Aralsk-7 Prospectors of Rebirth Island
Loosely based on video games like S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and Chernobylite, as well as the novels "Roadside Picnic" and "Annihilation", in Aralsk-7 RPG players take on the role of scavengers within a government-enforced "Exclusion Zone" on Vozrozhdeniya Island, deep within the U.S.S.R. It was here that a strange "Event" occurred in the early 1970s, a visitation that left the isolated island changed forever, where the rules of physics seem to have been turned on their head. Despite the Zone's many unpredictable hazards, hints as to what happened on the island (and may still be happening) await discovery.
Some of the highlights of Aralsk-7 include a simple character generation system, five major "roles" to define each character's background and motivations, character traits and flaws, and the use of printable cards to represent loot (from weapons to body armor, medicines and even miscellaneous junk). Combat is dangerous and brutal; the effects of firearms are meticulously modeled on real-life wound cavitation (by caliber). Each character has a body chart onto which weapon "overlays" are placed to determine the depth of a wound, and the extent of internal injury.
Central to combat is each character's Action Deck, with cards that represent different actions the character can take during a round. This is where Aralsk-7 takes on a familiar deck-building mechanic. With earned experience, players are able to get rid of weaker cards and replace them with better, more effective, and more utilitarian cards to improve their character's chances of surviving a fight.
The 150-page pdf rulebook for Aralsk-7 is now available on DriveThruRPG.com, as is an introductory adventure, "Rule Number One", which helps new GMs and players learn the more important mechanics of the game system, as well as a chance to explore just one small corner of Rebirth Island.
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/463524/aralsk-7 (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/463524/aralsk-7)
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/464170/rule-number-one (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/464170/rule-number-one)
(https://d1vzi28wh99zvq.cloudfront.net/images/26355/463524.png)
Hello Gamer1970s!
I run the Randomworlds TTRPG Discord chatroom and hold text-based Q&A sessions for game authors there. Would you be interested in coming by to discuss Aralsk-7?
Past guests include Kenneth Hite, Robin D. Laws, Greg Stafford, Greg Stolze, Marc Miller, Jonathan Tweet, Margaret Weis, Mike Pondsmith, Ken St. Andre, Peter Adkison, James M. Ward, and Mark Rein•Hagen.
This is a free service, although tips are welcome at https://ko-fi.com/gmshoe.
Your Q&A will be promoted on my Facebook feed, at 16 Facebook groups -- 18 if it is a Kickstarter -- and on three major RPG web forums (TheRPGSite, RPGPub, and Enworld). In addition, the log of the Q&A will be maintained on my blog.
Here's the schedule: https://tinyurl.com/randomworlds-schedule
Here's where to book your Q&A: https://tinyurl.com/randomworlds-booking
(The current standard time slots are 1:00-3:00 pm Central Standard Time Saturday and Sunday and 7:30-9:30 p.m. Central Standard Time every day of the week except where otherwise noted.)
Here's the shortcut to the chatroom:
http://www.tinyurl.com/randomworlds-discord
Here's my blog, where I save the Q&A logs: http://gmshoe.wordpress.com/
And here's the Q&A format: https://gmshoe.wordpress.com/qa-format/
I should also mention that game authors are always welcome to hang out with us and discuss their products, and we have quite a few authors who do so on a regular basis. A Q&A simply gives you the floor to yourself. Stop by and check us out! :)