Gamma World - Thoughts? Review?

[Tetsubo]

I really liked Darwin's World. I often recommend it as a PA game. But I feel the setting is TOO grim & gritty. The idea of need Feats to be fertile was inspired. But the low levels of usable water and arable land are extreme. Life would die off back to the insect level. Jump forward a couple of hundred million years and you could start playing the new races that had evolved. But you might was well play alien races... they aren't going to be people as we recognize them. I'd ramp back the grim & gritty in DW if I ever ran it. Great game though. I have a great deal of respect for its authors.

As for the newest version of GW... The players book really is the weakest of the lot. Though I haven't finished reading the last one published. I loved the "monster" book. I thought that leaving out plant PC's was a mistake. And the mutation rules didn't excite me.

If I were to run a GW right now... I think I'd use the 4th edetion rules set and add in what D20 elements I needed.

Or run the remade After The Bomb game. It really was quite good...

 

[sinmissing]

I would have preferred less cybernetics. Cybernetics? You mean a hook attached to a stump? No. Strength enhancing, vision modifying cybernetics. That's not Gamma World. Medicine should be as evolved as, say, Civil War surgeons, with the occasional mutant healer.

Nanites should have been treated more like a mutation than equipment, with roaming bands of dangerous nano-goo destroying, building, and generally messing with everything in its path. In fact, using nanites as justification for both beneficial and harmful mutations is almost realistic. . . .whoops.

 

[Celebrim]

Its white wolf. Mutant plants don't fit in with the beret-wearing clove-cigarrette-smoking vermouth-drinking crowd.

Nisarg

I just want to say that that is a very very good summation of the problem with a whole lot of things.

 

[Ymdar]

I picked up the 20 Players Handbook for a few reasons:

I Picked up the Gamma World d20 Players Handbook for one reason:
- It was free
- Of course I'm also a huge fan of Post Apocalyptic settings.

I have already begun my first PA setting. Its been running since 2 months and its getting ready to advance to the next stage (from nuclear winter to rebuilding)

GWPH d20 is cool because:
-It gives ideas for DMs.
-New Mutations! (w00t!)
-Cool pictures
-A complete setting with timeline and stuff. (very cool setting and timeline indeed)

I don't like GWPH d20 because:
- It is not compatible with d20 Future (doh! It was released earlier)
-I need to work on converting the mutations to d20F
-I don't like robot/cybernetics/psionics rules.

Summary: I like GWPH d20 because its a cool addition to my ongoing and future campaigns. (It also gives ideas)

(I don't want to argue about this guys. I generally like it, but I prefer to use the "original" d20m/d20f spiced up with my own ideas.)

 

[Angel Tarragon]

I had a chance to flip through the GW D20 PHB a while ago and I was not impressed. You are better off DLing this week then actually paying for it.

 

[redkobold]

I too (like all of us obviously) like the post apocalypse setting. Gamma World by S&S was a little different from previous GW, more sci-fi, less gung ho and silly. For purists, I agree that Tweets Omega World was perfect.

All that said, I liked the latest GW a lot and for me it was just another component to add to my library like DW and Omega World. It is a quality product and I would recommend purchasing it for anyone running a PA campaign. Just like in my D&D campaign, as a DM I cobble components from different rules systems and d20 publications to make the right system for me. That is the beauty of d20 and OGC.

I am also awaiting d20 apocalypse. Can we get any more info on what it contains beyond what Wotc has put out so far?

Like, how are the robot rules different (or add to) d20 Future?

How are mutations handled? Are they a new system or are they handled like feats or what? How are they gained? Can they be improved? Is this original material or a reworking of some or all of Omega World?

Thanks.