Bibliography
- At January 16, 2017
- By Great Quail
- In Deadlands
0
Deadlands 1876
Bibliography & Bookstore
Introduction
This page organizes the principal books, magazine articles, comics, Web sites, and movies that helped me create my Deadlands 1876 campaign. Some feature links to Amazon.com, where you may browse more information or even purchase the work yourself.
Games
These gaming books helped me with the campaign’s setting, characters, culture, and history. Because role-playing games usually contain multiple sourcebooks—and I own most of them for the Deadlands milieu!—I am only listing the primary books here. I am also listing them in order of relevance, rather than alphabetically or chronologically.
Hensley, Shane Lacy. Savage Worlds Deluxe. Pinnacle Entertainment, 2012. The core rulebook for the Savage Worlds RPG system, a set of generic role-playing mechanics intended to serve a wide range of gaming milieus.
Hensley, Shane Lacy and B.D. Flory. Deadlands Reloaded. Pinnacle Entertainment, 2005. The alternate-history “Weird West” sourcebook for the Savage Worlds system. Deadlands Reloaded is a revision of Deadlands, an earlier RPG that predates the Savage Worlds system. My Deadlands 1876 campaign is a personal modification of the Deadlands milieu.
Wade-Williams, Paul. Savage Worlds Horror Companion. Pinnacle Entertainment, 2012.A sourcebook for running horror-oriented games in the Savage Worlds system.
Barton, William & Sandy Peterson. Cthulhu By Gaslight. Chaosium, 1989. I leaned heavily on this supplement to Call of Cthulhu when I first began creating Lovecraftian games set during an alternate Civil War, which eventually led me to Deadlands.
Chadwick, Frank. Space 1889. Game Designer’s Workshop, 1988. My first introduction to steampunk, I played this game in one time college and it changed my life!
Nonfiction
These books helped me with the campaign’s setting, characters, culture, and history.
Adler, Dennis. Guns of the American West. Hartwell Books, 2009. An useful resource in creating the various profiles of firearms, this nice coffee-table book features some lovely color photographs.
Ambrose, Stephen. Crazy Horse and Custer: The Parallel Lives of Two American Warriors. Doubleday, 1975. A colorful history that uses its titular figures to convey the history of the Sioux Wars. Very much a “mid-70s” work, it is not entirely unsympathetic to the Indians, and clearly views the conflict as the inevitable product of historical forces, rather than a series of genocidal choices.
Andreas, A.T. History of the State of Nebraska. Western Historical Company, 1882. A treasure trove of information on Lincoln, North Platte, Fort McPherson, and the general history of Nebraska. I leaned on this quite a bit while developing the Nebraska sections of the campaign.
Arliskas, Thomas M. Cadet Gray and Butternut Brown: Notes on Confederate Uniforms. Thomas Publications, 2006. One of those Civil War battlefield gift shop books that people like me scarf up immediately. The eponymous notes on confederate uniforms are thoughtfully supplemented with many excerpts from contemporary manuals and letters.
Asbury, Herbert. The Gangs of New York. Thunder’s Mouth Press, 1927. This irresistible classic was primarily used for background on the Five Points and the Bowery in my New York sections.
Bellesiles, Michael A. 1877: America’s Year of Living Violently. The New Press, 2012. A somewhat dark vision of the “Gilded Age,” this book was obviously quite helpful for a campaign set on 1876, even if the history is quite different.
Brown, Dee. Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee. Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1970. This thoroughly depressing book is an excellent resource on the genocidal history of white/red relations as the West was opened up to American expansion.
Brown, Larry K. The Hog Ranches of Wyoming: Liquor, Lust, & Lies Under Sagebrush Skies. High Plains Press, 1995. This short book details the notorious army brothels that sprang up around western forts, and helped me detail Three-Mile Ranch outside of Fort Laramie.
Bowman, Matthew. The Mormon People: The Making of an American Faith. Random House, 2012. An indispensible text for developing Mormon characters, politics, and the history of Utah.
Coggins, Jack. Arms and Equipment of the Civil War. Broadfoot Publishing, 1962. Chock-full of charming, Boy Scout Manual type illustrations, the “Diagram of Siege Operations” is what sold me on the book!
Densmore, Frances. Teton Sioux Music. Washington Government Printing Office, 1918. A well-researched book that provided solid information on Sioux social structures and warrior societies.
Doyle, Vernell & Tim Doyle. Images of America: Sharpsburg. Arcadia Publishing, 2009. Many of these old photographs provided historically-accurate background for my Sharpsburg setting.
Ellis, Franklin & Samuel Evans. History of Lancaster County with Biographical Sketches of Many of its Pioneers and Prominent Men. Everts & Peck, 1883. Only the writers of historical fiction understand how awesome these forgotten books from the nineteenth century can be! This resource helped me flesh out the Battle of Lancaster.
Ernst, Kathleen. Too Afraid to Cry: Maryland Civilians in the Antietam Campaign. Stackpole Books, 1999. Offered some nice details for the Sharpsburg setting, especially for the “flashbacks” and the many historical figures I callously transformed into supernatural beings like ghosts and Plague banshees.
Finerty, John F. War-Path and Bivouac: The Conquest of the Sioux. Donohue and Henneberry, 1890. Written by a war correspondent for the Chicago Times, this advertises itself as a “narrative of stirring personal experiences and adventures in the Big Horn and Yellowstone Expedition of 1876.” This work of unabashed colonialism was quite helpful for fleshing out some of the historical details of the cavalry, and offers an unparalled insight into the genocidal racism of many contemporary whites.
Flayderman, Norm. Flayderman’s Guide to Antique American Firearms. Gun Digest Books, 9th Edition, 2007. Sadly now out-of-business, this was once the bible of antique firearms! Featuring hundreds of black and white photographs and detailed notes, the last Flayderman’s Guide is an essential resource for any historical gaming campaign.
Foote, Shelby. The Civil War: A Narrative History. Volumes I, II, and III. Random House, 1958–1974. Absolutely the most enjoyable resource on Civil War personalities and battles! Simply indispensable to the creation of this milieu.
Foner, Eric. Reconstruction: America’s Unfinished Revolution, 1863–1877. Harper Perennial, 1988. The essential text on the Reconstruction, the link above is for the 2012 updated edition. Vital to understanding American politics!
Griswold, B. J. The Pictorial History of Fort Wayne, Indiana. Robert O. Law, 1917. A wonderfully written document that offers a wealth of historical information about Indiana’s Black Swamp region, much of which found its way into the Fort Wayne section of my campaign. I love these old books!
Hedren, Paul L. Fort Laramie and the Great Sioux War. University of Oklahoma Press, 1998. A well-researched account of Fort Laramie and environs, it proved indispensable in re-creating the Fort Laramie.
Hook, Richard. Warriors at the Little Bighorn 1876. Osprey Publishing, 2004. Men-at-Arms #408. Contains some lovely colored plates of famous Indian warriors, of whom I borrowed a few (Rain-In-the-Face) for my Little Bighorn section.
Katcher, Philip. US Cavalry on the Plains 1850–90. Osprey Publishing, 1985. Men-at-Arms #168. Illustrated by Ronald Volstad. Another fine Osprey book, with plenty of details on the minutiae if frontier life.
Leslie, Frank. Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Historical Register of the Centennial Exposition 1876. Modern Typographers, Inc., 1976. An invaluable resource to bring alive the Centennial Exposition, even if I did relocate it from Philadelphia to New York City!
Macy, Randolph Barnes. The Prairie Traveler: A Hand-book for Overland Expeditions, 1859. This useful text was written to guide travelers across the Great Plains, and was tremendously useful in planning the ride to Alkali Lake that closes Act V, Scene 1 of my Sic Semper Tyrannis! campaign.
Mails, Thomas E. The Mystic Warriors of the Plains. Doubleday & Company, 1972. An immense and lavishly illustrated tome about the Plains Indians.
McPherson, James. Battle Cry of Freedom. Oxford University Press, 1988. Another key text for understanding the Civil War, the illustrated version especially has many useful historical resources to delight a gamemaster!
Melton, J. Gordon. The Vampire Book: An Encyclopedia of the Undead. Visible Ink, 1994. A delightful resource for all things bitey!
Metzger, Bruce M. & Michael D. Coogan. The Oxford Companion to the Bible. Oxford University Press, 1993. An always-reliable resource for angels, heresies, and general Catholic weirdness!
Miller, David. The Illustrated Book of Guns. Salamander Books, 2000. Another useful coffee-table book for antique gun nuts, lavishly illustrated and easy to read.
Panzeri, Peter. Little Big Horn 1876: Custer’s Last Stand. Osprey Publishing, 1995. Yet another fine work from Osprey, complete with terrific maps and pictures. Oh, Osprey. You are just a big geek at heart.
Parkman, Francis Jr. The Oregon Trail: Sketches of Prairie and Rocky-Mountain Life, 1849. Originally serialized in Knickerbocker’s Magazine, this vivid account of Parkman’s travels along the Platte provides an excellent primary resource on the Oglala and life on the prairie. Firmly in the “noble savage” vein of nostalgic writing, Parkman’s account also brings to life the shockingly racist and functionally genocidal views of contemporary American intellectuals—even those who admired the Indians!
Peet, Rev. Stephen. The Ashtabula Disaster. J.S. Goodman, 1877. A first-hand account of the Ashtabula train wreck, Peet’s melodramatic narrative was the skeleton upon which I fleshed out Act IV, Scene 3 of Sic Semper Tyrannis!
Philbrick, Nathaniel. The Last Stand: Custer, Sitting Bull, and the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Viking, 2010. Another key text for my campaign; utterly indispensable for creating my Little Bighorn setting, as well as establishing the crucial characters of General Custer and Sitting Bull.
Rose, Carol. Giants, Monsters & Dragons. W.W. Norton, 2000. Bearing the subtitle “An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth,” this compendium features hundreds of supernatural beings from all over the world, and helped with the creation of many Native American monsters.
Rutter, Michael. Upstairs Girls: Prostitution in the American West. Far Country Press, 2005. A solid resource for creating realistic saloons and red light districts.
Sante, Luc. Low Life: Lures and Snares of Old New York. Farrar, Straus, & Giroux, 1991. One of the most enjoyable books about crime ever written, this colorful account helped me flesh out the sketchier parts of New York City.
Tanner, Jerald & Sandra Tanner. Mormonism, Magic, and Masonry. Utah Lighthouse Ministry, 1988. Deeply antithetical to Mormonism, this DIY booklet is a treasure trove of weirdness well-suited to a mystical, Deadlands view of Joseph Smith, Jr. I used it for arcane background on the Salamanders. I do not endorse the smearing of the Latter Day Saints; but then again, I’m a guy who collects Chick booklets. A game of “Dark Dungeons,” anyone?
Thomas, Dean S. Cannons: An Introduction to Civil War Artillery. Thomas Publications, 1985. The title pretty much sums this one up! Mostly black and white illustrations and photographs.
Utley, Robert M. The Indian Frontier of the American West 1846–1890. University of New Mexico Press, 1984. A very thorough and sober account of the Indian wars.
VanderMeer, Jeff, ed. The Thackery T. Lambshead Pocket Guide to Eccentric & Discredited Diseases. Night Shade Books, 2003. A romp through the dark and infectious, this compendium of imaginary diseases was penned by authors including Michael Moorcock, China Miéville, Alan Moore, and Michael Cisco. Although the Blue Plague is not within it, one might consider it a strain of Mad Quail Disease…
VanderMeer, Jeff, ed. The Steampunk Bible. Abrams, 2011. The best single-volume, fully-illustrative, intelligently written guide to the steampunk genre currently available.
Wissler, Clark, ed. Societies of the Plains Indians. Anthropological Papers of the American Museum of Natural History, Vol. XI, 1916. This text, which informs the Densmore book mentioned above, contains a wealth of information about Sioux war societies.
Wolmer, Christian. The Great Railroad Revolution: The History of Trains In America. Public Affairs, 2012. A cornerstone text for my version of the “Rail Wars.”
Woodhead, Henry, ed. Echoes of Glory: Arms and Equipment of the Confederacy. Time-Life Books, 1996. A lovely illustrated volume with everything from Griswold revolvers to Provost uniforms.
Fiction
These novels and short stories were inspirational to establishing the atmosphere of Deadlands 1876, and in some cases, offered ideas I simply adopted wholesale.
Card, Orson Scott. The Tales of Alvin Maker. Volumes 1–6. Tor, 1987–2003. Inspiration for the general “alternative history” milieu, especially for the way Card handles Indian magic. Red Prophet is the best of the series.
Cornwell, Bernard. The Bloody Ground. Harper Collins, 1996. This fictionalized account of the Battle of Antietam supplied many “grace notes” for my Sharpsburg setting. The fourth and ostensibly final book of Cornwell’s “Nathaniel Starbuck” series. Not as good as the Richard Sharpe books, but still a worthy read!
Ernst, Kathleen. The Bravest Girl in Sharpsburg. White Mane Publishing, 1997. A children’s book, I rewarded the historical protagonist by turning her into a Plague banshee.
Gibson, William & Bruce Sterling. The Difference Engine. Random House, 1990. One of my favorite novels, this seminal steampunk classic was not just a major inspiration for the game, I blatantly lifted ideas wholesale, such as Britain’s “Rad” government, the idea of Savants, and the science of “clacking.” This book even sparked my idea for the Algonquin Commune. A foundational text for Deadlands 1876!
Gilliam, Richard, ed. Confederacy of the Dead. Roc Fiction, 1993. A wonderful collection of horror and fantasy stories about the Civil War, featuring writers such as William S. Burroughs, Michael Moorcock, and Anne McCaffrey. Good, spooky, weird stuff!
Lovecraft, H. P. Selected stories, especially: “The Colour Out of Space,” “The Dunwich Horror.” Because all my games are actually Call of Cthulhu games! “The Colour” gave me inspiration for the nefarious supernatural projects of DESC and Bureau Six, while the “Dunwich Horror” is, of course, the source of the Whateley bloodline.
McCarthy, Cormac. Blood Meridian. Random House, 1985. Another of my favorite novels, this modern classic is a dark, bloody, and cynical Western featuring a surreal cast of characters slowly descending into madness. Essential for the atmosphere of Deadlands 1876!
Melman, Peter. The Landsman. Counterpoint, 2008. This grim tale of revenge features a Jewish Confederate from New Orleans as its protagonist, and contains some of the grittiest literary writing about the nineteenth-century I’ve encountered. A terrific Civil War novel, and highly recommended!
Moorcock, Michael. Oswald Bastable Series. Ace Books, 1971–1981. From the brilliant writer who brought the world Elric and Stormbringer, the “Oswald Bastable” books feature an alternative British history filled with airships and land leviathans. Also known as the “Nomads of the Time Stream” series, these books are widely considered to be founding works of the steampunk genre.
Pynchon, Thomas. Against the Day. Penguin Press, 2006. One of the principal inspirations for my Deadlands 1876 campaign, elements from this wonderful, sprawling novel may be found all throughout my campaign, from mysterious airship organizations to deadly mining wars, from crazed inventors to temporal invaders. I even borrowed Candlebrow University, a rival school to good ol’ Miskatonic!
Stanley, Joan C. Ex Libris Miskatonici. Necronomicon Press, 1993. This Lovecraftian chapbook splendidly details the many unholy texts any god-fearing Regulator would be loath to encounter. Almost Borgesian in its attention to fictional detail, Stanley’s wonderful work is now tragically out of print.
Verne, Jules. From the Earth to the Moon. 1865; 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. 1870; Robur the Conqueror. 1886. Back when steampunk was simply contemporary science fiction, Verne established a world of brilliant and demented inventors and madmen. These three novels were especially important to creating an atmosphere of Victorian scientific romance, and I’ve included dozens of Verne Easter eggs, from Felix Nadar to the Weldon Institute.
Williams, John. Butcher’s Crossing. New York Review Books Classics, 1960. The mesmerizing story of a buffalo hunt in a lost Colorado valley, Williams’ classic Western starts off sleepily in Kansas, and builds a terrifying momentum as its characters drive deeper into the American wilderness on their mission of mechanized slaughter.
Whitehead, Colson. The Underground Railroad. Doubleday, 2016. This tale of dark magical realism follows an escaped slave on a horrific journey through a nightmare South. A Swiftian satire of American history in the form of traditional slave narrative, Whitehead’s novel is an effortless fusion of genres, featuring an exotic South ruled by terror, laced with menace, and disfigured by fire and disease.
Wallace, David Foster. Infinite Jest. Little, Brown, and Company, 1996. Incredibly complex, endlessly fascinating, and deeply moving, this alternate history of tennis, addiction, and Canadian terrorism furnished my campaign with the irresistibly-named “National Office of Unspecified Services,” or NOUS.
Comics
These comics were inspirational to establishing the atmosphere of Deadlands 1876.
Moore, Alan & Kevin O’Neill. League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Ongoing series; America’s Best Comics, 1999. Another foundational inspiration for the entire game, especially for the way that Moore weaves fictional and historical characters together, and is never afraid to dig deep for minor characters!
Moore, Alan & Eddie Campbell. From Hell. Top Shelf Productions, 1989–1996. This illuminated account of Dr. Edward Gull and his hobby gave me plenty of inspiration for my NPC, “The Quinomancer.”
Morrison, Grant. Doom Patrol. DC Comics, Issues 19–63. Although I took nothing in particular from Grant Morrison’s terrific run on Doom Patrol, I feel like the influence of early Grant Morrison is felt throughout all my game writing.
Articles
A few articles that helped me with the campaign’s setting, characters, culture, and history.
Acland, T.D. “William Withey Gull—A Biographical Sketch.” 1896. One of Alan Moore’s primary sources for Form Hell, this sketch of Dr. Gull supplied many of the authentic ruminations found in the Quinomancer’s journals.
Castaldi, Tom. “Along the Heritage Trail—Blue Cast Springs Eternal.” Fort Wayne Monthly, 2013-03-12. The inspiration for the Blue Cast Spring near Fort Wayne in Act IV, Scene 4 of Sic Semper Tyrannis!
Hayfield, Barbara and Debra Baker. “Lakes of the Nebraska Sandhills.” Lakeline, Winter 2011. This useful article was very useful for designing the Sandhills featured in Act V, Scene 2 of Sic Semper Tyrannis!
Platt, Carolyn V. “The Great Black Swamp.” The Towpath, April & July 1987. Critical to developing the generally terrain of Fort Wayne in Act IV, Scene 4 of Sic Semper Tyrannis!
Wilson, Judith M. “The Sioux Tipi.” Guinness Cultural Studies Publishing, 2012. This was an helpful resource when describing the Lakota teepees in my Sioux resource material.
Films
These movies, television shows, and documentaries were inspirational to establishing the setting or atmosphere of Deadlands 1876.
Little Big Man. Directed by Arthur Penn, 1970. A delightfully twisted western that depicts Custer in a most unflattering light.
A Man Called Horse. Directed by Elliot Silverstein, 1970. A bit cheesy by modern standards, this film contains a deliciously gruesome depiction of the Lakota Sun Dance.
Dances with Wolves. Directed by Kevin Costner, 1990. Despite its many flaws, the buffalo hunting scene helped me write “Deadlands Rules—Buffalo Hunting.”
Gangs of New York. Directed by Martin Scorsese, 1990. I love this movie! Sometimes I just feel happy this crazy film was even made, and it unquestionably provided much atmosphere for my version of the Five Points, not to mention Boss Tweed and the Draft Riots.
Deadwood. Created by David Milch, 2004–2006. One of my favorite television shows, this gritty western has a perfect cast. Brad Dourif as a crazy Civil War doctor!
Hell on Wheels. Created by Joe and Tony Gayton, 2011–2016. It’s uneven, but its heart is in the right place, and it has a crazy eclectic charm that I genuinely love.
Websites & Blogs
I used dozens, if not hundreds, of Web sites while creating Deadlands 1876. For the most part, I tried to list those Web sites where most appropriate, usually at the end of an individual section. The following sites were particularly useful across the board.
Forgotten Weapons. Ian McCollum’s detailed blog features dozens of antique weapons, many of which he demonstrates during ten-minute videos. Essential for designing the nineteenth-century firearms used in Deadlands.
Native American Facts for Kids by Orrin Lewis. Don’t be misled by the “for kids.” This is a very useful compendium of information on Native American customs, myths, and legends!
Wikipedia. An essential resource for facts relating to places, historical personages, and the weapons used in the scenario.
Wyoming Tales & Trails by G.B. Dobson. An amazing project, this resource featured a wealth of information about Fort Laramie, Cheyenne, and the general operation of stagelines.
Video Games
I should pay respect to the video game franchises of “Bioshock” and “Dishonored.” Both have built deliciously ornate steampunk worlds, and I’ve spent many happy hours in Dunwall, Karnaca, Rapture, and Columbia. Needless to say, Rockstar Games’ “Red Dead Redemption” series was also a favorite.
Author: A. Buell Ruch
Last Modified: 3 January 2019
Email: quail (at) shipwrecklibrary (dot) com