Gamma World - Revisions - Introduction

When I opened the Gamma World box set, I immediately fell in love. Within a day I was easily able to convince my Friday group to roll up characters and start playing. The character creation was hilarious and it actually got several players to start thinking outside of the box. For example, one player took a two-handed ranged weapon and decided that it was a psychic staff that could shoot psychic bolts. He was not using the 2-handed gun with the ammunition rules, so I said "sure!" and it was done!

The game ran well enough. Some players forgot that they add their whole Con score to 12 to determine their starting HP, and not just Con bonus. It made combat VERY scary at first, especially since the porker bodyguards they were fighting could easily do more that 12 damage in a single hit.

The next day Bill ran a mini adventure, and it continued the Gamma World fun.

I began to realize that as fun as the game was, it was lacking many things. It seriously lacked some long-term content. Characters level up very quickly, and with only 10 levels, a weekly campaign could be done in several months.

It was also very wahoo. I enjoy the mutant powers, mutant animals and mutant plants. I think toning down the sheer randomness could make it much less wahoo.

Fortunately, many others have experienced this too and have already made houserules! I'm going to paste the systems I like on here.

Reoccurring Themes

* I noticed that robot maids/submissive girls are a common element in Japanese RPGs.

* Female characters dominate the NPCs of a lot of non-standard J-RPGs. I wonder if men play women a lot in those games. I didn't see that with the Japanese players, personally.

* Japanese have a much higher tolerance for cute. Cute races/characters are seen in more games than they are in the US/European games where cute and/or small races seem to be disliked or hated by many (You can't be short and be a hero in current pop culture).

Dragonball Z RPG

Boy, posting all those old rules brings back memories. It was the characters that did it. I played and replayed the same character over and over (as was intended). It's been half a decade so I have forgotten many details..

Fuji, the sumo wrestling hippopotamus human with attacks like Fuji Fire Fist and Super Sumo Slam. He was married to Yarn, an ex-motorcycle gang member who was typically feminine and loving but sometimes violent and yelling. They had a baby son named Twine, who, in appropriate cartoon logic looked like a little hippo rather than a blond-haired human. They had a small house on Penguin Island. Fuji was the den mother/sensei of the others, but especially of Tamago.

Tamago, the quiet and young Saiyan. In the main campaign, Tamago ended up marrying Dim (Sum), the queen of the Amazons because he beat her in combat (*coughRanmanibunnoichicough*). Dim Sum was older than Tamago by about 5 years and Tamago was only 15 at the time, so Fuji had a huge problem with this. Tamago had the classic moves. I don't recall a lot of personalization with his attacks.

???? the Namekian. Like his player he claimed to be stoic and insightful but was typically volatile. He was very unusual for a Namekian.. Of the three players, this player was never able to play the same character more than once. I know the namekian had a love, but I can't remember who it was. He had dragon-based attacks, but his favorite was the Dragon's Bellow, a radius blast that basically kicked the butt of everything standing next to it..

We had many adventures. We traveled to Mars to save the butt-headed Martians (see Dr. Slump for those guys). We trained in the misty mountains. We fought off gangsters. We saved Penguin Island from an army of robots (a fight that ended with Tamago's Oozaru fighting a giant robotic dinosaur). We found a subterranean mansion owned by a very rich duck man who had a bit of a Jekyll/Hyde problem. We were killed by a vengeful Arlian who wanted to see Tamago dead for being a Saiyan. We trained in the afterlife (of course) and came back to kick his butt.

Good times.

Old Dragonball Z RPG House Rules 7

Found some more. I don't know if this conflicts with the other information.

MARTIAL ARTS ACTIONS
Actions Notes
Martial Strike Strike +1d6 Damage, -3 to Hand to Hand roll.
Breakfall Take ½ normal falling damage, regain feet as a free action.
Defensive Strike Strike, adds +3 to next Evasion roll, -3 to Hand to Hand roll.
Footsweep Strike, your target falls, -3 to Hand to Hand roll.
Ki Strike Create a ranged power attack
Killing Strike Strike, -2d6 to Hand to Hand roll, ignores Defense
Martial Arts Weapons Trained in the use of all hand to hand martial arts weapons.
Martial Block As normal Block, but the difficulty is the attacker’s total roll + 5.
Martial Disarm Disarm opponent, -5 to Hand to Hand roll.
Martial Dodge As normal dodge, but +5 to Evasion roll
Martial Escape +3 to Physical rolls when escaping from a hold.
Martial Grab -1 to Hand to Hand roll, -3 to your Evasion roll this phase.
Martial Throw As normal throw, but -3 to the Action total if not made for throwing.
Nerve Strike Does 2d6 damage, ignores Defense, -3 to Evasion rolls for that phase. Opponent suffers a -3 to their rolls for a phase if the strike hits.
Offensive Strike Strike +2D6 damage, -1 to Evasion, -3 to Hand to Hand roll.
Sacrifice Throw As Martial Throw, with a -3 to Evasion, Target and Attacker both knocked down.

BASIC ACTIONS
Actions Notes
Attack Use any type of attack (including Powers).
Block Stops any one Hand to Hand attack. Difficulty is the attacker’s total roll +10. Can initiate a counterattack after a successful roll (one free attack only).
Dodge Adds +3 to Evasion rolls. May not attack this phase.
Stand Up Stand up, can only defend this phase, but may not attack or Block.
Grab -3 to Attack roll, -5 to Evasion rolls this phase.
Hold Object To maintain a hold on something (that resists or is difficult to maintain a hold) for more then one phase, must succeed in a 3d6+Physical for each person, if the holder succeeds, then the object is still held. If the object or person that is held succeeds, then it is freed.
Other Actions Any other single action the GM lets you do.
Move Move up to half your move stat, plus take one other Action (except Run or Sprint)
Run Move up to your full Move, no attacks may be made this phase.
Sprint Move up to twice your Move stat; Combat becomes ½ its normal total, and Evasion skill becomes 0 for that phase.
Throw Throw a person or object. -5 to action total if not made for throwing.
Power Up Gather Power, or use a non-attack power.

Old Dragonball Z RPG House Rules 6

TALENTS

Talents are an innate ability, (but not necessarily superhuman) that cannot be learned or taught, such as a bump of direction or the ability to see in the dark. Talents cannot be purchased (DM’s decision for certain Talents can be purchased) after character creation. The list of Talents below is a general one; which ones are available depends on each GM’s decisions about the campaign setting. Each one of these talents costs 3 points; if extra levels can be taken, each additional level costs 3 points. Some Talents provide bonus to a skill or stat; more of these talents may be created by the GM as appropriate for the campaign. If a set bonus is not listed, then use the chart below when a talent calls for ‘standard bonus steps’. Talents that have a level variable can range up to 5th level unless the GM decides otherwise. Unless otherwise noted, the bonus is +1 per level.

Talent Name Description
Acute Senses (X) One of your five senses (sight, sound, smell, touch, taste) is extremely acute. When using the specified sense, you will have a +3 bonus to Perception rolls. Each level of acute senses becomes one new scent, the bonus do not stack.

Ambidexterity You can use tools and weapons with either hand at no penalty (normally – 3 for using off-hand).

Animal Empathy Animals like you; they will never attack you unless provoked. You always seem to attract whatever animals are common to the area, and they will immediately gravitate to your side; although they may not necessarily do what you ask them to.

Beautiful/Handsome (X) You are extremely good looking; people will automatically stop and stare at you when pass, and you are generally surrounded by admirers, In addition, you automatically have a +1 bonus per level to your Mind skill for every level taken when dealing with social rolls.
Blind Reaction You can counterattack (in hand to hand only) with no negative modifiers for darkness or being obscured (-3), even if you can’t see or hear your opponent.

Breathing Regulation (X) This talent allows a character to hold their breath longer than the normal period of time. A normal human can hold their breath for six minutes. Each level allows you to hold your breath 5 minutes longer. For example, at level four you would be able to hold your breath for an extra 20 minutes.

Combat Sense (X) Your reflexes are keyed for danger; you automatically react faster to danger then anyone else. You add the bonus to your initiative.

Conditioned (X) You are in great shape! Add +10 to your Endurance stat for each level of this Talent.

Double Jointed You can bend your limbs and joints in impossible ways. You can fit into any space equal to half your height and width and it is impossible to tie you up or entangle you with a single rope; you can only be restrained using restraints like cuffs, shackles, or nets.

Hide Power Level Described in the DBZ: The Frieza Saga Book (pg. 81)

Immunity You are immune to the effects of one specific poison or disease group (must specify).

Light Sleeper You wake instantly from even the lightest touch or smallest sound (no check Mind check required).

Luck (X) A character with this talent has incredible luck. Each level of luck acts as a point pool to use on any skill roll (both combative and non-combative). You do not need to use the entire bonus on a single roll, but you can if you wish. You can use the points once each game. For example Blue has Luck at level 3, giving him a +3 bonus. He decides to use 1 point from his luck to add to his Evasion roll, giving him a +2 left. He then uses the other 2 on his Fighting roll when attacking his opponent. His total becomes a 0, and he can not use the points until the next game (or when the GM declares) at which point they are restored in full.

Martial Arts (X) For every level you purchase of Martial Arts, you gain 10 points to purchase Maneuvers from a specific Martial Arts list. Points can not be divided between two styles. When you gain this talent, your Power Level becomes [Physical + Mental + Combat + Move + Highest Martial Arts Value (or Weapon Value, whichever is greater)] x 2. However, if you have both Power Up and Martial Arts, use the following method: [Physical + Mental + Combat + Move + Highest Martial Arts Value (or Weapon Value, whichever is greater) + Power Value] x 5.

Dark Vision You can see in all but absolute darkness.

Power Up You had training to access your Ki. The new method to determine your Power Level becomes: [Physical + Mental + Combat + Move + Power Value] x 2. However, if you have both Power Up and Martial Arts, use the following method: [Physical + Mental + Combat + Move + Highest Martial Arts Value (or Weapon Value, whichever is greater) + Power Value] x 5.

Read Power Level Described in the DBZ: The Frieza Saga Book (pg. 81)

Resilient (X) Each level of this Talent adds to your Recovery stats, letting you bounce back from damage faster than normal.

Sense Power Level Described in the DBZ: The Frieza Saga Book (pg. 82)

Simulate Death You can lower your heart rate and breathing to such a low level that it is a Legendary Difficulty to tell whether you are dead or not.

Strong Willed (X) You are incredibly difficult to shake up mentally. Each level of this Talent adds to your Resistance.

Old Dragonball Z RPG House Rules 5

TRAINING

Basic Training

Experience for training each week
Light – 2 OP / 0 XP
Medium – 4 OP / 5 XP
Heavy – 6 OP / 10 XP
Intense – 8 OP / 15 XP
Hyper – See Below
Multiple Gravities – See Below
Hyper Training
Sometimes, you just don't have time to bleed. You need to get better, like way better, and this can be done like so: First decide how much time you want to reduce it to (i.e. 1/2, 1/4, 1/8). Then you need to see if your body can handle the new speed. Multiply the reciprocal by the base difficulty 10 (Example: if you wanted to take 1 day to complete what would be considered a week of training you would find the difficulty is 70, 10 X 7 = 70), you can power up to help. A good example of hyper training would be Goku's training on the way to Namek. How else could he have taken on the Ginyu Force when he couldn't handle Vegeta on Earth, unless you just want to go w/ bad story telling?
Endurance cost per day
Light - 4
Medium - 8
Heavy - 16
Intense – 32

Once your endurance reaches 0, skills that rely on physical movement become 0, and you’re Physical, Move and Combat stats function at half their normal score. You are EXAUSTED!
It requires 24 hours to restore 50% of your endurance when it reaches 0. Until the 24 hours have passed, you still act as if you were exhausted.

Endurance Cost in Combat
8/Round (2/phase)

Combat is very straining, both physically and emotionally. If your character is engaged in fighting he looses endurance points per phase. When your endurance reaches 0, you are exhausted (see above).
It is recommended that each character lose the 8 Endurance after each round. However, if the GM wants to, each player could instead subtract 2 endurance points per phase they fight in instead of the universal 8.


Training under Multiple Gravities

Difficulty for going to a new gravity from and old gravity
(New Gravity – Old Gravity)*5 = Modifier VS. Physical + Body + 3D6
A character must make a successful roll to be able to train under gravity when they first arrive in the. When you train for four weeks under a new gravity you no longer have to roll to sustain the gravity.
Example = Sneaker enters an area where the Gravity is 10Gs. He was used to 1G. When he first enters the area, he needs to make a DR 45, if he remains in the area and does not leave, he does not need to make another roll. If he leaves 10Gs and goes back to 1G, then RETURNS to 10Gs, he needs to re-roll the DR 45. You need to succeed in 4 rolls (4 weeks) to get used to the gravity. If Sneaker remained in the 10Gs from one week to the next, he automatically succeeds at the roll, since the New Gravity is 10Gs, and the Old Gravity is 1G (10-10)*5 = 0. The DR is 0.

Experience for training under multiple gravities
If you have been training under multiple gravities, take the gravity you have trained in for a month and multiply by 5. For example, if Sneaker trained under 10Gs for a month he would multiply 10 by 5, then he would get 50 experience points after training for a month.

Endurance Cost
(New Gravity – Old Gravity) = Modifier
Add the modifier to the standard Endurance cost, depending on the level of training.
For example, if a character goes from Gravity 1 to Gravity 10, they need to make a DC 45. Then, if they do light training, it costs 13 endurance per day ([10-1] + 4 = 13). Combat under extreme gravity is measured in the same way. So if the character were to fight in the area, they loose 17 endurance per round.

The Pendulum Room at Kami’s Lookout

The Pendulum room allows enormous amounts of time to pass in a single pendulum stroke. The best way to play this is for the GM to treat the entire event as an adventure (complete with training sessions, many battles and mondo challenges) that happens in a split second as the Pendulum swings. Sure the Pendulum Room is just a virtual/magical reality. But it’s real enough to those who dare to enter its secret sanctum, and worth at least a few hundred points.

Use Magical or other enhancements (like cybernetics or mutations)

These are freebies best left to the GM’s imagination. In general, they should be rewards for a tough battle or a critical adventure, and never be more than one or two hundred points.

Weighted Clothing
If you train in weighted clothing for at least a year of in-game time, your Combat, Physical, and Move skill level and Fighting value will automatically increase by 25% (round up) when it is removed (this affects your Power Level temporarily). However, you must immediately replace the clothing and continue to wear it as usual after the battle is over or lose the advantage it gives you.

Get zapped to the Other World and get Special Training with King Kai

This will get you a nifty 30 experience points a day! (This worked great for Goku, who few months of training was the equivalent of 1,000 years on Earth!). The draw backs are you have to get blasted out of this dimension (aka killed), talk King Yemma into letting you study under King Kai, travel Snake Way to get there, and then finally get someone to gather all the Dragon Balls together to wish you back to Earth. Sure, it’s 30 experience points a day, but you’re going to have to really work for them!

Old Dragonball Z RPG House Rules 4

Order of Combat

Step 1 - Initiative
Initiative is determined by the highest Mental. Those with equal Mental must roll a d6, the highest score gains the first initiative.

Step 2 – First Attacks
To attack normally or with a special technique
Attacker's Combat + Fighting Value + Modifiers + 3d6
Vs.
Defender's Combat + Evasion Value + Modifiers + 3d6

To attack with a power attack
Attacker must make a Use Power check:
Attacker's Combat + Power Value + Modifiers + 3d6
Vs.
Total difficulty

If successful, then
Attacker's Combat + Power Value + Modifiers + 3d6
Vs.
Defender's Combat + Evasion Value + Modifiers + 3d6

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Martial Arts
*at some point I purchased the Hero martial arts book and used the martial arts presented in that book. It was a completely different system that I did not know but somehow it worked for what we wanted.

Converting Damage
1. When converting martial arts to DBZ, Killing damage remains as is, but ignores Defense.
2. When converting DC modifiers from Hero, change the modifier to whole d6's, so a Weapon +1 DC becomes Weapon +1d6 damage.
3. Damage from unarmed Strike attacks remain the same. So a Hook strike with Damage listed as STR +4d6 Strike becomes Phys +4d6 damage.
4. NND Damage is listed as is and ignores Defense. So a Arm Bar attack deals 1d6 damage straight to Hits.

OCV/DCV
If the martial arts maneuver is an attack, use the OCV value, if the maneuver is a defensive move, use the DCV.

Phases (Phs)
Round all Phs up to the nearest whole number.

Skills and Elements
Elements are gained when the style is learned. These are free bonuses. Ignore the Skills section.

Example Converted Martial Arts

Sumo
Maneuver Phase Pts Modifier Damage/Effect
Escape 1 4 DCV +0 +15 Phys vs. Grabs
Grab 1 3 OCV -1 Grab, +10 to Phys for holding
Grappling Throw 1 3 OCV +0 Phys +2d6 Strike; Target Falls; Must Follow Grab
Root 1 4 DCV +0 Phys +15 to resist Shove; Block, Abort
Shove 1 4 OCV +0 +15 Phys to Shove
Slap 1 4 OCV +2 Phys +2d6 Strike

((eh.. Making those into neat colums would take more time than it's worth))

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Special Power Attack Rules

For each point of Power put into an energy attack, it turns into 1 point of damage. So a 100-point Kamehameha deals out 100 points of damage. Defense modifies the damage as normal.

Basic special effects that can be added to a Power attack:
Homing: Allows a second roll to hit if the first attempt misses. +20 cost.
Bending: Can arc the chi attack 90º. +5 cost per angle.
Area Effect: +5 cost per every 5-foot radius you add to the area of effect of the attack. This is an explosion that takes effect when the chi blast hits an object and all within the targeted area of effect take full damage.
Delay: +2 cost per every phase the attack lasts before dealing damage.
Rapid Fire: +10 cost per additional target.
Deadly Effect: +1 cost for every 10 points of Deflection negated.

All of these effects can be added "on the fly."

Unless otherwise noted, a Power blast will travel in a straight line up to 10 times the damage of the attack. So a 25-point energy blast will travel up to 250 feet (25 Hexes). This will be in a straight line, and the attack will do full damage and effects to whatever it first hits, so beware when fighting in a crowded city street! Innocents can easily be killed.

Unless otherwise noted, a blast that hits an object will explode with a radius of 1 Hex from the target area/50 damage. Therefore, a 180-point ki blast will explode in a circular area 3 hexes wide. The target takes damage as normal. All others in the area can avoid the blast as normal, but if hit, take 1/4 the damage (round down)

When a character uses a power for the first time, or applies special modifiers to the power, they must make a Power skill check. To successfully use a power, the difficulty is Power Cost/10. So a 100 point Kamehameha with rapid fire on three targets has a Difficulty 30. To match or beat the difficulty, the attacker must make a Combat + Power Skill + 3d6. If the roll fails, the attack is uncontrolled, and shoots straight in front of the user, going maximum distance.

To avoid an uncontrolled attack, a person must roll Combat + Evasion skill + 3d6 vs. Attacker's Combat + Power skill + 3 (the attacker does not roll, the effects are as if the attacker rolled to hit with a 3).

Deflection
Deflection acts the same way as a power attack, so a person with a Defense of 10, and Deflection of 50 reduces a 100-point ki blast into 40 point ki blast.

If a person's Deflection is equal to a Power attack, and less than twice the damage of the power attack, then the attack does not damage. If the person's Deflection equals to or is greater than twice the damage of the power attack, then the person may deflect the attack either back at the original attacker or in another direction. The energy still can go no further than its original distance. The person deflecting the attack rolls to hit with an energy attack as normal.

If a character is struck by a physical attack and takes damage from that attack, their Deflection may drop. They must make a Power skill check vs. the Difficulty of Deflection Strength + Damage taken from the physical attack. If they fail the check, the deflection is dropped. So, a person with a 40-point Deflection is struck with a punch that ultimately deals 25 points of damage (after Defense is taken to account). To maintain their Deflection, the person must beat a difficulty of 65.

Special Techniques
These are special physical attacks that are taught with a form of martial arts. Since the Ultimate Martial Artist book does not cover these, the GM and players are free to come up with their own special techniques. Techniques are created in the following way:
Step 1: Determine the starting maneuver of the attack. Use pg 9 of the rulebook to act as a guide. ((which rulebook? I don't remember))
Step 2: Determine additional properties. For each dice of additional damage or property, the attack suffers a -1 to OCV/DCV value.
Step 3: Create name and image of attack.
Step 4: Get DM's approval.