I was hoping for game books but I will check out the Deathlands books themselves, never heard of them but they must be good if there are over a 100 of them.

Thanks!

For a game system, I've always liked "The Morrow Project".  The fourth edition book was released in December.

I'm still a Gamma World fan. 1st or 2nd edition. You could always go with the retroclone version.

For settings, hmm. I usually just wing it, but there's THX-1138, the film. Fallout the computer game. Andre Norton had at least one novel using a post-apocalypse premise. Logan's Run, the film.

In reply to iwriter81 (msg # 1):

Depending on what you're after the Rifts setting can be fast and fun for post-apocalyptic stuff (it also has elements of magic, psi and humour). You can run a more Mad Max style game keeping to Chi-Town and the Burbs though

Fallout Equestria is amazing and is both a book (with hundreds of fan-fiction all its own) and a ttrpg game (and even a computer game is currently being made by fans as well).

I would put Fallout Equestria as the best book I've read in nearly ten years. And I like to read a lot.
This message was last edited by the user at 21:47, Fri 11 July 2014.

I think the closest I've seen to a Mad Max style Post Apoc game has to be Atomic Highway.  It's now free over at DriveThruRPG.  It uses a very simple system and is easy to set up and play.  The setting is customizable so it can be as much or as little civilization left as you want.

How about Broken Earth for Savage Worlds?

In reply to DarkLightHitomi (msg # 7):

Fallout equestria is the my little pony spin off of fallout if im not mistaken?

In reply to iwriter81 (msg # 1):

For a different type of post-apocalypse game with a military slant, Twilight 2000 is excellent. Twilight 2013 not so good for PBP as combat is too clunky and takes forever (probably better tabletop).

In reply to Andrew Wilson (msg # 10):

Yes, but it still has a much darker turn then even Fallout itself. I'd also say it is much better written and more interesting then either Fallout or MLP.
This message was last edited by the user at 06:36, Sun 13 July 2014.

What about Barbarians of the Aftermath? It is a setting expansion for the Barbarians of Lemuria RPG. It can create any Post-Apocalyptic setting you can imagine. Anything from a realistic near future aftermath, a setting filled with all manner of science fantasy weirdness or anything in between, upside down or sideways.

** Thanks for the tip on the Deathlands series.
=
This message was last edited by the user at 12:06, Tue 15 July 2014.

Game system Gamma World is classic, one of the Originals.

For reading I'll add The Horseclans by Robert Adams. Most take place long after the Gas runs out and technology no longer works.............mostly. Early suplement for GURPS can sometimes be found on eBay.

I also really like the Deathlands, fell behind long ago on them.

OP mentioned AFMBE... So I'll recommend All Tomorrow's Zombies which I'm sure covers in one of it's chapters a world like what they're after.

I loved the Living Steel premise.  A bit high tech, but the basic idea works well for a apocalypse background.  I mixed the kVISR rocks module with the Paradigm Concepts' Rotted Capes ruleset for an interesting campaign.

I recommend Aftermath, Morrow Project and Apocalypse World.

The 4th Edition Morrow Project book is a high quality product which benefits from updated info while retaining the system that made the original version great.  You can also look for 3rd Edition Morrow Project on Ebay, which is probably much cheaper and is still a great game using the same rules.  It is well supported with adventure supplements.

Aftermath is an old-school hardcore post-nuclear rules heavy game, but no more so than Pathfinder or D&D 3.5.  It focuses on the 20 years after Mad Max type setting and has interesting rules for scavenging, custom armor, running small armies and other post-nuclear aspects beyond the immediate battle for survival.  And for a $12 pdf on drivethrurpg, what the hey.  I often use Morrow Project and Aftermath together, and oh, the adventures we had!

Apocalypse World focuses on the narrative aspects of a post-nuclear game and has an interesting tone.

Freedom Fighters, which is another old school game with a setting like Red Dawn.

I like Living Steel and Phoenix Command too.  I converted Aftermath and Morrow Project to this system.  Living Steel is a futuristic post-apocalypse setting, and Phoenix Command is its underlying game mechanics, which I found to be a really good tabletop small arms battle game.  We would have three players each with a team of 6 soldiers, and the games would be over in an hour and a half.

http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/...t/584/Aftermath?it=1

http://store.timelineltd.com/T...d-Hardback_p_21.html

http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/...ilters=0_0_44825_0_0

It depends on the tastes of you and your players, and their willingness to learn a new system which won't be like what they're used to.  Morrow Project is good for people new to the post-nuclear genre because it has good rules which are pretty simple to learn and play, and it places the characters in the role of good guys with a clear mission.  Morrow Project, Aftermath and Living Steel/Phoenix Command are LETHAL game systems.  I suggest having some practice battles before making characters the players care about.


For reading, I suggest:

Early Deathlands, like Pilgrimage to Hell, Homecoming and Neutron Solstice.  Just bear in mind the books are very formulaic.

The Postman by David Brin
The Roadbuilders
A Canticle for Liebowitz
The Survivalist
Star Man's Son by Andre Norton
Some Will Not Die by Algis Budrys
Damnation Alley by Roger Zelazny

Rifts - be anything you want in an earth with melted ice caps and millions of unstable rifts to other realities letting you play anything you want.... you could play a freaking cartoon smurf that pilots 100 foot tall mechs for all they care.

Shadow run - Cyberpunk meets D&D in a distopia trashed by corporate nations that have torn the planet apart by war?   Nifty. You know is it just me or dose a dragon having a corporate jet just sound goofy?

I also agree that Gamma World is a good system.

What do you want and what do you want the rules to cover?  And the following "should the rule directly address one of the following" should be asked.  The following questions should all have "and to what depth or degree of complexity would you like to model it" appended to them.

Hacking?
Radiation?
Mutations (harmful/possitive)?
Cars?
Guns?
Things implanted in a body?
Magic (innate/implanted/natural/technological)?

Also, how smart are most people?  Can most people rewire fusion bombs to be good toasters?  Can most people manage to drive down the street and eat with one hand?  (In real life, I'm still working on that last one.)  How much do you want characters to be able to do?

Well, I am a fan of post-apocalyptic genre of rpgs and Gamma World is worth mentioning. When I was searching for a good rpg based upon the above mentioned setting I stumbled upon Mutant Epoch. Its a good cheap rpg that can be described as a modification of Gamma World. Char generation is done by d100 dice rolling and if you look into it carefully you will find there is surprise amount of depth and wackiness in it. It has cyborgs, androids, pure humans, clone humans, trans-humans, bestial humans, mutants and even ghost mutants (people whose mutation are not prominent, think of x-men). Not only that your character starts with a career which varies from run away mercenary to sex slaves. Only think I don't like about it is that random character generation may lead to ridiculous character profile. Imagine a bestial human as a assassin?
Hope it helps.........:)

That actually sounds a lot like the old editions of Gamma World back in the 80s -- the one I originally played.  It was also d100 based instead of a d20 game.  I think I actually like the old Gamma World better than the new rules because I'm not a huge d20 fan and it seemed to leave a lot more to the imagination.

For Books:  The Archetype is 'A Canticle for Liebowitz.'  And 'The Deadlands' series is basically 'Mack Bolan in the Post-Apocalyptic World.'

For RPGs:  Gamma World and Twilight:2000 remain my favorites (though they both improved immensely in the d20 versions.

Mutant Future is a retro clone from Goblinoid Games (who did Labyrinth Lord) which covers these aspects very well. And it is free, of course. But then, you could just play the original Gamma World if you are ready to pay for it.

(I am just getting into the Savage World settings, which are amazing btw!)

RPG stuff:
Deadlands
Deadlands: Hell on Earth
Judge Dredd
Macho Women with Guns
octaNe
The Morrow Project
Gamma World
Rifts

Fiction:
Swan Song
The Deadlands series
The Outlanders series, also under the James Axler pen name but set farther into the future
The Dark Tower series
The Book of the New Sun series

Apocalypse World - it is essentially Mad Max. There are hundreds of user made character classes and 'Hacks" ( settings and special rules).  Available here http://nerdwerds.blogspot.com/...ll-of-playbooks.html

Deadlands He'll on Earth - this is essentially Fallout. A great setting and there are several versions of it, including a poker card version, D20 and a d6 version. All of them are pretty awesome

Twilight 2000/2013 - great post nuclear war games, if a bit clunky (IMO).

Both A Canticle for Liebowitz and The Stand are pillars of the post-apocalyptic genre, and one cannot go wrong with those books. Likewise, the Dark Tower series is another classic in the genre.