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Regale us with tales of your post apocalyptic campaign!

Started by Robyo, April 29, 2018, 10:20:48 AM

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Robyo

While I'm confident running fantasy, and to a lesser extent, gritty sci-fi adventures, I never felt like I could wrap my head around hosting a prolonged postapoc game. Looking for ideas and inspiration on world-building, and frankly, what the PCs should do. Something beyond Tank Girl or Mad Max rip offs.

How important are factions in your world? Is resource management a big part of the game? Do the PCs ever hope to effect (positive) change to their already-doomed planet? Do you like to play it serious, or horrific, or more tongue-in-cheek? Is there much role-playing in your sessions, or do they tend to be more like dungeon crawls, only re-skinned as postmodern ruins?

Kiero

I really like the world they're building in the TV show Into the Badlands. It isn't too grim-dark and they give a plausible gun-less setup that allows wuxia to feature prominently.

It isn't a post-apocalypse where the world is grinding down to its eventual doom, but one that's had to start again and might flourish once more.
Currently running: Tyche\'s Favourites, a historical ACKS campaign set around Massalia in 300BC.

Our podcast site, In Sanity We Trust Productions.

darthfozzywig

Other than goofing around with some 2e Gamma World way back when, I don't think I've ever run a post-apoc campaign.

Thought about it numerous times, but it always breaks down when I think a gonzo, giant bunny-riding Gamma World campaign is just too silly, but I can't run a serious game without going all "The Road"...and I really don't want to run that game.

Eventually, I probably embrace the madness and do a Thundarr game.

Ookla! Ariel! RIDE!
This space intentionally left blank

Omega

Depends on the setting.

Early Gamma World is my personal favourite. You have pockets of varying levels of tech. But mostly people are at the medieval stage at best and some are near tribal still. It allows for all sorts of startoffs from the more primitive to the slightly more advanced. Usually alot of travel and meeting new groups. Factions I tend to keep to a minimum till something warrants their presence.

After the Bomb presents a different sort of PA setting with a genetic disaster reshaping civilization and bringing vast swaths to ruin. Things are recovering slowly though on several fronts. That is if certain factions dont tear it all down.

Others I like are Morrow Project for its take on a post apoc setting and the Robotech/Macross RPG for its reconstruction phase.

d20m Gamma World from WW has an interesting idea of the PCs start town as a sort of statted out thing with its own skills/feats. The PCs have to handle running the place and dealing with problems internal and external that impact the populations outlook and support or lack thereof.

Patrick

Love playing Atomic Highway.  Not too much crunch, pretty awesome rule set for Mad Max like adventures in the wasteland.  I gm'ed one where the PCs were descendants of US Marines who took shelter in a large National Forest in Northern Minnesota.  They encountered cannibals, mutant wolves, mutant spiders, and all sorts of craziness- even a semi functional Artificial Intelligence based in a university they found after awhile.  Just threw whatever felt cool at them and a good time was had by all.
Inspirations from an old series of books called Endworld, the Postman, the Gunslinger books, etc.

Mordred Pendragon

Currently planning a Big Eyes Small Mouth 1E campaign called "Army Dudes" that is semi-post-apocalyptic.

The PC's are anthropomorphic toy army men in the aftermath of a devastating war. It's like Twilight 2000 meets Toy Story.
Sic Semper Tyrannis

Robyo

Into the Badlands is indeed a cool show. Only seen the first season, but it totally screams RPG campaign setting to me. I wonder when the sourcebook will be out...

It seems like medieval style tech to begin with (1st level) is a good way to go. As the PCs explore the wasteland, they obtain higher tech, but may not understand it for awhile.

There's a fan made Thundarr the Barbarian campaign setting for Mutant Future out there. Never ran it, but the show was awesome.

The idea of a statted-up towns is interesting. I will have to check out more of d20 Gamma World.

Mordred Pendragon

Funnily enough, I was just writing out some charts for my Army Men post-apocalyptic campaign before I got on here.
Sic Semper Tyrannis

Aglondir

#8
I've never run a post-apoc campaign! It's the "one that always gets away."

Influences:

Fallout (PC games) and Book of Eli. Mad Max is too "Car Wars" and The Road too depressing. Are there any other (true) post-apoc movies? Zombie Apocolypse doesn't count, that is its own genre. I guess Planet of the Apes counts, but I found the first one with Gary Oldman dull and did not watch the rest. If they turned it around later, let me know. Partial Apocolypse (Judge Dredd, or sci-fi with post-apoc planets) doesn't really count either.
 
Systems:

Other Dust by Sine Nomine is incredible. It's built on the same chassis as Stars Without Number, but there are four classes (I forget the actual names, but they are basically fighter, tech, faceman, and scout.) Each class gets one special ability. The fighter ability is interesting. In SWN, the fighter's ability is defensive; in OD it's offensive. There are awesome rules for radiation, thirst, and starvation. Like SWN, it uses a D20 for combat and 2d6 for skills. All of the tech items from SWN are compatible, so you have instant random treasure tables.

Darwin's World: The version I have is for D20 Modern, but I'm a bit burned out on 3rd-era's endless feats. They retooled it for Savage Worlds, but based on the few times I've played SW, it would need some mods to make it less pulp, in my opinion. In terms of D20M, you can do the "strong hero" stuff or better yet, use their "post-apoc hero" class and segue straight into the awesome advanced classes. The mutations are excellent. The "wasteland generator" is a great resource.

Morrow Project: I don't own this, but from a friend's description it sounds cool. Sounds like the PCs are from Now, frozen for a mission in the far future, and wake up to a world gone wrong. I think I'd modify the premise a bit and let the PC's have genetic engineering or psi powers.

Spinachcat

I am a huge Post-Apoc fan. It's my fav gaming genre in many ways.

I run Gamma World 1e and the D&D4e version, Rifts and Waste World. I tend to run the settings as gritty, but GW lends itself to some tongue in cheek. If you don't own a PA RPG, I highly suggest downloading MUTANT FUTURE (its the free retroclone of GW).

Factions and local politics can play a big part. I love GW's Cryptic Alliances and my GW campaign always features them prominently, often with PCs belonging to them.

Much of post-apoc is reskinned fantasy, and I consider that a boon.

How much the PCs focus on improving the world often depends on the campaign and the player interest. Usually the PCs want to make money, and thus they take missions which are generally paid for by those in power of an area whose goal is to extend their reach.

Arkansan

I ran a brief Fallout campaign set in my home state using Savage Worlds. We had fun but I didn't feel like Savage Worlds was a good fit for what we were doing. If I had to do it again I'd either use GURPS or the old home brew Fallout RPG floating around the web.

As to the actual game itself, there was a good deal of focus on local politics as well as economics. The players were trying to find a niche for themselves as river boat guards for the dominant trading house of the region. They uncovered a conspiracy between said group and a coalition of smaller gangs which kept raids on their goods at a minimum whilst ensuring raids on their competitors were constant.

RPGPundit

Quote from: Kiero;1036537I really like the world they're building in the TV show Into the Badlands. It isn't too grim-dark and they give a plausible gun-less setup that allows wuxia to feature prominently.

It isn't a post-apocalypse where the world is grinding down to its eventual doom, but one that's had to start again and might flourish once more.

I'm currently running a post-apocalyptic OSR game strongly influenced by Into The Badlands.
LION & DRAGON: Medieval-Authentic OSR Roleplaying is available now! You only THINK you\'ve played \'medieval fantasy\' until you play L&D.


My Blog:  http://therpgpundit.blogspot.com/
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NEW!
Check out my short OSR supplements series; The RPGPundit Presents!


Dark Albion: The Rose War! The OSR fantasy setting of the history that inspired Shakespeare and Martin alike.
Also available in Variant Cover form!
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ARROWS OF INDRA
Arrows of Indra: The Old-School Epic Indian RPG!
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Spinachcat

Quote from: RPGPundit;1037239I'm currently running a post-apocalyptic OSR game strongly influenced by Into The Badlands.

What system are you using? What resources?

If you haven't check out Sine Nomine's Other Dust, its worth a read.
http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/103502/Other-Dust

RPGPundit

Quote from: Spinachcat;1037242What system are you using? What resources?

If you haven't check out Sine Nomine's Other Dust, its worth a read.
http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/103502/Other-Dust

I've got Other Dust, and it's quite good, like all of Sine Nomine's products.

But I'm using a kind of generic OSR game, very rules-lite, and borrowing from a couple of different sources. It's not exactly anything specific.
LION & DRAGON: Medieval-Authentic OSR Roleplaying is available now! You only THINK you\'ve played \'medieval fantasy\' until you play L&D.


My Blog:  http://therpgpundit.blogspot.com/
The most famous uruguayan gaming blog on the planet!

NEW!
Check out my short OSR supplements series; The RPGPundit Presents!


Dark Albion: The Rose War! The OSR fantasy setting of the history that inspired Shakespeare and Martin alike.
Also available in Variant Cover form!
Also, now with the CULTS OF CHAOS cult-generation sourcebook

ARROWS OF INDRA
Arrows of Indra: The Old-School Epic Indian RPG!
NOW AVAILABLE: AoI in print form

LORDS OF OLYMPUS
The new Diceless RPG of multiversal power, adventure and intrigue, now available.

Kiero

Quote from: RPGPundit;1037623I've got Other Dust, and it's quite good, like all of Sine Nomine's products.

But I'm using a kind of generic OSR game, very rules-lite, and borrowing from a couple of different sources. It's not exactly anything specific.

Are you using any variant rules for unarmed combat (to make it suck much less than default)?
Currently running: Tyche\'s Favourites, a historical ACKS campaign set around Massalia in 300BC.

Our podcast site, In Sanity We Trust Productions.