In a recent spelunking I found War for the Wasteland. No idea why I have this other than I like the Bloat Games, but I really don't like post-apocalyptic games or movies. I find them far too depressing though my group enjoys them and says the characters are looking for that bit of good. All I see is how horrible people can be, and I see enough of that in real life. And I also see the good side, but I think I worry that I'd not be a good person when faced with survival versus being good. Or just out and out get killed as I have zero survival skills - I write software for a living! Why I also play characters with little to no responsibilities: I have far too many responsibilities and play to get away from that sort of thing. But as always, I digress. And as I mentioned this in passing, the group said they do want to play so I'll have to re-read the rules and see if I can run a game. Fortunately, it is pretty rules light.
Setting
It’s been almost 400 years since Earth endured its first Nuclear War. America, once looked up to as the world’s leading country with its rich economy and vast globe-spanning military might, suffered the brunt of the onslaught of nuclear missile attacks, turning the empire into smoldering, nrecognizable wasteland of its former glory.In the wake of this Nuclear War and the Nuclear Winter that followed, humanity somehow found a way to survive through these dark times. Everyday people went underground in caves and caverns to avoid the radiation. They banded together forming small communities, sharing skills, working toward goals of survival. Each of these clusters of people, thought they were the last survivors of human race, but they were wrong.In pre-war built underground Bunkers, all across the United States, hundreds of thousands of military personal, politicians, scientists, mechanics, computer & robotics experts, engineers, and the ultra-wealthy and elite, road out the War and Winter, in relative comfort and safety. During which time they established the “New American Allegiance”, a new world power who’s mission it became to set about rebuilding civilization, and specifically, America back to its former glory, making it safe for all mankind, and ensuring no other world powers or other threats rose to challenge them.And lastly, there were those who suffered the most, the surface dwellers, now called Nuke Children. They were those who stayed above ground, whose bodies were burned and ravaged by radiation and tortured by the freezing temperatures of Nuclear Winter. Over time, their bodies were altered, down to the molecular level. Some disfigured and mutated, into something unrecognizable as human. While others developed Psyched or Magical abilities.
Advice
And I like the game advice, which should be common across various games. I always let players try anything even if not on their character sheets. The odds may be low, but you never know.
PLAYER: You character, once created, will have some cool and unique features, however, it is important to real you’re not bound by your character sheet. Simply because you do not have a Pilot Hovercraftskill, does not mean you can’t attempt to pilot one. You would just roll an unskilled, d6, check. Never limited your imagination by the few features on your character sheet. It’s a whole big crazy imaginary world. Feel free to go big. Play cinematic.GM: Describe characters in terms of behaviors, risks, and obstacles, not skill dice. Lead the group in setting lines not to cross in play. Fast-forward, pause, or rewind/redo for pacing and safety; invite players to do likewise. Present dilemmas you don’t know how to solve. Move spotlight to give all time to shine.
Characters
Rolling on the random table I get a Nuke Child, who is passable with some disguise. Rory Toten grew up outside the remains of New York. Managing to survive with the help of his clan, his abilities have helped the family. Sporting a tail, silver eyes and what looks to be bone armor on his torso. Rolling on the mutant psychic table, he has 2 skills at the d8 level (roll 1 d8, where 1-2 = catastrophic failure, 3-4 = setback, 5+ = success. So the higher the skill die the more likely you are to succeed): manipulate reality for a brief time, and element manipulation. Often anxious, he carries a heirloom letter that actually predates the war. One of his ancestors had written a love letter to her future husband, and somehow through the generations that has accumulated more meaning for the Toten family. Unfortunately, he cannot read, nor does he know it is not really his ancestor but his parents, and their parents before them, believed it was.
He also carries a bolt thrower and wears no armor but his natural partial exo-skeleton can offer some protection.
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| AI - asked for a silver-eyed mutant with a tail in an apocalyptic setting |
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