Post Apocalyptic RPGS?

[Wik]

I love the post-apocalyptic setting, and most of my favourite games (DArk Sun, in particular) contain post-apocalyptic flavour. But it occurs to me that there are relatively few well-known post apocalyptic games, and that this is kind of strange, considering the large amount of movies, books, and comics that are centred around the subject.

What is the dominant Post-Apoc RPG?

What are the post-apocalyptic RPGs out there, big and small, and how do they work in play? And really, as a bigger question, what are the fundamental design goals of a post-apocalyptic RPG, and what keeps them from dominating a larger portion of the RPG market?

 

[Nagol]

I don't know if any are dominant: as a genre, it never really came into the limelight.

Ones I own/played include Aftermath, Morrow Project, Desolation, D20 Apocalypse, and Gamma World, (the first few versions at least), and All Flesh Must be Eaten (more of a during-apocalypse as opposed to post).

The most name recognition is probably Gamma World. The most popular at tables I've been at has been Aftermath or a toolbox game (usually Hero) set up in a post-apoc universe.

[edit = hit submit rather than preview too early]

Design goals include rebuilding a stable sustainable society. In many ways, it represents a points-of-light world with lights few and far between with no expectation of stability. The salvaging also fits reasonably nicely with familiar D&D tropes (dungeon-crawling for terror and profit).

The reasons they haven't caught on is in part generational exhaustion (the whole cold war/nuclear armageddon/ecological disaster thing), a rather dismal world expectation, a wide variation in expectation as to tech/psionic/magic/mutation power levels.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Metamorphosis Alpha and Gamma World may be the granddaddy Post-Apoc games out there, and D20 Apocalypse probably has the name recognition on these boards, but I'd have to argue that RIFTS is probably the biggest name in Post-Apoc gaming in many ways. You may not like the game's mechanics, but everybody in the hobby knows that game by name. Systems Failure, also from Palladium, is another post-apoc RPG.

Darwin's World is another one of note. (Never played it.)

Dark Sun is probably the premiere Fantasy take on post-apoc gaming.

Twilight: 2000 is another big name. (Never played it.)

Aftermath dates back to 1981. (Never played it.)

Low Life is one I've recently heard of. Looks fun.

 

[Is_907]

Dead Earth was fun... though it's way out of print, I think.

Generally I just take a system I like and create a world for it that's post-apoc.

 

[teach]

Definitely check out Apocalypse World. Really does the Mad Max style post apocalypse well.

Has some interesting play mechanics as well. My favorite in the partial successes, which allows a player to get a bit of what he or she wants, but the MC (gm in Apocalypse World) gets to make a move against the player. It also really encourages the PCs to interact, but not necessarily cooperatively. This seems to fix a part of some Post apocalyptic games where it seems a bit far fetched that 5 people would band together. Instead you are rewarded for working together or at odds with each other.

The book also has some excellent advice for the MC to make the setting come alive.

I guess I can't help but recommend this enough. If you want to read my review of it, you can [url="http://nowherecollective.net/2011/07/26/apocalypse-world-review-and-best-links/]here[/url] if you want.

 

[Crothian]

Paranoia is a different kind of post Apocalypse world.

XRP has the newer game Sorcery & Super Science! which is pretty cool.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

ACK! Can't believe I forgot Paranoia! (Love that game!)

 

[Wik]

Thanks for the replies. The reason I bring it up is because I have a hankering for some post-apoc gaming, and wanted to scrounge for ideas.

We start up DARK SUN week after next, so that should at least curb my desire to get out the real Apocalyptic stuff, but part of me wants to do some gaming that's a bit more "classic post-apoc" than what Dark Sun has to offer.

I want buildings partially swallowed by vegetation. I want scrounging for bullets and food. I want people making new dwellings and gear out of the remnants of past ages. I want PCs motivated by a desire for survival and self gain rather than any hope of saving the world. I want a game that is part western, part sci-fi, part horror, and part gritty modern action flick, all rolled into one.

And I can't think of too many RPGs on the market that really fit that. Which surprises me - considering all of the movies that are found within this genre, you'd think there would be something that approaches this beyond the relatively small spinoff d20 Apocalypse. I suppose there must be a GURPS book out there that covers it, though.

Savage Worlds: Apocalypse would be awesome. If any of you guys are looking for a writing project, there's gold in them dere hills.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Well, i think someone pointed it out already, but for whatever reason, Post Apoc games- with the exception of RIFTS- tend to have short market lifespans. For whatever reason, nobody gets into a "Mad Max" (or Waterworld or the Postman or whatever) mood for very long.

BTW, just remembered another one: Deadlands: Hell on Earth.

 

[Stormonu]

Car Wars (with GURPS rules) would also probably fit as a Mad Max sort of post-apocalyptic world, especially if you can get your hands on the Chassis & Crossbow rules in the old Dueltrack supplement. (While they're really rules for the boardgame, the background material would fit right in).

Twilight 2000 had a recent update/reboot to Twilight 2013.

AlphaOmega (by Mind Storm Labs) is one I recent learned about, though I haven't played it. It's premise appears to be that angels and demons returned to the world to restart their age-old war, and humanity got caught between.