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Old 01-30-2015, 03:13 PM   #1
Thunderjoe
 
Join Date: Aug 2014
Default Post-Apocalypse Wasteland Adventure

I am designing a campaign where the players are part of the second generation of survivors after a nuclear apocalypse. The setting will borrow heavily from the Fallout series. The idea is that they currently in a medium sized town called Junkyard. Junkyard is known for being one of the handful of small towns that were able to survive without joining a larger faction. This is due to Junkyard being built on a massive transportation graveyard. The population used the old vehicles to make defensive walls, armor, and weapons. Junkyard is now a major rest stop on a major trading route.

The game will begin with an all out attack by the largest raider group in the area. Junkyard will fall and the players must band together in order to escape the town and must survive in the wasteland in order to reach the next town.

I would like to ask for advice on my ideas for how to run this. The average TL of the setting is TL-6 but this will vary wildly depending on person(even up to TL 10 in specific cases). I will have made a smaller list of the weapons from High-Tech that the players can choose from and will be referencing low tech for armor and weapons as I need to. Martial Arts and Tactical Shooting are also available for rules and additions, mostly for advantages and skills from Martial Arts and the gun modifying rules from Tactical Shooting.

Players will build their characters using 150/-30 point array. Characters may have 1 point in a cinematic advantage or skill for every 5 points he has in a related advantage or skill. Note that attributes are also accounted for with this. E.g. a player with 12 points in guns(pistol) and 40 points of increased dexterity could take 2 points of cinematic abilities based on pistols and 8 points of cinematic abilities based on dexterity. This means he could get 10 points of cinematic abilities based on pistols if he wanted.

TL:
Average TL: 6
Weapon TL: 6(no penalties for using weapons up to TL 10 or for repairing weapons up to TL 8)
Armor TL: 6(double cost for armor requiring advanced materials)
Transportation TL: 5(some TL 6-7 areas exist)
Power TL: 5(can maintain and use but not build up to TL 8)
Medicine TL: 6 average but doctors are commonly TL 7-8

Guns:
1) I have multiplied the price of all guns by 4 and I am following the rules for increasing the price as TL increases. A TL 6 gun will be 4x while a TL 8 gun would be 16x.

2) Cost for normal ammo is being multiplied by 8. This is to represent the difficulty of getting good quality ammo. I will offer half off on "cheap" ammo that increases malfunction by 1.

3) As I wish the game to be mildly cinematic in terms of player ability I have divided the damage of all high velocity guns by 2 and given them all an armor divisor of 2. This is so that the players will hopefully survive getting shot by a rifle once while maintaining the gun's power.
e.g.
3a) .45 Government has a damage of 2d pi+ and cost of $1,700 / $220
3b) an AK47 does 3d-1(2) pi damage and costs $3,600 / $240

The hope of the above changes is to make melee weapons seem more appealing to the players as weapons as well as to represent the rarity of guns. I feel like there may be some balance issues, e.g. a clip for an AK47 is only $240 while one for a .45 Gov is $220. While the AK costs significantly more to start the 30 rounds are barely more expensive unless this is only the cost for the magazine and not the ammo for it. Would I be simply better off reducing starting money rather than increasing cost of guns?

Melee Weapons:
Players are able to acquire many melee weapons from low tech. The goal is to make melee weapons feasible in combat by making guns rare and expensive.

Armor:
Modern armor from high tech will be available but anything that requires advanced materials to make will cost 4x extra on top of the increase from TL as many of the machines used to make them have been lost. Armor from low tech will be available and widely used as it is easier to manufacture. In fact metallic armor from low tech may have double DR or half weight for the same price to represent using salvaged modern metals and alloys.

Ultra Tech:
Some high tech groups will have access to some TL 9 and 10 stuff. Namely robots, cybernetics, powered armor, and weapons including Gauss, lasers, and mono-blades.

Mutations and Cybernetics:
Mutations and cybernetics will be a way for players to acquire exotic advantages. Mutations will be limited as you will gain social stigmas or secret disadvantages depending on how obvious the mutations are while not gaining the CP for them. In addition for every 20 points in mutations the player will gain -5 points worth of some mental disadvantage that can go above the normal disadvantage limit. This disadvantage is chosen by both the player and the GM. Acquiring cybernetics costs money and requires the player to have ties to a ultra tech group or have a suitable unusual background.

End Goal:
Guns are available but melee is a good option. Characters can be shot and 1-3 times and not be simply guaranteed death. Players have access to some fun exotic and cinematic abilities while not going overboard. Make modern and even sci-fi technology rare but still exist and viable.

What do you think? Are these rules viable? Am I missing something obvious? How would you build a character with these rules?
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Old 01-30-2015, 03:20 PM   #2
Christopher R. Rice
 
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Default Re: Post-Apocalypse Wasteland Adventure

I'd really bump the point value to 200 or so if you are going to get anything like the typical wasteland survivor. People that wander around after the apocalypse need to be generalists - not specialists. In GURPS this means you need to throw some more points the players way.
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Old 01-30-2015, 03:26 PM   #3
tshiggins
 
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Default Re: Post-Apocalypse Wasteland Adventure

Quote:
Originally Posted by Thunderjoe View Post

(SNIP)

Am I missing something obvious? How would you build a character with these rules?
Mutant motorcycle gangs in leather bondage gear, prowling the remnants of the highways through the wastelands.

http://blog.ricecracker.net/2012/12/...-road-warrior/

In other words, you need to think about vehicles. How do people get from one place to another? Do automobiles or old locomotives, exist? What about aircraft, or boats?

As for characters, you have a few obvious choices:

http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/mad-max/...-warrior-photo

http://www.roller-mag.com/2012/10/the-gyro-captain.php

http://filmladd.com/images/RoadWarrior_23.jpg

https://mygeekblasphemy.files.wordpr...virginiaww.jpg

https://johnkennethmuir.files.wordpr...nderdome31.jpg

https://sweetarchiveblog.files.wordp...o1_r2_1280.jpg

https://sweetarchiveblog.files.wordp...me-still15.jpg
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Last edited by tshiggins; 01-30-2015 at 03:38 PM.
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Old 01-30-2015, 03:32 PM   #4
fredtheobviouspseudonym
 
Join Date: May 2007
Default Re: Post-Apocalypse Wasteland Adventure

Quote:
Originally Posted by Thunderjoe View Post
I would like to ask for advice on my ideas for how to run this. The average TL of the setting is TL-6 but this will vary wildly depending on person(even up to TL 10 in specific cases).
You'll have to think a bit about how a TL-10 society can collapse so quickly -- probably there will be off-world settlements that might intervene if Homeworld goes kerblooey. As a player I would ask.
Quote:
TL:
Average TL: 6
Weapon TL: 6(no penalties for using weapons up to TL 10 or for repairing weapons up to TL 8)
Armor TL: 6(double cost for armor requiring advanced materials)
Transportation TL: 5(some TL 6-7 areas exist)
Power TL: 5(can maintain and use but not build up to TL 8)
Medicine TL: 6 average but doctors are commonly TL 7-8
Remember that the more complex a society the more vulnerable it would be to such a collapse. City-busting weapons will not only smash productive facilities (and those facilities in the country would almost certainly be a major target too) but kill the people & destroy the data bases needed to do anything. It's possible that by TL 10 most folks will let AI's and other automated systems do about everything and devote their lives to non-technical vocations. So any technology more advanced than a piece of scrap metal hammered into some sort of shape might will be beyond the grasp of most human communities.
Quote:
Guns:
1) I have multiplied the price of all guns by 4 and I am following the rules for increasing the price as TL increases. A TL 6 gun will be 4x while a TL 8 gun would be 16x.

2) Cost for normal ammo is being multiplied by 8. This is to represent the difficulty of getting good quality ammo. I will offer half off on "cheap" ammo that increases malfunction by 1.

3) As I wish the game to be mildly cinematic in terms of player ability I have divided the damage of all high velocity guns by 2 and given them all an armor divisor of 2. This is so that the players will hopefully survive getting shot by a rifle once while maintaining the gun's power.
e.g.
If I wanted to control firearms I might go a different route. By TL 10 most weapons will work by some form of power cell. When these things go (perhaps fried by the TL 10 equivalent of EMP) the zillion kilowatt blaster rifle becomes a club.

Imagine some form of post-apocalyptic community huddled in the dust. To get a single shot from the community blaster might require dozens of people to pedal foot-operated generators for a week (and I might be optimistic.) That might well limit shoots as well as artificially declaring that guns are less powerful.

You could probably justify this by saying the megatech Kill-O-Zap ray guns are two hundred years worn and they waste a lot of energy getting the zap out of the barrel. Have the weapon become too hot to hold after a single shot. (Yeah, it might make no sense from the standpoint of modern science, but by TL-10 everything we now know is wrong.) Have some NPC weapons blow up very dramatically when fired. That'll keep shooting down and make melee weapons much more appealing.
Quote:

Melee Weapons:
Players are able to acquire many melee weapons from low tech. The goal is to make melee weapons feasible in combat by making guns rare and expensive.

Armor:
Modern armor from high tech will be available but anything that requires advanced materials to make will cost 4x extra on top of the increase from TL as many of the machines used to make them have been lost. Armor from low tech will be available and widely used as it is easier to manufacture. In fact metallic armor from low tech may have double DR or half weight for the same price to represent using salvaged modern metals and alloys.

Ultra Tech:
Some high tech groups will have access to some TL 9 and 10 stuff. Namely robots, cybernetics, powered armor, and weapons including Gauss, lasers, and mono-blades.
Try making a Gauss needle by hand filing. Good luck. Also, after generations the robots might by rather quirky . . . [quote]Might be fun but I'd suggest going the "old tech is problematic" rather than artificially modifying the damages of weapons. If ammo and power cells are scarce shots by the firearms remaining are likely to be aimed at significant enemy targets rather than just making the battlefield hazardous. So every significant leader & even warrior might have doubles wandering the battlefield to draw the heavy artillery. This could be voluntary (you can only marry in the Tribe of Ogg if you show your courage by being his dedicated double; and if you're lucky enough to survive). So a certain amount of play-acting skill is then explicable.
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Old 01-30-2015, 03:55 PM   #5
Thunderjoe
 
Join Date: Aug 2014
Default Re: Post-Apocalypse Wasteland Adventure

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ghostdancer View Post
I'd really bump the point value to 200 or so if you are going to get anything like the typical wasteland survivor. People that wander around after the apocalypse need to be generalists - not specialists. In GURPS this means you need to throw some more points the players way.
That might be a good idea. I'll try building a handfull of characters and see how it goes.

Quote:
Originally Posted by tshiggins View Post
Mutant motorcycle gangs in leather bondage gear, prowling the remnants of the highways through the wastelands.
Wouldn't be the wasteland without road warrior would it?

Quote:
Originally Posted by tshiggins View Post
In other words, you need to think about vehicles. How do people get from one place to another? Do automobiles or old locomotives, exist? What about aircraft, or boats?
Some groups have maintained the ability to maintain a limited number of motorized vehicles. Not enough to use constantly and most people would have to walk or ride and animal. Boats would still be a common form of travel. Aircraft would be reserved for the remnants of the government or some other group that may maintain at before war tech level but would be very rare and even they wouldn't use them all the time. I'm not sure about locomotives though. I'd think that it'd be hard to maintain them in this situation.

Quote:
Originally Posted by tshiggins View Post
As for characters, you have a few obvious choices:
All good suggestions. Thanks for the input.

Last edited by Thunderjoe; 01-30-2015 at 04:55 PM.
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Old 01-30-2015, 04:16 PM   #6
Thunderjoe
 
Join Date: Aug 2014
Default Re: Post-Apocalypse Wasteland Adventure

Quote:
Originally Posted by fredtheobviouspseudonym View Post
You'll have to think a bit about how a TL-10 society can collapse so quickly -- probably there will be off-world settlements that might intervene if Homeworld goes kerblooey. As a player I would ask.
I'm looking for more of a late TL8 or early TL9 with some tech level 9 and 10 stuff that has been modified and knocked down. Namely robotics, laser/plasma weapons, power armor, and other sci-fi stuff that is a staple in old sci-fi. Space travel basically isn't a thing when this happens.

Quote:
Originally Posted by fredtheobviouspseudonym View Post
Imagine some form of post-apocalyptic community huddled in the dust. To get a single shot from the community blaster might require dozens of people to pedal foot-operated generators for a week (and I might be optimistic.) That might well limit shoots as well as artificially declaring that guns are less powerful.
While actually a good idea I wish for TL 9-10 stuff to be super rare as the only people with access to them would be the remnants of the government from before and/or groups that are able to find abandoned labs where this stuff was made and have gone about attempting to restore them.

[QUOTE=fredtheobviouspseudonym;1865427]You could probably justify this by saying the megatech Kill-O-Zap ray guns are two hundred years worn and they waste a lot of energy getting the zap out of the barrel. Have the weapon become too hot to hold after a single shot. (Yeah, it might make no sense from the standpoint of modern science, but by TL-10 everything we now know is wrong.) Have some NPC weapons blow up very dramatically when fired. That'll keep shooting down and make melee weapons much more appealing.Try making a Gauss needle by hand filing. Good luck. Also, after generations the robots might by rather quirky . . .
Quote:
Might be fun but I'd suggest going the "old tech is problematic" rather than artificially modifying the damages of weapons.
Making the weapons dangerous to use is definitely an option but what about TL 6-8 guns. A good enough number of people would still have these(I'm looking at about year 2200 or something, just a couple generations since the war in 2010. These guns would still be usable if maintained and some groups would probably be able to make more. I see ammo being more of a problem to make.

Quote:
Originally Posted by fredtheobviouspseudonym View Post
If ammo and power cells are scarce shots by the firearms remaining are likely to be aimed at significant enemy targets rather than just making the battlefield hazardous. So every significant leader & even warrior might have doubles wandering the battlefield to draw the heavy artillery. This could be voluntary (you can only marry in the Tribe of Ogg if you show your courage by being his dedicated double; and if you're lucky enough to survive). So a certain amount of play-acting skill is then explicable.
I like these ideas. Though I'd like weapons to be so that an average town could afford to give 1 in every 5 guards/cop some kind of modern gun(Read TL 6-7). Maybe the others have bow, crossbows, sword, or even muskets of something like a Martini-Henry rifle. But this would depend on the area the town is in and what they have in terms of resources.

Thanks for the input on everything but I think you're misunderstanding the setting a little. Sorry if I wasn't clear.

Last edited by Thunderjoe; 01-30-2015 at 04:56 PM.
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Old 01-30-2015, 05:11 PM   #7
malloyd
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Default Re: Post-Apocalypse Wasteland Adventure

Quote:
Originally Posted by fredtheobviouspseudonym View Post
You'll have to think a bit about how a TL-10 society can collapse so quickly -- probably there will be off-world settlements that might intervene if Homeworld goes kerblooey. As a player I would ask.
And as always, I'm going to recommend *not* doing this and just telling any such players it's a genre convention. When building an unrealistic setting (and let's be honest here, most post-apocalypse settings are fantasy worlds with a coat of paint, certainly any of them that have wasteland motorcycle gangs a generation on are) trying to make the backstory plausible is futile anyway, and spending a lot of word count in it is likely to make people think this is the *important* part of the setting, when that is exactly what it is not supposed to be.
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Old 01-31-2015, 01:28 PM   #8
dcarson
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Default Re: Post-Apocalypse Wasteland Adventure

Having players cooperate on what kind of genre you are playing is important. Enough of a handwave to justify it and then play the genre.
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