CREDITS

Credits Special Thanks

Authors: Travis Legge Alex, Angie, Chaz, and Jack.
Artists: Onyx Path Publishing Art Packs except the front Everyone who tuned in for Dystopia Rising: Evolution
cover used under license from Shutterstock.com. ­— Wasteland Wanderers! You’re the reason this book is here!

© 2022 Onyx Path Publishing. All rights reserved. References to other

copyrighted material in no way constitute a challenge to the respective copy-
right holders of that material. The “Dystopia Rising” property and all related
concepts are copyright 2021 by Eschaton Media and Michael Pucci.
This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or
persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Keep up to date with Onyx Path Publishing at theonyxpath.com and with
Dystopia Rising at dystopiarising.com.
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Introductory Notes
This story follows the Tangled Overgrowth story hook pre-
sented in Heroes of the Wastes as a means of placing the charac-
ters into the Overgrowth. If you don’t have Heroes of the Wastes
or are looking for another hook, consider one of the options below
under Involving the Characters
Setting
The story opens in the Overgrowth (see Dystopia Rising:
Evolution p. 237). The first scene takes place there as the party
are moving through the foliage in a vehicle. If the party has no
vehicle, they travel in a modified Caravan Wagon (see Dystopia
Rising: Evolution p. 143) with a thresher on the front to clear
a path. Then everything goes sideways when the thresher is
gummed up.
Involving the
Characters
The premise of Wasteland Wanderers relies on the characters
venturing into the Overgrowth. This means the party should have
some capacity with Survival and familiarity with travel through
the Overgrowth and the dangerous creatures that inhabit the
region. Combat and survival skills are also vital to the party’s
success.
Introductory Notes
BUT WE CAN'
T DRIVE
In the event that no party members are capa-
ble of operating the Caravan Wagon, feel free
to utilize, Hubcap a Diesel Jock SGC using the
Bandit stat block (see Dystopia Rising: Evolu-
tion p. 213) with a Crafting Check Pool of 7 as
the driver and mechanic.
• Speedy Delivery. The party must deliver an item to a set-
tlement near the edge of the Overgrowth. The delivery is
time sensitive, and despite the dangers, cutting through a
section of the Overgrowth shaves several days off of the
journey.
• Test Drive. In this scenario, the thresher on the Caravan
Wagon is not tested. The party takes the vehicle into the
Overgrowth to test the technology in the hopes of using
this innovation to allow for faster transit through the deadly
region.
• Escape. The party has run afoul of some organization or
group and are attempting to get away. They have access
to a vehicle that should let them make it through the
Overgrowth — at least for a while.
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WASTELAND WANDERERS
Background
Consider what might have led the characters to the
Overgrowth. What brought them together with Hubcap if she is
involved as an SGC? If working with existing characters at the
start of the adventure, find ways to weave the plot hooks in this
adventure, or in Heroes of the Wastes into their backstories. If
the troupe is generating new characters for this adventure, whether
as a one-shot or the start of a new chronicle, consider building in
hooks that fit with the overall direction of this story during char-
acter creation.
Scenes
The scenes of this story are designed to flow more or less in
the order they are presented. The Storyguide may swap elements
in and out or change the timing of some events between scenes.
Scene 1: It's Broken
The group’s advance through the Overgrowth comes to a
sudden halt when they hear the grinding noise of their thresher
ceasing to function. Getting out, they can see the blades are bent,
the gears jammed, and in a few spots broken. The vehicle has the
Broken condition (see Dystopia Rising: Evolution p. 139) and
will require a repair to resolve the condition. This requires the
party to salvage 3 Scrap and make a Tier 1 Crafting check with
a Complication of 2 due to having an inadequate workspace and
trying to work silently enough to avoid attracting zed.
Investigating this scene offers the following clues:
• Sabotage (Lead). The thick foliage in the vicinity has
been spiked with railroad spikes. These can be collected
for a single point of scrap, however doing so requires a
Technology or Survival roll with a Complication of 1 to
avoid attracting a Scale 2 horde of shamblers (see Dystopia
Rising: Evolution p. 139).
• Tracks. Additional investigation shows that something
large was moved off the trail recently — perhaps the car-
avan. Though the Overgrowth has filled in the gaps, the
growth is fresh enough to notice.
• Shell Casings. Evidence of a gunfight taking place here is
strewn about the region. An additional success on this clue
reveals that there were at least ten shooters involved.
Scene 2: Following the Trail
A successful Survival check allows the group to follow the
trail of the caravan. This is made with a Complication of 2, which
if not resolved summons a horde of shamblers (see Dystopia
Rising: Evolution p. 139) with a Scale equal to the unresolved
Complication +1, who attack immediately.
Scene 3: The People Under the
Brush
Once the characters come to the end of the trail, just as sunset
approaches, they find a Thrill Killer settlement, surrounded by a
makeshift wall made of vehicle parts and scrap metal. Strangely,
there are no guards posted, though the gates are chained. The walls
can be scaled with an Athletics Check made with a Complication
of 1, due to the rusty, sharp metal which deals a wound if unre-
solved. The four survivors of the Caravan — Chip, Mack, Sully,
and Zeke — are tied to crosses in the small clearing of a town
square. Each are effectively Taken Out due to wounds. No one is
out in the village, as the Thrill Killers are getting ready for their
feast in their homes. The party may make Athletics, Survival, or
Technology checks to free the captives, with each captive’s bonds
being a Difficulty 2, Complication 2 binding. If the Complication
on any binding is unresolved, the Thrill Killers hear and they come
out en masse, with the population represented by a Scale 3 horde
of Thrill Killer Lunatics (see Dystopia Rising: Evolution p. 220),
led by Bubba, a Thrill Kill Lord Psychopath (see Dystopia Rising:
Evolution p. 221) armed with a lawnmower which hangs from a
shoulder strap, can be held out in front of him, and is represented
by the Enhancement in the Thrill Kill Lord Psychopath stat block.
If any firearms or other loud noises are made during this
scene other than Bubba’s lawnmower, it attracts a Scale 3 horde
of walkers (see Dystopia Rising: Evolution p. 139), who join the
fray. Otherwise the party must fight until they can escape or the
Thrill Killers are all dead. The Thrill Killers have sufficient scrap
to repair the Wagon and then some.
Scene 4: Not Getting Away
so Easy
If the group has not encountered any zed hordes up to this
point, they are in for some trouble. They can hear the zed moving
through the distance and may make Athletics or Survival checks
with a total Complication of 5 for the entire group. If they resolve
the Complication, they get back to the wagon without attracting
the zed. If they fail, they attract a horde of walkers (see Dystopia
Rising: Evolution p. 139) with a Scale equal to the unresolved
Complication +1, who attack immediately.
Scene 5: Diesel Jock
Surprise
As the party returns to the wrecked vehicle, they find bloody
smears and scattered items that indicate Hubcap has become zom-
bie fodder. If they’ve not yet encountered the zed, a Scale 3 horde
of walkers (see Dystopia Rising: Evolution p. 139) arrive as soon
as repairs are finished on the vehicle, doing everything they can to
eat the characters.
If the adventurers already dispatched at least one zed horde,
they find Hubcap alive, but tired and frightened, at which point
they can attempt to repair the vehicle as described in Scene 1.