Post Apocalypse Settings

[Reynard]

Well, I still think its post-apocalyptic--one of the classics of the genre, Hiero's Journey was probably at least that far down, and Daybreak 2250/Starman's Son was a pretty fair bit down too--but you do need to make the distinction between "during the apocalypse", "soon after the apocalypse", and "far after the apocalypse". I think there's some distinct feels to even the latter of the these if you're familiar with the pre-apocalypse setting and you can still see echoes of it--but they're different kinds of campaigns/settings.

What makes something post-post-apocalyptic is not how long after the apocalypse it is set, but whether the world has rebuilt to some significant degree. Not just individual factions having re-established themselves, but a whole society. For example, Fallout 4 is post apocalyptic at the beginning of the story, but certain endings put it on tis way to post-post-apocalyptic.

 

[Thomas Shey]

What makes something post-post-apocalyptic is not how long after the apocalypse it is set, but whether the world has rebuilt to some significant degree. Not just individual factions having re-established themselves, but a whole society. For example, Fallout 4 is post apocalyptic at the beginning of the story, but certain endings put it on tis way to post-post-apocalyptic.

The problem with this is that there's long periods when the world didn't really have an established "whole society"; in fact, I'd argue you have to hit really recent history before that describes our world (and it can be argued part of that is because of various apocolypses that just didn't happen to be global in scope).

 

[DrunkonDuty]

The Day After Ragnarok is a cool and unusual post-apocalypse setting.

The background is that at the end of WW2, with total defeat of the Nazi's only days away, the mystic section of the SS (the Ahnenerbe*) summon Jormungandr the World Serpent of Norse myth. Jormungandr is initially hundreds of km long, but just keeps growing until he can literally circle the Earth. Also, parts of him pop into and out of reality at different times. A brave US bomber crew manage to intercept Jormungandr's head, fly straight into his eye, and detonate the world's first atomic bomb. Jormungandr dies but his death throes destroy whole countries.

Roll forward to 1950. Jormungandr's radioactive corpse still circles the world. Well, some parts of it do. Other parts dip back into whatever other reality he was summoned from. The corpse is so big that it extends into the upper atmosphere and changes weather patterns around the world. There's a world map that shows where the corpse's parts are located. In this post-Ragnarok world PCs fight radioactive snake monsters with magi-tech made from mining the serpent's corpse, all set against a cool Cold War vibe.

It's for HERO System, but that's not to say you can't mine it for ideas. Or just play HERO.



* a section of the real SS whose remit had to do with finding (read: making up) evidence to support Nazi pseudo-scientific racial nonsense. Also nicking archaeological artifacts.

 

[Thomas Shey]

The Day After Ragnarok is a cool and unusual post-apocalypse setting.

I'd completely forgotten about that one, even though I was getting ready to run it at one point. I think it might be a bit far from what people usually think of as a post-apocalypse setting though.

The background is that at the end of WW2, with total defeat of the Nazi's only days away, the mystic section of the SS (the Ahnenerbe*) summon Jormungandr the World Serpent of Norse myth. Jormungandr is initially hundreds of km long, but just keeps growing until he can literally circle the Earth. Also, parts of him pop into and out of reality at different times. A brave US bomber crew manage to intercept Jormungandr's head, fly straight into his eye, and detonate the world's first atomic bomb. Jormungandr dies but his death throes destroy whole countries.

Roll forward to 1950. Jormungandr's radioactive corpse still circles the world. Well, some parts of it do. Other parts dip back into whatever other reality he was summoned from. The corpse is so big that it extends into the upper atmosphere and changes weather patterns around the world. There's a world map that shows where the corpse's parts are located. In this post-Ragnarok world PCs fight radioactive snake monsters with magi-tech made from mining the serpent's corpse, all set against a cool Cold War vibe.

It's for HERO System, but that's not to say you can't mine it for ideas. Or just play HERO.

There's also a Savage Worlds version.

 

[DrunkonDuty]

I'd completely forgotten about that one, even though I was getting ready to run it at one point. I think it might be a bit far from what people usually think of as a post-apocalypse setting though.

Yeah, it ain't Mad Max. There's still governments, and society, etc. But, personally, I have no problem calling something like this post-apocalypse.

There's also a Savage Worlds version.

Ah! That's cool.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

What, nobody wants to mention RIFTS?

It’s definitely post-Apoc, mixes sci-fi & fantasy, and essentially has a kitchen sink approach to world building. There’s loads of sourcebooks.

Even if you don’t like the system, there’s a lot of yoinkable material to work with.

 

[DrunkonDuty]

Actually, a friend of mine is thinking of running Rifts using the..., er, I want to say SWADE rules. I've told him "count me in!"

 

[Shades of Eternity]

What, nobody wants to mention RIFTS?

It’s definitely post-Apoc, mixes sci-fi & fantasy, and essentially has a kitchen sink approach to world building. There’s loads of sourcebooks.

Even if you don’t like the system, there’s a lot of yoinkable material to work with.

<Raises hands.>
My name is Chris, and I'm a recovering Rifts addict.

Which would explain the Hodgepocalypse
*******************
I seriously appreciate the prose in the books, despite their other problems (especially in contrast to 5e Dungeons and Dragons prose, which is subpar), and while there are a lot of misses, the simple fact that it exists and comes up with unique combinations is always a plus.

And the Northern Gun and Titan Robotics Book are ones I really wish I had gotten back in 199x.

Savage World did the impossible: fixed the rules while keeping the flavor. I will play it one day, but only after I've finished my own work.

************************************
Btw, premise for a game where I used my generic map and savage worlds: Barbarians vs IzNots (legally distinct post-apocalyptic Fascist Nazis). You'd be surprised at how cathartic it was

 

[Reynard]

The problem with this is that there's long periods when the world didn't really have an established "whole society"; in fact, I'd argue you have to hit really recent history before that describes our world (and it can be argued part of that is because of various apocolypses that just didn't happen to be global in scope).

The definition is not in any way dependent on a "whole world." What I meant was that "post-post-apocalypse" depends on having a society that works, not just some faction who has established their special base or whatever.

 

[TiQuinn]

The Day After Ragnarok is a cool and unusual post-apocalypse setting.

The background is that at the end of WW2, with total defeat of the Nazi's only days away, the mystic section of the SS (the Ahnenerbe*) summon Jormungandr the World Serpent of Norse myth. Jormungandr is initially hundreds of km long, but just keeps growing until he can literally circle the Earth. Also, parts of him pop into and out of reality at different times. A brave US bomber crew manage to intercept Jormungandr's head, fly straight into his eye, and detonate the world's first atomic bomb. Jormungandr dies but his death throes destroy whole countries.

Roll forward to 1950. Jormungandr's radioactive corpse still circles the world. Well, some parts of it do. Other parts dip back into whatever other reality he was summoned from. The corpse is so big that it extends into the upper atmosphere and changes weather patterns around the world. There's a world map that shows where the corpse's parts are located. In this post-Ragnarok world PCs fight radioactive snake monsters with magi-tech made from mining the serpent's corpse, all set against a cool Cold War vibe.

It's for HERO System, but that's not to say you can't mine it for ideas. Or just play HERO.



* a section of the real SS whose remit had to do with finding (read: making up) evidence to support Nazi pseudo-scientific racial nonsense. Also nicking archaeological artifacts.

That might be the most insanely cool post apocalyptic setting I’ve heard of so far!