Just a day before I read the recent announcement of a new edition of Gamma World, I impulsively pulled my old 1st edition box off the shelf for a look-see. It's basic, it's a little crude, it's totally wonky (Telekinetic Arm? WTF?), but it's super-cool. I also marvelled at my old character class write-ups for Pure Strain Humans -- while there is level progression in 1e GW, it's not class-based, and PSHs get totally hosed on power levels, so I made PSH character classes based on Thundarr the Barbarian.
So, is anyone game? I'm totally open to character types, races, and backgrounds, just like we used to do it in the old days. (Hell, I had a friend with a telekinetically levitating sperm whale once.) Start out in the ruins of a burnt-out village, a piece of an "Ancient" artifact, and a rumor, and see where it goes from there.
I'd be playing with the classic 1e rules, and I can talk anyone who doesn't have the rules through character generation. Or, as I just discovered, you can look at them here online (http://www.scribd.com/doc/17144370/TSR-3002-Gamma-World-First-Edition)! Tell me how you like it, baby.
!i!
I'd be interested. I'll need to read over the rules again, it's been a loooong time. :)
At the time that my friends and I were playing, we'd only been familiar with Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, so we were struck by how simplified it was. In retrospect, it was something like a mid-step between Basic and AD&D.
To the point, any species is available for play. Taking a lesser animal or a plant assumes that they possess average human-level Intelligence (3D6), but not speech or manipulative organs -- you'll have to roll and get lucky for those. If anyone chooses to play a Pure Strain Human, which confers a lot of potential advantage in some situations, I'll encourage the use of my homebrewed character classes -- Warriors, Tinkers, and Wizards. Warriors get advantages in weapon proficiencies and hit points, Tinkers get bonuses on the Artifact Use and Operation charts, and Wizards get mental mutations without ruining their genetic code.
!i!
I have to admit, I'm torn between going the "intelligent plant with frickin' LASERS" route and the PSH Tinker class. I always liked fiddling with the Ancients technology anyway, may as well have some bonuses to do so...
anyone else up for this?