After The Bomb

Infobox RPG
title = After The Bomb


caption =
designer = Erick Wujcik
publisher = Palladium Books
date = 2001
genre = Post Apocalyptic
system = Megaversal system
footnotes =

"After The Bomb" is a role-playing game published by Palladium Books in 2001. It uses the Palladium's Megaversal system, and features mutant animals, anthropomorphic or otherwise, in a post-apocalyptic setting. [Summary on RPG.net, with links to reviews http://index.rpg.net/display-entry.phtml?mainid=1620]

Setting

The storyline of "After The Bomb" introduces a post-apocalyptic setting, centered around the eastern United States, where most of the area is populated by the mutated animals that form the majority of society.

The Apocalypse

Advancements in genetics brought the cost of genetic manipulation down to the point where it became consumer technology. Extensive, widespread experimentation in the creation of transgenic species resulted in the creation of mutated animals, possessing traits from other animals. Although the creation of transgenic humans was technically illegal, everybody possessed a complete human genome; thus, the law was largely unenforcable, and a small population of humanoid mutant animals slowly accumulated.

The same technology lead to both the elimination of viral disease as a major problem, and the introduction of diseases as pranks. Kids would come to school with a vial of "homebrew" and infect the class as a joke. Because such diseases were easily cured, these pranks were regarded as "harmless".

Eventually, someone came up with a way to concoct an "incurable" disease. A virus was created which possessed an entire copy of a human genome; any cure that targeted the disease would also target the host. Someone actually made such a disease, and was probably the first to die because of it.

This disease wiped out 75% of the world's human population.

The virus infected most animals as well, and the animals that survived had human genes spliced in by the virus. These "semi-human" offspring displayed human characteristics in varying degrees.

This would have merely resulted in a mostly mutant-dominated population if the leaders of the world's governments had not made the assumption that the disease was a bio-weapon sent by their enemies. The response from all sides was all-out nuclear warfare that devastated the entire planet.

The game can be assumed to take place a generation or two after this apocalyptic event, which is referred to as "The Crash" or "The Death."

Supplements

Though this new edition of After The Bomb is a standalone with many updated rules and an entirely updated backstory, it remains compatible with the following previously released expansions

*"Road Hogs" - expands the setting to cover the west coast of the United States. [ [http://index.rpg.net/display-entry.phtml?mainid=3077 RPGnet RPG Game Index: Road Hogs ] ]
*"Mutants Down Under" - expands the setting to cover Australia. [ [http://index.rpg.net/display-entry.phtml?mainid=1730 RPGnet RPG Game Index: Mutants Down Under ] ]
*"Mutants of the Yucatan" - expands the setting to cover Mexico's Yucatan peninsula. [ [http://index.rpg.net/display-entry.phtml?mainid=3079 RPGnet RPG Game Index: Mutants of the Yucatan ] ]
*"Mutants in Avalon" - expands the setting to cover Great Britain. [ [http://index.rpg.net/display-entry.phtml?mainid=3081 RPGnet RPG Game Index: Mutants in Avalon ] ]
*"Mutants in Orbit" - a dual Rifts/After the Bomb title, it covers colonies in orbiting space stations, the moon and Mars. [ [http://index.rpg.net/display-entry.phtml?mainid=1786 RPGnet RPG Game Index: Mutants in Orbit ] ]

Changes Since the First Edition

Infobox RPG
title = After The Bomb


caption =
designer = Erick Wujcik
publisher = Palladium Books
date = 1986
genre = Post Apocalyptic
system = Megaversal system
footnotes =

The original edition of After The Bomb was a supplement to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles & Other Strangeness, a game released in 1986. The changes between the two editions reflect two principles. First, Palladium Books no longer holds the rights to publish games based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series, so an edition that included the complete new rules set had to be published. Second, the original backstory was updated to reflect over fifteen years of advances in genetics.

Included are expanded rules for the creation of mutants, including the ability to take animal disadvantages (vestigial traits) that enable one to purchase additional powers and/or human features. In addition, a new kind of mutant, the "purebred", has been introduced. Purebreds include creatures from well-established, stable blood-lines (as opposed to the essentially random mutations of most characters) and "chimeras," which are generally based upon transgenic creatures in existence today, such as spider goats.

Notes