Castles & Crusades can play classic TSR settings like the amazing Gamma World. Now, why do this? Gamma World has rules, and they work like a B/X system. What do you gain?
For one, a universal task resolution mechanic in the SIEGE Engine. You can just roll under attributes for task resolution in B/X style games; that isn't enough. Still, having a universal system that handles skills, saves, and attributes is excellent.
What really lures me in are Castles & Crusades' thematic classes. Gamma World doesn't have classes, and being able to play a fighter, rogue, or monk feels right in a post-apocalyptic fantasy setting. The magic you will need to decide on, do you "skin" magic as a Thundarr-style "sorcerer who wields ancient power from nanites, alien power sources, or some other source?" Or do you get rid of magic entirely? This is your choice, but I would lean towards the re-skin of this and make it a mysterious force. Even divine magic can be a sort of Mutant Crawl Classics style, "serving a higher power or sentient AI" sort of power granted, so it can be explained too.
Damages, gear, and mutations would all stay the same. Mutations are rolled and used like the mutation chart and used as-is. You select a character type when beginning, human, mutant, or mutated animal, and then pick a class. If your character type has mutations, roll for them as usual. Humans get +3 to CHR and the bonuses mentioned for interacting with robots and computers.
Hit points are a particular case since, in Gamma World, you start out with hit points equal to CON d6. For C&C Gamma World, I would start out with HALF of CON in the hit die for your class, so a fighter with a CON of 14 would start with 7d10 hit points. You then gain hit points typically as you level, 1d10 per level. The random leveling chart for Gamma World is not used. All the class benefits in C&C are used as standard.
For melee and ranged weapon damage, I would make it so every +1 of the ability modifier adds one die to melee and ranged weapon damage. In the old Gamma World, a longsword did 1d8+STR modifier, and melee weapons were always feeble compared to a laser pistol that did 5d6. With characters starting with 30 and 50 hit points, what good were d8 melee weapons? If our fighter had a +3 STR modifier, his longsword would do 4d8. For weapons without damage dice, assume a 1d6. Also this applies to energy weapons as well as primitive ranged weapons.
This is a high-damage, high-hit-point game.
Now here is where the hack gets interesting. Up until now, this is a standard conversion. Do you want more modern character types, such as bounty hunters, soldiers, private detectives, and gadgeteers? Pick up a copy of Amazing Adventures, and you have a sourcebook for classes that could come from more advanced, underground "survivor communities" like the vaults in Fallout. Since AA is more pulp/steampunk/Bock Rogers/classic B&W serial focused, the theme fits better with a retro-future Gamma World setting than a more modern interpretation of survivor classes. A gadgeteer roaming through Gamma World would be extremely fun, and playing a group of soldiers from a vault heading out to look for parts and resources would be a fun mission and clash of cultures.
Ignore the high-tech weapons in AA (and its sister game Starsiege) and use the Gamma World weapons and gear instead. C&C and AA are here to provide mechanics and classes; gear comes from Gamma World. Also, ignore the artifact chart unless you really want to use it; a simple INT save would tell you if you figure a device out with a critical fail indicating disaster.
Armor should be more like C&C, and you must convert old-style AC to C&C AC (10 - GW AC = C&C AC). High-tech armors may need to be adjusted (even doubled) or given damage reduction equal to AC (or higher) to be viable. I would be tweaking armor protection through the game as we played, and this is the more tricky part of the hack. My first guess is to keep AC values the same and give high-tech armor a damage reduction equal to 1-3X the AC, depending on the protection. When DR drops to zero, the armor could be broken (but still may provide AC protection).
So the best armor in Gamma World (AC 1 powered assault armor) would be +9 AC and give 27 points of damage reduction. Hits that equal or beat 50% of DR likely knock d4-1 points off DR each time (until repaired). Penetrating hits may be a d6. Given the higher damages, I may give all armors some form of DR; again, this is a "see how it goes" hack.
For the more low-tech communities and survivor towns, use the C&C classes. Let them be the ones who have learned to figure out "magic" while keeping the vault dwellers in the dark about the fantastic new powers the outsiders have developed. The vault dwellers will have the gadgets and technology edge.
That is all there is to this hack, and you have an interesting class-based version of Gamma World with options for vault communities and characters.
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