Tag: post-apocalypse

On Running A Post-Apocalypse Campaign

I’ve run several post-apocalypse campaigns over the years, using a variety of game systems:

  • Gamma World — gonzo mutant jackrabbits and all
  • Aftermath! — 20 years after a nuclear war, using my hometown as a setting
  • Twilight: 2000 — the default WWIII-is-petering-out setting
  • Basic Roleplaying — zombies take over America in multi-generational campaign
  • Apocalypse World — small, isolated enclaves eke out a living, avoiding poisoned skies and other enclaves
  • NEMESIS — WWIII-has-just-ended journey across the remains of America
  • Mutant: Year Zero —the NEMESIS campaign extended forward by three generations

Along the way I’ve learned a few things about post-apocalypse settings and running campaigns in them. Much of that education has come the hard way, through trial and error, and I’m certainly still learning. As with any GM advice, your game is your game, and some or all of this may not make sense for you and your campaign. So take it as food for thought. With that in mind, whether you’re already game mastering a post-apocalypse campaign or are in the planning stages hopefully some of these suggestions will be helpful. Read more

Planning a Post-Apocalypse Campaign: Raven Rock

Thinking About the Unthinkable

If a biological armageddon hits the United States, how do vaccines reach Americans quickly? In the event of a nuclear war, who gets the word out about who is in charge and what laws are being enacted?

If you’re planning backstory for a post-apocalypse campaign, these little details can add to the verisimilitude you’re trying to invoke. They’re even more useful if you’re planning a near-future apocalypse-in-progress campaign. For example, when the zombies take over, where’s the President of the United States hiding out? As the GM it’d be good to know, right? Read more

Planning a Post-Apocalypse Campaign: The World Without Us & The Knowledge

Maybe it was a zombie apocalypse. Perhaps an alien plague wiped out civilization. Or it something we engineered ourselves. Regardless, most of humanity is destroyed.

What happens to the buildings, bridges, and dams when we’re not there to look after them? How long will concrete and steel resist armies of vines and rust? Which animals will rule over the ruins we once called home?

And when humanity rises from the ashes, how will it climb slowly back up the technology ladder? What will humans need to know to protect themselves, grow crops, and reconquer nature? Where will we settle, and what hard-won knowledge will we recover first? Read more