Deadlands is a genre-mixing alternate history role-playing game which combines the Western and horror genres,[1] with some steampunk elements.

The basic rules provide for characters and settings that could be expected to appear in the "Wild West" genre of movies and pulp fiction, and most of the in-game action is presumed to occur in the wild frontiers of the American West, or in barely tamed frontier towns like Tombstone, Arizona or Dodge City, Kansas.

However, later supplements expanded the in-game adventuring area to include places such as the Deep South, the Mississippi River, Mexico, and the Northeastern United States.

On this date in the game, a group of American Indians from various tribes, led by a Sioux shaman known as "Raven," performed a ritual in an effort to drive out the European settlers.

However, the Reckoners cannot directly enter Earth's realm unless the overall fear level of the entire planet becomes sufficiently high.

To this end, they use their powers to create monsters, madmen, zombies, and other creatures and villains that will sow fear and terror throughout the land.

Since then, undead gunslingers, hostile Indian spirits, strange cults, and deadly creatures have begun terrorizing the world.

The American Civil War drags on thanks to the machinations of the Reckoners, and the country remains divided into U.S. and Confederate sections along with "disputed territories".

Federal agents and Texas Rangers struggle to deal with the eldritch menaces while hiding the awful truth from the general public.

Magic was revealed to be real, although it involves challenging otherworldly spirits, "manitous", in contests that are either viewed as a negotiation or a test of will.

Marshals or local sheriffs), Hucksters (magic users), Shamans, Blessed (those of faith), and Mad Scientists in an attempt to learn about the Reckoning and the mysterious beings behind it.

When attempting to quickly reload a gun, each raise allows another round of ammunition to be loaded in a single action.

[4] Players with huckster characters use a deck of playing cards in addition to dice to cast their spells (hexes).

In the game world, this mechanic is explained as the huckster literally gambling with a magical spirit in order to get it to do his or her bidding — a high ranking poker hand means the huckster has won, and the spirit casts the hex as desired; a low ranking poker hand results in failure.

The Marshal may also award additional Bounty Points at the end of the session for completing the mission objectives and any exceptional role-playing by players.

In May 2006, Great White Games published a new edition of Deadlands under the company's Pinnacle Entertainment Group label.

Flory and entitled Deadlands: Reloaded, used Great White Games' Savage Worlds generic role-playing system.

The publisher has hinted that four complete plot point campaign books will be released for Deadlands: Reloaded, each focusing on certain regions and events in the metaplot of the game.

Matthew Cutter of Pinnacle has also stated that updated Hell on Earth and Lost Colony books will be published for the Savage Worlds system.

A successfully funded Kickstarter for a new spin-off setting, Deadlands Noir, was conducted from May to June 2012, with the product's release expected in 2013.

"[9] In his 2023 book Monsters, Aliens, and Holes in the Ground, RPG historian Stu Horvath noted that Deadlands was emphatically a product of its time, pointing out, "It is difficult to criticize a game that came out in 1996 for being too emblematic of '90s RPG design, but it's also hard to discuss the game without constantly pointing out just how '90s it is.