D20 Apocalypse Designers - Q&A Here

[Darrin Drader]

Well, now that D20 Apocalypse has finally hit the shelves, I'm happy to answer any questions anyone might have about it. Keep in mind that there were others who worked on the book, so if your question concerns something someone else wrote, I'll refer you to them.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Is it good?

And, if so, may I have a copy? I'm poor.

 

[John Q. Mayhem]

Is there anything about diseases and plagues? Pandemics?

 

[AdmundfortGeographer]

Darrin, I'm lovin' this. I'm a big fan of Darwin's World II, and this is a very nice and complimentary accessory. Just wanted to say that.

Questions... Well some general ones before I read deeper...

There appears to be a lot of coverage in this book, is there anything that had to be cut, or shortened so much? And what?

I like the three example apocalypse campaigns, were there any other types that were brainstormed but left out for any reason? Did you work on any of them, and which?

[edit: added question] Was there any more work on "New World" campaign models? it seems that it was very lightly touched upon, yet is one of the most fascinating concepts.

 

[AdmundfortGeographer]

Is there anything about diseases and plagues? Pandemics?

I can answer this. Yup, one of the apocalypse models, Biological Disaster, gets a brief mention in the beginning of the book. Plus, there are about 2 and a half pages on superviruses. There is also the Viral Deathspawn template...

 

[Darrin Drader]

Is it good?

Well, I'd certainly like to think its worth the $19.95. Of course it isn't up to me to judge that. As far as I'm concerned, its a work I was involved with. Like all works, it has things I'm very proud of, and a few warts I wish I could go back and fix. As to whether or not it is good, that's really up to the reviewers and the fans.

And, if so, may I have a copy? I'm poor.

Sadly, I only got one complimentary copy.

 

[Darrin Drader]

Is there anything about diseases and plagues? Pandemics?

Indeed, and I even wrote that section.

Here's what you get:

Diseases are defined by-
Origins
Type (the way in which they are spread)
Incubation Period
Carrier (yes or no)
Symptoms
Primary Infection (the game effects)

This system allows you to create any you would like, but I included the following ones in the book:

Ebola
The Rot
Lassa Fever
Miry Virus
Smallpox
Super Flu

In addition to this, it covers secondary infections. In other words, you have a population that has survived the pandemic because they either caught it and recovered or were immune. Now the virus has mutated and hits them again. Seconday infections covers what it likely to happen to those people.

 

[Darrin Drader]

Darrin, I'm lovin' this. I'm a big fan of Darwin's World II, and this is a very nice and complimentary accessory. Just wanted to say that.

It should come as no surprise that I am also a fan of Darwin's World II.

There appears to be a lot of coverage in this book, is there anything that had to be cut, or shortened so much? And what?

We had a few sections that didn't make it in. There was a section I worked on that detailed alien tech. I think it was cut because frankly, alien tech would most likely look a lot like tech at higher PLs from Future. There was a lot of weird stuff in that section, but I don't particularly miss it.

There was also a section on the effects of alcohol. In retrospect, the rules were a bit unbalanced, so I revised them considerably and resubmitted them for the D20 Apocalypse Web Enhancement.

I like the three example apocalypse campaigns, were there any other types that were brainstormed but left out for any reason? Did you work on any of them, and which?

There were definitely some that were discussed early on. There was the obvious ones like Robot Wars, which would be a lot like the future we see in the Terminator movies. There was one where the apocalypse was limited, so society still stood much as it does now, except that the existing infrastructure had crumbled, so there were food shortages, pollution problems, and so on. Ultimately each of us had the opportunity to choose the ones that we wanted to work on. Eric took Earth Inherited, Owen took Plague World, and I did Atomic Sunrise.

Atomic Sunrise was definitely inspired by the classics. Classic Gamma World, the Road Warrior, and Fallout all have their fingerprints on this setting. The location described is a section of the WSU campus, which is in my hometown of Pullman. In the past, I've ran games set in and around Pullman, so it was cool that they let me put that in there. I was excited to be able to do this section of the book and I hope people like it.

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Was there any more work on "New World" campaign models? it seems that it was very lightly touched upon, yet is one of the most fascinating concepts.

By New World, I'm assuming you mean alien world? If that's the case, it was briefly discussed. Basically the idea is that you can use the components in this book to create your own version of an apocalyptic world, so you can easily port things over to a different world if you would like. Hope that answers your question.

 

[AdmundfortGeographer]

By New World, I'm assuming you mean alien world? If that's the case, it was briefly discussed. Basically the idea is that you can use the components in this book to create your own version of an apocalyptic world, so you can easily port things over to a different world if you would like. Hope that answers your question.

I think I confused the question by refering to it as a "campaign model". Looking back in the book, "New World" is the term for one of the four post-apocalypse eras, the last one in order: Aftermath, Generation 0, Dark Ages, and lastly New World. It seems to me that Earth Inherited could fit the Aftermath era, Atomic Sunrise could fit the Generation 0 era, and Plague World could have fit the Dark Ages era.

I guess, technically, Gamma World could be considered a New World era... But I was curious if you had anything creatively different in mind (or imagined) that might also fit?

 

[Darrin Drader]

I think I confused the question by refering to it as a "campaign model". Looking back in the book, "New World" is the term for one of the four post-apocalypse eras, the last one in order: Aftermath, Generation 0, Dark Ages, and lastly New World. It seems to me that Earth Inherited could fit the Aftermath era, Atomic Sunrise could fit the Generation 0 era, and Plague World could have fit the Dark Ages era.

I guess, technically, Gamma World could be considered a New World era... But I was curious if you had anything creatively different in mind (or imagined) that might also fit?

Ahhh clarity....

The only thing that ever really came to mind for this would be a setting much like the default D&D setting. It might be low magic, or psionics as magic. In general though, like I said, we're largely back into D&D territory here.