Mutant Crawl Classics plus Mutant Future

My first game from Goodman Games was Mutant Crawl Classics (MCC), as we were big fans of Gamma World. I discovered DCC later, dismissed it as being "too much," and then spent a little more time understanding the game, falling in love with the system.

Once you understand that everything in the DCC book is optional, including the tables, the game plays like a rules-light 3.5E, functioning as a streamlined, generic, and quick system that handles a wide range of scenarios and genres.

Once I understood why the spells had so many tables and how spell-burn and spell duels worked, the floodgates were opened. Then, lay Rule Zero over the game, and all of a sudden, you have a fantastic toolbox for rules-light 3.5E.

I came to MCC looking for more of my other favorite post-apocalyptic fantasy game, Mutant Future (MF). This is another classic Gamma World-inspired retro-clone, and it still holds up well today. This game is also cross-compatible with Labyrinth Lord, providing you with even more options for reskinning and use in your game.

Mutant Future is one of the best "stuff books" for MCC, offering an impressive selection of equipment, weapons, vehicles, robots, monsters, and other items to utilize in your MCC game. As a resource and a game in its own right, Mutant Future is indispensable for the realism and grit of the setting. The MF game assumes a feudal, long-gone postapocalyptic world, but has that classic Thundarr and Gamma World vibe, where the ruins of the old world are still recognizable. MCC is more fantastical and alien, with the lost world being even farther back in time and relegated to myth and twisted legends.

MF is an excellent, B/X-style science fiction game. It is compatible with Gamma World (1st and 2nd editions) and Labyrinth Lord. By itself, it is a fantastic game.

As an expansion for MCC, it significantly enhances the game. You receive all the low-level details that MCC overlooks, including gear lists, prices, treasures, weapons, primitive water travel, and all the necessary components to support a feudal society, as well as an explanation of how "all the civilization" works. If you want to barter for an oil lamp and a mutant beast of burden, you can find them here.

These two are my "peanut butter and chocolate" post-apocalyptic games, which pair perfectly together and blend seamlessly, or are wonderful on their own.