Re: [DL] Greenhorn in the Weird West

[Alan De Smet <chaos@highprogrammer.com>]

ArcHanGeL4216@cs.com (ArcHanGeL4216@cs.com) wrote:
> ...what books are IMPERATIVE for any Marshal worth his pesos?
> I'm on a really tight budget,...

Imperative?  The two core books (Players/Marshal's) are fine.  I
ran for some time with just the first edition core books
(Deadlands Weird West and Quick and the Dead).

The location books I've gotten (City of Angels, City of Gloom,
Great Maze, parts of Ghost Dancers) have all been exceptional.
I've heard great things about the other location books (including
the Back East series).  The books have lots of useful source
material to help build tales out of.  Each book has been a great
help to me as a Marshal.  If you need a bit of help to visualize
an area or get story ideas, I definately recommend the location
book for the part of the west your posse is in.

The splat books (Huckster & Hexes, Fire & Brimstone, Ghost
Dancers, Men in Black Dusters, etc) are all great, but I never
felt the same "this is exactly what I needed" I got out of the
location sourcebooks.  Try to pick them up as characters play
those archetypes, they can be helpful in providing more options.
Ghost Dancers is a bit of an exception as it is also a strong
location source book for the Indian nations.

In short, buy what looks interesting as your budget allows.  I've
been consistantly pleased with all of the Deadland's products.  I
wouldn't worry too much about anything being essential.

One special case is the the Rascals, Varments, and Critters
books.  I found them a bit lean for their price.  I was more
interested in a source of inspiration than actual statistics and
in-game descriptions.  So I purchased the d20 Horrors o' the
Weird West.  I've been pleased with it, but I'm comfortable
whipping up classic Deadlands stats as needed.

-- 
Alan De Smet chaos@highprogrammer.com http://highprogrammer.com/alan