Spoiler free review:
Deadlands has gone through a lot of changes sinced I first found out about it in 1998. Learning a new game after being weaned on AD&D was intimidating, but the lore was what kept me coming back. Especially knowing that Deadlands: The Weird West was a growing, changing and living campaign.
And "The Cackler" may be the most exciting that I have read.
Alternate histories are a difficult genre, taking known characters and events of American legend and making them fictional but feeling familiar. At some point, the writers could be expected to "dry up" their well of knowledge because, eventually, how much of a threat can the Reckoners and their Servitors be if players can vanquish them in their published adventures?
The Cackler does this by introducing new threats that feel fresh and original and still familiar! A Living Worlds means that moving forward sees heroes perish.
I loved The Cackler as a new villain I recognize, and I am anxious to see how Shane Hensley and the Pinnacle crew how far the Deadlands mythos will change in the coming years. Sorry I didn't get in on the Kickstarter for this one.
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