You forgot

d) Stylish and transgressive (The Bad Batch, Apocalypse World)

That's my favourite.

Somewhere between A and B, closer to A. Not a big fan of gonzo or silliness. I love it when I crawl and claw my way to the top of a brutal mountain only to see an even taller mountain behind it.

Edit: I don't know if some would consider this gonzo, but I like terrifyingly insane bad guys, the kind who wear their victims' body parts or file their teeth and tattoo their faces to look like predator animals.

The bad guys from Ghosts of Mars are my baseline for PA baddies

Hm. The choices are a bit head-scratching to me.  My only PA experience was Gamma World so I don't know what other options are out there, but I don't think my expectations were ever framed in terms of an optimism-pessimism scale. What we expected (and got) was a world that is what it is. We couldn't make it better, and we were unlikely to make it worse. Our immediate challenge was to survive and enhance our personal power/wealth/technology what-have-you, and our broader goal was to explore a world that was strange and mysterious and only really understood by the GM who created it. Not unlike D&D really, although perhaps fewer "comfortable" places. Is that Gonzo? Maybe, but I'm never sure what I'm picking when I check the "gonzo" box, so I'm reluctant to do that.

Quote from: GameDaddy;1005790I like to present it bleak, challenging, and with dark humor injected whenever possible. I always did like the extremely lethal Gamma World rpg, and have been working this autumn on a new Gamma World campaign set in Old Texas. I never was much one for the gonzo, and preferred the post-apocalyptic realism which included fatalism that was very much a part of my younger life because of the cold war. That said, the first stories that influenced my visions for what a post-apocalyptic Gamma World was Andre Norton's Starman's Son. My newest Texas Gamma World campaign setting pays homage to that.

Of course, both Wasteland and Fallout heavily influenced my Gamma World games as well. The original Wasteland was very violent, but also very interesting, and had plenty of dark humor. It opened up quite a few new avenues for my post-apocalyptic games.Ditto with the newest version of Wasteland as well, both Wasteland releases incidentally contained plenty of written contributions provided by Michael Stackpole.

Stormwolf, the official website of Michael A. Stackpole
http://stormwolf.com/

I started playing Fallout in 1998 when it was first released, and thought it was an ok game. Ultraviolent, just like its' predecessor, Wasteland, It was simply loaded with dark humor. At the time though, I was on a hiatus from playing RPGs so it didn't much affect my game design. I didn't like Fallout II at all, never played Fallout III, and was not impressed with Fallout III: New Vegas when I tried it last year. I did get Fallout IV when it was first released, and it is probably one of the best post-apocalyptic video games ever made. It is and remains, quite influential. I'm looking forward to picking up some minis for it starting right around the holidays this year, so I can run some Gamma World / Fallout mashups for Tabletop.

Modiphus: Fallout IV Miniatures
https://www.modiphius.com/fallout.html

How do I prefer my post-apocalyptic games? With a heavy dose of radiation, survival bunkers loaded with food, weapons, ammunition, and supply caches, and real men and women, who don't give up easily, who are determined to thrive and survive in spite of the stupidity of man (though I wouldn't be surprised these days if a woman was the person conducting the first strike launch.

You are a heretic and should be purged by Flamer! Purged, I say!

Quote from: RPGPundit;1005766Would you rather play in a P-A campaign that is:

a) Bleak and Hopeless

b) Challenging but Optimistic

c) Wacky and Gonzo?

A and B. A lot of members here have mentioned Fallout as being gonzo but it's not really, most of them time. Even 2, being the most divisive one, was not particularly wacky. It had plenty of easter eggs and nerd culture references sprinkled in but otherwise was mostly darker than the original (figure an entire city ruled and governed by rival crime syndicates or another technologically-advanced one that openly, unapologetically practices slavery). Heck, its storyline was about stopping genocidal maniacs who just so happened to be the descendants of America's political, industrial and scientific elite (which I won't spoil any further for those who. still. have. not. played. it. yet!).

Quote from: Technomancer;1005879Somewhere between A and B, closer to A. Not a big fan of gonzo or silliness. I love it when I crawl and claw my way to the top of a brutal mountain only to see an even taller mountain behind it.

Edit: I don't know if some would consider this gonzo, but I like terrifyingly insane bad guys, the kind who wear their victims' body parts or file their teeth and tattoo their faces to look like predator animals.

The bad guys from Ghosts of Mars are my baseline for PA baddies

There's a Raider in Fallout New Vegas who rapes his victims then eats them. And he's not picky about age or sex either. Oh, and he always uses his Flamer to roast em' (while they're still alive, of course). That terrifyingly insane for you?

I prefer the stories that can be told during the rebuilding of society. After the "event" is over, do we go back to feudalism? Do we skip right back into democracy? How many zombies does it take to alter the outcome of an election?

In other words, I would prefer a post-postapocalypse setting.

I'm thinking C, since my mind runs to "Thundaar the Barbarian" whenever I think of PA settings.

Which is great with Cartoon Action Hour: Season 3!

Quote from: PrometheanVigil;1005892There's a Raider in Fallout New Vegas who rapes his victims then eats them. And he's not picky about age or sex either. Oh, and he always uses his Flamer to roast em' (while they're still alive, of course). That terrifyingly insane for you?

"If they take the ship, they'll rape us to death, eat our flesh, and sew our skins into their clothing – and if we're very, very lucky, they'll do it in that order."

Midnight, essentially bleak and hopeless with the uncommon motes of light set against the unrelenting gloom of Izrador.

Quote from: RPGPundit;1005766a) Bleak and Hopeless?

No. The RPG version of Cormac McCarthy's The Road would be a suicidal downer and not at all entertaining to me.

Quote from: RPGPundit;1005766b) Challenging but Optimistic?

Yes. Give me some Twilight: 2000 and I'll be satisfied (although it just doesn't have the same impact anymore since it ain't the 80's anymore).

Quote from: RPGPundit;1005766c) Wacky and Gonzo?

Yes. Gamma World may not be in print nowadays, but there is still Mutant Future for some PA gonzo fun.

Wherever "Thundarr the Barbarian" and "Rifts" fall... I'd guess B for mood, but C for options.

Quote from: Chris24601;1006134Wherever "Thundarr the Barbarian" and "Rifts" fall... I'd guess B for mood, but C for options.

I'd say those two are both C.

Quote from: jeff37923;1006131No. The RPG version of Cormac McCarthy's The Road would be a suicidal downer and not at all entertaining to me.



Yes. Give me some Twilight: 2000 and I'll be satisfied (although it just doesn't have the same impact anymore since it ain't the 80's anymore).



Yes. Gamma World may not be in print nowadays, but there is still Mutant Future for some PA gonzo fun.

So Gamma World, if you play it in the spirit I think was intended, does qualify as C) gonzo?

Quote from: Zirunel;1006138So Gamma World, if you play it in the spirit I think was intended, does qualify as C) gonzo?

To me it sure does. Don't know about everybody else.

Quote from: Zirunel;1006138So Gamma World, if you play it in the spirit I think was intended, does qualify as C) gonzo?

That's a tough one. I guess the answer is: "depends upon the edition and the group."

1E Gamma World had drawings of rabbits with guns but the text didn't sound terribly gonzo, so my group ignored the pictures and played it grim and gritty. Some of the later incarnations had some pretty wild stuff in them so it was more obvious that gonzo was the intended style, but I didn't really get that so much with 1E.

In general I find that my players come up with gonzo ideas and sure-fail plans, so the rulebook doesn't need to do that for me. Some of the most gonzo games I've run were supposed to be serious Call of Cthulhu sessions, which turned crazy when decisions and/or dice rolls made everything fall apart. I prefer for the humor to come out of play and not the rules.

I'd say C, leaning towards B. My preferred system is the 19932 edition of Gamma World. I think it's easier to start gonzo and move towards a more serious tone.