[Q&A] Mickey Barfield (Wasteland Saga)

[8:41 PM] Mickey

: Hello I’m Mickey Barfield creator at The Polyhedral Knights. I’m here to talk about Wasteland Sagas, a post apocalypse rpg. done

[8:41 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Thanks, @Mickey! The floor is open to questions!

[8:41 PM] Dan the GMshoe: What is the premise of Wasteland Sagas?

[8:44 PM] Mickey: Wasteland is a post-apocalyptic game where players create characters that are trying to survive and make a difference in the world. It takes inspiration from games like Gamma World and Fallout and mashes it up in a fantastic homage. The game mechanics are fun, fast, and easy to learn. The game takes place 50 or more years after a worldwide meltdown. The details vary depending on who you ask. Our world certainly went down the crapper and fast. It is believed that there were nuclear explosions, biological weapons, pandemics, and natural disasters. Pretty much if it was something terrible that could happen, it did. Civilization was given the one-two punch and it has been limping on since then. The world is in chaos. Over time mutations have sprung up. Science has been either lost and rediscovered or bastardized. Hope seems bleak, but not completely gone. This is where the characters come in. They are the ones who are rising above the ashes and trying to build something better for themselves and hope for mankind.

[8:45 PM] Dan the GMshoe: On a scale of 1-10 on the “Gonzo-meter,” 10 being Gamma World and 1 being The Day After, how gonzo is Wasteland Sagas?

[8:46 PM] Mickey: hmmmm. I’d say gonzo meter is about 6.5

[8:46 PM] Mickey: mayber 7.5

[8:47 PM] Dan the GMshoe: What are some of the weirder mutations?

[8:48 PM] Mickey: Detachable Eye ball. Its where the mutant can remove his eye and put is somewhere and view thru it remotely.

[8:48 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Are there psionics?

[8:49 PM] Mickey: yes, things such as Telepathy, TK, mind blast, and few others

[8:50 PM] Eric E: what kind of system does the game use?

[8:50 PM] Dan the GMshoe: What was the tech level of the world pre-apocalypse?

[8:51 PM] Mickey: The primary skills are percentile based. Though there is a set of Non leveled skills. those are skills that are ones that really do not require a roll. Either you know them or you don’t

[8:52 PM] Mickey: we shot a how the game is played video

[8:52 PM] Mickey: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WV9q9RFKMY&t=230sYouTubeMickey BarfieldWasteland Sagas How to video part 1

[8:53 PM] Mickey: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z00SwfDLymMYouTubeMickey BarfieldWasteland Sagas How to play part 2 combat

[8:54 PM] Mickey: tech level is varied

[8:54 PM] Mickey: Before the collapse mankind was at the cyberpunk level of tech

[8:55 PM] Mickey: There are fragments remaining but a lot has rebuilt itself with missing pieces

[8:55 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Are there cybernetics in the game?

[8:57 PM] Mickey: There are. Though very few people know their way around it. People with that knowledge are few and far between

[8:57 PM] Dan the GMshoe: What about robots?

[8:58 PM] Mickey: There are robots. Many have run down or failing programs. there are some that are functioning. One of the other play species they can play in the game is Android. These are even less out there.

[8:59 PM] Mickey: Species that can be played are Pure human-Topsider, Pure human-bunker born, Mutant and Android

[8:59 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Can you say a bit about the two kinds of pure humans?

[9:01 PM] Eric E: Any plant based PCs? or does that fall under Mutant? Also, what about mutated animals?

[9:01 PM] Mickey: Bunker born have bonus to Intelligence and to a couple of lore skills.

[9:02 PM] Mickey: They also have a lower Toxicty level.

[9:02 PM] Mickey: Top siders have bonus to constitution, and a couple of outdoor skills. They have better Toxicity level

[9:02 PM] Mickey: done

[9:03 PM] Mickey: Hey there EricE. No plant based PC.

[9:03 PM] Mickey: They got WEEDED out1

[9:03 PM] Mickey: lol

[9:03 PM] Mickey: done

[9:04 PM] Dan the GMshoe: (The (done) is really just for the end of the intro. )

[9:05 PM] Mickey: oh. lol

[9:05 PM] Mickey: sorry

[9:05 PM] Dan the GMshoe: You mention Toxicity levels. Can you say a bit about that?

[9:06 PM] Mickey: Well in this world there is more than Radiation to be worried about. There were mutagens that had soiled the earth in many places and other poisons out there from the collapse.

[9:06 PM] Mickey: This is like hit points

[9:07 PM] Mickey: Everyone has a set amount and various things make PCs take a hit to it

[9:09 PM] Dan the GMshoe: So what’s the Toxicity level of Mutants like?

[9:10 PM] Mickey: Mutants have a slight bonus. Most may ask why isn’t theirs the highest but if they were that resistant they wouldn’t have mutations.

[9:12 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Does the setting feature mutated monsters? (edited)

[9:12 PM] Mickey: yes there are mutated monsters

[9:13 PM] Dan the GMshoe: How common are they?

[9:13 PM] Mickey: Fairly common, especially further out from settlements

[9:15 PM] Dan the GMshoe: How big do settlements get? Is there anything resembling a city?

[9:15 PM] Mickey: Not huge. The biggest settlements might be the equal to a small town in modern day here.

[9:16 PM] Dan the GMshoe: To what degree are Mutants accepted among Humans?

[9:17 PM] Mickey: Normally pretty well, though there are a few settlements that are purest and hate mutants. Those are run by normally a faction called The Untainted.

[9:19 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Are there any obvious bad guys in the setting?

[9:20 PM] Mickey: oh yeah, lots. Let me write down a few of them

[9:20 PM] Mickey: Of course there are various gangs. Each gang has their own agenda and tactic.

[9:20 PM] Mickey: The Untainted-Mutant haters

[9:22 PM] Mickey: There is the Integrated Empire

[9:22 PM] Mickey: They are a cybernetic hive

[9:23 PM] Mickey: The Enlightened-Artificial intelligence that has mixed agenda

[9:23 PM] Mickey: Slavers

[9:24 PM] Mickey: Infected-flesh eaters

[9:25 PM] Dan the GMshoe: How dark is the setting?

[9:26 PM] Mickey: Not extremely dark. There is dark but there is also hope as well

[9:27 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Do you have a character sheet that we can see?

[9:28 PM] Mickey:1

[9:29 PM] Eric E: so what inspired you to make this instead of just using, say, GW1, GW2, GW3, or GW4?

[9:31 PM] Mickey: I’ve played a LOT of post apoc games and felt I wanted to do a combo of inspirations. I LOVE GW, but didn’t want that. Less gonzo

[9:31 PM] Dan the GMshoe: What is the relationship between attributes and skills? (edited)

[9:32 PM] Mickey: Attributes depending on how well they are can give a bonus to certain skills in creation.

[9:33 PM] Dan the GMshoe: What is the human attribute scale?

[9:34 PM] Mickey: scale is 1 to 10

[9:35 PM] Dan the GMshoe: How is the bonus to skills figured?

[9:37 PM] Mickey: There is a chart. certain levels give a bonus as a base

[9:39 PM] Mickey: Attribute Modifier to Skill % 1 -5% 2 -3% 3 -1% 4-5 +1% 6-7 +3% 8-9 +5% 10 +7%1

[9:39 PM] Dan the GMshoe: You said that the system is percentile. Does it include criticals and fumbles?

[9:39 PM] Mickey: yes there are those

[9:39 PM] Dan the GMshoe: How are they determined?

[9:42 PM] Mickey: 5% of the skill

[9:43 PM] Eric E: Can you elaborate on that?

[9:43 PM] Dan the GMshoe: How does combat work?

[9:44 PM] Eric E: If a skill is 100, just for example, 5% is 5. if a skill is 60, then 5% is 3. So is the chance to fail lower if your skill is lower?

[9:45 PM] Mickey: Correction 10% of skill. Sorry. If a character has a 80% in a skill and they roll a 8 then it’s a crit. well combat uses the skills which are percentile.

[9:48 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Did you see my question about combat?

[9:50 PM] Mickey: guess I’m unclear on that Dan. In order to hit someone they need to make their skill roll on percentile. Modifiers of course adjust that.

[9:50 PM] Mickey: One of the videos I attached actually shows a couple rounds of combat as example

[9:50 PM] Mickey: The charaters roll 1d10 and add it to their Initiative number. Highest goes first

[9:51 PM] Mickey: there are also combat techniques that charaters can have

[9:51 PM] Mickey: based off how skilled they are they get up to 1 to 3 combat techniques

[9:52 PM] Dan the GMshoe: How deadly is combat in this game?

[9:53 PM] Mickey: a little bloody but has a little cinematic flair. Though in the many games I’ve tested this with there were some on the verge of death instances.

[9:54 PM] Dan the GMshoe: What is the game mechanic behind psionic powers?

[9:56 PM] Mickey: Any mutant power has a skill called Mutant Power. Various psionic powers has specific saves or modifiers.

[9:59 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Is there any in-game resource expended in the use of powers? Something like magic points?

[10:00 PM] Mickey: no but each power tells how often they can use. Each one varies

[10:01 PM] Mickey: wanted to keep it streamlined

[10:07 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Makes sense.

[10:07 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Is this the start of a gameline, and if so, what’s next?

[10:08 PM] Mickey: Do you mean are there other books to go with this?

[10:08 PM] Dan the GMshoe: I mean will there be.

[10:09 PM] Mickey: We do plan to do a Guidebook to the wasteland

[10:10 PM] Mickey: adventure book as well

[10:19 PM] Mickey: Any other questions?

[10:25 PM] Mickey: Did the session end?

[10:27 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Sory, got distracted for a bit there.

[10:27 PM] Mickey: its cool

[10:27 PM] Mickey: I understand that

[10:27 PM] Dan the GMshoe: In the time remaining, is there anything we haven’t covered that you’d like to bring up?

[10:29 PM] Mickey: Well I’m still waiting on Kickstarter to review the page. Which is unusual since normally it takes UP to 3 days, they are well past that. I wrote them and they said they are backed up. Not sure how backed up reviewing this could take.

[10:29 PM] Dan the GMshoe: I’m sorry to hear that. I know that has to be frustrating.

[10:29 PM] Mickey: Check out the videos if people want to know about the mechanics

[10:30 PM] Mickey: the good news is when the drive is over after 30 days we will be sending backers the completed text version of the game as the layout is completed and more art finished up.

[10:31 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Great!

[10:31 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Thanks very much for joining us, @Mickey!

[10:31 PM] Mickey: Thank you Dan as always

[10:32 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Usual reminder: If you’ve enjoyed this Q&A and would like to treat me to a coffee or two, you can do so at https://www.ko-fi.com/gmshoe. Anything’s appreciated! Ko-fiBuy Dan Davenport a Coffee. ko-fi.com/gmshoeBecome a supporter of Dan Davenport today! ❤️ Ko-fi lets you support the creators you love with no fees on donations.

[10:32 PM] Mickey: will do

[10:32 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Now, if you’ll give me a minute, I’ll get the log posted and link you!