|
|
The Wasteland is one of the new players in Torg, and an unpleasant place, indeed. It is a world of blasted deserts, vicious highway outlaws, and mutants. It wouldn't be much of a threat if it weren't for the tenacity of its people and its ability to produce valuable natural resources (contrary to initial appearances!)
Contents:
The history of the Wasteland
The Wasteland is a strange realm. To drain possibility energy requires living people, yet the Wasteland is perhaps the least populated of them all. It is characterized by vast stretches of desert highway, leading to small communities of people trying to survive as best they can. This used to mean agriculture, but with the rise in road gangs and pillagers, this is becoming more and more a scavenging nation. It is run on precious oil from refineries scattered across the land.
Life in the Wasteland is tough; it usually comes down to kill-or-be-killed. All sense of hope is swiftly fading. Gradually, the “easy” life of a scavenger is beginning to appeal to more and more people who are tired of raiding crops only to have them all stolen by the first road gang that happens by.
Most of this world is desert, which is the cause for this rampant scavengerism. The old people tell of a time when there was plenty for all, and huge nations of wealthy, healthy people had nothing to do all day but play. That was back when the hills were coated with forests, the water was drinkable straight from the riverbed, and the air wasn’t dusty and polluted. It all changed when the great nations went to war over a forgotten conflict. The machines of war rolled across five continents, and then when it became obvious neither side would back down or die quickly, they decided to end the world. Nuclear War.
After the destruction, the survivors found themselves on their own in a devastated world. Wind blew radiation around freely, and many lost their lives to poison air. After a generation, this threat died down, but there are still places nobody goes for fear of becoming a mutant. Now gathering was the only way to find what a person needed, and with the scarcity of materials, people became heartless out of necessity. In places, radioactivity still presents a threat and can cause mutations. This is only in localized areas around the most major cities or government installations.
World Rules and Axioms
The Wasteland retains the same axioms it held before its holocaust, with the only exceptions being the social axiom, which has plummeted from its pre-war 21, and the spiritual axiom, which once was 9.
Technological: 23 Social: 8 Magical: 2 Spiritual: 0
The Law of Decay: This Law states that everything in Wasteland must sooner, rather than later, end. In game mechanics, this means everything must compare toughness vs. the decay rate. The decay rate is equal to the transform number on the transformation table. Both types of areas, pure and dominant, have their own decay rates just like transformation rates. To see if something decays, make a straight roll with the die, rerolling on 10s and 20s like normal. Subtract the objects toughness from the roll. If the total is over the number given in the transformation table, then the object is ruined. Constant upkeep is required to prevent this from happening. A reality bubble negates this effect.
The Law of Self-preservation: This Law states that any person under threat of harm, will put aside thoughts of other’s welfare to tend to their own. In game mechanics, this means characters cannot trade cards in a dramatic scene. To do so is a contradiction.
The High Lord, Kent Drake
Early after the war, in the first generation, a mass-murderer who had spent most of his pre-war years in prison began to make his influence felt. His name was Kent Drake, and he was now the leader of the most fierce road gang in the western states. With him as their leader, they swept through Utah and Nevada, leaving few homes unlooted and even less people alive. Soon their numbers broke 200. They had become a small army. It was then that Kent found his Darkness Device. Or, rather, it found him. Following a strange urge, he turned his gang away from their goal, the San Joaquin valley of California, and led them into the hills near San Diego. There, in a shack, he found a gleaming black engine. He took it and installed it in his own car.
From that point on, there was little anyone could do to stop Kent and his marauders. The Darkness Device, called the Usurper 360, wormed its way into his mind, and when it felt he was ready, showed him its secrets. Kent was a High Lord.
He set up his base of operations in Fresno, declaring himself Lord of California. In a few short years his claim was indisputable. Fresno became the most feared and protected city in all of ravaged California. From there, Kent spread his evil influence across America. In ten years, he had almost complete and total control over everything that took place in America, including all refineries and agriculture. He turned his attention on other continents, and in the space of ten more years, had assimilated them into his army of scavengers.
In the realm of the Wasteland, Kent has less control. He is trying to gather the legions of the renegade transformed who roam the highways. He has chosen San Angelo, in central Texas, as the site of his new town-fortress.
Kent Drake
DEXTERITY 10
Dodge 17, Fire Combat 17, Heavy Weapons 13, Melee Weapons 15, Running 13,
Stealth 13, Unarmed Combat 15
STRENGTH 13
Lifting 16
TOUGHNESS 11
PERCEPTION 14
Evidence Analysis 16, Find 18, Land Vehicles 24, Tracking 17, Water Vehicles 16
MIND 9
Survival 20, Willpower 13
CHARISMA 5
SPIRIT 13
Intimidation 18, Reality 25
Possibilities: 60
Equipment: Kent carries a modified drum-fed fully-automatic sawed-off shotgun
(value 20, holds five shells, fifty in drum), a bowie knife (STR+3/17), and a
canteen of water. In his car he carries two drums of water, food, a crossbow and
a large quarrel of bolts, two extra drums for the gun, a .44 Magnum (val. 17),
a LAW rocket launcher (val. 27), five LAW rockets, ten grenades on a belt, an UZI
with reloads (val. 17), and minigun on a retractable sunroof mount (val. 27),
along with numerous clubs, maces, chains, and other crude weapons.
The Darkness Device
The Wasteland’s Darkness Device is a beautifully crafted, ten cylinder engine of great horsepower. Like all Darkness Devices, it is shiny and jet black. It is named the Usurper 360, and is currently being used in Kent Drake’s personal car, a modified Ferrari Testarossa. The stats of the Ferrari are as follows:
Tech 23, 300 kmh/180 mph/value15, pass. 2, TOU 20
This is the first time a Darkness Device with moving parts has been discovered. Some theorize that the Device itself is actually inside the engine, and the rest is a shell created for the cosm. Nevertheless, the engine has a toughness of 200 like a regular Darkness Device.
The maelstrom bridges for the Wasteland are great dusty roads that shimmer with heat mirages, fooling those who know no better into thinking it is only a normal highway vanishing into glimmering haze when seen from afar. The stelae are buried vehicles, which are specifically created by Usurper 360 not to decay by the cosm’s Law.
Gospog in the Wasteland comprise the only threat by “supernatural” enitites. Gospog of the second planting resemble first planting Gospog dressed in road gang outfits. Third planting Gospog form an Oil Beast which appears as a large puddle of oil, and are capable of holding their form together in any medium, including water, sand, or inside an oil well. Gospog of the fourth planting become driverless cars, with the ability to heal themselves gradually. To attack, they must damage themselves. These Gospog regain one level of damage every round. Finally, Gospog of the fifth planting are huge rigs with the same abilities of the fourth planting Gospog, only with greater toughness.
People and Places of the Wasteland
Note: this section is incomplete.
Convoys
Convoys are the name given to any large collection of mobile human communities, whether these belong to nomads or warriors. In the Wastland, people have developed a sort of unofficial category system, so when they are talking about convoys among one another, they can loosely specify the amount of people they are referring to.
Below is a chart showing the populations of convoys.
# of People Nomads Warriors 1 Wanderer Loner 2-5 Group Team 6-10 Pack Gang 11-20 Family Mob 21-50 Gathering Force 50+ Town or Clan Army
The number of people column refers to people, not vehicles. There could be fourty people stuffed in a single bus, but that does not make them a solitary loner. Conversely, if there is only one person per vehicle, 18 vehicles might seem like a huge amount of adversaries, but it is still only a Mob.
Nuclear Waste and Radiation
Note: this section is incomplete.
Car Battles
Note: this section is incomplete.
Running the Wasteland in Torg 2000
The first thing a gamemaster is going to notice about the Wasteland is that there is only a limited amount of adventures possible. The realm is, by its very nature, barren and singular in its focus. It is not as dynamic as others. However, there are a few adventure ideas which may not come immediately to mind which might form some interesting games.
For one, the characters might be called somehow to participate in a road rally or arena competition, which would take away the "random encounter" feel and give them a definite goal. Another idea would be to have the characters assist a fortified town which is in possession of a healthy oil well, but there are Oil Beast Gospog dwelling inside. Another idea could be a plane crashes just inside the realm's borders and someone important was on board, and now the characters must track them down. Another place oil can appear is offshore, and Drake has plans to set up oil rigs out at sea. Finally, vehicle battles on land are not the only ones possible: planes or helicopters can add danger to the air, and boats can cause headaches for water-bound characters.
• Return to the Realms page.