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Product History
Darwin’s World’s is a post-apocalyptic role-playing game published by RPG Objects, It was one of many games that came out under the D20 license for third edition D&D. Each section was first produced as a PDF and then collected and published as a book. It was an intriguing work but seemed incomplete. Then when Wizards of the Coast came out with D20 Modern, RPG Objects overhauled their game to match the new rules set, creating a much-improved product. That’s how we end up with Darwin’s World 2nd Edition.
Darwin’s World 2nd Editionis both a setting book, which details The Twisted Earth, an alternate future many years after a nuclear Armageddon, and a rules guide with generic post-apocalyptic game mechanics. It is influenced by many works of fiction with Road Warrior, Fallout, and Gamma World as its prime influences, but if you pay attention you’ll find influences from Logan’s Run, A boy and His Dog, Planet of the Apes, and Deathlands just to name a few more examples. Basically, it aims to be the core of any Sci-Fi post-apocalyptic campaign along with the D20 Modern rules.
Layout
Darwin’s World 2nd Edition is a 385 page hardcover. It is b/w with a color map on the inside front cover showing a post fall United States. The cover is a washed-out collage of clocks, a mushroom cloud, and a ruined building done in rusty earth tones. It really conveys a sense of foreboding appropriate for the setting. The book is divided into 8 chapters and one appendix of charts. Each chapter starts off with mood setting quotes from real folks like Albert Einstein and J. Robert Oppenheimer and/or from fiction with examples like A Canticle for Leibowitz and Tank Girl. The illustrations are good with the character class and the monster drawings standing out although the resolution seems off on some of them unfortunately.
Contents
Chapter One: Characters
Post-apocalyptic characters, I think, are some of the hardest types to create a good system of rules for. I’ve been frustrated with many games I’ve played or run because of low-tech vs. high tech issues. Through the use of technology feats and technology craft feats (similar to magic item creation in D&D) a character’s ability to use and understand technology is defined. So now you can have a wild savage, a survivalist and a scientist all in the same group but their skills are clearly differentiated and game mechanics exist to handle if they could repair or build modern and advanced equipment or not.
Players choose a background for their characters with examples like Feral, Tribal, Degenerate, Radical or Advanced. These backgrounds determine what level of technology the character understands and what type of society the he or she comes from by assigning or restricting certain feats and skills.
Next the players choose what their occupation in a similar manner to D20 Modern but with professions appropriate to an apocalyptic setting. This defines the character further with more skills assigned, possible bonus feats and starting money called corium pieces.
When it comes to character class, Darwin’s World 2nd Edition really hits the nail on the head. This chapter adds a new optional (but recommended) base class, the Post-Apocalyptic Hero, to D20 Modern’s Strong, Tough, Smart etc. heroes. Because the character’s background will “fix” certain aspects like available skills and technology feats, the post-apocalyptic hero has four talent trees (skill paths): Ancient, Mutant, Scavenge, and Survival. Like D20 Modern, Darwin’s World 2nd Edition also has advanced classes and they’re based on iconic post fall heroes. They are: Barbarian (Thundarr who can kill), Demagogue (cult leader), Guardian (warrior), JuJu Doctor (witchdoctor/healer), Psionic, Raider, Road Warrior, Scav (scavenger), Scholar, Skulk (thief/assassin), Sister of the Desert (Amazon), Survivalist, Symbiote (beastmaster), Tinker (mechanic), and Trader. Character classes are further defined with Epic Classes that push the concepts of the advanced classes. This chapter finishes up by discussing new/revised skills, new feats, and technology feats.
Chapter Two: Mutants and Mutations
Another problem I’ve had with most post-apocalyptic games are mutant powers that can’t be advanced. Usually the powers work like spells and don’t change when the character develops. This chapter solves this problem by way of Mutation Feats and Neural Mutation Feats.
This chapter makes the mutant a template rather than a character race. It’s designed so that you can apply this template to any creature not just the player characters. Want to make a mutant gnoll? Use these rules and you’ve got one. The Mutant template is nice because it allows you to bring in creatures from other D20 products and adept them for a post-apocalyptic campaign.
The mutation system works by having the players choose or roll from 1-3 mutations and then select an equal number of defects. The mutations tend to be a little less wild and wacky than say Gamma World but you can still choose to have claws, horns or two heads. You can use feats to boost beneficial mutations and remove or mitigate defects. Also the defects make the character less healthy with birth defects rather than being power reducers. Technically Darwin’s World has only three “mental mutations”, called Neural Mutations (precognition, telekinesis, and telepathy), but new powers are developed by way of 38 different “neural feats” with examples like telekinetic hand, danger sense, and mind stun.
There aren’t enough mutations for my taste (58 and 32 defects) but I’ve read on RPG Objects’ website that a recent PDF update has more mutations. Also, a system of points similar to D20 Future is also a part of that update.
Chapter Three: Artifacts of the Ancients
Being a Sci-Fi setting, many of the devices that the characters salvage are advanced, futuristic weapons. Darwin’s World takes big queues from both Fallout and Gamma World in this chapter with familiar high-powered assault weapons as well as super scientific energy and mass driver weapons. There are great illustrations of the weapons but sadly they aren’t labeled so it can get confusing what drawing goes with which description. The rest of the chapter is rounded out with discussions of general Sci-Fi equipment along with powered armor, vehicles, and advanced medicine. Those interested in supplemental D20 rules would get the most mileage out this chapter.
Chapter 4: Gamemastering
Starting off with the usual “what is a gamemaster” speech, this chapter quickly moves into a short discussion of various post-apocalyptic campaign models and setting ideas appropriate for this rule set. Nuclear war, super plagues, cataclysmic events, and inhuman masters (robots or aliens) are all given a half to one page look-see. This section’s usefulness will vary depending on how familiar you are with post-apocalyptic fiction and film, but they are really just primers of what to keep in mind when running your particular Armageddon. Small sections on social problems like slavery and drugs precede the obligatory rules for environmental issues like radiation, disease, chemical contamination, and wild weather, which are short and sweet.
Chapter 5: Adventure Locations
The designers of Darwin’s World 2nd Edition were smart when they wrote this chapter as they use places from “The Twisted Earth” campaign as examples of generic post-apocalyptic adventure locations, thus killing two birds with one stone. These places are broken down by general facts, local history, local law, how to use it in your game, and adventure ideas. Each entry also has a map with a detailed key. A small village, a midsize town, a huge city, an ancient domed city, a metropolitan ruin (called a necropolis) and the government bunker greenbrier are discussed. It’s useful but it leaves you wanting more info on “The Twisted Earth”, a lot more.
Chapter 6: Denizens of The Twisted Earth
I really enjoyed this is a chapter. It deals with social movements or groups called “factions” that have developed in the Darwin’s World universe. Some are similar to Gamma World’s cryptic alliances, probably being inspired by them but also there are others taken from movies, TV and books. The entries list the stats of each Faction and include character classes that belong to the group, their symbol, common mutations/defects, and attitude. The faction descriptions are divided into “what outsiders know” and “the reality”. Some factions even have their own advanced classes that players can choose if they are members. There are factions that seem to be the same on the surface, but upon a closer look their differences are revealed.
The factions are: the Brethren (anti-tech via Omega Man/I am legend), Brotherhood of Radiation (monastic, radiation worshipers), the Cartel (powerful traders), Children of the Metal Gods (androids, robots and their thralls), Clean Water Clans (water traders), Doomriders (exterminating, monastic, road warriors), Entropists (nihilistic, death cult), Far Traders (tribal gypsies), Foundationists (Brotherhood of Steel or Encalve?), Gouls (flesh eating mutants), The Movement (post nuke peaceniks), Paradise Believers (Apocalypse geeks), Rangers (lawmen), Ravagers (sadistic dessert pirates), and the Savants (psycho psions). There are also minor factions that finish off the chapter.
Chapter 7: Terrors of Twisted Earth
Here we get Darwin’s World’s monster manual. It’s reprinted creatures from Terrors of Twisted Earth, a supplement for Darwin’s World 1st ed. upgraded to D20 Modern rules. It has 53 different creatures, some of which could be used as a player character races. A few examples include: the heap turtle, a giant turtle that hides in ruins waiting for prey; the rad wolf, its bite irradiates; screamers, undead horrors; the two-headed mutant bear, YES; utarns, giant spider-like impregnators; and slime moles, sticky, smelly, subterranean beasts. This section is interesting and useful although there are some creatures that seem way too similar in form or threat like the blob and the giant amoeba, the rad wolf and the ravening hound, or the shadow people and the sandmen. Also, there are too many variations of humanoid mutants and not enough plant monsters.
Chapter 8: Gazetteer
Here is where we get more specifics about the lands of The Twisted Earth. An explorer named Bixbly introduces sections of the gazetteer via a travelogue; it adds an air mystery and dread to an otherwise straightforward listing of facts about the locations. The places correspond to the color map in the front cover of the book with the emphasis on the mid-west and western portions of the U.S. The Eastern U.S. is completely absent but you don’t seem to miss it. The descriptions are about huge areas with a few specific locations in each area. Due to the number of details on the map that are not covered it is expected that future supplements will provide whole campaigns in the various regions, and in fact several adventures and supplements have been published by RPG Objects that do exactly that.
Impressions
I must say that Darwin’s World 2nd Edition is the real deal when considering post-apocalyptic role-playing. Many may be thinking of the 1st edition rules but don’t get them confused. The difference between the two is like 1st edition Basic D&D to third edition D&D. Yes the leap in quality and sophistication of the rules is that good in my opinion. This is an example of where the D20 rules are actually developed in a way that adds to the role-playing experience rather than dumping a needless layer of complexity on top of an already complex system. Some of the chapters could obviously be developed into their own full-fledged products but it is nice to have them in one tome. Also, unlike say D20 Future where they try to cover too many different topics, Darwin’s World 2nd Edition is so focused on post-apocalyptic role-playing it works. It’s not as pretty to look at as Wizards of the Coast’s products, but hey, RPG Objects is a small company.
Pros
The game mechanics for creating characters are some of the best I’ve seen. I feel that technology feats and character backgrounds really add to the genre. Interesting character classes unexplored in other games but necessary for post-apocalyptic role-playing are present, like traders, healers, barbarians, scholars etc. The mutant as a template is a great concept, as is the ability to adapt them via mutation feats. Darwin’s World 2nd Edition has a wide variety of futuristic weapons that fans of post fall games have come to expect. All the rules and tools you need are in one book (Plus D20 Modern). It is generic enough to be useful in most campaigns or to adapt your own favorite post-apocalyptic setting. Also the creators seem to very available to answer questions via yahoo groups.
Cons
Darwin’s World 2nd Edition is really focused on Sci-Fi, so no magic or supernatural apocalypses are contained, there’s no timeline or explanation of what happened to make The Twisted Earth (although there are two good ones in The Foundationists supplement). It would be helpful if there were a couple character creation examples as some of the new rules get confusing. The game has no mutant animal or plant characters although a new PDF called Beast Men covers animals. Darwin’s World 2nd Edition is pre D20 Future so some of the rules have to be tweaked to use both books, which again is being done in a new PDF of the game. Finally, there are no stats for robots and androids in this volume and one would have to buy the The Foundationists to get the lowdown on them. Luckily as another review concludes, it’s a good product.
Conclusion
I think that if you are going to play a post-apocalyptic game, Darwin’s World 2nd Edition is the one to use. Let the other game books be supplements to this one. It aims to be the preeminent game for post-apocalyptic campaigns and it succeeds by being focused on that goal. Keep in mind though that RPG Objects is a small company so many of the supplements will only available via PDF. Regardless, it fulfills the “broken promise” of many post-fall games, particularly a certain RPG that was recently published in its 6th edition. So lick your wounds and come over to Darwin’s World 2nd Edition.
NOTE
My understanding is that RPG Objects has sold out the of Darwin’s World 2nd Edition hardcover, so I don’t know what it’s availability in the market is. But PDFs are always available on their website for purchase, plus this product has been updated with new rules anyway.
