Revision as of 21:55, 3 April 2011

Since I am again considering doing something related to PA this page will be used to solicit opinions from the players about what they want to see in a PA game. Obviously it will not be possible to implement everything, but I will do my best to integrate as many ideas as possible and make a game that is fun for everyone. If you have a contrary opinion to someone else, please share it. The first person to post is not right, necessarily. It is better to learn what everyone thinks than to have a harmonious posting love-fest.

Once I get a feel for what you guys want I will create a specific setting page for this game proposal. At that point things will be more set in stone, so get your voice heard now, while it still has weight! Do not feel restricted by the questions I have posed, if you have an idea which seems to fit within the given area of the page, by all means post it.

Please also see the system page where I discuss what I am trying to do, system-wise, and where you can shape that decision tree as well: PA-System.

Time Since Fall

One key aspect of the post apocalypse is the actual apocalypse. When was it? There is a possibility to do a game which occurs as the event does, or one where a majority of people remember the time prior, but that is not the same kind of game.

The main question here is, does anyone remember the time before the event? If so, how many do?

What condition is the prior civilization in? Do we still see giant remnants of the past, or have they all crumbled or been overgrown with weeds?

--Dieter the Bold 20:33, 3 April 2011 (MST) I'd like to have two timelines for this. The first timeline would be right after the event (like 5 - 20 years, not quite a generation). Like zombie horror, I think 'apocalypse-happening-now' is the kind of thing most gamer-types have put some thought into. A post-Event timeline would avoid temptations of metagaming or stresses of trying to avoid metagaming. This would be an opportunity for players to take chances on different kinds of characters than they normally play, since this would be a very short campaign-arc. The second timeline would be much later. Far enough after the Event that no one currently alive (as far as the players or anyone they talk to reliably know) was around for it. This would be the timeline for the actual campaign if we decide to run it as a full-time thing. We could also have actions taken by the PCs in the early timeline effect what has happened since then. We could even use this as a basis for fun one-shots to break up the basic campaign: by doing flashback sessions to earlier times and groups, with actions there having an impact on the 'current' time and campaign resources/NPCs.

The Event

Do the players care about what the event was? Are you interested in a long term, overarching side plot where clues about the past can be gathered and stuck together? Is there a type of apocalyptic event you like or dislike?

--Dieter the Bold 20:40, 3 April 2011 (MST) Type doesn't really matter for me, but I'd like something that would significantly change basic elements of how we think of things now. Like, radiation: pockets so hot that you'll die if you travel across them, storms you have to find shelter from or, again, death, also allows the introductions of new plants and animals to mess with players who think they know what they're dealing with. You could also do this with biological or chemical contaminants. A meteor, for example, could carry something on it that would have similar effects along with the massive impacts giving the GM an excuse to redraw geography. Basically, you can't just travel how you want, or expect whether to be like you want, or take running water, wandering animals or wild plants for granted. I'd also be tickled to have some kind of intelligence behind it all. Maybe aliens from outer-space dropped some asteroids on us with some rare mineral designed to alienform Earth, or from another dimension trying to cross over (the initial gateway went wrong and blew up, big time). Some massive Illuminati conspiracy that didn't (or did it!?) go as planned. Etc.

Fantasy Elements

Some PA games are really a mixed up science fantasy. Some examples of this are Gamma World and Thundarr the Barbarian. The relevant fantasy elements for a post apocalyptic setting are mutations, psionics, ultra-tech, and monsters. What do you think of these things? Many of these things are only present in certain niche stories.

--Dieter the Bold 20:45, 3 April 2011 (MST) Despite what I said above about an intelligence behind the Event, I don't actually want scifi, magic or psychic powers. Mutants are totally cool, so long as they have no truly beneficial powers and are universally reviled and despised (for good reason, with the occasional plot/interesting exceptions). I would like some advanced tech, just for the occasional cool toy and so we can't guess everything that might come our way. Gives the GM more room to work in and keeps us from getting complacent. I would find it totally fine and awesome to have a mix of medieval tech & modern tech. Everyone's charging on horseback with swords & bows, except for the warlord who's cruising in on some "Road Warrior"-style rover, carrying an Uzi.

Tone

These elements often combine to determine the tone of the campaign, is it a light fantasy or a dark and grim struggle? The building blocks of this game will lean toward a struggle for many kinds of supplies, but the players views will factor in how the setting itself will be built.

--Dieter the Bold 20:54, 3 April 2011 (MST) I'd prefer dark but not necessarily grim. Or vice versa. Things are tough and not good, but people can have hope. Or survival isn't an impossible task, but people are pretty beaten down. Both at the same time might be too much. As I said under Achievement on Post Apocalypse-Genre, nihilism is a trait to be worried about and avoided in PCs in the PA-setting. I'd also like to see moral choices a la Star Trek. These people are starving and don't have anything else to help themselves with, but we have food, but no guarantee we can get more: do we give them the food and hope our superior skills, luck and equipment see us through or are we simply prolonging the inevitable for these lost souls... OR can we simply not take the risk? I'd like to see some iron-clad rules regarding starvation, dehydration & disease. If we risk one of these things, I'd like to have a table or very clear progression that we'll follow to the point of PC death. Not that the GM has to be a dick about things ("Oh man, you cut your hand on that rock, you're now diseased!, or "Yeah, no food anywhere. Ever. You die".), but if we aren't getting enough food/water/sleep or are fighting off an infection, I'd like to see building penalties on Attribute and Skill rolls, to the point where any kind of challenge (bandits guarding food, a wild boar, a long climb, etc) can become a lethal one if you let yourself go too long.

Plot

Do the players enjoy having an overarching plot which is advanced through many sessions, or a more episodic approach, with discrete stories existing within a larger, loosely connected, framework? Do you like exploration, or setting down roots and attempting to rebuild civilization?

Theme

What will bind the characters together? Will you share goals, a past, or something else?

Equipment

What do you think of the random equipment? This is unlikely to be removed, but your ideas can shape how it is implemented.