Post Apoc Stupidity, it's fun and low fat!

[shivamuffin]

I had this stupid idea in my head for years. I wanted to share this with the world...A confession of sorts.

Somebody recommended that I bring this up in a general discussion, to see where it goes. So let's do it!


I was developing a post apoc setting myself, back when the 5th edition of Gamma World came out. YEARS AGO....

I handled religion by focusing on modern day pop icons ( Not very original, but it made the players laugh ). " Legends " of " The King of the Rock ( Elvis ) " were the first attempts at this. The holy city was Vegas. The priests wore rhinestone jumpsuits and had large sideburns...and talked the talk.

Elvis songs were hyms, and proverbs were quotes from the zillion movies he was in ( In game, priestly debates churned up alot of interesting Elvis trivia that was later added to the campaign ). Each proverb sharing a distorted title of the movie, and the quotes were from that particular movie title. A popular battle cry was " VIVA LAS VEGAS!!! ".


What other pop icons would survie a holocaust?
What religious idiocy would spring up?

Jerry Springer cults?
Oprah cults?
Holy order of the Pepsi Generation?

Declining civilizations often spawn new religions to offer comfort to the miserable survivors...A good example is the religion that exploded after the fall of Rome ( It was the official religion before the fall, but wasn't the craze until well after Rome was burnining. )

Would TV shows become the base for religions?

Let's have some fun with this!

 

[Ashwyn]

Marylin Monroe would fit into this setting well.

 

[shivamuffin]

What kind of cult though?

A fanatic group of drag queen priests? That could be cool, maybe they would be a rival of the Elvis freaks!?


I wonder what Gilligan's Island would spawn? That show has been run continuously since the sixties...It's NEVER been off the air!

 

[Ashwyn]

What kind of cult though?

A fanatic group of drag queen priests? That could be cool, maybe they would be a rival of the Elvis freaks!?


I wonder what Gilligan's Island would spawn? That show has been run continuously since the sixties...It's NEVER been off the air!

I'm thinking they abduct people and take them to deserted islands. Millionaires(and their wives), professors, movie stars, farm girls, skippers, and bungling first mates would need to be very wary of them.

 

[Ashwyn]

And don't forget the Rat Pack. I think you can figure out what worshippers of Sammy D. would do.

 

[Viktyr Gehrig]

John. Wayne.

He'd be a dedicated war god, favoring gunmen, law enforcement, and scouts. All of his clergy would be accomplished riders and fighters. There'd be an emphasis on chivalry and honorable conduct, and his proverbs would also be taken from movies. "A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do." would probably be their main creed, though I could see them calling "Fill yer hand, you son of a bitch!" to inform their enemies to defend themselves.

I could also see Jedi cults, formed around the Jedi Code as shown in the movies, or an aesthetic order revolving around the concept of reality as a construct of a great and ancient computer, with psionics being the result of people who have learned to deny reality.

All those old monster movies make great fodder both for major threats, and as a mythological enemy who threatens them all. Now, I can see a desparate scavenger invoking the holy name of John Wayne to impart "true grit" on his humble follower so that me might do what a man's gotta do to defend his village against King Kong.

Also, in a lot of my Gamma World campaigns, I've used Captain America (from Marvel comics) as an Athurian myth, either as a legendary hero destined to come save his nation, or a tragic hero who fought for his homeland when it needed him most-- and failed, allowing the Ancient War. Once, I had him preserved in cryonic storage, and the heroes quested to awaken him to restore justice to the land. Great campaign.

 

[RedCliff]

I handled religion by focusing on modern day pop icons ( Not very original, but it made the players laugh ). " Legends " of " The King of the Rock ( Elvis ) " were the first attempts at this. The holy city was Vegas. The priests wore rhinestone jumpsuits and had large sideburns...and talked the talk.

If you haven't seen it yet, Six String Samurai is a post-apoc movie where the USSR nuked America in the 50's, and Elvis is indeed king of Las Vegas. It's about a wandering warrior/minstrel named Buddy who's out to be the new king.

 

[shivamuffin]

This stuff is too good! 1000 laughs! The John Wayne post cracked me up...

Language itself could be toyed with to add realism to the campaign...A post apoc glossary would be scary.

 

[arwink]

My Cyberpunk 2020 game had Endless Poser gangs, using the various characters from Niel Gaiman's Sandman comic as the basis. Very deeply rooted in the mythology of the series, with some pretty obscure rituals I ran the PC's through as part of an adventure.

 

[Shallown]

I've run Gamma world a lot and here are a few cults/governments.

Lord of the Rings : Had two characters named Sam and a mutated bear named Beorn. We eventually went to their home village to fight Smaug (A thunder lizard) was lots of fun.

Weedsville : A cheech and chong village that had a mutated plant growing nearby that people could smoke and get stoned but also allowed them to levitate so we came into a town full of floating pot heads. Was funny as heck.

Also had all sorts of minor cult like things - Harlies that worshipped lord HOG and rode hover backs, The Plant was a place that a village of mutatnt cows would sacrifice themselves at one entrance to recieve food out the other end. (unknowing canibile cows nothing funnier), Lots of stuff like that

later