The unofficial stalker RPG: Now completed and released for all.

[Maffo]

(My apologies if posted in the wrong spot or if it is breaking any rules.)
I have always been a stalker fan. The games suck me in every time i play. I wanted to play it in pen and paper form with friends but there is no official rpg based on the stalker games. There is an official one based on the roadside picnic book but not the games . It is also a very narrative system and (almost?) diceless. It did not fit the stalker games and as such my needs.

So i kept searching. A week ago i found an unofficial stalker rpg originating from 4chan here: http://1d4chan.org/wiki/STALKER:_The_RPG
It was not up to my standard, missing a proper character creation chapter and more. So i have put in a few days effort reworking the whole rulebook.

And here it is: PDF: Google Drive or Dropbox (also uploaded the pdf to this post) WORD: Dropbox (the word document is always up to date)

Please download it and play. Use it to your hearts desire. Do note that this is the first expanded version and as such errors can occur. It is also not yet playtested at all.
I would love to hear about your first impressions reading it and your experience playing it.


Hopes and dreams for the future:

• Balancing, balancing, balancing. Let me know if changes to prices, weapons, feats, artifacts etc. etc. are needed.
• More additions for the GM I would like to make more tools and helps for GMs running this rpg. I want to make a page or 2 describing what is needed to get the unique atmosphere of stalker games. An encounter table would be nice too. suggestions welcome.
• More lore
• a background for the pdf Right now it is a boring white but i do not have the photoshop/paint experience to make a background. If anyone would like to help me with it let me know.

(Thanks to the original creators and other contributors)

 

[GMMichael]

Free to all? Now isn't that something?

Cheers, Maffo! Unfortunately, I have no idea what Stalker is. Wanna fill me in, and anyone else who's out of the loop?

 

[Maffo]

So you all probably know about the chernobyl disaster of 1986. You have probably seen the pictures of an abandoned pripyat, overgrown and decrepit.

And you have probably also seen the mutants because of radiation:


After Chernobyl was evacuated, the area around it was silent - untouched by man and reclaimed by nature. Trees grew up amongst the concrete edifices of Pripyat and wildlife found new homes in among the ruins.Without any reason to enter the area, mankind left it alone - a nagging thorn in the conscience that refused to go away.

But like any forgotten area of the world, stories began to be spread about the forsaken zone. Reports of strange creatures, twisted by the consequences of the accident became commonplace. Some even spoke of abandoned treasures within what came to be called "The Zone".

In 2006, disaster seemed to strike again. A bright light originated from the old reactor plant and speculation of a second explosion began. Military patrols increased as the authorities seemed more determined than ever to keep people out. However, human nature prevailed. Curiosity and greed led to the phenomenon of the "Stalker" - part explorer, part mercenary, part treasure hunter. These brave and foolhardy individuals started entering the Zone to see what could be salvaged. What they found was beyond imagination.

Stalkers found both wonders and horrors of equal grandeur. Strange irradiated objects called "artifacts" fetched huge sums on a thriving black market, finding that the objects had strange powers, and acted as excellent replacement minerals, often being used in jewelry. However, the risks involved in retrieving these were huge - mutant creatures roamed the landscape, ready to feed on anything they encountered and horrific pockets of energy known as "Anomalies" claimed the lives of many unwary Stalkers as if nature itself was trying to prevent human intervention.
[video=youtube;_vKyxmTlbu0?t=24s]https://youtu.be/_vKyxmTlbu0?t=24s[/video]
[video=youtube;sXPOm_t3lZo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXPOm_t3lZo[/video]

But the zone offered more than just opportunities for profit. Researchers started to investigate the mysteries of the zone. Different ideas about the zone sprung up. Some see it as a gift to mankind while other want the zone to be destroyed. Stalkers within The Zone began to form alliances, waging a war within the irradiated wasteland.

So stalker is quite unique. It is not quite post apocalyptic but it sure feels like it. The atmosphere of it all is unique but i think this guy is way better at explaining what makes stalker good then i do: http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/12/10/on-the-importance-of-s-t-a-l-k-e-r/

I hope you are willing to give it a try, i am wholeheartedly recommending the amazing video games.

 

[Janx]

a) why is that guy wearing a chef's hat?
b) so Stalker is a videogame originally?


The chernobyl background story sounds like a good setting for what you describe in the second post. The first post, I was worried that this was LARP spin-off from FATAL...

 

[Maffo]

A) I do not know, perhaps he is a mutant connoisseur? (just searched the internet for a picture).
B) Yes and no. This rpg is based on the stalker video games but the videogames are based on the book roadside picnic. If you like rpg's and first person shooters, stop what you are doing and pick up a copy of either shadow of chernobyl (first game) or call of pripyat (third game). You will not regret it. ( rock, paper, shotgun puts it on 4 of their fps top 50: http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2015/05/13/best-fps/6/

Yeah stalker can be a bit of a dodgy search .