Post-Apocalyptic
The post-apocalyptic genre depicts a world in the aftermath of a terrible disaster that has ended civilization as we know it. Whether nuclear war, pandemic, climate catastrophe, alien invasion, or zombie outbreak, the apocalypse has arrived, and now it's all humanity can do to survive and try to pick up the pieces. Post-apocalyptic media is defined by scarcity, survival, harsh conditions, conflict with external natural or unnatural apocalyptic forces, other survivors, and the struggle against despair. While many post-apocalyptic narratives are bleak explorations of the breakdown of society, some also contain an undercurrent of hope, that the human spirit can overcome even great tragedy. Post-apocalypses are among the most popular setting for tabletop roleplaying games. While most folks think of Mad Max-style wastelands and zombie apocalypses, even modern fantasy is descended from a post-apocalyptic tradition, whether the successors of a fallen ancient civilization or even a far-future earth serves as its setting. Hardened survivalists, scavengers, and adventurers braving a world of scarcity, raiders, wilderness, and maybe even monsters is ripe fodder for roleplaying games. It can also be a subgenre of another type of game, bringing in the elements of fantasy, sci-fi, horror, and more into the grim future of humanity's fallen legacy.
Popular Post-Apocalyptic RPGs
CY_BORG
The world is ending. ⸐ Again and again and again and again and again a̶n̴͗d̵̥͒ ̸̎ă̶ġ̸a̵̢͗i̶͙̓n̸̡̔ ă̵̢̫̥̺̻̞n̵͔̽̿̏̓͋͠͝d̴̢̪̟͊ ̵̡̺̖̰̯͖̞̓̑̐̈́̍̋a̶̤̘̖͗͐̀̔̚̚g̴̛͇̻̦̻͇̲̈́̏à̷̩̫͒ḯ̷̡̱̀̀̀͠ṇ̶̦̔͜. Constantly in flux; shifting, distorting, always reborn as something worse. Destruction by ecological catastrophes, the fallout of history’s belligerence; by modern man-made Miseries or the blood spilled by the reckless machine of capitalist supremacy. Mankind’s greatest ability truly is to destroy itself in creative ways. Designer demise, consumer-customized death, endlessly on repeat. Poisonous space rocks, nuclear weapons, cyclical revolutions, warring nations, warring corporations, warring neighbors; pandemics, tsunamis, volcanoes. In between it all: direct person-machine interfaces, tactical neural implants, and bacteria from outer space hijacking intercellular nanorobotics. And the sky is full of ads. Everyone is interfaced/injected/infected/infested with something. Everyone wants something from everyone else. Everyone is a liar and a cheat. Everyone wants more creds. Welcome to the year 20X3. Welcome to the City of Y!̸͆̅̌”̶͌̉#̸͇̞̻̌̚”̶̨̻̘̇̉̊͆̈́͒̌̆̓̕͜#̶̖̣̘̻͖̥͕̙̀̃̈́́̄̕̕͜͠2̶̧̻̺̝̥̮̣̒͒̂͐͐̍́́͘̕̕4̴̿̌’̷̛̙͍̠̙̿ The Cy.
Mutant: Year Zero
Mutant: Year Zero takes you to the world after the great Apocalypse. Humanity’s proud civilization has fallen. The cities are dead wastelands, winds sweeping along empty streets turned into graveyards. But life remains. Among the ruins, the People live. You are the heirs of humanity – but not quite human anymore. Your bodies and minds are capable of superhuman feats. You are mutants.
Blades In The Dark
A crew of scoundrels gathers round a stolen blueprint as they plan their big score. Their target has them outnumbered and outgunned; they’re just a no-name street gang up against the rich and powerful. But they have something their mark never expects: the stone cold audacity. The guts to risk everything. And a desperate hunger to get rich or die trying. Blades in the Dark is a tabletop roleplaying game, or TTRPG, about building a criminal empire in the industrial fantasy city of Duskwall. Inspired by video games like Thief, Dishonored, and Bloodborne, as well as crime drama films and television like Heat and Peaky Blinders, players create scrappy scoundrels who commit crimes in a haunted city. They might play a smooth-talking Slide, a bloody Cutter, an ingenious Leech, or a weird Whisper (among others) to lie, cheat, and steal their way to the top. They’ll also create a Crew, the gang they operate, and which, through a series of criminal jobs, will attempt to conquer the city’s underworld. One player, the Game Master (GM), takes on the role of the world those players inhabit; they’ll play as the rival gangs, wealthy nobles, and corrupt Bluecoats that pressure the player characters from all sides; the haunted, sunless, industrial city of Duskwall; and the ghosts, demons, and occult forces that lurk behind it all.
Fallout: The Roleplaying Game
How will you re-shape the world? Will you join with a plucky band of survivors to fight off all comers and carve out your own settlement? Will you team up with pre-existing factions like the Brotherhood of Steel or Super Mutants to enforce your own ideals on the wasteland? Ghoul or robot, paladin or raider, it’s your choice - and the consequences are yours. Create your own survivors, super mutants, ghouls, and even Mister Handy robots, and immerse yourselves in the iconic post-nuclear apocalyptic world, while gamemasters guide their group through unique Fallout stories. This 2d20 edition of Fallout is as close to the bottlecap-bartering, wasteland wandering, Brotherhood battling excitement of Fallout you can get.
Mörk Borg
MÖRK BORG is a pitch-black apocalyptic fantasy RPG about lost souls and fools seeking redemption, forgiveness or the last remaining riches in a bleak and dying world. Who are you? The tomb-robber with silver glittering between cracked fingernails? The mystic who would bend the world’s heart away from it’s inevitable end? Confront power-draining necromancers, skulking skeletal warriors and backstabbing wickheads. Wander the Valley of the Unfortunate Undead, the catacombs beneath the Bergen Chrypt or the bedevilled Sarkash forest. But leave hope behind – the world’s cruel fate is sealed, and all your vain heroic efforts are destined to end in death and dismay. Or are they?
The Walking Dead Universe Roleplaying Game
The Walking Dead has always been about characters facing impossible choices in an unforgiving world. In The Walking Dead Universe Roleplaying Game, you enter into the world of the dead and must face these choices head on. You can do this at any point in the timeline – encountering familiar faces and locations, or new ones – but the hardest choice will always be the same: Who are you going to be? You will play as people struggling to survive in a hostile world. Exceptional challenges can appear from anywhere – from the lack of essential supplies, from conflicts brewing within the group, from hidden construction flaws in your safe haven, or from approaching walkers hungering for your flesh.
Frequently asked questions about Post-Apocalyptic
Blog links about Post-Apocalyptic
This Is The Way The World Ends: 6 Apocalyptic TTRPGs
Jordan Hunt explores several roleplaying games dealing with the end of the world as we know it.
The Best Places to Find A Group for the Fallout RPG
Looking to play in the world of the Fallout video game series with your friends? Look no further.
8 Zombie TTRPGs to Survive the End of the World
When the dead rise again, what will you do? Fight? Sneak? Run? Or join their shambling ranks?
Post-Apocalyptic Reviews and Actual Plays
End of the World RPG Series Review
A review of Fantasy Flight's game series where players roll up themselves as characters to face apocalyptic scenarios.
Apocalypse World Actual Play
Shadowcasters Network takes on the original Powered by the Apocalypse game, Apocalypse World, with a twist: the game takes place on Mars.
Modiphius Live | Fallout: The RPG
The publisher of the Fallout roleplaying game hosts an actual play where a ragtag band heads out into the Wasteland.
Similar genres to Post-Apocalyptic
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