After a (long) break we're finally back to the table - and diving straight into the awesome post-apocalyptic Gamma World.
Gamma World is also available as a setting for d20 Modern, but I was looking forward to bit of a change from the d20 system, so I plumped for the 5th Edition that runs under Alternity.
The setting itself feels similar to the Fallout games, Mad Max, etc. and is pretty standard post apocalyptic fare...
but the world is well fleshed out and comes with a few adventures in the back of the book to get your teeth into. Locations are described well and there's plenty of conflict for players to get drawn into, and I have to say that it's pretty fun describing the Ancient "artifacts" discovered by the party on their travels - a bike pump, a gas barbecue, a flat-screen TV - and letting them work out what is is they've found!
If you're a fan of Fallout 3 (or any of the older Fallout games for the PC) then you should be able to slip right into the setting without any problems... it does feature giant mutated animals, which may not be up your street, but I restricted the playable races to Human, Android or Mutant which seems to work just fine for me.
Alternity's a fun roll-under system, with solid combat rules and some rather nasty weaponry along with a very mechanic for levels of success. Fast but crunchy does it for me!
Our first session went well: the PCs killed a few Badders (mutant humanoid badgers) and got some pretty cool loot, used their wits to avoid a potentially dangerous - if not fatal, considering the beat-up state they were in - trek through enemy territory, some awesome shooting against a giant spider and some very comical moments. Mutants slicing their enemies to bits with sharpened road signs can only bring joy to the SF-starved gamer...
I hear so much about Gamma World, though I have never played it. I just can't get into the setting. Though, to be fair, I would need to get into at least a couple sessions to have an honest opinion.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, I'd never heard of Gamma World until I started looking around for setting books for Alternity. I've always like Post-Apocalyptic settings - hence my ongoing desire to run/play Dark Sun, I guess - and while I was hesitant about the whole mutated animals thing (They're man-sized mutant badgers. Called "Badders". Rly.) everything just fell nicely into place.
ReplyDeleteThe world's nicely set up with various secret societies waging war on each other, and while I can't speak for the d20 Modern version everything just seems to fit together nicely.
Don't worry though - Pathfinder'll be back soon!