MUTANT: YEAR ZERO - The Big Smoke

Hecatoncheires

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The end has come for humanity.

Their once great cities are reduced to rubble and ash, their nations having destroyed themselves in the apocalyptic fires of nuclear war. All that remains now are vestiges of what came before.

Yet amidst the ruins left in humanity's wake, within the bombed-out skeleton of a mighty city, something new has begun to blossom. Humanity's successors. Your People.

The mutants.

For years you have survived within the safety of your Ark, guided by the wisdom of the Elder and nurtured by the food he provides you. It may be small, pitiful compared to the titans whose husks you squat and scavenge within. But it is sanctuary, safety. It is civilisation, the chance for something to bloom from the apocalyptic fires that ended humanity.

Yet it is also fragile.

The Elder grows older and weaker with each passing season, his mind feebler and his presence within the Ark diminishing. The food is beginning to run out, the very structure of your sanctuary deteriorating with age, squabbles between the Bosses grow more violent each week, and the stalkers venturing out into the Wastes telling tales of threats beginning to gather on your doorstep.

You and your fellow mutants now face a choice. Do you rot away into the ruins of the old world? Or do you fight for your place in the new one?

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    'Mutant: Year Zero' is a story about what comes after the end of the world.

    An apocalyptic war has been waged, with no winners but the cockroaches. Humanity has been blasted from the surface of the Earth, leaving nothing but rubble and ruin in their wake. The world is a wasteland, unrecognisable as strange new beings begin to make their mark upon it.

    Beings such as the mutants of the Ark, known amongst themselves as "the People".

    Players take the role of one of these mutants, living under the rule of the Elder and struggling to survive in this deadly new world. For roughly two decades the Elder has led the people, keeping you all fed and safe from the dangers out the wasteland as you grew and developed, discovering your strange powers and forging the beginnings of a small settlement. There have been cliques and factions sprouting up, inevitably, but the Elder was always on hand to keep order with his wisdom and reassuring words.

    But no longer.

    Eighteen months ago the Elder fell sick, the Rot of the wasteland finally taking its toll. His illness has progressed, to the point that he has barely been seen in public for the last half year. The resulting power vacuum has seen the factions and their Bosses begin to struggle for control, at each other's throats over the future of the Ark. It isn't hard to imagine the scuffles developing into full-blown conflict. The food is beginning to dwindle, and there are few alternative sources to keep the residents of the settlement fed. And all the while, the external threats of the wasteland are beginning to make their presence felt.

    The characters thrust into this irradiated, dangerous world must contend with these threats in order to keep their home safe, their people fed and maybe, if they survive long enough, discover the true nature of their origins. That's a big if, mind. The wasteland is a deadly place to explore, yet this is exactly what the characters must do if they wish for their Ark to survive.

    Unlike many RPGs that focus heavily on story and GM-led plots, M:YZ is very much a sandbox that the players can take ownership of to discover. The wasteland can be mapped and explored, it's secrets investigated, it's dangers confronted and fought. The Ark is theirs to steer and mould, with upgrades to construct and factions to influence.

    The wasteland calls. Will your characters be the ones to steer the mutants into the new age? Or are they doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past?



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    • The rules are lighter and more flexible: Anyone used to playing D&D in its various incarnations, or any soul brave enough to attempt a game of GURPS, will know that some RPG systems can be pretty heavy on the number crunching and prep work to get a game going. This can translate to all manner of difficulties when trying to run an RP of this sort on a forum, as things get bogged down in the crunch.

      M:YZ isn't like that.

      Using a leaner system for their mechanics and stats, this game is a lot easier to learn and more efficient to run in a forum setting. That's not to say it's without depth, however, creating plenty of opportunities for tense moments and cool storytelling in the apocalypse.
    • It's more collaborative: The mechanics and rules of Mutant: Year Zero are hard-wired for player input and collaboration. It's not just the GM who designs the world and then allows the players to run about in it: players help to create the locations, characters and lore of the society their PCs exist within. You're not just trying to level up a character, either. M:YZ gives players the chance to steer their Ark in a number of different ways, offering new mechanics and lore for this very purpose.
    • It's a sandbox: Railroads can be fun, but they can also be dull as shit. Good thing there really aren't any railroads in Mutant: Year Zero, then (the bombs took care of them). This game offers a vast, dangerous open world to explore, and grants players the freedom to do so how they please. Their actions can change the balance of power within the Ark, or reveal hidden truths about the apocalyptic world the characters inhabit. The choice really is yours.
 
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No way this show will survive without Rick Grimes.
 
No way this show will survive without Rick Grimes.

It's cool, this is an alternate timeline where they never fired Frank Daradont and so the show is still good after the first season.
 
The promise of player freedom and worldbuilding is incredibly attractive. You don't see that everyday. I'd like to learn more about the Ark, the mutants that populate it, and some character concepts that we might roleplay.
 
Where's the best place to ask questions? Is there a discord link I overlooked?
 
Where's the best place to ask questions? Is there a discord link I overlooked?

Fugg, totally missed this post mate. Apologies.

Feel free to ask questions here, and I'll chuck a link to the Discord your way via PMs.
 
Hi there! Post-apocalyptica is my favourite...
A favourite genre, 'cause I like a lot. And given the freeform nature of this, and the nature of the Ark, I've got a concept I kind of want to make.
Before I put together the character sheet, could I ask some questions?..

Removed my earlier questions, decided to make this a pitch. I don't think it'll quite work for M:YZ or this particular RP, but...

I'm basically looking to apply as a permanent NPC. I.E. I'll only be posting in the 'Ark' threads, since I don't discord. The character in question would fall into the 'slave' role, being a remnant of a Old Age machine, semi-intelligent but not fully aware, and kept maintained due to the fact that it doesn't consume Grub, only Power, which - well not plentiful - isn't something the People need to eat, by and large. Water is still used as 'coolant', so I'd make note of that.

And I've got a lot of backstory and thought and more, and believe I understand the rules enough to create an actual application. I could also PM you what I've got if you're curious, but a little hesitant? Either way, this looks like a very cool campaign.
 
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Hi there! Post-apocalyptica is my favourite...
A favourite genre, 'cause I like a lot. And given the freeform nature of this, and the nature of the Ark, I've got a concept I kind of want to make.
Before I put together the character sheet, could I ask some questions?..

Removed my earlier questions, decided to make this a pitch. I don't think it'll quite work for M:YZ or this particular RP, but...

I'm basically looking to apply as a permanent NPC. I.E. I'll only be posting in the 'Ark' threads, since I don't discord. The character in question would fall into the 'slave' role, being a remnant of a Old Age machine, semi-intelligent but not fully aware, and kept maintained due to the fact that it doesn't consume Grub, only Power, which - well not plentiful - isn't something the People need to eat, by and large. Water is still used as 'coolant', so I'd make note of that.

And I've got a lot of backstory and thought and more, and believe I understand the rules enough to create an actual application. I could also PM you what I've got if you're curious, but a little hesitant? Either way, this looks like a very cool campaign.

I'mma shoot you a message my dude, cos this seems like a cool idea but we'll need to do some MECHANICS shit to make it work.
 
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