Gamma World Plus

If I had to replay Gamma World, and I know what you are thinking, just replay Gamma World - you got it! I am more thinking if I had to replay it with the rules I want to play it with, I would likely go with Mutant Future as the go-to game rules, and use the original Gamma World rules as a "stuff and monster book" for the game.

Primitive Tone

Well, for one, Mutant Future has the tone I want for the game. It begins with a feudal, medieval society. All the parts to make my idea work are there: retainers, sea travel, wilderness adventures, fully-stocked gear lists, and a monster list that would add a lot to the game. But that base level feeling of the medieval, feudal life the game captures is key - I want that contrast between the world that sank back into a more primitive time and the blasted hellscape of a high-tech society that no one goes to and the dangers of this insane wasteland are too great to comprehend.

Gamma World kind of lives on top of the ruins a bit too closely I feel, with groups seeking artifacts, rebuilding, destroying, and the ruins of the world very much a part of life. I want those ruins to be the mythical "forbidden zone" one-shall-not-go full of monsters, radiation, mutants, killer robots, hazards, storms, broken terrain, the spires of ancient buildings, flesh-eating plants, and all sorts of nasty encounters that keeps the primitive societies out. These places should be myths, locked in superstition and fear for good reason.

B/X Resources

Also, Mutant Future keeps the same hit point scale and relative balance, while still being a more modern B/X ruleset one can pull in all sorts of extras into the game with. All of Labyrinth Lord is there waiting to be mutated, changed, and recast as extras in your apocalyptic epic story. Take a demon or two, mutate them as rad-demons that live under an ancient reactor tower, and give them a thinking computer to spy on the area with. Use a giant beetle as a base monster, add mutations and color it purple, and go.

Gamma World (editions 1-4) is there for some of the things you can't get outside Gamma World. Death Machines. The iconic monsters. Micromissile launchers. Bubble cars. Some of those cool grenades. The gear. The borgs and robots. Maybe a mutation or two. I would probably convert these over as I go and enhance the list to be my own, but there are some things I remember about this game that I love that I want to see in the mutant Gamma Future game.

One exception are the more fantasy-inspired monsters introduced in the 2nd edition such as the lil and kodo dragon. These are currently in print with only the 3rd and 4th editions, and 4th looks easier to convert in from since the game is more AD&D 2nd than it is Marvel Superheroes, plus the art is there so it would be a handy resource. But the cover looks like Judge Dredd on Tatooine fighting a mutated vampire bat as he helps his anthro-dog friend out of a hole. But wow, those clouds are pretty.

It is a really 90's comic book style cover. I would have went more Heavy Metal with the fantasy elements; primitive warrior on a purple lizard holding a laser lance meets Thundarr broken future cityscapes with wild colors approach. Also, if I were in a hobby shop and this was on the shelf next to Vampire: The Masquerade? Yeah, this would be a little harder to pick up. Especially with Magic: The Gathering sucking the oxygen out of roleplaying sections during that era.

But it is your game, so change it up! Pull in other fantasy monsters and mutate away if you like those! Besides, nothing has to be as-is or was-written in a game like this. Things change. There are different models of bubble cars out there, and multiple types of Death Machines. If they are a little different, no one is going to know or well, maybe these were different models made for different reasons.

Unified Terminology

One thing I like about B/X is the terminology is unified. Gamma World was prone to shifting mechanics over the years to superhero color charts, to masses of code abbreviations, to card game mechanics, to Alernity, and to systems that were not B/X because the designers were chasing the cool factor through rules instead of the Gamma World experience. Rules alone never make something cool, and I can thing of dozens of games with great rules that are still relatively unknown - or worse, have been replaced by another clone of the original rules with a couple things changed to force you to upgrade.

If I go with a B/X sourced game, as all my base definitions and rules are on a single solid foundation. And theoretically you could use any B/X rules set (B/X Elements, DCC, and many others) to do this with the source material, I just like starting with Mutant Future because a lot of the work is done for most of what I need, and the Labyrinth Lord tie ins are strong and give me a lot to work with.

B/X = Best of Today with Yesterday

Having that base game that is compatible with today's B/X world is the key for me, plus that primitive, medieval feudal feeling. I won't have to expand Mutant Future too much outside of the rules in that book.

But for those iconic parts of Gamma World I love - I have them right over here now.

I love you B/X. You are the HTML 5 and Linux of gaming. A universal language or OS that allows everything to work together, and one that will never really go away or fade into history.