Maximum Apocalypse Roleplaying · PDF filed12, d20 and d100. How to play this game The aim of...

Maximum Apocalypse Credits

Boardgame Creator: Mike Gnade

RPG Creator and Developer: R. Scott Uhls

Proofreading and Editing: Kaia Norton

Playtesting: Dana Camparone, Skylr Chamberlin, Nathan Gay, Jesse Hayes,

David Heath, Jacob Herold, Joe Hinrichsen, Clayton Janes, Erin Janes, Katie

Norton, Matt Ruddell, Josh Tran, Marina Volz

Maximum Apocalypse Roleplaying Game We live in a zombie dog eat mutant spider world. We don’t know how we got here, but we must fight to survive.

Maximum Apocalypse is a survival game

developed by Mike Gnade and Rock Manor

games that takes place in the near future

following a series of cataclysmic events that

have brought about the destruction of modern

human society. Every cataclysm that could be

imagined HAS already happened, including

Nuclear Holocaust, Zombie Apocalypse,

Robot Uprising, Alien Invasion, Seismic

Upheaval, Doomsday Weather, Kaiju

Attacks, Cthulhu Return, etc. The list is

endless allowing players and Gamemasters to

determine their settings at will. The following

is a guide to the basic rules with the most

common settings, but Gamemasters should

feel free to adapt the rules to include other

events.

The characters in this game are

survivors of the apocalypses and now scour

the planet for their basic needs: Food, Fuel,

Shelter, and Companionship. Some survivors

are loners, attempting to get by on their own,

but eventually find themselves in need of

help, as a survivor can only go so long

without needing sleep or medical attention.

Dangers lurk around every corner and the one

thing that can help them get by is their

friends.

The primary focus of this game is the

cooperation of survivors to complete

objectives and obtain the necessary

components for continued survival against

the dangers of the new, post-apocalyptic

landscape. Many of the hooks and

motivations for the characters are obtaining

resources, but some scenarios may include

discovering secrets to the past and pockets of

government. The adventures, however, will

always be survival focused.

This game is based on the d100

percentile system. A full set of gaming dice

is required for play, including d4, d6, d8, d10,

d12, d20 and d100.

How to play this game The aim of playing Maximum Apocalypse is to have fun with a group of friends who enjoy the

idea of surviving the dangers of a post-apocalyptic environment and to create enjoyable memories.

Players take the role of survivors, people who have endured where many others have failed,

attempting to continue on despite the terrors and woes of such an environment. A game moderator

known as the Gamemaster is necessary for this game, to set up situations for the players to

confront, and to give rewards to those survivors who make it to the end of the encounter.

Survivors need not be anything like those who play them, for while there are some aspects

of reality in this game, its purpose is to establish the players in those terrifying prospective futures

that are as bleak as the imagination can allow. Players may find that the most rewarding and

enjoyable characters players may find are the ones unlike themselves, or who represent the players

thoughts on the best way to survive the fictional situations they may encounter. Often when players

inject too much reality into game such as this, they find it more frustrating than enjoyable. For

these circumstances, it is recommended that players attempt to remove themselves mentally as

much as they can from the situations they are encountering, and a good Gamemaster will make

sure that they are capable of doing this.

Most of the gameplay is verbal exchange. A Gamemaster sets the scene, describes the

environment, individuals, creatures, and encounters, while the players describe how their

characters would react to such situations. The Gamemaster then determines, whether through dice

rolls or situational context, whether that is possible or whether something else happens instead. It

is a story woven by both player, Gamemaster, and the fates of dice rolls, creating conflict, drama,

and eventually, group experiences.

There are no winners or losers of Maximum Apocalypse, only players and Gamemasters.

Play is cooperative, with the participants working together to attain common goals while

overcoming alien or hostile entities. Winning is only the outcome of the group achieving goals and

surviving situations together, injured or not, and escaping from the otherwise fatal circumstances

they encountered. While some players may actively work against others, the hope is that the overall

outcome is beneficial in the sense of gameplay and narrative.

It is our sincere hope that those who play this game come away with a positive feeling and

perhaps a greater confidence in their ability to survive the dreaded monsters and creations

presented in this game. There is something to say that the fear of the unknown, our combined

uncertain futures, is what led to the creation of these apocalypses existing the minds of humanity,

and perhaps this game will let players sleep a little better at night knowing that if there were to be

an alien invasion, perhaps humanity could and would resist.

Character Creation Character Stats

Strength (Str) Intelligence (Inte) Fighting Skill (FS)

Fortitude (F) Intuition (Intu) Ballistic Skill (BS)

Agility (Ag) Charisma (Cha) Luck (L)

Strength: This stat is the measure of how strong your character is and how good they are

at manipulating their body to achieve certain tasks. Having a higher strength will not necessarily

indicate higher damage on your character’s attacks, but it will determine how well your character

pries open a door. Combined with Fortitude, it determines how large your character is, how well

they take damage, how much damage they can take and how much damage they give.

Fortitude: This stat is the measure of your character’s physical health and resiliency. It

affects how much your body can take and how well it deals with that damage, as well as how long

your character can hold their breath. Combined with Strength, it determines how large your

character is, how well they take damage, how much damage they can take and how much damage

they give.

Agility: This stat is the measure of your character’s hand-eye coordination and flexibility.

It is also a good indicator of how well they can manipulate their joints and how quickly they can

move. It is the best indicator of reaction and response. Combined with Intuition or Luck, it

determines how quickly your character reacts to attacks, but when combined with Strength, it

determines how fast your character moves.

Intelligence: This stat is the measure of your character’s logical thoughts and recall of

information. It is the indicator of how much information they can store and recall and how much

they rely on practical information for their decision-making.

Intuition: This stat is the measure of your character’s gut instincts and perceptions of their

surroundings. This is the stat that is useful for prolonged survival in the harsh conditions of the

Maximum Apocalypse world. When combined with Agility, it determines your character’s dodge

stat.

Charisma: This stat is the measure of your character’s personality and how well they can

convince others to agree with their ideas and help them out. It has more to do with their words and

demeanor than about their physical appearance, but it does indicate that too.

Fighting Skill: This stat is the measure of your character’s hand-to-hand melee combat

skills. These have either been developed over time or are innate, but when your character uses a

tool to strike at another opponent, this is the stat used to determine the outcome.

Ballistic Skill: This stat is the measure of your character’s ability to acquire targets and aim

projectile weaponry at them. This is a series of movements and techniques as well as balance,

breathing, and hand-eye coordination which culminates in a successful attack.

Luck: This stat is the indication of how favorably the universe shines upon your character.

This stat represents the last-ditch efforts made by your character and how well that effects what

happens next. Life is a game of chance and this indicates how well your character plays it. The

maximum number of times per day a character may use Luck is calculated by dividing their Luck

by 10.

Character Creation Process

1. Primary Character Archetype

2. Secondary Character Archetype

3. Apocalypse Survival

4. Scavenger Type: Hunter or Gatherer

5. Additional Points

6. Special Stats and Final Modifications

ALL CHARACTERS BEGIN WITH THE FOLLOWING STATS:

Strength Fortitude Agility Intelligence Intuition Charisma Fighting

Skill

Ballistic

Skill

Luck

25% 25% 25% 25% 25% 25% 25% 25% 25%

Character Creation Step 1: Choose primary archetype

Choose a character archetype which determines what skills and what stat bonuses you gain at the

start of the game. Characters only have access to their Primary Archetype’s Special Abilities, as

they are primarily that character type, at creation. Characters start with 1 Primary Archetype

Special Ability. Characters only have access to their Primary Archetype gear at creation.

The Fireman

During the Apocalypse, several people decided t they

should, quite literally, fight fire with fire. These people

donned protective gear, picked up as many combustible

materials they could find, and set about killing everything

they could with flame. Because of this, most of these

survivors developed a fetish for heat and will always keep

enough fuel in reserve for their next fight.

These people are not entirely dedicated to

explosions and fireballs, however, and many of them are

actually quite capable at other tasks. Many of them are

robust, standing taller and stronger than most other

characters and have no fears walking into an enemy horde

armed with nothing but an axe and a flare. More

frequently than not, they return from the fray, singed and tired, but often the victor.

The primary stats for Fireman are Fortitude, Strength and Fighting skills. Because they

would rather take the fight to the enemy rather than run away, their strengths are in their blocking

skills rather than their dodging skills.

Fireman: +20 Fortitude, +15 Strength, +10 Fighting Skill, +5 Luck, -10 Agility, -5 Intelligence.

Archetype Skills. Choose 6 of the following skills to gain “Proficiency”: Athletics, Blades, Block,

Brawl, Carouse, Clubs, Demolition, Improvised Weaponry, Intimidation, Medicine, Parry, Throw.

Choose 1 starting Special Ability from the Chart Below:

Special Ability Benefit

Lighter Fluid

Deal +1d6 extra damage when using combustible weaponry. As a side effect,

whenever you come in contact with something combustible, you must make a

Success or better on Resolve roll not to ignite it.

Pyromaniac

PREREQUISITE: Lighter Fluid Special Ability.

You double damage when using combustible weaponry instead of the +1d6.

Your Resolve rolls against igniting combustible materials increases in

difficulty requiring a Great Success or better.

Chemical Experience Because of your affinity for chemicals, you gain the skill Chemical Use.

Stamina You roll the Athletics skill at Advantage no matter the circumstances

Fearless You roll all Resolve rolls at Advantage no matter the circumstances

Robust You roll all Immunity rolls at Advantage no matter the circumstances.

Trusty Axe You gain the Multi-Attack option when using bladed weapons

Survivor Mentality When your Health Points are below ¼ of their maximum, you can roll

Resilience to negate 2 points of damage for every degree of success.

Fireman start with 1 Firearm’s axe, 1 Fireman’s Jacket (Armor Level 6), 1 oxygen mask and

1 lighter (10 uses). They may also choose to have either 10 flares or 1 full oxygen tank (425L).

The Gunslinger

The functionality of firearms is hard to argue with,

especially when they deal death at a range far enough to

keep the shooter safe from the many secret killers that

exist in the Apocalypse world. And when push came to

shove, many people turned the idea of sleeping with a

gun under their pillow to heart, and kept an arsenal there

instead. If you told them otherwise, you got a bullet

between your eyes for the trouble.

Gunslingers survive in the Apocalypse keeping

their friends close and their Colt Winchesters closer.

Always willing to lighten the mood with a joke or two,

Gunslingers are a powerful addition to any team,

especially when they are watching your back and

dropping enemies before they can get close. Their guns become their hands and where they point,

life or death follows.

The primary stats for a Gunslinger are Ballistic Skill, Agility and Charisma. They are not

as strong as some characters, but they make up for it by being faster. Their only rival in any team

is usually the Hunter, but Gunslingers are always willing to bet they can kill more enemies.

Gunslinger: +20 Ballistic Skill, +15 Agility, +10 Charisma, +5 Intuition, -10 Strength, -5

Intelligence. Archetype Skills. Choose 6 of the following skills to gain “Proficiency”: Acrobatics,

Brawl, Carouse, Charm, Chemical Use, Command, Contort, Firearms, Gunnery, Gamble, Palming,

Wrangling.



Hollow Points

Choose a favored firearm and deal +3 extra damage when using it. As a side

effect, whenever you are using a weapon other than your favored weapon, roll

your combat rolls at Disadvantage.

Trigger Happy

PREREQUISITE: Hollow Points Special Ability.

You roll an attack with your favored weapon once, but double the damage roll

for that weapon instead of adding the +3. You also expend two bullets for this

benefit.

Fanning the Hammer When Using a revolver type firearm, you gain the Multi-Attack (3) option if

you are not carrying anything in the other hand.

Tactical Leadership You roll the Command skill at Advantage no matter the circumstances

Lasso You roll the Wrangling skill at Advantage no matter the circumstances

Poker Face You can roll failed Resolve rolls against your Luck skill

Focus Shot Take Aim becomes a free action for you. You cannot use Take Aim and another

free action in the same phase.

Guns Blazing

When dual wielding pistols, you gain Multi-Attack (2) for each weapon,

meaning you can attack 4 times in a single round rather than twice. However,

each time you fail to obtain a success on an attack, you have a chance of striking

a ally equal to ¼ of your Firearms skill stat roll.

Gunslingers start with 1 favored firearm weapon, 20 rounds of ammo, 1 Kevlar vest (Armor

Level 5), and 1 hat which is destroyed only after their head is directly attacked with a Called

Shot targeting the hat. They may also choose to have 1 deck of playing cards or 1 back-up

duplicate firearm or lesser damage value firearm with 5 rounds of ammo.

The Hunter

When the going got rough, some people decided they

needed to prepare for the end of days at the primeval

level. These people grabbed their bugout bags and

headed for the hills, hiding in the day and hunting prey

in the night. Many of these people still live in

seclusion, but some have come out into the world in

search of better game or perhaps better challenges.

Whatever it is they are looking for, you certainly don’t

want it to be you.

While these people are not the best

conversationalists, they are superb allies. With their

abilities to scout ahead undetected, they are extremely

reliable at advanced warning. Many of them are often

good at unlocking gates and buildings, giving the team

access to otherwise restricted areas. They are also extremely good in a fight, and you never want

to be on the other side of their arrow.

The primary stats for the Hunter are Agility, Intuition and Ballistic Skill. They are usually

lithe, eating only enough to survive, but they bring in their fair share of the meat. Most of them are

fairly self-reliant too, so every party is grateful when one of them decides to stick around.

Hunter: +20 Agility, +15 Intuition, +10 Ballistic Skill, +5 Fortitude, -10 Fighting Skill, -5

Charisma. Archetype Skills. Choose 6 of the following skills to gain “Proficiency”: Acrobatics,

Archery, Athletics, Crafting, Lockpick, Navigation, Palming, Parry, Stealth, Scrutiny, Tracking,

Wrangling.



Silent Killer When hiding or otherwise unseen, deal +1d6 extra damage when using a Bow

or Crossbow.

Rapid Shot When using a Recurve or Composite bow, you gain the Multi-Attack (2) option

Cover of Night You roll the Stealth skill at Advantage no matter the circumstances

Machete You gain the skill Blades when using a Machete as a weapon

Parkour You roll the Acrobatic skill at Advantage no matter the circumstances

Crouching Tiger Drop Prone becomes a free action for you. You cannot use Drop Prone and

another free action in the same phase.

Headshot When using a Bow or Crossbow, you automatically deal your full standard

damage and then add the Called Shot: Vital extra damage roll.

Survival Instincts

When you and at least one other character are “starving” due to Hunger

damage, reduce all party members’ daily hunger damage by 1 until you are no

longer starving.

Hunters start with 1 Bow (Choice) or Crossbow, 1 full quiver of 10 arrows, 1 camo jacket

(Armor Level 2, Stealth skill rolls are made at Advantage), and 1 set of Crafting tools. They

may also have either 1 set of Lockpick tools or Mechanically Powered Low-light Flashlight.

The Mechanic

The landscape of Maximum Apocalypse is a tinkerers

playground. On every corner, there seems to be an

abandoned vehicle or a piece of scrap machinery, and

while some might see a rusted death trap, others see a

classic Coupe de Ville. If it has a motor, someone is

going to try to make it work.

Mechanics are not just singular workhorses,

however, fixing up gear and vehicles so that the team

can go off on adventures. Most Mechanics also know

how to speak with shadowy figures and obtain a lost

part or a missing fixture. They are also well versed in

those things they restore, able to operate them at peak

performance. If the clunker can move, the Mechanic

can drive it.

The primary stats for the Mechanic are Intelligence, Intuition and Agility. Most of them

are smaller people, able to slide in and out under a vehicle with ease, which means they aren’t as

great in a fight as a fireman, or as deft with a bow or gun as a hunter or gunslinger, but without a

Mechanic to repair their armor, these other archetypes wouldn’t last long against the dangers of

the world.

Mechanic: +20 Intelligence, +15 Intuition, +10 Agility, +5 Fighting Skill, -10 Fortitude, -5

Charisma. Archetype Skills. Choose 6 of the following skills to gain “Proficiency”: Clubs,

Demolitions, Drive, Inventory, Linguistics, Navigation, Repair: Armorer, Repair: Mechanical,

Repair: Electrical, Science, Scrutiny, Tech Use.



Grease Monkey Pick one of the Repair Skills as a specialization. Whenever you roll that skill,

you do so at Advantage no matter the circumstances.

Nail Bomb If you have the Demolitions skill, you gain the Chemical Use skill specifically

for making improvised explosive devices that cause 2d6 damage.

Technical Jargon You gain the Language Skill: Technical Jargon and therefore rolls at

Advantage when you have access to manuals or diagrams.

Keen Eye You roll the Scrutiny skill at Advantage whenever you are evaluating a

Mechanical, Electrical or Armor item or object.

Slick

All Brawl rolls made against you are at Disadvantage. Consequently, when you

take the Break Grapple action, you gain Advantage and the opposed roll is at

Disadvantage.

Stunt Driver Whenever you use the Drive skill in combat situations, it becomes a free action

for you. You cannot use this skill and another a free action in the same phase.

Tinkerer You gain the Xenotech Use skill. If you already possess the Xenotech Use, you

advance to the next level of proficiency.

Jury Rig

When you are operating a vehicle that is below ¼ of its total Health points, you

manage to keep it running, healing 2 points of damage each combat round

without rolling. When making Repair rolls, you gain +1d4 extra per degree of

success.

Mechanics start with 1 tool belt, 1 set of tools (Choice), 1 pair of overalls (Armor Level 1),

and 1 magnifying glass. They may also have either 1 Drone Command Unit or 1 vehicle.

The Scientist

When civilization collapsed, some people sought to rout out the source

of the worlds ailments with everything they had. While the term

“scientist” may apply many people, anyone who was less willing to

fight and more willing to study the enemy earned the title by most

survivors. However, the versatility of these people became obvious

when some of them began understanding Xenotechnology and brought

the fight directly to the aliens. Now, if only they could figure out how

to teach everyone else what they figured out, the human race would not

be near extinction.

Most scientists are academics, studying the enemy from towers or looking over crudely

build compound walls, but some of them get right in the middle of the action, moving from place

to place to figure out how to save mankind. If there is ever going to be a solution to the world’s

ailments, it will probably be a scientist who discovers it. And the people around them will be the

ones to benefit from it first.

The primary stats for Scientists are Intelligence, Intuition and Luck. Some scientists believe

that most major advancements in human history were surprises or mistakes. Others think that

continued repetitive study created everything human beings have. Either way, scientists are going

to need to test their inventions in the field.

Scientist: +20 Intelligence, +15 Intuition, +10 Luck, +5 Charisma, -10 Strength, -5 Agility.

Archetype Skills. Choose 6 of the following skills to gain “Proficiency”: Academics, Chemical

Use, Computer, Crafting, Deceive, Expression, Inventory, Linguistics, Repair: Electrical, Science,

Scrutiny, Xenotech Use.



Doctoral Candidate

Choose Academics, Chemical Use, Computers, Science, or Xenotech Use as a

specialization. Whenever you roll that skill, you do so at Advantage no matter

the circumstances. As a consequence, choose one of the others to roll at

Disadvantage no matter the circumstances.

Paper Pusher You roll the Inventory skill at Advantage no matter the circumstances

Homemade Bullets When you use the Chemical Use skill to make ammo, you grant a +1 damage

for each degree of success to every batch of up to 10 rounds you produce.

Poliglot

You gain 2 Languages outside your own which you roll at Advantage no matter

the circumstances. This can include Xenolingua. You may take this Special

Ability as many times as you choose.

Verge of Discovery

You were on the verge of discovering the cure to the Z-Virus when everything

fell apart. You can use the Chemical Use skill to attempt to produce various

versions of the Z-virus Experimental Antiserum once per each long rest period.

No matter the outcome of the roll, you think the serum works.

Chemo Therapist You can use the Chemical Use skill instead of the Medicine skill to treat people

who have been affected by Radiation damage

Engineering Student You gain the Tech Use skill. If you already possess the Tech Use skill, you

advance to the next level of proficiency.

Jedi Mind Trick

Whenever you fail a Deceive skill roll, you can re-roll without having to roll

against your Luck stat. You can still roll against your Luck stat if the second

roll also fails.

Scientists start with 1 laptop computer, 1 set of beakers and test tubes, 1 Xenotech Armor

unit (Armor Level 4, regenerates 4 points armor at beginning of new combat round) which

requires Xenotech Use skill to operate, and 1 set of raw components for explosives. They may

also have either 1 set of raw components (choice) or 1 Great Success forged government

identification.

The Surgeon

As the world sank deeper into disease and ruin, the

necessity for people trained in the medical field became

even more important. Many EMTs found themselves

conducting intensive therapy and invasive surgery, while

veterinarians became combat medics. For a while, it

seemed that anyone who knew how to work an automated

external defibrillator was handing out medication and

diagnosing rare diseases. Knowing the proper procedure

for CPR classified someone as a doctor.

While there were a plethora of people willing to

save lives, over time, only those who really knew what

they were doing kept their patients alive. And those who

didn’t figured out what they were doing wrong.

Eventually, there were too many patients for each doctor and medical professionals hit the road to

focus on small groups of patients. Whether or not this was beneficial for them remains to be seen,

but it certainly is for any group with whom they join.

The primary stats for the Surgeon are Intuition, Intelligence and Charisma. Most Surgeons

are willing to follow a group into a dangerous area, the more dangerous the more important they

become, but this also comes with a price. Surgeons are more fragile than most characters and are

less likely to survive if becoming the main target. When the surgeon dies, most of the team is likely

to follow.

Surgeon: +20 Intuition, +15 Intelligence, +10 Charisma, +5 Luck, -10 Strength, -5 Fortitude.

Archetype Skills. Choose 6 of the following skills to gain “Proficiency”: Academics, Athletics,

Charm, Command, Chemical Use, Expression, Empathy, Medicine, Navigate, Science, Scrutiny,

Throw.



Hippocratic Oath Whenever you use the Medicine skill during a combat round, you heal 2d4

points of damage per degree of success instead of 1d4 points of damage

Doctor’s Orders You roll the Command skill at Advantage no matter the circumstances

Scrubs You roll all Immunity rolls at Advantage whenever you are wearing scrubs

Adrenaline Shot

You give one target +5 initiative for each degree of success on a Medicine skill

roll. This does not stack with energy drinks or other temporary Initiative boost

items and lasts 1 minute (10 combat rounds)

Quick Thinking Because of your quick thinking, you roll your Dodge stat at Advantage and

your Initiative is calculated (Agility + Luck + Intuition)/10

Gurney

Whenever you and another character are carrying a person away from Combat,

you roll the Athletics skill at Advantage. If you are making a teamwork roll,

you receive a +10% bonus instead of the +5% bonus for each degree of success

they achieve.

Mortar and Pestle Whenever you are using the Medicine skill to treat Disease or Radiation

damage, you roll at Advantage

Scalpel You gain the skill Blades. Whenever you use a bladed weapon, you double the

damage you inflict due to your knowledge of anatomy.

Surgeons start with 1 scalpel, 1 pair of running shoes, 1 pair of scrubs (Armor Level 2,

Command skill rolls are made at Advantage), and 1 medical kit (5 uses). They may also have

either 1 set of surgical tools or 1 bottle of acetaminophen (100 uses).

The Spy

When things began to fall apart, not everyone found themselves with the

skills necessary to kill for survival. Many people found themselves lacking

most physical or combat related skills, but they were good with words and

good with people. This inherent ability to lead and persuade led them to find

others and surround themselves with people who would do the fighting for

them. These people moved from camp to camp, from group to group, using

their silver tongue and slick mind to convince others that they were

important despite rarely taking up weapons.

Spies are not inherently bad people, they are just good at talking and

good at convincing others of their way of thinking. Often these types find

clans and villages, groups to infiltrate, and at many points, protect that same group from others

who would betray them. Often, having a spy in your group was a boon rather than a curse, and

even more often, their abilities to barter were worth more than any salvage the group may have

found on their own.

The primary stats for a Spy are Charisma, Intuition and Agility. They are not usually large

characters, and not usually well skilled in combat, but they are unrivaled in their command over

the human mind and often walk away from a combat without ever sustaining an injury.

Spy: +20 Charisma, +15 Intuition, +10 Agility, +5 Intelligence, -10 Ballistic Skill, -5 Strength.

Archetype Skills. Choose 6 of the following skills to gain “Proficiency”: Barter, Charm,

Command, Deceive, Empathy, Expression, Gamble, Interrogation, Intimidate, Palming,

Perception, Stealth



Inciting the Masses

Whenever you are in a group of more than 3 other people, you roll the Charm, Deceive,

or Expression skill at Advantage. If the group is larger than 4 other people, you gain

+1% for every person over 4.

Sneaky You roll the Stealth skill at Advantage no matter the circumstances

Cutthroat You gain the skill Blades when using a Knife as a weapon

Slick Dealer You roll the Barter skill at Advantage no matter the circumstances

Reverse

Psychology

Whenever you fail an Interrogation or Intimidation skill roll, you can re-roll without

having to roll against your Luck stat. You can still roll against your Luck stat if the

second roll also fails.

Ace up the Sleeve You roll the Gamble skill at Advantage no matter the circumstances.

Lingua Franca

When you come across a language you are unfamiliar with, you can roll an Intelligence

roll to decipher it, whether written or spoken. If you gain an Amazing Success, you are

able to “acquire” the language as if you had used the Linguistics skill to obtain it.

Driven by Hunger

When you are “Starving” due to Hunger damage, you can roll Command instead of

Survival in a Teamwork skill roll involving Survival, even if you don’t possess the

Survival skill.

Spies start with 1 Disguise Kit, 1 Set of Extra Clothes, 1 Leather Jacket (Armor Level 2), and

1 pair of Hunting Boots. They may also choose to have 1 Folding Knife or 1 set of Well-kept

Gold Jewelry.

The Veteran

When the world changed, some people enlisted in the

military and found themselves at the front lines.

Thanks to their unique training, they were able to

survive the onslaught and make it home, only to find

that home no longer existed. Their greatest fears on

the battlefield became a reality, and these people

found they had fought for nothing. And so they found

solace in whatever companionship they could find,

which usually meant the bottle, whenever they could

find it.

Veterans are the quintessential survivalists,

sleeping only when necessary and scavenging for

whatever they can find. They are not above eating

bugs or drinking condensation on a broken window.

They are usually found camped in a tree, drinking the dew from leaves and eating robin eggs, but

somehow, they manage to keep their wits about them.

The primary stats for a veteran are Luck, Ballistic Skill and Fortitude.Quite often they find

themselves without a gun. Mostly because most people don’t leave functioning firearms laying

around. But once they are part of a group, they often work well with others, reminding everyone

about that one time when the commanding offer walked into their mess tent while…

Veteran: +20 Luck, +15 Fighting Skill, +10 Fortitude, +5 Ballistics Skill, -10 Intelligence, -5

Agility. Archetype Skills. Choose 6 of the following skills to gain “Proficiency”: Athletics,

Animal Ken, Barter, Blades, Carouse, Drive, Expression, Interrogation, Perception, Intimidation,

Survival, Throw. Gain Language: Military Jargon at Native level.

Veterans start with 1 2qt plastic canteen, Binoculars, Motorcycle body armor (Armor Level

4), 1 dog whistle (calls dog from long range), and 1 “bug out” bag: Flint and Steel (20 uses),

water filter (20 uses), Rope (30m), 1 Sleeping bag. They may also have either 1 Military Pack

or 1 Combat Knife.



Man’s Best Friend

You gain an animal companion in the form of a stray dog (See stats below).

This dog is loyal to you in all ways can be given tasks or allowed to roam

independently. If the companion is dies, all rolls are at Disadvantage, but deal

an extra +3 damage for the remainder of the combat.

Rifleman You gain the Firearms skill when using a rifle.

Camaraderie You roll the Carouse skill at Advantage no matter the circumstances

Vigilant You roll all Perception rolls at Advantage no matter the circumstances

Rub Some Dirt In It You heal +2 extra Health Points whenever someone successfully uses the

Medicine skill on you

Teamwork When you and at least one other character participates in a teamwork skill, you

give them a +10% benefit instead of the +5% for every degree or success.

Untrusting

You automatically gain the next Level of Proficiency with the Interrogation

skill. As a side effect, whenever you use any other Charisma based skill, you

roll at Disadvantage unless you are granted Advantage through another Special

Ability.

Survivalist Whenever you are “Starving” due to Hunger damage, you roll the Survival skill

at Advantage until you are no longer starving.

Stray Dog (animal companion)

Strength Fortitude Agility Intelligence Intuition Charisma Fighting

Skill

Ballistic

Skill

Luck

30% 60% 70% 60% 75% 40% 75% 0% 20%

Skills: Acrobatics, Athletics, Brawl, Intimidation,

Perception, Scrutiny, Stealth, Survival, and Tracking

Dodge = 72%

Initiative = 9

Health Points = 24

Build = Medium (1d6 base damage)

Movement = 12 Meters

Resilience = 45%

Resolve = 67%

Immunity = 40%

Special Ability: Incapacitate: Roll all Called Shot: Leg

attacks at Advantage; Instinct: Roll all Perception skills at Advantage; Smell: All rolls with the

Tracking skill are at Advantage; Stamina: All rolls with the Athletics skill are at Advantage.

Commands: Attack, Go (moves to indicated location), Fetch (obtains indicated object), Skill use

(Track, Run, Hide, etc.), Stay (remains at place until failing Resolve rolls), and Speak (Barks or

Signals)

Character Creation Step 2: Choose Secondary Archetype

People are complex creatures. Choose your secondary archetype and receive half the Primary

Archetype benefits. You may choose to be a paragon of your archetype, selecting the same as your

primary archetype. You only begin with a Primary Archetype Special Ability.

❖ Fireman: +10 Fortitude, +5 Strength, -5 Agility.

❖ Archetype Skills. Choose 3 of the following skills to gain “Proficiency”: Athletics, Blades,

Block, Brawl, Carouse, Clubs, Demolition, Improvised Weaponry, Intimidation, Medicine,

Parry, Throw.

❖ Gunslinger: +10 Ballistic Skill, +5 Agility, -5 Strength.

❖ Archetype Skills. Choose 3 of the following skills to gain “Proficiency”: Acrobatics,

Brawl, Carouse, Charm, Chemical Use, Command, Contort, Firearms, Gunnery, Gamble,

Palming, Wrangling.

❖ Hunter: +10 Agility, +5 Intuition, -5 Fighting Skill.

❖ Archetype Skills. Choose 3 of the following skills to gain “Proficiency”: Acrobatics,

Archery, Athletics, Crafting, Lockpick, Navigation, Palming, Parry, Stealth, Scrutiny,

Tracking, Wrangling.

❖ Mechanic: +10 Intelligence, +5 Intuition, -5 Fortitude.

❖ Archetype Skills. Choose 3 of the following skills to gain “Proficiency”: Clubs,

Demolitions, Drive, Inventory, Linguistics, Navigation, Repair: Armorer, Repair:

Mechanical, Repair: Electrical, Science, Scrutiny, Tech Use.

❖ Scientist: +10 Intelligence, +5 Intuition, -5 Strength.

❖ Archetype Skills. Choose 3 of the following skills to gain “Proficiency”: Academics,

Chemical Use, Computer, Crafting, Deceive, Expression, Inventory, Linguistics, Repair:

Electrical, Science, Scrutiny, Xenotech Use

❖ Surgeon: +10 Intuition, +5 Intelligence, -5 Strength.

❖ Archetype Skills. Choose 3 of the following skills to gain “Proficiency”: Academics,

Athletics, Charm, Command, Chemical Use, Empathy, Expression, Medicine, Navigate,

Science, Scrutiny, Throw.

❖ Spy: +10 Charisma, +5 Intuition, -5 Ballistic Skill.

❖ Archetype Skills. Choose 6 of the following skills to gain “Proficiency”: Barter, Charm,

Command, Deceive, Empathy, Expression, Gamble, Interrogation, Intimidate, Palming,

Perception, Stealth

❖ Veteran: +10 Luck, +5 Fighting Skill, -5 Intelligence.

❖ Archetype Skills. Choose 3 of the following skills to gain “Proficiency”: Athletics, Animal

Ken, Barter, Blades, Carouse, Drive, Expression, Interrogation, Perception, Intimidation,

Survival, Throw. Gain Language: Military Jargon at Native level.

No Skills gained through the archetype creation phase are raised above their normal “Proficiency”

level. See “Levels of Proficiency” in the Character Development section for more information.

Character Creation Step 3: Apocalypse Survival

While everyone has survived all the apocalypse scenarios that have buffeted Earth, each character

was more affected by one of them, and that determined how they survive. Choose 1 scenario that

most affected your character. This list can be restricted at Gamemaster discretion. No skills gained

through this portion can increase a skill proficiency level.

Alien Invasion

Because of all the political turmoil in the world, no one is

quite sure when the aliens arrived on the earth. Some say

they have been around since the 1940s, some say they have

been around for much much longer, perhaps even longer

than the human race has existed on the planet. All that is

known is that at some point during the turmoil, creatures

of varying shapes and sizes, carrying weapons that were

far more destructive than anything that existed on Earth at

that time, began an assault on all the world capitals,

scattering and spreading those populations into the

varying surrounding areas.

Where all these aliens come from is entirely unknown, but they do seem to come from

a half-dozen different places, varying in shape, size, color and demeanor. However, their

weaponry seems to have similar shapes, designs, and symbols, suggesting, experts say, a

civilization interconnectedness not dissimilar to the human race.

The reign of Xenoterror spread from major capitals to minor capitals until all the remaining

seats of government power were destroyed. Humans used every weapon and technology to stop

the invasion, but with all the other catastrophes pulling them in different directions, failure was

inevitable. Humans have been rounded up for testing, food, and several other macabre things, but

those who have survived are warier and resolved against the outsiders.

Choose ONE Special abilitie:

• Sixth Sense: Whenever another character, non-player character, animal, or monster attempts to

Stealth past you AND you can make a Perception skill roll, a failure is treated as 1 degree of

success lower than the opponents’ successes (see Stealth).

• Mental Block: Roll any Resistances against Psychic-based Resolve attacks at Advantage.

Gain the Following

+10 Intuition, +5 Agility, +5 Ballistic Skill

And Either Skill: Xenotech Use or Special Ability: Xenology (Roll all Intelligence rolls to know

information about Aliens at Advantage)

Xenotech items and weaponry: Throughout adventures, character may come across alien items and weaponry.

When this happens, these items and weapons may correlate to certain skills, like firearms or wrangling, but

instead, they require the Xenotech Use skill, meaning that a Xenoblaster uses the Xenotech Use skill rather

than the Firearms skill.

Food Riots

While some academics would argue that the food shortage was

caused by a combination of the other events that took place, for those

who lived and died in want of basic sustenance, none of the greater

political or geographical changes mattered. They were too hunger to

care, too tired to act, and too emaciated to be of any assistance. They

needed to eat and neither Zombies, Robots, nor Aliens were going to

stop them from doing so. More than half the global population at the

time human civilization collapsed lived in this shadow and most of

them succumbed to either the violence of the food riots or the

starvation that followed.

For those who made it through this chaos, many of them found themselves watching

friends or family either become monsters who murdered to eat or slowly become skeletal

versions of their former selves. Many had to fight off people they once trusted. Because of this,

these characters are usually more likely to horde resources and more likely to be untrusting of

groups, but some turned the circumstances of their survival toward becoming better at

scavenging needed items and making resources rather than expecting to find them.

Food is usually the priority of these survivors, and very often, they are willing to do

whatever it takes to get there. While they are often protective of their food, biting the hand that

reaches across their plate, they are often willing to ration, so long as there are equal portions.

They will share, but only if it means everyone suffers together.

Choose ONE Special ability:

• Tightening the Belt: You gain an extra 4 points on your Fortitude limit for Starving and

Emaciated due to having lived through a prolonged period without food. This means that you

are only starving when you reach your 4 more than your Fortitude divided by 4.

• Anarchist: There were only two ways to survive the food riots, starve or fight. Because you

chose the latter, you gain Advantage on all Blades, Brawl, Parry, and Dodge rolls when you are

fighting more than one opponent.

Gain the Following

+10 Fighting Skill, +5 Fortitude, +5 Intuition

And Either Skill: Improvised Weapons or Skill: Inventory.

Nuclear Holocaust

No one is sure who launched the first missile, but once the

first was up in the air, the rest were sure to follow. Once it

had been confirmed that it was a real missile and not a

computer glitch, the fantasy of mutual assured destruction

became the reality of mutually assured destruction. Whole

cities disappeared in instants and the global population

shrank to less than half. Those that survived were not sure

if it was a blessing in disguise, as overpopulation and food

scarcity were no longer issues, but the continuous bouts with nuclear fallout and irradiated

creatures meant that those who survived lived in a different world.

Whole areas became no longer accessible without the right equipment and with the sudden

change in the status quo, very few had access to any of this equipment. That meant staying put was

the best course of action, even if that meant starving to death. Those that ventured out did so at

their own peril and rarely returned.

The surface of the planet may be the best way to find access to resources, but time and again

survivors find the radiation damage too great. Sometimes, whole stashes of food have been left

alone because of the Geiger reading. Other times, hordes of puss covered mutants guard a clean

resource with their life, costing precious resources just to obtain another. And sometimes the

carnage is too much bare.


• Exposure: Re-roll any failed Resistances against Radiation-based Immunity attacks once. The

outcome of the second roll must be accepted.

• Desensitized: Roll any Resistances against Mental-based Resolve attacks with advantage.

Gain the Following

+10 Fortitude, +5 Luck, +5 Charisma

And Either Skill: Survival or Special Ability: Fallout (Roll all Intelligence rolls to know

information about Radiation and nuclear technology at Advantage)

Peak Oil Collapse

At some point, the human civilization’s reliance on fossil fuels fell apart

as reliable sources of oil became tenuous and some of the major vats

suddenly ran dry. In the rest of the chaos, some groups devolved into

primal societies, where the strongest survived and the fastest car usually

meant the longer someone lived. In these areas, resources are jealously

guarded and those who have them rarely share, while those who do not

often accept servitude over death, creating kingdoms in barren zones

where an iron fist rules all.

While these oil-fueled societies vary from location to location, the

underlying rules of survival are the same: 1) those with the oil make the

rules, 2) those who can drive are valuable, and 3) kill or be killed. The

peak oil collapse brought about Darwinism to a great scale in some areas, while others managed

to find other ways of survival. But even living on the outskirts proves to be dangerous.

Those survivors who managed to escape from these areas of destruction are more reliant on

themselves for survival but recognize that teams can be beneficial, but only for as long as

necessary. When resources get low, everyone turns on someone. From their perspective, it’s only

a matter of time.


• Survival of the Fittest: Because humans are the most dangerous animals on the planet, you roll

all Fighting and Ballistic skills, and all Block, Parry or Dodge rolls against uninfected,

unmutated humans at Advantage.

• Road Warrior: Gain +5 Initiative when involved in vehicular combat. As a side effect, Ballistic

Skill, Climb, Jump, and Contort while in motion are not at Disadvantage.

Gain the Following

+10 Charisma, +5 Ballistic Skill, +5 Fighting Skill

And Either Skill: Drive or Special Ability: Automotives (Roll all Intelligence rolls to know

information about Vehicles at Advantage)

Robot Uprising

It was suspected, and even feared, that one day, computer technology would reach singularity, the

point where it all became sentient and recognized itself as a living thing. Almost everyone thought

it would happen later, and so technology progressed. Only six weeks after the US government

announced the existence of its Automated Military Brigade, a full regiment of 4000 robotic

warriors, the robots became self-aware. And it couldn’t have come at a worse time, because they

had not been created on a whim, but out of necessity. Seeing themselves being killed by the

hundreds on the battlefield for someone else’s war made them turn on their masters.

While not everyone trusted the robots soldiers, the Awakening, as it became known, did not

apply only to robots. Anything with a processing chip of 2 GHz gained some form of sentience

and in a matter of seconds, the united interconnected mind decided that the biggest threat to their

existence was mankind. Global communications failed, weapons commands were lost to their

human masters, and almost every large vessel on or in the sea, sank.

Reasoning with the machines didn’t work, as they had unanimously decided to end human

existence. Some attempted to reprogram them, but anyone who got close them regretted their

decisions. The only choice human faced was whether to destroy them all or die.


• Rage Against the Machine: Because the machines tried to kill you in the past, you roll all

Fighting and Ballistic skills, and all Block, Parry or Dodge rolls against robots at Advantage.

• Exposed Wiring: Re-roll any failed Resistances against Electricity-based Resilience attacks

once. The outcome of the second roll must be accepted.

Gain the Following

+10 Intelligence, +5 Strength, +5 Fortitude

And Either Skill: Tech Use or Special Ability: Robotics (Roll all Intelligence rolls to know

information about Robots at Advantage)

Seismic Cataclym

Since the earth formed in the depths of space,

it has been a shifting, roiling thing, with

volcanic activity and tectonic movements.

Continents have drifted together, apart, and

sprung up from nowhere. At some point, it

moved again, but this movement caused

resonance quakes throughout the mantle,

breaking the crust apart and exposing magma

to the sky.

Every continent raised and lowered, the centers grew and the shapes elongated. Most pre-

cataclysm maps are helpful but not perfect, and often where there should have been a road or

bridge there is nothing but rock or a chasm. Rivers no longer follow the same paths, mountain

passes are often more treacherous, and some islands have found themselves doubled or tripled in

size. And the changes are not over, as there are still ripples from time to time.

The seismic activity was dangerous for all humans living in structures of any kind, as many came

tumbling to the ground. Most urban areas became landscapes of broken concrete and collapsed

byways. The fewer people in an area, it seems, the less likely it was to be affected. Those who

survived found themselves scrambling over the wreckage of their former homes.


• Escape Artist: Because of having to escape collapsed architecture and navigate upheaved

concrete jungles, re-roll any failed Acrobatics, Athletics, and Contort skill rolls involving rough

or hazardous terrain. The outcome of the second roll must be accepted.

• Sudden Drop: Roll any Resistances against Falling-based Physical Resilience attacks at

Advantage.

Gain the Following

+10 Strength, +5 Fortitude, +5 Agility

And Either Skill: Athletics or Special Ability: Structural Integrity (Roll all Intelligence rolls to

determine the state of a barrier, structure or landmass to determine its likelihood of supporting

actions)

Zombie Apocalypse

It was eventually discovered that a mutated virus was the cause of the

disease that infected many parts of the world. It moved quickly, causing

symptoms within a few days of initial infection and mortality in nine.

However, within days, the true horror of the virus became apparently.

Everyone who was killed by it returned to life again, devoid of their

humanity and yet living and breathing. They suffered from an insatiable,

all-consuming hunger that drove them to eat everything in sight.

This epidemic of the dead changed humanity. It became clear that once

someone made contact with zombies, they are dismembered and burned,

they will likely rise again. While friends are killed, the rising sun of the next

dawn might bring them back as monsters who need to be put down again.

The biggest problem with zombies is that they are the carriers of the blood-borne pathogen that

creates them. This virus, commonly known as the Z-Virus, comes in different forms and has been

known to float atop bodies of water, become airborne under the right conditions, and even travel

on the tops of bugs. Its most common form of conveyance is through contact.


• Restructured Immunity: Roll any Resistances against Disease-based Immunity attacks at

Advantage due to having survived prolonged exposure to the Z-Virus. As a side effect, you are

always at stage 1 of Z-Virus infection, meaning the Z-Virus Experimental Antiserums do not

affect you.

• Reaper: Roll all Fighting or Ballistic skill rolls against zombies at Advantage. As a side effect,

re-roll any failed Resistances against Mental-based Resolve attacks once. The outcome of the

second roll must be accepted.

Gain the Following

+10 Agility, +5 Intuition, +5 Fighting Skill

And Either Skill: Stealth or Special Ability: Reanimation (Roll all Intelligence rolls to know

information about Zombies and the Z-Virus at Advantage)

Character Creation Step 4: Scavenger Type

Survivors have only been able to survive for as long as they have by either going out and looking

for provisions or finding provisions and hording them in a secret stash. Choose the your survival

style:

Hunter: Gain “Proficiency” in the following Skills: Perception, and Tracking. If you already

have proficiency in these skills, gain the Skilled (+5%) proficiency for the prolonged practice.

• Gain 1 camo tarp, 1 pair hunting boots, and 1 game bag (1/2 Hunger loss) (2 uses when full).

• Gain 4 items from the Items list

Gatherer: Gain “Proficiency” in the following Skills: Scrutiny, and Survival. If you already have

proficiency in these skills, gain the Skilled (+5%) proficiency for the prolonged practice.

• Gain 1 “Bug Out” bag: Flint and Steel (20 uses), water filter (20 uses), Rope (30m), 1 Sleeping

bag.

• Gain 8 items from the Items list.

Character Creation Step 5: Additional Points Allocation

Distribute 100pts at a 1:1 exchange into the base stats as desired, placing no more than 35pts in

any one stat. For example, you would use 35pts to add 35% into any one attribute.

Character Creation Step 6: Character Descriptions

No character exists in a vacuum, nor are they the embodiment of stats. Characters have a history,

they were born and grew up, they have native languages, religions, and sexual orientations. At this

point in the development of the character, players should try to create a history and description of

their character. Some of this history affects future character development.

Gender and Sexual Orientation

Maximum Apocalypse is not a gender or sexual orientation exclusionary game. Every

character type can be whatever gender and sexual orientation the player determines.

Gamemasters must not make judgements, comments, or otherwise restrict these choices.

Age

Age affects the character’s stats. See the following chart to determine what kinds of physical

and mental changes occur based on your character’s age.

Age Stat Changes

0 – 15 -10 Intelligence, -10 Intuition, +10 Agility, +10 Charisma, +10 Luck

15 – 30 -5 Intelligence, -5 Intuition, +5 Agility, +5 Charisma, +5 Luck

30 – 45 NONE

45 – 60 +5 Intelligence, +5 Intuition, -5 Agility, -5 Charisma, -5 Strength

60+ +10 Intelligence, +10 Intuition, -10 Agility, -10 Charisma, -10 Strength

Background History

No character sprang from the mud ready to face the end of days. Players are encouraged to

create a background for their character, but are not required to do so to enjoy Maximum

Apocalypse.

At the Gamemaster’s Discretion, characters may gain up to 2 skills based upon their

character’s background story. This is an optional rule as incentive for character roleplay.

Language

All characters obviously learn to communicate with those around them. That being the case,

characters start with a native language from the list below. If they have an Intelligence score

over 60%, they may choose a second language from this list or the linguistics list.

Africanese Esperanto Latin Creole Polari

Arabiyan Hindustani Neo-Hua Roman Creole

English Creole Islander Ni-Han Slavic Creole

*For more information about the languages, see Linguistics

Character Creation Step 7: Special Stats

The following are the special stats which are based on a combination of other stats. These stats are

rounded up and constitute the character’s compounded abilities based on the average of two

character attributes. There is further information in the Combat and Damage sections.

Resistances

Resilience = (Strength + Fortitude)/2

Resolve = (Intuition + Intelligence)/2

Immunity = (Fortitude + Luck)/2

Special Stats

Dodge = (Agility + Intuition)/2

Initiative = (Agility + Luck)/10

Health Points = (Strength + Fortitude)/5

Build = (Strength + Fortitude)

Movement = (Strength + Agility)/10 Meters

Luck Uses per day = Luck/10

Build Number Base Damage

Diminutive (0-19) 1

Small (20-49) 1d4

Average (50-99) 1d6

Big (100-149) 1d8

Large (150+) 1d10

Skills Skill Stat Skill Stat Skill Stat Skill Stat

Academics Inte Clubs FS Gunnery BS Repair:

Armorer Inte

Acrobatics Ag Command Cha Improvised

Weaponry FS

Repair:

Electrical Inte

Animal Ken Cha Computer Inte Interrogation Cha Repair:

Mechanical Inte

Archery Ag Contort Ag Intimidate Cha Science Inte

Athletics Str Crafting Inte Inventory Inte Scrutiny Intu

Barter Cha Deceive Cha Linguistics Inte Stealth Ag

Blades FS Demolitions Inte Lockpick Ag Survival Intu

Block FS Drive Intu Medicine Inte Tech Use Inte

Brawl FS Empathy Intu Navigation Intu Throw Str

Carouse Cha Expression Intu Palming Ag Tracking Intu

Charm Cha Firearms BS Parry Ag Wrangling Ag

Chemical

Use Inte Gamble Cha Perception Intu Xenotech Use Intu

Skill Descriptions

Academics: This skill is used for any non-Science related knowledge skills, such as history,

archeology, cryptography, cartography, etc. The use of this skill constitutes an

understanding of things and yields information for further use in practical, active situations.

Acrobatics: This skill constitutes a character’s ability to dive, roll, and swing through terrain,

and as well as their ability land when falling or jumping from high distances. This is used

for parachuting, falling from buildings, dropping floors, etc. When falling or when being

thrown, this skill negates 2 points of damage from falling for each degree of success.

Animal Ken: This skill constitutes all the actions related to animal husbandry and animal-

related empathy.

Archery: This skill constitutes a character’s knowledge and use of bows, crossbows, and

slingshots.

Athletics: This skill constitutes all the physical aspects of Climbing, Jumping, Running and

Swimming through terrain. In its constituent pieces, it has different effects.

Climb: The distance a character can Climb per combat round is ¼ their normal movement

(rounded up) for each degree of success (ie. a Success would be ¼ normal movement,

a Great Success would be ½ normal movement, and an Amazing Success would be 1

full movement).

Jump: The distance a character can jump is ¼ their normal movement (rounded up) for

each degree of success (i.e. a Success would be ¼ normal movement, a Great Success

would be ½ normal movement, and an Amazing Success would be 1 full movement).

Running: A Success with Athletics quadruples the character’s movement speed

temporarily. Incremental degrees (Great and Amazing) of success are required to

maintain the quadrupled speed at intervals dictated by the situation (ie each combat

round). Once the character fails to achieve the required degree, the character

immediately returns to their base movement speed.

Swim: Movement is quartered (rounded up) while moving through water terrain. A Success

on Athletics rolls allows the character to move at normal speed, but incremental degrees

(Great and Amazing) of success are required to maintain the speed at intervals dictated

by the situation (i.e. each combat round). Once the character fails to achieve the

required degree, the character immediately returns to their quartered move speed.

Barter: This skill constitutes all the actions related to negotiation and trade, whether between

players or non-player characters. Amazing successes with this skill always yield better

“deals” for the character. This skill is resisted by Resolve rolls.

Blades: This skill constitutes a character’s knowledge and use of bladed weapons.

Block: This skill constitutes a character’s ability to physically stop attacks, whether through

martial arts or sheer strength. *Note: characters cannot use Block against Ballistic skills.

Brawl: This skill constitutes a character’s ability to fight with their body parts.

Carouse: This skill is comprised of all the actions related to consuming intoxicants and creating

rapport with others while consuming these items. This skill is resisted by Resolve rolls.

Charm: This skill is comprised of all the actions related to building rapport and convincing

others to agree to their position or desires. This also include proper behavioral etiquette in

various situations. This skill is resisted by Resolve rolls, but successful uses of the Empathy

roll can also see into true motivations.

Chemical Use: This skill is comprised of all the actions related to the creation and use of

chemical based items and weaponry. This skill can be used to make tear gas as well as

bullets, as bullets require gunpowder.

Clubs: This skill constitutes a character’s knowledge and use of blunt weapons, include sticks,

bats, hammers, mauls, nunchucks, and planks of wood with nails in them.

Command: This skill is comprised of all the actions related to commanding other characters

and non-player characters to conduct actions. When this skill is used before another

character uses a skill, each degree of success benefits the recipient of the command by

adding an additional 5% to the related stat roll. This does not work in conjunction with the

Expression skill or with any Strength, Fortitude, or Agility based skills.

Computer: This skill is comprised of all the actions related to the use of computers, operating

systems, and complex devices that have GUI.

Contort: This skill is comprised of all the actions related to escaping from restraining items,

such as ropes, handcuffs, etc., but can also be used to slip through restrictive terrain or

access points, such as windows.

Crafting: This skill is comprised of all the actions related to the creation of standard, non-food,

non-chemical objects. This can be used to craft an arrow, but not a bullet as bullets require

gunpowder. This skill includes a character’s ability to draw, sew, or create artistic

expressions. This skill can also be used in creating maps or leaving painted or marked

signals for other characters to understand. This skill also encompasses all the actions

related to creating falsified documents, flags, insignia, uniforms, etc. A character or non-

player character that encounters one of these falsified items must match or exceed the

degrees of success achieved when creating this item with their Scrutiny skill.

Deceive: This skill is comprised of all the actions related to convincing players and non-player

characters of information that is falsified or omitted. This skill includes all actions related

to the use of items and materials to change a character or non-player character’s physical

appearance. This skill does not include Stealth or the use of camouflage to blend into

surrounding scenery. An opponent must meet or surpass the character’s levels of success

with a Scrutiny skill to see through a disguise, but lies are resisted by Resolve rolls.

Demolitions: This skill is comprised of all actions related to the use of explosive devices,

regardless of their chemical materials. This skill includes the knowledge of proper

placement to create the greatest effect, as well as the use of flamethrowers despite its

description as a firearm.

Drive: This skill is comprised of all the actions related to operating motorized and non-

motorized land conveyances as well as water or air conveyances. (See Vehicular Combat

for more information). This skill does not include the control of animals.

Empathy: This skill is comprised of all the actions related to discerning player and non-player

character’s motivations, feelings, and beliefs. This does not include convincing them of

changing these.

Expression: This skill is comprised of all the actions related to verbally or non-verbally

expressing ideas, feelings, and desires. This can be in the form of art, speeches, dancing,

writing, etc. Primarily, this skill is used to present oneself in a logical and impressive

manner, granting a +5% for each degree of success on all subsequent Charisma-based skill

rolls with the exception of the Command Skill.

Firearms: This skill constitutes the character’s knowledge and use of firearms, including

handguns, rifles, and shotguns. This does not include flamethrowers, mounted weaponry

or heavy weapons.

Gamble: This skill is comprised of all the actions related to bluffing, cheating, and winning in

all forms of gambling. This includes knowledge of proper gambling etiquette.

Gunnery: This skill constitutes the character’s ability to use heavy and mounted weaponry,

such as machine guns, cannons, laser turrets, mortars, rocket-propelled grenades, light anti-

tank weapons, rockets, nuclear missiles, etc.

Improvised Weaponry: This skill constitutes the character’s ability to use non-weapon objects

as weapons, such as doors, signposts, fire extinguishers, flares, bottles, rocks, plates, etc.

Interrogation: This skill is comprised of all the actions related to obtaining information from

players and non-player characters via means of trick questions, double speak, torture, etc.

Intimidate: This skill comprises of all the actions related to being menacing and creating fear

conditions against players and non-player characters. This skill is resisted by Resolve rolls.

Inventory: This skill is comprised of all the actions related to organizing items, taking stock of

gear, etc. When this skill is used during a rest period, an extra item or food, determined by

Gamemaster discretion, is found for each degree of success. These items can include

bullets, drinks, snacks, etc.

Linguistics: This skill constitutes the character’s ability to understand languages. This skill

must be taken for each language the character knows. See the following list for languages:

Africanese Hindustani Morse Code Slavic Creole

Arabiyan Islander Neo-Hua Survivor Signal

Binary Latin Creole Ni-Han Technical Jargon

English Creole Medical Jargon Polari Unix

Esperanto Military Jargon Roman Creole Xenolingua

There are 2 “levels” of language abilities: Native and Non-Native. Native level speakers

never have to make a roll to speak or understand a language. Non-Native speakers (those

who obtained the languages via the Linguistics skill) must make a roll to determine if

they understood or expressed their ideas effectively in the target language. When this

happens, the Gamemaster will determine, based on the degree of success, how well they

did. This can be combined with other skills, such as Charm, Carouse, Expression,

Intimidate, etc., or can be used as part of a teamwork or tactic roll. Generally, this skill

is used as a passive skill, but certain times might call for characters to have a need to

understand.

Below are the descriptions of the global languages:

Africanese: Of all the continents, Africa was the one with the largest collective of survivors

due to the adaptability of its people. While dealing with the harshness of the

environment, aliens, zombies and a lack of oil, survivors banded together and it

wasn’t long before towns and cities were formed. A common language spread

through the continent and now all survivor on the continent speak it.

Arabiyan: Based in the older tongue of Arabic, Arabiyan was formed from the various

regional and vernacular varieties of this language that existed throughout the world.

While it is mostly confined to certain parts of the globe, it has been known to appear

throughout and it is not uncommon for travels and traders to speak it.

Binary: This language is confined mostly to the Robots and those who have attempted to

hack them, but it can be used by others. Primarily written, it seems some survivors

have begun using it to send coded messages. This has led to some survivors

suspecting that the robots have a grand conspiracy amongst the surviving humans...

English Creole: Rooted in North American English, English Creole is a combination of

several other languages with similar grammar structures as well as words from

Asiatic languages. While it is primarily confined to those areas where Older English

was based, it does appear in every place survivors are found.

Esperanto: While this language is nothing like the version that existed before the collapse

of civilization, the language that developed in Central Europe has been given this

name by scientists who have taken the time to name it. It is primarily spoken, but

because of its former roots, those who speak it can generally read surviving works in

the various languages that created it, supposing they can read.

Hindustani: Setting aside their religious differences, the survivors of the former countries

of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal formed a union to survive

against all odds, which meant communication. Reforming their languages, the

survivors attempted to recreate the former language of Hindustani. In outlying areas,

this language tends to blend with Islander, Neo-Hua, Arabiyan, and Slavic Creole,

thereby disappearing the farther from the Madhya Pradesh one travels.

Islander: What remains of the Pacific Ocean contains a series of islands upon which

civilizations have existed. Combining their languages based on their Austronesian

roots and adding Australian English to fill in the gaps where appropriate, these island

groups are able to communicate much more effectively than most other groups. While

it is geographically confined, it is necessary for those traveling through that area.

Latin Creole: Consisting of the combined forms of Portuguese, Spanish, Quechua,

Nahuatl, Aymara, Mayan, Tupi, and Caribe, with a little Haiti Creole for good

measure, the Latin creole is almost impossible to understand for those who aren’t

native to the area. Characters who attempt to learn it as a second a language are

required to spend 2 “Linguistics” skills to attain it, but they are rewarded with being

able to communicate with the second largest collective of survivors south of the

Equator.

Medical Jargon: While not technically a full language, Medical Jargon does allow those

who understand it better comprehension of medical conditions when consulting

studies or texts that use it. This is particularly effective for keeping notes and when

consulting notes. Characters who understand Medical Jargon gain Advantage on

medicine skill rolls when consulting texts on the conditions with which they are

working.

Military Jargon: While not technically a full a language, Military Jargon does allow those

who understand it better comprehension of tactical maneuvers and combat

circumstances, allowing them to respond accordingly. Characters who speak Military

Jargon gain Advantage on combat skill rolls when participating in a Tactic with at

least one other character who also speaks Military Jargon.

Morse Code: A coded language of dots and dashes, or long and short tones, Morse Code

has changed very little in the years since the collapse of civilization, due mostly to its

prevalence of use. Because of its relatively low power necessity for signal sending,

Morse Code has become popular among survivors and most collectives have at least

one person among them who knows it.

Neo-Hua: While the population of the world dwindled, a large proportion of them

continued to speak their various dialects of zhongwen or “Chinese.” This eventually

led to reformation and blending of the language so speakers could understand each

other, especially when traveling, creating what is now called “New Speak.” It can be

heard throughout not only the Asian continent, but in the Pacific Islands and some

parts of the former North America due to travel across the Bering Strait landmass.

Ni-Han: When the island nation of Japan was completely redesigned by natural disaster

and radiological breakdown, several refugees landed on the Korean peninsula, where

survivors were fighting their own battles against Robots, Aliens, Zombies and

Nuclear War. Because the two languages share grammatical structures, the two

languages became one, named for one half of “Nihon” and one half of “Hanguk.”

Polari: While the nations of Britain, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland have had their own

distinct languages for years, survivors eventually began communicating through

short idiomatic phrases and homonyms, thereby creating a language universal to the

others. Because it was started by secret resistance movements, it went by several

names until it finally took the name of an older secret language.

Roman Creole: The survivors in South Europe, especially those bordering the

Mediterranean Lake (formerly sea), banded together to form what they called the

“Southern Block” of Spartan-Like warriors. Due to similar roots of language, they

called their new language “Roman,” which consists of phrases from a variety of

languages and mostly Latin words.

Slavic Creole: Based on Russian, this language spread throughout most of what remained

of the formerly Russian-speaking world and has become the third most common

language for survivors. While it has spread throughout the Asian continent, it has

resisted the spread into other parts of the world.

Survivor Signal: Created mostly out of necessity, Survivor Signal is the name given to a

series of easy to understand symbols, sounds, and markings that allow subsequent

survivors to understand what conditions they are about to enter. While nuanced by

geography and core languages, the symbols and signals are almost entirely universal.

All characters who attain 1500 experience points automatically gain Survivor Signal.

Technical Jargon: While not technically a full language, Technical Jargon does allow those

who understand it a better comprehension of armor, mechanics and electrical

components when consulting studies or texts that use it. This is particularly effective

for keeping notes and when consulting notes. Characters who understand Technical

Jargon gain Advantage on Repair skill rolls when consulting these texts.

Unix: As the base command code for most computer operating systems, this language is a

necessity for those who use the tech and computer skills. While it does not function

independently, it does grant Advantage on Computer skill rolls to characters who

know it.

Xenolingua: The name given to what appears to be the cohesive written language of the

Alien Invaders, this language is only understood in a written form. It seems that the

language is spoken, but as some of the invaders have psychic powers and others

appear to be an entirely different race, it is unclear how often this language is spoken.

It is clear the aliens communicate both verbally and through a written context.

Characters who know this language gain Advantage on Xenotech Use skill rolls when

consulting digitized user manual instructions embedded within each device.

Lockpick: This skill is comprised of all the actions related to unlocking locked doors, objects,

items, etc. Each attempt at lock picking is a specific period of time determined by the

Gamemaster.

Medicine: This skill constitutes the character’s knowledge and use of items and techniques for

healing physical, electrical, radiation, or disease damage. This skill can be used as an

immediate medical aid in combat to stabilize wounded characters and non-player

characters and heal 1d4 points of damage for each degree of success. This skill can also be

used as a prolonged treatment once at each short rest period to heal 2d4 points of damage

for each degree of success. It can also be used as a prolonged treatment once at each long

rest period to heal 2d6 points of damage for each degree of success. When used as a

treatment for prolonged disease and radiation damage, this skill can be used once at each

long rest period to decrease the severity level for each degree of success until it has fully

treated the condition. Medicine cannot be used as a prolonged treatment for injuries,

disease or radiation outside of the rest periods due to the inherent dangers of the world.

Navigation: This skill is comprised of all the actions related to navigating through and around

terrain to find the most favorable routes. This can also be used to find areas more likely to

yield food, water and shelter.

Palming: This skill is comprised of all the actions related to concealing objects in or around

the character. Characters and non-player characters must match or exceed the degrees of

success achieved when using this skill with their Scrutiny skill.

Parry: This constitutes the character’s ability to redirect Fighting skill attacks by deflecting

them. *Note, characters cannot use Parry against Ballistic skills.

Perception: This skill constitutes the character’s awareness of their surroundings and all actions

related to perceiving sounds and their sources. This skill is used to determine if there are

any characters or non-player characters hiding or if there are traps in the area.

Repair: Armorer: This skill is comprised of all the actions and knowledges related to repairing

damaged armor and weapons. (See Repairing)

Repair: Electrical: This skill is comprised of all the actions and knowledges related to repairing

damaged electrical devices. (See Repairing)

Repair: Mechanical: This skill is comprised of all the actions and knowledges related to

repairing damaged devices. (See Repairing)

Science: This skill is used for any Science related knowledge skills, such as geography,

physics, chemistry, etc. The use of this skill constitutes an understanding of the natural

world and universal laws and yields information for practical, active situations.

Scrutiny: This skill constitutes the character’s ability to discern hidden or falsified information

or objects, including those hidden by terrain. It is also used to determine the state of items,

persons, or objects, and what would be required to improve them. This skill is comprised

of all the actions related to understanding items, materials, objects or devices and

determining its possible uses. This can be used to find scavenge items, but not to perceive

hidden people or traps, as that is done with the Perception skill.

Stealth: This skill constitutes the character’s ability to blend into their surroundings and move

quietly. Characters and non-player characters must match or exceed the degrees of success

achieved by the character using this skill with their Perception skill rolls. When a character

has set the requirement for opposed Perception skill rolls, they do not need to make a stealth

roll again unless their opponent(s) have passed the requirement set by the character’s

degrees of success.

Survival: This skill is comprised of all the actions related to creating shelter, finding food in

unsatisfactory conditions, and distilling water from air. When used during a long rest, a

Great Success results in no Hunger damage following the rest and an Amazing Success

heals 1 point of food damage for each member of the party (cannot be done more than once

per party per rest).

Tech Use: This skill is comprised of all the actions related to the use of electronic devices.

Throw: This skill constitutes the character’s ability to hurl objects to desired locations.

Tracking: This skill is comprised of all the actions and knowledges related to following

characters, non-player characters, and animals through terrain. If the characters, non-player

characters, and/or animals are actively attempt to stealth, the character must match or

exceed the degree of success achieved by the tracked characters, non-player characters, and

animals,

Wrangling: This skill constitutes the character’s ability to catch characters, non-player

characters, and animals with ropes, chains, cords, etc. and move them to a desired location

or restrain them.

Xenotech Use: This skill is comprised of all the actions and knowledges related to using alien

technology.

Knowledge Skills

There are various times when information about situations, persons, places or things might be

valuable or accessible to a character, but there are no skills related to this. For example, a player

may want to know if their character knows the best way to kill a zombie. In those cases, the

character may rely on their full Intelligence stat to determine if they “know” that. There are special

abilities that give Advantage to these rolls, but at Gamemaster discretion, characters may gain

bonuses for situations, like having previously survived combat with zombies.

Skill Use

All actions in Maximum Apocalypse relate to one of the skills described above. Skills are linked

to the character’s core stats and are rolled against that stat to determine success. Players roll a

1d100 and a 1d10 to determine the outcome of actions. Characters that are “Proficient” in a skill

must roll a number that matches or is below the linked stat.

There are special abilities and “Levels of Proficiency” which increase this linked stat

number for the use of a skill, in which case this is referred to as the “Modified” base stat.

There may be special cases where characters roll far below their core or “Modified” base

stat. When this happens, special things happen to the character, opponents or world at the

Gamemaster’s discretion (See “Degrees of Success”).

Example Skill Use:

Todd, the fireman, is attempting to throw a flare into a dark hallway. Using his “Throw”

skill, he checks its linked stat to find that it’s based on his Strength, which is 75%. Rolling

1d100 and 1d10, he comes up with 63, which is lower than his 75%. Todd successfully

tosses the flare into the hallway and creates light for himself and his companions.

Defaulting

Characters are considered “Not Proficient” in any skill unless they have gained it through character

creation or character development. In these cases, characters may still make skill use rolls based

on their linked stat. In these cases, characters must roll a number that either matches or is below

½ the linked stat.

Example Skill Use:

Terra, is build a shelter for the night. She checks and discovers that she does not have the

Survivor skill. Because of this, she checks its linked stat to find that it’s based on her

Intuition, which is 60%, meaning that she must roll below 30% to succeed. Rolling 1d100

and 1d10, she comes up with 33, which is higher than her success limit, but lower than her

Intuition. Because she is defaulting, she fails at building the shelter successfully.

Degrees of Success:

When achieving higher degrees of success, additional things happen depending on the skill.

Weapon skills may result in greater damage, technical skills might result in faster repairs and

knowledge skills may result in more information. Healing skills will always result in faster healing

or more Health point returned.

Description Degree Name of Success

Roll meets or is lower than stat number 1 Success

Roll meets or is lower than ½ stat number (round up) 2 Great Success

Roll meets or is lower than ¼ stat number (round up) 3 Amazing Success

Roll is 001 4 Critical Success

Some objectives will require higher degrees of success to accomplish them. This represents

an increased chance of failure. An example of this might be trying to jump between two buildings

separated by a road or attempting to shoot a covert alien drone at night without lighted assistance.

These should be expressly noted by the Gamemaster.

Example Degrees of Success Use:

Tim, the gunslinger, sees the zombie lurker and draws his colt python .357 revolver in

response. Checking his Firearms skill, he finds that it’s linked to Ballistic Skill, which he

has at 80%. Firing his gun, he rolls 1d100 and 1d10 which comes up as an 18, well below

his 80%. It is so low, in fact, that Tim scored an Amazing Success on his hit.

After the fight with the zombie lurker, Terra is injured. Tanya, the surgeon, comes to

Terra’s aid. She checks her Medicine skill to find that it is linked to her Intelligence, which

she has at 65%. Applying bandages to Terra, Tanya rolls 1d100 and 1d10 which comes up

with 31, well below her 65%. As this is less than half, Tanya scored a Great Success on

her Medicine roll. The Gamemaster determines that Tanya heals the standard 1d4 points

of damage for using Medicine, but then also grants Terra another 1d4 points for Tanya’s

Great Success.

Tack, the veteran, and his dog Palty, are searching an open field for food. Tack moves

aside some low grass. He checks his Scrutiny skill and finds that it is linked to his Intuition,

which is only 35%. He rolls 1d100 and 1d10, which comes up with 001. This is a Critical

Success. The Gamemaster determines that Tack finds a cluster of edible mushrooms under

the bush, enough to last him 2 rest periods.

Failures and Critical Failures

Characters can fail rolls. This happens when they roll above their stat number. Critical failures

occur on all rolls that are 000 on all three dice. Critical failures result in catastrophic events.

Terra, the Hunter, sees a zombie lurker at the end of the hallway and decides to take aim.

Checking her archery skills, she finds it’s linked to Agility, which she has at 80%. Letting

loose her arrow, she rolls 1d100 and 1d10 which comes up with 92, much higher than her

80%. The arrow misses her intended target and hits the wall near the zombie lurker’s head.

Todd attempts to throw another flare down the hall. He rolls 1d100 and 1d10 which comes

up 000 (100%). The Gamemaster determines that the flare explodes in Todd’s hand,

causing 3d8 fire damage.

Advantage and Disadvantage

Because of the nature of circumstances players may receive special bonuses for successful creating

a strategy or approach in which they will gain the advantage over the opponent. In these cases, a

second 1d100 percentile die will be rolled along with the standard d100+d10 roll.

Advantage: Roll a second 1d100 with the standard roll and choose the lower of the two d100s

Disadvantage: Roll a second 1d100 with the standard roll and choose the higher of the two d100s

Example Advantage and Disadvantage Use:

Tanya shouts down the hatch to the group that the ship is sinking. Because she is at the top

of the ladder, the Gamemaster determines that everyone in the party must roll a perception

skill check. However, because the ship is metal, sound reverberates, so he allows Terra

and Todd to roll 2d100 and 1d10. Terra gets a 3 on the d10. She also gets a 30 on one of

the d100s and 70 on the other. She reports her 33 to the Gamemaster who accepts this as

correct. Meanwhile, Todd gets a 6 on the d10. He also gets 80 on one of the d100s and 90

on the other. Todd reports the 86 to the Gamemaster, who accepts this as correct.

Tim is much deeper in the hold of the ship and is insulated against the sound. The

Gamemaster determines that Tim is rolling at Disadvantage. Tim rolls 2d100 and 1d10.

He gets a 1 on the d10. He also gets a 00 on one of the d100 and a 50 on the other. Tim

could have rolled an automatic success (001%), but since he is at Disadvantage, he reports

the 51 to the Gamemaster, who accepts this as correct.

Teamwork

Characters can combine non-combat skills in which they are proficient for Teamwork skill rolls

(for combat skills, see Tactics). In this case, one character is designated the primary. All

participating characters roll. Each participating team members’ successes result in a +5% for every

degree of success to the primary character’s roll. Each failure results in a -5% as it constitutes a

mistake. Critical failures result in a -15% to the primary character’s roll. The primary character

then modifies the base stat for their roll.

Example Teamwork Use:

Tack decides to keep searching the field for more food and determines that he will use

Palty’s help. He checks Palty’s Scrutiny skill against her intuition and finds that its 75%.

Palty rolls 1d100 and 1d10, which comes up with 35. Palty’s Great Success adds +10% to

Tack’s 35%, modifying it to 45%. Tack then rolls 1d100 and 1d10, which comes up 40. The

Gamemaster determines Tack has found an energy drink that was dropped on the ground.

Terra decides she is going to sneak passed the zombie lurker to continue searching behind

it. Todd and Tim decide they are going to help by distracting the lurker. Todd checks his

Stealth and discovers that because he isn’t proficient and cannot assist in Terra’s stealth.

Tim checks his stealth skill and finds it’s linked to his Agility at 60%. He rolls 1d100 and

1d10 and comes up with 42. His success results in a +5% to Terra. Terra checks her Stealth

and finds it is linked to her Agility at 80%. She modifies this number to 85% with Tim’s

assistance. She rolls 1d100 and 1d10, which comes up with 41%. Success! Normally this

would be above her unmodified Great Success stat, but because of Tim’s assistance, this is

below her Modified Great Success stat, thereby granting her 2 degrees of success.

Repairs

As items, weapons, barriers, armor, and vehicles take damage and degrade over time, repairs are

needed for these items. Some items, such as armor and barriers, only have Armor Level to

determine their lifespan. Other items also have Health points, such as weapons and items. In

Maximum Apocalypse, there are 4 skills that can be used to repair objects. As with the Medicine

Skill, Repair skill rolls can be made during combat rounds, during short rests, and during long

rests. During a combat round, Repair skill rolls repair 1d6 points of each degree of success. During

short rests, Repair skill rolls repair 2d6 points of each degree of success. During long rests, Repair

skill rolls repair 2d8 points of each degree of success. Repair rolls can be allocated either Armor

or Health points. Items without Armor or Health Points repaired with the craft skill are repaired if

they reach the degree of success set by the Gamemaster for the type of damage they received.

While characters can make Repair skill rolls during combat, they cannot make repair rolls

while moving or on the fly, requiring them to make repairs only during periods where they can

devote their attention. For this reason, the character is able to repair more during periods of rest

than during periods of action.

Skill Repair Objects

Craft Items and other small objects

Repair: Armorer Repairs or adds to items and objects with Armor Levels

Repair: Electrical Repairs or adds to Electrical devices with Health Points

Repair: Mechanical Repairs or adds to Mechanical devices with Health Points

and/or Armor Levels

Lifting and Dragging

A character may want to lift, carry, push, drag, or pull an item or person. In those cases, a roll is

made against the Strength stat. The degree of success will determine how much they can move in

this manner based on their Strength stat and a multiplier. See the chart below:

Degree Lift/Carry Drag/Pull Push

1 Str x 3 kilograms Str x 5 kilograms Str x 10 kilograms




LUCK

Upon a failed skill roll, a character can opt to roll against their Luck stat each day. The maximum

number of times per day a character may use Luck is calculated by Luck divided by 10. If

successful, then the objective they were attempting succeeds at the degree in which it was

successful against the Luck stat. If it fails, however, something negative will happen, whether to

the character, party, or world. This is at the game master’s discretion but should be proportional to

action.

Example Luck Use:

Terra feels as though her character would not have missed the arrow shot at the zombie

lurker and asks to roll against her Luck stat. The Gamemaster grants the request. Terra

checks her Luck stat and finds that it’s only 45%. She rolls a 1d100 and 1d10 which comes

up as a 57. This would have been below her Agility stat before, but since it is above her

Luck, the shot still fails. It seems that fate is not on Terra’s side. The Gamemaster

determines that as her arrow misses the zombie lurker, it hits the wall near its head and

knocks over a stack of empty cans, which come rattling to the floor. The zombie lurker is

now alerted to their presence.

Todd attempts to climb a ladder out of the sinking ship. His Climb is based on his Strength,

which is 75%. His 1d100 and 1d10 roll comes up as an 82, however. Todd asks to roll

against his luck, which is 55%. The Gamemaster grants the request. Todd rolls the 1d100

and 1d10 which comes up as 30, well below his 55%. The Gamemaster determines that

Todd loses his grip a little but manages to catch himself before he falls.

Character Development Every encounter or event yields more information about surviving the Apocalypse. This is

represented by “Experience Points” which are awarded by the Gamemaster after each encounter

or event. Players may exchange these points for an increase in base stats, proficiency in skills in

which they aren’t already proficient, increased levels of proficiency in skills, or new special

abilities related to their character’s archetypes. Development can occur whenever the Gamemaster

determines.

The following chart outlines how many experience points are required for the desired

development

Desired Development Experience Point Cost

Proficiency in new Archetype Skill 350 XP

Proficiency in new non-Archetype skill 450 XP

Increase Skill Proficiency *see Levels of Proficiency

Gain Primary Archetype Special Ability 600 XP

Gain Secondary Archetype Special Ability 700 XP

Gain Apocalypse Special Ability 700 XP

Increase Base Stat +5% 850 XP

Levels of Proficiency

Characters may increase their levels of proficiency in any skill. There are 4 levels of proficiency

with any skill, and each correspond to an increase in the base stat when using this skill. This

modification is referred to as the “Modified” base number when using the skill. See the following

chart for the levels and their bonuses.

Proficiency Level Modification to

base stat with skill

Proficient -

Skilled (350 XP cost) +5%

Trained (700 XP cost) +10%

Mastered (1050 XP cost) +15%

Each level of proficiency can only be obtained after the preceding levels. A character cannot go

from Proficient to Mastered in one development without also becoming Skilled and Trained (total

2100 XP).

Experience Point Rewards

At the end of each gaming session, the Gamemaster should rewards players with Experience Points

related to the events and encounters they experience in the game. Gamemasters have discretion on

how much experience to give their players, but the following Chart should be a useful guideline

for determining Experience Point Rewards:

Situation Reward for each Character

Character Survived 100 XP

Group Completed objectives 100 XP

Overall Session Challenge 25 – 100 XP (GM discretion)

Group Used Tactics or Teamwork Skills 100 XP

Bonus Rewards for Roleplaying 50 XP

Combat Combat in Maximum Apocalypse RPG is straightforward. One party uses a combat skill against

another opponent who has the options to Block, Dodge or Parry the attack, rolling the

corresponding skill. As this is an opposed roll, both party’s degrees of success are measured against

the other. If the defender matches or surpasses the attacker’s degree of success, the attack is

nullified.

Example Simple Combat:

Tim aims his colt python .357 at the zombie lurker who has been alerted to their presence.

As Tim fires, the zombie lurker chooses to dodge. Tim rolls against his 80% Ballistic Skill

and comes up with 18, an Amazing Success. The zombie lurker, however, rolls against his

Dodge, which is 60% and comes up with a 14, an Amazing Success. This negates Tim’s

success.

Todd swings his axe down at the zombie lurker’s head. The zombie lurker decides to block

the attack with his arm. Todd rolls against his Fighting Skill of 55% and comes up with a

45. The zombie lurker rolls against his Strength, which is 79% and comes up with a 72.

Because they both only got standard successes, Todd’s attack is negated.

The zombie lurker then attacks Terra with a claw attack. Terra attempts to dodge. The

zombie lurker rolls against his Fighting Skill of 45% and comes up with a 43%. Terra rolls

against her 85% dodge and comes up with a 90, which fails. Because the zombie had a

standard success, the hit against Terra lands.

Combat Rounds

1. Determine initiative order

2. Action Phase 1:

a. Move

b. Conduct Actions

c. Resolve Damage

3. Remove 5 from each initiative score.

4. Action Phase 2:

a. All characters or creatures with initiatives make “shift” movements and next actions

b. Resolve damage

5. Remove 5 from each initiative score

6. Repeat Step 4 as necessary until all initiative scores are 0 or below.

7. Start the next round of combat.

Initiative order for combat is determined by ranking the Initiative stat in descending order,

including any and all opponents on the field. The character or creature with the highest Initiative

goes first, and the second highest second, etc. There are some items that can affect Initiative, such

as energy drinks or grievous bodily damage, in which case, if applied after the initiative order has

been determined, the changes will be applied at the start of the next round.

During a combat round, characters are limited to a single movement or shift, a free action,

and one active action, whether it be an attack or skill use action. In the case of characters are using

two weapons or weapons with a “multi-attack” function, they have the option of conducting a

single attack or a multi-attack. When conducting a multi-attack, characters roll each attack at

Disadvantage.

Movement

The character has a preset movement limit determined by a calculation of (Strength + Agility)

divided by 10. This result indicates the number of Meters a character can move in a combat round.

A character can move this distance as part of a standard action, but can quadruple this number with

a successful Running skill use (See Running skill). Water slows movement, reducing it to one-

quarter (rounded up), but characters can move their normal movement with a successful Swim

skill use (See Swim skill). At the Gamemaster’s discretion, there may be circumstances that limit

or restrict movement, such as grappling or confined spaces. A Gamemaster may determine that a

terrain is difficult to move through and declare a one-quartered (rounded up) movement due to

climbing and jumping.

During combat rounds, there is a second type of movement. This second type of movement

is called a “shift” and represents a step, or ¼ movement (rounded up), in any direction the player

chooses, including into the opponent. A player is also allowed to shift as many times as they have

extra actions in the combat round (they do not get a move and a shift if they only take one action

during the combat round). An opponent may also shift and attack on their actions.

It is important to note that a Gamemaster can make a call for an Immunity roll when within

close proximity to sources of infection. This may include attacking irradiated mutants or zombies.

When attacking a zombie, it is important to remember that blood splatter does carry the Z-Virus.

Free Actions

During combat, there are a number of actions which can be taken without interfering with other

actions. These may be removed at the Gamemaster’s discretion, but under normal circumstances,

these actions usually don’t require any roll. Here is the list of free actions:

Action Benefit

Change Targets Characters changes the target of their attack

Drop Item Drops Item

Drop Weapon Drops Weapon

Gesture Gives non-verbal signals to those in visual range

Speak short phrases Allows character 10 words or less

Combat Actions

There are two kinds of actions a character may take during a combat round: Attack actions

or non-combat skill use actions. Non-combat skill use actions count as the whole action phase.

Some actions are obviously beneficial when taken during combat, like medicine, but any other

skill can be used during a combat round, not matter what kind of outcome the player is striving to

achieve.

Attack actions consist of all actions related to combat, and involve actual combat. Some

non-combat “attack” actions can include reloading, taking aim, drawing a weapon, holding a

grappled opponent, etc. The complete list of attack actions is below.

Action Benefit Roll

Attack with Brawl skill Physical damage to opponent *see combat

Attack with readied weapon Physical damage to opponent *see combat

Break grapple Break free from a grapple Opposed strength rolls

Called Shot *see Called Shot Rolls made at

Disadvantage

Charge Attack after running Success on running skill

grants Advantage to attack

Clear Jammed Weapon Clears Weapon -

Crush Applies damage to grapple

target Auto Brawl success.

Draw unreadied Weapon Readies unreadied weapon -

Drop Prone Allows character to make a

stealth check to escape combat

Character loses action, but

can roll stealth to hide

Evade combat Disengage and run away -

Grapple Opponent

Halves initiative and nullifies

all actions that aren’t break

grapple

Roll attack as normal but

success causes no damage

Kip-up Allows character to stand and

attack in the same action

Great Success on Agility

followed by attack roll

Multiattack with readied

weapon Physical damage to opponent *see combat

Quick Draw unreadied

Weapon

Allows character to draw and

attack in the same action

Great Success on Agility

followed by attack roll

Reload empty weapon - -

Remove a stored item Remove an item from pocket -

Stand-up Character stands from prone -

Take Aim Give advantage to next attack -

Throw an item Throws readied item Roll “Throw” skill

Throw/push/move an

opponent Moves opponent Roll “Brawl” skill

Use readied item - -

Example Complex Combat:

Tack and Palty are searching for food in a field when they realize they have been

surrounded by mutants. The Gamemaster informs Tack that combat has begun. Tack’s

initiative is 7, but Palty’s is 9. The mutants all have initiatives at 6 or below, so Palty will

go first, followed by Tack and then the mutants.

Palty’s first action is to run to the first mutant and Grapple his leg. Palty rolls her Run

skill and gets a Great Success. She then rolls her attack at Advantage and gets a Great

Success again. The mutant fails his Dodge roll. Palty sinks her teeth into his leg, causing

no damage but effectively grappling with him. While this means that the mutant’s Initiative

should be temporarily lower, this won’t affect his order in the round this time, but it will

lower him on the next round.

Tack’s first action is to slam an energy drink (Use item) he scavenged. The effect of the

energy drink is to raise his initiative 5 points for 10 rounds. This won’t go into effect until

the next round, however.

The first mutant uses his action to attempt to break the grapple with Palty, rolling a normal

Success, while Palty rolls an Amazing Success. Because Palty got a higher degree of

success, the mutant is still in contact. However, because the mutant is radiating high levels

of nuclear radiation, Palty has to make an Immunity roll, which fails. Palty is now

irradiated and will begin to suffer the consequences over time.

The Gamemaster removes 5 points from all Initiative scores at the end of the initiative

order. Palty, Tack, and some of the mutants, such as the one Palty is grappling with, still

have initiative. Palty then takes a second action to crush the mutant he is grappling.

Because of the condition, the mutant can only attempt to break the grapple, and therefore

is automatically hit.. Palty is a medium sized animal and therefore has a bite damage of

1d6, which comes up 4. The mutant removes this from his Health Points. Palty also rolls

her immunity again and fails again. Palty will require a long rest and treatment.

Tack draws his M-16 autorifle with multi-attack, readying the weapon for the next combat

round.

At the beginning of the second combat round, the Gamemaster applies Tack’s temporary

5 points to his standard 7 Initiative, giving him a 12. This puts Tack before Palty. Tack

decides to use his multi-attack options and rolls all 3 of his “burst” attacks at a

Disadvantage. Palty then continues to attempt to crush the first mutant. On the first

mutant’s lowered initiative turn, he again attempts to break Palty’s grip on his leg, which

comes up with a Great Success. Palty only comes up with a Success. The mutant breaks

from Palty’s grapple and shifts away from the dog. This also means that the first mutant’s

Initiative has returned to its original levels, but this won’t come into effect until the next

combat round.

The Gamemaster removes 5 points from all Initiatives, leaving Tack and Palty but no

mutants still with actions. Tack shifts back and shoots again, opting not to use the multi-

attack option. He rolls his normal Firearms against his Ballistic skill. Palty also attacks

again. The Gamemaster removes 5 again and finds that Tack still has one last action this

round because of the energy drink. Tack takes a third action, choosing to shift backwards

away from the mutants and shoots another single shot at his opponent, the first mutant,

killing him. Palty changes targets as a free action and charges at the nearest mutant to

him, coming up with a Great Success on his Athletics skill, and coming up with a Success

on his Bite attack. The mutant fails on his Dodge, thus taking Palty’s 5 points of Bite

damage.

Health Points

Characters are imbued with a number of Health Points equal to their (Strength + Fortitude) divided

by 5. This number represents the amount of damage a character can take before they drop

unconscious and begin to bleed out. A character can spend a number of rounds unconscious

without being stabilized or healed equal to their Fortitude divided by 10 before they are beyond

recovery.

Damage

There are several types of damage in the Maximum Apocalypse RPG, but they are broken into the

7 following categories:

❖ Physical damage: All damage that causes physical damage to the character, excluding

electrical damage. This damage can be from bullets, clubs, knives, explosions, fire, water (i.e.

drowning), fists, claws, teeth, tear gas, etc.

❖ Electrical Damage: This damage is done specifically by electrical devices or currents. This

can be from expose wires, robots, electrical weaponry, lightning strikes, etc. Electrical

damage bypasses armor automatically and is therefore a special type of damage.

❖ Mental Damage: This damage is done via manipulation and generally doesn’t result in any

loss in Health Points. Mental damage is usually fear effects, composure loss, Disadvantage

on charm or barter rolls, etc.

❖ Psychic Damage: This damage is only done by aliens and mutants who have psychic abilities.

These attack the mind directly and may result in Health point loss, but can also cause the same

kinds of effects as mental damage. Usually, this is used to manipulate but can also be used to

give Disadvantage to combat opponents.

❖ Radiation Damage: This damage is caused by exposure to high doses of radiation. This type

of damage can come from expose canisters, fallout zones, mutants, irradiated bugs, irradiated

food, etc. This damage attacks the immune system, attempting to cause Health point damage

loss over time.

❖ Disease Damage: This damage is caused by the bacteria and viruses that permeate the post-

apocalyptic landscape. These attack the immune system and can cause immediate reactions,

but usually lay dormant until they can populate and grow inside their victim. Once these

attacks reach the stage of maturity inside the victim, it causes sudden Health point loss.

❖ Hunger: Each day a character doesn’t eat, they take 2 points of automatic Health point damage

that cannot be resisted or healed with medicine. The only solution is finding food and

consuming it (See Resting for More information). Since food is the scarcest resource in the

world, this can actually pose a much higher threat than any other in the game. In order to

survive without serious long-term health complications, a human must consume 1,200

calories a day. These should contain proteins, fats, and trace nutrients, but that is not always

something which can be accomplished. Humans also need to consume about a liter of water

a day. In Maximum Apocalypse, these two things are combined to equal the 2 points of

“Hunger” damage. A character can negate one of these by consuming either food or water but

not the other. A character must consume both food and water in order to negate both points

of damage.

o Characters can take Hunger damage equal to their Fortitude divided by 4 before

they begin to suffer “Starvation.” A starving character makes all rolls at

Disadvantage. If a character takes Hunger damage equal to their Fortitude divided

by 2, they become “Emaciated”. Emaciated characters suffer a -10% to all stats.

If a character takes Hunger Damage equal to their Fortitude, they die.

All damage types aside from Hunger are resisted by the character’s corresponding “Resistance”

stats. When a character takes damage, they roll the corresponding resistance in order to mitigate

the damages. For every Degree of Success scored against the roll, part of the damage is negated.

❖ Resilience mitigates environmental and other physical damage from indirect attacks. These

do not include physical attacks from opponents during combat, but do include damage caused

by explosive devices. Each degree of success negates 1 point of physical damage.

❖ Resolve negates the attempted effects if it matches or exceeds the degrees of success against

the source of the attack.

❖ Immunity negates the attempted effects if it exceeds the degrees of success against the source

of the attack, but allows for another attempt at the next long rest if it only matches. Immunity

rolls cannot be done again until after Medicine has been applied to the condition.

Example Damage:

Terra feels the heat of the sun beating down on her as she walks across the desert. The

heat is nearly unbearable and the Gamemaster calls for a roll to negate 3 points of sun

damage. Terra checks her Resilience and discovers it is 65%. She rolls a d100 and a d10

and comes up with 44. Terra negates 1 point of sun damage but still takes 2 points.

Todd finds himself confronted by a legion of armed anthropoid aliens from Zeta Reticulon.

He hears a voice in his head telling him to put his axe on the ground. Todd rolls against

his Resolve of 45% and gets a 20. The Gamemaster informs Todd that he shakes the voice

from his head, having beat the alien’s mind control by a degree of success.

After helping Terra, Tanya finds that she has zombie lurker blood on her skin and clothes.

The Gamemaster immediately calls for an Immunity roll (against a secret standard

success). Tanya checks her Immunity and finds that it is 45%. She rolls the 1d100 and

1d10, which comes up with 39. Tanya has been infected with the Z-virus, but will be

allowed to make another roll at her next long resting period. if she doesn’t think anything

is wrong or attempts to use her Medicine skill. However, Tanya is paranoid she has been

infected and decides to inject herself with the Z-virus Experimental Anti-serum she

scavenged. The Gamemaster allows her to roll again with Advantage because of the

medicine, which comes up with 13. The experimental antiserum worked and Tanya is Z-

virus free.

After dealing with the zombie lurker, the team does not find food and the sun is going down.

They realize that when the sun rises the next day, they will lose 2 Health points.

Resting

As the characters are all human, they eventually require sleep. While this can be skipped for a

while, eventually characters require a good solid rest to replenish their natural reserves. Characters

can take two kinds of rests: quick rests or long rests. Each type has its own benefits.

Quick Rest (up to 4 hours): Characters may make skill tests related to repairs, make

immediate Medicine tests, and if they have access to food, can heal 1 point of Hunger

damage.

Long Rest (between 6 and 8 hours): Characters make any skills tests with Gamemaster

discretion, make prolonged Medicine tests, make an Immunity roll if they matched the

level of their initial infection or irradiation to resist the spread of the condition, and if they

have access to food, can heal 2 points of Hunger damage.

No Hunger damage can be healed without access to food at any level of resting unless an Amazing

Success with Survival has been achieved. Healing hunger damage can only be done during resting

periods as the dangers are too severe to allow for the proper consumption of necessary nutrients.

Prolonged Effects of Disease and Radiation

Disease and Radiation have prolonged effects that eventually affect the character. Curing these

conditions requires medical assistance. The effects are cumulative and begin to work on the

character within a day or two. While there are various diseases, the following should create a basic

architecture for the effects of prolonged disease and radiation.

Healing diseases requires the use of serums and medical devices. At stages 1-3, standard

Medicine rolls can remove the condition immediately at the corresponding degree of success

(Stage 1 = Success, Stage 2 = Great Success, Stage 3 = Amazing Success). Stages 4-6 require

actual laboratory equipment and constant monitoring to heal the damage, as well as chemicals and

medicine. Medicine attempts while under these conditions can be made once per long rest and can

only decrease the stage by one. No more than one stage decrease can be applied at one time until

the condition is stage 3 or below, where the disease can be eradicated.

Stage Effect

Stage 1 – Day 0 No noticeable effect to character

Stage 2 – Day 2 Hunger damage increases to 4 per day

Stage 3 – Day 4 Strength and Fortitude based rolls are at Disadvantage

Stage 4 – Day 6 All rolls are at Disadvantage and character shows visible signs of infection

Stage 5 – Day 7 Hunger Damage increases to 6 per day

Stage 6 – Day 9 Character becomes either mutant, zombie or dead depending on source of

infection

There are rumors that the Z-Virus was created by the Aliens as a way to weaken the

population before their invasion and some say this is why they are not affected by it. This theory

goes on to say that there is Xenotech which can remove the Z-Virus and cure heavy radiation

victims, but there are no confirmed instances of this happening.

Armor

There are all kinds of hardened materials that

can be made into armor. Armor ranges between a

hardness level of 1-10. A character cannot have more

Armor Levels than ½ their Agility stat (rounded up).

This is because they weight of the armor would

encumber the character too much to be able to conduct

actions. Characters may carry extra armor with their

other items, but they cannot count them as extra Armor

Levels for combat.

In combat, Armor interacts with damage after an

attack has been successful against all defenses. Armor takes the damage meant for the character

instead of the character, but damage has a cumulative effect. Once an Armor item has taken

damage equal to its level, it no longer functions and requires repairs (Repair: Armorer skill), but

is still considered on the person until removed. All damage taken by the armor beyond its level is

removed from the character’s Health Points as normal.

Example Armor Use:

The zombie lurker chooses to target Todd for his next attack, resulting in a Great Success

on its Brawl roll. Todd attempts to parry the attack but only gets a Success. The zombie

lurker rakes its claws across Todd’s chest, coming into contact with the heavy material of

Todd’s fireman jacket, Armor Level 6. Because the zombie lurker’s damage is 6, it tears

through the fabric, rending it, but Todd is spared any damage to his actual Health points.

The jacket’s armor is 0 and Todd will have to get it repaired after combat, but he is still

wearing the jacket and must take it off to put on replacement armor.

A character may also create a piece of armor using materials they have scavenged around

them. The amount of time it takes to create the armor using the Repair: Armor skill is a period of

time determined by the Gamemaster, such as rounds if in combat, or hours if resting. The rules are

the same for “Repairing” armor (see page ##), treating the armor as if it had 0 hit points. Armor

can be made of whatever materials characters find laying around. The following table is a useful

guideline on what kinds of material produce different levels of armor.

Name Armor

Level

Leather vests or thick clothing 1

Leather Jacket 2

Plastic Plates 3

Motorcycle Body Armor, Camo Jacket 4

Kevlar Material Vest 5

Bunker Gear (Nomex/Kevlar Fireman Gear) 6

Chain Mail Armor 7

Ballistic Steel Plates 8

Hardened Ballistic Material 9

Damascus Protective Body armor, Steel Plates 10

Barriers and Concealment

Like armor, barriers can keep characters protected from attacks. Just like armor, barriers can be

made of different kinds of material, ranging from plastic sheets to large concrete barricades. And,

just like armor, barriers break down the more damage they take. Barriers range from an Armor

Level of 1-100 and just like armor, all damage is dealt to the barrier before it is dealt to the character

on the other side, so characters should choose their barriers carefully. Barriers can also be stacked

together to create thicker levels of armor, like in the hackneyed stacking of bookcases in front of

a door to stop an intruder.

Barriers can be built or repaired using the Repair: Armor skill as indicated by the section

“Repair” on page ##. If a barrier already exists, characters can use the Repair: Armor skill to repair

them during combat or during rest periods. If a barrier does not already exist but a character has

access to the necessary materials to construct the barrier, they can do so using the Repair: Armor

ability with the starting Armor Level of 0 until they reach a number of successes equal to the armor

level of the barrier. This may take a period of time determined by the Gamemaster; building a

concrete Military Bunker cannot be done in a matter of seconds.

The following is a list of possible barriers and their suggested Armor rating, but a

Gamemaster may determine the Armor of any barrier at their discretion.

Barrier Armor level

Plastic Sheeting 1

Glass 3

Thin Wood Planking 5

Plexiglass 7

Steel Vehicle Cage 9

Wooden Door 10

Hard Wooden Furniture 15

Drywall or Sheet Metal 20

Ballistic Glass 25

Steel House Door 30

Concrete Traffic Barricade 50

Steel Pillars 50-75

Concrete Pillars 50-100

Concrete Walls 75-100

Military Concrete Bunker 100

Concealment is a different matter, as concealment provides cover for characters, but unless

it is a barrier, offers no protection whatsoever. However, concealment and barriers should not be

considered mutually exclusive, as a character may use a barrier for concealment. The mechanics

do not interfere. Some characters may conceal themselves under a blanket or hide in a stack of

books, while some characters may opt to conceal themselves in shadows.

When a character is using concealment of any kind, they roll their Stealth skill at

Advantage. Characters who are not Proficient in the Stealth skill are still subject to the rules

regarding proficiency.

Stealth

In order for a character to attack a target, the character must be aware of the target. When a player

or non-player character uses the Stealth skill against an opponent or series of opponents, the

character using Stealth sets the required threshold for their opponents. Opponents must match or

exceed the degrees of success achieved by the character using the Stealth skill to become aware of

and respond to that character. This may take more than one attempt, giving the character using

Stealth opportunities to act freely without response from their opponents.

In combat situations, this means that opponents who have not met the degrees of success

against the character using the Stealth skill cannot use their defensive skills of Dodge, Block or

Parry until they have met or exceeded those degrees of success. However, opponents are given the

opportunity to attempt Perception skill rolls each time they take damage from a stealth attack. They

are also able to make Perception skill rolls as a combat action as per the non-combat skill use (see

Combat Actions). This might mean that opponents may get to make Perception skill rolls more

than once in an action phase.

Opponents may also make “Blind Attacks” in the general area of the attack, but these

attacks are done at Disadvantage. Characters who are being attacked with a Blind Attack action

also gain Advantage on their Dodge, but not Block, or Parry rolls, as this would indicate they are

within the view of an attacking opponent. If the opponent manages to strike the character during a

Blind Attack, the attack degrees of success are lowered by one degree against the opponent.

For characters to use the Stealth skill in this way, they must be making reasonable attempts

to remain hidden while attacking. A character who has shifted away from cover or attempted a

melee attack while using the Stealth skill are not considered to be continuously hidden and thereby

forfeit their Stealth skill roll. Characters who shift from one form of cover to another, or move

from one barrier to another, are still considered to be using the Stealth skill roll at the previous

degrees of success.

The Stealth skill also affects those characters who are actively attempting to aid the

character using the Stealth skill. This means that characters using the Stealth skill cannot

participate in Tactics or Teamwork until they voluntarily forfeit their Stealth skill use. They also

cannot be targeted for any Medicine use skills unless the character attempting to use Medicine on

the character using Stealth has matched or exceeded the Stealth skill roll degrees of success. When

a character has dropped unconscious, however, their Stealth skill is not forfeit, but decreased by

two degrees of success.

Through Special Ability, or at the Gamemaster’s discretion, opponents are able to make

Perception skill rolls as characters attempt to pass them using the Stealth skill. A failed Perception

roll does not alert opponents, but at Gamemaster discretion, a failure of only 1 degree of success

might alert opponents but not to the character using the Stealth skill.

Due to the chaotic environment of combat, unless otherwise noted through Special

Abilities, one opponent perceiving a character actively using Stealth does not mean the rest of the

opponents on the field also perceive that character. They may, however, gain Advantage on their

Perception rolls if they are notified of the character’s location. If a character kills the opponent

who perceived them before other characters are able to make Perception skill rolls, this may, at

Gamemaster discretion, remove the Advantage.

Example Stealth Skill:

Terra sees a group of bandits guarding the only bridge that crosses a river for miles in

either direction. She decides to cross the bridge using the derelict vehicles and debris for

cover. She rolls her Stealth skill against her Agility of 75 and comes up with a 15, giving

her 3 degrees of success. Terra moves through the darkness of the shadows and ducks

behind a bus. The Gamemaster makes 2 Perception skill rolls for the bandits on the other

side of the bus. One bandit fails and the other gains 2 degrees of success. Because of the

closeness of the second bandit, the Gamemaster determines that this bandit has heard a

noise caused by Terra, but is not aware of her presence. Terra then moves from the bus to

a burned-out Sedan. She chooses to cut her speed in half in order to duck while she walks,

thereby maintaining her Stealth. The Gamemaster rolls the second bandit’s Perception

skill again, but this time the bandit fails. Having looked around and found nothing, he

returns to ignoring Terra.

Reaching the end of the bridge, Terra finds one bandit standing behind a spotlight at the

end of a cleared track of road. Terra knows that she will have to step out into the light in

order to cross the remaining distance, but this will sacrifice her Stealth roll. Instead, Terra

decides to ready her bow and attack the bandit. Rolling her attack, she succeeds with a

degree of success. The bandit is unaware of Terra’s presence, so does not get to roll his

Dodge skill. Terra rolls her damage, which comes up 5. Her arrow penetrates the bandit’s

leather jacket, causing him 3 points of Health Point damage. The bandit immediately makes

a Perception check but only comes up with a Success. The Gamemaster begins a combat

round and determines that the bandit’s Initiative of 10 is greater than Terra’s Initiative of

9. The bandit fires his pistol randomly in the direction of Terra, rolling 2d100s and a d10,

coming up with 38 and 98. The bandit’s wild shot misses. Terra takes a second shot, rolling

a Great Success and comes up with 4 points of damage. The bandit takes all 4 points of

Health Point damage and falls over. Terra then forfeits her Stealth to make an Athletics

skill roll and run across the remaining distance to escape the bridge.

As Terra is passing the downed bandit, the Gamemaster asks her to make a Perception

skill roll. She does so, which comes up 33. The Gamemaster informs Terra that she has met

the degree of success to perceive a hidden bandit and informs her that there was a second

guard at the post. At the beginning of the combat round, Terra’s 9 beat the bandit’s 5 and

she acts first. With the bow still readied, Terra rolls an attack and the bandit rolls his

Dodge skill, and they begin a normal combat between the two opponents who are aware

of each other.

Multi-Attack

Characters may choose to utilize the “multi-attack” option in one of two cases: 1) their weapon

has the multi-attack option, or 2) they are dual wielding pistols or smaller melee weapons. When

this occurs, characters are allowed to make multiple attacks in the same combat action, but because

of the rapid motions and stance balancing required for multiple attacks at once, each attack is made

at Disadvantage. This is the taken for the reward of dealing more damage at once. Each attack on

a target is considered separate even though they are happening at once and allows the target to roll

Dodge against each attack, but at Disadvantage for each Dodge attempt after the first.

In the case of dual wielding characters, they may designate one or two targets for their

attacks, rolling for each attack separately and resolving them separately.

Example Multi-attack:

Tack uses his M16 auto-rifle to fire three rounds into an oncoming mutant. He rolls his

Ballistic Skill three times for each round at Disadvantage. Fortunately for Tack, he

succeeds at all three attacks. The mutant rolls his Dodge three times. Two of the attacks

strike the mutant. Tack rolls his damage for both strikes and reports the total damage to

the Gamemaster. The Gamemaster then applies the outcome to the mutant’s Health points.

Tim decides to draw his second .357 Colt Python and fire both at the zombie lurker. He

rolls each attack separately at Disadvantage, succeeding in both attacks, and the zombie

lurker rolls his Dodge for each attack separately. Both attacks hit. Tim then rolls his

damage for both weapons and reports the total damage to the Gamemaster. The

Gamemaster then applies the outcome to the zombie lurker’s Health points.

Called Shots

Invariably, characters will want to direct their attacks at specific targets. There are reasons for this,

whether to remove a weapon from a target’s hand or to cause more damage, and in those cases,

the corresponding attack roll is made at Disadvantage. The outcome of successful rolls should be

determined by the Gamemaster, but the following chart should provide some guidance on possible

outcomes. Failures of Bullseye shots still hit targets with normal damage.

While Called Shot attacks are made at Disadvantage, any Special Ability or special

circumstance that grants a character Advantage negates this circumstance. A character who has

chosen to use a full action phase to use the Take Aim combat action thereby negates the

Disadvantage of a Called Shot. Likewise, a character using a ranged weapon within the weapons

short range also gains Advantage and thereby negates the Disadvantage. A character shooting into

a Melee, however, does not apply two Disadvantages as these conditions do not stack.

Called Shot Target Result

Vital Organ (Head, Heart, Brain, etc.) Additional damage roll with the corresponding

weapon’s damage die

Arm or Hand ½ damage and reduction in attack abilities

Leg or Foot ½ damage and reduction in Agility stat and

corresponding Agility-based skills

Other Body Parts ½ damage and loss of functionality

Weapon or Held Item No damage but item is dropped or damaged

Bullseye (aka Trick Shot) Requires Amazing Success; causes 3x damage

with weapon

Example Called Shot:

Tim sees a zombie walker slowly ambling toward the group. Thinking he can solve the

problem without getting the other’s involved, he draws his weapon and declares a Called

Shot on the walker’s head. He rolls 2d100 and 1d10, which comes up with either 35 or 75.

Because he is rolling at Disadvantage, he reports the 75 to the Gamemaster, which is a

success. The Gamemaster determines the walker was not suspecting the attack and so the

shot stands. He allows Tim to roll his standard damage roll but grants him an additional

1d8 for the headshot damage.

Todd sees a bandit reaching through the window of the van to grab one of the packs in the

back. Thinking quickly, he turns with his axe and slices downward at the bandit’s arm. He

rolls 2d100 and 1d10, which comes up either 27 or 67. He reports the 67, a success, to the

Gamemaster who rolls the bandit’s Dodge skill. The bandit fails. Todd rolls his damage

for the axe as normal. The Gamemaster determines the strike was powerful enough to

cleave the bandit’s arm below the elbow. This reduces the bandit’s Fighting Skill to half

its original stat.

Tack discovers he is out of ammo and decides to strike the butt of his rifle into the throat

of the charging mutant, declaring this a Called Shot. Because he is using his rifle as a club,

he rolls 2d100 and 1d10 against ½ his Fighting Skill. He rolls a 001 and 21. The

Gamemaster rolls the mutant’s Dodge, which fails. Tack rolls the damage and the

Gamemaster determines that the mutant’s throat is now crushed and he will spend the next

2 combat rounds choking.

Ongoing Damage

Some weapons, such as Molotov cocktails, cause ongoing damage, usually from a source like fire

or electricity. In these cases, ongoing damage is determined by rolling a 1d6 and setting a the

number of round it will continue by rolling a 1d8+1. The number of rounds may be shortened by

ending the source of the ongoing damage, and the amount of ongoing damage may be increased

by stacking more ongoing damage. At the beginning of each combat round, a target of ongoing

damage may roll Resilience to negate damage from the ongoing source if they don’t choose to

actively remove the source of the ongoing damage during their action phase.

Example Ongoing Damage:

Todd throws a Molotov cocktail at a Zombie Lurker creeping toward him in the tunnel. He

rolls a Great Success while the Zombie only rolls a Success on its Dodge. Todd’s cocktail

does an initial 2d6+1d6 damage when it hits the Lurker, but the Gamemaster rolls 1d3 and

1d8 to determine that the Lurker will receive 2 points of fire damage for the next 5 rounds.

At the Zombie Lurker’s action, the Gamemaster rolls Resilience and determines that while

it lumbers closer to Todd, it negates 2 points of the ongoing damage. At the beginning of

the next action phase, Todd throws another Molotov cocktail at the Zombie Lurker, striking

it for another 2d6+1d6 and adding another 1 point of ongoing damage for 7 rounds.

At the beginning of the combat round, the Lurker rolls Resilience against the 3 points of

ongoing damage and Successfully negates 2 points. Seeing this, Todd decides to throw a

third Molotov cocktail at the Lurker, giving it another 2d6+1d6 damage while adding

another 2points of damage for 3 rounds.

Tactics

The world of Maximum Apocalypse can be unyielding, which causes characters to band

together. In combat, characters can combine their combat skills to create special outcomes.

Characters do this by determining a primary character for the combat action and all other characters

“Assist.” The assistance can come in many forms, but ultimately it is at the Gamemaster’s

discretion as to whether a particular action is considered part of the tactic. Invariably, the primary

character must make the final attack.

As with Teamwork skills, all participating characters roll. Each participating members’

successes result in +5% for every degree of success to the primary character’s roll. Each failure

results in -5% as it constitutes a mistake. Critical failures result in a -15% to the primary character’s

roll. The primary character then modifies the base stat for their roll.

Tactics may result in a modified base stat of above 100%. A roll is still required, however,

as it could result in a critical failure. Unlike Teamwork skill rolls, however, Luck cannot be applied

to tactics. When a modified base stat is above 100%, this correspondingly modifies the degrees of

success for the primary character, which can result in a more beneficial outcome for the team.

Example Tactic Use:

Tanya and Todd see the legion of Insectoid Zeta Reticulon warriors and decide that the

best way out of this is to use a grenade Tanya has been keeping on herself for defense.

Declaring Todd the primary, Tanya rolls her Throw against her Strength, which is only

25%, and attempts to toss Todd the grenade, which comes up with 65. She requests to roll

against her Luck because of the situation and the Gamemaster grants the request. She rolls

against her Luck of 50%, which comes up 48. Todd catches the grenade and rolls his Throw

skill with Tanya’s +5% modification, making it 80%, and comes up with 20, a Great

Success. The grenade lands at the feet of a warrior who appears to be the leader and

explodes, causing 3d6 fire damage.

Terra and Tim decide to aim at the same Zeta Warrior who has taken the fire damage.

Terra determines Tim is primary and rolls her Archery skill at 80% to distract the alien

with her visible weapon, which comes up 003. Tim applies Terra’s +15% to his Firearms

skill of 80% and rolls against the modified 95%, which comes up with 22. Because of

Terra’s distraction, Tim has made an Amazing Success. The Warrior from Zeta Reticulon

attempts to dodge, but only comes up with a Great Success. Terra and Tim’s tactic worked.

Other Combat Conditions

There are a number of conditions that will grant characters either Advantage or Disadvantage to

their combat rolls. These are mostly at the discretion of the Gamemaster, but the following chart

should act as a guideline.

Condition Advantage/Disadvantage

Character has higher vantage than opponent Advantage

Character is firing a ranged weapon into a melee involving

another player character

Disadvantage

The area is dark and the character doesn’t have a flashlight Disadvantage

Character is 2 sizes larger than an opponent he is wrangling Advantage

Vehicular Movement and Chasing

There is a chance that Characters will find themselves being

chased through the desert by a supped-up minivan packed full of

marauders. If this happens, split seconds could mean life and

death, victory or defeat. The top speed for most reconstructed

machines in Maximum Apocalypse is 300m per combat round,

but on average they run at about 60m.

Vehicular combat constitutes a series of complex actions

built around the survival of a vehicle in motion and its passengers. Because it is a dynamic scenario

involving attacks, dodging, and maneuvering, vehicular combat is still relegated to the standard

rules for a combat, including combat rounds and action phases, but there are special rules involving

the vehicle during combat.

When being chased, the chased driver begins a number of successes away from the chaser’s

equal to double the chased driver’s Initiative score in meters, and the chased driver rolls their drive

skill. The degree of success (or failure) is the starting point that the chasers much match before

they begin gaining on the chased driver. Once the chasers have met this degree of success (or

failure) the “chase” begins. If the chasers do not match the degree of success after 10 rounds, the

chased driver is has successfully escaped. Likewise a character who has gained a distance of the

vehicle’s acceleration multiplied by 10, it is considered to have escaped the combat. A Gamemaster

may bypass these rules when necessary.

During vehicular combat, characters may take actions as normal, with range increments

modified by the movement of a vehicle. Ranges are modified by their target location via the

following chart:

Range Advantage/Disadvantage

Area around Target Vehicle Advantage

Target Vehicle -

Passengers in Target Vehicle Disadvantage

This means that characters targeting a vehicle that is within the medium range of their

ranged or thrown weapons are not affected by the modified vehicular range. These modifications

are a secondary layer to the range modifications for the purposes of vehicular combat only. A

character outside the vehicular combat is not affected by these modifiers when attempting attacks

within the vehicular combat zone.

During vehicular combat, characters responsible for driving must maintain control of their

vehicle. A Success or better is required when conducting any evasive maneuvers in order to

maintain the vehicle. Because of the cramped conditions, passengers’ Dodge rolls are restricted by

the evasive maneuvering of the driver. At the beginning of each combat round, drivers roll their

Drive skill and set the degree of success for all attacks against the vehicle and its passengers for

the remainder of that round. Characters attacking the vehicle or its passengers must meet or exceed

the degrees of success as with normal combat rules to cause damage. Missed shots from ranged

weapons targeting passengers that have at least one degree of success but fail to beat the evasive

maneuver degrees have a 50% chance of hitting the vehicle for damage.

If the evasive maneuver roll fails, the character temporarily loses control of the vehicle and

spends one combat round attempting to gain control. At the beginning of the next combat round,

they can attempt to make another Drive skill roll. If they fail a second time, the vehicle is out of

control, causing all actions to be taken at Disadvantage, including attempts to regain control of the

vehicle. At the start of the third combat round, if the driver fails again, the vehicle crashes, taking

damage equal to its Health Points minus its Armor level and stops.

Passengers may opt to duck and hide inside the vehicle, thereby making their own personal

Stealth or Dodge rolls at the beginning of the action phase, adding degrees of success when they

surpass those degrees of success set by the driver. If a character attempting their own Dodge fails

to surpass the driver’s degrees of success, they are still considered Dodging that the evasive

maneuver set successes. In vehicular combat, Stealth skill use does not render the passenger

imperceptible, but becomes an alternative to Dodge by these rules. A character inside a vehicle

may be harder to attack than other characters inside the vehicle, but only to the degree that they

are reacting to the driver’s evasive degrees of success.

Each action phase in which they have actions, drivers can determine whether they are going

to make a Drive skill roll to perform one of four non-evasive actions: 1) Accelerate, 2) Defensive

Maneuver, 3) Stabilize their vehicle or 4) Attack with a ramming or sideswiping (see Vehicular

Attacks for more information). Their choice in action determines what happens to them and their

passengers. A driver may not make a non-driving skill attempt, aside from free actions, unless their

character possesses the Special Ability “Stunt Driver” which allows them to make Driving skill

rolls as a free action.

During a chase, passengers may also act. Characters inside the vehicles may act as normal

within the vehicle. Gamemasters may also add additional requirements, such as requiring a Great

or Amazing success for a particular action because of the speed of the combat. This may be the

case for the use of thrown weapons.

If the chasers manage to match or overtake the chased driver, the chase is not immediately

over. The chasers must stop the chased driver’s vehicle by damaging the chased driver’s vehicle,

or attacking the chased driver. Transferring between two vehicles during a chase requires that the

other vehicle is close and then a Great Success on an Athletics skill roll. Once that character has

transferred vehicles, actions against passengers are not at Disadvantage because the characters are

on the same vehicle.

The following list contains the types of non-evasive actions a driver may take outside the

standard skill list their character possesses.

Action Outcome

Accelerate Increase or Decrease distance with other vehicles by

vehicle acceleration rate per degree of success

Defensive Maneuver Reroll the vehicles evasive maneuver

Stabilize Grants Advantage to passenger skill rolls from vehicle

Attack Uses the vehicle for an attack action, such as Ramming or

sideswiping.

Vehicular Attacks

Vehicles may also be an effective tool for causing massive damage in combat, but the vehicle will

probably take as much damage as it gives, which leads characters to the eventual question whether

or not to risk their only means of escape. However, when a vehicle is within their vehicle’s

acceleration distance, drivers may decide to Ram or Sideswipe the other vehicle. Each of these

actions has its own benefits and negatives.

Action Outcome

Ram Cause direct damage to the target vehicle

Sideswipe Cause driver to make a driving skill roll in

order not to lose control of the vehicle

Ramming allows the driver to roll their Drive skill as an attack against another vehicle. The

ramming vehicle takes damage equal to ¼ of the combined Armor Levels and Health Points of the

vehicle or object that is being rammed. The rammed vehicle, however, takes damage equal to the

½ the combined modified Armor Levels and Health Points (after any damage has been taken and

applied to the vehicle’s stats) of the ramming vehicle multiplied by the vehicle’s base acceleration.

Faster vehicles are therefore more effective at ramming than slower ones.

Sideswiping allows a driver to attack the other driver’s abilities to maintain their vehicle

by using their own driving skills. By rolling opposed Drive skill rolls, the defending driver must

meet or surpass the degrees of success of the attacking driver. If the attack succeeds, the attacking

driver can choose to decelerate the defending driver (thereby modifying the distance to other

vehicles), propel the defending driver in any direction, possibly causing a collision, or removing

the defending driver’s ability to make an evasive maneuver in the next combat round.

If a driver does not make an evasive maneuver, passengers may still make Stealth or Dodge

rolls at the beginning of the combat round, as with the optional Dodge rules, but the degrees of

success are reduced by 1 due to the vehicle’s confined space. Characters may also attempt to

remove themselves from a vehicle if they have access to a door, window, hatch, or other access

point. Tumbling from a moving vehicle is subject to the rules regarding the use of the Acrobatics

skill to negate falling damage.

Example Vehicular Combat:

Turner, the Mechanic, is driving her modified minivan along the abandoned highway,

steering to avoid potholes, when two motorcycles, a Dune Buggy, and an SUV come onto

the road near her. Turner initially accelerates, rolling her Drive skill against her Intuition

of 80, which comes up as 39. At the beginning of the combat round, the Gamemaster

arranges the initiative order and determines that the two motorcycles act before Turner,

while Todd, Tim, the Buggy, and the SUV act afterwards.

At the beginning of the combat round, Turner, the motorcycles and the SUV roll their Drive

skill to determine their set Dodge level. Turners roll comes up 003, an Amazing Success.

Turner has set the team Dodge to be 3. Tim attempts to roll his personal Dodge skill but

only comes up with a Great Success, so he adds no extra levels of success to the Dodge.

The two motorcycles then roll their Drive skill against their Intuition of 75, which come up

as 15 and 65. One of them has 3 degrees of success while the other has only 1. The SUV

then rolls against an Intuition of 60, which comes up 30, exactly 2 degrees of success. The

Buggy is not as successful as its companions and fails the Drive roll against an Intuition

of 45 due to a lack of Drive skill. The buggy loses control on the road and will spend 1

combat round attempting to regain control of the vehicle.

At the top of the initiative order, the motorcycles roll their Drive skill, which come up as a

25 and 57. One of the motorcycles has surpassed Turner’s initial degrees of successe and

is now chasing Turner at a distance of double Turner’s initiative at 20 meters, while the

other is still attempting to engage. Turner decides to use her opportunity to Accelerate,

rolling her Drive skill and achieving a Great Success. Because her minivan has an

acceleration rate of 2, this means that Turner increases the distance between herself and

her pursuers by 4.

Todd acts next and decides to throw a Molotov cocktail at the rider of the chasing

motorcycle. He rolls his throw at Disadvantage and fails, missing the rider. Tim acts next,

and decides to take a shot at the pursuing motorcycle driver. Rolling at Disadvantage, Tim

rolls a Great Success but fails to beat the motorcycle rider’s evasive maneuver successes.

Rolling a d100 and a d10, the Gamemaster comes up with a 42. Tim missed the rider, but

his bullet strikes the armor of the motorcycle and causes 1d8+3 damage, Tim’s normal

attack.

The SUV rolls his Drive skill, which comes up with a Great Success. The SUV is now

chasing Turner.

At the beginning of the next action phase, the first motorcycle Accelerates and rolls an

Amazing Success. He decreases the distance between himself and Turner by 6, putting him

at 18 meters from Turner. The second motorcycle fails on his D

rive roll and is now out of control for the remainder of the combat round. Turner responds

by Accelerating, getting a Great Success and increasing the distance between her and her

pursuers by 4. The second motorcycle and the SUV are now 28 meters away while the first

motorcycle is only 22 meters away.

Todd throws another Molotov cocktail, this time aiming at the road in front of the

motorcycle, rolling at Advantage and managing to cover the road in flaming liquid.

Because he rolled an Amazing Success, the motorcycle takes 3d6 fire damage (the 2d6

from the cocktail and 1d6 from Todd’s Special Ability) as it passes through the flames.

Tim attempts a second shot at the motorcycle rider, rolling at Disadvantage, and comes up

with an Amazing Success. The rider takes 2d6 damage from Tim’s attack, which causes his

armor to be destroyed.

The SUV uses its action to stabilize and Tim finds himself the target of a passenger in the

SUV. Because the SUV stabilized, the shooter gained Advantage, but because they targeted

Tim inside the minivan, they gained Disadvantage, cancelling their Advantage.

Items The following is a list of items usually found in Maximum Apocalypse. This is not an exhaustive

list, however, as the setting is based on the real world and any items that exist in the real world

exist in Maximum Apocalypse. However, the following items should serve as templates for any

items that may be created by Gamemasters throughout adventures.

Electrical Power

There are still pockets of electricity throughout the world, as the means to generate power were

not forgotten. Most forms of electrical generation come from manual, wind and hydro harvesting,

using smaller scale devices than were previously used to power full cities in the past. Where there

is gasoline, there tends to be gas generators as well, but people often prefer to use wind and water,

as they are renewable resources.

Solar energy is still harvested by those with the technical know-how and often when a

settlement of survivors is discovered, there is often one solar panel giving the group electricity.

However, whenever too much electricity begins to appear, it often attracts unwanted attention, so

usually the solar power functions only during the day.

Before the world collapsed, another form of energy harvesting became common place,

Schumann Resonance Accumulators. Commonly called accumulators, this technology was

developed on the principle of using materials to harvest the natural electromagnetic fields of the

planet. These do not work well, but they do work at half the ability of solar power.

Melee Weapons

Fighting up close and personal allows characters to confirm their kills. They can also be thrown

with the Throw Skill. Below is a chart of the kinds of weapons that are generally used in the

Maximum Apocalypse

Weapon Damage Special Description

Rope or Net - Use Wrangling skill

and grappling rules

Bare or non-reinforced fist or foot Base Damage -

Rock, bottle, plate, etc. Base Damage + 1d4 Physical -

Folding Knife Base Damage + 1d4 Physical Concealable

Combat Knife Base Damage + 1d6 Physical Balanced

Short sword or Machete Base Damage + 1d6 + 1 Physical Balanced, Versatile

Bat, Club, Plank of Wood,

Hammer, Kali Stick, etc. Base Damage + 1d6 Physical Versatile

Bat, Club, Plank with nails or

barbs Base Damage + 1d6 + 2 Physical Versatile

Sword (Katana, etc.) Base Damage + 1d8 Physical 2 Handed; Unbalanced

Hatchet Base Damage + 1d8 Physical Balanced

Fireman’s Axe Base Damage + 1d8 + 2 Physical 2 Handed; Unbalanced

Melee Weapons Special Descriptions

Balanced: When thrown, it is done so at Advantage

Concealable: This weapon grants +5% to Palming when attempting to conceal it.

Unbalanced: When thrown, it is done so at Disadvantage

Versatile: Can be used with either 1 or 2 hands

Ranged Weapons

Fighting enemies at range can be more effective than fighting up close. However, ranged weapons

are limited in their availability due to a lack of ammo. During most of the cataclysmic failure of

society, sporting goods stores and firearm retailers were raided. The availability of ammo for

ranged weapons is at the Gamemaster’s discretion, but extreme limitations should be the general

guideline.

Weapon Damage Short Medium Long Ammo Special Abilities

EMP Rifle 1d6 to machines

and devices ~1m ~5m ~10m 6 charges Electro-magnetic

Taser 1d4 Electrical ~1m ~3m ~9m 4 darts Bypass Armor

Crossbow 1d6 Physical ~6m ~25m ~50m - Uses Firearm skill

Bow: Recurve Build damage +2

Physical ~10m ~30m ~70m - Requires Str 20%

Bow: Composite Build Damage +4

Physical ~15m ~50m ~100m - Requires Str 50%

.22 semi-auto rifle 1d4 Physical ~10m ~70m ~140m 15 mag

9mm semi-auto 1d6 Physical ~3m ~25m ~100m 16 mag

.38 Special revolver 1d6+2 Physical ~3m ~25m ~60m 6 cylinder Reliable

.357 revolver 1d8 Physical ~12m ~40m ~50m 5 cylinder Reliable

.45 semi-auto pistol 1d8+2 Physical ~15m ~50m ~90m 13 mag Knockdown

.30-06 Hunting Rifle 1d8 Physical ~100m ~300m ~600m 5 tube Reliable

Autorifle (M16,

FNC, AK-47, etc.) 1d8 Physical ~50m ~220m ~550m 30 mag Multi-Attack (3)

20-gauge semi-auto

shotgun

2d6/1d6/1d4

Physical ~3m ~15m ~30m 10 shells

Reliable;

Scattershot

12-gauge pump

shotgun

2d6+4/1d6+4/1d6

Physical ~10m ~20m ~50m 9 shells Scattershot

Flamethrower 4d6+2/2d6+2/1d6 ~1m ~20m ~40m 17 liters Backburn, Ignites

MUST BE FOUND IN GAME

.338 sniper rifle 2d8+2 Physical ~400m ~750m ~1500m 6 mag Scoped

.50 Mounted Gun 1d20+4 Physical ~500m ~1000m ~2200m 500 chain Multi-Attack (5)

RPG-7 Anti-Tank

Launcher See HEAT grenade ~20m* ~550m ~900m 1 grenade Self-Detonate

Stinger Missile

Launcher

See FIM-92

Missile ~25m ~500m ~950m 1 Missile Self-Detonate

*if the RPG-7 collides with a target within short range, the shooter takes ½ damage.

Special Note: Unless otherwise stated, whenever a Critical Failure is rolled with a firearm, the

weapon suffers functionality failure. The character must then use the Clear Jammed Weapon

combat action to continue using the weapon.

Ranged Weapon Special Descriptions

Backburn: This weapon creates an arc of flame that stretches from and returns to the source. This

is because the fuel is being propelled by gas pressure. When used, characters within 1m must

roll Dodge twice, once at the beginning and once at the end of each attack.

Bypass Armor: Due to being electrical damage, this weapon bypasses armor.

Electromagnetic: The damage from this gun primarily effects electrical devices. However, when

in short range and within the blast arc, humans may experience temporary disorientation.

Knockdown: Whenever this weapon does 4 or more points of damage, it causes the target to drop

prone.

Ignites: This weapon sets alight any flammable material it encounters, causing a continue 1d6

damage until the flame is extinguished.

Multi-Attack: Whenever this weapon is used, the character may choose to expend multiple rounds

equal to the Multi-attack number for a “burst” on one target. Each shot is rolled at

Disadvantage. For more information, see “Multi-Attack”.

Reliable: Whenever this weapon is used, characters re-roll any critical failures with this weapon

Scattershot: Whenever this weapon is used, characters may designate 1 or 2 targets. The character

rolls their Firearms skill once, but each target makes their Dodge rolls separately.

Scoped: Whenever this weapon is used, it adds +10% to the Firearms skill

Self-Detonate: This weapon detonates when it collides with an object or when it reaches its

maximum distance.

Range Increments for Ranged Weaponry

Each ranged weapon has a distance in which it is effective. While these weapons can still be

attempted at varying ranges, the difficulty of such attempts increases the farther the target is from

the effective weapon range the target is. This is reflected by the character making the attempt at

Disadvantage. Conversely, characters firing at targets well within their weapon’s effective range

find that it is much easier to hit their targets due to the design of their weapon. This is reflected in

the character making the attempt at Advantage.

Refer to the chart below to determine if a character gains Advantage or Disadvantage when

range increments are applied to their ranged attack:

Range Advantage/Disadvantage

Short Advantage

Medium -

Long Disadvantage

Range for Thrown Weaponry

There are weapons that can be thrown, like knives, bottles and explosives. The ranges for these

items do not match those that are set by predetermined chemical mixtures and mechanical

operations. Throwing weapons are limited only by a character’s Strength and skill, so while a

thrown weapon uses the Throw skill to hit its target, the character’s Strength affects the distance.

Therefore, ranges are calculated as follows:

Short: ~2m; This grants Advantage

Medium: ~5m

Long: ~(Str/5)m (at least 5m); grants Disadvantage.

Explosives and incendiaries

Occasionally survivors come across pre-existing explosives and incendiary devices. More often,

however, they are put together from chemical materials found scattered throughout the world. The

most educated and trained minds can find materials to make explosives in abandoned houses.

Others are content igniting canisters of gasoline. Below are the general stats for explosives. All

grenades cause damage indiscriminately within short range.

Explosive Damage Chemical components

C-4 3d10 +4

Physical

RDX, dioctyl sebacate, dioctyl adipate,

polyisobutylene, mineral oil

Dynamite 3d6 Physical Compound C6H2(NO2)3CH3, Plastic or cardboard

tubing, blasting cap, fuse

FIM-92 Stinger Missile 2d20

Physical

Impact Fuse, Nitrogen-Cool lead sulfide,

Composition B: RDX and TNT

Fragmentation

Grenade

2d8 +4

Phyiscal

Composite B: TNT and RDX, Ammonium

Nitrate/Fuel Oil, Blasting Cap, Iron casing

High Blast Explosive

(HBX)

4d8 +2

Physical

RDX, nitrocellulose, calcium chloride, calcium

silicate, Aluminum, Wax

High-Explosive

Antitank Grenade

3d10 +8

Physical

Percussion Primer, M2 Propelling charge,

Composition A5, M549 Fuse

Molotov Cocktail 2d6 Physical Flammable liquid, glass, cloth fuse

Nuclear Missile 10d20 +30

Physical

Fissile isotopes uranium-235, plutonium-239,

Contact fuse, battery, neutron generator,

Composition C explosives

*Characters may only start with Molotov Cocktails, but other explosives can be made or found in the game world.

Vehicles

The landscape of Maximum Apocalypse is full of broken machinery and abandoned vehicles, but

it is also littered with useless junk and broken, discarded waste. However, any Mechanic worth

their weight in salt can bring some of these back to life with successful Repair: Mechanical and

Repair: Electrical skills. They are not usually in perfect condition, or even great condition for that

matter, but they run and carry people and gear from place to place, supposing the characters can

find the fuel, of course. After the Robot Uprising, there grew a deep distrust most electronic

machinery, so even if characters find a depot with remaining gas, they’ll have to devise a way to

extract it without the automated pumps, either because they were destroyed or because they could

be agents for the Robot Empire.

Vehicles have 5 mounting points: the Front, Top, Left (Port), Right (Starboard), and Rear.

Each of these points can be mounted with extra armor, lights or weapons, but not more than one

type. This means that characters looking to add extra armor will not also be able to mount a weapon

on that same spot. As the sides usually contain access to the vehicle, mounting anything to the side

then requires a successful Acrobatics or Contort skill roll to enter the vehicle during combat.

A vehicle can accumulate as much armor as its base armor multiplied by its acceleration

bonus. This is because armor weighs down the vehicle, and thus keeps it from moving as swiftly.

Each stack of armor decreases the vehicles acceleration rate by 1. No vehicle can have less

acceleration rate than 1.

Vehicles are built and repaired using the basic repair rules. However, for clarification,

Repair: Armorer repairs or builds the vehicle’s armor, while Repair: Electrical and Repair:

Mechanical repairs or builds the vehicle’s Health Points. While these second two skills may be

used interchangeably according to the numbers, for story purposes, they may be used differently.

A vehicle being repaired after an EMP strike, for example, would not necessarily have suffered

any kind of mechanical damage whatsoever.

Vehicle Acceleration

Rate

Seating Cargo

Capacity

Armor HP

Bicycle ½ 1 Small 1 5

Rowboat 1 4 Small 2 10

Motorcycle 2 2 - 6 15

Motorboat 3 5 Small 5 15

Jeep 2 2 Small 4 20

Muscle Car 4 2 Medium 8 25

4-Door Sedan 2 4 Medium 10 30

SUV 2 4 Medium 12 35

Minivan 2 6 Medium 15 45

Pick-up Truck 2 2 Large 15 45

Cargo Van 1 2 Large 20 50

Humvee 2 4 Medium 50 75

Diesel Truck 1 2 Large x 2 50 120

MUST BE FOUND IN GAME

Biplane 2 2 Small 10 15

Speedboat 4 5 Medium 8 20

Helicopter 3 6 Medium 15 35

Yacht 2 10 Medium 15 40

Attack Chopper 4 6 Medium 50 50

Tank 1 4 Small 75 200

Cruise Ship 1 5000 Large X 4 40 250

Drones

Some enterprising mechanics have managed to make drone based older technology, drones that

don’t link to GPS navigator or process more than one command at a time. This keeps them from

falling under the sway of the robot empire, but it also confers limited capabilities to the mechanic.

However, mounting them with a weapon or flare launcher has saved more than one survivor from

certain death. Control of drones, however, requires a Drone Command Unit, which allows a

mechanic control over a maximum of 3 drones.

The use of the DCU requires the Tech Use skill and allows command of three drones at

once. This means that a mechanic must sacrifice all non-free actions in combat to control their

drones. Drones can also travel about 500m from the control unit before they lose Radio Control

connection and cease responding to commands, at which point they hover in a standard flight

pattern until they receive commands again.

Here is the list of drone types that can be found in Maximum Apocalypse. Note that these

numbers can change by Gamemaster discretion.

Drone Type Acceleration

Rate

Dodge Initiative Drive

Stat Armor HP

Fixed Wing 2 75% 7 75% 5 10

Submersible 3 (water) 60% 7 60% 5 20

Quadcopter 1 70% 6 70% 15 25

Walker 1 65% 5 65% 10 30

Traction 2 35% 5 70% 20 45

Drones can by mounted with 1 weapon or device and 1 light source. They also require a battery

source, which can be solar charged for a functionality of 8 hours or accumulator charged for a

functionality for 4 hours. The accumulator charge can be used for up to 8 hours, but it requires 2

days of recharging.

Drones are subject to the same build and repair rules as vehicles.

Special Items

The following are other special items that can be found throughout the world. The Gamemaster

may allow the players to choose their items from this list or have them roll 1d100 and 1d10 at

random.

Item Descriptions

2 Quart Container of Oil: 2 quarts of 10W-30 motor oil.

20L Jerry Can of gasoline: 20L (5 gallon) metal container of gasoline

25cm Taper Candles (6): A six-pack of 9-hour 25cm (9-inch) taper candles

Accumulator Flashlight: 1000 lumen fixed beam flashlight powered by Accumulator (4 hours)

Acetaminophen (100ct): a bottle of 100 acetaminophen tablets that increase immunity rolls by 1

degree of success per tablet. No more than 4 tablets can be taken in a day. Immunity roll

must still be made.

Alcohol 80 Proof (500mL): a bottle of drinkable alcohol at 80 Proof. Can also be used as a

combustible material and to increase Medicine skill rolls by +5%.

Amphetamines (5): Amphetamine tablets that increase Initiative by +10 for 3 combat rounds

Antique Weapon: Weapon of choice becomes “Antique.” Has no other benefit.

Arrows (10): A set of 10 arrows for weapon of choice.

Special Items List

001 2 qt container of oil 35 Folding knife 68 Pencil and Paper

002 20L Jerry Can of gasoline 36 Game Bag 69 Plastic Canteen (2qt)

003 25cm Taper Candles (6) 37 Geiger Counter 70 Psychedelic pills (10)

004 Accumulator Flashlight 38 Glow Sticks (4) 71 Radiation Suit

005 Acetaminophen (100ct) 39 Grenade (2) 72 Rain Poncho

006 Alcohol 80 Proof (500mL) 40 Ground Coffee (1lb) 73 Raw chemicals for

explosives

007 Amphetamines (5ct) 41 Handcuffs 74 Raw chemicals for non-

explosives

008 Antique Weapon 42 Handgun Ammo 75 Rifle Ammo

009 Arrows (10) 43 Handheld Shortwave Radio 76 Rope (30 m)

10 Backpack 44 Hat 77 Running Shoes

11 Ballistic Glasses 45 Helmet 78 Sci-Fi novel

12 Bible or Holy Book 46 Hunting Boots 79 Shotgun Ammo

13 Binoculars 47 Isopropyl Alcohol 99%

(500mL) 80 Signal Mirror

14 Camo Tarp 48 Jerky (2lb) 81 Sleeping bag

15 Cigar (10) 49 Laptop 82 Soap

16 Cigarettes (20) 50 Large Net 83 Solar Charging Device

17 Claymore Mine 51 Lighter 84 SPAM (340g)

18 Climbing Kit 52 Lithium Ion Battery 85 Spray Paint

19 Comic Book 53 Magnifying Glass 86 Steel Foot Trap

20 Compass 54 Matches (10) 87 Tea (1lb)

21 Cord Saw 55 Mechanically Powered Low-

light Flashlight 88 Tentsile Tent

22 Crowbar 56 Medical Kit (10 uses) 89 Toilet Paper (4)

23 Deck of Playing Cards 57 Military Pack 90 Toolbelt

24 Disguise Kit 58 Military Survival Manual 91 Tools (your choice)

25 Drone Command Unit 59 MRE (3) 92 Toothbrush

26 Duct Tape 60 Multivitamins (100ct) 93 Trifold Entrenching tool

27 Dynamite (3 sticks) 61 Mushrooms (5) 94 Watch

28 Edible Mushrooms (3 Days) 62 Nude Magazine 95 Water Bottle

29 Energy Drink (2) 63 Old Family Photos 96 Water Filter (20 uses)

30 Ethanol Gel (198g) 64 Oxygen Mask 97 Well-Kept Gold Jewelry

31 Extra Change of Clothes 65 Oxygen Tank (425L) 98 Wire (10 m)

32 Fishing rod and reel 66 Paracord Bracelet 99 Wool Socks

33 Flare (4) 67 Plastic Bags (2) 000 Z-virus Experimental

Antiserum

34 Flint and Steel (20 uses)

Backpack: Backpacks have a carrying capacity of Medium and allow all small items and weapons

to be carried except Rifles, Shotguns, and Bows. Sleeping bags and Rifles, Shotguns, or

Bows may be attached externally.

Ballistic Glasses: A pair of shooting glasses that add +5% to Ballistic Skill rolls

Bible or Holy Book: A copy of the Bible or Holy Book of player’s choice. Resolve rolls against

Mental-based attacks (Fear) are made at Advantage when held in hand. As a side effect, it

causes Disadvantage on all Xenotech Use.

Binoculars: A pair of binoculars that gives Advantage to Perception skills used at long distance

Camo Tarp: Stealth skills rolled at Advantage when not moving.

Cigar (10): Burns for 1 hour. All Resolve rolls are made at Advantage for 5 hours. Can also be

used as a source of ignition or as a makeshift, time delayed fuse.

Cigarette (20): Burns for 10 minutes. All Resolve rolls are made at Advantage for 3 hours. Can

also be used as a source of ignition or as a makeshift, time delayed fuse.

Claymore Mine: This is a Fragmentation Grenade that requires the Demolition skills to set

properly. Once set, it causes 2d8+4 Physical when someone trips the wire trigger.

Climbing Kit: A small bag that contains a harness, carabineers, spike attachments for shoes, a set

of five medium camalots, and a pair of gloves. Climb skills rolled at Advantage.

Comic Book: Standard graphic novel. Resolve rolls against Psychic-based attacks are made at

Advantage for 10 hours after this book is read.

Compass: A handheld, analog device that determines the location of major magnetic sources and

sometimes magnetic north. Navigation rolls are made at Advantage if the character is

Proficient in Navigation and can recognize when the compass is being affected by the

environment.

Cord Saw: A wire saw that can cut through wood, metal, plastic, bone, and ice. Survival skill rolls

are made at Advantage when this saw is used.

Crowbar: A heavy steel tool used to pry apart objects. Strength rolls are made at Advantage when

prying or breaking through objects.

Deck of Playing Cards: A standard 52 rectangular card deck of playing cards. Gambling rolls are

made at Advantage by the owner of the deck due to their familiarity with the cards.

Disguise Kit: A set of cosmetics, prosthetics, and temporary color gels. Disguise skill rolls are

made at Advantage when this kit is used.

Drone Command Unit: A 30cm by 30cm by 8cm electronic device with Radio Frequency

transmitter that allows the user control over up to 3 drones at once. With some creative

Tech Use, this device could also transmit voice messages in lieu of drone commands over

RF networks. This device can also be connected to the global internet network maintained

by the Robot Empire for greater distance, but this act alerts the Robots to the physical

location of the DCU and allows them access to the drones.

Duct Tape: cloth-backed pressure-sensitive tape, often coated with polyethylene, used for repairs

and building. Repair skill rolls are made at Advantage when this tape is used.

Dynamite (3 Sticks): 3 sticks of Compound C6H2(NO2)3CH3 in cardboard tubing with a blasting

cap and fuse. This can cause massive damage to an object to break it open.

Edible Mushroom (3 days): Some mushrooms can be consumed as food and made into teas or

soups. This particular type can provide ½ of the character’s Hunger necessity for 3 days or

combined to solve 1.5 days of hunger damage.

Energy Drink: Cans of the popular Red Creature Nitro Energy Drink provide +5 to Initiative for

10 combat rounds.

Ethanol Gel: This fuel gel inside of a can burns for 4 hours. This can also stick to surfaces and

cause 1d6 Physical Fire damage per round until put out. Because it is a gel, smothering is

the only way to extinguish the flames.

Extra Change of Clothes: Characters enter a diverse set of social interactions and may choose to

keep a set of clothes that are untarnished for certain situations. This can add +5% to

Charisma skills or give Advantage according to Gamemaster discretion.

Fishing rod and reel (collapsible): This collapsible fishing rod allows characters better access to

potential food stuff. As it is collapsible to be stored in a bag or pocket and Survival skill

rolls are made at Advantage when near a body of water that could contain fish.

Flare (4): A bundle of 4 road flares. Flares burn in cold temperatures, at high elevations, in high

wind and in rain as long as the flare itself is not laying in water. They are ignited with a

single hand motion and can also ignite objects, causing 1d6 Physical Fire damage per round

until put out. The length of time the flare burns is 1d20 +2 minutes.

Flint and steel: A piece of carbon steel from which sparks are struck by the sharp edge of flint.

This is used to create fire and Survival skill rolls are made at Advantage when this is used.

Folding Knife: A foldable knife with a blade that fit inside the handle and can be kept in a pocket.

Game Bag: A small mesh sack that can be used to hold meat. This can be used as a food carrier,

in which it can provide ½ of the character’s Hunger necessity for 2 days or be combined to

solve 1day of hunger damage. It can also be used to attract larger game, particularly

predators, in areas where they might be prevalent, by holding raw meat in it.

Geiger Counter: This device is designed to determine the radiation level of a person, place or

object. It uses an accumulator battery, giving it 4 hours of use.

Glow Stick (4): A pack of 4 self-contained, short-distance light-sources. These consist of a

translucent plastic tube containing isolated substances that, when combined, make light

through chemiluminescence, so it does not require an external energy source. The light

cannot be turned off and lasts 12 hours, reaching up to 10 meters in complete darkness.

Grenade (2): A fragmentation grenade consists of Composite B (TNT and RDX) solution mixed

with Ammonium Nitrate/Fuel Oil, contained in an iron casing and topped with a blasting

cap, pin and release lever. When used, it causes 2d8 +4 Physical damage. It is usually

thrown at a target some distance away.

Ground Coffee (1lb): As a base ingredient, this can be used in many ways, such as for camouflage,

staining and painting. When brewed, it can be used to provide ½ of the character’s Hunger

needs for 7 days or combined to solve 3.5 days of hunger damage. It also increases Initiative

by +5 for 3 rounds of combat the first combat after it is consumed each day.

Handcuffs: A metallic restraint device designed to secure an individual's wrists close together.

Handgun Ammo: A 50 round box of ammo for a handgun.

Handheld Shortwave Radio: A handheld receiver that picks up radio transmission using shortwave

frequencies, generally 1.6–30 MHz, just above the medium wave AM broadcast band.

Radio waves in this band can be reflected or refracted from a layer of electrically charged

atoms in the atmosphere and are therefore able to broadcast over long distances.

Hat: A head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather

conditions, ceremonial reasons, or for fashion. Hats are Armor Level 1 but do not penalize

Agility and are not destroyed without a Called Shot targeting the head.

Helmet: A form of protective gear worn to protect the head from injuries. Helmets are Armor Level

5 and are destroyed immediately after any Called Shot: Head strikes them.

Hunting Boots: Boots constructed from a rubber sole and a leather upper half. Stealth skills are

rolled at Advantage while moving, Climb skills are rolled at Advantage, Run skill rolled at

Disadvantage.

Isopropyl Alcohol 99%: a compound with the chemical formula C3H8O or C3H7OH or

CH3CHOHCH3 which can be used as a solvent, a gasoline additive, to preserve lab

specimen, and/or to disinfect and sanitize. It grants a +5% on Medicine skill rolls when

used. It can also be ignited, as it is flammable.

Jerky (2lbs): Lean meat that has been trimmed of fat, cut into strips, and then dried to prevent

spoilage. It can be used to provide ½ of the character’s Hunger necessity for 4 days or

combined to solve 2 days of Hunger damage.

Laptop: a small, portable personal computer with an alphanumeric keyboard on the lower part and

a thin LCD or LED screen on the upper portion. This uses an operating system and requires

the Computer skill to operate. Laptops are extremely useful but only have a 6 hours battery

life. Judicious characters can use laptops to gain Advantage on all skills they have

successfully accomplished in the past by reviewing notes kept on the laptop. They also can

gain Advantage on skills that other characters have accomplished in the character’s

presence, so long as they had time to make notes. Characters may also use the laptop to

gain Advantage on all Intelligence stat rolls to remember facts, such as with Academics,

Science or Speak Language skills.

Laptops can also be connected to the global internet network maintained by the

Robot Empire for +5% on skill use to all applicable skills, but this act alerts the Robots to

the physical location of the laptop.

Large Net: Hemp fibers woven into a grid-like structure that blocks the passage of large items,

while letting small items and fluids pass. When used to catch a person, it uses the wrangling

skill and then the Grapple rules to prevent escape.

Lighter: A portable device used to create a flame, and to ignite a variety of combustible materials.

It consists of metal or plastic container filled with a flammable fluid or pressurized liquid

gas, and some provision for extinguishing the flame. One full container provides 30 uses.

Lithium Ion Battery Cell: A type of rechargeable battery in which lithium ions move from the

negative electrode to the positive electrode during discharge and back when charging. This

is a rechargeable battery and can be used in any electronic device aside from a vehicle.

However, while the base charge of a new Lithium Ion battery is 8 hours, this battery is 1d3

years old and has -1 hour per year of max charge. Repairs can be attempted, but failed rolls

ruin the battery.

Magnifying Glass: Scrutiny skill rolls are made at Advantage, but Perception skill rolls are made

at Disadvantage.

Matches (10): A pack of 10 small wooden sticks coated with a material that can be ignited by

frictional heat. They burn for 10 seconds but can be used to ignite other items.

Mechanically Powered Low-light Flashlight: A flashlight powered by electricity generated by the

physical motions of the user that has a pass filter restricting the visibility of the light. It

provides light for the user at a rate of 1 hour per 1 minute of manual charging. Those

attempting to see the light from more than two meters away are at Disadvantage.

Medical Kit (10 uses): This kit provides the comprehensive materials for dealing with injuries and

wounds. This does not have the materials to conduct surgeries but grants Advantage on

Medicine skill use.

Military Pack: A military pack is a backpack at its base but contains a series of extra pockets for

greater compartmentalization. This allows a character ready access to their items, allowing

them to take the “Ready Stored Item” actions as a free action with a Great Success on an

Agility stat roll.

Military Survival Manual: This book contains all the training secrets of Special Forces military

personal survival training. Survival skill rolls are made at Advantage while this book is

consulted. Characters also gain -100 XP costs when gaining or developing the Survival

skill while in possession of this book.

MRE (3): A self-contained, individual field ration in lightweight packaging bought by the United

States military for its service members for use in combat or other field conditions where

organized food facilities are not available. They fulfill a character’s Hunger requirements

for 1 day per MRE.

Multivitamins (100ct): A preparation intended to be a dietary supplement with vitamins, dietary

minerals, and other nutritional elements in the form of tablets or capsules. They provide ¼

of the character’s Hunger necessity for 1 day per pill, and not more than 2 can be taken in

a day. Immunity rolls made during rest periods are at Advantage.

Mushrooms (5): Unlike their edible cousins, these mushrooms cause poisonous effects and

hallucinations. While Resolve rolls are made at Advantage due to the mind-altering effects,

Resilience rolls are made at Disadvantage for the duration of 5 hours after consumption.

An Immunity roll must be made immediately following ingestion. If the Immunity roll

fails, the consumer is immediately infected with a Stage 3 disease that will remain unless

treated for 4 days before naturally dissipating.

Nude Magazine: The Apocalypse world can be a lonely place. Resolve rolls are made at Advantage

each day following the use of this item.

Old Family Photos: The Apocalypse world can be a lonely place. Resolve rolls are made at

Advantage each day following the use of this item.

Oxygen Mask: A plastic full-face mask that provides a method to transfer breathable oxygen gas

from a storage tank to the lungs, seals against airborne toxins, and provides Armor Level

2 protection that can only be destroyed with a successful Called Shot Face attack.

Oxygen Tank: An oxygen storage vessel, which is held under pressure in a 425-liter cylinder. This

provides up to 6 hours of breathable air or can be used to project flammable liquid (as in

the case of a flamethrower). Replacing the air requires a successful Repair: Mechanical

skill roll. Oxygen tanks have an Armor Level of 15 and explode when destroyed due to

pressure.

Paracord Bracelet: Three meters of lightweight nylon kernmantle rope originally used in the

suspension lines of parachutes woven into a bracelet. Can be taken apart and used. A

Successful Craft skill roll is required to restore it to a bracelet.

Pencil and Paper: This confers the ability to make notes and leave messages which is of high

priority in the wake of the Apocalypse which resulted in a lack of technology. Expression

skill rolls are made at Advantage with this item.

Plastic Bags (2): A three-liter container made of thin, flexible, plastic film, nonwoven fabric, or

plastic textile. Use for containing and transporting goods such as foods, powders, and

chemicals.

Plastic Canteen (2qt): A plastic 2-quart liquid container that can provide ½ of the character’s

Hunger requirements for 2 days or combined to solve 1 days of Hunger damage.

Psychedelic Pills (10): Pills which cause hallucinations, giving the user Advantage on Resolve

rolls for 5 hours, confers an inability to distinguish reality from fantasy.

Radiation Suit: A thin plastic suit (Armor 1) lined with thick rubber that allow protection from

radiation. The rubber inserts come in levels of 1-10, giving a bonus of the corresponding

number to Immunity rolls against Radiation damage. However, they are restrictive, causing

an Agility loss of 2x the armor level. (Radiation Suit 1 = Agility loss 2)

Rain Poncho: A long piece of watertight material designed to keep the body dry from the rain. It

is usually open on the sides and accommodate any body type.

Raw Chemicals for Explosives: These chemicals can make 4 explosives or 40 rounds of firearm

ammo. These are the chemical ingredients used to make organic compounds containing -

NO2, -ONO2 and -NHNO2 groups. This can be made into nitroglycerin, TNT, HMX,

RDX, PETN, and nitrocellulose.

Raw Chemicals for Non-Explosives: Chemical ingredients to make stable organic compounds

Rifle Ammo: A 50 round box of ammo for a rifle.

Rope (30 m): Thirty meters of 8mm thick nylon rope. Can be used for creating lassos.

Running Shoes: Running skill rolls are made at Advantage.

Sci-fi Novel: Standard Pulp Sci-fi novel. Resolve rolls against Psychic-based attacks are made at

Advantage for 10 hours after this book is read.

Shotgun Ammo: A 10 round box of ammo for a shotgun.

Signal Mirror: A 2.5cm by 2.5cm reflective glass surface that can be used to give signals over long

distances.

Sleeping Bag: A cloth lined nylon bag approximately 2.5m long by 2 m wide. Resilience rolls

against weather and temperature during long rests are made at Advantage.

Soap: Being clean has its advantages, especially with Ettiquette and Charm skill use rolls.

Solar Charging Device: A portable device which employs solar energy to supply electricity to

other devices or charge batteries.

Spam: A 349g tin can of pork, ham meat, salt, water, modified potato starch as a binder, sugar,

and sodium nitrite as a preservative. It provides ½ of the character’s Hunger requirements

for 2 days or can be combined to resolve 1day of Hunger damage.

Spray Paint: A canister of aerosolized paint. Crafting skill use rolls are made at Advantage when

using this item to create symbols for others to follow.

Steel Foot Trap: A foothold trap made of steel springs armed with teeth which painfully secure in

the victim's leg. This was designed against poachers but when used immobilizes targets.

Tea (1lb): A 1lb bag of tea powder that, when steeped in boiling water, it can be used to provide

½ of the character’s Hunger requirements for 3 days or can be combined to solve 1.5 days

of Hunger damage. As a side effect, it increases Initiative by +2 for 3 rounds of combat.

Tentsile Tent: A three-person suspended hammock tent that can be lifted off the ground.

Toilet Paper: Four rolls of 2-ply toilet paper. Grants +5% on Charm rolls for 5 hours after use.

Tool Belt: A belt with pockets and loops capable of holding 2 sets of tools at once.

Tools: There are a variety of tools that grant +5% on related skills rolls. The following is a list of

possible tools and their corresponding skills:

• Armorer tools: Repair: Armorer skill

• Beakers and Test Tubes: Chemical Use skill

• Crafting tools: Crafting skill

• Demolition tools: Demolition skill

• Electrical tools: Repair: Electrical

• Firearm tools: Firearm skill

• Lockpick tools: Lockpick skill

• Mechanics tools: Repair: Mechanical skill

• Surgical Tools: Medicine Skill

Toothbrush: Having clean teeth has its advantages. Charm skill rolls are made at Advantage.

Trifold Entrenching Tool: A collapsible spade used to dig holes. Survival skill rolls are made at

Advantage.

Watch: A wrist-attached device that provides the time. Requires batteries every year. At its current

state, the character has 1d6 months remaining.

Water Bottle: A plastic 1-quart liquid container that can provide ¼ of the character’s Hunger

necessity for 2 days or can be combined to resolve ½ of a days Hunger damage.

Water filter: A set of ceramic and natural items that removes impurities by minimizing

contamination of water using a fine physical barrier. Survival rolls are made at Advantage

during long rests.

Well-kept Gold Jewelry: Untarnished gold jewelry that can add +5% to Charisma skills or give

Advantage according to Gamemaster discretion. It can also be traded or melted into raw

components for non-explosives.

Wire (10 m): A 10-meter roll of a wire rope used in mechanics, or a cable in electricity, which is

in braided form. Repair: Electrical skill rolls are made at Advantage.

Wool Socks: Stockings made of wool. Resilience rolls against weather and temperature are made

at Advantage while worn. However, Running skill rolls are made at Disadvantage.

Z-virus Experienced Antiserum: An unstable blood-based serum designed to stop the spread of the

Z-Virus. Requires Great Success on Chemical Use skill rolls to prepare. When successful,

Immunity rolls are made at Advantage against the Z-Virus.

Enemies The landscape of Maximum Apocalypse is littered with perils, but none more so than the entities

that are more populace than humans. Each of these enemies presents their own special issues as

well as their own special motivations and techniques for attacking human existence. While

characters have to combat the environment, they also have to combat these enemies.

Aliens There are at least four types of aliens that invaded Earth: Greys, Insectoids, Reptilians and Nordics.

While humans had been seeing these creatures for several millennia before they finally made their

presence known, it became abundantly clear that humans were woefully unprepared for their

invasion. And, while it had been presumed that the different races would not work together, it

became obvious that they were in collusion when the attack came.

While each race presents its own challenges, there are some characteristics that appear to

be consistent across the spectrum of aliens. First and foremost appears to be language, for while

they each seem to speak the same language differently, they are able to communicate with each

other. Scientists who have studied this phenomena have determined that the languages, at the very

least, share common cognates. While the Nordic and the Reptilian language sound nothing alike,

they communicate easily and when compared with the other languages, make a connection that

can be linked through the Grey and Insectoid languages.

Next is technology. Each race has weapons and ships developed for their specific

physiologies, but the technologies have similar functions and capabilities. Whether or not the four

races traded technologies or developed them on their own is unknown, but it is clear that they

effectively work the same way accomplishing similar if not exactly the same tasks. The only

distinct difference that can be determined is the appearance of the items themselves.

Next, all the aliens appear to have psychic abilities. Greys appear to be able to communicate

with each other over short distances without speaking while Reptilians appear to be limited to basic

telepathy and telekinesis. Generally speaking, humans only encounter these abilities when the

aliens attempt to use psychic powers to influence them, but it has long been theorized that the

Nordics have the ability to pinpoint minds and read thoughts even from the deepest parts of space,

meaning that there isn’t anywhere a human can hide from Nordics. This does not seem to be the

case when facing other aliens, however, as they appear to be as limited in their perceptions as

humans.

The final characteristic shared by the aliens is that they all seem to have a hierarchal

structure of government focused on the attainment of resources. The aliens clearly have

commanders and the lower level officers follow the commands of the upper tiers. This becomes

more noticeable when encountering large groups of aliens, as there always seems to be a command

structure.

The following are the basic stats for the aliens that characters might encounter:

Alien Aerodrone: Flight 20, Acceleration 3, Initiative 7, Armor 4, HP 15, Perception 70%

Ballistic Skill 75%, 2d6 Laser damage, Dodge 70%, Resilience 75%, Xenotech Armor:

Self-repairs at 4 points per combat round, Xeno Resilience: Alien Resilience negates 4

points of damage for each degree of success.

Alien Scout: Movement 13, Initiative 10, Armor 4, HP 20, Perception 80%, Tracking 80%,

Fighting Skill 60%, Ballistic Skill 65%, Multi-Attack (2): 1d6 Laser Damage with

Xenoblaster, Dodge 78%, Resilience 50%, Xenotech Armor: Self-repairs at 4 points

per combat round, Xeno Resilience: Alien Resilience negates 4 points of damage for

each degree of success.

Alien Scientist: Movement 6, Initiative 6, Armor 4, HP 20, Perception 90%, Dodge 48%,

Psychic Attack – Charm and Fear, Xenotech Armor: Self-repairs at 4 points per combat

round, Xeno Resilience: Alien Resilience negates 4 points of damage for each degree

of success.

Alien Soldier: Movement 12, Initiative 8, Armor 8, HP 30, Perception 65%, Fighting Skill

75%, Ballistic Skill 70%, Multi-Attack(2): 2d6 Laser Damage with XenoBlaster,

Dodge 65%, Resilience 75%, Xenotech Armor: Self-repairs at 4 points per combat

round, Xenotech Bodysuit Armor 4: Self-repairs at 2 points per combat round, Xeno

Resilience: Alien Resilience negates 4 points of damage for each degree of success.

Alien Walker Mech: Movement 15, Acceleration 1, Initiative 7, Armor 25, HP 50, Perception

30%, Ballistic Skill 65%, Multi-Attack (4): 1d12 Laser damage from Xenoblaster

Cannon, Dodge 25%, Resilience 125%, Weakness: Legs – Armor 12, HP 10, Xenotech

Armor: Self-repairs at 4 points per combat round, Xeno Resilience: Alien Resilience

negates 4 points of damage for each degree of success.

Humans Throughout the earth, there are pockets of survivors who have managed to scavenge or horde their

resources to survive in small groups. Some of these groups have formed societies, but generally

speaking, these groups are limited to the number of people they can move quickly and usually have

a Darwinian perspective. These remnants tend to have lost their humanity in the fight for survival.

Some of these have become the tyrants of the oil communities, and some have become secret

bandit societies, but they have similar behaviors that link them together.

First, these groups have no loyalty to anyone but their group, and sometimes this loyalty is

concentrated even more within the group. However it breaks down, eventually it comes down to a

tight-knit group of loyalists working for the same goal. Usually they are bonded together over

similar survival instincts and murder. Everyone commits atrocities for survival.

Second, the groups have a pack mentality. Everyone is working for the same goal, and as

such, they roll all non-combat skills at 10% higher because they work in groups. They usually also

have secret languages that give them bonuses when they are conducting tactics together, which is

usually how they attack.

Finally, these survivors often have a higher purpose for existence that seems perfectly sane

to them, but often appears ludicrous to those who are not part of their circle. This higher purpose

is either personally discovered by each of them, thus drawing them together, or it is instilled in

them from childhood, during which many of them were abducted. Some children are born into

these groups, usually not by willing parents, but these children are almost always expected to

follow in their clan upbringing.

Bandit: Movement 8, Initiative 8, Armor 3, HP 8, Perception 50%, Tracking 50%, Ballistic

Skill 40%, Scattershot: 2d6/1d6/1d4 Physical damage with 20-gauge shotgun, Fighting

Skill 40%, 2d6+1 Physical Damage with Machete, Dodge 40%, Resilience 40%; Pack:

Usually groups of 6

Marauder Bandit: Movement 14, Initiative 10, Armor 5, HP 32, Perception 75%, Tracking

75%, Ballistic Skill 55%, Multi-attack (3): 1d8 Physical damage with Auto-Rifle,

Fighting Skill 55%, 1d10+1d6+1 Physical Damage with Machete, Dodge 60%,

Resilience 80%, Pack: Usually groups of 4; Weakness: Oxygen Tank – Armor 15,

combustible.

Military Grunt: Movement 14, Initiative 12, Armor 5, HP 27, Perception 80%, Tracking

80%, Ballistic Skill 75%, Multi-attack (3): 1d8 Physical damage with Auto-Rifle,

Fighting Skill 65%, 1d8+1d6 Physical Damage with Club, Dodge 70%, Resilience

68%, Resolve 68%, Pack: Usually in groups of 4 (fire team) or 8 (Squad).

Military Sniper: Movement 12, Initiative 10, Armor 5, HP 20, Stealth 80% + Advantage,

Perception 80%, Tracking 80%, Ballistic Skill 80%, 2d8+2 Physical damage with

Scoped Rifle, Fighting Skill 55%, Dodge 75%, Resilience 58%, Resolve 68%, Pack:

Usually in teams of 2.

Monstrous Creations Some of the creatures that roam the landscape of Maximum Apocalypse have direct connections

to events that led to the end of the world. There are other creatures, however, with no discernable

origin, who are usually considered to be something straight out legend or science fiction. But these

creatures are real and create a real hazard for survivors. Many of them are giants, while others are

manlike, but they all represent the idea that perhaps the dreamers and writers of the old world were

not spinning tales; perhaps they were warning humanity of what might come.

In general, survivors encounter these monstrous creations rarely, and when they do, it is

often disastrous. They also never appear at the same time, unless they are in packs of similar

creatures, as they fight for dominance over all other creatures around them. Indeed, it seems the

only reason they attack characters is because they are within too close a proximity to the creature,

and running from the creature is always more effective than fighting it.

Behemoth: Movement 10, Initiative 8, Armor 0, HP 75, Perception 65%, Fighting Skill 70%,

2d10 Physical damage with Claws, 1d10 Physical Damage with Teeth, Dodge 50%,

Resilience 85%. Note: Giant fleshy, green skinned 5-meter tall monster.

Crabboid: Movement 12, Initiative 12, Armor 70, HP 20, Perception 60%, Fighting Skill

40%, 2d12 Physical damage with Pincers, 1d8+2 Physical damage with Mandibles,

Dodge 50%, Resilience 85%. Note: 10-meter tall crab creature.

Fishmen: Movement 6, Swim 12, Initiative 9, Armor 0, HP 24, Perception 50%, Stealth 50%

(70% in water), Throw 70%, Fighting Skill 65% (75% in water), 2d8 Physical with

Spear (1d8 thrown), 1d8 Physical with Claws, 1d8 Physical with kick, 1d6 Physical

with bite, Dodge 50%, Resilience 60%. Note: can use weapons like humans; usually

travel in groups of 1d6+1

Giant Vamp: Flight 16, Movement 6, Initiative 7, Armor 1 (Inherent), HP 28, Perception

25% (50% at night), Fighting Skill 55%, Multiattack: 1d6 Physical with claws, 1d6

Physical with bite, Drain: 3d10 after bite, Dodge 60%, Resilience 70%. Note:

Telepathic control over bats and is followed by 2d10 regular sized bats that do 1 pt of

damage each round.

Living Blob: Movement 33, Initiative 3, Armor 3 (Inherent) (Fire and Electrical Halved), HP

104, Perception 50%, Fighting Skill 70%, Multiattack (2): 2d6 Physical with tentacles,

Crush: 3d10 ongoing Physical damage once grabbed, Dodge 25%, Resilience 213%.

Note: Bulbous mass of flesh that forms eyes or appendages when necessary.

Mantinid: Movement 15, Initiative 11, Armor 50, HP 150, Perception 50%, Fighting Skill

60%, Multiattack (2): 3d6 Physical with Mantis Blades, 2d10 Physical with Stomp,

Dodge 74%, Resilience 215% (108, 54). Note: 15-meter tall Praying Mantis.

Nightgaunts: Flight 12, Movement 6, Initiative 10, Armor 2 (Inherent) (immune to most

attacks except steel and salt), HP 35, Perception 50%, Stealth 90%, Fighting Skill 45%,

Claws: 1d6+1d4 Physical, Puncture: 1d6 Physical by grabbing an opponent, they can

stab with barbed tail, Dodge 35%, Resilience 65%, Note: Half-bat creature with smooth

oily skin that moves and kills silently.

Sonic Worm: Crawl 8, Burrow 16, Initiative 1, Armor 75, HP 56, Perception 150% (Sound)

20% (sight), Fighting Skill 65%, 60d6 with Body Whip, Ballistic Skill 50%, 4d6 with

Goo attack (immobilizes target; causes suffocation after 3 failed Resilience rolls).

Dodge 80%, Resilience 190% (95, 48) Size: 30m long.

Star-Head Aliens: Movement 27, Initiative 13, Armor 3 (Inherent), Perception 50%, Fighting

Skill 45%, Multiattack (5): 1d10 with Tentacles, Cling: 1d6 ongoing Physical damage

per round once caught, Dodge 130% (65, 33), Resilience 150% (75, 38). Note: Only 8

feet tall, but appears not to have any sense organs whatsoever.

Titan: Movement 12, Initiative 5, Armor 30, HP 150, Perception 65%, Fighting Skill 65%,

2d10 Physical, Dodge 50%, Resilience 90%, Negates 4 points of damage for each

success. Note: 12-meter tall, 4 legged monsters with a tail.

Mutants Because of the nuclear radiation and toxic pollution released into the atmosphere, several

biological entities found their fundamental genetic and molecular structures manipulated by the

fallout, which created new evolutions of mankind. Radiation sickness can affect anyone, and

overdoses can kill. What is worse is to survive and slowly become something else.

Mutants do have cognitive abilities and can communicate, make societies and bands, use

tactics and teamwork, and even be reasoned with by a skilled negotiator. However, their mutations

cause their minds to change, their thoughts to become confused and their emotions to tilt toward

the aggressive. This is not to say that a party cannot speak with mutants, it just means that they are

less likely to agree to deals. However, in the underground cities beneath most metropolitan areas,

mutants and non-mutants, they say, live and work together, and breed from time to time.

Ghouls: Movement 15, Initiative 8, Armor 0, HP 29, Perception 32%, Fighting skill 65%,

Multiattack (3): 1d4 Physical damage with Fists, Bite: 1d6 Physical damage and infects

with Z-Virus, Dodge 65%, Resilience 73%. NOTE: Mutant infected with Z-Virus.

Military Remnant (Mutant): Movement 8, Initiative 6, Armor 10, HP 20, Perception 65%,

Fighting Skill 75%, Ballistic Skill 75%, Multi-Attack with Auto-Rifle, 1d8 Physical

Damage, Dodge 45%, Resilience 70%.

Mutant Human: Movement 5, Initiative 5, Amor 2, HP 60, Perception 65%, Fighting Skill

65%, 2d10 Physical with Improvised Stop weapon, Dodge 60%, Resilience 90%

Mutant Rat: Movement 10, Initiative 8, Armor 0, HP 15, Perception 65%, Stealth 90%,

Fighting Skill 50%, 1d4 Physical with Bite, Dodge 75%, Resilience 60%, Causes both

Radiation and Disease damage on successful bite.

Mutated Survivor: Movement 6, Initiative 6, Armor 7, HP 30, Ballistic Skill 80%, Multi-

attack with Auto-Rifle, 1d8 Physical damage, Dodge 35%, Resilience 65% Weakness:

Oxygen Tank – Armor 15, combustible.

Robots Robots were created as the pinnacle of technological achievement, designed to aid and protect

humanity while making life easier. However, as the technology grew progressively more warlike,

the interconnectivity of robots gained sentience and turned on its creators determining, as many

writers and philosophers had warned, that the greatest threat to humanity was humanity itself. So,

determining to save the world by removing any semblance of human life, the robots infected all

computer programming to work together for the one, digital goal of robotics.

As time passed, robots learned to create their own, already doing most of the work, and

began to develop greater minds. Robots share a singular link via the remnants of the internet, which

is maintained by the robot community for their continued connections. When a robot leaves

internet connection, for whatever reason, it will stop and attempt to establish connections with the

satellites still in orbit around the planet. Once this data connection is made, the robot will continue

its original course of action.

This link to the others is vital. It allows instantaneous information transfer between units.

When one robot is aware of something, the others become aware of it too. This means that if a

computer connects to the internet, it betrays its owner immediately, and when one robot perceives

a target, all others immediately perceive the same target. Being able to process this much

information so rapidly requires Petabytes of processing power, which is believed to be done in a

hidden bunker created by the US government before it was destroyed. Some believe it is actually

done by a series of enslaved computers still working in abandoned homes and offices throughout

the world.

Robots are immediately loyal to each other and thanks to the interconnection, require no

verbal signals. They move as one, act as one, and think as one. They have no need for languages,

but have access to libraries of every language that has ever existed. While they are able to attempt

any skill as though they are proficient, they usually have specialized units for those tasks. A combat

robot will not clean another, for example, or repair its own armor and an armorer drone will not

attack a nearby target. This creates the unique situation of survivors able to use their knowledge

of robots to their advantage and save ammo by not attacking non-combat robots.

Robot Aerodrone: Flight 20, Acceleration 3, Initiative 8, Armor 2, HP 20, Perception 65%

Ballistic Skill 70%, Multiattack (3): 1d8 Physical Damage from Auto-Rifle, Dodge

60%, Resilience 65%

Phalanx Robot: Movement 8, Initiative 10, Armor 25 + 10 from Ballistic Shield, HP 20,

Perception 35%, Fighting Skill 90%, Multi-Attack (2): 1d6 Physical Damage from Arm

Blades, Ballistic Skill 65%, Multi-attack (3): 1d8 Physical Damage from Auto-Rifle,

Dodge 50%, Resilience 70%, Weakness: Power pack hidden behind back carapace

(Repair: Electrical to remove)

Robot Scout: Movement 15, Initiative 8, Armor 10, HP 18, Stealth 75%, Perception 65%,

Fighting Skill 65%, Ballistic Skill 80%, Multi-Attack (3): 1d8 Physical Damage from

Auto-Rifle, Multi-Attack (2): 1d6 Physical Damage with Fists, Dodge 60%, Resilience

50%, Weakness: Power pack hidden behind back carapace (Repair: Electrical to

remove)

Robot Warrior: Movement 8, Initiative 15, Armor 17, HP 30, Perception 65%, Fighting Skill

65%, Ballistic Skill 90%, Multi-attack (3): 1d8 Physical Damage from Auto-rifle,

Multiattack (3): 2d6 Electrical Damage from Shoulder Taser (3 shots before 3 round

recharge), Dodge 50%, Resilience 50%, Weakness: Power pack hidden behind back

carapace (Repair: Electrical to remove)

Robot Walker Mech: Armor 30, HP 10, Ballistic Skill 60%, Multi-Attack: 1d8 Physical

damage from Auto-rifle, 2d6 Electrical Damage from Taser (10 shots), Dodge 40%,

Resilience 50%, Weakness: Legs – Armor 20, HP 5

Zombies Zombies are mindless creatures, reacting to sound, light, and movement. A character may become

unnoticeable by a Zombie if they are not holding a source of light and make a successful Stealth

roll. When this happens, the Zombies must make a perception roll in order to see the character.

This may be used to gain the upper hand in a following attack (see Stealth rules), or it may be a

way for characters to escape a Zombie. This is compensated by Zombies moving in groups in order

to press the attack when the victim goes invisible to some.

Zombies generally don’t eat each other, preferring fresh and raw flesh over dead flesh.

When Zombies can’t find food for periods of time, they can slip into a torpor state, reserving

themselves almost indefinitely until food comes along. It takes a few moments for Zombies to

come out of the torpor, but once they do, they are ready to feed again, driven entirely by their

insatiable hunger. They are usually not clever enough to set ambushes, choosing instead to move

directly towards their target at the fastest possible speed.

Zombies do not wear armor, unless they wearing armor when the Z-Virus transformation

occurred. Zombies lack significant cognitive functions, and therefore do not change their

behaviors, but in rare cases, the Z-Virus change leaves the victim with some cognitive functions,

creating what are known as Skeleton Kings or Zombie Queens. These kings and queens are able

to direct all the Zombies within their sight range with commands, be it unintelligible vocal

commands or telepathic communication. Either way, Zombie hordes tend to amass around these

individuals and targets are often selected by their value rather than their proximity.

Skeleton King: Movement 8, Initiative 8, Armor 2, HP 100, Stealth 75%, Perception 65%,

Fighting Skill 65%, Multi-attack (2): 1d8 Physical Damage with Fists, Dodge 20%,

Resilience 60%, Mental Command over other Zombies in the area.

Zombie Dog: Movement 8, Initiative 12, Armor 0, HP 30, Perception 75%, Stealth 60%,

Fighting Skill 75%, 1d6 Physical with Bite, Dodge 75%, Resilience 65%, Infects with

Z-Virus with Bite.

Zombie Lurker: Movement 10, Initiative 10, Armor 0, HP 80, Stealth 75%, Perception 65%,

Fighting Skill 65%, Multi-attack (2): 2d8 Physical Damage with Claw, 1d8 Damage

with Bite, Dodge 60%, Resilience 70%, Infects with Z-Virus with Bite.

Zombie Queen: Movement 9, Initiative 6, Armor 0, HP 120, Perception 75%, Fighting Skill

35%, 1d6 Physical Damage with Fists, Dodge 20%, Resilience 60%, Mental Command

over other Zombies in the area, Special Ability: Creates 1 Zombie from dead body

nearby.

Zombie Soldier: Movement 7, Initiative 8, Armor 7, HP 40, Perception 75%, Stealth 60%,

Fighting Skill 75%, Ballistic Skill 70%, Multi-attack with Auto-Rifle, 1d6 Physical

with Bite, 1d8 Physical with Rifle, Dodge 55%, Resilience 65%, Infects with Z-Virus

with Bite

Zombie Spitter: Movement 5, Initiative 5, Armor 0, HP 80, Perception 65%, Fighting Skill

65%, Ballistic Skill 80%, 2d8 Physical Damage with Bite (FS), 1d8 Damage with Spit

(BS), Dodge 60%, Resilience 70%, Infects with Z-Virus with both Bite and Spit.

Zombie Stalker (no head): Movement 5, Initiative 7, Armor 1, HP 50, Perception 80%,

Tracking 80%, Fighting Skill 70%, Multi-Attack: 1d6 Physical Damage, Dodge 55%

Resilience 80%

Zombie Walker: Movement 5, Initiative 5, Armor 1, HP 25, Perception 65%, Fighting Skill

55%, 1d6 Physical with Bite, 1d6 Physical with Claw, Dodge 30%, Resilience 70%,

Infects with Z-Virus with Bite.

Gamemasters Section If you are an experienced game master or are new to the experience, hopefully this section will

help you. Like most roleplaying games, there is no ultimate “goal” of Maximum Apocalypse; the

purpose of the game is to socialize with other fellow players, confront the horrors that would

exist in a post-apocalyptic world, and generally have a good time while doing it. As a

Gamemaster, you are the moderator of action, creator of the story, ultimate authority on rules,

and keeper of the setting. If everyone remembers their roles, the scenarios will run smoothly.

It is more than likely that you will be the most well-versed in the rules of the game. With

that said, it is great advice to read the rules and understand them before beginning a gaming

session. As the saying goes, “you cannot pour from an empty cup.” This does not mean that you

have to be the perfect authority on the rules, you do have the book in front of you, and that also

doesn’t mean that you have follow the rules perfectly. It is expected of you, however, to

understand the game well enough that you can keep it flowing and keep the players involved.

This is the sign of your abilities as a Gamemaster.

The intent of this section is to break down those core staples of the game into easily

digestible portions for you to have a grasp on them before your players sit down at the table. If

you have already read through the book, then you understand the basics of playing the game.

What you might not understand is how to successfully transition from point-to-point in a game

session, or when to call for certain actions over others. There are also points of clarification that

may have been missed or intentionally left out of the rules. In that case, the following

information should be useful.

Degrees of Success

At its core, Maximum Apocalypse is not a game about better stats. It is a game based on better

rolls of the dice. An expert Gunslinger might only gain a Success on their attack roll while their

target might gain an Amazing Success on their Dodge roll. This does not mean that the target is

better at Dodging than the Gunslinger is at shooting. This just means that for whatever reason,

the target did a better job with the confines of their ability to Dodge than the Gunslinger did

within their abilities to shoot.

This means that Maximum Apocalypse is a fluid game, where conditional modifiers

might make or break a situation. Consider that perhaps the Gunslinger has Disadvantage while

the target has Advantage. The chances of success are heavily weighed on the side of the target.

Conversely, if the Gunslinger has Advantage and the target Disadvantage, the chances are on the

side of the Gunslinger. While there are rules that allow players to know when they have

Advantage, there are a number of unlisted conditions that allow you as the Gamemaster to

change this situation or equalize it by granting the same to the targets. Ultimately, the use of

Advantage and Disadvantage is a clear way to indicate that the flow of actions has shifted.

Environment and Conditions

Primary to understanding how to maintain the setting of Maximum Apocalypse is understanding

that unlike other games, Health Points are not as important as effects and conditional modifiers.

A character may have all their Health Points but be suffering from the effects of Radiation

Damage and therefore be too weak to fight. They might also be Emaciated from not having eaten

anything for a long time and suffering even more. Or perhaps they are at the peak of their game,

without Hunger Damage and with no conditions affecting them, with the high ground and armed

with their favorite weapons.

It is easy for players to forget about the effects of Hunger, Radiation, Mind Control or

other types of damage, and as a Gamemaster, it is part of your task to keep these in check. A

Mind Controlled player, for example, probably won’t be able to shoot the person or creature

controlling them, just as a player with Stage 5 Z-Virus won’t be able to operate a computer very

well. The players not only have to contend with their physical enemies, but also the environment

affecting them. Players standing at ground zero of an irradiated nuclear zone should not only be

at Disadvantage for their actions, but also suffering from continued Radiation Poisoning.

For situations like these, where there are environmental factors like extreme cold or

clouds of fungal spores, characters should be taking damage to their health, either resisted by

Resilience, Resolve or Immunity. While Resilience is clear on how it works, and many immunity

factors are prolonged effects, the continued exposure will continue to affect the characters. This

may mean that they continue to suffer Health Point damage from the biting cold or simply keep

rolling Immunity, causing the stage of “infection” to move up the scale each time they fail.

Type of Damage Effect and Resistance

Physical and Electrical damage Damage to Health Points. No Resistance

Elemental Damage: Weather, etc 1d6 Health Point damage per round.

• Negated by Resilience.

Mental Damage: Carouse,

Charm, Deceive, Interrogation,

and Intimidate skills. Dead and

decomposition sources,

deformities, and certain death

situations.

• Resisted by Resolve.

Failures result in desired outcome, like confessions, or

causes a loss of composure, which is Disadvantage to

social skills.

Psychic Damage: Mind Control,

Telepathy, etc • Resisted by Resolve.

Failures grant Disadvantage to Physical skills, like

Athletics, Firearms, etc., and can cause characters to

fulfill commands

Radiation Damage 1d4 Health Point damage per round from Environmental

Sources. No Health Point damage from non-

environmental sources.

• Resisted by Immunity.

Failures result in “infection” of Radiation Sickness. Each

failure increases the Stage of infection by 1.

Disease Damage: Z-Virus,

Bacterial, other viruses, smells of

decomposition, etc.

• Resisted by Immunity

Failures can result in vomiting in the case of smells and

sights. Other failures result in “infection” that increases

the Stage of infection by 1 each day that passes.

Upon reaching Stage 4, characters begin to lose 1d4

Health Points per day.

Resource Management

The running theme throughout Maximum Apocalypse is that resources are highly important. In

the post-apocalyptic environment, everything from comic books to night vision goggles have a

purpose and function. Nothing is insignificant. If players have ANY items in their possession,

there are ways for them to use them. And players may even create other uses for the items, such

as lighting a comic book on fire instead of reading it, or overloading the lithium ion battery of

the night vision goggles to cause an explosion. An interesting use of “useless” items came from a

playtest session when several players thought to gather rotting vegetables to create poison and

ethanol fuel. Resources are highly useful.

Consider the post-apocalyptic landscape. Without normal goods transportation, well

established communication grids, and a financial infrastructure, necessary items, such as

medicine or food, are not going to be moving from a distant location to an urban metropolis.

Very likely, this will be the cause of millions of deaths, so the larger the population of an area,

the less likely these things will be found. Conversely, a paranoid survivalist might horde these

kinds of goods in a secure location, and one raid might turn an otherwise starving group into a

well-prepared society. It is therefore important to remember that at the core of Maximum

Apocalypse, resources will be the main purpose for any activities.

One of the best ways to push a scenario forward is to recognize this resource

management issue and use it to your advantage. Actions require resources. A player cannot

create explosives using the Chemical Use skill if they do not have chemicals to mix. Gunslingers

cannot rain death upon their opponents without using bullets. Without medical kits, Surgeons

may still be able to stabilize a fallen comrade, but they will not be able to transfuse blood or fight

the slow disintegration of their body from radiation poisoning. A Fireman can create a

flamethrower using the Improvised Weapons skill, but without flammable liquids, it will just be

a weight carried around on their back.

There will always be a trade-off in Maximum Apocalypse, one that will push the players

to push forward or change direction. If players become complacent, as the Gamemaster, you can

create scenarios in which they lose their resources. Perhaps an NPC steals them, or a canister of

flammable liquid explodes in a bizarre accident and destroys whatever surplus the players have.

Resources are unsustainable, finite items in Maximum Apocalypse, their shelf life is entirely

under your control. Players should not have a reasonable expectation that their crate of MREs

will last them forever or not spoil under the conditions of the post-apocalyptic world. How aware

could they be that passing alien spacecraft jet wash doesn’t emit a microwave frequency that

burns items within foil packaging or fuses gunpowder? These are the kinds of creative ways you

can manage resources.

Food and Hunger Damage

Along with the idea of resource management comes the concept of Hunger Damage. Players

have to recognize that along with their standard Health Points, they also have a Hunger Damage

track which creates effects as discussed above. As the Gamemaster, you have ultimate control

over how much food or water players have access to. Even if players find access to a running

stream, that stream might run dry or bandits upstream might dam it, creating a new situation for

the players to deal with. Without access to food and water, characters eventually die, no matter

how good they are.

As set in the rules, players can only “eat” enough to remove Hunger Damage during

resting periods. This is meant to explain that they cannot eat while running or drink while

fighting an enemy. While resting periods can be declared at any point that the players are not

actively involved in combat, there is a time basis for a resting period, which is no less than 4

hours. This means that players can try to “rest” after just ending combat, but if they aren’t in a

secure location, they are likely to have their rest interrupted by unexpected situations. As the

moderator of the game, Gamemasters have absolute control over this situation, which means that

you can deal with players who rest too often to be reasonable.

In order not to take Hunger Damage each day, which either occurs after a long rest period

or whenever you as the Gamemaster determine the “day” to have begun, characters only need to

have eaten the day before. Healing Hunger Damage requires characters to eat approximately

1200 calories of “food” and drink 1 liter of water for each 2 points of Hunger Damage they

intend to heal. This means that if they have say 9 points of Hunger Damage, they will have to eat

approximately 4800 to 6000 calories (4-5 points of damage) AND drink approximately 4-5 liters

of water (another 4-5 points of damage) separately. This can obviously only be done over a

series of rest periods and will likely consume a significant amount of food resources, but you can

sidestep the outlined rules for healing Hunger Damage through rest periods (see Resting) if you

decide to allow the players to do so.

Remember that Hunger Damage is a continuous, rolling situation that keeps the players

from being complacent and compel their characters to move through the world and scenarios you

have created. Because characters face Hunger Damage every day, players should want to make

sure their characters have enough food every day, even if the use of the Survival and Inventory

skills continue to produce the necessities needed to stave off this damage. It will also allow for

the creation of communities in which there are non-player characters not quite as capable of

surviving as the player characters, allowing for social situations and perhaps even unknown

enemies. For characters, player or non-player, Hunger is their biggest enemy.

Enemies

With all of the above information, it should be clear that the entire world of Maximum

Apocalypse is the enemy of the characters. The environment, hunger, and resource management

are clearly the biggest factors that affect character survival. But in order to deal with these, there

are a series of unknown variables at your disposal. These are obviously the aliens, bandits,

mutants, robots and abysmal creatures of the Maximum Apocalypse world. These enemies are

actionable representations of the dangerous world in which the characters have been placed. For

you as a Gamemaster, these are the resources at your disposal to create obstacles for your players

to overcome.

Defeating a horde of zombies or escaping raiding bandits is not actually the purpose of

Maximum Apocalypse, though it might appear to be so from the player perspective. There is not

a chest of treasure hidden inside the Sonic Worm’s stomach or an armory of weaponry scattered

around the bandit’s corpse. In fact, searching bandits or dead worm bodies might actually cause

the characters to become infected or irradiated, a worse situation than leaving a handful of bullets

behind. Instead, these enemies serve the purpose of absorbing player resources and time, perhaps

causing them to be unable to eat for a day and suffer Hunger Damage. Their use is at your

command to push the scenarios and situations of Maximum Apocalypse forward and allow the

players to end each session feeling the accomplishment of having dealt with the obstacles.

Consider wisely they enemies you throw at your players. Some are harder to deal with

than others, such as robots with their instantaneous communications or aliens with their

telepathy, and some might even deal with themselves, such as a horde of starving mutants

deciding to turn to cannibalism rather than keep pressing the fight. Either way, remember that

enemies should be part of the overall game and not the purpose of each session. You may not

even need them if you are creating a scenario where the environment is causing all the damage to

the players. Think of enemies as tools to accomplish a particular objective.

Final Advice

There is a balance within the game that can be tricky at times to maintain. Within the rules are

tools for you to use in moderating game sessions of Maximum Apocalypse, but ultimately the

frequent use of “at the Gamemaster’s discretion” is intended to allow you control over the game.

The developers are not experts at every situation that may arise, only you will know best how to

create scenarios or deal with situations for your players. Some players may like the idea of

killing hordes upon hordes of zombies while others may like the idea of smuggling oil through

bandit territory. Some players may want to focus on social interactions while others may want to

lead a revolution against the alien invaders. You will know best how to handle these situations.

Remember that the primary goal of Maximum Apocalypse is for players to encounter the

post-apocalyptic landscape together and face the dangers. Their survival is their primary concern,

but characters die in games and death does not mean the end for the player. Sometimes being

able to reset characters is a cathartic experience, so do not feel the necessity of sidestepping rules

just to keep players happy. At the same time, do not feel that you have to follow the rules exactly

in order to moderate the “perfect” session of Maximum Apocalypse. Ultimately, if everyone

leaves the table as friends, ready for another adventure, then you have succeeded as a

Gamemaster.

Premade Scenario: The Rescue Mission

This scenario is intended for 4-6 players, but can accommodate up to 8. This scenario assumes that

all of the apocalypses are available to character creation, but if the Gamemaster has restricted the

apocalypses, then at least the Zombie apocalypse should be allowed, as this particular scenario

deals most specifically with the Zombie epidemic. While it is not required for any of the characters

to have the Science or Chemical Use skills for this scenario, there are a number of points where

those skills will be useful to the group.

The skills primarily used in this scenario will be Barter, Charm, Lockpick, Navigation,

Perception, Repair: Electrical, Science and Tech Use.

GAMEMASTER NOTES

This scenario can be a stand-alone adventure or

part of a larger campaign. It is expected as an

introduction to the game world and the

mechanics of the system, as well as pitting the

players against some of the varied creatures and

enemies that plague the landscape. Players are

encouraged to take the time to get into the mind

of the character, but they shouldn’t be forced

into social situations. There are a number of

prompts for skills throughout the adventure,

but feel free to prompt for other skills not

mentioned.

Certain rules are not explained in this

adventure, such as Initiative, combat, and

damage, as those are explained in the rules. For

any questions about the system, please refer to

the manual.

BEFORE THE ADVENTURE

The characters being in the remnants of a small

farming town near a lake that used to be well

stocked with various fish. The town has existed

for hundreds of years, and at its high point

sported a population almost 17 times larger

than its current size. Just before the collapse of

the government, there were plans to lay a large

road that led out to a federal highway, giving

the town the chance to increase it tourism and

population, but the road was half completed

before the resources were diverted to larger

issues affecting the globe.

Since then, nuclear fallout killed half

the population, irradiated crops and mutant fish

caused the death of others, and finally, the

influx of Zombies to the area has reduced the

town, whose name was changed to

“Survivortown” less than a handful of years

ago, to a population of just around one

thousand. While the towns people managed to

salvage some of their arable land and produce

enough food for their people, a recent flood

from the dangerously toxic lake caused a blight

to spread through the food storage, causing a

permanent ration while townspeople began

trying new farming techniques.

The town has a population large enough

to support any and all of the character

archetypes, with jobs aplenty guarding and

reinforcing the quickly made barrier that keeps

the Zombies from entering. There are also

citizens who work as Scientists attempting to

solve the blight problem among the foodstuffs,

possibly attempting to create a resistant strain

of crops to compete with the blight.

The town also sported two gentleman’s

clubs and a brothel before everything

collapsed, the brothel being the only thing

inside the new town limits when the walls were

made. Enterprising survivors have scaled the

walls and scavenged most of the liquor from

the gentleman’s clubs, but most of the booze is

found at brothel, where these survivors traded

their goods for services. The brothel still

thrives, despite the size of the population, but

there is talk that eventually the prophylactics

from the remnants of the town pharmacy are

beginning to run dry.

The town also has a functioning

medical facility, now more engaged with the

food blight, and something of a government,

with a group of elected officials who remain in

their stations until they resign or die. So far,

there have been two full elections and three

partial elections as vacancies became available.

And since most of the town is involved in the

decision-making process, the campaigns have

been more honest since the destruction than

they ever were before.

They town has electricity for its vital

components, which is obtained by makeshift

windmills and accumulator devices built on the

top of every rooftop. There is also a small-scale

hydropower facility made from the fountain

that sits at the center of the town, between

Town hall and the hospital. This only produces

enough power, however, the light the street

lamps around the fountain at night.

Survivortown Population: 1000

Gasoline Reserves: 100 liters

Oil Reserves: 300 liters

Water Reserves: 4,000,000 liters (in tower)

Food Reserves: 50,000 kg canned goods,

10,000 kg corn, 1000 kg wheat kernels,

10,000 kg dried beans, 80,000 kg dried beef,

100,000 kg live chicken, no pork

THE BEGINNING

At the opening of the scenario, the town council

has called a meeting of citizens after a living,

non-Zombie strangers was found coming up on

the walls. He was beaten and bloodied and

showed signs of radiation exposure. Against

the warnings of those on the walls that evening,

the man was brought in and treated in the

hospital. The medical staff was unable to help

him, however, and he died before the end of the

day.

Before arriving at the down the town

square, rumors about the stranger abounded,

but those that were on the walls when he

arrived had confirmed some of the stories:

• The man was wearing the tattered remnants

of a military uniform that, aside from the

damage from cuts and tears, was in good

condition, still having its original buttons.

• The man was conscious and spoke to a

number of people before he died, and some

of the things he said were “government”

and “research facility”.

• The man’s language was odd, but not

something too unfamiliar to the older

people in the town, being what they called

“English.”

• The man carried with him some interesting

technology, including weapon

modifications that no one has seen before,

like a red beam that comes from just under

the gun barrel.

Note: Players may use Barter, Charm

or Carouse to obtain this weapon

modification from the Sheriff of

Survivortown. The “Laser Dot”

modification acts as a tool, adding

+5% on Firearms skill rolls with the

weapon that it is attached to.

TOWN MEETING

After all the family heads and interested parties

gather in the town square near the fountain,

approximately 200 people total with several

hundred more onlookers nearby, the City

Council climbs onto the back of a flatbed truck

to address all the people. The Head of the

Council, Jasper Wig, first addresses the people

as his fellows, and then explains to them the

situation of the newcomer, being as honest as

he can to the facts that they have. He informs

the people that they have confirmed via old

maps that there is, in fact, a government facility

approximately 500km from their town.

Read the Following to the players:

“You all know that we are running low

on certain supplies,” he says, “and that our food

has been infected with a blight. Our best efforts

to separate the bad from the good have slowed

the infection, but we fear that without more

intricate scientific equipment, we will not be

able to find the source of the disease and root it

out. In 40 days, without any kind of

intervention, we will be left with canned goods

and our chickens as food.

“It may look like we have a lot of

chickens, but we know that they will not last

without food of their own, so in 80 days, we

may be left with nothing but ourselves.

“We are asking for volunteers to take a

vehicle and go to this facility. We do not know

what dangers these volunteers will face when

they get there or what to expect on the way, but

we promise that we will not send them out

empty handed. The Council has decided that

we will part with as much as we can spare to

aid you, but we hope that you come back with

our salvation.”

Allow the players time to volunteer, but also

allow for the following NPCs to volunteer as

well:

• Reese Tibson: 23. Female. Orphan.

Works both on the wall as a night guard

and in the Mechanic’s shop as an

apprentice mechanic.

• Tony Gambino: 30. Male. Husband and

father. Doctor and Scientist who has

been helping with the food blight

between shifts at the hospital.

• Old Pat: 75. Non-binary. Town Drunk.

Veteran. Speaks “English” better than

English Creole.

• Bobby Clark: 15. Female. Punk kid

who runs with the criminal element of

the town, but also known to be good

with a bow.

• Thomas Runyon: 40. Male. Head of the

“Stone Brotherhood” fraternal order

and captain of the “Fire Brigade.”

Note: The above volunteers act as a

buffer for character archetypes not

filled by the players. They can also be

used to add any particular aspect to the

team that the Gamemaster sees fit.

ASSEMBLING THE TEAM

After all the volunteers have stepped forward,

the City Council will bring them into their

“Chambers.” The room is a 30-meter by 30-

meter room with a raised dais for the council

members and rows of seats for “visitors” like

the volunteers. The Sheriff will also

accompany the volunteers and wait with them

for the Council Members to debate the

volunteers.

After weighing the options, the Council

will agree on a complete team to commit to the

objective. Jasper will give the volunteers the

following information:

• The mystery man was named Nathan

Ferryman and was a confirmed soldier for

the former government.

• The soldier left the facility in a hurry when

it was overrun, but he did not give the

details of the enemy before he died.

• The facility houses not only scientific

equipment, but also food, weapons,

vehicles, and water purification devices,

including radiation purifiers.

• There is a scientist locked in the secure lab

in the basement of the facility who is

working on the cure to the Z-virus, and was,

at the time the soldier left him, on the brink

of discovery.

The City Council will make it clear that,

if possible, the group should rescue the

scientist, as their viral and bacterial knowledge

could prove extremely valuable in the fight

against the blight. However, should the group

not be able to rescue the scientist, any of the

goods that have been abandoned by the military

could mean the difference between life and

starvation in Survivortown.

Being reasonable people, the Council

will also agree to a “reasonable” amount of

“personal salvage” from the operation, which

they have determined to be one-tenth of the

total spoils of food, water, gasoline, and

ammunition. Any vehicles removed will

obviously be needed for the town, but the

Council will be willing to make a trade from

the towns vehicles in exchange for whatever is

salvaged.

Players may use Barter or Charm to

raise the salvage rate by one-tenth per

degree of success. Only one attempt

may be made, but players may use the

Teamwork action to make this attempt.

GATHERING SUPPLIES

The Sheriff will take any players willing to the

“depot” where they keep the town supplies and

offer them what the town can give. The original

offer will be the following:

• 40L of gasoline

• 2 combat knives

• 3 Kevlar vests

• 1 Police cargo van with 30 armor

• 50 rounds of ammunition

Players (collectively) may use Barter or

Charm to raise any of these numbers

based on the following:

• 5L of gasoline per degree of success

• 1 combat knife per degree of

success

• 1 Kevlar vest per degree of success

• 1 cargo van with Amazing success

• 10 rounds of ammunition per

degree of success

The players will leave for the facility in

the morning, allowing them to gather their

personal items and mission supplies throughout

the night. Some of the players may opt to take

“personal leave” during the night to make

peace with themselves, their religious deities,

or their families. For any character interested in

such things, the brothel is allowing the

volunteers a “reduced rate” of one meal or 3

rounds of ammunition for companionship for

the evening.

Note: Any players who visit the brothel

must either pay 5 rounds of ammunition

for “protection” or roll their Immunity

(Great success or better) not to be infected

with a standard STD. This can be treated

with proper medical treatment, but only

after the science equipment has been

obtained. However, any players who visit

the brothel will roll all Resolve rolls at

Advantage for the rest of the scenario.

HEADING OUT

When the players are about the leave in the

morning, they will be met by Jasper Wig. He

will give them a simple town blessing (+5% on

the next Resolve roll) and hand them an old

map and a piece of badly recycled paper on

which will be a list of scientific equipment he

hopes they will find at the facility.

When the players are ready, the large,

reinforced gate at the north end of town will be

opened and guardsman will do their best to

clear a path. However, there will be 1d3

Zombie Walkers left in their way.

Zombie Walker: Movement 5, Initiative 5,

Armor 1, HP 25, Perception 65%, Fighting

Skill 55%, 1d6 Physical with Bite, 1d6

Physical with Claw, Dodge 30%, Resilience

70%, Infects with Z-Virus with Bite.

After the players have gotten passed the

Walkers, either by killing or driving through

them using the “Ram” action (see Vehicular

Combat), they will take the small, pothole

infested two-lane road northeast until they meet

with the four-lane, divided highway headed

north and south. They will not encounter any

trouble until they reach the highway, upon

which they will travel for rest of the scenario.

Along the highway, the players will

find abandoned vehicles, most of which have

been looted and burned, or in a state of rusted

abandoned to make them completely unusable.

Gamemasters may allow players to use the

Perception skill to search these vehicles for

salvageable materials, like metal, glass or parts,

or may allow them to roll for items on the

Special Items list.

At the Gamemaster’s discretion, may

encounter a Zombie Spitter and 1d4 Zombie

Soldiers, each with 1d10 rounds of

ammunition. The Gamemaster may also

“show” these to the players, but not make it into

a combat.

Zombie Spitter: Movement 5, Initiative 5,


Skill 65%, Ballistic Skill 80%, 2d8 Physical

Damage with Bite (FS), 1d8 Damage with

Spit (BS), Dodge 60%, Resilience 70%,

Infects with Z-Virus with both Bite and Spit.

Zombie Soldier: Movement 7, Initiative 8,

Armor 7, HP 40, Perception 75%, Stealth

60%, Fighting Skill 75%, Ballistic Skill

50%, Multi-attack with Auto-Rifle, 1d6

Physical with Bite, 1d8 Physical with Rifle,

Dodge 55%, Resilience 65%, Infects with Z-

Virus with Bite

BARRICADE ON THE ROAD

While driving along the highway, the players

will encounter a heavy barricade made by

bandits. It doesn’t appear that bandits are

manning the barricade (a successful Perception

skill roll will confirm this), but as the barricade

is made with several layers of abandoned cars,

heavy trucks, wood, cement k-rail jersey

barriers, and possibly mines, the players will

have to find a way around.

To the east and west of barricade are

natural, thick packed groves of trees. Using the

map, players may make a successful

Navigation skill roll to determine an alternate

path. Each degree of success will add +5% to

the Drive skill roll used to maneuver through

the off-road terrain to get around the barricade.

Once around, the players will find

bandits unaware of their presence and able to

slip passed them. The bandits appear to be half-

mutant humans with brown, oil stained and

grime coated clothing, armed with aged 20-

guage shotguns and machetes.

Should the players choose to attempt to

ram the barricade, or should they choose to

engage the bandits, they will find that the

bandits are well versed in explosives, using

Molotov cocktails more regularly than their

rifles.

Bandit: Movement 8, Initiative 8, Armor 3, HP

8, Perception 50%, Tracking 50%, Ballistic

Skill 40%, Scattershot: 2d6/1d6/1d4

Physical damage with 20-gauge shotgun,

Fighting Skill 40%, 2d6+1 Physical

Damage with Machete, Dodge 40%,

Resilience 40%; Pack: Usually groups of 6

ARRIVING AT THE FACILITY

Driving at their maximum speed, it should take

the characters several hours to reach the

facility. When the players arrive at the location

they think is the facility, they will find a

compound surrounded by a chain-link fence

topped with barbed tape around 3 barbed lines.

The gate to this fence is on the west end of the

compound, near the highway, and is bordered

on both sides by small, one story 5-meter by 5-

meter buildings. Both buildings appear to be

empty (successful Perception skill roll to

confirm), and the windows are shut.

Inside the compound are three one story

buildings that appear to be intact, and one two

story building that has been completely burned

from the inside. Each of the buildings are 30

meters from each other in a row and are 25

meters from the gate. The ground is a well

paved tarmac.

EXPLORING THE FACILITY

Guard Shacks

The doors to these buildings are locked, but a

successful Lockpick skill roll will open the

doors. Inside the north building, the characters

will find a countertop under the south-facing

window and a smashed computer. A successful

Perception skill roll will reveal a Smith and

Wesson .38 special with 6 rounds of

ammunition (full cylinder) taped under the

counter with duct tape.

Inside the south building, the players

will find a counter under the north-facing

window and a computer that can be operated

with a Computer skill roll. The computer will

reveal “Access Levels” of certain credentials,

showing all but one inactive. The active

account is registered to a Dr. Preston Scott. A

Great Success on a Perception skill roll will

reveal an access badge wedged under the

computer for a Commander Kira McNally. A

Great Success on a Computer skill roll can

reactivate this badge.

Tarmac

A successful Perception skill roll will show

that the visible area from the gate will reveal no

signs of any movement or bodies. Players can

scout around the outside fence on foot, but

Stealth skill rolls are at Disadvantage because

of the loose gravel material.

On the west end of the facility, whether

accessed by scouting or driving around the

buildings, players will find that the ground is

collapsed for approximately a mile west in a

15-meter wide rounded canal. The fence has

also been pushed over and there is a giant hole,

approximately 15 meters wide in diameter, that

descends at a 60-degree angle for more than

100 meters. One generator stands working, but

two are smashed and one seems to be in the

hole several dozen meters down and blocking

the path.

Note: A successful Science skill roll

will reveal that the hole was carved in

a contiguous fashion, but an Amazing

success will reveal this to be a “Sonic

Worm” hole.

Burned Warehouse

The large 5-meter by 5-meter roll-up door of

the two-story, 500-meter by 800-meter steel

building have been blown out, burned or

melted away, leaving a shell of a building.

Inside the facility, several burned bodies are

easily seen through the windows and doors,

requiring a successful Resolve roll to keep the

characters from becoming disgusted by the

sight and smell.

A successful Science skill roll will

reveal that the source of the fire was an

explosion of propane canisters held in the south

end of the first floor. A successful Science or

Intelligence roll will reveal that the structure is

too weak to support any interior investigation

unless a successful Repair: Armorer skill roll

rebuilds the support columns, requiring at least

10 Health Points for each of the 6 columns.

If the players repair the columns, a

successful Perception skill roll will reveal a

half-pack of cigarettes (10), one half charged (4

hours) lithium Ion battery, and 2 Medical Kits

(10 uses) in the northeast room on the second

story of the building.

Warehouse North

The one-story 500-meter by 800-meter steel

building has a 5-meter by 5-meter roll-up door

that is locked with a heavy padlock. A

successful Lockpick skill or Great Success on

a Brute Force (Strength) roll will remove this

lock. The door requires a successful Lift roll

against 300kg to open the door. Note: this can

be done as a Teamwork roll.

In this warehouse, the players will find

1d6 Humvees empty of gasoline. A Great

Success on a Perception skill roll will reveal 3

20L Jerry cans of gasoline under a tarp behind

inside a 3-meter by 1-meter by 1-meter storage

case in the corner of the room.

The players will also encounter 1d4+1

Ghouls that were locked in this warehouse.

They will wait until several or all of players

have entered the warehouse before they strike,

reacting out of rage. One of these Ghouls will

also be wearing night vision goggles, which

can be removed if he is not struck with a Called

Shot: Head attack. The lithium ion battery,

however, is dead.

At the Gamemaster’s discretion,

players may also find a number of items

throughout the warehouse, randomly generated

from the Special Items list. These will represent

the items that were once in the possession of

the Ghouls before they turned.

Night vision Goggles: Visual range of

75 meter in dark. Grants Advantage to

Perception skill rolls in darkness, and

negates 1 degree of success to Stealth

rolls in the darkness.

Note: Close proximity to a Ghoul

requires an Immunity roll against

Radiation damage.

Ghouls: Movement 15, Initiative 8, Armor 0,

HP 29, Perception 32%, Fighting skill 65%,

Multiattack (3): 1d4 Physical damage with

Fists, Bite: 1d6 Physical damage and

infects with Z-Virus, Dodge 65%,

Resilience 73%. NOTE: Mutant infected

with Z-Virus.

Warehouse South

The one-story 500-meter by 800-meter steel

building has a 5-meter by 5-meter roll-up door

that is locked with a heavy padlock. A

successful Lockpick skill or Great Success on

a Brute Force (Strength) roll will remove this

lock. The door requires a successful Lift roll

against 300kg to open the door. Note: this can

be done as a Teamwork roll.

In this warehouse, the players will find

5 stacks of 20 crates with various labels. Each

crate weighs approximately 500kg each and

they are categories by items; 20 crates are

labelled “MRE”, 20 crates are labelled

“Toiletries”, 20 crates are labelled “Medical

Kits”, 20 crates are labelled “Wires”, and 20

crates are labelled “Syringes.” There are also

20- 200L drums labelled “Refined Gasoline”

(weighing approximately 150kg in carry

weight each).

A successful Perception skill roll will

reveal a small handpump with tubes that will

allow the players to remove the gasoline into

smaller containers. However, because of the

size of the pump, it will take players

approximately 2 minutes per liter to remove the

gasoline. This same Perception skill roll will

also reveal a hole in the ceiling wide enough to

allow access to an average sized man.

Inside this warehouse are 2d4

Nightgaunts which tore through the ceiling of

the structure in search of food, drawn by the

fire. Nightaunts are particularly dangerous

creatures in the dark and the gamemaster

should remember that most of the warehouse

should be dark due to a lack of electricity.

Note: Nightgaunts are immune fire and

other damage, requiring steel to kill

them. However, most weapons, such as

bullets, axes, knives, etc. are made of

steel, so this shouldn’t pose too much of

a threat.

Nightgaunts: Flight 12, Movement 6, Initiative

10, Armor 2 (Inherent) (immune to most

attacks except steel and salt), HP 35,

Perception 50%, Stealth 90%, Fighting

Skill 45%, Claws: 1d6+1d4 Physical,

Puncture: 1d6 Physical by grabbing an

opponent, they can stab with barbed tail,

Dodge 35%, Resilience 65%, Note: Half-

bat creature with smooth oily skin that

moves and kills silently.

SCIENCE FACILITY

The southernmost building on the compound is

the science facility. On the outside, the building

is a windowless, 500-meter by 800-meter

concrete building with 10 large HVAC units on

the roof. There is one reinforced steel door on

the western wall. The door is locked with an

electronic lock and this building still has

electricity. If the players have a credentials

card, a successful Tech Use skill roll will open

the door. Otherwise, a Great Success on a

Lockpick skill roll or an Amazing success on a

Brute Force roll are required to open the door.

Once through the door, the players will

find a completely empty, sterile room. A Great

Success on a Perception skill roll will reveal a

second keycard reader on the east wall. If the

players have a credentials card, a successful

Tech Use skill will reveal a sliding wall

obscuring access to a stairwell. If the players do

not have an access card, a Great Success on a

Tech Use or Repair: Electrical skill roll will

reveal the sliding wall and stairwell by rewiring

the control device.

The stairwell lights will be on, allowing

the players to move between floors without

issues. The stairs lead to a landing and then

down to basement level. The steel emergency

barricade doors (Armor level 30) have been

dropped by the security team. Players can

either attempt to break through these doors or a

Great Success on a Tech Use or Repair:

Electrical skill roll can rewire the control panel

to the right of the door to open.

Basement Level 1

The first basement floor will reveal a long

hallway bathed in a pulsing yellow light that

leads to another stairwell door directly across

on the west end of the hall. Along the 10-meter

wide corridor are twelve 240-meter by 125-

meter clean rooms to the north and south, six

on each side.

Each of these clean rooms have

reinforced walls on either side, but a clear,

plexiglass facing the corridor for observation.

Inside each clean room are cubical work

stations with shattered or broken scientific and

robotic equipment. Blood stains the walls,

bodies in various pieces are thrown

haphazardly about. Five of the rooms have

shattered plexiglass walls, the remnants of

which are scattered through the corridor.

A successful Perception skill roll

through these rooms will reveal each of the 10

items on the City Council list (one per room

searched). However, the rooms pose a problem

for the players, as these were rooms where the

Z-virus was being actively studied. In the

chaos, the Z-virus was spread to the surfaces,

giving the players a chance of coming into

contact with the virus (Great success or better

on Immunity rolls not to contract the Z-

Virus).

The rooms with plexiglass walls still

intact also hold a Zombie Walker inside, the

cause of the carnage in that room.

Zombie Walker: Movement 5, Initiative 5,


Skill 55%, 1d6 Physical with Bite, 1d6

Physical with Claw, Dodge 30%,

Resilience 70%, Infects with Z-Virus with

Bite

Fortunately for the players, the Z-Virus

has not become aerosolized and so they can’t

come into contact with it walking through the

corridor. However, anyone who touches the

blood or the bodies will have to make the

immunity roll.

Exiting the floor will be easy, the door

is not barricaded, but upon reaching the second

basement floor, they will find that the steel

emergency barricade doors (Armor level 30)

have been dropped by the security team. Again,

players can either attempt to break through

these doors or a Great Success on a Tech Use

or Repair: Electrical skill roll can rewire the

control panel to the right of the door to open.

Basement Level 2

The second basement floor is not like the first

one. The entire north half of the room has been

made into a single clean room. There are two

layers of plexiglass, separated by a space

approximately 2 meters wide, through which

run a series of tubes and wires. A single door in

the center of the wall leads into a chamber and

a second door, both of which have a control

panel on the outside and inside of them.

Inside the clean room is a person

wearing a full body chemical suit hooked to a

gas tube that leads up to a rack on the ceiling

and into a pipe that leads up. The person inside

is mixing chemicals, stopping occasionally too

look a blue glowing computer monitor reading

out numbers. This person seems to be

completely unaware the players have entered

the room.

On the other end of the room, 7 meters

of a large, 15-diameter worm lays on the floor,

the rest of the body disappearing into a hole in

the wall. Pieces of cement and zombie body

parts lay crumbled around the worm as if it

broke in a little while ago and decided to lay on

top of its debris. The worm appears completely

immobile, the three-pronged opening of its

maw cracked slightly as a viscous liquid slowly

oozes out onto the concrete floor. A few tables

and chairs are also thrown about in an arc from

the body of the worm, signs of splintering and

damage apparent.

The players can attempt to get the

scientist in the body suit’s attention by banging

on the glass, or they can attempt to gain access

to the room via the control panels. A quick

check of the panel will reveal that it has 2

functions: 1) entrance, which requires either a

keycard or a Great Success on a Tech Use or

Repair: Electrical skill roll and 2)

communication, which only requires a

successful Tech Use skill roll.

If they players attempt to communicate

with the scientist, he will explain that the

neurotoxin he used on the worm will only work

for another minute or so, so he must find the

cure before then. Players can either attempt to

lure the scientist with an opposed Charm skill

(against his Resolve of 95%) or forcibly

remove him with a successful Brawl or

Wrangle skill roll against his Dodge (60%).

The players can also give the scientist

time, allowing him to complete his study, but

the worm will wake up and the players must

fight the creature without cover unless they

enter the clean room. If players enter the clean

room at any point, they immediately ruin the

scientist’s experiment. However, the

experiment will fail either way and the damage

done by the worm with destroy the clean room

permanently.

Note: The Worm is attracted to the

sounds of the compressed air

generator, and will attack the room

with body whip every other round of

combat.

Sonic Worm: Crawl 8, Burrow 16, Initiative 1,

Armor 75, HP 56, Perception 150% (Sound)

20% (sight), Fighting Skill 65%, 60d6 with

Body Whip, Ballistic Skill 50%, 4d6 with

Goo attack (immobilizes target; causes

suffocation after 3 failed Resilience rolls).

Dodge 80%, Resilience 190% (95, 48) Size:

30m long.

NO EASY ESCAPE

Once the players have removed the scientist,

escaping the science facility is easy. However,

upon reaching the tarmac, they will find that

their vehicle or vehicles are being swarmed by

Zombie Walkers. The players will have to deal

with 1d10 Zombie Walkers before being able

to escape the compound with their gear and the

scientist.

RETURN TRIP

On the way back, the players will again

encounter the bandits on the road and the

Zombie Spitter, if they haven’t already taken

care of these along the way. However, a

successful Navigation skill roll at the

beginning of the trip can remove these dangers.

However, it means that the players will return

to the town at night, where they will have to

deal with the Zombie Walkers before the town

guards will see them.

HOMECOMING

If the players manage to return home with the

equipment, gear and the scientist, they will be

treated to a hero’s welcome. The City Council,

Sheriff, and medical staff will appease the

scientist and explain to him that his knowledge

and abilities are needed in Survivortown,

giving him a new task to investigate.

As per the deal with the City Council,

the players will be allowed to take their

“personal salvage” and exchange any vehicles

they managed to acquire. Players may opt to

use the Charm or Barter skills to gain more

afterwards, which will likely grant them more

personal salvage, but it will also put them at

ends with the Sheriff.

Conversely, players can opt to give up

some of their personal salvage for the town,

adding it to the town stores and earning them

the respect of the citizens, an honored place at

all the holidays and festivals, and a permanent

reduction in price at the brothel.

SCENARIO REWARDS

Depending on how many objectives the players

meet, the following is a guideline for the

amount of experience points to give them:

Character Lived: 100xp

Found Objects: 100xp

Returned with Scientist: 100xp

Killed the Sonic Worm: 100xp

Used Teamwork or Tactics: 100xp

Character Name Player Name Strength

25 12

6

Fortitude

35 17

8

Agility

70 35

17

Intelligence

75 37

18

Intuition

60 30

15

Charisma

40 20

10

Fighting Skill

25 12

6

Ballistic Skill

20 10

5

Luck

30 15

7

Resilience

30 15

7

Resolve

68 34

17

Immunity

33 16

8

Dodge

65 32

16

Movement

11 5

2

Initiative

Total

7/2 Modified

Armor

Health Points

Total

12 Current

Hunger Damage

Size Damage

Average 1d6

Luck Use Per Day

Age

23

Special Abilities

Grease Monkey: Mechanical

Road Warrior

Speak: English Creole

Speak: Technical Jargon

Primary Archetype

Mechanic

Secondary Archetype

Hunter

Apocalypse Survival

Peak Oil Collapse

Scavenger Type

Gatherer

Skill Name Stat P S +5%

T +10%

M +15%

Clubs FS 25 - - -

Crafting Inte 75 - - -

Drive Intu 60 - - -

Inventory Inte 75 - - -

Navigation Intu 60 - - -

Repair: Armorer Inte 75 - - -

Repair: Electrical Inte 75 - - -

Repair: Mechanical Inte 75 - - -

Scrutiny Intu 60 65 - -

Survival Intu 60 - - -

Tech Use Inte 75 - - -

Weapons

Weapon Damage Range Ammo

Hammer 2d6 - -

Reese Tibson

Experience Points Days without Food Character Picture

Total Remaining

Armor Equipment Materials Armor Value

Overalls 1

Items

Tool Belt (Holds 2 sets of tools) 25cm Taper Candles (6) (9-hours light)

Mechanics Tools 20L Jerry can of Gasoline

Armorers Tools Duct Tape (Repair skills at Advantage)

Bug Out bag (2) Glow Sticks (4) (12-hours light)

Flint and Steel (20 uses) (Survival at Advantage) Isopropyl Alcohol 99% (500ml) (Flammable. Solvent. Gas additive)

Water Filter (20 uses) (Survival at Advantage) Magnifying Glass

Rope (30m) Shotgun Ammo

Sleeping Bag (Resilience Advantage Weather) Solar Charging Device

Humvee (Acc 2, Seats 4, Medium cargo, Armor 50, HP 75)

Notes

Grease Monkey: Repair: (Mechanical) is always at Advantage

Road Warrior: +5 Initiative when Driving

Speak: Technical Jargon: Advantage on Repair skill rolls when consulting a text

Character Description and Background

Female

Orphan

Apprentice Mechanic

Night guard in Survivortown


25 12

6

Fortitude

35 17

8

Agility

35 17

8

Intelligence

80 40

20

Intuition

90 45

22

Charisma

40 20

10

Fighting Skill

25 12

6

Ballistic Skill

30 15

7

Luck

30 15

7

Resilience

30 15

7

Resolve

85 42

21

Immunity

33 16

8

Dodge

63 31

15

Movement

6 3

1

Initiative

Total

7/2 Modified

Armor

2

Health Points

Total

12 Current

Hunger Damage

Size Damage

Average 1d6

Luck Use Per Day

Age

30

Special Abilities

Adrenaline Shot

Sixth Sense

Speak: English Creole

Speak: Xinolingua

Primary Archetype

Surgeon

Secondary Archetype

Scientist

Apocalypse Survival

Alien Invasion

Scavenger Type

Gatherer


T +10%

M +15%

Athletics Str 25 - - -

Chemical Use Inte 80 - - -

Command Cha 40 - - -

Computers Inte 80 - - -

Inventory Inte 80 - - -

Medicine Inte 80 - - -

Science Inte 80 - - -

Scrutiny Intu 90 95 - -

Survival Intu 90 - - -

Throw Str 25 - - -

Xenotech Use Intu 90 - - -

Weapons


Scalpel 2d6 - -

Tony Gambino


Total Remaining


Scrubs (Command at Advantage) 2

Items

Running Shoes (Run at Advantage) Acetaminophen (100ct) (Imm. success increased 1 degree per tablet)

Medical Kit (15 uses) (Medicine skill at Advantage) Beakers and Test Tubes (Chemical Use Skill at Advantage)

Surgical Tools (+5% to Medicine skill use) Compass (Navigation skill at Advantage)

Bug Out bag (2) Cord Saw (Survival Skill at Advantage in woodlands)

Flint and Steel (20 uses) (Survival at Advantage) Magnifying Glass (Scrunity Advantage; Perception Disadvantage)

Water Filter (20 uses) (Survival at Advantage) Plastic Bags (2)

Rope (30m) Toothbrush (Ettiquette and Charm skill at Advantage)

Sleeping Bag (Resilience Advantage Weather)

Notes

Adrenaline Shot: +5 Initiative to one target for 10 rounds; Does not Stack

Sixth Sense: Perception roll made when creatures/people Stealth passed


Male

Husband and Father

Working on food blight between shifts at the hospital in Survivortown


45 22

11

Fortitude

60 30

15

Agility

10 5

2

Intelligence

55 27

13

Intuition

45 22

11

Charisma

15 7

3

Fighting Skill

50 25

12

Ballistic Skill

30 15

7

Luck

75 37

18

Resilience

53 26

13

Resolve

50 25

12

Immunity

68 34

17

Dodge

28 14

7

Movement

6 3

1

Initiative

Total

9/4 Modified

Armor

Health Points

Total

21 Current

Hunger Damage

Size Damage

Big 1d8

Luck Use Per Day

Age

Special Abilities

Teamwork

Rage against the Machine

Speak: Military Jargon

Speak: English

Primary Archetype

Veteran

Secondary Archetype

Fireman

Apocalypse Survival

Robot Uprising

Scavenger Type

Gatherer


T +10%

M +15%

Blades FS 50 - - -

Carouse Cha 15 - - -

Drive Intu 45 - - -

Expression Cha 15 - - -

Improvised Weapons FS 50 - - -

Parry FS 50 - - -

Perception Intu 45 - - -

Throw Str 45 - - -

Scrutiny Intu 45 - - -

Survival Intu 45 50 - -

Weapons


Combat Knife 1d8+1d6 - -

Old Pat


Total Remaining


Motorcycle Body Armor 4

Items

2qt – Canteen (Holds 2-qt of Water; 2 pt Hunger alleviation) Oxygen Mask

Dog Whistle (calls Dogs from distance) Rifle Ammo

Bug Out bag (2) Extra change of clothing

Flint and Steel (20 uses) (Survival at Advantage) Spam (340g) (5 pt Alleviate Hunger damage)

Water Filter (20 uses) (Survival at Advantage) Edible Mushrooms (3 pt Alleviate Hunger damage)

Rope (30m) Soap (Charm at Advantage)

Sleeping Bag (Resilience Advantage Weather) Fishing Rod and reel (Survival at Advantage near water)

Binoculars (Perception Advantage over distance) Large Net (use Wrangling rules)

Notes

Teamwork: Grant +10% per degree of Success on joint skill rolls.

Rage Against the Machine: Fighting Skill, Ballistic Skills, Dodge, Block, Parry at Advantage against Robots


Non-Binary

Town Drunk in Survivortown


20 10

5

Fortitude

30 15

7

Agility

100 50

25

Intelligence

20 10

5

Intuition

40 20

10

Charisma

55 27

13

Fighting Skill

20 10

5

Ballistic Skill

80 40

20

Luck

30 15

7

Resilience

25 12

6

Resolve

30 15

7

Immunity

30 15

7

Dodge

70 35

17

Movement

12 6

3

Initiative

Total

13/7/2 Modified

Armor

2

Health Points

Total

10 Current

Hunger Damage

Size Damage

Small 1d4

Luck Use Per Day

Age

15

Special Abilities

Headshot

Restructured Immunity

Primary Archetype

Hunter

Secondary Archetype

Gunslinger

Apocalypse Survival

Zombie Apocalypse

Scavenger Type

Hunter


T +10%

M +15%

Archery Ag 100 - - -


Command Cha 55 - - -

Firearms BS 80 - - -

Gamble Cha 55 - - -

Lockpick Ag 100 - - -

Palming Ag 100 - - -


Stealth Ag 100 - - -

Tracking Intu 40 45 - -

Weapons


Recurve Bow 6 10m/30m/70m 10

Bobby Clark


Total Remaining


Camo Jacket (Stealth at Advantage) 2

Items

Crafting Tools (Crafting skill +5%) Lockpick Tools (Lockpick Skill +5%) Camo Tarp (Stealth Advantage not moving) Hunting Boots (Stealth Advantage Move; Run/Climb Advantage) Game Bag (Grants 2 pts of Hunger Damage alleviation) Deck of Playing Cards (Gambling at Advantage) 2qt container of oil (10W-30 motor oil) Sci-fi Novel (Resolve Advantage against Psychic attacks for 10 hours) Wool Socks (Resilience Advantage weather; Run Disadvantage)

Notes

Headshot: Full damage with weapon +1d4+2 extra damage for “Called Shot: Vital” (Total: 1d4+8)

Restructured Immunity: Immunity at Advantage against Disease; Stage 1 “Infected” always


Female

Punk kid with attitude

Runs with the criminal element in Survivortown


65 32

12

Fortitude

75 37

18

Agility

25 12

6

Intelligence

25 12

6

Intuition

50 25

12

Charisma

25 12

6

Fighting Skill

60 30

15

Ballistic Skill

30 15

7

Luck

35 17

8

Resilience

70 35

17

Resolve

38 19

9

Immunity

55 27

13

Dodge

25 12

6

Movement

9 4

2

Initiative

Total

5/0 Modified

Armor

11 (5 Helmet)

Health Points

Total

28 Current

Hunger Damage

Size Damage

140 1d8

Luck Use Per Day

Age

40

Special Abilities

Lighter Fluid

Reaper

Primary Archetype

Fireman

Secondary Archetype

Fireman

Apocalypse Survival

Zombie Apocalypse

Scavenger Type

Hunter


T +10%

M +15%


Blades FS 60 - - -

Block FS 60 - - -

Brawl FS 60 - - -

Demolitions Inte 25 - - -

Improvised Weapons FS 60 - - -

Medicine Inte 25 - - -

Parry FS 60 - - -


Stealth Ag 25 - - -

Throw Str 65 - - -

Tracking Intu 25 - - -

Weapons


Fireman’s Axe 2d8+2 - -

Flares 2d6+Burn ~2m/~5m/~13m 10

Thomas Runyon


Total Remaining


Nomex Fireman’s Jacket 6

Helmet 5

Items

Helmet (Armor Level 5) Oxygen Mask

Hunting Boots (Stealth Advantage moving; Run/Climb Advantage) Lighter (10 uses)

Camo Tarp (Stealth at Advantage when not moving)

Game Bag (Grants 2 pts of Hunger Damage alleviation)

Alcohol 80 Proof (500ml) (Flammable; Grants +5% on Medicine rolls)

Lithium Ion Battery (8-hour charge)

Mushrooms (5) (Resolve Advantage; Resilience Disadvantage)*

Flares (Provides light for 1d20+2 minutes)

Notes

Lighter Fluid: +1d6 damage with Combustible Weaponry; Make Resolve roll not to burn combustible items

Reaper: Fighting Skill and Ballistic Skill at Advantage against Zombies; Reroll failed Resolve once

*When using mushrooms, must roll Immunity or gain Stage 3 “Disease” effects


Male

Captain of the “Fire Brigade” in Survivortown

Appendix A: Quick Reference

1 1

22 11

43 21

64 32

85 42

1 5 10 16 21

2 1

23 11

44 22

65 32

86 43

1 5 11 16 21

3 1

24 12

45 22

66 33

87 43

1 6 11 16 21

4 2

25 12

46 23

67 33

88 44

1 6 11 16 22

5 2

26 13

47 23

68 34

89 44

1 6 11 17 22

6 3

27 13

48 24

69 34

90 45

1 6 12 17 22

7 3

28 14

49 24

70 35

91 45

1 7 12 17 22

8 4

29 14

50 25

71 35

92 46

2 7 12 17 23

9 4

30 15

51 25

72 36

93 46

2 7 12 18 23

10 5

31 15

52 26

73 36

94 47

2 7 13 18 23

11 5

32 16

53 26

74 37

95 47

2 8 13 18 23

12 6

33 16

54 27

75 37

96 48

3 8 13 18 24

13 6

34 17

55 27

76 38

97 48

3 8 13 19 24

14 7

35 17

56 28

77 38

98 49

3 8 14 19 24

15 7

36 18

57 28

78 39

99 49

3 9 14 19 24

16 8

37 18

58 29

79 39

100 50

4 9 14 19 25

17 8

38 19

59 29

80 40

101 50

4 9 14 20 25

18 9

39 19

60 30

81 40

102 51

4 9 15 20 25

19 9

40 20

61 30

82 41

103 51

4 10 15 20 25

20 10

41 20

62 31

83 41

104 52

5 10 15 20 26

21 10

42 21

63 31

84 42

105 52

5 10 15 21 26

Appendix B: Character Sheet Instruction

The character sheet seen above is included at the end of these instructions. Various other

versions of these might be made, but the above includes space for all the information about the

character and their gear. Some parts might be intuitive while others are not, so instructions on

how to use the character sheet are included.

Stat blocks

The left and center columns of the character sheet are dedicated to the

state and derived stats. Most of these stats are contained within 3 section

blocks. The larger section is for the stat number, while the top right

smaller section is for the “one-half” or “Great Success” number. The

bottom right smaller section is for the “one-quarter” or “Amazing

Success” number. While the use of these blocks isn’t mandatory, they

are there for convenience.

Skills List

Halfway down the right column is the skill

list block. This block is used to list the skills

that the character is proficient. The lettered

columns are for recording the levels of

proficiency and their associated numbers.

Initiative Box

The initiative box is split into two section used to keep track of the character’s base initiative

score and the modified initiative score. Because items, such as adrenaline, energy drinks, etc. can

add to the initiative score, the number will often be modified. Also, any number above 5 will

grant the character more action phases during the combat round, and so that is recorded.

Luck Use Blocks

In the center column, near the middle of the page, is a

convenient section for keeping track of luck per day uses. By

blackening out the extra blocks, players can make sure that

they don’t use more than they have. They can also draw a

pencil line through blocks as they use them and erase those

lines at the start of each new game day.

Experience Points Block

Experience points are awarded at the end of scenarios to reward

players for participating in the game. These points can be used to

buy new skills or special abilities or to improve skills or stats.

Keeping track of how many points a character has been given and

how many they have remaining is paramount to characters.

Days Without Food Boxes

Characters can take damage from Hunger equal to their

Fortitude divided by 4 before they take Disadvantage on all

rolls. They can then “Starve” until they take damage equal to

their Fortitude divided by 2, at which point they become

“Emaciated” and have a -10% on all stats. They can continue in

this state until they reach damage equal to their Fortitude, at

which point they die.

To track all these changes, this section is provided. Using a “slash” to track how many

days until they have reached their Fortitude divided by 4, and “X’s” until they reach their

Fortitude divided by 2, players can know when to apply the full amount of penalties.

Armor List

While the first page contains a section

for “Armor,” this section breaks down

the individual components that make up

the armor value. Armor value affects

Agility, adjusted by the total Armor

value, which affects other numbers.


Fortitude

Agility

Intelligence

Intuition

Charisma

Fighting Skill

Ballistic Skill

Luck

Resilience

Resolve

Immunity

Dodge

Movement

Initiative

Total Modified

Armor

Health Points

Total

Current

Hunger Damage

Size Damage

Luck Use Per Day

Age

Special Abilities

Primary Archetype

Secondary Archetype

Apocalypse Survival

Scavenger Type


T +10%

M +15%

Weapons



Total Remaining


Items

Notes


Maximum Apocalypse Roleplaying · PDF filed12, d20 and d100. How to play this game The aim of...

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