Gamma World, past and Future (Hold the CCG)

[coyote6]

I think it was 2e we played, though I have the one with the color coded chart. We didn't play it a lot; there was one ongoing campaign that I played at the local library, and it was tons of fun. I don't remember how many sessions it actually lasted, though.

I'd say it was medium-wahoo; we had many of the traditional GW critters, most of the PCs were mutants or mutant animals (IIRC, my character was a mutant with a carapace), and there were at least a few pieces of technology. We were investigating some kind of huge complex (corridors a half-klick wide, etc.); the sheer size of it seems pretty wahoo.

That was in late '83; I remember because the passcode to open one of the doors was a line from High Road to China. Stupid ox, stupid Earth . . .

Edit: As for inspiration -- for us, a big inspiration was movies -- Road Warrior, Damnation Alley, etc. Oh, and a TV show: Thundarr the Barbarian. I might've read some old or reprint DC comics with Kamandi, too.

 

[Ed_Laprade]

I think I played in all of the first four editions, but not sure. We'd play it for a bit whenever a new edition came out, it seems, but rarely for more than a few months, if that. Mostly we played it as D&Dish, with weird mutations instead of magic, and a little most cautiously. (We usually weren't the 'kick down the door and kill everything in sight' type of players anyway.)

 

[Pseudonym]

Played 1st and 2nd editions. Quite a lot of fond memories there. We certainly played it as out there as possible. We were not too concerned with any notions of hard science.

Not too sure about the newest incarnation. I think my nostalgia filter would get in the way.

 

[scourger]

Did you play GW "back in the day"? Which editions did you prefer? As a gonzo, wacky game of wahoo science fantasy craziness, or something more toneddown and "Fallout" like? Which version is your favorite? Least favorite?

I had GW 1e back in the day, but I don't recall if I played it (probably not). I wish I still had it.

My preferred edition is Omega World, a mini-d20 game from the polyhedron side of Dungeon Magazine #94 that brilliantly, concisely captures the GW game in a d20 rules set. I also really like the setting of Altnernity GW, and I used the adventures from that book for my OW game. A friend ran the classic GW adventure Legion of Gold in OW, too. I even used OW characters in a D&D game (alongside Judge Dredd judges and Star Wars jedi), but it didn't last. I'd say we played it with all its wahoo factor. I would run or play OW again in a second.

My least favorite edition is GW d20. It just really missed what GW is all about. I had the book, read over it, and got rid of it. It didn't hold a candle to OW.

 

[Reynard]

A lot of folks are saying they played 1E and/or 2E, with a few 3E's here and there. I wonder: why not 4E, 5E (Alternity) or 6E (d20) -- with 5.5E (Omega World) in there somewhere. Did you not care? Did you play other PA games, just not GW?

Again, just curious. I am looking at developing a adventure "set" for running at cons and maybe selling as a pdf, and am trying to decide between something like Mutant Future (not a GW retro-clone, per se, but definitely geared toward a 1/2E audience) or Exodus (d20).

 

[coyote6]

Myself, when GW 4e came out, I was simply playing other games -- we had gotten into GURPS a couple of years before, and were playing lots of it; then there was SR, WoD, etc. I don't think I was following TSR at all at that point, so I'm not sure I even knew there was a 4e.

With 5e, I didn't check out Alternity until basically after it was cancelled -- and then there was D&D 3e, so once again there were other things to play.

I was really interested in 6e, but disappointed in the final product. It was an interesting game, but it didn't seem particularly Gamma World-y (not a lot of Thundarr in it, as I recall).

 

[Zelligars Apprentice]

I really wonder what the "Appendix N" would be for the original Gamma World. Damnation Alley and some Poul Anderson PA, I'm sure, and probably the science fantasy of ERB and Moorcock, but what else. I'd be interested in reading some gomzo and wahoo PA fiction.

I could be mistaken, but I thought there was such a beast in one version. It includes "A Canticle for Leibowitz" and "Alas, Babylon" and "Vulcan's Hammer", (and I want to say Vance's "Dying Earth" was in there too), all of which have themes recognizible by GW fans, none (that I'm aware of) are full of "wahoo".

Hiero's Journey and it's sequel are obvious inspirations for much of Gamma World. Post-nuclear war North America, mutated intelligent animals, ancient ruins with unknown technology, people (and animals) with weird psychic powers, shadowy groups who work at cross-purposes to each other (Cryptic Alliances, though the books don't use that term), those books have it all! Of course, they have a more serious tone than a typical "gonzo" GW game would have, so may not be quite what you're looking for. I still recommend checking them out.

 

[Spinachcat]

I have run GW 1e for decades...with copious houserules. I love that game almost as much as D&D. I've played every edition of GW, but 1e does the job for me.

BTW, if you like GW, please download Mutant Future. It's free and its awesome. A great "clone" of what made GW 1e so much fun.

Also, if you are fan of post-apoc RPGs and want something less gonzo and more structured in system and setting, I very highly recommend hunting down WASTE WORLD on eBay. Waste World is written by Warhammer's Bill King and its clearly a mix of GW and 40k. Really great stuff.

 

[DMH]

Got the 4th edition first, played a little of it. Got the 5th edition and still wish I could find a group willing to play it (or my version of it). Recently I got the 1st edition and have to say it was pretty amazing. I have read several early PA rpgs and find GW 1e to be the best written (but then Aftermath! was a serious mess).

My versions of GW tend to be extremely weird and deadly. Ruins are places only fools enter and few return (with or without loot). And some times those who do return find their village a smoking (or glowing or eaten) ruin.

 

[Reynard]

I ordered myself a copy of Mutant Future just to have a hardcopy on hand. I am thinking of doing a little Darwin's World/Mutant Future remixing for a small collection of one-shots to run at cons, game days and the like.