World Info - Deadlands info

The game is set in the United States in the last quarter of the 19th century. The canonical year for the first edition of Deadlands is 1876. A later supplement, Tales o' Terror, advances the game's backstory and metaplot ahead one year, to 1877. The second edition of Deadlands uses the updated backstory of 1877 as the canonical starting point. Deadlands: Reloaded further updates the backstory and advances the canonical starting point to 1879.

The basic rules provide for characters and settings that could be expected to appear in the "Wild West" genre of movies and pulp fiction, and most of the in-game action is presumed to occur in the wild frontiers of the American West, or in barely tamed frontier towns like Tombstone, Arizona or Dodge City, Kansas. However, later supplements expanded the in-game adventuring area to include places such as the Deep South, the Mississippi River, Mexico, and the Northeastern United States. These supplements often provide for adventures set in urban areas such as New Orleans, New York City, or Boston.

The canonical, basic setting is referred to as the "Weird West" due to the juxtaposition of the Western setting with the horrific and fantastical elements of the game. The history of the Weird West is identical to real-world history, up until July 3, 1863. On this date in the fictional universe, a group of American Indians from various tribes, led by a Sioux shaman known as "Raven," performed a ritual in an effort to drive out the European settlers. This ritual created a conduit to a spiritual realm populated by powerful malicious entities known as the "Reckoners." The events surrounding and immediately subsequent to Raven's ritual is known as "The Reckoning."

The Reckoners feed on negative emotions, particularly fear. Sufficient levels of fear in the population of a given location allow the Reckoners to begin subtly altering the environment of that location: the sun shines a little less brightly, trees become stunted and "evil" looking, rock formations take on the appearance of corpses or monsters, and so on. The more powerful the fear, the greater the environmental changes.

The ultimate goal of the Reckoners is to turn the entire Earth into an evil, haunted wasteland — literally a Hell on Earth. However, the Reckoners cannot directly enter Earth's realm unless the overall fear level of the entire planet becomes sufficiently high. To this end, they use their powers to create monsters, madmen, zombies, and other creatures and villains that will sow fear and terror throughout the land.

The first instance of this occurred on July 4, 1863, at the site of the Battle of Gettysburg that had just ended; dead soldiers from both sides of the conflict rose from the battlefield and began indiscriminately attacking the surviving soldiers and civilians. Since then, undead gunslingers, hostile Indian spirits, strange cults, and deadly creatures have begun terrorizing the world. The American Civil War drags on thanks to the machinations of the Reckoners, and the country remains divided into U.S. and Confederate sections along with "disputed territories." Federal agents and Texas Rangers struggle to deal with the eldritch menaces while hiding the awful truth from the general public. Seismic upheavals have pushed much of California into the ocean, creating a badlands area known as "the Great Maze." In the Great Maze, miners discover "ghost rock," a mineral that burns hotter and longer than coal and is used as the basis for most Deadlands technology as well as alchemical potions and semi-magical materials.

The unleashing of the Reckoners has had a number of important side effects. Magic was revealed to be real, although it involves challenging otherworldly spirits, "manitous", in contests that are either viewed as a negotiation or a test of will. These same manitous can possess a recently deceased body and reanimate it, creating a "Harrowed". Harrowed beings are sometimes under the control of the spirit (which uses the opportunity to spread fear) and sometimes under the control of the deceased being. Scientific progress rapidly advances as the Reckoners support experimental designs that normally would not work. This progress drives the technological level of Deadlands from historical levels to a "steampunk" setting.

Players take on the role of various mundane or arcane character types, including Gunfighters, Lawmen (such as U.S. Marshals or local sheriffs), Hucksters (magic users), Shamans, Blessed (those of faith), and Mad Scientists in an attempt to learn about the Reckoning and the mysterious beings behind it.

I felt it might be worthwhile to describe the current state of the law throughout the West. The laws are a mite different out here compared to what you might be used to Back East.

Civil Law

Civil law is concerned with civil (noncriminal) offenses, things like the violation of someone’s water rights. When a cattleman allows his herd to drink from the local cattle baron’s watering hole and the baron decides to sue the cattleman (instead of filling him full of lead), it’s a civil lawsuit.

Some of the more common civil offenses include:

Breach of Contract: When one party to a contract violates it, the other party can sue him to recover the money lost because of the breach.
Fraud: When one person deceives or defrauds another—say, as part of what turns out to be a crooked business deal—the injured person can sue to recover the money he lost.
Libel and Slander: Despite freedom of speech and the press, you’ve got to watch what you say. If you print or say something about someone which is untrue, and you knew or should have known that it was untrue, you may get sued for libel or slander.
Water Rights: Water’s mighty important out West. We don’t get as much rain in many parts of the West as you folks are used to back East. Therefore water rights are a frequent cause of courtroom contention in the Weird West. The fact that some ponds and rivers around here are infested with things only makes the situation worse.

Criminal Law

Criminal law is (of course) concerned with criminal offenses, things like murder and thieving. When a lowdown cattle thief steals some cattle and then gets the drop on the hombre trying to stop him and puts a slug in him, that’s a criminal offense. Actually, it’s two criminal offenses.

Some of the more common criminal offenses include:

Murder: Murder happens when someone intentionally kills another person.
Manslaughter: Manslaughter is the killing of someone without intending to do it.
Theft: Theft is taking and carrying away another person’s property with no intention of returning it. Some common forms of theft include horse thieving, cattle rustling, and grand larceny (the theft of $300 or more worth of property).
Robbery: Robbery is theft committed by using physical force or intimidation (for example, at gunpoint).
Burglary: Burglary is breaking and entering into someone’s dwelling at night with the intent to commit some other crime (usually theft) inside. Burglary may only occur in a private dwelling.
Counterfeiting: Counterfeiting is the creation of a fake copy of something of value.
Wirecutting: Illegal primarily here in Texas, this is the offense of cutting someone’s barbedwire fences so you can graze your cattle on their land. These offenses sometimes result in “cutting wars.”
Gambling: In some cities and towns, gambling itself is illegal. Individual gamblers can be fined, as can the establishments running the games. In many places, the fine is a monthly one. In other words, it’s really more of a gambling tax than a fine.
Drunk in Public: In other words, if you’re going to get drunk, have the decency to stay home or fall asleep inside the saloon.
Disorderly Conduct, Disturbing the Peace: These two crimes are more or less the same thing, though disorderly conduct is usually more severe. Anything that the local authorities think is causing problems probably qualifies for one of these offenses, whether it’s making loud noise, causing a ruckus, riding your horse through town too quickly, using foul language, or a hundred other things.
Carrying a Weapon: Many cities and towns (particularly cattle towns like Abilene or mining towns like Tombstone) have made it illegal to carry firearms or other weapons within the city limits. Failure to obey this law can get someone in real trouble. Few marshals take kindly to “heeled” men, since those guns could be used to
shoot them.
Carrying A Concealed Weapon: Regardless of whether carrying a weapon is illegal, concealing a weapon on one’s person is againstthe law just about everywhere.
Discharging a Gun within City Limits: Even if it’s legal to carry guns, don’t shoot them in town. Penalties for this crime are usually more severe the closer one is to the center of town, due to the fact that more people are around.

The Judicial System

So what happens when you’re arrested for a crime? The procedure is pretty much the same here in the Confederacy as it is in the Union. First thing, of course, is that the defendant is taken to the nearest jail or prison and confined there until his trial. The state, represented by the District Attorney (also called a prosecutor)
brings his case up for a preliminary hearing. The preliminary hearing is the defendant’s chance to convince the judge that he is not all that dangerous and should be released so he can prepare for his case. Usually the judge requires a defendant to pay a peace bond or bail of $100 or more to guarantee he’ll show up for trial. If the
defendant doesn’t show up, he forfeits the money. Needless to say, if the crime is a hanging offense, the odds of being released pending trial are slim, since few folks are going to come back for mere money when their life is at stake! The type of crime the defendant has been arrested for determines which court his case is tried in. If he was arrested on a federal warrant (by the US Marshals or Texas Rangers, depending on where the crime took place), he’s tried in a federal court. Any other crime is a state crime that will be tried in a court for the state in which it was committed.

The national court systems have courtrooms in major cities (usually one city in each state or territory), and all cases are brought there for trial. A defendant may have to wait a while for his trial to come up, because there aren’t enough judges to go around. The state court systems aren’t quite so elaborate. There is a courthouse in every county seat, and usually there are five levels of judges. The first is the justice of the peace, or magistrate, who issues arrest warrants, marries
people, and performs some other minor functions, but doesn’t usually preside over actual cases. Then there are sitting judges—judges who hold court in the same place all the time. These are usually only found in the larger cities and towns, since most states can’t afford to keep a full-time judge in every courthouse. Instead, all states but Utah use circuit judges, judges who ride a “circuit” from courthouse to courthouse and try the cases waiting for them when they get there. This creates major delays for many defendants, since lots of things can come up to prevent the judge from getting to the court when he’s supposed to: a big case in
another courthouse, bad weather, illness, you name it. Even worse, the judge might be bushwacked while he’s riding the circuit—judges aren’t always the most popular folks—which means the defendants in the next town have to cool their heels in jail until the state legislature gets around to appointing a replacement. If a defendant doesn’t like the judge’s decision, he can appeal to the court of appeals, which is located in the state capital. If that court’s decision is against him, he can appeal again to the state supreme court. That’s his last hope. If they don’t give him the decision he wants, he has to get ready for a long stay in the hoosegow.
Most judges are no-nonsense types, but they’re usually pretty fair, even if sometimes harsh. Only a few, maybe one in 20, qualifies as a “hanging judge.” It’s best not to have your case tried by one of these lethal lawgivers, since you’re likely to end up in a noose if you do. The original hanging judge, Isaac Charles Parker, whose territory covers Iowa, Minnesota, and the Dakotas, routinely lets six or more men twist in the wind at once. Hanging judges are most common in rural areas, where they can dominate law enforcement in small communities. In more populated areas, other authorities put an end to their reign of terror, or a relative of one of their “victims” takes revenge on them. The Texas Rangers have been diligent at preventing too many “hanging judges” from cropping up in the Confederacy.

Criminal Defenses

Before a defendant’s case comes to trial, he may hire a lawyer. They’re not too expensive, usually $50-$100 (maybe more for a really good one or one with lots of connections). Lawyers can be invaluable in presenting a case to the court. Despite the Constitution and the longstanding precedent of “innocent until proven guilty,” in the West the opposite is often true. If a defendant doesn’t make out a good case, he is going to prison, so he has to prove he didn’t do
it. That means the defendant must prepare a good defense. There are lots of defenses to crimes. Some are specific to the crime itself (such as the defense to burglary that “I didn’t do it at night, so according to the definition, it’s not technically
burglary, right?”), but others are more general. Some of the most common general defenses include self-defense, defense of others or property, preventing a crime, drunkenness, and insanity (one who is drunk or insane cannot form the intent to commit a crime, which can be an important distinction).

Another thing working in the defendant’s favor is the jury. Those twelve men may hate his guts and want to see him strung up even if he’s as innocent as a newborn babe—or they may not feel like convicting him, regardless of how strong the evidence is against him. People who are popular often aren’t convicted. No Missouri
prosecutor would ever get a conviction against Jesse James, because the folks in Missouri love him and would vote to set him free. Juries can also be threatened into returning the “right” verdict because they’re chosen a day or two before trial begins. That’s how Jack McCall got away with murdering Wild Bill Hickok.

Punishments

Crooks who are convicted have a wide variety of unpleasant punishments to look forward to. The standard punishments in the West are listed on the Crime and Punishment Table given below. These apply to both state and national courts, though federal judges tend to be a bit harsher. If a fine is imposed, the defendant is usually also charged court costs (typically, about $2). A term in jail or prison may be replaced by a similar term at hard labor. This involves breaking rocks or performing other chores while wearing a ball and chain. Look on the bright side: at least you get to see the sunshine. The worst punishment that can be imposed is,
of course, hanging. Walking up those 13 steps to stand on that trapdoor is enough to make even the toughest desperado cry for his momma. Some gallows have multiple platforms so that several evildoers can be sent to Hell at once. Judge Isaac Charles Parker’s gallows, for example, contains 13 separate platforms—fitting
for the infamous “hanging judge.”

Crime - Punishment
Murder - Hanging, or up to life inprison
Murder, attempted - Up to life in prison
Manslaughter - Hanging, or up to life in prison
Kidnapping - Hanging, or up to 25 years in prison
Assault:
Intent to murder - Hanging, or up to life in prison
Simple - One week in jail to one year in prison
With a weapon - One month to two years
Theft:
Horse thieving - Hanging, or a fine of any amount, or up to life in prison
Cattle rustling - Hanging, or a fine of any amount, or up to life in prison
Larceny:
Grand - Five to 10 years in prison
Petty - One week in jail to one year in prison
Robbery:
Bank - Hanging, or a fine of any amount, or up to life in prison
Train - Hanging, or a fine of any amount, or up to life in prison
Claim jumping - Hanging, or a fine of any amount, or up to life in prison
Other - Five years to life in prison
Burglary - Five years to life in prison
Wirecutting - One to five years in prison, or up to a $1,000 fine
Counterfeiting - One to 5 years in prison
Gambling:
Individual - $5-$10 fine
Establishment - $20-$75 fine per month
Drunk in public - $10-$20 fine and/or up to one day in jail (until you sober up)
Disorderly conduct - $1-$50 fine (depending upon the severity of the conduct) and/or up to one day in jail
Disturbing the peace - $5-$50 fine (depending upon the severity of the conduct) and/or up to one day in jail
Carrying a weapon:
In no-weapon zone - Confiscation of the weapon, and a $25– $100 fine, and/or up to three months in jail
Concealed weapon - Confiscation of the weapon, and a $50-$200 fine, and/or up to three months in jail
Discharging firearm within city limits - Confiscation of weapon, up to a $20 fine, and/or up to a day in jail

Fate is a fickle bitch. Sometimes she smiles on you, and sometimes she spits the biggest, nastiest thing you’ve ever seen right on your head. In Deadlands, both the good guys and the bad guys can store up a little bit of fate to save their kiesters in dire situations. Fate, in this case, is represented by poker chips which come in three colors (usually blue, red, and white). The first game starts with a pot of 10 blue, 25 red, and 50 white chips. At the start of each session, every player gets to draw three Fate Chips at random from the pot (no looking, partner!) The Marshal also gets to draw three chips that he can use for all the extras and bad guys.

Between Sessions: Between game sessions, everyone needs to write down the type and number of chips they had so they can pull them out of the Fate Pot the next time. There’s a space provided on your character sheet for just this purpose. Make sure everyone gets their old chips from the fate pot before anyone
draws their three new ones before the next session. There are other ways to get Fate Chips besides drawing them at the beginning of the game. We’ll tell you
about that after we tell you just what all you can do with them.

Legend Chips
There’s one more type of chip your group might see after it becomes a little better acquainted with the Weird West’s dark underbelly. These suckers aren’t put in the pot when you start the game. They’re gained when your group beats a really nasty critter of the Weird West and lives to tell about it. The Marshal has the complete info. Just remember they exist when one winds up in your hand.

The Limit
Nobody likes a miser. Start hoarding Fate Chips and your posse will hate you for it. Just to keep anyone from ignoring us, no player can ever have more than 10
chips. If you get more than that, trade in the excess for Bounty Points

Trading Chips
A player can give another player Fate Chips, but it’s expensive. The giver has to give an equal value of chips to the pot for whatever chip he gives to someone else. Figure the value of the chip by the number of Bounty Points they’re worth (see below). Give a player a blue chip, and you have to pay the pot 3 “points” worth of chips. Three whites would work, as would a red and two whites, or a single blue. If you put in chips worth more than what you gave another player, that’s okay, but you don’t get “change” from the Fate Pot. The generous player who gives another his chips should explain exactly how his character helps his companion—whether it’s by distracting a bad guy or simply offering a few colorful words of encouragement. If the character can’t do anything to help (or the player can’t come up with
a suitable explanation), the Marshal probably shouldn’t allow it. There’s no need to be too strict here—a simple “watch out for that zombie” or a quick glance at the tentacle sliding towards the cowpoke’s boot are good enough reasons to let a real hero do his compadre a favor.

Going Bust
You can’t spend white, red, or blue Fate Chips if you go bust on a roll. Fate turns her back on even the most heroic souls from time to time.

Calling on Fate
A character can use his Fate Chips in any one of three ways: to improve Trait and Aptitude checks, to save his skin by canceling wounds, and to trade them in for Bounty Points. Legend chips have one additional function as well (see below).
What follows is a description of what each chip can do for you in each of these roles.
Trait and Aptitude tells you how to use each type of chip to increase those Trait and Aptitude rolls your hero has some control over—those he can put a little extra “oomph” into. This includes the Strength portion of a hand-to-hand damage roll, by the way. That’s a neat “cheat” of the rules since Fate chips can’t normally be spent on damage rolls.
Wounds lists the number of wounds or Wind that can be negated by the chip. Spending a Fate Chip doesn’t make wounds “heal” or stop an attack it just reduces the effects or makes it so it never happened in the first place. Whenever your character takes damage, you can spend Fate Chips to negate some of the wounds. This must be done immediately after the wounds have been assigned and before any Wind is rolled or further attacks are resolved. Wounds can be negated from multiple locations with a single chip. Two wounds to the arm and one to the guts could be canceled with a single blue Fate Chip, for example.
Wind: A character can also spend chips to regain Wind he’s lost. Assume new Wind damage is negated before it has any adverse effects (such as knocking a hero out or killing him). This can be done as it’s taken (such as when a wound is taken or brawling damage is dealt), or even later on in a fight several rounds after the Wind was lost. Hey, we’re talking heroes here.
Bounty Points is the value of the chip when it is turned in for—you guessed it—Bounty Points. We’ll tell you how to spend those in just a moment. Some chips have special effects as well, like the Legend chip’s Reroll ability. Just check the last line of each chip description for any quirks.

White
Trait & Aptitude Rolls: White chips give the character one extra die per chip spent, just as if he had an extra point of Aptitude or Trait Level. The player can spend these chips one at a time until he is happy with the result.
Wounds: 1 wound or 5 Wind.
Bounty Points: 1
No Going Back: When used on a Trait or Aptitude roll, the player cannot spend any more white chips once he has spent a red, blue, or Legend chip (that way you can’t spend a white chip on the result of another chip).

Red
Trait & Aptitude Rolls: Red chips let you roll a bonus die and add it to your highest current die. This is like an Ace except that the first die isn’t necessarily the highest it can be. Only one red chip may ever be spent on a single action.
Wounds: 2 wounds or 10 Wind.
Bounty Points: 2
Marshal’s Tithe: The downside is that whenever a hero uses a red chip for a Trait or Aptitude roll, the Marshal gets a draw from the Fate Pot. Marshals only get draws when red chips are spent on Trait or Aptitude rolls, not when they’re used to negate wounds or cash them in for Bounty Points.

Blue
Trait & Aptitude Rolls: Blue chips are just like red chips except they don’t give the Marshal a draw. Only one blue chip may ever be spent on a single action.
Wounds: 3 wounds or 15 Wind.
Bounty Points: 3

Legend
Trait & Aptitude Rolls: Legend chips can be used as blue Fate Chips.
Wounds: 5 or all Wind.
Bounty Points: 5
Reroll: You can also use a Legend chip to reroll any die roll. That includes rerolling a Trait or Aptitude check from scratch (ignore any previous rolls or chips spent), even if the roll went bust. A Legend chip could also be used to reroll a result on a table, a Reliability check, or even damage. It doesn’t grant any rerolls (like a blue chip) when used on a roll like this, however. The downside is that when a Legend Chip is used in this manner, it’s gone forever. Discard it from the pot, friend.

The “Great Quake” struck the west coast in 1868, shattering California into a labyrinthine maze of sea canyons. Thousands died and tens of thousands were left isolated and alone in this nowdesolate wasteland. But in the wake of the Great Quake, a new mineral—called “ghost rock” because of the eerie, groaning vapors it produces when burned—was discovered in the fractured cliff faces of the “Maze.” It proved to be a superfuel. Those who experimented with it, dubbed “mad scientists” by the press, could make incredible devices years ahead of their time. The Maze flooded with hundreds of wild-eyed academians and thousands of desperate
miners hoping to get rich by finding the next great vein.

Ghost Rock
Ghost rock was later found elsewhere as well—the Black Hills, the Wasatch Mountains around Salt Lake City, and even what were formerly thought to be
coal reserves Back East. In fact, it seemed the stuff popped up anyplace it
could cause trouble. The first group to truly realize ghost rock’s potential for destruction was the Confederate army. They developed new and terrible weapons at their secret base in Roswell, New Mexico. In 1870, Rebels armed with flamethrowers and rocket packs, backed by massive steam “tanks” and flying machines, raided the Union capital in the famous “Battle of Washington.” The bluebellies eventually won their capital back, but the nature of warfare had changed forever.
A stable supply of ghost rock was the key to victory. President Ulysses S. Grant
declared that the first company to build a transcontinental railroad to the Maze
would receive the exclusive government contract for ghost rock—a prize worth
billions. The Confederate government quickly followed suit, and the race to the
coast was on. No one guessed the trouble this would cause. But they realized their mistake a few years later when the Great Rail Wars came to full steam and did to the West what the Civil War had done Back East.

The Great Rail Wars
Six companies proved contenders in the race to the coast. They were not friendly competitors. The race West was expensive. The railroads needed spurs to every valuable stop along the way. When Rail Gangs competed for the same “right of way,” battle ensued, starting what the papers came to call the “Great Rail Wars.”
At first, the Rail Gangs were filled only by grim gunmen and desperate outlaws, but some of the Rail Barons commanded darker forces.

The Barons were careful to keep any bizarre monstrosities away from towns. If civilians ever discovered a railroad had allied itself with such dark powers,
it would lose both passengers and cargoes. When someone occasionally discovers the true nature of the Rail Wars, the Rail Baron’s enforcers silence them quickly. Only a rag called the Tombstone Epitaph dares report the truth. Unfortunately, the public is eager to read this tabloid, but scoffs at the “wild stories” that appear within its pages.

The game will based around the relatively new boom town of St George located in the northern most region of the Maze near the Oregon border.

A year ago the town was tiny, its survival based around a small family of shipwrights that had settled there and the occasional miner that would wander into town to sell fundament to the local Rockies representative then blow what ever he had made on cheap booze and women.

That all changed about four months back when a series of big earthquakes struck that section of the maze. After the dust had cleared and things started to return to normal the local miners started striking ghost rock deposits any where they decided to swing a pick (or so the stories go.) As soon as word got around St George became the most talked about topic in all of California and every man women and child keen for a slice of the pie had up and high tailed it north in hope of making their fortune.

Before a miner can do anything with his newly identified chunk of exposed earth, he is morally obligated to determine that his claim to it is clear and legal. If the miner is less then a paragon of virtue, he may calculate that he possesses the wherewithal to defend the claim from its rightful owner. Claim -jumping is not only universally abhorred, but widely practised. Like Pinkertons, miners know to look after their own interests. They have a saying; “Be righteous and keep your pistol by your side.”

Staking a Claim

To figure out whether a particular claim has been spoken for or not , the miner needs to seek out a representative of the Greater Maze Rock Miner's Association. The grand commercial organisation is know by all and sundry as the Rockies. I suppose the Rockies are as close as the Maze comes to an actual government. You can tell that because the miners are always cursing them and blaming them for all their misfortune.
Despite what their name might lead you to assume, the board of the Rockies isn't made up of miners. The Greater Maze Rock Miner's Association is a cartel of wealthy shipping types. They buy from the miners and sell to clients throughout the world.
They established the Rockies as a way of keeping the disputes between miners to a minimum and thus keeping the supply flowing in their direction. They are hard men, often survivors of the '49 gold rush. Their money gives them power and they exercise it without hesitation or compunction.

To stay on the right side of the Rockies, the miner has to survey his claim with what passes for precision out here and then find himself a Registrar of Claims. Any mining town worthy of the name boasts a person designated by the Rockies to act as a registrar. Usually its the saloon keeper or sometimes the local sheriff.
The Rockies have divided the entire Maze into districts. There is supposedly a method to the divisions but the miner's sometimes find in confusing to figure out which district the claim belongs to and thusly which town to find to get the right registrar.
There's no fee to claim, the miner has to work it at least one day out of every three months. Courtesy demands that he put up some kind of plaque or something on his claim so that others don't waste their time trying to register it.
When there's a dispute over a claim, the disputant protests to the registrar of the district in question. If the registrar can't settle the dispute, the aggrieved party can appeal to the board of the Greater Maze Rock Miner's Association, which meets in Shan Fan on a quarterly basis.

Getting to Market

Once a miner's started pulling fundament out of the ground he needs to find a buyer. This is usually a Rockies assayer. Most of the larger towns scattered throughout the Maze have an assayer. This is usually someone in the town the Rockies feel is trustworthy, like a prominent merchant. The individual assays, buys and stores all the fundament brought to him until a Rockies freighter comes by to collect it. At most major towns the ship comes bay at least once a month.
Of course, not all miners live close enough to a town with an assayer to cash their fundament on a regular basis. To address this problem the Rockies maintain a fleet of ore barges which follow regular routes through the Maze. Each of these heavily guarded barges make scheduled stops along its rout, usually at large towns or major mining camps. At each stop the area miner's converge on the barge with all the fundament they've mined since the last barge came through. A team of assayers on the ship processes all the sales.
The arrival of the barge is a major boon to the economy of the town at which it stops because it's suddenly up to its armpits with miners who have money eating through their pockets. Rivalry between towns for a spot on the barge schedule is fierce and often turns bloody. The Rockies use this to play different mining factions against each other.

1- The #1 Saloon
2- The Sheriff's Office
3- The Church
4- Boot Hill (the cemetery)
5- The Hanlan Manor
6- The Hanlan Ship Yard
7- Salty Bill's Saloon