After The End 2: The New World (2016, 2019) explores what the world might be like after an apocalypse, including several different kinds.
The Cause Of The End[]
- Bombs Away
- Cosmic Rays
- Dinosaur Killer
- Mega-Virus
- Mother Nature
- Reign of Steel
- Things Fall Apart
- Walkers and Shufflers
- X-Factor
Tech Level[]
Given the nature of a post-apocalyptic game, TL has a range instead of a single level, going from TL0 to the TL of the civilization before it ended
How Long Ago[]
The time lapse between the end and now can affect the narrative and the mechanics of the game
- Two or Three Generations: the oldest have witnessed the apocalypse and the world before, much of it is known by most people and Anthropology rolls are only used for specific information "How did the subway system work?", but not broad ones "What was important about New York?".
- Four to Six Generations: witnesses of the apocalypse and the old world are now dead, but it's still a recent memory. Stories of the old world have been retold many times, the boring details lost but the sensational stayed. Anthropology is now needed for anything besides the most basic and general questions "What was money?". Rolls for structural integrity are at -1 as the ruins are starting to fall apart.
- Seven to Ten Generations: Most people are aware of the general details of how the world ended and that civilization used to be different but the details have faded away and very few are trying to restore it. Anthropology is somewhat rare and rolls are needed to ask any questions about the old world. Rolls for structural integrity are at -2 as the ruins are crumbling.
- Even Longer: The genre switches from post-apocalyptic to future fantasy or sci-fi as it becomes harder to justify post-apocalyptic tropes like hazardous wasteland, decimated populace, rare technology etc... as these problems should've either been solved by this point they've destroyed what remains if the wastelanders weren't able to deal with them. The GM may remove the anthropology skill or heavily penalize rolls for specific information, "what countries produced oil" would be at -4 and "how did it affect the economy" is at -8. Rolls for structural integrity are at -4 or worse as intact ones will be extremely rare
Wasteland Hazards[]
- Chemicals and Munitions
- Climate
- Disease
- Gangs
- Mutants
- Nanotech
- Paramilitaries
- Radiation
- Rogue Bots
- Zombies
See Also[]
- After the End (main page)
- The Disasters series may also be useful.