Gene Storm Role Playing Game Created by Paul Kidd A Post-Apocalyptic Role Playing Game. Kitsune ress “Gene-Storm” game system, setting and content, and “Reciprocating Engine” games system ©2014 Paul Kidd.Credits: Game design: Paul Kidd Artwork: Dirtiran, Kalahari and Voracious Fescue Page Layout: Scott Carmichael Maps: Voracious Fescue Powered by the “Reciprocating Engine” © Paul Kidd 2014 Contact us at: paul@purehubris.com Check out my cool novels on Kindle, and at Lulu.com! Dedication: To Bob Bledsaw Snr, whose Wilderlands and wonderful City State so utterly lit up our gaming world. Website: Paulkidd.net This game is a work of absolute and utter fiction. Anyone who begins seeing mutant nudibranches armed with blaster pistols about their home or workplace should probably switch to drinking a better brand of solvent.Contents Welcome to the Weird-Land Terrain. The underground rail network Months of the year... Maps. Scale and legend Map 1. Map 2.. Map 3. Map 4. Appendix 1: New hyperspace creatures... Appendix 2: Objects found in hyperspace. 3Welcome to the Weird-Lands! The “Weird-Lands” are a set of maps centred about the town of Chunky Wells (or whatever town the umpire decides to use as their central location). Over 200 encounter locations are described, with new creatures and critters galore. The maps cover an area 500 kilometres across, and should provide parties of explorers with plenty of strange adventures. “Chunky Wells” (Map 10, Location 1) is the most technologically advanced settlement in the area. The town’s artisans can fashion breech loading firearms, ammunition, can create electrical generators and brew some interesting liquors. It is also the northernmost point of known civilisation. To the east of these maps, the desert turns into a vast ocean of sand dunes, occasionally broken up by huge mesas. Somewhere, far across this waterless wasteland, there are strange new lands to uncover. The west is an empty sea bottom dotted with green tropical islands, with the old seabed now home to “kelp” grasslands, land coral, giant tube worms and other littoral life. To the south, the scrub alternates with wood lands, finally ending at the base of a titanic cliff face that seems to run east and west for two thousand kilometres in each direction - a sheer, massive fault line in the earth’s crust. To the north - there are dry deserts, finally ending in a vast warm sea. Terrain The Weird-Lands represents a rather arid stretch of country. It is loosely based on the wilderness of Western Australia — although intermixed with creatures and plants from all corners of the world. This area is parched and hot. Water supplies are of paramount importance. The world here is unexplored. For the past decades, survivor communities have clambered up out of the ruins, built their homes and learned how to survive in the new ‘Chop-Shop’ reality. Now is the time for explorers to venture forth, to find new creatures, strange treasures, and expand civilisation to new horizons. The underground rail network Once, long ago, an underground railroad linked many areas in this region. Some of these tunnels are still open ~ others are collapsed. There are several railway stations on the campaign maps, and each of these has underground tunnels that lead to other railway stations in the network. A large nest of “Screamers” is located in one of the old stations. This nest is sending forth packs of hunters that are exploring the rail tunnels and using them as a means of raiding the world above. If the nest could be destroyed, then the Wild-Lands will be made a safer place for all. Underground railway station Map. Location 3 2 6 1 8 10 ° 10 3 8 5 4 18 5 19 4 The legend of “Xanadu” From time to time, wanderers have brought back tales of a vast floating island up in the sky. This weird mirage has been seen far to the north of “Chunky Wells”. It is only ever glimpsed for a moment out of a comer of the eye, and then it disappears. The floating city is, indeed, quite real. It can be reached by summoning air trucks or air taxis from a few locations upon the campaign maps. It might also be reached by using a flying mount such as a large mega-moth. Characters with the ‘flight’ facet are incapable of reaching the altitude of the city.Months of the year: (att months are 30 days long.) High Summer (High temps. Dry conditions. Dead vegetation. Hot winds!) Warm autumn (Cooler temps. Still very little water) Dry Autumn (Coo! temps. Still very little water.) Wet Autumn (Occasional rains. Growing season.) CoV anawnas 5 day long “Spring Festival”! Wet Winter (Cold Rains! Green plants. Flash floods in watercourses.) ‘Sunny Winter (Cold but clear. Green plants. Water in watercourses.) Sunny Winter (Very cold. Water in watercourses.) Cold Spring (Growing season. Surface water disappears.) Rainy Spring (Green plants. Surface water disappears. Carpets of wildflowers.) 10 Warm spring (Green plants. No surface water. Warm.) 11 Mild Summer (Hot and sunny. Dry conditions.) 12 High Summer (Hot! Spectacular electrical storms. Aurora Australi Movement The small hexes on the campaign maps are each metres wide. wal Riding*: 13+2 hexes per day ing or with wagons: 1D2+1 hexes per day Junk rumbler*: 3D3 hexes per day Dirigible, giga-moth etc: 2D6+1 hexes per day Wagons or junk rumbler moving through rough terrain: 1 hex per day Walking or riding through dunes, or ruins**: 102 hexes per day. Crossing a ridge line: -1 hex of movement. * Junk rumblers consume 20 litres of fuel per day of operation. A junk cycle consumes § litres of fuel per day of movement. These movement rates presume the traveller is moving carefully, looking out for potential salvage or ambush. These rates of movement increase by +2 hexes per day if the traveller is concentrating upon maximising their speed. Injured characters (wounded to a level over their fitness score) will walk or ride at half speed (rounded up). Vision Characters can usually manage to see into the hexes that adjoin any hex that they enter (this occasionally involves climbing hills and trees to gain a good vantage point). The exception is -) travel through woods and forest: in flat forest terrain (not wooded hills), the characters cannot see outside of their own current hex. Parties that include character that can fly can see 2 hexes in all directions. Water Exploring the wilds here is often a matter of carrying enough water to ensure survival. A character must drink 2 litres a day to survive. They will consume twice this amount in hot summer months. Under normal circumstances, riding animals drink twice as much as a ‘man’ (the exception being riding budgies, who drink the same amount as a ‘man’). Riding animals can refrain from drinking for 3 days, after which they must gorge themselves on water or die. 1 litre of water weighs one kilo. Characters in water courses may elect to dig for water. It takes half a day to find a likely place ina hex and dig. This is an average task vs ‘Wilderness Wise’ skill. If the roll is successful, then the party will be able to draw up enough water to fill its containers. When water is found as an encounter, it is in the form of a water hole or oasis. Explorers should map these locations for later use!Dehydration If a character goes without water for a day, they will drop 1 dice from all of their task dice (2 dice if this occurs during the high summer heat of the Anyone who loses more than 2 dice from dehydration begins to suffer from delusions. Their travel rates are halved. Wild-Lands). If the task dice for fitness or size ever reach 0, If the character is on only % rations of water, then the character has died of dehydration. then they may roll a fitness roll vs 11 to avoid losing 1 dice from all of their task dice. Encounters Scrub: Candy Striper families, Grass Lobster herds, Hoppers, Cracker Beaks etc are relatively common sights throughout the day (as are distant sights or predators). There is a 1 in 6 chance of other encounters, morning, noon and night. Snorker war party. Mega moth! (or, at noon, salvage in amongst snapper plants or similar). Trex (attempted ambush, or party is being stalked). Followed by Skulks (or at night - Skulks close in on camp). Snorker hunting party. Givilised folks!* Salvage. Find water. (at night - A “Munch” starts angling for food). Troublesome herbivores (angry candy stripers, stampeding grass lobsters). Movernent problem or travel mishap, brushfire etc. Ancient relics (black top, signpost, building etc). ** Strange, interesting or dangerous hybrid plant or creature. *On a map that has a village, this could be tea-vaqueros, cowboys, a militia patrol or traders, Otherwise, it might be explorers (junk prospectors, a scientist, refugees etc). The people encountered might be just passing by, might be broken down or in trouble, or might even have been wiped out by Snorkers or Screamers leaving survivors (or a trail that can be followed). ** These might lead towards salvage and ruin locations nearby. Desert: Boinks, Hoop Snakes, Gambero swarms, Glowballs, Peeper Trees etc are spotted fairly commonly during a day's travel. There is a 1 in 8 chance of other encounters, morning, noon and night. 1 Snorker war party. 2. Mega moth! (or, at noon, salvage in amongst snapper plants or similar). 3 Chomp! 4 Runner pack. 5 Shamblers 6 Junk prospectors, battle site, ant swarm. 7 Salvage. 8 Find water, or find Beer Barrel cactus. (at night - “Shambles” close in). 9 Sky bombs! 10 Movement problem or travel mishap (sand fleas! Ai-eee!). 11 Ancient relics* (black top, signpost, building etc), or dust storm. 12 Strange, interesting or dangerous hybrid plant or creature, * These might lead towards salvage and ruin locations nearby. 6Littoral: Sea Stompers, Tube Palms, Bleats, Pipe Rats and Ground Sharks are quite often seen in the distance, and pose little threat. Sometimes, however, they can pose a problem to the passing traveller... There is a1 in 8 chance of an encounter, morning, noon and night. Snorker war party. Ankle biters! Hungry ground Sharks. Preoccupied Sea Stomper (could care less about not stepping on your camp!). Sand mites, soft sand/drum sand, or obstreperous Bleats! Junk Prospectors, battle site, passing surveillance bot. Salvage. Find water (at night ~a Sea Stomper comes through the camp). Ferals! Crab mutants! Movement problem or travel mishap (pipe rats get into the baggage). Ancient relics (black top, signpost, building etc) * Strange, interesting or dangerous hybrid plant or creature. BtSe wud HAwns * These might lead towards salvage and ruin locations nearby. Forest: Bear Mice, Brachiators, Giant Cattery Pillars, Melon Pigs etc are common enough sights. Other, more difficult encounters occur at random intervals. There is a1 in 6 chance of other encounters, morning, noon and night. 1 Feral war party (roach wolves!) 2 Chumpkin. 3 Bangoes. 4 Rip-Weasels. 5 Doom tree. 6 Gantua. 7 Mander zap. 8 Wild melon pig boar (very nast) 9 Walking trees. 10. Civilised folks! (Traders, hunters, militia patrol), 11 Salvage. 12 Movement problem or travel mishap (spider pups make off with dinner!) Ruins are dangerous. Very often the footing can cave in, or walls collapse. But there is a 1 in 6 chance per character per day that something interesting might be found (tunnels, buried vehicles or interesting buildings etc). A character searching through old ruins will usually be able to unearth some minor pieces of salvage (1D6 kilos of structural plastics, and 1D6 white chips). There is a2 in 6 chance of other encounters, morning, noon and night. 1 Rippers. 2 Mega motht (often these creatures sleep away the daylightin a sheltered at) 3 Dozer! 4 Followed by Skulks (or at night - Skulks close in on camp). 5 Nebbishes (possibly with a nest-mama). 6 Black buzz nest. 7 Impressive salvage buried deep. Might be hard to reach! (demolitions or dig). 8 Find water* (or at night - a passing mobile snapper plant swarm). 9 Several “Hangmen” deep in dark, shadowed ruins. 10 Cavein! ‘11 Silverfish swarm get into your equipment! 12 Screamers. *Probably occupied by something nasty.MapsScale and legend Each hex is 10 kilometres wide Each map is 250 kilometres wide (25 hexes) Pe Woods /Q\| Mountains & Rocky outcrops E223) Debris field across dunes Dust Rte Dry cracked earth Mesa / ue Mesa with access 8 Mesa / Cliffs x Ridge Qe} chasm re Crater u x ae an 7H TA) take