Welcome to the world of
RUIN NATION 
(A roleplaying game concept currently in playtest)

by Toren Atkinson, co-creator of the ENnie Award-winning Spaceship Zero RPG

Earth is a corpse. Once lush and green, mankind has wrought fiery death across it’s surface, casting his once proud civilization into ruin. Details of the Time of Reckoning have been long forgotten; replaced now with more immediate concerns of survival in a desolate wasteland with gory, painful death around every corner. Bands of roving mutant cyborgs patrol for easy marks to fill their bellies and gas tanks. Radiation storms and acid rain force savage tribes to squabble with knife and gun over burned out hulks. Creatures that were harmless before the Time of Reckoning have become gigantic mutated monsters with laser eyes and acid breath. Deathbots from the Old Wars adhere to their programming of relentless organic extermination.

WATCH THE SIZZLE VIDEO ON YOUTUBE

In the Wasteland death is a way of life!

Ruin Nation is a post-apocalyptic setting inspired by The Road Warrior, Fallout, Gamma World, and of  the Mutilator short films:

0. GAME SYSTEM

Ruin Nation uses a variant of the rules from the ENnie Award-winning Spaceship Zero: The Roleplaying Game published by Green Ronin Publishing. 

Note that the Spaceship Zero rules (a percentile based system) have been modified for this setting, which is more grim and gritty, but in some ways more cartoony. Players should expect more violence and gore and a much higher turnover rate of their characters than your typical RPG.

Ruin Nation CHARACTER SHEET:

QUICK CHARACTER GENERATION GUIDE

I. CHARACTER TYPES

Players can choose three types of characters.

PURESTRAIN HUMANS represent the baseline of the four attributes (Brawn, Brains, Balance, Bravado) and have the highest amount of skills (such as Disguise, First Aid, etc). Only humans can have CYBERNETIC PARTS (see below).

MUTATED HUMANS generally have a higher Brawn and Bravado than purestrain humans, but have a lower average Balance and Brains. Mutated humans trade in their skill points for MUTATIONS (see below)

MUTATED ANIMALS can be any non-human animal that travels with the group, be it mammal, insect, mollusk, or even a teenage ninja terrapin. Animal characters can also be much smaller than man-sized. Animals are less intelligent but more dexterous than humans.

II. ATTRIBUTES

Just like in Spaceship Zero, each character has four attributes – BRAWN, BALANCE, BRAINS and BRAVADO.  These are rolled randomly, and depending on your character type, the minimums and maximums vary. Typically they run from 03 to 20.

III. SKILLS

There are about 2 dozen skills. Each one is linked to one of the four attributes. Heave, Endure, Jump and Swim, for example, are linked to the BRAWN attribute. Characters get a starting value in each skill based on the linked attribute. Then, up to 300 Character Points are spent to increase skill levels. If the player is playing a cyborg, animal, or mutant, some of these points are also spent on cybernetics, animal traits, and mutations, as below

IV. CYBERNETICS

FOR HUMAN CHARACTERS, the player can distribute a maximum of 200 of his 300 skill points in up to 6 cybernetic powers, such as a range attack, metal skin, etc.

All Character points not spent on cybernetic powers are distributed to skills. Write down all cybernetic implants in the WEIRD SHIT section of your character sheet.

For example, the player Geiselbert decides he wants his cyborg to have laser eyes and a cybernetic hand that has medical tools, a computer interface tool and a flail. With his 200 points he spends 70 Character Points on BEAM WEAPON: LASER, he spends another 40 on CYBERNETIC BRAIN and 60 more on MECHANICAL ARM WITH PIERCING WEAPON. That’s a total of 170 of his 200 allowable points that he can spend on cyborg parts. He could spend up to 30 more Character Points on up to three more implants, if he can make the math work. Since he notices that he laser doesn’t come with its own power source, he decides to spend those last 30 points on the SOLAR-POWERED enhancement. Now he still has 100 points left to spend on skills. If he had not spend those last 30 points on implants, he would have 130 points left to spend on skills. 

NOTE: All cyborgs are vulnerable to electromagnetic pulses unless they have the “EMP HARDENING” modification.

CYBERNETIC IMPLANTS PREVIEW

Here are some cybernetic implants and modifications and their Character Point costs for cyborgs. All weapons are in Good condition. With your GMs permission you can come up with your own!

POWER SOURCES

Many, but not all, cybernetic enhancements require power. Consult individual entries.

SOLAR-POWERED. Costs 30 Character Points. Parts of your body surface harbor miniature solar cells that store energy that can be used to fuel other cybernetic parts. The cells are efficient enough that a 10 hour stint in full daylight will provide the equivalent power of 1 standard atomic battery. In addition, the cells will provide you with 100 calories per hour spent in daylight-level illumination to satiate your hunger level. (For your edification, the duration of daylight for Bethesda, Maryland in the year 2100 is between 9.5 hours in January and just under 15 hours in June), as provided by http://aa.usno.navy.mil)

NUCLEAR REACTOR. Costs 40 Character Points. You have a small nuclear reactor in your chest or abdomen (you pick). While you have this, any other cybernetic implants that require power can run off the reactor. You can also charge atomic batteries via a dermal port (this probably takes about a half hour). If the body part you choose takes a mutilation, there is a 10% chance that the reactor breaches, causing you and anyone within a 10 foot radius of your person to take 20 rads per combat round. Any further mutilations to that location before your breached reactor is repaired results in a 50% chance that the reactor explodes, causing 3d100 damage and an equal amount of rads to yourself and those within 20′, 2d100 damage and rads to those 21-40′, and 1d100 damage and rads to those 41-60′ from you. A 60′ radius around ground zero becomes contaminated with radiation for hundreds of years, giving off 10 rads per round.

GUT-O-TRON 5000. Costs 50 Character Points

Your sturdy, space-age stomach converts any organic material into energy. You can consume rotting meat and normally inedible vegetation. You cannot be poisoned via ingestion (that means by eating stuff, you can still suffer contact poison or venom in your bloodstream). As long as you scarf down a sufficient amount of tree stumps, bones, feces, or any other organic matter (usually at least 2 hours a day of continuous eating), you can provide for yourself and your cybernetic parts an amount of energy in a day equivalent to the power of 1 standard atomic battery.

…this concludes the sneak preview of Cybernetics. For more, you’ll just have to play the game! 

V: ANIMAL TRAITS

For players who opt to play a MUTATED ANIMAL, assume that your animal has a human morphology (anatomy) with superficial animal characteristics, just like a teenage mutant ninja turtle (heroes in a half-shell). The player can spend up to 200 skill points on “natural” assets. This means you are essentially converting a human form into a normal animal form.

For example, Deanna the player is making a mutant pangolin. In Step II above she decided to make the animal “medium-sized” or about the length and mass of a man. She also keeps the default Move Rate score of a human as well. But she wants her pangolin to have scales, claws, and a long sticky tongue just like a pangolin, so she distributes 200 points in to these powers the same way a human character can do with cyborg powers as described above*.

Any skill points not put into these natural assets can be spent on skills, but they can also be spent on “unnatural” assets and defects, by rolling RANDOMLY on the Mutations Table below, giving some unexpected powers (or defects) to an already weirdly mutated animal.

Bonus skill points to spend on natural assets can be gained by choosing some “natural defects” (aka disadvantages). The maximum bonus skill points you can gain from trading in on natural defects is 100 points.

For example, a normal pangolin does not have opposable thumbs and could not open a door or use a gun. Deanna could talk with the GM about how many skill points a defect like that would be worth (probably around 75 or so), and if she’s willing to accept the fact that her mutant pangolin will never be able to use skills like Technical Build & Repair, First Aid, Lockpicking, Pilot, or normal Weapon skill, she could take that 75 skill point bonus and add it to her pool. She could go a similar route by reducing her Move Rate, Brains and Brawn to that of a regular run-of-the-mill pangolin, sacrificing the advantages of these humanoid attributes and making her mutated animal more closely related to a normal natural cousins. In doing so she can consult the table below on Converting Attribute Points to Skill Points and gain more bonus skill points to spend normally.

(As mentioned above, having an unusually sized animal does not require any change in Skill Points. You choose the size of your animal before you roll attributes, even if it’s a diminutive elephant or a Rodent Of Unusual Size.)

ANIMAL TRAITS PREVIEW

ANTENNAE (lobster, cockroach, moth) aids in tactile sensation and the detection of smells, humidity, air pressure, and/or thermal changes. Severed antennae grow back during a moult, where applicable. Grants a +20 to Survival, +10 to Dodge and a +3 to Initiative Bonus. Costs 45 Character Points. 

ANTIBIOTIC SWEAT (Hippo) You are immune to Infection. You can harvest your sweat and create a dose of potent medical salve once a day with a successful Science skill check – the medicinal benefits (Infection in a patient is counteracted with a successful Medical skill check) last for 1 week after harvesting. Character Point Cost is 40. 

AQUATIC MORPHOLOGY (seal, seahorse, shark, whale) You get a +40 to your Swim Skill and can swim at your normal Move Rate. Your Finesse skills cannot exceed 60. Costs 40 Character Points. 

ARMOR (pangolin, insect) Thick scales or exoskeleton provides Armor of 10. Costs 10 Character Points per hit location

ASYMMETRIC SLEEP (dolphin, seal, migratory birds). You sleep the normal 8 hours but each hemisphere of your brain sleeps a separate 4 hours, while the other half and corresponding eye is awake and aware. Helpful for keeping watch over your sleeping comrades. Costs 30 Character Points. 

VI: RANDOM MUTATIONS

MUTATED HUMANS have 300 Skill Points just like the other character types, but they can spend all of their points on mutations and none of them on skills, if they so choose (although it is wise to at least put a few important skills like Endure, Survival, Backbone and a Weapon skill up to score of 50 or so). Mutated humans do not choose any abilities like mutant animals do – all mutations are rolled randomly. They can however, add bonus points to their Skill Point pool when they roll Defects (Mutations noted with a (D) beside the name). Additionally, mutated humans can have no more than 10 mutations, and that includes defects. Since all mutations are random, it’s possible to roll up a mutant with 10 defects and no assets, but in such a case you’d have a mutant with 450 Skill Points to put into kick-ass skills like Guns, Backbone, Endure, etc, and that’s not a bad consolation, is it?

For each mutation roll 1d100 to get a “Power Level” (PL) score for that asset or defect, unless otherwise noted. Any score of less than 10 can be increased to 10 (in the case of asset) or ignored (in the case of defect). Consult The Deadly Effectiveness Table to convert PL score into a meaningful bonus or penalty to the appropriate skill(s), remembering that skill scores cannot be increased above 70 unless the GM gives the okay.

MUTATIONS PREVIEW

ECHOLOCATION. Roll your P.L. on 1d100. You emit high frequency sonic pulses from your face which you can use to navigate by listening for echoes that bounce off nearby objects. This is useful if you are blind or would like to move around in the dark. If your P.L. is less than 60, most animals (mammals and birds especially, but not humans) can hear the clicks you make to echolocate, which makes sneaking difficult. If your P.L. is less than 30, most animals and humans can hear your clicks. When you are using echolocation, use your Listen skill instead of your See skill to make checks to notice hidden or subtle things (so you may want to put some extra Character Points in your Listen skill.) Consult the Range Table for the effective range of your echolocation. Cost in Character Points for this mutation is equal to your P.L. If it pleases you, you can negate Character Point cost of this mutation up to 25 pts by taking a 50 P.L. in the mutation Cosmetic Deformity – making your face look like the ridiculous Maclaud’s Horseshoe Bat (google image it).

EXTRA HEAD. Roll 1d100 to determine your P.L. You get that number of extra Skill Points to spend on Brains-linked skills only. Non-customized armor for your torso and possibly arms will not fit you because of your bulging neck. In addition, since the brain uses a good amount of your daily calories, you require +25% the normal caloric intake (usually this means you need 2500 calories per day rather than 2000 for a normal human to avoid starvation). Alsoplus, your starting skill cap for See and Listen is 80 instead of 70. You can also argue with yourself. You can lose this head and still survive, but you lose your P.L. in Brains-linked skill points (if you like you can keep track of which head has your bonus skill points or you can just divide your P.L. by all the Brains-Linked skills equally – for example, if your P.L. for the head is 50 then all 10 of your Brains-linked skills lose 5 points when your extra head gets blown off). Character Point cost is equal to your P.L.

An additional head would give 2x oxygen and lower your heart rate (you wouldn’t get winded easily), but exhalation with 2 heads would mean 2x moisture lost through respiration. As the brain uses about 1/4 of our daily intake of calories, 2 heads would mean you also get malnourished that much faster. Your game may vary

MAGNETIC (Defect) – Your body produces a strong electromagnetic field that you cannot control. Thus, magnetic metals are attracted to you. Magnetic metals include iron, nickel and steel. You have a -10 to use weapons containing magnetic metal, and Heave checks vs metal will get a -10 penalty or +10 bonus depending on whether you’re pushing or pulling. Metal objects thrown (like grenades or metal spears) that would land within 5 feet of you will always be drawn to connect with your body. Metal weapons (including shrapnel) that hit you are always considered armor-piercing (ignore the first 10 points of Armor Rating). If you receive a mutilation from a metal melee weapon it becomes stuck to your body (Heave check to remove.) Your Move Rate on a surface made of magnetic metal is reduced by 10. Compasses fail in your vicinity. Additionally, non-hardened electronics have a chance to disrupt or damage electronics in your immediate vicinity (only your GM knows what the chance is). Should you become demagnetized you will naturally remagnetize after a few hours. Reimburses 100 Character Points.

…this ends the Mutations Preview!

VII OPTIONAL: LIABILITIES

Need some extra skill points? With your gamemaster’s permission, here’s some liabilities you can roll up for your character. Each one will give you 40 skill points to spend on skills.

A NOTE ON PHOBIAS: Whenever you encounter the object of your phobia, you must make a Backbone skill check to avoid having the following symptoms: extreme sensations of terror, such as breathlessness, excessive sweating, dry mouth, feeling sick, shaking, heart palpitations, inability to speak or think clearly, a fear of dying, becoming mad or losing control, a sensation of detachment from reality or a full blown anxiety attack. Needless to say, if your character experiences these symptoms she will usually flee the encounter if possible. You can make Backbone checks each round (if in combat) or each minute (if outside of combat). Even if you make a Backbone skill check, you are still at -20 on all skills that require interacting with the object of your phobia!

THE LIABILITY TABLE:

01 Achluophobia/Lygophobia- Fear of the dark.
02-03 Acrophobia – Fear of heights.
04 Amaxophobia/Ochophobia- Fear of vehicles.
05 Apotemnophobia- Fear of persons with amputations.
06 Atephobia- Fear of ruins.
07-08 Automatonophobia- Fear of ventriloquist’s dummies, animatronic creatures, wax statues, androids and human-shaped robots – anything that falsely represents a sentient being.
09-10 Aviophobia or Aviatophobia- Fear of flying.
11-13 Bacteriophobia/Microbiophobia/Misophobia/Spermatophobia – Fear of being contaminated with dirt or germs.
14 Ballistophobia- Fear of missiles or bullets or Hoplophobia- Fear of firearms.
15 Bathmophobia- Fear of stairs or steep slopes.
16 Bibliophobia- Fear of books.
17-18 Blennophobia- Fear of slime.
19 Botanophobia- Fear of plants.
20 Brontophobia- Fear of thunder and lightning.
21 Cacophobia- Fear of ugliness or Dysmorphophobia- Fear of deformity.
22 Carnophobia- Fear of meat.
23-26 Claustrophobia- Fear of confined spaces.
27 Cnidophobia- Fear of stings.
28 Coprophobia- Fear of feces.
29-30 Coimetrophobia- Fear of cemeteries, graveyards, burial mounds, etc.
31-33 Cynophobia- Fear of dogs.
34-35 Demophobia- Fear of crowds. (Agoraphobia)
36 Dendrophobia- Fear of trees
37 Domatophobia- Fear of houses or being in a house.(Eicophobia, Oikophobia)
38-41 Entomophobia- Fear of insects.
42-43 Equinophobia- Fear of horses.
44-45 Gerontophobia- Fear of old people
46-48 Hemophobia (fear of blood). Make a backbone check or pass out at the sight of blood. After 1d10 rounds you’ll come to on your own, or someone else can bring you out of it with a Medical check.
49-51 Herpetophobia – Fear of reptiles.
52 Hobophobia- Fear of bums or beggars.
53-54 Homichlophobia- Fear of fog.
55-56 Hydrophobia – Fear of water
57-58 Iatrophobia- Fear of going to the doctor or of doctors.
59 Ichthyophobia – Fear of fish.
60 Katsaridaphobia- Fear of cockroaches.
61-62 Mechanophobia- Fear of machines.
63 Megalophobia- Fear of large things.
64 Necrophobia- Fear of death or dead things.
65 Nudophobia- Fear of nudity.
66 Ombrophobia- Fear of rain or of being rained on.
67 Ornithophobia- Fear of birds.
68 Pedophobia- Fear of children.
69 Pyrophobia- Fear of fire.
70-71 Radiophobia- Fear of radiation, x-rays.
72 Xenoglossophobia- Fear of foreign languages.
73-75 Animosity towards opposite gender (or pick one if you are non-binary). You have -30 on skill checks when interacting.
76-79 Animosity towards humans or mutated humans or mutated animals (pick one that isn’t your own kind). You have -30 on skill checks when interacting.
80 Speech impediment (stutter, lisp, etc). -30 to Speech/Bluff
81-83 Snores (attracts unwanted attention in the dead of the night while in sandshark territory)
84 Alcoholic. “I drive better when I’m drunk!” See effects of hypoglycemia.
85 Colour Blind
86 Cannibalistic (humans only). It’s your secret shame. Usually people will try to kill you if they see you eating human flesh (also known as ‘long pig’), but it’s worth it because it’s so very very tasty.
87 Hypoglycemia. You need to eat every few hours or you get ‘hangry’ – which is to say you get bad-tempered, make poor decisions, and have trouble concentrating. When you’ve got low blood sugar you suffer cumulative -5 to Brains-linked and Bravado-linked skills every hour (minimum score equal to your linked attribute). This is a bad disorder to have along with cannibalistic tendencies.
88 Hoarder. Your collection of useless junk is slowing the party down. Also, -20 to Barter skill checks.
89 Cotard’s Syndrome. You believe you are dead and rotting away. You won’t carry food or medical supplies for yourself.
90 Alien hand syndrome. One of your hands acts independently of voluntary control. Often your ‘rogue’ hand will perform unexpected but innocuous tasks, but may wield weapons or grope companions at inopportune times. Whenever you make a successful skill check but the dice roll comes up with a ‘9’ in it, your rogue hand has sabotaged the attempt by countering your action or just getting in the way.
91 Homicidal somnambulism. Like sleep-walking except replace ‘walking’ with ‘murdering.’ Every time you sleep for more than a few hours, there is a 10% chance you will get up and try to kill someone. It is extremely difficult for anyone to wake you during one of these events – you must be restrained and wait for 3d10 minutes or have someone successfully treat you with a Medical skill check.

92 Congenital Insensitivity to Pain. The good news is you don’t have to make Endure checks to stay conscious when you take massive damage from mutilation. The bad news is, once you’ve taken a wound, you take an additional 1d10 damage each round thereafter that you remain active (i.e. not lying down), because you don’t realize you’re not supposed to walk on that bloody stump. This remains true until you are fully healed, or until someone rigs up a post-apocalyptic wheelchair for you to get around.
93 Pica is a compulsion to eat non-edible objects. Sufferers have been known to consume paper, dirt, paint, hair, glue, rocks, lint and laundry detergent. Related disorders include acuphagia (the eating of sharp objects) and hyalophagia (the eating of glass).
94 Capgras delusion is a mental condition in which the sufferer comes to believe that someone close to him – typically a spouse or family member – has been replaced by an identical imposter
95 Moebius syndrome is a neurological disorder that affects people from birth and is characterized by the inability of its sufferers to form facial expressions. People with Moebius syndrome are unable to move their facial muscles, meaning they can’t smile, frown, suck or even blink their eyes. They are also unable to move their eyes from side to side and have difficulty swallowing.
96-99 Narcolepsy. You fall asleep at random, unexpected times. Whenever you make a successful skill check but the dice roll comes up with a ‘9’ in it, you nod off and your skill check fails.
00 Myotonia Congenita. Like a fainting goat, your skeletal muscles stiffen up when you get excited. When combat begins and Initiative is rolled, you fall over, paralyzed. This lasts for 1 round. Also your Jump skill is capped at 45.

VIII: CHARACTER BACKGROUND (Optional)

Get your d100 warmed up, this is going to be an adventure on its own!

Place of Birth – roll 1d100

0-20 wilderness, 21-30 village, 31-35 city, 36-40 bunker, 41-50 caravan, 51-55 monster community, 56-00 unknown

Childhood Environment- roll 1d100

0-10 no adult supervision, 11-20 abusive, 21-30 sheltered, 31-40 supportive, 41-50 gang, 51-60 strict, 61-80 owned, 81-90 cult, 91-00 unknown

Number of siblings- roll 1d100

0-50 none or unknown; 51-75 one, 76-90 two, 91-95 1d4+1, 96-99 roll 1d10, 00 roll 1d100

Age of sibling (optional – roll for one or more)

01-45 older, 46-90 younger, 91-95 same age (twin), 96-00 unknown

Relative Welfare (roll once for each parent – siblings optional)

01-20 Roll on Death Table below, 21-30 healthy, 31-35 addicted, 36-45 crippled and/or mutilated, 46-50 abducted by raiders, 51-55 abducted by cult, 56-60 abducted by monsters, 61-65 insane, 66-80 slave, 85-90 imprisoned, 91-92 being hunted for bounty 93-00 unknown

Relative Relationship (roll once for each parent – siblings optional)

01-20 looking for you (good), 21-30 looking for you (bad), 31-50 on good terms, 51-60 ambivalent, 61-70 wants nothing to do with you, 71-00 unknown

Relative Occupation (roll once for each parent – siblings optional)

01-10 scavenger/beggar/drifter, 11-15 entertainer, 16-20 cultist, 21-25 caregiver to another relative, 26-35 unskilled laborer, 40-45 skilled worker, 46-50 soldier, 51-55 mercenary/explorer, 56-60 raider or thief, 61-65 hunter/trapper, 66-75 slave, 76-77 leader with limited power, 78 powerful leader, 79-00 unknown

Significant Events (Roll three times or as many times as your GM allows).

01 You had a fortune but you lost it,
02 You are in someone’s debt (consult “Who?” table below)
03 You were imprisoned for 1d100+60 days,
04 you were held hostage,
05 you had a serious accident,
06 alcoholic,
07 drug addict,
08 gambling addict,
09 sex addict,
10 you were relentlessly teased,
11-12 your pet died (consult Death Table below)
13 someone owes you a monetary debt (see Who? Table below)
14 you saved someone’s life, (consult “Who?” table below)
15 you accidentally killed someone innocent,
16 you became famous because of a misunderstanding,
17 a long lost relative came into your life,
18 you bond with an animal or monster,

19 you traveled to a distant land,
20 you had a spouse,
21 you made an enemy,
22 you have a bounty on your head,
23 you joined a murderous gang,
24 you joined a cult,
25 you led a community,
26 you had a mentor,
27 an ex-lover hates you,
28 an ex-lover is searching for you,
29 a former colleague is trying to find you (bad),
30 you have a powerful friend,
31 your actions caused the death of several peers,
32 your actions caused the destruction of an entire community,
33 you had a child (roll on Relative Relationship and Welfare table above),
34 someone you love was exiled
35 you had a religious experience,
36 you ran away from home,
37 you almost died of a disease,
38 you almost died of radiation sickness,
39 you were sexually assaulted, (see Who? Table below)
40 you were sold or forced into slavery,
41 you had an incestuous relationship,
42 cannibalism happened,
43 you contracted a sexually transmitted infection,
44 you survived a plague,
45-46 your home was destroyed,
47 you barely survived an encounter with a creature,
48 you had a great job,
49 you joined an army,
50 you’re the lone survivor of something,
51 you ran away from an important fight,
52 you hoarded something,
53 you tried to commit suicide,
54 you euthanized someone, (see Who? Table below)
55 the surgery you performed went poorly, (see Who? Table below)
56 you mutilated someone, (see Who? Table below)
57 you were poisoned, (see Who? Table below)
58 you were betrayed, (see Who? Table below)
59 you betrayed someone, (see Who? Table below)
60 you were framed (of theft or murder or sexual assault or treason or cowardice),
61 the circumstance of your birth was exceptionally weird,
62 you ruined an important relic (like a weapon, dosimeter or water purifier),
63 you stole something significant
64 one of your parents maimed or killed the other
the rest: roll two more times (unless you’re over 3 in total)

Who? – roll 1d100

01-05 Your mother, 06-10 your father, 11-15 a sibling, 16-18 an uncle or aunt, 19-21 a grandparent, 22-24 a niece or nephew, 25-35 your best friend, 36-40 your lover, 41-45 your spouse, 46-50 your employer, 51-55 your mentor, 56-65 a colleague, 66-70 a gambling contact, 71-80 a leader, 81-90 a stranger, 91-00 a rival

Death Table – roll 1d100

00-20 disease, 21-30 radiation poisoning, 31-35 raiders, 36-40 mutant(s), 41-45 creature(s), 46-50 murdered by community member, 51-55 accident, 56-60 war, 61-65 storm/environmental catastrophe, 66-85 starvation/dehydration, 86-87 cult sacrifice, 88-89 you killed him/her, 90-95 died in childbirth if mother otherwise unknown, 96-00 unknown

IX: WEAPONS AND EQUIPMENT

Check out this kickass player inventory page:

The weapon format:

SKILL: This is the skill used for this weapon. Bow, Guns, Melee or Throw.
RANGE: 30/90 – the short and long range for the weapon, measured in feet. In this case, short range is 0-30, and long range is 31-90. Long range incurs a -30 penalty to the relevant skill.
POWER SOURCE: where applicable, this explains what kind of ammo, fuel, or batteries the weapon holds, and how many charges it holds before it needs to be reloaded.
DAMAGE: Most weapons have Damage Values. This is the number that is added to the successful skill roll result to come up with a damage total. For example, a gun might have a DV of 20. If the user makes a successful skill check and the number rolled is a 25, they add the gun’s DV 20 to get 45 damage. In the case of melee weapons, the characters Strength Bonus may also be added.
EPIC FAIL: For most weapons, the number is 00. This means when 00 is rolled on a skill check using the weapon, something horrible happens. However, some weapons are fragile, volatile, or particularly awkward, so the Epic Fail range may be wider, i.e. 90-00.
BASE VALUE: This is the cost in teeth under normal circumstances. A successful Barter skill check can get you a better deal!

RANDOM EPIC FAILURE RESULTS (optional, GM may improvise based on circumstance).

01-40 – weapon jams or breaks, downgrade condition one level* Takes a full round to clear jam.
41-60 – weapon jams or breaks, downgrade condition two levels* Takes a full round to clear jam.
61- 70 – drop/throw weapon
71-80 – injure ally**
81-90 – injure self**
91-99 weapon misfires damaging self**, and downgrade condition one level*.
00 – weapon explodes hitting self and ally. Roll damage for each individually**

*if condition is ever downgraded from “poor” – weapon is destroyed, with 50% chance that it explodes, inflicting up to 5d10 damage to the wielder.

**reroll damage – minimum damage is the weapon’s Damage Value

WEAPONS PREVIEW

Chainsaw

SKILL: Melee
DAMAGE VALUE: 30 + Strength Bonus
POWER SOURCE: Gasoline. A full tank runs for about 30 minutes of constant cutting. If you think in terms of 1 ‘charge’ in a combat round, that would be at most 300 charges. I think. I’m bad at math. EPIC FAIL 85/94/00. Kickback is a common source of chainsaw self-injury, but when the weapon fails epically, there’s a 50% chance that the chain whips off the housing or explodes like a shrapnel grenade, causing 7d10 damage to wielder and a 10% chance to do 2d10 damage to anyone within 5 feet of the wielder.
BASE VALUE: 50 teeth

Flamethrower

A two-handed, portable incendiary gun that projects a long stream of fire using tanks of liquid fuel (petrol with a thickening agent) and propellant (nitrogen) carried on the soldier’s back. Weighs 30 lbs empty, 50 lbs full of fuel. Since this classifies as a heavy weapon, the wielder suffers a -10 to hit for every point below 13 BRAWN. So a character with a BRAWN of 12 gets -10 to his Guns skill score when using a heavy weapon, and a character with a BRAWN of 8 gets -50 to hit with a heavy weapon. Charging against an opponent armed with a flamethrower pointed at you requires a successful Backbone skill check. Though this weapon only has 3 charges, there is no penalty to hit multiple targets within close range as long as they are in a 90 degree arc and you don’t mind burning everything in between the targets.

SKILL: Guns
RANGE: 30/90
POWER SOURCE: 2 tanks of fuel and 1 tank of propellant. 3 charges.
DAMAGE: DV 10 + successful Guns check as per normal firearms, however only fire-retardant armor reduces this damage. Also if the victim takes more than 30 points of damage, he catches fire and burns each round – creatures and objects on fire take 10 damage per turn until extinguished. A victim on fire must make a Backbone check, if he succeeds an EASY BALANCE check will put out the flames, otherwise he freaks out and runs around screaming as the flesh melts off his face (can attempt a Backbone check each round). Friends can extinguish a burning victim without a Backbone check. See special rules for Mutilation by fire.
EPIC FAIL: 85/93/00 (When the tanks explode it causes 40 damage per charge still in the tanks and the characters burns as noted above)
BASE VALUE: 50 teeth plus fuel (15 liters of fuel = 15 teeth)

Petrol Bomb/Molotov Cocktail/Fire Bomb/Poor Man’s Grenade

A glass bottle filled with gasoline or similar fuel mixture, stoppered with a cloth wick. Originally used as an anti-tank weapon, the petrol bomb explodes in a fireball when the wick is lit and the artisanal grenade is thrown with sufficient strength against a suitably hard surface so that the container breaks and splashes flaming liquid in an area. Used against a soft target (like an animal, and remember that humans are animals) it is best to aim for the ground beneath it, since most petrol bombs will not break against even an armoured soldier unless thrown with terrific force. Blinding and choking smoke may follow the initial fireball if motor oil, strips of tire tubing or similar agents are included in the fuel. Without additional fuel to feed it, a fire from a molotov cocktail will burn away in 1d10+3 rounds.

SKILL: Throw
RANGE: Heave x1, Heave x2, Heave x3
DAMAGE: 2d10 fire damage to all targets in a 5′ area, continuous on flammable targets (like people) each round. There is a 33% chance anyone or anything within five feet of the target area also catches fire. Moving briskly through an area lit up by a firebomb will incur 1d10 damage for every five foot area, but a character will not catch fire from doing so unless he stops in the hot zone. A target can extinguish himself with a successful DIFFICULT Balance check (same as Dodge Bonus) as a full round action. On a tour de force the target also takes damage from the blunt force of the thrown container and glass shards.
EPIC FAIL: 91-00 (the condition of a poor man’s grenade is always poor)
BASE VALUE: 1 tooth

GENERAL EQUIPMENT

Books

Books are a rarity in the wasteland. Many books even in good condition offer no real value beyond entertainment, but many non-fiction books can provide real world skills to a reader who can fully digest their information. An anatomy textbook for example may increase a reader’s Medical skill, a dictionary or Children’s book might help with the Language, skill, a cookbook might help with Survival, a woodworking manual with Build/Repair, and books on history, art, and poker playing might increase a character’s Lore skill. The level of benefit a reader will get depends on the character’s Brains attribute and Language skill score. Cross referencing these two values on the chart below will give a number between 1 and 8. This value represents the minimum number of days required studying the book and the maximum number of skill points rewarded by doing so. At the end of each day studying the book, the character makes a Language skill check. If the Language check is successful, he gains a skill point in the skill most applicable to the book’s topic. The amount of attempts is limited to the result on the Book Learnin’ chart. Although your typical wasteland hick could spend every day for the rest of his life reading and rereading The Absolute Simpleton’s Guide to Pole Dancing, if his mental faculties are limited (a low BRAINS score) and he has little training in reading (a low Language score) he may only get one or two attempts to learn from the book.

 BOOK LEARNIN’ CHART

Brains Score → 1-4…5-6…7-8…9-10…11-12…13-14…15-16…17-18…19+

Language 1-20……1…..1…….2…….2………3………..3……….4……….4………5

Language 21-30….1…..2…….2…….3………3………..4……….4……….5………5

Language 31-40….2…..2…….3…….3………4………..4……….5……….5………6

Language 41-50….2…..3…….3…….4……..4…………5……….5……….6………6

Language 51-60….3…..3…….4…….4……..5…………5……….6……….6………7

Language 61-70….3…..4…….4…….5……..5…………6……….6……….7………7

Language 71-80….4…..4…….5…….5……..6…………6………..7………7………8

Language 81+…….4…..5…….5……..6……..6………..7………..7………8………8

Values noted on chart are the maximum number of attempts allowed to gain a skill point (may attempt once per day of study)

VALUE: Typically 1 tooth per non-fiction book with applicable real-world knowledge (Anarchist Cookbook, Uncle Zeke’s Advanced Field Dressing, Kleptonomicon: 99 Strategies for a Successful B&Es). Otherwise 1 tooth per box full of trashy romance novels.

Gas Mask

Available in half or full mask. The half mask covers just your nose and mouth, the full face mask contains protection for your eyes which is great until the eyeholes fog up with your fear juice.

In an area heavily contaminated by poisonous chemicals, one filter will generally last 45 minutes, at which point breathing will become more difficult and you’ll need to hold your breath while you change filters. A true expert will breathe out through a new filter before breathing in, to expel any contaminated air within the mask while changing the filter.

Some masks have a dual filter – one on each side of the face. This allows you to keep breathing while changing a filter. The bad news is that unlike with a single filter, on a dual filter the canister interferes with “cheek weld” – the natural position you put your cheek on your rifle’s butt stock when aiming.

Yeah, that’s a real thing. You just learned something! You’re welcome.

Kamikaze Brand Potassium Iodide (KI) Pills

Iodine-131 is a major product of uranium fission. After a nuclear event, radioactive iodine can be released into the air and inhaled. It can also contaminate the local food or water supply and in turn be ingested. The thyroid gland quickly absorbs radioactive iodine, which can be damaging.

Iodine pills prevents certain types of radiation sickness, specifically it protects the thyroid from radioactive iodine. The good news is the KI pill will flood the body and thyroid so harmful radioactive iodine won’t be able to collect in the thyroid because the inert iodine blocks the bad stuff, and the carcinogen will be excreted from your system.

The bad news is you have to take the pill before exposure occurs and that iodine-131 is not a common hazard hundreds of years after a nuclear catastrophe–with a short half-life there is no detectable radiation after a month. On the other hand wasteland scientists have posited that some mutants naturally emit Iodine-131 along with other types of radiation, in which case this medicine would have real value.

GAME EFFECT: This medicine does not reduce the amount of radiation you absorb from contaminated water, food, or barrels of toxic waste (at GM discretion it may protect from other sources.) It does negate the effects of minor and moderate radiation sickness, however. One pill lasts 24 hours.

Also available in liquid form and fun animal shapes for children.

VALUE: 1 tooth per pill.

Baltic Purple ™ 500mg Liquicaps.

Comes in packs of 20 capsules. The active ingredient in this medicine binds to particles of radioactive elements, which are then excreted in (purple) feces. This treatment expedites the elimination of radioactive particles and reduces the amount of radiation cells may absorb. Recommended dose is 3 times a day for a minimum of 30 days, depending on the extent of the contamination. Exceeding this dose runs the risk of the following side-effects: Narcolepsy, inability to keep food down, and temporary blindness.

GAME EFFECTS: Each dose (pill) removes 3d10 rads. Taking more than 3 pills in a 24 hour period will result in one of the above side effects unless an Endure check is made for each dose above the third. Side-effects last 2d10 hours.

VALUE: 5 teeth per pill

Rad-B-Gone anti-radiation medication.

This preventative medicine usually comes in a single-dose pack, unless found in special bulk packages from big box style drug stores. Each pill is the size of a baby’s fist, and is administered orally. The pill is not swallowed but is kept in the mouth where it slowly dissolves, usually within 1 to 2 hours. During this time all doses of radiation are reduced by 20 rads. There are no side effects from normal use, but Rad-B-Gone tastes like skunk shit and there’s always the risk that during strenuous activity it could be swallowed (and is a potential choke hazard). Swallowing Rad-B-Gone results in immediate severe nausea (-20 to Brawn- and Balance-linked skills) for 1d100+10 minutes (halved with successful Endure check).

VALUE: 10 teeth per pill.

PISS-AID

Piss-Aid is the colloquial name for a post-cataclysm “home-made” drug that reduces rad absorption. Piss-Aid, concocted from wasteland herbs, old spray-on deodorant and certain reptile feces, is administered via inhaler. When givin within 24 hours of rad absorption, the user will pass all the rads absorbed in that time through the urine. Side effects include euphoria, bleeding eyes, itching, loss of bladder control, and possible dehydration

It is advised that a person who uses Piss-Aid drink plenty of fluids. Piss-Aid is extremely addictive.

GAME EFFECTS: For each 20 rads that a user hopes to remove, he/she must drink 1 liter of fluid (preferably water). Otherwise there is no beneficial effect.

Every time after the first that a character takes Piss-Aid, he must make an Endure check or become addicted.

VALUE: 30 teeth per inhaler (1 dose).

TRITON Brand Activated Charcoal Counter-top Water Purification (modified)

Activated charcoal is charcoal that has been treated with oxygen to open up millions of tiny pores between the carbon atoms. Activated charcoal is good at trapping other carbon-based impurities (“organic” chemicals), as well as chlorine, lead, mercury, VOCs and MTBE . Many other chemicals are not attracted to carbon at all (sodium, nitrates, etc) so they pass right through. This means that an activated charcoal filter will remove certain impurities while ignoring others. It also means that once all of the bonding sites are filled an activated charcoal filter stops working. At that point you must replace the filter.

Normally designed to attach to a faucet, this modified filtration system comes with a hose, a funnel and a glass or plastic bottle.

VALUE: 20 teeth

RADIATION: THE SILENT KILLER

Radiation damage is not like other kinds of damage – you don’t lose BODY Points from radiation poisoning, you just get sick and feeble as you accumulate rads. Weirdos who hang out in radioactive hot spots don’t know how many rads their body is absorbing until they start to feel sick, so the gamemaster won’t tell you what your accumulated rads are until you’ve already got minor radiation poisoning. Right gamemaster?

Radiation is healed through the application of the Medical skill (but not without appropriate supplies), or simply by spending time away from radiation. Accumulated rads are lost daily (after sleeping) at a rate equal to the character’s BRAWN score.

ACCUMULATED RADS…….LEVEL…………….SYMPTOMS*

0-199…………………………………Normal………………….No Effect
200-399 ……………………………Minor Poisoning……..Fatigue, weakness, mild nausea. -10 to Brawn and Balance-linked skills.*
400-599………………………..Moderate Poisoning…….Above plus purpura, hemorrhage, hair loss, severe nausea, mild fever. -20 to Brawn- and Balance-linked skills.*
600-799………………………..Serious Poisoning………. Above plus cognitive impairment. Severe Fever, diarrhea. -30 to all skills. No Dodge Bonus. Initiative Bonus -5.
800-999…………………………Critical Poisoning……….Above plus seizures, ataxia. Difficulty standing & walking. -50 to all skills and halve Move Rate. No Dodge bonus. Initiative Bonus -10.
1000+ …………DEATH!

Every time a mutated human or animal reaches a new radiation poisoning level, there is a 5% chance a new mutation develops – roll once on the Mutation Table. You cannot roll twice for the same level unless your rad score has dropped by 200 points (so losing and gaining rads over and over again around the same tier does not increase your chance for mutation)

*Game effects of symptoms from mild and moderate radiation poisoning can be ignored with successful Endure skill check.

Typical radioactivity sources:

Eating irradiated food or water: minimum 1-10 rads (roll 1d10 or GM chooses number)

Standing in radioctive water: from 10 rads per minute to 1d10 rads per round depending on level of radioactivity.

Swimming/total immersion in radioactive water: 1-10 rads per round

Being in close proximity to radioactive waste: 1-10 rads per round.

In contact with radioactive waste: minimum 10-50 rads per exposure.

Fallout after nuclear explosion: 1d10 rads per minute.

http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Radiation

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acute_radiation_syndrome

MUTILATIONS

In Ruin Nation, BODY damage is temporary, but mutilations are forever. There’s a special spot on the Ruin Nation character sheet where players can keep track of their mutilations. Usually, mutilations cannot be healed through normal use of the Medical skill (or mutations that accelerate healing, for that matter). Mutilations (AKA aggravated damage) are not just skin and flesh knitting back together as with superficial wounds, but structural failure or total loss of organs and bones. Even if mutilations heal, there are usually lingering, permanent effects.

GENERIC

Here’s a generic table that can be used for animals, monsters, etc, or if you just want something simple.

01-10 Superficial scarring. If visible, -1d10 penalty to Speech and possibly Barter and/or Perform, but bonus to Intimidate.

11-25 Muscle crushed/shredded. Pain. Bleeding. Possible loss of mobility (-1d10 to relevant skills and/or Move Rate). Reduce maximum BODY score by 1d10.-

26-35 Artery severed. Massive blood loss.

36-45 Bone cracked. Intense pain. Possible loss of mobility (-1d10 to relevant skills and/or Move Rate)

46-55 Organ ruptured. Intense pain. Requires major surgery. Make Endure check or suffer infection.

56-65 Bone shattered. Intense pain; Requires major surgery. Possible loss of mobility (-1d10 to relevant skills and/or Move Rate).

66-75 Organ destroyed. Intense pain, requires major surgery, possible shell shock syndrome.

76-85 Nerve damage. Pain. Possible loss of mobility (-1d10 athletic* skills and/or Move Rate)

86-95 Body part explodes. Pain, massive blood loss, shell shock syndrome. Reduce maximum BODY score by 10. Make Endure check or suffer infection.

96-00 Roll again. An adjacent mutilation also applies (for a total of 2 mutilations).

Special conditions: 

Certain terms are italicized. Here’s the game effects:

Pain: -10 to all skills until healed or suitably doped up.

Intense pain: -20 to all skills until healed or suitably doped up. Cannot Dodge. Move Rate halved.

Bleeding: Lose 10 BODY per round until successful Medical skill check performed or otherwise healed.

Massive blood loss: Lose 20 BODY per round until successful Medical skill check performed or otherwise healed.

Major surgery: Some effects of the injury may be reversed through major surgery. In the wasteland, this is a long and horrible process (even more so than sex and food preparation). Major surgery requires the patient be subject to sutures, metal plates and rods, gauze, plaster and of course maggot therapy. The attending surgeon (or wasteland sawbones) must have a Medical score of 50 or higher. A typical surgical operation with the proper equipment and staff takes 3 hours including prep (consult Time Step table on page 20 of the Spaceship Zero rulebook for skill check modifiers for taking more or less time). RECOVERY TIME: Once the cast is on and the stitches are in, the symptoms of your brutal injury don’t just magically disappear. In fact they remain until the character is at maximum Body Points (modifiers of the relevant injury notwithstanding) AND one of the following two things happen: The surgeon or one of its assistants performs a Tour de Force Medical skill check, which can be attempted once per day (in game time), OR the patient performs a Tour de Force Endure check, which can be attempted once per day (in game time, typically upon waking up from an 8-hour sleep). Then and only then will the patient’s life return to “normal.” If, on the other hand, the surgeon’s Medical skill check comes up 00 then the effects of the injury are permanent.

Infection: An infection is the invasion of body tissues by microorganisms such as viruses and bacteria, their multiplication and toxins they produce. A victim of infection will have ongoing pain, and an additional penalty of -10 on Endure checks until the infection is healed. Infected characters also lose 3d10 BODY points per day unless they make an Endure check. Treatment for infection is a course of antiobiotics. In game terms, this requires a decent medical kit and a successful Medical skill check. Once that is made, the character will stop losing BODY points, but will still suffer skill penalties until the medicine runs its course in 1d10 days.

Shell shock syndrome: Characters who suffer intense pain or gory injury may find in future combat situations that fear of injury inhibits their combat effectiveness. If you do not pass out from this mutilation, permanently lose 1d10 to your Backbone score.

SPECIAL DAMAGE MUTILATIONS

IT BURNS! Thermal, chemical, electrical and radiation burns.

Fire and acid mutilations occur slightly differently than normal blunt or incisive trauma. Whereas a mutilation occurs with 50 points taken in one blow from a gun or blade, mutilation from fire and acid occurs if a character takes 50 points IN TOTAL to any given hit location over the span of an encounter, as the heat or corrosive agent slowly destroys body tissue.

BURN MUTILATIONS:

01-10 Superficial Scarring. If visible, -1d10 permanent penalty to Speech/Barter/Perform but bonus to Intimidate.

11-40 Second degree burn: Pain + scarring as above.

41-70Third degree burn: Intense Pain. Make Endure check or suffer infection. Plus scarring as above.

71-90 Fourth degree burn: Intense Pain. Nerve and/or muscle damage – Possible loss of mobility (-1d10 athletic* skills and/or Move Rate). Make Endure check or suffer infection. Plus scarring as above.

91-00 Fifth degree burn. Forty to eighty percent (40+4d10%) of flesh on the relevant hit location melts away. For each 10% of flesh you lose (round up) you suffer -2 to athletic or finesse skills or social skills if on the head. Intense pain. Endure check or suffer infection plus, of course, scarring as above. Also if burned on your head you lose 4d10 to your See score. If the resulting score is 0 or less, you are permanently blind. Shell shock syndrome.

MUTILATION CHART PREVIEW

HEAD

01-10 Superficial Scarring. If visible, -1d10 permanent penalty to Speech/Barter/Perform but bonus to Intimidate.

11-15 Teeth lost. Lose 1d10 teeth.

16-18 Tongue explodes. -2d10+10 Speech, Barter (permanent)

19-22 Teeth shattered (lose 3d10+2 teeth). -10 permanent penalty to Speech/Barter. Cannot chew solid food until replaced with prosthetic.

23-27 Face smashed/shredded (nose, brow, cheek, whatever). Scarring and deformity. -2d10 points to Barter/Speech/Perform/Disguise, and add that many points to Intimidate (permanent). Shell shock syndrome.

28-32 Fractured jaw. Pain until fully healed. Unable to eat solid foods (reversed with major surgery).

33-37 Ear explodes. Scarring. Bleeding. Lose 2d10+10 points from Listen score (permanent). Major surgery to reverse

38-41 Jaw explodes. Bleeding. Halve your Speech, and -1d10+10 to Disguise, Barter & Perform (permanent). Make Endure check or suffer infection.

42-44 Scalped! Bleeding. Make Endure check or suffer infection.

45-49 Throat crushed/shredded. Intense pain, blood loss. 50% chance you start to drown in your own blood (see Suffocation rules). Permanent effects: -1d10+10 to Speech/Barter. Endure check or lose speech altogether (-30 Speech – reversed with Major surgery)

50-56 Major artery severed. Massive blood loss.

57-59 Broken neck/severed vertebra. 10-100% mobility loss (roll 1d10 and multiply by 10). 50% or more means paraplegia. 100% means quadriplegia. Reversed with major surgery.

60-63 Cracked skull. Pain until fully healed. 10% chance double vision, 10% chance poor balance, 10% chance repeated vomiting. Takes 1d10 weeks to fully heal, any strenuous activity will add 1 week onto healing time and may result in complications (10% chance coma or brain damage, below).

64-68 Nerve damage. Pain. Permanent effects: Loss of mobility (-1d10 athletic* skills and/or Move Rate) negated with major surgery

69-73 Neck muscles destroyed. Pain. Permanent effects:-1 to Initiative Bonus, -10 to Disguise, and scarring (as above).

74-75 Impromptu Thyroidectomy leading to hypothyroidism: fatigue & weight gain (-1 Brawn, -1 Balance and related skills), deeper hoarse voice, goiter, enlarged tongue. Women not pregnant or nursing may begin producing breast milk (This is known as galactorrhea, by the way. Now you know.) Make Endure check or suffer infection.

76-80 Eye explodes. See score permanently halved. -20 to Drive, Guns, Bow, Throw, Jump (permanent). Shell shock syndrome.

81-83 Crushed skull. Bleeding. Coma. 1% cumulative chance per day to recover, providing the bits of skull have been removed with major surgery and replaced with some kind of wicked post-apocalyptic implant.

84-87 Brain damage – amnesia. Complete memory loss. Whenever you experience a dramatic event (a friend dies, you reunite with an old friend, you get another mutilation, etc) there is a chance (percentage chance equal to your BRAINS score) that you recover part or all of your memories.

88-92 Brain damage. -3d10 to random Brains-linked skill (permanent).

93-97 Brain damage. Roll on Liability Table, rerolling any results that don’t apply.

98-00 Roll again. An adjacent mutilation also applies (for a total of 2 mutilations).

DAY TO DAY LIFE IN THE WASTELAND

CURRENCY

The wasteland is primarily a barter-run society. Very few wasteland cultures use cash money made from paper or metal, preferring more practical items that have a simple, stable value, such as cigarettes, rolls of toilet paper, and ammunition.

Where a standard currency is used, human teeth are the preferred “coin.” In the old world, Papua New Guinea used dog’s teeth for money between the years 1800 and 1960. In the post-cataclysm wasteland, a human tooth is accepted as money by almost all professional merchants and usually by anyone near a major community. Typically, only normal human teeth are used. Animal teeth and teeth from mutants that cannot pass as human are considered worthless except as a novelty.

In many cases a tooth is a tooth, but sometimes size does matter. Some merchants measure and weigh teeth, giving a value of 1 to a tooth weighing 1 gram or more, and smaller/lighter teeth in increments of one tenth. A large tooth in excellent condition might even be given a higher value than the standard tooth. In major metropolitan centers such as Citytown, the few money changers who can make a living at it call themselves “dentists.”

One might imagine that human teeth as currency provides humans with an inherent monetary value. It is certainly true that a person who wishes to pay for a couple packs of cigarettes could pull out one of his own teeth. On the other hand, a human slave is not necessarily worth 32 teeth (the number of teeth in the human skull) even if he still retains all of his teeth at the time of sale.

Below is a quick guide to values of standard items found in the wasteland:

BASICS

10 rolls of toilet paper = 1 tooth
20 cigarettes (1 pack) = 1 tooth
4 litres of clean, pure water = 1 tooth
1 litre of gasoline = 1 tooth
Can opener = 5 teeth
Non-rechargeable chemical battery (D cell =10 watt-hours) = 1 tooth
Rechargeable chemical battery = 3 teeth
Atomic battery (rechargeable) = 10 teeth (With a successful Science and Build/Repair skill check, atomic batteries can be recharged using standard chemical batteries – each 5 percentiles of a successful roll results in 1 charge.

MEDICINE

One days worth of painkillers = 1 tooth
Standard first aid kit = 20 teeth
Inhaler of Piss-Aid rad absorption drug = 30 teeth

FOOD & BEVERAGE

1 weeks worth of travel rations = 1 tooth
1 delicious/nutritious restaurant-style meal = 1 tooth
1 sumptuous banquet you’ll never forget = 3 teeth
12 pack of shitty beer = 1 tooth (1 shitty beer = 2 cigarettes)
6 pack of fine beer = 1 tooth (1 fine beer = 4 cigarettes)
1 bottle of wine = 1 tooth
1 jug of moonshine = 1 tooth

AMMUNITION

50 rounds of .22 ammunition = 1 tooth (5 rounds = 1 cigarette)
20 rounds of 7.62×39 ammo = 1 tooth
10 rounds of 5.56, 9mm, .45ACP or .38 special ammunition = 1 tooth
5 rounds of 30-06, .308, 12 gauge, or .44 Magnum ammo = 1 tooth
10 rounds of .50 BMG = 1 tooth.

SERVICES

Basic Repair service (for basic mechanical stuff, usually Repair skill 40 or lower) = 1-10 teeth*
Specialized Repair service (electronics, robots, computers, Repair skill higher than 40) = 5-20 teeth*
Elite Repair service (Repair skill higher than 70) = 10 teeth and up*
Wasteland guide = 1 tooth per day (plus food & water)
Bodyguard = 5-10 teeth per day
Session with a prostitute = 1-5 teeth.
Professional assassination = 50 teeth and up
Human slave, servant = 30-60 teeth (plus any teeth still in skull)
Human slave, pleasure = 50-100 teeth (plus any teeth in skull)

* – may not include parts.

ANIMALS

1 dog = 20-40 teeth
1 reliable pack animal (yak, donkey) = 30 teeth
1 reliable mount (horse, camel) 50 teeth

WEAPONS

Pistol = 20-40 teeth
Rifle = 20-40 teeth
Shotgun = 30-40 teeth
Fragmentation Grenade = 20 teeth
Atomic Grenade = 30 teeth

For an easy, oversimplified conversion rate, $10 modern day = 1 tooth.