War. War never changes. Nestled in the mountains surrounding Bozeman, Montana there was a single vault. Vault 66. A Vault with a small population, fitting the state. On the surface it had promised to protect the surrounding population in the case of nuclear annihilation. In reality, as is the case with so many others, its true purpose was to preform experimentation on the population. Vault 66 was placed with a "factory farm", a set up specifically made to allow an incredibly dense population of cattle, chicken, pigs, and other farm animals in an incredibly small space while leaving room to expand the operations. The efficiency of this setup was to be compared to the more traditional vault setups, as such it was given a hydroponics bay too small to support the human population and had its food synthesizer sabotaged to prevent it from operating. The animals would instead be supported by a specially made slurry, a neon-green paste with the consistency of clay, and the Vault Dwellers would have a primarily meat diet. The supplies would last fifty years-after which the Vault would open to the wasteland.
The experiment failed before it had even begun. The livestock had been slated for delivery three days after the bombs fell. While many of the Dwellers ran successfully to the safety of the Vault, they had found their food stockpiles lacking. With few other options, the Overseer ordered a small portion of the population to eat the green slurry directly. While it was found to be unpalatable- with a taste comparable to broccoli covered in grass with a salty aftertaste- it was found to be incredibly nutritious. And so, the Vault Dwellers were saved a second time.
A larger and larger portion of the Vault began to subsist primarily on the paste, now called "Cow Cakes" as a dig at their taste. The initial taste-testers had begun showing signs of improvement in overall health. They had increased muscle mass, faster reflexes, performed better on exams, and even had keener eyesight. As such, it quickly became popular among the Vault Dwellers, who continued in vain to attempt to improve the taste. The supply was near endless, as the animal population was meant to outnumber the Dwellers by a large margin, as such its consumption was encouraged by both the Overseer and Vault Doctor.
As the years passed, it became clear that Cow Cake's problems didn't end with the taste. Side effects began showing after around 10 years. Subjects would get agitated incredibly easily, leading to the occasional destructive brawl or outright murder. In some subjects, it was a minor trait that can be easily dismissed. Other subjects reacted badly, forcing them to be arrested and placed in what should have been animal pens for their own safety. Some wished to quit Cow Cakes over this, which only led to the discovery of the withdraw symptoms. As it turns out, the slurry had a mix of chems, antibiotics, and steroids meant to encourage growth in livestock, quitting cold turkey was the equivalent to a life-long junky trying the same. In addition to lethargy, drastically decreased health and muscle mass, the chances of "going mad" increased drastically. Besides, there still wasn't enough food to go around. The Overseer had long been on a "real food" diet, along with "vital personnel", who were consuming the majority of what they could produce. After all, he knew what was in the slurry the entire time...
After 40 years, approximately 50% of the population had "Gone Mad" to the point they were more beast than man. That is when the real infighting started. Not just madmen starting brawls, but a concrete effort of the population to overthrow the overseer. Murders were committed, alliances were forged, plans were hatched. Five years later, they finally went through with the plot. The slurry's benefits finally worked in their favor, allowing them to defeat the Vault's security forces and corner the Overseer. After extracting all the necessary codes to keep the vault running, the overseer was killed after being "accidentally" placed in a livestock holding container that had already contained a Madman.
It is now 2122, 45 years after the bombs fell. The Dwellers of Vault 66 know that it is only a matter of time before most the population goes mad, but they refuse to go down without a fight. Scouts were sent out in search for any aid. Mercenaries, drifters looking for a home, other Vaults, any friendly human they could find. They gathered and sent out squads of all their strongest and sanest, most just to find help. One squad has a different mission. Somewhere in the Midwest is a laboratory the Cow Pies were invented in. If it somehow survived, then maybe...just maybe...its notes can be used to synthesize a cure that could save the Vault.
You are that group. A ragtag group of adventurers, some born in Vault 66, some born elsewhere, who have all agreed to help the Vault either out of a sense of decency or self interest. Will you be able walk through the wasteland and come back heroes? Or will the land claim your lives?
*******
Fun fact about Fallout! Originally, it was going to be a GURPS game, but they ended up pulling out so that the feature had to be changed. As such, Fallout 1-2's mechanics translate OK to PBP RPGS! I hope! I haven't actually *tried* it yet, but there is no reason it shouldn't work with some small changes and dice rolls. Its something I have wanted to do for a while, and it is just late enough for me to be unable to stop myself from trying!
The game will take place around 39 years before Fallout 1 starts, in the Midwest starting in Montana. That means that some factions probably won't show up, no NCR for example, unless the players feel like they should. I ain't restricted by canon afterall :p. The outlying details are to be left vague enough for you to build your character however you want, if you want to make up a vault or town you are from go ahead.
So to make sure this actually works, and that I don't go insane even from my simplified system, you guys will make up some characters and then have them shoot each other!
SPECIAL
40 points may be spent on SPECIAL statistics. They all must be at least 1, and have a maximum of 10.
Strength: Increases Carry Weight, Melee Damage, Hitpoints. Tied to Melee Weapons and Unarmed.
Perception: Distance from enemies in random encounters, ranged combat modifiers, sequence. Tied to doctor, First Aid, Lockpick, Traps
Endurance: Healing rate, hitpoints, poison resistance, radiation resistance. Tied to Outdoorsman
Charisma: NPC reactions, barter prices, squad limit. Tied to Barter, Speech
Intelligence: Skill points per level. Tied to Doctor, First Aid, Repair, Outdoorsman, Science
Agility: Action Points, Armor Class. Tied to Big Guns, Energy Weapons, Lockpick, Melee weapons, small guns, sneak, steal, throwing, traps, unarmed.
Luck: Critical chance, tied to Gambling
Your initial skills depend on your SPECIAL stats. If you have fallout 2, try putting in your stats to see what they would be. You can choose three skills to Tag, doubling the rate at which skill points increase and giving you a 20% boost immediately. A list of skills is in SPECIAL, alongside what skills are tied to.
You can have up to 2 traits, but do not need to take 2 traits if you don't want to.
Bloody Mess: More violent deaths for your enemies! And maybe you!
Bruiser: +2 str, -2 action points
Chem Reliant: 2X addiction chance, 1/2 recovery time
Chem Resistant: 1/2 addiction chance, chems last 1/2 as long
Fast Metabolism: +2 healing rate, poison and rad resistance start at 0%
Fast Shot: No aiming, firearm attacks cost -1 AP
Finesse: 10% crit chance, -30% damage
Gifted: +1 to all SPECIAL stats. Minimum becomes 2. -10% to all skills, 5 less skill points per level.
Good Natured: +15% peaceful skills, -10% violent skills
Heavy Handed: +4 melee damage, -30% modifier to crit tables
Jinxed: All misses have 50% chance to upgrade to critical miss. Don't take this one if you don't want your party to kill you.
Kamikaze: +5 sequence, no natural AC
One Hander: +20% to hit with one-handed weapons, -40% to two handed weapons.
Skilled: +5 skill points per level, -1 perk rate
Small Frame: +1 Agility, reduced carry weight.
Name:
Strength:
Perception:
Endurance:
Charisma:
Intelligence:
Agility:
Luck:
Tagged skills:
Traits:
Additional info: RP stuff that isn't technically needed for just the test. If you want to start building a character, go ahead
As a fair warning, the grid will probably be a chessboard with names in spaces. I don't do miniatures V_V.
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Topic: Fallout: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game OOC (7/X) (Read 23554 times)