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Did it meet my expectations? Read on.
My experience with Gamma World: I have been running it for ten years; my most recent game game ended a month ago. I own Gamma World 4e and 3e, and have skimmed through 2e and 5e. I also wrote the Gamma World Fuzion rules that are floating around on Kazaa.
As usual, I will review this book by chapter, then present the miscellany (things worthy of noting, but not mentioned elsewhere) and give the final verdict. Also, I'm experimenting with including appropriate quotes from the book at the end of each section.
"If nothing else survives, it is very important that you receive one single sentence from this troubled age now ending: The bastards had it coming."
The World The Gamma Subunit Made (Don't blame me, I don't name these chapters.)
Opening on a e-mail from one monastary to another, the history of Gamma World is laid out. The end came in triplicate: artificial intelligence, nanotech, and biotechnology.
When artificial intelligence ('soultech') took off, it exploded. Artificial intelligence programs were created and evolved at an alarming rate, and with the computing process of 2100 being so very efficient, it was easy to create numerous dozens of programs -- just before the end of the world, there was about one billion artificial intelligences for every human world. Humans created these programs recklessly, thinking of them as no more than computer code; however, this, to the AIs, was as abhorrent as if we treated our children as no more than sacks of water. With AIs -- which can feel loss, plot revenge, make plans, and adapt to miscommunications millions of times faster than human mind -- manipulating human beings, the end of the world was brought about that much faster.
Biotech also had exploded -- it was as common a knowledge as calculus is today. Increasing, the line between 'object' and 'being' was blurred -- especially if it was a soultech computer housed in a biotech form. Biotech was as common as a chair or a children's toy, as dangerous as dynamite, as necessary as running water or automobiles.
The final arm of the end of the world was nanotech. Not merely a manufacturing tool, nanoswarms were a ubiquitous tool.
Caveat 1: Knowing what made the world the way it is really goes against the Gamma World grain -- the Age of Man is usually a mysterious sort of prehistory. It's a good story -- but it's in the wrong book.
"Someone unknown decided that they'd had enough bickering about it and unleashed anti-syntactical viruses against both factions. In the course of about two minutes, both sides lost the ability to assemble complex sentences and then the ability to assemble single words, thanks to being able to judge which linguistic elements mostly likely followed from the last ones. When you have to search through the entire range of legal sounds in your language and the entire set of words that begin the way the next one does, you can't get anywhere. What the anonymous critic didn't realize was that both the Pures and the Restorers had set up defenses on dead man's switches; and once the commanding intelligences couldn't formulate the right 'stop that for now' orders, biotech and soultech sabotage systems struck out at each faction's list of most feared enemies."
Chapter One: The Gamma World
This is actually a very short chapter -- almost entirely a list recommended media.
Drool point 1: Six-String Samurai is an inspiration. You can't beat that.
Chapter Two: Characters
There are five races in Gamma World. Stock humans are humans from before the world collapsed. Pure strain humans are the vault-dwellers of Gamma World. Mutant humans are just that. And 'synthetics' are androids -- soultech constructs in a hard shell. Except for the synthetic, none of this is new ground.
Characters in Gamma World start off at level three: Level one is 'what I was', level two is 'what I became', and level three is 'what I am' -- a nice use of the d20 level system.
Each basic class (Strong, Fast, Tough, Smart, Dedicated, Charismatic) has had minor changes to their class skill and class feat lists, plus each has new talents. The Strong class gets the Strong As An Ox talent tree, letting them lift exceptional loads (hmm...). The Fast hero get the Coordination talent tree, giving them some useful bonuses but not overextending this tree. The Tough hero gets the Cast Iron Stomach talent tree (need I say more?). Smart heroes can take Tech Savant talents, basically granting the same thing as assorted feats (boo!). The Dedicated hero gains Zeal, improving his dedication to one ideal. And the Charismatic hero can take some Community Leadership talents, to become a leader on a tribal scale.
Occupations have gone through minor changes, and a few have been added (notably: Boss, Priest, and Scavenger).
As with any d20 core rule book, the skills are slightly rearranged, and there are new feats, but there is little notably useful or horrendous here. The only exception is the Snap Shot feat, allowing characters to make attacks of opportunity with ranged weapons.
One of the best things about Gamma World d20 is its coverage of allegiances. You'll want to read this, d20 Modern players, to get an idea of how to better use them in your game.
The new advanced classes are mediocre, with one or two usable bits. The Leader and Prophet are only useful if you have the time and patience to work with Gamma World d20's esoteric community rolls. The Cybercologist is a sort of AI Sigmund Freud. The Nanosmith is a sort of mage, manipulating nanotech for various effects -- the most interesting idea in the book. The Survivor is specialized, but balanced. And the War Chief is plain unbalanced, with perfect BAB and Fort saves and excellent Defense and Reputation bonuses.
Major problem: Many things are listed as being creatable with this book (mutant animals, etc.) are not actually described. The authors have said that "if you were to build it, it would fit into Gamma World." Yeah, and if I were to buy a Ferrari, it would fit just fine in my garage, but that doesn't mean I have one. Substance was dropped 2 for this.
Caveat 1: You have little reason to play anything but a stock human or mutant human, what with the overpowering penalties that other races have. For example, Synthetics must spend money to heal -- you have to be rich to recover back to normal health, and since you constantly have to heal in the world of Gamma World, you're not going to be rich.
Caveat 2: The picture on p. 34 look like it was left out of Unearthed Arcana, not part of Gamma World. C'mon, shoulder-sized dragons?
Equipment
Actually a part of the Characters chapter, this topic was pulled out as it is fairly large.
Wealth now does not include fiscal strength -- indeed, the concept of currency is dead -- but rather, one's ability to barter, to know what will be valued by whom (or at least, to make them think that they value it).
Among the selection of armors, we find power suits to make Fallout proud, exoskeletons, insulated hardsuits (resistant versus energy), and gel suits (which dissipate kinetic impacts, not merely turn them aside), plus rules for piecemeal armors.
Then, there's vehicles. Need a dropship or a AT-ST knockoff? Here you can get them. Oh, wait. The vehicles are armed with weapons that aren't described in the book. And the stat block has some blank spots.
Caveat 1: The descriptions make it clear that the game was based on Gamma World 3.
Chapter Three: FX
FX is d20's term for esoteric abilities. For Gamma World, these include mutations/bioware (grouped under 'CT', for cellular transformation), nanotech, cybernetics, and psionic powers.
CT is the second best among the sections: cleanly written, usable, sensible. I call it second best for two reasons: One, the lack of depth; and two, the idea of 'grafts'. The former means most mutants that aren't horrible humanity-destroying monsters (Gee, in what other White Wolf games have I seen that idea in?) will be very similar, cookie-cutter. There isn't even a way for two mutants to have two mutations of different power levels -- if you hear 'laser eyes', you will know exactly how their mutation will work.
Nanotech is the most welcome addition to the Gamma World canon; I would have paid a few bucks just for this section. Although it has some flaws (Survival skill?), this has the most potential; the best 'modern' influence on the game. Ignore the uninspired example effects: Replace 'nanoblocks' and 'ambient nano level' with 'mana' and 'ambient mana leve', and this is a good impromptu d20 magic system.
Cybernetics are highly annoying nigh-useless. They require 'power rolls' every day to recharge. Also, the depth is as thin as tissue paper -- there's an entire six cybernetic enhancements listed, most of those being stale and dried. Gee, if you're going to have all the rolls to keep your cybernetics, why not have something more creative than 'enhanced hearing'?
Finally, psionics. Psionics does not use the system in d20M; rather, it uses its own system, seemingly based on GURPS and Trinity. If you roll or choose a basic psionic power in character creation, rejoice; you can expect to have the intermediate and advanced versions of the powers, and the latter's game-breaking abilities, within a few adventures (within 1 adventure is not out of the question).
Caveat 1: The bioware section seems to have been copied verbatim from Trinity. If you want to see how Aeon d20 is going to work, read this book.
Caveat 2: The description for 'improved telekinesis' includes this passage: "With this talent, the character gains the ability to psionically project the unbridled torrent of her subconscious mind on an object of her choice, warping and twisting it, and destroying it in the process. More often than not, this power produces extremely disturbing imagery. Doors become strange and twisted forms shaped like human beings; trees uproot themselves and tear themselves apart with their own branches, revealing pulsating flesh and white bones; and vehicles wail with all the terror of a frightened child before falling apart." I'm sorry, but Gamma World, when it takes a darker edge, has never done so by resorting to crappy horror. Two points were lost from Style for this passage alone.
Chapter Four: Home Sector And Beyond
The chapter opens on what only can be called "AD&D Reborn": Long pages of rules for overland movement. Because we all needed to be told that forests contain animals and trees.
The next section is 'blowing up your neighborhood', or turning your player's home into your character's home. Gimmicky, but interesting.
After this section come the Community rules. These are basically ways of defining cities like characters. Usable, but the examples are uninteresting.
Following this is the Community Behavior Map. Basically, it lets you run your game like Sim City, except you do all the math by hand.
Chapter Five: Comrade, Nemesis, Mystery
This chapter is filled with species from Gamma World; most are old standbys (arks, badders, brutorz, centisteeds, hoops, rakox, yexils, etc.), while a few are from archaic versions of Gamma World (the Ber Lep and Death Machine are back from GW 3, for example), and there are a few new species (like cleansing slimes, society's answer to pollution, and mollins, mammals with an insect hive structure). Following this is the 'ravisher' template, which a GM may inflict on a creature or PC at any time, turning them into a subhuman presentient monster (if bad rolls in character creation didn't do that already).
Caveat #1: The species are all created individually -- few have abilities described in either d20M or in Gamma World. The brutorz's precognition now uses its own rules.
Chapter Six: The Gamma World Campaign
After a short section on how to customize your campaign, there come rules.
First, they describe some things which the d20M core rulebook already described: altering massive damage and experience. Second, they describe 'investigation' -- where they replace the famous (or infamous, depending on how lucky you were with the dice) Gamma World Gadgeteering Screwup table with suggestions for GMs to make it all up by themselves. Finally, they describe the Cryptic Alliances in three pages.
Caveat #1: The three stated goals of Gamma World are 'wonder, survival, hope'. Although 'wonder' and 'hope' always have been Gamma World, 'survival' reflects the steps Gamma World 6 has taken away from normal Gamma World and towards Rifts and Red Dawn.
Caveat #2: Unless you have a copy of both Gamma World 3 and Gamma World 4 (as I do, luckily), you will be hopelessly lost, as they use both the formal and informal names of the cryptic alliances without explaining where. Also, they reference cryptic alliances that in Gamma World 6 do not and never did exist.
Appendix: d20M and D20 3.5
Gamma World 4 has been described as being 95% d20. Well, this section makes it completely d20.
Miscellany
There were five authors writing this book; each did their chapters independantly. Considering the many ways the rules were taken, maybe they should have trimmed a few of them.
If there was ever one book that begged to be a single-book, this is it. Even Rifts' core rulebook is more complete than this.
The editing. Oh, dear Lord, the editing. Worse examples have been reported to exist, but have not been spotted by reliable witnesses. There are misplaced words; opening or closing parenthesis and quotes without its mate; many references to "page XX", lots of misplaced words ("be all that you can bee"), numerous mismatched verb tenses, and times when the gender or person of the subject changes mid-sentence. I would seriously suggest that whomever was responsible for the editing of this book take up sanitation engineering as a profession. I had to take a point off of style for this.
The Final Verdict
You're like the book's attitude, at least. It's not Gamma World-y at all, but it'll give you plenty of ideas for your own games. Style: 2.
If you are new to Gamma World, you might find the setting worth your time and money. It is detailed. Even if you abhor the post apocalyptic genre, the discussion of some truly weird technologies will delight you, even if the odd mixture of crunch and fluff will annoy you. You'll need another game, however, to make the setting info complete. If you're excited by the upcoming Cthulhutech, you'll want this book. New player substance: 3.
If you are a returning player from an old edition, stay away: it doesn't live up to the quality of its predecessors or the promises made by its authors. When it comes down to it, this game is not worthy of the name Gamma World. Returning player substance: 1.
