The Post Apocalyptic Forge

Massive weapons of destruction - including but not limited to thermonuclear devices - were used in the final wars of mankind. These had the most immediate effect at first, devastating entire cities and states, not only igniting massive fires that burned for weeks but also spreading radiated clouds across the entire planet. This radiation would kill much of the life around the areas of impact, and retard or cause the eventual cancer-death of those even hundreds of miles from the impact areas.

Bio-agents also played a role, being most effective after the nuclear strikes as humans (whose white blood cell count was drastically cut due to radiation poisoning) became weak and frail. The radiation also had the unfortunate side effect of mutating the biological strains used against each side, making their control impossible. New and deadly plagues ran rampant, killing millions on both sides.

Chemical weapons were likely the least effective, but played their role as well, poisoning natural resources (the rivers that the homeless ran to for shelter and nourishment from the radiation fever were undoubtedly stricken with chemical poisons that turned their innards to mush in minutes). These chemicals, like radiation (and the lingering effect of mutated bioagents) still remain as pollutants in DARWIN'S WORLD.

Scav: liberating artifacts from the ruins

Nuclear detonations also served to literally blow "holes" in the atmosphere, incinerating moisture in the air and tearing entire rings in the ozone layer. Areas where more nukes were concentrated resulted in larger holes in the ozone, which further added to the ending of life in these areas and the mutation of what few beings managed to escape through ultraviolet radiation.

The increased UV radiation permeating the planet's ecosystem from the countless nuclear "holes" caused a diminishing of most plant life, turning the world into a vast desert with little or no diversity. The elimination of the vast forests and plains allowed the hot high winds (the temperature having increased geometrically with each cluster of nuclear strikes) to ravage the land, carrying dust and sand with them. Soon, almost the entire world was buried in shifting, radiated dust carried by continent-spanning sandstorms.

The UV (and the chemical) effect also served to destroy the fragile marine ecosystem of the planet, and the first "species" to suffer near total extinction were phytoplankton of all kinds. The result - a vast reduction in the oxygen recycling capability of the planet.

With an increased worldwide climatic temperature, numerous holes in the ozone layer, the destruction (by fire and radiation) of almost all the world's forests and phytoplankton, DARWIN'S WORLD can sustain only a heavy, sparse oxygen climate. This increased temperature also resulted in a worldwide diminishing of moisture, which dissipated the once ocean-covered surface to a handful of smaller poisoned seas which were forced to retreat to the lowest altitudes of the planet's surface. Evaporated water was not held in by the thinned and weakened atmospheric gravity, allowing minute quantities to escape into space over the decades. Former coastlines became the frontiers of vast deserts, and the seas that once provided life and sustenance are slowly vanishing over the decades, leaving only dry brittle sand in their wake.

Road Warrior: Going from 0 to 60 in STYLE

Wasteland Raider: Liberating skulls and corium from the meak

So long after the nuclear war, the cities stand utterly empty. The high-rises, blasted until
only skeletal remnants of black steel remain, are now vacant. This was once a world populated by seemingly endless masses; streets in these ancient centers were clogged with cars, buses, and trains.
Under the sun of that peaceful era, each day saw millions living their lives, unknowing of the destruction that was to come. Bankers, lawyers, politicians,and the average man; all were oblivious to his coming fate, powerless to prevent the fiery death that awaited him.
Now, in the aftermath,those few who cling to life in this twisted, irradiated landscape are nothing like the civilized race that came before. They are survivors, one and all, born of a time when the concepts of mercy and cooperation are all but alien to them. For them, each day is a struggle for resources. One man snatches scraps of meat from the carcass of some animal left by larger predators, unable to find food on his own, the rot of the decaying flesh does little to churn his impoverished stomach. Elsewhere, a desperate man digs frantically from a shallow pit in the endless wastes of desert for a handful of water. To him, particles of sand and soil mean nothing when the fever of thirst kicks in. And beyond the horizon, there are many more watching and waiting, living and dying, hoping for a better future.
These are the characters of the apocalyptic future.

All sorts of strange life forms have arisen in the aftermath of the great apocalypse nonetheless. The drastic mutative effects of gamma and ultraviolet radiations, as well as mutated bioagents, have created vast aberrancies in man and animal. Mental diminishing and physical mutation seem most common, especially as survival has come to rely mostly on strength and the ability to thrive in the hostile clime of desert and ruin. The population of the world (the very size of which brought about their own downfall) is now drastically reduced - war, plague, and poisoned environs reduced the world population to 1/100 of its former size. The sterility caused by radiation has further helped to ensure all life is dwindling, and dwindling fast. Although every generation at least one "breeder" is born, their ability to reproduce and restock the populace is unable to cope with the threats and hazards of the world climate. It is truly a dying planet.

Products List

Darwin's World (1st Edition) RPO0001
Terrors of The Twisted Earth (1st Edition) RPO0002
Cave of Life RPO0003
The Lost City RPO0004
Metal Gods (1st Edition) RPO0005
Death by Corium Light RPO0007
Skeleton Base RPO0009
Darwin's World (2nd Edition) Hardcover RPO0100
Darwin's World 2: Survivor's Handbook RPO0100a
Darwin's World 2: Campaign Guide RPO0100b
Darwin's World 2: Terrors of the Twisted Earth RPO0100c
Darwin's World Gazetteer RPO0100gaz
Post-Apocalyptic Figure Flats RPO0100_MIN1
The Foundationists/Metal Gods Print Edition RPO0101
The Foundationists RPO0101a
Metal Gods (Revised for DW2) RPO0101b
The Lost Paradise RPO0103a
Terrors of The Lost Paradise RPO0103b
Against The Wastelords (W1) RPO0104
New World Order (W2) RPO0105
Wasteland Fury: Post Apocalyptic Martial Arts RPO0110

Fan Files
The PAForge always welcomes contributions from our visitors. Please consider PUBLISHING your own PA related material here.

Salvage Rights : by David Jarvis. An introductory adventure set in the lower Oregon region of the Lost Paradise. Submitted by Chris Davis of RPGOBJECTS and Darwin's World fame for an exclusive first release here at the PAForge....thanks Chris.

RPO0103c : Full version in .pdf / 643kb
RPO0103c_print : a print friendly version of the file in .pdf / 270kb
Colemans-Landing : map (map of a small ville where part of the scenario takes place) .jpg / 44kb
Newsublevel : map (map of an underground level where part of the scenario takes place) .jpg / 99kb
RPO0103c ZIP : ALL the files in one neat downloadable package .zip / 924kb

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©1996 Master's of the Earth and ©2002 Post-Apocalyptic Forge and ©1996 GammaHammer are claimed trademarks and are ©Paul S. Williams and all rights are reserved

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