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Lord Loss
2010-10-09, 06:31 AM
Fallout Meets D&D 4e (http://www.amazon.com/Gamma-World-Roleplaying-Game-Setting/dp/0786955082/)

They're making a D&D 4e Setting that sounds much like Fallout. I'm buying it and converting to D&D 4e just for it.

Your Thoughts?

rojomoke
2010-10-09, 07:03 AM
Youngsters of today just don't know the history of their hobby! :smallsmile:

Gamma World dates back to the 1970's and there's a D20 Modern version out there, if you would prefer not to change to 4e. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamma_World

Shademan
2010-10-09, 07:10 AM
judging by the cover I would saaaay....no.
just no.

Lord Loss
2010-10-09, 07:16 AM
Youngsters of today just don't know the history of their hobby! :smallsmile:

Gamma World dates back to the 1970's and there's a D20 Modern version out there, if you would prefer not to change to 4e. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamma_World

I've heard of the original (when I Wikipedia'd Gamma World) but was unaware of the D20 Modern Version. I'll give it a look.

TheEmerged
2010-10-09, 08:21 AM
There was also a Gamma World rulebook using the Alternity rules. I know, because I own a copy.

/humor
I think the author's mother bought the other five...

FelixG
2010-10-09, 09:39 AM
If you want to play fallout...

Heres the fallout 2nd edition PHB free

http://www.oldrepublicguild.com/fallout/falloutrpg.pdf

Eldan
2010-10-09, 01:34 PM
If it's anything like the old Gamma Worlds, it's really not very much like Fallout.

Instead, it's a rather silly game, using Pulp Science. "The Ancients" have built a super-civilization with flying cars, laser weaponry and intelligent robots. Then, they started a nuclear war and everything went to hell. Now everyone is a mutated freak or a humanoid plant, able to shoot lightning from their eyes or use psionic powers from their "mutations".

So, a lot sillier than fallout, really. Different kind of humour.

Mystic Muse
2010-10-09, 01:40 PM
judging by the cover I would saaaay....no.
just no.

I agree with Shademan here.

Starbuck_II
2010-10-09, 02:12 PM
If you want to play fallout...

Heres the fallout 2nd edition PHB free

http://www.oldrepublicguild.com/fallout/falloutrpg.pdf

They made Slings actually decent. I'm impressed. Unlike guns, reloading sling/bows is a free action.

Gavinfoxx
2010-10-09, 03:37 PM
Actually, if we aren't talking Fallout 3 and instead are talking Fallout and Fallout 2, Fallout New Vegas and Wasteland...

Isn't a more lighthearted game closer to the original concept of Fallout?

FelixG
2010-10-09, 06:18 PM
Actually, if we aren't talking Fallout 3 and instead are talking Fallout and Fallout 2, Fallout New Vegas and Wasteland...

Isn't a more lighthearted game closer to the original concept of Fallout?

The game (original) had more of a dark humor with some light hearted pop culture references.

Dimers
2010-10-09, 11:06 PM
Actually, if we aren't talking Fallout 3 and instead are talking Fallout and Fallout 2, Fallout New Vegas and Wasteland...

Isn't a more lighthearted game closer to the original concept of Fallout?

Lighthearted, yes, no question about it. But Fallout and Fallout 2, while they mucked about gleefully in pseudoscience, had virtually no magic or psi. A couple astral visitations and a ghost, that's about all ... you could actively get your character made fun of for believing in magic. My guess is that people are objecting to the magic-based look of the cover pic on Amazon (flying and Rays of Neeming), or possibly the ridiculous pose and clothing of the blaster. Just my guess, though.

More of my opinion: I feel almost as strongly about the co-author as others have expressed about the cover, except in the other direction. Bruce Cordell did a great job with 3.5 psi and I'd trust him to make a good game, stupid cover art notwithstanding.

Eldan
2010-10-10, 06:24 AM
But... the stupid art is half the fun!

I mean, look at the art from the old books:


http://img718.imageshack.us/img718/668/gammarules.jpg
http://img258.imageshack.us/img258/202/gammafight.jpg
http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/3395/gammasaurus.jpg



It's a game about playing a firebreathing wolfman and a telepathic cactus out to convince a nuclear bomb that exploding is wrong while fighting a possessed science museum.

It's different in tone from Fallout in many ways.

Tiki Snakes
2010-10-10, 11:24 AM
But... the stupid art is half the fun!

I mean, look at the art from the old books:


http://img718.imageshack.us/img718/668/gammarules.jpg
http://img258.imageshack.us/img258/202/gammafight.jpg
http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/3395/gammasaurus.jpg



It's a game about playing a firebreathing wolfman and a telepathic cactus out to convince a nuclear bomb that exploding is wrong while fighting a possessed science museum.

It's different in tone from Fallout in many ways.

You know, when you put it that way, maybe I could get interested in Gamma World, after all. :smallcool:

Raum
2010-10-10, 11:31 AM
Youngsters of today just don't know the history of their hobby! :smallsmile:Yep, Gamma World was the first RPG I ever played. Brings back some memories...

abadguy
2010-10-10, 11:55 AM
Love the art. Reminds me of the old He-man and She-ra cartoons.

And that is one heck of a crotch guard on the visor guy in the first pic

Shademan
2010-10-10, 12:01 PM
no see, that pic is ok. the cover of the book in the OP
not so much

hiryuu
2010-10-10, 01:30 PM
Love the art. Reminds me of the old He-man and She-ra cartoons.

And that is one heck of a crotch guard on the visor guy in the first pic

Visor guy is just trying to help protect future generations.

Benejeseret
2010-10-10, 04:06 PM
....?

Why not just play Fallout PnP?

http://www.paforge.com/fallout.html

Is one link to file's I've used before in 2 games (one RL and one PbP).

I grabbed a transit map from our city, used crayons to mark irradiated areas, and circle points of interest and settlements. This let the players directly add to the story.....one guy even searched for a phonebook (which I got for him IRL) and they looked up shooting ranges or storage facilities to scavenge in game.

Awesome

LibraryOgre
2010-10-11, 01:02 PM
Love the art. Reminds me of the old He-man and She-ra cartoons.

That's a good comparison. You might also look at Thundarr, the Barbarian. A similar game, in many ways, is Palladium's "After the Bomb", especially the earlier version (the later version is good, and more complete in many ways, but it loses a lot of the zany, IMO).

Mando Knight
2010-10-11, 03:31 PM
I mean, look at the art from the old books:


http://img718.imageshack.us/img718/668/gammarules.jpg
http://img258.imageshack.us/img258/202/gammafight.jpg
http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/3395/gammasaurus.jpg

...Is it just me, or is this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_sBOsh-vyI) the unofficial theme song/music video of Gamma World?

Eldan
2010-10-11, 03:39 PM
Yeah, that's actually pretty close in general style. Though I never saw martial arts, the tech level of most communities is medieval or dark ages and there's more mutant powers.

Edit: of course, that's only for Meriga (america). Who knows what kind of stuff happened in Eurasia. Perhaps there are now robot cowboys in the Siberian steppes learning Kung Fu from telepathic chinese squirrel monks.

Cieyrin
2010-10-11, 03:56 PM
Yeah, that's actually pretty close in general style. Though I never saw martial arts, the tech level of most communities is medieval or dark ages and there's more mutant powers.

Edit: of course, that's only for Meriga (america). Who knows what kind of stuff happened in Eurasia. Perhaps there are now robot cowboys in the Siberian steppes learning Kung Fu from telepathic chinese squirrel monks.

To make this go full circle, the Robot Cowboys should be riding Morse (intelligent moose), one of whom should be named Bulwinkle.

Eldan
2010-10-11, 03:58 PM
... I?ll have to go check my rulebook if moose are on the list of animals to make characters from.

Edit: nope. Goes directly from Monkey to Mosquito. There's a deer, that's probably the closest.

Tyndmyr
2010-10-11, 04:02 PM
judging by the cover I would saaaay....no.
just no.

This.

If you want gritty futuristic, sorta post-apoc combat, grab the necromunda system and go from there. It's based around a team dynamic, instead of single char, but it's a really delightful setting, with decently good, if lethal, mechanics.

Cieyrin
2010-10-11, 04:35 PM
... I?ll have to go check my rulebook if moose are on the list of animals to make characters from.

Edit: nope. Goes directly from Monkey to Mosquito. There's a deer, that's probably the closest.

I'd use the Megaloceros from Frostburn, personally. Going further afield, the Tome of Horrors has Dire Moose, which are scary things the size of elephants. :smalleek:

Eldan
2010-10-11, 04:38 PM
Well, 3.5 has it, true. But the one I have is TSR's Gamma World 4th edition, which follows roughly (very roughly) AD&D rules.

Cieyrin
2010-10-11, 04:45 PM
Well, 3.5 has it, true. But the one I have is TSR's Gamma World 4th edition, which follows roughly (very roughly) AD&D rules.

What's sad about that is the Morse are from a book that was an inspiration for the 1st edition of Gamma World, Hiero's Journey. :smallfrown:

pffh
2010-10-11, 04:53 PM
Love the art. Reminds me of the old He-man and She-ra cartoons.

And that is one heck of a crotch guard on the visor guy in the first pic

If you ain't got one the junk is gunk.

doc*sk
2010-10-11, 05:28 PM
From what I remember about Gamma World, I think that 4E will be a great system.

Eldan
2010-10-11, 05:59 PM
But isn't 4E more or less balanced? That just doesn't work with gamma World! If your elephant man with four arms and two brains (doubling his actions per turn) doesn't totally overpower your 3-foot flower man, it's not Gamma World! :smalltongue:

Tiki Snakes
2010-10-11, 08:35 PM
But isn't 4E more or less balanced? That just doesn't work with gamma World! If your elephant man with four arms and two brains (doubling his actions per turn) doesn't totally overpower your 3-foot flower man, it's not Gamma World! :smalltongue:

I often wonder, when older edition-savvy players discuss such things, if Stockholm Syndrome might actually apply outside of hostage situations... :smallwink:

Eldan
2010-10-12, 08:06 AM
I'm not really an old player, I started my RPG career on 3.5. It was just that one day, one of our players found this really old book, Gamma World 4th edition core rules, and we played a premade adventure with it, which was some of the greatest fun we ever had. Despite some characters being ridiculously stronger than others, and most powers just being very over the top.
Characters had (constitution score)*d6 hit points, but magical healing was mostly absent, natural healing was very, very slow, and we had some powers dealing 5d6 or more damage, per round, at will, so combat could get very deadly after a round or two. Especially once we ran into a house-sized combat robots bristling with rocket launchers and gigantic lasers and we all failed our robot recognition tests (those determine if the robot sees you as human, and leaves you alone, or as vermin, and kills you).

Person_Man
2010-10-12, 08:29 AM
Wait, I thought Fallout was based on GURPS? How/why would it be converted to 4E?

Also, while I've enjoyed all of the Fallout Games, it's has a fairly limited number of things you can do. Shoot guns, hit people, sneak, talk, and occasionally come across or build special weapon or armor. And that's pretty much it. No wushu martial arts, no magic, no hyper technology, no genetic enhancements, no vampire abilities, etc.

It doesn't need them - I like having a conventional gritty retro-futurism steampunk world to shoot things in. But in terms of cool stuff that you would need/want a new rules set to do, there's nothing there.

LibraryOgre
2010-10-12, 11:26 AM
Also, while I've enjoyed all of the Fallout Games, it's has a fairly limited number of things you can do. Shoot guns, hit people, sneak, talk, and occasionally come across or build special weapon or armor. And that's pretty much it. No wushu martial arts, no magic, no hyper technology, no genetic enhancements, no vampire abilities, etc.

Well.... not sure I would agree with you.

While Fallout doesn't really have any wire-fu type stuff, there is Fallout 2, which has boxing and a kung-fu contest; if your unarmed is high enough, you can do some serious damage. You can explode people's heads with kung-fu kicks. Fallout 3 has the Cannibal and Hematophage Perks and "The Family" sidequest/area.

Fallout 1 & 2 have the statistical upgrades you can get through surgery in Brotherhood of Steel locations, there are perks indicating cybernetics, and you can get wired reflexes in Fallout 3... to say nothing of Harkness and other stuff out of the Institute, or the changes you can undergo from Dr. Lesko (for the quest THEM!). And you've got people like Frank Horrigan, or the genetic experiments of FEV.

There's a lot out there.

Benejeseret
2010-10-12, 11:46 AM
Fallout uses S.P.E.C.I.A.L. rules system

It is based on the GURPS rules, and originally was going to use GURPS but during developments they had a falling out between companies and S.P.E.C.I.A.L. was born from those ashes.

If you want to play a post-apoco style game then many of the systems suggested are good...but if you want to play Fallout; why use anything other then the S.P.E.C.I.A.L. ruleset?

Ehra
2010-10-13, 08:13 AM
Today's Penny Arcade is dangerously relevant:

http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/

Lost Demiurge
2010-10-13, 10:29 AM
I picked up Gamma World. Definitely a beer and pretzels RPG, but pretty fun as long as you don't expect too much out of it. The CCG angle is a little annoying too, but you can ignore that and it's still a good game.

Though... I had an epiphany this morning! This game will easily let me play ATOMIC ROBO-LINCOLN!

Mix an Android origin with either a Radiation or Engineered Human origin, and you've got an animatronic Lincoln robot who gained sentience and wandered off into the wastes. Finally, I can don the clanking top hat of justice, and spend the next fourscore and seven years kicking slavers so hard their forefathers feel it!

Eldan
2010-10-13, 11:29 AM
Oh, they put androids in? The version I played didn't have that as a possibility. Nice.

LibraryOgre
2010-10-13, 11:30 AM
I picked up Gamma World. Definitely a beer and pretzels RPG, but pretty fun as long as you don't expect too much out of it. The CCG angle is a little annoying too, but you can ignore that and it's still a good game.

Though... I had an epiphany this morning! This game will easily let me play ATOMIC ROBO-LINCOLN!

Mix an Android origin with either a Radiation or Engineered Human origin, and you've got an animatronic Lincoln robot who gained sentience and wandered off into the wastes. Finally, I can don the clanking top hat of justice, and spend the next fourscore and seven years kicking slavers so hard their forefathers feel it!

Button Gwinnett (http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Button_Gwinnett) would like to have a word with you... :smallbiggrin: