The Deadlands' Desire

A Deadlands Reloaded Conversion of Nevermet Press's The Desire

The Desire, also known as Desiree Turpis, is a vile Madame possessed by the otherworldly strength of demons. You can read more about The Desire here. Below you will find a Savage Worlds conversion of The Desire, and some of her close companions.

A 57-page eBook about The Desire, designed for 4th Edition Dungeons & Dragons, was released recently by Nevermet Press. You can pick it up at RPGNow.com or directly from Nevermet Press for $9.95. By purchasing the eBook, not only will you be supporting a very tiny micropublisher, but you'll also be getting some top-notch content for your medieval / fantasy / gothic campaign setting. There is also a free, system-independent version of The Desire (all 11 articles in an early draft state) also available from NMP if you follow this link. A bunch of reviews of the eBook, and links to other system specific conversions of The Desire should be coming out from a variety of sources this week. I'll update this post with links when they do - so, subscribe to the comments!

Honestly… I'm very happy at how it all turned out; and I'm sure you'll love it too. But.. enough about the eBook... on to The Desire for Deadlands Reloaded!\

The Desire for Deadlands Reloaded
If you play Deadlands Reloaded (or any Savage Worlds game for that matter), please feel free to make use of our conversion of The Desire that could easily be dropped into your Weird West campaign. My thinking behind the conversion was that she would still act as a Madame at a frontier town brothel, but instead of being a demon-possessed human; she is more an occult priestess (a veteran arcane spellcaster in game terms) who has made a deal with The Reckoners for her own personal gain. If you play DLR, and end up using The Desire, please drop me a line in the comments. I would love to hear how it worked out!

The Desire, The City's First Mistress
A few decades ago, Desiree Turpis made a pact with 'the devil' in exchange for absolute beauty and charm. At the time, The Reckoners had just appeared in the West, and 'the devil' was no devil at all, but in fact a manitous that now whispers in her ear from the Hunting Grounds. Within a few short months, she succumbed to the manitious's desires, and quietly went mad.

The Desire, as she now calls herself, is the Madame of a local brothel and gambling establishment. Through both traditional and supernatural means, she has built up a powerful and well-connected list of loyal clients over the years; all of whom are unaware that they are acting as pawns in The Desire's far reaching schemes. Her abilities are a mixture of her own study of the occult, and that of the manitous that shares in her soul.

Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d8, Spirit d8, Strength d4, Vigor d8.
Skills: Fighting d6, Guts d8, Intimidation d8, Notice d8, Persuasion d8, Stealth d8, Spellcasting d8, Streetwise d6.
Charisma +2; Pace 6; Parry: 5; Toughness 7 (1).
Hindrances: Delusional (minor), Greedy (minor), Overconfident.
Edges: Arcane Background (Magic), Attractive, Dodge.
Gear: English 1840 Derringer (5/10/20; 2d6 dmg.; ROF 1; Shots 8; AP1; Reload 2); Hellstrom Leather Body Wrap (Armor +1), Maiden's Gown (+2 Persuasion against male characters), Whip (see notes; DLR p. 45).
Special Abilities
Irresistible Voice: If The Desire speaks to her opponent and uses their true, she can attempt to charm them into complacency. When using this ability, she makes a Spellcasting roll opposed by her opponents Spirit. On a success, her opponent can never directly injure The Desire until the charm is removed. On a raise, her opponent suffers the same curse and in addition will treat her as a trusted friend for one full day – and even defend her from harm. The Desire suffers a -2 penalty on her Spellcasting check for every attempt beyond the first each day.
Whispers of Desire: The Desire merely needs to whisper into the ear of her victims to instantly subdue anything but her wishes. This ability mimics the Puppet power (DLR, p. 99) with the exception that the victim must only hear, and understand, her words. The Desire uses makes a Spellcasting check, opposed by her opponents Spirit for a success. If she has in her possession a personal belonging of the victim in hand, she gains control of the victim for as long as she possesses the item. Otherwise, the domination lasts for no more than one hour (two hours on a raise).
Deflection: When in danger, The Desire shifts from sight and seems more difficult to target by ranged weapons. This ability relies on The Desire's Spellcasting skill, and is the same as the Deflection power (DLR, p. 91).

Want to see some reviews of The Desire eBook from Nevermet Press? Please visit these excellent sites to see what they had to say:

• Gnome Stew - http://www.gnomestew.com/reviews/the-desire
• Jonathan Drain's d20 Source - http://www.d20source.com/2009/12/product-review-portrait-of-a-villain-the-desire
• Alltern8 - http://www.alltern8.com/library/tabletop_collectible_card_games/what_should_we_play_-_portrait_of_a_villain/l-4511.html
• Uncle Bear - http://unclebear.com/?p=4335
• The Examiner - http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-7705-Phoenix-RPG-Examiner~y2009m12d14-Review-The-Desire

Looking for more conversions of The Desire to other game systems? Don't Play 4E D&D? No problem! Check these Nevermet Press Distributed Workshops for variations on The Desire using other rule systems...

• Vamping up The Desire - The Desire in Vampire, The Masqerade - http://tenletter.wordpress.com/2009/12/14/nmp_distributed_workshop_desire/
• Pathfinder Roleplaying Game conversion of The Desire http://seaofstarsrpg.wordpress.com/2009/12/14/the-desire-for-pathfinder/

“This game references the Savage Worlds game system, available from Pinnacle Entertainment Group at http://www.peginc.com/. Savage Worlds and all associated logos and trademarks are copyrights of Pinnacle Entertainment Group. Used with permission. Pinnacle makes no representation or warranty as to the quality, viability, or suitability for purpose of this product.”