Wik
First Post
I bought Gamma World on friday, and was so excited by it that we threw together a quick party today and ran a few sessions - I figured I'd record our experiences here. There are a few really minor spoilers in the adventure summary, so I'll put it in an SBlock.
Basic Summary: So, the hadron collider blew up, and fused every possible earth into one big core. So, now earth is a place where the dinosaurs didn't die out, where radiation is found in smoking craters, where there's a race of intelligent badgers, and where aliens from area 52 leave weird trinkets in the ruins.
This is a very gonzo, wacky setting, and the game book reflects that. It's a very silly place, and a very "high flux" setting - you can go from being top dog to dead in one round. Humour is a core component of the world.
Physical Contents: There are two decks of cards - one for relics, and one for mutations. One of my major complaints about this product is that both sets have the same backing, which is needless, as you must keep these decks seperate. I have no idea why wotc did it this way.
Also in the box is a randomized booster pack (I know, I can hear the boos already, but I like it, so there). I purchased two additional boosters when I bought the game, which cost less than ten dollars.
The game also contains high-quality cardboard counters, two double-sided poster maps, and five character sheets that I really like - the character sheets are smaller in size, and actually contain paraphrased information to help you in creating your PC. A good idea, as character fatalities seem pretty frequent in this game.
Presumably to reduce the set price, the box does not contain any dice. Not a hassle for me, but I imagine it'd be a pain in the butt for that mythological purchaser who has never played a role-playing game.
How it's Different From D&D: The game's rules are slightly different from D&D rules, in a generally streamlined fashion. This is most noticeable in character creation, but it also applies to the game itself.
First, character creation. PCs are composed of two origins, with their primary origin determining which type of mutation you are best at "overcharging" (more on this below). There are 21 origins, which range from Hawkoid to Seismic, Rat Swarm to Cockroach. Players randomly roll their origins, which determine what their prime ability scores start at, and then roll 3d6 (in order) for the remaining abilities. This is fun, but it also leads to androids that roll a 7 for constitution and so start the game with less than 20 hp.
Second, rather than 4e's d20 + 1/2 level mechanic, Gamma World has a d20 + level mechanic, essentially meaning that every gamma world level is like two 4e levels. In addition, damage scales as well as attack rolls. Characters in Gamma World lack healing surges (you heal to full every short rest and can spend your second wind as a minor - second wind heals HALF your HP), Daily Powers, Action Points, and most encounter powers. Of course, they get all those fun mutations...
Characters also level a lot faster, and have fewer choices as they level. Basically, your choice amounts to "do I take my felinoid utility, or my giant utility?" - you get both eventually, but have to pick which one you want to take first.
Third, the rules are often a bit more vaguely written, due to the smaller book size. A few times we found ourselves guessing, reverting back to D&D knowledge and hoping they stuck. Honestly, though, I prefer the smaller ruleset myself. It seems like it'd be easier to build upon.
Finally, the game is built for speed. As an example, look at ammo. You either have ammo, or you don't. If you fire something that needs ammo once in the encounter, you don't use up any ammo. If you fire it more than once, at the end of the encounter, you're out of ammo. During play, you might find ammo. Easy, elegant, and perfect for this setting.
The Cards: So, the cards. There are two decks - alpha mutations and omega tech. At the start of the game, you draw one of each. Each behaves slightly differently.
Alpha mutations are random mutations that your character temporarily develops - from a proboscis that sucks blood to poisonous quills ("It's a platypus thing"). At the end of every encounter, you discard all your alpha mutations and then draw the same number of new mutations. Most mutations are the equivalent of encounter powers, although some act like rituals (ie, a mutation that lets you speak with dead) and others act as magic item properties. Also, any time you roll a "1" on a d20, you throw away all your mutations and draw new ones - characters that roll poorly are at least constantly refreshing their encounter powers. Remember what I said about a high state of flux?
Each mutation can also be "overcharged". Basically, when you use the power, you can choose to take a risk and roll a d20. On a 10+, the effect is improved, while on a 9 or lower, you suffer a drawback. There are three types of mutation: psi, dark, and bio. Each origin grants a +2 bonus on overcharge rolls towards one type of mutation, making some characters better at using bio powers than others, for example. This adds a nice element of risk to the game.
All of the mutations have funny names or descriptive text. A power named LMAO, for example, causes a target to become dazed as they laugh constantly. If you overcharge it successfully, they actually fall prone (ROFLMAO). My personal favourite, though, has the following overcharge text: 10+ You can mentally communicate with all fish within 1 mile. 9 or lower: You think you can mentally communicate with all fish within 1 mile.
Omega Tech works a bit differently. These are the random high technology items that you find while looting. Unlike mutations, you can keep them from encounter to encounter. You start play with one, and generally find one at the end of every encounter (one per PC). Each is a one use item - but at the end of the encounter, you make a saving throw for each used item. Success means the item recharges; failure means it is discarded (although some items can be "salvaged" and used permanently, albeit at a reduced power level).
PCs generally acquire a lot of Omega Tech - after two encounters, most of the PCs in my group had three items each. A lot of it is pretty damned powerful, too. Omega tech often has funny item descriptions, although most of it is decidedly less random than the mutations.
collectible nature: Yes, there is a "collectible" element to this game, but whether the group chooses to do so is entirely up to them. Here's how it's supposed to work:
each player can compose his own deck of mutations, and his own deck of omega tech. The limits are he has to have at least seven cards, and no more than two cards of the same name can be in his deck. Ideally, he'd fill his deck with favourable mutations to his character, and the same for his omega tech. In other words, it would give a player a chance to "build" his character through the cards he put in his deck, while the omega tech deck would be similar to a character's "wish list" in 4e D&D.
Whenever a character would draw a card, he has to roll a d20 - on a 10 or higher, he draws from his deck... otherwise, he draws from the GM's deck.
GMs can either just have a deck of cards thrown together, or they could create themed decks to represent the area being explored (ie, a tech deck filled with alien relics, or a mutation deck themed around aquatic powers, etc). I'm intrigued by this idea.
While I can see why people would complain about this idea, I find it interesting, and at only four or five bucks per booster, it's probably cheaper than those splatbooks.
The Adventure: There is a short scenario in the game, of 8 encounters. Each encounter corresponds to a map, and the counters in game are all related to monsters in the scenario. Since the party is randomly determined (you ROLL characters in Gamma World; you don't BUILD them), whether the encounters are a cake walk or very difficult depends entirely on random chance. Generally, they seem pretty tough, with most monsters doing a fair chunk of damage on a hit.
My big beef with the adventure (and my second complaint) is that, due to the small book size, the monster entries are not included on the encounter pages. This causes a lot of page flipping in play.
Our First Session - Character Creation
We had three players, but made five characters so I wouldn't need to adjust the adventure (and also because we expected PC death, and this way we'd have new PCs ready). Since much of the game is vague on details for weapons (you have heavy weapons, light weapons, etc), I told the players to make up the details, which is part of the fun. We got some weird combinations. A lot of duplicate origins were rolled, unfortunately. We wound up with:
* Spaz, a Yeti/Speedster with ADD. A big hairy yeti that is constantly in motion - he always seems to be vibrating. Was dubbed "The Parkinson's Yeti" by some insensitive soul that was most definitely not me. Has a natural speed of 8, a high AC, and a minor "big claws" attack. Carries a large street sign ("Yield") which he uses as an axe, and an "eight barrelled long range shotgun".
* Samsa, an Empath/Cockroach. A giant bug who is extremely sensitive and empathetic to people's needs. Has a weakening encounter power and a cockroach spit attack at-will that deals a fair chunk of damage. In addition, she can scurry/climb on walls. She wears a bike lock around her neck and carries a gatling gun.
* Strypes, a Feline/Speedster. A panther-like cat-woman with a natural speed of NINE, and a reflex defence of 20. While she is fast and hard to hit, her general damage output was rather low.
* Strata, a Giant/Feline - A large tiger-man who carries around a massive scratching post and a squirt gun (the ranged weapon of choice among cat people, apparently). His main attack was a close burst with his weapon that knocked people prone. His random gear included two draft horses (reskinned as giant rabbits).
* 516715 (or "Sibtis") - an Android/Mind Coercer. A psychic robot who speaks in a Stephen Hawking voice. He also happens to be dating his car. Rolled really low for constitution, so this character had less than 20 hit points. But he also had a black ray gun of death, so it all evens out, right?
Yes, all the names start with an "s". No, it wasn't planned that way. And yes, I tried to do the math to figure out what the odds were. And failed miserably.
[sblock=the adventure]
Every day, a robot approached the village, launched a rocket at the village walls, and then exploded. Our PCs, not even thinking to ask around town, decide to follow the robot tracks and see what's up. Of course, they see some badger men ("Badders") and pig-men ("porkers") guarding a building that seems to be where the robots are coming from, and so pick a fight.
The fight took a while, due to poor PC rolls and excellent GM rolls. In fact, the first die roll of the game was a 1, causing a flux and letting Samsa lose her mutation and draw a new one. Spaz kept missing with his 8 barrelled shotgun ("I know it's going to run out of ammo, so could I at least HIT with the damned thing!?"), Samsa's player kept forgetting her mutation card which let her teleport when hit by an attack as an interrupt, and poor Strypes fell into a radioactive pit on her first turn, getting dosed with a sizable chunk of radiation.
The Badder crossbowmen did minor damage, while the Porkers failed miserably in their efforts to push PCs into the pit. Despite the rolls, it never felt "grindy". Poor Strypes neaerly died, and then something happened I had never seen before - the player rolled a 20 on the death save! Unfortunately for the player, 20s mean nothing on dying saves in Gamma World. I nearly saw a Player Mutiny. This was abated when they got to draw a new Omega Tech item each.
"It's like a magic item for each of us!" Some players giggled at the crazy tech cards they drew. The player of Samsa the cockroach giggled when, in addition to her awesome new omega tech toy, Samsa found a pair of swim goggles.
Then the PCs started another fight when they entered the building - more badder crossbowmen, and a Yexil. "What's a Yexil?" they asked... and then realized they were fighting a lion with bat wings and compound eyes. Which shot laser beams.
After two rounds of being absolutely destroyed by the Yexil, the android shot his laser gun and knocked the Yexil unconscious, which caused everyone to beat on it (no rules for Coup De Gras, but I allowed it). Then the android figured he could run up to the prone Yexil and shoot it - provoking an attack of opportunityl. "No problem, I'm at full HP"
The Yexil critted, and down went the android. Merriment was had byall me. When the Yexil was downed, the merriment level went back up. And when those badders were killed, more laughs were had. Then the group tried really hard to heal their android, failing the science rolls. Luckily, Spaz happened to roll a 1 on his skill check, drawing a mutation card... which was the only card we saw in the session that let him heal an ally. What are the odds? Morale instantly improved.
Especially when those omega tech cards were drawn once more. Spaz found a grenade that was either burst 1 within 10... or burst 10 within 10. Depending on the roll. This elicited manaical laughter.
We called it a night there, only because two of my three players had to leave. But it was a pretty fun game, in a way completely different than D&D. After two encounters, the party is already halfway to level 2. We were discussing using the game as our default pickup game for when players can't make the regular D&D sessions.
[/sblock]
Final thoughts: So far, I've had a lot of fun playing this game. I like the smaller book size, and the humorous tone is one I greatly appreciate. There is a random factor to the game that probably makes it a poor choice for a long-term campaign, but that works great for one-offs. The game & card use actually kind of felt like a board game RPG, which was sort of neat. Whether I think in the end it was better or worse than previous gamma worlds, I don't know. I hold out on that final judgement.
Basic Summary: So, the hadron collider blew up, and fused every possible earth into one big core. So, now earth is a place where the dinosaurs didn't die out, where radiation is found in smoking craters, where there's a race of intelligent badgers, and where aliens from area 52 leave weird trinkets in the ruins.
This is a very gonzo, wacky setting, and the game book reflects that. It's a very silly place, and a very "high flux" setting - you can go from being top dog to dead in one round. Humour is a core component of the world.
Physical Contents: There are two decks of cards - one for relics, and one for mutations. One of my major complaints about this product is that both sets have the same backing, which is needless, as you must keep these decks seperate. I have no idea why wotc did it this way.
Also in the box is a randomized booster pack (I know, I can hear the boos already, but I like it, so there). I purchased two additional boosters when I bought the game, which cost less than ten dollars.
The game also contains high-quality cardboard counters, two double-sided poster maps, and five character sheets that I really like - the character sheets are smaller in size, and actually contain paraphrased information to help you in creating your PC. A good idea, as character fatalities seem pretty frequent in this game.
Presumably to reduce the set price, the box does not contain any dice. Not a hassle for me, but I imagine it'd be a pain in the butt for that mythological purchaser who has never played a role-playing game.
How it's Different From D&D: The game's rules are slightly different from D&D rules, in a generally streamlined fashion. This is most noticeable in character creation, but it also applies to the game itself.
First, character creation. PCs are composed of two origins, with their primary origin determining which type of mutation you are best at "overcharging" (more on this below). There are 21 origins, which range from Hawkoid to Seismic, Rat Swarm to Cockroach. Players randomly roll their origins, which determine what their prime ability scores start at, and then roll 3d6 (in order) for the remaining abilities. This is fun, but it also leads to androids that roll a 7 for constitution and so start the game with less than 20 hp.
Second, rather than 4e's d20 + 1/2 level mechanic, Gamma World has a d20 + level mechanic, essentially meaning that every gamma world level is like two 4e levels. In addition, damage scales as well as attack rolls. Characters in Gamma World lack healing surges (you heal to full every short rest and can spend your second wind as a minor - second wind heals HALF your HP), Daily Powers, Action Points, and most encounter powers. Of course, they get all those fun mutations...
Characters also level a lot faster, and have fewer choices as they level. Basically, your choice amounts to "do I take my felinoid utility, or my giant utility?" - you get both eventually, but have to pick which one you want to take first.
Third, the rules are often a bit more vaguely written, due to the smaller book size. A few times we found ourselves guessing, reverting back to D&D knowledge and hoping they stuck. Honestly, though, I prefer the smaller ruleset myself. It seems like it'd be easier to build upon.
Finally, the game is built for speed. As an example, look at ammo. You either have ammo, or you don't. If you fire something that needs ammo once in the encounter, you don't use up any ammo. If you fire it more than once, at the end of the encounter, you're out of ammo. During play, you might find ammo. Easy, elegant, and perfect for this setting.
The Cards: So, the cards. There are two decks - alpha mutations and omega tech. At the start of the game, you draw one of each. Each behaves slightly differently.
Alpha mutations are random mutations that your character temporarily develops - from a proboscis that sucks blood to poisonous quills ("It's a platypus thing"). At the end of every encounter, you discard all your alpha mutations and then draw the same number of new mutations. Most mutations are the equivalent of encounter powers, although some act like rituals (ie, a mutation that lets you speak with dead) and others act as magic item properties. Also, any time you roll a "1" on a d20, you throw away all your mutations and draw new ones - characters that roll poorly are at least constantly refreshing their encounter powers. Remember what I said about a high state of flux?
Each mutation can also be "overcharged". Basically, when you use the power, you can choose to take a risk and roll a d20. On a 10+, the effect is improved, while on a 9 or lower, you suffer a drawback. There are three types of mutation: psi, dark, and bio. Each origin grants a +2 bonus on overcharge rolls towards one type of mutation, making some characters better at using bio powers than others, for example. This adds a nice element of risk to the game.
All of the mutations have funny names or descriptive text. A power named LMAO, for example, causes a target to become dazed as they laugh constantly. If you overcharge it successfully, they actually fall prone (ROFLMAO). My personal favourite, though, has the following overcharge text: 10+ You can mentally communicate with all fish within 1 mile. 9 or lower: You think you can mentally communicate with all fish within 1 mile.
Omega Tech works a bit differently. These are the random high technology items that you find while looting. Unlike mutations, you can keep them from encounter to encounter. You start play with one, and generally find one at the end of every encounter (one per PC). Each is a one use item - but at the end of the encounter, you make a saving throw for each used item. Success means the item recharges; failure means it is discarded (although some items can be "salvaged" and used permanently, albeit at a reduced power level).
PCs generally acquire a lot of Omega Tech - after two encounters, most of the PCs in my group had three items each. A lot of it is pretty damned powerful, too. Omega tech often has funny item descriptions, although most of it is decidedly less random than the mutations.
collectible nature: Yes, there is a "collectible" element to this game, but whether the group chooses to do so is entirely up to them. Here's how it's supposed to work:
each player can compose his own deck of mutations, and his own deck of omega tech. The limits are he has to have at least seven cards, and no more than two cards of the same name can be in his deck. Ideally, he'd fill his deck with favourable mutations to his character, and the same for his omega tech. In other words, it would give a player a chance to "build" his character through the cards he put in his deck, while the omega tech deck would be similar to a character's "wish list" in 4e D&D.
Whenever a character would draw a card, he has to roll a d20 - on a 10 or higher, he draws from his deck... otherwise, he draws from the GM's deck.
GMs can either just have a deck of cards thrown together, or they could create themed decks to represent the area being explored (ie, a tech deck filled with alien relics, or a mutation deck themed around aquatic powers, etc). I'm intrigued by this idea.
While I can see why people would complain about this idea, I find it interesting, and at only four or five bucks per booster, it's probably cheaper than those splatbooks.
The Adventure: There is a short scenario in the game, of 8 encounters. Each encounter corresponds to a map, and the counters in game are all related to monsters in the scenario. Since the party is randomly determined (you ROLL characters in Gamma World; you don't BUILD them), whether the encounters are a cake walk or very difficult depends entirely on random chance. Generally, they seem pretty tough, with most monsters doing a fair chunk of damage on a hit.
My big beef with the adventure (and my second complaint) is that, due to the small book size, the monster entries are not included on the encounter pages. This causes a lot of page flipping in play.
Our First Session - Character Creation
We had three players, but made five characters so I wouldn't need to adjust the adventure (and also because we expected PC death, and this way we'd have new PCs ready). Since much of the game is vague on details for weapons (you have heavy weapons, light weapons, etc), I told the players to make up the details, which is part of the fun. We got some weird combinations. A lot of duplicate origins were rolled, unfortunately. We wound up with:
* Spaz, a Yeti/Speedster with ADD. A big hairy yeti that is constantly in motion - he always seems to be vibrating. Was dubbed "The Parkinson's Yeti" by some insensitive soul that was most definitely not me. Has a natural speed of 8, a high AC, and a minor "big claws" attack. Carries a large street sign ("Yield") which he uses as an axe, and an "eight barrelled long range shotgun".
* Samsa, an Empath/Cockroach. A giant bug who is extremely sensitive and empathetic to people's needs. Has a weakening encounter power and a cockroach spit attack at-will that deals a fair chunk of damage. In addition, she can scurry/climb on walls. She wears a bike lock around her neck and carries a gatling gun.
* Strypes, a Feline/Speedster. A panther-like cat-woman with a natural speed of NINE, and a reflex defence of 20. While she is fast and hard to hit, her general damage output was rather low.
* Strata, a Giant/Feline - A large tiger-man who carries around a massive scratching post and a squirt gun (the ranged weapon of choice among cat people, apparently). His main attack was a close burst with his weapon that knocked people prone. His random gear included two draft horses (reskinned as giant rabbits).
* 516715 (or "Sibtis") - an Android/Mind Coercer. A psychic robot who speaks in a Stephen Hawking voice. He also happens to be dating his car. Rolled really low for constitution, so this character had less than 20 hit points. But he also had a black ray gun of death, so it all evens out, right?
Yes, all the names start with an "s". No, it wasn't planned that way. And yes, I tried to do the math to figure out what the odds were. And failed miserably.
[sblock=the adventure]
Every day, a robot approached the village, launched a rocket at the village walls, and then exploded. Our PCs, not even thinking to ask around town, decide to follow the robot tracks and see what's up. Of course, they see some badger men ("Badders") and pig-men ("porkers") guarding a building that seems to be where the robots are coming from, and so pick a fight.
The fight took a while, due to poor PC rolls and excellent GM rolls. In fact, the first die roll of the game was a 1, causing a flux and letting Samsa lose her mutation and draw a new one. Spaz kept missing with his 8 barrelled shotgun ("I know it's going to run out of ammo, so could I at least HIT with the damned thing!?"), Samsa's player kept forgetting her mutation card which let her teleport when hit by an attack as an interrupt, and poor Strypes fell into a radioactive pit on her first turn, getting dosed with a sizable chunk of radiation.
The Badder crossbowmen did minor damage, while the Porkers failed miserably in their efforts to push PCs into the pit. Despite the rolls, it never felt "grindy". Poor Strypes neaerly died, and then something happened I had never seen before - the player rolled a 20 on the death save! Unfortunately for the player, 20s mean nothing on dying saves in Gamma World. I nearly saw a Player Mutiny. This was abated when they got to draw a new Omega Tech item each.
"It's like a magic item for each of us!" Some players giggled at the crazy tech cards they drew. The player of Samsa the cockroach giggled when, in addition to her awesome new omega tech toy, Samsa found a pair of swim goggles.
Then the PCs started another fight when they entered the building - more badder crossbowmen, and a Yexil. "What's a Yexil?" they asked... and then realized they were fighting a lion with bat wings and compound eyes. Which shot laser beams.
After two rounds of being absolutely destroyed by the Yexil, the android shot his laser gun and knocked the Yexil unconscious, which caused everyone to beat on it (no rules for Coup De Gras, but I allowed it). Then the android figured he could run up to the prone Yexil and shoot it - provoking an attack of opportunityl. "No problem, I'm at full HP"
The Yexil critted, and down went the android. Merriment was had by
Especially when those omega tech cards were drawn once more. Spaz found a grenade that was either burst 1 within 10... or burst 10 within 10. Depending on the roll. This elicited manaical laughter.
We called it a night there, only because two of my three players had to leave. But it was a pretty fun game, in a way completely different than D&D. After two encounters, the party is already halfway to level 2. We were discussing using the game as our default pickup game for when players can't make the regular D&D sessions.
[/sblock]
Final thoughts: So far, I've had a lot of fun playing this game. I like the smaller book size, and the humorous tone is one I greatly appreciate. There is a random factor to the game that probably makes it a poor choice for a long-term campaign, but that works great for one-offs. The game & card use actually kind of felt like a board game RPG, which was sort of neat. Whether I think in the end it was better or worse than previous gamma worlds, I don't know. I hold out on that final judgement.
