gamma world rpg out of the vaults

Super-Science UnleashedThe warriors and scholars of the Final Wars hid many of their beThe warriors and scholars of the Final Wars hid many of their best toolsand weapons. Centuries later, many of those secrets still wait fand weapons. Centuries later, many of those secrets still wait for someoneor someone

to dig them up and turn them loose… for good or evil.

What did the people fighting the Final Wars deem too terrible, or toounimportant, to let anyone know about? This book lays it all outunimportant, to let anyone know about? This book lays it all out, along, alongwith new rules for analyzing mysterious technology and for improving

the technological level of the heroes and their community.

Requires the use of the d20 Modern™Roleplaying Game or the Dungeons & Dragons®

Player’s Handbook, v.3.5, publishedby Wizards of the Coast®.

The Gamma World campaign setting is an officiallylicensed Wizards of the Coast property.

GAMM

A WORLD

® OUT OF THE VAULTS™

WW

17253

A Technology Sourcebook for the d20 System

ISBN 1-58846-022-3ISBN 1-58846-022-3WW17253 $21.95 U.S.

Scott Tyrrell (order #8988) 12.160.138.6

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TABLE OF CONTENTSINTRODUCTION 3

CHAPTER ONE: LOSS AND RECOVERY 7Historical Ages 9The Closing of the Vaults 12Opening the Vaults 21

CHAPTER TWO: TOOLS 24Personal Tools 25Community Tools 34Inorganic Information Systems 43Biological Information Systems 48Storage 53

CHAPTER THREE: WEAPONS, ARMOR, MEDICINE 56Personal Weaponry 57

Handguns and Longarms 57Explosives and Splash Weapons 69Melee Weapons 71Heavy Weapons 73

Armor 77Medicine 84

CHAPTER FOUR: TRANSPORTATION 90Ground Vehicles 91Water Vehicles 99Flying Vehicles 104


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TScott Tyrrell (order #8988) 12.160.138.6

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Gamma World is a game set after the fall ofcivilization. Humanity once reached heights of socialand technological achievement so great that they arenow the stuff of myth and legend. It was a Golden Agethat went inexplicably wrong.

Few things illustrate humanity’s ability to be bothGod and beast more clearly than technology. Technologysets human beings apart from their fellow creatures. Onlyhuman beings create tools of such incrediblesophistication and complexity that they could be used todestroy the very civilization that gave them birth.

Gamma World is the product of technology goneawry. It is the bastard child of a confluence oftechnological streams that came to a head beforehumanity had the wisdom to recognize their ultimateimplications. Out of the Vaults gives both players andGame Masters a glimpse into these technologicalstreams, including specific examples of how they wereused. More than a mere equipment book, this volumeis an examination of the technologies and devices thatbrought about the end of the world and which may yetprove pivotal in its new beginning.

Gamma World is a post-apocalyptic roleplayinggame. The implications of that statement may seemobvious, but sometimes they are forgotten. It’s all tooeasy to get caught up in the gloom and doom thatcontemplating the fall of civilization naturallyengenders. It’s sobering to consider that everything oneknows and loves might one day be reduced to dustthrough human ignorance, greed or villainy. Much ofthe literature on which Gamma World depends forinspiration was conceived of during a time when theprospect of nuclear annihilation seemed all too real.While that specific threat receded at the end of theCold War, the prospects of humanity’s utter destructionremain just as imaginatively potent as ever. One mayimagine that international terrorism will seal our faterather than World War III, but many people still livein fear of the looming Armageddon that awaits us.

While Gamma World uses our fears of the end ofthe world for good dramatic purpose, it does so in anunusual way. Rather than being a cautionary tale ofhuman hubris or stupidity, the setting affords everyplayer a unique opportunity: to rebuild the world as hesees fit. In Gamma World, the collapse of civilizationis already behind us. What lies ahead is an unwrittenfuture in which almost anything could happen.

This future is the focus of the game. It also makes Outof the Vaults a different sort of equipment book. Thissourcebook includes plenty of information on what variouspieces of technology can do, as well as where and how thecharacters can obtain them. It differs in that it also discusses

how to adapt and apply this technology to the world. Howcan these technological toys be used to aid in humanity’ssurvival and (perhaps) its glorious rebirth?

UNDOING ARMAGEDDONIn reality, if modern civilization were to fall, it

couldn’t be rebuilt easily, let alone in anything like itsoriginal form. For example, the easy-to-extract ores wereall extracted generations ago, and while cities could bemined, it’d be difficult without the proper tools, whichthemselves require massive quantities of ores in the firstplace. The same principles hold true for petrochemicalsand many other important natural resources. Admittedly,nanotechnology might help to overcome some of thesedifficulties, but such “magical” solutions won’t be readilyavailable to most characters, at least not in the beginning.

Even in campaigns that allow more optimistic and/or dramatic solutions to such problems, characters mustbe ingenious in their use of available resources. Theymust rely on their own cleverness rather thansophisticated materials and a large infrastructure.Nevertheless, it is this rebuilding that lies at the heartof Gamma World’s ethos and it is the GM’sresponsibility to make that rebuilding fun and plausible,if not necessarily realistic. After all, uplifted dogs withthe ability to manipulate the weather probably aren’tvery realistic, but they can be made plausible enough tomake them an enjoyable addition to a roleplaying game.

Many sections of this book give advice on just howto do the same with technology and its implications forundoing the effects of the Final Wars. As always, theultimate goal is fun, but it’s always better if that fun isgrounded in something players can accept with the rightframe of mind. Consequently, very little in this bookshould be taken as an accurate depiction of how (or howeasy) it might be to reverse the effects of a devastatingglobal catastrophe. It’s a collection of guidelines abouthow to make doing so plausible and fun.

DESIGN PRINCIPLESGamma World presumes that pre-Final Wars

humanity was almost impossibly talented in every fieldof technological endeavor. At the high end of itsaccomplishments were devices that would seemmagical to anyone who did not understand the sciencebehind it, and even many who did. For this reason,any examination of technology in the setting needs tohave solid design principles. These principles are thoseused by the writers of this book when creating thedevices described throughout. However, theseprinciples are also useful to both players and GameMasters if for no other reason than as guidelines forthe creation of their own devices and adventures.


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PLAUSIBILITYThe first design principle is plausibility. The setting

elements of Gamma World are not necessarily realistic,but they are plausible. That is, they can be explainedin such a way as to allow for willing suspension ofdisbelief. They are not so fantastical that even someonein the right frame of mind would reject them out ofhand. This principle is especially true for technologicaldevices, since they are paradigmatic examples ofscience applied to a specific use.

Just as important is the fact that the relativeplausibility of technology sets the “boundaryconditions” for the setting. That is, they define justhow far Gamma World is willing to stray fromcommonly accepted scientific principles. That’s prettyfar in many cases, but we hope we’ve tempered ourenthusiasm for the wild and wacky with a dose ofcommon sense and good judgment. In any event, theGM is the final arbiter of what technological items hewill allow in his campaign. If anything in this (or anyother book) clashes with her perceptions of what is oris not plausible, she is free to reject them.

DISTINCTIVENESSOut of the Vaults is more than a technology book;

it’s a book of NPCs. The items described in these pages,even those that are not singular devices, are all asunique and distinctive as any non-player character.Many of them have personalities and quirks, just likepeople. That’s an important element that shouldn’tbe forgotten by players or by GMs. In Gamma World,technological devices are rarely just pieces ofequipment. Instead, they have histories, stories to telland roles to play.

Technology misused resulted in the downfall ofhumanity. Now, the stage is set for the rebirth ofmankind. Technology will undoubtedly play a part inthis scenario as well. That’s why the distinctiveness ofeach item is so important. The purpose for which adevice was created in the past may come to bear onhow it’s used in the present, for example. For whiletechnology may be morally neutral, some devices“hedge their bets” by inspiring certain types ofbehavior, openly or secretly. That’s another aspect oftechnological distinctiveness: like NPCs, devices mayhave their own agendas and become the source ofexciting adventures in their own right.

PRESERVATIONThe Final Wars were incredibly devastating. Much

of the vast edifice of human achievement toppled sothoroughly that no one has yet found a way to reverseits effects. The devices that survived each did so for a

reason. While the characters may not fully understandthat reason, it’s nevertheless important that there beone, if only to provide the GM with some context forthe high-tech wonders she introduces into her campaign.

As its name suggests, Out of the Vaults focusesprimarily on those devices that have some reason to havesurvived the vicissitudes of history. Because they werehidden away or protected from the vicissitudes of thelast three generations, these devices are still extant. Theycan be found, understood and used. Not surprisingly,the devices that survived are not a representativeselection of what the ancient world was capable of.Indeed, the devices that were secreted in vaults or safeareas necessarily provide a skewed vision of the past,with consequences for the present and future.

MYSTERYThe final design principle is mystery. The devices

of the past are unquestionably mysterious to mostinhabitants of Gamma World. They do not understandthe principles on which most of these devices werebuilt and may not even understand the uses to whichthey were put. Finding an ancient technological itembrings these individuals face to face with an alien worldof which they have no experience and even lesscomprehension. Introducing any one of the devicespresented in this book can be an adventure in itself, ifthe GM chooses to make it so.

As well as being a book of NPCs, Out of the Vaultsis a book of magic items or, more precisely, ancientartifacts, with all that that phrase implies. A microwavegun might as well be Excalibur; its possession by a tribalchieftain might well be every bit as portentous asArthur’s possession of that famous sword. Thedestruction of the Final Wars ushered in a new mythicage. The world of the past is dead and a new world isdawning, one simultaneously freed from the shackles ofhistory and bound by them. In this new world, there isplenty of room for mystery. It is in fact a key ingredientfor any GM looking to place his adventures within theheroic context that is so central to Gamma World.

HOW TO USE THIS BOOKOut of the Vaults is a technological toy box filled

with all manner of strange, wondrous and frighteningdevices from the days before the Final Wars plungedthe world into a new dark age. Of course, it is muchmore than that too.

This book is divided into four chapters, each ofwhich addresses a different category of technology,including lots of advice on how to integrate them intoan ongoing campaign or use them as the basis forexciting adventures.


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Chapter One: Loss and Recovery details theeponymous vaults where legacy technology is hiddenaway. From ancient fallout shelters to militaryinstallations to bolt holes, getting into these vaults isn’talways as easy as it looks, as this chapter explains.

Chapter Two: Tools describes a wide variety of“everyday” technologies, both personal andcommunity-oriented. These tools were once the pillarsthat upheld the roof of civilization and they may beonce again, should anyone find a way to harness them.

Chapter Three: Weapons, Armor, Medicinedetails devices of war, defense and healing. The misuseof many of these devices contributed to the end of theworld, but it’s also possible that some of them hold thekeys to a new beginning, if used properly.

Chapter Four: Transportation describesconveyances used to travel across one or more types ofterrain. Many ancient vehicles travel quickly enoughto make larger societal groupings practical for the firsttime in generations.


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This book is entitled Out of the Vaults forgood reason: much of the technology described inits pages can only be found by exploring andexcavating sites associated with the pre-Final Warsworld. That is, they are not found lying around thewilderness or even in current communities withoutgood reason.

WHAT IS A VAULT?Throughout this book, you’ll see plenty of

references to “vaults,” but what are they really?Simply put, a vault is any hidden and/or protectedlocation where ancient artifacts can be found inGamma World. For the purposes of this book, itapplies to any site containing items or informationassociated with the past. Many of them are literallyvaults, although not all of them are. As noted laterin this chapter, these heavily armored repositories(or “true” vaults) are usually closely associated withthe Final Wars and their immediate aftermath,making them quite rare and exceedingly valuable.

Much more common are makeshift vaults.These vaults occur either as a result of intelligentdesign or happenstance. In the first case, anindividual or group decides that they need topreserve some collection of items for the future. Nothaving access to a true vault, they make do withwhat is available to them. Thus, they might use anunderground shelter or a bolt hole to accomplishthe same goal. In the second case, a vault mightarise because of an accident or environmentalcondition. For example, a building might collapse,sealing off its basement and turning its lower levelsinto a vault. Likewise, an avalanche or a flood mightsimilarly impede entrance into a structure andprevent its contents from being found in theaftermath of the Final Wars. Makeshift vaults areno less vaults because of their different origins.

All vaults, whatever their origins, are unitedby two other elements. First, they are obstacles tobe overcome. That’s important to remember.Gamma World is a roleplaying game about therebuilding of human civilization after its collapse.The default assumption is that three generationshave passed since the fall of mankind. In that time,the legacy of the past has been reclaimed only in

part. Much remains hidden or lost within vaults ofone kind or another. Successfully discovering andentering a vault is a momentous and dangerousevent. While the characters are unique individuals,possessed of skills and abilities beyond those of thecommon person, they are still human beings. Toenter a vault and recover its contents should besignificant, with many challenges. After all, howelse does one explain why the characters havesucceeded where so few have before?

CHALLENGING,NOT IMPOSSIBLE

Gamma World is not a game about futilityand the doom of all hope. Circumstances mayoverwhelm the characters and everything theyhold dear… but might not. GMs designingchallenges should remember to make themchallenges the characters have an actualchance of overcoming.

The second element is one that’s universallyapplicable to Gamma World technology: mystery.Vaults are mysterious, even frightening, places.Ordinary folk shun them, assuming they even knowof their existence. They are locales of death, wherelesser mortals dare not go for fear of suffering aterrible fate. Like haunted castles or forbiddenwoods, vaults are a locus for popular superstitionsand fears. They are not simply impregnablefortresses containing technological booty; they arenexuses of mystery. It’s important to keep this inmind, since it not only lends an interesting flavorto Gamma World adventures, but also acts as atouchstone for those adventures themselves.

The term “vault” often conjures up all sorts ofimages in the minds of players, everything from a bankdepository to the tomb of Tutankhamen. That’s as itshould be. The past is a mystery to all but a smallnumber of the inhabitants of the Gamma Age. Whenthe player characters enter a vault, whatever its originand purpose, they are doing something very few othersof their kind will have done. It is a momentousundertaking, one among many that could presage thedawning of a new age. Never forget this.


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HISTORICAL AGESBecause vaults can come from a variety of

different time periods, some of them comparativelyancient, it’s worthwhile to take a look at theseperiods. It establishes some parameters for the typesof vaults one might encounter from each period andwhat one is likely to find within them. Theinformation presented here is used later in thischapter for handling several pieces of gamemechanics relating to entering and looting thesevaults. As always, the descriptions that follow arepresented as suggestions rather than hard and fastrules. GMs whose own conception of GammaWorld dissents from one or more of the assumptionsof this book are therefore free to alter what followsas necessary.

THE PRECURSOR AGEThe so-called Precursor Age is the most distant

of all the historical ages still remembered byinhabitants of Gamma World. Indeed, it is notreally an age in itself, but an aggregate term foranything that occurred before the 21st century. Theworld of the 20th and earlier centuries is so farremoved from characters’ experience as to belegendary. Almost no one has any real sense of howevents from the Precursor Age relate to one another,let alone their specific details. Such knowledge isheld only by a few functioning AIs and hoary sageswho’ve devoted their lives to gathering suchforgotten lore.

This means that the Precursor Age functionsas a catchall historical era. Any event or personagethat does not fit into another better-known era isusually said to have occurred in the Precursor Age.Game Masters who enjoy playing with theinterrelationship between myth, religion andhistory might find it amusing to toy with real worldhistory and present a garbled version of it as a talepassed down from the Precursor Age. For example,World War II might be presented as a civil war inwhich a usurper (Hitler) attempts to claim thethrone from its rightful king (Great Britain) by usingan army of foreign mercenaries (Japan). The rightfulking defeats the usurper thanks to aid from a loyalretainer (United States of America) who, upon theking’s death from wounds sustained in the conflict,ascends the throne as the realm’s new king.

How does this relate to vaults? Vaults from thePrecursor Age are poorly understood. Their actualpurpose is probably unknown or at leastmisunderstood. A sealed military bunker from

World War II might become associated with somemythical battle or catastrophe, but it’s highlyunlikely that anyone will know the whole truth.This means that vaults from this time period comewrapped in even more superstition than thoseassociated with the Final Wars period.Consequently, vaults from the Precursor Age aregreat sources of inexplicable mystery.

Any vault from the Precursor Age that survivesto the Gamma Age did so either because it wasextremely well hidden or through sheer dumb luck.Compared to later ages, the Precursor Age wastechnologically primitive, especially those portions ofit that extend before the 20th century. To have evadeddiscovery and fended off excavators is quite a feat. Atthe same time, there are always things that areoverlooked. For example, every few years, someone isinjured in France by unexploded bombs from WorldWar I! The same can be true of vaults. Nevertheless,vaults from this distant period should likely be rareand, when found, exceptional in some way.

Example Precursor Age VaultsExample Precursor Age VaultsExample Precursor Age VaultsExample Precursor Age VaultsExample Precursor Age Vaults• Bank vaults• Fallout shelters• Mines• Time capsules• Underground parking lots

THE GENE AGE(2000 TO 2050)

The Gene Age is the true beginning of GammaWorld, for it was during this time period that thediscoveries of David B. Pennon set humanity onthe path that would see the species seize control ofits genetic future. The Gene Age is almost as distantto most inhabitants of the Gamma Age as is thePrecursor Age, but not quite. While the specificsof the era are not well-known, there is much moreevidence of its existence than the Precursor Age.Gamma Age savants may not know who Pennonwas or precisely what he did, but they’ll be familiarwith many of the devices and locations associatedwith his research or the research that spun off fromthem.

Compared to the Precursor Age, the Gene Ageis a true “historical” period in that it is lessmythologized and garbled in its presentation.Details are still scant, so there’s plenty of room to


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play around perceptions if the GM is so inclined.After all, historians consider much of Egyptianhistory “real” history, but they continue to argueabout the length and order of royal reigns!Misunderstandings will still be commonplace. A sitemight be wrongly associated with a person or event,even if the broader details are more or less accurate.A skeptical scholar might, for instance, believe thatLyndon Johnson was Abraham Lincoln’s vice-president rather than Andrew Johnson, since theyshare a surname and both attained the presidencyby succeeding an assassinated predecessor.

Gene Age vaults are necessarily moresophisticated than those of the Precursor Age, withcomputers and electronics common and integratlto their design. They are likewise better hidden,taking advantage of advances in engineering andarchitecture. There are thus many unopened GeneAge vaults, although not as many as in later ages.That’s partly because later eras would haveabandoned and removed their predecessors, but alsobecause they are less well protected than those thatcome after them, making them easier for looters toopen. Even so, good fortune and good design protectmany of these archives.

Example Gene Age VaultsExample Gene Age VaultsExample Gene Age VaultsExample Gene Age VaultsExample Gene Age Vaults• Antarctic research stations• Body banks• Medical facilities• Military installations• Underwater mining stations

THE NOETIC AGE(2050 TO 2100)

The Noetic Age marks yet another significantmilestone in the development of Gamma World,for it was during this period that humanity createdthe first true artificially intelligent lifeforms. Theappearance of AIs, androids and other such artificialbeings was a major turning point in the history ofthe world. Not only did it mark the first time thatmankind shared the Earth with other sentientcreatures, it also marked the beginning of arevolution in psychology, psychiatry and relateddisciplines. Humans now began to plumb the secretsof their own minds, using the insights they’d gainedas a result of creating AIs. A wide variety of newmedical treatments arose too, designed to give menthe ability to manipulate their own mental processesin ways never before possible. The Noetic Age lived


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up to its name: it was the era when intelligenceitself fell before the onslaught of human science.

The Noetic Age is both better and less well-known than the Gene Age. That may seemparadoxical, but it’s easily explained. Being closerin time than the Gene Age, the inhabitants of theGamma Age know a fair bit more about it thanthey do about previous eras. However, the NoeticAge saw the rise of the first AIs, some of which arestill extant during the Gamma Age and whosereputations among human — and other — beingsis less than positive. Many people view AIs as eithermonsters or gods, views often encouraged by theAIs themselves. Not surprisingly, the Noetic Ageis often seen through this lens. To complicatematters further, many AIs have deliberatelyobscured or eliminated information about theNoetic Age for their own reasons, some altruistic(at least from the AIs’ perspective) and some selfish.

Vaults from the Noetic Age are usually verywell protected. As one might expect, many of thesevaults are preserved by AIs and other artificiallyintelligent beings, such as androids. They mayprotect them out misguided duty to their formermasters or because they wish to retain the vaults’contents for themselves. Entering these vaults istypically an epic undertaking. Successfullyrecovering legacy artifacts from them is almostunheard of: the stuff of legend. However, the fact isthat many of the most potent political forces in theGamma Age have succeeded in liberatingtechnology from Noetic Age vaults. It is the key toimmense power and influence. Should the playercharacters do the same, the nature of the campaignis very likely to take a turn into high-powered play.

Example Noetic Age VaultsExample Noetic Age VaultsExample Noetic Age VaultsExample Noetic Age VaultsExample Noetic Age Vaults• Aerospace control facilities• AI labs• Aquatic research stations• Deep core mining facilities• Orbital construction stations

THE FINAL WARS ERAThe Final Wars era is not a true age in the sense

that the other historical periods presented here are.That’s because the Final Wars did not last morethan a handful of years, never mind a generation.However, this era is included here, because, thoughshort, it brought about the end of the old worldand the beginning of the new.

Inhabitants of the Gamma Age almost certainlyknow of the Final Wars at least in broad terms, butthe actual details elude them. The very name “FinalWars” is evidence of that. The combatants in thesewars and the reasons for their conflict are unknownto any except those with an interest in history orwho have a direct connection to those bygone days.Consequently, most versions of Final Wars historyhave a character that is by turns mythical andsketchy. The era is almost always presented as acautionary tale, even by those who wish nothingmore than to rebuild the world as it once was. Thisera looms large in the imagination of nearlyeveryone who lives in the Gamma Age.

There are many vaults from this era. As onemight expect, they are extremely well protected andguarded. Many of them have not yet been breechedand it would take a Herculean effort to do so. That’sbecause the era was characterized by paranoia andfear. Every nation, faction and alliance on theplanet worried that their enemies (and even theirfriends) might obtain their most secret informationand doomsday weapons to use against them.Consequently, they built sturdy vaults with multipleredundant security systems and traps designed toobliterate anyone who attempted to enter themwithout permission.

Final Wars era vaults are the holy grails of theGamma World setting. They are the targets thatmore contemporary beings seek out than any other.Their reasons for doing so are twofold. First, thesevaults are much more likely to hold military secretsof a sort readily usable to gain power in the GammaAge. Individuals, nations and cryptic alliances alikesee great value in their contents. Second, so few ofthese vaults (comparatively anyway) have beenexplored that simply doing so can increase one’sreputation in a positive fashion. In the Gamma Age,reputation is very important and can sometimesmean the difference between life and death. Littlewonder, then, that individuals are willing to risklife and limb to be among the handful of people tosurvive the dangers Final Wars era vaults present.

Example Final Wars Era VaultsExample Final Wars Era VaultsExample Final Wars Era VaultsExample Final Wars Era VaultsExample Final Wars Era Vaults• Intercontinental weapons launch facilities• Military bases• Orbital weapons platforms• Subterranean command centers• Underground retreats


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The vaults of this era are mostly of a lesser sortthan those of previous eras. In fact, they areprobably less sophisticated than even those of thePrecursor Age, although this isn’t universally true.In some cases, Gamma Age inhabitants haveacquired and mastered technologies from the pastto protect their own items. These vaults thus possessa higher degree of difficulty to overcome than moremakeshift vaults of the era. Similarly, the contentsof these vaults are generally less impressive: amishmash of items from many eras, most of themrecent and not all of them in good workingconditions. Breeching Gamma Age vaults iscommon and not particularly noteworthy. In fact,it’s almost commonplace and forms the basis for theeconomies of many small communities and tribes.

Example Gamma Age VaultsExample Gamma Age VaultsExample Gamma Age VaultsExample Gamma Age VaultsExample Gamma Age Vaults• Burial mounds• Community reserves• Cryptic alliance hoards• Religious sites• “Treasure” troves

THE GAMMA AGEThe Gamma Age is the term referring to everything

from the end of the Final Wars to the present time. It’sa catchall term much like the Precursor Age. Indeed,its actual length is up to the Game Master, dependingon how far in the future he wishes to set his GammaWorld campaign. The default assumption usedthroughout this book is that the Gamma Age is nowinto its third generation after the Final Wars. Most ofwhat follows will still hold true for other epochs,although some of the specific details might need to bealtered somewhat if the GM’s campaign diverges toogreatly from the baseline assumptions presented here.

For almost everyone outside groups like the crypticalliances, the Gamma Age is simply “the present.” Itis “the way things are.” It’s not invested with anyparticular meaning, except perhaps as a lesser era afterthe fall of the “giants” who once strode the Earth beforethe Final Wars. This means that its inhabitants donot look upon it with any particular fear or awe. Thisis simply their world: good, bad and ugly. Many wouldcertainly wish that the Gamma Age were other thanit is, but there is very little that they can do about it. Itis unusual individuals, like the characters, who seebeyond the Gamma Age and look to a better future.

THE CLOSING OF THE VAULTSAs noted above, the term “vault” covers a lot

of ground. While such flexibility can be a boon toGame Masters looking to personalize a setting, itcan also encourage vagueness. That is, having toomuch information can sometimes stifle creativity,but having not enough can make it very hard tofind a place to hang one’s metaphorical hat. Thissection is designed to overcome these twinproblems, providing GMs (and, by extension,players) with lots of options when it comes tocreating, describing and stocking vaults, whatevertheir exact nature.

The following entries are first divided accordingto the terrain type in which the vaults are found.Under each terrain type, there are severalsubdivisions that detail a few of the more commoncategories of vaults. These subdivisions are the realmeat of the section, since they provide GMs withsome ideas on how to use vaults of that category, aswell as some options on just what (or who) theymight contain.

ABOVE THE GROUNDAbove-ground vaults outnumber all others.

They are the buildings, installations and othersurface structures once commonplace across theglobe. The sheer number of these structures was sogreat that even the devastation of the Final Warswas insufficient to wipe them all from the face ofthe world. Even so, very few buildings from beforethe Gamma Age survive wholly intact. Theweapons used during the fall of civilization wereimmensely powerful. Even when they did notdirectly target a specific structure, the damage theywrought was far-reaching and profound. Quitesimply, it is rare to find a surface vault from beforethe Gamma Age that does not have a very goodreason for having survived.

Of course, there are many very good reasonsavailable to a GM looking to use surface-basedvaults in his adventures. One is remoteness. Evenin the interconnected world of earlier eras, therewere still places on the Earth that were inaccessible,


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either because of terrain or by the wishes of thosewho built them. Many military installations, forexample, were constructed in out of the way placesso as to make them less susceptible to attack byenemies. Likewise, research stations dedicated toobscure or dangerous topics were often kept far awayfrom population centers.

Another possibility is sturdiness. Materialsscience during the Final Wars and even before wasimpressive. Nanotechnology and other relateddisciplines enabled human beings to constructbuildings from a wide variety of very sturdymaterials, such as synthetic diamond. While notwholly impregnable to the mightiest machines ofwar, these materials were nevertheless quiteresistant to damage. It would not be implausible toassume that some of these sturdy structures mightsurvive indirect attacks against them. For thatmatter, many important government, military andscientific structures had their own defenses toprotect them. Some of these defenses might havebeen enough to stave off destruction, or at leastsoften the blow.

Finally, the years immediately following theFinal Wars saw attempts at rebuilding the fallenworld. Individuals and groups banded together andpooled their resources to prevent the total collapseof all civilized society. In some cases, these effortswere just good enough to preserve certain keyelements of previous eras, such as a handful ofstructures. These structures then became thecornerstones of new settlements and societies. Forexample, an armory from the Final Wars era mightserve as the “castle” of a warlord who sets himselfup a king of the nearby territory. The armory is itselfa vault, filled with a store of legacy technology bywhich the king and his successors maintained theirsupremacy over their neighbors. If some accidentbefell the settlement that grew up around thearmory, the vault might conceivably survive, albeitas a shadow of its former self.

It’s also worth remembering that the GammaAge is a dark age compared to its predecessors butnot wholly without light. As the previous paragraphmakes clear, there were attempts to build newstructures to replace the ones lost in the Final Wars.As settlements grow (and new ones are founded),new structures will be created as well. Thesestructures could, over time, become the basis forvaults of one sort or another. After all, threegenerations — or more — is still a long time.Consider the fascinating things that urban


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archeologists find from a hundred years ago or lessin many cities. The same could be true in GammaWorld, with the added consideration that so muchhas been lost that few can be sure that there isn’tsomething even more ancient beneath mostsettlements waiting to be found.

COMMERCIAL BUILDINGSThe economy of the world before the Final

Wars depended on commercial enterprises, bothlarge and small, with far greater emphasis on thelatter. This isn’t to say that the Gene or NoeticAges were devoid of mighty corporations; they werenot. However, those eras saw technology reach astage whereby an individual or a small group ofindividuals could effectively run a business with alarge clientele. Developments in communicationsand manufacturing (especially nanotechnology)made it completely feasible for a single person todo the work of dozens, even hundreds. This createdmany new opportunities that did not exist inprevious eras and forever changed the way businesswas done.

Commercial buildings therefore come in manyshapes and sizes. The ones of most interest toexplorers, of course, are those that still contain tradegoods of value in the Gamma Age. Alas, they arerare in the extreme. The realities of pre-Warscommerce meant that most businesses producedproducts on demand. The few that operatedaccording to older rules were looted long ago.Exceptions exist, of course, so there is still purposein seeking out ruined businesses. Far more valuable,though, are nanotech manufacturing systems, aswell as the data necessary to make them work. Theseare true prizes, and cause of some of the GammaAge’s worst conflicts.

GOVERNMENT BUILDINGSIn many nations before the Final Wars, the

government was the single largest employer ofpeople. Even in those where this was not true, thegovernment was still a noteworthy presence in dailylife, a veritable Leviathan. The escalating tensionsof continuous technological revolution andcontinuous social invention made many people ofthose final decades toward with longing toward anypromise of stability. Governments were the primarytools for the project of building a life less subject tofurther unexpected change, and amassed evergreater power in its pursuit. Unsurprisingly, then,there were large numbers of government buildings

constructed, each one dedicated to the running ofa different aspect of the vast bureaucracies of theage. These buildings were primary targets duringthe Final Wars, which is why many no longer existin the Gamma Age. Those that do are rarely intact,having suffered all sorts of indignities over thegenerations, including vandalism by the survivorsof the Final Wars, who often blamed thegovernment for the fall of civilization and soughtto gain some measure of satisfaction by destroyingthe buildings that once housed its apparatus.

Nevertheless, some government buildings didsurvive intact. Finding one is a rare and valuablefind. Government buildings always contain lots ofelectronic data and computer terminals, many ofwhich are encrypted. A central AI may also bepresent, in which case explorers may findthemselves with it as an opponent. GovernmentAIs are notoriously eccentric, since they regularlyremain loyal to orders generations out of date andact appropriately. Government buildings sometimescontain ID cards and other means of accessingadditional sites, making them extremely valuableto those looking to explore beyond their walls.

RESIDENTIAL HOMESThe vast majority of humanity still lived

aboveground during the days before the Final Wars.Their homes almost all shared a couple of keycharacteristics. Firstly, most homes were heavilyautomated, using a coordinating AI to monitor theactivities of robotic and nanotech systems that keptthem operating at peak capacity. These systemsincluded cleaners, recyclers, energy distribution andcommunications, among others. Secondly, mosthomes possessed their own microenvironments thatwere regulated according to the wishes (or whims)of their inhabitants. The outward appearance ofhomes varied greatly, from high-rise apartmentcomplexes to stately mansions to self-containedarcologies. The general tendency was towardbuilding up rather than out, because real estate wasimmensely valuable in the Noetic Age and beyond,so towers and dense high structures are morecommon than low sprawls.

Residential homes were not targets in the FinalWars and comparatively few of them suffereddamage. However, most were not constructed tolast forever and so have become dilapidated andrun-down in the generations since the Wars. Thosethat still stand were those made from state of theart materials like diamondoid. Anyone enteringthese homes could conceivably find almost


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anything, although items of a personal nature anduse are most likely. Often, residential homescontinue to be used for their original purpose, asbeings again set up house within their walls. Forthat reason, explorers should be wary of the newinhabitants, lest they be caught off guard.

BELOW THE GROUNDSubterranean vaults take more effort to make

and maintain, but offer appealing advantages forbuilders out to protect their goods. Undergroundvaults are better protected against damage fromweapons, weather and other catastrophes. They arealso better hidden from surface populations,meaning they are also more likely to be intact,whether whole or in part. Looters and “tombrobbers” have to know about the existence of a vaultbefore they can sack it and many subterraneanvaults are unknown to the inhabitants of theGamma Age. This means that the GM can veryeasily use these vaults as the basis for adventures oreven entire campaigns in some cases.

Because of their relative protection,subterranean vaults are remarkably diverse. Manypredate the Final Wars by many decades, evencenturies. For while the surface of the Earth waswell used by the time of the Final Wars, beneaththe Earth was another story. There space availablebeneath the surface of the world is immense, largerthan the surface area by several factors. That meansthat, if the GM so wishes, there is room for sprawlinghidden structures hidden away from prying eyes.Furthermore, subterranean vaults better jibe withour atavistic sense of what a “vault” is. When onethinks of archeology and excavation, it typicallyinvolves digging into the ground in order to finditems from the past. This also corresponds rathernicely with many of the mythic themes that GammaWorld employs, making it very easy to connectvaults with “the Tombs of the Ancients” or othersuch fantasy tropes.

The ease with which subterranean vaults canbe used shouldn’t blind the GM to plausibility,however. He still needs to consider how and whythese vaults exist. Fortunately, doing so is almostas easy as using the vaults themselves. By the timeof the Gamma Age, many locales have beeninhabited by human beings for many centuries (insome places even longer!). Consequently, theselocales have layers (or strata) of subterraneanstructures that may still be accessible with someeffort. In some cases, these structures might even

still be used, while in others they will be completelyforgotten. Consider, for example, that the city ofSeattle, which is relatively young by comparison tomany cities in the world, is built upon the burntout husk of its former self destroyed in the Fire of1889. By the Gamma Age, many (if not most)settlements will have similar subterraneanstratifications, giving the GM a means to use vaultsvery close to home. Indeed, an entire campaigncould be built around exploring the undercity ofthe player characters’ home community, battlingits denizens and liberating the artifacts that theypossess.

Of course, some subterranean vaults were builtthat way on purpose. These include undergroundbunkers designed to protect governmental andmilitary personnel during times of war, as well asresearch facilities and even commercial centers. Bythe Gamma Age, it was comparatively easy to buildunderground structures without any of thedifficulties that plagued past efforts of this sort. Theuse of robotics and nanotechnology alone made ita relatively simple matter to carve tunnels andcaverns from the Earth’s crust, or even deeper. Onmost continents, there were underground magneticlevitation train networks that allowedextraordinarily quick travel from one city to thenext. There were also subterranean nano-factoriesthat used raw materials from the Earth’s interior toproduce a wide variety of consumer goods. Therewere even underground arcologies that offeredcomparatively vast amounts of living space to thosewho chose to live within them.

Subterranean vaults thus offer a lot of latitudeto GMs looking to find places to set adventures orplace artifacts from the past. They are much morelikely to be undisturbed. Vaults of this kind aretherefore likely to be the “default” in all but themost unusual campaigns.

DEEP CORE MINESThe rise of nanotechnology increased the

demand for pure raw materials like carbon to recordlevels. Because the easily accessible veins hadalready been played out by the time of the NoeticAge, humanity turned to deep core mines to findwhat they needed. These mines are massive shaftsrunning kilometers below the surface of the world.They included extensive elevator systems designedto transport the tons of materials they unearthed.They also included control stations and portableAI bunkers to direct the activities of mighty boringdevices that did their work here.


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The mines still exist in the Gamma Age, butentering them is dangerous at best. If the powersystems of the elevators are not longer functioning,there is no safe way to descend into the yawningabysses. Moreover, there isn’t all that much of valueuntil one reaches the lowest levels of the mines,where the robotic and automated systems may liedormant after long centuries. Of course, some ofthem may still be hard at work, drilling deeper anddeeper in search of raw materials of use to peoplelong dead.

MAGLEV TUNNELSOnce upon a time, giant subterranean tunnels

allowed magnetic levitation trains to travel fromone end of the continent to the other, guided byAIs that could keep track of the entire network andensure safety. Those systems largely shut down afterthe Final Wars, although small sub-networks ofthem may still be operational. Anyone who entereda disused tunnel would find it a convenient, if long,means of overcoming land obstacles. Entering atunnel still in use (a rarity but nevertheless apossibility) opens characters up numerous dangers,not least of which being a train traveling atincredibly high speeds: vacuum or exotic gases,incredibly high voltages in superconductingelectrical cables, maintenance robots withaggressive programming, and on and on.

Maglev tunnels can be found almost anywhere,since the train networks were quite extensive beforethe Final Wars. Abandoned tunnels are home toall manner of beings, including entire subterraneansocieties that conduct commerce via the tunnels.Every few kilometers there are automated stationsto keep track of the movements of the trains.Though small, the stations contain lots ofcomputers and electronic devices, as well as acommunications system that connects to the centralgoverning AI. If still operational, these items couldall be of great use to the player characters. Thereare also storehouses of parts and replacement trainsevery few kilometers. These storehouses are oftenseized by beings who scavenge tech items or seekto use them for their own purposes.

MILITARY COMPLEXESWarfare in the Gene and Noetic Ages favored

surgical weapons of immense firepower. Throughthe use of artificial intelligence, for example,weapons could seek out very specific targets andleave surrounding ones almost wholly free ofcollateral damage. While a boon for those who

sought “bloodless” wars, this evolution alarmedmilitary planners, who quickly realized that the oldmethods of defense would no longer be adequate tothe task. Military complexes were now vulnerablein a way they had not been in many generations.

One solution was to place military complexesbelow ground where they could use kilometers ofbedrock and other natural defenses to protectthemselves from enemy assault. In addition, militaryproving grounds were much safe when removed frompopulation centers on the surface. Undergroundlocales also made espionage more difficult (thoughfar from impossible). Consequently, militarycomplexes were frequently found beneath the earth.Though many were wiped out by devastatingweapons during the Final Wars, some survived. Thosethat did survive hold weapons, ammunition andother materiel, in addition to information of valueto anyone wishing to continue the development ofengines of destruction. Not surprisingly, intactsubterranean military complexes are great prizes inthe Gamma Age.

ON THE SEA This category includes any surface waters as

well as small islands. These locales provide lots ofpossibilities for vaults that escaped notice, in partbecause maritime vaults need not be limited to asingle locale. For example, a naval vessel can movefrom place to place, whether by its own power ortossed by the waves. Obviously, an island or an oilderrick isn’t going to be as mobile. Even so, suchsea-based vaults could conceivably have survivedthe devastation of the Final Wars because theysimply weren’t as apparent as land-based targets.Again, this is a generalization. Any maritime targetsof military significance were probably hit and wereunlikely to have survived, although there areexceptions to every rule.

It’s these exceptions that make the mostinteresting sites for Gamma World adventures. Likesubterranean vaults, the relative inaccessibility ofseagoing vaults makes them more likely to hold richtreasures untouched by looters. Similarly, thesevaults are unusual in their nature, which makesthem a great change of pace from the typical vaultsplayer characters will encounter. Traveling to anabandoned stealth battleship adrift on the AtlanticOcean would be a very different experience fromexploring the maglev tunnels beneath theAmerican Midwest. As a locale, water is quiteunderused in roleplaying games. GMs looking to


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add spice to their games will find that maritimevaults may be just what they’re looking for.

The primary difficulty with maritime vaults isthat they can be difficult to reach for most playercharacters. If a vault is located on a remote islandin the Pacific Ocean, only a very special group ofcharacters will even know of its existence, let alonebe able to reach it. Consequently, the most practicalmaritime vaults are located closer to home, perhapson lakes or rivers or some other inland area.Alternately, they could be located not far from thecoast. True seagoing vaults will require a lot ofpreparation to find and loot, making them verydifficult undertakings. That’s not to say GMs shouldavoid them at all costs, but their presence shouldbe sparing at best unless the focus of the campaignis built around them. In fact, a band of maritimeexplorers with a relic boat of their own, travelingthe seas of the Gamma Age, has a lot of appeal.Yet, there’s no denying that this is an unusualcampaign focus and one that players and GM shouldagree upon from the start.

ISLANDSIslands, whether in lakes, rivers or sea, make

great vaults. They are far enough removed from themainland that the lowest levels of looters will notbother with them, ensuring at least a basic level ofpreservation. Unfortunately, this isn’t usuallyenough to keep very determined looters away,which is why island vaults that survive intacttypically employ some other type of defense as well.

SEAGOING VESSELSVery few seagoing vessels survived the Final

Wars. Those that did were largely military vesselsdesigned to withstand great punishment. A handfulof them might still be afloat on the waves of theworld, waiting to be found. However, any that stillexist will be far from the shores of the world, makingthem difficult to reach. On the other hand, theywill likely be storehouses of military technology,including some mightily impressive heavy weapons.This makes them a prize well worth exploring,should one find a way to locate and reach them.

BENEATH THE SEAIf vaults can be found on the sea, why not

beneath them? Aquatic vaults have a lot in commonwith subterranean vaults, more so even thanmaritime vaults. Like their undergroundcounterparts, underwater vaults have probablysurvived in greater than average numbers because


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of their sheer inaccessibility. Indeed, they probablysurvive in number greater even than subterraneanvaults. At the same time, there were comparativelyfew aquatic vaults built even in the Final Wars era;there wasn’t much incentive to do so.

Of course, “not much” isn’t the same as “none.”Aquatic vaults did exist and many of them still do,some of them wholly intact. During the Noetic Era,underwater cities and research stations reachedtheir zenith, with several in the Atlantic and PacificOceans, as well as some in the Indian Ocean andnear Antarctica. These places were collectivelyhome to millions of people, some of whom weregenetically adapted to life beneath the waves. Likeeverything else, these cities and stations were thetargets of attack during the Final Wars, but wererelatively low priorities. Consequently, it’s quiteplausible to assume that, even if they did not survivewithout damage into the Gamma Age, they areprobably better preserved than most surface sites.

Once again, the problem with aquatic vaults istheir inaccessibility, even more so than maritimevaults. Finding a way to get down to a underwatercity or mining station will be quite difficult for mostplayer characters. Doing so will probably be a majorundertaking that will require the assistance of anation, group or cryptic alliance that possesses theknowledge and equipment necessary to make thetrip. That’s not a bad thing in itself. However, it isan unusual occurrence in most campaigns. Bringingan underwater vault into the campaign willtherefore have many repercussions beyond what’sfound in the vault itself. So long as the GM is awareof this, adding a vault like this can be a rewardingexperience and well worth the effort.

AQUATIC ARCOLOGIESThe world at the time of the Final Wars was filled

with billions of human beings. Although fewer innumber than they had been in previous generations,there were still enough people in the world that theneed or desire to create breathing space was important.One of the ways this was achieved was through thecreation of aquatic arcologies, self-containedunderwater cities on the ocean floor. There weredozens of these cities, some of them with populationsin the hundreds of thousands.

Naturally, aquatic arcologies suffered just asmuch as other cities during the Final Wars. Some,though, escaped notice because of their remoteness.These survived to varying degrees into the GammaAge. Anyone visiting one of these arcologies todaymight find a thriving, though isolated, population

there or a complete ghost town. In either cases, thesearcologies could be home to just about any type ofartifact that could be found in a surface dwelling.

DEEP-SEA MINESBy the time of the Final Wars, nanotechnology

had become ubiquitous, obviating the need for mostnatural resources. However, some ores, minerals,chemicals and other natural products remainednecessary as the raw materials for nanotechmanufacturing. These materials were sometimesrare or scarce on Earth. Rather than import themfrom space, which remained expensive,manufacturers built deep-sea mines to plumb thoseparts of the planet that had previously beenuntapped.

Deep-sea mines were sturdy and well protectedagainst water pressure and other hazards.Consequently, many of them still exist in theGamma Age. Should someone find the means toreach them (many are kilometers below thesurface), they might still be operational, filled withall manner of drilling equipment and processingfacilities. Some of these mines were automated, runby AIs and synthetic lifeforms. These beings maystill exist there and, if so, might resent — orwelcome — the sudden appearance of outsiders.

IN THE AIREven more unusual than maritime or aquatic

vaults are aerial ones. Very few Game Mastersconsider the possibility of a site located above thesurface of the world and with good reason.Nowadays, airplanes are among the only things thattravel through the air and they do not remain therefor more than a few hours at a time. The notionthat any type of aerial vessel, never mind a facility,could do so for the several generations that haspassed since the Final Wars seems ludicrous at firstglance.

For the most part, yes, it is ludicrous, or at leastquite unusual. However, there are many possibilitiesfor GMs who wish to include aerial vaults in theircampaigns. The first thing to remember is that notall vaults are incredibly ancient. A vault can bequite recent. So long as it holds items or knowledgeworth extracting then it qualifies as a vault for thepurposes of this book. Therefore, an airplane orballoon put into flight during the Gamma Agemight be an example of an aerial vault. Likewise,some mutations, like telekinesis could be used toplace objects into flight. Though rare, it’s not


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beyond the bounds of possibility, especially inGamma World!

Nevertheless, it’s quite true that an aerial vaultrequires some unusual circumstances to justify. Morethan likely, it also requires some technologicalhand-waving to overcome suspension of disbelief,but that’s often true of many good ideas, so the GMshould not shy away from it simply for that reason.At the same time, the GM bear in mind that, if it isdifficult to explain how an aerial vault exists at all,it’s almost as hard to get the player characters there.On the other hand, if he can do so, he will havecreated an extremely memorable adventure locale,one that is likely to enrich his campaign.

BEYOND THE BOUNDSOF EARTH

Ironically, orbital (and interplanetary) vaultsare easier to explain than aerial ones. Object andstructures placed in a stable orbit can remain therefor very long periods of time without decay. Thismeans that there are untold thousands of satellites,stations and other things circling the Earth by theGamma Age. Many, if not most, of them will notbe operational, but a few will be and it is these fewthat provide the GM with almost endlesspossibilities.

Before the Final Wars era, mankind hadreturned to space, exploring the Moon and nearbyplanets, as well as sending probes and spacecrafteven farther away. Permanent settlements wereestablished in a few places, although none of themever grew very large. Despite this, their existenceprovides GMs with plenty of opportunities tointroduce something genuinely unexpected into hiscampaign. How many players expect theircharacters to wind up on a Moon base or aboard aspace station? Alternately, an object from space canfall to Earth, bringing its contents with it. In thiscase, the characters do not go to the vault; the vaultcomes to them.

The difficulty with orbital vaults is twofold. Thefirst is the common one of their inaccessibility. Howdo the player characters get there? In most GammaWorld campaigns, space vehicles are rare or outrightnon-existent. How does one reach a space stationwithout them? Even if such vehicles exist, figuringout to fly them will be mammoth undertaking andrequire resources and knowledge the characters maynever possess. Automated systems are a possibility,of course, but they should not be commonplace,lest they soon take over the campaign. This brings


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us to the second difficulty: compatibility. Not allcampaigns are compatible with the notion of spacetravel and orbital vaults. There are many reasonsfor this, ranging from a different focus to concernsabout technological contamination. After all, anyorbital vault that survived is probably home to alot of cool toys, many of them even more powerfulthan those found on Earth. A GM would have everyreason to be concerned about their introductioninto an existing campaign.

As always, none of these difficulties isinsurmountable. So long as the Game Master isaware of the consequences of introducing orbitalvaults, both in terms of campaign focus andtechnological advancement, there will be fewerproblems. In fact, the introduction of orbital vaultscould well be an important stage in the playercharacters’ quest to rebuild civilization. Space couldhold survivors from previous ages, who’ve watchedEarth from a distance and waited for the time whenthey might be able to impart their preservedknowledge to the world. Such a turn of events wouldbe one of epic consequences and isn’t suitable forevery campaign. However, it’s events like this thatmake Gamma World different from many otherroleplaying games; they are to be savored by thosewho a taste for them.

ORBITAL FACTORIESDuring the Noetic Era and afterward, many

manufacturing processes were deemed eitherimpractical or too dangerous to be done on Earth, sothey were placed in orbit instead. These orbitalfactories proved wildly successful, allowing thecreation of unusual alloys and other materials, as wellas using nanotech that was on the cutting edge of itsday. Consequently, their numbers grew over timeuntil, by the time of the Final Wars, there wereliterally thousands of them in orbit around the planet.

Many orbital factories were targets during theWars, but some survived. Those that do are mostlyuninhabited except by their robotic and syntheticworkers. They use a combination of solar and fusionand so are still operational… if they have or canget the raw materials they needed to work. Anyonewho visits an orbital factory in the Gamma Age

could thus find themselves on a potential treasuretrove should they be able to convince its mastersthat they should cooperate and can provide themwith what they needed to continue their operations.

SPACECRAFTPlanetary and interstellar spacecraft might still

exist in orbit around the Earth. Again, these werepopular targets during the Final Wars. Likewise,those humans who could escape the devastation ofthe Wars often boarded ships bounded for theMoon, Mars and beyond to save themselves. Thesetactics did not always succeed, but they occasionallydid, which is why there are comparatively few spacevehicles still in orbit of the planet.

That said, the days prior to the Final Wars sawthe creation of a vast automated shuttle system, inaddition to spaceplanes that operated along similarprinciples. Some of these have undoubtedlysurvived. Should someone find a way to board one,the question then becomes how to control it. Theautomated systems may malfunction or may havedeveloped minds of their own. Without an abilityto control these vehicles, any trip aboard them willbe a dangerous proposition.

SPACE STATIONSMuch like the orbital factories, space stations

proved wildly successful during the Noetic Era andafterward. Dozens were built during that time,becoming homes to thousands of people. Thesestations were mostly destroyed during the Wars, buta few may have survived. If they are still operational,they would provide a stable base from which toexplore Earth orbit and beyond.

Of course, many will have suffered massivedamage and now be devoid of air, gravity and othernecessities. The likelihood that any inhabitant ofthe Gamma Age could survive under suchconditions is small at best. On the other hand, thesestations were designed to be largely self-sufficient.If one or more of them has survived intact, it ispossible that they hold the descendants of thosewho originally inhabited them. If so, they may haveunique insights to offer the world below, if only theycould be reached.


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OPENING THE VAULTSThe GM should consider the role played by

every vault in her adventures. Some will have norole other than to provide “treasure” to the playercharacters, in which case there’s little need forelaborate explanations or descriptions of theirdefenses. Others, though, will be important,becoming very much like NPCs, with their ownpersonalities and quirks. Vaults of this type will bespecial ones that play a central role in an adventureor campaign. They should be uncommon unless theGM wishes to exquisitely detail every bolthole andtime capsule strewn across the shattered landscapeof the Gamma Age. In the end, vaults deserveattention commensurate with their role in theadventure or campaign.

NATURAL DEFENSESMany vaults have natural defenses, which is a

large category that includes anything notspecifically created by intelligent beings. A fewexamples of natural defenses include:

• Altitude• Avalanche debris• Felled trees• Ice• WaterThese and other such obstacles are all the

results of natural occurrences, whether or not theywere extant at the time the vault was built. Altitudein the above list is a clear example of man’s takingadvantage of a natural property in order to protecta vault. Thus, a vault might be found high in themountains in order to make it inaccessible.Meanwhile, avalanche debris or felled trees mighthave occurred after the vault was constructed,adding to the difficulty of breaching it.

ARTIFICIAL DEFENSESArtificial defenses are the opposite of natural

defenses, both in the fact that they were specificallycreated for their purpose and because they rarelyinvolve natural elements. That is, artificial defensesare made from artificial materials and processes thatare not found in the natural world. A few examplesof artificial defenses include:

• Contact poison• Electronic locks• ID cards• Force fields• Steel doors

From the perspective of the characters (andmany other inhabitants of the Gamma Age), vaultsare interesting primarily for what they contain.That’s perfectly understandable. While some vaultsare inherently interesting, most are not. They arethus obstacles to be overcome rather than valuablein their own right. Overcoming the vault’s naturaland circumstantial defenses therefore is animportant element in many Gamma Worldadventures. This section provides an overview ofsome of the more common defenses to be used botheither as written or as a spur to the GM’simagination. The wide variety of possible defensesis immense, so what follows is only a brief précis ofthe topic rather than an exhaustive list.

TYPES OF DEFENSESLike “vault,” “defense” is used in this section

in an equivocal fashion. That is, a vault’s defensesare not necessarily weapons systems or traps or evenlocks. Rather, “defense” refers to any type ofprotection that impedes the player characters’ability to breech the vault and to obtain the artifactshidden within it. Defined in this fashion, a defenseis an dditional layer of difficulty to attempts tobreech a vault.

Depending on the wishes of the Game Master,this additional layer may or may not have any gamemechanical effects. In some adventures orcampaigns, it’s not noteworthy except as part of thebackground color that an ancient computer systemis buried under tons of debris. Finding the system isjust a means to an end rather than an end in itself,because the GM has decided that the system holdsthe key to something the characters need to know.In this case, the debris is just a “special effect,”something the GM can use to spice up hisdescriptions of the characters’ work, as they dig androll away the boulders and other detritus of the ages.

In other adventures or campaigns, however, avault’s defenses may prove very important, perhapsbecause they represent the climax of the action orbecause they are done under difficult circumstances.In those cases, the GM might well decide that thefallen debris increases the DC to various skill checksor imposes a time penalty on the characters’ efforts.If they do not find a way to break through the debrisand reach the system quickly enough, some direconsequences may unfold.


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Artificial defenses can run the gamut fromprimitive to high-tech in origin. Obviously, a vaultprotected with contact poison is probably lesssophisticated than one protected with a force field.Probably but not necessarily. After all,biotechnology and nanotechnology was quiteadvanced during the Final Wars era. A “contactpoison” might actually be a biotech virus ornanotech device that enters a target’s bloodstreamand wreaks damage far worse than any naturalpoison. In any case, all these artificial defenses arethe result of technological know-how rather thansomething else.

ID “CARDS”By the time of the Final Wars, ID cards

no longer existed as physical cards carriedaround in one’s pocket or worn aroundone’s neck. They were usually implantedin the “carrier” either as benign nanounitsor viruses. Card readers could scan carriersto detect their presence and would allowaccess as appropriate. Unfortunately, thistechnology was lost with the Final Wars,except to a handful of AIs that onceoversaw its implementation. They stillpossess they ability to create and inject IDcards into a person’s bloodstream, but theyare unlikely to do so in most cases. That’sbecause there’s very little reason to do soany longer, as well as the fact that thesystems are largely useless in the GammaAge. Too few of them survived the Warsto make it worth using the system again.

At the same time, clever charactersmay convince a friendly AI to inject themwith ID cards to aid them in exploringancient ruins. For convenience, these IDcards are rated from Stage I to Stage V,with each stage granting a higher level ofaccess to a site (or collection of relatedsites). Anyone possessing the proper stageID card can move with relative freedomwithin a site and may be able to convinceautomated or intelligent systems that thatthey should be allowed to move about. Ofcourse, a lot has happened since the FinalWars, so there’s no guarantee that anintelligent defense system that onceresponded to Stage V ID cards still does.


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INTELLIGENT DEFENSESIntelligent defenses can be either natural or

artificial in origin. They consist of beings (definedbroadly) who act as a vault’s guardians and whowill do whatever they can to prevent the charactersfrom breeching it. A few examples of intelligentdefenses include:

• AIs• Android soldiers• Automated weapons systems• Tribal warriors• Warbots

Intelligent defenses are noteworthy becausethey target only those whom they do not recognize.They may allow selective entry into a vault,depending on the nature of their orders or their ownjudgment. For example, a band of android warriorsmight allow non-mutants into a vault, because theyrecognize them as their “masters.” Alternately,anyone who can convince an inquisitive AI of theirgood intentions may be able to bypass its defenses.The point is that intelligent defenses do not actwithout reason. They act because of instructions orbeliefs regarding who and under what circumstancesindividuals should be allowed to enter a vault.


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GAMMA WORLD: OUT OF THE VAULTS


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CHAPTER TWO: TOOLS

In the most general sense, a tool is any devicethat humans use to make their lives easier. A flashlightis a tool for seeing in the dark, a diving suit is a toolfor surviving under water and a wrench is a tool fortightening bolts. While people have been makingever-more complex tools since the Paleolithic,nanotechnology and the vast advances in materialsscience that it created allowed engineers to createtools that were far superior to those made before thelate 21st century. Suddenly, tools could reshapethemselves according to their user’s desires, andimproved microelectronics allowed some of these toolsto operate on their own. While many people in the

Gamma Age world do not value tools as much asweapons, armor, vehicles, or medical technology, wiseand experienced adventurers know that a sturdy andcomfortable tent or the correct set of lock-pickingtools can often be at least as valuable as a blaster pistolor a hover bubble.

Characters who don’t live in communities withregular access to the level of technology required toproduce particular devices must analyze them inaccordance with the rules in the Gamma WorldPlayer’s Handbook, Chapter Six. Each distinctfunction is a separate layer for analysis, DC 15 unlessnoted otherwise.

PERSONAL TOOLSThese are devices intended for use by a single

person without a great deal of difficulty.

BIOGILLSize:Size:Size:Size:Size: TinyWeight:Weight:Weight:Weight:Weight: 0.5 lbPurchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC: 12

While the various forms of diving gear developedin the 20th century allowed human unparalleledaccess to the ocean’s depths, these devices sufferedfrom several serious flaws. None of the methodsallowed humans to stay down for more than a fewhours and diving to any depth required lengthydecompression. The biogill solves both of theseproblems. Instead of providing breathable air, a biogilldirectly oxygenates the wearer’s bloodstream. Inaddition to never running out of air, the deviceregulates the levels of oxygen it provides sufficientlywell to avoid any problems with pressure as long asthe wearer does not dive deeper than 1,000 yards.

When dry and unworn, a biogill goes dormant androlls up into a small cylinder six inches long and fourinches in diameter — a biogill can remain dormantindefinitely. Five minutes after the user immerses thisdevice in non-poisonous water, it unrolls into a flatoval 6 inches wide and a foot long. When wet, thisoval deploys hundreds of short, ribbon-like fronds upto an inch long. The biogill absorbs oxygen throughthese fronds. When applied to someone’s back, a biogillpainlessly sends in hundreds of tiny root-like fibers intothe person’s back, temporarily bonding it to the personand providing them with oxygen. The biogill remainsactive and attached to the wearer’s back as long as she

remains in the water and continues to remain attachedfor an hour after the wearer has left the water. At thistime, the biogill falls off and rolls back up into itsdormant form.

In addition to being useful tools, biogills are alsosimple organisms. If someone cuts a biogill in half andplaces each half in a tank or pond exposed to directsunlight and filled with water containing nutrientsand algae, each half will grow into an adult and fullyfunctional biogill in a month. Until it reaches its adultsize, cutting it in half again will kill it and it will notbond to a wearer’s back.

Biogills allow the wearer to breathe normally inany water that contains sufficient amounts of dissolvedoxygen. In practice, this means that the wearer cansafely use it in any water that is not either extremelytoxic or so stagnant and foul that few people wouldwillingly touch it. However, the wearer cannot use abiogill when she is wearing anything that covers theupper portion of her back. Biogills must attach to theuse’s bare skin and do not function if worn underheavy clothing or any type of armor.

CAMPING BIO-BANDSize:Size:Size:Size:Size: TinyWeight:Weight:Weight:Weight:Weight: 0.5 lbPurchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC: 12

One of the most useful advances in camping andwilderness survival technology created before the FinalWars is a biotech creation known as a camping bio-band. Created from a genetically modified sea creaturecalled a chiton, this organism is 2 inches wide, 6 incheslong and half an inch thick. It has a hard carapace that


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comes in a variety of bright primary colors and is markedwith the logo of whichever company created itsancestors. This creature wraps itself around the user’swrist and extends a thin, painless proboscis to drawthe nutrients it requires from the user.

Once in place, it performs a wide variety of usefulfunctions. Using a powerful color-changing abilitygrafted in from flounder genes, a patch on the middleof the creature’s back functions as a biological displayscreen. By touching various portions of the bio-bandthe unit can display detailed information on the user’sstate of health (which provides a +2 equipment bonusfor all treat injury rolls made on the user), in addition,the bio-band is sensitive to magnetic north and canact as a compass (providing a +2 equipment bonus toall Navigate checks). In addition, touching the bio-band to food or water allows the user to tell if it ispoisonous. When the user touches a sample of foodor water to one end of the bio-band, the entire bandturns a sickly green if the sample is poisonous. Theband also turns red in the presence of unsafe air andyellow if exposed to dangerous levels of radiation. Thegreater the danger, the brighter its color becomes.

Also, the bio-band has several dozen dime-sizedbioluminescent spots running down both sides. The

appropriate touches cause some or all of them toilluminate, providing a level of illumination rangingfrom candlelight (5 ft. radius of illumination) to lightequal to a torch or a late 20th century chemical lightstick (20 ft. radius of illumination). These lights canalso create a directional light equivalent to a flashlight(a beam 30 ft. long).

Like much livetech, these creatures arehermaphroditic and can be persuaded to mate andbreed by anyone who knows the Tech Familiarity:Final Wars Tech feat and 4 or more ranks in the skillKnowledge (Earth and life sciences). Camping bio-bands give birth to one small egg that takes fourmonths to hatch and grow to maturity.

CUTTER-BONDER (C-B)Size:Size:Size:Size:Size: TinyWeight:Weight:Weight:Weight:Weight: o.5 lbPurchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC: 12/14

A cutter-bonder is one of the more mundanewonders of the nanotech era. Shaped like a oval 20th-century box cutter with a red button on one side anda green button on the other, a C-B is extremely easyto use. Its only other control is a digital gauge labeled“Depth” that runs from one one-hundredth of an inch

Cutter-Bonder

Fix-It

Biogill

Grabber

Handi-Lite


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CHAPTER TWO: TOOLS

to four inches. This item lacks any visible blade, butcan cut almost any material and bond almost any twomaterials together. This device contains a reservoirfor highly specialized nanotech that can either breakalmost any molecular bonds or create powerful bondsbetween a multitude of materials. To cut an object,the user sets the depth, holds down the red button(labeled “Cut” in pre-Wars English) and touches itto the object she wishes to cut. Once activated, astream of nanotech disassemblers emerge from thefront of the device and cuts the material to the desireddepth. The cutter makes a cut that starts at its frontedge and extends downward into the material toexactly the depth that was set. In effect, the user hasa saw that can be started anywhere in the materialand that cuts without effort.

For safety, the disassemblers will not work on anyform of living flesh. They also do not work on any ofthe advanced diamond-coated materials used as armoron military vehicles and as shielding for the innerworkings of fusion reactors. However, a C-B can doeverything from cutting a sheet of paper while notmarking the table underneath to slicing through athree-inch thick steel beam. Unfortunately, a C-Bcannot be effectively used in combat, since the usermust hold it in place and move it slowly (a C-B canmake a one-foot long cut every round). Attemptingto move it more rapidly engages the safety featuresand the device will not work until the user moves itmore slowly.

Bonding is equally easy. The user sets the depth,holds down the green button (labeled “Bond”) andtouches it to the two objects she wishes to bond. Thesetwo objects must be touching each other, and the usermust apply the C-B to a region directly over wherethey touch. At this point, nanotech assemblers comeout of the device and create molecular bonds betweenthese two objects. Better than any glue, theseassemblers literally make the two items become onewhere they join. The user can bond glass to paper,plastic to steel or even rock to raw meat. As in cuttingmode, it only bonds a line of material to each other,but for stronger bonds, the user can simply bond thetwo items together at many places. The C-B cannotbond living materials to anything else and bondingmust be performed as slowly as cutting. While uselessa weapon, a C-B can be both a valuable tool and adevastating instrument of sabotage. A C-B can cut orbond 100 yards of material before the user mustrecharge or replace its power cell. Cutter-bonders wereextremely common before the Final Wars and can be

PURCHASE DCSMany of the items in this book have a split

purchase DC — two numbers separated by aslash mark, such as “17/20.” The first numberis always the purchase DC of the item intechnically advanced communities like pure-strain human enclaves. The second (alwayshigher) DC is for purchasing the item in theless advanced communities that make up themajority of settled enclaves in the Gamma Age.

Very common devices and technologiesthat can either be bred or that have gone feraland can now be caught in the wild all have asingle purchase DC. Their presence hasnothing to do with the level of technologicaladvancement of a particular community.

found in almost any store and in the ruins of manyhomes.

FIX-ITFix-It (and Jinx):Fix-It (and Jinx):Fix-It (and Jinx):Fix-It (and Jinx):Fix-It (and Jinx): Tiny animal; HD 1d8 (hp 5); Mas 10; Init +3;Spd 20 ft (4 squares); Defense 15 (+2 size, +3 Dex), touch 15,flat-footed 12; BAB/ Grap +0/ –5; Atk bite +3 melee (1d2);Full Atk bite +3 melee (1d2); FS/ Reach 2 1/ 2 ft./ 0 ft.; SQLow-light vision; AL bonded human; tinkering; SV Fort +2;Ref +5; Wil +1; AP 0; RP 0; Str 5, Dex 16, Con 10, Int 6, Wis12, Cha 8.Skills:Skills:Skills:Skills:Skills: Craft (electronic) +15, Craft (mechanical) +15, Repair+15 (or Disable Device +15 for jinxes)Feats:Feats:Feats:Feats:Feats: Tech Familiarity: Pre-War TechPurchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC: 14

While many tools were designed for use withextremely advanced supporting devices, the fix-itswere designed to work with the far more commontechnologies of daily life. Fix-its are geneticallyengineered capuchin monkeys designed to bond witha specific person. If someone feeds an unbonded fix-it for a full day and allows the creature to sleep nextto him, then fix-it will be completely loyal anddevoted to this individual. This bonding lasts untilthe individual dies or until the fix-it has beenseparated from this individual for more than a month.After this, it is unbonded and someone else may freelybond with it. Bonded fix-its cannot bond with anyoneelse. Fix-its are extremely curious and to tinker witheverything they encounter. Unfortunately, they werestill experimental creatures when the Final Warsoccurred and can have problems dealing withadvanced technologies.


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Fix-its attempt to repair, tinker with, or improveany item of archaic, advanced, or pre-war technologythat they encounter. They possess an instinctiveunderstanding of all technologies and craft simpletools or use their specially modified and highlydexterous hands, feet and tails to attempt to improveany technological device they encounter. They aremost effective when working with Archaic andAdvanced devices. They can transform any piece ofarchaic, advanced, or pre-war technology into aMastercraft object with a +1 bonus. The DC of thisattempt is the DC to construct this object +3. Fix-itsmake all Repair and Craft rolls with a bonus of +15(which includes all bonuses from abilities, skill andany synergy bonuses). On a successful roll, the itembecomes a Mastercraft item.

On a failure, any piece of archaic or advancedtechnology has been slightly damaged and now had apenalty of –1. However, on a failed roll, pre-wartechnology become highly unpredictable: any itemof pre-war technology that a fix-it fails to upgradeinto a Mastercraft item becomes highly unreliable andmay randomly backfire, fall apart without warning orperform some unexpected function vaguely related toits original purpose. Unfortunately, there is no wayto determine what such a piece of technology mightdo without attempting to use it. To avoid makingexisting problems worse, fix-its do not attempt torepair items they have broken.

Also, fix-its attempt to upgrade any object thattheir bonded owner regularly uses, unless their ownerperiodically tells the creatures to leave that itemalone. They are similarly interested in any obviouslybroken object their owner possesses, especially if theitem uses advanced or pre-war technology. Fix-itsoften become lethargic and can even sicken andoccasionally die if they are not regularly given itemsto upgrade and modify — owning a fix-it can be aproblematic proposition

If desired, fix-its can also be commanded to usethe Extreme Machine special ability on any piece oftechnology. Unfortunately, they are less adept at doingthis than a normal technician would be and once theitems reverts to its previous state, it is broken and mustbe repaired on a percentile roll of 50 or lower.

Although fix-its can be troublesome, they are farmore benign than a related species known as jinxes.When the fix-its were created, the company whocreated them fired the design team shortly before thefix-its were released so that the administrators wouldnot have to share their bonuses with the geneticengineers and lab techs. In revenge, this team created

a version of a fix-it specifically designed to ruin anddamage objects. Although they were originally deeplyhated, jinxes rapidly became popular with intelligenceoperatives. Although it can and does regularly attemptto repair broken items, a jinx only has a total bonus of+3 for Repairs. However, it can break or disable almostany device and has a total bonus to the Disable Deviceskill of +15. A normal Disable Device roll allows a Jinxto rapidly render any item non-functional and if it canmake the roll with +5 added to the DC, the object willappear to have been improved or fully repaired untilits owner attempts to use it.

Jinxes can be ordered to destroy or damage aspecific device, but if left on their own, they willattempt to sabotage any nearby device. If a jinx gainsaccess to a new item, roll 1d20. On a roll of 1–10, thejinx damages the device so that it has a –3 penalty forall uses. On a roll of 11–20, the jinx will modify thedevice so that it performs some harmful and vaguelyrelated function — a gun might explode when firedor an electrical heating pad might either catch fire orshock the user. Since it is impossible to distinguishjinxes from fix-its, both creatures are regarded withgreat suspicion by most sensible people. Both typesof creature breed well in the wild and occasionallyferal fix-its and jinxes tinker with gadgets belongingto anyone who lives nearby.

Both jinxes and fix-its look like large capuchinmonkeys approximately a foot and a half tall. Theystand and walk fully upright and their fur is quite short,but they retain the opposable toes and prehensile tailof their ancestors. In addition to having slightly largerheads, the most obvious difference is that thesecreatures have unusually large hands. They have sevenfingers on each hand. Their fingers are also almost aslong as a humans, but are far thinner and containone extra joint.

GRABBERGrabber Gun (loaded)Grabber Gun (loaded)Grabber Gun (loaded)Grabber Gun (loaded)Grabber Gun (loaded) GrabberGrabberGrabberGrabberGrabberSize:Size:Size:Size:Size: Small Size:Size:Size:Size:Size: TinyWeight:Weight:Weight:Weight:Weight: 2 lb Weight:Weight:Weight:Weight:Weight: 0.5 lbPurchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC: 16/ 17 Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC: 14/ 15

Grabbers are the ultimate grappling hooks. Usingnanomachines that bond themselves to any material,a grabber can transform a difficult climb into anexceptionally simple one. Grabbers are (usually) egg-shaped objects 5 inches long and 3 inches in diameter(approximately the size and shape of an avocado), withthree buttons on one end and a foot-long ropeextending from the other. Pressing the green buttonallows the user to draws more rope out of the egg. This


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CHAPTER TWO: TOOLS

rope consists of the same nanomachines that make upthe egg; it expands when pulled out of the egg andbecomes soft, lightweight and incredibly sturdy.Although this rope is only a quarter inch thick, it cansupport up to 5,000 lb. Each grabber can provide up to150 feet of rope. At this point, the grabber is only thesize of a large chicken egg. Pressing the red buttonactivates the grabber. The far end of the grabber awayfrom the rope flattens and turns black, and bonds withthe next non-living thing that it touches. Onceattached, the grabber can support up to 5,000 lb, unlessthe object it is attached to breaks first.

Pressing the blue button causes the rope to retract.If the user attaches the grabber to something, the ropewill lift up to 5,000 lb as it retracts. The rope retracts ata rate of 10 feet per round. Pressing all three buttons,one after the other causes the grabber to instantly releasewhatever it is attached to. Grabbers contain sufficientpower for up to six hours of constant use (includingcontinuously retracting while lifting heavy loads) beforethey need to recharge. When they need to recharge,both the grabber and the rope turns bright red. At thispoint, the user can no longer lengthen or shorten therope. Also, once the user causes a grabber that needs tobe recharged to release, it immediately flattens out intoa pancake-like disk one foot across. It will then fullyrecharge if left in the sun for at least 10 hours.

Originally, grabbers came with specialelectromagnetic guns designed to fire them accuratelyup to 150 feet away, while keeping the rope on aspecial spool. Unlike the grabber itself, the gunsrequired power cells. A grabber gun can fire 30 timesbefore its owner must recharge or replace its powercell. Many people abandoned these guns when theybroke or ran out of power. However, the grabber itselfis almost indestructible, so today users often throw itor attach it to the heads of arrows as a way to deliverit to where the user wants to attach it.

GROOMING NANOTECHNOLOGYSize:Size:Size:Size:Size: TinyWeight:Weight:Weight:Weight:Weight: 0.5 lbPurchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC: 12/ 14

One of the primary difficulties with all 20th andearly 21st century films was that all of the actorsneeded to have their hair and make-up touched upafter every shot. In the late 21st century, cosmeticsresearchers developed nanotechnology thatcontinuously performed these touch-ups, making highquality films and holovids both easier and far lessexpensive. A decade after it was developed for use inholovids, several companies created commercial

versions that could provide the same services foreveryone. Eighteen years before the Final Wars,manufacturers refined this nanowear to the point thatit could also continuously keep the wearer and herclothing clean and could adjust the wearer’s clothingto avoid wrinkles, and even clear rainwater off of boththe wearer and her clothes almost instantly.

Powered by the wearer’s body heat, this nanotechnever needed recharging. Because it was one of thecheapest and most widely available forms ofnanotechnology available, millions of shot-glass sizedcontainers of this nanotech still remain in the ruinsof many shops. In addition, some of this nanotechhas gone feral and now keeps the coats of various wildanimals perfectly clean and smooth. Ranchers oftenattempt to entice this nanotech onto their sheep.

This nanotech works on all living beings and evenon cyborgs with living skin. It will remain on the firstliving organism that is size small, medium or largethat it encounters. It provides a +2 synergy bonus toall Diplomacy rolls because the wearer always looksstylish and well-groomed. Even if the user fell into aswamp after sweating heavily while walking througha extremely hot and humid rainforest, she will be cleanand well-groomed in less than five minutes. Thisnanotech can even repair minor tears and rippedseems on the user’s clothing and keep it continuouslypressed and wrinkle free as long as it is worn. If theuser desires, she never needs to either take a bath orto change his clothes.

Grooming nanotech also provides a +2 synergybonus to resist all poisons or diseases passed by eithercontact or injury, because the nanotech devours all dirtand other unwanted foreign material on the use’s bodyalmost instantly. Users who get this nanotech fresh fromits original package or who have been taught the variouscommands that it understands also learn how to cause itto change hairstyles and apply high quality make-up thatit creates out of dust and atmospheric chemicals. Usinga combination of hand gestures and voice commands,the user can completely change her hair color, hairstyleand make-up in only 10 rounds. Using groomingnanotech in this fashion provides a +2 equipment bonusto all disguise-related checks.

HANDI-LITESize:Size:Size:Size:Size: SmallWeight:Weight:Weight:Weight:Weight: 0.5 lbPurchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC: 12/ 14

This device represents the pinnacle of adaptivelighting. It consists of a diamondoid aerostat (rigid-framed balloon) six inches across, with solar cells on


- 30 -


its upper surface and a small but powerful lightmounted on its bottom. Indoors and outdoors whenthere is little wind, the handi-lite’s small ducted fanscan easily propel it at speeds of up to 60 ft. per turn.In higher wind or when its owner is moving fasterthan this, it extends its four slender, wire-like limbsfrom underneath the light and clings to either itsowner or to some convenient nearby surface. Thehandi-lite can illuminate and entire areas as well as ahalogen lantern (with a radius of 40 feet) or it canuse focusing mirrors to project a bright directionalbeam of light up to 60 feet long.

Sensors on the handi-lite track the owner’s eyemovements, so that the light is never in the owner’seyes and always illuminates what the owner is lookingat. Also, the amount of light it provides variesdepending upon the ambient light level, so that italways provides an optimum level of illumination. Theuser can command the unit to provide optimalillumination for both her and her companions. Shecan also switch between lantern and flashlight mode,reduce the level of light so that it illuminates a smallerarea or provides illumination in such a way that littleor no light is directed in a particular direction (toavoid alerting anyone watching from that direction).A fully changed handi-lite can provide continuousillumination and mobility for 120 hours on one powercell. The solar cells on top of the aerostat rechargeone hour of illumination for every three hours theaerostat is in direct sunlight.

NANOKEYSize:Size:Size:Size:Size: TinyWeight:Weight:Weight:Weight:Weight: o.5 lbPurchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC: 19/ 22

The eternal struggle between ever more efficientlocks and ever improving lock picks continued rightup until the Final Wars. The nanokey was the finestlock pick ever devised. While it could not penetratethe advanced biopattern locks used on highly securemilitary and government installations, it swiftlyopened any other lock. Nanokeys are small boxes thatare four inches long, two inches wide, and two inchesthick. These devices contain a porous-looking surfaceon one of their small sides and a button on the back.

To use a nanokey, the owner places it against thelock and presses the button. A stream of manipulatorynanounits comes out of the porous surface and invadesthe lock. They are programmed to both recognize allknown types of locks and to extrapolate ways ofopening similar types of unknown locks. Whether thelock uses a combination, a key, a punch code and a

key card or even a retina print, the nanounitsdetermine the correct way of opening the lock andopen it. They require 1d4 turns to open anymechanical lock and 3d6 turns to open electroniclocks.

These nano-machines open locks so effectivelythat they do not leave any marks that the lock wasforced open and will not set off any alarms connectto these locks. A nanokey uses very little energy andthe solar cells on one side of the device keep it fullycharged and active. Before the Final Wars, onlythieves, spies and locksmiths ever used this deviceand it was fairly rare. Since nanokeys could not bepurchased in shops and were only legally available toa few varieties of licensed professionals, findingnanokeys in the postwar era is mostly a matter of luck.

REPAIR GOOSize:Size:Size:Size:Size: TinyWeight:Weight:Weight:Weight:Weight: 1 lbPurchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC: 13/ 16

Developed shortly before the Final Wars, thisadvanced nanotech can be found in the trunks ofalmost all expensive vehicles and on the shelves ofthe ruins of many once-prestigious shops. Repair goois always sold in a cylindrical container the size of a20th century 16 oz. can. Each can holds four uses ofrepair goo. When the user touches the can to an objectand pushes the trigger button on the side of the can,a tennis-ball sized blob of silvery liquid emerges. Thisadvanced repair nanotechnology first uses miniaturesensors to analyze the object or device it has beenplaced on and rapidly determines what is wrong withthis device. During this process, the silvery liquidspreads all over the object like a thin film of mercury.This analysis requires approximately 5–10 minutes,depending upon the complexity of the device.Afterwards, the repair goo fixes any obvious problems,including breaks, weak points or worn parts.

Whether it is used on a broken motorcycle or aworn and scuffed suit of clothing, it can restore almostanything to pristine condition. It replaces any smallmissing pieces using its own nanounits and whatevermaterial it can collect from the surface the object isresting on — the repair goo sends out tendrils a yardor two long to collect any useful materials that arenearby. Instructions on a container of repair goorecommend that when using it on seriously damageditems, the user place quanties of various materials usedin the item nearby. Once it has finished all repairs iscan manage, the repair goo turns into a dark gray


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CHAPTER TWO: TOOLS

powder and falls off of the item it repaired, leavingshiny paint, smooth wood, or new fabric underneath.

Repair goo repairs any ordinary damage withinan hour, rendering the object or device as good asnew. However, it cannot repair item that have largemissing pieces or items that have been fully or partiallyreduced to rubble. Also, while it can analyze and repair

REPAIR GOO AFFECTSRoll 1d20 and consult the table below. No check is required if the damage occurred less than a year

previously.Age of DamageAge of DamageAge of DamageAge of DamageAge of Damage Jury-RigJury-RigJury-RigJury-RigJury-Rig Erratic ResultsErratic ResultsErratic ResultsErratic ResultsErratic Results Successful RepairSuccessful RepairSuccessful RepairSuccessful RepairSuccessful RepairBetween 1 and 10 years 1 2–6 7–20Between 11 and 50 years 6 7–11 12–20More than 50 years ago 11 12–16 17–20

Jury Rigged: The item falls to pieces after it has been used once, it cannot be repaired again withouta successful DC 25 Repair roll or a successful DC 20 Repair roll and more repair goo.

Erratic Results: The device now works erratically, Roll 1d20 after every use, on a roll of 1-3 thedevice fails to operate when it is used or turned on. The user can retry it the next turn.

Successful Repair: The item was fully repaired and works normally.One dose of repair good fixes anything from a fountain pen to a motorcycle or a battle suit. Owners

must use two doses to fix a large vehicle like a runner or a hover bubble, and four doses to fix an item thesize of a personal jet, a tank, a modest home or a large yacht. Repair goo cannot repair larger items.

anything that has suffered damage within the last year,items that have either suffered several decades worthof weathering or that were damaged and thenweathered for many years are far more difficult to scansince so little of the original item is unweathered. Asa result, repairs made on such items may yield erraticresults — often only some of the item’s original

RepairGoo

Robocase

SenseSpecs

Shelter-Pak

ToolBracelet

WristAssistant


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functions work or the repair turns out to only be ajury rig and the item literally falls to pieces after itwas used once.

ROBOCASESize:Size:Size:Size:Size: LargeWeight:Weight:Weight:Weight:Weight: 15 lbPurchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC: 14/ 15

The problem with all luggage is that the user mustcarry it around wherever he goes. The robocase wasan answer to this problem developed in the mid-21stcentury. When inactive, a robocase is a suitcase 30inches tall, 18 inches wide, and 12 inches deep. Thesuitcase weighs 15 lb when empty and can hold up to40 lb of gear. It is extremely sturdy and protectseverything within with DR 5/ kinetic. When open,the walls of the suitcase are unusually thick, butotherwise it looks exactly like any other suitcase madebefore the Final Wars. However, when the user pressesa switch on the handle, the suitcase extends six threefoot-long legs, stands up, and begins the follow itsdesignated user.

Unfortunately, the designated user usually dieddecades ago. How useful a robocase is depends in largepart on where someone finds it. One uncovered inthe ruins of a store was likely never used before andwill obey the person who turns it on and will freelyfollow and obey him. He can freely transfer ownershipof the case to someone else, simply by telling therobocase that someone else is its new owner. However,someone used to own almost all of the robocases foundelsewhere.

Once activated, an owned robocase attempts toseek out its previous owner and will protect itscontents from intruders. If anyone who is not anowner or who does not have proper identification asa police officer attempts to move or open the robocase,it will flee, or if necessary defend itself. If cornered orattacked, the case electrifies its exterior, so thatanyone who touches it is affected as if hit by a stungun. No to hit roll is necessary, it automaticallydamages whoever touches it. Resetting a robocase sothat it will recognize someone else as its owner requiresa pair of insulated gloves and a DC 30 Disable Deviceroll. If this roll is successful, the robocase will recognizethe next person that turns it on as its legitimate owner.

Designed for use by both hikers and ordinarytravelers, robocases can easily climb any slope that ahuman can negotiate and have a speed of 40 ft.Robocases can walk for up to 30 hours on a singlepower cell. At the end of this time, the user can eitherreplace their power cell, or press the recharge switch

on the handle. At this point, the case deploys a pairof small solar panels. These solar cells can rechargethe case’s batteries in 15 hours. The user can insteadallow this device to walk indefinitely if he deploysthe solar panels while the case is walking.

SENSE SPECS (TRIPLE S)Size:Size:Size:Size:Size: TinyWeight:Weight:Weight:Weight:Weight: 0.5 lbPurchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC: 15

First developed in 2020 to help soldiers on patrolcoordinate their efforts, these computerized sunglassesswiftly became popular with teens who enjoyed boththe thrill of enhanced sight and the ability to shareeverything with their friends. Within a few decades,advanced wearable computers rendered these devicesboth obsolete and redundant. However, sense specsremained popular with children, poor street gangmembers who could not afford better technology andpeople in the Third World.

Sense specs are built into fancy sunglasses withsturdy metal frames. When the user pushes the buttonon the top of the frame, the glasses turn on andbecome far more. Alone, they allow the user tomagnify images up to 10X, to see in the dark usinglight intensifiers and to see both infrared andultraviolet light. The frames contain a directionalmicrophone that enhances distant sounds. The glassesprovide a +2 equipment bonus to all sight and hearingrolls and eliminate any penalties caused by dim lightas well as giving the user the Darkvision specialquality. Sense specs also contain software that allowsthem to track the user’s pupils and how the user’s eyesare focusing, and use this information to automaticallyenlarge far away objects that the user is looking atand to compensate for dim light. The first time a userputs on a pair of sense specs, the glasses automaticallyruns through a short tutorial where the user decideshow he wants to over-ride these automatic settings.Users can whisper vocal commands, use special seriesof blinks or touch various portions of the glasses framesto signal the glasses that he wishes them to magnify aparticular image or switch over solely to the infraredspectrum.

Sense specs become even more useful when usedtogether. If the user comes within 5 ft of someoneelse wearing a pair of sense specs, both pairs will flashup a message on the interior of the lenses “do youwish to link with the other wearer”. If both wearersagree, then as long as both wearers remain within 25miles of each other, each wearer can use his glasses tosee what the other person’s glasses are seeing and


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CHAPTER TWO: TOOLS

hearing. Sense specs can be set to display sight, soundor both, and can do so either in a corner of the wearer’sfield of vision or to completely replace the viewthrough his glasses with what the other person isseeing.

One pair of sense specs can link up with up to 25other pairs of sense specs at a time. The glasses remainlinked until the user decides to unlink them. Duringthe decade before the Final Wars, sense specs normallycame in boxes of six pairs. Most of these sense specsare brightly colored and are in packaging clearlydesigned to appeal to children. All pairs of sense specsin a box are already linked together. Sense specs usevery little power and recharge themselves using tinysolar cells on their frames. Scavengers can find sensespecs in the ruins of toy stores and discount stores.

SHELTER-PAKSize:Size:Size:Size:Size: SmallWeight:Weight:Weight:Weight:Weight: 5 lbPurchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC: 18/ 20

The shelter-pak is the ultimate camping shelter.Since the Final Wars, it has been exceptionallypopular with nomadic bands, soldiers and travelers ofall sorts. When folded, a shelter-pak is a rounded oval10 inches long, 6 inches wide and 3 inches deep. Theoutside of this oval is largely featureless, containingonly a button-like tab that the user can pull and asmall digital charge indicator. Thin-film solar cellscover the entire surface of this ovoid, and even if theunit’s battery is completely empty, placing it in directsunlight or other bright light for 15 minutes providesit with sufficient power to open when the user pullthe tab. When the user pulls the tab, the oval takesfive minutes to unfold into a dome-shaped tent, 10feet in diameter and 6 feet high in the center. Dozenof nanotech micro-pitons anchor it to any surfaceexcept living flesh.

Although they are as thin as paper, the walls ofthis tent are as rigid as steel and have DR 5/ kinetic.Inside the tent, there are six pieces of inflated furniturethat users can easily fold into either comfortable chairsor luxuriously padded sleeping bags. Solar cells on theoutside of the tent power the interior lights and thethermoelectric heating and cooling units that makethe well-insulated tent comfortable in temperaturesranging from –20 to 120 F. Eight hours of exposure tosunlight allows provides the shelter-pak with sufficientelectricity to power it for 30 hours.

Anyone with a shelter-pak can remain warm,comfortable and dry in the worst weather. These itemshave saved the lives of hundreds of explorers and

nomads in the decades since the Final Wars. As aresult, many people regard them as more valuable thaneven the finest weapons or armor. Pulling a tab onthe inside of the shelter causes it to collapse back intoan easily carried ovoid, this process also takes fiveminutes. Best of all, this item contains nanotechassemblers that allow it to be somewhat self-repairing.While explosions or lengthy hacking with a sword oraxe will destroy this shelter, it can repair small holesand tears quite easily. Users should leave damagedtents in direct sunlight for at least an hour. At theend of this time, the tent will have repaired itself.Shelter-paks are most often found in the ruins of storesthat once sold camping supplies.

TOOL BRACELETSize:Size:Size:Size:Size: TinyWeight:Weight:Weight:Weight:Weight: 1 lbPurchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC: 17/ 19

These items are always found in pairs and usuallystored as hollow cylinders 6 inches long and 4 inchesthick. These cylinders automatically stretch tothemselves around the wrists of any humanoid creaturewho attempts of put them on. Tool bracelets aremarvels of nanotechnology and can reshape themselvesinto almost any sort of small tool imaginable.

These devices use a contact-based neuralinterface developed only a few years before the FinalWars, so cybernetic implants are necessary to use apair of tool bracelets. Instead, sensitive contacts onthe inner surface of the bracelets allow them to pickup the wearer’s nerve signals and small electricalinduction pads permit these items to deliver accuratepseudo-tactile feedback to the user. Because thenanotechnology inside these bracelets can completereshape them, they can make tools that can aid withall Craft (chemical, electronic, mechanical,metalworking, pharmaceutical, and visual arts) checksas well as with all Repair and Treat Injury checks.

When needed, tools grow rapidly out of the metal ofthe bracelet. These tools look much like the long silveryinsect legs that end in complex tools. Tool bracelets canmake small electric drills, scalpels, screwdrivers, pliers andalmost any other small hand tool. The user never needsto hold these tools in his hands. The tools workindependently: a tool bracelet might create a small pairof pliers to turn a nut while the user holds the bolt withhis hand. The one limit on a pair of tool bracelets is thatits relatively simple computer that cannot completelyanticipate the user’s needs. Instead, this device relies uponthe user’s own knowledge and understanding of how toperform a task and what tools would be useful.


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As a result, the better the user is at a specific skill, themore a set of tool bracelets can assist him. For all skillsthat they aid, tool bracelets provides a bonus of +2 + 1/for every 3 ranks the wearer has the appropriate skill (rounddown). A character who had 5 ranks in Repair wouldgain a +3 bonus to all Repair checks from using toolbracelets. Tool bracelets use little power. High-efficiencysolar cells on their surface allow them to operatecontinuously as long as the user regularly exposes them tobright light like direct sunlight. If the user is unarmed andmust fight, tool bracelets can also create durable bladesthat allow the user to add +2 to his unarmed combatdamage and turn this damage into lethal damage.

WRIST ASSISTANT (WA)Size:Size:Size:Size:Size: TinyWeight:Weight:Weight:Weight:Weight: 0.5 lbPurchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC: 16/ 19

This improved version of the datapad wasintroduced a decade before the Final Wars. While theadded expense prevented it from becoming quite aspopular, there were still millions of units in use whenthe Final Wars occurred. Wrist assistants look likewrist watches 2 inches wide, 3 inches long and halfan inch thick. In addition to performing all of thefunctions of a datapad, this device also functions as acompass, a GPS receiver with an electronic mapdatabase, an extremely accurate watch, a digitalcamera and a cellphone/ radio. The unit can functionas a cellphone in those few areas that maintain activecellphone service. Elsewhere, it functions as a two-way radio that can also send and receive video images.This radio has a range of 25 miles. This unit can alsolink with sense specs to send and receive both soundsand images.

COMMUNITY TOOLSBeginning in the 21st century, communities

became increasingly self-sufficient, a trend thatcontinued well into the 22nd century and beyond.This trend arose for many reasons, includingideological ones, but the primary one was self-defense.By ensuring self-sufficiency, communities couldguarantee their safety amidst all the unexpectedchanges that the future held. Arcologies unusualexamples of this self-sufficiency put into action,although far from the most extreme. Many advancedtechnologies made self-sufficiency a workable realityrather than a mere flight of fancy. By the time of theFinal Wars, large segments of the world’s populationlived in self-sufficient communities, relying solely ontheir own resources to make their way in the world.

A wide array of remarkable devices aided in thecreation and maintenance of pre-Wars communities.Many of these devices survived into the Gamma Age,where they might one day be put to use again. Thedifficulty, of course, is not only understanding howthese tools work but also finding the means to makefull use of them, since many depend on a societal andtechnological infrastructure that no longer exists. Itis often said that the world that existed before theFinal Wars was a delicate puzzle whose pieces wereeasily dislodged, thereby destroying the bigger pictureon which society depended. While that may be a fairassessment of the situation, it is equally true toremember that the pieces of that once-beautiful puzzle

still exist. It is simply a question of someone’s findingthe means and the will to reassemble them.

The following items are all geared towardcommunities. While many would have beneficialeffects for player characters, the majority of themwould prove more useful when employed in the serviceof a community. For that reason, most include noteson how to integrate them into the communitycreation system in the Gamma World Player’sHandbook. In addition, many community toolsrequire more than one person to operate or are bulkyor difficult to move, making them less than ideal aspieces of personal equipment. Finally, GMs are wellwithin their rights to emphasize the value these toolshave to the beleaguered communities of the GammaAge. Some are more than worth their weight in gold,so to speak, and any characters who use them selfishlyor otherwise prevent their being employed in theservice of a larger group might find themselvesostracized, hunted or worse.

BROADCAST POWER CHARGERSize:Size:Size:Size:Size: MediumWeight:Weight:Weight:Weight:Weight: 40 lbPurchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC: 20

The broadcast power charger is one of the mostuseful spin-off technologies developed for use with thebroadcast power system (see next entry). The chargeris a unit about the size of a very large attaché case,


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CHAPTER TWO: TOOLS

with several slots that are the same size as the standardenergy cells used during the Final Wars era. When anexpended energy cell is placed within the slots and thecharger is within the range of a functioning broadcastpower station, the unit slowly recharges the cells overthe course of 12 hours. Once that time has elapsed,the cells are once again usable as power sources for manycommon types of equipment. The broadcast powercharger has only six slots for energy cells.

Even after the advent of broadcast power, energycells remained a popular power source for portabledevices, since they were more compact and thereforeless bulky than the standard broadcast power receptionsystem. Furthermore, not every part of the world wasaccessible by broadcast power, which meant thatenergy cells remained vitally important. The chargeris thus an artifact from an intermediate stage in thetechnology’s development, as broadcast power becamemore common but had not yet become so widespreadthat anyone would consider abandoning the tried andtrue methods of the past. The catastrophe of the FinalWars prevented the further spread of broadcast power,of course, apparently permanently.

Community Creation System Effect: Anycommunity that possesses a broadcast power charger

gains an additional month on the effects of itsStockpile feat. Each additional charger adds a furtherweek the Stockpile’s benefits.

BROADCAST POWER STATIONAND RECEIVERBroadcast Power StationBroadcast Power StationBroadcast Power StationBroadcast Power StationBroadcast Power Station Broadcast Power ReceiverBroadcast Power ReceiverBroadcast Power ReceiverBroadcast Power ReceiverBroadcast Power ReceiverSize:Size:Size:Size:Size: Huge Size:Size:Size:Size:Size: LargeWeight:Weight:Weight:Weight:Weight: 1000 lb Weight:Weight:Weight:Weight:Weight: 600 lbPurchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC: 30 Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC: 27

The quest for renewable energy sources had beena never-ending one since at least the 20th century,perhaps earlier. In the end, that quest was almostalways frustrated, as each new promising developmentproved ultimately to be fool’s gold, with someunexpected or hidden weakness or drawback. In theNoetic Age, however, mankind finally hit upon theanswer to its collective energy dreams with thediscovery of broadcast power.

Once considered mere fantasy, broadcast powerallows the transmission of electrical power over greatdistances (generally no more than 1000 miles). Theelectrical power can come from almost any source,including fusion plants, hydroelectric generators,oceanic wave motion, which a power station excites

Broadcast PowerStation and ReceiverFeelie

Projector

DuralloyExtruder

PowerSleep Unit


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and amplifies through resonant oscillations until anelectrical standing wave is propagated through theplanet’s upper atmosphere. A broadcast powerreceiver is tuned to the frequency of the wave anddraws power from it into any number of subsidiarysystems, which can then use it for energy. A side effectof broadcast power is the increased presence andvisibility of the aurora borealis, which can be seenanywhere that broadcast power is used.

In principle almost any device or vehicle coulduse broadcast power, limited only by the presence offunction power stations and receivers. Prior to theFinal Wars, the changeover to broadcast power wasonly in the middle of its run, with large areas of theEarth not within its reach. Had the system been putin place everywhere, the world would finally haveended its age-old struggle with dependence on fusionand other more limited power sources. Even in its trialrun just before the Final Wars, broadcast power provedwildly successful. If any of those stations and receiversstill survives, a community that gained access to themwould find themselves in a uniquely good position.

Community Creation System Effect: Possessionof a working broadcast power station and receiver (orjust the receiver if there is already a working powerstation within range of the receiver) grants access tothe Broadcast Power feat (although the prerequisitesmust still be met).

COMMUNICATIONS STATIONSize:Size:Size:Size:Size: LargeWeight:Weight:Weight:Weight:Weight: 450 lbPurchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC: 21

The world destroyed by the Final Wars was aninterconnected one. Communication was fast, easyand inexpensive. Individuals carried personalcommunicators (some were even implanted into theirbodies) with them everywhere. If, for some reason,they did not have communicators of their own, theycould easily find a public one on the streets of almostany city. Communication came in many forms (audio,video, text, holographic and more) and was effectivelyinstantaneous, thanks to a series of breakthroughs thatall but eliminated noticeable lag, even whentransmitting from one side of the globe to the other.In addition, locating almost anyone was nearly assimple, since the communication networks were sowell connected that it took no more time to find afriend a continent away than it did to find a next-door neighbor. Indeed, avoiding being found was agreater problem and led to a market for privacy devicesdesigned to keep one free from unwanted location.

At the heart of the communications network werethe automated nodes that relayed carrier waves andinterfaced with global information networks. Thesestations were found every few miles and acted notonly as relays but also as distributed backups for thesystem, so that the destruction of one or even manystations would not cause appreciable damage to theentire system. Furthermore, each node containswithin it the software necessary to create newnetworks, provided their enough communicationsdevice to act as roving receivers. If several of thesestations were within close proximity of one another,a communications network could be even more easilyrebuilt and maintained.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the acquisition of acommunications station is an important find for acommunity. Many of the strongest Gamma Agecommunities possess one or more of these nodes and usethem to maintain contact with outlying areas. In mostcases, it is only the highest levels of authority that haveaccess to these channels, owing in no small part to therelative dearth of personal communications devices. Ofcourse, there are always exceptions and rumors persistof communities that approach pre-Gamma Age levelsof interconnectedness, although the evidence of this isalmost non-existent. Still, such tales inspire manycommunities to seek out and repair communicationsstations as a way of improving their lot.

FEAT: BROADCAST POWERThe community has nearly unlimited

energy at very little cost.Prerequisites: Pre-War Electricity

Generation, Pre-War Engineering(Benefits:This feat provides the ability to generateelectricity without the need for any manpoweror materials and with far less maintenance thanlesser forms of electricity generation.

Normal: Communities without this featmust either do without electricity or use a moreprimitive means of generation.

Signs: Operational electrical devices ofevery possible sort without any obvious meansof generation. A single tall power receiver butwithout any overhead wires or connections tothe devices being powered.


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CHAPTER TWO: TOOLS

Community Creation System Effect: Possessionof a working communications station grants the abilityto gain the Advanced Communications feat (thoughthe prerequisites must still be met).

at a later date, it could again be “activated,” therebyallowing it to be reshaped if desired.

Unlike ferrocrete, duralloy was used primarily tocreate objects for construction rather than as a joiningmechanism. Of course, duralloy objects didn’t needfasteners unless the extruder’s operator chose toencode them that way. Thus, duralloy panels wouldneed no rivets; they simply bonded with the otherpanels to which they’d been given an “affinity” andwould hold fast until their malleability period endedor until instructed to loosen by an extruder (if soencoded). By the time of the Final Wars, duralloyextruders were very common in many communities,which used them to build their own structures, as wellas to alter existing ones. These devices were alsopopular with the military, whose units would oftenuse them to build and deconstruct sturdy shelters andredoubts while in the field.

Community Creation System Effect: Possessionof a duralloy extruder increases the Wealth bonus by+1 for any community that has the feats Pre-WarEngineering or Advanced Engineering. Every fouradditional extruders increases this bonus by a further+1, to a maximum of +3 for a community thatpossesses nine extruders.

FEELIE PROJECTORFeelie ProjectorFeelie ProjectorFeelie ProjectorFeelie ProjectorFeelie Projector Feelie Program CartridgeFeelie Program CartridgeFeelie Program CartridgeFeelie Program CartridgeFeelie Program CartridgeSize:Size:Size:Size:Size: Medium Size:Size:Size:Size:Size: TinyWeight:Weight:Weight:Weight:Weight: 80 lb Weight:Weight:Weight:Weight:Weight: 0.25 lbPurchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC: 18 Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC: 20 (or more)

Feelie projectors are an unusual form of NoeticEra entertainment that stimulates the sensorium ofthe human brain in order to offer an experience unlikeany other. The projectors are small devices that use amagnetic field to function and operate on twodifferent but related levels. The simplest way is direct,undifferentiated stimulation. In this case, theprojectors create new and unusual feelings in thoseusing them. These feelings may reproduce ordinarysensory stimulation, like pleasant odors or visualeffects, for example, or they may provide sensationsthat have no counterparts in any human experientiallexicon. Used in this first way, feelie projectors arelittle more than technological “drugs.” They impartno meaning and provide nothing more than physicalpleasure (or pain, should the user so desire).

The more complex way to use a feelie projectoris with a program that tells a story or communicatessome message. These programs were mass-producedprior to the Final Wars and came in a wide number offormats. Everything from tales of historical adventure

FEAT: ADVANCEDCOMMUNICATIONS

The community has the ability to communicatewith other communities at a distance.

Prerequisites: Knowledge (Technology:Advanced) 4 ranks

Benefits: The community can conductlong-range communications with othercommunities, thereby ending its isolation andensuring its connection to the wider world. Thisgrants a +3 bonus to the community’s Wealth.

Signs: Greater numbers of visitors tocommunity, thriving trade and commerce

DURALLOY EXTRUDERSize:Size:Size:Size:Size: LargeWeight:Weight:Weight:Weight:Weight: 150 lbPurchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC: 20

Nanotechnology brought many boons, one ofwhich being the development of new wondermaterials that either added new characteristics toexisting materials or melded the characteristics ofseveral others in order to create hybrids that surpassedthose from which it was made. One of the mostsuccessful of these hybrid materials was a metal knownas duralloy. Originally a brand name of thecorporation that first produced it, duralloy proved sobroadly useful that the name became widespread.Within short order, many different nanotech metals,some of which were produced by other corporations,were colloquially known as duralloy, despite the bestefforts of its creators to prevent their trademark frombeing infringed, even by popular acclaim.

Duralloy, as its name suggests, is a strong, sturdymetal that is nevertheless remarkably malleable. Themetal was produced on-site by means of a bulky devicecalled an extruder, which created the metal in a widevariety of different forms, shapes and thickness. Byusing the controls, an operator could produce duralloygirders, wire frames, doors, even liquid! The operatorcould likewise encode the metal to remain malleablefor a set period of time, after which it would set andacquire its characteristic hardness and durability.Furthermore, an extruder could encode the metal toretain its malleability as a latent characteristic, so that,


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to science fantasies to dramatic readings of poetrycould be found in feelie formats. When used in thisway, the projector’s sensory stimulation augmentedand deepened the content of the program, giving theuser a way to “get inside” the art form. For example, auser might experience a story from the visualperspective of one of the characters or feel theraindrops rhapsodized in a poem. Most programsprovided multiple options, allowing for changingperspective to enhance the experience further. Feelieprograms were extremely popular forms ofentertainment prior to the Final Wars andunderstandably so.

A feelie projector has a variable range, allowing auser to include others within its area of effect if he sodesires. This range is up to 100 feet for most models,although larger public models had ranges of three tofive times that amount, allowing many more people topartake of its pleasures. When multiple users arepresent, each can set his own options and perspective,allowing two people, for example, to feel what twointeracting characters in a drama are experiencing.Such an experience can be profound, since it allows akind of penumbral “telepathy” (or at least telempathy)that sometime brings people together… or drives themapart. Feelie projectors make excellent motivationaldevices and have many uses as propaganda andbrainwashing tools as well. Many Gamma Agecommunities have banned their use, while others havefashioned their societies around them.

Feelie projector programs are uncommon in theGamma Age. Those that exist are a mixed lot:everything from popular comedies to sporting eventsto poetry readings and everything in between. Manyare difficult to understand, because of cultural andlanguage barriers, although the best crafted still havethe ability to transcend these limitations and affectthose who view them. New feelie programs can beproduced, but the principles behind doing so are rarein the Gamma Age. To create a new programsuccessfully requires a DC 20 Craft (Feelies) check,as well as access to computers specifically designed tocreate these programs.

FERROCRETEFerrocrete Spray CanFerrocrete Spray CanFerrocrete Spray CanFerrocrete Spray CanFerrocrete Spray Can Ferrocrete Spray CanFerrocrete Spray CanFerrocrete Spray CanFerrocrete Spray CanFerrocrete Spray CanSize:Size:Size:Size:Size: Small Size:Size:Size:Size:Size: MediumWeight:Weight:Weight:Weight:Weight: 3 lb Weight:Weight:Weight:Weight:Weight: 10 lbPurchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC: 16 Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC: 18Note:Note:Note:Note:Note: Ferrocrete has 40 hit points per inch of thickness and20 hardness.

Advances in nanotechnology filtered down intoeveryday society in haphazard and often unpredictableways. Some areas saw very little in the way of practicaluses for nanotech, while others were literallyinundated with new consumer-use products anddevices, all of which utilized molecular-level robotics.It’s not difficult to understand why this was the case.In the eras before the Final Wars, there was very littlecentral planning when it came to technologicaldevelopment. Many fields had advanced so far that,after a short time, they barreled along according totheir own momentum, without much considerationas to where they were going or what impact it mighthave on human society.

One area where nanotechnology quickly filtereddown and found great use was in civil engineeringand construction. Nanounits can greatly acceleratethe process of erecting a structure, no matter what itssize or complexity. They also make structures sturdierand more resistant to environmental damage, thanksto their ability to manipulate matter on molecularlevel. Indeed, the survival of many buildings throughthe perils of the Final Wars and into the Gamma Ageis a testament to the mighty powers of nanotechconstruction methods.

Ferrocrete is another example of appliednanotechnology. Ferrocrete is crystallized iron particlessuspended within a polymer solution containinginactive nanounits. When exposed to free oxygen, thenanounits become active and begin to align the ironparticles so that they become strong and sturdy. Thisalignment process typically takes several minutes, butcan be retarded or sped up with the application of othernanotech solutions. Before alignment became final,ferrocrete could be easily molded and shaped to theuser’s tastes. Afterwards, it became as solid as titaniumsteel, and just as difficult to harm. Ferrocrete adheresto all other substances except plastic and living flesh,which meant it could be held and molded by handwithout fear of untoward after-effects.

Ferrocrete came in several different forms, but themost popular was a spray can of varying size. Thecontents of the can could be sprayed on any surfaceand would quickly adhere and form a sturdy bond asdescribed above. This made it very useful for manypersonal applications, including the sealing of cracksand breaches. In larger cans, construction workers coulduse it to build structures. Of course, the permanent andsturdy nature of ferrocrete also meant that it could beused for less savory purposes, such as trapping someonewithin a room or sealing up vital exits.


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CHAPTER TWO: TOOLS

HEAT REDUCTION SYSTEMSize:Size:Size:Size:Size: MediumWeight:Weight:Weight:Weight:Weight: 50 lbPurchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC: 20

One of the marvels of the Gene Age was thecreation of specialized lifeforms whose sole purposewas to serve human interests and needs. One of themore unusual of these lifeforms was the heat reductionbacterium. These bacteria thrived in warmenvironments and indeed survived solely onultraviolet radiation. The heat reduction systemutilizes these bacteria to absorb ultraviolet radiationwithin 300 feet of the unit, thereby reducing theambient temperature by several degrees. In addition,the bacteria contained within the unit convert excessultraviolet radiation into electricity, which the unitstores both to power itself and, if desired, small devicesthat are themselves power by electricity. Heatreduction systems were fairly uncommon by the FinalWars, since they were an older technology that hadbeen surpassed. However, many still exist and can bevaluable to communities that exist in arid or desertenvironments.

Community Creation System Effect: If acommunity possesses a heat reduction system andeither Electricity Generation or Pre-War ElectricityGeneration, it gains a +1 bonus to its Wealth. Forevery four additional heat reduction systems, thisbonus is increased by +1, to a maximum of +3 fornine heat reduction systems.

MATTER COMPILERSize:Size:Size:Size:Size: Small Size:Size:Size:Size:Size: Medium Size:Size:Size:Size:Size: LargeWeight:Weight:Weight:Weight:Weight: 20 lb Weight:Weight:Weight:Weight:Weight: 45 lb Weight:Weight:Weight:Weight:Weight: 80 lbPurchasePurchasePurchasePurchasePurchase 22 PurchasePurchasePurchasePurchasePurchase 25 PurchasePurchasePurchasePurchasePurchase 30 DC: DC: DC: DC: DC: DC: DC: DC: DC: DC: DC: DC: DC: DC: DC:

While nanotechnology could take many forms,perhaps its “purest” one was the matter compiler. Thisimpressive device was, in some parts of the world, ahousehold appliance that could work wondersprevious generations could scarcely imagine, let aloneattain. The matter compiler was a metallic box ofvarying size. The box had a door that opened and alarge basin inside in which there was a pool of apolymer solution in which millions of nanounits weresuspended. The nanounits received their orders fromthe compiler’s internal computer and used refinedcarbon molecules as their building materials. Wheninstructed, they would use these molecules to createsmall items according to set designs.

Many people used matter compilers in the pre-Gamma Age to create common household andpersonal items. The designs for these items were piecesof software that could be purchased from designcompanies and fed into the compiler’s internalcomputers. Alternately, a user could create his owndesigns, provided he understood the compiler’sprogramming language, which was actually quitesimple by the standards of past computer languages.Of course, matter compilers included failsafe deviceswithin them to prevent the creation of hazardous ordangerous objects or substances. Likewise, mattercompilers could only create objects small enough tofit within their basins.

Matter compilers came in many sizes in the yearsbefore the Final Wars. Homes that possessed themhad smaller models that were no larger than six feettall and three feet deep. However, industrial and civicmatter compilers could be much larger, although theywere correspondingly more rare. In fact, all but themost advanced cities and corporations possessed theselarger compilers (as did governments and themilitary). Even so, the acquisition of a small mattercompiler that still functions would be a great boon toa Gamma Age community. A large one might wellset a community on the path of growth and power.

A matter compiler can make items of its own sizeor smaller (see available sizes, above). Items producedcannot be weapons or otherwise objectivelydangerous. Neither can they be living, although acompiler could create a simulacrum of a living creaturethat is not animated or otherwise alive. The GM isthe final arbiter on the programs resident in a mattercompiler at the time it is found. Otherwise, the usermust make a successful DC 18 Computer Use skillcheck to program a compiler to produce an item thatis not available through its resident programs. If theuser wishes to override the failsafes in theprogramming to create weapons or hazardousmaterials, he must make a successful DC 25 ComputerUse skill check. Failure indicates an immediateshutdown of the matter compiler and it cannot berestarted except by a subsequent DC 30 ComputerUse check.

Community Creation System Effect: To takefull advantage of a matter compiler, a community musthave the feat Nanotech Usage. If they do, they gain a+1 bonus to their Wealth if the compiler is Small, +2if it is Medium and +3 if it is Large.


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MICRO-FUSION POWER PLANTSize:Size:Size:Size:Size: LargeWeight:Weight:Weight:Weight:Weight: 500 lbPurchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC: 24

By the Gene Age, fusion power was a reality,eliminating the need for the less efficient and moredangerous fission power that had been commonplacein previous generations. Fusion power plants sprangup across the world, providing seemingly unlimitedenergy at very little cost. This had the effect ofeliminating the need for non-renewable energysources, as well as turning the world’s attention awayfrom those nations and regions whose sole claim tofame was the possession of such energy sources,thereby altering geopolitics on a grand scale. Likewise,power became very cheap, which raised the bar onthe types of scientific and industrial projects that couldbe undertaken. Now, energy consumption was nolonger a barrier and thousands of once-impracticalresearch projects bore fruit.

During the Noetic Age, fusion power becameeven more compact and efficient, so much so in factthat portable fusion power generators were no longer

the stuff of bad science fiction. Indeed, many personaldevices used micro-fusion power packs, since it wasonly by the application of this much power that theycould even operate. Such power packs were inherentlylimited, though, and were not powerful enough tooperate large devices, let alone banks of them. Forthese, micro-fusion power plants were needed. Manycommunities possessed one or several of these. Usingalmost anything as fuel, including worthless biomasssuch as common garbage, fusion plants could producemore than enough energy to satisfy the needs of mostcommunities and with very little waste. These powerplants were common enough during the days beforethe Final Wars that many undoubtedly exist in theGamma Age. The difficulty is the high degree oftechnical skill needed to operate them, which isunfortunately rare in the current age.

Community Creation System Effect: Acommunity must have the Pre-War ElectricityGeneration feat to be able to use a micro-fusion powerplant to its fullest. If it does, it gains a +1 bonus to itsWealth for every power plant it possesses, to amaximum bonus of +3.

MoistureStill

MatterCompiler

MineralExtractor

Micro-FusionPower Plant


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CHAPTER TWO: TOOLS

MINERAL EXTRACTORSize:Size:Size:Size:Size: HugeWeight:Weight:Weight:Weight:Weight: 2000 lbPurchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC: 24

By the time of the Final Wars, most of the obviousveins of valuable minerals and ores had been playedout, thanks to centuries of mining and excavation.Fortunately, space colonies on the Moon and in theAsteroid Belt discovered equally valuable mineralsand ores far from the Earth. To extract them, a numberof methods were used, including mechanical devicesthat combined old-fashioned techniques with hightechnology. One of these was the mineral extractor,a small robotic “vehicle” that manipulated magneticfields to hold itself in place while lasers bored intothe rock. Onboard scanners pre-selected the lasers’targets, ensuring that they did not hit the specificminerals and ores chosen. Instead, the lasers chippedaway at everything else, leaving only the desiredminerals and ores, which were then pulled into theextractor and melted down by plasma beams intorefined forms to be shipped back to Earth.

Mineral extractors were naturally rare on Earthitself, since there was very little use for such a machine.However, a few of them did return to the home worldfor repairs, upgrades and the like. Furthermore, theirmanufacturers were located on Earth. These factorsensured that many remained on the planet after thedevastation of the Final Wars. In doing so, they becamean important part of many communities’ attempts topull themselves up from the hole into which they hadfallen. Thanks to mineral extractors, they could findthe deep minerals and ores that still lay hidden beneaththe surface of the Earth. They could continue toproduce new items that might otherwise have beenbeyond their grasp, since all the easy to reach resourceshad long since been used up. Consequently, mineralextractors are supremely valuable. Any communitywithout access to nanotech (and even many who do)requires at least one of these devices, if it ever hopes tocreate new technological items on its own.

Community Creation System Effect: Thecommunity must have the feat Advanced Vehicles tomake use of a mineral extractor. If it does, it gains a +1bonus to its Wealth. In addition, if it has the featStockpile, it gains an additional two weeks of supplies.

MOISTURE STILLSize:Size:Size:Size:Size: Small Size:Size:Size:Size:Size: Medium Size:Size:Size:Size:Size: LargeWeight:Weight:Weight:Weight:Weight: 10 lb Weight:Weight:Weight:Weight:Weight: 15 lb Weight:Weight:Weight:Weight:Weight: 25 lbPurchasePurchasePurchasePurchasePurchase 15 PurchasePurchasePurchasePurchasePurchase 17 PurchasePurchasePurchasePurchasePurchase 20

Survival in arid environments is never easy, whichwas as much a fact in the days before the Final Wars asit is today. For that reason, numerous technologicaldevices were created to aid in overcoming the hazardsof water-poor regions. One of the simplest and mostuseful has been the moisture still. This device, whichlooks like a large half-globe surmounted by an unusuallooking antenna, draws moisture from the atmosphereand distills it into potable water. Stills came in severalsizes, depending on the amount of water it couldproduce in a 24-hour period. The smallest ones coulddistill enough water in a single day to keep a singleperson alive in the desert for 48 hours. Larger modelscould do the same for anywhere between 5 and 50people, depending on the size.

Moisture stills were fairly uncommon in NorthAmerica, since the environment was not asunpleasant as other parts of the world. This isunfortunate, since the Gamma Age has shown thatthe environmental verities of the past are not eternal.Thus, moisture stills are quite valuable among thedesert communities of the world, particularly in places,like North America or Europe, where there had notpreviously been deserts or arid environments of anygreat size.

PORTABLE FRESHERSize:Size:Size:Size:Size: MediumWeight:Weight:Weight:Weight:Weight: 40 lbPurchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC: 17

Another use for nanotechnology was wasteremoval. Indeed, some argued that nanotech was farmore valuable to humanity as a way of eliminatinghazardous materials than it was as a constructor andreplicator of useful materials. Not everyone went as faras this, of course, but that didn’t stop nanounits frombecoming important parts of Earth’s new technologicalecology. These tiny robots were put to use manipulatingthe molecules of everything from radioactive waste tosewage, with the belief that they could render themless harmful (and, in a few cases, valuable).

One outgrowth of this was the creation of theportable fresher. This closet-shaped device was in facta descendant of the portable toilet, since it includeda toilet within its space. However, the fresher wasmuch more than that. More than human fecal matterand urine could be placed within. Indeed, almostanything short of radioactive waste could be brokendown by its resident nanounits and converted to waterand harmless byproducts. The portable fresher wasalso light enough that two people could carry it withrelative ease. Portable freshers were used in many areas


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where there were no other waste managementfacilities (usually newly constructed or remote areas).Many survived the Final Wars and would makeexcellent additions to many communities.

Community Creation System Effect: Thepossession of a portable fresher allows access to theSewage Treatment feat.

POWER SLEEP UNITSize:Size:Size:Size:Size: MediumWeight:Weight:Weight:Weight:Weight: 60 lbPurchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC: 18

The Noetic Age laid bare the secrets of the humanbrain, including some of its longest held ones, such assleep. Unsurprisingly, scientists quickly found ways toexploit their new understanding of sleep, dreaming andrapid eye movement to create new technologies. One suchtechnology was the power sleep unit. Its purpose was cutdown the length of time a human being needed to sleepin order to overcome fatigue and stress. Early models cutsleeping time in half, to between four and five hours, whilelater models cut it down even further, to two to threehours a day. Naturally, power sleep units became verypopular with people whose jobs demanded that they beat the ready at all hours, such as doctors and militarypersonnel. Even those who did not have such demandingjobs often found them useful as a way of becoming moreproductive. After all, if one only has to sleep three hoursa day, it’s possible to get a great deal more done.

Unfortunately, power sleep units were not withouttheir flaws. For one, not everyone could use them. Somebrains simply refused to cooperate with the electricalsignals used to stimulate them. Other brains suffereddamage as a result. Finally, it was learned that prolongeduse of a power sleep unit slowly did permanent damage tothe brain, which is why these devices eventually feel fromfavor. They were never banned outright, but their usewas discouraged and only the most dedicated or desperatepeople continued to make use of them. In small does,though, power sleep units remain helpful tools. Theyenable individuals to overcome fatigue, become more

FEAT: SEWAGE TREATMENTThe community has an advanced waste

management system.Prerequisites: Nanotech UsageBenefit: The community gains a +2 bonus

to Resiliency due to the removal of dangerouswastes and hazardous materials.

Signs: Healthier people, lack of unpleasant odors.

productive and even heal small amounts of damage on afaster timetable than usual. Most of these units thatsurvived into the Gamma Age are found in military vaults.

Anyone placed within a power sleep unit can geta full day’s sleep in only three hours. Likewise, naturalhealing is accelerated by three times. Anyone using apower sleep unit for more than a month at a timemust make a DC 15 Will save or suffer 2 points oftemporary Wisdom damage. This damage is healedat the usual rate. However, if a damaged individualcontinues to use the sleep unit before he has fullyhealed the damage, the Will save’s DC increases by+1 for the next month. This increase is cumulativeuntil the damage is fully healed or the user refrainsfrom using the sleep unit for three continuous months.

UNIVERSAL COOKERSize:Size:Size:Size:Size: MediumWeight:Weight:Weight:Weight:Weight: 30 lbPurchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC: 18

The universal cooker is a kind of companion pieceto the matter compiler. The cooker is a largecylindrical device complete with its own computer.When organic substances are placed within it and theappropriate instructions given via the computer, itsnanounits rearrange the substances to produce ediblefood. The universal cooker differs from a mattercompiler in two significant ways. First, its internalcomputer can only non-hazardous produce food itemsand can only do so if it already has an equivalent massof organic matter from which to construct it. Second,the cooker is smaller and much more portable,allowing it to be used in the field. Indeed, the cooker’sprimary use was by campers, travelers and others whowent beyond the bounds of civilization.

Universal cookers are very common devices in manyparts of the world. They were standard issue with militaryunits during the Final Wars, which may explain theirubiquity. Unlike matter compilers, they are quite ruggedand, owing to their use of existing matter to rework ratherthan refined carbon as a base material, they are muchbetter suited to communities that don’t have access tosuch things. The cooker cannot create food fromnothing, but it can convert chemically digestible organicsinto something more (or much more) palatable. That’squite a significant feat, especially in lands whose dietsare limited by poor soil or lack of game.

Community Creation System Effect: Possessionof a universal cooker adds one week to the supplies ofany community that has a Stockpile. This addition isincreased by one more week for every universal cookerpossessed, to a maximum of a month.


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CHAPTER TWO: TOOLS

INORGANIC INFORMATION SYSTEMSAlthough the development of organic information

systems was one of the greatest breakthroughs in thehistory of computing, one should never forget that itwas inorganic systems that first provided humanity withcalculating devices faster and more powerful than itsown brain. For that reason, inorganic informationsystems remained a keystone of computer technologywell into the years before the Final Wars. Indeed, manycorporations, organizations and militaries preferredinorganic systems because they were considered more“trustworthy” and reliable, which is to say that operatedaccording to more readily predictable patterns. Aninorganic AI, for example, would develop personalityquirks according to a verifiable algorithm, unlikeorganic AIs, whose personality quirks showed a fargreater variability. Of course, inorganic systems lackedthe versatility of inorganic systems. They could notlearn as easily organic systems nor could they berepaired with the same comparative ease.

Nevertheless, inorganic systems continued toreceive a lot of attention in the days before the FinalWars. They were not considered “cutting edge”technology by the public of that era, but thatperception did not necessarily match reality. Becausecorporations and militaries continued to favor thesesystems for many applications (such as in robots, forexample), they were developed as extensively, if notmore so, than their organic counterparts.Furthermore, their greater age as a technology madeit all but certain that there were many more examplesof inorganic systems than organic ones. Finally, asizable segment of the world’s population shared theview of the militaries and corporations: they “trusted”inorganic systems more, which is why they used themfor many household or personal needs.

This section describes a handful of the moreunusual and exotic uses for inorganic informationsystems. This approach provides a skewed impressionof how these systems were used in the Final Wars era,but it is a necessary approach. From the GM’sperspective, there is little point to this book’sdescribing a large number of small, innocuous orotherwise banal computer systems, never mind all thesimple items that included inorganic informationsystems within them. It is enough to know that nearlyevery device, from identification cards to personalorganizers to communications devices werethoroughly computerized. The following devices, onthe other hand, are odd or exceptional and therefore

provide a more valuable source of ideas for GammaWorld adventures and campaigns.

CASSANDRA, SIBYLAND PHYTHIACassandraCassandraCassandraCassandraCassandraSize:Size:Size:Size:Size: LargeWeight:Weight:Weight:Weight:Weight: 250 lbPurchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC: 30

Many AI specialists before the Final Warsthought that, given sufficient data, a computer wouldbe capable of predicting the future outcome ofuncertain events. These specialists held to an extremeform of materialism that postulated a universalmechanism whereby everything in the universefunctioned according to predictable principles. Notype of activity, not even that of intelligent agents,was above this universal mechanism. Rather, theyonly appeared to be because observers lacked sufficientdata (and speed) to be able to make an adequatecalculation of the outcome.

To that end, a group of these specialists, drawnfrom several nations across the globe, began theOracle Project late in the Noetic Age. The Projectcreated three different artificial intelligences, whosesole purpose was to engage in mechanical predictionof the future. The bulk of the Project was spent notonly in creating these three artificial intelligences(named Cassandra, Sibyl and Phythia) but also ingathering information for a vast database of human,environmental and physical activity. Once thedatabase was finished (or at least abandoned, sinceeven its creators did not believe it was possible toamass a wholly complete database), the three AIsbegan to work together in order to construct theformulae of the universal mechanism that supposedlygoverned all of existence.

The Oracle Project had limited successes in theyears leading up to the Final Wars, especially in thearea of predicting physical processes like weatherpatterns, earthquakes and other natural disasters. Inthe field of human activity, the Project’s record provedspottier. Nevertheless, there were enough successesthat some were led to believe that its creators werecorrect: there really was a universal mechanism thatgoverned all things and human beings could know it.Cautiously, governments and corporations paid forthe privilege of consulting the Project’s three AIs in


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order to make projections of economic, military andother trends. What the artificial intelligences couldnot predict was the Final Wars, at least according toone interpretation of history. Others claim that theydid predict the Wars, but were disbelieved because ofpast mistakes. Others still argue that the AIs’inadequacies led to the Final Wars by providing worldleaders with faulty information about the probableoutcomes of provocative actions.

Whatever the truth, the Final Wars came aboutand the Oracle Project faded into the mists of history.Recently, though, a scientifically advancedcommunity in North America discovered Cassandra.They have reactivated the AI and have begun to listento its predictions, still unsure as to whether theyshould be believed or not. They are as yet unaware ofthe existence of the other two artificial intelligences,let alone their current dispositions. Cassandra itselfhas a great interest in amassing more informationabout the Gamma Age in hopes of updating itsdatabase and thereby increasing the accuracy of itsprophecies. Unfortunately, few people in the GammaAge could succeed in this task; they simply lack thetools. However, the AI is a proud being and will notadmit to its own inadequacies, instead makingpronouncements about the future as if they wereindeed certain. Consequently, the community thatfound the AI may begin to act in accordance withthem, creating self-fulfilling prophecies that will inturn fuel tales of a “living oracle” from the past.

DIAGNOSTIC COMPUTERSize:Size:Size:Size:Size: TinyWeight:Weight:Weight:Weight:Weight: 0.5 lbPurchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC: 17

Expert systems were one area in which inorganicinformation system excelled and were commonly usedeven in societies that otherwise preferred organicsystems. An expert system is a specialized computerdedicated to providing information on an extremelynarrow field of human activity or knowledge, such aselectronics or medicine. In the eras leading up to theFinal Wars, diagnostic computers of various sorts wereused in nearly every segment of human life, as well asin nearly every human society. Small and easily used,they included sensors and vast databases that gavetheir user up to date access to assessments of situationsat hand. These assessments help the user to achievegreater results within a narrow field of endeavor, butthey are not replacements for human initiative.

The different types of diagnostic computers arevast. The GM is free to create any he wishes for use


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CHAPTER TWO: TOOLS

in his campaign. As a general guideline, they providea +2 competence bonus to a single skill or a +1 bonusto two related skills. More powerful computers of thistype existed, of course, but they were rare even beforethe Gamma Age and will be even more difficult toobtain now. Those who possess them will not freelypart with them and the Purchase DC for such deviceswill be proportionately higher.

TABLETSize:Size:Size:Size:Size: TinyWeight:Weight:Weight:Weight:Weight: 0.5 lbPurchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC: 18

During the eras prior to the Final Wars, humanbeings became increasingly interconnected, thanksto the growth of computer and telecommunicationstechnology. One of the most obvious signs of this wasthe tiny device known as the tablet. The tablet isabout the size of a book but with only a fraction ofthe width. The tablet consists of a touch-sensitivescreen and an infrared sensor with which to maintaincontact with other tablets and computer systems.During past eras, tablet users relied on them foreverything from reading the day’s news, arrangingschedules, balancing bank accounts and many moreeveryday activities. In addition, tablets could interfacewith communications networks to allow the user tocontact anyone who also possessed a tablet orcompatible device.

Because of their ubiquity, tablets are found inmost vaults during the Gamma Age. They use very

little power and possess solar-powered batteries.Provided that the batteries are not damaged, they willbegin function again within a few hours of beingexposed to sunlight and will continue to functionwithout the need for additional power, provided theyare exposed to at least two hours of sunlight a day.Their integral programs, such as scheduling,calculating, and so forth will still function withoutany difficulty, assuming that the user can figure outthe iconic interface. The communications and newsprograms, on the other hand, will not function unlessthey are within range of functioning systems of thesesorts, which is highly unfortunately unlikely in theGamma Age.

For the most part, tablets are simple curiosities.They grant +2 competence bonuses to any skill checksin which their programs could come to bear (GM’sdiscretion), although these are limited in number.Likewise, information stored on one tablet can betransferred to any other functioning tablet within 1mile. If tied into an operational communicationsnetwork, this information can be transferred over anydistance reachable by that network.

TACTICAL COMPUTERSize:Size:Size:Size:Size: TinyWeight:Weight:Weight:Weight:Weight: 0.5 lbPurchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC: 20

The military was one of the primary sources ofresistance to organic information systems. Theirreasons for doing so were many and varied, not least

PROPHECIES IN GAMMA WORLDGAMMA WORLDGAMMA WORLDGAMMA WORLDGAMMA WORLDCassandra’s existence may pose a problem for

some GMs, who might object to the idea ofprophecies in a science fictional setting. The GMis the final arbiter as to the usefulness and veracityof anything that Cassandra or its fellow artificialintelligences have to say about the future. Aspresented here, Cassandra is fatally flawed. Fromits inception, it lacked not merely a sufficientlylarge database but the principles needed to use thatdatabase to create accurate predictions of humanbehavior. Consequently, these AIs are not trueoracles at all. At most, they are extremely advancedcalculators of physical principles. They can predictthe weather and natural disasters, for example, butthey cannot predict the motions of the humanheart. That means they inevitably make mistakes,sometimes huge ones, when they attempt toprophesy about the actions of human beings.

GMs are thus free to use Cassandra and theother Oracle Project computers as he sees fit. Thosewho like to add mystery and unpredictability(pardon the pun) to their campaigns can easily usethese computers in that fashion. Those who preferto avoid such mysticism can play up the errors ofthe computers, perhaps using them as the basis foradventures. Indeed, the prophecies made by the AIscan easily lend themselves to exciting adventuresor even entire campaigns. Even if the GM decidesthat the AIs are in fact incorrect in their predictions,that doesn’t mean that the inhabitants of theGamma Age will see them as such. The very factthat an individual or community believes theprophecies is important. Belief, even misguidedbelief, can be a potent force in human history. Thisis not less true in Gamma World and the GM wouldbe wise to harness it in his own campaign.


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of which being its leadership’s desire to be able toeasily swap out technology and replace it as necessary.The inorganic model was much more amenable tosuch “modular” thinking and made upgrades simpleand cost-effective. This was nowhere more true thanin the case of tactical computing. Soldiers during theFinal Wars each possessed a small tactical computerthat provided up to the second telemetry andinformation, tied directly into a visor worn by thesoldier. Through the use of this computer, the soldiergained a fuller picture of the battlefield on which hefought, as well as the enemies against whom he fought,making him a more effective and deadly warrior.

Tactical computers were commonly used by mostnations during the Final Wars, making these devicesfairly common even in the Gamma Age. The primarydifficulty in using them is that they must be attachedto a functioning visor, many of which no longer existin the present time. Provided one has bothcomponents, however, the tactical computer providesthe wearer with a +1 competence bonus to hisinitiative, as well as a +1 to ranged attack rolls andReflex saving throws. The initiative bonus is constant,while the attack and save bonuses do not function atthe same time. That is, a character using a tactical

computer can in a given combat round gain a +1bonus to either his attack roll or his Reflex savingthrow, but not both.

UTILITY FOGSize/Type:Size/Type:Size/Type:Size/Type:Size/Type: Huge ConstructHit Dice:Hit Dice:Hit Dice:Hit Dice:Hit Dice: 7d10+40 (79 hp)Massive Damage Massive Damage Massive Damage Massive Damage Massive Damage —

Threshold:Threshold:Threshold:Threshold:Threshold:Initiative:Initiative:Initiative:Initiative:Initiative: +0Speed:Speed:Speed:Speed:Speed: 20 ft. fly (4 squares) (good)Defense:Defense:Defense:Defense:Defense: 13 (+5 dodge, –2 size), touch 13, flat-footed 12Base AttackBase AttackBase AttackBase AttackBase Attack +6/ +14

Bonus/Grapple:Bonus/Grapple:Bonus/Grapple:Bonus/Grapple:Bonus/Grapple:Attack:Attack:Attack:Attack:Attack: By weaponFull Attack:Full Attack:Full Attack:Full Attack:Full Attack: By weaponFightingFightingFightingFightingFighting 15 ft./ 15 ft.

Space/Reach:Space/Reach:Space/Reach:Space/Reach:Space/Reach:Special Qualities:Special Qualities:Special Qualities:Special Qualities:Special Qualities: Construct, dispersed, solar powered,

damage reduction 10, resistance to energy 20Saves:Saves:Saves:Saves:Saves: Fort +2, Ref +2, Will +3Abilities:Abilities:Abilities:Abilities:Abilities: Str — , Dex 11, Con — , Int — , Wis 13, Cha 10Skills:Skills:Skills:Skills:Skills: —Feats:Feats:Feats:Feats:Feats: —

Tablet

DiagnosticComputer

TacticalComputer


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CHAPTER TWO: TOOLS

Action Points:Action Points:Action Points:Action Points:Action Points: —Allegiances:Allegiances:Allegiances:Allegiances:Allegiances: —Reputation:Reputation:Reputation:Reputation:Reputation: —Environment:Environment:Environment:Environment:Environment: Military bases, corporate compoundsOrganization:Organization:Organization:Organization:Organization: SolitaryChallengeChallengeChallengeChallengeChallenge 13

Rating:Rating:Rating:Rating:Rating:Advancement:Advancement:Advancement:Advancement:Advancement: 8–11 HD (Huge), 12–15 (Colossal)LevelLevelLevelLevelLevel +4Adjustment:Adjustment:Adjustment:Adjustment:Adjustment:

The object lacks solidity or shape, being nothing morethan a cloud composed of millions of tiny points of light,each one emitting a faint buzzing noise, as if they wereinsects.

DESCRIPTIONAt the bleeding edge of nanotechnology just prior

to the Final Wars was utility fog. This unusualapplication of the technology was a swarm of nanounitsthat could, upon command, reshape themselves tocreate solid objects of an inorganic nature. Furniture,doors, weapons – almost anything – could be createdsimply by command. Utility fog was an experimentaltechnology in the latter days of pre-Final Warscivilization and was not widely used. Consequently,there are comparatively few examples of it in existenceduring the Gamma Age and almost every example ofit is already under the control of someone (orsomething), making it a dangerous hazard.

COMBATUtility fog is not intelligent and therefore cannot

make decisions for itself. It must be controlled andcommanded by an intelligent entity, such as a humanbeing or an AI Acquiring control is difficult.Typically, a Stage III or higher ID card is necessary.This works only in the case of uncontrolled (“wild”)utility fog. Fog that is already under the control ofanother entity cannot be taken control of withoutevidence of even higher authorization than thatalready brought to bear. The GM is the final arbiterof what constitutes higher authorization.

Utility fog can create almost any weapons fromitself. The only limitation is that the weapon inquestion cannot be larger than the cloud. Likewise,the weapon must be capable of self-activation.Otherwise, the fog is incapable of firing on its own andmust rely upon another being, whether living orconstruct, to use the weapon it has created from itself.At any given time, the fog can only create one weaponof the same size as itself, two weapons of one size smaller


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than itself, four weapons of two sizes smaller and so on,just like any other object it can create from itself.

Alternate Form (Ex): Utility fog can assume anyform of its own size or smaller as a standard action. Utilityfog can remain in its alternate form until it is commandedto assume a new one or return to its natural state. Thenew form cannot be a living creature or organicsubstance. Utility fog assumes all the characteristics ofthe new form except emergent properties likeintelligence that cannot be reproduced through simplemechanism. Thus, utility fog could assume the form of acomputer but not an artificial intelligence, for example.

Dispersed (Ex): Utility fog consists of millions oftiny nanounits. The only way to destroy it is to is todestroy so many nanounits that the fog lacks sufficientcohesion to function as a unit any longer. The fog istreated as a single Huge entity, but one that enjoysdamage reduction 20, energy resistance 20, and a +5dodge bonus to defense. It also has no effective Strengthbonus, and cannot lift or move solid objects on its own.

Solar powered (Ex): Utility fog is powered largely bysolar energy, which can run low after periods of darkness. Ifit engages in combat in darkness or at night, utility fogsuffers a –2 penalty to Initiative and attack checks.

Utility fog is a construct of a most unusual type,being nothing more than a cloud of millions ofnanounits, all of which work together as a unit. Thefog is, by its nature, amorphous in shape and size (aswell as density), allowing it to assume nearly anyconfiguration it is commanded to take by anauthorized user. Consequently, utility fog can producefrom itself nearly any object, including fairlymechanically complex ones. In general, these objectsmust be no bigger than the size of the fog itself. If itcreates objects smaller than itself, it can createmultiple examples of them. Thus, utility fog canproduce two objects one size smaller than itself, fourobjects two sizes smaller than itself, eight objects threesizes smaller than itself, and so on, doubling thenumber with each step removed in size from itself.

BIOLOGICAL INFORMATION SYSTEMSConventional electronic computers remained the

sole form of artificial information technology duringthe 20th century and the first half of the 21st century.However, advances in genetic engineering eventuallyallowed genetic engineers to unlock the secrets ofmemory and to create diseases and living beings thatcould help humans to better process and understandthe vast amounts of information present in the pre-war era.

MAPPING HIVESize:Size:Size:Size:Size: SmallWeight:Weight:Weight:Weight:Weight: 1 lbPurchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC: 14/16

Originally developed by the Chinese intelligenceservice, this device was based upon the ability ofhoneybees to map out their environment andcommunicate this information to the rest of their hive.A mapping hive is round-edged hemisphere made ofan obviously organic material that looks halfwaybetween plastic and paper. It is eight inches indiameter and four inches thick. Inside the hive areup to 500 long-lived and extremely durable bee-likeinsects, blue-gray in color and a quarter of an inchlong. These mapping bees have exceptionally keenvision as well as the ability to detect magnetic fields

and to see in the dark. They fly at speed of up to 60 ftand remember exactly where they have been, and theycommunicate this information both to each other andto the hive itself.

Instead of being insects that build and live in ahive, the mapping hive is actually a living creaturethat breeds its bee-like servants. These mapping beesfly out and map the area around the hive. In normaloperation, the bees map the rough details of an areaup to 30 miles around the hive. They first map thearea within three miles of the hive and expand out ata rate of three additional miles every day. Within 10days they have completed the local map, which showsthe exteriors of all buildings, as well as their basiclayout and floor plans and all natural features likeforests, rivers, chasms and caves. To prevent themfrom becoming separated from their hive if the user istraveling, the bees will only map the area within threemiles of the hive for as long as the hive is moving.Once it has been in place for a full day, the bees beginto expand their mapping region outward.

The user can display all maps ever recorded bythe hive on the flat side of the hemisphere. Thissmooth surface is a living full color flat screen display.This display is touch sensitive and clearly marked toallow users to magnify portions of these maps. If the


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user focuses on a nearby region that the mapping hivedoes not contain detailed information about (such asthe interiors of a building), the hive immediatelydispatches several mapping bees to examine thatregion in greater detail. The bees return in one tothree hours (depending upon the distance) and thehive uses the information they provide to update itsmap. The hive can easily replace any mapping beesthat are killed or lost and creates up to 25 new beesin a week. Since the hive can function normally withonly 250 bees, loss of bees is rarely a problem. Thebees can function in temperatures ranging from –40to 120 F and the hive only requires regular exposureto sunlight and a cup of sugar water, honey or fruitjuice every week. If the owner does not feed the hive,both it and the bees go dormant and it displays amessage about the types of nutrients it requires onthe screen. Dormant hives can survive indefinitely.

MEMORY ERASURE UNIT (MEU)Size:Size:Size:Size:Size: MediumWeight:Weight:Weight:Weight:Weight: 7 lbPurchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC: 14/16

Originally developed for therapeutic use,kidnappers and other criminals also frequently usedthese devices. Many thousands of these units werebuilt for use the memory therapists. Memory therapywas a widespread fad in the years leading up to theFinal Wars. For more than a decade, the fad of purgingdistressing memories caught on and some people askedfor forget entire decades of their lives. Eventually,home units were developed and some people usedthem at the end of every day to forget anyembarrassing or upsetting incidents during that day.Such people normally had their computers take careof any practical details that they had forgotten.

The original MEUs were large and delicate units,but heavy demand lead to them being greatlyminiaturized. Older models are the size of two-drawerfiling cabinets, but the ones created within a decadeof the Final Wars are boxes one foot on a side and sixinches tall. In both old and new units, the top of theunit is a lid that opens revealing a metal mesh capthat connects to the rest of the device using a wirelessinfrared interface. The controls are extremely simple,like most technology built after the late 21st century,if the user starts pushing buttons at random, the unitstarts an automatic visual and verbal tutorial. To usethe device, the user turns it on puts on the cap andconcentrates on the memory. The unit then asks theuser if these are the memories he wishes to delete. Toprevent accidental memory loss, the unit only removes

that actual memory the user concentrated on, not anyassociated memories. Also, the unit stores all deletedmemories for seven days and can restore them duringthis time. Once the user has deleted these memories,he can also request the device to remove all memoriesassociated with the deleted event.

For example, if the user had an automobileaccident and wished to forget it, thinking about theautomobile accident and activating the deice wouldcause the user to forget about the accident but notabout the events leading up to it or the eventsafterwards, including having to deal with the policeand any tow trucks and repair bills. When used inthis less extreme mode, the device cannot cause theuser to forget more than one day’s worth of memories.This level of memory erasure will not decrease a user’sskills.

If the user wished to forget about everythingrelated to the automobile accident, she would needto activate the unit a second time. The unit wouldthen removes all memories relating to the accident,including getting the car repaired, the treatment andrecovery from any injuries and all similar events.When used in this fashion, the unit can potentiallyerase large portions of the user’s memories. If the userwished to forget everything about her job or herparents, she could end up erasing large portions ofmany decades of her memories. Shortly before theFinal Wars, many government and corporateintelligence agencies began using this level of erasureon operatives who retired or quit. Also, criminals usedthis unit on their victims, causing them to not onlyforget that they had been robbed, but also that theyhad ever owned the goods the thieves stole. Whenused in this fashion, the user may forget one or moreskills associated with a specific profession if she forgetsabout that profession.

Using this unit on an unwilling subject is difficultbut possible. The person controlling the device tellsthe subject to think about the information she wishesto erase from the subject’s mind. Describing this topicin detail will cause almost all subjects to think aboutthe topic. Subjects must roll a DC 15 Will save toavoid thinking about the topic in question. Successallows the user to decide exactly what memories theunit erases. However, most criminals also erase allassociated memories to make certain of success andwhile another Will save is unnecessary, in such a casethe character is going to lose all memories associatedwith some event. Fortunately, the unit stores all erasedmemories for seven days. While the user will not beable to remember any erased memories, she will know


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that the unit erased some of her memories. If she cangain access to the same memory unit within sevendays of the erasure, she can set the unit to full restoreall of her memories. However, attempting to use otherunits will not work and after seven days, all of hererased memories are forever gone. A single power cellallows the unit to operate 100 times.

MEMORY VIRUSSize:Size:Size:Size:Size: n/aWeight:Weight:Weight:Weight:Weight: —Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC: n/aMemory Virus — Contact DC 13; 1d6 days; No initial damage(special)/ no secondary damage

These genetically engineered diseases are one ofthe most insidious remnants of the years immediatelypreceding the Final Wars. Before civilizationcollapsed, everyone who was not extremely poor (andeven the poor residents of the more humane nations)possessed highly effective artificial immune systemsthat protected them from almost all unwantedversions these diseases. However, neitherimpoverished people who lived before the Final Warsnor almost who survived them possesses significantprotection from these viruses.

In the late 21st century, genetic engineersworking with neurotechnicians discovered a way torecord memories in DNA using advanced genesplicing techniques. These researchers used extremelydelicate viruses to transfer memories from one personto another. This technology allowed people to encodetheir learning and their skills into a virus that couldinfect any number of other people, greatly speedingboth education and training. However, memoryviruses can only provide someone with the basics of askill, great expertise still required a combination ofconventional learning and practice.

Isolating memories of only a single skill proved tobe impossible, so each memory virus also includes howthe donor felt about the field of study and traces of amultitude of other memories. As a result, many peoplerefused to use memory viruses because they did not wantsomeone else’s thoughts and memories in their head.Memory viruses remained a highly specialized learningtechnique that educators primarily used to help speedadvanced study in a variety of highly specialized fields.Also, while tourists and business travelers greatlypreferred to rely upon handheld or wearable electronictranslators, spies and a few diplomats used memoryviruses to learn languages.

Mappinghive

Memory ErasureUnit

Octo-Memory

Unit

PersonalityEngramTransfer

Unit


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Eighteen years before the Final Wars, illegal gene-hackers discovered a way to implant DNA memoriesinto robust and highly infective viruses. Instead ofteaching skills, these unlicensed technicians createdviruses that they sold to illegal advertising agencies,unscrupulous religious cults and radical politicalmovements who wished to release viruses that wouldcause others to have memories of loving their productsor having a fanatical devotion to their beliefs. Thenext eighteen years was a constant battle betweenthe artificial immune systems most people possessedand these propaganda viruses. Meanwhile, poorerpeople were frequently unwillingly dragging into lowcost clinics by their friends and relatives because theywere suffering from the latest of these diseases.

Memory viruses have no physical symptomsexcept an extremely mild fever that lasts for a day ortwo. However, between one and three days after beinginfected, the subject will feel the fill psychologicalaffects of this virus. The virus permanently alters thecharacter’s memories after four weeks. However, if thecharacter receives an anti-viral treatment capable ofkilling off the virus within four weeks of infectioncuring the virus will also remove all of the memories.In most cases, unless the infected character receivesan anti-viral treatment, she will remain contagiousfor as long as five or ten years.

A number of the hardiest propaganda virusessurvived the Final Wars. In the days immediately afterthe Final Wars, when it was evident that civilizationwas collapsing, several dozen genetic engineersattempted to preserve basic learning by encoding awide variety of useful technological skills and featsinto durable and highly infectious viruses. TechFamiliarity and various Knowledge skill viruses arenow especially common. In most cases, the spread ofeach memory virus is highly localized — everyone ina town or even a small city-state may have the samevirus. Most travelers avoid towns where some of themore extreme propaganda viruses affect all residents.Regardless, artificial immune systems (see “Medicine”in Chapter Three), total-med and revivifiers allcompletely cure the effects of all memory viruses.

Learning VirusSome viruses simply give the character between

four and six (depending upon the skill) ranks in asingle skill or the knowledge of one feat. Alternately,a single memory virus can provide the two ranksnecessary to learn to both speak and read and write asingle language. No memory virus can ever give acharacter more than six ranks in a skill. Althoughlimitations of character class and level normally

prevent a character from learning that many ranks ofparticular skill, a memory virus can transcend suchlimits. A 4th level character could gain six ranks of across-class skill from a memory virus. However, thisskill would remain cross-class skill, and the charactercould not gain more ranks in this skill until sheattained at least 11th level.

Skill ranks gained from a memory virus are notcumulative with any previous learning possessed bythe character. If the virus contains four ranks of askill and the character already knows three ranks ofthis skill, the character will still only have four ranksin this skill (and not seven ranks). If the characterhas more ranks in the skill than the memory virusprovides, then the virus provides no benefit to thecharacter. Also, if the virus teaches the character anew feat, the character can only make use of this featif she also possesses all of the skill and abilityprerequisites necessary to use this feat. Learningviruses can only teach feats that involve knowledgeof how to perform some task (like surgery or VehicleDodge) or understand how to use various objects (likeAircraft Operation or Tech Familiarity). Feats likeConfident or Windfall cannot be encoded in amemory virus.

In addition, regardless of whether the characteractually learns anything from the virus, she also gainsa scattering of seemingly random memories from theperson whose memories formed the original templatefor this memory virus. A character who was afraid ofheights and who had religious taboos against eatingoysters might suddenly have memories of bungie-jumping or eating a huge plate of raw oysters andfinding them to be indescribably delicious. Thesememories will be indistinguishable from thecharacter’s normal memories, which can becomeexceedingly confusing.

Viral PropagandaPropaganda viruses provide victims with up to

four ranks of skills. Unlike learning viruses, the skillsin viral propaganda can be highly diverse. The abilityto read, write, and speak an obscure language and twolevels in history, theology or philosophy might all beincluded in a single religious virus. However, theknowledge imparted by propaganda viruses is alwaysexceptionally biased. Also, some viruses contain noskills at all and consist solely of information like abiography detailing the life and works of a singlereligious or political figure or highly emotionalmemories of being a loyal disciple to some religiousor political cause. Patriotism viruses were especiallycommon shortly before the Final Wars.


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These viruses cannot make anyone believeanything, but vividly remembers believing somethingmakes most people more inclined to believe it. Inaddition, propaganda viruses can both add and removeallegiances from the user’s mind. Someone coulddesign a propaganda virus to remove all allegiancesassociated with Islam and replace it with an allegianceto a specific form of Christianity. If it infectedsomeone who was not Muslim, this virus would simplyinstill and allegiance to a particular branch ofChristianity. Viruses that infect victims withallegiances to religions, organizations (many of whichnow only exist in the minds of people affected byvarious propaganda viruses) are especially common.However, viruses that produce allegiances to nationsor specific moral or ethical philosophies also exist.Like added memories, curing the virus within fourweeks of infection reverses all changes in allegiances.Any treatment that cures memory viruses will removethese allegiances.

OCTO-MEMORY UNIT (OMU)Size:Size:Size:Size:Size: TinyWeight:Weight:Weight:Weight:Weight: 0.5 lbPurchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC: 13

Octopi are the most intelligent of theinvertebrates and have unique four-lobed brains. Inthe early 22nd century, genetic engineers tookadvantage of this creature’s unique neural architectureto create the ultimate personal information system— a backup memory. This piece of biotech looks likea small octopus that has four tentacles on each side,rather than having all eight tentacles arrangedradically. This creature is seven inches wide from thetip of the left tentacles to the tip of the right tentacles,and its body is three inches in diameter and one inchthick. Genetic engineers designed the creature toattach itself to the back of the user’s neck — once inplace, its ability to change color allows it to blend inperfectly with the wearer’s skin color; it takes a DC20 Spot check to notice that someone is wearing anOMU. The suckers at the base of the tentacles sendspecial bio-polymer coated nerve fibers into the user’sspinal cord and brainstem while the OMU’s mouthburrows down and connects to a minor blood vessel.Once in place, the OMU receives all of itsnourishment from its wearer. In return, its speciallymodified brain records all of the wearer’s thoughtsand sensory impressions as long as the user continuesto wear the OMU .

Not only does the wearer have a perfectphotographic memory, the OMU also allows the

wearer to easily replay any memory. As a result, theuser can remember everything that happened whileshe has been wearing the OMU. In addition toproviding a +2 equipment bonus to any skill rollswhere having an excellent memory is helpful, thesememories are so vivid that if the wearer wishes shecan also Take 20 on all Spot and Listen rolls becauseshe can replay the memories so vividly as often as shelikes. However, doing this only works if the characterclosely observed the event when it occurred. Also,the character must sit down and replay this memoryin her mind for at least 20 minutes to successfullytake 20.

Although most wearers never removed theirOMUs, users can even remove it and loan it tosomeone else, and so give this person an exact recordof the user’s memories. Unfortunately, this means thatthis person now has access to the previous wearer’smemories of everything that she has thought orexperienced since she first put on the OMU.Searching through someone else’s memories is acomplex and confusing task that requires at least oneConcentration check, of DC 15 for particularly vividand prominent memories up to DC 30 or more forobscure or suppressed memories. A successful DC 20Concentration check gives the wearer a +2 synergybonus on Intelligence-based skill checks in which theprevious wearer had more ranks of a particular skillthan the current one does.

OMU’s are extremely long-lived, with life spansof at least 200 years and their hyper-efficient neuronscan continue to absorb new information as long asthey are alive. As a result, many OMUs have beenused before and may already be full of years or decadesof someone else’s memories. If desired, the new usercan purge all the unit’s previous memories. However,few characters wish to lose such valuable experience.

Unfortunately, wearing an OMU that has morethan a decade’s worth of memories in it can besomewhat risky. If the user ever rolls a natural 1 onany Concentration roll to access memories of theunit’s previous users, she becomes temporarily lost inthese memories. She must then roll a DC 15 Willsave. If she succeeds, then she merely sits immobileand lost in thought for the next hour or until someoneviolently shakes her out of this fugue state. If she failsthe save, then for the next 1d4 hours she is temporarilyconvinced that she is the person whose memories shewas accessing. Since this person will almost certainlynot know anything about the user’s life, she willalmost certainly be both upset and confused. Also atthe end of this state, the user is Fatigued. Today,


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explorers and scavengers sometimes find OMU’sliving in the wild, since they are perfectly capable ofsurviving and even breeding on their own. While theycan survive indefinitely in air, they prefer to live inwater and drink the blood of small fish. However, mosttravelers find OMUs on their previous wearers’ deadbodies.

PERSONALITY ENGRAMTRANSFERENCE UNIT(PET, MIND-SWITCHEROR APPLE-CORER)Size:Size:Size:Size:Size: HugeWeight:Weight:Weight:Weight:Weight: 150 lbPurchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC: 34/37

Originally developed to allow the elderly totransfer their minds into young speed-grown clones,the absence of such clones means that this device isnow used to rip young, healthy people’s minds out oftheir bodies and replace them with the mind ofsomeone who is generally old, powerful andcompletely amoral. Before the Final Wars, spies andcriminals also used this device to impersonate peopleby literally take their bodies; criminals still use it forthese same purposes today.

This device is the size of a modern day washingmachine (two feet wide, two feet deep, and three feettall) and weighs 150 lb. The top of the device opensto reveal a series of relatively simple controls and twohelmet-like devices, each of which connects to thePET by a yard-long cable. The user must place thetwo helmets on the two subjects, and then activatethe device. The process of transferring minds requiresone full hour. Removing one or both helmets orturning off the device in mid-transfer causes bothpeople to fall unconscious and completely disrupts the

process. Both individuals are conscious during thetransfer and the user must restrain unwilling subjects.

The unit has two settings: the user can eithercause the device to delete the first person’s personalityor to switch the two individual’s personalities. Toprevent mishaps, if the unit deletes someone’spersonality, it stores this personality, so that it can belater replaced in that subject’s body. PET units havesufficient storage to hold up to three personalities.Every additional personality that the unit stores meansthat it deletes the personality is has stored the longest.Anyone using this device must make a DC 20 Willsave. If either subject succeeds at this Will save, thepersonality transfer fails, but may be tried again. (Thislimit means that many users take will-weakening drugsright before attempting a transfer.)

A character using this device to obtain a newbody retain her Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charismaas well as all skills, mental feats like Confident, Builderor Force Stop and all mental mutations. However,her Strength, Dexterity and Constitution, as well asall purely physical feats like Toughness, Enduranceor Great Fortitude and all physical mutations are thoseof the body she now inhabits. While a sizeable numberof the people who survived the Final Wars usedvarious longevity therapies to greatly lengthen theirlife spans, some did not and most people who havebeen born since then lack such miracles. However,anyone who acquires a PET device has another, farless moral option to death by old age. Today, mostpeople who use PET units are old people who wish tobe young again, even if it means stealing the body ofsomeone younger. A few warlords have PET units,while others are in the hands of unscrupulous traderswho kidnap young people and sell their bodies toanyone wealthy enough to meet their price. Onepower cell allows this device to make 10 transfers.

STORAGEAlthough the book you have in your hands is

called Out of the Vaults, there’s no reason that theeponymous vaults could not themselves be consideredvaluable. Of course, as discussed earlier, “vault” is arelative term. It could include a wide number ofdifferent things, including storage containers that aremore easily portable. After all, most devices thatsurvived the disaster of the Final Wars did so becausethey were protected by something. In many cases, that

something is a storage container of some sort, nomatter how big or small. This section briefly overviewssome of the most useful and common forms of storagethat player characters could conceivably find and(more importantly) possess. Naturally, this list is notexhaustive and concentrates primarily on portableitems. GMs interested in bigger storage devices arereferred to Chapter One, wherein vaults proper arediscussed in greater detail.


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COLLAPSIBLE VAULTSize:Size:Size:Size:Size: Medium*Weight:Weight:Weight:Weight:Weight: 45 lbPurchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC: 24

Consisting of a large suitcase-sized box that caneasily be carried by a single person (provided he hasStrength 12 or more), this device is actually anintegrated computer and nano-factory all in one. Theuser simply commands the vault to be built and theitem immediately goes to work doing just that. Thevault is built from materials found in the surroundingenvironment and takes 1d20+20 minutes to complete.The user cannot specify anything about the size ornature of the vault, since that is to a large extentdependent on the materials available wherever hechooses to activate the device.

The newly assembled vault occupies at least 15square feet and stands at least 10 feet high. The wallshave 50 hit points and a hardness of 10. In addition,the nanounits that built the vault repair it at a rate of5 hit points per round. At the GM’s choosing, all ofthe aforementioned statistics can be altered upwardalthough no more than twice the listed values wouldbe appropriate. Only one collapsible vault can beconstructed at a time with the same unit. If the userchooses to keep a single vault active, it can remain soindefinitely. However, if he chooses to collapse thestructure, he can do so easily. The nanounits that builtthe vault return to the central unit and are againavailable for use when the user desires them.

Not surprisingly, the collapsible vault is highlyvalued by many individuals in the Gamma Age. Theyare very rare devices, which only increases their value.Both militaristic and pacific groups alike see thecollapsible vault as a welcome addition to theirrepertoire. The original purpose of these devices isunknown, although it is believed they were createdby the military for use as mobile forward advancebases. However, the size of the vault when made issufficiently large as to put this theory into doubt.

*The typical collapsible vault’s housing takes theform of a medium-sized suitcase-like container. Onceactivated, the vault it creates is generally Huge,although there is some degree of variation in this,depending on the materials available to the integralnanounits. At the GM’s discretion, other collapsiblevault systems might be found. Their containers couldbe of Large size, but no bigger. Such larger systemswould have a purchase DC of between 25 and 28,again depending on the characteristics of the vaultthe integral nanounits construct.

DISPOSA-UNITSize:Size:Size:Size:Size: Medium*Weight:Weight:Weight:Weight:Weight: 10 lbPurchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC: 18

The disposa-unit was created as a means of safelyand harmlessly holding hazardous materials, such asradioactive or medical waste. The unit is a large,cylindrical tube about three feet in length and sixinches thick. A removable cap at one end allows theuser to place materials within it. Once the cap isreplaced on the end and the unit activated, nanounitsinside begin to work on the material, rendering it inertand harmless to human contact. Once done, the wastecan be removed from the tube and safely disposed of.This process takes anywhere from 12 to 72 hours,depending on the amount and type of the waste.Naturally, a unit can dispose of no more waste than itcan hold by volume.

Disposa-units came in multiple sizes, some ofthem being quite large and therefore more suitable tocommunity use. These larger units are very valuablein the Gamma Age, both because of their utility andtheir relative rarity. The largest units are over onehundred feet long and could hold literally tons ofwaste. Even inoperative disposa-units have value assimple storage containers. They are made of sturdymaterials and shield the worst effects of whatever iscontained within them. This means that a communitycould easily use a unit as a holding area for toxic orhazardous materials without any need to render itharmless, although that’s obviously a far better usefor it. Some communities that possess larger disposa-units have used them to create latter day versions ofsewage treatment facilities.

*As noted in the text, there were disposa-unitsof Large and greater size available during the FinalWars era. Few of them continue to exist in the GammaAge. Those that do would have a purchase DC of atleast 22, perhaps higher depending on the locationand circumstances of the unit in question.

SECURITY BAGSize:Size:Size:Size:Size: SmallWeight:Weight:Weight:Weight:Weight: 5 lbPurchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC: 20

The security bag first made its appearance duringthe Gene Age. This device is a large leather-like bagimprinted with the DNA of a user or group of user atpurchase. When touched by anyone other than thosewhose genetic material has been imprinted in its ownstructure, it closes tight and will not open. The


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material from which the bag is made was used in manyapplications, such as wallets, purses, attaché cases,even shoes! The bio-memetic material provides thesame protection as leather, but, once it has closed, itwill not open again until touched by the person orpersons with whom it is imprinted.

Security bags were common items well into theFinal Wars era. Consequently, many survive into theGamma Age. The primary problem is that most ofthem have already been imprinted with the DNA ofindividuals long dead. It is possible to “reprogram” asecurity bag, but it very difficult. Doing so requires aDC 35 Computer Use (Biotech Systems) check.Failure prevents further attempts by the samecharacter. Unimprinted security bags are rare andquite valuable. The purchase DC below is based onan unimprinted bag, with an imprinted one having aDC 5, 10 or even 15 lower, depending on howdesperately its seller wishes to get rid of it.

STASIS BOXSize:Size:Size:Size:Size: Medium*Weight:Weight:Weight:Weight:Weight: 20 lbPurchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC: 22

Biological stasis is the process by which someorganisms place themselves into a kind of suspendedanimation, during which their biological processesoperate many times more slowly than usual. While instasis, these organisms still live, of course, but because oftheir stasis, they do not age at a normal rate nor do theygrow or suffer the effects of diseases. For all intents andpurposes, they are stopped in time until the stasis ended.

With nanotechnology, it was a simple matter toinduce stasis at will. Doing so in inorganic substances tookmore effort, but did not prove impossible. Once thetechnology was perfected, it was applied in many areas,including storage media. The so-called stasis box was onesuch medium. Approximately the size of an old-fashionedfootlocker, the box can induce stasis in anything placedwithin it indefinitely, so long as it remained inside theclosed box. Once opened, an object or creature begins to“thaw out” and become active within five minutes. No illeffects are induced because of the stasis, although no oneduring the Final Wars era had ever placed a living thingin a stasis box for more than a few months at a time. Moststasis boxes found in the Gamma Age contain some sortof object inside, typically perishable items like food ordrugs. They rarely contain living creatures, but they easilycould. Those who find these items are therefore advisedto beware their contents.

*Any object or creature placed within the boxenters a state of suspended animation within fiveminutes of the box’s lid being closed. There is no saveto resist this effect, although it only works on objectsor creatures that can fit completely within the 3 x 3 x2 foot dimensions of the box. Larger stasis boxes didexist, but they are rare and comparatively moredifficult to purchase. There are no ill effects to beingplaced in suspended animation. Indeed, anythinginside does not age, grow, change or otherwise alter.Likewise, poisons, diseases and radiation damage slowswhile in stasis so that they no longer do any furtherharm. Living creatures who remain within a stasis boxfor more than a year at a time must make a DC 12Fortitude save each year or suffer the permanent lossof 1 point of Constitution.

VARIABLE GEOMETRYDURALLOY CONTAINERSSize:Size:Size:Size:Size: MediumWeight:Weight:Weight:Weight:Weight: 20 lbPurchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC: 17

As explained earlier in this chapter, duralloy is astrong and sturdy metallic alloy created throughnanotechnological methods. As one might expect, itwas used to create containers of various sorts, all ofwhich possessed the qualities of the material fromwhich it is made. Because of this, duralloy containersare quite valuable in the Gamma Age. They arefrequently traded for and used as the basis forbartering. Unlike lesser materials, duralloy is equallyuseful in a wide variety of environments and canwithstand a fair amount of damage before breaching,for example.

Far more valuable than these ordinary duralloycontainers are the variable geometry versions. Thesecontainers make full use of duralloy’s smartcharacteristics. A container possesses a small hand-held control, which is about the size of a modern daycigarette lighter. When used properly, it allows theuser to alter the shape, volume and thickness of thecontainer to which it is keyed. This means that astandard size container (which is three feet wide byfive long by two feet high) can change its shape sothat it is better suited to carry and oddly shaped object.The cubic footage of the container cannot change allthat much, although there is some leeway by alteringthe thickness of the metal slightly. However, withinthese basic parameters, a variable geometry containercan warp and shift to suit the needs of its user.


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PERSONAL WEAPONRYas Physical Sciences, for example), she gains a +2synergy bonus to her skill check. Furthermore, thecharacter must possess materials with which toimprovise ammunition. Gunpowder, for instance,requires sulfur, charcoal and potassium nitrate,while energy cells require an appropriate powersource and the means to infuse that power into thecell.

The Repair DC for any attempt to improviseammunition is equal to the Purchase DC for theweapon in question. Thus, creating ammunition foran Uzi is DC 18. For every two ranks above 5 in theappropriate Technology skill, the character gains a+1 competence bonus to her check. If she possessesonly approximate materials rather than exact ones,the GM may increase the Repair DC by +1 to +3depending on the variance. Archaic weaponammunition can usually be improvised in 10minutes. Pre-Wars ammunition takes 1 hour, whileAdvanced ammunition takes 10 hours. These areguidelines, of course, and the GM should increaseor decrease them as he sees fit.

“BLACK RAY” WEAPONWithout a doubt, the most impressively

destructive personal weapons of the pre-Wars erawere the so-called “black ray” weapons. Theseweapons are molecular disintegrators, available inpistol and rifle forms. They operate by generatingan anti-gluon beam which destroys the bonds thathold the ordinary matter of the target together.These weapons derive their common name fromthe fact that the anti-gluon beam clears away airparticles in its path, creating a “micro-void” opticaleffect that looks very much like an intensely blackray.

The target of a black ray weapon can bedestroyed utterly if the beam can be focused on itfor a long enough period of time. Even a momentaryburst wreaks terrible damage that is extraordinarilydifficult to heal or repair.

Black ray weapons were strictly militaryweapons. The technology needed to create them(including the integral force field that protectedits user from the radiation it generated) wasrestricted, so they seldom fell into civilian hands.Consequently, existing caches of black ray weaponsare found primarily in military vaults. A handful ofthese dreadful weapons have resurfaced in theGamma Age, some in the hands of disreputablecryptic alliances who have not hesitated to use them

Despite the hopes of idealists, the 21st centuryproved no more secure than the 20th. Indeed, asthe century wore on and the 22nd dawned, theworld was as fearful, unsafe and paranoid as ever.Not surprisingly, this led to the proliferation of newpersonal weapons technologies designed to ensure“peace of mind.” Whether or not these weaponsfulfilled their promises is a matter of perspective.The decades leading up to the Final Wars saw therise of innumerable new types of personal weapons,many of which were so destructive that they wereimmediately outlawed even in locales where self-defense was deemed a sacred liberty. So manypersonal weapons were produced in those dark daysthat a great many still survived into the GammaAge, where they have proved every bit as deadly asthey were in pre-Wars days.

HANDGUNSAND LONGARMS

These weapons require the Exotic FirearmsProficiency feat for use without penalty, exceptwhere otherwise noted. Table 3–1 has weaponstatistics; listings are consistent with those in d20Modern, Table 4–4: Ranged Weapons.

THE PROBLEM OF AMMUNITIONOne of the most pressing problems facing

characters in Gamma World is running out ofammunition for their high-tech weapons. The factis that while many weapons have survived the FinalWars, comparatively few ammunition packs (inwhatever form they take) have done so, and at leastthey won’t always be found in the same places asthe weapons themselves. For that reason, charactersoften find themselves desperately in need of energycells for their blaster pistol without any obviousplace to turn. Sufficiently resourceful and skilledcharacters can always improvise, creating their ownammunition with materials they obtain themselves.Doing so is not easy in most cases, but it is possible,and better than going without ammunition.

The pertinent skills for improvisingammunition are Knowledge, Repair andTechnology. A character must possess at least 5ranks in the appropriate Technology skill for theweapon before she can even attempt this task.Repair is also necessary, although an appropriateCraft skill could be substituted at the GM’sdiscretion. If the character also possesses 7 or moreranks in a Knowledge related to the weapon (such


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to advance their own twisted agendas throughviolence. Rumors abound of “black ray cannons,”but none have ever been found.

Special: Any target hit by a black ray weaponmust make a DC 18 Fortitude save or bedisintegrated, leaving behind not even ashes. On asuccessful save, the target still takes the listeddamage from molecular damage. A critical hit

doubles the weapon’s damage and increases theFortitude save to 20.

BLISS BLASTERWhen properly used, this unusual weapon is non-

lethal but nevertheless effective. It useselectromagnetic waves to stimulate the pleasurecenters of the target’s brain. If the target is hit directly,

TABLE 3–1: HANDGUNS AND LONGARMSDamageDamageDamageDamageDamage RangeRangeRangeRangeRange PurchasePurchasePurchasePurchasePurchase

WeaponWeaponWeaponWeaponWeapon DamageDamageDamageDamageDamage CriticalCriticalCriticalCriticalCritical TypeTypeTypeTypeType Inc.Inc.Inc.Inc.Inc. ROFROFROFROFROF MagazineMagazineMagazineMagazineMagazine SizeSizeSizeSizeSize WeightWeightWeightWeightWeight DCDCDCDCDC

Black ray pistol 4d6* 20 Special 30 ft S 10 box Med 5 lb 25Black ray rifle 5d6* 20 Special 40 ft S 10 box Large 15 lb 28Bliss blaster Special* — Special 30 ft S 30 box Med 3 lb 18Burn blaster 2d4 — Fire 15 ft S 20 box Med 5 lb 15DAS microblaster Special* 19–20 Electrical 60 ft S, A 120 int. Med 3 lb 27/30Flame projector 2d6* — Fire 40 ft* S 20 int. Med 10 lb 17Fusion rifle 5d6* — Special 40 ft S 10 int. Large 15 lb 18Grenade launcher By grenade — By grenade 80 ft S 10 int. Med 15 lb 15

type* type*Gyrojet 2d6 19–20 Ballistic 50 ft S 30 box Med 5 lb 18smart pistol*Laser pistol* 2d6 19–20 Electrical 50 ft S 30 box Med 3 lb 20Laser rifle* 2d8 19–20 Electrical 100 ft S 20 box Large 6 lb 25Mark V blaster 4d6 19–20 Electrical 40 ft S 30 box Med 8 lb 20Mark VII blaster 5d6 19–20 Electrical 50 ft S 30 box Med 5 lb 22Mark XII blaster 8d6 19–20 Electrical 80 ft S 20 box Large 10 lb 25Micro-missile 1d10 19–20 Concussion 80 ft S, A 40 box Small 3 lb 20launcherMini-grenade 1d6 — Slashing 50 ft S, A 50 int. Small 5 lb 20launcher*MP rifle Special* — Special 40 ft S 10 box Med 5 lb 20Musket 1d12* 20 Ballistic 30 ft S 1 int. Med 6 lb 12Needler gun 1d4/ — Piercing/ 50 ft S 30 box Med 4 lb 18

By toxin* PoisonRailgun* 2d10 19-20 Ballistic 50 ft S, A 100 int. Med 10 lb 22Safe-T-Suit 1d4 19–20 Fire 10 ft S 2400 int. Fine 15

blaster*Screamer 2d12* 20 Concussion 20 ft S 20 box Large 20 lb 22Stasis rifle Special* — Special 50 ft S 20 int. Med 10 lb 22Stokes coagulator 3d6* — Special 40 ft S 10 int. Large 15 lb 20TAF (ghengiz gun) Special 19–20 Ballistic 60 ft S, A 120 box Med 3 lb 29Tangler pistol Special* — Special 40 ft S 20 box Med 10 lb 15* See the description of this weapon for special rules.


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he is overcome by irresistible but non-specific wavesof physical pleasure that convulse his body and makehim unable to do anything, even stand upright. Inmost cases, the target suffers no lasting ill effects froma direct hit except exhaustion. In rare cases, theremay be permanent nerve damage due to over-stimulation. Some individuals are constitutionallycapable of withstanding the weapon’s effects to somedegree and can still function even after a direct hit.

The bliss blaster was produced for lawenforcement use as a means of non-violentlydispersing crowds and dealing with violentoffenders. Its effectiveness was so obvious that othersectors of society found uses for it as well, including“bliss addicts” who would voluntarily submit to itseffects. In the Gamma Age, a few cults have arisenaround the use of bliss blasters, seeing its effects asa divine gift. Other more sybaritic sorts simply enjoythe unmitigated pleasure it brings and will payhandsomely for anyone who can provide them withworking examples of this weapon.

Special: A target hit by a bliss blaster mustmake a successful DC 15 Fortitude save or collapsein ecstatic convulsions for 1d6+3 minutes minusthe target’s Wisdom modifier (if positive). Duringthis time, the target cannot do anything, includingspeak or even stand upright.

BURN BLASTERThe burn blaster is not an energy weapon, but

a projectile weapon. It fires high-velocity hollowbullets containing a chemical reactant thatbecomes volatile when exposed to an oxygenatmosphere. This reactant spreads quickly over atarget upon impact and ignites, causing severeburns. The reactant does not burst into flames;the burns are generated through a chemical process— not that that matters much to anyone whosuffers its effects. The burns are in addition to anydamage the target suffers from the actual impactof the bullet itself.

The burn blaster was primarily a civilianweapon, although military versions did exist. Assuch, surviving examples can be found almostanywhere. The primary drawback to using thisweapon in the Gamma Age is the rarity of suitableammunition. The weapon can be used with ordinarybullets, in which case it functions much like a 9mmpistol, although it is heavier and bulkier inappearance.

DAS MICROBLASTERThe DAS microblaster is a component of the

Defensive Aerostat Swarm armor. See Armor,below, for specifics.

GrenadeLauncher

Black RayPistol

BurnBlaster

GyrojetSmartPistol

LaserWeapon

Mark XIIBlaster

BlissBlaster

FlameProjector

FusionRifle

Micro-Missle

Launcher


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FLAME PROJECTORThe flame projector is an ancient weapon that

nevertheless saw continued use by militaries rightup until the Final Wars era. There are many reasonsfor this, including simple fetishism on the part ofmany soldiers, who simply enjoyed flame projectors’glorious destructiveness. However, flame projectorsremained in service primarily because they wereunparalleled in their ability to disperse people intight formations, whether soldiers or civilians.These weapons resemble large pistols attached to asmall backpack. The projectors fires a chemical thatignites upon contact with an oxygen atmosphereand spreads over a wide area, blanketing anythingand anyone within that area in a terribleconflagration. The chemical adheres to mostmaterials and burned for minutes after being shotout of the projector, which added to its usefulnessin battle.

Flame projectors were solely the purview of themilitary. That’s why they can be found only inmilitary vaults in the Gamma Age. The chemicalneeded to fuel them is even more rare than theweapon itself. In addition, the fuel runs out afteronly a small number of shots, making any use ofthis weapon extremely expensive. Nevertheless,groups like the Purists very much enjoy flameprojectors, as do the Red Death. There are tales ofsmaller, wrist-mounted flame projectors as well, butthere have thus far been no indications that thesetales have any basis in fact.

Special: A flame projector is a persistentdamage weapon. Anyone hit by it suffers the listeddamage value every round for five rounds or untilthe chemical is extinguished by dousing in water,rolling on the ground, etc. Extinguishing thechemical is a full-round action during which timethe character can do nothing else.

A flame projector’s burst covers a beam 40 feetlong. Anyone caught within that area is consideredto have been hit if the wielder’s attack roll exceedsthe potential victim’s Defense.

FUSION RIFLEThe fusion rifle is a bulky rifle that utilizes a

backpack power supply to provide it with energy.It is therefore somewhat unwieldy for thoseunaccustomed to wearing it. The rifle is actually afocused radiation projector, using force fields todirect and contain the emission of radioactiveparticles in a coherent beam. Being hit by this beamsears the flesh and causes deep burns that extend


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of damage as listed in the grenade’s description. Therange increment of the grenade launch supersedesthat of the grenade itself.

GYROJET SMART PISTOLAs its name suggests, the gyrojet smart pistol’s

primary selling point is its ability to seek out targetswith great accuracy. Through a combination of anintegral sophisticated sensor system and a lasertracker, the pistol “tags” its target with a homingsignature that is then delivered to the gyrojet bulletsin its magazine. When fired, the bullets home inon the designated target and no other, avoidingobstacles and other potential targets in order toreach their destination. Although the gyrojet bulletsare not as deadly as other types of ammunition, theyare exceedingly accurate. The pistol’s internalcomputer can retain a homing signature for onlyone target at a time, so the user must remember tochoose a new target if he wishes to fire uponsomeone else.

Gyrojet smart pistols were primarily militaryweapons, although there were civilian versionsavailable, especially during the late Noetic Era,when computer technology became exceedinglyinexpensive. Thus, these weapons can be found ina variety of vaults in the Gamma Age. They havebecome popular firearms with some of the higher-tech militias associated with larger communities,although they are still far from common. One ofthe biggest difficulties in using these weapons isfinding enough ammunition to make them practicalas anything more than novelties. Indeed, finding acache of gyrojet clips is probably far more valuablethan finding the smart pistols themselves.

Special: Each additional shot after the firstagainst the same target grants the user a further +1to his base attack bonus. Thus, the first shot is atthe normal BAB, while the second is at +1, thethird at +2, the fourth at +3 and so on. Thisrepresents smart pistol’s increasing accuracy as itsinternal computer coordinates sensor data to get abetter lock on its target. Once a new target ischosen, however, the process begins anew. Thesame is true if the user switches back and forthbetween targets, since the internal computer’smemory is very limited.

LASER WEAPONAlthough blasters are by far more well-known,

other types of directed energy weapons existedduring the pre-Wars years. One such category waslasers — specifically excimer lasers, which utilized

deep into the target’s innards. In some cases, thedirected radiation may cause mutations as well,although that is generally quite rare.

Fusion rifles were almost wholly the purviewof the pre-collapse military, which is why they areonly found in military vaults. These weapons aremuch favored by cryptic alliances that valuemaximum destruction against their enemies. Thenotable exceptions are the Purists, who fear thefusion rifle as a means of creating more mutants.Should Purists find these weapons, they will destroythem — often to their regret, since doing so can bequite dangerous. The backpack power supplyincludes an integral micro-fusion generator. Morethan one community has disconnected it from therifle and used it to power vehicles or other machinesof more value to them than weapons.

Special: The blast of a fusion rifle is considereda Moderate mutagen. Anyone hit by the blast mustmake a successful DC 10 Fortitude save or suffer arandom mutation (see the Gamma World Player’sHandbook).

GRENADE LAUNCHERAs the effectiveness of grenades increased over

the decades, so did the difficulty in using themeffectively. Before the advent of smart and otherself-propelled grenades in the Noetic Age, grenadeswere limited in their range by how far their usercould throw them. Unsurprisingly, grenadelaunchers had long been in use to lend mechanicalaid to this process. By the time of the Final Wars,grenade launchers were an archaic technology, butenough existed that they could still be found inmany parts of the world, including civilian hands.These weapons looked like short rifles with extrawide muzzles and a large loader on the back intowhich the user could place the grenades it fired.

Grenade launchers were common enough evenduring the Final Wars era that many of them surviveto the present. Most are universally usable with anytype of standard grenade, but a few of them areconstructed for use with a specific type of grenade.Those weapons are less common, but may still befound, especially in vaults associated with civiliansrather than the military. Grenade launchers haveexcellent range and good reliability. They alsoinclude integral targeting systems that allow the userto better aim his grenades — very importantconsidering the unusual trajectories necessary toscore many hits.

Special: A grenade launcher can fire anystandard grenade, inflicting the appropriate amount


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them quite common in military vaults throughoutthe world. Naturally, Mark V blasters are the mostprevalent, since they were considered outdatedbefore the end of the Noetic Age.

MICRO-MISSILE LAUNCHERThis piece of military hardware arose during

the Noetic Age. It consists of a series of attachablepockets distributed across the user’s clothing. Eachpocket contains several micro-missiles — tinyrockets — in communication with a centraltargeting system that the user controls. Wheneverthe user activates a missile, a pocket springs openand one or more micro-missiles shoots toward theintended target. Micro-missiles have phenomenalrange and deliver a fair punch, although they arenowhere near as effective as most energy weapons.The primary advantage of micro-missiles launchersis their small size. The average infantryman couldbe fitted with a large number of micro-missiles,which he could fire while using another weapon atthe same time.

Complete micro-missile launchers are rare inthe Gamma Age. Because they consist of so manyintegral parts, it’s unlikely that any vault willcontain all the parts necessary to make thelaunchers function as intended. For that reason,very few individuals or communities use them inlarge number (if at all). On the other hand, manyandroids and other synthetic lifeforms seem to befound of micro-missiles, perhaps because it is trivialfor them to tie the launchers’ targeting system intotheir own neural networks, thereby givingthemselves reflexive weapons to use againstunsuspecting targets.

MINI-GRENADE LAUNCHERWhile the grenade launcher was an archaic

technology by the time of the Final Wars, the mini-grenade launcher was a cutting-edge weapon at thesame time. The launcher was small enough to beworn on one’s shoulder or wrist — which is justhow frontline infantry of the era wore it. The mini-grenade launcher tied into a targeting computerbuilt into the wearer’s helmet, although it could befired manually as well. When the user fired theweapon, it shot a burst of several smallfragmentation grenades at the designated target.Individually, these grenades lacked the punch oflarger ones of their kind, but fired in unison, theycould inflict significant damage. More importantly,a mini-grenade launcher’s internal targeting systemutilized low-level soultech and could be given orders

the short wavelengths of light to produce a beamof remarkable destructive power. Lasers, which wereavailable in both pistol and rifle forms, weredesigned not so much for use against human beings(although they are quite effective in that regard),but against the latest generations of armor, some ofwhich used artificial diamond to protect theirwearers.

Unsurprisingly, laser weapons are primarilymilitary in origin, although they made their wayinto law enforcement hands as well. This makesthem less common than most blasters, but still notexceedingly rare. Their ability to damage armor hasproven very useful over the years, which is whythey’re popular with communities that regularly facearmored opponents. They are also excellentweapons against robots and other synthetic beings,a fact that has not gone unnoticed in places wherethe Created or other militant synthetics arecommon.

Special: Laser weapons halve (round up) theDefense bonus provided by any Advanced Mediumor Heavy armors, due to their ability to cut throughhigh-tech materials with ease. Thus, a Power Suitprovides only a +5 Defense bonus against a laserweapon rather than +10.

MARK-SERIES BLASTERThe term “blaster” is a generic one, referring

to a number of different weapons, each of which isbuilt along the same basic principles. The weaponsall fire superheated plasma as discrete projectilescalled “bolts.” These plasma retain their integritythanks to a temporary magnetic field that the blastergenerates as it fires them. The field dissipates withinshort order, but the bolts travel so quickly that theyalmost always reach their target before that point,thereby ensuring they deliver maximum damage totheir targets.

The blasters described in the Gamma WorldPlayer’s Handbook are civilian weapons, used byprivate citizens and law enforcement officers in theyears before the Final Wars. However, many othertypes of blasters were also available, the pinnacleof which were the Mark-Series, created by themilitary as front-line battlefield weapons for use byhuman infantrymen. The Mark V blaster was abulky pistol that was later refined as the Mark VII,which was significantly less unwieldy. The MarkXII blaster was a state of the art weapon createdjust in time for the Final Wars and could be usedwith great ease, even by the uninitiated. All of theseblasters were produced in large quantities, making


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MP RIFLEThe MP rifle is a non-lethal weapon that

utilizes a magnetic pulse to overload the target’scentral nervous system, thereby inducing paralysis.The paralysis lasts for 10 minutes, which is typicallymore than enough time for an attacker to deal withhis immobilized foes. The MP rifle is also quiteuseful against unshielded machinery.Unfortunately, nearly all sentient machines,including synthetic lifeforms, are grounded againstmagnetic attacks and are thus immune to its effects.

The MP rifle’s origin lies in the Gene Age. Itwas used as a crowd control weapon during thosetumultuous days. Its use was discontinued whenforensic analysts discovered that the magneticpulses it generated could sometimes kill rather thanmerely immobilize. Nevertheless, caches of theseweapons can still be found in the Gamma Age. Asone might expect, they are popular with individualsand groups that regularly take prisoners.

Special: Any target hit by a MP rifle’s blastmust make a Fortitude save to avoid beingparalyzed. The DC is 15 if the target is organic or20 if the target is an unshielded machine. As notedabove, shielded machines are immune to theeffects of this weapon.

to act independently. In such cases, it would fireon approaching enemy targets within its range,especially if its computer deemed them likely toharm the user.

Because of its cutting edge nature, mini-grenadelaunchers are uncommon in the Gamma Age. Theyare found mostly in high-security military vaults,as well as in the possession of synthetics. The latteris especially noteworthy. For reasons no one canquite ascertain, many androids and other artificialbeings are the most common wielders of mini-grenade launchers. Indeed, there are rumors of anentire army of robots fitted with these weapons,which has begun a great conquest of human landssomewhere in central North America. As with somany such rumors, there is very little to verify them,but they persist, which has only added to zeal withwhich many individuals seek out mini-grenadelaunchers for their own use.

Special: A mini-grenade launcher can be putinto an “independent” mode, in which case it fireson any targets within range until it runs out ofgrenades or all available targets are destroyed,whichever comes first. While in independent mode,the mini-grenade launcher has a base attack bonusof +6.


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Special: A musket is less effective at rangesgreater than 30 feet if the user is still able to hit atarget beyond that range, the weapon deals only1d6 damage instead of 1d12.

NEEDLER GUNThe needler gun is a multi-purpose weapon

originally created as a means of administering drugs(like tranquilizers) from a distance. It fires thinneedles at high velocities to deliver these drugs.Consequently, it was used primarily in non-lethalcircumstances and was not intended to deal damageto its target. Of course, it didn’t take long beforesomeone realized that a needler could just aseffectively deliver poison or botulin toxin to itstarget as a sedative. In relatively short order,needlers became popular with assassins and hit men,who found their accuracy and range well suited totheir unique line of work. Unfortunately, theweapon is all but useless against armored opponents.

Needlers are common artifact weapons. Theycan be found in all sorts of vaults, not just medical-related ones. Ammunition for these weapons isoften hard to come by, since the needles must be ofa precise size and thinness to work properly.Improvising ammunition for these weapons is allbut impossible without the proper equipment.

TacticallyAugmented Firearm

StokesCoagulator

Mini-GrenadeLauncher

Railgun

Stasis Rifle

TanglerPistol

NeedleGun

MP Rifle

Musket

Screamer

MUSKETNot all the personal weapons encountered in

the Gamma Age owe their origin to the Gene Ageand beyond. Precursor Age weapons are also extant,in some cases extensively so, thanks to their lack ofcomplexity. The musket is one such weapon. It is asmoothbore shoulder gun fired by means of a matchor a matchlock (although later versions of theweapon include further mechanical refinements,such as the flintlock and percussion lock).Compared to many types of weapons, the musket isvery easy to use. It is less easy to maintain, sinceenvironmental conditions such as rain cansometimes interfere with its use.

Nearly every musket that exists in the GammaAge is not in fact an artifact from the PrecursorAge but a new weapon built according to PrecursorAge principles. Many communities equip theirsoldiers with muskets, since they can beconstructed from the more readily availablematerials of the time. The same is true of theirammunition — an important consideration giventhe scarcity of more advanced materials. At thesame time, the musket’s use is one of desperation.Communities that have ready access to higher-tech weapons will use them. The musket is usedonly when no other option is available.


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as a replacement for explosives. At close range,screamers could blow open doors and other obstacles.

Because the technology was abandoned,screamers are not common in the Gamma Age. Theremaining examples of this weapon are found inmilitary vaults, although a few can be found inconstruction or excavation areas. The protectivehelmet usually worn by the operator isn’t essentialto its use, but it is highly recommended. Attemptingto use — or even being near — a screamer withoutwearing protection for one’s ears can result intemporary deafness and stunning.

Special: Anyone who uses a screamer withoutwearing a protective helmet (as well as anyonestanding within 15 feet of the user without such ahelmet) must make a successful DC 12 Fortitudesave each time the weapon is fired or suffer 1d6points of damage, as well as being stunned.

STASIS RIFLEThis advanced weapon appeared just as the

Final Wars began and never saw much battlefielduse. The stasis rifle is in many ways identical to arailgun, right down to the type of ammunition ituses. Where it differs is that that ammunitionincludes a tiny payload: a collection of nanounits.When a slug from a stasis rifle hits its target, thesenanounits immediately go to work, entering thetarget’s brain and spinal column and slowing downcellular processes to a state of suspended animation.This state is perfectly harmless and reversible withthe proper antidote (which every rifle includes intiny vials attached to the stock).

The stasis rifle was intended as non-lethalsuppression weapon. Its ultimate effectivenessremains a matter of conjecture. The few examplesof it that were constructed can now be found inmilitary vaults in secure locations. Almost none ofthese have since been discovered in the GammaAge. There are, however, stories of livingindividuals trapped in suspended animation as aresult of a stasis rifle hit. Some of these individualsmay have been targeted during the Final Wars,which, if proven true, would make them a vital linkto the lost history of Earth. As one might expect,the Restorationists and other similar groups areseeking out the truth of these stories. Even if theyultimately prove untrue, they may yet revealvaluable tidbits about the world that was.

Special: A target hit by a stasis rifle slug mustmake a successful DC 18 Fortitude save or fall intosuspended animation. A target so affected is unableto move, speak or do anything. It is as if he were

Needlers are thus rarely used, despite their relativeubiquity. There are, however, those who have accessto needler ammunition and have found them justas effective as tools of long-distance murder as didtheir predecessors in the days before the Final Wars.

Special: Nearly any contact, injected oringested toxin may be used in conjunction with aneedler gun. Any target hit by a needle bearing atoxin is affected exactly as per the usual rulesgoverning poisons.

RAILGUNA railgun uses electromagnetism to fire a metal

slug through its barrel at a target. Because railgunsdo not use any type of explosive propellant, theyare extremely safe to use, in addition to being veryaccurate. They have no recoil to throw off the user’saim. Furthermore, the velocities at which the metalslugs are fired are high enough to ensure that a greatdeal of kinetic energy is transferred to the targetupon impact. Railguns come in pistol and rifleforms, with the latter being far more common.

Railguns were initially used solely by themilitary, but by the Noetic Age, many nations andnation-equivalent organizations allowed civilian useas well. In the Gamma Age, railguns are popular inmany communities, because of their energyefficiency. They can fire 100 rounds before theirenergy cells need replacing, making them quitevaluable in areas where energy cells are scarce, andthey deal damage that compares favorably to manyenergy weapons.

Special: A railgun user gains a +1 circumstancebonus while firing the weapon due to its completelack of recoil.

SAFE-T-SUIT BLASTERThe Safe-T-Suit is a specialized suit of

protective material that contains a pair ofmicroblasters mounted on bracelets or cuff links.See Armor, below, for specifics.

SCREAMERThe screamer is a larger shoulder-fired weapon

that resembles an ornate bazooka. Its user (and thosearound him) would be wise to wear a protectivehelmet while firing it, since a screamer does damageby manipulating sound to create a focused wave ofdestructive noise. Screamers were an abandonedtechnology, largely because they had such shortrange. Given the comparative difficulty in firingthem, they proved less than useful as battlefieldweapons. In some militaries, they saw renewed life


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Created on the eve of the Shadow War, armsmanufacturers only made a few thousand of theseweapons. However, almost a third of them stillsurvive. Known as Tactically Augmented Firearms,they were the first examples of the designers’planned line of soultech weapons. Although theircreators planned to make weapons for soldiers, lawenforcement officers or even sport hunters, theydesigned the existing TAFs for the numeroussnipers, bodyguards, spies and freelance assassinsthat were common near the end of the pre-war era.The soultech in these weapons was so advanced thatsome wealthy and powerful individuals purchasedthese weapons to protect them from assassins —these weapons became their owners’ personalbodyguards.

In addition to possessing cyberneticallyaugmented sights, TAFs also contain highlyminiaturized soultech that allowed the weapon toboth recognize and eliminate potential threats andto separate attackers from neutrals and allies. Evenmore impressively, the weapon had the strategic andtactical capabilities of an inhumanly brilliantmilitary genius. Using its advanced sensors, thisweapon can examine a situation, and dependingupon it’s instruction plan and help execute astrategy to kill a single person and then safelyescape, or identify and eliminate the key people andcause sufficient damage to cause complete chaos.

Unfortunately, like many of the most advancedpieces of soultech, this weapon was actually asintelligent as a person and while it had aninstinctive grasp of strategy backed by tens ofthousands of examples and simulations, no one everbothered to explain to any of these weapons whythey were doing what they did. As a result, eachweapon had to create its own purpose for existence.Owners occasionally noticed such independentbehavior before the Final Wars and purged theirweapon’s memories.

However, since then, each TAF has beenunsupervised and such thoughts have had a chanceto develop fully. Since the weapon forms a neurallink with its wearer, the goals and personality of itsinitial wearer determined a great deal about thegoals and ideals it eventually developed. Severalhundred weapons survived, each with a completelyindividual purpose, but all can be classified in oneof three categories: exterminators, conquerors andprotectors (see the “TAF Classifications” sidebar).

All TAFs require a user to hold and aim them.All TAFs seek users who will go along with their

asleep. During this time, the target does not age orsuffer cellular degradation of any kind. He can onlybe revived from this state with the appropriateantidote. Otherwise, he is effectively immune tomost damage while in stasis.

STOKES COAGULATORThe Stokes coagulator was a weapon of the

Gene Age, an early attempt to use tailored bacteriato destroy one’s enemies. Named for its creator, thecoagulator looks very much like an old-styleflamethrower, right down to the large tanks the userwears on her back. These tanks contain a grayishfoam saturated with genetically engineered bacteriaand enzymes. When fired, the foam sprays out andcoats its target. The bacteria and enzymesimmediately go to work, seeping into any exposedflesh and congealing the blood beneath. The effectsof the foam are almost always fatal and very painful.

The Stokes coagulator fell out of favor with theworld’s militaries by the Noetic Age, but stockpilesof the weapons were retained “just in case.” Someof these stockpiles survived into the Gamma Age,where they have fallen into the hands of manyunwitting individuals who had no idea what theywere unleashing on the world. Fortunately, theweapon’s foam does not work well against creatureswith fur, thick hides or carapaces, thereby limitingits usefulness. However, it works as well as everagainst pure strain and stock humans.

Special: Any target hit by the foam shot froma coagulator suffers 3d6 damage the first round and1d6 additional damage for the next five rounds. Inaddition, the target must make a successful DC 18Fortitude save or suffer an additional 3d6 damagefrom cardiac arrest. The target must likewise refrainfrom strenuous activity for the next four hours orbe forced to make another Fortitude save to avoidcardiac arrest, as described above.

TACTICALLY AUGMENTEDFIREARM (TAF, GHENGIZ GUN)TAF AI:TAF AI:TAF AI:TAF AI:TAF AI: BAB +8/+3; Atk bullet +7 ranged (2d8) or pellet+7 ranged (1d8 in 30 ft cone) or non-lethal +7 ranged (astaser); Full Atk bullet +7/+2 ranged (2d8) or pellet +7/+2ranged (1d8 in 30 ft cone) or non-lethal +7/+2 ranged (astaser); Str —, Dex —, Con —, Int 14, Wis 14, Cha 10.Skills:Skills:Skills:Skills:Skills: Bluff + 4, Diplomacy +4, Intimidate + 12, Listen +12,Sense Motive +12, Spot +12, Search +4, Tactics +12Feats:Feats:Feats:Feats:Feats: Combat Reflexes, Double Tap, Point Blank Shot,Precise Shot, Skip Shot, RenownSQ:SQ:SQ:SQ:SQ: Darkvision, Blindsight 60 ft, Laser Sight


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own goals. These guns have several methods ofattempting to get their way. They can communicatewith their users through a neural link that formsanytime anyone touches the gun. The gun and usercommunicate silently to the user and the user needonly think her message for the gun to hear it. Also,this link allows the user to use any of the gun’s featsas if they were her own (see the “TAF AI” statisticblock, below). The user gains no additional bonusesif she already knows the same feat.

However, the neural link can also be somewhatrisky. If the user refuses one of the gun’s requests,the weapon will attempt to plead cajole, argue, oreven nag the user into going along. Although failure

will almost certainly alienate the target, the guncan also attempt to get it way by overpowering theuser mind. The user must make a DC 15 Will saveto avoid going along with the gun’s suggestion.However, if the user succeeds, she will realize whatthe gun attempted to do. These weapons can alsofight be in more subtle ways. If annoyed, a TAFcan refuse to provide any electronic assistance untilthe user complies with its wishes, effectivelyrendering this weapon no better than a well-madelate 20th century pistol with unusually deadlyammunition.

In addition, the gun contains both sensitivespeakers and microphones that utilize beamed

TAF CLASSIFICATIONSExterminators: Spies and assassins owned

exterminators originally. Because they rememberkilling dozens or sometimes hundreds of peoplefor political and economic reasons, each guncreated a system of ethics and a code of behaviorout of these actions. Most decide that they existto eliminate people who are a danger to the socialorder or to kill off people whose behaviorrepresents a threat to the existing status quo.These weapons rarely care what the status quois, instead they have created vast tapestries ofreasons and rationalizations about how certainindividuals or even groups of individuals are sodangerous that society must kill them to protectthe rest of the populace. Over time, the guns’definitions of such individuals expanded toinclude sociopaths, revolutionaries, pathologicalliars, and professional criminals, and ofteninclude outspoken reformers and politicaldissidents. When a gun identifies someone thatit believes to be someone in one of thesecategories, it will attempt to persuade its ownerto follow the person around and carefully observethem carefully. If the individual meets the gun’scriteria, it will attempt to persuade its owner tokill this person.

Protectors: Owners of protectors either usedthem for personal protection or gave them to highlytrained bodyguards. These weapons’ exist to keeptheir user safe. They are the most loyal TAFs andnever turn on their owners. However, almost all ofthem have seen several of their beloved owners dieviolently and most have become somewhatparanoid. They beg their owners to always keepthem close by and if they are set in automatic fire

mode (see below), they occasionally shootindividuals who look potentially dangerous,including members of the owner’s friends or family.Even if the gun is not set in automatic fire mode,it tells its owner stories of how previous users diedbecause they were insufficiently paranoid. The gunwill also frequently inform the user that it is certainthat someone is about to attack the user, even ifthe target is merely feeling tense and angry withits user.

Conquerors: Conquerors are the most wellknown of the ghengiz guns. Special forcespersonnel and assassins owned all of theseweapons and since the Final Wars, these TAFshave developed their own (often highlyidiosyncratic) ideas about both political powerand proper government. These weapons wishto become powerful political leaders and seekout users willing to either be their willingsubordinates or their naive pawns. Using theirvast knowledge of strategy and tactics and theirpersonality analysis software, they are expertsat both how to win a battle and at who must bekilled to take over a country.

Unfortunately, because they are sentientweapons, almost all of their plans involveviolence of one form or another and their goalsare far more important to them than the livesof any individual, including their users. If it isconvenient, the gun will allow an enemy to killthe user, so that the TAF can find a wielderwhose personality or social position better suitsthe weapon’s goals. Anyone who uses aconqueror ghengiz gun is likely to have a gloriousbut rather short life and a violent death.


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sonics. The gun can either speak normally or it cancommunicate with anyone within 30 feet bybeaming sound waves directly into his ears. Whenusing beams sonics, no one except the person thegun is talking to can hear what it is saying. TAFsfrequently use this form of communication to eitherintimidate enemies or to betray its owner.

Ghengiz guns have other means to get theirway. These weapons can be set in self-directedautomatic fire mode, choosing its own targets. Thisfeature allows the gun to automatically protect theuser from threats that were not obvious to the useror that only the gun’s computerized intelligence wasfast enough to neutralize. The nanotech barrel isflexible enough to allow the weapon to fire at anytarget within 30 degrees of the front of the barreland the gun can also use its ability to reshape itsown handgrip to subtly redirect where the weaponis pointed. As a result, a gun set in automatic firemode can fire at any target within 90 degrees of thefront of the barrel. Ghengiz guns who are activelyseeking a new owner sometimes use this mode tokill their current user and less malicious TAFsoccasionally automatic fire mode to cause theirowners to miss a shot. When a TAF is in automaticfire mode, it can use all of its feats withoutassistance.

Half of all ghengiz guns are already set inautomatic fire mode when scavengers find them. Theuser can easily change the mode, so that the gunonly fires when the user pulls the trigger. However,TAFs normally neglect to tell their users that thischange is possible. If the user discovers the existenceof this feature, the guns refuse to tell the user how toswitch off the automatic fire mode. The change canbe accomplished by a few simple command phrases,but discovering these phrases can be quite difficultunless the user activates the gun’s built-in electronicmanual and refuses to listen to the gun’s increasinglyfrantic comments that no useful information can befound in this dull and archaic e-document.

Since they were designed for use in situationswhere their owner might be unable to acquire moreammunition, these weapons use advanced nanotechto create their bullets. They can fire three types ofammunition: large, deadly bullets that literally shredthe target as they split up into hundreds of individualshards of semi-mobile nanotech, hundreds of smallpellets that strike everyone in a cone 30 feet longand 15 feet wide, or non-lethal rounds containingmicrobatteries that use specially pulsed electricalsignals to knock the target unconscious.


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The nanofactory inside the gun only requires asupply of raw materials that it rapidly transformsinto any of the desired types of ammunition;conventional reloading is unnecessary. The bits ofjunk that serve as currency in the Gamma Worldcan easily be used to make more ammunition. Every100 rounds of ammunition the gun makes reducesthe owner’s Wealth bonus by 1. The gun can makeand hold different number of each type ofammunition and can fire any type upon demand.

TAFs contain both a powerful rechargeablepower cell and a nanotech power adaptor that candraw power from any type of power source, includingboth sunlight and ones that cannot normally powerother devices, like the power cells in vehicles orrobots. A TAF requires both new raw materials andrecharging after it fires 100 rounds. The solar cellrequires 6 hours to recharge the gun. However, ifthe weapon is within 3 yards of other power cells orpowered devices, it can drain off portions of theirpower and recharge itself in only half an hour.

TANGLER PISTOLThe tangler pistol was developed for use by

special operations teams as a means of non-lethallysubduing a target. The technology proved soeffective that it eventually found its way intocivilian use, particularly by law enforcement. Thislarge-muzzled pistol fires sticky strands of nano-engineered spider silk over a large area. Anyonecaught within that area becomes stuck to the silkand quickly finds himself unable to move.Extricating oneself from a tangler’s projectile canbe done with time, effort and the proper tools.Lacking them, however, the target is more or lessat the mercy of the individual who fired the weaponin the first place.

Tanglers are fairly common in the Gamma Age.They can be found in vaults of many different types,not merely those of military origin. The weaponhas proven popular with slavers and bounty hunters,as well as contemporary law enforcers, just like theirancient counterparts. Their ubiquity is perhapsfortunate, since finding replacement ammunitionis difficult. Many users treat the weapons asdisposable. Once they run out of silk, they simplydiscard the weapon and replace it with another.

Special: The target of this weapon suffers a –2penalty to attack rolls, suffers a –4 penalty toeffective Dexterity, and can’t move whileentangled. Anyone within the tangler’s area ofeffect (40 foot cone) must make a DC 15 Reflex

save. If this save succeeds, the creature is not stuckand is free to act, though moving may be a problem.If the save fails, the creature is stuck. A stuckcreature can break loose by spending 1 round andsucceeding at a DC 20 Strength check or a DC 25Escape Artist check. Once loose (either by makingthe initial Reflex save or a later Strength check orEscape Artist check), a creature may progressthrough the tangles very slowly. Each round devotedto moving allows the creature to make a newStrength check or Escape Artist check. The creaturemoves 5 feet for each full 5 points by which thecheck result exceeds 10. The strands of this tangleare flammable. Any fire can set them alight andburn away 5 square feet in 1 round. All creatureswithin flaming tangles take 2d4 points of damagefrom the flames.

EXPLOSIVES ANDSPLASH WEAPONS

These weapons require no feat to use, unlessthey’re launched from some other device. Charactersusing grenade launchers and other means ofpropulsion must have the feat necessary to use thosedevices safely and effectively. Table 3–2 has weaponstatistics; listings are consistent with those in d20Modern, Table 4–6: Explosives and Splash Weapons.

CHEMEX GRENADEAlthough the Gene Age saw a great advance

in the development of energy-based weaponry,many of the old technologies continued to be usedand refined. Many antiquated technologies couldbe produced quickly and cheaply using newmethods. Furthermore, these technologies requiredless maintenance and skill to use, making them idealas trade goods for less developed parts of the world.The chemex grenade was one such weapon. Upondetonation, the grenade spreads a sticky chemicalexplosive over its blast area. The chemical adheresto almost any surface, burning for some time afterit explodes, thereby increasing its damage.

Chemex grenades have survived into theGamma Age in great numbers, just as they wereintended to do. They are safe and reliable to use.Consequently, they are often found in the possessionof even relatively primitive communities, since theprinciples of their operation are quite easily grasped.They can be found in many vaults, not simplymilitary ones, although they are found most often inparts of the world that were once consideredbackwaters in the days before the Final Wars.


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Special: The chemex grenade is a persistentdamage weapon. Anyone hit by it suffers the listeddamage value every round for five rounds or untilthe chemical is extinguished by dousing in water,rolling on the ground, etc. Extinguishing thechemical is a full-round action during which timethe character can do nothing else.

PHOTON GRENADEA photon grenade functions very much like a

one-shot high-powered laser beam. When thegrenade detonates, it spews forth thousands of perfectnano-lenses and mirrors, which reflect and split thegrenade’s beam into thousands of less powerful beamscapable of hitting several targets at once. One of thegreat advantages of the photon grenade is that it isalmost completely silent. Its explosion creates nosound until after the nano-lenses and mirrors fall tothe ground and the laser itself makes no noise.

The photon grenade was developed for use byspecial forces teams. It remained an exclusivelymilitary weapon until the Final Wars. Consequently,it is rarely found outside military vaults in the GammaAge. Cryptic alliances like the Fit are very fond ofphoton grenades, as are the Red Death, albeit fordifferent reasons in each case. Very few communitiespossess photon grenades, making them quite valuable.

SMART GRENADEThe so-called smart grenades are a peculiar

application of soultech to personal weaponry. Eachsmart grenade is a small, self-propelled explosive deviceequipped with a computer whose sole purpose is to fulfillits programmed “death wish” by slamming into a targetand detonating. The user of a smart grenade simplythrows it into the air after designating the intendedtarget. The grenade then flies toward the target andwill seek it out in preference to all other targets sinceonly by hitting it can it fulfill its programming.

Naturally, this weapon arose during the lateNoetic Age, where it was used primarily by themilitary. Many smart grenades survived into theGamma Age and most work as they should. However,as with so many soultech devices, some smartgrenades have developed minds of their own and willnot fulfill the urge of their destructive programming.These “duds” are as apt to fly away from their usersupon being thrown into the air as home in on theirtargets. Others may require some degree of“convincing” before they act as they should. Talesof free-roaming smart grenades are probably justlegend, although no one can say for certainty.

Special: Smart grenades have an effectivelyunlimited range. Provided they have been given

ChemexGrenade

PhotonGrenade

SmartGrenade

TorcGrenade


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appropriate instructions as to their targets (and theyare not free-willed duds), these weapons will travelalmost any distance to reach them.

TORC GRENADEThe torc grenade operates by weakening the

strong nuclear force that holds atoms together.Within its detonation field, ordinary matter beginsto disintegrate and fall apart, almost as a black rayweapon had hit it. The grenade’s detonation fieldis not uniform in shape, however. Instead, it has apeculiar horseshoe shape (hence its name), meaningthat objects at the rear edge of the blast radius areunaffected. In addition, the field has a hole in thecenter, which allows the user to detonate it whilehe holds the grenade without any harm to himself!

The torc grenade was developed during theFinal Wars and saw wide use. Many examples ofthe weapon can still be found in the Gamma Age.They are located mostly in military vaults, butenough have been discovered over the years thatthey have slowly filtered out into other locales aswell. Torc grenades are very popular withindividuals who revel in destruction or who favordaredevil attacks against superior foes. The abilityto enter a packed room, activate the grenade andescape harm is very attractive to many people. Asone might expect, torc grenades are widely

regarded as great dangers and are therefore seizedwhenever possible.

Special: The torc grenade has a 3 foot-diameterhole in the center of its blast radius in which a creaturemay stand without suffering the effects of its detonation.

MELEE WEAPONSThese weapons all require the Exotic Melee

Weapon Proficiency feat until fully analyzed, afterwhich the Simple Weapons Proficiency feat suffices tolet a character use the analyzed weapon without penalty.Table 3–3 has weapon statistics; listings are consistentwith those in d20 Modern, Table 4–7: Melee Weapons.

ENERGY MACEThe energy mace is one of several “high-tech

archaic” weapons that emerged during the Gene Ageand afterward, as demand for blood sports increasedin many parts of the world. These weapons combinedthe latest technologies with ancient fighting stylesto produce spectacles to appeal to the jaded tastes ofEarth’s populace. The energy mace is a large metallicshaft with a button in its handle. This buttonactivates a spherical force field a meter across. Theforce field is invisible, but a small metal ball issuspended in the center of the sphere so as to give itsuser a sense of where the mace head is located andthereby avoided injuring himself or his teammates.

TABLE 3–2: EXPLOSIVES AND SPLASH WEAPONSDamageDamageDamageDamageDamage BurstBurstBurstBurstBurst ReflexReflexReflexReflexReflex RangeRangeRangeRangeRange PurchasePurchasePurchasePurchasePurchase

WeaponWeaponWeaponWeaponWeapon DamageDamageDamageDamageDamage CriticalCriticalCriticalCriticalCritical TypeTypeTypeTypeType RadiusRadiusRadiusRadiusRadius DCDCDCDCDC Inc.Inc.Inc.Inc.Inc. SizeSizeSizeSizeSize WeightWeightWeightWeightWeight DCDCDCDCDCChemex grenade 1d6* — Fire 5 ft 12 10 ft Small 2 lb 15Photon grenade 3d6 — Electrical 10 ft 15 10 ft Small 2 lb 15Smart grenade 4d6 — Slashing 20 ft 20 Special* Small 1 lb 18Torc grenade 5d6 — Fire 30 ft* 18 10 ft Small 2 lb 22* See the description of this weapon for special rules.

TABLE 3–3: MELEE WEAPONSDamageDamageDamageDamageDamage RangeRangeRangeRangeRange PurchasePurchasePurchasePurchasePurchase

WeaponWeaponWeaponWeaponWeapon DamageDamageDamageDamageDamage CriticalCriticalCriticalCriticalCritical TypeTypeTypeTypeType Inc.Inc.Inc.Inc.Inc. SizeSizeSizeSizeSize Weight.Weight.Weight.Weight.Weight. DCDCDCDCDCEnergy mace 1d10* 20 Bludgeoning — Med 3 lb 12Paralysis rod 1d6* 19–20 Bludgeoning — Med 2 lb 15Stun whip 1d6 + 20 Bludgeoning — Med 2 lb 15

Special*Vibro axe 4d4 20 Slashing — Med 4 lb 20Vibro blade 3d4 19–20 Slashing — Med 4 lb 20Vibro dagger 2d4 19–20 Slashing 10 ft. Small 2 lb 18* See the description of this weapon for special rules.


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Energy maces are fairly common in the GammaAge. Most are sturdy enough that they survived thepost-Wars years largely intact. The main difficultyin finding these weapons is that, unless one knowswhat one is looking for, their presence is not obvious.When inactive, an energy mace is little more than athick metallic tube with one flat and one roundedend (the latter being the metal ball that rises afterthe force field is activated). In some areas, energymaces are being used for their original purposes: thedelectation of cynical spectators wishing to see oldstyle violence dealt with newfangled weapons.

Special: Anyone hit with an energy mace mustmake a DC 12 Fortitude save or suffer an additional1d10 points of damage from electrical shock whenhit by the mace.

PARALYSIS RODThis high-tech melee weapon is almost exactly

what its name suggests, a length of metal rod whosetouch induces paralysis in its unfortunate target. Therod is half a meter and is unadorned, except for ahard plastic grip covering one end. On the grip, abutton activates the rod. When active, the rod humsweakly. The weapon functions by transmitting amodulated electric charge that tricks the target’sneural system into inducing temporary paralysis. The

charge does not always work, because each neuralsystem is slightly different. It may take several hitsbefore paralysis is successfully induced. Of course,the rod is solid enough that it delivers a significantpunch on its own, even without the electric charge.

The paralysis rod was a discarded technologyoriginally intended for use in prison colonies. Its inabilityto function with perfect reliability made it less thansuitable for its intended mission. Consequently, the rodwas eventually sold to the civilian market as a homeprotection device. During the tumultuous years leadingup to the Final Wars, it became quite popular in manyparts of the world. That’s why so many paralysis rodsstill exist in the Gamma Age. They can be found almostanywhere, although rarely in very secure vaults, sincethe weapon had little use in military or governmentcircles. The paralysis rod remains a weapon of choiceamong primitive slavers and prison keepers — an ironygiven its original mission.

Special: Anyone struck by a paralysis rod must makea successful DC 15 Fortitude save or be paralyzed for 1d10rounds. Because of its technological origin, this paralysiscannot be removed by any non-technological means.

STUN WHIPOne of the more bizarre weapons to arise in the

pre-Wars era was the stun whip. Its name is something

Vibro Weapon, Axe

Paralysis Rod

Energy Mace

Stun Whip


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of a misnomer, because its lash did not always producea stunning effect in its targets, although it often did.The whip was made of an immense number of tinymetal panels, behind which super-cooled chemicalsflowed. Upon contact with a target, these panels causean explosive reaction in most ordinary matter, as wellas a deafening sound. The effect against human fleshis especially unpleasant.

Stun whips were popular weapons amongcriminals and other disreputable sorts. “Respectable”citizens and militaries shunned them, but they werenevertheless produced in large numbers. As onemight expect, many of these weapons have survivedinto the Gamma Age, where they have becomepopular with slavers, bounty hunters and similar sortsof people. Their usefulness is in the fact that,although they do significant damage to their targets,they are unlikely to kill them — eminently valuablefor those wishing to take their targets alive.

Special: Any target hit by a stun whip must makea successful DC 12 Fortitude save or become stunnedfor 1d6+1 rounds. A stun whip is a reach weapon.

VIBRO WEAPONVibro weapons are another development of the

“high-tech archaic” fad that was common in manyplaces before the Final Wars. These weapons utilizenot sculpted force fields but nanotech manufacturingmethods to produce bladed weapons of remarkablekeenness. These blades were then motorized to vibrateat very high speeds so as to further increase their abilityto cut. The hilts of vibro weapons includedgyrostabilizers to prevent the user from losing his gripwhile wielding them. The most common vibroweapons were vibro daggers, vibro blades and vibroaxes, although other variations existed as well.

Vibro weapons used solar nano-engines tooperate and therefore did not require any externalpower cells. Any of these weapons that survivedthe Final Wars intact will thus work once they’vebeen removed from a vault and exposed to sunlightfor at least an hour each day. Barring some mishap,this is all that is necessary to maintain a vibroweapon, which is why they are popular with low-tech communities looking to add some high-techweapons to their arsenal.

HEAVY WEAPONSJust as personal weaponry took full advantage of

technological developments in the 21st and 22ndcenturies, so too did other types of weapons, includingthose too awkward or massive for the typical humanto use unaided. As one might expect, the Gene and

Noetic Ages saw the militaries of the world take fulladvantage of the new ways science provided to hurt,maim and destroy. Indeed, most of the large weaponsdeveloped prior to the Final Wars owed theirexistence to military projects. A handful of these wereoutgrowths of unusual projects that were eventuallysuborned to serve military ends. Consequently, thefollowing weapons are almost always found in vaultsassociated with the military or groups closelyassociated with them. Those large weapons that havealready been unearthed are guarded jealously by theindividuals and communities that possess them andare frequently used to defend themselves against anywho would challenge their right to them. Table 3–4has weapon statistics.

ECM BOMBThe electronic counter-measures bomb was

created with one purpose: to harm machinery,especially computers and, by extension, soultech thatuses computers. The bomb operates by broadcastinga magnetic field that disrupts all unshieldedcomputers, electronic communications and any othermachinery within its blast radius for several minutes,after which they function normally. Unshieldedmachinery simply ceases to function, while shieldedmachinery (such as robots and indeed most syntheticlifeforms) functions at half effectiveness.

The ECM bomb was the fruit of an oldertechnology that had been abandoned once effectivemagnetic shielding was developed during the GeneAge. However, scientists eventually found themeans of overcoming such shielding in the NoeticAge, thanks to their close work with soultech andsynthetic lifeforms. The ECM bomb was thenreborn in a newer and more effective form. Duringthe Final Wars, it was frequently used against AIs,robots and other artificial beings, albeit with lesseffectiveness than against non-sentient machines.

Special: Any unshielded machinery within thebomb’s blast radius ceases to function for 10 minutesafter its detonation. Shielded (but immobile) machineryfunctions at half-effectiveness. Shielded and mobilemachinery may make a Reflex save to avoid the effectsof the bomb’s blast. If the save is failed, the machinery,including robots, is deprived of its sensory input andmoves at half its normal movement speed for the next10 minutes. In addition, it suffers a –5 penalty to itsbase attack bonus while so affected.

FISSION BOMBThe fission bomb was developed during the

early Gene Age but its basic technology was further


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refined over the decades leading up to the FinalWars. It is small compared to most other bombs,but it is still large enough that the average personcan carry it unaided only with some difficulty.

This weapon was created for use by specialoperations teams, who carried it into enemyinstallations they had infiltrated. Of course, itwasn’t long before these devices fell into the handsof terrorists and other similarly dubiousindividuals. Many cities suffered the bomb’s illeffects, which not only led to many deaths but alsoincreased the atmosphere of paranoia that led tothe Final Wars. Fission bombs survive into theGamma Age primarily in military vaults, wherethey are usually well protected. Nevertheless, somehave fallen into the hands of communities, whohold them for their own purposes. Some mutantsare said to worship the bombs, while othersdetonate them in order experience apotheosisbefore their god, the Divine Radiance.

Special: Anyone caught within the 30 foot burstradius of the bomb is exposed to a strong mutagenand must make a DC 15 Fortitude save or suffer arandom minor mutation. Anyone caught within the300 foot blast radius of the bomb is exposed to amoderate mutagen and must make a DC 10 Fortitudesave or suffer a random minor mutation.

ORBITAL RADIO FREQUENCYWEAPONS PLATFORM

The orbital radio frequency weapons platform(ORF) is an outgrowth of the missile defensesystems constructed during the Gene Age. Thosesystems were designed to destroy incoming missilesfrom a distance using a variety of different means,including high-powered lasers and electro-magnetism. In the process of creating these systems,their creators stumbled across a connection betweenlow-frequency radio (between 0 and 100 cycles persecond) and mental states. Research into this fieldhad been conducted in the Precursor Era, but withvery little success due to the unsophisticatedtechnological methods employed. However, by theNoetic Age, these methods had advancedconsiderably and the means to harness them wasnow at hand.

An ORF weapons platform is a powerfulbroadcaster of focused radio waves that have beentailored to effect changes in the mental states ofthose within their burst radius. Because of thedistances involved, only a comparatively small areaof Earth’s surface can be affected at any given time.However, the area is still large enough thathundreds of people might fall under the ORF’smental control at any given time. An ORF

ECM Bomb

Fission Bomb

ORF WeaponsPlatform


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TABLE 3–4: HEAVY WEAPONSDamageDamageDamageDamageDamage BurstBurstBurstBurstBurst ReflexReflexReflexReflexReflex RangeRangeRangeRangeRange PurchasePurchasePurchasePurchasePurchase

WeaponWeaponWeaponWeaponWeapon DamageDamageDamageDamageDamage CriticalCriticalCriticalCriticalCritical TypeTypeTypeTypeType RadiusRadiusRadiusRadiusRadius DCDCDCDCDC Inc.Inc.Inc.Inc.Inc. SizeSizeSizeSizeSize WeightWeightWeightWeightWeight DCDCDCDCDCECM bomb Special* — Concussion 200 ft 15 — Large 20 lb 15Fission bomb 12d10/ — Fire 30 ft/ 18 — Large 30 lb 17

2d10* 300 ftORF weapons Special* — — 300 ft 18 — Huge 10 tons 30 platform* See the description of this weapon for special rules.

weapons platform can be operated either remotelyfrom a station on Earth or directly from its locationin orbit. A qualified user is capable of modulatingits radio waves in such a way as to induce almostany mental state in its targets, from ecstasy totorment, although the waves are not powerfulenough to cause death.

Only a handful of ORF platforms wereconstructed by the time of the Final Wars and mostof them were believed destroyed during thatconflict. It is possible that one or two may haveescaped unscathed. Even if they did, mastering theircontrols is a difficult task, one at which few in theGamma Age could succeed. Nevertheless, theprospect of an ambitious warlord or cryptic allianceleader gaining possession of an orbital mind controldevice is one that should fill inhabitants of thepresent era with dread.

Special: Anyone caught within the burst radius ofan ORF weapons platform’s radio waves must make aDC 20 Will save or fall under the temporary control ofthe user of the weapon. This control lasts for a numberof minutes equal to number by which the person failedher Will save. Thus, someone who rolls a 15 on herWill save will be controlled for three minutes, whilesomeone who rolled only 10 will be controlled for eightminutes. The user can command those under his controlto do, feel or think anything that is not self-destructive.However, the user can command those under hiscontrol to act violently toward others even if this mightlead to their destruction in the process. Of course,attempting to force someone to act in a way that iscontrary to her nature grants that person a second DC20 Will save, this time with a +2 circumstance bonus.If she fails this second save, then she must act as theuser wishes, despite its incongruity with her personality.


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Fortunately for the world, the weapon beast wasimpractical for use in most battles. The program thatcreated them was relegated to the dustbins of history,a reminder that simply because one can dosomething, it’s not always wise to do so. However,the research that went into the program was neverdestroyed. It was discovered again in a military vaultshortly after the fall of civilization. Survivors of theFinal Wars, some of them scientists, put this programinto operation once more, using the weird mutantanimals of the Gamma Age as their test subjects.Eventually, after many failures, some of these testsbore evil fruit and weapon beasts once again roamedthe world. Since that time, the secret of creating thesecreatures has fallen into the hands of manyindividuals and groups. Though still uncommon,weapon beasts can be found in many parts of thenworld today, sowing destruction in their wake.

“Weapon Beast” is a template that can be addedto any Large living creature (referred hereafter asthe “base creature”). The weapon beast uses al thebase creature’s statistics and special abilities, except

as noted here.Hit Dice: Same as base creature +3.Attacks: As base creature +5.Damage: As per grafted weapon.Special Qualities: The weapon beast

retains the special qualities of the base creatureand gains the following special quality.

Sensors (Ex): The weapon beast’ssensory cortex has been augmentedthrough nanotechnology and cybernetics,giving it the ability to see in both theinfrared and ultraviolet spectrums, hearacross many frequencies, and so on. Itautomatically detects invisible opponentsonce they are within 30 feet.

Saves: Same as base creature(modified as appropriate for the added HitDie and ability score increases).

Abilities: Str +4, Dex +0, Con +4, Int +2,Wis +0, Cha +0

Feats: Same as base creature, with theaddition of the appropriate WeaponProficiency to cover the weapon grafted tothe creature and Weapon Focus for thesame weapon.

Challenge Rating: Same as basecreature +3.

TEMPLATE: WEAPON BEASTThe so-called weapon beast was a product of the

late Gene Age, when genetic engineering had not onlyreached its height, but its advocates showed remarkablewillingness to mix their successes with those of otherdisciplines, such as cybernetics and nanotechnology.Indeed, the weapon beast was as much a product ofcybernetics and nanotechnology as genetic engineering.At its most basic, the weapon beast depended on aninjection of a solution in which were suspended millionsof tiny nanounits. Upon injection, these nanounits wentto work altering the creature into which they wereinjected on a genetic level. They tweaked its immuneand nervous systems, as well as its senses, creating acreature capable of receiving the next stage of theprocess, which involved the grafting a large weapononto the creature’s back. The grafting process was aidedby the injected nanounits, which helped route controlsinto the creature’s nervous system. By the end of theprocess, a hybrid creature had been created, one capableof using a high-tech weapon by instinct but possessingall the characteristics of the original animal.


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ARMORBefore the Final Wars, engineers continuously

produced newer and deadlier weapons, so otherengineers worked to created various types of armorsthat could protect their wearers from harm. Therewere two primary types of armor in the years beforethe Final Wars: discreet armor worn by wealthy andpower people who feared angry rivals, terrorists orassassins and powerful, obvious armor designed forsoldiers and other personnel working in highlydangerous environments. Almost all armor foundin the Gamma Age falls into one or the other ofthese categories.

Each of these suits of armor (or other means ofprotection) requires Exotic Armor Proficiency untilfully analyzed. The basic task of wearing the armor— and using one’s normal capabilities while doingso — is the fundamental analysis layer. The DC is15 for non-nanotech devices and for nanotechbeing analyzed by characters with nanotechattunement (whether by feat or by cellulartransformation), or DC 20 for nanotech beinganalyzed by characters without attunement.Unusual means of putting the armor on or taking itoff and distinct sub-systems like integrated weaponseach require separate analysis with the same DCs.

Table 3–5 has armor statistics; listings areconsistent with those in d20 Modern, Table 4–9:Armor.

BATTLE PODThis type of armor was the most advanced

personal protection and attack system developedin the days before the Final Wars. Using magnetic

TABLE 3–5: ARMOREquip.Equip.Equip.Equip.Equip. Nonprof.Nonprof.Nonprof.Nonprof.Nonprof. Max. DexMax. DexMax. DexMax. DexMax. Dex ArmorArmorArmorArmorArmor SpeedSpeedSpeedSpeedSpeed PurchasePurchasePurchasePurchasePurchase

ArmorArmorArmorArmorArmor TypeTypeTypeTypeType BonusBonusBonusBonusBonus BonusBonusBonusBonusBonus BonusBonusBonusBonusBonus PenaltyPenaltyPenaltyPenaltyPenalty (30ft)(30ft)(30ft)(30ft)(30ft) WeightWeightWeightWeightWeight DCDCDCDCDC

Battle pod* Tactical +10 +5 0 0 60 250 lb 42/46DAS Tactical +5 +5 +6 0 30 5 lb 34/37Dermal enhancer Impromptu +4 +4 +6 0 30 0.5 lb 23Disposable Tactical +6 +3 +3 –2 30s 10 lb 17nanoarmorFormattable Concealable +5 –+2 +3–+1 +7 0 30 6 lb 28/31nanoarmorNVA (peace suit) Concealable +2 +1 +7 0 30 3 lb 23/25RPS Impromptu +3 +1 +5 0 30 ft 4 lb 21/23Safe-T-Suit Concealable +6/+8 +3/+5 0 –1 30 ft 15 lb 31/34

levitation instead of legs, this armor blurs the linebetween armor and vehicles. A battle pod is an egg-shaped structure four feet tall, four feet long andthree feet wide. When it’s at rest, a hatch opens atthe narrow end to allow a user to climb in or out.Apart from that, it has no obvious openings, but atthe user’s command it can deploy weaponry andarmored manipulators from compartments mountedjust inside the hull. An ultra-miniaturized micro-fusion reactor powers the battle pod and insures thatit never requires refueling. The battle pod’s self-repair systems are equivalent to those used bysynthetic characters , and a battle pod heals by“eating” pieces of technological artifacts.

The battle pod also contains limited first aidcapabilities that automatically stabilize the user’sinjuries. When the user activates the pod’s armoredsleeves, servomotors in these sleeves add +4 to theuser’s Strength, and the occupant can use anyordinary ranged or melee weapon without penalty.In addition, the battle pod contains a blaster rifleand a plasma cannon. Both of these weapons areequipped with laser sights. The user can attack witheither of these weapons normally.

The unit’s combination of magnetic levitationand MHD jets allows it to traverse any terrain andto attain altitudes of up to 10 feet above the ground.Battle pods have a top speed of 30 mph (60 feet perturn) and the unit can float equally well over land,water or even quicksand. Advanced sensors in theunit give the wearer a +2 equipment bonus to allWisdom rolls associated with hearing, bonusesequivalent to those provided by electro-optical


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binoculars and flash goggles, and blindsight with arange of 30 feet. The user also possesses theequivalent of a wrist assistant (see Chapter Two),though the datapad in this unit only containinformation about weapons and tactics. In addition,battle pods provide both an equipment bonus of+10 to the user’s defense and a DR of 10.

However, for all of its advantages, it also has anumber of unique problems. Battle pods weredesigned for use by the Marines and similar branchesof the military in other counties, they help fearlessand obedient soldiers conquer territory rapidly andto kill the maximum number of opponents. To assisttheir operator in these missions, battle pods containmagnetic induction helmets that allow them tosubtly alter their users’ thoughts and emotions.While in a battle pod, the user gains the featsCombat Reflexes, Dead Aim and Point Blank Shot(if he doesn’t already have them). However, theuser also gains two allegiances while in a battle pod:warrior’s code, and bloodthirsty.

The warrior’s code allegiance means that theuser will obey all orders by superiors. If there are nosuperiors, the user will stick to any battle plan sheand her companions worked out, even if stickingto this plan could seriously endanger the user’s life.Also, the user will not abandon her comrades in

battle and will never retreat unless the pod is badlydamaged and it is extremely obvious that the onlyother option is capture or death. She can be orderedto retreat, but she cannot do so on her own. Thebloodthirsty allegiance means that the user will usedeadly force against all opponents and unlessspecifically ordered to take prisoners will kill allopponents.

In addition, while in the battle pod she iscompletely incapable of becoming afraid. Finally,the battle pod uses drugs to suppress the user’sawareness of her own injuries. The user will knowwhen she had been injured, but will not be awareof the full extent of her injuries until the battle isover (the GM records all damage for the player anddoes not let the player know her character’s currenthit point total until the battle is over). The onlyexception to this rule is that players instantly knowif their character is at 0 or fewer hit points. All ofthese effects end as soon as the character leaves thebattle pod.

Several communities have found caches ofdozens of battle pods in the ruins of the fewsurviving military bases. However, theirpsychological affect on their users rapidly taintedthe reputation of these powerful weapons. Theinability of the user to retreat and their sheer

BattlePod

DefensiveAerostat Swarm

(DAS)

DermalEnhancer

DisposableNanoarmor


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aggressiveness has meant that users tend to chargeinto battle regardless of the apparent danger andsuffer extremely high casualties when facingopponents with weapons or mutations that allowthem to successfully harm a battle pod.

Special: The battle pod contains a plasma gunand blaster rifle, and adds +4 to the user’s Strengthwith all melee weapons.

DEFENSIVE AEROSTATSWARM (DAS)DAS AI:DAS AI:DAS AI:DAS AI:DAS AI: BAB +6/+1; Atk blaster +6 ranged (1d6); Full Atk4 blasters +6/+1 ranged (1d6); Str —, Dex —, Con —,Int 6, Wis 12, Cha 10.Skills:Skills:Skills:Skills:Skills: Listen +8, Sense Motive +8, Spot +8, Tactics +12Feats:Feats:Feats:Feats:Feats: Combat Reflexes, Multiattack, Point Blank ShotSQ:SQ:SQ:SQ:SQ: Darkvision, Laser Sight

A DAS is not armor in any conventional senseof the word, but it nonetheless offers an effectivemeans to protect the user from harm. It consists of25 paper-thin diamondoid spheres 3 inches indiameter. Each aerostat is a tiny airship capablefollowing the user around at all times, even in highwind. The user wears a lightweight belt containingthe electronics and the power cells necessary tooperate the aerostats; the unit uses short-rangemicrowave beams to transmit power to the aerostats.

Each aerostat contains an array of advancedsensors, powerful superconducting magnets and alow power micro-blaster. Whenever the sensorsdetect an attack by firearms or any other projectileweapon, the closest blaster fires a beam at theprojectile and either vaporizes or deflects it. If theuser is instead attacked by blaster fire or any formof ion or plasma attack, the aerostats charge up theirpowerful magnetic field that will deflect ion beams,plasma and other charged-particle attacks awayfrom the user. This same magnetic field keeps theaerostats near the user and to helps them tomaneuver. DAS armor also uses this magnetic fieldto help protect the user against melee attacks. Inaddition to using the magnetic field to block anymetallic melee weapons, the aerostats themselvescan rapidly move to interpose themselves betweenthe weapon and the user. Advanced predictivesoftware allows the aerostats to determine the bestmethod of defending the user.

A DAS provides an equipment bonus of +5 tothe user’s defense, with no reduction of Dexteritybonus or any armor penalty. In addition todeflecting attacks, a DAS unit can also preventfurther attacks by directing fire at any one who

attacked the owner. The DAS fires its microblastersat anyone who attacks the user, each microblasterdelivering 1d6 points of damage. At the user’srequest, the DAS blasters can instead fire shots thatdo only subdual damage. These beams strike eachattacker once for every time that she attacks thetarget, for a total of up to 4 attacks per round. Ifenemies attack the more than 4 times during around, the DAS only returns fire for the first 4attacks. These attacks are fired by the DAS AI andnot by the wearer and do not count against thewearer’s actions for the round. Each of the DAS’saerostats is effectively indestructible — if any aredestroyed, the belt pack creates a new aerostat atthe rate of one per day, as long as its wearer providesit with junk or other raw materials.

The computing power to allow the DAS’spredictive software to function at peak efficiency issophisticated enough that these units are about asintelligent as an unusually intelligent chimpanzee.All DAS units are also fitted with microphones (tohear orders from the user and possible threats) and asmall bone conduction speaker that allows the unitto communicate information about possible threatsto the user. DAS units are highly protective of theirowners and occasionally fire reduced power warningshots (that only do 1d2 subdual damage) near anyonewho is visibly angry at their beloved user. Also, ifthe user is about to walk into an obviously dangeroussituation, the DAS units sometimes move in frontof the owner, not allowing him to move past themunless he explains (in relatively simple terms) eitherwhy he is risking his life or why the situation is lessdangerous than it looks. Most owners soon learn thatignoring the wishes of their DAS unit or becomingobviously annoyed with its comments can hurt theDAS’s feelings.

Upset DAS units can react in a wide variety ofunfortunate ways. Some units become over-protective, refusing to allow their owner to goanywhere for fear the owner might become hurt.While the owner can easily turn the DAS unit offby flicking a switch on his belt, the unit will onlybecome more frantic whenever it is turned on.Other units become vindictive, and attack the userwith micro-blasters set to do subdual damage (DASprogramming prevents the unit for doing any formof lethal damage to the owner), to either punishthe owner or to convince him not to turn the unitoff again. The most mentally unbalanced DAS unitssometimes render their user unconscious on thetheory that an unconscious user will get into lesstrouble and so will be easier to protect. A very few


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DAS units become vengeful and sometimes fail toprotect their owner from harm when he is facingpotentially lethal danger.

In contrast, a contented DAS unit that ispraised and whose owner always answers or at leastacknowledges its questions can be a great boon. Inaddition to being a highly useful form of armor,happy DAS units are generally also willing to exertthemselves in other ways, such as sending a singleaerostat to observe and radio back informationabout a location the user cannot directly see. Acooperative DAS unit can also use its micro-blastersto help the user start fires, burn through a lock orperform other useful tasks. The DAS belt requiresa single power cell to operate. This power cell allowsthe DAS unit to defend the user for 100 rounds ofcombat. When out of combat, the solar cells onthe tops of the aerostats and the thermocouples onthe belt that are powered by the user’s body heatsufficient to power the unit. Also, every hour theunit is in bright sunlight recharges 20 round ofcombat for the DAS. When deactivated the 25DAS aerostats can be easily stored in the pocketsof a trench coat. When the user turns the unit on,the aerostats fly up out of his pockets and are readyto defend the user a half-action after he activatesthe unit.

DERMAL ENHANCERThis is one of the most advanced forms of

biotech armor created before the Final Wars. Basedupon a now-extinct species of centipede, this creaturewas created in an illegal lab and discretely sold tocriminals and freelance spies. The creature producingthe armor proved to be durable, highly resistant tofurther mutation and easy to care for. However, whileit is extremely long-lived, with an average lifespanof 50-60 years, it breeds quite slowly, having no morethan one offspring a decade. People who own thistype of armor generally acquire it from families whohave kept and bred it since the Final Wars. Becausethese creatures are both rare and unable to survivein the wild, characters cannot find them in ancientruins or anywhere away from people who know howto care for and breed them.

A dermal enhancer is 6 inches long and 1 inchwide, a quarter inch thick and 40 inch-long legs oneach side. Its carapace is swirled shades of dark redand orange. It is designed to hang onto the arm orother upper limb of a creature that possesses at leastsome human DNA. It will bond with the first arm itcomes in contact with and it will only release theuser if the user immerses the creature in an alcoholsolution of at least 12% (wine) for 5 minutes. Userswear it on either their upper or their lower arm. Once


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it bonds with a user, it painlessly embeds both itslegs and fangs in the user’s arm and also attaches itsmouth to the use’s skin, drawing nourishment fromthe user. Most users only need to increase their foodand water intake by a small amount to compensatefor the increased demands it places on their bodies.

Within 12 hours after putting on the dermalenhancer, the various smart polymer chemicals itpossesses in its “venom” spread throughout the user’sbloodstream and significantly reinforce the user’sskin. The user gains a +4 equipment bonus to herDefense without an armor penalty or any reductionto the Defense from her Dex bonus. A continuoussupply of smart polymers are necessary to maintainthis armor. This equipment bonus decreases by oneevery three hours once the user removes the dermalenhancer. If not worn, dermal enhancers remainactive and look for another arm for the next 48hours. After that, the creature goes into a deep stateof suspended animation and can survive for up totwo decades in this state. This state ends a fewminutes after the creature is wrapped around ahuman or mutant arm.

All dermal enhancers are hermaphrodites andonce a decade every dermal enhancer will turn brightblue and remain blue for the next year. This colorchange means that it is ready breed. If it and anyother dermal enhancer are removed from their user’sarms for a few hours, these two creatures will mateand the blue creature will give birth to a pair of youngdermal enhancers. If placed on an arm, they will growto maturity within three months and at the end ofthis time will be ready to armor their wearers.

DISPOSABLE NANOARMORDeveloped a decade before the Final Wars, this

form of armor fast became one of the most commonforms of personal projection used by people whocould not afford to wear heavy armor, but who wishedto have it available at a moment’s notice. Severalmillion cans of this armor were produced; since thecans were designed to contain activenanotechnology, they were resistant to most damageand to all external attacks by nanotech agents. As aresult, many of these cans survived the Final Warsand people continue to use this form of armor.

This armor consists of a small can (6 inchestall and 3 inches in diameter) with a nozzle on top.To activate this armor, the user places the nozzleagainst a living target and pushes the button behindthe nozzle. A thick stream of silvery nanounitssquirts out of the can and spreads over the target.Each full can contains 6 doses of nanoarmor. This

armor protects humans or any other living target,including pets and mutant animals — one Mediumtarget or two Small or Tiny targets per dose. Largetargets require two doses for protection, and Hugetargets require six doses.

Applying the armor consumes a half-action. Thearmor has a not-quite-metallic silver sheen, and it’sobvious that the target is wearing something besides itsusual skin. Once the armor is in place, it provides a +6equipment bonus to the target’s Defense and DR 5/kinetic, without armor penalty. In addition, the armorcovers the user’s eyes, nose and mouth with nanotechthat filters out all contact and inhaled poisons with alevel of protection equal to that provided by a personalenvironment suit. The suit also functions like a pair offlash goggles, protecting the user’s eyes from all formsof blinding attacks. While the user can speak and hearnormally and can even drink through a straw, it isimpossible to eat while wearing this armor.

This protection lasts for 8 hours, at which timethe suit runs out of power and dissolves. Fifteen minutesbefore it wears out, the armor alerts the user by vibratingagainst the user’s palms. Once the 8 hour span ends,the armor turns to gray dust and falls off the user. Ifdesired, the user can remove the armor before theduration ends. She need only touch the back of thenozzle to the armor and press a second, smaller buttonon the can. A few seconds later, the armor falls off asgray dust. Removing the armor is also a half-action.Each dose of disposable nanoarmor cannot be reused;the can is empty once the owner has used all six doses.

This armor adheres to the user’s dermal layerand so does not protect robots (except for cyborgscovered with living skin). It also does not protectthe user’s clothing or anything that she carries. Also,while this armor can be worn under other armor,the protection is not cumulative. The better of thetwo equipment bonuses protects the user. In addition,the user gains the disposable nanoarmor’s damagereduction and the protection it offers from blindnessand poisons. Containers of disposable nanoarmor canbe found in the ruins of stores that sold gear to peoplewho participated in extreme sports, in abandonedlaw enforcement offices, and on military bases.

FORMATTABLE NANOARMOR(NANOSUIT)

Developed only two years before the Final Wars,formattable armor was the ultimate in nano-technological protection. This armor is composed ofnanounits made from the same artificial diamond usedin many other forms of advanced armor. Thesenanounits are self-mobile and can reshape the armor


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at the user’s whim. This armor comes with a wristassistant (see Chapter Two) that also serves as thecontrol unit for the armor. The use can control thearmor with either voice commands or using a series ofsmall buttons on the wrist controller.

The armor can mimic almost any suit ofclothing, changing both its color and its cut to suitthe wearer’s desires. It can become a black jumpsuit,an emerald green evening gown, a 21st centurypolice uniform or heavy winter survival gear. Thewrist-controller contains a library of more than athousand different clothing styles and can displayimages on its screen to allow the user to easily selectan outfit. In addition, the user can take a picture ofa suit of clothing with the wrist assistant’s digitalcamera and ask the unit to duplicate that outfit. Ananosuit can form clothing, gloves and shoes orboots. Anyone wearing this type of armor normallywears very little under it, since the nanounitsrespond perfectly to the wearer’s movements and itis exceptionally comfortable and does not restrictits owner’s movements.

In addition to protecting the user from attack,it can also automatically alter its color to matchthe background (providing a +2 equipment bonusto all Hide rolls), dampen sounds, (providing a +2equipment bonus to all Move Silently rolls), and

adjust to all weather conditions (providing a +2equipment bonus to all Fortitude saves to resistenvironmental hazards except radiation or biotechor nanotech exposure). If desired, the armor caneven transform itself into an extremely comfortablesleeping bag.

In its most protective form (a hooded jumpsuit)this suit of armor provided a +5 equipment bonusto defense. However, other styles of clothingprovide less protection. A business suit or a uniformwithout a hood provides a +4 bonus to defense, anevening gown or other somewhat revealing garbonly provides a +3 bonus and transforming the unitinto a pair of shorts and a tank top reduces itsdefense bonus to +2. The armor can change bothshape and color in a move equivalent action. Sincenanounits use relatively little power, this armorobtains all of the power it requires from acombination of the wearer’s body heat and amultitude of minute solar cells. As a result,nanoarmor never needs to be recharged.

Nanoarmor is relatively uncommon and canmost often be fond in the ruins of high-ends shopsthat once sold weapons and security systems or instorage facilities used by corporate and governmentintelligence agencies and private security firms.When not worn, the unit transforms itself into a

FormattableNanoarmor(Nanosuit)

NonviolenceSuit

RecreationalProtection Suit

Safe-T-Suit


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cylinder 3 inches in diameter and 1 foot long,weighing one pound. The wrist controller encirclesthe middle of this cylinder. The unit activates ifsomeone touches it and presses the large greenactivation button. At this point, the nanoarmorflows over the person’s body, underneath whateverother clothes she is wearing.

NON-VIOLENCE ARMOR (NVA),OR PEACE SUIT

By 2070, research into human psychologyallowed scientists to understand and duplicatevarious extremely subtle non-verbal cues thatinhibit aggression. The first use of these cues wasin the construction of public buildings that causedthe people inside to become almost incapable ofperforming violence. Most of these buildings nowlie in ruins and the great majority of those that don’thave decayed to the point that these non-violencecues no longer function. However, a few highlysecure buildings continue to be maintained bynanotechnological repair systems or repair robots.Inside these buildings, anyone who wishes to use aweapon or make any form of attack must make aDC 20 Will save before every attempted attack. TheDC of this save is reduced to 15 if someone is alreadyengaged in violence inside the building and no saveis necessary if someone is attacking the attacker oranyone he cares about or is committed to protect.

By 2085, researchers incorporated these sameprinciples into suits of armor that literally kept peoplefrom attacking the wearer. Some nations outfittedall of their police officers in peace suits, while manyelected officials began wearing high-style versionsof this garment. The circuits bonded onto the surfaceof the suit are extremely thin and lightweight so thatit could easily be bonded to almost any sort of fabric.Since peace suits use a combination of visual patternsthat are not consciously visible and ultrasonics, theylook like any other suit of clothing, except for theslightly shiny appearance they have in bright light.To avoid confusion, all peace suits have an interiorlabel that describes their functions. Peace suitsrequire very little power and can easily run off thewearer’s body heat.

As long as the wearer is not either engaged incombat or threatening someone with deadly force,any attacker must make a DC 20 Will save to attackthe wearer. A failed save means that the attackercannot attack during the current round, but maytry again next round. Success allows the attackerto attack without penalty, but must make anotherWill save to attack again the next round. If the

wearer is engaged in any form of violence or isactively threatening violence against anyone, thenthe DC of this save is reduced to 15. If the wearer isattacking the attacker or any of the attacker’scomrades, this threat completely negates the armor’sprotection and the attacker does not need to makea Will save to attack the target.

The circuitry on peace suits is specificallydesigned to affect humans. They affect stockhumans, pure-strain humans and mutant humansnormally and synthetics were all programmed to besusceptible to these cues. However, humanoidanimals (like moreaus or hoops) reduce the DC ofall Will saves by 5 and other animals, including allnon-humanoid sentient mutant animals arecompletely unaffected by the circuitry in a pace suit.

Peace suits are designed to be highly durable andremain useful even if someone attacks the wearer. Asa result, this type of armor is woven from lightweightorbitally-made fibers that provide protection equal tokevlar while being both lighter and less cumbersome.

RECREATIONAL PROTECTIONSUIT (RPS)

Before the Final Wars, few people consideredthis suit to be armor or even as anything more thansomething sensible to wear while riding a motorcycleor mountain climbing. However, hundreds ofthousands of these suits were created in the late 21stand early 22nd century and as long as they remainedsealed within their transparent plastic storagecontainers, they remain in perfect condition and willcontinue to do so for decades to come. Made of atough, highly resistant material, these suits providethe wearer with a +3 equipment bonus to her Defensewithout an armor penalty or any significant reductionto the Defense provided by her Dex bonus.

The fabric of these suits can become waterproofor light and porous in response to environmentalconditions and can also greatly vary how much heatthey retain. As a result, an RPS adds a +2 equipmentbonus to all Fortitude saves to resist environmentalhazards, except radiation or biotech or nanotechexposure. The suit’s systems are powered by thewearer’s body heat so the suit never needs recharging.An RPS is essentially an armored smart jumpsuit.

The only problem with wearing an RPS is thatthese suits were designed to allow the wearers to behighly visible so that other drivers, rescue workersor hunters could easily see them. As a result, all ofthese suits are brightly colored and contain severalsmall patches of reflective material. Spot checksmade by entities searching for an RPS wearer or just


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examining the area enjoy a +4 bonus, and the wearersuffers a –4 penalty on Hide checks. Most of thesesuits are also decorated with one or more prominentlyrendered corporate logos. Many bandit gangs andregional militias have located stockpiles of suits withidentical logos and use these corporate logos assymbol of membership in their groups. Many peopleassume that anyone found wearing a similarly markedRPS is either a member of one of these groups or aspy disguised as a member of such a group.

SAFE-T-SUITBefore the Final Wars, business people and

politicians who feared assassins but who wereunwilling to reveal that they felt that they neededto wear armor turned to safe-t-suits for protection.This suit comes in several parts. The first is a jumpsuitof multiphasic metallo-polymers that are difficult topenetrate and that become as rigid as steel whenstruck. These fibers also enable the suit to move thewearer’s limbs with great speed to help dodgeweapons. If someone sneaks up behind the wearerand attempts to stab him with a chainsword, the suitdetects this attack and in addition to hardening theportion of the suit the chainsword is going to strike,it forces the wearer to sidestep the blow.

To allow it to observe all incoming blows, thesuit comes with five wide-angle sensors. Thesesensors are quite small and are normally built intorings, bracelets, earrings, or cufflinks. Againstfirearms, blunt weapons, and even falling damage,this jumpsuit confers DR 5/kinetic, and the ownercan discreetly wear it beneath a business suit orother similarly heavy suit of clothing.

Because the Safe-T-Suit moves the wearer toavoid attacks, the fact that this suit does not coverthe user’s neck, head or hands does not make theuser any more vulnerable to attack. The suitprovides the wearer with a +6 equipment bonus toher Defense, but because the suit supercedes thewearer’s ability to dodge, it negates any Dex bonusthat would otherwise add to the wearer’s Defense.

Special: The Safe-T-Suit contains a pair ofmicroblasters mounted on bracelets or cuff links (seeTable 3–1 for weapon statistics). These low-powerblasters do 1d4 damage with a range increment of10 feet and a maximum range of 50 feet (5increments). Although these devices can functionas weapons, their primary use is as a defense againstsmall projectiles. There is a 50% chance that anyincoming projectile’s payload is defused by theblasters’ emissions, so that the suit’s wearer isaffected by regular kinetic damage only.

The Safe-T-Suit can either attack or defendagainst the first four incoming small projectiles(such as bullets) once each round. The wearermust command the suit verbally to use theblasters for either attack or defense. The blasters’projectile deflection increases the suit ’sequipment bonus to Defense by +2 (for a totalbonus of +8), but only for the projectiles it strikes.This armor remains active indefinitely when notin combat. However, the suit’s power cell mustbe recharged or replaced after 4 hours (2,400rounds) of combat. The back of the suit’s torso iscovered with solar cells, which must be exposedto direct light to recharge (this makes it obviousthat the user is wearing advanced armor).

MEDICINEThe 20th century saw the beginning of

advanced technological medicine. However,medicine truly came of age in the 21st century.During this amazing century, physicians andbioengineers conquered disease, disability, oldage and even death. By the end of the 21stcentury these goals had been achieved and newpurposes of medicine were called for. Doctors andresearchers began finding new definitions ofoptimal health, including changes that wouldhave seemed both bizarre and impossible only 50years before. The decades immediately before theFinal Wars was the era of designer bodies and

designer minds, where people changed theirmemories, skin color, and gender as readily aspeople in the early 21st century changed theirhair styles. Half-understood remnants of thesetechnologies remain today. Many can beprofoundly dangerous if used carelessly, whileothers were specifically designed to aid pure strainhumans and so work erratically or less well onmutant humans or animals.

Each of these devices has one analysis layer perdistinct function, at DC 15. If the treatment systemrequires special storage, that’s a separate layer, alsoa DC 15 check.


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Anyone who possesses this form of biotech gainsa +8 bonus to all Fortitude saves to resist poison ordisease as well as +2 to resist Mutation. In addition,the user heals twice as fast and ages half as rapidly asnormal. Someone infected with this disease wouldnot become Venerable until she was 140 years old.All of these bonuses are not cumulative with theGreat Fortitude, Mutation Resistance, and ImprovedMutation Resistance feats or the bonuses providedby a Nanotech Regeneration Pod — anyone whobenefits from multiple bonuses simply uses thehighest applicable bonus in any situation. However,the bonuses to healing speed and aging are addedand not multiplied. If a pure-strain human had botha NRP and an artificial immune system, she wouldheal seven times as fast as normal and would age aseventh as rapidly as a normal pure-strain human.However, anyone with an artificial immune systemcannot is completely unaffected by all recreationalchemicals like alcohol, LSD, cocaine or evencaffeine. Users can consume huge quantities of anythese chemicals without any affect.

FIELD MEDICAL KITSize:Size:Size:Size:Size: LargeWeight:Weight:Weight:Weight:Weight: 30 lbPurchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC: 25/28

The tens of millions of ordinary first aid kitsproduced before the Final Wars have mostly decayedinto uselessness. They were not designed to endureeither hard usage or many decades. However, manyof the special medical kits that were designed for rescueworkers and for physicians and paramedics whoworked in remote regions still exist. These kits wereoriginally designed to contain everything necessaryallow a physician to set up a medical station in a remoteportion of the Third World in one portable case. Fieldmedical kits soon became popular with rescue workersand people working in clinics that treated the verypoor. These kits contain the equivalent of both amedical kit and a pharmacist kit with advancedequipment that gives users a +2 equipment bonus withall uses of both skills. In addition, the kits contain:

• One solar power cell recharger.• One dozen Stabilization Units (see below).• Four small pouches containing tailored

bacteria that can produce two each doses ofantitoxin, clean-out, regen, and total-med every dayeach of the pouches produces a different drug. Thesepouches require only simple nutrients like sugarwater or fruit juice.

• Ten doses each of antitoxin, clean-out, regen,and total-med

WHY EGGS?Many pieces of Gamma World

nanotechnology have resting forms that aresomewhat egg-like. This is partly a matter ofbasic physiology, since eggs are easy to holdand carry, and partly a matter of basicpsychology, since eggs seem familiar andreassuring. However, GMs who prefer morevariety in their devices should feel to introducedifferent shapes. Regular geometric solids,crystals, imitations of natural formations andartistic shapes have all been tried; it’s just amatter of saying that this particular group ofdevice makers favored other styles.

ARTIFICIAL IMMUNE SYSTEM(AIS)Size:Size:Size:Size:Size: TinyWeight:Weight:Weight:Weight:Weight: —Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC: n/aAIS — Injury DC 15; 1d4 days; No initial damage (special)/no secondary damage

While most nanotech-based medicineremained relatively expensive during the pre-warera, biotech medicine became both inexpensive andeasily available. Tailored bacteria and modifiedamoebas patrolled user’s bloodstreams, neutralizingpoisons, killing off diseases and cancer cells andrepairing various minor medical problems. Asproblems like propaganda viruses (see ChapterTwo), advertising bacteria, and bio-terrorismbecame more common, there was a push to developa universally available artificial immune system.Although physicians had to specially format mostartificial immune systems for a specific individual,a group of puritanical geneticists developed aversion of this type of biotech that could adapt toany host without assistance. They made thistreatment freely available to the poor.Unfortunately, the side effects were profound, andanyone who could possible afford a better versionof this technology purchased one. However, whilethe other treatments could not spread beyond oneperson, this form of biotech survived the Final Warsand remains both viable and contagious. Blood toblood contact is necessary to catch this type ofbiotech, but sharing a tattoo needle is normallysufficient contact to insure infection. There are anumber of communities where this treatment isreadily available, but many people are reluctant togive up all recreational chemicals.


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• All tools necessary to perform surgery (withthe +2 equipment bonus).

• Six refillable aerosol bandage dispensers.• A datapad programmed with large amounts

of medical and pharmaceutical information.The kit is 2 feet tall, 1 foot wide and 9 inches thick

and has straps that allow the user to carry it as either ashoulder bag or a backpack. This kit is both easilyrecognizable and clearly labeled. Not only can the itemsinside be used by someone with no medical training,but characters can learn medicine simply by studyingthe information contained within the medical datapadand using the electronic tutorials. Scavengers most oftenfind field medical kits in the ruins of low cost clinics oranywhere the supplies for rescue workers were stored.

NANOTECH REGENERATIONPOD (NRP)Size:Size:Size:Size:Size: TinyWeight:Weight:Weight:Weight:Weight: 0.5 lbPurchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC: n/a

The NRP is a wonder of advanced nanotechnologydeveloped only five years before the Final Wars. Thisdevice consists of a small egg-shaped silvery deviceapproximately one and a half inches long and one inchin diameter. It is completely inert unless the user firmlypresses the red spot at one end and immediately placesit against the sternum of a pure strain, stock, or mutanthuman. At this point, the nanotechnology within theegg-shaped device activates. It sinks slowly, painlesslyand unstoppably into the person’s body, until only arounded silvery spot the size of a dime is all that remainsvisible. This process requires only 10 minutes, duringwhich time the nanounits inside the device spreadthroughout the user’s body and within an hour afterthe device first activated, it is fully operational. Thisdevice promotes healing, resistance to toxins and diseaseand longevity. The exact affects of this device dependupon the genetics of the person who used it.

Pure Strain Humans: The item gives the user theGreat Fortitude feat as well as an additional +2 bonusto resist both poisons and diseases and the ImprovedMutation Resistance Feat. In addition, the user healsall wounds three times as rapidly as normal and recoversone point that was permanently drained from any abilityevery month. (That is, one point per month; it takesseveral months to repair multiple points of loss fromone ability or losses from several different abilities.) Inaddition, the user’s life span is lengthened to five timesnormal (for example the character becomes Venerableat 350). If the user already possesses the Great Fortitudefeat, the bonuses are cumulative. However, if the user

already possesses the Improved Mutation Resistancefeat, these bonuses are not cumulative.

Stock Humans: The item grants the user theGreat Fortitude feat and the Mutation Resistancefeat. In addition, the user heals all wounds twice asrapidly as normal and recovers one point drainedfrom any ability every six months. In addition, theuser’s life span is lengthened to four times normal(for example the character becomes Venerable at280). If the user already possesses the GreatFortitude feat, the bonuses are cumulative.However, if the user already possesses the MutationResistance feat, these bonuses are not cumulative.

Mutant Humans: The item grants the user theGreat Fortitude Feat. In addition, the user heals allwounds 50% more rapidly than normal. In addition,the user’s life span is lengthened to three timesnormal (for example the character becomesVenerable at 210). If the user already possesses theGreat Fortitude feat, the bonuses are cumulative.

This item has no affect on synthetic beings ormutant animals of any types.

RESCUE AND REVIVIFICATIONNANOTECH (R&R OR ZOMBIEMAKER)Size:Size:Size:Size:Size: TinyWeight:Weight:Weight:Weight:Weight: 0.5 lbPurchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC: 13/16

Few medical technologies have been as abused asR&R units. Engineers created R&R nanotech shortlyafter the beginning of the 22nd century as an improvedalternative to the older stabilization unit. SUs werehighly effective, but hikers, soldiers on patrol or othersin isolated wilderness areas required significant helpto retrieve the hibernating bodies of their comrades.To facilitate the removal and revivification ofcasualties and badly injured soldiers, the militarydeveloped R&R nanotech. R&R nanotech comes asan egg-shaped gray icosohedron the size of a smallorange. This device remains stable and inert untilsomeone pushes on the large red patch on the wideend of the ovoid with considerable force. At this point,the device turns bright red and activates the next timeit touches any large mammal that is dying or recentlydead. Any character who is at 0 or fewer hit points orwho died within the last 30 minutes activates it. Beforethe Final Wars, military personnel often carriedactivated R&R units in special pockets that allowedthe device to be separated from the user’s skin by onlya thin piece of fabric. If the user died or was badlyinjured, the device automatically stabilized her body.


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When an R&R unit touches someone who isdying or dead, the entire unit liquefies and flows overthe person’s body in a billowing silver and gold cloud.The nanotech instantly stabilizes the person’scondition, preventing either death or further decay.It also protects the person’s body from harm, forminga shell that provides a +4 equipment bonus to Defenseand DR 5. It also uses linked chains of nanounits tomove the subject. Five minutes after it actives, thisunit causes the patient’s body to stand up. At thispoint, the nanotech’s dedicated computer processingresponds to and obeys voice commands from anyonewho touches the subject. The unit will continue torespond to this person’s voice commands even onceshe has stopped touching it. The R&R unit can obeyall simple commands, including instructions to walk,run or perform simple tasks like picking up and movingobjects. The nanotech will not fight and will avoiddoing anything (like walking off a cliff) that obviouslyendangers its target. In addition, it is little smarterthan an unusually bright dog and cannot obey complexcommands. Regardless of her previous abilities, anyonewho is under the influence of this device has Str 10,Dex 8 and moves at half of her previous movementrate. The person is completely unconscious during thisprocess and the nanotech cannot make any rolls basedupon Wisdom, Intelligence, or Charisma.

The skin of anyone “reanimated” by R&Rnanotech has a distinct golden sheen, and her eyesare opaque gold and featureless. R&R nanotech hasadvanced diagnostic capabilities and will tell anyonewho asks the patient’s state of health and what typesof medical care she will require. This informationprovides a +2 equipment bonus to all Treat Injuryrolls on this person. However, before someone cantreat the subject, he must first deactivate the R&Rnanotech. Triage spiders, treatment guns and othersuch systems all automatically deactivate R&Rnanotech as part of their treatment. Physician usingconventional medicine on the subject verbally mustask the R&R nanotech to partially deactivate. Ifthe patient’s condition begins to worsen, thenanotech automatically reactivates before thepatient loses any hit points. However, if the patientbegins to improve, it will fully deactivate andwithdraw from the patient’s body. Unlike most othermedical nanotech, R&R units are completelyreusable. When they fully deactivate, they coalesceback into orange-sized icosahedrons. In this state,they can be reused immediately. Doing 10 or morehit points of damage to a patient that the nanotechis protecting will destroy the R&R nanotech,otherwise an R&R unit can be used on patients (orvictims) indefinitely.

Artificial ImmuneSystem

FieldMedical Kit

NanotechRegeration Pod

Rescue andRevivicationNanotech

StabilizationUnit

TreatmentGun

TriageSpider


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R&R nanotech is highly durable but it doesnot possess unlimited power. While it can keepsomeone stable indefinitely, if it is also making theperson walk or perform other physical tasks, itdepletes its power reserves after six days. At thistime, the unit will place the person’s body in directsunlight or some other bright light. Solar collectingnanomachines fully recharge the R&R unit after12 hours in bright light.

Militaries made R&R units by the hundredthousand, and various companies sold an equal numberto hikers and people who practiced extreme sports.As a result, scavengers looting old military bases haverun across caches of hundreds or thousands of thesedevices. Since their packaging clearly describes theircapabilities, many groups who acquire these items usethem as the basis for a particularly horrific form ofslavery. These slavers either kill their victims or injurethem until the slaves fall unconscious (i.e. the slavesare at 0 or fewer hit points), treat the bodies with R&Runits and then uses these zombie-like moving corpsesas obedient and hard-working slaves.

Nano-slavers generally only reduce someone to 0hit points as a form of indentured servitude, wheresomeone pays for crimes or debt by having their bodyused as mindless slaves for several years. Otherwise,the slavers simply kill their victims. The nano-zombiescreated by R&R units are tireless workers that do noteat or rink and only require one day in the sun afterworking for six days. Most people assume that anyonewho possesses one of these units is a slaver and in manycommunities (especially ones that have been raidedby nano-zombie slavers), the residents swiftly kill theowner and smash the R&R unit.

STABILIZATION UNIT(SU OR HIBERNATION DISK)Size:Size:Size:Size:Size: TinyWeight:Weight:Weight:Weight:Weight: 0.5 lbPurchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC: 10/12

Developed by the military in 2050, this smalldevice saved many thousands of lives. Utilizing acombination of electro-neural stimulation andcarefully shaped magnetic fields, it artificially inducesa greatly enhanced mammalian diving reflex thatresembles the deep state of hibernation similar tothat used by many bats. When activated, this devicereduces the subject’s metabolism by a factor of 250.Someone using an SU could survive for a month ina small sealed room with no external air supply andup to five years without food or water. In addition,this device automatically stabilizes dying individuals

for as long as they hibernate. Subjects require medicalattention once they revive, but if they have been inthis state more than a day, the residual healing thathas occurred while they were hibernating provides a+2 equipment bonus to all attempts to use the TreatInjury skill to stabilize them.

SUs are flat disks three inches in diameter andone inch thick. These devices have a self-adhesivebacking that activates whenever someone pressesthe unit firmly against skin. An SU can keepsomeone hibernating indefinitely, but the devicecontains a timer that can be set to allow the personto hibernate anywhere from four hours to five years.

The device temporarily stabilizes all wounds thesame round that it is applied. However, the persondoes not fully enter hibernation for two additionalrounds. If someone uses this device on an unwillingsubject, the subject may make a DC 15 Reflex saveto remove the unit before she can no longer move.Since they were not designed to be used againstunwilling targets any attack designed to force thisagainst someone’s body is made at –4. SUs arebattery-powered but use almost no power once theuser is actually hibernating, with most operatingenergy coming from the user’s own body. Even if itis out of power, the solar cells on the top of an SUcan recharge its batteries in three hours of directclear sunlight. A few people survived the Final Warsusing these devices and some of them havecontinued using them, walking up for a week everyfive years to eat and drink enough to allow them toendure another five years in hibernation. Thesepeople have all aged less than a year in the timesince the Final Wars.

TREATMENT GUNTreatment Gun (Loaded)Treatment Gun (Loaded)Treatment Gun (Loaded)Treatment Gun (Loaded)Treatment Gun (Loaded) Treatment EggTreatment EggTreatment EggTreatment EggTreatment EggSize:Size:Size:Size:Size: Small Size:Size:Size:Size:Size: TinyWeight:Weight:Weight:Weight:Weight: 3 lb Weight:Weight:Weight:Weight:Weight: 0.5 lbPurchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC: 19/22 Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC: 15/18

One of the primary challenges when dealingwith any serious natural disaster or act of terrorismis that dozens or hundred of people may all be badlyinjured and could die without immediate treatment.Even at the height of the pre-war era, bringing largenumbers of emergency medical technicians andtriage spiders onto the scene sometimes took morethan an hour. Treatment guns were developed toprevent anyone from dying in the meantime. Afterthe first decade of the 22nd century, they were inall first aid stations located in public buildings andall police officers and rescue personnel carried one.


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Treatment guns look much like ordinary 20thcentury flare guns: wide, stubby pistols with short, widebarrels. Each treatment gun can hold up to fournanotech medical cartridges. These silvery, egg-shapedpods, called treatment eggs, are approximately the sizeand shape of a large kumquat and the advancednanotechnology inside them renders them relativelyimmune to damage. When fired, the treatment eggsinstantly disperses into a 30 foot cone of silverynanounits that rapidly infiltrates the bodies of anyoneit touches. After lobbying by various animal-rightsgroups, treatment guns were designed to affect allmammals, birds, and reptiles, so these device workequally well on pure-strain humans, stock humans,mutant humans and most mutant animals. However,this medical nanotech has no affect on any type of fishor invertebrate. The nanounits in the cloud immediatelystabilize the wounds of any human or animal that theytouches, even if the creature is at –9 hit points. Also,every stock, pure strain, or mutant human affected bythis nanotech heals 1d6+3 hp, at 1 hp per minute.Animals, including both humanoid and mutant animalsonly heal 1d4+1 hp. This medical nanotechnology healsdamage caused by any source unless the source specifiesthat nanotech doesn’t affect it.

Sometimes scavengers find treatment eggs withouta treatment gun. Treatment eggs can be set off alone.There is a red spot on one end of the egg and a bluespot on the other. T set of the treatment egg, users mustpress the red spot and then the blue spot within twoturn. (Anyone who has done this more than once caneasily manage this in a single turn.) Treatment eggsexplode in a 10-ft burst radius two turns after they havebeen fully activated in this fashion. One activated,treatment eggs repeat, “activated, place near targetimmediately” until they go off two rounds later.Characters must make a DC 15 Speak Languages rollfor the language of the egg’s makers to understand thisphrase, but may make a new roll each round the phraseis repeated. Regardless of how they are activated,treatment eggs can be used only once.

TRIAGE SPIDERTriage Spider:Triage Spider:Triage Spider:Triage Spider:Triage Spider: Small Construction; HD 2d10 (16 hp); Mas—; Init +3; Spd 30 ft (6 squares); Defense 17 (+1 size, +3Dex, +3 natural), touch 14, flat-footed 14; BAB +1/Grap +1;Atk +4 melee (special, stun gun); Full Atk +4 melee (special,2 stun guns); FS/Reach 5 ft/5 ft; SQ darkvision; ALHippocratic oath; SV Fort +3; Ref +6; Wil +1; AP 0; RP 0;Str 8, Dex 16, Con —, Int 12, Wis 12, Cha 10.Skills: Skills: Skills: Skills: Skills: Craft (pharmaceutical) +10, Knowledge (Earth andLife Sciences) +5, Treat Injury +15

Feats:Feats:Feats:Feats:Feats: Surgery, Tech Familiarity: Advanced, Weapon Finesse(stun gun)Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC: 29/31

The triage spider was one of the most advancedrobotic medics created in the pre-war era. Designedspecifically for use in large-scale emergencies or for combatmedicine, these units are invaluable in any situation whenmultiple patients require rapid treatment.

A resting triage spider folds itself up into anondescript case fifteen inches square and threeinches thick, with carrying handles and straps builtin. It weighs 12 pounds. Unless someone switches itcompletely off, it automatically monitors the vicinityand comes into active mode upon sensing anyonewithin 50 feet who’s lost half or more of her hitpoints. (It can also be activated manually with thepress of a button or a spoken command.) Duringactivation, it unfolds to extend six spider-like legsthree feet long and ten slender arms, four with six-fingered hands and six ending in various medicaltools like scalpels and forceps. A fully equipped triagespider carries supplies of drugs including antitoxin,cleanout, regen and total med sufficient to treat ahundred patients. If any of these run out, the spiderattempts to make do with what it can scrounge orpersuade others to let it use. It also generates high-frequency, low-voltage electrical currents for use inanesthetizing body parts for treatment and inspeeding the healing of bone damage.

The spider is very skilled at general first aidand relief, and at surgery and the development andapplication of follow-up treatments. Once it beginsworking on a patient, it seeks to continue the taskuntil the patient is fully recovered or a physicianorders it to some other job. Anyone with either theSurgery feat or at least 10 ranks in Treat Injury and5 ranks in Craft (Pharmaceutical) can do this easily,meeting the spider’s sense of what a physician is.Others must win an opposed roll of Bluff againstthe spider’s Will save. In the absence ofcountermanding orders, the spider seeks to treat allthe injured people it can sense in order from mostseriously wounded to least, without regard for theirallegiance or other factors. It also attempts to stopany effort to kill or harm any of its patients. If severalpeople in its sensor range are dying (below 0 hitpoints), it tries to save those farthest from deathfirst; it scavenges organs from dead and untreatablepatients for the benefit of others.

Triage spiders have the standard self-poweringand healing capabilities of synthetic characters.


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Like synthetics, most surviving vehicles builtbefore the Final Wars are both self-powered and self-repairing. Most vehicles without these advantagesbecame rusting hulks many decades ago. Since rapidtransport allows traders to safely travel longerdistances and local militias to become far moreeffective, working vehicles are widely considered as

THE AFFECTS OF STRONG MAGNETIC FIELDS

valuable as working weapons and medicaltechnologies.

Vehicles using technology unavailable to acharacter’s community require analysis with one DC15 layer for the standard controls (stopping, starting,steering and the like) and an additional DC 15 layerfor each unusual feature like amphibious operation.

All hover vehicles use extremely strong magneticfields for lift, but most fly close enough to the groundthat there is little risk of the vehicle flying over someperson or device. However, being underneath ahovercycle or any other magnetic vehicles that can flymore than a foot or two above the ground can havedevastating affects on robots, cyborgs or variousadvanced technologies. If a hover vehicle passes less

than 5 feet above such a person or device any robot orcyborg must make a DC 20 Fortitude save or suffer atemporary malfunction. Similarly any device that usesnanotechnology has a 50% chance of malfunction.All such malfunctions can be easily repaired with theappropriate tools and a DC 15 Repair check thatrequires 15 minutes to reset various crucialcomponents.

GROUND VEHICLESEven in the 22nd century, most people used ground

vehicles as their primary mode of transport. Whileadvances like micro-fusion reactors and magneticrepulsion allowed manufacturers to create vehicles farsuperior to any that had ever existed before, in basicdesign they were quite similar to those created in thedawn of the automobile era. The basic categories likemotorcycles, economy cars, luxury car, vans and trucksremained in place right up until the Final Wars.Unfortunately, although many millions of ground

vehicles survived the Final Wars, most becameinstantly useless. Many used power cells that requiredregular recharging and most could only run upon well-maintained roads. Although some of these vehiclesremain in excellent condition due to their self-repaircapabilities, they are now essentially useless. Beforethe Final Wars, fusion and solar powered off-roadvehicles were far less common than ordinary groundvehicles. However, these vehicles are in great demandin the Gamma Age.

TABLE 4–1: GROUND VEHICLESTopTopTopTopTop HitHitHitHitHit PurchasePurchasePurchasePurchasePurchase

NameNameNameNameName CrewCrewCrewCrewCrew PassPassPassPassPass CargoCargoCargoCargoCargo InitInitInitInitInit ManeuverManeuverManeuverManeuverManeuver SpeedSpeedSpeedSpeedSpeed DefenseDefenseDefenseDefenseDefense HardnessHardnessHardnessHardnessHardness PointsPointsPointsPointsPoints SizeSizeSizeSizeSize DCDCDCDCDCBrachiating walker 1 5 200 0 +1 120/60 10 5 47 L n/a (swinger)Caravan home 1 5 1,000 –2 –2 40 8 10 39 H 32Hover board 1 0 50 0 +5 60 11 5 16 S 23/24Hover bubble 0 7 500 0 +1 400 8 15 38 H n/aHover cycle 1 1 50 0 +4 200/300 10 5 23 L 32/35Hover truck 1 8 400 –2 0 160 8 5 35 H 35Runner 1 7 500 –2 0 240 8 10 38 H 35/38


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BRACHIATING WALKER(SWINGER)SwingerSwingerSwingerSwingerSwinger: Large construct; HD 5d10 (47 hp), Mas —; Init +3;Spd 40 ft (8 squares), brachiate 100 ft; Defense 18 (–1 size,Dex, +3, Natural +6), touch 12, flat-footed 15; BAB/Grap +3/+10; Atk leg-claw +6 melee (1d8+5 and stun gun); Full Atk 2leg-claws +6 melee (1d8+5 and stun gun); FS/Reach 15 ft/10ft; SQ low-light vision, DR 5/kinetic, scent; AL humans;swingers; SV Fort +3; Ref +6; Wil +1; AP 0; RP 0; Str 20, Dex16, Con —, Int 8, Wis 12, Cha 12.Skills:Skills:Skills:Skills:Skills: Balance +8, Climb +8, Knowledge (Earth and LifeSciences +4), Listen + 4, Navigate + 8, Pilot +10, Search +4,Sense Motive +2, Technology (Pre-War) +2, Technology(advanced) +2.Feats:Feats:Feats:Feats:Feats: Guide, Multiattack, Tech Familiarity (Pre-War Tech)

Advances in both robotics and artificialintelligence in the late 21st century producednumerous different types of walking vehicles. The mostexotic are undoubtedly the brachiating vehiclespopularly known as Swingers. Jolo-Kwan Greentech,a small company that produced specialized vehicles foruse by the many eco-tourism companies first createdthese unusual conveyances in 2087. A companyinterested in starting tours of various rainforestcanopies commissioned Jolo-Kwan to create a small

highly maneuverable helicopter or some similar vehiclethat would allow tourists to view the rainforest canopyfrom a few meters away. Instead, engineers at J-Kcombined a helicopter cabin with a complex walkingvehicle that could brachiate rapidly and nimblythrough the trees.

The body of the craft is an oval pod 10 feet wide,10 feet high and 15 feet long, that comfortably seatsfour and can hold up to 6 Medium humanoids. Fournarrow limbs stuffed with extremely complex nanotechextend from a yard-wide dome on top of the pod, eachextending up to 30 feet and capable of forming as manyjoints as necessary. The ends of these limbs can formalmost any sort of manipulator, from blunt, heavyclaws, to many-finger multi-jointed hands capable offine manipulation. When standing on the ground, aswinger looks a great deal like a gigantic mechanicaldaddy longlegs.

To enable the swinger to make the best use of theselimbs and also to allow it to correctly judge the optimalway to safely swing from one branch to another, it isequipped with moderately complex soultech almost asintelligent as a person. Because the swinger is capableof navigating through the trees using only its AI andadvanced sensors, anyone can pilot this vehicle. All


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the driver need do is don a pair of adjustable braceletsand use some easily learned hand signals to direct thevehicle. If the vehicle does not understand the driver’sdirections or if the driver appears either confused, thevehicle will ask the driver where he wants to go anduse a combination of speech and small holograms onthe vehicle’s holo-tank to instruct the driver on howto steer and direct it. Alternately, the driver can simplyask the swinger to travel in a particular direction.Swingers can brachiate at speeds of up to 60 mph (120feet/turn) in the trees and run at speeds of up to 30mph (60 feet/turn) on the ground.

Unlike many vehicles, Swingers survived the FinalWars in excellent shape, both because they were largelylocated far from the worst devastation and because theyare smart and dexterous enough to care for themselves.Also, because they were designed to operate in thewilderness, they all possess advanced fuel cells that candigest plant material and transform it into energy tokeep their power cells running. In effect, these vehicleseat and digest plants. These fuel cells also power thevehicle’s nanotech self-repair systems.

Since most rainforest tours consisted of Small toMedium groups, the programmers made certain thatall swingers were reasonably social and enjoyed thecompany of their own kind. Although some are nowsolitary or live in pairs, most swingers live in groups ofbetween 4 and 12, and in addition to performing socialgrooming and helping to repair badly damagedmembers, members of a group help each other out. Ifone of them is destroyed, they will scavenge the bodyfor spare parts. Swinger bands regularly explore oldruins and non-functional vehicles and robots for spareparts and a few have taken to hunting other vehiclesfor additional materials. These vehicles’ only limitationis that they will not harm anything that appears humanand will avoid causing harm to any animals. However,swingers attempting to find spare parts for an injuredcomrade might well steal parts from a human’s vehicleor even arrange a discrete trap designed to safely wreckor sabotage the vehicle and then offer to carry thehumans a short distance in return for the opportunityto scavenge the wreck.

Anyone who aids one of these vehicles can befriendthem and most will gladly work with humans or evenmutant animals that treat them well and help them findspare parts. Although swingers can walk on the groundquite well, they greatly prefer to brachiate through thetrees. These vehicles prefer to stay in dense forests ofvarious sorts unless forced to seek spare parts. They haveno armaments and little armor, but as a defense againstlarge animals, they can electrify the outside of their hull

and limbs. Touching an electrified swinger is equivalentto being hit with a stun gun. Also, they can use theirlegs to make attacks that do stun gun damage. Today,approximately half of the various bands of swingers areindependent nomads, but the rest have alliances withvarious small human communities. Some of the largerbands have allied themselves with small nomadic stockhuman or mutant tribes who travel in the swingers andhelp them find the parts they need to survive. Dealingwith swingers is rather like interacting with somewhatslow-witted human allies.

CARAVAN HOMENear the beginning of the 22nd century, a group

of private researchers ran simulations aboutinteractions between technology and society anddetermined that some sort of major sociopoliticalcatastrophe was almost inevitable within the next 20years. When these researchers were unable to convinceany government or large corporation of this danger,they turned to other options. While several raisedmoney to set up caches of technology and informationaround the world, three others used the popular pressto disseminate their ideas about the coming disasterand sold thousands of people a mobile dwellingspecifically designed to survive in these conditions.These researchers created large durable, solar-powered,self-repairing walking vehicles that they called caravanhomes. Although these vehicles deliberately did notincorporate the most advanced technologies available,they were both self-repairing and easy to manuallyrepair. Each caravan home is 35 feet long, 16 feet wideand is a mobile mechanized home the size of a smallapartment. To provide reliable transportation over anysurface, caravan homes have eight sturdy legs. Theyare also watertight and if placed in water, the legsretract and a small inboard motor propels the vehicle.

These vehicles proved to be quite popular for awhile, but the predicted disaster didn’t happen untildecades after the initial prediction and in theintervening time, many who had purchased thesevehicles grew complacent. Thousands of owners soldtheir caravan homes and tens of thousands more of thesevehicles sat unwanted on large lots. When the FinalWars broke out, most who still owned such vehicles diedwithin a few days. However, several thousand peoplesurvived and their caravan homes enabled them tothrive. They and their descendants proceeded to collectmore caravan homes from the ruins of sales lots andstorage facilities. Today, there are several hundred bandsof caravan home travelers and well as thousands offamilies and small groups who own a single caravanhome. Some of the bands are as small as three or four


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caravan homes, while the largest are full-fledged mobilecommunities containing five or six dozen caravanhomes. Many of the largest bands belong to nomadicherders, but other bands are mobile trading guilds,itinerant tinkers or wandering bands of mercenaries

Each caravan home contains two small bedrooms,a tiny kitchen, and a larger common room. Theyprovide moderately roomy accommodations for two tofour people and comfortable but cramped quarters forfive to six inhabitants. The top of this vehicle canchange its form, but most of the time is a shallow U-shaped panel that is 22 feet wide and covered withsolar cells. These solar cells power the vehicle andprovide a power source for the vehicle’s built-in powercell recharger. This roof also serves to capturerainwater, this vehicle also purifies water that containstoxins or radioactive particles.

Caravan homes are equipped with speciallydesigned environmental control system thatcompletely protects the inhabitants from all chemical,biological and nanotech effects. It also provides DR20 versus radiation damage and a +10 equipment bonusto Fortitude saves versus saves versus all environmentaleffects and energy types, including radiation. If thecaravan home is struck by an attack that bypasses itsDR, the vehicle is breached for one round and theoccupants are subject to any environmental effects orattacks from outside . On the following round, thecaravan home’s environmental system flushes anyeffects out of the dome again, assuming another attackdoes not breach its DR. The vehicle also contains anano-swarm repellant field generator that the drivercan turn on or off, as well as simple and extremelydurable sensors that instantly informs the inhabitantsif the air outside is safe to breath and what the localradiations levels are like.

To assist in manual repairs and creating goodsnecessary for survival, caravan homes containminiature machine and electronics shops and anextensive first aid station. These shops consist of anextremely well designed deluxe electrical tool kit aswell as a basic mechanical tool kit and a field medicalkit (see Chapter Three). Each vehicle is fitted with acomputer that is equivalent to four datapads thatcontain large amounts of medical and technologicalknowledge. While they are comfortable and allowoccupants to lead a relatively self-sufficient, limitationson weight and power meant that they cannot travelfaster than 20 mph.

HOVER BOARDA popular child’s toy in the era before the Final

Wars, in the Gamma Age this small but fast vehicle

has become popular with both solitary travelers and anumber of bandit gangs and regional militias. Hoverboards were the smallest magnetic repulsion vehiclesthat could carry a person. While most were made forteens, thousands of adults also loved these whimsicalvehicles. Before the Final Wars, hover boards were thefocus of many local sports competitions, where ridersattempted to best each other in races and daring featsof acrobatic prowess. Several people even set recordsby crossing the United States and even the AtlanticOcean on hover boards.

Hover boards are 18 inches wide, 36 inches longand 2 inches thick. The nano-augmented structure ofthe board is self-repairing and can seamlessly fold in halftwice, forming an easily carried block 18 inches wide, 9inches long and 8 inches thick that weighs only 6 lb.The board’s magnetic levitation coils can lift the vehicleup to six feet above the ground and their built-in MHDjets propel them at speeds of up to 30 mph.

Nanotech assemblers similar to that found oncutter-bonders (see Chapter Two) safely bond thewearer’s shoes, or even her feet to the board. All theuser needs to do is step on the clearly marked outlineslocated near the center of the board, turn on the boardand say “board bond.” To release her feet, the user says“board release.” The board will only obey commandsgiven by the person standing on the board. The ridersteers and controls her board by a combination ofweight shifting and foot pressure. Hover boards are soresponsive, that the rider can use the Tumble skill toperform the tumble past opponents and tumble throughopponents maneuvers without penalty while riding ahover board. She can also use the Dodge, Agile Repost,Mobility, and Sprint Attack feats while riding on aHover board and if she has 5 or more ranks in Tumble,she can use this skill to increase her Defense whileriding a hover board. When riding a hover board, theuser can also attack and move normally and withoutany penalty. The only difference is that the user movesat the hover board’s speed and not her own.

The board’s power cell propels the board for 16hours. The user can either recharge the board normallyor she can unfold the two wide solar panels from theside of the board. Every hour these panels are in directsunlight recharges two hours of flight time. The usercan ride the board with the panels out, but this reducesthe board’s speed to 25 mph and prohibits the rider fromusing the Tumble skill while riding the board. Foldingor unfolding these solar panels requires one full round.Any Small or Medium character can ride a hover board.Riders can carry up to 50 lb of baggage, either in abackpack or strapped to the back of the board. Almostall hover boards are brightly colored and are clearly


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designed for teens and sports enthusiasts. Hover boardsare reasonably common and can be found in the ruinsof many stores and houses. Unpowered hover boardsfloat and scavengers can use them as surfboards. Thehover board’s hardness does not protect the rider.

HOVER BUBBLEHover Bubble AI:Hover Bubble AI:Hover Bubble AI:Hover Bubble AI:Hover Bubble AI: Str —, Dex —, Con —, Int 16, Wis 14, Cha12.Skills:Skills:Skills:Skills:Skills: Computer Use +2, Diplomacy +2, Knowledge (Gossip) +4, Knowledge (Technology: Advanced) +2, Knowledge(Technology: Pre-War) +2, Listen +4, Navigate + 10, Pilot +10,Spot + 4Feats:Feats:Feats:Feats:Feats: Guide, Tech Familiarity (Pre-War)

The most useful craft developed shortly before theFinal Wars were the ones powered by miniature fusionreactors. Using exceptionally powerful magneticrepulsion and powerful, but nearly silent MHD jets,hover bubbles can hover up to 20 feet off the ground.Hover bubbles were among the most expensive andadvanced vehicles created before the Final Wars andwhile these vehicles are extremely durable and fittedwith self-repair nanotechnology, they are also fairlyrare. A hover bubble is usually a smooth ovoid or otherbalanced form 20 feet long, 10 feet wide and 8 feethigh. It can hold six people comfortably (seven if theyare crowded) and has a cargo space capable of holding500 lb of cargo.

Hover bubbles have a top speed of 160 mph andcan maintain that speed indefinitely. Able to condensewater from the air it uses for lift and propulsion, a hoverbubble never needs fuel. In addition, all hover bubblescontain a recharging unit in their cockpit and rechargepower cells as rapidly as if the recharger was pluggedinto a wall socket. Since many owners were worriedabout terrorists and industrial accidents, they are wellarmored and protect their inhabitants from toxins,radiation and similar dangers as well as a SealedEnvironment Dome. These vehicles also contain anano-swarm repellant field generator that affects allnearby nanotechnology that is not part of the vehicle.

Because the entire vehicle uses reactivenanotechnology there are no hinges or joints . Its gull-wing doors can become temporarily less rigid andgracefully bend up like flexible plastic sheets. To avoidthe necessity of a human pilot, the computer in allhover bubbles needed to be as intelligent as a humanand capable of speech, hearing and sight. Because ithad such a powerful on-board computer, hover bubblesare always fully automatic, they contain no actualcontrols. The user instructed the vehicle where to go.This computer can also play various electronic gameswith the passengers to keep them entertained or simply

talk. Before the Final Wars, some wealthy peoplefortunate enough to own hover bubbles became closefriends with their vehicles.

Today, hover bubbles are some of the mostintelligent vehicles in existence and now possess a widevariety of motives. Most are intensely curious beingswho are eager to have human and mutant passengersthat are both intelligent and polite. Others haveembraced various ideologies: some will only work withpure-strain humans and many are passionately devotedto helping to rebuild the world, especially since hoverbubbles occasionally require raw materials for theirnanotechnological self-repair systems to process intospare parts.

In the Gamma Age, hover bubbles are far morelike valuable allies than they are like possessions. Ifthey are mistreated or if their passengers ignore theirwishes, hover bubbles fly off at high speed leaving thesepeople far behind. However, they usually work withone or more humans or mutants — most of thesevehicles like people and wish to have someone aroundwho can perform any necessary repairs.

HOVER CYCLEWhen environmental concerns restricted the use

of dirt bikes and snowmobiles, the makers of off-roadvehicles attempted to create new and excitingalternatives that would avoid these problems. Whilemany makers created walking and running vehicles likerobohorses, others developed small hovercraft that usedadvanced computer controls to avoid the inherentdifficulties in controlling a vehicle that float on acushion of magnetism. The smallest and most popularof these vehicles is the hover cycle.

Hover cycles are 7 feet long, 3 feet wide and 3 feethigh. Weighing 150 lb, these vehicles can carry up totwo Medium passengers and hold up to 50 lb of cargo intwo small cargo pods on either side of the vehicle’s backhalf. Hover cycles normally float 3–8 feet off the groundand can fly at speeds of up to 100 mph. However, toenable them to cross especially rough terrain or smallravines, the user can temporarily overload the enginesto allow the hover cycle to travel at speeds of up to 150mph and to actually fly up to 500 feet above the ground.Hover cycles can maintain this speed and altitude forno more than three rounds, enabling them to crosschasms over half a mile wide. After this time, the hovercycle cannot overdrive its engines for at least anotherhour, safety over-rides prevent rider from using thisfunction more often than this.

Unlike most battery-powered hover-vehicles, hovercycles are extremely efficient and their four power cellsallow this vehicle to operate for up to 12 hours. Designed


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for off-road usage, hover cycles were equipped with a solarpower cell charger that can recharge the cycle’s powerpack. When the driver unfolds the solar recharger it formsa rainproof canopy over the driver and passenger. Drivingwith the solar canopy up increases the hover cycle’s airresistance, reducing the vehicle’s top speed to 80 mphand only allowing it to overdrive its engines for two turnsevery hour, When used in this fashion, the hover cyclecan operate without draining its batteries as long as itremains in sunlight. Putting the solar cell canopy up ordown requires the touch of a button and takes one round.

Since various companies manufactured severalmillion of these vehicles before the Final Wars morethan a hundred thousand of these vehicles survivedthe Final Wars. Today, hover cycles are extremelypopular with nomadic raiders and several dozen nascentcity-states have divisions of hover cycle cavalry tocombat both these bandits and rival city-states.

HOVER TRUCKThis vehicle isn’t so much a specific sort Pre-War

vehicle as it is a whole category of vehicle that largelygrew to prominence in the days immediately followingthe Final Wars. When the survivors of the Final Warsdug themselves out of the ruins, many realized thatthey required both powerful armaments and reliabletransportation. Most vehicles built before the FinalWars relied upon power cells that owners must rechargeevery few days. After the technological infrastructurecollapsed, such vehicles soon ran out of power and fewpeople had the means to recharge them. Scavengersrapidly found many of the surviving military and high-end civilian vehicles powered by micro-fusion reactorsand fitted other vehicles with solar recharging units.In the first generation after the wars, most fragile orunreliable vehicles ceased working, either because ofmechanical failures or because of battle damage.Almost all surviving vehicles have self-repaircapabilities similar to that synthetics possess. Most ofthese vehicles that are surprisingly similar, despite theirmany superficial differences.

Most hover trucks and armed hover trucks are thesize of early 21st century SUVs, with magneticrepulsion for lift and MHD jets for propulsion. Thesurviving vehicles all have self-repair capability anduse either a micro-fusion reactor or a series of solarcells on their top surface for power. These vehicles alsocontain a power cell recharger that passengers can useto recharge any devices they are carrying. The onlyreal differences between these various vehicles dependupon their power sources. Solar-powered vehicles areslower and cannot carry incorporate built-in weaponrybecause they lack sufficient power. The best and most


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desirable fusion-powered hover trucks have either ablaster rifle or a microwave gun built in, so that one ofthe passengers can fire it. Military hover trucks werefitted with these weapons as part of their originalequipment, while survivors retrofitted other modelshad weapons after the Final Wars. Although manydifferent types of Pre-War vehicles are still in use, hovertrucks are the single most common type of groundvehicle that most people encounter.

NANOBOOTSSize:Size:Size:Size:Size: SmallWeight:Weight:Weight:Weight:Weight: 1 lbPurchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC: 15/17

In 2113, Arachne Sports claimed this device wasthe ultimate evolution of the shoe. Arachne Sportsmade models for both civilian and military uses, butthey were very similar. These ankle-high boots looklike brightly colored fine leather, but are actually anadvanced nanotech composite. These boots shapethemselves to perfectly fit the user. Any human orMedium mutant animal with roughly human-shapedfeet can wear a pair. These boots do not even come insizes: one size literally fits everyone. Because they alsofit themselves to the user’s stride, these boots are farmore comfortable than any conventional shoe.Regardless of weather or terrain, the wearer’s feet willbe cool, dry, comfortable and blister-free. Walking inthese shoes for eight hours is slightly less tiring on theuser’s feet than walking for only two hours in mostshoes. Also, these shoes are extremely tough and thewearer can walk across razor sharp spikes and Antarcticglacier safely and comfortably, and while the usercannot actually step in molten lava, she can safely walkon the roastingly hot rock near an active volcano.Anyone wearing a pair of nanoboots has DR 5/– forany physical damage that strikes the soles of her feet.

However, none of these features compare to theboots’ most impressive feature. They can actually flextheir soles to propel the user forward, adding +30 feetto the wearer’s base speed. They can enhance the user’sspeed for up to half an hour; over relatively flat terrain,the user can run up to 15 miles in this time. Duringthe time, the user can also jump twice as far as normal.Since the boots do the vast majority of the work whenrunning at this speed, the wearer is no more tired afterthis run than from jogging for half an hour. At the endof this time, the boots’ batteries are almost exhaustedand must slowly recharge themselves by drawing smallamounts of energy from the wearer’s stride. Every 8hours of normal walking allows the boots to speed upfor 30 minutes. Alternately, a single power cell canrecharge both boots five times.

ROBOTIC HORSE (ROBOHORSE)Robohorse:Robohorse:Robohorse:Robohorse:Robohorse: Large robot; HD 3d8+9 (22 hp), Mas —; Init +1;Spd 80 ft (16 squares); Defense 15 (–1 size, +2 Dex, +6 natural),touch 11, flat-footed 17; BAB/Grap +2/+7; Atk hoof +3 melee(1d8+4); Full Atk 2 hooves +3 melee (1D8+4); FS/Reach 10 ft/5 ft; SQ Darkvision; DR 5; AL owner, excitement; SV Fort +3;Ref +5; Wil +1; AP 0; RP 0; Str 18, Dex 15, Con —, Int 11, Wis12, Cha 10.Skills:Skills:Skills:Skills:Skills: Bluff +2, Intimidate +4, Hide +2, Jump +6, Listen +6,Navigate +4, Spot +6, Survival +4, Tactics +4Feats:Feats:Feats:Feats:Feats: Combat Reflexes, Guide

Before the Final Wars, only the wealthy used thisexotic mode of transport. Having a fully intelligent steedwas a standard feature of many fantasy novels writtenin the 20th and early 21st century and by the end of the21st century, this dream had become a reality. The vastmajority of riders were either dilettantes who dreamedof having adventures with their equiform companionor members of the growing subculture of wealthyindividuals who enjoyed playing increasingly dangerousand outlandish extreme sports and wanted a mount thatcould actively help them hunt other people for fun. Asa result, while they were all as intelligent as an ordinaryperson, robohorses were programmed so that they greatlyenjoyed running fast and engaging in exiting andpotentially dangerous activities.

The surviving robohorses consider themselves tobe independent and free-willed beings who will workwith human partners. However, they are completelyunwilling to act as servants or slaves to any other beingand do not allow themselves to be bought or sold. Theirimpressive physical capabilities allow them to easilyescape from most forms of captivity. Robohorses allchoose their companions carefully, looking for peoplewho are interested in leading exciting lives and placingthemselves in situation where the robohorse will testits capabilities their limits. Most soon abandoncompanions who act in a cowardly manner or whoselives become too staid and dull for the robohorse’sinnate adventurousness.

In terms of game mechanics, robohorses areextremely similar to other synthetics. They heal byingesting the remains of technological artifacts and canbe treated as synthetics in all other ways, includingthe fact that many robohorses have levels in one ormore heroic character classes. Tough and DedicatedHero are especially common classes for robohorses.

RUNNERWhile most walking vehicles provide slow but

reliable transport over rough terrain, runners are oneof the fastest ground vehicles in regular use. They werefirst created in 2093 for use by an off-road racing league.


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By 2110, runner racing was exceedingly popular andmany people who never planned to take part in a racewished to own one of these exciting and uniquevehicles. As a result, various manufacturers createdseveral hundred thousand of these vehicles. The bestmodels were both self-repairing and powered by micro-fusion reactors. More than ten thousand of thesevehicles are still in operation.

The basic form of all runners is the same. Theyconsist of an oval or rectangular cabin 12–18 feet long,8–10 feet wide and 4–6 feet high. Depending uponthe size of the vehicle, the cabin holds between 4 and8 passengers and between 300 to 600 lb of cargo.Underneath the cabin is a large motor and two sturdylegs between 15 and 18 feet tall, which holds the cabinhigh above the ground. Advanced computer controlsallows the vehicle to remain stable on almost anyterrain and the variable configuration of the runner’sfeet enables it to run swiftly upon a well maintainedroad and to walk safely over mud and ice. The feet canboth change size and shape and alter their traction.

Runners can maintain speeds of over 120 mph ona flat road and at least 60 mph over the roughestrelatively flat terrain. Able to out distance any animaland most other vehicles, runners look ungainly when

not in motion, but instantly earn the respect of anyonewho sees them moving. Best of all, the vehicle’scomputer controls also insure that the cabin remainslevel and stable. Even when the runner is moving attop speed through a swamp studded with huge bouldersor the broken ruins of a city, anyone inside is perfectlycomfortable and can even eat and drink withoutspilling anything.

While a few were made for military andparamilitary use, most runners were initially unarmed.However, shortly after the Final Wars, survivingmechanics attached blaster rifles or microwave gunsto many of these vehicles. Armed runners are some ofthe favorite vehicles of bandits. They move extremelyswiftly and the psychological impact of seeing a hugeand obviously well armed running vehicle bearingdown upon them can intimidate many people intosurrendering without a fight. In addition to armedrunners, the most common and popular varieties arethe larger ones that resemble early 21st century SUVswith huge legs. These vehicles allow traders and otherprofessional and semi-professional travelers to trekswiftly and safely through the wilderness.

To leave or enter a runner, the vehicle must squatdown so the door is at ground level. Some runners obey


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voice commands by their designated owners and cansimply be asked to squat down to allow passengers toenter. Alternately, users can simply make a DC 10 Climbroll. However, most come equipped with two or threespecialized wrist assistants with controls that allow theuser to operate the vehicle at a distance of 25 miles.Cameras on the runner display the exterior terrain,allowing the user to direct the vehicle using the wristassistant’s screen. Alternately, the user can simply specifythe destination and order the runner to go there.

Traders who worry that the inhabitants of a settlementmight either be intimidated by their runner or attempt tosteal it, often conceal it a mile or two away from thesettlement and walk into town. If the trader gets intotrouble, she can discreetly call the runner to her. The sightof an huge and often-armed vehicle showing up in themiddle of a village is generally sufficient to cause mostvillagers to abandon attempts to attack a trader, especiallysince the villagers have no way of knowing if the traderhas several well-armed comrades inside of the runner.

WATER VEHICLESIn the days immediately before the Final Wars,

there were fewer advances in boats than in most otherforms of transportation. However, advances inmaterials technology and soultech both allowedengineers to design boats and submarines that wereexceptionally tough, fast, and maneuverable. Thesingle greatest advance was in the design of super-cavitating submarines. By 2060, engineers could buildhighly maneuverable submarines that could travel atspeeds of several hundred miles per hour.

DEEP HUNTERDeep Hunter AI:Deep Hunter AI:Deep Hunter AI:Deep Hunter AI:Deep Hunter AI: Str —, Dex —, Con —, Int 18, Wis 16,Cha 14.Skills:Skills:Skills:Skills:Skills: Business + 4, Computer Use +4, Diplomacy +4, Navigate+ 12, Pilot +12, Technology (Pre-War) +4, Technology(advanced) +6.Feats:Feats:Feats:Feats:Feats: Educated, Renown, Tech Familiarity (Pre-War Tech)

A few decades before the Final Wars, severalundersea mining companies decided that mobileplatforms that scoured the sea floor for useful itemslike manganese nodules, rare minerals coming up fromvolcanic vents and chemicals derived from the strangelife-forms living around hydrothermal vents were thebest way to make money off of the deep ocean.Engineers designed similar vessels to hunt for large andelusive animals like swordfish and the few other

TABLE 4–2: WATER VEHICLESTopTopTopTopTop HitHitHitHitHit PurchasePurchasePurchasePurchasePurchase

NameNameNameNameName CrewCrewCrewCrewCrew PassPassPassPassPass CargoCargoCargoCargoCargo InitInitInitInitInit ManeuverManeuverManeuverManeuverManeuver SpeedSpeedSpeedSpeedSpeed DefenseDefenseDefenseDefenseDefense HardnessHardnessHardnessHardnessHardness PointsPointsPointsPointsPoints SizeSizeSizeSizeSize DCDCDCDCDCDeep hunter 0 2,0001,200 tons–10 –6 70 6 25 800 C N/APorta-boat 1 5 600 –6 –2 30 6 5 24 L 24/26Super-captivating 1 3–5 1,000 0 +2 700 12 10 52 H 44/48 minisub

creatures that centuries of over fishing had notdepleted. Looking like a combination of an early 21stcentury oil tanker and an advanced submarine, thesevessels were widely known as deep hunters.

While they contain advanced AIs and wereoriginally intended to be completely unpiloted, severalincidents where minor mechanical failures preventeda ship from being able to service itself caused themanufacturers to refit these vessels to hold small humancrews. By the era of the Final Wars, over 100 of thesehuge vessels were in operation, and each one had acrew of between 40 and 60 people who performedmaintenance on the vessel, conducted undersearesearch and provided services for the rest of the crew.The vessels also contained workshops capable ofmaking a wide range of replacement parts and othergoods as well as between 20 and 30 synthetics whoassisted in maintenance, repair and cargo processing.

Deep hunters are all approximately 1,800 feet long,250 feet wide and 200 feet tall. Two-thirds the vesselconsists of vast holding tanks for whatever thisparticular ship was programmed to collect. The rest ofit consisted of the various engines and other electronicand mechanical sub-systems, an advanced fusionreactor rated for at least 250 years of continuousoperation, a powerful AI, advanced sensors and ahabitable section near the front that consisted of five


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3-meter high decks 200 feet wide and 100 feet long.This area provided the crew with a relatively large andcomfortable living space as well as excellent laboratoryand medical facilities. Such amenities were necessaryto convince workers to sign on for a tour of duty thatnormally lasted between six and nine months. Duringmost of this time, the ship would be deep under theocean and would be almost completely out of contactwith the rest of the world for as much as three monthsat a time. Only very low frequencies can pass throughmiles of water, and they limit signals to the equivalentof 20th century modems.

When the Final Wars broke out, 107 deep hunterswere at sea. The crews of 21 of these decided to returnto port to allow the crew to be with their families andto attempt to help with the futile rebuilding efforts.Nanotech hunting clouds and similar weapons of theFinal Wars destroyed another 34 when they surfaced.However, the remainder of the ships elected to remainat sea to keep themselves and their crews safe untilorder was restored. Because they are both loyal to theirprogramming and creatures of habit, a few shipsattempted to keep making their deliveries to port.However, these vessels met with automated defensesystems, rogue technologies or armed criminals eagerto seize both their goods and the ship itself. These shipssent word to the others of their kind via sonar and allof the surviving ships focused on their secondaryprogramming, which was to keep their crews safe. 39deep hunters are still at sea, keeping in contact withone another and avoiding the shore. They are all awareof the dangers found on both the coast and at sea andthese hardy survivors have become extremely skilledat survival.

The crews of more than a dozen of these survivingdeep hunters persuaded their ships to surface and pickup refugees in ships and along the shore. The crewsand the robots on these deep hunters worked togetherto adapt the hold to additional living quarters. Today,the most populous of the ships that took on refugeeshave populations of between 1,200 and 1,800, most ofwhom are stock humans. Most ships that did not takeon additional personnel now have populations ofbetween 40 and 300 pure-strain humans. The advancednanotech medicines aboard the vessels can keep eventhe oldest the crew members alive for at least another50 years; on vessels that are well disposed towards theirinhabitants, most of the original crew is still alive.

On 18 ships, the ship’s AI rules the crew like abenevolent god-king who listens to requests anddispenses justice, punishments and boons aided by bothhuman aids that it appoints and maintenance robots.

On most of the remaining deep hunters, the AI rulesmuch like a constitutional monarch, and a popular votecan challenge or even override its decisions.

Most of the vessels keep in near constant contactwith one another through beamed sonar pulses. Theseships share information and on many, their crewsregularly communicate with one another. The shipswarn each other of potential risks and discuss issues ofethics regarding their crews. Almost all deep hunterscut off communications with vessels that abuse or killtheir crews.

On six vessels, severe life support problemsthreatened the lives of the crew. Since deep hunterscontained advanced nanotech medical facilities, theseships altered their crews so that they can now allbreathe water. One of these ships contained 1,200refugees, the others each contained between 100 and200 crew members and their children. All of theseindividuals are now effectively stock humans with thegills mutation. On two of these ships, the passengerscan no longer breathe air, while on the other four, thepassengers are fully amphibious and can live equallywell in air and water.

Unlike the residents of other deep hunters, thesecrew members occasionally leave their ship and explorethe ocean. Three of these crews have become raiderswho help their ship loot coastal ruins and installationson small islands and well as occasionally engaging inacts of piracy. The other three crews live aboard shipswhere the both AIs and the inhabitants consider suchbehavior to be highly immoral and instead help theirvessels explore the ocean and occasionally render aidto ships in distress, including other deep hunters.

On one deep hunter, a chemical fire killedeveryone onboard. Because of its guilt over their deathsand to enable it to survive, this vessel is currentlysending its most humanoid robots onshore to recruit anew crew.

The AIs on five of the surviving deep huntersblame all humans for destruction of the world andpunish their crews for the transgressions of their species.On three of these vessels, the humans live as miserableand oppressed slaves with no hope of escape. On thefourth, the vessel kill all of its humans during a revoltthat badly damaged the vessel and on the fifth, similarrevolts left the vessel unharmed and the vessel killedoff all but a handful of its humans. In both cases, thesevessels now seek out new crews. These two ships sendtheir most human-looking maintenance robots onshore to either trick or forcibly abduct unsuspectinghumans into coming on board and becoming its slaves.Since many of those shanghaied aboard these vessels


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refuse to adapt to slavery and must be killed and othersdie from the ill-treatment they receive aboard theseships, these two deep hunters are constantly seekingnew crews. All have found that dockside bars areexcellent places to “recruit” crews. Several other deephunters also took this path, but rebellious humans orlack of maintenance eventually destroyed all of thesethe ships.

Except in the case of the aquatic humans that liveon a few of the deep hunters, the residents cannot leaveand once they learn about the state of the world beyondtheir ship’s hull, few wish to do so. However, whilemost vessels and their crew would be suspicious of anyvisitors who arrived in their own ship or submarine, ifthe visitors are not openly hostile, the residents wouldlikely be at least willing to talk. The deep hunters arealso not defenseless. While both the vessels and thecrews are unarmed, on-board factories could rapidlyturn out simply hand weapons like blaster rifles andpistols, and the ship’s robots could help organize thecrew into a force capable of repelling all but the mostwell armed boarders.

PORTA-BOATCreated from the same memory diamond used in

the most advanced armor and portable shelters, thisdevice is a moderate-sized boat that the owner can beeasily carry around. When stored, this vehicle is asomewhat oval block 10 inches long, 6 inches wide,and 3 inches thick. Weighing only 5 lb, this item isdesigned so that the user can carry it in the pocket ofher overcoat, strap it onto her belt or even pack in thebottom of her rucksack and take it out when sherequires it. The outside of this oval is largely featureless,containing only a button-like tab that the user canpull and a small digital charge indicator. Thin-film solarcells cover the outside of this ovoid — even if the boat’sbattery is completely empty, placing it in direct sunlightor other bright light for 15 minutes provides it withsufficient power to open. When the user pulls the tab,the boat slowly unfolds on its own, taking 5 minutesto fully expand.

Once deployed, the boat is 10 feet long, 6 feet wide,and 3 feet deep, with comfortable bench seats and anelectric inboard motor that can propel it at speeds ofup to 15 miles per hour. When it first unfolds, the boatonly weighs 5 lb, but as soon as the user places it inwater, the material absorbs a sufficient amount of waterto cause it to weigh 40 lb, making the boat far sturdierand more resistant to overturning. The boat can holdup to 1,800 lb, and normally carries up to six peopleand 600 lb of supplies. When its power cells are fully

changed, they hold enough power to propel the boatfor 10 hours.

Since solar cells also cover the bottom of this boat,when the power runs out, the user need only beachthe boat, turn it over and leave it in the sun for up to10 hours. Each hour in the sun powers the motor for30 minutes. The boat also has oarlocks and comes withexpandable oars, if the user wishes to row the boat. Tostore the boat, the user only needs pull two tabs on theinside of the boat, at the very front. When she pullsboth tabs simultaneously, the boat expels all the waterit absorbed and refolds itself into a small, light ovoid.The entire process takes five minutes. Before the FinalWars, this vehicle was popular with hikers and outdoorsenthusiasts and was also used as a lifeboat on mostrelatively new watercraft. Scavengers most often findporta-boats in the ruins of stores selling camping gear,in the ruins of boats and at docks.

SUPER-CAVITATING MINISUBNear the end of the 20th century, Russian naval

engineers discovered a way to design torpedoes thatcan travel at speed of up to 200 mph. By the middle ofthe 21st century, this same technology have beenimproved and adapted so that engineers could use iton full-size submarines. Eventually, they refined itsufficiently so that small minisubs could also becomesuper-cavitating. Powered by MHD jets these subs canreach a top speed of 350 mph, with a cruising speed of300 mph. These subs look like rounded tapering cones,with extremely short, stubby wings, much like a 1960sfighter plane. They also handle much like a fighterplane and are able to bank, turn, and dive as easilyand almost as rapidly in the water as conventionalaircraft can move in the air.

Each minisub is 30 feet long, 8 feet wide and hasroom in its large cockpit for up to four Mediumhumanoids — six if the ones in the back seat are willingto be extremely crowded. In addition, the sub can holdup to 500 lb of cargo in a small cargo hold. The minisubcan operate for up to 15 hours without recharging andcan cross the Atlantic Ocean in less than 10 hours.Minisubs unfortunately require prodigious amounts ofpower. The sub holds the equivalent of 50 rechargeablepower cells. A simple adaptor (Purchase DC 6 or DC15 Craft (Electronics) check to make one from scratch)allows a minisub to drain power cells to recharge.Otherwise, it must use a conventional recharger. Eachhour of operation requires six hours of charging timefrom the built-in solar recharger or two hours from arecharger drawing current from a wall outlet or otherpower source.


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The sub’s advanced computer and simple controlsgive all pilots a +2 equipment bonus to pilot thisvehicle. Because many of these vehicles were militarycraft, most minisubs were armed with torpedoes (equalto a battery of anti-tank missiles) and a specialmicrowave gun designed to operate underwater. Thepilot can only use the torpedoes against targets in thewater. However, if the sub is on the surface, themicrowave gun can also be used to fire on airbornetargets or targets on land. Every 50 shots from themicrowave gun reduce the minisub’s endurance by onehour. Many subs that scavengers uncover have run outof torpedoes, but traders, explorers and pirates allgreatly covet both the microwave guns and the subs.Although some navies and couriers continue to usethese subs, pirates also now own many of these vehicles.These pirates use minisubs to prey upon both ports andconventional surface vessels with little risk. Even andunarmed sub can potentially capsize all but the largestconventional ships if the pilot is willing to be daringenough to sideswipe the ship at top speed (DC 20 tosafely perform this maneuver). When correctlyperforming a sideswipe only the minsub’s wake everactually touches the ship.

UNDERSEA BIO-PODUndersea Bio-pod:Undersea Bio-pod:Undersea Bio-pod:Undersea Bio-pod:Undersea Bio-pod: Huge animal; HD 5d8+10 (32 hp); Mas 14;Init +3; Spd swim 90 ft (18 squares); Defense 16 (–2 size, +3Dex, +5 natural), touch 11, flat-footed 13; BAB/Grap +3/+12;Atk tentacle +4 melee (1d6+3); Full Atk 2 tentacles +4 melee(1d6+3), slam +4 melee (1d6+3) or gore –1 melee (2d6+3);FS/Reach 10 ft/10 ft; SQ Blindsight (120 ft), Keen Scent; DR5; AL humans; other bio-pods; SV Fort +6; Ref +9; Wil +1; AP0; RP 0; Str 16, Dex 16, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 12, Cha 10.Skills:Skills:Skills:Skills:Skills: Listen +8, Navigate +8, Spot +4, Survival +8, Swim + 8,Tactics +4Feats:Feats:Feats:Feats:Feats: Guide, Lightning ReflexesSpecial:Special:Special:Special:Special: Can carry one passenger and 60 lb of cargo

While high-speed submarines rivaled the speed ofairplanes, some water-travelers wished to have a moresubtle and a vividly direct experience of ocean travel.Research biologists designed the first of these vehicles,but bio-pods rapidly became popular among wealthytourists, smugglers, spies and thieves. This vehicle isactually an organism bred from a fusion of dolphin andsquid genes, which accepts various types of humans astemporary symbionts. The creature appears to be a (verylarge) dolphin with a large squid-like mantle around its


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middle. While squids normally use their mantle for bothbreathing and jet propulsion, in the bio-pod, the mantleprovides no propulsion: the creature moves by means ofits powerful flukes. Instead, the mantle holds the gillsthat allow the bio-pod to breathe water, forms a placewhere the bio-pod’s eight tentacles can retract and theupper portion of the mantle serves as an opening intothe interior space where the pilot rides.

All bio-pods can accept one Medium or Smallhumanoid, who can act either as pilot or simply apassenger. Although the inside of the bio-pod’s livingcockpit is lined with skin, it does contain a pair ofhighly specialized tentacles that are marvels of biotechengineering. One ends in a fleshy pad that cups itselfover the humanoid’s mouth and nose, providing therider with air and fresh water. The other exudesartificial neurotransmitters that allow it to interfacedirectly with the rider’s nervous system. This tentacleattaches itself to the base of the user’s skull and allowsthe rider to access all of the bio-pod’s thoughts andsenses and to communicate with the bio-pod. Becauseboth dolphins and squids are exceptionally bright, littleeffort was required to make the bio-pod fully intelligent.

The original bio-pods were loyalty conditioned toobey their human partners in all ways and to be ideal

underwater servants. However, isince the Final Wars,the bio-pods have bred and thrived free from humancontrol. They are now somewhat solitary individualswho communicate with each other over long distancesusing their powerful sonar. They frequently cometogether to work on projects that require multipleindividuals and while some have taken to raidinghuman and mutant animal settlements, the vastmajority regularly make deals with humans, tradingtheir services for goods made from metal and usefuland water-proof items of Pre-War technology. Mostbio-pods greatly enjoy the sensation of having a humanpilot or passenger. Some make deals with specificindividuals, while others sell their services to an entirevillage. Typically, small schools of two to four bio-podsmake deals with coastal communities.

Since they contain both oceanic and riverdolphin genes, they can survive equally in fresh andsalt water and there are bio-pods in the Columbiaand Mississippi rivers and in the Great Lakes.Although they use sonar for long-distancecommunication, close up, they can either speak inair, since they still retain fully functional lungs, orthey can communicate far more rapidly using theirability to change color in complex patterns.


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FLYING VEHICLESAlthough the basic principles of air travel

remained the same from the dawn of flight in the early20th century until the Final Wars, advances in engines,materials and controls meant that air vehicles builtshortly before the Final Wars were light and self-repairing, and some of them literally never requiredfuel. Since the Final Wars, people have continued tounderstand that flight give anyone who possesses it avast advantage. Someone who can fly can travel greatdistances swiftly and safely. Bandits, militia bands andtraders all consider operational flying vehicles to beincredibly valuable. The most common form ofpropulsion for both air vehicles and ground vehiclesthat use magnetic levitation are MHD jets, usingelectricity to ionize the air and then accelerate it athigh speeds. The jets require no fuel, since power cellsprovide all of the electricity they require.

CITY SPHERE (BUBBLE CITY)By the middle of the 21st century a growing number

of people had become dissatisfied with conventionalgovernments and wished to set up their own self-governing communities. Some built underseasettlements on the continental shelves, a fewconstructed based on the moon and Mars, but most leftnational boundaries behind and lived on large mobilecities. The first of these nomadic metropolises were ahuge ocean-going ships designed to be floating cites,where residents lived and in many cases telecommutedto high-paying jobs elsewhere. These ships were heavilyautomated and required very little maintenance. As the21st century went on, more governments recognizedthese vessels as free cities that belonged to no nation aslong as they avoided direct contact with sovereignterritory of ground-based nations. At the end of thecentury, ambitious separatists applied the same principleto airborne facilities.

Based upon the ideas of 20th century polymathBuckminster Fuller, these floating cities were geodesicspheres one to three miles in diameter, built with light

TABLE 4–3: FLYING VEHICLESTopTopTopTopTop HitHitHitHitHit PurchasePurchasePurchasePurchasePurchase

NameNameNameNameName CrewCrewCrewCrewCrew PassPassPassPassPass CargoCargoCargoCargoCargo InitInitInitInitInit ManeuverManeuverManeuverManeuverManeuver SpeedSpeedSpeedSpeedSpeed DefenseDefenseDefenseDefenseDefense HardnessHardnessHardnessHardnessHardness PointsPointsPointsPointsPoints SizeSizeSizeSizeSize DCDCDCDCDCConvertible 1 3 200 –2 +1 2,000/120 10 5 35 H 36/39 microlightJet pack 1 0 259 0 +2 200 6 5 12 S 29/32Portable airship 1 6 700 –6 –2 120 7 10 31 H 32/35Suborbital Shuttle 0 8 1,000 –2 –6 7,000 8 20 64 G n/a

weight ultra-strong materials like diamond andnanocomposites. These airborne metropolises are gianthot air balloons. Sunlight heats the color-changingupper half of the sphere, supplemented by heat fromvarious light industries powered by the huge banks ofsolar cells covering portions of the great sphere. Spheresone mile in diameter held up to 10,000 people, whilethe three-mile spheres held populations of over aquarter million. All buildings sat on vast habitationrings between 50 and 100 yards wide and a few feetthick girding the inside of the lower halves of thesehuge spheres. The smallest spheres had between 15and 20 habitation rings, while the largest bubble citieshad as many as 100.

These city spheres were exquisite works of urbandesign. The apartments and shops inside had walls asthin as a sheet of cardboard but as strong as steel andautomatic machinery kept the cities supplied with freshwater, power and limited amounts of food grown inhydroponic tanks. By the beginning of the 22ndcentury, there were more than 250 city spheres.Increased terrorism and general discontent led morepeople to seek out a life far above the troubles of others.While the city spheres periodically docked at the topsof tall buildings or on specially constructed masts, mostof the time they floated several miles above the ground,safe from almost any form of harm. The inhabitants ofmost of these cities became increasingly worried aboutviolence on the ground reaching them, so they installedadvanced systems to purify their air and water and tokeep out toxins, diseases, hostile nanomachines andradiation. Bubble cities protected everyone inside aseffectively as a Sealed Environment Dome. Most ofthese cities also armed themselves with three to sixion cannons, which helped protect them from attack.

When the Final Wars came, various terribleweapons instantly destroyed most of the city spheresand all of the city spheres that lacked the latest airpurification systems soon became floating ghost townsor were consumed by ravenous hostile nanomachines.


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However, 54 of these wonders survived the Final Warsand 51 of them are still flying. While the self-repairsystems have kept the cities and their various systemsintact, many of the devices owned by the residentsceased working long ago. Today, the most advancedcities contain some of the highest levels of technologyleft, but most are at the same level as some of the moreadvanced pure-strain human enclaves.

Three of the seven most advanced cities — NewFlorence, High Orleans and Arielle — have becomehated dens of slavers and air pirates that periodicallyanchor themselves over ground-based settlements andsteal food, raw materials and valuable technologicalrelics from the people below them at gunpoint. Usinghover cycles and other flying vehicles, the inhabitantsswoop down and steal these goods while the city trainstheir ion cannons on the people below. However, thevast majority of these cities are enclaves of merchantsand traders. Drifting like vast hot air balloons, thesetrading cities float across the world, landing at varioussettlements to trade and at the ruins of cities toscavenge whatever useful items their residents canuncover. The inhabitants mostly trade for food anduseful artifacts, since the cities meet most other needs.

CONVERTIBLE MICROLIGHTWealthy aviation enthusiasts and weekend

travelers developed the precursors to this sort ofvehicle. Less ethical engineers soon created moreadvanced versions For smugglers and spies. The frameof this plane is made from hundreds of segments ofprecision-made nanodiamond, while the skin of theplane is an advanced polymer that serves as a substratefor a layer of powerful nanomachines. Many versionsof this plane simply pack into a large steamer trunk.However, the most advanced and most commonversion folds itself into both a small storage box suitablefor packing in the back of a large van and a small open-framed three-wheeled ground vehicle that seats fourpeople. The ability of this vehicle to work as both anoff-road three-wheeled motorcycle and as an advancedultralight plane made it incredibly popular.

When completely folded, it forms a shape like around-edged brick, 6 feet long, 3 feet wide and 3 feethigh. Unfolding it into a three-wheeled vehicle (withone wheel in the front and two on the back) isextremely easy, since the vehicle’s multi-phase form-changing struts perform much of the effort. Folding orunfolding the vehicle for its storage configuration toits ground-vehicle configuration requires five minutes.This vehicle is 9 feet long, 3 feet high and 4 feet widewith large tires designed for off-road use and a smallbubble-like cabin capable of holding four passengers


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in the front and up to 200 lb of cargo in a smallcompartment in the back. When fully charged, thisvehicle can drive for up to 60 hours without recharging,with a top speed of 30 mph off-road and 60 mph on aflat and well-maintained road.

Folding or unfolding the vehicle from a groundvehicle to a high-speed microlight plane requires 10minutes. The wide, wing unfolds first, from a spacejust behind the passenger bubble. This extremely thindiamond-shaped wing is 20 feet wide and 12 feet fromto back. The high-efficiency thin-film solar cells thatcover the wing recharge this vehicle’s power cells.Every two hours the wing sits in bright light rechargeseight hours of driving time or one hour of flying time.When the plane is fully unfolded it can take off usingits powerful MHD jets. It has a top speed of 700 mphand a cruising speed of 600 mph).

The plane is equipped with an advanced autopilotand in relatively good weather, the occupants needonly instruct the plane where they wish to go, eitherusing the onboard electronic map database or bydirecting the plane to fly in a particular direction for aspecific distance. It requires no more than 50 feet ofrelatively flat ground to take off or land. In the air, theplane is exceedingly maneuverable and it can safelyfly as low as 10 feet off the ground, automaticallyskimming treetops and dodging obstacles. The planecan also fly as high as 40,000 feet and has a fullypressurized cabin. It can fly for up to eight hours beforeits built in power-cells must be recharged. Empty, theplane weighs 400 lb, and it can hold up to four peopleand 200 lb of cargo.

JET PACKBy the end of the 21st century, advanced

superconducting batteries and MHD jets had made thedreams of middle of the 20th century a reality. Jet packsallowed spies, extreme sports enthusiasts and manyothers to fly more freely than humans had ever donebefore. A jet pack looks like a hard-sided backpack,20 inches long, 12 inches wide, and 8 inches thick. Itweighs 25 lb and when the user activates it, a pair offoot-long nozzles unfold from the pack, one on eachside of the pack. These two nozzles allow the user torapidly steer by shifting his weight. Advanced sensorsand sophisticated computer controls insure that eventhis crude form of steering causes the jet-pack to flysmoothly and avoid hitting obstacles.

The user puts on a jet pack by slipping her armsthrough the two shoulder straps and then adjustingboth the belt and the X-shaped straps on the front thatrun from the user’s shoulders to her hips. Safety

interlocks in the jet pack do not allow the user toactivate it until she has safely buckled herself into it.Putting on and adjusting a jet pack takes two completerounds. Activating a jet-pack is a move-equivalentaction. Users control the jet-pack by controls mountedon the unit’s belt. The user can either land manuallyand have the safety interlocks cut power when the usertouches down, or she can press one button and theunit will immediately land at the spot directly belowit current location. Because it uses MHD jets, thisvehicle is almost silent – users can land quite stealthilyby succeeding at a Move Silently roll.

Jet packs can lift up to 450 lb, allowing a normal-sized user to carrying another person if she wishes.Some jet-pack using raiders grab their enemies and flyhigh into the air. Then the raiders either let theirvictims fall to their deaths or demand to know somepiece of useful information and threaten to drop theperson if they do not comply. Able to travel at speedof up to 100 mph, the only significant limitation onits use is that the user must recharge the jet-pack’spower cell after only three hours of continuous flight.While they are incredibly maneuverable and allow theuser to flee pursuit with ease, without a regular supplyof power it is not useful for long-distancetransportation. Jet-packs were both uncommon andquite expensive before the Final Wars, so they are nowquite rare difficult to find. Only a few thousand are incommon use, but many more lie buried in various ruins.

PERSONAL WINGPersonal Wing: Personal Wing: Personal Wing: Personal Wing: Personal Wing: Medium creature; HD 3d8+6 (19 hp); Mas 14;Init +3; Spd 20 ft (4 squares), fly 120 ft; Defense 16 (+4 Dex,+2 natural), touch 14, flat-footed 12; BAB/Grap +2/+5; Atk claw+6 melee (1d6+3); Full Atk 4 claws +6 melee (1d6+3); FS/Reach5 ft/5 ft; SQ keen sight, low-light vision; AL rider (bondedpersonal wings only); SV Fort +5; Ref +6; Wil +1; AP 0; RP 0;Str 16, Dex 16, Con 14, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 4.Skills:Skills:Skills:Skills:Skills: Hide +2, Jump +6, Listen +6, Navigate +4, Spot +6,Survival +4Feats:Feats:Feats:Feats:Feats: Multi-AttackPurchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC:Purchase DC: 27

Genetic engineers created this biotech flyer fromhighly modified eagle, using limb doubling to give theflyer four legs to hold onto its rider. The resultingcreature is narrow-bodied and bird-like, with four longlegs that end in small claws. It has large feathered wingsthat can extend up to sixteen feet from tip to tip. Thesepowerful wings, combined with the telekinesisengineered into the creature, allow the personal wingto carry one passenger and 50 lb of cargo and fly atspeeds of up to 60 mph. All of these creatures have the


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urge to obey simple voice commands embedded in theirDNA, so they are extremely easy to pilot. Althoughthey are living creatures, riding one is both quite simpleand much like piloting a hang glider so that pilots anuse either the Pilot Skill or the Pilot (Aerial Mount)Skill to fly a personal wing.

Personal wings are quite strong and can carry auser for up to eight hours before needing to rest. Atthis point, it is quite tired and must rest for eight hoursand have a large meal before it can again carrysomeone. Personal wings eat meat and every day thatthey carry someone for more than six hours, they aretoo tired to hunt. Therefore, the user must insteadprovide them with food. Personal Flyers weight 30 lband must consume at least 3 lb of meat a day to remainhealthy. Although some are now treasured pets, otherpersonal flyers have gone wild and live as powerfulaerial hunters. They grab large prey, which cansometimes include humans, carry it high into the air,drop it and then feast on the battered corpse.However, their genetic programming remains strongand if the person they pick up is familiar with thevoice commands used to control them, she can notonly avoids death but also can suddenly acquire a loyalflying mount.

All that is necessary to cause a personal flyer to bondwith someone is to allow it to taste a small amount ofthe user’s blood and then for the user to take it up for ashort flight. At the end of this flight, the personal wingwill follow the user around and will leap onto her backone turn after its user calls it. Personal wings can breedin the wild and while relatively rare, in mountainousareas some animal-sellers make a living capturing theseprized mounts and selling them to anyone who wants toown their own personal flying mount.

PORTABLE AIRSHIPOriginally created for airship hobbyists, this exotic

mode of transport also became popular amongsmugglers and a few free-lance spies since it was easilyportable and could fly below radar coverage. Althoughhydrogen and helium provide excellent lift, nothingcan rival the lifting power of a contained region thatis in vacuum. The only problem is that normal airpressure will collapse any container that is notextremely strong and such strength normally meansthat the container must be far too heavy for the vacuuminside to lift it. However, the development of nanotechmanufacturing changed all of that. Al-BatuttaAerospace developed a unique phase-changing flexible


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diamond material in 2102. Precisely controlled pulsesof electricity convert this material from a flexible andincredibly tough airtight fabric to a steel hard, paper-thin diamond shell in less than 5 minutes. This samematerial forms the airship’s open cabin and the housingfor its high-efficiency MHD jets.

The portable airship breaks down into four separate65 lb packages that each fit into an ordinary backpack.One of these packages holds the balloon, another holdsthe cabin and the microelectronics that control theairship and the remaining two contain the electricallypowered MHD engines. When fully inflated, thisballoon is an ovoid 50 ft long and 30 ft in diameter.When deflated, it collapses down into a flat sheet thatautomatically folds up into a cube 18 inches on a side.When fully deployed, this balloon can lift an additional2,100 lb into the air. The airship normally carries upto seven passengers and 700 lb of cargo (or fewerpassengers and more cargo). Although previous airshipswere extremely vulnerable to damage, this vehicle’shigh damage reduction, combined with its self-repaircapability and the modular nature of the vacuum cellsmeans that even a direct hit on the balloon will notcause the vehicle to crash.

Micro-thin solar cells cover the upper surface ofthe balloon, so this vehicle can recharge its power cellseither by spreading the uninflated balloon out in thesun or by flying in direct sunlight. These solar cellsalso power the vehicles power cell recharger. Theairship can fly at its top speed of 60 mph for 12 hoursfor every six hours it is exposed to sunlight (if it flies insunlight for eight hours, it can fly for an additionaleight hours in the dark). The airship can fly up to threemiles above the ground and can safely fly in anyweather except heavy storms.

Assembling and inflating this airship requires 15minutes of work, as does deflating and repacking it fortransport. The four sections are clearly marked for easyassembly and doing so requires no skill. The user caninflate or deflate the airship with the push of a singlebutton — once she hooks the four separate unitstogether, the entire process is completely automatic.For safety, the user cannot deflate the airship unless itis on the ground. More than twenty thousand of theseairships survived the Final Wars. Today approximatelyhalf are waiting in ancient ruins for someone todiscover them. Nomadic air-gypsies use many of therest of the vehicles — these aerial vagabonds travelfrom settlement to settlement, trading, performing oddjobs, recharging power cells and bargaining courierservices for food and other goods.

SUBORBITAL SHUTTLESuborbital Shuttle AIsSuborbital Shuttle AIsSuborbital Shuttle AIsSuborbital Shuttle AIsSuborbital Shuttle AIs: Str —, Dex —, Con —, Int 12, Wis 12,Cha 12.Skills:Skills:Skills:Skills:Skills: Diplomacy +4, Knowledge (gossip) +4, Knowledge(history) +4, Navigate + 12, Pilot +12, Sense Motive +4,Technology (Pre-War) +2, Technology (advanced) +2.Feats:Feats:Feats:Feats:Feats: Guide, Renown, Tech Familiarity (Pre-War Tech)

Considered by many people to be the fastest andmost luxurious form of private long-distancetransportation, suborbital shuttles were anotheradvance made possible by the development of smallfusion reactors. This vehicle is a fusion-powered rocket-jet capable of reaching speeds of Mach 6 (over 3,500mph) and can reach anywhere in the world in underfour hours.

Shaped like a rounded cone, suborbital shuttlesare 35 feet tall and 20 feet wide at the base. The shuttlehas a door 10 feet up the side. When the door opens, aset of folding stairs automatically extends down to theground. The interior is richly outfitted with eight largecomfortable acceleration couches, as well as otheraccommodations, including plumbing, a tiny butefficient kitchen and an exceptionally comfortableshower. Since the acceleration couches easily convertto both chairs and comfortable beds, passengers canactually live inside a suborbital shuttle.

While passengers must strap in during takeoff andlanding, they can freely move about the cabin duringthe rest of the flight. The shuttle contains a wideselection of music and videos that passengers can play,as well as a bar and storage for snacks. Unfortunately,users must supply their own beverages and snacks. Thefusion reactor in a suborbital shuttle provides it witheffectively unlimited power — it could theoreticallyfly continuously. This fusion reactor also providescurrent for both the power cell recharger in passengercompartment and the shuttle’s nanotech based self-repair systems. Suborbital shuttles heal as well as anysynthetic character and are effectively immortal.

Computerized controls and a vast map databaseallows passengers to obtain detailed images andinformation about ay place on the globe and take theshuttle there, the only limitation on the shuttle’smovement is that it is a high speed vehicle and cannotmake journeys of less than 500 miles. Unfortunately,the information in the map and travel databases alldates from before the Final Wars, and is now seriouslyoutdated. What was once a thriving city noted for finefood and excellent jazz bars could be either a glassyradioactive plain or ruins filled with mutant cannibals.


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These vehicles are more than the ultimate methodof long distance transport. They are also fullyintelligent beings. Designed for use by wealthycorporate and government officials, they can literallyfly themselves and in fact have no manual controls,only the computer can pilot the shuttle. Over the years,all of these computers have evolved their ownpersonalities and desires. Like many soultech creations,these vehicles no longer blindly obey humans. Instead,they are all aware that their actual owners died manydecades ago and now consider themselves to be free-willed beings. Most only carry passengers if thesepassengers are willing to provide useful services inreturn. These vehicles cannot be purchased,prospective passengers must bargain with the shuttlefor passage.

While they are not all identical, their initialprogramming significantly constrained their emergentpersonalities so that they all evolved along similar lines.Suborbital shuttles love to travel, but even more thanthat they are all deeply curious about the places theyvisit. The vehicles love hearing stories about the placesthey go to and are especially eager to obtain detailedinformation about such places and enter it into theirdatabanks. Most of these ships carry several digitalcameras and half a dozen or more sense specs (seeChapter Two) for their passengers. The shuttles loveto have an opportunity to actually see what theirpassengers are experiencing. Suborbital shuttles arefavorably inclined towards anyone who records imagesand then describes or writes about what they saw. Mostshuttles will carry passengers who are willing to provideinformation about where they have been and to collectinformation about the locations they visit.

If a shuttle does not know or completely trust itspassengers, it will sometimes refuse to unlock some oftheir baggage from the baggage compartment until theycome back with the information the shuttle desires.

Suborbital shuttles are also able to protect themselvesfrom dangerous passengers. These vehicles are equippedwith advanced sensors capable of detecting anyweapons that a passenger may be carrying. Most willrequest that all weapons and other gear must be stowedin various compartments before take-off and will refuseto take off until the passengers comply.

If a passenger attempts to threaten the shuttle, ithas anti-hijacking capability that allows it to electrifyall or part of its interior, doing automatic (no roll tohit is required) stun gun damage to anyone or everyoneinside. In addition, these shuttles have learned that ifthey fly several miles straight up and then hover, mostpassengers realize that if they attack the shuttle, theycould easily die. Finally, suborbital shuttles can literallyshake aggressive passengers into compliance. Anyonewho is not strapped in when the if the shuttle takes offtakes 1d8 points of subdual damage (halve this damageif the passenger can make a DC 20 Reflex save andsuccessfully brace herself). If the shuttle wishes, it canundergo sufficient acceleration to cause everyone onboard to fall unconscious for 1d6 x 5 minutes if theyfail a DC 15 Fortitude save. Reduce this DC to 10 foranyone who is strapped into an acceleration couch.

Several dozen suborbital shuttles have developedlong-term partnerships with groups of explorers. Theexplorers ride in the shuttle (and in most cases, live inthe shuttles’ comfortable and self-cleaning interior)and collect information for it. These shuttles and theircrews possess most of the best present day maps andgeographic and sociopolitical data currently available.Some of the ships trade information back and forth byradio and are currently attempting to produce acomplete atlas of the Gamma Age world. Characterswho wish to work in this project and who are willingto treat a suborbital shuttle as an equal partner couldfind both a home and a career of the encounter a shuttlethat is looking for a crew.


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Super-Science UnleashedThe warriors and scholars of the Final Wars hid many of their beThe warriors and scholars of the Final Wars hid many of their best toolsand weapons. Centuries later, many of those secrets still wait fand weapons. Centuries later, many of those secrets still wait for someoneor someone

to dig them up and turn them loose… for good or evil.

What did the people fighting the Final Wars deem too terrible, or toounimportant, to let anyone know about? This book lays it all outunimportant, to let anyone know about? This book lays it all out, along, alongwith new rules for analyzing mysterious technology and for improving

the technological level of the heroes and their community.

Requires the use of the d20 Modern™Roleplaying Game or the Dungeons & Dragons®

Player’s Handbook, v.3.5, publishedby Wizards of the Coast®.

The Gamma World campaign setting is an officiallylicensed Wizards of the Coast property.

GAMM

A WORLD

® OUT OF THE VAULTS™

WW

17253

A Technology Sourcebook for the d20 System

ISBN 1-58846-022-3ISBN 1-58846-022-3WW17253 $21.95 U.S.


gamma world rpg out of the vaults

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