Nappendixia Campaign 3.0- Session 101 Gamma World

 Nappendixia Campaign Session Report

Session #- 101 Session Date- 6/27/25

Time Passed-  12 days (party found shelter and are currently in 1:1 time)

Roll Call-  

Cursed-  Pure Strain Human of the Ox Clan.  He is very charismatic but extremely clumsy.

Lorno-  Mutant Human of the Ox Clan.  He is massively tall and has vestigial wings, far too heavy to fly.  He also has mental powers, including a blast, invisibility, and the ability to enhance other mutant powers.

Johnny Mothra-  Mutant Human of the Puma Clan.  He is also a massively tall and winged mutant who can glide and leap above the forest canopy of his homeland.  He places his shots in the perfect spot, but has a huge metabolism and is always hungry.

Clint-  Mutant Human of the Turtle Clan.  Though he can pass as a pure human, Clint has the hidden powers of telekinesis and a heightened sense of smell.  However, he must be very careful to avoid cuts and wounds.  

Jim Doggett-  Pure Strain Human of the Crow Clan.  Fledgling explorer and bowman, Jim wears a coonskin cap and represents his mountain people.  He is quick and agile, and highly intelligent in the ways of ancient artifacts.

Adventure Log-  the party collects itself after the fight with the Badders, and begins to introduce themselves and check out the items found at the base of the altar.  Clint conveys the location of the Deep Underground Tunnel he found leading out of the desert to the west, and Johnny Mothra tells about the Serfs who were so interested in mental mutants, and also the metal ruins structure he found in the forests to the east.  They know that the ancient road and any legends of New Dublin lead to the North, but they elect to head back east, 4 days to try to find the ruined metal structure in the forest Johnny found.  He thinks the fact that he found some old military medals the last time he was there could indicate more military stores such as weapons and foodstuffs.  It is also agreed that Johnny will hold the newly found grenade, due to his power to damage critical points in a structure.  They range for 4 straight days over the plains wasteland, encountering miles of dry desolate terrain void of any creatures or locales.  On the fourth day as they approach the forests 2 creatures emerge from the hedgerows aggressively.  They approach and appear to be metal constructs, man-shaped but obviously metallic in appearance.  They each wear a tattered jumpsuit and have various dents and bent outer parts sticking from their metal frames.  Each turns on a wicked looking Vibroblade and they do not seem likely to parley.  Despite this Cursed moves forward from the party and attempts to use his sway as a Pure Strain to influence the machines.  He is able to get one to obey his basic human commands, but the other is too fired in the circuits and slices him badly with the force blade.  The other party members react by attacking, Lorno invisibly smashes one, and Clint snatches its vibroblade with his telekinesis.  They smash the one robot, and interface with the obedient one to see if it can be commanded.  Jim successfully figures out how to use the vibroblades safely, finding them each to have a power cell lasting 20 minutes.  The broken android is strapped to the rokox for spare parts and the party makes off for the forest in the hopes of finding clean water and a place to safely heal and rest.  They find a clear stream in a forest hollow and make camp there for a week.  They stay hidden and barring a few aggressive plants they stay safe and heal.  They observe many types of very aggressive predatory flora that can climb, grasp, and even fly.  They talk with the robot about where its base of operations is located and he tells them of a location that matches the ruins Johnny found.  With the help of some pinetos, friendly forest plants that can move up and down plant stems and roots, they set out looking for food, using Clint's heightened smell to track down some lush fruits.  He is attacked by some poisonous plants in the process but survives.  After gathering a week's worth of food, they assemble at the ruined metal structure, keeping the rokox in the lower story, and setting up an impromptu camp in the ruins opening tunnel.  They find the door to be a simple warehouse door on a metal rolling track.  It was off its track when Johnny was last here, but it has since been reset.  The androids claim to occasionally be sent out of this access point on various missions.  The vestibule structure is a simple T intersection that ends each way in a ruined office tossed of all valuables.  In each office is a sealed metal hatch with a heavy crank that must be turned to open it.  They consider what to do next- rest, build a fort, attempt to raise the ox to the upper story, explore the metal hatches and the deeper recesses of the ruins-  all will be revealed next session.  

Session Notes-  I started the game going over each PCs stat bonuses and minuses, and how their mutant powers act and interact.  The powers are certainly up for some interpretation so I wanted it to be clear how I’m ruling each powers.  We did decide to amend one thing-  The Taller power.  2 Pcs have this power, and it produced PCs that were 5 and 7 meters tall, over 15 and 22 feet tall, making any kind of dungeon/cave/tunnel exploring nearly impossible.  We agreed to cut the height by 2/3rds but keep all the rules identical.  It just makes it feasible that these PCs could fit in a tunnel complex but still produced PCs that were over 9’ and over 10’ tall.  The players had the freedom to do/go wherever, and they chose to head back to ground already covered by Johnny Mothra to check out the forest ruins for items/weapons.  I had no problems adjusting, the random wilderness tables work great, and I’m particularly liking the pre-rolled Monster and Treasure lists in the back of the book.  I have mined the 2 1e Gamma World modules for content and ease of not having to roll out stuff myself, and all of that can be inserted on the fly or fit together in a loose order that creates some narrative.  We also have decided to fluctuate in and out of 1:1 time.  I don’t want it to be just so easy to find a safe settlement at the end of each session, I want to create the vast nothingness of the wasteland.  This session they ended at a ruins that could be secured, so it made sense to go into 1:1 time, they have time now to heal, and have a few minor problems to consider in downtime.  And I gave myself time to build out this ruins structure- make a map and stock it with threats and treasure.  So far we haven’t interacted too much with the Poison and Radiation charts, they can be quite lethal, but we will see how that plays out.

Treasure and XP-2 Warrior Androids 150xp, 2 Vibro Blades 600xp, Artifact Operation 200xp=950xp/5 PCs= 190xp each.

Nappendixia Campaign 3.0- Session 100 Gamma World

 Nappendixia Campaign Session Report

Session #- 100 Session Date-  6/13/25

Time Passed-  5 days

Roll Call- 

Cursed-  Pure Strain Human of the Ox Clan.  He is very charismatic but extremely clumsy.

Lorno-  Mutant Human of the Ox Clan.  He is massively tall and has wings.  He also has mental powers, including a blast and the ability to enhance other mutant powers.

Johnny Mothra-  Mutant Human of the Puma Clan.  He is also a massively tall and winged mutant who can fly and maneuver above the forest canopy of his homeland.  He places his shots in the perfect spot, but has a huge metabolism and is always hungry.

Clint-  Mutant Human of the Turtle Clan.  Though he can pass as a pure human, Clint has the hidden powers of telekinesis and a heightened sense of smell.  However, he must be very careful to avoid cuts and wounds.  

Jim Doggett-  Pure Strain Human of the Crow Clan.  Fledgling explorer and bowman, Jim wears a coonskin cap and represents his mountain people.  He is quick and agile.

Adventure Log-  Chapter 9

 Our story begins in the apocalyptic wastelands, somewhere in Nappendixia, at some time.  It is known that 4 clans inhabit the southern wastelands, The Ox of the plains, The Turtle of the deserts, The Puma of the forests, and the Crow of the mountains.  All of the clans in this area know and ascribe to the legend of New Dublin.  It is a legendary city of the old times filled with peril and treasures from the past, and also it is told that New Dublin is both the cause of, and the means of escape from, this blighted wasteland.  Each clan has ceremoniously dispatched members to go out and explore for the tribe, and hopefully find more information about New Dublin or possibly find the fabled city itself.  Lesser members of the clans, those with very obvious mutations, have more likely been outcast or told not to come back unless they have the key to finding New Dublin.  Nonetheless, each individual sets out in his home terrain with rough knowledge of a common rest point known to veteran explorers that lead to an ancient road once known as a Highway that will lead North, the rumored direction of New Dublin.

Desert Journey, Clint-  5 days of trekking through the desert, Clint manages to conserve water as best he can and use desert terrain to avoid 2 nasty looking moth creatures that showed signs of radioactivity.  He exits the desert and crosses a wide salt plain, endures a heavy downpour of rain that is fortunately not contaminated, and narrowly avoids a series of intense lightning strikes.  He stumbles across a metal hatch that pulses radiation upon opening, but resists it.  The hatch leads down to a tunnel about 1 story underground that leads back towards the desert and further east, his intended direction.  Taking it for several miles, he finds a closet that holds some potable water, then finds an exit to plains terrain and in short order finds the rest point.

Plains Journey, Cursed and Lorno-  As soon as Cursed notices the large flying bulk of Lorno, he realizes they are both traveling out of the Ox Clan lands and parleys to unite their efforts.  They begin traveling together and discussing the upcoming obstacle that marks the edge of Ox lands- an old highway overpass that lies crumbling in ruins, blocking access to the greater plains area.  Though having wings, Lorno cannot get enough lift to simply fly over the structure while carrying Cursed, but instead perform a series of wing assisted leaps that get them up and over the structure in 3 bounds.  They spy a distant storm to the west and the weather shifts and they are hindered by an intense heat wave that saps their water supplies.  They encounter a Rakox, a large shelled and horned ox-like creature known to be used as a beast of burden.  Cursed manages to approach it and tame it by sharing their dwindling water and his natural charisma.

Forest Journey, Johnny Mothra-  The forests that remain in the wastelands are by far the most dangerous terrain, the plants there have evolved and mutated into extremely hostile and predatory creatures making life for the animals of all types very difficult.  Johnny uses his flight to maneuver above the forest canopy for much of his journey, but during one of his rests in the upper story triggers a gout of poison from a particularly aggressive plant.  He is struck but resists the poison, finding it only mildly irritating.  While wiping it off with some nearby flora he discovers a flat, pitted old metal surface.  Probing along its area, a door is revealed, shut but it appears to be on rollers.  Johnny’s low strength is only able to pry it open .3m, and he squeezes his long lanky frame into a dark hallway that T intersects after 10m.  Constrained by the narrow doorway and negotiating the turns, he searches 2 disheveled office rooms and finds some paper, a spool of celluloid film, and a display case of old military medals circa 2040s-2100s, marking the location to possibly return to later.  After leaving the forest and entering the plains, he spies and hails 2 humanoid creatures in tattered uniforms.  They have carapaces and claws, but when Johnny regards them they speak to him telepathically.  They are sharp eyed and hold weapons ready, asking if Johnny has any mental powers himself.  He tells them he does have the ability to place his strikes in the perfect spot every time, and this arouses their curiosity.  They say they are known as Serfs, and invite him to come to their camp and learn more of each other's mental powers.  They agree to part ways, but Johnny notes how to return to this area in the future and makes it to the rest area.  

Mountain Journey, Jim Doggett-  After trekking many days down the mountain, Jim is beset by a wind and hail storm.  He is blown down a steep embankment by the wind and is banged up but survives.  Sprawled out on the rocky wash of cobbles, he spies a rusty metal cylinder partially protruding out of the surface.  He crawls into the structure to get out of the hail and inside is a long cylinder with rows of seats bolted to the side, and many compartments thrown open containing decaying bags and cases.  Most of the items are useless, but Jim manages to find 2 cold winter garments still in usable condition, and a bottle of liquor.  He searches deeper into the cylinder and finds a forward compartment that protrudes out of the rubble on the other side of the wash.  There are ruined panels of instruments and gauges here, as well as 2 skeletons, one wearing a captain’s hat with a metal star pin attached; he finds a working pen as well.  Jim feels the hand of fate, as the star is his people’s symbol- this is a good omen for Jim.  He tries to strip down the compartment for any usable parts, gaining some lengths of metal bar and strips of copper wire.  Unfortunately, in yanking the wires free, he unloosens an outside panel which gives way under his feet and again he goes falling down the mountainous terrain, taking more damage but surviving.  The storm abates and he finds the plains terrain and eventually the rest stop.  

All parties reach the rest stop on the same date.  They assess it to be a crossroads of a few rough trails that meet at some kind of stone altar, primitive in make.  Before they can search or parley to introduce themselves, 2 aggressive mutated badgers blind with rage burst from the underbrush and attack armed with axes and shields.  Clint manages to grab one with telekinesis and hold him fast while the others engage the other badger with ax strikes, arrows, and mental blasts.  The rokox is even convinced to attack with its horns, and the Badders are slain, butchered and eaten by the new found comrades.  They search the altar and find a secret movable stone where they find a sack containing 150 domars, a fragmentation grenade, an ID card and an odd book with pictures of some of the wasteland creatures they have encountered and a working compass.  The group pauses, refreshed from the food, but still in need of new water reserves.  They confer to see what they will do next…

Session Notes-  I’m very happy to be relaunching the campaign with session 100, quite a milestone.  We will be continuing with AD&D, however, I offered the players the option to try some Gamma World 1e for our relaunch and they jumped at the opportunity.  We got some new people interested also which is great.  So far I’m finding the system very loose, light, fun.  It’s a nice switch from the super crunch of AD&D, but it has its drawbacks- you end up having to make a lot of homebrew/ off the cuff calls, which is a big switch after years of trying to be as RAW as possible.  I found our first combat to be a little long, lots of misses and high hp for both PCs and monsters made it feel that way, I need to be more mindful of morale, there are actually some morale rules.  It was a great first session all around. I'm trying to make these session reports more concise, but they always get away from me.  More to come, Nappendixia is back!

Treasure and XP-  Badders- 46xp, 150xp Domars, ID card 200xp, pen and paper 50xp, grenade 250xp, compass 100xp, 400xp for exploration= 1196xp/ 5 PCs= 239xp each