Fallout Universe
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Acknowledgements and Notes A Word About Role Playing and the Fallout Universe need to thank some very supportive reating a role-playing game is much people, without whom this project like a high-wire act in the circus: never would have happened. Thanks I C one walks a very fine line to Elizabeth for being you; thanks to attempting to please as many people as Miroslav for running such a wonderful possible. Fallout: Pencil and Paper RPG website; thanks to my playtesters: was created for two groups of gamers – Roman, Mike, Karen, Pete, and Arch; those who enjoyed the Wasteland / thanks for all the supportive emails, Fallout computer games and wanted to and suggestions, from people too have a tabletop version for their numerous to call by name; thanks to Saturday night role-playing sessions, Brian Fargo, Interplay, and Black Isle and those people who had not played the for making such great role-playing computer game but were interested or games. Thanks to Michael Owen and curious in the post-Nuclear role-playing Itsatrap, the Scorpion Hunter, for ideas environment. It is my sincere hope that and rules regarding condition modifiers this game provides the best for both to armor. Mega-thanks to Ausir for worlds. compiling the most comprehensive of missing items and errors, and to Roman Fallout: Pencil and Paper RPG was for compiling another useful list. designed to be flexible in its rule structure. The system of character This is officially version 1.1 of the creation and combat was drawn directly Fallout: PNP RPG rules. I’ve kept all from the computer game, because it is the rules from the game intact, except one of the more intuitive systems I've for gun damage, which I modified – come across. However, because a without any change to the resulting computer can do many calculations in a numbers – for ease of play on a short amount of time, and keep track of tabletop. I took some liberties with millions of variables, the combat system places, weapons, and characters from can get a little complex at times. I've Wasteland; many of us old-time gamers tried to provide a character sheet that still think of Fallout as a sequel to places all the necessary numbers in one Wasteland anyway, so I hope I didn’t place for ease of use, but some players tread on anyone’s toes when I included may find that tedious. Which brings me it. Heavy weapons, artillery pieces, to my next (and last) point. and vehicles I had to completely make up on my own; for my sources, please see This book is designed as a guide. The the bibliography at the end. I made reason we role-play is to allow our some tweaks here and there to make the imaginations to take us to another world rules a little more “realistic,” like for a brief time. It is not to sit allowing both barrels of a double-barrel there and roll dice and punch numbers shotgun to be fired at once. I included into a calculator all night. I've role- some other weapons, mostly culled from played with both kinds of groups, and an old Twilight: 2000 manual. If there when I've GMed, I've leaned more towards is a glaring error or problem with the the first kind – more story, less dice game, please feel free to email me at and numbers. I would skip looking up [email protected] and I will be happy tables and such and make things up on to make the necessary changes. the fly. For rules junkies, there are plenty of tables and things to keep you Version 1.1 changes – Added condition going. I even encourage you to make modifier rules for weapons and armor, your own tables for things like critical fixed simple typos, fixed factual errors hits, perhaps using mine as a guide. regarding “canon” Fallout locations. For those more prone to loose, formless role-playing, feel free to discard Version 1.2 changes – Adjusted tables, rolls, or whatever else suits Louisville Slugger damage, fixed various your fancy. The idea behind this game typos and tweaked sentence structures, is to have fun, so if you find something added Perks previously left out, doesn't work for your group, please feel adjusted rolls to reflect errata in the free to get rid of it. Fallout readme files, added flamethrower fuels. 1 Part I - Introduction ach player needs a set of percentile-dice (Two ten-sided E dice, with one die representing the "Imagine all the people, living in "ones" column and the other representing harmony." the "tens" column of a two-digit - John Lennon, Imagine number). The Gamemaster needs a set of normal RPG dice as well (d4, d6, d8, magine for a moment a world without d10, d12, d20). Each player also needs politics. Imagine a world without a character sheet (provided in the back I religions, where people's views no of this book), a pencil, and a bit of longer mattered, where there was no imagination. The Gamemaster needs this longer any distinction between old and book and a little more imagination. A young, rich and poor, Atheist or single hex-sheet is helpful, although Believer, liberal or conservative. not absolutely necessary. Every Imagine a world where every person was character can provide their own equal regardless of skin color or ethnic miniature figure to use on the hex background. sheet, and the Gamemaster may want to think about getting a few generic The United States and Russia have over critter figures and some scenery (trees 30,000 nuclear devices in their arsenals and ruined buildings, walls, etc), as of January 2000. It would take 800 although these are not necessary either. such devices to end most of human life on this planet. In the half-hour Glossary of Terms in the Fallout between the launch of the Universe missiles and the detonation of the last bomb, it would Combat: A sequence of events that takes not be difficult to imagine place on a hex-grid in rounds of a world where racial, approximately 10 seconds each. Resolves religious, class, and with all parties that intend each other national distinctions no harm either fleeing or dead. longer mattered. In the days and weeks after the Critter: A critter generally refers to a bombs, the remaining people non-human NPC. would struggle to survive in a vastly different environment. The Death: Death occurs when a character's Earth as well as humankind would bear hit points drop below 0 and no medical the scars of that wound for hundreds if treatment is readily available. Death not thousands of years. is final in the Fallout universe. Fallout is a post-nuclear RPG set Experience (XP): A numerical measure of sometime after a great nuclear conflict the Character's collective experiences in the year 2077. 99% of humanity and a in the Fallout universe. When a good deal of other life perished in the Character has enough Experience points, nuclear war. Of course, millions still she goes up a Level. survived, although some were altered beyond imagination. One can play Fallout: A series of games from Fallout either as a campaign-oriented Interplay Productions, sequels to their RPG, with a series of smaller adventures popular Wasteland RPG, set in a post- in a larger story, or as a single-story nuclear universe; the same universe in game with a minimum of involvement in which this open-ended RPG is set. Also, the larger workings of the world. It the radioactive dust particles scattered can be played on a single Saturday night after a nuclear device detonates. with two or three friends or in a group of 7 or 8 two or three times a week for Gamemaster (GM): The Gamemaster is sort months on end. The only limits are of a storyteller and judge rolled into scheduling and the bounds of one. The GM relates the story to the imagination. players, telling them what their characters are experiencing, and they Equipment have a chance to control their character's responses. The GM does the majority of the dice rolls and controls all Non-Player Characters. The GM's 2 word in any situation is final, and are made by the GM, without the overrides even this rulebook. After characters knowing the result. all, it is the Gamemaster's world. Being Gamemaster requires a little Round: A round of combat is generally imagination and a normal set of dice about 10 seconds long and lasts until (1d4, 1d6, 1d8, 2d10, 1d12, 1d20). all critters in combat have their turn. Karma: A measure of whether a character Secondary Statistics (Derived has done more good than evil, more evil Statistics): These statistics are than good, or a healthy balance of the derived from mathematical formulae using two. numbers from various sources, such as Primary Statistics, Equipment, and so Level: A measure of the Character's forth. "rank" in the Fallout universe. When a Character gains a Level, it represents Skills: A numerical measure of how good that they have gained enough Experience your Character is at different skills in from their actions that they have a the Fallout universe. If you have the better grasp of the world around them. right skill, you can do anything. Non-Player Character (NPC): A Character To Hit: After all the modifiers, To Hit in the Fallout universe that is not is the number you need to roll against controlled by a Player; these Characters in combat to have your weapon connect are controlled by the GM.