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05:30, 29th March 2024 (GMT+0)

Post-apocalyptic system?

Posted by habsin4
phoenix9lives
member, 1036 posts
GENE POLICE!  YOU!
GET OUTTA THE POOL!
Sat 26 Sep 2020
at 00:28
  • msg #9

Post-apocalyptic system?

In reply to SunRuanEr (msg # 8):

It is a good system, however it has those fantasy elements.  However, After the Bomb, which uses the same mechanics, would be a good choice if you don't mind mutation and animal hybridization.
Silverlock
member, 118 posts
Sat 26 Sep 2020
at 00:55
  • msg #10

Post-apocalyptic system?

Cthulhu Apocalypse, Trail of Cthulhu series, has a lot of good ideas for what happens in an apocalypse.  You don't need to add the Mythos elements to have a truly awful apocalypse.  Gurps and Trail of Cthulhu are both easy to learn and the mechanics work well once you understand the basics.  Basic Roleplaying from Chaosium is also a good system.  Personally, I like flow charts of what if/worst case scenarios, and Cthulhu Apocalypse has some nice ones.
evileeyore
member, 391 posts
GURPS GM and Player
Sat 26 Sep 2020
at 04:42
  • msg #11

Re: Post-apocalyptic system?

habsin4:
Thanks. I've been aware of GURPS since the 80s but never played it. Maybe it's time to learn?

As a newbie, what books do I need to be able to run a game?

Just the Basic books, Characters and Campaign.  Though for a post-apoc game, I'd recommend also picking up After the End 1 Wastelander and 2 New World.

From there you add on extras as you see fit.  Want more modern weapons and equipment lists?  High-Tech.  Need martial arts, or more combat options and optional rules?  Martial Arts.

There is the [game name removed] here on RPoL and the SJGames GURPS forums are great community for answering questions in.

My strongest recommendation though is grab the GURPS Lite 4th Ed rules, and then add in rules from the Basic books as you see fit.
This message was last edited by a moderator, as it was against the forum rules, at 05:10, Sat 26 Sept 2020.
DaCuseFrog
member, 111 posts
SW Florida
Sat 26 Sep 2020
at 06:36
  • msg #12

Post-apocalyptic system?

In reply to phoenix9lives (msg # 9):

Sticking with Palladium Books, there is also the new(er) zombie apocalypse game Dead Reign.  Low tech, and though there are some fantasy elements added in later expansions (psionics and low magic), the core book is pretty straightforward.  The only issue is if you don't like the Palladium system (which is definitely an acquired taste).
evileeyore
member, 392 posts
Sat 26 Sep 2020
at 13:44
  • [deleted]
  • msg #13

Re: Post-apocalyptic system?

This message was deleted by a moderator, as it was against the forum rules, at 17:27, Sat 26 Sept 2020.
Sir Swindle
member, 251 posts
Sat 26 Sep 2020
at 14:14
  • msg #14

Re: Post-apocalyptic system?

You can bump it. I think you are allowed to say that you saw a recently bumped game that would interest the OP of a chat thread.
Varsovian
member, 1516 posts
Sun 27 Sep 2020
at 23:47
  • msg #15

Re: Post-apocalyptic system?

How about Degenesis? It's awesome, atmospheric and absolutely free currently.
bigbadron
moderator, 15940 posts
He's big, he's bad,
but mostly he's Ron.
Mon 28 Sep 2020
at 02:19

Re: Post-apocalyptic system?

In reply to Sir Swindle (msg # 14):

No, per the forum rules, posters are not allowed to name, link to, or otherwise identify any individual game (which includes user-run forums) here.
Heath
member, 2953 posts
If my opinion changes,
The answer is still 42.
Mon 28 Sep 2020
at 02:51
  • msg #17

Re: Post-apocalyptic system?

The post mentions tabletop, but most responses were related to RPG games.

If you are considering RPG games, I think Gamma World is good, and it goes back to the 80s with several iterations.
Amandi
member, 36 posts
Mon 28 Sep 2020
at 03:22
  • msg #18

Re: Post-apocalyptic system?

What abou Twilight 2013?
Isida KepTukari
member, 364 posts
Elegant! Arrogant! Smart!
Mon 28 Sep 2020
at 08:32
  • msg #19

Re: Post-apocalyptic system?

Cypher System is a good system for many genres of play, and it's a system that's easy to pick up. In their Extended Worlds book (as well as their core book) they give specific tools for various genres, including post-apocalypic. I ran a Mad Max-style game there for a couple weeks and it was a lot of fun. :)
jamat
member, 663 posts
P:5 T:7 W:0 F:0 B:3
Fri 2 Oct 2020
at 08:49
  • msg #20

Re: Post-apocalyptic system?

If you are looking for fantasy apocalypse then see if you can find a copy of desolation by greymalkin design it uses the ubiquity system made well know from the hollow earth expedition HEX rpg
Jarodemo
member, 872 posts
My hovercraft
is full of eels
Fri 2 Oct 2020
at 10:01
  • msg #21

Re: Post-apocalyptic system?

Twilight 2000 is good. Should suit well for a post-apocalyptic setting. You don’t have to follow the modules and be all focused on soldiers in Europe, you can adapt as needed as the rules can create civilians as well as military personnel.

Twilight 2013 is quite crunchy. I have tried a few games here but as soon as you get to combat it slows down big time and becomes more like a heavy maths lesson than actual fun.
nauthiz
subscriber, 673 posts
Wed 7 Oct 2020
at 00:48
  • msg #22

Re: Post-apocalyptic system?

For Savage Worlds, Pinnacle has their Deadlands: Hell on Earth setting, which (because it's Savage Worlds) can be taken in piecemeal depending on whether some of the elements are too supernatural for what you're going for.

Though if you're just looking for rules, the basic Savage Worlds Adventure Edition is universal enough to do Post Apocalyptic right out of the box.


I would also feel remiss if I didn't plug Atomic Highway.  The best post apocalyptic game I've never seen make it past the first handful of posts here on RPoL.
darknash
member, 159 posts
Sat 10 Oct 2020
at 04:19
  • msg #23

Re: Post-apocalyptic system?

In reply to Heath (msg # 17):

Table Top is anything sit down, off the computer or console.

I think you are confusing Table Top with Board Game. Table Top can be Board, RPG, Card.....anything played face to face.
Gaffer
member, 1653 posts
Ocoee FL
45 yrs of RPGs
Sun 11 Oct 2020
at 18:04
  • msg #24

Post-apocalyptic system?

In reply to MelJill (msg # 7):

The free quickstart for Basic Roleplaying Game is here https://www.chaosium.com/conte...ng%20Quick-Start.pdf
This message was last edited by a moderator, as it was against the ToU, at 18:22, Sun 11 Oct 2020.
Sir Swindle
member, 255 posts
Mon 12 Oct 2020
at 12:03
  • msg #25

Re: Post-apocalyptic system?

darknash:
In reply to Heath (msg # 17):

Table Top is anything sit down, off the computer or console.

I think you are confusing Table Top with Board Game. Table Top can be Board, RPG, Card.....anything played face to face.

No, I would contest that definition because it's not at all useful.
darknash
member, 160 posts
Tue 13 Oct 2020
at 01:05
  • msg #26

Re: Post-apocalyptic system?

Sir Swindle:
darknash:
In reply to Heath (msg # 17):

Table Top is anything sit down, off the computer or console.

I think you are confusing Table Top with Board Game. Table Top can be Board, RPG, Card.....anything played face to face.

No, I would contest that definition because it's not at all useful.



sorry it doesn't fit your narrative.
Heath
member, 2959 posts
If my opinion changes,
The answer is still 42.
Tue 13 Oct 2020
at 01:31
  • msg #27

Re: Post-apocalyptic system?

I think we need clarification on what he means by "tabletop." I think of it as strategy games like using miniatures, strategy games, board games, or anything else that essentially requires a table and multiple people in person (Catan, Zombicide, Dead of Winter, etc.). I don't think of RPGs as tabletop, even though they could act like them. They are typically called "pen and paper RPG."

So for RPGs, I recommend Gamma World or a GURPS based world.

For strategy tabletop, I'd recommend Zombicide or Dead of Winter if you like zombies, Battle Cars or Car Wars for a car experience, or Wreck Age or Apocalypse Road.
darknash
member, 161 posts
Tue 13 Oct 2020
at 01:47
  • msg #28

Re: Post-apocalyptic system?

In reply to Heath (msg # 27):

See my response to Sir Swindle.::smiles::

if you play it on a Table Top..................
darknash
member, 162 posts
Tue 13 Oct 2020
at 02:00
  • msg #29

Post-apocalyptic system?

In reply to habsin4 (msg # 1):

so anyways. Arguments about wording aside I hope you found what you were looking for.
Heath
member, 2960 posts
If my opinion changes,
The answer is still 42.
Wed 14 Oct 2020
at 06:02
  • msg #30

Re: Post-apocalyptic system?

In reply to darknash (msg # 28):

The point I was making is that it doesn't matter what we mean by the definition. The important thing is to know what habsin4 means so that we can answer his question to help him, since there are multiple meanings people associate with the term "Table Top." There is no "narrative." Sir Swindle is absolutely correct: we need the term to be useful for us to be useful to him, which simply means some clarification, not an argument over terminology.
facemaker329
member, 7257 posts
Gaming for over 30
years, and counting!
Wed 14 Oct 2020
at 07:08
  • msg #31

Re: Post-apocalyptic system?

That being the case...I have seen a lot of RPGs referred to as 'tabletop' when played face-to-face.  So while the 'anything you play at a table' definition is unhelpful in the broadness of its scope, he's not necessarily wrong to lump RPGs in under that same heading.  I've seen non-virtual RPGs referred to as pen-and-paper, face-to-face, and table-top roughly equal shares of the time, so without more feedback from the OP in exactly what is intended in the context of the post, it would be just as wrong to dismiss RPGs as it would be to include every possible sit-at-the-table game.
This message was last edited by the user at 16:26, Wed 14 Oct 2020.
Sir Swindle
member, 256 posts
Wed 14 Oct 2020
at 12:17
  • msg #32

Re: Post-apocalyptic system?

He asked for a "system" and he's on RPOL. It's a stretch to think he was looking for anything other than an RPG system.
bigbadron
moderator, 15945 posts
He's big, he's bad,
but mostly he's Ron.
Wed 14 Oct 2020
at 14:42

Re: Post-apocalyptic system?

In reply to Sir Swindle (msg # 32):

Exactly.  So we can probably drop the pointless discussion about what other people think he meant by "tabletop system" (and how what everybody else thinks he meant is just totally wrong), and just get to the recommendations.

If any of those recommendations are way off track, then habsin4 can either mention that fact himself, or just ignore them, as he sees fit.
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