Revision as of 15:09, 11 February 2011

Again I think of PA. I got working on some big ideas today, and I figured posting them here is the best way to ensure they are never lost. As usual, comments are welcome, even from Gabe.

Purpose

What makes a setting Post Apocalypse? There must have been a society, then that society must now be gone. Beyond that, it is pretty open ended. In general, something caused that collapse, and whatever this catastrophe is can shape the world that exists afterward. By this definition the fall of the Roman Empire is an apocalyptic event, and even though for Romans it was serious, that really isnt in the spirit of the idea.

Civilization

Whatever civilization that existed before is of a higher degree of technology and culture than the one which is currently existing. The infrastructure that supported that civilization is also likely gone, or at least significantly reduced.

Foreknowledge

The current civilization may or may not know about those who lived previously.

Tone and Environment

There are many ways to play a Post Apocalypse game, but my preference is for a dark, gritty, survival oriented game. Players struggle to survive in a universe short on resources and long on danger. Characters may have goals related to civilization, but in the end the day to day effort to survive permeates much of their time. The environment is sparse and resources are scarce. There is intense competition for those resources which remain.

--Gdaze 14:09, 11 February 2011 (MST) Another important part of this is Time. How much time has passed since the event, or events ended everything? If it is fairly recent, people will know quite a bit, and have access to some quick grabs while maybe having to put up with other suvivors. If it has been a long time, like 200 years, then some places might have fully died out due to lack of resources or disease or whatever.

Achievement

How is this tone achieved? I think primarily, good equipment must be hard to find. It also must be breakable. Those who see what the players have will often covet it. Players must be required to ensure their characters have enough food and water.

--Dieter the Bold 03:44, 11 February 2011 (MST) Agreed with tone, etc., but just wanted to toss in that some kind of overriding goal has to be in place for each character if the game is going to be campaign length. While it might be fun to play a short run (4 sessions or so) with a nihilistic attempt at survival (i.e., surviving just to survive), I think to keep players engaged and interested survival simply isn't enough. There has to be a reason why the players keep on going. Otherwise you'd just be an NPC trudging along in the background. It doesn't have to be huge and world-shaking, like overthrowing Bartertown so a tribe of kids can fly to ruined Sydney. But there needs to be something that drives the PC besides surviving another day.

Drawbacks

It is a lot of bookkeeping to note all of your food and exactly what you are carrying. Excessive bean counting slows down the game and degrades into a mundane loot grabbing exercise. Greedy players often attempt to be too stingy with resources, possibly because they assume they will survive so they have no reason to waste their precious stuff on this.

Loot and Other Rewards

Players love loot, but too much or over powered loot will break a game very fast. In a setting such as this, the key is that as you giveth, you must also taketh away. Use ammunition. Use spare parts. Get some items stolen. Players should be allowed to use experience not only for self improvement, but also for finding new gear.

Specifics

As I work on this, I will keep my new ideas organized here.

PA-System
PA-Setting
PA-Characters
PA-Equipment