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WASTELANDS: CORE RULEBOOKVERSON 6.1Completed December, 2015Written by Andrew SeipleRevised and Edited by Nate LoveCover art by Greg VaughnWith input from the following;Joshua SmithDenise BeuclerAssorted members of rpg.netAnd too many friends to listWastelands owes much of its rules, structure, and spirit to the Exiles western Live-ActionRoleplaying Game. Wastelands would not exist today without the kindness, advice, andsupport from Benson Green, Karin and Ryan Strippel, and the rest of the Exiles players.1
“ After the torchlight red on sweaty facesAfter the frosty silence in the gardensAfter the agony in stony placesThe shouting and the cryingPrison and palace and reverberationOf thunder of spring over distant mountainsHe who was living is now deadWe who were living are now dyingWith a little patience”--TS Eliot “The Waste Land”2
Table of ContentsIntroductionFAQSafetyCharacter CreationSkill ChartsComplete Skill amage 8591103107109112123All content highlighted in Blue indicates NEW CONTENTContent in RED is meant to draw your attention to it.3
INTRODUCTIONNear the end of the 22nd century,the world changed. Cities died in atomicfire, triggered by fools and arroganttyrants. Corporations became morepowerful than nations, and greedilydivided the world up among them. Muchof the remaining human race now livesin corporate enclaves, massive walledcities that are sanitized and sterile. Warsare fought between corporations now,and nations are a thing of the past. Andmagic has returned.Abnormal children are beingborn to perfectly normal human couples.Many of these children are not human They are elves, dwarves, orcs, andstranger things. And some are born withthe ability to tap into the world’s longforgotten magic.Panic, riots, and hate crimes werethe result of these first incidents.Humanity does not accept change well.The tantrums ceased when the dragonswoke up, and tried to reclaim the world.Many magicians and metahumansbought acceptance from the corps byusing their talents in the Dragon war.Finally, a peace was reached. Thedragons could do business with thecorporations, as it turned out. Andbusiness is good.Now the world is cursed withenormous cities, which belch outpollution and profit in equal measure.Magicians and Adepts have learned toharness magic. While it can never beSAFE, it is now more predictable.Dragons no longer trust in hoards ofgold, finding more profit and treasure instock, and influence. The only truth nowis the Almighty Allin. Welcome to the23rd century, consumer.Now with the last of the GreatCorporate Wars over, and the dragonsquiet, many Corps are looking to reclaimterritory. But good, safe territory isscarce, and held by one corporation oranother. So that leaves only the worst ofplaces, left to reclaim. Where technologyis limited by old scars of war anddisasters, and magic is limited by thosesame scars.The nuclear fire invented by manburned brightest here, and here thehideous wars of the new century werefought, until the land was blighted andruined. The land here had names, once.Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky,Pennsylvania Now they just fall underone epithet: "The Wasteland." Thecorporations are trying to claim thewastes, and they need people to do this.Perhaps you are an immigrantfrom a poor enclave, trying to betteryour lot. Perhaps you are trying to gainfame on the media networks, and earnsponsorships. Perhaps you are a convict,given the opportunity to serve yoursentence cleaning up the wastes.Perhaps you are a local resident,trying to get untainted food, raremedicines, and reliable bullets from thecorporation in exchange for work. Orperhaps you are here to make yourfortune.There is money here, andopportunity. Such things as losttechnology, hidden magic, secrets longforgotten, contaminated resources, andbusiness opportunities can all be foundin this blasted land. The Wasteland isneutral, and many come here just forthat. Old enemies sip drinks and popanti-radiation drugs side by side attimes. Other times, it is a good place tokill a hated foe, and dump him where no
one will ever find the corpse. Andstrange creatures wander through thenight, seeking flesh to eat, or worsethings. Welcome to the Wasteland. Trynot to die too quickly.LOCAL CIVILIZATIONDespite the odds, some peopleDO live out here; refugees from theneighboring enclaves, Corpwar desertersand war criminals, nomads, and otherswho have no place else to go. Theirbodies learn to live with the radiation.The ones that don't adapt tend to die.There are many smallsettlements, dotted across the land.Huddled together for mutual defense andsurvival, they eke out a living as bestthey can. Communication betweensettlements is rare. Travel is dangerous,and settlements can disappear overnightfrom one calamity or the other. In manyplaces, governments try to rule multiplesettlements. These rise and fall with thewind, and their money is worth thematerial used in its fabrication.Most civilization is pretty lowtech. Houses are wood or stone, peopleplow the land with horses and cattle (Orslaves, sometimes,) and vehicles arerare. The constant, low-level radiationin the area limits the electronics that canbe brought into the Wasteland, andpollutes the radio waves. Advancedelectronics of any sort are rare. Theybreak quickly. The few devices that arebuilt to last are well-shielded and in highdemand.For much of the Waste, thecurrency is barter. Some fairly lawlesssettlements use bullets as currency.Others accept Allin dollars in somephysical form. They might know a guywho knows a guy who can trade themwith an enclave. Be careful. There aresettlements out there that keep darksecrets, and there are those who viewvisitors as new trading stock, or goodsources of meat. Guns are one thing thatthe Wasteland has no shortage of, orknives, or other weapons. If nothingelse, the Free Traders see to that.FREE TRADERSThe Free Traders are the gluethat holds the Wasteland together. Noone knows who backs them, no oneknows just how much they rake in fortheir services, but the fact is that they arenecessary and vital parts of this warpedland. They are known by their mark. Itis a fine tracery of glowing silver wireon their forehead, obviously cyberware.It must be well-shielded to functionwithin the Waste, and it is. No one quiteknows what it does, but there are rumorsthat it allows them to share one mind.Certainly it is true that most Tradersknow when another Trader dies, andseem to know the identities of theirmurderers. Those who kill Free Tradersusually buy themselves trouble.The Free Traders travel,sometimes alone and sometimes withguards. Sometimes they sponsor and rungreat caravans, that cross the length ofthe wastelands. They go from settlementto settlement, selling their wares. Theycan obtain things from inside enclaves,though their selection is seeminglyrandom, at times. They don't getinvolved in local problems, they don'ttake sides, and so they are grudginglytrusted.
Occasionally, a local or two triesto compete with the Traders. The FreeTraders say that they don't mind that atall, though there are rumors thatunscrupulous Traders aren’t above hiringassassins to take out rivals.More importantly to the averagetraveler, the Free Traders are one of theavenues that adventurers use to get intothe Wasteland.ADVENTURERSThe term is a bit more polite than"Refugee", or "Scoundrel", or "Wouldbe Profiteer." It refers to travelers whocome into the Wasteland fromsomewhere else. The locals tend tofigure that anyone who comes in here iseither being forced, or is up to no good.A lot of times, they're right. YOU areone of these "Adventurers".You got here by your own feet orwith help from a smuggler or FreeTrader. It cost you a lot, and now allyou’ve got are the clothes on your back,and whatever you managed to bring withyou. Perhaps you have some money,perhaps not. Maybe you have a few tiesto the enclaves that you can put to gooduse. More likely, you’re on your own.Odds are good you wereinvolved in criminal activity, somehow.Perhaps you were even did dirty workfor a mega corporation, or one of thecriminal syndicates! If you did, then becareful. Old rivalries can follow a manor woman into the Waste, and make lifevery interesting indeed. Or, you could bea local. Raised in a small town andtaught to fear the unknown, you movedon to a different part of the Wastelandwhen things didn’t go your way.WHAT TO DO IN THE WASTELANDSurvival is good. You’ll needtools, weapons, skills to survive. Moreimportantly, you’ll need to find a way todeal with the local threats. It is good tofind your niche, too. Find people youcan work with, make yourself useful,and you’ll be surprised what you canaccomplish. There are very few peoplein the Wasteland who can fend offthreats all by themselves, and even theones who can usually enjoy havingcompany along.Survival is necessary But therewill come a time when you have yourfeet under you, and want to accomplishmore. If you enjoy money, you can findways to profit in the Waste. Sell thingsto other adventurers or residents, tradefor strange items or useful resources thatfetch a bundle of money outside. Thereare as many ways to thrive, as you canimagine. If you dream of more, ofchanging the world, then this too can bedone. Help a settlement prosper, andwatch it grow. Kill bandits, or set upyour own raiding parties. Hunt downmonsters or cut deals with them, thechoices that you make and the victoriesthat you win will change the shape of theWasteland. Perhaps one day you andyour friends will rule a town, or evenform your own nation in these desolatelands. Or perhaps, like many, your boneswill end up littering some forgotten ruin.DEATH IN THE WASTELANDThis is a deadly land, and thosewho forget it are likely to pay theultimate price. Like anywhere else,death in the Wasteland is forever, in allbut the most outrageous cases.
Fortunately, you’re a sturdy person.You have to be, or else you couldn’tsurvive here! If you get shot or stabbed,you have at least five minutes before youdie Five pain-wracked, groaning andscreaming minutes while your life bleedsaway. It’s not fun, but if someone canreach you and administer a healinginjection, or first aid before five minutesis up, you will live. But if no one else isaround, or all your friends are down andbleeding as well? Well, you’re out ofluck, pal.There are rumors of ways tocome back after death, but none of themhave ever been confirmed. If you findout a way, you might want to keep it adeep, dark secret. That information isworth quite a lot to some very ruthlessindividuals and organizations. They’llhave questions for you, very sharp andpointed ones that will be accompaniedby surgical instruments, during theinterrogation FINAL ADVICEYou won’t start with much.Many skills need supplies to use, andguns need ammunition, so always be onthe lookout for money or an opportunityto buy or trade for what you need.Craft skills require raw materials,and plenty of them. They can make youwonderful toys, but you’ll need things tomake the toys. Don’t neglect your otherskills.Melee weapons are easy to comeby, and generally free. Even if you onlyhave a combat knife for backup, youmay find it saving your life at somepoint.Magic can do weird, weirdthings. Not even the magicians knowquite how everything works, especiallynot in the mana-warped landscape of theWasteland.Don’t go making enemies ofother adventurers without a good reason.The community has a long memory, andyou will find less people willing to workwith you if you earn a bad reputation.Not every problem can be solvedwith bullets, or even violence in general.Sometimes talking is good, sometimesrunning away is better.Shoot straight, conserve ammo,and never cut a deal with a dragon.
Frequently asked questionsWHAT IS WASTELANDS?Wastelands is a live-action roleplaying game. This type of game is alsocalled a LARP. In it, the players createand act out the parts of imaginarycharacters, taking part in creating andshaping the story of a fictional locationand setting. The choices and actionstaken by the characters decide how thestory goes.The Game Master is in charge ofkeeping track of the story, he also haspeople who help him run the non-playercharacters, (NPC’s) and set up things. Ifyou take part in the game, you willprobably NPC at least once Thismeans that instead of playing anindependent character, you will act outthe part of a less-important, but storyrelated character for the players tointeract with. This can be a lot of fun, inits own way.Wastelands takes place in afictional dystopian future, where thepremise is that mega corporations rulemost of the world, and magic hasreturned bringing strange things with it.Some of the players will choose to playfantastic creatures like orcs and elves,but there’s plenty of room in this worldfor just plain humans. Some playersmay choose to be great magicians, butthey will stand side-by-side with soldiersand agents, who may not know magic,but sure as heck know how to use guns.The area of Wastelands is set in afictional radioactive land that coversmost of Ohio, and neighboring states.Though magic and advanced medicalsciences allow people to live here, onlythe poorest and most desperate peopledo. No one claims all of the Wasteland,and so it is a neutral ground for manypowerful factions to sort out theirdifferences. Your character is one of thehardy survivors who scavenges in theWasteland to get by.In reality, Wastelands is playedwherever the Game Master can organizea private campsite. If you choose toattend a Wastelands event, you willspend one or two days at the camp,living as your character would, andhelping to maintain the atmosphere ofthe game. There is a fee associated withattending a Wastelands event, but it isused entirely to pay for the camp,operational overhead, and necessarysupplies. Different campsites havedifferent responsibilities. You’ll have tota
one epithet: "The Wasteland." The corporations are trying to claim the wastes, and they need people to do this. Perhaps you are an immigrant from a poor enclave, trying to better your lot. Perhaps you are trying to gain fame on the media networks, and earn sponsorships. Perhaps you are a convict, given the opportunity to serve your sentence cleaning up the wastes. Perhaps you are a local .
