Halls of the Nephilim: Fallout

Showing posts with label Fallout. Show all posts

Monday, June 3, 2024

Music Monday - All In With The Fallout

I loved the Fallout Amazon Prime series. I've heard its cannon in the series and it was both accurate to the source material and entertaining. I've been a Fallout fan since Fallout 3 came out in 2008 and I think it's awesome to see non-gamers get into the franchise. I still need to check out the official RPG.

Whether you're a long time fan or a new wanderer in the wasteland you should check out this great track from JT Music.

Thursday, March 19, 2020

Fallout vs Skyrim

Here’s a fun short video of the Dovakhiin taking on the Vault Dweller.

Wednesday, May 30, 2018

Fallout 5e - The Surivor Class Part I

Bethesda teased this today....

I don't know if it's an anniversary release of a previous game, the next main game, or a different style of Fallout game. Based on the song, I hope it's a new Fallout based in West Virginia and the Appalachian mountains and foothills.

I still think it would fun (and not too complicated) to do a Fallout game using 5e. Here are my initial thoughts on that and a few of the races (Robots, Humans, Ghouls, and Super Mutants). I think the game should only have one class with a wide variety of options in it. Below you'll find part one of that class.

Quick note: To keep the flavor of Fallout I'm using SPECIAL instead of the classic abilities. They break down like this:
Strength = Strength
Perception = Wisdom
Endurance = Constitution
Charisma = Charisma
Intelligence = Intelligence
Agility = Dexterity
Luck = new ability, GM's may have players roll their luck modifier in addition to other abilities on checks

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Survivor

Survivors come in all shapes and sizes, but they all know one thing, to survive in the wasteland you have adapt and have a wide variety of skills and abilities.

Class Features

As a survivor, you gain the following class features.

Hit Points

Hit Dice: 1d8 per survivor level

Hit Points at 1st level: 8 + your Endurance modifier

Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d8 (or 5) + your Endurance modifier per survivor level after 1st

Proficiencies
Armor: Non-Power Armor
Weapons: Simple
Tools: Two of your choice
Saving Throws: Two of your choice
Skills: Choose four from: Acrobatics, Animal Handling, Athletics, Computers, Deception, History, Insight, Intimidation, Investigation, Medicine, Nature, Perception, Performance, Persuasion, Religion, Repair, Science, Sleight of Hand, Stealth, Survival

Equipment
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:

one simple weapons
(a) another simple weapon or (b) extra ammo
wasteland wonderer outfit, backpack, canteen
1d10 bottle caps

Perks
Beginning at 1st level, you can pick a perk. These make grant you new abilities, proficiencies, or provide other bonuses. You can choose any perk you meet the prerequisite for.

Ability Score Improvement
When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal you can't increase two ability scores above 20 using this feature.

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Tuesday, August 15, 2017

#RPGADAY2017 - Day 15

Day 15: Which RPG do you enjoy adapting the most?

I have 177 cinematic unisystem posts, most of which are me adapting various movie characters and such. I think it's a safe bet to say that's the system I enjoy adapting the most. I typically use Angel as more corebook and supplement with Buffy, Ghosts of Albion, and Army of Darkness. Here are a few games I've contemplated adapting cinematic unisystem to play:

TMNT

Seriously using the turtles and other mutants would be really simple to create using the supernatural qualities and such from Angel. My Leonardo build shows that.

Fallout

Fallout would be another game that would be fun and easy to adapt to cinematic unisystem. Folks have already done it for classic unisystem. Hell one of my first posts on Halls of the Nephilim was doing a classic unisystem game using the pdf.

X-Men First Class/New Mutants/Generation X

Buffy and Angel are designed for supernatural drama. X-Men is mutant drama. It's not hard to see how you could run a really fun academy style game using the supernatural rules from cinematic unisystem.

Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Fallout - The Races Part II

I meant to post this yesterday, but I was dealing with a bout of food poisoning so that didn't happen. Today I'll finish up the racial write-ups for my Fallout 5E.

Robot

Robots are pre-War machines designed to fulfill a multitude of tasks. Some are simple, while others are quite complex.

Ability Score Increase. Any 1 stat is increased by 1.

Alignment: Nearly all robots have neutral karma.

Size. Medium

Speed. Base walking speed is 20 ft.

Robotic Physiology. You are immune to poison damage. In addition you are immune to the charmed, exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed, and poisoned conditions. You are also immune to disease. You have difficulty using equipment designed for humans and ghouls. You may not heal with stimpaks and other medical methods.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write the language of your programmer.

Subrace. The following subraces are most appropriate for Robot pcs. Choose one of the subraces.

Protectron
Ability Score Increase. Constitution increases by 1.

Hand Laser. Both of your hands are equipped with hand lasers. You have proficiency with these weapons. They do 1d6 radiant damage and are considered to have a range of 30/90.

Synth
Ability Score Increase. Constitution increases by 1.

Human-like. Your base walking speed is 30. You have no problems using equipment designed for humans. You gain proficiency in a skill of your choice.

Monday, November 30, 2015

Fallout - The Races Part I

Today I'm going to present my preliminary draft of the race write-ups for my 5E Dungeons and Dragons Fallout hack. I'm focusing on humans, ghouls, and super mutants. Tomorrow I'll discuss robots. These are bare bones descriptions. I'll give more detailed descriptions in later drafts.You can find my initial overview of the project here.

Humans

Humans are the default (and most numerous) race in the Fallout world. They are a varied species but share these common traits.

Ability Score Increase. Two difference scores of your choice increase by 1.

Alignment: Humans can have good, neutral, or bad karma. They are a varied race.

Size. Medium

Skills. You gain proficiency in a skill of your choice.

Perk. You gain one perk of your choice.

Speed. Base walking speed is 30 ft.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write your native tongue.

Ghouls

Ghouls (or post-necrotic humans) are humans who have been exposed to massive amounts of radiation, but haven't had the good fortune to die. This essentially turns them into walking. talking, decaying bodies.

Ability Score Increase. Constitution is increased by 2. Wisdom is increased by 1

Alignment: Because of their treatment by humans, ghouls tend to have neutral karma, thought hey can be good or bad.

Size. Medium

Speed. Base walking speed is 30 ft.

Addiction Resistant. You gain advantage on saving throws to resist chemical addiction.

Radioactive. You are immune to radiation damage and the various radiation conditions.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write your native tongue.

Super Mutants

Super Mutants are humans that have been exposed to the FEV (Forced Evolutionary Virus). This changes the color of their skin, grants them inhuman strength and endurance, immunity to radiation and disease, and makes them more than a bit mentally unstable.

Ability Score Increase. Constitution is increased by 2. Strength is increased by 1

Alignment: Super Mutants tend to be bad. However some rise above their nature and are neutral or rarely good.

Size. Medium

Speed. Base walking speed is 30 ft.

Resistant. You are immune to radiation and disease.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write your native tongue.

Subrace. There are two known types of super mutants. Choose one of the subraces.

Standard
Ability Score Increase. Strength is increases by 1.

Regeneration. You receive two dice for each die you choose to spend on healing during a short rest.

Nightkin
Madness. Unless you are currently under the affects of a stealth boy, you have disadantage on wisdom saving throws.

Stealth. You add double your proficiency bonus on all stealth checks.

Monday, November 23, 2015

Fallout Tabletop

I'm a really big Fallout fan. A few of my earliest posts were Fallout related. You can read them here and here. My initial idea, which never really came to fruition, was to use classic unisystem to play the game. However, 5 years later I think the newest edition of Dungeons and Dragons would be the perfect system to hack and make a Fallout tabletop.

For character creation players will pick race and background. Like some other post apocalyptic table top games there won't be classes. I think the proficiency bonus system of 5E works well for a classless game. I will need to modify skill selection, but that shouldn't be hard. As players level up they will pick perks (which will work similar to feats) based on perks from the Fallout games. I'm going to take a look at the DMG for firearms and future tech rules. Weapons will probably be lumped into broad groups like the games. Monsters are easy to stat up in 5E and some I can swipe directly from the Monster Manual.

I'm not sure how I'm going to handle radiation. It will be an energy type obviously. I'm thinking it will be like level drain in 5E. Once you're hit with it, your max hit points are lowered until it's healed. The one to one ratio sounds really harsh though. I'm thinking every 5 points of radiation damage, or maybe every 10.

Here's a preliminary look at what I'm thinking.

Races
Human
Ghoul
Super Mutant (standard and nightkin)
Robot (Protectron, Android)

Backgrounds
Courier
Faction Soldier
Mercenary
Raider
Scientist
Trader
Tribal
Vault Dweller
Wastelander

Dropped Skills
Arcana
Religion

Added Skills
Repair
Science

Weapon Groups
Big Guns
Energy Weapons
Explosives
Melee
Small Guns

Perks
Sort of like feats. Not sure what level interval characters should get them. In the original games you received one every three levels. Fallout 3 gives you one every level. New Vegas gives you one every other level.

So this is a rough outline of what I need to stat up and my thoughts. Any suggestions by other fans of the game or system would be appreciated.

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Classic Fallout Games Free for 48 Hours

This is not table top related but for 48 hours Fallout, Fallout 2, and Fallout Tactics are available for free at www.gog.com. You can go here to read about it. The Fallout games are classic. If you're a postapocalyptic fan you should pick them up. I'm sure you could get some great Mutant Future inspiration playing them. The great thing is you can make a GoG account, "purchase" the games, and then download and install them at a later time.

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Fallout: Factions of the 'Mouth

Before the Great War the city of Portsmouth was a small urban port and manufacturing center on the Ohio River. It was protected from the river by its infamous floodwall (which politicians were always trying to beautify with murals and things). During the Great War a group of Chinese commandos and Communist sympathizers attacked the USEC Uranium Enrichment Plant in a nearby county. This caused a meltdown and bathed the surrounding counties in radiation.

Many died in the war or were unable to survive its aftermath. Humanity (and the mutants that came from it) found ways to survive. While the port of the ‘Mouth may not be that busy anymore, there are still survivors in the city and its surrounding areas. Notable settlements outside of the city include Rotway, The Burg, Little Beijing, and Blood Gravel.

These are some of the major factions and groups of the Glowhio River Valley and The ‘Mouth. Not everyone belongs to one of these organizations, but many do.

Glowing Bears - The Glowing Bears are a collection of ghouls that live in the remnants of the city’s university. Because the school is next to the floodwall (which is why it was referred to as Floodwall Tech before the Great War), radioactivity is higher here than in other parts of town. The group has a large number of scientists and inventors, though most of what they create is impractical, useless, and/or dangerous. The group is lead by the Dean and allied with the United States of Hancock.

The People - The People like to think that they are the last bastion of civilized humans in the world. In reality, they’re a collection of uber-conservative bigots descended from the old money of the city. Well the leaders of the People are at least, the group has all sorts of cronies who do their dirty work in order to get back to the “good old days.” The group teaches that moral values and having the biggest guns are the proper path to salvation. While not necessarily openly violent to other factions, members of the group often have superiority complexes and can be hostile to other natives of the ‘Mouth, especially ghouls like those in the Glowing Bears. A majority of the leaders of the group live in the nearby gated community of Burg. However, the leader of the group Mr. Hayes (aka the Voice of the People) and his most trusted followers and cronies live in the Marting’s Tower in the heart of the ‘Mouth. It should be noted that the People also have several docks along the river.

The United States of Hancock - This group is a collection of freedom lovers. Founded by a descendant of the original John Hancock, the USH fights to better society. To do this they often gather junk and components for the scientists of the Glowing Bears. In addition, the leader of the group has a “fight hard/play hard” attitude and the group is just as likely to search an old vinyard for wine as they are to mount a raid against a hostile raider camp. A very open minded group, the USH counts non humans among its numbers, including two domesticated deathclaws, Lu and Cammy, and a robot, Skeets. While not officially a citizen of the “nation,” the DJ known as Livewire is a great supporter of the group.

The Crabtrees - Even before the fall, the area surrounding the ‘Mouth was a pretty rural place. The were many backwoods families, but none were as prolific as the Crabtrees. Strangely enough, the family has thrived since the fallout of the Great War and has expanded its territory. Much of the land to the northwest of the ‘Mouth is “owned” by the Crabtrees. An odd mix, the family contains humans, FEV, and even a super mutant or twelve. Some think that the government used part the family to test mutagens and that this made the group resistant to the radiation. The family is dangerous and has many subclans. Some of these families like to trade with outsiders, while others like to steal husbands and wives to add to the breeding stock. Most denizens of the ‘Mouth try to stay clear of the group (though there is a descent minority of the urban groups that have Crabtree blood in their veins). While many of the subclans rules themselves, all defer to Pa Crabtree, the clans patriarch. As a note, the group is perhaps infamously known for its Radshine. This homemade drink is made from distilled corn, local flora, and water straight from the Glowhio (which helps ferment the drink and gives it the delightful glow, even when it’s in your stomach). The USH loves the stuff (as do some of the People, at least secretly).

The Red Dragons - The Red Dragons are the descendants of the original Chinese commandoes and the American sympathizers that attacked USEC. The survivors fled south and eventually “conquered” the small town of Lucasville. The group intermarried with their captives from the town and renamed it Little Beijing. The group then sought to establish themselves a new niche in the post apocalyptic world. They have become traders and their heavily armed caravans travel far and wide. They have even made a deal with the swamp dwelling Crabtrees that live in the “Bottoms” of Little Beijing. While there are some that still blame the group for the state of the world (especially the Voice of the People) others realize that they are just people trying to survive like everyone else. The town has no official leader and despite the fact they’re traders, still have a very communist society, where things are shared among the people.

Blood Gravel Slavers - While there are many raiders and raiding group in the area, the Blood Gravel are the most organized and least hostile. Rivals to the Red Dragons, the members like to think of themselves as business men. However, they are slavers and raiders, in general. They maintain the settle of Blood Gravel, which is located in an out of the way quarry. Here they sell their “merchandise” and hold gladiatorial games, including mutant cockfighting.

The Working Girls - The working girls are a small but notorious group in the ‘Mouth. They are local prostitutes that also serve as assassins and mercenaries. Led by the beautiful, Goldy L., the group maintains neutrality and works the streets of the ‘Mouth.

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Fallout: Glowhio River Valley

To say that I’m super excited about Fallout: New Vegas would be a gross understatement. Anticipation for the game has brought me back to a game I’ve wanted to do for a long time. I’m also going to give Ronin78 credit because his All Flesh meets L4D post really got me thinking.

I want to use the Classic Unisystem rules to run a Fallout game set in the area that I (and most of my gaming group) grew up in., Scioto County Ohio. Scioto County is a very rural area located on the Ohio River, across from Kentucky. The area is very hilly (unlike the rest of Ohio) and forested.

Like a lot of people, I have a love/hate relationship with my hometown. Culturally, it often seems like the area has more in common with the rural South than it does with the urban North. I cold go on and on, but I won’t.

Here’s the idea. I’m calling the game Fallout: Glowhio River Valley. It’s corny I know, but I dig it. In the Fallout 3 expansion, the Pitt, it is mentioned that they Ohio River is irradiated. In addition, there is a Uranium Enrichment plant (ironically built on a minor fault line), one county away. These things have caused the river to be luminescent, hence the name I chose for the game.

I’m still working out the particulars but I’ve got a few communities in mind. The primary settlement will The Mouth (the remains of the county seat, Portsmouth). I’ve got all kinds of ideas, though a lot of them won’t be funny to anyone not familiar with the area.

As far as antagonists go, I think the area would be full of mutant rednecks, angry ghouls, giant catfish, and mutant opossums and deer. Less crab-like, more crayfish-like Mirelurks would be appropriate. In addition, I know that cockfighting goes on in the area, and I think the idea of killer mutant chickens is a fitting one.

All Flesh Must Be Eaten and Terra Primate will be my primary gaming resources. In addition, I found an amazing Fallout Netbook on Unifans. I’ve uploaded it to my google docs and you can find it here.

As I stat things out and flesh out the setting more, I’ll post things here on the blog.