A magical fallout setting

[Cheomesh]

Sort of.  This is the remains of some ideas I posted well over a year ago, which coincidentally I have distilled and recently gamed.  Member "Velox" shot me a PM asking if I'd done anything with my "post apocalyptic magic setting", which prompted me to come back over here and toss up what I've made.  Keep in mind the whole point of this was lightweight campaigning based around post-apoc dungeon dives.  It features a standard Gygaxian world that, through centuries, caught up with where we are technologically before some world-rending war between mages took it all away.  It's all only a few pages:

Handout I issued my players (which went largely ignored):  https://docs.google.com/document/d/19hGFZ1mIb4zSD-OdAHuCi0XUtWCAydpQDMD8FqpbojM/edit?usp=sharing

Adventure/Dungeon Notes:  https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B4w_iWJjjjsGNUJrMzNFdDVyZXM/edit?usp=sharing

I gamed this last night.  In spite of the theme being post-apoc, exactly 0 of my 3 players took survival skills.  While their characters -can- have justification to explain this, it didn't put their party in a good position.  I had figured the original combats (of which there were two, as some D&D critter was supposed to be hiding out in the cooler) would have been the primary threat.  Instead, due to the way D20 Modern's Apocalypse ruleset works, the building's "traps" (read:  dilapidated state) was the main enemy - lack of Survival skills.  Falling through the floor was the first big problem, which KO'd one player, and upon their attempt at egress they've managed to cause a chain reaction that's bringing the whole building down on them. 

We broke half way through combat due to time, so they're currently stuck between a rock and a hardplace.  This is OK, because the approach I'm taking to this campaign excludes much character-interaction between dungeons, and easily allows replacements.  It was a session dominated by bad die rolls.  Unfortunately they seemed resistant to using their Action Points, which would have helped them out in several situations.  Wondering how well this'll turn out.  I had to go back and re-write / touch up the conclusion possibilities because some of the outcomes they've provoked I hadn't seen coming.

This was also my first time GMing without my session on paper.  I tend to be verbose, so I've been working on reducing just how many words I write for prep in said binders.  This has improved GMing by reducing how much paper fumbling is required.  I used a tablet PC last night instead, which greatly eased play.  I can copy-pased rules from SRD's and whatnot to have everything I know I'll need right in front of me.  Reduce, reuse, recycle...etc.

Anyways, give it a go, critique it and help the next one be better.

M.

[SA]

Woo boy. Seems like the Survival skill is mandatory in this setting. I can't imagine why you'd send out a scavenging party whose members are, given the nature of the world they grew up in, incompetent.

I like the level of detail in your session plan. Did the players approach the scenario meticulously enough for you to make use of it? How much had they accomplished before the floor gave out?

[sparkletwist]

I can't imagine why you'd send out a scavenging party whose members are, given the nature of the world they grew up in, incompetent.

I agree.

Did you tell them the Survival skill was pretty much mandatory? I see it listed in the handout, but, as you mentioned, the handout seems to have gone largely ignored. It seems like a miscommunication somewhere.

My critique basically stems from this and how it derailed the session. Basically, I'd recommend communicating requirements like this to the group better, and, really, not having a single skill be so vital, anyway.

[Steerpike]

The D20 Modern Fantasy setting is a Post-Apocalyptic adventure taking place on a ruined Standard Fantasy World.  Wracked by the Mage Wars and left scarred and ruined, the planet has been depopulated and it's landscape warped.  Raw magical energies whip through the atmosphere, causing Manna Storms and giving birth to elemental beasts, leaving pockets of wild magical energy in it's wake.  Total sociological collapse took place in the wake of the Mage Wars.  The survivors now roam the land, scavenging to survive or forming bands and camps in order to protect themselves from vicious marauders.  It has been nearly twenty years now, and the first generation of Afterborn humans are coming of age.

It's an interesting premise, although I'm not sure how to fully reconcile the presence of modern technology with the "Standard Fantasy World."  Your adventure (the gas station) and the "theme" section implies a 20th/21st century setting with petroleum technology, firearms, and all that goes along with such a technology level, not your usual European quasi-medieval middle earth knockoff.  That's cool - I'm fine with the pre-apocalyptic setting being non-standard - but some info about what the setting looked like before the Manna Storms etc would be good.  What were racial relations like?  How did magic interface with modern technology?  Why weren't monsters eliminated/imprisoned/domesticated?  Or were they?  Lots of questions arise from combining a "standard" fantasy world with modern technology.  Was the world basically just Urban Arcana/d20 Modern, where the Shadow was intruding on everyday reality but most humans are too stupid/mundane to let themselves see it?  Was it more like a higher-tech Eberron?  Was it the "real" world with familiar countries and geography and everything?

Also, nitpick, but "sociological" should be "social."  Sociological refers to sociology i.e. the study of human social relations and behavior.  "Social" refers to sociality itself.

Game System and Resources
The game system will be D20 Modern.  This has been selected because D20 is very simple, and most of what is needed in terms of race, class and item statistics are already worked out.  The following materials form the core of our campaign ruleset:
D20 Modern Core Rulebook
Core rules
D20 Modern:  Urban Arcana
Expanded magic potential, fantasy race statistics
D20 Modern:  Apocalypse
Alters Core economics, includes Apocalyptic considerations
D20 Modern:  Blood and Fists
For anyone who wants to play a martial arts oriented character

Content brought forward by the players from other D20 Modern books will be freely considered by the GM.  Good examples include expanded Talent Trees and alternative occupations.

While I wouldn't agree that d20 is "very simple," I do approve of d20 Modern as the system, as it's ideally suited to this sort of thing, and I've run this kind of game successfully using it (mine was a weird post-Revelations gothic/Biblical apocalypse setting).  I might recommend looking into some variant rules for enhanced "grittiness"/lethality, such as Called Shots and Constitution-Based Damage Threshholds, although you may be hesitant to introduce these part-way through a game.

The adventure has a good level of detail, but seems to place a somewhat unusual amount of focus on walls/floors collapsing.  Some rotting walls/floors make sense, but I wonder whether they're the most interesting thing to focus on.  I mean, we're dealing with a post-apocalyptic fantasy world,  where all sorts of crazy stuff must have happened/be happening.  In general, there's a very strong emphasis on the mundane and banal.  I like the juxtaposition, in general, of the fantastic and the quotidian, but the adventure seems somewhat light on the former and very heavy on the latter.  I like the harpy nest on the roof, though.

The addition of another looter, (or band of looters) a Goblin scout from the nearby town, or some other NPC (wandering madman, depraved mage, harpy-hunter, cultists) might be good.

Notes: This is a roughly cut down harpy based off the one in the Menace Manual. It has been reduced to about 3d8 hit dice, from 7. Only useful stats are represented. This harpy does not have it's song ­ this is because these harpies do not sing.

Why did you remove its song?  A 1st level party is probably capable of taking on a single harpy even with its song.  If you're really worried about it entrancing everyone, you could just lower its song DC.  Or here's an idea: put a walkman or MP3 player somewhere in the gas-station (maybe on the halfling's corpse?) that provides immunity/a  big bonus to the harpy's song.  Maybe an enchanted (possessed?  intelligent?) MP3 player. A harpy without its song is so much less interesting than one with its song - it's really just a big ugly bird-thing that can claw people.  Again, that feels unusual mundane for a setting that anounces itself as being a weird post-apocalyptic fanatsy world presumably replete with mages and dwarves and crazy spells and stuff.

Failing adding a song, some personality to the harpy could help a lot.  With an Int 7, it's as smart (or nearly as smart) as many people - ast least as smart as your average half-orc.  Does it have a name?  Motivations?  Allegiances?  Can it be reasoned with?  If not then again it's basically just a big ugly bird-thing, to be killed and forgotten.

Also I feel like the dog should secretly be a Blink Dog, but that's me.

This said, I really like the general Fallout-y feel to the thing, and the place does feel somewhat creepy.

[Cheomesh]

Oh hey, I didn't think this would actually get some bites, especially real quality ones.  We actually finished this game up last Saturday.

Woo boy. Seems like the Survival skill is mandatory in this setting. I can't imagine why you'd send out a scavenging party whose members are, given the nature of the world they grew up in, incompetent.

I like the level of detail in your session plan. Did the players approach the scenario meticulously enough for you to make use of it? How much had they accomplished before the floor gave out?

I can't imagine why you'd send out a scavenging party whose members are, given the nature of the world they grew up in, incompetent.

I agree.

Did you tell them the Survival skill was pretty much mandatory? I see it listed in the handout, but, as you mentioned, the handout seems to have gone largely ignored. It seems like a miscommunication somewhere.

My critique basically stems from this and how it derailed the session. Basically, I'd recommend communicating requirements like this to the group better, and, really, not having a single skill be so vital, anyway.

RE: Detail.  Yeah, most of it got used.  Some of it depended on when players found stuff - nobody really card about the harpy poop so no roll got done.  They didn't find the nest until after the harpy got killed (they ended up cutting off the primary access to the roof and ended up using a previously non-existing ladder on the back of the building), so it was pretty obvious what the eggs where.  Nobody seemed to piece together the child's seat on the dog thing until afterwards, though.  Nobody used Search on the outside, so the extremely useful crowbar went unfound - which wasted a lot of time as they had to try and muscle things open without it.

Yeah, funny thing about them being l'suck.  While all their characters can have an excuse, it was awfully painful not having anyone capable of surviving.  This is double bad because I framed it as a survival-based game to them in person during the original pitch.

The problem has two sources:

1)  In spite of telling my players that we'd do character design work as a group, everyone showed up to the session with pre-rolled characters.  I decided eh, let's roll with it, this is a side-game anyways.
2)  I was under the impression that D20 Modern Apocalypse gave Survival as a universal class skill for everyone.  I was actually incorrect.  Because it wasn't a class skill / occupation skill for anyone in the group, nobody took it, in spite of it being listed as the most important skill.

I did emphasize Survival in person, again as I pitched it as a Survivalism kind of game.  I probably should have scrutinized their sheets closer, but to be honest 2/3's of my group has illegible handwriting so I don't bother.  Probably was less than ideal having one skill be so important, though it is, or was, a survival game.  Maybe those don't work so well on the table top?

They were also pretty bad on Searching, and only were using their Action Points on the second go.  Maybe the DC's were too high - I had copied them directly from the book, though.

The D20 Modern Fantasy setting is a Post-Apocalyptic adventure taking place on a ruined Standard Fantasy World.  Wracked by the Mage Wars and left scarred and ruined, the planet has been depopulated and it's landscape warped.  Raw magical energies whip through the atmosphere, causing Manna Storms and giving birth to elemental beasts, leaving pockets of wild magical energy in it's wake.  Total sociological collapse took place in the wake of the Mage Wars.  The survivors now roam the land, scavenging to survive or forming bands and camps in order to protect themselves from vicious marauders.  It has been nearly twenty years now, and the first generation of Afterborn humans are coming of age.

It's an interesting premise, although I'm not sure how to fully reconcile the presence of modern technology with the "Standard Fantasy World."  Your adventure (the gas station) and the "theme" section implies a 20th/21st century setting with petroleum technology, firearms, and all that goes along with such a technology level, not your usual European quasi-medieval middle earth knockoff.  That's cool - I'm fine with the pre-apocalyptic setting being non-standard - but some info about what the setting looked like before the Manna Storms etc would be good.  What were racial relations like?  How did magic interface with modern technology?  Why weren't monsters eliminated/imprisoned/domesticated?  Or were they?  Lots of questions arise from combining a "standard" fantasy world with modern technology.  Was the world basically just Urban Arcana/d20 Modern, where the Shadow was intruding on everyday reality but most humans are too stupid/mundane to let themselves see it?  Was it more like a higher-tech Eberron?  Was it the "real" world with familiar countries and geography and everything?

Also, nitpick, but "sociological" should be "social."  Sociological refers to sociology i.e. the study of human social relations and behavior.  "Social" refers to sociality itself.

Think of the world as Grayhawk centuries or millennia on.  It was the modern day, except with elfs and whatnot.  Just as weird a premise as standard Grayhawk in my opinion.  As for it being like Urban Arcana, nah not at all.  The idea that these beings kind of drifted into reality but somehow regular people are too stupid to notice never jived with me.  I guess this is also a world where people go to shower and end up drowning because they stare at the head with their mouths open in awe, or something.

In fact, initial drafts were going to be literally Grayhawk, where I'd set the time dial forward and "advance" all the tensions, factions, etc.  Unfortunately I am way too hack-y to do it Justice.  Grayhawk's as vanilla as a D&D setting gets, but it does have it's own charm and a long history.  It's also a lot of work.

Racial relations were racial relations - it's Standard Fantasy Land in the 21st C.  Most races can be found in "civil society" of the Great Cultural Melting Pot Nations, as they were, but pecking order still existed.  I always imagined Orc-kind to be more or less treated as African Americans in the early 20th century, while some of the other lesser races got similar stigma's by the obligatory Human supremacy.  This being after the fall, though, for these kind of scavenger types it doesn't really matter.  Elf-kind had advanced and were leaders in technology for a long time, or something like that, but not long before the mage wars they had a racial cultural revitalization movement and a vast majority of their kind retreated to an island nation to shut themselves away from the world.  Last anyone heard, that whole island got wacked so hard it split open.

Wood-elfs are Amish people, except in woodland instead of farms.  Centaur-folk are kind of like Native Americans - shut away on reservations.

Most "monsters" are long gone.  Some existed in zoos, eventually escaping during the End of the world event.  Thus, they've begun to lurk again in places.  Others were always somewhere in the wilderness, like the Tazmanian tiger may or may not be.  Or sasquatch.  Most of the BIG NASTIES are long gone, though.  AC-130 Spectre Gunship squadrons make short work of Terrasques.

This, not having mattered too much in the Post Apoc setting, didn't get any development.  Same with magic-technology interaction.  There was a prior setting where it was Grayhawk in the '20's, but I tabled that before it got past page 2.  Maybe the way magic ended up interfacing with tech it is visually and mechanically the same as a mundane object.  Maybe their Roaring Twenties was about bootleg healing potions or something.

While this could be a great exercise (for you guys - I have creative sterility), I didn't want to make it a lesson in social commentary.  I'm not a great subject matter expert on morality and whatnot, I have pretty primitive belief systems.  Mayhaps a source of a new thread?

Game System and Resources
The game system will be D20 Modern.  This has been selected because D20 is very simple, and most of what is needed in terms of race, class and item statistics are already worked out.  The following materials form the core of our campaign ruleset:
D20 Modern Core Rulebook
Core rules
D20 Modern:  Urban Arcana
Expanded magic potential, fantasy race statistics
D20 Modern:  Apocalypse
Alters Core economics, includes Apocalyptic considerations
D20 Modern:  Blood and Fists
For anyone who wants to play a martial arts oriented character

Content brought forward by the players from other D20 Modern books will be freely considered by the GM.  Good examples include expanded Talent Trees and alternative occupations.

While I wouldn't agree that d20 is "very simple," I do approve of d20 Modern as the system, as it's ideally suited to this sort of thing, and I've run this kind of game successfully using it (mine was a weird post-Revelations gothic/Biblical apocalypse setting).  I might recommend looking into some variant rules for enhanced "grittiness"/lethality, such as Called Shots and Constitution-Based Damage Threshholds, although you may be hesitant to introduce these part-way through a game.

Yeah, as far as not-sword-swinging D20 goes, D20M isn't bad.  Once you drop the stock wealth system, which is largely crap, it's quite playable.  I looked into those alternate rules a while back, when I was active on WOTC, but I didn't end up using them.  IIRC Con-Based Damage Threshold is RAW, but I'll double check.  Been GURPS a lot lately.

The adventure has a good level of detail, but seems to place a somewhat unusual amount of focus on walls/floors collapsing.  Some rotting walls/floors make sense, but I wonder whether they're the most interesting thing to focus on.  I mean, we're dealing with a post-apocalyptic fantasy world,  where all sorts of crazy stuff must have happened/be happening.  In general, there's a very strong emphasis on the mundane and banal.  I like the juxtaposition, in general, of the fantastic and the quotidian, but the adventure seems somewhat light on the former and very heavy on the latter.  I like the harpy nest on the roof, though.

Well, it takes up the most page-space because I wanted to have easy access to the going-on.  Really, it's just rules I've pasted over.  The traditional dungeon dive in Fantasy Land uses a lot of traps, something I don't often use for a number of reasons.  The rickety building is the classic "Trapped building".  In all honesty I thought it would be a minor role, due to my expectation of getting more Survival oriented characters, or at least more careful players.  Nobody took advantage of moving slower in order to increase their chances of not bringing the whole place down on them.  Bad judgement/design call on my part to be honest.

The addition of another looter, (or band of looters) a Goblin scout from the nearby town, or some other NPC (wandering madman, depraved mage, harpy-hunter, cultists) might be good.

Yes!  Wasteland NPC's.  The players belong to a small band, a bunch of volunteers who set out from Survivor Town to go plunder.  The "band" is an excuse for replacement characters and to fix down a campsite away from society where they can park their junk.  The two dead halflings and the goblin was supposed to imply that there's some others in the area to interact with.

Notes: This is a roughly cut down harpy based off the one in the Menace Manual. It has been reduced to about 3d8 hit dice, from 7. Only useful stats are represented. This harpy does not have it's song ­ this is because these harpies do not sing.

Why did you remove its song?  A 1st level party is probably capable of taking on a single harpy even with its song.  If you're really worried about it entrancing everyone, you could just lower its song DC.  Or here's an idea: put a walkman or MP3 player somewhere in the gas-station (maybe on the halfling's corpse?) that provides immunity/a  big bonus to the harpy's song.  Maybe an enchanted (possessed?  intelligent?) MP3 player. A harpy without its song is so much less interesting than one with its song - it's really just a big ugly bird-thing that can claw people.  Again, that feels unusual mundane for a setting that anounces itself as being a weird post-apocalyptic fanatsy world presumably replete with mages and dwarves and crazy spells and stuff.

Failing adding a song, some personality to the harp could help a lot.  With an Int 7, it's as smart (or nearly as smart) as many people - ast least as smart as your average half-orc.  Does it have a name?  Motivations?  Allegiances?  Can it be reasoned with?  If not then again it's basically just a big ugly bird-thing, to be killed and forgotten.

I was afraid the combat would be too difficult for 1st levels.  I hadn't thought to reduce the song difficulty, which is something I'll remember for the future.  Might have made it more interesting, though by the time the Harpy engaged the party was pretty injured.  A sling-stone ended up doing it in after a gunshot wound gave it reason to try to get away.

Funny you mention half-orcs...we have one player with an Int 7 Half-Orc named Zug.

Also I feel like the dog should secretly be a Blink Dog, but that's me.

Riding dog, actually.  The booster seat strapped to it's back is a "field expedient saddle".  The one laying by the entrance belonged to the torn up riding dog on the roof, in the harpy nest.  Funny you should mention, though, as originally the "Freezer encounter" was supposed to be a combat encounter.  It was a tossup between a blinkdog and her pups or a grick.  I ended up dropping the idea of a freezer combat encounter because I figured the darkness would result in a TPK.  It instead morphed into a hint that there's others in the area via the dead married couple, and an excuse to drop a map and some better loot for the players to find.  They didn't find the travel case, though.  I actually expected them to try and tame the dog (I even kept an open mind for strategy), but nobody took Handle Animal so they decided "Eh, let's kill it".  Figured they'd have an animal companion, but instead they have dinner.

This said, I really like the general Fallout-y feel to the thing, and the place does feel somewhat creepy.

Yes, one of my players did comment that I did an effective job of communicating how desperate the situation is, where even "shelter" has it out for you.

Thanks, all!

M.