Fallout Genesys

By Deadborder, in Your Settings

This is a little pet project of mine that I've been belting away at on and off for the last six or so months. It started as an expansion of the excellent Fallout Genesys theme by GM Phil , but quickly grew to something much, much bigger. While I did build from the core of Phil's work, I have considerably expanded on it in a number of ways. The result was that I wound up splitting it into five different files.

Fallout Genesys

The "core" file which should be everything you need to play. This covers the following areas:

  • World Background (As a guide to newcomers to the series)
  • Character Creation
  • New Rules (Radiation, Power Armour and Chems)
  • Basic equipment, including weapons, armour, chems and more.

This is intended to be a stand-alone file; all you need to play is this and the Genesys core rulebook. The other two files are optional but can be used to give your game more options and flavour.

Fallout Genesys Armoury

The first "spin off" file, this one is an attempt to create a reasonably definitive collection of equipment from across the Fallout universe (without cluttering up the main file too much). It includes:

  • Weapons
  • Armour
  • Power Armour
  • Weapon and other Equipment Modification

This file is still a work in progress. While it is largely complete, there are still a few items that I haven't yet written up (largely because I haven't figured values for them or haven't yet figured the mechanics).

Fallout Genesys Factions

The third file, this one provides summaries of a number of factions within the Fallout world as a tool for both GMs and players. For each faction it includes:

  • A brief history and background of that faction
  • Character creation for that faction, including new character options where applicable
  • New equipment appropriate to each faction
  • Sample characters for each faction

Fallout Genesys Adversaries

The third spin-off file is a collection of Adversaries for use with the Fallout setting. It includes:

  • Assorted creatures
  • Various typical NPCs such as Raiders and Mercenaries
  • Modifications for creatures to give them additional abilities

Fallout Genesys Adversaries II

Finally, this file contains a collection of more faction specific Adversaries, based on various groups from the Fallout world. It includes:

  • A brief background for each group
  • Sample members of that group
  • Suggestions for using existing NPCs with different groups

Fallout Genesys Cybernetics

The first optional rules expansion, this file contains rules for adding Cybernetics from the Fallout world. Includes:

  • Rules for various Cybernetic augmentations
  • A guide to who possesses and can provide such implants
  • A full themed factional write-up

As said, this is very much a work in progress. I appreciate any feedback and constructive criticism.

Edited by Deadborder

I bet @DarthGM will be excited to know his supplement continues to be an inspiration.

I am. :D

First round of updates!

  • Changed a couple of weapons.
  • Changes to weapon modifications and added a few more
  • Formatting and other small quality of life improvements

The links in the main post now go to the revised/updated files. I'll continue to update them as I go and as things (inevitably) change.

Edited by Deadborder

Hey Deadborder,

I just went over your items posted to see how you developed your ideas. Very well done sir.

On 3/26/2019 at 11:30 PM, simpatikool said:

Hey Deadborder,

I just went over your items posted to see how you developed your ideas. Very well done sir.

Thank you very much for that. It's been a long and involved process, but I'm pretty happy with the results.

Also, updates! The Factions file has been updated with several more factions.

I can't help but feel that Strong Back is way too weak for a Fallout setting. You should be able to carry a half-dozen weapons (at least two being rifles and one being a heavy weapon) a few outfits of armor & clothing, and assorted other gear and still be unencumbered... and that's before taking a rank of Strong Back.

On 4/2/2019 at 8:45 PM, HappyDaze said:

I can't help but feel that Strong Back is way too weak for a Fallout setting. You should be able to carry a half-dozen weapons (at least two being rifles and one being a heavy weapon) a few outfits of armor & clothing, and assorted other gear and still be unencumbered... and that's before taking a rank of Strong Back.

This is one of those cases of game logic versus common sense. Yes, in the Fallout video games, you can carry a couple of hundred pounds of weapons, armour, ammo, consumables and junk on you without issue. However, that's hardly realistic either. I chose to go with something more realistic that fit more with the overall Genesys system and its values

Update again! All three files have been updated with some new equipment and a few edits.

On 4/4/2019 at 9:25 PM, Deadborder said:

This is one of those cases of game logic versus common sense. Yes, in the Fallout video games, you can carry a couple of hundred pounds of weapons, armour, ammo, consumables and junk on you without issue. However, that's hardly realistic either. I chose to go with something more realistic that fit more with the overall Genesys system and its values

Somebody clearly plays on Survival mode ;)

Updated! Revisions to all three files with some new equipment, a few changes to a couple of weapons and a few general quality of life updates

Do you have any plans for crafting / settlement building? I know @DarthGM had plans at one time before the real life got him in it's cruel grip ;)

Also, I've got a homebrew Cryolator that I changed over from a freeze gun which I found in (if I recall) one of the Star Wars sourcebooks. I'll PM you the stats for you to fiddle with once I'm home from work.

15 hours ago, Setukh said:

Do you have any plans for crafting / settlement building? I know @DarthGM had plans at one time before the real life got him in it's cruel grip ;)

Also, I've got a homebrew Cryolator that I changed over from a freeze gun which I found in (if I recall) one of the Star Wars sourcebooks. I'll PM you the stats for you to fiddle with once I'm home from work.

Thank you for that; I'd love to get those Cryolator stats off of you as it's continued to stump me.

Crafting is something that is on my to-do list, but at the moment my plan is to get the core mechanics under control and then handle things like Adversaries. But I'm certainly open to ideas

It was one I meant to go back and go over with a bit of a fine-toothed comb but I never did and there didn't seem to be much call for it in my game so it has just been left alone. Feel free to edit as you will :)

Name: Cryolator
Skill: Ranged (heavy)
Dam: 6
Crit: -
Range: Medium
Enc: 2
HP: 1
Price: 450
Rarity: 11 (since there is supposedly only ONE Cryolator)
Special: Ensnare 1 (use 2 Advantage to Immobilize a target for 1 round), Pierce 5 (ignores 5 points of soak), Stun Damage (deals damage to Strain), Pierce 0 vs Armor removes Setback Dice due to cold. Melee attacks against a target struck by the Cryolator in the same round add two Boost Dice to their attack.

Edited by Setukh
added a sentence.

A belated thank you for that!

And now after a long wait here's a new update, with the first draft of the Adversaries collection

Looking great! Love the Adversaries collection, and found the use of the template Glowing and Scorched to be useful as well.

Updated again. Added a fifth (!) file which includes a number of different groups from the Fallout world, complete with sample characters from each.

Fun fact: one of the groups described was considered for a full factional write-up in the Factions file. Another one may yet be expanded out into one in a future add-on.

More updates. Added a couple of new weapons and a few new Adversaries while also making a few tweaks and changes to other things.

My first "supplemental" rule collection is presently in testing and hopefully I'll have a draft of it... soon

After a lot of delays, I have my first rules expansion, Fallout Genesys Cybernetics posted. In addition, there has been numerous updates, revisions and edits to the other files.

Adversaries II the link is broken, just fyi. It links to Cybernetics now.
Also, Factions is listed as being in the owner's trash and can't be previewed.

Everything else looks excellent. I had checked last year, and had missed some of the updates you had done.

4 hours ago, Mathadar said:

Adversaries II the link is broken, just fyi. It links to Cybernetics now.
Also, Factions is listed as being in the owner's trash and can't be previewed.

Everything else looks excellent. I had checked last year, and had missed some of the updates you had done.

Thank you for that. I've been through and now not only fixed the links but also updated new versions of the files.

This round of updates includes content from Wastelanders, such as new weapons, equipment, factions and adversaries. It also includes a lot of tweaks and modifications to things that were already there to reflect actual gameplay testing.

so I just wanted to know, have you added anything from the wasteland series yet since it did inspire the creators of Fallout. I wonder how many people realized this little tidbit of news.

I haven't added anything from Wasteland, nor do I plan to. While it did influence Fallout, it's still a separate world which would be better handled in it's own write-up

On 7/21/2020 at 7:15 PM, Deadborder said:

I haven't added anything from Wasteland, nor do I plan to. While it did influence Fallout, it's still a separate world which would be better handled in it's own write-up

okay, i understand. just checking since you were inspired and even added your own additional stuff.

53 minutes ago, gilbur said:

okay, i understand. just checking since you were inspired and even added your own additional stuff.

I haven't added anything original. Everything in the files is based on content from the Fallout games.