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Nobody knows who fired the first shot. Hell, nobody even knows the day it was fired anymore. All we know is, by the time the fighting died down, there wasn't much left of this little world of ours. Our cities were reduced to ruins, our forests and farms choked under a cloud of dust, and as for our species? Best guess is, out of every ten of us alive before the war, one made it through the fires. If they were lucky, they managed to escape the starvation, the fallout, the poison water, the disease, and the chaos after. Near as we can figure, though, there wasn't a lot of luck left to go around.
We survived, though. As good as we were at killing each other, we weren't quite good enough to make it stick. In some shape or another, we managed to pull through, and we've been doing our best to pick up the pieces ever since. We scavenge what we can find, repair what we can fix, and eke out the best living we can from what our forefathers left us. Old towns, ruined shopping centers, towers which haven't quite fallen down yet - we've taken anything large enough to house more than a couple of families, and called it a town. We farm and we scavenge, we build walls to keep out the Wastes, and all the things we know are living out there now, and we live on.
Some people, though, aren't satisfied with that. Whether it's the call of adventure that drives them, or just the call of profit, they don't cling together with the rest of us. They travel from town to town, or even delve into the ruins around us, looking for the next opportunity. Heard that it's a good way to make a living, if you know what you're doing. Personally, I wish them all the luck they can handle. Whatever they find, I hope it's worth dying for.
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Wasted Opportunities is about travelers in a post-apocalyptic world - traders, explorers, scavengers, and adventurers, looking to find their fortunes in the ruins of the old world, and the beginnings of a new one. It's not a game about larger-than-life heroics - that's a quick way to a shallow grave. It's mainly about interaction with the world around you, with all the dangers and opportunities that it poses.
The world itself is not our world, although it's similar in many ways. Most of the same flora and fauna are present, humans are still the same as we know them, and we may not recognize the flags or banners of the old world, but we would've been able to understand their motivations pretty well. One key difference, though, is that this world managed to get further than ours before the fire began. Although technology we'd recognize as "modern" was still widespread, the cutting edge was beyond anything we have now. Artificial intelligence, service robots, projected energy weaponry, and possibly even stranger things could be found in the pre-war world, and some of those might even still be around if you sift through the ashes long enough.
The world afterwards, on the other hand? That's a far different story. It's been a long time since the end, and time has not been kind to the relics of humanity. Harsh environmental conditions, with minimal human maintenance, has led to even former metropolises being rendered into nothing but the occasional tombstone. Meanwhile, the rest of life has evolved and changed, with a hand from the very radiation that originally ended it. Though most of the plant life died in the ash storm that followed the flames, a lot of them have started to grow back. Pines, vines, and other hardy specimens are doing especially well, and some of the less-hardy species have been mutated into a form where they can survive. Some even are capable of growing without sunlight, feasting on the high-energy radiation present around them instead. Others, it's rumored, may feed on even less savory things. Animals, too, have evolved over the years, growing tougher, meaner, and more able to survive. In some cases, they may not even be recognizable as the animals they once were - twisted in form, with hard, bony carapaces and dagger-like claws and teeth. In high-radiation areas, some have even transferred genes to each other through unknown means, leading to creatures like Rollers, Tusks, Runners, and Shaggies living alongside what we'd consider normal. There are monsters too, now - things that people tell stories of in the night, hoping never to find out if the stories are true. As for the human race?
Well, that's where we come to your part.
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Like SSS before me, I've chosen to use the Diaspora system to create a world for you all to interact in. Right now, we're starting with a blank state - just an empty patch of nothing in the middle of a ruined world. It's your job to fill that emptiness in, by helping me create regions to populate the world with. Regions are intentionally left as size-nebulous, but are intended to be rather large - a city-state, a group of towns and their surrounding countryside, a wide geographic feature like a desert or a mountain rage, and so on. Each will be created by one of my potential players, and will serve as your audition for a chance to create a character.
The rules are simple: Once you post your interest in this thread, along with a color of your choice (humor me), I'll give you a set of three numbers ranging from +4 to -4. You, in turn, will then get to assign these numbers to three characteristics - Environment, Supplies, and Technology - in whatever order you choose. Environment describes how easy it is for people to survive in this area based on non-human factors - animals, radiation, environmental conditions, or other things that I leave in your capable hands. Supplies describes the ability for people in this region to support their lives, the amount of goods left over from before the end, and how conducive this region is to the production of new goods. Finally, Technology describes how much Old World technology was left in the region - was it completely wiped away, does some infrastructure remain, or was it even a former secret outpost with cutting edge pre-war technology? Finally, you will create two Aspects that describe the region. They can either be an elaboration on what of your numbers means, or something entirely different - it's up to you. They should be flavorful, and more than just one or two words - think of a short phrase which describes what you've made. As for what those numbers mean? Well, see below:
====================ENVIRONMENT====================
4: Pristine. Through some miracle, this region has escaped the war untouched. All radiation has dissipated, the environment is comfortable, and nothing dangerous has made its home here.
3: Intact. Though clearly affected by war, this region has retained much of the security a pre-war world offered. Radiation is minimal, and while there are occasional pests, there's nothing dangerous.
2: Safe. Most people who live here live their entire lives without any real danger. There are no active radiation sources in the region, and the environment poses minimal dangers.
1: Benign. The best most people can hope for. Radiation is mild, and while there are occasional hazards, they're nothing the average person can't deal with.
0: Survivable. Like most of the world, it's not perfect, but it's not that bad. There may be pockets of radiation, occasional predators, or other environmental hazards, but they're scattered, and it's usually possible to remain safe in this region without too much difficulty... from the environment, at least.
-1: Hazardous. You can live here, but you might not want to. Whether it's due to a constant low-level radiation, a thriving predator population, the occasional pre-war robot, or just miserable living conditions, life will always be a struggle.
-2: Danger. While it's possible for humans to live in this region, survival is difficult. Any settlements are likely to be temporary, small, or heavily-armed.
-3: Extreme Danger. Humans can survive here short-term, but forming permanent settlement is nigh-impossible. Radiation and monsters may be omnipresent, or there may be something even worse in this region's borders.
-4: Uninhabitable by Humans. Even setting foot in this region is suicidal without protection. You won't make it out, and you probably won't even make it that far in.
====================RESOURCES====================
4: Rich. This region is packed with resources - food, water, tools, scrap, ammunition, even artwork and luxury goods. Even wide-scale scavenging won't put a dent in what's available here. It is either under constant siege, or has the means to protect itself.
3: Abundant. This region has far more resources than it needs of basically every type, and may be capable of producing more. It never needs to worry about shortages, and can trade the excess for luxuries or technology.
2: Significant. This region has sufficient food, water, and other goods to support itself, as well as making regular trades without depleting stockpiles necessary to avoid shortages or over-scavenging.
1: Sufficient. Without any severe deficiencies, this region is capable of trading for what it does need without much risk. There will be occasional shortages of food, water, or other goods, but they will be far and few between.
0: Adequate. While the supplies in this region are certainly not enough to live comfortably, they are generally sufficient to trade for everything important. There are occasional shortages, but the resources here can support its population without much risk.
-1: Deficient. This region usually has enough to support life, but shortages are frequent, and are a constant fact of life. Trade will usually be necessary, and scavenging will be constant.
-2: Impoverished. Either due to severe shortages, or the complete absence of some vital staple such as food, water, or scrap, this region is entirely dependent on its neighbors for survival. Without trade, it must either invade its neighbors for their own resources, or will quickly die out.
-3: Destitute. Minimal resources are available to scavenge or use in this region, and several staples of life simply cannot be found. Conflict is constant, either internally or externally.
-4: Bereft. This region has no resources whatsoever. Anything which could have been scavenged has been picked clean, and nothing exists to support life, human or otherwise.
====================TECHNOLOGY====================
4: Ascendant. Beyond the heights of pre-war technology. Either this region contained a research center where the most cutting-edge technology was resourced, or is home to something that kept working long after the end.
3: Pre-War. The pre-war infrastructure is completely preserved in its fullness. If it was available before the bombs, it may be available in this region.
2: Futuristic. Although the infrastructure has been damaged, some legacies of our ancestors remain. Robots, energy weapons, and other rare items may be present and available for a price... or exist as threats to the region, or those who enter it.
1: Modern. The infrastructure is mostly still intact, and many less-advanced pieces of technology are common in this region. Complex electronics abound, but firearms are favored over energy weapons.
0: War-Torn. Like most regions, the infrastructure has been heavily damaged by the war, and has not been repaired. Some simple electronics have survived, but you're unlikely to find running water or electricity.
-1: Industrial. The war was harder than most on this region. No infrastructure to speak of remains, nor do any electronics. Mechanical devices may be present, but will likely be in poor repair.
-2: Pre-Industrial. Due to the devastation in this region, almost nothing pre-war remains. There may be some simple machines and tools, but most of what's available will be scavenged or repurposed.
-3: Primitive. Near-total annihilation of all technology. Tools are cobbled together from whatever's available, but the art of repairing metal has been lost. Societies will likely be tribal, and will use muscle-powered weapons.
-4: Stone Age. No technology exists whatsoever. If humans are present, they will be savage creatures, recognizable in form but not mind.
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Once you've created the regions, I'll create my own, and randomly determine how they are connected - which ones are adjacent, which ones are further away, which are central and which are on the edges. Once I've determined this, you each create one final aspect, which should reflect its place in the world. After that, I'll open up character creation, and we can get ready to get this game on the move.
Today is Monday the 23rd. I'm going to create a soft deadline of Friday the 27th to announce your interest in the game - I'm not going to hold you to it, but I'd prefer it if you let me know you're in before Saturday's Sluggy is posted. There will, however, be a hard deadline of Friday the 4th for regions - if you don't get it in by Sluggy on the 5th, you're out of the running. I'll do my best to create the region chart by Monday, and give you all a chance to come up with your final aspects; after that, I'm posting the character creation thread.