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The Deadlands Epitaph

Volume 1, Issue 3

ContentsContentsContentsContentsContentsThe Big PicturThe Big PicturThe Big PicturThe Big PicturThe Big Picture (page 2)e (page 2)e (page 2)e (page 2)e (page 2)

Written by: John Goff & John Hopler

Guess Who’Guess Who’Guess Who’Guess Who’Guess Who’s Comin’ to Donners Comin’ to Donners Comin’ to Donners Comin’ to Donners Comin’ to Donner(page 7)(page 7)(page 7)(page 7)(page 7)

Written by: John Goff

Bad Moons Risin’ (page 19)Bad Moons Risin’ (page 19)Bad Moons Risin’ (page 19)Bad Moons Risin’ (page 19)Bad Moons Risin’ (page 19)

A Fist Full o’ StufA Fist Full o’ StufA Fist Full o’ StufA Fist Full o’ StufA Fist Full o’ Stuff:f:f:f:f:Featuring VFeaturing VFeaturing VFeaturing VFeaturing Varmints! (page 25), thearmints! (page 25), thearmints! (page 25), thearmints! (page 25), thearmints! (page 25), theMedicine Bag (page 29), and For aMedicine Bag (page 29), and For aMedicine Bag (page 29), and For aMedicine Bag (page 29), and For aMedicine Bag (page 29), and For a

Fistful of DollarFistful of DollarFistful of DollarFistful of DollarFistful of Dollars (page 33)s (page 33)s (page 33)s (page 33)s (page 33)

DeDeDeDeDevil’vil’vil’vil’vil’s Night (page 35)s Night (page 35)s Night (page 35)s Night (page 35)s Night (page 35)

Written by: John Hopler

AAAAAccorccorccorccorccording to Hoding to Hoding to Hoding to Hoding to Hoyle: Lost Colonyle: Lost Colonyle: Lost Colonyle: Lost Colonyle: Lost Colonyyyyy(page 44)(page 44)(page 44)(page 44)(page 44)

Written by: Zeke Sparkes

Rats in the Maze (page 50)Rats in the Maze (page 50)Rats in the Maze (page 50)Rats in the Maze (page 50)Rats in the Maze (page 50)

Written by: Rob Lusk

Open gaming licenseOpen gaming licenseOpen gaming licenseOpen gaming licenseOpen gaming licenseinfinfinfinfinformation formation formation formation formation fororororor

Deadlands D20 on pageDeadlands D20 on pageDeadlands D20 on pageDeadlands D20 on pageDeadlands D20 on page64 .64 .64 .64 .64 .

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Epitaph: 4

Good to see you again—or for the first timeif you’ve not had the opportunity to take agander at an Epitaph before this one!

Since this issue is the one hitting theshelves closest to our favorite holiday—Halloween, if you couldn’t guess—we’vedevoted as much of it as possible to thedarker side of Deadlands. Like there’s muchin the way of a light side to it anyway...

In these pages, you’ll find Guess Who’sComin’ to Donner—but it’s just for Marshals.That’s because it’s an adventure that’s suitablefor either the Weird or Wasted West with alittle modification. Just from the title alone,you can probably take a guess at the generalidea behind that one!

Those of you who want to try outDeadlands D20 but need a little help in theinspiration department should take a ganderat Rats in the Maze, an exclusive, D20 onlyadventure!

In this issue’s Medicine Bag, we’ve includeda passel of new voodoo spells that wecouldn’t fit into Hexarcana. For you Marshals,Varmints! has a few new creatures to keepyour heroes on their toes—or at least a scarfaround their necks.

A new semi-regular feature, For a Fistful ofDollars, gives players and Marshals alike alook at how folks make a living in Deadlands.The first installment of this feature, inkeeping with the season, details the finerpoints of undertaking and gravedigging in theWeird West.

On top of all that, we’ve got According toHoyle covering the Lost Colony CCG, HOEfiction from John Hopler, a new comic, and acouple of other surprises!

Weird WestRoundup

Things are getting stirred up west of theMississippi worse than a nest full of pit waspsand somebody’s going to get stung real soon!

If you’ve been following our continuingstoryline so far, you already know thatCalifornians just had a big vote on whether toremain in the Union, join the Confederacy, orbecome independent (this vote was detailed inthe adventure Rain o’ Terror).

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EpitaphThe votes are in, and it was a three-way

split right down the middle. For the moment,it seems, the confusion in California—and thevarious claims of ownership, will remain.

The Big NewsOf course the big news is the assassination

of General Robert E. Lee and ConfederatePresident Jefferson Davis (detailed in theadventure Dead Presidents).

Marse Roberts was aboard his personaltrain in Arizona when it was dynamited bypersons unknown. Rumors of Federalsaboteurs enraged the South and bloodyskirmishes broke out all along the border.

Less than a month later, however, whileattending Lee’s funeral, President Davis wasgunned down in the Richmond SecondPresbyterian Church.

Acting President (and former Secretary ofWar) Eric Michelle later revealed that theassassins were in the employ of ColonelRobert Alexander, the leader of Davis’ ownbodyguards. According to Michele (that’spronounced “Michael” for you tinhorns outthere), Alexander had learned of PresidentDavis’ impending plans for peace andattempted a bloody coup. Evidently, he hopedto kill the “peacenik” and then point thefinger at Northern assassins, resolving thenation to further warfare.

Fortunately, a band of do-goodersintervened and uncovered Alexander’s plot,but not before the fiend’s backup plan tookplace and half of Richmond was blown tosmithereens! Alexander met his end shortlythereafter as he tried to escape on asubmersible. The adventurers mentionedabove, whose names remain secret to protectthem from further saboteurs, chasedAlexander down and sunk his escape vehiclebefore it could reach the open sea.

In the aftermath of this epic adventure,Acting President Michele ordered a cease-fireand commanded all Confederate troops tostand down. President Grant accepted thecease-fire, but has not yet accepted theConfederacy’s legitimacy.

Trouble Down SouthPrior to the cease-fire, everyone’s favorite

one-legged general, Santa Anna, was gettingpushy along the Mexican border. Reports oflarge troop movements south of Arizona andCalifornia reached the offices of theTombstone Epitaph over the past few weeks.

His first target seems to be the onlycommunity of any size in the area, the FreeCity of Lost Angels.

Folks in Yuma, Arizona, claim the MexicanArmy has so plagued the Ghost Trail that it’snearly impossible for a caravan of any size toreach Lost Angels now. Curiously, however,the rail lines laid by Bayou Vermillion andDixie Rails, have remained untouched.

This may possibly be one of the reasons forMichel’s cease-fire. He’s moved severalConfederate regiments West in order to staveoff a possible Mexican invasion. He’s alsolegally acknowledged the existence of theCity of Lost Angels, likely in order to forgesome sort of alliance.

What few Confederate troops are in thearea are currently involved in trying tomaintain order in the wake of California’s“referendum fever.” And, depending on howthe vote goes, those units may findthemselves defending “foreign soil!”

The Battle of DetroitThe Union may take pleasure in the

Confederacy’s current dilemma, but it hasproblems of its own. Chafing at Britishpossession of Detroit, Union General Manihaspent the winter pulling units from stationsalong the Canadian border. Carefully timinghis attack to fall between the first thaw andspring rains, Maniha assaulted the Britishpositions. Unfortunately, his intelligence wasoutdated and drastically underestimated theenemy strength in the city.

After three days of hard fighting, Maniha’sbattered forces were forced to retire, leavingthe British in control of the city. The Unionnot only failed to retake Detroit, but theattack depleted its forces along the rest of theCanadian border!

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High Tales of Hellon Earth

Locusts AttackAn enormous swarm of locusts descended

upon the small survivor settlement ofBatesville, Kansas. The insects destroyedcrops in the field, devoured most of thetown’s stored food, and generally made anuisance of themselves. Only the timelyarrival of a Convoy truck laden with foodallowed the town to avoid starvation.

The inhabitants of the town believe thismodern day plague was the work of Thorax,an insect shaman who had passed throughthe town only a week before. No one knowswhy the shaman would inflict such apunishment on their town, because althoughthey weren’t overly receptive to his messageof insect supremacy, the man was notmistreated while in town.

The angry survivors are offering a rewardof 500 bullets and as much corn liquor as ahero can drink to anyone who can findThorax and return him to the town for trial.Judge Harrison of Batesville prefers that theman be brought in alive, but no questionswill be asked if he turns up dead.

Mysterious MurdersThe survivor town of Grenada in Northern

California also has its share of woes. There isa killer in the town and he has alreadystruck three times.

Grenada is an unusual town for NorCal inthat more than 80% of its inhabitants areformer British soldiers. They were part of thebig Canadian offensive that pushed down I-5in the spring of ’81. Their position wasoverrun by a Northern Alliance counterattackin August of that year, but this resourceful

band evaded capture behind enemy linesuntil Judgment Day occurred and allorganized fighting stopped. Once things hadcalmed down some, the soldiers came out ofhiding in the mountains and were welcomedas protectors by the small group of peopleliving in Grenada.

The killings in this small town havebaffled those trying to solve them. Theredoesn’t appear to be any connection betweenthe three victims, but the one thing incommon between all of the murders is thateach of the victims felt as if they were beingwatched for days before the killings tookplace. All of the victims also reported thatthings had been moved around within theirhouses. Nothing was stolen; things weresimply rearranged as if the killer wanted hisvictim to know that he had been there. Thethird victim was murdered in her homedespite the fact that two armed guards wereposted outside.

The inhabitants of Grenada welcome anyoutside assistance with solving thesemurders. However, the town’s leader, MajorNiles Blakeley, stated, “We want all to knowthat there is no evidence to suggest thatthese murders were committed by Jack theRipper. He has not returned from the deadand his disembodied spirit has not possesseda member of this community. Frankly, I mustsay I’m offended that whenever a murderoccurs with an Englishman in the vicinity,you Yanks automatically assume that Jackthe Ripper is involved. You Americans haveproduced many more serial killers than haveever been encountered in the British Islesand I think it presumptuous that…”

For an idea of what may be behind thesegruesome murders, check out the upcomingWaste Warriors supplement.

Purity of EssenceThey say bad news comes in threes, so

here’s one last town that’s had a run of badluck.

The town of Clarksville, Missouri was anice place to live—at least as far as bleak,

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blasted, post-Holocaust survivor towns go.The pride and joy of Clarksville was itsbrand-new (thirteen years ago) watertreatment facility. This facility was capable ofsucking in water from the Ol’ Muddy andremove 99.99% of all the toxins and bacteriain the water. It also had a fluoridationcapacity.

The survivors in Clarksville kept the placerunning after Judgment Day. Before the LastWar, drinking water straight from theMississippi was a bad idea; these days it’sdownright suicidal when you consider all ofthe stuff that has leached into the water fromindustrial sites and been thrown in by toxicshamans. To make matters worse, undeadfrom across the river have been using it astheir own private swimming pool recently.

Therein lies Clarksville’s problem. Someundead swim better than others, and manyhave been swept downstream by the currentonly to be sucked into the intake pipes ofthe town’s facility. The townspeople havebeen unable to clear the latest clog becausea small horde of undead has gatheredaround the pipes. Oversized catfish have alsobeen spotted in the area. The inhabitants ofClarksville are looking for experienced diversto clear this clog—compensation rates arenegotiable.

What’s most disturbing is that the sheernumber of undead coming from across theriver has tripled in the last month. Is this asign that the vast horde rumored to exist

beyond the Mississippi is making its wayWest? If so, it would be a staggering blow toJunkyard. Ike Taylor and the rest of thedefenders are counting on some of the morevaliant settlements to harry the Combinefrom the flanks as they advance on Junkyard.If a large force of undead should comeacross the river, these forces would verylikely be pinned down defending their ownsettlements.

Several notable Law Dogs (including ColeBallad) have gone across the river to seewhat’s happening there, but as yet, nonehave returned.

The Combine Makesa Move

The big news in the Wasted West comesfrom the Denver Resistance. The Combinehas been real quiet for the last few weeks.No new slaves have escaped into downtown,and most of the wide-ranging Black Hatpatrols have been brought in.

Ike Taylor and the rest of the heroes inJunkyard are preparing their defenses for theinevitable siege. Fortunately, the recentalliance with the Templars, and negotiationswith Joan’s Doomsayers will likely bolster thecity’s defenses.

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According toHoyle

This issue’s installment of According toHoyle just arrived via a sporadic burst ofcommunication through the Tunnel fromBanshee. Zeke Sparkes, who helped designour Lost Colony: Showdown CCG hasprepared a FAQ for us. But first, let’s addressthe inevitable gremlins..

ErrataKrKrKrKrKreech’eech’eech’eech’eech’s Skulls Skulls Skulls Skulls Skull is a rare card, not scripted

as the icon indicates.Kryll Kryll Kryll Kryll Kryll is a scripted card, not a rare card as

the icon indicates.Assault RifleAssault RifleAssault RifleAssault RifleAssault Rifle as printed is missing a +1A,

the new version corrects this:

Assault RifleAssault RifleAssault RifleAssault RifleAssault Rifle: Gear; UncommonCost: 5; Attack: +1; Damage: 2;Toughness: -; Bonus: 2; Gear. Firearm.Automatic.

Die Die Die Die Die is now worded so that the skinny canonly get the bonus from a combat hit:

DieDieDieDieDie: Skinny Power; Rare Cost: 0;Bonus: 6; Skinny Power. Free Action:Turn after a successful hit to give thisSkinny +3D for this round of combat.”Did you see that?” -Norton

Frequently AskedQuestions

Q: When will the eQ: When will the eQ: When will the eQ: When will the eQ: When will the expansion be out?xpansion be out?xpansion be out?xpansion be out?xpansion be out?A: It won’t. The collapse of the collectible

card market and the general malaise in theeconomy has caused us to cancel thisproduct. The first episode is still plenty offun, however, and we have great deals on ourwebsite for those who haven’t yet tried it.

Q: When will the Lost ColonQ: When will the Lost ColonQ: When will the Lost ColonQ: When will the Lost ColonQ: When will the Lost Colony RPG bey RPG bey RPG bey RPG bey RPG beout?out?out?out?out?

A: Our schedule says March, 2002!

Heroes:Q:Q:Q:Q:Q: Joll Joll Joll Joll Jolly Hoy Hoy Hoy Hoy Ho sa sa sa sa says he givys he givys he givys he givys he gives Eves Eves Eves Eves Evasion to aasion to aasion to aasion to aasion to a

friendlfriendlfriendlfriendlfriendly Space Ty Space Ty Space Ty Space Ty Space Transport in the sameransport in the sameransport in the sameransport in the sameransport in the samecombat as him. When do I declarcombat as him. When do I declarcombat as him. When do I declarcombat as him. When do I declarcombat as him. When do I declare this?e this?e this?e this?e this?It doesn’t state FrIt doesn’t state FrIt doesn’t state FrIt doesn’t state FrIt doesn’t state Free Aee Aee Aee Aee Action, so do Iction, so do Iction, so do Iction, so do Iction, so do Ideclardeclardeclardeclardeclare it as I assign said Te it as I assign said Te it as I assign said Te it as I assign said Te it as I assign said Transport’ransport’ransport’ransport’ransport’sssssCrCrCrCrCreeeeew to the combat, or after ew to the combat, or after ew to the combat, or after ew to the combat, or after ew to the combat, or after evvvvveryeryeryeryeryoneoneoneoneonehas assigned their fhas assigned their fhas assigned their fhas assigned their fhas assigned their forororororces to the combatces to the combatces to the combatces to the combatces to the combat(or do I get to choose)?(or do I get to choose)?(or do I get to choose)?(or do I get to choose)?(or do I get to choose)?

A: A: A: A: A: You would declare it after all of theforces were committed to combat but beforeBattle Actions start being played.

Q: Q: Q: Q: Q: TTTTTech Sgt. Hendricksech Sgt. Hendricksech Sgt. Hendricksech Sgt. Hendricksech Sgt. Hendricks gets Gear f gets Gear f gets Gear f gets Gear f gets Gear for oneor oneor oneor oneor oneCC less than listed. Does this loCC less than listed. Does this loCC less than listed. Does this loCC less than listed. Does this loCC less than listed. Does this lowwwwwer theer theer theer theer thecost of Gear he starts with, or onlcost of Gear he starts with, or onlcost of Gear he starts with, or onlcost of Gear he starts with, or onlcost of Gear he starts with, or only Geary Geary Geary Geary Gearhe gets after the start of the game? Ithe gets after the start of the game? Ithe gets after the start of the game? Ithe gets after the start of the game? Ithe gets after the start of the game? Itsasasasasays ‘Gear attached to’ rather than ‘Gearys ‘Gear attached to’ rather than ‘Gearys ‘Gear attached to’ rather than ‘Gearys ‘Gear attached to’ rather than ‘Gearys ‘Gear attached to’ rather than ‘Gearbeing attached to.’being attached to.’being attached to.’being attached to.’being attached to.’

A: A: A: A: A: Yes it lowers the costs of Gear he startswith. It only works on Gear being attached tohim however. So if you put a Laser Scope on

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