Deadlands: Weird West Chronicles

HISTORY IS NOT OUR OWN

The (Civil) War is over! Of course, it took until 1871 and an epic, bloody battle of Washington (D.C.) to end it but that's all in the past. So is the "Great Quake" of 1868 which sundered California into a maze of labyrinthine sea canyons and exposed a new superfuel called “ghost rock.” The infernal ore screeches like a banshee when burned, powering all sorts of newfangled gadgets and gizmos like steam wagons, auto-gyros, and more.

Mormons claimed Utah for themselves in 1866 proclaiming it the Independent Nation of Deseret. It wasn’t just faith that powered their perseverance in that hostile environment, however. Dr. Darius Hellstromme, foremost inventor of the age and a master of the new ghost-rock-powered inventions, became their patron. Because of their status at the time in the Civil War, the Union had no choice but to accept the autonomy.

The same is true of the Sioux Nations and Coyote Confederation, two independent Native American states carved out of their ancestors’ sacred lands. The Union eventually made peace with the Sioux enough to keep Deadwood and ghost rock mining alive around the Black Hills, but the tensions are always high.

Our first Chronicle begins with the posse on their way to a small town in the northwest corner of Wyoming...

They say absolute power corrupts absolutely. In the Weird West, things can get even worse. Corruption can lead to damnation as the agents of the Reckoners seek out those willing to do just about anything for supernatural power. The world is a harsh place, and once some folks get a sample of what that power tastes like, they sink to very murky depths to get another mouthful.

The town of Sundown is a lot like many others on the frontier. It’s a boomtown struggling with growing into an actual part of civilization. Moneyed interests have come into power that want to maintain their hold on the people making the money.

The richest man in town is spoken of in whispers and allusions because the townsfolk are terrified an unkind word might force them out of town or prompt their disappearance. Places like this exist all over the West. The town of Sundown seems like a perfect example of a place full of good people living under the rule of the powerful and the corrupt.

But look a little closer at Sundown and you’ll see something deeper and darker in the shadows of the Weird West.