Sunday, July 31, 2011

Baby Boy is 2 Today.

On one of the most perfect days of summer so far and we're celebrating my baby boy's second birthday.

His teen siblings have done a wonderful job of appearing to be busy while not doing all that much, the wife has been a spinning top for a few days and I'm waiting to get my crack at the kitchen to whip up some burgers to throw on the BBQ grill for the guests.

Running a bath for the birthday boy right now, party is still a few hours off.

Saturday, July 30, 2011

RPGs and real world fights

Warning this post could be stupid and in poor taste as I am discussing real world events and relating them to game play. I don't want anyone to think I'm minimizing the danger and stupidity of actually fighting.
-------------------------------------

Along with a host of other topics I've been wrestling with unarmed combat (pardon the pun) lately. From limited experience I just don't think any games I know of stack up and provide a rules framework that would allow some of the fights I've actually been in to happen as they did.

Here's four real-world fights I've been in, all over 20 years ago.

#1. In a stupid street squabble I'm hit in the head with a baseball bat, it hurt like hell. My attacker swings while I'm backing away and I grab the bat and pull it out of his hands, I wave it menacingly (all I could manage) and my attacker flees. Fight Over.

#2. A fight with a larger foe, a couple of punches are exchanged, he grabs me and I manage to leverage him up against the wall and proceed to knee him in the groin rapidly a number of times, I'm grabbed from behind I let go of the larger guy who slips to the ground and I grab the unknown assailants wrist, strike the arm closer to his body with other hand and grasp, twist with both hands and push him away. Fight over. I walk away, one person had dislocated arm the other had to be helped up.

#3. In another fight I'm lifted off the ground and slammed against a wall, my feet are dangling and I'm am not getting free. The other guys hand is back by his ear and bam he hit me and all of a sudden his hand is back by his ear and I'm hit again. Surprisingly enough, he's not hurting me much I start laughing (it was absurd being helpless but not really getting hurt) and he proceeds to pound me until either he got bored or his arm got tired, all I was doing was very occasionally partially blocking a blow by sheer luck as his blows were so fast. Fight over. We both walk away.

#4. Two guys standing next to each other block my progress while I'm walking and start giving me crap, one has baseball bat and gestures with it in a threatening fashion. I punch his companion in the throat as hard as I can , grab him with both hands while moving so he is between me and guy with bat and slam him twice into the other guy before pushing him and running away. Fight Over. Two guys fumbling over each other trying to stand up and me running.

So how the heck would these fights be modeled in an RPG?

In all the fights above everyone would be zero level in D&D terms. If anyone had more than say 4 or 5 hp it wasn't me. The only thing exceptional about these fights are none of them went to the ground, probably because they weren't even/fair fights and I was most certainly disadvantaged in all of them unarmed in #1, smaller in #2, weaker and slower in #3, outnumbered and unarmed in #4. Not one of these fights was very long I think #3 was the only one that may have been a minute of actual blows being exchanged as I cleverly beat the other guys fist with my face.

#1. Attacker attack roll. Hit. Target Dazed.
Defender withdraws/dodges possibly avoiding a blow.
Attacker attack roll. Miss. Defender disarms attacker.
Defender postures.
Attacker fails morale check and flees.
That might do it but no free attack of note while defender withdraws and the disarm was quick and no attack of opportunity was conducted in the attempt.

#2. A series of blows are exchanged blows land but nothing substantial. hits and no tellign damage.
Larger Combatant grabs smaller combatant. Easy grab, no chance to escape.
Smaller Combatant held by larger combatant pivots and Larger combatant is backed against wall. Bad tactical decission on part of larger guy, smaller guy thinking faster?
Smaller combatant moves in closer and proceeds to deliver multiple successful blows to a very sensitive location. Auto hits and nonlethal but noticeable impact.
Unknown Assailant attacks smaller guy from behind grabbing him. Auto hit.
Smaller combatant executes a move that disables unknown assailant. Attack roll and combat maneuver?
Smaller combatant leaves.

#3. Larger guy grabs smaller guy. Auto hit.
Smaller guy pinned. No escape roll for smaller guy.
Larger guys strikes smaller guy many times no effective defense if offered but no significant damage is inflicted on smaller guy.
Larger guy gets bored, shows mercy, has a tired arm and drops smaller guy.
Fight is over, both walk away.

#4. two men, one armed threaten lone unarmed man.
lone unarmed man strikes unarmed threat with a decisive blow incapacitating foe almost immediately. Surprise Achieved? Or Just initiative? Critical hit?
Lone guy moves to shield himself from armed guy with unarmed guy. A shift?
Lone guy slams unarmed guy into armed guy. STR roll and hit roll?
Lone guys pushes unarmed guy into armed guy both fall over. Hit roll and targets knocked prone?
Lone guy runs like hell while two aggressors fumble about trying to stand up.
Fight over.

I think I suffered a little hearing loss from fight #1 that is manifesting itself now many years later and the unknown assailant in fight #2 got a dislocated arm. In all these fights those involved either walked away or ran away.

I don't know of a single combat system that could handle all 4 of those brief conflicts in a meaningful manner. Does anyone?

Disclaimer/Reality Check:
I'm not recommending any macho B.S. here either, run away if you can at first (unless someone else would be put in danger) and everything you do if you can't run away should be to set up your escape so you can run away. I'm offering these as examples of fights I reality checked by unfortunately being in them. Real fighting is dangerous, painful and stupid that's why I like to pretend fight with dice and toy soldiers and maybe with goofy padded weapons once in a while.

Friday, July 29, 2011

Areas of Hexes

Thanks to a comments in a post here: http://trollsmyth.blogspot.com/2011/07/hex-mapping-part-2-scale.html I've realized I've been making a math error in calculating the areas of a hex.

I've been using the quick and easy formula of w *(w*.86) where w is the width of a hex from side to parallel side. It gets close to the right answer but it turns out it's wrong.

The more accurate formula is (3/2)*SQRT(3)*s^2 where s is the length of a segment around the perimeter of a hex.

So here's the areas in square miles and acres of various commonly used hex sizes using the more accurate formula.

Width of Hex.....area in square miles....area in acres................segment length
1 mile................. 0.844 .......................... 540 acres .......................... 0.57
3 miles............... 7.776 ............................ 4,966 acres ...................... 1.73
5 miles............... 21.549 .......................... 13,791 acres ...................... 2.88
6 miles............... 31.103 .......................... 19,905 acres ...................... 3.46
8 miles .............. 54.975 .......................... 35,184 acres ...................... 4.60
10 miles............. 86.497 ......................... 55,358 acres ....................... 5.77
12 miles............. 124.415 ......................... 79,625 acres ....................... 6.92
20 miles............ 345.39 .......................... 221,049 acres ..................... 11.53
24 miles............ 497.65 .......................... 318,496 acres ..................... 13.84
30 miles............ 777.578 ........................ 497,648 acres ..................... 17.30
36 miles............ 1119.713........................ 716,616 acres ..................... 20.76

I know lot's of numbers or not much return in heroic adventure but if you ever want to figure out the size of noble estates and compare to real world figures for farm and estate size the numbers come in handy.

Segment lengths are how long each hex side on the perimeter is as I measured them for those into the math.

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Ability Vs. Ability Table

Here's a variant ability check table I've been fiddling with.


Click the table for the full sized version.

To use table compare the active score(on the left) vs the target score (along top) to find score or higher needed for success.

A- Automatic Success
F- Failure, no roll will result in success.
do not apply ability modifiers, they are built into the table



----------------------------------------------------------------------

The math and reasoning behind the table:

High ability scores are tough to beat even for others with high scores, low scores are easy to beat even relatively easy for those with low scores.
A 3 will never beat an 18. A mighty opponent will defeat feeble opponents.
A non-exceptional score has no chance at all against a god-like challenge.

Challenges are not meant to be equal. Heroic victories are a heroic challenge.

To beat a target score one must roll the target ability score or greater on a 1d20 roll modified by the appropriate ability modifiers and there is a -2 penalty against scores 2 or more points higher then ones own score, the ability modifiers and the -2 penalty are already figured into the table. 20's extend to 2 more steps than allowed for in math. and any combination that requires a 2 or less to win has been changed to automatic success, there are intentionally a few funny spots on the table.

Modifiers built into the chart are
3........ -3
4-5..... -2
6-8..... -1
9-12.... 0
13-15... +1
16-17... +2
18.......+3
19.......+4
20......+5
21......+6

A score of G is God-like
A demigod/godling has 1-3 ability scores rated as a G,other scores might be exceptional but not with certainty.
A lesser god has 3 scores rated as a G, other scores will typically be exceptional
A greater god has all but one ability score rated as a G , the odd score out may be very low or still very high, not likely to simply be weak or average.

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

I got all the easy ones right.

Jd took the Hardest Gary Gygax Quiz in the World and got 60%!



You are a Gary Gygax Myrmidon. You are mighty in the ways of Gary Gygax. You're probably a First Edition or OD&D player, and I wouldn't be surprised if you had an original copy of the Chainmail rules.

Paladin Code: You completed this quiz without using Google.

Monday, July 25, 2011

Ruins and Remains tables for the Atomic Zombie Apocalypse Part 2a

Here's the shop type and conditions table for the Atomic Zombie Apocalypse. This table is followed by a section of notes about the the tables and offers tables to generate types of guards, lookouts and reactions there-of shortly after and long after the bombs drop.

Shop Type and Conditions (roll d10,000)
1-11...................Intact Green Grocer
12-20..............Intact Green Grocer, Occupied
21-40..............Intact Green Grocer, Guarded
41-45..............Intact green Grocer, ransacked
46-50..............Intact Green Grocer, mobbed
51-60..............Mostly Intact Green Grocer
61-70..............Mostly Intact Green Grocer, Occupied
71-80..............Mostly Intact Green Grocer, Guarded
81-100..............Mostly Intact Green Grocer, ransacked
101-105..............Mostly Intact Green Grocer, mobbed
106-115..............Makeshift Barricade at entries of Green Grocer
116-130..............Makeshift Barricade at entries of Green Grocer, Occupied
131-150..............Makeshift Barricade at entries of Green Grocer, Guarded
151-160..............Open Barricade at entry of Green Grocer
161-175..............Open Barricade at entry of Green Grocer,ransacked
176-180..............Open Barricade at entry of Green Grocer,mobbed
181-185..............Entries and Windows Securely Barricaded of Green Grocer
186-188..............Entries and Windows Securely Barricaded of Green Grocer, Occupied
189-190..............Entries and Windows Securely Barricaded of Green Grocer, Guarded
191-200..............Shambles of Green Grocer
201-202..............Shambles of Green Grocer, Guarded
203-250..............Shambles of Green Grocer,ransacked
251-255..............Shambles of Green Grocer,mobbed
256-275..............Burnt-out Green Grocer
276-299..............Green Grocer Reduced to Rubble
300..............Green Grocer Reduced to Rubble, Guarded

301-311..............Intact Butcher-Shop
312-320..............Intact Butcher-Shop, Occupied
321-325..............Intact Butcher-Shop, Guarded
326-340..............Intact Butcher-Shop, ransacked
341-345..............Intact Butcher-Shop, mobbed
346-355..............Mostly Intact Butcher-Shop
356-360..............Mostly Intact Butcher-Shop, Occupied
361-365..............Mostly Intact Butcher-Shop, Guarded
366-400..............Mostly Intact Butcher-Shop, ransacked
401-425..............Mostly Intact Butcher-Shop, mobbed
426-435..............Makeshift Barricade at entries of Butcher-Shop
436-450..............Makeshift Barricade at entries of Butcher-Shop, Guarded
451-460..............Open Barricade at entry of Butcher-Shop
461-500..............Open Barricade at entry of Butcher-Shop,ransacked
501-505..............Open Barricade at entry of Butcher-Shop,mobbed
506-510..............Entries and Windows Securely Barricaded of Butcher-Shop
511-512..............Entries and Windows Securely Barricaded of Butcher-Shop, Guarded
513-520..............Shambles of Butcher-Shop
521-580..............Shambles of Butcher-Shop,ransacked
581-590..............Shambles of Butcher-Shop,mobbed
591-595..............Burnt-out Butcher-Shop
596-600..............Butcher-Shop Reduced to Rubble

601-605..............Intact Snack-Shop
606-607..............Intact Snack-Shop, Occupied
608-609..............Intact Snack-Shop, Guarded
610-650..............Intact Snack-Shop, ransacked
651-660..............Mostly Intact Snack-Shop
661-700..............Mostly Intact Snack-Shop, ransacked
701-725..............Makeshift Barricade at entries of Snack-Shop
726-750..............Makeshift Barricade at entries of Snack-Shop, Occupied
751-775..............Makeshift Barricade at entries of Snack-Shop, Guarded
776-800..............Open Barricade at entry of Snack-Shop, ransacked
801-80..............Entries and Windows Securely Barricaded of Snack-Shop
803-804..............Entries and Windows Securely Barricaded of Snack-Shop, Occupied
805-806..............Entries and Windows Securely Barricaded of Snack-Shop, Guarded
807-830..............Shambles of Snack-Shop, ransacked
831-880..............Burnt-out Snack-Shop
881-900..............Snack-Shop Reduced to Rubble
(snack shops include Donut Shops, Candy Shops, Ice-Cream Parlors, Soda Fountains)

901-910..............Intact Grocery
911-920..............Intact Grocery, Occupied
921-950..............Intact Grocery, Guarded
951-975..............Intact Grocery, ransacked
976-985..............Intact Grocery, mobbed
986-1000.......Mostly Intact Grocery
1001-1010.......Mostly Intact Grocery, Occupied
1011-1025.......Mostly Intact Grocery, Guarded
1026-1200 .......Mostly Intact Grocery,ransacked
1201-1210.......Mostly Intact Grocery,mobbed
1211-1250.......Makeshift Barricade at entries of Grocery
1251-1300.......Makeshift Barricade at entries of Grocery, Guarded
1301-1350.......Open Barricade at entry of Grocery
1351-1470.......Open Barricade at entry of Grocery, Ransacked
1471-1475.......Open Barricade at entry of Grocery. Mobbed
1476-1480.......Entries and Windows Securely Barricaded of Grocery
1481-1489.......Entries and Windows Securely Barricaded of Grocery, Guarded
1490-1499.......Shambles of Grocery
1500..............Shambles of Grocery, Guarded
1501-1599.......Shambles of Grocery, Ransacked
1600..............Shambles of Grocery, Mobbed
1601-1650.......Burnt-out Grocery
1651-1700.......Grocery Reduced to Rubble

1701-1750.......Intact Restaurant
1751-1800.......Intact Restaurant, Occupied
1801-1850.......Intact Restaurant, Guarded
1851-1900.......Intact Restaurant, ransacked
1901-1902.......Intact Restaurant, mobbed
1902-1950.......Mostly Intact Restaurant
1951-2050.......Mostly Intact Restaurant,ransacked
2051-2052.......Mostly Intact Restaurant, mobbed
2053-2080.......Makeshift Barricade at entries of Restaurant
2081-2210.......Makeshift Barricade at entries of Restaurant, Occupied
2211-2220.......Makeshift Barricade at entries of Restaurant, Guarded
2221-2230.......Open Barricade at entry of Restaurant
2231-2239.......Open Barricade at entry of Restaurant, ransacked
2240..............Open Barricade at entry of Restaurant. mobbed
2241-2250.......Entries and Windows Securely Barricaded of Restaurant
2251-2275.......Entries and Windows Securely Barricaded of Restaurant, Occupied
2276-2300.......Entries and Windows Securely Barricaded of Restaurant, Guarded
2301-2344.......Shambles of Restaurant
2345..............Shambles of Restaurant, Guarded
2346-2348.......Shambles of Restaurant, ransacked
2349..............Shambles of Restaurant, mobbed
2350-2450.......Burnt-out Restaurant
2451-2500.......Restaurant Reduced to Rubble
(Restaurants include Diners, Cafes, Burger Joints, Fine Dining, Bars)

2501-2525.......Intact Variety Store
2526-2536.......Intact Variety Store, Occupied
2537-2550.......Intact Variety Store, Guarded
2551-2600.......Intact Variety Store, ransacked
2601-2650 .......Mostly Intact Variety Store
2651-2750.......Mostly Intact Variety Store, ransacked
2751-2770.......Makeshift Barricade at entries of Variety Store
2771-2800.......Makeshift Barricade at entries of Variety Store, Occupied
2801-2900.......Makeshift Barricade at entries of Variety Store, Guarded
2901-2950.......Open Barricade at entry of Variety Store
2951-3174.......Open Barricade at entry of Variety Store, ransacked
3175-3200.......Entries and Windows Securely Barricaded of Variety Store
3201-3250.......Entries and Windows Securely Barricaded of Variety Store, Occupied
3251-3300.......Entries and Windows Securely Barricaded of Variety Store, Guarded
3301-3350.......Shambles of Variety Store
3351-3400.......Shambles of Variety Store, ransacked
3401-3450.......Burnt-out Variety Store
3451-3500.......Variety Store Reduced to Rubble

3501-3550.......Intact Pharmacy
3551-3560 .......Intact Pharmacy, Occupied
3561-3600.......Intact Pharmacy, Guarded
3601-3650.......Intact Pharmacy, ransacked
3651-3700.......Mostly Intact Pharmacy
3701-3800.......Mostly Intact Pharmacy, Guarded
3801-3900.......Mostly Intact Pharmacy, ransacked
3901-3950.......Makeshift Barricade at entries of Pharmacy
3951-4000.......Makeshift Barricade at entries of Pharmacy, Occupied
4001-4100.......Makeshift Barricade at entries of Pharmacy, Guarded
4101-4125.......Open Barricade at entry of Pharmacy
4125-4175.......Open Barricade at entry of Pharmacy, ransacked
4176-4200.......Entries and Windows Securely Barricaded of Pharmacy
4201-4220.......Entries and Windows Securely Barricaded of Pharmacy, Occupied
4221-4250.......Entries and Windows Securely Barricaded of Pharmacy, Guarded
4351-4400.......Shambles of Pharmacy
4401-4450.......Shambles of Pharmacy, ransacked
4451-4475.......Burnt-out Pharmacy
4476-4500.......Pharmacy Reduced to Rubble

4501-4502.......Intact Liquor Store
4503-4540.......Intact Liquor Store, guarded
4541-4600.......Intact Liquor Store, ransacked
4601-4602.......Intact Liquor Store, mobbed
4603-4605.......Mostly Intact Liquor Store
4606-4626.......Mostly Intact Liquor Store, guarded
4627-4650.......Mostly Intact Liquor Store, ransacked
4651-4652.......Mostly Intact Liquor,mobbed
4653-4660.......Makeshift Barricade at entries of Liquor Store
4661-4670.......Makeshift Barricade at entries of Liquor Store, Occupied
4671-4680.......Makeshift Barricade at entries of Liquor Store, Guarded
4681-4685.......Open Barricade at entry of Liquor Store
4681-4700.......Open Barricade at entry of Liquor Store, ransacked
4701-4702.......Open Barricade at entry of Liquor Store, mobbed
4703-4710.......Entries and Windows Securely Barricaded of Liquor Store
4711-4730.......Entries and Windows Securely Barricaded of Liquor Store, Occupied
4731-4789.......Shambles of Liquor Store
4790-4799.......Shambles of Liquor Store, ransacked
4800..............Shambles of Liquor Store, mobbed
4801-4900.......Burnt-out Liquor Store
4901-5000.......Liquor Store Reduced to Rubble

5001-5050.......Intact Retail Store
5051-5060.......Intact Retail Store, Occupied
5061-5080.......Intact Retail Store, Guarded
5081-5150.......Intact Retail Store, Ransacked
5151-5200.......Mostly Intact Retail Store
5201-5350.......Mostly Intact Retail Store, ransacked
5351-5400.......Mostly Intact Retail Store, Guarded
5401-5450.......Makeshift Barricade at entries of Retail Store
5451-5550.......Makeshift Barricade at entries of Retail Store, Occupied
5551-5600.......Makeshift Barricade at entries of Retail Store, Guarded
5601-5650.......Open Barricade at entry of Retail Store
5651-5800.......Open Barricade at entry of Retail Store, ransacked
5801-5850.......Entries and Windows Securely Barricaded of Retail Store
5851-5900.......Entries and Windows Securely Barricaded of Retail Store, Occupied
5901-6000.......Entries and Windows Securely Barricaded of Retail Store, Guarded
6001-6150.......Shambles of Retail Store
6151-6500.......Shambles of Retail Store, ransacked
6501-6800.......Burnt-out Retail Store
6801-7000.......Retail Store Reduced to Rubble
(Retail Stores include a shop that sells a themed range of goods such as Appliances, Furniture, Hardware, Sporting Goods,Clothing,Toys,Shoes and Books)

7001-7010.......Intact Specialty Shop
7011-7100.......Intact Specialty Shop, ransacked
7101-7120.......Mostly Intact Specialty Shop
7121-7220.......Mostly Intact Specialty Shop, ransacked
7221-7230.......Makeshift Barricade at entries of Specialty Shop
7231-7280.......Makeshift Barricade at entries of Specialty Shop, Occupied
7281-7300.......Makeshift Barricade at entries of Specialty Shop, Guarded
7301-7310.......Open Barricade at entry of Specialty Shop
7311-7400.......Open Barricade at entry of Specialty Shop, ransakced
7401-7500.......Entries and Windows Securely Barricaded of Specialty Shop
7501-7550.......Entries and Windows Securely Barricaded of Specialty Shop, Guarded
7551-7575.......Entries and Windows Securely Barricaded of Specialty Shop, Occupied
7576-7700.......Shambles of Specialty Shop
7701-7800.......Shambles of Specialty Shop, ransacked
7801-7900.......Burnt-out Specialty Shop
7901-8000.......Specialty Shop Reduced to Rubble
(Specialty shops include Jewelry, Smoke Shops, Haberdashery, Newstand, Bridal Shop, Hobby Shop ,Music Store, Pet Store, Bait Shop)

8001-8050.......Intact Service Shop
8051-8060.......Intact Service Shop, occupied
8061-8100.......Intact Service Shop, guarded
8101-8200.......Intact Service Shop, ransacked
8201-8250.......Mostly Intact Service Shop
8251-8300.......Mostly Intact Service Shop, guarded
8301-8350.......Mostly Intact Service Shop, ransacked
8351-8360.......Makeshift Barricade at entries of Service Shop
8361-8400.......Makeshift Barricade at entries of Service Shop, occupied
8401-8450.......Makeshift Barricade at entries of Service Shop, guarded
8451-8500.......Open Barricade at entry of Service Shop
8501-8550.......Open Barricade at entry of Service Shop, ransacked
8551-8570.......Entries and Windows Securely Barricaded of Service Shop
8571-8580.......Entries and Windows Securely Barricaded of Service Shop, occupied
8581-8650.......Entries and Windows Securely Barricaded of Service Shop, guarded
8651-8800.......Shambles of Service Shop
8801-8900.......Shambles of Service Shop, ransacked
8901-8950.......Burnt-out Specialty Service Shop
8951-9000.......Service Shop Reduced to Rubble
(Service shops include: Tailor, Barber, Catalog Shop, Repair Shop, Machine Shop, Print Shop)

9001-9050.......Intact Recreational Facility
9051-9065.......Intact Recreational Facility, ransacked
9065-9075.......Intact Recreational Facility, occupied
9076-9100.......Mostly Intact Recreational Facility
9101-9010.......Mostly Intact Recreational Facility, occupied
9011-9015.......Makeshift Barricade at entries of Recreational Facility
9016-9050.......Makeshift Barricade at entries of Recreational Facility, occupied
9051-9100.......Makeshift Barricade at entries of Recreational Facility, guarded
9101-9130.......Open Barricade at entry of Recreational Facility
9131-9200.......Open Barricade at entry of Recreational Facility, ransacked
9201-9220.......Entries and Windows Securely Barricaded of Recreational Facility
9221-9230.......Entries and Windows Securely Barricaded of Recreational Facility, occupied
9231-9270.......Entries and Windows Securely Barricaded of Recreational Facility, guarded
9270-9350.......Shambles of Recreational Facility
9351-9400.......Shambles of Recreational Facility, ransacked
9401-9450.......Burnt-out Recreational Facility
9451-9500.......Recreational Facility Reduced to Rubble
(recreational Facilities include Penny Arcade, Cinema, Roller-Rink, Bowling Alley)

9501-9550.......Intact Bank
9551-9600.......Intact Bank, ransacked
9601-9603.......Intact Bank, occupied
9604-9610.......Intact Bank, guarded
9611-9650.......Mostly Intact Bank
9651-9700.......Mostly Intact Bank, ransacked
9701-9750.......Mostly Intact Bank, guarded
9751-9760.......Makeshift Barricade at entries of Bank
9761-9770.......Makeshift Barricade at entries of Bank, occupied
9771-9780.......Makeshift Barricade at entries of Bank, guarded
9781-9790.......Makeshift Barricade at entries of Bank, ransacked
9791-9795.......Open Barricade at entry of Bank
9796-9850.......Open Barricade at entry of Bank, ransacked
9851-9860.......Entries and Windows Securely Barricaded of Bank
9861-9863.......Entries and Windows Securely Barricaded of Bank, occupied
9864-9900.......Entries and Windows Securely Barricaded of Bank, guarded
9901-9925.......Shambles of Bank, ransacked
9926-9950.......Shambles of Bank, guarded
9951-9976.......Burnt-out Bank
9976-10000....Bank Reduced to Rubble

Rotting Food
shortly after the bombs fall anyone entering a restaurant, green grocer, butcher shop or grocery may have to make a save vs poison or be sickened by the overwhelming stench of rot for 1d4 rounds. Atomic Zombies have no difficulty with the smell of rot. Exactly when to make the check if at all is up to the condition of the establishment and the ML of course.

Occupied
Shortly After the Bombs: an occupied shop shortly after the bombs fall will have 1d12 staff, family of staff passers-buy given shelter or looters.
long after the bomb: an occupied store will have 1-4 people dwelling within (or staffing if there is order in the community).

Mobbed
shortly after the bombs:A shop being mobbed will have a crowd (of 20-200) throughout the place or surrounding the place. It's 80% likely to be ransacked within 1d6 turns, converting to that status. The noise will be noticeable within 2 blocks or further away and looters may be spotted within 1d10 blocks of the place fleeing with goods in hand during looting and up to 1d12 turns later. Fighting within the mob and between looters further away possible.

long after bombing: there's a (33%) chance people didn't notice it or it was guarded until recently or (67%) it will instead be mobbed by 1d100 Atomic Zombies.

Guard Types
shortly after the bombs:
1-2...1-3 Owner/staff
3-4...2-7 Locals, 1d100 other locals will be within 10 blocks.(10% chance of lookout)
5......1-3 Police (10% chance of lookout, 40% able to call for reinforcements)
6-7...1-4 Activated Civil Defense (20% able to call for reinforcements)
8......2-5 Military (33% chance of lookout, 30% able to call for reinforcements)
reinforcements will be 1-6 times size of guard force and arrive in 2d20 minutes
long after bombing:
1......1 Owner/staff
2-3...1-6 Locals (50% chance of lookout, 33% able to call for reinforcements)
4-5....2-7 Military (75% chance of lookout,25% able to call for reinforcements)
6......1-12 Scavengers (33% chance of lookout)
7-8...1-4 Raiders, 1d20 other Raiders will be within 1d6 blocks. (25% chance of lookout
reinforcements will be 1-4 times the size of the guard force and arrive in 1d100 minutes

The following tables are meant to assist the ML not take place of good judgement or fun. The standard reaction table will work fine as is, these are offered for variation.

Lookout reaction roll
2.........Flee
3.........Hide
4.........Raise Alarm & Hide
5-6......Challenge Intruders
7.........Raise Alarm and Challenge Intruders
8-9......Raise Alarm & Summon Reinforcements
10-11... Raise Alarm
12......Fail to Notice Intruders

Guard Reactions Shortly After Bombing
1-5......Assault Intruder & Summon Reinforcements.
6-15...Assault Intruders
16-20...Attempt Capture of Intruders & Summon Reinforcements
21-47...Attempt Capture of Intruders
48-50...Challenge Intruders & Summon Reinforcements
51-60...Challenge Intruders
61-64...Bargain with Intruders to delay & Summon Reinforcements
65-67...Bargain with Intruders
68-70... Hide & Follow
71-75...Hide
76-80...Flee and Summon Reinforcements
81-90...Flee
91-97...Fail to notice intruders
98-99... Stand aside
100......Join Intruders

Guard Reactions Long After Bombing
1-5......... Assault Intruder & Summon Reinforcements.
6-35... Assault Intruders
36-40... Attempt Capture of Intruders & Summon Reinforcements
41-47...Attempt Capture of Intruders
48-50...Challenge Intruders & Summon Reinforcements
51-66...Challenge Intruders
67-68...Bargain with Intruders to delay & Summon Reinforcements
69-70...Bargain with Intruders
71-78...Hide & Follow (determine standard reaction if discovered)
79-80...Hide (determine standard reaction if discovered)
81-84...Flee and Summon Reinforcements
85-95...Flee
96-97...Fail to notice intruders
98......... Stand aside
99-100...Join Intruders

Shop Loot Tables to Come...

Atomic Zombie Apocalyspe Ruins and Remains 1b

A few types of buildings I missed or forgot in my last post.

Schools
This category includes elementary schools, highschool, private schools, colleges and universities. Schools will vary very much in size and resources. A school with dormitories will have a greater supply of goods on hand at the time the bomb fell but will also have greater demands. In some areas public schools will be used by the civil defense authorities in others they will be forgotten.
If the survivors come to blame science and forbidden knowledge for the fall of man many a school will be set to the torch by hostile mobs.

Churches
In times of woe many people will seek comfort in their faith and many churches are able and willing to help those in need but are only equipped to do so briefly. Becasue of their generally open and benevolent nature churches are often not very defensible structures and will have many entry points making them difficult to defend in the long run. Some churhces will be swamped by masses of the wounded and dying early on and turn the pews and facilities into a charnel house, others will remain staffed by a small staff or a single individual offering spiritual assistance to survivors. In some areas the church will remain the only stable social structure and will serve as the focal point for any local power group in maintaining or re-establishing order.

Utilities
Power plants, water plants, the phone company all these places were vitaly important before the bombs fell, soem may yet again be important. Most of these structures will be abandoned and forgotten early as the power structure and staff to support them is absent. Civil Defense may keep them defended for a brief time until the functionality is demonstrated to be limited at best.
A few facilities may remain operational for a time with a dedicated staff that was present when the bombs fell that refuses to leave.

Government Offices
The vast burgeoning bureaucracy of federal, state and local government required many government offices to maintain cvil services and order. Some of these buildings will remain important hubs of civil defense for a time, others will have be swamped by survivors and atomic zombies early on. Some Government buildings have small bomb shelters present that will hold limited but precious supplies but how well stocked these are and who had access will vary wildly and presence of such a feature may compromise the safety and durability of the whole premise as desperate survivors, scavengers and raiders try to find safety and supplies.
As power groups flail against each other in the chaos following the bombs government building may become battle grounds as the factions bump heads and attempt to wrest control from each other.

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Ruins and Remains tables for the Atomic Zombie Apocalypse Part I

Part I
Survivors in the Atomic Zombie Apocalypse may find themselves scavenging among the remains of civilization. There are a vast array of building modern man has designed and used and the following is simply an overview of what one may find.

Single Family Residence
A common everyday house. The dwelling place for a single family which for the era is one married couple, 2.5 kids and a dog about 50% of the time.
Most residences of the era are nor designed for long term security and occupation without the services of modern stable society and will become abandoned as the residents needs for food and shelter can't be met within.
In some areas civil defense will attempt to marshal food and other goods held in private residences in others everyone will be on their own.
A small percent of homes will have bomb shelters of varying size, capacity and true functionality. Some will simply serve as tombs for their residents, others will be become deadly little battlegrounds between neighbors and even family, some will be prime targets for raiders and others will be forgotten or left empty by people that could reach then in time.
In areas of heavy fallout private residences offer little if any protection from the ravages of radiation.

Shop
A small to mid sized store generally specializing in limited service or range of products. A wide range of stores could iclude: Electrical Goods, T.V. Repair Shop, Shoe Repair, Cafe/Diner, furniture store, Donut Shop, Music Supply store, Shoe Store, Roller-Skating Ring, Bowling Alley, Variety Store, Drug Store, Catalog Store, Print Shop, Newsstand, Tobacco Shop, Clothing Store, Barber Shop, Jewelry Store, Hardware Store,Bakery, Butcher,Green Grocer, Cinema, bank. Shops will be poorly defended (if at all) aside from food stores and prone to fire, vandalism and looting. Limited shelter from radiation may be found in subbasements or windowless storage rooms.

Shop with apartment(s) over head.
A shop as above with 1 to 3 stories above it containing apartments. If the shops have any goods or services the residents of the building may benefit from they will be quick to secure or loot the place.

Shop with offices overhead
As shops above with 1 to 2 stories of offices above the shop. Such buildings are likely to be abandoned soon after the bombs drop.

Sky-scrapper.
A large multistory building with 6 to 21 stories. (3d6+3). A Skyscraper may be solely occupied by a hotel or large business but typically multiple businesses are present.
The first 1d4 stories are usually taken by shops, the next 1d6 will be taken by offices and the remainder will be apartments, either low rent or luxury. Ground floor shops will be quickly looted in a metropolitan area but smaller shops on higher floors may be ignored. Residents may loot or secure shops.
Rarely some skyscrapers have bomb-shelters large enough to fit most of the occupants of the building but only for a few days.
After a time upper floors will become difficult to live in as occupants can be trapped without means of escape, have no easy access to food or water; sometimes however an upper floor may be fortified by residents and used as a point to make a last stand.

Warehouse
Large buildings were bulk goods, raw materials and massive amounts of manufactured goods may be stores. Warehosues are likely to be defend initially but soon abandoned as chaos widens. Some will remain intact for years providing a fortune in goods to those that claim them. Some warehouses may be identified and secured by civil-defense authorities, such locations are more likely than not to become targets of large groups of raiders.

Factory
A factory will be a large single building or a rambling complex of adjacent buildings housing supplies, machinery, offices and even limited accommodations for staff (such as an infirmary, cafeteria and break rooms).

Gas Station
Where to go to get the car fueled up. In this era gas stations were often full service affairs and it wasn't unusual to find a gas station operating with a fully functional auto-mechanics shop. Gas stations could have a rack of magazines, a soda machine, a beer machine, a rack of candy and even cooler with ice-cream treats but really nothing like the convenience stores often found today. In remote regions a gas station may have a small apartment or two attached to make sure staff can be present at all hours.A gas station may have been be secured by local and or national forces. Isolated stations will be prone to looting.

Hospital
the size and range of care available at hospitals will vary widely. Hospitals near bombing sites will be overrun quickly by the needy and soon afterward by hordes of Atomic Zombies. In remote areas they will either become part of coordinated local civil defense or be prone to looting.

Police Station
Police stations can be small 2 or 3 man affairs, staffed by a couple dozen or even hundreds depending on the area they serve. Police stations will attempt to aid local authorities in coordinating civil defense but with the destruction of the civilization as man knew it these limited facilities will hard pressed to remain operational. People may seek shelter and safety in larger police stations only to find themselves and the police officers within surrounded by a horde of the radioactive dead.

Fire Stations
While they provide vital aid in a functioning society these facilities have little to offer in the long term after the bombs are dropped besides often begin sturdy and with limited dormitory facilities. An active civil defense will make use of fire-stations but without ready access to resources the facilities will be quickly depleted.

Armory
The true hubs of the civil defense system. Many metropolitan areas will have multiple armories. The true extent and capability of such facilities will vary wildly and those in bombed areas will likely be hell holes of radiation with those further away being swamped by refugees, further away from bombing sites armories will be a focus of local and national authority and choice targets for large gangs of raiders.


Single Family Residences d600 (1d6 & d00)
100-102.... Intact, Abandoned
103-110.... Intact, Ransacked
111-115.... Intact, Residents home
116............ Intact, Ransacked, Residents Hiding in Attic
117-118....Intact, Residents Hiding in Attic
119-125....Intact, Residents Hiding in Basement
126-130....Intact, Ransacked,Residents Hiding in Basement
131-135....Intact, Residents Hiding in Bomb Shelter
136-140....Intact, Ransacked, Residents Hiding in Bomb Shelter
141-150....Mostly Intact, Abandoned
151-165....Mostly Intact, Ransacked, Abandoned
166-169....Mostly Intact, Residents home
170............Mostly Intact,Ransacked, Residents home
171-173....Mostly Intact, Residents Hiding in Attic
174-175....Mostly Intact, Ransacked,Residents Hiding in Attic
176-185 ....Mostly Intact, Residents Hiding in Basement
186-190....Mostly Intact, Ransacked,Residents Hiding in Basement
191-195....Mostly Intact, Residents Hiding in Bomb Shelter
196-200....Mostly Intact, Ransacked,Residents Hiding in Bomb Shelter
201-205....Makeshift Barricades on entry level, Abandoned
206-215....Makeshift Barricades on entry level,Residents home
216-220....Makeshift Barricades on entry level, Residents Hiding in Attic
221-247....Makeshift Barricades on entry level,Residents Hiding in Basement
248-250....Makeshift Barricades on entry level,Residents in Bomb Shelter
251-260....Open Barricade on entry level, Abandoned
261-270....Open Barricade on entry level, Ransacked, Abandoned
271-272....Open Barricade on entry level, Residents home
273-274....Open Barricade on entry level, Ransacked, Residents home
275-277....Open Barricade on entry level, Residents Hiding in Attic
278-280....Open Barricade on entry level, Ransacked, Residents Hiding in Attic
281-290....Open Barricade on entry level,Residents Hiding in Basement
291-294....Open Barricade on entry level,Ransacked, Residents Hiding in Basement
296-297....Open Barricade on entry level,Residents in Bomb Shelter
298-299....Open Barricade on entry level,Ransacked, Residents in Bomb Shelter
300-305....Entries & Windows Securely Barricaded, Abandoned
306-390....Entries & Windows Securely Barricaded, Residents home
391-393....Entries & Windows Securely Barricaded, Residents Hiding in Attic
394-397....Entries & Windows Securely Barricaded, Residents Hiding in Basement
398-399....Entries & Windows Securely Barricaded, Residents in Bomb Shelter
400-450....Shambles, Abandoned
451-469....Shambles, Ransacked, Abandoned
470-480....Shambles,Residents Home
481............ Shambles,Ransacked,Residents Home
482-483....Shambles,Residents Hiding in Attic
484-485....Shambles,Ransacked, Residents Hiding in Attic
486............ Shambles,Ransacked, Residents Trapped in Attic
487-489....Shambles,Residents Hiding in Basement
490............Shambles,Ransacked,Residents Hiding in Basement
491-494....Shambles,Residents Trapped in Basement
495-496....Shambles,Ransacked, Residents Trapped in Basement
497............Shambles,Residents Hiding in Bomb Shelter
498............Shambles,Ransacked, Residents Hiding in Bomb Shelter
499............Shambles,Residents Trapped in Bomb Shelter
500............Shambles,Ransacked,Residents Trapped in Bomb Shelter
501-590....Burnt-out Shell, Abandoned
591-595....Burnt-out Shell,Residents Hiding in Basement
596-597....Burnt-out Shell,Residents Trapped in Basement
598-599....Burnt-out Shell,Residents Hiding in Bomb Shelter
600............Burnt-out Shell,Residents Trapped in Bomb Shelter
601-688....Rubble, Abandoned
689-690....Rubble,Residents home
691-690....Rubble,Residents Hiding in Basement
691-696....Rubble,Residents Trapped in Basement
695-697....Rubble,Residents Hiding in Bomb Shelter
698-699....Rubble,Residents Trapped in Bomb Shelter

Any residence not indicated as having an occupied bomb-shelter has a 1% chance of having a bomb-shelter on the property that for some reason is unoccupied.

A residence or bomb shelter will be occupied by 1d12 individuals. A residence short on food and water will be a dangerous place to be.

Mostly intact indicates minor war damage and an open entry or broken window(s) on entry level.

Shambles, indicate notable damage, most windows smashed, doors may be open, interior will be in poor condition as well.

Ransacked, looks like others have searched the place quickly and thoroughly. Some damage to building and interior likely.



Click table to view.

More to come...

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Hey, You Got Your Conan in My Middle-Earth!

It's a dirty little secret, well not much of a secret at all really, but the impact the players can have on a setting can be rather extreme. With rare experience every bit of work a DM does in developing a campaign should keep in mind the exp, gp hungry machine that is the Player Character. If one doesn't plan a campaign with the abilities and goals of the PCs in mind they will break it and reshape it unless they are really piss-poor game players or willing participants on a story-land railroading.

Look at little old Middle-Earth the story would unfold a heck of a lot different if there were competent and ruthless D&D adventurers involved. Saruman razing the shire, never would happen. The PCs would beat him to it; how would a band of eager treasure seekers avoid pillaging the shire it's full of cabbages, booze and slaves? Minas Tirith is threatened by an army of wimpy orcs...hmm doesn't seem they would be all that able to keep a band of PCs from pillaging the royal treasury and getting the heck out of dodge does it? Oh the Gandalf died fighting the Balrog and they both pitched into darkness, so the balrog is dead is it? "Time to go pillaging Moria, and by the way hand over that ring."

Unless the PCs are strapped to the railroad they aren't going to play nice and calmly walk the ring to the crack of doom while fighting the war of the ring.

One way DMs will try to preserve setting against the ravages of the PC is to install a lot of high level characters and warriors all over the place to keep the PCs in check. This is an awful solution as it leaves one wondering why the heck the PCs do anything at all, why are the treasures,monsters and villains left for the PCs to deal with? It'll never work the players will either filled hemmed in with few options or will bide their time to strike and pillage the campaign once they are high enough level to do so since it's full of a bunch of lazy do nothing NPCs just waiting to get robbed.

So how's a DM supposed to protect the perfect places and the Mary Sues? By making them actually important to the PCs of course. Do not make the authorities and society a barrier to PC advancement make society and those in power an obvious path to more power for the PCs. Being able to get an army to attack Lord Evils tower by being on good terms with the king or by marrying his not so good looking sister relieves the need of having to kick the kings ass, pillage his treasury and raise an army of mercenaries to go fight Lord Evil.

One method is to have some sort of formal training rule that forces the PCs to interact with some NPCs in a non-violent fashion to gain levels. Players often hate the heck out of this because it "slows down the action"....too bad for them. Training enforces the players need to have a stable society with people and institutions where they can get training. Sure people can self-train but that should take even longer and make life harder on PCs. This method can also pump a lot of cash out of the PC coffers as well, just changing the traditional method of 1 gp = 1 exp to 1gp spent on training = 1 exp is going to impact the campaign and enforce a training rule.

NPCs have families and want to see them in comfort and at least alive. So why should that matter to the PC? Because hirelings and henchmen have families and in the main will be acting to ensure their prosperity and safety and not just be an extra sword arm or an extra backpack of gold on the hoof for the PC. this of course requires one to have a group of players that recognize henchmen and hirelings are valuable and necessary for their PCs and it's part of the DMs job to make sure the players know this and the easiest oldest most reliable method is encumbrance and related fatigue. Carrying six weeks of rations, platemail, two shields, three weapons, 100 arrows and 24,000 g.p. around on ones own back just isn't going to happen, one must employ someone to help and that someone should have someone else they care about.

If the players are the typical roaming and pillaging freak-show the local blacksmith will be closed up tight before the PCs get there, the jeweler will be hiding his wares and the merchant who can't get out of town fast enough will have lots of luxury goods at high prices for sale and make quick deals before he goes away on important business. The NPC merchants and artisans want to deal with gentlemen and those in power not the scariest meanest dudes this side of the great wall of monster land; yes money talks but berserker were-wolves, necromancer assassins and hell-blade wielding self proclaimed princes of some domain no one has ever heard of aren't healthy to do business with. Again this comes back to the NPCs giving a darn about themselves and someone else, the motivation of an artisan or merchant isn't' just to remove gp from a PC but to survive to be in business for a long time. The PC has to be part of things at some level to be able to do regular business.

Make the PC (and player) need and care about the campaign setting by making sure the PC needs more then the g.p. and exp held within. A player should learn to value safety, a good clean well lit place to rest and relax, allies and somewhere to spend all those gp for a PC.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Wee-Folk Campaign notes

Over at Huge Ruined Pile there's been a great series of posts for a Dwarf-Land campaign. If you haven't read them please do so. I've found them very inspiring and as I've been knocking-about the ideas for a wee-folk campaign I ended up typing the following notes for use sometime/maybe:


Residence (Inspired by this post by Scott at the Huge Ruined Pile)
1-8...... A Hollow Tree
9-12.... A Fallen Log
13-18... Under/In a Mushroom
19-20... A Big Boot/ A Giant Hat
21-23... An Ancient Barrow
24-27... A Cottage of Straw
28-30... A Cottage of Sticks
31-35... A Cottage of Bricks
36-40... A Hogan (a dug-out or halfling-hole)
41-44... A Teetering Tower
45-48... A Subterranean Grotto
49-51... A pile of hay in a barn
52-54... A Warm Nook in a Kitchen
55-57... An Abandoned Well
58-60... Under A Bridge
61-62... A Dry Spot in the Sewers
62-68... A Tree House
69-72... A Big Barrel
73-75... An Overturned Boat
76-78... An Old Badger Sett.
79-82... Among the Rafters of a Public House
83-86... In Someone's Attic
87-90... A Pallet in a Nobles-Hall.
91-92... A Hole in the Wall
93-96... An Old Gypsy Wagon
97-100.. A Tattered Tent

Location (if desired, reject or embrace odd results)
1-10... A Bramble
11-15... A Flower Garden
16-25... A Village
26-28... A Bracken
29-33... A Marsh
34-45... A Wood
46-50... A Ruin
51-55... A Farm
56-65...By a Babbling Brook
66-75... A Grassy Knoll
76-80... By A Pond
81-83... On a Small Island
84-85... At a Crossroad
86-87... A Churchyard
88-90... A Castle
91-95.... A Dingle
96-100... A Cavern


Size by Type
Elfin: Small 2-4, Short 5, Stout 6, Slight 7-12
Dwarf: Wee 2, Small 3-6, Short 7-9, Stout 10-12
Gnome: Wee 2-4, Small 5-10, Short 11-12
Brownie: Tiny 2, Wee 3-7, Small 8-12
Pesk: Tiny 2-7, Wee 8-10, Small 11-12
Trollkin: Tiny 2, Wee 3, Small 4-5, Short 6-7, Stout 8-12

Move by size
Slight...................... 12
Stout, Short............ 9
Small, Wee, Tiny.... 6
** Pesk can fly 3 faster then their normal land speed. Can't fly in plate and fly 1/2 speed in mail.

Armor
Slight Mail...+4 .... 70 gp
Stout Mail...+5 .... 75 gp
Short Mail...+4 .... 60 gp
Small Mail... +4 .... 50 gp
Wee Mail... +4 .... 40 gp
Tiny Mail...+3 .... 30 gp

Slight Plate...+6 .... 420 gp
Stout Plate... +8 .... 450 gp
Short Plate... +7 .... 360 gp
Small Plate...+6 .... 300 gp
Wee Plate... +5 .... 240 gp
Tiny Plate... +5 .... 200 gp

One simply can't fit in a wrong-sized suit of armor.

Size S Helm...+2 .... 30 gp
Wee Helm... +1 .... 15 gp
Tiny Helm...+1 .... 5 gp

Larger helms can be worn but they are knocked off on any even hit roll and impose a -1 hit and save penalty for the wearer.

Size S Wicker Shield...+1 .... 5 gp
Wee Wicker Shield...+1 .... 3 gp
Tiny Wicker Shield...+1 .... 2 gp

Size S Wooden Shield... +2 .... 10 gp
Wee Wooden Shield... +2 .... 6 gp
Tiny Wooden Shield...+1 .... 3 gp

Size S Metal Shield... +4 .... 50 gp
Wee metal Shield.....+3 .... 25 gp
Tiny Metal Shield.... +2 .... 10 gp
(you can use a larger size shield but it imposes a -2 penalty to your attacks)

I have no idea which AC method I'd be using so I listed types as pluses for now.

Size-S is still subdivided into Slight, Stout, Short and Small but otherwise stats don't vary; A Stout helm would be too big for a Small Character for example.

Weapon Damage modifiers
I whipped up a complicated table but not sure if it's ready for prime time.
Quickie notes:
Size S weapons use normal D&Dish stats
wee -1 to damage
tiny -1 to hit, -2 damage

It's mostly just these notes for now but I see no reason not to share.

Monday, July 18, 2011

Surviving Among the Atomic Zombies

part 3 of the Atomic Zombie Apocalypse guidelines for Mutant Future.
----------------

The Atomic Zombie Apocalypse lends itself to the sub-sub genre of survival horror. Survival includes staying alive, staying fed and keeping what's important.

The Rules of Three
In an older post I outlined the rules of three. It's a popular memory gimmick of the survivalist crowd and they are pretty much true. PC's in a Atomic Zombie Apocalypse are going to need shelter, food and ammo.

Let's start with shelter. PC's need someplace they can rest up and stay out of immediate danger. If you can't get out of the heat or cold you die. If you can't stay away from the Atomic Zombies, you die. What constitutes safe will vary greatly from moment to moment. Being on the other side of a good door makes one moderately safe in a combat situation against zombies (for a few rounds). Early in the campaign fallout is going to be a problem or at least as big a problem as the ref wants to make it.

Dealing with Fallout, Radiation and Mutation

Fallout is persistent accumulating radiation thrown off from the burnt pulverized cities destroyed in the initial strikes. Fallout should expose the PCs to radiation over a period of days or maybe even hours for the first six weeks to 3 months of a campaign set in the days right after the war. Fallout exposure should be kept to the low end of the scale (1d4 intensity level) except for those times the ref really wants to make it a point on the terrain or during an adventure.

Radiation and mutation are not even vaguely realistic and do not follow all the rules as in the Mutant Future rules. PCs and NPCs are still damaged as expressed in the rules but each time a character suffers radiation damage equal to or greater then their constitution they have suffered serious exposure. Once 5 serious exposures have been suffered a character will sicken and become bedridden for 1d3 days suffering 3d6 damage each day, during these days (if the character survives) a mutation will manifest (roll on the normal physical or mental mutation tables). A radiation save is required at the end of the sickness, if the save fails the PC permanently losses one randomly determined ability point.

People will react poorly to mutants as anything odd and different is generally trying to eat their brains lately. Mutants will be avoided, ostracized and driven off if not out-right killed by the vast majority of folk. It isn't healthy to be a mutant in an Atomic Zombie Apocalypse campaign.

Shelter and Fallout
A Woodframed house will cut exposure to persistent fallout by 1 level.
A brickhouse will cut exposure to radiation by 2 levels
Staying in an intact basement of an intact home will halve exposure to fallout.
A poor quality fallout shelter will cut radiation exposure to 1/4th it's intensity.
A good quality fallout shelter will cut radiation exposure to the point it isn't dangerous as long as the air filters hold out.

Food and Water
PCs will likely die if they go 3 days without drinkable water. Water polluted by radiation will stave off thirst but will expose one to radiation (with a -4 saving throw).
Finding water and a safe ready source of water will be an occasional priority early in the game and the ultimate priority in finding a safe place.

If character goes without food for 3 days they will not heal HP if wounded. Once one hasn't eaten for as many days as they have points of CON it is recommended they lose 1 hp a day thereafter. Eating 4 meals over 2 days will stave off hunger.
Going without food for a week weakens a character to the point their move is cut to 1/2, saving throws and attack rolls are made at -2 and total damage inflicted in melee combat is halved.

A PC needs 3 cans of food a day to keep the hunger pangs away. A can is going,to be a rough measure for a light meal as for the era the end came had plenty of canned goods available.

Eating irradiated food causes one to suffer radiation exposure with a -4 on their initial save and another save (at -4) must be made 4 hours later.

If one dies of radiation there is a 50% chance they reanimate as an Atomic Zombie in 1d12 houts.
A mutant that dies of radiation exposure has a 90% chance of reanimating as an Atomic Zombie in 2d12 rounds. If mutations still function or not is at the discretion of the ref.


Sanity

The destruction of civilization the death of millions, the hazards of radiation and the walking dead are going to take a toll. Everyone is under a lot of stress and that stress is going to addled minds and drive people to places they never imagined they would go.

Whenever an NPCs fail a moral check roll on the following table

Keeping it together (roll 2d6)
2-6- simple panic- as for normally failing a morale check
7- paranoia- jumpy and irrational for 1-3 days
8- rage- charge those that get in their way, friend or foe.
9- denial- can't bear up to what the world has become, unable to act meaningfully for 2-7
rounds after failed morale check.
10- hallucinations- unable to act meaningfully for 2-7 hours.
11- raving madness- unable to calm down or stay quite for 1-8 turns.
12- helpless catatonia- fall helpless for 2-12 turns.

Still to come: Loot and Adventure

Still Alive

Still alive, lot's of personal drama, no big deal to the rest of the world. Will be posting more cool game stuff soon, promise.

Thursday, July 7, 2011

from afar

today i am having a fun day of doctor visits and tests. .....i think i committed a blogging sin. i started a series of posts and then wentday.