Welcome to the Strip 1

13:45 Local Time

"Get down -Down, Face on the road hands out, legs spread! Don't move - Don't-"
"Stand down soldier! I don't think they're going to try anything with a pair of vehicles pointing 35milis at 'em."
"No Sir, uh yes sir..."
"Don't strain yourself too much. Right now. You OK son? You have to forgive the zealous welcome. Anyone who crosses the desert must be a bit crazy, and they react accordingly. I'm sure we'll resolve this quickly and then I'll be off giving you the ten cent tour.

Not everyone out here is so hair trigger - regardless of the rumors about mutinous officers you might have heard. Its hogwash, mostly, and you'll be just fine with me as your guide - I'm Ian Hardcastle Executive officer to General Robin. Just so long as you don't make any hundred acre woods jokes around the general. Do so and you'll be hiking through death valley naked. Hey! Don't take me so seriously, the generals really not a bad guy. He'd let you keep your boxers.

 Welcome to Vegas boy.

***

14:26
"Sorry about all those needle jabs son - but its for everyone's good. Vegas might of had a reputation for certain kinds of disease back in its seedier days, but right now we got handle on our health and its the rest of the world that's a problem. And its easier to quarantine a handful of visitors than a whole city. If the test show you've got functioning nano-vac, you'll be out of here in an hour and in clothes not made of paper. I think I can take this time to introduce you to a bit of the who's who.

Vegas is run by a council of Seven people. Three of them are the ground-pounder generals - including my boss. He commands the second Armored Calvary Regiment - Two A.C.R. General Teach runs the 53rd Infantry and General Dodgson the 308th. You'll see patches for other units here and there - but all the miscellaneous platoons and companies that arrived piecemeal just go a bit folded in. Number four is Brown from the air force, and Five is Hackett – of SLAASH - Strategic Laser, Air, Atomic, and Space Headquarters. Be careful of him and his troops – any weapon that can destroy an entire city with three or fewer is their domain, and they take that responsibility almost too seriously. Most of those guys will shoot on sight – even if they're asleep.

The final two people on the council are civilian authorities – Ms. Stevenson is city's mayor proper, and Dr. Denghazi is a former secretary of the interior and the local representative of the USA Civ-Gov. Yes we still listen to them, and are part of the proper United States sworn to protect them from all threats foreign and domestic. Problem being those two are kinda overlapping at the moment since a number of places have effectively seceded from the union – like that place down in 'Bama. Not sure why its new Birmingham – the old one should still be standing but its been a while since I was in that part of the country.

Hope I'm not going to fast for you. There's really no easy way to get through Vegas politics cause the council is mostly there to argue or rubber stamp approval retroactively something that already happened. Not that they're powerless mind you – its just that their power comes more from the, well I guess the polite term is  "machinations", of their lieutenants working the scenes outside the chambers. Each has their own agenda and is all but running autonomously.

Yes, it sounds like I'm betraying my boss by telling you this, but generally it causes more trouble when an outsider gets recruited to do someone's dirty work without knowing the bigger picture. At the end of the day, they're all good people. Except Hackett. Even then, he's better than some who could be in charge. We've go the so called “Stangelove” faction round here – its a reference to a piece of cinema, wonderful really – a classic – but they'd be willing to use nuclear weapons on just about anyone. Certinly, we don't have the manpower to really pacify a city any other way but those bombs would really defeat the point of trying, and their effects would ruin the three things we want most – food, computers, and nano-vac. Hackett keeps them in line, so we think he's good.

Those are the seven big names - but you'll hear a bunch of others - a mix of councilmen, NCOs and go-fers that help manage the water supply, food distribution, power and most of that other stuff. But miserable as that host can make you - they're not the ones who can order summary executions under martial law. 

If you'll excuse me, I've got a bit of other business to attend to, but I'll be back once the doctor clears you to help find a place to put you.

Number One - with a Bullet

Guns are fairly complex machines, designed to high tolerances to contain explosions for the purpose of propelling the bullet and working the mechanical parts in a (semi)automatic. Its an exacting science which can sometimes lead to a bit confusion. For example, 7.62x25mm, 7.62x39mm, 7.62x51mm, 7.62x54R, .308, and .30-06 - all head space on an approximate three tenths of an inch, and yet none are really interchangeable.* Yet a revolver chambered for .357 Magnum is backwards comparable with .38 revolver-rounds. (The reverse isn't possible - magnum rounds are longer so they don't get stuck in the wrong gun)

Its for reasons like this that Dead and Back has its simple ammunition rolls. Despite my lack of hunting, police, or military training - I'm pretty familiar with all this, but  its rather unreasonable to expect everyone interested in table-top games is as well. Furthermore, trying to keep track of every single bullet can be rather complicated, and not particularly fun.

Dead and back's combat system only tracks effecive hits - its a matter of description rather than mechanics if the hit is twelve rounds tearing thrugh the torso or one bullet going thrugh the left eye socket - while a filed roll means etheir a clean miss, only stirkes to armored areas, or no shot presented itself and no bullets fired. Hence, another reason for the simply ammo management is that the number of rounds fired isn't really counted. A reload is simply enough ready ammo to fill the gun back up.

The upshot of knowing about ammunition differences (excuse the pun) is that it gives the GM a of moderating tension within the rules. At the lowest level one simply has generic reloads by type - ie rifle, pistol, and gauss ammo. However, the GM could rachet up the tension by being more specfic with ammuniton loads - by claiber or even by gun type (a SIG P-226 and Glock -17 share the same bullets but not the same magazines - so ready ammo can't be exchanged between them in a firefight). This in turn means people might get weighted down with multiple types of weapons to use every bullet found, or find they have plenty relaods but no weapon to put them in. Bullets, bullets every where and not a shot to fire...

To mix things up a little more, the players might be offered the option of partial clips. They treat the ammo die as a size smaller then normal, but still don't require actually counting bullets. This allows something between the standard OK or no relaods availble options of the rules.

The Website Modern Firearms is an invaluble resource for learning about the types and histories of many weapons in current and prior military use.

Although the actual guns don't really matter under the D&B system, this is a good way to establish character. Just as a car or clothing style can speak volumes about a person, their choice of weapon means something as well. Going for every acessory possible or prefreing something lighter and less battery intensive, Chosing the most recent manufacture possible, or holding on to a family member's war-trophy from decades back. Wanting a WW-II Lee-Enfield because its cool isn't going to hurt them, and a 2048 M-42 gauss rifle isn't going to make the character invincible - so let it be a point of intrest for the character.

*For those of you wondering the difference is:

• 7.62x25mm: Pistol round - used in Soviet WWII sub-machineguns and TT-33.
• 7.62x39mm: Assault Rifle Round of AKM & SKS
• 7.62x51mm: NATO ammunition for machine-guns, and a rifles like the FN-FAL
• 7.62x54R: Russian from from 1880s, yet still used in the SVD, Machine-guns 120 years later!
• .308: Reduced power 7.62x51 for hunting - probably won't cycle a military automatic, and the NATO round may be over-pressure for a hunting rifle.
• .30-06: WW -I & II high powered rifle round

Some Options to Consider

A few more ideas for rules have come up - a new way to handle creature damage, handling items, and some alternate ways to use altruism points.

Necrotic Threshold (NT)
A compromise between NP acting as straight hit-points, and  the current exponential difficulty. It determines the minimum number of successful dice needed to inflict a point of damage. At the most basic, a rating of one means any hits will remove NP, while each additional level of NT means more damage must be done - ie 2:1, 3:1 etc. Thus something can be hard to hurt, but easy to kill, or easy to injure, yet surprisingly resilient.

Thus a game master could use a NT 1 - NP15 monster in a situation where the players could use hit and run tactics against a creature, wearing it down while moving through a built-up area. Meanwhile something NT 4 -NP 4 would need a skilled person or a heavy burst firing weapon (like an Anti-Aircraft gun) to have chance of damaging it consistently - which in turn limits the game to a set piece combat location..

Useful Life - UL (Alternately: Durability [DUR])
Much like how guns don't count individual bullets - using the ammo roll mechanic instead - potentially expendable items might have a rating as well. This could be applied to battery powered items, the integrity of body armor, or the strength of a door.

• A few Min/1-5 uses 1d4
• A few Hours/10-20 1d6
• 12-24 hours / 20-40 uses 1d8
• Two or Three Days// 40-80 1d10
• A week or more / 80+1d12

Anything more durable is resilient enough that its unlikely to break unless deliberately attacked, and should be assigned a DR and NP/Animus - depending on if it is instantly ruined or breaks down in stages. For example, cars effectively have animus as they degrade in stages - from pristine, to trouble prone, to spare parts, to unidentifiable scrap. while a length of fence either prevents intrusion or doesn't - so its NP.

Old Kevlar body armor is not designed for constant punishment, in fact its often meant to only be used once. Long term storage hasn't helped either. Thus old body armor would be either 1d6 or 1d4. Newer armor types include other materials, or even nanorheological fluids that react to impact and can last longer, though long term storage or environmental exposure still isn't OK, and it requires a power source to stiffen the fibers. Thus these suits might be rated as 1d8 or 1d4.

Altruism Points:
No real guidelines are given in the main text for how many AP to give out each session. I don't mean to give a non-answer, but this really depends on how you want the game to run. More AP means better survivability, however, it also means becoming rather more attached to the characters - so the players may become less happy with high body count games. Fewer AP means more hoarding, but easier replacement.

Generally speaking, the advancement options of AP are usually best served at the end of a session or during a long period of downtime. However, one might allow characters to find hidden depths or come to an epiphany at a crucial moment for a few points extra.

Healing, on the other hand, can take place during a session. Once again, however, it may help set the tone by including a surcharge for spur of the moment healing compared to waiting until the end.


AP Equipment Boosts:
Another possible use for AP would be to get around rolls for ammunition, useful life, or add bonus dice to a roll. AP spent this way allow extra dice to be rolled - either added straight to an attack, or the best result being used in a test of durability/ammo consumption.

AP Group Resources:
To help encourage group activities further, or to reward overall success, a pool of AP for the entire party. Points in this pool can be used to improve group resources. For example - everyone pitches in with the work, and these AP could level up a vehicle as a van is turned into an armored truck. Or it could be used to work towards GM set break points, which in turn would get the group something nice. So perhaps the group creates a small camp - and the more points they put in the collective, the greater number of adherents to their cause, and thus they can create their own outpost or even city state. Of course, this could also just be a sign the GM should give them a break and let the players find something good in the ruins, or an easy mission.

Protected Discussion

"Hey, I found some power armor. Any Idea what the market price is?"
"What kind?"
"Power Armor"
"About fifty bucks - you know, some ammo, a few days food."
"You're kidding me right? I know its got to be worth a hundred times that at least."
"No positive ID - not worth the effort to retrieve."
"I can tell you exactly where it is off my INS system, and what it is."
"I'll speak slower so you can understand..."
"You want to end up eating that sandwich through a straw?"
"Like that is going to make me any more receptive? Do you have any idea how many types of power armor are around here?"
"Three-"
"Try ten. Some of the other nations tried to help out, and brought their own units. So of course we have Canadian stuff which is tactically similar to our own, but doesn't have compatible parts or software architecture. The Mexican military has both a Forrest optimized type and an underwater hard suit with built in pump-jets for hunting narco-running subs and ambushing people near lakes."
"I'm pretty sure it was American."
"North or South?"
"USA. You're killing me man."
"Three types of combat armor, plus FARPS - Forward Air Resupply Powered System. No actual armor, but over-built hydraulics for moving heavy aircraft components. One load master can push around an entire palatalized load, or clip an 800 pound four-shot anti-tank launcher to a he-lo without help. That's what I did during the war, not that you asked."
"And here you are running a black market off your former army."
"We parted on cold terms. It was an ugly war. In modern combat you got to cut the power to cut the ability So its either EMP or street fighting."
"Did i ask for a history lesson?"
"No, you asked for a summation of the price for a unit of power armor. However if you don't know what type it is, how its used, or if there are spare parts, then its really not worth my time. As for actual prices - they're still lower than you would expect, because the armors are rather limited. MacArthur assault units are heavy, slow, and who has the supply chain to keep the motors, auto-cannons, and missiles on hand? If you're luck, you can get enough spare parts in exchange to get an old car working again, a week or two of supplies, or a few rifles - but money wouldn't be more than a few thousand - a working car is worth more. FARPs have no armor, no armament, no sensors, and a hard to maintain hydraulic system, so while there are plenty out there since they weren't in active combat no one wants them. Donovan stealth uits are hit or miss. They're really useful, but a pain to keep in operating condition and not so good in a stand up fight - I'd say worth the same as the Mac, but more likely to fluctuate in price. A baseline Eisenhower that you can expect a bit more for, but it depends. An old pick-up truck can more, faster, and farther, and outfitted as a technical with some machine-guns is a decent match in firepower. But it doesn't go the same places or have the integrated sensor suite."
"So its simply not worth the trouble I went through?"
"That's the facts son - scavenging can keep yourself supplied, but unless you have a patron commisioning a specific search - its not going to turn a profit."

A Beatnik Heat Pic

Heat shimmers rise from the desert sun baked pavement, lending everything a wavering and surreal appearance. The normally ever-present soldiers are gone from the boiling roads, nothing but dust devils and parked APCs from one end of the strip to the other. All you can hear is the hum of power lines and the occasional click of a door followed by rapid foot steps as someone tries to minimize their exposure.

Inside, its not much louder. Everyone's played the games of chance a hundred times, everyone has developed their on system for finding a winning streak, and everyone knows its futile - even if they make a fortune, what is there to spend it on? Almost every story has been told, the veterans tired of rehashing the Southern Drone War and the new recruits too awake to let BS just slip by.

Lights still pop and flash, electric music jingles, and wheels spin on automatic, beckoning someone to put down a couple of chips. But most of the card tables are covered with springs and gun oil or magnets and solder. Troops field stripping their weapons for the tenth time that week, dislodging sand and keeping busy, ready for the next run down the road to Barstow, Saint George, Paradise or Hurricane.

Civvies just scuttle by, like over-caffeinated crabs. There are a lot of bored people with guns who would be willing to start a civil war for a simple break from monotony, ideology be damned.

"Red Irish" Drinks whiskey sours in back. Not his real name by a long shot - its one of those old country words that has twelve extra letters in the original tongue - but he has the shock of hair and other characteristics that would make him the dictionary definition image of a Gaelic stereotype. Even has an amazing accent so thick you need to beat it down with a Shaleighleigh to understand - doubly amazing since all his kin were through Ellis island by 1908. He's a "ranger" which is a dangerous thing to admit to in Vegas. Most of the military types think you shouldn't co-opt the name of a special forces group and claim to uphold the ideals of the army, when you could actually be in the army - even if service mostly consists of pointless patrols and the occasional midnight tank drag race down route 66.

Least he's quite this morning. Sometimes things just explode. Someones got a bit of peyote growing in one of the rooftop greenhouses, and some mighty fine hash indeed. Usually these harm no one - but synesthesia and rumors of undead in the sewers don't always mix.

Even without the drugs, that seems to be the word of the year. Synesthesia. It all seems to blend together - after a while you taste the strip, you hear the camouflage, and smell the boredom.

They all know the country they swore to protect doesn't really exist. Its city states and new frontier now, with tenuous UHF contact between the Rockies and Alleghenies. Guns and tanks can unite the lot - the question is how and who. A military campaign isn't going to last long without factories, and factories aren't going to exist without a campaign. Should the aliens be the first target, or an ally against the others? Is it the open hand or closed fist that will restore the republic? How about those angry fission bombs growling in their silos - unchain the atomic dogs or neuter those puppies before they flash on American soil?

In another casino more whiskey sours are being lifted to dry lips. One general has the control codes in his breast pocket, the other half a mind to shoot the first.

Just another day.

Another Unseemly Presence in Daley Plaza

Gotta-catch-my-breath. Some of those half mechanical monsters are near by. Hawk like vision, adsorb Gauss slugs like a sponge, and just smash through concrete barriers without noticing. Fortunately, they can't see through walls. At leas not yet I don't think... well, they didn't follow after I lost them in that hall way and ducked up two flights of stairs.

I guess this is why Chicago seems to be unofficially off limits. Lots of advanced reanimates, coupled with old ramshackle restored buildings lacking sphere based maps. Yeah, they say anyone not born in the windy city will pick up the grid pattern of the roads real quick. But when most of them are chocked with old cars, rubble, even some tanks and crashed helicopters - ducking in and out of buildings throws off your sense of place real quick.

So where am I? Oh hey - thats a good landmark. I guess god is on my side for once - I couldn't ask for a more famous marker.

 The Chicago Picasso.

What is that thing supposed to be anyway? A woman with pony tails? A cross-eyed Aardvark? Though you know, from this angle it kind of looks like one of the aliens. Yeah, definitely one of the aliens. The kind of snout like head, and the antennas bent backward, the compound eye like structures on either side of the snout. Even the color is kind of right, though the ones I've seen were a bit more mottled green and pink, with darker plates - a bit like armor. Don't think it was armor - since it was under those smocks they wore.

Head on top, with a pair of antennae, neck, shoulders, chest, the odd part is when the abdomen curves backwards and kind of curves back up for the lower torso and two sets of legs. I know they're not insects or crabs at all - but they do kind of skitter about like them. Course, I'd be full of nervous energy when talking to a gun wielding person twice my size too. Really squeaky voice, like a cartoon character or someone breathing helium. Still, nice enough when they want to talk to you.

Huh - that the reanimates out there?

Don't hear anything. But these ones can move all quite like, it just the basic ones that sound like elephants tripping down a flight of stairs. Course, just running isn't going to help much if they are close. Need a plan. There are supposed to be laser towers at Northerly Island on the lake front. That's about two and a half miles from here, south east - along the water front, near the historic buildings. I can do that. Wont be easy to make through all the old traffic remains, but they won't be going so directly either. OK, can do. The aliens hate the reanimates as much as we do - I just hope the defenses can tell a live human from a type three.

Supplement One Alpha

"The best is the enemy of good enough" - a common Russian saying, often used by Mikhail Kalashnikov when discussing his famous invention.

After more delays than I should have allowed, this is a draft update to the basic game D&B. Actually, its not so much a declared up date as a few clarifications, some ideas about bringing Players together and managing NPCs, along with a large chunk of information about the Planetary citizens.

I hope this give you a feeling for where I want to take the game in its next version. Elements of the setting should become one with the rules, rather then separate addendum. Unclear rules should be updated to easier to read forms, and the glossary expanded. A few major overhauls (new way of reading attack dice/changed stat range) may be in order if I get some feedback.

D&B Suplemental Alpha