Apocalypse Hero

[C_Zeree]

I don’t know how popular this sub-genre is. Trying to find out, hope to get some input. Applicable to both Fantasy Hero and Star Hero.

Rifts did it. Gamma World. Not an aficionado, I don’t know all the titles.

One of the many things I’m toying with is a Fallen Earth. Years ago I thought Rifts had great flavor, still do, so I wanted to capture some of it.

The Fall
1 - I began with a plague, super germ escaped from a US research lab (Thank you S. King). Doesn’t destroy the world, they get it under control predict over 1 billion dead. People very upset and scared.
2 – Terrorism in US, retribution from extremist religion blaming US corruption for the plague. Two bombs cripple downtown LA, generating even more US hysteria.
3 – US extremist retaliation. Claim subversive Chinese action released plague. Nuclear style weapon detonated in Shanghai.
4 – Unexpected natural disasters in short spans, percussions of destruction. Massive earth quakes along Pacific Rim. Dormant volcanoes erupt. Storms build and rage, thunderstorms, tornados, hurricanes boil up from nothing. Storms last for months, flooding and famine.
5 – The Fall is complete, humanity tries to recover, but fails.

So just how many ways are there to destroy civilization, as we know it?
How have you our how’d your GM reshape the world?

[Steve Long]

There were a couple threads on this on the old boards; you could probably find them pretty easily by trolling through those old posts.

And of course Star Hero has a little discussion of this topic, since I know it's going to be a while before we get to do a subgenre book for it.

[Lord Liaden]

For an unusual, and rather disturbing take on the fall of civilization, you might see if you can find a copy of the supplement Champions in 3-D and take a look at the "Horror World" section. Even though it was written up for Champions, the threat in this world is more environmental and not really defeatable through brute force, so the power level of the PCs is much less of an issue.

Remember those investigators in H.P. Lovecraft's stories who barely prevent the evil cultists from summoning the unspeakable Horrors from Beyond? In this world, they failed. Rather than immediately ushering in the Apocalypse, though, these monsters subtly insinuate themselves into the human population at first, working to tear down the fabric of society and any potential resistance before bringing in larger numbers of their fellows. By the era that Ci3D describes, the process is almost complete: true humans are a dying race fighting a losing guerilla war, our cities have become vast nests of nightmares, and the planet's native ecology has been decimated by imported monstrosities.

I have to add, though, in all seriousness, that this world is not for faint hearted players.

[C_Zeree]

I was re-reading part of Star Hero last night, making me think of "Fallen Earth" today. Rolling a d6+1 to determine the number of years till AH's release... ;)

LL - For some reason your comments sounded familiar.
http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2417&highlight=Horror

Then I remembered. :)
Off to search the old boards!

[misterdeath]

Keith "man of a thousand names" Curtis has a really nice website. You can get it from his Member's Profile.

D

[C_Zeree]

Found a few gems in the old boards:
http://www.herogames.com/oldForum/OtherGenres/000085.html
http://www.herogames.com/oldForum/OtherGenres/000120.html
http://www.herogames.com/oldForum/OtherGenres/000122.html
http://www.herogames.com/oldForum/OtherGenres/000156.html
http://www.herogames.com/oldForum/OtherGenres/000179.html
http://www.herogames.com/oldForum/OtherGenres/000210.html
http://www.herogames.com/oldForum/OtherGenres/000219.html
http://www.herogames.com/oldForum/OtherGenres/000219-2.html

Looks like more than a few people were interested in the subject. The subgenre book would probably sell. :)

Haven't had a chance to read any of the above posts, but I will do so. I would enjoy any open discussion people have here as well.

Toadmaster frequented the AH threads, seen him around the new boards. I'm off in search of the Aftermath Book he was talking about, perhaps I'll get lucky on e-bay.

...Edited for clumsiness

[Lord Liaden]

I am doubly humiliated: I forgot that I had brought up Horror World with C_Zeree in the past; and I forgot to mention Keith Curtis's excellent Savage Earth setting. Senility must be setting in.:o

Speaking of forgetting, I hadn't realized that there were that many discussions of post-apoc gaming in the Old Forum archives. Interest appears to be fairly substantial. I have to agree with some of the comments I read there: an "Apocalypse HERO" genre book discussing the different ways that civilization could end and the consequences of each, and setting a game during the fall, after the collapse and/or beginning the reconstruction, would be useful to a broad range of post-apoc games and probably pretty sellable. And since Darren Watts seems to be behind the idea, we probably will see it at some point.:)

[Peregrine]

Originally posted by Lord Liaden
For an unusual, and rather disturbing take on the fall of civilization, you might see if you can find a copy of the supplement Champions in 3-D and take a look at the "Horror World" section. Even though it was written up for Champions, the threat in this world is more environmental and not really defeatable through brute force, so the power level of the PCs is much less of an issue.

Remember those investigators in H.P. Lovecraft's stories who barely prevent the evil cultists from summoning the unspeakable Horrors from Beyond? In this world, they failed. Rather than immediately ushering in the Apocalypse, though, these monsters subtly insinuate themselves into the human population at first, working to tear down the fabric of society and any potential resistance before bringing in larger numbers of their fellows. By the era that Ci3D describes, the process is almost complete: true humans are a dying race fighting a losing guerilla war, our cities have become vast nests of nightmares, and the planet's native ecology has been decimated by imported monstrosities.

I have to add, though, in all seriousness, that this world is not for faint hearted players.

No joke. I'm in a PBeM that is currently in this world. Mein Gott, what a mess!

Of course, for general post-apocalyptic goodness, you can't beat The Morrow Project. Once you swallow the premise, there's a lot of fun to be hand.

[Starwolf]

The old RPG Aftermath gave a lot of good background. I have also referenced Twilight 2000.

For reading material that I have adapted to game settings, I have used both Battlefield Earth by L. Hubbard. and The Siege of Earth by John Mathew Faucette. I have also used a series called the Guardians, but I can't recall the author right now.

[Steve Long]

A post-apoc setting that I like a lot, that most people don't seem to have heard of, is the Pelbar Cycle by Paul Williams (the first book is The Breaking Of Northwall). It's fascinatingly like a game campaign, in that as the books go along, the characters learn more about the world around them, and become more powerful/civilized, etc.

[Kaeto]

How about Morrow Project?

[Derek Hiemforth]

I've seen two major types of "fallen Earth" settings. For lack of better terminology, I'll call them "negative focus" and "positive focus" viewpoints.

In the negative focus game, the players' goal seems to be exploring (in a philosophical sense) the effects of civilization's destruction, and the characters' goal is generally just to stay alive. The characters tend to be morally ambiguous, largely because there is little distinction between good and evil. There's little, if anything, the characters can do to change the world. In other words, exploring the wretched squalor of the world is itself the purpose of the game. These games are often set fairly shortly after the Armageddon event, while the scattered remnants of humanity are still crawling in the mud wrestling with mutated rats for scraps. Examples of this type of world come mostly from gaming, as it would be hard to sell this kind of story to a film audience. I'm sure there must be some, however.

In the positive focus game, the post-apocalypse world is used more as a backdrop rather than an end in itself. The Armageddon event often happened long ago, so the Earth has had some time to recover. There are usually new civilizations arisen, though of course they are usually smaller than today's civilizations, and different in nature. This game plays more like a fantasy game, with the characters more likely to do things for altruistic reasons than in the negative focus game. Examples include the film Logan's Run (especially once they escape the city) and the cartoon Thundarr The Barbarian.

As you can probably tell, I really don't care for the negative focus game. ;) I like to participate in stories where the PCs are heroic, and it's hard to be heroic when you're stuck in the first two levels of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. :)

[DocSubtlety]

My first baby steps as a GM were all done under Gamma World, and to this day, post apocalypse settings are my favorites.

For a look at the ways the world could end, I strongly recommend: Exit Mundi (http://www.xs4all.nl/~mke/exitmundi.htm).

[Blue]

Originally posted by DocSubtlety
My first baby steps as a GM were all done under Gamma World, and to this day, post apocalypse settings are my favorites.

I too began my GMing career in Gamma World! With all those kids who had D&D, I was the only one with Gamma World, which made me very popular for a time.

Funny that after all this time I've never read any post-holocaust fiction. (Well, I am Legend is a post plague tale, but that's as close as I get)

[C_Zeree]

There seems to be interest. :)

I think I’ll start compiling a list of apocalyptic source material. I’d like to know what is out there and it would help me build my own worlds.

I’ll create some categories, start filling in with books, RPG’s, web pages, and the like, so people can go browse at their leisure.

I’m sure people have seen a lot out there, so if you think I’m missing something just drop a post, and the list will grow. Or if people have lists I would be interested in seeing them so I can compile.

Not only will it be cool for us, Apocalyptians. But, whenever Daren or Steve or Mr. X begin writing Apocalypse Hero, they have the references section half way done. ;)

[Lord Liaden]

Originally posted by Blue
Funny that after all this time I've never read any post-holocaust fiction. (Well, I am Legend is a post plague tale, but that's as close as I get)

May I suggest the novels by James Blish, Black Easter and The Day after Judgement, also published in one volume as The Devil's Day. These stories deal with the coming of Armageddon in the modern day - the actual Armageddon, the Final Judgement, war between Heaven and Hell. In this story, though, Hell wins. Fascinating juxtaposition of twentieth century civilization with the devils of Dante and grimoire magic, and speculation of what Earth after the war would be like.

[C_Zeree]

List of Apocalyptic Source Material

Apocalyptic RPGS:
HERO Games
Apocalypse HERO (Estimated: 2004 + 1d6)
Steve Jackson Games - http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/books
GURPS Y2K
GURPS Reign of Steel
GURPS Horseclans
GURPS War with the Chtorr
GURPS Riverworld
GURPS Ice Age
White Wolf - http://www.white-wolf.com/engelweb/ehtml/index.html
Engel
Palladium Books – http://www.palladiumbooks.com/
Rifts
RPG Objects - http://www.darwinrpg.com/
Darwin’s World
Living Room Games - http://www.lrgames.com/
Earthdawn
Far Future Enterprises - http://www.farfuture.net/
Twilight 2000
TimeLine - http://www.timelineltd.com/
Morrow Project
Tri Tac - http://members.aol.com/TRITACGAMES/
Rogue 417
TSR now WotC - http://www.wizards.com/gammaworld/Welcome.asp
Gamma World
BRTC - http://www.hyperbooks.com/catalog/20057.html (not the BRTC site but something close to the product)
Down in Flames
Warp World
CORPS Apocalypse
Fantasy Games Unlimited
Aftermath
Freedom Fighters
Year of the Phoenix

Apocalyptic Setting Web Sites
Savage Earth - http://home.attbi.com/~TheGM/SE/savage.html
Wasteland HERO - http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Park/3440/rpgs.html
Tiger’s GAMMA Hero - http://www.thewarp.net/war/tiger/gamhero.html
Chronicles of the Wishes - http://www.winds.org/~arren/chronicles/index.html

[B]Apocalypse Now (Ways to end civilization as we know it)
Items on the matter:

General –
Exit Mundi - http://www.xs4all.nl/~mke/exitmundi.htm
Pelbar Cycle (Book – Paul Williams)
Lord of Light (Book – Roger Zelazny)
World Enough, and Time (Book – James Kahn)
Valdemar, Series (Book - Mercedes Lackey)

Alien –
Footfall (Book – Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle)
Mote in God’s Eye (Book – Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle)
Cthulhu Mythos, Many hint at apocalypse (Books - H.P. Lovecraft)
The War Against the Chtorr, Series (Book – David Gerrold)
The Guardians (Book – Ewell Greeson)
X-Files (TV & Movie)
Twilight Zone episode "To Serve Man" (TV)

Biblical/Spiritual –
Black Easter & The Day After Judgement (Book - James Blish)
Left Behind series (Book – Tim LaHaye & Jerry Jenkins)
Bible: Revelations (Book)

Astronomic Incident –
Lucifer’s Hammer (Book – Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle)
Deep Impact (Movie)
Thundarr the Barbarian (TV Cartoon)

Biological –

Killer Virus –
The Stand (Book - Steven King)
’48 (Book – James Herbert)
The White Plague (Book – Frank Herbert & James Herbert)
Eternity Road (Book - Jack McDevitt)
12 Monkeys (Movie)

Plastic/Material Eater Virus –
Andromeda Strain (Book – Michael Crichton)
Mutant 59: The Plastic Eaters (Book - Kit Pedler & Gerry Davis)
Ill Wind (Book - Kevin J Anderson & Doug Beason)
Ringworld Series (Books – Larry Niven)

Environment –
Cat’s Cradle (Book – Kurt Vonnegut)
Fallen Angels (Book - Niven & Pournelle)
Dust (Book - Charles Pellegrino)
Waterworld (Movie)
Quintet (Movie)

Creature–
Day of the Triffids (Book – John Wyndham)
The Kraken Wakes (Book – John Wyndham)
The Swarm (Movie)
Kingdom of the Spiders (Movie)
Phase 4 (Movie)
THEM! (Movie)

Machine –
Terminator, All (Movies - Soon 3)
Matrix, All (Movies, 3 By Dec 03)

Nanotech –
Assemblers of Infinity (Book - Kevin J Anderson & Doug Beason)

Nuclear/War –
Alas Babylon (Book – Pat Frank)
A Boy and His Dog (Book – Harlan Ellison)
Things to Come (Book – H.G. Wells)
The Crysalids (Book – John Wyndham)
The Postman (Book – David Brin)
World Enough, and Time: New World Series (Book – James Kahn)
C.A.D.S. (Book – John Seivert)
The Survivalist (Book – Jerry Ahern)
The Guardians (Book - Richard Austin)
Horseclans, Series (Books – Robert Adams)
Wingman (Book – Mack Maloney)
Damnation Alley (Book – Roger Zelazny)
A Canticle for Liebowitz (Book – Walter Miller)
Gather, Darkness (Book – Fritz Lieber)
Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (Movie)
Mad Max, Series (Movies & there’s a new one in the works)
Six-String Samurai (Movie)
Logan’s Run (Movie)
Things to Come (Movie)
Def-Con 4 (Movie)

Philosophical –
Ubik (Book - Philip Dick)

Undead –
I am Legend (Book – Richard Matheson)
Home Delivery (Short Story - Steven King)
The Last of the Winnebagos (Book - Connie Willis)
Night of the Living Dead (Movie)
Resident Evil (Video Game)
Night of the Comet (Movie)

The World Has Moved On –
Dark Tower, Series (Book – Steven King, now if King would only finish it!)

Updated 19 May 03 - 12:43 a.m. PST

[Derek Hiemforth]

From BTRC, add Warp World and CORPS Apocalypse. I wouldn't really call Stalking The Night Fantastic apocalyptic... it's more Men-In-Black humor-horrorish. :) I'd suggest adding the Thundarr The Barbarian cartoon, but I can't remember how the world ended in it. Cosmic accident I think. (Comet passing too close to the earth or something?)

[winterhawk]

Originally posted by Derek Hiemforth
I'd suggest adding the Thundarr The Barbarian cartoon, but I can't remember how the world ended in it. Cosmic accident I think. (Comet passing too close to the earth or something?)

I can't recall the whole rap at this time, but...

"In the year 1997, a comet passes between the Earth and the Moon...causing cosmic destruction."

"2000 years later, a new world rises from the old...a world of savagery, super-science and sorcery."

"...with his companions Ookla the Mock and Princess Ariel, he pits his strength, his courage and his fabulous Sun Sword against the forces of evil."

"He is Thundarr the Barbarian!"

Wow, I am such a dork! :p

I'll post the real rap after I watch the 2 am episode I TIVOed this Saturday.:p :p

[Smeazel]

Originally posted by Steve Long
A post-apoc setting that I like a lot, that most people don't seem to have heard of, is the Pelbar Cycle by Paul Williams (the first book is The Breaking Of Northwall). It's fascinatingly like a game campaign, in that as the books go along, the characters learn more about the world around them, and become more powerful/civilized, etc.

Hm. You know, I've actually read those books (or some of them, anyway; I didn't get through the whole series), and personally I really didn't like them. But it's been long enough since I've read them that I honestly don't remember now why I didn't like them. Hm. Maybe I'll have to take another look at them and see if my opinion has changed... ;)

[Markdoc]

Two books not listed, both of which would make damn fine RPG settings - and define another genre - are Lord of Light, by Roger Zelazny and Gather, Darkness by Fritz Lieber.

These are both "apocalypse-by-design" where the old hi-tech world has *mostly* collapsed, for reasons not really explained - but the hint is that it was done on purpose - and those who control the remaining technology pose as priests or gods and pretend it's magic.

cheers, Mark

[C_Zeree]

Taking notes...

Actually Niven's Ringworld series also brings in a lot of post-Apoc ideas. It is post-Apoc on the ringworld, but still gives you a feel how bizarre things can get, in an already different locale.

I never spell bizarre right...

[C_Zeree]

Derek,

I like your division of Apoc settings.

Negative:
I do believe there is a lot more leeway in the negative aspect though. Sure the world is rough, but adversity can breed heroes, and allow morals shine. Look at the examples we in the US have had with heroism fallowing tragedy. There are simple and extreme examples.

An entire campaign can be centered around the PC’s trying to help rise a town out of squalor. They start by beating back the mutant hydra-rats, help find resources and restore fields, and eventually establish a safe haven, a seat of humanity where hope begins to shine again.

Positive:
Of course many love the mystique (blue body paint…drool) of forgotten civilization, and exploring the bones of past humanity. It allows fantasy and sci-fi to mingle, producing a melting pot of whatever the imagination desires.

[Space Cadet]

Another post-apocalypse setting can be found in the C.A.D.S. series
of books written by John Seivert. The series deals with the adventures of a
top-secret experimental force of U.S. battlesuit troopers after the start
of World War III ( sort of like Heinlein's Starship Troopers meets The Day After ).

As far as environmental apocalypse goes, you can add the movie Quintet
to the list of post-apocalypse movies. This Paul Newman picture deals
with a group of people trying to survive in an ice-age environment.

Space Cadet :cool:

[dbsousa]

If you haven't read A Canticle for Liebowitz, let me post a review from amazon.com...

Walter M. Miller's acclaimed SF classic A Canticle for Leibowitz opens with the accidental excavation of a holy artifact: a creased, brittle memo scrawled by the hand of the blessed Saint Leibowitz, that reads: "Pound pastrami, can kraut, six bagels--bring home for Emma." To the Brothers of Saint Leibowitz, this sacred shopping list penned by an obscure, 20th-century engineer is a symbol of hope from the distant past, from before the Simplification, the fiery atomic holocaust that plunged the earth into darkness and ignorance. As 1984 cautioned against Stalinism, so 1959's A Canticle for Leibowitz warns of the threat and implications of nuclear annihilation. Following a cloister of monks in their Utah abbey over some six or seven hundred years, the funny but bleak Canticle tackles the sociological and religious implications of the cyclical rise and fall of civilization, questioning whether humanity can hope for more than repeating its own history. Divided into three sections--Fiat Homo (Let There Be Man), Fiat Lux (Let There Be Light), and Fiat Voluntas Tua (Thy Will Be Done)--Canticle is steeped in Catholicism and Latin, exploring the fascinating, seemingly capricious process of how and why a person is canonized. --Paul Hughes --

[keithcurtis]

Oh yes, Canticle is a definite classic. Stay away from the "sequels" however. The first was a masterpiece; the others are afterthoughs.

Keith "From the place of Ground Zero... O Lord deliver us" Curtis

[Black_Thaddeus]

Palladium also has a game called "After the Bomb". I don't have it, but it sounds like a good take on the post-apocolypse theme.

[Peregrine]

For a strange take on post-apoc life, check out Niven and Pournelle's Mote In God's Eye. (SPOILERS... aw, hell, the book's been out for over 20 years!) The alien race was trapped in their single system for millions of years, and was resigned to a never-ending series of Cycles, in which civilization fell into savagery over... and over... and over... due to continuous population pressure, because the aliens have to breed or die - literally.

[Starwolf]

Another great classic is the novel "Alas Babylon" by Pat Frank. I am probably dating myself but this was required reading for H.S. students back in the 70s.

[Toadmaster]

Twilight 2000 is being reprinted by Marc Miller's Far Future Enterprises, the same company is reprinting the Classic Traveller "little black books"

http://www.farfuture.net/

[keithcurtis]

Great list, C_Zeree! Thanks for all the hard work.

Keith "Captain Kudos" Curtis

[allen]

Nuclear
A Boy and His Dog, Harlan Ellison (Also a movie)

Virus (maybe Biological)
I am Legend, Richard Matheson (basis for the movie, Omega Man, also a movie starring Vincent Price that I _think_ was called I am Legend.)

[keithcurtis]

Originally posted by allen
Nuclear
A Boy and His Dog, Harlan Ellison (Also a movie)

Virus (maybe Biological)
I am Legend, Richard Matheson (basis for the movie, Omega Man, also a movie starring Vincent Price that I _think_ was called I am Legend.)

I think the Vincent Price movie had the unfortunate title of "The Last Man on Earth."

Keith "A pocket lisp" Curtis

[keithcurtis]

Book: "World Enough, and Time"?

Keith "?" Curtis

[Southern Cross]

Two classic novels that have not been mentioned here are John Wyndham's Day of The Triffids,The Chrysalids & The Kraken Wakes (though in the last book humanity is decimated,but civilisation still survives).Oh,and by the way,Damnation Alley was originally a novel-most people consider the movie to be a bastardization of the original book.I also cannot believe that Harlan Ellison's A Boy and his Dog wasn't mentioned.

[tengu]

My suggestions

Books, War:
Wingman by Mack Maloney (book series); post-war where the US lost and was broken up into different areas. Details a new war for independence. Mind candy in a lot of respects, and it did get a little silly in the last 2-3 books.
The Guardians, not sure on the author (series); another post-war book with a group of soldiers wandering about, rebuilding America, or so I'm assuming. I have a couple of the books, but haven't read them as yet.

Just a couple of suggestions.

[C_Zeree]

More notes. :)
Expect update around lunch PST.

[Captain Obvious]

Originally posted by Southern Cross
Oh,and by the way,Damnation Alley was originally a novel-most people consider the movie to be a bastardization of the original book.

The movie was pretty, well, "B", admittedly, but the book wasn't exactly high literature either....

[C_Zeree]

Things I'm not sure on:

Keith I could not find the book "World Enough, and Time," found some research projects and reports, but didn't think you were referring to them. :)

tengu does this book look right?
The Guardians by Ewell Greeson

Where to put Day of the Triffids or Kraken Wakes. I renamed the Insect section to a Creature section and placed them there. Kraken fits, but in Triffids people go blind from a passing commet. Another buuuuut, the triffids are hostile plants, so I don't know.

I am Legend - Its about vampires feeding on people so I placed it undead.

I've got to go to the library and pick up some books. :D

[allen]

Originally posted by keithcurtis
I think the Vincent Price movie had the unfortunate title of "The Last Man on Earth."

Keith "A pocket lisp" Curtis

Yup, that's the one...

Allen "Thanks for the assist" Thomas

[tengu]

Nope, that's not the book...

Found one of the series that I'm talking about. It's The Guardians, by Richard Austin.
The back blurb reads like this:


From the nuclear devastation of World War III rose the Guardians. Guerilla freedom fighters in a United States fallen prey to invading forces. They are the last reminder of what America stood for -- and the last hope of what America can be once more.


Now granted, this series was published in the mid to late 80's, so you can guess as to how good it would be.

[C_Zeree]

Originally posted by tengu
Now granted, this series was published in the mid to late 80's, so you can guess as to how good it would be.
Did I/we say it had to be a good resource? Besides personal tastes may vary. I'm just putting together a big list of stuff. I think I'l put a warning sign on the list, use at your own risk. ;)

[allen]

Originally posted by C_Zeree
Did I/we say it had to be a good resource? Besides personal tastes may vary. I'm just putting together a big list of stuff. I think I'l put a warning sign on the list, use at your own risk. ;)

In light of this...

Post Nuclear Holocaust
The Horseclans Series, Robert Adams.

Definitely slap a warning label on that one. (Although I admit I've read something like 16 of them.) There's also a GURPS supplement.

Also

Six-String Samurai, movie
It's a parody made by someone who likely loved the genre (and Buddy Holly too).

[keithcurtis]

Originally posted by C_Zeree
Things I'm not sure on:

Keith I could not find the book "World Enough, and Time," found some research projects and reports, but didn't think you were referring to them. :)


Del Rey 1980, by James Kahn. Spot illustrations, cover and map by Jill Alden Littlewood

It takes place in a distant future post-apoc California. It has a definite fantasy feel to it, so I'd put it into whatever category something like "Thundarr" would go under, but a little darker. IDR what caused the apocalypse, but a quick scan seems to indicate a nuclear war and subsequent ice age. There is also some flooding involved, the map of California plainly shows "Port Fresno."

Keith "Hey, I've got beachfront property!" Curtis

[keithcurtis]

Originally posted by Starwolf
Another great classic is the novel "Alas Babylon" by Pat Frank. I am probably dating myself but this was required reading for H.S. students back in the 70s.

I read that in one day. I took a science fiction and film appreciation elective without realizing it was not college prep. The rest of the class took six weeks to finish it and over half flunked a simple plot question test. I made myself re-read it the day before the test so I would be ready, but I needn't have bothered. I could have gotten a passing grade wiithout ever having read it at all.

Keith "What a waste of a cool elective" Curtis

[tiger]

I'm running a online Gamma Hero Campaign now over at the roleplayers realm. http://theroleplayersrealm.com/champions/board9/

It's been fun so far. I also have a few things up on my site. Will be working on others as well.

[C_Zeree]

Minor update today.
These apocalyptic people like to have there settings in California. Why I ask? Ca is post apocalyptic enough if you live in the Mojave desert...

So I was thinking. If the end of the world is upon a world where super heroes exist, what would they do as the world was coming down around them? Villains and heroes might unite. Some heores might just say, "Screw it," survivial of the fittest, come to the dark side... Of course many would try to aid where they could. They would become even more visible, because they could protect and help much more than the government and its officials with its resources spread so thin.

Any thoughts on the matter?

[Dr.Unpossible]

The movie "Things to Come" I think, personally at least is an excellent peek at a post apocalypse world. And the following rise of man. Its VERY preachy though, I mean really really preachy.

It was done prior to World War II. And if I'm not mistaken is taken from the works of George Orwell. I think the montage for the troops and tanks rolling off to war, where in the beginning there WWII tech. Then as the years roll by they advance to sort of 195o's Buck Rogers weapons, then as the war drags on, they get more ragged looking, then no vehicles, then no standard uniforms, then no army at all, then the movie starts in the future in a ruined village. To me at least, its one of the great movie sequences of all time.

http://www.stomptokyo.com/badmoviereport/things2come.html (http://) Is a bit of a harsh review of the film. But about mid way down the page is a pic of the troops marching off to war. In the montage sequence I was mentioning.

[Dr.Unpossible]

Keith "the sequals pale" Curtis . Have you read Saint Leibowitz and the Wild Horse Woman

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0553107046/qid=1052520645/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_2/103-5098430-5680636?v=glance&s=books (http://)

I was hoping it would be a good read. A look at the life of the "Savages" in the setting of a Canticle for Leibowitz. I loved the first book. Especially the focus on the Catholic Church. It really added to the Dark Ages feel after the apocalypse.

[keithcurtis]

Originally posted by Dr.Unpossible
Keith "the sequals pale" Curtis . Have you read Saint Leibowitz and the Wild Horse Woman

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0553107046/qid=1052520645/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_2/103-5098430-5680636?v=glance&s=books (http://)

I was hoping it would be a good read. A look at the life of the "Savages" in the setting of a Canticle for Leibowitz. I loved the first book. Especially the focus on the Catholic Church. It really added to the Dark Ages feel after the apocalypse.

Yes, I waded through it. It might have been a good enough book in itself, but it had none of the strong themes of the original. I felt it was ultimately "just a story". Canticle made me think on nearly every page.

I had heard there was a third book, but I know nothing about it.

BTW, have you ever heard the radio drama adaptation? Really first class job, that. They even had a college chant group do all of the canticles and such.

Keith "Lucifer has fallen" Curtis

[concord]

Originally posted by C_Zeree
So I was thinking. If the end of the world is upon a world where super heroes exist, what would they do as the world was coming down around them? (snipped)

Any thoughts on the matter?
I started in the post-apoc genre way back when with first edition Gamma World.

I had a bit of an issue with the suspension of disbelief for some of the more esoteric mutant abilites, until I discovered Champions and Thundarr the Barbarian.

My outlook changed. I have ran, off and on since the late 80s, a post-apoc world that is decended from my superhero world/campaign.

Most of the collapse revolved around five major power factions. A high-tech corporation that wanted to wipe out anyone with paranormal abilities. A mad geneticist that viewed humanity as his canvas. A group of extra-dimensional aliens trying to subjugate the world. The psions with many small factions all at each others throats and trying to be the only ones. A evil sorceror who is trying to subsume all magical energies into himself.

The psion wars started getting notice with a few massacres here and there. The high-tech corp decided that it was time and released a plague, paranormals including the psions started dying. The e-d aliens stepped up into the void left by the dying paras and took over major cities around the world. The high-tech corp equipped anyone that would fight the e-d aliens with the lastest and greatest weapon and personal armor systems in addition to automated combat vehicles, drones and robots. Massive battles ensued with many casualities. The evil sorceror seeing the chaos that surrounded him put his master plan into effect. He was able to seize most of the magical energies but was unable to control them. A dimensional rift was opened causing many earthquakes, tidal waves and other natural disasters. The mad geneticist released a retrovirus to counter the effect of the anti-para plague. It started causing mutations in all animal life forms. The final blow came when the ancestral enemies of the e-d aliens showed up. They were extra-terrestrial aliens that had faced the e-d aliens long ago in Earth's past. Using asteroids and small nuclear devices, they bombarded every stronghold or major troop concentration of the e-d aliens. The world was a shambles and civilization would not start to rise again for centuries.

There have been three campaigns set in this world starting at 300 or so years after "The stars fell from the skies."

(edited for spelling and other dumb mistakes)

[Southern Cross]

Actually Things To Come was based off the novel by H.G.Wells.

[Dr.Unpossible]

Good call SouthernCross. I was wondering about that after I had posted.

[AnotherSkip]

I would also suggest David Brin's "The Postman"
There are a few more of Steven Kings Bachman stories that are small scale apocalypstic.

and for a fantasy apocalypse

Earthdawn (alien/deamonic invasion)
place ED under games
Annnnnnnd
*Drum Roll*
Mecedes Lackey-Valdemar series
(Spoilers) the Griffon Books goes into the main details as much as anyone has. (Two warring mages, a peaceful one creating for the joy of life. The other essentially a number cruncher who cared not a whit for anything but the end results) Though of course much fore and post shadowing occurs in the Winds Trillogy, the Last herald Mage Trillogy as well as the Storms Books.
To give an example, imagine if the magical equivalent of a nuclear bomb went off that was like a hammer blow to the magical energies of the world. Now then imagine two of those went off and wherever the ripple efects of those collided a wild magic effect occured. Then imagine that those effects were coming back through time to recreate themselves and the "side effects" of another apocalypse, unless the heroes can stop it.

[Adventus]

'48 by James Herbert. This book takes place in the year 1948. The nazis had released a virus that sound a lot like ebola. If you had the right blood type and the right rh factor you were immune. If you had only one of them you were resistant , but you would eventually die. It takes place in london.

[Super Squirrel]

I hate to toot my own horn but TOOT TOOT.

I have been running a post-apoc game since October with some *COstolenUGH* ideas from Keith "very forgiving" Curtis. My game features an apocolypse created by wishes. The head antagonist has been doing a nice job of destroying everything and anything he wants to the way he wants it. The players haven't learned this yet but California just sunk. Electricity doesn't work right anymore and you can fire a gun if you don't mind a 13- chance of blowing off your hand in the processes.

www.winds.org/~arren/chronicles/index.html

The website, as always, needs an overhaul but it gets the point across nicely.

I think what I like best about this game setting is that the players don't know all the rules. I renamed all of the remaining cities to give the game a foreign feel. Boy of boy if they only knew what was coming next.

[Toadmaster]

Originally posted by Dr.Unpossible
The movie "Things to Come" I think, personally at least is an excellent peek at a post apocalypse world. And the following rise of man. Its VERY preachy though, I mean really really preachy.

It was done prior to World War II. And if I'm not mistaken is taken from the works of George Orwell. I think the montage for the troops and tanks rolling off to war, where in the beginning there WWII tech. Then as the years roll by they advance to sort of 1905's Buck Rogers weapons, then as the war drags on, they get more ragged looking, then no vehicles, then not standard uniforms, then no army at all, then the movie starts in the future in a ruined village. To me at least, its one of the great movie sequences of all time.

http://www.stomptokyo.com/badmoviereport/things2come.html (http://) Is a bit of a harsh review of the film. But about mid way down the page is a pic of the troops marching off to war. In the montage sequence I was mentioning.

Its been many years since I have seen the movie but from what I recall the war seems likely to have been WW1 extended until civilization collapsed, I think the movie was made in the late 1920's. I thought the coolest part was that "THE FUTURE" you mention with the Buck Rodgers tech was 1967, the year I was born. :D

Speaking of WW1 era apacalypses has anyone looked at Iron Storm the computer game based around the idea that WW1 extended into the 1960's?

[Toadmaster]

Originally posted by C_Zeree
So I was thinking. If the end of the world is upon a world where super heroes exist, what would they do as the world was coming down around them? (snipped)

Any thoughts on the matter?


Back when 486's were the hot computer I played a game based on Superhero's in an apacalyptic world. I believe it was "The Superhero League of Hoboken" rather silly, it kind of reminds me of THE TICK cartoon, with powers like "can clean any mess" or can eat any food no matter how spicy", of course they also had lesser powers like eye rays or martial arts but the main powers were needed to complete the main quests, one I remember in particular was a wherehouse full of Jalapinos so hot that one drop of their juice in the Atlantic Ocean would litterally burn the tongue out of the mouth of anyone tasting the water.

While definately a comedy setting it would offer some ideas for a PA supers game.

[sachmo]

Originally posted by DocSubtlety
My first baby steps as a GM were all done under Gamma World, and to this day, post apocalypse settings are my favorites.

For a look at the ways the world could end, I strongly recommend: Exit Mundi (http://www.xs4all.nl/~mke/exitmundi.htm).

Great site! Thanks for posting!


Well, if you are going to pull out brain-cell killing series such as The Wingman and C.A.D.S., we would have to pay our respects to the greatest post apocolypse series of them all, The Survivalist. As I remember, this series actually started out rather well, for what it was. Then they started messing with cryogenics and it all went downhill from there. Not as out there as The Wingman, but still pretty bad. I think I owned the Guardians books also, and thought they were pretty decent.

[Space Cadet]

You wanna talk about post-apocalypse stuff that's guaranteed
to kill off a few brain cells? Well, then, here's a movie to add
to the Cinematic Post-Apocalypse List that'll do the job quite
nicely: Def-Con 4. IIRC, this one was about the crew of a
U.S. MIRV-armed space station (obviously, Hollywood script-
writers have never heard of the Outer Space Treaty). They
survive an unplanned re-entry only to have to deal with the
hazards of a post-WWIII Earth -- cannibals, lunatic survivalists
and a would-be college yuppie overlord (who was responsible
for the aforementioned unplanned re-entry in the first place).

Space Cadet :cool:

[Toadmaster]

Originally posted by Space Cadet
You wanna talk about post-apocalypse stuff that's guaranteed
to kill off a few brain cells? Well, then, here's a movie to add
to the Cinematic Post-Apocalypse List that'll do the job quite
nicely: Def-Con 4. IIRC, this one was about the crew of a
U.S. MIRV-armed space station (obviously, Hollywood script-
writers have never heard of the Outer Space Treaty). They
survive an unplanned re-entry only to have to deal with the
hazards of a post-WWIII Earth -- cannibals, lunatic survivalists
and a would-be college yuppie overlord (who was responsible
for the aforementioned unplanned re-entry in the first place).

Space Cadet :cool:

Just how bad was this, I remember seeing it on HBO in the late 1980's or so but all I remember is something about an armored bulldozer and a conversation about nipples. I saw this available at the video store a few months back but didn't get it in case my poor memory was a defense mechanism.


You want bad PA films, anyone remember Night of the Comet? :eek:

[allen]

Originally posted by Toadmaster

You want bad PA films, anyone remember Night of the Comet? :eek:

is it that the movie where a comet goes by the earth, people start turning into zombies, and the survivors take over a radio station? tre' eighties, rigth?

if so, i love that movie. (i know, i know... no accounting for taste...)

[sachmo]

Originally posted by allen
is it that the movie where a comet goes by the earth, people start turning into zombies, and the survivors take over a radio station? tre' eighties, rigth?

if so, i love that movie. (i know, i know... no accounting for taste...)

Ummm...seconded. I'm so ashamed.

[Mutant for Hire]

One of the ideas I'm working on is lifting one of the more overdone Marvel supervillains and redoing him the way I think he should have been done. Apocalypse.

My base concept is that of a metahuman who believes in Darwinian survival of the fittest and believes that civilization with its current emphasis on protecting the weak and crippling the strong needs to be shattered. He creates four metahumans, the four Horsemen. War, Death, Famine and Pestilence. He plans to soup them up in power and sends them across the world.

War is a mentalist who instills hostility. Famine is not just for the famine of food any more but all energy sources as well, causing major blackouts all over the place as energy sources such as fuel crumble as well as food. Pestilence, to steal a leaf from Good Omens is involved in pollution as well. I'm trying to figure out how to model what death is going to be. Suggestions?

[Southern Cross]

Some sort of vampire, perchance?

[5 Sided D6]

Originally posted by tengu
Nope, that's not the book...

Found one of the series that I'm talking about. It's The Guardians, by Richard Austin.
The back blurb reads like this:



Now granted, this series was published in the mid to late 80's, so you can guess as to how good it would be.

Wow, haven't thought about those books in a loooong time LOL. I read the whole series backing the 80's, they were pretty good in my opinion.

They are along the lines of Twilight 2000 Post apocalypse themes, no Hi-tech, mutations or stuff, just regular army guys who still have access to military tech while the rest of the world is sliding down the technogly ladder. They also have some NC-17 rated stuff in them.

[Mutant for Hire]

Originally posted by Southern Cross
Some sort of vampire, perchance?

Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, Death would be more of entropy personified. Not just living creatures simply dying but technology breaking down and malfunctioning as well. Equipment simply breaks down near Death as well. As it passes over equipment and people break down.

For Pestilence, people start growing sick and the air and water and earth are fouled.

For Famine, food breaks down as well as fuel of all sorts. Power is also a sustinance of life in modern technological times.

War as I said before simply sends everyone into a beserk fury as it passes by. Probably the one least affected by the rise of the technological age.

I'm not quite sure how to model Death, Pestilence and Famine in HERO powers though.

[Captain Obvious]

Wrath of the Seven Horsemen would probably be a good place to start, since they've already modeled somewhat more traditional versions of the Four (and threw in three more for good measure). This weekend, when I get time, I will scrounge around and find my copy, and give you an overview on their powers. That should at least steer you in the direction you want to add your tech related stuff too.

[tengu]

Originally posted by Toadmaster

You want bad PA films, anyone remember Night of the Comet? :eek:

Just watched that movie on one of the Cinemax channels yesterday afternoon. Yes, very 80s in style... however, who the hell were the Morrow Project-type people in the jumpsuits? Seems to me like that plot element was thrown in last minute... Not a movie I'd recommend to anyone, really. However, their portrayal of the MAC10 Ingrams was right on the money -- spray for a second, reload.

[Lord Liaden]

Originally posted by Mutant for Hire
Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, Death would be more of entropy personified. Not just living creatures simply dying but technology breaking down and malfunctioning as well. Equipment simply breaks down near Death as well. As it passes over equipment and people break down.

For Pestilence, people start growing sick and the air and water and earth are fouled.

For Famine, food breaks down as well as fuel of all sorts. Power is also a sustinance of life in modern technological times.

War as I said before simply sends everyone into a beserk fury as it passes by. Probably the one least affected by the rise of the technological age.

I'm not quite sure how to model Death, Pestilence and Famine in HERO powers though.

I made some 4E modifications to the Seven Horsemen mentioned above to make their power sets fit more closely to what I thought the embodiment of their concepts would be. Here are a few suggestions on abilities that would be appropriate:

War - Mind Control, only to enrage. Aid to Strength and/or Presence (for courage). Tactics Skill, lots of CSL, Weapon Familiarity with everything.

Death - Damage Aura with Body Drain or with Killing Attack, NND (Immune to Aging), does Body. Lots of extra Presence (the "face of Death" is traditionally terrifying). Possibly Desolid and/or Invisibility. For more normal kinds of attacks, perhaps HKA with Find Weakness (who knows more about the weaknesses of the flesh than Death?) Possibly Mind Scan to locate victims.

Plague - Various kinds of Drains or Transforms, or Killing Attack NND (Immune to Disease or applied antibiotics), does Body. Perhaps with the Continuous, Uncontrolled, Sticky Advantages to represent contagion.

Famine - Transfers of various kinds, most appropriately Body, Strength and Endurance (it makes sense for the embodiment of Famine to consume rather than just drain). EB NND (No need to eat), representing "hunger pains."

I hope that sparks some ideas. :)

[Mutant for Hire]

Well, I actually went back to the original source material and discovered that the traditional four, War, Death, Pestilence and Famine don't actually correspond to the four horsemen who actually appear in Revelations.

First horseman:
White horse. Rider with crown and bow who goes forth conquering. Absolutely zip else said about him.
Second horseman:
Red horse. Takes peace from men. Never explicitly mentioned as war but obviously very close.
Third horseman:
Black Horse. Carries scales. Talks about wages for wheat and barley, and not to damage the oil or wine. Generally made out to be famine though there are some problems.
Fourth horseman:
Pale horse. Death. Includes death by pestilence and *famine* among other types of death.

All I can say is that Revelations is a pretty trippy reading experience.

[C_Zeree]

Just wanted to say I've been travelling for a week, but now I'm back. I will be reading through the new posts, seeing if there are any new additions, updating the list, and browsing the other posts. Should be updated come Sun.

I've got things to read. :D

[Space Cadet]

Originally posted by Toadmaster
Just how bad was this, I remember seeing it on HBO in the late 1980's or so but all I remember is something about an armored bulldozer and a conversation about nipples. I saw this available at the video store a few months back but didn't get it in case my poor memory was a defense mechanism.


You want bad PA films, anyone remember Night of the Comet? :eek:

Give praise indeed to your poor memory, for it has saved you
from shelling out $10 - $15 bucks for one of the worst PA pics
in the last 20-odd years (me, I paid $4.95 to see this on Pay-
Per-View when it first came out).

Space Cadet :D

[C_Zeree]

The LASM (big list) (http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=3523&perpage=15&pagenumber=2) has finally been updated. Happy perusal.

[Old Man]

Originally posted by Captain Obvious
Wrath of the Seven Horsemen would probably be a good place to start, since they've already modeled somewhat more traditional versions of the Four (and threw in three more for good measure).

One of the extra three was Destruction. I remember her well, because she slaughtered half of our superhero team when she turned up--38 DEX, 90 STR, haymakering for 27d6 at OCV ~15. "Eek! I martial dodge!" "She hits you anyway. Suck 100 stun." War was no pushover either.

I'm thinking I should try and find a copy of that particular module on ebay, just to see if they really are as nasty as that or if the GM was just having a bad week.

[Shadowpup]

Originally posted by Derek Hiemforth



In the positive focus game, the post-apocalypse world is used more as a backdrop rather than an end in itself. The Armageddon event often happened long ago, so the Earth has had some time to recover. There are usually new civilizations arisen, though of course they are usually smaller than today's civilizations, and different in nature. This game plays more like a fantasy game, with the characters more likely to do things for altruistic reasons than in the negative focus game. Examples include the film Logan's Run (especially once they escape the city) and the cartoon Thundarr The Barbarian.

I would highly recommend David Drake's "The General" Series to you in that case. Kind of hard to find as I think they have been out of print for a while. (The Hammer, The Anvil, The Forge, The Steel, The Sword)

Another suggestion would be William Forstchen's Lost Regiment series (?) It's about a civil war regiment that gets transplanted to a low tech alien planet. The apocolypse in is the form of roving hoards that consider humans to be food.

[Dauntless]

Does anyone know of books or movies about Apocalypses brought forth by climatic changes or meteor impacts? I'd like to take a look at some to give me some inspiration for my own game world.

I've been developing a world background in which Earth was hit by several cataclysmic meteors. Initially, it was one huge meteor which would have been literally the end of most life on Earth, but it mysteriously broke up in orbit before landing, creating several smaller but still incredibly devestating impacts.

The long shot of it is that this happens a few score years in the future, when man has terraformed Mars and has a few other intra-solar colonies (Io, Europa, the Moon, and some La Grange points have some hefty populations at this point). What this allowed me to do was to create a ravaged society and a high tech one at the same time. In a nutshell, the surviving Earth Colonies band together to try to save Earth, but due to their small numbers (and they are barely self-sufficient themselves) that it takes them a few decades to tool up. By the time they are ready, the surviving Earth populations have settled into various factions, all fighting for survival against each other and the elements. Because these factions have developed a bad case of xenophobia, the "rescuers" are looked down on as just another conqueror...whether they can provide high tech support or not.

The game actually takes place a few score years after "The Impact", and society has for the most part recovered on Earth...at least in some areas. Most of the Earth Factions eventually got subdued by the Colonial Government and they have instituted certain laws and taxation in return for medical aid and infrastructure improvements (schools, roads, hospitals, etc). There are however a few "Freezones" which were never absorbed into the NEC...due to a combination of a lack of will on the NEC's part (it's citizens felt that after conquering 80% of the Earth factions, it was good enough) as well as the budgetary constraints of continuing the war. These Freezones are not beholden by NEC laws and are free to pursuse their own customs, technology and trade.

So really, my setting has an apocalyptic origin, but a recovered apocalypse. What the cataclysm did is allow me to radically alter human society in a realistic, and logically consistent manner which plays off on several themes. I was very much influenced by the American Civil War, and he main theme that I wanted to get across was the idea of local sovereignty vs. a strong central government. In my world, there really isn't a good guy vs. bad guy world since both sides have their heroes and their villains, their good laws and their bad laws. The apocalyptic setting also allows one to sift through ideological and cultural ways like an archaeologist would...and it leaves some "badlands" for adventurers to explore.

I developed the game world not so much for roleplaying originally, but actually for a computer strategy game that I'm slowly working on. I do however want to expand it to a roleplaying setting (much like Battletech was originally a board game, but also had a supporting world storyline). I definitely admire more realistic settings, and a game world has to be plausible and logically consistent. So even in my wargame, the rules are geared more towards realistic considerations (like logistics, morale, command and control, communications, and leadership to name a few). The roleplaying elements will be equally as well-detailed and realistic as I believe this is more fitting of the "grim and gritty" nature of apocalyptic and realistic sci-fi settings.

[concord]

Originally posted by Dauntless
Does anyone know of books or movies about Apocalypses brought forth by climatic changes or meteor impacts?

Lucifer's Hammer by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle

[TheQuestionMan]

"cough cough"


QM

[Major Tom]

Here's a movie to add to the Post-Apocalypse list: Island City.

The premise of this movie: That, at some point in the future, someone discovers
the means to retard aging, and distrubutes the anagathic world-wide. However,
some of the people who recieve the anagathic suffer an adverse reaction to it
because of a recessive gene in their DNA. As a result, these unfortunates are
physically transformed into muscular, rage-driven berserkers (think of the Lou
Ferrigno version of the Hulk, but without the green hair or skin) with reduced
intellectual capacity. Much of the world (at least what was shown in the movie)
resembles a desert, in which scattered groups or individual unaffected human
beings try to survive both the environment and marauding bands of "Recs"
(short for "recessives", the name given to the adversely-affected humans).


Major Tom :dyn

[Major Tom]

Here's a movie to add to the Environmental section of the LASM:

The Day after Tomorrow.


Major Tom :dyn

[Matt Frisbee]

A few bits of source material that seem to have slipped through the cracks:

The Deathlands series of books (and a low budget movie on the Sci-Fi Channel) details the exploits of a mercenary type in the shattered wasteland of a world gone about 100 years post-nuclear (I think). There are some mutants and such in the books, along with lost technology, warlords, etc.

The first of the Bolo series of stories takes place a few decades after a nuclear war. The major character was a test subject for a cryosuspension system at a missile or military base.

The Marvel comics character Deathlok was a cyborg survivor of some sort of cataclysmic war (at least in the comics I've thumbed through in the past).

For a slightly childish take on the apocalypse, try the Saturday morning live action series Ark II in which a group of young scientists helps the scattered groups of humanity begin to rebuild after earth suffers a ecological holocaust due to pollution.

Along the same lines, don't forget Planet of the Apes movies, since a few of them are (presumably) some 1500 to 2000 years post nuclear war. (As a side note, I have secretly wanted to do a slightly expanded version of this for a campaign for a long time, though most of my current group of gamers can't stomach the kitch...)

And, not to be too much of a gadfly, The World of Greyhawk might technically qualify as a post-apocalyptic setting, since a great (non-technological) society has fallen in ruins in the past, and the current inhabitants live on the bones of the former society.

Matt "Damned-dirty-apes-fan" Frisbee

[Labrat]

Lucifer's Hammer by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle

This would be a definitive story I think. It's so well written. However, it's the chronicles of a couple of main characters dealing with the immediate aftermath.

Consider it very highly recommended though. If nothing else you get a very good glimpse of what kind of environmental impact a meteor would have on the human race.

Think about it this way, if a meteor or meteors did do in the dinosaurs, humans survived... and actually progressed rather nicely despite it. I don't think society would collapse, there would probably be an era of warlords and bandits disguised as 'reconstructionists' and 'scavangers' but ultimately I think the human race would return to some civility even within a single generation. Of course, 'civility' does include 'factions with opposing agendas' so you still have power, greed and territorialism angles that you could work. We just wouldn't throw ourselves back into 'Planet of the Apes' like cavemen. (IMO of course)