Eldan
2009-09-24, 04:31 AM
So, one of my friends wants me to start a Gamma World game over Skype. Okay, I've dug out my old books. 4th Edition I think. However, one of my greatest hobbies as a DM is creating worlds, settings, organizations, monsters and so on. Therefore, I'll write my own. However, some creative input will still be appreciated.
First: what fluff is given by the rules, more or less:
Devastating War: At some point in the past, there was a civilization with a tech level that was extremely high. Robots, power armor, spaceships, battleship-sized tanks and 12d6 damage handheld weaponry. This civilization all but wiped itself out in a war, which was, most likely, nuclear.
Science Fantasy: This game doesn't take itself seriously, and neither does it take science seriously. There are mutants and weird creatures all around, and I'm not talking Fallout mutants: I'm talking flying, electricity-breathing, four-eyed psionic fungus-men wielding double axes.
Ruins and Artefacts: To quote the book "Entropy is Convenient". You can march into a skyscraper from five hundred years ago, dig through the rubble to find a dungeon entrance and unearth a perfectly functioning jeep out of gas and a laser that only needs a new battery.
Medieval Tech Level: The default tech level of the setting is somewhere in the late middle ages, with primitive gunpowder weapons, metal armor and swords being common. Mixed into that are artefacts, which don't seem to be that uncommon: everything from pencils to suits of power armor can be found.
So. That's the basics I'm working with here. The default setting of the game is "Meriga", i.e. the US. It contains everything I described above, and more. I'll take a different approach.
A few of the ideas I'd like to implement:
Too many Wastelands: Seriously. Every post-apocalyptic setting out there seems to be set in a desert or other dry, rocky environment. I think I'll go with a jungle this time. More opportunity for whacky creatures, from riding frogs to tree squids.
Mutants are rare: While there will still be genetically engineered beastman and the rare humanoid plants, I think I'll make the people with half a dozen powerful mutations (i.e. players) exceptions. People will have a mutation or two, but the streets will not be filled with mind-reading horned wolfmen and armored cacti.
Rare technology: Very often one sees postapocalyptic settings where every thug seems to somehow have access to pre-war assault rifles. I'd like these things to be a little rarer than that: prized possessions that are recovered from irradiated ruins infested by insane robots at a great risk. Of course the typical weapons made from three pieces of wire, a circular sawblade and a golf club will be around, as are weird mechanical constructions. On the other hand, I think I'll keep the "convenient entropy" aspect and still have functioning weaponry and vehicles around in ruins, otherwise there isn't much loot for the players at all.
Reemerging civilization: Instead of a nomadic scavenger civilization and isolated, fortified communities, I'm thinking of mostly city states, with some farming and herding supporting them. There will be standing armies of the kind one would find in a medieval or dark age setting: units of men sworn to the local ruler, outfitted with metal or leather armor and simple weaponry. Maybe up to crossbows.
I'll post more in an hour or so, including my first ideas on a few organisations and communities.
First: what fluff is given by the rules, more or less:
Devastating War: At some point in the past, there was a civilization with a tech level that was extremely high. Robots, power armor, spaceships, battleship-sized tanks and 12d6 damage handheld weaponry. This civilization all but wiped itself out in a war, which was, most likely, nuclear.
Science Fantasy: This game doesn't take itself seriously, and neither does it take science seriously. There are mutants and weird creatures all around, and I'm not talking Fallout mutants: I'm talking flying, electricity-breathing, four-eyed psionic fungus-men wielding double axes.
Ruins and Artefacts: To quote the book "Entropy is Convenient". You can march into a skyscraper from five hundred years ago, dig through the rubble to find a dungeon entrance and unearth a perfectly functioning jeep out of gas and a laser that only needs a new battery.
Medieval Tech Level: The default tech level of the setting is somewhere in the late middle ages, with primitive gunpowder weapons, metal armor and swords being common. Mixed into that are artefacts, which don't seem to be that uncommon: everything from pencils to suits of power armor can be found.
So. That's the basics I'm working with here. The default setting of the game is "Meriga", i.e. the US. It contains everything I described above, and more. I'll take a different approach.
A few of the ideas I'd like to implement:
Too many Wastelands: Seriously. Every post-apocalyptic setting out there seems to be set in a desert or other dry, rocky environment. I think I'll go with a jungle this time. More opportunity for whacky creatures, from riding frogs to tree squids.
Mutants are rare: While there will still be genetically engineered beastman and the rare humanoid plants, I think I'll make the people with half a dozen powerful mutations (i.e. players) exceptions. People will have a mutation or two, but the streets will not be filled with mind-reading horned wolfmen and armored cacti.
Rare technology: Very often one sees postapocalyptic settings where every thug seems to somehow have access to pre-war assault rifles. I'd like these things to be a little rarer than that: prized possessions that are recovered from irradiated ruins infested by insane robots at a great risk. Of course the typical weapons made from three pieces of wire, a circular sawblade and a golf club will be around, as are weird mechanical constructions. On the other hand, I think I'll keep the "convenient entropy" aspect and still have functioning weaponry and vehicles around in ruins, otherwise there isn't much loot for the players at all.
Reemerging civilization: Instead of a nomadic scavenger civilization and isolated, fortified communities, I'm thinking of mostly city states, with some farming and herding supporting them. There will be standing armies of the kind one would find in a medieval or dark age setting: units of men sworn to the local ruler, outfitted with metal or leather armor and simple weaponry. Maybe up to crossbows.
I'll post more in an hour or so, including my first ideas on a few organisations and communities.