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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Psion" data-source="post: 2009438" data-attributes="member: 172">Darwin's WorldDarwin's World is a d20 System game set in the a post-holocaust world. The game is geared towards the more science fantasy type holocaust settings with radioactive wastelands inhabited by mutants and impossible technology left behind by ancient civilizations, very much in the same vein as TSR's old Gamma World game.Darwin's World was originally distributed by RPG Objects as a PDF file. This is their first print product.A First LookDarwin's World is a 128 page perfect bound book priced at $19.95. This is good price for a book of this size.The cover has a wrap-around color picture depicting some oddly dressed figures with futuristic weapons facing off with a strange creature in the ruins of a city. The cover picture appears amateur and unexciting to my eye. The art is by artist V. Shane, who also does some interior art.The for the interior art, V. Shane is joined by veteran RPG artist Storn Cook (whose work you may know from Spycraft, Mercenaries and Hero System 5th edition) and the designer Dominic Covey. I typically like Cook's style, but the only interior art that looks like his is the border art. V. Shane's interior art is in the same style as the cover, and I find similarly lackluster. I am guessing that Covey is responsible for some of the computer generated graphics throughout the book. Most of these pictures look rather pixelated, but some of the "artifacts of the ancients" (including war era posters and advertisements for algae as a food source) add an interesting feel to the book.The interior text is fairly dense, with conservative body and header fonts and single spaced paragraphs. Some of the interior tables have formatting errors, such as sentences split halfway down a column.A Deeper LookThe background of Darwin's World is similar to that of most post-holocaust settings: world strife leads to nuclear exchanges and a collapse of civilization in a world that was overrun by pollution and rampant industrialization to begin with. What probably differs from the background of most of these settings is that the author uses an "alternate history" angle to explain it. Darwin's World is an alternate history Earth in which the United States returned to a state of isolationism after World War II, and a World War III scenario occurs when the US goes to war with a very different world, one with an Neo-Imperial England, Purist-Regrowth Germany, and a Great Communist Union of Asia. Darwin's World has many of the trappings of classical post-apocalypse RPGs and b-movies: mutants, a collapse of civilization, a world ecology torn asunder by war, ancient caches of technology, isolated remnants of civilization, and organizations rising from the ashes with extreme viewpoints spurned on by the atrocities of the apocalypse.Darwin's World is a distinct d20 game vice a supplement style product. The distinctions between the game and the core d20 system are clearly outlined and feats that are used from the SRD/PH are clearly listed. Unlike many such games, it doesn't devote a lot of space to replicating material that you already have in the Player's Handbook. This is good in that is saves space and money, but if you like as much of the supporting material as possible in one book, it may be a disadvantage.One of the first points of distinction of Darwin's World from the d20 core rules is that the functions of race are divided into 2 different units: breeding and background.Breeding is determined by the level of mutation that the character has. Humans have the classical bonus feat, as well as being the only race that is automatically fertile or potent (other races must spend a feat.) Humans, however, have no mutations. The other races are first, second, and third generation mutants. Each successive generation has more mutations and access to more powerful mutations. However, each successive generation has more defects as well as a higher equivalent level cost.Background, on the other hand, describes the type of upbringings the characters have and the type of communities they are from. This determines ability modifiers, some other racial abilities (like skill modifiers), starting weapon proficiencies, and favored class. Some of the backgrounds break ranks with the d20 system convention of only giving even-numbered racial ability modifiers.The backgrounds include:- Ferals: Characters that grew up with no real home or community. Are hardy but uneducated, and have no real awareness of civilization or technology.- Primitives: Characters from a primitive community. Not so hardy as ferals, but better able to interact with others.- Ritual Preservationists: Characters from a community that has some knowledge of technology of the ancients, albeit without knowledge of how it really works.- Resentfuls: Characters from a community that feels that the ancients were responsible for much harm to nature, and espouse living in harmony with nature.- Radicals: Similar to resentfuls, but instead of merely living in harmony with nature, radicals actively try to destroy ancient technology.- Degenerates: Remnants of an ancient community in decline, having lost much of their technology and culture.- Resurrectors: Communities trying (and to some extent, succeeding) in restoring ancient technology and civilization.- Visionary Reinventors: Similar to resurrectors, but this type of community is not interested in merely recovering what was lost, but building a new future.- Guardians: Remnants of an ancient community that still has knowledge of the ancient technology and use it to maintain their culture and civilization.- Hedonists: Extremely isolated communities that are totally cut of from the world. They live pretty much as they did before the fall of civilization.- Advanced: Similar to guardians, but the advanced have not only retained knowledge of ancient civilization, but are pushing forwards.Some of the backgrounds have level modifiers, including some negative level modifiers. If the total level modifiers from breeding and background are negative, the character does not gain levels faster, but the GM may grant a bonus feat.Darwin's World uses a new set of classes distinct from those in the d20 core rules. They are:- Guardian: Warriors who are trained in the defense of the remaining outposts of civilization.- Raider: The opposite of guardians, raiders are warriors and theives who sweep in from the wastelands and prey on others.- Scav: Scavs are wanderers and scavengers who survive in the hostile wilderness or in ruins of civilization.- Thinker: These are scientists, skilled craftsmen, and leaders.- Trader: Traders are, as the name implies, merchants and tradesmen.Darwin's World uses a subset of the existing skills, of course with new categories for knowledge and language skills.The setting also uses many feats from the PH/SRD, but introduces a few new feats. The balance of the new feats is a little dubious compared the core feats, though; some provide much larger skill bonuses than is typical. Another questionable feat is the fertile/potent feat; while the author obviously wanted fertility to be rare among mutants in the setting, descriptions elsewhere (which refers to humans as potential breeding slaves) do not suggest that having this feat is an advantage in the campaign.Mutations are a new mechanic introduced in Darwin's World. Mutations are normally only available to the three mutant races. The higher generation races have access to more powerful mutations, but the more powerful mutations cost more "points." Most mutations are not level dependant, but some are described as neural mutations (basically psychic powers) and require concentration skill checks.Mutants also have defects. Like beneficial mutations, defects are sorted into severities, and more severe mutations satisfy more of a mutant's quota of mutations. Minor defects are irritating at worst, while major ones are debilitating.A sizable section of the book is dedicated to equipment and technology, including vehicles. The equipment is divided into sections. Which section the characters can buy from depends upon their background. The book admonishes GMs to leave certain items off limits to purchase, particularly advanced weapons. In tone/rationality, some of the items are pure sclock science fantasy.A short section covers hazards in Darwin's World, and the chief hazard (as it is in any post-apocalypse game) is radiation. On the surface, the rules seem straightforward enough, but there seems to be a pretty severe error. The radiation rules assign a "rad" value to characters upon entering an area, but never provide a frequency at which the radiation damage recurs. Basically, as written, there is nothing saying that a character continues to take damage. One footnote (talking about storms) suggests that the intention might have been to have the damage recur daily.The last sections of the book goes into the specifics about the setting, including the groups that exist in Darwin's World and prestige classes that represent some of them, as well as ideas for adventure locales and legends (of course providing more adventure ideas). Each of the major groups described has details such as numbers, which of the basic backgrounds it falls into, and resources, aspirations, and activities of the groups.The new prestige classes include members of some of the aforementioned group such as:- Brethern Followers: Members of a group of resentfuls that gain experience from destroying technology.- Brotherhood Force Master: Member of a strange cult of ritual preservationists that have a reverence for an ancient reactor.- Cartel Trade Masters: Members of a cooperative of strong-armed traders.- Foundationalist Paladin: Members of a group of preservationists on a quest to collect ancient technology.- Rangers: Decedents of an ancient military unit, with a tradition of their ancient military training.- Sister of the Desert: Members of a sorority of ex-slaves of raider kings who formed their own society.Other less specific prestige classes include demolitions expert, juju doctor, mechs, road warrior, and symbiot (character with a special link to an animal companion.)ConclusionI have to admit that I am not a big fan of post-apocalypse science fantasy, and Darwin's World doesn't exactly push the genre in new and compelling directions. Most of the conventions are exactly the same as ones you have seen.That said, if you do have a taste for such things, I think Darwin's World does a decent job. The design decisions aren't all perfect, but I was impressed by some of the basic elements. Splitting races into breeds and backgrounds is a well-executed mechanic that provides players and GMs with the right building blocks to create a game of this type.-Alan D. Kohler</blockquote>

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