Atomic Highway : PDF for FREE!

                       That's right this Road Warrioresque RPG is now available for FREE!!! 

Resources for P.A. Games : SCOUT

While browsing at my local Comic shop recently I came across this:

It's a guidebook to the early 80's comic series by Timothy Truman.  I must admit I don't recall this series, from that time, but it looks really cool.  I picked this up, it was only $2, has several maps, character bios and some equipment from the series.  Truman even mentions in the intro that he did this handbook partly from talking to RPG'ers at various Con's over the years. 
The setting is in Western Post Apocalyptic America, where it wasn't bombs that destroyed the U.S. but instead a slow painful series of disasters, economic downturns and other general backslides.  A second Civil War has occured. I see alot of lootable ideas for my P.A. Games.  The central character; Scout is an Apache ex-Ranger waging a war against the corrupt Government of New America.  It seems more Road Warrior than Gamma World (no mutants and such), so should be a great resource for those of you playing Atomic Highway, but I can see borrowing ideas from it for different games.
Anyways just thought I'd share.
Happy Father's Day to everyone! 

Atomic Highway : Twisted Armageddon

Sorry for being so post happy today, finally feeling better I suppose.
Anyways I've posted about the cool P.A. RPG Atomic Highway in the past, I recently learned of an expansion for the setting check it out!

No release date that I've been able to find, according to Colin, the Radioactive Ape Designs Man himself, it will include "Aliens, cybernetics, zombies, killer robots, retro-future and alien tech...".
He indicated this will include:

* Zombie Apocalypse
* Alien Invasion Apocalypse
* Rise of the Machines Apocalypse
* Oddly familiar "Retro-Future" Apocalypse
* Cyber Apocalypse

Woo Hoo Sounds right up my alley!  -B

Atomic Highway RPG Youtube Reviews

 

I've found a couple of reviews for the new Atomic Highway RPG. Neither of these were done by me, but I agree with the two guys about the coolness of the Atomic Highway RPG.  Check 'em out if your interested.

Atomic Highway Review Part 1
Atomic Highway Review Part 2

and another reviewers opinions about Atomic Highway, this one goes into a bit more detail about the mechanics and such.

Atomic Highway Review Part 1
Atomic Highway Review Part 2

Torch (Villain for Atomic Highway)

 I just realized I failed to post my Dreadnok write-up of Torch!  Oops!
So without further ado I present...


Torch

"That was a racing stripe? Looked to me like a line to cut along!"
Race: Human
Rearing: Nomad
Pursuit: Raider
Muscle 3
Understanding 1
Tenacity 3
Appeal 3
Nimbleness 3
Toughness 3
Senses 2
Health 18
Fortune 5

Skills
Athletics 1
Boat 1
Brawl 2
Criminal 2
Drive 2
Intimidate 2
Melee 3
Notice 2
Persuade 1
Shoot 3
Scavenge 2
Stealth 2
Survive 2
Tech 2

Weapons: knife M+2L, specially modified Acetylene-torch 12L/4L (initial/continuing fire damage)
Armor: None
Clothing: boots, black leather vest, blue jeans.
Gear: sunglasses, mechanics tools, duct tape, various chains.
He has a Motorcycle that he has “enhanced”. He has increased its Toughness (+2), Speed (+1), and made it off-road capable. At one time he had a better motorcycle but he got carried away with his torch and it is now scrap.

     Torch is one of the founding members of the Dreadnoks and many consider him to be the dumbest member of the gang. It is believed that before joining the Dreadnoks he spent time as a member of a gang of River Raiders and it was during that time that he developed his skill and fondness of working with a cutting torch. His stupidity coupled with his unpredictable acts of random violence makes him a dangerous person to be around under any circumstances. He loves to take apart complicated mechanical devices in the least complicated manner possible, which for him is slicing them into scrap metal with his customized cutting torch. Torch is quite skilled with the cutting torch but requires supervision if he is doing any actual repairs, he tends to get carried away with the cutting.

Atomic Highway First Playtest

 I finally had a bit of free time last night to do a bit of gaming.  I've been reading the Atomic Highway rules; I've made up a few characters and vehicles so it was time to give the rules a test spin.  For this playtest session I kept things simple.  One character, Sgt. Green armed with machete and shotgun wearing light armor vs. 5 Savage Cannibals armed with spears and knives with no armor...

  Sgt. Green a young sentinel upon hearing of a recent cannie raid on an outlying 'Stead set out to investigate.  The savages had killed an entire family and had kidnapped a young girl. 
Sgt. Green tracked the savages down to the ruins of a town, he spent some time observing the ruins from a nearby rock.

 

He was able to determine the band was made up of five members and the girl was apparently being kept in a ruined theater in the heart of town.  (Made some great Notice rolls)

Waiting until dusk, Sgt. Green attempted to sneak into the lightly guarded edge of town, thinking he could take out some of the savages before they were aware of his presence.

Sgt. Green's inexperience has caused him to make a bad decision, the savages all spot him with ease, he might as well have announced his presence with a bull horn. (The Tribals had great Notice skill and Green rolled terribly, or maybe it was the noisy mutant taun taun in the distance lol), The Savages let out a war cry and attack!

The nearest savage charges him and is blown to smithereens by Sgt. Green's shotgun. (I rolled several successes on this one, nasty damage!!)

Combat ensues the rest of the Savages quickly move up and engage Sgt. Green in Mortal Combat! Two more Savages fall, Sgt. Green skillfully dodges their thrown spears.

What's this? The young girl has been left unguarded! and has apparently gotten loose from her bindings!

More brutal combat!! Down to the last two Savages, Green makes a gamble killing the wounded savage to get him out of the fight, but one savage is left unhurt, and now Green is VERY injured!

Sgt. Green spies the young girl fleeing in the distance!  Whatever the outcome of this fight, he has saved the girl!!

Green fought bravely, but he is slain by the last Savage.  His inexperience and overconfidence was his undoing!

Comments...
This game can be brutal if you don't think and plan your tactics, my first mistake was thinking I could sneak up on a group of tribals, every darn one of them noticed me in a big way and combat ensued, No sneaking, no cover just full out mayhem. I did well initially...having the only firearm made a big difference, with my high shooting skill the shotgun was sweet, but after easily taking out two savages the third got a spear in me, I couldn't dodge this one, then things got rough, they were all over me, I injured another one, and only the use of a fortune point (taking away one of the savages successes) kept me from a skewering death from a spear, then it was all about dodging and shooting, I made some more tactical mistakes at this point, I wasted my remaining fortune points (These are kinda like Fate Points/Action Points/Hero Points etc.) trying to shoot and stab with my machete, I sucked with the machete so those points would have been better spent elsewhere, then when down to me and the last two savages I opted to shoot the injured one, which killed him BUT that left me vs. a healthy savage, I was now pretty hurt, only my armor kept me up but the penalties for being so injured were adding up, a couple more rounds of intense combat ensued, me bloody trying to take down the last savage, I hurt him but in the end he butchered me with his spear...*whew* what a fight! Cool game! Combat is very cinematic compared to other games I have played, and firearms are freakin' brutal especially when you get to reroll natural "6"'s until you don't get anymore "6"'s I made one savage utter paste with some great rolls.  There are optional rules which I could have used that would have made the savages more like minions/cannon fodder but I wanted to go with a harder fight.
-Good Gaming!  Bill

Ripper (Villain for Atomic Highway)

Ripper
"There's nothing like it in the whole world! Destruction and wreckage!"
Race: Human
Rearing: Nomad
Pursuit: Raider
Muscle 3
Understanding 1
Tenacity 3
Appeal 2
Nimbleness 3
Toughness 4
Senses 2
Health 20
Fortune 5

Skills
Athletics 1
Brawl 2
Criminal 4
Drive 3
Intimidate 2
Melee 4
Notice 2
Persuade 1
Shoot 3
Scavenge 1
Stealth 2
Survive 2
Tech 1

Weapons: knife M+2L, Assault Rifle 10L w/ jagged bladed bayonet M+7L,
Armor: None
Clothing: boots, ripped sleeveless yellow camouflage shirt, light blue jeans.
Gear: sunglasses, mechanics tools, Jury-Rigged “Jaws of Life” w/ power source, necklace, Case of Grape Soda. He may have other weapons gear (even grenades) depending on the gangs recent raids, he is hard on equipment and most gear doesn't last long in his possession.
He has a Motorcycle that he has “enhanced”. He has increased its Toughness (+2), Speed (+1), and made it off-road capable.

     Ripper is mean, nasty and is the epitome of anti-social behavior and those are his good qualities. Since a young age Ripper has been a vicious criminal. He worked his way through several nomad gangs, none could handle his surliness and nasty attitude, until he met up with a group that met his cruelness with equal bile, the group became the Dreadnoks, Ripper is considered a founding member of this feared raider gang. Not noted for his smarts, there is some debate as to whether or not Ripper or Torch are the dumbest members of the gang.  Ripper loves violence and tearing things up! Oh and he's also partial to grape soda and chocolate covered donuts!
Ripper and Dreadnoks is copyright Hasbro corporation. No copyright infringement is intended.

Buzzer (Villain for Atomic Highway)

Buzzer

Race: Human
Rearing: Remnant
Pursuit: Raider
Muscle 3
Understanding 2
Tenacity 3
Appeal 2
Nimbleness 3
Toughness 3
Senses 2
Health 18
Fortune 5

Skills
Athletics 1
Brawl 1
Criminal 2
Drive 2
Intimidate 1
Lore 2
Melee 1
Notice 1
Persuade 1
Shoot 2
Scavenge 2
Stealth 1
Survive 1
Tech 3

Weapons: knife M+2L, light chain M+2L ,chainsaw M+10L, Light Crossbow 8L (w/ 12 bolts).
Armor: None
Clothing: boots, gloves, scarf, torn t-shirt, pants.
Gear: Gas Mask, Geiger counter, Sunglasses (Mirrored), Basic Mechanic's Tool set, gas can (chainsaw fuel). Smoke Grenade, Tear Gas Grenade
     Buzzer wasn't always a savage raider he was originally born and raised in a remnant community, educated in reading, writing and other lore that is now lost to most of the rest of the world. However, on his first expedition outside his community he observed a band of raiders in the distance raising hell at a nearby 'Stead. He knew from then on that the Raider life was for him! He joined up with the raiders and has been a loyal member of the Dreadknoks ever since. He prefers to enter melee with his chainsaw wielding it to frightening effect. But will use his Light Crossbow in a pinch. If things are really dire he will don his gas mask, hurl his smoke and gas grenades and cut loose with his chainsaw, cutting his way to his Super Bike and escape!

     He has a Ducati 1198 (Super Bike) that he is always tinkering with. He has increased it's Toughness (+1), Speed (+1), Muscle (+1), and made it off-road capable.

Just a quick post tonite.  Work has slammed me the past few days.  I'm behind on my emails so if you've emailed I promise to get back with you soon! -B

Cow Car (a vehicle for Atomic Highway)

I'm continuing to read through the Atomic Highway rules, the feel of the game is sort of Road Warrior meets Fallout!  I've made up a character, but theres more to the rules than just characters, you can work up vehicles too, nothing heavily detailed or overly clunky mind you.  I'm not into having to calculate anything complicated. And to be honest I don't recall ever really working up a vehicle of my own for any other Campaign.  So this is something I've never done before!  I present to you the Cow Car!!

Cow Car
"The Spotted Speedster"
Muscle 1
Nimbleness 3
Toughness 1
Speed 5
Passengers: Driver
Health 30
Cost 11
Customizations: Increased Speed (Reduced Weight), Smoke Dispenser
Flaws: Decreased Muscle (Lightweight), Decreased Toughness (flimsy paneling)
     The Cow Car is about one thing, Speed! It is basically a powerful engine with a lightweight frame with cow hide tacked on for sheer tackiness factor. The car only has enough room for a driver and no passengers. A smoke dispenser has been installed in the rear to obstruct the view of potential ranged weapon attacks and pursuers in order to give the driver of the cow car those precious seconds to speed away. And the driver had best high tail it at the first sign of trouble because this vehicle will be seriously crunched in a fight. No weapons have been installed on this vehicle in order to achieve maximum speed, there isn't much solid to attach serious firearms too anyways.

Loosely based on a car that was supposed to be used in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, but the scene was cut from the final movie.

Righteous Rude (a character for Atomic Highway)

 As I posted last night I got the new Post Apocalyptic RPG; Atomic Highway.  I got to actually sit down and read it for a bit. I decided the best way to get a handle on it was to make up a character. So below is my very first character made for Atomic Highway.  Creation was quite easy. So without further ado I present:
Righteous Rude

Righteous Rude

Player: Brutorz Bill
Race: Human
Rearing: 'Steader
Pursuit: Sentinel

Muscle 4
Understanding 2
Tenacity 2
Appeal 2
Nimbleness 3
Toughness 3
Senses 2

Health 18
Fortune 5

Skills
Athletics 2
Brawl 2
Drive 1
Heal 1
Intimidate 3
Lore 1
Melee 3
Notice 3
Persuade 2
Ride 1
Shoot 4
Stealth 2
Survive 1
Tech 1

Weapons: knife x2 M+2L, Nightstick M+4N, Combat Pistol 10L (fully loaded)

Armor: Heavy Leather Jacket w/ leather pants and selective plate reinforcement on chest. Face guard. Protection 2

Clothing: Pants (black), boots, shirt (black), scarf, heavy work gloves.

Gear: Binoculars, badge, flashlight. He has some sort of communications headset, and at times is seen talking into it. Who he is talking with is unknown, some claim it doesn't work and he is simply insane, others say it is his home outpost and he is gathering intel for a big raid. Still others claim he is talking to a network of Law Dogs working together to bring law and order back to the Wasteland.  No one knows for certain and Righteous Rude isn't telling.
     Very little is known about the Lawman known as Righteous Rude. It is believed he grew up far beyond the known bartertowns. Some claim he grew up in a military outpost of some sort. What happened to his people is unknown, what is known is that it apparently wasn't pleasant and Rude has been in a bad mood about it for many years! He showed up one day wearing a badge and has gone about for many years enforcing the law, or at least his version of it. He does have a code of honor, but you don't want to get on his bad side.

Latest Acquisition... Atomic Highway

A while ago I heard about a new Post Apocalyptic RPG; Atomic Highway.  My buddy Derek Holland has even done some work on the supplement for it.  So being a fan of P.A. RPG's I of course had to get a copy as soon as my gaming budget would allow. My mailman dropped it off today, the system seems to be pretty slick mechanic wise and designed for fast play, I can't wait to check it out.
Good Gaming- B.