Area 5

So after an epic 10 hour second session, we finally finished playing through Area 5. Most of the players were new to Savage Worlds and Fallout, but everything clicked and it was a lot of fun, and in the end of the brave scavengers emerged from the base with quite a bit of high tech loot.

Some thoughts on the sessions:
-I'm certainly no "killer DM" but 4 characters ended up dead (3 of which from one and the same player), which was actually a first for me. Bad damage rolls and killer mechs make for a bad combination. I had made a group of 13 available characters from which the group could choose. The ones they didn't choose at the start tagged along for the trip, and stayed at the entrance to the base while the others went in to explore. This allowed for quick replacements when one of them bit the dust!
-I always underestimate how long it will take to get through an adventure, so if someone wants to run it I'd advise splitting it up in 2 or 3 sessions at least.

Cards!

One of the things I like about the role playing hobby is that it requires very little financial investment: in its simplest form one core rulebook and a set of dice suffice to get a whole group of people playing. For everything else you can use your imagination. Luckily for the role playing industry many people seem to disagree with me, so they get to sell a torrent of additional books, guides, miniatures and other paraphernalia. Usually I'm able to resist the siren's call, but when I saw this deck of cards online I just needed to buy it. The faded, two centuries old look is a perfect fit for a Savage Worlds Fallout game!

Pregenerated Characters

At John D's request I've put up the premade characters I've rolled up for the new players in my upcoming one shot. Those interested can get them here!

One shot + Character sheet

The hundredth post on this blog and one with good news, as at the end of the month I'll be hosting a one shot for some new players! I'll be running my Area 5 dungeon for the first time, so I'm curious to see how it will hold up during play. In a fortunate case of continuity, one of the players (the one who actually found the map to the dungeon) from the mothballed campaign will also return. To celebrate this post apocalyptic merriment I've made a revamped version of the character sheet, which I've put up here.

San Diego PDF

Been a while since my last post, but have finally gotten around to finishing the write up for the San Diego location and collecting it in one PDF, which you can find here! Included is a rough draft for the Dominance system, using the setting of San Diego as a living dungeon of sorts.

. The Dominance system takes all the scheming and plotting, street fighting and all-out gang war of an average day in SD and randomizes the outcome using 1d30. Roll one for every gang at the end of the day. Once a gang reaches 0 Dominance, it fades back into obscurity as just another street gang and their turf is claimed by their mortal enemy or various small street gangs.  

Gang size	Starting Dominance	Gang member killed	Veteran gang member killed	Leader killed	Paying homage to other gang
Small (Ship Rats, Lawmen)	50	-1	/	-20	-10
Medium (Gassers, Pit Lords, Angels of Mercy)	100	-1	-3	-35*	-30
Large (Jetheads, Puñetazo, Chain Gang)	150	-1	-3	-50*	-50

*Puñetazo: -10 for every dedo, Gassers: no such penalty

The Tally (roll 1d30)

1)       Roll again. If the result is 1: Disaster! Whether through cowardly assassination or a full-out assault, your leader was killed by a rival gang. Lose x Dominance and become mortal enemies of the culprits. If you have multiple or no gang leader(s), take the respective penalty instead.

2)       Humiliation! At the verge of defeat after an unexpected, overwhelming full-out attack, your gang saw no other way out but to accept a rival gang’s superiority. Pay x homage to the gang in question.

3)       Hard-pressed! Your gangers held your turf against a rival gang, but only barely. Ten of your most senior members got a hot lead enema. Lose x Dominance.

4)       Ambushed! Five of your most senior gangers got ambushed while scavenging, culprits unknown. Lose x Dominance.

5)       Raided! A Gasser raiding party robbed you of supplies and guns, killing ten grunts to boot. Lose 25 Dominance. If you are the Gassers, gain 15 Dominance instead.

6)       Deserters! Morale took a dip and ten of your grunts slunk away in the night. Lose 10 Dominance.

7)       Fooled! A crate of explosives your gang bought blew up in your face, as a rival gang bamboozled you. A few mooks lost their lives. Lose 5 Dominance.

8)       Affronted! Some street gangers just walked into your turf and shot a few commoners belonging to you. You lose face and 5 Dominance.

9)       Swindled! A chem deal went bad. You lose the chems, caps and three grunts. Lose 3 Dominance.

10)   Bombed! Unknown perpetrators threw a molotov cocktail into one of your safe houses, destroying the building and killing three mooks who should have been standing guard. Lose 3 Dominance.

11)   Insults! Two of your senior gangers exchanged some unfriendly words and gun shots, now there’s only one left. Lose x Dominance.

12)   Heartbreak! One of your gang’s favourite prostitutes snuck away and now warms the beds of another gang. Lose 1 Dominance.

13)   Overdose! Jet claims another one of your mooks. Lose 1 Dominance.

14)   Status quo! Rather a slow day for your gang, let’s hope tomorrow brings more action.

15)   Turncoat! A grunt from a rival gang wants to join yours. After grilling him thoroughly, his desire seems legitimate. Gain 1 Dominance.

16)   Foiled! You discovered a spy in the ranks of your mooks. You send his head back to the rival gang in question, just to get the message across. Gain 1 Dominance.

17)   Experience! Today marks the x-th kill, x-th year in service or something similar of one your lowly grunts, earning him the right to be called a veteran member. Gain 3 Dominance.

18)   Expansion! Your gang managed to claim a building from a troublesome street gang. Gain 3 Dominance.

19)   Levies! Your gangers rounded up some commoners and forced the most able ones into the ranks of your grunts. Gain 3 Dominance.

20)   Payday! Your mooks stole a shipment of chems from a rival gang and sold it to the intended buyer a few hours later for a pretty penny, neither party being any the wiser. Gain 3 Dominance.

21)   Flawless! During a brutal skirmish in the streets, your most senior gang members managed to take out an equally large group of rival gangers without losing anyone on your side. Gain 5 Dominance.

22)   Opportunities! Your mortal enemy or a rival gang declared a temporary truce, giving you time to gather your forces and strengthen your position. Gain 5 Dominance.

23)   Bounty! After a raid on a rival gang, your grunts return with a score of liberated slaves, who promise to serve you faithfully. Gain 10 Dominance.

24)   Alliance! A major gang wants to enter an alliance with yours, adding considerably to your prestige. Gain 10 Dominance.

25)   Discord! An undercover agent of yours has successfully sown discontent among a rival gang, causing quite a number of their gangers to look for greener pastures, including yours. Gain 10 Dominance.

26)   Victory! Your gang has driven a rival gang from a major part of their turf, giving you control over the area and its resources, for the time being, that is. Gain 15 Dominance.

27)   Boom! A crate of military grade explosives has recently made it into your gang’s possession, and today you put them to good use, creating a few more bloody craters in your enemy’s turf. Gain 15 Dominance.

28)   Misdirection! One of your mooks convinced a Gasser raiding party that a rival gang had stolen one of their shipments of Psycho, and the Gassers carved a bloody path through their turf. Your enemy is weakened without you so much as lifting a finger. Gain 20 Dominance. If you are the Gassers, two of your raiding parties just decimated each other, lose 15 Dominance instead.

29)   Top dog! Your gang’s relentless attacks on a rival major gang have left them weak, and they have offered to pay you homage if you spare their miserable lives. Gain 15/20/25 Dominance according to the size of the gang in question.

30)   Roll again. If the result is 30: Terminated! A squad of your most veteran gangers has taken out a rival gang leader, and your gang is the talk of the town today. Gain 25 Dominance. If you have a mortal enemy, it was their gang leader who snuffed it, and you gain an additional 10 Dominance.

War... war never changes

Hi everyone, first of all a happy new year and best wishes for 2012! Those who check the blog from time to time might have noticed it's been awfully quiet lately, and as the new year dawns it looks like it might continue like that for quite a while still. I doubt I'll restart my Fallout campaign soon, so I'm going to mothball the blog for the foreseeable future. I'll still be around in the background, so drop me a line if you have questions about any of the stuff on here or just want to chat about all things Savage Worlds/Fallout. For now: keep an eye on your caps and watch out for rads!

Minor update: For those of you interested in my non-Fallout related rants, I have made Roll for Surprise my new base of operations. Who says Christmas only comes around once a year!