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This actually left me in a bit of a quandry. Normally, I introduce new RPG players to AD&D, Tunnels & Trolls or Call of Cthulhu because their easy rules system can be taught in minutes and quickly become secondary to the game play. What was I going to use? Champions? SpyCraft? Cyberpunk 2020? My choices were either system heavy or background heavy games which would require way too much mental investment before the little rats could start playing. And for the record, I have taught D20 games to new players and the learning curve is always too much for a four hour session. I needed something that could be grasped in 5 minutes.
Then it hit me…Gamma World!
And when I say Gamma World, I mean the 1981 first edition by James Ward and Gary Jaquet that was the AD&D compatible rewrite of Metamorphosis Alpha from 1978. Surely, you all own a copy. If not, jump on eBay and you can get it for less than $10 with shipping.
Let’s call this version “Classic Gamma World” to distinguish it from the five other editions and the countless knock-offs which have sadly never lived up to the original product. The artwork within varies from the whimsical (mutant bunnies with sniper rifles) to the expected humdrum pictures of robots, vehicles and weapons. After 20 years and hundreds of games, the binding on mine is finally going.
Classic Gamma World was my perfect choice to run with the newbies. First, it was built on the AD&D core rules which can be taught in moments. Second, their characters were either really buffed out humans or mutants with unbelieveable powers and they began the game toting weapons of mass destruction. Third, the world concept was easy to explain: welcome to Black Years after mankind in the 24th century unleashed reality altering weapons that destroyed civilization and mutated the world.
Of course, they had a great time duking it out with mutant mind controlling snakes, flying radioactive bats with fricking lasers shooting out of their eyes and then explaining the end of the world to a faulty security bot the size of a Hummer. “This is like Diablo, only better!” was the notable quote and we gained four new RPG hobbyists. Are they ready to delve into the angst ridden, psyche exploring milieu of White Wolf? No, but I was running a game, not a therapy session.
So I am mulling over the idea of a Gamma World campaign and I reread the entire rules, plus the two supplements / adventures GW1: Legion of Gold and GW2: Famine at Far-Go. I admit that I have always been a big fan of this game and I will dissect the product for you by going through their table of contents with an eye to why YOU should give this RPG disco dinosaur a chance.
INTRODUCTION Gamma World begins with a quote from Revelations and a discussion of mankind’s fascination with the Apocalypse and how today’s science has made such prophecies are real possibility. Remember that 1978 was deep in the Cold War and we worried that Russia was going to nuke us. Of course, today we worry that Al-Qaeda is going to nuke us. Ah, progress!
Gamma World gives us a one page overview of the past history of the 24th century and the final days which lead to the destruction of the Earth. Do you need more than that ? Not really, since the past is supposed to be lost in myth and wild rumor.
HOW TO USE THIS BOOK The writers spend more wordage explaining dice than they spend explaining what is a roleplaying game. Heck, the paragraphs on Hexagon Paper and Sheet Protectors is longer than their advice for a new GM. Trivia fact: the term they used in 1981 is “referee.”
Do you need more than that? Yes, absolutely yes if you are a new gamer. I guess the concept was that Gamma World was going to be played mostly by people who already played AD&D and knew the structure of the hobby. Even still, more info for the GM would have been a benefit.
DESIGNING GAMMA WORLD AREAS Oddly, the GM section on world building comes before character creation. It gives suggestions on creating settlements, ancient areas such as robot farms, spaceports and radioactive deserts.
Do you need more than that? That depends. If you are highly creative, then the scant details are enough to spark your thoughts and you will have great fun in the development of your own Gamma World. If you are a person who needs everything structured and laid out for you, then this section is not going to be satisfying. Both the GW1 & GW2 supplements detail specific areas of the world and they are recommended for any Gamma World GM.
CREATING CHARACTERS Once again for reasons unknown, more effort is spent discussing dice conventions than what is a character. Gamma World offers you three character types: Pure Strain Human (non-mutated humans), Humanoids (humans with various mutations) and Mutated Animals (talking bunnies with fusion guns). PSH characters as presented in the core book simply suck by comparison to any mutant. Yes, they are the only ones who can command robots and use every high tech goody, but that doesn’t cut it for the rest of the time. You need the modifications from the supplement GW2: Famine in Far-Go make them playable on equal terms.
The Basic Attributes of Mental Strength (your psionic attack and defense), Intelligence, Dexterity, Charisma, Constitution and Physical Strength are given adequate attention. Hit Points are determined by rolling a number of D6 equal to your Constitution. Your HP never go up unless your CON goes up for some reason.
Do you need more than that? Yes. Humans needed to be balanced against mutants and I am surprised they didn’t realize that in playtesting. Fortunately, you can get the supplements on eBay for a few dollars or simply give humans a +3 bonus to each Attribute and have high tech medication only 50% effective on mutants. That evens the playing field nicely.
Interestingly, gaining experience and going up levels are not even discussed in character creation because they are pretty meaningless in Gamma World. This is a game about survival in an insanely dangerous world and the accummulation of high tech super goodies. More on that later.
MUTATIONS Mutations are the core of Gamma World. Most players will want to play mutants of some sort and the GM will use these charts to create enemies and allies for the players. Mutations are random and about 20% are actually hideous defects, such as Carnivore Attraction Odor, Complete Mental Block, and Poor Dual Brain which can periodically take over the character. Essentially, the mutant powers are drawn from comic books and you can easily create the X-Men by picking and choosing. There are a 98 mutations plus 42 more just for mutated plants who are often the scariest enemies. Most importantly, all the mutations and even the defects are really fun to play.
The mutant charts are also great for you mighty stalwarts who still play AD&D [and yes, there are a legion of us out there]. A few dice rolls added to your Monster Manual or Fiend Folio really spruce up the tried and true fantasy monsters. A Manticore with a dual brain who can generate a force field, manipulate weather and still throw his tail spines will shock your players out of complacency. Of course, the old AD&D monster tomes are great sources for new Gamma World monsters and the system compatability is a benefit here.
Do you need more than that? Not really. The powers and defects are generally balanced with a few exceptions. Some mutations will need the GM to decide on the scope of the effect and the physical changes that occurred with the mutation, but that’s a minor effort.
PLAY OF THE GAME Gamma World goes into extensive detail regarding movement and combat, both physical and mental with special attention for plants and robotic units. Surprisingly, combat is simultaneous so slain opponents get a death blow unless they are obliterated by the first attack. That alone is a cool effect and adds an additional aura of danger to combat.
Weapons are divided into 16 classes. Clubs and hammers are Class 1 while Fusion Rifles and Micro missiles are Class 16 and each class has a different “to hit” number against a specific armor class. AC is rated 10 = Naked to 1 = Powered Assault Armor. Unlike AD&D, the character may not get better at hitting and penetrating an opponent’s defense when they go up levels. In Gamma World, this mostly depends on the power of your weapon.
Weapon Damage for low tech weapons is identical to AD&D and each high tech goody has it’s own detailed entry. Most of the other rules are general extrapolations from AD&D with some modifications. There are also useless Fatigue rules that detail what happens when melee combat goes past the 11th round. These rules exist because until the characters find some working tech weapons, they are a bunch of 40 HP guys toting D6 short swords and wearing AC 8 hide armor. Personally, I changed all the low tech weapons to D6 damage for one handed weapons and 2D6 for two handed “great” weapons and then I “explode” the sixes. Essentially, if you roll a 6, you get another D6 damage to add to the total so it is possible to do some wicked damage if you get lucky. Since all high tech weapons either roll a number of D6s or do a set amount of damage (a vibrosword does 25 damage per hit), this was an easy rule to add.
Radiation and Poison affects are determined by comparing your Constitution to the intensity of the poison or radiation to determine the effects. Sometimes, you just suffer damage, gain a mutation or defect or die (mostly). Radiation is particularly deadly, as it should be.
Do you need more than that? Not really. Whatever your feelings may be for AD&D combat and mechanics, expect the same thoughts on the Gamma World system.
ENCOUNTERS Gamma World offers you about 50 species of mutated creatures which are common breeds of plant, animal, humanoid and fish that are generally found. Most are very dangerous and there are no easy-kill species like goblins. Everything in Gamma World has a fair shot against a player character and many species are intelligent users of high technology.
Worse, many creatures have gathered together into Cryptic Alliances which are about a dozen secret societies, even a few acceptable for player characters to join. Most are bizarre mutant cults and every one provides a solid adventure hook.
Do you need more than that? Not really. 50 monsters does the job, especially when many of your enemies will be NPC mutants. The encounter chart by terrain provides a good territory breakdown, but beware…players will have to learn the fine art of fleeing and then set ambushes because most of the creatures can easily go head to head with them.
ARTIFACTS AND EQUIPMENT Gamma World offers about 100 high tech goodies from Mark V Blasters to Neutron Missiles and Death Machines. Unfortunately, almost all the equipment is designed for combat or movement. There is limited reference to everyday high tech items, but I guess that a toaster is a toaster, even a fricking laser toaster.
A fun addition to Artifacts is their condition rating, ranging from perfect (very rare) to obviously broken, which determines their chance of functioning every time they are used. So, let me ask you…do you want to use your trusty 2D6 crossbow or your instant death Photon Grenade which only has a 40% chance of functioning? This uncertainty adds another layer to combat for the players and the GM. Does it slow the game? Yes slightly, but the additional tension is worth it.
Robotic units receive generous attention and not all are simply combat attack borgs. Sadly, there is no biotech, but then organic technology was not a common theme in 1978/81. Nor are cybernetics discussed outside of full androids. Also, the system for learning how to use an artifact is very baroque and does not mesh particularly well in actual play.
Do you need more than that? Yes, but that is left to the GM to create or modify from other games. Gamma World 4th Edition put out a technology book which translates very easily. GURPS UltraTech (and Biotech) are great books to steal from as well.
EXPERIENCE Characters in Gamma World gain experience by 1) defeating enemies, 2) figuring out how to use ancient high tech goodies, and 3) outstanding actions. There are charts for XP gain for learning how to use artifacts, but unfortunately no guidelines for XP gain for outstanding actions. When characters gain a level, players roll on the Bonus Matrix which may add +1 to one of their attributes or +1 to hit or damage in physical combat.
Do you need more than that? Maybe not. If level gain is important for your group, it would not take a genius to create additional incentives as they rise in ability.
EXAMPLE OF PLAY The rules section of Gamma World ends with an uninspiring Example of Play and very general Starting the Campaign background. World creation is left in the hands of the GM and a sample scenario would have been nice. A sample map and the layout of a small military base is provided.
PULLOUT PAGES Gamma World has several optional pull-out pages with detailed encounters for a variety of terrains with full monster stats for easy reference. These are extremely useful. Additionally, they give a 100 item Mundane Treasure chart with everything from a crushed tuba and a rollerball trophy to a metric ton of Mygnyl Chorts. Most are useless, but they add flavor and may even be turned into useful trade items by the players.
CONCLUSION Thank you for reading my monolith. Is Gamma World worth buying and playing today? That depends on this question: do you prefer Play-Doh or do you like Lincoln Logs? Gamma World is Play-Doh, easily malleable into whatever you need it to do. Want to run Shadowrun-like game? Easy, just add AD&D magic and buy a sightseeing guide to Seattle. Want to run a Star Wars-like game? Easy, just turn back the clock to before the Apocalypse and add space ships. Want to run Thundar the Barbarian? Easy, don’t change anything and you will have a lot of fun.
A last word on tone. Many people play Gamma World in a whimsical manner and it does lend itself easily to that tone. However, it just as easily can lend itself to survival horror and this simply depends on the GMs description of the world and its survivors. It makes a great system to run a dark gothic space fantasy like Necromunda or Warhammer 40k.
