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Deadlands: The Weird West Box Set Reviewed

Jeff McAleer

Dec 11, 2023

Title: Deadlands – The Weird West Box Set

Publisher: Pinnacle Entertainment Group

Authors: Shane Hensley, Matthew Cutter, and Rob Wieland

Artists: Aaron Acevedo, Bien Flores, Karl Keesler, Alberto Bontempi, Wayne Miller, and Alida Saxon

Year: SWADE edition 2021

Genre: Boxed set for the weird west roleplaying setting Deadlands for the Savage Worlds Adventure Edition

Pages: 224 pages

MSRP: $99.99 for the box set; the core setting book $39.99 in hardcover or $19.99 in PDF right here at DriveThruRPG

This time out I share what you’ll find inside, and review, Deadlands: The Weird West Box Set from Pinnacle Entertainment Group. The set includes nearly everything to get started with the Savage Worlds Adventure Edition version of the venerable horror/steampunk flavored Old West roleplaying game. Inside the box you’ll find the core setting book, the adventure Showdown at Sundown, archetype cards, dice, ammo trackers, a map, and more. It’s important to note, you’ll need a copy of the SWADE corebook to use this.

Check out my review of the Deadlands Weird West Companion right here.

SUMMARY

I certainly recommend the Deadlands boxed set for those looking to experience the venerable Deadlands setting with the latest edition of SWADE. I've always been a fan of the setting and I think the core book is chock full of wild and weird old western goodness, although you'll need a copy of the core SWADE book too. I am very surprised the box set doesn't include an Action Deck, which is used quite a lot in Deadlands. There are some other cards which are tied to the included adventure I could have done without in order to get that Action Deck. The included adventure is fine but strangely isn't designed for beginning characters. So if you use it, you'll need to advance the player characters to the Seasoned tear. Still, I do like this box set quite a lot.

Jeff McAleer

Founder/Editor-in-chief of The Gaming Gang website and host of The Gaming Gang Dispatch and other TGG media, Jeff tackles any and all sorts of games but has a special fondness for strategy, conflict sims, and roleplaying games. Plus, he's certainly never at a loss for an opinion...