End of The World RP Line - Which one would you recommend?

[xroads]

Hi all,

Which one of the following apocalypse stories would you enjoy playing if you had the option?

I'm planning on running one of the End of the World roleplaying series from Fantasy Flight Games. But before I decide on one to choose, I wanted to get a feel for which "flavor" of apocalypse seems the most fun for everyone.

1. Alien Invasion - Includes invaders from Mars, Atlantis, or even Dimension X.
2. Revolt of the Machines - Includes everything from mad mowers, to time displaced terminators, to never ending nanites.
3. Wrath of the Gods - Includes everything from Cthulhuian critters, to the Four Horseman, to Mayan mayhem.
4. Zombie Apocalypse - Dead men walking... always a classic.

[Knaight]

The nanite grey-goo option is always fun, as are biological equivalents where you just have a good old fashioned plague.

[xroads]

By the way, don't worry if you haven't played the system before. I'm just looking to get an idea of the most fun apocalyptic theme would be. So please feel free to chime in.

The nanite grey-goo option is always fun, as are biological equivalents where you just have a good old fashioned plague.

Thanks Knaight!

[The Glyphstone]

Yeah, plagues that dont result in zombies are dreadfully underused these days.

[JAL_1138]

I'm unfamiliar with the system, but I do have a question--are the players trying to avert the apocalypse, or is the apocalypse going to happen regardless, or is the game set post-apocalypse? And how thorough will the apocalypse be? Is everything just kaput if the apocalypse occurs, or does a good portion of humanity survive, or...? There's a lot more to consider with the apocalypse than just what caused it.

I've been playing XCOM: Enemy Unknown again, and you could easily run that game or XCOM 2 nearly straight as a tabletop campaign (depending on system, anyway).

Of course, I'm just a random person on the internet. What your actual group thinks would be most fun might run squarely counter to forum consensus.

[Anonymouswizard]

If you have any cute how computers actually work robot uprisings cone off as dull. Grey goo is still cool though.

My personal pick for which of these I'm buying when I'm next near my FLGS is Wrath of the Gods, because I'm mainly interested in not board appropriate Apocalypses. Plus the supernatural causing the end of the world is a classic and can bleed into so many other scenarios (e.g. magic wielding terminators coming back through time). Zombies just bore me to tears, although if the books are good enough I might check it out for the scenarios, and I just already have systems I'd rather run an alien invasion in.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

I'm unfamiliar with the system, but I do have a question--are the players trying to avert the apocalypse, or is the apocalypse going to happen regardless, or is the game set post-apocalypse? And how thorough will the apocalypse be? Is everything just kaput if the apocalypse occurs, or does a good portion of humanity survive, or...? There's a lot more to consider with the apocalypse than just what caused it.

I've been playing XCOM: Enemy Unknown again, and you could easily run that game or XCOM 2 nearly straight as a tabletop campaign (depending on system, anyway).

Of course, I'm just a random person on the internet. What your actual group thinks would be most fun might run squarely counter to forum consensus.

From my admittedly LIMITED understanding from looking at the book covers, you can't really stop whatever Apocalypse is in the book because you're literally playing as yourself in the game, and whatever "stats" you might have are based on your own physical and mental capabilities as a human being.

Given that stipulation, the emphasis of the game is most likely on merely surviving the Apocalypse, riding out its events and possibly the immediate aftermath of it, if there is one. According to its entry on TVTropes, though, the expectation is that your PC versions of you will all die by the end.

[Mutazoia]

So...a few ideas:

1. Plague (no zombies) ala "The Stand" (with out God and the Devil taking active roles)
2. Fallout from WWIII slowly covering the globe ala "On the Beach (1959)"
3. Global pandemonium as giant asteroid heads for collision course with Earth (and/or the aftermath thereof)
4. Yellowstone Caldera erupts, destroying most of North America, and plunging the world into a new Ice Age (and Dark Ages).
5. Super Secret Science Project causes 90% of the worlds population to simply vanish in an instant - ala "The Quiet Earth"

[xroads]

Thanks all!

I'm unfamiliar with the system, but I do have a question--are the players trying to avert the apocalypse, or is the apocalypse going to happen regardless, or is the game set post-apocalypse? And how thorough will the apocalypse be? Is everything just kaput if the apocalypse occurs, or does a good portion of humanity survive, or...? There's a lot more to consider with the apocalypse than just what caused it.

Like Archpaladin Zousha said, it's all about survival. The premise of these games is that the players play themselves. An apocalypse falls upon the world as the players are settling in to play the game (very meta).

My personal pick for which of these I'm buying when I'm next near my FLGS is Wrath of the Gods, because I'm mainly interested in not board appropriate Apocalypses. Plus the supernatural causing the end of the world is a classic and can bleed into so many other scenarios (e.g. magic wielding terminators coming back through time). Zombies just bore me to tears, although if the books are good enough I might check it out for the scenarios, and I just already have systems I'd rather run an alien invasion in.

The Wrath of the Gods is the one I ended up picking up.

Spoiler: Spoiler for Wrath of Gods

Show

It's fascinating since the book provides a variety of apocalypse scenarios ranging from Ragnarok to Cthulhu. And after watching Infinity War, I'm actually considering Ragnarok!

According to its entry on TVTropes, though, the expectation is that your PC versions of you will all die by the end.

Interesting. I'm going to have to check this entry out.

[lightningcat]

One that I have only seen very rarely, is a ongoing Rapture style apocolypse. Instead of everyone disappearing at once. It starts small, and just keeps happening day by day. You could really ramp up tension that way.

Now that I think about it, every use of it I can remeber has been either insanity or computer model failing.