities where sykers are morelikely to be found. They think only tohunt down sykers; normal humans holdno interest for them, although theyattack if confronted or if prevented

from completing their “mission.” Asyker’s allies won’t be spared the biters’tender ministrations.

Mind biters tend to operate alone,simply because not many of themsurvived. They were originally designed

to work in teams together, and twobiters in one place can causedevastating damage. Thankfully, suchcases are few. However, biters are linkedin a common hive mind, despite thegreat distances between them. If one ofthem is destroyed, the others knowabout it, and move to avenge their fallenbrethren. A syker who dispatches amind biter may find herself hounded bythe species for years to come.

Profile: Mind BiterCorporCorporCorporCorporCorporeal:eal:eal:eal:eal: D:3d8, N:3d8, Q:2d10, S:2d6,

V:2d6Dodge 4d8, sneak 4d8Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental: C:2d10 K:3d12 M:1d4 Sm:3d12

Sp:3d12Blastin’ 5d12, scrutinize 2d10, search 5d10,

trackin’ 2d10

Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace: 10Size:Size:Size:Size:Size: 3WWWWWind:ind:ind:ind:ind: 18TTTTTerrerrerrerrerror :or :or :or :or: 7Strain:Strain:Strain:Strain:Strain: 12Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:

Mind Blast:Mind Blast:Mind Blast:Mind Blast:Mind Blast: Mind blast functions asthe equivalent of the syker abilitybrain blast , (TN 5, Strain 1, Speed 1,and Range 20 yards/blastin’ level).The only difference is, it causesmental damage instead of physical.Roll damage according to the biter’sSpirit ; the number of dice rolled isdoubled against sykers (yeah, it’sugly). Every 10 points of damagerolled reduces the target’sCognition , Knowledge , and Smarts by one die type. If any Trait everdrops below d4, the target mustmake a Hard (9) Vigor  check. If hepasses, he is comatose until hisTraits regenerate to d4 or higher. Ifhe fails, he has suffered a brainembolism and dies. Lost dice may

be regained at a rate of one dielevel per week. Marshals areencouraged to role-play out theregenerative process. The effectleaves permanent streaking scars(from burst blood vessels) along thetarget’s head—the telltale sign of amind biter attack. A syker canresist a mind blast by spending 1Strain point and winning a blastin’ contest with the creature. Ablocked attack causes no damage.

Page 98: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 98/128

A Litany of Horrors 99HivHivHivHivHive Mind:e Mind:e Mind:e Mind:e Mind: Mind biters share

consciousness and memories. Whatone knows, all of them know. Theycan use any Knowledge  skillspossessed by another mind biter,and remember anything learned orwitnessed by one of their kind. Inaddition, all psychic attacks againstthem suffer a –4 penalty, due to thestrength of their collective will.Sykers beware.

Description:Description:Description:Description:Description: See above.

Mojave RattlerThey call these great worms “rattlers”

because a person’s teeth start chatteringas the rattler rumbles through the earthbeneath him. Though they are mostcommon in the Mojave, rattlers are also

found in isolated flatlands in Montanaand Utah. The rattlers of each regiontend to have their own colors and evenpersonalities.

Mojave rattlers go straight for the kill,while the ones in Montana are skulkers.Utah rattlers are smaller but faster, andthey absolutely love to chase drag racersacross the great Salt Flats—at least untilone was speared by a jet-car going for aland speed record.

Rattlers sense their prey by vibrationsin the sand. They can detect themovement of a man up to 200 yardsdistant. This is an opposed Cognition versus sneak  roll if the prey is trying tobe stealthy. Horses are detected atdouble the distance, and vehicles attriple. Note that if a creature runs, itssneak  totals suffer the usual –4 penalty.

When a rattler moves in for the kill, itbursts up through the earth and tries tosnag its prey with one of its tentacles.Though rattlers have many tentacles,they never attempt to capture multiple

targets unless their intended victims arevery close together, such as a horse andrider, preferring to focus on a singlequarry.

The tentacles have a Strength of 3d12and are about a quarter as long as theworm itself. Once they grapple a targetwith a raise on an opposed Strengthroll, the worm starts dragging the victiminto its crushing maw. Every success onan opposed Strength roll drags therattler’s prey 1 yard closer.

The rattler’s tentacles (Size 5-10) cantake 3 wounds before they’re uselessand the worm retreats, but bullets andimpaling weapons do only a single pointeach, and shotgun blasts do 2. Cuttingweapons do full damage.

During the late 19th century, rattlerswere hunted commercially; many oftheir body parts were found to be usefulin manufacturing, and rattler steaksbecame all the rage Back East. Theoriginal rattler “whalers” stalked themfrom the decks of wooden land ships. Inthe 20th century, these were replaced byenormous, mechanical sand crawlers

festooned with cannons and automaticharpoon guns.

The commercial hunting of thesecreatures continued until the early 1980s,when some tree-hugging whackosmanaged to get the things placed on theendangered species list. The remainingrattlers—the smartest and most wily ofthe bunch—were left to live in peace.

The rattlers which survived thewhaling period were kept under control(to a certain extent, they still swallowedwhole anyone dumb enough to wanderinto their territory) by a massive systemof underground sound generators thatproduced low frequency waves painfulto the creatures. These were installedaround all towns in threatened areasand along all interstates which passedthrough rattler territory.

Of course, the power grids whichpowered these devices went down on

 Judgment Day, and the rattlers now havefree run of their old stomping grounds.They’ve been making up for being

penned up with a vengeance; anyone orthing wandering into rattler territoryhad better be prepared to wage war.

Some of the rattlers roaming theWasted West these days have beenaround since the first of theseabominations appeared. Theseenormous specimens dwarf commonrattlers and have been dubbed “kingrattlers” by the very few people whohave been fortunate enough to survivetheir attacks.

Page 99: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 99/128

100 Marshal

Profile: Mojave Rattler

CorporCorporCorporCorporCorporeal:eal:eal:eal:eal: D:1d4, N:3d6, S:6d12+20, Q:2d6,V:4d12+24

Fightin’: brawlin’ 3d6, sneak 2d8 (whenunderground)

Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental: C:2d10, K:1d4, M:2d10, Sm:2d8,Sp:1d8

Overawe 2d10Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace: 6 (18 underground)Size:Size:Size:Size:Size: 10–20 (10–100 yards long)WWWWWind:ind:ind:ind:ind: —TTTTTerrerrerrerrerror :or :or :or :or: 11Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:

Armor:Armor:Armor:Armor:Armor: 1Damage:Damage:Damage:Damage:Damage: Bite (STR+2d20; AP 2)BurrBurrBurrBurrBurrooooowing:wing:wing:wing:wing: Underground Pace 18

(cannot be doubled by running)Surprise:Surprise:Surprise:Surprise:Surprise: Travelers who don’t

recognize the rumblings of a rattlerbeneath them subtract –4 from

their surprise checks.Description:Description:Description:Description:Description: Rattlers look like huge

fleshy worms, with a mass of fleshytentacles at the “head” endsurrounding a round saw-toothedmaw.

Profile: Mojave Rattler “King”CorporCorporCorporCorporCorporeal:eal:eal:eal:eal: D:1d4, N:3d6, S:6d12+24, Q:2d6,

V:4d12+24Fightin’: brawlin’ 5d6, sneak 2d8 (when

underground)Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental: C:2d10, K:1d4, M:2d10, Sm:2d8,

Sp:1d8Overawe 2d10Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace: 6 (24 underground)Size:Size:Size:Size:Size: 40WWWWWind:ind:ind:ind:ind: —TTTTTerrerrerrerrerror :or :or :or :or: 11Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:

Armor:Armor:Armor:Armor:Armor: 4Damage:Damage:Damage:Damage:Damage: Bite (STR+2d20; AP 4)BodBodBodBodBody Slam:y Slam:y Slam:y Slam:y Slam: A rattler king can rear

up and then slam its body down on

a target with a successful fightin’: brawlin’  roll versus the target’sdodge (or drivin’ if the target is avehicle). This causes STR+4d20massive damage to the target.Regardless of whether the attack

hits, the impact of the rattler’smassive body causes a shockwavethat can knock people off their feet.Anyone within 20 yards of therattler must make an Onerous (7)Nimbleness  roll to remain standing.Those who fall down must alsomake an Onerous (7) Vigor  check toavoid being stunned. The drivers ofany moving vehicles within thisradius must make a Hard (9) drivin’ roll or roll on the Outta ControlTable.

BurrBurrBurrBurrBurrooooowing:wing:wing:wing:wing: Underground Pace 24(cannot be doubled by running)

Surprise:Surprise:Surprise:Surprise:Surprise: Travelers who don’trecognize the rumblings of a rattlerbeneath them subtract –4 fromtheir surprise checks.

Description:Description:Description:Description:Description: These are much, muchlarger versions of the Mojave rattlers.

They would be right at home on adesert planet loaded with someesoteric spice.

Night HauntNight haunts are evil creatures of

corrupted shadow that subsist onhuman souls. They are lone hunters thatappear only at dusk followingscavengers and other travelers acrossthe plains, waiting for them to camp forthe night.

When a night haunt spots prey, ithides away in the enshrouding darknessand waits for most of the travelers inthe posse to fall asleep before it beginsits insidious attack. It then uses mimicryand illusion as a bluff  test o’ wills.

The camp’s guard likely sees strange“patches” of darkness or hear’s a distantbaby’s cry or some far-off screams—anything the night haunt can do tounnerve its prey. Its goal is to lure the

guard out alone, preferably withoutwaking his companions (of courseanyone who investigates withoutwaking someone deserves what he gets).

If the night haunt is successful, itdraws the fool out until he’s entirelyisolated before it attacks with its soul-wrenching claws. When it has killed itsvictim, it sups on the fleeing soul,making it impossible for someone killedby a night haunt to become Harrowed.

Page 100: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 100/128

A Litany of Horrors 101Profile: Night Haunt

CorporCorporCorporCorporCorporeal:eal:eal:eal:eal: D:1d8, N:4d10, S:2d8, Q:2d12+2,V:1d4

Fightin’: brawlin’ 5d10, sneak 8d10Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental: C:4d12, K:1d4, M:1d6, Sm:2d8,

Sp:2d10Bluff 6d8Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace: 24Size:Size:Size:Size:Size: 6WWWWWind:ind:ind:ind:ind: —TTTTTerrerrerrerrerror :or :or :or :or: 9Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:

Coup:Coup:Coup:Coup:Coup: A night haunt’s essence gives acharacter a dark, shadowyappearance. When he concentrates,the hero may add +6 to his sneakrolls.

Damage:Damage:Damage:Damage:Damage: Bite (STR+1d4), claws(STR+1d6, ignores armor)

FearlessFearlessFearlessFearlessFearless

HoHoHoHoHovvvvvering:ering:ering:ering:ering: Pace 24. Night haunts floata few feet off the ground and aren’tslowed by material objects.

Immunity—Normal Attacks:Immunity—Normal Attacks:Immunity—Normal Attacks:Immunity—Normal Attacks:Immunity—Normal Attacks: Normalweapons can’t hurt a night haunt.Only light and magical attackscause it any sort of damage.

WWWWWeakness—Light:eakness—Light:eakness—Light:eakness—Light:eakness—Light: Night haunts arecreatures of shadow. They cannotexist in bright light. Torches,lanterns, and other weapons usedagainst them inflict 2d6 points ofdamage (ignore the user’s Strength).

Description:Description:Description:Description:Description: Night haunts resemblethorny shadows straight from anightmare.

Night StalkerWhen night falls and fog gathers in

the lowlands in a certain way; when themoon shines bright, and fear and terrorpermeate the air, a ghastly night stalkersteps out of men’s nightmares and onto

terra firma, ready to hunt.Also known by the very few shamanwho know of them as rope men or yarnmen, night stalkers are misshapen,gangly creatures. Humanoid butdefinitely not human, these fellcreatures stand twelve feet tall. Theyhave extremely long and spindly armsand legs, thin torsos, and overlarge,squashed, bulbous heads. Their skin ispasty, white, and rubbery, and theirfaces have few features other than black

sockets where eyes should be andoverwide grins which stretch the lengthof their oval faces.

When a night stalker appears, itquietly strides across the landscape,looking this way and that for a humanwandering alone in the dark. It may spotmany people during the night, but thereis only one person the creature reallysees—the first person to look back at it,right into the depths of its empty eyesockets.

When the night stalker makes such aconnection with a person, its socketslight up with a devilish, green glow, and

its queasy, vacant grin grows even widerthan usual. From this point on—until itis sated or until dawn banishes it backto whatever hell it came from—the nightstalker relentlessly pursues its chosenvictim.

Page 101: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 101/128

102 Marshal

Strangely, the stalker does notattempt to end the chase as quickly aspossible. It walks at a leisurely stride(for it), covering as much ground as a

 jogging man. It never runs or attemptsto cut off its quarry. It simply follows inhis footsteps, closing the gap only whenthe victim stops to rest or slows down.

The stalker follows the path its victimtakes exactly—the victim could doubleback and walk right up next to thestalker, and the creature would walkright by him, tracing his steps preciselyto the double back point and then backaround. According to its strange rules, itcannot catch a victim unless it does sohaving followed in its footsteps. At leasttheoretically, a person could jog in agiant circle with a stalker right behindher till dawn came and never fear beingcaught—as long as she could maintain

the pace.Getting into a car or plane is the best

way to outdistance a stalker, though itisn’t wise stopping until dawn, becauseit may appear with no warning, havingeaten up the miles with its long strides.

There is no hiding from a nightstalker—once it has connected with itsvictim, it knows where he is at all times,and can pick out his path unerringly.Locked doors do not stop it either. Itcan pass through any solid objectplaced in its path—in its curious state ofbeing, it can pass through any coursethe quarry takes.

The pursuit by such an unnerving-looking creature is unpleasant enough,but those who know what it does whenit catches up to its victims squeal interror as they attempt to keep ahead.Because when a stalker comes within 10feet of its prey, having duly walked inhis footsteps, it raises its long fingers,points at its victim, and…unravels him.

The person is lifted screaming into

the air by an unseen force, and whilethe stalker watches, the victimshimmers, then begins to unravel like agrotesque and bloody ball of yarn—skinand muscle alike spinning off the bodyin great organic loops of cord, starting

from the outer layer of the epidermisand working in to the bones. The looseend of the fleshy yarn snakes aroundthe stalker for a moment, then runs upto its wide grinning maw. The stalkerdevours its prey by slowly sucking hismass up like a long strand of spaghetti.The most horrific aspect of the wholeprocess is that the stalker saves thehead and vital organs for last—for along, long time, the victim can seewhat’s happening to him.

When it has completed its bloodyfeast, it disappears from sight, stilllicking its blood face with its long whitetongue. Few folks are quite ever rightafter seeing a stalker consuming itsmeal.

Profile: Night Stalker

CorporCorporCorporCorporCorporeal:eal:eal:eal:eal: D:3d10, N:4d8, Q:3d10, S:3d6,V:3d12

Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental: C:8d10, K:3d6, M:3d6, Sm4d6,Sp:2d8

Guts 3d8, overawe 6d6, search 10d10,trackin’ 12d10

Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace: 15Size:Size:Size:Size:Size: 9WWWWWind:ind:ind:ind:ind: 20TTTTTerrerrerrerrerror :or :or :or :or: 9Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:

Coup:Coup:Coup:Coup:Coup: Defeating a night stalker gainsthe hero a +4 to all trackin’  rolls.

Immunity:Immunity:Immunity:Immunity:Immunity: Normal weapons cannotharm a night stalker.

Phase:Phase:Phase:Phase:Phase: The night stalker can movethrough solid objects.

UnraUnraUnraUnraUnravvvvvel:el:el:el:el: Once a stalker closes towithin 10 feet of its victim, itunravels him as described above.Once the person is lifted into theair, the unraveling causes onewound in each hit location perround. Fate Chips cannot be spentto cancel these wounds.

WWWWWeakness:eakness:eakness:eakness:eakness: The night stalker musttrace its victim’s footsteps exactly.WWWWWeakness:eakness:eakness:eakness:eakness: The night stalker cannot

harm one who refuses to look intoits sockets, and ignores everyoneelse once it has chosen a victim.

WWWWWeakness:eakness:eakness:eakness:eakness: Dawn banishes a stalker.It won’t return to haunt the samevictim again, unless by chance heis the first to look into its eyes onsome future night.

Description:Description:Description:Description:Description: See above.

Page 102: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 102/128

A Litany of Horrors 103Ningyo

Most Westerners think of mermaidsas shy, and occasionally friendly, fish-tailed lasses who beguile sailors frombeneath the waves. But in Japan, adarker and more malignant spirit flitsthrough the icy depths of legend. Shetoo is a beautiful woman with the tailof a fish, and she too beguiles menfrom the sea. But there the similaritiesend. For, unlike the Western mermaid,the Japanese ningyo is real—and avoracious man-eater.

Ningyo appeared in the waters aroundthe Japanese islands in the 1870s, andfirst came to the Maze smuggled aboardIron Dragon freighters. Until veryrecently, they kept a low profile to avoidbeing hunted. With their growing

numbers they are becoming bolder,however, and people living in the GreatMaze are beginning to realize thatsomething “new” has infested its murkywaters.

From the waist up ningyo areincredibly beautiful Asian women. Theirhuman hips transition into long andpliable fish tails, covered in silver orgolden scales. Though very feminine inappearance, ningyo are actually asexual;they are immortal and do not procreate(not in any fashion that male heroeswould be interested in, anyway).

Ningyo—like sharks—feed on justabout anything, but have a particulartaste for human flesh; they savor notonly the meat of the human, but thesweet tang of fear that accompanies it.When in a feeding frenzy, ningyo revertto a more bestial form—their jawsunhinge to display a horrible shark-likemaw, and their lovely eyes bulge out ina disturbingly frog-like manner.

The hunger for human flesh is visited

back on the ningyo by mankind,however—because the flesh of a ningyobestows eternal life upon those whoconsume it. This is well-known amongKangers, but what very few know is thehorrible fate which befalls most whopartake—a painful and horrible mutationinto a beautiful ningyo (well, it beatsbecoming a wormling). An extremelysmall group of people retain theirhumanity while gaining eternal life—nota bad deal if you’re lucky. When

someone eats the flesh of a ningyo,draw seven cards from a full Actiondeck. If both Jokers are among the cardsdealt, the imbiber becomes immortal butremains human (and susceptible toharm). Otherwise, he mutates into aningyo over the course of a week.

Ningyo hunt in groups. Whenseducing a single person or small group,most remain out of sight in the water,leaving the beguiling to one or twosisters. When the unfortunates arewithin reach, all close in for the kill.

Ningyo are perfectly aware that gaijinlook upon mermaids as gentle creatures,

and play upon this not only to attractprey but to avoid capture. More than oneningyo has been saved from the cookingpot of a hunter by putting on a “damselin distress” act for a Law Dog whohappens by.

Page 103: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 103/128

104 Marshal

In addition to being consummateflirts and flatterers, ningyo are excellentstory tellers and singers. They areextremely vain, and take great efforts toconceal their animal hunger behind aveneer of delicate refinement. Ningyodislike women, and take a particularlycatty tone when forced to converse withthem.

Only in extremely unusualcircumstances will a ningyo willinglyplace herself in a situation where shecannot quickly enter the water. Ningyoare extremely agile and quick in thewater, but extremely clumsy and slowon land.

The goal of every ningyo is thesurvival of her pod. Traditionally, thismeant hunting loners and small groups,and avoiding detection by anyone otherthan tonight’s dinner. One ningyo

sighting by a gang of Kanger Mazepirates eager for immortality can, andhas, lead to the wiping out of entireningyo populations. (Of course, themutated pirates soon replace them, butthis is of little consolation to the deadningyo.)

A huge population explosionexperienced after the Great War hascaused a change in hunting tactics.Ningyo have begun salvaging items fromthe many sunken warships littering thebottom of the Maze—especially theinfamous “Channel of Doom.”

Some ningyo pods use recoveredmines to sink ships and dine on thoseaboard. Others cut deals with localleaders by trading salvage for a regularsupply of human food. What warlordwouldn’t toss his enemies and drifters(like your posse) into the drink inexchange for deck guns, machined parts,and cases of bullets?

It’s only a matter of time before aningyo pod surfaces with a ghost-rock

missile recovered from a sunken LatAmor Confederate sub. Until then, theningyo must continue to compete withthe other man-eating denizens of theGreat Maze for the dwindling supply ofhuman flesh.

Profile: Ningyo

CorporCorporCorporCorporCorporeal:eal:eal:eal:eal: D:3d6, N:4d8, Q:4d8, S:2d6,V:3d8

Dodge 6d8, fightin’: brawlin’ 5d8,swimmin’ 6d8, throwin’: balanced 5d6

Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental: C:2d8, K:2d4, M:3d12, Sm:2d6,Sp:2d6

Guts 3d6, language: Japanese 3d4,language: English 1d4, performin’:singing 5d12, overawe: 4d12 ,persuasion4d12, tell-tellin’ 6d12, scrutinize 4d8,search (in water) 5d8, trackin’ (inwater) 4d8

Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace: 12 (2 on land)Size:Size:Size:Size:Size: 6WWWWWind:ind:ind:ind:ind: 14TTTTTerrerrerrerrerror :or :or :or :or: 7Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:

Damage:Damage:Damage:Damage:Damage: Bite: STR+3d4 (in feedingfrenzy mode)

Description:Description:Description:Description:Description: See above.

Nowhere MenNowhere men arose from the ashes of

the old world, stealing silently into theruins with their own sinister agenda.They appear as man-shaped humanoids,their build and rough features matchingmen’s exactly. They often dress inhuman clothes—voluminous andconcealing, like trenchcoats and hatspulled low—which makes it easy forthem to appear as men. Nowhere menare devoid of features. Their eyes andmouths are sealed up, their noses andears merge seamlessly into their skulls,and their pale bodies are completelyhairless. They take care, however, not toreveal their true selves to anyone not oftheir ilk.

Nowhere men steal human memories,memories ripped from the minds oftheir victims. A nowhere man gets in

close to its target, then grasps thevictim’s temples and begins drawing thelife experiences out of his or her brainand into its own. The process only takesa few seconds or so, and leaves thevictim a confused amnesiac. Thenowhere man then departs as quicklyas possible, abandoning its victim tofate. Because it’s difficult to get closeenough to do their work, they tend tohaunt cities like Junkyard or other areaswith comparatively large populations.

Page 104: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 104/128

A Litany of Horrors 105A nowhere man can possess

hundreds of lifetimes worth ofmemories, stored through someunknown process within its mind. Theyuse these memories as currencyamongst themselves, trading certainexperiences for certain others. Theybelieve that if one of them gathers as awide a variety of memories as possible,it will transcend this world and returnto its unknown place of origin.

Communication with nowhere men isnext to impossible, for they cannotspeak and show no inclination tointeract with the humans they “harvest.”People who try to talk to them usuallyend up meandering across thelandscape, trying to remember who theyare.

Profile: Nowhere ManCorporCorporCorporCorporCorporeal:eal:eal:eal:eal: D:3d8 N:3d10 Q:3d8 S:2d6

V:2d8Dodge 3d10, fightin’: brawlin’ 4d10,

lockpickin’ 1d8, shootin’: pistols 2d8,sneak 5d10

Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental: C:2d8 K:4d12 M:2d8 Sm:3d10Sp:2d6

Scrutinize 3d8, search 3d8, areaknowledge 2d12, guts 2d6

In addition, Nowhere Men can utilize thememories they have stolen. They havea 50% chance of having a 3 rank inany Knowledge-based skill they need.Roll on a contingency basis only.

Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace: 6Size:Size:Size:Size:Size: 6WWWWWind:ind:ind:ind:ind: 14TTTTTerrerrerrerrerror:or:or:or:or: 7 (if detected)  Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:

Memory stealing:Memory stealing:Memory stealing:Memory stealing:Memory stealing: If a nowhere manmakes a called head shot on itsfightin’: brawlin’  roll, it has lockedonto its target’s temples and begundraining memories. The target must

make a contested Vigor  roll againstthe nowhere man each round, orelse lose one rank of allKnowledge -based skills per round.The target can do nothing else ifhe or she wishes to resist. If thetarget fails three rolls in a row, hisor her Knowledge  drops to 1d4, all Aptitudes are lost, and she isreduced to a state of confusion for1d4 days. She is not able to use anyskills, cannot respond if attacked,

or do anything except be ledpassively about. The hero mustrelearn everything from languageskills, to how to dress themselves,etc. If, on the other hand, she winsthree contested rolls in a row, thenowhere man breaks off and flees.All lost Traits and Aptitudes arereturned at that time.

Hiding in ShadoHiding in ShadoHiding in ShadoHiding in ShadoHiding in Shadows:ws:ws:ws:ws: Nowhere mencan blend seamlessly into theshadows, using them to becomenearly invisible when they stalktheir prey. They add +6 to theirsneak  rolls.

Prairie TickPrairie ticks are once again the

scourge of the High Plains. This speciesof abomination had been nearly wipedout with powerful pesticides andgenetically-engineered predators, butnow that people have more importantthings to do than pest control (likefinding their next meals), the prairie tickpopulation has bounced back. Much ofthe High Plains is again covered in tallgrass—perfect cover for these voraciousinsects.

These horrid bloodsuckers live inunderground burrows of 11-20 (1d10+10)creatures each, and are controlled by asingle, giant queen that rules over eachnest.

When they sense prey, the ticks crawlout of their burrow and bound throughthe tall prairie grass at top speed. Theycan sense the vibration of a man

walking up to 100 yards away, doublethat for horses, and quadruple that forvehicles.

Prairie ticks attack by leaping for themouth and pulling the victim’s lipsdown with their two front hooks. This isan opposed fightin’: brawlin’  roll. If thetick gets a raise, it’s in and slides downthe victim’s throat. Once inside, thething’s hooked legs sink into theinnards, and it begins to drain blood atthe rate of 1d4 Wind per hour.

Page 105: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 105/128

106 Marshal

As the host loses wounds to bleeding,the tick gets larger. When the host dies,the tick has grown so large that itbursts the ribcage and comes crawlingout of the stomach or throat. Anyonewho sees this needs to make a Hard (9)

 guts  check or very likely lose his lunch.There are only two known ways to

remove a prairie tick inside a host. Thefirst is to pour a quart of castor oildown the victim’s throat. The host needsto make a Hard (9) Vigor  roll to get thecastor oil down. If he does, the tickcomes crawling out in 1d4 rounds, doingits Strength in damage each round as it

does.The second way is to take a specialserum developed especially for thispurpose. It kills the tick and causes it torelease its hold on the host’s organs.Once the tick is dead, it is removed in

pieces using a specialized scopeinserted down the victim’s throat.Finding the serum and a scope requiresan Incredible (11) scroungin’  roll in ahospital or ambulance. Performing theremoval procedure requires a medicine: 

 general  roll against an Onerous (7) TN.Failure causes 2d6 damage to thevictim’s guts.

Profile: Prairie TickCorporCorporCorporCorporCorporeal:eal:eal:eal:eal: D:2d10, N:4d12, S:1d4, Q:3d10,

V:2d8Dodge 2d12, fightin’: brawlin’ 4d12, sneak

3d12Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental: C:2d6, K:1d4, M:2d8, Sm:1d4,

Sp:1d4Overawe 2d8Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace: 12Size:Size:Size:Size:Size: 2

WWWWWind:ind:ind:ind:ind: —TTTTTerrerrerrerrerror :or :or :or :or: 7Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:

Armor:Armor:Armor:Armor:Armor: 1Damage:Damage:Damage:Damage:Damage: Hooks (STR; when prairie

ticks can’t get at someone’s mouthdue to a covering of some sort,they swarm over him and try topick him into unconsciousnesswith their hooks, then they try tocrawl inside)

Description:Description:Description:Description:Description: Prairie tick’s bodies areabout the size of a man’s fist. Theyare blood-red in color, with fat,bloated bellies and long, hooked legs.

PredavoreThe much-feared, little-known

predavore is in fact that ancient cousinof the dinosaurs, the pteranodon. Itowes its surprise return to the skies tothe friendly folks at Pentacorp, who inthe 2070s decided it would be a good

idea to experiment with fossil DNA inorder to see if it could be synthesizedand cloned. Pure research, youunderstand. Although of course theystarted with the sexier fossils, likevelociraptor and T. rex, the speciespteranodon sternbergi proved to be themost amenable to their experimentalmethods. Pentacorp had several secretaeries stocked full of pteranodonswhen the bombs dropped.

Page 106: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 106/128

A Litany of Horrors 107The creatures escaped and have since

been thriving in the Wasted West. Theyowe their fearsome reputations to theirhabit of hunting at night, to theirextremely quiet, gliding flight technique,and to the considerable accuracy theyinvest in their yard-long spear-likebeaks. Their night vision is excellent,allowing them to spot, swoop downupon, and skewer a tasty meal, glidingaway before anyone can get a good lookat them. They then retire to their lairs intall treetops or in nests on high cliffs inorder to methodically clean the meatfrom their victim’s bones. Like anycanny predator, the predavore is quick toabandon its prey when it senses thatfurther pursuit endangers its safety, orsimply uses up more energy than itsmeat provides.

Profile: PredavoreCorporCorporCorporCorporCorporeal:eal:eal:eal:eal: D:1d6, N:4d12, Q:4d12, S:2d10,

V:2d12,Fightin’: brawlin’ 5d12, dodge 4d12Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental: C:3d10, K:1d4, M:1d4, Sm:3d4,

Sp:1d8Search 3d10Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace: 20 flying, 4 walkingSize:Size:Size:Size:Size: 20WWWWWind:ind:ind:ind:ind: 20TTTTTerrerrerrerrerror :or :or :or :or: 5Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:

Armor:Armor:Armor:Armor:Armor: 1Damage:Damage:Damage:Damage:Damage: Beak (STR+2d8, AP 2)Flight;Flight;Flight;Flight;Flight; Pace 20SkeSkeSkeSkeSkewwwwwer:er:er:er:er: If the predavore causes at

least 2 wounds with an attack, ithas skewered its target on its beak.It then glides away at half itsnormal flying Pace, climbing 10yards per round as it does so. Onceit gets 100 yards up, it drops its preyfor 20d6+100 damage to both finishit off and tenderize it.

SurpriseSurpriseSurpriseSurpriseSurpriseDescription:Description:Description:Description:Description: The predavore is a flyingreptile with an average wingspan of23 feet; some reach 30 feet. Theirheads are about six feet long,equipped with a long, spearing beakand a large head-crest. Powerful flyingmuscles run from each wing to itssternum. Its claws, twice the size of aman’s hand, are useful for climbing,though not as weapons. Under itsneck is a ruff of primitive feathers.

River WormWhen the California coast collapsed

into the Pacific, huge water serpentsappeared in the resulting Maze. DubbedMaze dragons by the Chinese warlordsof the area, they caused no end oftrouble for ships and junks braving theMaze and the new coastline of thesundered territory. In the ensuingdecades, the CSA traded in their cannonand dynamite for bigger guns, depthcharges and submarines, and by the1980s the Maze dragons had been

hunted to near-extinction.When the ghost rock bombs fell, the

resulting conflagration caused rampantmutations among the remaining Mazedragon population. And just when theConfederates and Union boys lost mostof their anti-dragon toys, a new horrorwas introduced to the river systems ofthe Maze—the river worm.

River worms are bloodthirsty, rubbery,serpent-like creatures that grow as longas 12 feet. Three to five inches in girth,they look for all the world likeanimated, black firehoses snakingthrough the water. They hatch fromsilvery eggs deposited on weeds androcks at the depths of the river or lake—these eggs are about the size of golfballs, and are sometimes washeddownstream when fierce stormsincrease the strength of the flowingwater. This is the primary way wormpopulations expand into new areas,since the worms themselves tend tostay put unless diminishing food

supplies force them to migrate.Being much smaller than Mazedragons, river worms can’t bring downprey alone, and therefore cluster inschool of a dozen or more. They do notactively seek prey. Instead they settle tothe deepest and coldest part of the riveror lake, waiting for disturbances in thewater to alert them to dinner’s arrival.When they do detect something movingin or through the water, they light out inpursuit, ready to dine.

Page 107: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 107/128

108 Marshal

River worms attack by swarming allover their prey, much like piranhaconverge on a chunk of raw meat. Theyviciously ram their prey with their hard,blunt heads, stunning it into submission.After a few moments of this, they opentheir toothy maws and begin consumingthe victim. Once blood is in the water,the entire school frenzies, frothing thewater with foam and blood as dozens ofworms squirm around the victim in atangle of black, ropy bodies, viciouslytearing the flesh off the hide untilnothing remains but bone.

River worms are very stupid creatures,

known to hurl themselves at boat hullswith the full expectation of drawingblood. One can’t enter a worm-infestedlake or river by boat and remainignorant to their presence for long—pretty soon the boat begins to resound

with the sound of dozens of hard littleskulls hitting the hull below thewaterline. In decent-sized watercraft thisis more a nuisance than danger, but ifthe boat happens to be a rowboat orcanoe, the force of the attacks may besufficient to capsize it or cause leaks. Iffiguring damage to a boat, the riverworms’ headbutt attack only does onequarter damage in Durability.

A person caught in the water with aswarm of river worms does have onelast possible defense (aside fromclambering right back out again).Petroleum products burn the skins ofriver worms, and tossing a can ofgasoline, oil, kerosene, or otherpetroleum-based liquid into the water isone sure way of clearing the area of theloathsome creatures. This isn’t likely tobe an option for someone who falls into

the water at, say, a church picnic, but ifthere is a boat in the vicinity, its fuelsupplies are usually more than adequate.

When forced to defend themselves,river worms can deliver a powerfulelectric shock through the water. Thisnasty attack can do a number on ahuman-sized creature and kill weakercreatures.

In ordinary hunting situations, thehead butts and mass attacks aresufficient to overcoming resistance.Because of this electric attack, largerpredators such as croakers and actualMaze dragons tend to avoid chasingafter river worms—at least after the firstshocking attempt. As the old sayinggoes, a cat won’t jump on a hot stove asecond time. Nor a cold one.

Profile: River WormCorporCorporCorporCorporCorporeal:eal:eal:eal:eal: D:1d4, N:3d10, Q:2d10, S:2d6,

V:2d8+2Fightin’: brawlin’ 4d10, sneak 5d10,

swimmin’ 5d10Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental: C:2d10, K:1d4, M:1d12, Sm:1d6,Sp:1d4

Overawe 3d10, search 2d10Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace: 14Size:Size:Size:Size:Size: 4WWWWWind:ind:ind:ind:ind: 12TTTTTerrerrerrerrerror :or :or :or :or: 7Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:

Damage:Damage:Damage:Damage:Damage: Electric attack (3d10, 2 yardradius), head butt (STR+2d6), teeth(STR+1d6)

Page 108: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 108/128

Page 109: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 109/128

110 Marshal

Sand SpidersSand spiders are a race of large,

sentient tarantulas who roam thedeserts of the southwest. They standapproximately six feet tall, with a headand torso rising above a spider-likethorax.

Their lower four limbs are used forlocomotion, while their upper limbshave grasping ends and can manipulatesimple tools with ease. Their heads arethose of giant spiders, and their

mandibles produce a foul, green venomwhich can keep a target paralyzed formany days. Short, wiry hair, usuallyblack or reddish-brown, covers theirentire bodies which are usually a lightbrown color.

Sand spiders live in a series of loosenomadic tribes, wandering across thedesert in search of food. Their paddedlower limbs allow them to move acrossthe shifting sand with ease, and theycan bury themselves for hours withouthaving to come up for air. They huntMojave rattlers and other desertmonsters, using pit traps and snares liketrapdoor spiders. They often use spearsand other sharp objects made ofsalvaged metals; they coat suchweapons with their paralyzing poison,making it easier to bring down theirprey. Once it has been subdued, they canthen drain it of its vital juices at theirleisure.

While rattlers and other monstrositiesform the bulk of their diet, humans areconsidered a rare delicacy, and theyoccasionally pursue lone travelers for a

tasty meal. Despite this gruesomeaddition to their cuisine, they rarelytrouble humans in large groups. Severaldesert communities have even formedalliances with the strange creatures.Sand-spiders can be useful in disposingof local monsters, and often acquireuseful equipment from their victims.Human towns sometimes trade withthem, or “hire” roaming bands to killtroublesome monsters in the area. Theless savory ones also trade prisoners forthe spiders to use in their feasts.Travelers spending the night in lonelytownships had best take care.

Sand spiders have developed arudimentary culture of sorts, based on afigure they call the “Egg Sac Mother.”They often pray for her guidance intheir strange hissing tongue, and setaside certain days of the year insupplication to her.

Profile: Sand Spider

CorporCorporCorporCorporCorporeal:eal:eal:eal:eal: D:2d6, N:3d10, Q:3d10, S:4d8,V:4d10Fightin’: brawlin’ 3d10, sneak 3d10,

throwin’: balanced 3d6Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental: C:3d6, K:1d4, M:2d6, Sm:1d8,

Sp:2d6Search 2d6, trackin’ 3d6, scroungin’ 2d8,

survival: desert 4d8Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace: 12Size:Size:Size:Size:Size: 7WWWWWind:ind:ind:ind:ind: 16TTTTTerrerrerrerrerror :or :or :or :or: 7

Page 110: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 110/128

Page 111: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 111/128

Page 112: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 112/128

Page 113: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 113/128

114 Marshal

their personality or any of theirmemories. They can sense terror inpeople and seek to maximize thissensation—often by attacking at night,when they look even more terrifyingthan usual.

Spider heads appear wherever theReckoners plan to expand their territory.They are particularly thick along bothbanks of the Mississippi—river watchersregard their appearance as an extremelybad portent.

Profile: Brain BeetleCorporCorporCorporCorporCorporeal:eal:eal:eal:eal: D:2d4, N:3d6, Q:3d6, S:1d4,

V:1d4Fightin’: brawlin’ 4d6, sneak 3d6Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental: C:3d8, K:1d6, M:1d4, Sm: 2d4,

Sp:1d4Search 3d8

Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace: 6Size:Size:Size:Size:Size: 1WWWWWind:ind:ind:ind:ind: —TTTTTerrerrerrerrerror :or :or :or :or: 3Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:

Damage:Damage:Damage:Damage:Damage: Bite (STR+1d4)BurrBurrBurrBurrBurrooooow:w:w:w:w: Once a brain beetle is in a

person’s mouth, it burrows to thebrain using its mandibles. Its salivacontains a powerful painkiller thatmakes its burrowing feel like littlemore than a persistent, gnawingache. This process takes 3d4rounds. If a victim is merelysleeping and not paralyzed, she hasa chance to awaken before it’s toolate by making a Fair (5) Cognition roll (characters with the light sleeper  Edge always wake up, whilethose with the heavy sleeper Hindrance never do). In the first tworounds it is still possible to savethe victim by yanking the vileinsect out of the mouth or nasalpassages. This causes 3d6 damage

to the hero’s noggin. After that it’stoo late to kill the bug withoutkilling the victim.

Description:Description:Description:Description:Description: Large, green beetles withmassive mandibles and a bad attitude.They sometimes hiss at their prey.

Profile: Spider Head

CorporCorporCorporCorporCorporeal:eal:eal:eal:eal: D:2d6, N:3d4, Q:3d6, S:2d4,V:1d6

Dodge 4d4, fightin’ brawlin’ 3d4, sneak5d4

Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental: C:4d6, K: 2d4, M: 2d8, Sm:2d6,Sp:2d6

Guts 2d6, overawe 3d8, search 4d6Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace: 6Size:Size:Size:Size:Size: 2TTTTTerrerrerrerrerrororororor: 7 (11 if the head used to belong

to a pal)Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:

Damage:Damage:Damage:Damage:Damage: Bite (STR+1d4)ScrScrScrScrScream:eam:eam:eam:eam: The spider head’s major

attack is its soul-piercing scream.Anyone who fails an Onerous (7)Spirit  roll is paralyzed for 1d4rounds. The effective range of thescream is 10’ per spider head

present, up to 80’ (so six spiderheads can fell folks from up to 60’away).

Description:Description:Description:Description:Description: see above.

StormcrowsScavengers follow in the wake of any

disaster—both two-legged and four-legged. In the past, they were ravens andwolves, looters and bandits, creatures ofopportunity. In the Wasted West, they’restormcrows.

Like the Hellstorms which they follow,stormcrows seem created out of puremeteorological spite. They appear asliving balls of chain lightning, rippingacross the shattered landscape. Theyfeed on the bodies of those the stormhas destroyed, burning corpses intooblivion with their tendrils of electricity.But while they happily feast upon thedead, their primary targets are thesurvivors—living flesh is so much more

fun to burn than dead.A stormcrow attacks with all the furyof the hurricane which proceeded it:direct, overwhelming and utterlymerciless. It fires out arcs of electricityat anything that moves, scorching it to ablackened husk. It disregards cover,relying instead on its intense speed tokeep harm away. Stormcrows never hidefrom their prey. They like to be asprominent as possible when they searsomeone’s flesh off.

Page 114: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 114/128

A Litany of Horrors 115They can be damaged by normal

weapons, but it takes a lot of firepower.If “killed,” it disperses only to reformwithin a few days. The only way topermanently destroy them is to groundthem—through a properly-laid cable orenough water to drown Cincinnati.Stormcrows have enough sense to avoidthese fates, so anyone hoping to usethem had best be clever.

The only upside to stormcrows is thatthey can easily be spotted from adistance and rarely bother to hidethemselves. They tend to move asindividuals, but there are always severalmore close by, who are attracted to anymayhem their brethren produce. Smartfolks dispatch the first stormcrow asquickly as possible, then getunderground before more arrive.

Profile: StormcrowCorporCorporCorporCorporCorporeal:eal:eal:eal:eal: D:3d10, N:4d10, Q:4d12, S:3d8

V:4d12Shootin’: electricity 4d10, dodge 4d10Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental: C:2d8, K:1d4, M:2d6, Sm:2d6,

Sp:3d4Overawe 3d6, search 2d8Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace: 14Size:Size:Size:Size:Size: 8WWWWWind:ind:ind:ind:ind: 16TTTTTerrerrerrerrerror :or :or :or :or: 7Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:

Armor:Armor:Armor:Armor:Armor: 5 A stormcrow has a physicalbody of some sort beneath itselectric skin, but it is notoriouslydifficult to damage.

Damage:Damage:Damage:Damage:Damage: Electrical attack (4d8); it canlaunch three per round. Range: 50yards. Properly grounded targetstake half damage.

Short CirShort CirShort CirShort CirShort Circuit:cuit:cuit:cuit:cuit: The voltage pumpedout by the stormcrows is dangerousto more than just their prey;delicate electronics that get zapped

may stop working. Whenever a herotakes a wound from a stormcrowattack, roll 1d20 for each piece ofelectronic equipment he is carrying.On a result of 20, the equipment’scircuits are fried—throw it in thetrash.

WWWWWeakness:eakness:eakness:eakness:eakness: Stormcrows arevulnerable to water. They take 3d6damage for every gallon they comeinto contact with.

Description:Description:Description:Description:Description: See above.

Tar monsterThe area directly around La Brea was

a thriving community centered on theprimary industry: the asphalt pits. Thesewere not only plentiful, but alsonaturally occurring. Since the early1850’s, the town of La Brea suppliedsealing pitch to one side or the other ofthe Mason-Dixon line. Of course, that allchanged when most of the area fell intothe ocean during the Great Quake of ‘68.

The site remained abandoned untilthe late 1880’s, when a scientific

expedition traveled to the remaining pitsto oversee the removal of tons ofsolidified tar and earth to get at thebones of mammoths, sabre-toothed cats,and other long-extinct animal life.

Page 115: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 115/128

116 Marshal

By the first decade of 1900, a wealthyphilanthropist, by the name of George C.Wilson acquired the land rights directlyaround the tar pits and beganconstruction of a museum.

A month into construction, George C.Wilson was visited late one night whilehe was working in his office. He left thesecurity of his office after he heard adoor being torn from its hinges and theshouts of alarm of the security guard.Taking flashlight in hand, he advancedinto the half-completed museumexpecting a prowler or a pack ofvandals, but when he turned the

flashlight on the source of thedisturbance, he found the security guardpinned to a pillar by a great mass ofblack tar oozing from the skeletalremains of a saber-toothed cat. A thicktendril of tar led from the bulk of the

cat’s remains through the smashed doorand back to the central tar pit.

Spotting the guard’s discarded pistolon the floor, George Wilson drew it andfired repeatedly into the tar-coveredskeleton but with no effect. The catturned and advanced, but did not attack.Instead it withdrew, dragging the guard’slimp body out the shattered door, anddove into the opaque depths of the pit.Fearing the swift involvement of theGuardian Angels, Mr. Wilson concocteda story of how a prowler had smashedin the door and attacked the guard whogave chase. The Guardian Angelsseemed satisfied and the localauthorities posted a missing personsreport, but the entire debacle wasquickly forgotten.

Three days later, Wilson had a secondvisitor, this time the guard’s reanimated

body shambled free of the tar pit. Hisbody looked as though it had beenpressure-cooked—most of the soft tissuehad been eaten away by thesuperheated tar. Through the guard’scorpse, the power behind the animatedsaber-cat made its demands known tothe petrified Wilson.

The thing was a powerful earth spiritwhich had lived deep within the tar pitssince the before the last Ice Age. It wasawakened from its millennia longslumber by the construction of themuseum. The pit entity lived off the lifeforce of living things as they drowned inthe pit. Wilson was given an ultimatum:provide a steady supply of victims, andthe spirit would spare him. Wilsonagreed and set about turning theRancho La Brea site into a touristattraction.

In the early 1940s, the Rancho La Breatar pits drew crowds of unsuspectingtourists, a seemingly inexhaustiblesupply of lifeforce to the ever-hungry

monster lairing inside. The monsterpreferred to attack at night by pickingoff stragglers from the many catwalksover the pits and by sending out itsskeletal minions to hunt for it. For years,guards and museum workers reportedblack-tentacled animals stalking silentlythrough the streets around the RanchoLa Brea. The disappearances wereoverlooked as tourists and theoccasional trespasser were the primaryvictims.

Page 116: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 116/128

A Litany of Horrors 117Wilson continued to provide for the

monster in the pit for decades, until hispassing in 1976. Before his death, Wilsoninitiated his son Martin into the serviceof the beast. Martin Wilson, who hadbeen scheming for years for the meansby which to rest control of the RanchoLa Brea from his father, cast his agingfather into the pit, cementing hisrelationship with the monster.

This relationship would endure for thenext two and a half decades until theghost-rock bombs fell—ending thetourist trade for good. The monsterdined on the stranded staff, and thenfell into a deep sleep. Now, with thingsheating up in the Maze, and plenty ofscavers and muties clambering aroundthe ruins, the La Brea Tar Monster hasbegun to stir again.

The following set of stats is for the

monster and its animated skeletalminions. Rarely does the monster haveneed to rise from the depths of its lair,but when it chooses to do so, itresembles a gigantic, amorphous tidalwave of boiling tar with the skeletalremains of dozens of creaturesswimming within it.

Profile: La Brea Tar MonsterCorporCorporCorporCorporCorporeal:eal:eal:eal:eal: D:2d12, N:2d8, Q:3d4, S:4d12+8,

V:3d12+4Fightin': see below, throwin': tar ball 2d10Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental: C:3d6, K:1d10, M: 2d10, Sm:2d8,

Sp:5d8Overawe 3d10Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace: 5Size:Size:Size:Size:Size: 15 (roughly 12 feet high and 20 feet

in length, although the creature isamorphous)

WWWWWind:ind:ind:ind:ind: —TTTTTerrerrerrerrerror :or :or :or :or: 11Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:

TTTTTar Ball:ar Ball:ar Ball:ar Ball:ar Ball: The creature may hurl a

ball of molten tar at an opponentup to 50 yards away. This has aRange Increment of 10 and a BurstRadius of 3 yards. The ball does4d8 damage on impact, and theninflicts damage at the beginning ofeach round. The damage die dropsby one step each round due to therapidly cooling tar. The stiffeningtar makes it very difficult to move;double all wound penalties causedby the tar until it is removed.

Pseudopods:Pseudopods:Pseudopods:Pseudopods:Pseudopods: Each round thecreature may attack with a randomnumber of sticky, 10'-longpseudopods of congealed tarcausing STR+1d6 damage. Thenumber of pseudopods is inverselyproportional to the beast'seffectiveness in close combat. Todetermine the number, roll 1d6 onthe table below.

Pseudopods

1d61d61d61d61d6 Number ofNumber ofNumber ofNumber ofNumber of BraBraBraBraBrawlin'wlin'wlin'wlin'wlin'RollRollRollRollRoll PseudopodsPseudopodsPseudopodsPseudopodsPseudopods AptitudeAptitudeAptitudeAptitudeAptitude

1 1 6d122 2 5d123 3 4d124 4 3d125 5 2d126 6 1d12

Immunity:Immunity:Immunity:Immunity:Immunity: Normal weapons.WWWWWeakness—Fireakness—Fireakness—Fireakness—Fireakness—Fire:e:e:e:e: Flame-based attacks

do full damage to the creature. Roll1d6 against the number of woundscaused by fire. If the roll is lessthan or equal to this number, thetar has ignited. This does anadditional 3d10 damage to it eachround, but also adds a like amountto its fightin’: brawlin’  damage.

WWWWWeakness—Explosiveakness—Explosiveakness—Explosiveakness—Explosiveakness—Explosives:es:es:es:es: Explosiveweapons do half damage to thecreature. Even then, 24 hours afterbeing "killed," it returns fullyhealed.

WWWWWeakness:eakness:eakness:eakness:eakness: The La Brea Tar Monster

is petroleum-based. Certainsolvents such as gasoline cause2d6 points of damage per gallon.Also, certain bacterium strainswere developed to break down oiland other petroleum products. Therelease of these agents would bedevastating, causing the creature tolose 1 die off all Corporeal Traitsand one level of Size per round ofcontact. Once one all CorporealTraits are reduced below d4, it dies.

Page 117: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 117/128

118 Marshal

Profile: Tar Creature (Mammoth)

CorporCorporCorporCorporCorporeal:eal:eal:eal:eal: D:1d4, N:2d8, Q:2d6, S:4d12+2,V:3d8

Fightin': brawlin' 4d8Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental: C:2d6, K:1d4, M:1d4, Sm:1d4,

Sp:2d8Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace: 8Size:Size:Size:Size:Size: 10WWWWWind: —ind: —ind: —ind: —ind: —TTTTTerrerrerrerrerror:or:or:or:or: 9Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:

Damage:Damage:Damage:Damage:Damage: Gore (STR+1d12, AP 1),trample (STR+2d12)

Resistance to Slashing/PierResistance to Slashing/PierResistance to Slashing/PierResistance to Slashing/PierResistance to Slashing/Piercing:cing:cing:cing:cing:Damage from slashing weapons,such as that from a sword, axe, etc.is halved, and puncturing damage,from thrusts, bullets, and the likecause only one quarter damage.Blunt attacks and explosives cause

full damage. Poison and drugs areineffectual as well.

Description:Description:Description:Description:Description: An enormous woollymammoth skeleton covered in hot,dripping tar.

Profile: Tar Creature (Smilodon)CorporCorporCorporCorporCorporeal:eal:eal:eal:eal: D:2d6, N:3d10, Q:3d8, S:3d10,

V:2d8Fightin': brawlin' 2d10Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental: C:3d6, K:1d4, M:1d4, Sm:1d4,

Sp:2d8Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace: 10Size:Size:Size:Size:Size: 6WWWWWind:—ind:—ind:—ind:—ind:—TTTTTerrerrerrerrerror :or :or :or :or: 9Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:

Damage:Damage:Damage:Damage:Damage: Bite (STR+2d8), claws(STR+1d6)

Resistance to Slashing/PierResistance to Slashing/PierResistance to Slashing/PierResistance to Slashing/PierResistance to Slashing/Piercing:cing:cing:cing:cing:Damage from slashing weapons,such as that from a sword, axe, etc.is halved, and puncturing damage,from thrusts, bullets, and the like

cause only one quarter damage.Blunt attacks and explosives causefull damage. Poison and drugs areineffectual as well.

Description:Description:Description:Description:Description: A saber-toothed tigerskeleton covered in hot, dripping tar.

Profile: Tar Creature (Human)

CorporCorporCorporCorporCorporeal:eal:eal:eal:eal: D:2d6, N:3d6, Q:2d6, S:3d8,V:2d8

Fightin': brawlin' 3d6Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental: C:2d8, K:1d4, M:1d4, Sm:1d4,

Sp:2d8Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace: 6Size:Size:Size:Size:Size: 4WWWWWind:—ind:—ind:—ind:—ind:—TTTTTerrerrerrerrerror :or :or :or :or: 7Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:

Damage:Damage:Damage:Damage:Damage: Fists (STR), club (STR+1d6)Resistance to Slashing/PierResistance to Slashing/PierResistance to Slashing/PierResistance to Slashing/PierResistance to Slashing/Piercing:cing:cing:cing:cing:

Damage from slashing weapons,such as that from a sword, axe, etc.is halved, and puncturing damage,from thrusts, bullets, and the likecause only one quarter damage.Blunt attacks and explosives causefull damage. Poison and drugs are

ineffectual as well.Description:Description:Description:Description:Description: A human skeleton covered

in hot, dripping tar. See above.

Texas RazorsTexas Razors hail from the panhandle

of their namesake state, althoughspecimens have also been found inKansas and Oklahoma. They sweepacross the open plains in wide swathslooking for isolated homesteads, farms,and small towns to destroy. They takean infernal glee in wreaking havoc, anddedicate themselves to cutting theirunfortunate victims into the tiniestpieces possible.

Razors are made of biological metal,and thus are incredibly resistant todamage. The tight coils of razor wirealong its sides whip out and shredanything they touch. It can manipulatethese coils like tentacles and wrap themaround victims with alarming speed,

cinching them tight to slice a trappedbody apart. In addition, its large mouthcontains several rows of sharp, pointedteeth which can rip apart flesh as easyas its “tentacles” can. This beast isanything but subtle.

Large cities and fortified communitiescan usually fight these things off. If theartillery is big enough, it can dent eventhe toughest hide. The razor makes upfor this by savoring the townships it canattack, spreading fear and panic before

Page 118: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 118/128

A Litany of Horrors 119wiping everything out in one fell swoop.It does this by first sticking to assaultson isolated individuals: outlyingbuildings, nearby travelers, etc. Thenwhen its main target is good anddemoralized, it attacks like itsnamesake, turning quiet fear into full-blown panic. The best option to defeatone of these beasts is to either distractit and run like hell (recommended onlyif you have a high-speed vehicle), orwait until it stops attacking, thenunload everything you have. Enoughexplosives or high-caliber weapons firedat it may convince it to retreat.

Some believe that Texas razors are asentient offshoot of Hellstorms andother weather phenomena. Others thinkthey’re a breed of hyperactive lurkerswho got tired of waiting for prey tohappen along. The truth, in the end, is

irrelevant; just ask anyone torn to piecesby one of them.

Profile: Texas RazorCorporCorporCorporCorporCorporeal:eal:eal:eal:eal: D:3d12, N:2d12, Q:4d10, S:3d8,

V:3d10Dodge 5d12, fightin’: brawlin’ 4d12Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental: C:2d6, K:1d4, M:3d8, Sm:1d6,

Sp:2d10Search 2d6, overawe 4d8Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace: 26Size:Size:Size:Size:Size: 9WWWWWind:ind:ind:ind:ind: 20TTTTTerrerrerrerrerror :or :or :or :or: 11Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:

Armor:Armor:Armor:Armor:Armor: 2 while motionless, 4 whilespinning

Damage:Damage:Damage:Damage:Damage: Razor wire (STR+3d12, AP 1);it can attack up to two foes perround in this manner. Bite(STR+2d8); it cannot bite anycharacter further than ten feetaway, or any characters it attackswith its razor wire.

Description:Description:Description:Description:Description: See above.

Thunder SpawnThere’s something creepy about being

out in the open at night in a worldwhere the skies are home to anynumber of fearsome beasts who mightswoop down at any time and snatch youand your loved ones from your car. It’slike swimming in deep ocean, fearfully

hoping that the massive black shapes ofcarnivores moving silently far belownever notice you. Most denizens of theWasted West try not to think of thedeath lurking in the skies, and consolethemselves with the sure knowledgethat flying creatures like night terrorsand their ilk are relatively rare.Unfortunately, with the arrival of thethunder spawn, they are not nearly asrare as they should be.

Thunder spawn, great gelatinousmonsters who hide in the moistinteriors of clouds, were born from theghost winds eddying and sheering

through the deadly miasma hanging overthe ruined cities of the East. Theygather in mighty thunderheads, andstrike when the rains lash down andmake the lower atmosphere hospitableto their bodies.

Page 119: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 119/128

120 Marshal

Swarming in flocks of a dozen ormore, these bus-sized monsters canswoop down and pick a city street cleanof pedestrians in moments. From adistance, and in a suitably dark storm,the victims of thunder spawn appear tobe rising screaming into the air, becausethe creatures are semitransparent.

Thunder spawn have only recentlybegun crossing the Mississippi in greatnumbers. Travelers ranging east of FortSmith and Kansas City are increasinglylearning to fear the mighty stormswhich routinely assail the region. Thusfar, thunder spawn are relativelyunknown any further West—but becausethe clouds cloak the creatures’movements, they could be much furtheralong than conventional wisdomsuggests.

The thunder spawn is a purplish,

gelatinous monstrosity, semitransparent,and formless, some 30 feet long. It isshot through with large pulsing veins,and shadowy internal organs can bemade out within its glistening bulk.Round black protuberances the size ofplates—its eyes—stud its body. Threehorrible, bone-white beaks—each severalfeet long—erupt at random places alongits belly, snapping and emitting anoisome vapor.

The creature is buoyed in the air by aseries of bladder-like membranes on itsupper back, filled with lighter-than-airgases. It moves vertically by inflating ordeflating the air bladders and laterallyby throwing pseudopods before it andundulating into them.

These same tentacles seize prey anddraw them toward the beak-like maws.Coated in acidic digestive juices, thetentacles leave corrosion marks onmetals and burn skin horribly.

The gelatinous body of a thunderspawn is highly susceptible to drying

out. Exposed to direct sunlight, heat, ordry air, it quickly becomes sluggish.Within 10 minutes of such exposure, itsskin loses surface tension, and itsplatters to the ground like a waterballoon—thoroughly dead.

Creatures of cunning, animalintelligence, thunder spawn work inteams in running down their prey. Theirhunting patterns are of course severelycurtailed by their physical limitations.They drift with the clouds, onlyventuring out when torrentialdownpours shroud them in protectivemoisture and soothingly dim light. Theirflocks usually number a dozen or so.The creatures normally attack fromabout 60 feet in the air.

The thunder spawn’s air bladder, ifpunctured, causes it to lose buoyancyand plummet to the ground. It thereforeprotects this vital organ by stayingabove sources of firepower—the bladderscan’t be seen or reached from below.This strategy works well againstground-bound prey, but aircraft are adifferent story—thunder spawn attack

fliers en masse  to eliminate this greatthreat. Sykers too, once aware of thethunder spawn’s bladders, may be ableto remotely attack its weak point.

Profile: Thunder SpawnCorporCorporCorporCorporCorporeal:eal:eal:eal:eal: D:3d6, N:3d10, Q:3d6+4, S:3d12,

V:3d10Dodge 4d10, fightin’ brawlin’ 5d10, sneak

(from air) 6d10Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental: C:4d6, K:2d4, M:3d10, Sm:2d8,

Sp:2d10Overawe 4d10, search 4d6Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace: 20 in the air, 2 if groundedSize:Size:Size:Size:Size: 7 (tentacle) or 20 (main body)WWWWWind:ind:ind:ind:ind: 20TTTTTerrerrerrerrerror :or :or :or :or: 9Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:

Armor:Armor:Armor:Armor:Armor: 3Damage:Damage:Damage:Damage:Damage: Beak (STR+2d8), tentacles

(STR+2d6; due to acid).SurpriseSurpriseSurpriseSurpriseSurpriseTTTTTentacle Grab:entacle Grab:entacle Grab:entacle Grab:entacle Grab: On a successful

fightin’: brawlin’  roll, the thunder

spawn can grab a victim within itsreach. The abomination needs fourrounds to pull the victim up to itsbeak. During this time, the victimcan free herself by getting a raiseon an opposed Strength roll (butmay have to learn to fly shortlythereafter). Each round a herospends in the tentacle’s graspraises him 5 yards in the air.

TTTTTentacle Wentacle Wentacle Wentacle Wentacle Wounds:ounds:ounds:ounds:ounds: A tentacle takeswounds according to its Size. All

Page 120: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 120/128

Page 121: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 121/128

Page 122: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 122/128

A Litany of Horrors 123Urban Wyrms

Urban wyrms hail from far below theearth’s surface, where they have carvedout an elaborate series of tunnels andpassageways. When the bombs fell, thethunderous commotion piqued theirinterest, and they began migratingupward in larger and larger numbers.The blasted ruins they discovered madeperfect homes, and they didn’t even needto dig new tunnels—their prey had dugthem already!

Wyrms are solitary hunters whopursue humans and other creatures forfood. Most people never see their actualbodies, which lie in a hardened, tubularshell much like undersea tube worms.These shells are often huge, stretchingtwo or three stories in the bigger

specimens, and steel-tough. The bottomsof the tubes are anchored to nearbymaterial, and are all but immovableonce set. From the top extends a seriesof 10-20 giant, mottled, grey tentacleswhich the creatures stretch into nearbytunnels in search of prey.

The tentacles can extend a greatdistance, sometimes thousands of yards.Those who spot them often believethem to be the entire animal, not just asingle limb. They end in hinged jaws,often big enough to swallow a man inone bite. The tentacles have their ownsensors, and can discern theirsurroundings. They’re also strong—strongenough to pound through rock-hardconcrete if they have to. Usually, onlyone tentacle attacks at a time; theothers are busy in other tunnels, andrarely show themselves.

The wyrms’ preferred tactic is tocrash through a wall or surface streetbeneath their targets, exploding aroundthem and swallowing them whole before

they have a chance to react. The haplessvictim is then pulled through thetentacle’s innards towards the basecreature. By the time he reaches thebeast’s main body, digestive juices haveturned him into a pulpy sludge.

While unintelligent, wyrms possess apredator’s cunning and wait until thebest possible moment to attack. Theydislike extended combat and avoidattacking if the element of surprise isn’twith them. Destroying a tentacle is

usually enough to get them to back off;they don’t want to lose any more thannecessary.

Profile: Urban WyrmCorporCorporCorporCorporCorporeal:eal:eal:eal:eal: D:2d4, N:3d8, Q:2d12, S:5d12+8,

V:4d12+10Fightin’ brawlin’ 4d8, sneak 4d8Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental: C:2d10 K:1d4 M:3d10 Sm:3d6

Sp:1d6Overawe 3d10Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace: 30Size:Size:Size:Size:Size: 30 main body, 20 tentaclesWWWWWind:ind:ind:ind:ind: —

TTTTTerrerrerrerrerror :or :or :or :or: 7Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:

Armor:Armor:Armor:Armor:Armor: 2 for tentacles, 6 for the mainbody

Damage:Damage:Damage:Damage:Damage: Bite (STR+2d8)Surprise:Surprise:Surprise:Surprise:Surprise: A wyrm who gets the jump

on its victims gets to make its firstattack at +4 and begins the battlewith one extra action card.

SwSwSwSwSwalloalloalloalloallow: Ifw: Ifw: Ifw: Ifw: If a tentacle gets tworaises on an attack it swallows thetarget whole. The victim takes 3d6massive damage each round fromdigestive juices. The only way out isto make a hole with a shotgun orcutting weapon. This requires 20points of damage.

Description:Description:Description:Description:Description: See above.

Wall CrawlerBefore the Last War, these nasty

critters were a danger to anyonetraveling the canyons of the West,

especially those of the Great Maze.Since most of mankind has gone on aforced holiday after Judgment day, someof these beasts have moved into thedeserted cities and made their homes inthe rusted skeletons of wrecked officebuildings.

Wall crawlers are predators that hangon the shadowy sides of mesas,canyons, and the occasional skyscraper,waiting for unsuspecting travelers topass below. When they spot prey, they

Page 123: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 123/128

124 Marshal

race down from their perch withlightning speed. Their prey almost neversees them coming before it’s too late.

Before they strike, wall crawlers arealmost completely silent, their claws onrock the only sound they make. Oncethey reach their prey, they emit an evilhissing.

Profile: Wall CrawlerCorporCorporCorporCorporCorporeal:eal:eal:eal:eal: D:1d4, N:2d10, Q:2d12+2,

S:3d10, V:2d8Climbin’ 8d10, fightin’: brawlin’ 5d10,

sneak 4d10Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental: C:2d10, K:1d4, M:1d10, Sm:1d4,

Sp:1d6Scrutinize 2d10Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace: 10 (20 when racing downhill)Size:Size:Size:Size:Size: 14WWWWWind:ind:ind:ind:ind: 24

TTTTTerrerrerrerrerror :or :or :or :or: 7Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:

Armor:Armor:Armor:Armor:Armor: 2Damage:Damage:Damage:Damage:Damage: Bite (STR+2d8), tail strike

(STR+3d10)WWWWWall Craall Craall Craall Craall Crawling:wling:wling:wling:wling: Wall crawlers can

move over any moderately rough,vertical surface at their normalPace, and can even move alongtotally horizontal overhangs at halfPace. They don’t call ‘em wallcrawlers for nothing!

Description:Description:Description:Description:Description: Wall crawlers’ formscombine the worst aspects of a spiderand a monitor lizard, with nasty,spiky bits all over them for goodmeasure.

Willow WightWay back in the days of the Weird

West, most of the newly arrivedmanitous concentrated on corruptingpeople and animals, but some selected

flora. These malignant spirits sank intothe young hearts of tree sprouts andquietly changed their hosts over time,slowly growing more powerful as theirhost trees grew into towering willowwights—undead trees.

Though once ordinary trees, willowwights have over time become actualabominations that derive sustenancefrom human souls rather than sun andwater. A willow wight is a monstrosity—its thick trunk is distended with tumor-like growths, its bark is black and shotthrough with green veins, and itsbranches are twisted into unnaturalcontortions.

By itself, the willow wight isn’tmuch—just a huge gnarled tree. It can’tmove, which makes it a bit vulnerableto a determined guy with a chainsaw.What it can  do is manipulate the deadburied within reach of its roots. Thewillow wight therefore gathers to itswooden bosom as many victims as itcan without tipping people off to itstrue nature.

Any dead human body buried within

reach of a willow wight’s roots becomesone of its creatures. The willow wightinfuses the body with a spark of itslifeforce, reanimating it as an undeadbeing enslaved to it. These can rangeout from the willow wight, and bothprotect it and add bodies to itscollection. Some willow wights areluckier than others—a couple evenbecame hangin’ trees or boot hill shadetrees over the course of time, makingthem deadly threats indeed.

The willow wight uses its undead asprops in a deadly illusion it weaves forwhatever audience it has managed tolure to its site. It can detect everythinghappening within its domain, generallya couple of hundred feet—at least atnight. The willow wight alwaysdisguises itself as a normal tree inweaving its illusion.

In generating illusions, the willowwight creates illusions to appeal todifferent groups depending on theappearances and behavior of

trespassers. A group of weary templarslooking for a place to rest for the nighthappen across a comfortable campsiteof fellow templars; a group of banditsmight encounter an old house filledwith gorgeous, flirtatious women.

The willow wight can’t impart anyphysical reality to an illusion, however. Itcan make a nearby rundown houselook like a well-kept palace—inside andout—or a walkin’ dead appear as anattractive woman. It can also create

Page 124: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 124/128

A Litany of Horrors 125illusions of people and places. What itcan’t do is actually create a real houseor person out of nothing. Illusionarypeople are simply ghosts, substantialonly at a distance.

Once the tree has lulled its victimsinto a false sense of security, the willowwight’s undead slaves turn on them. Ifsuccessful in slaying their victims, theundead bury the bodies near the tree,thus creating new undead servants fortheir wooden master.

The willow wight does have onemajor weakness—it goes dormant fromdawn to dusk. While the sun is up, thewillow wight is simply a grotesquetree—its undead servants disappear, itcannot attack directly, and its power toweave illusions is gone. It’s only defenseduring the day is camouflage: using itsundead servants it cultivates thickets

around its base to hide it.

Profile: Willow WightCorporCorporCorporCorporCorporeal:eal:eal:eal:eal: D:NA, N:NA, Q:NA, S:NA,

V:5d8Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental:Mental: C:5d10, K:4d8, M:4d12, Sm:3d10,

Sp:4d8*Guts 6d8, overawe 4d12, search (via

mental powers) 5d10Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace:Pace: NASize:Size:Size:Size:Size: 30WWWWWind:ind:ind:ind:ind: —TTTTTerrerrerrerrerror :or :or :or :or: 9Strain:Strain:Strain:Strain:Strain: 16Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:Special Abilities:

Animate Dead:Animate Dead:Animate Dead:Animate Dead:Animate Dead: A willow wight cananimate corpses buried among itsroots. It can simultaneously controla number of undead equal to itsSpirit  die type. Treat the willowwight’s undead as walkin’ dead.Range is equal to that of MassIllusion (below). If killed, the linkbetween the willow wight and the

body is broken until the nextsunset. If an undead’s body isexhumed from the tree’s soil andtaken away, the willow wight losesthe ability to manipulate it.

Mass Illusion:Mass Illusion:Mass Illusion:Mass Illusion:Mass Illusion: Willow wight illusionstake in everyone within range(range is a 50’ circumference perSpirit die type). These illusions caninclude audio and visual aspectsand can be projected onto objects,structures, or its undead servants.

Maintaining the illusion costs thewillow wight one Strain per hourfor every person present. Camerasand other recording devices aren’tfooled by the illusion, but ifinspected within range of theillusion, the willow wight fools theviewer into seeing a playback orreadings consistent with theillusion.

WWWWWeakness:eakness:eakness:eakness:eakness: Willow wights godormant in the daylight hours. Iflocated during the day, the willowwight is at the mercy of itsenemies.

Description:Description:Description:Description:Description: See above.* Varies by age of tree; older trees are

higher. Decide how many walkin’ deadyou want around, and the range ofthe illusion you want, then use thatnumber here.

Page 125: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 125/128

Issue #7Character Info, Errata, and The Big Picture of the Deadlands Universe

Welcome to Pinnacle’s regular update on the Deadlandsuniverse. In this issue we talk about the Combine’s latestsuspected plot and one of the hazards left over from the Last War:

minefields.

Surgeon General’s WarningThe inhabitants of Junkyard recently

experienced a serious outbreak of contagiousdiseases that killed over 200 and made hundredsmore seriously ill. The source of these diseaseswas traced to a load of “pre-war” cigarettesrecently sold in the city. Examination of the un-smoked products revealed that the tobacco ineach of them had been laced with a widevariety of dangerous viruses. These nasty bugswere drawn into the smoker’s body each time hepuffed on a cigarette.

All of these tobacco products were purchasedduring the Convoy’s last visit to Junkyard. Thosewho bought the cigarettes assumed the traderwith whom they were dealing was part of thetrucker group. Once contacted about thedangerously defective cancer sticks, Convoyleaders revealed that not only was the trader inquestion not part of their group, but that themystery man had sold two pallets worth ofthese plague cigarettes to the truckers. Thetobacco was immediately destroyed once thetruth was known.

 Junkyard is offering a 2000 bullet reward forthe capture or death of the person responsible

for this atrocity. He is described as a man ofaverage build in his late thirties, with thinningblonde hair and blue eyes. He has a scar on hisleft cheek, and a tattoo of a mermaid on hisright forearm. He was last seen driving east on I-80 in a blue and red tractor-trailer rig with alarge roadrunner painted on the side of thetrailer.

There are many in Junkyard who believe thatthe Combine was behind this insidious plot.They point out that not only did the cigarettesweaken the population of Junkyard, but if theLaw Dogs had not located the Convoy in time,the truckers would have sold these cigarettesand infected many of the towns with which theytraded. In addition to further weakeningresistance to the Combine’s expansion, thiswould also have damaged the trust manysurvivor communities place in the Convoy; theend result of which would be reducedinteraction between settlements and the possibledisintegration of the Convoy itself as it losttrading partners—an outcome that Throckmortonwould shed no tears over.

Page 126: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 126/128

Mining Continues in UravanThe Combine uranium mining operations

continue outside the town of Uravan, Colorado.Scouts from Junkyard have been keeping an eyeon the place, but so far the leaders of the “IronOasis” have taken no action against the mines.The garrison guarding the uranium mine hasbeen heavily reinforced since the activity therewas first discovered. Ike and the other leaders of

 Junkyard have been unable to reach a consensuson a course of action.

While they debate, convoys of trucks withfresh loads of uranium ore stream east towardDenver on an almost daily basis. The Sky Pirateshave made a few raids against these caravans,but with littlesuccess.

Since the first attack on one of these convoys(see Dispatch #5), the size of the escortstraveling with the ore trucks has been beefed upconsiderably. Most convoys are escorted by twoto three armored personnel carriers filled withBlack Hats, a squad of cyborgs, one or twomobile antiaircraft guns, a hovertank, and onsome occasions, a helicopter gunship or a braceof raptors.

The silver lining in this situation comes fromreports from the resistance movement insideColorado. Freedom fighters there report that allthis driving back and forth has actually put astrain on Throckmorton’s fuel supplies. Themeager production he is getting from theColorado oil fields isn’t enough to meet the

operationalneeds of theCombine forces.

Did You Just Hear a Click?One of the most terrifying weapons of war for

the average infantryman is the land mine. Thethought that simply stepping in the wrong placemay get your leg blown off or your body rippedto shreds is enough to make most people’s skin

crawl. Needless to say, lots of mines were usedduring the Last War. All the fear and terror theycreated gave the Reckoners a good chuckle athumanity’s expense.

Many of those mines are still out therewaiting for that misplaced foot. Most of themcan be found near large battlefields along theborder between the US and the Confederacy.Kansas in particular is littered with the things.They can also be found around the perimeters ofmost military bases and secure researchfacilities.

Using Mines

There are a number of ways Marshals can useminefields. The most common, of course, is asan obstacle the posse must breach to reach theirgoal. You can also use them as a random eventto give your heroes some gray hair. They canalso be thrown in to complicate a situation: asthe posse flees an abomination, they run rightinto a minefield. Of course, clever heroes might

be able to turn a minefield they discover into aweapon. If the heroes are attacked by theAlexander 9000 while they are fresh out ofantitank rockets, their only hope may be to lurethe mechanical monstrosity into a field ofantitank mines.

MinefieldsSo if you’re feeling sadistic Marshal, here’s

what you need to know:All minefields have a Density rating. This is

simply a number from 1 to 20. Simply roll 1d20against this number for each 5 yards a herotravels through the field. If the roll comes upless than equal to the Density, that lucky brainerhas found a mine. If he wasn’t looking for one(see below), he found it the hard way.

 Just to give you some idea, light-density fields

have a Density of around 5 or 6, medium-densityfields would weigh in around 9 or 10, and a high-density field would have a rating of 13 or 14. Thismeans a lucky waster could stroll right througha small, low-density minefield and not evenknow it. Just remember that actually killingpeople and destroying vehicles is usually thesecondary purpose of a minefield. Their primarypurpose is normally to slow down anddisorganize an attack, and channel it throughpre-sighted kill zones where the defenders canchop the attackers to pieces with massed fire.

Page 127: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 127/128

Here’s a look at the scoundrelsresponsible for all of this murderand mayhem.

Robin D. Laws

Writer and game designer Robin D. Laws livesin Toronto, because it is the best city in theworld. He wrote (with John Hopler) the Great Maze  boxed set for Deadlands . Robin's hit RPG,Feng Shui , recently staged a guns-blazingcomeback in its new incarnation as an AtlasGames product.

Upcoming projects include

writing and design contributionsto the King of Dragon Pass  computer game (fromA-Sharp) and Hero Wars , the new roleplayinggame set in the classic fantasy world ofGlorantha (Issaries, Inc.) Also coming soon to agame store near you are a veritable passel ofStar Trek  roleplaying products from Last Unicornfeaturing his work.

If this biography had hypnotic powers, itwould take control of your mind until youtracked down and purchased his 1996 novel,Pierced Heart , based on Atlas Games' Over the 

Findin’ MinesFinding and marking a clear path through a

minefield takes keen senses, steady nerves, andsome knowledge of the various mine types. It’sdone using the new Cognition -based mine sweepin’  Aptitude.

The brave hero doing the sweeping must makea mine sweepin’  roll for every 5 yards ofminefield marked. The TN for this roll dependson the type of mines being detected; some aremore difficult to find than others. The Marshalrolls against the field’s Density every 5 yards tosee if there is actually a mine in that area. If thesweeper makes her roll she finds any mines. Ifshe fails, the mine, if any, goes undetected. Oncedetected and marked, anyone following thesweeper can automatically avoid the blastedthing.

Looking for mines in this way takes about 10minutes for every 5 yard long and 2 yard wide

section marked. When under fire, a hero canspeed this up and search a 1 yard square areaper action, but this increases the TN of alldetection rolls by +6!

Specialized military equipment can speedthings up and give bonuses to detect mines.Look for this gear to be detailed in a laterDispatch.

Gettin’ Rid of Them

Actually disarming a mine is a little trickier.This requires a demolitions  roll against themine’s Disarm TN (see below). Unless the mine’sa dud, this is one of those make the roll or gokaboom situations. Going bust on the roll simplymeans your hero’s face was too close and thedamage is automatically appliedto the noggin.

The MinesThere are literally scores of different mine

types and designs. We can only scratch thesurface here. Mines have four importantstatistics. Cost is the mine’s relative worth intrade goods. Damage is self-explanatory; it’s howmuch of a bang the thing makes. Detect  is theTN for attempts to detect the mine underordinary circumstances. Disarm is the TN fordemolitions  rolls to render the mine harmless.

Anti-personnel Mine

Cost:Cost:Cost:Cost:Cost: $100Damage:Damage:Damage:Damage:Damage: 3d20, Burst Radius 3Detect:Detect:Detect:Detect:Detect: 7Disarm:Disarm:Disarm:Disarm:Disarm: 9

These nasty buggers have a pressure trigger,

the sensitivity of which can be set when themine is placed. Most are set to go off with aslittle as 30 or 40 pounds of ground pressurebeing applied.

Damage to the lucky sod who stepped on themine is applied to a single hit location—the leg ifwalking. If crawling, roll hit location normally.Others in the burst radius take massive damageas usual.

Anti-vehicular Mine

Cost:Cost:Cost:Cost:Cost: $300Damage:Damage:Damage:Damage:Damage: 5d20 AP 2, Burst Radius 3Detect:Detect:Detect:Detect:Detect: 7Disarm:Disarm:Disarm:Disarm:Disarm: 9

These work in the same way as the AP mines,but require 200 to 300 pounds ofpressure to detonate.

Page 128: deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

7/21/2019 deadlands - hell on earth - monsters, muties, & misfits.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/deadlands-hell-on-earth-monsters-muties-misfitspdf 128/128

Edge  game. His mist-shrouded past includesvarious stints as an actor, stage director,children's play author, and movie reviewer for anFM station.

If he's not working on a game project asyou’re reading this, he's probably out watching afilm. Don't talk during the movie. He really hatesthat.

Charles Ryan

A professional game designer for nearly adecade, Charles Ryan has left his mark onnumerous game systems: not just Hell on Earth(for which he was Brand Manager at Pinnacleuntil recently) and Deadlands  (to which hecontributed the graphic design), but also The Babylon Project, Millennium's End, Ars Magica ,The Last Crusade , and most recently StarTrek: The Next Generation  and the upcoming Dune 

roleplaying game. He's been a major contributorto nearly every Hell on Earth product to date.

Charles began his career with the foundationof his own company, Chameleon Eclectic, whichhe ran until 1998. He served as the Hell on EarthBrand Manager here at Pinnacle until just a fewmonths ago, before he defected to the west coastto take up a position at Last Unicorn Games.There he contributes to their lines whilecontinuing to write, design, and illustrate on afreelance basis for numerous other games. He'salso chairman of the Academy of AdventureGaming Arts and Design, the professionalorganization of game designers.

Though no longer officially in the Pinnacle

chased aliens with the Men in Black, gotten hisbutt kicked by Xena, and stuck a couple oflightsabers where the sun don't shine at WestEnd Games.

Paul worked as a Star Wars RPG gamedesigner and editor for three years at West EndGames, and left just before things got reallyinteresting. Currently he lurks in the offices ofWizard Entertainment as an associate editor forInQuest Gamer magazine.

He enjoys manga, Victorian literature, andHong Kong movies--which explains the strangeassortment of critters he dreamed up for thisfine book.

Rob Vaux

Born and raised in Southern California, RobVaux devoted a large portion of his waking lifeto figuring out how to escape the West Coast.

After attending college in rural Minnesota andgraduate school in Syracuse, NY, he changed hismind. Month-long blizzards have a way of doingthat.

A summer internship for SHADIS magazinebrought him back to the Los Angeles area, andturned into a full-time job. He currently writesand edits for Alderac Entertainment Group, andhas done work for Legend of the Five Rings, 7thSea, and the Doomtown CCG.

A roleplayer since the age of nine, Rob is alsoa film lover and a fan of the California Angels.Both have brought him unending heartbreak. Helives in Rancho Cucamonga, California, andchallenges anyone to find a city with a sillier