Mail Room: Gamma World (3rd Edition)

1986.

Chernobyl. The space shuttle Challenger. Iran-Contra.

Top Gun. Aliens. The second year of the Nintendo Entertainment System.

We were still crayoning the dice.

Gamma World 3rd Edition.

I got this one in the mail recently, and my preference for the pre-Wizards editions is 2nd, 1st, 3rd, then 4th. That said, this is a very complete version of the game (with errata) and recommended, and it keeps a good balance between mutations and gear. The artwork is often stunning.

A big addition is the action table - used for every roll in the game and a precursor to the simpler one used in Marvel Superheroes. A lot of the game feels shoehorned into using this table, and the rules bloat as a result - the damage section goes nearly six pages and gets into all sorts of detailed Aftermath style conditions and effects - burns, infections, radiation, system shock, stuns, sunburn, steam, frostbite, electrical damage, rotting, and all sorts of other effects where my mind shuts down and begs for a simple hit point damage system.

In the PDF there is a rules and errata supplement we never got, and this features the cryptic alliances missing from the book (years later I get these I know) - and some major clarifications for the action table's results. Plant mutations are given. We get a price list. A large vehicle and equipment list. Complete is an understatement here.

I like this version of the game, we played it, but this is where it started to decline for us. Again, our group was still big on Aftermath, and even that game felt more streamlined than this one with its d20 roll-under mechanic. Having to go to the d100 chart for every roll in the game felt cumbersome for us, it worked for a while but we grew tired of it quickly. The chart did provide for a lot of special results and levels of success, but Marvel Superheroes (MSH) did this soon after with a much more simplified table and mechanics. This (along with the Indiana Jones game) felt like the beta-test for the more unified and simpler tables later on.

That said, I wish the mutations could have been handled like MSH powers - they would have been much more powerful and usable, and honestly, mutations should be the superpowers that equalize the balance between the old age and the new. I like the fantasy elements, but the beginning of worshipping on the altar of the ancients begins here, and our losing interest because the conflict becomes a scavenging arms race.

All that said, this is probably the best reference guide on classic Gamma World out there, if you can forgive the bloat in the rules and the errata adding critical parts of the game that were left out. It does feel like some of the 4th Edition's "gear worship" is sneaking in here, as you look at what is highlighted in the art and theme of the game. Gear are the game's magic items, and those are your primary route to power and influence.

I wish they would have kept this to the D&D rules, which again is why Mutant Future is so appealing to me these days. I don't want to learn (or re-learn) a new set of rules to play this, and honestly, Gamma World is better off the similar it is to the current version of D&D on the shelf - just because this is a niche genre, and having rules that match what everyone plays makes it easier to find players. This is why OGR versions appeal to me so much these days, I am not asking five or six people to spend money, read hundreds of pages, and learn an entirely new game for a night of fun. There is the retro kitsch factor to this game, but for my tastes being able to play with a larger pool of potential players (and compatible material) is a huge plus.

Even back in the day I feel this would have been a better plan for the game. Make it an alternative experience, one rooted in and supported by the current version of the game, but keep the rules people know. I feel recently, Starfinder made a mistake like this in changing things too much, and you were forced to learn a new set of rules to play. Alternate games, especially from companies with hit games, should pull from standardized or current shipping sets of rules. More potential players is a good thing.

More on this one soon, and it is fun to have a printed copy in my hands again.