Customer Reviews

d20 Apocalypse: A d20 Modern Supplement

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4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This supplement to d20 Modern provides a number of campaign options and rules additions to a post-apocalyptic campaign. The book gives several options for the cause of the apocalypse (nuclear, invasion, plague, final jodgement, etc.).

The book also includes four stages of the post-apocalypse: Aftermath, Generation 0, Dark Ages, New World. Each has a different feel to it, and GMs can use the the descriptions to refine their campaign. Types of post-apocalypse societies are described, and several examples are included.

Rules for scavenging in the ruins are a very useful section. Buildings are rated by size, damage level, and how long they've been abandoned. What can be found varies by building type - you're more likely to find food in a supermarket, and mechanical parts in a garage. Finally, the chance of a building collapsing on the searchers is also included.

The book contains a section on fantasic mutations, a la Gamma World. I have not read through the mutations in enough detail to know if the mutations in this book mesh well with those in the d20 Gamma World books from Sword & Sorcery. But I'm sure a talented GM can incorporate them together.

Finally, there are a number of monsters, three predesigned campaigns, prestige classes and equipment. The material is solid, though not exceptionally original. The equipment lists include a number of different items, enough that a good GM can figure out the Trade Unit cost of other items fairly easily.

There are a few holes. Despite the centaur on the front cover, and the nice illustration of bugbear scavengers on pg. 12, there is not much reference to the role of non-humans (from Urban Arcana and the like) in a post-apocalypse world. A few GMs I've known blend the post-apocalypse into technofantasy, and this is unfortunately missing.

Overall, I think this book is a useful addition to a GM's library.

I must say that I was impressed with this supplement. It gives campaign ideas for playing in a campaign world after some sort of catastrophe(nuclear war, invasion,etc). It gives rules for bartering and scavenging, new classes, new skills, how old skills and classes relate to "new world." Could it have been better? Sure. It is only 96 pages long. It will be very helpful for the campaign I have in mind.

D20 modern takes on the post apocalyptic thing, again. The cool side of this is that, like all official d20 products I have seen so far, you are given options... Choose the nature of the apocalypse and have fun. Three possible apocalypses are detailed - judgement day/left behind stuff, "rise of the machines", and the typical post atomic holocaust stuff. On the down side, the actual rules are a bit skimpy, though it is refreshing to see someone try to approach the genre from a wide open perspective.

I really enjoyed this supplement. Like much of the d20 Modern rules and setting supplement, Apocalypse uses a fair amount of humor - both for presentation and within the actual content. The book offers two sets of things: new rules and options for playing a d20 Modern game in a post-apocalyptic setting; and several sample settings and apocalyptic events. The rules are adaptable to any setting you would want to create, and I think expand very nicely on some of my favorite aspects of the d20 Modern game. The philosophy of the whole ruleset is to provide a simple mechanic that effectively and elegantly emulates a real-world event, structure or process, without having to reenact every aspect of it. The basic rules do this best with the wealth system. The Apocalypse rules offer systems for barter and trade (assigning items a point value) that accounts for the end of the world (basic value is based upon food and fuel). Supplements to this system allow you to trade is collections of parts, which very effectively streamlines the repair and craft skills while successfully emulating a real world system. This system allows you to operate your game and gameworld without the rules getting in the way. A simple system can be expanded infinitely. On the whole, you don't need to waste time on seeking out the carburetor for a '67 Chevy, but you can make that quest if it becomes necessary, etc.
I won't take much time on the settings, because they are brief to begin with. However, I will just note that I really like them. I have not used them in my games but each provides a number of settings, classes, organizations, NPCs and monsters that can help you expand your game and inspire your own setting. None of them reflected the exact setting I have wanted to use in running a game, so I have harvested them for their good points and added my own flavor. But each is an excellent starting point for a new campaign, for sure.
Overall, I have really enjoyed this supplement. It represents all the things I really enjoyed about d20 Modern: the elegance of the social rules, the interchangeability of parts (my campaign drew from this book, d20 Future and Urban Arcana) and the talent of the creators and writers. It's a real shame that this system has not been better supported by Wizards of the Coast.

Just what I needed to get the creative juices flowing! A definite buy if your looking to run anything like it.

This supplement does a good job of providing all the info you would need to start creating a post apocalyptic setting, however it does not provide every single chart and table, so you definitely have to have the d20 future core rule book and probably the d20 modern core rule book as well. To be more specific, this supplement does a good job of telling you all of things you are going to need to think of before you begin your campaign (like figuring out what caused the apocalypse) and it gives a lot of advice and suggestion to help you answer those questions (like giving a list of around 10 different possible causes for an apocalypse), but it does not have everything you would need. For instance, it talks a lot obout nuclear weapons and radiation, but the actual rules for radiation are in the d20 future core rule book. Nevertheless it is worth buying if you want to run a post apocalyptic campaign. It dcoes have quite a few prestige classes and it provides a lot of information and charts on scrounging for supplies and how hard that should be.

As stated before, this book is a bit skimpy on the details. What has disappointed me was the fact that many of the rules and tables needed to use the book are NOT included. Example: radiation rules..."please see D20 Future". Some new mutation examples were given but 75% of the rest are not included. Only buy this book if you already have or are planning on purchasing d20 Future.

I love the genre this supports, it has a great set of information, kinda redundant in some things, kinda vague, or at some points complicated, but overall, a very nice supplement to any and all collections.

This product is about on par for Wizards. They are tending to put out titles with less pages, and this definitely fits the bill. But, it has some content and mechanics stuff for apocolyptic settings that is worth it. Also check out Darwin's World if you would like to see more apocolyptic stuff.

I'd have to say that this is a pretty weak supplement, much like the D20 past. Instead of something well developed like D20 Future, this one just kind of sits on the shelf for any GM worth his or her salt, because such a GM will be able to find the same kinds of materials elsewhere or he or she can work on their own. This book could have had a lot of promise, much like D20 Past could have had a lot of promise, but in order to ship the book(s) on time, a lot of good ideas (I hope and pray) were left behind on the drawing board. When I Had heard about these two (Past and Apocalypse) books coming out, I was hoping for something with meat like D20 Future...sadly, I was mistaken on both books.

I will use the "End Times" Apocalypse storyline in this supplement as an example. First and foremost, besides the fact that it holds absolutely no understanding of the Bible's p.o.v. of the Last Day, the storyline is the exact (95% imo) reprint of The End rpg in my opinion. From the concept of what the characters are to be like, to the concept of what angels are suppose to be like, I really see very little difference besides the fact that you might not have ever heard of the rgp The End and thus haven't a clue about what it speaks of in its rule book. The way the characters are fixed, needing to figure out if they are going to be "good guys" or "bad guys" (yawn) who will fight for or against the angels who are good or evil (either way, having the stereotypical bad personality), I'd have to say I'm not seeing anything new folks. Even if I didn't have a clue myself as to what The End was like, the concepts are nothing new and the GM information could have been thought up by a 6th grader.