Post-Holocaust Deadlands

This game is proposed to take the place of Serenity Bebop.

Setting

The area is very arid. Lots of hardy plants and animals do thrive here. Sagebrush and cacti are abundant. There are 4 large city type areas as well as many small settlements. The small settlements tend to be based around water sources while the cities are based around specialty resources. Most smaller settlements are made up of subsistence farmers, nomadic herders, and scavengers. The area is bordered by a large rad zone to the north, a vast salt sea to the east, an extremely arid expanse to the south, and a mountain range to the west. The four cities are Machine, Eden, Go, and Law.

Machine

Machine is located on the edge of a crater at the edge of the Rad zone. The crater is a very dangerous but rich source of hi tech. Machinists make a living scavenging and salvaging hi tech. The city has many small factories and is clouded in a constant haze. There have been many incidents involving hi tech that resulted in large parts of the city having to be rebuilt. machine is a dirty place. It stinks of chemicals, grease, and sweat. It is pretty much impossible to live here without being constantly grimy. machinists have a reputation of being dirty, dangerous, geniuses. Hi tech, including the special batteries come from Machine.

Many Machinists are mutated from living with radiation and pollution etc. Not super powered mutants, just deformed and ugly. Many Machinists have health problems for the same reason, although some are very hardy having adapted to the conditions in Machine over generations.

Eden

Eden is an underground agricultural community. Eden is protected by a maze of booby trapped underground passages. Outsiders are not allowed into Eden. Eden produces a great variety of fruits and vegetables. If you are eating corn and beans, ted the subsistence farmer probably had a great year and has extra to sell. If you are eating pineapple, avocados, and chocolate with a cup of coffee it came from Eden. Edenites are known for being insular, even when outside of their community, and for being very honest traders.

Go

Go is a city built on and around oil drilling platforms in the salt sea. Drilling and refining oil are what the city is all about. The sea gives them a great deal of protection. so far attempted raiders have been blown out of the water before getting close. The citizens of Go are known for being suspicious of outsiders, militant, and for driving a hard bargain. It is said that if you can gain the trust of a citizen of Go, you have a loyal friend for the rest of your life. It is also said that a citizen of Go will not hesitate to kill you if you betray them.

Law

Law is a trade city located south of machine, north of Eden, and West of Go. This crossroads has always been a place to trade. It used to be a very dangerous place as well. Quite often violence would break out during negotiations. Then a man from machine found a large ( 9' tall ) combat robot. Other robots, combat and otherwise have been found in the crater. Most were not intact and those that were able to be activated caused a lot of mayhem before being forcibly shut down. The robot this man found was intact and somehow he was able to figure out how to get it working and keep it obedient. He named the robot "the marshal" and used it to take over the crossroads and found the city of Law. "The Marshal" still patrols law and follows the orders of the city leaders. The city can still be a dangerous rough and tumble place, but the full scale battles involving heavy artillery and vehicles etc are a thing of the past.

The Marshal

"The Marshal" does not patrol Law. "The Marshal" stands in the town square and is activated only if the town is in danger form a large armed force. Power cells are to valuable to waste them on keeping the marshal active 24/7.

Demographics

The cities are small compared to the cities we have now. I do not have the population numbers in mind. The cities are large enough that you do not know everybody but small enough that it feels like you do.

Commentary From the GM

There you have the basics. Player characters can be from anywhere in the setting, one of the four cities or a smaller settlement. Some things, like specifics about Eden, will only be divulged in play or to player characters from there. I do want all the pcs to know each other and have a background that allows for amicable relations. More than likely all the pcs have been living in Law for at least a few years. This allows characters to be from different communities and still know each other. If all the characters want to be from Machine, Go, Eden, or a small settlement etc. that is all fine and good as well.

Characters

Characters will be mostly pregenerated by the GM. Players can choose from a stack of character sheets and will be customizable, they will be able to add Edges and Hindrances, and use these points to buy skills or whatever. Players will also be able to generate equipment, which will mostly come from semi-random tables, but there is much choice.

The List

Fisherman
Trader
Enforcer
Techie
Bounty Hunter
Nomad
Scavenger
Healer
Grifter
Mechanic
Criminal
Travelling Entertainer
Fallen Leader
Preacher
Lawman

Equipment

Starting equipment will be randomly rolled. This is to simulate the lack of reliable places to acquire stuff. Characters will get 4 rolls for free, of which a minimum 3 must come from the necessities table. On the back of each character sheet is a number of bonus rolls characters may allocate as they see fit. Any weapon which requires ammo automatically comes with a small stock of ammo, determined by the GM. More ammo can be acquired by rolling on the weapons chart. Once all characters have generated their equipment players may freely trade with one another. This is assumed to be between players and not characters, so what characters begin the game owning has always been theirs, unless the players agree otherwise. Some characters have equipment already generated. The player may choose to take that or generate their own. This choice is made before any rolls are made.

Besides what is rolled characters begin with one set of clothing and a backpack or sack. Yep, thats it. No change of clothes or anything. Its all on the charts!

Party History

We will be testing a system inspired by Ben and his Gemini game. We will do a cooperative story using playing cards to generate the history of our characters together. Check it out here: History With Cards