End of the World ApocWorldHack 123112

Players Guide 

End of the 

World  PoWeReD PoWe ReD bY bY tHe ApOc ApOcAl AlYpSe

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Who are you?   You are a disparate group,  You group, people from all walks of life. Maybe you know the others, maybe they are strangers...but right now you need all the allies you can get.

What is happening?  There is something wrong with the world, but we’re not sure what. Tensions are boiling over, markets are crashing, buildings are on fire. Whether it was caused by rebellion, terrorists, global war, a zombie plague, or aliens, you don’t know. Will you find out?

Where are You?   You’ve taken refuge,  You’ve refuge, huddled together for safety against the chaos outside. Hopefully you can all hold out until... until things get better. But supplies are limited, and you don’t know how long l ong they’ll last...

What do you do?  Based on Ap on Apoc  by Vincent Baker, World of Dungeons hack ocal alyp ypse se Wo Worl rld  d  by Dungeons hack by John Harper, and inspiration from Chronica Feudalis by Feudalis by Jeremy Keller

Your Citizens  Pick three backgrounds from those provided later, and use them to define your past and personality. They list certain Skills – add +1 to a Skill if listed, and subtract -1 if it is instead marked with an ✘, giving you totals between -2 and +3. You can select the same background more than once, but you cannot have a combination that would lower any Skill below -2.

 Skills  Aware Bypass Charm Combat Deceit Expert Fitness Menace Renown Repair Search Sneak Survive Treat Wisdom

Staying alert to your surroundings. Sabotaging or disarming security and devices. Sociability, style, and attractiveness. Martial training and marksmanship. Lies, cheating, and manipulating people. Scientific understanding and analysis. Physical prowess, mobility, and agility. Threats of force, violence, or defamation. Reputation and social influence. Designing, fixing, and modifying devices. Uncovering clues and scavenging materials. Concealing your activities and position. Enduring the elements and foraging for food. Diagnosis of ailments and providing aid. Common sense and general knowledge.

What You Have   Your start with ten points worth of Trade – things you had before all hell broke loose or that you picked up on the run, things which people still value and would exchange for useful items. During setup, you can freely spend Trade for Goods, Tools, and  Arms. Afterwards, getting what you need will be a matter of bartering, hard work, and luck. One Trade will buy one point of Goods. These are spent as one-time bonuses to particular Skills, such as Repair (machine parts, duct tape), Treat (antibiotics, bandages), or Survive (rations, allweather matches). You don’t need to define what the Goods are, just which Skill they benefit. Two Trade will buy one point worth of Tools. Tools make certain Skill actions possible. If you had Repair, you could figure out what was wrong with an engine, but not actually fix it  without the right Tools. Tools can also be spent, but instead of adding a bonus, they improve the result of the Skill. Two Trade can also buy one point worth of Arms, either weapons or armor. Weapons cause Harm, while armor Soaks the damage inflicted. Remember that guns are going to be loud, explosives will be dangerous, and armor will make you a target.

Example Tools Binoculars

Aware

Credentials

Renown

Lockpicks

Bypass

Tool Kit

Gun Scope

Combat

Geiger Counter

Search

Repair +Heavy

Forged Papers

Deceit

Ghillie Suit

Sneak

Climbing Gear

Fitness

First Aid Kit

Treat

Example Armor

Example Handguns

Vest

1 Soak

Derringer

1 Harm

Jacket

2 Soak

Pistol

2 Harm

Bomb Suit

3 Soak +Heavy

SMG

2 Harm +Auto

Example Melee

Heavy Pistol

3 Harm

Knife

1 Harm

Stun Gun

1 Stun

Big Knife

2 Harm

Example Rifles

Crowbar

2 Harm

Hunting Rifle 2 Harm

Sword/Axe

3 Harm

Sawed-Off

3 Harm +Blast

Chainsaw

4 Harm

Shotgun

3 Harm

 Assault Rifle

3 Harm +Auto

Sniper Rifle

3 Harm +Silenced

Example Explosives Grenade

4 Harm +Blast +Stock 

Machinegun

4 Harm +Auto

C-4

4 Harm +Blast Heavy +Stock +Charge Machinegun

5 Harm +Auto +Heavy

+Auto: +Blast:

Can Harm up to three targets, but must reload afterward Does Harm to all within close proximity of the primary target, but must reload afterward +Charge: Each additional charge adds +1 Harm +Heavy: While carried, suffer -1 to all rolls +Silenced: Cannot be heard when fired from concealment Treat as Harm – instead of Wounds, target is -3 to all rolls, +Stun: reduce by 1 each minute +Stock: Half base cost for one item, +1 Trade per extra (e.g. a grenade would cost 4 Trade, +1 per additional grenade)

Doing Things  When you attempt something difficult or dangerous, roll 2D6 and add a Skill appropriate to your action. The result is based on your total. The Overseer will tell you some of the possible risks before you roll, and you must decide if you want to take the chance.

6 or less is a Failure; things don’t go well, and the Overseer will describe a consequence or Fallout. ✘ 7 to 9 is Passable; you do it, but there is some cost, compromise, or other Trouble. ✔ 10 to 11 is a Success; you do it without any undue Trouble. ✔ 12+ is an Opportunity; you not only do it, but you get some extra benefit or advantage. ✘

Before you roll, you can spend available Goods to add up to +3 to your total. After you roll, you can spend your Tools to increase the results by one rank.

!Opposition  Often you will be facing other people, whether bartering, fighting, or evading. The Overseer will describe what you perceive their strengths and motives are, instead of explicit risks...because people sometimes defy expectations.

 Harm and Recovery When you take Harm, reduce it by your armor’s Soak and check the resulting Wound below. Unarmed attacks to 0 Harm, and unarmored targets have 0 Soak. Wounds are cumulative – a second Graze would become a Light Wound, for example. Lesser Wounds heal first, and you can roll +Treat to reduce a Wound’s healing time by one rank.

0   Graze 1   Light 2   Minor 3   Major

 You aren’t really hurt, just a bit winded or off balance: rest a turn to recover Mere scratches: they won’t matter after an hour of rest. Bruises and lacerations: you’ll feel better after a day of rest. Bleeding, possibly some minor fractures: heals after a week of rest. Broken bones, blood dripping everywhere,

4   Severe

and you need to roll+Fitness to not slip into unconsciousness: takes a month of rest to recover.  You are slipping away, and need

5   Dying

someone to roll+Treat just to keep you alive: takes a month of rest to recover.

6+   Dead

There’s no saving you now.

The Others  Sometimes you’ll be at cross-purposes with other players. You should negotiate and come to a compromise. If neither side budges, you can offer up Trade or items, or give them one Favor with you if they give in.

! Helping and Hindering  If you try to assist or interfere with someone’s action, tell everyone what you are doing to get involved, and then you can choose to either give them +1 to their next roll (Helping) or -2 (Hindering), but you can’t do anything else until they are done with that action.  You can, instead, spend one Favor with someone to Help or Hinder and still be able to do other things.

! Hurting Others  If it comes to blows, the aggressor will roll as with any other combat. The defender can try to Hinder their attack, or counter with their own attack.

Advancement   You can find more Trade through your explorations, or perhaps as reward for your deeds. You can give your Trade to others for Favors, one per total Favor you will have with them (e.g. raising 2 Favor to 3 will cost 3 Trade).  You can advance your Skills by trading in five Favors per Skill bonus you will have, to a maximum of +4 (e.g. raising +2 to +3 will cost 15 Favors).

Activist   Aware Bypass Charm or Menace Renown ✘ Survive

Bystander  3 of choice

Authority

Operative 

Charm ✘ Combat or Wisdom Deceit Expert Renown

Charm ✘ Combat Bypass or Menace Deceit Sneak

Artist   Aware Charm Menace ✘ Renown or Wisdom Search

 Celebrity  Aware or Fitness Charm Deceit Renown Sneak ✘

Drifter   Aware Deceit or Repair Renown ✘ Sneak Survive

Fugitive  Bypass or Fitness Combat Menace Renown ✘ Survive

Enforcer  Bypass or Expert Combat Deceit ✘ Menace Search

Responder  Fitness or Search Menace ✘ Repair Survive Treat

 Criminal   Aware ✘ Bypass or Menace Combat Deceit Fitness

Miscreant  Bypass Combat or Sneak Deceit Search Wisdom ✘

Researcher  Combat ✘ Deceit Expert Repair or Treat Wisdom

Technician   Aware or Search Bypass Expert Renown ✘ Repair

 Specialist  Bypass Charm Combat Deceit ✘ Repair or Treat

Veteran   Aware Charm ✘ Combat Fitness Sneak or Survive

Overseers Guide 

End of the 

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Playing with the Apocalypse  The Overseer manages the flow of play in End of the World. You control the non-player characters, describe scenes and environments, introduce events, and otherwise present challenges for the players to confront or circumvent. You aren’t necessarily opposing the players and their actions – instead, you are using their actions and the conflicts that arise to build an interesting story. It can be very tempting when you first start playing End of the World to immediately plot out ideas for what happened and why things are the way they are. You may want to steer the story in a particular direction, or introduce complex plot twists, or emulate your favorite disaster or horror movie. Don’t do that. End of the World is about surviving the downfall

of society, and seeing what comes afterward. If the players or you, the Overseer, want to discover how the world ended, then it will be important to introduce people or motivations that make that important to the story. If the reasons why aren’t driving at least one of the players forward towards action, then don’t worry about it. Otherwise, play to find out what happened. There are very few rules to this game, but here are some suggestions that you, as the Overseer, should follow.

DonT Bother Rolling  The Overseer, will very rarely ever have to pick up the dice. The action of End of the World is all playerdriven, so everything should be decided in terms of player rolls. Are the players trying to accomplish something that is difficult or dangerous? Have them roll. Are the players reacting to something difficult or dangerous? Have them roll. If you need the players to react to something, frame your NPC actions as either as Trouble or Fallout, depending on the situation. Have the players been snooping around somewhere they shouldn’t? Have a thug come up to them to push them around, threatening to hurt them, and ask them what they do about it. Keep them on their toes.  Anything beyond a player’s control will either be decided by the Overseer’s whim, or by a single D6 roll. Odd numbers will be bad, even numbers are good. Exactly what good and bad means will depend on the situation. This kind of roll can also be used when someone take an action for which sheer chance is the only deciding factor.

 Its all gone to shit  Nothing the players do will be able to stop the end of the world, whatever form it takes. It HAS happened, and right now they’re dealing with the results. They need to make the best of it that they can.

Together at the End  The players should all start somewhere that is, at the moment, secure...but not completely defensible. Wherever they are holed up, it will likely be cramped, overcrowded, vulnerable, uncomfortable, or otherwise lack sufficient supplies for the long-term. Eventually they will need to venture forth.

Keep Things Dangerous  The players are normal people; while they are central to the story, they are not action-movie heroes. If they make bad choices, bad things should happen. Feel free to throw obstacles and opponents in their way, and see how they react. This doesn’t mean you should murder or torture them without some good reason...that’s what NPCs are for, after all. NPCs should be dying in terrible, painful, tragic ways, usually as a result of the players’ choices...particularly because of the players’ choices.

Keep Asking Questions  The End has happened, but what exactly was it?  Ask the players leading questions about what they saw or experienced, why they chose to hide where they did, who or what they may have left behind.  You need to take notes of the answers, and use those to build the story.

Keep things Real  Don’t overload the players with lots of extraneous details and flowery speech. Don’t describe things like they were scenes from a movie – describe them as if you experienced them yourself. Lots of noise, pain, and stench, but dulled colors, blurred details, and somewhat uncertain facts. Everyone they speak to is an individual – give them a name if you can, or some spark of personality that makes them feel like people. A bum on the street would be easily forgotten or sacrificed, but Stocking-Cap Hank who drags his pit bull puppy everywhere is someone the players may come to rely on or care about.

Keep things Weird?  Try to maintain some internal logic to the story, and don’t allow yourself or the players to stray too far from reality without first establishing that something weird is happening. Yes, the world is ending, but whether that was caused by global warming, sunspots, social unrest, or alien invasion needs to be established by questions asked of the players. If you are trying to push things in a weird direction (like I usually do), ask things like “What is it that seems odd about the guy in the green coat?” or “How did that sound make your pets react?” or “Why were those people jumping off the bridge?” If you’re getting mundane answers, that’s a sign you shouldn’t move in a weird direction.

Making NPCs  Unlike players, who only need to keep track of their own character and their important details, the Overseer not only has to take notes and sketch out ideas and sometimes rough maps, but must handle all the various other characters the players will interact with. Most NPCs will be extras, and can be described in fairly broad strokes. However, once the players interact with them, you need to start giving them some life of their own. Here are some ideas to add depth or personality to your NPCs, whether other citizens, conspirators, enemy combatants, prisoners, or monsters. • What is their name? Do they even have one? • What are they like? Use two or three senses to describe them. • What motivates them? Are they hungry, savage, scared, controlling, greedy? • Who do they know or work with? • Who have they run afoul with? • Do they have an obvious strength? • Do they have a secret strength? • Do they have a perceived weakness? • What is something the players don’t know about them that they should know? • What is something that even you don’t know about the NPC?

 Scavenging and Bartering  Eventually the players are going to run out of Trade, and they’ll need to find more in order to replenish their supplies. But when society has collapsed, this isn’t such an easy task. Finding fresh Trade usually requires either a roll+Search in urban areas, roll+Survive in rural areas. This involves activities such as scavenging parts and trinkets, collecting recyclable materials, hunting for game, gathering berries or herbs, etc. A Passable result means they find their lowest rolled die worth in Trade, the highest die if a Success, and the sum of the dice if an Opportunity. For example, if you rolled a 2 and 6, a Passable result would net you 2 Trade, a Success would get you 6, and an Opportunity would provide 8. The Overseer should mark how many times the players have gathered supplies from a particular area in a month. After three marks, any Failure will mean that it has been picked clean for the near future. Exchanging Trade for Goods, Tools, and Arms is also not so easy. After character creation, Trade costs are doubled, though players can try to barter to drop the prices down a quarter, maybe more with an Opportunity. Bartering is typically a roll +Charm, +Deceit, +Menace, or +Renown, though alternatives can be suggested by crafty players.

Trouble and Fallout  Trouble is typically the result of a Passable result, but can also be caused by inaction or recklessness. Trouble can also be used to describe the intent of enemies. What do the players do in response? Fallout is the result of a Failure, but can also be caused by terrible choices and rash decisions. What follows are some possible examples.

Trouble  Delay them

Offer a compromise

 

Distract them

Provoke a response

 

Escalate a danger

 

React to their action

Exaggerate perceptions   Return Harm for Harm Impair perceptions

 

Reveal new dangers

Impede movement

 

Take something away

Fallout  Capture them Destroy something Force a choice

   

Inflict Harm Kill an ally

Prevent their action

 

   

Reinforce a danger Screw with them Separate them Surprise them