Once Upon a Time in the Weird West of the Deadland

The year is 1891, but the history is not our own…

The Dead walk from their graves, Monster hunt for the flesh of men, long dead legends live again, and the Devil is owed his due…

On the Eve of the final day of The Battle of Gettysburg a massive meteor crashed into the California Coast, shattering the state and altering history forever. That Meteor carried with it the evil known as the Reckoners, evil spirits once trapped in the lands of the Dead, now freed by the stone and the power of magic that altered time and space. They raised the dead, filled the hearts of men with rage and fear, and used the nightmares of Humanity to pray on the Human race.

The civil war lasted a full decade, both sides employing nefarious machines and hellish magic upon each other. The union won, but the war's cost grew, and the scars radically changed the US of A. Men and women of all nature stand more equal but out of necessity rath than desire or belief. Lincoln's reconstruction completed in his third term was both a moment of USA healing and a brutal continuing of the war's fighting that saw those who could not live in the new civilization banished to the wilds of the West.

The Natives of the plains, southwest and further into the west joined the Union in the war, spurred on by knowledge and prodding from spirits beyond time and space. In peace, they form new states and their own party, the Coyote Party. A rival to the Democrats, the Whigs, and the cracks with the Republicans are forming. The western states also realize they have more in common with the Coyotes than with the East's red and blue.

The modern US Army is a mix of nations, creeds, and colors. But most heavily that of the Native Peoples of the west. Many whites dream of civilizing the West, learning that the cost would be another Civil War, one that the US might not win.

The Mormon state of Deseret declares itself an independent nation. The US takes exception to this idea and goes to war again with the Mormons zealously fueled by the strange power of Doctor Hellstormme. They do not last long and are brought back under the yoke and heel of the United States. However, Hellstormme's genius was, in fact, madness as he was used by the Reckoners to open a portal to hell or so the rumors go.

California is a lawless place recovering from the man-made disaster created by an agents of the Reckoners. The Land is filled with heavy metals, half metals, gold, silver, and most precious of all, Ghost Rock. The black market for and illegal material mining of these ores is a lucrative trade that leaves many rich but many more dead. Yet the Hunger for Ghost Stone by imperial powers is insatiable.

All these events swirl in a world filled with monsters, demons, ghosts, and the unimaginable horrors of normal men stalk the twin mooned nights. The Reckoners have been beaten back, but the victory was costly for both sides. However, it is clear to those who know that what came to past was not how it should have happened for either side. The mad crackling of an undead gunslinger echoes into the night, causing both sides to pause and plan again.